Chapter 03: The Adventure Begins−Get off my Planet!

Xavier learns that he lives in a small world when he encounters a boy from another planet.

“Nobody move!! If anybody gets any ideas then my partner will blow up this whole building!”

A large man holding a bat is yelling at a crowd of people at North City’s bank. He continued,

“You see, now that The Striker went down, this is officially my town, understand?”

A man in the crowd then yelled,

“Who do you think you are? Leave us alone!”

The criminal smiled and responded,

“No can do, Sir! And just for that, you get to be the first person to feel my wrath in this city! So take this!”

Just as the criminal is about to strike the man with the bat he was holding, the doors burst open.

12 year old Xavier Thomas walked in holding a rope in his hand. As he came through the door, the other half of the rope was revealed.

The criminal with the bat gasped in shock when he saw the other half,

“Manny! What happened to you? Don’t tell me that little kid tied you up!”

The one known as Manny was tied up on the other end of the rope Xavier was dragging into North City Bank.

Xavier looked around calmly,

“Good,” he said. “Nobody’s hurt.”

Xavier then looked at the criminal with the bat and said,

“I think this is yours,” he said, holding up a device.

The man couldn't believe his eyes.

“How did you get your hands on that device, you little punk?”

Xavier did not respond.

The man began getting nervous,

“Just be careful! If you press the button on that device then this whole place will explode!”

Xavier then said,

“I know that. Your partner told me.”

The criminal clenched his teeth and said,

“Manny did what?”

Xavier looked closely at the device and asked,

“How do you shut it down?”

The criminal smiled,

“You idiot kid! Why would I tell you that? Now I will ask the questions here. And my first one is, who the heck are you? And how did you stop Manny by yourself?”

Manny then looked up at his partner,

“Listen, Skip. That kid…he’s not normal. Don’t mess with him or things might get bad.”

The criminal, now known to be called Skip was angry and confused,

“You’re a fool, you know that? How could one little kid do this to you, what is he- magic?! Do everyone here a favor and just sit there quietly with that rope keeping you warm.”

Xavier was getting bored.

Since Skip would not tell him how to shut off the device, he thought of something else. He threw it onto the ground and raised his foot.

Skip’s eyes got wide with fear,

“Hey!! Stop that, kid! Do you want everyone here to die?!”

“Tell me how to turn it off,” Xavier said.

Skip did not answer.

Xavier then threw his foot down on the device but was careful not to hit the button with the impact of his foot.

The device was in pieces and the bank had not exploded.

Mission accomplished.

“Now,” Xavier said. “Give up and I won’t have to hurt you, OK?”

Skip was dumbstruck.

He was certain that the bank would blow up. When it didn't he was flabbergasted.

“But…I loaded this whole place up to erupt,” he said still confused.

Xavier looked at him and said,

“I just broke it without touching the button. You should calm down.”

Skip looked back at Xavier,

“And now what? You think you’re going to take me in? All by yourself?”

“That was the plan,” Xavier said.

“Well let me tell you something, Kid. You picked the wrong guy to bother,” Skip said.

Skip walked over to Xavier and got ready to swing his bat.

Xavier didn’t move.

The same man from earlier in the crowd ran out and tackled the criminal.

“Get off me, you idiot!” Skip yelled.

“Are you out of your mind? That’s a boy you’re about to attack!” the man yelled back.

Skip pushed the man off of him and replied,

“Do you think I care? Look at what he’s done! He shamed my partner, broke my device and put himself right in the middle of this situation. He deserves what’s coming.”

The man tackled Skip once again and for a second time he was pushed off.

“That’s it, Guy! You’re first!” Skip yelled.

Skip swung his bat at the man from the crowd as hard as he could.

His swing touched nothing but air as he fell over with the bat flying out of his hands.

Terribly confused, he looked up.

He then saw Xavier standing on the other side of the room holding the bat. The man from the crowd was crouched behind him with his eyes closed.

Skip was amazed,

“What kind of kid are you?” he said. “Are you even human?”

Xavier looked at Skip.

He was now the second person, along with The Striker, to ask him the question, ‘Are you human?’.

What else would he be?

“I’m human,” Xavier replied. “You’re just not on my level.”

Skip opened his mouth,

“We’ll see abou-”

Before he could finish, Xavier had ran over and hit Skip in the back with his wrist, knocking him out cold.

The crowd was silent and looked at Xavier with a little bit of fear. Xavier looked at them and said,

“It's OK, he’s just asleep. You’re safe now.”

