Fugo collapsed to his knees as his plagued hand freed itself from the door. Sale must have been far enough away that his stand was losing its potency. He tried to use his damaged hand to dig through his pocket but his hand wouldn't respond and neither would the diseased one.

Fuck! I can't grab the damn antidote!

He looked up and saw that Purple Haze was no longer stuck in place either. He noticed both of its hands were similarly damaged but it continued to clench and unclench its fists as it howled in pain. Stands probably can't sustain nerve damage since it isn't human.

"Purple Haze! Come here!" Fugo tried getting to his feet but he was in so much pain he collapsed to his knees again. The stand turned to its user and approached. It drooled as it continued to clench its fists in distress. It looked at Fugo as if waiting for further instruction. "Reach into my pocket and grab the vial. Open it and put it in my mouth!"

It carefully reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the vial of pink liquid. Purple Haze tried to use its other hand to take the top off but it wasn't coordinated enough to get the grip it needed.

"Bring it here, quickly!" Purple Haze got closer and Fugo bit down on the top of it and yanked the lid off with his teeth. He opened his mouth and Purple Haze poured the bottle in. It was a foul-tasting potion but after mere seconds of swallowing, the plague damage began reversing itself. Thank god. He stood up and looked Purple Haze in the eye. It looked back at him. He very rarely had his stand out, it was strange to have this personal moment with it. It was almost like it was thinking as it looked at him. Could stands have a personality? Thoughts? They were just an extension of the user, like a tool, right? He looked back into those purple eyes and wasn't so sure.

Fugo looked back down at his bleeding hand and knew he had to tend to it. With his other hand, he pulled off his tie and began wrapping it around his hand. He heard Risotto's voice in his ear.

"Is anyone there? Respond," He said gruffly.

"Fugo, checking in," he said. He awkwardly wrapped when the fabric slipped and he had to start again. He struggled to perform such a basic task one-handed when large lavender hands took the fabric from his grasp.

"Fugo! Thank god. Prosciutto and Sorbet need backup. They're in the center of the complex." Risotto sounded relieved. Fugo looked up and watched Purple Haze wrap his user's hand with care and precision. It was meticulous in its method of binding. It was tight but not too tight.

"Alright, I'm on it," he said into the earpiece. He looked back up at Purple Haze who had finished its makeshift tourniquet. "Thanks," he said shyly. Purple Haze groaned in response and Fugo de-summoned him.

"Step it up, Fugo!" Ice shot through his heart at the angry voice in his ear. Illuso continued speaking to him, "Sorbet can't hold Tulmine off much longer."

"R-right...uh...s-sorry, Illuso...I-I'm going now," he stuttered.

"I'll direct you there but you better be careful," Illuso warned.

"Thanks, I will," Fugo responded.

"I didn't mean you," he snapped. Fugo swallowed at the harshness of his words. "I don't care what happens to you, just bring back Sorbet and Prosciutto without killing them." Fugo took a deep breath. This was as bad as he'd feared, Illuso really did hate him. If he hadn't fucked up at the mixer…

"Fugo!" Risotto barked in his ear. "Move now!"

Fugo took off down the hallway.

Formaggio pushed Melone out of the way of the next blast. Man, he thought he was gonna just kick back with Melone while the others did the heavy lifting. He knew "backup" actually meant "sidelined." Why else did Illuso get to stay behind? Because the two of them were practically useless in search and destroy missions. Give them a good sting operation and they were perfect for the job. But this? It was all going belly up fast. Prosciutto had been hit and no one else could be reached, and now this shit. A fucking bird woman? What the hell was anything anymore?

"She's coming this way!" Melone pulled out the handgun he had on him and began taking shots. Between her range and agility, this gun wasn't doing shit. Well, at least Formaggio wasn't completely caught with his dick in his hand. He'd built up an ace for just such a scenario. He pulled out a small box from his pocket and opened it up. He rifled through the tiny charm-like objects until he found what he wanted.

"Yo, Melone! Instead of using that toy, try this out!" Formaggio called. Melone glanced over and in an instant, the tiny charm in his hand grew into a full-sized sniper rifle. Melone stuck the pistol in the back of his pants and Formaggio tossed him the new gun. Melone knelt down and raised the gun up to his left eye. Formaggio thought it was weird that he didn't close his other eye. He lined it up and took a shot. It tore through her shoulder. She faltered in the air a bit and flew around behind them as Formaggio selected another item from the box. This time an M-16 and extra rounds of ammo. He returned the box to his pocket. Formaggio began to unload on her as it flew behind Melone.

"Watch! I'll be your spotter, just worry about taking that bitch out of the air!" She flew around again out in front of Melone who aimed and took another shot. It was close but she moved out of the way again quickly. She began to draw back her next arrow. It was directed at Melone but Formaggio began unloading on her in hopes he could disrupt the shot.

"You know, just saying, this would be a good time to have Glacé," Formaggio said. "Little shit's indestructible."

