It had been a long, perilous journey. Fighting non-stop a seemingly endless tide of demonic abominations. But through it all I managed to endured, all while carving a bloody path of death and destruction through the UAC facility on Mars.
Along the way learning more about what this place was, its importance, and most of all, the monsters from the pits of Hell itself that now invaded in massive numbers. Why they were there, and how.
It hadn't been easy...scratch that, it was so far from easy that the light of the sun couldn't even touch it. I've faced my mortality again, several times in fact, but managing to pull off the impossible to just scrape by with my life still intact.
From what I managed to learn, the Union Aerospace Corporation had been attempting to solve an energy crisis on Earth by syphoning and refining energy from Hell itself.
The doctor I'd spoken to in the beginning, Samuel Hayden, was one of the head researchers of the project. Although when we met, I discovered that the 'man' was actually a human brain inside an android body, the doctor having suffered brain cancer and was now what could have been considered a cyborg.
Hayden told me about what the UAC had been doing, how he led several operations into Hell and came back with captive demons and artifacts they had discovered, one of which being the sarcophagus that I had awoken in this world within along with the one containing the power armor known as the Praetor suit.
However, one of the other scientists, Olivia Pierce, had been converted toward the untold power Hell possessed and made a pact with the demons. And in doing so, opened a portal between the worlds and unleashing the demonic legion upon Mars...which then planned to head to Earth soon after.
Despite my confusion, and previous death, I wasn't about to let that happen. Innocent lives were at stake and I had the power to stop it, so I vowed to use my new life to ensure the survival of humanity and ending Hell's invasion. No matter the cost.
Through it all, I never gave up, and never stopped as he fought to end the threat facing the world he had awoken in with the aid of the Praetor suit and the large arsenal I managed to collect along the way. Even traveling to Hell itself multiple times and fighting the demons on their home turf, one of such trips resulting in me coming back with an ancient and powerful artifact known only as the 'Crucible'.
As it turned out, the artifact was actually a powerful energy sword, capable of sealing Hell's portal and the key to stopping the invasion. With it in my possession, I ventured into the bowels of Hell one last time, intending on sealing the portal and crushing anything in my path to do so.
Completely unaware that this final battle would only be another stepping stone to my true destiny.
X
Mason bellowed a warcry, his Heavy Assault Rifle chattering loudly as it sent a barrage of rounds into the incoming group of Imps. The slugs tearing through them and reducing the creatures to shreds just as a Hell Knight came barreling through the remains.
Keeping the trigger firmly pulled, he flipped a switch on the side of the powerful machine gun causing a compartment on the left of the barrel to pop up, revealing eight mini-missiles that all primed in seconds just before they were launched toward the large demon.
Small explosions covering its form, doing serious damage and staggering it allowing Mason to charge forward. Slamming his knee into its chin before grabbing its head and violently snapping it.
On reflex, he leapt into the air, the thrusters in his boots giving him extra height as he avoided a Pinky as it charged through where he had been standing. The bull-like demon skidding to a stop and snarling loudly at its pray as he stored his HAR and brought out his double-barrel. Coming down hard with both boots slamming on top of the Pinky, pinning it down as he jammed the powerful shotgun in its mouth.
Both barrels fired, the resulting spread opening up the back of the demon's head like a watermelon and spraying blood and brain tissue across the rocky ground beneath it.
Snapping the weapon open, Mason slammed two fresh shells home and closed it back up just in time to duck and roll out of the way from several large green bolts that blew the corpse apart and burned the stone around it.
Mason glared through his suit's visor, the Mancubus that had fired on him having the high ground utop a small plateau on the other side of the of the battlefield, the cannons on its arms sending a long stream of blasts that pinned him down behind a boulder while a dozen other demons converged on his location.
Storing away the double-barrel, he bought out his plasma rifle in exchange. Taking a deep breath before flipping around his cover and sprinting into the fray.
Fireballs were thrown that he ducked and dodged around as he fired a stream of blue bolts from the energy gun. Several of the creatures falling in the assault while others managed to avoid the brunt of the assault and met him head on.
