Queen's note: Gorenest and scary Demon nonsense ahead as warning
B.F.D.G.
Chapter Five:
When Darkness Rises to Meet you
It was an odd thing, walking into a gaping hole in the pit wall. At first Winston had not even seen the opening at all, not until one of the drones tracking the walls vanished around such a sharp bend. The flickering dot-lights vanished around the almost straight cut edge. The moment he saw it, however, the man took a deep breath and whistled softly for attention. There was a stream of open data into the battle network from Bitty and Tibby, thanks to one of VEGA's own older field drones.
Jackson had found it and with a little modification the bigger drone could relay data into the battle network from the drones to VEGA. Who in turn, could give a mostly live feed to the Elite Guard group heading into the new area. It might not be rapid motion tracking, almost a second delay but it showed the new tunnel that had not been there before.
Winston dropped down into the sinkhole that opened into the basement of the building. He winced and grunted and pulled one foot out of what had seemed like solid, black dirt. It gave a sticky, though not quite sucking sensation to lift his foot. "Careful coming down. Everyone has air filters on?"
"Aye sir," the unaltered engineer, Mat, said as she finished checking those up top, she as well as the other two unaltered guardsmen were going to stay in the basement as another team was heading into the building. "You lot be careful, we'll try and get the power back here."
"Watch your backs, bait." Richard said, pressing his shoulder to Mat, getting it smacked back. Helping the scouts down after Winston first, the field drone drifted down after the commander. Helping the relay of information from Bitty and Tibby, while staying near the current safest person.
Jackson dropped down, and though like the others his face could not be seen, the body language had a moment of 'ew.' Looking down and to his right, pausing as he spotted something glowing in the dim light. Tracking it to another short opening that had the liquid Argent energy pooling in. Jackson looked up to see the tunnel through the floors to the third level of the building almost above him. He frowned in his mask and twitched his fingers to get his HUD to link to those staying in the building.
"Mat, there's at least a second leak, possibly a second tunnel like that one up there." Jackson said, glancing over at Winston and motioned for him to see how the pool was forming but not draining into the ground as there was that sticky black substance there too. Only thicker, and there was also a vine like growth coming out of the ground and side of the cubby wall.
It was like what had been under the 'skin' of those black, oily coated creatures, only bigger. The fleshy-like vine was at least the thickness of a wrist, and by the looks of it, absorbing the liquid energy without any damage.
That was not good.
"Commander Winston, I have identified the creature's remains from the third level. As well as the other three creatures from level two." VEGA spoke through the battle network, taking note through the helmet cameras while he still had a feed of what was found. "They have… drastically changed in the last ten hours since going missing. Not just the loss of facial features but a decrease in mass and height as well."
"Are the rigs still showing green?" Winston asked, not remembering seeing one of the monitors on the black creatures. Or clothes and bits for that matter.
"Yes, and the Guardsmen above have not found them on it in the remains." VEGA answered promptly, "I have noticed a strange phenomenon with the altered bodies in comparison to the few cases of Possessed and the demons that were killed outside of hell."
There was a faint glow that was not coming from the drones in the side passages, the group now at nine. Ten including Winston himself. They had to move slowly, watching one of the drones tracking back to them and then down a small little side passage a full adult human would not fit easily. Not without a lot of wiggling.
"The bodies of the corrupted here and the ones Deegan's group encountered are not burning, at least not at the rate that has been documented so far." VEGA was explaining, helping to show on a little map on their Guardsmen's displays where the scanned side tunnels were. The Colony AI made sure their armor systems and night vision were in top shape, and had just finished re-writing the rest of new code into the fiend drone to keep mapping even if he was disconnected to it.
"Lovely," Jackson hummed in a low voice, he was not the only one to not trust any side passage. Getting his drones to check them as the group passed.
"Vega, I need you to check all relays and sensors on the liquid Argent for the colony between here and Deegan. And the possible third nest." Winston said as he paused by a section of wall with more of the fleshy, black vines weaving in and out of the rocky walls like roots now. Several spots had what looked like pockets, or sacks of the refined liquid energy, giving off that glow that helped the night vision. "Whatever is doing this, its siphoning off Argent for a while."
"I am doing so now. Another team has formed at the possible third Nest location, Captain Cooper is leading it." VEGA reported, starting up a subsystem he never got rid of, to go over all the thosens of reports of the argent energy relays with a metaphorically magnifying glass. The colony AI was keeping apart of his awareness on tracking all his confirmed human charges. And on an instinct one might say, or a realization perhaps.
