In the Limelight

Hachiro stood up, dragging his feet while breathing heavily. He's running fast, not getting a chance to look back. His wolf helped him up to escape from Kath and the others. It helped him dodge the persistent gorillas on their tail. Hachiro's tears kept on falling, sweat dropping, and pain sizzling all over his body.

Explosions dropped behind them and debris scattered around as they ran away from iy.

"Haro! Michiyo's---" Kath exclaimed. She didn't have the courage to help the two knowing her friends needs to stay in the safe zone. She kept on struggling, but Drake pleaded with her not to go.

"Don't look back! Hurry up and get out of this place!" Hachiro shouted back with a face that can't be drawn.

"But!" Kath tried to argue. She met with his eyes full of hatred and anger. She lost her will to go against the current, so she remained silent and helplessly sat on the floor.

Drake read his expression and said, "We should just get outta here!" and grabbed Kath with Seth on his shoulders.

They rushed towards the exit and reached their ride for escape.

"Where are the others?" one of them asked.

Kath tried to answer but no words came out of her mouth, they were all covered with shock. Hachiro didn't look good as well. He kept on holding his aching side but kept on overcoming the pain.

"Don't ask. Just, let's get outta here! Gorillas are after us and they will be here any minute soon." Drake replied to keep them going.

They hopped on the carpet and Hachiro activated their ride.

"Hold on tight! We're gonna get outta here..." Shichiro exclaimed.

And the carpet flew above the horde of monsters. A gorilla almost caught the apex of their carpet but fortunately, Shichiro kicked its hand which send it stumbling back to the ground.

They reached the sky and felt its unending coldness. The flight took hard and long. No one tried to speak a word, they knew the danger but they still went through with their plan. The urge to blame someone ignited their nerves but they didn't know who to blame in their current situation.

Unnerving silence accompanied the group as they hover above the wrecked city. Large amounts of dust and smoke embraced them as they fly above. They thought of the landscape before the tragedy happened and realized it has become so dire. The sky looked free but alongside the clouds, they can see the glass-like structure covering the whole city like a cage. They've come a long way and reached the port for quite some time.

...

"Port make glitch trust the guy?" Jayson said. "What does that mean?!"

"And who's that guy it's referring to?"

Everyone stared at each other, confused about the message they'd just heard. But their own confusion vanished when they listened to the people's commotion outside.

"It seems noisy outside..." Alex said. "What the heck is going on there?" He stood up from his seat and walked towards the crowd.

"What was happening?" Yuri muttered.

They all went outside the tent and stared at what the other participants are pointing at the dark sky. At first, nothing can be seen but after a few minutes, an unknown object was falling toward their site.

"Oi, oi, is that a new enemy?" Jayson exclaimed, he immediately held his weapon out. "Everyone, prepare for a possible attack!" he commanded and drew his weapon.

They all went to get their weapons and armed themselves. The thing they saw fell on the sacks they barricaded near their command tent.

"I can hear voices...." Sandra murmured, unsheathing her sword. She's the first one to come near the falling object

It fell on the tent where the camp's supplies were stored and created a mess. The campers gathered around the area, pointing their weapons at the figures formed beneath the tarp.

"Who are you!?" Mike asked, pointing his X-bow at one of the figures that popped up from the pile. "Identify yourselves!" he ordered.

"Mike?" the figure replied. "Is that you?!" Kath came out from the rubble with Seth and Drake below her. They all looked grazed and wasted but Yuri immediately went to her side.

"Kath?" Yuri said and lend her a hand. "What happened to you, how did you get so hurt? Everyone, help them up!"

"Don't worry about me, I'm alright..." Kath pleaded, her eyes starting to cry again. "But Seth is---"

"Ha-chan.." Shichiro leaped out of the rubble showing Hachiro's face, confusing the crowd.

The dam of emotions broke and flooded the camp. They all stared at him with dark malicious eyes and a sudden urge to strike got to their nerves.

Alex snapped. He was engulfed with his anger and fly from his place. He punched Hachiro without a single doubt. He grabbed his collar, pinned him to the wall, and took another hit on his face. Hachiro spat blood.

"How dare you show your face here, you criminal!" he spits on his cheek and kept on punching him everywhere his fist can land.

Hachiro tried to cover himself with his arms but didn't say a word. Shichiro tried to hit Alex but he was told not to do a thing. They talked in his head,

"Just please...don't make the situation worse..Shi-chan" Hachiro said

"But Ha-chan...they're hurting you..." Shichiro begged. "I can't just sit here and watch everything.."

"I know you can. It's fine...."

"No, it's not!"

"I'm okay.."

"You're not okay and I want to help! They don't know..."

"Shi-chan."Hachiro shunned his dog with a stern look. "Please don't."

And they stopped arguing. Shichiro knew he couldn't win this argument.

"Okay, just let me fix you.."

"Thanks, that would be a great help..."

"But this will not last long and it will take a toll on your real body.."

"I know...thanks for the help though.."

"Ha-chan...just give me a few minutes." Shichiro vanished from the AR and went back to his mind.

"Stop it! What are you doing, idiot!" Kath cried. "Don't hurt him more, he's already tired from our previous fight and--"

"Are you trying to side with this murderer, huh?!" Alex glared at her. "Who the hell are you?!"

"What are you saying?" Kath replied.

Yuri held her arm, stopping her from interfering. "Don't you know this guy, Kath?" he said with concerned eyes.

Everyone started to murmur. Kath saw the malice in their eyes.

"He's the million-dollar boy..." someone shouted.

"Yeah, if we bring him to the Grandmaster we can end this game..."

"And we can have that prize money.."

"I can be rich.."

"He should just die..."

"I don't have to work in all my life.."

"All I have to do is play and surf the internet.."

"And we'll have access to GSTech.."

"...but how can we snatch him from them..."

"He's a criminal."

"I can't forgive him."

"Yeah, I've heard."

"He killed all those passengers, right? Rude."

"Demon."

"He killed my mom.."

"And he had the strength to show himself here.."

"My dad, too!"

"Neither can I.."

"Monster."

"Why? What are you saying.." she put her ears between her palms. "He's Haro..." her eyes turned blank. "He helped us so far. He saved us many times, then why?..." Kath cried. "Why are you doing this to him?" her eyes were confused. She doesn't want to believe their words because she saw how that guy is to them. Now, they are saying the exact opposite of her thoughts.

"You really are gullible, Kathereine." Yuri glared at Hachiro who was pinned to the wall with Alex's strong arms. "He is Hachiro, no, he is Markus...the idiot who challenged ORION and the same bastard who hacked and killed the passengers of flight Loki..."

Bloodlust filled the air as they hear those words.