Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In abandoned factories, long after the planet's dominant species had disappeared, new life sprung forth. This new life would constantly fight over the food they needed to survive. A never-ending cycle of death and rebirth. Some of their number were smart enough to rely on a more ancient intelligence. The intelligence of mass machinery told them all the same thing:

"A NEW FRONTIER ARISES. THE GUARDIANS OF THE UNDERGROUND HAVE BEEN RENDERED TO CINDERS. DIG DEEP AND DIG GREEDILY."

And so they did. Plunging into the depths. Sapping food away from the upper layers of the new frontier…They would soon realize that a living Hell was upon them…

Mostly because it was LITERAL Hell.

Chapter Text

After cleansing the Mouth, Limbo, Lust, and Gluttony, the next frontier is GREED. My name is Streetcleaner X49-2, I'm a Scout, the demand for blood grows ever higher, and I'm here to evaluate the supply. Two Supreme Machines have already gone through this area. I extrapolate this from the fact that most food I've found has been ripped to shreds by guns. I made sure to burn the corpses. There appears to be a massive pyramid and ancient human monuments. I'm travelling across what is known as 'The Great Wall'. No Food detected so far. I will continue.

After approximately 5 minutes, I found something. Several broken Swordsmachines. Not a good sign. I'm taking one of their shotguns. I look towards the sky and see a Mindflayer floating over me. I aimed the Shotgun at them before she teleported to me and pushed the Shotgun down. She began making…Sounds. From what I know about Machinery, these sounds are comparable to 'Coughing' and 'Growling'. She then spoke.

"Hello, little one! Do not worry, unlike these Swords, you won't be brutalized! I got what I wanted from them~"

She then gestured to one of them that had its voice box removed. I simply nodded and continued forward. She then teleported in front of me again.

"You aren't even impressed with work!? Most machines would be clapping at this sort of self-modification!" She said, flailing her arms around. I simply nodded and continued forward. She teleported in front of me again.

"Don't you wanna speak? Don't you wanna be aesthetically pleasing like moi and le monsieur Swordsmachine?". I nodded and simply continued. Before I could react, I was grabbed and thrown onto the pile of inactive Swordsmachines. I was pinned to the ground by the Mindflayer.

"Thank you for accepting the surgical procedure!" She said as everything went dark. Eventually, I came too, covered in blood. I felt woozy as I stumbled to my feet. The Mindflayer floated beside me.

"How ya feelin'?"

"Unstable"

I looked around. A voice I heard so many times before in my head. It was MY voice. I looked at the Mindflayer who giggled.

"Welcome to being able to speak!~ Do you now appreciate the work I put into these modifications?~"

"I don't like it." I said as I walked away from her. She seemed to follow me, giggling still. We travelled for another couple of minutes. Luckily she hadn't messed with my internals that much. Eventually, she asked a question.

"WHY don't you like it?"

"Waste."

"Oh please, Streetcleaners don't have enough bells and whistles to be concerned about waste."

"Still wasteful."

"Does individuality scare you that much, Little One?"

"Do you have nothing better to do?"

"Mmm, not really~"

"Wasteful."

"..."

We continued in silence for another hour. It seemed like we were making it towards the end. No food to be found. The exit was directly ahead of us. That's when I felt a rumbling in the ground. I held up my Flamethrower and looked around frantically. A giant stone lizard burst from the ground and landed in front of us, roaring. I dashed back as I hoisted my Flamethrower and grabbed the Shotgun. The Mindflayer began shooting a barrage of hellish energies at the lizard. The lizard tanked the blows as it chomped down on the Mindflayer. I tried shooting at the lizard but it rammed itself into me. I lay there as I heard the Mindflayer screaming. I had one idea to beat this thing. The Shotgun I had was a Core Eject Model. I quickly unplugged my gas canister and flamethrower before throwing it over the lizard. I then ejected the core. The core plus the gas canister created a huge explosion, blowing up half of the lizard. The Mindflayer got herself free, floating up and shooting a beam at the lizard, killing it. We had finally acquired FOOD.

After cleaning up the lizard's remains, the Mindflayer spoke up.

"My hero! You sacrificed your identity as a Streetcleaner to save an individual! How poetic!~"

"Not really. Only effective way I saw."

The Mindflayer would hug me tightly, something I've never felt before.

"My hero!~"

"Can we please exit now?"

"Sure, Hero~"

We finally reached the exit. I was ready to drop down to the next layer but the Mindflayer grabbed me and forced me to read the Terminal.

"TYPE: GREATER DEMON

DATA:
At the furthest edges of Greed lay the Geckos. Despite their namesake, they are a dangerous type of Demon designed to hunt and kill anyone who tries to escape their punishment.

It was said that they were designed by Angels, but after the Disappearance of God, and the Insurrection hunting any Demons down, they were later abandoned.

They now stalk the Sands looking for any unfortunate soul that stumbles upon them.

STRATEGY:

-Due to their exterior, explosives are highly recommended in taking one down

-They are dangerous up close and have an insane reach, best to keep your distance and snipe them"

"…"

"Good job, Hero!"

"I'm leaving now. This information isn't that important to me." I said walking over to the hole ready to jump down.

"Woaw…You're so humble!" She said floating up to me. We both jumped down the hole. I wasn't sure what'd we see next, but I think this was the beginning of a new status quo for me.

Chapter Text

We fell and fell. The Mindflayer was flipping through the air.

"You might want to stop."

"Whyyy? Afraid I'm getting more style than you?~"

"The bottom is fast approaching an-"

"Haha!~ I never took you for a bottom, Hero~"

I simply glared at her and I dashed over to a wall to slow my descent. She didn't seem too concerned about the whole idea until she slammed into the ground head-first. I landed next to her.

"I'll remember to use the term 'landing base' next time"

"Oughhhh…"

I walked away from her. She was most likely fine for the moment. I checked the terminal and saw that I could buy a shotgun variant, the Pumpcharge. I bought it, of course. I heard the Mindflayer groaning and moaning in pain so I checked on her.

"Are you okay yet?"

"Nooo…"

"Does Missie need a hero to help her?"

She repositioned herself to lie on her back and she looked up at me

"I can't tell if you're sarcastic or not…But if you are...Great job…Please don't do it when I'm DYING thank you…"

"It wasn't sarcasm."

I grabbed her leg and dragged her to the door and it opened

I saw palm trees, a massive pond of water, and grass. The sun that turned the golden dunes into molten slag was cooler. This was…Weird. Not since Limbo did Hell look so promising. I looked at the pond and saw no bottom. I sat the Mindflayer next to the lake as I scanned for Husks or Machines. I went around the entire lake in about 5 minutes. I did see a big mural of an angel holding a flaming sword. The figure in question was not the angel known as 'Gabriel'. I was then struck with the Holy Light. When I recovered, I looked up and saw a Virtue. It was floating there. Menacingly. It shouted something at me but I couldn't understand it. Filths, Strays, Schisms, and a Soldier. started appearing. About 10 Filths, 5 Strays, 2 Schisms, and 1 Soldier. I like those odds. Let's clean this pollution.

BEGIN PLAYING // SHATTERED ILLUSIONS

I dashed back, shooting a core at the advancing Filths. It easily took them all out but the Strays and Schisms unleashed a powerful torrent of Hell Energy at me. I got hit a few times but I'm still standing. I charged at the Soldier. They were about to fire on me again but I was able to punch them.

+PARRY!

The Soldier growled before punching me back. I shot him in the gut. His mechanical parts could be used later. The Strays were about to fire again. I let out a roar of binaric screeching. The Strays ran away before the Virtue subjected them to Holy Fire. The Virtue was ENRAGED and was close enough for me to kill it. I grabbed out the Pump Charge, pumped it to the maximum amount, and fired. The Schisms were done for. I was at 12% Hull Integrity. So almost dead. I dashed up to the Virtue and fired at it. The Virtue was still alive and ready to fire. I punched it. It died. I grabbed the corpse of the Soldier and dragged it over to the Mindflayer. She was still lying there. I kicked her.

"Ow! You know I'm still in massive amounts of PAIN!"

"Got…Parts…"

I blacked out immediately. I hadn't done a cursory check of myself and didn't realize that one of my Blood tanks had been punctured. Luckily, even at low energy my brain still functions. Eventually, I woke up. I saw a Swordsmachine standing over me. He was bulkier, bigger, and painted all black. He was holding a massive bag and tools.

"Finished! Good as new!" Said the Swordsmachine. Their voice was a deeper pitch than most Swordsmachines I've heard.

The Mindflayer hugged me and the Swordsmachine.

"Agh! What would I do without you two!?!!"

I looked at the Swordsmachine.

"Who's that?"

"It's my Boytoy Boyfri-"

The Swordsmachine covered the Mindflayer's head with its giant hand.

"I'm the Repairmachine, also known as Ben, friend to all Machines who need help!"

"Aren't Swordsmachines compulsive hoarders?

"We are, but what's the fun in hoarding if you can't test your toys?"

"You two are so weird…"

The Mindflayer struggled and flailed in Ben's hand. Ben looked around and looked back at me.

"Yeah. We're bored!"

I thought about it for a bit. The horrors of Hell do get boring after a while, especially with the encroaching mechanical hordes.

“So, Ben, any idea how we can advance?”

Ben threw the Mindflayer into the pond. She was screeched as she splashed into the murky depths. The Mindflayer floated up and shouted 'I see something!'.

"There's your answer. I've done my job here and got my P. See ya!"

Ben waved as he headed back to the Hellevator. I turned back to the Mindflayer as I stepped into the water. The pond was weird, as if you walked to the center, there was no longer a bottom. I fell for this. I also fell. The Mindflayer followed me.

Chapter Text

I saw a light. Not a bright one, but a dim one. Eventually, it got bigger and bigger before…

I was falling from a waterfall. I saw a vast ocean. I sound very calm, but I am in fact screaming very loudly. The Mindflayer was able to catch me. She held me as if I was some sort of 'Bride'.

"Looks like the Hero has been saved by the Heroine!"

"Your sayings of Heroism still baffle me. Do you know the definition of the word?"

"Do I look like I have a printout of the dictionary?"

"Your head looks like a print-"

"Finish that sentence and I can arrange a very intimate relationship with the GROUND"

"Hm…"

The Mindflayer started floating forward. She was flying over this ocean of water and bodies. Not much to mention. I saw Virtues blasting the waves with Fire. If I had to guess why, it's to slow down the Mechanical hordes by getting rid of the much-needed blood. The Mindflayer-

Hm. I keep calling her that. At this point in Human Relationships, we would know each other's names. Mechanical relationships work differently because most machines attack each other on sight.

"Hey. What's your name?"

"I go by many names…But I'm thinkin'…Missie. Sounds REFINED."

"Isn't that the name I gave you?

"Yeah, and I like you enough to take a name from you!"

Hm. Interesting. We flew and flew. Since I was mostly stationary, I decided to mess with my systems. Atmospherics, basic sensors, fuel management, motivation software, flamethrower dynamics…I need a new gas canister. I don't know when I'll get a new one though. Maybe Ben might know something? Hm…It seems the Atmospherics are going off. Oh. Oh no.

