A day has passed since the death of Tommy's and Oli's mother and the disappearance of their father. The whole planet is in civil unrest over the supposedly perfect military protected venue being destroyed like this. Survivors were at a bare minimum.
Many people start storming the exterior of the safe house zone the king and his family are currently residing in. Some are there to interview the family, some are there to sympathize while some carry malicious intent.
In all the chaos, Oli has been crying since the past 24 hours while Tommy has remained silent and has refused to eat anything. Things get even more troublesome when the young prince disappears from his room. Entire military squadrons are dispatched to search for the young prince.
It is the morning of the next day. Soldiers are at every corner of the city. Barricades have been set up and every person leaving and entering a particular enclosure is being thoroughly checked. In all this loudness, young Tommy is hiding in the deepest corners of the city until he comes across a shady looking group of people with big knives.
"Hey look boss, that's the young prince that escaped from the safe house", one of the grunts says.
"I know dumbass.", the boss replies.
"Let's kidnap him for ransom money boss", the grunt replies.
"Isn't that too cliche? We should make our game big like heists.", another grunt replies.
"Both of you, shut the fuck up. We're low level criminals anyway but kidnapping the literal prince is gonna up our game quite a lot. You're coming with us kid and don't even try to escape, we won't hesitate to use these", the boss replies as he flashes his blade.
The first course of action Tommy could think of was grabbing a trash can lid and throwing it at the boss.
"Hey what the hell!? This is vile. My face has been slapped into a fucking pancake!" the boss screams.
"Oh no! How dare you do this to the boss!" the grunts reply.
Tommy in the meantime throws the entire trash can in their direction. The garbage ends up falling on one grunt while the can engulfs the other and he makes his escape while those three idiots are busy arguing. He sets up several banana peels, marbles and slippery oils throughout the way and the idiots keep slipping and falling on the ground because of them.
"What a bunch of idiots. No wonder this place is called some of the most secure places in the galaxy." Tommy says to himself.
However, due to not eating much in the past two days and his injuries not being fully healed from the incident, Tommy grows weak and falls to the ground. This gives the three clowns an opening to finally get hold of Tommy but suddenly they're pulled through their necks and are hanging onto a bridge above through seemingly invisible strings.
"Stay away from that boy, or the next time, you creeps will be hanging in your prison cell naked." M1ke says.
M1ke at unprecedented speeds managed to hang the three goons in no time much to their surprise.
"Hey boss, how did he do that?", both the grunts ask the boss.
"You idiots, that's the most dangerous soldier of the military, M1ke Closeknight. We're lucky to have even got to live.", the boss replies as all three of them piss themselves in fear.
"Yo kid, don't ya think it's pretty dangerous to be all by yourself here? The town is in a pretty chaotic situation today." M1ke says as he very suddenly appears, sitting on top of a pillar in front of Tommy.
Tommy pants a bit but doesn't reply.
"Aww don't be like that kid. Is this how you treat someone who just saved you? I mean, look behind you!" M1ke continues.
Tommy is quite shocked to see that he had hung the criminals on the bridge above by their necks in such a short amount of time.
"So kid, can you do me the ridiculously low courtesy of saying at least one word?" M1ke continues again.
Tommy remains silent but his stomach is roaring like a hungry lion.
"Hungry eh?" M1ke continues yet again.
The scene shifts to Tommy eating as if he hasn't in ages. This time it's M1ke's jaw that drops when he sees the bill as he pays it with tears in his eyes falling from beneath his sunglasses he has been wearing.
"You sure eat a lot for someone as scrawny as you kid." M1ke says to Tommy.
"Uhm..." Tommy says.
M1ke gets an enthusiastic look and continues "Yes yes, go on kid, talk!"
"Thanks for the food but I have to leave mister..." Tommy replies.
"Oh is that so? Where ya headed kid?" M1ke asks.
"I don't know... but somewhere far from here... where nobody can see me..." Tommy replies back.
"And why's that?" M1ke continues questioning.
Tommy makes a strange looking face which annoys M1ke a bit and he yells "WHAT'S WITH THAT FACE!?"
"Well... you're quite a shady guy... you can't be for real when you say you don't know me or the recent incident right...? What if you're also here to kidnap me like the rest and only took out your rivals or co-conspirators...?" Tommy replies.
"You know, you're very insecure... and what's with calling me shady... I was just curious, that's all.. While I have heard of the incident, I couldn't tell if you're the runaway prince even if I wanted to... I am blind ya know and the city is in such civil unrest that I can't tell people apart" M1ke replies with an awkward expression as if he is tearing up, probably because he is offended by the notion of being called shady.
"Wait.. so you wear sunglasses because you're blind...? I am sorry then... wait... how could you get rid of those goons, walk so effortlessly and tell the expression on my face then...?" Tommy asks back.
