The Gate-Way: Chapter 5 – Secrets Revealed
#5 of The Gate-Way
Once again the wait is over for those who care, for the rest of you I just hope this is the chapter that catches your attention. If it does not I hope you enjoy it all the same. I'd like to that all those who take the time to read it, a special thanks to all those who comment and a very special thanks to my editor Evernight1990, and my editor in chief and best friend(who does not happen to have a SoFurry account). As always all comments, constructive critisism and suggestions are welcome and greatly appreciated. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
*Note: All characters within this story are entirely of my own creation and design, or that of friends who have requested that I include them in my story. None of the characters in this or any of my other stories may be used without my expressed concent and permission
Chapter 5 - Secrets Revealed
Matt stood in awe before the colossal portal of ash and stone. The double door leading to the library was a twenty foot monster. At over four feet thick, the two massive slabs of ash were as intricately designed as the doors, portraits and tapestries he had seen already. A knight stood in full armour, sword raised high in one paw and a book firmly gripped in the other.
The knight's maw was agape as he shouted whatever unseen words were printed upon the book he held. His silver breast plate was engraved with scenes of battle, and tales of valour. About his waist, he wore a belt of leather strips that hung down about his heavily armoured legs. Each gilded leather strip ended in a small golden wolf skull.
In mirror of the knight stood another figure; this one also armoured. Unlike the ancient medieval suit carried by the knight, this one was something Matt had never seen before. The soldier's muzzle and head was covered in a large helmet with a mirrored visor. Matte-black armour covered the soldier's body from head to toe. The light seemed to be absorbed by the curves of the soldier's armour. In its paw the soldier carried a large calibre gun, its muzzle hidden behind the flash of a round exiting the massive barrel. With its other hand, the soldier appeared to be calling more of its fellows forward.
Above the doorway etched in stone were the words "Knowledge Is Power".
"Who are they?" Matt whispered in awe.
"The knight is one of my ancestors; the soldier is...my father."
"What is he wearing? I've never seen anything like it before."
"Nor will you for another few years. Come on, I'll explain everything soon we just need to find a quiet place to talk," Jake said; walking forward, he pushed open the massive doors which swung open on well oiled hinges.
Matt gasped as the doors swung open, revealing the vast library before them. Beginning on the first floor, the library occupied one entire wing of the mansion, all ten levels full of books. In the center of the wing, there was a large hole from the ground floor to the top. The wing was at least one hundred and fifty feet long, its end disappearing into shadows. The wing stretched a further fifty feet to either side of them.
Matt walked up to the railing that ran around the center of the room, stopping anyone from falling into the atrium below.
Matt shuddered and pushed himself away from the golden banister; it topped the low handcrafted oak wall that ran around the edge of the hole. A sense of vertigo hit him, for the library was not just ten stories high. A further twenty stories existed below ground. Taking a deep calming breath, Matt was hit with the smell of knowledge; of books so old, their authors were long dead.
"You will find a copy of every book ever written - from the dawn of the written word to the present - here in this library, including the complete archives of every nation, living and dead. Nowhere else on earth will you find a more complete collection of knowledge and wisdom."
"How did you ever collect all this?"
"Oh I didn't collect any of it. My family has been doing so since it was formed through the marriage of two of Europe's most powerful knights, one of whom you saw on the door there. It was my mother and father who finished the collection," Jake said as he gazed around the library. "Come, I'll tell you everything lets go up to one of the sitting rooms"
Jake led Matt through the shelves of books far older than he, rounding a shelf he found himself standing before a large elevator. Climbing inside the mirrored box, Matt felt the elevator jerk and begin to rise.
A few seconds later the doors opened once more, the number on the elevator telling him they were on the eighth floor.
Looking out, Matt found himself in a large open space that occupied a small portion of the colossal floor. The space was scattered with long tables with reading laps for study, along with long comfy sofas and high backed chairs for quiet conversation. Jake led them to a pair of high backed chairs, their peripheral vision blocked by the wings on the chair that ensured all conversations were muffled.
Matt sank slowly into the soft comfortable cushion of the chair. He sighed and relaxed against the back of the soft red chair. Across from him, Jake sat forward in his own chair as he tried to marshal his thoughts.
"Matt..." he began with a heavy sigh, ears dropping, "I'm sorry I lied to you. It wasn't because I didn't trust you; it was because I didn't want to put you in any danger."
