So this one is different from a lot of the other chapters I've written thus far. This one is a lot more dialogue driven than the others have been, but they're all conversations that have been needing to happen for a while. Warning: a lot of feels!

Enjoy! :D

Revelations

I reached up again smacking the older man across the head from his wincing and whining about how what I was doing hurt. To be honest I didn't blame him for his constant whining, all three of us were tired, the energy finally wore off from the night's activities. We were in the infirmary as I finishing up on Roman's bullet wound courtesy of Seth. I carefully stitched the wound shut after spending nearly an hour picking out the tiny lead prick, luckily there was very little damage done, Seth's aim had been spot on missing very and any vital areas near the wound.

The room was quiet as I looked over at Seth who was just reclining in a chair staring intently out a window. He had a hand on his chin as his elbow was rested on the window sill, and the light from the rising sun reflecting off his brown orbs. He had been nothing but quiet since we got back, and any questions for him would only be met with short single word answers. I wish I knew what he was thinking about, or even what to say. There was so much that happened in a single night, and that was only the first mission.

I finally finished stitching up and cleaning the crusted blood around Roman's wound. He threw out his fist as I bumped it with my own, "Thanks, man." He looked over my shoulder to give a glance to Seth who still hadn't moved. "Look, I forgive you okay." It sounded like the older man was pretty concerned on what was going on through Seth's head, but even I knew how dangerous of a place that was.

"That's not what's bothering me," responded the two-toned man clearly annoyed. He leaned back in his chair, his hands gripping the arms with his leg bouncing in anticipation. "I need to know, what is the original? What's he the original of?" He suddenly stood to his feet pacing around tapping in thought. "All the information Mizanin knew was because of Lorken...so if-" He stopped at the chair suddenly looking pissed. He kicked the chair down yelling a multitude of obscenities. I've never seen Seth look this frustrated to where he wanted to break something, that was normally me. "I just don't understand!"

I tried to step forward to see if I could calm Seth, when I felt a large hand on my chest to hold me back. He looked at me with worried stormy eyes shaking his head. Perhaps we needed to just let the smaller man vent out his frustrations. Honestly, I didn't blame the former assassin, I too understood about as much as he did. Neither one of us knew Lorken, and even Roman and the Colonel had no idea what was going on. Just as Styles was a sensitive subject, it seemed like more and more Lorken became one as well. We were all victims of his deception.

Before he could continue I pointed to the door hearing a familiar pant headed in our direction about to burst through the door. "Orton's coming." I told them both as they both turned their attentions to the door. It was probably no wonder the Colonel was going gray so fast despite being only a few years older than Roman. It seemed like he was always needed everywhere on this station, and looked like he never caught a break. I wonder if he ever considered a vacation.

Just on queue there was Colonel Randal Orton bursting through the door with his forehead covered in sweat and standing in the frame catching his breath. This was becoming a norm for us to meet up with Orton like this, especially when he had new information for us. "Oh good you guys are still here, I was worried I'd have to run across the grounds," he said in between breaths. He stood there leaning up against the door frame still catching his breath and straightening out his monkey suit. "We've detained Lorken." As happy news that should be, there was something a little too suspicious about this.

We look at one another all thinking the same thing, it seemed all too easy. One by one we filed out of the infirmary silently walking down the hall. I can't imagine Orton feeling any good about this either, he's the one who's been supporting us since we arrived.

We exited the medical wing crossing the grounds to where the holding cells were. The closer we got the more I shuddered just thinking about the events from three months ago. I was once locked inside of those same cells waiting in anticipation for the experiments and then the lack of comfort that followed after. Those cells were a dread reminder of how we got here, and why we're still standing.

The building wasn't all that big just like the others on the grounds. It was one story tall, with only a basic steel door for reinforcement. Then again, with this kind of facility I don't think anyone could think about escaping. Being surrounded by some of the highest degree of trained soldiers, whose job it was to seek and infiltrate. There was probably chance you wouldn't make it far before you were caught.

