Cerberus

HUNTERS

* Members
* Logo
* Emblems

Cerberus Guards - Hadley Tomicki, John Zurhellen, Navid Khonsari, and Paul Pinto

### Motion Capture

Jon Bernthal

“*Little fox, little fox! The hounds have come to play!*”
―The Cerberus on who's the real danger
The **Cerberus** (also known as **C.U.**) are the final group of hunters the player encounters in *Manhunt*.

## Background

The Cerberus are a private military and security company contracted by Lionel Starkweather as his personal bodyguards and organizers for his snuff films. Not much is known about the group as a whole since the Cerberus are secretive about it, but they are known to be the most dangerous group of hunters that Cash faces, possessing numerous advantages that other hunters lack over Cash: professionalism, powerful guns, surveillance, and most important of all, knowledge on who Cash is and what he does best.

## Members

Some of the Cerberus mercenaries, including their very own leader, were former clandestine officers of the National Security Agency. Because of this background, one of their members claims to have expertise in anti-kidnapping and counter espionage. The rank of sergeant exists within the Cerberus.

## Apparel

His gear and armor includes a ballistic vest with a strap over it carrying five shotgun shells. The strap ends in some pad where his smoke grenade and an unknown grenade is attached to. The vest has two pouches on its lower left, a pouch on his right flank and two belts near his waist. The top one carries three shotgun shells and three grenades at the front. The bottom one two pouches at the front right, an empty pistol holster on his right hip, and what seems to be a tubelike object (possibly a baton) at the back. The belt on his waist bears two pouches on his left hip, one long and one short. He also has a backpack with two small pouches on its left.

## Relationships

### With Valiant Video

The Cerberus were hired by Lionel Starkweather. Not only do they act as his personal defense force, but they are also organizers for his snuff films. In his final production, they were tasked with transporting his leading star, James Earl Cash, between hunting grounds. Their protection also extends to anyone the Director wants alive such as the White Rabbit when he was hunted down by Cash in the botched filming of *Kill the Rabbit*. Overall, they are subordinates to Starkweather, anything they do is his orders.

Despite being his personal henchmen, there are strong tensions between the Cerberus and Starkweather which started once Cash escaped from the latter's control. Towards Starkweather, the Cerberus may be heard complaining about his incompetence in keeping Cash under control. The Cerberus' leader suspects that Starkweather's failure to control a proficient mass murderer and leaving him to his Cerberus guard (possibly to be murdered as well) were a set up, which implies a mutual betrayal. On the other hand, the Cerberus have disobeyed their client to kill Cash for themselves as a result of their frustration with his persistent survival. Their Leader goes beyond disobedience when he plans to kill Starkweather and crucify his remains by himself.

Because of an unforeseen extension in their working hours when they were tasked with dealing with Cash who escaped from the Director's control (messing up his own plans to leave him for dead in Darkwoods with the Smileys), they were given a bonus of an unknown amount by their client.

Just like the group itself, the Cerberus' illicit operations with Valiant Video are kept secret. They operate at night for this reason.

They are responsible for feeding Piggsy, a task they find both disgusting because of Piggsy himself and gratifying because of his humiliation.

### With Cash and the manhunt

The Cerberus' information on their target Cash comes from Starkweather, but few members like Bravo 2 doubt what they were told. The same member still feels disquieted about the manhunt even with this info, thinking that they're all missing some important info about the mission.

Besides being a murdering psychopath, they all hate Cash for the trouble he made them go through with his survival throughout the manhunt. Because of this, they plan to display his remains as a trophy, like impaling his severed head on the spikes around Starkweather's mansion or stringing him up after they've bagged his corpse.

As one of the organizers of the Director's snuff film, the Cerberus are the only group of hunters who have prior knowledge on Cash, unlike the other gangs, who are only aware of some of the following about him when they see it for themselves or are under assumptions and incomplete info about him in the case of the police:

* It makes sense the Cerberus know damn well that he's a stone-cold killer and a serious threat, seeing how they've seen his performance after each scene.
* Possibly derived from Starkweather, the Cerberus have information on Cash being a mentally ill person, shedding light on his mysterious background.
	+ Cash actually being mentally ill and not a victim of name-calling may be supported by his incarceration in Darkwoods Penitentiary, the “turf” of the Smileys.
	+ Furthermore, the Journalist's rant about the corrupt mental health system in Carcer City releasing people like Cash and perhaps the Smileys supports this.
* They know he's a former death row inmate. Unused dialogue from their leader implies he knows his dead family and how they motivate him to be dangerous.
* Lastly, the Cerberus know pretty well that he is very evasive. They also know that hiding in the shadows and stealthy kills are his MO.

