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Authors:MalyceGraves &Dyslexion.

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Exploration Video Log Transcript
Date: 2018/07/22 @ 10:50
Monitoring Team: MTF Tau-6 ("The Forgotten")
Operational directive: Observe & report
Team Lead: [EXPUNGED],² "One"

[BEGIN LOG]

[Helmet camera shows interior of a LOSODS³ Pod. Clouds can be seen rushing past the pod's viewport.]

Tau-6 One:[Over Radio] Keep your ears on. High Akiva, no real visuals.

[No response is heard over the sound of the airbrakes firing.]

Tau-6 Five: -and gun?

Tau-6 Two: No. Not stealth, but-

Tau-6 Four: We're dropping into unknown numbers, weapons hot.[Pause.] Makes me wish for the days when D-Class ran these ops.

Tau-6 One: Four, take overwatch. Hill on your-

[No audio captured due to airbrakes firing.]

Tau-6 One: Rest with me.

[The opening of the canopy drowns out all audio. The LOSOD Pods make impact with the ground. Camera shows Three being launched five feet into the air before landing.]

Tau-6 One: Sound off.

[Tau-6 sounds off, all members unharmed and accounted for. The task force begins to move towards the edge of the town. The trees in the area are covered with large claw marks and a viscous reddish-black fluid. The task force climbs over several downed trees before approaching a house on the outskirts of Farwell. The door is ajar.]

Tau-6 One: Three, Five. Move to breach.

[Camera follows Three as she enters the house. The walls of the foyer are decorated with symbols of unknown origin and a trail of blood leads further down the hallway. The team moves down the hallway and enters the kitchen where a table piled high in books sits in the middle of the room. Candles cover every other surface.]

Tau-6 One: Two, check the table.

[Two approaches the table. As he reaches out to towards the books, the books ignite and rapidly burn. After two seconds, a small book is left on the table, surrounded by arcane symbols and a red liquid.]

Tau-6 Four:[Over Radio] Heads up team. Potential hostile outside.

Tau-6 One: Take the shot.

Tau-6 Four:[Over Radio] Negative, One. It's too b- No way.

Tau-6 One: Repeat, Four. Do you have a visual?

Tau-6 Four:[Over Radio] No, One. It shimmered and just disappeared. Unknown entity, roughly seven meters in height, some sort of armored and horned carapace on head, no eyes seen. Appeared to be scratching something into the wall of the house to your North East.

Tau-6 One: Copy that. Will investigate.

Tau-6 Two: Should I grab the book?

Tau-6 One: Negative. No complications.

[Radio static is heard for eight seconds. The team exits through the back door of the kitchen and crosses the backyard, vaulting the fence.]

Tau-6 One: Four, we've entered the alley as instructed. Is the path clear?

Tau-6 Four:[Over Radio] Repeat, One?

Tau-6 One: You told us to exit the house immediately.

Tau-6 Four:[Over Radio] No such message given. Do not trust your com- What the hell!?

[A shout and several gunshots are heard over the commlink.]

Tau-6 One: Four? Come in, Four.

[No response.]

[Five begins to nervously tap his feet on the pavement.]

Unknown Voice⁴: RUN

[An opaque black hand measuring two meters across pushes through the fence to the team's right, causing the boards and slats of the fence to vanish. The hand closes around One and Two and they disappear. Three and Five begin to sprint down the alley. Three loses her footing and falls, turning over to see the hand dissolve into a golden light.]

Tau-6 Five: Uh… What the fuck just happened?

Tau-6 Three: I have… no idea.

[Three climbs to her feet and walks over to one of the alley fences. A hand-shaped hole is burned through the wood.]

Tau-6 Three: Hey Fives, come look at this. That hand zigzagged through the alley, right?

Tau-6 Five: I was busy running, sorry.

Tau-6 Three: Yeah yeah, running. But look at this hole, this wood looks like it was just removed, like with a laser.

Tau-6 Four: And?

Tau-6 Three: Well, why aren't there clean-cut pieces of One and Two back there?

