The Marine walked through the empty streets of downtown Leipzig, the air around him coursed with the dust and drifting embers from destroyed buildings in the distance ahead, collecting on hoods of abandoned vehicles. He strays further along the darkened road, he could tell that the demon weren't far as he passed the courtyard in front of a historical museum.
Patio furniture was scattered, layers of ash rests upon the petals and leaves of the plants trimming the area. Imp climb the walls or emerge from stone archways as a swirling portal manifests, gradually growing larger as the demon yield around it. The tall, slim figure of Dr. Kronos eclipses the gate, stepping from the portal and onto the stone bricks of the courtyard.
"I haven't yet had the opportunity to demonstrate my gratitude, I wouldn't be controlling the Deimos portal lab had you not slewed its previous master" Kronos explains with a sneering grin as the gate coursed behind him.
The Marine stares silently.
"Our esteemed Lords of Hell have proposed a token in exchange for your… communion" Kronos states.
"It isn't happening, so forget it" the Marine replies, his weapon leveled on the possessed scientist.
"Oh, I believe you will be impressed" he says before reciting a short spell.
A dirt-covered box appears in his hand from wisps of smoke, he then intones another incantation while casting his other hand above it, hell energy beams from within. The Marine hears Daisy crying out in his mind, her spirit clings to his chest tightly before being swept away. His heart breaks upon hearing her wails of agony.
Kronos lifts his hand away as crimson energy fades, pained chirping echoes through the courtyard. He lifts the small rabbit and drops the grimy carton to the ground, which the Marine could now recognize as the shoe box of Commander Keen sneakers Daisy was buried in shortly after her death.
"Ta-daaa" the possessed scientist says, mockingly.
His cold, unsettling laugh resonates as he strode closer.
The Marine was stunned, watching Kronos gently stroke her fur.
A flood of childhood memories with Daisy flash through his thoughts, he's torn by confusion and loss.
"This is but a glimpse of powers that await you, he lies, humanity has no path to victory, they cannot resist their inevitable end. In exchange for my meager request of your appeasement to the Dark Lords, you may have your pet" his tone enticing and moderate.
The Marine strongly yearned for Daisy as she's brought just beyond his reach.
"Healthy and reborn" Kronos remarks, his rabbit turns her eyes toward him, staring intently.
The Marine hears a subconscious voice beyond his control weighing the offer. It was in that moment that Daisy took on a fearful expression and wiggles out of Kronos' grasp. She hops only a short distance before falling into the clutches of surrounding demons. The Marine couldn't bring himself to watch as her helpless chirps were silenced, events unfolding faster than he could react.
"Oh, now how did that happen?" Kronos says, his words trailing with a hint of smug satisfaction.
A crack of thunder erupts nearby as savage intent grips the Marine. The possessed scientist laughs as he walks toward the narrowing portal, the demon around the gate suddenly surge toward him. Kronos disappears behind the portal as it collapses into wisps of dissipating plasma.
General Naverten was gripping the steering wheel of an army truck fitted with a spiked plow blade, crippling and sweeping away the creatures in his path. The tires screech as they round a tight corner at top speed, then racing along the mostly deserted road, suddenly encountering a horde outside the deployment garage. Soldiers assaulting the demons move aside as the vehicle crashes through the Imp and Pinky, the mounted heavy cannon swinging to fire bursts from multiple angles. Up above, soldiers and former human exchange gunfire along the raised platforms secured to the outer walls.
Naverten drives loops around the lot as the heavy cannon cuts through the creatures. He swings alongside the entrance, coming to a crashing stop against the wall. They leap out of the truck and take positions before blasting the doors open with a remote charge. The General moved through the passage and clears the entryway of possessed soldiers, then using an auto-map to cautiously lead his men to the garage housing the advanced weapons. The security door to the garage was left open, the area was coursing with demons, former technicians were bowing around a recently spawned gore nest.
Standing above the chaos, several heavily armoured combat mechs rested on the concrete floor and up on reinforced alloy platforms. The mechanized vehicles had a pair of hydraulically driven alloy legs, a barrelled weapon was attached to the single arm, a turret was below the cockpit screen and a pair of missile launchers were perched on the left shoulder.
Machine gun rounds spray across the deployment garage, grenades arc through the air, ripping through the demon as Naverten places another remote charge on the gore nest. He triggers the detonator, blast sending severed flesh sailing as the demonic portal collapses. They clear the remaining demon, their engineers quickly assess the combat mechs as they wade off attacks from former humans still wandering the halls.
