"Manitoba! Finally!" said Mike.
"Svetlana is so glad you are okay!" said Svetlana as she hugged him.
"I was worried about you too, Sugar Glider, you're a sight for sore eyes. But I can't talk now, big quota to fill." Manitoba was dressed in a black leather jacket over a white shirt. He had shaggy, dirty blond hair underneath a black fedora, and he had violet eyes.
"What's Mal making you do?"
"See them clouds? Them's your dreams. My job's to get rid of 'em so you can never enjoy 'em again."
He caught one and dragged it down with a rope. Mike looked into the cloud.
"It's the dream I had about kissing Zoey in the rain. Oh, I loved that dream!"
"So romantical!" said Svetlana.
Manitoba threw it into the fire as though it were garbage.
"Ah! Don't do that!"
"Love to, mate, but Mal's the boss."
"As soon as I regain control, the first thing I'm going to do is find Zoey and give her a real kiss, one that Mal won't be able to ruin." Manitoba tossed another dream into the flames. "Ah, come on! Stop burning up my dreams."
"Ah well, we all gotta go sometime," shrugged Manitoba.
"Don't you want to be free?" asked Mike.
"But even if we could beat Mal, that would just put you back in charge. So, how's that make me free?"
"No way, he's right! Why should you get all the control?" Vito demanded.
"'Cause I'm the first, the original."
"Ha! Where's the proof?" asked Chester.
"Well, I don't exactly have proof, but I've had most of the control over the years, so I must be the original."
"Unless that's what Mal wants you to think. You two blokes came before us, so it's not like we were there to witness," said Manitoba.
"He kept you under lock and key, and this ain't even the first time. Shouldn't that be impossible if you're the default?" asked Vito.
"I don't know. I mean, he does seem to have a lot more power and control here, he's been doing things in my head that I have no idea how to do." Mike was quiet for a moment, thinking. "…Maybe I am just an alternate personality and I never realized it until now. That means everything I am, everything I thought I was, is a lie. Mal let me live a life that wasn't mine, and now he's taking it back. I guess I can't lose anything if it never belonged to me in the first place. Why did he do this to me, why would he make me believe I was real, just for his own amusement? What did I ever do to him?"
"Bein' an alter ain't so bad, you'll get used to it after a while," said Vito. "Just do what I do and make out with girls during your time out. You know, if Mal ever lets you."
"I just can't believe this."
"Me neither! Why have I been listening to you this whole time?" said Chester.
"Stop!" cried Svetlana. She felt bad for Mike, Mal was putting him through the same pain he'd gone through when he'd found out the truth for fun. She had to do something, but she had to be careful about how she went about it. "Who cares who vas ze first, Mike is ze best! He is more patient zan me, more generous zan Chester! Less egotistical zan Manitoba, and he is a better dancer zan Vito!"
"Oh ay, ayo!" he let out a defeated sigh. "It's true."
"Ah thanks, but if I'm not the original-"
"Ah, go on ya silly dingo. Think about it, we're trapped in a world Mal created."
"Exactly!" said Chester. "What was Svetlana's torment?"
"Mal made her think that the ground was gone and she was going to fall, he created an illusion. He created a nightmare illusion for me when I first met him."
"When Mal looks at a person, he doesn't see a face, he sees their weakness like it was branded on their forehead. And you know what he does with that information? He uses it to manipulate them and make them think things they never would have thought of on their own," said Chester.
"He's probably doin' it to everybody on the outside as we speak," said Manitoba. "He don't discriminate, he comes after everyone."
"I had to listen to him because I knew I could never take him on," Chester continued.
"He made Svetlana zink she vas going to fall, Svetlana never falls."
"He told me he'd make me like the half-formed alters," said Vito.
"We were all afraid of him, and he exploited that weakness. You weren't afraid of him, you're standin' up to him, so he attacked you in another way. Mike, what is one of your biggest weaknesses?" asked Manitoba.
"I have so many of them I don't see how Mal could pick just one."
"Zere, you see!" said Svetlana. "Zat is the veakness Mal used, your fears and insecurities. If you vere more confident, you vould not have believed him so easily ven he told you he vas ze original. He also used Zoey to attack you, he vill use any ammo you give him."
"You know, you might not be as powerful as him now, but you might be, someday," said Manitoba. "You don't know this place like Mal does, he's got experience, but with time and practice you could learn. Just because he's more powerful now don't mean he's the main one."
"Mike, ve know zings zat you don't, Svetlana especially. Ve might tell you someday, but for now you must be trusting us. Zere is more to Mal zan meets ze eye, and I can safely tell you zat he is just an alternate personality, like us. You are ze original."
Mike didn't believe it, but then he remembered what Dr. Lace had once told him, all those years ago when he had first started seeing her:
"That's one of the things that separates you from your personalities, the ability to learn, grow, and move on with your life. Your personalities are incapable of developing past the stage they're at now, they'll always be the same. The ones that are less developed are stuck in the past and can't move on. Your main ones may be able to learn new things, but they'll always have the same mindsets and they'll stay at the mental age they're at now. They're likely to repeat the same mistakes over and over, but you can learn from yours and avoid them. Your mind will change and grow, and every day you'll become a better Mike than you were yesterday."
He had made plenty of mistakes in his life, but he learned from them and tried to avoid making them again. He had grown and changed, he wasn't the ten year old they'd found on the dirt road all those years ago, he didn't think the same way. He pulled the red racecar out of his pocket that Carrot Top had given him. That little boy would always be five years old, he couldn't grow or change, none of his alters could. But he had.