"The world is full of mysteries, kid. But let's just say I am REALLY good with sounds, smell, air pressure and heat that people emit. I was born blind so I honed my senses to have another way to see things. You can say, I see things differently. Get it? Haha, see differently? Aha ha ha ha!" M1ke replies with his miserable sense of humor which gets Tommy an obviously sweaty and awkward expression because his joke was really unfunny.
"I CAN SENSE YOUR EXPRESSION BOY, I TOLD YOU ABOUT THAT JUST NOW! YOU CAN JUST SAY IT OUT LOUD IF MY JOKE IS UNFUNNY!" M1ke screams at Tommy.
"Well... I didn't wanna hurt your feelings since you saved me and got me all this food so..." Tommy replies.
"Hmm... Well... I told you the mystery behind how I see things and since you feel indebted to me for saving you, although that was a very easy task, and the fact I got you some food, a not so easy task, I guess you can pay back by simply answering me with your mystery kid." M1ke says to Tommy.
"My... mystery...?" Tommy wonders.
"Yeah! Your mystery kid! Why'd you run away from your safe place all the way out into the city? Don't you have a family that worries about you?" M1ke asks.
"I do... but after that incident... I feel like I am incapable of showing my face to anyone..." Tommy replies.
"That's quite an extreme thing to say kid. I don't think there's anything you can do that'd make your family not wanna see you again. They're looking for you! That means they care about you! And as far as I know you, my new little friend, I don't think you're capable of doing something bad aha ha ha." M1ke replies back.
"Well... during the incident... I was too scared... smoke was all over the place... people were running... screaming... I was paralyzed from the shock... just then... a wall was about to fall over and I fell down... that's when my mother pushed me aside and the lower half of her body got crushed... I tried my best to drag her out... but I passed out... while she died... all because I was so weak... I don't think I can show my face to anyone anymore..." Tommy unveils his inner thoughts to M1ke.
"That was then and this is now though. Aren't you a little too hard on yourself for a kid especially?" M1ke asks.
"But... now nobody would look at me as strong... they pamper me so much that they've even got the elite squadrons in the military looking for me... it's as if they think I'll never stand a chance against anyone ever again... constantly being saved... like I am a disappointment... but I guess they wouldn't be wrong... considering I am so weak..." Tommy replies with sadness in his eyes but a look of faking happiness on his lips as if he is treating himself like a joke.
"Well... It's your life, kid... do whatever you want... in the end, I can only tell you what's best, it's only up to you whether you wanna follow that or not... good luck... although, I would still say, your family wouldn't be that harsh, they must be worried. If you change your mind anytime soon, returning to them might just make them happier if anything." M1ke replies back.
"I would hope so... anyways mister... Thank you for everything... Please keep whatever I said a secret." Tommy gives his last reply to M1ke as he leaves.
"Don't mention it. Ah who am I even talking to, the kid left." M1ke says to himself and starts dialing his his girlfriend, Ms. Mari, who is currently pursuing her PhD in medical science on another planet.
M1ke: Yo Mari! I found the prince!
Mari: That's great! Is he okay?
M1ke: Yeah, he seems alright to me.
Mari: So where is he??
M1ke: About that... I just let him go (M1ke says with a silly expression)
Mari: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU??
M1ke: I am just trying to see something ya know-
Mari: M1ke, please, just get him back safe and sound, your games make me question whether you're a psychopath or something these days...
Mari hangs up leaving M1ke with a pretty annoyed expression on the sentiment of being called a psychopath just because he wants to have some fun while doing his tasks.
"She didn't need to shout. I put a tracker on Tommy before he left. He isn't that far from here. I should hurry there. AFTER MY LUNCH THOUGH!" M1ke talks to himself again with a silly expression.
The scene shifts to the outskirts of the city near a forest. No one to be found in the vastness of this forest. Tommy decides to rest here and lies down on the green grass while looking at the blue skies thinking of his mom and his little brother.
"Yo boss, it's that kid again!" The grunt from before spots Tommy from behind a bush again.
"I can see that you dumbass! But what's he doing here? It's like he is asking to be kidnapped!" The boss replies.
"But boss, didn't that military guy M1ke warn us not to be near him again?" the grunt replies.
"Fool! He's nowhere around here! We can get hold of him and get as far as we can from here and threaten the military to not send M1ke this time after us! Or we will kill the young prince" the boss replies back.
"Sometimes... I wonder if the boss is dumber than us and we're just following a loser too", the other grunt whispers to the second grunt.
"I CAN HEAR YOU NUMBSKULLS TALKING!", the boss replies as he hits the goons on the head and asks them to focus on the prey while they apologize.
