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Chapter Text

Neon J. Couldn't... Die. He wasn't fully human, after all. He was part 95% cyborg and 5% human. It was useful when he needed to gather information, and it was especially useful in his last year or two when he was still back in the navy.

Yet... Why did he feel like he was dying? His human lungs, heart, and brain felt fine, they weren't hurting or anything. Did his inner wires scramble up? ...Why couldn't he get his body to check? Normally he was able to do it in a heartbeat, yet it wasn't cooperating. This never happened before.

Neon felt cold and confused. He couldn't remember exactly what lead up to this point, but he did remember that he was sitting in his lounge room couch in the Maraca Mansion, and before he knew it, he felt like this.

He was scared. What happened? Where were his boys? Were they okay? Every time he tried to remember more and more, his brain would produce a massive headache, forcing him to stop. Did something happen that was so bad, even his brain didn't want to think about it? It made no sense. Nothing did. Words were scrambles, everything felt fuzzy, and his vision was extremely bad.

He knew that his radar head had almost perfect vision, even with the lack of eyes, so why did everything seem so blurry?

His stomach turned and dropped. His hands trembled and he couldn't feel his legs anymore.

Neon's audio speaker did pick up on a chuckle, or two, though. It was hard to make out due to all the high pitched buzzing that floated in his ears, but it was still there.

It wasn't a happy - laugh. It sounded more... sinister. Like an act of revenge that had gone well. Like... His battlefield enemies, back in the day.

If he thought his stomach couldn't turn, even more, it sure surprised him. He could feel the suppressed sobs that he pushed back in his wiring catch up with his voicebox and let out a loud, but quick static screech. He felt his screen static up where tears would normally be falling.

The pain was so bad. So, so bad.

He forced his aching muscles to move again. It hurt, badly, but he managed to reach out a weak hand to whatever blur was almost recognizable as a human silhouette.

He heard sirens, people yelling, some screaming, rain clash against the hard tiled floor of the mansion, and a sudden loud crash he heard radiate around him. Something was falling.

The creaking was louder than the yells to him, somehow. It was so much louder than the rest of the blurry world around him.

Neon wanted someone to hold him. To make him feel safe. To tell him he was going to be okay. That everything was fine. He wanted to feel the warmth envelop him in a soft hug, a hand to place itself on top of his monitor head and soothe him to safety. Please.

He didn't know, but his begs for warmth had somehow gotten out of his voicebox in soft, barely hearable whispers. Please. Please. Please. Please-

He felt his side pain disappear slowly until there was still a small trace of it left somewhere in there. His chest that was bursting with his heartbeat release some tension, and he saw the blurry world get lifted.

His static sobs grew quieter. Was he dying?

At this point, he didn't dare to question it.

A few sudden flashes, a few quick yells, a lot of moving, and a few small and big hugs were all he could gather before his screen slowly faded to black.

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Rebooting system...
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Loading completed!

Neon felt his heartbeat rise again and the feeling delve back into his muscles. It hurt, it strained, it screamed at him. Yet, he remained calm. It's what his brain told him to do. 'Stay calm'.

It took a few minutes for his system to rebuild itself so far up again so that he could see again, but when he got his vision back, he immediately took a glance around the room he was currently occupying.

Nothing much was there. It was mostly white and dull. A lot of monitors and machines were connected to him. A few in his partly human chest, and a few connected to the back of his monitor. Though, a few things did catch his attention. They were gathered around the entrance of the room.

''--Is he going to be fine?'' He heard a soft, girlish voice ask softly. Then he heard a deep grumble, something hitting a glass surface, and after a few seconds of silence a voice that matched the grumble speak up; ''...He has to be. If he was completely human, probably not, but since he's mostly a cyborg, he should make it... I hope.'' The last part didn't add much reassurance, he guessed at the small sigh that came soon after. ''He's strong. He's been in the navy. If any of us would know how to survive something like that, he would be it.'' The stern, much older female voice broke the silence after that.

Neon J. wiped a few speckles of the dust of his screen and sat up. His muscles protested, loudly, but he could deal with that. The thing that mattered right now was to figure out who the voices belonged to.