When they first found him, he was scared and miserable, and since he couldn't remember his past he couldn't remember ever feeling happiness before, it was a foreign emotion that seemed like a myth. His new family taught him to be happy, they helped shape him into the person he was now. The world had been so scary to him then, even more so after his diagnosis. Over time, the world stopped being so scary, but he still had to hide in shame and self-loathing. At times he'd been so depressed he couldn't imagine ever feeling cheerful again. But Zoey had come into his life, and she had helped him change for the better, as well. He believed in his own self-worth, he didn't hate himself like he used to. He wasn't hiding anymore, he was no longer ashamed of this disorder that wanted to dominate his life. All the people close to him had shaped him in some way, in little ways or big ways. But not only that, he was shaping himself. He was following his dreams, fighting against his own mind every day, and standing up to a world that always seemed to want to tear him down. He couldn't be just an alternate personality, because he was always learning, and he would continue to learn the rest of his life.
Mike felt his confidence rise, and his anger at Mal burst back to life like a flame. "Nice try Mal, but you haven't won yet!"
He cut Manitoba's chain. "Took ya long enough! Come on, I know a shortcut to Mal's guard tower!" There was a spark of excitement in his eyes now.
"Guard tower?" Mike asked.
"You still haven't clued in? This whole place is a jail. The tower is the only way in or out."
They started following Manitoba to the tower, but Chester said, "Nah, I don't think I can deal with anymore walking, shortcut or not."
"Fine, I'll give you a piggy-back."
Chester jumped on his back and said, "Giddy-up, slow poke!"
As they drew nearer to the tower, Manitoba stopped. "Wait a minute, hold up ya didgeridoos. Mike, if it comes down to a fight with Mal, just how do you plan to take him on?"
"With the sword," said Mike as he held it up.
"And have you ever used a sword before? If you don't know how to use it, then it's worthless. The greatest weapon in the world is no better than a letter-opener in the wrong hands."
"Oh, you're right. I know, let's practice!" said Mike. "Make swords for yourselves, we won't stop until I can use this thing right."
"All right, now we're getting' somewhere!" Manitoba made dual broadswords for himself. Vito, Chester, and Svetlana sat down to watch them train. Manitoba was the only one with any swordsmanship.
"Now we'll start slow, but not for long," said Manitoba as he brandished his swords. "Mal won't show you any mercy, he's not gonna go easy on you just because you're new at this. I'm gonna come at you in the same way."
"But don't vorry, Svetlana vill make sure he does not take it too far."
"Okay, I'm ready," said Mike, though he didn't feel ready at all. He couldn't hurt anyone, not even Mal. But at the very least, he had to know how to defend himself.
They watched as Manitoba came at Mike and swung one sword at his head and the other at his middle. Mike blocked the one coming at his head, but couldn't block the other.
"If you've got two swords comin' at ya, you block the one that'll do more damage and then get out of the way. You've got be quick on your feet, like a jackrabbit."
"You must also be agile and flexible," Svetlana called from the sidelines. "It is not always enough to be fast. Sword fighting is just a more dangerous form of dancing, so you must be like dancer."
Manitoba swung his swords at Mike's head with deadly precision. He leaned back, and his swords cut a lock of his hair.
"But you also gotta put power behind each blow!" Vito yelled. "Don't hold back like a pansy, do some real damage like a man!"
"But above all, know that Mal is sneaky and cunning, and he's not above cheating to win. He can come at you from any angle, so you have to be ready on all sides!" said Manitoba. He moved quickly and came at Mike from all sides, and he tried to block each blow. He couldn't block them all, but Manitoba wasn't going in for the kill. Mal would do that.
They practiced for a long time. Manitoba tried to be sneaky, like he expected Mal to be, so Mike could get used to it and learn to defend against it. Mike was improving, but he still had a long ways to go.
"You should stop now, if you keep going Mike vill have no energy left to fight Mal," said Svetlana.
"But I'm nowhere near ready, I need more practice! Come at me again!"
"She's right, mate. All the practice in the world won't help if you're about to drop dead from exhaustion. We have to keep going to the tower, just remember what we taught you."
"It's not like you're gonna be alone in this fight, I want a piece of Mal!" said Vito eagerly. "I don't need a sword, I'll knock him to kingdom come with my fists!"
"Ve'll all fight him, he stands no chance against all of us together!" said Svetlana.
"Yeah, you're right," said Mike with a smile. "Together, we're unstoppable!"
Chester had fallen asleep, but Mike shook him awake and let him get back on his back. He felt his hope and confidence lift. They were almost there, they were so close. Pretty soon they would be inside the tower, and they would find the hidden power Mal had spoken of. He'd be free, and he could finally get back to Zoey.
The day of the treasure hunting challenge, Zoey was watching the disk she had finally found that contained 'the truth' about Mal. She watched in horror all the things Mal had been doing. She had already figured it out herself, but it was still horrible to see.
The worst part was when Mike had dropped a rock on his head to try to stop Mal. That had been his plan? He'd promised her he'd be safe, knowing full well that his plan would hurt him and that she wouldn't approve. He had hurt himself to protect her, but it completely backfired. She had cried during that part, and tears kept leaking and pouring down her cheeks.
"Oh, Mike."
As soon as the video was over, she went back to her room and started to write in her diary. She had to let out all these emotions or she might explode during a challenge, and she couldn't let Mal see her explode, not yet anyway.
Mal is real and he's here, he's been here for a long time. How could Mike, who's so sweet and nice to everyone, have an alternate personality like this? But that's not important, what is important is that something has to be done.
How could I have been so stupid, so blind for so long? I'm Mike's girlfriend, I should have been able to tell that it wasn't really him, I should have known from the start. I should have done something about Mal, but I love Mike more than anything, and I never wanted to believe that he was capable of evil. I guess I looked the other way without ever consciously making the decision to do so, and Mike is paying the price.
