Battle Of Planets

Chapter 12: Blue’s Warning!
”We’ll go to a fun place,” Tyson said with a bright tone ”I know the best spot for burgers. Want to check it out?””Sure,” Nancy teased, ”Seeing you run around like that, I’m starting to crave something hot.”

”Hot, huh?” Tyson raised an eyebrow, stepping in front of the gate to block her path, but she easily ducked under his arm. ”I’m curious—what kind of hot stuff are you talking about?”

”Don’t get any funny ideas,” she grinned, ”I was talking about burgers.”

Tyson chuckled and followed her, but just as he was about to grab her hand, he froze.

A familiar figure stood in front of their school.

Blue.

Tyson’s eyes narrowed, his body instinctively positioning itself between Nancy and the threat. His hand went toward his meta-bot, ready for whatever might come next.

”I was waiting for you,” Blue scanned the school grounds before his eyes landed on Nancy. ”And who’s this beauty beside you?”

Tyson felt Nancy’s hand gently wrap around his elbow, in hesitation.

”What do you want?” Tyson demanded, with a sharp voice.

”Whoah, chill,” Blue grinned, raising his hands, ”I’m just here to talk.”

His gaze flickered toward the school grounds. ”It must be nice to get a chance to study in some high-class academy”

Tyson stood there, unsure of Blue’s intentions and his strange behavior.

”You know,” Blue continued, ”I also got admitted last year but then they kicked me out because I had no money for my tuition fees”

He then chuckled bitterly. ”Thanks to that, I realized what we actually need in this world”

Tyson glanced at his school, uneasy.

”No, no, not this one,” Blue quickly corrected, ”It was another one, Anyway, I just wanted to say something,” he added, his eyes briefly flickering to Nancy. ”It would be better if your girl left us for a moment.”

Tyson turned to Nancy. ”You go home. I’ll talk to you later.”

Nancy hesitated, uncertainty in her eyes. ”Please stay safe, and call me if... if anything happens.”

Tyson smiled, ”Yeah, bye.”

The two boys stood in silence as Nancy’s footsteps faded, her figure disappearing into the distance.

”Good lord, she really seems to like you,” Blue commented, eyeing Tyson with a smirk. ”You’re lucky, indeed.”

Tyson’s jaw tightened. ”Get to the point.”

Blue’s expression shifted, his tone becoming more serious. ”Yeah, last time we left something unfinished. Not to mention, I took the blame for everything that happened back there.”

He flicked his wrist, the blue light from his bracelet flickering ominously. ”I’m not here to listen to your apology,” he added, cutting Tyson off before he could speak. ”You guys are always so sly. I’m here to warn you.”

Tyson narrowed his eyes, a chill running down his spine. ”Warn me about what?”

Blue’s gaze hardened, ”Soon enough, we’re going to have a real showdown. Don’t disappoint me, Tyson.”

Tyson felt a knot form in his stomach. ”What do you mean?”

Blue gave a small, cryptic smile. ”You’ll see soon enough. Just make sure that when the time comes, you show me the real monster inside you.” With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Tyson standing there, lost in thought.

Tyson remained frozen, the weight of Blue’s making him feel uneasy. He thought about confronting Blue and capture him right here before he does something in the future but deep down, he knew it was a dangerous move.

Blue was far stronger than him, and taking him on alone would be suicide. Even with Alex by his side, the odds didn’t seem favorable.

But what was Blue really planning? Tyson couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that something big was coming, something that would test him in ways he wasn’t ready for.

-----

Inside the dimly lit study of the mansion, Edward sat hunched over a desk cluttered with old pages, faded manuscripts, and hastily scrawled notes. The light of a blue lamp cast long, flickering shadows across the room, bringing out the deep lines of frustration etched on his face.

The Ice World. The name alone sent shivers down his spine. A place that existed in the cracks of humanity’s nightmares—a graveyard of memories. Faces long gone flashed in his mind, their terrified expressions seared into his soul. Echoes of their last screams refused to fade, haunting him endlessly.

His fingers grazed the cold metal of his ring, ”Leave them, Ed. We cannot save them.”

