The Turning Point

It has been a few hours since the attack of the extra feral beasts. Tommy decided to go along whatever was left of the Space Cowboys gang. Not taking even a day's break after what events had transpired earlier, every member of the gang wakes up to the sound of Max and Tommy's fists clashing early in the morning.

"HYAAAAAH!!" Tommy and Max scream as they prepare to make the next attack.

As Tommy approaches Max, Max immediately changes his stance to stop Tommy's punch which makes Tommy try to retreat but Max immediately kicks Tommy's knee, which makes him slip and give Max the opportunity to grab Tommy's vest and prepare to punch his face in.

"You missed another great opportunity to hit me Tommy. Right when you had your punch blocked by me, you had the opportunity to use your excellent speed and launch a counter attack instead of retreating." Max explains as he pants and lets go of Tommy's vest.

Tommy looks down at the ground disappointed at himself but Max pats his head saying, "It takes time to learn how to fight Tommy. No matter how experienced one is, there's always something new to learn. You never know when you might face an unpredictable opponent. Anyways, I'll teach you a nice way to do sneak attacks tomorrow."

As they both go back to their respective corners to wipe their faces, an injured gang member comes to them screaming while carrying another gang member on his back smeared with blood all over his body.

"Boss... Those military campers... They..." The gang member tries to speak before collapsing on the ground unconscious, making all gang members rush to aid their injured mates.

"They're.... They're both dead..." One of the gang members speaks in sorrow upon touching their cold bodies and hearing no heartbeat.

"Move aside." Max speaks up and gets down on his knees to inspect the bodies. "These claw marks... They're the same kind of marks those feral beasts left on some of the other gang members last night..." Max continues.

"Boss... I think we should get out of this forest..." One of the gang members speaks up.

"NO! NEVER!! HAVE YOU FORGOT WHY WE ARE EVEN HERE?? ARE YOU GUYS THIS MUCH OF A PUSSY?? DOES NOBODY REMEMBER OUR PACT TOGETHER?? IS THIS WHAT OUR LATE MATES WOULD WANT??" Max screams in utter rage.

"But sir... being here is more dangerous than it has ever been..." The gang member replies.

"Yeah... And our late partners would want us to live long happy lives rather than going on a suicide mission over our petty grudges..." Another gang member speaks up, starting a chain of agreements from the others.

"Fine. You're free to go. I won't force you to work for me. Even if I die, I'll die knowing I didn't abandon the dream our fallen friends shared with us. Go on, live in peace. Live in peace knowing you can't stand for yourselves. I can't stand you guys either. I'd rather not have fakes in my gang." Max speaks back to all of them before putting his hat down on his head, jumping onto his tree house's entrance, entering his tree house and then slamming the door in loudly.

"It's okay... Leave him be... He has gone insane wishing to die..." One of the gang members whispers.

"Yeah... Not like he has anyone to return to..." Another gang member speaks up.

"Okay that was too off... Are you his friend or foe??" An angry gang member speaks up after hearing such a cold line.

"C'mon man. We have families out there. We don't wanna turn up dead to them... " Another one of the gang members speaks up in defense of the others.

"Yeah... Our whole mission... Is just a dream... an unrealistic fantasy... It's time we stop deluding ourselves into thinking we can bring a change..." One more gang member speaks up.

"Yep yep. The boss is free to leave his stupid ambition whenever he wants to and be smart like us and know when to not go on a suicide mission." Another one of the lot replies.

"It was fun while it lasted. Not like the boss can't find another family to be with. He just refuses to." Another gang member riles a remark up.

These sorts of remarks cause infighting which causes Max to come out and say, "I already told you guys. If you want to leave, go at once. And those who are with me, don't bother fighting them. I don't want them to force themselves to be here. Now out at once..."

After saying all that, Max puts his hat back on his head while covering his eyes and heads back into his tree house. A bunch of gang members start packing their stuff up and leaving. The gang had been reduced to a quarter of its original size in just a matter of a few days.