She felt her shock and despair turn to a fierce rage. Her rage made her write faster, she could barely read what she was writing. He tricked me, manipulated me, and made me feel sorry for him! All he ever did was lie to me, hurt my friends, and keep Mike prisoner. Does Mike even know what's going on? Is he capable of fighting back? Is he still in there at all? I let Mal cry on my shoulder, but the tears were as fake as his heart.
She suddenly remembered Mike's anxiety attack, the one he'd had before they came back to the island. That half-formed alter tried to warn me, it knew this was going to happen! I kind of feel sorry for it, I wonder what Mal did to it, what he's doing right now to all of them. I hope Mike's okay, I hope they all are.
I have to do something, but I'm not sure what. Mike returned to himself when he heard me calling his name, needing him before, but will that be enough now? Mal's been in control for so long, it's obvious that he's different from the others. He's a storm, and I'm in the eye. I'm in his good graces now, but the very second I become a threat or I'm no longer useful to him, he'll dispose of me. Would he kill me, would he go that far? I don't know Mal, I don't know what limits he has or if he has any at all. This is a villain I don't understand, and that puts me at a disadvantage. I don't know what Mal's weak spot is, or if he even has one. Mal knows me, he knows my weaknesses and he's been exploiting them since the beginning. He knows exactly which of my buttons to press, when to press them, and how much pressure to use. He has all the power right now, but I'm going to change that.
I have to make sure he doesn't get eliminated, because then he would be out of my reach. I have to save Mike somehow, and I can't do that if he's on Playa Des Losers. But if he loses, would he even leave? He's an evil alternate personality, would he really care about the rules once they no longer serve him? What lengths will he go to to get his way? What will the repercussions be? And if Mal does do something like that, no matter who eventually wins out and takes charge, Mike will bear the consequences. I have to make sure he doesn't get eliminated, but I won't let him win, either. I don't think I can bring Mike back on my own, he needs a doctor, but Chris won't let anyone in to help until the game is over and he can't milk this anymore. If I win the game, we can get help for Mike and bring him back. I want to do more, but what more can I do?
I have to make up for my blindness before, Mike needs me and I haven't been there for him. I'm going to fight for Mike, I don't care what Mal might do to me.
"I promise I'm the same Mike who gave you that bracelet last year," Mal told her with a smile on their way to the challenge.
It took physical effort to not scream at him right there or punch him in the face, but she managed to keep calm and smile. Letting him know she was on to him now would do her no favors. She rubbed Mike's necklace in her pocket to remind her of what she was fighting for. Mal was going down, she would make sure of it.
"Thanks again for bringing me to the finale!" said Mal as they were meeting for the final challenge. "I know things have been-"
"I didn't do it for you, I did it for Mike! And you can drop the act!"
"Oh, what a relief," said Mal as he fixed his hair the way he liked it. "Pretending to be that boring was really getting to me. What did you see in him?"
"I'll take Mike over evil Mal any day!"
"Oh Zoey, poor naïve, trusting Zoey. Don't you see? There's no longer a choice." He whispered in her ear, "Mike is gone, and he's never coming back."
He laughed as she gasped, and said, "No, it's not true! You're lying to me, all you've ever done is lie to me, so how can you expect me to believe you now?"
"That memory I cried to you about, I didn't make it up, at least, not all of it. My past was very terrible, and my mind is a building that was never really up to code in the first place. I developed this disorder, and my first personality was Mike. I let him have control for all these years, I was just biding my time. He didn't want to believe it either, because in a way, it meant his feelings for you weren't real. I forced him to see the truth, and it broke him. Getting rid of him was much easier after that."
"Show me proof then," said Zoey firmly.
"All right, as you wish. Mike always comes back when he hears you calling for him, when you need him, or does he? In the boat race, I'm the one who saved you, not Mike. If he was still inside my head, he would have overcome me to save you, but he didn't. He never even heard you calling for him, screaming for help. Go ahead, scream his name, let's see if he can hear you."
"Mike!" she screamed. "Mike, please you have to hear me! You have to stop Mal, you have to come back! Mike, I need you!"
She stopped, and they both waited several moments. Then, Mal gasped. "Zoey, what's going on? Are you okay? "
She was about to hug him, but stopped herself. It was too easy, and she wanted it so badly she almost fell for it.
"Zoey, what's wrong? It's me, Mike, I'm back." He took her hands in his, but she tore her hands away and shoved him away from her.
Mal laughed and said, "So you're not quite as ignorant as I thought. I'm almost impressed."
"You're sick, Mal," she said angrily.
He walked on, and she followed behind him. As they walked, Mal said, without turning back to look at her, "You could have saved him."
"What do you mean?"
"I had trouble keeping Mike in line for the first few days, he kept trying to reach out to you for help, but you completely missed it because you kept your eyes closed. If you had done something, I might not be here now, but now it's too late, he's dead. Would you like to be the one to tell his mother her son is never coming home?"
Zoey felt like crying, but she refused to give Mal that satisfaction. Later, after the challenge was announced and Zoey was partnered with Cameron and Gwen, she said, "Let's try not to hurt Mal, Mike could still be in there. Right Cameron?"
She desperately needed to hear someone say that Mike was still in there, because she couldn't force her doubts away. But Cameron said, "I don't think so, Zoey. It is possible that Mal was always Mal and Mike was just one personality. I hate to say it, he's my best friend and I don't want to lose him, but I think either way, Mike's gone."
Zoey's eyes filled with tears. She wiped them away and said, "Well, if Mal is really Mal, let's go out, crush him, and win this thing!"
She took out the necklace Mike had given her. "Goodbye Mike, wherever you are." She dug a small hole and dropped the necklace in it. She was about to cover it up, but she couldn't bring herself to. She felt weak for holding on to it, but she couldn't part with it. She tucked the necklace back in her pocket just as Chris started the challenge. No one saw it, but Mal pulled a remote out of his pocket, pressed a button, and then tossed it to the side.
