In a large courtyard, the laughter of a young boy rang throughout. Covered in mud and sweat, the young boy ran as he swung around a toy sword. Behind him was an older gentleman chasing after him while making snarling noises that sounded similar to an old dog's growl.
Further away was an elegant older woman sipping what appeared to be an ice-cold beverage with condensation running down the side of the glass cup.
The birds were chirping, and butterflies were flying about with the smell of flowers blooming in the air. The sun rained down rays of light that sparkled off the morning dew after a night of rain. With the ground still wet with water and puddles spurred throughout, the young boy ran with all his heart, attempting to flee from what he imagined was a chasing monster.
"Argh, Don't let me catch you, you little rascal. Even your grandmother won't be able to save you today," Yelled the old man as he gave chase to the young boy. "Te he he," the boy giggled as his little legs sprang him forward. As he dragged his sword on the ground, he turned around, and with a swing of his arm, mud and grass flew, planting themselves on the older man's clothes.
Suddenly, the man came to a stop, looking down on yet another patch of mud and grass staining his otherwise luxurious black and white suit. Steam could practically be seen coming out of his head as he leaned down and reached his hand into a puddle of mud and water, grabbing a good handful of mud and preparing to throw it at the boy in retaliation.
"you better not," said a melodious voice with a tinge of sternness coming from behind the old man; despite the softness and tender way of speaking, it caused the old man to shiver uncontrollably.
What the woman did next fascinated the young boy beyond measure; as she waved her hand in the air, a small pebble surrounded by a blue light came out from inside the glob of mud in the old man's hand. The size of the pebble was so small that most would not have noticed it or outright ignored it.
"continue," said the old woman, sipping her drink. The boy looked baffled, turning to face the old woman and then back to the small pebble on the floor. As if realizing something, the boy looked up with a panicked expression only to be greeted by brown goo with bits of green soaring through the air and landing right on his face.
Splat! "Guhahaha" "You see, that's what happens when you mess with Gramps, kiddo." Said the old man while laughing joyously in victory,
"You cheated. I wasn't paying attention," cried the boy.
"Listen here, Guppy; there's no cheating in war, only losers and winners, and I'm a winner," said the old man with his hand in the air, striking a victory pose.
"Bu- but I wasn't looking," said the boy while using his hands to brush off the mud from his face. He stopped with his vision restored and a word of complaint ready to leave his mouth. Looking up, he could see just behind his grandfather an even more giant glob of mud, grass, and water floating over in a ball of blue energy as silently as it could.
Vmmm! "hmm," the old man hummed as he felt the energy fluctuations in the air. Looking up, what he saw startled him. Before he could react, he was bathed in dirt and water with pieces of green grass sticking out of his hair.
Time seemed to freeze as the young boy watched in trepidation as his grandfather stood there emotionless. The seconds ticked by before the duo heard a melodious giggle and a light, taunting voice.
"Now, who's the loser, you old fart bullying my precious grandson. Come here, my little guppy. Let's go get you cleaned."
"As for you, old man, we will discuss this later. How could you be reckless and leave that big rock in the mud? What if my baby got hurt, huh?"Said the old woman.
This elicited the old man's response, and he laughed once more. "Guahaha, as if that little pebble could hurt my grandson. I say, woman, you're too overprotective. What's wrong with a little scratch here and there? It builds toughness. He needs to learn how to take pain like a real man".
"Oh really?" said the old lady as she raised her hand again, and swirling blue energy started to gather, forming the shape of a giant hammer poised to strike.
"Ahem," the old man cleared his throat, "I say it's about time we get cleaned up, don't you agree, kiddo?" the old man said as he turned to the boy, picking him up and walking toward the old lady.
"Tch sly fox," the old lady said, gnashing her teeth and lowering her hand. The hammer slowly dissipated, but before the glowing blue energy entirely vanished, a tiny ball formed and was sent flying to the old man's head.
Shwoosh!
Clank!
The impact sent the old man stumbling forward; behind his head, patches of what seemed to be skin slowly turned from a metallic sheen back into his regular bronze-like skin tone.
Regaining his footing, he turned but stopped halfway and continued walking forward. Whispering to the boy, "A piece of advice, kiddo, you gotta choose the right woman, or you're going to end up like me, bullied and tormented every day. You got that?" the boy nodded.
