The Hazbin Hotel lately seemed to be the place of surprise visits. Today that trend would continue with the unknown arrival of the Three V's at the doorstep. Charlie remained calm and decided to act a little smug for once.
"Is that so?" Charlie responded to Vox's proposal to talk.
"I would certainly say so. And it's probably a lot better alternative than anything getting physical. I'm sure someone such as yourself wouldn't enjoy that outcome, right?" Vox asked.
"I suppose so," Charlie responded. But before she could say anything else, someone else wanted to get in on the conversation.
"My, my Charlie. We certainly have a knack for attracting certain folks to this establishment," Alastor started as he walked towards the door. "Oh, fabulous day. My three favorite demons in all of Hell," he said with obvious sarcasm. Everyone knew Alastor and the Three V's were not a good combination.
"Glad to know we're your favorite," Velvet said, obviously knowing Alastor was being sarcastic.
"Alastor, it is absolutely great to see you. How have you been? Good? Oh, that's great to hear," Vox said as he stared back at Alastor and just hit him with sarcasm. So far, it felt like every word out of someone's mouth was sarcasm.
"May I ask why the three of you are here? I know this isn't the place for you," Alastor asked.
"You fucking know why," Valentino said in a low voice before speaking up, "both of you fucking know!"
"Perhaps we both do. I would say we are both demons of intelligent minds with the brain capacity to do a little problem-solving," Alastor responded.
"I agree. I don't think we have anything to talk about, as I doubt anything will be resolved. This will turn into nothing more than a physical dispute. Clearly, you are prepared for it as all three of you showed up," Charlie said, adding on to Alastor.
While the five demons were going back and forth, Angel remained uneasy over by Niffty. He started to look all around, and his eyes eventually went over towards Husk, who ALSO had his eyes trained on the three V's too. Angel slowly walked over to him to talk to him in private.
"Hey. Husk," Angel said softly.
"What is it?" Husk responded softly as well. He figured Angel was nervous as he didn't call him "Husky."
"Got um...got any predictions on how this will play out?" Angel said in a nervous tone, followed by a shy smile.
"Probably not fucking well. They clearly all came for a reason, and that was so they could stand up to Alastor if it goes fucking south. Which I would bet some money on it happening," Husk responded.
"Right. Yeah. That is kind of what I was thinking. We should probably get muscles down here, right? That would give us some extra firepower," Angel said, looking around to see if the Slayer happened to come into the lobby like on cue.
"I don't even think he's fucking here," Husk said.
"He's not?!" Angel asked for confirmation.
"Don't think so. I remembered seeing him leave the hotel a while ago, and I ain't seen him come back in. I don't think he has any fancy magical powers where he can just make a portal to his room," Husk responded.
"Fuck. I mean I would think after all the shit Vaggie told me about Alastor that he could handle it. Buttt then again, I would feel much better if he were here," Angel said.
"I can fucking see why. Not many in Hell can just toss someone with one hand," Husk said, referring back to the incident between Valentino and the Slayer, which Husk still found funny. "We'll just have to see how this goes." He added.
"Alastor, just swallow your pride, which I know is so massive, and let's have a civil discussion," Vox said from the door. Husk and Angel stopped their discussion to listen back in.
"This has nothing to do with pride. I just don't think there is anything else to discuss," Alastor responded.
"Breaking a hell law is something to discuss. You should have known that this issue wouldn't just disappear out of thin air," Vox responded.
From here, Alastor would typically want to make the final decision and tell them all to piss right the fuck off. But he decided he wouldn't make that decision. After all, this wasn't his establishment. "Alright. I shall leave this decision up to you, my dear. Shall we attempt to discuss this in some type of matter that could be considered...peaceful?" He asked.
As much as Charlie would instead turn away the Three V's and ignore this conversation as a whole, she had to admit that trying to find a peaceful way to solve this may be for the best. She figured that there would be a battle between them all otherwise, so she would play ball.
"Fine. We can discuss this, BUT only if this is to be done in a civil matter and not resolved by violence," Charlie said, finally responding.
"Oh, give me a fucking break," Valentino muttered as that shit seemed incredibly cheesy to him. "I'm pretty sure radio boy over here would be the one who wishes for shit to hit the fan the most!"
"I'll need a resounding yes," Charlie added.
"Fine. Whatever," Valentino reluctantly agreed.
"Then it's settled," Alastor said. He then walked away and gave a snap of his fingers. All of the demons watched as, out of nowhere, a large table appeared in the middle of the lobby. From there, chairs seemed to appear as well. Alastor decided to equally distribute the chairs on each side to correspond with how many members were in the two parties. On one side of the table, there were three chairs. Obviously, for the Three V's to sit in. And on the other, there were seven chairs for the members of the hotel to sit in. "If we wish for this conversation to be conducted in a civil manner, then why not give the room a bit of a civil look to it," he added as he proceeded to the other side of the table.
"Wow, aren't you just so inventive," Vox said sarcastically.
"Of course, I am," Alastor responded.
"Where in the hell did you even get all this from?" Vaggie asked as she brought up an interesting point. Alastor had to get this giant table and these chairs from someplace.
"The less you know Vaggie, the better it will be for us all. So. How about we take our seats?" Alastor said to everyone in the room.
