The radiance of the noon sun brought an exhausting heat wave at the struggling Running Man and Dv8 players as they worked tirelessly to rid Tree City of the countless fallen debris due to their last battle with the Titan, Ulcus.

Liu laboriously placed a large rubble of stone, about the size of his head, on the debris that he stacked into a pile on the farthest corner of the stadium.

The bug puffed out an exhausted breath and wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand before smiling at their progress.

"Slowly, I can see the end of our hard work" Said the bug, still smiling happily before moving on to the next debris.

"That's over there, and the larger ones on the other side" Shawn said to the huge robots that each carried a large stone from the rubble. Tasking the machines to help them repair and clean the area. "Hmm, based on my calculations... We'll finish rebuilding Tree City in... 2 weeks" Shawn mumbled to herself as she estimated the possibilities using her watch as her calculator. Then, a robot carrying several stones appeared in front of her. "Yes?" She asked the robot before noticing what it was holding. "Oh, yes those belong on the left pile" She told the robot as it moved towards the location she was referring to.

While Liu and Shawn seemed to be working vigorously, some of the other players managed to turn a boring and tiresome work into a fun and intense competition.

Kuga and Makhan challenged eachother to see whether which of them is stronger as they were seen struggling to lift multiple large and heavy stones above them while Gai's brothers were cheering for Kuga on top of the stone he was carrying and Rema sitting on the top of the largest stone that Makhan was lifting while the other Dv8 members cheered for their strongest player. The two tigers clashed in pride as they managed to smile despite how much they struggled to lift those ridiculously heavy objects.

"Yeah! Go Kuga!" Gai cheered from a few distance before Miyo appeared next to him.

"This is tiring..." Miyo spoke, sounding exhausted as Gai's mood suddenly changed. Intertwining his own fingers together as he leaned closer to Miyo with a cheeky smile.

"Miyo~~~" He boldly called out her name, sounding lovestruck but Miyo didn't retract her claws. Instead, she leaned backwards a bit and sighed, looking as though she was starting to get used to Gai's cloud of annoying affection.

Soon their attention was diverted when both of them saw baby Popo hopping on top of Lonky's head and fiddling with his joystick-like ears. Laughing ever so happily while Lonky had the face similar to a father who hasn't slept in days due to his annoying and hyperactive children. The giraffe didn't even had the energy to lift his arms and pull the Baby penguin off his head as he only sat there, looking tired and about to pass out due to lack of sleep and rest.

"You're friend seems to be having the worst day of his life..." Hanabi appeared and spoke next to Gai as they all stared at the giraffe.

"Yeah... Should we help him out?" Gai asked the Pink-haired cat.

"And risk being stuck raising an annoying baby? No way. It's best if we just leave things as it be. Besides... Lonky's the one who volunteered to take care of Popo" Miyo replied as both Hanabi and Gai nodded their head in agreement.

"I don't get it... My parents said that in order to make a child fall asleep you have to let them tire themselves out... But why does this baby still have energy while I'm already depleted!" Lonky complained to himself as Popo continued to play with Lonky's ears while Gai, Hanabi, and Miyo silently watched.

Soon Yuu appeared next to Lonky while eating a doughnut and staring at the giraffe. The bandages around his mouth was lowered to expose his mouth to properly eat the food.

"Hmm. Looks like Popo is still hungry. Here, have some more doughnuts" Yuu handed the penguin a spare doughnut from his other hand. Making the penguin cheer in delight before taking a huge bite.

A spark of realization arrived in Lonky's head before standing up on his feet and confronting Yuu with an an angry look.

"So it was you!!!" Lonky shouted at the confused male.

"Umm... Yeah, that's my name?" Yuu replied, confusing the word "you" as his name.

"You're the one feeding Popo sugary food!" Lonky proceeded to shout.

"Umm... Yeah? So what? He's hungry"

"But why give him a doughnut?! It's filled with sugar! That explains why he doesn't run out of energy, it's because of you that I haven't got any sleep!"

