A/N: So, this is a bit of a spiritual successor to a similar story on this site, and while i did enjoy said story, it ended a bit poorly (in my opinion) and I decided to write an altered version of the story, one that doesn't end on a sad note.
Without further adue, I give you:
What we once were
….
Rip and tear through hell. That's all I can do at this point. Samuel Hayden sent me back here via a tether, and not in the most painless way either. Not that I really feel pain anymore to begin with anyway.
I crushed another skull of an Imp beneath my feet for the millionth time, before grabbing another by it's through and throwing it against a wall.
That's another thing Hayden did. He took away all my weapons. Well, the ones that he had any real control over anyway. The Super Shotgun was a mysterious piece of tech. The same gun always seemed to find it's way back to me. Whether it was just sheer luck, magic, or some combination I'll probably never know.
A hell knight charged in my direction, but I quickly aimed and blew it's head off. That seemed to be the last demon that felt like tangling with me. Better for them I guess.
How long had I been fighting hell? A thousand years? Two? It didn't really matter now. Before I was the 'Doomguy', (as I was called by other marines) I was just a marine that disobeyed orders. And after What happened On mars the first time, you'd think they wouldn't try it again. But alas, this was probably the third time humans had tried to access hell for one reason or another. At least, that I could remember.
When I was forced into the stone coffin (something that took every demon in hell, including the titan itself, and even then it didn't end up surviving), I had no idea how much time had passed. It could have been a year, it could have been a hundred thousand. It's not like it particularly mattered though. Humans keep doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results each time, the definition of insanity.
….
There he was again. The Doom Slayer. I've been trying to follow him for who knows how long. Even though I know I shouldn't. If he even got a glimpse of me, I'd be beaten into paste.
But I can't help but feel drawn to him for some reason. And it's not like the other demons who are drawn to him by hatred, the only thing driving them being that they might be able to slay the Doom Slayer.
No, mine is more of a… curiosity? No, that's not right. If I was just curious, I'd be deathly afraid right Now. Fearing for my life of he saw me.
I'm small, and weak, even by a female's standard. On more than one occasion I've had to run from many of the younger demons who had no real discernment between weaker and stronger female's when choosing a mate.
I'm an Imp, a female Imp to be precise. Unlike the male's, I look much like a human, most females do, with the exception of red tinted skin, black hair, and pointed fangs, (though mine are almost human looking), and of course, pyrotechnic abilities. Though due to my young age, only a hundred years or so, I haven't fully mastered them yet. Another thing female's adopted a long time ago, was clothing, and while most of the other demons never bothered, I myself am glad we adopted such a trait from Humans for one reason or another.
Most demons see us female's as simply a resupply for more demons. And if we try and resist their will, we usually end up either dead, or dying. The only reason I haven't been taken by a demon already, is because I'm so weak. My offspring would be just as weak as I am. That, and I'm quite good at hiding.
There he goes again! Running faster than any human should. Though, with the amount of rage built up inside him, you could scarcely call him human at all.
More demons soon approached him, Imp's, knights, and even a pinkie. It wouldn't matter though. None of them would survive. Not like I care though, fewer demons means less chance one of them will do… THAT, to me.
Once again, only after a few seconds, the Doom Slayer decimated the enemies before him. Blood and gore were all that remained of them.
He's turning, most likely looking for any more demons to-
He's looking at me!
He stopped turning in my direction! How could he know?! Oh no… no, no no no please no! Please say he hasn't seen me…
He's… he's walking away now… oh thank whatever god may be looking down here.
My heart is pounding in my chest, the Doom Slayer, the man that could kill every demon in hell and walk away uninjured, he came so close to finding and killing me. But he didn't.
I have to rest, I have a few places I can, little holes in the wall long forgotten. There I can rest, and perhaps get my mind off him.
….
What a day. If you could even call it that, it's Not like this place has a day and night cycle.
Contrary to popular belief, I actually can get tired, and the combination of Hayden's schemes and fighting demons for probably days on end doesn't help.
I run through several broken down ruins, before spotting a small alcove in a wall. It's a tight fit, but I can see a room behind the wall. Squeezing through the hole in the wall, which was made bigger from the force of my body squeezing through, I found that I was correct in the fact that there was a room behind the wall.
It wasn't much. There was what looked like a bed in the corner, some water beside It, and a few candles lit here and there.
I soon took off my helmet and sat down on the bed. While normally I would never take off my helmet while in hell, this place I'm in feels safe for some reason.
