Hello, everyone. I am back with another chapter. Please enjoy this chapter and give it a review if you like it!
Update - Added more to the scene.
Chapter 1 - Welcome to the Backrooms, Slayer
Level 0 - "Tutorial Level"
The Doom Slayer found himself in a strange and unexpected place. Observing his surroundings, he appeared to be in a set of rooms resembling a retail outlet or office. The walls were lined with nauseating yellow wallpaper, and the fluorescent lights above hummed moderately. The floor appeared damp and moist, smelling mold and mildew, and occasionally hosted brown and black stains.
'Better than hell, I suppose,' thought the Unchained Predator as he concluded his observations of the surrounding area.
Before he could do anything else, however, he had to check and ensure all his weapons and their mods were still with him. After all, ripping and tearing with your own two hands is fun but utterly annihilating your enemies from a distance. Now, that's where the real fun is.
Reaching into his hammerspace backpack, he saw with great satisfaction that his deadly arsenal was present and accounted for.
First up was his Combat Shotgun, equipped with the sticky bomb modification. This modification allowed him to launch five grenades in rapid succession, and the full-auto mod also turned the weapon barrel into a rotating spewer of death.
Next up was the Heavy Cannon equipped with the precision bolt mod, enabling him to use the heavy machine gun as a de-facto sniper. He also had the micro-missile mod, which allowed the user to fire a barrage of small missiles on either side of the weapon.
Then came the Plasma Rifle, equipped with the heat bomb modification. When building up a certain amount of heat, the user could rapidly release a blast that instantly liquefies enemies. The energy weapon can also be equipped with a microwave beam, allowing it to focus a stunning beam on an enemy, which results in said enemy exploding a few short moments later.
Next in line was the Rocket Launcher, or as the Unchained Predator liked to call it, 'The Paingiver.' The modification currently donned on the weapon allowed the user to fire a small barrage of missiles at either one target or multiple. There was also a secondary modification that allowed the user to detonate the warhead fired from the weapon prematurely.
Then, along came the Ballista. It was much more potent than the Gauss cannon the slayer had back on Mars, able to destroy most enemies in one single hit. Though, the rate of fire was much to be desired. His favorite mod, the destroyer blade, was equipped. When he held down, the trigger caused a blade-like projectile to be released, cutting any enemy in the way in two separate halves. When focused on an enemy, the other mod shot out a dart-like projectile, which exploded on impact.
Switching to his Chaingun, he observed that the turret mod was in place. The turret modification allowed the minigun to split into four barrels, delivering a hellish wall of 50 cal tungsten bullets. The other modification was a mobile shield, which momentarily made a blue shield, allowing the user to fire while being protected temporarily. The shield could be launched at enemies, further damaging them.
It was time for one of his favorite weapons: Lucifer's bane, the Super Shotgun. This powerful and enchanted shotgun had an enchanted meathook attached to the underside of the barrel, allowing the Slayer to latch on to his enemies and set them on fire.
Next is his second favorite weapon, The good 'ole BFG 9000. The BFG, or 'Big Fucking Gun,' produced a sizeable green argent ball when fired. The argent ball, when fired, sprouted green tendrils of energy that arched out to the user's enemies, causing them all to explode. In contrast, the giant argent ball exploded, adding to the collateral.
Then, his third but least unused favorite was the Unmakyr. It was a forked weapon that rapidly fired a triplet of argent projectiles that decimated anything unfortunate to be standing in its path.
Next up were the melee weapons.
First was his 'Great Communicator,' known as the Maxiom Sabertooth chainsaw.
While the chainsaw might have been great for cutting down trees or being used in construction or a similar manner, the slayer quickly repurposed it to rip apart the raging hordes of hell. Unfortunately, with so much use came lots of need for gas, And it wasn't plentiful t
Then, he pulled out the legendary crucible.
It was a near-painful effort to acquire it. He needed to return to Argent D'nur, where he slayed a hell titan and earned his title among his Argent brethren. He then needed to break off the Argent energy sword, as removing the entire sword would cause the titan to wake once more.