"Boss... Our gang has become shorter than ever... Our ambition... Would it even come true now...?" One of the remaining gang members asks Max.

"Even if it doesn't... We'll keep trying... Nobody knows what the odds may be... But we have to..." Max replies.

"Yes sir!" The member replies back.

The next day, Max starts training Tommy in harnessing binding energy.

"Okay Tommy, I assume you know what the binding energy of the universe is so I'll not go too in depth on that. So let's get to step one. Firstly, we need you to do some balance training." Max speaks to Tommy.

"Balance... Training...?" Tommy seems confused.

"Yeah. Balance training. Wait let me show you how it's done. You see those sturdy string lines tied to each tree? Try walking on those. I'll show you how." Max replies as he makes a high jump onto one end of the string and walks to the other without falling or losing balance at any moment.

Tommy immediately gets the hang of the same but then Max throws a ball at him.

"HEY ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE ME FALL ON PURPOSE!?!" Tommy screams.

"No kid, I want you to balance that on your head this time." Max replies.

"Can it get any worse...?" Tommy says to himself as he manages to do this new task with just as much ease due to his time earlier hunting beasts, learning how to balance on delicate tree branches and remaining tranquil to sneak up on them.

"Good enough?" Tommy asks Max after the task.

"Hmm.... Yeah I'd say so. Let's take it to the next level then!" Max exclaims.

"Next level!?!" Tommy screams right as Max starts throwing objects at him. "HEY AT LEAST WARN ME!!" Tommy screams again at Max who is relentlessly throwing objects at Tommy along with the other gang members.

"Your enemies won't warn you Tommy! You've always got to stay prepared hahaha!" Max replies back laughing along with the rest of the gang members.

Eventually, Tommy falls down and injures his nose. One of the laughing gang members approaches him to do the first aid after which, an angry Tommy walks towards Max to confront him about his silly behavior.

"Boss... another one of the beasts..." A gang member who was sent on a raid mission returns smeared in blood like the two gang members from yesterday.

"HEY!! WAKE UP!! WHERE'S THE REST OF YOUR TEAM??" Max screams at him while the other gang members rush to this member's aid and take him to a cabin above for further treatment.

"Boss... We are now at a sixth of what we used to be... There's only 15 of us left now..." One of the remaining gang members speaks up.

"Stay strong partner.... No matter how many we lose... We have to keep getting back up... How could this happen though...? Didn't we make sure there'd be no beasts on their way by scavenging the area...?" Max replies to the gang member.

"We did, sir... But somehow they got into that empty perimeter as well..." The gang member replies.

"This is bad... The fact that I can't blame any of my former mates for leaving this gang just proves how much of a failure I am in boosting the gang's morale..." Max speaks up while facepalming.

"That's not true boss! We wouldn't be what we are without you! Our strength is not in numbers but our loyalty! We will stay with you no matter what!" The gang member speaks up, igniting the leftover members to agree with him and cheer Max up.

"Heh... You guys think too highly of me... I should be the one glad to have friends like you guys..." Max replies to them with tears in his eyes.

While waiting for the severely injured gang member to wake up, a bunch of gang members start screaming with joy upon seeing Tommy successfully complete the balancing trial. Max jumps down clapping along with the others in the cabin and starts preparing some snacks and booze to celebrate.

"Woah... You had been at it all day? I'm kind of impressed. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself though. Things take time to learn. Now you're all injured. Had you done your training patiently, you wouldn't be required to wait for these injuries to heal. Work smarter Tommy, not harder!" Max speaks to Tommy.

"These injuries are nothing! I can do my training just fine! Now what's the next step?" Tommy replies back.

"Well, if you're that enthusiastic about it, then let's get to the juicy stuff already. To harness the binding energy within you, you need to clear your thoughts up and focus on being one." Max explains.

"Being... One...?" Tommy seems confused again.