Setting my gun up against the wall, and putting my helmet down on the floor, I lay down on the bed, and while this may just be my exhaustion talking, it was surprisingly comfortable.
I blew out the candles beside the bed, and Soon, the sweet embrace of sleep takes me.
….
I had checked almost all of them. Almost all my hideouts were completely destroyed by something and had become completely useless. I have one more to check before I give up.
I turn the corner and… YES! It is intact! A small crack in the wall, not quite big enough for a knight to for through, but still large enough for something my size.
Quickly I slid through the cracks, and at first I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, until I noticed that all of the candles had gone out. The candles, for one reason or another, never, went out.
Straining my ears, I hear a heavy, but quiet, breathing. What could be in here? No demon with a breathing pattern like that would fit in here.
I look over to the the bed, and notice a large body sleeping on it. It's not quite big enough to be a knight, otherwise it wouldn't have been able to fit in here, but it's certainly not an Imp. My eyes are finally adjusting to the light and… no. Oh no.
It's… It's him.
The Doom Slayer is sleeping on my bed!
My heart is once again pounding in my chest. I walk over to him, slowly, until my foot hits something on the floor.
What could be on the floor? I reach down and grab the object, and my eyes widen. The Doom Slayer's helmet! He's not wearing his helmet!
I Quickly look over to where his head is. His face! It's… so different than I'd imagined. Granted, I don't What exactly I expected but… not this.
He has rather long Brown hair, which at the end looks like it had been cut with claws- or more likely a knife in his case. He's fair skinned, with more scars than I can count! Burns, scratches, cuts.
But there's something else. I can't put my finger on it, But, his face looks… familiar, somehow.
My heart has calmed down, and just like earlier when I was following him, I feel no fear towards him. But rather, strangest of all, a fear for him. Like I don't What him to leave, and that if he does, he will be put in danger, and that thought scares me far more than I've ever feared for my own life.
Lowering my gaze, I spot a small chain around his neck. It couldn't be a slave's chain, as it was to loose, and it wasn't connected to anything else. Then I notice I small object attached to the chain, a small plate of metal.
I carefully reach down and grab hold of the metal, and I notice some words that, while not in any demonic language, I can still read, even though I've never to my knowledge seen runes quite like this before.
"Private, Flynn." are all I can make out. The rest of the text is scratched out, so much so as to make it unreadable.
Wait. What did I just do?! I just took hold of something of the Doom Slayer's, and read what was on it! And… he's still not awake.
I've finally decided that, for better or for worse, I should stay here until he wakes up. If only to get some answers.
….
Dreams. The one thing I seem to have no control over whatsoever. This time? I was dreaming of the first time I was sent to hell. I had been on mars with my squad, Kelly, John, Mac, and my CO Crash. There were others, but, I can't remember them.
Kelly and I were close, and I remember that, after our mission, when we got back to earth, I was actually going to propose to her. Something that I got more nervous about the longer it took.
But before that day could come, We had gotten a call that the UAC had been overrun by something on mars, though, we had no idea what it was. We got there, and my team told to stay outside and guard the exit, a decision that, while I don't like it, probably saved my life. Later, I got an S.O.S. on my radio from my team. John and Crash were dead, and the rest of them were being picked off fast.
I had rushed into the facility, and all I could hear over the comms were screams and steadily decreasing amounts of gunfire. Eventually, I heard Kelly's scream, and the gunfire stopped. I knew what had happened. They were all dead.
I eventually found the room they had made their last stand in. Their bodies were scattered all over the floor. I could make out a few of them, but most were completely unrecognizable. I broke down right then and there.
I'd gotten close to them. They were like family to me. Eventually, my tears subsided. Replaced by anger. Anger at the demons that had taken them from me. Taken Kelly from me.
There are some memories, that I desperately try to forget.
Finally opening my eyes, I am greeted with the bare ceiling of the room. But wait. There's something else in the room. I can here a very faint, very quick breath.
I start scanning the room, when i see the source of the breathing. A demon. But this one was far different than any I had ever seen. It was obviously a Female, something I didn't even consider possible before now, she wore clothing, which is strange in it's own right, she has black hair and red skin, quite a bit like a barons, and she's cowering in the corner.
Unlike most demons I come across, I actually don't feel the urge to rip this one apart. Instead, I feel curious. Looking in the room, the first thing wrong with this picture, is that I'm not dead yet. Had it been a regular demon it would have tried to kill me by now.
