(A/N):
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The day finally arrived.
Across UniNet, a familiar countdown glowed on millions of screens.
Star Entertainment – Official Release Timer
Tom and Jerry – Season 2 Episode 1
[3…2…1…]
Across the Universe...
The episode launched simultaneously across Star Entertainment's UniNet channel.
But this time—There was something new.
Right before the episode began, a short animated bumper appeared.
Tom chased Jerry across a kitchen counter when suddenly Jerry stopped, held up a tiny board that read:
"Official Star Entertainment Merchandise Now Available!"
Tom crashed into the board.
The screen flipped to a sleek holo-banner.
[🛒 Official Merchandise Available Now
Visit: Star Entertainment Shop – UniNet Portal]
Tiny animated versions of Tom and Jerry ran across the banner holding plush toys, figurines, and collector statues.
And at the end of the episode, the same bumper appeared again—this time with Spike proudly guarding a stack of toy boxes.
🧸 AetherNest Toy Consortium – Website...
The moment the link went live—The site traffic spiked violently.
Orders flooded in from multiple galaxies.
Top Selling Items (First Hour)
• Tom Plush – Classic Mischief Edition
• Jerry Pocket Figurine – Cheese Thief Version
• Spike Guardian Statue – Limited Run
• Tom vs Jerry Collector Diorama
• Crazy Frog Vibing Desk Toy
The order counter began climbing so fast the website auto-expanded its processing queue.
Inside the headquarters of AetherNest Toy Consortium, analysts stared at the numbers.
"Orders… from twelve sectors already."
"Production lines will need to triple."
"Prepare emergency distribution routing."
Orion leaned back slowly.
"…The kid was right."
Across the room, Caelum quietly smiled.
LumiNyx Stream...
LumiNyx was watching the episode live with her audience.
When the merchandise banner appeared—Chat exploded almost immediately.
[💬 SpikeFanPrime: THE PLUSH IS REAL]
[💬 AllIsWellForever: I BOUGHT THREE]
[💬 JerryGang: I GOT THE CHEESE VERSION]
[💬 RingDingCEO: CRAZY FROG DESK TOY?????]
LumiNyx opened the shop link live.
"Okay wait—this Spike statue is actually amazing."
Chat flooded with purchase confirmations.
[💬 GalaxyCollector: ORDER #88214]
[💬 FrogEconomics: ORDER #91022]
[💬 CatMouseCult: ORDER #100013]
"Guys… we just crossed one hundred thousand orders."
Astraea Prime...
Krishna's House...
Meanwhile—Krishna sat on the couch in the living room. Completely calm.
The Scene Creation Module hovered in front of him, showing partially constructed set pieces for the upcoming Hangover shoot.
Desert streets. Casino interiors.
Luxury suite layouts.
He adjusted lighting angles with small gestures.
Across from him—The Entertainment System appeared.
And immediately began screaming like Jim Carrey discovering a mountain of money.
[WOOOOOOOOOOOO!]
Its tongue stretched comically long as dollar symbols replaced its pupils.
[LOOK AT THIS! LOOK AT THIS!]
Graphs appeared midair. Credits pouring in.
[-CLANK!] [-CLANK!]
[-CLANK!...]
Review scores climbing. Box office pre-bookings rising.
The system waved charts like a crazed game show host.
[Tom and Jerry: 5 star audience rating!]
[3 Idiots: critics crying and laughing simultaneously!]
[Merchandise sales—oh my sweet narrative gods—LOOK AT THESE NUMBERS!]
It zoomed in on the revenue stream. Credits flowed like a waterfall.
The system clutched its chest dramatically.
[We're rich! Respectably rich! Ethically rich! Once Again...]
Krishna barely looked up.
"...."
He adjusted a virtual balcony railing in the Hangover hotel set.
"Hm."
The system froze.
[You just said hm to galactic-level profits.]
Krishna leaned back slightly.
"They'll stabilize."
The system pointed dramatically at him.
[THIS IS WHY YOU'RE BORINGLY SUCCESSFUL.]
Krishna smirked faintly.
-Smirk
"...."
Behind him, Ace the Varkyron hound lazily wagged its tail while watching the floating projections.
On the holographic screen—Tom and Jerry were already chasing each other again.
Season 2 had begun.
Merchandise was flying off shelves.
Movies were heading to theaters.
And in two days—Krishna would start shooting his next disaster comedy.
The Entertainment System wiped imaginary tears.
[My little entertainment empire…]
Krishna stood up and stretched.
