In the Beginning

As told by Gabrielle of Seraphim, Daughter of The Name.

(the voice of all narrated portions and functional descriptions)

Gabrielle (voiced over) - "Their world was lost."

A darkness crosses over the complex, blotted out stars showing the black ship's path.  The newly forming city as it's buildings arrange into their configuration, now a massive metropolis.

Seen how these connecting spires between these asteroids twist the city, turning gears within the structures, always reforming while the populace seems to adapt with it, as part of the machine.

The cruiser drops a single pod, seen only in the flash of launch, the craft's hull a brief shallow before gone.  Drifting through the passive shielding, the sound of water splashing gently on a shore.

Gabrielle - VO, "And yet they survived."

 

Over the city as the buildings take form, walkways spinning through to place, linking the sites.  The player flies through these credits and creations while the around massive sculptures of deities with demonology counterparts.

 

Baal as Zeus is slain by Astaroth as Astarte to Athena, through neighborhood tribes and their favored ways.

 

Weaving the walkways and travel tubes across the city the hover cars fill as roadways channeled between by their construction, into paths.  Which will no doubt be a lot of fun to race through.

t the center in the last formation, Prometheus looms reaching from the ground, torch held high.  As if he were pulling from the underworld's grasp to raise his torch, with echoes of the Killer's Tale.

 

~ song over ~

Gabrielle - "They called me beast when I told them I'd use their world to enter yours."

 

Approaching the skyway networks for foot travel sprawl from the lighthouse as the urban core.  All seems to network from cables and tunnel systems climbing his form.

Gabrielle - "They were right."

 

The ship mingles with the rest of the traffic at the Promethean Lighthouse, the capitol apparent.

~ as the traffic passes the lighthouse ~

 

Mayor - Back turned staring out the window at that chaos in all the streets so far below.  "We need death.  And they say you revel in it.  I know who they say you are, and I know what.  They say you are.  So I think you've come here to kill them all."

Death - Pistol to the back of the mayor's head.  "Your problems run deeper than that, 'Mr Mayor', you're infested.  And what I'm here to do, is to choose."

Mayor - " 'Well a Death I don't know has come callin' my name ... O Death I've heard you singin' me loud, but I do not know your name.  Oh no I do not know your name.'  A thing they used to sing in the pit. 

"So you pull that trigger or you go to Hell.  It's right outside."

The shot before the banging on the door, Death has a very big gun. holstered before striking the floor with scythe scythe, shattering out the windows. 

The door breaks down, a swipe with the scythe until it stops on something hard.  The robot looks down grinning, Death has mixed feelings about robots.

 

Pistol to the robot's eye, fired and blowing it out, that robot's shitty grin turns to rage before it punches Death back across the office and out the window, slowing in time, Death throwing the bird on the way out.

 

~ Outside, Death falling wide eyed over the city, view freezes at ~

 

"Please allow me to introduce my self ..."

 

~ Death ~

 

 

"... I'm a man of wealth and taste."

Time slowly picks up with a fast forwarding tape sound to normal again as the view moves several blocks away, the Dragon plane flies under heavy fire.  

 

Missile hits from the pursuers are in the song, two times.  Camera to normal speed on the second.

 

Learner and Killer on the wing gun-pods dealing with their pursuers and blockades, Explorer controlling from the pilot seat, heavy pursuit from an apparent municipal military.

Death lands on its top hull, under fire from the window and traffic ("I wanna rock !").  To and through the hatch.  Takes the co-pilot seat, the Explorer gives a suspicious look, Death grins back and the Explorer's off to the overhead gunnery.

One could also take the gunnery instead, but why.  You just said you wanna rock.  Personally flying large aircraft sideways between buildings is one of my favorite things ever, and we'll try to keep the controls friendly for that.

 

Fore-guns under pilot control, mid tracking along course while their craft escapes trailing its damage smoke.  A level for flying in cover of woven paths through the structures, going over the skyline allows an easy lock.

Hover cars bounce off buffered by their grav-fields and spinning aside, a hard barrage from the pursuit as soon as the plane enters any open wide streets without regard for collateral, only getting the lock.

'Priority target'.

 

Nearing the city wall now crushed in a crawl of massive beasts from the outlands, the gun anti-air mounted among the greater the anti-aircraft spin up to assist the plane's escape.

The city hunters now given an open field, launch a final coordinated barrage of missile lock after them before turning away pelted or downed by the beasts' own assault.  But missiles counting beyond shoot down, many do hit, finally blowing the engines.

The last descent under power-glide over the wall and into the wood.  

Practically built for crashing and no gear down, it skips off its smooth underside before gouging a road through the trees and finally ceasing in smoke where seen on the craft's side. 

 

'The Dragon'.

 

A pin-up breast feeding a baby dragon while looking innocently away.

________________

 

As the fire crew arrives the Dragon's mostly intact wreckage, the Killer and Learner each exit with a struggling body bag slung over shoulder with Death still excited from the flight.

Explorer - "I'm only saying for the obvious reasons, that I'm just the better at flying.  Not saying you're the worst pilot I've ever seen, nor commenting on what just happened.  Which was horrible."

Death - "What's the point of being alive if you never get to do it yourself ?  I think I did great for a first time."

 

Learner and Killer  plop the body bags to the ground and pull the cords.  A very old man and woman struggle their way out cursing in ancient epitaphs like 'darn' and 'rapscallion'.

A cane first wiggles out of the bag, the old man jumps to his feet brandishing, "I swear to gosh damn Cowboys if you harm a hair on her head ..."

Soldier from the fire - "Granpa ?"

...

Grandma - "It's you ... it's really you ... look Hector, he looks just like you in your uniform."

Grandpa - "The Hell he does.  I wore a real uniform."

Grandma - "You were a fascist dear."

Soldier - Paying with concern ... "Did you have to rough them up so much ?"

 

Death and the crow look at them.

Killer and Learner - "Yes."

 

Celebration at the nights fire ...