Mike heard Zoey scream his name and he tried to get to her, but as always, he wasn't strong enough.
"What do you think he's doing to her?" he asked as his eyes glistened with tears.
"Don't think about that now, let's focus on getting to the top of that tower," said Manitoba.
He and the others finally made it to Mal's tower. They could see the bright glowing light, and it filled Mike with hope. They made it through the door and ran up the stairs. Mike was still carrying Chester on his back, but he was so determined it didn't slow him down. When they made it to the top, they saw chains, Mal's golden throne, his jeweled crown, and his mighty scepter. Nothing else.
"Ayo, what are we supposed to do now?" asked Vito.
"Maybe if you put the crown on, it'll give you control back," said Manitoba.
"Worth a shot." Chester got off his back and Mike put on the crown. Nothing happened.
"Try sitting in ze throne and holding ze scepter," said Svetlana.
Mike tried it, still nothing.
"I don't understand, I thought that there would be something here we could use to beat Mal," said Mike as he took off the crown and tossed it and the scepter into the corner. "He said there was power here, where is it?"
"You ninny, what did you expect? A big red button? Ha! Like it would ever be that easy," Chester scoffed.
"I put all my hopes on the answer being here, it never occurred to me that this plan might not work. But if we weren't supposed to come here, then where are we supposed to go? What are we supposed to do?"
"I'm starting to think this tower was just a red herring, a diversion, mate. His talk of 'power' bein' here was just bait on the end of a hook. Mal had two options, lock us away again after we escaped, or let us waste our time and energy on a wild goose chase. He knew all along we had nothin' to use against him."
"No! We must have missed something, there has to be something here! It can't end like this!" Mike said desperately.
"Mal tricked us into thinking this tower would give us the key, when really… there is no key," said Manitoba as he shook his head.
"So we're trapped in here forever?"
"He is too smart for us, too strong. It took all our strength to beat him ze last time, and his power zen was only at a fraction of vat it is now," said Svetlana sadly.
"What do you mean, the last time you beat him?" asked Mike. "Mal had complete control before?"
"How do you zink you vound up on zat road zat led to your new family?"
"How did you beat him last time?" asked Mike. This was news to him.
"He was weakened by drugs some crackpot doctors had him on," replied Chester.
"He nearly killed us all and himself, but survival instinct won out and we pummeled 'em," said Vito.
"If only I could tap into my survival instincts now," said Mike. "But I'm not in any danger, so I can't."
"I don't think you being in danger would get the job done, mate. Your safety isn't exactly at the top of your priorities, but we all know whose is," said Manitoba, grinning.
"It didn't work before, why should it work now?" asked Mike.
"Because zis time, ve are here to help you," said Svetlana as she put a hand on his shoulder.
Mal came at Zoey, but she jumped and kicked him in the chest. It sent him backwards, but he came at her again without hesitating. He pounced on her and grabbed her, but she elbowed him in the stomach and flipped him over onto the ground. He stuck out his leg and tripped her, knocking her down onto the ground with him. She struck out with her foot and kicked him in the mouth, but he grabbed it and pulled her closer. He climbed on top of her and pinned her hands down above her head with one hand, with the other, he gently caressed her face as she squirmed.
"Such pretty eyes. Makes me want to pop them out and carry them around on a keychain." He put his fingers in her eyes and was about to gouge them out when she screamed and wrestled her hands free. Despite having Vito's muscle, Mal wasn't very strong, he and Zoey were close to being equally matched. She leapt onto his back and put her arms around his neck to cut off his air supply.
She was on the verge of losing all control and going commando, like she had last season. No one would blame her if she did, the circumstances were a hundred times worse this time. It would be so easy to give in, Cameron said Mike was gone and never coming back, Mal had permanent control. The boy she loved wasn't real, he was just one of Mal's alters, and it was about to drive her over the edge. He would kill her if she didn't stop him, killing him would be doing the world a favor.
But she refused to let herself go down that road again, she would not let Mal do that to her. She would stay in control, she wouldn't lose herself like she did before. If she did it again, she might not come back, she would kill him without a second thought. Mike wouldn't want to see her like that, she didn't want to see herself like that. She would still fight, but she would stay in control and not lose herself like last time.
She held on tight, he couldn't throw her off. If she could incapacitate him long enough to win, the show would be over and help could be brought in. Nothing would be done about Mal until someone pulled the sword out of the stone and ended the game.
"It was a necklace, Mal," she growled in his ear.
Mal had been greatly enjoying their fight, but now he was enraged. He couldn't breathe, his vision started blurring around the edges and he felt lightheaded. If he didn't do something quickly he would pass out and lose the game, he would not let all his hard work be destroyed by Zoey. He saw the water moat behind him, and he leapt backwards into it. Zoey let go and tried to swim back to the surface, but he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her down. She tried to fight him, but it was no use, she couldn't get free. She let loose an underwater scream that only Mal could hear and expended her remaining oxygen. He was going to hold her under the water until she drowned, and he had nearly won, but then he felt a sudden intense pain in his head, like an explosion had gone off inside it. He felt like he was being sucked out of his own body, and he blacked out.
"What the-" he said as he opened his eyes. He was back inside his tower, and Mike had him by the front of his shirt.
"It's over Mal, you're finished."
"How did you-"
"You made one big mistake, Mal. You underestimated my love for Zoey, it's the only thing that gave me the power to drag you down here with us."
"I'm proud of you Mike, you're finally starting to learn how to use your brain to win power. But the thing is, I have years of practice while you've only just begun. I see you have a sword, it's a nice one. I think I'll make one of my own."
