Glitch's POV

Choco, Cook, and I made our way through the crowds until we were near the stage. There were bots guarding the side entrance.

"How do we get inside?" I whispered, still in the cover of the crowds.

Choco thought for a second. She looked like she was about to yell something, but stopped. "They'll recognize my voice. Cook, yell 'someone brought a bomb.'"

"What? That'll cause mass panic!" Cook exclaimed. He lowered his voice. "Did Mom and Dad teach you nothing?"

Choco's face hardened. I looked back and forth between the two of them.

"If it'll get us past the guards, it's what we need," Choco said. "Now yell it."

"I have a better idea." Cook walked out of the crowd before we could stop him.

He strolled up to the two guards that were guarding the entrance to the stage. He nodded at them and tried to walk past.

The bots hovered into his path. "This is a restricted area. Turn around now."

"You can't make me!" Cook ran past them. The bots chased him. A few seconds later, Cook ran back out of the stage and into the crowd. The bots were still chasing after him.

"Now!" Choco whispered. The two of us ran backstage.

Luckily, there was no one else backstage. We immediately found the computer and ran over to it.

"Alright," Choco said. "Do your thing."

I cracked my knuckles. I then started typing really fast on the keyboard. After a few seconds, I said "I'm in" in a dramatic voice.

Choco didn't laugh. I don't think she even heard what I said. I sighed and started actually hacking into the computer.

***

Naomi's POV

Leo and I stood in line to get an autograph from Rebel. I could tell Leo was starting to get impatient, as he kept fidgeting.

"Would you relax? We're almost there," I whispered to him.

Leo groaned.

"What should we do when we get to her?" I asked.

"Say 'it's us,' grab her, and run," Leo answered simply.

"We're gonna get attacked by bots," I pointed out.

"That's what this is for." He opened his tool belt to reveal the pistol Hood gave him inside.

I nodded. "Okay. This better work."

"It will," Leo replied.

***

Rebel's POV

"Rebel! We're your biggest fans!"

"We can't wait for you to cohost with Todd!"

"I love your dress!"

"The way you won your Games was amazing! I wish I could use a sword like that!"

I smiled and acknowledged all the fans as I signed autographs one by one. It wasn't tiring in the slightest. I felt exhilarated. The adrenaline was keeping me going, I was all smiles and having such a good time.

Something in the back of my mind was nudging me as I signed the autographs, but I ignored it. I was having too much fun to pay attention to it.

I'm getting good at my signature, I thought to myself as I continued interacting with my fans.

"I bet you'll be an even better host than Todd!"

"You're so amazing, Rebel!"

"We love you!"

"Rebel. We need to go."

That last statement confused me, so I looked up at the speaker.

Leo and Naomi were looking at me keenly.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked.

"We're here to recuse you. Let's go," Leo replied.

I looked to my left, where some bots were supervising me. They were too far away to hear, and they currently didn't suspect a thing. But that could change in a few seconds.

"Hurry up before we get caught," Leo urged.

"No," I whispered.

"What?"

"No," I repeated firmly.

"Rebel, we can get you out of here. We know Todd is holding you against your will," Naomi said. "So we're here to save you."

Thoughts were rushing through my head faster than the speed of light. I couldn't process them all. But what I did know was that I didn't want to leave.

"It's not against my will," I croaked. "I want to do this."

"Rebel." Naomi was looking me in the eyes, a sad expression on her face. "Please. We can't stop him without you."

I shook my head. "I'm sorry. I can't."

"Alright, he must have her on drugs or something," Leo said impatiently. "I'm carrying her out of here." He stepped forward, aiming to pick me up.

I instinctively jumped backwards. "Bots!"

The nearby bots flew over to the scene.

"Rebel, don't—"

"It's Leo and Naomi! Wanted criminals!" I shouted.

The bots rushed forward to take custody of the two. Naomi didn't resist, she just stared at me, betrayal on her face. Leo, however, pulled out some sort of pistol and shot the two bots, shutting them down instantly. But, more bots heard the commotion and began charging at Leo and Naomi. The citizens started running away in terror.

"Rebel! Are you alright? Are you hurt?" I turned to see Todd standing next to me, looking at me with concern.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," I mumbled.

"Good," Todd said. "Let's get you somewhere safe."

A couple bots hovered over to me and ushered me backstage. I complied, giving one last look at Leo and Naomi, who were fighting for their lives against bots.

***

Choco's POV

"Are you done yet?" I asked impatiently.

