WARNING(A/N): This is a first, but do to the nature of this chapter and what it contains I'm writing a content warning.

This is probably the darkest chapter in this story. It contains a few scenes of torture and violence that this story isn't otherwise known for, and while the scenes are few and far between I still want to address it.

For the sake of the reader's comfort I just wanted to put it out there before you proceed. You just never know how it'll mix with others, you know?

With that said, love you guys and thank you for your time!

Boardwalk
April 30th

Squigly and Umbrella were enjoying an exhilarating rush on the Kraken rollercoaster. The pier was filled with the screams of passengers aboard enjoying the intense twists and turns.

Meanwhile, Filia sat out of the fun and chose to wait by the carnival booths with Butterscotch and Hungern. She frequently checked her surroundings as if looking for something, but no matter where she turned whatever it was she was looking for wasn't around. Her expression grew lonesome.

After the ride ends Squigly and a woozy Umbrella return to Filia.

"OoOooOOOOOooooOoo- What a BLAST!" Umbrella threw her hands in the air only to lose her footing and fall flat on her face before jumping right back up.

"My legs won't stop shaking," Squigly chuckled uncontrollably.

"Filia, you've got to ride the Kraken. It's crazy!" Umbrella enthusiastically suggests.

"Oh? Uh, maybe later," Filia kindly declined with a contradictory troubled smile.

"Aaaw. Come on. You haven't really done anything with us outside the Ferris wheel and eating."

"I know, it's just...the Player hasn't shown up yet."

"Still? How curious," Squigly said.

"He's probably still using the bathroom," Umbrella casually shrugged.

"It be like that," Samson mumbled.

"...I don't know. I just have a strange feeling that something may wrong. I feel it...here," Filia placed her hand up to her chest, specifically over her heart.

"Aaaw. You miss your baby boy? That's so cute," Umbrella teased with a smirk.

Filia didn't really acknowledge Umbrella's comment, her face remaining consistent with her worries as she stares at the boardwalk entrance, waiting for the Player to eventually show.

"Brat, I swear on everything I love, we will throw hands if you continue to play these games." Samson, on the other hand, jumped at the soonest possible threat at the idea of instigating what he dreaded, he even spoke while in public.

"You mad, Samson?" Umbrella gave him a smug grin.

"Oooh, you're worse than he is."

"Heh! I'm gonna braid you, Samson!"

Umbella was developing a pseudo-rivalry relationship with Samson that would've gave his ongoing squabbles with the Player a run for its money.

But while they were goofing off, Squigly approached Filia as the collected adult. "If you're worried, you should go check on him," she said. "If you really feel it in your heart that something may wrong then it's probably in your best interest to follow it. I'll watch Umbrella and Butterscotch. It won't be a problem. We'll be here when you get back."

Filia didn't need to debate with Squigly on this, she hands the leash to Squigly and smiled. "Thanks, I'll be back," she walks down the boardwalk and departs.

Squigly and Umbrella watch her off, Squigly exhaling out her nose and her shoulders droop.

Training Field
1:13pm

Filia got back to their usual spot and calmly strolls around waiting for any sign of the Player, but all that was there for her was the sound of tree leaves brushing in the wind.

"He can't still be using the bathroom," Filia said softly.

"Eh. I dunno, that was some pretty strong cheese," Samson dreadfully recalled what the mysterious dinner cheese did to them.

Filia goes down the trail and finds the public mobile toilet they use whenever a bathroom break was needed. She knocked on the door and waited for a response, but she got nothing.

"Did he pass out in there?" Samson wondered.

"Are you in there, Player?" Filia slowly opened the door and when she opened it fully it was empty. "Where the heck did he go?"

Filia looked around the area curiously but she goes back up the trail to their spot and stands at the center. An unsettling blew against her and she embraces herself against the chill. The feeling in her chest became more prominent and her concern rises.

"Hey, Player! You out there?" She called out to the woods as there would be no other spot for him to be. "Hell-ooo! If you can hear me I'm here!"

Dead silence.

Filia dropped her hands from the side of her mouth and continues looking ahead.

"Maybe he went back to the apartment," Samson said, now curious himself on where the Player could be.

"...Yeah," Filia nods, clutching her hand at her chest.

She slowly takes a few back steps while keeping her gaze fixed on the woods before turning around and jogging toward New Meridian to see if he was home.

Her heart telling her something was wrong and that when she gets there it'll be the same.

Brain Drain's Lab
May 2nd, 2:20pm

The light in the dark laboratory flicker on and reveals the Player strapped down to an operating. The sudden illumination bothered his eyes and he closed them to adjust to the sudden light.

With a syringe in hand, the pump labeled TS-02: short for Test Subject 2, Brain approaches the table.

"Rise and shine. It's about time for us continue with the experiment," Brain Drain said as he stood beside the table.

The Player remained bare chest since yesterday and forced to sleep in the cold laboratory so that all the machines he was hooked up to could read his vitals overnight.

"You know we could spare you this pain if you just cooperate. I don't understand why you won't tell me everything, it's not like you gain anything. What do you have to prove? I already know you have a solid grasp on your ability to boost others, so why not spare yourself the suffering?"

The Player just glares at Brain Drain with a lightly shivered breath, the steel table top didn't help make conditions any better, regardless he wasn't going to humor Brain Drain with a response.

Brain Drain rolled his eyes and stuck the needle into the Player's arm to draw another blood sample. He takes the blood to one of the many incubation tanks housing more homunculi hosts and inserts the blood into the scanner for analysis.

"Have it your way. You'll have no choice but to synchronize if you want to force yourself out of this."

Afterward, he hooks up the Player's medical equipment to the incubation tank and returned to the main control panel.

"Initiating artificial link," Brain Drain announced aloud.

The machinery in the lab whirrs and the sound of electricity filled the room. The Player shut his eyes and braced himself.

ZZZZZZZZRRRRRTTTTTTTTT

"GAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The Player's eyes shot open and his body twitches violently from the shock.

Brain Drain kept a close monitor on the Player's biometrics and vitals to see how they aligned with the homunculi in the tank but the data didn't align with anything Brain Drain was hoping for, he only stopped the artificial link when the Player's heart rate nearly reached critical.

"AAAAUUUUUUUHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhh...!" The Player's back was arched off the table but drops once the process ceased. He pants heavily with drool running out the side of his mouth.

"Synchronizing comes from a need, that much I get. I theorize exposure to traumatic events will boost the likelihood of a forced connection with my creations. The information I gathered from Valentine supports this: when backed into a corner, scared for your life and at the risk of dying, you were able to boost some Medici fool and defeat Valentine. If you're not willing to talk or establish a connection I'll just have to keep putting you through these strenuous trials."

The Player coughs and pants but he doesn't budge. Nothing Brain Drain said earned a response.

Brain Drain narrowed his eyes and grabbed onto the lever. "TS-02: 2nd attempt, boosting physical strain by 5%" he turned a dial on the panel and pulled the lever.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZRRRRRTTTTTTTTTT!

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

May 3rd
11:23pm

Brain Drain sat at his desk writing notes in a book with a new blood sample labeled TS-03.

The Player was in the background suspended above a tank of water with his ankles restrained in a metal brace and both arms tied behind his back.

Brain Drain hooks the Player up to the third incubation tank and inserts his blood into the machine.

"TS-03: 4th test, 1st attempt - submerging patient."

He flicked a switch on the panel and the Player's head is lowered into the water tank. He was submerged for a few seconds and his body immediately begins shifting about for freedom from being drowned.

May 4th
5:20am

The Player sat on his knees with his back against a steel beam, his arms and feet restrained while a vicious and unmuzzled genetically engineered dog barks aggressively while making various attempts at clamping its foaming jaws around the Player's throat.

The only thing keeping the dog away from the Player was a metal stake that was becoming increasingly weaker as the dog made various lunges at the Player.

The Player turned his head away from the dog and kept his eyes closed as it drew nearer.

An freshly drained syringe pump labeled TS-04 was ejected from the fourth incubation tank and Brain Drain looks over the data collected, ignoring what was going on in the background for his analysis.

May 5th
6:30pm

Whack!

"Nnngh!"

SMACK!

"Nnnngfff!"

CLINK!

"Gaaaaaahhhh!"

The Player hit the floor covered in a few bruises here and there, arms and feet restrained while surrounded by three of the female homunculi Brain Drain was trying to force the Player to synchronize from the days leading up to this.

Now they were sentient and acted on Brain Drain's will. They had just wrapped up putting the Player through the wringer with physical assaults.

Brain Drain sat in his chair writing notes on the latest homunculi he had on standby, making this the 4th that the Player failed to synchronize with even against the numerous brutal methods used against him to try forcing a way out.

"Still hanging on? Impressive. Lift him up." Brain Drain commands as he was concluding his notes.

One of the homunculi grabs the Player by his shoulders and stands him up to hist feet.

"Which one was the most painful? The punch?"

Another one of the homunculi swings a left hook into the Player's face and knocked him down.

PAK!

"Hnngh!"

"Or the kick?"

The homunculi that picked him up threw its foot into his stomach.

TWHACK!

"UHAAGH!"

"Ooof. Yeah, the kick definitely sounds like it hurt the most. Or maybe it was the melee weapon?"

The third homunculi tightened its grip on the steel pipe it had and backhands it against the Player's back.

CLINK!

"AAAUGGH!"

"I guess it's between the kick and melee weapon. If that's the case, I want you all to shift between the two."

The Player grunts with a strained face but never broke. He manages to calm his breathing once the stinging of the pipe subsides.

"Do you want to talk yet? You can make this stop if you synchronize with either of them."

The Player exhales and opened his mouth to speak, "C...ome... here..." he said.

"Oh? Finally coming to your senses and it only took five days."

Brain Drain got up from his seat and walks over to the Player. The homunculi make room for him as he moves by them and crouches down.

"So, what's the access? How do you synchronize?"

"...The...secret...lies within you..." The Player answered.

"Lies within me? That's cryptic. How does one access it from within themselves?"

"...You...ugh, you can do it...by...f$#king yourself," the Player lifts himself up just enough to spit blood he lathered up onto Brain Drain's face.

Brain Drain reacts with instant surprise and back slaps the Player back onto the floor. Standing and overlooking him.

"Do you think this is some game?! The Skullgirl can show up again at any moment! You're wasting time by being stubborn!"

"...Heh... Heh, heh... It is kinda like a game, isn't it?" The Player asked with his eyes closed and a taunting smirk. "The whole thing...is like a game... One big metaphor for playing a game. It's funny because you don't get it and you never will."

Just as the Player said, Brain Drain didn't get it and it makes him sigh exasperatedly. "You know, even if you don't tell me how this works, or if you don't synchronize to free yourself, you're still opening the door for the future by keeping the development of these bioweapons going. If this keeps up I'll have my own army with your DNA so even if you die here I'll have plenty of you left to work with to decipher this synchronizing madness. I'm a scientist after all, it's my job to find an answer to what we conceive as impossible."

Brain Drain swipes his forearm across his face to wipe the blood off of him and turned his back to the Player. "Get acquainted with your friend, ladies. He'll be the source of all your power sooner or later. It's only a matter of time before he cracks," he sits in his chair and brought his hands together.

One of the homunculi shoved its foot onto the Player's back and keeps him restrained despite him not resisting.

"And we've got nothing but time," Brain Drain maliciously adds.

The Player looks up to the homunculi gathered around him to act on Brain Drain's orders. Knowing this wasn't going to end anytime soon, as much as he could stand anyway, the Player closed his eyes and braced for the worse.

Poorman Apartments
May 8th

A week had passed and there was still no sight or hearing from the Player.

Filia sat on the couch in the front room with bags under her eyes and frizzled hair. Her leg was anxiously bouncing in place and she hardly blinked at all, it was clear she was a paranoid and sleep deprived wreck.

She kept herself up with an abundant of coffee and energy drinks. Cups and cans were littered on the table.

Butterscotch was sitting at the front door waiting in hopes that at any second the Player would walk through and greet him. Each day he waited in the same spot, patient, but separation anxiety wasn't helping the poor pup much and he whines when the hours grew long.

Squigly: Okay. Thank you. Please, call if you find anything. Thanks. Bye.

Squigly was in the kitchen wrapping up the last of her calls and goes to the front room.

"Anything?" Filia asked without looking at Squigly.

"No. I called everyone he had listened in his contacts and no one has seen him," Squigly sat the Player's notebook down on the table and sat next to Filia.

The apartment door opens and shuts, Umbrella sprints into the room to see Filia and Squigly sitting. "Any luck?" She asked with high hopes.

"No," Squigly shook her head as she looked over to Umbrella.

"...Same."

Filia grips at her skirt and bares her fangs. "Where is he?!" She exclaimed in frustration and stood up. "This doesn't make any sense! Where would he go?! We don't know where else to look! We were supposed to go to the boardwalk, what could've happened between him going to the bathroom to meeting us that would make him go missing?! Nothing makes sense!"

Squigly, Leviathan, Umbrella, and Butterscotch watch as Filia broke out into another rant.

"Filia, I know you're upset, but calm down," Samson said.

"Calm down? Calm down! How do you expect me to be calm?! He's missing! He's out there!"

"Yeah, I know. But you're not helping keep things leveled here."

Filia chuckles hollow, looking off to the side and shaking her head. "Of course. 'Keeping things level,' how original. Do you even hear yourself? You never liked him, Samson. You probably don't even care he's missing."

"If I didn't care I wouldn't be here trying to talk to you down. Don't get smart with me, Filia."

"Or else what? Jeez, I can't believe how cold and thoughtless you can be. You want to sit down and take it easy because you don't care. Does anybody but me truly care?! I can't sleep but everybody is acting calm like he's not out there probably dead in a dit-!"

"Filia!" Squigly snapped and stood up from the couch.

Umbrella's eyes water at Filia's comment and she clenched her hand at her chest.

Filia turned to Squigly as she called her name with a glare only to see the state her friends were in; Squigly was standing with her lip and hands trembling, trying her best not to think of the worst possibly scenario. Umbrella was already worried sick so hearing Filia speak so dark put dread in her heart leaving the princess to start crying.

She hurt her friends thinking so harshly when they were trying so hard to keep a candle of hope burning. Squigly comforts Umbrella by getting on her knees to bring her in for a hug.

"It's okay," Squigly assured while gently caressing the back of her head.

Realizing the damage she's done with her words alone, Filia placed her hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry," she got teary eyed and instantly regret her misplaced anger.

Squigly was trying her best to stay strong but the idea that someone so close to her may have been dead was too much for her bear, especially when she didn't have much in her current life; her already small circle would've been smaller and that was enough to make her sick.

Squigly grits her teeth into her embrace with Umbrella and a tear ran down her face. Leviathan supports them both by coiling his tail around them to hold them tighter together.

"You're not the only one suffering, kid," Samson spoke to his host calmly as the room grew silent. "And you're not the only one who cares. If I didn't care I could've done, literally, anything else with my time while you all ran around the kingdom, but I didn't. I stayed up with you searching, scouring high and low, because I know how much you all mean to each other."

Grief, regret, fear, frustration, sadness, and worry: it all came crashing down as immeasurable weight that brought Filia to her knees.

"...I'm sorry," Filia's apology was too weak to go above a whisper.

Squigly, Leviathan, and Umbrella look in her direction and see her finally crumble. They knew she was exhausted. She hadn't slept for days, or rarely at all, and it was catching up to her.

Squigly looked down to Umbrella for a moment and wiped her tears, giving her a smile of confidence.

Filia sees Squigly stand and approach her, she tried looking up but found herself unable to look Squigly in the eye after her comment so she closed her eyes and turned away in shame.

Squigly gently placed her hand on the side of Filia's cheek and turns her head so that she was looking up to her.

Filia opened her eyes and tears fell.

The two friends stare into the other's eye(s) - their facial dialogue communicating that they share this pain and it's because of that it's important, now more than ever, that they don't lose themselves to it.

"We all love him too," Squigly warmly assured.

The search wasn't limited to Filia, Squigly, and Umbrella; Beowulf was out searching the city in all areas he and the Player visited during their Wulfamania run.

Annie incognito stood on the highest skyscraper in the city, overlooking New Meridian with Sagan and checking her Star Binder tracker, the same one she used when she saved him from Double's clutches, in hopes that she'd eventually pick up a signal. When the city came up dry she goes to search the remains of the Grand Cathedral.