"Jeez, alright. I'm sorry" Yuu apologized, raising both of his hands up to calm the giraffe. Lonky then stared angrily at Yuu's blue eyes for a minute before noticing that Yuu was moving his hand that held the half eaten doughnut slowly onto his mouth. He then proceeded to slowly insert the doughnut into his mouth as if it was on slow motion before putting his hand back up again with his cheeks puffed.
"Am shawy..."
Yuu apologized once more but it only sounded gibberish due to his stuffed mouth as Lonky could hear faint laughter from Miyo, Hanabi, and Gai.

"Arrghh!!! Just get out my sight!" Lonky snapped in rage as Yuu pulled back his bandages to cover his mouth before leaving Lonky alone to handle his own stress.

"Nice one. Giving a baby a sugary treat will surely tire them out" Hanabi said with a sarcastic tone and a laughing smile towards Yuu who walked over to them after gulping down the doughnut he ate.

"How am I suppose to know that?" Yuu asked, rhetorically.

"Won't eating too much sugar result in Sugar Crash though and put Popo to sleep?" Gai mumbled to them.

"That's a myth and a cartoon stereotype... Children recieve Sugar Rush when too much sugar is consumed but they won't fall asleep just like that. It's the same as tiring themselves out... You have to wait for them to get exhausted and then put them to sleep. But in our case... Popo isn't a normal child" Miyo explained surprising Gai.

"Hmm... Whelp, anyways. I'm going to copy Makhan or Kuga's strength and help with moving the debris now. You guys should continue on your work as well. It'll help with our progress" Yuu stated before walking towards the two tigers.

"I'll help you" The female Chameleon said before catching up with male to help him with the work.

"He's right. Wait for us!" Miyo spoke before following Yuu along with Gai and Hanabi.

"Yuu, it's not fair that you get to copy Kuga and Makhan's abilities! Use your own strength like the rest of us!" Gai complained but Yuu happily ignored him.

Meanwhile, Lonky was still in rage. Growing even more annoyed and restless due to the penguin's mischievous behavior, Lonky finally had enough. He grabbed the penguin's jacket and pulled him away from his head. Slowly raising Popo before shouting.

"I just had about enough of you, twerp! You won't let me eat, you won't let me sleep, and you won't let me rest! Why don't you just fall asleep so for once I can get a break!" Lonky shouted in sheer rage.

The penguin's eyes grow bigger along with the pupils before bursting in tears as the baby cried before shrieking out of anger and stubbornness.

The penguin's shriek became too loud for him to bear, causing Lonky to cover his left ear with only his free hand.

"Ah! Too noisy!!!" The Giraffe complained. "At first I thought it would be easier to take care a baby and avoid labor but no one told me it's this hard! I'm going crazy!"

"Being a parent isn't easy, Lonky" Rema spoke as her and Yuu walk passed him, sitting on top of another large stone that Yuu was carrying above his head.

"I'm not a parent!!" Lonky angrily replied but Rema didn't responded. "Ugh... Too bad there's no way for this twerp to go back to normal again..." Lonky mumbled to himself as Popo continued to cry, until Pala's voice was heard and was seen standing next to Lonky. Surprising the giraffe and causing the penguin to stop crying.

"It's not that there isn't a way..."

"Pala?! How long have you been standing there?!" Lonky asked as he jolted from shock.

"Long enough..."

"Jeez, you need to stop doing that popping out of the blue thing... Or atleast teach me how to do that! Anyways, what did you mean by that?" Lonky asked once more, referring to what Pala have said before until a wide smirk came to Pala's face.

"Heh. What I meant was that when it comes to making Materio Vithicus... There are no limits!!! It can exceed anything!" Pala said out loud with a mighty voice, captivating Lonky's hope and curiosity. The Impala then cleared his throat before proceeding with his speech. "Materio Vithicus is a wonderful herb which many tends to overlook. Due to its connection to the Soul Tree and Materion, the essence within the herb contains magical properties. I'm a herbologist after all. We study magical plants and fungi but none of them are compared to Materio Vithicus. And because there are now dozens of those magical herbs growing around Tree City, I can now further my research and create new potions and spells that will help everyone!!!"