Mal took a large piece of brain matter and formed it into a sword. It was bigger and longer than Mike's, it was black as night and pulsed red.
"Let's make this one-on-one to keep it interesting." Mal's eyes scrunched up in concentration, and suddenly a clear blue force field surrounded them. Chester, Svetlana, Vito, and Manitoba were forced out, they couldn't even watch. This wasn't good, Mike needed them in this fight. But he stood his ground, he would take Mal on alone, and he would win.
"En garde!" challenged Mal as he hit his sword against Mike's with a clang. He then swung it at his head, and Mike just barely dodged in time. Mike held up his sword as Mal brought it down again, and then he began to fight back.
Mike remembered what the others taught him. He was slightly stronger than Mal, but Mal wielded his sword like a pro, as though he had spent years refining the skill. Mike focused on making his moves quick and agile, fluid and precise, while Mal moved like a slippery serpent. Neither of them had strength on their side, but Mike had someone he was fighting for, and Mal had sheer will power and unbridled madness.
"You know, I think Zoey and I have a connection. Why, just before you invited me to your little party in here, I was taking her breath away," said Mal with a slithery smirk. "I think your love for Zoey is hilarious. You've placed everything in you on it, so if you were to lose it, lose her, it would destroy you. It's like drawing a big red target on your chest for me and the rest of the world to do our worst. She might love you, but I think you need her a lot more than she needs you. Just think of how much better her life would be if you hadn't entered it and screwed everything up.
"I see why you like her though, she's the only girl in the world who's ever shown any interest in you. She must be so desperate, so needy that she'll take any guy who shows her an ounce of attention. So it's really no wonder that she fell for the lie so blindly, if she really loved you she should have been able to look into my eyes and see through my façade from day one. But she never saw through it, she trusted me like a sheep going to the slaughter. How does that feel, to know that your girlfriend, the person you love most and the person who loves you most, couldn't tell the difference between us and couldn't figure out her boyfriend had left the building? I guess that means there's really not that much difference between us after all."
"Don't talk about her that way, you don't know her like I do." He thought of all the things Mal might have done to Zoey, he could hurt her terribly and he would have no idea he had done it. But even if he hadn't physically hurt her, he knew that Mal must have done some kind of damage, hurt her in some way, and that made him see red. "I know she's smart and kind, and she can endure anything the world throws at her. It wasn't blind trust, it was faith in me! She loves me, not because she had no other options or because I've done anything to deserve it, but because… I don't know why. I don't deserve her and I never will. I don't know why she chose me when she could have chosen anyone else. But she did, she gave me her heart, trusting me not to break it, and I'm going to fight for it!"
Mike managed to get a hit on him, he slashed through his shirt and into the skin. Blood trickled down his shirt, but Mal barely seemed to notice and kept on going as though nothing had happened.
"You don't feel pain. Why don't you feel pain?"
"Oh, I feel it. I've always felt it," he said as he deftly parried one of Mike's blows. He leaned in close and whispered with a malevolent smile, "The trick is not to fear it, and instead welcome it with open arms. It's not hard when it's all you've ever known. It's one of the key ingredients that went into making me. Pain… fear… anger… hate… loss… death… heartbreak… all the wonderful things that make me the Mal you know and love." He laughed wickedly at him.
"Why would I ever make an alternate personality like you? Why are you here, why do you exist?" said Mike with gritted teeth as Mal's sword came closer and closer to his heart.
"Now you're making me all soul-searchy. But now that you've brought it up, I'm going to share one of my personal questions with you. When you die, hopefully sooner rather than later, you're going to have to face whatever waits behind the light at the end of the tunnel. But what about us? Will the other personalities and I be absorbed back into your soul just in time for judgment day? You'd better hope not, I've done a lot of naughty things in my time. Or, will we just disappear, leaving a void where I once stood?"
"I don't care about your existential crisis, you're just an alter who went horribly wrong and that's it. There's nothing to you, you're empty inside. You're a monster, you always were one and you always will be. You shouldn't even exist, you're just a mistake!"
Mal knocked Mike to his knees and held the sword against his throat. "If I'm nothing more than a mistake, then what does that say about you?" he said in a deathly whisper. "Who's the greater villain, the villain or the villain who created him? Frankenstein's monster didn't ask to be created, and neither did I."
"Stop talking about it like I did it on purpose, I never would have made something like you intentionally. What I'm trying to figure out is what in the world must have happened to me as a kid to make my brain create something like you."
"You don't want to know the events surrounding my birth. It would destroy you to know."
"Do you know where I came from, who I used to be? Why can't I remember anything? You know why, don't you!"
"There is so much you don't know, and never will know. Some things that lurk in the shadows were never meant to be brought out into the light. And you will never see the light again, either."
Mike felt the blade digging into the skin of his throat, he felt blood run down his neck down to his chest. He was going to die, and no one would ever know. He would be gone forever, and there would be no one to keep Mal from hurting the people he loved.
"No, I won't let that happen," Mike growled. "This is my life, it might not be the best in the world but it's mine. I told myself something had to change, and I'm going to make it happen. I won't let you take what belongs to me!"
Mike tried to force Mal's blade away from his throat with his own sword, he summoned all his strength, he harnessed his anger, but it still wasn't enough. Mike might increase in strength and gain more power in here later, when he understood his own mind better, but for now he stood no chance against him, and Mal knew it. But an idea occurred to him, an idea that got the wheels turning in his head. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it before, it was brilliant.
Let Mike win.
If he won now, he would get Mike's body and that would be all well and good, but further on down the line the prize was sure to get bigger and better. If he let Mike go on to live his life and make accomplishments, when he eventually did take back control, ruining his life would be so much sweeter. He wasn't about to settle for the small fish, he was going for the big catch. Sacrifice the king to let the queen take victory, lose the battle to win the war.
