I'm back. Chapters should be coming more often, now that I've almost gotten out of my writer's block. Hope you all enjoy it.

Chapter 17: WHEN THE SHADOWS FIRST LENGTHENED...

VvvvvvvvvvvVVVVVRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrmmmmm….

Seymour was getting really fucking tired of that siren.

"Citizens, please make your way to the South exit of the Capital, there are plenty of military transport vehicles for your evacuation. Citizens, please make your way to..."

The speakers across the city continued to relay the message as the demons nearly trampled over each other, screaming in terror and running to the south end of the city.

"WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!"

"WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?!"

"WHERE THE FUCK IS MY LEGO MILLENIUM FALCON?!"

Seymour sighed in frustration as he nonchalantly walked through the crowds of screaming demons, tromping down the street dejectedly.

"All this fuckin' time, and I haven't been promoted once. Fuck, I haven't even been given a raise."

Meanwhile, the Doom Slayer, Charlie and her entourage surrounded the table in the War Room of the palace.

"So, you're telling me," Angel started. "That there is an entire dimension of creepy crawlies as fuckin' scary as this guy?" He pointed at the Doom Slayer, who was busy inspecting his weaponry as he sat on a bench.

"Yes." Charlie responded. "And now, according to VEGA, we have to close the portal they used to get here, or they'll just keep flooding through."

She turned to the Doom Slayer.

"VEGA, didn't you say that this happened on some research colony on another planet? How did they fight against the demons?"

"They didn't." VEGA beeped. "Well, to correct myself, they TRIED fight back, but they ended up getting slaughtered."

"...Oh."

"So what you're telling me is that we're all going to get horribly killed." Grumbled Husk, who for once did not have a bottle of alcohol in his hand. His eyes scanned over the giant map of Hell on the war room table. "Jesus...is this the entirety of Hell? And the Capital is that little dot on the map?"

He pointed to a dot on the map, which was labeled 'The Capital'.

"Only what has been transcribed to a map." Charlie said. "There's parts of Hell that haven't been explored or chartered yet-"

"Cool, nobody cares about the lore behind this shitty dump." Angel interrupted. "What's the game plan?"

Charlie rubbed her chin, thinking profusely.

"Well, first we have to find the source of the portal, what region it might be in. Once we locate it, then we'll likely have to go through a bunch of those demons to reach the portal, then we'll have to figure out how to close it-"

"Don't worry about that part." VEGA beeped. "The Doom Slayer has that handled."

"...Okay. And I have a haunting feeling there's going to be something really bad waiting for us at the portal."

"Life imitates adventuring games, I suppose." Angel remarked.

"Wow, that's a big hole in the sky!"

Everyone turned towards Niffty, who was leaning out of the open window overlooking the city and peering at something in the sky.

"What are you talking about?" Charlie inquired, walking over to Niffty.

"Look."

Niffty pointed, and Charlie followed it to the-

"Holy…"

Swirling in the sky near the capital was a dark-red, ominous-looking hole, which looked as if it were going to send something through it. Not a moment later, this proved true, as several loud crackling sounds echoed across the landscape, and Charlie could just barely see a mass of small dots falling out of the hole and onto the desert-like landscape below.

"Doom Slayer!" She called immediately. "We might have more of those demons-"

CRASH!

Charlie reared back in shock as the Doom Slayer suddenly catapulted through the open window, completely shattering the glass in the process as he hurled down towards the roof of one of the buildings. He landed on it, sending cracks across it, and immediately began hopping from building to building to reach the group of creatures that had just been spit out of that swirling portal.

"Fuck the police, now that is what a first responder looks like."

"Oddly enough, my scanners are not receiving any demonic presence from the area we're heading towards, Doom Slayer." VEGA beeped. "You should exercise caution, considering that this portal is likely linked to the other portal opening in some way."

The Doom Slayer finally reached the wall, hopping onto the rampart from another building. He propelled himself off of the balustrade, his eyes trained on the mass of silhouettes on the ground far below him. One particularly tall silhouette caught his eye as he came plummeting down into the sand.

"That cannot be." VEGA beeped, sounding incredulous. "Is that-"

A DEAD MAN.

THUNK!

The Doom Slayer slammed into the dunes, sending sand flying explosively in every direction. He wasted no time storming towards the group, whom he had now identified to be agents of the UAC. He cocked his shotgun as he focused on the man that had tried to lock him away for so long, seeing him rise up out of the sand, his hulking, mechanical mass covered in sand.

"Oh my god," The robotic voice muttered in a mixture of disbelief and dread. "You've got to be fucking kidding me-"

CRACK!

The Doom Slayer landed a solid kick into Hayden's metal frame, sending the mechanoid flying backwards into the sand. The UAC personnel that were standing around him nearly shat their pants as they watched the 6-foot man launch a 10-foot machine across the field.

"Holy shit, that's the Doom Slayer!" One of them said, quivering in his combat boots.