He heard a loud 'Ah! He's awake!' before loud footsteps came closer and closer, making the cyborg itch himself away from the sudden noise. He felt big hands grab at the sides of his head and tilt it to the person whom the hands belonged to.

His radar beeped a few times, sending sighs of relief from the group of people who he guessed were concerned for him. ''Thank god you're fine.'' The big hands half cradled him. It was slightly awkward due to the position he was in, but he welcomed it anyways.

''...Who..?'' J. whispered. It seemed to make the people around him stiffen up. The large figure backed off and made his monitor face right at its... face. They didn't have a face, though. It was just a sphere with beautiful colors and small stars floating around in it. It looked so amazing.

''DJ? DJ Subatomic Supernova? Your...Boyfriend?'' One of the hands left his figure and waved in front of his screen. The voice sounded concerned.

''... Am I supposed to know you?'' The silence the question caused send shivers down his robotic spine. All the people stiffened up even more.

''Did his brain get scrambled up?''
''Why doesn't he remember me?!''
''Does he remember any of us?''
''If he did, he would've said something, right?''
''Mommy, why doesn't he remember DJ Sub?''

Too many voices, too much movement, too much everything. Neon J. let go of his bedsheets and held the sides of his box head. His brain hurt too much.

''Can someone explain who you guys are and why I'm here?!'' He yelled, his grip on his ...cheeks? Tightening. The figures stopped the movements, now only one of them inching forwards towards him while the big hands he was held with before let go.

''...Oh god, he doesn't even end his sentences in song-''
''What's that supposed to do with this?!''

Chapter Text

It didn't take long for Neon to get dispatched from the hospital. With the help of his... Boyfriend? He managed to get away from the bills as well, leaving the only thing he had to worry about was his ''memory loss''.

It was hard to believe at first, he remembered his childhood just fine, yet he couldn't get any memory of his NSR ''co-workers'' to the surface without getting himself a headache bigger than the city itself. It was strange, being told all about the things he's done, who he was, who his friends were, and what happened.

From what he could gather, the group of artists heard people yelling and screaming outside, which led them to see what was going on.
Neon got to see videos that people took about the disaster. For some reason, he felt his stomach twist in turn.

The mansion he resided in was completely in ruins. At least, half of it was, the rest was looking like it was about to crash in at any moment. People were screaming, running around, trying to find someone to blame for what had happened, and for someone that would take the lead. Smoke and colors were blasting out of the ruined building, indicating it was probably fireworks that caused the destruction.

He couldn't see himself in the ruins, but the artists were. They were starting to run out into the explosive mansion, even with some police officers trying to hold them back. The DJ, who had introduced himself to Neon earlier (sort of), was one of the first to make it through the crowd and towards where his body was laying. He was bigger than any of the police officers combined, after all.

He saw himself get picked up by the DJ and get scooped off to the side just in time for some of the wall that was still standing around him to collapse, falling right where his body was laying seconds before.

Watching all of it on video felt... Weird. He knew it was him, his 'friends' told him so, but it also felt like it wasn't him. That it was him, but...Different. It was hard to explain, and thinking about it brought up another headache, but it was much more bearable. Did that happen to him? Was he really about to die?

Neon J felt sick to his stomach. God, he needed a fresh breath of air.

---------------

He was transported to his supposed boyfriend's house. He had nowhere else to turn to, so it wasn't that much of a surprise. It did feel weird, though, being alone with someone you thought you didn't know, but they ended up being your boyfriend? It felt strange, unfamiliar, but all too familiar. This whole situation was just hard to explain honestly.

That was also when he noticed the fact that he didn't... have muscles. They were there, but they weren't human. Also, he had a radar monitor for a head, so that was a pleasant surprise to uphold.

Neon was currently sitting on the couch, flipping through some astrology book that was resting on the side table. It seemed interesting, so he picked it up and flipped through it, half-reading the words and half just looking at the pretty pictures. It wasn't long before he got snapped out of the book when the sound of a hard 'plop!' broke the silence.

J placed the book gently back on the side table and stood up, dusting some dust off his white outfit. Why did he even have white clothes? It was super inconvenient. He walked over, lowering himself down on his knees in front of a box filled with pictures and small gifts.

