The Following Night, Rooftop
March 3rd, 9:25pm

"New Meridian — Canopy Kingdom — a paradise of crowds and concrete, where the crime is so cold they wither the soul and freeze the blood. Millions exist here, walking streets that may swallow them whole and spit out their bones."

There was a soft dramatic tune playing in the background to set the scene, Sargent Patriotism stood on the roof's edge overseeing the neighborhood.

"This place, this hell I temporarily call home, is where I learned the meaning of hopelessness and strife. Every man who stepped foot here has basked in the almighty light above, wondering the source of its beauty, the gift of its warmth. Of course just relishing in the light wasn't enough, they began to fight over it. A chance to claim this precious light for themselves. Greed has overcome a great many, and now I stand here, in the presence of sin, to fight for a better-"

Click! The dramatic music stopped.

Once Sargent Patriotism turned around it was revealed that it was Madame Butterfly who cut off portable radio he brought along.

"Aw, Sienna, why'd you do that? I was just getting into it."

"What were you even doing?" Samson regretfully asked knowing the answer was going to be dumb.

"Having a little late night monologue while watching over the neighborhood. It's pretty popular with superhero detective comics where I'm from. If I had a cape it would've been perfect."

"But you're not a detective." Tricho-Noir pointed out.

"That's not the point." Sargent replied with disappointment in his tone.

Madame Butterfly shook her head at the needless distraction and redirects focus on the radio. "Shouldn't we be listening to the news instead?" She adjusts the dials and nobs on the radio, switching to the news station.

'-I can confirm like Tomar was saying, the Black Egrets are on the ground here. They're doing some investigations on site right now. The robbery in question took place at Pandora Jewelry, where all this started late last night. Pandora Jewelry has been the sight of the 6th successful heist since mid-February. The Black Egrets believe these incidents are tied to the infamous Diamond Cuts heist crew, who are still at large.'

"The 6th heist? Goodness. I'd hate to say it, but…who would've known the Medicis kept crime so under control in New Meridian." Leviathan said after having a sip of coffee from his takeout cup.

"It's like they were the light bulb that scared the roaches off, then once the light blew out all the pests came out and infected the place." Sarg adds. "Still, that doesn't mean they should've stuck around — the Medicis had to be stopped either way. We're New Meridians pest control now, so let's make sure we do our part and exterminate the house."

Speaking of roaches and pests, a suspicious man dressed in black walks down the block with a noticeable habit of cautiously looking over his shoulder.

Leviathan, who picked up on the suspicious fellow, informs the others by pointing his tail to ground level. Once the gang picks up on Leviathan's gesture they all crouch low and observe the stranger.

The man approaches a car based on a 1941 Crosley sedan and makes it evident he wasn't the owner by hastily picking at the keyhole with a lock pick.

Sargent Patriotism smirks seeing as how the opportunity landed right into their lap. "Bingo. We got action." He whispers to the girls.

"Perfect! Our first bit of injustice." Tricho-Noir whispered as well, now looking over to her friends. "What do we do?"

"I want you two to sit back and watch." Sargent commands.

"Excuse me?" Madame Butterfly looks at him like he was crazy.

"There's no need for all of us to get involved in this. He's going to give up the moment he sees how ripped I am."

"That's a goddamn padded suit, fool." Samson flatly pointed out.

Sarg ignored Samson, of course, and got up from his planking position — making his way over to the fire escape on the side of the building to get to the streets.

"Player, no!" Tricho called out to him, standing up and chasing after him.

Seeing that he was being followed he turned back to Tricho-Noir and shook his head to deny her. "Just sit back and watch. If anything goes wrong then you can back me up." He ordered.

"But-!"

"No buts! I got this." He smiled confidently and jumped down to the fire escape.

"No! You can't just-! And he's gone. Oooooh!"

There was no point inn complaining seeing as how he was the only one with a plan, so rather than fighting it, as she normally would, Tricho-Noir returns to her position on the rooftop to watch over the scene with Madame Butterfly.


After a few attempts the car door finally unlocks and the carjacker gained access. He got inside the car and went to work hot wiring the vehicle.

A minute later the engine starts and the low beams highlight Sargent Patriotism standing in front of the vehicle with his hand held out in front of him.

"Stop right there, criminal scum!"

...

...

...

Who was this random guy standing in front of the car? And why was he acting like he was immuine to being run over? The thief couldn't figure it out for the life of him, but he does shift the car into 1st and pressed his foot on the gas — the tires screech and the car launches.

Sargent Patriotism's eyes widen now that he realized the carjacker wasn't going to come quietly, luckily he jumps on the hood of the car before being run over.

Having no intention of stopping the carjacker was taking Sarg for a ride.

Tricho-Noir, Madame Butterfly, and their Parasites witness the failed approach with a grimace.

"Welp, so much for that." M. Butterfly sighs and stands up.

"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!" Tricho immediately jumped off the roof while her Parasite was in hysterics.

The carjacker got out to the main road and was now driving recklessly through traffic.

Sargent Patriotism had to hold onto the hood for dear life, but the situation wasn't enough of a distraction to keep him from playing his character.

"Hey, buddy, there's a jail at the corner of 20th and Mayberry, you can drop me off there. No reason."

"Will you get off my car?!" The carjacker's confusion hadn't fizzled since this fool made his appearance.

"This isn't your car!"

"Hey, I stole this car fair and square."

Following the sound of frantic horns and screeching tires — Samson and M. Butterfly were in hot pursuit.

Samson, using his enhanced speed, ran through the streets and kept pace with the action.

M. Butterfly, with Leviathan's help, was hopping rooftop-to-rooftop, keeping a birds eye view. She noticed a large semi truck was passing through the intersection just up ahead, if the carjacker didn't want to crash he would've had to slow down.

"Now's our chance!" M. Butterfly said to Leviathan.

Leviathan shapeshifts his tail into a coil and springs them forward to abide his host.

Sarg, mistaking the car decelerating for a surrender, unhooks his hands from the hood of the car and sits up on his knees so that he could put his hands on his hips. "Justice is a dish best served-!" The semi passed and the carjacker put his foot back on the gas, Sargent Patriotism is thrown forward and smacks his face on the passenger side of the windshield "-OOF!"

"Dude...why won't you piss off?!"

"Vot vuntil yew gibe up!" His face was pressed against the glass like a giant bug that got splattered, so of course his speech would be impaired.

CLUNK! A heavy drop to the hood startled the carjacker.

"The hell was that?" He asked looking up to the roof.

M. Butterfly made a successful landing in a crouching stance and held tightly on the roof. "For goodness sake, Sargent." She looks at him with an expressionless gaze while he was glued to the windshield.

"Madame Butterfly! How wonderful for you to join us!" He managed to peel his face off of the windshield after a few attempts. "I was just about to arrest this guy!"

"Yes. You clearly have everything under control." Leviathan examined with dry sarcasm.

"Yessir! Everything is-" He was interrupted by the carjacker putting the gas pedal to the floor after putting the car into top gear, resulting in Sargent Patriotism face planting back into the windshield "-Vine! Evreting iz vine!"

To remedy the problem on the windshield the carjacker applied the washer fluid to the windshield and then the wipers to try washing him off. It didn't work.

40mph, 41mph, 42mph, 43mph, 42mph, 41mph, 40mph, 39mph. The car was on a steady decline on the speedometer. The carjacker pumped the gas in confusion, but the speed continued reducing. He looks in the rear view mirror and sees a bipedal Parasite. There was someone on the hood, someone on the roof, and now a Parasite in the back. It wasn't looking good.

Samson was holding onto the rear bumper with his bare hands and shoved his heels into the tarmac to anchor the vehicle, and it was working.

M. Butterfly grabbed onto the passenger side of the car's roof, kicks herself out once traffic on the right was clear, and uses her upper body strength to pull herself back in, throwing her feet into the glass to successfully break into the cabin — kicking the carjacker out of the car in the process — she now sat in the driver seat and took control of the wheel.

"...Um. How do I stop this thing?" M. Butterfly asked Leviathan since she didn't know how to drive.

"Put your right foot on the brake to slow down. Once your speed decreases apply the clutch with your left foot, and shift into neutral." Leviathan coached.

"Okay, so the clutch is on my left?" M. Butterfly adjusting herself so that she could see down to the pedals.

Samson was under the impression everything was already handled so he released his grip from the bumper...unfortunately M. Butterfly didn't stop the car from its cruising speed of 35mph so once he let go the car kept going, taking off above the speed limit.

"Damn, Sienna! That take down was aweso-!" Before Sargent Patriotism could praise the efforts of his allies the car slingshots down the road the moment Samson let go. "-WHOA! Slow it down Sienna! Slow it down!"

"I don't know how to drive! Also code names!" She exclaimed.

Leviathan tried using his tail to point her in the direction of the pedals, but M. Butterfly was so busy trying to steer the car out of the way of cars in the street that she didn't have enough time to focus.

"The brakes, Squigly! The brakes!" Leviathan also broke the code name rule, but it was pretty dire, the names didn't matter.

Squigly peaks down to the pedals and stomps her right foot into the center pedal, hitting the brakes which then brought the car to a screeching halt — Sargent Patriotism flew off of the car's hood and lands on his 'shield' which slides him along the ground with a loud metal scrap.