With a sigh, Max explains, "Okay, so in the universe, we're all different. Be it non living beings or living beings. But we're all made of the same energy. The binding energy. Different alignments of this binding energy can either make light or matter that can be touched like us. In order to use the power of the binding energy, we just have to reverse engineer it."

"Reverse engineer...?" Tommy seems even more confused than before.

Max pants and says, "Ugh... Just think of it like taking all the differences caused by the alignment of the binding energy, into a point where there is no alignment, but a point where all energy is the same energy. This singular point of energy, would be the binding energy we use."

"I still don't get it..." Tommy replies.

"OKAY FINE!! THINK OF IT LIKE A PIZZA!" Max shouts back at Tommy.

"A PIZZA!?!" Tommy suddenly gets fired up.

"YES! A PIZZA! A PIZZA, WHEN TAKEN APART LIKE A PUZZLE, IS MADE OF INGREDIENTS LIKE FLOUR, TOMATOES, TOPPINGS AND CHEESE!!!" Max explains loudly.

"YES AND IT TASTES GOOD!" Tommy replies back with the same loudness.

"YES! EXACTLY! THAT'S ALSO HOW IT FEELS TO USE BINDING ENERGY! IT'S DELICIOUS!!" Max shouts back.

"WOAH! AWESOME!" Tommy shouts back again.

"Ahem. Okay so when you put the puzzle back up, you get an amazing pizza! That's the singular point where everything is the same and no difference can be found! THE PIZZA POINT!" Max completes his absurd explanation.

"WOAH! SO I JUST HAVE TO KNOW HOW TO CONTROL THE PIZZA POINT!" Tommy screams all fired up but gets confused with a blank expression again and asks, "Wait... How do I use the pizza point again...?"

"I was getting to that... Ahem... Firstly... Binding energy can only be harnessed through the brain because it requires mental fortitude. Did you know that most humans use less than 1% of their brain's true power? That's because their focus is clogged. They think too many things. There's many different thoughts in people's heads much like the universe is a field of chaos made by different kinds of matter. What we need to remember is that it comes from the same place." Max explains further.

"Uh huh..." Tommy says as he starts writing it down on notes.

"Wait... Don't write so much info... It's kind of useless... All I asked of you was to clear your mind, not clog it... Anyways, once your mind is clear from thought processes, you need to do the reverse engineering part-" Max explains more but gets interrupted by Tommy saying, "How?"

"I AM GETTING TO THAT!" Max screams to which Tommy replies "Okay... Sorry..."

"Okay so when I said humans on average only use 1% of their brain... I was exaggerating. Our body autonomously conducts functions that are necessary for living, such as breathing, beating of heart, digestion of food, etc. We can however stop these functions much like we can stop breathing without touching our nose. All you have to do is think deeply of all the blood that flows in your body, all the cells there are in your body, all the electrical charges in your brain, all the atoms that make you and drag them to one place in a breath cycle." Max continues his extremely long lecture which obviously makes Tommy feel confused again.

Max sighs, stands beside Tommy and says, "Close your eyes and only think about a single white dot of light in the darkness."

"Now take your hand to your abdomen and stomach and feel the process of digestion and absorption." Max explains as he uses his left hand to touch his own stomach while using his right hand to drag Tommy's hand to feel what he asks him to feel.

"Now take your hand to your chest with a deep breath and feel the breathing from your lungs and the pumping of blood from your heart." Max continues to speak as he does the action with Tommy.

"And finally to take all processes home to a singular point... Focus it all on the brain as your hand approaches your head..." Max goes on further until the completion.

In just an instant, Tommy feels a surge of energy throughout his body reaching the skies alongside Max.

"Woah... This is... my binding energy...?" Tommy asks.

"Yep. To stop the flow, disconnect the thoughts of your connection to your body." Max explains again which Tommy follows to cut the flow of the binding energy again.

"That was awesome..." Tommy says all fired up.