DJ Subsup, (he decided to call him that, it was way easier to say), sat down right next to him, and picked out one of the pictures. It was so much smaller compared to his hands, it looked like a kitten being held by a giant.

The man twisted the picture to face Neon, showing him what was on it.
...
It was him, two of the other artists that were also at the hospital when he first woke up, and the DJ.

The picture seemed to radiate happiness in some strange way. He gently picked the picture out of the other's hands and took it into his own, inspecting it like it was made of the finest glass.

He, 'Yinu', DJ Subsup, and 'Eve' were standing right next to each other, holding up peace signs, goofy expressions present on the faces of the ones that we're able to communicate their emotions through their faces. In the background, it looked like a big party was going on, with flashing lights and blinding special effects throughout the room.

It felt weird. He remembered what they were doing there, but he couldn't place his finger on the details. It was a party to celebrate... What was it? A satellite launch?

Another headache made him flinch up and hiss softly, gripping the sides of his screen. He quickly picked up other pictures out of the box, inspecting them not as closely, but close enough for him to start to remember. His companion placed one of his hands on his back, patting it softly to calm him down a bit.

''...I remember.. But I also don't..'' He hissed, shaking his head a couple of times.
The sentence seemed to confuse the DJ slightly ''What do you mean?''

Neon J sighed, letting go of his head and letting the pictures fall into his lap. ''I remember what we were doing, but I still can't remember who you guys are... Like, I know now, you guys told me, but I also don't...'' He swallowed a lump in his throat, somehow, and picked up one last picture out of the box.

Instead of it being about him and some of the other artists, or all of them, it showed a simple photo of him and his... Boyfriend. They were sitting on a couch, a movie playing in the background that shone a light onto both of their heads and reflected a dread-filled scene on his screen.

They seemed to have been having fun. It was such a simplistic photo, just the two of them hanging out on a Friday night... But it felt so much more important. While the other pictures were filled with fun and silliness, this one was filled to the brim with... Love, appreciation, and respect.

The other pictures showed a moment, this one showed a story. A story he could remember, a story he had experience and could experience again. Each time different, but with the same messages.

Neon felt his voice box static slightly. Ah...He was crying.

He remembered him.

How could he have forgotten? The two shared so many memories. Bad ones, great ones, love-filled ones.

''...Thank you, Sub.''

He could tell the words touched his boyfriend. Of course, they did. He knew he remembered.

There was still hope.

Chapter Text

Neon J never remembered being a place like... This, around the city. He hadn't seen it in any of the photos DJ Subatomic Supernova showed him earlier that day. Most of the backgrounds were filled with other people, a full city, a circus, a market, but not something like this.

The place where he was now was referred to as 'Natura', or that's what he remembered the DJ telling him. Something about ''Going to remember a close friend or two''. If he was being honest, he wasn't listening. He was instead trying to piece more memories and information together, but again, they all ended up in massive headaches that made Neon want to throw up. No big surprises there.

All he could gather from his screwed-up brain was small snippets from the moments the photos were taken and his boyfriend of course. He remembered talking with people and someone suggesting to take a photo for the...Fans? He couldn't remember why he had fans though? He didn't remember paying any instrument or playing music, so how was he high enough up the ranks that even a famous DJer as Subatomic himself wanted to be with him? It made no sense and he didn't bother looking further into it. He knows he'll remember eventually, so he rather spares the headaches for another time.

The loud sound of metal hitting stone was distracting him enough already. Was someone working on making a new path somewhere? Where was that sound coming from?

It wasn't worth it, he decides, he had more important things to attend to.

For example, trying to catch what the person next to him was saying.

Neon J. Couldn't remember her name, but she 're'-introduced herself as 'Yinu''s mother, so he went with that. Mother.
She was around as tall as Neon, with red skin color and a dress that went all the way down to her feet, which made her legs invisible to the blind eye. The dress had a pinkish-red flower pattern at the bottom. In the middle of her face was a line that bloomed out into a dark red heart.

Besides her was 'Yinu' eating a Mr.Dodo ice pop that she got from Subatomic after they picked him up to bring him along to Natura. While she was distracted, her mother, from what he could pick up, was talking about how the district came to be.