In situations such as these, particularly at night, the innocents the player killed in the prologue are among the crowd standing still among the dancing, staring cold.

In the dawn Death sleeps curled with the scythe, a combat boot nudges.  A throat clears.  

 

Commander - "You've been working my soldiers for gigs again."

Death - An arm flops up with a boney finger, " 'Liberating'."

Commander - "For profit."

The crow lands behind the commander becoming human.

Explorer - "For fuel."

 

Commander - "That coin won't help you here.  Fuel and supplies are all locked down in this camp.  There's a war going on you know."

Death - "They come and go.  Just like us."

Commander - "Go where ?"

 

Death - "Robbing a bank in fact."

 

Explorer - "Want in ?"

 

Killer - Waking, "I don't wanna do the bank job."

 

Learner - Mumbling asleep, "We already talked about it." 

Killer - Rolling back over, "Gotta bad feeling."

Learner - "We all do.  Doing it anyway."  Back to sleep.

Commander - "And in fact we do want in."

Learner and Killer sit up wide eyed.

 

...

Death - "No."

 

Explorer rolls eyes and works the wreckage ...

Commander - "It's across the street from the courthouse.  We want it boom.  All we need you to do is to escort the operator to it.  Which sounds like the perfect distraction for your little ... 'bank job'."

Death - "You saying we can't boom ?"

Commander - "I'm saying you're inconsistent.  The courthouse is also being used as a temporary reinforcement point for their next gambit, and there's intel we want off that desk."

Death - "You saying we can't intel ?"

Learner - "We can totally intel."

Commander - "You're inconsistent.  With the tunnels running underneath it, it's a strategic location (the player's introduction to the war map) which could change the tide of this war, and that intel may be a leg up exactly where we need it.  So fuel for a week."

Death - "A month."

Commander - "A week.  And food."

... stomach sounds ...

Commander - Smiles turning away, a pause.  "Did you really have to rough those old people up so much ?"

All - "Yes."

________________
________

 

Unlockable mini-mission ~ 

 

8-bit sidescroller with the grandparents bouncing around the plane as it flies mid combat (the opening), destroying everything while laughing maniacally until you weaken them like pokemon and capture them.
________
________________

 

In the command tent, commander at the desk with the Operator standing to hear all about it, head cocked annoyed with a crackling sound.

 

Commander - "A week.  And food."

 

...

... stomach sound ...

________

 

At the Dragon crash in mid repair ~

 

Learner - Looking the Operator over, "Are you going to make us walk really slow while we have to protect you from everything ?"

Operator - Looks a moment then pulls up a sleeve to a computer set over raw bone and flesh, adjusting old dials.  Sounds going through combat radio transmissions and intel archives, recorded wars, a series of commands given during until the voices focus.  "Possibly."

 

Killer - "Are you making a joke ?"

Operator - A radio tune wave of static.  "Likely."

Explorer - "Well we won't."

Operator - "A very loud distraction so I can get my job done."  Points.  "You."

Death - "Possibly."

Operator - "May need my help to.  Pull it off."

Killer - "Looking for a cut ?"

Operator - "If weak asses be saved, I am yes."

 

Death - "You can have mine.  I need to get the Dragon ready for your likely to be an emergency evac.  Someone broke it."

 

The Explorer stares ...

 

Death - "You're with the crow." 

Explorer still staring ... the eyes go wide ...

Death - "And I don't know what they told you about me ..."

Operator - "They said insane."

Killer - "And ?"

Operator - "Unreliable."

Learner - "And ?"

Operator - "Dangerous to their cause."

Explorer - "Which is ?"

Operation - Adjusts its dials until a face holograms beneath its smooth mask.  "Victory."

Death - "So how much would 'command' pay for that do you think."  Smiles, "We'll discuss it after the op."  Back to the repairs.

...

 

Operator - Mask fading from visibility leaving only the new face, "Caring.  Getting paid.  Lovely thoughts."  

 

It turns to the Explorer with the disturbing attempt at a normal smile, as though the flesh were trying to grow into it around its deathly bone. 

...

Explorer - "Why me."

Killer - "Your turn."

Learner - "Just remember to walk Really ... Slowly ... Especially if it's talking and Don't let it get stuck in doorways."

Operator - Face squirming, it squelches in.  "What the fucking !?"

Explorer - "Seriously.  It's been an issue."

Killer - "Doors are the worst ... it's like they're just ... gone forever ..."

 

Learner - "So what did your 'intel' say about the library across the other street from the bank ?"

Operator - "A library is relevant ?"

Death - "The package was right.  It's going to be a Very loud distraction."

Explorer - "And also gas money.  Money for gas."

Money for Gas

Gabrielle - "Yes ... the director ... I'm surprised you'd even care, good eye.  It's true.  People tend to understand their own lives better when told back to them like a story."

The view along the border, the many varied outposts and possibilities for entrance, guards in their designated patrols and stopping to chat.

Gabrielle - "That's why it works.  How is only technical.  It helps them to see the point, but it also helps them to forget what's not to be remembered."

Along to the river which most closely holds their border, the players underwater, now to choose where to exit to the surface to cross.

Gabrielle - "Everyone's the hero in their own story.  Especially you."

Night's darkness as they step from the water in wet suits and breathers looking for a good line to break through into the city.  In control of whichever character chosen and able to swap between including the crow who can fly over for spotting.

There are no un-patrolled regions, so the difficulty of any crossing will depend on the varieties of war and where troops are pulled to cover.  These parameters can theoretically be manipulated.

 

One could choose to use active battle as a cover or use a thinned area of the line, but they must kill everyone who sees them, before they can call in the sighting.  Weapons have suppressors.

~ auto-director notes ~

 

The compiled scene spliced through with a classic action lineup walking in slow motion, but dressed as civilian dorks down the sidewalk.

 

Edits from camera points at the passing corners to critical hits, assassinations.  Particular focus on the crow flyovers as a refrain if relevant.  If a quiet entry, the focus on the nearby guards as the team passes near and undiscovered.

