Vorcium, Chapter 1: All or Nothing (Second Half)

DROWNED IN HELL I
The next day, Mac was in the cafeteria, eating food, when he heard the intercom kick in: “Mac Silfe, please report to Personal Science Lab 496.” Mac angrily put down his food. “They said my name wrong.” He said as he got up. He eventually got to the door, and knocked on it. He was then approached by a robotic guard. “Who are you?” Mac asked. “I am Sentry Unit AZ-345211896246498721347. But you can call me AZ-345211896246498721347 for short.” The robot said. “Scar has requested to see you, you may go in now mister Silfe.” “Stop saying my name wrong.” Mac said as he walked into the room. Scar was making modifications to her weapon as Mac walked in. “Ah, you’re here. Good. Care to sit down for a moment?” Scar asked, without redirecting her attention anywhere but her weapon. Mac was silent, and instead stood. “Or you can stand, what do I care?” Scar said. “Look, what do you want?” Mac asked. “Since I can tell you’re not in the mood for a civilized discussion, or even hellos, I’ll make this quick. There’s an Order of Technology base that has been abandoned, it’s supposed to be top secret, but since secrecy doesn’t matter much more to the Order of Technology, I might as well tell you guys. Now this base has a lot of advanced weaponry, enough to maybe even win this war. It would be a wise choice to go there, now. I even have a submarine ready for use.” Scar said. “Hm, alright, sounds interesting. I’ll get a Ghost unit ready to go and they’ll accompany you.” Mac said. “I didn’t call you here to just tell you that. I want you to come with.” Scar said. “What?” Mac asked. “You heard me. You told me back in VCT that Generals run just as many missions as their fellow recruits. So are you gonna come, or not?” Scar asked. “Hm. Fair point. Alright, I’ll come with.” Mac said. “Good.” Scar said as she got up, and grabbed the weapon. She stopped next to Mac just before she walked out, “And try not to leave a woman in suspense. The silence never helps.” Scar said as she walked away and out the door. Mac sighed, and following loosely behind. Soon the two reached Scar’s Submarine. Mac turned to Scar, “You sure you don’t want me to prep a team of Ghosts?” “No, the worst that could happen is we run into some deadly sea creature, but even then, they wouldn’t try to attack the sub. It’s too big. And too difficult to eat. The base is abandoned, there’s no one there. Not to mention the Sub can only fit so many people.” Scar said. “Alright, if you say so.” Mac replied. The two got in the sub and took off.

