Scythe: End Of Days

by Jean-Pierre Van Damme and Jon of the Shred

PROLOGUE

This is the story of the thriving planet Lleh and it's inhabitants, and how the society they've built is brought to an untimely and decisive end. This...is the beginning of the End of Days.

The Daymon Corporation is dimly lit, fluorescent bulbs flickering in a frenzied fashion, giving the room a foreboding and unsettling feel. It almost seems too fitting, the spastic lights making Dr. Carpenter seem all the more menacing as he screams, “I DON’T CARE!  KEEP THAT PORTAL OPEN!”

“Sir, there ar-“

“We’ve come too far for your petty concerns!”  The doctor draws a Colt 1911 from the inside of his jacket, and presses it firmly against the temple of the engineer manning the control station.  Beads of sweat form around the barrel and fall along Mastersons cheek; his breathing has become shallow and quick, taxed by his growing dread. He responds to the doctor slowly and deliberately.

“Yes sir.  I understand.”  He turns his eyes to the doctor without turning his head, remaining motionless.  Surrounded by busy soldiers and workers, Carpenter and Masterson look like still life in contrast, the tension forcing them both to remain stationary. Masterson's next words are feeble, drowned out by the hydraulics and grinding machinery feeding power to the top secret weapon known as Project Leviathan.  “However, something is wrong.”
“Speak up, you fool!”  The doctor presses the gun harder into the engineer’s temple and cocks the hammer back with his thumb.  The engineer flinches.  “Dammit Masterson, SPEAK!!”

“We are seeing an increase in matter, Dr! NOT A DECREASE!”  His words carry over the background, loud enough for the crazed Doctor to hear. Masterson swallows hard, almost audibly.  His sweaty palms remain still at the controls, itching to shut the weapon down.

The doctor smiles, uncocks the pistol, and coolly lowers it from the engineer’s head.  To his left a large tear in the very fabric of space is occurring. According to the head engineer this is no scientific breakthrough, but a major problem. Masterson turns his head to reveal a look of grave concern to the doctor. When he sees his smile, his face flushes white.  Realizing what is about to occur he panics and reaches for the controls, but he is not quick enough to avoid the .45 caliber round that bursts through his neck, or the second one that shreds through his face like a knife through melted butter. Blood and brain matter splatter on the ground as all life is drained out of Masterson.  Dr Carpenter kicks Masterson’s body and the chair rolls, carrying the slumped corpse away from the control panel.  The doctor feverishly resets a few switches and dials a few knobs to increase the unimaginable power being directed to Project Leviathan.

The ground begins to rumble menacingly, as if a great Earthquake is tearing the Lleh soil beneath the Daymon laboratory. While this type of phenomena was typical during earlier tests, this time is different – the rumbling is continuous. Everyone in the facility can tell something isn’t quite right – something is very off here. The tension in the air is so thick it could be sliced asunder with a machete. The Daymon foot soldiers and engineers all stop moving, and the group fix their collective gaze on the portal opening in the air in the middle of the dimly lit room. It’s much bigger than the test portals, and while no one speaks of it verbally, their facial expressions all seem to indicate the shared concern at the madness unfolding before their very eyes.

Dr. Carpenter seems to be expecting something no one else knows about; his eyes are wide, and his stance stone still. In a matter of seconds all of time seems to slow to a near halt; sound fades away and everyone ears pop with the sensation of going temporarily deaf. Their hearts beat slowly, and their blood feels cold.  An icy smoke rolls from the hole in the air, and nightmarish roars cry out from the other side.

Some time earlier...

The year is 2029 A.D. The city of Macropolis, a once thriving metropolis, is now burdened with excessive overpopulation. Despite the many skyscrapers dominating the skyline there is simply no longer enough space to comfortably house everyone.

The streets lying in the shadows of the giant skyscrapers are teeming with criminals. Rivaling gangs, drug dealers, and a fascist police force ensure violence and death is a daily business. These issues  run rampant in more than just the once thriving city of Macropolis; the entire planet  is suffering. A lack of jobs, food and resources either cripples the citizens with fear, or drives them to criminal activity. Political differences are not uncommon.

Acts of terrorism lead to acts of reprisal...

Acts of reprisal lead to more acts of terror...

A perpetual circle of violence.

Everything working in tandem to keep the gears of war well oiled.

The wealthy arms manufacturers and merchants, as well as corporate giant Paragon seem to be the only ones to benefit. Billions of dollars in resources are poured weekly into research focusing solely on weapon technology. And billions more dollars in resources are poured weekly into an effort to increase the national surveillance network in scale and efficiency.

“The Transparent Citizen” is a new act the government has put into play. The fascist government has introduced this new act into the political lexicon in an attempt to reduce the swelling crime rates. “The Transparent Citizen” has literally no support from anyone other than those in the government itself – power hungry politicians and disaster capitalists relish at the thought of dictating the every move of all the citizens they were elected to serve. Some of the policies “The Transparent Citizen Act” entails include all purchases and transactions requiring a fingerprint to complete, with every single transaction being carefully analyzed and filed. Other policies include car start ups requiring government authorization, surveillance literally everywhere, and curfews, the ignorance of which could lead to the death penalty.

But the government itself isn't the only thing polluting the world of Lleh. Fumes are clouding the sky and darkening the streets. Not a single man, woman, or child has caught even the slightest glimpse of a blue sky, nor inhaled a breath of fresh air in decades. Lleh is on the brink of societal collapse – and the slightest push could cause it all to come crumbling down...

DAYMON CORPORATION

The Daymon Corporation was founded in 2015 right before the conflict with Jakith brought the planet of Lleh to a dangerous economical and societal standstill. Initially the firm started with projects for private security concerns, mainly non-deadly weapons and non-intrusive surveillance upgrades. Only a few months later they started receiving orders from local arms dealer and collectors for the development of new weapons. 

