"You've won… It's over. You've stopped the invasion and closed the portal. But it's come at a price. Ardent, Vega. This entire operation. You see, I've watched your work, come to understand your motivation." Dr. Samuel Hayden said, coming to the Doom Slayer's face. He turned away. The Doom Slayer stared impassively back.
"You think the only way is to kill them all - leave nothing left- and you may be right. BUT WE CAN'T JUST SHUT IT ALL DOWN! Without Ardent energy it will be worse. I don't expect you to agree." Dr. Samuel Hayden yelled, looking into the visor of the Doom Slayer's helmet. He then reached forward, the Crucible flying out of the Doom Slayer's pockets and into his hands.
"But with this, we can continue our work," Dr. Samuel Hayden said, gesturing to the Crucible, and then looking to the Doom Slayer's face. The Doom Slayer was filled with immense rage, being backstabbed by this automaton. He wished to tear its gears apart and watch the sparks go flying. Dr. Samuel Hayden seemed to notice.
"I am not the villain of this story. I do what I do, because there is no choice," Dr. Samuel Hayden said, the Doom Slayer going over the irony of the Doctor saying that to him of all people.
"Re-routing Tether coordinates… Complete." An A.I. said from above, Dr. Samuel Hayden seeming to sigh. The Doom Slayer looked at the doctor with rage, seeming to know where the Doctor would want to send him.
"Our time is up. I can't kill you, but I won't have you standing in our way. Until we see each other again." Dr. Samuel Hayden said, the Crucible flaring to life in the form of a large ardent energy sword.
The Doom Slayer struggled, desperately wanting to get out of the tether. It proved useless as he was teleported back into the bowls of hell.
Into the middle of an imp horde no less.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\Some time later/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The Doom Slayer sat down on a small stone, his wounds aching. He had been running out of ammo, and that darn imp horde had taken a good amount of wind out of him.
For once, the Doom Slayer was actually getting sick of the bloodshed.
It was then that he noticed a small rune a little bit next to him. It had a very unusual mark, like a T with an H over it, but a lot scratchier.
Hesitantly, the Doom Slayer touched it. He was overcome with a vision.
There was a small crypt, demonic blue stones jutting out of certain places. There seemed to be a Summoner in the middle of the room, but its back was turned, and its skin was a stark blue and black in contrast to their normal red and white color.
It turned slightly, showing only a side of its face. It was slightly sharp, and had four eyes instead of its normal none. Its jaw was smaller and had a small lining of flesh in front of it. But the most jawing feature on it was no biological.
It had a brass pendant with the Doom Slayer's mark on it around its neck. It then chose to speak.
"And what of her?"
The Doom slayer clutched his face, crying out in pain as images flashed to his mind. A bunny, a girl, him beating up an officer, a hell portal, Earth being ravaged.
Almost as soon as it came, it left, leaving the Doom Slayer on the floor, breathing heavy. He felt something. It was like rage, but slightly sadder.
With a grunt, the Doom Slayer got off the ground, and looked to the skies, a large red stormcloud overhead, crackling with Ardent energy as a form of natural lightning.
The Doom Slayer started running; running as blood spilled out of the sky, red lightning crackling above, and what seemed to be demonic laughter ring out, albeit subtly.
An imp came before him, only taste twenty pellets of flak from his shotgun.
It seemed to alert an entire horde of demons, the things flocking to his location.
A baron of hell came forth, flinging hellish green fire. It was quickly dispatched by the Doom Slayer's Gauss cannon.
Two cacodemons came near, spitting explosive bile in the Doom Slayer's direction. He simply dodged, jumping off a wall and gouging one's eyeball out. With his other hand, he fired his shotgun at the other cacodemon; the thing's face being erased by the numerous pellets.
A revenant, a rare sight nowadays, flew near, slapping the Doom Slayer. The Doom Slayer, took it, and then grabbed its skull and tore it in half.
Finally, about twelve possessed came before him, only fall victim to his rocket launcher.
