It's still October 14th. Yes, 2026...
Well, actually, it was now the 15th. It was the middle of the night, and yet Matt, who was laying down on the sofa, couldn't sleep.
It's... Understandable, really. He's been holding up pretty well, being himself and all, but... Fuck, you know? He's been gone for years, and it seemed like the world forgot about him while he was in that loop, suffering...
Matt sighed, and looked at the bag holding his old clothes, from Nickleheim.
"...Whatever happened to them, I wonder..."
Matt's head was full with questions. What would've happened if he didn't get stuck in the loop? Why did he get stuck in it? Who did it...? What happened to Lando? Why were the beasts inside the house?
His head was spinning, and he had the worst headache of his life.
"I'm guessing my body doesn't like all this travel between universes, huh..."
He sighed once again, and sat upright. What was he doing...? He's wasting time. Sleep? Who, him? When was the last time he had eight hours of sleep, anyways?
Fuck that. Fuck this. Fuck everything. He still had a score to settle with a certain someone, no matter how depressed he was feeling or how many existential crises' he was having!
He got up, got dressed, and left Emily a note.
[ill come back, eventually. promise.]
He put on a cap, his hood, and left the house. He was wearing full black, with a backpack on his back.
Doesn't this outfit remind y'all of something? Yeah...
Reaper's back in town.
Well, he's a dead man walking, so... It's not like he'll tell anyone about it...
He pulled out his phone, and began looking for a very, very special piece of information.
Where is Jinn?
And, soon after, the answer came to him... In a blog he found on the internet.
"...Heh. Looks like the universe just loves me lately, doesn't it?"
He closed his phone, and chuckled a bit at what he just read.
"Vacation in London for a month, huh Jinn... I am a super lucky boy~"
Win-win for everyone! Well, mostly for Matt. He gets to see his brother, and kill Jinn at the same time! Ain't that wonderful...!
He put his phone in his pocket, and he continued walking.
"Hmm... How do I run faster... Run on water, run on water..."
As he was walking and mumbling to himself, he walked past a group of teenagers, who were minding their own business near a convenience store.
One of the boys couldn't help themselves and said in a low tone, almost a whisper, "Yo... That dude's a bit weird, no...?"
Matt automatically snapped his head back at them, and looked the boy who said that dead in the eye.
"What did you say?"
"N-Nothing! Nothing at all!"
"...Alright."
As Matt walked away, the boys remained terrified, and began whispering among themselves.
"Yoo... That guy was scary!"
"Naaah, I'm sure we could've beat him with our Agilies..."
"Dude, are you nuts?! His eyes were fuckin' overflowing with electricity! Who else wears all black and has electricity?!"
"S-Shit, you're right... I-I'm scared now, it's late... Let's go home..."
Well, it was official. Matt- or, even better, Reaper- was now feared among civilians.
Do not confuse fear with respect. Respect is earned, while fear is gathered. Until it grows so big, it explodes all at once, usually in your face.
We've seen it once before. I don't want that happening to Matt too. I really do not.
Matt continued walking, thinking about ways to run on water.
And while it wasn't gonna be easy...
"I... Have a plan."
He tightened his fist, and looked up at the sky.
"I have a plan...!"
Matt's head straightened again, and he looked forward, before chuckling a little bit.
"I'm coming for you, Jinn."
He set off in the night, to his supposed plan to run on water.
Oh, did you think this was a long term thing? No, he meant now.
He soon went from walking to jogging to running, and soon after arrived to the very top of a mountain. Well, I say mountain, but it wasn't that tall.
Then, he just... Started warming up. Normal stretches, push-ups, sit-ups and all that.
Because that's what a normal person does at 3 AM at the top of a mountain, right...?
Soon after, he finished and started jumping in place.
"Okay, 'kay, 'kay, 'kay..."
He continued jumping for a while, before suddenly stopping.
"Oh-kay!"
He slapped himself on the cheeks with both hands then yelled out.
"Okay, I said!!"
Yeah, like 6 times now...
He held a hand out in the air.
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! I know it'll work!"
He started focusing his breathing, and soon after, a faint purple light could be seen in the palm of his hand.
He exhaled and inhaled.
"Don't fail me now, Lando!!"
He took another deep breath, and summoned his scythe. He held it above his head, high.
"Pfuu... C'mon, c'mon, c'mon..."
He started spinning it around, like old times, and took yet another deep breath.
Then, suddenly, he stopped spinning it, gripped it tightly and swung down, full force, not at the ground... But at his legs.
"{Space Cut}!"
His scythe went right through them, leaving a purple trace behind.
"Fuck... Fuck yeah!!"
He dispersed his scythe.
"...And now..."
He jumped once again, and the moment he touched the ground, he sprinted full speed ahead.
But as his foot touched the ground, the trace suddenly exploded in a million pieces.
This seemingly triggered a reaction in Matt, who's electricity was now overflowing out of him.
With each step he took, he only went faster and faster, and the fact that he was going downhill helped too.