The crowd looked at each other in fear and awe.

“Did you see that?” one man said.

“How old is that kid?” said another man.

“Is he really human, or an alien?” said one girl.

“He must be human, he’s too cute to be an alien,” said another girl.

Xavier walked over to the man he rescued and said,

“I have to go now, Sir. I’m in a hurry. The police are almost here, so could you keep an eye on these two until they get here?”

The man wasn’t sure what to say,

“Uhh…Sure, Kid. no… problem…Wait! What if he wakes up or the other one breaks out of that rope? They will just start trouble again!”

Xavier turned back around to the man,

“Don’t worry, Sir. They won’t do a thing until the police get here, I promise. Thank you.”

Xavier then ran out of the bank.

“Hey wait, Kid!” the man yelled. “Darn he’s gone. I was going to ask his name.”

The man then turned around to the other people in the crowd and said,

“Can you all believe that boy? Amazing huh?”

The others nodded.

One other man in the crowd yelled out,

“I don’t know about y’all but I’m stayin’ right here. I want to tell the cops about that kid too!”

Others in the crowd spoke out in agreement, while some did not,

“No way I’m staying here!” one girl said. “What if those two cause more problems!”

Skip’s partner, Manny, who was tied up the whole time, spoke out,

“You folks don’t have to worry about me. There is no way I’m messing with that kid again. You can count on it.”

The man who Xavier rescued then replied to Manny,

“Wait a minute, Boss. We all want to know something. How on Earth did that kid get you tied up like that and then drag you in here like a little baby?”

Manny looked up,

“I might as well tell you to pass time until the cops show up…”

(Earlier that day)

Manny is walking around the bank holding a device with a large button. He then heard a voice from inside the bank.

“Nobody move!! If anybody gets any ideas my partner will blow up this whole building!”

Manny shook his head.

“That Skip,” he said to himself. “What is he showing off for? We should have been gone by now.”

Manny sat down, waiting for his partner to either come out or give the signal to come inside with the device.

Then he heard something.

“What was that? Who’s there?” Manny said as he picked up his bat. “Whoever you are, show yourself!”

Then a voice spoke out,

“Drop what you have and give up.”

“Come out here!” Manny shouted.

Xavier then came out and faced Manny.

Manny smiled widely,

“What? You’re just a kid. Get out of here, Boy! This is no place for you.”

Xavier shook his head and said,

“I heard what you said and I heard what you’re partner said. You should both give up now.”

Manny stopped smiling and said,

“I think I've warned you enough!”

Manny threw his bat at Xavier as hard as he could.

Xavier did not move or even blink. He raised his hand and caught the bat. He then broke it in half.

Manny was stunned.

How did he do that?

Manny then ran towards the front of the bank to warn his partner.

Xavier moved directly in front of him to cut him off.

“Shut off the device. I don’t want an explosion, and neither should you,” Xavier said.

Manny’s eyes got wide,

“I can’t! Only Skip knows how to. I swear.”

Xavier looked at him and could tell he wasn't lying.

“OK. Give it to me then,” he told Manny.

“Here! Take it…Well see ya, Kid!” Manny said.

Xavier grabbed him and said,

“No. You can’t go.”

Xavier took out some rope he had brought with him.

Manny got angry and pulled up a fist and said,

“OK, Kid! You’re really asking for it!”

Before Manny could throw a punch he was shocked,

“Huh?”

Manny could not believe he was tied up already and he could not even move. He then gave up and stopped talking as Xavier pulled him into the bank…

(Now)

The man Xavier rescued was in awe.

“Amazing…To think one little kid could do that”

Another man in the crowd did not believe it and said,

“You’re lying, Man. There’s no way a boy could do that!”

Manny just shook his head,

“So you think I did this to myself?”

A lady who had stayed behind to hear the story also spoke out,

“He’s right. Why would he tie himself up like that? And even if you don’t believe him, you just saw what the boy did to his partner just now.”

The doubting man looked down,

“I guess you’re right. But how can it be? I haven’t seen a person move and fight like that since…since this guy I used to see on TV. His name was…”

The man Xavier rescued opened his eyes wide and said,

“You mean Raymond Fox?! I know who you’re talking about!”

The other man nodded excitedly,

“Yes! That’s it! Fox used to be on TV all the time! My brother and I always watched his fights. But I didn’t think there was another person in the whole world even close to his level except for this group called the Y…”

All of a sudden the doors burst open and four police officers came in.

“Are you folks alright?! Are these the offenders?” one of them said.

