"Bam—BOOM!"
The city was under siege. Unusual creatures—monstrous beings born from Sir Tobey's misguided attempt to create a force for good—rampaged through the streets. Instead of doing humanity a favor, his creation had turned catastrophic. Now, Sir Tobey was forced to take responsibility and eliminate his own errant experiment as it approached the heart of the city.
In the chaos, he discovered a giant creature—one that was a hundred times larger than the tallest building. With no time to explain how he planned to take down such a behemoth, Sir Tobey launched himself at the creature. Using his upgraded, bio-enhanced arms—capable of delivering blows that could topple a hundred elephants at once—he began his assault.
As the battle raged and his fists pounded the creature, an unexpected sound cut through the clamor:
"Tobbbyyyy! Stop hitting me—it's time to eat! And why are there so many bottles, containers, boxes, and toys scattered everywhere? Clean this up now and come for breakfast!"
Mother shouted from across the house.
In Tobey's vivid imagination, the entire city transformed into an epic battlefield. The towering buildings became gigantic bottles, containers, boxes, and scattered toys—all parts of a monstrous creature he was determined to defeat. In his heroic fantasy, his mom had become the embodiment of that creature.
However, in reality, Tobey's playful blows were landing directly on his actual mom.
"He's quite the creative boy, isn't he?"
Father chuckled as he watched the scene unfold.
Despite his fierce imagination, Tobey paused, caught between his heroic fantasy and the real-world disaster zone he had created.
"What's creative about that? He's just like you and your workroom,"
Mother grumbled, rolling her eyes at Father.
"Honey, we don't talk about the workroom—and by the way, I'm going to be late tonight. I've got a huge load of work lined up today,"
Father replied defensively.
"Okay, darling,"
Mother said in that cute way that could make anyone fall head over heels.
"Aaaa! My heart!"
Father clutched his chest dramatically.
Tobey walked in just as his dad finished the performance.
"What happened to Dad's heart?!"
His voice trembled, already on the verge of tears.
Tears welled up in his eyes, and within seconds, he started bawling. His father, caught off guard, choked on his cereal.
"Cough—cough—"
"See? You made him cry. Nothing happened to your dad, baby,"
Mother sighed while patting Father's back—aggressively.
Instead of calming down, Tobey cried even louder.
"Waaaaahhhh!"
"Why am I the one getting caught up in this?"
Mother muttered, exhausted.
"Well, I'm getting late—it's almost 8:30 AM. I should get moving,"
Father added while checking the time.
He grabbed his bag, headed to the shoe rack, and paused before putting on his shoe, smirking.
"Good job teaching Tobey about hearts. He's only five, after all."
"Well, about that… I only taught him how to read. He picked it up pretty fast, so I got him some books,"
Mother replied, stretching her arms.
"You really are quite the teacher, aren't you?"
Father said smugly.
"Bye, Daddy!"
Tobey waved cheerfully at his dad.
"Aww, bye-bye, my little biologistsss!"
Father grinned before heading out the door.
"Now, Tobey, let's go read some books,"
Mother said, peering at him curiously.
"Momm, not today."
"Okay, so what's your plan for Sunday?"
"I'm going to play with my toys."
"Let's go to the park instead,"
Mother offered, her tone cheerful.
"No."
Tobey gave her a dissatisfactory look.
"Okay, but once I start cleaning the house, I won't listen to you,"
she shrugged.
"Yay! Today, I will cut open a cockroach!"
Tobey said with a big smile.
"Baby, that's dissec—huh? Wait… what did you just say?"
Mother blinked in disbelief.
"Nothing."
Tobey replied a little too quickly.
"Please don't do that. And when did you even find a cockroach?"
Mother narrowed her eyes at him.
Tobey suddenly bolted toward his room.
"Outside!"
he yelled as he ran.
"Not today, you little brat! Come back here and give me that cockroach!"
Mother gasped and took off after him.
As soon as Tobey heard that, he sped through the hallway and darted toward the kitchen.
"Tobey! Stop right now!"
Mother shouted like he was about to burn the house down.
As he turned into the kitchen, his socks slipped on the tile.
"You have to catch me first!"
He barely regained his balance and kept running. His mother was right behind him, dodging a chair as she lunged forward.
"Tobey, if I catch you, that bug is GONE!"
As he raced toward the kitchen, Tobey whipped off one of his socks and flung it over his shoulder.
"Fire in the hollleee!!!!"
"Wait, what?"
—PLOP!—
A sock hit Mother square in the face, blinding her momentarily.
"What is this?! Your school socks smell like poop—ugh! Where have you gone now?"
(in her mind)"He must be in the kitchen."
Mother stomped toward the kitchen…
She stepped inside…
And the moment her foot crossed the threshold—
—creeeeeak—
The air grew heavier.
The kitchen… began to change.
To Tobey, it was no longer just a room.
It was a lair. A dungeon. A battlefield.
His eyes widened.
"…It's happening again,"
Tobey whispered to himself.
His heart pounded as he crouched behind the table, holding his breath. The air was thick with dread. His imagination spiraled, painting his mother as the ultimate boss—one he could never truly defeat.
The real boss fight was about to begin.
And then—
in an instant—
everything shifted.