[Camera feed flickers for the next thirty seconds. Feed now shows Three and Five standing in front of a concrete wall, where a crude picture of a sun and a star have been carved into the wall.]

Tau-6 Three: What do you think it me-

[Three and Five are now standing in the kitchen of the house they had come from.]

Tau-6 Five: Wait we were just-

[A tear runs across the wall to their left and splits open, revealing a massive eye. It stares at the pair for a second before turning black and dragging the contents of the room into it. Five and Three run out the back door and enter the backyard. Both appear to be sprinting, but the fence remains approx. ten meters away. This behavior continues for five minutes.]

Tau-6 Three: Fives! Break Sideways!

Tau-6 Five: Heard!

[Three abruptly moves to her left and immediately collides with the fence. The camera feed is disrupted by debris for several seconds but resumes to see a ~50-meter cone of wreckage in front of Three. The corner of a nearby house is destroyed and several small entities can be seen crawling out.]

Tau-6 Five: Christ, I hate rubberbanding.

Tau-6 Three: We've got hostiles. Move to the alley.

[Three draws her service rifle and starts firing on the entities. She is soon joined by Five's chaingun as they push back towards the alley.]

[END LOG]

Exploration Video Log Transcript
Date: 2018/07/22 @ 11:07
Monitoring Team: MTF Tau-6 ("The Forgotten")
Operational directive: Observe & report
Team Lead: [EXPUNGED],"One"

[All Audio Lost.]

[All Video Lost.]

[Five minutes omitted for brevity.]

[The sound of wood clattering can be heard, as well as the sound of human groans. One climbs to their feet.]

Tau-6 One: Two?

[Two pushes off fence slats covering him and sits up. One turns and the camera shows a room decorated in human remains. Intestines are strung from the rafters, elongating and contracting randomly. The wall opposite of door is covered in embedded human arms that twitch and grasp at nothing. As the pair move closer, the hands briefly stop moving and the palms open up, revealing a milky blue eye. Two steps forward and the arms begin moving in unison, all making the same series of gestures.]

Tau-6 One: Two, get back.

Tau-6 Two: It's not thaumaturgy, it's ASL.

Tau-6 One: Well, what's it saying?

Tau-6 Two: Happy Salvation Day. Over and Over.

[Screams can be heard from the floor above the two and the heads begin bursting through the ceiling. The hands reach towards them and clench into fists, collapsing the floor everywhere but above One and Two. The room fills with small entities, their rotting flesh and skeletal systems can be seen as they turn towards the MTF.]

Tau-6 One: We're cornered. Fire at will.

[One and Two open fire into the swarm of entities.]

[Connection Lost.]

Exploration Video Log Transcript
Date: 2018/07/22 @ 11:00
Monitoring Team: MTF Tau-6 ("The Forgotten")
Operational directive: Observe & report
Team Lead: [EXPUNGED], "One"

Camera Powering ON…..

Tau-6 Four: Aaah. Ouch. This is Tau-6 Four. Encountered three hostiles at my position and have totally lost radio contact with the team. No comms with Overwatch Command either. Switching to rifle camera… now.

[Camera opens to show the town of Farwell from Four's position in the hills. Movement is seen on the west side of the town.]

Tau-6 Four: Something big over there.

[Four flicks the camera into the rifle's scope. The camera now shows a ~ten-meter tall quadrupedal reptilian entity chasing a smaller entity through a clearing]

Tau-6 Four: Shit. That's a kid. Switching to explos-

[A eight-meter tall humanoid creature is seen slowly descending on white, chiropteran wings; carrying a large spear, the head and shaft by a cascading motif of stars and suns. Its head is covered in a bony carapace and ram-like horns spiral out from the sides of its head.]

Tau-6 Four: No eyes…

[The smaller entity lands on the ground and severs a tree with an upward motion while spinning, using the butt of the spear to launch the tree at the taller entity like an arrow. The projectile pierces the entity's shoulder and it turns, letting out a roar that carries to Four's position.]

