Miranda shook off the scrap the man had thrown at her, stretching her shattered wings in extreme fury. She hadn't expected Heisenberg to be alive much less had planned to betray her - she thought she had everything under control up to that point, keeping everyone in line. The mechanic was gliding with the door of a car that was ripped off in the field near the factory as he raised his metal horse. His hair was floating as if it was underwater, the magnetism in his body was weakening but he needed to hold on until the end - enough so that Ethan and Rose could get out of the village safely, it was his only goal now. They both stared at each other; Miranda moving her arms and whirling around the arena, waiting for the man to strike first to strike back. She was fully aware of the powers he had, but she didn't know how powerful he could be so she couldn't be too careful. Heisenberg on the other hand gathered the few scraps that had been left, forming a kind of armor that glued to his body, using an iron bar as a weapon and the rusty door as a platform to float in the air.

"Son...we can still talk...what do you say we put all this behind us and start over? You know I love you..." Miranda said, in a serene voice that only a mother could have, stirring his feelings.

"...Start over? Start what again?" he replied, his eyes filling with tears. "You never gave me anything good in the first place. You just used me as a piece in your disgusting little game!" He raised his voice, turning the iron bar from one hand to the other and taking position.

"Game? I just wanted my daughter back...and you were essential to me being able to fulfill my dream..." she lifted a megamycete arm off the ground, moving toward him. "...UNTIL YOU SCREW EVERYTHING UP!"

Karl was knocked off the platform and threw his body backwards, spinning in the air and using the iron bar against the concrete of a wall there, hanging himself. He shook his head, trying to shake off the dizziness he felt with the thud; he swung his body back and forth, catching momentum and let go of the wall, throwing the iron bar towards Miranda who was hit in the legs - screaming in pain. Karl fell to the ground, scraping his metal armor that sparked in the air, gasping for breath. The woman removed the weapon from her legs, screaming in anger and again creating her spider legs, running towards the man, who stood up and grabbed one of the arms of the soldier who was lying on his side, ripping the arm off and using it as a weapon, fending off blows from each leg; Miranda summoned the arms of megamycete, which grabbed him and threw him into the air. Karl detached himself from the armor, using one of the pieces to hang himself; from above he saw Ethan and Chris, running away, leaving him behind.

But it was okay, it was going to be okay.

Suddenly two arms grabbed him again, throwing him aggressively to the ground; Karl spat blood, bowing to the ground.

"Why are you helping the human? Do you want to try to prove something to yourself?" she asked, kicking him in the face, who rolled to the other side of the room. "Poor Heisenberg... I remember holding him when he was a baby... so hungry, so scared... and look at you, strong as a horse. I don't even get a thank you, so typical of children…"

The man didn't say a word, still dizzy from the amount of attacks he received; It was clear he had already lost the fight, but he wanted to make sure she was going to die. He brought his hand up to his chest.

"...you were never my mother. You're a...slut...a wretch..." he laughed, growling in pain.

Miranda struck him again, his back slamming against the pedestal, breaking it in half.

"Are you still talking? How disrespectful..."

Karl's mouth was already full of blood, his teeth painted red, his vision increasingly blurred. Damn... what a pathetic way to die.

Miranda grabbed him by the neck, her long fingers wrapping themselves around his throat, squeezing bit by bit as the man opened a smile, already closing his eyes.

"...You...lost the girl...ughn, Miranda..." he coughed, moving his arms pathetically trying to get free. "...admit you lost...b-bitch..."

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO LOST! THE GIRL IS STILL MINE, AS SOON AS I KILL Y-"

Karl felt her hands loosen as he fell to the ground, coughing and desperately searching for oxygen as he tried to open his eyes - a scream rasped in his ears like the last hurrah and dead pieces of megamycete fell shattered across the floor; noises of helicopters, footsteps and gunshots being heard in the distance.

He felt fingers touching his face and someone lifting him, but he didn't have the strength for anything at that moment and his brain simply faded into a deep faint.

The sound of beeps, rhythmically and in tempo.

A silence accompanied by birds chirping.