DROWNED IN HELL II
About half an hour later, Mac and Scar were deep into the ocean, a variety of alien fish creatures were visible. “Y’know, I heard of a thing that people on Earth were too afraid to go too deep into the ocean. So why did anyone go into the ocean floor in an even bigger ocean than Earth’s biggest? This place is freaky as hell.” Mac asked. “The Order of Technology loved their secrets. They had a lot of cool shit to hide from people. Like a... giant robot T-Rex.” Scar replied. “That sounds pretty badass.” Mac said. “Well, I just made it up so...” Scar said. “Why would you make something like that up? Tell me something real or you’re just getting my hopes up for nothing.” Mac said. “As I said, the Order of Technology likes its secrets, there’s probably a bunch of stuff I don’t know about. Maybe they DID make a robot T-Rex. Who knows. Really though if you have the technology to make something cool like a robot T-Rex, why wouldn’t you make it?” Scar said. “Maybe because people have learned from Jurassic Park.” Mac said. “What, that ancient movie?” Scar asked. “Yeah, you’re telling me people still don’t watch movies that are nearly a hundred and fifty years old?” Mac asked. “Yes, I am. No one has time to find DVD players.” Scar said. “Hm, I think we’re coming up on the base. Yeah, here it is.” Scar said. She drove the submarine into a massive cave entrance. Mac looked up towards the top of the cave entrance, where he saw two rock spires sticking out with teeth on them. “Um, I don’t think this is a cave...” Mac said. “You’re right. It’s an Ubermaw.” Scar said. “What the hell are you doing going into an Ubermaw?!” Mac exclaimed. “Relax. It’s dead. The OOT put their base inside a dead Ubermaw, to make explorers weary of getting too close.” Scar said. As they reached the back of the Ubermaw’s mouth, a moonpool came into view. “We’re docking here. Get ready.” Scar said. “It’s about time. I swear, if I saw one more goddamn Spikefish get offly close to my side window, I was going to shit my pants.” Mac said. The sub surfaced into the moonpool dock, and Mac opened the hatch to the top of the sub, looking around. There was a lot of spray paint on the walls, saying assortments of things, likely written by a madman. Mac fully got out of the sub, letting Scar get out. Scar then took note of the spray painted words. Mac leaned towards her and whispered, “Y’know, if I had this much spray paint, time, and there was something killing everyone in the facility I lived in that was detached from the rest of the world, I would spray paint, ‘Hey, there’s something incredibly dangerous killing everyone, and any newcomers should leave while they can’. Not shit like ‘No Hope’, that doesn’t help anyone, that just makes you look like an asshole who wasted a bunch of spray paint.” Mac and Scar looked around, there was only one door to exit the docking area. “Alright, so our mission is to get a bunch of guns, and other useful things, load it into the sub, and leave.” Mac said. Scar put her finger up to where her mouth was behind her helmet, and pointed at the exit door. Mac then heard voices from behind it. He walked slowly up to the door and put his ear on it, but he still couldn’t hear much. He grabbed his pistol and aimed it at the door, nodded at Scar, who nodded back as she grabbed her weapon. Mac pressed a button next to the door and it slid open, revealing two Demon soldiers, spray painting the wall. One of them giggled, “OK, so on this one, write, uh ‘We’re dead’ or something.” His friend looked at him for a second. “Didn’t we already write something like that?” “We did, shit, I dunno. Let’s go back and check.” The first Demon said as he turned around, only to spot Mac aiming at him. “Oh fuck.” The Demon said as he was shot in the head by Mac, incinerating the Demon. The other turned and screamed, before being shot by Mac. Scar shook her head. “Well, that explains the spray paint.” Mac said. “Are all Demons like this?” Scar asked. “Well, most of them used to be the same prisoners that the Order of Demons once held captive. So most of them are just a bunch of idiots who were dumb enough to break the law and be captured later.” Mac said. “Makes sense. Well, there’s a computer over on the wall here, I’ll see if I can’t access the security cameras.” Scar replied as she walked over to the computer. “Mind if I shoot out the cameras in this room and the last?” Mac asked. “Probably for the best.” Mac did so, and as he came back, Scar was on the computer, checking the computer. “Oh man, you’re going to LOVE this.” Scar said. “What’s up?” Mac asked. “The Demons got here about an hour ago on their Submarine, known as the Nether. They’ve been packing up all sorts of useful stuff and loading it into their submarine. Another thing is that they’ve got someone in Power Armor armed with a Minigun, who is likely leading this little expedition, in a room not far. If you were to get through a few of the rooms, kill the guy in his power armor, and get to the Nether, you can watch as the Demons start packing up the sub for us. Once they’re finished, you can command all the Demons to you, and start mowing them down with the minigun.” Scar said. “Sound like a plan. I guess we should get to it then.” Mac said. “Actually, I should stay here and monitor the cameras. If you’d do me a favor real quick and press that button on the left side of your helmet...” Scar said, and Mac did so. “... Now you’re connected to the security cams. I can mark enemy locations on your HUD now. Don’t go and fuck this up.” Scar said. “When do I ever?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqnT8vxk6x4
Mac asked as he pushed deeper into the facility. As he neared a door, he heard Scar on the radio. “There are four guys in the room ahead. I’m marking them now.” Scar said, and four markers showed up on Mac’s HUD. His pistol’s barrel began moving at between the four marks, and let out two beeps after it stopped. Mac opened the door and his pistol fired four times quickly at the four, dropping them all instantly. “That’s one hell of a gun you’ve got there. I need to see that thing later.” Scar said. Mac moved onto the next room, and from behind the door in that room, he heard Scar again. “Alright, behind this door’s the big guy. He’s got two people with him, too. You should let that pistol of yours do your job.” Scar said as three marks showed up on Mac’s HUD. His weapon beeped twice, and he opened the door, firing three shots. Two of them went down, but the one in power armor was simply knocked back a few steps and grunted. He pulled up his minigun and it began to spin up. “Ah shit.” Mac said, as he fired at the Demon several times. Mac ducked behind a crate as the Demon began firing the Minigun around the room. As soon as he saw Mac was hiding behind the crate, he grunted some more and began walking over to the crate. He spun up the minigun, then jumped out to the flank and began unloading, only to notice Mac wasn’t there. The Demon grunted some more, and began looking around. Mac jumped out from behind the Demon, grabbing onto his shoulders and ripping the Demon’s helmet off. He fired Pinaka into the back of the Demon’s head, until the Demon fell over. Mac sighed. “Let’s see how well this fits...” Mac said. Later, he was in the Demon’s power armor. Mac put his pistol away and grabbed the minigun. He walked up to the next door and opened it. Behind it was a Demon, who looked over at Mac in power armor. He then noticed three bodies in the floor behind Mac, one of which was the commander, who was striped of his armor. Mac spun up his minigun and unloaded a burst into the Demon. Mac continued to make his way throughout the facility. Eventually, he made his way to an even larger dock area, and in it, was the submarine, Nether. A large group of Demons were around in the docking area. Mac shouted, “All Demons, group up around me!” and the Demons in the vicinity moved towards Mac. One of the Demon spoke up, “Hey sir, when did you stop grunting all of a sudden?” Mac ignored the Demon. “Is everyone here?” Mac asked. Another demon spoke up, “Well, aside from the other guys near you, I think there was nine of ‘em.” Mac nodded. “Alright, so I want all of you to line up.” Mac said. The Demons did as Mac asked, and suddenly, Mac began to mow down the Demons with the Minigun. Afterwards, one of the Demons laughed. “Ha, you missed me!” Mac pulled out Pinaka and shot him in the face. “Excellent work, clear out anyone you may see in the Sub while I make my way down there.” Scar said. “Alright.” Mac said as he dropped the minigun, favoring Pinaka as he entered the sub. The driver looked at Mac. “Hey, what was with all the ruckus over there?” “Uh, one of their weapon malfunctioned and went off, and they all had heart attacks.” Mac replied. “Funny, because I recall everyone assigned to this mission having heart conditions. I knew that would happen.” The driver said. Scar leaned into the sub’s doorway. “Is it all clear?” She asked. The driver screamed and grasped at his chest, before he fell over. “It is now.” Mac said. “Great.” Scar said, as she stopped leaning into the sub and fully entered. “I’d say the Sub is filled up. Not that it matters, everything’s all loaded up. You ready?” She asked. “Sure.” Mac said. “I gotta take this thing off.” He said as he lifted the Power Armor’s helmet off. “Try not to make it too sexy for me.” Scar said as she pushed the driver’s corpse out of the seat and dragged him out. Scar walked back in and got into the driver’s seat, while Mac took the armor off and sat down next to Scar. ”Alright, let’s get going.” Scar said.

