A fanfic based on the Master Levels - has anyone done this before? I think not. I wanted to try out something new and this idea just came to me. Besides, I wanted a challenge and what better place to find it than an expansion pack without any official story.

The story serves two purposes. First, it tells how the space marine got back to Earth after defeating Lord Baphomet in the final level of Doom II, the Icon of Sin, as the ending text does mention "you begin the long trek back home" but no details are given. Second, it tries to create some kind of background story for the Master Levels - it revolves around the so-called "Master Plan", the space marines' scheme to exterminate the last bastions of demonic resistance on Earth (which are supposed to be the master levels themselves).

Lock and load, marines! We're going in...

THE MASTER PLAN

(inspired by and based on the Master Levels for Doom II)

by L. Ivanov

Part I

The Return Trip

Devastation. The wrecked landscape stretched on for miles in all directions - an endless expanse of charred debris, sizzling lava pits and pillars of smoke rising towards the crimson sky. One could think this place had been mauled by the hands of a giant and this was not far from the truth. Somewhere in the hazy distance was a huge pile of torn flesh and shattered bones - the body of a huge creature that had been utterly destroyed. Its death throes were the reason for all the destruction that had been inflicted upon this eerie world.

The only thing that moved in this broken world was the lonely figure of a man trudging through the rough terrain. He wore a dirty green uniform and a helmet - a space marine. His hands gripped a sawed-off double-barreled shotgun, several other weapons were visible as well - attached to his bulky backpack. He seemed to walk aimlessly, unsure of where exactly he was supposed to go, yet he was not worried even one bit about his present situation. He had done his job in the most satisfying way possible and did not really care about what happened next.

Just a few days ago life had been so much simpler. Boring, indeed, yet pleasingly predictable. Then the gates of Hell were thrown wide open and life changed for everyone. The marine had found himself within the very eye of the storm and had to fight for his life through the worst demon-infested realms a sick brain could possibly imagine. But the demonic freaks were not satisfied with ruining his day, so they invaded Earth and nearly succeeded in wiping out humanity. This evil scheme failed too, and humanity was able to escape into space. Then they discovered the invader's gateway and the fight continued - through corrupted buildings and streets, all the way back to Hell, and finally into the lair of the Big Bad Demon Lord. The battle was fierce and seemingly hopeless, yet the huge demon had his brain blown up in the end, and its thrashing limbs devastated much of Hell's surface.

And there he was now - all alone, with only the distant cries of the restless spirits to keep him company. Hell had become unusually quiet since the death of its master. It seemed all demons were hiding. Or were they dead? This reprieve seemed enjoyable at first, but now the marine was starting to feel bored to death. He almost wished some demon would jump at him, so that he could blow it away with his shotgun. But why were the bastards hiding? Were they scared of him? "Well, they should be!", he thought bitterly.

After the epic final battle, this lonely journey through the ruins of Hell seemed like a horribly anticlimactic end to the what had been the most amazing days in the marine's entire life. He kept walking forward with the vague hope that he would find something... anything. Some surviving demons to toast, perhaps. Or one of those blue soul spheres - he was starting to feel tired and definitely needed a boost.

As he trudged through the ashes, the marine tried to count how many demons and undead he had killed. Was it enough? He could never really find out just how big Hell's armies were, and so he had no idea if he had wiped out a large or a tiny fraction of their forces. He suspected that some of the fiends would linger in the dark corners of the Earth and pester humanity for years to come. The Space Marine Corp would have to organize some sort of mopping squads and terminate this threat once the recovery starts.

The marine climbed on top of a bigger pile of mud mixed with debris and surveyed his surroundings. It was the same lifeless landscape of ruin in all directions. Nothing to break the endless monotony... but wait, his eyes caught a slight glimmer in the distance. The marine squinted his eyes and stared intently in that direction. Indeed, there was something shining like polished metal in the distance. It could be something dangerous, but who cares? He was desperate.

The marine headed in the direction of the mysterious shine as quickly as he could, trying not to trip over the scattered rocks. His weapons were slowing him down, so he ditched his rocket launcher and plasma gun. "I shouldn't be needing these anymore," he murmured. The demons were beaten and the fighting was long over. He guessed that the SMC was probably already sending squads to re-establish control over Earth. They'd better be!

As he came closer to the mysterious glow, the marine started to hear a peculiar humming in the air - it constantly changed its pitch and varied, sounding like a swarm of insects one second, then like claws scratching against metal the other. He gripped his shotgun tightly and put his finger on the trigger. Could this thing be a wounded demon? If it was, the marine would gladly put the freak out of its misery. But it could also be some sort of damaged device or an artifact. The death of Hell's master could have unpredictable effects on the entire dimension.

The noise was very strong now and he knew he was close to the mysterious object. Behind that big rock... there it was! The marine stopped and stared blankly at the strange thing that hung before his eyes. It looked like a small tear in the very fabric of reality - a glowing crack in the air filled with a swirling chaos of colors and images, a turbulent pool of lights and shadows. Several rocks around this strange rupture were floating in the air around it, as if captured in an entirely different gravity field. The marine stared into the object, trying to discern the images that appeared and faded within the vortex. And there it was - fleeting images of blue skies and green fields. Was this Earth? Was this strange object a way home? The marine raised his eyes towards the burning skies above and yelled:

"Is this another one of your dirty tricks? You want me to go back so that something even worse will happen, just like last time?"

There was no answer. The air was completely still and the only thing to disturb the silence was the noise emitting from the portal. "Or maybe it's no portal after all," the marine thought. It could be some kind of magical anomaly caused by the destruction of the Icon of Sin. And it could probably be used as a portal. It sounded like suicide, but the marine did not have any other options. To remain in this shattered world was out of the question.

The marine shrugged. "Here goes nothing." he murmured and stepped closer to the anomaly.

As he reached out to touch it, the marine felt lighter and slowly rose in the air. So there was some kind of gravity distortion after all. He focused and stopped moving his limbs, so that he would gently float towards the tear in reality. A few more inches... just one more... and he found himself within a thundering tunnel of light and distorted reflections. An invisible force pulled him forward and the roar of the dimensional gateway drowned out his own scream.