"T-then... You can turn Popo back?!" Lonky asked, his eyes sparkling in hope.

"Nah, I'm too tired..." Pala yawned after saying that.

Soon Lonky pleaded and kneeled in front of Pala.

"Please, Pala! I beg you, please turn Popo back to normal... I... I... I don't want to end up losing my mind because of this twerp!!!" Lonky ended up shouting while Popo stood next to him.

Pala gazed down at the pleading Giraffe for a moment before responding.

"Fine but only if you help me find my cane... Because without it, then I can't make the potion"

"Great! Where is it though?"

"I don't know. I lost it in the midst of our previous battle.... It's probably buried underneath this pile of rubble. It might take us days, weeks, or even months before we find my cane. I'd be surprise if I see my cane passing me by..."

Then, just like that, a robot carrying all 8 artifacts, including Pala's cane, walk passed him. The Impala gawked in silence as the three of them stared at the robot in silence before a sinister smirk came to Lonky's face.

After a few minutes, the same robot that carried the artifacts reported to Liu with urgent news.

"What?! An artifact is missing?! Hmm... Report this to my sister, I'll keep an eye out if I see one" Liu responded and the robot left.

As the bug made his way around the area, he soon stumbles upon Lonky who has been having a hard time controlling the restless baby penguin. Having to go all his way to help out his friend, Liu ran towards Lonky and willingly took and held Popo across his arms as he swayed left and right and calmed the stubborn penguin.

"There, there... You just need some rest, little guy" Liu spoke, softly before gazing over at Lonky who was trying his best to hide Pala from Liu's vision but failed. It was there Liu realized that Pala had made a potion and was now shaking his cane. His eyes came to a sudden widen before opening his mouth to speak.
"Wait, Pala! You're not suppose to take your staff away. It rightfully belongs in the cataco-" Just before he could finish what he was about to say, Lonky sprang into action and covered Liu's mouth.

"Shh keep down. Pala is making a potion that will help Popo's state. Unless you want him to stay like this forever?" Lonky said to him as both of them gazed at Popo's adorable pleading eyes. "So just pretend you didn't saw anything okay?"

Liu then threw Lonky's hand away from his mouth and responded.

"No! Why would I pretend? This is serious matter! Ulcus gave us a second chance and we should honor it by returning the artifacts we took. Besides, Popo knew exactly what the cost was when he used the last card. He sacrificed his age for us, his family"

"But that's why I'm willing to bring him back, because we're a family!" Lonky replied but Liu didn't looked convince.

"You just want to bring him back because you can't afford to watch over him anymore..."

"Ugh, either way. We're going to bring him back! Also it's your turn to take care of him..." Lonky grabbed Popo and gave him to Liu.

"What? Why?" Liu asked.

"Because I'm tired!" Lonky shouted his reply.

But despite saying he was tired, Lonky still sprinted towards a tall pile of debris and started to immediately remove the medium size stones to clear them out as Liu and the baby penguin stared at him with a confused look before Gai and Miyo arrived on both of his side.

"I thought he said he was tired?" Miyo pointed out.

"... That's Lonky for you..." Liu mumbled before taking care of the baby penguin.

Meanwhile, just as Lonky removed another stone at the center of the large pile, he accidentally stumbles upon Detective Frick trapped under the pile of rubble as there eyes met eachother. After a moment of silently staring at one another, a uncertain look upon Lonky's face arrived and slowly placed the stone back, hiding the Detective before a muffled shout was heard.

"Hey!!! Don't pretend like you didn't saw me!!!" The detective shouted but no words could be understood due to him being buried.