Everyone did just that. Valentino rolled his eyes as he was the first one to take a seat at this arrangement that Alastor set up. He sat down on the chair to the right while Vox took the one in the middle and Velvet took the one on the left. For the hotel staff, Alastor took the seat directly in the middle so he could face down all the members of the Three V's equally. Charlie went and sat down on his left, while Vaggie went and sat down on his right. Niffty went over and took the far seat next to Charlie, while Husk and Angel took two out of the three seats that were open next to Vaggie. Once everyone was seated, it was obvious that there was one seat left for a particular individual.
"An open seat. Perhaps that mind of yours isn't as strong as it used to be. You miscounted," Vox said. But he knew who that seat was supposed to belong to.
"I do not make mistakes," Alastor responded.
"Oh, that's right. That's for the big human, isn't it? Well...as far as my eyes can see, he doesn't seem to be here. Shame, guess he'll have to miss out on this little discussion," Vox said with a grin.
"Sounds like yer fucking implying something," Husk said as he caught the tone from Vox's voice.
"I am not implying anything, kitty cat," Vox responded, which pissed Husk off as he did not like to be referred to as Kitty or cat. Or I suppose it was worse to combine both of those together. "It is just an observation, as I have heard he was staying here."
"I don't believe that you actually did something to him," Angel spoke up.
"Who said we did?" Velvet said, speaking this time. "I just wouldn't expect the fella to make an appearance at this little meeting."
The hotel staff was all unsure if the Three V's actually did something to the Slayer. Obviously, they did not, as the Slayer was still several realms away...but nobody but the Slayer knew that. To the demons in the hotel, the Slayer left the hotel some time ago and hasn't come back. But he seemed so unkillable they didn't know what to believe. They would just have to go on without his presence.
"Well, as Vox so graciously pointed out when you all arrived, there have definitely been some issues between our two parties," Alastor said, starting off the discussion.
"Indeed. While neither myself nor Velvet was present during the original incident, apparently, you all have been withholding a conjured soul that is entitled to Porn Studios and owned by Valentino," Vox said as now the conversation was truly underway.
"Have we really?" Alastor asked, wanting to make them think.
"I don't know, the fact that you have been keeping him trapped in this hotel nearly every day seems like it to me," Velvet spoke.
"Or it is the fact that Angel truly doesn't believe it is safe for him out there. We are not keeping him trapped in the hotel in any way," Vaggie said, adding her rebuttal.
"She is right. Valentino, all you've done is just throw out threats left and right to Angel, and you made it clear that if you ever found Angel outside of the hotel's premises, you would take him," Charlie said, backing up Vaggie's point.
"Fuck yeah, I would have. Maybe because, and stop me if I have said this twenty fucking times by now, I own him. I've explained this shit in a way even you retarded fucks could understand!" Valentino said, growing more and more pissed.
"Wow, It's no wonder why Angel doesn't want to go back to you," Vaggie said in a sarcastic tone.
"Valentino, I know far too well the association that you have with Angel. I know far too much that he does rightfully belong to you, and I am not preventing you from retrieving him," Alastor said, voicing his opinion now.
"Really? Is that fucking right. Didn't you say you were going to tear me limb from limb the last time I was at this dump? Really proves your point there, doesn't it," Valentino responded.
"Oh, Valentino, that was for a completely different matter, and you know it. Besides, what's in the past is in the past. I clearly haven't made any harsh advancements to you. Nor have I conjured up any new threats now, have I?" Alastor responded.
"Do you want some kind of fucking medal?" Valentino said, growing tired of Alastor.
"So you all are claiming that you are not intentionally keeping Angel away?" Vox said, getting back to the point.
"I would say no. What about the rest of you?" Alastor said, seeing if he had the same thoughts as the rest of the staff.
"Um...I mean. I don't know for sure how to answer," Charlie responded. "We care about Angel and do not want him to get hurt, which would most likely happen if he went out in hell alone."
"Clearly, you have been waiting for such a thing as I wouldn't see any other reason to need this," Alastor said, as out of nowhere, he held up one of the cameras that were placed around the hotel. This made Vox a little uneasy. "My gracious shadow found this. Spying on this establishment? For shame. But I would expect going down to such a low for all of you. So like I said, you have no interest in stepping into this hotel and are waiting at first glance when Angel leaves. And do you want to know why? Husker, if you would be so kind as to tell them."
"Maybe it's because you're fucking scared," Husk said as he spoke up for the first time.
"Scared? Right, I'm sure the great Radio Demon's pet over here has found the fucking key here," Valentino responded, still going after Husk's demon form.
"Am I wrong? You are scared because, typically, you are someone to get things to go your way due to your power and your status in Hell. If you want something from someone, you'll get it. But now, you are faced with a situation where things aren't going your way, and it doesn't have to fully do with us. If I wasn't a gambling man, I would bet that it has something to do with that human, doesn't it? Compared to other powerful beings in Hell, he doesn't seem to give two shits about how Hell works or keeping any type of status. And after what happened the last time you were here and all the shit that has been said about this human, you're scared to try and get through him," Husk said, giving his answer.
"Precisely," Alastor said once Husk got done speaking.
