Caroline is on the ground, shaking
Queen is standing above her with his puppet's looming behind him
Queen
Oops, sorry about that!
Are you alright?
Caroline
(It…it only grazed me, right?)
(I can't let it touch me, the wind pressure from the punch alone was enough to knock me off my feet)
(And besides, something seems off about these puppets…)
Queen
Ah, you're glaring at me
You must've realized my puppets aren't only made out of wood
My Manifesto, Crux, gives me control of any wood object I carved myself.
The boss asked me to put in something "extra" in the puppets to make them pack more of a punch
And so, I put metal into the fists to do just that
It makes them a lot heavier to carry around which is why I made Crux IV!
Pretty clever, right?
Caroline
Yea, you're a real genius.
(The puppets' abnormal weights make more sense now, but there's still something else going on)
(These puppets are too aggressive for him to be conscious of it!)
(I can only think of one reason why this guy's Manifestos are so violent…)
(...He's got major anger problems!)
(If I can just figure out the cause of these problems, that might be enough to distract him and get him to stop fighting me–!)
Caroline gets tripped by a few Crux I
Caroline
These things are really starting to annoy me!
Cut to Will
Evelyn
My oh my…
It seems Queen is being too soft, as always.
I suppose I'll have to re-educate him after this is all done.
What about you?
Have you finally learned some manners?
Will is bloody and beat up as Auriga stands in front of him with Eridanus over it
Will
Why can't I control Auriga…?
Evelyn
This must all be such a shock to you.
I almost feel bad.
Your parents must not have loved you.
Where are your manners?
Who even raised you?
Will
(Who raised me?)
(Dad passed away when I was young, but what about mom?
(I wonder what she's doing right now…)
Flashback
We see a table, a man is reading the newspaper as a woman and a child eat their food
America, 1916
Father
Gosh, look at what the world's come to.
I'm proud of those Brits, this paper says they're making progress on the western front.
I wish those pencil pushers in Washington would let us help out already.
That Wilson's just a–
Mother
Harold! Don't talk about things like that at the table!
You'll upset Will
Father
Ah, he's made of tougher stuff than that, right kiddo?
Will smiles and nods
Will
Don't worry mom, if the Germans ever try to take over the country, I'll protect you!
Father
I guess that makes two of us!
Mother
Well I have nothing to worry about then, but for now let's just be grateful that we're all safe and enjoy this meal I made for us.
Will
Ok!
America, 1917
Father
Look at this!
I'm shipping out next week!
Will
Wow, dad!
That's so cool!
You're gonna go protect us, right?
You're just like one of the heroes from my comic books!
Father
Ahahaha, thanks kiddo.
Honey, you haven't said anything yet.
Mother
Hm?
Oh, it's wonderful dear!
Will, can you step outside to play?
I just want to talk to your father quickly.
Will
Ok…
Will closes the door as he hears a noise and sees an open window
Mother
What were you thinking?
Father
I thought you'd be happier
Mother
Why the hell would I be happy?
You know I've thought this war was dumb from the start.
Father
I can't believe what I'm hearing right now.
Mother
I've stayed quiet long enough, but you've been putting ideas of being a war hero into our son's mind since he was born.
Father
My family's served this country since its founding, why wouldn't I want him to keep our legacy alive?
Mother
I don't know how you can be proud of a history of murder–
The shadows show the man raise his fist as we see Will standing outside the window
Father
Shut up and know your place.
I'll be staying at basecamp until I ship out.
I hope by the time I get back you'll have come to your senses.
Will's dad exits the house as Will runs up to him
Will
Where are you going?
Father
I'm going to serve my country.
Remember son, there's no better motivation than protecting others.
No matter what you have to do to protect them.
Will's father leaves
America, 1918
Will
Mom! Mom!
I got another 100 on my test!
Are you proud of me?
Will's mother sits blankly at a table with a bottle of wine in her hand
Mother
Hm?
Oh yes, very proud of you sweetie.
Will
Do you…do you think Dad will come home if he knows how well I'm doing in school?
Mother
!
Will's mother stands up and crouches in front of him
Mother
Never talk about that man in front of me!
Never, do you understand?
He abandoned his family to fight in some European war!
He can die in the trenches over there for all I care!
You're a smart kid Will.
You see the world in a special way, so use your talents.
Don't waste them for some bullshit and then forget about everyone you claim you love.
Stay in school, explore all this world has to offer, make me proud.
She starts to cry
Mother
Please…don't leave me all alone…
Will stands shocked as his mother holds him while crying
America, 1919
Father
I'm home!
Will's head perks up as he runs towards his father
Will
Dad!
You're back!
You're really, really back!
Father
Yup, I'm really, really back
Look at how big you've gotten!
Wow, it really has been only two years, huh.
Could've sworn it was longer.
Where's your mother?
Mother
Welcome back, Harold.
He nods
Father
Thank you, Barbara.
Will
?
America, 1921
Father
I'm home…
Will, where's your mother?
Will
She was sleeping when I got home, so I put a blanket over her.
Father
What the hell, wake up you whore!
She wakes up somewhat
Mother
What do you want?
Father
What do I want?
I want answers.
What the hell were you doing with Jerry from down the road.
Mother
What are you talking about?
Father
Don't play dumb with me, I came home early and caught a glimpse of you two in the living room.
No surprise you didn't hear me open the door given how loud you two were being.
Mother
Fine. So what if I was with him?
You're never there for me, the minute you get home, you just sit in your chair and start drinking, or you go to bars with your friends!
Father
Where do you get off criticizing me?
I fought to protect this country, to protect you!
Mother
Here we go again, how long are you gonna keep using that "protect the country" line?
Father
Who the hell do you think you're talking to?
You don't know the kinds of things I saw in that war, you don't know what I had to do.
Mother
Oh, I have a good idea of what kinds of things you were doing.
Father
!
…
He leaves the room and goes to the kitchen
He returns to the living room as his shadow shows a knife being raised
Blackout
Back in, the father is lying dead with the mother standing over him with a Manifesto behind her
Will
Mom?
What happened to Dad?
Will's mom smiles
Mother
What would you think about moving?