"Of all the idiots to encounter, why did it have to be this guy..." Lonky muttered as he pinched the part in between his eyes out of frustration and annoyance.

"What was that voice just now?" Gai asked, accompanied by Yuu and Hanabi.

The monkey slowly removed the stone that Lonky returned and immediately regretted it when they saw an angered Detective shouting at them.

"How there you trap me under this pile of rubble! Not only that all of you are criminals back in the train, but you're also harassing an officer of the Law!!" Said the angered Detective as Lonky, Yuu, and Gai shared the same look of annoyance and silent anger at him. Gai attempted to place the stone back but Frick stopped him.
"Wait, wait, wait! You there! The one wearing bandages! Your the most reasonable one amongst them, can you please convince your accomplices to help me?" The detective asked but their looks remained unchanged.

"Friend of yours?" Hanabi asked out of curiosity.

"Not even close..." Yuu replied.

"Aww come on, You wouldn't say no to someone as cute as me would you?" Detective Frick's black eyes slowly became bigger as he put up an adorable pleading look just like Popo. But they replied by tossing more stones into the rubble and burying the detective once more.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't saw any of this... Come on, Hanabi. Let's buy something to eat for the others. They must be hungry" Yuu stated as Hanabi followed him while Lonky and Gai moved on to another pile to clear out.

After some time, it was finally afternoon. Liu and the rest decided to free the Detective after Lonky told them what they found. After freeing the detective, The Running Man team slowly grouped together to hear what Frick had to say while Pala was still shaking his cane.

"Detective Frick? Why were you trapped under that rubble?" Liu asked as the detective chuckled a bit before replying.

"Well if you must know... I was inspecting Charming Gold's quarters when all of a sudden, a monster appeared an-"

"Wait... How did you managed to get in here? The police are supposed to stay outside the whole time and are not allowed to enter the stadium, let alone Charming Gold's quarters. So why are you here?" Liu asked once more.

"In short... I was pursuing all of you"

"Pursuing us? For what?" Liu continued to ask questions until Frick creaked a smile and suddenly moved with the speed of lightning. Placing handcuffs on Liu and Kuga, Gai and Miyo, Lonky and Popo, and Pala with his cane.

"Wait- what's going on?!" Liu asked out loud as all of them became confused, except for Gai who seemed to be enjoying that he's cuffed with Miyo.

"All of you... Are wanted for stealing and destroying Tree City!" The detective shouted, causing everyone to shout "what" in shock before Yuu appeared behind them with the rest of the Dv8. Each holding a paper bag containing food and snacks.

"Hey guys, we're back! We brought some coffee and doughnuts" Hanabi said out loud next to Yuu, who was holding a glazed donut and a coffee on his other hand, before Frick stepped in once more and cuffed both of Yuu's hands and even took away his doughnut and coffee.

"You've gotta be kidding me..." Yuu mumbled to himself as the detective drank and ate his coffee and doughnut while the rest of the Dv8 stood and watched.

"Doughnut and Coffee... A cop's favorite delicacy" Said the detective with a smirk.

"That's not true! We would never steal anything!" Liu spoke for his friends. "And what did we even steal anyways?"

"What else... It's none other than... Charming Gold's lifetime supply of food!" Detective Frick replied as all of them, including the Dv8, turned their head sideways in confusion.

"Bruh..." Yuu mumbled to himself.

"I could even tell you about the Running Man Championship you played... And your great heist plan!" The detective adjusted his baller hat and slowly started to carries his upper lip mustache before explaining his statement. "Your plan started back at the Running Man Express... You made it all seemed that a zombie outbreak arrived and turned every passengers into mindless, brain eaters. You even had to sacrifice half of your team in order to make it all looks as if it was an accident. But all of you were behind it all! You had the cure stashed away in the storage car and used to it to cure everyone so all of them would believe you are heroes and recieve Charming Gold's respect but in reality... You are worst than villains! One night, I saw your female friend there snuck into Charming Gold's quarters so I had to follow her secretly from behind. I was unsure of what she was doing until... I saw the her and the bug dressed like a robot and started to brutally torture Charming Gold to death! To think that there's actually someone skilled enough to get through the security system in the ventilation and assassinate Tree City's ruler"

"Wait, is he talking about that time when you two massaged Charming Gold and ended up backfiring?" Yuu mumbled silently next to Miyo before the feline spoke out loud.

