(Doom PSX – Track01 (Hangar))
If there was anything stronger than Ruby's immense fear, due to horror she witnessed, was the beastly, uncouth hunger she felt. The urge to consume food was, much to her own astonishment, powerful enough to urge her to go outside in search for something edible. Even with the immense hunger eroding her common sense, Ruby knew she couldn't just waltz around without a care in the world. She was grateful for her Semblance, which allowed her to sneak from place to place with quick and precise movements. The only thing she really hated were the petals she left behind, a byproduct of her Semblance, which could make soldiers suspicious. Still, when one of said soldiers outright stomped on them, seemingly unaware of their existence below his feet, Ruby had doubts about them being a problem. On the other hand, the raspy breath she heard under the helmet, and the shocking red stains on the uniform, were probably the reason behind their lack of awareness.
Ruby pictured herself as a tiny mouse trying to hide from the big cat inside a labyrinth. That was how she felt, with all the hiding and running. At least the personnel weren't the most keen-eyed in the world, that was a relief. Although, Ruby didn't notice until then, all the soldiers she saw were acting beyond weird. Many uniforms were stained with blood, with bite marks or claws being so visible it hurt to see. Those that happened to be like that had the bad habit of smelling like spoiled meat or fish. Also some of them shambled all zombie-like, their breathing sounding like someone tried scratch their claws on a chalkboard. Ruby really didn't want to see what was inside those helmets. Not even for all Lien in the world.
It was disturbing how much gore she had to unwillingly take in. The smell of decay followed her with every step, sometimes tinged with the peculiar smell of blood. She had to suppress the urge to vomit or scream. It was like a nightmare, only much more real.
Faunus or Human, it made no difference to the men in green, who piled and burned the dead or even drained their blood, for reasons entirely unfathomable to the girl in red. Or better, she didn't want to know the reasons, she wanted to stop them from doing it. Right after eating something and finding what she looked for.
The more she moved, the more did her surroundings turn surreal. Symbols of different shapes and sizes were painted all across the ground and walls. There was something inherently wrong whenever she looked at them. She couldn't put a finger on it, but she felt immense dread whenever she would even dare to glance at their direction. Then came corpses. Walking corpses. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, just like she couldn't believe when she saw Huntsmen and Huntresses with red eyes, yellow giants, Faunus-turned-monsters and mutated animals. Those were no Grimm that died and turned into smoke. Those were actual, living things, like her. If Grimm were frightening, then those monsters were even more.
For as long as she could, Ruby tried to suppress the urge to cry. She decided to cry her heart out, in complete silence, only after hiding in a pile of metallic crates, where nobody could bother her.
"This is the worst day of my life. I want to go back!"
Trying to wrap her head around the whole situation was exhausting. She tried to understand why would any Human being go so far as to torture and murder so many people. What could possibly be the ultimate goal? She also tried to come up with an answer as to why were there monsters roaming around without hurting the men in green. No matter how much she thought, Ruby failed to come up with an explanation, which frustrated her even more.
All mental activity stopped once two pairs of feet were close enough to be heard. Green boots, she thought, must be the soldiers. She decided to listen their conversation.
"This ain't right."
"Oui."
"No, fuck! This ain't fuckin' right, ah tell ya."
"You think I don't see that?"
"Ah, Ah didn't sign up for this! Nobody told me Ah had to shoot the damn civvies or paint walls with their blood."
One of the man kicked an imaginary pebble.
"Mon ami, what choice do we have now? You see how we are neck deep in it, right?"
"Ah know, man!"
"Then why are you complaining? The general's doing the best he can to get us out of here, and if it means we have to do all this shit, then who am I to protest, tu comprends?"
"Fuck the general! It's 'cause of him that we are in this shitty place."
One of them turned to the other.
"Ah can't stand seeing our dead friends walkin' around with their throats slit open day in day out. That's fucked up! They're supposed to be buried, Étienne! And, and there's the fucking monster dogs and shit, those fucked up giants, this fucking place, everything's goin' to Hell! Ah just wanna go home to mah family Ah hadn't seen in two damn years!"
"You know who actually brought us here? It wasn't the general. He had to do it for our safety. It was that salaud. That Vault Hunter fuck."
"Yeah… yeah, the sunovabitch himself. Man, Ah can't wait to get mah hands on him."
Both pairs turned around to leave.
"If he doesn't get us first, that is."
"Yeah. Kid doesn't know when to give up."
"Kid?" Ruby thought, waiting for a couple of minutes before she got out. Looking around for another spot, she noticed a pair of blue eyes belonging to a man in white shirt and pants, observing her from afar. Her heart began racing, it became harder to breathe. They found her. Now they would go and raise the alarm and she wouldn't be able to save her friends and find something to eat and…
None of that happened.
The stranger, with an expressionless face, silently pointed at a tank-like vehicle parked near a small tent. He then crouched and pointed at the ground under the vehicle, stood up and went inside said tent.
"Huh?"
