Everything was fine.

Mina took out her Preator suit after a little trip in Hell to be sure about the amount of resources they could import back on Earth. Since she was the head of the UAC (Union Aerospace Corporation) of Earth, she had to make a report about the condition in Hell. Years ago they had cleared the zone from hellish creatures, they were safe and could easily travel from Earth to Hell, vice versa.

But it wasn’t exceptional for them to meet once in a while a creature almost dead, inhabited with the will to survive and keep destroying.

“The interdimensional portal seems stable. We had this weird radioactive wave coming from Hell months ago but it is under control now. This probably came from our own system but it is still unclear for me.” One of the Space Marines said. He was following Mina through the hallways made of steel and strong material. Earth wasn’t that green anymore. It had almost no beauty on it, no oxygen, no blue skies only a red and orange sky which could easily be mistaken from Hell’s terrific landscape. Daemons had destroyed most of it and humans had to build anti-nuclear, anti-radioactive and strengthen infrastructures.

“The engineers stated that the portal had to be renewed but I can’t believe the source of this radioactive wave came from us, Earth has no natural radioactive source and I doubt it comes from our infrastructures.” Mina stopped in front of a huge door. She put her hand on the blue screen to confirm her digital imprint to open the gates. Everything felt cold inside, no colors, only grey, yellow and dark shades of grey. It was a world without smiles, only rough material and a monotonous life. They had to take care of Earth, export and import resources between planets and Hell.

But the universe hadn’t always been that peaceful.

It’s only been a decay since they succeed to wreck the Hellish creatures. Of course, they knew there was more but the danger wasn’t imminent. DOOM Slayers were strong enough to kill any kind of daemons, they got rid of them on each planet fight after fight. Many died or went missing and declared dead, many years went to Hell, many tears had been poured but no one gave up until the end.

Mina knew those stories by heart. She wasn’t a DOOM Slayer, only a Space Marines which is already enough but she wished to be chosen. She never fought the toughest daemons, she only killed Hell Knights, Revenants which are kind of easy to destroy but she believed deep down that she could do better.

She already was the Head of the UAC of Earth. She had the world – well, a sad and small sick world, between the palms of her hands and for the moment, she’d been a great captain.

“If you have doubts, what is your theories ?” The Space Marines sighed. They hardly shew any emotions but lately, since everything is going okay, people started to accept to feel and live and not only survive.

“I think they are coming back.” Mina’s words gave the Space Marines a breath of terror.

 

*****

 

The noise of heavy steps could be heard in the lonely hallway. Lights were tired, flashing irregularly. The walls seemed to be moving, like a snake constantly progressing forward. Under her suit, she was breathing calmly, she seemed unfazed but her vision was truly bad. It’s been ages since anyone took this hallway, it has been doomed. Horror had tainted those bloody walls.

She took out her helmet made of steel, her dark blue hair dancing with the low lights. She had a pale complexion, strong features and an empty look. It took her some time to breathe, to focus, to come back on Earth for real.

It had been 10 years since she didn’t came back and the same amount of time since sadness hadn’t spread through her veins.

Earth had been mostly destroyed and she couldn’t take out those green and blue colors out of her mind. Where did it go ? She had been a fighter, a Doom Slayer, one of the best but she failed, they could have done so much better but the creatures were strong and had a violent thirst for blood.

The girl looked up only to meet a ceiling made out of metal. On her right, wind was blowing through the wrecked metal door. Yes, she could breathe because she wasn’t really human anymore.

Hell changed her for good.

Earth was a lost territory like many of other planets and maybe that’s it; the end. But memories flashed through her eyes, it was filled with laughs, smiles, friends. She couldn’t let those thought get into her, she had a mission; save the Earth no matter the cost.

She would go back to Hell without dithering. The girl looked at her hands covered by steel. The colors had faded, most of her suit got destroyed in Hell and during the crash. She survived because of her high physical condition and her strong suit but she almost felt dead.

At that very moment she felt lonely under the red and orange sky.

 

*****

 

Red. It flashed before Mina’s eyes.

Someone stepped inside the secluded area they all wanted to forget.

Screams, horror, terror, they all pictured it perfectly like it was yesterday. That’s where the creatures first broke into their world, where the massacre started, they all knew it too well. Mina started to panic, everyone was walking fast behind her back and she couldn’t hear any questions people kept shouting.

She was focused on the screen.

Red, black, red, black, red.

Slowly she came back to her senses. Her features became hard, she ran towards her praetor suit, giving orders and managing to calm everyone down. The possibility of a creature landing on earth was impossible, it must be something else Mina thought.

She took grenades, settled her helmet to give it full power – better vision, statistics, fast strategy all integrated in a complex system and took her best gun a BFG-9000 that could cause big radius damage. She took four team mates with shield walls and plasma guns.