Heisenberg opened his eyes slowly, running his hands over his face and feeling stitches on his forehead; he was feeling a slight headache but nothing more than that and as he removed his hands from his face he saw a white room, with lights on the ceiling and the door closed, and next to it, Ethan Winters. He squeezed his eyes shut, sitting up in bed with a slight grind of his teeth and cursing in whispers, Ethan touched his shoulder and kept it propped against the pillow.

"Hey, hey, take it easy!"

"Where the fuck am I, am I dead?" he asked, looking around the room and at the braces taped to his body.

"No. Fortunately, no..." Ethan swiveled his chair toward the window to watch the birds.

"..." Karl had no idea what happened, his bare chest revealed the Cadou that replaced his heart, beating normally. "Where is Rose?" was a direct and strange question, since he had no connection to the girl, but for the lack of explanation, he decided to ask.

"She's at home with Mia, safe." Ethan smiled with the corner of his mouth, with a serene look on his face.

"...Great. And what happened to -"

"She died."

Karl stared silently at the ceiling, as if thoughtful - not the reaction Ethan expected, but at least he didn't look angry...he actually looked sad.

"...How?"

"I insisted on coming back to save you, Chris didn't want to risk it but I told him about your plans and the revenge you wanted to execute - if I hadn't left there with Rose in my arms he probably wouldn't have come back." he paused, taking a glass of water and offering it to Karl. "She was holding you by the neck, Chris took the chance and shot her right in the head - she died instantly"

The man looked at the glass and then at Ethan, slowly pushing his hand away and bowing his head. They were both silent.

"...I...ended up finding out that I actually...I died a few years ago, I'm alive because of Eveline's mold. A fatal attack would kill me, I couldn't have faced her alone...I wouldn't have saved my daughter." the man said with a shaky voice, putting the glass back on the bedside table. "It's still a lot to think about but everything would be much worse if it wasn't for -"

"...you can stop this conversation." Karl said, whispering. Ethan closed his mouth, not understanding. "Don't treat me like a hero, please. I never have been. I'm never going to be one. I just wanted to take all my frustration out on her, that's all."

"...Heisenberg." the man's voice calling out his last name took him by surprise. "You can think what you want, but I know that in a few years Rosemary will look at you as a hero."

Karl leaned his head against the pillow, laughing with a sad expression.

"...Fuck it, I'm not going to insist on that conversation."

"..."

"Now can you tell me where I am in this fuck?" he raised his hands up briefly, sighing.

"It's a lab, it's more of a relief center for Umbrella soldiers. We couldn't take you in a regular hospital because of the..." Ethan pointed to the Cadou on his chest.

"Lab, huh? ...I get it, I'm going to become a guinea pig after all."

"What? No - no!" the man laughed nervously, the unfortunate comment left him flustered. "They'll release you as soon as you're better, they'll do psychological tests and change your name."

"...change my name? What for?"

"I told Chris about...about your desire to be free, you know - away from all that mess. He wanted to make up for your help."

Karl hadn't believed what he had heard - it seemed to be some kind of silly joke, but the sincerity in the man's eyes affirmed everything that had been said that minute; the mechanic blinked, with a mixture of surprise and confusion.

"H-How... how did I…"

"I think they will just ask you to avoid showing off your comic book hero powers around and hide Cadou. Since you don't have an unusual figure then you can get along in society."

"N-No - how... how will I survive?"

Ethan lied quietly - it was true - after so many years of being isolated and being a slave to a completely insane woman, Heisenberg had no idea what it was like to work, take a subway, shop, and overall have an ordinary life in the city. It was all very different from the village he had lived in, all very futuristic. He then had an idea.

"Look...you can stay in my house for a while. I will teach you all about life out here until you are ready. I know we don't know each other well, and our stories are completely different - but you saved my Rose. You saved me." He held out his hand, smiling. "I trust you."

And in the blink of an eye, Ethan felt the man's firm arms embrace him, in a silent but genuine cry of happiness; that was all Karl wanted to feel, for once in his life.

They could finally be happy.

He could finally feel like someone.

A human being.