"Woohooooo!!"
Matt was jumping, sliding and anything in-between. He was having fun. The fun of his life, too.
He probably beat his top speed already, and yet...
"Nah...! I can... I can go fucking faster!!"
He concentrated every single bit of electricity within him in his legs, and suddenly sped up even further!
"Yeah... This is more like it!"
Wherever he stepped in the dirt, he left a hole behind, and a whole lot of purple electricity.
Wait, purple...?
This... This guy wasn't even at full power right now...
The expression on his face tells me that he too realized this.
"If I... Maybe just..."
At this point, he's already passed the mountain, and he was on straight ground. Yet he wasn't slowing down.
"I can... I can...!"
He took a big breath in, and suddenly stomped his foot into the ground, hard!
He then exhaled, and began pushing down, even harder!
And as soon as he lifted his foot off the ground, a sudden burst of color started happening!
It changed around like crazy, from purple to blue to green... Basically any and every color you could think of!
As he put the other foot in front of him and pressed down into the ground, he suddenly went fucking flying!
His speed increased little by little as the colors changed, and eventually, he stomped the ground again, and with one final push...
The colors slowly stopped changing, and remained as one...
White.
He kept stomping and stomping and stomping the ground, each and every step sending him forward at least five feet!
He couldn't contain his happiness! He jumped, spun around in mid-air, and landed perfectly as to maintain his momentum, then yelled out, at the top of his lungs!
"I'm fucking flyiiing! Woohooo!"
He passed street after street after street, and eventually, in the night, he saw a big blue... That's right.
The goddamn ocean...!
But Matt wasn't scared, nor was he having second thoughts.
Instead, he couldn't wait.
"I'm fucking here, ocean! I'll cross your ass! Even if I'll run all night!"
He didn't slow down, he just kept stomping the ground harder, until eventually... He wasn't stomping the ground anymore.
As Matt ran, he looked around him, only to be met by blue in all directions.
"Ohhh-kaaay!!"
He... He was actually doing it... Matt was...
Matt was running on water!!
The water was absolutely going crazy behind him as he ran on it, but Matt was showing absolutely no signs of slowing down.
Matt kept marching forward at incredible speed! He had absolutely no idea how fast he was going, but little did he care anyways!
And so he just kept running and running for... Who knows how long...
Well, still having fun and all, Matt was getting a little... Bored. Not much to do while you just... You know, run.
"At this rate, it'll take me a full day..."
But, Matt had no intention on spending a day on this. He wanted to be in London by morning.
And thanks to a little Google search a while ago from back home... He knew that he had... About 4500 miles or something like that to actually cover.
"Shit, I don't know how fast I'm going... Uhm..."
Well, how could he find out how fast was he going...?
Matt's brain started going into hyperthinking mode again... A little less effective because of his lack of electricity in it, but still.
He was excited, so he couldn't help but mutter his possible plan out loud a bit, here and there.
"Uh-huh... If I maybe try... Yeah... Well... No, not that... It wouldn't..."
As he was thinking and thinking, he saw... Woah, that's weird... A light? And it's... Following him?
"Whaaat the fuck?"
He looked up and behind, and... Ah, shit...
Yeah, you've already guessed... Two helicopters were flying above him...
"Oh, c'mon, we're in the middle of the goddamn ocean! Leave me alone!"
Wait, two...? One was a police one, and one... A news helicopter?!
"Heh... I'm still the luckiest man alive then..."
His brain automatically put his legs in a sort of "low maintenance mode," meaning he didn't have to constantly be paying attention to them for them to keep running.
He pulled out his phone from his backpack- it was in a little ziplock bag, so he took it out of there too- then started scrolling on it while trying to not get it wet.
"Ah... Where, where... Ah, shit, fucking water...! Ah, found it!"
Yup, there it was. A news livestream.
"Hmm... Let's see, let's see..."
The livestream was apparently on all TV channels, with the title...
"What?! [Unidentified man running on water at 105 miles per hour is currently being chased by police helicopter]?! I'm really... That slow...?!"
Matt did some quick math in his brain, and...
"Fuck! At this rate, it'll take me like, what, two days to actually get there!? Shit!"
Goddamn it... This wasn't looking good for Matt...
But like hell he was gonna give up that easily!
He took a few big breaths, and put his phone back in his backpack, then looked around quickly. Something caught his eye, and then he smirked.
"Okay then, assholes... Try me!!"
One step, two steps, three steps, four steps.
Each and every one got heavier and heavier.
His breaths quickened a bit as well.
"Pfuu... I got this, I got this..."
He took another big breath, and then suddenly yelled out at the top of his lungs towards the helicopters.
"Hey, assholes! Cya'll later!"
And then... Matt suddenly paused his run, putting a foot in front of him and sliding across the water for a while...!
The helicopters obviously were faster than him when that happened, and so they had to stop and go back, but... Matt was nowhere to be seen.
Both the police helicopter and news helicopter shined their lights around the area where he was last seen, but no to avail. I mean, the news one didn't have that great of a light, but still...
