And now for part 2 of the exposition dump. Also, a quick shout out to LockjawsSaga, who recently finished his excellent story "The Ballad of Squigly", and also gave a shout-out to the other writers for this fandom. Good luck on your sequel, and hope it ends up being even better than your first.
Chapter 9: The Truth: Part 2
Filia was the first to awaken, and noticed several things. First, and most obviously, was that the oddity of the location. It was a blank room that seemed to go on forever, with the only objects in the room being a series of trees, almost like a small forest. Secondly, while all of the Lab 8 members were present, both Carol and Aiden/Ragnorok were gone, which mildly concerned her. What was most noticeable to her, however, was the fact that there was someone entirely new. He was a tall, gruff looking man, wearing a suit as black as his hair, though it and he had a somewhat worn look to it. Despite this appearance, Filia had this odd suspicion that she knew this person.
"Who...Who are you?" This startled the man, who opened his eyes, which were yellow with red irises. When he spoke, however, she was sure of who she was.
"Huh... Kid? What the heck are you doing over there? On top of that, how am I over here?" This confirmed things for Filia, but she still had to ask the question that was on the forefront of her mind.
"Samson, is that you?"
"What do you mean, Kid? Of course it's-" but it was then that Samson realized what his body was like, and he also noticed that while it was still black, Filia's hair lacked the parasite's face, instead just falling down like hair normally would. He then noticed that he had hands, as well as an entire body, which confused him. "The hell? What's going on?"
"Perhaps we should explain." said another familiar voice, which originated from the trees, and out from it came two more figures. The first had the appearance of a little child with hair as white as the walls around them, wearing a robe that seemed to have been made from the leaves of the trees, as well as eyes as blue as the sea. Alongside him was a being that appeared to be equal parts man and wolf, and was as tall as Big Band, with the red and black eyes that mark those that bear the Skullgirl's blood within them. After looking around, Filia was able to locate Carol, who had hidden herself behind a tree, clearly nervous about something. For a moment or two, no one talked, and just looked at each other. It was Hive that broke the silence:
"Ragnorok, Fenrir, is that you? Why do you two look like that?" To this, both laughed, and in the end it was the young boy that spoke, and it is clear that he was the one speaking before.
"Yes, I'm Ragnorok, and the big beast beside me is Fenrir. As for location, that's a little trickier to explain. See, this place is called the White Room, and it's basically our collective subconscious given form. As for why some people look different, that's because of the way you perceive yourself on a subconscious level." This confused the whole of the group, so Fenrir stepped in, with his voice seeming quite fitting coming from his current form.
"Basically, we're all having the exact same dream, and because this is not the real world, reality works differently." This was easier to grasp, but this time it was Leduc who asked a question.
"Wait, why is it that Hive, Doctor Avian, and I all are the same?" Ragnorok grinned at this, and spoke:
"Because you three see yourselves as exactly who you are. Samson is divided from Filia because he's a parasite, and as such has his own form, though why his body looks like that specifically is trickier. Perhaps he views himself as a bodyguard to Filia, and as such dresses like that?" Samson was shocked at this, and was about to retort, but was motioned by Hive, as she had something to ask them.
"What about you two? I thought the Fenrir Drive was a synthetic parasite. So why are you two separate?"
"We are an exception in that case. It's far easier to show, rather than explain it. But before that, let's take care of Filia's amnesia first." This shocked everyone, and of course there were doubts about it. The person to respond, however, was not Filia, but Samson.
"How do you plan on doing that?"
"It's simple." Said Ragnorok, who had begun moving, and was now alongside Filia. "Filia, would you do me a favor and visualize a door?" Filia raised her eyebrow sarcastically, and Ragnorok only sighed at what he considered to be the normal reaction. "I know, its sounds weird, but please just trust me on this." More so to humor him, Filia did as he asked, and visualized a door in her mind. "Now, I want you to imagine that behind that door lay your memories. Can you see it?" Strangely, Filia could see the door, a large oak object, and behind it, she could hear whispers of old memories, and they gave off an almost nostalgic feeling. Despite the oddity of the situation, Filia felt herself smile a little. "Good, now open your eyes." And so she did, and Filia was shocked to see that the door was physically there, right in front of her. There were two details she had not envisioned, though. The first was that there was a plaque on top of the door with a picture of her on it. The second was the being standing in front of it, though she remembered it from her dreams. Strangely, all the ASG members, Carol, and Ragnorok and Fenrir also knew who it was.