[The reptilian entity lunges to towards the small child, as the smaller entity moves to intercept. The child can be seen climbing a tree in an attempt to escape. The smaller entity pierces the reptile's flank with the spear. The reptile flails, tearing the weapon from its owner's hands. Using its forepaw, it strikes the smaller entity, knocking it across the clearing. As the reptilian entity moves to attack the prone entity, Four begins firing his rifle, striking the reptile six times across the face and jaw. Moving faster than anticipated, the smaller entity grabs the spear and pushes it deeper into the reptile, the point protruding from its mouth. It then threads its fingers between the teeth of the upper and lower jaws before jerking its arms wide, tearing the creature's head in half. The body begins to smoke and light can be seen glowing inside it.]

Tau-6 Four: Perhaps I'm theDivine Intervention here.

[The winged entity reaches out and lifts the child from the branches of the tree and places them on its shoulder. It then turns and appears to nod in Four's direction before walking away from the town of Farwell.]

Tau-6 Four: Now. Where is the rest of-

[Connection Lost.]

Exploration Video Log Transcript
Date: 2018/07/22 @ 10:50
Monitoring Team: MTF Tau-6 ("The Forgotten")
Operational directive: Observe & report
Team Lead: [EXPUNGED], "One"

[One and Two are seen firing into the horde of entities. Despite sustaining injuries to all presumed vital areas, these creatures continue to move towards the pair.]

Tau-6 Two: Running low!

[One does not appear to hear. A creaking can be heard and the wall next to them explodes outward. Three and Five move through the gap and begin providing covering fire.]

Tau-6 Three: Move! Now!

[The team begins to run down the street as the creatures slowly pursue.]

Tau-6 One: Move to the church!

[More creatures pour out of homes and buildings and join the horde. As the team approach the town square, a 2 meter tall horned entity steps into their path holding a large metallic object.]

Horned Entity-1:Split. Now!

[The team dive to the sides as a blue beam fires out of the metallic object and launches a dozen of the smaller pursuing entities backward. Several more horned entities, as well as Tau-6 Four, emerge on the rooftops and begin firing into the horde.]

Horned Entity-1:Get in the square. We have locked them out.

[The MTF stands up and begins backing up, laying down additional fire support. As they pass the horned entity, the camera feed flickers briefly.]

Horned Entity-1:Twelfth Company! Stand down.[Turning to One.]Do you have injured?

Tau-6 Five: No, we… what's going on?

Horned Entity-1:My name is Azazel, leader of Hell's Twelfth Company and you are actively interfering with a Class Five Demon Containment Operation. Seeing as you are not with the Horizon Initiative, you do not even remotely have clearance to be operating in this sector.

[Three steps between One and Azazel.]

Tau-6 Three: Hey, we're not here of our own volition.

Azazel:This does not change the fact you brought a horde of krulii to my doorstep and endangered my team. And you dropped in here without sanctified or desecrated weapons. Are you trying to get killed?

Tau-6 Five:[Whispered.] Hey, Two. How are they doing that with their mouths?

Tau-6 Two: I have no idea, Fives.

Azazel:All of you are a liability to this operation, except your teammate 'Four' up there.

Tau-6 One: Well, we can't leave…

Azazel:[Pointing.]Go down that road. The area has been cleared and we are currently pulling out survivors. Pitch in there, or just wait in the church until we finish cleaning this up.

[The MTF moves out along the route that Azazel indicated that leads away from the church.]

Tau-6 Five: Hey, One? What kind ofdivine mess did we fall into? A company of devils? Fighting demons? The Horizon Initiative?

Tau-6 Two: Well the Horizon Initiative is a GoI-

Tau-6 Five: I know that. But what is a company of devils doing in Minnesota?

[The team enters a street filled with rubble and makeshift tents, where humans can be seen being tended to by more devils.⁵ Most of the survivors appear injured. A shout can be heard from a one-room schoolhouse down the street. A nearby devil beckons to the MTF while running in that direction.]