The man Xavier rescued nodded his head,

“Yes, Sir these are the guys.”

One policeman was confused,

“But how are they under control? Who is responsible for this?” he asked.

The rescued man was a little hesitant before answering,

“Well you see, Officer. There was this boy and he uh…”

Another cop shook her head,

“Not this story again,” she said. “Chief, where is this nonsense coming from?”

The first cop shrugged his shoulders and said,

“I assume you’re going to tell us that this young boy used unusual power to stop the criminals and then left right before we got here. Am I correct?”

The man Xavier rescued nodded his head,

“I take it you've heard of him before?” he asked.

The third cop spoke out again,

“Of course we have! We’ve been hearing about him for weeks now! You’re the second ones today to tell us this story.”

The other cop went and took the criminals to the police car, while the fourth and final cop spoke out,

“Well, it’s unlikely that this many people would make up one story, Chief.”

The first cop agreed,

“If this story is real, we will find out,” he said.

He and the other officers exited the bank.

A few miles away, Xavier was running towards the edge of North City. It was there that he had planned to meet with his teacher.

(Elsewhere)

Xavier looked at his watch ‘5:50’ it read.

“Good,” he said to himself. “I should meet Master Ray in time by 6.”

He suddenly stopped when noticed a familiar sight.

There was a large sign that read: ‘North City Park'.

(Years earlier)

“Come on, Xavier! Try and catch me, Son!” said a man.

A much younger Xavier was running as fast as he could, but he could not manage to catch the man. Xavier fell on his back smiling, but out of breath.

A woman then walked towards him and lay in the grass next to him.

Xavier looked at the woman and said,

“Mamma, tell Daddy to slow down! I can’t run that fast.”

She smiled at her son and then called her husband over to join them.

“What’s wrong, Son? Was I going too fast for you?” Mr. Thomas asked Xavier.

Xavier quickly got back on his feet,

“No! I was only pretending to be tired. You can’t catch me now!”

Xavier ran off as fast as he could. He thought nobody would catch up with him until…

“I gotcha, Boy!” his father said. He lifted his son up on his shoulders.

Xavier started laughing.

Mr. Thomas then carried Xavier back to where Mrs. Thomas was sitting.

She sat there smiling and said,

“What happened, Xavier?” his mother asked. “I thought you were too fast for your dad!”

“Not yet,” Xavier said smiling. “But when I get big I’ll be way faster than him!”

His parents smiled as they all lay in the grass together.

(Now)

Xavier stared at the park for a while. He watched all of the kids playing. Some were with their parents and others with friends.

He looked down and sighed quietly.

“Uh Oh!” Xavier said.

He looked at his watch: ‘6:01’ it read.

Xavier looked at the park one more time and ran full speed to the edge of the city.

When he reached the meeting point it was 6:10. He knew he was in trouble.

Right there waiting was Raymond Fox with a stern look on his face. Behind him was his private jet. It was an aircraft that could sit about 10 people maximum. This was the plane he used to travel anywhere out of his home in Low Valley.

“Xavier!” Master Fox said. “You’re late. Why?”

Xavier looked at his teacher,

“I’m sorry, Master Ray. I was in good time, but I got distracted on the way here.”

Master Fox replied,

“I see. Well, be that as it may, that is not an excuse. I expect you to be where you say that you will be, understand?”

Xavier nodded,

“Yes, Sir.”

“Unless the distraction was urgent, which I don’t sense it was, you must stay true to your word,” said Master Fox.

“I understand,” Xavier replied.

Master Fox nodded and walked towards the aircraft,

“Good. Let’s go then.”

As they flew away, Master Fox asked of the activities Xavier had done today.

Xavier spoke about how he had broken up an ambush and the incident at North City Bank.

“It would appear that you are not being challenged out there,” Master Fox said.

“Not really,” Xavier replied. “Everything’s been easy.”

Master Fox nodded,

“Well, I suppose that is a good thing in a way. But you must not forget what I told you, Xavier.”

Xavier understood,

“I know, Master Ray. At any time there could be a serious threat that could be too hard for me.”

“Precisely,” Master Fox nodded. “And that is exactly why the training will be getting even harder now.”

“I can handle it Master Ra-…”

BOOM!

Xavier quickly turned to the window,

“What was that?” he asked his teacher.

Master Fox looked somewhat surprised and said,

“Now who could that be?”

Xavier was confused,

“Master Ray, that sounded like an explosion, not a person!”

“No,” Master Fox said. “That was a spaceship, Xavier.”

