Author Comment: I forgot to thank my beta-reader FollowerOfAnhamirak for correcting my mistakes in this chapter after he sent the update. Thanks again for the help in my story.
Also, thank you everyone for your support.
Tom walked towards school, his scanner in his hand. As he walked, he couldn't help but frown as he thought about yesterday. He and his friends had spent all day yesterday trying to find out where Phelphor might be hiding, but they had come up empty. The possibility that the creature met his demise was there but Tom desperately hoped it wasn't true.
Other than that, though they had learned that Alexandre met with the descendants of Gosh and he had spoken highly of his new friend, happily showing them his new scan.
As for Peyton and Sarah, they had pretty much ported out once they came back, saying nothing to them. Sarah had been extremely frustrated while Peyton had seemed to have a lot on his mind. Other than saying everything had gone alright they had been extremely tight lipped about their meeting with Theb-Saar. That was all they got for an answer.
"Tom." Called out a voice from behind startling him. Turning his head Tom smiled as he saw his best friend join up with him.
"How's it going Kaz?"
The red-haired boy let out a long sighed as he adjusted his glasses, "Pretty frustrated. We searched everywhere and found nothing. Mudeenu left at the end of the day and I don't know which Mipedian is there now. Not just that. I can't help but think when the other tribes would come." Kaz looked at his best friend, clearly nervous about it. He let out a small smile, "But I brought something. I found a few old cards of the first generations and finally got them. Did you bring yours?"
"Sure. It will be good to think of something else. We aren't in Perim. Our codes are." Tom replied, smiling.
Suddenly the two teenagers stilled for a moment as a feeling washed over them for some reason. There was something, but they didn't know but what was it?
Nervously Kaz nodded, "You know?" He glanced behind him. He had seen a few suspicious vehicles like a black or red car that seemed to follow them, "Do you feel like… you know?"
Tom nodded quietly as they kept going forward. They hadn't forgotten Codemaster Crellan's warning.
Chapter 32: Eyes On Us
The school day quickly passed and their initial plan to show their cards during lunch break was pushed aside. The cafeteria had been too crowded and they had little time for that. They could only focus on eating before going to class once again. It was a shame; they had really needed a distraction.
When the day came to an end, Kaz suggested, "Let's go to my house. We'll show our cards there."
"Sure." Tom agreed.
Kaz lived much closer to school than him and it was just simpler to do it that way.
The two walked, once again growing a little uneasy. The feeling of being followed came back. The two looked around, wondering what might have caused it, seeing nothing standing out. They tried to ignore that feeling, but Codemaster Crellan's warning still echoed in their mind.
"You think the government is spying on us?" Kaz asked, his voice slightly anxious.
Tom raised his shoulders, looking concerned as well, "Maybe. Codemaster Crellan wasn't joking about it."
"Just because we're friend with Alexandre?" There was no bitterness in Kaz's voice when he said those words.
Looking at each other the both of them wondered if the government would do anything against them. Shaking their heads, they just kept walking, trying to put their minds at ease. It was pointless to be this nervous about something when you couldn't do anything about it. At least for the moment anyway.
As they walked, Kaz routinely kept glancing around from time to time for anything suspicious. Given that he spent a lot of time in the Underworld, much more so than Tom, he always had to keep his guards up. Every time he dropped it; he was in trouble. That was how he ended up in a duel against Hammerdoom Chantcaller. He had been careless for just one moment.
The two continued and Kaz eventually noticed a black car parked not far away from them. The boy wasn't sure if it was the same car from before, but it did look similar. Odds were that they were being stalked by someone.
"Tom. I wonder where the government is involved with Chaotic."
"Me too. I rather not know, though. I feel like we're being watched like criminals." Answered Tom a little nervously.
Kaz just shook his head. As soon as they reached the house of the Kalinkaz family the two of them hurried inside, their uneasiness vanishing as they crossed the threshold. As Tom began to pull away Kaz checked by the window and noticed the black car he had seen this morning. It seemed nobody had moved it all. "I see."
"What did you see?"
