The sunlight glittered frantically over the city of Bayside, chasing away the cover of night as the city made its transition from night into day. Young Matthew was still asleep and the dancing rays of light bouncing throughout his room as the sun rose to its full glory weren't really all that welcomed by him. The rays attacked the boy's face mercilessly in an attempt to awake him from his slumber. The room was practically silent, with an almost inaudible noise coming from his room's air conditioning unit. Matthew frowned in his sleep and turned from his back to his stomach, sinking his face into his pillow, in an attempt to defend himself from the attack of the rays which were bothering his sleep. This irritated himse greatly as it really wasn't the sunlight's job to wake him up, it was his mother's.
"Mattheeeeew! Breakfast is ready!" The peace and quiet that Matthew had come to cherish was suddenly chased away as his mother yelled his name.
Matthew grunted at his mother's scream. Groaning as he turned to his side for a while until he fully transitioned to his back once again. It took him a minute to find that much needed motivation to get out of bed, but he managed to at least get his upper body out of the covers. Matthew laid back on his white king-size bed's shiny silver backboard, he stared across the room, still intoxicated from a long night's rest. He was clearly struggling to fully wake up, but that had become a norm for him at this point. His mind was in a complete blank state at the moment, like most young men his age in the wee hours of the morning and in a way, Matthew was still in sleep mode. Matthew managed to form a slight smile upon noticing how the sun always lit up everything in his room, from the television, to the furniture, it all looked like something out of a movie. Oh, and who could forget Matthew's wavy blond hair, but at the moment it was more like a scruffy case of bed head.
Matthew finally got up from his bed, pulling off a zombie-like walk towards the bathroom, rubbing his eyes as he got there in an attempt to massage the sleep out of them. He removed his white Melvin Klein undershirt and his black Wolo undies, walking into the bathroom. Matthew took a while showering, and it was to be expected because not only did he enjoy bathing, but when that hot water connected with his skin on a chilly morning, man it felt like heaven. Who could ask for more? Literally.
Matthew had turned eighteen the day before, legal age baby, but it wasn't like he cared much, neither had he done much to celebrate it. He simply spent the day with his mother, ate some cake and went to sleep. Matthew wasn't really the most social kid on the block, nor was he the most popular. He was definitely outgoing and charismatic, but no one ever paid much attention to him, so he didn't really have any close friends to hangout with. Especially as an only child. This meant that Matthew was usually a loner for most of the day, and his most prominent company was his own mother whenever she was around the house.
While Matthew showered, his mother Leah finished plating his breakfast, and while she waited for Matthew to finish, she started to search for something. In such a big kitchen, it looked like she could've been sifting out the area for any random thing, but no, this was different. This was a gift, a gift her husband had planned to give to Matthew once he turned eighteen. Leah made her way through the kitchen, her slippers making a faint squeaking melody on the white floor tiles, she walked all the way to a table located near a stainless glass backdoor. Under the dark blue mahogany table sat a gift box, and beside the gift box, was a letter signed and written by Matthew's father.
"If you're reading this, honey, it's because Matthew finally turned eighteen, and I am no longer with you two. Inside this gift will change Matthew's life forever. As we talked before I passed, eighteen is the year for Matthew to take the role I once possessed, for the greater good. I love you two from the bottom of my heart, Andrew O-Zero."
Leah read the letter out loud, her eyes quickly watered, and it was impossible for her not to shed tears after doing so, which was followed by a scene of waterworks.. A tear trickled down her cheek, letting loose on the letter. Leah didn't want to ruin her husband's gift, so she wiped her face with a clean white towel and slowly changed her depressively broken expression to a small but yet phoney smile. Her heart was in a very difficult position, not only about her husband, but also her only son. She had to watch her son, Matthew, who would adventure and possibly go down the same path Andrew went, without her really having a choice in the matter. She didn't want to see her boy go, but she had to fulfill her promise. The only thing she hoped, was for Matthew to be successful, so his faith wouldn't follow the demise of her husband.