DROWNED IN HELL III
Back at New Aberdeen, just outside the walls, a Cleanser was looking out at a great lake, try to light a cigarette, but couldn’t get the lighter working. Just then, the Nether bursted out of the water, startling the Cleanser to the point where he fell over. The hatch opened, and Mac and Scar walked out. The Cleanser sighed and approached them as they walked onto land. “Hey, could you get a bunch of Knights ready to unload some things. That would help a lot.” Mac said to the Cleanser. “Uh, y-yes sir!” The Cleanser said as he saluted and ran off into Aberdeen. “So, mission accomplished?” Mac asked. “No shit mission accomplished.” Scar said as she walked off. “Mhm.” Mac said.

SPACE WESTERNERS FOR LIFE
Outside the Command Tower, Maximus and Yuri were talking, when the Cleanser ran up to them. “Sirs, Mac and Scar have returned, with, some supplies I guess.” The Cleanser said. Yuri and Maximus looked at each other. “Well, let’s go greet them.” Maximus said. “They’re already coming to meet you guys here, they just requested help unloading the supplies.” The Cleanser said. “Very well, get some men together and get to it.” Yuri said. The Cleanser saluted and sprinted away. “Why do they always come to us when it comes to the dirty work?” Maximus asked. Yuri shrugged. At that moment, Mac and Scar walked up to the two. “So then, what have you found today?” Maximus asked. “A lead on a robot T-Rex.” Mac said. “No, um, we found a large supply of weapons we could use against the Demons. In a hidden OOT base. It could prove useful in this war.” Scar said. “I wasn’t exactly wrong about the robot T-Rex.” Mac said. “Can you shut up about that?” Scar replied. “I’m going to ask about that T-Rex thing later, for now we need these weapons you’ve found in the armory ASAP. Because we got another letter from that friend of ours. They’re attacking Radio City soon.” Yuri said. “Damn, really?” Mac asked. “Yeah. In two days. Thank god for whoever that friend on the inside is.” Maximus said. “But right now we’ve got other important things on our hands.” Yuri said. A man stepped out from a nearby alley, his outfit was similar to that of an old western gunslinger, yet he was wearing what appeared to be a custom built mask, and his left hand was cybernetic. “How’s your day gentlemen? Allow me to introduce myself. Name’s Silas Ordicon.” The man said as he offered to shake Mac’s hand. Mac cautiously did so, and afterwards, Silas tipped his hat to Scar. “I like your hand.” Scar said, nodding at Silas’ cybernetics. “Thanks. I personally prefered my old one, though.” Silas said. “Silas here believes that someone got into Cliffburn and began infecting others with the Malebranche syndrome. There’s been reports of strange shuffling around in the night, and a specific chain of illnesses being passed about. We need to get in there and put stop to it, before we lose Cliffburn and the Demons get access to more territory.” Maximus said. “Since it has to do with Malebranche, and he wants to go, Yuri is coming with Silas to Cliffburn, Silas will help in whatever ways he can. Mac, you should mobilize the everyone who’s prepared by the end of today and get them over to Radio City. You have time, just as long as they’re there before the end of today it should be good. As for me, I’m traveling to Heracleion to discuss politics with Jarret. We haven’t been in contact with the Order of Water for a while, and I don’t want the same thing that happened to the Demons to happen to the OOW.” Maximus said. “Alright. I’ll see to it.” Mac said. “Everyone, let’s get going, we’re burning up precious time.” Maximus said, as he walked off.

SEA OF SANCTUARY I
About an hour later, a KTTS hovered above the Obsidinus Ocean. Inside of the KTTS was Maximus, and a squad of Paladins. Maximus radioed to the pilot, “So, is Heracleion down there?” he asked. “I believe so. I’m lowering the bird now.” The Pilot responded. As the KTTS reached the shore of the Mainland and landed, Maximus stepped out and looked into the ocean. Terrifying to some degree, knowing what monstrous creatures are down there. As his eyes darted around the area, he noticed a large shape quickly rising upwards towards him. Maximus took a few steps back, cautiously, before it erupted out of the water. It was a large, cube-shaped object. Several men armed with weapons walked out as a door to the cube slid open. “You there! Who are you, and what is your business?” One of the marines asked. Maximus didn’t put his hands up, but he obliged to the questioning, “I am Maximus, one of the High Generals of the Order of Knights. I wish to speak to your leader, Jarret.” Maximus said. His Paladin squad stepped out of the KTTS, swords drawn, while the KTTS itself lifted upwards, prepping its guns. “We don’t want a fight.” Maximus said. The marines looked amongst themselves. “Very well, we’ll see if he would like to speak with you, but you must put away your weapons. We have civilians unlike you Knights and it’d be best if you weren’t waving around weapons near them.” The marine said. Maximus nodded to his Paladins as he sheathed his sword, and they did the same. The pilot proceeded to put the KTTS back onto the ground. “Now, take us to Jarret.” Maximus said. The marines eased up, lowering their weapons, as they stepped back into the cube. Maximus and his Paladins cautiously entered. “It’s just an elevator. We’ve gotta have a way to get from underwater to above.” The marine said. “By the way, my name is Carter. I am second in command of the Order of Water’s Marine Forces, and brother of Jarret.” The Marine said. Two other Marines, towards the back of the elevator were speaking to one another. “So back to that question I had earlier, what would you want to ride from Harry Potter?” The first guard asked. “Hermione Granger.” The second responded. Carter shook his head, “Shut it. We’ve got guests.”