Ruby stared in confusion. It then occurred to her that she was out in the open, so she used her Semblance to reach the tank and hide underneath. The moment she hid, a man with a beret and a scarf approached a hunched, hooded figure wearing a wooden mask and way too many rings on their fingers.
"Is everything in place?" asked the man with the beret.
"Almost." replied the other person in a raspy, yet high-pitched voice. The mask should have muffled the voice. It did not.
"What do you mean 'almost'?"
"We had to do some trial and error, before me and my loyal acolytes finally found the right recipe. Our 'allies' refuse to give us a hand, knowing that they have enough leverage to dictate the rules of this game. The demons can be so fickle at times."
The evil chuckle gave Ruby goosebumps.
"Fuck." the man muttered, "What about the other stuff… things?"
"Out of ten Gore Nests, we managed to build only two. It would have been faster if we had some proper demonic aid at our side."
"Damn it."
The masked man laughed again, "I sense fear dwelling within you, general. Are you concerned about the Eviscerator?"
"'Course I fucking am. Kicked the damn bastard out from one of those Bullheads. Felt like kicking a hornet's nest." he folded his arms, "I know he's alive. That wasn't enough to kill him."
"Yes," the masked man rubbed his mask, "Vault Hunters can be tough nuts to crack."
"You don't seem bothered."
"No. I am not."
"You know as much as I do that these monsters around us won't be able to hold him back."
"That is why we have the effigy. With a pinch of luck, we can buy enough time for the main event. One that will kill the accursed pest."
"Hope all the lives we took were worth it."
"They are, my dear general. We earned the favor of the mighty Tammuz, who gave us a fine deal in return for the Vault Hunter's soul. That is the only way your men can safely return to our reality."
"Not all of them."
"True. Those who died shall receive a proper burial."
"You think so? I still see their bodies walking around."
"The best we have at the moment. Once we summon demons, the Possessed will be of no use to us."
"You could talk with a bit more respect for your companions."
"My companions are dead. Those are their bodies. Do not be so foolish to mistake the two."
A series of earth-shattering explosions interrupted all activity around Ruby. It was so loud it could be mistaken for volcanic eruptions. Powdered concrete and asphalt turned into pillars of smoke that skyrocketed towards the heavens, branching off into smaller spikes as detritus rained down on Mountain Glenn. Some heavier chunks fell on several Possessed, either breaking their heads or crushing their bodies. Even a building collapsed.
The masked man's laugh turned even creepier, "It seems that subtlety is a virtue unknown to our little friend."
However, the other man had a different reaction, "Shit! Don't tell me he's-"
"But of course he is! He is the Eviscerator, in flesh and bone."
Around them, the monsters began howling.
"Damn it! I need to tell my men to retreat! He'll kill them all!"
"Then I'll be on my way."
"You've gotta help us!"
"Sometimes you have to loose a battle to win a war, my dear general. Never forget that."
After they departed, Ruby quickly infiltrated into the tent where the man with blue eyes went before. It was stuffed with several black luggage-crates and some large red chests with the word "Dahl" printed on them. The man was nowhere to be seen.
"...hunger… hunger..."
Half-frustrated, half-embarrassed, Ruby Rose decided to open every container in search for something to eat. Her stomach growled for a third time in less than ten minutes. She felt like she hadn't eat for days. The first luggage-crates held several weapons labeled "Torgue" and "Tediore" and "Dahl", brands she was unable to recognize. It confused her gun nut nature, but not enough to stop her mad search for food. Only the fifth luggage-crate had what she wanted.
"Food..." she moaned absent-mindedly.
"...meat...need… meat..."
Ruby looked at the contents. Dozens of silver packages, each with different words written on them. Trail mix, Skag jerky, fried Rakk, hamburger, cookies.
"Cookies."
"...meat… meat!..."
The voice in her head was immediately ignored. Cookies were far better than meat anyways. She took the tiny package, ripped it open and wolfed down on the baked dough with chocolate chips, greedily eating one after another.
"...coo… kies?… cookies..."
How she enjoyed the little treats. For a moment, Ruby seemed to forgot about the world around her, about the corpses and monsters and blood. Her thoughts escaped into the cookie heaven, where she would forget all the troubles just for a minute or two. Or three.
"...cookies..."
The voice in her head changed its tone. It went from naughty and demanding to well-behaved and obedient. Ruby chuckled.
"Yep. Cookies are the best thing in the world."
"...cookies..."
"Have you ever tried one? You want to? Here."
She ate another cookie, unaware that she was talking to herself.
"...cookies… good..."
"Aww. I'm out. That was the last one."
"...more..."
"Not now. I'm full. Now I have to find..." Ruby gasped, "Oh no! I have to find them!"
Despite the voice's protests, Ruby concluded that enough was enough. She was so selfish that her stomach took precedence over the lives of her friends. The wave of guilt and shame gave her courage to open the remaining containers as fast as she could. After searching frantically for her sweetheart, the red sniper rifle, Crescent Rose found its way to her arms.
"Yes! Yes! Now I can..."
"Child."
"Eeep!"