"Wow, what powerful words! Sure you weren't a therapist before you kicked the bucket?" Velvet asked, being sarcastic.
Husk gave her back a mean grin. "It's no fucking surprise that you all finally fucking showed up when he apparently disappeared."
"I see nothing more than a coincidence. Nothing more," Vox said, speaking on behalf of Valentino, who was trying to think of an excellent response to prove Husk wrong.
"Exactly, so you can stop with your little physiological stuff, Mr. Big Bad Radio Demon and Pussycat," Velvet added.
"Well, what about Angel hm? How about we ask him what he wants? I know my Angel Cakes way too well, and he's probably growing quite restless in this hellhole. Aren't you?" Valentino said, looking directly at Angel now, making it so Angel had to speak for once.
"I...um...I mean, I guess I am. I mean fuck, it would be nice to be able to stretch my fucking legs and go back out into Hell and do shit...getting fucking wild and party and shit. And I mean, it's not like I didn't mind the fame my job created for me. But the big issue here is you, Val. How could I go back after everything that has happened and trust that shit won't be even worse than before?" Angel answered.
"It won't be Angel. Valentino will probably just make twenty more false promises or just fill your head with more lies," Vaggie said to Angel. She now turned her attention back to the Three V's. "We saw Angel come back bruised and upset too many times to count."
"I already explained this shit to you broads the last time I was here. Do I really have to do it again?" Valentino asked, referring to Angel's disobedience against him.
"And we already explained about how much of an asshole you are," Vaggie said, folding her arms.
"Heard it before. If you are going to insult me bitch, you should probably come up with something more creative," Valentino said in a smug.
"I can already feel the civility of this conversation fading," Alastor said.
"Really. Well, I think this is going quite well. Really seems like we are getting somewhere with this," Vox responded. "After all of this, I believe we should have ourselves a type of Rogerian argument."
"A Rogerian what now?" Niffty asked, as she was not familiar with that.
"You know, a type of argument that aims to establish a middle ground between parties with opposing viewpoints or goals. And we clearly have got all of those," Vox said, giving an explanation.
"How do you expect us to come up with some sort of compromise? It would all end up with Angel going back to work for Valentino in some way, shape, or form," Charlie said.
"Hm, I don't see any issue with that," Valentino said with a large golden tooth grin.
"Yes, neither do I," Velvet said with a grin as well.
"No surprise there," Husk said in a soft, annoyed tone.
"That does not seem like our concern, does it," Vox said with a grin of his own while he interlocked his finger. It seemed like his civil approach was fading now. "You'll have to find some type of compromise on your end if you wish for this to end...peacefully."
"Well, isn't that reassuring," Vaggie responded.
"If you ask me, I don't think any of you should even make a fucking decision. I think...Angel should be the one to speak for himself," Valentino said, peering directly into Angel's eyes with his big smile.
Angel felt so small when Valentino was gazing at him. It felt like he was being sucked into his own chair, and that damn red smoke that seemed to always follow Valentino was wrapping itself around Angel's neck, arms, and legs, rendering him powerless to move. It still felt like Valentino still had all control over him, what he did, what he said. Even now.
"I...I...What would this...compromise even be?" Angel asked softly.
"Angel?" Charlie said softly to him, as she didn't expect him to want to hear them out. But Charlie saw Angel's expression and body language. He clearly wasn't himself.
"Well, how about that? It seems as if we're getting somewhere," Vox said with a grin. "Alright, let me try and spitball here to get this ball rolling. Clearly, your party believes that Angel has been too overworked as of late. So how about this? He returns to work for Valentino with a few days off."
"Define a few days off," Angel responded.
"Let's come up with a scenario here. Let's say you return and do five days out of the week. Then for the other two, you can do whatever the Hell you want," Vox said with a shoulder shrug.
"That is still way too much. How is Angel supposed to gain any type of progress toward redemption going to do your bidding five days out of a week?" Vaggie asked.
"Well, look here bitch, we are fucking focused on realistic shit here and not some bullshit and frankly impossible pipe dream that you all got going on here," Valentino responded.
"And frankly, we do not care at all about this...goal you have in mind for this hotel, so let's just push that out of the equation for now," Vox added.
"If you are trying to make some compromise with Angel, then I feel like that should include this project," Vaggie responded.
"Does it fucking really? Because I feel like only Angel should be the one making the decision here, considering he is a grown-ass man and can make his own decisions," Velvet said.
"Preach doll," Valentino said, referring to one of the nicknames he used for Velvet.
"But we should be able to have some type of say in decisions involving Angel. We are his friends, and we care about him," Charlie said.
"Aw, how cute," Valentino responded.
"Al, don't you agree that we should have a say?" Charlie said, trying to get more support from someone who the Three V's would probably listen to.
"Why of course if we are associated with the same party as Angel? But I do believe that all of you do have a say and are able to guide Angel how you will. However...the decision is ultimately up to Angel. This is his life, pardon me, his AFTERLIFE after all," Alastor said, clearly trying to keep this as a business.
"Well, looks like those antlers aren't squeezing your skull too hard for you to have a little bit of fucking sense," Valentino said.
"Five days seems like still too many days for Angel to do his...work. That is nearly every day," Charlie said.
