Cutscenes

There are four **cutscenes** in *Cruelty Squad*, including the intro and three endings.

## Intro

  The **intro** plays before the title screen upon starting the game, unless the "Skip Intro" option is toggled in Settings. It begins with the Consumer Softproducts logo and tagline, "The Authority on Life..."

The scene itself begins with The Protagonist in his apartment. He is taking a shower when he receives a phone call from his future handler. The protagonist answers the phone to hear the handler say:

* "Hey, it's me. Did I wake you from your depression nap?
* "Heard you've been in a rough spot since your discharge from the SEC Death Unit.
* "There's not much a fucked up detached loser like you can do after all.
* "I've got good news for you regarding your employment status.
* "It's the sort of work that you will enjoy but you'll have to adjust to a more corporate mindset."

As the handler continues, the protagonist watches as someone outside begins a shooting spree with an AMG4.

* "I've created you an account on MyWork so you can begin whenever you want.
* "I assume you already own some suitable equipment.
* "One last thing, you'll have to log at least fifteen minutes a day on the conditioning app.
* "We need your mind primed and clear. No freakouts. Understand?
* "That should be all. Good luck on your new career path."

The protagonist then sits down to watch some television, although his TV only displays static.

## First Ending

  The **first ending** plays after defeating Abraxas and completing Archon Grid. It starts with the protagonist walking through a tunnel towards a brick wall, which he then breaks. An expansive, seemingly endless field is on the other side, with some civilians walking around. If the player walks into any of the civilians, they gib instantly. A white sun shines up above and rocks back and forth, and a pillar seems to get slightly taller as the protagonist walks toward it. Some text appears as he walks, which reads as follows:

* "YOU EMERGE FROM A LONG AND WEARY SLEEP.
* "THE WORLD APPEARS AS A LARGE FLAT PLANE OF OPPORTUNITY.
* "THE SKY IS BOUNDLESS AND BLUE.
* "YOU ARE AMONG FRIENDS.
* "THE AIR IS FRESH WITH THE SCENT OF THE OCEAN.
* "YOU HAVE LEARNED ACCEPTANCE AND FORGIVENESS.
* "BUT YOU LACK KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING.
* "YOU WILL BE TRAPPED FOREVER.
* "THE PAST IS EVER-PRESENT.
* "THE SUN SMILES AT YOU WITH ETERNAL MALICE."

## Second Ending

  The **second ending** plays after defeating the HQ Target and completing Cruelty Squad Headquarters on Hope Eradicated difficulty. The ending shows the protagonist standing in front of the LIFE door as it pulsates to the music, imparting words of wisdom.

* "I WEEP.
* "YOU ARE A ROTTEN HUSK."
* "YOU OVERFLOW WITH BOUNDLESS POWER."
* "YOU HAVE THE SOUL OF AN EMPEROR."
* "SACRIFICIAL HERO. BLESSED BY PRIMORDIAL LUCK."
* "YOUR FRIENDS ARE IN HELL YET YOU SMILE."
* "ONLY GOOD THINGS WILL COME TO SOMEONE LIKE YOU."
* "SET GOALS. HAVE A TEN YEAR PLAN. INVEST. WAKE UP EARLY. CEO MINDSET."
* "GOOD LUCK."

After the second ending, the protagonist will have a new armor similar to the HQ Target's. This is best seen in the third-person section of Miner's Miracle and the third ending. Hope Eradicated levels will adopt a predominantly green color scheme rather than the previous red.

## Third Ending

  The **third ending** plays after locating the Cradle of Life and completing Trauma Loop. The ending takes place in what seems to be the "bottom" portion of Trauma Loop, and shows the Protagonist walking towards a yellow "DEATH" health indicator, alongside several civilians. Many images flash on screen, such as the face of the Handler, and the images when changing difficulty, before text appears. The text reads as follows:

* "A point in the horizon, a melting scene from your childhood. Your mortality is showing. A frantic drift towards nothing, biology doomed to an infinite recursive loop. Teeth with teeth with teeth. Take a bite. Serene scent of a coastal town, warmth of the sun. Bitter tears. Lust for power. This is where you abandoned your dreams. You are a high net worth individual, an expanding vortex of pathetic trauma. Finally a beautiful fucking nerve ape. A pure soul is born, its neurotransactions stutter into being. 30583750937509353 operations per nanosecond. Beauty eludes your porous mind.
* "The value of Life is negative. The balance of being is rotated by 38 degrees. The surface is full of cracks, a turgid light shines through. Fleshy primordial bodies sluggishly roll down the slope. Only you slide upwards, with a celestial step. You become beautified, a saintly figure. Your pristine idiocy reveals a safe path through the impenetrable fog of Life. Your dull sword cuts through the weak tendons and membranes of the garden of corruption. Sit on the throne of contentment and ferment. Inspect the eternal blue skies of your kingdom. You come to a realization. You pick up an onion and begin peeling.
* "Onion layer one. Onion layer two. Onion layer three. Onion layer n^n. Aeons have passed and the onion is fully peeled. Nothing remains. It's perfect. You get lost in the point that remains where the onion used to be. Synaptic cascade, neurological catastrophe. The point becomes infinitely dense, the universe condenses into a unicellular being. It screams sin. It craves happiness. It's done with this world. It tries to commit suicide but fails. Sad pathetic mess. You feel pity and disgust but in a way only a being of pure grace can. In your violent mercy you terminate the worldlife."
* "The living organism, in a situation determined by the play of energy on the surface of the globe, ordinarily receives more energy than is necessary for maintaining life; the excess energy (wealth) can be used for the growth of a system (e.g., an organism); if the system can no longer grow, or if the excess cannot be completely absorbed in it's growth, it must necessarily be lost without profit; it must be spent, willingly or not, gloriously or catastrophically. - Georges Bataille"