Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Dante's Requiem ❯ Book I: Prelude ( Prologue )

Dante's Requiem

Summary: Dante was normal. He had a good, steady job, an uncomplicated life, and a promising career. But the death of his partner Gabriel changes all that. As Dante's life begins to unravel, he begins a search for answers that leads him down a path he had never hoped to take and brings up the past he has tried to leave behind.

Warnings: mentions of twincest (twins having sex), slash (male/male relationships), mentions of mpreg (male pregnancy), violence, strong language, sex, gore, and much more. If you are uncomfortable with any of these things, I suggest you leave now.

 

Book I: Prelude

 

Prologue

1992AA

Gabriel had been working as a member of the Police Force for six years and he had never met anyone quite like Dante Winters. The boy was only eighteen years old, fresh out of high school. He had no experience whatsoever in the field of police work and yet he had been recruited to the Police Force. And by the Chief himself, no less. Everyone insisted the kid was brilliant. He certainly didn't look that way, Gabriel scoffed, staring him down.

Dante was of medium height, around 5'5 or 5'6, Gabriel guessed. He had high cheekbones, a thin face, and long eyelashes, a deceptively angelic face. His eyes were a cold blue and his hair was shockingly red. Gabriel was sure he had never seen hair so red before or so long; it hung down to his waist in a long braid.

The way Dante talked, the way he moved during the preliminary introductions, it was all so feminine. He was everything Gabriel was not. Gabriel was tall and broad-chested with dark curly hair and dark brown eyes. He was properly dressed in his Police Force uniform; a pair of navy slacks, a navy blue T-shirt with the words Police Force stamped across the front in white, a black jacket over it, dark socks, and a pair of nice dress shoes. Dante's clothes consisted of a pair of faded blue jeans, a white T-shirt with holes in several places, and holy shoes.

This was his new partner.

Dante had to be something special, Gabriel mused, if they had chosen him. But he was just so young. They usually never recruited anyone younger than twenty-two or twenty-three or anyone without a degree in Law Enforcement. Dante, however, was an exception. A very rare exception.

After Dante had been introduced to his new partner, he was whisked away to undergo all the usual rites associated with the initiation into the Police Force. As was customary, Gabriel tagged along to watch.

Their first stop was the men's locker room. Shepherd, who was in charge of Dante's initiation, went into one of the lockers and pulled out a fresh set of clothing for Dante to borrow—a white T-shirt, a pair of navy blue shorts, and a pair of white sneakers.

“Take these and take a shower. I don't care if you took one this morning; take another. When you're done, put the fresh clothes on. And leave your hair down,” Shepherd ordered, shoving the clothes at Dante.

The redhead didn't look pleased, but obeyed. When he returned, as Shepherd had ordered, he had left his hair unbound.

“You look a like a girl,” Shepherd commented, staring at the long waves of red hair.

“Shut up. I know,” Dante muttered, his gaze interested in the tile floor.

“Come on,” Shepherd said. “It's time for you to get your hair cut.”

It was one of the biggest traditions of the Police Force. All the new recruits had their hair cropped incredibly short for their first six months of training. After that, they were allowed to grow their hair back out if they wished, although none of them ever did. It was an unofficial tradition for all members of the Police Force, even the women, to wear their hair short.

“Right,” Dante mumbled.

He followed Shepherd into a small hair salon, Gabriel silently trailing behind them. His eyes were on Dante's hair, watching the long tendrils of blood red hair sway back and forth as he walked. A woman with short black hair cut neatly behind her ears waited there. Her pale violet eyes lit up when she saw Dante.

“Ah, you must be Dante,” she said enthusiastically. “I'm Heather. I get to play with your hair.”

“Oh goodie,” Dante muttered under his breath.

Luckily, Heather didn't hear him. She guided him to a chair and got him settled. Gabriel watched from a distance with Shepherd as Heather started working on the redhead's hair.

