A/N: Here we all are once again, and with me bringing you what you want most. Just a heads up to you guys, DemonFireX sent me some more info to help with this fic, there are bits and pieces from the Doom story that he had started writing a while back that he passed on to me that I have improved on for the sake of my own. He told me that since he's not writing much anymore, that he wanted what he once had get passed down to those who would use them the best way possible. And I don't intend on disappointing him or my readers.
Also, more questions have been drifting in. One such question was what John's semblance could be if his aura was awakened, or if he would be using the Crucible as his weapon since it is very likely that it may have been the sword used by the Doom Slayer while he was fighting in Hell.
To answer the first, if my OC could have a semblance, given his abilities and past experiences with demons, it would most likely be 'Berserk'. Where his strength and brutality would go through the roof for a period of time like in the games. As for the second, I'm still stuck between either the Crucible, the chainsaw or both for his primary weapon. Both of them are pretty badass.
But for now, I'm pretty sure that a lot of you have been waiting for this particular chapter, and I won't disappoint.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
The forest seemed to stretch on forever. John had been walking for well over half an hour and so far only encountered a handful of small wildlife; though considering where he had been before this might as well have been paradise.
But the real question was, where was here? He was still scratching his head about that one. The fact that he was in an entirely different place wasn't a surprise, given his 'rebirth' thanks to the Librarian and the multiple trips to Hell while fighting on Mars, but he would have been happy knowing what to expect each time it happened.
Stepping over a fallen log, HAR scanning the surrounding trees, John kept his eyes and ears sharp for any kind of movement. The constant fighting he'd been through and the prowess gifted by his new form had forced all of his instincts to maximum. Every broken twig, breeze through the leaves, or even the distant call of a bird made him snap his weapon up expecting trouble.
The demons had been sneaky, cunning. Their bloodthursty appearence and attacks masking an intelligence that helped them bring the UAC instillation to its knees in a matter of hours. And given that they somehow harnessed the knowledge from the many scientists, engineers, and marines stationed out there, along with their seemingly endless numbers, it was easy to tell they could have eradicated Earth just as quickly.
Shaking his head, John brought his mind into focus as he raised his weapon to his shoulder and moved around a crop of trees. Finding himself in a larger clearing than the one he had been in before. Several rocks dotting the area with a small stream running through it.
Lowering his rifle after scanning the vacinity multiple times, he slowly began making his way forward. He didn't like wide open spaces, too many possibilities for an ambush, but so far everything looked clear.
The running stream was the only sound he could hear, and the itching-burn in the back of his throat was reminding him that he hadn't had anything to drink in god only knew how long. The thought of the cool, refreshing water nearly calling to him.
Settling by the stream, John sat his HAR aside, but still within easy reach so that he could get to it should he need it, before reaching up and gripping his helmet. With a slight twist, a hiss and click was heard as it detatched from the rest of the armor as he pulled it from his head. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he set the helmet next to his weapon and cupped his hands together, dipping them into the cool water and bringing it up to his parched lips, gulping it down and soothing his throat along with the rest of himself.
Repeating the action multiple times until he was refreshed enough, he then rubbed water on his face and bald head, lightly washing away the dirt and dried sweat that had been gathering all this time. Looking at his reflection in the water, his glowing ember eyes looked right back.
He'd changed a lot since waking up on Mars, and not just from getting a new body. The war he waged against Hell had changed him on a very deep level, he no longer hesitated when it came to killing something that threatened his life, and doing so with brutal savagery he never knew he possessed. It was all like second nature and instinct to him now, but he had no regrets.
Not a single innocent life was harmed by his hands, and never would be.
Looking down at his hand, still stained with the blood of the enemies he had literally torn apart, John closed and opened it a few times in thought. The Praetor Suit was still beyond his full comprehension. He'd discovered several data-logs throughout the UAC facility, and a few within Hell as well, with information about it, how it was rumored to have been made by a demon that betrayed it's kind, or that it had been made in another time and dimension with the intent of protecting humanity, but there wasn't anything concrete enough to prove either.