"What?"
"Impossible?"
"How is he here?" While the others contemplated, Ragnorok could only grin at the person in front of him. Even seven years after seeing him, everything about the monster in front of him felt familiar, and even now it sent chills down his spine to see him.
"I believe most of you know him, but to the few that don't, I introduce to you Brain Drain, Lab Zero's psychotic psyonic director." Despite everyone's reactions, the entity in front of them hadn't done a single thing, instead just leaning on the door in front of them. "Well, I suppose that's only partially true. This isn't him; it's just a projection of his powers. Think of it like a computer program, though perhaps a virus would be a more apt description." While the explanation made sense, the group was still fairly confused. Being the only one of the group to still be fully following his explanation, it was now that Dr. Avian that spoke up.
"But how do we get past him? Considering Brain Drain's personality, I highly doubt he would allow even a fraction of himself to be defeated easily."
"That's why I'm going to have to fight him at full force from the start. Ready, Fen?" Ragnorok said, holding his hand out towards his other half.
"Ready, but I told you to stop calling me that." Said Fenrir, taking his hand, and as he did so, the a large circle of light surrounded the two
"Oh, I forgot. Sorry old friend. And as for the rest of you," Ragnorok said, talking to the rest of the group, "I believe we have another introduction in order. As I said, I'm Ragnorok."
"And I'm Fenrir."
"And when the two of us join together, we become…" The pair said, the light now enveloping them, as well as blinding Filia and the others. When the light cleared, a figure that very much resembled the person they all knew as either Ragnorok or Aiden, with the differing eyes. There were, however, three clear differences. The first was that he was wearing relatively normal clothes, with a t shirt, jeans, and black shoes giving him the look of an average teenager, a far more subdued look over the boxer getup he normally wore. The short sleeves of the short accentuated the second detail, his body was cleaner, lacking any of the scars the real version had from his time spent in Lab Zero. Finally, while Ragnorok and Fenrir were able to act normally, they always seemed tense and on edge. The person in front of them, however, was the epitome of calm, standing up straight with a light smile on his face. It was then that he spoke, using a voice only unfamiliar to the members of Lab 8, but both Filia and Carol recognized it.
"Aiden, the original personality. It's a pleasure to finally be able to talk all in person. Well, metaphorically speaking of course." He chuckled a little, and the rest of the group could still only stare in stunned silence at the person before them. Hive was the first to get her bearings, so she asked something to the young man.
"So who are you?" The young man kept his smile, as if finding her question somewhat comical.
"Like I said Hive, I'm Aiden, the original personality. But don't worry; you and Leduc are still the best friends a guy could ask for." The way Aiden said this, both she and Leduc and were sure that he was telling the truth, in spite of the oddity of the situation."Also, I know that this clearly is going to require a detailed explanation, but that Brain Drain projection over there is seriously creeping me out, so I'm gonna go ahead and destroy it." And with that, he walked towards the door, leaving the group to digest all the information they had received over the past several minutes. This left Aiden enough time to take a few breaths, crack his neck and fingers, and then proceed to leap straight at Brain Drain, opting to avoid the more tedious nature of subtlety.
It was this action that caused Brain Drain to finally begin acting, erecting a wall using the very ground beneath them. Before Aiden collided with the wall, however, he instead leapt straight upwards, and to the amazement of the bystanders, one of the trees suddenly uprooted itself from the ground, and was held in the air in such a place that Aiden, who had suddenly changed his arms and legs to those of Fenrir, could use as a spring to launch himself straight at Brain Drain from above, claws out to slash him. Without missing a step, the wall now became a series of boulders, which flew up to squash Aiden into so much mush. Just as quickly however, the boulders became so many petals of flowers, which Aiden just fell through, landing effortlessly on the ground. Needless to say, this confused Aiden's audience.
"What?"
"How did that happen?"
"As I said before, this is a world built on thought, and as such, fights here tend to rely so little on reality. Here, illusions are just as effective a weapon as a gun or Parasite. Especially when my opponent isn't even real himself." Aiden said, and snapped his fingers. This resulted in the flower petals turning into a series of daggers, which surrounded themselves around Brain Drain, and then flew straight at him.
*Clink**Clank*Clang!