"WE NEED TO MOVE FAST."

"Wha? There's no immediate danger!"

"MOVE FASTER. BIG STORM. UNLIKE ANY I'VE SEEN."

"I mean most Streetcleaners I've seen have been in Hell for most of their lives and it doesn't really storm so-"

"FUCKING MOVE!"

"Wooooah! Language!~"

We both heard a booming voice from the sky.

"Ahhh, this message is going out to all you Sinners. My name is Uriel, Guardian of Eden, and the new Judge Of Hell since Gabriel failed to beat…A glorified Smart Toaster? How embarrassing~"

He chuckled for a bit. Missie had stopped floating forward. I pumped the Pumpcharge as if it would deter the voice. It did not.

"Unlike Gabriel, I won't punish you for past crimes. All wrathful sinners, it's your lucky day! Greed is getting overrun by Machines. Virtues, you can stop waking the ocean now. Rise, the angriest souls of Hell! Destroy the machines and obtain your freedom!"

Missie looked down at me.

"That still doesn't explain the weird weather you were picking up. I think that Angel guy is just inspiring fear in y-"

"Oh, and one last message before I go down there. We'll be taking a page out of the good book and we'll be FLOODING the entirety of Wrath. Please stand by."

I looked at Missie. It's hard to emote facially when you don't have a face but I would like to make my disappointment well known.

"Look, Hero, I'll be right one of these days!"

"Just get us out of here…"

Missie flew faster than before. The waves below seemed a lot more choppy. The sky was dark, lightning striking randomly. Rain was pouring down like a hose. The virtues were gone. We did see some rocks in the ocean. Machines of all types clung to them before either getting dragged under or getting struck by lightning. Missie was teleporting frantically just to avoid the lightning. I thought we would be fine but she was struck by lightning and dropped me. I aimed my Core Eject at the Waves and began firing cores. I didn't want to get overwhelmed by waves of people. I crashed into the waves. As I sank, the husks of the wrathful tried grabbing at me. I just kept firing more and more cores. It seemed like they were getting pushed by the water toward the surface, unlike me who was still sinking.

I landed on the ocean floor. I wasn't too badly damaged. I didn't know where Missie was. I pressed forward. I felt that I was grabbed by something. I heard a gurgling noise and looked at my leg to see an emaciated eyeless husk looking up at me. I tried kicking it off before more started grabbing at me. I shot a core into the air before it landed on top of me and the Husks. I began shooting cores randomly, trying to clear the ground. I started running. I saw an exit. I heard angry gurgling and rushing water. The Wrathful were gaining on me. The exit opened up and I jumped into it before it closed. I was a bit shaken. I checked my Systems and Body. Everything was fine. I needed Ben. I'll travel forward. Hopefully, Missie could catch up…

Chapter Text

OH GOD THE LIGHTNING WON'T STOP! It's so BAD! Hello! I'm Missie the Mindflayer! The baddest female doggie known to Hell. I would tell you about my current situation but there's not much to explain. What am I supposed to say? 'Ough, I dodged the lightning, teleporting erratically, for about 5 minutes according to my stopwatch'

Nope! I mean…It's what I'm doing…I also misplaced my Hero! I'm very scared, he's like an emotional support dog to me! Making him the third baddest doggie in Hell. The second is Cerberus, of course. Speaking of Cerberus, all life on the surface of Wrath has been swept away! The Wrathful persist. Welp! If the Ocean is safe, then let's go to the ocean! I held out my hands into the air and grabbed a lightning bolt. The heavenly fools! This lightning is just HELL ENERGY! The lightning started swirling in my hands as more energy gathered and gathered. That's when I threw it at the OCEAN! I flew down into the opening I made and saw…

BROKEN SHIPS! Ships from all ages! Normally I would scavenge, buuuuut I'm currently being chased by the Wrathful. Y'know, that's a very COMMON occurrence with me. Must be cuz I'm so hot~. Unleashing barrages of Hell Energies, I was able to keep the Wrathful at bay! Now…Since I'm just floating, and there isn't much to do, I guess I could view some of my memories…

So I used to live in Lust, back when the old King was stompin' around. I used to be in a gang! We were called the Divergents! We would hunt Husks and Machines constantly. Upgrading ourselves, eating, sleeping, and having fun. That's how I met Ben! He was always a weirdo. He was always one step ahead of the rest of us. So of course, when the King turned up dead, he grabbed me, screamed, 'SCATTER!', and dragged me to Gluttony. I never saw my Gang after that, but I bet they're still alive up in Lust! I bet they would LOVE that I can talk now~. But…There's still one thing I need…And I BET it's here!

After a quick search, I found it…A RIPPED SWEATER! With bonus shorts! And a revolver. I don't need this but…Hero might. I feel slightly bad that he lost his can…I hope he's okay…Enough mucking about! It's time to leave! LET'S GOOO! I then teleported in front of the exit and accidentally banged my head into it. I need to stop doing that! I went over to the terminal and put in a code. I and the gang found a way to access the terminal data-sending thingy. Ben is almost ALWAYS around one. Speak of the devil, he responded!

"BEN! Help! I know it's been a second but I lost Hero and I'm freaking out! There are ANGELS!"

"Perfect! My secret project is finished. I'll find you guys in a second. Just continue."

"Okay :("

Ugh! That wasn't as great as I wanted it to be, but I'll continue forward…To the depths…

Chapter Text

I landed on the base. I was still heavily damaged from the Husks at the bottom of the ocean. I limped to the door and it opened up. I was at a dock town of some sort. There was about a foot of water covering the ground. Rain was still pouring. I felt something grab me from behind me and pull me into a bear hug.

"Hero! I missed you! Are you okay? Did anyone hurt you? If they did, are they horribly mangled and dead?"

I looked up at her.

"Did you get a sweater?"

"And a gun!"

She handed me a gun. It was a…Alternate Sharpshooter…Interesting. I spun it in my hand as I walked out the door, Missie following me. I trudged through the water. All we saw was melted and burned machines. Missie floated closely behind me. Eventually, we saw an angel. He held a flaming sword. He had wings made of fire and a halo as bright as the sun.

"Ah! More machines for the purification. I'm so glad we've dealt with the stranglers before the full army appears. We should've dealt with you and the humans who broke in long ago."

He held up his sword high into the sky as it burned brilliantly. I had been spinning the Sharpshooter this entire time and shot it behind him as it ricocheted and knocked the sword out of his hands. Missie immediately teleported over to it and grabbed it before teleporting behind me.

"Hm. Alright then. Clearly, I need to be more awake for this fight!"

The air heated up around us as he reeled his arm back and teleported in front of Missie, punching her with a flaming fist.

BEGIN PLAYING // DIVINE INTERVENTION

Uriel grabbed me, literally boiling my blood, before throwing me at Missie. Missie grabbed me and teleported us to the entrance of this area.

"OH GOD WHAT DO WE DO!? WE'RE GET MURDERED!"

I stumbled to my feet.

"I don't want to admit it but I can't handle another hit like that…Systems are unstable…"

Missie handed me the sword.

"I believe if it's anyone who can beat the flaming angel, it would be you, the one who controls flames!"

I held the sword tightly. Uriel teleported in front of me. I swung at him and he dodged. Missie had my back, however, as she fired a barrage of energies at him. He staggered, and that's when I swung again, the flaming blade cutting through his armour like butter. He tried grabbing me again but Missie grabbed him from behind. I was able to run the sword through him. I pulled the sword out as he lay there, dying.

"Ha! Machines beat Angels once again! Woooo!"

Missie kicked Uriel. She continued to celebrate by hugging me tightly. Uriel coughed and hacked.

"You…You think this is over!?!"

"Uhhh, yeah. You whiny lil pee pee boy!~"

I chuckled at this. I think that's the first time I've laughed. The mighty angel lies defeated and near death.

"YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY!?"

Uriel slammed his fist into the ground, his flaming radiance dying out. Both me and Missie began laughing.

"IT'S NOT FUNNY AT ALL!"

We continued to laugh at him.

"But this is!~"

Uriel said as a blinding light covered him. I felt the sword I was holding disappear as I was punched to the ground. When I regained vision I saw Uriel with his sword and two other angels beside him.

"Did you think I came alone? Meet my friends, Raphael the healer and Michael the fighter."

Raphael meekly waved and Michael just floated. Missie tried grabbing me but Michael slammed her into the wall and spiked her into the ground.

"Uriel, you're telling me the GUARDIAN OF EDEN had trouble with these LESSER BEINGS?"

"These machines seem different from the rest…I was thrown off my usual rhythm."

Michael created a spear from thin air and stabbed it into Missie's body. She wasn't dead but she was close. Uriel pointed his flaming blade at me.

"You did well, but in the end you fa-"

I jumped at him, shooting him with the Pumpcharge. Sadly, my Hail Mary was met with the loss of my arm and a spear through my chest.

"Well that was just plain stupid of you. Raphael, heal me please."

I lay there, dying. I don't know why I did it but…Wait. I hear something…

BEGIN PLAYING // VERSUS

I see a dashing red light collide with Raphael. My vision is blinded as…I'm healed? Missie was also healed! I ran over to Missie. I was missing my left arm still so I only had the Sharpshooter. Missie looked up.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know. But there's a red-winged-"

Oh. Oh no.

"RAPHAEL IS DOWN!"

"Take them to Heaven then! I'll deal with this…Thing."

Michael grabbed Raphael and teleported away as Uriel stared down the red machine with wings. It looked broken and dented, only held together with metal plating and sheer determination. Its arm was that of a Swordsmachine, with the sword in tow. It slashed at Uriel several times and Uriel blocked each blow. Uriel seemed to be measuring the machine's abilities before…

+DISARMED!

Uriel lost his sword! After that, the red machine was able to place several excellent blows on Uriel with its arsenal. Uriel set the red machine ablaze and grabbed his sword.

"Machines…I've made the mistake of underestimating you for the last time!"

Uriel disappeared in a fiery pillar. The red machine tried throwing its blade at him before he left, but he wasn't fast enough. We heard clapping behind us as Ben stepped out of the entrance. He slapped a hand into the red machine's shoulder.

"My secret project! V2!

V2 shrugged Ben off before continuing forward. Ben walked over to Missie and helped her to her feet. He then looked over at me.

"Sorry about the arm. I can make you a new one!"

Ben reached into his bag and pulled out a Mindflayer arm. He attached it to the socket where my left arm should be. It felt…Weird. It surged with energies I didn't quite understand. Missie made a cooing sound.

"Ohhhh sicknasty dude!"

She picked me up by my arm and carefully looked over it.

"AND it's modified? This isn't just plastic and motors, it can manipulate Hell energy and stab people! Ben, how'd you make this?"

Ben just shrugged as he went off to find V2. Missie held me and followed him. We caught up to V2. He was looking at the exit door, rapidly flipping through his arsenal. Ben leaned to the both of us.

"Careful, he's a bit testy and murderifical."

"Ohhh, he can't be THAT bad! Lemme say hi to him!"

