Chapter 19: A New Alliance

We transition to the outside of Purgatory City, where Teddy, exhausted and on the verge of collapsing, wanders around aimlessly."What am I supposed to do? I am just a kid. I've been spoiled my entire life. I don't know how to do anything. Am I going to die? Will I be able to save my mother? I'm hopeless..." Teddy collapses onto the ground, feeling defeated.Meanwhile, a truck carrying Christian, Eve, and Harrison approaches Purgatory City. Christian, looking bored, spots something on the ground. "Hey, what's that?"Eve looks outside as well and notices the boy lying on the ground. "Looks like a person. He sounds distraught from here."Harrison signals to the driver to pull over, and the three of them hop out to check on the boy.Christian pokes Teddy with a stick, "The guy looks worn out."Harrison flips him over and tries to speak to him, "Hey kid, are you alright?"Minutes pass, but Teddy remains unresponsive. Growing impatient, Christian shocks him with a burst of electricity and yells, "HEY, WAKE UP!"Teddy wakes up abruptly, feeling the shock and seeing three strangers in front of him. "OUCH! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?"Christian smirks, "He's awake."Eve chuckles and greets the boy, "It's alright, we're friendly. I can see that you're scared."Upon seeing Eve, Teddy thinks to himself, "Woah, she's really cute."Eve smiles, "Why thank you. My name is Eve."Harrison steps in and introduces himself, "My name is Harrison, and this is..."Christian interrupts, "MY NAME IS CHRISTIAN, AND I AM GOING TO BE THE FUTURE KING OF THIS WORLD!"Teddy looks at him skeptically, "Sure..." Then he whispers to Eve, "Is he serious?"Eve laughs softly, and Christian notices. "HEY, ARE YOU LAUGHING AT ME, EVE? AND YOU, WHAT DID YOU SAY?"Teddy realizes that this guy is dangerous and decides to act like he didn't say anything.Harrison calms Christian down and turns his attention back to Teddy. "What's your name?""My name is Theodore Gates, but you can call me Teddy."Harrison pauses for a moment and recognizes the last name. "Theodore Gates, huh... By any chance, is your mother Elsa Gates?""Yes," Teddy confirms.Eve recognizes the name as well, "Oh wow, isn't Ms. Gates the smartest woman in the world?"Teddy corrects her, "No, she's the smartest person, period! And yes, she's my mother."Harrison ponders for a second, curious about why Teddy is out here alone. "I see. Well, we're actually heading to Purgatory City right now. Would you mind leading us there?"Teddy's eyes fill with fear. "NO, DON'T!"Christian looks at him with confusion, "Why not?"Teddy stammers, "Something is wrong with the city. It's dangerous..."Harrison is perplexed by the situation. He knows that Purgatory City is renowned for its advanced technology and protection from the World Government. "Dangerous? Isn't Purgatory City a mecca of technology?"Teddy nods, "Yes, it was. But now it's a hollow place filled with thugs and bad guys."Harrison is even more curious, "Then where is your mother?"Teddy starts crying, unable to hold back his emotions.Eve tries to console him, "It's alright. We're only trying to help. Mr. Harrison is very strong, so you can trust him."Teddy agrees, "She was captured by a man known as Mr. J."Christian, who has been growing increasingly irritated, finally speaks up, "This sounds stupid."Eve mutters under her breath, "Christian..."Hearing this, Teddy yells in anger, "STUPID! YOU THINK MY MOTHER BEING CAPTURED IS STUPID?"Christian yells back, "NO, I THINK YOUR ATTITUDE IS STUPID! WHY ARE YOU DROPPING DEAD OUT HERE WHEN YOUR MOTHER IS CAPTURED?"Teddy frustratedly responds, "I RAN AWAY! I can't do anything. Just look at me..."Christian steps closer to Teddy and looks him in the eyes, "You fight back, you don't let those with power take advantage of you. Do what you can until you can't do anything else. Those who give up before trying their hardest are stupid!"Teddy is taken aback by Christian's words. He looks away but quietly responds, "You don't know what you're talking about, just words of an idiot."Christian takes a deep breath, "Maybe so, but that doesn't matter." A slight headache begins to bother him. "I am going to save your mother and punch that Mr. J guy in the face for you."Teddy looks at Christian like he's insane and then looks towards Eve and Harrison, seeking their confirmation. "He can't be serious?"Harrison, stretching his neck, replies, "Sounds like a plan."Eve gets up and starts patting