Testament XIII: Humanity Reclaimed
Portland, Oregon (6 days into Earth's invasion)
The Slayer sat atop a hill overlooking the city of Portland, where demonic entities could be seen festering within the hive of scum and villainy. Sitting next to him was the bionic body of VEGA, his singular, green eye beam analyzing the city below.
Click! Click!
The Slayer went to work loading his weaponry, pushing shells into his shotgun and sharpening his Doomblade with a whetstone.
"Slayer, you are to be a leader of many soon, as you once were in the old ages." VEGA said. The Slayer's grip tightened around the shotgun. "You will have to lead them, eventually. You will have to speak."
The Slayer was silent and stoic, pursuing his preparation in silence.
"Slayer. I understood your silence in the bowels of the Kadingir Sanctum, when demons assailed you from all directions. I understood when you confronted the Sentinels, slew the priests, and forsook your sovereignty. But you are no longer surrounded by innumerable enemies at all times; You have allies now, and you have to communicate with them if you are to defeat these demonic forces once more, together."
The Slayer kept grinding away the whetstone.
Schhhhlick.
Schhhlick.
"Slayer."
Schhhhlick.
Schhhhhhhhhhlick.
"Slayer."
Schhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhlick-
"Slayer-"
| AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH! |
The Slayer launched the whetstone at the distant city, which flew several hundred miles an hour and devastated a bell tower. As the city began to move with demonic commotion, he holstered his weaponry and made his way back to the gathered armies. VEGA watched him leave the overlook in quiet, turning his beam back to the city.
"You may not want to yet, Slayer; But you will have to, eventually…"
(Queue 'Rain, Artillery & Gunfire - 1 hour version' by Raymond Saint on YouTube)
(Queue 'Modern War Sound Effects' by Nicolas Stevanovski on YouTube)
(Queue Tank Tread Sounds on YouTube, make 6-8 tabs of this for more realism)
RRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrr…
"Remember, Lawrence…"
BANG! BANG-BANG! BANG-BANG-BANG!
As he stared at the picture in his hands, amidst the chaos he could hear outside the armored vehicle, those words came back to him. He adjusted the rifle in his other hand so that the butt end was against the floor of the vehicle. His helmet slipped a bit over his forehead, and he readjusted it back on his head with shaky hands.
He would have spoken to his brothers-in-arms, except the screeching of the tank treads for the half-track infantry carrier they were in was so loud they could hardly hear their own thoughts. That, coupled with the unseeable sounds of chaos outside their little interior, made everything far more panic-inducing and terrifying.
(Queue 'A Slayer City' by Mick Gordon)
BOOOOOOOOM!
As a nearby explosion rocked the carrier, Lawrence clenched his rifle, his knuckles turning white. He had been distracting himself from the warfare, but now there was no choice. He took several deep breaths as he could feel himself getting closer to the action.
"ARC and UAC personnel (And Charlie's Friends). Listen closely."
Commander Hayden's voice came through the speakers of the interior, self-adjusting the volume to account for the loud warfare around them.
"As you know, there are twelve of you in each armored carrier-"
"-Once the other teams deploy ramps over the river to Portland-"
BOOOOOOOOOOM! BOOOOOOOM!
you will open the small slit windows behind your head; You will begin shooting at any demons charging towards your carrier, until you reach-"
BANG! BANG-BANG-BANG! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM-
"-The corporate limits of the city, by then you will deploy and begin your separate objectives-"
CRACK!
The distant sound of a vehicle exploding, shortly followed by a large piece of metal slamming into the side of the carrier; The soldiers inside were rocked around, one of them yelling in pain as another soldier's gun whipped him across the face by accident.
"My personally assembled Task Force will assist you all on your mission…"
Silence in the carrier for a moment. Not a word from anyone.
"...The Slayer will also be leading the charge-"
"YYYEEEAAAAAAHHHH!"
"WHOOOO! WHOOOO!"
"WE'LL KILL THOSE FUCKERS!"
