It was now or never. Considering the mental damage Harburg did to Lynn and Reed, there would be a good chance Isaac would be out of commission if he didn't stop Harburg now. He had few leads in this black void; unlike with Jackson, he hadn't found any glaring irregularities in the illusion. The only chance he had would be the split second of free movement as the black void shifted to a vision of Isaac's past and mental trauma. Not that he had any, mind you. Well, there was the bit about his brother, the bit about Kassandra and Babs, his desire to overthrow the government and therefore the military, not to mention the clue in the journal page…having those exposed to the wider world would not be ideal. He told himself he would try to bounce back stronger than Lynn and Reed, but then he imagined everybody living as him and his whole body burned in nervous disgust.

He steadied himself just in time - in the span of less than a second, he felt a lurch in his stomach indicating his freedom of movement had returned. Now unfrozen, he lunged to his left. Jackson's illusion had geometric limits in real life; all Isaac needed to do was reach through the fake wall. Therefore, he suspected the same for Harburg. But within the void, he was frozen, and within the projected memories of Lynn and Reed, who couldn't stop himself from being fully absorbed into their lives, utterly forgetting himself and the need to escape. He needed something extra, and though it was a longshot, it seemed like his only option. When Isaac fell through the sky as the projected memories started up, the others with him disappeared. But, maybe, just maybe, if he could grab onto one of them before the void gave way to the sky, they could fall together.

Kieran stood closest to him, a few feet away to his left. As Isaac lunged, he cursed himself. The half-second was just too short a time to reach out and grab hold of his comrade. Isaac could feel his stomach roiling as black void starting giving way to blue sky. He primed himself, constantly telling himself inside his head needed to stay focused, but then, something unexpected happened. Apparently, Kieran had the same idea as Isaac, and right as he regained freedom of movement, he lunged to his right towards Isaac. On their own, neither would've made it time, but thanks to them lunging at the same time, their outstretched hands clasped each other as the void entirely gave way.

They whipped down through the blue sky, moving so fast that neither could speak. Once they broke through the layer of clouds, the small town of Patuxet gazed up at them. Isaac could his own tenement hall, where he, Greg, and Kassandra used to stand on the roof. He could see the cinema, where he unlocked the Rddhi and met Reed. And he could see East Sachem Temple off in the distance, surrounded by hills, where his old life truly ended and his new one began.

The roof of the cinema rushed up to meet them. Isaac braced himself for impact, but then, just like the other illusions, he found himself on ground level. He and Kieran stood in the center aisle of the theater; no movie currently played on the screen. Even though it was his own projected memories, Isaac couldn't help but fall victim to it. Waves of nostalgia washed through him; he could see the scattered chairs where he punched out Alfie; he saw the seat where Reed slept through the whole fight. And even beyond that - he could see where he and his two old friends used to sit for the Friday night specials. Things used to be so much simpler.

"Guess we had the same idea," Kieran muttered as he caught his breath. His words and presence pulled Isaac out of his living daydream; he reminded himself of the need to escape. Nothing seemed unusual in the theater except for the fact that the two were still holding hands. They immediately let go and looked away from each other, wiping the soiled hand on the sides of their uniforms. But anyway, nothing in the theater immediately stuck out to Isaac as undeniably fake. But then - his eyes widened and he gasped. He found the simplest solution to escape. But then, the presence of his own projected memories called out to him, pulling them toward his own psychological failings. Escape drifted from his mind once more.

The projector in the back of the theater started up, rooting the two cultivators to the spot. Up on the big screen, Isaac's memories played, but with a twist - the projector played the memory of Isaac's final night in Patuxet with both Greg and Kassandra with him. They stood on the roof under the night sky, looking across the peaceful town. This was perhaps the most peaceful - and perhaps last peaceful - moment Isaac knew. Except Babs stood there with Greg and Kassandra, her eyes wide with shock as she experienced Isaac's memories, right down to his own feelings.

“We’re watching Babs adjust to being you,” Kieran realized.

