Jackson: “No, this…can’t be…”
Priest: “I’m sorry; I understand you want to protect your friend, but fighting alongside him won’t bring you any good, Jackson. I hope you understand.”
Jackson: “His lies so blinded me, I’m sorry.”
Priest: “Don’t be sorry, my child, there’s still time to….”
  The priest was interrupted during his sentence by an energy beam; he spewed blood over Jackson’s face; looking down at his chest, blood came spilling out, and Jackson’s eyes widened. Jackson caught the priest falling; Jackson looked behind him, and with tears dripping down, Jackson saw Jake….pointing his fingers at where the priest stood. Jake saw the sorrow within Jackson’s eyes; he looked down on his hands, covered in blood. He then came to his senses, realising what he had done, but it was already too late.
Jake: “No….No….I…I didn’t mean to….I….I didn’t want this…”
  Jake flew into the horizon, preventing himself from taking more lives. Jackson, on the other hand, held the priest in his hands.
Jackson: “Please, stay with me, Father Sam.”
Father Sam: “(Cough)…Don’t be sad….my child…(Cough)…Do not blame…your friend…he’s confused.…(Cough)…”
Jackson: “I can’t forgive him for this….I can’t…”
Father Sam: “(Cough)…Just promise me….To do….Better…Than….Him…”
  The priest left Jackson with his final dying wish; his hand fell to the ground, and his heart stopped. The priest was no longer with Jackson anymore.
Jackson: “May the angels of heaven guide your soul into Paradise.”
  Jackson hugs the priest tightly, crying as if he had lost his father figure. Jackson wiped the tears from his eyes; the army condoned Jackson. Jackson first apologised for what he had done before carrying the body of the priest back to the church for a proper burial. Jackson stayed by the priest’s side, mourning for his death. After the funeral, Jackson went to calm his mind down outside the church.
Jackson: “Thank you, Father Sam, for taking me in and looking after me. I’m forever grateful for your kindness and will fulfil your wish. I will be better.”
  Calming his thoughts, Jackson sought out Jake’s whereabouts to confront him.
Jake: “No, what have I done….Why did I do it….”
???: “He showed your only friend the bad side of the truth. He was trying to turn Jackson against you. You only did the right thing to protect him.”
Jake: “No…..This….I’m afraid that’s not right….”
  Jake escapes to an isolated island far away to hide.
???: “You are a coward, Jake. You hide instead of fighting them.”
Jake: “I don’t want to kill anymore.”
???: “If you can’t make that hard decision, you will never be able to protect the ones you love. They will all perish like your mother, whom you couldn’t save.”
Jake: “Shut up…”
???: “Did I strike a nerve? Or are you just a weakling who can’t do whatever it takes to save everyone?”
Jake: “I…Will…Save everyone…”
???: “Then prove to yourself that you can.”
  Jackson somehow manages to find where Jake is; he enters the cave and sees a distressed Jake on the ground. Jake saw his presence.
Jake: “You…You’re here to kill me?”
Jackson: “I’m here to confront you for your actions. You will surrender yourself to the authorities.”
Jake: “No…If I surrender myself, I can’t protect anyone…”
Jackson: “You are a delusional lunatic. You’ve taken way too many lives to be still able to see yourself as the hero here.”
Jake: “You’re here to make me surrender…I thought you were my friend….I thought you were supposed to have my back….”
Jackson: “I did have your back. I trusted you, yet you broke that trust, lied about not knowing the night's hero, and lied about being sick.”
Jake: “I can change….I don’t have to go to jail….The people still need me to save them…”
Jackson: “No, the people no longer see you in their eyes as a hero. You are but a killer on the loose. You are no hero no more.”
Jake: “No…YOU LIE!”
  Jake punches Jackson, sending him through the pine trees and into the ocean. Jake leaps from the cave to the sea. Jake strikes a punch, but his fist is caught and grabbed tightly by Jackson.
Jackson: “I don’t want to fight you, Jake.”
Jake: “Too bad.”
  Jackson retaliates, fighting Jake not with anger or sorrow but with his promise to bring Jake back to the right path. Punching, grabbing, throwing and slamming, the battle lasted for almost 2 hours. The two of them soon grew tired from all the fighting. Jackson took the chance to go all out for a sliver of a chance to beat Jake as his moves began to slow down. Jake again charges towards Jackson, sending a straight right punch at Jackson. Jackson saw through the attack. Ducking at the last moment, he responded with an uppercut; before his fist could reach Jake’s face, Jackson stopped as he hesitated to land it; he pulled his arm down and smacked Jake, knocking him back. The attack dazed Jake; he lay on the ground briefly before slowly getting up on one hand.
