Tom woke up the next morning. He sighed a bit nervously. He decided that he would tell Sarah what happened while he was busy in his training. He decided to do that in Chaotic. His friends would be around. They would port somewhere isolated in the Overworld and discuss the matter.

His girlfriend couldn't come to his home on her own yet and his mother needed the car. He could already tell that she would be angry that he hid stuff from her. He also did something dangerous on his own again. He knew Kaz didn't explain everything to her yet. He had more to tell his best friend and his girlfriend.

Tom took a deep breath. He could feel the tension dropping. He anticipated a big reaction from Sarah, but he knew very well it was better than keeping it in him. He then ported to Perim.

Chapter 32: A Light In The Palm

Once he was there, he searched for Sarah and Kaz. He nodded at one of the Overworlders who was present in Chaotic. He couldn't find them near the port court.

He sat on his usual spot. He sat on the chair and waited for them. As he waited, his mind wandered. He thought of Peyton. It had been a few days already and no one made any progress in finding what happened to him. He knew Theb-Saar was furious. The teenager knew the two were friends and the king of the Mipedian cared for the portly boy.

He saw a few Mipedians who asked a few questions about Peyton. He could hear the name of the boy. He knew the tribe hoped to find any kind of clue in the manner. Alas, he knew far too well that they won't have any success.

"Hang in there Peyton," he closed his hand. He had a chance to get more clues once he went to see the Elementalists. Not only that, there was something else. Something he couldn't tell his friends. That was too much for him to believe as of now, so it was another reason to keep quiet about that. He glanced up and saw Sarah quickly coming at him. She wasn't happy, "I'm sorry Sarah. I was busy and-"

"Don't sorry me! You can't just act all weird all of a sudden with everything going on without me and Kaz worrying for you!" she vented her frustration and fear. It quickly passed as she told him why they had to stick together and why he shouldn't keep secrets when he disappeared, no matter what reason, "Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

Tom scratched his neck nervously. He admitted, "I wanted to tell you quickly. I wasn't forbidden to tell you about that. I- I just was too nervous and afraid to tell you all of this," he felt his girlfriend grabbed his hand.

Sarah calmed down and sat by his side. The girl knew he wasn't lying. After everything they overcame, she knew he was nervous about this, "Because you said yes to something and you knew we wouldn't agree?"

"Right. Mom told Kaz about it and we talked for a while. Khybon was also there when mom was confronted by this."

"You know we don't want you to put your life in danger. The Metalist are around and Peyton is still missing," the teenager sobbed quietly, "His parents are worried sick. They can barely hang on with their son gone like that. They blamed themselves for not being there for him," she managed to get her emotions under control.

Kaz arrived, "Guys. Sorry it took a while. I told mom what was going on with you and I made a decision," his two friends looked at him, "I'll tell you when you explain everything Tom."

"Okay. What's going on is that the Guardian's of the Cothica asked me to do something risky. For that, I need to train to use the power of the light they can use. The element that we human can use, in opposition of the Metalist and their mastery of darkness."

"Why?" Sarah asked for more as she frowned.

"There is another tribe called the Elementalist. They want Milla'iin as a prisoner for the invasion of the Cothica and they also want me, because the other tribes came to the Cothica. There is a risk that if the Guardians do not let me come as the tribe wants too, it might be dangerous and might move the portal to our world to get me by force," he explained a bit more of what the Matriarch explained him for a while. He tapped his fingers on the table as he went on, a bit nervously. Once he concluded, he waited for his friends to give their opinions. Especially Sarah. Kaz already gave a piece of his mind.

"You did what? You accept to be the prisoner of those Elementalist creatures because they were pissed that the tribes saved our world from the M'arrillians invasion? Are they mad or stupid to think that?" Sarah grunted angrily at both her boyfriend and the creatures who wanted him in their world.

"Yes. I thought long about it and talked with mom. I made my decision and I won't turn back," he wanted to say there was something else important. Something only his parents and him knew. Maybe his grandparents soon would know. It was something that would put the family in the know.

"Why did you say yes Tom?" Sarah grunted a bit in frustration.

"Because I don't know if the Elementalist would do something horrible if they decided to be reckless," the boy admitted. He let out a small sigh, "I really wished we weren't in another big situation. There is a lot with the Metalists. If the Elementalists were added into this, it might be too much for our world you know," he closed his eyes, "Really wished they didn't specifically want me. I don't want any of you, but I wished we wouldn't be in trouble," he groaned sadly.

"You still accept to be their prisoners or hostage Tom," she grunted. She wasn't that angry. She just didn't know what else to say. The situation was bad enough with the creatures who kidnapped Peyton.