VEGA checked the smaller farm animals in certain sections of the colony, and did the equivalent of jerking as he found two of the eight 'farms' notably empty. "Commanders, Captain, I just discovered we are missing almost all of the animals in the livestock buildings six and two. I don't even see the chicks in the incubators in building two. The likelihood of possible nests being much bigger than originally thought has just increased."
Deegan growled low in his throat over the shared line, that now had Cooper in it. "Not that everyone isn't on alert. But get every guardsman and security teams awake and in armor. Try not to panic the colony."
"Do you have evacuation routes set Vega?" Cooper asked as Winston led his team farther into the tunnel, noting how it was dug out deeper into the bedrock. The man stopped actively listening at what he would find after a 'Y' split in the tunnel. Pausing before an opening on the left hand side.
The paths looked big enough to let several types of demons through , at least bigger than human, though not the biggest demons. Winston stopped as the tunnel started to curve more by that opening at what he first thought was a side passage. Carefully looking in, the man found it was not another side passage to what seemed like an open chamber with a mass of black and gray plant matter unfolding. Almost a bloom forming, with red streaked through the slowly unfolding 'petals.' It was nearly like a Zinnia flower in shape, but for a twisting spire of what looked like bone and a netting of fungus or… something questionable in the middle that was actively growing upwards to the ceiling.
Winston tensed as he realized that the black vines were sprawling out from the middle of the plant and into the floor, with larger pockets of Argent liquid energy on them. Other larger parts of the 'roots' were on the surface and crawling up the walls actively, filling new pockets with the glowing liquid energy and spreading a faint blue, white and some yellow light into the chamber. Winston just spotted a faint green-yellow glow of a rig embedded into that fleshy part of the growing tower.
The longer he stared the more Winston realized this was very much a different kind of gore nest that his Guardsmen had ever encountered. There were other rigs attached, or rather, were integrated into different parts of the 'bloom' of the not really flower. From that main spire to the thick and stiff, curved petals, to the closer, larger roots at the base. Riggs, body parts, it was all integrated into this semi living nest feeding it.
It was not just human bodies, as Winston could see what looked like a chicken foot on one of the several foot wide pedals, being actively absorbed into the pedal as the red flash brighter. Goat horns and a half absorbed skull on another. A blver human hand that turning black under several other pedals at the bottom, the possible attached arm was twisted up into the 'roots.'
Well.
This also deserves a curse.
Fuck.
Just not a curse aloud, Winston knew far better than to do that.
Bitty and Tibby were finished tracking the circular tunnel around this chamber, another much larger tunnel way led in the general direction of the advanced research complex. The drones were scanning over the sprawling not-plant before their lights vanished and dropped almost to ground level.
Winston was not the only one to stop and go completely still, making sure they were not visible as the drones went into a silent mode. Showing a live feed to first just Jackson before he shared it as a feed through the battle network showing a massive demon no one had seen yet.
It was very tall, like so many upper class demons seemed to be, but unlike what the Elite Guard had even seen in the Temple of the Slayer, this one almost looked nothing like being demonic. At least at first glance it did not, much like how the flesh made 'bloom' was deceptive at first.
This demon had to be as tall, if not a bit taller then the comatosed Slayer above. One of the Elite Guards even glanced quickly upwards, as if having that same thought, and judging where they were in relation to the sarcophagus. They were almost directly under where the vault room was.
Unlike the Slayer and even other demons, this one not only did not seem to have bulk or a whole lot of muscle mass, being more lean and just shy of skeletal. Not quite like the imps or 'unwilling' that had been in the temple, this one had a little more… almost fat looking areas around the thick bone growths to even out the outline.
It also had something on that was even stranger than the wide, integrated crescent crest over the head. This was the first demon seen with… clothes. A long robe of sorts that was dark blue and had red on all the helms. An elaborate, golden emblem or glyph was carefully stitched into the back and was shimmering as if by magic or the energy manipulation. Visible only as the demon turned to look down the passage it came down from. Calling in an oddly echoing voice that almost seemed to be too-smooth to something in the bigger passage.
This demon was carefully cradling something in its arms, half under the clearly ceremonial robe, bracing with its right arm. The left hand lifted and held over what it held, not unlike how some parents would reflexively try to shelter over top of a sleeping infant while distracted.
