Chapter 2

As we returned to our home from our little spar, we saw a huge, and I mean huge, dark furry cat with dark shiny cyan eyes sitting in front of our doorsteps.

In comparison to her, our house was like a small doll house. And with a small, but beautifully designed chalet or the cottage of sort attached on top of the massive cat's back.

By the looks of it, the whole thing reminded me of an ancient waggon, which was used by the royal or Nobel family to transport important people or government officials.

There were some people, besides the cat, standing in white military attire with a cap on their heads that has a golden lion emblem pinned on it.

I looked at Grandpa and Uncle Kureha's faces, and I swear on my cheeseburger, their whole faces had turned pale. It was like they had encountered a ghost or something.

I don't know why, but They were too afraid to go anywhere near that cat and the people around it. I was so confused.

I mean, my grandpa, who I presumed to be the most fearless man and freest person, who was like the incarnation of the 'devil in disguise himself, what was he so scared off?

I thought it was strange, so I nudged Uncle Kureha. He turned his head to me and looked, so I asked, "Why stop? Aren't you guys getting late, and who are these guys? " For a minute or so, he didn't immediately give me an answer. He took a pause and then said, "Colleagues of ours, who were supposed to be at the meeting."

"Oh! But why are you both so terrified? "

"You'll know soon enough. Just wait and see," said Uncle Kureha, and then he turned at Grandpa and whispered: "Hey! You shouldn't let him wait anymore, otherwise...

"I-I know but..."

'Sigh'

"Well, let's go." My grandpa replied as his shoulders dropped and the whole atmosphere around him soured.

We arrived in front of them and the moment the soldier who was on guard looked at Uncle Kureha and Grandpa, who was cowering behind him.

Upon recognising who was standing in front of them, all the guards surrounding the waggon instantly formally bowed down from their waists and loudly spoke in unison:

"Welcome! General Commander Alexander Roosevelt!"

I couldn't believe my eyes that my good-for-nothing grandpa was so a respected man in the army. I knew he was someone of a respectable position in the army. Not that I cared. For me, he has always been my grandpa.

Upon hearing the military salute of the soldier from outside, the door of the chalet swung open and a man with a large curly dark moustache, adorned with a golden lion medal pinned on a chest pocket with six silver stars in total pinned on both shoulders, with sky blue shaded military attire like Grandpa's, stepped down from the white fancy cabin that situated on top of the cats' back.

Upon looking at the man's face, I could tell he was the same age as my grandpa and his military title was wearing him down, the furrows on his head, heavy wrinkles on his face and the dark circles under his eyes were telling everybody that if anyone pushed a button or tested his patience, that person would either be dead or face hell on this planet.

The man looked at my grandfather and his facial expression changed. His face turned shades of red as a tomato, which might be due to anger, but he still, had a smile and his eyes bored at grandpa.

He came closer and Grandpa took a few steps back but was unable to do, so due to him being held by Uncle Kureha.

Grandpa looks at him with sad, teary puppy eyes, but Kureha shakes his head, telling Grandpa it's no use.

The soldier too took a few steps back upon seeing the man's face and gulped. The man tightly clutched his fist and then unleashed a flurry of rapid punches on Grandpa's face.

After the assault of these punches for a minute, Grandpa was down for a count.

I swear, I had never seen Grandpa so beat up before, and it was a nice feeling for me. not that I'm saying I am cruel enough to see Grandpa beat up and laugh at it, but the man who did it was someone I'm quite familiar with and there are times Grandpa truly deserves it.

The man who assaulted my grandpa took a few steps back from him, and exhale a deep breath, he looked at Grandpa with scornful eyes and asked:

"Leslie, do please explain to me at what time you think we have informed you to come for a meeting.

Oh! Let me think... I think it was an hour before. But did you show up?"

"…"

"No!! Instead, I was forced by the brass to take your old ass there.

I swear, if it weren't for your achievements and power, you would have been court-martialled a long time ago by the higher-ups. " Said, the man in a loud, frustrated voice while looking at my beat-up grandpa's body. He let all his anger out. He again took a deep breath and sighed. Looking at his wristwatch, he turned towards the soldier and, in a loud voice, he spoke:

"Men!!

Take him and lock him in the cabin. We must leave with haste.

Is that clear? And be sure to heal him. "

"YES SIR!!" said the soldiers in unison.

Upon taking the orders, a soldier brought a medical stature and lifted my injured grandfather and took him away.

"Kureha... I thought you were more responsible than that jackass. "

"Sorry 'Carl', I too am tired of his antics.

You know, as well as I do, he never listens to what I have to say, and he has never approved of him associating with higher-ups or taking orders.

How do you expect me to force him to do that? " The Uncle let out his thoughts while looking at the man straight in the eyes.

"Sigh."