Ruby quickly spun around, meeting the man who stood near the entrance with his hands behind his back.
"Fear not, child with silver eyes. I am not your enemy."
Still, she pointed her sniper rifle at him.
"W-w-w-w-who…?"
"You and your friends have fallen into great danger. I came to help you."
"..."
"What is about to happen has the potential to harm many innocent lives. A furious battle between two combatants will mark this wasteland for generations to come. I have the duty to save as much mortals I can before that happens, including you."
They both heard a roar coming outside the tent. Ruby's eyes became as wide as plates when a Possessed Huntsman stormed inside, his red eyes locking on the tiny mortal in front of them. The man placed a hand on the Huntsman's shoulder, who howled as an orange mist evaporated from his body, before falling unconscious.
"I know your capabilities, child with silver eyes. You are a fighter at heart and a warrior in the making. Are you willing to help me in my mission? I can do it on my own, yet I think that some experience with the enemy won't hurt you. What is your answer?"
"..." Ruby gulped, "...okay. I think."
That was the problem. She didn't know what to think. The fear she felt was now gone entirely, which made her think that the man's actions helped the poor soul.
"What… happened to him?"
"His body was taken oven by the enemy. He is safe now."
"Taken… over?"
"Make haste, child. We don't have much time."
Good news: the tunnel collapsed, blocking any further advancement from the Grimm. Not even a horde could dig a hole through the giant pile of various trash, including the remains of a collapsed building, that stood in their way. In a sense, the creatures of Grimm were no longer a threat.
Bad news: the explosives that went off were probably heard by every living thing inside Mountain Glenn, meaning that Dahl soldiers heard it too and probably decided to check it out. And since the Dahl soldiers were sided with the demons, they would probably send some demonic firepower too.
In short, Braylon was probably fucked.
But, where did Braylon go after the explosion? He had to crawl all the way to the alcove with the service telephone because his legs resembled mashed potatoes and his back was a badly burnt mess. Once there, Braylon fought hard against nausea, concussion, ringing in his ears and a whole list of negative side effects caused by the drugs he used. The PDA, while helping its owner almost immediately, didn't forget the opportunity to flash multiple warnings on the screen. Warnings that he tried to ignore.
"I want to die. Why can't I fucking die already?"
The alcove also had a tiny ladder that led to the surface. Braylon eyed the rusty construct multiple times, before sighing and shaking his head. In his current state, going outside, where there was a chance to encounter people with guns and bloodthirsty demons, was a mistake he had no reason to make.
"Once tough always tough, huh?"
Braylon gulped down the bitter taste left in his mouth, only to feel it even worse as the urge to vomit overwhelmed him again. It wasn't even food, just the gastric acid that burned his throat. If only he could stop shaking for a moment.
Time passed with Braylon still laying on the ground and undergoing treatment thanks to his device. No one had come to kill him off yet. Not Dahl, not Grimm, not purple-eyed Endermen. He was all alone and in pain. Without his guns. Without his Shield. Without…
Without anyone.
A fist struck the vomit pond as quiet sobs filled his little piece of hell. Dark tunnels coupled with the overwhelming silence began playing tricks on Braylon's psyche. The only light he had came from the PDA that continued its work without questioning him. He was stuck in a void.
"Just… let me die… please..."
After years of sacrifices, years of battle, of injuries, of horror, of suicide missions, the river of emotions broke through the unstable dam Braylon and the PDA tried so desperately to hold up. All the guilt he held back has finally caught up with him. Sobs slowly turned to laughter while he subconsciously ordered his device to download all memories back into his brain, no matter how awful they were. Every life he took, every gun he used, the money he spent. It all rushed back with a vengeance.
"Haha! Hahahaha!"
That was not a joyous laugh. It was the laugh of someone who witnessed their life crumble in front of their eyes without any mercy. To him it was the only way to vent out all the negative emotions. To someone else he would look completely insane.
His mind came back to the Dahl soldiers and that's where his laughter was gone.
"..."
Braylon's emotions died down enough for him to rethink about the mark he saw on the general Thaddeus's neck and about the general himself. Dahl's private army did that to him. They joined hands with the demons to make him go down the memory lane. That would explain the Arch-Vile's behavior. They wanted him to suffer, and what better way than to bring him in some godforsaken place like Mountain Glenn? His fist hit the ground once again.
"...I should have known..."
But it was too late now. He couldn't go back. The can of worms was open to the outside world. They turned him into a wreck.
"...Damn you… damn you all for making me… remember..."
Blaming the private army of Dahl Corporation surely helped remembering every bad thing about them. He even connected the mass murder on that island to them. There was no mistake. Nothing was sacred for those who sided with the demons. He had to make them pay. All he needed was to go on the surface and exterminate them all, be they demons or Marines. If someone kills him, he could simply continue his hate-fueled crusade in Hell. It was a perfect plan, a win-win situation, full body recovery be damned. It would also be a perfect way to put in practice the combat training he recently went through in his dreams, as strange as it sounds.
"Rip their hearts out and tear the flesh from the bones. Rip… and tear."