It's ability to absorb energy from enemies was bizzare as well, and how the wearer could heal themselves using their barehands to rip them apart. Something John had proven many times over, any injuries he had sustained nearly vanishing when he tore demons to shreads and collecting the energy they gave off as a result.
He remembered reading one of the tablets on Mars about it; 'For he alone could draw strength from his fallen foes, and ever his power grew, swift and unrelenting.' John didn't know what it had meant at the time, but it answered several of the questions he had pondered throughout theh journey.
Then there was the enhanced strength, speed and reflexes. Not all of which came from the armor, but magnified the one wearing it's abilities to new heights. His first assumption about the suit was way off. This thing made the armor from Halo look like cheap tin in comparison. All it needed was an shield system and it would be unstoppable...if it wasn't already so.
But John also knew that, deep down, it wasn't the suit that made him what he was now, although it was an important tool. He'd also picked up information about who he was supposed to be, a warrior that was said to be the bane of Hell and its legion, a slayer who could walk between the realms and vanquish the Dark Ones who threatened humanity.
Seperated from the Praetor armor and sealed away by the demons to stop him from wreaking havoc on Hell and slaughtering their kind.
It may not have been his life before, but it was now. He was still John Irons, but he was also the Doom Slayer, and after everything he had done he more than believed that he had earned the title well.
Taking a deep breath, John leaned back and sat on the grass, looking up at the clear blue sky above. Using his hand to block the glare from the sun as he soaked in the peace around him for the first time in a long time. "God...it feels like forever since I've just sat down." he couldn't help but think as the sun warmed his face.
Intending on making the moment last as long as possible.
There was a snap of wood somewhere in the forest behind him had John moving in an instant. Helment back on his head and HAR in hand as he spun around in a crouched position, aiming back at the treeline he had come through before.
His eyes swept back and forth behind his visor, the shadows cast by the trees keeping whatever made the noise hidden. His position rigid as his senses stretched to their limits while he gauged his situation.
Nothing happened for several seconds, then one of the shadows started to move. John tightened his finger on the trigger, but waiting to see what came out before attacking. No point in wasting the ammo or killing something that wasn't a threat.
Though, what came out looked anything but 'non-threatening'.
Coming through the trees was a creature the armored human had never encountered before. It was bipedal, standing on bowed legs over seven feet in height with a hunched form covered in black fur. Long arms dotted with sharp claws stood out to the sides, but what stood out more was the bone-like armor and spikes covered in red markings that laid over certain points of its form.
It's head had a long snout, like a dog or a wolf, with a plate of bone-armor laying over it like a mask. A pair of glowing red eyes leering out of the holes in the openings for them that directed straight at him.
John didn't even flinch when it let out a bellowing howl into the air. Instead he pulled the trigger of his weapon the rest of the way and let loose a stream of slugs that slammed into the creature's center of mass. Black, ichor-like blood spraying through the air and splashing on the trees around it as the rounds tore through its flesh like tissue paper.
When it collapsed to the ground face-first twitching, he put a quick burst into its head. Shatting the bone mask and ensuring it stayed down before slowly moving up to look it over.
"...the fuck is this thing?" he wondered, nudging the corpse with the tip of his boot. It wasn't like anything he'd faced before. It went down pretty quick, but in his experience that didn't mean jack-shit if it could sneak up on you alone or in a group.
Be snapped his weapon up when the thing suddenly started to dissolve into a black mist that faded into the air. Raising an eyebrow, John decided to let it be as the corpse faded into nothing.
A low pitched growl had him turning around and glaring back at the woods as half a dozen sets of glowing red eyes appeared in the shadows. Each one belonging to a wolf-like creature that skulked out into the open where its comrade had once been, drool dribbling down from their maws as their growls turned into a loud chorus.
John adjusted the grip on his HAR, clicking the switch on the side that had the po-missile launcher activating. Turning to face the creatures and raise his weapon in challenge. "Come get some."
The beasts roared before lunging at their target.
The Doom Slayer fired the missile launcher attached to his rifle, the mini-explosives sailing forward and hitting two of the creatures, blowing one of them apart and taking the leg of the other and dropping it to the ground.