"Maybe they know more about them. They still kept contact with our world and the surely know about the Metalists. There is also the fact that Milla'iin would be brought there and I don't want them to do anything really bad," Tom thought about tortures and things like that. He played with his fingers on the table.

He added a bit more details to his friends. Nothing was new for Kaz. Sarah told her boyfriend that he should have thought more before agreeing with them. She pointed out a few risks, "They might decide to kill you. It will be the real you there and you will be gone forever. We won't be able to talk with you and… and-" she glanced at the side.

"That's why I'm learning to defend myself."

The orange-haired boy adjusted his glasses, "Tom. You are not the only one who should learn to defend yourself. That's what the decision I made. I will learn how to master the power of the light with you. I won't let you go alone to them and just let them add some sweet words to you," he looked in the eyes of his friend.

"I'm going too. I won't let you alone with Kaz there. If I can do this too, I might be able to help you and Peyton better," Sarah quickly said.

Both looked at Tom in a way that told him that they wouldn't change their mind.

Tom sighed as he let out a small smile, "I have no problem with you coming with me. I can show you what I can do now too," he suggested.

"Show us."

"Not here. We should go to the Overworld. I have much more to say," he stood up. The black-haired teenager chuckled nervously as they forgot to leave to the Overworld. Still, they were isolated and no one listened to them.

The trio left and ported to Perim.

The three walked into the forest. They said nothing as they went towards a more isolated location of the forest. They followed Tom as they went forward.

They stopped when they went into a tree and sat in circle inside of it. It was a large tree. They just hoped no creatures were around or the tree might cause trouble tot hem.

It took an hour to find their spot.

Tom Major checked around one last time, "Here, it might be safe. I learned this quickly, but it's not that impressive yet. I cannot use it to fight. I can do the minimum," he let out a small smile, "I can use it to light my room and read something under my bed instead of a flashlight," he showed the palm of his hands. He closed his eyes and breath slowly. He needed to focus on the flow of energy within him.

He raised his hands. A week of training gave some simple result for now. Light began to shine on the palm of his hand. A small sphere was present and the light came out of it.

Sarah and Kaz watched this in awe. They couldn't believe that a human could do anything special. Now, they saw it with their own eyes.

"We could do that long ago?" Sarah asked.

Tom didn't answer, focused on maintaining the light on the palm of his hands for a few more seconds. He eventually opened his eyes and the light disappeared, "S-sorry. You were saying?"

"You really focused on this didn't you?" Kaz noticed as he looked at his best friend. He tried to see if he used too much energy and if it might be risky to do that.

"I'm not that good at using it and keeping it activated like that. I need to train more before I can just use it with a simple thought. Still, I made quick progress for my age. They said they trained since they are five years old to master the power of light."

"Five?" the other two asked.

"It's easier to learn when young. I can see why. The way they act, it's just natural to them, like the creatures," Tom let out a small smile, "I need to be ready for when the time comes."

"And we will learn this too Tom. We need to be able to do something on our own. We might not be able to have the help of the creatures to save Peyton and help you in any ways," Sarah said as she looked in the eyes of her boyfriend.

The boy let out an apologetic smile, "Because of all that, we won't be able to date for a while," he said that it would be much longer in his mind.

"It's okay. This is serious and I will train with you. We can date in Chaotic and Perim," she simply replied understandingly.

The teenager laughed a bit nervously as he remembered that, "Yeah. We can do both at the same time. Once I leave for the Elementalist territory, I won't have my code here at the same time. I know it's not possible for me and my code to be at the same world at the same time. No one knows what would happen if we ended up in that situation," he commented.

The other two weren't sure, but it was something they guessed could happen. It never happened before. It could be anything. Seeing two things at the same time, a broken personality, everything could be normal, a glitchy code that would like a horror movie or something they couldn't imagine.

The trio were quiet for a while as they looked at each other's.

Kaz decided to reply, "We are going to search for you and Peyton when we are on Perim. The Metalist has him and we are going to bring him home," he decided.

More silence after that. The three let out a small smile once it was done.

Sarah gave one warning to her boyfriend, "Do not hide anything from us again."

Tom let out a nervous smile, as he still hid something. This time, it was at the demand of the Matriarch, "Right."

The two saw right through it, but didn't call him out. They already knew that part was surely the thing he couldn't talk about. Kaz did notice something when he spoke with his mother before, there was a part she didn't tell. He could see it now. He would text to Sarah about it once they were back on Earth.

For now, they ported back to Chaotic for a match.

AC: This is the end of this chapter.

Next: Homesickness Solution

Titanium noticed that Peyton gave signs of being homesick and had the perfect solution for this. He had no idea the repercussion this would bring.