The sudden jerk of the car took M. Butterfly off guard, the car drifts to the right, so she countersteers to the left, having the tail end of the car continue to drift around. One of the front wheels popped right off do to the rough treatment and the car flips out.

M. Butterfly manages to dive out just in time, avoiding injury, but the car flips onto the sidewalk and then crashes into a store which sets the alarms off.

"Whew. Got out of that without a single injury. Thanks, main character shield." Sarg got up from the street and upheld his 'shield.'

Tricho-Noir approaches him now that she caught up. "Hey, so, um, the carjacker got away." She informed with a pant.

"What? How?" Sarg looked over to Tricho, surprised.

M. Butterfly approaches from the other side. "We have to leave. Now." She mentions in a rush, pointing to the destruction they caused.

Sargent Patriotism and Tricho-Noir see the property damage wrought by the totaled car and they sharply inhale through their teeth. This clearly didn't go to plan.

The sound of sirens blaring in the distance caught their attention. The surrounding citizens were standing around and looking at the chaos. This was all unneeded attention, not the best debut for a group of crime-fighters.

The trio make a break for it, running to the nearest alleyway to make a frantic escape before the Black Egrets could show up.

"That was bad. That was very, very bad!" Leviathan regretfully repeated to himself as the damage they caused replayed in his head. They continued to flee without looking back.

"Don't worry guys. We know we have a car thief in the area now, so all we have to do is wait until tomorrow and get him when he least expect us!" Sargent Patriotism reassured his team who were undoubtedly ridden with guilt after that poor display and then running from it.


March 4th

A man in a black coat approaches a lone car parked in a secluded area by a housing complex. He had a thin coat hanger and inspects the inside of the car before sticking the hanger into the driver side window trim seal.

"Come on. Open up."

He continues making various angles with the thin hanger until he was abruptly shoved from behind and pressed against the car. Samson grabs his arm and twists it behind his back to have him drop the hanger.

"OW! What the hell is going on?!"

Once the hanger dropped Samson turned him away from the car and kicks the back of his leg joint, getting him to collapse on his knees.

"Aah!" He cried out in minor pain.

Madame Butterfly and Sargent Patriotism arrive shortly after, the former taking off her top hat and flipping it over in front of the man.

"W-Who are you people?!"

Sargent Patriotism digs his hand into the hat and feels around. "And now for my greatest trick: I will pull some kick ass out of my assistants hat!" He retracts his hand from the hat and back slaps the man.

"Augh!" The man was slapped to the ground, and was then subjected to a group stomping out.

The 'heroes' keep this going for a few seconds until they felt the man had enough. Sarg grabbed the man by his collar and pulls him up, pinning him against the car.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to steal cars?!"

"Stealing cars is wrong!" Tricho-Noir added.

"Stealing?! What are you talking about?! This is MY car, dumbasses!" The man cried out.

Sarg, Noir, and M. Butterfly pause. "…What?" They all ask simultaneously.

"I left my keys in the car last night and I don't have my spare! I have to use a coat hanger to unlock the door!"

Before the crime-fighters could make any further comment a woman and her child arrive to see what was going on and she breaks out into a panic.

"Oh my goddess! What are you doing to my husband?!" She exclaimed, putting the child behind her for protection.

Sarg released the man, who drops to the ground, and turns to the woman with Tricho, and M. Butterfly.

"W-We can explain!" Madame Butterfly held out her hands and shook them to try keeping the woman from jumping to conclusions.

What they didn't know was that the woman was a professional MMA instructor and her instincts kicked in the moment she read the situation: they were gangsters trying to rob her family.

It was time to go into hard mode, the woman rushes the 3 and took them all by surprise.

Tricho-Noir got a swift punch to the gut and then a follow up spinning back hand to the face, knocking her down.

Madame Butterfly ducked underneath the first punch the woman threw, refusing to fight back, only to get a knee to the face for her dodge, and then a clean right hook to the jaw once she got upright, knocking her in the other direction.

Having witnessed his teammates go down in a one sided fight after failing to defuse the situation, Sargent Patriotism held his 'shield' up in front of himself for protection to prolong his impending beating long enough to try working out an explanation. "Ma'am, please! We were just trying to-!" It didn't matter, she threw her leg back and kicked it out, right between his legs with boots on.

His legs and eyes crossed from the pain, dropping his 'shield' in the process to cradle his crotch.

The woman grabs the 'shield' before it hit the ground, winds it back, and comes underhand with it into his chin.

CLAAAANNNNG! The metal rattles after hitting his face. Sarg was knocked off his feet and lands on the car's roof.

"Ooow!"

With the threat dispatched the woman rushes to her husband's side. "Are you okay, my love?!" She inspects him for injuries.

"I'm okay. Thank you, sweetie."

"Daddy!" The child runs over to her parents and hugs her father now that he was saved.

"Come on, we should call the Egrets!" The father suggested after hugging his daughter.

The family runs back to the complex to call law enforcement. Meanwhile Sarg, Tricho, and M. Butterfly lie in motionless defeat, all groaning in long instances of pain.


Poorman Apartment

The Player, Filia, and Squigly were sitting around unmotivated and defeated in the front room — the Player laid across the loveseat with one arm over his eyes, Filia sat on the floor with her back laid up against the loveseat, she was holding an ice pack against her cheek. Squigly sat on the couch with her arms crossed, she had a band-aid across her nose and a swollen cheek.

"…Okay, so we're gonna agree to never talk that again, right?" The Player asked the girls with a sniffle.

"Yep." Filia agreed.

"Of course." Squigly concurred.

"I don't mean to kick you while you're all down, but…you four did jump to conclusions." Leviathan pointed out.

"Four?" Samson repeated, surprised to have been included.

"Yes. You were the one who spearheaded the assault. We patrolled around the corner, once, and you just pointed and said 'there's the carjacker!' before running out and attacking him."

"He had a coat hanger!" Samson protested.

"You didn't bother reading the situation! We were supposed to stakeout the neighborhood over time, a few days tops, and then we follow the patterns of stolen cars until we narrow the search down to our guy."

"You seem well informed." The Player lifts his arm from over his face to reveal the black ring around his eye.

"It's supposed to be common sense." Leviathan flatly comments, earning narrowed glances from the Player, Filia, Samson, and even Squigly. "…I mean, I thought we were all well informed on the subject."

"...We're still new to this." Filia brings her legs up and hugs them into her chest, she lowers her chin onto her knees and rests there. "It's gonna take us some time to get used to how this all works."

"Filia's right." The Player agreed. "We can't let one mishap get to us. We're bound to make mistakes because we're still green. We have to keep at it. No one ever got it right on the first try. We need to keep at it and over time we'll be serving up justice in no time."

"I don't know about this." Leviathan was still a bit hesitant. They were new, but tackling the streets so early on without any prior discipline in the field seemed to be shooting them in the foot.

"Let's keep at it for a little longer. Please, Leviathan?"

Leviathan exhales through his nostrils and looks aside in doubt. "What do you think, Squigly?" He asked knowing the other two were already willing to keep going.

"Well-"

"Sienna is just as much on board as we are." The Player unintentionally cut her off. "I mean…how can she not? It's the right thing to do. Right, Sienna?"

"We should sit down and give it some thought first." Squigly suggested against the Player's insistence. "We didn't have a plan and paid for it. We tend to do that a lot actually...it's concerning. We attacked an innocent man. We need to train ourselves to coordinate better."

"Aaaaaw, you worry too much." The Player disregards her concern.

Squigly looks at him with a bothered expression. She wanted to argue against him, but she knew there was no point. His mind was made up and that's how it was going to stay knowing him. She shakes her head and rubs the back of her neck exasperatedly.

"Even if I debate you're still going to go through with it, aren't you?"

"Yep!"

His answer made Squigly roll her eye. Leviathan just looks on, uncertain, now that they were gonna have to tag along just to make sure neither he or Filia got hurt.

"Everything always works out for us at some point anyway. Watch, it'll all look better tomorrow. You'll see."


March 5th, 10:30am

Using a set of bolt cutters a bicycle thief cuts the chain off of a secured bike at a parking rack and makes his escape down the street.

Tricho-Noir chases after him along the rooftops, having Samson jump them building-to-building so that they could keep up with the thief. They chase down the unsuspecting man to the corner where he stops at a red light to let traffic flow through.

The crime-fighting duo jump from roof at the corner and Samson wraps them up in a defensive ball. They hit the ground in front of the man and bounce up, rolling out from the protective cocoon Samson made for his host.

"What the-?!" The bicycle thief was shocked at their sudden entrance.

Samson punches the man in the face and knocks him off the bike.

"Did you get him?" Tricho-Noir asked.

"Of course." Samson smirked, loving how it felt punching that guy.

Tricho turns around and stands triumphantly over him. "Ha! That'll show you!" She picks the bike up from the ground, ready to sit it up against the nearby wall.

A man walks out from the corner store with a bag of snacks and sees Tricho-Noir with the bike.

"…Whoa. Whoa, whoa! Is that my bike?"

"Huh? This is yours?" She asked, failing to realize it looked like she was getting ready to steal it.

"Hey, yeah! That's my bike! What are you doing with it?!"