In Little Innsmouth, Nadia meets up with Irvin, a private detective and associate, and relays the details of a missing person's case. Nadia came out of hiding from the Medicis to investigate their hideouts under the suspicion they had something to do with the Player's disappearance.

Feng printed out posters made from pictures she took with the Player and hung them around the city while also taking time to ask citizens, people-by-people, if they knew anything about kidnappings in the area.

After doing some grocery shopping, a healthier and well fed Carol makes her way back to the ASG Labs. It may have been hard not drawing attention thanks to her face and Buer Drive, but she got better ignoring stares and focused on herself. She soon came across one of the missing posters and immediately stopped to check the information.

Everyone who Squigly was able to contact didn't think twice about putting everything on hold to search for the Player. All worried but determined to see him safe.

Filia didn't know how many were out there searching, and even at this moment she didn't know, but her pain was connected to so many people now that they all had someone in common who was in danger.

Even while on bad terms, had Parasoul known of these events, she wouldn't have hesitated to return to New Meridian and lead a Search and Rescue herself - no bad blood would've overwritten the fact that she still cared for him.

"We're all hanging on by a thread, miss Filia," Leviathan said. "We understand your pain."

"And it's because of that we have to keep absolute faith that he's still with us," Squigly continued. "We have to stay strong, together. It's what got us this far. We've been through too much for him to just...go. So, please, don't think like that."

Filia couldn't keep herself together, tears ran down her face but she closed her eyes to blink them away and nods.

"That's our girl," Squigly smiled.

"But, we've already searched the city," Filia sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Where else could we look?"

"We haven't checked every nook and cranny," Samson said. "I think I may know some spots we could check out. There's a spot underneath the bridge by East River. I know a few people around there, maybe they saw something."

"East River bridge? There's nothing but ruffians and thugs. I highly doubt the Player would be there," Leviathan interjects.

"Anything is worth a shot," Filia softly replied.

"Hmm. While I know the situation is urgent and we'd cover more ground separately, I think it's best we accompany you. I don't trust Samson to get you through that without an issue."

Samson rolled his eyes at Leviathan but doesn't say anything since he didn't have it in him to argue.

"Maybe we shouldn't stay limited to New Meridian," Umbrella suggested, getting everyone's attention. "I'd be willing to check Canopolis. Do you think he'd be there?"

"...Actually, we have been there once before," Squigly said. "We went to see an opera a little while back. It wouldn't hurt to try looking there."

"Okay. While you guys hold things down in New Meridian I'll take the search to Canopolis. I'll be closer to home too, so no need to worry about getting me back by a certain time. I'll call if I find anything as long as sis isn't home. Then we can talk and try coming up with another plan."

Filia looks to Squigly, wondering if they should let Umbrella search the capital alone. It wouldn't be easy but they needed to exercise all available options, so, on faith, Squigly gives her a confident nod.

With Squigly's response Filia gives her an extended glance before nodding herself in return.

"Okay. Umbrella, just...please. Be safe," Filia pleads.

"I will," Umbrella promised.

Umbrella walked over to the girls and gave Filia a hug to help comfort her.

Squigly got down on her knees and the three come together for a group embrace to support and comfort each other during these hard times.

Valentine's House
3:02pm

After a long day of keeping her head in biology books, Valentine briefly shifts her attention to a cook book: 'Amateur Cooking,' to appease her demanding stomach, though based on her annoyed expression it wasn't something she was enjoying thus far.

Tamagoyaki, rice, seaweed, simmered kanpyo, shiitake mushrooms, spinach, cucumber, and sakura denbuall were spread out on a cutting board.

She was learning how to make futomaki rolls.

"...In a small pan, heat canola oil, making sure to coat the pan. Add egg mixture to create a thin layer," Valentine looked at the cutting board and noticed she was missing a few ingredients. "Wait, I need more stuff?! Uugh! Why is cooking so demanding?"

She goes to the fridge and checked for eggs, she cycled through milk, water, greens, lunch meat, cheese, and vegetables; her stock no longer primarily consisted of hard alcohol.

Once Valentine found the eggs she returned to the counter.

Before she could try putting everything together to make lunch the kitchen phone rings and she picks up.

"Hello?"

Brain Drain: Still alive, just as I thought.

Hearing Brain Drain's voice surprised Valentine for a second but her reaction immediately dropped to unamused flatness. "Color me surprised. I didn't think I'd hear from you again," her tone was barely keeping itself neutral. | 'I need to change my number.'

Brain Drain: A lot has been going on since the Skullgirl's disappearance. Speaking of, has there been any development in regard to her location?

"No. The trail's gone cold and nobody has seen her."

Brain Drain: And yet I was able to detect some Theonite readings from the Grand Cathedral.

"The cathedral has been destroyed. The Player was able to level the place with a synchronized partner. I wouldn't be surprised if those readings were just picking up the residual energy of whatever he used to cause it. That was a thermonuclear explosion, it can linger for years."

Brain Drain: Yes. The Player. He truly is a remarkable, isn't he? Or at least his ability to synchronize is. Gifted with power that he wastes on the weak. If only it were in more...capable hands.

"What are you saying?"

Brain Drain: Project: Painwheel, while designed to be my magnum opus, was a colossal failure. The Player isn't just capable of gifting power to destroy a Skullgirl, he can also enhance resonance of Skullgirl blood.

Valentine emotes confused doubt to herself. "What do you mean?"

Brain Drain: I had the privilege of running into him last week. He was with Umbrella Renoir when I had Painwheel investigate the Theonite sightings I mentioned. At the time, one was in New Meridian and the other by the Grand Cathedral. The Theonite source in New Meridian came from the Renoir child. Of course, Nancy was pregnant with her during her time as a Skullgirl and as such that gives her unique power.

"Okay, but what does that have to do with the Player?"

Brain Drain: Everything. The child's Skullgirl blood resonated with Painwheel's and gave her enough strength to resist my control, but it was nothing an override couldn't fix. He synchronized with the child and by doing so spiked the resonance between them and in doing so completely severed by my psychic link.

This was news. Valentine didn't even know Brain Drain was still operating Project: Painwheel. After Marie's disappearance she figured he just stopped until she showed up again or when another Skullgirl arrived.

Brain Drain: I'm no longer interested in making the best possible weapon for him to command. My new goal is to unlock synchronization for myself so I can be the one in control of my own creations. So, with that in mind, I require your medical expertise. Team up with me once more and in return I can give you the secrets of Heart Synchronization. Power beyond anything you and I could ever imagine.

"But... How is that even possible? You said it was exclusive to the Player. Without him at our disposal there's no way for us to get a grasp on how it works."

Brain Drain: Heh. What if I told you I had him in possession?

"...What?"

Brain Drain: He's been in my custody for a week now, but no results.

Valentine's eye widen and she found herself frozen in horror. "Brain Drain, you didn't," she spoke in disbelief worried he did to the Player what they did to Carol. The delivery in her comment made it easy to understand what she was referring to.

Brain Drain: I didn't modify him. He won't crack and refuses to tell me anything. I've tried various stress methods to force it out of him, but nothing has developed. He's quite stubborn.

Valentine lets out a silent exhale of relief knowing he was safe...for now.

Brain Drain: But with your assistance I have no doubt I'll be able to unlock the power. So, what do you think? If we do this we'll be doing the world a favor.

"I'll do it," Valentine immediately agreed.

Brain Drain: Aaah, I knew you would.

Valentine squint her eye in revulsion at the idea of Brain Drain assuming her 'enthusiasm' was for his project, she wasn't doing it for him or science.

"Are you still working in the hidden ASG lab? I'll be right over."

Brain Drain: We'd never be able to work with those ASG relics sniffing around the place. Meet me at New Meridian harbor, west dock by the old shipyard.

"All right, I'll be there. Give me 10 minutes to get ready and I'll head out."

Brain Drain: Excellent. I'm heading out now, it'll take time for me to get there anyway.

The two hang up and Valentine stands in place to really absorb the fact that Brain Drain abducted the Player and was running tests on him for a week.

"...That bastard," she quietly curses Brain Drain before rushing to change into her medic uniform.

New Meridian Streets
3:10pm

Umbrella traversed the city lacking her usual energy, dispirited by the Player's disappearance. Along the way she thought of every possible point of interest in the city he could've been in, but realistically he wouldn't have had any reason to go out of his way to visit them since he stayed home with Squigly since becoming unemployed.

"Does anybody but me truly care?! I can't sleep but everybody is acting calm like he's not out there probably dead!"

Filia's words echoed in Umbrella's head making her dread the possibility.

"No! I can't think that way. He hasn't done anything that would make someone want to hurt him. Right, Hungern?"

Well, there was Samson - prompting Hungern to express thoughtful consideration, but that was more of a harmless rivalry than anything else, so instead he makes incomprehensible grumbling as a response.

"Maybe... Maybe we should tell sis. We'd be able to cover a lot of ground if we had Egrets helping us. I know she'll probably be mad that we've been coming here to see everyone, but I don't care. She can ground me later! The Player is missing and we need all the help we can get."

Hungern makes another collection of inhumane noise that nobody would've been able to understand.

"Umbrella!" A familiar voice called out to her from behind.

"Huh?"

Carol jogs toward Umbrella, waving her down before stopping in front of her.

"Oh, Carol! Hey."

"Hi. I wasn't expecting to see you out and about in the city. When I saw you I came right over."

"Yeah. I was actually on my way home. Back to Canopolis."

"Were you visiting Filia?"

"Something like that."

Carol noticed Umbrella's sullen gaze and her own excitement dies down seeing it. "I, uh, I heard about the Player," she said dishearteningly before showing the poster. "I was actually searching around in hopes of finding some clues."

Umbrella reached for the poster and Carol hands it to her. "We didn't put these up," she said while looking surprised.

"No? They're all around the neighborhood. Not sure who put them up but they must know the Player."

Umbrella may not have known who was going around putting up posters but it made her smile knowing their small group weren't the only ones looking for the Player.

"I was going back to Canopolis in hopes of finding him there."

"That's no small order. Canopolis is huge."

"It doesn't matter, I want to find him."

The resolve on Umbrella's face was something to admire, so young yet the makings of a strong leader was apparent.

"You really care for him, huh?"

"A bunch. He's one of the only friends I've got. Before you guys came along all I had was Hungern. The only other 'friends' I had were the ones Parasoul bought for me, toys, I had to make up friends in my head. Having these bonds mean I have something that's real...it makes me feel so alive and happy. I don't want that to go away because that means I'll be alone again. I don't want to lose any of you."

Carol's heart sunk hearing Umbrella's plight but she knew exactly how she felt. Filia was the closest friend she had and after everything that lead up to her becoming Painwheel she felt empty and alone, fearing she'd never see her friend again.

"Sorry, Carol. But I really have to go. I need to start searching."

Umbrella gives the poster back and continues on, determined more than ever to find one of her closest friends.

"Hey!" Carol called out to her before walking along. "Where do you think you're going all by yourself? It'll take months to search Canopolis alone. You'd make more progress if I help you out."

"Carol?" Umbrella stopped when she saw her tagging along. "You don't have to go out of your way. I'll be fine."

Carol chuckled and stopped, turning back to Umbrella with a supportive smile. "Helping a friend is never going out of my way. Let's search together. We'll cover more ground as a team."

Of course that was Carol's response, the Player was her friend too so she couldn't entertain the idea of leaving Umbrella alone to search the capital. New Meridian had more than enough people who were in the know about the situation, those that mattered to it anyway, so now it was time to head up north.

"Thank you, Carol."

"Of course. Now, you should lead the way. I've never been to Canopolis before."

"Oh yeah? Well, stick with me, kid. I'll show you everything," Umbrella stuck out her chest and proudly takes charge.

Carol chuckled and follows along.

With Carol tagging along Umbrella finally found some joy in all this drama.

The girls carry on, only a few blocks away from the bus depot after a couple minutes of walking from the central district. Umbrella filled Carol in on the situation along the way to get her up to speed.

"An entire week? Oh my," Carol reiterated in a troubled tone.

"Yeah. And it happened so fast, I don't know what could've happened in that time for him to just disappear. It doesn't make sense."

"I don't want to ask this in the event that it may scare you, but does he have enemies?"

"No. Of course not. Or at least he shouldn't, dude's a big softie."

"Is he? Doesn't seem like it. When Brain Drain was forcing me to fight you he stepped up to protect you," Carol smiled doubtfully at Umbrella's claim.

"Nah. He's a softie once you get to know him. He's all 'friendship is important,' and stuff. A big teddy bear. Now, Samson, he's tough as nails."

"Samson?"

"Yeah. Filia's Parasite," Umbrella whispered.

"...Oh right. Filia did get a new 'roommate' last time I saw her."

"He lives rent-free in her head! Samson and the Player fight all the time, it's so funny."

"Do they? Heh, the big teddy bear vs the tough guy. That sounds interesting."

"It is! It's like an immovable object meets an unstoppable force."

Carol snickered amusingly until her senses picked up on something sinister and her eyes dart over in the direction she detected the source.

"Umbrella, over here," Carol grabbed Umbrella's hand and takes walks her over to a shop window.

"Something wrong, Carol?"

"Act natural."

Carol wanted it to seem like they were just window shopping in hopes of blending into the crowd. Carol's inconspicuous gaze surveyed the crowd, she followed her instincts and she manages to spot a familiar blue haired woman that made her skin crawl.

"Valentine," Carol snarled.

"...Who?"

Carol brought herself closer to Umbrella and gets her to refocus on the window. Valentine casually walks by them, clearly not seeing them, and moves along.

After she passes by Carol looked in the direction she was heading.

"Carol? Something wrong?"

"...No. At least, I don't think so."

"Who's Valentine? You got a date or something?"

"A dat-? No. Nothing like that. A woman I recognized walked by just now. I don't think she saw us."

"A woman?" Umbrella looked out to the crowd but didn't know what she was looking for. "If you know her, does she know anything about the Player? Maybe she saw him somewhere."

The Player didn't have enemies and neither did Carol before getting wrapped up with the Medicis and Last Hope which lead to her missing for weeks. It was here that Carol started aligning what happened to her with the Player considering it was ominously similar.

She may have been jumping to conclusions, but Carol's mind was absolutely confident in it.

"Yeah. Maybe she has," Carol suspiciously concurred.

"Great. Let's go ask her. Now, uh, which one is she?"

"Let's just hang back for a second," Carol suggested.

"...What do you mean?"

"Follow my lead."

Valentine got to the intersection at the corner and crossed the street. As she got halfway across Carol taps Umbrella's back and prompts her to follow.

Umbrella followed Carol, still unsure what exactly they were doing, but they were going away from the bus depot.

As Valentine made her way south of the city, Carol and Umbrella kept a safe distance as to not be detected, even so if Valentine wasn't distracted with the urgency of her mission she would've long suspected someone was tailing her.

It didn't take long for Umbrella to catch on that they were spying on a relatively vague target.

A few minutes into their stealth mission, after analyzing their tracking pattern, Umbrella noticed the only consistent pedestrian in their journey across the metropolitan sea was the blue haired woman.

She pieced the puzzle together and knew this had to be the 'Valentine' woman Carol mentioned.

Valentine reached the harbor and finds the old shipyard Brain Drain mentioned, it was a dry dock with old vessels sitting around and collecting dust.

West Dock, New Meridian Harbor
3:35pm

Carol and Umbrella managed to sneak into the dry dock and kept hidden when inside, using the shadows to their advantage.

Valentine stood by the dry docks entrance looking out to the jetty.

"...What the hell is she doing out here?" Carol whispered.

"Y'know, I never been on a stakeout before," Umbrella mentioned, whispering as well.

"Makes sense. You're just a kid."

"Kid? I'm not a kid! Everyone is just taller than me," Umbrella sulks.

Carol snickered but kept her eyes on Valentine.

"So, who is that woman?"

"A wolf in sheep's clothing. She's one of the ones who turned me into Painwheel."

"No way. Her? But... She doesn't look like the type who would do something like that."

"Like I said: wolf in sheep's clothing," Carol's glare sharpened as Valentine remained blissfully unaware of the girls presence.

A couple minutes pass and a watercraft docks itself at the jetty. The hatch door at the top popped open and a male emerges from within.

Seeing him, Valentine walks from the dry dock and down to the jetty.