"I get it now," Isaac mumbled. "The person Harburg targets not only has to confront their own mental issues, but they also have to watch their friends experience it for themselves, too." Isaac felt his stomach rock violently as the uncomfortable truth played across the screen. Babs looked up at Kassandra in horror. Isaac's own face turned red and he needed to get some fresh air. Deep down, he knew all along, but kept it hidden until now.

Kassandra and Babs. The two women were just close enough in personality (their fiery pursuit of justice) and appearance (flaming red hair) that Isaac could mistake them for the same person. And perhaps he did, except it was completely intentional. By dancing at Old Bob’s with Babs the first night they met, it was like he was dancing with Kassandra. Pressing their backs together and cultivating - same thing. Just like old times. Undeniably, one of the reasons Isaac enjoyed spending time with Babs was because she was so similar to Kassandra. When he was with Babs, Kassandra was no longer locked away in a State Police prison. It was almost like he was back in Patuxet. He could almost feel okay with the fact that he left her to her fate.

As Kassandra looked towards the lights of town, Babs recoiled and stepped back in disgust. Then Mackenzie was there, feeling uncomfortable, as was Reed and Lynn; they were all feeling the same way Isaac did. They all knew his delusion, and then they knew even further.

Greg put an arm around Babs, who was now back on the screen. Isaac could see Babs’s face contort as Greg’s face turned blood-stained; he then died in her arms, her face full of shock. The desire to overthrow the government and worst of all, knowledge of the journal page, flooded through her. She took a weak step backwards; the screen flickered and Mackenzie, struggling to maintain her usual iron composure, looked down upon Greg's corpse and Kassandra's wounded body, missing an entire arm.

Speaking of losing composure - in the cinema, Isaac fell to one knee and dry-heaved. Not only were his secrets stripped away from him, but so was his privacy. He, as a person, had been placed utterly naked upon a stake for everyone to see. How could they go back to the way things were before? Practically, someone would likely expose him for having revolutionary thoughts. He doubted Mackenzie would tolerate it. But, more importantly, the illusion made his wants and desires public knowledge. He wanted to confuse Babs for Kassandra; he generally thought Mackenzie was an arrogant dickhead; Reed really needed an intervention about her lack of hygiene. All that was on display.

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The screen became his entire world. Isaac felt entranced, and as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t pry his eyes away. The feelings of worthlessness and shame threatened to suffocate him entirely; panic rose through him, and his breath came out in short bursts as he struggled to keep himself together-

Kieran clasped him on the shoulder, his grip tense.

"It's a good thing we arrived in the theater here together," Kieran said quietly, trying to concentrate. "I'm feeling all your emotions right now, too. But I'm not up on the screen directly reliving your life. I'm here. I still have some mental clarity. I haven't lost myself to the illusion of being you. And man...I really was a jackass to you, wasn't I? I didn't know you were going through all this when you joined the Corps. Had I known..."

He hung his head low in shame. "I still probably would've judged and treated you the same way. But you taught me how to grow up. Thank you, Isaac."

While Isaac appreciated the sentiment, it did little to draw his attention away from the screen and his mistakes.

“You really are a freak,” Kieran said. But then he smiled. “But you’re no freakier than Lynn or Reed. You helped me realize that nobody’s superior or inferior to anybody. The more I think about it, the more I realize that we’re all just freaks at the end of the day. But being freaks together isn’t so bad.”

The screen gave off no sound, so the visuals kept Isaac’s eyes glued to it. Kieran stepped right in front of it, kneeling to block Isaac’s view. “I would know, because I was in pretty terrible shape before you agreed to train me. Harburg isolated us one-by-one for a reason; being with your friends is the key to defeating this.”

The visions of disgust on his friends’ faces still danced around Isaac’s mind. “You think the power of friendship is more powerful than Babs and Reed knowing my emotions?”

“No, you’re still very much a freak,” Kieran confirmed. “But everybody’s a freak, and if everybody’s a freak, then maybe nobody is. And everybody has some sadness to them. But, I’ll be honest…I think this past week is the happiest I’ve ever been. And it’s all thanks to you.”

Kieran stood back up. “Now, are you going to keep wallowing in self-pity, or are you going to grow a pair and finish this with me?”