"I was just about to give ba-"

"Holy shit! Is that a Parasite?!"

"Yeah, but we-"

"Someone call the Egrets! There's a Parasite host stealing my bike!" The man quickly ran back into the store.

"Wait! No! We were stopping this guy from stealing it!"

Tricho-Noir chases after the man so she could explain that there was a misunderstanding.

All the customers that were inside the store disperse in a panic, screams filling the streets as a Parasite was in the store — a masked crusader frantically rushing in only made it appear to be an imminent robbery, especially after the last customer was crying 'bike thief.'

Samson jumps them out of store window and lands on the sidewalk. He picks up the bike and uses it to haul ass from the panic, Filia was left flapping in the wind as Samson got them away from the area.


Later That Same Day
6:08pm

A swarm of Black Egrets formed a blockade on the outside perimeter of a high rise building on lock down. They were in the middle of dealing with a hostage situation.

"I'm telling you right now! If you don't meet our demands within the next hour - we start offing these hostages! One by one!" The lead terrorist spoke out to the Egrets that were waiting just beyond the front door through a small opening in one of the bordered up windows.

The Player just so happened to be walking by with a small bag of groceries. He noticed the action from across the street and stops to inspect.

"We have decided to meet your demands." The Egret captain responds via the microphone from the patrol car making his voice loud and clear. "We may require a little extra time to supply what's needed."

'What's this? Terrorist demands? This seems like a job for...Captain Patriotism!' The Player grins.

He surveys the area and sees the front was heavily guarded by armed Egret forces, and beyond them all possible points of entry were sealed off via shutters and wooden boards, so a frontal assault was out of the question. He was going to have to get creative if he was going to find a way inside.

20 minutes later

Inside the building hostages were unharmed, but time to deliver on the demands was running out. The longer they waited the more impatient the terrorists became.

There was a heavy skitter coming from the aluminum ventilation shaft above, getting a few of the hostages attention.

"D-Did you hear that? What was that?" A woman whispered to the man next to her in a paranoid state of mind.

"It was probably just a mouse passing by." The man calmly explained in an attempt to keep her calm.

The skitter returned, this time it was heavier than before and thus getting the terrorists attention as well. It couldn't have been a mouse, maybe an oversized raccoon of some kind.

A few seconds pass and the air vent completely gives way — the metal panel breaks and a human being foolishly dressed in bright colors drops out the air like a falling raining rainbow. "AAAAHH!" He belly flops on the wooden table below and ends up destroying it with a loud crash landing.

The hostages wince at the painful entry and the terrorists stand around looking confused.

Recovering from the fall Sargent Patriotism sits up. "Aaaaugh. My…ass…" He groans, ironically cradling his head.

After rubbing his aching head, Sargent Patriotism looks up and finds that most of the armed men had surrounded him with heavy weaponry.

One Minute Later...

Sargent Patriotism was now sitting in line with the hostages, having become a hostage himself after failing miserably on his own rescue mission. He sat in a neat row looking stupid.


Even Later That Same Day...
8:44pm

A mugger held a woman at knife-point in an alleyway on the side of a dumpster.

"Gimme everything in the bag!"

"O-Okay! Just don't hurt me!"

"Actually, wait. What do you got in there?"

"Um…some gum. Makeup, tissue, a notepad, some pens, and maybe 30 bones."

"Give me the bones! And a stick of gum if you don't mind."

Just as the woman opened her pocketbook to give the man what he asked for a shadowy figure descends from the fire escape above and lands in the alley.

"Mugging a woman on her way home from work. How low can you criminals stoop?" A masculine voice spoke.

Hearing the voice the mugger and woman turn in the direction of the figure. "Who's there?!" The mugger asked, now turning his knife to the shadows.

A pointed serpent tail reaches out and slaps the weapon out of the man's hand, disarming him. The knife was flung into the open dumpster and lost among the bags of trash and rotten produce.

Seeing that her mugger was distracted and disarmed the woman pushes him aside and makes a run for the city streets. She manages to get away and the mugger watches as his target slipped right through his fingers.

"Damn! You let her get away!" He turned back to the shadows.

"Pity the same can't be said for you." Stepping out of the shadows Madame Butterfly appeared.

"…Is that a Parasite?" The mugger inquired.

"In the flesh." Leviathan replied positively to confirm he had every right to be scared.

"Rrgh! You don't know who you're dealing with!" He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulled out another small knife. "I'm the Knife Slinging Bandit, and I never back from a challenge. So come on, if you dare. I'm gonna slice you to ribbons!"

M. Butterfly doesn't even humor him with a response - she squints her eyes at the bandit, giving him a menacing glare from that featureless mask.

She sprints from darker ends of the alley, her superhuman speed being attributed to the fire propulsion from Leviathan's tail. The criminal flinches at her sudden sprint and braced himself for the worst, there was no way he could counter such incredible speed.

Mid-sprint M. Butterfly was beginning to have trouble keeping her balance steady — she ended up stumbling clumsily over her high-heels, which were clicking loudly as she gradually continued falling forward and losing balance.

"O-Oh jeez. Oh jeez. Oh jeez! Oh jeez!"

She continued to fail in regaining her balance, but it only got worse once one the heel on one of her shoes broke from the rough treatment against the hard ground. M. Butterfly completely loses it and falls to the side of the bandit and hits her face on the dumpster's side with a loud metal bang, her head making a dent in the structure.

"AUGH!" She turned over on her back once she hit the ground, cradling her forehead while weakly rolling from side to side. "…Oooooouuuugggghh….oooooowwwww…"

"S-Squigly! Are you all right?!" Leviathan looked down to his host in concern. "Let me see it."

The bandit opened his eyes to see Madame Butterfly laid out on the ground and stunned from her apparent spill. Rather than sticking around, though he does for a few more seconds, confused, he turns around and just walks away, leaving the alley.

M. Butterfly was still groaning in prolonged pain on the ground.


Poorman Apartment
9:07pm

Squigly limps into the group's apartment unit carrying the lone heel that popped off her shoe, she had a noticeable lump on her forehead. She walks into the front room and sees the Player and Filia sitting around.

"You look like crap." Samson was the first to comment on Squigly's appearance.

"I feel like crap." Squigly replied knowing she wasn't looking her best.

"Any luck on your patrol?" The Player asked in hopes of hearing some good news.

Squigly held up her broken high-heel as if it weren't obvious enough. "Nope." She plainly replied.

Filia noticed the bump on Squigly's head and went to fetch some ice from the kitchen.

Squigly dropped her heel on the floor and plopped down on the couch, kicking off her asymmetrical shoes and sighing heavily. "We're bad at this." She said aloud. "We're simply bad at this. This isn't our calling."

"Jeeeeeesus." The Player, who was already sitting on the floor, picked up Squigly's broken heel to examine the once stylish shoe and breaks out into uncontrollable snickering.

"That's funny, huh?"

"Yes!" He looked up at Squigly with a laugh and humored smile. "Did you fall and break your butt? Thank goodness you're all natural, otherwise your implants would've exploded."

"Hardy-har-har." Though sarcastic in her response Squigly did chuckle a little. "I didn't burst my bottom, but my forehead? That's different." She then pointed to the bump on her forehead.

Filia returned to the front room with an ice pack and gently placed it on Squigly's forehead for relief. "Must've been a nasty fall." She said.

"Not the worst we've had." Leviathan used his tail to hold the pack on his host's forehead.

"But one of the most embarrassing." Squigly once again chuckled, imagining how she must've looked stumbling the way she did.

Filia sat back down on the loveseat and sighs. "I think you're right." She joined the conversation. "This isn't for us. As painful as it is to admit — we haven't done this neighborhood any noticeable favors."

"If anything I think we only tarnished your alter egos image." Leviathan laments, but destroying a car, a store, attacking an innocent man, and unintentionally letting crooks get away easily put it into perspective. "And the consecutive streak of failure isn't doing any good for morale. I think it's time we hung it up and-"

"No!" The Player's outburst earned him eyes from his peers. "We can't give this up yet."

"We can and will." Squigly corrected.

"Guys, come on. We're just getting started."

"You've been at this for days, not once did any of you improve." Samson debunks the notion of being newbies as a valid excuse for their excessive failures.

"You messed up about as equally as everyone else." Leviathan rebuttals Samson.

"Whatever, worm. The point stands: this isn't for any of us. We operate better from the shadows. Appearing when drama drops on our doorstep rather than looking for it ourselves. Besides, they have professionals who deal with this type of thing — not a egocentric loser trying to make something of himself,"

"...Are you referring to me?" The Player questions with hostility.

"-A girl bordering on adulthood who is so gullible she wouldn't find anything suspicious about a stranger in a white van offering her candy,"

"I lost my memories! I'm not an idiot!" Filia debates.

"-And a 29 year old virgin." Samson closed out his argument on Squigly.

Squigly's expression was a mix of shock and irritation which produced a humorous realization that he spoke truth. "I...oough! I just haven't found the right guy yet!" She argued in her defense.

"There's nothing wrong with your purity, milady. You have nothing to be ashamed of." Leviathan supports her knowing it was a bitter subject.

"Y-Yeah." Squigly crossed her arms and sulked. Having never been exposed to companionship really sucked.