Otron stopped just before the door turning to take a look at all of us. Even he could tell there was so much running through us, "Whatever happens from here on, don't let it waver who you are. You are The Shield." Slowly he pushed the door open and stood to the side to let us in first. "We'll be recording your conversation, but I won't be joining you in this. This is between you three and him."

We didn't bother to spare him any words, we just carefully walked past him. Roman led the way down a dimly lit gray colored hallway, with polished white tiles. Why couldn't we just deal with Lorken tomorrow? I was exhausted and worn out...I'd say tired but just of Lorken. He stopped at a while colored steel door, opening it and stepping inside. He stood on the other side waiting for us before shutting it after Seth walked in locking it behind him. I was worried about what was about to happen. I recalled that the Colonel mentioned that it was hard to get him and Roman in the same room without the two being sent off in explosive anger.

The first thing that caught my attention was the single metal table in the center and basic steel chairs on either side. There was a single lamp hanging from the ceiling, just above the table with two more smaller hanging lights on either side just above the chairs. I looked in the corners at the security cameras in all four corners, and of course the white door in the opposite corner from the one we entered in. I've been in these kinds of rooms before, these rooms is where heavy investigations happened.

After several long minutes, the door in the opposite corners, and low and behold baldy was being led in by two soldiers. I figured he'd come in looking defeated but instead they just led him to the chair forcing him to sit. His hazel orbs showed no expression, like he knew his fate already. He lifted his both his hands using an open one to point to the chair across from him motioning for Roman to sit down. The older man looked reluctant but he placidly sat down keeping his eyes on his former best friend. He placed his hands on the table just clasping them together leaning back. He was way too relaxed about this.

I noticed his eyes drift over to Roman's freshly stitched wound, "You look good for someone who was shot by their own teammate," he commented sarcastically. Seth pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on looking like he was about to knock Lorken's teeth down his throat. I raced over to him grabbing his shoulders forcing him back. This isn't what we needed. "I never thought I'd see you in that same kevlar vest Roman. I'm surprise it still fits you, you've gotten a lot bigger since five years ago."

After finally being able to fight off Seth's rage, we both turned our attentions to the big dog getting a read on his expression. His stormy eyes looked the same as Lorken's, expressionless and void of emotion. This was bone chilling just how exactly how close he was to baldy in personality. Roman only stared at him saying nothing yet. He had an elbow rested on the table and a hand on his chin tapping away in thought not taking his gaze away. He let out an annoyed huff slowly placing that hand on the table also beginning to lean back in the chair. "What do you have against Seth and Dean?"

"Everything." Lorken answered quickly leaning forward. "Don't you get it Roman, you have such a prestigious career and you're throwing it away. We made a promise to one another back in basic, I'm trying to keep it." I watched as raven haired man's lips thinned, he was not buying into Lorken's story at all. I've never seen Roman act like this before, being around the Brigadier General seemed like it just ignited some sort of spark inside him. In this state he was in, I'd hate to be anyone in the path of Roman Reigns. "Everything I've done at this point has been for you Roman! That's why what I did what I did five years ago, you guys were walking into death!"

The older man slammed his hands against the steel table leaving dents the size and shape of his hands, while standing from his chair. "Look where you are now, Desmond! Was it worth it, because the only man here who threw his career away was you! You're a condemned man now, does that mean anything to you?"

"We were both condemned from the start Roman! Project: Taladen was basically a death sentence, we had one task-"

"The research!" I quickly interjected. Suddenly everything made sense, why The Clairvoyant was called the original. It was crazy that everything that had happened all lead back to that small research facility back in Astros. Fate had a strange way of playing her hand, and now it was all starting to hit me at once. "You don't even need to finish Lorken, I understand now. You and Roman were tasked to make a breakthrough to help complete the multiple different experiments, you needed you know which ones worked and which ones didn't. When Bristol shut down the project, and Roman making his leave the blame would be solely on you. That's why you set up the hit on Orton and were ready to blame Seth, and you tried to set it up by sending him that tactical gear. You didn't do this for Roman, you did it because your ass was in hot water and you wanted to drag him down with you."