SEA OF SANCTUARY II
As the Elevator reached its destination, the group stepped out, following Carter. Eventually they reached a door, and Carter pressed a few buttons on a keypad next to it. “Jart, you’ve got a visitor.” Carter said. After a moment of silence, Carter turned to Maximus. “He will speak to you, but your Paladins must wait outside, and I’m going in with you.” Carter said. Maximus nodded. “As long as I can talk to him, I’m fine with it.” The two stepped into the room. It was a luxurious design, unlike the rest of Heracleion’s many rooms and halls. Maximus was impressed, even his quarters weren’t as fancy. At the other side of the room, Jarret sat, facing away from the entrance, drinking. He got up after a couple of seconds to greet the two. As he faced them, Carter simply nodded. “Jert. How’s it going?” He said. Jarret walked up to Maximus, eying him. Eventually the two firmly shook hands. “My name is Maximus. I’ve already heard much about you, Jarret.” Maximus said. “Yes, hello. Let’s just get down to brass tacks and get talking already.” Jarret said. Carter walked to one of the corners of the room, sitting down and guarding his brother. “Um, alright. Well, I’ll make this simple. The Demons are giving us a hell of a fight and it would make it much easier if you assisted us in the war. There’s a battle happening in two days at Radio City. If you help us, the odds will certainly be in our favor.” Maximus said. “And why should we help you?” Jarret asked. “The Demons are certainly both our enemy. If they take us down they will certainly aim for you next, and when they do they’ll be even more powerful. We need them out of the picture as soon as possible, or it’s over. Our predecessors were good friends. My father and the one who came before you, who is most likely your father. It only makes sense for us to unite again.” Maximus said. Carter walked up to the two. “He’s right, Jert. We need to act NOW. This is our fight, and we’re sitting back.” Carter said. Jarret was silent for a moment. “No. We can’t.” Jarret said. “What?! How can’t we?” Carter asked. “We have too many people wounded and no doctors, Carter. You KNOW that. We can’t go to war like this. Not now, not yet. We need time. Not to mention Pathos is so close to completion. Why waste resources we could use for it on a war that we can enter in time?” Jarret asked. “We don’t have time. The Demons are basically knocking on our door. If we lose Radio City, we lose a large amount of foothold and supporters.” Maximus said. “I’ll tell you what, Jarret. My Paladins are trained Field Medics. They can help as many people that are already wounded now, and any more that are hurt in battle can be helped by them, too. And we can help you find the parts you need to complete, Pathos, is it? We can help you. But we need your help, too.” Jarret was silent for a moment, and looked at Carter. “Fine, we’ll help you. But we NEED parts, specific ones, and badly. You get me those parts, and you help my people, and we’ll send some men to help you in that battle for Radio City.” Jarret said. “Alright, Jarret. We can do that.” Maximus said. “Good choice, Jert.” Carter said. “Here, I’ve got a list of the parts we need right here.” Jarret said as he went over to a nearby desk and pulled out a disc-shaped holographic device, giving it to Maximus. “Alright. I’ve got some Paladins with me now, I’ll leave them here, if Carter can show them your wounded then they’ll help.” Maximus said. “Sounds like a plan.” Jarret said. The two shook hands once more and Maximus left the room. Carter and Jarret looked at each other. “I hope I made the right choice.” Jarret said. “Trust me. You did.” Carter said.

BEGINNING OF THE BEGINNING'S END
As Maximus got back into the KTTS, the Pilot looked at him. “Sir, I’ve got some bad news. We’ve got a message from Radio City. The Demons are attacking early.” The Pilot said as he turned on the radio, playing a message from Mac. “Hey, Maximus, we need you, NOW. There’s no time, just get to Radio City as soon as possible. They’ve got something under their sleeve I’ve never seen before.” The Pilot turned the radio off. “Well then. I guess we know where we’re going.” Maximus said. “To Radio City. We’ve no time to lose.”

