_The jigsaw puzzle of the mind_

______Frank and Wally face the huge metal gate that separates them from the interior of the building. Castle turns to the scientist, a stern look on his face.

"That was a little too easy, wasn't it?"

Wally smiles, that smile that makes his eyes crinkle slightly.

"You're too used to trouble."

Frank rests his eyes on the front of the building.

"Maybe... I'm just wary of Billy..."

The Punisher takes a step backwards before lifting his leg and giving a clean kick to the metal curtain. Instantly, the object reacts, and goes up.

The two men enter the building. There is nothing. Literally nothing. Except a lot of dust and some banners, hanging on the wall that threatens to collapse, where it is written Anvil in capital letters. There is no facility, it's just a simple room, immensely large and immensely empty.

Wally puts a hand on his chin before turning back to Frank.

"It doesn't really look like a business... It's deader here than my poor Maggy." Frank looks at the man with a questioning look but not daring to ask the question. "Oh, Maggy was my mouse! She survived many experiments, a brave little beast... Unfortunately, she..."

Frank cuts him off.

"It's all right, don't tell me more."

"Oh... yes, of course, we have much more urgent matters."

Frank spots a door, he takes a safe step forward before opening it. He walks through and freezes. He has just returned to the room he was in. He turns around and the phenomenon repeats itself. No matter how many times he walks through that door, he is still in the huge room where Wally inspects the floor strangely close.

Frank sighs.

"I can't say I wasn't expecting it."

The doctor turns to Frank questioningly. After several tries on all the doors and exits, Frank and Wally realize that they are literally trapped inside the building. Frank grunts before kicking the garage door of the hangar hard.

"Fuck! Any scientific explanation ?"

"I'm working on it..."

Dr. Wally sits cross-legged on the floor while Frank paces.

"At this rate, we'll never find this bastard... Aren't we supposed to be in a puzzle piece or some shit? Is that a memory? I knew Russo was twisted but this..."

"A puzzle piece... a memory..." Wally stands up abruptly. "Eureka! Of course! Of course, Mr. Castle! Didn't you tell me Mr. Russo doesn't remember?"

"Yes, and you explained to me that what he forgot still exists in his head."

"Precisely. You were right, it was too easy. This building is purely and simply a decoy!"

"A decoy?"

"It's not a memory but how Billy must have imagined the place from what he was told and obviously... he wasn't told much..."

Frank swallows before gritting his teeth.

"You're telling me, in addition to all the Billys that aren't the right one, there are now buildings that aren't the right one and memories that are decoys?"

Wally takes a deep breath.

"That's a pretty good summary... I must admit that Mr. Russo's mind is full of subtlety and complexity..."

"Damn it." Frank slowly frowns. "That doesn't really explain why we're trapped..."

"I have several hypotheses, but the most likely one would still come from the fact that Billy doesn't remember. He must have tried to remember, but every time he does, he simply returns to the starting point, to this place that is only a figment of his imagination. It can drive crazy, can't it?"

If it's compassion Frank is supposed to feel, he doesn't feel any.

"I assume you have an idea of how to get out?" The look on Wally's face says it all. "Of course not..."

______

Finally after a few long minutes Frank and Wally found themselves sitting on the floor facing each other, thinking of a way out of this fucking rat trap.

Dr. Wally finally looked up at the man in front of him.

"Mr. Hoyle told me a little bit about you, Mr. Russo, your family... I'm truly sorry for what you have had to go through. I know it's not worth much, but it's no worse for saying so." Frank just nods, not really wanting to dwell on the subject. "You and Mr. Russo were close?"

"We were...I didn't kill him for one specific reason and he would have been better off staying where he was."

"I understand that this is not pleasant and that I'm asking a lot of you but... you know, you are the person who knows him best... I can make scientific assumptions but there is nothing logical about human emotions and feelings..."

"I don't know this man. I thought I knew him but I was wrong. Honestly, I don't know who he is, he's just a lying... greedy... treacherous... manipulative heap."