 

When through, they strip their swim gear to said dumbest civilian wear ever.  Last shot realizes they'd been walking backwards in the lineup shots as they round the corner and away.

 

~ exploring the city til dawn ~

 

('Skids' by Pain Teens)

 

 

The underworld is experiencing a golden age, with the patrols distracted by war and regiment, while everyone else flocks to forget about it.  An understanding is forged between overworld and under.  That evil is intrinsic in the world and will always occur, as will good.

 

A quiet acceptance made both ways, so long as each resolves its own in matters affecting the other.  Law is law and plays as it does while corruption sweeps the hand in maintenance of this quiet peace.

 

Godfathers feed children forgotten by war, which makes loyalty unquestionable, the history of the term 'Godfather' being literal.  So many orphans in a period when so few would be willing to adopt.

 

And so to the streets.

Creative punks paint the streetlights in deep hues, dimming to burgundy shadows and forest highlights, offset blues and purple bringing an exaggerated coloration to all.  

 

The streets were once filled with light in a blinding effort to decorate the city's underground.  As though being seen would shame them into 'being good'.

 

So they paint them to make their world beautiful instead, shooting out the ones that bleach the picture painted.  Perhaps the player buys colored bulbs to decorate favorite places, mark trails, or just shoot them out for the dark.

 

When arriving the mission area, observations ~

 

This courthouse is of interest because  the military appears to be assembling a forward operating base.  Ground level with a wide main street to suffice for an airstrip, the overseeing general ranked for the intel sought.

Neighborhood commandeered, the population's one in ten military here, watching guards where the teams aren't building and converting for a fall-back front.  They try to ingratiate themselves with the people, doing as they do.  

 

Once established the populace would be entirely soldier, civilians only workers maintaining.  Where there's construction, the military's thick.  A tone annoyed where recently graffitied showing their frustration at this plan of integration, the simpler to take it.  

 

They glare at the players passing through.

 

One turns to face watching with challenge, hand on the rifle.  The other scrubs away at the paint, sees the players and stands, a hand on the pistol arrogantly more than threatening.  They do nothing.

One could go ballistic right here and take on the entire literal army and gold star on you, you've won the war.  One could however thin numbers in strategic areas while the main army advances.

The war-map is ongoing and constantly in flux, battles by pure chance and odds, essentially the game playing chess with itself while the player tries to bonus one side.

~ two

~ and when the you're done fooling around ~

 

(auto-directed cut)

The Killer walks into the bank and past the security guard, smiles and points. "Robbin' you."

A head and a laugh as the Killer walks for the teller, and pulls a large bag from the backpack with a dollar sign on it, throws it over the firewall to the teller (Cassandra).

Killer - "It's traditional."

 

The two shoulder mount guns pop from the Killer's pack, one with a picture painted of an angel, the other a devil, each locking it's own target among the security, another gun in each of the Killer's hand.

 

The door guard at the Killer's back now to moves slowly for his pistol to test the angel shoulder gun, it moves side to side to infer 'no', while the devil gun turns for the guard and nods 'yes'.

____

 

Learner - To the librarian at the desk, "Where are the comic books ?"

The librarian shakes head with furrowed brow in absolute and obvious judgement concerning taste in literature and points to the card catalogue files with a deep and menacing laugh ...

____

 

Explorer - To the operator, "You'd have been more useful with the Dewey decimals."  Turns to a bird and flies away.

____

 

Learner - In the library digging through the card strewn everywhere, "But what does it all mean ..."

 

The readers stare rudely ...

____

 

Operator - "What a very rude bird I just saw ... "  Note the linguistic assimilation.  Pulls a one shot grenade launcher from the satchel and loads.  Snaps shut.

____

Learner - Eye-roll back at the rude readers and tosses a grenade over the shoulder. "Flee screaming."

____

 

The Killer fires all the guns in the air until they do from the bank.

____

 

The operator blows the courthouse front door, alerting the guards from within.  Another pop for the first stupid row.  Tears off the clothes over the suit, helmet returning over in a radio cackle. 

Another grenade popped through sending, out more bodies.

____

 

The Learner in the library looks side to side ... silence.  Glances over the edge of the grenade's hole, a squad points guns up.  Learner pulls back.

... silence ...

 

Eyes side to side ... drops another grenade through the hole.

____

 

The Killer's guns snap to a teller (Daphne) ~

Killer - "That little red button you're thinking about right now, that dirty little secret you've got stashed right under your desk ?  You should definitely push it now.  Very aggressively."

 

The angel gun nods, the devil nods harder.

 

Hesitation ... the alarm button pushed.
____

Killer - To Daphne, "It's okay.  You can go."

 

Daphne - "I think I'd rather stay."

____

 

The Explorer lands in a spin across the courthouse rooftop flesh as the guards are distracted peering over to the explosions, slicing cloak's edges through necks and lopping their heads across the line.

____

Killer - "Trying to start a revolution ?"

Daphne - "Bored."

Killer - "Hm."

 

Cassandra - "You are so Weird."

 

Daphne - "But we're immortal !"

Cassandra - "My god every time."  Sighs to the Killer, "It's true.  And we were just talking about how having jobs may be a literal Hell.  Like actual.  So can we just like ... 'mercenary' with you for a while ?"  

 

Daphne - "Yeah we wanna live in the woods now."

 

They dig in their purses for their guns, pulling excellent pistols (from The Special Not a Valentine) and beginning the checks.

____

 

Outside the bank the police form line.

Megaphone cop - "Come out ... with your hands ... up ... and we will shoot you."

 

~ The Killer's Way ~

 

('Peeps' by Public Enemy)
 

Pretty simple.  Kill everything while it just keeps coming, until the arrival of the others behind them and the pick-up to sweep them away.  

 

Daphne and Cassandra are indeed immortal, though clothing is not.  Infinite ammo and purse grenades.