Second, the demon is cradling something, and looking closer I see… is that- is that my helmet?
I slowly shift my position as not to frighten her- I'm not even sure why I'm referring to a demon as 'her'- and into a sitting position.
She simply stares at me, with what is more than likely, fear. She's shifting her own position now, moving slightly closer to myself.
She slowly lifts up My helmet and puts on the ground between us. I only stare quizzically at the demon before me. Brave, or stupid enough to try and make peace with me.
"Flynn?" I heard her voice say.
Did she just… speak? In English? She gestures to my neck with her claw, which actually looks more like a hand than a claw.
Reaching up, I grasp something around my neck. Something I haven't looked at in years. My dog tags.
I take the necklace off and look at the plate, which has shown significant damage. On it, were only two readable words.
Private, Flynn.
My name. Flynn. I haven't heard it spoken in years. I don't even remember my last name, not that names really mattered down here though.
Looking back at the demon, I see that she is still staring at me. And she looks familiar as well, but I can't put my finger on why. She moves forward a bit to push my helmet towards me.
I slowly get up, and walk to the center of the room and pick up My helmet.
Looking around, I also spot my super shotgun, right where I left it the night before.
I slowly reach toward it, and I notice that she visibly flinches, so I pull my hand back.
"I-is that your name?" she asks.
This catches my attention. Not only is she speaking English, but she's asking if she got my name right.
I nod in response, and she visibly lets go of some tension in her body.
"What's your name?" I asked her, in a voice I barely recognized. Still, my voice seemed to make her jump.
"I-I don't have o-one." she answered.
That answer wasn't really incredibly confusing. I doubt demons ever really have need for name's. Of course, the fact that this demon is able to speak English, and she's not trying to kill me, leads me to a number of different questions.
….
He… he asked me something… he didn't try and kill me… this, this is probably the most insane thing any demon has ever done. Not only Did I refuse to kill the Doom Slayer, but now I'm talking to him.
The Doom Slayer looked at me with what I can only assume is curiosity.
"Would you, like a name?" he asked.
W-what? Is he… is he asking me if I… want a name? What Is that supposed to mean? Only the strongest of beings get names of their own. The Titan had a name, even though no demon ever knew it, the Doom Slayer has a name, Flynn-
The Doom Slayer has a name. And I know it. He's offering me a name. Me, probably the weakest surviving demon in all of hell.
"W-what?" I ask.
"Well, seeing as you don't have a name, why don't we fix that?" he asked me.
His voice, it was rough, yet, gentle in a way. I know I'm not fit for a name, under normal circumstances, but, the Doom Slayer himself is offering me a name.
"I, I th-think I would like that." I answer him.
What name would he give me? I'm weak, no name that would be fitting for me could be good, and a name that would be given to a weakling-
"Sapphire."
What? Sapphire? I've never heard of a name like that.
"Sapphire? W-why… Sapphire?" I ask.
"Your eyes." he answered.
I'm confused. What about my eyes? What's important about my eyes?
The Doom Slayer must have noticed my confusion, because now he seemed to be deep in thought.
"Here" he said, before he held out his helmet "look at your eyes in the reflection of the visor."
I take the helmet, and look at the front, which I can only assume is what he meant by 'visor'.
And- wait… My eyes, I've never seen my eyes before. They're a very bright, and deep blue color. Something that I personally have never seen in full inside hell. Only glimpses of it when those machines came and battled many of the demons.
I looked up to the Doom Slayer, and he was… smiling… the Doom Slayer, was smiling. And only now did I actually see his eyes, both a light green color, much brighter than his armor.
"Th-Thank you, Doom Slayer." I said bowing my head.
When I looked back up, he seemed confused.
"Doom Slayer?" he asked. Did he not know his own title?
I nodded.
He seemed to grimace at the title. Though, I can't really tell why, such a title was only earned by killing hundreds of thousands, if not millions of demons.
"Tell you what," He started "From this point forward? Please, don't call me 'Doom Slayer', just call me Flynn."
He… He's asking me to call him by his name!? Why in hell would he do that? Me knowing his name alone is more than I could ever ask for, but him asking me to call him by it… I don't even know what to think.
"A-alright."
He nods, and then sets his helmet down next to the bed.
"I'm going to grab my shotgun, ok?" he asks me.
I nod, of course he is. If he was going to kill me, he would have done so when he first woke up.
He grabs his weapon- of which I am now aware is called a 'shotgun', and opens it up and looks inside, before pulling out two cylindrical objects and placing them inside, before closing it up again.