The Daymon Corporation was set up quickly, founded by the ambitious Dr. Carpenter. The company was quickly placed at the head as the leading supplier for Lleh's Global Military, disaster capitalists posing as peace keepers. The quality and the visions from the founder of the company were groundbreaking, but his intent and methods were oftentimes questioned by his peers.

In 2019 the firm was greatly expanded, funding pouring in to supplement the corporation as it started its ambitious “Construction Project.“ The Construction Project was centered in Macropolis, and was sponsored and partially funded by Lleh's Global Military. This project was devised with the intent to supplement and enforce the changes brought about in the “Transparent Citizen Act.“

The most successful inventions developed under this act were all authorized by military adviser General Hicks. General Hicks was an adviser sent in by the Lleh Global Military Force, mostly to ensure efficiency and keep an eye on the mentally unstable Dr Carpenter.

The Construction Project was a rather unfitting title, considering at least half of the research conducted was done so to develop new weapon-based technology. The most successful of these inventions included a variety of EMP Grenades and other bombs, many of which were created with the intent of disabling the communications systems of the enemies of Macropolis. Exoskeleton armor and bionic prosthetic were also created. These technologies not only afforded soldiers greater stamina reserves, but also reconstructive technologies, bringing gravely wounded soldiers out of retirement, physically fit yet again to resume their indentured servitude to the Lleh Global Military service.

Other technological advancements included remote controlled Spider-Drones. These Spider-Drones would act like assassins, strategically positioning themselves and self-destructing to destroy critical enemy fortifications such as ammo dumps, factories, and military bases. Another such development was the free tractable Cutterhead-Bombs, tactical explosives used to destroy bridges and important access roads, effectively stranding the enemy and making transportation far more difficult and treacherous.

GENERAL HICKS

Far above the rooftops of the city General Hicks is standing in a cube of glass, watching from a distance.

“Foolish people,” he mutters while taking a deep drag on his cigar. His remaining steel blue eye now focuses on the wisps of smoke as it rises towards the transparent ceiling. He had lost the other eye in the war against the nation of Jakith in 2020.

Despite the technological advances in medicine, he refused the artificial implants and cybernetic enhancements he was offered. Every single day his loss shall be a reminder – every time he looks into the mirror or catches his reflection in a pool of water, the dead eye would remind him - “Be quick. Always get the drop on your opponent. No mercy.”

Fortunately, General Hick's sacrifice did not go unnoticed – he was revered by the Lleh military, a decorated war hero amongst military personnel and Macropolis civilians alike. The government even placed him as second in command of the national defense of Macropolis.

Cynical and bitter he now stands above the cancerous Macropolis, supervising the development of a new weapons prototype to ensure the safety of the very Lleh citizens he loathes. If there is even the slightest grain of truth to be found in the reports and stories of the maniacal Dr. Carpenter, than this weapon he is developing, Project Leviathan, grants godlike powers, capable of eradicating any of the Macropolis's enemies in the blink of an eye.

Those thoughts, those visions of obliterated states and cities in ruin are haunting him...and yet they simultaneously seem to please him and satiate the voices of demons in his head that have only been getting louder since the great war with Jakith in 2020...


DR CARPENTER

Dr. Carpenter is a genius...and a mad man. He obsesses ceaselessly over dark matter, and is widely known throughout Lleh as a fanatic with dangerous visions.  His current obsession is called Project Leviathan. Even the projects name spelled out is enough to spark a maniacal glare in his weary eyes. He pours all of his energy into Project Leviathan, working fifteen hours every day. It's to a point that Dr Carpenter is eating, showering and sleeping in his laboratory. 

Despite the obvious mental health issues plaguing him, Dr Carpenter is free to do whatever he wants with the unwavering consent of the Lleh Global Military. Dr Carpenter loves to take advantage of this. It was Dr Carpenter's profound impact on the war of 2020 that afforded him this freedom. His impact on the war rivaled even General Hicks impact.

Animal testing is a waste of time. Why should weapons designed to kill human beings be tested on animals? So many useless humans plaguing Lleh. So much filth and garbage...wastes of flesh and oxygen that no one is going to miss. Quite the opposite in fact; the benefits to society will be vast when the population is brought down to a more manageable number. After all, most of the people on Lleh are nothing but criminals and homeless vagrants.

A test chamber has been built for this sole purpose - the systematic and unbiased depopulation of Lleh. 

Carpenter is testing one of his experiments, “Meltdown“ at long last. Meltdown is a microwave transmitter transformed into a deadly weapon. Subject 13 will be the victim of this twisted experiments, heavily sedated. Subject 13 is unable to move or even speak, but can feel every single effect Meltdown is having on them. Dr. Carpenter reaches for the transmitter, a device shaped not unlike a jumbo laser pointer.

Carpenters eye twitches with excitement as he activates the weapon. The twitching intensifies as the sinister looking mechanization start to hum. Subject 13 attempts to stifle a moan and despite the sedation actually begins to thrash about violently in his seat, the chains and straps holding him down rattling. But this last surge of adrenaline is not enough to save 13.

The first visible effects of Meltdown is the subjects hair catching flame, followed seconds later by the eyebrows and eye lashes. Shortly after the skin starts to melt and bubble, the stink of burning flesh filling the room. Blood has started to leak from the ears, eyes and nostrils of Subject 13. Then the eyes start to liquify, running out of the sockets in a horrific display. As the pressure continues to rise the sickening sound of Subject 13s cranium snapping echos throughout the room, ringing loudly above the humming machinery. The scalp has ripped open, with boiling brain matter oozing out. Subject 13 lets out one last agonizing scream before slumping to the floor lifeless and twitching.

Lovingly Dr. Carpenter caresses his invention and puts it back on the workbench.

„General Hicks and his men can take care of this mess,“ he thinks to himself as he sets off to conduct more of his sick experiments.