Smashing the stock of his weapon into an Imp's head, he quickly activated a switch beside the trigger which sent out a pulse of plasma energy that sent the rest of the demons staggering away, giving him time to switch to his combat shotgun and start blasting. Making an opening that he took advantage of as he went after his real target.
The Mancubus roared, arm cannons firing again and again trying to kill the armored human that closed the distance quickly. Mason leapt up over the barrage and kicked on his suits thrusters, giving him more height as he switched weapons again. The strong weight of his rocket launcher making him grin as he took aim and fired as he came back down.
The explosive round struck the heavy creature and making it stagger back, it raised its cannons to fire in return only to have more missiles to hit in its center of mass halting it before it had a chance.
Mason landed on the plateau, raising the rocket launcher and holding the trigger down. The weapon beeped loudly three times before he released it, three missiles leaving the tube and detonating against the Mancubus' head. The assault proving to be too much as its skull and shoulders were blown apart in a fountain of gore, the rest of its body toppling over and falling off the platform it had been standing on.
With the biggest threat taken care of, he turned to the edge of the plateau and glared down at the remaining demons who were now closing in on him. An Imp leaping up over the edge of the stone platform only to have an armored boot kick it off. The rocket launcher registered again and again, missiles raining down on the horde below causing blood and body parts to spread everywhere.
Jumping down from his high point, double-barrel back in hand, Mason crushed the head of another Imp as he raised his weapon and fired at a Revenant that had been hovering over head. The skeletal-demon shrieking in challenge and firing it's shoulder-mounted launchers in response that the human managed to avoid.
Bringing out his HAR, Mason fired the pod-missile launcher at the Revenant, forcing it to fly out of the path of the projectiles and into the salvo of heavy slugs that quickly followed. Shrieking in alarm, the creature spun in place and fired its launchers again, but it wasn't fast enough as another salvo of mini-missiles struck it in the chest and sent it crashing to the ground.
Mason didn't give it a chance to recover as he leapt over to it, grabbing its jet pack and plunging his fist into the power core, causing it to overload as he lifted the demon up and threw it at a rampaging Hell Knight, the jet pack exploding with the intensity of a grenade which had been enough to jar the large creature for him to charge at it. Shoulder tackling into it and knocking it over where he unloaded a barrage of slugs into its face from his HAR.
With the Hell Knight dead, he got off its chest and made to head off in another direction when movement on his left grabbed his attention...
But he never got the chance to look when something impacted his midsection hard, sending him hurling to the side until his back impacted a stone wall hard enough to make cracks spread along the surface.
Dropping to the ground, Mason shook off the hit as best he could as he looked up at his attacker. The tall, horned form of a Hell Baron greeted him, glowing acid-green eyes leering with primal hate that was immeasurable. A bellowing roar ripped from its maw before it charged forward, its hoofed feet hitting the ground hard as it picked up speed with each step.
"Shit." Mason cursed as he dove to the side right as the Baron reached him, razor sharp claws cleaving into the wall, leaving deep gashes in solid stone as through it were butter. Despite their size, the Barons were incredibly fast, and their immense strength made them very dangerous opponents.
He'd fought several of them, and he was thankful that there was only one of them this time. They usually fought in pairs.
Raising his HAR, Mason unleashed a barrage of slugs with an occasional volley of mini-rockets at the demon. But the Baron shrugged them off as though they were mere insects, raising one of its clawed hands and conjuring a ball of green argent energy that it threw at the armored human with frightening accuracy.
Flipping behind cover, Mason avoided the blast as it impacted a low wall and blew it apart, dust and debris raining down from the impact site. Storing his rifle, he summoned his double-barrel and waited. Listening to the heavy thuds of the Baron's hooves on stone as they drew steadily closer to where he was...
A clawed hand came swinging around the pillar quick as lightning, but he had been expecting it as he dropped low and allowed the sharp talons to sink into the pillar he had been behind. Raising the powerful shotgun, be blasted both barrels into the Baron's exposed midsection, the buckshot tearing into its hardened flesh and spraying blood on his visor and making the demon roar in pain.