## History

### Events of Manhunt

A Securicar pulls up near the padlocked gates at the end of the scene Road to Ruin. Four masked men step out of their vehicle, including one of them who stands out with his helmet and mask combo. Cash runs past the gate he opened and runs through the alley behind it until he is stopped by the same man with a helmet who points his handgun towards him. Two men hiding from Cash spring out to swing their batons at Cash's knees and back to knock him to the floor, allowing the rest of them to beat him down. They are stopped by their leader who orders them to capture him, and the four mercs carry the beaten Cash to the van.

Cash is sent to take out some White Trash when the Securicar arrives at an alley leading to the Dentons' City Junkyard. He is literally dropped from their van by the same men who beat him earlier before they shut the van and speed off, leaving Cash to take on the Skinz. Completing the shooting by murdering the bigots who are Fuelled By Hate, he leaves the junkyard through a gate, but he takes a more careful pace out of the junkyard. However, he is spooked by the masked men creeping up on him with guns and sticks, oblivious to the masked man behind him who chokes him unconscious and takes him to the van with his associates.

Meanwhile in a dark attic, two masked men slowly approach a mysterious figure making oinking noises. One of them pushes the other to give “him” his food without hesitating. As they approach the figure, the naggy one remarks on the figure's stench and tells his cohort to get it over with so that they can escape the foul smell. They approach the figure, which is revealed to a naked man with what seems to be a pig's head for a mask, who moves towards them as they get close, causing them to reel back. One of them finally drops the food on the floor for the pig man to eat, causing them to laugh at the act of degrading someone into an animal.

The van from earlier takes him to the Carcer City Zoo, where Cash will be facing the Wardogs in Grounds for Assault. Like before, he is dropped off the van at the gates of the zoo, leaving him to murder the gung-ho poachers and stolen valors who are Strapped for Cash. The shooting for both films are finished and he exits the zoo through an emergency exit where he peacefully surrenders to the masked men who take him to the van with restraints. One of them gets off the van to see Cash and makes an annoyed remark about his persistent survival before they leave.

Once Cash finishes shooting with the Innocentz in a Graveyard Shift in an abandoned chemical factory, the Securicar parked outside the factory's loading bay suddenly starts and crashes through the gates, blocking Cash's path to the checkpoint and forcing him to stop. Two masked men armed with Light Handguns come out and point their pistols at him before forcing him into the van at gunpoint.

Two masked men with nightsticks arrive at a ward in Darkwoods Penitentiary carrying Cash's tired body and following another masked man with a flashlight. The man with the torch orders them to drop Cash at the spot he is talking about, before taking the sack off of his head and leaving him in the Mouth of Madness with the Smileys. Cash does not see the men again until he plans to Kill the Rabbit after escaping the death scene the Director meant for him. They attempt to protect the White Rabbit and prevent Cash from escaping, but they fail both tasks as the White Rabbit is killed for his prison gate key which Cash uses to escape his former prison.

Cash doesn't meet the Cerberus again until he is ambushed and surrounded by a SWAT team Trained to Kill their fugitive for murdering police officers. Before they could even execute him as revenge, they are all shot down by the Cerberus who surround Cash. Their leader with the helmet and mask combo shows up and he walks up to Cash before tasing him. The Cerberus catch his body and carry it away to bring him back to Starkweather. The leader follows behind them, but he spots a camera on the ground recording him before destroying it with a stomp.

The Cerberus arrive at a garage in Starkweather's Estate in the midst of it being surrounded by Carcer City News' press teams. They bring Cash out of the van and point their guns at him, before one of them expresses his plan to kill Cash against Starkweather's orders. He then tells one of them to shoot the camera, cutting off the video feed of the garage. Meanwhile, Piggsy has escaped his prison in the mansion's attic and he is prowling in the gardens. His chainsaw and his distinct pig noises are heard by the Cerberus who leave Cash alone to investigate the noise. However, they are slaughtered by Piggsy, giving Cash an opportunity to intrude the mansion.

Cash finds that the Cerberus are doing Border Patrol outside of the mansion. They have received new orders to kill both Cash and Piggsy on sight. With that in his mind, Cash plows through and evades the Cerberus patrols before making his way to the side entrance of the mansion's cellar. Cash opens the cellar door to the mansion, but he quickly retreats when he spots the Cerberus Leader and a security camera behind him. He eavesdrops on his plan to keep the elevator key and turn off the elevator motor to prevent both Cash and Piggsy from reaching Starkweather. Cash exploits this information to kill the Key Personnel for his keys and restore the motor power, allowing him to reach the floor where Starkweather is through an elevator instead of the spiral stairs blocked by a fence.

Things don't go to plan when Cash almost meets his Deliverance from an ambush by Piggsy who attempts to saw the elevator doors open. Thinking quickly, Cash reaches for the elevator's hatch and climbs through it, but he drops his Cerberus-issue assault rifle and leaves it. He climbs the elevator shaft and finds himself in the highest floor of the mansion, which contains derelict halls and rooms. Here, he evades Piggsy and hunts him down with two shards and a spike to hurt him, before finishing him off by baiting him twice to the loose floor grating where he cuts his hands off to make him fall to his death. He then deals with the last Cerberus squad sent by Starkweather to kill Cash before forcing his way into the Director's control room where he murders him with Piggsy's chainsaw.

Some time after the murders in Starkweather's estate, the police arrive at the scene and find the bodies of the Cerberus, Piggsy, and Starkweather, exposing the snuff ring.

## Scenes of Appearance

Among all of the hunter groups in *Manhunt*, the Cerberus have the most appearances when counting cutscenes.

***Manhunt***
* Road to Ruin (Outro cutscene only)
* White Trash (Intro cutscene only)
* Fuelled By Hate (Outro cutscene only)
* Grounds for Assault (Intro cutscene only)
* Strapped for Cash (Outro cutscene only)
* Graveyard Shift (Outro cutscene only)
* Mouth of Madness (Intro cutscene only)
* Kill the Rabbit
* Trained to Kill (Outro cutscene only)
* Border Patrol
* Key Personnel
* Deliverance