"Heh... I am surprised it came out so early for you... Must be the result of your time hunting the wild beasts alone that made it a natural instinct you never realized you had... That's just the beginning kid. In a fight, we have many moments where our binding energy points in our brains can go in a disconnect. At such times, the fact that our brain continues to use the rest of its capacity to function our body autonomously, comes into play." Max gives another explanation.

"And how does that happen?" Tommy asks.

"Well. Have you heard of reflexes Tommy?" Max asks back.

"Yes." Tommy replies.

"Well. They don't happen from thinking. That's your body doing the thinking for you. Your entire body has this binding energy. All you really do is drag its virtue back to the brain to have a point of absolute similarity. Your brain's true size is not just the blob in your head but your entire nervous system and its neuron's connections. That's another reason why we say we only use less than 1% of our brain's true power. If you can drag the absolute similarity down to your reflex neurons, you can relax the thinking part of your brain from absolute focus and finally get to strategize how you want to proceed with battle." Max explains more.

"Sounds difficult..." Tommy mumbles to himself.

"Yes it is!" Max exclaims which catches Tommy a little off guard who was only thinking that to himself.

"Furthermore, when your body's reflex neurons rapidly carry the absolute similarity, not only do your reflexes get sharper, your body gains a level of defense and healing from attacks made of this binding energy. Not only that, you regenerate this energy continuously the more used to it you get!" Max passes another long explanation.

"But... How much stronger does this... binding energy thing make me...?" Tommy asks.

"Simple. Let's get to an example shall we." Max replies and gets a log of wood.

"Alright. Look carefully. HYAAAAH!!!" Max says as he chops the log of wood with the edge of his palm and starts panting and massaging his hurt palm a bit. Max then continues, "Now..."

Binding energy starts surrounding Max as layers of invisible wind make the grass and leaves on trees hurl.

"Now... To drag the absolute similarity down to the center of mass of my body... and into the reflex neurons... Once my body is in a state of constant regeneration, I can make another absolute similarity back in my brain very easily by dragging the extra energy from regeneration. This can allow me to think about what I want to do... And now... To focus it on my palm..." Max says as a barrier of white light appears on his head, goes through his shoulders and finally down to his palm as he continues, "HYAAAH!!!" and chops the log of wood on another end. It looks as if he has significantly more ease doing it this time and he quite literally has no sign of pain on his palm this time.

"Now look at the difference between the cuts Tommy." Max says as Tommy gets closer to stare.

"Woah... One of them seemed a bit rugged while the other was a smooth cut... and you didn't require a lot of energy to do it either..." Tommy realizes.

"Hahaha. That's the true power of one's brain Tommy. Since I am a veteran, I can almost instantly get into the state of binding energy regeneration. You might take time so don't overdo it." Max continues.

Tommy collects all binding energy into an absolute similarity but ends up feeling an immediate push back onto a tree with parts of his skin slightly burnt.

"I forgot to say. The state of regeneration manifests best as a muscle memory. And for that, your body needs to be used to proper combat. That's why I was so concerned about your lack of ability to perform counters. You have a lot of potential in both raw combat power and binding energy Tommy, but you need to incorporate your two extremes into working together or you can harness neither... They work in sync Tommy..." Max says his last words before taking his leave for the day.

"Heh... I will prove to you I don't need your petty combat training for that..." Tommy says to himself.

Several hours pass. It's almost night time. Tommy seems to still be training but failing miserably at handling the binding energy.

"I feel pity for that kid." One of the gang members speaks up.

"Not much we can do about it. He's stubborn." Max replies.

Just then, the injured gang member from before finally wakes up and everyone rushes to his cabin. Seeing them all rush there, Tommy also leaves his harsh training for a bit to see what's up.

"BOSS!! BOSS!!" The injured gang member screams.

"I AM HERE PARTNER! TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED!!" Max exclaims loudly.

"Boss... those beasts... They... They... They were being created by those military scum... They made them... to... to... KILL US... THEY ARE COMING FOR US!!! THEY ARE COMING FOR US!!! WE'VE GOT TO RUN BOSS!!! RUN!!!" The injured member screams in pain as his wounds start bleeding again.