Xavier was amazed,

“A spaceship?”

“Without a doubt,” said Master Fox. “There’s a certain noise they make as they fly through the air.”

“So you mean there’s an alien here?” Xavier asked.

Master Fox nodded and said,

“It would appear that somebody either lost control of the ship or was flying under aged. That was not the proper landing sound.”

Xavier knew from Master Fox's teachings that there were other beings on other planets but he would never go into much detail.

Xavier also never expected to encounter alien himself.

He said to his teacher,

“Master, what if they’re bad? Or try to hurt people?”

Master Fox looked out a window,

“That is possible, Xavier. This is why I am going to go and investigate.”

Xavier got anxious,

“All by yourself? Can I come with you?”

Master Fox thought for a moment.

They were too far from Low Valley to drop Xavier off and it was getting too late to leave him in the middle of the city.

“I suppose I can’t leave you here,” Master Fox said. “Fine. You may come with me. But you must do as I say. If I tell you something you must not argue. Understand?”

“I do.”

“Then let’s go.”

Master Fox changed the coordinates and went another direction.

“Master Ray, I have a question,” Xavier said.

“What is it?” said Master Fox.

“How do you know where to fly to?”

Master Fox pointed out the window,

“I’m simply feeling for our guest’s energy signal.”

“You can feel energy from this far away?” Xavier asked.

Master Fox nodded,

“Anything that is alive has energy as I've told you before. If you close your eyes and concentrate hard, you will always be able to feel it and track it down.”

Xavier was still confused,

“But there are a lot of people on Earth. How can you lock on just one person?”

Master Fox replied,

“Our guest appears to be stronger than the average human and he’s not too far away so that makes it easier to track. Plus I’m simply following where the loud noise came from as well.”

“OK, I see now,” Xavier said as he looked out the window,

After about 10 minutes, Master Fox initiated the landing.

“We've arrived, Xavier,” Master Fox said once they landed. “Go out and see what the situation is.”

Xavier was shocked. Just twenty minutes ago, Master Fox didn't even want him to even come. And now he was sending him out there alone.

“You’re not coming Master Ray?” Xavier asked.

Master Fox answered,

“I’ll be right here in the ship waiting for you. Besides, after feeling this new energy, I don’t think you should even need me. Go on.”

Xavier jumped out of the ship and looked around. He saw nobody.

Knowing that Master Fox was hardly ever wrong, he tried another way to find the alien. He closed his eyes, stayed still and tried to feel the energy. He did this for almost two minutes. He suddenly opened his eyes.

There!

Xavier swiftly turned to his left.

He took off in the direction he felt. After running about fifty yards, he finally saw somebody.

A regular looking boy around his age and height was wearing unusual armor. He had a helmet on his head with a technological ear piece as well. He also wore some type of large wristwatch.

The young man was looking at Xavier as if he had been expecting him.

“I knew they would send somebody after me!” The young man yelled. “But you don’t scare me!”  

The boy charged and threw a punch at Xavier's face.

Xavier just barely avoided it.

“Hey! What are you doing?” Xavier yelled out.

The boy had bright blue eyes and very high energy.

He jumped backwards and then charged at Xavier again, this time with a kick.

“You won’t confuse me, Sorovian!” The boy said. “You might as well go back there alone because I’m not going with you!”

Xavier jumped high into the air to avoid the kick and replied,

“Listen! I don’t know what you mean but you should calm down before you cause a scene!”

“Liar!” the boy yelled.

He jumped just as high as Xavier and punched him hard in the face.

Xavier took the punch and landed hard on the ground. When he got back up, he was angry.

But strangely, he couldn’t help but smile a little bit.

He had been fighting criminals in North City for weeks now. And in all that time, not a single person (besides Master Fox in the trainings) had been able to actually hurt him until right now.

“Well…If you won’t listen then I guess I have no choice!” Xavier said.

He ran towards the stranger at his top speed.

They collided and hit each other. They then charged and got ready to attack again until they were pushed apart by a strong force.

The stranger was on the ground holding his shoulder from Xavier’s hit.

Meanwhile Xavier himself was rubbing his face from that earlier punch.

“I told you to see what the situation was. Not to fight!” Master Fox said.

Xavier looked up.

“So it was Master Ray that pushed us,” he said to himself

“Xavier?” the stranger said. “But that’s not a Sorovian name.”

Xavier was confused.

“No, Young Man, it is not,” Master Fox said, “Xavier has never been to Planet Sorvan or even left this planet at all."