SIEGE OF RADIO CITY I
Gunfire erupted throughout the streets of Radio City. Knight Squads evacuated families while Dragonfighters flew overhead, dropping canisters filled with Malebranche gas. Mac sat behind sandbags, using them for cover, while other knights stood out of cover, firing mounted machinegun turrets and the Demons. Mac jumped up, firing Pinaka at his enemies, hitting most with headshots. Scar walked up to him. “Mac, we’re setting up a sort of command base for the battle in a Casino nearby. I don’t want to tear you away from battle, but we need you back at that base. Yuri and Maximus are on their way, they finished what they were busy with apparently.” Scar said. “Alright, fine, lead me there.” Mac said, as he finished firing at the Demons. Scar nodded her head, grabbing a large laser weapon that was mounted on her back. She took off, Mac following closely behind her. A mist filled the city, almost completely blocking their view, but they managed. The two kept sprinting, before Scar bumped directly into a Demon. He gasped, aiming his rifle at her, as the rest of his squad moved in, aiming their rifles. Scar smiled, aiming the weapon at them. It charged up, and began glowing. “This is the part where we die, huh?” The Demon said after reading the segment of this paragraph detailing the weapon charging up. Scar fired it, shooting a cluster of lasers directly at their heads. Mac rounded the corner at that moment. “Thanks for letting me see that pistol of yours.” She said to Mac. The two continued quickly, until they reached the entrance to the Casino. They entered, several wounded knights were placed upon blackjack and roulette tables, being attended to by Paladins. A Knight sat at a desk, monitoring the battle with a drone, and using the radio to contact the many squads tuned in.

SIEGE OF RADIO CITY II
Maximus’ KTTS flew overhead the battle, stocked full of marines. “Damn it man, they’re comin’ outta the walls! It’s game over!” Maximus heard the radio on the KTTS go off. Maximus looked at the pilot. “Where’s that coming from?” He asked the pilot. “A nearby Casino. Why?” The Pilot asked. “I know that Knight’s voice, and I know he’s working the radio from somewhere in the city that’s Knight territory.” Maximus said. He looked at the Marines in the KTTS. “Alright boys, I doubt any of you have been into battle yet, so be ready. I can’t guarantee your lives, but I can guarantee you boys being listed as the heroes that helped the Knights win the battle of Radio City. Are you ready?!” Maximus yelled. The marines shouted in response. “Good. Because we’re flying straight into hell.” Maximus said under his breath. The KTTS set down, as well as a second one next to it. The second one was full of cleansers, and the last man out was Yuri. Maximus walked up to him, the marines behind him. “New armor for the Paladins?” Yuri asked. “Not exactly. These are some of Jarret’s men. The Order of Water is with us in the war, but he didn’t have any vehicles or an army prepared. So he just sent his escort guards who were on duty.” Maximus replied. “Mhm. So, shall we keep the knights waiting?” Yuri asked. “Not a chance.” Maximus said. The two entered the Casino, where they were greeted by Mac. “Welcome, me and Scar have been discussing what our battle plan is. To put it simply, a couple streets down from here is an intersection. That’s where the main battle is at. A number of my Ghost squads are on standby, so me and them are going to push the frontlines, Yuri and his Cleansers will back us up in case of any Malebranche in the area. And you will be the cavalry in case we need it, we’ve got some motorripers and a bunch of spears out in the back. You and your Paladins can take those and ride in when we need them.” Mac said. “Sounds like a plan to me.” Maximus said. “I’m on board as well. Let’s do this.” Yuri said. “Alright good, Ghosts! With me!” Mac said. As he walked out with a few squads of ghosts, Yuri and his Cleansers followed behind. Maximus turned to the marines that were with him. “I need you guys to get to the central radio tower of the city. There is a good post for sniping there and we do NOT want the Demons to have control over it. Plus, it’s what makes this city Radio City. Just make sure it’s under our control.” Maximus said. The Marines obeyed and moved out. Meanwhile, Maximus gathered as many Paladins as he could.

FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE
Mac, Yuri and their special units kept moving until they found the line at which the Knights were holding off the demons. As the attacking forces began to thin out, the group made their way over sandbags and mobile cover sheilds, until they were charging head first into the Demon swarm. Screaming, Mac and his ghosts rushed forwards, firing their weapons at any movement they saw, mopping up several demons. But aside from a fleeing few, Mac and his ghosts noticed there were no Demons around. Mac and his team pulled back a bit until Mac and Yuri reached talking distance. “I think they’re retreating...” Mac said. “No, they can’t be… It’s too early into the battle for them to run. Unless...” Yuri thought for a moment. And that’s when he remembered the Demon’s battle strategy, attack with a small force, wait until the enemy eases up, and hit them with all you’ve got. “They’ve got more coming for sure.” Yuri said. Mac squinted his eyes. “I sure hope that this mist clears up before then. I can’t see a damn thing.” Mac said. “We should get out of the open.” Yuri suggested. “If we can find out way back, this mist has to be getting even thicker.” Mac said. The group began making their way to where they believed was back to the defense line. Mac saw someone shuffling around in the mist. They weren’t wearing Demon armor, or Knight armor. But they were certainly wearing armor. “Hey! You!” Mac called out to them. They began shuffling towards him. “Stop right there, or I will shoot!” Mac aimed his pistol forwards, but the barrell didn’t automatically lock onto them, the mist was giving this stranger cover. The stranger continued moving towards them, slowly. Eventually, Mac fired at the stranger, or where he thought they were. The person didn’t stop, eventually Mac pulled out a combat knife and rushed them, stabbing them in the chest. The stranger make a strange growling sound, and Mac looked upon their face. Their skin was completely pale, and they were outfitted with combat armor, and a gas mask. They were also holding some kind of weapon, that was attached to a tank on their back, the weapon was releasing a thick grey smoke out of it. This stranger clearly was the source of the mist. Mac ripped off their gas mask, and noticed their bloodied teeth, that, combined with the growling, the lack of response to Mac’s commands, and the shuffling must’ve made them some sort of Malebranche. But they were smart enough to use the device releasing the mist. Mac took his knife and dug in into the creature’s skull, killing it. Mac looked around some more. Eventually he bumped into Yuri. “Thank god man, I found someone who must’ve been releasing the mist. It seems like a sort of intelligent Malebranche.” Mac said. “Well, good thing we’ve got flamethrowers.” Yuri said. “Thing is, we can’t just release flame wherever we go. It’d be a waste of gas and we could set one of our men alight. If only we had some sort of… wait a minute.” Mac said. He put Pinaka in its holster and pulled out a DMR. “I have a thermal sight on this DMR, I can see anyone through this damn mist. If there’s an more of these assholes, which there probably are, then I can take them down, turn off their devices and wait for this mist to clear up. By then, any remainders can just be taken out by you.” Mac said. “Then let's get to it.” Yuri said. One by one, another one of the new Malebranche types hit the floor, Eventually, the mist began to clear up, and Yuri started burning out the rest. As the mist cleared up, Mac and Yuri looked around, and noticed they were just outside of Radio City. Nearby them was a swarm of Demon soldiers, rushing towards them. Most of the Demons had an abundance of melee weapons, other did have guns, but were prioritized by Mac and taken down. Yuri fired his flamethrower at the incoming horde of Demons, but eventually some got too close. The two High Generals were surrounded by enemies. Yuri shook his head. “Dammit, this did not go as well as I had hoped.” He said. Mac looked at Yuri. “If I’m going to die, I’m not going to die in vain!” Mac yelled as he pulled out his combat knife and rushed to one side of the Demon circle around them. Mac cut one Demon’s throat open and ducked under the sword of another incoming Demon, he then proceeded to kick that Demon into another’s spear. Mac dug his knife into a charging Demon’s foot, then took his sword of of his hand and decapitated them. “C’mon Yuri, help me out!“ Mac said, turning to face his ally. Yuri aimed his flamethrower, but stopped when he heard Mac shout in pain. A Demon’s spear had been sunken into Mac’s knee. Yuri shouted, rushing the Demon, punching him in the face, and kicking him to the ground. Yuri’s head was grabbed by a Demon, and a blade was pushed against his throat. “You Demon are scum, just know that before you kill me.” Yuri said. “We’ll see who scum now, motherfucker.” The Demon who had grabbed him said. This Demon was certainly different, though. He had no helmet, and was shaved bald, he was also missing an eye, and half of his face had a burn scar on it. “I hope you know who I am Yuri, I am Gorryl, you killed my army and buried me in shrapnel back at the Bunker. I’m going to make you fucking suffer.” The Demon said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi3QmAmrG6M
Gorryl pushed Yuri to the ground, and followed up by taking the sword and stabbing Yuri in the stomach. At that moment, Yuri heard a distant sound. “You hear that Yuri? That’s the sound of this city being burned down. And by the equipment of your little Cleansers, too.” Gorryl said, as he menacingly smiled into Yuri’s face. At that moment the sound got louder, and louder in Yuri ears. At that moment, a bunch of Motorippers ran over the Demon swarm. “Actually,” Maximus said as he walked up to the scene. “That’s the sound of me kicking your ass so hard, you're going to be pulling pieces of your armor out of your ass for weeks.” Maximus took out his sword, Icestorm. Gorryl got up, taking his sword out of Yuri’s stomach. The Paladins in the Motorippers jumped out, immediately getting Yuri and Mac away from the scene and patching them up. “So, you think you’re going to beat me, hm?” Gorryl said. He walked directly up to Maximus, until their eyes were