Nisekoi belongs to Komi Naoshi, and Doom is property of id Software, Bethesda Softworks and Zenimax Media.


E1M2: Nuclear Plant
Now Playing: The Imp's Song


I immediately came under fire from two zombie guys on the other side of the computer station that I saw once I got off the elevator and entered the nuclear plant. I also heard more grunts nearby, which meant that I was totally outnumbered.

Not that it mattered to me anyway, as I ran like hell into the computer station, firing wildly all the way in, but for some reason all my shots found their marks, since the two guys who were firing at me fell dead once I stopped inside the computer station. I turned left to find another elevator...

And once again I found myself facing the claws of an imp.

He was so close that my shotgun's muzzle actually got inside his mouth! The bastard was smart, though; He slashed at my helmet as he tried to push me away, but he was too late. I pulled the trigger, and his head was no longer anything but a red-pink paste on the wall.

I then went up the elevator, and found another shotgun and some ammo for it. I took whatever I could still fit inside my pack before going back down the elevator.

I could still hear the zombie guys outside taunt me with things like "Prepare your soul!", "You will not escape!", "Wuss!" and some other shit like that. I actually smiled as I exited the computer station and sent buckshot flying towards the poor sods. Soon enough, more of the bastards started to open up on me, including one from behind. I then turned around to address the newcomer, and...

"GO FUCK YOURSELF!"

The last image the zombieman saw was an olive green figure topped by a beige helmet flipping him off before blowing his head into a bloody paste with its shotgun.

I turned back around and saw the zombies hold their fire and step back for a few seconds before resuming their barrage of lead that was meant for me. The few seconds were all that I needed to dispatch the rest with my assault rifle.

After dispatching the remaining zombie men, I walked around for a little while, taking in the carnage I had just caused. Corpses, blood and guts, bullet casings, empty shells, scorch marks indicating explosions, and discarded weapons littered the floor. Some of the corpses belonged to the missing marines from my unit. They had so many injuries at first glance it would be impossible to determine what did my buddies in. The faces were damaged beyond recognition. What's more, a couple of them had some parts look like they've been eaten by these zombie things.

I tell you, at that point in time, I have never been angrier in my life.

But seeing as I fight what appears to be the forces of Hell itself, there were things much worse than this that I have yet to see. I just shook my head in regret for not being able to do anything but avenge my fallen brothers in arms. I then went down on one knee, said a short prayer to whatever benevolent non-evil deity was listening, stood back up and went back to business.

"Don't worry, guys, I'll get those who did this to you. At ease, Pioneers."

While I was collecting whatever ammo I could carry, I spotted another differently colored wall on the left side of the computer station. It instantly raised to reveal a dimly lit room with a switch on the wall facing me. When I came inside, I found an armor bonus, a light armor suit, a medkit and a lifesaver.

An ammo backpack. I could've used one from the start of this mission, when there was so much ammo that I could've used, but instead I had to dispose of them to avoid being used by the demons. But past is past, and I had to focus on the mission right now. Looking inside, I found that there was already some assorted munitions inside it. A good bonus, I might say.

I then flipped the switch, and soon enough I heard a door open somewhere in the facility. I went out of the room, and made my way to the door to my right side, making sure to check out the elevator to the southwest of the computer station, which had a box of ammo and an unusable-for-now medkit to its left.

I switched to my sidearm and put on the suppressor before I crouched down and moved slow and low up the stairs. I turned right as I saw an imp shriek at me and send fireballs to burn my ass. I immediately aimed for the creature's head and pulled the trigger three times.

I tried to continue upstairs as sneakily as possible, but a couple of shotgun blasts from outside put an end to my wannabe ninja fantasies. I turned around to see around half a dozen shotgun guys in the courtyard outside.

I also saw a large opening on the wall on the other side of the tower I was in. It definitely led to the area outside the facility, as I saw a shotgun guy come inside from that opening. I switched to my shotgun to give the bastard a taste of his own medicine, and then I was set upon by four zombie guys and more shotgun guys coming from outside.

I froze for a good few seconds, knowing full well that this could be the end of me, and then...


Meanwhile, back on Mars...

"Did Deimos really vanish? Or was just teleported to only God knows where?"

"I don't know, I don't know. All I'm sure of is that once we got far enough from Deimos, it was just, like, I don't know, gone!"

"Were you guys really attacked by possessed or zombified personnel, or creatures who looked like they came straight from Hell, or both? I heard Phobos survivors say they were attacked by said things."

"I can't say for sure, the security guys and marines just ordered us to evacuate Deimos when the shit hit the fan. I could hear gunfire and screaming over the PA system and the alarms as the security team and the marine detachment escorted us directly into the evacuation transports. They left a few guys with us in the transport as they went back in to rescue whoever was left behind. I fell asleep for a while until one of my coworkers woke me up to point out that, yeah, Deimos was gone."

