The group traveled down the elevator in silence, mentally preparing themselves for what they would find down there. Once they reached their destination, the scene they were met with was expected, but not welcome: dead soldiers scattered throughout the room, their blood splattered on the walls.

"And they want to let this thing out…" Aster said, worried.

"Look, we just have to find this Billy guy, deal with him, then we can figure out what we can do about The Walrider then." Sword said. "Hopefully, there won't be any surprises-"

"Little pigs." a familiar voice stopped them in their tracks as they saw none other than Chris Walker approaching them, causing four of the group to groan.

"Oh, come the f*** on!" Miles complained. "Haven't you done enough tonight? Look, you may not believe us, but we're-"

"On the same side." Chris finished Upshur's sentence, shocking the group. "Have to kill it...have to kill The Walrider. Kill Billy, we kill it."

"Er...maybe." FG admitted. "We aren't zure yet, but we think that'z what'll happen."

"Then...we kill Billy. Then no more killing." Chris said. "I...I'm sorry...for everything."

The group was stunned for a moment, except for Hat Kid, who walked up to Chris and smiled up at him. "Thank you!" she said happily, causing the group to be even more shocked.

"You can talk?!" they exclaimed in unison.

"Uh...yeah? I have a mouth, don't I?" Hat Kid said.

"Then why didn't you say anything?! You didn't even make a sound when I got my f***ing fingers cut off!" Miles pointed out.

"Oh, to be honest, I was just messing with you guys." Hat Kid answered.

"...You know, I can't actually be mad at that." Aster remarked.

"We can talk about all this later! We have a dark spirit to put to rest!" Sword said as the group, plus Chris, moved deeper into the lab...just as the elevator started moving up again…

"Man, this place is like a maze…" Miles said as the group traveled down the paths of the lab.

"It can't be that big...Billy'z got to be here zomewhere." FG stated. "I'm juzt hoping we don't run into the-"

N͢͠o̴̢̧͞!̸̡

"...Walrider."

The group, not even bothering to look behind them, broke out into a run as they were chased by the spirit.

Ļ͠èą̕͠v̨̕͟͡͝e͠͠҉̵.̴̕͞͡

͘

̶̸́̀́U͢͜s̸̛.̴̵̕͟

͞͞

͏͝͏̵Á͟l̴̴̛͜o͜͝͞n̷̢e҉̡͘!̛̀́

"Keep running! Don't let it catch you, I have a feeling it's going for the one hit kill this time!" Sword said. "Aster, can you use that Light Magic again?"

"Not unless you guys want to carry me!" Aster answered. "I've already used it once tonight, if I use it again in the next 24 hours, I'll have used up too much energy!"

"Damn, so we can't hurt it…" Sword cursed. "Okay, just keep going! We're bound to find a way to lose this thing."

At that moment, a speaker shot feedback through the halls of the lab, catching the group's attention, but not slowing them down.

"So, someone actually made it. Hurry, keep running straight, then turn left!" a voice over the speaker said.

"Hey, that voice…" Miles said. "That's the one from the video!"

"Well, seeing how low we are on options, do what it says!" Sword ordered as the group followed the voice's instructions, turning left at a split in the hall, seeing a door at the end of the hall.

"Inside, quickly!" the voice pressured them as the door slid upward, allowing the group in before The Walrider dashed...and stopped at the door, acting hesitant before leaving.

"Huh? After we got inside, it just...gave up?" Aster said in confusion.

"Will prefers not to kill when either I or Billy are present." a voice behind bullet-proof glass said as the group saw an eldery man in a wheelchair, wearing a blue hazmat suit minus the headpiece, perhaps due to the fact that he was also wearing a ventilator. When the man turned to face them, the group saw that his eyes were blue, seeing no small amount of despair, yet a small glimmer of...hope? Love? It was hard to tell.

"You...must be Dr. Wernicke." Sword stated. "Looking pretty good for a guy who's supposed to be dead."

"I know, I-I, I know, I am supposed to be dead. No, no such luck. I am older than sin, but, even so, the only one left. Because of Billy." Rudolf Wernicke said.