Meltdown is child's play compared to what Carpenter is really obsessing over - his masterpiece awaits. A weapon more destructive than a thousand nuclear bombs. A man-made black hole, capable of eradicating entire cities, countries even, with a single press of a button.

Leaving no mess to take care of...rebooting Lleh to a sterile slate.

PROJECT LEVIATHAN

Project Leviathan is a weapon designed to spawn a synthetic black hole. The prototype is about the size of an anti-aircraft defense. The estimated size of the black hole this deadly device could manufacture is 5 feet - enough to absorb a whole city like Macropolis. The testing phase can only be performed with a smaller version, however, because the risk of peril is too great. It is for this reason the full power of Project Leviathan has yet to be tested. Instead, a smaller version  has been studied, roughly the size of a Missile-Launcher, creating a black hole with a diameter of 1 foot. These tests are conducted in a hermetically sealed room as a safety precaution.

While the first few tests proved accurate, the latest tests didn't go as well. The black hole is becoming more unstable with each test, disappearing in minutes. But those few minutes were indescribable. Dr Carpenter felt as though he was looking right into the face of a god, a god he created himself. The air crackles with electricity, and a steady vibration shakes the entire room. This might of this machine is beautiful to behold! To a scientist, at least.

On this day Dr. Carpenter will make history. He stands euphoric in the Daymon laboratory, waiting to start the next testing phase with fevered anticipation. The drones – Lleh military personnel and Daymon scientists, all man their assigned positions. Most feel skeptical of the doctors intentions, apprehensive to question the legitimacy of the project. They stare almost robotically at the monitors as the machine is fired up.

“Project Leviathan, Testing Phase Number 6!” Masterston states as he dials in the machinery. The black hole is stable, floating weightlessly around inside the giant lab. All those present gaze into the black nothingness, their gaze transfixed as if hypnotized. All is going well, and yet something sinister moves inside the emptiness. A small, barely visible red light flares up threateningly. It almost looks like an eye, a hellish pupil. Seconds later, metallic whispers infuse the room, and the monitors implode violently, sending burning shrapnel raining down on the Daymon staff.

The hole collapses, then grows larger over the entire room. General Hicks of all people is intimidated by this development, but Hicks is the only one aside from Dr Carpenter to hold their composure. All the soldiers and lab technicians break down and panic, some screaming, others pacing wildly at their assigned posts.

Dr. Carpenter stands transfixed as a hellish, otherworldly voice cuts across the Daymon Laboratory. ”Open the Gate.“ Dr Carpenter pushes the button and the hydraulic door mechanism sealing the test room hisses open. Dr Carpenter widens his arms like some sort of twisted prophet and walks right into the test chamber, smiling maniacally as he walks directly into the black hole vanishing into the black nothingness he spawned with his hellish invention, Project Leviathan.


SHADOW AGENTS

Paragon Genetic Technology Corporation is Daymon Corporations biggest competitor. Paragon's corporate offices and central laboratory facility is located in Flagg City. The experiments conducted within are kept very well hidden, inspiring hushed whispers echoing distrust of the corporate giant throughout Flagg City. Rumors of Paragon's dark doings spread out further to Macropolis, and some even as far as Jakith.

Despite the ill reputation, Paragon remains excessively guarded and secretive. Rumors suggest they specialized in biological and chemical weapon agents, and a good deal of their technology was used in the Jakith war, and was as big a factor in the war as Daymon Corp. Some suggested Paragon were playing Macropolis and Jakith against each other, profiteering off a war by supplying weapons to both armies like some sort of twisted country puppeteer.

Paragon's rivalry with Daymon Corp remained heated for years, climaxing during the war and never quite fizzling out. Daymon regularly spread allegations against Paragon throughout the years, claiming projects they were working on were being stolen and copied by Paragon. Paragon remained creepily silent, as it always had.

General Hicks has had suspicions for a long time Daymon Corp had been infiltrated by a spy agent sent in by Paragon. He suspected a cyborg agent had been sent in by Shadow, a mercenary firm that infiltrates organizations to steal secret documents and research findings, then sells this stolen information back to their clients at a steep price. Some even suggested that Hicks himself was the mole, but these suggestions were false – General Hicks remained loyal to the Lleh government despite his cynicism, and in all actuality distrusts the shady Paragon. General Hicks, on the other hand, was correct in his suspicions.

Agent 17-34-X had indeed existed in the Daymon Corporation for years, having risen through the ranks to quite a formidable position, managing his own lab within the giant Daymon HQ. Little did his co-workers know, A17-34-X, or the name they knew him, Xander, was actually more cybernetic than human.

Xander is a test subject of an older Paragon experiment, one of their earliest “Shadow” agents. Needless to say, the Shadow spy firm wouldn't be paying Paragon for these services...they funded the entire operation. Xander was 'upgraded' with bionic implants, equipping him with sophisticated spy technology. His right hand is wired with hacking software, and his left retina has a micro-camera attached, a live stream constantly airing both to Shadow and Paragon officials. And tonight he is tackling his biggest assignment yet...

XANDER VS HICKS

Xander has been sent to the Daymon Corporation to sabotage “Project Leviathan” and to hack the mainframe and retrieve all information and data related to the project. With his level of security clearance coupled with his bionic upgrades and years of experience working for Shadow, he is more than confident he will be able to deliver his client what they seek.

At the peak of the night, the hour in which shadows paint mysterious pictures across the Macropolis streets, Xander makes his move. He is well aware that Dr Carpenter has been making huge leaps of progress in the Leviathan project, and realizes he needs to infiltrate – in plain sight – as quickly as possible to ensure the success of his mission.

“Pretty chilly night, eh Xander?” A lowly security guard questions him as he swipes his key-card to gain access to the laboratory wing of the Daymon building. Xander replies cooly, “Couldn't have come sooner, I've been getting sick of the heat myself.” The door hisses open and Xander steps inside, hearing the metallic door come clanging to a close behind him.