When the smoke and blood cleared, the Doom Slayer saw a small blue flash come from one of the possessed corpses. He came to it, seeing that it had a blue pendant similar to the one on the demon in the vision. He scowled, but stopped when it started flashing once every three seconds.
He picked up the pendant, the thing still flashing. He made to move to the right, but the thing stopped flashing. The Doom Slayer cocked his head to the side, slightly curious.
The Doom Slayer tried every direction, eventually finding that when he moved towards a large dead forest that it continued to blink. The Doom Slayer looked to the forests, remember what they were from one of his many slaughter-walks of hell.
It was the Forest of Dementia. He'd only gone there once, but during that time he had found many berserk power-ups and had gotten lost twice. It had been go-
The Doom Slayer shook his head vigorously. He wasn't in Hell to have a good time. He was here to make the demons pay for what they had done.
The Doom Slayer looked back to the pendant, finding that it continued to flash. With a sigh, the Doom Slayer wrapped the pendant around his fist, readying his super shotgun.
Who this demon and what it wanted were of no importance to him. He was here to make them pay, to rip and tear, until it was finished.
The Doom Slayer had no mercy, and would never stop killing demons for what they had done.
/\/\/\/\/\/\Elsewhere/\/\/\/\/\/\
A possessed groaned, walking through the crypt. Maybe today its master would have it carry something instead of luring the Doom Slayer to the crypt. It shivered subconsciously, knowing what the Doom Slayer would do if he got his hands on it.
With a small wave of its hand, the door in front of him opened, revealing the inner chamber. The chamber was adorned with different blue colored rocks and crystals. A white like substance came from the ceiling, being very thin and tasting like alcohol. Inside the chamber was a large blue and black Summoner like demon. It was kneeling down, as if thinking. The possessed always wondered why it had more free will than the others, and why it was drawn to this one specifically.
The Summoner opened its four eyes, looking at the possessed as if asking an invisible question.
The possessed shivered uncomfortably, not feeling worth of the larger demon's presence. It was then that a large husk was brought in by some other possessed. It looked slightly like a Pinkie, but its tail had been ripped from its back, obvious work of the Doom Slayer. The possessed cringed at the thought of the Doom Slayer getting a hold of its master.
"Nipeick, approach the corpse." The Summoner commanded. The possessed looked at its master, slightly confused as to why master would name it. It surely wasn't worthy.
However, fearing the master's wrath, the possessed walked towards the Pinkie corpse, looking at it in confusion. It was then that the possessed noticed the complex sigil underneath it and the corpse.
With a flash of red magic and ardent energy, both the Pinkie and the possessed were consumed within it.
Upon the energy dissipating, a now blue and black Pinkie stood. Its hide was particularly thick on all sides. Its mouth had two large tusks on the bottom, but was more like a human's, as if capable of speech. With a small blink, it was able to turn invisible and visible again. Its tail was longer, almost snake-like, curling around the beast. It seemed confused for a moment, before looking at the Summoner.
"Welcome to my inner circle, Nipeick," the Summoner said, a white and blue Revenant with miniguns attached to it's back, a cyan and green Cacodemon with two mouths, and a mythical blue Prowler with a very human like skull all coming out of the shadows.
"Why?" Nipeick asked, clearly getting used to its new jaw.
"It is simple; I am part of an abnormality in the demon legion after the templar order was eradicated. It created an influx of energy, creating me. Thus, I have decided to make my own cult of renegade demons." The Summoner said. The Revenant came forward.
"Are you sure we can trust this one, Garedaen?" the Revenant asked, a hand on the Summoner's shoulder.
"Yes, Nervatene, I'm very sure. The question is are you ready?" Garedaen asked. The Cacodemon laughed with both jaws.
"Nervatene, stop being so hesitant. We'll be able to have the plan work," the Cacodemon said, flying over to Nipeick.
"I know Decao, but I don't think the Doom Slayer will fall for it." Nervatene said, sighing.
The Prowler was silent, looking at one of the possessed.
"Why was I chosen?" Nipeick asked, looking at Garedaen.
"Most possessed lose their mind when they are transformed. However, there have been cases like yours where the person can have some free will remaining. I'm just being merciful and giving you a better body," Garedaen explained just before he heard a gunshot go off.
