Being in charge is a position that many people would like to have and only a few manage to possess.

Feeling relaxed, ordering others around, producing profits without having to make much effort and best of all: forgetting about problems.

This is the ideal lifestyle for certain individuals, such as Reginald Copperbottom, as he was always used to leading without working and hoped to continue doing so.

Sure, temporarily of course since technically he is not the current leader of the Toppat Clan, however his role as second in command was in the duty of assuming responsibility since the true leader of the organization disappeared without a trace, and so far there are no clues as to his whereabouts; this has caused a decrease in morale among several of its members, from the most illustrious to the low-ranking ones.

Of course, this doesn't imply that the clan is in crisis. No serious losses were recorded at a general level and its activities are carried out as usual; besides, Reginald missed his old position and plans to make the most of it until the boss returns.

That is… if he returns.

Any kind of thought Reginald had in mind was paused when his cell phone starts to ring. He immediately takes out the phone to answer the call.

"Yes, hello?" Copperbottom says nonchalantly, but suddenly his relaxed expression changes to one of astonishment when he recognized the voice coming from the other end of the phone. "Henry? Where are you?"

The mere mention of the missing leader caught the attention of some members who were with Reginald in the cockpit of the aircraft, although they couldn't hear the conversation. Meanwhile, the mustachioed man only limited himself to listening and nodding to all the information that Henry was giving him – from his location to the person accompanying him – so that they could go to his aid.

"Yeah… uh, it's going to take us a while to get there. In the meantime, you… I mean… you guys get into safety. I'll call you when we're close."

That was all Henry heard as Ellie returned from standing guard inside the office where they remained hidden.

"Well? What did he say to you?" The redheaded woman asks. Henry gave a thumbs up confirming that they were going to be rescued.

"Cool. Now we just have to be patient and wait." So they both fell silent. After twenty-seven seconds, Ellie spoke again.

"So… where do you know your contact from?"

To answer the question, Henry gives a rundown of his previous adventures, mentioning every decision made during the development of said episodes in his life. He didn't go into all the details about it because he was afraid it would confuse his friend, not even he can understand it.

Such actions were enough for the Army, under the direction of Captain Hubert Galeforce, to recruit him – not to say taken from the comfort of his home against his will – as they felt that his stealth skills would be of great use to the mission at hand.

The objective was to infiltrate an airship belonging to the infamous Toppat Clan by any means possible. In exchange for his services, Galeforce promised him a presidential pass where all his criminal and penal records would be permanently erased; in this way he would be a totally free man. Henry didn't need to say that he accepted the deal.

With his experience in taking extreme measures, Stickmin narrated how he stormed the airship with a huge hamster ball (it wasn't a joke, they literally put him in that thing) and from there he went around the place after the then leader of the Toppats – Reginald – having to overcome multiple obstacles, including defeating his lieutenant: Right Hand Man.

Ellie paused asking if that was his name, to which Henry answered with a 'yes' because no one knew what his real name was, not even the Toppat leader.

Speaking of him. Henry mentions the precise moment where he finally caught the elusive Toppat in the hangar and opened the doors to hand him over to the Army. However, before anything else happens Copperbottom proposed to give him control of the aircraft, which meant giving him leadership of the clan.

Such an offer couldn't be taken lightly for all the reasons it entailed, but if he accepted he would always be a criminal and would be wanted for the rest of his life. A serious dilemma that would make anyone doubt, however Henry was not just anyone and his decisions were firm.

Taking two nearby mannequins, to which he placed a top hat on one of them, he threw them out of the ship thus mocking the military and being proclaimed as the new leader of the Toppat Clan.

It took Henry exactly an hour to tell his story, to which Ellie let out a whistle of astonishment after having listened carefully.

"And to think that all this time we have known each other I was next to the leader of the Toppats without realizing it… you're very impressive."

Henry made a gesture with his hand as if to say 'It's nothing'. He wasn't very fond of applause despite his status as leader of the most dangerous criminal group in the world.

"But there is one thing I cannot understand…" Ellie comments again. "If you are the leader of the Toppat Clan, then why did they let The Wall capture you?"