Lorken simply scoffed at my accusation, which caused me to take a few hostile steps forward with Seth holding me back now. I knew there was a reason why I loathed that bald headed snake, he was as treacherous as they came trying to use their false preaches to bring justice to their actions. I ripped myself from Seth's grip pacing back and forth around the room anywhere I could walk. I brought my hands up into my hair fisting a few strands, even slapped my own face a bit. I stopped in front of Lorken lightly shoving Roman out of the way.

"I know your type, Desmond...you're just like every other asshole in Atlas. You all lie to yourselves to bring integrity to your poor decisions. Well let me tell you something…" I kicked the chair over, before racing to the end of the table flipping it to that it was leaning against the wall now. "We're The Shield, we are the Hounds of Justice...and if it takes every fiber in my being to bring down assholes like you. I'll keep going til I die." I really didn't know what I was saying at this point, but I wanted Lorken to feel the venom. This was only the tip of the iceberg of a long line of crap baldy's had coming.

Hounds of Justice? That actually sounded pretty cool, maybe I'll see about putting that on a shirt one day.

I was so livid at this point that all I could was kick the chair again watching it hit the wall leaving a chrome colored scrape against the white wall. I looked over at Lorken to see if that smug expression had changed. It didn't look it did at all. Since he no longer had a table to put his hands on he simply brought a leg up resting an ankle on his thigh resting his hands on that instead. "You done Ambrose? Because you're right on all accounts except one. Only three months in Special Ops and your investigation skills are already top notch." His eyes scanned the room slowly stopping on Seth. "What about you Mr. Black?"

Seth stepped forward slowly now being forced to take the floor. He swallowed a lump in his throat, I remember him having a lot on his mind earlier, and was the time to question Lorken. "Am I safe to assume that The Clairvoyant is located in Luna," the younger man asked calmly and quietly. He had certainly a different way of expressing his anger. I figured he'd be in that killer mode, where he becomes absolutely psycho with that blood driven look in his eyes, but I guess Roman and I expressed our anger enough that he didn't need to.

Lorken shook his head slowly. Why was he answering Seth's question? "No, he's in a research facility in Freya. They wanted to keep him separate from the the other projects being transferred in. He can read minds, finding some of the deepest darkest secrets of a man. It's been said he's been showing signs of sporadic mood swings, including depression and rage. He can often be heard spitting some non-sense speeches, probably some of the repressed memories he's seen from others. He's also shown signs that he can't control any of his abilities."

Seth crossed his arms over his chest, not moving his gaze away from Lorken. I couldn't help but think about why he was telling us all this, and how he knew all this for that matter? He wasn't a scientist, he was an investigator. Also along those lines, why was an investigator and a Special Ops agent overseers of the project in the first place? There had to be more to this Clairvoyant and Project: Taladen then I'd like to believe.

I looked down becoming consumed in my own thoughts. I felt like the answers had to be in the good doctor's research. Perhaps there was something I missed, I had looked over the research again and again, and at this point there shouldn't be a single thing I didn't know that was written down on those pieces of paper. This was a sign and I wanted to ignore it, but I needed to find someone I could trust someone that I could share the doctor's research with and could help me go over them in mass detail. Someone who understood, someone who could relate, someone that had already proven to me that they were trustworthy.

I needed Cassandra. I needed that beautiful nurse from the research facility. The very first day we had met we had a drawn out conversation on the human genome, and she even mentioned how she was a fan of Doctor Ambrose's work. Maybe she could help me find the missing piece to this whole puzzle. I began formulating plans in my head just thinking about how I could make contact with her. Perhaps Roman knew a way.

My attentions snapped back to the conversation just as Seth asked another question. "One last question, why should we trust you?" asked Seth, speaking for all of us again, and the smaller man was right. We all really didn't have a reason to trust Lorken.

"Because I'm basically a dead man with one last request to my best friend." He leaned forward resting his elbows on his thighs. He looked around at all three of us, as if he was trying to get one last look at us and especially Roman to commit to his last memories. If he was a dead man like he said, then maybe he was just trying to run through the good memories he's had with the big dog, before saying his final goodbyes. It was a mundane thought, and I should feel bad for even thinking this way, but really Lorken brought it upon himself. "Go to Freya, and see the Clairvoyant for yourself...then you'll see the truth."