"Quick, I need you all to hide." Garedaen ordered. Nipeick turned invisible and then ran behind a corner. Nervatene rocketed away to one of the nearby pylons, laying flat on the ground. Decao flew up, away from sight. The Prowler leaped away, seemingly vanishing away from the shadows.
There was a large explosion, followed by the Doom Slayer falling through the ceiling onto the center.
"Doom Slayer, I've been waiting," Garedaen said. The Doom Slayer snarled and took out his super shotgun.
"I have an offer for you," Garedaen started. He was interrupted by the Doom Slayer firing off his gun.
Garedaen easily dodged, going off to the side with a flash of blue energy.
"At least give me a moment to complete my offer," Garedaen requested, only to be met with an explosive round.
Once again, Garedaen dodged away, a flash of blue energy trailing behind him.
"Doom Slayer, please," Garedaen asked, only for the Doom Slayer to pull out his BFG and point it at Garedaen's face.
"Doom Slayer, I wish to offer a portal out of hell," Garedaen offered. The Doom Slayer tensed up for a moment, and then fired the BFG.
With a monumental amount of energy, the ball traveled across the room, threatening to kill any and all who it could even get near.
Garedaen simply swiped his hand upwards, another, similar, ball of red energy going in the same direction. With a huge explosion, both balls collided, deafening the Doom Slayer. He looked to Garedaen in shock, baffled that a weapon such as the BFG could have a demonic counterpart.
"Who… Are you?" The Doom Slayer rasped out, having not used his voice in a long time. Garedaen chuckled.
"I am Garedaen, Demonic lord of the 13th house. I am here to offer a portal to Earth for you, in exchange for a favor," Garedaen said, introducing himself to the Doom Slayer.
The Doom Slayer looked at Garedaen curiously, as if considering a lower prey.
"No," The Doom slayer stated, turning to walk away. Garedaen sighed.
"Of course you'd say no. I know how you were wronged. It would be a mistake to trick you," Garedaen said, looking at the Doom Slayer. The Doom Slayer turned around in fury, looking Garedaen straight in the eye.
"You… Don't know what it's like… To have a friend… Destroyed… or lost." The Doom Slayer rasped out, his throat dry. Garedaen shook his head.
"I know too well." Garedaen said, looking the Doom Slayer in the eyes.
"Who…Have you lost?!" The Doom Slayer almost yelled, his fists clenched. Garedaen sighed and touched his pendant. It flashed for a brief moment, encompassing the room they were in, blinding everyone.
When they could see again, it was like they were on Earth. They were in a park. Birds were chirping, flowers were blooming, and it seemed like a perfect day for a game of catch.
"Come on! Pass it here!" A little boy said to a larger one. They had blonde hair and were playing an actual game of catch.
The Doom Slayer moved forward, to touch the boy.
Horrifyingly, his hand went right through, neither boy seeming to notice. Garedaen sighed.
"This is one of my memories, you won't be able to stop anything that happens," Garedaen explained, a hand on his face.
"How?" The Doom Slayer rasped, only to hear a large explosion go off in the distance.
"What was that?" The smaller boy asked. The taller boy held his shoulders, and looked him in the eye.
"Stay here, I'll go and investigate," he said, leaving to the explosion.
The world turned, seeming to go after the boy.
The Doom Slayer was perplexed. What had this to do with the demon that was behind him?
It was then that he found the answer. The boy had gone to a scorched area, seeing a portal that glowed a purplish red, clearly from hell.
Almost immediately, demons started pouring out, desperate to ravage the land and take no prisoners.
The boy didn't stand a chance. However, instead of killing him, they took him in through the hell portal, as the world shifted to black temporarily.
"Were you… That boy?" The Doom Slayer asked. Garedaen nodded in confirmation.
The world seemed to brighten up as what looked to be an imp sat up on the table. It looked at its hands, before roaring in horror. It fought through its restraints, and then ran and ran. Eventually, it had reached something that the Doom Slayer recognized immediately.
The Crucible.