Carol, who had been keeping a close eye on things, motions her hand for Umbrella for follow her as she came from hiding. Umbrella was in the middle of eating ice cream that she got from...somewhere, but when she saw Carol heading out she gives the rest to Hungern who happily devours it in one gulp.

The girls quietly walk ahead and reach the dry dock entrance, hugging the side wall to remain hidden - Carol pokes her head out and Umbrella soon does the same but on ground level, sitting on her hands and knees.

"Huh. Hey, who's that guy?" Umbrella asked.

Carol narrowed her eyes to enhance her vision down the jetty; Valentine met with a tall cyborg dressed in a leather jacket, his most prominent physical feature was the visible brain protected by a glass casing.

"Brain Drain!" Carol exclaimed.

"Brain Jerk?!" Umbrella repeated with her own flair.

"...Wh- What is he doing here?"

The adults were too far out of range for Carol and Umbrella to make out what they were saying. The conversation didn't take long and Valentine boards the watercraft with Brain Drain following after her, closing the hatch and starting it up to travel the ocean.

Carol ran out of the dry dock leaving Umbrella to follow.

"Where are they going?" Umbrella asked.

"I don't know. We have to follow them though."

"You want us to swim after them?"

"I'm going to fly after them using my Parasite," Buer Drive unsheathes into its bladed pinwheel form and rotates, lifting Carol off the ground.

"My goddess, that is so cool! I'm coming too!"

"I don't have a problem with that, but are you afraid of flying?"

"Nope! I flew using Hungern once."

"...You did?" Carol had to take a moment away from her concern of Brain Drain and Valentine together again to acknowledge the absurdity of Umbrella's comment.

"Yep! It was a lot of fun, but random. I didn't know how to control it. Almost hit a blimp."

There was dead silence as Carol blinked with a questioning look.

"Uuh, mkay. Well, we're going to avoid that. I actually know how to operate while airborne," Carol held out her hands to Umbrella.

Umbrella squeals in excitement and hung Hungern's hook on her arm so that she could take Carol's hands.

Carol quickly gets them off the ground and flies off the shipyard to pursue the watercraft cutting through the sea like a speedboat, it's boxy appearance contradicted it's performance but Carol was able to keep up no problem.

"Woooo! This is awesome! Go higher!" Umbrella cheered. "I feel like some blue furball that collects rings!"

Odd, but cute. Carol couldn't keep herself from giggling at Umbrella's innocence. "At least one of us is having a good time," she smiled.

There was an island in the distance and it was made apparent that's where the watercraft was heading. It continued cutting through the sea, top side, until it got within a certain range of the distant landmass where it then submerged out of sight.

"What? It's gone?" Carol questioned.

"Yeah. I don't see it. That's some neat spy tech they got."

"More annoying than anything," Carol grumbled while rolling her eyes.

As they got closer to the island they see a large facility at the center surrounded by dense trees. There was an aircraft landing pad and a docking port that seemed to suggest this was a commonly visited place, so why did Brain Drain's aircraft submerge itself?

Carol descends to the landing zone and safely touches down, she was grateful it was a short enough trip from the mainland that she didn't burn herself out.

"...What is this place?" Umbrella asked while looking at the looming building.

"Don't know, but...it kinda gives me ASG Lab vibes though."

"Hmm. We should see if anyone's home."

"Going up to knock is out of the question," Carol giggled. "We snuck out here following Brain Drain, remember? If he's here we have to use caution, and Valentine... Well, she's dangerous. She really knows how to fight. The last thing we want is to get into a fight with her."

"Pfft! She didn't look so tough. I bet sis could take her."

"Parasoul? Given her arsenal, probably. Not too sure about a 1-on-1 fisticuffs though. I'd like to see it. I know the princess isn't a pushover, but Valentine is an enhanced human. Her abilities far exceed that of a regular woman."

"Hacks. I call hacks," Umbrella crossed her arms and pouts.

Carol laughed and pats Umbrella's back as she moves ahead to lead them in. They had to do a bit of searching around for a point of entry, but they eventually found one and make their way inside, using their wits to sneak in and infiltrate.

Down in the underground section of the facility, the watercraft surfaces into the moon pool. The hatch opens and Brain Drain climbs out. When Valentine pulled herself out she was surprised to see a group of humanoid females awaiting them.

"...What's all this? Some kind of welcoming party?"

The humanoid figures bow to Brain Drain as he walks down their assembly line, but when Valentine follows they lift up and stare intensely as though they were analyzing every aspect of her being, it was quite uncomfortable.

"The specimens before you are homunculi, artificial women designed with no identifiable genetics to allow for natural assimilation with Skullgirl blood. Now we don't have to wait months for a suitable host to fall into our lap for a transfusion. It's an evolution of ASG bioweapons."

All the homunculi were synthetic and lacked genitals. They were grey in tone and aside from slightly altering height and body structures they all seemed to blend in.

"All the homunculi here have been given a sample of the Player's blood. I've tried multiple transfusions running on different methods of trauma to try forcing synchronization with at least one of them, but nothing was gained. He's quite stubborn, though I'm still hopeful his blood will prove helpful nevertheless. There's something about him we're not seeing. There has to be something in his genetic makeup that allows synchronization to be possible."

Every word Brain Drain spoke made Valentine angry, she was having difficulty resisting the urge to reach for her bonesaw and slit his throat or whatever was necessary to end him for his horrible transgressions on the innocent, but she kept her composure.

Brain Drain escorts Valentine to the elevator and ascend to the higher levels. When they reach the appropriate floor they step out and continue down the long hall until finding the main room.

Incubation Chamber, Unknown Facility
3:41pm

The Incubation Chamber was a room full of stasis tanks and medical equipment. Brain Drained walked Valentine down the aisle which showcased multiple stages of homunculi development.

Valentine couldn't deny that she was intrigued seeing all of this.

"This is where I conceived Project: Eclipse. The project itself doesn't belong to one bioweapon, rather it's the name for the entire homunculi conception being that it eclipses everything we've ever seen or developed thus far."

Valentine heavily rolled her eye at Brain Drain's explanation and stopped herself short from groaning.

Brain Drain grabbed a folder of notes and quickly cycles through them to make sure all was accounted for. He hands the folder to Valentine once he was done.

"These are my notes on every test I ran on the Player. All his biostatistics are in there so that should be useful."

When Valentine opened the folder she briefly reads through documents, each one got harder to get through than the last considering the trials grew more and more heinous.

They walk a little farther down and come across a unique pod aligned with one of the incubation tanks.

"And here is the answer to the greatest threat history has ever known," Brain Drain said as he stands aside the pod to present for Valentine.

When Valentine laid eyes on the pod she was shocked to see the one in encapsulated was the Player. He was suspended in some kind of sustaining fluid with an oxygen mask strapped to his face and various electrodes strapped to his body monitoring different vitals and readings.

"He wasn't willing to synchronize with any of the homunculi to save himself, so I figure a more direct approach was necessary."

Valentine approached the Player's pod and gently placed her hand on the glass as he unconsciously floats in the sustaining fluid. It was hard seeing him like this and knowing she couldn't act immediately as to not blow her cover made it all the more difficult to stomach.

'...I'm here.'

"I've connected his pod to the incubation tank of my primary bioweapon, the host to the last reserve of Skullgirl blood we had, so I can monitor if he has any effect on the blood."

Valentine turned her gaze to the incubation tank and sees the bioweapon; it was taller and slightly bulkier than the others but retained the empty form of a woman. It had longer arms with one being slightly larger than the other. The upper half of its mouth was jagged in a zigzagged fashion.

"...So there's no more Skullgirl blood?"

"Unfortunately not, but I fully intend on getting more by using this new bioweapon once it's complete. That's why it's important we get the secret to synchronizing out of him, so I can harness the power and use it to injure the Skullgirl when she inevitably returns. Then I can take as much blood as I need to power Project: Eclipse. And the only ones who'll never know about it will be us."

"...I see."

"Let's go to my office. We can further discuss business there."

"Right. I'm following you."

Brain Drain walks by Valentine and leads her out the room. Before she leaves she turns back and gives the Player's pod a second glance while Brain Drain continued down the hall.

"...I'll save you. I promise," she swore to him softly.

Brain Drain's Office
3:49pm

The door to the office slides open and the duo enter. Brain Drain's office was littered with books, overstuffed folders, stacked paper, sticky notes along the walls, and thick binders. He had a large wall mounted screen ahead of his desk, it was the same screen he used to project Painwheel and his avatar's point of view so that he could monitor what was happening on the field.

Brain Drain sat at his desk and boots up the computer.

"I'll review your notes and highlight anything of interest. That way it'll be an easy source of reference for later," Valentine said, grabbing a yellow highlighter.

"That's fine, do whatever is necessary. I trust your judgement."

Valentine became pleasantly smug at the comment. If only he knew.

Just as they were about to get things underway a notification popped up on the large screen.

Suspicious Activity Detected - Unregistered Biosignatures Active: Level 6-C

Brain Drain and Valentine look at the screen as it relayed the information, but for Brain Drain this was a more concerning case since no one else was meant to be active other than Valentine and himself.

"What? That can't be right," Brain types on the keyboard and moves the mouse before clicking.

Footage of a security camera popped up on his PC monitor and it shows Carol and Umbrella infiltrating the base. While Brain Drain was initially alarmed at the information his satisfaction grew now that he realized things were lining up.

"Well, well. It looks like we won't need to wait for the Skullgirl to resurrect to get more blood."

"What's going on?" Valentine asked from the other side of the room.

"We've got company."

"People you know?"

"People I know, but they weren't invited. Nor should they have been aware of this place."

"...Really? How did they find it then? We just got here."

"Doesn't matter. The pests fall into our web for us to sink our fangs into. We'll use this to our advantage."

Carol and Umbrella continued to aimlessly wander around the facility while checking whatever doors they came across to see if there was anything of worth inside, but behind every door was nothing useful for them, just documents, machinery, and stairs leading to who knows where so they ignore it all together.

"This place is huge. It's like a bigger and emptier version of home," Umbrella likens the facility to Renoir castle.

"There's no way Brain Drain could afford all this," Carol said. "I wonder how he built this place. It's more of a fortress maze than any lab I've ever seen."

"Hey, Carol?"

"Yeah?"

"I keep hearing about this Brain Drain guy. I know he's bad and everything, but who exactly is he?"

Carol's expression twists to passive hate. "He's a scumbag obsessed with his own ego. Dear Trinity above, I can't stand him. He was the director behind my reformation and why I have these powers now."

"What kind of powers do you have? I know you're like super strong and can fly, but you can do more?"

"I've got some form of advanced healing, I can shoot these weird spikes out of my body, superhuman pain tolerance, flexibility that shouldn't be humanly possible, and some other stuff that'll probably take too long list."

As Carol listed everything she knew off the top of her head Umbrella's eyes sparkle in awe. "I'm sorry that they did all that awful stuff to you, but, um...at least you look super!" Umbrella praised much to Carol's confusion, but she couldn't stop herself from smiling at the princess's joy.

"You think I look cool?" Carol asked with humored surprise.

"Yeah! Your muscles are neat! I bet you could grind meat on your abs. Guys must go crazy for you."

Carol hadn't realized it before but ever since she got on a regular diet her muscles became more defined and her anorexic body thickened up which helped tone out her build to that of a young Amazonian warrior.

"Pfft!" Carol nearly bursts out into laughter at Umbrella's comment. "No. Not exactly," she denied.

The girls continue on and engage in friendly conversation along the way, almost forgetting they were behind enemy lines until reaching a massive arena setting that had battle damage throughout.

"Huh. What's this big room?" Umbrella wondered.

"Your guess is as good as mine. It's a mess though."

They carefully make their way down the rows of flat seats and walk to the arena center.

"Kinda looks like one of those things where buff dudes fight lions," Umbrella said.

"A coliseum?"

"Yeah, that, but y'know, indoors. How the heck did someone even build this?! And with what money?!"

"More importantly, I don't see any doors leading to another part of the complex. I think we have to go back and find another way around."

The intercom in the room chimes with loud interference that echoed throughout the room.

Umbrella grits her teeth and closed one eye at the ear piercing screech, thankful it only lasted for a second. "Jeez. You got all the money in the world to build this complex, but not enough to upgrade from a poverty mic?" She mumbled.

Brain Drain: Find what you were looking for?

"Brain Drain...!" Carol snarled.

Brain Drain: How wonderful to see you again, Painwheel. And you've brought a friend; a Renoir. How delightful.

"What the hell are you doing all the way out here, Brain Drain?"

Brain Drain: I should be asking you that. Aren't you the trespasser? This is a haven for science, back when it stood for something. One of the original Anti-Skullgirl Labs funded by King Franz before moving to the mainland and establishing ASG HQ to what we know it as now.

"...Dad?" Umbrella questioned to herself.

Brain Drain: I took the liberty of...inheriting this sacred land in the name of science. In hopes of returning it to its former glory so that the next generation of ASG scientists can be free to experiment and create as they see fit. No one to tell them they're wrong for crafting their art or expressing their brilliance. Free from the shackles of needless morals and ethics to pursue change in this stagnant world.

"Just can't get enough playing holier than thou, huh?" Carol mocked.

Brain Drain: Heh, another blind fool. I was so close to making you the best version of yourself, but alas. That's okay though, I'm glad you're here. I need a guinea pig to test my latest project - Project: Eclipse.

"Project: Eclipse? You shameless bastard! You turned another person into a monster?!"

Brain Drain: Humans are more trouble than they're worth. They're frail and weak, however, the Renoir intrigues me.

"Unless you want to die I suggest you watch what you say," Carol threatened.

Brain Drain: See? There. That's good. That's how I designed you but for the Skullgirl.

"You didn't design me to do anything! I'm me! The only thing you did was control me through your psychic links, I never acted on my own will, but that was meant for you from me."

Brain Drain: Before me you wouldn't have hurt a fly.

Carol grits her teeth and balled up her fists in increasing anger.

Brain Drain: My new bioweapons need combat experience against an actual opponent and you'll do nicely. I'm interested in seeing how they fair against my old work.

"Um, Carol? What's a bioweapon?"

To answer Umbrella's question, 10 homunculi appear in the arena, surrounding the girls.

"Whoa! What the-?!"

"What the hell are these things...?" Carol asked.

Brain Drain: Homunculi - canvases for my art and a scientific breakthrough that'll change the field. Attack!

On Brain Drain's sudden command all the homunculi charge at Carol and Umbrella.

"Guess we're doing this," Carol darts her head from left to right to determine who she was going to attack first.

Carol looked over her shoulder and swung her leg around to the homunculi attacking from the rear; she sent her heel into its temple and smacked it onto the floor, completing a 360 rotation and facing the two attacking from the front.

She kicked the other leg up and sent the bottom of her heel into the nearest homunculi's chin and sent it flying to the ceiling where it's head crashed into the stadium light fixture above leaving its body to dangle and spasm from being electrocuted.

The next homunculi jumps at Carol to grab her, but she threw her leg down and plants her foot onto its head, sending it down and planting its face into the ground, using its head as footing to leap off while others give chase.

Hungern pulled Umbrella away with his canopy open to back step her away from one of the homunculi chasing her, leaving the princess to hold on and blow in the wind. Once the homunculi got close enough, Umbrella swung her leg around as Hungern turns and she kicked it away into a spiraling frenzy.

When Hungern angled himself upright, allowing Umbrella to land on her feet, Umbrella wrapped her arms around Hungern and squeezed him into a tight hug for helping her, distracting herself with affection, but the hug caused Hungern's eyes to pop out and as a result each of his eyes smacked three attacking homunculi which ultimately blew them away. Distracted, but still winning.

Hungern's eyes pop back into the canopy once Umbrella lightened her hug, she was far stronger than she appeared based on how winded Hungern appeared afterward.

A homunculi throws a punch at Carol's face and she ducks under it, jumping up and lunging her knee into its stomach. SQUELCH! A nail protrudes from the homunculi's back having come from Carol's knee, the nail retracts into her as she placed her leg back on the floor to let the homunculi drop to the floor.

Umbrella jumped high into the air and was ambushed from all sides by swarming forces. She opened Hungern's canopy and swung her leg out, having spin into a continuous rotation that allowed her to helicopter kick her way down.