"Better than doing seven days, isn't it?" Valentino said with a grin.
"What do you think is a more suitable amount hm?" Vox asked.
"Not doing it at all would be great. For all those years Angel has worked for you, how is it not enough? He's been down in Hell for seventy years!" Charlie added.
"Thanks for the information about Angel's life," Velvet responded.
"But here is the issue," Angel said, which got everyone's attention. "Vaggie did talk about the things you said the last time you were here. After everything that has happened, could shit just go back to square one. I don't know if I could trust you to keep your word and not do any type of shit you say you won't do this time or that time. I feel like it's things I've heard before."
"Angel Cakes, I feel like that's something I could turn right back on all of you. How do I know if that you or that...fuck, the point is how do I know if you won't turn back to hiding Angel from me If we make some kind of...deal," Valentino said as he almost revealed the fact that they didn't do anything to the Slayer at all. They still wanted to use the fact that he was nowhere to be found as a tactic to get a deal done.
"I'd say we're a bit more trusting than all of you," Niffty said.
"Sure. I'm so sure we can trust the 'most dangerous overlord in hell'," Valentino said while mocking what other demons say about Alastor.
"You can absolutely trust me..." Alastor said, showing off some of his proper demonic form.
"Wowwwwww, what a trustworthy face," Velvet said.
"Okay, so clearly, you do not like the number of days we started with, and we obviously don't like the offer you picked. What about this Angel? What if you did four days out of the week? Three days a week, I think, is a little low for us," Vox said.
"Um. I don't know...I mean, maybe. But I don't know," Angel started to say. But someone else decided to speak up and help him out.
"You do not have to answer just yet, Angel. It would be the most professional way to go about this if the party in question gets time to decide whether they agree to the proposition of the other party," Alastor said, cutting off Angel. In a way, Angel was happy he did.
"Oh give me a fucking break. How about we decide this now, so I don't have to come back to this hellhole?" Valentino said, getting rather impatient.
"If you really want a decision to be made here, then you better be able to upheld professional practices," Alastor said with a smile as the room appeared to warp to Alastor's will.
"Hm. Well, if that's how you wish for this to be done. Then fine. Are the rest of you fine with this?" Vox said, asking Velvet and Valentino.
"Eh, I don't give that much of a shit," Velvet said as she was just kind of along for the ride.
"Whatever," Valentino said as he rolled his eyes.
"Looks like we have ourselves a decision for now. I think we are done here," Alastor said, practically dismissing this meeting himself.
"Seems the way," Vox said as he stood up. "I'm glad you could be so civil about something for once, Radio Demon."
"I must say it was a challenge with you because I usually I am always civil to those I respect," Alastor responded.
"Ok ladies, don't go pulling each other's hair now," Velvet said as it felt like they always ended up like this.
"Well, shall we go?" Vox said to his group. Both Velvet and Valentino got up from the chair.
"I'd come up with a decision quickly," Valentino said as he was about to walk out the door. "You should know, Alastor, I never give up a conjured soul that easy." He added before shutting the door.
Angel finally felt like he was able to breathe as he let out a sigh,"fucking hell," he said softly.
"So we've heard," Husk said as he got up from his chair.
"Well, I guess that went...better than expected?" Charlie said as she didn't even know herself.
"If you were picturing an all-out brawl that ended in the destruction of the hotel, bodily harm, and most likely death. Then yes, I guess it was better than expected," Vaggie said.
"What are we going to do with this big table in the room?" Niffty asked.
"OH, right. Let me take care of that," Alastor said with a snap of his fingers.
"OW, what the fuck Al?" Angel exclaimed as he was stuck in his own thoughts that he didn't know Alastor was getting rid of the chairs.
"Oh, my apologies. Were you still sitting down in one of those chairs?" Alastor said as he did get rid of the large table and all the chairs with it.
"No I was just simply floating in mid fucking air," Angel said in an annoyed tone.
"Well...at least there wasn't a fight," Niffty said, trying to find a positive.
"I'm kind of surprised there wasn't one. Never thought the Three V's would ever try and resolve something peacefully," Husk said.
"Oh dear Husker, I thought you would have learned by now that the Three V's are all bark and no bite. They can say whatever they damn well please, but they usually do not mean it," Alastor said.
"A-Angel? You doing okay?" Charlie said, seeing how Angel still looked stressed.
"I don't really fucking know. It feels like I got to pick something here," Angel responded while still sitting on the floor.
"You don't have to go back to work for them. All of those Perras can find someone else to do their dirty work," Vaggie said.
"But is this really the way to spend the rest of my fucking afterlife? Just sitting up in this hotel every day of the week? Besides, maybe If I go back, then none of you will have to pay on my fucking behalf. And who knows, maybe one of you already did," Angel responded.
"Who would have paid on your behalf?" Vaggie questioned.
"Well, we don't really know anything yet, but where the fuck is the big guy at? Husk made some good points during this about how he goes MIA for a while, and then they show up after," Angel answered.
"I don't think they actually did anything to him," Vaggie replied. " First off, there is no proof of it, so I think they are just trying to scare you."
"Of course! There's no way that big, bad boy would go down that easy! Right?" Niffty said but then asked for everyone's else opinions.