"Ta'cia lo' essay-yia? Tach, corime." The demonic words came out, almost flowing like slink despite what normally came out harsh. It turned back into the not so faint light with the chiming of the ornate gold and silver charms attached to the thick crest behind its head. From what could be seen it almost looked like it had a blind mask on, but it was just a silver coating over the bone growths of the skull.
Most of the pale, almost blue bone growths had an added silver coating really. The exposed muscle looking sections between the bone and silver armor were a semi-transparent teal like flesh.
Winston did not even bother to speak, or whisper into the comms as he started to sign a command. Watching as his team eased back and then split up. Key weapons were pulled out of subspace for some, or taken off a back.
There was this outer curving tunnel and they needed every advantage to take on something that was almost fourteen feet tall. More so as there was a thudding coming from the farthest, and biggest tunnel passageway.
Another, far more familiar demon came stomping into the chamber with hard cloven feet. A human body held in each hand, the Baron of Hell towered over this other clean creature by a whole head and shoulders. It snapped out clear words, of the hell dialect of speaking that is, it was notably harsher and growing. Considering that a human would barely come up to the first creature's hip, even the altered Guardsmen would barely clear this Baron's mid thigh, or a normal human able to look past its knee joint.
The Baron was much thicker in frame from muscle and armor. Its hooves could crush most things and people once it was moving, unlike the almost deer-like legs of the first creature.
There was a frightened whimper from within the pale, ornate creature's arms, and it looked down with a fang filled smile before… purring while giving who it held an oddly gentle pet.
The blood stained Baron looked down and then gave a clearly hungry sound, looking between what it held and the unseen human. It licked its fangs and seemed about to take advantage of the distracted moment to lift one of the mostly limp bodies it held. Unknowing of the plasma rifles and harpoon guns lifted as its maw gaped wide to bite on the spine of the body.
Moving far faster than anyone, even the Baron expected, the paler demon shifted and lashed out with a pulse of refined energy. It formed out of its free left hand and in the shape of a curved blade. Sizzling through the air before burning through both the Baron's right horn, part of the thick skull and through the upper section of the right shoulder. Chitin armor, metallic cord like muscle, almost to the bone under, it all burned and cut through like being burned away by hot plasma.
The Baron howled, dropping the human bodies and stumbling back as the blue blade of energy imbedded into the wall behind it before dissolving. Lifting its hands to its now severed horn, looking down as the right arm was not working quite right. It snarled and turned, looking up as if teetering on the line of charging forward and then it was hit a second time. This time the almost solid energy was digging into the baron's chest at an angle through its armor.
There was a visible blue-silver glow swirling around the 'smaller' demon as it walked forward. The robe flowed out as it was lifted from something under, almost like rustling wings. Still cradling its human as a third demon, a very, very wary Knight was peering into the chamber but staying hunkered low.
None of the three noticed the humans outside of their control as the pale demon snapped out what might be a scolding. Using smaller cuts of energy to beat on the bigger Baron until it gave out a whale like goan.
At least these three humans were not for consumption or feeding to the gorenest it seemed. The pale creature was very much protecting not just the human it held but the other two on the ground. It was almost a solid three minutes before it stopped assaulting the Baron and turned to a forming coil in the roots not far. The aggression showed to the Baron bled away as they purred again down at the human they held. Being mindful of its claws, rubbing the backs of them against the human before starting to hum.
There was a gasp, and whine as the noble demon seemed to control the roots to start twisting again. Then creaking as it solidified. There was a demonic smile as the silver ornate creature tenderly settled the human in the middle of the new platform. Even giving them a gentle pat on the gasping chest as the human squirmed but did not seem to be able to move away now free of the hold, or really make much noise. Arms lifted for a moment as it triggered the so-called 'hell magic,' possible energy manipulation.
The chamber itself got brighter, the side passes and tunnels getting darker in comparison. For a moment all those argent pockets spread bright white light over this strange gore nest before the liquid energy altered into orange, yellow and red colors. Just as bright but it was a lot more… ominous as the ornate demon sang.
It was not nearly as long of a time to activate the process of the growing gore nest bloom as what lesser creatures would take. As the singing tones faded the demon gently held a sphere of yellow energy, then lowered it to the human on the platform. There was a muffled cry and the human body arched, trying to struggle against the liquid energy being poured on their chest.
That blinded Knight slid past the Baron and was carefully lifting one of the other semi conscious humans. Clearly already cowed or just more loyal to this creature than the Baron was, the Knight was careful not to hurt the human as the liquid energy was poured on them. Then with the third human lifted in a clear offering the pale creature purred against and picked that one up into its arms. Acting fond as it spoke, giving what sounded very clear instructions to the Knight who took the second offering and loped off with the living human to likely one of the other two proto-gore nests in the colony.
