Chapter 1: From Bloodstained Claws
For hours he waited. He was an impatient one, but the invasion changed him. Stuffed in a makeshift shelter made of debris and four battery cells for his Plasma Rifle, he contemplated suicide. The sight of his friends, family and comrades being burned, ripped and torn apart by those hideous and grotesque creatures that seemed to come straight out of a horror movie. Unusually strong and resilient, it took him several shotgun blasts to bring down one. Just one. Being a commissioned officer, Santino was destined for great success as a leader, passing the screening tests with distinction and surviving the drill sergeant. In that cramped hole though, he wished he was already dead. When the invaders came, his team was the first dispatched to investigate. He lost many of his men then and there with whom he developed a sort of friendship. Some of those marines were reanimated into living, flesh-eating, shambling corpses in front of his own eyes. His Plasma Rifle was what kept him alive till now, all COs were issued with one while the Privates and Corporal used rifles and the Sergeants used shotguns. He took a liking for the standard-issue shotguns as well. They had a tight spread and the pump-action was fast and flawless. It also had good range, a drastic improvement over previous shotguns that were only effective at close ranges. Many marines equipped themselves with the shotgun instead of the rifle for missions. Santino remembered the times of his childhood and marriage. All he could do is remember them. He was almost sure his trusted Plasma Rifle wouldn't be able to keep him alive much longer. A sudden explosion threw around the debris and some of them were flung at him. He instantly lost consciousness. He woke up several hours later. He noticed that the constant growling and chaos outside had ceased. Grabbing his Plasma Rifle, he decides to investigate. He was quite surprised to discover the corpses of the hideous creatures reduced to a pile. Being dumbfounded, he could see no trace of marine corpses. "A single marine? How..?", he said to himself. Taking whatever was up for grabs, he decided to find any survivng marine units. Moving to the south of the city, he came across a platoon and was informed that the invaders were reportedly decimated from this part of Earth and there were unconfirmed reports of a single marine slaughtering and driving them back, all by himself.
"Unbelieveable, I know. But we're glad that Northern and Southern America have been retaken. Marines in South-East Asia and India are also slowly gaining the upper hand.", said the CO.
"What's your name?"
"Lieutenant Santino Vitelli"
"Lieutenant Jackson Briggs here. Where are your men?"
"All dead"
"Shit happens. I lost many of my men too, saw them get killed terribly by these things."
"How were you able to get this far with your men?", added Santino.
"We improvised a four-man formation and made our way through the alleyways. They were full of those horned things that charge. Two covering the back, two covering the front. The things were easy pickings. What about you?"
"Lost most of my men out in the fields, pure luck helped me get here."
"Tag along then, we're heading back to HQ. What's left of it"
Santino still felt hollow. What would he get in return for fighting and cleansing Earth? Probably a medal and an honourable discharge but not his life. His mind was running in different directions in the same time. What would he do when the invaders finally regress? What purpose in life would he have left? He thought over it for a while, coming to no conclusion. It took them a while to reach the South American HQ as most dropships and vehicles were immediately sent to fight in Europe, Africa and Asia. The men met Colonel Jonathan Flagg.
"Glad to see you men make it out of there alive. Unusually high concentration of invaders for a single city..", Flagg said.
"Swatted like flies we were.", Santino remarked.
"Weren't we all? As you might have heard, we're gaining ground. South-East Asia is now almost within our grasp. The marines in Europe however, need some help. You're going there. First off, Hannover in Germany. Then you're going to make your way to Caen, France."
"No problem, we'll take it", Jackson said.
"Two 'Cyberdemons' are causing much of the problems there. You're going there tomorrow to launch an attack on the city. Phobos Troopers will cause them some damage and pull back, leaving the marines to do the dirty work. Also, would you lead cleanup squads after the war?"
"We will.", both men said.
"Thank you, I'm sure humanity will require your efforts as it does now. Good luck and godspeed. Dismissed."
Santino reminisced his past life on the way to Europe. What struck him most was the fact that his wife was pregnant when she was burned to a crisp by a large flamethrower-toting creature. Her screams of agony still haunted him. He also thought about the lone marine he heard firing away at the invaders. "Where does he find the determination and the sanity to keep fighting? Didn't he have a family?", he thought. He vividly remembered those floating red creatures that spit deadly plasma from their mouths cackled away as they pulverised his home where his wife rested. There was nothing he could do other than run away and save his own life.