"I just saw this pink minotaur-like thing devour a guy whole, man... His screams, oh God his screams... I could still hear them right now..."

"Those fucking security guys suddenly turned on us and opened fire just as we were about to get on the transport. Good thing our Platoon Sergeant managed to give the order to return fire and cut them to bits. Their eyes were, like, blood red, bro. They also had some sort of blood coming out of their mouths. The civvies remained ducking for cover even as we eliminated the last threat. I tell you, dude, whatever the fuck they were researching in there had definitely opened Pandora's box."

Horror stories, sobbing and screaming filled the Mars base's large hangar bay. Survivors from Phobos and Deimos - be they civilian personnel, base security or detached marines - milled around trying to process what just happened, if they were not getting something to eat and drink or some sleep, especially the surviving military personnel who tried to defend the facilities before either being ordered to accompany the civilians back to Mars, or getting separated from their units and finding themselves helping to protect the civilians trying to evacuate.

The military men also talked about what happened to the marines sent to investigate what happened to the Phobos base and rescue any remaining survivors.

Some civilians listened in to the soldiers and marines talk about the brave souls who went to find out just what exactly happened. The base's marine contingents and security personnel, whether they were officers or enlisted men, could not say a word about the fates of their brothers in arms until they got a good grip on what just happened.

Among the curious bystanders and eavesdroppers was a gorgeous young woman whose blonde hair faded into pink a few inches from the tip. Her hair was tied into a bun, and was topped by a red ribbon tied in a way that made them look like an extra pair of ears. Her necklace held a pair of dogtags, as if she was also with the military.

If she was wearing anything other than her white coat, printed T-shirt, stethoscope and gray slacks, she would be seen as a model at first glance.

Too bad for us, Dr. Chitoge Kirisaki was never interested in being a model.

Once the first evacuation transports landed on Mars, she immediately headed to the hangar bay to assist the military doctors, nurses and corpsmen with the influx of injured personnel coming from the Red Planet's moons. Years in medical school and months of on-site special training has acquainted her to the injuries one will normally suffer working in a facility filled with radioactive materials and explosives, especially on another planet, but she wasn't prepared for what greeted her.

Limbs ripped, shot, hacked, blown or torn off, people with their intestines barely managing to not spill outside their abdominal cavities, skulls damaged to the point that one can already see the brains inside, second to third degree burns in some part of the body, women showing signs of heavy sexual assault by possessed zombiemen, blunt force trauma damage to critical parts of the body, and other horrific injuries that looked more like those usually found in a warzone. Not to mention the pools of blood multiple serious injuries brought with them.

Chitoge managed to avoid vomiting from the smell of rotting and burned flesh as she went in to help treat the wounded. As she and a team of military doctors performed emergency surgery on a young marine who was shot in the chest, one man lingered in her mind.

"Please be alright, Raku, please be alright..."

She was jolted out of her stupor by the marine she was operating on.

"Doc, I think I might be dead already, I'm already seeing an angel."

"You are not dying on us, Corporal, do you hear me? You are not dying on us! You still have plenty of ass to kick up there!"

"I already kicked a lot of ass today, Doc, I sent 'em all back to Hell. Where they rightfully belong."

"You're gonna live through this, trust me! You're gonna live! Your commander will be disappointed in you if you die here, you get me?"

"My platoon, they're gone... Shot up by the demons... Me and my man Jimmy are the only ones left..."

The gorgeous blonde froze as she saw the young warrior slowly lose consciousness. The bullet lodged inside the marine's heart had been removed, but he had already lost so much blood in the process. She could only watch as the military doctors scrambled to stop the bleeding and seal off the wound while the corpsmen went to find spare blood packs to use to try and save him. A corpsman looked at the young man's dog tags and barked to the doctors the type of blood they needed - O+. They hooked up the blood to the man's IV after ensuring that no sizeable air bubbles were in the line. Soon enough, the man's situation started to improve gradually.

"Ma'am? Are you alright?"

The corpsman's question brought her back to her senses.

"Not exactly. How long was I spacing out?"

"A few minutes, ma'am. And before you ask, the corporal is alright now. We'll take it from here, so please have some rest, you've been working with us nonstop for a good amount of time now. We'll just call you when we need you back with us."

"That's a relief."

She went back to her office further inside the base, took a shower, changed her clothes, and went back to the hangar bay, this time to find information about what happened to the bases on Phobos and Deimos, those who were stationed there, and find out if Raku and his unit were alright.

She chanced upon a group of civilians gathered around a table where some marines and base security personnel who got out of Phobos were chatting. One piece of conversation caught her attention.

"I heard this from one of the guys stationed at the motor pool, man. Don't know if it's actually true, but he says it is."

Once the assorted evacuees saw that the facility's head civilian doctor also wanted to listen alongside them, they motioned for Chitoge to come and join them.

"Spill the damn beans, Jack, look, everybody's listening."