The words, spoken by their self-proclaimed leader, replayed in his mind, each syllable laced with cowardice.

”Why?” Edward growled under his breath.

With a sudden burst of fury, he slammed his fist on the desk. Pages and notes scattered across the floor, but he didn’t care.

A holographic projection blinked to life beside him. The image displayed a fragment of the Ice World—a desolate, snow-hardened riverbed leading to a solitary, ominous throne in the distance.

The whole world had witnessed the deaths of his comrades.

Their last moments had been broadcast live for all to see, with streams playing on every screen and device on Earth. However, despite being visible to the naked eye, the battles were unrecordable. Cameras, drones, and all forms of recording technology failed to capture those critical moments as if a godly being had intervened to obscure them. It was as though reality warped under its control, effectively shielding the truth from anyone attempting to analyze the footage in later years.

Without those recordings, there was no way to study the enemy, decipher their patterns, or identify their weaknesses. The live broadcasts had vanished the moment they ended, leaving only fragments of memory burned into the minds of those who had witnessed the carnage.

Edward had no way to replay what had happened, no way to uncover the enemy’s secrets that had claimed everything from him.

”I’ll go there. I must.” His voice trembled with determination. For years, the Ice World had claimed lives, and for years, others had chosen to abandon it, to move on and leave the past buried. But Edward couldn’t. He owed it to the friends he had lost—to the lives that were discarded like they meant nothing.

”I’ll find a way,” he murmured, his resolve hardening. ”Even if I have to go alone,”

A soft knock on the study door shattered the silence.

”Master?” Tyson’s voice called out as the door creaked open. He flicked on the lights, the sudden brightness momentarily blinding Edward.

”Hey,” Edward said, hurriedly trying to gather the scattered pages and hide the holographic projection. But it was too late. Tyson’s eyes caught a glimpse of the Ice World, the image burned into his memory from the stories Edward had once shared with him.

”You’re still looking into it,” Tyson said softly, stepping inside.

Edward hesitated, ”I have to,” he finally admitted, his tone carrying both guilt and determination.

Tyson studied Edward for a moment as silence longed for breaths span. Then, with a faint nod, he spoke, ”Just tell me one thing. When the time comes... will you let us help you?”

Edward hesitated, his gaze wandering. He didn’t know how to respond, the weight of his own pride and pain pulling at him. Finally, he sighed. ”Yeah... I promise.”

Tyson smiled, a small but genuine curve of his lips. ”Good. I guess we can call it even then.”

Edward’s lips twitched, a bitter laugh escaping him. ”I’m sorry for hiding things from you.”

”And I’m sorry for everything,” Tyson said, stepping into the room. ”From now on, I promise you’ll see the new me... your new son.”

Edward’s heart skipped a beat. It was the first time Tyson had acknowledged him as a father, and for a fleeting moment, it felt like the world had shifted. His chest tightened with unfamiliar feelings. He nodded, unsure of how to respond, still believing he had failed as a father.

”And you two will see the new version of your father,” Edward said quietly, his voice thick with emotion, though he couldn’t quite grasp what that new version looked like yet. ”Anyway, you want something?”

”Yeah, I wanted to tell you about Blue.”

Edward’s expression shifted, ”I told you, I did what I thought was best for you. I did not want the media to ruin your name because of someone else’s mistakes.”

”Not entirely.”

Edward’s jaw tightened. ”It was his mistake to begin with. He was in the wrong,” he said sharply. ”Can we just drop this?”

Tyson reluctantly nodded. ”I met him today.”

The room fell into a heavy silence, and Edward’s gaze darkened.

Tyson told him everything and to his reply, Edward exhaled sharply. ”I’ll look into it...Now go take a shower. You smell like a farmer after a long day in the field.”

Tyson rolled his eyes. ”yeah...I get it”

Edward raised an eyebrow, not missing the tone. ”And tomorrow, we’ve got an appointment with the president and his family.”

Tyson paused, annoyance flashing across his face. Edward continued, unfazed. ”And no, you can’t skip it. He wants all of us there. If you’ve got questions about the media, you can ask him yourself.”