A sudden rush of rage swept over him as he and Jackson were in sight of the Cyberdemons.
"Look at the size..", Jackson remarked.
"Gonna leave a hell of a mark."
They roamed unchallenged through the streets of Hannover, Germany. The smaller creatures were hunted down and decimated quickly by the special Phobos troopers but their weapons couldn't do damage to the Cyberdemons, forcing them to leave. Dropships from Mars were able to send the teams more Plasma Rifles and a BFG9000 as almost all the starports were freed by the mysterious marine. The men were placed among the destruction to ambush them while jet fighters bombed them. It worked, the combined heat of plasma bolts and unguided bombs were more than enough to burn down even the most vile denizen of Hell. Santino watched with satisfaction as both Cyberdemons exploded into a shower of blood. Seems like he found slaughtering the invaders purposeful.
The Caen mission did not go too well however, as his team was ambushed by a large, spider-like demon wielding a huge chaingun. Once again, he was in despair. Jackson was brutally killed too. Running away, he was shot in the shoulder by stray bullet from the huge spider. His life flashed before his eyes. He was almost sure he'd be gone. Right then and there, a massive shockwave swept through Earth, killing most of the creatures in front of him and sending the others away. He got up but was unsurprised as he had seen enough surprises. He slowly limped towards the French starport with his protective helmet still on. He received immediate aid. The invaders had retreated, humanity was able to survive. He was visited by a certain Major Callahan.
"Lieutenant Santino Vitelli, you have been promoted to Captain. Colonel Flagg asked for you to be placed in command of a cleanup team. Your first cleanup mission will be in the tunnels under Eindhoven."
Santino could only nod.
A few days later while scouting the tunnels, he came across an unconscious marine. The marine was drenched in blood, his armor burned and had infernal claw marks on it. He was alive however and Santino arranged a medical evacuation for him. "Could he be the marine everyone spotted fighting alone?", he thought.
He wanted to be a space marine in the United Nations Space Marine Corps ever since he was a kid. The men in green, tan and black were heroes to him. His parents happily and proudly approved. He met his late wife in high school, her name was Denise Adams. They used to happily exchange messages and gifts. Santino thought he was set for life, but he never thought of this horrible invasion that almost brought mankind to its knees. Not even in his nightmares has he seen his loved ones and close friends die such horrible deaths at the hands of cold, unfeeling creatures with a burning hatred for life.
When news spread that contact has been lost with the Phobos and Deimos moon bases and that Deimos had suddenly disappeared, Santino was scared. For the first time in his life, he was truly scared. He had a feeling whatever took the Martian moons may reach him and his family too. When leaving to check disturbances at Earth, he assured his wife that she will be safe and fine but deep inside, he knew he wouldn't be able to fulfill that promise. His encounters with the demonic hordes have toughened him as he doesn't think twice before unloading his plasma bolts into one. They let out horrible shreiks and growls that failed to unfaze Santino from exterminating them right then and there. Even though most couldn't, he could see the fear manifesting on their faces a split second before they're put down. It didn't matter though, they kill without remorse or feeling and pose a threat to life. They must be dealt with swiftly.
Meanwhile, a faction of the invaders survived and made their base in in Hong Kong and built an enormous fortress on the nearby hills. It was still a huge threat and must be dealt with if Earth is to be retaken. It was ruled over by another one of the Cyberdemons. A marine opted to cleanse out the remaining demonic menace alone and was allowed to do so. Other platoons were positioned around the fortress as backup, Santino was in charge of one of them. Occasionally a demon or two would crawl or fly out in fear and pain. They were brought down in an instant. Within just eight hours, the marine emerged victorious. He was revealed to be the same marine who single-handedly thwarted the Phobos incursion, fought through Hell itself and destroyed a major portion of the demonic presence in Earth. He was lauded extremely highly in the Corps.
Santino had the chance of meeting him and sitting down to talk at the Mars base. He asked the marine about his experience with Hell and the hordes.