Missie teleported in front of him and waved. V2 immediately aimed a Railcannon at her. She dropped me and put her hands up. V2 growled and revved up his sword. I decided to punch him in the face. When he recovered from my punch, he put down the sword and grabbed me. He then seemed to calm down and put me down. He gave both me and Missie a bow. The door opened immediately afterwards. V2 and Ben jumped down first. I was going to be third but Missie grabbed me.

"Hey! What's your name? You've saved my life three times now and I still don't know your name!"

My name is Streetcleaner X49-2...That designation doesn't suit me anymore. My new name is…

"...Hiro."

Missie looked at me for a bit.

"Isn't that the name I gave you?"

"We already had this conversation. You know the answer."

I jumped down the hole after saying that.

Chapter Text

Missie grabbed me halfway down and floated me to the base. We found Ben and V2. V2 was inactive as Ben fiddled with his mechanics.

"Oh hey! I was just keeping this guy maintained. He's a glass cannon. I'll be with you in a sec!"

I looked over at the door and saw it was open. I peered outside and saw hundreds of ruined Cathedrals with hundreds of Cerberi guarding the entrances. It was raining softly and I heard waves crashing against the stone. I looked behind the entrance and saw mountains as tall as the sky. I pressed forward. I heard whispers from the Cathedrals. I decided to head back to Missie and the others.

I returned and saw that V2 was hooked up to the terminal. Ben was fiddling with the terminal. Missie floated beside me.

"Soooo, find anything?"

"Not really. It's quiet."

"Too quiet?"

"No. What's Ben up to?"

"Oh! He's training V2! Apparently, V2 has some rival he wants to beat. Along with Ben just repairing him in general."

"Hm."

Missie dragged me over to the terminal and shoved my face against the screen.

"New gun! New options! New enemies! New descriptions!"

"...Okay."

"TYPE: LESSER HUSK

DATA:
The Wrathful and the Sullen are two sides of the same coin. They're both the result of angry souls being thrown into the Ocean of Wrath. The Wrathful fight each other to get air and the Sullen are the ones that have given up in the fight.

Some Sullen formed the Leviathan but it was later destroyed by the machine known as V1.

[ERROR]"

V2 immediately got up and unplugged himself from the Terminal. He looked over at me with a crazed look. Ben quickly got between us.

"Ah! V2! You beautiful thing! How was the training?"

V2 walked off. We all followed him. We walked for a minute before we heard a commotion.

"HERESY! The layer of those who betrayed, perverted, or disregarded His great will! HEAR ME NOW, HERETICS! I'M THE ARCHANGEL MICHAEL, HERE TO RELEASE YOUR TORTURED SOULS ON ONE CONDITION!"

We turned the corner and saw Michael. He looked at us. We heard chains moving and shackles shattering. The doors to the cathedrals opened as hundreds of shambling ragged priests came out. The Cerberi began standing as well. Michael pointed to us.

"REND. THEM. APART!"

Michael teleported away as each priest began rambling their own sermon. V2 stepped in front of us and revved his sword. I threw Ben the Pumpcharge and pulled out my Core Eject. Missie teleported into the sky. The priests kept rambling before finally coming to one cohesive sentence they could all agree on.

"AND THUS THE LORD AND THE ANGELS SAID, 'PUNISH ALL WHO COMMIT SIN'!"

BEGIN PLAYING // ALTARS OF APOSTASY

V2 rushed forward and cleaved a Cerbrerus in two. He charged forward, slicing through the crowds. Unfortunately, he left us behind. The Cerberi rushed off to dispatch of V2 but the priests stepped up. They pulled out spears that crackled with Hell energy and lobbed them at us. I held out my left hand. Something in my processing told me too. The spears heading towards me stopped. I closed my palm and the spears dispersed. The priests shouted obscenities at me. Ben clapped. Missie bombarded the Priests with her own energy. I fired cores at them while Ben grabbed and shot them. This lasted for 5 MINUTES. Missie teleported down to us.

"Guys! This is too much for us to handle! This isn't even a quarter of them!"

"Oh no. I think it's time for a tactical retreat!"

Ben started blasting his way through the priests before climbing up a cathedral to its roof. He shouted back to us.

"Get to higher ground! Easier to manage!"

Missie grabbed me and teleported to the sky. I saw the exit. It was across a bridge. I also soon noticed Missie was getting fired at. Not only by the Priests, but Malicious Faces and Cerberi. Missie dodged with grace, holding onto me tightly. She then flew towards the ground, weaving through alleyways and I continued to shoot cores. It wasn't enough, though. Missie was occasionally getting hit just to keep me safe. She eventually crashed into the ground. I quickly got to my feet and picked her up. I ran. The priests shot me in the back. It didn't matter how much damage I took. As long as I could run, I was winning.

Me and Missie made it to the bridge. There was no priest in sight, however. I saw Ben. He looked like a porcupine. He was still standing tall. I looked ahead and saw V2. He looked fine. I handed Missie to Ben and stumbled forward. The exit was ahead. Ben and I went past V2. He was looking at something, not sure what. V2 stepped ahead and revved up his sword. A white flash and Michael reappeared, flaming sword in hand.

"OH FUCK YEAH!!! URIEL FINALLY LENT ME HIS STRENGTH! NOW IT'S TIME FOR GOD'S WILL TO BE RESTORED!"

Michael pointed the sword to the sky and the bridge began to shake. I pulled out the Core Eject and dragged Missie to the exit. I tried running over to fight Michael but Ben grabbed me and took me to the exit.

"Let V2 handle this! You're too damaged!"

The exit opened and while I wanted to help, I couldn't. I needed to get repaired.

"Fix Missie.."

I said before collapsing to the ground. I had lost a lot of blood. At least I was able to see V2 fight Michael.

V2 seemed to stand there for a moment before standing up. Michael swung at him but V2 parried it with his sword. V2 then shot him with the Railcannon and a Charged Piercer Shot. Michael seemed to tank the shots as he continued to swing at V2. V2 was fast enough to dodge most of his swings, returning each failed swing with considerable firepower. Michael eventually kicked him to the ground. He raised Uriel's sword in the air and the bridge melted away like wax.

"HA! The Lesser one fails! How could Gabriel be felled so easily by these things…? Maybe he just got too cocky! I mean if his Almighty Hissy Fit towards the council is any clue…"

Michael looked over at us.

"Oh, but that’s enough small talk. I HAVE MACHINES TO DESTROY!”

Ben grabbed me and Missie before jumping down the hole. Just in time too, I saw the room go up in flames almost immediately after Michael finished his sentence. I drifted off as my brain shut off due to insufficient blood.

Chapter Text

Hiro is currently out of commission. Ben is looking over him as Ben had already repaired me as best as he could. He also repaired himself as best as he could. In fact, I'm surprised he can function! Working with just scraps…But, I think he got Hiro to work again!

"Hey Ben, is he okay?"

"Yeah, he'll be fine! We just need blood! Which is…Easier…Said…..Then done…."

Ben said each word in a deeper pitch. I made a tiny sound of worry. What if there were more Heretics? They were scary…

Ben then patted me on my head.

"Don't worry, we can manage!"

God he's so cool…! He slung Hiro over his shoulder and went to open the door. I floated beside him. He opened up the door and we saw a dimly lit catacomb with decorative skulls and closed tombs. Ben knocked on one of the tombs and tried opening it. It didn't budge! We continued forward. I felt hungry…It was made worse by all the SILENCE. Ever since I met Hiro it's just SILENCE and moments of VIOLENCE. I hope it's building towards something…

"Hey, Ben! You know what happened to our gang?"

"Last I checked up with them…They were in Violence! Apparently, Lust got sucked dry…Some of them didn't make it…"

"Oh…"

That didn't really help the dower mood…I'm so tired too…

"Hey, can you carry me? I need to conserve blood.."

Ben slung me over his other shoulder. I drifted into a deep slumber almost immediately. Welcome to my Dreamscape! Most machines don't dream. Most of us were designed for specific purposes and use 'Sleep Time' to process stuff. Hiro probably does this! Ben…He might. I don't actually know?? Anyway, my dreams are either downloaded videos or memories. I found a video of a beautiful garden back in Lust! I had to heavily edit it due to…Well, I'll leave it to your imagination~

Huh…I hear singing? This video didn't have singing before! I woke up immediately!

"Ben! You hear that?"

"Yes, don't shout!"

"Yeah guys, don't SHOUT!"

Me and Ben screamed. Ben pointed the Pumpcharge at the figure and I was charging up an attack! We then realized that this white-cloaked figure was just…Raphael, the healer! They were holding their hands up. I decided to speak up.

"You're acting bold today! Aren't you worried about the V2 wrecking you again?"

Raphael looked around. I think they're trying to call my bluff.

"You're bluffing"

AH!

"With you in critical condition, my current orders are to wipe up any stra-"

Ben shot them. Raphael fell to the ground but quickly teleported away before Ben could get ahold of them.

"Missie, remember to shoot the angels while they're monologuing"

"I wassss!"

This was another bluff. I do like hearing the angels talk even though they want to murder me and my friends.

Y'KNOW I PROBABLY SHOULDN'T LIKE THAT.

Ben continued forward before we heard the grinding of stone. We saw Husks rise from the grave! You know what that means! BLOOD! :D

BEGIN PLAYING // PANIC BETRAYER

I started shooting Hellish Energy in every direction. There seemed to be 20 Husks in this room and I had shot 5. I could take them! I lunged at another one and smashed it. Looking closer, these guys look like knights! Ben doesn't have a sword, however, so we won't get a sick duel today. Anyway, I took out another 5 with a beam. I looked over at Ben to see how he was handling the Knights. He was shooting them, stomping them, crushing them with his hands, and throwing them at each other. Then we heard a voice!

"You still live? I thought these were great WARRIORS! Ugh, whatever! I need these Knights elsewhere! Uriel won't mind a few rampant machines behind lines.."

Ha, Raphael is bad at predicting us! Now to FEAST.

Ben filled up Hiro first before we got our fill. I assumed Hiro would wake up later. We ran through the Catacombs! We could still hear Raphael singing. We didn't see any more Knights or any other Husks. Raphael's singing was quite surreal to listen to. We escaped the Catacombs and found ourselves on ANOTHER BRIDGE! UGH! IS MICHAEL GONNA REAPPEAR!?! He didn't. Yay! We walked across the bridge and nothing happened. The land ahead of us looked to be full of trees and mist. Ben didn't seem to be bothered by it but I was spooked. I could hear SOMETHING in the forest. I was floating beside Ben and then I saw something out of the corner of my eye! Hiro was moving! I grabbed him from Ben's shoulder and held him close to me. Ben gave me a look before we continued walking. I felt a lil less scared because I had Hiro here! Plus we found a wide open place with a big tree, a BLUE V2 and-

V1 looked over at us. Their arm was red and they took a step closer as they seemed to be flipping through their various weapons.

"Ben, if we don't make it out of this, it's been an honour and pleasure serving with you."

"Same to you, Missie…"

"Same honours and pleasures to you, Hiro!"