Jake: “You had the chance to kill me. Why…Why did you hesitate to end it?”
Jackson: “Because it won’t make me any better than you. And I made a promise to the priest and myself that I will snap you out of whatever trance or delusions you are currently having.”
Jake: “You should’ve gone for the kill.”
Jackson: “I regret nothing of my choices; if I must die by them, so be it.”
Jake got up once again, and the battle soon continued. However, Jackson’s body could not keep up with Jake for this long; his stamina was also not as big as Jake’s. As Jackson grew tired of the fight, his moves slowed, leaving Jake more opportunities to strike him. Jake soon strikes Jackson down to the ground. Jake then gets on top of Jackson, grabbing him by the neck. Jake raises his right arm, clenching his fist.
Jake: “You were my friend, Jackson. Why must you force me to do this? Why couldn’t you leave me alone here?”
Jackson: “Because….If I don’t confront you….No one will…If I don’t try to guide you back to the right path….You’ve once walked…Who can?...I…Do not…Wish…To see…The one hero and friend….I looked up to….Become his greatest enemy…”
Jake: “Shut up!”
Jackson: “Because you’re my friend….And…I can’t see myself letting you continue with your acts of violence….It’s not the right way….Nor will it ever be…I don’t want you…to become the villain….”
  Jake held his arm high, but he, too, hesitated to make the finishing blow. Tears rolled down Jake’s eyes as he did not want to kill his best friend. He did not want to kill the one who had saved him before.
???: “Strike him down, and no one else can stop you from bringing peace to the world.”
Jackson: “Strike me down if it’s what you want…..I do not bear hatred towards you…Do it if you must.”
???: “Do it….strike him down…”
Jackson: “I only wish…for my only friend to return to me…”
  Jake lets go of Jackson. He slowly stands up, looking down at his hands yet again, but his thoughts are different this time. Tears continued falling from his eyes.
Jake: “No…No more…I won’t kill him…”
???: "He is but an obstacle, made to block you from achieving your goals."
Jake: “Shut up! I no longer care what you say. Jackson did not try to kill me and was willing to accept death. He was the only one who wanted to save me. You, on the other hand, were trying to brainwash me. And by that, I have finally realised something…”
???: “And what it that I might suppose?”
Jake: “I've never left the Gates of Verklempt.”
  The world around Jake soon plunged into darkness—a void-like area with nothing but another version of himself standing before him. The figure had a frown on his face, signalling that he no longer had control over Jake's mind.
Jake: “All this time, I’ve been fighting against everyone when I was fighting against myself, my thoughts and insecurities. Your words no longer dictate me. I know I can’t truly get rid of you, but I’m sure of one thing. What has happened, had happened. I will continue to train myself and protect the world, but I won’t go down the same path I did before in protecting it.”
  The figure’s voice grew smaller, showing that Jake had slowly overcome his thoughts of negativity of himself. Jake walked towards himself; the figure turned to dust as Jake passed through him. A gate soon appears in front of Jake.
Jake: “Thank you…Jackson…Even in a made-up reality…You’ve saved me yet again.”
  Jake pushes the gate open, exiting through them like he once entered. A bright light shone and slowly faded away. Standing in front of him was his master and Jackson.
Jake: “Guess I’m finally out of that place. By the way, why are you here? And how did you get here?”
Jackson: “Oh, you were gone for a week, I think…So I went to your house to find you. No one answered the doorbell, so I broke into your house.”
Jake: “Of course you did.”
Jackson: “And then I saw a portal left open in your room, so I did what any sane person would do. I went in. And then I was in this dark room; a voice began speaking to me, who was Mr Daeden, asking me how I got here. And now I’m here. Also, out of curiosity, what was it like in there?”
Jake: “It was fucked up, and by fucked up, I meant me committing it. It was a horrible experience. I mean, I can proudly say that I’m better than before. Although I didn’t completely conquer the gates of verklempt, I learnt to move on from the past and not let it control me.”
Jackson: “Good to hear that….So why isn’t Jarvis talking?”
Jake: “Oh shit, he’s still muted.”
Jarvis: “Do not, ever, do that again. You piece of garbage.”
  Everyone shared a laugh. Jake smiles as he feels the burden lessens on him. The thoughts were still in Jake’s mind, but he had learned to forgive himself and proceed forward.