"Andrew!" a low and timid voice shouted from afar.
All three boys turned to see a 5'9 man, wearing a white lab coat, short black hair but tied in a bun, he had black eyes, his eye bags were rather visible and he wore an earring in his left ear.
"What the hell was that noise!?!" He screamed, the three boys were shocked to see him, "Doctor Aiko..." Andrew muttered, he immediately hid Raine behind him as Erik stood there "I didn't expect you to arrive so early..." Andrew nervously said.
"Andrew, what did I tell you about inviting random people over!?".
"He didn't invite us, doctor…" Erik interrupted, he gulped as Doctor Aiko turned to him slowly "Ah, it's the Falkeninsel boy." He grunted, and took a step closer to him.
"Erik Zander Knox, correct?" He whispered, Erik kept his cool and was able to stand still "Yes, sir. It's great to see you again." Erik held his hand out, hoping Doctor Aiko would shake it but he just walked towards Andrew.
"Andrew, I thought you'd stop talking to Erik." The doctor sighed and crossed his arms "Sir. Erik isn’t all that bad.” Andrew furrowed his brows, he turned to Erik “Hey, you're nice, right?" Doctor Aiko scoffed and rolled his eyes, turning over to Erik. He looked at Erik's wrist and grabbed it, "It's warm… Did you use your powers again?" Doctor Aiko looked at Erik, who stayed silent from his nervousness "You can't lie to me, boy." He let go of Erik's wrist and fixed his posture "Doc, I know it's rather disrespectful to trespass… Especially in your laboratory but I seriously need Andrew right now, you see, my friend- ".
Doctor Aiko noticed something behind Andrew and immediately pushed him aside to see who it was.
"Raine...?" He asked, Raine turned to him with a shocked expression "D-Doctor Aiko!" Raine smiled and got up from his seat.
"Raine… What are you doing here?" The doctor took a step back as Raine's smile faded, "Doctor, please don't worry." Erik added while he stood between the two, "Raine is innocent. Please believe me, doc!" He pleaded, "I do not wish to be involved in any of this mess, the police are searching high and low for you, Raine." The Doctor's face looked dark, as if he didn't care that Raine, the most wanted person in Arcelia, was in front of him, "I don't care if you're innocent or not. Leave! Immediately!" He shouted. Erik still tried to convince him but Raine was too speechless to even utter a single word.
Doctor Aiko was someone who was always there for him. He was the personal doctor for Avery ever since he was little and the doctor would treat not only Avery's wounds but also Raine's.
His heart broke, seeing the man he always sought help from, shout at him and not even bother to offer aid him this time again as he's in need.
"Sir, please, if you could just listen to Erik-"
"Silence. I do not want another word coming from you." The doctor grunted.
Erik lowered his hand and looked over to Raine, he noticed how down he looked.

"Andrew, thanks for trying to help." Erik smiled and took Raine's wrist. The doctor sighed and walked over to Andrew, "You already involve yourself in so much… Andrew, I don't want you to be in any of their business. Whether you want to help or not, I do not wish for you to be hunted down by the entire city like Raine." he said sternly, putting a hand on his shoulder as Andrew watched Erik and Raine leave.
Andrew aggressively moved his shoulder away.
He clicked his tongue, “Tsk, as if you’re my dad.” He mumbled, turning away.

Outside the building, Erik let go of Raine's wrist and turned to him.
"Hey, you alright?" he rubbed the back of his neck, not knowing what to do. Raine kept his head down, preventing Erik from seeing him cry.
"You looked uncomfortable, so I just knew we had to leave."
"Why’d you do that?" Raine muttered. He clenched his fist, as tears began to pour.
"You knew that if we left, you'd never see your friend again. Why are you risking almost everything to help me? Why do you still want to defend me knowing that I might not even be innocent?!" Raine shouted as his tears continue to flow, Erik stood there, not knowing what to say. Erik had always been one to take challenges, hard or easy, he'd always take them. And yet, he didn't know how to comfort someone who was crying right in front of him.
As Raine kept crying, Erik put both his hands on Raine's shoulder, making him face him. Erik cleared his throat and looked Raine in the eye.
"I'm willing to help you, because I want to. I may not know if you're innocent or not but your friend, helped me realize something about you. I'm staying on your side, and I'm not leaving. Plus, Andrew is stubborn enough to still see me anyways." Erik smiled and Raine's tears stopped pouring, he began to smile.
"It's okay to cry. It may hurt to see and realize how the people you used to trust, turn on you and view you differently, all because of something they thought you did. But trust me, there will be better people that will help and really believe you. And hey, you do have those people anyway, don’t you? So, cheer up." Erik ruffled Raine's hair, as Raine appeared much happier. Erik smiled warmly at Raine,
"You still want that buzz cut?" Erik asked, which made Raine's eyes sparkle "But Andrew isn't here-".
"Oh, come on, getting a buzz cut isn't that hard. I know some basics to haircuts. Come on, we'll do it." Erik smiled and started to walk, with Raine following.

