Zac's POV

Sure, I slipped up last time. But it's a new day, and I was given a motivational boost by my substitute therapist--and my precious fan letters. "Feel better soon, Zac the Sunrise!" "We are still cheering you on, our superstar!" "After the darkest nights, the sun always rises again!"

Thank you, dear fans... you mean so much to me. I smiled at the last fan letter I was holding. I put it down and looked out the window. The morning sun was shining yet again. It was my time to rise with it.

The door opened. "Hey, Zac," Akira waved, with Orochi following behind him. "Ready for your next session?"

I gave him a confident nod. "I feel like this is the day. I know my progress has been a little wobbly the last few days, but I think I am ready now."

"Newfound confidence, eh?" Orochi smiled.

"That's the Zac we all know and love!" Akira cheered.

On second thought, I wasn't feeling a hundred percent confident. It felt like I was walking on a bunch of ball bearings! "You can do it, Zac!" I heard Akira chant. "I might even do a little rap for you as motivation!"

"N-No need," I stuttered. I looked down at the ground nervously and tried to remember my therapist's words.

"It may be scary, and you will fall on your bum several times, but once you get back up, you'll be able to feel the joy of dancing again...."

A sudden burst of inspiration hit me. "Hang in there, okay Zac? For your brother."

"Okay..." I uttered, lightly planting my foot on the floor. I slowly started applying pressure...

For a moment, the numbness returned. For a moment, the bad memories returned. I could imagine the gunman standing in front of me, pointing his gun.

My heart started beating faster. Aha! I saw you coming. I taunted in my mind, though I still felt scared.

Then I realized my friends were trying to help me. "Zac! Remember you're in the hospital with your friends." Orochi called out, but not in a way to startle me.

"The flashback is not happening!" Akira reminded me.

Right... I took a deep breath in, then out. After a few more breaths, the flashback eventually faded away. "I'm okay," I told my friends, though my voice came out as croaky. Eugh.

"Great job, bud." Orochi smiled.

"You're getting there," Akira beamed.

I gave them an awkward smile back. Fighting back was kind of tiring.... I think I'm ready for another step, I tried to urge myself.

៳

Auguste's POV

It was only a few hours, I think. But I was already getting absorbed in my thoughts just sitting in my cell the whole time. (I guess the stories about solitary confinement got me all paranoid.)

I should be at home, typing away on my computer doing accountant work. I think I missed my weekly hangout with Zac. I miss cup noodles with egg whites, salt, and pepper... Perhaps I'll remake the cell to be my bedroom. I'll pretend that the sink is the computer. The Bey collection? Uh, probably not the toilet. That could be the Beystadium. I'll make the prison food the cup noodles. It can't be that different; they're both food!

Ugh, yeah. That's how far my mind traveled. Then I snapped out of my thoughts when a policeman showed up at the steel door's tiny window. "Kaneguro. Someone wants to visit you."

Is it Zac? I perked up hopefully. Then my smile dropped when I saw the dark-haired man who sabotaged me. He had a bandage taped on his cheek.

"Leave us." he told the police, who rolled his eyes and went out of sight. "I'll bet you want an explanation for what I did." I only glared back at him. After a tiny scoff, he continued. "To be honest, I wasn't planning on doing this to you... until you said you were a phantom thief."

I felt my shock distort into fury, but I did my best to keep my composure. Last time I raised my voice, I ended up here in this small cell. Another person who's against phantom thieves...? Really, what's so bad about us?

"Remember when I told you me and my group were a bunch of vandalizers?" he mumbled so that no one could hear but me. "We are experts at sabotaging. But I was shocked that you didn't see it coming.

"Too bad you phantom thieves are really hated around here, especially since you've been active the last two years. Eh, the Beyblade world seems to accept you though. But that's besides the point. You shouldn't have revealed that you were one in the first place. That way, you wouldn't be here."

I finally found my opportunity to speak. "What do you have against us phantom thieves? We don't hurt anyone; that's against our code of honor."

"That's against our code of honor," he mocked, then snapped bitterly at me. "Last time I dealt with phantom thieves wasn't very pretty, Count Nightfell."

I thought I would never be called that ever again. My eyes widened in confusion. "How do you know my cover name? Have we met before?"

"Not exactly, but I know you." He smirked at me through the steel door's window. "I used to be a phantom thief too."

"What?"

"But I was kicked out, all because I told someone my real identity. Seriously, who cares about phantom thief rules?"

"You know that could endanger the other phantom thieves," I argued. "They would be easier to track down!"

"I was only going to show it to just one person!" the young man looked down. "I wanted her to know the real me... that I'm not just some pesky novice."

Realization came to me. "You knew Countess Cygnus?"

He glared back. "Of course you know her. After all, they told me I was going to be replaced with a new count before I left. Leaving made me relieved, but frustrated. I could finally go about without hiding behind the mask. But I wished she would join me. We could've lived a normal life together... as great friends."

Huh, does he have an interest in Countess Cygnus? I shook that thought out of my head. "So you take this out on me because I replaced you?"

"You catch on quick, I'll give you that." His eyes were filled with contempt. "Because of you, Cygnus would've probably forgotten about me. And because of that, I'll make sure your visit here is the utmost unpleasant."

"If what you say is true--that everyone hates phantom thieves and you used to be one--your stay will also be unpleasant," I roasted back.

The man chuckled to himself. "No one believes I am a former phantom thief. I was never caught for it, since I was kicked out. Also, I made sure there was no evidence that will reveal our scheme. That dark corner that you hid in had no security cameras. So you're guilty until proven innocent! Hah!"

He looked so proud of himself. One day, I'll show you... "Well, I've talked enough. Bye.~" After a sarcastic wave at my window, he moved out of my sight and vanished.

