Trevor is the hero of the War against the Demons, but he has been stranded for too long. So alone, and with no hope for rescue, especially after time kept marching on when he should of been rescued. 16 years of exile. 16 years in Hell.
But everything changes when rescue finally does arrive. And it's unexpected.
(Read books one and two here:http://www.furaffinity.net/view/13324273/ )
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And thus began another day of living in Hell.
16 years had passed since I was stranded here. 16 god-damned years away from everyone I cared for; 16 years alone. Well, not quiet alone.
I had rescued Saffron’s AI core, and he was always chained to my belt. He would advise me on things, but all he had were some basic sensors, so he was only really good for conversation. And now, he was aged- 16 years is twice as long as he was supposed to live. More than that, actually. He was slowly becoming the AI equivalent of senile. He was chained to my belt at the moment.
My cavern was large, and had all I needed. A waterfall ran inside it, fulfilling my need for clean water. Alien plants grew inside that were edible, and I could even defend it well. I even had a small room carved in the back of it that was my sleeping quarters.
Way to much had changed in these sixteen years. I was older, more battered, and not always on the offense. I looked nothing like my original self, before this war- I was more like a dragon now, really. I can’t even do things chameleons could do any more. Hell, I could breath fire if I really tried! Damn demonic infection.
My common attire was just a pair of tattered pants that had some knee protection; that was all. It was all I needed
I was, at the moment, sitting down at the entrance of my cavern, watching the red sunrise over those oh-so-familiar dunes. I don’t even remember what sunrises back on Earth looked like.
I got up, and checked my weapons. The Bloody Talon, like always, was on my back, but I had my newest weapon on my side: a sword which I forged myself, made from the metal of the dead’s belongings. It was forged in a similar fashion to a katana, so it could cause serious damage. And with every slash it brought down, I felt like it was actually the lost souls of the fallen doing the damage, not me. Sometimes, I swear I can hear the sword whispering at me.
'Sir?’ Saffron asked. His sound cracked often and was inundated with static, but I could understand him.
'Yes, Saffron?’ I asked.
'When can we go on another scouting trip? Enter orbit, and whatnot. I would like to do that again.’ Saffron replied. His age was showing again.
'Saffron, you’re not in the ship body anymore, remember? You’re just in a canister on my side.’ I answered.
'Oh. Sorry sir, I’m not sure why I said that...’
'Don’t fret, old friend. You can’t help it, that’s understandable.’ I said. I entered back into my cavern and walked over to the battered radio. It wasn’t broadcasting at the moment, but I decided to switch it on today. It played my 16 year old message on repeat- but it seemed futile. ADF should of gotten to me many years ago.
'Sir, I’m detecting a radio message!’ Saffron chimed.
'That one’s probably mine, Saffron.’ I said.
'Ah. Sorry again, sir.’
Life on Hell had been a lot less eventful than I thought it would be. I always killed something every day, but it wasn’t nearly anywhere near to the numbers I destroyed when I first arrived. The demons didn’t care, as I only fought them if they tried to make it back to Earth. And that’s happened before.
'New ADF signatures detected.’ Saffron spoke up.
'Double check, Saffron. Your sensors are probably on the blink again.’ I said.
'Still there.’
'Triple check.’
'Still there, sir.’
'Quadruple.’
'Sir, these signatures aren’t glitches. They’re still active.’
'Describe them.’
'Six large troop carrying craft mobilized, conducting a search pattern, it seems. But I can’t sense anything in orbit... Sir, could you plug me into the sensor array?’
I walked over to a large piece of tech Saffron helped me build- a large metal box with several holes at the top, and a plug in for Saffron’s canister. It was hydro-powered, and somehow could detect things in orbit. I didn’t know how it worked, but Saffron did, so that’s all that really matters.
'Anything?’ I asked him.
'I need some more power, sir. Please?’
I grabbed the little water wheel and started cranking it. something started humming inside of the sensor box.
'Sir, I’m reading two ADF cruisers! Both Ship-Buster class!’
'Are you sure?’ I asked.
'Quadruple checked.’
'Do they know we’re here?’ I then asked.
'Unknown.’
'Can we at least boost the signal of the radio?’
'I... I... File not found.’ Saffron chimed.
'Okay, is the radio compatible with the plug in for the sensor array?’
'I think so, sir.’
'Hopefully the array boosts the signal. Or better yet, since it’s a two-way, get a connection. Safe to unplug you?’ I then asked. It took three seconds for the old AI to reply.
'Yes.’
I unplugged him and then hooked him to my belt before running to grab the solar-powered radio. I then took it back down, plugged it in, and then went back to cranking the wheel. The recording ramped up in volume.
'Saffron, is the signal being boosted?’ I asked.
'As far as I can tell, sir.’
'Alright. How long would it take for them to get a lock on my location?’
'File not found.’
I groaned in annoyance and continued to crank, a bit faster now. The signal amplified more, steadily increasing. Then the radio burned out.
'Fucking hell, you’ve got to be kidding me!’ I shouted, dropping the crank and picking up the smoldering remains of the radio.
'The aged radio couldn’t handle it, sir. Plug me back in, I’ll see if they’re coming our way.’ Saffron said. I plugged him in.
'I’m detecting so many ADF ships that they seem to be covering the planet, sir... Wait, that was an error. Recalibrating.’