He is completely undetected in his assumed role as head of the laboratory. This was a long-term assignment, years in the making. “And tonight is the night it all pays off,” Xander thinks to himself, smiling at the thought of an early retirement in the beaches of Jakith. Reaching the test chamber, he readies his hacking device.

The data transfer had begun. Years of research floods into Xanders hacking software, instantaneously available on the Paragon and Shadow servers. After the data transfer is successfully completed, he walks to the console standing directly in front of the Project Leviathan testing chamber. He quickly sabotages the Flux-stabilizer and misplaces the frequencies of all the measuring devices.

Unbeknownst to Xander, new security measures had been installed just last week as per Dr Carpenter's orders. An intrusive alarm is screeching through the speakers, piercing and deafening. Xander is startled and knows full well Daymon security are already on their way. But they're no match for his superior cybernetics.

Dashing to the exit, Xander narrowly squeezes through the giant steel bold security doors enclosing the Project Leviathan room. He doesn't escape unscathed – his left arm his crushed in the steel from the elbow down. Blood gushes in torrents and wires flail about, sparking in a frenzy, their light dancing off the blood splatter in a sickly beautiful display of gore and bad timing. Xander is unaffected, the pain medication implanted into his right arms medical technology surging through his veins simultaneously with a surge of adrenaline. He rips his left arm out of the enclosure, losing everything below the elbow, yet sprints onward.

Before Xander even turns the corner he's aware of, and ready for, the Sentries standing there with their gun fixed. They fire a burst of rounds as he turns the corner but he front flips over the bullet spray and lands directly behind the two of them, quickly snapping the guard on the lefts neck in just a way that causes him to gun down the guard on the right. Before the two Sentries manage to hit the floor Xander has connected a fatal kick to the throat of another Sentry rounding the corner. On he runs.

Xander escapes through an air duct as more Sentries run into the hall. The Sentries gaze at their fallen comrades for but a second before spraying bullets all across the air-vent. Xander is already gone though, crawling with speed and purpose towards an exit. Finally he kicks the air duct leading to the outside of the facility, and hops right down on a hover bike he had left there hours earlier. As Xander kicks the bike into gear and it's propulsion mechanisms kick in, he sees a shadowy figure standing at the end of the alleyway, blocking his exit.

Xander guns the accelerator and whirs right towards the figure. The figure lifts its right hand and fires a single round, then side-steps just in time for Xander to fly past. The front left propulsion tube has been breached, a perfect shot to send the bike spiraling back towards the ground. The explosion is massive, and Xander is thrown from the wreckage, his legs torn off in the brunt of the blow, most of skin melted off and his circuitry tangled in a sparking mess. “Fuck, the pain meds are wearing off....”

Xander is now crawling away, leaving a trail of boiling blood and torn circuitry in his wake. He hears footsteps coming towards him slowly, purposefully. As the steps reach right behind him Xander turns his head, his murderer revealed.

“You son of a bit-”

Before Xander can finish cursing him out, General Hicks puts a plasma slug right through his forehead.

“Got you, you rat bastard.”


RISE OF THE DEMONS

The whole laboratory is vibrating violently, a hideous mechanical grinding sound deafening everyone in a half mile radius. The lights in the laboratory are flickering off and on, meshing with the hellish grinding sound, giving the room the aura of some sort of twisted dance club. The Black hole pulsates unnaturally, and out steps a changed Dr. Carpenter. With a bowed head and sporting a maniacal grin, his face is white as a sheet, ghastly and otherworldly.

With his eyes creepily closed, he steps forward, deeply breathing the electrically charged air, his chest rising and sinking slowly with each step he takes. As he slowly opens his eyelids, a gleaming green light shines out. Dr Carpenter is now walking towards the sealed entrance of the testing chamber. The scientists and engineers in the laboratory seem to have been broken from their spell, and scramble to ensure security measures are taken. Just as a giant steel plated door double-seals the chamber, Dr Carpenter reaches it. He isn't alone, though...

What looks like HELL itself now starts to pour out of the portal. Creatures half-machine and half demon crawl into the test chamber. Their eyes flair, full of anticipation for the impending invasion and feasting. The terror of 10,000 endless nightmares commences. One of the creatures, a sickly mesh of flesh and sparking circuitry, reaches the entrance to the chamber. Dr Carpenter steps aside, allowing the creature access to the steel plates, which the creature starts smashing. Lab technicians and engineers start fleeing from the room, their cries frail and panicked. General Hick's men stand, holding rifles with shaking hands, pointed directly at the testing chambers entrance.

With the 7^th mighty strike the creature has blown through both doors. Chunks of steel fly out, one metallic shard impaling a soldiers throat, torrents of blood pouring from the wound. The soldiers open fire immediately, the first creature taking bullets up and down it's body, sparks cascading off its metallic parts and a sickly green blood shooting out from its fleshy parts. To the horror of the soldiers, the creatures blood starts to melt right through the floor. A big chunk of blood soaked flesh lands on a desk, burning through almost immediately, landing on the unlucky engineer hiding beneath. The acidic blood and chunks of flesh immediately melt the engineers flesh, his horrific screams now echoing in a symphony with the carnage being unleashed.

Metallic clanging rings crisp through the halls as mechanical feet stride with purpose across the cold floor of the laboratory. The labored whir of plasma-operated engines and the rattling of pipes are completely drowned out by the battle ensuing within the Daymon laboratory. The cybernetic demon hybrids pouring out of the portal seem to be never-ending, and Dr Carpenter appears to be allied with them, or perhaps possessed by them. Shapes from nightmares take form in the portal, one after another, as if long forgotten Gods sickened by humanity and coming to wipe the slate clean.