They wanted war? They just got one.
No matter how many enemies she faced, Ruby could never move her eyes away from the man and his combat style. He told her, before they encountered anyone, that they would meet two types of enemies; those who had to be saved and those who had to be killed. The former, he said, were innocent victims who had to be 'exorcised' (whatever that meant) and brought to safety (likely hidden somewhere) as fast as possible, that was the main goal for both of them. The latter were just obstacles that had to be destroyed.
At first, Ruby had no idea who belonged where, right until the first skirmish with two groups of various Possessed. The Corpses were killed off with such speed and efficiency that even Ruby couldn't believe it, and she was the fastest of her team. The man simply lunged forward and pushed them with his palms, causing them to explode in a shower of gore that made Ruby scream. Those who remained, two Former Humans, received the same treatment as the Huntsman from the tent. He then approached Ruby and explained what happened.
"Child with silver eyes," he began, "what you saw is the enemy's filthy combat strategy. By stealing the bodies of the living, and by desecrating the dead, they march to war, knowing that mortals would have trouble disposing of them for emotional reasons. Our concern is to save the living of your kind from their bondage and take them to safety before your friend encounters them first (he had a solemn look while he said that). Others cannot be helped, I'm afraid."
And so started their trek through the camp. They battled against Tainted animals, Possessed Faunus and the Helltouched. Ruby once shot a Helltouched Servant with Crescent Rose. The bullet made impact with its shriveled hip and gruesomely ripped it away. She was used to seeing monsters bleed, she was a Huntress-in-training who had to fight the Grimm after all, but there was something wrong in the Servant's mindless flinching. It reminded her of the corpses that hung from the walls, the ones she saw when she woke up.
Possessed Corpses were even worse. No matter what she did, Ruby could never shake off the thought that what stood in front of her was once the body of a person who is now dead. Crescent Rose would shake in her tiny hands whenever she pointed the barrel at a Corpse, no matter how disfigured it was. The man probably understood her problem and took it upon himself to kill them whenever he could.
"I hate this place."
For the first time in her life, Ruby Rose felt discomfort when fighting. Her targets weren't Grimm, she couldn't dehumanize any of the monsters she encountered. Each swing of her scythe could hack a limb or cut in half things that were mundane, like animals and other people, things that were found in everyday life. At least none managed to lay a finger on her, whether due to her Semblance or the aid of her mysterious guardian. She really wanted to say the same for her teammates.
Their quest brought them to a rather unique and horrifying phenomenon. Ruby, hidden behind some green barrels, witnessed the confusion of a group of black-robed people who circled around a rather strange construct sitting on a pile of corpses.
"It's not working!"
"How?! We've done everything right!"
"Why have you forsaken us?!"
The man put a hand on Ruby's shoulder, "Stay here, child."
Without waiting for an answer, the stranger kicked one of the barrels at the group. The barrel exploded, releasing a green cloud that began melting the mound made of corpses. A chorus of gasps could be heard before he ran forward and, with incredible agility, knocked them all out without taking their lives. He then approached the construct and ripped out an organ resembling a heart. To her shock, it screamed loudly before exploding.
"Let this world judge you first, before you receive the condemnation you so desire."
"...Is it over?" Ruby squeaked from behind the remaining barrels.
"I'm afraid not. We have to find your friends and destroy other Gore Nests in the area."
"...Gore Nests?"
Nothing could have prepared the low-caste demonic filth and the Dahl private military for the arrival of the infamous Eviscerator, Braylon Monocriffe. The bravest among the Dahl Space Marines and Laser Specialists refused to hear the general's orders to retreat back to the base. Retreating was good for the little pissants and greenhorns, they thought. They were seasoned soldiers, veterans that went through various battles and survived. Sure, they went against a Vault Hunter, but that's why they had supernatural backup. It was kinda awkward during the first encounter, seeing the dead walking again and other supernatural oddities, though the awkwardness soon became as mundane as drinking water. The general always knew what he was doing. Their lives were always safe in his hands.
The explosion everyone and their mother heard was a sign of the impending shitstorm that was about to be unleashed. Every soldier that remained became tense, almost paranoid, holding their weapons as tightly as they could. It wasn't because of the airships that began leaving the camp nor because of the constant demonic howls and barks and every other nightmare-inducing noise they heard. No, it was because they knew, they absolutely knew, that one Vault Hunter, so young that they barely left their metaphorical nest, would soon come out from those ruins and start a mayhem that shouldn't be possible for a boy his age. And while the demonic fodder jumped head-first into the battle zone, the Dahl employees thought it would be better for them to distance themselves, just in case. None of them expected that the Vault Hunter they sought to eliminate would attack from behind. One minute, there was complete silence. The other…
"No mercy for the assholes!"
(DoomPowerMetal – Doom Eternal Soundtrack: Entryway (Fan-Made))
The revving of a chainsaw was drowned out by screams of pure terror as one mildly psychotic Vault Hunter jumped out of nowhere and began hacking through several Space Marines. One Laser Specialist received a kick to the head powerful enough to snap his neck.