One of them got close, but John grabbed it by the throat, jamming his HAR in its stomach and pumping lead straight through it. Snapping its neck to good measure as he threw the body away.
Another of the creatures howled and lunged for him as well, its muzzle clasped between John's hands when he caught it. Grabbing it's lower jaw, he pulled down with a sickening crunch, nearly taking it off entirely before turning it to the side and ramming his knee into its back with enough force to practically fold it in half.
Bringing up his arm, he blocked a claw strike that was aimed for his face. Rolling the limb he had stopped, he locked the creature's arm with his own before plunging his other fist striaight through its chest, opening it enough to grab a handful of innards before tearing them out, the beast dying instantly.
The last dark creature snarled, raising up on its hind-legs and slashing with both arms in fury. But neither of them struck home as John ducked under them, getting by the monster's flank and gripping one of the spikes jutting from its bone armor. Breaking it free, he jumped up high enough to plunge it into one of its red eyes.
Half-blinded, the beast couldn't defend well enough as the Doom Slayer grabbed its head in both hands, applying an enormous amount of pressure until its skull exploded in a shower of ichor and bone fragments.
Dropping the headless corpse, John turned his attention to the wolf-creature that had its leg blown off. It was still alive, and attempting to crawl back into the forest leaving a oil-like trail from the shreaded stump where its leg had once been.
Following after it until he was standing over its prone form, the beast turned its head and snarled at him, a vain attempt to intimidate. In response, John raised his foot and brought it down hard on its head, crushing it beneath his heel and splattering the ground with its remains. "Stay." he said to the dissolving body.
When nothing else came out to greet him like the others, he turned and headed back in the general direction he had been going before. All the while filing the information on the creatures he just encountered into his suit's codex with the intention on gathering more data if there were more.
"Not the worst I've seen." John muttered to himself, summoning his combat shotgun to his hands and racking the pump, "But I got a feeling things are only just starting." the sky above him started to darken, clouds rolling in quickly as he began his trek again.
X
Thunder rumbled in the distance, it would start raining soon. This was something the young woman concidered idly as she rode her steed casually along the dirt road ahead of her.
Dressed in a white outfit with brown leggings, leather and bronze armor, and a cloak pulled up over her head that also hid a long staff with a white crystal on one end and a red one on the other strapped to her back.
Amber Autumn was a quiet person by nature, even before she was gifted with he amazing power of the Fall Maiden. She had been training to be a huntress in the small village where she was born when it happened, a large orb of aura zooming toward her from the sky and crashing into her, merging with her very soul and making her one of the legendary women from the story she had grown up with.
She knew the story about the Four Maidens, but never in her wildest dreams did she believe that they were actually true...and that she was now one of them.
For the next few years, she trained with her new powers, learning to harness and control them so that she would be worthy of the position she had been given. Now she traveled between the kingdoms, helping others where ever she could with her skills as a huntress and her abilities as the Fall Maiden.
She'd been traveling for several days now, on her way to Vale for a period of time before heading toward Atlas. It was a long journey, but she had made it before and always did good along the way.
Coming out from the forest, entering a large meadow the road she was on cut through, Amber's ears perked up when she heard the sound of crying. Looking ahead, she sa a little girl sitting on the ground beside a pink bicycle, her knees pulled up to her chest with her face buried in them as she sobbed.
Curious and worried about the child's condition, and wondering what a young girl was doing this far away from the nearest village, Amber brought her horse closer. Dismounting, she grabbed something from one of the saddle bags before approaching on foot.
The child looked up wide eyed and flinched away in fear, Amber mearly smiled and held out her hand which had a shiny red apple in it. "Do not be afraid, young one." she said softly. The girl smiled and reached for the offering...
...the dust in the road behind the girl suddenly shifted. The smiled vanished from Amber's face, immediately picking up another aura close by and realized quickly that she had been tricked.
In the next moment she leapt away from the 'child', her cloak being thrown off and staff in hand extending to its full length while her horse fled in fear.