The Baron ripped its hand from the stone it had been lodged in and raised both its arms high, Mason braced his legs and leapt back as the demon slammed its fists down, a shockwave of green energy blasting out around it before it charged after the human.
Reloading the double-barrel, Mason sent it away and took out something he hadn't used in a while. His hands clasping around it when it came into existence from the digital inventory within his suit before pulling the rip-cord on it.
The chainsaw roared to life, the sharp teeth along the blade spinning in a blur of speed as he met the Baron's charge head to head. Ducking beneath a swipe that would have taken his head clean off, he revved the chainsaw and plunged it into the demon's thigh.
Flesh and bone was severed in a fountain of crimson as the tool turned weapon cut the Baron's leg off. The demon falling to its side shrieking as blood gushed from the stump. A sound that was quickly silenced when Mason plunged the blade of the chainsaw into its mouth and revved it again, more blood splattered across his armor as he drove it all the way to the back of the Baron's throat and twisted, the top part of its head coming off in a spray of gore.
When it was over, everything went quiet...well...as quiet as Hell could possibly be anyway. Stepping away from the fallen demon, Mason looked around to be sure that no more were waiting to ambush him before turning his attention to the stone doorway that steadily slid open.
Changing weapons back to his plasma rifle, he made his way toward the entrance. Using his suit's ability to collect stray forms of argent energy that had been dropped by his enemies to replenish his ammo reserves.
It was a strange ability he discovered in his time within the Praetor armor. The suit had strange collectors in the chest plate and the hands which allowed him to absorb the energy dropped from the demons, and convert it into munitions for his weapons or as a way to replenish his vitals if he had taken too much damage
The armor was a far more advanced piece of technology than he had first thought, and whoever had built it apparently intended on the wearer to be able to fight non-stop without the need to rest. Even after all the time he spent wearing it, Mason still didn't fully comprehend its full capabilities, or even how it was able to do half the things it was able to do.
But in the end, he just went along with it. The Praetor suit saved his ass throughout this entire journey and he wasn't going to question how it was done as long as it kept him alive.
Weapon in hand, he trudged up a small incline to a platform that overlooked the area he had just been fighting in. And at the very end of it, was a petrified wraith-like creature laying down on some kind of altar with a glowing sphere the size of a baseball hovering above the open chest cavity, its mouth open in an eternal scream of agony.
The sphere was connected to a stream of energy that went up into the air where another, larger sphere hovered high above that showed the UAC facility on Mars.
The power source for Hell's portal into the human world. He'd already destroyed two other similar energy sources earlier, and this was the last one. Once it was gone, all Mason had to do was seal the well and the invasion will be over.
Mason approached the sphere and took out the Crucible, the Hellion weapon humming with dark power in his hand as he extended a set of prongs from the bottom end. Grabbing onto the statue for support, he looked up at the larger sphere in the sky with a hard glare before plunging the Crucible into the power source before him.
Giving a sharp twist, the sphere pulsated and started discharging energy. The artifact absorbing the power easily before it blew apart, sending Mason staggering back, but managing to keep his footing as he watched the power for the well die completely.
Nodding to himself, he closed the Crucible back up and stored it away on his belt when he heard the sound of a woman crying. Looking around, he saw that the source coming from an open archway on the other side of the site he was in...one that would lead him farther down and into where the portal was located.
Approaching the archway with combat shotgun in hand, Mason paused when six ghostly images suddenly appeared. Three on either side of the opening, all of them wearing medieval, albeit still advanced, armor. The same apparitions that had been showing themselves since he had first taken the Crucible.
The unknown warriors all stood straight, then slammed their right fists over their chest plates. Mason felt something in the depth of his soul compelling him to do the same, switching his shotgun to his other hand, he slammed his fist to the Praetor suit's chestplate as well. The spirits all nodded to him before fading away into the air.
"Time to end this." he growled under his breath as he jumped down the dark pit. His boots slamming onto the stone floor in an ankle-deep pool of blood, bending his knees and using his hand to steady the impact as he slowly rose up.
Finding Doctor Olivia Pierce standing in the very center of a glowing pentagram in the center of the chamber.