Daymon Laboratory has fallen. Few, if any survivors, remain to warn the public of Macropolis. The stream of demons appears to be never ending, and soon they're filling the city streets. Citizens stare dumbfounded and horrified at these sickly creatures, few standing a chance of survival. The creatures do not initiate the attack, however. They merely stare at the citizens of Macropolis. The humans are frozen stiff, trembling with a primal, instinctual dread that has only now come to the surface for the first time. Only a few people are able to break free from this trance, and sprint in the opposite direction, as the army of monstrosities increase in number.

Then out of nowhere a booming, smoky voice seems to emanate from each demon, as if each demon is hearing it within it's head and all their thoughts are being projected outward. “LET THE HUNT BEGIN” commands the voice, the words echoing menacingly through the city streets. Instantly the bloodbath starts. Bony claws scrape flesh from bone. Acidic spit melts off faces, and razor sharp, spiked teeth deeply penetrate throats. Swords decapitate, spears impale, and bullet fire finds demonic targets as the Macropolis police force fight back. The Vanguard of cybernetic demons are relentless however, sending people running screaming in every direction. People trip over each other in their stampede, some trampled into submission, barely alive as the demons reach them and start feasting from their flesh.

Back inside the building Dr. Carpenter is back at the console, pushing aside bits of flesh and circuitry, the acidic properties having no effect on his hands. He turns the dial higher on the Project Leviathan control console, enlarging the Hole within. The Hole grows until it starts disintegrating the walls of the test chamber, crashing through the roof. And still the hellish creatures march out, swarming out like a fountain. The numbers increase, from the hundreds to the thousands. Dr Carpenter smiles to himself, semi-lucid, not fighting the demonic possession but embracing the power it gives him.


END OF DAYS

The gateway to the hellish dimension continues to grow. It has now swallowed up half of the town. It pulsates, sending ripples to all barely perceivable edges of it's outer rim. It appears to be breathing, in and out, creepily, as if it has a life of it's own.

The demons still pour out of the portal, flying and marching off in all directions. Seeker demons fly about, their eyes glowing out like fog lights, seeking out fresh victims in the now abandoned and blood-stained alleyways of Macropolis. The Seekers fly miles out of the city, flying over the burning homes in suburban settings. A lucky pack of Seekers manage to find what remains of a 5 car pile-up, some of the victims of the accident still alive and writhing. Easy prey....

A mountain of demons are ravaging the countryside beyond Macropolis, moving slowly across the land, laying waste to all before them. These demons have the power to shoot bursts of flames from strange fleshy growths on their wrists. Entire villages are burned to the ground, the charred corpses welcome meals to the hungry demons.
Back in Macropolis, from deep within the portal, booms the same hellish voice that only hours earlier boomed throughout the Macropolis skyline. Only this time it's even more terrifying, and worse still...it's closer. So much closer.

For a moment the stream of endless demons seems to relent. The odd seeker flies out every 10 to 20 seconds, but then – silence. From the skyscrapers in Macropolis, several groups of survivors who have managed to remain hidden up above, watching the apocalypse unfold below them, watch as the stream of demons mysteriously stops. They all look at each other with suspicious relief, not sure if it's just the eye of the storm. Then the ground shakes, like an earthquake, shaking the skyscrapers. Worry returns to the survivors faces. Another shake. Then from the center of the portal steps the terrifying voice, belonging to what is easily the most fearsome and giant of all the demons.

Belial. Worldeater. Cybermancer. This demons flesh had long corroded with steel and circuitry. This creature looked more cybernetic than it did demonic. All of the demons body parts seemed to be enhanced with bionic upgrades. On it's giant chest was a reactor, shining with a threateneing greenish hue. What a sickly combination. Most of the demons had some cybernetic elements, but not as much as the Worldeater. A sickly black mist seemed to follow the creature as it stomped it's way down main street.

The Worldeater bellows an unsatisfied roar, seemingly impatient. He breaths a stream of acidic fire at one of the skyscrapers – the building starts to crumble and melt immediately, the group of survivors inside screaming in terror. It is a sight to behold for the other remaining survivors scattered throughout the buildings, who immediately scramble back down towards the bottom levels, many only making a single step outside before being swiped by a Seeker, their innards being ripped out before tumbling back to the blood soaked pavement below.

Beneath Belial sits a truck, the Project Leviathan control center chained to its rear axel. Behind the wheel sits no other than Dr. Carpenter. Belial speaks to the possessed maniac. “YOU KNOW THE TASK. SPAWN NEW PORTALS ACROSS THE COUNTSIDE!”


DAWN OF THE APOCALYPSE




The war was lost – the planet Lleh had been reduced to a smoldering wasteland, from Macropolis to Jakith. Dozens of portals have sprung up across the entire planet, open wide, thousands of demons pouring out each hourly. The scant survivors on Lleh had absolutely no chance in defending the portals, the only survivors being those that had gone into hiding. The military fought valiantly, but the demons were far to swift and powerful. A little over 1000 demons laid dead, while the casualties for the Lleh people numbered in the millions. The Demons where immune against biological and chemic warfare, and fire and hand guns were also ineffective. The only way to take these bastards down were explosions and dousing them in seas of bullets – but not enough bullets existed on the planet to even take out a 20^th of the demons forces, even if each shot hit it's mark with perfect accuracy.

As the demons ravaged the countryside, they burned entire cities to ashes. Many of these cities had Daymon and Paragon laboratories, with prominent abundance of plasma and laser technique weapon manufacturing facilities. Some housed deadly biological weaponry, and in the midst of the chaos, these were also released, poisoning the air, an additional threat joining the forray across the wastelands of Lleh, another hazard for the few survivors left to contend with.

The weaker of the demons where unarmed and strode on all fours, hunting the people like bloodhounds, ripping them apart and feasting on their flesh. They killed everyone they could find - no mercy for the woman or the children. The majority of the population had met their maker – they were no longer the highest species on the planet, no longer at the top of the food chain. This was their extinction level event.