Standing in the little girl's place was a woman that looked to be about Amber's age with green hair tied into a pair of thin ponytails at the back of her head, red eyes and wearing a brown oufit. A pair of revolvers clutched in her hands and aimed at the Maiden who stood ready for a fight.
The woman ran at her, firing her weapons in quick succession, Amber's hand snapped out, the rounds deflecting off an invisible shield of aura she produced infront of it. In response, she twirled her staff and swept it across the ground, the white dust crystal activating and sending a gust of wind that knocked her attacker away.
Running footsteps caused Amber to snap her her to the left, silver-haired young man sprinted toward the fense on the side of the road and leapt up high over it. Thinking fast, she spun her staff around and blocked the drop kick that had been aimed at her before spinning around and launching another gust of wind to knock back the green-haired woman again.
The man landed on a fense post, a pair of grieaves on his legs went off like shotguns as he launched himself at the Maiden. Amber spun and faced him, spinning her staff so that the red crystal was aimed forward as a jet of flame burst forth, catching the attacker in its blast as he used his legs to shield himself.
When the flames died down, the man's pants were burned off at the knee revealing a pair of animatronic prosthetics where the actual limbs were supposed to be. His momentum not at all hindered as he slammed both feet into the Maiden's stomach and kicking her back, her staff flying away from her grasp as she landed on the road a couple meters away.
Opening her light-brown eyes, she had a moment to gasp before the green-haired woman came down, her heels slamming down into her chest and crushing her into the ground before she flipped away and landed beside her partner.
Amber got to her feet quickly, her aura already healing the damage caused as she tapped into her powers. Her eyes flaring with energy as a massive whirlwind kicked up all around the combatants.
Her attackers shielded their eyes and gave each other worried glances as the Maiden slowly rose into the air, thunder and lightning clashing in the air above and around her as she raised a hand up before snapping it in their direction. A bolt of lighting coming down from the darkened clouds and hitting the ground where the duo was standing, both leaping out of the way as the ground was torn up in their wake.
More bolts rained down from above, Amber keeping them now on the defensive as her assailants did everything in their power to avoid the devistating attack. The duo eventually stopped running and fired up at her with their weapons, but the Maiden's aura kept her shielded from their assault as she reached out and pulled thousands of leaves from the nearby trees.
The blades of green being brought forth into the whirlwind before a cold rush filled the area, freezing the leaves into very sharp edges that she fired at the duo. Both of them taking heavy amounts of damage being unable to defend as they were thrown harshly to the ground bleeding.
Sensing another aura entering the battlefield, Amber turned and saw another woman running up the road toward them. A short, red dress her form of attire with a pair of swords and arrows clasped to her lower back.
Amber didn't even give her a chance as she launched a fireball in her direction. The new arrival leaping over it and snapping her hand out after it exploded, the debris from the blast coming alive and forming an array of spikes made of glass that she threw right back.
The Maiden barly had time to register the sudden turn as she was struck multiple times, getting thrown from the air and crashing back down to the road.
Pulling herself up slowly, breathing heavily from the use of her abilities, Amber looked around for her attackers and finding the area empty. A moment later they appeared out of thin air, all three of them sprinting toward her at alarming speeds.
The woman in red attacked first, slashing with her twin-swords. Amber blocked the strikes, kicking her away as the silver-haired man came next followed by the green-haired woman. She blocked and dodged their strikes, kicking them away and putting distance between herself and them as she tried to think of a strategy.
Turning, she gasped when she saw the first woman merge her swords together into a bow and pull back three bolts. All of them firing her way and hitting the ground around her where they started to glow menacingly.
The Maiden didn't have time to defend or retreat as she was caught in the massive explosion that followed. Screaming as her aura completely depleated and she was thrown harshly to the ground, pain wracking her form as she tried to get back up, her attackers closing in on her weakened form.
Gritting her teeth, Amber slashing one of her hands through the air. A blast of wind knocking the woman in red away, giving her time to pull on her Maiden power once again as she shocked the male with lightninga and blasting the green-haired female with a fireball.
