Heaven's Eternal End

Chapter 8: Welcome to Shak'Kazak

"The number and effectiveness of the TOUH military suggests that KOTEGH should be the reigning military power."

-ArcheTECHt Corp. Spokeswoman

-Eighteenth of Maximum Messis

     Daniel opened up the hatch to find what Hell was supposed to look like... and then some.

     Large scorch marks littered the area, presumably from the various rounds magneto-weaponry can be equipped with. Shattered glass littered the ground as chunks of the creatures lay desolated in spotty patches across the marble tile floor. Two spiral stairways led to the upper atrium within the domed building, but one was half destroyed while the other dripped a mysterious liquid as if a waterfall. The glass windows and doors were all destroyed, or were intact with minor alterations to the color and chemical makeup. A pair of sunglasses with a broken left lens was laying neatly on the secretary desk... covered in a crimson red liquid and half-melted from the acidic blood the creatures had coursing through their veins.

     "Welcome to Hell," Daniel muttered, trailing off as he walked towards the sunglasses on the desk.

     "Cadet Young, pick up the shades and bag them," Kaitlyn ordered, quickly scoping out the surroundings through the scope of her magneto-rifle. "If we ever find the PC and the remaining TOUH soldiers, they may want their artifact back."

     "Artifact?" Daniel asked, turning around with the shades in a plastic bag. "What do you mean?"

     Kaitlyn looked through his soul with no remorse.

     "You will address me as ma'am, Cadet Young," Kaitlyn snapped. She turned around, her face turning sincere.

     "Those are from the SO many many years ago," she said in a calming voice. "Those were a great general's shades... a General Patton I recall."

     Daniel dropped the shades and turned towards her, arms folded and face contorted.

     "That's the Kaitlyn I know," he said, face and voice compassionate. "I've been waiting to see her... Kaity."

     Kaitlyn stopped. Her emotions flashed. She fell to her knees and started to cry, dropping her gun as her hands met her face in an attempt to hide her weakness.

     "I love you, Danny!" she yelled, sniffling the mucus draining from her nose. "When you said you wished you never joined the army, I felt hurt. I've always liked you, and when I finally saw you in that room what felt like forever ago, I felt happy for the first time in forever!"

     Daniel stopped. He picked up the shades and put them in his pouch, slinging his rifle to his shoulder. He crouched over Kaitlyn's form and hugged her, patting your back.

     "I've always loved you, too, Kaity," he said, comforting her. "When I was in that room and I saw you, I was so afraid. Now... I just⎯"

     Kaitlyn put her finger to Daniel's lips, pulling it away at the last moment and pulling him into her. Their lips touched, climbing on each other's as if climbing the ladder to Heaven. They pulled back and smiled.

     "Kaity, I⎯"

     At that moment, the growls and chattering of the creatures echoed off of whatever surfaces were left standing in the atrium. Daniel jumped up to his feet and grabbed his rifle in his hands while Kaitlyn reached for her's and rose, darting her head back and forth. The amount of growls and chattering meant hundreds of them were coming.

     "Shit," Kaitlyn muttered, jumping behind the secretary desk. She landed on some sort of stick, as the ground cracked when she landed. "I think I found the PC and the soldiers..."

     Daniel ran behind the desk and saw five corpses... All of them were reduced to skeletons. There were five charges of plasma detonators sitting on one of the skeleton's chests.

     "I think we're saved..." Kaitlyn whispered to herself, grabbing all five of them, giving two to Daniel. "Put two on the ground in front of the desk... in the middle of the floor over there. I'll be behind this desk with cover fire just in case."

     Daniel nodded, jumping over the desk and setting up the charges where Kaitlyn specified.

     All the glass walls that were still intact exploded as creatures came in from all directions. Daniel jumped back behind the desk as one of the humanoid figures walked in wearing red and blue robes.

     "Do you speak like this?" it said in a perfect British accent. Daniel and Kaitlyn stood by behind the desk, flabbergasted that it was intelligent enough to speak.

     "Who... are you?" Daniel asked, getting up from behind the desk. Kaitlyn slapped him in the leg, growling like a tiger.

     "Daniel!" she yelled, clutching onto her rifle with her life. "That thing will kill us!"

     "No we won't, and let me assure you that I, Cleric Xanthro, will see to it," the Cleric assured, waving his right hand across his body. "We aren't the hostile type."

     "HOSTILE TYPE?!" Kaitlyn yelled, jumping over the desk. "THOSE THINGS KILLED OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY. THOSE THINGS DESTROYED OUR LIVES! THOSE THINGS HAVE MADE THE GUILD OF RELATIVITY⎯"

     "Be the forefront of my preservation as a species," Laiful interrupted, appearing out of thin air. "They are called the Homotaurus, the creators of the Universe."

     "How do you know who we are, human?" the Cleric Xanthro asked, waving his creatures off. "And these are not creatures... they are called daemon fiends; thank you."

     "Because I am a Martian," Laiful said, smiling malevolently. Kaitlyn started to laugh hysterically.

     "We have settlements ALL OVER THE FREAKING GALAXY!" Kaitlyn yelled. "WHO CARES IF YOU WERE BORN IN RASCAL FLATTS, MARS?!"

     "Over three billion years ago," Laiful replied, neutral-faced. Daniel and Kaitlyn paused.

     "You were one of the ones who revolted?" the Cleric asked. He waved his hand, materializing a small table with a chest on it.

     "Wait wait..." Daniel said, confused. "What happened?"

     "I'll show you," the Cleric said, grabbing the small chest and handing it to Daniel. "Open it."

     Daniel opened it.

    Time stopped around Daniel. His vision blurred until he heard nothing but a narrator and saw nothing but whiteness.