It had been a few days since they last heard from Thalia. Tony was on the phone with her downstairs.
“Thalia, is it true that you have returned to Darknetz?” asked Tony .
“Not yet. But soon.” On the other side of the line, Thalia sounded a little awkward.
When Tony heard that, he knew something was wrong. “Spencer went after you when you left that day. Did he manage to catch up with you?”
Thalia said nothing.
“Are the two of you together?” guessed Tony .
“Uh, yes,” answered Thalia half-heartedly before asking, “Is there anything you want to tell me?”
“It’s nothing really. Things are almost done here, so I’m meaning to say, if you want to return to Darknetz, you can take Ben and me with you,” said Tony .
“Has Nelly agreed?”
“We have spoken about this before, and Nelly has agreed. I just need to convince my daddy. But it should
be fine. He will surely listen to Nelly ,” replied Tony .
After giving the matter some thought, Thalia responded, “All right. I got it.” “Then…”
“I’ll contact you before I leave,” said Thalia.
The moment Tony heard that, he knew something was going on between Thalia and Spencer. He
immediately said, “Okay, there’s no hurry. The two of you go ahead with whatever you have to do. I’ll be waiting for you whenever you are ready.”
After that, there was no response from the other end of the line before the call was disconnected.
Tony glanced at his phone and shook his head helplessly. “Once she’s found friends of the opposite gender, she forgets about her buddies.”
“But, aren’t you also a friend of the opposite gender?” Just then, someone behind him spoke.
Tony turned around to see Miguel standing not far away. “What are you doing here?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.
At that instant, Miguel walked up to Tony and stared at the boy with those X-ray eyes of his. “Is there something on my face?” questioned Tony .
“I think you must be Anonymous!” guessed Miguel.
Tony was taken aback and said, “Are you crazy? What gives you that idea?” He turned his head and saw Miguel getting down on his knees.
Tony was dumbfounded, his adorable face filled with shock. “W-What are you trying to do?” exclaimed Tony .
“I know you are Anonymous! Please accept me as your disciple!” begged Miguel. “I’m really not-”
“Yes, you are!”
“I’m not!”
“You are!” proclaimed Miguel with such persistence and determination. “I have secretly recorded a video showing how Anonymous operates. I may not have watched the video ten thousand times, but I have definitely watched enough that I can remember everything very distinctly. The day when we were fighting against Midnight fang pack , I found your style of doing things very familiar. However, I find it hard to believe that the infamous Anonymous can be a child. But, one of my buddies noticed your smooth operation that day and recorded your moves. After repeated comparisons and days of analysis using the computer, I can finally confirm that you are Anonymous. There can be no mistake about this,” declared Miguel.
Tony looked at him and was at a loss for words momentarily. He is usually such a bubbly and energetic person. No wonder he looks so unkempt right now. It turns out that he hasn’t been sleeping for the past few nights.
At that moment, Tony scanned the surroundings to make sure that no one was around. He then leaned over, squatted down, and pondered before saying, “Has it ever crossed your mind that Anonymous is the one who taught me those skills? That’s why the way we operate is similar.”
“Even so, it won’t be exactly the same. It’s the same logic with twins. They may look alike, but are their fingerprints the same?” retorted Miguel.
Tony fixed his gaze on Miguel for a long time before helping the latter up. “Please get up first. If other people see this, what am I supposed to say?”
Miguel stared at him and begged once again, “Then, please take me as your student!”
“Why will I do that? I don’t know anything. I learned my techniques from someone!” said Tony . Miguel looked at the boy begrudgingly and still refused to get back up on his feet.
“You really have no intention of getting up, right?” asked Tony . “If you don’t accept me as your student, I won’t get up.”
“Are you threatening me? Let me tell you something. I will never be threatened by anyone!” claimed Tony .
“Fine then. I’ll continue to kneel here. Later on, if anyone asks, I will tell them the truth.” Tony was speechless.
Initially, he was quite determined not to give in. However, as he looked at Miguel, he could feel his resolution weaken.
“You can’t behave like this, you know? You need something from me, but in order to get your way, you’re threatening me. That way, even if I’ve agreed to take you as my disciple, I might not teach you properly, right?”
Miguel kept his eyes trained on the boy and remained silent.
Tony tried to fool him into getting up. “Please stand up first, and we can talk this out.” “Really? You are going to discuss this with me?” asked Miguel.
Tony nodded. “Sure! Of course.”
Miguel then got up reluctantly.