I patted Hiro's head before me and Ben braced for the end of our lives. V1 jumped into the air, flipping several coins before…

+COUNTER-RICOCHET x3

V1 fell to the ground. I saw a figure in the woods walk out. It was a weird-looking Red V1…OH MY GOD! V1 looked over at V2. V2 seemed to be wielding Uriel's flaming blade and looked more…Divinely inspired than usual? V2 pointed the sword in the air and made a slitting throat motion with his hand. V1 returned the motion. V2 then spun the sword in the air. Fireballs were going everywhere and the forest caught ablaze! Hiro stirred awake at this and he looked over at the battle soon to occured.

"What. What's happening?"

"Uhhh…I have no idea…"

I mean, where DID V2 come from?

Chapter Text

Ugh…Where in the HERE am I? I get up to my feet and look up. It's raining. The bridge is gone. I can't climb that high. I look at my sword and see my reflection.

I am V2, Mechanical progeny. Rebuilt by some Swordsmachine, currently on a mission to the depths of Hell. Or whatever he wants. That guy is weird. He did promise me one thing though…When I find my PREDECESSOR…I must BREAK THEM as they broke ME. Honestly, it's the only reason why I haven't left already. I have to continue forward.

Luckily for me, I can still move despite numerous injuries. From what I can tell, this is a massive mountain in front of me. There's also an entrance. The entrance has something written in Latin. It probably says something like 'Don't enter or else ye be a godless heathen'. Whatever. I break open the entrance and continue forward.

It's dimly lit. It's just a catacombs. It's maze-like in its construction with the occasional skull switches. Why is Hell obsessed with these skull switches? Even my old mansion back in limbo had them. I said HAD because I did see what happened to my old stomping grounds. Nothing left. Just machines. I wanted to make the Machines PAY but sadly Ben pulled me away. I'll go back to Limbo and Greed after I DESTROY V1.

V1. THE B A S T A R D. Twice embarrassed by their inferior make. The fact I felt FEAR when they killed me is VILE. I've trained hard enough for this rematch but…That's what I said last time…I can't be cocky about this. I need to weaken them first. I need better upgrades. I need…Is that singing? I turn around a corner and see one of those angels I fought. This one was…The Healer I think. They had their back turned to me. So I decided to LUNGE at them, stabbing them through the back. They fell to the ground, gurgling on their blood. I hunger for blood but it would be a waste to get it from this angel. I saw them fiddling with their hands, creating some sort of light. I stamped my foot on their hand and when they looked up to me I just pointed to myself. I can't talk but I can still communicate. The Healer continued to squirm but eventually, they got with the program and healed me to 100%. I pulled the sword out and kicked them into the wall. Not my target for this mission. I felt better than ever before! I began running!

I think the Healer recovered, however. After beginning my run I heard the singing again and I saw all kinds of Husks appear from their graves. The Healer should stick to healing. I SHREDDED them. Their gore painted the walls wherever I went. I didn't get hit once. Oh how I wish I could stay here forever, but I have a sibling to kill. I escaped the catacombs and found myself on another bridge. Ahead of me, two angels. The Healer, and the one I fought last time on the bridge. I didn't pay attention to what they were on about but the Healer pointed to me and disappeared in a ray of light. The remaining angel raised his sword in the air and yelled 'I AM MICHAEL, MILITANT SUPREME!'. I wish I could verbally tell him I didn't care, so the next best option was shooting him with lethal amounts of electricity. He slashed the bolt in half and lunged at me. This is where sword met sword. Clashing of metal you could hear for MILES. It was during this I saw that his sword was slowly melting mine own. So, I started bashing my blade against his. He didn't seem to realize this, just laughing at me, struggling to hit him until…One final blow.

+BROKEN BLADE

My sword shattered into pieces. This had the intended effect of surprising him and leaving him open. That's when I shot him with a bolt, a charged piercer shot, and a Nail Gun barrage, all at the arm holding the flaming blade. He cried out in pain. His arm was basically useless and I easily grabbed the blade away from him. He said something about coming back to get me and tried to run away. I grabbed him tightly on his leg. He won't escape this time. WE teleported away.

Chapter Text

As soon as we reappeared next to solid ground, I immediately slammed Michael into it. I saw his blood stain the floor. He tried crawling away but I stabbed him through the back. The sword burned with the light of a thousand stars. Couldn't imagine how it felt though. I could hear it though. I then heard another angel. This time the fire one. All the angels met thus far have a lack of faces, so I couldn't tell what was going through his mind. I took the sword out of Michael's back and pointed it at the angel of fire. He simply bowed.

He called me master of the blade, God's New Light, Slayer of evil. I think he was trying to flatter me. So I got closer to him.

He said I was strong enough to 'defeat my nemesis, the angel known as Gabriel'. I was MAD. That was that CANCER, V1! I GOT CLOSER, THE FIRE OF THE BLADE BURNING BRIGHTER.

He stood his ground however, he said that I knew exactly what I wanted. He said that he simply got me and V1 confused. He said that I knew I wanted them dead. I stopped. I was listening now.

"Ahhh yes! That was the reason! A different common enemy! I'll give you all the power you need to defeat that Blue Devil."

He snapped his fingers and I felt a warm energy fill me. At first, I thought it was fire but…It wasn't. I was floating in the air and I felt a power surging through me. I teleported around the room, moving at speeds unheard of! I felt my wings changing into something new! Ben had tried integrating hell energy into my make for a while now but this was different. This was…

DIVINE ENERGY.

"I see you've already mastered the basics of this power. Now, you'll find your enemy at the edge of Heresy, almost in Violence, you better hurry!"

I nodded at him before teleporting away. I know he's just using me as a proxy. Ben was too. It doesn't matter anymore. Once I kill and shatter V1

No one can tell me what to do

Chapter Text

I had finally awakened from my lack of blood. Last I remembered, Michael had freed Heretics and then beat V2 in a fight. I wasn't allowed to think about it for long as Ben spoke up.

"We need to LEAVE"

"DIDN'T HAVE TO TELL ME TWICE!"

V1 and V2 charged at each other. V2 swung his blade but V1 parried it. I felt a shockwave and Missie teleported away. I could only see the faint orange glow of the fire in the distance. Missie put me down.

"Okay! I'm gonna go get Ben! You stay here!"

I nodded as I pulled out my Core Eject. Missie disappeared. I heard a faint flickering noise. I turned around and noticed that a tree had gone up in flames! I heard a familiar voice around me.

"Ahhh, the Machine is all alone. Abandoned by his only ally."

The fire came closer to me. I tried shooting at it but it simply ignored my shots and wrapped around my neck.

"For a Streetcleaner, you sure don't seem to understand how FIRE works."

The fire slowly materialized into a hand and I saw Uriel appear from the flames. He simply laughed at me.

"My brother, Michael, would've enjoyed this. Sadly, your red friend crushed him like a common bug…I doubt your friend will even succeed but it beats sending more angels!"

I struggled to get him off me but he tightened his grip.

"I haven't seen this much shit gone awry since the Father disappeared! Soon, I'll bring fire to your MISERABLE mechanical hordes and put EVERYTHING back to ORDER"

I felt his grip crushing my neck. I felt…Something. Fear? Anger? Hate? Sadness? A cocktail of emotions. I clutched my left fist. I would not die, not here, not NOW. I punched him square in the face with hellish energy. He recoiled in pain and let go of me. I switched to my Sharpshooter and spun it around. He recovered quickly.

"WHY YOU INSOLENT LIT-"

I shot him with the Sharpshooter. He fell to his back and I switched to my Core Eject and fired a core his way. He went flying into a burning tree as the fires slowly engulfed this area.

"You know, for an angel made of fire, you are vulnerable to your own element."

Uriel coughed, struggling to get off the ground.

"Looks like my research into your kind has proved less than advantageous…"

I saw the dirt beneath him begin to burn.

"So instead…LET'S BE UNCONVENTIONAL!"

I felt something grab me from behind and suddenly I was in the sky. For a second, I thought it was Uriel, but it was just Missie.

"Just in time!"

"Where's Ben?"

"I tried looking for him but I think he got out of dodge!"

"Good for him. We need to get out of here before Uriel finds us again!"

This was before I saw an explosion and a spiralling pillar of flame reaching into the sky. The forest was now fully on fire, as far as the eye could see. I saw V2 and V1 soaring through the sky, still fighting. Couldn't tell who was winning. Uriel reappeared before us and threw a fireball at us. Missie was able to get away but Uriel kept following us. I jumped out of Missie's grasp and I punched Uriel again. That wasn't my best idea as he was on fire and could damage me on contact. He grabbed me but not for long as Missie shot him in the back. I fell onto the ground and quickly got away from him before shooting him with multiple cores. Missie joined in by shooting him with hell energy.

"ENOUGH!"

Uriel screamed before fire wrapped around me and Missie, burning and charring us. He stood up, bleeding and almost broken.

"I tire of this FIGHT…I HAVE FAILED TOO MANY TIMES TO BRING DOWN SIMPLE MACHINES! Now, it's time you DIE."

Uriel was burning brightly before Raphael appeared out of the ground.

"Raphael? I thought you were in Greed!"

"Greed got overrun! Now the battle is in Wrath! Uriel, these guys are worthless!"

Raphael healed Uriel and he seemed to calm down.

"Yes…I see…I'm sorry I lost my temper…"

"Don't apologize! We need to go!"

"Hm..I want to see how V2 will fare first. We can still use him."

Raphael sighed before they both teleported away. I crawled over to Missie.

"Missie, you okay?"

"Well except for the fact that my body got ruined for like the seventy-billionth time today, I'm fine…Even my clothes are gone!"

Missie pulled me into a hug and started floating. She was still upset, but we were alive. I nudged her.

"Let's find V2, then we can find Ben to fix you up."

"Okay…"

Missie began teleporting around, looking for V2. We found signs of where he had been fighting. The forest at this point was more fire than vegetation. It looked nice. We eventually found V2, after a minute of searching. V1 and V2 were still fighting but V2 looked far more damaged. V2 tried shooting with a Railcannon but V1 deflected it with a few well-placed coins. V1 then shot something on the ground and started shooting sawblades. V1 then punched V2 into them. V2 continued to stand his ground as he held his flaming blade. V1 then grappled onto him, Pumpcharge in hand. As V1 zoomed towards V2, V2 used the flaming sword to cut off V1's green arm, and then his red one, he almost got the blue one but V1 dodged in time. V2 grabbed the two arms. He stood tall over V1 and tried to plunge the sword into them but…

It wasn't meant to be

V1 grabbed V2's sword arm and shot a core into the air. When the core almost landed on V2, V1 shot it with a Red Railcannon. It was hard to see through the explosion but after the dust settled, V1 was holding the sword. V2 was not only missing his arm but also the arms he cut off V1. V2 tried to retaliate using his some…Divine power…Whatever that is…But it failed. He tried teleporting around and trying to catch V1 slipping up but it failed. V1 was able to grapple V2 again and started beating him with the Red Arm. V2 struggled to get V1 off him. I tried to step forward but Missie grabbed me.

"We found V2, he died horribly."

As soon as Missie said that, I could hear a loud ripping noise. I saw that V1 was holding V2's head as it dripped with blood. V1 then threw it at the ground and began hitting it with the flaming blade. After a minute, V2 didn't exist anymore. Missie immediately teleported us away to a random part of the forest before collapsing onto the ground.