"What do you mean how could I have been in danger knowing you owned this mansion?" Matt said, confused.
"First you have to understand who my parents were, and how anyone who got close to them was in danger..." Jake licked his jowls nervously. "My father was a colonel of a top secret regiment of super soldiers. They were given the most advanced and high-tech armour and weapons available. Their job was to explore the dimensions opened up to us by the Gate-Way. Also they had to ensure that no other nation ever found out about it, and they were also entrusted with ensuring the total destruction of any country that went to war with us after they discovered the Gate-Way."
"What Gate-Way? What did it do? Who created it?" Matt asked both excited yet unsure if Jake was just messing with him.
"It was discovered back in 1770 by British explorers; it was hidden in what is now the center of the United States. At first, they had no idea what it was and were afraid. The first team to go through never came back, the second managed to return. What they saw nearly caused them to go insane...It was a world similar to our own yet different, strange creatures roamed the land that looked nothing like us.
"When the second team arrived, they saw that those creatures had butchered and carved up the first team. Horrified, they managed to make their way back through before they were seen. Upon their return, they succeeded in finding controls for the Gate-Way and managed to close it.
"In 1775, the colonial governors began what was known as the War of Independence as a cover to take control of the Gate-Way. In 1812, The British and succeeded in stealing the Gate-Way back; they covered this up by burning down the Whitehouse. The Americans tried to get it back but only got as far as Toronto. When the truce was declared a deal was made, in return for access to the Gate-Way, the American Government would not try and steal back the Gate-Way. In 1897, a Spanish trader discovered the Gate-War; to cover up his assassination and stop their government from exposing the secret, the Spanish-American War was started in 1898. Every war since 1775 has been an attempt to hide the existence of the Gate-Way from other nations. That and to steal technology related to the Gate-Way."
Matt sat there in awe still not sure if he was being lied to it all seemed too crazy to believe.
"And...And what about your mother? What did she do? What is her part in all of this?"
"She was the top scientist working on the Gate-Way and any technology uncovered. That's how they met actually..." Jake said taking a deep breath. "It was a top secret operation."
"So that's why you couldn't tell me? Because it was top secret?"
"Not just because of that...there was an organization that worked with my father's regiment... 'The Corporation' they were responsible for reverse engineering any technology that was discovered or brought back."
"They started selling some of the technology they created. My father suspected them and was trying to get proof so he could shut them down. They started making threats; they killed his second in command as a warning. Then they made an attempt on his life. He had found all the proof he needed. By then 'The Corporation' had bribed, threatened or killed off most of those involved in the operation.
"Anyone who could oppose them was out numbered or out ranked by members of 'The Corporation'. My mother was one of the scientists who worked on the project; she was paid more than you can ever imagine. Her job was to help analyze and reverse engineer any technology that was discovered here on this earth or through the Gate-Way. She realized that 'The Corporation' was selling a great deal of the technology it found to private companies and mercenaries, all of whom were under its pay.
"She worked with my father to uncover the truth about 'The Corporation' and expose them. That's when they kidnapped her..."Jake said closing his eyes as the painful memory came flooding back. "They tried to blackmail my father into stopping his investigation," he paused, "It didn't work."
Matt could see a fierce anger and pride burning in Jake's eyes. "My father took his entire regiment to destroy 'The Corporation' and get my mother back. There was a massive battle; nearly the entire compound belonging to 'The Corporation' was destroyed. Before my father could reach the final barricade... they threw my mother off the roof..."
Jake pressed his paws to his face trying to hold back the tears. "As my father stood there before the final barricade staring at my mother's broken, mangled body, they detonated a mine. Under the final barricade, they had dug a cavern and filled it with explosives. When it went up, it destroyed two thirds of my father's regiment, along with all the remaining troops. That's when their reinforcements moved in, and, what was left of my father's regiment was forced to retreat.
"They chose to use the battle as an example to all those who though to rise up against them. In an attempt to make themselves look like the good guys, they promised to leave the survivors in peace. They also promised to leave my brother and I, along with this mansion, in peace so long as we did not raise a paw against them.
"Of the three thousand that made up my father's regiment, only a single Battalion returned here; one thousand survivors, most of them gravely wounded."
"What...What happened to the survivors?" Matt asked his maw agape.