"There's a black car that followed us. It stopped near my house." Kaz didn't point at the vehicle but instead pointedly looked at it. Tom saw it and shrugged uneasily, silently hoping Kaz was wrong. Gesturing upstairs Kaz sighed and they went to the second floor.
"Doesn't help that my bedroom window leads to the street." Kaz sighed.
"You're good at seeing that." Tom praised him, smiling slightly.
"It pays to spend a lot of time in the Underworld. You always need to keep your guard up or you might get backstabbed or something worse." Kaz admitted.
"Are we in a movie right now? Because it feels like it." Tom said jokingly.
"Maybe. Makes us the heroes I guess." Said Kaz as they sat on the bed. The underworld player checked by the window and saw the car didn't move, "Let's forget about them. We won't know why they are stalking us." Kaz suggested.
"As long as they don't try anything." Tom sighed.
"Yeah. Anyway, it's time to show you some of the awesome cards I found online. Took a while to receive them, but I wanted them in perfect condition." Explained Kaz, taking out a small box from his bag and pulling out the cards.
Tom did the same, "Me too. I didn't manage to get Maxxor's father's card, but I'm happy with those that I did get."
The two of them laid out the mixture of Underworld and Overworld cards on the bed. Together they had a mixture of a few creatures, battlegear and mugic. They put the mugic cards on the side as they were those that already existed. It went to show them that it was difficult to create a new mugic given the little variety that existed.
"This one is of Chaor's father. I read a little of his backstory and it's as bad as I learned from Agitos. That monster is sadistic to the max. I would be dead at the simple sight of that creature." Kaz sighed as he showed Tom the card.
"It's a miracle that Chaor is less like Crimson," Tom commented.
"No wonder the Underworld was extremely unpopular back then. I also got one of the updated versions of Khybon. He lost one hand and replaced it with a cannon," exclaimed Kaz, reading the description on the car, "A hand. A price for my failure. A machine that wasn't good enough for my king."
"So, Crimson cut his hand," Tom concluded.
"In mom's book, it said that it was Crimson's fault, but he cut off Khybon's hand. Just for the sake of it." Kaz grumbled. He turned the card of Chaor's father on the other side, "I wouldn't be an Underworlder player with him around. He makes the M'arrillians feel like the good guys."
"Yeah." Sighed Tom. He took one and showed it to his friend, "I got a card from Attacat's father."
"Is it Defencat?" Said Kaz, playing around with the name of the creature.
"No." Said Tom, letting out a fake unamused glare at his friend. He showed him the card, "Saber, The Hunter. Underworlders are my prey. A trophy for our tribe."
"Are all creatures of the previous generations that aggressive?" Kaz asked, a bit disturbed.
"I searched online and no. Many creatures just had an aggressive motto. From the lore, it was to intimidate the Underworlders. It partially worked."
"Yeah. Crimson never did an all-out war during his reign. Maybe that's why."
"In the lore, Saber was a kind warrior who helped his tribe when needed. It also said that he came from a special bloodline." Tom explained.
"Wait. Don't you think that Attacat is the descendant of Alexandre's friend in Kaizeph? Mom said that Alexandre had an Overworlder friend who looked a little like a tiger slash cat." Kaz asked.
"Saber and Attacat had some similarity to that one creature on the tablet." Tom reasoned, excited at the prospect.
The two were quiet as they wondered if that was the case. It was something they might never know.
"Maybe I'll ask Attacat about it eventually…when things calm down a little."
"Yeah… right now my Chaotic self is probably checking in with the Underworld right now. Just to know if Chaor is on his way to Chaotic. If Theb-Saar reached it, I'm sure Chaor is searching a way in with the Telebracers."
"It's weird that we have to wonder about that," Tom sighed as he grabbed another card, "I guess I have to check on Maxxor too. If they know what Theb-Saar did then…they might try to get there as fast as possible."
Neither of them liked that possible scenario at all.
Kaz wondered if it would end up like his nightmare and turn into a war in Chaotic. He doubted it though, after seeing the defense system that apparently no one knew about until now. What would happen was a mystery they didn't want to solve. It didn't help to overthink it.
