(Dronny Darko – Numinous)
The Eternal Enemy.
Father of Lies.
The Bane of All That is Mortal.
Dark Lord of the Fourth Age.
Chances were high that at some point those titles ran through the dark recess of his being. Something deep down told him he was staring at the incarnation of evil beyond comprehension, regardless of the appearance of a simple man in an even simpler tuxedo. Why it chose such a form was a mystery even to demons who stood in lines like soldiers. And this is why Braylon was frightened to the core. Many things could be said about a wolf who hunts a prey. Many more could be said about a wolf who disguises itself as a prey.
Before Braylon could fumble around his vocabulary to express eloquently the question "What ring?", something hard yet invisible pushed him down, then grabbed him and quickly pulled him closer to the man like a dog bringing a toy to its master. He was floating.
"Don't make fun of me, brat." He snapped, revealing a set of perfect teeth. His gaze felt like he was talking not to Braylon, but to his soul. "Give me the ring. Now."
It finally dawned on him. He was asking for the ring he received by that girl on Remnant. The ring he bragged about in their first encounter.
"I don't have it anymore."
His back impacted against the platform four times. Floating back up, his body was turned upside-down. The man never once changed his expression nor his tone. Until now, that is.
"You little turd! Do you have any idea who I am?!" His voice, while that of a human, echoed through the entire pocket dimension. Those demons nearest to him took a step back. Evidently it was not a good idea to make him angry. "I brought misery to mortals, I started wars, I ruined civilizations with a flick of my fingers, I invented lies! And you think you can lie to me?"
Braylon growled silently. He was too afraid to do anything else.
"Who are you? Where are you from? How old are you? Does it matter? To me? To anyone here? To the whole creation? No! It doesn't! What do you think is the purpose…!" he waved a hand in a circle, "...of this all? Your existence is meaningless! You have no purpose outside following orders, like a dog that you are! Like the rest of mortalkind!", he calmed down, "And this is my final order. Give me the ring."
"W… why do you need it a… anyway?" Something invisible coiled around his neck, almost crushing his windpipe. "F… fahk… you!"
"You know I have many methods to convince you, right? None of them are good for you."
"..."
The man, unaffected by Braylon's hateful gaze, rubbed his chin.
"Tsk. Imagine my disappointment. Of the worst mortal race, He gave it to you, the most worthless of all. What do you have that other mortals don't? Don't tell me, he choose a dud on purpose!" He grinned. Other demons laughed as loudly and obnoxiously as they could. "Has the old man finally lost it? I knew it would happen, honestly. It's why I deserve to be up there." He turned Braylon again. "What was He thinking? You are the reason we are free. Does he think you will be..." Although his face remained the same expressionless mask, he noticed a tiny hint of anger in the man's voice. "The Doom Slayer."
Although Braylon couldn't move his head, he noticed some shifting in the crowds at the far ends of his vision. Who was this "Doom Slayer"?
"I see. You were a bait. He wants to free the Doom Slayer." Tiny flames could be seen inside his pupils. He swung with his walking stick, forming a rift with way more easiness than he had the right to have. "Take care of this fool! Make sure he returns to Hell. I have more important things to take care of."
"Understood."
As the words echoed inside his thoughts, Braylon was violently thrown into the rift. Falling through a vortex of colors, wind and energy drained his aetherial shield completely, before he saw the light at the end of the tunnel. The only difference being that this light served more to point out the darkness rather than driving it away.
The Vault Hunter was happy he could touch concrete again, though he wished he could evade landing so harshly on it as he did. His skin was scratched in some places, but nothing was broken. Flipping to his feet, he looked around frantically at his surroundings. It was a wasteland made of buildings damaged beyond repair. A big gray sea as far as the eye could see, as above so below. Though he wished he could forget, he remembered that other wasteland with the sun stuck in a permanent eclipse. He was supposed to feel sad and depressed, but that is impossible once you reach the bottom of the emotional barrel. Horror became a constant lately.
He was somewhat surprised to hear gunshots in the distance, even more when a pair of Caconoids flew above him and into a distant building. His jaw dropped when, near the horizon, some helicopter-like vehicles flew around a shape that his mind recognized as a dragon, even though he never saw one. It even breathed fire.
"Another fucking battlefield?! Give me a break, damn it all!"
A door scratched against the floor. He spun around only to see a tall humanoid… thing. It had yellowish skin, with arms and legs like bags jam-packed with watermelons. Really tough watermelons, wrapped in scrap metal.
Although it was a wonder how such a thing could even walk without any anatomical difficulty, it seemed to ignore Braylon entirely, heading straight for a pile of mutilated organs packed in a bag made of something that used to be a metallic fence. It fell on its knees, groaned slowly and took a bite of a skinless leg, clueless about the world around it. Braylon went for his Unforgiven when he noticed a girl standing to the left.
"You again.", Braylon spat, "I guess it ignoring me is your doing."
She was silent.
"Don't bother with the silent treatment. If you have something to say, then-"
"You are alive. As I said you would be."
"Yeah. Let's ignore I lost my damn hand in all of that… whatever it was."
"I am not your enemy."
"Is that even relevant anymore?"
"I told you to ignore their serpentine tongues. Why did you forget my warnings?"
"Kinda hard remembering something when you are experiencing things no mortal should..."
"It is not the first time you encountered demons. Mortals encounter them through their entire lives. They change their methods, their appearance, their words. But they are always one and the same. What you experienced was just one of their many destructive ways, no different from others who share the same goal." She pointed at the ruins of the city. "Who do you think did this? Those persuaded by greed, fear and lust for power. Who persuaded them? The same enemy that wants to break you and your spirit." A flock of Harpies flew between them.
