Back in Mikey's mind, he stands on the rattling delivery craft, the wind howling past him, neon light flickering over the metal. Across the void, Payne balances on another, his grin carved wide across his bloodied face. The distance between them closes with each heartbeat, each surge of speed pulling them closer into collision. Mikey smacks his head with both hands, teeth clenched so tight it feels like they might shatter.
"Come on! Payne!!!"
Payne throws his head back and laughs, that sharp, guttural sound echoing through the night air. The two crafts slam into each other with a thunderous crunch. The force nearly knocks Mikey from his footing, but he leaps across the gap and slams into Payne, tackling him with every ounce of fury in his body. Payne doesn't stumble. His boots plant into the steel and he coils his monstrous arms around Mikey's torso, locking him in place. With savage ease, Payne heaves him upward and smashes him down onto the deck. The metal dents inward with the impact, a booming clang swallowed by the rushing wind.
Before Mikey can breathe, Payne hauls him up and slams him again. And again.
Each time the boy's spine rattles, air torn from his lungs. He thrashes, swinging wild elbows into Payne's head, each blow punctuated by desperate shouts. Blood slicks Payne's temple, but he only laughs louder, as if the pain is joy. Then, with a final burst of strength, Payne lifts Mikey high and drives him straight through the top of the craft. The metal gives way and they crash into the cockpit, the dashboard splintering beneath their bodies. Mikey lands on the controls with a sickening crack, coughing blood as Payne looms over him.
"So! Damn! Weak!" Payne's fists come down like hammers, one after the other, pounding Mikey's chest and skull.
Through the haze of agony, Mikey's eyes glance to the windshield. He sees it—solid concrete rushing toward them.
Impact.
The craft slams nose-first into the concrete. The explosion blossoms behind him, fire and shrapnel filling the air. Mikey is thrown clear, rolling across the cracked pavement, his body skidding until it splatters to a halt. The world spins as he coughs blood and smoke from his lungs. He forces himself upright, vision swimming—
—and freezes.
The docks of Jöten. He knows them instantly. The prison walls, the gunfire, the shouting. The night he infiltrated with Bobo and Luce to rescue Ryosuke and Amelia.
'What…'
Mikey whirls toward the inferno. Flames roar, the wreckage burning bright. Payne is nowhere. For a moment, Mikey dares to hope—
Then he hears it.
Payne murmuring next to him, both splayed on the concrete. He rises to his feet, unharmed by the impact of the crash. Mikey's rage explodes. His teeth grind so hard it feels like they'll shatter.
"Why are you still alive?! Why won't you die?!"
Payne staggers closer, voice guttural, drowned in smoke. "You… can never escape me, Michael. Like a cat chases a mouse, like a baby suckles its mother's teat." He raises his arms, "We're bound! Soulmates in hate. Forever! I am your... obsession, as you are mine!"
Mikey charges, tackling him onto the rain-soaked concrete. His fists rain down, knuckles splitting, blood and bone cracking with each strike. His voice is hoarse, breaking with anguish as he screams:
"I am not obsessed with you! You sick bastard! You took everything from me! I have nothing!"
The punches keep coming, Payne's face a grotesque ruin beneath them. His laughter finally chokes into gurgles as Mikey smashes his throat. The man claws weakly at Mikey's face, but the boy slaps his hands aside and keeps hammering, until Payne's body stops moving. Mikey slumps back, gasping, his fists ruined, bone pushing through torn skin. Pain tears through him. His body trembles as sobs break loose, emotions collapsing all at once.
And then—
Payne wheezes, face shattered, body twitching. "Come on...Michael... You're so pathetic. You are obsessed with me, with hating me. Even in this test you can't control yourself. AndI'm not even real... ha... it's sad."
Mikey's eyes dart—and find it. A gun, lying in the puddles. His left hand, the less broken one, grips it. He staggers up, chest heaving, and raises it over Payne's skull. He has a million things he could say to him. He could him why he did, why he killed his parents, what he gains from it. He could even curse him, but the only words he could find were two simples ones.
"Shut up..."
BANG.
The shot echoes. Payne's head snaps back, his body crumbling. Silence falls—only the rain hissing around them. Mikey exhales a ragged breath, a tired breath, but then—
"Mr. Mikey?"
Another voice, shrill, horrified.
"What did you do… WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
His heart plummets. He turns. Marlene is there, clutching Angelica to her chest. Mikey's pulse pounds as his eyes swing back to Payne's corpse and freeze.
It isn't Payne.
It's Elliot. Marlene's husband. Lifeless. A hole in his skull. The same man who died at Jöten—except now, he lies where Payne once was. Mikey collapses to his knees, horror ripping through him.
"You murderer! You got him killed!" Marlene's voice pierces him.
"Daddy?… Mr. Mikey… you killed Daddy? I hate you!!" Angelica screams through her sobs.
Mikey's soul shatters. He had carried this guilt since the bonfire, since learning Elliot's death was tied to his recklessness that night. That if Mikey hadn't been there, sneaking out, Payne never would have had the chance to kill him. Now the guilt is flesh and blood before him. Voices rise, pounding his skull.
"Pathetic!" "Murderer!" "Weak!" "Worthless!" "Terrible son!"
He clamps his hands over his ears. "Stop it! Shut up!" His voice cracks, breaking into sobs.
"SHUT UP!!! SHUT UP!!!"
It's too much. Panic floods him, his vision swimming, ears ringing, chest tightening. He feels himself collapsing into the weight of it all. Until one voice cuts through. Deep, calm and familiar in a way that makes his heart lurch, though he has never heard it before.
"Finally, I found you. Sorry it took so long, bud. That diluted Linnium stuff is no joke. Your head's a mess. But I got to you. I'll wash it all out."
Mikey blinks, wide-eyed. "…What?"
Then the gates of Jöten burst open, and a tidal wave surges forth. Water floods the docks, sweeping away voices, flames, Payne, Marlene, Elliot—everything.
It crashes over Mikey, dragging him down into the endless ocean, spinning, sinking, floating.