"Okay, wow." FG said as the group stared up at a huge device at the center of the lab's control room: a huge sphere, standing ominous at the center, multiple screens below it showing the same video the group had seen from the video upstairs. Surrounding the device, multiple clear spheres all laid empty, except one: no doubt that was Billy.

"Alright, what's the plan?" Aster asked the others.

"Simple: kill Billy." Sword said before he pulled out a blueprint displaying the machine. "Now, according to these blueprints, just smashing the sphere he's in won't do the trick. We need to do what the doctor ordered, and cut off everything keeping him alive."

"Marty, Hat Kid, you two have to knock out the life support. Says here there's a valve that shuts it off a few rooms from here. Aster, you're with me; we're gonna cut off the anesthesia. That leaves Chris and Miles here. There's a failsafe that activates when the life support functions are cut off; you two have to disable it."

"And how the hell are we gonna do that?" Miles asked.

"Well, according to one of the many, MANY files we've picked up tonight, Walker, you used to work for these guys, right?" Sword asked.

"...Yes." Chris replied.

"Well, that means your handprint should be able to interact with the engine. You're our key to getting this crap done and going home. Any questions?"

"Yeah, what do we do if little Willy shows up?" Miles asked.

"Run. Once we get everything we'll come find you, and we'll deactivate the failsafe. Just stay alive until then. Sounds good?" Sword asked.

"At this point, any plan that involves surviving is alright with me." Miles replied. "If we pull this off and get out, the first three rounds are on me."

"Great. Alright, let's move out people!" Sword said as the group split up to complete their tasks.

"Onward, noble steed!" Hat Kid declared as she was being carried by FG.

"You know, you're pretty nimble by yourzelf." FG said as he flew into a room with a walkway overhead. "Now, if I were a valve for life zupport, I wouldn't be where anyone could juzt get me… I'd be higher up."

FG flew upwards to the walkway and saw a valve standing tall next to it. "Bingo!" he said as he carefully hoisted Hat Kid up to the valve's height. "Conzidering that you're the one with two normal handz, I'll let you handle thiz."

"Yeah, I got it." HK assured as she turned the valve counter-clockwise, shutting off the life support. "Hey, Big Bug guy… are we really doing the right thing here? I mean, I've never had to… you know, actually kill someone like this."

"Honeztly, I don't like the idea either, but… you zaw what Billy waz like in that pod. Frankly, killing him iz the only kindnezz we can give him now. We aren't the Hero Alliance, we can't zave everybody. It'z a zad fact, but all we can do iz do good where we can. I'm zorry you have to be going through all thiz." FG said.

"Hey, you didn't send me here. Besides, it's not like I haven't seen scary things before." HK said. "In fact, besides that doctor guy, the blood, and the swearing, this has been kinda fun! I just hope that Willy will be okay after Billy's gone."

"Well, I'm zure it'll turn out okay." FG assured. "Now that the life zupport iz down, we zhould head back to the engine and zee if the otherz have-"

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

The sound of gunfire echoed throughout the lab, catching FG and HK's attention.

"What was that?" HK asked. "I thought all the soldiers died."

"They did, but Murkoff zent more zoldierz to kill everyone." FG reminded her. "Lookz like one of them made it down here, and if that noize iz any indication… they're uzing a really powerful gun."

"You know, it would be great if this asylum would stop throwing curveballs at us. Just saying!" Sword complained as he blocked a hail of bullets from the Gauntlet.

"If you can't handle the asylum, you shouldn't have come." the man shot back. "Wrist Missile."

The gauntlet on his left arm shifted from a gun shape into a larger barrel with a missile sticking out of it. With a clench of his fist, Gauntlet fired the missile straight at Sword, who narrowly avoided the attack as it blew up the room behind him.

"Well excuse us for feeling appalled at everything you've been doing here!" Aster called from above as he shot a column of spiraling winds at the squad leader, sending him crashing into a wall.

"Aster, pick me up! The electrical controls for the anesthesia are up there!" Sword said, pointing to a walkway above them. Aster did as instructed, swooping down and grabbing Sword, taking the both of them higher to the electrical grid.

"Nice work, Aster. Now it's my turn." Sword said as he activated his sword and sent an electric bolt at the electric box, shorting it out. "Hold the anesthesia, nurse."

