The marine thought he had seen it all.
Over and over, for what felt like an eternity, he would fight against the eternal devourer on planet after planet, in dimension after dimension, timeline after timeline, until he won... and it all reset again. He didn't know how long he had been waging this war. A thousand years? Ten thousand? A million? Unimaginably more? It didn't matter. His crusade was eternal, and he would fight for an eternity more to vanquish his demonic foe. Save as many innocents from the wicked maw of Hell that he could.
The Slayer stood atop a blood-drenched ridge, surrounded by the corpses of demons he had slain moments before. He remembered an image he had seen of this world a few days prior. Lush and green, beautiful, populated by animal-like humanoids that reminded him of... A friend, he had lost, a thousand lifetimes ago. Now It was a blood-soaked ruin. Glowing magma drenched the land, vast green forests had been reduced to smoking matchwood, unnatural organic growths reached into the fiery sky, and the bones of billions of unfortunate littered the charred ground.
The Slayer bowed his head. For all of his rage, all of his power, he was too late to save this world.
He racked his shotgun, and vowed vengeance for all of the innocent souls that had been devoured by hell.
...
A fat boot stomped into an Imp's face, reducing the skull into mush and bone fragments. Without missing a beat, the Slayer turned and unloaded a salvo of automatic shotgun rounds into a flesh-wrapped egg-shaped machine. The thing staggered. In an instant, the slayer dashed forward, wrenched the flesh-machine's arm from the socket, and impaled the detached limb through the thing's torso. He raised a boot and sent the thing flying into a morbidly obese tank of a creature, which had previously been advancing on him with dual plasma cannons. Instead of causing any kind of damage to its intended target, the gluttonous beast burst into a fountain of flesh and metal, and putrid gasses steamed from the exploded organs.
"There are multiple targets behind us..." Vega, the Slayer's ever reliable AI companion, helpfully commented in his ear. In one fluid movement, the Slayer turned and raised a huge double-barrel shotgun - lucifer's Bane. His favoured weapon.
He couldn't help but take pause. A horde of Possessed, former inhabitants of this planet, shambled toward him. Images of smiling multicoloured faces, with big eyes and fluffy coats of fur, flashed through the Slayer's mind. He liked to know of a corrupted planet's previous people before he got to work. It granted him even more rage with which to tear the demonic invaders apart.
His pause did not last long. With a huge explosion of gunpowder and smoke, the shotgun blasted an enormous volley of shrapnel at the horde. Blood, flesh, bone and fur went flying, and the tormented souls of the possessed Mobians were released from their prisons of flesh.
The Slayer took a moment to crush a Demon's head with its own detached foot, and the fight was over. The heavily armoured human checked his ammunition reserves and armour integrity, noting that he was well stocked and at full capacity.
It was then that he heard the crying.
...
"I am reading a single life signature close by..." Vega's voice echoed in the Slayer's ear, giving the immortal human a measure of reassurance. " I shall set a waypoint. "
The Slayer grunted, unable to offer any further verbal communication. His ability to speak had eroded an eternity ago.
He advanced toward the designated location with his shotgun raised. The equipment launcher on his shoulder quivered with anticipation, ready to launch a payload of high explosives, freezing gases, or broiling flame at a thought from the Slayer.
He advanced slowly. Very slowly. The childlike sobbing sounded again. Images of memories from long, long ago, hellish combinations of infants and insects, flashed through the Slayer's mind. The shotgun remained poised and ready.
And for the first time in a very long time, the Slayer hesitated. The twin barrels of the weapon lowered. and the Slayer, so accustomed to instantly blasting anything that moved, hesitated as his sights fell on a very small, very frightened orange figure squeezed tightly into the ruins.
...
The creature whimpered in terror as it laid eyes on the huge armoured space marine. The Slayer maintained his aim and shot questioning thoughts to his AI comrade.
"This specimen..." Vega said, reading the Slayer's mind, " is uncorrupted... male... Fox-like... and as far as I can tell, a child. "
The Slayer's shoulders drooped. A survivor? A kid? In the middle of all this?
He simply grunted in recognition of Vega's reply.
The orange fox-child glared up at him in utter terror. The Slayer felt his heart drop a fraction. He destroyed monsters, he wasn't one of them.
"Please... Please don't hurt me..."
The fox babbled something in its own language. The Slayer shot a thought at Vega to process the language, which the AI did with gusto. The translated words replayed in the Slayer's ears, and he felt sorrow for the little orange survivor.
Slowly, knowing what he must do, the Slayer clipped his Shotgun back into its holster and did something with his hands that he was very unused to - raised them calmly to show he wasn't a threat.
Unsurprisingly, it wasn't convincing. The fox screamed at the top of its lungs and, in a display of impressive bravado, launched itself onto the Slayer's helmet.
...
Normally the Slayer would have instantly torn the thing off of his visor and done something incredibly violent to transform it into a pile of dead flesh. This time however, he needed to de-escalate the situation. And that was the exact opposite of his talents.
He had to fight the urge to reach up and smush the thing in his hands. It felt far too much like a Lost Soul gripping onto his helmet for his liking. Instead of crushing the assailant into demon-burger, the Slayer - as gently as he could manage - gripped the fox by the scruff of its neck and slowly removed it from his helmet. The creature continued to scream and thrash, battering at his gauntlet with tiny white gloves. Tears spilled from its eyes.
The Slayer was heartbroken at the creatures display.
Sorry I look like a monster, little buddy... But I have to to fight monsters...
The slayer shot a thought at Vega. what do we do with him?
...
Before his artificial friend could answer, an entire platoon of Possessed Mobian soldiers launched themselves from the cover of the surrounding ruins and charged on the Slayer.