"I mean, I wouldn't think so. But since we have no way to communicate with him when he's not within earshot, we'll just have to wait and see in the coming days if he does or does not come back," Charlie said.
"Guess so; well, now I got to make a fucking choice. I'm going to need some ti- Angel started to say before being cut off by a pair of knocks at the hotel's doors. The members of the hotel looked at one another, wondering if anyone else was expecting somebody.
"Oh, for fuck's sake. Who is it now?" Vaggie groaned as this sounded like another lousy surprise.
"Perhaps they have returned to gloat once more," Alastor said, turning his attention to the doors.
"I'll get it," Charlie said as she proceeded back over. "I doubt it's the Three V's again, as it wouldn't make sense for them to knock. She opened the door to see a crowd of people shoving microphones and cameras in her face. All the reporters kept shouting off questions one by one, not giving Charlie a chance to breathe.
"PRINCESS, PRINCESS. Rumor has it that the human...the...the...Slayer...is staying here. Why would he? Isn't this a place of redemption?"
"Why are you trying to redeem a human? There's no way that could work, right?"
"Is he here? We'd like to get an exclusive!"
"Princess, is the reason that you'd keep someone here after all the rumors about him have something to do behind the scenes?"
"Yes, are you having some type of romantical affair with the human?"
"The demons want to know if those mystery logs are even true! Can the human confirm any of this?"
"Princess, Princess-"
"Hey you already asked a fucking question; wait your turn!"
"Ah, nobody gives a fuck about that station anyway, so why the fuck should I wait my turn?"
"The princess is gonna fucking answer my question first. Isn't that right, princess?"
Charlie just looked back at all of them. She had a lot of eyes looking upon her now, all wanting to know about the Slayer and apparently finding out that he was here. She didn't even know where to start, so all she could mutter was a "Uhhhhhh." Due to the fact that she had no idea where the Slayer was.
A long time ago...
The loud sounds of carnage roared through the arena. The demons continue to try to take down this sole marine who just seems like he will not die no matter what they throw at him. The marine successfully kills a pair of cacodemons and a few imps before being met with a large wooden door with an extensive collection of skulls on it.
"Alright, you bastards. What's next, huh? WHAT else have you got to throw at me," the marine exclaimed as he walked through the door. His attitude had drastically changed since he started fighting these hordes of demons. It was clear that the physical hardship was beginning to take a toll on the marine's mind. He began to proceed down a long corridor that led into an open area. He still moved along despite the wounds he had suffered. He had blood all over him, some of the demons and some of his own.
As he walked into the room, rocket launcher in hand, he saw the large and grotesque-looking creature in front of him. The one actual demon that was the leader behind this onslaught, this invasion of the moons. The Spider Mastermind.
"What in the absolute hell is that?" The marine muttered to himself as to him; it looked like a giant brain with four robotic legs attached.
The Spider Mastermind spotted him and let out a roar before firing the machine guns attached to the front of its body. The marine quickly ran as fast as he could in order to get to cover to avoid getting even more hurt. As he turned to look to see if the coast was clear, a pair of Cacodemons was coming his way. They shot two balls of plasma at the lone marine, but the marine was too quick as he avoided them both. With his RPG in hand, he started firing rockets one by one at the Cacodemons. They groaned in pain as the impact of the rockets stunned them both. The marine kept on running and was able to locate a few more rockets to use. He loaded them up and fired them at the Cacodemons again. It took several rockets to take down each one, but the marine succeeded.
Now it was time to focus on the real threat, and that was the large mechanical spider. The marine tossed his RPG aside due to it being out of ammo. He switched to his plasma rifle and began to fire at the Spider Mastermind. As he went on the offensive, he got sloppy and paid the price for it as the Spider Mastermind fired its chain gun and hit the marine multiple times, but fortunately for the marine, his green body armor took most of the blow. The Spider Mastermind kept on spraying bullets at the marine to no end. The marine sprinted as fast as he could while firing more plasma shots at the Mastermind's large exposed brain.
The demon roared in pain as it kept on firing back at the lone marine. He retook cover and switched over to his shotgun for a bit. As more Cacodemons came on the attack, the marine quickly fired rounds at them before ducking back behind cover. As the Cacodemons drew closer and closer, the marine darted out behind cover and began to fire more rounds as he used his quickness to avoid any sort of attack. As he dodged the Cacodemons, he concentrated fire back on the Spider Mastermind that had fired up its gun again to fire back at the marine. The marine put away his shotgun and fired the plasma rifle again. The Spider Mastermind started to lose balance as the constant fire of the plasma rifle was blinding it, so it had no control of its shots.
As the marine was running, he found a few more spare rockets lying on the ground and picked them up. He then kept on firing as he made his way back over to his RPG that was lying on the other side of the compound. The Mastermind looked around for the marine but lost him as its eyesight came back. Because of the marine's quickness, he was already behind the demon and started firing rounds into the back of the Mastermind. The demon turned around and started to fire again. The marine was hit a few more times in the shoulder and back by a few stray bullets before sliding to a halt to pick up the RPG. The marine loaded the weapon and fired both rockets at the Spider Mastermind.