"And you still want to keep this going?" Samson continued addressing the Player for his previous comment.

"I mean...yeah. I feel strongly about this."

"Why?" Samson questioned.

"Just...because!"

"That's stupid. You're stupid."

"Samson." Filia calls out her Parasites name as a gesture for him to be nicer. "Player, I love that you're so passionate about helping others, but...this really doesn't seem like a good idea. Squigly and Leviathan are right — we tried, but it's time we put it to rest. Let's focus on becoming a better team first before thinking of crime-fighting."

"But we're already a good team." The Player said with confidence. "We beat Double! If we could beat that freak show we can handle petty criminals."

"And yet you haven't." Samson said with a biting remark.

"We didn't beat Double on the 1st try either, but we kept at it until we did. Right?"

Filia, Samson, Squigly, and Leviathan were still doubtful. Their expressions were easy to read and the Player could see his team was still against the idea, unfortunately for them his motivation was strong.

The Player held up his index finger. "One chance." He said, Squigly then inclined a brow at his response. "Just one more chance then we can call this off."

"Player." Squigly crossed her arms in disappointment, her expression leaning heavily on disapproval.

"Just hear me out: You remember that report about the Diamond Cuts heist crew? I've been hearing about them almost everyday since we first heard about them. I've been itching to put a stop to their robberies the more I tuned into reports detailing their work. The Black Egrets haven't caught them yet, and I figure they're right up our alley. There's 3 of them and 3 of us, so-"

"There's Filia and Wormfood." Samson interrupted. "You don't fight. That's 3v2."

"Heart Synchronization comes from me, you annoying tart. You having access to your Primordial form comes from me. Theonite distribution, infusion, and manipulation: me. Anyone I link with gets the power to match the Skullgirl, a freaking demigoddess. Don't condescend me, douche bag."

"When did you get the balls to speak to me like that?" Samson squints his eyes at him.

"I was never afraid of you!"

"Really? Because I remember you screaming and nearly pissing yourself the day we met."

"You are very ugly, Samson. It took me off-guard. If Quasimodo's ass had a face you'd be it. Why wouldn't I react the way I did?"

"That's it. Kicking his ass." Samson grew to his bipedal form.

"Oh no..." Filia dreaded the inevitable clash.

Samson pounces the Player and the two wrestle around the floor while Squigly and Leviathan watch.

Squigly sighs and stands from the couch to counsel her friends. "Boys, settle down." She spoke out to them.

The Player and Samson continued rough housing, going back and forth between who got the advantage, but it was mostly in Samson's favor considering he was a Parasite and had superior strength to a human.

"Where's all that amazing power now?!" Samson teased as he saddled the Player, holding him down by his wrists.

The Player's eyes sharpen and Filia's body ignites with Theonite — the Theonite shapeshifts into the wings Samson makes during Gregor Samson and they fling the duo into the air where they crash into the ceiling.

Filia was mushed under Samson since she was backside. "DOH! Player, why?!" She mumbled from under Samson.

Filia rejects the Synchronization Link he established and cancels it which drops them out the air. The Player, seeing them falling, rolls out the way and Samson face plants into the carpet with a heavy thud.

"Ha! Easy-bake oven bitch." The Player insults him with a snarky smile.

Samson sits up and scowls — lunging forward and tackling the Player into the wall, pressing his forearm against his chest. "Canopy's Got Talent finalist!" He retorts.

"Enough!" Leviathan hollered as Squigly pushed Samson and the Player away from each other.

"Filia, are you okay?" Squigly asked considering she took the full force of the ceiling slam.

"Yeah. Nothing I'm not used to." Filia gave a thumbs up and a smile to show that she really was fine.

Now that Squigly and Leviathan were between them, Samson returns to his regular form.

The Player adjusts his shirt and looks on at the girls. "If we had criminals to direct our aggression we wouldn't be fighting amongst ourselves." He was speaking in relation to the idea he continued holding onto.

"Uuuuugh." Squigly groans, exasperated.

It was a pain knowing the Player was so hardheaded. Like Filia, she really likes that he wants to do good, by his own claim anyway, but at the same time she, and the rest of the group excluding him, were done with the idea. They tried, but he just couldn't let it go. What's worse was knowing he'd still go for it, with or without them if they didn't, and without either of them there Squigly feared he was bound to get hurt, or worse. It felt like she wasn't being given any option other.

"...Just one more shot?"

"Just one." The Player affirms.

Squigly sighs and looks over to Filia. The girls exchange similar looks and reluctantly comply seeing how badly he wanted this done. They look back at the Player with exhaustion.

"A favor for a friend, Player." Squigly flatly concedes.

"Yes!" The Player fist pumps the air victoriously. "Thank you!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm taking a shower and then going to bed." Squigly departs with her hand waving dismissively.

"Sounds good." The Player smirks, unable to read the atmosphere that was against him.

Filia exhales through her nostrils and looks at her partner with a neutral gaze. "So, what did you have planned?" She inquired.

"A stakeout like Leviathan mentioned. Simple. All we do is find a jewelry store in town and then wait for them to rob it. Once they're active we move in and bust them. Call the Egrets and case closed."

That plan was so simple it hurt thus making Samson groan.

"...Will it really be that easy?" Filia genuinely wondered.

"Filia, trust me. Simple is the easiest way to go. We'll rest tonight, but tomorrow - we wait for nightfall and then we make our move."


March 6th
11:30pm

The Player, Filia, and Squigly were under their crime-fighting alter egos and stationed themselves on the roof of one of the building's across the street from the jewelry store they chose to overwatch. The girls were dressed in full body unitards with ninja cowls to cover their faces, meanwhile the Player was still wearing his patriotic uniform.

The trio were lying flat on the roof's edge as a means to keep themselves hidden. Sargent Patriotism was holding a pair of binoculars and surveying the general area ahead of them.

"I-It's getting cold." Tricho mentions to the group with a shiver.

"I told you to think twice when finding an outfit. Nobody told you to wear that tight nonsense." Sarg flatly disregards her state.

Tricho squints her eyes at Sarg the moment of his reply, but before she could even say anything the chilly night air blows against her. "Nngh! I can't take this! Samson gimme your coat!" She pleads.

"No." Samson denied her. He was in his bipedal form and wearing a detective inspired trench coat. "This is so stupid. Why are we even out here? You guys suck at being crime-fighters, I thought we discussed that already?" His attention diverts to the Player who was still focused on watching the area. "And why the hell are you still dressed in that stupid costume? We're meant to be incognito, you look like you're supposed to be on the short yellow bus."

After hearing Samson's comment Sargent Patriotism lowers the binoculars from his eyes and looks over to him. "I know you ain't talking with that discount Inspector Gadget outfit you got on! Go-Go Gadget: Lame Ass Boy! You wish you could pull off this look." He retorts.

"Inspector Gadget? I don't even know who that is!"

"Well, the readers should! That's why I said it!"

M. Butterfly had exhausted bags under her eye, she was cold and tired, she could barely stand to hear the duos constant bickering. She tried paying them no mind at first, but as their exchange got louder it overloaded her capacity to ignore. "Oh, my goddess. If you two don't shut up I will give you a reason to whine and complain!" She raised her voice.

Squigly rarely ever raised her voice so when she actually did it was rather intimidating, Leviathan was impressed she had it in her.

Like two sons being scolded by their mother the Player and Samson cease their bickering.

"Have you seen anything suspicious yet?" Leviathan inquired once Sarg went back to looking through the binoculars considering they had already been up there for quite a while.

"Not yet." He replied.

"This doesn't make any sense. We've been out for half an hour. Where are they?" M. Butterfly asked, looking over to Sarg for a concrete answer since this was his operation.

"Just give it time, Madame Butterfly."

"Are you sure this is the jewelry store they're going to hit?"

"No. That's why we're waiting."

M. Butterfly and Leviathan pause in disbelief. The fact that he was still just laying there looking through the binoculars for a pair of ghosts further heightened their lost expressions.

"You...don't know? Wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait. What do you mean you don't know? Are we just sitting here over chance?!"

"Yeah. We don't know how they operate. We just have to wait and see if this is one of the stores they'll hit tonight."

M. Butterfly's eye twitched at his casual attitude in regards to his poorly thought out plan. She grabbed the binoculars and took them away from him to catch his focus. "You didn't have a plan?!" She exclaimed with increasing frustration.

"That's what I've been saying!" Samson exclaimed. "You two weren't in on this? I was wondering why the hell you were going along with this. You're supposed to be one of the smart ones, Wormfood. I thought you knew."

"No! Filia, why didn't you say anything?!"

"H-Huh?"

"No point in even asking her that. She'll follow this idiot off a damn cliff and not complain about it." Samson assured with vacant emotion.

"I would not!" Tricho-Noir spoke for the actions of her civilian identity. "If he was going to jump off a cliff I'd stop him before he even got a chance to!"

"Would you jump after him after he already jumped?" Samson asked.

"Yeah. I have to save him."

"Then you'd follow that idiot off a cliff!"

"I'm good at yelling too!" Sargent randomly joined the group in elevating his voice since he was the only one who didn't yell yet.

"Shouldn't you three be a little more quiet if you're on a stakeout?" An unexpected 5th voice breached the conversation.