I continued to stare out the window, glaring down as if he was still standing there. Eventually, my boiling anger melted away as I wandered away from the window and continued to daydream again. Someday I'll get him back, that brat. But for now, there are more important things at hand. Well, time to get to work at the sink. I should also find a new Beyblade for that toilet.

I thought like this for what seemed like several more hours. I sat at my bed and typed away on the blankets out of boredom. I washed my hands several times (I miss my phantom thief gloves). I practiced copying several launching techniques of the top Bladers. I even managed to do a backflip and narrowly miss bonking my head on that terrible bedside.

I don't quite remember how I got to sleep.

៳

Third Person's POV

It was the evening, and Akira and Orochi said their goodbyes to Zac before having to leave the hospital. Now, they were walking together outside.

"I'm so proud of Zac," Akira admired. "Soon, he'll get back on his feet! Literally and metaphorically!"

"Let's hope he could still be a pop star even after all of this." Orochi replied as he got out a gum pack. "Want some bubble gum?"

"Ooh, sure!" Akira gladly took one from the pack and chewed away.

"Hm..." Orochi looked behind him. "How about you?"

"Who are you talking to?" Akira questioned.

A growly, pouty voice boomed from behind the two boys, making Akira retaliate in alarm. "Aw MAN, you found me!" Hyde was apparently walking behind them the whole time, wondering whether to ask for bubble gum or not.

"I could hear ya from a mile away," Orochi grinned to himself. "Aren't you Hyde? Phi's twin brother?"

"Isn't it obvious, bubble gum man?!" Hyde exclaimed.

"N-Never heard of you..." Akira stammered. He looks like he could be a hardcore rockstar!

"If only you watched the Dread Tower show!" Hyde put his hands on his hips. "For a good long while I was number one Blader in the world! How can you not hear of me?!"

Evel approached them as well. "This whole street will hear of you if you keep yelling, Hyde." he warned. He turned to the others. "Sorry, he's like this all the time."

"Is that why you have very big eyebags?" Akira chuckled nervously.

Evel stared at Akira for a moment, then told the two, "I've been planning to meet you, since you're Zac's friends. I want to discuss something."

"Are you an acquaintance of Zac's brother?" Orochi asked. Nearby, an unfamiliar stranger walked past them.

"Yes. In fact, I visited him a few days ago. But when I tried to visit him again, I was notified that he was in solitary confinement."

As Evel spoke, the stranger's eyes widened. He faced away from the others and stopped walking.

"Solitary confinement?" Akira repeated. "That can't be good..."

"That is why I want us to pitch in money to pay for his freedom." Evel concluded.

Orochi and Akira glanced at each other, then Orochi replied, "Sure, we can do that. Zac has actually been waiting for his bro to return."

"I can provide for most of it. I have a whole family fortune just waiting to be spent!" Hyde bragged.

"Can't wait to tell Zac about this!" Akira rejoiced.

"We can't tell him." Evel bluntly reminded. "Auguste specifically doesn't want Zac to pay for anything. He wants him to take it easy."

Auguste? The stranger in the background thought. He snuck away and hid behind the nearest tree. Orochi perked up when he thought he heard the bypasser's scuttling, but seeing nothing off in the background, his attention shifted back to the conversation at hand.

Akira pondered. "Oh... understandable."

"Good thing is that they can meet each other again." Orochi smiled. "That will definitely help Zac feel like himself again."

"Speaking of which, how is the sunny guy doing?" Hyde asked.

"Zac? He's startin' to walk again, but it'll take a while." Orochi responded. "He's a little unsure of himself."

"Is it trauma?" Hyde's voice softened.

"Yeah."

"Oh..." Hyde frowned. Akira looked down as he blew a bubble with his gum. "You know what he should do?"

"Hm?" Orochi and Akira looked at Hyde, who genuinely beamed back. "He should laugh more often! Laughter's the best medicine, ain't it?"

The two boys looked at him in shock. Hyde continued. "It's helped me after Phi broke my Bey!"

"Ooooooookay?" Akira shook off his confusion and grinned. "I'll be sure to tell Zac that!"

"In the meantime, we should talk about the fines." Evel intervened, getting out of his tablet. "How much will each of us pitch in?"

As the four were discussing, the stranger peeked at them from the tree while pulling out his phone. He started typing things down and searching things up. "Zac the Sunrise's brother in jail...?" he muttered to himself. "Count Nightfell is in jail too..." His eyes widened at his current discovery. "Zac's brother is a phantom thief, eh?"

Orochi suddenly turned and eyed the stranger. "I knew someone was here." The eavesdropper, a boy with sharp eyes and a blue bandana, noticed he was spotted and fled.

"Get back here, COWARD!" Hyde hollered (Akira covered his ears). "I'LL REMEMBER YOUR FACE!" But the stranger kept running, and eventually went out of sight.

"Great, someone overheard us...!" Akira panicked. "Now he knows that Zac and Count Nightfell are related!"

"I expected this to happen..." Evel closed his eyes. "Now the news will spread. There's no stopping it."

"Uh oh," Hyde scratched his head. "There goes Zac's reputation as a blading pop star." Akira glared at him. Hyde shrugged. "What?" he complained. "You want me to cry about it?"

"Uh, yeah?!" Akira huffed. Evel and Orochi gave each other uncertain glances.

៳

Zac's POV

That session that I did several hours ago went better than I expected. After taking that first step, I managed to do a few more! The first two made my leg go a bit numb again, and it still took a while to overcome my panic attacks.

But after that, I didn't really feel the numbness anymore! It was like it never existed (maybe because it never did exist).

I'm glad to have friends and fans to back me up. Now I can have a well-deserved goodnight's sleep. Ah...

...Auguste.

If only you were there...