"Remember when they said that the guys said to Phobos have the situation under control, and we'll be expecting a report on the situation in a few hours? Well, this guy says that the unit sent to Phobos lost contact with the guys they left to secure the base's perimeter. When that happened, those guys ordered a guy to stay behind to secure the perimeter as they tried looking for an alternate entrance to the base and carry out the mission. Once they lost contact with both Mars and the guy securing the perimeter, he rang Mars to call for backup, as he already tried to call his missing buddies. Of course, they refused, why else would this place be heavily defended? Anyway, once they told him that reinforcements straight from Earth just won't come, he decided to just go in and sort this thing out by himself, saying that there could still be survivors that he can bring out safely. With permission from Command, of course."

"So, what did Command say?"

"My source said that they just wished him the best of luck, and that was the end of it."

"That guy's got a death wish, pal. I was one of the last security guys not turned into some sort of possessed zombie things by those demons that came from the fucking portals. Those demon things are quite hard to kill, I tell ya."

"Amen to that, bro. Especially the freakishly tall pinkish red ones with the horns and green fireballs. Had to waste at least two rifle mags to blow its head off."

"Don't you dare forget that big ass demon thing with a rocket launcher for an arm and a robotic right leg. The Deimos guys told me that they lost a good number of men trying to kill that fucker. He also says that's he's still alive and very fucking deadly, yet he's been badly injured."

The blonde doctor, aiming to confirm her suspicions, went closer to the table where the military men were talking, and posed a question to the one who was detailing the rumored fate of the troops sent to Phobos, looking at the soldier's rank all the while.

"Did he say what unit was sent up, Corporal?"

"Ma'am, from what I've heard, it was the Japanese pioneers who were sent up to Phobos. Forgot to ask how they ended up getting sent up, though. Why'd you ask, uh, Doc?"

"I-it's just that my-one of my old friends is in the Pioneer Company, and I wanted to find out if they really were sent to Phobos, that's all."

"No problems, Doc. Trust me, we're all worried about them right now. Especially the lone wolf trying to finish his unit's mission. You might want to talk to our brothers in the field hospital here, though, they might know more about whatever awaits your old pal."

She thanked the corporal and excused herself before heading back to her office. Along the way, she overheard various rumors about what had actually happened to the facilities on Phobos and Deimos.

The rumors varied from group to group and person to person, but they had a very similar premise. The most common version of the story had the portals accidentally open up the gates of Hell itself, as supposedly evidenced by the hordes of brown- and pink-skinned creatures who for all intents and purposes were basically demons. Then some of the facilities' security teams were either turned to the demons' side or were zombified by some sort of demonic plague. A good number of the civilian employees and uncompromised security personnel were killed in the initial attacks, which were too strong for the combined strength of the security units and marine detachments to repel. The decision was then made to evacuate all remaining civilians and critical military personnel to Mars. Unsurprisingly, the evacuation went as planned, despite the occasional encounter with demons or compromised security personnel.

Thank the UAC's frequent evacuation drills for that.

They were joined at the muster stations by security personnel and marines who got separated from their units and instinctively headed to the evacuation sites to help defend the civilians. The last thing many survivors saw before heading to Mars was the dwindling numbers of marines covering the transports as they lifted off to safety. Some also swore that they saw marines fight the demons hand-to-hand, with a surprisingly even match every time it occurred, even against the tall pink ones with said that some marines actually managed to tear parts off the demons' bodies with their bare hands, and charged into the demon hordes before they were never heard from again.

Some survivors who escaped from Deimos saw marines go back inside the facility to try and find more survivors before the moon simply vanished from sight and sensor. At least one survivor saw that a transport was about to escape from the moon when it vanished, although the roll calls indicated that all evacuation transports from Deimos were accounted for.

Rumors also circulated that civilians who lost friends and loved ones volunteered to stay behind and fight alongside the outnumbered marines and security men for revenge. They also let younger and worse off military men in the transports to Mars, as all the wounded military personnel were already onboard special MEDEVAC transports.

As Chitoge went into her office, she was stopped by a young marine, who to her surprise was the same marine she was operating on earlier.

My God, does anybody know how tough these guys actually are? And to think that idiot bean sprout signed up for this job.

"Doc! You forgot this!"

"Oh, thank you very much! Where'd you find it?"

"The medics found this under the table when you left, Doc. Figured out that you're expecting a message from somebody."

"Yeah, I was. So anyway, where's your buddy Jimmy? Is he fine?"

"Toughest fucker I know. Dude basically ripped one of those fuckers' head off and threw it at the other fuckers hitting our position. Anyway, he-"

They were interrupted by the young lance's friend, who was listening nearby.

"Tagal mo naman diyan, Edwin! Nilalandi mo na ba yan si Doktora? Baka Doomguy din yung boypren niya, madale ka pa gaya nung halimaw kanina! (You're taking too long there, Edwin? Are you already flirting with the doctor? Her boyfriend might also be another space marine, you might get killed like the monster from earlier!)"