Leah had very mixed emotions on the situation at hand, she really didn't want to expose her son like that, but at the same time, there was simply so much on the line. Every nerve in her body began to act up, her hands shaking in fear as she pondered on making the right decision, one in which she would emotionally protect Matthew from everything she was feeling, she knew he could be rash at times and his reactions were not ones to be easily predicted at that. Leah folded the letter and placed it down on the table, she figured it would be better if she told Matthew about the situation with her own words, rather than having him read his father's letter.
When he'd finally finished showering, Matthew got out of the shower and dried himself off, moving onto drying, he started to search for his clothes.
Matthew opened his wooden closet, and took out a black suit, a red tie and a white shirt. He didn't usually leave for school like this, as this wasn't the school's uniform, but they had a special event today involving colleges, so they had to wear formal attire. After Matthew put the entire suit on, he took out a pair of black cleats and some black no show socks and put them on as well. Before heading downstairs, he walked over to the mirror in his bathroom, applied a hair lotion, and started brushing his hair so it would look smooth and wavy. He placed the brush down once he was done, and started fixing his dark brown eyebrows, tilting forward as he continued to use the mirror for help. In the mirror could also be seen his sparkling green eyes, which definitely popped out of his light pink skin.
Matthew finished getting ready and went downstairs to eat his breakfast. As normal, it was served on the dining table. Matthew walked over to his mom and gave her a kiss on the cheek to thank her for breakfast as always and sat down to start eating the perfecting-looking pancakes on the plate. Beside the plate was a honey bottle, which Leah always placed for Matthew on the table, but he didn't always tend to use it. It didn't look like he was going to be using it today either.
Leah walked out of the kitchen and spotted her son finally eating breakfast at the dining table. She slowly made her way to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"I have a gift for you, sweetie! I'll give it to you after you finish your meal," Leah told Matthew with a natural sweet voice, which perfectly matched the look of Matthew's mother. Leah was of a short and slender build, with blonde hair and the same green eyes Matthew had, with small lips and a button nose. Leah was cute-looking overall, she definitely didn't look forty.
"Alright, mom," Matthew responded after finishing a bite of food. He continued eating at the same pace as before, it was clear that Matthew didn't really think much of the gift.
It took him a couple of minutes, but Matthew finished the pancakes, he had actually used the honey this time as well. Matthew only tended to eat his pancakes with honey whenever he expected to have a good day, nothing special to it, he just liked doing it whenever he felt positive.
He got up from his chair and walked over to his mother in the kitchen. She was holding a gift box, and with a very bright smile, she extended her arms towards Matthew, holding the gift. Matthew grabbed the gift box and smiled back at her. He opened the box and took a peek inside.
Inside was an old, dirty and clearly used funny-looking gun. It was supposed to be light gray with a couple of blue marks, but it looked more brown than anything because of how rusty it was. Matthew gently grabbed the gun and pulled it out of the box, the smell that came out with it was rather interesting, but an interesting leaning more to a bad type of smell. It smelled old and dirty, so two very bad combinations.
With the gun now in his hand, Matthew examined it a lot closer, and noticed a couple of peculiar things that normal guns didn't have. Firstly, it was marked. "DTU-76" was spelled on the side, Matthew just assumed this was the name of the model, still, there was something oddly familiar about that group of letters and numbers to him. Secondly, there was like a combination lock on the other side of the gun. It looked funny as it didn't really look like it locked the gun at all, and also, the combination wasn't only numbers, but also letters. Matthew wondered what exactly was the purpose of this. Thirdly, and lastly, Matthew noticed the gun had nowhere to load a charger, nor bullets in, instead it had an empty transparent ball sticking out from the top, much like some water guns do, where the liquid is supposed to be stored.
Matthew tried to think what exactly this gift was supposed to be as he kept looking at the gun left and right. After some time he would look back at his mother, raising one of his eyebrows and frowning with the other, trying to get his mother to explain what he was holding.
"That's your father's space gun. Don't you remember? The DTU-76?"
"Ooooohhh!" Matthew's mouth opened as he started to vaguely remember the little memories he had of his father. He was able to recall moments in which his father would show him that exact same space gun, and tried to explain how it worked to him. Matthew was three years old at the time though, which is why not only did he struggle to remember, but he could barely understand what his father had told him about the gun.
"What exactly am I supposed to do with this?" Matthew asked his mother with a curious look.
"Your father told me to give it to ya once you turned eighteen. He said that the gun would make you the next savior of the multiverse." Leah responded.