Before he can say a word, the cell phone of former guard Kyle Baxter starts ringing, so Henry rushes to answer.

"We're here, Henry," Reginald said. "Give us your location."

Based on the information his boss provides, the airship's control panel detects them in…

"The cafeteria… yes, I've found you. Alright, how do you want us to proceed?"

Excellent detail that Henry didn't take into account. He and his ally look back at the room full of tables and chairs where the guards were enjoying lunch. They couldn't get to the ship on their own.

"Hmm… if only we had some extra help to get out of the complex…" Ellie says to herself as she assesses the situation. Suddenly something comes to mind.

"You don't happen to have, I don't know, people positioned in this place, do you?"

Now that she mentions it, Henry just remembered that he has clan members infiltrated in strategic places – including inside the Wall facilities – and mentions it to Ellie.

"Excellent! I have an idea." The redhead explains her plan in the ear of the Toppat leader who takes the cell phone again to transmit his orders to Reginald.

Willie Wagner was putting a spoonful of his food in his mouth when he turns to look at his coworker's half-empty tray.

"Do you want some?" The newest member of The Wall offers a bit of his lunch to the blonde sitting next to him. Nadia Merakova glances at the brown-haired man's food which consisted of mashed potatoes, cooked beans and a turkey leg baked in its juice.

"You do know what that thing can do to your intestines, right?" The woman asks referring to the poultry meat. Neither of them, not even the guards gathered around them, noticed the red capsule-shaped projectile with a drill that shot towards them, causing destruction in the place.

Three men with hats emerge from the metal structure. These are Ahnoldt Scwarz, Wilhem Krieghaus and 'Shureshot' Sherman; all of them were selected to get Henry and Ellie out.

"Come on Henry! Let's go!" Scwarz said in his thunderous voice. "You must get into the airship!"

Quickly the clan leader and his ally abandon their hiding place, covering their heads with their hands to avoid being hit by the crossfire on course. Luckily the guards were being decimated thanks to the marksmanship of Sureshot as well as Krieghaus; some of the Wall's tried to shoot at the escaped convicts, but were shot down by an unexpected figure from their ranks.

"It's not what you're thinking!" Wallace Pemberton exclaimed as he and Gordon Smith (who joins him after being abruptly awakened from his sleep by the impact of the capsule) counterattack the Wall's guards. "We're not betraying you! We've never worked for you!"

Once safely with the rescue party, Ahnoldt hands Henry a transport he hadn't seen since his raid to steal the Tunisian Diamond: his modified motorized skateboard.

"Here, use this."

The idea was for Henry and Ellie to use the skateboard to jump from their position to the entrance of the ship. However, the redheaded woman realices that the stretch might not be enough for the Toppat leader to maneuver.

"We're going to need more space. Can you clear the way for Henry and I to get to the roof?"

"Sure, miss!" Wallace says confidently. "Leave it to us and you just take care of getting into the airship."

"Very well. But hurry up," the Toppat with Austrian accent begins to warn. "It won't take long before The Wall sends more people and surrounds us, if not kills us. Good luck to all of you."

With a military salute, the Toppats say goodbye before each one continues with the escape stage of the complex.

Later, Henry and Ellie, riding the skateboard, arrived at the helipad (and the only one) of The Wall thanks to the efforts of their companions who were already returning to the ship. For now, the leader Toppat only has his sights forward while driving his means of transport.

Neither the height, nor even the two guards who were positioned on the helipad, would stop them in the last stretch of their escape to freedom; of course, the moment to achieve it had to be precise and they wouldn't make it without first seeing the airship up close.

Just as they approached the edge of the building, the enormous red aerial machine peeks out from below.

This was the moment that the fugitives needed to take advantage of.

"NOW!"

Henry accelerates the skateboard engine to the maximum, carrying out the most radical jump ever made in existence. From afar – and the astonished looks of the guards who did nothing to stop them – a cyan dot with two individuals on board rises through the air towards the emblematic transport of the Toppat Clan in an act that defies Physics.

At the highest point, Henry and Ellie leave the skateboard, sliding with all their strength to land safely on the metal structure; unfortunately, they were separated by just a few centimeters that didn't allow them to hold on to the airship.