Sarg, Tricho, Samson, M. Butterfly, and Leviathan freeze for a second, but the moment Samson looks back over his shoulder he sees a woman standing over them.

"Shit! We got company!"

Samson quickly got up, dragging his host along like a dog on a leash, throwing his coat and tossing it aside with his hat, he then rushes the woman.

"A Parasite?" She calmly observes while Samson approaches her aggressively.

Samson swung only to have the woman dodge in the opposite direction before the hook even reached its apex. He goes to the other hand and swings from the opposite direction, she ducks under it and he misses again. Samson makes a quick turn around as the woman rises and throws out a swift backhand, only to have the woman, once again, dodge by bending back and pulling herself up once it was safe.

She extends her index and middle finger and sends stabbing pokes into specific points on Samson's arm. After the strike his arm went limp.

"GaaAaaAaaaah! W-What the hell?!" Samson took a step back and looked down to his paralyzed arm. No matter how he tried he couldn't get it to function.

He may be one arm down but that wasn't going to stop him from using the other. He grits his teeth spitefully at the woman and throws a straight punch with the opposite fist.

The woman grabs him by the wrist in one hand, angles his arm on an incline, and with her free hand stabs the same spots with her extended fingers.

After the strike both of Samson's arms went limp, they hung off his shoulders like wet noodles. Samson looks to his left arm and then his right, before finally facing the mysterious woman. He stands there leaning back as the two now awkwardly stare at each other.

M. Butterfly stands beside Sarg, ready to defend him if he were to become a target. "She's using Kyusho Jitsu!" Leviathan points out.

"What's that?" Sarg asked.

"A martial art style that focuses on pressure points. She can paralyze your body and immobilize you from battle."

Having overheard Leviathan the woman smiles. "I can block Theonite from flowing through Parasites too." She added.

"S-Samson, maybe I should-" Tricho-Noir tried to volunteer herself as a fighter in her Parasites place since she could already tell things weren't working in his favor, discipline always outmatched brute strength, despite the fact that she didn't really have any proper discipline herself.

Of course Samson's pride wouldn't allow defeat. In a pathetic attempt at keeping the fight going Samson weakly kicks at the woman who uses the back of her calf to guard against the attack, if you could even call it that, she then strikes his knee joint with her fingers, having his leg go limp. Samson found himself trying to balance on one leg now that most of his body was radiating static numbness.

"Gah! You...crazy...bitch! I can...still...!" He hops back on one leg and accidentally bumps into M. Butterfly.

"Watch where you're going, you buffoon!" Leviathan chastises him as his host grabs onto Tricho-Noir by the shoulders to keep them from falling over, Samson was just a hunk of extra weight pressing down on them like a leaning statue.

"Ggggghhhhh...I'm getting...sleepy." Samson said in a drowse. A small line of drool creeping down the side of his mouth, showing just how effective this woman's martial arts was.

With the 3 friends at a disadvantage the woman goes in for the attack.

While M. Butterfly was helping keep Tricho-Noir and Samson up, leaving them open, Sargent Patriotism acts, getting in front of the girls before the woman could get any closer.

The woman jumps over their heads, gliding over them with an aerial cartwheel - she quickly lunges her fingers onto the top of Leviathan's unsuspecting head, giving him a gentle poke.

She lands on the edge of the rooftop but keeps perfect balance despite landing on the tip of her toes.

Finally succumbing to the pressure point strikes Samson loses consciousness and reverts back to his regular form on his host's head. Now that all the extra weight was off her shoulders Tricho-Noir is able to stand on her own and the group retreats a few steps back.

The woman turns back to the group and smiles.

"Okay. She's kind of a badass." Sarg admits.

"She's very well trained." Leviathan adds. "This might be a problem."

"It's nothing we can't handle." Sarg replied confidently.

Leviathan squints his eyes at the woman, his focus was beginning to deteriorate as seconds passes him by. He shakes his head and found himself breathing through heavy panting.

"Leviathan? You Okay?" M. Butterfly asked as she noticed his breathing was rough.

"Damn. I think...I think she got me..." Leviathan snarls now that he was gradually slipping in and out of consciousness.

"What? When?"

"Must've...been...when...she...fli- Uuuugh."

"Without Theonite being properly supplied through their bodies they won't be able to do anything for a while. Your Parasites will be out for a few hours." The woman explained.

"Who are you?!" Sarg demanded her name now that she displayed the full extent of her skill.

"Who am I? You can't be serious." When the three failed to respond it was clear they were indeed serious, much to her disappointment. "...How do you stakeout the Diamond Cuts score and not know who they are?"

"Score? Oh! You must be one of the Diamond Cuts!"

"…Clever boy." She sarcastically claims seeing as how she already told him who she was. "Anyway, I should be the one asking the questions. Who are you? And why are you trying to cherry pick us? Can't you get your own score?"

"We're the Heroic League of Badassery! And we're here to put a stop to your criminal ways!"

'That is a really bad name.' Even after it's already been set in stone, M. Butterfly was genuinely distracted by their group's name.

"Sooooo, what? Are you supposed to be crime-fighters or something?"

"That's right. We're going to make our grand debut by taking down your crew!"

"...You look like you just walked out of a dollar store. How do you expect to capture us?"

Sarg stomped his foot on the ground and turns back to Tricho-Noir and Madame Butterfly. "See?! I told you buying costumes was a bad idea!" For some reason he thought it was going to be okay to turn his back to a criminal.

The woman took the opening Sarg unintentionally gave her and sprints over to them.

Madame Butterfly was taken off guard by Sarg's idiotic actions, she briefly looks at him with an incredulous look before her eye noticed the woman was moving in on them. "Move!" She yells out to her comrade who only tilts his head in confusion at her reaction.

Tricho-Noir pushes Sarg out of the way to save him, and as a result got a shoulder tackle to the stomach for her troubles.

The woman proceeds to grab Tricho-Noir by the wrist - turning her back into Tricho's front, hoisting the hero over her shoulder and slamming her into the ground with a solid shoulder throw.

"AUGH!" She cried out upon hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

"Now go to sleep." The woman strikes Tricho's stomach-9 pressure point and knocks her out.

With Tricho-Noir down the woman quickly moves onto her next target: Madame Butterfly. She rushes her and the two engage in close combat, matching blows and blocking to a standstill.

Sarg rolls over from his Tricho-Noir's previous save and quickly finds his footing once he stopped. He looks up and surveys the situation: Tricho is on the ground and Butterfly is holding her own against the trained jewel thief, things seemed handled thanks to the former's martial arts mastery, best left to her to handle the situation, right? Wrong. This was a group effort.

He looks down to his 'shield' and concocts an idea: "Aha!" He exclaims to himself in succession. "Using the power of basic physics I'll throw my shield, hit the thief, render her unconscious, the shield will boomerang back to me, and I'll catch it!"

With the shield in hand he pulls it back over his shoulder and tosses it like a Frisbee to the action.

Madame Butterfly and the woman continued proving equal with neither side gaining an advantage over the other, that is until the woman senses something wrong and looks over her shoulder to see a flying trash can lid coming in her direction. She ducks and Madame Butterfly looks on, confused, until she was smacked in the face with Sarg's 'shield'.

The 'shield' dropped to the ground after impact.

"Oh! Shit." Sarg winces at the sight of friendly fire.

"PLAYER! WHAT THE HELL?!" M. Butterfly broke character out of anger and used his real name, cradling her sore nose.

"Sorry! It played out differently in my head! Don't worry, let's Synchronize and take her down!"

"…Synchroni-? Wait! We're not on the same wave-!"

Far too distracted with his prior failure, and failing to realize she was frustrated, he hastily initiates Heart Synchronization on Madame Butterfly and they fail to resonate, the repelling negativity being forced together backfires with an electrocuting aura that overwhelms her.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" She screams out as the aura sparkles around.

"Huh? OH! SHIT! SORRY, SORRY!"

Sarg breaks the Sync Link and M. Butterfly stands motionless. Not a few seconds later she drops to her knees and stares at Sarg with an annoyed twitch of the eye. She opens her mouth to speak but all that comes out was a dry cough and black smoke. She falls over and passes out.

The woman gives a simple "Huh." at the events and turns to Sarg now that girls were out. "So, like, I'm kinda getting the feeling you're not really a fighter. Are you going to try and stop me yourself, or- What? What're we doing?"

"…Um. Heh. Well this turned out far worse than I anticipated. I'll just take my unconscious friends and be on my way."

"Yeeeeeah, no."


Von Klein Jewelry Store, Management Office
11:57pm

Unmasked, the Player, Filia, and Squigly were tied together by rope, their backs against each other in the back office of the jewelry store.

Two other women accompanied the one who scouted the trio across the street, they formed the infamous Diamond Cuts heist crew.

"And you're sure they're the only ones?" The 1st woman asked the enforcer.

"Yeah. I checked the entire perimeter and they were the only ones around. The girls have Parasites, but nothing I wasn't prepared for."

"Look at you being a badass. That's exactly what we're paying you for. Good job." The 3rd woman smirks to which her partner shrugs.

The 1st woman looks down to the Player. "So, what's your agenda? You a cop?" She asked casually.

"No. We're just…bystanders."