“I know he doesn't look like much,” Shepherd commented. “However, appearances can be quite deceiving. I think you'll find this is especially true in Dante's case.”

“Do you know something, sir?” Gabriel asked, surprised.

“Let's just say I've seen what Dante is capable of,” Shepherd said with a small smile.

Gabriel was silent for a while, mulling this over. Finally, he asked, “Dante was chosen by Ingleson, correct?”

“Yes.” Shepherd nodded.

“How exactly did Ingleson meet Dante?”

Shepherd smiled. “I think that's a question better directed at him.”

He glanced over his shoulder at the doorway. Gabriel turned just as Ingleson stepped into the salon, followed by Shepherd's partner, Ivana.

“Hello,” Ingleson said mildly. “I apologize for not being able to come down sooner—the conference I was in ran over, as usual. I hope everything is going well so far.”

“Yes sir.” Shepherd nodded. “Young Dante was just getting his hair cut.”

Dante heard him and jerked around in his seat. Gabriel was surprised at the nasty glare Shepherd received from him.

“Stop fidgeting,” Heather ordered, forcing Dante to turn back around. “And for crying out loud, hold still! I'm almost done.”

“I can't help it! You're hurting me,” Dante whined as Heather went back to brushing his hair. He gave a loud yelp. “Quit pulling so hard, will ya?”

“Stop squirming. You're only making things worse,” Heather chided.

He sounded so much like a child. But then again, Gabriel reminded himself, he still was a child. He was technically considered an adult because he was eighteen years old, but in so many ways, he was still a child. He still had much to learn.

Dante muttered something under his breath and tried to hold still.

“Ingleson, Gabriel has something he'd like to ask you,” Shepherd said.

Ingleson turned to Gabriel. “Oh?”

“I was just wondering how you met Dante,” Gabriel said.

“Ah yes. It's quite a story.” Ingleson smiled fondly. “You know I have a hobby for restoring antique cars, yes?” Gabriel nodded. “I needed some parts for one the cars I'm restoring and my friend recommended this small shop. There, I met this fiery redhead named Dante. About a week later, I went back to pick up the parts that had come in, and Dante was there, working the counter.

“A man came in and tried to rob the store. I didn't even need to do anything; Dante took care of him straightaway. I have to admit, I have never seen anyone move quite as fast as he did. I knew he had skills and talent and it would be a shame to let them go to waste so I persuaded him to join us.”

“I see…” Gabriel murmured.

He turned his attention back to the redhead. Heather had finished combing out Dante's hair at last and picked up a pair of scissors. Dante eyed them nervously.

“If you don't want to watch, close your eyes!” Heather snapped.

“I'm not a coward,” Dante scoffed.

He kept his eyes open as Heather cut. The scissors made a soft snipping sound as long locks of Dante's fiery red hair dropped onto the tiles. The others watched on in silence. Heather moved around, expertly sculpting Dante's hair. She blocked their view so they couldn't see what Dante looked like without all his hair. Then, she set the scissors down.

“I'm done!” she announced brightly.

She turned the chair around so the others could see the result. It was rather shocking. What was left of Dante's hair stood up on its own in soft spikes.

“Much better,” Shepherd told him as he stood up and ran his fingers through the shortened hair.

“Yeah. You may actually pass for a man now.” Ivana cackled.

Dante glared at her. Gabriel decided that it was wise to step forward then.

“Come on, Dante,” he said, taking the boy's arm. “It's time for your physical.” Dante stared where he was for a few moments, still glaring at Ivana. Then, he reluctantly allowed Gabriel to lead him away. “If you hate your hair so much the way it is, you can let it grow out after you've finished your training. It's not mandatory to keep it short after training is done; it's just a habit.”

“All right,” Dante agreed.

Gabriel led him down the familiar path to the small medical facility.

“The Police Force, as you are probably already aware, is the primary agency for enforcing the laws created by the Council,” Gabriel said as they walked. Dante nodded. “The Police Force is divided into many different divisions that handle the different areas of the law. There's special training that goes along with every division. New recruits spend their first six months of training rotating from one division to the next so they can get a feel for each.