After hearing that statement and seeing the Doom Slayer menacingly stomp towards their boss, none except one dared to step in his path, pointing his rifle at the Doom Slayer.

"S-Stay back-"

The Doom Slayer grabbed the front of his gun, wrenched it out of his hands, and broke it in two, before shoving the UAC marine out of the way, his rage focused entirely on the recovering mechanoid in the sand.

"This is not the time to be fighting." Hayden said as he climbed up from the sand. "Hear me out-"

BLAM!

Slugs ricocheted off Hayden's head, followed quickly by a dropkick from the Doom Slayer into Hayden's chest, which sent him flying even further backwards than before.

"He's a monster…" One of the UAC soldiers muttered.

"He sure is, I bet he's also got a monster hiding under that suit of his."

The UAC soldier jumped in fright as he heard another voice behind him, and turned to see a tall, humanoid figure with four arms and a mischievous smile.

"What ya lookin' at, hun? Somethin' you desire?" The humanoid said as he pressed the fur on the front of his chest together. The UAC soldier had no way to respond.

"Erm, sorry about my friend here."

The soldier's head turned towards a shorter, female-looking humanoid, wearing suspenders, a white shirt and brown trousers fit with black dress shoes.

"What the fuck is this place?" He muttered.

"Oh, sorry for not introducing myself." The female piped up. "Well, for starters, you're in Hell."

"Goddamn it, cease this fighting! We have more important matters!" Hayden shouted as bullets ricocheted off of his body. The Doom Slayer stormed towards him, taking out the plasma rifle and aiming it. Hayden sighed in frustration, reaching behind him into a hidden compartment in his body and pulling out a very familiar-looking dagger-like sword handle. "If you don't cease your attacks…"

VRRRSH.

The Crucible was alight, and the Argent Energy formed into a blade with a double-sided hooked end. Hayden readied himself against the Doom Slayer, who had stopped in his tracks.

"Doom Slayer," VEGA beeped. "Maybe we should consider hearing him out-"

The Doom Slayer launched himself forward, chainsaw in hand. Hayden predicted that by the way the Doom Slayer had scrunched himself down, he was planning to dive under his swing and hack off his legs, and so he decided to feint a horizontal swing.

WRONG CALL.

Hayden was shocked when the Doom Slayer, at the last second of seeming as if he were going to dive for Hayden's legs, used one boot to push himself off the ground, propelling over Hayden's sword swinging his chainsaw towards Hayden's head.

CRRRCK!

Hayden stumbled backwards as the edge of the chainsaw glanced off the side of his metal-framed head, leaving a noticeable gash. He grunted in frustration, turning around and swinging his sword down at the recovering Doom Slayer, and was further surprised when the Doom Slayer rolled to the side, leaving Hayden's sword to plunge into the sand.

"We are wasting time here," Hayden said, standing up straight and peering at the Doom Slayer. "Put aside the selfish wrath so we can-"

CRACK!

The Doom Slayer dived forward, punching Hayden in the mid-chest and grabbing his sword hand, attempting to disarm him. Hayden used his other hand and smacked the Doom Slayer away, his grip tightening around the Crucible.

"Such an ape!" Hayden shouted in anger. "I haven't a clue how I was able to work with such a mindless beast like you!"

He moved forward, launching swing after swing at the Doom Slayer, who was dodging and weaving each flurry.

CRACK!

Hayden's fury grew with every punch the Doom Slayer landed on him, increasing the speed of his attacks on the Doom Slayer.

"I will NOT be undermined by a parasite that almost set humanity back to its primitive age!"

SHRRV!

The edge of Argent energy blade sliced through the front of the Doom Slayer, cutting through the armor and cutting slightly through his skin. The Doom Slayer kicked Hayden back and walked backwards, looking down at the long cut through his armor and exposing the bleeding cut. The armor quickly regenerated, as did his skin, and the two combatants stood across from each other.

"Maybe you will listen to reason," Hayden hissed. "Now that you've had a painful jolt back to reality."

The Doom Slayer reached into the dimensional pocket and pulled out another weapon, one which Hayden dreaded to see as he realized he would be on the receiving end of it.

"Wait, Doom Slayer-" Hayden said, raising one hand in pleading. "You cannot destroy me!"

BrrrrRRRRR-

The orb in the center of the BFG lit up bright-green as the Doom Slayer began to pull back the trigger.

"YOU NEED ME TO DEFEAT THE WORST DEMON THAT CAME THROUGH THE PORTAL!"

The weapon powered down as the Doom Slayer took his finger off the trigger.

"'The worst demon'? What are you referring to?" VEGA beeped aloud.

"There is a leader behind the demons coming in through the opened portal." Hayden said. "When the Doom Slayer purged the Kadingir Sanctum of demons, as well as the UAC, we began to recover in our efforts after the Doom Slayer killed the spider mastermind. However, we had planted several detectors around the Kadingir Sanctum that estimated the volume of demons in the region over time. Only a few days after being planted, the volume of demons had gone down drastically, as well as an especially powerful radar reading that was active in one part of the Sanctum, spiked for a few moments, then died down. I concluded that a leader of these demons assisted in helping the demons get through the portal, and likely emitted some power to open it from the other side."

