The four made their way to the bow of the ship, Tommy ahead of the others. His excitement was overflowing, and it was apparent on his face. Philza could only smile as he watched the boy run ahead. He glanced at Wilbur, who was also smiling fondly at Tommy. Techno briskly walked with Tommy, halting when the boy came to a stop. Phil and Wilbur looked at each other for a brief moment, quickly catching up to him. Wilbur's eyes filled with pity for the young boy as he looked at the people, "Oh, Tommy." Swarms of people crowded the deck, making it nearly impossible to see. Techno huffed, getting a firm grip on Tommy's shoulder.

He glanced at the boy's bewildered face and grew even more determined, "When I start walking, you follow, okay?" Tommy nodded obediently, though he was confused. Techno adjusted his grip on Tommy's shoulder and fixed his cape, beginning his brisk walk through the crowd of people, barely bothering to excuse themselves. His plan worked quite well; people dove out of their path, not wanting to be trampled. The boys broke through the last group of people, finally reaching the very front of the bow. "Stay here for now," Techno ordered, "I'm going to go get Wilbur and Phil now." Tommy grinned, then hugged Techno gratefully. Techno didn't know what to do; he just stood there awkwardly until he finally just decided to pat Tommy's back, giving him a light smile as well. He turned away, marching back through the crowd to gather the other two.

Tommy looked out at the water again, leaning against the rail. He loved the freedom that he felt and the way everything looked in the ocean. Before getting completely lost in his thoughts, he fell back into reality, standing up straight. He backed up, bumping into a man. "Uh- sorry," Tommy stammered, moving out of the man's way. The man scowled at him, then snickered, vexed for no good reason. He snatched the boy's wrist and shoved him to the ground, but no one around seemed to notice or care. Tommy stared up at him, terrified. He didn't know what he had done wrong.

"Watch where you're going, shrimp," the person taunted him. Tommy tried to glare but only ended up looking even more frightened. Someone pushed the man to the side, making him stumble a bit.

"Tommy!" Wilbur said, helping the boy to his feet, "You good?" Tommy nodded, hiding the terror that was previously on his face. Wil smiled at the young blonde before quickly turning around to face the man. His face turned dark as his eyes stabbed the man, "You don't get to just push a kid to the ground."

Tommy looked offended, "Hey! I'm a man-"

"Tommy, kindly shut up," Wilbur said, still glowering at the man who had pushed Tommy. He stepped closer to the guy, only just then realizing that the man towered over him. The man seemed to notice his advantage and glared down at Wil.

"It was a joke," the guy laughed harshly, shoving Wilbur. Wil stumbled back, nearly falling over the rail. He gasped, grasping onto the rail, still holding his sight on the man to make sure he didn't hurt Tommy again. He could hear the water crash against the boat, and he almost lost his balance. Tommy instantly went over to Wil, helping him away from the edge. They quickly observed the bow, seeing that nearly all the people had left. When some noticed that they were looking at them, they quickly evacuated the area. Wil sighed, not knowing what to do. "You looking for help? You're not gonna find any," the man spat. He found their fear humorous and didn't notice the shadow that started to loom over him from behind. Someone tapped his shoulder, and he looked back at the person, confused.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" Techno's pissed voice questioned. The man chuckled nervously.

"It was just a joke, man," he shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh, really?" Techno's voiced boomed. The man was suddenly hurtling towards the ground, face-planting right at Tommy and Wilbur's feet. Tommy had to stifle his laughter as the man tried to get back to his feet.

"Hey!" The man growled, holding his nose.

"What? It was just a joke," Techno said sarcastically, crossing his arms intimidatingly. The three boys watched as the man got back up, scrambling away from them. Philza rushed up to them, unaware of the events that had occurred. When he asked them, Techno had simply said nothing had happened, and Philza left it at that.

~~~~~

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I really appreciate you all <333333 I have nothing else to say, so I hope you have a nice rest of your day. I wuv you <3 :))))))