Xavier looked at Master Fox and said,

“Master Ray, what are you both talking about? What is Sorvan?”

The strange young man now began to laugh loudly. He got on his feet and said,

“Oh, really? I guess I messed up…Didn’t mean to cause a problem!!”

Master Fox looked at the boy very heavily and said,

“Judging by your attitude, I think that you might be a Vodeerian. Am I correct?”

The boy looked at Master Fox with surprise and said,

“Most definitely! You must be pretty smart, Old Man!”

Xavier got on his feet as well and said,

“You could try to be more respectful to him you know? He could beat you down in five seconds, tops!”

Master Fox held up his hand

“Do not worry about it, Xavier,” he told his student. “The people on Planet Vodeer are naturally like that. He means no disrespect.”

The Vodeerian boy laughed again and pointed at Xavier.

“Although!” Master Fox said. “While he is on Earth, he could learn to respect his elders!”

The boy stopped laughing and smiled,

“Yeah, OK. My mistake, Old Man.”

Master Fox looked at him again and said,

“In any case, your ship did not land properly. Why?”

They all looked over at the boy’s spaceship lying in the ground inside of a crater.

Xavier spoke out,

“Yeah, and what are you even doing here?”

The boy then stopped smiling and looked completely serious.

“I came here to escape,” he said.

“Escape what?” Xavier asked.

Master Fox held up his hands and said,

“Explain your situation, Boy.”

The boy thought for a moment and came to the conclusion that he was among trustworthy people.

He began to tell them his story,

“It all started two years ago back home…”

(2 years ago on Planet Vodeer)

A young man is running around outside of his house on a planet somewhat similar to Earth, but bigger. Another noticeable difference in planets is that the color of the sky on Vodeer is a mix of blue and light gray. There are also larger buildings and greater levels of technology.

“Calaroh!” a woman’s voice from the house yells. “Come inside and eat something!”

The young man stopped running around and looked towards the house. He had blond hair and bright blue eyes. He ran towards the house and yelled out,

“I’m coming, Mother!”

He went inside and saw a woman who like him had bright blue eyes, but her hair was short and black.

“Sorry, Mother!” the young man called Calaroh said. “I was trying to run faster than I did last time.”

His mother pushed her black hair out of her eyes. Her blue eyes were bright with emotion as if she had been crying.

“Don’t worry about it, Calaroh. Let’s eat, OK?” She said.

“Fine with me!” Calaroh said laughing. “So I guess Dad is too busy at work to eat with us today?”

His mother looked down at her feet and said,

“Let’s go eat, Son. We need to talk about something important…”

As they ate, Calaroh’s mother was surprisingly quiet. She did not tell a single funny story and she kept staring into space. This was highly unusual for Vodeerians.

“Mother,” Calaroh said. “You said you wanted to tell me something, right?”

Calaroh’s mother came back to reality and faced her son,

“Calaroh…” she said quietly. “You know that your father and I both love you, right?”

Calaroh was confused.

“Yeah I do. What’s going on?” he responded.

“It’s King Sorvan, Calaroh,” his mother answered.

She looked more and more like she was about to cry with every word. She continued,

“He just had recruitment for his empire. He’s taken the fifty strongest fighters on Vodeer. And your dad was one of them…”

Calaroh’s mother couldn't contain herself anymore and began to cry and get emotional.

“Your father may not come back to Vodeer again,” she said sadly. “But he wants us to know he cares about us…”

Calaroh was still trying to take in what his mother had just told him.

“Dad is gone?” he said quietly. “And it’s because of Sorvan…”

King Sorvan, also known as the ‘Evil Emperor’, is the powerful ruler of his home planet. He is also considered the ruler of the other planets around his home of Planet Sorvan, which he had renamed after himself.

Sorvan was gifted with incredibly high energy. He was considered a once in a generation type of talent. Unfortunately when he was a young prince, he realized his power and overtook his own parents for the throne. His parents were then sent away and he built an empire by himself as a child.

For years he has been going from planet to planet and taking their strongest fighters to be part of his empire. If they were to refuse, they were either imprisoned or executed.

Calaroh was still stunned. He had his hands on his head, brushing his blond hair back and forth. He walked over to his mother and hugged her tightly as she promised him everything would be alright.

“Your father is the smartest man I've ever met,” she said quietly. “He will take care of himself…”

Over the next two years, Calaroh lived with his mother in relative peace.

Though they missed his father very much, it was not in a Vodeerian’s nature to be upset for very long about things. They kept belief that everything would turn out fine one day.

