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."