"You know, we're not trapped here, I've shown Mr. Hoyle how to get us back. He'll do it, once the deadlines pass, whether we find Mr. Russo or not." At the look on Frank's face, Wally understands the question that might arise. "Oh, time is not the same here as it is in reality and..." He smiles softly. "I have no idea how much time we have left." Frank smiles too, this answer becoming more and more recurrent. "But don't worry, in the real world it will only be a few hours and there will still be time to save your friend."

"We'll still have time but we won't have Billy to help us..."

"What happened?"

"I don't know. Why go after Karen? All I know is that Billy just figured it out. He figured out about the scars on his face."

"You think he's looking for revenge?"

"He looked lost...like I was the one who betrayed him...like we're still brothers, like we once were...He doesn't know anything about what he did. But it doesn't matter. He did it."

Suddenly Frank frowns, he spots behind the doctor's huddled form a movement at the back of the room, in a corner. The room is really huge, he can't see well. He stands up and silently approaches. It's clearly a child with a hood that veils his face. He's crouched down and can't see Frank, he seems to be playing with some marbles by himself.

"Hey, kid, how did you get in? You know how to get out?"

The boy is startled, looking at Frank with wide dark eyes. Frank recognizes him right away, it's the boy from earlier, the one who told him where to find the baseball bat. But he doesn't know this little boy, he's never seen him in real life. He looks suspicious, looking at Dr. Wally behind Frank before resting his eyes on him. He quickly picks up the few poor marbles on the ground before slipping them into his pants pocket as if he was afraid he would steal them. Frank tries his luck again since he didn't run away.

"Do you know how to get out of here? Will you show me?"

He looks at the door right behind him with concern. That door, it wasn't there five minutes ago. The boy opens the door and then looks back at Frank with a nod, as if to indicate that he can follow him.

Dr. Wally eagerly approaches and the men cross. To their relief, they find themselves not in the building's room but inside a small house. It's as if they've just stepped through the front door. Frank quickly inspects the place, the smell is bad, the walls are dirty and giving the clear impression that they could collapse, the things are in disorder and the little boy stays just in front of Frank not taking another step. Suddenly Frank turns his head to his right, he can't see anything but he hears a man's voice, grainy, drunk, followed by a woman's, weak and hoarse in the next room.

"Where is this kid again!? I'm going to teach this little shit how to behave, where the fuck are my beers?"

"Leave the kid alone for once, he'll bring you a beer another time..."

Without Castle even having time to react, the little boy slips his small, skinny, cold hand into his, looking at the man for a brief moment, clearly terrified.

"No, not here. We don't like here."

Frank barely has time to frown that the boy pulls him with all his might to another door. Castle lets go, too disturbed to resist. They both walk through and this time they find themselves in a place familiar to Frank. One of those army camps where soldiers can stay for months, even years. Instantly, the boy releases Frank's hand and starts to run, quickly disappearing from the former soldier's field of vision. Frank decides not to worry too much about it for the moment, he is seriously getting tired of this completely messed up mind. He hears some fat laughter from some soldiers in the tent next to him. A few seconds later doctor Wally joins Frank.

"Well, this little guy is fast. I barely had time to turn my head and you were already gone!"

Frank doesn't bother to look at him.

"We're in an army tent. I guess that means this is the piece of the jigsaw puzzle reserved for his time in the Marines."

"Highly possible. Do you think we can find Mr. Russo here?"

"What do I know..."

Frank takes one more step, opening very slightly what serves as a door, which hides the soldiers' beds. Castle grits his teeth, fortunately for him no one notices but maybe that's because it's just Frank and Billy. Well, a younger version of the two men. They're in the back of the room, Frank sitting on the bed looking at his friend standing up who's going to great lengths to get a smile out of him and it's pretty effective. In fact he doesn't have to try that hard, Billy is funny, Frank has always found him insolently funny. Frank watches a younger version of him shake his head before laughing at his friend.

The former soldier sighs before closing the door.

"That's the wrong Billy. I'm sure of it."

Wally and Castle frown as they hear the voices of the two soldiers distinctly. It seems that they have moved closer. Frank moves a little further away from the tent before freezing.

"Frankie?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you happy to be back home?"

