Testament XV: And The War Began

(Queue 'Sam's Base' by Mick Gordon)

"Ladies, gentlemen, and otherwise-"

Click! Clack!

"We are here today to brief you all on the developed plan-"

Ka-chink! Click! Ka-chink!

"-To annihilate all demonic presence-"

Shhhink!

"-In the state of Oregon."

The sound of rifles being cocked and loaded, of magazines being filled, of large machines being built and welded together with alien metals that Charlie had never seen-

All of it filled the air with a cacophony of erratic noise; The sounds that echoed war on the horizon.

Charlie felt uncomfortable in this formal, military setting; Standing outside the city limits of Portland, the Slayer, UAC and ARC forces were organizing several large and small-scale patrols around the region, to bolster their presence. Detachments split off from the main bulk of the army and went into the city, saving wounded and captured citizens as well as establishing their own base there.

After the main battle, two aftermath skirmishes took place, which further caused destruction to the city and cost the army the lives of more soldiers.

Charlie eyed the broken city in the distance- was this really Earth? It looked more like Hell than the Hell she came from.

"We've recently come upon large swaths of material to be recycled into our own reserves-"

Charlie tuned out the rousing speech that Hayden was giving. For all the time she'd spent around him, she sure felt like he took her for granted- she couldn't remember the last time she'd gotten any important tasks from him.

She felt her fist clench. This was getting very annoying. All the time she'd been here, all the time that had passed since the first days she'd fought with the Slayer…

And why was he only called 'The Slayer'? Didn't he have a name? At least a surname, or a family name? Something?

Charlie sighed in frustration. Sure, they were in a terrible, post-apocalyptic situation where they didn't know anything about their enemy, who had just proven they didn't have any moralities whatsoever; She could understand why he wanted to protect her during these dangerous times, but…

Couldn't she do something to help? At least contribute in some way? The sniper task felt so cowardly, especially since she was a demon that was capable of fighting against all kinds of threats! And she was being… she was being…

Treated like…

…

…

A princess.

…

…

If she hadn't felt a violent surge of anger coursing through her, she would have laughed at the irony of the situation.

Is that it, then? Charlie thought, anger mixing with uncertainty. I'm just a useless doll sitting on the sidelines…

She gritted her teeth. That would not happen. Not after all she'd been through! ROBBED of her hotel, ROBBED of her romantic interest, ROBBED of her dignity as a capable fighter.

She felt that beastly rage begin to fill her gut, though with it came fears of what would manifest if she let it go unchecked…

"Miss Charlotte?"

"WHAT?" Charlie hissed, turning her head-

"O-Oh, Mister Adams...I…"

She was dismayed by his ghostly-pale face; That was the first time he'd seen her demon form, as she had unintentionally snapped at him.

Controlling her anger, she forced a smile, though he didn't seem any more encouraged by the action.

"So...what did you need?"

Adams chose not to speak, but instead pointed at a nearby military tent, a few dozen meters away. Now embarrassed to have intimidated one of her coworkers, Charlie bowed her head respectively.

"I-I'm sorry, I'll just...head over, then."

As Charlie entered the tent, she wanted to groan as she noticed the large, ovular table in the middle of the tent, where several charts, maps, and documentation, along with a holographic landscape, occupied the majority of the table's surface.

Charlie used to listen to the battle jargon they kept spouting at the meetings, but after hours of talking about the same strategies-

"We should always hold the highest ground- Let's go orbital!"

"We need lots of artillery, yeah I'm talking LOTS of artillery."

"What about reconnaissance!"

"Let's just charge, they can't take all of us at once...can they?"

"Ugh." Charlie muttered in exhaustion. She had to wonder how this world survived with such idiots leading the place. Then again, all the high-ranks were probably killed in the invasion...

To comfort herself, she thought about that time before the Portland Siege, when the Slayer was trying to convey where the squads went by jabbing his finger at various points on the map, but not saying anything to accompany it- obviously, it led to some confusion.

She giggled, feeling a little better about her predicament.

"...Miss Charlotte?"

She noticed everyone in the tent staring at her with some level of dismay.

"Um…" She stuttered. "So… what's happening?"