'Well?’
'The ships are converging on our location. Well, one seems to be heading towards us.’
'ETA?’
'Four minutes.’
I unplugged Saffron and picked up my equipment- the only thing I had to pick up was the battered old Revenge, which was sitting on a shelf nearby. The Revenge hadn’t taken the years well; the metal parts were rusting, and the wooden stock was cracked. The ax on her had long since rusted away, but I had replaced it with an ax blade forged the same way as my sword, the Soul-blade. It was forged from the remains of the guns of ADF soldiers- mostly shotguns.
I picked up the Revenge and pocketed my only ammo for it- a half-empty sunbaked box of shotgun shells. There were also two loaded in the Revenge that had been there for a long time- hopefully they’re still usable.
I stepped outside of the cavern that had been my home for so long and looked to the skies. I saw no ship coming.
'Saffron, are you sure that there’s a ship-’
I winced as the troop carrier flew overhead from behind the mountain, its jets roaring. It landed in the dunes below the cavern entrance, and I cheered in joy. Rescue had finally arrived!
The carrier was small, and could probably only hold a crew of ten with some equipment, perhaps one jeep. It had two wings on the side with repositionable jets and the cockpit was based in the angular front. When the ship landed the back hatch opened and several ADF soldiers walked out, and several of them winced at the heat and the bright sun. Someone that looked totally different followed behind them...
She was a female blue jay, almost fully encased in an exo-skeleton-like suit, the only two parts that I could see of her were her face and tailfeathers, but the rest formed to her body. The suit’s helmet reminded me of an old OEPS’s, but this was slimmer, more streamlined. It was colored navy blue and it had several places for weapons. Only one had anything in it, and it had a large magnum pistol. I waved over to them.
'Hey, over here!’ I shouted. The blue jay gave me an odd look as I neared.
'Dad?’ She asked. I was quickly confused. By now, I had made it over to the group, and the soldier were welcoming me. But I didn’t pay much attention to them, seeing as one of their group insisted she was somehow related to me.
'You must be getting me confused with someone else. I thought you would’ve known who you were rescuing.’ I asked.
'No, just adopted father, really! It’s me, Alexia! Come on, you’ve got to remember me!’ She replied. Now I saw it in her- she was Alexia. The young girl I had saved, and I guess I was now tied to her.
'Sir, we need to get out of here, now.’ One of the soldiers- a tiger- said to me.
'Just a minute, trooper.’ I said to him. I then turned back to Alexia, and hugged her. This startled the young woman a bit.
'You would not belive how much I’ve been wanting to at least talk to someone other than a senile old AI for these past years. And it being you is even better. Come on, we better talk on the ship.’
Then the ground started rumbling under us.
'Well, this’ll get interesting.’ Alexia said, pulling out her magnum, which I realized then was originally Natalie’s. I’ll have to ask about that later...
A massive tendril lashed out of the sand, grabbed the large carrier and crushed it around the center, causing a series of explosions. Several men went tumbling from the wreckage; but they had guns in hand and were already firing upon the tendril. I was charging at it with the Soul-blade, about to hack away at it when it moved. It then pierced through two of the soldiers before dragging them into the sands, screaming.
'God damn it, that wasn’t supposed to happen!’ One of the remaining six soldiers cried out. Then more tendrils started lashing out from the sands, attacking everyone they could reach. I chopped one in half, and Alexia actually rolled out of the way of another. She seemed experienced with battle.
Then the head of the monster erupted from the sand. It was about 30 feet wide and covered in rusted armor plating, so all we could tell was that its head was wedge shaped, and it had a very large mouth. It roared, and kept on attacking with the tendrils. I rolled away from one and then chopped through another before switching to the Bloody Talon. I then fired, blowing a large chunk from the Beast’s head, even though it had armor. It was stunned, and its mouth hung open.
Alexia quickly dashed up behind me with a grenade in hand- she then leapt over me and pulled the pin on the grenade. Alexia then chucked the explosive in the Beast’s open mouth; we were both splattered by the blood when it exploded.
'Nice work. Everyone, I need a head count!’ I shouted. I then realized only Alexia and I had survived the attack from the monster.
'Dad, there’s no one left but us. That Beast killed them all.’ Alexia said. I slammed the Soul-blade into the sand in anger.
'Fuck, we couldn’t save them.’ I groaned.
'We tried our best. That’s all we could of done. I’ve already sent a notification to the ADF, we should have pickup soon.’
'Alright. While we’re waiting, could you tell me what’s been going on in the past 16 years I’ve been away from Earth?’ I asked. I started taking the dog tags from the bodies.
'Too much. Natalie- my mom- adopted me not long after you left, and we lived together happily for a good few years as the ADF tried to set up a team in a cruiser to go get you. But then, when I had just started sixth grade, reports came in of Demons resurfacing in Africa. A new war against them had started.’
'Shit. How long did that go on?’ I asked.
'Ten years.’ Alexia replied. 'I joined it after I left high school, in the last year, in remembrance of you. That’s why rescue didn’t come sooner- this war was the main concern. Moral was failing, and we were loosing. When I joined, a lot of people thought; “Hey, the adopted daughter of General Trevor’s in this war now, we’re saved!”’
'You joining the war was a big thing, huh? How’d it go?’