Yinu was a child, yet from what Mother told him, a talented one. Neon didn't know exactly how old she was, but he guessed somewhere around 7 or 9. Her skin was a pale yellow, a great change compared to her mother's bright red skin, and her yellow rose hair was bundled up in a knot with an orange headband. She wore a simple white shirt and shorts. A casual look.

Her cheeks were tainted red and her red and pink eyes reminded J. of her mother. A yellow line went over her nose and to her forehead, which bloomed out into a clover-like shape.

Even though the mother and her child contrasted greatly with their colors, it wasn't hard to see that they had a close bond.

''--The plants here are watered daily, to keep them in full bloom. They do a great job with them, every time Yinu and I walk through here the flowers are the show stealers.'' Mother laughed, placing her free hand on her cheek while the other held onto Yinu's hand, guiding her forwards and to make sure the young artist didn't trip over something due to being distracted by the tasty treat.

Neon J. hummed, his eyes glancing around the nature surrounding them. ''I do find it beautiful here. It shows that even though there may be bad people in the world, people are still willing to do simple tasks like watering the plants to keep the place as nice as ever.'' The man's finger barely brushed over a flower petal they were passing by.

Mother smiled, nodding her head ''It shows how much people still care about nature.'' Neon nodded in approval.

As they fell into a comfortable silence, Yinu yawned, stretching out her legs the best she can while still keeping up with the two adults. ''Moomm...How long is it 'till we get there?'' The child sighed, rubbing at her eyes without getting ice cream on her face.

The mother glanced around them, her eyebrows furrowing in thought before she responded; ''We're nearly there, sweetheart. You can take a quick nap once we get there.''

Yinu nodded and focused her attention back at the ice pop.

Neon J. crossed his arms over his...Weirdly hard-feeling chest.
''If I may ask, where are we going?''

Mother glanced back at him, slightly shocked, but it quickly dropped. ''Ah- Of course, you don't remember...'' She let out a sigh of disappointment.
''We're heading to our house. We hope we can find something there that will restore your memory a bit.''

J. nodded, deciding to leave it at that and to instead take in all the beauty around him.

He couldn't remember if he was here often before, but if he wasn't, he surely will be now.

--------------------------------------

The walk didn't take long, as Yinu's mother said. The house was only a few corners away and once it was in full view, Yinu smiled brightly and ran towards it, but not before grabbing the house keys from her mother and opening the door open with a throw. She ran inside and threw the ice pop stick into the trash bin and rummaged through a fancy looking closet that resided in the kitchen.

Her mother just chuckled, inviting Neon inside and shutting the door behind them.

The house was beautifully decorated, fitting in perfectly with the outside. Plants were in almost every corner, and the walls were painted a calming white with black flowers at the bottom, reminding J. of Mother's dress.

The furniture was also fancy, but nothing too over the top. For the living room, it was a couch, chairs, a grand piano, and a fireplace with a tv and a few paintings lining the walls. In the kitchen, there was, of course, a kitchen and a round dining table with a vase full of flowers in the middle of it. A few closets lined the walls and a big window showed a full view of their back yard, which non surprisingly, filled with all kinds of flowers.

Neon knew he shouldn't go upstairs, it was a private floor, but he guessed a bathroom and bedrooms resided up there, so, nothing too interesting.
He did see a few family pictures up on the wall when he peeked into the hallway that leads to the stairs, though, but he didn't want to give off a bad vibe by staring at them. Even though he knew they knew him, but still, it rubbed him the wrong way.

Mother laughed at his curiosity to explore everything, it reminded her of a cat in some way.

Neon J.'s thoughts got interrupted by a few hard ticks on his leg grabbing his attention. He glanced down (wait, was his leg always so hollow-sounding?) and saw Yinu standing there, hopping up and down excitedly while hiding something behind her back.

He tilted his head, taking a glance over at her mother, who just nodded at him in approval, and he crouched down to Yinu's level.
''Do you want to show me something?''

Yinu nodded quickly, barely able to keep still as she tried to hide the big, goofy smile on her face. Neon J.'s eyes widened when she suddenly threw her arms out in front of her, a piece of paper gripped in her tiny hands.

He felt his shoulders sink a bit, glad that it was just a piece of paper.