"They call themselves the 'Heroic League of Badassery,' or something like that." The enforcer corrects. "Supposed to be some kind of crime-fighting group trying to make a name for themselves."

The 1st woman inclines a brow. "…And they thought they were going to do that by stopping us?" She almost thought it was a prank.

"That's what I was thinking."

"Oh, honey. We've been doing this for years. You had no chance stopping us." The 1st woman went on.

The Player looks to the side, disappointed with how things have turned out. "You and your friends have more experience than we do." He tried defending their failure with an obvious observation.

"We're not even friends. You guys just suck." The 3rd woman comments.

"Wait. You 3 have been working together for years, but you're not friends? That's dumb."

"No. This is strictly professional. Emotional attachment will just get in the way." The 1st woman explained.

"Who are you even supposed to be? What are your names?" The 3rd woman asked.

"…I'm Sargent Patriotism." The Player answered.

"That sounds like a rip-off of something else. I just don't know what." The 1st woman said aloud.

"Hey! It's…unique enough. You know how hard it is coming up with a alter ego names?"

"Not very hard I imagine."

"I thought your alter ego name was 'Player.' Wasn't that what the blue girl said?" The 2nd woman asked.

"That's different."

"Better than Sargent Patriotism if you ask me." The 2nd woman added, failing to see the appeal in the name he chose.

"What about them?" The 3rd woman asked.

"Tricho-Noir and Madame Butterfly." He directs his head in Filia and Squigly's direction respectively in place of using his arms since they were bound.

"Oh. Those are much better. You're the only one with a dumb name."

The Player lightly grits his teeth in an annoyed fit. "And what are your amazing criminal names?" He inquired.

"I'm Topaz." The 1st woman introduced herself.

"Emerald." The woman who attacked them earlier answered.

"And I'm Sapphire." The last woman in the group answered. "We named ourselves after gems because we're the Diamond Cuts. Pretty clever, right?"

The Player nods as though he was in agreement. "No." He flatly denies shortly afterward.

Emerald's face went from exciting anticipation to mildly annoyed in a second. "Oh what do you know?" She looks away from him and crossed her arms.

"We've wasted enough time here." Topaz said. "Come on, girls. Let's clear this place out and get out of here. They can take the fall when the Egrets show."

"Yeah." Emerald and Sapphire nod in agreement.

The Diamond Cuts leave the back office to start the heist. Being the last one out Sapphire turned back to the heroes and stuck her tongue out at the Player, taunting him for his negative answer to their names. She closed the door and locks it afterward.

"Shit." The Player mutters to himself now that he could finally settle on their predicament. He tried struggling against the rope to break free, but to no avail. They were on tight. "Aaaugh! Dammit."

Despite the failed first attempt the Player continued shaking against their confinements in a desperate attempt to free them, but no matter how much he tried the result was the same. The constant jerking around eventually got Squigly to wake up.

"…Nnngh. Uuuuh. Huh?"

"Sienna? Sienna, is that you? Are you awake?"

"…Ouugh. My nose. What the heck? Where…are we?"

"Thank god, you're up. We're in the jewelry store."

When she went to move her limbs she found herself unable to. She looks down and sees the rope around her torso and ankles, she could feel a tight bind around her wrists which were behind her back.

The last thing she remembered was fighting that woman on the roof and then getting hit in the face with a trash can lid. After that she was electrocuted and then everything went black, cut to the present and she can't move. "...You've got to be kidding me." She pieced everything together and realized they were captured.

"We're in the back office, and they're out there stealing the gems. We can still get 'em. Do you know how we can get out of here?"

"Oh. You're asking me now?" There was bitter sarcasm in Squigly's voice.

"Huh?"

"Nothing. I'm just so used to you thinking you have the answers for everything I wasn't expecting you to ask my input on anything."

"Sienna, this is serious."

"Yeah? Then you should seriously come up with a plan. We all know we're just going to do what you want regardless. You never trusted me to do anything anyway, so what's the point? We told you this was a bad idea, we told you to put it to rest, but nope! Everything just has to be your way. Now you're paying for it. Figure it out."

"Sienna, come on, now's not the time. Seriously, how are we going to get out of this?"

She doesn't respond.

The Player softly exhales through his nostrils once it was clear Squigly wasn't going to answer him, it was his issue to solve, but he didn't have an answer. He made another solo effort to forcibly break himself free only to fail.

Squigly knew he wasn't going to be able to use brute force to get out of those binds, he was only human, but still, she scoffs at his failed attempts.

Seeing that it was pointless the Player stops and faces forward. Now that he exhausted his options all he could do was sit there and think back on his actions - reflecting on how unfairly he treated the girls, dragging them along on escapades they wanted no part of. Coming to terms with everything that's happened left him guilt-ridden.

"…I'm sorry. I screwed up." He said in a defeated tone. "I'm a screw up, okay? You got me. I don't…I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. You're right about me, Sienna. You were always right about me. I'm an ass always digging our graves with stupid ideas and when it comes to bite me in the ass you and Filia are always there to bail us out." He calmly exhales through his nostrils and pauses to gather his thoughts. "That's not even the worst of it, is it? I've been a really bad friend to you."

"Bingo." Squigly flatly replied. "Wake Filia up and solve our issues with her, like you always do. I'm just here for moral support — Go team." She was showing no remorse for her bluntness.

The Player felt the sting of her venomous comment, sad but true.

"...I think...when Marie told me your capacity to maintain your freewill was deteriorating I got this sense of unease. It overcame me. Filia saw more in you than any weakness Marie described, and when I finally allowed myself to think beyond that uneasiness I found an amazing partner. It got worse when we became friends — it scared me — the thought of losing you when I have the power to stop it is just terrifying."

Squigly remained quiet, but it wasn't out of frustration, she was listening to what he had to say.

"This whole 'Player' savior thing put my mind in a twist. I became obsessed with trying to do what I thought was right that I ended up being too controlling. Then there was that night when you… When you almost…" He stops himself short, trying his best not to remember everything Squigly went through only a week ago, and how he couldn't help her. "...I'm afraid to be any less than what I've made myself out to be because I don't know what'll happen. I just...don't know. I'm sorry. That's all I can offer you. I don't have an answer to this. Guess I'll have a lot to think about when I'm in a jail cell."

"…Uuugh. How can I stay mad at you?" Squigly finally replied. "Don't be so hard on yourself, a simple apology would've sufficed. I just get upset when you make all the decisions for us. We're supposed to be a team. "

"So...you don't hate me?"

"Hate you?" Squigly nearly choked with laughter at his question, confused how he could even came to such a dramatic conclusion. "Don't be ridiculous. You made a mistake, multiple mistakes, big ones at that...but it's okay. You're obviously sorry and learned from it. I love you, you big goof. You're one of my best friends. There's nothing you can do that will make me hate you." She angled herself on a slant so that she could lay the side of her head against his, expressing some form of affection since she couldn't hug him, and to show that there was no hard feelings between them.

The Player took a moment to let her words sink in before finding it in himself to smile. He leans his head into her and they share a tender moment.

"If we get out of this, I promise you, I'm going to change." He assures her. "Whatever I need to improve on just let me know and we'll work it out. We're a team…and it's time I start acting like it."

"We're already off to a good start." Squigly smiled into their embrace.

"...Aaaaawwwww." A 3rd voice made itself apparent. "That was so adorable." Filia now revealed herself conscious.

The Player looks to his left and Squigly lifts her head off the Player's to look in the opposite direction. "What the hell? Filia, were you awake this entire time?" The Player asked.

"I got up around the time Squigly started to rant, but I didn't want to interrupt. I'm so glad you two had that moment!"

"It was a long time coming." Squigly playfully piggybacks off Filia's comment.

"You guys are something, you know that?" The Player leaned his head back to look up at the ceiling.

"And you love us for it!" Both the girls joyfully retort.

"Heh. Yeah. Nothing but love. Now, we gotta find a way to get out of here and deal with those thieves. Any ideas?"

"I have one." Squigly said with a sharp and confident smile.


CRASH!

The glass cabinets were being shattered one by one as the Diamond Cuts quickly maneuver around the jewelry store to collect the gems. Their bags were stuffed with high clarity jewels.

"How much time we working with?" Topaz was addressing Sapphire who who downed the alarm prior.

Sapphire checked her wrist watch for a quick instant. "We've got 3 minutes before the alarm resets." She immediately went back to smashing cabinets and collecting jewels.

"Excellent. That's more than enough time. Let's strip this place clean."

The back office door was kicked open and the Player, Squigly, and Filia confront the thieves in the middle of their heist. The sudden interruption spooked the thieves, who were now surprised their captures were free.

"What the hell? How did you get out of those binds?" Topaz asked the opposing trio.

"The power of friendship." The Player answered.

All 3 members of the Diamond Cuts give him squinted glares of discontent, his response was so corny it was offensive...unbeknownst to them he was telling the truth.

"Your criminal ways end tonight." Filia confidently declares, capitalizing off of the Player's comment.

Perhaps they forgot how quickly they lost 10 minutes ago? Emerald in particular was baffled they were going to make an attempt for round 2.

"Look, we really don't have time to play heroes and villains with you." Sapphire comments. "Save yourself the embarrassment and tie yourselves back up."

"Oh no. We're done with that crime-fighting nonsense. We're gonna handle you regularly."