'We won in the next year, and I was ranked up to Captain. The youngest.’ Alexia said. She sat down on a rock and stretched as she continued. 'Now, I was able to join the group going to rescue you, so I did. I knew I had to see you again.’
'I’m still wondering why everyone says I adopted you too.’ I said.
'The relation between you and Mom was obvious, so when she adopted me you were kind of counted as the adopted father.’
'Well, that is certainly an odd feeling. One question; how did the ships get here so quickly?’
'Ah, that. During the war, ADF developed some new tech. From what I can tell, the engines work by bending space or something. Basically, we create a shortcut. Mom would know how it works.’
'She would, wouldn’t she?’ I joked.
'That technology is more advanced than anything I’ve seen.’ Saffron crackled.
'Oh, that AI you mentioned. He looks... well, old.’ Alexia said.
'He’s been my only companion since I got stranded. Also, he’s twice as old than he was expected to live to.’
'Huh.’ Alexia muttered. She was looked at some sort of screen built into her arm armor.
'Well? What’s the screen saying?’ I asked.
'Demon activity in this area has suddenly peaked, and the troop carriers can’t arrive. We need to get to a different location.’
'Does it say where?’ I asked.
'30 miles to the east. There’s a spire of stone out there where a troop carrier is waiting.’ Alexia said.
'Ah, I know that spire.’ I replied. 'We can get there on my bike. Hopefully it doesn’t break down again.’
'Bike?’ Alexia asked as we walked towards my cavern.
'All-terrain. Those things have been my most reliable vehicles during these years.’ I said. I then entered and wheeled the bike back out of the cavern. I had modified the vehicle with thicker armor and given it a shield for the driver, along with space for another passenger. The armor was a dull brown; this was probably because of rust. But it drove.
I opened up the driver’s shield and then stepped on.
'Hey, this’ll get us out of here.’ I said. Alexia stepped on behind me, and then I closed the shield.
'Is this thing safe?’ She asked.
'Should be.’ I replied, revving it up. I then slammed down the gas, and we started off towards the East.

'So, how’s this plan going? It seems that two Ship-buster class cruisers is a little much for me.’ I asked as I sped across the dunes. Alexia shot down a Demon as we drove.
'We have a second objective, actually. ADF developed their largest ship while you were gone- we nicknamed it the World-cracker. And guess what, it does exactly what it says on the tin.’
'The ADF’s going to blow up Hell?’ I asked.
'Uh-huh. In a week, the World-cracker will arrive, along with two other Ship-buster class cruisers.’
'Do you know which ships are coming? As in, what are they called?’ I asked.
'I came in on the Spirit of Fire, which is currently leaving the planet to reconnect with the force behind us. The other ship is the Wraith. The second force is compromised of the Pride of Louisiana II,The Zeus, and the World-Cracker. It doesn’t have a specific name as of yet.’
'I can already guess that the Pride of Louisiana two is doomed.’ I said.
'Why?’
'The first one is crashed not far from here. Has been for almost seventeen years.’
'Ah.’ Alexia said. We were silent until we passed through a canyon.
'Hero! You know that you cannot leave this place!’ A demon voice boomed, echoing in the canyon.
'I can if I try!’ I roared back. Alexia was confused. 'Demon speak. Learned it when the demons tainted me.’
Alexia nodded slowly, uncertain. Then the demons started pouring over the cliffs.
'Shit!’ Alexia cried out, firing behind us. A few fell, but dozens more overtook the bodies.
'Firing at that mass is useless, just hang on!’ I shouted, swerving into a nearby cave. The demons tumbled over themselves in a tidal wave trying to turn at such a sharp angle. But more made it in.
'How do you know where this cave leads?!’ Alexia shouted.
'I’ve explored a 300 miles radius around my cavern since I was stranded, including this cave! It should lead us out to the tops of the cliffs!’ I replied. I swerved around a sharp, 180 degree turn and continued up the cave system. I heard Beasts impact the wall behind me as they tried to turn.
'Should?!’ Alexia shouted.
'Last time I was in here was a few years ago!’ I replied. We then saw daylight.
'Oh shit!’ Alexia shouted as we flew out of the hole, and then fell sixty feet back into the canyon. The suspension on the bike almost shattered as we continued to speed away.
'Do you do this often?’ Alexia asked.
'Not always!’ I replied. I then saw the Basilisk come crashing through the rocks ahead of us...
I slid the bike sideways, under its legs. In response, the Basilisk tried to stomp on us, but failed.
'Come on, bastard!’ I shouted at it, righting the bike and pulling out the Bloody Talon. Alexia looked at the massive, demonic weapon at awe- but then chirped in surprise when I fired. The Basilisk’s head exploded in a shower of gore.
'That... that’s a powerful gun.’ Alexia said.
'We should probably keep moving.’ I said, noticing more Beasts running at us from behind. Alexia started firing at them as we sped onwards.

Eventually, we found the spire of rock. There was no ship waiting for us.
'What, nothing?’ I asked. 'I thought you said this was where they were.’
'This is the location. Not sure why there’s no one here...’ Alexia said. 'Let me check in with the crew of the cruiser above us.’
I kept watch while Alexia communicated through a compact walkie-talkie to ADF command above us.