Bolts of hellish red plasma descended on the green-armoured human like a torrential downpour. The Slayer, with his enhanced reflexes, took a look at the terrified orange fox-boy in his hand. a single word screamed out at him.
Protect.
In a single fluid movement, the Slayer tucked the fox under his arm like a football and launched himself away from the incoming fire. He fired his jump boots and ascended into the air with a burst of flame. At the same time, he aimed his shotgun and fired on the horde of Possessed Soldiers. Fur and flesh caught fire as the zombies ignited, stumbling around and exploding.
The Slayer landed on another demon, this time his boots perfectly hitting the shoulders. The creature continued to scream as its shoulder blades were liquefied, until a boot stomped its skull flat with little effort.
The Slayer danced around his enemies, dispatching them as fluidly as if it was rehearsed, knowing exactly how and where to most efficiently and most painfully to end his foes.
And while he did it, he made damn sure that his tiny orange charge was well protected at all times.
He shot a thought to Vega.
"Confirm..." The artificial intelligence replied , "You wish to disengage now? Before mission completion?"
The Slayer grunted as he crushed a gargoyles' throat with his boot.
" Affirmative... " replied Vega, as a tiny black hole began to form behind the Slayer and his charge.
A tear in space and time opened behind the green-armoured space marine.
"Ready to enter the portal?" Enquired Vega , mildly sarcastically.
The Slayer took the fox from beneath his arm and set him down, pointing toward the spinning portal while simultaneously firing his very large shotgun at the approaching demons.
The small fox stopped in his tracks, and watched the green robot as he relentlessly fought the aliens. smashing them, blasting them, stomping them, ripping and tearing them into shreds... Then turning back to the fox and furiously pointing toward the portal.
Go! Get out of here!
...
The fox stood stock still for a moment, considering his options.
He watched as the unstoppable green automaton turned back to the approaching monsters. He smashed and tore them into pieces, driving into each individual enemy like a cannonball. His speed and... efficiency... reminded Miles of another hero...
The fox watched on as the green robot blasted a huge alien in the legs... Then proceeded to climb the alien like a tree, and begin furiously stabbing it in the head with an arm-mounted blade.
It didn't take Tails long to understand that this strange green Mobianoid was on his side.
Fumbling at his waist, Miles attempted to unhitch a hip-mounted blaster. He forgot entirely about the swirling portal behind him as another horrifying creature hopped over a burned out vehicle to sneak up on the raging green-armoured figure. He shakily raised the weapon and frantically pulled the trigger.
The creature wailed as flesh burst from its body, staggering as hot bolts of energy vaporized it piece by piece. Tails squeezed his eyes shut with panic as he continued to pull the trigger, firing on and on and on and on... Until the blaster's empty battery whined and a huge hand grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.
Miles squealed with terror, the empty blaster dropping from his hands... and a sickening sensation filled him as he was transported across time and space.
...
The Slayer's fat boots smacked into the cold rocksteel deck of the Fortress of Doom, leaving bloody footprints as he circled around. He grunted as the transportation portal swirled to a close. He'd be back slaughtering the corruption soon enough.
"Let me go... LET ME GO!"
He turned his attention to the struggling bundle in his arm, as the fox squealed and patted at his gauntlet. He made to set the creature down on its feet... then stepped back in surprise as the single large bushy tail unfurled into two, which instantly began to spin rapidly. Like a fluffy little helicopter, the small fox rose to a hover above the Slayer, shooting in an orange streak into the ceiling-mounted structural supports. Terrified blue eyes peeked from the cover of the steel beam.
"Our little friend appears quite distraught," said Vega, a little too flippantly for the Slayer's liking.
yeah, no shit Vega...
Again, the Slayer spread his arms, palms out, attempting to signal to the little creature that he was no threat. Well, at least to him.
Frightened eyes welled with tears, but regarded the Slayer curiously as armoured gauntlets reached toward the flexible rubberized neck. There was a hiss, and what had, at first, appeared to be some kind of battle robot removed its helmet.
...
Two pairs of blue eyes met one another as the helmet was settled onto a nearby console. The fox raised its head in fascination as the heavily scarred human gestured at him to come down from his hiding place.
Cautiously, timidly, Miles raised his head a fraction.
"You... saved me?"
There was a pause as the Mobian's speech was translated, then the human nodded. Slowly, the fox crept from his cover and fluttered down from the ceiling. Red shoes patted onto the rocksteel deck, and the curious little creature regarded the human with awe.
Then the fox switched his attention to the huge panelled windows of the bridge.
Before them glowing with flame, the once lush planet of Mobius burned. Magma flowed from deep wounds in the planet's crust, city-sized satanic symbols lay carved into the surface, impossibly huge tendrils writhed up through the atmosphere... there was nothing left. Just the corpse of another world consumed by Hell.
Vega...
"One moment..."
At a thought from the Slayer, the artificial intelligence shuttered the blast shield over the bridge windows, closing off the view of the dead planet.
It was too late.
"Its... all gone..." The fox whimpered, trembling with the horrified realisation. "Gone..."
The creature said no more as his eyes unfocused. Finally, after days of fighting and surviving, his little body packed in and lost consciousness.
The Slayer approached the comatose figure sprawled on his bridge and keeled down to retrieve him. He looked down sadly at the scruffy and battered little fox-boy in his arms. This had happened too many times, on too many worlds, and all the marine could do was go wherever the corruption reared its ugly head and remove it from the universe like a cancer.
He glared angrily back to the now shuttered viewscreen. Another dead world to avenge.
Then, with heavy bootsteps, the Slayer marched from the bridge to see what he could do for the unconscious little survivor.