They lay their tools and climb inside the maintenance hatch, charging power banks, checking that MFS compactors were loaded with fuel cells and activating the miniaturized hydrogen-boron reactor's laser-pulse initiation sequence. High-powered optical pulses bounce along the reflective chamber walls, igniting fusion between hydrogen and boron molecules.
The combat vehicles are powered up and soldiers began climbing into the cockpits, Naverten reviews the deployment schedule from his mobile and requests additional units to reinforce their position and pilot the remaining weapons being powered up. The combat mechs began stomping through the bay doors, a heavy airlift was descending into the lot as the screeching of anti-gravity thrusters consumes the area. The aircraft throws debris sailing as it lands, three mechs step onto the reinforced compartment before it gradually rises into the sky. Another heavy airlift arrives on schedule a few minutes later.
The Marine was in the centre of a demonic horde coursing through the courtyard, corpses of fallen demon were all around, his every action fuelled by righteous anger. He was blinded by vengeance for Daisy, her death conjured a storm of vicious rage he'd never felt before. The horde of demons grew denser from the approach of the Icon of Sin spilling more demon into the area, rib cages are cracked, limbs snap and close-range shotgun blasts decimate attacking creatures.
Black droplets of slime began raining from the dark clouds above, the roar of the Icon of Sin bellows overhead. He continues taking out his rage as the ground quakes with the approach of the titan. Portals spawn nearby, spilling countless demon into the courtyard and charging toward the lone Marine. The sound of crashing rubble echoes loudly as the Icon destroys a nearby building, sending a cloud of dust sailing into the area.
The dark clouds above glow as a formation of drop-pods fall through the shroud in advance of the approaching titan, their thrusters flattening dozens of creatures upon landing unexpectedly into the horde. Space Marines emerge from the pods with rifles drawn, streaks of plasma crossing paths as demon are roasted into smouldering chunks, inching closer while carving through the creatures.
The Marine's mind burned with fury, his heart aching.
'For Daisy' he vows, crushing and blasting the demon in his sight.
The newly arriving Marines fought their way closer as he roars with fury, they look toward him in disbelief. Mounds of fallen creatures lay all around the raging Marine, firing a twin barrelled blast as demon surge all around him.
A military aircraft approaches, delivering supplies and releasing a swarm of drones, the aircraft takes off again as another followed behind. The airlift lands, its turrets blazing as combat mechs step from the carriage. The hydraulic legs whine and treads thunk loudly under the vehicle's immense weight as Space Marines regrouped to support the mechs, drones drifting alongside the formation deliver weapons and ammo. A demonic roar echoes as the Icon of Sin appeared standing above the surrounding structures.
Meanwhile, back in the streets of Oslo, Space Marines were fighting close to the demonized train station, throwing plasma and rockets against columns of Mancubi. They're forced to brace themselves as the ground suddenly shakes beneath their feet, long cracks split the pavement. They run for safety as the road crumbles, a massive demonic growth with a large fanged orifice had broken through the underground sewage tunnels. Giant tentacles reach out from beneath, an appendage wraps around a Space Marine that was trapped by heavy rubble. They claw the ground as they're dragged closer to the newly formed crater, screaming as the tentacle releases its grip, dropping them into the fanged jaws.
Elsewhere in the demon-infested Norwegian capital, a convoy of army vehicles wound its way through the road leading to the city's demonized core. The vehicles were escorting a truck carrying UAC scientists, the cargo compartment was cluttered with various tech and charge packs, a humming reactor was secured with metal braces. The pair of scientists were preparing their equipment for use when their radio crackles.
"Science team, be notified that we are approaching targets, prepare to deploy"
Their driver takes the truck into position around the convoy, the scientists prepare the experimental weapons. Vehicle turrets open fire on approaching demon, BFG 9000s were on standby in case the operation doesn't go as planned. Cacodemon and Pinky are struck by rockets as a Hell Hunter appears charging their formation. The Invulnerability Hunter's body coursed with electrical energy as it raced toward them.
"Target spotted. Two hundred meters and closing" the commander relays.
The truck maneuvers, a side hatch is thrown open and a cylindrical module is launched toward the Hunter. The device impacts the pavement as the reactor within generates vast amounts of energy, arcs of discharging electricity course around it. The Hunter grips the power source and draws energy from it, a beam of plasma shoots from the top of the device and forms a domed shield, trapping the demon inside. It was apparent to the soldiers stepping closer that the barrier of energized molecules would only hold it for a short time as the demon crashes against it.
They aim recently modified plasma rifles and the scientists are ordered to remotely shut down the shield around the Hunter. The shield drops and agitated microwave beams shoot from their rifles. The Invulnerability Hunter is paralyzed as excited energy overloads its charged bio-chemistry and quickly explodes, splattering bloody remains in all directions.