Prologue

Alarms blared throughout the facility as scientists and other personnel scramble to safety. Their most recent billion-dollar project, Project Rift, has just gone awry. Project rift's goal was to literally rip open reality itself to create a temporary and eventually permanent, rift to another world, reality, or dimension.

When the Prototype was activated, however, instead of producing a single 10-foot tall rift in a designated area, it started to wildly produce rifts of all shapes and sizes in a mile radius. Normally, this wouldn't be a large problem, except these rifts range from being barely visible to the size of 3 story buildings. Some of them suck in things, like people and objects.

6 scientists along with 8 guards have been sucked into portals, along with several dozen firearms and boxes of ammunition, and several important and valuable technologies. Not all rifts suck in objects though. Some spew out things, which include water, lava, molten unidentified metals, and most worryingly, monsters.

Monsters straight out of fantasy games and novels like goblins, orcs, dire wolves, ogres, cyclopes, and other various monsters have appeared in alarmingly large amounts, and while they're definitely no match for the firearm wielding security guards, they soon overwhelmed many smaller strongholds with sheer numbers, massacring any human they see.

Many of the larger strongholds still hold strong, like the one at the Armory or the largest one at the Command Center. The remaining high-ranking personnel frantically send SOS signals one after another to High Command, begging them to send reinforcements and supplies. Ammunition was a scarce resource, and some strongholds were beginning to run dry against the ever-increasing tide of monsters.

The remaining members of Site Command couldn't just shut off the power entirely, as doing so would cause its lights, doors, life support systems, control to the nuclear warheads, radio communications, and others to cease.

Outside the facility, around a dozen transport helicopters near the facility. Most of these belong to Task Force Epsilon, the rapid response teams with moderate firepower. However, their goal wasn't actually to shut off the Rift Prototype. Instead, it was to fortify and resupply the remaining strongholds, buying time for the members of the much more heavily armed Task Force Zeta to arrive to clear out the monsters.

However, it also wasn't their job to shut off the Prototype either. That task burdens 2 members of the elite and mythical Task Force Alpha, who answer directly to Overwatch Command, and are armed with the most advanced suits of powered mechanical combat armor and the most high-tech of weapons.

There are 4, currently inside a standard Task Force Epsilon helicopter, ignoring the looks that the members of the Epsilon task force members gave them. AEO-1627 is tasked with securing high-priority personnel. AEO-2617 is tasked with securing important technologies, and AEO-2233 and AEO-9733 would be tasked with shutting off the prototype.

They know that failure would not be tolerated.

The helicopters soon landed and each squad went their separate ways. 1627 went to emergency shelter #4, 2617 went to the experimental armory in sector 4, and 2233 and 9733 headed towards the experimental room to shut off the prototype before any more damage was caused. Carefully avoiding the various abominations spawned from the rifts and putting down any unfortunate enough to cross their way with their silenced ETAR-14 rifles, they quickly moved throughout the facility.

Once they reached the experimentation room, they saw an extremely large number of monsters, some curiously prodding and poking at the machine curiously.

Giving each other a quick nod, they quickly moved to the 2 opposite entrances/exits to the room and tossed in multiple flashbangs. At first, the monsters were startled by the grenades but calmed down when they realise that it didn't do anything, except it does.

A chorus of otherworldly screams and screeches filled the room and the grenades detonated, blinding and deafening all the monsters inside. While they were distracted by the grenade, both 9733 and 2233 removed themselves from hiding and opened fire.

Most of the monsters were downed and when the few remaining monsters recovered from their stupor, they charged at the 2 intruders.

9733 dodged a poorly aimed slash from an angry goblin and quickly launched a kick towards its jaw. A sickening crunch was heard as the creature's jaw was broken. Its bones were no match for the heavily augmented soldier.

The goblin was now writhing on the ground in pain, and its miserable life was ended quickly by a bullet to the head.

The room was clear now. 9733 gestured to 2233 to guard the room against any more undesirables and 9733 made his way to the control panel, stepping over various corpses of the monsters that they just ended. He punched in the shut-off code and for the first few seconds, everything seemed to be going according to plan. Except it didn't.

The machine started shaking and sparks flew from the machine. A quick scan around the room quickly revealed the problem. While the goblins were still alive, one of them unknowingly stabbed and punctured a pipe. Now, this wouldn't normally be a problem, but this pipe had a label saying "Stabilising Agent".

The machine was shaking even more now.

"Warning. Stabilizing Agent depleted. Are you sure you want to start rift procetszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzignning rift opening procedure."

The prototype started opening a massive rift at the center of the room and started pulling everything and anything into it.

Both 9733 and 2233 realized that their mission couldn't be completed, and they had to abandon their plan. However, the rift was growing fast, and the suction force was getting stronger by the second. Several corpses, papers, and chairs started being pulled into the rift, one metal chair smacked 2233 right in the leg, and he lost his footing and was subsequently pulled into the rift.

9733 was running as fast as he could, but it was no use. It's like running on a treadmill on the highest setting. You could run as fast as you like, but you weren't going anywhere.

9733 pushed his legs to their limits, buying himself just a few seconds of time. Using that time, he sent a pre-typed message to what remained of Site Command, telling them to shut off the generators in the extremely unlikely case that they failed their mission.

The last thing that 9733 saw before he was pulled into the rift were the lights shuting off.