Inside a underground bunker in Macropolis the Crisis committee had assembled together, somehow managing to avoid the initial onslaught of the demons. The Macropolis President was dead - like many other he was slaughtered brutally and feasted upon by the hellish creatures.

Fear and desperation lies on the faces of the committee. Not a single member uttered a word. The radio-telephone operator told additional stories of woe and despair from all across Lleh. Jakith and Rustland had also fallen. At least 90% of the entire world had perished, now outnumbered 100 to 1 by the demons, their numbers only increasing by the hour. The combined forces of Lleh could not stop the invasion, even if they had time to prepare and all joined forces. Jakith had made a bold attempt minutes earlier, launching a nuclear strike on their own land in an attempt to destroy the demons. This did wipe out thousands more demons, serving as the biggest hit to their ranks...but it was not enough.

A panicked soldier now sprints into the bunker, bearing the horrible news – the demons had penetrated the defenses of the facility. They'd be in the control room in mere minutes. The soldier than collapsed dead, as if to accentuate his point. The decision was unanimous, at that point. Macropolis will launch their nuclear weapons as well - the Country was lost. Hell, at this point, the entire planet was lost. But Lleh would not fall by the claws of the demons. If the free folks of Lleh are to die, it will be by their own doing, in a sacrificial blaze of glory. They will ride out the waves of nuclear hellfire, hopefully eradicating the demons and offering the few hundred survivors who had retreated to bunkers the chance to start civilization anew in the decades to come.

The codes are entered with observed silence, all the security hatches of the building grinding open. The highest ranking officer who remained, second in command to General Hicks who had disappeared before the invasion, pushes the button as the remaining committee make peace with their Gods and sit together in collective solidarity against the demons. The screams and screeches of demons echo through the hallways as the final codes are entered. Trembling hands enter the final codes, the demons bursting through the door just as the final button is pressed to launch the nuclear strike.

The air stands sickly still for but a second, then chaos. White lightning blinds the committee and the thunderous roar of the nuclear explosion deafens them seconds before they and the demons invading the bunker are vaporized.


NOTHING SHALL REMAIN




After the all-eating fire, nothing remains – everything and everyone, save a scant few survivors scattered across Lleh, hidden deep underground in nuclear-resistant bunkers, have been torn to shreds by demons or vaporized by the hellfire of a hundred nuclear explosions. The demons themselves were even fell by the explosions, the majority of them wiped out or gravely injured. Hundreds of demons limped back through the closing portals, and the few that remained on Lleh wandered the countryside, injured and slowly dying of starvation. The fallen cities are but dust and ash, a monument to the failure of civilization and the greed of those who inhabited it. Time seems to stand still...nothing moving, no sounds...only silence. Deathly, unsettling silence. Nothing shall remain.


D1G1T4L H3LL




 In a far away place, across dimensional planes, breaks an evil laugh through a darkly silence. It screams I WON defiantly, with a hellish and raved voice, speaking the dead tongue of a language long dormant.

„Well played, old friend,“ snarls a response. A whispered laugh continues the conversation. „Let us start something new, father.“


WORLDEATER

MELTDOWN

RED HORIZON

Keep rockin the Scythe Synth Army on Jon Of The Shred's Bandcamp here.

Scythe - A Clash of Steel and Circuits

by Jon of the Shred

 

Chapter I: Meganet

Camp Terror is a war-zone. Gunfire rings throughout the safe-zones streets and alleyways. The rebels gun down Paragon soldiers and scientists, the Paragon legions destroy the revolting Meganet cyborgs, and the cyborgs make waste of both their overlords and innocents alike. All hell has broken lose, explosions deafening the ears of citizens scrambling to find shelter, many perishing due to the shrapnel raining like raging hellfire from the sky. Blood stains the streets and sides of buildings – it is complete circuit board lunacy.

The fighting is heaviest in and around the Paragon Genetic Technology Corporation facilities. Meganet cyborgs are ripping themselves from their circuitry stations, grabbing nearby scientists and engineers by the throats, ending lives by the dozens. Lifeless corpses litter the labs and hallways. Decades of research and technology are destroyed in the wake of the great battle.

The most powerful of the Meganet Cyborgs are known as Elites. The number of Paragon soldiers and scientists these 12 machines have murdered in only their first 20 minutes of sentience numbers to nearly 100, collectively. They've got perfect aim and make quick work of their adversaries, fattened security guards who have grown complacent and bored in their day-to-day job of guarding the Paragon facilities. They stod no chance.

The Elites sprint towards the exit, a dozen strong. Paragon soldiers have mustered all remaining forces and set up an ambush point at the precise exit of the facility the Elite's are now headed for. As the Cyborgs round the corner, the Paragon soldiers open fire, a sea of bullets spilling sickly greenish blood from cybernetic limbs. An Elite is downed with a well placed head shot, an explosion of sparks and bloodshed marking it's demise. The other 11 Elite's open fire immediately, their laser infused arm canons leaving searing holes in the Paragon officials. In a matter of seconds the entire Paragon ambush team has been disposed of, now a pile of twitching and smoking corpses.

The 11 surviving Elite's continue their sprint, having never slowed down, now leaping over the fresh corpses and landing in a dimly lit parking lot. No more than 200 feet away, Paragon officials and their bodyguards are loading into their truck convoys, the majority of their chemical and biological weaponry stockpiles already loaded up. The Elite's open fire, downing a distinguished lab tech and one of Paragons top executives. The engines of the trucks rumble as the trucks peel out, driving straight through the fences surrounding the facility grounds. Impaled begin pouring in from all angles, having been pushing against the gates in the thousands for the duration of the fighting, distracted by the sounds of violence and scent of freshly spilled blood.