The Baron was just getting up, grumbling before getting kicked by a lean pale leg. It finished but did not growl back as the order to stay and guard seemed to be given. The Baron starred after the noble demon with a look that alternated from wanting, envy, hunger and then wanting again. Thick hands grasping the air until the long, lean strides took the ornate demon well out of sight.
Alone, the Baron stood and gave another groan-like sound, glancing down to poke and pick at the new assortment of new cuts through its bone plates and the chitin-like armor over top. The hungry look turned to the still living human, the massive demon's steps thudded heavily as it paced around the living sacrifice as if debating still to reach over. But it paused at seeing a faint yellow glow starting off the center of the human's chest from within.
Rolling its own glowing eyes, the Baron walked over to the massive bloom that was wider than it was tall. If it was kept being fed it would fill out this chamber, the demon considered opening some new holes to give more access points for portals to form, or to feed it.
For just a moment the Baron stood in the still quiet before turning and paused at seeing flickering lights. Staring at the tunnel that the other two demons left through, and the new, much shorter form standing in the opening to the passageway to the other gore nests.
The red and black armored human might have been missed if not for the little oval shaped drones scanning behind them.
The Baron slowly grinned, giving a hungry growl as it took a step forward at the seemingly unarmed human in armor. They did not even come up to his thigh! It could have a meal of living flesh after all-!
The first, thick harpoon broke through the Baron's left wrist making it bark in surprise. Before the demon could start to wrench the harpoon and the attached cored, another speared through its right hand from behind and then a third from in front to hit the inside of its left knee joint. Everything wrenched the already wounded Baron backwards and then the one leg forward and to the right. Tripping it backwards into the plant like Gorenest, and the Baron started to bellow at the insult and then sudden spikes piercing its back.
Before it could get a proper roar of warning out, or just of anger, the first human it spotted was running. Sprinting almost if not just slightly faster than an imp to scoop up part of the severed, harder gray root chunks and up the Baron's body. The normally massive demon gagged as the root was slammed with all the force Winstong had into its open maw and down into the throat itself.
The demon was bucking, trying to bit through the root even as its balance was still off from its arms being wrenched backwards. Normally there would be some more of the Elite guards to hold a barron, but they had to improvise and using the gorenest itself to help restrain the Baron. Three Guards to a limb, pulling its arms back in that moment of surprise, the two teams of two had to cross behind the gorenest and back around the front. The duo team that got the left knee were pulling it's leg to its right as hard as possible.
Winston's plasma rifle whined and glowed brightly as it over charge past the normal safety point. Alarms flashed in his HUD as the burning end was shoved into the weakened spot on the cut, still bleeding skull. The Baron gargled in alarm around the root, trying to shake its head as the Guardsman grabbed its remaining horn. Using the horn and a wide stance on its chest to brace as flesh burned before the riffle discarded in a flood of heat and light.
The man let go of his rifle as it melted and started to fully overload as well as melt into the weakened demon skull. Jumping back down the body of the massive demon, Winston caught the second rifle- no wait, it was the larger of the two shotguns from Jackson. He unloaded with the other two flanking him as they let go of the line attached to the knee, not stopping until there was a familiar death crackle.
Winston paused, waiting just enough to see that the demon was turning to char and ash before running to the platform. He was beaten there by the team that had the right arm of the Baron. Climbing on the 'root' formed platform. It felt more like chitin rather than flesh, and Declan, who had almost all red armor was pulling out his combat knife to start cutting the almost fully transparent bindings. It was like a wide strip of silk but took Declan effort to cut it off the woman's legs.
It was twined up and around her stained uniform all the way to gag the woman. Green eyes were wide and scared as she squirmed again before being pinned, the gagged whining in time with the pulsing light in her chest.
"Keep watch!" Winston called to the others, part of him heard something in the dark. His own knife in hand again, finding a spot near the shoulder, "Hold on, we'll get you free."
The woman rolled her eyes, looking at the gorenest that had been desperately trying to absorb as much of the baron before it burned. She huffed and finally gasp as the Guardsman at least unwound the not-sillk bindings from around her neck and off her head, having to cut off a few good chunks of the blond hair. The binding also looked like it took off the top layer of skin too. The woman gasped once she could, though it was still restricted, "He-help please!"