Glitch sighed. "Locating the exact signal of his ankle bracelet is difficult. There are tons of electronic devices in this area giving off signal."

"Should I go tell him to stand still?"

"That's not how it works," Glitch replied. "Just...let me work. Please."

I nodded and walked away. I was surprised no other bots had entered backstage. I looked around the area.

My eyes fell on a blue blade leaning against the wall. I looked at it closer. "Isn't this Rebel's?" I muttered. Glitch either didn't hear me or didn't care.

I took the sword, just in case. If Naomi and Leo were gonna get Rebel out, she would probably want her sword.

I put the sword away and took out the weapon Hood had given me. I admired the sleekness of the black stick, then snapped it into its two halves. Electricity crackled on each end. I grinned and practiced swinging it.

"Got it," Glitch said after a couple minutes. He pressed a few more keys on the computer. "The ankle bracelet should be deactivated now. We can get him out of the Square without the bots being alerted."

"Cool," I said. "Let's get Cook and get out of here."

As soon as I said that, people entered the room from the other side. I whirled around to see Rebel being escorted by two bots.

"Rebel!" I shouted happily. I charged at the bots, who fired at me. I slid under their lasers and whacked the first one with my nunchuck. The robot short circuited.

I set my sights on the other bot, but a spear flew through the air and stabbed it through the head, killing it. Glitch walked over, whistling, and picked the spear up. "Like our new weapons?"

Rebel didn't answer him. Instead, she shouted "Help! More wanted criminals!"

"What the hell?" I asked. I pointed my weapon at Rebel's throat, electricity crackling menacingly. "You traitor."

Rebel gulped. "I...I'm sorry."

A bunch of bots burst into the room and began firing their lasers at Glitch and I. We had to dive away from Rebel to avoid getting killed. She backed away from the fight.

The bots surrounded us. Glitch and I looked at each other, nodded, then began defending ourselves from the bot attacks.

***

Leo's POV

"I knew she was a traitor!" I shouted as Naomi and I fought back against the bots.

"You don't know that!" Naomi shouted back. She was firing the arrows Hood gave her into the bots, burning out their circuits.

"She called the bots on us, Naomi!" I yelled, firing my magnetic wave pistol at a bot that was coming too close. "Let's just get out of here!"

I started shooting my way through the endless waves of bots, trying to make it to the exit. But there were so many bots, I could barely get anywhere.

Naomi and I ended up below the stage that Todd and Rebel had been on earlier. I didn't know where all the citizens went. They must have been evacuated out of the Square.

As we were walking backwards, firing our pistol and bow and arrows, we bumped into two other people. I turned around, ready to shoot whoever it was. But it was Choco and Glitch.

"Sup," Glitch said.

I didn't reply and went back to killing bots. Glitch and Choco were doing the same with the weapons Hood gave them. The four of us stood back to back in a circle, killing all the bots that came near us.

"Enough!" a voice boomed.

The bots stopped attacking us, but they still surrounded us, weapons aimed at our heads. There were at least a hundred of them.

Todd walked out onto stage, a big grin on his face. "Ah, I knew you four would be back! Couldn't live without me, huh?" His voice was amplified by a hidden microphone.

I pointed my pistol at his head. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't shoot your head off right now."

"I can give you several," Todd replied. "One, that would be rude."

Glitch snorted. The three of us glared at him. "Sorry. That was funny."

"Two, if you kill me, the bots will kill you," Todd continued. "And three, that's a magnetic wave pistol, so it won't have any effect on me. It can only kill my poor Radish bots."

I scowled at Todd, knowing he was right.

"Anyway," Todd said. "As you all noticed, Rebel is on my side now. So coming back to rescue her was pointless."

I saw movement behind Todd, and realized Rebel was backstage, watching through the gap in the curtains.

"And now, for causing a disturbance in the great Radish Festival, the four of you will die," Todd said casually.

Choco scoffed. "At the hands of these bots? We can easily take all of them and win."

"Oh, I know you can," Todd replied. "That's why I brought back your old friend." He snapped his fingers, and a giant, insect-like robot rolled up onto the stage. It roared a metallic roar.

"Dammit," I muttered.

"Roll missed you! And I will miss you as well!" Todd shouted. He turned to the giant bot and issued a command.

"Kill them."

~~~~~~~~~~

i think it's funny that none of the victors are even reading this book anymore

actually who am I kidding, nobody is reading this book in general

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to vote, comment, and follow!

~Radishologist