Her body was white as a sheet and very frail, covered in blood and deep cuts that bled excessively, her eyes nothing more than hollow windows to a soul that had been broken and corrupted beyond repair.
She looked at Mason, shivering as she raised a bony hand in his direction, "Th-They promised me...so much..." she whimpered out weakly.
"That was your mistake." Mason snapped back, the woman had brought Hell to the human world, causing the deaths of countless innocent people because she became hungry for the demons' power. If she was expecting sympathy from him, she was more demented than he first thought.
"It's over, Pierce." he said, raising his shotgun intending on ending her wretched excuse of a life.
The woman shuttered in her place, looking up just as volts of red lightning rained down from above, her screams reverberating off the stone walls around them as she was struck, her body melting into the ground beneath her and disappearing into the ground.
The blood covering the floor over pentagram bubbled and splashed like water, the whole chamber shacking with a powerful tremor as more lightning arced along the walls. The surface suddenly exploded, a long, white mechanical arm shooting out into the open and slamming into the ground, three more soon followed allowing the rest of the horrifying form to rise up out of the summoning pit.
It was big, mostly machine-like and in the shape of a spider. The very center was a massive brain that sat utop the base connected to its four tree sized legs with a set of tiny arms sticking out of the sides. A pair of beady, glowing-red eyes leering at the armored human while it rose to its full height that forced him to look way up at it.
"...fuck me..." Mason muttered as the beast let loose a powerful screech that shook the very walls of the chamber. He was moving before the sound ended, firing his shotgun into the huge demon and doing his best to keep out of range from any attacks it might have.
The beast crouched low, a large gun mounted on the bottom of its frame roared to live and sent a barrage of red energy bolts after him, the human just barely able to avoid the brunt of the assault, but a few stray rounds managed to bounce off his armor.
Despite its size, the creature charged forward very quickly. Lashing out one of its large limbs in an attempt to swat Mason who jumped high enough to go over it, pulling the trigger again and again, peppering the large demon all along the top of its brain-like head and landing several meters away.
Screeching, the beast suddenly flipped over, head now facing the ground as it crawled after him. It's weapon roaring to life and following him as well. A handful of pillars made of flesh and stone popped up from the bottom of the summoning pit, providing stable cover that kept him out of the line of fire briefly and giving him time to think of a strategy.
His opponent was huge, fast and had an array of weaponry, he needed to keep hitting it hard and fast if he wanted to take it down before it took him down.
Leaning out of cover, Mason was greeted with the sight of his enemy flipping back upright before it crouched low. Thin beams of energy sprouting from all around it before it slowly started to spin in place, the beams cutting through anything in their path and forcing him to drop low as it carved the pillar he had been behind in half.
Getting back to his feet, Mason switched to his rocket launcher and blasted rocket after rocket into the creature's face. Rolling under another limb swinging out at him and pumping more into its exposed side as he ran past it.
The beast screeched again, this time standing in place, but rising higher off the ground and sending electrical volts into the ground. Mason felt the current zapping his form, another series of platforms sprouted from the ground giving him the chance to jump up and pull himself on top of one to avoid anymore damage.
Changing weapons, now hefting his chaingun, he unleashed a salvo of slugs into the vulnerable creature. Fountains of blood and tissue spraying along the left side of its head as they tore into it until it stopped its recent attack. He kept up the assault until the beast used its beams again to cut down his elevated position and sending him on the run again.
The battle stretched on for what seemed like forever, the only real strategy Mason could use was to hit the creature with everything he had while at the same time retreating to avoid the things deadly arsenal. Using hit and run tactics to at least gain a small advantage.
He was also cursing the UAC for what felt like the millionth time for giving the demons high-tech weaponry in the first place.
Switching weapons constantly, using the ones that provided the best damage output while at the same time collecting any forms of argent energy the creature dropped, he had actually started to hurt it to the point when it started dragging one of its four legs around. Its movement now impeded and giving him a better chance.
The prototype BFG-9000 had been the biggest impact, but Mason only had three rounds for it. Now currently only one left having used the previous two already and deciding to save the last one when he needed it most.