"Relax, partner! Rest!" Max exclaims as the rest of the gang members try to calm him down and treat his injuries further.

"I knew it... I JUST KNEW IT... IT COULDN'T HAVE BEEN A COINCIDENCE... THOSE MILITARY SCOUNDRELS...!!" Max screams while punching the wall.

"THEY REALLY HIT A BIG LOW THIS TIME BOSS!! WE WILL KILL THEM!! WE WILL KILL THEM!!" The rest of the gang members scream.

"Looks like that really is the final option." Max says with a scary look on his face.

"The military doesn't kill... He must be mistaken..." Tommy speaks up.

"MISTAKEN? BRAT WE HAVE HAD ALL KINDS OF PROOFS, IT JUST CANNOT BE A COINCIDENCE ANYMORE!" Max screams.

"WELL MAYBE IF YOU ACTUALLY USE YOUR STRENGTH FOR MORE GOOD RATHER THAN SNEAKING AROUND MILITARY BASES AND RAIDING THEM, YOU'D ACTUALLY NOT BE IN THIS SITUATION!" Tommy screams back.

"What do you even know about us, kid? What special thing do you even know about them, huh? Now listen to your elders and shut the hell up before I beat you up brat! Truth is, you're too young and naive to be talked sense into so how about you eat up the free food we get you and say what you really think?!? Go back to train because without our protection, you'd be dead meat by now and don't stick your nose into matters of others!!" Max gives a long and loud lecture.

"FINE, I WILL LEAVE! YOU THINK I AM INCAPABLE OF PROTECTING MYSELF? I DID JUST FINE BEFORE MEETING YOU GUYS! MAYBE IT'S YOU GUYS WHO NEED MY PROTECTION JUDGING BY THE DAY THE FERAL BEASTS ATTACKED!" Tommy shouts back.

"FINE THEN! LEAVE! DON'T RETURN WITH YOUR TAIL BETWEEN YOUR LEGS TO US EVER AGAIN!" Max shouts back.

"Yeah yeah as if I ever cared about you guys." Tommy replies back in utter rage as he packs his stuff up and leaves immediately.

"Boss... That was too harsh... He's just a kid... You could've told him y'know..." One of the gang members speaks up.

"It's no use. He's right... It's better for his future to not stick around with failures like me..." Max replies.

"Boss..." The gang member can't get himself to reply.

"Anyways. We will leave at once. We are done being nice. This time, we KILL THE HORDE!!" Max exclaims as he prepares to leave with whatever gang he has left on a hunt.

"Am I missing those idiots...? No way! Besides... There's no way my grandpa's military has such heinous people..." Tommy thinks to himself. Just then, the injured gang member comes running with the last bit of his strength towards Tommy.

"TOMMY!! TOMMY!!" He screams.

"Dude! You are supposed to be resting! Why're you here??" Tommy exclaims.

"I know I know... But I couldn't... At first I ran to help them first but then one of my mates came running towards me... He asked me to run... But I went to check anyway... All of them were killed except the boss... They tied him up... They had those... Feral monsters in their control through some sort of collar devices... You've got to help them... Please... I beg you..." The gang member says his last words before puking blood and dying.

"No... How could this be... Was I in the wrong... Wait... There's no time to think about this... I've got to save them!" Tommy thinks to himself and starts running towards the military camp by catching onto the dead gang member's scent traces.

Scene shifts to the military camp where Max is tied to a log all beaten up while Tommy sneaks into their base and hides behind a box.

"Hahaha, how long has it been Maximilian? Or should I say Max?" The leader of the camp speaks up.

"I don't know Major Richard... or should I say Captain Richard now...? I simply don't keep track of time nor the musings in the army anymore ever since I got framed by you..." Max replies.

"Ahahaha! You're as funny as ever Max! I never framed you! You committed the act of treason by your own hands!" Richard replies.