"That's not true!" Miyo shouted before Liu.

"She's right. I was just looking for Mr. Suitcase because my tracker indicated that he was inside his quarters"

"Liu is telling the truth!" Lonky agreed. "He's been asking us all night if we've seen his little companion before that time! However... What were you doing in Charming Gold's quarters Miyo?" Lonky asked before the feline stuttered.

"I... I was..." Miyo gazed over at Yuu and Rema from behind. Unable to tell Lonky the truth that she was there to spy on Charming Gold.

Once Yuu realized Miyo's situation, he quickly turned towards Rema as both of them nodded. Looking as if they immediately understood eachother without even saying anything.

Soon Rema stepped in and moved towards the detective. Walking ever so elegantly with her arms crossed as she spoke.

"Truly, it is indeed impossible for anyone to get through the security system that Charming Gold installed. However... How did you managed to by pass it? Miyo is trained for those kinds of situation but you on the other hand... You're just a detective. So how were you able to get through it...? Not to mention, Charming Gold is the only one who can control all the systems in Tree City, so there's no way to by pass it, detective... Unless of course... You're secretly working for Charming Gold?" Rema's words made the others suspicious of the detective as he was seen having a conflicted look upon his face.
"Let's also not forget... That Charming Gold built a robot to destroy the Running Man and had a plan to conquer the world using the Materion but only lead to the destruction of Tree City. Which is why all of us here are trying to rebuild it. I'm just going to say this once and for all... Charming Gold is evil and all the residents of Tree City knows what he did and what the Running Man did to stop him. That's why the people consider them as Heroes. So, Detective Frick, why is it that you've became quiet all of a sudden? Cat got your tongue?" Rema asked as the detective looked even more conflicted. Resembling someone who's running out of words to say in a debate.

Lonky then stretched his neck forward and whispered on the Detective's ears.

"What now, Detective? No more made up stories to share?" Lonky asked mockingly and making him infuriated in frustration before returning to his previous position.

"Waste of time..." Kuga mumbled but the detective heard his words clear as crystal. An idea popped into his head before suddenly pointing at Kuga.

"You were behind it!" The detective shouted with a triumphant smile, confusing all of them before, once again, explaining his statement.
"You almost had me fooled by your statement, Running Men..."

"No, Rema's the one who said that. Not us and she's a Dv8" Yuu responded but was ignored by the detective.

"The reason for everything is simple. All of you threatened the residents of Tree City to call you their heroes through violence and fear! But of course, none of you have enough of a menacing aura, so you called in your Scariest and most frightening member to influence everyone and force them to call you their heroes... The tiger. That's why... Charming Gold ordered the protectors of Tree City, the Dv8, to stop you. However, they lost because of the tiger's brute strength and there the bug and the cat brainwashed the Dv8 and convince them all of you are innocent and Charming Gold is the villain" The detective continued with his monologue while behind him was Spin, Lulu, and Elto trying to hold back an angered Makhan and Hanabi from beating the lights out of him. "But that's not all of it... With no other options left, Charming Gold was forced to unlease his experimental Machine in order to use the power of the materion to rid you from the earth. But you stopped him which lead to Charming Gold's utter doom. It was there the Penguin used his most powerful magic and summoned the huge beast and destroyed the Materion.

