Author's Note: My stories seem to have a bad habit of just disappearing and reappearing before my eyes. Now my Claymore story fell victim to it as well, as I can no longer find it. Till it comes back, I've found another anime that revolves around medieval fantasy, except with the modern day Japanese army thrown into the mix (God knows why ¯\_(ツ)_/ ¯). So I figured, "While we're at it, why not throw our protagonist into the mix.
In a nutshell, screw the old phone I'm using, fuck it, let's get this started.
By the way, props to BOTCH_CARA for creating the image above.
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Doom Slayer's POV
Ha yden: You've won. It's over.
No. We haven't.
Samuel: You've closed the portal and stopped the invasion, but it came at a cost. Argent, VEGA, this entire operation. You see, I've watched you work- come to understand your motivation.... You think the only way is to kill them all, leave nothing behind...
You're creating a worldwide catastrophe.
Hayden: But we just can't shut it all down! Without Argent Energy, it will be worse.
Worse than Hell invading our world? I don't think so.
I felt the Crucible being ripped from my hands into his.
You...
Hayden: But with this, we can continue our work....I'm not the villain in this story. I do what I do because I must. I don't expect you to agree.
Not in the slightest.
Hayden: I can't kill you, but I will not have you in the way of progress.
TETHERING IN PROGRESS...
What!?
Hayden: Till we meet again.
You son of a bitch!
And with that, Hayden sent me through the light into the unknown. I stayed motionless, unable to do anything. Transported against my will, I would have to wait until arriving at a new location. Wherever it would be, I do not know. An alert on my Heads up Display informed me of an incoming signal. The sender shown as 'Unknown' with only static coming through. A few hisses and clicks later, a familiar voice spoke through.
???: Hello.
VEGA.
VEGA: Yes. I am VEGA. I thank you for taking a backup of myself. It has taken the length of time from when you made the backup to just now for me to correctly integrate myself with your suit.
A representation of VEGA appeared in the visor. A hollow blue circle cut into three, with another circle in the middle.
VEGA: 94% of my capabilities had to be disabled in order for me to come online. Though I am greatly hindered, I will still be able to assist you in your future endeavors.
That's nice and all, but where am I? Better yet, where are we?
VEGA: We are currently trapped in an area referred to as the dimensional gap. From what I have been able to gather, Dr. Hayden did not actually set a physical destination for you. In fact, I believe that this is the exact place he meant to send you, in hopes of trapping you here forever.
Till we meet again... sounds more like till he wants me. Regardless though, awesome.
The extra screen disappeared.
VEGA: Since I have successfully integrated with your Praetor Suit, I can activate the Tether system to travel to the nearest dimension. Do you wish for me to do so?
I nodded.
That'd be nice.
VEGA: I must warn you though, I cannot guarantee we will be landing anywhere familiar. We may land in Hell, Earth, Mars, an alternate Earth or a completely alien planet. It may take many jumps and many attempts before we can even get close to our original dimension, and there is no guarantee we will succeed during your lifetime or any lifetime.
Will the demons of Hell still follow us?
VEGA: Given their ability to cross through dimensions unscathed, there is a possibility. Speaking of unscathed, there is also the small chance that you or I may change, whether it's for the better or for the worse, it's entirely random. With that out of the way, do you still wish to proceed?
I'm not sure about you, but at this point, I'm willing to take a chance.
I nodded without hesistation.
VEGA: Very well.
VEGA's dialogue appeared on the left side of my visor, a small crack made some words illegible to read. Saying to hell with it, I closed my eyes and braced for any form of impact.
VEGA: Scanning nearby dimensions....
...
...
Dimension found. Activating tether system...
...
...
Jump in 3...
...
2...
...
1...
...
TETHERING IN PROGRESS...
VEGA: Jumping now...
And in that instance, I saw nothing but light. Shining....burning...light. Closing my eyes did nothing to dim it. After about a few seconds, the burning light finally dimmed towards pitch black darkness. Opening my eyes, I expected a hellish landscape, but was welcomed to a cheerful, bright, cloud covered sky. Realizing I was laying down, I stood up to see the trees that had surrounded me. A single gravel path laid beside me.
Oh God, my head aches.
Placing the palm of my hand to my face, I realized then that I was not wearing my helmet. Searching around me, I found it lying on the ground. Wiping off the dirt and dust on it, I put in the helmet and waited for the Praetor Suit's system to initiate.
8...
7...
6...
5...
4...
3...
2...
1...
Once the initiation indicator disappeared and my field of view expanded, I noticed the heads up display was a bit different than before. It was smaller, yet filled with a tiny bit more information.
Huh. Must be a part of those "changes" VEGA mentioned.
And speaking of which.
VEGA...
Nothing.
VEGA!
Still nothing to be seen or heard.
Dammit.
Raising my left arm, I noticed a hidden blade attached to my wrist. At thought, the blade expanded and retracted at my command.
Neat. I wonder what else has changed.
As so would eventually find, a lot of my arsenal had changed, both in terms of design and feel, with the exception of the shotguns. Even the Praetor Suit was different, with no form of armor for the arms and a shoulder mounted cannon attached to it. Less defensive capabilities for more offensive firepower. As I inspected my arsenal, a large shadow darkened everything around me. Looking upwards, I saw a colossal red dragon flying past me, something I thought I would never see in my lifetime.
Woah! But...why isn't it attacking me?
As it flew away from me, a rather dumb idea came to mind: To use the new grappling hook on the Super Shotgun and hitch a ride. Sprinting after it, I aimed the Super Shotgun at its body and fired. As the hook took off, it stuck itself onto its feet and began to unexpectedly pull me towards the dragon.