Each of the blades had been stopped, as Brain Drain had surrounded himself in a large cocoon of chains. Once it had surrounded him, the chains went taut, then sending the knives flying straight back at Aiden. Then *Thump!**Thump!**Thump! The tree that was in the air fell in front of Aiden and the group, blocking all the knives. All this noticeably took a bit of a toll on Aiden, who was breathing a little heavily. In spite of this, he was still grinning, clearly enjoying himself.
"I figured that would have been too easy to have worked. Ah well, that just means I have to be a little more creative. Perhaps something like this!" And with a shove, the tree and knives turned into a series of large spears. Without missing a beat, Brain Drain pulled the chains to form a fence, which then turned into a wall of steel, deflecting the spears. What he did not see coming was Aiden suddenly appearing behind him, and grabbing the side of his head with both hands, which were now back to normal.
"It's time to end this nightmare, once and for all." And putting all of his mental power into it, Aiden blasted Brain Drain with a large beam of pure light. This rendered the entity to be nothing more than ash, which quickly dissipated, along with all the other illusionary objects the two had used during the fight. The threat gone, Aiden fell to his knees, now clearly exhausted from the fight in spite of lacking any injuries on his body. Filia, Hive, and Leduc all rushed towards Aiden to see if they could help him. Before they could reach him, however, he merely held out his hand, and they stopped. After a moment, he spoke.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. It's just that fights here have a habit of taking a lot out of a person. But I'll be fine after a few minutes rest. More to the point, however," He said, now pointing his finger at Filia, and then to the door, "He's gone now, so that means the door can be opened." Filia looked and saw that somehow, the door was still there, and was lacking even a scratch in spite of all the carnage just a few moments ago. Also, Filia just noticed that her head felt a lot clearer than before. Almost being drawn like a puppet on a string, Filia felt herself moving towards the door. In a moment, she found herself standing right in front of the door, and was able to notice that the door was in fact covered with the same images she had seen in her dream before, right down to the smallest details. She also noticed the knob, which was made of silver. She reached for the knob, but hesitated for moment. She looked towards Aiden.
"What's going to happen after I open the door?" Surprisingly enough, Aiden could only shrug at this
"You'll get your memories back, but what that'll do to you is beyond me. You might be mostly the same, or you could be an entirely different person, but even I can't say what exactly will happen. In the end, as they say, the choice is yours." Filia then turned towards Samson, who was standing next to Dr. Avian a bit away.
"Samson, what do you think I should do?"
"Like he said, Kid, whatever happens is up to you. Just remember, we're bonded together, so whatever happens, I've always got your back." Filia smiled and reached for the door yet again, but this time was stopped by Aiden.
"Actually, really quick, I think everyone but Filia should head to the woods for a second. Since we don't know for sure what's going to happen, giving her some space might be a wise idea. Oh, and Carol," He said, raising his voice so he could be heard from a fair distance, making the still hidden girl take note, "You should be able to come out once this is finished. Sorry you had to hide for so long." There was only silence to this, but Aiden knew she had heard. This actually raised a question for Filia, as she was the first to notice how much distance Carol was keeping from the rest of the group.
"That reminds me, why is she so far away from the group? I get that I knew her, but wouldn't that have helped me get my memories." Aiden was now moving with Hive and the others towards the woods, still exhausted. Even so, he turned around to answer her inquiry.
"For two reasons. First, we could have had a repeat of the incident in town if I hadn't destroyed the block Brain Drain put on your mind." Filia briefly remembered the pain of having her thoughts repressed, followed by losing consciousness. Shuddering, she remembered that the cause was seeing Painwheel unmasked, but she could not recall what was there.
"Fair enough, but what's the second reason?"
"Carol, for one reason or another, ended up appearing near where my halves were, so I saw for a fact what she looked like. Like me, her body's altered. I think its important that you have your memories before you see her. Both for her sake and for yours." And with that he headed for the woods, with the others in tow. Taking a breath, Filia once again grabbed the knob. She hesitated for a few seconds, and with each second she could hear the thumping sound of her own heart as plain as day. Finally, when she couldn't bear it anymore, she twisted the knob and opened the door all the way.
What lied behind the door was just like from her dreams, a series of images that flowed all around her. Unlike before, though, there was nothing to stop or control the flow, so instead they flew freely, completely surrounding her. Eventually, all she could see were images of her past, both old and new, and as the number of memories grew, the more her head felt like it was about to burst. At one point, it grew so bad that she fell onto her knees, her face contorted into a silent scream. Then, when it felt like she couldn't take it a moment longer, a feeling of clarity passed over her, and all of the images around her faded. After letting her recuperating a moment, Aiden walked towards her and held out his hand.