"And here's my next card." Continued Kaz, trying to push away the thoughts of war.
They went on to show each other some of the battlegear that existed in the past and wouldn't be used anymore. Many of them were obsolete, just like human's weaponry as time passed.
As they looked over each other's cařd Tom asked curiously, "With everything going on, I'm really wondering how our cards look like any creatures. I mean, the first generation never went to Perim, but they had Khybon, Crimson, Prince Theb-Saar and other creatures that existed. How do we know what they look like and that bit of lore?"
Kaz nervously chuckled, "I'm really trying not to think about that. That's impossible for us to know."
"That's the weird part. We shouldn't," Tom paused wondered how it was possible.
"Don't think for a second that it's because this is the Cothica." Kaz warned him. He lightly frowned, "Because it is not the case. So not the case." He sighed and put the cards he already showed Tom to the side.
"You're right. Let's put that aside." They continued like until they ran through all the cards they had. Finished, the two went in the living room and sat on the couch, watching the trailer of another popular movie coming up.
"I hope I'll be able to see that one." Kaz commented, thinking of that time Sarah wasted his chance to see the movie because of a card exchange.
They did not have a good memory of that. Sarah always went out of her way to avoid talking about it, since Kaz still held a grudge against her.
She also understood it as well, as a fan of that movie. They had confronted her about it and she had made it up to each of them.
"Anyway, that's pretty much it." Kaz checked outside and still saw the black car, "They won't go away." He was a little afraid, but also angry at the apparent surveillance.
"The government won't back down." Remarked Tom, feeling the same way.
"I just want to call the cops so they leave." Kaz grumbled as he crossed his arms.
The duo sighed loudly as they knew it wouldn't work. They surely had authority beyond the cops if they called. They were kinda trapped on their own.
"If only Theb-Saar didn't try and reached Chaotic." Kaz grumbled.
"Then another tribe would have reached it first." Tom pointed out, clearly unhappy with the situation as well.
"I wonder if Sarah and Peyton had to deal with them. And mom." Said Kaz, just realizing the probability.
"Most likely." Tom admitted. He stood up and said, "I have to go home. Dinner is starting soon."
"Yeah. I have to make something for myself. Mom is coming home late today." Kaz escorted his friend to the door. Kaz opened it and observed the car, "Tom. Remember if that's their car you have to be careful. We don't know what they want or if they really are from the Government."
Tom nodded. It was true that they assumed it was them, but it could be something else, "I'll be careful. Like if I was in the Underworld."
"Good." They stopped when their scanner started beeping. Both grabbed them and pressed the central button to receive heir code selves.
The both grumbled as they looked over their memories.
"I haven't found Phelphor." Tom complained. They needed to know what the M'arrillians were planning, "What did you find out in the Underworld?"
"Chaor is planning to go to Chaotic. He knows Theb-Saar went there and he won't let him take the advantage to reach the 'Cothica'. He also stopped me when I was spying and got a few bruises when I failed to escape."
"What happened?" Asked Tom, sounding concerned.
"I didn't tell you until I was sure no creatures could hear us." he scratched his head nervously, "He interrogated me. I couldn't get away without my scanner. He wanted to know everything in Chaotic, what was going on with the Mipedian and the 'Alliance'. I said there wasn't. Just that it is forbidden to fight in Chaotic. That part we can say. Anyway, I'm not going back to the Underworld for a while." Kaz sighed.
"He might come to us." Said Tom, slightly afraid at the prospect of Chaor looking for them.
Kaz gazed at the side, not bothering to answer him.
The two said their good-byes and then Tom left. Kaz checked by the window and it seemed the car wasn't going after his friend. That relieved him, but it worried him that he was alone with whoever was in the car.
Kaz sighed and said, "I hate this mess." but he won't put the blame on Alexandre. It wasn't his fault.
AC: This is the end of this chapter. I hope you liked it.
Next Chapter: An Inch To Success.
Tom goes to the Overworld to figure out how progressive the Overworld was. Apparently much more than he thought.