"No! Stay the fuck away- raaargh!"
One Space Marine brought his hands in front of his head only to loose them entirely as the holographic chainsaw cut him in half until it reached the pelvis. Braylon picked up an Incendiary Hyperion shotgun and made quick work of two more Space Marines. The only Laser Specialist that remained dropped his gun and fell on his knees, a dark stain appearing between his legs.
"Please don't kill me! Mercy! I have..."
"Mercy?!"
A thick vein popped on Braylon's forehead as he violently tossed the shotgun to the man's head, "Are you fucking kidding me?! Go die in a fire, faggot!" He stomped the man's head open, then spat on his corpse.
Picking up a Maliwan Shock SMG, Braylon shot two approaching Tainted dogs, then jumped over a pile of debris and shot a Helltouched Servant, electrocuting him enough to make his head go boom.
The Helltouched Embereye Braylon saw first carried a strange minigun whose barrels were glowing bright orange. Once the yellow giant pulled the trigger, Braylon heard the minigun whirring. It was the perfect time to use a new technique that he learned in his dreams. Said technique consisted of a specific, short-distance jump in a desired direction that allowed the user to maintain both his balance and focus on the target. It was called "strafing".
When the minigun began firing a storm of red lasers, Braylon strafed sideways, letting the Embereye hit a group of Possessed Corpses that were behind the Vault Hunter. The lasers disintegrated their flesh until they became nothing but bones or piles of ash. Meanwhile, Braylon used the remaining bullets on the minigun, causing it to overcharge and explode, claiming the monster's life.
Braylon had to run behind cover as a Dahl employee dressed in gray overalls-like uniform threw a metallic box on the ground which digistructed into a Sabre Turret with rocket pods and a targeting laser.* He jumped over a crumbled wall and landed on top of a Possessed Faunus, impaling her head with Holo Sabre. Grabbing her body, he lifted it up just enough to bait the turret. His jaw dropped when he saw purple bolts of energy turning the Faunus into a colander.
"That must be an E-tech."
He peeked at the open field and noticed a Juggernaut Marine holding a heavy machine gun so crappy that a Bandit might have made it. The Marine fired again and few bolts ran past Braylon's head.
"Yup. That's an E-tech."
The Vault Hunter immediately ran inside the nearest ruins, avoiding the volley of rockets and bullets with the agility of a feline. He found a Helltouched Embereye with a hunting rifle. Using the "circle strafing" technique, a modified version that relied on acrobatics to reach the target's back, Braylon drove the Holo Sabre into the yellow-skinned monster's hip. With the other free hand he grabbed its shoulder and pulled, shoving the holographic blade into its head the moment it turned around.
Everything he got at the moment was the hunting rifle whose barrel stopped glowing once its previous owner died. Braylon searched the corpse for more ammo. No such luck. He checked the magazine. Two shots left.
Purple energy bolts began to perforate the wall he used as a cover. The Vault Hunter waited for the perfect opportunity to fire a shot at the Juggernaut Marine's head. What should have killed the man was actually absorbed by the Shield he wore, though the next shot, aimed at the knee, pulverized his patella and destroyed the ligaments. Even Braylon had to cringe from all that pain he inflicted.
"Ow, my knee! My fucking knee, God damn it!"
As the Juggernaut fell, the other man deconstructed the Sabre Turret as quickly as he could before running for his life, frightened at the display of sadism. Said man would, some time later, encounter a haunting of Endermen that would rip him to pieces.
In one suicidal attempt to acquire the E-tech machine gun, Braylon left the safety of his cover and rushed towards the Juggernaut Marine. He dodged a fist, grabbing the offending arm and putting pressure until it broke. The broken humerus that stuck out from the wound was further twisted until Braylon could shove it, arm and all, through the Marine's right cheek and further into the throat. Not only did he snatch the machine gun, he also took the man's low-quality Shield and equipped it.
As a type, the E-tech (short for Eridium technology) weapons are rather special from any other ever produced by any corporation in Braylon's reality. What makes them unique is their heavy reliance on technology developed through the use of a mineral known as Eridium that seems to be native to Pandora. Said technology is highly advanced and extremely adaptable, being able to fit in almost any type of machinery, although its nature and its history forced its development to suit the needs of the gun manufacturers spread throughout the galaxy.
Because the Bandits on Pandora had a myriad of backgrounds, the most intelligent of them decided to build their own weapons, including the E-tech ones like Braylon saw in action. Most of the time those weapons were rather worthless. However the gun he picked up was pretty decent. Its magazine carried a lot of ammo and the gun itself packed quite a punch.
Truly, the way each energy bolt perforated demonic fodder was spectacular, for it had the power to atomize chunks of flesh, rather than tear through tissue like a normal bullet. No Possessed or Tainted survived the unending barrage, no matter how big their groups were. Many Dahl employees left long before he was able to kill them.
After messing up two Helltouched Servants and one Helltouched Embereye, the Vault hunter spotted a hooded figure running further into the camp, between several piles of corpses, some of them burning.