"But why me? Why it had to be me?!"
"Who else than the one who set them free, as it was in their plan?"
"Plan? What?"
"Has it ever occurred to you how exactly you came to find and open that Vault? Have you thought about your years-long journey, your "adventure", that culminated with the so-called greatest achievement a human could accomplish? What fueled this seemingly fanatic search for the Vault? The same things that fueled all your crimes."
Braylon was speechless.
"...Wait… you mean to say..." He gulped. "You mean to say that… that..."
"Nothing happens coincidentally. Once you were hooked, like the rest of mortal races, they knew you could be manipulated to serve their ends. Through hardship, mortals can be forged into heroes or villains. You were no exception to that rule."
"But… but, but why nobody stopped me?!"
"You had every chance to stop yourself. You had people who cared for you, not just your parents. Did you forget all the things you lost? Have you learned nothing from it all?"
His face was hidden in the darkness.
"It's all my fault… I..."
"The destruction of a whole solar system, the mass murder of an entire town, assisting the extermination of another equally violent species. Your entire history is written down and recorded in detail."
"… I see..."
"Stand up."
"…?"
"Your actions, as horrible as they might be, aren't unforgivable. Others of your kind may never forgive you, true. But your kind also carries the seed of corruption, like every mortal race out there. They are incapable of being entirely good. Your ally will forgive you, if you wish to change yourself."
"How? I am a monster. I've been a monster since I picked up a gun. Since… I lost my parents."
"Gold can be reforged. If you truly wish so, you can begin again. It will be a hard and dangerous road, because the evil forces will do everything to bring you to your ruin. To them, you are no different from all other mortals; yet another one that needs to be destroyed, be it spiritually or physically."
"I… I am just tired of this story. These past months are like a blur to me. I was convinced to find these Maidens and kill them so that the demon could leave Remnant alone, thinking how I would be unable to save other realities. And everything, everything, had to come in my way to stop me from that. It is really frustrating."
"That is because they abused your sense of guilt to trick you into doing their bidding, while also doing everything they could to stop you, giving it more validity. The truth is different. By killing the Maidens, you would disrupt that reality's natural balance, plunging it into chaos. It was a false promise of redemption for your sins. Luring you into thinking about the worst possible outcomes, they offered you one where you had to destroy something in order to save something else, claiming it is the best and only option for you."
"What?!"
"There exists a mysterious being, who has a special role in the mortal suffering. It is a created being, endowed with knwoledge and abilities that overcomes mortalkind. He is the enemy of every mortal nature, life and destiny. This being is envious of mortal happiness and will do everything to destroy it. To reach his goal, which is complete destruction, he will use trickery and lies. He was a killer and a liar from the beginning. To you humans, he is known as the Devil, or the Dark Lord of the Fourth Age. This is why I told you to not loose hope. As long as there is light that shines brightly, darkness will never prevail."
"Huh? Those words..."
"Today that light shines upon you. Begin again, leave behind the past and focus on the present. Those close to you are your friends. Watch out for each other, so that the enemy can't ambush you."
"But… I never had friends. Those guys back at home were really just partners and..."
"That is not true. You have friends. They are on Remnant."
"Who?"
"You know already."
"But they don't know half of what I do!"
"Then be their teacher. That is how you can help in this war."
"..."
"Do you accept?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"Yes you do. You always had and always will."
"Then… then I want to choose the right thing. I want to send them back to Hell and restore everything as it was before that Vault was opened!"
She nodded.
"How do I start?"
"Get rid of that cursed object around your neck first."
Braylon blinked, then looked down on the pendant. He threw it on the ground and smashed it with his foot. His ears rang loudly for ten seconds.
"Dear God, what was that?"
"Your soul is now free from the curse that object brought upon it."
"I guess I should now use the-?"
"When the time comes."
"But… what is that ring? Why did the man asked me for it?"
"Patience."
"Alright then. What now?" He shrugged.
"You will help the survivors of this already-bleeding world fend off the invaders."
"Heh... How, exactly?"
"You will fight against them and win."
"Um, not to ruin the mood, but I think my guns can't do much against them..."
"Do you believe me?"
"..."
"Yes or no?"
"...Yes."
"Then prove it."
"But how? I can't kill them!"
"Defeating them in battle will be enough for now. Your main focus is their Dark Obelisk. Do you believe you can destroy it?"
"I don't know..."
"There is no middle ground in this war. Either you do or you do not. Do you want to let them destroy another world?"
"No."
"Do you want to let them roam free as they please?"
"No."
"Do you want to let someone else experience what you did?"
"No!"
"Then fight. Fight and keep fighting without fear of the enemy. You can't do this alone, you are not an island, so gather courage and strength from your greatest ally in the whole creation. Protect the weak, save the lost, care for others and learn to recognize the forces of evil. This is the true power that will lead you to victory. Your enemy is nothing like you, or any other mortal, have faced before. It is cunning, it is cruel, it is strong. Yet it fails to acknowledge the simplest of things which require a kind and humble heart. It perverts the truth without knowing what it is. It twists nature to create monsters, who die at the hands of the weak. Do you understand?"
He gulped.
"Yes, I guess."
"Go now. You have a world to save."
"Wait! I don't know your name! Who are you?"
The girl turned around, revealing a faint smile.
"I am your guardian angel."
When she disappeared, the yellow-skinned giant jerked slightly, dropping a piece of meat. It slowly turned around to face Braylon. Its scrawny, shrivelled face and chest were the complete opposite of the muscular limbs. But the mindless roar and the glowing red eyes were a clear sign of demonic corruption. *
(Doom: Demon Eclipse – Monitoring Station)
Braylon shot its head with Unforgiven. The bullet went through the forehead, but the creature simply staggered. A second shot had the same effect. It took a third shot to send it over the edge.