'Sir, why isn’t there anyone waiting for us at the rendezvous?...Sorry, did you say everyone was busy? The thousand plus soldiers? How?’ Alexia started. She was silent for a moment, and then responded to the other side of the communicator. 'There’s a life sign a mile long, and everyone’s defending the ship? Did I hear that right?... Fuck. Let me ask the general something.’
'Did you say a mile long? That can’t be...’ I muttered.
'Dad, they’re going to try for a low orbit attack on this thing with the Ship-buster, not far from us. Do you have any idea what it is?’
'Whatever it is, don’t attack from low orbit! Don’t! It may be another Gatekeeper!’ I replied, realizing what it could be. The Distributor back in London said he was going to bring one back, after all.
'Command, do not go into low orbit! It could be extremely dangerous- shit, they cut me off.’ Alexia said.
'Damn it! Where’s the location where they’re coming down?’
'Twenty miles to the east. But we’d never get there before them, they’re already entering low orbit!’
'How low is their low orbit?’ I asked.
'Due to the thin atmosphere of Hell, it’s only about two miles above the planet, they said. Will they be alright?’
'Depends on what it actually is that they’re fighting.’ I said. I looked to the east, and spotted the massive metal hull of the ship breaking through the crowds. It was leaning towards what looked like a massive sand dune...
The sand dune exploded in a huge explosion of dust, and an all-too familiar creature leapt from it. It was another fucking Gatekeeper! The massive serpent lashed several tendrils onto the ship, and started pulling it down. The Ship-Buster fired off, but it missed by a dozen miles due to the Gatekeeper’s tampering. Then the Gatekeeper actually grabbed onto it with its gigantic mouth by the time it had pulled it down half way, and threw all of its weight on the ship. The explosion sent debris flying past us and made our ears ring. The cloud the explosion created lingered in the sky, a silent, two miles high testament to the dead.
'Oh god...’ Alexia muttered, totally astonished.
'Damn it, that thing shouldn’t exist normally! Trickster, stop with this fucking madness! These people don’t deserve to die!’ I screamed to the sky.
'Who’s the Trickster?’ Alexia asked, confused again.
'I’ll explain on the ride back home.’ I said.
'Shouldn’t we go look for survivors, perhaps salvage supplies?’
‘First off, the Gatekeeper’s probably still alive- the first one of those things took a Ship-Buster and still lived for awhile after. A nuclear explosion won’t kill the fucker. Second- it was a nuclear explosion. I may have regenerative powers, be fireproof, and badass, but that doesn’t protect me from radiation.’ I said.
'Alright, you do have a good point. Let’s get back- ack, fuck!’ Alexia started, but was interrupted by a purple-tinted bone spike being jammed in her shoulder. She yanked it out, tossed it on the ground, and started firing at the weird, bloated Lurcher on a hill above us. I fired at the Lurcher with the Revenge, tearing through its flesh. It staggered, and then exploded in purple gas.
'Oh god, that can’t be. Isn’t that the gas those infecting insect-things create?’ Alexia asked.
'It is- I’ve never seen a Lurcher create that. Did that spike break the flesh?’ I said. Alexia stared at the wound for a moment before she realized that it was bleeding.
'I’m infected, aren’t I? The bastard broke the armor, and landed that thing in my shoulder.’
'You... you might. If you are, fight back against the virus with all your power. It’s the only way of beating it.’ I said, helping her back to the bike. She was shaken badly.
Suddenly, she fell down to her knees, screaming in pain.
'Alright, that virus got into your system! It’s going to throw mental scenarios at you, and pretend they’re real. Don’t fall for them! It’s the only way to keep control of your mind! Fight it, Alexia! Fight it!’ I shouted into her ear-hole, just before she collapsed. I picked her up and took her to the bike. I then sat her down behind me and hung onto her with one hand, starting up the bike with the other. I drove her back to my cavern.

I stopped at the door to my home and then pulled Alexia off the bike, cradling her in my arms again. She was still out, moaning quietly about something. It didn’t sound good.
'Saffron, can you tell how the virus is affecting her? Is there anything I can do to stop it?’ I asked Saffron as I walked into the main room of the cavern. I laid down Alexia in some of the moss, on a flat stone.
'No, sir. The sensors I had to detect that sort of thing are now in the sensor array. Plug me in, sir.’
I jacked Saffron in, and waited.
'Well?’ I asked after a few minutes.
'Similar takeover to yours, sir. Similar effects at the start. On the outside, there is one change.’
'Whatever it is, it can’t be good.’
'Sir, I cannot tell were her skin ends and the suit begins. She seems merged with it. Also, I am reading signs of the changes happening much faster than yours.’ Saffron chimed. I planted my face in my hands, angry.
'Augh, damn it!’ I cried out, punching the rock behind me. I left an imprint in the stone. I then sat down on the mossy floor, waiting for Alexia to wake up. But she started screaming again, about someone called Ashley. I eventually fell asleep.

I woke up to Alexia sitting down on the edge of the rock, staring at her hands.
'This can’t be true... It just can’t...’ she was muttering. I walked over to her and placed my hand on her shoulder.
'Sadly, it is. Were you able to fight back?’ I said.
'Yeah, I was. Just barely. But it changed me so much...’ Alexia replied.
'Hey, I used to be a chameleon. The demons change things.’ I said.
'Yeah, but like this? It just isn’t right. How does it even work, really? It defies all kinds of biological and physical laws of matter.’