“After the initial training has been completed, the recruit is allowed to choose which division they want to join and additional training is given by whoever is the head of that division.”

“What division are you part of?” Dante asked.

“I'm part of the Special Division. It's the highest there is. We are elite personnel who answer directly to Ingleson. There are only three of us…excuse me, four.” Gabriel smiled. Dante didn't meet his gaze. “You should be proud. It's a high honor to be chosen for the Special Division especially considering you have no prior experience with law enforcement. Ingleson obviously thinks highly of you to choose you like this.” Dante did not reply.

“So like I was saying, there are many different divisions. The Special Division does a lot of supervising; overseeing the other divisions and so on. However, we also deal with special cases that have been too difficult for the others to handle.

“Your training begins now and lasts at least six months, if not longer. We say six months, but it's really the bare minimum. It all depends on you. Various members will train you in different areas. For example, Shepherd will be in charge of your weapons training and Ivana will be training you in self-defense.”

“And you?” Dante asked.

“I will be your tutor. I have to teach you everything you would have learned in college.”

“Fun,” Dante muttered.

“Quite,” Gabriel said.

“So where are we going now?” Dante asked.

“Our next stop is the medical facility for your physical examination,” Gabriel answered. “We went to get an assessment of your health and also we need a record of your health to keep on file in case something happens.”

“That makes sense,” Dante said. “I'm surprised there's actually a medical facility here. I was surprised to see the salon as well.”

Gabriel nodded. “It's easier to have everything we need in one place. The medical facility is very small and hardly sophisticated. It's like a doctor's office, if you will. It can only handle small matters. For anything larger, we have to go to the local hospital.”

“I see,” Dante said.

“You don't have to worry,” Gabriel said, seeing the worried look on his new partner's face. “All your information is kept private unless there's an emergency. Only two people will ever see the entire file; Ingleson, of course, and Shepherd, who is in charge of putting all the information together. As your partner, I will see parts of your file over the years, but never the whole thing. And I can assure you that I will keep your information private.” Dante nodded. “Dante.” His partner looked over at him. “I want you to trust me, okay? I know it's hard because we've hardly gotten a chance to know each other, but I promise you I will never do anything that would cause you harm.”

“Okay.” Dante smiled.

Gabriel held the door open for his partner as they entered the medical facility. They were shown into a small examination room. The doctor came in straight away.

“Hello,” he said, shaking Dante's hand. “You're Dante, I presume?”

“Yep.” Dante nodded.

“I'm Dr. Stone. I'm in charge of keeping track of your health and making sure you stay healthy. You are required to see me every six months or so for a check-up. So…let's get started. We've gotta get all the boring personal information out of the way.”

“Got it,” Dante said. “What's first?”

“What is your full given name?”

“Dante Rusty Winters.”

“Date of birth?”

“February 28, 1974AA.”

“Blood type?”

Dante squinted. “O negative…I think.”

“We'll make sure.”

Most of the questions were pretty standard, but there were some strange ones as well. It had less to do with medicine and more with obtaining information for Dante's file. Gabriel knew this from experience.

“Religious denomination?” Dr. Stone asked.

“Why do you need to know?” Dante scowled.

“It's helpful to know. No one will hold it against you.”

“Fine.” Dante let out a long breath. “I'm Catholic, but I stopped believing years ago.”

The doctor didn't ask anything more about it. “Have you had any surgeries in your life?”

“I had my tonsils out when I was eight and my appendix removed when I was eleven. But that's all.”

The doctor nodded. “All right, let's talk about your family.”

“Why?” Dante smiled bitterly. “I don't have anyone left.”

“So they're all dead?”

“Pretty much. Both sets of grandparents died before I was born. Mom died when I was sixteen. And my father…” Dante's face darkened considerably. “He's dead, to me at least.”