"That must have been one of the xenos who live in this reality. I better get going."
He ran for the door, successfully escaping from a flock of Harpies. Between stairs and elevator, he chose the latter, despite looking like it wasn't used for quite some time, like everything else in that reality.
"Are you ready for another performance?" The demonic voice returned.
"What happened to the other bastard who used to contact me?"
"I would rather worry about myself, if I were you."
The demon used its trick once more to assault him with images of the future. He now knew what dangers waited for him, from start to finish. But unlike the last time, Braylon focused all his mental power to fight against it, trying to either ignore them or replace them with thoughts of his own.
"It won't work twice, fuck off!"
"Time will tell the truth, correct?" It left him with an audible, smug grin.
"I need to find a way to get around this bullshit! And quick!"
The elevator dinged. He was now a few levels above the ground floor. Down the ruined hallway two more yellow-skinned giants, each holding a rifle, shambled towards Braylon. Their hands were glowing bright orange, like molten metal. **
Based on the projection, he would walk out of the elevator and the two would start firing with their rifles. Because of the nature of their attacks, going straightforward would be a suicide. Instead, Braylon would go for the nearest door on the right and enter into an empty room where a Sawcubus waited for him. From there, he would jump through a hole, reaching the ground floor and then make a run for the exit.
He stepped outside.
The yellowskins fired with the rifles from their hips. Two bullets zipped near him like orange tracers. The bullet holes were burning.
"Shit! That's Incendiary ammunition!"
If he went forward, he would be shot and killed.
He had to go through that door.
He had to.
…
Did he really?
It was time to think things through, danger be damned. The corrupted giants were firing from their hips. From that range, it would be hard to hit him. He could shoot them effortlessly.
Then it hit him as they fired again.
"Of course. I should have known."
The Omni-Cannon pinged as it fired a bullet at the giant's head. As it fell down, the other one fired again, hitting Braylon in the hip. Grimacing, he quickly pulled the trigger before he lost focus. The remaining enemy was dead.
It hurt. Even more so because it was also a bullet wound. A bullet wound set on fire.
"Fucking hell!"
Even though he berated himself for not avoiding the bullet fast enough, he smiled to himself as he finally broke free from the demonic spell. Well, more a trick than an actual spell. Now that he knew how the trick worked, he would be immune to its effects.
When he ran past the door he was supposed to go through, the Sawcubus tore it open with the chainsaw, screeching incoherently. It blocked a short burst of Ajax's Spear, so Braylon shot its legs enough to make it fall. Three more bursts were needed to stop it from moving.
"I did! I actually did it! My first, actual, victory!"
His victory would end once he went around the corner, because a Rahovart flew through a giant hole on the left wall, where a piece of a radio tower connected that building with one on the opposite side of the road. Sounds of battle could be heard coming from somewhere outside.
Braylon had to retreat as a yellow energy ball made his cover erupt into dust and detritus. Cursing, he dashed back to room where the Sawcubus was hiding. His heart threatened to quit its job.
"You can't fight fate, mortal."
"Fate my ass."
The Vault Hunter screamed as the wall exploded, just half a meter from his left. He pointed the Ajax's Spear at the hole, waiting for the Rahovart. Instead, he got blasted away by another explosion, almost falling into the hole. No assault rifle round in the magazine was precious enough that Braylon wouldn't discharge at the somewhat round shape in the thin veil of dust, even if his hip hurt. He stopped firing only when said shape descended with the loudness of a wet rag.
"Yes! How's that for fate?!"
Giving a middle finger to the demon, he chose to go for the makeshift bridge. As he went into the hallway, he heard something teleport around the corner. It was a group of four Imp Grunts. Although more aggressive than before, they were no mach for Braylon's wall of explosive death, much to his delight. He finally felt as he made some actual progress.
Stepping on the makeshift bridge wasn't as easy as one would think. The metal would creak with each step and it wasn't because of his weight. Below, on the street, all hell broke loose. Two Hell Razers were covering behind a burning car, shooting at two people down the street, who had piled sandbags as the only protection from the beams of death. Those people wore some metallic armor from head to toe. Try to imagine someone willing to create a bulletproof vest that would cover the whole body, but ended up making a human-sized tank. The road between the two sides was littered with corpses of horseshoe crabs on steroids. Horseshoe crabs on two legs.
"I better get outta here."
He was halfway done when a Pain Elemental teleported at the end of the bridge.
"Oh, Hell no!"
Braylon spun around and ran back to the building, crouching as a Lost Soul flew overhead and into the wall without destroying itself, though Braylon did that. The pain Elemental grimaced when bullets flew its way, some of them grazing its hide. Braylon wished his Bumblebee worked as it should.
Something hollered to the right. Braylon saw the two men in armor point and fire at something hidden behind some ruins. Then, a giant blue fist crackling with electricity came out and hit them like an asteroid. Asphalt, concrete and other debris rained from the sky as a cloud of smoke shot upwards. Before Braylon jumped through the hole, he saw an Oni with blue skin, long black hair covering its face save for the mouth with exposed lower canines. Not only it wielded the same club as its red counterpart. Its right hand generated more electricity than a power plant.***
And it turned in his direction.
"That's a huge bitch!"