'The Trickster could be easily blamed. He does about anything he wants with matter. But I’m not sure why it effected you like that- most of the time, it just takes over automatically.’ I said, snapping my fingers.
'You never did explain the Trickster.’ Alexia said.
'Higher dimensional being who wants to be an evil god over us, that’s all. Nothing all to special.’
'Sorry?’
'You heard me right. Don’t worry, there’s a good one too. He can actually be thanked for the only reason you were ever born. Er, hatched.’ I said. 'Ugh, if he were here now, so many questions could be answered.’
'What name does this other one go by?’ Alexia asked.
'The Raven. He’s saved me before, but I haven’t seen him in so long. Last time I saw him was back on Earth, actually.’
'That’s worrying.’ Alexia said.
'Sir and Ma’am, I’m detecting a large horde just outside! They seem to be approaching!’ Saffron exclaimed.
'Are you sure? Check it again.’ I said.
'Confirmed.’
'Again.’
'Confirmed, sir. They’re real, not a glitch.’ Saffron responded.
'How many?’
'Several dozen, mostly larger varieties. At least two Monoliths, half a dozen Leviathans, a dozen Basilisks, and the rest consist of a mix of smaller kinds. I would suggest all weapons in this combat, sir.’
'Will do. Alexia, behind you is a case I built from the surrounding rock. I keep plenty of blades in there, take your pick.’ I said, drawing the Soul-blade. Alexia opened the case and took out a pair of hooked blades, forged from components of vehicles. The steel was strong, she chose good weapons.
I got up to the front door and shoved it open- and then almost took a missile to the face. The rocks exploded above me.
'Alright, you fuckers! Bring it!’ I shouted, dashing into the attackers. The first Beast in my path was a Leviathan with a massive mace as a weapon. I dodged its first attack, rolled out of the way of the second, and actually caught the mace on the third attack. Thankfully, the mace had no spikes, but I caught it.
'Hero, you should not retaliate! Live your life here, with us...’ The Leviathan growled at me. I noticed Alexia was behind me, and she understood it too.
'Shit, did they always sound like that?’ She asked, just before swinging under the mace and flying up to the Leviathan’s shoulder level. She rattled off a cartridge from her magnum into the thing’s eye, killing it. I tossed the mace away, readying myself for the next attacker.
'Yeah, they always did. Part of the infection.’ I said. A Basilisk charged at me next- I took it down head on, slamming the Soul-blade into its brain. I then twisted the sword while it was still in the wound- this killed it. It slammed to the ground, and then a Hexed one batted me off of the body. I swung up, grabbed it by the head, and crushed its skull. I retrieved the Soul-blade from the Basilisk before I was attacked again- this time by one of the Monoliths.
I dodged a missile, and then cut the second one out of the air with the sword. It exploded behind me, and then I leapt up at the monster. Wyverns slammed me out of the sky, back onto the ground. Then they started piling on top of me, scratching away. But then Alexia came in, slicing the Wyverns to bits with her blades. She gave me the thumbs up and kept on running- I also noticed she had a totally opaque black visor on her helmet now. I guess it was just up before.
I drew the Bloody Talon and fired it at the Monolith, blowing out a large chunk of its front left leg. This caused it to the fall to the ground, but it was still alive. And still shooting.
A missile impacted in front of me, flinging me back and into a Demon. It staggered, but I kicked it away before it could anything.
I watched the Monolith get up- and Alexia land on its head, hard. Actually, it first looked like her lower legs snapped when she landed, which made me grimace- but they didn’t. The demonic infection in her was already altering her body, and just gave her legs a second, opposite facing knee a short distance below her first. This efficiently made her a foot taller, but she didn’t notice. Well, maybe she didn’t, that leg form was common in some Avians.
Alexia slammed her hook blades into the thing’s skull, and then twisted both blades around in its skull by actually perching on the handles and using her feet to turn them. the Monolith screeched in pain, and died.
'Keep it up, Alexia! We can make it through this!’ I shouted to her. Alexia was already in the air, hook blades ready and pointed towards a Basilisk.
I kept the Bloody Talon out as I dashed towards a group of Demons. One slashed me, but I quickly hacked through it with the Talon’s blade. I kept on slicing through the Demons, spewing blood everywhere.
I cut through them and switched to the Revenge, ready to use some of its remaining shells. I hadn’t fired it in months, I missed the feel of it. But I stopped when I saw Alexia fighting; the demonic infection was giving her power.
Her talons, once just within some basic armor, had grown large and powerful, covered in small blades in a similar fashion to scales. The feathers on her wings had turned to blades as well, and her tail feathers had done something similar. When she spun around to attack, her wings and tail feathers actually chopped through the surrounding enemies and got covered in blood in the process.
She sliced down two Demons in one swing, and then screeched so loudly it hurt my ears. The screech came when the lower part of the helmet split open, revealing a large mouth with jagged teeth. The inside of the mouth was fleshy- including the long tongue that came with it- but the rest of her wasn’t. She stopped, and fell to her knees- thankfully, the Beasts were dead.
I ran over and crouched down next to her.
'Alexia, are you alright?’ I asked.
'I don’t think I’ll ever be right again...’ She said. Her voice was darker, somewhat more metallic. Could she even see, either? I saw no eyes.
'Come on, you need a break. Let’s get back to the cavern- I’ll give you a chance to think. I know you’re going to need it.’ I said, helping her up. We walked back to the cavern.