The Spider Mastermind let out one final roar as it collapsed into a bloody mess. The demons that remained in the room seemed to disappear as well. The marine did it. He won. He avenged his fallen team as well as every other person who was aboard these facilities. After facing adversity such as this, it was time for Hell to play fair, and a hidden doorway appeared in front of the marine that would bring him back to Earth. The marine picked up his shotgun and walked into the portal.
Out of the hidden doorway stepped the lone space marine. He dropped down to a knee to catch his breath and to pretty much recollect himself. What he had just been through is nothing that anyone could have ever imagined. Something so insane that it shouldn't even have been real. But he, throughout it all, stood triumph over the forces of Hell that had caused so much death over the invasion of the moons. The marine stopped thinking of that for a moment as he felt the warm grass of Earth, and it was a feeling he was glad. By looking at the area, he knew he was near his hometown, which to him felt a little too convenient. He then looked up at the yellow-orange sky and figured the sun was setting soon so it must have been some time in the evening. But that's when he saw something else. Something was emitting in the sky above the hill. It was smoke and a lot of it. The marine was confused and slowly got to his feet and mustered the strength he had left to march up the hill. When he finally got to the top, the site before him made his heart sink. Neighborhoods were in disarray, and houses were dismantled; the large city near his home had many buildings on fire. It looked as if a war had just occurred, but not a war involving humans.
It all started to sink in now. The defeat of the Spider Mastermind didn't stop the invasion completely, just on Phobos and Deimos. As for Earth, the demons were just getting started.
"No...no...no...no...NO...NO!" The marine shouted as he sprinted as fast as he could to his home. As he looked at the destruction around him, it made him even more concerned of the sight that he may walk into.
The marine's full sprint turned into a walk and then turned into nothing. His home, along with all the others around, was destroyed. And any hope that his family was still alive was shattered as he saw a few discarded limbs lying around the yard.
The marine fell down on both of his knees in defeat. Tears started to fill both of his eyes at the sight before him. To him, this didn't feel real. This felt like a dream. No way he did all of that, put through literal misery to fight his way off those moons just for him to come back to his family slaughtered and his home destroyed. Every emotion was hitting him now, too much that he just had to let it out. He let out a loud yell in absolute anger and sadness. He started to punch the ground as hard as he could while letting out a few more yells to follow.
He slowly got to his feet and walked over to the sight before him. As he got closer, he realized what it was. "D...Daisy?" He said to himself as he saw Daisy's head torn off of her body and mounted on a spike. The marine didn't even know how to react in that moment. It felt like all feeling in his body was sucked out of him. He put a hand on the spike and removed it from the ground. From there, he took his other hand and grabbed Daisy's ears, and slowly pulled the head off so as not to crush it even more. As he looked at the lifeless eyes of Daisy, this all started to make sense to him. Why this was left at his own home.
"They...they...they knew. They knew...they knew who I was...who I am. They knew...THEY KNEW!" The marine shouted at this new discovery. He then looked at the burning city in front of him and began to become more angry. He gently placed Daisy's head on the ground before marching over and picking up the shotgun off the ground. "They'll PAY. ALL OF THEM. I WILL TEAR THEIR FUCKING GUTS FROM THEIR CHESTS. I WILL KILL THEM ALL. AND I'M GOING TO. MAKE. IT. HURT!" He exclaimed to himself as he picked up the shotgun. His body was filled with nothing but anger now as he charged into the city to find any demon he could. He would avenge his family, Daisy, his friends, and any other people who fell victim to the demons. He didn't care how long it took. He would kill them all.
Heaven
The Slayer still remained in what was supposed to be considered the greatest realm of them all. Well, this version of Heaven was undoubtedly different than Urdak. This one actually had that stereotypical look that people would think of when it came to Heaven.
At the moment, the Slayer was left alone on top of God's domain. Once again, with the Slayer having a lot of time to think, it would lead to him bringing up bad memories of his past. He didn't know why he would keep doing it to himself. Controlling the pain of what he lost as a recurring thought in his head. But he couldn't stop himself as it would always be a fuel for his anger. Anger can be a weapon if used properly. And the Slayer would know it.
"You know, you really should find some type of stress reliever," God said as he came back to the Slayer. "I can tell that something is making you angry; otherwise, you wouldn't be squeezing your hands so hard. While I am quite powerful, I cannot read minds, so I'll never know what goes on in your head. But it seems you carry a lot of hate with you. Too much. Do you ever really smile now and then? I feel like that would be a good place to start." He said. This was coming from a being who seemed to always have some type of smile or grin on his face.
The Slayer was obviously not going to smile. But what started to catch his attention was the sound of wings flapping coming from behind both of them. The Slayer turned his head to see that Sera and Emily had returned once again.
"Ah Sera, Emily, my Seraphims. I have to assume that you are familiar with them as they were the ones who brought you here. I say they did a pretty good job since you are here," God explained while including some humor. "I would also assume that you probably are familiar with someone else in Hell, since you have been down there for so long. I assume that a Lucifer would be a familiar name to you."
"I would have to assume so. Lucifer is...well, he's quite the character," Sera added as she always had a certain opinion on Lucifer.