There was only one way Isaac could answer that. He got back to his feet; though his face still burned bright red, he had a job to do, and that was to find a way out of here. He managed to pry his eyes off the screen, which currently displayed a confused Reed breathing into her hand and then sniffing it.

Harburg wants my full attention on the screen. As if to prevent me from looking anywhere else.

Isaac then chuckled in realization as he remembered the simple solution to escaping. “You gotta be shitting me.”

The illusion had geometric limits. All along, when he wasn't in the void, Isaac had freedom of movement. He moved as Lynn, he moved as Reed. And now, he could move as himself. All he had to do, just like in Jackson's illusion, was make it through the imaginary wall. But was every wall a fake wall? Jackson's illusion only had the one. Isaac knew Harburg could return them to the void - he would have to act fast. He only had time to check out one wall. Considering the theatrically of Harburg's illusion, Isaac made his decision.

Isaac pulled Kieran in the direction of the screen and broke out into a sprint, intent on diving right through it. Harburg must've realized Isaac's intentions, since he felt a lurch in his stomach. The movie theater gradually disappeared into the darkness of the black void; the walls and ceiling disappeared and the projection flickered off, but the screen remained for now. By the time they made it halfway down the movie theater, Isaac realized they weren’t going to make it.

“Get him!” Kieran yelled. Red sparks lit up in his hand as he delivered an |Iron Fist| right into Isaac’s back. The unexpected force briefly lifted Isaac and propelled him forward; the extra speed brought him right to the screen right as everything disappeared behind him.

And there was light. Isaac stumbled back into the real world, the familiar sights of the Machigonne lobby returning to him. He took a step forward; behind him, nearly three-quarters of the lobby was covered by a black cube where Harburg had previously trapped him and his comrades. As for the illusionist himself - he stared slackjawed from his seat on a couch in the lobby. He had one leg over the other, a cup of coffee in his hand, as if watching Isaac and company suffer was no different than reading the daily newspaper.

Red lights erupted through Isaac and the electric charge from his |Fists of Anji| immediately rocketed toward Harburg with intent to kill. Harburg ducked out of the way just in time, then flung his coffee mug; Isaac simply destroyed it with a powered fist. The shards shattered to the ground around him, and Harburg struggled backwards across the floor of the lobby, scooching towards the wall. Being an illusionist, he looked like he had little experience with close combat. By the time Isaac had closed the distance, he could only raise his hands. Isaac hoped this next punch would tear his head clean off or at least snap his neck, but the rage and devastation coursing through him also made his punch inaccurate. He only succeeded in blowing Harburg’s jaw off.

As Harburg slumped to the ground, the black cube disappeared. The five still inside immediately collapsed to their knees and caught their breath. As they scratched their heads, they gave each other looks that could only be described as awkward, but awkward didn’t do it justice. Lynn collapsed into a ball, while Reed rubbed her red-ringed eyes and tried to stop sniffling. Babs was the first to notice Isaac; she immediately darted her eyes away and busied herself by helping Lynn and Reed.

The Cartwright siblings were the first to stand and approach Isaac. He thought they were apprehensive due to involuntarily sharing his life with them, but then he realized it was because he unconsciously took up a combat stance to keep them away from Harburg.

“Isaac,” Mackenzie said firmly. “We can discuss your life later. For now, step away from Harburg.”

“Why?” Isaac found himself asking. “One more blow would kill him. I think he deserves it.”

Mackenzie stood a full head taller than him and her voice projected authority. “He does,” she simply said. That threw Isaac for a loop; he thought she would argue about how killing a killer keeps the same number of killers in the world or something like that. “I would personally kill him myself, but we need to take as many combatants as we can alive,” she reminded him. “Step aside so I may detain him.”

All those feelings of anxiety and alienation and exposure washed over Isaac again, refusing to let go, so he found himself refusing to budge.

Mackenzie narrowed her eyes. Isaac doubted anyone had ever opposed her. He also wanted to step away, but the horrors of the past illusions kept him rooted to the spot.

Seeing a possible explosive confrontation, Kieran raised his hands and spoke as a mediator. “Mackenzie, hold off for a second, let me talk to Isaac-"

There was a sudden rustling, and then Eight-Steps Killer Sam bisected Kieran.