"Tangina mo, Jimmy! Hindi ako babaero gaya mo! At hindi rin ako napatol sa may boypren na! (Jimmy, you sonofabitch! I'm not a womanizer like you! And besides, I don't flirt with anyone already in a relationship!)"

The lance, now identified as Edwin, turned to the blonde doctor to apologize about his friend's actions.

"Jimmy's just like that, Doc. But deep inside, he's a nice guy. Great family man, too. He's happily married to a girl we were all friends with since childhood, one who's been in love with him for as far as we could remember. Match made in heaven, I gotta say. Anyway, Jimmy's gonna blow a gasket already, Doc. Gotta go. Take care of yourself."

"Edwin, tara na, mapapagalitan pa tayo! Ang tagal mo nam- (Edwin, let's go, we're gonna get chewed out! You're taking so lo-) Oh. Hi, Doc. You must be the one operating on Edwin here earlier. Nice job, he really recovered quickly. If we only had those back home earlier before, we would have gotten somewhere. Lance Corporal Jimmy Matias, Filipino Contingent, back on Earth I'm with the 1st Marine Battalion. And so is this guy, Lance Corporal Edwin Masarate."

"Doctor Chitoge Kirisaki, this facility's head civilian doctor. Nice meeting you all."

"Doc, you Japanese, or at least part-Japanese? Your name sounds the part, but you don't look like it."

"My parents were both half-Japanese, but I left Japan for the States when I was six. Got back to the Home Islands ten years later, and reunited with the love of my life. We've been going out ever since, even when he trained to be a space marine like you, and I returned to the States to study medicine. I reunited with him again when he was sent here with his unit when he socked his CO in the jaw upon ordering them to shoot civilians back on Earth. I had just finished training in special procedures for Martian medical emergencies when his unit arrived."

"Maybe we should talk some more later, Doc. The Filipino Contingent has been gathering the survivors from Phobos and Deimos. We'll be taking our leave now. Take care, and stay strong for your boyfriend on Phobos. He's in everyone's thoughts and prayers right now."

The two Filipino space marines then went to their unit's assembly area inside the hangar. Once they were fully out of her sight, Chitoge went to her table. grabbed a bottle of iced tea, drank a quarter of the bottle's contents, and calmed down.

How'd they find out about Raku being the only known survivor of the Marines sent to Phobos? Did the JSDF contingent tell somebody, and they overheard it? Or did some marines overhear the communications between Raku and high command, and spread the word?

She took another sip to calm herself down before opening her phone, hoping to receive new information regarding the situation on Phobos and Deimos, as well as the reactions from Earth. So far, she only found messages from friends and family back on Earth, as well as news organizations reporting on what they called a "major glitch" in the portals on Phobos and Deimos.

MsKosakiOnodera: I heard the news from Maiko-kun and Ruri-chan a few hours ago. Don't worry, Chitoge-chan, we all know Raku-kun has been through worse, and came back in one piece. Raku-kun will be fine. I'm sure of it. Stay strong, Chitoge-chan. Kosaki out.

FourEyedAssKicker: Hey, Kirisaki-san! I hope you're fine back there on Mars, because Raku surely isn't gonna be! Just kidding, I know Raku can handle this, he's a badass. I know it! So just relax and take it all in stride! Keep on keeping on!

PrettyLittleLion: Don't even bother with worrying about him. He'll be fine. He's gotten through worse, hasn't he? That's why you should just remain calm and go about your business.

MissJaneBond: I knew I should've taken back Rakkun when I had the chance! Look! He's gone off into Phobos to finish his mission by himself! Anyway, the guys here tell me they haven't heard from Rakkun or the other Pioneers. If you really want to prove to me that you are more suitable for Rakkun than I am, here's a tip for you, sister - trust in him and stay strong!

RedEyesBlueDragoness: Mistress! Thank God you're safe there on Mars. The family is still worried about you, however. When will you return to us here on Earth? And as for Raku Ichijou, don't worry about him. As much as I hate his disgusting guts, we both know that he is more than capable of dispatching whatever attacked the Phobos and Deimos facilities. Keep safe up there, Mistress. As much as I hate to say this, Raku Ichijou is in our thoughts and prayers right now.

CNNBreakingNews: Martian situation is under control, efforts are being made to re-establish contact with Phobos and Deimos - UAC presser

RTInternational: Space Marines sent to Phobos virtually annihilated, Deimos vanished from all sensors, no Earth reinforcements to be sent to Phobos, "lone survivor" of Space Marine unit on Phobos carrying on with mission by himself - anonymous Space Marine on Mars to RT's Martian team

UnionAerospaceCorporation: Martian operations and personnel are safe and sound. We are currently coordinating with military commanders and the UN to reestablish contact with the facilities on Phobos and Deimos. Injured survivors are being treated with the utmost care. Rest assured, everything is under control.