"Round and round!" Umbrella playfully cheered while kicking all her foes away.

Carol rushes through multiple homunculi with black blades sticking out of her forearms, she swings them around and slices everything in her way with lethal force.

Umbrella plants Hungern into the floor and blows a cute bubble from his shapeshifted bulb-like form and traps an approaching homunculi inside where it then flies up into the air. The bubble's elasticity was quite formidable as nothing the homunculi did popped it.

Carol spots the ascending bubble housing the homunculi and crafts a javelin spear from out of her palm. She grips the makeshift weapon and tosses it at the bubble, having enough strength to not only pop it but pierce through the homunculi inside.

Brain Drain watched from his office as Umbrella and Carol made quick work of his new bioweapons, Valentine stood on the side watching out the corner of her while smiling.

"Painwheel has improved and the Renoir is no pushover with that Living Weapon," Brain Drain observed.

Homunculi bodies fly all over the arena; flying into the empty stands, hitting the floor, crashing into the ceiling, they scatter everywhere until none were left standing: either knocked out by Umbrella or slain by Carol.

Carol surveys the room and sees they wrapped up nicely before Umbrella floats to the ground and lands beside her.

"That was fun!" Umbrella cheered.

"Hmph. Is that what you wanted to see, Brain Drain?" Carol questioned as a taunt.

Brain Drain: I see you've incorporated the Gae Bolga Matrix into your fighting style. You've grown into an efficient killer, unfortunately none of the bioweapons have resonated with the Player's blood as I hoped.

The implication of his comment left Carol and Umbrella horrified.

"He's... He's here?!" Umbrella asked in a panic.

Brain Drain: Don't worry. I'm taking good care of him.

"Where is he?!" Carol furiously questioned.

Brain Drain: All in due time. Stick around, maybe I may need you to test one last weapon.

"I'm not playing your games, Brain Drain! Tell us where he is NOW or else!"

The intercom hangs up and the arena goes quiet.

Umbrella stares up to the ceiling clutched her chest. "He's...here. He's alive," the revelation of his presence filled her with joy, but knowing he was in Brain Drain's hands scared her.

Carol pats Umbrella's back to get her attention. "Hey, stay strong. We're not leaving until we find him. Okay?"

Umbrella looked up to Carol and found the will to overthrow her fears. She knew her friend was here, and he was alive, now it was only a matter of finding him and getting him home.

"Right," Umbrella nods confidently, donning the face of a strong princess - the resemblance to Parasoul, in that moment, was uncanny.

The battle between Carol and Umbrella against the homunculi replayed on the large monitor as recorded footage.

Brain Drain analyzed the battle while writing detailed notes for future bioweapon improvements.

Carol and Umbrella in the facility made the rescue mission a lot easier for Valentine now that she knew they came for the Player. All she had to do now was play along a little longer.

"...Heh, y'know," Valentine spoke to get Brain Drain's attention. "The Renoir truly is something special. A unique blend of supernatural and natural elements. Coexisting together in a spiral of mystery that we haven't even begun to grasp."

"I know. She's a curious one. I fully intend to get her within our grasp so we can experiment on her."

"The homunculi are still in the developing cycle, but I'm more than capable of dealing with her. I'll retrieve her so we can begin immediately."

"She's with Painwheel. It won't be easy."

"Oh please, I can handle Painwheel. I'm the one who trained her after all. Besides, I want to see the extent of her power anyway. She's been nothing but a disappointment before, I want to see an improvement."

"Aren't we confident."

"If it all works out we'll have every right to be. We're going to change the world for the better."

"Heh. Very well. Have your fun, but bring the Renoir to me. She has a bond with the Player that allows synchronization, if we get them together maybe I can finally crack this cryptic puzzle and gain the power for myself."

"Right away."

Valentine sat her notes down on his desk for him to review later and Brain Drain continues his work. Once the sliding doors closed behind her Valentine gagged at the thought of playing buddy-buddy with Brain Drain.

But now that she excused herself it was time to put the plan into motion.

Valentine sprints through the facility and makes her way to the incubation chamber where the bioweapons were born and where the Player was currently being held.

She walks along the empty tanks and finds Brain Drain's primary bioweapon, infused with the Skullgirl blood he had in reserve, and glares at it in disgust. She couldn't wait to get out and never see him again, even if it blew her cover and meant she wouldn't have the advantage of using him for future gain it was well worth it - she couldn't stand him.

Valentine moves to the adjacent pod holding the Player and examines the control panel. She didn't know the code and curses it, of course Brain Drain would still have a code even when he was the only person working in the facility for however long he been here. It just further justified Valentine's disdain of him.

"Well, I wanted to do this quiet, but now I guess we're going with the loud and dumb approach. Not that it matters, I've been gone long enough. Brain Drain will start to suspect something is amiss eventually."

CRASH!

The pod's glass shatter and the sustaining fluid inside pours onto the floor. Valentine reached her hand inside and sabotages the seal which popped the lock allowing her to open the pod's door.

She unhooks the oxygen mask from the Player's face and all the electrodes attached to his body.

Once he was free of his bindings, Valentine eased him out of the pod and lays him on the floor. He wheezes on the floor, gagging and gently coughing, he was having trouble breathing with his body lightly spasming with each cough.

Valentine performed quick CPR: 30 chest compressions and two rescue breaths after each compression set.

The Player's breathing slowly returned to regular intervals but as he comes to his exhaling became frantic.

"It's okay, it's okay," Valentine calmly spoke to him as he recovered.

He heard voices calling from the dark as he surfaced, eyes opening, he sees Valentine and instinctively panicked since his brain hadn't caught up to him yet.

"It's just me. It's okay," she held up her hands to ease him up.

"...Valentine?" The Player squints before looking around. "Oh shit. Where-?"

"Don't worry. I'm here to save you. Take a moment to rest."

Valentine stood up and scans the room for clothes. She saw the Player's shirt, pants, and shoes on the operation table and a clean towel by the medical supplies.

When the Player was able to stand she helped him get dry.

Valentine noticed his body covered in black bruises but he didn't have any cuts or any indications of physical alterations like Carol.

WARNING: Security Breach - WARNING: Security Breach - Level 5-A

A warning message flashes on the large monitor and Brain Drain looks on in bewilderment.

"A breach? What?"

Brain Drain got up from his seat and checks the security monitor, turning his attention to the aforementioned level and sees the problem: Valentine freed the Player from his pod and he glares. His hands tighten into a vengeful fist before walking back to his desk.

He sat in his chair and types a sequence number before a special trigger arises from his desk with a red button at the center: he presses it.

Back in the incubation chamber, the Player was dried and back in the only clothes he had. He sat in a chair looking physically and mentally exhausted from spending a week being mistreated.

"You didn't have to risk coming here, Val."

"What?! Of course I did. There was no way in hell I was going to leave you to that deluded madman."

"...Heh, listen to you. Caring about my well-being and all that."

"Shut up," Valentine smirked and rolled her eye at his comment, even when they were racing against the clock and the odds were against them he had time to make her smile. "You need to think about getting recruited into the Black Egrets. They're military, so you may find them a bit stiff, but they know what they're doing. You could really use the resources if people are going to be coming after you like this."

The Player's playful face fades and he looks ahead, thinking about his relationship with Parasoul and how they never found time to rekindle. "Easier said than done. I'm pretty sure she still doesn't want to talk to me," he replied dishearteningly.

"You can't let that stop you. The least you can do is try talking some sense back into her. Both of you need to stop being afraid and if she won't make the first move then you should be the bigger person and do it yourself."

The Player thought about it, and after this harrowing experience, that didn't sound like a bad idea.

Before the Player could respond, the alarming WOOSH of an airlock attracted Valentine and the Player's attention to the source: it came from the incubation beside the Player's pod.

Following the sound of the airlock there was a draining heavy draining coming from the chamber.

Darkness

'Awaken. It's time to fulfill your purpose. Obey Lab 0, obey Brain Drain'

Booting... Booting... System Online

[OBJECTIVES]

1: ELIMINATE THE SKULLGIRL

2: CAPTURE THE SKULL HEART

3: APPREHEND ALL TRAITORS TO LAB 0

4: RETRIEVE AND RESTRAIN THE PLAYER

5: SYNCHRONIZE

An ominous red POV within the incubation pod reveals the peering gaze of the creation inside, Brain Drain's bioweapon awakened while in the middle of its restoration process.

Bang!

The Player and Valentine flinch from the sudden noise. It goes quiet.

...BANG!

It got louder and the incubation pod received a notable dent on the surface.

"We have to run," Valentine said.

BANG!

A second dent popped out.

"Right," the Player got up from the chair but immediately dropped to the floor. He picked his head up to collect his breath. "Damn, my legs...they're like wet noodles."

BANG! BANG!

Valentine ran over to the Player and helped him up, wrapping one arm and her neck and the other holding his side so that he could lean on her. "I got you," she assured.

The sound of metal grinding filled the room and they run out the incubation chamber as fast as they could.

An oversized mutated arm punches its way out the tank and the fluid inside pours out, soaking the already wet floor.

Valentine tried her best to watch her speed when guiding the Player down the hallway, he had a limp and as such getting far at a respectable enough speed to be comfortable was just out of reach.

It was hard to tell where they were, everything almost looked the same, but eventually they come across some stairs that lead to the upper level and without needing to think about it they climb, unfortunately stairs added more to the challenge of escaping - bringing their escape to a crawl in terms of progress.

They reach the next level and continue on. Just ahead was a two point turn, they could've chose to go left or right but there was no telling where either lead.

Before they got to the end of the hall they stop when they heard footsteps against the cold metal floor from up ahead.

"...You heard that?" The Player asked.

Valentine sharpens her gaze and begins taking a few steps back.

Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap! The footsteps running against floor got closer and a frantic shadow reflects on the wall.

Valentine was ready to fight whatever was coming toward them, the Player would've just had to watch himself while she handled her business.

They duo braced for what was next.

Carol and Umbrella run by down the hall, Umbrella took a second to peak down the adjacent corridor and sees the Player and Valentine in that split instant, so she came to a screeching halt, and returned to the T-intersection.

"Umbrella?!" The Player was shocked to see her.

"Oh, Trinity! Carol! Come back!" Umbrella yelled down the hall before sprinting down to the two. "Are you okay?!"

The Player smirks at Umbrella, albeit weakly, and nods. "Never better, but what are you doing here?" He placed his hand on Umbrella's head and playfully ruffles her hair.

Carol returned to the T-intersection and jogs down the hall to meet with them.

Umbrella shook his hand out of her head and looks up to him with a stern face. "That doesn't matter! Why do you look hurt?!"

This was the most serious the Player had ever seen Umbrella, and it was far beyond what he was used to.

Carol, however, stares at Valentine who was distracted watching the Player interact with Umbrella, smiling at their interaction. Carol couldn't wrap her head around Valentine displaying anything outside of condescending sarcasm, her first and only thought was that this showcase of human emotion was a front, making her snarl.

"Hand him over, monster." Carol demands, getting everyone's attention.

"Carol! You're here too!" The Player smiled.

Valentine, seeing Carol for the first time in months, softly gasps now that she was in her company. "Painwhe- I mean... Carol?" Her expression saddens after noticing the scars on her face.

Carol's fists tighten the moment Valentine didn't comply. She takes a few steps forward with every intention of using force.

The Player looks between the two and held out his hand to Carol. "Wait. Carol, she's on our side."

Carol stopped, baffled at the Player's comment. "On our side? She's the one behind all of this!" She venomously declared.

"No, no! It was Brain Drain. He forced her to-"

A sizable explosion goes off behind them and blows a massive hole in the wall, surprising the small party. They all turn to the dust filling the hall and prepare for a fight.

"There's no time argue," Valentine said, now looking at the Player. "Brain Drain is going to hunt you down to force synchronization to power his bioweapon. He's hellbent on creating the perfect countermeasure to the Skullgirl," she then turned her attention to Carol. "We need to get him out of here."

"Carol and I can distract Brain Drain long enough for you to escape," Umbrella offered much to Carol's disapproval.

"Think you can handle it?" The Player asked.

"Can I-? You think I was sleeping through all those lessons?" Umbrella placed one hand on her hip, standing with confidence to assure the Player of her growth.

The Player smiled from her response. "I forgot who I'm dealing with. Okay. I'll see you soon," he looks up to Carol, who was still unhappy about Valentine's involvement. "She's on our side," he reinstates "I promise I'll explain everything when all of this is over. But, for now, I need you to buy us a window of time so we can get out of here."

Carol's eyes became fixed on Valentine again, trying to find it in herself to overlook her personal bias for the sake of her friend, but looking at Valentine made her seethe uncontrollably.

The approaching footsteps of the bioweapon could be heard. It steps through the large hole in the wall and enters the narrow hall where the group was, turning its head in their direction where its red eyes glow menacingly from the smoke.

Seeing the foe, Carol grits her teeth and closed her eyes - coping with the idea of trusting Valentine with someone she cares about after everything she had been through, but for the sake of her friend it was better to leave him with Valentine than a killing machine, so she did away with her personal vendetta and steps aside to let them pass.

"...Thank you," the Player said.

Valentine doesn't say a word and gives Carol a passing look of gratitude while helping the Player move so they could escape. Valentine and the Player turn the nearest corner before the bioweapon could identify them.

"I feel like there's some context I'm missing here," Umbrella said after watching the ordeal.

"It's nothing. Let's focus on this," Carol faced the looming threat in a battle ready stance.

"Right!" Umbrella stood at the ready with Hungern in hand.

The bioweapon steps out from smoke and reveals itself. It scans Umbrella and Carol but doesn't detect the Player, however, what it did detect was Skullgirl blood coming from both of them and tilts its head like a curious dog.

Umbrella gives a look of disgust at the deformed monstrosity. "Eugh. What is that?" She shivers.

"One of Brain Drain's toys to smash." Carol smirked now that she had the chance to vent her frustration on another one of her tormentors.

From his office Brain Drain scanned the area and found no sight of the Player which made him hammer his fist into the desk in an annoyed fit. "Valentine must've gone ahead. Don't let him escape, the Player is far too valuable an asset for him to slip through my fingers."

The bioweapon turned its back to Umbrella and Carol to find a quicker route to cut off Valentine.

"Hey! You think you're just going to ignore us?!" Carol irately questioned.

"We're not letting you hurt our friend, creep!" Umbrella pointed.

Hearing them made Brain Drain sigh.

Umbrella and Carol charge, sprinting toward the bioweapon as Brain Drain took physical control over it.

The bioweapon tightly locked its hands together and turned to the girls with its arms raised overhead to hammer down on whoever was first.

Umbrella took point ahead of Carol and leads the charge with a running slide between the bioweapons legs before it could slam its fists into her, causing the weapon to strike the ground instead.

Carol ran up with her arm retracted and came underhand with a heavy uppercut into the bioweapons face, sending it arching back.

Umbrella rolls back onto her shoulders from the slide with her legs tucked in, hands on both sides of her head, and threw herself up on a diagonal double kick to the back of the bioweapons head which forced it forward on a slouch under her boots.

The bioweapon grabbed Umbrella from both sides and used the downward momentum to power bomb the back of the princess' head down onto Carol's face after she just pulled her fist back from the uppercut.

Umbrella and Carol hit the ground; Umbrella cradles the back of her head and Carol placed both hands over her nose.

The girls open their eyes and see the bioweapon bringing its foot down to stomp either of their heads into the ground, but they roll away from one another leaving the bioweapons foot to cave in the floor instead.

A small trail of blood leaks from Carol's nose as she rolled onto her back just on the side of the bioweapon.

She recovers with a reverse roll and got up to her feet, rushing the bioweapon with a straight punch that it dodged performing a 360 rotation around the attack while crossing one arm across its chest.

After the rotation, the bioweapon swung its elbow into the back of Carol's head, knocking her away.

The bioweapon focused on Carol only to have Umbrella to jump up and slam Hungern down onto its head, bringing the monstrosity onto all fours.

After hitting the ground Carol recovers with a tactical roll. She witnessed Umbrella landing behind the bioweapon after her attack brought it down.

The creature springs up and threw the back of its head into Umbrella's face, Umbrella letting out a pained "OW," on impact.

Carol rushes to help and the bioweapon rolls forward, standing upright again: Carol punches the monster in the chest, but it was able to tank the hit now that it was able to prepare itself unlike with Umbrella.