Roman gave a deep breath before turning to the door, "Good bye Desmond." He didn't spare him a glance and his stormy gray eyes full of sadness. This was that reminder once more that Roman Reigns was human, but I knew what he was going through. He had to say goodbye to someone who had been a big part of his adult life.

I turned to Lorken who was also standing at the other door staring it down, the pained look on his face said that this was equally as hard for him. "Good bye, Joe." At least in his last moments, Desmond could be decent towards the man he tried to protect. Lorken was a completely deranged man, and did some of the most vilest things I've ever come across. He was manipulative, treacherous, and most of all he was probably the biggest asshole I'd ever met...but this display made me realize one thing. The one truth that was among his web of lies and deceit, was that he really did care for Roman. It was like the older man said, he threw his own career away, and now that guilt had to sit with the big dog for the rest of his life. A cruel twist of fate.

Roman opened the door signaling for us to follow. Our business was concluded here, and with all the emotion turmoil that had wracked our big brother's being I could see why he was in a rush to leave, this was even too much for me. I took one last time to look at Lorken, he had his head held up high, and his chest puffed out some. He was ready to face whatever destiny had lined up for him. I needed to know one last thing. Once Seth stepped out of the room I knew I just had to ask. "Were you caught or did you let yourself get captured?"

"This karma for what I did to Seth. I was the one who got him captured so many years ago. I was tasked with his capture as soon as we found out he was in Cygnus. The Alliance's reach has no limitations, and there a multitude of reasons why we decided on experimenting on him first. But to answer your question Mr. Good...I let myself get captured. I dare not run from the Alliance." I let it roll off my shoulders that he just called me by my birth name. He was at least being honest here. With nothing more to say I finally exited the room letting it click shut behind me. The one constant from all of this, was that no one still dared challenge or run from the Alliance.

I caught stormy gray eyes beating down on us as soon as we were down the hall away from the interrogation room. When Roman finally stopped giving yet another deep sigh. He was awfully calm about all of this, maybe he knew this was eventually going to happen. He had no problem breaking down in front of us, but when it came to Lorken. Maybe some of baldys habits rubbed off on him in his presence. "We're going to Freya."

I was curious about the Clairvoyant myself. I needed to know more about him, he more than likely had a connection with the research notes and it was now clear to me what place Seth had in this mess. I needed to know what was in Freya.

This was the first time I'd ever been outside of the Celestial Providence, and it was much different scenery. For once we weren't in a military base in the middle of a heated desert in the summer. I could feel the humidity here, causing my uniform dress shirt to cling to my body some. Freya was close to the coast and the closest city to Atlas in the Asgard Providence, luckily we didn't have to go through there. We came to this station via helicopter under Orton's personal escort. He too had been curious about the Clairvoyant, and it often came up in his interrogations with Mizanin.

The place was different than the research facility in Astros. This one had metal walls, with long lines of bright fluorescent lighting hanging from the ceiling. I occasionally stopped to see through the glass walls what some of the experiments that were being conducted. It was amazing the variety they had most of which was weapons testing.

Even the guards were different in this facility. The two that were leading us down, were wearing black cargo pants, and black combat boots, the same kind that we wore for our mission, and were wearing thick beige leather jackets with red berets on their head. I looked to see the amount of weapons they even carried on them. Both had a black handguns in holsters hanging from their belts, and were carrying semi-automatics. These guards were more armed than any I'd seen in any station before. If the Astros station felt like a prison, it had nothing on this place.

Both guards stopped at a set of thick metal doors reinforced to look like nothing was meant to get in, and nothing was meant to get out. Both simultaneously punched in some code on a number pad jutting out from each side of the door. The red light at the top started flashing, and the doors began to slowly open. The one on the left motioned for us to move past them. With nothing to say the four of us moved past them making our way down another set of a metal hall. We watched as the door shut behind us, leaving that booming echoing sound in it's wake.