Deactivating the sword, he put it away and resumed shuffling through the spacious pocket dimension. He was delighted that he had found an entire mountain of ammunition and gasoline. When fighting the hellish creatures of hell, he often ran out of ammo and had to resort to his fists. Fortunately, his chainsaw had been enchanted with a helpful spell. They spilled a sizable amount of ammo when he used it on an enemy. However, the chainsaw still needed gas, so reliance on it was slim.
As he finished checking that he had everything, he suddenly noticed something oddly out of place—something he thought he had lost a long time ago, specifically a half-spherical metal device containing...
'Vega?' Thought the slayer as he pulled the object from the hammerspace. The last time the slayer had spoken to Vega was back in Urdak when the AI opened a portal to Earth and discovered his true identity as the Father. From then on, the AI stayed behind on Urdak to resume his duties once more while occasionally helping the slayer resurrect the dark lord.
The Hellwaker took the device and latched it onto his suit. Once on, a familiar blue symbol appeared on his heads-up display, signaling that the artificial intelligence had paired up with his suit again.
"Greetings, Slayer," said the AI. Only this time, his voice was much more profound and had a noticeable echo. It seems like Vega has fully taken on the role as
The Father.
"It is good to see you up and moving again finally, and I am sure you must have many questions?"
The Bane of Hell nodded and crossed his arms while tapping his foot on the ground, signaling he wanted an answer.
"Very well then. While I inform you of the events that transpired while you were gone, I suggest we start finding a way out of this lifeless place."
Nodding in agreement, the Unchained predator started walking down a random hallway. Usually, he would rush or teleport to his objective when he wanted to get somewhere quickly. However, the slayer was currently in an entirely unknown space. So, instead, he decided to walk carefully, to see everything that might be of value, and to prepare for any unknown creature.
"Slayer, Do you remember when you defeated the dark lord?" Asked the father, receiving a nod from the Bane of Hell.
"While it is true that defeating the dark lord and destroying his life sphere trapped all the demons in hell, unfortunately, it came with an unfortunate cost. To take on the boundless legions of hell, Samur Maykyr imbued you with the dark lord's power, giving you terrible strength and speed. However, when Davoth fell, your great power went along with it."
Upon hearing that last part, the Hellwalker becomes confused.
Why did he retain his strength if he killed Davoth and lost his power? Why didn't he feel any different? What exactly happened following that battle?
"After killing my maker, I, as well as Samuel, chose to seal you away. Due to your mission being complete, Your services were no longer needed, and we have let you finally rest in the tomb of souls, as you have been doing for the last 1000 years."
The doom slayer was shocked. Has it indeed been 1000 years since he slayed the ruler of hell? It seemed like only a mere few hours had passed since the event. Had the eons in hell truly fucked with his perception of time?
"While you rested in the sanctum of souls, humanity has prospered. Thanks to your actions, they were able to come back from the demonic invasion and regrow their lost population. Through advancements like the fusion reactor and the warp drive, they were able to start populating the stars. Since they learned of your actions, you have taken on a religious status. Everywhere, temples are dedicated to you, with shrines dedicated to you. Great statues stand in their most populous cities with your image, and they owe it all to you, slayer." Said the Father, breaking the slayer's line of thought.
Typically, upon hearing such news. A person's ego would grow tenfold. Being a celebrity or well-known person was one thing, but being on par with Jesus as a religious figure? That was one of the grandest things that could ever happen to a person. And yet, the slayer, like with many of his other achievements, took it as nothing more than a minor accomplishment, akin to finally getting your laundry done or getting that job you always wanted—indeed, a minor response to such a major accomplishment.
"However, a peculiar event transpired. A few days ago in Urdak, when I was tending to my duties, a human, rife with scars and age, was reported to have seemingly appeared from nowhere. When we inquired about where he came from and what happened to him, he gave us details and transcriptions of a realm filled with mazes and creatures not unlike the demons of hell. He told us how the dimension pulled in and trapped innocent and unsuspecting souls, tormenting them to walk endless rooms forever while being hunted by terrifying creatures. That is when I knew, slayer, that you had found a new purpose."