The Elites make quick work of the first wave of undead, nailing each with perfect head shots. The rest of the Meganet cyborgs filter out of the building, wiping out even more Impaled with well placed head shots. The Elite's quickly spot the Paragon freight train convoy, and start filtering into the train cars as hundreds of zombies continue to shamble onto the facility grounds. Only a few cyborgs have perished, overwhelmed by the Impaled swarming about them, the teeth of the undead ripping apart flesh and circuitry, rotting molars melting as the Impaled feast.

One of the Elite's has hacked into the trains computer system and fires up the engine. They head north, away from the battles raging in Camp Terror. As the train pulls off towards the hills, the Impaled become distracted by the downed corpses of Paragon officials and Scythian rebels alike, relishing in the easy meals.

Chapter  II: Frozen Soldiers

To the north lies the Ocean of Ice, a gigantic frozen tundra dotted by many mountains, most notable of which the Zakeenian Mountain Range. This domain is populated by the Frozen Soldiers, a gang of outlaws living outside of Scythian society, by choice of their own. Trade used to exist between the Frozen Soldiers Southernmost base, the Frozen Outpost, and Paragon officials, who together worked at the facility. The Frozen Soldiers were always skeptical of Paragon, simultaneously frustrated and frightened by the corporations seemingly infinite level of power and influence over the Scythian countryside, but they set aside these apprehensions in order to gain access to the corporate monoliths technologies – it was the only way they could survive on their own, after all.

Decades earlier, the Frozen Soldiers offered Paragon Icellian Crystals they harvested in the Zakeenian Mines. These crystals were used in the research and development of new medicines (and biological weaponry), and in turn Paragon traded useful technologies to the Frozen Soldiers that enabled them to live in the harsh conditions of the Ocean of Ice comfortably. Thermal heated body armor, power generators that ran entirely on snow, the means of food production and crops harvesting – the Frozen Soldiers owed a lot to Paragon, despite their skepticism of them.

Now the Frozen Outpost has been out of commission for over a decade. Only two Frozen Soldiers are stationed there to keep watch at this point, the train tracks having been long dormant...but still serviceable. When the Outpost was fully operational computers whirred and consoles hummed, several dozen Frozen Soldiers guarding the outpost and the Paragon representatives developing temperature-sensitive technologies within. Most of these technologies remained unfinished, covered in dust, the secrets and societal advancements they held never being revealed, only two lonely Frozen Soldiers guarding a dust covered, abandoned outpost...

 



Chapter III: Avenging Force

The train barrels along the tracks, legions of Meganet cyborgs standing perfectly still in the train cars. The train dips and ascends over hills, eventually going underground as it reaches the subway that lies beneath the Forest of the Impaled. As the train cars rattle along the tracks, tales of unspeakable horror and carnage occur just above in the Forest of the Impaled.

Deep within the train convoy, the 11 Elites have assembled and are standing together in a circle, mourning the loss of their 12^th member, already planning their next course of action. The loss of the 12^th Elite is deeply upsetting to the cyborgs – with each cyborg lost, the collective power and strength of the Meganet sentience diminishes slightly. With each Elite taken out, a great deal of power is lost, each Elite serving a particular tactical advantage. The decision to attack Paragon, the very creators of Meganet, generates unanimous approval among the Elites.

The convoy moves on, traveling deep under Specter City. Every so often an unlucky Impaled steps onto the tracks and explodes into an array of blood splatter and limbs, painting the sides of the subway tunnel like a twisted painting. The train is unrelenting in its momentum, it's passengers even more so unrelenting in their resolve. The Meganet's Avenging Force will exact it's merciless vengeance, and will uproot the very foundation of Paragon!

The convoy pops back above ground, the Zakeenian mountain peaks ominously dotting the skyline ahead...


 



Chapter IV: Everlasting Winter

For nearly a year now, a blizzard has been crippling the City of Ice, forcing the Frozen Soldiers to remain indoors. Very few brave the crippling cold and unrelenting winds, believing the Everlasting Winter is a curse. But every three days a new pair would journey to the Frozen Outpost to maintain eyes to the South. The two unlucky bastards guarding the outpost today were in for quite a shock.

The convoy pulls into the Frozen Outpost, screeching to a halt. The two Frozen Soldiers lazily lounging on abandoned consoles and generators hear the sound, springing to their feet and meeting outside immediately. Both guards shake their heads in disbelief at the site – the Paragon convoy is parked outside the station. They shake their heads in dumbfounded disbelief.

The Frozen Soldiers draw their pistols and take cover, never taking their eyes off the train sitting mysteriously at the Frozen Outpost. A door whirs open, and out step the 11 Elites, surveying the area cautiously. The Frozen Soldiers waste no time in hiding, instead immediately confronting this menacing presence standing a mere 100 feet in front of them.

“Stay right where you are! State the reason for your presence at the Frozen Outpost!”

The Elite do not respond. One tilts it's head sideways menacingly. Their infrared vision software pinpoints the thermal signatures of the two Frozen Soldiers, zooming in. Humans - in an agitated state no less. Were these allies or enemies of Paragon? The Meganet Elite decide it's best not to take chances, and begin to march forward. All humans will pay the price, not just Paragon. The Frozen Soldiers do not hesitate, immediately opening fire.

A laser round strikes one of the Elite's shoulders, and another round takes out a kneecap. The cyborgs appear undeterred by these wounds, marching forward, raising their arm cannons and raining laser powered bullets back at the guards. The metallic fixture the guards have taken residence behind begins to melt, pooling on the snowy ground at their feet.

“We gotta sound the siren and warn the City of Ice!” One of them yells. “Right, I'll cover you!” The guards opens fire in bursts, spraying gunfire across all 11 Elite's, distracting them just long enough to allow the other guard time to sprint back to the door, quickly opening it with his key card.

“Hurry, get in!”

From the inside of the Frozen Outpost the guard begins laying down supplemental bursts, taking full attention of the Elite's as they close in. The second guard makes a run for it, but doesn't run quite fast enough. A burst of rounds to his left leg sends him badly injured to the ground, barely making it into the facility as the doors whir closed behind him.