"Alright, now let's get out of here before-" Aster said before some bullets hit the walkway's guardrails. "-that guy gets up!"

"You two think you're doing what's right?!" Gauntlet yelled from the floor. "Murkoff Corporation is doing what's necessary for the good of those living in the Magic Universe. Everyone who's died in this project will be remembered as heroes for their contributions to-"

"Contributions?!" Aster sputtered in disbelief. "Your corporation turned them into madmen!"

"It was necessary!" Gauntlet shouted. "You don't understand!"

"And we don't want to, if it means we turn into you." Sword growled. "The needs of the many and all that crap, huh? Well, newsflash."

Sword then launched himself from the walkway and fired a bolt at Gauntlet, who was forced to dodge...right into the path of Aster's fireball, the impact sending him flying back into the destroyed room.

"I've already worked for something like that; turns out, it's bulls***." Sword finished as the two landed on the ground. "Come on, we gotta get back to the engine. With any luck, Will hasn't made a move yet."

"Right, let's go!" Aster agreed as the two ran out of the room, failing to notice the Gauntlet getting back up…

"Milez, Walker, are you guyz in here?" FG asked as he and HK arrived back into the Engine Room. "We've zhut down the life zupport, have the otherz come back yet?"

"Yes, good, and no, they have not." Miles said as he and Chris scanned the room, looking for any sign of the Walrider. "Will hasn't shown up yet, which is odd. And we have other problems: we heard-"

"Gunzhotz, we heard them too." FG finished. "Zeemz zomeone followed uz down."

Sword and Aster took that moment to run into the room. "Walker, it's all down! Do it now!" Sword ordered.

Chris nodded in response, moving towards the handprint scan that controlled the failsafe. "No more." Chris said as he brought his hand down…

N̢̛͠O͢͠!́͜͏

...and jerked as he was impaled through the chest by the Walrider.

Ǵ̴͢͡e͏̸t̶҉̛!̢̧̕҉̨

҉̴̶͡͏

̶̶̢͜A͝ẃ̵͟͠͠a͜͡y̸̢͞!̴̴̶̕

The Walrider tossed Chris away from the controls and up into the observation area, shattering the glass keeping the two rooms separate.

"CHRIS!" the rest of the group yelled as the Walrider turned to deal with the rest of them.

"Goddamn dark spirit!" Sword yelled as he sparked his sword. "Alright, come and get us!"

The Walrider roared and charged at the group, who quickly scattered in response.

"Somebody get to that panel!" Aster motioned the others as the psychic ghost charged him, the fairy flying up to avoid the attack.

"Easier said than done, Aster!" Sword shouted over the battle. "He's staying close to the panel. He's not going to move unless we make him!"

"And we can't even hurt him." Miles pointed out. "So, unless we get a miracle, there's no way we can get close to…" he trailed off, eyeing Billy's pod. "...That's it! Aster, break Billy's pod!"

"Huh? Uh, okay." Aster said as he aimed at the sphere Billy was inhabiting. "Fireball!"

Aster's spell formed and flew through the air, Billy's pod it's intended destination. Will, seeing the danger, moved from his position to in front of Billy's pod, deflecting the fireball.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Miles dashed towards the scanner, even as The Walrider saw his charge and raced to stop him. The reporter took a flying leap towards the console as the spirit surged ever closer…

...and slammed his hand onto the handprint scanner, the screens showing red warning signs.

Ń̨͟O̸̸!̵̸̨́

͘͏̛

̢̨̢Ḑ̀A͟D̷̛͢͠Ḑ̨̡͟͡Y̨̧͡!́͜

The group watched as Will dashed to Billy's pod, slamming his ghostly hands on the glass as Billy himself began to convulse as red covered the pod, blocking the view to its occupant.

N̡͡O͏͡!́͟͞

̵̶̛

͏̶̀́Ņ̛Ơ̴!̡̡

͢͟

́͟Ņ̡-̴̡͘͝ņ̵̀͘ǫ̶͞͠…̧͞

̴̴̵͟

̵͠͝D̶̢͟o͡͡ǹ͘͘͘'̴͟͡͏t̀͠ ̧̛͠͏g̴̡o҉́͘.̴̢.́̀͘.̷̀͜͞͠

Will slowly stopped slamming the glass and slid onto his knees, making sounds akin to a sobbing child.

