The chapter opens with Caroline running down the street while Caelum's new form is behind her
Caroline
(Fuck me! I didn't think it'd be so fast!)
(Why is a blob of goo so quick!)
(And of course it needed to happen in downtown New York, there's not even anything for my powers to work on!)
Caroline turns into an alley only to see a dead end
Caelum begins to close in on Caroline
Caelum
Goodbye now "doctor"
As Caelum lunges for Caroline, she punches the ground as a tree begins sprouting and carries her up to the roof of a nearby building
Caelum smashed into the wall before reassembling itself to climb up after her
Caroline
Shit!
Guess that didn't hold him off for as long as I had hoped!
Caroline begins running again as Caelum reaches the roof
Caelum
Just accept your fate, you impudent whelp!
You and James Spectre will serve as masterpieces for the doctor!
Once he's gotten his hands on you, you'll—
!!!!
Caelum's form begins to writhe in pain as he returns to his human body
Caroline
?!
Caelum
Huff…huff…why? How?
Could it be…
No, it's impossible!
That copy had my intelligence mirrored into it, it should've been more than capable of subduing James Spectre…unless…could he be stronger than the doctor had planned for?
Caelum looks up at Caroline who has stopped running
Caelum
(Damn! This ruins my whole plan, I can see why Poor Man's Poison lost to them…)
(I need to get my priorities straight, and for now that means getting her to the doctor!)
(James Spectre may be powerful, but no matter how strong he is, there's no way he could defeat the doctor and myself!)
Caroline
Hey!
Seems like James beat whatever you had holding him back, shouldn't you go check up on that?
Caelum
Don't worry, you and James Spectre will be reunited soon enough.
He will undoubtedly make his way towards the hospital, which will lead him to the doctor.
This will be more than sufficient.
I will simply subdue you quickly before my fight against James Spectre.
Caroline
Y'know, if you could "simply subdue" me, wouldn't you have done that sooner?
Seems like it's a lot less simple than you thought it was.
Lyra's rings begin to rotate before Caroline lunges in for a punch
Caelum
Have you learned nothing!?
I've been working towards assimilating my body with my Manifesto!
There's no chance of a reckless charge like that being able to hit me!
Caroline
Wasn't planning on that!
Caroline punches the tree causing its branch to shoot up, impaling Caelum
Caelum snaps the branch in half, falling to the ground
Caroline
Huh, looks like despite everything you're able to do, you aren't able to move in midair.
Good to know, at least that means we both have to be close to fight!
Caelum repairs his wound with his goo
Caelum
Ugh…You will pay for your insolence, woman!
You think I'm limited solely to close range?!
My Manifesto is limited only by my creativity!
Caelum raises his arms before lowering them, launching spikes of goo towards Caroline
Caroline launches a barrage of punches, but gets cut by a few stray spikes
Caroline
Tsk!
Caroline raises her arm to heal herself
Caelum lunges towards her
Caelum
Do you really think I'll give you time to heal yourself!?
Caelum launches a right hook towards Caroline, she prepares to block with Lyra before getting stabbed through the abdomen by a spike from Caelum
Caelum
There.
Consider us even for the branch.
Now concede.
This is your loss.
Come with me and you will die a painless death.
Caroline looks at Caelum before delivering an uppercut to his mask
Caelum fumbles backwards as Caroline desperately uses Lyra to try to heal herself
Caroline
(C'mon!)
(Faster!)
(Faster!)
(Gimme just a few more seconds–!)
Spikes cut through Lyra
Caroline coughs up some blood
Caelum
Didn't I say I'd make sure you wouldn't be able to recover!
Caroline
(Damn it!)
(That wasn't nearly enough time!)
(I managed to stop the bleeding, but it'll only get worse the longer I leave it…)
(I should try repairing the tissues as soon as possible…)
Alright!
Come at me!
Let's do this!
You don't live in slums without picking up a thing or two about fighting!
Caelum looks at Caroline before cutting off a piece of goo, the goo turns into a second Caelum
Caelum
Remember, when you beg for mercy there will be none.
When you beg for forgiveness there will be none.
When you beg for salvation, there will be none.
I gave you the chance to peacefully surrender, but you chose this instead!
The two Caelums begin attacking Caroline, they synchronize their attacks, Caroline is being slowly pushed back
Caroline
(Fuck! Fuck!)
(It's so much harder with two of them to watch out for!)
(My best bet would be to put some distance between us again!)
Caroline pushes one of them into the other before running away
The caelum that was pushed gets absorbed into the other one as he raises his arms again
Caelum
Where do you think you're going?!
Haven't I already shown you that distance is nothing for me?!
Caelum launches more spikes towards Caroline, she uses Lyra to block only the spikes coming directly at her
Caroline
How do you like that?!
I'm learning!
Caelum
Are you?
It seems you still don't understand a fundamental part of my Manifesto.