Alexia was in a bad shape. She spent the longest time just staring out the entrance of the cavern, watching the sun slowly move across the sky. I gave her some time to be alone while I reforged her hook blades, for they were damaged.
I sweated as I hammered away at the weapons, mashing them back into shape. The noise was loud but I could hear Saffron over it.
'Sir, it does not seem like Alexia’s mental health is alright.’ Saffron said.
'She was just changed by the virus, Saffron! It’s a big thing to happen to someone, and it’s life-changing. It can’t be fixed. Both Alexia and I have to deal with this for however long we live- and that can damage the mind.’ I said. I missed one of the hammer strikes, hitting the makeshift anvil with a loud metallic clang.
'I am worried she may betray us, Sir.’ Saffron chimed. I stopped pounding the blade.
'Saffron, she is a strong young woman, even if she’s been put in a demonic body like myself. I’d trust her to the ends of Hell itself.’ I said. I dunked the sword into the water to cool it off, and then pulled it out. It was fixed, so I placed it next to the other intact one on a shelf nearby.
'Are you positive, sir?’ Saffron asked.
'Very.’ I replied. 'Now, I need to relax. Be quiet for now, Saffron.’
'Roger, sir.’ Saffron said. His speaker crackled and then switched off.
I sat down and did my best to meditate- I’ve noticed that meditation actually effects me greatly. due to the virus, I can create mental worlds of my very own. I train within them, fantasize in them, and most of all, keep my old memories intact.
Before I was able to start, I heard Alexia.
'Dad, can I join you...?’ She asked from above, next to the entrance.
'Come on, then.’ I said, not even moving. She sat down next to me and took a stereotypical meditation stance.
'No, not that. I meditate to create mental worlds. It straightens my thinking, and keeps me sane, really. Any position is fine, as long as you’re holding yourself up.’ I said. She let down the silly arm position, but kept the crossed legs.
'Am I able to do it as well?’ Alexia asked.
'We are both afflicted with the same thing, it just effected us differently. Just concentrate on what you want to see, Alexia. That’s all that really has to be done.’ I said. We both got our rest- the only type demonic beings can. Just not think about what was at hand.

I was trying to conjure up a dream world with me, Natalie, and Alexia- the way it should’ve been. Us looking normal, just trying to live a good life. Not with me a dragon thing, Alexia robotic on the outside, and Natalie light years away.
But it didn’t work. It appeared somewhat; the house (A decent sized two-story house on a lake side) had formed, but was in ruins- and the lake was full of pollution, ash, and bodies.
'Sorry for interrupting your dream world, Trevor. But this is important.’ The Raven said. I found his flickering corporeal form next to me, shaped like a normal raven. The usually vibrant scarlet, burning eyes were just a dim red now.
'Raven, you haven’t spoken to me in 16 years. Where the fuck have you been?’ I asked him.
'16 years... Well, it’s been only equal to a few hours for me. Last time I saw you was when you were heading towards those survivors. How are they, by the way?’
'All dead.’ I replied.
'I’m... sorry. I should of expected. But Trevor, this is important. The Trickster is rebelling against his own civilization now, and has eliminated most planes of me. I... I don’t have much left.’ The Raven replied.
'Are you saying that you’re dying?’ I asked, confused.
'I’m afraid so, yes. It doesn’t help that I had to protect your somewhat adopted daughter there from being taken over by the infection.’
'So you’re the reason why she still has her mind?’ I said.
'And why her body changed slower, yes.’ The Raven mentioned.
'Thank you, Raven. You’ve helped me so much through this war. Tell me, do you know what’s to come?’
'The Trickster has made sure that escape to Earth for you is nearly impossible.’
'What, with his wimpy gravity well? We removed that within two days of getting here.’
'More than that. You may of had flashes what is to come before. The Trickster is making the Beasts more intelligent; they will actually use tactics- they will actually be able to kill you two.’
'Let them try.’ I said.
'They may succeed. Trevor, be careful. And if you can, kill the Trickster.’
'How?’ I asked. 'My weapons could kill him, but the amount of hits it’d take would be astronomical.’
'Everyone of my kind is made up of a massive amount of planes- slices of us which appear in your dimension. Every time we’re killed in the third dimension, we loose one plane of ourselves.’
'And you can fight to a single plane?’
'By that time, we’d be equal to your kind. But, if one of your weapons was able to do hundreds of hits with one attack, it may do something.’ The Raven said. He shifted on the perch he was on- the vision was fading.
'Are you going to give me some sort of massive shotgun, or something? 500 gauge?’ I joked.
'This is no time for humor, hero. You are still able to call upon the demonic aura, yes?’ The Raven replied, annoyed.
'Yeah. It gives me power when I need it.’ I said.
'You’ve channeled it before into your weapons, correct?’
'A few times.’
'Have you tried it with your forged weapons? You may smelt them from the personal belongings of the dead to remember them, but it can do something else. All of you weapons have been reforged with the belongings of the dead- and some say the spirits of the dead reside in what the last item was they were holding. How many items do you usually put into a single weapon?’ The vision was now just the wall, the Raven, and the ground below us.
'Hundreds, mostly because I loose most of the metal when they’re forged. The Revenge took six hundred due to it having to be strengthened- and I’m just talking the barrel here.’