The carrier erupted with cheers all around, almost drowning out the sounds of warfare outside. Lawrence hadn't expected this reaction from his other squadmates; He'd thought that to be something only those UAC and demon-looking fellows would do.
I guess hype spreads quickly, He thought idly.
"That's fucked up." Hayden sneered. "Regardless; You know your objectives. Execute them quickly and efficiently. VEGA will be coordinating with each of you from hereon. Make sure you take back Portland at all costs. Save as many human lives as possible. Godspeed."
The speakers clicked off for a moment. Then, a song began playing:
(Queue 'Let Me Live / Let Me Die' by Des Rocs)
"What the fuck?" One of the soldiers muttered.
"LISTEN UP, FUCKNUTS!"
Their squad leader, Sergeant Rhett, a 6'2 monster of a Black Frenchman, stood up from his seat, his eyes filled with grim ferocity.
"START OPENING THOSE WINDOWS AND FIRE! WE'RE GETTING CLOSE!" He shouted in an intimidatingly heavy French accent.
The soldiers immediately went to action, turning around, sliding open the slit windows-
"HOLY SHIT!" A soldier shouted, seeing the absolute carnage outside. From the tiny slit, the squad could make out hordes of demons charging towards the hundreds of armored carriers driving towards the city in the distance, just beyond the river they were about to cross over. From the outside of a carrier, one could see the rifles pointing out each window, like a modern man o' war; Small lines spikes jutted diagonally out from the lower-half of the carrier's sides, impaling any demons eager to get close.
"It's fucking chaos out there-"
"PUT YOUR GODDAMN RIFLES IN THE GODDAMN WINDOWS, YOU SHITSTICKS!" The Sergeant shouted, and the soldiers scrambled to do as ordered, placing the barrels of their rifles out the sides of each window. Their helmets inserted ear plugs as their visors came down from their helmets, giving them a detailed analysis of their surroundings.
"Holy…" Lawrence muttered. This equipment Commander Hayden had manufactured was another level of advanced.
"This shit is cool!" Another soldier remarked.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP, PRIVATE RILLO! WE'RE TAKING ROLL CALL! START FIRING, MOTHERFUCKERS!"
BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!
The rifles went blasting away, mowing down the hordes of lesser demons charging the carriers from a distance, as well as blasting the aerial demons diving towards the vehicles. Meanwhile, Sergeant Rhett pulled out a small list from his coat pocket, and began reciting the soldiers' names.
"ACKERS! KNOWLES! STEADMAN! OLSON!"
"PRESENT, SARGE!"
BANG-BANG! BANG-BANG-BANG!
"MATTHEWS! EDWARDS! NGUYEN! TORRES!
"HERE, SARGE!"
"RILLO, FRITZ, WATTS-"
KKKCKRAAAA-
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHH-"
…
…
…
….
….
….Lawr….
…..e….
….nce…..
….
"WATTS!"
Gaaaaaasp!
Lawrence awoke coughing and wheezing for air. He was wildly disoriented; And yet, he felt no broken bones nor bleeding wounds. It felt as if his suit had somehow cushioned his fall.
Commander Hayden… Lawrence thought in amazement, with the little mental cognition he had at that moment. We have such capable leaders…
"GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE, SOLDIERS!"
(Queue 'Yelling Soldiers Sound Effect' by n Beats on YouTube)
Having no time to react, Lawrence shouted in panic as the Sarge dragged him out of the overturned armored carrier. Gunfire, the scream of soldiers and demons alike, the artillery blasts and explosions- It was far too overwhelming for Lawrence to re-orient himself. He caught glimpses of the Sarge, who was standing near the carrier and helping others out, as those who had gotten out started giving covering fire for the rest.
BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!
"TAKE THIS YOU FUCKIN' RED BASTARDS!"
FWOOSH!
Soldiers yelled in fury as they took to various forms of cover just outside Portland, moving forward slowly in squads to enter into the city; However, Lawrence noticed (as he slowly became more conscious) the masses of demons that were charging forward from the city at the soldiers, throwing fireballs or closing ground to get into close combat. Beasts of [pure war.