They've lost Matt.
Obviously, they didn't know who he was, but we do. And, what can I say...
Matt's a fucking genius...!
Oh, but, where did he go, you wonder?
Heh, well, let's rewind to two minutes earlier.
And to spice things up too, why don't you all spend some quality time with Matt?
***
Ah, shit, shit, shit! What do I do...? I don't have enough stamina for two fucking days...
No, no matter that, how the hell will I get rid of them first...?
Above me are two helicopters, both keeping up with me... If I speed up even a bit, will I escape them?
Uh... Quick Google search... Howww faaast...
What the fuck, 120 miles per hour?! It wouldn't matter if I suddenly went faster, they would keep up with me! Shit!
What to do, what to do...
Wait, wait, lemme put my phone back in my backpack...
"Okay then, assholes... Try me!!"
In front of me, a whole lot of blue... To my left, again, blue... Behind me is blue again... And to my right is an useless fucking island...
Wait a fucking second, island?!
Holy shit, yes!!
Ah, a smile is forming on my face, I just know it...
Okay, uh, what now? I can't suddenly make a sharp turn, can I... Hmm...
Ah, fuck... I have an idea... But I don't like it...
Okay, shit, calm your goddamn breathing...!
"Pfuu... I got this, I got this..."
Okay, okay, okay... Let's go!
Ah, wait, let me say something that sounds cool... Uhm...
"Hey, assholes! Cya'll later!"
Okay, now!!
If I stop my momentum a bit by putting my left foot's heel in the water, I can... Go slower than them!!
Ah, fuck, fuck, I'm sliding...! This is kinda cool though!
Hah, look at them go! Bye bye, bitches! Not my fault there's no emergency breaks on your helicopters!
...Wait, why the fuck am I standing here grinning, my momentum's gonna die pretty soon!?
Ah, shit, shit, shit, gotta turn right...!
Okay, a bit more, shift your weight... Prepare your right foot... Face the island... And the second the momentum dies...
Go forward!!
Phew, for fuck's sake!! Almost took a goddamn bath! Okay, okay, I'm good, I'm good. Really.
Looks like those assholes are still looking for me back there... Too bad I'm here though~
"Pfuu... That had me scared shitless, I won't even lie..."
The island's coming up soon... That's good, that's good. Really.
Now, let's figure out... Where the fuck I am...
***
I sincerely hope that was explanatory and helpful. Anyways, the island is getting closer and closer to Matt, so let's get to it.
As Matt closed in on the island, he started slowing down slowly and steadily, until he went back to purple.
And eventually, his feet touched solid ground! For the first time in, uh... Well, who knows! A while, anyways!
He looked around, a bit confused, and couldn't help but say his thoughts out loud.
"Wheeere... The fuck am I?"
A pretty old man came up to him, from behind a car.
"I believe I can answer that for ya', young man."
"...Where the fuck did this guy come from?", thought Matt to himself.
"Ah, h-hello sir... Uh... So..."
"Ye', I know. Welc'me to... Bermuda!"
"...Where now?"
The old man chuckled a bit.
"Yea' mate, figured. Don't worry, it's just a island east of th'USA."
"Ah, I see. Thanks. How uhm... How far exactly is this island from the USA again...?"
"Hmm... 'Bout 800 miles, I'believe."
"...Right."
Matt checked his phone, and it was 7 AM and a few minutes.
"Time sure flies when you're having fun, huh. Wait... What the hell... I thought I was going 105 per hour? Ah, no, I must've been faster at the start, and slowed down on water or something... Shit, it makes sense, actually. No solid ground to actually step on, so...", was what Matt was thinking. He was having about three thousand thoughts a minute, since electricity was finally returning to his brain after a while.
He was quite happy that his max wasn't 105, but still... Where the hell is Bermuda again...? Or... What's a Bermuda? Like, uh, the triangle...?
"Hey, sir... A quick question... Where exactly are we on the island? And is there an airport nearby, maybe...?"
It seemed like a pretty small island, so he doubted it, but...
"Ah, w'at them Cambridge Beaches right now. And ye', there's one on the other side of th'island."
...Oh.
"...Oh."
Yeah, that's... What I'm sayin'...
"Is there an, uhm... Plane to London there too, by any chance... Maybe...?"
"Ye' mate, most probably."
...Wow.
"...Wow."
Yeah, that's... What I'm sayin'... W-Wait, stop. For real...
"Ah, so... I'll uh, I'll go now... I think..."
"Tha's fine, mate. Wait, but, where didja' even come fro'...?"
"U-Uhm, thanks for everything, bye!"
Matt said that, then quickly walked away.
...Played flawlessly, Matt. Flawlessly. Just like a certain someone else I know.
Well, at least no more running on water while being chased by police! Yay! Now just to get on that plane!
...Wait. A plane ticket costs money.
...Uhm...
"...Uhm..."
Ain't that just creepy now...?
Ah, well, erm... Anyways...
Matt's like, fuckin' broke...