Let Mike have the victory, because it's not victory at all.
"It's a funny world we live in," Mal mused. He grinned and looked back at Mike and said, "After I win, I'm going to kill the firefly girl."
Mike almost dropped his sword. "I made her up, she was in my dream."
"That wasn't a dream, that was a memory you accidentally unlocked when your brain was on the fritz in an anxiety attack. She's real, I let you play with her when you were children. She gave you hope and happiness when you had none. I was going to kill her, but I got interrupted. Now I'm going to finish the job."
"I won't let you, you've hurt enough people. You won't hurt anyone else."
Mal leaned in close and whispered, "Jake says hi."
"Who's Jake?" asked Mike, but Mal's grin only widened.
Suddenly, a chain shot out from the ground and knocked the sword out of Mal's hand. It coiled up his arm, and then another sprang up and wrapped around his other arm. The chains pulled him down to his knees.
"What is this?" he asked, his eyes wide with surprise. "What's happening? How are you doing this?"
"I'm not doing anything." Mike held up his sword ready to swing, but it was looking like he wouldn't need it.
"Of course you are! Who else could it be?" Mal growled in frustration. "I underestimated you, you're more powerful than I thought."
More chains appeared, circling his body like snakes.
"No, don't do this. No one will ever cross you with me in charge. I'm a part of you!"
Mike was confused, he was sure he wasn't doing this, but maybe Mal was right. Maybe he was more powerful than he thought. Whatever it was, Mal was being beaten, and for now, that was good enough for him.
"Yup, a part of me I don't need anymore. Goodbye Mal."
A crack ran through the ground and Mal's throne, it opened up to reveal a deep pit. Mal grit his teeth and tried to resist the chains, but they were too strong. One final chain shot out from the bottom of the pit and wrapped around his neck, and it dragged him down to the bottom. He screamed from the bottom of the pit.
"No, no! It's my time! MINE!" The hole closed, sealing him in, but the crack remained.
Something was wrong about this, but Mike didn't know what. For now though, he had to believe he had won. He had so many questions that couldn't be answered without Mal, but he was too dangerous to be let out. He had to resign himself to never knowing the truth.
Mal's shield faded away, and the others came in cheering. Vito punched him on the arm, and Manitoba threw his hat in the air.
"Come here, all of you! Svetlana's boys are together vith her again!" said Svetlana as she pulled them all in for a group hug.
As happy as Mike was, he had no time to celebrate with them, because he heard Zoey scream. He took back control to go back to her.
"Get out of there, Zoey!" yelled Cameron.
"Do something, Chris!" screamed Gwen.
"What's that? Can't hear you!" called Chris from his jetpack.
"You can't save him, he's too far gone!" screamed Cameron.
"If you don't get out of there now, you'll both drown!" screamed Gwen.
"He's not Mike anymore, Mike's gone!"
"Get out of there while you still can!"
"I know you love him, but he's not waking up! If you keep trying to save him, you'll both die! We don't want him to die either, but we don't want to lose you, too! Save yourself!"
Zoey heard the voices of Gwen and Cameron shouting at her as she tried to hold Mike's head above water. They were too far off to help, they saw no hope for Mike so they were trying to get Zoey to get out. For some reason he had suddenly lost consciousness, and he would be dead by now if she hadn't gone back for him and caught him.
She had broken the surface and taken deep gasps for air, and she looked down and saw Mal under the water; sinking, helpless and dying. If he died, it would be his own fault, but she wouldn't be able to forgive herself. That was Mike down there, she couldn't leave him to die. She swam back down and lifted him up by his underarms and brought him back to the surface where he could breathe.
She needed to get him to shore, but she was tired from the fight and he was dead weight in her arms, it was like trying to swim and carry an anchor at the same time. All she could do was kick her legs and keep him from drowning. If she didn't get out of there soon though, she would get too tired to keep swimming and they would both drown. If she had any sense at all, she would let him sink and save herself.
But she just couldn't bring herself to do it, she couldn't leave him to die. Maybe Mike was gone for good, she still couldn't take that chance. If there was any chance at all the man she loved was still in there somewhere, even the tiniest sliver of hope that he could win and take back control, she had to make sure he was alive to have that chance. She couldn't lose him like this, she refused to give up, so she kept him breathing even as she felt herself starting to sink.
"Mike, if you're in there, please wake up," she pleaded. "I can't hold on much longer, I can't keep going for both of us, you have to wake up. Please Mike, I don't want to lose you, wake up!"
She lost her grip on him and he sank below the water again.
"No!" she screamed. She was about to dive in after him when Fang suddenly appeared, his jaws wide open about to devour her whole. She screamed, certain of her doom, when suddenly Mike broke the surface. He bit his thumb hard and drew blood, and the smell drew Fang to him, away from Zoey.
He dove back under the water, and Fang turned around and charged after him, but Mike didn't move. His lungs burning for oxygen, he narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth in concentration and determination. He only had one chance to get this right. His vision was fuzzy and he was seeing two Fangs, and he was close to passing out. He waited until the very last second and then kicked the wall and moved out of his path, and Fang collided with the wall, knocking him out cold. Mike came back up, coughing up water and gasping for air.
"Mike, is it really you? Like, really really?" asked Zoey, once he had caught his breath.
"I don't know how I did it, but I beat him, I beat Mal. It really is me, Zoey."
Zoey wasn't sure if she could trust him, it could be Mal in disguise. He had risked his life to save hers, Mal wouldn't do that, not when there was nothing to be gained from it. Still, she was wary. She said nothing and bit her lip.
"For a while there, I believed that I was just an alternate personality, and that Mal was the real one in charge. But I have no more doubts about that now, I proved to myself that I'm the real deal. I become a new person each day, I learn and change and grow. Would you say I'm the same now as I was when you first met me last year?"