"GODDAMNIT, WATTS, GET OFF YOUR ASS AND PICK UP YOUR RIFLE!" The Sarge shouted, backhanding Lawrence across the face, then shoving the rifle in his arms. He pointed at the other members from the carrier, who were grouped up by a nearby bridge entrance into the city.
"START RUNNING, WATTS!"
Lawrence wasted no time, stumbling to his feet as he saw several ranged projectiles flying towards him-
BOOOM-FWOOSH!
He just managed to dive out of the way of an incoming fireball, which engulfed the armored carrier in red flames.
"SHIT, SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIIIIIIIIT!" Lawrence screamed in fear. He scrambled to his feet, only to-
FWWWWWWWWWIIIIISSSHHHH!
-narrowly dodge a pure beam of red energy that shot past him and seared into the landscape. He readjusted his helmet as it sagged over his eyes, just in time to notice-
Thwip-
Something small had slipped a few inches by his head, he looked behind him to-
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Lawrence felt himself flying through the air, screaming in panic, catching glimpses of explosions, gunfire and moving bodies as his vision swirled around rapidly-
"OOMPF!" Lawrence grunted, as he bounced a few times on the ground, his body ragdolling until he found himself right next to the rest of the squad, who was looking down at him with raised eyebrows.
Don't question it! Don't question it! Don't question it! Lawrence internally yelled at himself. If he considered thinking right now, he might have had a mental breakdown.
"Nice of you to hop on over here!" Ackers cackled.
"Shut up, damn it!" Lawrence huffed, hastily getting up and flattening himself against the side of the wall. The Sarge ran over, kneeling beside the squad, doing a headcount.
"Holy fucking cornhole." He shouted. "By some miracle, you all managed to survive the initial attack! Alright, then-"
"HOW THE FUCK ARE WE EXPECTED TO FIGHT THOSE THINGS?!" Ackers panicked, peeking over the wall and seeing the chaos. The Sarge slapped the Private, pointing at his boots.
"Get a hold of yourself, for fuck's sake! Did you forget what we got?!"
Lawrence realized what the Sarge was saying. A day prior, every company had gotten briefed on the new modifications that Hayden, VEGA and their combined research group had made for the soldiers.
"Your armor is designed in a way that it is resistant to many forms of physical shock- Something we realized has been the biggest killer of our soldiers." Lawrence remembered hearing Hayden say. "This armor, fitted to every limb and appendage of your body, is intended to provide heavy shock absorption, so you can get thrown around all day and not suffer any broken bones or whiplash, unless your body itself is thrown at several miles an hour."
Hayden then brought up the boots in his bionic hand.
"These boots were augmented to allow for increased agility; You can jump around, sprint and evade danger at around half the speed of the Slayer. This will allow you all to avoid ranged attacks, close-combat demons, and most importantly it will give you a far better chance of survival in the battlefield. You should be careful when moving, though; You can still trip over yourself."
Though shaking heavily, Lawrence felt a bit more comforted to know he had something to even the playing field. Meanwhile, the Sarge peeked over the wall once more, then turned back to the squad.
"Listen up! We're going to hold this line until our Arties finish bombarding the city! Then the Slayer and the Task Force will clear out the ranged attackers! Once that's done, we're going to cross this bridge and head for the closest government office and start covering other squads getting into the city! Understood?"
"YES, SERGEANT!" The squad replied in unison. The Sarge nodded, ordering the squad to hunker down. An unbearable moment passed, as the pandemonium of war raged all around them, and Lawrence was forced to bear witness to the legions of his fellow soldiers making their way to the frontline as he did; Fireballs arced in the sky, over his head, and slammed into the landscape, sending soldiers flying in every direction, a few of them caught in flames. And yet, with their near gear, there was no longer the toll of injury; The soldiers being thrown around were beginning to orient to the chaotic atmosphere, moving rapidly and evasively to avoid ranged attacks.