"We were just about to discuss that." Isabella, standing at the opposite end of the table, announced aloud. "Please, join us."

Charlie came forward, noticing the other faces at the table- Adams, Annie…

Vaggie. Or...Vaga, whatever she'd changed her name to. Ever since that day they'd broken up, she hadn't talked to her. It hurt Charlie's heart, everytime she looked over, only to look away. Charlie didn't know why she was acting like this…

As their eyes met, she did the same thing as she'd done before- turning her head away, with that same expression, as if she was being punched in the gut.

Charlie forced her eyes away from Vaggie in indignation; She was mildly surprised to see Catherine standing at the table, with a weary Beliel standing behind her.

"Is this...everyone?" Charlie asked Isabella, who nodded.

"Yes. At least for the work we're going to be doing."

Charlie looked around the room, unsure of the objective here.

"Are we...holding a strategy meeting?" Charlie inquired.

"Something like that."

"Why isn't Hayden here?"

Isabella almost seemed to be holding back frustration, though the anger was evident in the way she locked her mouth, forbidding herself against slandering him.

"Commander...Hayden… has decided to start involving himself in the R&D department, and has apparently decided that leadership can be deigned to us instead."

Charlie glanced around at the others once more- Annie, Adams, Vaggie, Isabella, Beliel, Catherine- and herself.

"So...are we, like, a council now?" Charlie assumed.

"...I guess." Isabella sighed. "We'll be handling the grand strategy for our armies."

"Wait, why us?"

The question came from Adams, who was currently holding a half-empty bottle of whiskey and drinking out of it rather crudely, much to Annie's concern and embarrassment.

Isabella ignored the crass behavior, instead choosing to answer his question.

"I've chosen all of you based on recommendations and personal assessment."

Her head snapped towards Adams, Annie and Vaggie, who were all thrown off by her sudden change in behavior. She was laser-focused all of a sudden.

"You three were chosen by me, because you have all displayed some level of planning and strategy, especially under strenuous circumstances. I'm not going to get into details."

Her head then swiveled towards Charlie, Catherine and Beliel. Charlie noticed that the bags under Isabella's eyes seemed to double; There were probably a million things stressing her out, one of the big ones being the annihilation of almost all of humanity.

Charlie was feeling the same way… she had one day hoped to reach Earth again, but not like this… it depressed her to see the landscapes that were once described as beautiful, ending up like this.

"I chose you two, Catherine, Charlotte, because the Slayer- or rather, VEGA- told me that you two held…'positions of high authority' previously, according to his exact words. Since we are running severely low on competent leadership, and since our recruitment pool has been reduced by billions-"

She raised one hand to gesture at the two.

"You guys have to help pick up the slack."

Charlie was shocked and discomforted, her head dipping as she stared at the table- she went from having zero responsibilities to now leading an army?!

Sure, she wanted to feel useful, but she didn't want-!

"Charlotte, Catherine."

Charlie looked back up at Isabella, only to see a deep-seated, steely resolve within her.

"I'm very sorry to shoulder this burden onto you two. I don't know who either of you are, or what kind of place you came from, and I don't care."

Charlie was unsettled; She could see the mental instability behind Isabella's eyes; She was suffering untold trauma and stress, right at this very moment…

"I…" Isabella faltered. "...I want to protect what's left of humanity. Of my people. I'm sure you can understand that feeling."

Charlie's fist clenched, angry at herself for not realizing what this poor woman was doing for her and her kind. She knew exactly how Isabella was feeling right now.

"You don't have to worry any longer, Isabella!" Charlie declared, raising one finger prominently. "We're going to fight back against these guys, and win! No matter what it takes!"

Though the speech was laughably vague in its goal, everyone around the table felt a bit better with that morale-driven speech.

"Um...yeah!" Adams cheered.

"What she said!" Annie supported.

Catherine, meanwhile, was still staring at the sheets of paper on the table, a forlorn look on her face; Though, at the same time mired with curiosity as she stared at the war documents on the table. Beliel's face was partly concealed in the shadows of the dimly-lit tent.

Isabella smiled, the first time Charlie had seen her do so.

"I like that plan!" Isabella replied heartily. "Now, let me brief all of you more on your roles…"

"May I join?"