"Why you!? Whatever... It has been years... But I still remember how much of a stubborn piece of shit you are to admit your own wrongdoings. Let me guess... You got where you are by continuing that trend right...?" Max replies back.

"Of course. Many such cases like yours. Oblivious of what's happening. Trusting anyone. If there's one thing I absolutely despise in this world, it's trust. One can trust no one but themselves hahaha! Or it could lead to a case like ten years ago when I was in suspicion of selling confidential intel about our military to our enemies so I sent a guy named Max who trusted me a lot to the coordinates of the enemy along with a box containing the data and fabricated the whole mission as delivering supplies to refugees... And he blindly went with it HAHAHA!!! And of course! I got him caught and got my name off of all suspicion! It was then followed by him getting fired from the military, living the life of a fugitive and being thrown away by his own family!" Richard laughs.

"I expect no less from a guy like you..." Max replies sarcastically.

"Oh I can't wait to get your smug little face publicly executed this time. I can already see the headlines... RICHARD CATCHES A DANGEROUS LONG TIME ESCAPEE FUGITIVE!!! GETS PROMOTED TO GENERAL!!! AHAHAHA!!!" Richard laughs yet again but Max doesn't reply.

"Aww, making the atmosphere so dull! Cheer up! You're going to be freed from a life of running hahaha! Not that you even have a family to go back to ever since they died in an accident!" Richard laughs again.

"Say whatever you want... I guess even fate is against me today... Nothing I can do about it but accept." Max replies with a smirk on his face.

"Now that's more like it!" Richard replies back.

Just then, Tommy sneaks behind Max's log and starts cutting the ropes tying his hands and legs and whispers, "I'm here to free you Max!"

"Tommy...? Kid you're not supposed to be here! Run! It's not worth saving a scumbag like me! You were right!" Max whispers back.

"No... I was the one who was wrong... I judge things too quickly... I really am naive... But we can change that together... I am not strong enough... We should escape and train so we can take them down another day..." Tommy replies.

"Kid... I don't want you to get into this petty way of living life... That's why I screamed like crazy to send you away from us... Trust me you don't want this..." Max replies back.

"You can't make me choose how I want to live MY life." Tommy says as he finally cuts all ties binding Max.

"Heh... Stubborn brat..." Max thinks to himself as he throws a dagger onto Richard's arm and says, "The fight is not over yet Richard! Looks like fate is with me today after all!"

"DAMN IT!!! WHAT ARE YOU GUYS WAITING FOR??? ATTACK THEM!!!" Richard screams at his subordinates while he himself runs away to hide from all the action.

Max and Tommy start taking the guards down with ease and with their attacks and respective martial arts styles syncing really well.

"Yo kid! You really learned those counters well in no time!" Max says to Tommy as they continue taking the guards down.

"Yeah well... While I was away, I practiced the techniques you asked me to on a lot of the wild beasts out there... Guess I am getting used to it now!" Tommy replies back.

"Now that's cool as hell!" Max replies.

Tommy can feel an inner spark within him. His stances change automatically from offense to defense and vice versa with effective use of counters. His speed and power is unparalleled compared to those military trained guards.

"What is this feeling...? I am so scared… yet… I feel fun... I am actually enjoying the essence of fighting..." Tommy thinks to himself all fired up.

"I've never coordinated attacks so well before... I haven't felt the heat of true combat like this ever since the war days... I am actually enjoying myself today... To have a combat that doesn't end quickly and to have someone I can truly understand and be on par with on such a physical level... I hope this day never ends..." Max thinks to himself.

In no time, all the guards are down. "So who are you sending next eh?" Both Tommy and Max speak up in a coordinated martial arts position.

"Just you morons wait... FERAL BEASTS ATTACK!" Richard screams as he slams buttons on a remote control in his hands to release the feral beasts from their cage and attack Tommy and Max.