"Work."
The system sighed.
[-Sigh]
[Fine. But if the Crazy Frog toy outsells the cat, I'm retiring.]
Meanwhile...
In a small apartment block on the outskirts of Astraea Prime's entertainment district, Brax Luthoren sat alone at his kitchen table.
The room was quiet except for the faint hum of the city outside.
In his hands floated a thin projection tab from his i-bracelet, displaying page after page of dialogue.
At the top of the script:
[Project: Hangover]
[Role: Alan]
Brax read the line again.
"I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolf pack…"
He tried delivering it.
Too stiff. He tried again. Too dramatic.
He sighed and leaned back in his chair.
-Sigh
"...."
Brax was not new to rejection.
In fact, the galaxy seemed to have turned his failures into a sport.
Years earlier, a comedy clip from a low-budget audition had gone viral across UniNet.
Since then—People remembered him.
But not kindly.
There was even a trolling community dedicated to him.
"The Brax Luthoren Worst Actor Archive."
Fans of the page collected his failed auditions like trophies.
Directors avoided him.
Studios quietly rejected him before he even entered the room.
Some producers openly joked.
"Cast Brax and your movie dies."
For a long time, he kept trying anyway.
But eventually… Hope thinned.
The Almost End of a Dream
Two weeks earlier, Brax had made a decision.
He would quit acting. Return home.
Help his mother run her shop.
She sold toys and collectibles.
Recently she had signed a small distribution contract with the AetherNest Toy Consortium.
It was stable work. Honest work.
And maybe—Enough to move on.
Then the Message Arrived A simple invitation.
[Star Entertainment – Casting Request]
At first he thought it was a scam.
Why would a rising studio—one that created Tom and Jerry and 3 Idiots—call him?
But curiosity won.
He entered the VR audition room.
And there—Sat the director.
Krishna. Young. Calm. Watching quietly.
Brax expected the usual quick dismissal.
"...."
Instead, Krishna handed him dialogue.
Then another scene. Then asked him to improvise.
Then—Something strange happened.
Krishna suddenly mimicked the character himself.
Brax blinked. The delivery was ridiculous… but perfect.
"Try it like that," Krishna said.
So Brax tried again. Something clicked.
The awkwardness he always tried to hide—Krishna told him not to hide it.
"Use it," he said.
Minutes later—
Brax heard words he had never heard before.
"You're Alan."
Back to the Present...
Now the script hovered in front of him.
Brax stood up. Walked to the mirror. Looked at himself.
Silver veins faintly visible across his skin.
Messy hair. Uncertain eyes. He read the line again.
"I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolf pack."
He paused.
Then delivered it exactly how Krishna had demonstrated.
Awkward. Earnest. A little too sincere.
And suddenly— It worked. Brax laughed.
-Haha!
For the first time in years. Two Days Until Shooting
Around the apartment were scattered notes.
Character breakdowns. Body language reminders. Improvisation ideas.
He was studying harder than he ever had for any role.
Because this one mattered. This was not just a job.
This was—His last chance.
Outside, UniNet buzzed with excitement about Tom and Jerry Season 2 and upcoming theatrical releases.
But in this small apartment—One struggling actor rehearsed lines again and again.
Determined that when the cameras started rolling in two days…
He would prove everyone wrong.
Verdantis-9...
On the fertile world of Verdantis-9, the air always smelled faintly of wet soil and sweet vegetation.
Vast oceans of farmland stretched across the horizon, feeding entire sectors of the galaxy. Here, farmers were not poor.
They were respected. Honored. Almost revered.
And that made problems… complicated.
Workshop District...
Beverage Processing Hub...
NovaFizz Galactic Beverages...
Inside the towering processing complex of NovaFizz Galactic Beverages, the atmosphere was far less peaceful.
Huge tanks filled with bubbling neon liquids lined the production halls.
Robotic arms moved crates of bottled drinks.
Pipelines hummed with pressurized carbonation.
And above the factory floor—Inside a glass-walled manager's office—A furious voice echoed.
Manager's Office...
"THEY'RE PROTESTING AGAIN?!"
The manager slammed a metal tablet onto his desk.
His single large eye glowed with irritation. Like most natives of Verdantis-9, he was a Gorveth.
Tall, broad-shouldered beings with thick skin and a single central eye above a heavy nose ridge. Their species was known for physical endurance and stubborn temperaments.
The manager's name was Dargol Vethran.
And right now he was furious.
Across from him stood a nervous junior employee holding a report pad.