Calaroh, now 12 years old, was growing stronger every day. He was excelling in all of his fighting and energy classes.

He was hoping to one day be recruited to Sorvan so he could save all the other recruits.

However, when he returned home one day he was in for a surprise.

“Mother! I’m ready to eat!” Calaroh yelled as he entered the house.

His mother walked toward him with her dark hair tied back and her blue eyes glowing with emotion.

“What is it, Mother? Are you OK?” Calaroh asked.

She held her son in a long embrace and said,

“You've been recruited to Sorvan’s empire, Calaroh.”

Calaroh broke away from the hug,

“What?! That’s not possible. I’m too young!” he said.

His mother shook her head and said,

“While you were out today, two of the King’s men came looking for you. They’re now starting to go after the younger fighters too…And since you’re the son of one of the recruits, you were high on their list…”

Calaroh was angry. He wasn’t ready to go now. He wasn’t strong enough yet to make a difference.

That was exactly what Sorvan was thinking. Start now to take recruits while they’re young to prevent them from turning on him in the future.

“Mom! I can’t go. I won’t!” Calaroh said.

His mother put her hands together and looked up,

“I wish it wasn't like this. But Sorvan is in charge, Son.”

Calaroh thought for moment and then he had an idea.

“Mom,” Calaroh said sharply. “What if I run away? I could take Dad’s ship and go to another planet!”

His mother shook her head,

“They would look for you, Calaroh. And they will probably punish you as well.”

Calaroh got more angry and shouted,

“I would rather have that happen than be one of Sorvan’s stupid men! I have to get away and get stronger quick! And maybe find help too!”

His mother thought for a minute,

“And what if they come back here? What would I tell them happened to you, Calaroh?”

“Tell them that they’re wrong!” Calaroh said. “Tell them that you don’t really have a son and they’re looking for someone else.”

His mother sighed,

“Calaroh, that won’t work. They have our records! And they’ll be sure to ask your father too…”

“No, Mom!” Calaroh yelled. “Dad won’t mess this up. He’ll catch on to what we’re doing. I know he will! You’re the one who always says that nobody’s smarter than Dad! Don’t you want me to get away from Sorvan?!”

His mother looked at him angrily,

“No, Calaroh! I want you to be safe. And at least with your father on Planet Sorvan I’ll know where you are.”

Calaroh looked down.

He hadn’t really thought about how much his mother was going through.

He looked at her face. Both of their blue eyes were glowing now.

“Mother, I will be safe. I promise,” Calaroh said. “But I have to do this whether you say yes or not.”

Calaroh’s mother realized that she couldn't force him to do anything at this point and gave in,

"You’re acting a lot like your dad,” she whispered. “Fine. I can’t stop you. But you don’t even know how to fly a ship, you’re still under-aged!”

Calaroh answered,

“But I’m old enough to use autopilot, Mom. The space police won’t bother me as long as it’s on autopilot. I’ll just make it send me to any planet not too far away.”

They made the preparations and soon enough the ship was ready to fly away.

“Are you sure you've got enough food? And armor? And clothes?” his mother asked.

“Yes, Mom. I have everything I need,” said Calaroh.

His mother hugged him again and started to cry a little bit.

“Call me on your communicator as soon as you land somewhere, OK?”

“I will, Mom. Don’t worry.”

Calaroh jumped into the ship and set the coordinates to the closest planet to Vodeer in Sorvan’s opposite direction.

His mother watched the ship fly away and waved to her son one last time.

(This is where Calaroh’s story to Master Fox and Xavier ended)

Calaroh’s mother stared at the ship as it disappeared into outer space,

“Please…Just be safe,” she said to quietly.

The next day, two Sorovian soldiers came to Calaroh’s home.

When she heard the knock, Calaroh’s mother went to answer the door.

“Ma’am,” one of the soldiers said. “We are here to take your son. These are King Sorvan’s orders.”

Calaroh’s mother was a little bit shocked. She hoped that she would have more time until this encounter.

However, she already planned what she wanted to say.

“You see, gentlemen,” she said. “There would appear to be a mistake. I have no children.”

The first soldier removed his helmet. It was clear that he was a Sorovian because of his pale gray skin and serious expression. As tradition of all Sorovian soldiers, he was completely bald.

“What sort of game are you playing with us, Woman?” the soldier said. “Just yesterday, you told us that your son was not home and now you don’t even have a son at all?”  