"...He's gone." Sword said, his tone even, yet twinged with a hint of remorse. "It's over."

"...Will…" Aster said in remorse…

Then, the Walrider started to growl.

Y̛͜ơ̧͟͠u͏̧.̧̡͜͢.̨͘̕҉̢.̧͜

̶́͝

̶̕͜͡͞Y̶̛͜͡O͏͢Ù̶̢̀

̴́͠͠͝

̴͡K̶̨̡I͏̢̕L̢̛̕̕L͏̵̛E̵͠D͜͡͠

̢͝

͞͞͡҉̶D̸͘͟A̕͟͞͡D͡D̢͘Y҉̢̛͞1̧̕͜

The dark spirit roared as it charged for Miles, ready to cut his chest open.

"Wait, Will!" Miles called out to the ghost, causing it to stop in surprise. "Yes, I know your name, your grandad told me everything. Look, you want to see what's outside, but you couldn't leave as long as Billy was around. That's why I did this, and… maybe this was what he wanted."

The Walrider growled as he slowly floated towards the reporter, ready to attack.

"Look, you can tell if someone's bad, peek inside their head if they've seen the engine, right?" Miles said. "Well, I've seen it! Look inside my head! If you still think I'm a bad person after that… go ahead and kill me. Please… just… give me a chance."

The Walrider stopped, considering the offer. After a moment, its stance became more passive as it floated in front of Upshur and put its hands on his head, allowing it to look inside its head.

"...Okay. I'll go along with it, FOR NOW. But if I find a way to somehow destroy the f***ing thing...I'm taking it."

"Oh really? Did the last schmuck you pulled this stunt on get out alive?"

"That man...that sick f***...I'm gonna watch him die."

B̀͏̷̛a̶̶̛͡ḑ͏̶҉.͠͏́.̵̸̢̀͠.̶̵̡͞҉

Keep looking.

"Well, you know what? You're not, but if you try...you can be that guy."

"So yeah, maybe you're not like these two sleepyheads, but you don't have to be. You just find what works for you and stick to it."

"You can die later, Upshur...first, get this kid out of here."

"Just don't get yourself killed, you crazy preacher."

"The Walrider...it's basically a kid, with more power then it knows what to do with. It doesn't want to leave, does it?"

See? He is okay.

H̡͡͏̧é̵͠͞'̵̛̛ is̡̡ ̛͜͜ń̵̨o̢̧͘͘͏t͝҉ ̷͝͝y̷͘͢͡͝o̧u̶͡͏͏.̡̛̀͘͠.҉̸̕͞͞.̵̀͘͝

I need to go away. You do not belong here. You have siblings waiting for you.

̶̨T̴͡h̸́͢e̷̸̕͝y͏ ̧̕͝a̛͟ŗ̛͡ȩ̵̨̀ ̨ǹ́͟͠o͝҉̴͞͞t̵̴̴̛ ͟͢f̵a̵̡̨͜m̡͝i̡̧͡͏ļ̀͜͝͝y̴̧͢͜!͏͝

They are. They are not like him. They will accept you.

͝Í̡'̧ am̷̀͘ ͜͝҉̸s͡͏́c̛̀̕͜a҉̀r̕e̴͘d͏̷͠͡.̸͡͞

҉

҉̢͞͠I̷̶̡͢'̶̀́͢ am͝ ̵̶̕á̧l̷̸̨o̸̢n̶̢ȩ̴̀.̶͡͏̸̧

No, you are not. Let him keep you safe.

You will be okay.

I love you.

I love͢ ͘y̶o̵u Dad̸d͠y͘.͜

Miles shook his head as The Walrider… no, Will put his hands down.

You wil̸l͏.̕.̛. ṕro̵t̵ec͏t̨ ̴m͝e?

"As much as you need to be." Miles said. "I can't promise I'll be able to match Billy… but I'll be your friend. Is… that okay?"

...Okay.

Miles extended his hand, Will grasping it as they shook, a new partnership formed.

"Welcome aboard, Will." Miles said as he watched the spirit vanish, feeling his presence in his head. "Whoa… this is… less flashy than I thought it would be."

"Wait, Chris!" HK said as she ran up to the observation deck and opened the door, beholding Chris Walker lying in a patch of broken glass, blood around him. The child ran to him, seeing that he was still alive, just barely.

