Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Icey blasts of wind set the teeth of a small white deer chattering. He stands alone at the edge of a hole, its yawning opening spiraling down into the dark. Luka shivers, and not because of the wind; this is the Source, a fitting name in the deer’s opinion. This hole was the cause of some of the biggest trials of his life.

Luka grimaces as he peers over the edge of the hole, to feel a tight tug around his waist. He looked down to see a rope attached to him. He moves to test its tightness, and sees that his hands are clad in black rubber. The shiny yellow surface covering his abdomen told him that he was wearing a hazmat suit, but with a climbing harness overtop; he even had a pair of spiked soled boots on his feet. 

It had been a long time since Luka was anywhere near The Source. He couldn’t remember why he’d come back here, but something called to him, compelled him to dive into the cave. He didn’t know why. He didn’t have any idea what he expected to find. But the climbing gear would keep him safe enough. Probably. He psyches himself up, takes a deep breath, shakes his hands loose, getting ready to jump...

A sharp shove from behind knocks the deer forward. Luka screams as he falls into the hole, the rope doing nothing to slow his descent. Darkness rushes up to meet him, engulfing him, giving him nothing but the rush of wind and his own yell to focus on. The temperature plummets the deeper he falls, the visor before his face frosting at the edges and clouding as he screams.

His lungs empty, and Luka forces a sharp inhale. The rope wasn’t helping. He has to do something to stop himself. The spiked boots. Luka kicks out his legs at the walls. Scratching. Scraping. And then something catches, and Luka feels his ankles wrench and the rope snap taught around his midriff, knocking the breath out of his lungs. His eyes slam shut as pain overwhelms him, as his fingers scrabble at his chest to loosen the harness so he can breathe, finding nothing. After a moment, he realizes he can breathe again. His sense of balance shifts. The darkness and the silence press in around him, and then cold light teases at the cracks between his eyelids.

He opens his eyes and looks down at himself. The rope that held him in place was gone, and his feet are now firmly planted on a bed of ice beneath him. Snow was billowing gently across the frozen landscape around him, blown by a cold wind against his back. He walked forward, following the direction of the snowflakes. Any sense that he was underground was long gone, but besides the overcast sky above and the snow around him he could see nothing. After some time, a shadow began to loom in the blustering snow ahead of him; tall, antlered, and still. “Hello?” Luka calls out to the figure, but it remains motionless, unresponsive. Perhaps he was too far for them to hear. He takes a step forward, but the ice begins to crack beneath his feet. “Hello!” He calls again, to no response. He steps forward again, the cracks spreading. With every step the snow becomes more and more relentless, the wind howling making it harder for him to even hear the splintering ice beneath his feet.

His eyes were drawn down by the ice darkening suddenly. Under the spiderweb of cracks covering the surface, he could make out darkened silhouettes, people he didn’t recognize. Maybe they were unlucky enough to fall into the Source. How long had they been there? What were their stories, were they here before the move? Their faces were blurred but their bodies looked painfully contorted. Luka shook his head before looking back towards the silhouette. “Who are you?” he calls out again, hesitantly stepping closer and closer to the figure. His visor steamed up with every anxious breath, the frost at its edges spreading. His feet were numb and his finger hurt from the freezing chill that had set into his suit fully.

The antlered silhouette wavered in the wind, and Luka could just make out a billowing robe and flowing hair. “Are yo-” 

Blinding lights shine from the silhouette, forcing Luka to raise one hand and flinch to shield his eyes. He fights to keep them open, bearing the painful glare to hang on to this place. A hushed whisper echoes throughout the cave, a choir of soft, distant voices; “I’m with you.” 

“Wh-Who-?” Luka tries to ask, but a blast of cold air overwhelms him, knocking him down. His eyes screw shut as he struggles to remain on his feet. After only a moment the howling of the wind dissipates, and Luka opens his eyes. He is greeted by his reflection, only without the frosted visor of the rubber suit masking his younger face. He reaches out, feeling the cold touch of an icy wall. Panicked, he feels around to discover he had become completely encased in ice. 

“What?! No! Help!” he cries as he slams a shoulder against the frigid prison. “Please! Somebody! Anybody! Help me!” he continues to scream. “I don’t understand! Why?! I thought all this was finished!” 

As he keeps pounding on the wall, another robed figure comes into view on the other side, walking past. This one didn’t have antlers, but instead small horns. “Hey! Help!” Luka cries, wailing on his icy prison to try to get this individual's attention. 

The figure stops by his cell, and turns to him, looking through his own reflection. “I’m sorry,” they uttered, their voice somehow breaching the thick ice between them, “but you’re not part of this story…” And the prison cracks, and splinters, and comes crashing down on the screaming deer boy.

Chapter Text

Luka shot upright in an icy sweat, breathing hard. Panicking, he glanced around him, only to be met by the familiar sight of his bedroom. His breaths stilled and his hammering heart started to slow. It was fine. It was just a dream. He was safe.

Well. It was one of those dreams, again. After all this time…

The deer swung his legs over the edge of the bed and lazily slid off to his feet, an air of calm returning as he was now grounded back in reality. Luka felt cold, but after that dream, he wasn’t surprised. Donning his favourite sweater he made his way downstairs to the living area.

The crackling of a lit fireplace met him, immediately putting him in warmer spirits. Looking around he wondered if his mother was still home, but then the telltale sounds of jam jars clinking together in the next room told him all he needed to know. “Mom?” Luka asked, rubbing his eyes as he walked into the kitchen. His mother was delicately placing freshly filled jam jars into packed crates, before looking at Luka.

“Morning buckaroo, did you sleep well?” she asked as she set a hand upon the top of the now full crate.

“I guess so?…” Luka replied, a little unsure.

“Guess so? A bad dream woke you up, huh?” she asked, walking over to Luka. She set her hands on his shoulder before planting a motherly kiss on his forehead. “There, that should ward off any future bad dreams,” she smiled.

“Mom!” Luka said as he stepped back and wiped his forehead with a playful smile, before turning his attention to the crate of jam. “Do you want me to deliver those?” he asked.

His mother nodded. “Yes please, just before you go off to the tree-” Eleanor caught herself with a chuckle, “I mean, ‘Mission Control.’ There’s jars for Mr. Tolliver, