[TITLE: WELCOME HOME] [INTRO — RADIO STATIC, METALLIC IMPACTS] Mission log, day one. Touchdown confirmed. Atmosphere toxic. One life sign detected. [LOW VOICE] What, one beside mine? [BEAT DROP] [VERSE 1 — DETROIT RAP] Boots hit dirt, dust coats the visor, Thrusters burn like a bad incinerator. Three moons hang, one's getting nearer, Whole world's dead but the missions clear. Bones in the gravel, towers of flesh, Something in the fog just intercepted my steps. Came for the samples, the maps, the fame, Now the whole damn planet keeps whispering my name. Scanner says clear but the shadows move, Four sets of prints in my three-step groove. I check my rear, see a shape in the sand, Same suit, same boots, red blood on its hands. No crew, no backup, no cavalry call, Just a crackling transmission, am I stuck in this hole? First man there, that's what they said, So who left a footprint where I lead? (STAY DOWN!) I don't scare easy. (STAY DOWN!) Something else sees me. (NO SIGNAL!) You can't delete me. (TOO LATE!) Something just replaced me. [PRE-CHORUS — CLIPPED CHANTS] A HOLLOW THRONE! (BOW DOWN!) IT HARVESTS FLESH! (DIG DEEP!) NO SIGNAL HOME! (CUT OFF!) NOW IT'S AWAKE! (TOO LATE!) [CHORUS — HEAVY HALF-TIME] So I've landed? Funny, what a welcome! Ground control says I'm already dead! [Glitched](already dead....) ((already dead....)) Black skies hanging like a noose above me, All I hear... ...is this new voice inside my head! Came to conquer, came to claim, Now the damn planet knows my name! Thought I'd found a world unknown, Now something's sending me all the way back home! (STAY DOWN! STAY DOWN!) (DON'T MOVE! DON'T BREATHE!) [VERSE 2 — FASTER FLOW, GLITCHING BEAT] Suit pressure falling, got a crack in the seal, Four damn footprints, only three are real. Scanner says nothing, my head says run, Fog parts slowly and I'm staring at one. Same face, same scar, same bloodshot eyes, I raise my rifle, it mirrors my stride. Finger on the trigger, its mouth moves too, Then it speaks in my voice: "I'm coming for you." Dead satellites crackle, the whole sky clicks, Every broken screen shows the same damn glitch. Mountains split wide, rows of teeth underneath, This planet's got a pulse and it's counting my beats. I sprint for the ship but the map's corrupted, Coordinates shift, every route obstructed. Mission Control, there's a throne underground, And the walls have mouths that repeat every sound. (CHECK YOUR OXYGEN!) Readings are fine. (CHECK BEHIND YOU!) Nothing in sight. (CHECK IN YOUR SHADOW!) Why is it still there? (IT'S RIGHT BESIDE YOU!) THATS NEVER GOOD! [CHORUS — DISTORTED GANG VOCALS] So I've landed? Funny, what a welcome! Ground control says I'm already dead! [Glitched](already dead....) ((already dead....)) Black skies hanging like a noose above me, All I hear... ...is this new voice inside my head! Came to conquer, came to claim, Now the damn planet knows my name! Thought I'd found a world unknown, Now something's sending me all the way back home! (STAY DOWN! STAY DOWN!) (DON'T MOVE! DON'T BREATHE!) [BRIDGE — BEAT CUTS, OXYGEN ALARM] EXPLORER: Mission Control, do you copy? I've found something beneath the surface. [STATIC] CONTROL: Confirm your location. EXPLORER: At the entrance. [STATIC] CONTROL: Negative. You're already inside. [Dramatic Pause] ... ... [LONG SILENCE] EXPLORER: How? I've only been here six minutes. [Dramatic Pause] ... ... [LONG SILENCE] CONTROL: Negative, We've been talking a while now... ...for eleven years. [STATIC SWELLS] CONTROL: Explorer.... one last thing... Why are you transmitting from Earth? [ACCESS DENIED] [FINAL VERSE — WHISPER BUILDS TO RAP] Six minutes here, eleven years gone, Something wore my face before I came home. My shadow's late, my heartbeat's doubled, My reflection grins at the edge of trouble. Came for a survey, a sample, a scan, Now I'm just another part of its plan. Another lost crew, A dead astronaut, Left a body in the ground that the planet forgot. I hit self-destruct, let the countdown roll, But the numbers start counting from under the floor. Ten, nine, eight, I'll end you with me, Seven, six, five, and Earth will remain free! Four, three, two, and the screen turns red, One last message from the voice in my head: [CREATURE — PERFECT VOCAL IMITATION] Welcome home. [FINAL BREAKDOWN — INDUSTRIAL BEAT] Something inside / something controls me now. . . (It's learned my voice / it's learned my name) (No signal home / no signal back) (There's no way out / it controls my thoughts) [ACCESS DENIED] (DO NOT RUN! DON'T BREATHE!) [ACCESS DENIED] (IT KNOWS YOUR FACE!) [ACCESS DENIED] (YOU CAME ALONE!) [BEAT CUTS TO SILENCE] EXPLORER: Mission Control... I can see Earth. [MONSTER] [EVIL, CHILD LIKE, VILLAIN WHISPER] "Take me there? Let me grow... [Child Giggle]heh... heh... heh..." [ALL VOCALS — DISTORTED SCREAM] WELCOME HOME! [STATIC CUTS TO SILENCE]