He didn't saw what its intention was nor he wished to find out. The Pain Elemental flew inside the building as well, just as Braylon went around the corner. Ammunition would soon become a problem, unless he looted the place, hoping to find the type of bullets he used. The entire building shook as the Oni tried to hit the Vault Hunter, its fist going through walls like a hot knife through butter. Running towards the elevator, he understood that the fist didn't need to hit the enemy, because all that electricity it released would do the trick, something he discovered when he got hit. He was so happy he had the Cationic Insulator A-045 installed, even though it would work more efficiently if the damn Shield wasn't a traitor with the worst timing ever.
"C-c-c-c-c-crap!"
Shaking like a Loader with a seizure, the Vault Hunter tried his best to ignore the pain and move away from the Pain Elemental's line of sight, attracted to his pain. He had no choice but to waste the last available grenade as soon as the electricity loosened its grip. If the explosion didn't banish it, the collapsing roof did.
"They really want me to go through that damn hole! Fuck them!"
Braylon used the elevator to go one level higher, since the one he left was useless. It was devoid of enemies, thank God, but there were no visible routes he could exploit. Following the corridor, he discovered two armor-wearing corpses, heads missing. One of them had their body bent in ways that shouldn't be possible. Their blood was used to draw an eye inside a circle and a triangle. He felt like it turned to watch him whenever he changed the angle. Searching their bodies blessed him with an improvised rifle made of junk and nails used for railways, which he deduced was the ammo, as ridiculous as it sounds. Everything can be used to kill, so...
A building from the other side of the street clung to the one he stood in. Going through the window, he reached the nearest window frame and climbed inside the ruins. He saw a group of centaurs galloping as they used their bows on something. Two of them were killed by a heavy dose of lead. Their corpses faded, as it was standard for all hellspawn.
Soon the ruins were crawling with Vulgars and Imp Peons that came out from every nook and cranny. Even Harpies tried to reach Braylon. There were so many of them that he was forced to ignore them and use all his skills to reach the first door he could come across, burying the passage by shooting the ceiling with Ajax's Spear.
He was now in an F-shaped hallway. A man in black combat armor came out from the first corner. He fell, but it didn't stop him from crawling tot he wall. He took a pistol and fired at something.
"No! No! Don't come closer!"
Braylon stood still, waiting for whatever to show up so he could shoot it down. He frowned when he noticed a large black stain on the wall, just above the man's head, something that wasn't there before. In few seconds, a large head emerged from the stain, resembling a Ravager Demon's but black as a shadow. No facial features were present, even though the shape suggested them. It was a demon that opened its "mouth", swallowed the man down to his waist and sunk back into the wall, like a shark from a horror movie. The stain then ran down the second corridor, never leaving the wall. ****
"...I'm beginning to regret my decisions."
Hoarse breathing came from around the corner. Braylon went for the trigger. A humanoid shambled forward, resembling an icy counterpart of a Scorched One. ***** It went down with a couple of bullets, exploding like a Cryo grenade from back home. He was surprised when another one stood at the end of the hallway, tearing a chunk of itself. Braylon ran left, opened the door and went downstairs. Jumping through a window the moment he heard a Mancubus, the Vault Hunter ran towards a small military outpost, where some men in armor were still alive and kicking. He had to wave with his hands like a lunatic to avoid getting shot.
"Hey! Hey! I'm a friendly! Don't shoot!"
They lowered their assault rifles. He wished he could see their faces.
"…What the fuck happened to you?" Someone said through their helmet. Braylon blinked and looked down. He was covered in dried blood and looked like a hobo with those ruined clothes of his. His reply was cut short when two of them had to shoot at a pack of Tainted dogs.
"I still don't understand what the fuck is going on." One of them commented.
"If only we could contact the Citadel. Damn it!"
Braylon wanted to say something when he was interrupted again.
"Shit! It's another one!"
"What are you…?"
He saw it. A thin, light blue demon with some wing-like appendages and something resembling a crown at the back of its head. It summoned a Baron of Hell before disappearing incredibly fast. A red streak zipped past Braylon. ******
"Shit! We need to- Aargh!"
A Wraith inexplicably appeared behind a soldier and killed it with such ease that it made the armor look pointless.
"Fire! Fire, god damn it!"
The demon teleported away before it anything could be done. Braylon paid little attention to what happened, because he tried to deal with the Baron, with pathetic results. He had no idea if Ajax's Spear could even damage it. When fear got the best of him, he simply turned around and ran away, leaving the rest of the soldiers to their fate, cursing himself for being so weak.
"I can't! I can't do shit! They are strong! Too strong!"
Braylon avoided fighting as much as possible. Each demon he encountered was way more aggressive than he remembered, taking a lot of punishment before dying. One Bull Demon had half of its face blown off before it fell. And while he had enough luck and skill to flee from danger, by going through buildings and alleyways, those soldiers did not. Every now and then he would find a group of two to five. Those who weren't laying in their own blood did their best to fend off the demonic threat, which had both numbers and power on their side. Their armies or groups consisted of Tainted local wildlife, like scorpions the size of a car or even the occasional Deathclaw as Jaune dubbed it, those possessed yellow giants and some Former Humans who wore some black, metallic armor with a helmet that made him think of insects for some reason. Those were problematic because they had the bad habit of using some primitive laser guns and even plasma-based weaponry, though nothing like his Fornax.
The worst one was that shadow-like demon. Braylon saw it everywhere he went, as if it stalked him, which he feared it was actually the case. Another thing that bugged him was the destination, which was exactly the one he received back in those visions, although his route changed drastically. He didn't bother learning why.
(Doom PSX - Track20)
This destination was the metro. From his snooping around in the nearest office, he discovered that said metro was part of Washington D.C. That really blew his mind. How could a historical city become such a dumpster fire? More importantly, was that his reality? He hoped the answer wasn't what he thought it was. He had no idea what would he be capable of if it did.