“Do you know their causes of death?”

“I have no idea why my grandparents died. Like I said, they were gone before I was born. My mom…she died of pneumonia.”

“Do you know of any diseases that run in your family?”

“I don't know.”

“Are there any known Bearers in your family?”

“Not that I know of.”

“All right. Let's talk about your relationships.”

Gabriel noted that Dante's posture stiffened considerably at this.

“What about `em?” he asked suspiciously.

“Well, they're an integral part of life and affect your health considerably. Surely you have some friends…”

“No.” Dante's tone was harsh. “Almost all my friends are dead.” Dr. Stone was silent, shock written across his face. “Yes.” Dante's tone grew quiet. “They all died. And the only two who did manage to survive moved away and I've never spoken to them since.”

The doctor nervously cleared his throat. “Let's move on, shall we? We need to talk about some matters that are a bit…sensitive, shall we say.”

“What are you trying to get at?” Dante demanded.

“Just try not to get angry with me.” Dr. Stone looked nervous.

“I'll try,” Dante said.

“Are you a smoker?”

“Yes.”

“How often would you say you smoke?”

“It depends on the circumstances. Sometimes I'll smoke just a couple and sometimes I'll smoke more.”

“How many would you say?”

“I don't know!” Dante snapped.

“I don't need an exact number, just an estimate. Do you smoke closer to half a pack or an entire pack?”

“Half,” Dante replied. “I've never even come close to smoking an entire pack in my life.”

“How long have you been smoking?”

“A couple years.”

“All right. Are you a drinker?”

“Rarely.”

“Drugs?”

Dante's face darkened. “Never.”

“Now we need to get into more intimate matters.”

“Sure. Whatever.”

“I don't need to know all the details, just a general sense. Are you sexually active?”

“Not at the moment. But I'm no virgin. I'll leave it at that.”

“When did you first become sexually active?”

“I didn't lose my virginity until I was thirteen, but I did some messing around before that.”

“When did that start?” Dr. Stone questioned.

“Fifth grade. I was about eleven, I think.” Both Dr. Stone and Gabriel stared at him in a shocked silence. Dante, however, was unconcerned. “I grew up in the slums. It's a friggin' miracle I survived that long with my virginity intact.”

Dr. Stone flinched. “Were you involved with multiple partners or…”

“There was only one.” Dante wore a hurt expression. “Just one.”

“And your sexual orientation?” Dr. Stone asked.

“I think it's pretty obvious,” Dante said coldly.

Dr. Stone wrote something on his clipboard and moved onto Dante's immunization record. Gabriel studied his partner as he talked, noting his body language. He was more relaxed now, relieved the subject had been changed. It was obviously a touchy subject for him.

At last, the interview ended and the doctor began his physical examination. Dante was calm throughout the entire process, barely reacting to anything the doctor did. Even when he had his blood drawn, he barely even flinched. Gabriel was amazed to see such a rapid change in Dante's demeanor. It was like he was a completely different person. He was still mulling this over as Dr. Stone's examination ended.

“I shall have the blood work done in a couple hours. I'll make sure the results are delivered directly to Shepherd,” Dr. Stone said.

“Thank you,” Gabriel said. He turned to Dante. “All right. Time to move on.”

“What's next?” Dante asked.

“Now the others get to test you,” Gabriel replied. “They're going to test everything they can—your speed, reflexes, stamina, and so on. It's going to be grueling.”

Dante grinned. “Great. Bring it on. I can take anything they throw at me.”

His personality has shifted again. Gabriel thought. He's back to his more relaxed state.

 

He stood back as the others tested him, content to silently observe the boy from a distance. They were merciless in their testing, throwing everything they had at him. However, he was able to keep up with them, exceeding all their expectations.

“That's all for now.” Ivana, the last to test him finally gave in. “I need to make my report.” She stalked off.

Gabriel straightened up from where he had been leaning against the gym's wall.

“Here.” He tossed a water bottle at the redhead.