The more we walked the more I could see that everyone was beginning to tense up, Roman more than anyone. I wanted to ask him what he was thinking, or what he was expecting. The hall we walked down was quiet, there were no extra doors on the side and the only thing I could hear was the sounds of our foot steps hitting the steel grate beneath us. The silence hadn't hung this thick in a while and it was unbearable. It was like we were back at the research station again like we had all first met.

We were coming to the end of the hall where only a single black steel door had stood. I looked at the raven haired man for just a moment to see that his gray eyes were widened, his jaw almost hung open, and his muscles tensed to where they were clamping down on him holding him in place. He was in shock, and suddenly I saw the same look in Seth's eyes. He held his hand over his mouth looking like he was going to keep himself from spilling his guts. Do I look at the door? Do I say something? Even the Colonel was shocked as hell, looking unable to speak.

I finally turned my attentions to the door. It hit me, it all hit me at the same time. I read the name on the plaque on the side. This was unreal, this was a dream, everything couldn't have been this easily connected. Roman's place in this mystery finally had revealed its true colors. My brain suddenly trying to piece together what it was that happened five years ago, for it to come to this. I had to read the name on that plaque again and again hoping it'd change. But it didn't.

Col. AJ Styles
"The Clairvoyant"

I couldn't believe it, I almost wanted to refuse the reality that had been thrown in front of us. All these years of Roman and Randy searching for their missing mentor had been right under their nose. He was the original, the first one of Project: Taladen.

I watched Roman step forward only for the Colonel grab his wrist and shaking his head. He was finally the first to speak. "Don't Roman."

"But I need to see him." pleaded the raven haired man. I understood his passion to see his mentor, but I felt like maybe he shouldn't. If they had to keep him here and like this away from everyone else. I don't think anyone was meant to see him. This was one of those times where I think we needed to just let go.

Seth grabbed Roman's other arm also trying to stop the other man, and to be honest I don't think that task was possible. He threw people around and roared like a man on a mission and after that display I didn't want him to be his next victim. "No Roman! We need to go I think we've seen enough here," Seth cried right back. At least he was trying to be the voice of reason here while I was stuck in place.

As the three of them started to get into heated words, I could have sworn time felt slower. I could no longer hear what they had to say my eyes glued to that plaque next to the door. My mind was running trying to think of what to say, if I even had room to say anything. I closed my eyes for a second and when I reopened them. I was someplace else.

It looked like I was in that investigation room again, only it was a little more brightly lit. I found myself having a stare down with a figure across the room. He had medium length brown hair, and crystal blue eyes, if I didn't know any better I thought he might be Atlean. What was going on? Where was I? I was still at the research facility in Freya right?

"I'm inside your mind, Dean." What? Inside my mind? Oh! Right I almost forgot baldy mentioning that that The Clairvoyant could go inside people's mind. So the crystal-eyed man had to be Roman's mentor. I felt like I should be honored to meet this man, but under the circumstances it still seemed all too much for my mind to handle all at once. "You're still at the facility. Think of this as having an out of body experience." I don't know what it was about this man AJ Styles but he had about the same exact composure as Roman did. I wasn't sure if it was his southern drawl or the way he stood but I felt my body relaxed in his presence. Something about him was different.

We stared at one another for a while, I just wanted to be able to get any kind of read on him, but this guy was as blank as they came. There was a reason why Randy, Roman, and even Lorken paraded him around like he was some sort of legend. "There's something you need to know, Dean," he said snapping me from my thoughts. "It's about your mentor," I swallowed the lump in my throat realizing I don't think I was going to like what I was about to hear. "He was the director of the original project. The abilities I have, the things I can do was becomes of him. I owe my life to Doctor Ambrose, and I know you do too, that's why I'm telling you all of this. That research, is the most important thing in all of Paragon right now, and what keeps Elysium from falling into the brink of war."

I looked down for a moment, that wasn't something I could shoulder easily. To be the one that stands between the Alliance and a war breaking out in the entire world? That didn't seem possible, this had to be a dream. "I-I don't understand." I told him truthfully.

