"I know how to fix this, I know how to," Cole appears with Terminal in his arms and puts him on a bed. Thrall's sitting in the med station, legs crossed and staring down at a newspaper. He's slightly dissected. They are in a Foundation medbay, after all.

"You're gonna be fine, you're gonna be fine," Cole starts hooking up various things to Terminal, not noticing Thrall. Hadal blood bags, pulse oximeter, blood pressure cuff.

"...Something happen, Cole?" Thrall looks up from the newspaper to Cole, raising an eyebrow. Terminal has no pulse and very low blood pressure.

"NO nothing happened, everything is fine and everything is alright," Cole is clearly not okay, though you cannot see his face due to the armor and the visor being down, but you can tell he is crying.

"Any way I might be able to help, Cole? Ease the burden on you?" Thrall sighs and eats the newspaper, standing up and walking over.

"No no, there's no burden, I'm fine, nothing happened, this wasn't my fault, I'm fine."

"I did not say it was your fault."

"It wasn't my fault," Cole is clearly not in a great mental state.

"Everything will be alright, Cole. Everything will be alright," He hugs Cole tightly, pat pat on his back.

"I know, I know,, nothing is wrong," Cole tightly hugs Thrall back.

"Nothing at all, nothing at all... You can cry, you know. I won't tell anybody. For you, my lips are sealed."

"I am crying, the helmet is just muffling it,, and you better not tell them where we are!"

"I won't."

"Thank you.. I'm not doing great, as you might be able to tell. I don't think I can handle the others probing me for questions.."

"Cole. If they come here? Do not worry. I'll see to them myself. You have my respect more than most others in the group and I trust you more than anyone else. I thought you'd like to know."

"Thank you, this means a lot to me,, and.. God, I can hear them arguing.. I don't think they understand how much this is affecting me."

"...Do you mind if I beat up your son's girlfriend, by the way? I feel as if I should ask."

"Go for it, at this point I'm gonna lose it if someone shows up. I'll be alright by myself, if that's what this is asking."

"I'd rather leave you with your son than have you go off and fight her. At least it'll be a stain on my reputation instead of yours. At this point, I've stopped caring about how the others view me."

"That's fair, go kick their ass for me.. I have some healing to do myself," Cole unhugs Thrall and sits down in a chair next to Terminal's bed. Terminal is still. Cole just watches and opens his visor, "That's better.." Thrall rubs Cole's back, staring at the doorway incase anybody comes in. Cole looks like utter shit, his face covered in dried tears, his eyes puffy, and his breathing shaky. He gives Cole an empathetic look, wiping his face with the back of his palm. Cole is shaking and the armor being hot from the jets isn't helping.

"Can you take off your armor for me, Cole?"

"W-why?"

"Your armor is hot. I don't think it's helping your state at all. It's bothering me, too."

"Right let me just," Cole reaches inside his chest plate, tugs, and the armor comes off him, leaving his helmet on. Thrall goes to take the helmet off but does it slowly enough to give Cole the opportunity to stop him. Cole puts his hand out to stop him, "I, uh, look like shit so, I'd prefer the helmet stays on."

"...Alright." Thrall gently puts the helmet back on and crouches down to hug his face into Cole's chest. His body temperature begins to cool down to that cold pillow temperature, "Hopefully this helps cool you down a bit."

It does, and Cole slowly relaxes, taking his helmet off. He looks the same as before, just with ruffled hair and sweat on his forehead that smells like lavender.

"Thanks again, I don't know what I would have done if you weren't here."

"Probably something idiotic. No offense. I just don't think being under pressure mixes well with you from what I've seen so far."

"Yeah, it doesn't."

"Right. Anything I can get you? Water or some kind of drink?"

"Water would, uh, be nice. I'm just gonna adjust a couple things."

"...Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Alright." Thrall leaves to go find the SCP office fuckin water machine or whatever. There's an office water machine in the corner that has a full jug. He just picks up the fuckin machine and carries it back over to Cole.

"That's also a way to give me water!" Cole sighs and gives a slight laugh.