"Oh come on Sera. He is not that bad," Emily said, as she always thought Lucifer had a kind and unique personality while he was in Heaven.
"I do not know if you are a religious man...well, I don't have a strong feeling that you are. But yes, a lot of unfortunate and complicated things occurred between Lucifer and all of Heaven. Although I suppose he was not the only responsible. But that's so far in the past, I hardly pay it any thought nowadays as being condemned to that realm is punishment enough," God said, making another joke. Sera grinned at it so she found it somewhat amusing.
"Hm. I guess he is not a big fan of jokes," Emily said as she watched through the faint view of the man's visor and saw he had no type of reaction.
"Oh that's alright Emily. Not everyone was created to like the same type of humor," God responded trying to back up the silent man standing in front of them. "I'm sure there's some type of humor out there that he enjoys."
"I suppose that is a fair point," Emily responded.
"It has been some time since we brought him here. We were stopping by in case it was time to bring him back," Sera explained. She then looked at the Slayer. "I'm sorry, I hope you didn't plan on staying here, but humans are not permitted here." Sh explained. But it wasn't like the Slayer really cared anyways.
"I am afraid they are right. This place is only for Angels and other types of Heavenly beings...unless you are one? I'm just messing around. Of course you aren't, otherwise, you'd be up here with us and not be stuck down there with...well stuck down there with them," God said, stopping himself from saying a worse word to describe the demons.
"Yes, I feel bad that you have to be stuck in their presence for days on end," Sera added as the thought of being stuck in Hell was kind of a nightmare scenario. "But, is there anything that you have left to discuss?" She asked, switching up the topic of conversation.
God looked at the Slayer for a moment before looking back at the two Seraphims. "I would say we got ourselves a nice starting point, a great position to move forward."
"Great to hear," Sera replied as she bowed her head. "Then shall we return him?"
"Hm. Well if he doesn't have anything else to say then why not," God said, making a joke again. This time about the Slayer's silence.
"Understood. The lift that brought you up here will bring you back down to the ground floor. We shall wait for you at the bottom," Sera instructed. She and Emily started to converse with God for a moment and because of that, they weren't watching the marine. He did not feel like taking the elevator back down and thought of his own way to get back down. And that way was to simply jump all the way down. In that instance, Sera turned to say something else to him, "Oh the lift is-" she began to say until she saw that the large man was nowhere to be found. She was somewhat stunned as she figured there was no way that a man that big could have disappeared like that. "What the? Where did he just go?" She said, looking back and forth.
"Well, if my four eyes aren't playing tricks on me...he jumped. Did the two of you annoy him that much?" God answered as he was able to see the whole thing from his point of view.
"He jumped?! We're like over a hundred stories up!" Emily exclaimed as she began to freak out and prepare for the worst.
"Does he think that he's immortal? Just because he's in Heaven?" Sera asked thinking of the bloody mess he'd see at the bottom.
"Hm. Perhaps," God said as he began to walk toward the edge. The two Seraphims didn't want to look down as they didn't want to see the result of the jump. As he looked down, a grin came on his face as he saw that the man was on the ground level now and seemed perfectly fine. "Well, well. It looks like HE'LL be waiting for you two at the bottom."
"Wait. What do you mean by that?" Sera questioned as she flew over to the edge and looked down as well to see the same thing that God did. "I don't...I don't understand. So did the realm save him from dying from that fall?" Sera asked, looking down at the Slayer, who wasn't laid flat out on the ground and in a pool of his own blood.
"To my knowledge...no, the realm would not have an effect on that," God said, giving her a quick and straight answer. "The fact that he did survive that fall shows us that he knew exactly what he was doing." He added. He placed a hand to his chin and began to think to himself for a moment. "His body is strong enough to survive falls from extreme heights. Quite interesting. He may hold even more power than I originally thought."
"So...how did your...discussion even go with him?" Emily asked as she wanted to change the subject so it would help to calm her down.
"Well it was certainly something." He answered as he got out of his thought. "Of course not a lot of chatter from his end, but I expected that. He is a very unique character with more inside than I could imagine. He is someone that I would definitely keep an eye on as I have no real idea where he comes from. To me, it seems so much like he just appeared out of nowhere. But that is probably enough about that. You should not keep him waiting that long. Some may not see that as very polite," giving his abbreviated answer over the forty-minute conversation he and the Slayer had.
Down at the bottom, the Slayer was having a look around. He noticed that other angels over in the distance were staring at him primarily due to the fact that he had just jumped from an extreme height and landed on the ground like nothing even remotely exciting happened. Of course, jumping from extreme heights wasn't really a thing in Heaven as all its inhabitants had wings and could just fly wherever they wanted to go.
"Well that was...was...absolutely terrifying," Emily said as she landed softly on the ground.
"Y-Yes," Sera said as well. She then looked all the way up to look at the building. "Are you um...alright? That's an extremely long...long fall."
"Yeah. Do your...feet hurt? Or...your legs? Or anything?" Emily asked as she truly didn't know what to say to a man who jumped over a hundred stories and lived.
"Well Emily. He is standing and doesn't appear to be in pain. So I guess he is alright after all," Sera said as she looked at the man's lower body for any signs of injuries but everything looked fine. "Let us proceed back to the gate."