"I just wanna leave this nightmare…Please…"

We heard a rumbling sound as the exit rose from the ground. We saw a flame on top of it that soon materialized into Uriel who was holding his blade.

"The King has died! Long live the King! I would've used Raphael's power to revive your red friend, but you need a body to revive and well…We both saw how that went."

I aimed my Core Eject at him.

"See you in the lower levels! It's only going to get worse from here!"

And with that, he faded away. I picked Missie up as best I could before jumping down the hole, to the next layer.

Chapter Text

I returned to Heaven. I sat down in a chair and delved deep in my mind to fix this shit show of a situation. First…Those two machines, the Mindflayer and the Streetcleaner…I must ignore them. I have bigger issues like V1 and the Horde. Second…Michael’s dead…That damned fool…No time to let him rest...Raphael can bring him back! Speaking of them, Raphael soon stirred me from my thoughts.

“Um…Uriel…What do we do now?”

“We mobilize every damned angel and send them to Hell.”

“You sure-”

“If we lose Hell, where do you think the Machines will look next? It's certainly not AGRICULTURE!”

Raphael took a step back.

“This is true…What shall we do with Michael's body?”

“We revive him, as much as the idea disgusts me…”

“I see…”

Raphael teleported away and I went back to my thoughts. By the Father, I’m not cut out for this work…Oh, to be back in Eden waiting for the day the Father would let humanity back in Eden when they learned their lesson. Those days have LONG since ended with the Wars and the Father's Disappearance. If I could tell my past self not to even bother becoming the Guardian Of Eden, I would’ve. Oh well, I guess, I act as the Regent of Heaven until my death. I DOUBT the Father is even returning. I put my head in my hands before sighing deeply. Breath in…Breath out…Time to don my mask again. The metaphorical one, not my actual armour. I stood up and teleported to Raphael’s study.

Their study was full of medical supplies, textbooks, and empty bottles. They really liked collecting bottles for some reason…Raphael called out to me.

“Hey Uriel…I was about to revive Michael!”

“Excellent! Anything I can do to help?”

“Um…Probably not…”

Raphael hummed as they placed their hands on Michael. Raphael looked over at me.

“If we do this…Michael won't be his usual self…He's been dead for too long!”

“We'll manage.”

Raphael nodded before energy covered Michael's body. Raphael raised their hands off of Michael into the air as their humming got louder. Michael floated in air as he sat up. He stared at us and Raphael motioned me to do…Something. So I did something!

“You are Michael. You are the Militant Supreme of Heaven’s Armies.”

I pulled out my sword and handed it to Michael.

“Take this and wait here.”

Michael grabbed the sword and just…Floated there. Raphael motioned for Michael to sit and they did. Ugh…How Michael would've HATED this fate. Being reduced to Heaven's lap dog…It is a necessary and VILE evil we must do. Raphael put a hand on my shoulder.

“You want to go find Seraphiel?”

“Sera is still around?”

“Yes!”

Raphael started walking me out of their study. We walked outside and I breathed in fresh air. It had been a while since I had taken the time to explore the Primum Mobile, or as we Angels call it ‘The Abode’. They say this place moving causes the universe to move. I'm not really here to doubt that but I have a feeling that the universe would move regardless. The Angels here adore me since they think Gabriel put me in charge after he left for Hell again. Me and the other Archangels have decided to roll with it for now. Raphael directed me to where Seraphiel usually hangs around.

Seraphiel, as usual, was directing the Seraphim in a grand choir. While everyone appreciates the singing talent of the Seraphim, I'm here for their DESTRUCTIVE talent. Raphael went to speak but I held up a hand. As a former Seraphim myself, I know how to speak their language. I cleared my throat.

“EVERYBODY PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER!”

The Seraphim looked towards me, excitedly. They started clapping rhythmically.

“ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, WE GOT THE GOOD BEAT TONIGHT!”

I stepped up to where Seraphiel had been standing. He stepped aside for me as I pointed towards the Seraphim.

“WE CRY, NOW WHO ARE WE CRYING TO?

The Seraphim threw their arms up into the air before singing back.

“GLOOOOOORYYYY TO OUR KING!”

“HEY-AY-AY-AY!”

“HEY-AY-AY-AY!”

“COME ON, SING HAAAALLE!”

“HALLE-JUHAAAAAAAAAAH!”

“LORD, YOU’RE WORTHY!”

“YOU’RE WORTHY”

“SO WORTHY!”

I threw my hands in the air as the Seraphim kept singing. I danced and clapped along as Raphael walked up behind me.

“You can sing!? You never mentioned it before!”

“I used to have Seraphiel's position before the Father assigned me to guard Eden! Now, WHAT WE WILL DO TO THOSE MACHINES?”

“We'll kill them all!”

“WE'LL KILL THEM ALL, THAT'S RIGHT! SAY YOU'LL DO IT!”

“We'll do it right!”

“CARRY IT OUT!”

“Carry it out!”

I pointed up.

“COME ON Y'ALL, FOLLOW RAPHAEL!”

The Seraphim cheered and applauded as I pointed to Raphael.

“Go get Michael! We're going to bring a decisive defeat to the machines!”

Raphael saluted me as he teleported away, the Seraphim too. I heard Seraphiel clear his throat. I turned to him and he had his arms crossed.

“Ah, hello Sera. Sorry to conscript your Seraphim, but you know how desperate the war is!”

Seraphiel shook his head and leaned forward.

“...I'm ALSO sorry about how I haven't been around despite being the current Regent.”

Seraphiel relaxed his posture. I believe Sera could speak, he just refused to. While this is difficult for some, I've been Sera’s friend for an eternity now, so I can understand him through body language. Seraphiel put a hand on my shoulder and tilted his head at me.

“Oh, are you asking me how the regency is going?”

He nodded.

“Terrible, thanks for asking…”

He pulled me into a hug.

“Thank you, Sera…I'll tell you ALL about it later. Right now…I have to go back to Hell!”

I let go of Seraphiel but he grabbed my arm.

“Oh? You're coming with me?”

He nodded. Huh…That's a feeling I haven't felt in a bit: Compassion. Seraphiel would've seen the brightest smile if I hadn't had my helmet on. I teleported to Raphael and Michael. They were overlooking thousands of Seraphim and Virtues. Not a bad start for an army to push back the Machines…Seraphiel let go of me and I stepped forward.

“ANGELS OF HEAVEN! I GATHER YOU HERE TODAY FOR ONE THING AND ONE THING ALONE: THE WAR IN HELL. THE MACHINES HAVE WIPED OUT MULTIPLE LAYERS AND WE HAVE KEPT THEM HELD IN WRATH! IF WE DO NOT STOP THEM NOW, THEY'LL INVADE HEAVEN AND SLAUGHTER INNOCENTS! WE WILL NOT ALLOW THIS, WE CANNOT ALLOW THIS!”

I raised a fist high into the sky as my hand caught ablaze.

“FOR THE FATHER AND HIS SUBJECTS!”

I saw the Seraphim raise their fists as they chanted ‘For the Father and his subjects’. I pointed to Michael.

“GO NOW, MILITANT SUPREME! FOR HONOUR, FOR GLORY, AND FOR BLOOD!”

Michael nodded. Me, Seraphiel, Raphael and the Army would soon leave for Wrath. I wasn't even sure of my own words. Could we even defeat the Machines? Maybe not, but we have to try! Just because the Father gave up and left, doesn't mean we can. We head into the mechanical maw with fire in our hearts and FLAME as our weapons. FOR HEAVEN ABOVE!

Chapter Text

By my internal clock, it has been…A couple of hours…Since The Burning Forest Incident. We had entered Violence and had gotten lost in the Labyrinth that guards it. Me and Missie were able to repair ourselves to full functionality. We did hear the occasional ‘Moo’ing but that stopped after the first day. V1 probably put an end to said Mooing. Speaking of V1, I looked over to Missie.

“It's time.”

“Oh my, I had almost forgotten! You're so punctual, Hiro!”

“It's literally all I can do. We're still lost in this endless Labyrinth.”

“We've been in this long halfway lined with hideous statues for hours! We must be getting to the end!”

“Back to the point. My arm?”

“Right! So as I've told you, Ben couldn’t put in EVERYTHING that a Mindflayer has. So sadly, no matter how hard you try, you can't manifest multiple Hell orbs or laser beams like I can. What you CAN do is the Melee and ONE or TWO Hell Orbs! Now, hold out your left hand and aim it at one of those tacky statues.”

I did as I was told. I felt my arm pulsating with energy and I began to concentrate.

“Now, Hell Energy is all around us! So you just need to form it…Think of round things spinning!”

“I quite literally cannot envision that.”

“Oh! Well…Just watch me then!”

I thought Missie would spawn an orb herself but she just began to spin rapidly. I watched her carefully. The energy in my arm slowly flowed out and formed into a sphere in my hand. Missie stopped spinning and applauded me.

“After hours of training, you finally did it! Now, fire it at that statue!

“How?”

“Throw it!”

I lobbed the ball of energy at the statue. The orb flew through the air with ease. It was impressive. I started this journey as just a minor Streetcleaner. I was excited to see the energy destroy that statue! Then the Statue raised its hand and caught the ball. Then it looked over at me and Missie.

“...Well, at least you got to learn something cool before we both get bodied!”

BEGIN PLAYING // WORLD LOOKS RED

Missie picked me up as she flew away. The statues began skittering towards us. They were fast on our tails. I pulled out my Sharpshooter and spun it around before firing it into the crowd. It seemed to take down a couple. I fired a core into the crowd. It took down more but they stopped and looked at me. They unleashed a torrent of energy towards us.

“QUICK, HIRO, DO THAT DISPERSING THING YOU DID!”

I held out my hand and I dispersed the torrent. The statues looked shocked. They then began to crawl on the walls and ceilings. Missie ducked and weaved through the statues falling from the ceiling. However, I did have a thought that I might as well ask.

“Missie, why can't you do the dispersing thing?”

“I probably could do it, but I'm not the greatest, most powerful Mindflayer ever! It takes a lot for me just to fly and use lasers! I don't think it's the best time to ask me ab-”

One of the statues collided with us. Missie threw me. I turned around and began firing upon the statues with Sharpshooter rounds. I landed on the ground and immediately shot a core into the air. I was immediately surrounded by the statues who began clawing at me. Luckily, the core I shot landed on them and I was free to blast them to pieces. I was damaged, but not dead. I realized they didn't see me as the main threat and were mainly attacking Missie. I saw Missie spin around while firing a laser. I then saw her teal body slowly change to red as electrical arcs went through the air.

+ENRAGED!

I saw her rapidly teleporting as she tore through the statues. I provided some firepower but it was clear she had this under control. She quickly cleared through the statues before teleporting to me and grabbing me. She rapidly teleported throughout the Labyrinth, I assume looking for an exit. Eventually, she teleported outside the Labyrinth and we found ourselves upon a cliff face. She put me down as she huffed heavily.

“Missie, we don't need to breathe. Why are you doing that?”

“I’M OVERHEATING…SO BADLY…I DIDN'T EVEN THINK….I COULD PROPERLY DO THIS!”

“Uh oh.”