"Seemed more efficient than just bringing a small cup." He places it down next to Cole.

"True," Cole snaps. A mug that says 'eat shit and die bitch' appears in Cole's hand and fills it with cold water.

"Interesting choice of mug, Si- ....Cole."

"Eh, it's the first one I thought of, and to be honest it fits how I feel towards myself. And I'm too fucking overwhelmed to care that you called me sir."

"Alright. Do you prefer your cup of hot chocolate with Milk or Water? Just wanted to know. Out of nowhere."

"Milk, I'm not that much of a psycho."

"Does liking it with water make you a psycho?"

"Depends on how you make it with the water."

"Explain."

"If you put the coco in the room temp water then mix it and boil it I hate you otherwise we are fine."

"People do it with... room temperature water..???? AND THEN BOIL IT???"

"Yeah I have seen it happen and I have killed people over it."

"..you have??"

"Yeah I have, it's fucking gross."

"I'd definitely participate in a witch hunt over this."

"Yeah"

"What about pancakes?"

"If you don't put syrup between the pancakes, you are disgusting and violent."

"...I meant moreso about making them with milk versus water but I'm glad to know about that too."

"Milk is the only way, and I will throw hands over this."

"I've been forced to make butterMILK pancakes with water before. ButterWATER pancakes."

"Who did that I will kill them," Cole says as he sips from his mug.

"They were killed by the mafia for owing 7 thousand dollars in debt."

"Huh neat," Cole sips his water.

"So, distractions, yes?" Thrall sighs, leaning on the water machine, "Would you like for me to talk about myself? So you don't have to think about yourself?"

"Sure, I'm sure theres always more to you."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, like, how you don't know that 292, I probably don't know much else about you other then what you have told me."

"...Right. Well, give me a time period."

"Uhhhhhhh let me give you my favorite, 1840 to 1999."

"I watched the titanic sink and got personally trapped in the molasses flood in Boston."

"Ohhhh shit, I heard about the molasses flood, god that was funny."

"Funny until you have to clean it off of yourself."

"Yeah, oooh uhm, what else happened....oooh, right I saw this guy one time get fucking obliterated by a cannon."

"I got to solve a few murders, have you ever done that?"

"Nah, I was usually the one making them."

"In New York City around the 1950s? Couple of frat boys flayed, spine stolen?"

"Might have been me, who knows"

"You're funny. and I know it's not a joke."

"Yeah no that was me I pinned that on someone else I think"

"You got that innocent person arrested, I hope you know that," Thrall sounds entirely amused, not a hint of disappointment.

"That was the objective, any other murders you can name?"

"Some girls had their face eaten, not sure if it was a coyote or a cannibal. There was that one man who collected... Oh, Hell, you were the skull-collector, weren't you?"

"You got me! I was the fucking skull collector, hahaha!!!"

"Are you kidding me??" Thrall gives genuinely happy laughter, "I can't believe this. I'm sitting here with the goddamned skull collector. That's amazing."

"Where do you think I got all the skulls?"

"I don't know? Graverobbing?"

"God no, I prefer fresh skulls."

"Fresh skulls? What difference does it make? Do you bathe them in preservatives before adding them to your throne or... something like that?"

"No, ones from dead people are usually weaker structurally. And, seeing as I wanted to build a throne eventually, I needed stable ones."

"But aren't they all from dead people?"

"Well, it depends, and I'm not specifying"

"Oh, come on. It's just the two of us here," Thrall says, noticing Cole look towards Terminal's body. He's remained still.

"Thrall,, I, uhm........I think he's.. uh.......dead,," as Cole finishes his sentence he breaks down in tears. Thrall looks over to Terminal.

"...Hold on," He grabs Cole's mug, fills it with cold water, and dumps it directly on Terminal's face. Terminal doesn't react.

"I fucking knew it," Cole sobs.

"Probably just needs a blood transfusion."

"I fucking tried that," Cole points to the empty blood bag hooked up to Terminal.

"Hmmmmm." Thrall reaches his hand into Terminal's chest, checking for a soul. He can't seem to find one, "Ooooh, that's the issue."