For around the length of the song, to be edited according to how long the player can reasonably hold out against literally everything.

At that point, the Learner and Explorer pop from the manhole and courthouse door respectively, firing on the line from behind.

 

There the song flips to 'Pleasures of the Flesh' (see final cut) while the Dragon descends in the very far distance, without most police notice.

~ The Learner's Way ~

 

('Dueling Banjos' by Roy Clark and Buck William)

 

 

As the Learner drops into the empty tunnel, silence but for a distant alert.

 

Death - On the comm, "Don't forget what you learned in Midwich."

Learner - Bitter ... "I learned nothing in Midwich."

Death - "See those power cables ?  Some things work differently here, with such a large electrical grid to play with.  Have fun storming the castle."

 

...

 

Death - "That was a reference and a pun."

 

Learner - "O my god just shut up."  Comm out with Death's evil laughter ...

____

Two guards playing poker on a tunnel map ~

1 - "Why does everyone else get to go to the front ?  I really think I could personally turn the tide."

2 - "Ha !  You talkin'.  They say we still need to guard stuff !  Because we're dumb guards."

1 - "Yeah ... I suppose you're right ..."

2 - "I know I ... hey you hear that ?"

From down the hall a distant flickering blue light, a building destruction and rumble, a roar "Un-lim-i-ted- !!! POWER !!!" 

Distant screams before the lights go out in silence ... a flash of blue with evil laughter amid more screams into silence.

...

1 - "No."

________

 

The Learner's discovered electrical abilities have far greater effect in a heavily gridded area, in these tunnels better than anywhere else.  

 

Lined all the way through with heavy cables to tear out and use in thrust forward (locks on the same way as with the Gecko-Gun), leaping into a torn cable or outlet and out another make the Learner is nearly unstoppable. but it is very loud.  

 

Unprepared for by the enemy, ultimate power is enjoyed while knocking out the local power grid, done intrinsically.

 

The Learner's 'Rose Colored Glasses' make the bodies pop into coins on their death to the music when killed by magics, making it possible to pick whatever outfit components and gear the player doesn't already possess, plus cash and ammo.

Its all about the speed.

 

Taking out the grids ahead and waiting too long will cause them to fill where there is no grid to blow.  While destruction of the grid pulls the learner forth at greater and greater speed, a high powered magnetism but when momentum is lost, it's lost.

Night vision works poorly with the sparks, stuck in the dark with a gun, shooter world.

The military has a limited count, so working your way through here will diminish their numbers, forcing reinforcement from somewhere else, depending on if the enemy AI/chess opponent bothers.

If the the enemy AI spots a lot of extreme activity as a result of their usage, it may patrol heavier or not, may increase patrol on exits, or shut down nearby business by making it an operating base.  

 

Depends on what the opponent AI chooses.

The underground tunnels are practically bonus level for the Learner, everything's lined with cables, unlimited power, things flee screaming, Learner laughing gleefully mad.

Exiting the nearby manhole is triggered by picking up the map the guards were playing poker on, out behind the line firing on the Killer.  The Explorer exits the courthouse in the near distance, triangulating with the Killer and surrounding the police.

 

In the streets the electrical powers tear up underground cables, and can be used to pull the Learner from one place to the next, including up the building sides, ripping out the walls from the wires within.

It's all very distracting, but hasn't reached 'full charge' yet.

In the far distance the Dragon warplane descends burning (again) for the landing on main street, cutting through and crushing the remaining patrol between them, skidding away into the distance ...

...

The air pursuit follows.  Catch up and board, same ending as the Killer.

~ The Explorer's Way ~

('Discordia' by Crash Worship)

As the lights flicker then out in sparks (see Learner), the courthouse flickers in darkness to its historical version.  Protestants putting witches on trial in cages to be sprung.  See the Goddess section of The Book of Names, for names.

With the lights out in the capitol it's pretty much a horror level with the Explorer the monster.  Taking heads with cloak's edge before becoming bird to avoid their fire, human again in a swirling carnage through the halls.  They flee screaming. 

Can pick up guns but drops them on becoming bird.

Top to bottom of the building, a distraction while the Operator sets the charges working ground floor up, cloaking between.  Present but unseen, possibly bumped into but will duck or block accidental slices.

The best way to play this character I think would be to examine a room unseen, imagining the courtroom with active ghost trial accusing the witch.  Plotting the targets before striking.

Though ghost they do represent modern guards, and any left standing will be problematic.  Those gathered for the trial are in fact soldiers taking order from a colonel at the podium, seen only in flickers of lights flashing on and off.

 

While in the dark the accused stares at the Explorer, muskets in the dark do the damage of heavy fire in the light.  As such through the hallways and through the front door, exiting into modern behind the line firing on the Killer.

At around the halfway point, second floor courtroom, the Explorer passes the Operator making a kill from one shadow to the next, appearing as Giovanni de Ventura (the historical plague doctor).

 

From there on bodies on the floor ahead, reinforcements investigating why until the front door.  The Learner exits the manhole cover in the near distance upon exit, triangulating the line firing one the Killer with but behind.

 

They're both extremely distracting as is the building collapse, transitioning between bird and kill through it is nearly a free for all.

The Dragon descends the main street in the distance for pickup, holding the line.  Also don't let it it hit you.  Chase after its overshot under reinforcement fire, board and escape, see above.

~ three

The Killer kicks open the front of the bank to the waiting line with Daphne and Cassandra, they all open fire.  The Explorer hits them from behind, exiting the courthouse, the Learner pops from the manhole.

The insignia on the Dragon's nose pulling back to the view as it flies.

From here the clips edit between the gun cam's on the killer's shoulders to a slow turn view of the three open firing to the spinning through of the Explorer lopping heads, the guards fleeing Explorer and the destructive Learner's charge through the tunnels, now the only light.

 

~ The Dragon descends to land in the broad main street, the people flee.  

Cuts through the fire fight criticals, the three companions surrounding and shrinking then panicked circle.