"Are you okay, Filia?" Filia hesitated, still trying to get a grasp of all the new thoughts and feelings inside her head. Once all the thoughts in her head organized themselves, one thing came to mind. Filia took Aiden's hand, and looking right at his eyes, she asked the first thing that came to mind.
"You said that Carol is here, right? Can I see her? There's something I need to tell her." Aiden hesitated a moment, unsure of how to answer her.
"Yes, but if you remember from before you opened the door, I said that her appearance had altered. It's… not something she's comfortable with yet. Right now, she needs all the support she can get about her situation."
"OK. I'll be ready for anything."
"As long as you're sure." And with that, Aiden leapt into the woods, disappearing from the sight of the whole group. After a few minutes, Aiden appeared behind the others, with Carol in tow, though she was still hiding behind him, preventing anyone from getting a clear look at her face, though her body was still evident, and it left many in the group with shocked expressions. Finally, the pair made it so that they were now standing by Filia. Aiden motioned his hand towards the girl behind her. "Don't worry, she said herself that she's your friend." And moving aside, Filia finally saw what her friend looked like.
"Carol?" Before Filia stood her friend, and the suffering that had occurred was evident. The left side of her body was exactly as the girl she remembered was, with soft, clean skin, long brown hair, dark-brown eyes, and overall looked healthy, if only a little fragile. The right side, on the other hand, was mangled and covered in scars, with the veins being way too dark on such lightly colored skin. In her shoulder and upper thighs, there were three nails protruding from her skin, and the pain they were causing was evident, as Carol was bent over slightly in pain. The thinness of her body was more self evident, with her arm and leg being mere sticks, making her kneecap and elbow stick out. She was also wearing a white dress that covered the majority of her body, but much like the rest of her, one half was clean, while one half was filthy. Somehow, Filia felt like both sides marked Carol's past, as she had regularly been bullied for her more petite figure. In a way, her right side reflected both her current situation and the way others thought about her.
The face was where the real damage was, though, as all along the right side, her face had scars where the mask went, with a whole scar running along the edges of her face, and half of the X-shaped scar on the front of her face. Her eye also had the characteristically red and black coloration that Fenrir had, a mark of yet another polluted by the Skullgirl's blood.
"Filia?" Even her voice was in two halves, with one being the gravelly voice of Painwheel, and the other being the voice Filia remembered, a voice so soft and gentle that everyone that could hear it felt their heart melt a little on the inside. The two stared at each other, not sure how to react after not seeing each other for a year. So, Filia did the only thing that felt right in their situation. She wrapped Carol in her arms, and held her tightly in a hug.
"I'm sorry. You've suffered so much, and I've never been able to be there for you. Even when I knew what was happening, I couldn't stop you from getting hurt, I don't deserve to be called your friend."
Carol was confused at first, a swirl of emotions vying for control. Eventually, the strongest won out, and she returned the hug."That's not true. You've never once bullied me, and even after all this time, your still the nicest person I've met. You aren't just a friend, you're my best friend." And the two embraced, now both sobbing, while everyone else, feeling awkward, let them cry together for a few minutes. Eventually, the sobs turned into sniffles, and then finally stopped. They then just took a moment to take in the fact that they were finally reunited. It was Filia who spoke first.
"This time will be different. No matter what, I'll always have your back." Carol smiled at this, knowing that Filia meant every word.
"Thank you. And know that I plan on improving too. I can't just keep letting people walk over me. So, how about we help each other improve?"
"Sure. That's what friends are for." And with that, the two girls released each other after one last hug, and turned to face the group, who were now moving back towards the center of the area, and Aiden, who had been sitting there to let the pair reconcile with each other, now rose.
"Well, that's one problem sorted out, and it's always good to see friends reconnect. Speaking of, I believe some introductions are in order. Carol, Filia, as I said before, my name is Aiden Donovan, and behind me are my friends Beatrix Erella and Leon Donar, or as you know them Hive and Leduc…
"Hey."
"Hello."
"…And Dr. Avian, the head of Lab 8."
"It's a pleasure to meet both of you, and I hope that you will find that we at the ASG are here for you, especially if you need a place to call home." The two girls smiled at this, glad to feel that they could let their guards down around these people. Carol was the first to speak.
"Thank you. My name is Carol Delphina, and I'd be glad to take up that offer."
