Chapter Text
Valorant Protocol is a secret organization led by one of the most respected generals there are: Brimstone. He knew this would be a success from the start, judging by the chemistry all the agents had with one another. Cooperation never seemed to be a problem despite their differences. All in all, every mission is led to become a complete success especially if it happens to be Valorant. It’s as if nothing ever goes wrong… or is that really the case?
The old general is constantly coming up with ideas and proposals for the betterment of their organization, even considerations one would least expect. Currently, he’s thinking about bringing in some k9’s and how they can be of use to trace whatever it is they’re seeking for. Knowing how powerful they are as a team, not a single feeling of doubt should come from those who despise them. That’s exactly the intimidation Brimstone’s going for. He wants Kingdom to fear them.
‘They’re just a bunch of police dogs anyway… it’s like a rookie upgrade, goddamnit.’ He thought to himself, having second thoughts of the idea. ‘But then again, it’d be easier to track whatever’s needed for our plans. We could possibly be a step closer to victory. Who knows?’
All he wanted was for his team to succeed not only in the battlefield, but in life as well. It’s something he would most likely never admit but he sees his alliances as more than just a bunch of talented agents. He sees and treats them as if they were his own family, whom he loves very much.
The veteran walked over to the lab, which belongs to no other than Viper. It’s time he brings up what was on his mind to really test out the waters. “I believe it’s time we make an upgrade to our team.” He said with confidence.
“What upgrade are we talking about here?” she asked in a curious tone.
“I’ve been contemplating about this for a while… how about we bring in some police dogs to assist us on some missions?”
The scientist put down her files, looking at Brimstone with a raised eyebrow, “And what if they die right then and there?”
“There’s a reason why I emphasized on ‘some missions’. Obviously I have no intention to put the poor animals’ lives in jeopardy.”
“Right… but have you even considered the fact that there could be Kingdom agents lurking anywhere? Plotting to harm anyone and even any animal in their sight?”
“Viper, this is merely just a suggestion. It’s clear that you’re opposing whatever it is I’m saying and don’t worry, I’d completely understand if it’s not something you’d approve of.” He gave her a look of reassurance, his expression beaming with genuineness all over his face.
“Brim… it’s not that I’m against the idea…” Viper stood there, trying to come up with how she can word out her thoughts.
“What is it exactly? Tell me, I wanna know.”
“It’s just… you know…”
A slight smirk began to appear on Brimstone’s face, “You have a soft spot for animals?”
‘How the fuck did he know?!’ she thought to herself as she looked away, hiding the faint blush on her face. Even Brimstone couldn’t believe what he was seeing, but kept his reaction to a low for Viper to not get all flustered.
“I mean, who doesn’t honestly? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that! In fact, you can actually use that to work with some dogs I’ll be having sent in!”
“You already sent them in?!”
“I mean… that look alone just now serves as proof that you don’t mind.”
“…Touché.” The scientist sighed as she picked up her files once again, transferring them to a shelf near her gadgets. “That’s fine by me. However what happened just now stays between us, got it?”
“You’re the boss.” He responded in a sarcastic tone. It’s not often the two Americans have conversations like this. It’s his first time seeing her soft side and it’s something he never would’ve thought he’d seen. Perhaps Viper is gradually starting to open up more, which Brimstone believes is her way of embracing her flaws and whatnot.
Not only have times changed, but the agents as well. Some of which are noticeable, some of which are not. Regardless, they’re still a team that does everything to their extent to protect each other, and that’s all that matters.
~~~~~
A week has passed by since the general broke the news. The excitement that radiated from the agents were just enough to make his day, seeing that moments like this are quite rare. It’s something he’ll forever cherish. Shortly after passing the main room, he and 3 other agents assist him to take in the cages as they wait outside of their bunker. Meanwhile, the rest are all inside.
“Holy shit, today’s the day!!” the young Jett said with excitement, to which Phoenix responded with that of a similar reaction. “I know and I can’t wait to see them!!"
The excitement in the duo’s voices caught Killjoy’s attention, confused on whatever it was they were going on about. Out of all the agents, she was the only one who didn’t pay attention to Brimstone’s announcement the week before. She played around with her gadgets instead of paying full attention at the brief meeting regarding this particular occasion.
“What’s the occasion?” She approached the two. They looked at her as if she said the most ridiculous thing.
“How do you not know what today is?! Did you even pay attention last week?” said the wind duelist in a childish manner. Phoenix got straight to the point and told her, “We’re going to have k9’s!!”