"To kill a demon, you must be a demon yourself. Be cold and mercilessly bring down each and every one of them, Captain. These creatures are here to do absolutely no good.", said the marine
"I wouldn't want to hurt you but what of your family and friends?", added Santino.
"The only family and friend I had was my pet rabbit, she was called Daisy. They killed her and impaled her head on a stick. What was supposed to be a regular day turned into a living nightmare for me, for everyone. I was curious as to what took Deimos and overran Phobos. When we arrived at Phobos, we found massive heat signatures and anomalous readings. I was scared too. I was left to guard the entrance while the rest of my team went ahead. One by one they were slaughtered. I listened as they fired blindly and were torn to bits."
"How did you feel?", asked Santino.
"Scared and hopeless. But I knew sitting around the entrance wouldn't do me much good so I took off and fired at everything that moved. I wonder myself as to how I survived the onslaught. Entering the gateway, I found myself in the Deimos base. Making my way through it, I noticed the walls changing right before my eyes into tissues of living flesh. How I wished back then it didn't happen to Earth. The demons constructed a huge tower on the edge of Deimos. It was guarded by what you call a Cyberdemon. Again, I don't know how I managed to survive this encounter. Currently, Deimos floats over Hell. I can't find words to describe what I saw there. Bodies strewn across the surface like it was a slasher film and much much more. We are also not the first ones to come in contact with them as I saw various artifacts and weapons that do not look like the ones they would use, probably explains their high-tech weapons."
"When I came down to Earth, I had to make my way through a small UAC complex infested with demons. Hoping this was a small invasion. I immediately set to work. There was a small training camp for those Phobos troopers. Those men fought viciously there, hundreds of demons lying dead around their own corpses. As I purged the complex, I went out to witness the awful truth and the rest is history..."
"Were you the one who assaulted the demons in the city?", asked Santino.
"Yes, Captain. I was the one. In fact, the demons were using that city as a major teleporting hub for their troops. I had to shut it down. That city is my hometown.", said the marine.
"I see, do you plan on fighting the menace further?"
"Yes sir, I have been assigned to oversee UAC ventures at Io, one of the moons of Jupiter. Those monkeys better not be cooking up some new suspicious shit and remember, Hell won't stop, ever."
"Sir? You're the superior here. Good luck and godspeed, I'm sure you wouldn't need it though.", said Santino.
"I might as well need it, thank you.", replied the marine as he left.
Santino had to leave too as he was called to lead cleansing operations in the narrowest alleys and buildings of Hong Kong. The city was still a vital stronghold for the remaining demons after the destruction of the fortress which was built on the hills surrounding it.
Phobos troopers were sent in first to hit the demons hard and come back quickly. Santino was in command of the regular troops. Entering the Peninsula Hotel, he utilized the same four-man formation which Jackson talked about earlier. His men cleansed out room after room of those hideous creatures. The surprise came in the hall when two large bipedal beasts throwing green fireballs of plasma appeared and killed three of the marines. Santino ordered all troops to concentrate fire on the beasts and within a minute, both were down. The marines didn't have much to do since the jet fighters frequently made sweeps on demonic positions in the city.
Called at a rendezvous point at Kowloon, the marines were ready to leave when suddenly, floating demons what many called 'Cacodemons' appeared. Santino remembered these to be the same beasts that laughed and cackled as his home was burned down. They smote down some marines and destroyed a dropship. Santino called the jet fighters to open fire on them. Engaging VTOL mode, they assisted the marines in taking them out. Right after that, a swarm of bull demons charged at them through a bridge, behind them were six Mancubi, obese monsters with flamethrowers for arms.
The Mancubi opened fire on the jet fighters, two were shot down. The fighters shifted fire on them, leaving the marines to tackle the bull demons alone. They held their ground, chaingun operators being the most proficient as their bullets torn through the thick demonic flesh. All the bull demons were eventually killed and so were the Mancubi. Hong Kong was purged.
Humanity rejoiced at their victory and started rebuilding their home world. Advanced UAC technology helped restore Earth to its previous glory. Demonic presence in Earth was supposedly cleansed by both Space Marine Corps and Phobos Troopers. The Phobos base and its famous Toxin Refinery was also reactivated. What happened in the moon base at Io was still unknown however...