(Part 4)

The boys baffled gasped. The log misbalancing went down as Alan tumbled. "Jump down now, Alan!!" Heber called out. Gabriel instinctively stood in middle ready to catch him however, Alan looked at the sides. "It will fall! What should I do…?" he thought in a frenzy.

The log heavily heading downwards, speed up due to Alan's weight. Immediately he skipped down one by one on the nearest log branches.

"Hurry up! It will really fall down!" Adam uttered anxious.

Jumping over the last step Alan looked at the boys who stood on the sides. "Come on, don't worry. We're all here. Just close your eyes and jump." Poseidon assured as Xavier gave his hand.

Alan at the verge of grabbing it, all of a sudden the log cracked once more and he quavered heading down with it.

"Alan!!" the boys exclaimed together.

In the brink of the moment, Kenzo clicking his tongue jumped over Xavier's shoulder. His jump as high as a jaguar's, he grabbed Alan's arm pulling him onto the ground. Alan countenance widening he stared at Kenzo bracing for the impact. Grasping Alan's head with the other hand. The two of them fell on the ground amid the middleschoolers with a huge thud.

"Captain!" Azazel called out anxiously rushing over to the two of them.

The log on the other hand treaded down the steep path lower and lower as if the path was endless. In the end the sight of the log vanished yet not even the slightest sound of its fall was heard.

Kenzo on the other hand gritted while Alan laid beside him growling in pain. "Hey, Kenzo. Wake up." Xavier dabbed his head from the back while Cassiel picked the two of them up alongside Adam's help.

The boys frightened by the sight of the falling log gulped. "If-if… if… someone were to fall? Or… if suppose Alan did fell…?" Feng whispered bewildered. Ryan stared with traumatized. "Forget body even bones won't be left intact." finished Seraph as chills went down all their spines.

Heber patting Kenzo's back called, "Captain, get up. Are you alright?" Kenzo hearing his voice which sounded hazy grabbed his head sitting up. All his surroundings swirled. "What the hell…?" he gritted in anger rubbing his back, which was scraped from the impact.

Alan sitting too rubbed his left arm which quivered in pain. Seeing the both of them awake Ezekiel breathed a sigh, "Thank goodness, you both are fine." Kenzo who was seriously pissed off on the contrary glared at Alan grave. "You multi-haired brat! Have you lost your mind or something?! Do you want to die?!" he growled in anger. Alan hearing him looked at the ground wordless.

"Now, now, it's alright. Don't get angry. It wasn't his fault." Helios interrupted as Gabriel sighed.

"Yeah, didn't I tell you before the ground under the log was wet? It could've happened to anyone of us." Cassiel added trying to dissolve the fight.

The rabbit eyeing Alan sitting with his expression blackened climbed over his shoulder. "It's alright Alan. Don't listen to him, he always scolds us. Think of him as just a mad phony," Adam consoled sarcastically, patting Alan's hairs. Ryan nodded.

However, without a single word Alan stood up grasping his gear bag, he whispered, "I am sorry for troubling you all… and thank you."

Hearing his the middleschoolers along with Kenzo eyed his back puzzled. Adam and Ryan looking at each other stood quiet. Alan walking ahead sighed grabbing his forehead. "That was dangerous…" he whispered realizing his mistake, "However, it was just as I predicted."

"He apologized instead…?" Ezekiel asked muddled.

"What was that?" Azazel added confused himself.

Kenzo grabbing his queen too stood up clicking his tongue "Tch, let's go." he treaded forward.

Seraph, Xavier and Poseidon too walked ahead. "From what I witnessed Alan didn't needed Kenzo's help in the first place. No more like, he needed no one's help." Helios told.

"What?" Feng asked as the rest halted in their steps looking at him.

Cassiel looking at the path from where the log fell nodded, "Yeah, he already knew this would happen and calculated the entire trajectory of the fall. That's the reason why he climbed up at last. He clearly knew it would fall so he stood there in case any adversity took place when we climbed. So, to sum it all up, even if Kenzo hadn't grabbed Alan. He would've jumped over in the interim pushing the log behind. And see those twines up there?" he pointed towards trees above.

The boys immediately looked up at the twines hanging down from long trees casing their surroundings.

"Those twines would've assisted him onto his landing." Cassiel ended, "Seems like we did underestimate him a lot. On the contrary he is way out of our leagues."

Kenzo hearing him glared at Alan clenching his fists. "You're joking right...?" Seraph said astounded. "Nah. I am in no mood to do so." Cassiel replied with a light grin. "No matter what ever happened to us or even to him including the fact that we are all here together now considering our circumstances. It's still a bitter fact that all thirteen of us lost to that single person before despite playing a single over or two against him." Helios recalled walking ahead.

"A boy who was left on a stranded Island with not a single bottle of water and only his brother by his side. And, the same boy who could take on a panther without an ounce of fear of the world… We are no one to judge him in any way." Xavier patted Kenzo's back, "He is just like a bullet in a loaded gun. When shot it might either fly pass you or tear you apart. Threaten you and even kill you…"

Adam hearing his words gulped, "Is he that dangerous?!"

Poseidon shaking his head grabbed Adam's hand smiling, "But if that same gun is in your hands it might defend you and ease you. It might threaten others and protect you from every harm coming your way."

Gabriel pushing Feng from behind who was tired continued, "In the end, the moral of the story is become stronger just like him. So that even if you face a falling log or a panther, you can protect yourselves and the people you care about. Since… I hate to admit it… he did this from the moment we met him."

"Yeah, he is standing on the front line, ready to shot down everything that approaches our way. A harsh responsibility on a small back…" whispered Ryan. The boys silent climbed up.

"To think I hadn't even realized something so simple? I must be a fool. Haha, he really does like us a lot hun? He just can't show it. But we only met two days ago… so how? Oh god! I am out of my thinking cells." Heber scratched his head confused.

Ezekiel thinking hard whispered serene, "If I'm right… it's his experience. The ability to judge the right and wrong in people within a split second or words. I know it… after facing so much, I do realize how he trusts us."

Remembering his past Ezekiel smiled thinking, "Maybe… he has also gone through a lot, just like I did. I wonder?" Helios looking at him nostalgic ruffled his hairs. Kenzo silent stared at the ground below.

Soon, Alan came back rushing towards Ryan who stood beside Kenzo. Ryan stepping forward helped him, "What's wrong?" The boys too looked at Alan confused. Alan panting for a while gleamed, "The rock! We've reached the rock!"

"Really!?" They uttered relieved. Alan nodded, "Yeah! Come I'll show you!" Adam grabbing both Ryan's and Alan's hand rushed forward. Stepping out of the forest after a long last, the fourteen of them stood on a rocky surface.

Before them a huge jagged boulder (up to the height of a normal six storey building) stood leading towards the flat topped mountain. "We're finally here…" whispered Feng suddenly falling into a slump in middle. Xavier grabbed him slight nervously, "What's wrong? Are you alright?" Feng rolling his eyes pointed towards the rock with soul leaving his body alongside Ezekiel, Azazel, Heber, Adam and Ryan.

"How the hell… are we going to climb that?!" Azazel uttered in disbelief

Now, that was a big and the final question. Just how in the world to get past this and see the last boss waiting on the other side of the game? The boys taking a breather sat down.

"Even if we had ropes to pull us up, it would be useless. Since, we don't have a place to tie them up." Xavier guessed looking around.

"Yeah, and the surface is jagged as well. It would've been hard to even try It." Poseidon concurred touching the rock.

"We can only climb It." Kenzo stated, "We don't have a way else than that." Helios agreed alongside Gabriel and Seraph.