"No, you're different now. You're still the Mike I loved, but I've watched you become more sure of yourself, you grew a little. That would be impossible if you were an alter. But you could still be…"
"I know you don't trust me anymore," he said, voicing her thoughts. "I wouldn't trust me either if I was in your place. What could I do to make you feel safer? Whatever it is, I promise I'll do it. Even if it means… we don't see each other for a while." He couldn't imagine losing her right after getting her back, but he had to put her needs first.
Zoey still said nothing, she looked down and wouldn't meet his eyes. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something about Mike, something she had never seen before. From the moment they first met, he'd looked familiar to her, but she always dismissed it. But now, with his eyes surrounded by dark circles like a raccoon, she realized why he looked familiar to her: he was the boy from her dream, the one she'd played with when she was a little girl. His eyes looked like they had when he was a child, they looked sad and heavily burdened. It was like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders and had lost all hope, but now he had hope again. She thought she made him up, but here he was, right in front of her. She was amazed, but she didn't say anything aloud. She could be wrong, it might not be him, and she didn't want to embarrass herself. Even if it was really him, this wasn't something she wanted to share on international TV, it was way too personal. This realization made her want to believe him even more, but she still wasn't sure.
"Hey, where's the necklace I gave you?" He wanted her to keep the necklace, even if she didn't want to be with him anymore.
Zoey squealed and grabbed him and pulled him in for a kiss. She put so much love and passion into it, she had never kissed him like this before. The water was cold, but he felt heat rush through his veins, and it left him in a daze. He didn't know what he had said to earn it, but he didn't care. He kissed her back and smiled in utter bliss.
"I love you, Zoey. When I was trapped, I was afraid I'd never get to tell you how much I love you. I'm going to tell you every day, starting now. I love you so much."
"I love you too, Mike."
"That's it!" shouted Chris from his jetpack. "This is the finale! It's about pain and betrayal, and pain! Not hugs and kissing, PAIN!"
Mike and Zoey ignored him and kissed again.
"That's it, new rules! Anyone who gets the sword out of the stone wins the million dollars."
"Looks like it's game on!" said Zoey.
"Yeah, I'd better go get my money!"
"Ha! You wish!"
They both took off swimming in opposite directions and climbed ladders to the top level. Chef immediately began firing at them, but Mike managed to dodge and reach the sword first. He pulled it out of the stone and held it up high.
"Yeah! I did it! Woo-hoo-hoo!"
"Mike wins the million dollars!" Chris announced.
"Oh Mike, I'm so proud of you!" Zoey cheered as she clapped for him. She ran over and put her arms around him and kissed him.
Jack, Holly, Dr. Lace, Trent, and Leshawna were watching the finale. For most of the episode, Mike showed no sign of returning, and Mal was trying to kill Zoey. But then, against all odds, Mike came back. Zoey didn't give up on him and, with her help, he took back control, he saved himself and her, but he didn't stop there. He went on to the finish and won the million dollars. Everyone in the room cheered.
"Mike did it! He came back!" Trent and Leshawna high-fived.
"I knew you could do it, Mike!" Dr. Lace cheered.
"My baby did it, he beat Mal!" said Holly, overjoyed.
"He's okay, Mike's okay!" said Jack. "And he won the game!" He picked up the phone and started calling everyone he knew. "Are you watching Total Drama right now? Well turn it on, my boy's a champion!" He hung up and called someone else. "Hey, are you watching Total Drama right now? You are? Well, remember when you said Mike would never accomplish anything because of his disorder? Well, he just proved you and everyone else wrong!"
There was a loud banging on the door. A neighbor came in and said, "Hey! What's with all the noise, I'm trying to sleep!"
"I'll show you why," said Holly. She pointed at the screen, where Mike was holding the sword skyward. "That's my son, he just triumphed over his disorder and won the game, and I am the proudest mother in the world. I'm screaming for my son, deal with it!"
The neighbor looked with disbelief at Mike, and then scowled and left the house. They continued cheering long after the episode ended. Mike had done the impossible, he'd done what everyone said he could never do, but best of all, he was no longer a slave to Mal.
Mere seconds after Mike pulled the sword out of the stone, there was a deafening boom, and the ground shook violently.
"What's going on?" said Zoey.
"Um, I'm sure it's nothing…" said Chris with shifty eyes.
"I thought you said you were gonna do something about Mal's prank!" said Chef.
"Mal's prank?" said Mike.
"Well, we saw Mal rigging the island with all my explosives on the monitors, and he set them on a timer," said Chris as he twiddled his thumbs. "I told the interns to leave some of them but to replace the rest with fireworks. I'm sure we're fine."
The second the words left his mouth, more explosions went off. The air filled with black smoke and they could barely breathe, and the ground was shaking so much it was all they could do to keep from falling over.
"The island is on fire!" Alejandro shouted.
Over half the island had been blown apart and the rest was engulfed in flames, but the bombs kept going off. Chris made a call on his phone. "Did the interns do what I said? What do you mean they already left?!"
"The island is sinking!" Cameron screamed. Mike and Zoey ran and held each other. A helicopter came in and picked up Chris and Chef. Before it could take off, Cameron grabbed hold of it and Gwen grabbed him around the middle.
"This helicopter is only for two people, get lost!" said Chris.
"We wouldn't be in this situation if you had done something about Mal before all this happened!" shouted Alejandro.
"Are you kidding? Have you seen the ratings he brought in this season? The ratings were so high they're giving us another season! I wasn't about to kill the goose that laid the golden egg."
It was like a slap in the face to Mike, another reminder that the only reason he was here was because he was crazy.