"Which means?"
"Which means you'll now have to do your dad's old work. You know, fixing the cracks and alterations in reality. The stuff he always used to talk about." Leah repeated herself. She struggled to keep a straight smile and a positive stance for her son, even though she was totally against sending her clearly not ready son to battle the multiverse. Sadly, she knew better than anyone, that if Matthew wasn't going to embark on the journey of saving everything and everyone, no one else would. The fate of the multiverse supposedly lied on the hands of this moment.
Matthew looked down at the space gun on his hand, he looked at it rather confused, not because he didn't understand it, that doubt had already been cleared, but because he did not understand why a senior highschool student like him had to suddenly go and save the multiverse, without even graduating first. A very awkward silence filled the kitchen those moments in which Leah tried to stay positive, and Matthew tried to assimilate what was unfolding in front of him.
"Um, I don't... I don't even think I know how to use this," Matthew told his mother, gesturing with the DTU-76.
"Let's clean it up first. The gun might not even work in that state," Leah responded. Matthew handed Leah the space gun, and she softly washed it with a weak stream of water and a small towel. After, she dried it off with a bigger towel, and the gun's terrible appearance and smell were gone. The DTU still looked rusty in some areas, but for the most part, it looked like a usable gun.
Leah handed Matthew the gun again, noticing Matthew was eyeing her and the gun repeatedly with a confused look on his face, it was clear he didn't understand much of anything. She knew this was going to happen, especially considering that she knew that Matthew had not completely matured just yet. She decided to throw him a lifeline.
"Go to school, sweetie. I'll tell you more once you get back."
"Alright mom, take care," Matthew said as he kissed her mother goodbye and headed for the door. He opened the front door, which revealed, once more, the powerful sun and the light blue sky. Matthew placed both hands on his pockets, still carrying the space gun with him on his right hand, but had completely forgotten he was holding it.
As Matthew made its way out of the front yard, the door of the house in front of his opened, and a girl came out. This girl was Maddison Brook, Matthew's front neighbor and classmate for the last 6 years. Matthew couldn't help but gaze over at Maddison, she was wearing a pretty short light blue skirt, and a white shirt accompanied by a tiny red tie and a dark blue mini suit. The great sunlight made her beige face and luscious legs shine.
Matthew fixed his eyes on her class and figure for a bit, he had always crushed on Maddison deeply, but despite them leaving a street apart, Maddison had never really looked at Matthew with those same eyes. They had always been friends, but not much else.
Matthew walked all the way to the end of his property, and right before the street that separated his house with Maddison's. He took his right hand out of his pocket, still holding the space gun, and waved at her. Matthew's secret love for Maddison made him dumb, his mind was completely centered on her, completely ignoring the fact he was holding a gun out in public.
"Hey Maddie! Nice morning, right?" Matthew asked.
"Yeah, for sure Matty. Seems like it's going to be a good day," Maddison answered as she walked over to him, crossing the empty road. While she was walking towards him, she noticed the gun in his hand. Her face rapidly became curious and confused, she never thought she'd see Matthew holding a gun, ever.
"What's that on your hand?" She asked.
"Oh, this?" Matthew looked over to his right hand and saw that he was still holding the space gun. This made him blush a little, feeling that embarrassment feeling on his stomach, and the fact that Maddison was now near him made his heart race a little. He got even more red and his right hand started shaking timidly. Matthew bit his lower lip and tried to play it cool.
"Oh, this is just a gun. You know, gotta protect myself from danger," Matthew answered as he gestured with the gun, pretending to act smooth and relaxed but his hands were still clearly shaking. In one of the hand movements with the space gun, his finger shook a little too much, and it pulled the trigger of the gun. The empty ball of the gun quickly filled up with a green liquid, and a green blast was fired. The blast missed Maddison, but instead created a green portal, which suddenly sucked her in.
Matthew stood there, shaking even more than was before. What had he just done? He stared at the portal, trying to figure out with whatever knowledge he had in his head, about what he could possibly do to correct his mistake. Nothing came to mind, and all he could think about was Maddison, so he jumped inside the portal to save her. A few moments later, the portal closed, and the two kids disappeared, leaving nothing behind.