Gods of Arena
Let Him Go

He opened his eyes, staring up at the ceilings. He finally woke up strong, for the first time in a week. He titled his head, slightly, and glanced at Romeo, who sat on the bed "You won't go for the spin?", Romeo asked, staring stylishly.

"Good morning", Dan said, as he raised his back and sat up. "Oh, yea. There's a spin"

"You forgot about it? What were you dreaming about?"

"Funny story", Dan said and laid back on the bed. "A bad moon rising. Kang turns evil and wipes out the Cradlands"

"What's the Cradlands?"

"It's a place outside the Cradlands. They call them Ordinary people", Dan replied. "He impaled the god of the Cradlands and beheaded the god of Shin Zhu"

"There's a god of Shin Zhu?"

"Don't ask me. I have no idea... I think it's Kang's sleeping pill working on me. I stole one from him, at the gym"

Romeo stood up. "The spin will soon begin. Come on❞

The door burst open, suddenly, startling them, as soldiers poured in with guns. A masked Larger Figure walked in, after them. "Hold your peace and stay still", he ordered. "This will be quick" "What is this? What are you doing?", Dan asked, as a soldier shoved him aside, pulling his sheets apart.

"Stay silent and let them do their job"

He stood still, staring at the Larger Figure. He could almost swear he had seen that one before, though the face was covered. Dan's eyes met with Romeo's. It was still about Todd's murder, obviously.

A soldier sprung up, pulling a small bag from Dan's bed. "Sir!", he called, as he pulled a gun out of the bag.

"Cuff him", the Larger Figure said. "You are arrested for the murder of a fellow fighter outside the Arena and you will be duly punished for the crime"

"That isn't mine!", Dan retorted, struggling with the soldiers and tugging at the cuffs. He flexed his fingers and muscles. He couldn't use his Shin Zhu. "You planted it there"

The soldiers pulled him out of the room and the Larger Figure walked after him. "He couldn't have gotten a gun from anywhere", Romeo said.

The Larger Figure turned and looked back. "It's not your business, kid"

All eyes fell on him, as he stepped out of the room. The fighters were about to join the spin, already. "Listen, Fighters! A gun was found in possession of a fellow fighter and he will be punished for it", he announced. "Whichever of you is found to be connected to the death of Todd; you will have your share of the punishment. No form of violence outside the Arena will be tolerated anymore"

****

Kang turned on the bed again. He had been up for almost an hour already. The minutes seemed to be going by in just seconds. He glanced at the second bed. It was still empty. It almost seemed like the Larger Figures were too busy to watch the hall and the fighters carefully. Probably the same reason they were finding it hard to get Todd's killer.

He turned again, facing the wall. His eyes opened widely for a second. He could almost swear he saw Jin's face for that second.... It was just the paint on the wall, peeling off... and it really didn't look anything like Jin.

He could faintly hear the announcement from the hall. The spin was about to start. "Urgh!", he grunted, as he sat up on the bed. Dan's voice echoed in his head.

*Jin didn't leave the Arena, Kang....He's dead'*

An headache struck him. He could see a hundred pictures in every blink, as he tried to get up.

*'Hello, Jin. Looks like you are making progress'* He heard another voice. It wasn't Dan's this time. *'I think I'll be the one regretting this since you are one of our bests'*

He pushed himself up from the bed, staggering and almost falling back. He was pretty dazed but he wasn't going to miss the spin. He wasn't going to hold back in any way. He had survived an unbelievably long time already. Since Jin left, all the time he had was considered a bonus. He slowly tilted his head to the right. Any sharp movement of his head would probably hurt. He glanced at his unclear face in the mirror.

He reached for the door and pressed down the handle. **Don't mind me.... Shoot him, guys'*

A picture flashed in front of his eyes. **Shoot him!**

"King", he muttered.

"I swear I didn't do this", Dan said, as he was pushed by the soldiers. Dennis followed them closely behind, with the mask still on his face.