“Really?”
“Yeah! Viper was tasked to find a cure to remove the radianite from their bodies… those poor doggos.”
“Right… apparently animals are affected by radianite explosions as well. So here we are, I guess.”
The techie was not aware that such a word existed in his vocabulary. She forgets that the agents have left some sort of influence on one another, especially when it comes to their mannerisms as well as their speech. It’s something she has yet to get used to.
Both duelists looked at each other before giving Killjoy a puzzled look. This time, Jett being the one to speak, “You know, for a nerd, you can be kinda dumb sometimes.”
“What's that supposed to mean??”
“We're radiants, remember?”
“Which implies?”
“Well for starters radianite doesn't have the same effect on animals as it does on humans. If that were the case, then we'd probably be sick in bed right now. On top of that, we wouldn’t be using any of our abilities or tech if it harmed us!”
Realization hit Killjoy as she thought about what she said just now. She no longer took offense to Jett’s words the moment she realized how logical she was being. Even she couldn’t believe how the thought never crossed her mind.
“Okay, okay, I get it now! I’m not a radiant myself, you know? I wouldn’t have known.”
“Quit yapping already and lend us a hand! These cages won’t walk by themselves, you know?” Brimstone yelled as he walked in holding two small cages. Loud barking came from both cages despite how small the dogs are. On the left was a corgi and the other being a Pomeranian.
"So you're telling me these are our so-called police dogs?” asked the scientist as she walked upon the main hall, questioning the veteran. Alongside her was Reyna and Sage, who happen to be questioning the same exact thing.
“My apologies, I guess I haven’t mentioned this during my announcement last week.”
“And that is?”
Brimstone set the cages aside, gently taking out the corgi as he held it close to his chest. “I know you guys are overwhelmed and stressed from the constant missions we go on…” he paused, taking a moment to pet the corgi’s head.
“And?”
“I figured it would help if we had companions to help us cope with what's going in our violent, not-so-normal lives."
“I suppose it would help…?”
All the dogs were taken in ranging from the smallest to the biggest of breeds. There was one that caught Viper’s eye though. She kept her eyes glued on that one dog, hoping that no one would notice with all the noise in the background. Suddenly, she felt someone hug her from behind knowing that it was none other than Killjoy.
“What’s on your mind, my love?” she asked the scientist in an attempt to make her come back to her senses. There was still no response.
“Hello? Earth to Sabine?”
Killjoy gave her a light peck on the cheek, to which Viper finally responds to.
“Babe are you okay? What were you staring at?”
“Nothing.”
“Are you sure?” she giggled, “seems to me that one of our precious cargo caught your eye~”
Viper looked at her partner with a slight scowl on her face, “Quit it before I stab you.”
“I highly doubt that, darling.”
“Try me.”
“What are you so mad for? I was just asking why you were zoning out just now.” KJ said, giving her lover the sweetest puppy dog eyes anyone can imagine.
“It’s a phenomenon. You should know that by now.”
“Whatever you say, love~ though I wouldn’t mind adopting one of them if Brimstone lets us.”
“In your dreams, KJ.”
“We'll see about that.”
Both ladies walked up to the cages, bringing as much as they could to the laboratory. The other agents just stared at them as they walked by. Raze was tired of their public display of affection, while Jett was envious of their dynamic. She wonders if she’ll ever have what they have, but in this case with Phoenix. Reyna and Sage follow up by bringing some cages, calling out the younger agents.
“Move it, people! We got a cure to make.” Reyna called out as she walked out the hall.
“Yes ma’am!” The duelists replied in unison. To this day, they’re still very much intimidated by the older woman despite how well they work together.
As soon as all the dogs were brought into the lab, half of the agents left to their whereabouts for whatever it is they must continue working on. The rest remain inside, adoring all the wonderful breeds they never thought they’d have right inside of their bunker. Reyna, Sage, Viper, Killjoy, Jett, and Phoenix are the only ones remaining.
‘That shiba looks so cute…’ Viper thought as she once again found herself staring at the same dog from earlier. It had a tan coat with cream eyebrows right above its eyes. As much as she badly wants to hug it, she doesn’t want the others reacting to her more than the adorable dogs right in front of them. She snapped out of her state and began to warn her teammates.
“Before any of you even try getting your hands on these animals, please keep in mind that they have been affected by radianite. We don’t know if they’re aggressive so don’t you dare try getting all affectionate with them.”