There was no life in the station, except for some zombie-looking creatures lurking in the darkness. They were easy targets. One of them was as bright as a light bulb. The Geiger counter became active when he approached its corpse, urging him to back away and go for the only available tunnel, where the slow descent into insanity took place.
Never before was darkness a problem for Braylon Monocriffe. He could simply alter his normal vision with the PDA and everything would be fine. But when he tried to do that in the tunnel, he found out that it had a very poor effect on his surroundings, being able to see only a fraction of the usual. It got progressively worse with each step. Still, he could see shadows dancing at the corners, looking like they would move every time he stopped focusing on them. The idea that one of those could easily be that demon that emerged from the wall like a shark made him more cautious than ever before. The darkness kept growing, thick and heavy.
One of the types of torture Braylon had to endure was the temporary loss of both eyesight and hearing, two things humans rely on from birth. But not a loss as we might imagine. Braylon could still use his eyes and ears. It's just that, there would be nothing to see and hear. He saw black, he heard nothing. The torture started when both senses began screaming how they wanted stimuli. His eyes couldn't even perceive shapes, desperately searching for any source of light. The ears would start buzzing, picking up the sound of heartbeats. That was happening now. He felt the gun in his grip, yet he couldn't see it or hear it go off. Breathing became problematic.
"No! Not again! Aaargh!"
His finger held the trigger, Ajax's Spear shaking in his hands. Even now, when he could move, he was unable to do anything to change his situation. Was that a trick? A psychological manipulation? Sorcery? He cared not. He only wanted it to stop. To go away.
Something brushed past him. That was the moment he lost it and opened his mouth. Whether he screamed in rage or fear was up to debate. Dropping his gun, the Vault Hunter tried to swat away whatever brushed against him for a second time. It turned from once per minute to every few seconds. Occasionally he could feel claws scratching his skin. "Stop!" He wanted to scream. But all it came out was silence. It didn't took long for him to break down and fall on his knees, or at least he thought he did. Despair was like a suffocating blanket that wrapped around his mind. He knew what was happening and why, he just could do anything to fight back. It was a natural response of his brain he couldn't keep in check, even with the PDA.
"God! Someone! Please! Help me! I beg you! I can't take this anymore!"
Immediately he saw a single, tiny, white dot. A mere speck of dust that increased in size and brightness at an alarming rate. A dome of light pushed the darkness away, revealing the shadow demon, who screamed loudly as it turned into black smoke. He had a feeling he would see her again.
"Why did you stop?" It was too bright to see her completely.
"I… I fell."
"I can see that. But why?"
"It was stronger than me."
"Your enemy is stronger than you. Immensely strong. Still, that is no reason to give up, is it?"
He was silent, staring at the ground in front of him. A hand gave him the assault rifle.
"This is your chance. Prove your willingness to go against the enemy. Or are you a coward?"
That stung.
"I am not a coward."
"And yet here you are."
"I am not a coward!"
"Then fight. Fight and fight until you defeated them all. Go."
Braylon took the rifle and unleashed all of his wrath through the vocal cords. At the same time the light died down, thus leaving him in front of an open gate that lead to a black wall of nothingness. He knew he had to return to the pocket dimension to finish the job. Only this time he wouldn't be locked in there with them.
They would be locked in there with him.
(Andrew Hulshult – Running From Evil)
Dark.
Darker.
And there he was. Back on a T-shaped bridge in suspended in nothingness, where fog reigns supreme.
"You came back. Interesting. Show me what you got. No more acting. No more pretending."
He went right, towards a small island made of yellowish rock, devoid of everything. A Wraith teleported in front of him and swung with its arms but he jumped backwards. It teleported behind him. Twisting his body, Braylon crouched, avoiding a fatal attack, slammed the Ajax's Spear into its chest and fired ten rounds, right before he chopped its head off with Holo Sabre.
The demon wasn't even dead yet when an Ifrit appeared twenty meters away, bringing two Scorched Ones to the party. The floating monstrosity summoned a fireball while the Scorched Ones threw pieces of their flesh as fiery grenades. The Vault Hunter ran from the impact site, stopping when a Revenant flew out from below the island with its jet pack releasing a trail of smoke and fire behind it. Avoiding the Revenant's projectiles like bombs shot from a mortar, Braylon ran back towards the group of arsonists, destroying a Scorched One when he passed near them. Materializing Excalibastard, he shot down the flying skeleton by freezing its jet pack. It fell right on top the two remaining enemies. Leaving them where they were, our hero spun around, ran towards the edge of the island and jumped on a moving platform.
Said platform passed between several rows of small pillars, where an Imp Grunt would wait on top of it to rain fireballs on his head. He used Unforgiven to kill the first four, who fell below when he shot them enough times, but had to use Ajax's Spear on the pair of Hell Razers at the last two pillars. The way their limbs and heads exploded when the bullets made contact was a sight to behold.
Just when he thought about spending all of his ammo, the gun he picked up earlier popped into his mind. It took the whole trip to figure out how it worked and how to use those nails. The platform reached a small gate that belonged to a castle-like structure. A second before he put a foot forward, the gate sunk into the floor, a Peon waiting behind it. Surprised, Braylon pulled the trigger. Toot-toot, the gun wheezed, spitting out a very hot nail that buried itself into the Imp's forehead, ripping its head off and pinning it to the wall.
"Choo-choo, motherfuckers!"
Around the corner he killed a Lamia with another nail, vampire style. A second one waited right behind a wall to the left. He shot and struck her human stomach. She fell on the ground, screeching as the nail burned her flesh. Then, in a fit of maddening anger, she slid towards him. Braylon nonchalantly shot a nail into her head.