They pushed him into a room and tied him to a chair. "Leave him with me", Dennis ordered and the soldiers left them immediately. Dennis took a step closer, staring at Dan, with his hands behind his back.

"I'm not the owner of that gun. I know nothing about it. I-"

Dennis punched him, shutting him up. "I don't want to hear you speak. Criminals never give in to their crime so I'm not expecting you to say more than you have said already"

"If you cared about the truth, you would listen to me"

"What makes you think I care about the truth?", Dennis asked. He turned his back and paced. "I am not always here. I'm usually on the Other Side- you can't know where that is- so I really didn't know much about you when I got here. I learned about your ruthlessness and I saw your mark on the body.... The mark of true brutality"

"I didn't do this"

Dennis smacked his face again. "I don't want to hear you speak. You are condemned already so I can put a bullet in your head now if I wish", he said. "Now, back to my story, the first incident of you disrupting the spin machine didn't just surprise me. Everyone was astonished. I mean, no one thought that was possible"

"That wasn't me"

"I won't warn you again, Dan..... why would you run from anyone? I mean, isn't it the same ruthless Dan? I learned about Jae too. He was equally strong so I stopped bothering myself about that... when I saw Todd's body, you were the first image in my head but we needed to be sure. The bullet in his head almost threw me off your back- I have to admit that was a great stunt- but I was too sure of my instincts"

"Your instincts are wrong, this time"

Dennis pointed his hand and a gun shaped out of his gold bracelet. "I warned you", he said and held his ear, almost immediately, like he had just heard something. "Hello?.... Is there a problem?... Alright. Give me a minute... alright" "I didn't kill Todd. This is a set-up", Dan said, weakly, thinking deeply. Someone must have had access to the room to plant the gun. It couldn't have been Romeo... Could he have killed Todd?

"I will be back for you", Dennis said and walked out, shutting the door behind him.

"Who did you arrest?", Ana asked, walking towards him. "I thought we were going to investigate Leon"

"I already did that. Leon didn't do it", Dennis said. "He knows about my secret mission so it was better to investigate privately. He didn't take the gold strap at all. I have retrieved it from the room" "I already proved Dan innocent"

"Is there something about this guy and you? This is the same aggressive and ruthless fighter, isn't-"

"How do you explain the bullet in his head? Hm? 'cause that's definitely from a gun"

"This is the proof, Ana", Dennis replied, holding out the silver colored metal. "The soldiers searched the room and found it in his possession... Not all the cameras were disrupted, that night. I checked again and he wasn't in his room.... Sorry, Ana, but every hint is pointing at this guy"

Ana glanced down and nodded slowly. "There is nothing to be sorry about... i- I just wanted justice", she muttered. "Looks like we got it"

"We got it, Ana", he smiled and patted her on the shoulder. "I should get back to my business"

She turned and walked back, staring at the silver colored gun in her hand. She had never seen one like it. At least, not in the Arena. She had never been out of there, anyway.

She walked into a lab and slammed the door behind her. She picked up a thick foam and pressed it against the tip of the gun. Her heart raced, as though expecting something shocking to happen. She closed her eyes and pulled the trigger, springing back immediately.

The door opened. "Ana?"

She looked back. "Oh.. uh", she muttered, breathing heavily.

"What was that? I heard something", Kwei said, staring at her. The obvious fear on her face said a lot. He walked in slowly and closed the door. "What's wrong? Talk to me"

"Dennis arrested a fighter. He thinks it's Todd's killer"

"Dan?"

"It's not about that", Ana said and looked at the foam. She tore it apart and pulled out the bullet. "The only proof he has is this gun"

"What if it's true, Ana? You have to let this go. It almost caused you harm, then. Don't bring it up again", Kwei said. "Your uncle will be pissed if he knows you're-"

"Look at the bullet!.... The bullet in Todd's head was golden. This one is silver.... It's not from this gone. It's from the gold strap"

Kwei stepped closer and hugged her. "Let this go, Ana.... The more you fight for him, the more you raise the suspicions. Let this go..... let him go"