JSDFonMarsENG: No word at this moment on the situation of the Pioneer Company on Phobos, last transmissions say that operations are still ongoing as we speak. Please keep our Pioneers in your thoughts and prayers.

KremlinRussiaEN: Our Martian Contingent is on red alert due to the events on Phobos and Deimos. General Petrenko confirms that no Russian casualties were incurred among the evacuees, although some Space Landing Forces troops were injured due to unspecified causes. We will keep you in the loop as more information arrives from Mars. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Japanese Pioneers currently investigating the events on Phobos.

All the Space Marines sent to Phobos got wiped out? You're shitting me - Raku and his pals are stronger than you can imagine, you lying assholes.

She kept scrolling down the messages of sympathy and goodwill from the families of the men of Pioneer Company, and stopped once she found the message she was looking for.

BeanSproutinManAndAHalf: Something came up. Command says demon-like aliens or something attacked Phobos and Deimos, with Deimos disappearing into space. We'll be up already by the time you read this. We're loaded for bear, we can handle this. Stay strong and keep safe, honey. I love you.

Chitoge immediately texted a response before locking up her office for the meantime and going to sleep.

AngelOfLife: Just got out of emergency duty. Will be getting some sleep. Are you alright up there, darling? I've been worrying about you ever since you guys went to Phobos. Just kick some ass and take care of yourself, okay? I love you too.


Back on the Phobos facility...

I remembered that I still had my grenades with me. I grabbed one from my pack, threw it at the bunch of zombie assholes firing at me, and scrambled for cover.

The fuckers only realized what I threw at them when it was too late.

BOOM!

The crowd of zombies was reduced to a pile of scattered corpses, body parts, and blood. The satisfaction of seeing the dead zombies was dampened, however, by the sight of two partially eaten corpses of space marines who weren't from my unit, but I still considered them brothers in arms. From what I could deduce, the fallen marines were part of a security detachment from the British contingent to Mars.

I then knelt down, said another short prayer to whatever benevolent non-evil deity was listening up above, and went on to search the place for anything I could use. So far, I've only scrounged up some ammo, a few health and armor bonuses, a pair of stimpacks, and the key to the red door downstairs.

Once I was finished with prying ammo off the corpses, I then went outside to check out just what the, well, hell were those shotgun guys guarding.

Not only did I find an armor bonus and a health bonus, I also found a sphere which looked to me like it had some sort of soul inside of it. When I picked it up, I saw a vision of a dude in armor much more advanced than ours firing what appears to be an improved version of the rumored BFG prototypes at a futuristic-looking demon.

Once the demon fell dead, I was surrounded by what appeared to be the guy's comrades, who saluted and congratulated the guy. When the armored dude returned his brothers' greetings, the visions vanished, and I was back in reality.

For some reason, I felt stronger upon picking up the sphere. Besides, the show it provided kicked a lot of ass! Anyway, when I was done imagining what happened before the armored dude fought the futuristic demon, I went to the right flank of the building and found something I didn't expect to see.

A Mach-3 minigun and two boxes of ammo.

The Mach-3 was normally used as a fixed weapon, mounted on vehicles or tripods in defensive positions when it wasn't used as a squad fire support weapon. Sure, it was heavy, it drank bullets like a main battle tank drank fuel, and the recoil was a pain ass, but boy was it very fun to fire.

I could only grin as I spooled the minigun up and tested it on the wall behind me. When I was satisfied with the weapon's performance, I could not resist speaking like I was in a cheesy action film.

"Hail to the king, baby!"

When I was done fooling around like a bad action movie hero while no one could see me, I went back inside the nuclear plant and headed to the red door.

I was greeted by a crowd of zombie guys and imps who were only too willing to tear me to burning shreds. Still on my soul sphere-induced high, I dared the bastards to come and get some as I prepared my minigun for firing.

"IMPS? ZOMBIES? YOU THINK YOU CAN GET ME?"

Wait, maybe they don't think.

"WELL, I DO! AND I THINK YOU'RE DEAD!"

I finally let the minigun rip, and sure enough, a few zombie guys were eviscerated and decapitated by the hail of bullets I was conjuring out of the minigun.

"DEAD!"

I could feel myself getting stronger with every zombie or imp I brutalize ever since I got here. Is it just me getting a sense of satisfaction from killing those who were responsible for the deaths of civilians and my brothers in arms? Or is it heaven rewarding me for ridding this land of evil?

"DEAD!"

More zombie men and imps attempt to charge and kill me then and there, only to be met by fire from my minigun... And my fists and knife if they were (un)lucky enough to get into my face.

"DEAD! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

My mind just went, "Well, fuck it, these are literal demons you're killing, anyway", so I actually went ahead and laughed. I laughed at the futility of their attacks on me. I felt no pain whatsoever as I shrugged off the bullets, fireballs and claws they used to try and put me down for good. I almost felt sorry for the poor suckers.

Almost.