"Even if I wanted him to come back, I can't contact him right now," Melone said as he reloaded. "I need Babyface and I'm a little busy at the moment."

"Like I said, just saying." Formaggio shrugged and Melone took another shot.

"If anyone else is out there, check-in," Risotto said in their ears.

"Sup, Riz," Formaggio said as he laid down cover fire as Melone reloaded again.

"What's happening out there, Mag?" Illuso asked.

"Aw, you know, Melone and I just thought shit was getting boring out here. This woman showed up so we, uh," he made a clicking sound in his mouth, "thought we'd show her our guns."

"And how's that going?"

"Me? I'm doing great, this bitch loves me. Keeps taking potshots at me."

"Must have a thing for small dicks," Illuso laughed.

"Fuck you, chicks love me."

"How's Mel?" Illuso asked.

"Oh, you know Melone. Misses every shot he takes," Formaggio chuckled.

"I get more hits than you do." Melone shot back as he reloaded the next shot. "I've had two at once, remember?"

"That shit's still dubious."

"At least he gets some," Illuso teased.

"Look, if you saw the chick I was banging the other day, you guys wouldn't be bagging on me like this. I bet you couldn't bag that, Mel," Formaggio quipped.

"Formaggio, focus," Risotto suddenly said.

"Yeah, well this firefight is fun and all, but the bitch is fast. I'm trying to disrupt her shots. How's everyone else doing?" Formaggio asked.

"Well, Risotto is directing Fugo to Pro and Sorbet right now," Illuso said.

"Pesc and Ghiaccio?"

"Out of commission," Risotto said coldly. Melone stopped his next aim as Formaggio kept shooting.

"What!? What the fuck does that mean?! Is Ghia alive?!" Melone's voice cracked as he held the button on the earpiece.

"It doesn't look good, Mel," Illuso said softly.

"No! Where is Glacé?" Melone grabbed some cover and sat down, immediately summoning Babyface.

"What the fuck, dude?! Now is totally not the time to just take a load off, bro!" Formaggio said as he continued shooting.

"Cover me!" Melone yelled as he began typing.

Melone opened the chat log with Glacé and skimmed the messages he'd missed.

-Mommy? There's a woman here and she's tied up. Do I kill her?

Melone was perplexed. A woman? Did these guys kidnap someone? He continued reading to see that Glacé must have been talking to someone.

-You know Mommy?

What? Did someone down there know him? Who was Glacé talking to?

-I'm Glacé!

-Hi, Isabella! You're nice! Too bad I have to kill you.

Isabella? As in Dr. Florence? What the hell was she doing here? He connected his earpiece to direct chat with Glacé. As it connected he continued reading.

-Daddy Ghiaccio! I'm going to meet him today! I'm so excited! I love him so much!

Hasn't he sensed anything yet? He should be helping Ghia if he's in trouble. What is going on? Is Ghiaccio okay? He noticed that the messages were received over ten minutes ago. That was too long to be out of contact and it made him nervous.

-I can't ask Mommy what to do right now, but I know he'd want me to kill you. You could be trying to trick me and I can't let Mommy down!

"Glacé, no!" Melone yelled. "Do not kill Isabella!"

Glacé walked forward and held out his hand towards the cowering woman when he felt gut-wrenching nausea. He doubled over as intense fear and sadness overcame him. He started gushing tears as he wailed. Isabella knelt down and touched him.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly.

"Daddy's so scared!" he sobbed. "I need to find Daddy! Mommy said if Daddy was in trouble, I have to go to him. I can't kill you right now, Daddy needs me!" Glacé cried.

"Then how about I help you find Daddy and we'll save him together?" Isabella offered.

"You're really nice," he whimpered. "Just like Mommy."

"Come on, can you track Daddy? Let's go find him." Isabella helped him up and he ran out of the room. They traveled down several corridors until they found a door to the stairwell. Daddy was on the main level. Daddy's in a lot of pain. Glacé couldn't stop crying, the emotions were so intense.

"It's okay, Glacé, we'll find Ghiaccio," Isabella soothed.

He had to get to Daddy.

Swimming in darkness, all-encompassing black. Even if he could lift his head, Ghiaccio wasn't sure what would be the point. It was all for nothing. He couldn't save anyone. It was over before he'd had a chance. He'd lost all sense of Pesci nearby and thoughts kept coming back to Melone.

God, if I could just see him again...

No matter what he did or thought he continued to drift in nothingness. He didn't know how long he'd been here or if he could ever leave it. Was this death? This couldn't be what Gelato was talking about. He didn't feel any peace, just regret and sorrow. The velvety voice had finally left him and so too the frightening visions, but Ghiaccio didn't know which was worse, seeing those visions or living in eternal night. He felt wetness in his eyes which was the only indication that he still had them. He blinked, but nothing. He was just lost. He was too weak, too broken to try. He might as well just curl up in this void and accept it.

Ghiaccio languished waiting for oblivion to engulf his soul.