"Why are you running?! Why the fuck are you running?!"
So began the chase through the grotesque labyrinth, as there were no more challengers left, be they from Hell or Dahl. After passing the fifth pile of dead meat, Braylon heard a jet pack swiftly descending somewhere close to his position.
"Banzai!"
A Juggernaut Marine fell from the sky, striking the earth with his feet and causing a powerful explosion that sent Braylon flying into one of the piles. They didn't wear the standard green armor. It was bright orange like the jet pack, which also sported two wings at its sides. The helmet, also orange, was shaped to resemble the head of a Terran falcon.**
"Am I awesome or what?!"
"You're awesomely dead."
The Marine took flight again. Braylon escaped before he crashed down like a comet, then jumped on his back. There was a small, purple, triangular device with white dots on the Marine's shoulder.
An Oz kit.
"And what do we have here?!"
"Hey! Get off!"
"Birds of a feather," Braylon tore open the jet pack and ripped away some cables, before taking the Oz kit, "die together."
The Marine took flight again. He went higher and higher until the jet pack became too unstable and exploded. There was nothing left.
"See you in Hell."
At the outskirts of Mountain Glenn, where wilderness reigned supreme, general Thaddeus Wilson observed the Vault Hunter through the lenses of tactical drones that carefully followed their target without being noticed. Four holographic screens displayed Braylon's encounters with the sea of obstacles, each from a different angle.
"Incompetent fools," shouted the general as he smashed a fist against the console, "Is this what I get for trying to hold everything together?! Mutiny?!"
"Hehehe..."
Thaddeus wasn't alone in the command center of the ship. There was another man, one with a wooden mask and many rings on his fingers. He knew his name, although he sometimes had doubts regarding the personality hidden behind that cursed piece of wood.
"You should not be so angry, my dear general. Fools never learn their place until it is far too late."
"I don't care about them! I care about the safety of those who are in this ship. He's gonna come for our heads now!"
"No, he won't. There is one more challenger that seeks his soul."
"You mean…?"
"Yes, my dear general. Lord Tammuz is waiting to be summoned. Once he comes to this pitiful rock, not even the Eviscerator will be able to win. Fate is against him."
Thaddeus remained silent. He knew that requesting help from demons was a mistake that would soon bite him in the ass. But if it meant seeing Braylon Monocriffe die, if it meant that his crew could finally return to their home reality, then…
"Then I'm ready to see the end."
"As you wish. I will inform my loyal acolytes. But remember, my dear general," said the man as he was ready to disappear behind the doorway, "sometimes you have to loose a battle to win a war. Hehehehe!"
Furious, the general grabbed his personal ECHO communicator to deliver one final message to those who defied orders.
"All units still out there, this is general Thaddeus E. Wilson! Get your fucking asses back to DBS Cygnus! You hear me?! We're about to unleash the beast! I'm willing to forgive you if you return to Cygnus right the fuck now! Repeat, we're about to unleash Tammuz!"
When Ruby heard the explanation about the nature of a Gore Nest, the most she could do was shrug and feel bad for the victims. The shock effect she experienced earlier had less impact on her now and she hated herself for it, going so far as to accept the situation as it were. She couldn't lift a finger to change anything and it was pointless trying to convince herself otherwise. The hero she aspired to be felt like a third wheel in such a scary environment.
What gave her the courage to go on was the last bit of hope that still lived in her heart. The hope that her friends were still alive. Braylon suddenly invaded her thoughts. The way he acted on the roof of Beacon dormitories was truly awesome. For his sake, she decided to follow his example and gather all the courage she had in herself. Ruby tried to imagine his facial expression when he would see her hacking through monsters like a true Huntress.
Reality came crashing down on her when she and the stranger found the second Gore Nest. There were no groups of cultists ready to slice open their necks nor were packs of corrupted beings hungry for human flesh. But there was something else; the remaining members of team RWBY tied to metallic crosses with barbed wire, each tortured and bloodied.
Ruby rushed immediately towards them with her Semblance. Tearfully, she yelled at the stranger to help her pulling them down, before calling them by their names. They seemed alive, yet none replied to her voice. Their eyes were empty, almost lifeless, making the little red reaper's heart break in half. After they broke them free, Ruby let the stranger destroy the Gore Nest.
"They were tortured," the man stated.
"I… I..." Ruby began crying. "Why did this happen?! Why couldn't I help them sooner?!"
He remained silent for a moment before replying, "I can erase all your memories regarding the latest events and heal all your injuries. For you, it will be as if this day never existed."
Ruby looked at him skeptically, eyes red from tears, "...You can do that?"
"Yes."
"...Who are you?"
"Someone who watches, who watched and who will watch over you until the day you die."
"That's..." Ruby closed her eyes and thought things through. Yang, Weiss and Blake had probably been through the same hell as their teammate, if not worse. The answer was obvious; heal their injuries and wipe away all bad things they saw. It was her responsibility as a leader; to take care of her subordinates. Should she deny such an opportunity, she could never see herself in the mirror for the rest of her life.