"I literally have one thing to say... All of what you said, doesn't make any sense" Lonky exclaimed. "How did a food heist became an all out civil war? And Popo doesn't even know proper magic" Popo sudden wiggled and let out angry child noises as a response to Lonky saying he doesn't know magic. "See? He admits it"

"You're lies won't work on me. I can smell the truth"

"Truth? ...Sure... The only truth being told here is from you while our words are lies, right? Because you're the law? So when it comes to the law, you can bend your own rules and to you, Justice is no longer blind? IS THAT WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO THINK WE'RE CRIMINALS?! DOES THAT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO GLORIFY CHARMING GOLD WITHOUT CONDUCTING ANY INTERVIEW OR RESEARCH?! THAT'S NOT THE TRUTH, YOUR JUST ABUSING YOUR POWER!" Yuu angrily shouted, his eyes flickering in red and blue making everyone alarmed and concerned. He tried to take a step forward to close in on the nervous detective but Rema stepped in front of him and stopped his track.

"Yuu, calm down. Scaring him won't solve any of this... Don't let your anger consume you again" Rema's words pierced through Yuu's anger and made him realized his previous mistake when he let himself succumb to anger and rage. Taking in a deep breath, he managed to calm himself down and made the others feel rather relieved, seeing that all of them are still not used to seeing Yuu's eyes shift in two different colors that quickly. Like a flickering Light Bulb.

"I don't need to conduct any further research, because evidence never lies" The detective responded after clearing his throat.

"What evidence? Everything you've said so far is just what you thought. There is no evidence to say that we're culprits" Gai spoke before getting chocked when Frick pulled out and revealed a circular pin with a red X on the center. It was Gai's previous alter ego, Man X"

"That Pin...!" Miyo mumbled silently before gazing at Gai with a concerned look.

"First..." Frick started another monologue once more. "First, before your fight with the Dv8. You've sent one of you members to assassinate Charming Gold using this weapon, a tool of a ninja. But you've missed and decided to abandon that plan and retreat. But not before saying your codename which haunted Charming Gold... Man X. Hehe... Never leave a weapon in a crime scene" The detective said with a smug look before Shawn stepped in and grabbed the pin away from the Detective. Frick tried his best to get it back by jumping up and swiping the pin away from her but Shawn was just too tall.

"This is really not the best example of a weapon aimed at Charming Gold's life..." Shawn exclaimed with a sigh. "Charming Gold made me create this pin so believe me when I say that this is not a weapon. However... It's a device that's designed to communicate with the Running Man Championship's Spy, Man X" Shawn's description of the origin of the pin brought shame and regret upon Gai.
Miyo noticed the look of guilt upon the Ninja's face and became genuinely concerned and sympathetic.

"Gai..." Miyo mumbled before the detective laughed. Gathering everyone's attention.

"Okay, I admit, my assumption of that Pin was a mistake"

"All of your assumptions are a mistake" Hanabi replied but the detective ignored her and proceeded with his sentence.

"However! It still doesn't change the fact that one of you is a spy named Man X! That's all the proof I need. Officers!" Detective Frick called out that word. Soon multiple Pululu officers appeared out of nowhere and stood behind the Detective. Surprising everyone. "Arrest them" And with those two words, the Pululu officers charged at the cuffed Running Man players and apprehended them.

"Come on then!" Yuu stomped his feet as a small shockwave filled the officers with fear. "What are you waiting for?! Lay a hand on us! Come on! I DARE YOU!" Yuu screamed in anger once more and scared half of the police force as he balled his hands into a fist despite being cuffed.

"Yuu, stop! You can't hurt them. If you do, then you'll prove to them you're a criminal and have all of you arrested for life!" Rema shouted out loud so the male could here while the other officers pushed her away from the scene along with the other DV8. Yuu bit his bottom lip to reduce his rage before letting the officers apprehend him and his friends.

"But we're innocent! Believe us detective! We were only trying to stop Charming Gold!" Liu shouted while being carried by the Pululu officers.

"Hehe sure. That's what they all say" Detective Frick replied with an insulting voice.

"Hey! Don't you dare touch me! Don't you know who I am?! I'm prince Lonky of the Giraffe tribe!" Lonky shouted as he tried to struggle from their grasp but failed utterly.