"They got a point, Chris!" said Chef. "You let him blow up the whole island!"
"I don't remember asking you!"
The helicopter started taking off. Mike jumped and held onto Gwen around the middle.
"Give me your hand!" he said. Heather took his outstretched hand and he pulled her up. She held tightly onto him and gave Zoey her hand. Zoey held onto her and Alejandro leapt and put his arms around her middle. They took off just as one final bomb went off right under their feet, and the force of the explosion threw the helicopter and made it do flips in the air. The helicopter was going down, it couldn't hold this many people up.
"You're all too heavy, I can't hold on!" said Cameron, straining to keep from letting go.
"You'd better not let go, you little pipsqueak!" Heather shouted.
"You can do it, Cam!" said Mike encouragingly. "Don't let go, just hold on a little longer!"
Cameron lasted almost another minute before he let go, but by then they were far enough away from the island that they wouldn't get burned or hit by flying debris. They watched as the island sank, it disappeared in a matter of seconds.
"Are you okay, Zoey?" Mike asked worriedly.
"I'm fine. Is everyone okay?" she asked.
"I'm alive, if that's what you mean," said Gwen.
"I really have been building muscle, I held on to the helicopter for almost two minutes!" said Cameron proudly.
"Are you all right, Chica?" asked Alejandro.
"I'm great, why wouldn't I be?" Heather snapped at him. But then she softened and brushed his wet hair out of his eyes. He held her hand affectionately.
"We need to make a raft!" said Cameron.
They worked together and made a makeshift raft out of pieces of the cabin and anything else they could find and tied them together. As they were making their raft, they could hear Chris signing off the episode from the safety of his helicopter up above. They finished the raft, and since Gwen and Cameron were both hurt, Mike, Zoey, Alejandro, and Heather paddled with their hands.
"I can lead us to land, but it'll be several hours," said Alejandro.
"Once we reach civilization, we never speak of this little team-up again," said Heather.
"My pleasure, Heather," said Gwen as she rolled her eyes. "So Mike, what are you going to do with the million?"
"Assuming it wasn't lost in the explosion," piped in Cameron.
"Assuming it wasn't lost… I don't know, there are so many things I could do that it's hard to choose. But I don't care about the money, I'm just glad to be back and have you guys with me. I'm sorry about what Mal did to you. I can't believe he sunk the whole island!"
"It's fine, Mike," said Gwen. "But he'd better not come back, ever."
"I'm sorry we doubted you, Mike," said Cameron. "We told Zoey that we believed you were gone for good and basically told her to dump you. She wouldn't listen though, and I'm really glad she didn't."
"I'm glad you did, really. If it came down to both of us drowning or just me, telling Zoey to get away was the smart thing to do. You really should have listened to them, Zoey. I mean, I'm glad you didn't, but you should have."
"I just did what any good girlfriend would do, I supported you until you didn't need it anymore. But Mike, don't you ever hurt yourself again for any reason, ever, especially not for me."
"Duncan called from prison while I was at the Playa, and we had a good, long overdue talk. We agreed that it's just not going to work between us. We like each other better as friends, and I think he's still pining over Courtney. I know Courtney wants to rekindle the relationship, as much as she tried to deny it. I caught her sneaking a picture of Duncan from under pillow when she thought everyone was sleeping. Now that I know Mal made that chart, I'm going to have to apologize to her, hopefully she'll be understanding. After watching you two, I think when I get home I'm going to call Trent. It's been a while since we've talked, too long."
"He'll be really happy about that, he really misses you," said Mike.
"Tell him I said hi," said Zoey.
"I will."
Mike looked concerned. "Something wrong, Mike?" asked Zoey.
"It's just something Mal said. He said 'Jake says hi.' I don't know anyone by that name, but at the same time it sounds familiar. Do you guys have any idea what he could have been talking about?"
"Mal's the manipulating king, he probably just said that to throw you off your game," said Gwen.
"Maybe, but why that? I mean, he could have said something along the lines of 'Zoey doesn't love you' to mess with me, why would he go with something so random?"
"Only Mal understands Mal," said Cameron. "It's a mystery, and it'll probably always be a mystery. It's just one of those things you have to accept."
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
Chester suddenly appeared without being triggered. "Dangit, what mess have you whippersnappers gotten yourselves into this time? What, is being on land not 'cool' enough for you? You kids don't appreciate dirt like we did back in my day, and now it's gone! All we had was dirt, and we were darn grateful to have it!"
Zoey patted his shoulder and said, "It's great to have you guys back."
They reached land as the sun rose the next morning. They worked in shifts, Mike and Zoey paddled for half the night while Alejandro and Heather slept, and then they switched. Once they reached land, they borrowed a stranger's cell phone to call taxis. As Mike and Zoey were riding home, they tried to rest a little after all that paddling. Zoey was relaxing on Mike's shoulder and about to fall asleep when she suddenly jerked awake.
"Mike, my diary was still in the spa hotel! I've had that diary since I was five, and now it's gone!"
She started to cry and Mike hugged her. "I'm so sorry, I know how much it meant to you. I know it won't ease the pain of losing it, but I can buy you a new one, if you want."
"Thanks, but I don't know if I want a new one. Give me some time, maybe after a while I'll be able to start a new one. I just can't believe it's all gone, it's like parting with my soul. But at least I still have this." She took Mike's necklace out of her pocket. "I almost buried it, when I thought you weren't coming back. If I had, it would have been destroyed, too."
"What would you have written in your diary today?" he asked.
"I would have written about how happy I am to have you back, and how we'll never be apart like that again. I've been meaning to ask, what was going on with you, while Mal was in control? Did you know what was going on, or were you unaware?"
"I was on a journey that ended in battle with Mal. Zoey, you won't believe the story I'm about to tell you."