He carefully took it into his hands and inspected it with even more care. This wasn't just a piece of paper- it was a drawing, and from what he could tell... He was drawn on it, alongside Yinu herself, of course.

''She loves drawing. She usually does it when her fingers start to hurt a bit after playing the piano and when she has to keep quiet for the neighbors.''
Mother smiled proudly, slowly moving next to his crouched form.

Neon J. felt his heart sink and speed up at the same time. His head started bonking again, and it made Neon hiss a bit. The drawing in his hand getting slightly crumbled under his strong grip. He shut his eyes, trying to get the pain away, but it only lead to the pain increasing.

Memories started flooding him all at once. It hurt, it hurt, it hurt, it hurt--

------------------------------------------

''You're nervous?''

Yinu nodded, her eyes drifting downwards to stare at the ground while she shifted around with her feet.

Neon J. could only smile at her reaction. She already won so many rewards, and she was still nervous about her talent?

''Listen here, young soldier.''

Yinu glanced up at him, her eyes filled with worry.

Neon grabbed a piece of paper from one of the drawers backstage along with some pencils and an eraser.

He handed them to her, which she took with trembling hands.

He patted her head the best he could with his metal hand.

''Draw a bit to relieve some stress. You still have 30 minutes before you have to go on stage.''

Her eyes lit up like a Christmas light and she glanced around the room for any flat surface. He picked her up and placed her on a chair next to a table. He shoved some of the electrical wires out of the way, making space for her to place her equipment down.

''Don't worry about it too much about the audition, okay?'' Neon J. gave her a thumbs up, which combined with the gifts, made Yinu bright up greatly.

''You can show me when it's done.''

---------------------------------------------

Neon J. remembered waking up again on a couch, surrounded by Yinu and her mother, looking worriedly at him.

When they realized he had woken up, they immediately made space for him to fully register what was going on.

Mother sighed a breath of relief ''Are you alright, J? You just passed out there.'' Yinu nodded. He could tell her eyes were slightly watering up, or they had already fallen and it was the aftermath.

Neon J. exhaled a puff of air he didn't know he was holding in.
''...I am so sorry.'' He huffed, placing his weird feeling head into his hands. ''I'm such an idiot. I shouldn't have forgotten.''

The other two quickly shared a glance before they turned their attention back to Neon. ''What are you talking about?'' Mother asked.

Neon J. wheezed out a forced laugh. ''It was rude of me to forget such an important night to you, Yinu.'' He mumbled out.

Yinu's eyes brightened up a bit, her feet shuffling over each other to get up from the couch and in front of the man. ''Does that mean-?!''

Her mother's eyes widened while J. nodded. ''You did such a great job at the Lights Up audition.''

Yinu smiled widely, jumping up to him in hope of getting a hug. She got it without much hesitation.

But... Why did he refer to her as a ''young soldier' before?

Chapter Text

'Kay, so, I know it's been a month since I last updated this fic. And yes, I probably should update it again. It's just,, hard to do, not gonna lie.
I've always had problems getting myself to work on things, and this also applies to writing. I have to be in a good mood, have ideas, have inspiration, have the time and I have to still be interested in this fic. Which I still am! It's just hard to work on it I guess.

The next chapter will be about the others POV. More details on what actually happened.

I'll try to get it out as soon as possible, but it's gonna take some time. Thanks for staying patient and I hope you still have some left.

- Author Cereal

Chapter Text

He knew he was safe. There wouldn't be a reason why he wouldn't be. Well, maybe one, or two, or three- okay he had to stop now.

...Yet he couldn't. The DJ knew that, somehow, Neon J. could be in danger. The man could barely remember Subatomic's name, even after he finally started remembering again, so it wouldn't be a stretch to say that it was possible that J. somehow got lost in Natura.

No. He couldn't think that way. Neon was fine, he was with two artists after all- even if one of them was a child... God, he needed a distraction. Something to get him away from all the stress that had built up ever since that evening.

That evening had to be one of the most stressful evenings DJ Subatomic Supernova ever had, and it wasn't even that long ago. He remembered every second, every minute, every sweat drop, and every ticking clock.

He remembers all of it more than he'd like.

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It was a quiet evening. There hadn't been too much going on that day, at least, not for one of the newest additions to the NSR artist group.