the dust off her clothes. "Alright, my first adventure."Teddy looks at them, bewildered. "Hold on, are you guys insane?"Christian responds with a smile, "Nope, I'm just an idiot who hates stupid things."We transition to Christian and the others trying to figure out their next move.Harrison begins, "So, how long has this been occurring?"Teddy answers, "I'm not sure, maybe about a week since he arrived."Harrison is surprised by the short timeframe. "How did he take over an entire city in just a week, especially Purgatory City?"Teddy adds one more crucial detail, "It might have to do with an assassin he arrived with."Christian laughs mockingly, "An assassin?! One guy can't possibly take over a city. He must've had an army."Teddy brushes off his mocking tone and continues, "No, that wouldn't be the case. The men Mr. J is in charge of were former criminals from the city. My guess is he released them all and paid them to be his bodyguards."Eve smiles at Teddy and compliments him, "You're quite smart, Teddy."Christian rolls his eyes while Teddy blushes in response.Harrison ponders the situation further, "An assassin... Do you happen to know the name of this assassin?"Teddy replies, "No, but while I was escaping, I thought he would've killed me. I saw him just watch me leave the city. I had no idea what he was thinking."Harrison realizes the potential problem if it's the person he suspects. "If it's that person, this could prove to be a problem."Teddy continues, "One last thing. A day after I left the city, I saw a military vehicle. I was hiding at the time, so they didn't see me, but they definitely entered the city."Christian, considering his troubled history with the military, ponders, "Do you think they're working together?"Harrison isn't sure but states, "I don't think they have anything to do with what's going on."Teddy adds, "I agree with Mr. Harrison. For starters, my mother and the military were on good terms. They had a neutral agreement where, in exchange for my mother's advanced technology, the city of Purgatory would have complete sovereignty. My guess is that since my mother stopped communicating with the military about three weeks ago, she somehow knew that we would be in trouble in the near future. Perhaps she baited the military to investigate the situation, considering how important she was to them."Harrison agrees that Teddy's theory makes sense but is surprised at how well-informed Teddy is.Christian speaks up, "Teddy, I thought you were just some whiny kid, but you're pretty smart."Teddy brushes off Christian's remark, "I was just deducing the facts. But anyway, I'm not sure what happened to that military group. They could be helpful." Then he looks at Christian with an annoyed expression."Also, we're probably around the same age, so stop calling me 'kid.'"Eve asks, "Should we look for them?"Christian disapproves, showing his distaste for the military, and voices his disagreement.Teddy observes Christian's contradiction, "It seems you aren't a big fan of the military."Christian, unsure of where Teddy is going with this, hesitantly agrees, "That's right..."Teddy continues, slightly confused, "But you want to be the king?"Christian responds, "You could say that."Teddy questions, "How will you be king without having good relations with the military?"Christian, feeling dumbfounded, yells in response realizing he hasn't thought of that, "I DON'T NEED A DUMB MILITARY!"Teddy adds more logical reasoning, "Logically, any king would need a military force in case of rival kingdoms or rebellions. No matter how strong you are, you won't be able to take over the world with power alone."Christian, unsure of how to respond, just pouts.Teddy sighs and adds, "It seems you haven't thought about this much. I was right; you are just an idealistic idiot."Christian becomes angry, "WHAT WAS THAT!!! Say that again, punk! I'll beat you down right now!"Harrison punches Christian in the back of the head and tells him to cut it out.Eve steps in, saying to Teddy, "You shouldn't lie to yourself, Teddy. You are very intelligent, but I can sense your fear even now. However, your fear doesn't come from yourself; you are afraid for your mother, your city, and the innocent people in it. You are truly a kind soul."Teddy hears Eve's words and lets out a tiny smile. He then says, "Don't patronize me. I'm nothing but a coward. But if you guys insist on taking the city back, then I won't get in your way. In fact, I have a plan..."