~ No gear down it lands sparking through the street, sending any cars in its path flying.

Whomever one plays if it hits them, they will die as it skids through the last of the line, ending it all, and down the street gone.

...

The pursuers following it.

The players run for it, and more police do come until the boarding.  The Killer with Daphne and Cassandra likely last, slowed by the massive money bag.  

 

Cover em !

 

Death waits at the glitchy rear bay door to manually pump it closed after them, waiting for the Operator, they shake their heads, he closes.

 

Heavy hydraulics pump the landing gears open, raising it before takeoff, gunneries filled without the player's need, and off they go.

________________

 

In the settlements atop the structures built around the massive beast of the Learner's tale, rough structures intertwined and connecting to the distant mountain ranges, high above the thick jungle canopy.

Home.  

At the war encampment's airstrip, at the top and inside the plane's open cargo hatch, the Mechanic at it's repair.

Explorer - "So ... you want to live in the woods."

Daphne - "We are in the woods."

Cassandra - "Actually we're in an airplane."

Daphne - "But it's in the woods !  Who side are you on !?"

Explorer - "Apparently mine, prattle on and on (looking one to the next).  She's right."

Mechanic - Passing by between tasks, "We do need gunners when the team's away."

Explorer - "And who the hell are you !?"

Death - Walking through, "We need him."

...

Explorer - To the two, "Are you useful ?"

Daphne - "We can also cook."

Cassandra snickers, arm slapped, innocent smiles and nods.

________

Death - Leaves the plane, cut with scenes of soldier painting skulls on their faces.  Enters the command tent, the commander dead in the chair, soldiers gathered in silence.  "God damn it.  I actually liked that one.  I'm sorry.  Who's up ?"

 

They look around ...

Soldier - "No one is.  They hit our entire command.  Only the top ... but all the field commanders are fine, no reports.  No sabotage, no ..."

~ Soldiers painting skulls on faces.

Death - "Did the operator check in ?"

Soldier - "Did not."

Death - "Anyone know what was in that intel it was sent for ?"

Soldier - Looks to another in the corner, a shrug whatever and looks away, "It was something ... 'archaeological'.  Fuck sake.  This was all about ... fucking archaeology."  

 

An exhausted laugh staring at the dead commander ...

 

Soldier - "We all ... you know we ..."  Looks at Death.  "We liked this one too."

 

~ Skulls painted.

 

Soldier - "Orders."  A salute.

 

Death - "No."

 

Soldier - "You're the only one left who's ever had a plan.  The commander was trying to recruit you already, and we've seen your file.  Sir.  We are reactivating you.  As of now.  Or you're under arrest for AWOL.  As of now."  Salutes and the rest all follow, "Your Orders Sir !?"

 

 

Soldier faces getting painted with skulls.  This is where it becomes a strategy game, companions dispatched to tip balances as played.

 

With the music a dramatic tutorial as ranks and divisions are highlighted and selected, cycled through with the a front line getting established to start with. 

Through the types and to the airfield, planes and airships for war and and through armored the divisions.

A hard curve on the zoom to each with a sweep, views through all the faces and readying of arms, vehicles and lines.  While the menu auto highlights and runs their initial preparation allowing the player see their controls and surly looks.

Operation : Blackout

Gabrielle - Looks to judge, "You know Metatron, just because you were created in the Reformation by a court magician and his pet opium sot to have been there at the beginning, does not make you one single age old.  You do not speak for God."

Metatron - "Gabrielle, you will respect these parameters as given, or you will be pressed, from the equation."

Gabrielle - "Pff.  Heard that one before."  Lights a smoke to the angelic court's guffaws.

Black-screen then a shot of a tank.  Back to black then another and another, the first shot fired as the main song begins.

An open battle with a portion of the wall's defenses, good cover as all eyes are on the tanks firing from behind and the otherwise well regimented soldiers.  Dressed for infiltration they work they're way through any way the player chooses and into the city.

~ two

Killer - Opens the manhole before the learner bounces though with boinging sounds.  Drops the lid and looks at the Explorer.  "So."

Explorer - "Hm.  Yeah.  Haven't been alone since.  Hey so you know that whole time when you had no memory in Hell ?"

Killer - "Mm-hm."

Explorer - "Well ... you're welcome."

Killer - "What !?"

Explorer - "Totally walked you through that.  What was I supposed to say !?  'In real life you're actually a psychopathic killer !?  Seriously.  What exactly would you say to me, even if I were to tell you that right now ?"

Killer - "I was your servant."

Explorer - "For three wishes and they were granted."

Killer - "Were not."

Explorer - "What !?"

Killer - "We were already married.  You still owe me one."

...

Explorer - "I suppose that may be perceptibly true.  So what, you want a pony now ?"

...

A horse cop gets punched off the armored black Clydesdale's back, wings plop the Killer in the saddle and they're off ... 

Killer - "Wheee !"

Explore - Watching the giggling ride into the sunset ... "I swear to God."

Death - On the Killer's comm, "Just remember, you're here to be a distraction."

Killer - Grinning on the horses back, the horse exchanges a look then turns back riding harder toward the police depot ahead, "Can do."

So ... be a distraction !
________________

The Learner drops in the hole, near a circle of soldiers around another duct taping a teddy bear to a tuba while the rest chant "go ! go ! go !" with money gripped in their hands.

Learner - "What the ... Hell are you people Doing !?"

They look up guilty as fuck as the rats scurry out of the tuba.

Guard - "Um.  Freeze !"

Explorer - "You literally said freeze."

The nearby outlet blows on the Explorer's entry the system and out another.  Throws the grenade hard at the back of one's head. 

Explorer - "You're weird."  Another outlet blows and gone before the grenade.

Navigating at these wire speeds is no joke, especially when trying to hit a specific target. 

Every turn on the wire trying to keep with the mini-map in the corner can launch the player into some shitty motel, bodega, and out the parking lot lamp.  But the center of the city's electrical grid has more nodes to work with.