Turning right, he found an Imp Grunt guarding the passageway. It gawked as a nail pierced its chest, before the Vault Hunter jumped and kicked it downstairs. Giving a mental middle finger to whoever thought he would actually go downstairs, Braylon choose to go upstairs instead, where a Flesh Artist waited for him in the darkness.
He avoided three tentacles that came out of nowhere, but was left defenseless when said tentacles threw him against the wall. It hurt, yes, but not nearly as much as it did before. He didn't know why. What he knew, however, was to fake his injuries. Finally, after it showed up, Braylon opened his eyes, quickly grabbed the rifle and fired a nail at its leg. The scream it released as it fell echoed in his ears. While it was down, he used Holo Ripper to perform a vivisection. Its last dying breaths were spent on the usual provocative chortle.
There was a bridge he had to cross, to reach a tower, but a Ravager Demon stood in his way. As it charged forward, he fired a nail that hit it into the right eye. It roared and shook violently, before falling off said bridge as it made a wrong step. The last remaining nails were used for a Sawcubus that teleported in front of the door.
"Who the fuck needs ammo for all of you?! I will kick your ass with my own hands!"
Inside the tower stood a teleporter surrounded by black candles. He stepped on it.
The scenery changed again. He stood on a large, rectangle-shaped platform made of large gray tiles, all equal in shape and material. The platform was suspended in air, above a gigantic city filled with everyday life. Pedestrians, cars, shops, everything that makes a city alive. Strangely, no one seemed to care about the platform above the city. He knew that because no one was panicking and no alarms went off. All of a sudden some strange red stars could be seen rising from the horizon. It was the middle of the day.
"This is how their world ended. Observe carefully."
(Hunter x Hunter- Requiem Aranea)
It didn't took long for the stars to start expanding. One of them crashed into the ground, forming a blinding white flash. Another hit closer. And again. Soon, dozens of red stars fell from the sky. Each hit the ground, each wiped away a portion of the city. Between the pillars of fire and mushroom-shaped clouds, Braylon saw the sky above him twisting unnaturally.
"The exchange was brief. Millions died. Their world burned."
Among the clusters of shapes formed from nothingness, Braylon saw something sinking down. It was four giant pillars made of metal. Few minutes more, and the pillars turned into a large silver chassis like the Thalamus used, but way bigger. Monstrously bigger. Finally, its user showed up, falling slowly like a feather, until it reached the platform. A brain blacker than the void that fills the universe. So black, he couldn't make out any other features, except six tiny eyes, positioned in two vertical columns. It wore some kind of respiratory equipment connected to the chassis, which itself was equipped with giant turrets, big blocks of silver metal and everything else that screams war machine. Not even the oldest Skags on Pandora were that big. *******
"Their entire history ended in less than a day. The survivors live on a corpse of a planet that used to be a sanctuary of life." The demon giant stared at Braylon. "This is our power, human. This is our might. What could you ever do that would make you as worthy in our eyes as a tick?"
"You don't scare me anymore! I figured out your little trick and it won't work on me again! You're going down!"
"Face it. You outlived your purpose. Now it is time for you to die."
"Bring it! I won't even need half of my arsenal to kick your ass!"
(DoomPowerMetal – City of Blood)
One of the turrets installed on the chassis fired some orange, pebble-sized bullets, which spread everywhere rather than hit one fixed target. Meanwhile, a cannon-shaped turret fired two giant shells that exploded in mid-air. Heated shards of metal rained from above. The fight barely started and Braylon already fell into a trap without doing anything.
The bullets were somewhat easy to dodge by jumping, ducking or running. In reality, they were never meant to be an actual problem, as their lower speed and randomized trajectories made them more of a distraction for the bigger threat: the metal that rained from the sky. Some of it would fall on his shoulders and back for a few seconds. That was all it took for the pain receptors under his skin to scream. Now he knew how the cattle felt when farmers would brand them. The demon went on the far end of the platform. It took Braylon an entire minute to figure out why.
"Did he predict I would attack?"
A third turret sprung up from the mash of metal. It was a cannon number two. This one had a long but thin barrel made of glass. A green sphere was forming at the end of it. When it reached half of the demon's size, it was thrown forward. Not knowing what to do about it, the Vault Hunter materialized Nukem and fired a rocket at the giant cluster of whatever it was. The collision produced an explosion of green light that sent him flying backwards, despite it being some fifty meters away from him.
"I need to take out that fucking cannon!"
He materialized Omni-Cannon as he got up. Using the scope, he saw the cannon charging again, only this time that green sphere was much smaller. It was also much, much faster. He barely dodged the first one when the cannon began firing consecutively. The damage output was reduced to increase the speed of the projectile as well as the rate of fire. Each shot had perfect timing, leaving no room for any kind of counterattack for the Vault Hunter, unless he willingly took one and gave one back. The demon probably banked on it. Seeing how fatigue had finally started to take its toll. He wouldn't be able to dodge forever.
"No! There must be another way!"
But where to shoot? Braylon thought of the cannon. Getting rid of that thing would make his life easier. But would it turn things in his favor? He was far from the demon, so the only two weapons he could use were Excalibastard and Omni-Cannon, both of which had their ammo supply almost depleted, save for a couple of shots. Then, an idea appeared out of nowhere, as if it were whispered into his mind. For the cannon to move, its user had to move as well. And while the metallic body was fast when it came to walking, it had trouble with rotation. That was the plan; to try and circle around, then deal a powerful blow.