"Alright Tommy, it's now or never. Now that you've felt the heat of battle and mastered counterattacks, your last lesson here is to instantly learn the flow of binding energy's regeneration state and coordinate your enhanced martial arts moves with mine to take these beasts down. Are you ready Tommy?" Max asks.

"More ready than ever Max!" Tommy exclaims.

"Alright! One! Two! Three! Go!" Max replies back as both him and Tommy scream their hearts out and release immense amounts of binding energy and dash towards the horde of feral beasts.

The sheer magnitude of their binding energy amplified punches sends the beasts flying into each other and become a giant ball of feral beasts tied in. Both Tommy and Max then dash into the opposite direction and start running towards the giant ball of feral beasts tied in while enhancing their fists with binding energy and releasing a massively powerful punch that explodes the giant ball of gathered beasts into a pool of blood and bones.

Both Max and Tommy start laughing at each other smeared in blood as red as tomatoes and start doing silly expressions as if they're playing zombies.

Just then, Richard presses another button which releases a giant flying beast out of nowhere towards Tommy but Max jumps to Tommy's aid and uses double impact to strike it down into a pool of blood and bones as well.

Right when they're about to shake hands after such a huge victory, a shot is heard from behind Max which, of course, hits Max and makes him fall to his knees and onto the ground. It was the perfect timing too because of the shot being out of Max's notice and allowing no time frame for Max to divert his attention to the bullet and use his reflect ability on it.

"MAX!! NOOO!!!" Tommy screams.

"Relax kid... It's just a gunshot... I know I don't have much time left... I was already seriously injured... And put a lot of the energy I had left into this battle..." Max says to Tommy.

"No... You'll be just fine... I'll get you to safety and-" Tommy replies back crying but gets interrupted by Max who just says, "There's no denying the inevitable Tommy..."

Tommy tears up and keeps repeating Max's name.

"Tommy... All the insignificant amount of time I had spent with you... Was some of the best times of my life... I had never felt so good in years... Never felt so... understood... I know what happened to your parents in the incident... I got the news too... I understood how you felt deep down inside... Weak and lonely... That self hatred... Spreading like poison... I could just smell it from anywhere... So I decided to train you... So you could never fall on the same level as I did... I didn't have to... But I still did... I don't know why I did... Did I see a bit of me in you...? Or did I see the fleeting memory of something I have long been trying to forget...?" Max utters some of his last words to Tommy.

"Max..." Tommy is left speechless.

"Tommy... That man... Richard... You heard what he did to me... That's why I always attacked his camps specifically... But it was not just because I got kicked from the army... He also killed my family feeling threatened that they might know what he had done to me... He implanted a bomb in their car when they were about to give this info to the military... I lost my wife... My beloved wife... And my son... My precious son... He was the same age as you... Stubborn... Yet always eager to learn... Maybe I tried to see him in you... or maybe not... I don't know anymore... But in these last moments... I just want to give up on how bitter I got... And just think... of the best parts of my life-" Max finishes uttering his last words before puking blood and falling to his inevitable demise.

"NOOOOO!!!!" Tommy screams.

"Hahaha... Oh Max... You and your poor ambitions... Always laid to waste... I finally got you just like I got your family... Guess you're all reunited in the afterlife hahaha..." Richard shows up laughing.

"As for you... Little Prince... I didn't even recognize it was you... I've got to say I'm impressed... However... I have got to kill you after what you've just heard... Don't take it personally, your highness..." Richard continues.

"Don't get near me or Max....!" Tommy exclaims as he takes off Max's white scarf, now red from all his blood and wraps it around his own neck.

"After I am done killing you! I will just burn your body and get your ashes back to the camp of those cowboys... And then I will get their bodies back there too and frame them for the murder of the young prince... Then I shall rise to the top as the hero who avenged the prince's death by killing the gang of space cowboys AHAHAHA! IMAGINE THE PROMOTIONS AND THE FAME! THE RICHES!!" Richard continues to laugh and starts to look more insane the more he laughs.