DJ Subatomic Supernova's orb turned over to look at the blueprints that were scattered around his kitchen table, untouched since the moment he placed them down. His feet already dragged the rest of his body over to the table, an empty coffee pot in his hand while the other one waved the papers around on the smooth surface. Some of them shifted around, but it didn't matter.

The DJ felt... Strange. Nothing today was really bad, so why was he feeling so...Empty? He placed a hand on the underside of his glass helmet, mimicking a chin with how his fingers trailed around it in thought.

Empty wasn't the right word. It was more... Oh god, he knew he was bad with emotions, but this? Dear god.

The day started fairly normal. Subatomic woke up, got dressed, did some paperwork before going to an NSR meeting, went back to his house, planned a concert or two that he was going to hold in the next week, got lunch, worked some more, took a quick break, went to see his boyfriend, Neon J. for a date, returned home and just... Sat on the couch.

Ah, his boyfriend. Neon J. had always been a man he respected with his whole heart ever since he got into NSR. His dedication, passion, and determination was something the DJ could appreciate.

Building a whole boyband group on your own? Impressive.

It wasn't long after they met that Subatomic had started falling for the much shorter man. He started noticing the little details that'd he do; how he tapped his fingers together when he got nervous, how his radar sped up when he felt a strong emotion, how he would always end his sentences in song if he got excited. The little things that you would barely pick up on if you weren't paying attention.

Even though the love he held for the man, Subatomic could admit that there were flaws. Everyone had them after all.

Neon J. could be a handful at loud or crowded places, always opting to stick to Supernova whenever he got too anxious. He could also be quite talkative, starting to talk about his war stories whenever a small hint reminded him of one, which would lead to the DJ having to listen to his boyfriend talk about one topic to another to another for six hours on end.

...That was another thing. Subatomic knew he had real bad PTSD episodes, especially if the trigger is sudden. One time, when they were both hanging out at his mansion, Barraca Mansion, a firework had gone off not too far away, which lead to Neon J. being calm one second and reading a book to having a full-blown PTSD attack in mere seconds.

DJ Subatomic shook his orb head around. He didn't want to think about that again, it was unnerving to see his beloved Neon so frightened and lost. He forced his legs to make their way to the living room, discarding the empty coffee pot on the kitchen table. He could deal with that thing later, he needed some TV now.

Flopping his body down on the pillows, he switched to the local news channel. What could be on today?

...Well, he didn't expect something this bad.

The screen showed a nervous news reporter, who was probably new if Subatomic had to guess, standing in front of Barraca Mansion. People were yelling and screaming behind her, and there were all kinds of different news channels in the frame, too.

DJ Subatomic Supernova felt his heart sink. The mansion was falling apart, crashing down and half exploding randomly without a warning.

It wasn't until he saw the man he was just thinking about laying in the rubble, only able to be seen in the dark due to his neon stripes that light up.

The DJ never rushed out of his house that fast.

------------

Arriving there wasn't the problem, getting through the screaming crowd was.

The panicked fans and random bystanders didn't care about anyone's status at that moment, only thinking about how to get out of there as soon as possible. Subatomic wouldn't blame them, but it was annoying him that people kept running into him and while ignoring him completely, running away.

DJ Subatomic Supernova noticed a few of his co-workers around too. Eve was trying to get a good look by standing on a statue of one of the 1010 members, Mayday and Zuke were running around in panic as well, and the rest... He guessed Yinu's mom was taking care of Yinu while Tatiana was trying to get a solution fast while also trying to keep the Sayu's team kids calm.

Subatomic felt his breath hitch in his non-existent throat. There were too many people, he wouldn't be able to get through them all without knocking a few people over, which would probably lead to them getting heavily injured by the people who would just run over them like they were carpets.

The DJ did the only thing he could think of in his racing mind. He ran over to Eve and climbed up beside her.

The artist was looking around the large plaza, probably brainstorming a solution too. Supernova spoke up, breaking the silence between the two, while also sending Eve almost flying.
''Do you see a quick way through?''

Eve recovered herself by shifting into another position, now with her right leg out in front of her and her left hand blocking the large neon lights from her view.
''You can probably get through that way,''
She pointed at a small but noticeable pathway.
''But it'd be tricky.''