The cannon ceased firing when Braylon ran to the right, out of its range. It was then when he took the sniper rifle and fired at the barrel. The entire thing exploded in green fire as the demon's body shook, then hobbled like a drunken sailor on a ship. Braylon invested a little bit more of energy into the fastest sprint he could pull off to reach the demon. As he ran, he noticed something strange. A single ray of light shone from the sky and on the front right leg of the robotic body, on the place where the connection was loosened enough that the entire limb could fall off. If used carefully, it could give him the victory.
The orange energy bullets that used to fly all over the place by one of the turrets now went in a straight line as the demon fired relentlessly, despite having trouble controlling its lower body. Braylon dodged them all, materialized Nukem and fired the second-to-last mini-nuke to the left pair of legs. Even the skyscraper-sized fire that ran rampant in the background failed to outshine the mini-nuke when it went off. The blast, while inefficient in causing serious damage as it was fired at the ground and not at the demon, brought enough force to knock the demon to the right. The loosened leg fell off and the entire thing collapsed like a tree. Flesh could be heard being forcefully torn away from the chassis as the entire upper body slapped on the platform. Metal tubes stuck out from the wound, still connecting the chassis and its user.
"There is no room left for doubt now." It said when Braylon went close enough, loading the shot that would end the battle. "You received aid from the other camp."
"Really? How do you know?"
"Because I designed this body specifically to make all the vulnerable points exposed for you to see and use, which would end in you loosing your life as you become more confident and lower your guard. Instead you went for… a rather unorthodox strategy. Never before did a mortal do such a thing."
Braylon lowered his head.
"It hurts you, doesn't it? The truth. Yet again, you did something with the help of others. You proved once again how weak mortals are."
"Your tricks won't work again on me."
Six red eyes squinted.
"It is true that I was helped, at least I believe so, now that you pointed it out. But unlike all the times before, this time I didn't follow orders because "thou must". It was just an advice I decided to take. I could as well reject it entirely. Either way, you lost."
It was silent for a while, before it laughed, louder and louder.
"I guess there is a first time for everything. It really doesn't matter, not to me. I accomplished my goal."
"Which is?"
"I bought time."
"Time? Time for what?"
Even though he couldn't see it, Braylon knew the demon grinned. Angry, the Vault Hunter threatened to use his rocket launcher.
"A word of warning, even if it won't change the outcome. I just heard Tammuz has set his sights on you. I suppose I should congratulate you, mortal. You really became as worthy as a tick in our eyes. And ticks… will be eliminated."
The last mini-nuke dug into the demonic flesh and exploded, creating a huge red mixture of blood and meat that rained across the platform. The background of fire and destruction suddenly turned black and silent. A new platform, holding the Dark Obelisk, flew out of nowhere and connected to the one he stood on. Unlike the previous model, this Obelisk was even bigger and way more complex. It portrayed some fish-human hybrids and gargoyles that flew or crawled around a gigantic pillar made of skulls. He wasn't sure if the engravings and sculptures were alive or if it was just his tremendous fatigue.
He had to act quickly. Even the enhanced bodies needed rest from time to time and he was on the verge of physical collapse. The adrenaline-like drugs that the PDA pumped into his system during the entire trek started to wear off, causing him to fall down. Equipping the Unforgiven, Braylon destroyed the big triangular crystal on the top of the Obelisk. Although it took a lot of effort and bullets, partly because of his poor aim, it crumbled into pieces. The entire reality turned upside down as his eyes closed for one last time.
Our heroic teenager woke up inside a Bullhead, with team JNPR sitting on the opposite side, silent and awkward. They paid little attention to him, however, as Nora and Pyrrha were more focused on their male partners, who barely replied to their questions and decided it would be better if they were silent for the time being. Through their thousand-yard stares told him how their brains were in an entirely different place, he nodded slightly when they glanced at him. He had no idea what they experienced back in that reality where he left them, but he was glad everything returned to normal, or as normal as it could get. To demonstrate how he appreciated their help, and how he was sad about the consequences, Braylon let Jaune keep the Energy Pistol.
His first shock of the day (apparently the sun was rising when they were retrieved) happened when, during the conversation, he casually discovered that an entire week had passed while they were gone. And what a week. Pyrrha and Nora, along with the survivors, went back to Beacon, although they returned on the island two more times and checked every possible place, hoping to find their partners and Braylon. Unfortunately, the story spread around like wildfire and soon found media coverage. Every corpse was cremated indiscriminately to "prevent accidents" and the island was put under a heavily-guarded quarantine. Ever since then the island became the subject of many strange, and creepy, events. Scientists who tried to work there often reported hearing disembodied voices, inexplicable illnesses and even encounters with unexplained phenomena, while some simply disappeared, never to be heard from again. It was unnerving how the flora and fauna doubled in size, to the point that the island looked like humanity never set foot on its soil. Not all of it was local.
It was surprising how one week could bring so much change. Braylon had a lot to learn. But not now. Later, after he took a much-needed nap back at Beacon, nightmares be damned. He walked up to the window near JNPR's seats and checked out the distant island, smaller and smaller as time passed. It really did look a lot greener than before. But what made him frown was a tiny, barely noticeable detail, hiding in the middle of all that vegetation. It was a dot of aetherial green light, flashing invitingly, or perhaps repellingly, like a miniature star where mankind fears to tread.
DAMN! The trailer for Borderlands 3 looked awesome! ALL ABOARD THE HYPE TRAIN!
On a less meme-y note, the arc is finally completed. Now comes a filler which will explain what happened on Remnant while Braylon and co. were gone. And boy do I wait to write it all. None of it is good. For Remnant, not for us. I think we will have fun for what comes next.