The death and chaos that Lawrence had expected to see what pleasantly far less than what he would have thought. He realized how many lives Hayden was going to save from his inventions; Lawrence swore that, should he survive this siege, he would give his personal thanks to Hayden.
"THERE HE IS!" Edwards shouted, pointing at a distant figure sprinting from the main army forces a mile or so behind them. "Wow, he runs really quickly-"
The Slayer launched past the mixture of ARC, UAC and Hazbin soldiers, of whom many ARC personnel were temporarily in awe of his monstrously fast speed.
"He's coming towards us!" Nguyen shouted, almost in a fright, as the Slayer quickly gained ground towards them. When he was a few dozen meters away, he suddenly launched himself off the ground, sending cracks through the dirt. Lawrence watched in amazement as he hurtled over them, over the bridge, and dove straight into one of the buildings-
FWOOOOOOOSH!
Lawrence's jaw dropped as the Slayer's forward momentum propelled him into the structure, completely obliterating its support; The screeching of collapsing metal rang out through the city as the structure fell apart, turning several demons around and on it into red paste.
"Holy…"
"THAT'S OUR QUEUE! START RUNNING!" The Sergeant shouted, standing up and waving the squad members towards the the bridge. "GO, GO, GO!"
(Queue 'Paradise Lost' by Mick Gordon)
Everyone moved at once, picking themselves up and sprinting across the bridge, alongside other squads; They managed to clear a ton of ground, thanks to their augmented boots; Lawrence felt almost as if he were flying.
In only a couple seconds, they managed to cross the short bridge, and the battle truly began.
REEEAAAAAUUUGGGHHH!
The sounds of screeching demons pierced his ears; He looked up to see flying demons, those glowing red orbs staring pure hatred into his soul. He briefly recalled the briefing VEGA held regarding them.
"There are three types of common flying demons you should know of: Cacodemons, Revenants, and Gargoyles. These are the ones we know of, though there may be others we are unaware about. Remember their strengths and weaknesses well."
Lawrence clenched his teeth. He was told none of them should focus on the aerial combatants; The Task Force would supposedly take care of this-
THWIP! THWIP-THWIP!
Lawrence yelped as suddenly many of the flyers had been shot by some unseen force; They careened downwards in a death spiral, before crashing into the ground below. Lawrence looked back to see who it was, but in the midst of the grand battlefield, he couldn't find the source.
I suppose the Task Force is here, He thought to himself.
"WATTS, GET YOUR FUCKING HEAD OUT OF THE SKY!"
Watts was jolted from his thought as the Sarge grabbed him by the shoulder and slung him back in with the squad, who were moving as a group into a nearby post office. The soldiers filed in as artillery shelled the buildings further into the city.
"Fucking hell!" Ackers muttered, as the artillery bombardment continued its brutal onslaught. "What if they hit us?!"
"Don't question it, Ackers." Olson replied. "They thought this out a lot more than we did."
The Sarge peeked outside the door of the post office, seeing where everything was. After a brief moment, he turned back to the group, his face creased with dirt and dust.
"We're going to hold this line for the other squads as they make their way in here! Then, once we see the Task Force moving in, we'll join them and start retaking the city! Understood?"
"YES, SIR!"
The squad members split up, breaking windows and getting a bigger view of the battlefield around them. As they were in a post office, it was difficult to capture the scope of the battle, but that was not their primary concern.
Short time passed as they went to work defending their point, signaling squads to move in as they covered them from any ambushing or charging demons; Flying demons that happened to notice them were quickly shot by the unseeable guardian angel, keeping overwatch from afar.
Soon enough, the bulk of the attacking force had gotten into the city, and by this time the Sarge ordered the squad to relinquish the post office and head outside. They did so, working as a unified machine.
"Oh shit, now we're talkin', motherfucker!" Torres shouted in glee, as the rest of the squad saw the legions of soldiers flooding the city with them; Among them stood out several of the taller Hazbin demons on their side, namely the white-furred spider-looking fellow leading his company alongside the owl-looking demon. They seemed to be working in tandem, ordering soldiers to sweep corners and clear buildings.
