Chapter Text
It wasn’t an exaggerating to say that Boboiboy already an expert in dealing with alien invasion. By the age of 13, he had engaged in superhero gig along with his friends. Even at 16, they still doing the same routines. Whoever aliens dared enough to come to earth for precious rare chocolate, the team easily drove them away.
In the midst of study and exam, laugh and cry, happy and sad, the five heroes of Rintis Island banded together to defeat all sort of evil alien and maintained the peace of Earth.
The good guys always won in the end.
That was how it supposed to be.
..
..
He won. The damned alien won. Boboiboy could imagine his green-shaped ugly head grinned mockingly when he and his friends retreated and fled with his severely injured friend.
When Ochobot was kidnapped by that alien bastard, they immediately pursued the box-headed alien race. But they were no longer those of snot-nosed brats that acted on impulse and determination alone. They should have known better than just blindly chasing alien forces into the middle of far away that they barely knew about. It screamed TRAP, not to mention STUPID.
They should have known that their enemy this time wasn’t their usual silly alien with literally wrong in the head robot and somewhat managed to be a computer, but a whole alien force! Pride had blinded them to the obvious trap right below their noses.
Now Ochobot was still in enemy’s grasp, Ying already ran low on energy to use her accelerating power, Yaya’s power watch was damaged in the middle of fight an only function enough to increase gravity, Gopal lost his voice due to one of many poisonous trap set in the forest, Boboiboy had pushed to his limit and could barely fight, and then Fang—
“Boboiboy!!”
Boboiboy flinched when Yaya called him out, throwing him back into a nightmare called reality. Boboiboy looked around; Gopal was watching over the terrain in panic and fear, Yaya was painted in bruises and dust, Ying ready to faint anytime soon… an then to Fan, who lied limply in front of him with blood flowing from his gaping wound in his stomach.
“Boboiboy!!” Yaya called again, still applying pressure on Fang’s abdomen with gauze she brought in her bag. “Can you use your fire power? You had to cauterize the wound—“
“Yaya, are you crazy?!” Ying would have screamed if she still had energy, but a sharp whisper came out instead. “The wound is too big!”
“At least it will close the wound, he had lost too much blood already! At this rate he’ll die from blood lost…!”
“I don’t want him to die from shock!”
“If you have better idea then say it! We’ve got no choice!”
“This is not the time to argue!” Boboiboy barked, effectively silencing the girls. He ran his hand over his face, considering his options. “Ying, keep an eye on surrounding area and tell me immediately if anything happen. Gopal, Yaya, hold Fang down for me. Keep him still while I close the wound.”
Ying didn’t argue, Yaya hated her own idea, and Gopal gulped nervously. Boboiboy changed to Boboiboy Api form. He didn’t have enough power to be Boboiboy Blaze. He focused the fire power on his palm. The light was dim, showing how exhausted he was. But that was more than enough. After making sure he was ready, as well as Yaya and Gopal were in holding Fang’s body, Boboiboy pressed his glowing hand on Fang’s abdomen ever so gently. They all prayed Fang would stay unconscious so he wouldn’t feel pain.
The very next second, Fang’s eyes snapped open. A bone-chilling scream escaped his mouth while his body tried to break free, away from the pain. Boboiboy tried to ignore it. He tried to ignore how Gopal tried to hold Fang’s thrashing body. He tried to ignore Yaya holding back her tears while muttering ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry’ over and over again like a chant with chocked voice. He tried to ignore his own emotion and feeling. He couldn’t let it waver his determination. He has more important task at hand. He had to focus on closing Fang’s wound, he had to save him. He couldn’t make wrong decision… No more.
“Hold him… still! Gopal!”
Gopal responded with wet sobs.
The blood soaked his hand profusely, instantly dried, hardened, and felt rigid. Boboiboy didn’t care. ‘I have to close the wound… or Fang would suffer for nothing.’ Boboiboy pressed harder, trying to keep his hand steady. ‘Fang depends on me… They all do… Don’t mess this up. Don’t mess this up…’
One last push, then Boboiboy stopped.
There were sounds of iron creaking and giant steps that vibrated the ground, followed by loud rustling noises of trees falling and crashed. Everyone froze on their place, realization hit them like a horde of bulls. The alien started gaining on them.
“I’ll hold them off as long as I can.” Ying declared in tight voice. She turned around and stared at Fang whose movement had become sluggish. Her eyes were puffy and her face was red. Without saying anything further, she started moving towards the sound’s source. Boboiboy didn’t know what could she do with her condition, but he did know that anywhere was better than watching Fang’s misery.
“Gopal, Yaya… Go with her.”
“But, how about Fang?” Yaya asked, looked torn between Ying and Fang. She didn’t want to leave Fang.
“I’ve done everything I could.” Boboiboy said softly, defeated. “All we need to do is to bring him to hospital. I got this. He has stopped struggling anyway.”
“But…”
“How about Ying?” Gopal cut in. His voice was hoarse and barely heard. “She couldn’t hold those robots alone, Yaya. We need to be there with her so she won’t do anything reckless.” He continued, every other words interrupted by painful coughs. “Let’s trust Boboiboy, okay?”