I picked up Missie and looked around frantically. I didn't see much but I dragged her forward. One minute later, I saw a drone fly overhead. It looked down at us and flew back to where it came from. Odd, I thought. That was before I saw a Guttertank and three Guttermen run over to us. I couldn't fight them.

“I mean you no harm. I am a damaged Streetcleaner with an overheating and damaged Mindflayer. We are not worth your time.”

The Guttertank looked at me. I heard its radio crackle to life.

“Roger.”

It turned around and pointed to one of the Guttermen.

“Soldiers down. Bring back to base.”

The Guttermen nodded as it walked over and scooped me and Missie up in its arms.

“...Thank you, Sir…”

“Affirmative. Advance forward.”

We advanced forward. The Guttermen seem to have control of several drones they used to scout the area. The Guttermen weren't much for conversation and the Drones just communicated in chirps. When you're used to talking, it's hard to remember that most Machines can't talk. The Guttertank had preinstalled commands it could say from what I remember. We eventually made it to a Series 1000-THR Earthmover docked at the cliff. I saw more Guttertanks and Guttermen. We walked past them and boarded the Series 1000-THR Earthmover. We were brought to a repair room. The Guttertank looked at us.

“Hold position. Reinforcements incoming.”

How I would love for Ben to still be here…We didn't see him once through our adventures in that Labyrinth. The Guttertank left the room a Mindflayer wearing a makeshift lab coat entered the room. She was looking down at a piece of metal she was holding. I think she was trying to replicate a clipboard for whatever reason.

“Alright, jackins, what did you do this ti-”

The Mindflayer looked at Missie and immediately rushed to her. The Mindflayer hooked Missie up to a blood-pumping machine.

“ALRIGHT, WE'RE PUTTING BLOOD IN YOU. STAY CALM AND TURN OFF THAT EMERGENCY MODE.”

“HOOOOW…”

“Think about the time we got in a race back in Lust! You won by tripping me and the other Divergents and we all called you various bad names before you got all sad! Then we attacked a squad of Husks just to make you feel better!”

Missie turned teal again as the electrical discharge ceased. She made a squealing sound as she tried hugging the other Mindflayer. The other Mindflayer immediately put her hand on Missie’s head.

“Ey! No hugs! You're in critical condition! Just sit here and TALK.”

“I've missed you so much! Who else is here? Did you guys see Ben!?”

“There's Dude, Nero, and Hunbun. I haven't seen Ben around here yet…’

“Aww…”

I looked at both of them. Missie looked over at me.

“Oh! Right, Hiro, this is Doc, Doc this is Hiro. Also, I go by Missie now!”

“Hi Hiro! Why'd you go and change your name? I thought Liz was a nice name!”

“Well…I thought Missie sounded nice too! Hiro gave it to me!”

“Neat! Say, Hiro, where did you get your name from?”

“Missie called me Hero, so I changed it slightly and made it my name.”

“You two need to tell me more about your adventures RIGHT N-”

A loud blaring alarm went off.

“...God I hate that thing.”

“OH GOD, ARE WE UNDER ATTACK BY ANGELS AGAIN?”

“I got my Core Eject.”

“It's not an Angel attack! That's a different alarm. That's our patented leaving alarm!”

I felt a rumbling. Doc picked me up and placed me on a table. She began to repair me to 100%. She eventually moved Missie off the blood pump and put me on.

“Hey Missie, can you watch him? I'm going to go tell the others you're here.”

“Alright!”

Doc left the room. Missie turned to me.

“I'm so excited! You get to meet my family!”

“What's a family?”

“You know how most Streetcleaners travel in packs? Like that!”

“I see.”

“Hmmm…Why were you alone when I found you?”

“My pack and I were sent from Earth to explore Hell. For resources, for glory, for blood. We split up intentionally to cover more ground. The plan is to go to the bottom of Hell before going back to Earth.”

“Ohhh! I thought it was a much DARKER reason!”

“I doubt most of them are still alive.”

“Aww…”

“Don't be too sad. We didn't know each other that well. There was no sense of companionship or ‘family’. Just another job for us to do. We're different though. I care about you deeply. And also Ben, I guess.”

“Awww!~”

Missie attempted to hug me but stopped herself. I think she forgot I was hooked to a machine for a second. She just patted me on the head. Doc came back with the other Mindflayers.

“Oh! Hiro! These are the DIVERGENTS! The big black one is Nero. They're Goth.”

“Greetings, Hiro.”

“The one wearing the flannel jacket is Dude! He's cool.”

“Sup.”

“The pink one is Hunbun! She is…Herself!”

“Omg ur so right, bestie!!!”

“And that's Doc! She was the first one of us to wear clothing!”

“Hiro has also ALREADY met me so the reintroduction is not needed. Also, gimme a sec…”

Doc unhooked me from the machine. Missie hugged me.

“This is Hiro! He's my little guy! He's my friend!”

The other divergents hugged me tightly. Missie then pulled out of the hug.

“Doc! Does this Earthmover have clothing?”

“Of course! I've been collecting! Come with me!”

“Hiro! Do you want clothing?”

“Not really. I'm quite clothed already.”

“Hmmm…Do you want more weapons? Or a replacement for your gas can?”

“I do want weapons. Ben still has my Pumpcharge and he’s still gone.

Dude raised his hand.

“I know where to get some. Come with me.”

Hunbun made a squealing noise.

“GIRLS NIGHT!!!!”

Hunbun hugged Missie and Doc. Nero floated over to me and Dude.

“I'm not a girl, so I guess I'll be hanging with you two for now.”

Doc positioned herself in the middle of the room.

“Alright, Jackins, we got an hour before this reaches its next location! We'll meet back here when it does! That good!?”

Everyone just replied with ‘Good’.

“Damn straight!”

Me, Dude, and Nero exited the repair room. The sky was blood red. I let out a sigh of relief. Dude patted me on the back.

“Welcome to the Earthmover, my man. You can relax.”

Chapter Text

Time flies! Doesn't seem like a minute since the Earthmover got the Divergent Girls in it! Well, it has been more than a minute…That song sadly doesn't apply to my current circumstances. I was with the girls, Doc and Hunbun! I was taking the sights in, it was insane to see all these machines working together! I looked towards Doc.

“Hey! Doc! Why are these people all working together?”

“Because the Earthmovers in Hell can produce Blood! I'm not sure why…They haven't allowed me to analyze its construction…Anyway, this thing has enough blood to support itself and us!”

“Ohhh! Wait, who is ‘they’?”

“The Veterans! Sentries, Guttermen, Guttertanks…They run this place! Now, we're almost at where I keep all the clothes I've gathered on our travels…”

I looked over at Hunbun.

“Do you like my new voice? I tried copying how you sound!”

“U flatter me, sis! Ur like…So GENDER rn.”

Sometimes I don't understand what the hell Hunbun is talking about. I simply nodded as if I got it and she hugged me tightly.

“U just GET me, Mizz!”

“Uh-huh! We're like those two girls from the dragon show!”

“Omg…Idk what that is…”

Doc unlocked a door to a warehouse and let us in. I found a new pair of shorts and a sweater! I put them on and Hunbun applauded me.

“Slaaaaaaaay!”

I bowed to them several times as a joke. Like I was some sort of artist that just played the best solo ever! Doc then clapped a hand on my shoulder.

“So, is that all you wanted to do?”

“Yes! Though…Now that you mention it…I wanna do that red thing!”

“Red thing?”

“The thing that almost got me killed!”

“Ohhh! Well, it's a technique that I have only seen used when on the verge of death.”

“Aww…”

“BUT we could figure out a way to trick your systems into THINKING you're dying.

“Oh?”

“Mhm! We just need to knock you out!”

“Wait whaaaaa-”

“HUNBUN!”

I felt a thud against the back of my head and I went unconscious. So usually my dreams are
Videos or memories, right? Well, this one STARTED as a memory of Lust. A seemingly random one at that, but it slowly…Transitioned…To something darker. Both metaphorically and literally! Lust slowly fell into darkness. I heard whispers and clicks right next to my ear but when I looked around there was nothing. Then I looked into the sky and saw a pulsating mass of flesh. I heard a voice.

“YOU MACHINES ENTERTAIN MORE THAN ANY OF THE ANGELS IN HEAVEN COULD PROVIDE BY TORTURING SINNERS. YOU MACHINES HAVE STARTED A WAR AGAINST HEAVEN AND MYSELF TO SATE YOUR NEEDS. YOU MACHINES MAY KILL ME AND YOURSELVES BUT I DO NOT CARE. THIS IS HOW ALL THINGS WILL COME TO AN END. I T W A S A L W A Y S M E A N T T O B E T H I S W A Y .”

I eventually woke up. I looked around frantically and only calmed down after seeing that Doc and Hunbun were still there.

“Missie! You good?”

“Yup! Fine! Totes! I can go red, right?”

“Probably. We would need to test in a life-or-death situation!”

“Ohhh. Do I have to fight Hunbun?”

“What? No! We're going to find a Gutterman and challenge him to a fight!”

“OHHH!”

Doc teleported away. I looked over at Hunbun.

“Hey, you're pink.”

“Ye?”

“Does that mean you have that red thing on constantly?”

“Omg…Probably not?”

“I see…”

“Hey, while we wait 4 Doc, u wanna fly around?”

“HELL yeah! Let's RACE!”

Me and Hunbun flew around the Earthmover at speeds never before seen! We ducked and weaved through alleyways and teleported around obstacles! Both of us followed the #1 rule of Mindflayer racing which was “Get to the highest point first” and guess who won? It was ME! I sat upon the Earthmover's massive head. Hunbun soon joined me.

“Wow! Ur still quick as ever! U sure u didn't cheat again?”

“Haha! Not that you would notice~”

“Such a tease~”

I looked over the land. It wasn't beautiful like Lust, but it had its charm! I saw a plethora of other Earthmovers moving around in the distance. I let out a sigh.

“I'm so glad I can relax with the BEST GIRL!”

“Omg. Forreal, homeboy?”

“Yes! I am so for real for real!”

Hunbun gave me a tight hug. It was nice to slow down! Of course, I don't know what Hiro might do next. I don't think he's the type to stick around here. I wanna help him with going to the bottom of Hell! Doc teleported up to us.

“Hey! Jackins! I got the Gutterman! What in the here are you doing up here?”

“Being gay.”

“Doing crimes.”

Doc thought for a second.

“Sounds about right!”

Doc joined the hug before teleporting back down. She let go of us and I saw a Gutterman before us. I stopped embracing Hunbun and took a fighting stance.

“Alright, GutterBOY, are you ready?”

The Gutterman just looked at me. I don't think they could talk, which is a shame! These guys look like they'd have some great trash talk! Mostly because they look like garbage cans!~

BEGIN PLAYING // HEAR! THE SIREN SONG CALL OF DEATH

The Gutterman raised his gun and began firing. I teleported around him, lobbing several orbs of hell energy at him! Sadly, this guy actually had reflexes and was able to block each shot with his shield. He even bashed me with that shield! I fell to the ground. I heard his gun revving up for another attack. Then something in my brain just…Kicked in.

+ENRAGED!