Through the systems the player will move as fast as the player's system can physically calculate the next environment.  What I like to call, load speed.

If by the way one exceeds load speed, the outran the level and fell off the edge of the world, in any game.  This may come up later but for now the Learner doesn't fly, so that means falling forever, what some consider the Abyss.

So we don't exceed load speed, or any game's personal 'speed of light' just yet.  To the city's power core instead.
________________

A horse cop gets punched off the armored black Clydesdale's back, wings plop the Killer in the saddle and they're off ... Killer - "Wheee !"

Explorer - Watching the giggling ride into the sunset ... "I swear to God."

Death - On comm, "I felt that.  A pony !?"

Explorer - Smiles looking after, "A pony."

Death - "So that's you two done.  How do you feel about that ?"

Explorer - "Among these people who call themselves warriors, this one was special.  You chose well.  How do I feel ?"

Watches the Killer say "Charrrrrge" for some reason like a pirate before taking a head with a sword.

Explorer - "I think it's our time.  And I like these two.  One more job and ... "

Death - "The old is replaced by the new."

Watches the horse dancing on a police car, Killer shooting in the air while the people if treated well through the game come out to join in revolution, horse rearing high ...

Explorer - "These were good times by beloved, but grow weary here.  They've got this."

Death - "Unto the river then with us, beloved my Lady Styx."

Joining with the distraction, which depending on how kind the player's been to the people, seems to have grown into something else as the military arrives.

Thing is about a wish and a promise, the horse can never die.

~ three

As the front line reaches the base of the Promethean Lighthouse the street cracks with electricity running up the surrounding buildings, blowing out their lights.  At the song's crescendo ~

'I ... guess ... you'd ... say ...'  The manhole covers blow in eighth notes up one street, 'what can make me feel this way ...'  Eighth notes down the other 

The Learner explodes from the tunnels beneath.  Electricity still drawing from the flickering grid the main nodal points marked as it was in the woods in Learner's Tale.

These are used to navigate the air, suspended between any three points available, or drawn in the direction of any one as with the Gecko Gun.  Suspended in the air the Learner takes out the attacking air and moves over to decimate lines.

Clearly having a great old time whole behind unseen, Gabrielle slowly hovers down from the sky and surrounded by Midwich Cherubim.

The learner turns in destruction seeing her ~

Learner - Happily excited, "Gabrielle !"

Gabrielle winds a powerful punch, knocking the Learner from the sky, cratered hard in the street.  Warming up a powerful blast to finish, she's hit in the back with an HE grenade.

Turning in a rage, the Operator on a rooftop loads another.

She moves to attack, hit in the back by a pair of more from the Killer's cannons.  Turning again, locked by the Dragon's guns and pounded.  Operator hits again, the Killer, another sweep from the Dragon.

The Explore eats popcorn watching the three way assault on an extremely pissed Gabrielle, who roars her rage and darts into the skybox. The Dragon lands, the Killer collects the Learner to board before departure in a last drop of bombs to finish the grid at the power station.

They turn out the ship's lights with the city's, flare and firebomb loses the low flying locks and gone as the people and police fill the streets, watching as the city's central torch goes out.

A total count of both armies is one million plus any potential recruitment from the populace.  The battlefield's destruction in real time immense, these numbers are dispersed quickly.  And anything you do not control, falls to the AI's assessment. 

One could leave it entirely alone and weaken the forces at strategic points, or even back its natural plan.

While untouched the AI is just playing itself as chess and numbers, just to see the numbers pass through without much concern for who wins or loses, it wins either way. 

Without the chaos by roll on the odds, neither side could be victorious, down to the last two standing and then toss a coin.  I've seen it happen.  This also does mean at any time the odds could seem very much stacked against either side.

Just a bad series of rolls.

And when the player's side has two thirds of the combined total count, the second scripted level of three is triggered.  At three fourths the third.  Technically, ideally, this could be done without war.

The city's population has easily enough numbers to bypass all such missions.

At which point the city simply surrenders and straight to Gabrielle's endgame.  A zero kill game which really isn't so hard, with a serious bonus for thinking of it.

Either way population counts in the numbers, and how they respond is relative to the player's actions.  If you're a jerk they may not help, but it doesn't make them love the government.

If you're an asshole they may fight next to the government, concerning you, but it doesn't make them love the government. 

If the player's straight up asshole beyond and blowing up their shit, robbing their stores, shooting civilians and doing no mini-missions, running them over, etcetera, as your army grows, city recruitment will as well.

Operation : Jailbreak

Gabrielle flashes through the floor at the top of the sky-box (unseen from the bottom, as such textures go).  She tears off her still smoking armor (Blackout), thrown to the floor, she draws her sword to check.

A pillared room before an empty throne, a warp-gate set behind in a pulsating circle, webbed pathways seen spun off, dependent on the angle from which it's viewed.

Pale and golden surroundings, pillars lining the path along the long carpet set to approach The Throne.  Before it turn six tall diagrams, short pillars of networked light, combined they make a universal map by extrapolation.

A warp-gate behind set in a pulsating circle. 

Webbed pathways seen spun off from it's back into the completed map the pillars infer while which paths are seen are dependent on the angle from which it's viewed.  As a black hole without the gravity, where the angle of entry determines the nature of exit. 

If you understand the nature of holographic theory, this applies.

Lucifer steps from behind the pillar as the armor evaporates away behind her sheathing.  As it was before the fall, Samael his title.  Armored for war, as the leader of the main armies before said duty passed to Michael, after.

Lucifer - "Do you even know what you're doing anymore herald ?"

Gabrielle - "You always it play so safe Lucifer.  Just because it gets hard, doesn't make it wrong."  Turning to, "It makes it alive."  Walking past to a clear spot on the floor, "Of course I know what I'm doing."

Lucifer - "So do I."