"I know...!!" The man's head turned to me, and his expression softened, and with a smile, he asked:

"How are you, Ashu?" This man is none other than, my grandpa's best friend, someone who knew my grandpa from his childhood and my second-uncle, Carl K. Waterloo,

"I'm as light as a feather, uncle Carl; how about you?" How have you been?" I asked.

"Well, can't you tell by looking? Because of your good for nothing grandfather, I'm one step away from my grave."

"Just be patient for a few more years, then you could retire without any fuss and live tension-free."

"Sure... I will wait for that to happen. By the way, I heard tomorrow is the first day of your journey. Isn't that, right? "

"Yep!!"

"Well, good for you. I do have some advice that you should take. "

"Remember, whenever you are in a situation where you have two choices: one is to die while facing adversities head-on, and the second is to retreat like a coward. I suggest and hope you choose to retreat. " Uncle Carl said while looking straight at my eyes with a serious tone.

I was shocked. I mean, what Grandpa had taught me was the opposite. What Uncle Carl is saying is totally against Grandpa's teachings. So, I gave words to my thoughts and asked: "What!" Isn't that the opposite of what Grandpa taught me? "

I turned my head toward Uncle Kureha and he said: "Ashu, always remember, you only get one chance to live and dying won't make you stronger nor will it give you success over your enemies."

"When you die, it's all over, but on the other hand, if you retreat, you still have a chance to come back and this time strong enough to overcome the difficulties. This is what you call an 'improvement.'" Uncle Kureha said.

"It's alright that people will mock you and call you a coward, but that does not mean you are one. There are times when you must lose some fights to win a war. "

"So always remember that it will come in useful in the future."

Hmm... well, they do have a point. "did ever Grandpa follow that advice too?" I asked.

"...

"...

"Well, there are times when he did follow it, but..." Uncle Carl tried to find the answer, but he sighed and looked at Uncle Kureha for an answer.

"No, he didn't. He always had us.  We had forced him to back out, which in turn led to so many fights between us. There were so many times because we were in life-threatening situations. But somehow, we all overcome it. That led to my second piece of advice, which is the most important. "

"And that is?" I asked.

"Make friends."

"Make friends."

Both said it at the same time, looked at each other, and laughed. For some reason, I find it interesting, and seeing both happy made me jealous.

"Yeah, so try to make good friends along the way. Because not only will they motivate you to continue your adventure, they will overshadow your mistakes and weaknesses and help you improve both as a person and in strength. "

"They are the treasure that only a few can have, and not gold nor jewels can compare to them, so try to treasure them."

"So that's all two pieces of advice you will need on your journey. "

"Thanks, uncle Carl, Kureha." I will take that advice to heart. "

"Good!"

"Sir!

General Alexander is all healed up. What are your next orders? " The soldier said as he came running to deliver the message.

"Ok, so prepare to leave and set your next destination to U.N.O headquarters in haste!!"

"Ok Sir!" the soldier replied in a loud voice.

"Well, it's time to leave. You have our blessing and I hope next time we meet you will be a lot stronger. "

"Thank you, Uncle Carl."

"Kureha, it's time to leave. Say your goodbyes and come inside the wagon, pronto."  Uncle Carl, he said as he turned to the cat.

"Listen, Ashu,  remember the training you have gone through with us and the advice you got from us whenever you feel like you're in a difficult position. "

" Oh! And if we didn't make it on time, leave without us, ok? "

"Sure," I said, wishing from the bottom of my heart they might make it on time.

".." Sigh

"Son, you always have our blessing. Be safe." Uncle said as he hugged me and then kissed my forehead.

For the moment, I thought, 'Old man, I'm 17 years old now.' You don't have to go that far. ' But for them, I'm still the 5-year-old kid.

After the hug, Uncle Kureha heads toward the cat. Upon reaching the cat's side, the cat moved his tail under his feet and then lifted him and put him on her back.

As the uncle headed inside, all the soldiers took out small, tiny devices from their pockets and threw them onto the ground.

In seconds, the device turned into a small, compact spaceship. It was white with a silver pattern on it, and on the backside, a small golden lion emblem was stitched on the surface.

All the soldiers took their seats inside the spaceship, then the cat meowed suddenly. It was loud, so loud in fact, that if our house weren't on the top of the mountain, where there are only a few hundred miles of jungle, that voice would have woken up the neighbours.

The cat's meow opened a sort of portal in thin air. The portal was big, bigger than the cat itself. Then she stood up. Her movement was enough to shake the ground.

Then she heads inside the portal. After the cat, all the small spaceships do the same.

   

In a few seconds, all the ships crossed the portal, and then the portal shut itself down instantly.

Seeing them leave, I headed toward the house, where I went straight to bed. As my head hit the pillow, I fell asleep instantly might be due to fatigue.

To be continued...