AJ looked down, frowning a little himself. He probably didn't want to tell me this, but it had to be said. If it what he says was genuine, then we had more problems on our hands than we could have ever imagined. Lorken let himself get captured by the Alliance because he knew he couldn't run. What happens to us when they finally stop asking nicely for the research? Without even realizing it, Seth and Roman and even the Colonel were in a firing line that we never intended on being in. "The doctor's intentions was to make a breakthrough, but the prime minister had other plans. He intends to go to war using an army of superpowered soldiers, and has been throwing every resource we have into the project."

My eyes grew wide in shock at what Colonel Styles had told me. This couldn't have been true, I was starting to grow sick to my stomach. I bit my lower lip trying my best to just take in everything he had to tell me. I felt like there was more to this. "But then why would Bristol shut it down?" I finally had something snapped in my head. The test subjects were moved away from Astros, and away from everything else. That's why they needed the research, revelations suddenly becoming clear to me. "They never did. They're still experimenting on them!"

AJ simply just nodded to my accusation.

I could no longer hold myself up, my legs crumbled under me. I ran my hands into my hair just thinking about what they had intended on doing to those subjects. How many good people still remained there, including good people like Becky's cousin Finn. My breathing sped up, I began to hyperventilate, I was becoming a whirlwind of emotions. I began to lose consciousness, I looked up seeing AJ's image becoming a blur. I heard one last thing from him before completely blacking out.

"I'm sorry, Dean. For everything."

I suddenly snapped awake to see that I was back at our dorm in the training facility. I was back in my normal shorts and tank top like I normally sleep in seeing a pair of gray and brown eyes looking down at me concerned. I sat up quickly placing a hand on my head, AJ's final words still running through my head. What was he sorry for? I couldn't tell if I just had a bad dream or what. The line between what was real and what wasn't seemed to be blurred for me right now. I just wanted this pounding headache to go away.

"You suddenly passed out at the facility, I'd never seen so much blood come out of someone's nose like that. The doctors assumed you passed out from blood loss, we even had to perform a transfusion," explained Roman as I instinctively reached up to feel that there was still a little bit of crusted blood on the rim of my nostrils. I shifted to sit up and resting my back on the headboard of my bed. I looked down at my arm seeing the a small bandage on my forearm, no doubt where an IV was plugged in.

I looked down to collect my thoughts, what I wanted to tell them I needed to tread carefully. I couldn't tell them what I knew, not yet anyway. I had to keep these thoughts to myself, for now right now I needed to start formulating plans to get Roman and Seth away from the Alliance. People say you can't run from them, but I'll be damned if I didn't try something someone told me I couldn't do.

My grimace look turned into a smile as I faced them, holding out my fist like Roman did in the plane. Seth who was sitting in a chair to my left put his fist next to mine, as the older man who was sitting on my bed placed his on the other side. This was our symbol of unity, and I promised myself as I committed this symbol to memory that I'd protect and stand by them no matter what. "Seth, you once asked if we were brothers. I'd say yes. You and Roman are my brothers."

I felt a strong arm wrap around my neck and another that pulled Seth in as well. I was surprised how gentle the gesture was as Roman held us close. I was surprised but I didn't pull away from the warm embrace. I hadn't had an actual family in a while but I was a lot stronger this time and I'd do anything in my power to keep it this way. Both Seth and I reached up and held Roman just equally as close.

There are many things in my life that if I had the chance to go back and change them...I would. But this here, I wouldn't change this for the world.

And with that, that is the end of Operation: Chimera. Under one resolve they've finally achieved the biggest stepping stone in each of their lives, not only to unite as a team but become a family. There is one more chapter after this one, but it's just a short epilogue.

Next episode, Operation: Cerberus

The web of lies and deception that was the Alliance was becoming clear to them, but that didn't stop the three from believing in who they are. Each new step was a challenge and together they stand tall and united as more than just teammates, they were family. Seth, Dean, and Roman were the shields of injustice.

"Release the hounds."