"That theory is reaching quite a bit." VEGA beeped. "But how does it justify keeping you alive?"

Hayden swept his hand over the large swath of UAC soldiers, scientists and engineers behind him.

"The UAC are loyal solely to me, and they can provide plenty of help in the fight against these demons. Considering the circumstances, I'd say that a war has essentially begun, and you will need all of the help you can get. I, myself, can provide an abundance of information on these demons, Argent Energy, and a vast array of knowledge in areas of physics, quantum mechanics, and-"

"Sheesh, buddy, what's with the resume?" Angel remarked off to the side. Hayden turned his singular, blue, glowing beam-eye towards Angel, who looked off to the side.

"How did you manage to get here, Samuel Hayden?" VEGA suddenly beeped. "Considering the last time we saw you was when you pushed the Doom Slayer into a portal that eventually sent us to this place."

"I am as perplexed as you are." Hayden responded. "I was in the midst of working on reconstruction of the UAC when I felt consciousness fail me. The only thing I remember is waking up in the middle of this place."

Charlie, who was confused by the whole encounter, had noticed that the creatures, who vaguely resembled demons in body shape, were crowded behind and around Samuel Hayden, several of them equipped with armor and having picked up their rifles and readied them. Their eyes darted between the Doom Slayer and his entourage of demons.

"Who are those guys?" Charlie asked the nearly 10-foot tall mechanoid, pointing at the creatures huddled behind him. Hayden looked down at his entourage.

"Shoulder your rifles, there doesn't seem to be any present danger, currently."

The UAC riflemen hesitated before slinging their rifles around a shoulder, though they never took their eyes off the demons nor the Doom Slayer. Hayden looked back up at Charlie.

"I've no clue who you are, thus I don't feel pressed to answer your question."

"Oh." Charlie muttered. "Well, I am Charlie, royal princess of Hell."

"...Pardon?"

Charlie scratched her head, realizing that the mechanoid and all of the creatures behind it likely didn't know where they were.

"Well, currently, you're in Hell."

Hayden looked to the Doom Slayer, who had sheathed his weapons.

"What is this humanoid trying to say?" Hayden asked, directing the question towards VEGA.

"From the signs I've been getting from the residents of this dimension, they are demons." VEGA beeped. "I can conclude that this could be Hell, or a world very similar to it. The demonic atmosphere suggests towards this theory."

"Well, considering that we've already been to a marked 'Hell', I am not inclined to believe the statement. Nonetheless…"

Hayden walked over to Charlie, inspecting her. She was very discomforted by a 10-foot tall robot leaning in to look at her.

"She almost resembles a human. Were it not for a few features, I would not have thought different. This place is...interesting."

"Um...thank you?" Charlie remarked, not sure of how to respond to that. "Also, who are those people?" She asked, pointing at the UAC personnel.

"I have little faith that you have any knowledge or understanding of the customs and traditions of Earth or our world, so I will-"

"What do you mean?" Charlie inquired. "I know about Earth, and humans, and butterflies and everything else! I just...haven't...seen any of that."

Hayden stared at her for a moment, which unsettled her. Then he raised one finger and pointed at his entourage.

"Those are humans." He stated bluntly.

Charlie hadn't comprehended his statement for a moment. When she did, her eyes widened and lit up brightly.

"REALLLY?"

Charlie ran over to the group, all of whom leered back in fear. Charlie grabbed the hand of one of the scientist and shook it with a big smile on her face.

"OH MY GOSH I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO SEE AND MEET A HUMAN! I DIDN'T KNOW YOU LOOKED LIKE THIS! WOW, THIS IS AMAZING-"

While Charlie fangirl'ed over the group of humans before her, Hayden turned to Angel , who was staring at a lone flower in the middle of the sand, and the group of Husk, Niffty and Vaggie standing behind him.

"Who are you all?"

Angel turned his head up to Hayden, shrugging.

"We just follow whatever Charlie does at this point. Her entourage, if you will."

Hayden nodded, turning his attention back to the Doom Slayer.

"Slayer," He said. "I will work with you in order to dispel this demonic threat and to figure out a way out of this dimension. After that, I advise you go to Earth and settle down. Find a woman, have a family, enjoy a peaceful lifestyle. There's no need nor benefit to purging all of these demons, nor subjecting yourself to constant torment at chasing this asinine goal. Humanity needs Argent Energy in order to advance, and I refuse to give it up for your nonsensical goal of chasing down each and every demon."

The Doom Slayer merely stared at Hayden for a moment, balling his fists.

"There is little point to debating all of this right now," VEGA beeped. "So you might as well save the speech for after we defeat this 'demon leader' you claim exists."

Hayden nodded.

"Very well, then. Where shall we devise our stratagem?"