DJ Subatomic nodded as best as he could.
''And you?''
He barely whispered while making his way down the statue.

Eve simply rolled her eyes at him and continued looking around the crowd.
''I'll keep Tati updated.''

Supernova nodded, finally hopping down the statue and back onto the ground floor before he dashed off through the pathway.

He felt sweat build up quickly. He was lucky he had a run-in with that dog a few days ago, or else he probably wouldn't have been able to run this fast.

Screeching to a halt, the DJ arrived at the still locked gate of the mansion. The one thing that still kept him away from Neon.
Subatomic threw himself half over the high fence. He couldn't care less about how he did it. The only thing on his mind right now was him.

Another explosion sends a huge, hot wave against him, which did make him take a few steps back, but it didn't stop him completely.

He ran, not for the hills, but J.

He just hoped he was on time-

Crash. Boom. Scream.

-------------------------------------

It hurt him to think about that evening. It was too painful, too fresh. The wound hadn't even begun healing yet.

DJ Subatomic Supernova sighed, brushing a hand over his glass helmet that protected his orb. Why did he remind himself? It only opened up the wounds again, and not for moving on.

It was painful and he didn't want to do it. He didn't want to see it again. No clips, no news report, no nothing.

He just wanted him to be safe. That's all he could ask for.

Chapter Text

The rain was quite fitting for the scene. The way it slowly trickled down the window, racing against each other, until that one raindrop slows down abruptly and the first last-place raindrop somehow winning first prize.

It was like a scene from a story J could vaguely recall. About how the person who had been trying their hardest eventually broke down and everyone else, who had done everything at a much more even pace, quickly went past them and reached the top.

Take everything at your own pace. Don't overwork yourself. You'll get there eventually.

J tilted his monitor head away from the raindrop race. He was getting too invested in a stupid child's race. It didn't matter who won.
But that was the beauty of the child's imagination, right?
The only thing on your mind was if you won the raindrop race bet you and your friend made. The only real fear was if you were going to eat yucky vegetables instead of the greasy french fries you hoped for. The struggle if you should bring your lucky collectible with you to school to show your friends, or should you put them safely underneath your pillow, waiting for you until you'd get home?

No, Neon thought. Dwelling on the past was probably not a good idea. Those things only mattered when you were young, not when you supposedly were the 'father' of a robot K-POP boyband, owned a district, and were one of the highest-ranking members of an important organization that focused on music and bringing joy.

...Does it really matter now, though? J couldn't remember. He might be being pushed around for all he knows. Maybe he was a toymaker, creating small, wooden dolls. Maybe he was all but a simple cyborg given life for some unknown purpose and trying to find meaning in his life again--

``You're thinking loudly.``
His boyfriend's voice shot through the storm like a bullet. A nice ring to it as it shot through the thick clouds.

``Huh? What do you mean?``
J already knew the answer, but hearing the DJ's voice helped him calm down more.

``You've been staring at the rain for minutes and haven't said a single word.``
What was he supposed to respond with? 'I'm sorry' and leave it to only go back to what triggered the conversation in the first place?

``...Right, sorry.``
What an utter fool.

Subatomic leaned his orb head onto his other hand. His elbow propped up against the window while the other hand was taking care of the steering wheel.
``...How are you doing?``

That was a question Neon wasn't expecting if he was being honest. Most of the last few days, maybe a week had been about trying to piece back as much of his memory as he can with the help of his 'friends'. He hadn't had the time to sit down and take it all in.

``I'm doing... Fine? It's strange, all of, well, this.``
J waved his hands around in a circle as he made a poor attempt at describing his experience.

Subatomic simply shrugged, though he did scoot a bit closer to Neon's passenger seat.

``I get it.`` Supernova sighed, the hand that was first resting on the left side of his glass helmet now on the bottom part, tapping it lightly as if he was thinking deeply.
``The last few days have been...Unusual, to put it simply.``

Neon let out a forced chuckle. ``That's true.``
His fingertips tapped against one another. A nervous habit he probably picked up on years back.

``I...This may seem rather random, but I want you to know that I'm here for you.``
Either J was losing more of his memory, or Subatomic was getting better at catching him off-guard.