His plasma rifle beeped loudly, letting him know that that ammo was spent as he switched to his HAR. Keeping the pressure on and not giving the monster a chance to recover in any way. The beast dropping down and sending out a volley of fleshy mines from its head that scattered all over.
Jumping into the air to avoid the ordinance, using his boot thrusters to get more height, Mason summoned his shotgun and fired explosive rounds at his enemy. Coming down on top of its head, gaining what footing he could on the slimy, pulsing surface, he pumped round after round into one section. Each shot blowing a small hole in the pinkish tissue and making a hole that got bigger with each spread.
The beast screeched in pain and anger, thrashing around to dislodge the human that was currently riding on it. The movement causing Mason to lose his footing and forcing him to grab the edge of the bloody hole he punched through its head. Sending his shotgun to storage, he pulled a grenade from one of his suits compartments and primed it, arcing his arm over and plunging it into the opening he had made before he pressed his feet to the monster's head and leaping off.
A moment passed before an explosion ripped a gaping hole in the side of the creature's head. The shriek of agony that bellowed from its maw would have chilled anyone to the bone as it collapsed on its side writhing in pain.
But it was far from done. Laserbeams shot out of its side as it clawed the ground to turn itself, its movements very sluggish giving Mason more than enough time to avoid them as he brought his rocket launcher back out. Charging his shots and pumping missiles three at a time into the beast, damaging its already crippled form as it still tried to kill him.
A handful of rockets later, and the creature finally collapsed, still alive but unable to attack anymore. Blood gushing by the buckets from the untold number of wounds inflicted upon it, one of its eyes destroyed and hanging by a strand of flesh from its socket as it twitched.
Mason lowered his rocket launcher, breathing heavily after the largest fight he had been in since waking up in this new world, sweat pouring down his brow from beneath his helmet as he approached the disabled demon.
When he got close enough, one of the creature's tiny arms reached out to grab him. But he instead grabbed it by the wrist, and with a savage twist, broke the limb and ripped it from the main body. It's shriek of agony gone unheard as the armored human slammed his foot down on its lower jaw, forcing it wide open as he brought out his BFG and jammed it into the monster's mouth.
The beast's remaining eye widened, as if knowing what was about to take place as Mason pulled the trigger. The powerful weapon whirling loudly and glowing bright green along its frame as it charged to full power.
"GAME OVER BITCH!" Mason roared as the BFG fired, nearly blowing the demon's head in half in an explosion of raw power the weapon was known for. The body of the creature recoiled from the blast before crashing back down, the remaining sections of its head shifting and pulsing for several moments before going completely still, the smell of charred flesh filling the air that didn't reach him thanks to the suit's filters.
Looking at the dead being, he took a deep breath. The invasion was stopped and the demons were sealed back in their abyss. . Finally it was over, all of the fighting and death had been worth it in the end.
Arcs of electricity suddenly blasted all around him, looking around in alarm, he saw his HUD come alive. 'Tether Activation' blinked across his vision telling him that he was being pulled back to the human world.
There was a flash of light, and in the next moment he was standing on a portal stone in the middle of a lab surrounded by equipment. The tether system released its hold, dropping Mason on his feet where his eyes trained on the walkway ahead of him where the robotic form of Samuel Hayden approached.
"You've won...it's over." he said, drawing closer. "You stopped the invasion and closed the portal. But it's come at a price. Argent, VEGA, this entire operation."
"It wouldn't have come to that had you people not tampered with things beyond your control." said Mason strongly. "Did you honestly think you could control Hell itself? There just isn't enough words to described how royally the UAC fucked up here. And that includes you, Hayden." he finished, pointing an accusing finger at the cyborg.
Hayden now stood facing him, the tall metal frame looming over the armored young man. "Perhaps, but you fail to see what I do." said the doctor. "You see, I've watched you work, come to understand your motivation. You think the only way is to kill them all, leave nothing behind, and you may be right. But we can't just shut it all down. Without Argent Energy it will be worse."