It had only been a few days after Prince Avery's birthday. The police were busy and had still been searching for Raine.
The Atrues family was even put on investigation, thinking that they knew where Raine was. A 17-year-old detective took on the case of the assassination. Detective Hendrix was the youngest female officers in the department. She was stubborn and tough to crack, she loved going undercover and, she was from the underground. She used to be a thief so she has the skills.
"She's still taking on cases?" Kairo asked, while sipping a cup of tea while watching the news through her bead.
"Who?" Kiyoko asked while eating her breakfast, "Lucille Hendrix, I'm surprised she's still alive and well." Kairo explained "Very funny, Kairo. Hey, it's been a while since you last talked to her right?"
"We just went our separate ways, she has a career while I…enjoy my work" she sipped her tea and wanted to change the subject, "Yeah, she does seem busy so I guess, it'll be a bother if you'll try to reach out" Kiyoko smiled. She couldn't get her mind off of Erik and Raine's visit, she was worried for the both of them and wondered what they were doing right now. Kairo noticed how distant she looked, and placed down her tea "You alright?" she asked, "I'm fine, just thinking."
"About Raine and his blonde companion?" Kairo raised a brow.
"Uhm, sort of." Kiyoko answered lowering her head.
"That blonde guy, Erik, right?" Kairo looked over to Kiyoko, who looked nervous.
"He seemed rather fond of you" She mentioned, which made Kiyoko's lips part.
"I don't think so." She chuckled nervously, "Come on! Whenever we talk about guys who are interested in you, you just turn the other way!"
"I just don't think they are interested."
"What!?! Come on! don't say that! You're cute! Who wouldn't like a cute girl?"
Kairo's compliment caught Kiyoko off guard. Although Kairo had a point, Kiyoko just didn't see herself with anyone, and she wasn't interested in a relationship yet. But it wouldn't hurt to try? Would it?
Kairo looked out the window and saw countless wanted posters with Raine's face.
"They're pretty brutal with that wanted poster." She frowned, Kiyoko also looked out the window "I just hope he's okay…" She sighed, and got up to put the plates and cups in the kitchen. Until Kairo's face lit up, as if she had an idea.
"What if..."
"Kairo, please. Not your delusions again." Kiyoko sighed.
"What if we find them? I've heard rumors of an underground city. Merchants talk about it a lot." Kairo's idea was crazy, none of them knew the underground city and how to get there, most especially, where to even look for Raine and Erik. Kiyoko thought about it for a while, before looking at Kairo.
"We'll just go there to check on them, right? Then we'll leave?" Kiyoko asked and Kairo nodded.
"When can we go?"
"The day after tomorrow, I just realized I have something to do today." Kairo chuckled nervously, Kiyoko nodded and placed the plates and cups in the sink.
Kairo stood up to stretch a bit, then grabbed her coat, "The weather has been changing a lot. Hopefully, I'll make it on time".
"Where are you going?" Kiyoko asked from the kitchen, "Out. I'll buy some things we might need." she checked her watch and grabbed her keys.

Meanwhile, Erik was busy trying to cut Raine's hair. Raine sat on a box and had a cloth covering his shoulders, he was rather excited, thinking that Erik knew what he was doing. In truth, he didn't know what he was doing.
‘I hope I'm doing this right. How do you do a buzz cut again?? Uhm, shit I should've asked Andrew before we left...’ He thought as he nervously held a pair of scissors and a comb in his hands.
He took a deep breathe, and prayed that Raine wouldn't hate it. Erik was a pro at building, planning and selling. He wanted to be an engineer of course, but an engineer wouldn't know how to cut hair. According to his book, he didn't even know how to cut his own hair.
"You ready?" Erik asked, "Ready!" Raine responded, which made Erik more nervous. He slowly closed an eye, as he lowered his hand to Raine's hair.
"Woah there, you aren't supposed to close either of your eyes when giving someone a haircut." Someone said as he chuckled lightly, Erik turned around to see Andrew leaning against the wall, smiling.
"Andrew!" Erik smiled and Raine turned to see Andrew, "Wow, miss me already?"
"I thought Doctor Aiko wouldn't let us near you?" Raine mentioned "Never mind that." he winked, Erik smiled and stepped aside to let Andrew continue what he started.
“I’m still only doing this for the money.” Andrew said and pulled out an electric razor, being all sweet wasn’t his forte. When he truly cares though, it clearly shows through his actions.
Both chuckled lightly, "Thank you." Erik mumbled and watched.