Jett slightly tilted her head in confusion, “But why does Brim get to hug that corgi from earlier?”
“Those dogs don’t seem to have that kind of personality. They’re not the kind to be aggressive.”
“So you’re saying that we could play with them depending on their personality?”
“I’m saying that you need to be cautious when going near them regardless of personality. What Brimstone did was a huge mistake and I don’t encourage any of you to do the same thing, unless you want to get rabies.” she pointed to the stack of syringes and vials on her desk. The vials contained the rabies vaccine which she prepared just in case; it’s one of the last things she’d want to happen.
“No need to worry about that! These dogs came from loving breeders and none of them have ever laid a paw on any animal.” Brimstone came into the lab all of a sudden, overhearing what Viper had just said. He’s been carrying the corgi the whole time. At this point, everyone knew that the little one’s going to be his companion. “I did mention that pet therapy can help us, right? The big dogs can be both our k9’s and therapy dogs, while the small ones are… just therapy dogs.”
“Oh, please. It’s as if none of them have been contaminated by radianite.” The chemist was just trying to be cautious. She didn’t mean to come off as harsh.
“Listen, the vets just stated that it only affects their interior, meaning to say that their immune systems are weaker than a normal dog’s. Other than that, they seem to be completely fine. I promise you they won’t make any of you guys sick. It’s your job to come up with a cure, if not, a treatment at least. There’s a reason why I trusted you on this one, Viper. I think you and I both know why.” The veteran was making a reference to the scientist’s reaction the week before. He chose to not say a word of it. Meanwhile, Jett found Brimstone’s words familiar, similar to what she had said to Killjoy earlier.
‘Please don’t say it.’ Was the first thought that came to her head. “I get it. I’m just trying to be cautious is all.”
Brimstone set the corgi back to his cage, preparing to introduce the breeds to everyone in the lab. “For those who don’t know, I’ll be naming the breeds that we have here. There’s a total of 13 of ‘em so do not worry as there is enough for everyone.” He gestured everyone to move aside to get a better look.
“From the left, we have a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, which I plan on adopting. Next to him is a Pomeranian. We also have a Shiba Inu, Samoyed, Alaskan Malamute, Siberian Husky, Rottweiler, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, Labrador, Doberman, Pitbull, and a Jack Russell Terrier.”
“Nice! I’ll be taking the Rottie.” Phoenix said as he looked at the Rottweiler.
“The Shepherd’s our’s.” Reyna said as she wrapped her arm around her lover next to her. “We want to raise a tough boy.”
“A good one, at that.” Sage added.
“Are you sure you don’t want one of your own?” Brimstone asked the healer.
“I appreciate the offer but I can only handle taking care of one at the moment.”
“If you say so.” He picked up the cage where the corgi was in, bringing it to his room. “You guys have all day to pick which ones you want. I’ll catch y’all later!”
Raze was in the back, giggling to herself. Jett looked at her, “What’s so funny?”
“Wouldn’t it make sense… if Viper took the Malamute? ‘Cause at least she’d have something to treat as family, right?”
The fire and wind duelists looked at Raze in surprise. They weren’t aware that she had such dark humor, though they must admit that the joke caught them off-guard.
“If I were you, I wouldn’t be making that joke especially since she’s just a few feet away…” Phoenix whispered.
“I don’t think she was even paying attention in the first place!” Raze pointed to the other couple in the room. It seems that Viper and Killjoy had adopted their first child. “They look like a happy family~”
The techie was seen carrying the tired shiba in her arms, adoring the lovely sight. Viper stood beside her, stroking its head. “She’s tired… but she also wants affection. We’ll take care of you, buddy.” Killjoy’s soft spoken voice soothed down the pup.
“You were made for this, weren’t you?” her lover asked her in the softest voice.
“Both of us were.” KJ softly kissed her lips. As the two were being all lovey-dovey, the rest of the agents just watched them from afar.
“Ugh those two need to get a room-” Raze really was tired of seeing too much PDA from the two. Little did she know, both of her best friends were secretly dating. Jett decided to break it to her in the most random way. “I like you, Phoenix.”
“Jett what the h-“
“Are you both… being serious right now?” Raze asked in a much serious tone.
“Well yeah but I had no intention to tell y-“ Phoenix was cut off once again.
“I love being the third wheel!” It was clear that Raze was being sarcastic. It looks like she has another relationship to get used to being around with.