"The hell?!" Carol was surprised to see it unfazed by her attack.

The bioweapon threw its hand into the side of Carol's face and grabbed her head before shoving her, face first, through the wall.

Umbrella attacks from the side by lunging Hungern for the bioweapon as it dealt with Carol, but it steps back and dodges Umbrella's attack.

As the princess passes by, the bioweapon grabbed the back of Umbrella's head while she was still within reach and swung her to the adjacent wall in the narrow hallway where it smashes her through just like Carol.

With the girls down, the bioweapon held out its hands to both sides of the wall and fired a blast of Theonite into them, sending Umbrella and Carol deeper through the facility.

Umbrella recovered and took aim down the long hall. She opened Hungern's canopy and his eyes alight.

"Retina Beam!"

Each of Hunger eyes generate Theonite and launches it as a concentrated wave at the bioweapon.

The bioweapon sensed the incoming attack and looked down Umbrella's part of the hall only to get blasted and explode.

Carol got up shortly after and sprints into the smoke. She immediately found the bioweapon and wrapped her arms around it from behind, wasting no time to lift it off its feet and supplex its head into the ground, the shockwave of which blew the smoke away and cleared the hall.

The bioweapon fell back from the supplex and laid on the ground.

"Death Crawl!"

Four spikes protrude from Carol's hands and feet while maintaining the supplex arch, transitioning that into one of her signature moves that she used to violently crab walk over the creature and stick it full of holes.

Carol retracts her spikes and flips her legs over into a crouched stance.

Umbrella ran out of the hole in the wall and jumps with Hungern held back, she throws him forward and spirals down until spiking the Living Weapon onto the creature with so much power that the floor caves in and spikes the bioweapon down to the lower level.

"...Wow. You two are strong," Carol observed.

"Ha! It's almost scary how good we are!" Umbrella tossed Hungern over her shoulder and smirked confidently.

The bioweapon sprouts from the ground Umbrella with its arms outstretched.

"WAH!" Umbrella jumped and Carol flinched from the abrupt return.

The destruction could be heard booming down the hall causing the Player to look over his shoulder.

"Things are getting out of hand," he said with worry in his voice.

"Things have gotten out of hand when he kidnapped you," Valentine said in a mildly annoyed voice. "I can't believe he'd stoop this low. I knew Brain Drain was a scumbag but this? Goddess, he pisses me off."

"Yeah. He's a total dick, but I'm more worried about my friends. He used Skullgirl blood to make that thing."

"That bioweapon is stronger than most, but Carol and the Renoir have Skullgirl blood as well. Brain Drain won't be able to stop them that easily."

"Maybe you're right, but...Umbrella is still a kid."

"Princess Parasoul trained her though, right?"

"Yeah, but she's still inexperienced. She never been in a real fight before."

"Once we get to the surface I'll back them up. I wanted to screw over Brain Drain anyway."

"I appreciate that. Make sure you screw up his plans extra hard for me too."

Valentine snickered as though the Player hadn't already contributed by not telling Brain Drain everything he wanted to know about synchronizing for a week.

The battle rages on farther in the lab, Umbrella and Carol split up after completing a team attack that caused an explosion against the bioweapon.

Emerging from the smoke, the bioweapon pursuits Umbrella right as she lands on a sturdy elevated pipe.

It jumps into the air after her and soars to the pipe with its fist held back to attack when in range.

Umbrella backflips away and used Hungern's curved handle to grip the pipe so that she could swing herself under just as the bioweapon punched the air where she was.

The momentum swung Umbrella back up and she kicked her legs out, striking the bioweapon in the back once it landed on the pipe.

The bioweapon fell off the pipe and dropped to the ground with its back hitting the floor, it reverse rolls from the landing as a recovery.

"Hey!" Carol shouts.

It turns in Carol's direction and gets a jumping knee to the face for the trouble, sending its head back on a body arch, mouth agape from the shock.

Simply letting the bioweapon fall onto its back from the knee wasn't what Carol had in mind; while in the middle of flipping over the falling creature she stuck both hands in its maw and grabbed the top of its mouth on the way down.

Carol lands behind it and takes the monstrosity off its feet, tossing it overhead a yard away with her incredible strength.

The bioweapon flips through the facility, crashing through multiple objects that eventually slowed its momentum.

Carol flies through the smoke screen of the room it crashed into and kicked the side of the bioweapon's face just as it regained footing.

Umbrella appeared in the direction the bioweapon stumbled and stabbed Hungern into its abdomen.

The bioweapon swung at Umbrella while they were in close proximity but she pulled back and dodged before it could strike.

Carol lands another hit by punching the monster across the face.

It circled from the punch, 180 degrees into the spin it balled its fist and on the last 180 rotation, as a counter, it threw a punch at Carol only to have her step to the side and grab its fist.

"Finish it, Umbrella!"

"Right!" Umbrella smirked and prepared Hungern for a powerful attack. "Retina Beam!"

Once Hungern was lunged forward a starved POOF came out of his canopy.

"Hm?" Umbrella examined Hungern and only just now realized he was running on fumes and needed food.

"What's wrong?!" Carol asked.

"Hungern hungers," Umbrella explained.

"He...what?"

Probably not the best time to get distracted; the bioweapon forced it's fist out of Carol's hands and rushes her with a clothesline, shoving its arm into her throat and running to the nearest wall to burst her through.

"Sorry, Carol! I just need to feed Hungern some stuff and I'll be right back!"

While running Carol through the facility, the bioweapon scans around the entire building using its advance eyes to find the Player above them and spots him.

It smashed Carol's back into some heavy machinery and she dropped to the ground.

The bioweapon grabbed her ankle and tossed her overhead, slamming her into the ground on one side and then again on the other.

Once Carol was face down, the bioweapon turns its attention to the upper level and jumps through the ceiling to give chase.

The Player and Valentine climb a flight of stairs to the next level and press on until the wall beside them bursts open and sends them back into the adjacent wall, the Player falling on his behind and Valentine standing her ground by shielding her face.

The bioweapon sprints out of the smoke and goes for a lunging its right foot at the Player to knock him out and haul him without a fight.

"Crap!" The Player crossed his arms in front of his face as a defensive option.

Valentine intervenes by locking her right arm around the bioweapon's calf and swinging out the back of her left heel into its face in a flying high sweep as one seamless counter grab.

The kick immediately put the bioweapon on its back and Valentine swiftly completes the rotation of her counter.

Brain Drain's shadow forms over the downed bioweapon to glare at Valentine. "Traitor," he bitterly mocks.

"Oh please. I was never on your side and you know that."

Shadow Brain Drain: Valentine, I'll be willing to overlook your treason and let you go if you just hand him over.

The bioweapon jumps up once more and stares Valentine down alongside the shadow manifestation of its creator.

"Val?" The Player gently called out to her.

"Just stay behind me," she whispered back to him.

"You're not going to touch him!" Umbrella returned with a fed Hungern, appearing behind the bioweapon.

Carol punches a hole through the floor and jumped into the scene, appearing on the bioweapon's side.

Valentine stood between the bioweapon and the Player, keeping her arm out in front of him as a means of showing she was going to protect him from it.

Shadow Brain Drain: You're all starting to annoy me.

The shadow flashes out and the three girls charge toward the bioweapon together.

A bubble shield forms around the bioweapon to guard against their three attacks and absorb the damage.

The shield bursts blowing Umbrella and Valentine back while Carol stood her ground by planting her feet to prevent the push back.

The bioweapon gripped Carol's face with both hands before she could react and smashed its head into hers, sending her to the ground and rolling away.

Umbrella slides in between the bioweapon's legs from behind and hooks Hungern's handle to the back of its heel, swooping herself up to her feet and sweeping the monster down to a seated position.

A scalpel cuts through the air and struck the bioweapon's forehead dead center, the impact made it fall flat on its back like it died from a headshot, dramatic effect, but in a reality it was fine; reverse rolling and pulling out the scalpel at the same time so that by the time it got back on its feet it was clear.

Umbrella jumps in, back turned against the brute, to initiate a 540 crescent kick: kicking out her left leg for a reverse heel kick to the face.

The bioweapon ducked under the first kick, the wind cutting after her foot, and when it lifts back up Umbrella brought around her right foot for a high kick follow up, but it threw its head back and avoided the attack again.

Carol flies in with Buer Drive and kicked the back of the bioweapon's head the moment it dodged Umbrella's kick, making it stumble forward as she lands behind it.

Recovering from Carol's midair kick, the bioweapon threw its elbow back at her but Carol blocks with her forearm and directs it over her head.

Carol uppercuts the monster's chin with black nails protruding out her fist as lethal brass knuckles.

Umbrella dives in, stomping both boots onto the back of the bioweapon's head and bringing it forward on a declining slope before flipping off to safety.

Valentine appeared in front of the bioweapon as it slumps down and grabbed its arm, pulling it forward and rolling onto her back under it; drawing both legs to her chest and placing her hands on the floor proximal to her ears.

When the bioweapon falls over Valentine on its way to its hands and knees, Valentine kicked her foot out and struck the torso before cycling between kicks and getting it higher into the air with each strike.

At the apex of her 3rd kick, Valentine tucked in both legs down to her forehead and used her hands to shoot herself up into a hand standing double kick that shot it high into the air.

As it flew out of range Valentine lowered herself onto her back and rolls up, sprinting to the Player and helping him up.

"Come on, we've got to go!"

"R-Right."

Valentine continues her mission of getting the Player to safety while Umbrella and Carol hold off the enemy.

Carol stomps her foot into the ground and shifts her weight so that she could maximize damage for her incoming punch; she transfers the weight with a vicious death glare and sends her fist into the bioweapons abdomen with a devastating punch.

It felt like time became sluggish the moment of contact - every ounce of hurt in that punch sent jolts of agony through every part of the body.

The bioweapon was taken off its feet and opened its mouth to upchuck some of its Skullgirl blood in a splatter.

When time picked back up, the bioweapon's trajectory produced a shockwave that sent a deafening boom bursting through the entire facility, blowing out glass and windows.

The bioweapon became a blur in the wind with a Mach cone forming at its back.

It cuts through the air until smacking into a reinforced bulkhead, by some miracle the bioweapon's mass wasn't flattened to fleshy paste on collision, but it was immediately blown to hell by a Retina Beam follow up and explodes, creating a thick smoke cloud.

A continuous volley of energy and Gae Bolga nail projectiles are fired into the smoke which thickened the expanding smoke screen.

Umbrella and Carol mercilessly unleash bullet hell into the smoke to shred the bioweapon into a bloody mist.

While the girls were able to keep the advantage it came at the cost of overextending their arsenal: Hungern wore out the energy he gained from the meal Umbrella gave him prior and Gae Bolga was too painful for consecutive use, as a result their attacks grew weaker over time.

A light shines from the smoke and a Theonite beam is fired from it, clearing the screen to reveal the bioweapon was alive and firing the beam from its mouth.

The beam overpowers Umbrella and Carol's weakened projectiles and blasts Umbrella through the wall.

"AAAAHHHHH-!"

"Umbrella!" Carol called out as Umbrella was shot deeper into the facility.

The bioweapon staggers out of the destroyed bulkhead with most of its body covered in sizzling holes from the team attack, however, that wouldn't be the case for long - the holes heal themselves thanks to the Skullgirl blood.

With Carol distracted, the bioweapon sprints across the room while healing along the way.

Hearing the approaching footsteps, Carol turns only to get punched in the jaw and sent hurtling into a girder that was sturdy enough to halt her.

She bounces off the steel beam and gets kicked back into it, this time going through the girder and breaking it in half.

Carol was sent flying through the neighboring beams which ended up weakening the structure.

Umbrella was blasted through multiple walls and ended up on the floor of a room farthest away from the chaos: the right side of her coat was completely burnt off revealing a battered waterproof shirt underneath.

She lost her hat and her hair was disheveled.

"...Hun...gern...?" She weakly called to her Living Weapon.

Umbrella opened her eyes and saw rubble beside her but no sight of Hungern.

As she goes to pick herself up droplets of blood fall on the floor where her head hovered. She was covered in bruises and cuts, a trail of blood ran out the side of her mouth the more she strained.

A cut on her forehead, above the eyebrow, had blood run down the side of her face.

Despite her best efforts she ended up dropping to the floor. The devastation behind the bioweapons beam couldn't have been understated.

"It... It hurts..." She winced.

The bioweapon ran through the facility with Carol's neck secured by its bicep, having clotheslined her again.

It ran the back of her head through multiple walls before coming to a stretching halt and having her fly off its arm.

Before Carol's body flew off, the bioweapon grabbed her by the ankle and swung her into a wall where she got stuck.

Carol tried pulling herself out the imprint she made but got a foot to the chest for her troubles, kicking her deeper into the wall.

"Nnnngh!"

The bioweapon retracts its foot and punched her face farther in, and then again and again.

Once she was deep enough and unable break free, the bioweapon swung its foot back and kicked vertically into the wall, eventually kicking Carol's side and sending her flying out the concrete.

Carol flew into a destroyed stasis tank and her back struck the jagged glass which pierced skin.

"AAAUUGH!"

A Theonite beam trills through the room and struck her in the stomach, blasting her through the stasis tank and destroying it.

She was sent hurtling until she hit the floor. She rolls along until coming to a stop, face down.

The bioweapon runs into the room, jumps high into the air, and plummets down onto Carol's back, landing on her like a mat and crushing her underneath its weight.

Upper Level, Laboratory

Valentine's progress of helping the Player get to safety was making slow progress, but progress nevertheless.

"We're almost there, keep pushing," she encouraged.

"Right," the Player nods while helping carry his weight.

Distant rumbling could be heard below and unsettled the two, but it didn't stop them from moving. It just meant the fight was still going.

"Damn, if Filia or Sienna were here we could've made quick work of that damn thing."

"That would've been nice. Brain Drain used the last sample of Skullgirl blood he had to make Project: Eclipse. Destroying it means he won't have anything left to make his bioweapons as powerful as they are."

"Really? Oh, I'd love give one last middle finger to that asshole. Honestly, I wouldn't mind trying to synchronize with you but I feel like I'm too weak to try it and I can't push myself."

"I wouldn't let you stay here to fight anyway. You've been through enough and you need medical attention."

"I know. Guess I'm just excited to see what you can do."

"Let's just get out of here first. Once we're in the clear I'll treat you."

"Hallelujah."

Before either of them could make it up the stairs the floor beneath them gives way and crumbles.

"What?!" Valentine was shocked to see floor beginning to give way.

"Aaaw hell," The Player knew this wasn't going to end well.

The battle in the lower laboratory caused so much structural damage that all the support keeping the upper level maintained gave way and dropped the two back down to the lower floor, cutting off the only route that meant a successful escape.

As the two drop out the air with the debris, Valentine acts quick by grabbing the Player and holding him close, turning her back to the floor so that she could cushion his fall once they hit the ground.

"Aaaugh!" Valentine cried out.

Once Valentine released him, the Player turned over and looks down to her. "Valentine! You okay?!" He examined her body for any sign of injury.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I just-" She opened her eye and saw chunks of debris ready to rain down on them.

Without warning she grabbed the Player again and switches positions, putting him on the floor and keeping him close to use her back as a shield from the falling rubble.

"Nnngh!" Valentine grunts as rock pelt her. Once all the destruction stopped, Valentine lifts up. "That's gonna bleed," she said while trying to work around the pain.

"God, that was... Well, I can't say reckless because you saved me, thanks, but holy shit. How are you alive?!"

"I'm made of tough stuff," she playfully comments while still having weight to her claim, seeing as how she was an enhanced woman and all.

Before the Player could respond he catches onto the unpleasant sound of monstrous breathing close by. A tongue whips out from the debris and gave his cheek an assortment of licks.

"A-Aye! What the hell?!" The Player threw his back to get the tongue away from him. "Wait... I know that sound."

The Player crawled over to where the tongue was protruding and pulls away the rubble to uncover a buried Hungern.

"Isn't that the kid's Living Weapon?"

"Yeah. But, where's Umbrella?"

BOOM!

The Player and Valentine look ahead to the sound and heard chaos - it was coming from deeper into the destroyed lab.

Valentine looked up and saw the entire floor above was missing. "We're not getting out of here as easily as I hoped, because of course," she looked on rather dull about the situation.