"They work here now. One Company acts as my staff here as cover, while another guards the mansion. Two more stand in constant readiness in case extra defence is needed, the other four spend their time training in the facilities under the mansion and resting. Every month they rotate so that they don't get bored.
"Anyone who found out about what happened was at risk of being killed by the company; they could not be allowed to think you knew what they were doing. If they suspected you knew...they would not have hesitated to kill you.
"That helicopter heading to the crash site...that was 'The Corporation' they must have had a malfunction with the Gate-Way. They were going to see if they could capture whatever creature came through."
"What do you mean? They knew something had come through?" Matt asked.
"When they aren't sending soldiers through the Gate-Way, they are drawing specimens through. To experiment on and learn from."
"So what do you mean when you say they draw specimens through...what specimens?"
"When the Gate-Way was first opened, a team went though; it was killed..."
"Yeah, you said that. What killed them?" Matt asked.
"Humans"
"Humans!? You mean like Shawn?" Matt gasped in surprise and horror.
"Yes but that's not the weirdest part... When the second team was sent through, over two days had passed...When they found the first team, they didn't look like they did when they had left our world..."
"What do you mean they didn't look the same?"
Jake took a deep breath, "They looked...like our ancestors...like the fossils we have found of our species before they evolved...They had paws but no fingers, they looked like they could only walk on all fours. And their arms and legs were all the same length. Something about that other dimension changed them.
"Even the second team came back after seeing the humans, they had been changed slightly. All it takes is a few hours before the changes begin; unless you're wearing a protective suit, you will not come back through the Gate-Way the same as you went in."
Matt sat before Jake in awe unsure what to believe, it all seemed too crazy to be true. Then a though came to him. "So if we can pass through the Gate-Way, can those on the other side pass through to our dimension?"
"Yes, it has happened a few times. Mainly 'The Corporation' opens up the Gate-Way and draws specimens through. Many subjects have been abducted and experimented on to better understand them before they are sent back. Those humans who survive always claim they have been abducted by aliens, but no one ever believes them."
"Is...Is that how Shawn got here? 'The Corporation' opened up the Gate-Way and drew him in?"
"Not exactly," Jake said hesitantly.
"What do you mean? They didn't bring him here?"
"No...That was us..."
"Us? Who is 'us'?" Matt asked, his head cocked to the side as his ears stood straight up in surprise.
"Us, as in the last of my father's regiment and those scientists that weren't killed or bribed by the corporation...We built our own Gate-Way, there was a test of it the night Shawn arrived...there must have been some kind of malfunction with the Gate-Way, it shouldn't have opened where it did."
"And what are you trying to do now? Why did you build your own Gate-Way?"
"We're trying to stop them from gaining new technology and stop them from collecting new specimens for research and experiment on. We built our own so that we could go into other dimensions to stop them and defeat the teams they send out.
"Come on there is something I want to show you," said Jake as he stood up, walking back towards the elevator.
Quickly getting up, Matt followed Jake into the elevator. Once the door had close, Jake pressed a small red button by the door; a panel in the side of the elevator opened up. Inside Matt could see a keypad and paw scanner. Jake placed his paw on the scanner, waiting it flashed as it scanned his paw. Once the small light next to the scanner turned green, Jake withdrew his paw and punched in a code into the keypad.
Matt felt the elevator jerk as and begin to descend faster and faster. The number's representing the floor dropped from eight to 1 in a matter of seconds, and then, to Matt's surprise, they continued falling into the negatives.
Matt felt panic rising in his chest, as a feeling of near weightlessness over took him. The elevator dropped downwards as though it had been thrown off a cliff. Looking back, he saw that Jake was staring calmly at the panel showing the floor number. His stance reminded Matt a great deal of those soldiers he had seen on the parade ground: feet shoulder width apart, paws behind his back, muzzle squared and pointed straight ahead.
He was not sure he liked Jake this way; he seemed so cold and deadly, as though he could kill anyone who got in his way at any moment. Matt felt the elevator jerk; to his relief, he noted that the elevator was finally slowing. Grinding to a halt, Matt was surprised to see that, according to the indicator, they were twenty five stories underground.
"Where are we?"
"You'll see," said Jake, a new strange steel edge present in his voice. "Follow me."
Walking behind the grey wolf, Matt found himself in what appeared to be a large conference room. A large conference table dominated the center of the large room; surrounded by large high-backed office chairs, its surface was covered in maps, papers and other documents. Three of the glaring white walls were covered in maps and aerial photos of different buildings and facilities Matt didn't recognize.