'Call on their spirits when the final battle comes. Make the Trickster face all of the ones he has caused the deaths of. Goodbye, Hero. Trevor Locke. I doubt we shall see again.’
And then I woke up.

The Raven was gone. He was my only safeguard in this war; the only one who could help me get back into the fight if I fell. Now I have to be careful- but I cannot hold back.
I grabbed a marker from one of the shelves and then went to one of the spare sheets of metal I owned. I had to design a plan for the next week- but quietly, Alexia was still in meditation.
During these sixteen years, most of the Seven had been eliminated. Two remained- Pride; which was the Trickster, and Amon. I did never manage to actually kill Wrath, most because of his size. The Trickster won’t be doing much directly, so I can’t fight him yet- but Amon? He was powerful, even sixteen years ago. Who knows how stronger he’s become?
I drew a quick doodle of Amon on the metal, and then crossed him out. I wrote “Kill Amon” under it to make sure I remembered.
I then wrote “Rescue” at one corner of the metal sheet, noting that Amon could hinder it. Hell, he may even be able to destroy some of the carrier ships. Big problem.
Next part of the plan- find Alexia some good weapons. Hell, find us both ammunition. I’ve been working with blades for all too long, but that was because the Demons were in lesser numbers. Now, as ADF arrives, more Demons appear. Problem is, the best location for weapons would be the wreckage of the just crashed carrier ship, and that’s under the Gatekeeper. Hopefully we can find those guns somewhere else.
Next objective was to look for survivors. ADF, previous survivors on Hell, doesn’t matter. Anyone stuck here would know how to fight, and that’s what I need. Warriors.
My last thing on the to-do-list was to locate where rescue would arrive, and to be ready there when it does.
'That’s it?’ Alexia asked from over my shoulder, startling me.
'How long have you been there?’ I replied.
‘Since you started writing about guns. Didn’t you hear me breathing?’ She said.
'No, actually.’ I said. She was breathing, but it was silent.
'Odd.’ Alexia muttered. 'Anyhow, I know some ways we can get those objectives done. My little troop carrier craft out there had plenty of weapons and ammunition on it, we can go raid that. There should be enough guns and bullets there for the next week for us.’
'Good.’
'Also, my communicator works as a homing beacon. If I switch it to that signal, it will notify anyone with the technology to our position. Hell, we may get some response automatically.’
'Excellent. You go grab the guns and lend me your communicator, I’ll send out a message.’ I said.
'Let me set it to homing... done.’ Alexia replied, handing the little device to me before heading out. I hit the record button.
'This is General Trevor calling all ADF forces stranded in Hell. We have food, water, shelter and weapons at my location, and we shall hold out until the carriers arrive. We will survive, but we need all the backup possible. Please respond, if possible.’ I said.
All of a sudden, at least five signals started responding. There were a lot of survivors.
'Is there someone here not ADF personnel? Or at least, current ones? All personnel, start proceeding to my location.’ I added.
'Current personnel? Ha- it’s been sixteen years.’ A robotic voice said.
'Who is this?’ I asked.
'You had to leave the two of us after the base got destroyed. We’re heading to the location now- glad to see you’re still alive, Trevor.’ The voice said, and then switched off the transmission.
'Two of them...? Claus and Jefferson. They’re still alive- they have to be.’ I muttered to myself. But why was the voice so robotic?
Alexia walked back into the Cavern, holding dozens of guns in her arms.
'This good?’ She asked.
'Great work! Give me all of the 12 gauge shells, do what you will with the rest.’ I said, and she started unloading some of the shells from the guns.
'Any luck with getting a response?’ She asked as she did so.
'At least half a dozen replies, including an old friend, I think.’ I said.
'Looks like we may just make this.’ Alexia said. She handed me a few dozen shells for the Revenge, and I pocketed them before loading in two. I kept the Revenge ready.
We heard the roars on engines outside- the first group of survivors had arrived.

After awhile, Alexia and I were doing our best to help the crew from the five ships that had landed. We had managed to get almost 50 men- but where was who I thought were Claus and Jefferson coming from?
I looked to the sunrise and spotted something; looked like a large bird of some sort. Very large.
Several of the soldiers around me took aim at the bird shape, but I told them to lower their weapons as it neared. The bird was a massive falcon-like bird with a wingspan of more than twenty feet. But it was partially robotic, and this included part of the head, the beak, one of the wings, a good chunk of the torso, and both legs. When the bird landed, the rider slid off the back of it and landed in the sand. He was familiar too, wearing a dusty long coat that was decorated with the colors of the German flag. But the species wasn’t right for Claus- he was now reptilian, with sharp teeth and large, hooked talons. His red eyes flicked around quietly, and his long tail ended with a small blade attached onto its end. He had also grown a strip of quills along his spine- this turned into a quite fantastic looking “plumage” on his head. He had a massive pike strapped to his back, and some sort of one-eyed targeting device on his left eye.
'Trevor. So glad to see you again.’ The reptile said. His lower jaw was made of two parts, and they split when he talked.
'Claus? Is that you?’ I asked.
'Still me, still looking for that spot in the history books. So, what’s with the party, and who’s Blade-girl there?’ He asked.
'Yeah, you haven’t changed, Claus. And that’s my adopted daughter. Well, sort of.’ I replied.
'How do you “sort of” adopt someone?’