"Nah, it's cool. I can't leave Umbrella and Carol anyway."

"But you're in no condition to-"

"Doesn't matter. They're fighting for us and the only shot we had to get out is gone. I bet you can't ninja your way out of this because you took all that damage for me."

He wasn't wrong, her back was still feeling the pain and not from the usual causes either.

"Don't worry about me. I won't be alone because you've got my back, right? I don't know how we're going to do it but, together, the four of us can find a way to beat this. I have to get Hungern to Umbrella. You with me?"

"Of course," Valentine doesn't hesitate in assuring him now that she saw his determination.

The Player smiled and grabbed Hungern by the handle.

Carol laid in a sizable crater on the floor from a prior attack, the fight still wasn't in her favor.

The bioweapon puts Carol's hands together and lifts her off the floor by her restrained wrists in one hand. The height difference between them had her feet dangle in the air.

Brain Drain's shadow manifests behind the bioweapon with its arms crossed.

Shadow Brain Drain: My greatest failure.

Carol opened her eyes and sees the two.

Shadow Brain Drain: You were meant to be the savior. I've given you the power to be so much more than just a nobody and yet you, and everyone else for that matter, never appreciated what I've given.

The bioweapon quickly pulled Carol in and lunged its knee into her gut.

"Ugaaah!" She lets out a dry wheeze.

Shadow Brain Drain: You'd let others suffer to hide in the sanctuary of cowardice.

The bioweapon delivered additional knee jabs into Carol's stomach until she vomits clear fluid. It threw its knee back one last time and shoved it into her stomach as hard as it could, releasing her wrists on the collision and sending her back only to grab her by the shirt and reel her into a headbutt.

"AUGGGH!"

Carol's head flings back and she was released on impact again, falling to the ground and dropping face down.

Shadow Brain Drain: You think you're the only one suffering, but I've lost the only woman I've loved to that damn monster and I can't avenge her because the world shuts out my brilliance.

Even after taking damage from the previous attack Carol had the will to keep fighting. She weakly lifts her bleeding head but faceplants into the ground after the bioweapon stomped its foot onto her head.

Shadow Brain Drain: You, the only one we've known to have a compatible match with our greatest enemy. The only one with the potential to become the greatest threat the Skullgirl could face and you waste it. With my gifts you were to become the strongest woman of our time. Without me, your life will serve no relevance.

Carol tried lifting her head against the monster, but its rapid increase in strength overpowered her own enhanced prowess and kept her pinned.

"...But...it's my life," Carol replied. "And I'm going to live it the way I want with the people I love. Your wife's death shouldn't be an excuse for you to take your unhappiness out on others. If she knew what you were using her memory for she'd roll over in her grave."

Brain Drain's apparition glares down to Carol and growls low.

The bioweapon lifts its foot off Carol's head and threw it back down to further curb stomp her face into the floor.

"Nnngh!"

It lifts its foot again and repeats the assault.

"Aaaaauggh!"

The bioweapon rapidly stomps Carol's head into the floor, each kick stronger than last, until she eventually lost consciousnesses.

Shadow Brain Drain: You reap what you sow. If you thought you've been through hell the first time just you wait, I'll show you what true hell is.

Just as the bioweapon goes for the skull crushing kill, Umbrella jumps in with a spinning hook kick to the brute's face and backs it away, landing between it and Carol without Hungern.

Umbrella glares sharply at the monster, her anger becoming increasingly more potent after seeing it nearly forfeit Carol for good.

A unique black and red aura radiates around Umbrella as the urge to kill slowly consumes her.

"Stay... the hell away... From MY GODDAMN FRIENDS!" She furiously declared with a demonic dual voice that shook the surrounding area.

The Skull mark appeared in her eyes and her dark aura bursts into a violent blaze.

Shadow Brain Drain: The hybrid. Bring her to me.

The intoxicating power coming from Umbrella was resonating with the Skullgirl blood inside the bioweapon that made its own aura burst.

"...Uuugh! AAAAAUUUGGGGHH!" It cried out from the overwhelming power coursing through its veins.

The bioweapon charges at Umbrella and disappears, Umbrella follows suit and vanishes.

Powerful shockwaves detonate throughout the area, creating tremors that shook the lab.

Umbrella ducks under the bioweapons right-handed swing and jumps up with a flip kick to its chin, sending its head flying up.

After landing from the flip, Umbrella jumps up to sit astride on its shoulders: clamping the creatures head between her calves and locking her feet together under its face. She rolls forward so that it arches back until the top of its head was planted into the ground as she lands on her back under the bioweapons arched back position.

Umbrella untied her feet from around its head and reverse rolls from between its legs to get upright.

The bioweapon kicked its feet up over itself and got on all fours to pick its head out of the ground. It stands upright and rushes Umbrella by lunging its sharp fingers for her.

Umbrella steps to the side causing the bioweapon to strike the ground instead, allowing her to throw her knee into its face and send its head reeling back - Umbrella ran her foot onto the creatures knee and hops up to its head to rapidly trample its face on a backward decline until its back hit the floor to which Umbrella gave one final heel stomp to its face and caved it in the floor.

She trampolines off of the bioweapons face and lands a respectable distance away. "I was going to a merciful goddess among you all, but you will be the only exception to my wrath. Don't pray to me for forgiveness because it'll just make me want to kill you more," Umbrella spoke of promise.

She held out her hand and used her power to craft a scythe of dark Theonite to complete the Skullgirl look.

The bioweapon pulled itself up using nothing but leg strength. It turned its head 180 degrees and fired two beams out of its eyes.

Umbrella effortlessly shifts to the side into a crouching stance, smirking, and dashes for the creature.

The bioweapon swung its arm for Umbrella as she got in range only for her to disappear before impact could be made. It stands looking around for its target when Umbrella was just standing behind it.

"I'm here," she announced.

It turned to Umbrella, surprised, but it immediately went to attack - holding its arm back to punch until its entire arm slides clean off from an incision at the shoulder.

"What?! How?!" Shocked, Brain Drain stands up from his chair and stares in disbelief at the monitor showing the events from the bioweapons POV.

Umbrella smirked fiendishly and tightened her grip around the scythe.

Before the bioweapon could react, the corrupt princess low sweeps the weapon and amputates one of the creatures legs, having it fall to its remaining knees and literally going down to Umbrella's level where it meets her unhinged slasher smile.

"DIE!"

Umbrella threw the scythe back with the intent of a swift decapitation.

Player: Carol! Umbrella!

Umbrella's chest suddenly aches intensely and her eyes widen, bringing her lethal carnage to an abrupt pause.

"Now!" Brain Drain instructs seeing a window of opportunity.

With its remaining arm, the bioweapon swings a devastating punch across Umbrella's face, and with its raw enhanced strength from the resonance boost of their Skullgirl blood, the damage from the punch made it feel like her jaw was going to fly off.

"OOOOWWWW!" Umbrella cried out with her normal voice before flying across the room.

The bioweapon vanishes and reappeared where Umbrella's body was flying, managing to stand on one leg. It opened its large hand and lunges it forward, shoving it into Umbrella's neck and locking tight where it then proceeded to violently choke her.

"Gugh! Uuuuurrrrggh! Uuuuurrrrkkkkkk!"

Umbrella tried fighting back against the dominating strangle of her foe, but all she could do was helplessly flail her legs and using her hands to try freeing her throat but nothing worked now that she was back to normal.

The Player came through one of the massive holes in the wall and sees the destruction in wake with Hungern in hand. Getting Hungern closer to Umbrella was the cause her reversion; now that the Living Weapon was within range it allowed him to feed off of the Skullgirl madness and negate her lust for death.

It didn't take long for Umbrella to become lightheaded and she struggled to keep her eyes open.

"Umbrella!" The Player called out in a panic now witnessing what was happening to her.

With one eye closed and the other barely open, Umbrella used what little oxygen she had left to look at the Player not too far from the danger.

"...R...un... Ge...t... Awa..."

The bioweapon looks over its shoulder and spots the Player with a glare. It enhanced its strength around the princesses neck and she immediately lost consciousness, left to dangle lifelessly and if not for the Player's arrival distracting it Umbrella's head would've been hanging loose from a broken neck.

"You all should have listened," Brain Drain grumbled spitefully to himself.

With Umbrella unable to fight anymore, the bioweapon turned to the Player and suddenly appears in front of him, too fast for him to react since he was still focused on Umbrella and human, but once he caught on the distance between them was closed he flinched in horror.

Using Umbrella's throat as a grip, the bioweapon swung her limp body into the Player and sent him flying across the room.

He lets out a winded grunt from having her shoved into his torso.

As he soars through the air, Valentine appears and snatches him before any further harm could come to him and used her ninja-like agility to zip away onto a handrail on an elevated catwalk, though it wasn't without strain given that she was still injured from the earlier fall.

"I told you not to run ahead like that! Are you okay?" Valentine asked as held him bridal style.

The Player groans a little from the pain but it wasn't anything he couldn't recover from. When he opened his eyes he was once again horrified to see the bioweapon was already behind them.

Valentine noticed the Player's expression and immediately picked up that something was wrong. She looked over her shoulder and saw the bioweapon with its arm raised above its head.

Using quick thinking, Valentine flicked the Player out of harm's way at the last possible second.

The bioweapon slammed Umbrella's head down onto Valentine's and smacked her down, face first, into the catwalk with enough force to break it in half on impact.

Valentine was spiked into the floor below with a heavy flop, and the Player was left holding onto the destroyed catwalk until it eventually gave way and crumbled. He dropped to the floor, taking less damage than Valentine, but was hurt from the fall nevertheless.

The bioweapon lands and overlooks the destruction.

Carol regained consciousness and picks her head out of the ground, sensing her friends nearby she turns in their direction and sees Valentine face down on the ground and an unconscious Umbrella being held around the neck by their foe.

Now that there was time to rest, the bioweapon demonstrates its regenerative abilities by regrowing its lost limbs similar to that of a lizard but at a quicker rate, no doubt the result of Brain Drain's forethought when designing his primary weapon in case of dismemberment.

'...It...It can grow back limbs?! What the hell! How are we supposed to beat that?!' Carol asked herself now at a loss.

Player: Ooooouugghh... Shit. That hurt.

Carol heard the Player's voice and looked over in his direction. She sees him weakly twisting and turning from his body aches, she was just happy to see him alive. She crawls along to get to him, careful not to attract the bioweapon's attention.

"Hey, Player? You okay?"

The Player opened his eyes and turned his head over to Carol. "Oh, thank god, Carol. You're alive," he gently snickered but ended up coughing. "Oh god...! It hurts to laugh."

"Yeah. I don't know how to beat this thing. It can regenerate itself so no matter how much damage we dish it'll just keep coming back."

"Seriously? Argh, I hate Brain Drain."

"Welcome to the club," Valentine said from the side having recovered from the fall, she sat on the floor not too far from them while rubbing her head.

"Val? You're good too?" The Player sat up to see her.

"Yeah. Just a few scratches and an aching back. Nothing too major. How about you?"

"I got it easy compared to you guys."

Carol looks between the Player and Valentine, observing their friendly exchange. She prayed she was reading the room wrong because nothing good could've come from being on good terms with Valentine.

"Okay, ladies, we need to think of something. Aaah, and fast. Wait, where's Umbre-"

A loud explosion from somewhere in the facility answered his question and they all look around once it sounds off.

"She can't still be fighting that thing?" The Player asked.

"No. She was out cold when I last saw her," Carol answered.

"Jesus," the Player hammered the floor in frustration.

The trio sat together at a loss. Neither of them knew how to find a way to best a regenerating monster beefed up by Skullgirl blood, but then Carol noticed Hungern beside the Player and stares intensely at it. She thought back to what Umbrella told her about Hungern and his role in her life - Carol's eye gleam with an idea.

"Wait. I've got it!" Carol snapped her fingers.

"You do?" The Player asked, hopeful on some good news.

"Yeah, Hungern! We have to use Hungern! Hungern is a black hole when it comes to eating, and it suppresses Umbrella's dark power by feeding off of it. When Umbrella was born she naturally inherited the power of a Skullgirl so she has an infinite supply of power for Hungern to feed off of, but that monster, like me, doesn't because we've only been embedded a small portion of Skullgirl blood through a transplant."

"So, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying the monster's power is finite, Hungern can siphon it until there's nothing left."

The Player gasps now that he was able to follow the info. He turned to Valentine and Valentine looked back at him, nodding to show she was already on board.

"The problem is... Nobody can really wield Hungern, he'll drain their life force and turn them into husks."

"Huh? I can," the Player said while looking confused. "I've been carrying Hungern around when I came looking for you guys."

He demonstrates by taking Hungern by the handle and casually maintaining him with no side effects.

"...How are you able to-?" Carol observed curiously.

"It must be because he's not from the kingdom," Valentine suggests in intrigue.

"Sounds like more 'Player' perks," he shrugged.

"Well... Whatever, that's great! I'm not complaining," Carol stands up and dons a more serious look.

"All right. I really hope this works," the Player looks down at Hungern and swallowed.

Valentine's hand came into view and offered him help. She gave him the support needed to stand, their team assembled.

"It has to. There's no other way," Carol assured.

WHACK! Umbrella's unconscious body crashed through a wall and slammed into another, rebounding off of it and dropping to the ground.

Concrete from the impact crumbles off the wall and buried her body in light rubble.

The bioweapon jumped through the hole and walks toward the princess to continue beating her.

Because of her superior Skullgirl blood readings, Umbrella remained the bioweapons primary target despite being unconscious and having no way to defend herself.

Brain Drain closely examined what was happening but wasn't fazed seeing a child being tossed around like a ragdoll, all he saw was a girl with potential to be the strongest Skullgirl in history after her display earlier.

"Hmmm. No. The risk outweighs the reward. She's too dangerous. This isn't a child but a monster of pure evil in the making. Kill her. We'll spare the world her inevitable carnage."

The bioweapon opened its mouth and prepared a beam of energy similar to the one that devastated her earlier.

"Brain Drain!" Carol called out from behind, getting the bioweapons attention. "How do you expect your weapons to be a match for a Skullgirl when you can't even kill me?"

"Will these bothersome distractions never cease?"

"Pfft! And real tough, beating up a girl who can't even defend herself. I knew you were low but...this? Heh, you're pathetic." Carol taunts with laughter as Brain Drain's shadow avatar materializes behind the bioweapon.

Shadow Brain Drain: Hold your tongue, Painwheel. You know not of what you speak. This is a dangerous evolution of the Skullgirl menace. I'm simply doing what needs to be done. If she stays alive then there will be no hope for humanity. Should we feel bad for exterminating pest larvae?

"I don't care about your justifications. She has a right to life, her Skullgirl heritage doesn't determine who she'll be. She's a kind and beautiful soul with a big heart. She'll use that power for good: to stop scum like you from ruining people's lives."

Shadow Brain Drain: Enough of your impertinent ramblings! I've long grown tired of you people and your moral superiority complexes! Anyone who allies with the Skullgirl is an enemy to the greater good! You'll die with her!

The shadow disappears and the bioweapon charged the beam for Carol instead.

The beam launching so preemptively shocked Carol but she crossed her arms and blocked the powerful attack. The energy was a perpetual force that was being manned by the bioweapons on its objective to overpower Carol.

"Rrrgh! Rrrrrrgggghhh!" Carol grits her teeth and stood her ground but was slowly being pushed back.

Suddenly a sharp prick struck the bioweapons neck, distracting it and causing it to cancel the beam. It reached for the bothered area and pulled out a syringe that injected some orange drug into its body.

WARNING: CONTAMINATION

"What?" Brain Drain questioned as the monitor showed a microscopic feed of a mysterious substance invading the bioweapons body which then affects the brain. When Brain Drain examined the syringe he identified the cause immediately. "Oh, that bit-"

Carol appeared in front of the bioweapon and swung a right hook into its face while distracted. It stumbles back and received another punch to the other side of its face once it recovered from the first attack.

"Attack!" Brain Drain commands.

The bioweapon tried getting its bearings but it felt sluggish. The brain delayed the order and kept it from acting accordingly, giving Carol time to beat it to the literal punch and delivered a third consecutive hit.

Each punch sent the bioweapon back more and more, Carol was absolutely restless on the beatdown.

Brain Drain grew impatient and manually takes control, using his smarts to read the situation and get a grasp on how to go about countering the drug.