Devil-2:If you can help, get over here!

[As the MTF follows the devil, the camera shows the heavily damaged schoolhouse. The outside is completely covered in symbols depicting the sun and stars and it appears to have suffered immense structural damage at some point. Two devils are struggling to keep the doorway from collapsing in on itself and taking the rest of the building with it.]

Devil-3:[Holding door frame.]There… are… still people in there!

[The point of a sword appears from the dark doorway and swings upwards, flat against the buckling frame. The blade flexes and begins to lift the frame as five children run out and grab the legs of a woman standing nearby. A tall figure walks through the door carrying a child. Dressed in a simple black uniform with maroon highlights, he nods for the devils at the door to let go and hands the child to the woman.

Waves of Akiva radiation seem to pulse from him, greatly distorting his image in the visual pickups. It randomly flickers and his form is replaced by a brilliant winged figure, surrounded by a corona of coruscating washes of incandescent fire.]

Unknown entity: Ah! A Mobile Task Force. I'm glad you could join us.

Tau-6 One: Yes, well, it wasn't exactly planned. Excuse me if I don't shake your hand, but do you mind telling us what the hell is actually going on around here?

[The entity laughs, and the sound can be seen in the rippling waves of Akivars flooding off of him.]

Unknown entity: Aren't you just the cutest? I am pretty certain that Azazel already told you that. Now, as much as I'd like to just stand around and shoot the shit with you lovely people, we're on a bit of a time table.

[His words are punctuated by the sound of a violent concussion somewhere off the the distance. 3 seconds later another lambent spike of Akiva radiation distorts the visual field.]

Unknown entity: And that is our cue to leave. Spending too much time here causes… problems. I am frankly too much of a target up here, so it's time to go! Come come. Back to the church.

[Another spike in Akivars causes the video feed to cut out completely.]

[94 seconds of static omitted.]

[When the feed returns, the MTF is following along behind the unknown entity towards the church, where they are intercepted by Azazel and two of the winged entities. Azazel briefly bows before the unknown entity, then glances back at the MTF]

Azazel:My Lord, we have the majority of the town sealed off, but it is only a matter of time before the others arrive. If we leave now we can get out before they rupture forth. Perhaps we should…

[He nods back towards the MTF, and the unknown entity reaches up (across?) to gently pat the demon on its shoulder.]

Unknown Entity: Unfortunately, I think that the time has come for us to throw a little wrench into the plans. Maybe it's time to shake things up a bit, hmm?

Azazel:Yes, my Lord. We talked about this before, and I am afraid I must still agree with Uriel. Humans are just too unpredictable.

Unknown Entity: And that's precisely why they're coming with us.

Tau-6 One: Excuse me, but what? No one said anything about going anywhere. We're just here to observe and report, that's it.

Azazel:[Turning to look at them.]Your plans have changed. My Lord has decreed otherwise, and thus it shall be.

Tau-6 Five: Now wait just a fucking moment, I don't give a rat's fart who-

[A massive spike of Akiva radiation emanates from the unknown entity, and for a moment his form stabilizes as the full winged entity. The MTF shield their eyes from the brilliant light, and Azazel looks away.]

Unknown Entity:I have been kind. I am understanding. This is not your battle. But you are here, and I have need of you.

[The glow fades and he has resumed his human form.]

Unknown Entity: One thing I cannot abide is rudeness, but I am afraid I simply do not have the time for the niceties. Now, I will ask kindly.[He smiles and spreads his hands in an expansive gesture.] How does the title 'Savior of Heaven, Earth, and all the Hells' sound to you? Because that's precisely what I'm offering.

[One glances around at the rest of the team, a concerned look on their face. After a moment, they look back at the entity.]

Tau-6 One: Doesn't sound like we have much of a choice.[Pausing] Fine. First, you gotta tell us who the fuck you are.

[The entity grins, showing a row of perfect white teeth.]

Unknown Entity: Haven't you already guessed? I'm Lucifer, Herald of the Goddamn Morning.

[END LOG]