Over the hum of the florescent lights and air system, he could hear the sounds of heavy machinery, men shouting, metal tracks grinding and a strange rumble that sounded like the foot falls of giants. He walked towards the fourth wall, set in which was a large glass window covered by a large blast door.
Jake hit a button next to the window and the massive slab of grey painted steel retracted into the ceiling. Matt gasped as he looked out into the room - no, cavern was a better word, he thought to himself in awe.
Before him stretched a room whose size was nigh in comprehensible. The massive space continued as far as the eye could see and well beyond. Row upon row of enormous columns stood every fifty feet, supporting the colossal domed ceiling, and easily eclipsing those in the mansion above. The ceiling was a catacomb of cat-walks and gantries, along with cranes rolling around on tracks, whose cables lifted massive machinery and vehicles.
Over a hundred massive Main Battle Tanks sat in row after row down one side of the enormous room. Below them what looked like a small town had been built, as he watched, squads of soldiers ran through it from cover to cover trading fire. To Matt's amazement, they were firing lasers at each other instead of bullets. They were armoured in the same matte-black armour he had seen Jake's father wearing in the design of him on the door.
What shocked Matt the most were not the massive tanks, the strangely armed and armoured soldiers, but the rows of giant walkers that lined the far wall. Each walker had to have been over fifty feet tall, standing upright on enormous legs. They looked like over grown metal humans: the right arm of each ended in a gigantic cannon, whose barrel looked well over five feet in diameter; the other arm ended in what looked like a giant Gatling gun, an enormous box of ammunition sat over the gun as part of its huge shoulder.
Each was topped by a rather humanoid head with a large mirrored window where the eyes would be. Beside the fifty foot monsters stood giants that were easily a hundred feet tall. Matt could not comprehend how something so large could exist; he was terrified that such engines of war existed as he imagined the damage those great cannons could deliver.
For just as the walkers themselves were twice the size, so too were their guns. Also, they had further armaments built upon their shoulders, massive cannons designed to fire shells into the enemy ranks and kill on an incomprehensible scale.
"Impressive isn't it?" said Jake as he peered out into the massive room before them. "It has taken us a long time to build and accumulate all of this. Ever since my Father had this house and this facility built, we have been working, building, training."
Matt felt fear run through him; there was a steel edge in Jake's voice that he had never heard before. Looking up he swallowed his fear. "What...What is all this for? What are those walkers in the background? Where did you get those? And I though you said all that was left after the battle was a battalion of troops, there have to be more than that here."
"There was...it was a massacre, but it has been many years since then, over 17 to be exact. We built...did all of this because we are going to get revenge. We have been preparing, it is no longer a question of needing to take down 'The Corporation'; we have to take them down. If we don't, they will be able to do whatever they want to both our world and that of Shawn's. They think they can take over the whole world."
Jake grasped Matt by his shoulders staring deep into his eyes, Matt was surprised to see concern and fear in their dark blue depths. "What we are doing is incredibly dangerous Matt, but we need all the help we can get. Not just to stop 'The Corporation' taking over completely, but also to avenge my parents. Matt, will...will you help me...help me stop them?"
Matt gazed deep into Jake's eyes. Within their deep blue depths he saw a great many things: anger, pain, agony, sorrow, and a desperate yearning for revenge. He took a slow, deep breath, as he tried to expel the last of the anger he still felt from being lied to. He tore his gaze away as he mulled his decision over in his mind. While he was still upset, he now understood the reasons why Jake had lied. It had not been by choice but from necessity; Matt felt awed by the sheer weight of the secret Jake kept and how he had protected Matt. Matt knew he owed Jake; he was scared, unsure if he could do what Jake was asking. Looking into Jake's eyes once more, he felt his nerves begin to get the better of him. Knowing if he didn't say anything he never would, Matt said, "I help any way I can. I love you Jake, I'll do anything you ask."
A smile of relief crossed Jake's muzzle, "Thank you Matt, this means a lot to me I knew I could count on you. With your help, this will go much easier now."
He surprised the arctic fox, suddenly wrapping his arms around him holding him tight. As Jake nuzzled his shoulder and neck, Matt felt himself grow flush and his sheath tighten as his love for Jake deepened. He didn't know how he was going to be able to help, but if it gained him Jakes affection, then he would do all that he could.