The bioweapon buffered its attack ahead of Carol's next punch and the two clash fists.

Carol was surprised to see her foe suddenly regain composure and capitalizing off of that the bioweapon threw the opposite arm back and shoved it's fist deep into Carol's stomach.

The bioweapon got Carol's feet off the ground and haymakers her in the face, sending her flying back.

Fighting Carol only served as a distraction for the true counter: Valentine appeared behind the monster and sweeps it up into a body bag, sealing it tight and trapping it.

"You're mine!" Valentine declared.

She wrapped both arms around the body bag and launches herself high into the air. Once she reached the apex of the superhuman jump she propels them down into a spinning motion which ends in Valentine planting the bioweapons head into the floor for greater head damage, she manages to release the body bag before impact, getting out of dodge.

Valentine pulled the bag's zipper down to expose the creatures face.

"Player, NOW!" She called out.

The Player jumped out from his hiding spot and sprints over to the downed monster violently resisting against the body bag and Valentine's physical restraint.

The bioweapon opened its mouth and prepared to fire another beam, this time for Valentine's face, which would've worked if not for its body delaying thanks to the ongoing effect of the drug hampering its cognitive function.

The Player wrapped both hands around Hungern's grip, lifted him as a high as he could, and stabbed his sharp toothy tip into the bioweapon's gaping maw thus cancelling the delayed beam.

Hungern immediately went into his feeding process and rapidly drains the bioweapon of its life force.

Brain Drain watched as the biometrics, vitals, data and various other readings steadily decline to critical levels. "NO! NO! NONONONONONO!" He desperately pounds down on his keyboard to find a solution.

Even with Hungern feeding, the bioweapon continued resisting. It grew weaker with each second but still had some fight left in the tank; shaking the Player's grip around which left him unable to keep Hungern steady for a more effective draining method.

Valentine released her grip from the body bag and wrapped her hands around Hungern's handle to help keep it steady. The moment she touched Hungern she could feel herself getting weaker.

"Val! What are you doing?!"

"You can't do it on your own!"

"You're going to die!"

"But you'll be safe! And so will the others!"

Her comment left the Player speechless as he looks at her struggling.

For additional aid, Carol placed her hands on top of Hungern's handle and pressed down to the best of her ability. "Don't stop now!" She encouraged.

The Player looks in the other direction and sees Carol by his side surprised to see her standing again.

With Valentine and Carol coming to support him, even if it meant death, he takes it all in. The Player finds it in himself to briefly smile and accept their help: they didn't have to die if they could overcome this together.

The Player faces front and shelves his concern to focus on getting the job done.

"We've had enough of your bullshit, Brain Drain! It's over!" The Player declared just as they reach the climax. | "Rrrrraaaaahhhhh!" The trio summon forth all their remaining strength and pushes Hungern deeper into the bioweapon's mouth.

"NOOOOOOO!" Brain Drain yelled at the scream in pure rage.

A squelching crunch could be heard as Hungern's pointed teeth pierced through the back of the bioweapon's skull; the Player, Valentine, and Carol embedding the Living Weapon into its face.

All form of physical resistance cease and the body bag goes limp once the bioweapon's body shrivels like a raisin after Hungern had his fill.

Link Broken - Project: Eclipse Offline

Valentine and Carol quickly released Hungern and the Player was left holding on. The three collectively pant and take a moment to themselves to get their bearings.

"...Heh. Heh, heh. Hahaha. Ha! Hahahahaha!" The Player bursts out into laughter and falls back.

They won. They beat Brain Drain and he couldn't contain his hype. Valentine and Carol catch their breath, seeing him express so much joy ended up being contagious and they smile at their victory.

"We did it! We freaking did it! YES! F#&K YOU, Brain Drain! HAHAHAHAHA!"

A few minutes after the bioweapon's defeat, the Player, Carol, and Valentine relocated to a less hazardous environment to watch over Umbrella and Hungern.

It didn't take long for Umbrella to recover and she awakened in Carol's arms.

Umbrella's first instinct once her eyes opened was to jump up and survey for danger. "W-Whoa! Where am I?! Where's the monster?!" She frantically looks around.

"It's okay! It's okay, we beat it," Carol told her while motioning her hands to be calm.

"You did? So... We won?"

"We did. And it's all thanks to your friend there," Carol directs her attention to Hungern who, if he had a face, would've been expressing delight.

Umbrella smiled at Hungern and exhales in relief.

Player: Umbrella, you were fierce.

Hearing that voice say her name made Umbrella's eyes widen and she quickly turns in the direction she heard it.

"Looks like all that training paid off, huh?" The Player was sitting on the floor not too far from them and waved once she had eyes on him.

She didn't have time to properly react to the Player's safety before, but now that danger was out of the way Umbrella couldn't believe her eyes and stares at the Player in utter disbelief: he was still covered in bruises and so clearly he didn't get out of this unscathed, but he was alive nevertheless.

No words, she walks toward him the first few steps but she immediately picks up into a sprint and then jumps at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and held him tight.

"The Player's here!" Umbrella outbursts.

"Whoa!" The Player reaction was one of surprise but once she had him in her grip he chuckled. "Yeah. I am. Easy on the strength there, I'm still sore from all the drama."

Even after everything he was acting like himself as though nothing happened. The first thing he gave Umbrella when they met after a week long absence was a smile - she didn't know what to feel after thinking she wouldn't see him again, but the longer she kept onto him the more emotional she got: he was safe and she could feel it.

The relief was overwhelming.

"...You're here," she repeats as her hands tighten on his shirt.

"Hm?"

"We didn't know where you were," Umbrella had her eyes closed but tears were pouring out of them. "...We- We thought something happened. That you...died. We looked everywhere for you!"

The Player could feel his shirt getting moist where Umbrella buried her face, he knew she was crying and his smile weakens to concern once her sobbing became more apparent. As she spoke he gently laughs and placed one hand on top of her head for comfort.

"I thought you died. I-I thought you...you... Nnngh!"

It had been a week in Brain Drain's custody, these were first friendly faces he had seen in a while and he couldn't have been happier, so he goes all in and hugs Umbrella in return, laying his cheek on top of her head.

"I'm sorry I worried you, but I knew you guys were going to find me. I never doubted that for a second."

Carol and Valentine watch their wholesome reunion in silence, Carol got butterflies and nearly found herself in tears seeing their close sibling-like bond but she kept strong.

Valentine smiles and gently exhales, happy to know the Player was doing well after all this time.

"Thank you, Umbrella," the Player smiled gratefully.

When they pull away from each other the Player's face immediately frowns when he saw Umbrella ugly crying with over the top river tears and a runny nose that visually appeared as...a thick slime-like substance, that no human being could've possibly produced, bridging from his shirt to her nose.

"PlAYeRRrrrRRRrrrr!" Umbrella wheezes in her humorous crying outburst.

"EW! EEEEEW! GET THE HELL OFF ME!" The Player used his hands to pry her head away from him but Umbrella didn't budge, she had her hands dug into his shirt and prevented him from pushing her away.

"I LuvVVvvvvvVVv yEWWWWwwwwhoohoohoooooooooooo!"

"GET AWAAAAAAAAAY!"

"Eh? Why?" Umbrella abruptly stopped the waterworks with an innocent smile.

"YOUR NOSE IS RUNNING AND IT'S GETTING ON ME!"

To remedy this Umbrella snorts it back in like nothing, the substance retracting and leaving no trace of itself on the Player's shirt, oddly enough.

"All gone," she smiled.

The Player grimaced at the sight from start to finish. "You're a goddamn mess," he murmured to which Umbrella smirked with puffy eyes.

That tender moment didn't last long.

Carol and Valentine's expression were now a mix of confusion, concern, and confliction on how to feel, but, if it was all the same, the group got roughed up quite a bit and needed patching up so Valentine approaches them.

"Now that we're all together and out of the woods, I can treat your wounds," Valentine said, getting everyone's attention.

"Oh yeah. We could definitely do with some medical attention.

"Huh? Wait, isn't that the lady who was helping you escape earlier?" Umbrella asked.

"Yeah, she really saved the day. This is Valentine and she's a really good medic. We're in good hands."

"Pfft!" Carol crossed her arms and walks off from the group with a huff.

The Player, Valentine, and Umbrella watch as Carol walks away, but she didn't get too far. She was just distancing herself much to Umbrella's confusion but it was clear why for the Player and Valentine.

Meanwhile, Brain Drain was still staring at the large monitor in disbelief. All that was on display was static and the message Link Broken - Project: Eclipse Offline. He couldn't bring himself to believe he failed again. Another project out the window and by the same group of individuals that stood against hm.

How is it that they were able to best him when he used the best science and ASG technology to perfect his projects? Sure, they were formidable fighters in their own right, even Brain Drain could admit that after today, but there was no way they stood a chance against his genius.

Despite the numerous advantages they gained throughout the encounter that didn't overwrite the fact that his new bioweapon was able to best them. So how did he lose again?

Nothing made sense. Their victory contracted the data.

Brain Drain placed his hands on the desk and looked down, lost. "That was the last sample of Skullgirl blood that I had at my disposal. Valentine betrayed me, Heart Synchronization remains exclusive to the Player's arsenal, Painwheel is out of my control and the Renoir, heir to leading our kingdom, has Skullgirl blood festering within her. Years of work and research to save lives in the long run outdone by a group of naïve fools...DAMNING US ALL!" He lifts both arms overhead and furiously smashes them into his desk in a blind rage that ends up splitting it in two, destroying it.

He finally snapped and begins trashing the room, destroying computers, gadgets, and machinery.

"WHY AM I SURROUNDED BY SELF-RIGHTEOUS HYPOCRITES?!"

Glass shatter and paper scatter, metal pieces fly everywhere and the room was left in shambles with no remnant of it once being a haven for science.

Once he was done Brain Drain pants heavily, standing in the center of the room surrounded by his mess.

The security monitors were all that remained of Brain Drain's rage. The mad scientist walks over to the monitor set and finds the group all together on the lowest level receiving medical attention from Valentine.

Just looking at them invoked an unhealthy desire to strip humanity of moral ethics.

"...They took everything from me. Now, I'm going to take everything from them," despite his low tone the sentence was oozing hatred.

Brain Drain had one final trick up his sleeve to deal with them.

Valentine was in the middle of applying pain relief cream to the bruises on the Player's torso and arms. He gently flinched on every bruise she touched despite how careful she was when treating him, Umbrella was sitting by him and waiting for her turn.

"...Ek! Ooo! Ack! Mmmf!" The Player grunts as Valentine continued.

"When you get home you should soak in a warm bath with Epsom salt. It'll help with the swelling," Valentine suggests. "When you can make sure you put some ice on the areas that hurt most."

"Sure thi- Ooo!" The Player winced as she rubbed the relief cream on his back.

"Almost done."

Valentine chuckled hearing his little squeal but then she noticed Umbrella giving her a suspicious glare. She didn't want to fully acknowledge it, but considering how intense it grew over time it became hard not to notice. She goes between looking at the Player's back to seeing Umbrella giving her the stank eye.

"It's cool, it's cool. I can take it." the Player replied trying to man the pain.

"Right," Valentine nods and continues without trying to cause him any discomfort...unlike Umbrella who was still glaring.

What exactly was Umbrella glaring at? Her eyes seemed particularly peeved at Valentine's chest area.

"...Is something bothering you, princess?" Valentine inquired, unable to ignore the staring.

Umbrella squints her eyes and doesn't answer right away, but she had plenty of words she couldn't keep in. "You two seem awfully buddy-buddy," she pointed out.

"Huh?" Valentine was confused by the sudden observation.

"Player, what's your relationship with this woman?"

"What?" The Player looked at her just as confused as Valentine. "She's a good friend. Why?"

Umbrella's suspicion was fixed purely on him now. "You better not be cheating on sis," she gives him a disapproving pout.

Valentine quickly stifled her imminent laughter and the Player reacts with bafflement.

"Wha-?! What are you saying?! I'm not even dating her!"

"Oh yeah. Well then you better not be cheating on Filia," Umbrella corrected.

"I'm not dating her either!"

"My, aren't you popular with the ladies?" Valentine teased.

"I'm really not," he flatly corrected.

Valentine pulled the Player's shirt down once she was done and stands. "Don't forget to put some ice on the areas that are most bothered," she instructs before moving over to Umbrella.

"Right. Thanks, doc."

Umbrella went from mildly hostile to timid when she was approached for treatment. "I hate needles, and I don't need a checkup!" She assured.

"You're not getting any shots. I just want to clean those cuts and treat your bruises."

"Hmph! Yeah, well, I still don't want any of what you're selling. I don't trust doctors. Always trying to give me shots."

Valentine took out a lollipop and offered it to Umbrella.

Umbrella gasps and her eyes sparkle at the treat. "Candy!" She taps it and stuffs her mouth with the bait.

After earning her trust Valentine gets to work using disinfectant and a cotton ball swab to clean Umbrella's injuries. She wipes away whatever blood she saw and bandages what she could.

The Player smiled seeing Umbrella enjoy her candy while getting treated. "You really held your own today, Umbrella. What a trooper, I'm sure Parasoul would've been proud to see you in action and not backing down even when the odds were against you."

"You think so?" Umbrella asked as she faced him.

"Of course. She'd-" the Player just realized that Umbrella was going to be returning home with bruises, bandages and ruined clothes - all of which stemming from the fact that she was protecting him. "Oh shit, your sister is going to know that you've been fighting. If she finds out she's going to kill me!"

"S'okay. I'll just tell her I accidentally fell down some stairs."

"...You fell down some stairs?"

Valentine briefly ceased her treatment to look at her in concern for such a bizarre coverup but continues on not a second later.

"Multiple flights of stairs."

"If that works I'll lose my mind."

"Either that or I was having a solo training session trying to hone my dark power and went overboard. "

"...I guess that's a little better."

"And afterward I fell down some stairs."

The Player dropped his head and sighs.

Valentine wrapped a bandage around Umbrella's exposed forearm and finished treating her. "Okay. That's you all done," she stood.

"Thank you!" Umbrella sweetly replied.

Valentine smiles warmly at Umbrella and nods. The Player and Umbrella were all good, now there was one left; she turns in Carol's direction and sees her standing alone with her arms crossed.

There was a heavy lump in her throat and Valentine swallows feeling a little uneasy now that this was the first time in a while she saw Carol, the last time being on unfriendly terms while she was still going by Painwheel and had Brain Drain in her head.

The Player noticed Valentine's unease and knew she was having trouble. He got up from his sitting position and approaches Valentine, giving her a supportive pat on the back.

"You've got this," he encouraged softly.

Valentine looks at him, feeling unsure of herself, but his smile and the lesson she learned gave her some heart. All of this was new to Valentine, all these emotions and confliction - she didn't know what to do or how to appropriately tackle it.

The Player instigates by hip bumping her forward. She clumsily stumbled into the first step and her body autopilots the rest, walking toward Carol but not before looking over her shoulder and giving the Player a dirty look.

There was no point turning back now, Valentine clears her throat on the approach.

"The others have been looked at and taken care of. I'm going to have a look at your injuries and treat you now, Carol."

Carol doesn't say anything and kept her attention away from Valentine.

"I want to start by getting that blood of you," Valentine reached for her medical pack to take out a clean cloth.

Carol swipes her forearm across her mouth and got the blood from the cracks on both sides. She used her other forearm to wipe her forehead like she was casually wiping away sweat.

Valentine watched her deal with it alone and removed her hand from her pack.

"That's one way to do it. But it would've been better to use a clean cloth so you don't risk infection. Speaking of which, I want to apply some antibiotic ointment to make sure your wounds don't get infected."

"I've been able to heal from injuries really fast ever since the surgery. Doubt I'll need it," Carol flatly denied.

"...Okay. Have you had a tetanus shot? It's a safe bet to-"

"Look, I don't want your help, okay?" Carol turned to Valentine looking annoyed. "I never asked for it. Why are you here? What do you want? I'm fine."

"I was just trying to-"

"I don't need it. Whatever you're trying to do I don't need it."

"I didn't mean to make you upset. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I understand though and I don't blame you for feeling the way you do. You have every right to hate me."