Tension could be felt. It had been a very long time since fear had overwhelmed them. The station was silent, all eyes on the screens while Mina’s team started their mission out of the active and safe area. They smelled fear, they had never fought Hell, they only saw it from afar while their parents died under a smiling red sun. Step by step they walked through the hallways until that specific door which lead to the deserted area.

“Okay guys, if there is anything stay calm and shoot. If this is a creature from Hell..” Mina turned towards her team, her face hidden with the grey helmet and her gun well position between her hands. “Just shoot and we take it to the laboratory.” Adrenaline was rushing through their veins.

She made a visible signal before opening the door with high technology related to her Preator suit.

Mina was the first to step inside the block. It was full of corridors, mostly tainted with blood. The team felt emotional, they couldn’t handle those memories they all have been restoring inside like robots. As a great leader, Mina kept clearing every zone. It seemed safe, no sign of creatures or footprints. It took them a while until something started beeping inside of her ear.

There was something.

It could be anything, they remember finding a deer half burnt from radiation with an aggressive behavior during one of their missions but she had to be careful.

She gave the order to wait for her, if anything had to happen she’d let them say. Mina took all of her courage to show example, she had been trained and now she was ready to face the nightmare. She breathed slowly, the air felt heavy and she could feel her heart beating through her ears.

The next hallway she made a turn. She was now out of sight from her team mates who believed in their captain. They were ready, they would die for their chief.

Lights kept trying to send her signals; go back, it said.

She held her breath, wind starting to blow and she knew it was where the creatures broke the old building more than 10 years ago. She shivered, the best was to act like everything was a dream and that she would kill if she had to. She had done it in Hell, on earth it should be the same.

Soon enough she found the creature, her body froze. Under the orange sunrays glowing through the half destroyed door, she recognized the Doom Slayer’s suit and it was a woman. She looked elsewhere, in her thoughts while Mina was standing still on the far end of the corridor, gun raised and ready to fire.

“If that’s it, Earth won’t last long.” The girl with dark blue hair whispered.

It all seemed unreal. Mina never thought about meeting a Doom Slayer, they should all be dead or banished from Hell but mostly dead. They are ancient mystical time travelling warriors, they fought for peace, fought for life but disappeared right after the war stopped.

“Who.. Who are you ?!” Mina shouted through her helmet, her voice being transformed into a more mechanical sound.

“Don’t act surprised, I’ve send signals the past months but you all seemed unable to understand. I crashed there with my space shuttle and I got something for you.” The girl raised her head and slowly lift up her body. Her Preator suit seemed older, stronger and it made her a bit taller than Mina. This suit had probably been created for the most powerful Slayer’s and Mina had to show obedience. She lowered her gun.

“You can breathe ?” Mina asked, her hands shaking because of the Doom Slayer.

“I came from Hell, I’m not really human anymore.” They were close enough to make Mina uncomfortable. The girl was intimidating with her undeniable beauty and self-confidence. How could Mina pretend being the head of UAC if with an eye-contact she was totally under deep questioning ? Fortunately her helmet hid all of her emotions.

“Then, welcome back on Earth. I bet it won’t be a difficult transition for you.” The girl shot a small smile, it was disarming. It was full of regrets.

“And it’s going to be far worse.”

 

*****

 

Momo Hirai. Mina kept reading the database which held all those secrets about Doom Slayer’s. Of course, the most important information weren’t stored but she had access to many other information and felt pride. Momo was from Earth and rare was the Doom Slayer’s coming from her own planet. Most of them were from Mars, Venus or even the Moon but Earth was known to be one of the weakest spot to train the Doom Slayer’s.

“Are we part of history now ?” Mina quickly shut down the screen, meeting Momo’s eyes. They were alone inside the small room full of technology. It was the first time since the Doom Slayer’s arrival – which was two hours ago, that they found each other alone in the same small space without their suits.

“We all are part of history, it’s apocalypse. How lucky we are to be the last men standing.” Mina tried to look fearless and it worked. Momo didn’t fire back neither tried to show she was the strongest. Actually, she never had that arrogant vibe, she just looked strong and reliable. It made Mina happy and sad. Happy because of the opportunity to work with a Doom Slayer that seemed experienced and sad because she worked so hard to be the leader and felt like she would soon lose her status.

“I’m not going to take your place.” Silence filled the room. Could she read my mind ? Mina thought. She dropped that idea and finally turned to face Momo. They looked like robots without any emotion to show. It was all about control and respect. And to be honest, the first time Momo saw Mina taking out her helmet she was in awe.

It was definitely the most beautiful woman on Earth, if she had known she wouldn’t have tried to intimidate her earlier.

“If I’m back it’s because I have an important message for you but I had to take time to figure it out.” Momo seemed lost inside her thoughts. Her face showed nothing but worry and it was so sudden that Mina was captivated. She used to meet shut faces, no smiles, no signs of worries because they all hid it behind suits.

Those emotions were real. Momo never experienced the post-war which led to a muted world.

Momo’s eyes kept looking at the ground while the red and blue lights kept dancing against Mina’s white pale skin. It was the only lights illuminating the cramped space, air being by fear of an unavoidable war.