"Are you crazy? I'm ecstatic. I can't wait to get back to my wife... my baby girl. She must have grown up so much." Castle closes his eyes when he hears these words. That was so long ago. The very first time he went on a mission with Billy. They quickly became very close. That mission had been so long, he had left when his first child was just a little baby. At least he had been there for Lisa's birth. "Not you, Bill? You prefer war, maybe?"

Billy chuckles slightly.

"No, no, it's good to be back."

"But?"

"What? There are no buts."

"You're more cooperative about talking when you think you're going to die." Frank lets out a laugh.

"Are you serious? You bastard. One time, okay? It happened once, and it wasn't that much of a shame. And you promised me you wouldn't tell anyone."

"Don't worry man, I will never reveal you're still a virgin."

"Shut up Castle, don't be jealous of what I have to offer that you don't."

The other soldier laughs at this. The real Frank, on the other hand, remembers what had happened. Billy had been shot and couldn't move. Frank found him on the ground, half-conscious and sweating, his helmet was off and he had obviously taken a blow to the head as well. Frank tried to get him back on his feet, but it didn't work. He was struck by the look in the man's eyes. Billy was sure he was going to die there, that Frank was going to leave him and he understood that. Frank thought the soldier was cocky, sassy and very reclusive, and at first he had had a hard time getting close to Russo. He was naturally suspicious and not easily approachable, which Frank respected. Castle vividly remembers what Billy said to him that day. -I was born alone, I have no problem dying alone. Go away, save yourself, there's no need to be a hero. Your family, wife and child are waiting for you, aren't they? I understand. I can't walk. I'll slow you down. It's okay, no one's waiting for me.- Frank had slung his arm behind his shoulder and pulled them both out of this mess. Afterwards, they'd laughed at Billy's dramatic tone, but Frank had realized something that day. Billy Russo deserved his attention. He probably regrets it now.

Frank and Wally exchange a glance as footsteps approach.

"Bill? Why don't you come over to my house? I mean, I'd love to introduce you to my little family."

Frank understood how hard it was to come home and find no one. Billy was alone in the world and for the first time, Frank had brought him into his circle. It was normal for Bill to feel uncomfortable the first few times, he felt like he was too much or that he was being pitied, but that wasn't the case. Billy quickly became Uncle Billy and then a full member of the family. At least, that's what he thought. How could he? That day, he might have been better off not inviting him. It probably wouldn't have changed the fate of his family, and he knows that, but it would have made the betrayal less unbearable.

Castle looks at Wally with a strict face.

"Let's get out of here before they see us."

The scientist nods and the two men head back out the door they came through to get here. But they don't return to the little house from earlier, they find themselves outside. It's a beautiful day, a little warm, Frank instantly recognizes the place. It's a vacation house where they used to go. Suddenly a man in a swimsuit, tall, thin, muscular and with a large bruise along his ribs runs before curling up and jumping into the pool. It's Billy again. Frank freezes and his blood runs cold at the sound of the laughter that follows, it's his kids' laughter.

"Uncle Bill can't swim, Uncle Bill can't swim!"

the kids have been singing at the top of their lungs ever since their uncle confessed to them that no one taught him how to swim as a kid and that he had to wait until he was an adult to take his first swim ever. Of course, he knew how to swim now, but why miss an opportunity to make fun of their favorite uncle?

"Do you mind if I drown your children, Maria?"

"If you drown my kids, I'll drown you Bill."

"Come back this way you little monsters, don't be afraid..."

His wife, his children, his best friend. It was paradise and now a nightmare. They're gone. It's all gone. Having to witness this is torture. But he can't help but look at his family, just a little longer.

Castle snaps out of his thoughts when Wally grabs him by the arm as he notices a man sitting in the distance, slightly hidden watching the scene quietly with a slight smile.

"Frank, the man in the very back...he looks...he looks like Mr. Russo, doesn't he?"

Frank frowns making a movement to get a better look. Hell, yes. That's him. The Russo whose several scars line his face now. Obviously the movement Frank just made didn't escape his notice. Russo frowns as he straightens slightly. He looks lost. He's probably wondering how there can be two Frank. No doubt, it's the Billy they're looking for. The two men look at each other from both sides of the pool, their eyes wild, when suddenly, everything freezes. As if the video of this memory had just been paused, like a freeze frame. But Billy looks as surprised as Frank, he doesn't seem to be in control here.