"And I do. So much," Carol reinforced with confidence. "I thought that with time I would've been able to move pass my anger and hate, but even a year later just thinking about you makes me so mad that I shake, and the only reason that I don't kill you where you stand is because I refuse to act on the desire you intended for me to have. And even now I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive you."

"I'm not looking for forgiveness. I don't want that, hell, I don't deserve it, but it's not about that. It's not easy for me to live with what I've done, I hear your screams every night. Every time I try to sleep I'm reminded of all the wrong I've done and how I can never take it back. I ruined your life and even though it doesn't mean anything - I'm sorry. I never intended for any of this to happen, but it did and I suffer for it knowing I hurt you and can't make it right."

Carol didn't budge after hearing what Valentine had to say and continued giving her an unimpressed glare as though she were supposed to feel sorry for her.

"Please, I'm not asking for forgiveness. I just want to help you. I want you to be okay."

The Player and Umbrella watch from afar and silence fell.

Before the conversation could continue an alarm blares throughout the facility.

"The hell?" The Player looked around puzzled.

WARNING! WARNING! EMERGENCY DESTRUCT SEQUENCE HAS BEEN ACTIVATED - WARNING! WARNING! EMERGENCY DESTRUCT SEQUENCE HAS BEEN ACTIVATED: 8 MINUTES UNTIL DETONATION - ALL PERSONAL MUST EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY

"Destruct sequence?" Umbrella questioned.

Valentine bares her teeth at the warning. "Tch, of course Brain Drain would have something like this on standby."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! So this place is going to blow?!" The Player asked hysterically.

"Looks that way. We have to go. Now."

"No kidding. All right, ladies! Let's move!"

After activating the self-destruct sequence to destroy all evidence of his illegal experimentation, Brain Drain boards an emergency escape pod and ejects himself to safety, leaving the Player, Valentine, Carol, and Umbrella to their fate of going down with the facility.

The pod was fired into the ocean and transforms into a watercraft that Brain Drain pilots away.

One final obstacle: escape the facility.

The group rush through the destroyed remains of the lower level in desperate search of an emergency exit but the intricate design of the laboratory didn't make it easy, the best solution they had was the way Valentine originally intended, going up each floor until reaching top side.

The Player's injuries meant he wasn't able to move as quick as the others, so the girls helped him along the way but in doing so it meant more time wasted: 5 minutes remained.

They eventually reach the room where the upper floor gave in under the Player and Valentine before they could escape.

"There's our ticket out, but we gotta do some climbing," the Player observed.

"No problem," Carol said. "I can fly us out."

"We can't risk taking that many trips," Valentine said.

"So what do we do?" Umbrella asked.

"I'll carry the Player, Carol you can take the girl," Valentine proposed.

"Is your back okay?" The Player asked.

"I'll be fine. Let's hurry."

Carol rotates Buer Drive and takes flight. She takes Umbrella by hand as she held Hungern in the other; flying them up the ruined corridors.

The Player climbs onto Valentine's back and she secures him, using her agility to hop onto whatever was sticking out enough to be used as a foothold so that she could continue scaling the pit.

Valentine leaps across the gap to the remains of a floor but she lands on a weak tile and it gives way under her.

The two drop, but Valentine's quick thinking enabled her to grab another part of the floor before they could fall and have to start from square one, lucky for them the rest of the floor didn't crumble.

"Nnngh!" Valentine grunts.

"Val, you okay?!"

"Climb...!" She strained.

The Player immediately climbs up Valentine's back and made it up the remains of the floor. He gives Valentine his hand and helps her up and she takes a moment to catch her breath, sitting on her knees with him.

"Thanks," she huffs.

4 MINUTES UNTIL DETONATION

Valentine rolled her eye at the alarm and stands. The Player quickly saddles and held on for dear life. Valentine took a breath and sharpens her focus, she used PKG Flatliner to zip along each foothold she could identify and with it quickly scales the pit at the expense of her stamina.

Valentine jumped out the pit and lands, though she collapsed.

The Player got his feet on the floor and kneels beside her. "Oh man. Hoo! That was trippy. That was trippy as hell but so cool," Valentine turns to look at him as sweat dripped from her forehead. "You are so goddamn cool!" The Player praised.

Why was he saying all that when they were on the verge of blowing was beyond her, Valentine looked at him with an unreadable look.

"We gotta go!" Carol ran by but not before gently tugging at the Player's arm for him to follow.

Carol and Umbrella sprint ahead for the exit, and the Player helped Valentine up, wrapping her arm around him so that he could escort her out but there was still a little ways to go for the primary exit - the facility was truly a formidable complex.

It was time for an alternative, Umbrella used Hungern to blast a hole in the wall and reveals the surrounding trees outside.

"We're out! Come on, everyone!" Umbrella waved to alert the others.

Carol, the Player, and Valentine, once she caught her breath, all sprint to the exit and head toward the dense woods.

"Do we have any transport?!" The Player asked as he ran by Umbrella.

Umbrella sprints alongside the Player once they were all out. "I got it covered. Hungern, the walkie."

On her request Hungern upchucks an Egret walkie-talkie and pressed the call button after wiping his drool away. "HELP! ThisisUmbrellaandIneedanevacchopperASAPI'monaremotenislandjustoffthecoastofMeridianHarbor! Over," she calmly ends her message.

Egret Dispatcher: At once, my liege!

'...Da'fuq?' The Player was looking at Umbrella as she did all that, befuddled beyond comprehension.

Umbrella fed the walkie-talkie back to Hungern, or rather he kept it stored in his mouth for future use? It was hard to know how it all worked, but reasons.

2 MINUTES UNTIL DETONATION

The group ran as quickly as they could through the woods to get away as far as possible from the facility. They reach a clearing and stumbled upon the empty port.

"Not that much time left!" The Player exclaimed while looking to sea.

The sound of an approaching helicopter could heard and draws their attention skyward.

"There! There it is!" Umbrella pointed.

"Wow," Valentine was amazed seeing it arrive so timely.

"What?! How the hell did they get here so fast?!" The Player was too astonished to be relieved.

"Oh, this is nothing. You should see how sis does it when she fights."

"That's what I mean! How do you two have instantaneous access like that?! And why don't you use it more often?!"

"Fights and emergencies. Them's the rules," Umbrella shrugged.

Valentine withdrew a red bottle from her cleavage-

Player: And how much stuff can you fit in those things?!

-and she tossed it as hard as she could into the air, seemingly ignoring the Player's question. She took out a scalpel and swiftly throws it at the bottle.

Once the scalpel struck the content inside the bottle explodes into a red mist, serving as a makeshift flare.

"...Aaaah," the Player crossed his arms and grumbles from the unanswered question, but he couldn't stay mad because he was so amazed at how cool all these women were to him.

10...9...8...

The helicopter spots the flare and sees the small group by the port making signals to help identify them. The helicopter descends and lands on the spacious port.

7...6...5

The Player runs ahead of the girls and slides the helicopter door open for them to climb in.

4...3...2...

The helicopter door slammed shut and everyone was in.

1...0...

A series of explosions goes off starting from the lowest level of the facility goes off and then various others on different floors which ended in one final, gargantuan explosion that completely destroys the facility - following its destruction the entire island detonates with multiple explosions popping off that ultimately took the island off the map.

In the aftermath, deep within the blazing inferno that was once Brain Drain's office, a photo of Christmas, Last Hope's leader, slowly burns until nothing was left.

As the helicopter flies off from the destruction, Valentine watched everything from the window.

'To think he'd go that far to get rid of the evidence, and all of us for that matter. Nice of you to show a little restraint, Brain Drain,' Valentine glares at the destruction, but surviving was good enough, and then there was the added bonus knowing their survival meant another loss for Brain Drain.

Valentine sighs and sits back in her seat with her head against the cushion, closing her eye and relishing in the fact that they all made it out alive.

When she opened her eye and looks across she saw the Player fast asleep with Umbrella and Carol sleep on both sides of him, resting their heads on his shoulder - the group of friends were together again to fight another day and it made Valentine smile.

Brain Drain was so obsessed trying to achieve Heart Synchronization for himself that he missed the 'heart' of the process. It wasn't something he would've been able to force out of the Player, nor was it something he would've been able to control or command. It was never a physical or metaphysical source like Theonite and it was nothing their science would've been able to crack.

Valentine reflects seeing them sleep so peacefully together.

[Chapter 17: New Beginnings]

"I, uh, I should really apologize for being so mistrustful of you earlier. I was just... Well, I... I don't know if there's a good way for me to put it, but-"

"It's fine, don't apologize. You had every right to be cautious after our previous encounters. I didn't make a good first impression and I was in the wrong for picking fights with you. But, that brings me to my main topic of interest: your power. What is it? 'Heart Synchronization,' I just can't wrap my head around it and why it's our best bet against the Skullgirl."

"Ah, right. The whole reason why I'm here - synchronizing. Okay, let me clear this up first: I don't know why I'm the only one who can do it. It's never been explained beyond just being something I can do and it comes from bonding with others in the kingdom."

"Bonding?" Valentine questioned with an inclined brow. "Connecting with others influences your fighting capabilities?"

"Not mine, theirs. The people I synchronize with do all the fighting since they have the superpowers, Living Weapons, and all that. The 'Heart' in Heart Synchronization as a term is more in line with the spiritual definition rather than the organ. The meaning boils down to the same outcome: deep connections through understanding gives them strength.

...

[Chapter 18: Bad Deeds, Good People]

"...Hey, so uh... I'm sorry," the Player apologized.

"What for?" Valentine asked.

"For what I said the other day and today. I just... After everything you've been through... I'm so sorry that-"

"Why do I always have to tell you that you don't need to-"

"No. This time I really do owe you an apology and a sincere one at that. I assumed the worst of you without knowing your side of the story. I walked out on you and had every intention of never seeing you again. That wasn't fair to you and for that I apologize. I was being a total ass and I don't think I'll be able to forgive myself for a while, but...I'm going to start by telling you, from the heart, I am so sorry."

That was different. Unlike every instance before, Valentine wasn't able to play off his apology as a needless formality. It was difficult finding a way to respond so she didn't, but because of his sincerity she didn't feel the need to further curse his sympathy.

"The Skull Heart is once again at the core of someone's misery. I don't mean to preach, but what happened to you and your friends was horrible. I can't even begin to imagine what you must feel - that heartbreak. Watching your loved ones die; carrying the weight of being the only survivor; inheriting the will of your friends and honoring their wishes... Then being alone afterward-"

The Player paused as the thought of having to endure that much pain overwhelmed him. There was no mistaking it, she was, without a doubt, stronger he was.

Getting to understand that Valentine was using that cold demeanor she was known for to hide the fact that she suffering mentally and emotionally deepened his regret for how he treated her.

He spitefully clenched his fists now that he was finally able to empathize, but he took that on himself and inhales deeply.

"...Anyone else would've broke by now, but you kept going. We didn't get to fully touch on it, but I understand where you're coming from, however, you don't deserve to die as retribution. You're human and you made a mistake. You're allowed a chance at redemption. Stopping the Skull Heart isn't enough, you have to live. You deserve to live."

...

[Earlier]

"I didn't mean to make you upset. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I understand though and I don't blame you for feeling the way you do. You have every right to hate me."

"And I do. So much," Carol reinforced with confidence. "I thought that with time I would've been able to move pass my anger and hate, but even a year later just thinking about you makes me so mad that I shake, and the only reason that I don't kill you where you stand is because I refuse to act on the desire you intended for me to have. And even now I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive you."

"I'm not looking for forgiveness. I don't want that, hell, I don't deserve it, but it's not about that. It's not easy for me to live with what I've done, I hear your screams every night. Every time I try to sleep I'm reminded of all the wrong I've done and how I can never take it back. I ruined your life and even though it doesn't mean anything - I'm sorry. I never intended for any of this to happen, but it did and I suffer for it knowing I hurt you and can't make it right."

Carol didn't budge after hearing what Valentine had to say and continued giving her an unimpressed glare as though she were supposed to feel sorry for her.

"Please, I'm not asking for forgiveness. I just want to help you. I want you to be okay."

Valentine was beginning to understand what the Player meant and what synchronizing stood for. While there was no guarantee the future would've been bright, or that her efforts to right her wrongs would finally allow her to forgive herself, she wasn't alone and whatever life had in store she would face it with him knowing he'd be there.

As the helicopter flies toward the mainland Valentine looks out the window with a hopeful smile.

Poorman Apartments
11:26pm

Even after spending the entire day asking around the shady part of town and getting to meet some of Samson's questionable associates, Filia and Squigly return home.

"...Do you think Umbrella found anything?" Filia asked Squigly with her head against the wall.

"I hope so, but Canopolis is much bigger than New Meridian. She has a lot more ground to cover."

"We should venture out there tomorrow morning. Start the search anew," Leviathan proposed.

"I'm for it. We're at a point where we have to take anything," Filia spoke with a shaky voice, she couldn't stop fretting the worst might've actually happened and it really started to scare her.

"It's going to be okay, Filia," Squigly reached out and grabbed her hand for comfort.

Squigly and Leviathan saw how much this was tearing Filia apart, it was hurting them all, but it seemed to be breaking Filia down faster than the others.

The elevator reached the 3rd floor and they leave the cabin.

They reach unit 309 and Filia inserts the key into the lock, immediately Butterscotch goes crazy on the other side. When they enter they were greeted to their frantically excited Labrador.

"Sssssh!" Filia placed her finger over her lip. "It's late, you don't want to wake the neighbors."

Filia locked the door and Butterscotch ran to the front room only to speed back to the entrance and bark at the party only to sprint back to the front room.

"What's gotten into him?" Samson wondered.

"I don't know. I fed him before we left."

They hang up their gear on the coat rack and enter the front room.

Player: Finally back?

The girls, Samson, and Leviathan freeze immediately as shock overwhelmed them, cutting off all function aside from disbelief.

It took him a second, but the Player rises from the couch and shows himself with a smile. "I'm back," he said.

There was no reaction outside of that freeze. It wasn't what he was expecting and he waits a second to see if they would say something, unaware that his presence temporarily broke.

"No freaking way," Samson was awestruck with...relief? It wasn't what he was expecting but it felt right.

"...Pl..." A broken and barely audible syllable came out of Filia's mouth.

"Not the reaction I was expecting," the Player got up from the couch and walks toward the archway.

He was in motion, it was real; Squigly got down in a squatting position and dropped her face into her knees.

Filia shoots off and rushes him without warning.

Before he could even react Filia jumped at him, wrapping both arms around his neck and locking her legs around his waist, passionately squeezing him beyond any sense of control. There was no force in Canopy that was going to pry her away from him in this moment.

"OOOF! Filia! Gonna fall! Haha!" The Player stumbled back until his back hit the wall.

"YOU'RE HERE! OH MY G- YOU'RE-! IT- AAAAAAAAA-" She exclaimed, barely able to speak, before breaking into untamed sobbing.

There it was, though on a much grander scale than he was anticipating. Once it settled in the Player wrapped his arms around Filia and held her back. With his back against the wall he slowly slumps down to the floor.

"I...I...don't...believe it..." Leviathan spoke at a near loss of words.

Squigly lifts her face with her hand shaking over her mouth, her face was wet from the tears freefalling down her cheek. She couldn't believe her eye and wasn't sure if this was real, her body went numb and she couldn't feel anything from the sheer magnitude of her emotions going haywire.

Butterscotch didn't waste time and hurries to the Player's side, aggressively sniffing at him and rubbing his head into his left arm as a demand for love. His exciting barks slowly turning into relieved whining.

The Player opened his eyes and saw the hyper pup and raised his forearm for him to squeeze his way in.

"Hey, bud. I missed you too," the Player chuckled softly and took Butterscotch in.

Squigly collapsed to her knees and had to use both hands to cover her mouth. Again, it was real. That was the hardest part to believe. She couldn't speak and Leviathan couldn't find the words to properly express his joy.

The Player noticed them from the wall and smiled, using his other arm he held his hand out to them.

Squigly's body jumped to autopilot and desperately crawls along the floor to reunite with her recompleted family, going to the Player's right side and shoving herself into him, breaking down once she felt him take her in and kept them all close.

The Player smiled into the collective embrace, the sound of the girls being unable to compose their broken voices really put into perspective how worried they were for him and for that he was sorry about everything, even when it was far beyond his control.

He closed his eyes and leans his head down into Filia and Squigly's head as they buried their faces into him. Happy to have him home again.