FSN Secure Operations Division
Field Mission Log: Zeta-9 + Omega-4 Combined Unit
Location: Subsurface Zone, Mt. Ebott
Objective: Black-Level Missing Persons Case – Continued Investigation
0945 Hours — Lower Subsurface, Unknown Depth
The tunnel widened into a cavernous corridor, jagged steel giving way to rusted platforms and long-dead pipes. Time had warped this place. It wasn't melted like the shaft—just…old. Corroded. Forgotten. The thick smell of oxidized metal and dried mildew clung to every inch of it.
Zeta-9's boots crunched over shattered glass and age-worn debris. Omega-4 followed close behind, their massive exo-frames humming with restrained power. The heavy unit's shoulder-mounted sensors scanned every corner, heat signatures flickering but always inconclusive.
Lieutenant Rennik raised a fist, halting both squads.
"Noise—five o'clock," he said, voice calm, but tight. Everyone froze.
It was subtle. A scrape. Then another. Something dragging lightly along the walls—like claws skimming metal.
"Echo, status on audio isolation."
"Working on it… damn interference's climbing. Picking up echoes across six vectors. Could be one source, could be a dozen."
"Eyes up."
0951 Hours — Discovery: Civilian Backpack
They found it on a crumbled staircase: a faded yellow backpack, half-covered in rust flakes and dust. The patch stitched on the front—a small red heart—was nearly worn away.
Chisel picked it up carefully, opening the main compartment. Inside were decomposed school supplies: notebook, crayons melted into a lump, and something wrapped in what used to be foil.
Rennik scanned the barcode still clinging to the inside flap.
"Data tag intact. Forwarding to Central—"
Brick interrupted, voice low. "There's writing inside."
Rennik leaned closer. Scrawled in pencil across the inner flap, smudged but legible:
"The lady with the fire eyes is still down here. She said Asriel is sleeping but I don't think he's ever waking up."
Everyone stood still.
No one spoke.
0959 Hours — Data Uplink: Fragmented Log Files
Recovered FSN Case File [MISSING-CHILD_1049.A]
Name: Elijah Morales
Age: 8
Last seen: July 15, 2129
Status: Declared Presumed Deceased
Notes: "Believed to have entered forest on Mt. Ebott with group of four. Recovered: one shoe, fragment of child's handwriting etched onto tree bark: 'don't go underground'."
Recovered FSN Case File [MISSING-CHILD_1052.B]
Name: Carrie Lusk
Age: 10
Last seen: July 22, 2129
Status: Presumed Abducted
Notes: "Dog tags recovered—belonged to older sibling. Found melted into floor near unknown impact zone. Child's bracelet located nearby. No blood."
Echo grimaced as the entries streamed through his HUD. "Why didn't we see these during briefing?"
"Redacted above our clearance level," Rennik muttered. "Someone's been covering this up for years."
Behind them, one of Omega-4's heavy gunners, designation Gore, tightened his grip on the mounted laser rig.
"Whatever did this didn't just kill them. It stalked them."
1014 Hours — Environmental Shift
The temperature dropped. Not gradually—suddenly.
Frost clung to their visors despite the lingering heat from earlier traversal. Power levels in the suits dipped a fraction—just enough to raise concern. They adjusted formation.
Then came the noise again.
It wasn't metal this time.
It was…breathing.
A slow, deep exhale. Wet. Heavy. Right beyond visible range.
Rennik gave a quiet command: "All units, weapons hot. Maintain discipline."
1016 Hours — Visual Glitch
HUD feeds flickered—only for a second.
In that second, something appeared down the corridor. Large. Quadrupedal at first—but then it shifted. Stood upright. Arms long. Hunched.
Claws curled and dripping with something dark.
One of Omega's sensor teams whispered, "We have visual—ten meters, confirmed lifeform."
Then it moved.
Not at them—away. Retreating into the dark, silent again.
But on the wall where it had stood—etched in with claws—was another message:
"I warned you."
1022 Hours — Strategic Review
Back at temporary hold-point, the squads regrouped. Central Command still patchy, communications at 17%. Omega-4's heavy laser machine guns checked and calibrated. Their weapons didn't rely on ammo, only heat capacity. Thanks to advanced alloy tech, they could fire up to 200,000 continuous shots before thermal shutdown.
Even so, no one felt confident anymore.
Rennik ordered all squad laser rifles and exo-blade systems powered to 120%. The creature had survived direct fire once. It wouldn't again—not without a fight.
He looked at the bloodstained claw mark one last time.
"She's not just a monster," he said quietly. "She used to be… something else."
Brick shook his head. "Used to be civilized. Now just hunger and hate."
1035 Hours — End of Log Segment
The team prepared to push deeper. The corridors narrowed again. Somewhere ahead—more answers. Maybe survivors. Maybe more remains.
The air thickened.
Another flicker of red eyes blinked in the dark—
And vanished.