A small ball of paper hits the back of Frank's head and he immediately turns around. The little boy is there again, a handmade blowgun with a few pens, in his hand. In the blink of an eye, by the time he turns his head back to Russo, he has disappeared and with him, the scenery.

This time, they are in the corridor of a hospital. He immediately turns back to the boy who has already started to run away.

"No, not this time, kid."

Frank launches himself in his direction and doesn't take long to catch up with him in a straight corridor. He violently grabs his little arm before spinning him around.
The little one struggles, gritting his teeth and letting out a whimper as Frank squeezes him far too hard. But Frank doesn't realize he's hurting him, he just wants answers and to stop this endless, exhausting hunt. Just as he's about to open his mouth, the kid blows into his blowgun shooting a ball of paper into his eye. Frank flinches and releases his grip slightly, he takes the opportunity to slide his slender arm out but the man's grip tightens on his wrist this time.

"You brat."

The boy takes a jerky breath as if panicking but trying to hold it in between his teeth.

"Take me to Billy."

As he holds him in his hand and finally takes the time to look at him, Frank realizes.

Billy. Of course it's Billy. Why didn't he think of it sooner? Simply because everything happens so fast and it's so complicated to keep track of everything in the heat of the moment that it was impossible for him to think of it, and also because he was sure he would never see a miniature version of Billy. But it's him, well, it was him, when he was just a kid. It seems so obvious now. He's changed a lot physically, that's normal, but he's kept that same look. The black eyes filled with that indescribable something. It's so strange to see such a young and innocent version of Billy.

What follows, Frank could not anticipate it, the boy stops pulling, he gets closer just before biting his hand violently. Surprised, Frank lets go and the kid doesn't waste a second to run away. He takes a door and disappears.

Frank shakes his head, not believing he's just been taken in by a fast, smart, brave little version of Billy.

That's enough for the Punisher. He saw the real Billy, he was this close to getting him. It was him, he's sure of it. He has to put an end to this charade. With a confident step, Frank joins Wally and then passes him without even looking at him. Dr. Wally, slightly surprised, follows him.

"Mr. Castle, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to open every door, until I find that bastard."

"Mr. Russo seemed to be hiding in his good memories..."

"His good memories? Whatever, he knows we're here now. He's playing us."

Frank opens the first door but only comes upon an empty room. He closes it again and repeats the action a little further. Frank sees red. Frantically, he opens every doors to find only empty rooms. Even Dr. Wally has stopped following him. He just looks at him, a slightly worried look on his face. Frank finally opens the last door. Still nothing. He shuts it violently.

"Shit!" Frank looks back at Wally, his gaze cold and murderous. "He was right there..."

"Frank... I understand your confusion, believe me, but we need to stay calm. We need to settle down and think. Come closer, please."

Frank grits his teeth before lowering his head and sighing loudly. He complies nonetheless, stepping back.

"What are we supposed to do? And don't tell me you don't know."

"Maybe we should stop chasing him but instead, make him come to us."

"Why not. But how can we do it? We have no control here. We're being driven around like fucking tourists."

"Maybe the boy is the key. He's the one who seems to be able to walk around in this mind."

"The boy is Billy as a child, I'm sure of it now, but I didn't manage to catch him, he's gone now, maybe he'll reappear but when?"

Wally pauses to think.

"There are areas that Mr. Russo can't or don't want to visit, the memories Mr. Russo has forgotten are places that...that might attract him. It's just a guess, of course, but finding Mr. Russo's missing puzzle pieces could turn everything upside down and that... that could get us to him."

"If you say so but we have no way of getting to these memories."