"We understand how silly we must've looked before. Rest assured it won't happen again. We should be a greater challenge this time around now that we're free of distractions and are actually focused." Squigly rotates her head in a clockwise motion, getting a good crack out of her stretch.

"You're a bunch of scrubs." Sapphire once again makes a comment to devalue the group. "What could you possibly hope to accomplish? You're still green. Amateurs."

The Player, Filia, and Squigly smile, unaffected by whatever the thieves had to say.

Smiles and a lack of response? It felt like undeserved taunting - the Diamond Cuts couldn't take these 3 seriously no matter how they tried to envision a genuine threat from them - these were the same group of 'scrubs' dressed in costume and playing vigilante.

Topaz huffs at the trio. "You know what? Fine. We'll humor you with this game you're playing, but don't blame us for what happens to you." She drops the duffel bag full of jewelry on the floor, now having the full intent on fighting. "Emerald, you're with me. Sapphire, keep casing those gems."

"But...wouldn't that be a 3v2? Shouldn't I help?" Sapphire inclined a brow at the questionable odds.

Emerald dropped her duffel bag as well, taking a stand beside her boss. "The boy is of no concern. He's no fighter." She explained flatly.

As a reply to her comment the Player just continues to smile. 'Wanna show off a bit?' He casually tucked his hands into his pockets.

"Yeah. That'll be fun." Filia audibly replied having telepathically heard his question revealing the two had established a Synchronization Link.

Filia's seemingly random comment distracted the jewel thieves, they initially thought Filia was responding to Sapphire's comment in regard to the 3v2 odds. Following up on this Filia closed her eyes and walks forward.

"...Uuum. What's she doing? Does she have something in her eyes?" Sapphire asked her team.

"Looks like she's trying to mock us." Emerald was becoming increasingly annoyed at the thought of not being taken seriously, especially after she already defeated the three friends earlier with no effort.

Filia makes a sprint for the thieves and approaches head on, seemingly without a plan.

"A frontal assault? Aren't we getting cocky." Emerald clenched her hand up into a fist and threw a straight punch in Filia's oncoming direction.

Rather than taking the punch Filia dodges by ducking under Emerald's fist. The fact that she was able to dodge with her eyes closed took Emerald by surprise, resulting in her guard being lowered in that instance.

The moment Emerald looks down to Filia, while she was still in her crouching stance, she received a direct blow to the face by the back of Filia's head the moment she sprung up. Emerald cuffs her nose and backs up a few steps, shocked at what happened.

Filia stood upright, eyes still closed, smile maintained. The Diamond Cuts were at a loss.

Emerald snarled and dropped her hands from her nose revealing that she had a small nose bleed from Filia's headbutt. This time she ran at Filia and initiated the attack, her index and middle fingers extended as she went for various pressure point strikes.

A lunging finger strike, Filia steps to the side and arches out her back - dodging the attack. Emerald throws a second lunging stab almost immediately, but Filia displayed she was still one step ahead by moving over and performing the same dodge but in the opposite direction. Emerald balls her hand into a fist and performed a quick backhand swing, to which Filia casually ducks under and evades, no headbutt this time.

Filia rises and teasingly flicks Emerald's nose the moment of her whiffed attack. "Boop!" She adorably taunts showing that she was capable of landing some form of physical contact after Emerald failed.

Emerald grits her teeth and swats away at Filia's hand the moment she touched her nose. Filia reacts by grabbing onto her wrist with her dominant right hand, further preventing her from making any form of contact with her despite the hand flailing only being a means to get her finger flicking hand out of her face.

Seeing that Emerald needed help Topaz rushes Filia from the side and throws a sucker punch.

Without even acknowledging her Filia slightly angles her head back, causing Topaz to miss her mark. She releases Emerald's arm and back dashes a few feet away from them, back to her friends side.

"How are you able to move like this?! You weren't this agile on the roof!"

The Player raised his hand. "It's because of me." He answered.

"You?" Emerald questioned.

"Yep. What I see she can see, so whenever you try to attack, even without her eyes, she can see you coming at her. We're synchronized."

"Synchroni-? What are you talking about? You're just standing there!"

The Player placed his hands on his hips and shook his head, Filia perfectly mimicked his actions and the two emote in sync. It looked choreographed.

"You still don't get it? I thought it was simple. It's kinda in the name." The Player replied. "I'd hate to toot my own horn, but I'm a special case. With me around...my friends can challenge a Skullgirl and have a pretty good chance of beating her in a fight."


Meanwhile, elsewhere
At the same exact time of the Player's statement

Marie was standing alone in an undisclosed location. Where? It didn't really matter. She was looking up to the sky with an unimpressed squinted glare before a certain presence became apparent. She turns her attention to you. Yes, you.

"...That doesn't mean they'll actually succeed in doing so." Marie spoke defensively to clarify she was no pushover.


Back at the plot...

"He brings out the best in us. It's just kinda what the Player does." Filia goes on to comment right after the Player's explanation.

Now that was a pretty bold statement - the power to overthrow a Skullgirl? The notion of it was laughable, surely they jest. The only reaction they got from the Diamonds Cuts was a smirk of disbelief from Topaz, a contemptuous huff from Emerald, and a mild look of concern from Sapphire.

"Now I know you're all full of it." Topaz said. "The power to beat potentially overpower a Skullgirl? Have you even met a Skullgirl?"

"He's actually friends with one." Squigly extended her thumb, pointing at the Player.

"It's true." He clarified with a nod.

"She's the one who told him about this power he has. And you know what's really cool? They haven't shown you the full extent of what being synchronized is like."

"Allow us to demonstrate." The Player said.

Filia's body erupts with a powerful Theonite aura that brightens the entire jewelry store, the glass rattles aggressively in response to the gusts of wind that suddenly picked up following Filia's absurd power up.

"Gah! What is going on?!" Topaz shields her face with her forearm, save for her eyes, which she had to squint in order to keep a visual on the target.

Emerald remained stationed beside her boss, but was also overwhelmed by the sudden phenomenon. Sapphire took a dive behind one of the jewelry displays for protection against the gale-force winds.

The effects of the Theonite's full release slowly calms itself now that the two friends leveled their power.

Feeling the elements against them settle the Topaz and Emerald lower their arms and see Filia standing before them in a glorious fiery glow.

Emerald was stunned at the sight, she could feel power seething out of Filia and recognized the source. "That's...impossible. She's emanating Theonite! But...how?! She's a human!" She exclaimed.

"Once again - me." The Player clarified with confidence. "I'm like a generator for the stuff. And guess what? I can distribute this power among 2 others, so long as I'm close to them anyway, and have a good enough understanding of them to be able to bring out their best. I might not have a 3rd, but I do have a 2nd. And we think we're ready to try it out." He looks over to his side, facing Squigly. "Sienna. You ready?"

"For over a decade." She answered, to which the Player looks on at her in confusion considering he hadn't known her for that long. It didn't take her long to notice his expression. "Not literally. I was just making a reference."

Emerald grits her teeth despite her increasing unease with their odds against the 3 friends now that they displayed this hidden talent, she balls up her fists and makes run for the two.

"As if I'd ever give you the chance!"

Back to the Player and Squigly the two were already deep within their focus, not letting the current events distract their efforts.

Squigly could feel the world around her going out like a light. There was no sense of worry or doubt, it was like she transcended all matter of being, just a soothing calm that relaxed her soul. It was here that something clicked for her, she couldn't describe it, nor could she really fully acknowledge it for that matter - she was too focused. Squigly continued standing with her eyes closed and enjoyed her serene state of mind for a little longer as the empty void of her consciousness manifests into a new metaphysical plane.


Before long she opens her eye and finds that she had been seemingly transported to a new location, one she hadn't seen before.

"What? Where...am I?" She asked as she looked out to the vast ocean and endless sky ahead of her. She looked down and saw that she was standing on the ocean's surface, acknowledging her own reflection and amazed at how crystal clear it was. She lifts her foot and gently lowers it back down to see if the result of standing would change, but nothing happened, the ocean served as her floor.

As Squigly remained in awe the water rippled from ahead of her. The sound of wet footsteps approaching caught her attention and she looks ahead.

"There she is." The Player revealed himself as the source of the rippling water. "Looks like we made it."

"Player. You're here too?"

"Don't worry, we're safe. This is all part of the Heart Synchronizing process. Pretty neat, right?"

His question made her giggle, she then took a moment to look around, to truly absorb her surroundings and she could hardly believe such a place exists. 'Neat' wouldn't do it justice. "It's so beautiful." She comments happily. "Where are we?"

"Uuuuum. Marie said this is where our mind, body, and souls meet when we successfully resonate. A shared haven for our consciousness while our actual bodies are still in the jewelry store. This metaphysical space doesn't have a name so I don't know what to tell you there, but I'll think of something to call it in the future, since we're kinda busy right now."

"Oh! Right. The thieves. Wait- You said we come here when we resonate, right? Does that mean we actually did it? We're in sync?"

"Yep. I think that little moment we had when we were tied up was the push we needed to get here."