"S-sir… the farmers gathered again this morning near the eastern aquifer pipeline."
Dargol growled in irritation.
"Again?"
"Yes sir."
The employee swallowed nervously.
-Gulp
"They're demanding the factory reduce water extraction from the main reservoir."
Dargol leaned back in his chair with visible annoyance.
"This again…"
Year ago, ninety farmers had taken their own lives during the worst escalation of the water conflict.
Since then, tensions had never fully cooled.
But to the factory management—The farmers were becoming a headache.
The employee continued cautiously.
"They say irrigation levels are dropping again."
Dargol snorted hearing the response.
"They always say that."
"But sir… this time they've organized more Guilds."
"How many?"
"Over thirty farming guilds."
Dargol's eye narrowed.
Frown
"...."
That was larger than usual.
Outside the factory window, distant green fields stretched toward the horizon.
Verdantis-9 fed entire planetary systems.
But NovaFizz Galactic Beverages needed massive quantities of water to produce its interstellar cola lines.
And water—Was becoming the battleground.
Inside the Office...
The employee hesitated before speaking again.
"...."
"Sir… if the protests grow larger, the agricultural council might intervene."
That made Dargol click his tongue.
-Tch
"Farmers."
He rubbed his temple with thick fingers.
-Sigh
"They have too much political reputation."
On Verdantis-9, insulting farmers was like insulting royalty.
Entire sectors depended on them.
Which meant corporations had to tread carefully.
Even powerful ones. But Dargol was running out of patience.
He leaned forward slowly.
"Send a statement to the council."
"Yes sir?"
"Tell them our extraction levels are within legal quotas."
"Yes sir."
"And deploy security drones near the reservoir pipeline."
The employee froze slightly.
"S-security drones?"
"Just monitoring."
Dargol's eye glinted.
"If they want to protest, they can do it outside our gates."
He leaned back again.
Muttering under his breath.
"Farming pride…"
The employee nodded quickly and hurried out.
Leaving the manager alone.
Outside the window—Wind rolled across endless crops.
Somewhere in those fields, angry farmers were gathering again.
The sun of Verdantis-9 hung low above endless green fields, its golden light spilling across rows of towering crops that fed entire star systems.
But today—The air was not peaceful.
It vibrated with anger.
Eastern Aquifer Basin...
Protest Grounds...
Hundreds of Gorveth farmers had gathered near the massive water distribution reservoir.
Tall bodies. Thick arms hardened by decades of field work.
Single eyes blazing with fury.
Agricultural banners fluttered in the wind.
Some were painted hastily in protest paint.
Some bore the crests of ancient farming guilds.
And some simply read:
"WATER IS LIFE."
Among them stood Eryndel Vorn.
Young. Strong.
His one amber eye scanned the crowd anxiously.
Beside him stood his father—Torvek Vorn.
One of the leaders of the protest.
Torvek's frame was broader than most Gorveth farmers, his grey beard braided with small copper rings—a traditional symbol of veteran cultivators.
Right now his voice thundered across the gathering.
"They drain our water!"
He pointed toward the distant industrial towers of NovaFizz Galactic Beverages, whose metallic spires glimmered beyond the farmland.
"Every cycle they take more!"
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
Another farmer stepped forward angrily.
"And they hide behind bureaucracy!"
"Quotas!"
"Extraction permits!"
"Corporate loopholes!"
Voices rose.
"They call it legal!"
Torvek spat into the dirt.
"Legal theft."
Cheers erupted from the crowd.
The Anger of the Fields
Eryndel watched the older farmers argue.
The frustration ran deeper than simple water disputes.
Year Before earlier—Ninety farmers had ended their lives.
Families broken.Fields abandoned. Guild halls left silent.
And yet—The factories continued pumping water.
The government claimed everything was within regulations.
But the farmers knew what they saw every day.
Dryer soil. Slower irrigation cycles.
Shrinking groundwater levels.
Torvek continued speaking with fierce intensity.
"These corporations sit in towers drinking our planet dry!"
A younger farmer shouted from the crowd.
"They sell it back to us in bottles!"
Laughter mixed with bitter anger.
Another farmer slammed his staff into the ground.
"They hide behind council paperwork while our crops suffer!"
Someone shouted.
"They think we will give up!"
Torvek raised his arm.
"Then we show them we will not."
Cheers erupted.
Eryndel stepped closer to his father.
"Father… the council still hasn't responded?"
Torvek shook his head.
"No. They ignore us."
Eryndel clenched his fists.