“Thanks.” Dante gracefully caught the bottle and cracked it open. “Man, I thought she'd never stop.” He paused to wipe beads of sweat from his forehead.

“Neither did I,” Gabriel admitted. “I was considering intervening. I didn't think you were going to last much longer. I thought for sure you were going to pass out.”

“I don't know how I'm still standin', to tell you the truth.” Dante took another sip of water. “I'm gonna be feelin' this in the morning.”

“To be honest, I'm amazed. No one has ever gotten Ivana to quit first. She always gets them to concede first. She's known for making recruits crack. It's her speciality. Most don't last ten minutes against her. Twenty-five minutes was the most anyone lasted.”

“Is that so?” Dante smiled weakly. “How long did you last, then?”

Gabriel allowed himself a smug smile. “Twenty-two and a half minutes.”

“Nice.” Dante grinned. “So what's next?”

“Well, you're going to be formally inducted into the Special Division and given your uniform, gun, and badge. But first, you need to take a shower.”

“Right. I bet I stink.” Dante grinned.

“A little.” Gabriel smiled.

He walked with Dante back to the men's locker room.

“So, Gabe, you know a lot about me, but I don't know a thing about you. We're partners now, right? So we're gonna be spending a lot of time together and I think it'll be a lot easier to work with you if I know at least a bit about you,” Dante said.

“Fair enough,” Gabriel replied. “What do you want to know about me?”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-eight.”

“How long have you been with the Police Force?”

“Six years.”

“Have you always been in the Special Division?”

“No.” Gabriel shook his head. “I've only been here for a year and a half. Before that, I worked with the Homicide Division.”

“How was that?” Dante asked curiously.

“A lot of dead bodies,” Gabriel answered.

Dante laughed. “Yeah, I bet.”

They had reached the men's locker room.

“Go on ahead,” Gabriel told Dante. “I'll be right there.”

“Okay.”

Dante disappeared into the locker room. Gabriel turned. He was not surprised to see Shepherd waiting there with Dante's uniform; the man's timing was impeccable.

“I'll handle this,” Gabriel said, taking the clothes from his superior.

“Understood.” Shepherd nodded. “We'll be upstairs when you're through.”

Gabriel disappeared into the locker room and headed for the shower area. He could still hear the shower running so he set the clothes on a bench outside and sat down to wait.

A few minutes later, the shower turned off and Dante came out, a towel wrapped around his waist. Gabriel rose and gathered the clothes.

“Here's your uniform,” he simply said.

Dante took the clothes without a word. As he turned around, Gabriel caught sight of a tattoo on his left shoulder of a silver wolf head. Dante did not take long to put on his uniform. He stared awkwardly at the floor while Gabriel looked him over.

“You look good,” Gabriel assured him.

“If you say so,” Dante said skeptically.

The others were waiting for them on the second floor.

“These are where our offices are located. The offices are usually shared by partners, although it's never permanent. When a new recruit is added to the team, partners are sometimes shuffled around so the newest member can be accommodated appropriately. And depending on any given assignment, partners are changed around to suit the needs of that assignment. New recruits are always partnered to a senior member and aren't actually considered a full member until their partner believes they're ready,” Gabriel explained softly.

“So what am I considered, then?” Dante asked.

“Technically, you're a junior member,” Gabriel explained.

Dante made a face. “It makes me sound so juvenile.”

Gabriel shrugged. “Nothing we can do about it.”

“That's what I was afraid of,” Dante muttered.

They stepped forward to where Ingleson, Shepherd, and Ivana were waiting.

“Ah, good.” Ingleson smiled warmly, bridging the gap between the two groups. “Let me be the first to officially welcome you to the Police Force.” He shook Dante's hand.

“Thank you, sir,” Dante said.

Shepherd and Ivana stepped forward and shook his hand as well. Ingleson presented him with his gun and badge. After the formal ceremony was finished, Gabriel took Dante into their office. It was small, especially when compared to Ingleson's, but it suited Gabriel just fine. It was large enough for two people to share comfortably without feeling overcrowded.