"He is fucking dead, Thrall!" Cole is still sobbing. Thrall pulls his hand out, tips of his claws covered in blood (yet leaving no wounds).

"Hmmmm.... I doubt he's dead permanently." He seems oddly calm. He turns to face Cole, "Remember that horse mask?"

"Yeah, yeah, I do why?" Cole's crying slows as he looks at Thrall.

"It tried going somewhere. I pulled out it's soul and it attempted to flee out the window. It was going somewhere. Souls just don't... do that, you know? They usually stay put. Terminal's soul is out there somewhere. Or at least that's what I'd like to believe..Sooo, theoretically. We just... Find it. And put it back in. Like changing a pair of batteries or... something. I don't know. I don't bring people back to life often."

"Thrall"

"Yes, Cole?"

"That is the dumbest fucking plan, I'm not going soul searching." Thrall walks over to Cole and puts his entire hand on Cole's face.

"Cole. You are the combination son of Death and Satan. You are a cyborg. What about soul searching is dumb. I've brought Harmonia back to life, I'm speaking from experience!"

"Where would we even start fucking looking, Thrall??? It's dumb, he's dead, just fucking face it!" Cole snaps, a sticky note appearing as he scribbles something on it and puts it in his pocket.

"The world Terminal is from? That seems like the most logical conclusio- Oh, Hell, you're going to get yourself lynched."

"Thrall, it's only right that we let the others visit while they are ignorant."

"And have them realize on their own?"

"No, I have a plan. Let's just wait for them to show up, trust me."

"Cole..." Thrall sighs and pinches the bridge of his 'nose', "...Fine."

"Now we wait."

"Do you need somewhere to hide away and grieve?"

"Nope, I'm fine, I have a plan," Cole's leg starts bouncing.

"What is your plan?"

"You will see"

"...Alright."

Luna, Spider, and Harmonia appear. They notice Thrall's torso is wrapped in bandages and he appears to have been dissected with a saw. He says nothing but simply observes everyone, standing next to Cole.

"Sooooo what's going on?" Luna asks. Cole is holding back tears as his leg bounces, his eyes are puffy and he has dried tears on his face. His hair is a mess.

"Good morning, everyone," Cole says, as James Crimson (Chris Garnet) appears. Terminal is laying on one of the beds, his shirt is torn to shreds to the point of being strips of cloth left, his chest has giant claw scars, he's not moving at all and theres a blanket over his legs. Medical equipment is attached to him and there's no heart beat. Harmonia looks to Terminal in the bed, backing up as a memory flashes in her mind.

"... please dont say what I think you're gonna say..." Harmonia whispers.

"Erm... wow," James mutters.

"It's evening, Cole," Thrall sighs.

"What color sticky note do you want?" Cole's voice is shaky.

"Huh?" Luna seems confused.

"You heard the man," Thrall says.

"Erm..." James steps back a bit, slightly uncomfortable. Luna has this incredibly confused look on her face.

"Red," Harmonia says.

"What do you mean sticky note?" Luna asks.

"Well... erm... crimson, I guess?" James says. Luna focuses on her surroundings. Something isn't right.

"Red it is," Cole snaps and a red sticky note appears. He sticks it on the wall above Terminal's bed, "That is all, leave me alone." Cole briskly walks out of the room, tears starting to roll down his face. The sticky note... it's a drawing of a face with the eyes crossed out.

"I'm just... gonna..." James follows Cole.

"What the fuck. Is that seriously how he tells us he's fucking dead?" Harmonia asks. The water in the machine begins boiling and any pipes nearby burst.

"...soooooooooo..." Luna says. This is probably the worst fucking way to tell people their loved one died. Thrall sighs.

"I can't believe you, Sir..." He takes a deep breath.

"Thrall, what's going on?" Luna asks.

"Do you want the long version or the short version?"

"I want the truth. 'Cuz, clearly Cole is dodging something here."

"Fuck this. Fuck this. Fuck everything." Harmonia is sobbing, her tears floating off her face, the tank of water bursting. Luna is too focused on solving shit to cry. Emotions aren't here. Yet.