I then turned to the corridor to the right, which led into a room filled with radioactive waste, and had a column in the middle surrounded by a patch of concrete sizeable enough to walk around. I was greeted by the fangs of an imp trying to eat my head off, but luckily, his fangs couldn't penetrate my helmet. His claws, however, managed to slash off a good chunk of the armor on my shoulder.

I grabbed the fucker by the throat, ripped his arm off with my knife, and started to stab him in the head with his own claws until his head had more holes than a noodle strainer. Suddenly, a small red orb came out of his corpse. When I picked it up, my armor shook until it looked quite better than it was when the imp slashed the shoulder part off. I thought that these orbs were small containers of demonic energy which for some reason boosted my armor.

Once I was finished theorizing about the uses of energy from the dead demons, I went inside the pool of radioactive waste, which was thankfully only to my knees. But something in the pool made me slip on the floor and dunk myself into the radioactive waste pool.

Now I'm radioactive. That can't be good.

Luckily for me, not only is my armor resistant to radioactive materials, but modern medicine has also found ways to repair damage caused by exposure to radiation as fast as light travels through air. The waste pool was hot though, just as hot as the exhaust of the transport we rode in. And for some reason, the zombie men, shotgun guys and imps were immune to the effects of radioactive material, unless it hit them at twice the speed of sound back on Earth, if not faster.

I got up on the concrete floor around the column to find a medkit and a box of ammo. And a switch, which opened up the wall to the left of the red door to reveal what turned out to be a large, dimly-lit maze, where one would never know whether the next turn would contain a supply of ammo, health, armor, or a zombie guy.

When I went to the entrance, I was greeted by a smaller crowd of zombie men and imps, who didn't waste time and sent bullets and fireballs my way before I could even respond. I could only respond with the one way I always responded to things like this.

"EAT SHIT, HELLSPAWN!"

I threw a grenade into the group and ran for cover. Soon enough, the explosion turned a good part of the bunch into a pile of gibs and corpses, but the survivors kept on firing. I whipped out my assault rifle and dispatched the rest with a single magazine. As per usual, I went to work collecting ammo and supplies, now including the small orbs of demonic energy that came out of the imps.

After that was finished, I immediately went to the corridor to the right, dispatching an imp and a zombie guy blocking my path towards a health bonus, a medkit and some ammo. I then went back out to the red door. I then went back inside the bright part near the door and turned left, sticking to the walls and checking the corners for supplies and zombie men, which were easily dispatched with a shotgun shell to the face. I came upon a panel flanked on both sides by vertical steel beams.

I touched the wall and it instantly raised to reveal a small room containing an ammo backpack. Seeing as I already carry one backpack, I just pilfered the contents and put them inside my own . When I got out of the room, I was greeted by about four zombie guys. I felt a round pierce my shoulder armor and barely graze the shirt underneath as I scrambled to grab my assault rifle and retaliate in kind. I didn't lift my finger off the trigger until either they were dead or the magazine went dry. Just as the last guy fell dead, the rifle jammed.

It turned out that the action was fouled up by the accumulated bits and pieces of guts and bones that got inside since the first encounter back at the hangar. I immediately disassembled the rifle, grabbed a clean rag and some oil from my pack, and removed the sticky burnt red goo surrounding the chamber and the rear end of the barrel. I then put away my cleaning kit, reassembled and reloaded my rifle in time to mow down a zombie guy who came from the dead end in front of the secret room that I never saw.

I then checked it out to find a small cache of supplies and ammo. I then continued to move through the maze as I searched for more supplies and zombies to hunt. I noticed a part of the maze with flickering lights, some supplies, and a pair of imps. I took a right and two left turns to reach my flanking position.

If only that zombie guy hiding in the darkened corner in front of the position was kind enough to just leave me alone, I would've gotten away with it, too. Luckily, he didn't manage to hit me that hard. A burst of rifle fire to the face ensured that.

Unfortunately, when I turned back around, there was already a pair of imps clawing at my armor and helmet. I kicked the pair of morons away from me before sending each one of them a five round burst to the face. I reloaded my rifle, collected the supplies, and left the dumb brothers with a message.

"GO FUCK YOURSELVES!"

And then, something amazing happened.

The wall behind where the armor suit used to be raised up to reveal a stairway just as I raised my middle finger. I couldn't help but laugh as I held my middle finger at the passageway, trying to figure out just exactly what happened.

Once I was done laughing like a kid hearing a dirty joke, I then went to work going up the stairs to find out where it led to. Along the way, there were plenty of armor bonuses, including some in a room hidden along the stairway. When I got to the end of the passageway, I made sure that there were no more surprise assaults on me that were going to happen, so I turned some degrees to the left, and threw a grenade.

Just as the first grenade blew up the barrel and the two zombie guys surrounding the waste pool with the tall pillar in the middle, I saw a window with an imp and another zombieman. I threw another grenade inside and took cover. Once the explosion was confirmed to have killed the monsters, I checked around to find a switch beside one of the dead zombie men. I pressed the switch, and the pillar instantly lowered to reveal...