"I'd also like to take that offer, if I'm not a bother. My name is Filia…" Filia hesitated, knowing the renown of her last name. "… Filia Medici." Normally, mentioning this surname caused people to either freak out or act far nicer to her, with Carol being the only exception to this. While Hive, Leduc, and Dr. Avian tensed slightly, Aiden could only star blank faced.
"Should I know that name?" Aiden asked. "Hive, Leduc, either of you know?"
"Yeah, we know about them." Hive said, clearly agitated. "They are a mafia group that does a lot of shady business, including theft and murder. They nearly killed Ben. Isn't that right, Dr. Avian?" With a troubled look, he nodded.
"Yes, though not directly. Twenty years ago, Ben used to be a police officer, and he ended up putting a lot of their men in prison. Because of this, they ended up paying some more… easily influenced officers to beat him within an inch of his life. He probably would have died, but Stanley and I found him, and we brought him back to Lab 8, and we were able to save him by making him into what he is today."
"I never knew. In the two years I was here, Ben was never a fan of talking about his past, unless he was teaching a lesson, of course." He then turned to Filia. "Do you consider yourself a part of that group?" Filia was rather confused.
"What?"
"Do you, Filia, consider yourself a part of the Medici Mafia? And do you support their actions."
"No! How can you even say that? I've hated my last name ever since I was little. My own father tried everything to keep my mother and I away from them."
"Well then, I see no reason to hold it against you, as I have no doubt from their reactions that Hive and Leduc would be tempted to." While initially shocked at this statement, the two could now only stare at the ground. "The reaction that confuses me more, though, is yours, Dr. Avian."
"What do you mean by that?"
"You tensed up like the others, but yours was more that of a realization."
"It… It's a long story." Aiden grinned, and proceeded to once again address the group.
"Well, now that all the introductions are in order-"
"Hey, you forgot about me, dumbass." Samson hollered, as he had been keeping back with Dr. Avian, and never really had an opportunity to talk.
"Oh, I'm sorry, would you care to introduce yourself."
"Hell yes! I'm Samson, a parasite whose loves are kicking ass and drinking, especially if I can do both at the same time."
"And you felt it was totally necessary to interrupt me to say just that."
"Yes. Yes I did."
"I hate you, I truly do. More to the point, however, I think we have some history to look into. So," Aiden said, "I think we need a change of scenery." And Aiden clapped his hands, which caused a set of double doors to appear in a little in front of him and the group. The design was rather odd, being more reminiscent of movie theater doors.
"Sorry about the design, but where we're heading, it makes sen-" All of a sudden, Aiden stopped moving, and he started holding his head, clearly in a large amount of pain. "Darn it, my time's up already." Hive and Leduc moved toward Aiden, but he stopped them with a raised hand.
"What's going on?" Hive asked, with her and Leduc sharing a mutual concern for their friend.
"My mind. It's splitting again. Aaah!" And once again, Aiden was surrounded in a brilliant flash of light, but this time, when it cleared, before them were Ragnorok and Fenrir lying on the ground, back in their original forms. With a groan, the two rose, clearly drained. It was Ragnorok who spoke first.
"Ah, I hate when that happens."
"Same." Fenrir agreed with a groan. "Has it already been thirty minutes?"
"Apparently so. And I was so hoping to have him to explain things easier." It was then that Ragnorok noticed the rest of the group, and their clearly shocked expressions. "Sorry, but looks like the explanation of my past is going to get a little complicated. Ah well, we still need to head through the doors." And the pair proceeded to each open one of the doors, revealing nothing but white beyond the door, so that if it wasn't behind the trees, the group would have sworn that the doors led to nothing at all.
"There's no need to be scared. We're just going to a place where explaining things is a lot simpler, with visuals and everything." With a moment of hesitation, Dr. Avian moved towards the door, with Hive and Leduc falling in behind him. After that, Filia stepped forward, with Carol on her left and Samson on her right. Once the rest of the group was inside, Fenrir and Ragnorok followed in behind them, closing the doors as they went, closing with a resounding thud.
And this is where I'm stopping. But I promise, the next chapter will be the last of these "Truth" chapters for a decent while, and the plot will pick up after that. Also, announcement, I now have a Beta Reader, KingChaotixX7, so expect a bit of an improvement in quality. Finally, I'm in college now, but my classes are spaced well enough so that I still will have time to write, but the scheduling will get wonky at times. Nothing else to be said, so please read, review, and as ever, stay classy.