"Well, after you all left, I was asleep for a long stretch of time. Then, an SCP official tied me to a table and dissected me. Then I convinced him to die so I could break out. Since then, I was waiting here. Then Cole appeared. With Terminal. Hooked him up to machines."

"But he's dead. He's dead. But you said he was okay," Harmonia says through closed teeth.

"It's possible he only died recently. Like between the time Thrall said he was okay and when we arrived," Luna says.

"...I didn't believe Terminal was... mortis, right? Then, I checked. It's not... regular death," Thrall explains.

"Hm?"

"His soul just.. how do I put this. Mmm.. You remember the skull mask, right?" He looks to Luna.

"No. No. Bring him back. Give him my soul bring him back-" Harmonia holds her head, backing into a corner.

"Of course.... ohhhhh. Oh..."

"Yeah. Empty. Bit of a problem."

"I... I see."

"Please just do what you did with me just give him my soul-" Harmonia sobs.

"Right, he's minus a soul at the moment. So technically he's dead but he's also not permanently dead. Just minus a soul," Luna says.

"...yyes. I think," Thrall takes a deep breath, trying to ignore Harmonia, "...The issue is, Harmonia still... had. one." She just sits in the corner and mutters to herself, staring at Terminal and crying. Luna's focus begins to waver a little. She becomes a little shaky. A little... okay, a little nervous.

"So... logically, if we found his soul, h-he'd be revived?" Luna asks.

"Please... just give him mine please I don't- he needs it more just give it to him," Harmonia says. Luna is deep breathing. Trying to not let tears out. She needs to be strong. A rock for the Risen. For the Kiss.

"PLEASE JUST GIVE IT TO HIM PLEASE!" Harmonia yells.

"Aghhh-" Luna covers her ears.

"Drake," Spider says. She's been quiet since she got here.

"Hmm?"

"She's got to have it right? Or it'll be somewhere in her place," Spider takes a deep breath and sigh.

"I mean why did Drake claw at Term's chest to begin with?"

"Exactly."

"PLEASE," Harmonia yells, "PLEASE JUST-"

"CAN YOU STOP, HARMONIA?" Thrall shouts, the only time his voice has been anything but completely calm and composed this time. His voice is shaking, he sounds broken, "丨 ᗪㄖ几'ㄒ... 丨 ᗪㄖ几'ㄒ 千ㄩ匚Ҝ丨几Ꮆ." His voice goes demonic, and he takes a deep breath, putting a hand on his face, "I don't need you asking me to repeat my mistakes, alright? I know how you feel about yourself. I know how much you... you fucking hate what I did to you, alright? I don't want that to happen again. I don't want to remind you of that. I'm already.. I'm," He takes shaky, deep breaths and begins to cry, "I didn't need this to happen again. I didn't need to be reminded of how he felt after his son died. I didn't need to feel this way again. I don't need more on top of that, alright? None of you need anything else on top of how you're already feeling either. Just..." He looks to Spider and leaves, muttering to himself. As far as Luna is concerned, this is nothing but a mystery. A mystery with answers. Harmonia just stays there for a moment, before going to the door and using her key to Limbo, leaving silently.

"Soooo um," Luna is still trying her damnedest not to cry, "This makes no sense. What was Drake even trying to accomplish?"

"I don't know, but we're going to find out," Spider sighs.

Luna nods to Spider.

"I'd like to go investigate the scene of the crime if possible. Make sure all avenues are covered. If Thrall says he has no soul, then the answer is to return the soul right? Either that or we have a corruptelam Terminal arc. Wanna go investigate?" Luna checks her phone for a sec. She noticed the image of Mori and input the webcode in.

"Yeah, by the way that image? You might wanna mess around with it a bit."

"Oh? one sec lemme see," Luna opens the image in photopea...."Ohhhhhh, god you're good at this. Club is Isaac."

"Yeah, so now we've found that let's go interrogate Drake."

"...and there was one with Diamond in the last spot. Sounds good to me."

==>