“I should have been dead but I was banished from Hell, kept alive to suffer.” Momo whispered. Mina couldn’t understand the point of freeing a pray, it’s true; Doom Slayer’s are dead. It’s history now, it’s what they taught to the kids but the reality seemed to be far worse. Their death didn’t brought peace, it was an illusion.

“Because they will comeback if we don’t close the gateways.”

Their eyes met and Mina shuddered.

“But if we close the gates we’re dead.”

 

*****

 

The next days had been hectic. Earth came in contact with the other planets and the space ships. Momo explained the situation, what she saw in Hell and how she knew they would come back. She had been held captive, tortured, she fought and they gave her freedom but it was for a short while.

They were ready for war and determined to come back but this time with a whole new army made of high technology and metal. She saw them, fought them and they wouldn’t be easy to destroy since they had artificial knowledge.

Planets had to sign a treaty, to prepare troops and tactics. Closing the gateways weren’t a possibility, they hadn’t enough resources to live and they would need to import a lot more from Hell before breaking the doors.

“Captain Myoui ? I need to talk with you.” Mina and Momo were in the middle of an important talk when Im Nayeon interrupted them. She looked concerned and her hand automatically grabbed Mina’s wrist.

An interaction very rare that Momo had time to observe.

“Okay, I’ll come right back,” Mina shot a smile towards Momo which didn’t went unnoticed from the captain of the survival section. They’ve walked the grey hallways in silence.

After a while they made their ways to their personal quarters, build only for the captains and chiefs. Captain Im closed the door while Mina already knew something was wrong.

“I’m very worried about the situation right now.” The dark hair girl bit her lip, showing worry. This wasn’t surprising, they had a special relationship, Nayeon was a shelter for Mina. Being older gave her a mature vibe, she had a lot of knowledge and had always been by Mina’s side during the hardest decisions.

“Don’t be, Momo-”

“That’s the problem. Momo became a God among us, she became hope and a leader but who is she truly ?” Nayeon sighed while Mina took a step closer. She ran a hand through Nayeon’s dark hair, a brief gesture that was supposed to bring comfort but it didn’t work. Nayeon feared that her friend would lose her leadership, her dreams of being herself a Doom Slayer. She was blinded by Momo’s presence, breathed for her, spent nights listening to those wonderful apocalyptic stories and hadn’t spent a single second out of her shadow.

“She is a Doom Slayer, she knows how to raise an army, how to tear and rip those beasts made of flesh and only flesh ! We must believe in her.” It was pure logic, it seemed logical that Space marine’s obeyed and listened to the Doom Slayer’s, the war Gods.

“It was more than 10 years ago Mina. We’ve managed to survive all of those years without their help.” Nayeon slowly pushed Mina away. It was their very first disagreement.

Inside the room, Nayeon’s suit lead against the wall protected by glass. It had been years since she stepped inside, felt the adrenaline. She was the head of tactics and survival. She knew everything about Earth and Hell but never went in herself. She only trained for years, she was ready to become one of the best space marines but chose to stay in the tactics and survival sections to supervise.

And it was also the best way to keep control of everything and to protect Mina.

“But tell me, how are we supposed to kill them for good without a Doom Slayer ?” Mina sighed. She was against any kind of conflict, it was already hard to keep control while war was coming and fighting against Nayeon wasn’t worth it.

“We destroy the gates.” Nayeon ran her fingers against the glass, watching her own reflection against the helmet.

Mina’s heart beat stopped for a second. She frowned. It wasn’t like Nayeon to give up that easily, to propose death over a fight, over survival, over life. She detached herself from the door, where Nayeon was leaning earlier and came closer to the glass showing an intact Preator suit. Not a scratch unlike hers.

“Tell me it’s a joke. We’ve been training for years to push them back or destroy them and now you want all of us to die ? We’ve come too far for this.” Mina was looking at Nayeon’s reflection through the glass. The room was white, pure. The only color who smelled hope but also hermetic inside their blocks of metal. Mina always felt like being inside a hospital and she despised it.

“We can’t kill the dead. This will never stop and maybe we made a mistake and we have to suffer the consequences.” Nayeon stated and Mina wasn’t fond of her unemotional side. The eldest sighed, letting go of her forgotten dreams. She adverted her eyes towards the UAC leader with sadness. If she knew how to cry, she would have.

“I thought you chose to be the head of tactics and survivals for the sake of humanity, I don’t understand.” Mina leaned her forehead against the glass, lost in thoughts. She couldn’t get angry towards her friend, she never had this ability outside her firmness.

“I just grew up, the world, the universe can’t be saved. With curiosity we brought death, death can’t be killed.”

 

 

 

A/N : it took me two weeks to write this chapter. I got sick, I broke up, I started a new school, I had mental crisis but here it is. 

You can ask me questions on curiouscat  (I'm testing that thing) or by commenting !