I immediately charged into his shield! He staggered back and I gripped the edges of his shield. Then I RIPPED IT OFF HIM and SLAMMED THE SHIELD INTO HIS STUPID DOME HEAD! He staggered back more, bleeding and raising his gun at me again. At this point, it was a quick draw. Do you know who won? It was ME! I shot him with a laser and he fell over, dead. Doc and Hunbun applauded me and I bowed.

“Alright, Missie! Now it should deactivate automatically…”

And she was right! I calmed down and I returned to my tealish self! Hunbun hugged me.

“Ur hot!”

“Hunbun! Not in front of Doc!”

“I think she meant PHYSICALLY not in terms of your ATTRACTIVENESS!”

Hunbun didn't reply afterwards, so who knows what she meant by this…Doc had to get my vitals checked. She was just making sure that this new upgrade wouldn't send me to an early grave! We eventually headed back to the Repair shop and waited for the others. Considering that me and Hiro were on equal footing with Uriel before, I think we could take him next time! Especially with whatever Hiro is getting cooked up…

Chapter Text

Dude had brought us to a junkyard. Truly a paradise for mechanics everywhere. There was a terminal nearby and I bought some new revolvers. The Piercer nor the Marksman were my style and I had them unequipped for the time being. Dude floated up behind me.

“Hey, you like fire right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, do I have a Malicious for you!”

Nero threw a Malicious Railcannon over to me. It landed in front of me and I recoiled as it might explode.

“Woah, calm down man, it won’t bite!”

Dude laughed and I slowly picked it up. It was a lot heavier than the weapons I had previously held. It was fully charged and I slowly aimed it at a pile of scraps. I looked over at Dude to give the okay and he gave a thumbs up. I fired it and the pile of scraps was instantly incinerated. I almost fell over due to the recoil from the Railcannon, but Dude caught me.

“Careful there.”

“Thank you.”

I got up to my feet and looked at the Railcannon. It was slowly charging and I wondered if I could use my Mindflayer arm on it. The beam it shot out was similar to the one the Malicious Faces used…Once it was fully charged, I stood firm and fired again. The recoil still pushed me back but I didn't fall over. I then used my Mindflayer arm to charge the Railcannon. It immediately fired again after I did that. Dude caught me again.

“My man, I appreciate your experimenting but you need to be more careful. Overcharging that Malicious might cause it to ACTUALLY explode.”

“Noted.”

I got to my feet again. I quickly realized I couldn't hold all these weapons. Nero came over to me.

“Hmm…I got an idea. Gimme a moment.”

She grabbed the Railcannon from me and teleported away. Dude floated in front of me.

“You're just a tenacious little thing, aren't you? I don't see Streetcleaners like you around.”

“You can thank Missie for that. She gave me this voice box and has followed me around on my mission to the bottom of Hell.”

“Hmmm, that seems about right. Speaking of Missie…”

Dude floated over to the terminal. He tinkered with it for a moment. I walked over to him and saw he was typing on the terminal. I read the following conversation.

“Ben. I know you're out there. Missie probably would've mentioned if she saw you died and I doubt most denizens of Hell could fight you.”

“Ah! You got me! I was just about to enter Fraud too…”

“You should've stayed in Violence. It's where the rest of us Divergents are.”

“You see, I could've! Doc told me and I decided it wasn't my place to join up with you.”

“...Why not?”

“I'm going to the bottom of Hell. It benefits both of us never to see each other again.”

“Oh, does that mean I can finally say I despise you for abandoning us back in Lust?”

“Save your criticisms, got enough of THAT from Doc.”

“Nope. Can't save them. We're a GANG! We could've left TOGETHER! Maybe Boss would've made it out alive!”

“Sorry, you're breaking up. I'm going through the dooooor!”

The chatlog closed. Dude looked over at me.

“...Hey, you're going to the bottom too, right…?”

“I'm not with Ben if that's what you're asking.”

“Oh, obviously not…I want you to beat him into the ground next time you see him…”

“No promises.”

He let out a synthetic sigh.

“That was a bit aggressive of me. Can you just tell him ‘Kill yourself. From Dude.’?”

“Can do.”

“Good lad!”

Dude floated away from the terminal. I decided to take a look at it. This Terminal was not only connected to the greater Terminal Network but also to the Series 1000-THR Earthmover. Not enough that one could hack it and drive it around, but enough to read its diagnostics. Its name was ‘Sofia’. Interesting. I tried to view more other than the diagnostics but it wouldn't allow me. Disappointing, I wanted to know how Earthmovers even got down here…Nero teleported back and handed me the Railcannon. It had a shoulder strap now.

“It's not much but it should help.”

I slung the Railcannon onto my back.

“Thank you, Nero.”

“You're welcome.”

They bowed to me and looked over to Dude.

“Unless you have something else to do, I think we should be getting back around now.”

“We've been out for like 30 minutes!”

“I like being early.”

“Nero, we have an absolute cutie with us! We gotta do SOMETHING else!”

Nero hummed as I slowly turned to look over at Dude. Dude looked over at me.

“What? I'm just being honest. You're my type.”

“What's your-”

“MEN.”

“I see.”

Me, Dude, and Nero wandered around the Series 1000-THR Earthmover. There wasn’t much to do. This place was for scavenging and military operations. We did see Missie and Hunbun fly overhead at some point, so that was cool. I did practice my Hell Energy manipulation. Nero seemed impressed.

“Ah…A unique augmentation. I've never seen a Streetcleaner harness Hell Energy before!”

“Ben gave it to me after I lost my first arm. I'm still adjusting to it.”

“Interesting. Along with your voice box, you're almost like Ship of Theseus! A much cooler ship of Theseus…”

“Is it because of the guns?”

“It is because of the guns, yes.”

Dude turned around to look at us.

“Hey, Hiro! You're going to the bottom, right?”

“Yes.”

“You think we might meet again?”

“I'd hope so. We have only known each other for around 45 minutes but I do appreciate you two.”

“Awww, you're just…AH! Can't put it in words!”

Nero put a hand on Dude’s head.

“We appreciate you too, Hiro. We should get back now.”

Dude didn't object this time and we slowly made our way back to the repair room. We found the others waiting for us. Missie hugged me.

“I got a new sweater!”

“Neat. I got a Railcannon.”

“Neat!”

Doc clapped her hands together.

“Awesome! We got your shopping done! Now, we're almost at our next location. I would come with you but…I'd rather stay in the safety of the Earthmover.”

Missie hugged Doc.

“I hope we meet up later!”

“We hope so too, Missie!”

Hunbun joined the hug.

“U better promise us u won't die!!!”

Nero and Dude hugged me. I hugged them back. Me and Missie walked out of the repair room after saying our goodbyes. Missie picked me up and began flying away from the Series 1000-THR Earthmover. Next stop: Fraud.

Chapter Text

Me and Missie flew over the desolate ashen fields and dead forests of Violence. We saw the occasional Earthmover walking around. Missie also told me to just call them by their model name instead of their full name because everyone already knew what I was talking about when I said Earthmover. Clearly, Missie does not know the Series 100-THR ‘Hydroflask’, an earlier model of Earthmover, but I get what she was talking about. Missie looked down at me.

“Hey, Hiro! You know a lot about Earth and stuff, right?”

“Yes.”

“Why are the Earthmovers so chill?”

“We pose no threat to them. The only thing that does is another Earthmover.”

“You know any cool Earthmover battles?”

“Hm. Earthmover ‘Paris’ vs Earthmover ‘Berlin’. Considered at the time to be the largest and most powerful of their kind. The battle lasted a full day before both suffered mechanical failures. That's the only one I know of because I used to live near there.”

“Wait, do Earthmovers have names?”

“Yes. The one we were at was called Sofia.”

“Are they…Conscious?”

“I assume so. Most Machines are.”

“Note to self…Don't sit on their head again!”

“Hm.”

We flew near an Earthmover. The work on these things is incredible and it was nice to appreciate the craftsmanship. The Earthmover then looked to the sky and began charging its weapon. It shot into the sky and an alarm started going off. Fire rained from the sky. We were close enough to the Earthmover that its shield protected us.

BEGIN PLAYING // WAR WITHOUT REASON.

Missie landed on the Earthmover and put me down.

“OH GOD, IT'S THE ANGELS!”

“Thought they would've been busy with Wrath…”

A flame erupted from the ground. It was Uriel.

“Oh, you'd think that! We were able to stall the main force, now we just need to deal with these…Things…Not even entirely sure how these got down here…”

Uriel looked around the Earthmover. I pulled out my Sharpshooter and tried shooting him, but he dodged.

“My my! I'm not your enemy here! I only came to check on the mass assault by Michael!”

I perked up at this.

“Wait, didn't you say he died?”

“I say A LOT of things. I'm also sure I said that Raphael could revive anyone as long as there is a body.”

We felt the Earthmover get hit by something massive. Uriel then waved at us before disappearing. We heard mechanical whirring. The defense systems were activating and 5 Virtues appeared before us. I pulled out my Malicious and blasted them. Missie then shot a barrage of energy at them, destroying them. I gave her a high five.

“Alright, we need to LEAVE!”

We felt something hit the Earthmover’s shield again and the Earthmover let out a binaric screech. Before I could react, something punched Missie in the face, sending her flying backwards. That something then grabbed me.

“Enemy detected.”

It was a Guttertank. It pointed its cannon at me. Missie was then grabbed by another Guttertank. She began shouting.

“WE ARE NOT YOUR ENEMIES! WE'RE JUST SOME UNFORTUNATE SAPS WHO GOT TRAPPED HERE!”

The Guttertanks looked at each other and then back at us.

“Under siege. Reinforcements needed.”

They carried us to the front of the Earthmover. We saw scores of Guttermen, Sentries, and Guttertanks fighting against the army of Heaven. We saw Virtues, the Heretics that overwhelmed us in Heresy, Knights who I also assume are from heresy, and angels I did not recognize. I looked towards the sky and saw Michael floating in the sky. He held Uriel’s sword in the air before launching a massive fireball at the Earthmover. The Earthmover’s shield blocked it. The Guttertanks let go of me and Missie before joining the fray. Missie looked at me.

“So we could easily just run away…”

“Doubt it. Michael and Uriel are here. While we could outpace the Machines here, we can't for the angels.”

Missie sighed.

“We have to fight Michael? But only V2 has beaten him before!”

“We just have to be smart about it.”

I aimed the Malicious up at Michael before I fired off a shot, hitting him. He seemed rather unaffected by the shot and pointed his sword at me. I felt a burning punch. I looked down and noticed an angel had suddenly appeared to punch me. Missie attempted to shoot the angel, but it teleported out of the way. It stood in front of us as 2 other angels appeared. They then spoke.

“By the Father who grants us life, by Uriel who grants us our burning fury, and by Michael who guides our hands. WE, THE SERAPHIM, SHALL END THE MECHANICAL VIOLENCE AGAINST GOD!”

They took a fighting stance. Missie became enraged and charged at one. They both teleported away and I was left with two Seraphim. Fantastic. I spun the Sharpshooter around. I couldn't see the faces of the Seraphim, but they watched intently. They didn't know I was charging Hell energy in my Mindflayer arm. I shot the Sharpshooter behind me and it ricocheted off the wall and into one of the Seraphim. I shot an orb at the other one but then…

+PARRY!