inches away. “I have news for you. I just nearly killed both of-” Maximus interrupted Gorryl by stabbing him in the chest. “Seriously have you ever been in a sword duel? I mean I’ve got no time as it is anyway so I had to do that but, wow. You sure made that easy for me.” The wound in Gorryl’s chest began to freeze over, until a large chunk of his torso was frozen. As Gorryl fell to his knees in front of Maximus, Maximus swung his sword as Gorryl’s neck, decapitating him. As his head flew around in the air, it began to freeze over. As it hit the ground, thousands of bloody ice shards shattered around the place. “I hope that takes care of your burn scars.” Maximus said as he got onto a Motoripper. “Paladins, on me! We need to get these guys some help, immediately!” Maximus said as he rode off. The battle in the streets was getting worse for the knights, as the Demons began pushing relentlessly. As Maximus began to near the entrance of the main radio tower of the city, he saw someone in a special set of armor enter. He cursed under his breath. When he reached the Casino, and his Paladins arrived with him, he ordered them to get into the Casino and tend to the wounds of the High Generals. He immediately got back onto his Motoripper, riding back to the main radio tower. Maximus jumped off of the Motoripper, unsheathing his sword as many Demons charged at him. Maximus instantly cut one of their arms off, and kicked another in the knee, causing them both to fall to their knees. The third and final one cautiously neared Maximus. Maximus pulled his sword up, and the Demon screamed in a high pitch, “Don’t hurt me don’t hurt me!” the Demon pleaded as he slowly began to enter a fetal position. As the three Demons all reached the same elevation, Maximus swung his sword horizontally, decapitating all three of them in one swift motion. He turned his attention to another group of Demons nearing him. Maximus got into a stance, and the Demons prepared themselves as well. Maximus counted all the Demons he was in a standoff with, 12. Maximus laughed. “Well, who first?!” He shouted. Two Demons rushed at him. Maximus ducked under one of their attacks, and dashed around the second one’s attack. He dug his sword into the second one, and uppercutted the other to the point where he flew backwards, teeth falling out from his helmet’s openings. He kept his sword in the one Demon, moving him around by grabbing the hilt. A third one charged at Maximus’ flank, he reacted quickly and moved the Demon body shield into the third’s spear. Maximus dashed at the third one, hitting him in the back of the head and pushing the two Demons closer together, to the point where the third Demon’s head was dug into Icestorm. He pulled out the blade from the two Demons, tossing their corpses at the crowd. The demon he uppercutted got up at that moment and charged at Maximus, who kicked the Demon in the crotch to the point where the cup he wore only made the impact worse. He threw up inside his helmet, and fell back over. At this point, the three that were separated from the crowd were replaced by 5 more Demons. “C’mon, no one can survive a group of 14, especially if we attack at once, charge!” One of the Demons said as they made a circle around Maximus, and pushed inwards. Maximus jumped up above the attack, grabbing a flag above him mounted on the outside wall of the Radio Tower. At least three of the Demons were killed by friendly fire as they all swung at each other. As they reacted at the moment, two of the Demons began swinging at Maximus from where he was hanging. Maximus jumped back down, landing on one of the attackers, digging their face into the curb, causing blood to leak out from their head. Maximus looked at the group. One of them moved in for an attack, Maximus reacted by grabbing their hand before they could swing their sword, then grabbing their throat and throwing them through a nearby window. One of the crowd members shook their head, dropping their sword and saying “Screw this” as he took off. The crowd, now shortened to eight, began to back away, as Maximus moved closer to them. They began to move around, trying to recreate the circle around him. Maximus noticed he was standing on a spear. He side-stepped off of it and stepped forcefully on the spearhead, making it fly upwards, where he caught it in midair and threw it at a Demon, perfectly causing it to fly through the eye hole of his helmet and kill him. Maximus turned to a Demon running at him to attack from behind. He was miliseconds short of blocking the attack, causing him to be thrown off-guard, where he felt a sword just scrape his armor. He kicked back against his attacker, knocking him over the corpse of another Demon, where he fell over. Maximus striked at another Demon, slicing his leg off, and pushing him away. The previous Demon got up, but Maximus dug his heel into his neck and smashed his head down into the pavement, crushing his skull. Maximus rushed another Demon who was too far from the main crowd, stabbing him in the chest. Maximus took the wounded Demon, tossing him at the crowd where he knocked over another Demon. Maximus walked up to the trapped Demon, who was swearing and screaming. Maximus brought his sword down into the Demon’s forehead, killing him. Maximus shouted at the three remaining, and they, too, fled. He chuckled. He turned to the entrance of the building, but was caught off guard when another Demon grabbed his arm and twisted it, the same demon he uppercutted and kicked in the genitals. Maximus punched the Demon in the face several times, but the Demon proceeded to try and break his arm. He got close but Maximus was too strong, he pulled his arm inwards, where he kneed the Demon in the genitals. The Demon shook his head, “They’re still numb, I hardly felt that.” The Demon said. “Feel this!” Maximus said as he ripped off the Demon’s helmet and dug his fingers into the Demon’s eyeballs. He screamed in agony and backed off. Maximus mustered up all his strength, picking the Demon up over his head and bringing him down upon his knee, breaking his spine in half. As many corpses adorned the outside of the Building, Maximus cracked his knuckles, “I still got it.” He said as he walked into the building and entered the Elevator, riding it to the top…