"What was that, dear?" the old lady said with squinted eyes and a slight grin plastered on her face.
The old man turned back and immediately regretted his choice of words; before he could make out the words of an apology, a man wearing a standard black and gold military uniform came rushing through the back glass doors of their luxurious mansion.
"Sir, there's an emergency. All personnel of clearance level three and higher are to report to the orbital control room," the man called out. The old man turned, walked over, and gave the boy to the old woman. "Looks like I'll have to apologize later, honey," the old man said as he gave her a light peck on the lips. He beckoned the soldier over and walked away.
The boy, confused, could hear his grandfather and the soldier talking before the voices faded into the mansion.
"What's the report?"
"Sir, the demons have Brea..."
The old lady seemed to have overheard their conversation as her face took on a shade paler. She looked at the old man's departing back as he took a side glance at her and whispered something.
The old man and the soldier disappeared into the mansion.
Carrying the young boy, the old lady hurried her steps, her heels and the marble floor coming together, making clanking noises that echoed through the mansion as she walked.
The boy, still oblivious to the lurking danger around him, stared in awe at the marbled floors, the white walls covered in gold trimming, and the decorated painting spread throughout the mansion.
Around every corner, he noticed armed individuals And maids running about, trying to collect everything from the paintings on the wall to the exquisite vases and other decorations.
The lady looked at this with a cold glint in her eyes as she continued her way down the hallway. She came to a corner with two guards, unlike any others, who were dressed in silver and black metallic armor that fit perfectly to their bodies, a glowing blue light slowly pulsating from between the gaps in the pattern like water through a tiled floor.
Passing them, she quietly uttered, "Code four." When the two soldiers heard her voice, they immediately became alert. Turning to each other and facing their respective walls, they pushed out with one hand and sent pulsating blue energy into an almost invisible indent.
The blue light traveled upwards through the wall all the way to the high ceiling immediately after the narrow hallway where the woman and child disappeared into began to shake. The ceiling of the narrow hallway began to split, and from the opening dropped what looked to be sturdy steel doors immediately after they started to change colors to match the white and gold-trimmed walls.
The soldiers walked away, each going in the opposite direction down the hallway before stopping and continuing to guard the area where the now invisible door lay.
-Ten Minutes Later-
Now more confused than ever, the boy was strapped in, sitting in a pod, taking up one of the four available seats. Through the door in the pod, he could see his grandmother fiddling with a screen in front of her.
The next second, all the screens in the room lit up. He could now see the hallway from which they entered and the soldiers moving into their new guard post.
From the screens, he could see people and ships of different sizes flying into the air where the once clear sky was now filled with chaos as aircraft of different sizes and pods, much like the one he was sitting in, took to the skies as fast as they could.
Looking back to his grandmother, he saw her fiddling with her wrist communicator as a blue message popped up. Watching her read the message, he could hear her mumble, in a voice tinged with urgency and uncertainty, "Please hurry," her confident and soothing voice from earlier now gone.
Now, with a face of uncertainty, the boy turns to one of the screens. On it, he sees a small dot descending from high above the clouds, racing toward the mansion. As the figure of the object grew closer and clearer, not only him but also his grandmother noticed it was the sly old man they both cherished.
As he got closer, they noticed his disheveled appearance worse than before he left with blood soaking his body. The young boy began tearing up as he called out, "Grandma." The old lady, who now looked as if she had aged a few years, had hurriedly turned around and came next to the young boy sitting in the seat next to him as she hugged him. Her frail and skinny arms wrapped around the young boy, bringing him warmth and calming his racing heart.
"Shh, my little guppy, your grandpa is on his way. Everything is going to be okay, and when he gets here, we will take a little trip to your parent's house. Heck, we might even stay a while". She said while trying her best to hide the worry in her heart.
When the old man got into the eye view distance of the mansion, the lady noticed something dark following behind him on the screen. The man seemed to notice it, too. The dark figure crashed into him as he turned his head to look behind him. Increasing the speed of their descent, the woman watched in horror as her husband and the dark, unknown figure crashed through the roof of the mansion.
BOOOOM!
CRASH!
The grounds shook, and screams of terror sounded through the thick walls of the saferoom and found their way into the young boy's and his grandmother's ears. Terror and worry marred both their faces.