"Ahhh! Chainsaw! The great communicator!"

I couldn't help but say a line from an old so-bad-it's-good comic book I enjoyed as a little boy as I saw the modified forestry tool lower from atop the pillar. A sense of satisfaction came over me when I held the chainsaw in a combat stance for the first time, a feeling I last felt when I accepted Chitoge's feelings and returned them with a love confession of my own.

Oh yeah! Now we're talking!

I immediately exited the room and went back through the maze again to the stairs I first saw when I opened the red door.

I went up to find a walkway through another pool of radioactive waste. The walkway was littered with health bonuses, and the end of the path had three medkits neatly lined up. At the very end of the walkway was an elevator with a box of shotgun shells lying on it. I also noticed a discolored part of the wall to my left, which raised to reveal a dark passage with a health bonus, which led to a ledge above a dark room with what seemed to be a bunch of shotgun guys, zombie guys and imps lying in ambush with their weapons aimed at the elevator.

What a bunch of stupid idiots, forgetting to watch their flanks and standing around like pieces of dumb shit waiting to be blown up by a grenade. Which ended up happening to them. Morons deserved to be blown up anyway.

I collected the goodies on the ledge I was on before dropping down to the floor, where my armor's impact compensation systems ensured that none of my bones were broken by the impact. Upon landing, I grabbed whatever supplies I could still fit inside my pack before flipping the switch in front of the elevator. It opened up two doorways - the longer one, which had a medkit, and the shorter one, which was the fastest way to the nuke plant exit.

As I approached the exit, I noticed signs of an earlier firefight, with many dead imps, zombie men and shotgun guys. Then I saw the corpse of a marine backed against the wall beside the exit door. I checked his weapons and pack to find that he had absolutely no munitions left on him. Then I noticed the insignia on the fallen marine's helmet and gear. A good part of it was written in Japanese.

This man was a Pioneer, a brother.

Just as I was thinking about who among us stayed behind to cover the guys, I lifted his helmet off, and then the warrior's identity hit me like a brick flying at the speed of sound. This man was no mere Pioneer. He was the head honcho.

Our company commander, Captain Shinji Yukimura, call signed "Big Boss". He used that one because not only was he a big fan of Metal Gear, but he also resembled the main character in that old anime about South Korean commandos with the same call sign in so many ways. Which was why he was loved not only by us Pioneers, but also by the entire battalion, even if he gave the brass headaches trying to clean up his mess whenever he acted like the maverick that he was.

That's why for the first time since getting here on Phobos, I cried.

Last time I cried that hard was when I was just a little boy standing to my daddy's knee watching my brother being lowered into his grave after giving his life for his brothers in arms and the Japanese people in an illegal yet ultimately necessary black operation. Kenji was my hero, you know? He was the guy I aspired to be when I grew up, and, if anyone in my family was to be believed, the guy I eventually grew up to be. But deep inside, I knew that I could never come close into being the jolly. all-loving, motherfucking badass nice guy that everyone around him remembered my older brother.

Then I remembered my brother's last words to me before he went off to his final mission, the mission that changed my family forever.

"If you find yourself crying just because a brother in arms died fighting alongside you, keep up the fight. Honor their memory by carrying on with the mission. Doing otherwise will make their sacrifices meaningless. Do you understand me, Raku?"

Yes sir.

I took off my helmet, wiped my tears, and put the helmet back on before taking Big Boss's dog tags from his body. I felt guilty for not being able to save the man who served as one of my older brother figures in the service. I knelt on one knee, said my prayers and tributes for the Captain, stood up and gave him one final salute before taking the memory module from his helmet and putting it inside my pack along with his dog tags. I was gonna tell Big Boss that I was gonna make those who killed him pay, but the bodies and his empty guns showed that he took his killers down with him.

I heard growling and taunting from behind the door. I knew that they were waiting for me. I readied my chainsaw and slashed at the first zombie I saw.

For Big Boss, the Pioneers and my fallen brothers.

The chainsaw's buzzing muted the zombies screams as I slashed into his guts and went up to the top of his head. The others were shooting at me with scary grins, but I could see in their bloodshot eyes fear and panic as I slashed another zombie's head off with the chainsaw. The elevator to my left rose to reveal an imp, intent on clawing and gnawing the life out of me. I nonchalantly turned around and dueled with the imp who tried his best to block my saw with his claws, but the chainsaw eventually cut through the claws and sliced the poor fucker cleanly in half. I then turned to the remaining zombies and swung my chainsaw at the closely packed bunch.

Well, what do you know, I actually managed to kill five guys with one chainsaw swing.