“C'mon, let's get the fuck outta here!”

The uninjured guard helps his partner hobble up the stairs to the second floor, the sounds of metallic clanging ringing through the abandoned outpost as the Elite's attempt to smash the door in. Just as they make it into the control center and close the emergency security doors behind them, they hear an explosion that sends the metal doors flying into the building. They've breached the Frozen Outpost...

All the train car doors whir open, dozens of foot soldiers pouring out of each, filing into the building, looking to exact revenge against the people of Scythe at large. Just as the Meganet Elite burst into the control room, the uninjured guard has sounded the alarm, before falling dead to the floor seconds later, the flesh surrounding the gaping hole in his forehead smoking.







Chapter V: Cybernetic Resistance

A shrill, invasive siren echos throughout the Ocean of Ice. The Frozen Soldiers immediately jump to their feet, alert and anxious. Those deafening siren hadn't been heard since the cataclysmic battle with the Scythian government nearly 50 years ago. Since then the community had lived in peace and solitude, only battling the elements, the frigid temperatures and harsh winter winds. But now something else was here and threatening their existence...

The Frozen Soldiers act quick, sprinting to the armory and gearing up for battle. Most of these soldiers are inexperienced in warfare, only having had wolves to utilize as practice. The toughest amongst them were able to down Wooly Mammoths with their plasma rifles, and had battled the 1,000 strong wolf pack a decade earlier. But even these feats were nothing close to ample preparation for the Cybernetic Resistance now bearing down on their doorstep.

Dozens of soldiers begin to line up along the walls of the City of Ice, carefully aiming their plasma rifles into the sea of snow, waiting for any signs of movement. Unsteady hands hold highly dangerous weapons. The minds of the Frozen Soldiers are already weary from the months of Everlasting Winter before them. What could be lurking beyond the city walls in the harsh snowfall?

First, they hear the foot steps, crunching in the snow. Then they hear the mechanical whirring of cybernetic limbs. The machines finally come into view, first just one, then another two, and finally dozens more, pouring out from every angle, completely surrounding the City of Ice. Before any chance of compromise or negotiation can be attempted, a nervous Frozen Soldier, still in their teenage years, slips and fires a plasma round directly into the skull of one of the cyborgs, killing it in a single shot. All hell yet again breaks loose...

Chapter VI: A Clash of Steel and Circuits

The battle escalates in intensity immediately. Laser rounds pour from both behind the wall and from outside it. Frozen Soldiers with charred holes topple over the sides of the walls. One unlucky Frozen Soldier takes a laser round directly in the gut, sending him crashing back into the City of Ice, his entrails getting snagged on the way down, causing him to hang by them several feet above the snowy ground. The citizens of the City of Ice, those that the Frozen Soldiers protect, immediately panic, running back into their homes and heeding the sirens at long last at the sound of gunfire and death.

The Elite's stand at the back of the army of cyborgs, sending tactical information to various units. One Elite sends the Aerial Unit to take down a guard tower. Three Frozen Soldier snipers have been taking out dozens of cyborgs with well placed head shots from this tower, spilling more green blood and white snow than anyone else. The Aerial cyborgs float around the tower, setting their arm cannons to their highest power levels. One of the snipers fires a quick round into a jet-pack. The jet-pack explodes, sending the cyborg careening into another, the two of them spiraling to the ground below in a hellish explosion. The snipers victory is cut short, however, when the tower begins to collapse. The other cyborgs of the Aerial Unit had caused irreparable structural damage to the tower. 

Back at the ground, several hundred feet from the crumbled tower, a number of cyborgs are working at the giant steel gates in an attempt to enter and ransack the city. Laser fire pours down at them from above, almost as frequent as the unrelenting snow. A cyborg takes a shot through it's right eye, slumping to the ground. Yet another cyborg is taken out with a perfectly aimed throat shot. The cybernetic creature clutches at the charred flesh and circuitry that used to be it's throat, falling to the ground amongst it's other downed comrades, suffering in it's dying moments.

But these counter measures are not enough to keep the Meganet Cybernetic Resistance from crashing through the gate. Citizens and infantry alike are torn down by the merciless cyborgs. The remaining survivors have fallen back into a group, a several dozen defenseless citizens hiding behind the remaining Frozen Soldiers. These soldiers were the most elite of the entire City of Ice, the most experienced in battle. A few had even fought through the Icellian Revolution. The group fall back towards the Zakeenian Mines, their last hopes of survival against this avenging force of sadistic cyborgs lying within. Another Elite perishes in a last burst of suppression fire, bullets riddling the cyborgs chest and face, green blood gushing out everywhere.

The Meganet collective sentience glitches out for just a second, giving the last survivors a chance to bolt into the Zakeenian mines. The survivors hope to reach one of several smaller communities that rest on several mountain peaks of the Zakeenian mountain range. As long as they can get their before the Meganet cyborgs discover them...

As the survivors scurry deep into the mines, they hear a deafening explosion behind them. Rocks and boulders now block the exit, the people trapped within, safe from the cyborgs but now stuck underground. The battle is lost and their society hangs by a thread, but at least they have survived, given an opportunity to exact their vengeance, to bring purpose to all those that died today.

Blood and corpses stain the Ocean of Ice, after decades of peace and self-sustainability. Paragon's technology has brought this carnage upon the City of Ice, ironically after having given the Frozen Soldiers the very technologies that enabled them to exist out of Scythian society in the first place. The battle is over, the charred remains of the city now serving as the base of operations for the Meganet operation. And just as the battle has stopped, the blizzard comes to a seemingly abrupt end, the Everlasting Winter extinguished by a clash of steel and circuits.

Tune in to Synthetix.FM in the coming weeks for more tales of the Scythe as Jon Of The Shred continues the adventure; accompanied by some of the brightest star in the 80s inspired synth universe.