The Pululu Officers proceeded in carrying the rest to custody, even Pala who was only accompanied by one Officer which didn't had to carry him while still shaking his cane to brew the potion. Looking as though he had no idea what was happening.

Meanwhile, Gai stood in silent as he watched all of his friends get arrested and are now being taken to custody. He was at lost of what to do and he couldn't afford to get arrested, he couldn't bare to leave his brothers alone. Soon a Pululu officer placed a hand on his shoulders, giving him the "It's time to go to jail" look. But suddenly, a wide smirk appeared in Gai's face, surprising the officer.

Soon, in the heat of their struggle, everyone stopped when a Pululu screamed as it fell on the ground after being thrown from a distance. It was there they saw multiple Pululu officers being taken down by Gai until none of them was left standing while Miyo was left in shock from Gai's actions.

"My my... I really didn't thought I'd get caught like this. I guess I couldn't hide it forever huh?" Gai spoke having his eyes closed, looking like he was disappointed yet glad at the same time.

"Gai...?" Miyo called out his name but Gai proceeded in what he was going to say.

"Yes, the detective is actually right. And I'm the mastermind behind all of it" Gai's words shocked everyone including the Running Man as they were left in confusion. But Yuu on the other hand, showed no such reaction as a response. Only gazing at Gai with a blank look upon his eyes as he realized what Gai was trying to do.

"Heh. So you admit that you and The Running Man planned to assassinate Charming Gold!" Frick shouted before Gai replied with a smug look that framed his crescent grin.

"Hah. Nope, just me. I brainwashed them into helping me just like I did with the Dv8. They're just pawns. My puppets on a string and I am the puppeteer!"

"Gai stop it!" Miyo shouted but Gai vanished into smoke. Leaving Miyo handcuffed alone before Gai reappeared mid air from behind them all.

"And now detective... I reveal to you my master plan!" Suddenly, a smoke shrouded Gai while hovering in the air. Once the smoke vanished, all of them could see the rest of Gai's brothers hovering beside him with the youngest one carrying a large, round object hidden underneath a long cloth he had on his back. Similar to a backpack. After landing on top of the piles of debris which all of them stacked to a pile, Gai proceeded to smile triumphantly and spoke.
"Hidden inside this cloth holds the Materion! This is my master plan from the start!"

"Officers arrest him!" Detective Frick shouted before all of the ones who weren't attacked by Gai proceeded to charge at him.

"Gai..." Miyo called out his name one last time, extending her hand forwards as Gai took one last gaze at his friends, especially Miyo, before turning his back on them and leaving the area along with his brothers by running away while the police chased after them.

"I don't understand any of this!" Lonky exclaimed. "So Gai still betrayed us in the end and stole the Materion that was still blooming on Ulcus' statue?"

"No... He did this so that none of us would get arrested. And in order to do that, he needed to turn the entire police force against himself only..." Yuu responded next to the Giraffe before Miyo spoke after picking something from the ground that fell off from inside the cloth that Gai's youngest brother was carrying.

"That's not all..." Said the feline with a low tone of voice as she stared at the object she picked up from the ground. It was an onion ring. One of Gai's favorite food. "The main reason that Gai did this... Is because he needed to take care of his brothers..."

"Brother Gai, why did we leave Miyo and the others?" The middle brother asked as they ran but Gai only replied by smiling at him and running ahead of them.

"Isn't it obvious?" The second oldest brother, who's carrying the large bag, spoke next to him and said: "Because it's time to go home..."

The brothers continued to run and followed Gai's lead while the third brother fell behind as he was seen picking up the trail of onion rings that fell from inside the large bag.

"Their probably heading back home to their tribe... And I didn't even got to say goodbye to him..." Miyo muttered the last part she kept staring at the onion ring they left behind. Her eyes were showing signs of tears u til Lonky stepped in with a creepy smile after managing to hear what she muttered.