"We're here," Cruz spoke as she held the smaller woman's head still, "Did the creature say anything to you understandable? What it did to you?"
The woman was trying not to hyperventilate as she was cut free the rest of the way. "Something… something was said… about me being… a heart?"
She was not the only one to look at the goreness as its center opened up to show where the heart would be, but was pulsing with green fluid dripping around, waiting.
Winston stared down at where this woman's heart should be in her chest, seeing the glow from inside, bright enough to pulse through the uniform. The Guardsman had just a moment inwardly of regret, but it did not stop him from undoing the woman's shirt. Getting a glimpse of a stitched name at the collar (Dr. Boyle, that was familiar…) and then half tore the jacket open. Winston had to cut the undershirt open to get a better look at the markings forming on the skin over her chest, welling up from just under the skin.
Dr. Boyle looked horrified as there was a pulsing again from the light, and she cried out, not yelling but almost like something was restricting her lungs. The pained sound more of a breathless choke, as Cruz slipped a hand under the smaller woman's back, finding no rig and then checking the pulse as Bitty and Tibby came to start scanning. "The pulses are not in time with her heart beat, but affecting it."
"Doctor Rowan Boyle," VEGA spoke into the comms, getting the bigger field drone into a better spot to relay the data back to himself. "She was in the list of missing, but was in charge of the Mars livestock program. She must have been grabbed by that silver demon from one of the two empty farm buildings. Dr. Boyle's schedule would have her getting off shift two hours ago."
"How long ago were you grabbed, Dr. Boyle? And from where, if you remember?" Winston asked, looking up and to the side as there was movement. Richard was pulling a foot and a half long, very thick canister from subspace. The man was keeping just out of range of the shifting roots. As if the Gorenest was now sensing living things, or just more humans, and attempting to find them.
"I think… a few… hours ago… I was… it would not... Put me down." Dr. Boyle was still struggling to breath, she had a desperate grip on Declan as the man was pulling her to the side of the platform. Taking over to lift her off as she had such a grip while the glow was getting that bit brighter. "Gods… this hurts… it feels like s-s-something is… moving- help me?"
"We will," Declan promised, letting Winston take his plasma rifle.
"There's an open surgery wing in the complese next to the building above you." VEGA spoke as Richard aim was true in the background, throwing the canister into the center of the false flower nest, where that opening was.
The whole fleshy 'plant' shivered, and then groaned with stolen vocal cords as the canister opened up. The compressed liquid nitrogen started spilling out to start damagings and freezing parts of the inner Gorenest. Then it gave another almost full sound as another canister from another guardsman was thrown into the pedals.
"Is there anything closer, Vega?" Winston asked, skimming through the battle network now with small twitches of his fingers.
"Not with the primary power out I'm afraid." VEGA paused for a full three seconds that had all the Guardsmen pausing, attention grabbed at his quiet then tensing as he spoke up and used contractions to speak faster. "I've marked the fastest path, there is an unknown cancer growing alarmingly fast in Dr. Boyle's body. It's taking over her heart, and it's already larger than it should be."
"Richard," Winston turned, the other man jogging over at being called, "Declan, Cruz… and Roland. You four, backtrack and get Dr. Boyle to the closest medical center."
"Yes sir!"
"Jackson, what do you have on you to kill this thing?" Winston turned only after seeing the group heading off in a defensive pattern.
Jackson turned, as if blinking under his inclosed helmet. Then twitched as he summoned two canisters almost as large as the liquid nitrogen container to hold up in both hands. One had a biohazard warning sign, the other had an explosive pictogram on it as his drones spun around him then started scanning the Gorenest. "Think thermite might work, or a necrotising toxin derived from arachnids? I might have one made from snake venom too."
Winston paused, stared intently, and debated on asking where Jackson got what he mentioned, or if he should ask how he got so much to fill those canisters.
The remaining six Elite Guards all enhanced looks, looked at the writhing, not fully formed Gorenest, and the cold burn.
"May I suggest the arachnid drive necrotising toxin?" Vega offered, "If it is the one I think it is from Dr. Greenfellow's lab it will be the most effective if this state and you do not have to inject it into the Gorenest but rupture it in the largest mass area."
"Spider vodo." Winston agreed.
"Spider Vodo sounds good." Another guard agreed, paused and then asked, "Can I have some thermite?"
"Murry," Jackson safely subspace the thermite container. Standing up as tall as he could. "I love you, but go bribe the nerds yourself to get some. I earned this by bribery and going on blind dates."