"Mhm, sure, let's do that," Emily spoke. "If you will follow us once again."
The Slayer ignored them for a moment but eventually began to follow them through the pathways of Heaven.
"So...human. I really am wondering how you managed to pull that off the way you did," Sera said, speaking over her shoulder.
"Maybe he has some type of...rocket boots or something that broke the fall?" Emily assumed. Although while the Praetor suit did provide thrust boots that could be used to slow down the downward momentum of the person wearing it, that is not what Doomguy used in this case.
"I suppose. Perhaps that suit of armor isn't just a costume of some sort," Sera decided to take another gander at the Praetor Suit and was starting to become more convinced that it was a real suit.
"Guess that will be up to wonder due to the fact he doesn't like to communicate verbally," Emily reminded as it continued to be something that everyone overlooked.
"Right. It tends to be uncommon that I forget. That is quite strange to me. I mean, do you ever talk to anyone?" Sera said this directly to the Slayer and the Slayer only. "I mean, what if you had something of utmost importance that you needed to say, something that could be determined between a life and death situation? Would you still remain silent?"
"What would him talking decide a situation between dying and living?" Emily asked as she didn't know what situation would call for that.
"Do not look that far into the logistics of the point that I am trying to create here. Everyone has something inside them that they want to say, no matter who they are or what dialect they speak. You also haven't given any type of physical communication either with a simple head nod or head shake or anything of that nature. I just...couldn't imagine always remaining silent," Sera said, finishing her point.
"We do not know the full intricacies of his mind or his life. Perhaps it is nothing more than a vow of silence," Emily suggested.
"Hm. Perhaps it is. Some do live by that vow," Sera responded.
Due to the fact both Sera and Emily were completely aware of the fact that there visitor was not going to speak to them, ask them any questions, or answer any of there's, there was not much talking on the journey back to the gates. Although it wasn't the most relaxing journey for Sera as she was keeping watch for the Exorcists on this walk back. She wouldn't be able to tell what their reaction's would be and how much suspicion they would raise. But thankfully for her, they did not encounter any of them on the way back. After walking for awhile, they gates going out of Heaven opened back up for them to proceed through.
"Well, here we are! Outside the gates once again." Emily spoke which was pretty much stating the obvious at this point.
"Ah welcome back!" St. Peter spoke as he appeared again on his stand. "So how did it go?" He asked mainly to Emily and Sera.
"We did not seem to run into any troubles. While there are some questions to be answered, it went accordingly," Sera replied to him.
"Well that is perfect! So it is time to send him back?" St. Peter asked as he figured that's why they all returned back to the gate.
"That it is," Sera said as she then conjured up a portal for the Slayer. "There you are. I don't really know where you exactly come from, but I thought it would be easiest to put a portal back to where we found you."
"Well I hope you enjoyed your time in Heaven and especially enjoyed your time with the lord and savior himself," Emily spoke as she was referring to God.
"Wait what?" St. Peter questioned. He leaned towards Sera and spoke softly to her. "He got to meet God?"
"That is correct," Sera softly said back.
"Wow. Lucky. I haven't gotten to see God in ages," St. Peter said with full jealously in mind. "But anyways. I hope you have a blessed day." He announced towards the visitor.
"Perhaps we may see you again. But goodbye for now. Come Emily," Sera said as a final goodbye. Emily gave the Slayer one more way and a smile before both of them flew away together.
Doomguy stood outside of the gates looking out into the endless vast of clouds with the only thing out of place was the portal sitting in front of him. He walked through the portal and Sera did bring him a portal that brought him back into Hell. Although it did not bring him to the same spot as before. Out of nowhere, he noticed on his HUD that he was getting a transmission, which was odd as he had not gotten one of those in a long time. The transmission did not have a name but he did recognize the voice that came with it.
"Ah, so this did work after all. That is quite the piece of technology you have attached to your body. Anyways, I was hoping to talk to you one more time before you left," God spoke through the transmission. The Slayer just stood there in silence and would listen to what was about to be said. "While I am certainly interested in your character and would like to know more about you, I'm afraid that those who do not explicitly belong in Heaven's gates cannot remain there forever. Perhaps you have some type of personal vendetta or mission to complete in Hell that I do not know about. I feel as if that has to be the case; otherwise, I couldn't find a logical reason for someone wanting to be in Hell if they didn't have to." God actually made himself slightly laugh at that joke before leaving the Slayer with one final thought. "Just because you are not able to stay in Heaven permanently, it does not mean that you can not return and visit. Who knows, maybe there will be more for us to discuss. And...if you ever feel like sharing information with me, don't be afraid to say so. In a way...I am always around. I'll get your message sooner or later. So with that, I'll leave you to it. I hope Heaven was everything you thought it would be and more. They don't call it paradise for nothing." And that would be the final thing God said to the Slayer before ending the transmission.
He then started to think about a possible option. This option could be talking to this God about the Slayer's dimension and to see if he could even manage to find a way to create a portal back. But at the moment, he did not trust this God as well as any other figure in this realm. He figured his time in Heaven was done for now. He slowly began to walk through Hell again. He wasn't sure how much time had passed since he had been gone. But he was sure he would find out.