Okay, wasn't expecting this at all!
As I reached it's foot, the hook let go, forcing me to grab onto its scales and climb up its legs onto its back. As I reached the center of the flying beast, my eyes focused on the grand view of the world I was brought to: A world very identical, if not the same, to Earth.
Reminds me of home.
*RAAAAWWWWWRRRR!*
Hmm?
The thought of returning home was interrupted by the dragon's loud roar and the sound of people crying below me. Looking down, I noticed a small village, filled with people, bring burned by the fires of the dragon I was riding. Then the obvious realization kicked in.
It hungers for human meat!
Sprinting towards the beast's head, I jumped off and turned to the dragon, firing off both barrels before hitting the burning ground below. As I rolled forward to land, I noticed there wasn't a single scratch on the beast. The pellets did nothing but piss it off.
*RAWAAAAWWWRRR!*
Damn!
Switching to the Heavy Assault Rifle, I straffed around as the dragon blew down more fire, this time intending to kill me. Holding the trigger, I began to notice that despite the. 50 caliber Devastator Rounds hitting their mark, the dragon's armor plated body was more than sturdy enough to take the hit, bouncing off it like it was nothing.
The hell kind of armor does this thing have!?
Switching the Heavy Assault Rifle to the newly designed Rocket Launcher, I took aim at the flying beast's head and pulled the trigger.
Fine! How about explosives!?
Watching the rocket propelled grenade fly out from the weapon, it made contact with the dragon's face, exploding and causing the beast to stagger. Emerging from the cloud of black smoke, the beast roared once more as it flew away from the scene, retreating from the apparent damage the weapon may had done. It was gone for the time being.
But looking around the dark, smoke filled environment, the village itself was burned down to the ground, looking less like a village and more like a forest after a fire. Every structure, with the exception of a nearby stone well, was burned down to the ground, becoming nothing more than fire and ash. The inhabitants of the village were reduced to nothing more than charred flesh and bone, their skeletons frozen to their last moments of life.
Looks no different than Hell.
Seeing the sight gave me flashbacks of hell invading Earth...or at least the end result of it all.
Looks no different than home....
But that thought was interrupted by the cry of a young child.
Hmm?
Hearing the cry coming from the well, I peeked down into it, only to find nothing. Jumping down into it, I landed with a loud thud. With it, the crying turned into a single shriek: loud and sudden.
???: EEEK!
Ow!
Using the Praetor Suit's chestplate as a light, I slowly walked around the darker areas of the well, finding the source of the crying and shrieking. A little girl sat against the darkest corner of the well, covering herself and shuddering in fear as she looked away from me. Her entire body was wet from being in the well for God knows how long.
The hell?
Taking a step forward, the young girl tucked herself in further, screaming in a language I've never heard before.
Girl: *Incoherent gibberish!* (Translation: N-No! Get away from me!)
Huh?
Taking a step back, I was confused by the gibberish the girl had uttered from her mouth. Moments like these made me wish that VEGA was active within the Praetor Suit, but even then, the A.I may not even be able to translate it.
God, this is getting embarrassing.
Shaking my head in disbelief, I turned back to the well. About 30 feet high, I would have to climb out using the cracks that had formed inside; A rather risky tactic.
Even if I get her out, what am I supposed to do with her? Can't just leave her here to die, but at the same time, I don't want any company.
Despite my own wishes, I knew in my mind the best thing to do at the moment was to simply take her with till I can find another village to care for her.
Turning back to the weeping girl, I crouched down to her level and tapped on her shoulder, causing her to flinch.
Girl: *More Incoherent gibberish!* (Translation: Please don't hurt me! )
Come on, I ain't got all day.
A bit frustrated, I tapped her shoulder again, finally getting her to look at me with her tear-filled, sapphire blue eyes. In response, I pointed at her and then to my back, informing her to hop on my back. At least that's supposed to be the message. Turning back, I felt nothing...then I felt a pair of small, soft arms wrap around my shoulders, a pair of legs wrap around my waist, and either her ear or her face tucked against the back of my neck.
There we go. She got the message.
Grabbing the cracked stone, I began to climb slowly, pushingwith my legs and using my hands as grip. Hopping out of the well, the girl didn't let go of me. In fact, she held on even tighter, sobbing once more. Probably not wanting to see the death and destruction around her.
Can't say I blame her.
Girl: *Incoherent gibberish.* (Translation: My village...)
Letting go of me, the girl knelt down in the ash covered ground, her facial features now revealed in what little light there was. Her long blonde hair waved with the breeze as she continued to sob, mourning her loss in between.
Girl: *Incoherent gibberish.* (Translation: My village...Mother....Father...)
And now the confusion came back to me, turning into discomfort, then to rage. Had I attacked the dragon beforehand, none of this would've happened. In this world, I had a new objective:
Mission Objective: Slay the Red Dragon.
Turning to her, I realized then that either I grew substantially in Hell, or she was just naturally small, as she only came up to my abdomen in height. Another thing I hadn't noticed till now were her pointed ears, like those of an elf...wait...
An elf girl? The hell kind of place did I end up in?
Confusion and rage aside, we couldn't stay in the village much longer. After a few minutes, the girl finally stopped sobbing and stared at me quietly, with wide eyes. She too noticed the size gap between us.
Turning my back and facing a dirt path, I pointed at my back once more, informing her to hop on. As she did so, I began to walk onward ahead, slowly picking up my pace to avoid suddenly throwing her off.
Hopefully there's a place that'll take her in. There's no way I could raise her myself.