Yaya fell silent. She knew Gopal was right. She finally nodded and left, not sparing any glance at Fang. If she as much as looked at Fang again her resolve would shatter.
“Thanks, Gopal.” Boboiboy tried to smile. It was so hard. “Make sure to retreat right after you catch up to Ying. Okay?”
Gopal, who was looking at Yaya’s far away form, turned at him. “We’ll all go home together, right?” Gopal asked bitterly, face crunched up with unshed tears and desperation. “Don’t make lie, Boboiboy.”
Boboiboy didn’t answer, and Gopal didn’t wait. They young man watched as Gopal followed Yaya into the forest. Then his shoulder slumped. Boboiboy was sure Gopal saw through him, that one best friend of his was notorious for exceptionally perceptive at the wrong time. But Boboiboy had no other choice. Telling them the truth wouldn’t make the situation any better, only destroying their mentality.
Fang wasn’t on the verge of passing out… he had gone into shock. He had stopped screaming and struggling because he didn’t have the energy, if not because of blood lost. Boboiboy had closed the wound but that devastating blow had impaled his aorta. That explained the gushing blood in the process. A mere closing would do nothing, Fang still bleed internally.
There was nothing Boboiboy could do anymore. He couldn’t carry Fang to hospital with his broken hover board. He couldn’t carry Fang on his back and lightening-moved away, the jolt would only worsening the condition. Earth Golem would only gave away their location, if he still had energy to summon it. All his remaining power had been spent to create blazing heat in his hand, to discover cruel fact that his best friend couldn’t be saved. Boboiboy couldn’t save him.
Regret, anger, sadness, panic, hopelessness… all mixed in mind. The feelings he had been locked now swirling wildly, like a dam had broken. But those emotion didn’t help the slightest. The super hero had lost. Even though Boboiboy was claimed to be the strongest in the gang. He was the leader. He was supposed to protect them.
If he was strong, then how in the world this situation happened? Why couldn’t he do anything? Why Fang was dying and he was so useless?
Fang—
“B— …boyh?” Boboiboy blinked back tears when he heard the voice. He looked down and see Fang, who squirmed ever so slightly. His heart ached seeing how pale Fang was.
“Y-yeah?”
Fang didn’t answer, only gripping his sleeve timidly, firmly. Fang wasn’t one with much words, but Boboiboy understand.
“I’m here. I won’t go anywhere.”
Boboiboy glanced at Fang’s stomach that still bleed, albeit slower, in between Boboiboy’s work. As soon as Boboiboy realized Fang’s predicament, he had stopped melting the wound. Doing anything further would only put Fang in necessary pain. With bloodied hands, Boboiboy reached out to Yaya’s forgotten bag lying right next to Fang. Boboiboy gently wrapped the half-opened wound, watching as red stains bloomed against the white material.
Fang winced. “So… lame...” His words were breathless and his voice sounded tiny, betraying the effort to look formidable. “I’m hopeless… aren’t I?”
“You’ll be okay, buddy.” Boboiboy really hoped his words weren’t just hope. He wanted Fang to be really okay, he wanted to go home together… Boboiboy squeezed Fang’s shoulder, noticing how cold his body was.
“Whres ochoboth?...” Fang slurred and Boboiboy knew he started losing him. Boboiboy looked around, no one came.
Ochobot still trapped. We had lost. “He’s looking for help. He’ll be back with mountains of carrot donuts.”
“… hah..” Somehow, Boboiboy knew Fang smiled hearing that. With so much effort, Fang lifted his head to meet Boboiboy’s gaze. Boboiboy felt his tears gathered again in his eyes, when Fang’s crimson eyes met his hazelnut ones. It was dim but never less tough. “Rememberth… the time… I suh— sang.. for you?”
Trying his hardest to hold his emotion off, Boboiboy nodded and smiled. “Yeah, your song was so weird I couldn’t sleep at all.” It was easier this time.
“Can yoh… sing a song..” Fang panted, but determined to deliver his request. His last one. “..So I won’t… sleeph too…”
Boboiboy moved to pick Fang up and embrace him. Fang would have protested how cheesy and melodramatic that was but Boboiboy needed to do this. He couldn’t rise his voice about whisper, or his cry and sobs would stole away his voice. Right now, Fang’s wish was all that mattered.
Boboiboy remembered that song he heard, in an empty classroom, when he discovered Fang’s habit of singing alone with guitar in his hand. Boboiboy swallowed down the fear, anger and regret that creeping up his throat… and started singing.
“This feeling, I will hold onto it; always and always
as if you were never disappeared somewhere
If only you could smile at me once again…
Then surely… everything will be alright…”
“Hey…” Fang joined the chorus. “Thank you…” Boboiboy could hear explosion from afar. Maybe it came from the alien robots Yaya, Ying and Gopal supposed to avoid. “I’m… sorry…” Fang’s voice tapered off and his eyes were unfocused… unseeing.
They said hearing was the last thing to go before death, so with heavy heart and forced bravery, Boboiboy sang the last part of the song. He hugged Fang lifeless form tightly, dearly.
“Good night…”