I then looked around the room, which was now coated with blood, guts, and shell casings. I also found the remains of other marines from the detachment deployed to Phobos before all hell broke loose. I once again knelt to pray for my fallen brothers' souls and went to work patching myself up with whatever remaining medical supplies I could find nearby. I then went on the elevator and pressed the switch that I saw upon getting to the base of the elevator. It raised the panel it was on to reveal a passage to what the signage on the walls and the ceiling said was the facility's toxic materials refinery.

I once again saw a large number of dead demons, but there was a bit more variety to the fallen legions of hell, as I also managed to find corpses of big pink minotaur-like demons among the sea of familiar zombie, shotgun guy and imp corpses.

Suddenly both my phone and my radio began working again, as I saw a flurry of notification appear on my phone, as well as the voice of the company XO, Captain Yuuji Ikari, call sign "Lightning Man" on the radio. It later turned out that the mazelike room I cleared was also the facility's backup communications control room, as the main command and control center where all inbound and outbound communications go through was taken over by the demons.

"All friendly stations in the area, I repeat, all friendly stations in the area, this is Pikeman Actual, do you read me, over?"

"Pikeman Actual, this is Bean Sprout from Pikeman Three-Three, I read you Lima Charlie, Oscar Mike to the toxin refinery, what is your position, over?"

"Bean Sprout, this is Lightning Man, thank goodness you're alright! We're pinned down at the entrance of the facility's military base by multiple hostiles, company has one zero confirmed Kilo India Alpha, and one niner confirmed Whiskey India Alpha, with one zero in need of immediate MEDEVAC! Where is, repeat, where is Big Boss, over?

I barely held on as I relayed the bad news to the XO and the guys, who would surely not take the news very well.

"Big Boss is dead. I repeat, Big Boss is dead. Multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and torso area, massive blood loss. No round left unspent. Three four to four zero hostiles killed around him, corpse is beside door to nuke plant exit, over."

I could hear some of the guys around the XO crying, having learned that their beloved CO died to cover their advance into the base.

"Bean Sprout, thanks for the sitrep. It's okay to cry, Corporal, everyone here is heartbroken to some degree or another by the news. We're still holding out here, but it would be great if you could bring in some additional firepower, over."

"Wilco, Lightning Man. I'm gonna smash through these suckers to you and the guys, sir. Make sure to save some for me, over."

"Lightning Man copies, Bean Sprout. Good luck and Godspeed. Out."

Once the XO signed off the network, I immediately grabbed my phone and checked out the messages, which were all from friends and family on Earth and Mars, saying that they, along with basically the rest of humanity, were praying for me and the Pioneers' safety and success, as well as asking about what the situation was on Phobos, as some media outlets were saying that we were wiped out here. Whatever transpired here was definitely something that only Command and UAC higher-ups should know, so I replied to all of them with messages of gratitude and reassurances of our safety, even though Big Boss and ten other Pioneers had already fallen from the demonic onslaught so far, though not without taking down a good chunk of the legions of hell with them, if Big Boss was any indication. I also added variations on the following line to tentatively answer questions from Earth on what happened on Phobos and Deimos.

"We're still not sure what hit Phobos and Deimos, but we're packing enough heat to put whatever it is down for good."

The messages from Mars asked me about what the demons looked like, which I replied with "Right now, no more than piles of blood, gore and lead."

And then I saw Chitoge's message.

AngelOfLife: Just got out of emergency duty. Will be getting some sleep. Are you alright up there, darling? I've been worrying about you ever since you guys went to Phobos. Just kick some ass and take care of yourself, okay? I love you too.

I quickly texted a reply, sighed, and put away my phone before advancing towards the toxin refinery entrance.

BeanSproutinManAndAHalf: I'm fine up here, honey. I also got to kick a lot of hell spawn ass up here. Too bad they took up too much of my time. Time that I could've used to save Big Boss and plenty of my brothers. I've taken a lot of good hits, but they're nothing that the medical supplies up here can't fix. And stop worrying about me. I told you, we can handle this, even with the losses we've taken now. Go back to helping the evacuees once you're done with your beauty rest, you people-fixing gorilla girl. Stay strong. And wait for me down there. I'll keep you posted whenever I can. I love you.


Nuclear Plant

FINISHED

KILLS 100%

ITEMS 100%

SECRETS 100%


NOW ENTERING

TOXIN REFINERY


Phew! Took me four days of playing, reading, and rewriting to get this chapter done, especially the Mars and second Phobos portions! Rest assured, dear readers, this will not be a dead fic. This will only be updated irregularly, as it's not exactly easy trying to convert a playthrough into a rough base for a chapter. And also, I don't exactly have the time and money to read up the rest of Nisekoi's chapters to try and find more bits to add to this story. And as per usual, constructive criticisms and comments are welcome, but please, make your reviews longer than "Nice chapter, I liked it" or something similar. At least elaborate on what you like and don't like about the chapter, and how can I improve on my writing overall. This has been Nisekoi: Knee Deep in Death and Evil, and I'm Needle Gunner saying: Value yourself, and soon enough others shall see your value.