## Gallery

Can't have shit in Carcer.The Cerberus Securicar.
## Trivia

* The Cerberus are named after the three-headed dog of Hades in Greek mythology who guards the gates of the underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. They were likely named as such because they protect the criminal underworld in the form of Starkweather's snuff movie ring, as well as the recurring dog theme found throughout the *Manhunt* series.
	+ They share this dog-themed naming thing with hunter groups like the Wardogs, the Watchdogs, and the Bloodhounds.
* The Wardogs and the Cerberus are the only hunter groups in *Manhunt* who have their own leaders, instead of just being affiliated with The Director. The former has their leader Ramirez while the latter has an unnamed leader. Them being the only two hunter groups in *Manhunt* with leaders (besides the obvious CCPD) signifies how these two are organized groups, compared to the rest of the ragtag gangs of Carcer. Both leaders also have injuries on their left eye.
	+ Similarities aside, their military backgrounds create a juxtaposition between the two hunter groups. The Wardogs have at least questionable military backgrounds, while the Cerberus are the real deal.
* The Cerberus with their all-black clothing and red tinted lenses on their gas masks look similar to the Kerberos wearing their “Protect Gear” armor from the film *Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade*. They also look similar to USS agent HUNK from the *Resident Evil* video game series.
* A Cerberus graffiti can be found in all bars in *Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas*. The graffiti was ripped straight from the concept art in *Manhunt*’s bonus features.
* Cerberus' masks can be worn in *Grand Theft Auto Online* by buying them from Vespucci Movie Masks. The only difference is that the mask features a helmet instead of a hood, plus the mask looks far bigger and unfitting than the original.
* The bodies of *Cer\_B1A* and *Cer\_B1B* are reused from the GIGN of *Grand Theft Auto: Vice City*, albeit with enhancements and differences.
* Their armbands are a reference to the swastika armbands some members of the Nazi Germany wore, specifically Joseph Goebbels.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 “Ex-NSA Clandestine Officer And Cerberus” section, p. 21
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 “Ex-NSA Clandestine Officer And Cerberus” section, p. 9
3. ↑ Delta dialogue: *C.U. down! No sign of target!*
4. ↑ Bravo 2 dialogue: *Ain't no hiding from the C.U. boys!*
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Key Personnel cutscene
Cerberus Leader: *I want that asshole's head on a spike, sergeant!*
Omega: *It will be a pleasure, sir! Escort him upstairs.*
6. ↑ Delta dialogue: *Starkweather should be the one out of here puttin' his ass on the line! He picked that psycho!*
7. ↑ Cerberus Leader dialogue: *u* *As much as a hindrance as a help, if it wasn't for that psycho prick, everything would be going to plan!*
8. ↑ Cerberus Leader dialogue: *u* *Starkweather's fucked this up! (???) time to bail!*
9. ↑ Cerberus Leader dialogue: *u* *This stinks of a setup.*
10. ↑ Cerberus Leader dialogue: *u* *I should've known. None of these guys are professionals, we've all been set up!*
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Border Patrol intro cutscene
(The Cerberus bring Cash out of their van. They then point their Light Handguns at his head)
Cerberus #1: *You know what? I don't give a fuck what Starkweather wants. Maybe today I kill you, maybe not. Kill the camera.*
(One Cerberus promptly shoots the camera, cutting off the video feed which cuts to Piggsy with his Chainsaw in a shed)
Piggsy: *(oink oink) Piggsy Angry!*
Cerberus #2: *What was that? Go check it out.*
(The other Cerberus move out, leaving one of them with Cash)
Cerberus #1: *Maybe it is your day.*
12. ↑ Cerberus Leader dialogue: *u* *When I get out of this, I'm gonna crucify Starkweather myself!*
13. ↑ Delta dialogue: *Damn, we're missing the game for this? I tell you that bonus better be good.*
14. ↑ Trained to Kill outro cutscene
(The Cerberus Leader follows his men as they retrieve Cash from the police. However, he spots a camera near one of the corpses)
Cerberus Leader: *What the fuck is this?*
(He proceeds to stomp on the camera recording him)
15. ↑ Delta dialogue: *Not long before sun-up. Don't want this to run into daylight or we're all screwed.*
16. ↑ Grounds for Assault intro cutscene
(Two Cerberus approach an unknown figure in a dark attic with flickering lights)
Cerberus: *Give him the fucking food, enough bullshitting. Give him the fucking food!*
(One of the Cerberus recoils back from the unknown figure, who is squirming around)
Cerberus: *Ah fuck! This guy fucking stinks!*
(The figure is revealed to be Piggsy who is chained up. He moves towards a Cerberus merc when he gets near, causing him to back off)
Cerberus: *Just give him the fucking food and let's get the hell out of here.*
(The Cerberus merc finally drops the food in front of him, allowing Piggsy to eat it off the floor as the Cerberus leave the job done)
Cerberus: *Ha Ha!*
17. ↑ Bravo 2 dialogue: *Starkweather better be right about this guy.*
18. ↑ Bravo 2 dialogue: *I don't like this. No one's telling us shit.*
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Strapped for Cash outro cutscene
(Two Cerberus bring Cash in cuffs to their Securicar. One Cerberus in the van steps off to see Cash)
Cerberus: *You just won't fucking die will you?*
20. ↑ [Omega's radio chatter]
Omega: *Okay, he's down and he ain't getting back up, you copy?*
C.U. Radio Guy: *Roger that. Good job, bag him and hang him!*
21. ↑ Bravo 2 dialogue: *Hey. Word is he's already iced more than twenty people tonight, so don't give the bastard an inch.*
22. ↑ Omega dialogue: *Don't hesitate, he drops you without a thought from his sicko head!*
23. ↑ Omega dialogue: *Don't underestimate this guy. He may be a twisted kook, but he's a one hundred percent stone cold killer.*
24. ↑ Delta dialogue: *Another clean sweep. God knows where this psycho is.*
25. ↑ Delta dialogue: *This mental case is D.O.A.!*
26. ↑ Bravo 2 dialogue: *EDP in my sights!*
27. ↑ Bravo 2 dialogue: *You can scratch this psychopathic lunatic!*
28. ↑ Omega dialogue: *The sooner you stick your demented head out, the sooner we can get you some help!*
29. ↑ Omega dialogue: *Hey, poop brain! I got some medicine for ya!*
30. ↑ Journalist Interview Transcript
Journalist: *What about the mental health system? People are released without anyone signing the forms but somehow I ain't one of them coz no one wants me for some film! At least they didn't! Or worse, other people the system—your society—had looked after and was protecting us from? Well, it didn't protect me.*
31. ↑ Bravo 2 dialogue: *Let's face it: a big, scary death row asshole like him ain't gonna be man enough to face us!*
32. ↑ Omega dialogue: *Well, there's a good reason this lunatic was up for the chamber, that's all I'm saying!*
33. ↑ Cerberus Leader dialogue: *u* *Nothing more dangerous than a lunatic with nothing to lose!*
34. ↑ Bravo 2 dialogue: *He's a slippery bastard, so this won't be a walk in the park.*
35. ↑ Omega dialogue: *Damn psycho giving us the runaround!*
36. ↑ Bravo 2 dialogue: *Nah, he's just gonna take you guys from behind! He ain't gonna come out for a straight fight!*
37. ↑ Omega dialogue: *Careful of those shadows! He's a sneaky fucker!*
38. ↑ Omega dialogue: *Flatliner. Watch those shadows, he could be baiting us.*