When all of them were down, she stood slouched in the middle of the road, breathing labored and pain echoing through her frame. Reaching down, wincing at the aches that plagued her, Amber picked up her dropped staff and used it to help keep her upright as she started limping away, holding her stomach as she made her way toward the green-haired one that tricked her.
The woman looked up, red eyes widening as the Maiden stood over her. Anger reflected strongly in her eyes as she raised her staff to finish it-
Amber suddenly jerked forward, a strangled gasp leaving her lips as her staff fell from limp fingers. Collapsing to her hands and knees, an arrow sticking out of her left shoulder.
Cinder lowered her bow, a wide smirk spreading across her face as she approached the downed Maiden. Mercury and Emerald moving in already, restraining the Maiden on her knees with her arms out as she reached into her pouch and produced a while glove with runes stitched into the back, a gift from her mistress for what needed to be done.
Holding out her palm, a small portal opened in the very center where a tiny Grimm in the shape of a beetle crawled out.
Terror gripped Amber's chest as she saw the creature, "P-Please...no..." she begged, realizing then and there that her fate was all but sealed...
A loud gunshot rang out, Cinder screamed in surprise and agony as her hand was blown apart at the wrist. Blood and the remains of her fingers flying through the air as she dropped to her knees clutching the now mutilated stump.
Mercury and Emerald dropped Amber in shock as their new boss became crippled right before them. All eyes turning toward where the shot came from where a tall, broad individual in thick armor and a helmet with a darkened visor. A large weapon shaped like a mini railgun clutched in his hands, blue wisps of energy trailing from the barrel.
The Fall Maiden pulled herself up, despite the pain she was in and looked upon her savior for a few fleeting moments before succumbing to exhaustion and passing out.
X
John had heard the sounds of combat a ways away and double timed it to where it was happening. Wondering if the same creatures he encountered was attacking someone else. But instead, he found four people doing battle in the middle of a dirt road, one of them looking to have the power over the elements themselves as she fought against her attackers who were trying to overwhelm her.
At first he couldn't tell who was attacking who, but something within the pit of his being told him that the three going after the one woman were full of evil intent. And when the trio had managed to bring her down, and were setting her up for some kind of finisher, the Doom Slayer made his move.
Pulling out his Gauss Cannon, he looked down the sights and targeted the woman in red. Her hand glowing with an unknown power and looked to be the biggest threat as he pulled the trigger.
The powerful bolt of energy shot through the air, blowing through the dark-haired woman's outstretched hand and reducing it to a bloody stump. The affect as instant as she dropped to the ground clutching what was left of her wrist while her subbordinates dropped the woman they had been attacking.
All eyes turned to him, taking him in as a new threat as he stored away the Gauss Cannon and brought out his double barrel.
"KILL HIM!" Cinder screamed, blood flowing out through her fingers from the shreaded flesh and shattered bone that had once been her right hand. Mercury snapped out of if first and went on the attack, his grieaves firing and launching him toward John like a human missile.
Swinging around mid-flight, he swung his leg around with a powerful kick that would have caved a regular man's skull in...only to have his foot caught in the Doom Slayer's open hand. Stunning the silver-haired young man at how fast he was in such large armor, a distraction that would be his downfall as John gripped the metallic limb hard enough to bend the frame as he brought his other arm with the shotgun up and bashed his elbow into the knee of the prosthetic.
The metal leg shattered like cheap glass, sparks and various fluids that ran through the limb went everywhere while Mercury looked on horrified. Unable to stop the gauntleted hand that had once held his foot now wrap around his neck and hold him up in a choking grip.
John raised his double barrel and blew off the other prosthetic, making the man's movement all but impossible before throwing him aside. "MERCURY!" he looked up and saw the green-haired woman coming at him, her revolvers firing a steady barrage that bounced off the armor plating of the Praetor suit.
Reloading both tubes of the shotgun, the Doom Slayer waited until the female got close enough before striking. Firing the weapon in her direction, forcing her to leap and flip over the spread as well as himself and landing behind him, her handguns changing into a pair of sicles that she started swinging and slashing.