"Daddy!" a high voice rang through. He didn't know where it came from, probably just the last vestiges of his mind beginning to misfire.

It was coming. The end.

He felt several pushes against his back. It was a strange sensation, like parts of his back now felt too tight. Something pulled him up from the ground from his fetal position and held him. He couldn't see it but it felt small and warm. It smelled like his mother. Fresh tears spilled down his cheeks as he leaned against this entity.

"Daddy? It's okay! Mommy sent me!" the entity said.

"I can't see…" was all Ghiaccio could say. He felt a different hand on his back.

"Ghiaccio?" It was a woman's voice. "Can you hear me?"

"Who are you?" Ghiaccio asked quietly. There were tiny pricks of light in his vision.

"My name is Dr. Isabella Florence. You're going to be okay." Ghiaccio blinked several times and sight was returning. Everything was hazy pink.

"What's going on?"

"Angela used her stand on you, but I'm helping you with mine. I can counteract the effects of her adrenaline by supplying oxytocin to your body."

"Makes you not feel sad…" Ghiaccio murmured Melone's words the other night.

"Hugs help too! I love you, Daddy! Please don't be sad!" Ghiaccio sat up properly out of the hug and looked at what was sitting before him. It was Melone's stand but it looked different. It had little cones on its head instead of the usual spikes. It was also baby blue instead of dark purple. It had a pink swirl on its forehead.

"Why the hell are you calling me Daddy?" Ghiaccio asked weakly. He had lost a lot of blood.

"Cause you're my Daddy!" it said gleefully. Ghiaccio glanced over at Pesci to see he wasn't bleeding any more.

"Is Pesci okay?"

"I broke some of my matter down to fix you guys!"

"Can Melone even do that?" Ghiaccio rubbed his head.

"It seems Melone has been discovering a lot of things that he can do lately," Isabella offered her hand to him and he took it. Melone's stand helped him up too.

"We need to get Pesci out of here," Ghiaccio mumbled.

"I'm taking Isabella to Mommy! Uncle Pesci can come too!"

"What are you even saying?" Ghiaccio breathed dismissively. His strength had returned enough that he was getting a bit agitated by the weird things this thing said. He needed to find the others and complete the mission. "I have to find Prosciutto…"

"We have to go to Mommy!" it chirped.

"Glacé's got the right idea, we should meet up with Melone first. I don't think either of you are in any condition to fight right now," Isabella directed.

"Hold the fuck up, did you just call me Glacé?" Ghiaccio narrowed his eyes at her.

"Silly Daddy, I'm Glacé!" it trilled.

"And why are you calling me Daddy and Melone mommy?" Ghiaccio turned his glare to the creature.

"Well, because that's exactly what you are to him," Isabella said as she began helping Pesci to his feet.

"I must have lost way too much blood cause neither of you are making any goddamn sense!" Ghiaccio snapped.

"Melone used your DNA to make Glacé," Isabella explained.

"The fuck did you just say?" Ghiaccio could not believe what he was hearing right now.

"Mommy! You're back!" Glacé chirped as he helped Ghiaccio keep balance. There was a moment of silence as he listened. "I didn't kill her. She helped me!" There was more silence as he listened. "Daddy's right here! Don't worry Mommy, I saved him just like you told me to! I felt he was really scared and I found him and Uncle Pesci. They were crying. Isabella said we should bring them to you."

The smile on his face fell as he listened.

"Mommy? Mommy, are you okay?!" Glacé looked at Ghiaccio. "I think Mommy and Uncle Maggi are in trouble! He sounds like he's hurt!" As conflicted as Ghiaccio felt about the last five minutes, he was more concerned about Melone.

"Then let's go find him," Ghiaccio said.

Melone sighed as he read the words on the screen.

-Daddy's right here! Don't worry Mommy, I saved him just like you told me to!

"Thank god, they're okay," Melone called to Formaggio.

"That's great and all but can you quit being a sitting duck right now? I'm running low on ammo and this bitch is relentless!" Formaggio quipped. Melone raised the sniper rifle again and took another shot from behind the air conditioner unit he'd been hiding behind. It hit her in the leg. She began to draw her bow again as Melone reloaded. Formaggio had stopped shooting since he needed to reload so she wasn't dodging anymore. She also needed to be still to aim properly. This was the moment to go for the head. Melone finished reloading and lined up the shot just as she took hers. He fired and the bullet flew through the air and passed directly through her fiery blue energy blast. It incinerated the bullet and hit Melone's gun.

The gun exploded into tiny pieces of shrapnel. The gun had still been pressed against his face when the impact occurred. He screamed and the rest happened in a blur. The heat of liquid on his face rolling down his cheek. The burn of his skin. The searing pain and the loss of all vision. The loud sound of something whizzing through the air and the impact of an explosion.

A scream.

His ears were ringing but a muffled screaming could still be heard.

Was he dying?

Melone tried to move his arms but everything was too heavy so he didn't bother trying.