Calaroh’s mother had been expecting this conversation. She replied quickly,

“You see, Sir, you asked me if my son was here. All I said was that there was nobody in the house except me. When you gave me the King’s recruitment paper, you had already left before I could say anything else. I believe you may have the wrong family.”

The soldiers looked at each other.

Technically, Calaroh’s mother was not lying. She never told the them that she did not have a son in their last meeting. But luckily, she also never confirmed that she did.

“Check the house,” the first soldier said to the other.

Calaroh’s mother tried to remain calm, but she was very nervous. She was at least glad that her son was gone. If Calaroh had just stayed one extra day then he would have been taken. And It probably would have been by force.

The second soldier returned from checking the house and confirmed that there was nobody else inside.

“But,” he said. “There is a room that looks like it belongs to a boy upstairs.”

The soldiers then looked at Calaroh’s mother.

She was scared, but she thought quickly,

“That is only a guest room. Nothing more,” she said.

The soldiers looked at each other again. They had orders to kill anyone who showed resistance. But this woman wasn’t resisting. They had no evidence to doubt her.

“OK, Ma’am,” the first soldier said. “We apologize for the confusion.”

The two soldiers left the house and got on their ship back to Planet Sorvan.

Calaroh’s mother closed the door behind her and fell to her knees in relief.

“Calaroh…” she whispered.

(Meanwhile on Planet Sorvan)

Planet Sorvan was a different type of world. The skies were a light purple color at all times due to a purple aura that surrounded the planet. This meant there was no simple way for foreigners to tell whether it was night or day.

There was a large estate with a grand castle but most of the houses were very small. In the castle was where the ruler, King Sorvan, could be found.

The two soldiers that spoke with Calaroh’s mother began to land. Many Sorovians began to clear out and make way.

“Let’s go find the commander before he finds us,” the first soldier said to the other.

They went to the castle and found the commander waiting outside the door.

He wore a similar helmet and armor as them except his was in a different design that was only for commanders.

“Well,” the commander said. “Where is the last recruit?”

The second soldier spoke out,

“Sir, there seems to have been an error in the report. Shaira Dimensio does not have a son.”

The commander was shocked,

“Are you insane?” he said. “We did a full and complete study! Shaira Dimensio and her husband, Vex-el Dimensio have a son named Calaroh Dimensio. Our research has never been wrong!”

The first soldier replied,

“Sir, we searched the whole house and there was nobody else there. Just the woman.”

The commander was very angry,

“Do you have any idea what King Sorvan will do when we tell him we made an error on one of the families?”

“No, Sir!” the two soldiers said.

The commander yelled in response,

“Neither do I! And that is the problem!!! We could be history…”

The first soldier looked down and said,

“Sir, we don’t know what to say. We found no certain evidence of her having a son.”

The second soldier’s eyes got wide,

“Wait a minute! Isn’t Vex-el Dimensio here as one of the older recruits? Maybe we can get information from him, Sir.”

The commander thought for a moment,

“Well don’t just stand there. Go find him! And for your sake, he better have something helpful to say.”

The soldiers went into the castle and pushed through the crowd. It was mostly made up of recruits from various planets, both young and old. In some cases, there were even family reunions between fathers and sons.

The two soldiers got to a podium and sent out their announcement.

“If Vex-el Dimensio, of Planet Vodeer is here then let him come with us downstairs, immediately!” the second soldier cried out.

After a brief wait, a man made his way to the two soldiers.

He was a fairly tall man with brown eyes and blond hair.

“Vex-el Dimensio?” the first soldier asked.

“That’s me,” Calaroh’s father responded.

“Come with us. We have questions for you,” the soldier said.

When they reached the questioning room in the basement they began the investigation.

The first soldier started,

“We recently had recruitment for the young fighters on other planets and your home was one of the ones we visited. On our list was a young man named Calaroh Dimensio.”

Vex-el got anxious. He began thinking.

Calaroh? His son? Why were they coming to him? Had something happened to his son?

“What about the boy? Is he alright?” Vex-el asked.

The first soldier continued,

“You know the boy we’re talking about, correct?”

Vex-el was now confused. He began thinking again.

Why would they ask such a question? They surely must have known Calaroh was his son. Otherwise why would they have called him specifically instead of any other Vodeerian?

“Why do you ask?” Vex-el asked the soldier.

“I am the one asking the questions, Vodeerian!” the soldier said sharply. “Now answer me!”

Vex-el was now thinking rapidly and very seriously.