When it was thought that it would be all for the fugitives, someone appears to hold them both by the hands.

"I've got you!"

It was none other than Reginald Copperbottom. Without wasting any more time, he helps his leader and the redhead lady to climb up immediately, thus ensuring the rescue mission.

"That was a close one…" Ellie said, catching her breath after the terrible scare she and Henry had. "… Mr. Copperbottom, thank you very much. If it weren't for you, we would surely be dead by now…"

"Don't thank me," replied the Lieutenant Toppat, "it's good that I was there at the last moment."

"Yes… it was good that you appeared at the last moment…" Ellie repeated.

As the woman walks a few steps away from the edge, Henry takes his time to fully compose himself. The maneuver was too risky, and it almost cost them their lives, although it turned out as unexpected; now the clan leader needed a nice hot bath and a comforting nap, tomorrow he would introduce Ellie Rose as the newest member of the Toppats.

Speaking of her, Henry Stickmin began to strongly consider granting her a rank for her support during the escape from The Wall. Of course, he must first consult her but he was sure that Ellie would accept it without hesitation.

Suddenly a muffled noise was heard in the air, and Henry felt a terrible sensation that forced him to get on his knees. Without having any idea how it happened, the clan leader checked his abdomen only to find it was pierced by something. A bullet to be specific.

Bringing his left hand up in a poor attempt to cushion the pain, Henry looks up discovering the cause of this attack: a silencer pistol whose trigger was recently pressed by Reginald.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" A horrified Ellie exclaimed at the scene, yet she could do nothing to stop him because the mustachioed man hits her in the temple with the gun, knocking her to the ground.

"Preventing a common criminal from taking advantage of the situation to eliminate our beloved leader by throwing him off the ship and taking control of the clan," Copperbottom simply said coldly, placing the gun with his gloved hand on Ellie's palm. "Sadly, I couldn't get there in time."

With that, Reginald turns his gaze to the hurt and defenseless Henry, who apparently couldn't process in his mind what was happening to him at the moment. Just like a predator with its prey, he approaches his superior.

"You didn't think I was really going to let you into the ship, did you?" Reginald Copperbottom allows himself to laugh maliciously. "You see, without you I will be the leader of the clan again.

I just wanted to look into your eyes while you watch me take all back again. Goodbye."

Reginald mercilessly pushes Henry backwards and out of the aircraft with the sole of his shoe, letting gravity do its thing. Poor Stickmin had several mixed feelings as he falls without anyone hearing his scream.

He should have assumed that Reginald Copperbottom would do something like this. He was foolish to believe that a double-minded man would swear loyalty to him when in reality all he cared about was keeping the power for himself; now Henry was paying the price for his excessive trust.

To make matters worse, he had taken his new ally and friend out of one prison only to drop her into another. The image of an unconscious Ellie next to that wretch was the last thing that came to Henry's mind before his body made contact with the icy sea waters wich soon would be his grave.

RANK UNLOCKED: BETRAYED

Author's Notes:

IT'S ALIVE! IT'S ALIVE! THEY SAID THIS STORY WAS DEAD, BUT IT WASN'T!

IT'S BACK!

...

Well, joking aside... I have no excuse to justify having stopped updating the fic for so long. I had to focus on finishing a thesis project to obtain my special degree that was on hold since 2022 and finish it before last year while I was practicing my trade because otherwise everything I advanced would have gone down the drain.

Thank God (and my Mom's encouragement) I managed to finish the specialty and I'm still working, but the last few months have taken up my time and I also entered a stage where writing fanfics no longer caught my attention until now. That said, I offer a thousand apologies to the readers for making them wait more than a year; I really appreciate your understanding, and for those who haven't read the fic yet, I also appreciate your understanding.

I don't promise much but I will do my best to continue finishing the story, as well as many other projects that I have in mind to develop and I put aside to focus on the duties of my surroundings.

Now, back to the plot, I chose to adapt this ending first because it was tragic enough to catch my attention despite not liking it that much; however, Puffballs United was such a good person to design multiple endings for 'Running from the Complex' that most people liked it and I don't need to say what the next path that Henry will take with our favorite redhead will be.

Stay tuned for the next post.