"Billy...you mean The Walrider's host, right?" Miles asked. "That's why it's trying to kill me."

"Yes, and I apologize on his behalf." Wernicke said. "I am afraid that he is rather protective of the both of us."

"Did you zay 'he'?" FG asked.

"Indeed, The Walrider prefers the name Willy. He said it rhymes with Billy, and he wants to take after his father." Wernicke explained, chuckling at the memory.

"You're talking about it like it's alive." Miles stated.

"Why are you surprised that it is? You did see the video about it upstairs, did you not?"

"Well, yeah, it's just...hearing about how it was made, who wanted it made...we figured it would be-"

"Evil?" Wernicke asked, cutting the reporter off. "Yes, that would be a solid assumption, would it not? Alabaster Dark did intend to use Will for evil...and, when it was born, it was."

"Then...why the family bit?" Sword asked. "What's with that?"

"It's simple: what Alabaster failed to realize, and what I did not see for some time, was that Will was not created; he was born. He imprinted onto the origin of his birth, that being Billy, a rather… shall we say, childish slave of that madman Alabaster. When Will felt the emotions Billy was going through, watching those 100 people being slaughtered...it turned on those Billy saw as responsible."

"Then why are you still alive?" Aster asked. "This is your research, and Billy wouldn't have known you that well...unless…"

"...Yes." Wernicke said. "I did, in a sense, 'adopt' Billy. Even before Will was born, I had been...having doubts about my research. Many people died during it. My masters kept sending me subjects, 'enemies of the state' they called them… but they were people, no matter what the Führer said. I was both fearful and curious, so I did my research...but not one of the subjects I ran tests with survived. Make no mistake, if there is a heaven, I will not go there when the time comes. I have accepted that, but...I wished to do at least one good thing before I was killed, so…"

"You met Billy, started treating him like a son." Miles said. "And since Will sees Bill as it's - I mean, his father...that makes you his grandfather."

"Correct." Wernicke said.

"...F***." Miles cursed. "The Walrider...he's basically a kid, with more power then he knows what to do with. He doesn't want to leave, does he?" he asked the doctor.

"Not without us." Wernicke said, smiling sadly. "And...that is something we cannot do. Will keeps me alive, since Billy wishes it; they believe that I am immortal. The Murkoff Corporation thinks that by putting Will in a new host, that they will be able to control him, use him against this...Horde Prime. But they are wrong. You can't 'control' Will, no more than you can control a newborn infant."

"You mean...if I let him into my head...I'll lose control of myself?" Miles asked. "Figures, a whole trek through this f***ing place, and it's all for f***ing NOTHING!" he yelled, punching the glass, doing no damage to it.

"I did not say that." the doctor clarified. "You cannot control him...but at the same time, he cannot control you. Will listens to Billy because he's his father. If you truly intend to kill Billy and have Will go with you...you must earn his trust. You must be a good person, at least to Billy's standards. From there...how Will sees the worlds beyond this lab is up to how you view it."

The doctor then faced the group, looking serious.

"You must understand, Billy and Will do not mean harm. They are children, granted the potential to kill gods. Add that to their views on morality... it would make any of us into a monster. That is what happened to everyone they put into that infernal machine. They would try to help them...but they're young, can't fix everything. He is not the monster you believe him to be. He...he wants to see what is out there, but he will not leave us. You must...You have to break his chains, to murder Billy. Turn off his life support, his anesthesia. You have to allow him to let go."

"And you?" Sword asked.

"More than anything I want to rest. Billy will not let me die. He could never imagine how cruel this is. I only want to die." Wernicke said. "Then perhaps...I can be there for Billy when we...when we…"

"It's okay." Aster said. "We'll help you. We'll do it."

"Thank you. You must hurry, though." the doctor warned. "It will not be long before Murkoff's forces make their way down here. They will not allow you to live."

"They can try." Walker growled.

"I'm zurprized you're okay with thiz, Walker." FG remarked.

"...I can't hurt children." Walker admitted.

"Then let's help the bird spread its wings. Move out!" Sword ordered as the group exited the room, leaving Wernicke to sigh in relief.