"Well, I think the boy can get us there. When we were in the house, after Anvil, he said 'We don't like here.'" Frank frowned as Wally thought further. "He knew where the bat was, he's walking around in his mind and he has access to everything...I think he's trying to protect Billy from his bad memories...I told you we were looking for the conscious part of Mr. Russo, didn't I? What is consciousness without the unconscious? I think this little boy is Mr. Russo's unconscious. You know what Freud said about the unconscious? The unconscious represents repressed memories that are subject to censorship. The unconscious is everything that escapes consciousness. What I mean by this is that only the unconscious has access to everything that the conscious does not."

"Aren't those theories? Philosophy?"

"Science is nothing without theories, my dear, and philosophy is a science too."

"Well, okay, but you lost me, can you make it simpler?"

"The plan is to find Billy's forgotten memories to upset Billy's mind and make him come to us. To access these memories, we need Billy as a child, the boy, who is the only one who has access to them."

"How do you catch the boy?"

"You're not going to like my answer...I don't know."

______

______He saw Frank. He's fucking sure of it, it was Frank. Not one of those Frank that live in his head and are a product of his memories or how he pictures him. No, that Frank wasn't supposed to be there, he felt it. There was this strange guy too, much older, he has no idea who he is. And now he's stuck in this shitty room and he doesn't know how to get out.

But one thing is for sure, he's going to get out and find Frank.

This room looks suspiciously like his nightmares, broken mirrors surround him all around and he'd be lying if he said it didn't make him extremely nervous. He's on the verge of a panic attack and he's extremely aware of it.

He is stuck in his head, he knows it. He doesn't understand how to come back to himself.

Frank Castle. He's probably the reason he's here. He can't figure it out. It's him, it's him who disfigured him, it's him who haunts all his nights and it's clearly because of him that he's stuck in this room. Because he saw him and a mixture of hatred and deep anguish overwhelmed him and he found himself there. Why would he do that to him? He was his best friend. The closest thing he had to a family. How could this happen, how? After figuring out about the Punisher, Billy needed answers and his men, his men, went completely crazy.

It's dark in this room and there are no doors. At least, he can't see any. Only mirrors. Sometimes when he looks into one of them, he sees movement behind him, a bloody skull, but when he turns around there is nothing.

Maybe he is dead. Maybe this is hell. His own personal hell. Being stuck in his own head. It's the worst thing that ever happened to him. Because he doesn't even have control. There's a younger version of him somewhere, he was his ally even if he didn't stay long, he kept him away from places he didn't want to be. At first he was in this house, fuck, it was so realistic. He had forgotten everything about that place, the smell, the meth, the atmosphere. That's where he lived for the first few years of his life, until what? Five years old? Before his mother abandoned him in a fucking fire station. There was this guy too, one of his mother's boyfriends. A real asshole, but the thing is, he didn't really remember him. Because he was really small at that time. But he remembered a place, a place where he used to hide. And that's where he found himself, well, he found a child version of himself. But, he was a bit older, this Billy was already an orphan. He quickly brought him to pleasant memories. Billy tried to figure out where he was and how to get back to reality but the younger version of him didn't seem to know how either.

At first he struggled, tried to take control but each time he had to face what he didn't want to face. Walsh, group home, war, Frank...the Frank that wasn't the Frank he wanted to talk to. So, finally, he let it go for a while at least and just looked at those moments that he hoped would be endless and are no more. Damn, there weren't many happy moments. But they were all with them. With the Castles.

Maybe he did something unforgivable. William Russo, eternally dissatisfied, broken soul, who wants everything he doesn't have and especially what he's not allowed to have. Maybe he let his desire to be someone take over, for a little too long. Maybe he shouldn't try to find out, maybe he should let his demons and torments engulf him.

Billy doesn't do that. Billy never gives up. He doesn't deserve this. Whatever he's done, he doesn't think he deserves these months of hospitalization, these nightmares, these shattered memories and this face.

______

______Frank and Wally decide to try to open a door again. Wally hypothesizes that Billy's mind reacts to emotions and behaviors. Earlier, Frank, at his wits' end, opened the doors violently, Billy's mind may have closed and the rooms were left empty.

They have a plan to bring in little Billy. They're going to put a stop to this. And fast. Even if they have to jump into Russo's erased memory to do it.

Dr. Wally slowly opens the door. He was right. The room isn't empty anymore.