Thus, swallowing a lump in her throat, Ruby replied, "Do it."
The man lifted up a hand. She grabbed it gently.
"Make them forget about all of this. Please."
"And what about you? Don't you want to forget too?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because… because, if I forget, who will remain to stand up against these people?"
The man looked her in the eyes. She feigned courage, though she felt terrified.
"...You truly have the soul of a warrior. I will do as you wish. Know this, however; there is one more warrior who knows about the enemy. One with much more experience than you."
"Where are they?"
"Closer than you think."
"T-they are here?!"
"Yes."
She wanted to ask how he knew that, but the actual question was:"Where can I find them?" He looked at the three girls in silence. His otherwise expressionless face became a frown.
"Uh, what's wrong?"
"Their souls are absent."
With newfound hatred for both Dahl and the demonic invaders, The Vault Hunter went through the camp with the destructive force of a tornado. No matter how big the groups were, he would kill them all even if it meant adopting several dirty tricks that would make a bandit blush. When there was no ammo, he used the environment. When someone was too close for comfort, he would mutilate them with his holographic arsenal.
His biggest motivator, anger, rose to new heights each time he killed a Possessed or a Tainted rather than fade away. All he had to do was to remind himself that his target used to be "normal" once, before the demons twisted it like everything else they touched. Very rarely he would stumble upon a Space Marine. Those died before they had a chance to ran.
"They had it coming. All of them."
Eventually his hunt for blood led him deeper into the camp, where even more grotesque stuff could be seen ad nauseam; hanging corpses, executed civilians, ritualistic mass murders, satanic symbolism similar to what he found back on that island and everything else that made his blood boil even more than usual.
"Seems they were busy. I'll have to leave one alive to learn everything I want to know."
Some time later, Braylon stumbled upon a tent with a large vehicle parked near it. He found ammunition and weapons belonging to Dahl. Most weapons were, as expected, of low quality (or outdated) and not really something to waste time on. But even in mud that thick, he could still find several jewels that would keep him company; an above-average Torgue shotgun, a Unique Hyperion SMG, a Vladof Explosive rocket launcher, a very old S&S Munitions sniper rifle, an Adaptive Shield, and a Maliwan Caustic laser blaster. Braylon would discard them all once he acquired his old weapons back, with the exception of the Oz kit and a grenade mod shaped to resemble a bee hive the size of a grown man's fist.
The vehicle was, and to this day still is, a source for pride for Dahl's R&D department. It was a tank almost twice the size of a bus; a light-plated wonder with a turret that carried two short but wide energy cannons used to take down spaceships or any obstacle that stood in its path, depending on the power output. Two smaller turrets stood at each end of the tank, capable of deploying mines. That tank was known as the VEKTOR.***
"...Why's this thing here?"
(Metatron Omega - Hierosgamos)
His thoughts were interrupted once his ears picked up a distant chorus of voices, not very far from him. Human voices singing and repeating everything one member said. Braylon was confused by the sudden development of things. One part of him wanted to go and find the source while the other repeatedly warned him how that idea was the equivalent of running naked in the middle of a pack of Skags. The former won.
"I thought everyone left."
What he found was a tall effigy made of iron pipes, shaped to resemble a human-like figure with large horns on the sides of the head. There was no surface on the effigy that wasn't covered with a Human (or Faunus) body. Where they couldn't be stitched together or held tightly to the pipes with wires, they were hanging from a rope or simply impaled. The insides of the effigy were stuffed with cables and electronic components, the right leg was made entirely out of metal, as was the left arm. No traces of flesh or blood could be found on them. It was an abhorrent offering to death, an eyesore for the sane and an object of worship for the cultists that gathered together in a circle around it, where each member stood at one tip of a massive pentagram engraved in the ground under their feet.
"Oh, great one! You, whose cunning swayed an entire race to offer itself to you, bless us with your presence."
"Oh, great one, bless us with your presence!" others repeated.
Braylon decided to stop their little party by killing them all before they succeeded in whatever they tried to do. And yet his body refused to leave his hiding spot, as if he lost complete control over it. When the cultists fell on their knees, so did he.
"The fuck? I can't move!"
"We call your presence, so that you might unleash your fury on this virgin world, where the one who dares to oppose you resides. One miserable, little pest whose life is worth nothing!"
"Whose life is worth nothing!"
"We offer our blood, so that you can reincarnate through the vessel your pious followers built."
One by one, they pulled out a knife from their robes and slit their wrists, letting the blood to flow into the engraved pentagram. Curiously, their blood mixed beneath the effigy only after the last cultists repeated the process for one last time.
"Take our blood and make it yours!"
"Take our blood and make it yours!"
"What the fuck is going on?!" Braylon desperately struggled against his invisible restraints.
"And now we offer our souls, so that your essence can transmute the effigy into your avatar."
An aetherial green aura enveloped the body of each individual. They screamed in pain as their bodies convulsed, twisted, and shook. Braylon doubted it was just pain that made them yell as loud as they could.