He then grabs his helmet, and places it on his head before turning to me.
"Be careful ok? I'd hate for you to be dead by the time I got back." he said, before He started squeezing himself out of my hole.
Wait, did he just ask me to be careful?
….
Why did I tell her to be careful? Or that I'd even be going back to that place at all? My mind is in a thousand different places, and I need to clear it.
Ah! There's one. An Imp, totally ignorant of my presence. Perfect to help me clear my head.
I rush forward, and grab the Imp's head from behind, then point my weapon at it's back before it's upper torso becomes a red mist.
What could have possessed me to not kill the female demon on sight? And even further, to have a conversation with her. And she called me Doom Slayer, was that what demons knew me as?
Several demons are draw to the location of their brethrens death, and proceed to attack me.
And she seemed… shocked, when I offered to give her a name. And looked both shocked and confused when I told her to call me by my name.
I rip a pinkies tooth out before slitting its throat with said tooth.
Again, I'm not overly surprised that demons don't have names of their own, but her immediate shock at me giving her a name was… strange to say the least.
A baron charges me, but I leap onto it's head and rip one of its horns off, and stab it in the eye.
And then there's the familiarity of her… why is she so familiar? There's nothing about her that should be-
Her eyes. That's what's familiar. In my hundreds of years killing demons, I have never, seen a demon with blue eyes. But why were they familiar?
A knight charges me, And I simply bat it away with the grip of my shotgun, using it as a club.
Why is all of this so familiar about her? Everything about her is becoming familiar now! Her eyes, her voice, and even her body.
I finally finish off the rest of the demons, only mist and paste remaining.
My mind is finally clear. Well, as clear as it can be. So I decide to head back to the alcove in the wall. And hopefully, Sapphire will be there…
….
What do I do?! He… he gave me a name… he seemed as though he might actually be worried about my well-being…
This is too much to take in at once… he gave me my name… Sapphire, because of the color of my eyes. And my eyes… No demon I've ever seen has had blue eyes! What's different about me?
I look around the room, and I locate one of the water jugs. Bringing the jug to my lips, I drink what little is actually in the jug. While demons like myself can go for days without food or water, It's only a matter of time before the need does arrise.
I should probably refill these jugs before the Doom Slay- Flynn. Gets back.
It feels so strange to call him that, but not in a bad way. It's like… I don't know… like I've known his name in the back of my head, but could never remember it until now.
But that would be impossible. No demon alive could ever have known his name… could they? No, they couldn't.
I collect a few empty water jugs before squeezing myself out of the alcove, and start heading towards the stream, a place that could at one time been a river, but was now only a trickle of water.
I wonder why his face is so familiar… it's the same with his face, as it is with his name… like I'd known it for a long time, but never thought to remember it until now.
There! I've finally reached the stream. The water here is slightly red colored, but still drinkable. And there seems to be a bit more of it than expected.
However, the water is most likely mixed with blood, considering Flynn's work.
I take one of the jugs, and position it below a bit of a waterfall, filling the it. I eventually repeat the process a few more times, as to fill the rest of the jugs on hand.
There, that's the last one. I collect all the jugs before heading back to my alcove, being careful not to get spotted by any other demons, as they would hold no concern for my wishes, and would only use me as a tool to satisfy their own pleasure.
I've finally reached the alcove, and I squeeze in, something that has become a bit easier, most likely due to Flynn, and his size, squeezing through.
Being careful not to spill any of the water, I place each jug down next to the bed, before lying down on it myself… perhaps I can catch a few minutes of sleep before Flynn gets back…
….
There's the alcove. On my way back, I've been thinking quite a bit. Why is Sapphire the only demon to not try and kill me? I mean, granted, she's the only one I haven't beaten to paste at first sight, so it could be partially that, but I feel like it's something else as well.
Squeezing through the hole into the alcove- which has been getting easier each time, probably due to my size- I set my gun up against the wall and take off my helmet. I look around the room, and spot Sapphire sleeping on the bed. I also notice some of the water jugs have moved.
More than likely she just went out to refill them. Though, where she might find water in this place is beyond me.
Taking off my helmet, I sit down on the other side of the room, and soon fall asleep.
….
A/N: And with that, the first chapter ends. So what did y'all think? If anybody is wondering, I will be updating this story when I can, I'm not going to rely on any sort of schedule, or anything like that.
Anywho, reviews would be greatly appreciated, Cya!
~rocketmce