NIKOLA ASTRID
Maximus reached the top of the building, but it was quiet, too quiet. Maximus investigated the area, and that’s when he felt a bloodied helmet, hit his foot. He looked at the helmet, and noticed that it was the helmet that went to the standard armor worn by the Order of Water marines. “Dammit, dammit no...” Maximus said. He looked around, and noticed the mutilated corpses of the marines strewn about the place. He heard sound coming from the recording studio, which was supposed to be soundproof. If Maximus could hear noise from inside the room, he knew there was something seriously wrong. He cautiously opened, the door to investigate what was inside. He saw one of the marines, stripped of their armor, nailed against the wall being cut open. He was still alive, too, screaming. The murderer of this man was humming to himself. He was clearly with the Demons but he didn’t even bother wearing armor. Inside the room was also Maximus’ cousin, who was tied down to the chair, which her eyes squeezed shut, tears leaking out from her closed eyes. She was whispering to herself to stay calm. Maximus was ever so silent, as he walked up to her. “It’s Max, stay calm, I’m going to get you out of here.” He whispered to her. She slowly opened her eyes and gasped. Maximus began cutting off the straps keeping her down, and that’s when he heard the man who was cutting the marine apart. “You know what’s fun about fitting shaped charge explosives into the cushions of chairs? Is that if anyone gets up from the chair, it only kills the person who was sitting in it!” The man said, he didn’t redirect his attention from the marine, who at this point was clearly in shock as he kept mumbling to himself. “And who would you be?” Maximus said as he turned to the man. “I am the new leader to the Order of Demons. And I must say, I don’t much like the lack of the red carpet that was supposed to be laid out for me. So as you could see I had to make the carpet red myself. It’s a boring chore but I think it was quite worth it, don’t you agree?” He said. “But where are my manners, the name is Nikola Astrid.” At that moment, he turned to face Maximus. “You’re the leader to the order of Demons? Good, then it’ll be easier for this battle to end when I fucking kill you.” Maximus said. “Hey, I was trying to be polite, the least you could do is introduce yourself to me as well. And watch the language. Why, it was so impolite that, I think I may have to teach you some manners.” Nikola said as he pulled out a revolver and blew the brains out of the marine. Maximus was shocked, but remained silent. He knew that marine was a dead man anyway. “So, tell me, do you like my sculpture? I happen to do these for a living so I would think it has to be impressive.” Nikola said. “It’s impressively horrifying, is that an answer you’ll take?” Maximus asked. “Hm, not really. So, what brings you here today, Mister… ?” Nikola asked. Maximus ignored his question. “I suggest you surrender right about now, Nikola. Many people have died today because of you, and there no chance you can handle the force of our army. When we win this battle you will pay for what you have done.” Maximus said. “That’s a bold statement you have there my friend, but I’m afraid you can’t just say such a thing until it’s fact. Here, allow me to demonstrate...” Nikola said as he pressed a button, causing Maximus’ cousin to explode behind him. All that was left of her was splattered about the room and onto Maximus’ armor. Maximus looked in horror. “See, now she’s dead. That’s a fact.” Nikola said. “No!” Maximus screamed. “It’s a fact, you can’t just say ‘no’ to that, it doesn’t make sense.” He looked over at Nikola. “I’m going to fucking slaughter you!” Maximus yelled, he charged at Nikola, grabbing him by the shoulders and pinning him against the wall, smashing his head against a window, breaking it open. “Now, let’s calm down. I don’t see the damage that I have commit-” Maximus kneed Nikola in the gut, and threw him with all his strength across the room, smashing him through the wall. Maximus stomped over to Nikola, picking him up by his throat and choking him. Nikola grabbed his sword and stabbed Maximus in the knee, causing him to back off and grab his knee. Nikola looked at his sword, it was a strange design, with a trigger. Nikola pressed the trigger and the sword lit up in a blaze. “Maximus, I will inform you now that I cannot allow you to just go around attacking people. This will be painful but it will end eventually.” Nikola said as he walked up to Maximus, who got up and punched Nikola in the stomach. Maximus took out his sword, and the two swords met, causing a steaming sound and smoke to fill the air. Maximus broke off and swung his sword, which Nikola ducked under. Nikola swung his sword as well, but Maximus blocked it, only to have Nikola hit Maximus’ helmet with the hilt. Maximus backed up, stunned a small bit, but recovered by knocking Nikola over, who jumped back up. Nikola swung his sword at Maximus’ chest, a thin line of flames met Maximus’ armor, which Maximus swiftly put out. While Maximus was busy putting out the flames, Nikola jabbed his sword into Maximus’ side, digging inwards and causing Maximus to scream in indescribable pain. Maximus doubled over, breathing heavy. Nikola grabbed Maximus’ arm and began dragging him off. Maximus kept hitting Nikola’s hand but Nikola stayed strong, never releasing Maximus. Nikola threw Maximus against the wall, taking off his helmet and punching him in the face, over and over. He kicked Maximus’ sword out of his hands and threw it to the other side of the room. Nikola grabbed Maximus’ arm, and put his foot on his chest, Nikola moved his sword into position and cut off Maximus’ forearm. Maximus screamed in agony, before being thrown to the floor. Nikola grabbed the back of Maximus’ head, pulling him up a small bit. Nikola placed the blade of his sword against Maximus’ throat. Maximus felt his throat on fire. At that moment, the elevator to the tower opened, and out ran two Paladins. “Maximus, no!” One of them shouted. Nikola looked at the two. “At this point, I would ask him to form some last words but, I don’t think he deserves the pleasure.” Nikola said as he slit Maximus’ throat. One of the Paladins ran to Maximus, as Nikola began walking away, while the other swung his blade at Nikola, who blocked it, and threw the Paladin towards Maximus. “I believe there are bigger problems for you at this moment.” Nikola said, as he walked to the Elevator, pressing the button to the first floor. The two Paladins watched in terror. “This is not happening.” One of them said. “We need to get him some medical attention, NOW!” The other said. Maximus’ consciousness began to fade away, until it all went black…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdWw9SksiwQ

VORCIUM
CHAPTER ONE: ALL OR NOTHING
WRITTEN BY JOSHUA “DEWM NINJA” JONES

CHAPTER TWO IS COMING SOON

CREDITS
CHARACTER - CREATOR

Maximus Jones - Dewm Ninja
Adamska Shalasaska - Eli Huey
Mac Slife - Super Nova
Yuri Kalalaika - Quikskope Kunfirmed
Gorryl - Eli Huey
Seras Vyrian - Z!FF
S.C.A.R. - Dewm Ninja
Silas Ordicon - Quikskope Kunfirmed
Jarret Lowad - Super Nova
Carter Lowad - Super Nova
Nikola Astrid - Eli Huey