Any answer he gave would have a direct impact on his son. He knew he had to be careful. He finally replied,

“I may know this boy. But if you were to bring him to me then I’ll know for sure.”

The second soldier quickly spoke out,

“He is not here, Vodeerian.”  

The first soldier got angry and shouted,

“Shut up! I am the speaker!”

Vex-el was even more confused now. He again went into thought.

Calaroh is not here? But they say they just went to recruit him…How could he not be here?

“Tell me,” Vex-el said. “You say that you just went recruiting on Vodeer, right? Then how is it that you did not return with the boy?”

The first soldier was still glaring at his partner. He then responded to Vex-el,

“Answer my question, Vodeerian!” he said angrily. “Tell us whether you know who this boy is or not! Is he your son?”

Vex-el thought to himself:

‘These two men went to Vodeer looking for my son. They’ve returned to Planet Sorvan without my son and are now asking me if I even know who he is… Has Calaroh died? Or has he gone missing? Or…Did he run away?’

He wished that he could contact Shaira to find out what was going on.

Or has she died too?

“No. I don’t know the boy,” Vex-el said.

It hurt Vex-el to deny his own son. But he was convinced that this was the safest answer for Calaroh.

He felt that if he said yes then he could possibly endanger his son one way or another. This way, at least if Calaroh really was alive then they would not search for him and he would not have to come to Planet Sorvan.

The soldiers looked at each other closely. No Vodeerian would deny his own son.

“Fine,” the first soldier said. “You may go.”

Vex-el was not through yet,

“Wait! I’ve answered your questions. Now answer mine. When you went to Vodeer, who did you speak to about this boy? I may be able to help you find him.”

The first soldier looked at his partner and nodded.

The second soldier then spoke out,

“We spoke to a woman that we thought was his mother, named Shaira Dimensio. She told us that she has no children.”

The first soldier then joined in,

“Do you even know who she is? Or are all of our records wrong?”

Vex-el thought for a second and then nodded his head.

He now knew for sure that he had made the correct decision in denying Calaroh.

Shaira must have known of the recruitment and hidden their son if he was alive.

Why else would she deny him?

“Shaira Dimensio is my wife. I certainly know her,” Vex-el said. “But she is correct. We have no children. I’m sorry.”

The soldiers got up and left the room and Vex-el walked back upstairs by himself.

“Strange,” he said to himself. “To think that Shaira would have the nerve to think of such a trick like that… To lie to two soldiers?”

He then began to smile,

“Of course! It also could have been the boy’s idea too. She probably needed to be convinced by her stubborn kid… Calaroh, wherever you are, take care of yourself, Son.”

Back upstairs, the two soldiers didn’t even bother going back to the commander.

They knew where he was going to send them and they knew he wouldn’t go with them. They went up to the throne of Sorvan.

When they arrived, they bowed slowly and the first soldier cried out,

“Master! We have bad news.”

King Sorvan looked over at them.

He had gray skin like all Sorovians. His armor was designed with gold running down the sides. He also wore a black cape. He did not wear a helmet, though and his bald head was shining.

The King smiled lightly and said,

“What is it, Soldier? Fortunately for you I’m in a pretty good mood. So let’s hear it.”

The soldiers were shaking a little bit.

“Well, Sir…It would appear that we put one of the boys from Planet Vodeer in the wrong family,” the first soldier said. “So we will have one less recruit than we said we would.”

Sorvan stopped smiling.

“Why don’t you just go and find the correct family for him then?” The King said impatiently.

The first soldier replied,

“Well, Sir…To find one family could take a great deal of time and we assumed that forty-nine recruits would be enough for this year…”

Sorvan smiled again,

“I see. So I’m a fool for wanting fifty and not settling for forty-nine, correct?”

The soldiers got frightened,

“No, Sir!” the soldier said. “We just thought that one boy…”

“Enough!” Sorvan said before the soldier could finish his sentence.

Sorvan moved so quickly he had seemingly vanished from his seat to the very front of both soldiers.

The soldiers yelled in fear and turned to run.

Sorvan hit the first soldier in his stomach and he just lay down.

The second soldier stopped trying to run and just lay in fear.

“Now,” Sorvan said smiling at the second soldier. “I want you to go back to Planet Vodeer alone and find this boy, understood? Or is that too much work for just one soldier?”

The second soldier leaped to his feet,

“No, Sir! It will be done right away!”

He then ran out of the throne room.

Sorvan went back to his throne.

“It’s a shame,” he said laughing. “You simply cannot avoid lazy workers these days.”

Sorvan laughed in his seat.