Chapter Four
Tesh had just celebrated his third birthday, which he only shared with his family and Sasha's family, known as the Tenbud Household.
The celebration wasn't elaborate, but it was enjoyable for Tesh, especially considering his past experiences. In his previous life, he had never known the love of parents; instead, he grew up in an orphanage where bullying was a constant torment.
Femi and Reyan had gifted him some fantastic toys, including a cherished Mecha toy. They were surprised by how much he loved it, but Tesh couldn't get enough of the Mecha Armor, often sneaking out of his room to study its mechanisms.
One evening, Femi returned home from work to find Tesh missing from his room. After searching unsuccessfully, he turned to Reyan for help, only to find her fast asleep. Finally, he ventured to their neighbor's residence, but Tesh was nowhere to be found until Sasha, from her room on the top floor, suggested checking the barn.
"Not yet, but I will. Thank you," Femi replied.
He couldn't help but wonder what Tesh might be up to in the barn at this hour. Stepping inside, Femi scanned the space but found no sign of Tesh. As he looked around, he noticed things were not as he had left them, indicating someone else had been there.
Returning to the house, Femi went back to Tesh's room and found him lying on the bed, apparently asleep. Quietly, Femi covered him with the duvet before leaving the room.
Meanwhile, Tesh lay on his bed, relieved that his father hadn't caught him with the Mecha Armor. He hoped Femi hadn't noticed anything unusual about the machine.
Later, as Femi lay beside his wife Reyan who was now awake, she noticed his contemplative expression. "A penny for your thoughts, Mr. Naskin," she teased.
Turning to her, Femi asked, "Do you think we're doing right by Tesh?"
"Of course, why would you say that?" she inquired.
"He's been acting weird lately," he said.
Reyan scoffed at the unnecessary worry portrayed by a great man and father. She touched him on the face. "Our little boy is growing, so it's natural for him to start acting differently. It's a sign of growth, so don't worry yourself," she said.
Reyan kissed him, Femi didn't hold back but followed up with her but she stopped him and said "You know I will be due soon, so relax Femi."
Femi grins like a guilty child "it's been a while that's why?"
Reyan shakes her head in amazement and also noticed he had a boner rising that was faster than Zeus lighting bolt. Femi immediately crossed his legs trying to hide it, Reyan saw tempting opening to grab on to it but decided to sleep off.
The next day, Femi was the one making breakfast for the family. Reyan came out and was surprised to see him making scrambled egg toast.
"What are we celebrating?" she asked gleefully.
"I just decided to assist you before I head out. By the way, has Tesh woken up?" Femi responded.
Reyan shrugged, smiling, then stood up to pinch a taste from the food. A knock came to the main door, and Sasha entered.
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Naskin," Sasha greeted them.
"Hello, little miss danger," Femi replied.
Reyan, with a mouthful of food, responded with a wave to Sasha.
Sasha ran straight to Tesh's room but didn't find him there or under the bed. Tesh was in his usual play space operating the Mecha Armor. He had gotten a hang of the machine and then pressed something on the lower part of the machine, activating an invincibility cloak.
Tesh reflected on the improvements available in his past life, then he heard Sasha's voice from a distance, which he could clearly hear due to the internal noise control amplifier. However, it was too late for him to come out, though lucky that the invincibility cloak was activated. He exhaled, knowing Sasha was one big mouth who could snitch on him.
Sasha entered the barn, calling Tesh's name as she walked forward.
"Hey, Tesh, I'm not here to play hide and seek. Your Dad said you've been acting weird lately, so come out," she said.
Tesh could see her clearly, realizing he would soon be exposed. Sasha continued forward until she noticed a couple of foot tracks, shrieking and falling to the ground. The amplified sound shocked Tesh, causing him to mistakenly press a button that opened the top cap of the armor, exposing his perfect cover.
Sasha saw him in a large, monstrous Mecha Armor. Tesh knew he was busted, but to his surprise, instead of screaming, Sasha was happy and began jumping gleefully.
"That's the Titan Vista Arc67 with an invincibility cloak," Sasha said with much enthusiasm.