"So long Prince." Richard prepares his gun.

"I SAID GET AWAY!!!" Tommy screams with his palm pointed towards Richard which suddenly releases a huge shockwave that sends Richard flying.

"What the-!?" Richard exclaims.

Tommy's eyes are shining bright blue in the dark of the moonless night as he screams in pure rage and clenches his fist in the direction of Richard and his eyes glow white this time. His arm gains a blue aura around it and when he pulls his arm towards his direction, it ends up dragging Richard towards him as well as Tommy prepares to deliver the final blow screaming, "DOUBLE IMPACT!!!" which sends him flying through the forest.

Tommy then walks towards Richard with the strength he has left only to find out his body is all bloody and his hair is missing.

The sun rises again. Tommy's month of survival in the forest of terror has finished. He starts walking out. M1ke is waiting for Tommy at the exit. From several meters away, Tommy senses a wild beast on a tree near M1ke and uses his newfound repulsive force ability by screaming, "FORCE: PUSH!!!" and taking it down instantly.

"Yo!" M1ke greets Tommy with a casual wave while Tommy replies back with a smirk saying, "Look behind you sensei!", only for M1ke to be all surprised upon seeing a collapsed beast behind him.

"Woah... I didn't even sense that incoming." M1ke replies.

"Haha! I guess you need to *hone* your senses." Tommy replies back.

"Ahaha you little- but hot damn! I didn't expect you'd learn how to use your binding energy already in the forest. I was hoping to teach it to you myself but I guess I've saved the burden of doing that now! But I am surprised at how much control you already have over it!" M1ke exclaims.

"Haha I guess so! Still got nothing over you sensei!" Tommy replies back again.

"Haha! Gonna take a lot more time for that to happen kid!" M1ke replies.

"Also sensei, I got this!" Tommy says as he shows M1ke the bag he's carrying Officer Richard alive in.

"Yo! M1ke! Take me to prison already! Being here with this kid is absolute torture! Please!" Richard begs M1ke while crying.

"Wait what happened...?" M1ke gets confused.

Tommy takes M1ke to the area where the events of last night had transpired and explains everything to him.

"Oh... That's wild... I didn't expect this to happen. I apologize for putting you in danger Tommy..." M1ke says to Tommy with a genuinely concerned face.

"It's okay! I am fine! I took care of it anyway! Not that you would've taken any longer than me to settle this! Right sensei?" Tommy replies.

"Uh... Yeah right!" M1ke replies back.

"Anyways sensei... We need to make sure word gets out to the public... We can't let things like this happen again... Or people would lose faith in the military... We're supposed to be the good guys after all... I never thought things would get this bad..." Tommy replies again.

"I will make sure the truth gets out Tommy and I will also make sure this Richard guy lands in prison forever! No stones will be left unturned... And you don't have to worry so much... It's the sad truth but that's like I said a month ago... Reality is cruel and harsh. But it is up to us to help others when it is TOO harsh on them. Right?" M1ke replies with a cheerful expression to get rid of the negative atmosphere.

"Right!" Tommy replies with an energetic salute.

"But still... To think Tommy would be able to uncover such a high rank conspiracy within the military without some formal training... This kid has serious potential... It could even be dangerous if he is someday against me... But that's what's getting me so excited to train him further hehe..." M1ke thinks to himself.

"Is something wrong sensei?" Tommy asks.

"Nothing kid. Keep walking." M1ke replies with a smirk and Tommy nods and continues to walk back to the safe side.

To be continued in Chapter - 7...

[Characters]

Name: Richard Thompson

Age: 47

Gender: Male

Description: He's a now arrested Interspace Military Traitor who is currently awaiting his death sentence. His crimes were uncountable but the most notable mentions were treason and mass murder. He has no notable abilities.

Appearance: He is bald and is more muscular and taller than an average soldier. He has a blonde neckbeard and a giant scar on his face that stretches from the tip of his jaw to his forehead. He also wears a monocle and standard military gear.