"Oh??? Is that sadness I see? Could it be that you actually love Gai in the end? Hmmm???"

"That's a bad Idea..." Yuu mumbled before Miyo closed her eyes in annoyance and retracted her claws.

The Giraffe fell into silence as only talking or screaming will worsen the pain from the slash across his face.

Miyo crossed her arms as a response to Lonky's tease before Yuu stood next to her and asked.

"So what's that on your hand?"

"Oh... It's something that fell from the bag that Gai's brother carried" Miyo replied before showing it to him.

"An Onion ring?" Yuu pointed out sounding confused.

"Yes. Gai must have stole a lifetime worth of onion rings and lied about it being the Materion to gain Frick's attention... They're Gai's favorite after all..."

"So I guess that crazy detective was right about something in the end. Someone really did planned to steal Charming Gold's lifetime supply of food" Yuu responded before both of them burst into a wholesome laughter.

"That's Gai for you..." Miyo mumbled with a gentle smile as she took another glance at the Onion Ring.
"It's not going to be the same without him anymore..."

"Don't worry. Our future is still bright. We may no longer be team Running Man anymore, but a day where all of us are together again will surely come... We just have to be patient about it" Yuu said and reasured Miyo as she smiled and nodded at his words. Soon a strong gust of wind blew from their side. Causing Miyo's hair and Yuu's red scarf to dance along with breeze as both of them stared at the direction where Gai left. Smiling til' the end.

"I've finished it!!!" Pala shouted as a golden light was emitted from the potion he brewed. "This will cure Popo in an instant. I call it, Super Mega Ultra Materio-" Without waiting for the Impala to finish saying the potion's name, Lonky sprang into action and swiped the Potion away.

"Great Pala, thanks! Now drink it, Popo!" Lonky gave the cheerful penguin the potion before slowly drinking it. After a couple of sip, Popo glowed in the same golden light as his body immediately started to grow. And before anyone had realized it, Popo was back to normal. Once the golden light came to a dim, Lonky and the rest were shocked and delighted st the same time after seeing their friend back to normal again.
"Popo, you're back!" Lonky said as he framed his happy smile.

"Lonky..." Popo said his first, clear words in a long time with a gentle smile. "Thank you for bringing me back but... HOW DARE YOU!" The penguin's mood suddenly changed and shouted those words in anger towards the Giraffe before attempting to strangle him but his waist was still cuffed to Lonky's wrist. "How dare you say that I don't know how to use proper magic! I SACRIFICE MY AGE TO SAVE ALL OF YOU!"

"Stop wiggling! You're even more now than you were as a baby!"

"I'll show you annoying!"

Then, the two stooges began their usual quarrels once more while the others laughed lightly from the sight of their fight. But suddenly, Lonky felt as if he bumped into something from behind. When he looked to see what it was, he could see a Pululu officer standing in front of him with it's face hidden by it's police cap.

"Oh, it's a police. Look, we're not criminals alright? Gai said he's the mastermind so released us from these handcuffs already!" Lonky shouted directly at the Pululu officer. But suddenly, the officer's cap fell on the ground and revealed a pair of fiery red eyes that frightened Lonky to the point he jolted backwards.

"His eyes are red! Only disgusting monsters have red eyes!" Lonky shouted with a quivering voice.

"Hey... I'm right over here..." Yuu responded with an annoyed look as he took Lonky's phrase a bit personally before more of the red eyed Pululu Officers appeared and surrounded them.

As all of them prepared for a battle, an explosion of black smoke shrouded the Running Men. Once the smoke cleared, the Running Men was seen laying unconscious on the ground where one by one, the Red eyed Pululus captured them and placed them inside a large metal Container that hovered towards a new location. Without the Dv8's presence, the Running Men was left helpless as it seemed their story is left unfinished.

*You have reached the end of the story for this part. If you liked this story, please Vote and Comment your thoughts. Criticism is always allowed and your opinions would also help me out a lot by making the next stories better!*