Caelum flicks his finger as the goo spikes that missed change direction suddenly and begin attacking Caroline from all directions
Caelum
I told you this!
My Manifesto is limited solely by my creativity!
I have complete control over its shape and weight!
As Caroline attempts to use Lyra to block the spikes flying at her, some make it past her defense and cut her
Caroline
(Is he being serious!?)
(How can they change direction midair!)
(This is absurd!)
Caroline jumps behind a chimney
Caroline
(Let's see how good your aim is when you can't see me!)
As Caroline thinks this, one of the spikes lands on the roof and forms into another Caelum
Caelum
F̵̡̰͖͔̭̼̻̬͖̥̲̮̤̹͆͑̓͐́͗͂̏̚͝͝ǫ̷̱̤̲̣͕͍̲̝̜̝̭̫̍͆̅̉̈́͗̑̅̊͊̃͊̉̅͘u̷̩̬̞̥̠̼͎͔͊̆͌ņ̴̮̝͕̟̩͇̺̣̲̈́̿̀̀̈́̌̋d̷̛͖̄̐̇̋̏́̃͋͆ ̵̛̘̯̻̝͖̄̃͑̽̽͗́̏ý̶͍͊̀́̑͝o̴̧̗̜̳̥͍̫̦͓̥̣͔͖̘̙͠ü̷̢̗̟̩̖̜̫̣̠̪̉̇̔̂͊̿͒́́̒̀̈́͠
Caroline
!
As Caroline gets up to destroy the Caelum copy, more spikes are sent flying towards her
Lyra blocks the oncoming spikes as she gets sucker punched by the copy
Caelum marches towards her as he talks
Caelum
Why do you continue to struggle?
Why fight on?
What more do you gain?
Caroline
I've been struggling all my life…
If you think some asshole in a mask is gonna be the thing to crush my spirit, you've got another thing coming!
Lyra's rings begin accelerating as it swings wildly in the air
Caelum
…
Pft…
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
W-What was that supposed to be!?
I think your mind is the thing that broke, not your spirit!
Caelum leans in
Caelum
Thank you for entertaining me until the end.
Now, to end this!
As Caelum prepares to cut off Caroline's head, she uses Lyra to shatter his mask
Caelum
You asshole!!!
That was uncalled for!!!
Caroline exhales loudly
Caroline
Huff…
Whew…
Hey, Professor, sorry to break it to you, but this is the end of our fight.
Caelum repairs his mask
Caelum
You're right, it's time to die!
Caelum whinges as he speaks and leans up against a pillar of his own goo
Caroline
Before you do the whole "beheading" thing.
Why don't we have a quick chat?
As fellow doctors.
Caelum
Huff…huff…Very…well…
I did say no mercy…however I'm feeling more tired than before…
Caelum starts coughing
Caroline
Great.
So, I have this patient who was experiencing sudden weakness, he started having violent coughing fits with even blood coming out. His body began burning up in order to fight the virus.
Caelum collapses to the ground as his goo drains away
Caroline
So, what do you think he has?
Caelum looks up at Caroline as if in realization
Caelum
Tuberculosis…
Caroline
Right!
Of course!
Spread through bacteria in the air.
Y'know, bacteria's a living organism.
So–if I wanted to for whatever reason–I could accelerate the mutation into a severe strain of tuberculosis and make it far more potent than any other strain.
Do you understand what I'm getting at?
Caelum
Biological…weapons…
Caroline smiles as she squats over him
Caroline
That's one way of looking at it.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go wait for James and then we'll beat the shit out of–
Caelum
Dr…Sunshine…
You came for me…
Caroline's eyes widen in fear as she turns around only for Dr. Sunshine to be there waiting for her
Dr. Sunshine
I heard some loud noises and got curious, only to find two of my medical staff having a fight.
This isn't befitting someone of your stature, now is it "Dr. Sweet"?
Caroline's fist tightens
Caroline
Just the person I was looking for…
Lyra hurls a punch at Dr. Sunshine as her rings accelerate
Caroline gets knocked out in one hit
Dr. Sunshine picks up her body and turns away before…
Caelum
Dr. Sunshine!
Dr. Sunshine
?
Caelum
Was…I…useful?
Dr. Sunshine pauses before nodding
Dr. Sunshine
You were invaluable.
Now, why don't you go to sleep?
Caelum
Thank…you…
Caelum closes his eyes for the final time
Before leaving, Dr. Sunshine and walks towards him
Dr. Sunshine
…
Fucking pathetic.
Losing to a woman.
You were weak until the end.
I'm better off without someone like you in my operation.
Dr. Sunshine spits on the body of Caelum before walking off
Cut to James standing outside of the hospital
James
(I lost the doctor, I gotta assume the worst that she was kidnapped!)
(Guess it's about time I report back to my client about the job he gave me…)