Gabrielle - "Heard about your lady friend.  Such a lovely little alliteration."  She pulls an eye-glass, extends and peers downward through the floor.  "I'm sure it'll bake well with the cake."

...

She smiles as he departs.  Searching, zooming and focusing with the glass, she finds the the hospital tent, Dragon's crew over the Learner.

Learner - "No I mean I'm seriously going to kill her."

Killer - "How.  What the fuck is it that she does ?  Why is she suddenly our enemy !?"

Learner - "Don't care.  My fist and her face ... "  Meditatively, "shall become one."

Death - "Agreed all around.  But it means we need to find a way."

Operator - "Her wold breathes every break in yours."

~ They turn drawing on the Operator at the tent's flap.

Operator - Mask dissolves to the carrion skull, "Try as you will I may not die."

Death - "We also draw and quarter."

Killer - "Sometimes we even drop them in unknown chemicals to see what crawls out."

Learner - "For science.

Explorer - "I'm carbolic on this one."

...

Operator - "Done ?"

Explorer - "Undecided."

Death - "Did you kill them all ?"

Operator - Smiles with what's left of it, "I did not."

Killer - "Where did you go."

Operator - "To get paid.  Paid I was not.  Everything dead."

Death - "And the intel ?"

Operator - "Archaeology."

The missing intel hits the desk, photos spilling of the prologue's temples (see Explorer's Tale).

~ Back to Gabrielle watching with a smile before closing the scope, she looks at the throne.  A slow walk to with Lucifer watching from behind the pillars as Lilith approaches him, Gabrielle sits.

The pillars turn, each projecting to the center, forming a virtual image of grid-work torus.  Through and search 'til Midwich, mapped with residents plotted, armies gathered.  

Lilith watches from the side while kissing Lucifer, whispers in his ear while noting the map before a tongue's lick.  Another whisper.  As she turns away, view through the map and into Death's conquest screen to command the next push.

... player choosing the military's move ...

Back out from the map to Gabrielle as she rises from the throne, and to the gate behind it.  Hand across its surface as she moves it through the permutations of webbed paths.  Through the sprawling networks, nodes seen lit on the turning pillars behind her as passed, networks etched in the torus.  

Target location, she palm-taps the surface hard.

The location seen as well lit on the torus map behind her, she turns to Lucifer with a smile and walks through leaving hard glass at the gate.  The maps stop turning, the light fades as all shuts down.
________________

The Dragon docked at night on the sculptured city built on Founder's Mountain. Inside around the table ~

Operator - "In seven ruins.  Intel.  Cities built atop the old.  Overlooking the valley.  In the lava-fields.  Beneath us now.  But one."

Mechanic - "I know these places.  Conspiracies about the void.  Tears in the world, leading into empty places.  It's the crazy talk."

Learner - "Old Midwich was an island, and it wasn't real."

Death - "And yet here we are atop this giant."

Killer - "Another old god like the Prometheus.  So what."

Explorer - "There's truth in these representations."

Mechanic - "I don't like what this means."

Death - "What does it mean ?"

Operator - "The ruins before.  Now is after.  Intel."

...

Daphne - Passing out plates of slop around the table, "I made my first slop.  It's really fucking good."

Cassandra - "Appreciate !"

Daphne - To the Operator, "Do you even eat food ?"

Operator - "I do eat food."

... fooood ...

Explorer - "This is really fucking good."

Daphne - Whispers in the ear, "It has eyeballs."

Cassandra - In the other ear, "Tell no one."

~ The Dragon flies over in the dawn (player's the autopilot while they babble over food, when destination reached, into the cockpit)

Operator - As the observe the temple, "The biggest."

~ A heavy patrol, deep state military, ground vehicles and airstrip.  Anti-aircraft tracks the Dragon as it circles, the commander calling in.  Waiting, then listening, his eyes go wide ...

Death - At control in the co-pilot's seat (Explorer in the pilot, hands off).  The plane takes a hit, the sky bursting with flak, "There we go."

Operator - "Why waiting ?" 

Death - Flips the switch to open the rear cargo ramp, "So we don't have to feel bad."  Runs for the opening ramp, jumping.

Killer - "I actually appreciate that."

Learner - Loading, "Mm-hm."

Death leads the team with all three companions.  Can swap to.

Very powerful gun, scythe can cut the vehicles, charges like a ghost, vulnerable only when striking.  Much like the Explorer without flight, does not take falling damage.  The distraction, preferably focused on the anti-air.

~ or ~

Player pilots the absolute destruction of a temple and everything protecting it, all thee guns manned (mechanic pilots while working the fore).  Can swap between gunneries, leaving the plane on autopilot and circling the temple to preferred targets.

Until it collapses through the literal hole in the game.  What would normally be a hole in the world glitch, this one big enough to take the Dragon through and will be exactly as though it a glitch.

They cling to Death with the following leap, cloak flailing nearly as wings over the plane's departure.

(auto-director notes ~ In the final mix, during the call and return refrain Daphne, Cassandra and the Mechanic piloting are giant heads sticking out of their cockpit and gunneries singing the return chorus side to side, normal in the rest of the scene ~ Air Force jokes ... )

A wince from the Explorer at the sound of the scythe penetrating the hull after the flop (and cursing) before Death re-enters the hatch with the rest.

~ two

~ (actually) flying outside the game world ~

The world itself is massive, the boundaries seen, mountains sliced and hollow like the land.  The ground is invisible from the underside, floors and architecture seen through, people walking atop.

In essence anything's front is seen, but nothing's back, everything's top and nothing's bottom.  If you've never broken out of a game by finding the glitch, suffice to say it's much like the gate in that how you look at it changes everything.

The fact that you can shoot through one sided textures, but only from the back side, may make flying beneath the world a new wartime strategy for some.

Like the many stones of the asteroid field, another a great place for player made mods.

Once done exploring the underworld, with truly the abyss of nothingness below, the player would then fly around the game world from outside of it and over the skybox to Gabrielle's rendition of Heaven.

Killer - "Look at this shit."