Grabbing her arm before one of her attacks could hit home, John delivered a bone jarring backhand that nearly shattered her jaw. The impact sending the green-haired girl spinning in the air and landing in a heap on the ground.
Turning around to face the woman he shot before, the Doom Slayer lashed a hand out and stopped one of her twin swords an inch before it touched his visor. The dark-haired woman gritted her teeth, a combination of rage and pain reflected in her eyes, remains of her arm tied off with a blood soaked bandage as she attempted the attack with her remaining arm.
The two stood there, bright yellow eyes attempting to burn holes through the tinted visor as the woman tired to force the blade farther. But to no avail.
Sending his double barrel back to storage, John held up his free hand, pointer finger extended and waved it back and forth slowly in a 'nuh-uh-uh' motion. In the next moment, his large boot launched upward and connected with her stomach, the tell tale cracks of broken ribs heard loud and clear as she was thrown back and to the dirt. Coughing up blood as she laid clutching her midsection.
Cinder looked back at the armored human as he looked at the sword she tried to attack him with. Putting it between his hands and snapping it clean in two and tossing the pieces aside.
Who was this...thing?! It decimated her and her subordinates like they were nothing, it couldn't be human! There was just no way it could be!
Turning her attention to Mercury and Emerald, the former having crawled over to the latter since his prosthetics were destroyed while the green-haired thief laid unmoving. Looking back to their quarry, finding the Fall Maiden out cold and vulnerable, and with them completely unable to do what they had planned to accomplish.
As much as it pained her...they would have to retreat if they hoped to survive this encounter. And pray that her mistress understood the reasoning behind it.
Reaching into her pouch, Cinder pulled out a canister and pulled out the pin sticking out of it before tossing it at the armored being's feet. A blinding flash filled the area a moment later and giving her a chance.
John shielded his eyes from the flashbang that had been tossed, his visor polarizing to compensate for the sudden brightness as he looked at where the woman in red had been, only to find her gone.
Turning back toward the others he had dispatched, he found them gone as well. The minor distraction all they seemed to need in order to make a quick retreat.
Rolling his shoulders, the Doom Slayer remembered the hurt woman whom he had saved. Jogging quickly over to where she laid prone on the dirt road and crouching beside her still figure.
She was alive, but unconscious after her ordeal which didn't surprise him. The arrow in her shoulder seeming to be the most severe of her injuries which could be easily remedied with the right supplies. The only issue was that there weren't any on hand at the moment.
A clap of thunder overhead had John looking toward the heavens. A heavy storm was about to hit and it wouldn't do any good to have her out in the open like this, but he couldn't move her without injuring her further with the bolt still lodged into her.
Reaching a hand out, he pressed it firmly to her shoulder, the arrow shaft between his middle and ring fingers as he gripped it with his other hand. Taking a deep breath, and hoping that she didn't feel this too much in her current state, he pulled the sharp object from her.
A strangled gasp of pain hissed out of her mouth, but nothing else. John picked up her discarded cloak and quickly tore it into strips, even in armor he was able to make a makeshift bandage with the clothing and wrap up the wound tight enough to stop the bleeding. When she was properly attended to, he scooped her up gently in his arms and stood up, pausing a moment to collect her staff and collapse it to its more compact form and attaching it on his belt beside the Cruicible.
Small drops of water started raining down from above and pattering lightly on his visor as the Doom Slayer started moving with a steady jog. Intending on finding shelter for them before things got to harsh.
He'd worry about what to do next when the woman woke up and was feeling better.
X
When John and the Fall Maiden disappeared into the forest, a cloaked individual stepped out into the meadow where they had just been. Having witnessed the last few moments of the fight with awe and intrigue.
Sharp eyes watching the armored man taking the young woman away, most likely to safety, he pulled out his scroll and pressed the number he knew by heart.
"Ozpin? It's Qrow. There's been a situation."
A/N:...Yes...situation indeed. Like the ones who cause so much pain and trouble for the people of Remnant getting their asses chewed up and spit out by someone much higher on the food chain. And this is only the beginning for our Hell vanquishing hero!
Update coming soon guys, this thing has become way to exciting to simply ignore on my end!