"Nngh! I can feel the presence of the heretic! He is nearby!"
"Uh oh."
"So then… the time has come! We offered sacrifices on the island, the soil beneath our feet is soaked in blood as you requested! Now hear our pleas! Slaughter your enemy, wipe away any proof of his existence!" one of them raised their hands up in the air. "I offer our five souls to build the overlay network! Come forth, Tammuz the Soulflayer!"
The auras focused on their heads until they collected themselves in tiny spheres that flew above each head. Those spheres flew towards the effigy and dived into its insides. The blood from the pentagram turned into red mist as a large pillar of red light enveloped the effigy. While the cultists fell dead, the skies turned dark and the ground began splitting open, green lava erupting everywhere. Braylon watched in horror as the earth transformed into some kind of blood red stone. Fleshy tentacles enveloped the ruins and those few buildings that survived the passage of time. Blood began to rain.
The pillar of light died down in a large explosion of energy that sent everything flying away, including the Vault Hunter, like they weren't worthy to be close to the being that used the effigy to manifest itself; a gigantic demon, even taller than the Overmind, who had one cybernetic leg and one hand turned into a giant cannon. The corpses of Humans and Faunus alike were melted like cheese, forming a layer of both soft and rough, wrinkled and youthful skin; few faces sticking out from its chest. Green wiring held together the torso and legs while hiding a large metallic spine fused to the flesh on its back. Its eyes were green glowing pits placed at each side of its head, a little beneath the large black horns. The canine snout turned to Braylon, who lay on the ground watching in fear and awe.
"I hope you understand, Human," a deep voice boomed throughout the streets of Mountain Glenn, the earth squeaking as the giant hooves stomped it slowly and mercilessly, "that everything that happens from now on is your fault. The sun will be extinguished, the oceans will turn to deserts, the cities will be adorned with mortal innards. Only then, after I snuff out every life on this planet, will your soul fall into the deepest pits of Hell, where it will suffer for all of eternity." The green eyeballs caught fire, "Let's go."
Will Braylon and co. survive the inevitable shitstorm or will they get their asses kicked? Find out in the next episode of DragonBall Z.
Boring jokes aside, the next chapter will also be the end of this arc and the beginning of the biggest arc up to now. I am not entirely sure about its full size yet. Fourteen chapters seems too much, so the current number is somewhere between nine and eleven, unless my brain fucks me over and decides to push the damn thing to fourteen and up. I will probably kill myself if that happens tho, so no worries. I actually have to think the whole thing through instead of just making shit up! For so many fucking chapters! Is this how Picasso felt like when he entered his Blue Period? Though I doubt he had to stop himself from banging his head against a wall for having such ideas.
Before you bite my head off: yes, I know what strafing is. I play the boomer Doom too. But I am enough of a zoomer to enjoy the newest version of the game AND get hyped about Doom Eternal, which is basically Doom 2 Hell on Earth. The whole "strafing" and "circle strafing idea" came when I saw the gameplay for Doom Eternal and noticed how Doom Slayer had the ability to quickly move out of the way (sideways).
New item acquired!
Item: Flopper
- Purple/High-Quality Oz kit
- "So right, it feels wrong." (Always explosive, increased Damage and Blast Radius of slam attacks)
- As long as Flopper is equipped, all fall damage is nullified
- Allows double jumps, boosts and oxygen supply
(Temporary) Arsenal:
a) SMG: Hyperion SMG (unique)
b) Shotgun: Torgue shotgun
c) Sniper Rifle: S&S Munitions Sniper Rifle
d) Rocket Launcher: Vladof Rocket Launcher (Explosive)
e) Energy Weapon: Maliwan Blaster (Causitc)
f) Shield: Adaptive Shield
PDA Biopedia:
*Entry #114: Combat Engineer
Type: Human
Faction: Dahl Corporation
Description: "When in doubt, deploy a Sabre. I bet my ass that's what the Combat Engineers learn at the academy. Other than being a walking vagina with a gun, that's pretty much the only reason they exist as a unit. Those Sabre turrets are worth ten lives. They can seriously turn the tables in combat, if placed correctly. Too bad most of these retards have a room temperature IQ and/or are tripping balls most of the time."
**Entry #115: Derek "The Falcon"
Type: Human – Hero
Faction: Dahl Corporation
Description: "Murphy law on war says: "You are not Superman; Marines and fighter pilots take notes." The second law on war says: "Military Intelligence is a contradiction." I think I said enough."
***Entry #116: VEKTOR
Type: Construct
Faction: Dahl Corporation
Description: "If you were to ask me who are the most important people in an enterprise, I would answer "those who make the marketing team because you can always blame them for everything". That is not the case here. VEKTOR was made because of a dick-measuring contest between Dahl and now defunct Atlas. This thing can take down fucking spaceships with the amount of firepower it carries around. The only problem was the fuckton of money needed for development and mass production. To give you a picture, the cost can be compared to the loss of the armory near T-Bone Junction, with the only difference that Dahl never dealt in nepotism."