"Then what now?"
Torvek looked toward the reservoir pipes stretching across the landscape.
Massive metallic veins pumping water toward the factories.
His voice lowered.
"If they continue draining the aquifer…"
He paused. Then said quietly.
"We shut the pipeline ourselves."
Eryndel's eye widened slightly.
"...."
"That could start a conflict."
Torvek's gaze hardened.
"Son…"
He gestured toward the fields.
"This planet feeds half the solar system."
His voice carried quiet pride.
"And yet they treat us like obstacles."
Wind swept across the protest banners.
Torvek's tone grew colder.
"They believe we will eventually give up."
Eryndel looked around at the hundreds of farmers gathered behind them.
Families. Workers. Guild elders. All furious. All determined.
Torvek folded his arms.
"They are wrong."
Across the horizon—The factory towers of NovaFizz gleamed under the sun.
And between them—A conflict was slowly building.
Meanwhile for the media who paid attention when the issue began were started to weaver to another new topic's instead of staying with the old topic.
Inside the media coordination wing of NovaFizz Galactic Beverages, a quiet operation was underway.
Not violence. Not threats.
Just influence. A corporate officer calmly reviewed several holo-screens.
"Status?"
An assistant replied.
"Major UniNet outlets have classified the protest as a 'localized resource dispute.'"
"Good."
"And we've issued partnership credits to several high-traffic streamers and news influencers."
"How many?"
"Thirty-seven."
"Payment confirmed?"
"Yes."
The officer nodded finally hearing some good news.
"Ensure the topic remains low priority."
Meanwhile UniNet...
The protest did appear in feeds. But only briefly. A small headline here.
A short clip there. Then it disappeared under waves of trending content.
• Crazy Frog remixes
• Tom and Jerry Season 2 reactions
• Theater release hype
• Gaming tournaments
• Celebrity drama
Algorithmic tides buried the issue deep.
Some creators had originally covered the protest. A few passionate ones even supported the farmers.
But then—Emails arrived.
Corporate sponsorship offers. Advertising deals. Content partnerships.
Large credits. Enough to pay off studio debts. Enough to upgrade equipment. Enough to secure their careers.
Many quietly stopped posting about Verdantis-9.
Private Creator Chats...
One influencer sighed while scrolling his messages.
-Sigh
"I can't keep pushing this topic."
"Why?"
"Viewers drop when the content gets political."
"Also…" He hesitated.
"They offered a beverage sponsorship."
His friend frowned.
-Frown
"...."
"So you're stopping coverage?"
"I'll still mention it occasionally."
"But I need new content."
Another creator in the call added quietly.
"The algorithm punishes repetitive topics."
Not everyone accepted the silence.
"...."
"...."
"...."
A handful of smaller creators kept covering the story.
Independent journalists. Activists.
Local Verdantis streamers.
But their reach was tiny compared to the massive channels.
One of them spoke during a live stream.
"They're draining our aquifers while the galaxy laughs at frog memes."
The stream had only 98,000 viewers.
Meanwhile—A Tom and Jerry reaction video pulled 342 million views.
Protest Camp...
Eryndel stood near the fire pit where farmers gathered each night. He watched a holo-screen showing UniNet feeds.
Trending topics scrolled endlessly.
Crazy Frog edits. Movie reactions. Gaming streams.
But the protests? Almost invisible.
He loved Star entertainment's products but now he left frustrated.
He lowered the screen slowly.
"They're burying us."
His father Torvek looked at him grimly.
"I told you. They control the media."
A farmer nearby spat into the dirt.
-Spit
"They pay people to stay quiet."
Another added bitterly.
"They drown truth in entertainment."
Torvek folded his arms.
"They think if they stall long enough… we will get tired."
The protest had been going on for weeks.
Supplies were stretched. Some supporters had returned home to tend crops.
Others stayed—but exhaustion was growing.
And across the galaxy—Attention was drifting.
Eryndel stared at the distant factory towers glowing under the night sky.
"They don't need to defeat us."
He said quietly.
"They just need the universe to forget."
Torvek did not answer. Because he knew his son was right.
On Verdantis-9—The farmers were fighting for water.
But in the wider universe—They were fighting for attention.
And attention… Was already moving on even through all these efforts.
**********************************************************************************************************************************************************
(Author's POV)
(A/N):
There will be two chapters a week(Monday and Tuesday)
If delayed I would post it on Wednesday or Thursday.
Thanks for reading the chapter!
Please give a review and power stone!!!