The Doom Slayer was highly confused, looking at Garedaen in wonder.
The Imp that had once been the boy touched the Crucible, only for a Baron of Hell to come up behind him.
"You do not deserve this power, weakling," The Baron rumbled out. The imp looked from the Baron to the Crucible.
Deciding to fight for its life, the Imp took the Crucible and turned it into the sword that Dr. Samuel Hayden had shown the Doom Slayer before he had been tethered to hell.
With a mighty cleave, the Baron had been cut in half, its life-force being drained into the Crucible.
With a roar, the imp suddenly grew, it's form become longer, blacker, and taller.
Within moments, the Imp had grown into what looked to be Garedaen. He looked around and then the vision faded.
"I've lost my humanity, Doom Slayer. I have lost my Brother. If the last act of kindness that I can do is send you out of this hell, then I will do it," Garedaen said, looking at the Doom Slayer.
The Doom Slayer's head was spinning with questions. Why had he been turned into an imp? What had become of his brother? Why did this demon want to help him?
"No… My penance… Is here…" The Doom Slayer said, looking past Garedaen.
Garedaen sighed, and then looked to the ceiling.
"Alright, Wreol, pin him down." Garedaen said. The Doom Slayer blinked in surprise before a blue and black Prowler with a very human Skull came and pinned him down from the ceiling.
"If you won't leave hell directly, I'll force you out," Garedaen said. Part of the Doom Slayer was surprised. Another part was angry. But there was this one part, sneaking in the back of his mind, which was actually happy.
"Let… GO…" The Doom Slayer growled. Garedaen waved his hands around, a mystical blue energy coming from his hands.
With a small whirl, a portal was made behind the Doom Slayer. It seemed to lead to a part of earth, a city perhaps.
Wreol tried to push him through, only for the Doom Slayer to get an arm free and break his hand off.
With a cry of pain, Wreol jumped back, the Doom Slayer readying his shotgun.
The Doom Slayer was then surprised when a specter, out of nowhere, bull rushed him, almost pushing him through the portal.
"NO," The Doom Slayer yelled, firing the shotgun at the Specter. It recoiled, drawing back.
It was then that a revenant with two miniguns instead of rocket launchers appeared; its red laser sight on the ground before the Doom Slayer.
"Go through the damned portal," the Nervatene growled, his warning apparent.
"You… Will not leave… ALIVE…" The Doom slayer growled out, pulling out his BFG. He moved for the trigger, only to hear the gun click.
Garedaen had the other two rounds in his claws, the items spinning hastily.
"I want him out of Hell for GOOD." Garedaen growled, moving forward. The Doom Slayer looked at Garedaen fiercely.
"We may have met as enemies, but trust me, time will make us allies," Garedaen said, a large ball of red energy being thrown at the Doom Slayer.
With an almost guttural scream, the Doom Slayer was thrown through the portal, landing on grass. The Doom Slayer looked to his left, seeing the portal still open. Garedaen tossed him his BFG ammo, before the gate closed.
With a sigh, the Doom Slayer laid in the grass, some of his armor burnt and other places scratched to literal hell and back.
"Why?" The Doom Slayer asked, before he fell unconscious.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"I don't get it, Garedaen, why'd you open a portal just for him? I thought we were going to invade earth ourselves?" Wreol asked, nursing his regenerating hand.
"We aren't going to invade earth, for the last time," Garedaen spat, looking in disgust.
"The previous demons never learned from their mistakes or history. To invade a planet like earth is a death sentence. We need to invade a world a bit more, docile." Garedaen explained, turning to his cadre of demons.
"Then, where are we invading?" Wreol asked, looking to Garedaen. Garedaen actually laughed.
"Oh, silly Wreol. We aren't going to invade anywhere today. We've just been invited to a small meeting." Garedaen said, going to the lowest part of the crypt.
There, on a small pedestal, was a portal that glowed silver. It showed a small room, filled with many other different races, each talking peacefully with each other.
"What happens next?" Nipeick asked.
Garedaen smiled.
"Now? Now we go make some chaos," Garedaen said, flying through the portal to talk with the many other races.