'Long story.’ I said.
'Blade girl? Really?’ Alexia said.
'Within good reason.’ Claus replied.
'Alexia, make sure that the group is in good shape, make sure that everyone has food. I need to talk to Claus.’ I said. Claus had a worried expression on that new face of his. ‘Don’t worry, Claus. I just want to know what’s happened since the last time I saw you and the whereabouts of Jefferson.’
‘Jefferson’s the big bird. The one behind me.’ Claus said with an annoyed tone to his voice. ‘Isn’t it obvious?’
‘What? How? Jefferson, is that you?’ I said, walking over to the massive cyborg bird. It stared at me intently and opened its beak a few times, even though nothing came out but some static.
‘He says he is, and he’d be willing to explain.’ Claus said.
‘Sorry, but how were you able to interpret that static?’ I asked, confused.
‘See this thingamabob?’ Claus tapped the targeting device he wore over his left eye and ear. ‘It’s a special communicator. Jefferson is able to talk to me through it. That’s why we’ve been so close- I am his mouth, hands and his second pair of eyes and ears, really. We have to work together.’
‘Tell me something only Jefferson would know, Claus.’ I said. ‘If you really are speaking to Jefferson at the same time, he should tell you.’
‘What, about the fact that you guys argued right when you first met about the capacity of a shuttle?’ Claus said.
‘So you are. Come on, we need to talk.’

I lead him into my cavern and we sat down near the water.
'Nice place.’ Claus said.
'It wasn’t as good originally. Remember, I have been here for sixteen years.’ I replied. 'So tell me, how did you two end up like that?’
'Short version or long?’ Claus asked.
'Take your pick.’
'I’ll do medium, then. When you charged off at those Beasts, Jefferson and I started running in the opposite direction. And we kept on running, but Jefferson sometimes flew and carried me. We managed to find an old Distributor tower hundreds of miles away months later- Jefferson told me it was his original hideout, and it still had some of his old tech. So we survived easily, with automated turrets and all other kinds of fun stuff. Hell, he even built a robot to salvage us food from the wastes! I called it Skip.’ Claus started.
'Why Skip?’ I asked, confused. Claus was usually odd, so I wasn’t surprised that he named an autonomous robot.
'Why not?’ Claus said. I shrugged, and he continued. 'Life plodded along. We watched the skies, looked for interesting things, knitted sweaters- sorry, not really for that last bit. But we did actually manage to rack up some research on Distributor technology, I bet you Jefferson could tell you all about it later. Anyhow, things were good until I fell asleep when I was supposed to be guarding at night- the turrets were down for maintenence. Sadly, one of those Bug things infiltrated and infected the both of us. Not fun, and for once I actually did something wrong that came around and slapped me in the ass!
'Thankfully, nothing else came in, but we were changed. Slowly, but surely, our bodies changed worse than a boy turning into a teenager. Jefferson did his best to research the virus and figure out why it changed his mechanical parts as well, but it didn’t work out. He did manage to make a headset for me so that we could continue to communicate, though. But now, he resided on the top of the tower and told me what to do. As I said before, I was now his hands. Oh, all of those explosions and chemical spills I accidentally created when I was doing his experiments!’
'I didn’t think you were the lab-hand type.’ I commented.
'I’m not. Please note the words “Explosions” and “Spills”. Thankfully, these new scales are fire-proof, acid-proof, somewhat bullet-proof, blast-proof-’
'I get the point.’ I said.
'Anyways, we lived like that for a solid ten years. We almost had a gay relation.’ Claus started.
'That I don’t want to hear about.’
'I did used to have a lot of suitors...’
'I said I don’t want to hear about it!’ I shouted.
'Sorry.’ Claus replied.
'Were you two able to develop some weapons?’ I asked.
'Actually, yes. Jefferson’s got a few built into him, and I’ve got a few on me. See this pike?’
'Looks like a normal pike.’ I said. Claus rolled his eyes, stood up, and took it out.
'It isn’t. Watch.’ Claus said. He started swinging the pike, and then he hit a button on the handle. The blade flew out on a chain and slammed into a wall, twenty feet away. He let go of the button, and it retracted.
'Alright, I’ll give you credit for that. Did you make it by yourself?’
'My first accomplishment in weapons building.’ Claus said. We started walking towards the exit when Alexia dashed in.
'Dad, we’ve got a problem outside! There’s something approaching from the horizon! And its fucking huge!’ She shouted before running back out, rifle in hand. Claus and I looked at each other for a moment, because we both knew what was probably attacking us.

I leapt out of the Cavern, the revenge in hand. I was closely followed by Claus, who had his pike ready.
'Sir, we’ve mobilized the craft, and we’re taking their occupants to safety! But that...thing is still coming!’ A soldier said when I exited. I then caught sight of the massive monster approaching us. It was Amon, but he was somewhat different. He bore many scars, including one massive injury on his frontal left leg; that was my doing. What really got me was that he had hundreds of shards of various debris floating around him, all at the same angle, all sharpened. They were all surrounded by a blue energy, and seemed to include most of the wreckage that he could find, including some ADF parts. His massive shape was eclipsing the sun as he walked towards us. His footsteps shook the ground, and struck fear into the hearts of all he met.
'What the hell is that thing?’ Alexia asked.
'Amon. A.K.A., Wrath itself.’