So the big reveal finally happened. The demons decided that shit is about to get real (for real!) and that it is time to get rid of Braylon, now that the other side revealed the truth. No more bullshit, no more acting, only a heavy dose of EXTERMINATE! A Doom addict might say that the difficulty just turned from Hurt Me Plenty to Ultraviolence. The fic will probably deviate from the RWBY canon.
Have you guessed where Braylon went? I think I gave some really big hints in the chapter, plus the gun which shoots fucking nails used for railways. Who needs guns with legs when you can kill a motherfucker with a well-placed nail in the head?
The "boss" is a heavily-modified Spider Mastermind from the classic games. It's defeat came to my mind when I saw the original's death animation, falling sideways and exploding, but I wanted to make it fall with an actual reason for it. If you played Brutal Doom, you can execute an Arachnotron by ripping off the fleshy part from the mechanical body. The demon then crawls around until you kill it. Makes it look like, if you remove the tech, they become powerless.
That's it for now. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I hope even more you will follow the fic until the end. I was thinking that, after I complete this one, I either write the prequel or a sequel. For now I am leaning on the prequel. Bear in mind that, like this fic, it will not be your "classic" borderlands. There will be horror, paranormal, sci-fi, action, guns. Each arc, or even chapters will be stories on their own, much like comics or comic books. How will that turn out, I have no idea.
New item acquired!
Coffin Seller
- Blue/Unique item
- "You know, for the vampires." (Each shot is a critical hit)
- The heated nails cause bonus Incendiary damage (they cannot set enemies on fire)
- Piercing damage (ignores armor)
- Low rate of fire, low ammo capacity, accuracy decreases with distance
Arsenal:
Newest Addition: Coffin Seller
1) HWM: Holo Sabre, Holo Ripper, Holo Claw
2) Pistol: Unforgiven
3) Shotgun: Striker, Orphan Maker
4) Assault Rifle: Ajax's Spear, Coffin Seller
5) Rocket Launcher: Nukem, Leviathan
6) Sniper Rifle: Omni-Cannon
7) Energy Weapons: Excalibastard, Vulcan, Fornax
8) Remnant-only: Vulcan
9) Shield: Bumblebee
PDA Biopedia:
*Entry #103: Helltouched Servant
Type: Demonic Corruption
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "Human, I know how this creatures came to be. It is a tale that is, sadly, very frequent among mortalkind. It involves experimentation done on members of your own species, by cruel and dark hearts. And now, they are corrupted even further, turning into mindless servants of the enemy. I beg you, whenever you encounter one, end their suffering as fast and as painless as possible."
**Entry #104: Helltouched Embereye
Type: Demonic Corruption
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "Servants imbued with the energies of Hell. Unlike the other group, the Embereyes have the ability to use guns for long-ranged attacks, powered by demonic sorcery. I recommend going for hand-to-hand combat, as it is unlikely they will be able to defend themselves." (Attacks deal bonus Incendiary damage)
***Entry #105: Oni – Thunder Fist
Type: Demon
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "The Oni are a tribe of demons that used to infest the origin planet of your species, Earth. They were so prevalent in certain regions, that your kind went so far as to make the myth that the truly wicked individuals would become one. After the demons lost the war, the Oni wanted to take revenge on mortals by wreaking havoc and turning them miserable. The "Thunder Fists", a sub-type of the Oni tribe which is capable of manipulating electricity, were the most active of them all, as they used to take long journeys rather than stay in caves or mountains. Many warriors had to fight bravely to fend off their attacks." (Immunity to Shock Damage, attacks deal Shock Damage)
****Entry #106: Hidden Shadow
Type: Demon – Hero
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "From the Biography of Antoine D'Aubert, year 2567: "There was a time when things weren't so complicated. Being a scribe who had to rewrite entire manuscripts with ink and feathers could be really rewarding sometimes. One day, I stumbled upon a dusty old tome, with covers made of some black wood I've never seen before. I knew it had to be something special when I noticed that several pages were missing. That book was the reason of my current predicament. Lazily, I flipped through several pages, just to see what the contents were about. There was this teeny tiny song, not longer than one page, with a drawing of something I couldn't imagine even in the darkest of my nightmares. Yet, my curiousity was stronger than reason, so I decided to read the song. One particular part stuck with me: And when the shadows fall upon your bed, know that your life will be soon drowned in red. For the Hidden Shadow will come for your soul, the price to pay for your cursed toll..."
*****Entry #107: Frozen One
Type: Demonic Corruption - Aetherial
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "I cannot stress enough the importance of emotions, even after your physical death. In Hell, the negative emotions can drastically alter the state of your soul. Those who had cold hearts and even colder lips, whose God was their egoism, now wander in the forms of Frozen Ones: beings so cold, they turn everything around them into ice." (Extremely weak to Incendiary damage, physical contact deals aetherial+cryo damage. Explodes after death.)
******Entry #108: Summoner
Type: Demon
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "Summoners are Imps who are in the middle of achieving the Arch-Imp status. Some choose to remain in this position, using their sorcery to "spam-summon" combatants into the battlefield. There is one downside, however: they can only teleport one demon at a time, which is why Gore Nests are still used. They cannot summon other Summoners."
*******Entry #109: Irkgor'Daal, The Overmind
Type: Demon
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "Irkgor'Daal, called "The Overmind". He used to be a very wise and talented individual. In Hell, he wasted those talents to loose himself in endless schemes and plans. Few understand his intentions and desires. Despite being the author of some of the tragedies that fell upon the historical shoulders of mortals, those who follow his commands often question his authority and reasons. There were even times when his schemes ended up being counterproductive to demons, but never was he judged for it by his comrades. Luckily, those plans which, if successful, would create massive catastrophes for entire mortal species, were always a failure thanks to the ever-watchful architect of everything that is created."