Squigly smiles warmly, placing her hands behind her back and looking down to their reflections in the water. "And everything else leading up to this moment." She adds, referencing everything they've been through for nearly a year. Her feelings in regard to this seemed to reach the Player as he could feel it within himself, empathy was also an innate ability of synchronizing. There was a wide range of emotions: sorrow, hatred, pain, fear, joy, hope, happiness, love, and so much more.

The hardest hurdle for him was accepting that the long road they traversed wasn't always going to be smooth, and as the driver there was no detour around it, no alternative path he took was going to make the journey any smoother, it was only going to delay them from reaching their destination and get them lost. Lucky for him Filia and Squigly were always there with a map to lead him back to the right path.

After reflecting on their adventures the Player softens up to a smile. "Yeah. Every moment helped get us here. The good and the bad." His words got Squigly to look up to him. "...Now let's show 'em where it took us."


Back in the physical world

Emerald grits her teeth despite her increasing unease with their odds against the 3 friends now that they displayed this hidden talent, she balls up her fists and makes run for the two.

"As if I'd ever give you the chance!"

From the outside looking in all Emerald saw was the Player and Squigly standing there with Filia standing on point as their guard, there was nothing Emerald could do that Filia wouldn't be prepared for, but she refused to just stand there and let these 3 just do what they want. But even if Filia did let her it was already too late.

The Player and Squigly opened their eyes - a reflective white shimmer flashes over the surface of Squigly's red iris.

When exhibiting Heart Synchronization from the outer physical it appeared the process occurs in an instant, in comparison to when the mind and soul meet in their collective consciousness that grants them time to communicate.

A magenta sphere encases Squigly in a Theonite cocoon and shatters within seconds using a glass-like effect, bursting to unleash an insane expel of power.

Filia's Theonite veil cancels out in favor of Squigly as the Player had no experience synchronizing with the girls simultaneously.

The discharge of Theonite created a second wind gust that was strong enough to blow out the jewelry store windows. Topaz, Emerald, and Sapphire try shielding themselves from the currents but the astonishing power that was released overwhelmed the trio and are sent flying off their feet - Topaz and Emerald are tossed out the window and sent crashing into the parked cars out front, they hit them with enough force to cause considerable damage to the bodywork. Sapphire is flung off to the side of the jewelry store and crashed through a few of the display cases.

Now, having completely synced with each other, the Player and Squigly find leveled ground and the exertion quells. Squigly could feel near limitless power coursing through her veins and she was amazed at how powerful she felt.

Squigly looks down to her palms as she stood empowered in her blazing aura. She could've marvel at the awesome power of this supercharged state, but she wasn't about to let it distract her to the point where she couldn't use it. She clenches her fists and dons a more serious expression, looking ahead to face her opponents with her newfound power.

Or at least she would if the Diamond Cuts weren't already unconscious after being blown away as hard as they were. It's a miracle they even managed to live considering they were only human with no Parasites to grant them a healing factor.

"What the-? Are you kidding me?!" Squigly exclaimed in disappointment - her eye appearing as nothing but a white circle with black outlines.

"Huh. That was...anti-climatic." The Player was surprised to find the infamous jewel thieves were down, it was easy to overlook considering he wasn't on the receiving end of that whirlwind backlash. That power was meant to challenge the Skullgirl after all.

The Player calmly exhales as the Diamond Cuts remained unconscious on the ground. They successfully defeated the group.

Seeing that they were the winners the Player and Squigly dismiss their Sync Link on his exhale and the aura breaks.

"When I finally get it I don't have anyone to use it against!" Squigly exclaims in a sulking fit. She then drops her head in comical defeat. "Uuugh. I have the worst luck."

She was met with a reassuring push to the back from Filia, earning her attention.

"Hey, who cares about that? We won! We actually managed to beat somebody in this crime-fighting disaster!"

Squigly nearly forgot about their spectacular failures leading up to this point - when she thought about it this was definitely a long time coming, and knowing that she took down a notorious heist crew it felt liberating. She couldn't help but begin to feel ecstatic.

"Heh. Yeah. I guess you're right." Squigly smiles at Filia who was nearly bursting with excitement on their achievement.

"You guess? You guess?! Get hype! We did it!"

Squigly's initial disappointment was becoming overshadowed with positive vibes spearheaded by Filia. She fuels Squigly with excitable energy and the girls begin to jump for joy after they FINALLY achieved busting some criminals after days of failure.

"We did it! We did it! We did it!" The girls cheer in harmonic unison.

"You guys were awesome." The Player casually adds with a smile.

"What are you being so formal for? You should be happy!" Filia asserts. "We didn't just beat these jewelry thieves tonight: you and Squigly finally established your Link! That's amazing!"

"...Yeah. It was pretty cool, huh?" He continued playing it formal, though his smile never left.

He wasn't able to be as ecstatic about their victory because of his lingering guilt in regard to how he treated Squigly leading to their 1st Sync. He was a little bitter with himself and couldn't stop wishing for a second chance to make himself better.

Filia put her hands on her hip and looks at him with a squinted glance, her mouth held with an inclined frown of disapproval.

"Now, now. Don't pressure him, Filia." Squigly spoke up, earning her friends attention. "While it is a big development for us, we were already expected a successful synchronization. He probably just isn't feeling the need to express his excitement because of everything that happened. It's been a rough couple days, and an even rougher couple months. Just leave him to his own feelings. There's no fault in that."

That was the last thing Filia was expecting to hear from Squigly after all this time. What's worse is that her mood seemed to have been nerfed as a result, this was probably the shortest victory they've ever had as a group. It was pretty underwhelming considering the breakthrough they just had.

"...Oh, who am I kidding?! We did it! We really did it!" Squigly breaks the facade and jumps at the Player, immediately wrapping her arms around his neck and forcing him into a hug.

The Player stumbles back a few paces, but even when he manages to find his balance he had to deal with the snuggle Squigly was giving him.

Squigly's energy and overjoyed laughter became contagious as the Player soon found himself smiling. Before he knew it he was grinning, and then finally joined her with gentle laughter.

The Player wraps his arms around Squigly as she continued to cling onto him, spinning her around while they continue laughing uncontrollably in their embrace.

Once the Player finally settles her back down to her feet, they continue to hold one another - the Player resting his cheek against the top of her head, a hand cradling the back of her head and one arm around her back. Squigly was happily tucked away into his chest while both hands were wrapped around his torso, her grin never left her face.

Panning away from this sweet moment Filia was looking on, wide eyed and a numb smile occupying her conflicted face as she screams internally.


Moments Later...

The Egret sires blare outside the Von Klein jewelry store, the red and blue lights flashing just outside the store. The door is kicked in and the Egrets enter with their weapons at the ready.

"All right, scumbag! Freeze!"

Upon entering the Egrets were surprised to find the culprits tied up and sulking. There was a note taped on Topaz's forehead, she was mumbling swears — heavily annoyed that they were caught and she was made a fool of.

The Egrets enter and inspect the store while the captain goes to check the note.

We caught the bad guys! Yay! The jewelry stores of New Meridian should be safer. Your friends, The Heroic League of Badassery.

'The Heroic League of Badassery,' it didn't ring a bell, but it meant that there was vigilante justice at work here tonight.

Across the street, on one of the neighboring rooftops, the Player, Filia, and Squigly overlook the Von Klein jewelry store in triumph.

"Glad that's over with." Squigly inclines her shoulders briefly with her hands on her hips before dropping them on an exhale.

Filia snickers to herself and looks over to her friends. "Yeah. Great work, guys! We rocked! And you two actually got to use Heart Synchronization. Our little team is getting stronger every day." She placed her hands behind her back and smiles delightfully.

"I agree." Squigly nods. "I've never felt anything like it before. What a rush! I can't wait to practice it some more and, you know, actually use it."

Although initially withdrawn earlier the Player was now distracted by the team's success. The entire point of this mission was be good enough at crime-fighting to earn D. Violet's attention so he could literally serve under her. Like a chair.

He was smiling into space while the girls talk behind him. Eventually they notice him spacing out and Filia goes to tap his shoulder.

"...Huh? What?" He looks back to them.

"You okay? You were zoning out for a second there." Filia explained.

"Oh. Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Just, uh, just...thinking. Hey, we did really good down there. Now that I got a feel for synchronizing with 2 different Links, we should capitalize off of this and hunt for more criminals! We'd be unstoppable!"

Filia and Squigly went from smiles to impassive stares. They squint their eyes in displeasure and turn their backs on the Player, walking away.

"Wait. Girls? Where y'all going? Come on! Think about it! We'll be amazing!"

He runs after them, trying to convince them into another round of playing hero, but his words fell on deaf ears. The girls weren't having it and were completely done with this crime-fighting charade. It was more trouble than it was worth, but none more than the Player's persistence. It was going to be a long walk back home.


A/N: This chapter ended up being way longer than it should have been and that annoys me. Combined with the previous one it was almost 30k words long. There was originally a fight between the Diamond Cuts and Synced Squigly to show of her space manipulation powers, but since this was already longer than necessary it was cut. The pacing near the end may feel a bit iffy because I really wanted to put a stop to this chapter before I wandered off and did over 20k words for it, chances are high I'll rework it in the future.

Also, again, Sorry for the delay. I had writers block for what I wanted to do for a fight scene then when I finally decided what I wanted to do I realized this chapter was getting way too long and it was only meant to serve as a comedy.