Tesh, already bidding farewell to his clandestine activity, was mesmerized to hear his best friend was in the same boat as him. He heard someone approaching and immediately dropped down from the Mecha Armor.
Femi approached the barn upon hearing what he thought was a scream, unless it was something else. As he entered the barn, he saw the kids playing with each other as they passed him out of the barn. He exhaled, realizing it was something entirely different from what he might have had in mind. He looked around the barn and noticed something seemed out of place.
They had breakfast together in the dining room. Tesh began to think he was lucky because he never knew Sasha was a machine nerd and into machines. Now he remembered that she used to run to go watch the popular Astro Mechaman show.
They communicated with their eyes, eager for the adults to leave so they could explore the further depths of their discoveries.
Meanwhile, in the Elen Kingdom capital, it was raining. Sergeant Eve, the soldier who discovered the signal, arrived in her quarters and checked her desktop for any updates concerning the Mecha resurfacing. She found out that it had come back online.
Noticing that she couldn't trace the batch number and serial dispatch number because it didn't match their own batch, she copied down the number.
The next day, she resumed their usual training, strapping herself into her Mecha Armor. Then she met up with her mage, Carlos. Carlos approached, and she noticed his black eye. Eve knew it must have been their rivals from the Orielian faction who were sent over from the empire to oversee their training program.
"Hey, Eve, any feedback from the Mecha alarm at the north district?" Carlos asked.
Eve opened up her Armor's facial shell to get a better look at Carlos's injury while ignoring his question.
"The Orielian faction did this to you?" she asked, showing deep concern for her friend.
Carlos was startled by the question and wasn't willing to answer. Instead, he infused his energy into her Mecha Armor.
"Let's just train," he said in a firm tone.
They walked over to the training room, and after a wonderful computer-generated imagery training session, the Orielian sergeants and lieutenant entered, laughing in a condescending manner that made Eve quite furious.
Carlos knew he had to get Eve away from the training room before she caused major trouble with these jerks.
"Eve, I think we should get going," he suggested.
But it seemed like everything he said to her was null because she allowed her emotions to get the best of her, attacking one of the sergeants who quickly deflected her attack.
The laughter died out as all five of them armored up. "Eve, do you fight battles for your friends now?" one of them taunted.
"Let's go one on one, no mage, just me and you, Weilson," she challenged.
They all began laughing, then Weilson stepped forward. "Your burial, Eve. If I win, you will clean the barracks toilet for a month and serve me food every evening on my bed," he declared.
"Agreed, but I can't lose to a misogynist fool like you. And when I win, you leave Carlos," she stated firmly.
They both entered a large circle, the rule being that whoever throws their opponent outside the ring in three rounds wins the match.
The match was called, and they began. Eve slid for Weilson's legs, but he dodged using capoeira moves to the right, then swung at Eve with a kick that landed her outside the circle.
Weilson scored one point, and his friends laughed loudly at her. Carlos walked to her. "Are you sure about this?" he asked.
Eve didn't respond but stood up and went back into the circle. This time, she played defensively while he played offensively, reaching for her upper body with a double-joint kick that pushed her, almost getting her out of the line. She turned immediately with a kick to his Armor face, shattering his lower base glass.
"That's weak material," she said out loud to him.
This statement made him furious, and he released red shooting balls at her.
"That wasn't part of the game," Carlos criticized.
"Who cares as long as I win, duh!" Weilson responded, and his friends began laughing.
The balls were large and kept coming at Eve, making it hard for her to defend herself until she caught one and threw it back at the broken part of his Armor, destabilizing his grounding. Seizing the opportunity, she struck him, but he quickly grabbed her feet and threw her outside the circle.
Eve knew she had to play dirty to win. Back in the circle, she changed her fighting style to judo. He went on the offensive, but she grabbed his fist, raising and slamming him outside the circle.
The room fell silent and cold, fueling his fury even more. Eve anticipated his emotional response and prepared to use it to her advantage.
He rushed at her, and she slammed him outside the circle again, escalating his anger. Carlos noticed he was given a weapon to use against her and tried to alert her, but she couldn't hear him over the music someone had started playing in the room.