Upon hearing the story, the slayer chuckled. He remembered how, after spending so long in hell, he had found Argent D'nur. He found similarities between him and this person, as they both appeared randomly in different dimensions and rambled on about terrifying realms with even more fearsome creatures. The nostalgia was quite strong at this moment in time.
"I couldn't remain idle slayer. After our adventures, I have grown fond of doing things for a great cause, and this appeared to be one of them. While it is true that you indeed lost the Hell ruler's power, I managed to keep some of his power, as well as the power of the Maykyrs, stored should the moment arise you ever be needed again. This appeared to be this moment. So, I had you again put into the divinity machine to prepare you for your new fight. I also ensured that all your weapons and tools were with you; however, as for me being here. Simply put, I enjoyed the time I had with you, slayer. Besides Samur, you have proven to be a close ally and friend despite you destroying my life sphere. So, deciding to put my trust in Samur to keep order over Urdak, I chose to travel with you again, friend.
The bane of hell smiled. Since he met him on Mars, Vega, aka 'The Father,' had been a valuable and powerful ally. He was happy that he was again paired up with him as he was one of the few allies he had left that he truly trusted.
"It took a lot of convincing from Samur, especially since he still appeared to be heated after you, how do you say it, 'handed his ass to him.' Fortunately, I have faith that he won't allow a rogue cultist to fuck shit up again."
The slayer chuckled heartily at the father's choice of words as he continued down the never-ending hallways.
...
'The Manilla Room'
Hours later, the slayer and the father entered what appeared to be a small room with all beige walls. In said room was a chair and table with what looked to be an assortment of folders with documents inside. Upon opening one of the folders and reading one of the inside papers, they quickly learned of a group called the MEG or 'Main Explorer Group.' They also knew that this reality was called the backrooms and that in these 'backrooms' were an assortment of levels ranging from safe and devoid of harmful 'entities' to extremely dangerous and full of them. Their current level was the Manilla room, which was an attachment of the previous area called the tutorial level. To leave the 'Tutorial, the slayer had to 'no-clip' through a wall that appeared slightly darker than the rest. Most people who ended up at the tutorial level often died due to starvation, dehydration, or insanity. However, this was fine because neither needed food, sleep, or water.
"The Backrooms? Hmm, that's a very fitting name," the father said as he started to scan the documents.
After he and the doom slayer finished looking over the papers, they quickly left the area, leaving behind where they found them so that any other wanderer who came through could read them.
Now that they knew more about this place and how to find an exit, the slayer, using his superhuman speed, dashed around to see one of these so-called exits to 'no=clip. While the Doom Slayer and The Father initially considered opening a portal to the next level, they quickly discovered that it came with certain risks, specifically ending up in level 'You Cheated.'
The Slayer was more than capable of surviving the dangers of You Cheated. However, upon successfully escaping You Cheated, he would be put back at the beginning of his journey, and time was best avoided. So until the Father could find a workaround, they were stuck manually hopping between levels.
.
...
After a while of running at a full superhuman sprint, the slayer stopped and noticed a change. While he was still surrounded by the sickening yellow walls of level 0, there was a noticeable change up ahead. The yellow room gave way to a group of ominous red rooms with dim red lighting. The whole area gave off a vibe of hopelessness and despair. However, the Slayer did not feel these emotions. Instead, he produced his combat shotgun, racked it, and stepped forward excitedly. However, before he could step any closer, The Father stopped him just in time.
"Slayer, those are the 'Red Rooms.' While devoid of life, they still possess danger, as we can never exit once we enter this area. I advise that we turn back and find another route."
Hearing the father's words, the slayer put away his shotgun and sprinted the opposite way, keeping motion until they finally found an exit.
Authors Note—Phew, sorry it took so long. I'm currently busy with high school and stuff and graduating. I promise there will be action in the next chapter. Until next time!