The Run

The Run is the ninth episode of the first season of Meta Runner.

Synopsis
Stakes are high as Tari and MD-5 make their way up The Mountain in Tempest. Will they be able to defeat this group of mysterious assailants in time to execute the glitch?

Plot
Picking up from the last episode, MD-5 prepares to face off with the elite team, Masa taking point while the others flank the support members. The three get separated by a spell blast, leaving Tari to face one member while Theo and Lamar go against another two. The two use their Orochi Formation maneuver - combining Lamar's super speed and Theo's magic bolts - to take down one member before Theo heads off to help Tari.

Cornered, Tari is almost finished off before Theo takes the blow for her, ejecting him from the game. An enraged Tari harnesses her abilities and puts down her opponent before helping Lamar take down his own. The final enemy retreats and the team takes a moment to assure Tari she's pulling her weight before they resume attempting to pull off the glitch. Back in the real world, we see the enemy member was Belle, who recognizes Masa. Lucks calls and reminds her to take out Tari.

MD-5 manages to climb to the top of the mountain and prepare to do the glitch when Belle arrives, taking out Lamar. Masa attempts to reason, but Belle refusing, revealing he was once a TAS Corp. team captain who was decommissioned a year back for hacking Lucks' private servers out of the belief he killed Lucinia. Tari and Masa engage Belle and seem to gain the upper hand, only for Belle to trap Tari beneath a column and overload Masa's Meta Runner arm before taking him out.

Just as Lucks sees Belle pin down Tari easily and is about to give the order to kill her, she shuts off communications with him just so she could have an uninterrupted interrogation with her, much to the chagrin of Lucks.

Main Characters

 * Tari
 * Theo

Supporting Characters

 * Masa Shimamoto
 * Lamar Williams
 * Belle Fontiere
 * Lucks

Running Gags
This episode, like the rest of season one, is named after a video game term. In this case it is named after a speedrunning term referring to a run though of a video game that has gone near perfectly.