DJ's left hand took over the wheel while his right one inched slowly over to Neon's left hand before cupping it lightly in his hand.
The silence that followed after told more than words.
J wrapped his fingers around the massive palm of the other, squeezing slightly.
``...Thank you.``

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subatomic hopped out of the car with a light thud.

The ride hasn't been too long, yet it felt like it lasted lifetimes. Time seemed to stop whenever he'd get in his head too much.
The fact that Neon was almost quiet the entire ride didn't help much either.

It felt so empty seeing the other man like this. Supernova couldn't help but go back to the times where they would both be sitting on one of their couches, drinking a little bit while Neon J rambled on and on about whatever he was hyper fixated on at the moment, which were either his self-made robotic family or old war stories from back when he served in the Navy.

That bubbly, talkative Neon J wasn't with him. This Neon J felt more like a husk of who he once was, like how he noticed his hands would move and flail around as they used to when he got excited about a certain topic. How he would hum a note from a song he used to sing to the DJ whenever he had a rough night to retune his worn voicebox. How he would tap his foot when they passed a certain building playing a song from one of their coworkers.

Subatomic clicked himself away from those thoughts. He had been thinking too much, they had to get Neon to the next set of memories. He could worry about his feelings later.

The DJ walked back to the other side of the car and placed his hand on the metal shoulder of his boyfriend.
``Come, we don't have all day.``
Neon nodded and took the hand that was placed on his shoulder into his own.

``You'll lead the way, right?``
Subatomic nodded and locked the car before helping Neon up to the main tower of the colorful district.

Buildings tall and mighty loomed over the almost-equally colorful streets of the district. Neon billboards hanged up around every corner, showing the same advertisement over and over again into the minds of easy to impression teenagers. Big posters hanged up on the sides of some of the buildings, showing off the exact person they were heading to.
And if that already wasn't enough, then maybe the mostly pink, blue, and yellow color palette will get your gears turning.

``Where are we heading to?``
J squeezed his hand. Oh, was he zoning out again?

Subatomic cleared his throat, his gaze quickly darting across the district, trying his best to remember the quickest route to the main concert building.

``Sayu and her creators. Sayu is a 'vocaloid' mermaid made by four college children. How they managed to create a living, almost breathing being is far from what I would consider logic, so you'd have to ask them instead.``

His boyfriend chuckled whole-heartedly. It made the DJ's skin curl up.
``A-A vocaloid mermaid? How did they come up with that?``

Subatomic was now painfully aware of how Neon's thumb caressed the back of his hand.
``Again, I have no clue. They are a creative bunch, though. Don't tell them I said that.``
He mostly whispered the last part, but he was sure the other heard it.

``Of course! Cross my heart. ...If I still have one.``
Supernova laughed, tugging Neon more forwards to walk beside him. A quick peck on his hand wouldn't hurt either.

``I assure you, you do. Do not worry about that.``
``Oh, and how would you know, huh? Gone rummaging around in there before I woke up?``

That hit a bit harder than Subatomic expected, but he quickly let it slide. Negative emotions can be preserved for later.

``The doctors might've had, but I wasn't present in that procedure. If I was, I'd clash horribly against the cyan operation room.``

Neon elbowed him in the side.
``Rude! So you don't value your boyfriend's life over a color clash?``

``O-Of course not! I just mean that I wouldn't be the best of the best in that kind of situation!``

``Uh-huh. That's what they all say at first!``
``And what's that supposed to mean?!``

They both laughed. He missed this, just them being a level lower in intelligence than normally and goofing around a bit.

The DJ didn't even notice when they arrived at the concert building, being too caught up in their shenanigans to notice their surroundings, which was quite strange since the billboards, screens, posters, advertisements, etc normally increased when you'd get closer to a concert building.

He glanced over at Neon on the far left side of his helmet, who was staring at the building like he was a small kid seeing Disney World for the first time.

``Excited?``
Subatomic smirked through his words.

Neon J shook his head and quickly snapped out of it sadly enough, and huffed at the other man.
``Not really. It's just so...Colorful.``

``Just wait until you see your old district.``
Supernova chuckled deeply and stepped forwards into the building, leaving behind a slightly confused and baffled Neon J.

``Hey- come back here and explain that right now!``