The man/machine's words shocked him, "Are you fucking serious?! Look around you! Has any of this bullshit been worth it?! All the death, destruction and chaos, and you still want to keep up with it?!"
"I don't expect you to understand, or agree." said the doctor. He snapped out his hand, the Crucible was suddenly yanked from Mason's belt and into his awaiting palm. "But with this, we can continue our work."
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Mason roared as he lunged for the cyborg. Inches away from grabbing the doctor by the neck when a pair of argent pilons came online and fired energy tethers that ensnared his arms and kept him in place.
Hayden shook his head, "I am not the villain here, Doomslayer. I do what I do because there is no other choice."
"Re-routing tether coordinates...Complete."the facility's voice suddenly chimed.
"Our time is up." said the doctor as he looked at Mason's restrained form. "I can't kill you...but I won't have you standing in our way." he snapped his arm that was holding the Crucible, the artifact's top end opening up and projecting a red energy blade covered in hellion script with a pickaxe-like tip. "Until we see each other again..."
The teleportation unit started firing, energy arcing along his form again. But Mason paid it no mind. He couldn't let this happen, couldn't let Hayden get away with this. The invasion would happen all over again if he didn't do something!
As the argent energy surge got stronger, Hayden turned and prepared to head back where he had come from...that's when Mason struck.
Using every bit of strength gifted by the suit, his own body and the rage coursing through his veins, he kicked on his thrusters and surged forward. The doctor had a moment to register the movement when the armored human grabbed the arm that was holding the artifact. The metal crunching under his grasp as he was pulled back toward the activating portal.
The arm going along with him as it gave way and was ripped from Hayden's body.
"NO!" the doctor shouted and attempted to grab his severed limb, missing it by inches as Mason was pulled into the portal and disappeared in a flash of light.
X
The sensation of static covering his body faded almost as quickly as it had started. His boots hit solid ground when the energy finally faded, eyes adjusting to the low light he was now in, Mason discovered that he had been teleported in a small cave. Just big enough for him to stand at his full height with no form of vegetation that could be seen. Which gave him no real indication of where he had ended up.
Taking a few moments to gather his wits, Mason looked down at the severed robot arm still clutched tightly in his hand. The Crucible deactivated and in its dormant state once again as he used his other hand to pry the metal fingers from around it, throwing the limb away as he put the artifact back on his belt where he had it before.
Checking his digital inventory, he found all his weapons where they should be, the ones powered by argent already in the process of recharging and the stray amounts of energy he picked up killing the spider-demon had already converted into munitions thanks to his suit's abilities.
When everything checked out, Mason took out his HAR and looked to the mouth of the cave was a few meters away "I'm not gonna figure anything out just standing here. Better try and find some kind of civilization."
Weapon held tightly in hand, eyes naturally scanning for threats, Mason headed to the opening. Stepping outside...and finding that his location was a very different contrast compared to the the damaged UAC facility and the bowels of Hell.
All around him was various rocky outcroppings in the middle of a vast desert that seemed to stretch out in every direction.
It wasn't what he was expecting. When Hayden had reset the coordinates for the teleporter, he half expected to be back in Hell. Far enough away so that he couldn't ruin whatever research the cybernetic doctor had in mind.
"Yeah...this is definitely not Mars, or Hell for that matter." he said to himself as he walked out into the blazing sunlight. The visor of his helmet polarizing to protect his eyes while his armored boots sank into the sand beneath him.
Looking up at the sky above, Mason blinked when he saw a large planet that could have been a moon with countless fissure cracks along the surface that glowed a dull amber. That alone would have been surprising, but not nearly as much as the giant structure stationed infront of it shaped like the letter 'H'.
Somewhere in the depth of his mind, he had a sense of familiarity came over him at seeing it. Something from his old life before he woke up on Mars.
"Where did that fucker send me?"
Back inside the cave, in the same place the Doomslayer had landed, a symbol could be seen etched into the stone. A crudely drawn circle with an arch in the center that glowed an ethereal blue.
X
A/N: Update as promised. The real question is, where and when did Mason arrive?
Next chapter is almost finished and will be available within the next couple of days. Tell me what you think and I'll continue with gusto!