"This is so fucking bizarre…" Matthews said, shaking his head.
"This isn't the time to think." Steadman replied harshly. Since this was a moment of respite, Lawrence had a moment to consider his squadmates. Only one of them, Steadman, was one of those friendly demons that came along with the Slayer; And yet, he seemed the most quiet and reserved the entire time on the mission, contrasting the rowdy and raucous personalities of the other friendly demons Lawrence had come to know in his time around them.
"Damn right." The Sarge stated. "So shut your traps and follow closely!"
The squad moved alongside the others, following a routine established before the battle, for when a squad was not accomplishing an objective: Clear buildings, sweep alleys and streets, and destroy enemy structures.
Rhett's squad split up into three teams; As they were not assigned to a particular objective before battle, it was their duty to begin clearing out the city. Watts was in Corporal Olson's team, alongside Torres and Matthews. Together, they swept through several buildings as they moved forward through the town, heading towards the Pittock Mansion as ordered.
Sweep, sweep, sweep- BANG!
Lawrence was immobilized in terror. Just as he was routinely sweeping a second-story apartment, he'd suddenly turned the corner, right into an Imp in waiting. He was immeasurably lucky that his reaction time was quicker than the Imp's.
He looked down at the gruesome beast, seeing it writhe on the floor as the super-bullet that had embedded in its chest sent shocks throughout its body. He remembered Hayden telling him of these rifles; How they were meant to stop a charging demon with only a few shots. Although Lawrence had fired many rifles in his day, that was by far the most powerful in recoil, as if he'd fired a powerful revolver.
Steeling himself, he stepped over the Imp's body, clearing the room. He noticed something rustling in the closet, and his adrenaline shot up once more. He was about to shoot; However, some inner voice told him not to do it. In a moment, he decided against it, and started creeping up towards the closet, barrel aimed at the entrance. Once he reached the knob, he felt hesitant; His nerves were on fire. He knew that if there was a demon behind this door, and he didn't fire in time…
"Fuck it!" Lawrence shouted, grabbing the knob and flinging the door open-
"PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T SHOOT ME-E-E-E!"
"Wha…"
Lawrence's jaw dropped as he saw a young woman, tattered, bruised and covered in dirt, sobbing inside the closet. A normal, human woman.
"What...how are you…"
The woman looked up at him with dead, teary eyes, as if she'd seen too much horror.
"They...took my family...away from me…"
"CORPORAL! CORPORAL, COME HERE!" Lawrence shouted.
"...My husband...my son….my daughter…"
The Corporal rushed over from another room to Lawrence's location.
"What's going on, Watts? What the fuck!"
Olson and Lawrence stared at the crying woman in the closet, almost in disbelief.
"How did she-"
"That's what I'm wondering." Lawrence muttered. He knelt down, trying to softly get the attention of the woman. "Ma'am. I have to ask you something."
The woman's despairing gaze crept up to Lawrence once more.
"How...are you alive?"
The woman seemed to take a moment to comprehend the question. When she registered it, her gaze fell back to the ground.
(Queue 'Sinister' by Mick Gordon)
"Those...things...they...had killed so many before...but...they spared some of us...then they...separated us...took many with them...then shoved the rest of us into corners, closets, hiding places…I...don't know why…"
Thunk!
Olson was startled as Lawrence's rifle fell from his hands onto the ground, his eyes wide in horror.
"What the hell, Watts? What happened?"
Lawrence's hand shook violently, as he brought it up to cover his agape mouth in dread.
"They...the demons...they're...they're making us kill our own...without even knowing it…"
Olson's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"What are you-..."
Soon enough, Olson's own eyes widened in horror.
"No...no, no no no no…"
He ran out of the room, taking out his phone and dialing a number frantically.
"SERGEANT RHETT! STOP THE ARTILLERY SHELLING! THERE'S CIVILIANS IN THE CITY! I REPEAT, STOP THE FUCKING ARTILLERY SHELLS, THERE ARE CIVILIANS IN THE CITY!"