From across the tent, stood a hooded figure in the shadows; Based off the reflections of the lights, its attire was almost entirely clad in black, and silver decorated the linings of its outfit.

It took a step forward, much to everyone's hostility; Several weapons were pointed at the figure, who sat still.

A moment later, it broke the silence.

"I am not your enemy."

"That's something an enemy would say." Adams accused.

Charlie was unsettled by the hooded figure, for a few reasons; However, she was most mainly upset by the fact that, despite being bathed in light, she could still not see its face, which somehow managed to hide itself in a permanent-black mist that floated around under its hood.

"Identify yourself, NOW!" Isabella commanded the figure. An audible sigh could be heard from its cracked throat.

"I suppose you deserve that, at least…"

The figure raised one mangled claw forward, which had the same look of a demon.

"In the past, I have been referred to by many names. But…"

And for a brief moment, Charlie caught a glimpse of an egregious, fanged grin through the impermeable shadow surrounding its face.

"...You can call me the Wretch."

The Slayer watched as thousands upon thousands of soldiers, making up hundreds of small platoons, began moving across the landscape, heading to their various destinations. All for the purpose of purging this state of all demonic presence.

A few feet behind him, the bionic body of VEGA idled, seemingly taking in his new form.

A 6 foot tall humanoid-shaped body, that somewhat resembled Hayden's own bionic body; However, it was far more menacing in terms of looks.

The body itself was matte-black, so he basically looked like a robotic soldier; His 'skin' took on the form of metal scales, which shifted throughout the body, sometimes revealing the complex, innumerable processes happening within his body; Metal plating covered his torso and chest, as well as his legs, complete with hoof-like appendages for feet, with multi-joint claws jutting out of its hooves. Its head was composed of four bulbous lenses, and a blue light emitted from the back of its ovular head.

"Once again, Slayer, I have to thank you for your contributions. As ARC and the UAC construct the miles of data storage for me, I should be able to unlock more abilities as time goes on."

The Slayer waved his hand, gesturing that there was no need for thanks; VEGA noted this expression. Considering that the Slayer almost never usually showed any kind of expressions in any way, this gesture touched VEGA in a way he could only computationally describe as 'paternal affection'.

"Now that I've acquired a body of my own to operate," VEGA said with that same familiar soothing tone of voice. "I wanted to discuss with you some matters that… you may not be aware of."

VEGA turned to the Slayer, who glanced over at VEGA.

"Slayer… I am the Father."

…

…

…

Silence ensued. There seemed to be a tension in the air, for just a moment…

…

Then…

VEGA was more than surprised when the Slayer finally opened his mouth-

(Queue 'A Slayer City' by Mick Gordon)

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Only to hear him laugh. This sudden expression from the Slayer sent nearby soldiers reeling in terror; They had assumed he was emitting a war cry, for all they knew.

It perplexed VEGA, as well- what exactly was humorous about this?

He assumed that the Slayer did not take him seriously. Actually, it was the most reasonable answer.

Until the Slayer turned his visor, and VEGA could see it in his eyes-

Madness.

Pure, raw madness.

The Slayer was so angry that he simply didn't care about anything else.

Twists, turns, forks in the road, obstacles in his way- none of it mattered to him in the slightest.

He was driven to madness long ago; And now he wore it like flesh. Seeing Earth plagued once more by demons had driven him back into insanity.

But he had a persisting goal, VEGA knew, that preceded all obstacles, all twists and turns, all of his suffering and agony-

To eradicate demons.

As he launched off the quaint little rocky area they resided in, sending cracks through the terrain and flying off into the distance, VEGA felt as if he could sigh.

There was no good conversation to be had with him.

"That guy..." A nearby soldier whispered to his battle buddy nervously. "...I'm really glad he's on our side."

If VEGA had a mouth, he would have smiled. Those soldiers didn't need to worry about the Slayer switching sides, or fighting them.

He was a constant in the multiverse- his presence was inevitable in all areas where demons existed. And for all the eons he had spent fighting, there wasn't a single moment where the Slayer was mired with doubt. He fought for humanity, and it would be this way for as long as he stood.

This was the way of The Doom Slayer.