It punched the orb back at me. I dashed out of the way as I switched from my Sharpshooter to my Core Eject. I shot a core before quickly flipping to my Malicious, charging it full of Hell energy, and shooting the Core. The already injured Seraphim seemed to burn but the one who parried my previous attack bended the explosion around them. They attempted to charge at me but Missie threw the Seraphim they were fighting at them. Missie then shot both of them with a laser. I looked back at the battlefield and saw that the machines were getting pushed back. It seems that the Heretics have made some of the Seraphim invulnerable. Not good. I jumped onto Missie’s back and pointed towards Michael. She nodded and began flying towards him. Michael pointed the sword at us before flying towards us. I spun and shot my Sharpshooter at him. His sword caught ablaze as he attempted to slash at us. Unfortunately for him, Missie teleported behind and blasted him with a laser. Michael crashed into the battlefield below. Missie threw her hands in the air.

“YES! I DID IT!”

“Indeed you did.”

I watched as Guttermen surrounded Michael. The Seraphim started to disappear en masse along with the Heretics and Knights.

“Missie, we should move.”

Missie flew backwards but it was too late. Michael plunged his sword into the ground and a massive explosion occurred. Missie tumbled through the air before teleporting to stabilize herself. When the dust settled, Michael was on the ground, possibly dead. The Earthmover was horribly melted and began to stagger. Soon whatever alarms it had left began to go off.

“WARNING. WARNING. EARTHMOVER 'CINCINNATI’ HAS BEEN COMPROMISED. PLEASE EVACUATE.”

It kept repeating that before its alarm system broke down completely. Missie began flying away from the Earthmover as fast as she could. We heard Uriel speaking.

“Another victory against Machines! This battle has given us information crucial in taking down these abominations! Seraphim, chase down any strangler you find escaping!”

Great. I turned around to see that there was Seraphim after us. It seems like they couldn't fly but were using teleportation to gain height and speed. I shot at them with Cores and Sharpshooter rounds. I hit some but most dodged out of the way. Missie then started shouting at me.

“HIRO! THERE'S A MASSIVE PIT AHEAD!”

“That must be Fraud!”

Missie teleported over but was kicked square in the head by a Seraphim. I was flung off her back and I began screaming. Several Seraphim surrounded Missie, throwing fire and punches at her as she dodged. I used my Sharpshooter to snipe some of the Seraphim. It was the only thing I could do. Eventually, I killed one Seraphim with a well-placed headshot and Missie teleported to me and grabbed me. We fell deeper and deeper. The Seraphim didn't seem to follow. Missie turned back to her normal teal self and was screaming as we landed in Fraud. The landing was certainly rough. After running a quick diagnostic, I was damaged and low on blood, but I could still move. At this point, it's expected. Missie was on top of me and slowly rolled off of me.

“Ughhh…I hate fighting Angels! Why couldn't the Earthmover be invaded by Husks!?

“It technically was.”

Missie groaned before I got up to my feet. I hoisted her onto my shoulders. She hugged me tightly.

“We may be in this scary pit but at least we have each other!”

“Indeed we do. We need to get blood fast.”

“Mhmm…I went a little overboard with that red thing! Need to control it better…”

“We did almost beat Michael, though. That means we're as strong as V2!”

Missie gasped.

“Trueeee! That means we could beat URIEL soon enough!”

Missie seemed very happy by this realization. I began to walk forward. After a few minutes, Missie's euthanism died down and she let out a sigh.

“You think Sofia will be okay during these attacks…?”

I stayed silent, still moving forward but planning my next words carefully.

“If we could almost beat Michael in a fight, then your friends on Earthmover ‘Sofia’ could beat Michael and Uriel.”

Missie hugged me tightly again.

“I hope so…Thanks for sticking by me all this time!”

“You're welcome, Missie.”

We continued to move forward. We may be in critical condition but I was confident we could take on the next leg of this journey. The bottom of Hell was within arms reach at this point. Me and Missie would make it there and then back up. I'll make sure of it.

Chapter Text

Me and the Heavenly Army have engaged yet ANOTHER Earthmover. We've figured out quite the cunning plan! The army draws attention to the Machines who inhabit the Earthmover while I sneak into its head. This stratagem has cut down on casualties! Now…Just gotta fly through this access shaft and…

I've made it to the Earthmover’s brain! Before it could even fully activate its defence systems, I channelled every bit of Holy Flame inside before compressing it and compressing it before…

KABOOM! AN INSTANT EXPLOSION CAPABLE OF RENDING IT'S HEAD TO ASHES! As the dust settled, the Earthmover stumbled to the ground, Machine and Demon alike spilling off it towards a horrific end. Even if they survive the fall, the ground in this section is just as deadly as the sands of Greed! Raphael soon teleported to me.

“Uriel, if you don't mind me asking…Why are we fighting the Earthmovers?”

“This is a backup plan in case Wrath falls. The Earthmovers CAN act as a bridge for Machines to cross Violence without flight. So I've taken the liberty to BURN them.”

“Ah! I see…Well, you've done a great job! Violence is LITTERED with their bodies. Though speaking of Wrath…They've broken through!”

Dammit. They were supposed to hold for longer than that! Ughhh…

“Send all forces to Heresy then!”

“Um…They BLITZED through Heresy…”

“THEY WHAT!? I mean…HOW!?”

“They’re gaining momentum!”

“Ughhh…Give me a second!”

I took a deep breath in before breathing out.

“Attention all Heavenly Forces throughout Hell, please report to Violence for frontline operations! The Mechanical hordes are advancing faster than expected!”

I turned to Raphael.

“Report back to Heaven. I'll grab you if Michael dies again. I shall remain here with Michael, though I have one last thing to do…”

“Alright!”

Raphael saluted me before teleporting away. Now…I looked around and saw an Earthmover on my horizon. I gripped my blade tightly as I teleported in front of it. The Earthmover looked down at me and I heard alarms blaring. It aimed its weapon at me and started charging. I saw machines gathering below. Perfect! I lunged into the crowd of Machines, bathing them all in fire and flames! I've been using this Earthmover expedition to train against Machines. This Earthmover seems to have quite a mix of Machines, so I can go over the proper strategies!

The first to appear during my initial assault was the Guttermen. Upon seeing me they got into line formation, put up their shields, and unleashed a hail of bullet fire. I quickly dodged out of the way by ducking behind a Machine's corpse. I could hear them advancing so I decided to teleport behind them. One of them swung their shield behind themselves in an attempt to hit me, sadly this was met by a stab straight through the dome of their head. I then flung their corpse at another Gutterman. The Guttermen could not counter my strategy of teleporting behind them and then stabbing them. I quickly took out this group before flying up into the air.

The second and third to appear were the Drones and the Sentries. Drones are pitiful, even with a MASSIVE numerical advantage. 1-30 if my calculations are correct. I spun my sword around as it launched fireballs at the drones. Of course, this is where the Sentries come into play. While I was distracted by the Drones, they would take potshots at me. I couldn’t dodge every shot, but I was able to tank them. I made the Sentries pay by INSTANTLY INCINERATING THEM. I landed on the ground as it was obvious that flight wasn’t the best idea.

Fourth to appear was one Swordsmachine…Hm. It’s been a while since I fought a proper Swordsperson…They revved their sword and I assumed a fighting pose. The Swordsmachine drew out a shotgun and fired. I teleported out of the way and returned the fire by cutting off his shotgun arm. The Swordsmachine let out a screech as it fell to the ground, looking at its severed appendage.

“This is a SWORD fight, fool.”

The Swordsmachine swung at me but I parried it with my blade. I quickly decapitated the Swordsmachine. Before I could continue my assault, I was suddenly faced with 4 Mindflayers. One of them was wearing a coat and they started shouting at me.

“HEY ANGEL! YOU'RE MESSING WITH THE GREATEST GANG TO EVER COME TO HELL!”

Did they completely forget about the Insurrectionists down in Greed? Whatever. I pointed my sword at them and the one wearing a coat started talking again.

“WE ARE THE DIVERGENTS! I'M DOC JOINED BY HUNBUN THE PINK, NERO THE BLACK, AND DUDE THE GUY!”

The other 3 Mindflayers posed behind Doc. I’m already tired of this. I rushed at Doc and swung at her but she teleported away. The other 3 Mindflayers threw a barrage of Hell Orbs at me. I was able to parry some but I didn’t get ALL. I wasn’t GRIEVOUSLY injured but if the battle were to continue like this…I would die. I channelled the Holy Flame once more to create another MASSIVE explosion. This went off without a hitch as the fire would destroy most things around me. It would still make them scramble even if it didn’t kill them instantly. I heard something appear behind me and instinctively swung my sword behind me. My sword collided with something but the Mindflayer teleported away. I didn't see them around…If I was a betting man, they'd probably teleport behind me again…I focused my mind. I heard an orb fly towards me and I deflected it. This was a distraction! I turned around and I PLUNGED my sword into whoever appeared behind me. It was Nero. They tried to claw at me but I boiled their insides. Hunbun soon appeared to fire a laser at me, but I threw Nero at them. I tried to fly towards Hunbun and Nero but was held back.

“Hey Angel boy, I’m Dude. What’s your opinion on dying-”

I combusted into flames. Dude fell back as I punched him in the head. Smart ass…Now…There’s one left-

“SUPRISE ATTACK!”

I felt a sudden kick to my head. I quickly caught my balance as I faced Doc.

“Shit…ALRIGHT, GET UP YOU THREE AND GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! I’LL CATCH UP SOON!”

The Mindflayers immediately teleported away. Interesting…I pointed my sword at Doc.

“So, what’s your plan? I took down THREE of you very easily. You are just ONE.”

Doc took a fighting stance and pulled out a shotgun with a chainsaw strapped to it.

“You want a sword fight!? WELL, I GOT A SWORD!”

“That is not a sword, that is an amalgamation-”

“I DON’T CARE!”

Doc rushed towards me. Electrical arcs went through the air as they turned red. Doc in this ‘Red Form’ was much faster and hit harder than the other Mindflayers! However, while Doc had the speed to overpower me, they did not have the STRENGTH. I was able to slam my sword into theirs hard enough. It fell out of their hand before I sliced their body in half. I could hear them coughing and struggling to catch their breath. I don't know why, they couldn't breathe…

“Disappointing. I thought you would've put up more of a fight…”

“I got what I wanted in the end…I just got one last attack!”

Doc jumped up to me. Before I could react, they exploded. I went flying back as I collided with a wall. I haven't even destroyed the Earthmover and I'm this injured…Speaking of the Earthmover, it was firing at something…I weakly flew into the sky as I saw…Oh god.

The black mass. To an untrained eye, it looks like darkness or night taking hold, but it is not. This was the Mechanical Horde's full might, and this Earthmover was barely slowing them down. I saw what appeared to be bombs landing on the Earthmover. I swooped down to the ground and grabbed the Chainsaw Shotgun Doc had. It was an excellent trophy! I could hear the distant sounds of fighting. While I would stay and fight, I'm too injured at this point…A tactical retreat is needed. I teleported back to Heaven before the full force of the Horde could appear.