Gabriel threw his keys on his desk and crossed the room. He opened the blinds to the one window the office had. It was mid-afternoon now and the sun blazed in. Gabriel quickly shut the blinds so the office wouldn't overheat.

Maintenance had brought in a desk for Dante to use. There was a chair to go along with the desk, as well as a new desktop computer and printer, plus a new phone. The desk was filled with office equipment; pens, pencils, notepads, etc. Dante wandered over to his new desk and examined his new things.

“Pretty nice,” he said.

 

***

Dante quickly fit into his new life at the Police Force. He trained and studied rigorously, proceeding rapidly through his training. He was a very quick learner. After only six months, Dante completed his training. He was still considered a junior member, but he was allowed to accompany Gabriel on his assignments and he was allowed to do more than just observe.

Most of their early assignments were merely routine patrols. Patrols were one of the most important jobs besides guarding The Institute. It was done in pairs and shifts of five hours. It was done in rotation so every division had to do it at least once a month. There were Police Force members on the street twenty-four hours a day. Most of the patrols were uneventful. It was a good chance for Dante to get some hands-on experience.

Dante proved himself to be a quick learner, able to think on his feet, and able to adapt to any situation. He could think like a criminal and was a great help on a number of occasions. However, he was cocky, stubborn, a bit too relaxed, and didn't always play by the rules. He had a lot of spirit. One of the biggest things he had a problem with was the Police Force. He refused to wear it, although he had given a little. He still wore the shirt and pants, but he wore leather boots and black leather fingerless gloves. As soon as he completed his training, Dante let his hair grow out and usually kept it in a loose ponytail.

Dante's worst quality had to be his temper. Most of the time, he was reasonably mild-mannered, but when he lost his temper, they were all reminded of where he had come from. His upbringing in the slums gave a vocabulary more colorful than most and an accent that had been repressed during school, but resurfaced when he was angry or upset. He slurred many of his words, spoke with terrible grammar, and cursed colorfully. If he was really upset, his speech would become almost incomprehensible. He was prone to throwing things, although he rarely inflicted any physical harm to people.

Gabriel was patient and he learned how to tolerate Dante in ways others never could. They formed a special bond that no one else on the Police Force had ever been formed before. Nothing came between them, not even the arrival of Ivana's younger sister, Evelyn. Even with her induction into the Special Division, things didn't change between them.

They found a small apartment close to the Police Force headquarters and moved in together. They worked well together because they trusted each other. They became the most powerful team of the Police Force. Nothing could stop them. They were two of a kind.

 

Author's Notes

Hello. Well, here it is at last, the revised edition of this story. I never got past posting chapter five the first time around even though the story itself was completed. I forget when, exactly. Now I'm back and things have turned out quite a bit differently this time. The first time around, this was the first chapter, but I decided that since the second chapter picked up six years later, it would be better if this became the prologue. That way, it isn't as confusing because of the huge time gap between the two chapters.

This turned out to be really long! I added in a lot more detail to really solidify the characters of Dante and Gabriel. And you'll notice that I took out the scene where Dante and Gabriel go on an assignment to bring in a drug dealer. That's going to be told later through Dante's flashbacks. I was considering starting this story even farther back with Dante and Ingleson meeting and Dante getting a job with the Police Force, then go onto his perception of him being initiated into the Police Force, but I decided to go with Gabriel's perspective instead and add Dante's perspective in later through flashback. There will be a lot of flashbacks in this story. They are very important because Dante's past is very important for the plot. This will become clear later. Your feedback and other comments are highly appreciated. I like to know what my readers are thinking and I'll answer any questions the best I can without spoiling anything.

 

AA refers to the years following the destruction of the earth and the rebirth of the human race through the twins Hayden and Harou. 1992AA means that it's been 1,992 years since the birth of Hayden and Harou.