A place of perfection set over the one way of the skybox, from which everything below can be seen.  Anything interesting has an outpost set over it, the guards are lazy.

Not accustom to visitors nor the sort of Heaven to take in any dead, it's really just a lounge with a lot of library.

And a lot of angels with private plans for whatever place above which they linger, books organized according to their relevance to that place and plan.

All libraries here are filled with as many public domain books as we're willing to put in, to be read from the inventory, but these are expanded religious sections and a lot of things not found below.

Learner - "Seriously.  They can just make this shit here and could just as easily do the same down there."

Killer - "So they make the world a shit hole and just program the people to suffer, for no other reason than to be better than them."

Learner - "Fuck it.  Time to find out if fake heaven's a destructible environment."

(it totally is)

They do fight well when so motivated, but are easily scattered before summoning their beset warlords running to ancient defense.  This world has become old and lazy with their catapults and heavy tree-log arrows afire still remaining but to be certain what these things can do to a warplane is no different.

Before the great beam, some form of summoning from these librarians does bring the Dragon down.

~ three

And from where they crash, wherever that may be, they prepare to fight.

Daphne - "We're coming with you."

Cassandra - "We all are."

The Mechanic loads a shotgun (his name is Hideo, since you asked) while the Operator (try asking) slams his grenade launcher shut.  Infinite ammo on the house.

From behind the pillars and whatever structure remains, these Cherubim Gabrielle spoke of begin moving out side to side. 

Their motion is specifically coded so that they think that anything even the space in front of them is stairs up or down, a level floor.  Whatever they need to side to side their way slowly closer, there bubbles filled with faint faces, striking between each darting move.

I've created these before.  They're the worst.  They all cut their way through as a team, the rest following whichever the player plays.

Until the throne room where Gabrielle waits looking both pissed and devastated.  "You don't understand.  You've ruined everything.  By being right." 

A tired smile and into the portal, in the distance below the torch lights again, and power lights back on in the here and there of town.

The gate explodes, followed by more in the distance approaching as fake heaven begins eating itself.  They look over the edge to the world below, the destruction approaching behind.

Death - from a bridge between platforms, looking down on the world.  "But from this high ?"

Explorer - "Good luck with that."

Killer - "Hmmm ... "

Learner - "I mean ... theoretically it shouldn't matter ... right ?"

Daphne - "Fuck that."

The Mechanic jumps over the edge.

Cassandra - "Pussy."

Daphne - With a shocked look she calls after, "You are such a whore !"  She jumps. 

The Explorer looks down as a crow.  A sigh.  Jumps.  You'll jump off the bridge eventually too because all your friends just did.

As they fly falling into fireballs headed directly for the central tower, seven living missiles with zero splash damage.  It takes some time, and some here and there correction to aim.

Before shattering the tower whole and collapsing the city's center into it's under works, shattering all the connecting spires.  The final battle has begun.

The End

 

~ Midwich's End ~

It's all been tallied, the sides have been counted, the plots played through, it's all over now.  In the silence of the night everyone knows.  True enough player has advantage of surprise, the city advantage of fortification.  But soldiers know.

Soldiers know it's coming by that silence in the night.  All the same.

In their encampments and posts the nervous eyes darting, they clutch their guns.  Old men know by that there are no birds, certain when they spot the rats fleeing toward the docks.  

 

Old soldiers calmly load up.

And then through the camps, one knowing old gun to a young lad you know isn't going to last long, clutching his volunteer rifle.  "Gun up son.  It's time."

Young gun looks up at him in terror, and tries to mutter a thing through it ...

To another seal on another warplane accompanying the the bombers flying over the gathered army, the more planes gathering.

Over skull painted soldiers holding beneath the mammoth walkers, hidden by their dangling chains, heavy enough to block the bullet or catch the munition.

The more traditional tanks bearing the greater speed, weave their way between to set the cannons for the city wall.  The warplanes complete formation with the Dragon before enemy flak cannons start shaking the air.

Their bombs start to drop.

The row of cannon set to strike the wall along its length at once, they fire through the enemy lines before it, through the outer camp tearing it, pounding again and again until the wall is struck and breached.

The walkers make the outer rubble of camps, crushing survivors or disappearing them under the chains whose weight pave a path, shooting anything that moves.

 

If the player's taken out all the airfields, they have no planes.  If you've radicalized the population they may join the fight against the police force.

Of course if you've been like a terrorist blowing shit up all the time, they will probably just stay out of it and flee the central battle, or even join against you.

While the player's team finds Gabrielle rising from the rubble, now instead just looking very pissed off.

With a last jolt of static, cannons mounted from her skin into her arms after the Killer, wings stretch torn from the flesh leaving muscle exposed as the Explorer.  

She looks at the Learner with a smile.  Then as the would Learner she draws the power from the simulation walks, crackling it, the soldiers disappear.

Death - "And what of me ?"

Gabrielle - Flips out a blade, cracking the floor.  "I am you."  The flesh begins filling in, "I've recorded your every move and inclination.  I needed this.  We needed this.  I'm so sorry it had to be this way."

Every bullet misses, blades and blade wing just push her away and she dances between it all, that dance dictated by these misses.  This is what it's like to fight an AI which isn't dumbed down.

It's part of the machine which rolls the odds on every shot, it thinks faster than the calculated motion of the bullet which itself has an avatar.  Like the blade, it just moves her while the game calculates the dance set to music like a recital.

You will lose.  It will be brutal.  Personal even while your own moves are betrayed in her rage and tears.  Her immediately healing from all damage, while the player swaps between the characters as they fall, until the last.

As the Killer lay dying arm's length from the Learner doing the same, bleeding out smiles.  "I'll find you."

The Explorer wraps her cloaked wing over Death as Gabrielle leaves, looking over now peaceful city.  She leaps to the air and flies though the credits as the city decomplies the information, contracting it back into a single point and gone.

~ Love her or hate her, it's all just some shit that happened ~