This time, the boss grabs Tommy suddenly from behind and holds his mouth by his hand. The boss then asks his goons to tie him up but Tommy bites the boss's hand and escapes into the forest.
The goons chase him down only for the first one to fall into a trap and hang by a tree upside down on its vine.
The other sees Tommy's shoe around a cave and assumes Tommy entered it only to get chased down by a grizzly bear.
"Why are these idiots after me again? Doesn't matter, they're too stupid." Tommy says to himself.
As Tommy is running, the boss shows up right in front of him but Tommy dashes under his legs and makes him fall down. He then ties him up to the same tree as the first grunt.
He then goes back to his corner and lies down.
"Hah, even you got caught. I was right when I said you were dumber than us two. You don't deserve to be our boss." The grunt says who was just moments ago being chased by a grizzly bear, although his clothes being all torn up and him having so many scratch marks on his body says otherwise.
"Now I am your new boss! Now you two idiots wait here while I catch the prey in STYLE!" the grunt continues.
The grunt finally corners Tommy by getting behind him and holding a blade to his neck while Tommy is left tearing the grass and throwing it up. Luckily, it works and the grunt sneezes, allowing Tommy to escape into the forest yet again but getting cornered by the bear on one side growling and the grunt on the other.
"Now you'll know how it feels to be in my shoes, boy. I suggest giving up!" the grunt exclaims.
Tommy is almost surrendering and thinking to himself how weak he is yet again. Just then, the grunt is dragged by his leg immediately and hung to the same tree as the other two.
"Oh so you're back.", the other grunt says.
"Some new boss you were." the boss comments.
"I'm sorry boss..." the grunt replies.
The grizzly bear is also suddenly put to sleep and M1ke instantly shows up as if he just teleported there in front of Tommy.
"It's you... the guy who stopped these goons earlier as well... who just are you...? And how did you find me...?" Tommy asks in shock.
"Kid, I'm the Lieutenant General of the Interspace MIlitary. The name's M1ke." M1ke replies.
"M1ke...? You mean... the guy who worked with my dad...?" Tommy asks.
"Yep. And I was assigned to find you, like the rest of the military." M1ke replies back.
"So why didn't you take me back with you earlier...?" Tommy asks yet another question.
"Let's just say... I was testing you." M1ke answers.
"Test...?" Tommy says while being confused.
"Yeah kid, a test. And whether you've passed it or not depends on your answer." M1ke asserts boldly.
"What answer...?" Tommy asks.
"Listen kid. Earlier today, you told me that you felt like you couldn't show your face anywhere anymore because you were weak. I wanted to help you, I wanted to know whether you want to make the change or keep living the way you are. After all, you're you and I am me. It's just like I said, I can give you advice but it's on you whether you want to follow it or not. But with how you outsmarted these grunts despite the difference in size, I was impressed, which made me enter the scene late." M1ke replies.
"What does taking a few idiots out have to do with anything...?" Tommy asks back.
"Well, an idiot with as much strength as you would normally think of taking them down by brute forcing them, IF they were stronger, however, you actually used your head. Anyone can win an easy fight. It's when the opponent is tough when it truly matters what you do. I think what makes you weak is running away from your problems. That way you'll truly save no one and end up being the one who is saved all the time like you fear." M1ke replies.
Tommy gets a sad expression on his face upon hearing it but M1ke continues, "...But we can change that. A person can't save everyone, but the ones who never stop trying to protect their loved ones are the strongest in the end. It is all up to you. A twist of fate. Are you gonna live your life in fear..."
"Or are you willing to bring a change?" M1ke continues as he lends his hand to Tommy to get up. This makes Tommy get a new shine in his eyes as he tears up.
"I..." Tommy stutters.
"Hmm...?" M1ke mumbles.
"I want to be stronger..." Tommy gives his answer to M1ke.
"I can't hear you!" M1ke replies.
"I WANT TO BE STRONGER!" Tommy answers again with a new found purpose in life.
"AND WHY DO YOU WANT TO BE STRONGER!?" M1ke asks him back with the same enthusiasm.
"TO PROTECT EVERYONE I CARE ABOUT SO THEY CAN LIVE A HAPPY LIFE!" Tommy answers with his full spirit intact.
"GOOD! THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO HEAR! STARTING TODAY, YOU ARE MY STUDENT, TOMMY OLDTON!" M1ke gives his reaction to Tommy's answer.
"YES SIR!" Tommy replies in full force.
They both give each other a thumbs up and leave the forest together to a safer place.
To be continued in Chapter - 4...
Trivia:
These upcoming chapters will deal with Tommy's past and how he became the person he is today. In this chapter, Tommy is aged 10 and his training arc with his Mentor M1ke is about to kick off. All that Tommy knows today is thanks to M1ke's training.