"Walker, speak to me man." Sword said, the other gathering around him. "...Status."

"Pain… red… hurt...I'm… not leaving." Chris gasped.

"No… t-there must be something we can do." Aster said. "I haven't used healing elemental magic, but-"

"Azter." FG interrupted. "He'z… he'z not going to make it."

Miles sat down next to Chris, looking at the giant that had, hours before, tried to kill him. A bittersweet smile formed on his face.

"So… sorry for shocking you, Walker." Miles said.

"Sorry… for… trying to kill you." Chris returned. "Didn't… see… another way."

"Eh, I survived, didn't I?" Miles said as he chuckled. "...You did it Chris. Will won't be a monster… you did it."

Chris then coughed as his body shuddered. "Thank… you… Bye-bye, Little Pig…" Chris couged as his breaths ceased.

HK was silent for a moment before she wiped tears from her eyes. The others were equally silent, before Miles got back up.

"It's done. We won." Miles said. "Let's get out of this hell-"

*BANG*

The shot echoed across the lab as the bullet pieced Miles' back and landed in his lung.

"MILES!" The group yelled in panic as the reporter collapsed, the bullet coming from a wounded Gauntlet, leaning onto the door frame to support himself.

"One down… four to go. Don't resist, it'll only…" Gauntlet started before FG slammed into his gut, pinning him to the ground.

"Murderer!" FG yelled as he repeatedly punched the Delta Squad leader's jaw with his claw, knocking teeth out with each punch. However, Gauntlet managed to point his left hand at the human fly.

"F-Flame...th-thrower…" he spat out as a torrent of flame shot out of the weapon, lighting FG on fire. The Beastman rolled off of the tactical officer to try and put out the flames as Gauntlet got back up. "Y-You don't know… what you're doi-"

"Shut up!" Sword raged as he slammed his shield into Gauntlet's face, damaging it even more, forcing him to back away.

"Machine gun! Machine gun!" he called in a panic, causing a torrent of bullets to fly out of the weapon, covering the hallway in a stream of gunfire that forced the mercs to duck and cover. "No witnesses! YOU'RE ALL GOING TO DIE HERE!"

Back in the observation deck, Miles' body lay on the floor… before his left hand clenched into a fist and his eyes opened.

Rudolf Wernicke sat in his room; he saw the events from the cameras. With Billy gone, it was only a matter of time before he died as well. Nothing to do but wait…

Then he felt it. A feeling that he had only once before… but this time, it was warmer. More… joyful.

And for the first time in what seemed like forever… Rudolf Wernickle smiled a genuine smile.

"So… you're leaving the nest, eh Will?" Wernicke chuckled, which broke out into laughter. "Well then, have a happy life… my grandson."

With that, Rudolf Wernickle slipped into his final sleep.

"Urgh!" Sword grunted as a bullet narrowly hit his helmet. "Damn it, can't get a clear shot, can't get near him…"

"Is… is this it?" HK said in distress. "After everything I've gone through, here and back before I got here… is this where I'm gonna…?"

"That'z quitter talk, HK!" FG said over the gunfire. "We'll get out of thiz… zomehow…"

Aster said nothing, merely hanging his head. "(Sorry, Tulip… I couldn't find my freedom.)"

"No one can know! No one will-" Gauntlet said, before the gunfire came to a halt as he was grabbed by a black shadow.

"W-What the-?! Is that Will?" FG asked.

"But that means…" Aster trailed off as the group looked to the doorway to the observation room and saw Miles leaning on it, looking haggard, as if the stress and damage of the night had finally caught up to him. "...Miles!"

The reporter coughed and hacked in response. "...I-I know I've s-said it before, but f-f*** this place…" he wheezed as he limped towards where Will had Gauntlet suspended in the air. "S-So, buddy… give me o-one good reason not to h-have Will here kill you."

"If you think I'm going to beg, you have another thing coming." the Gauntlet spat in defiance. "You caught me off guard earlier… but that was a one time thing. Go ahead… do it."

Miles looked between the Delta Squad leader and Will for a moment before he made his decision.

"Aster, get a flame spell ready." Miles asked the fairy. "Will… disarm him."

For the next five minutes, the Gauntlet's scream rang throughout the lab.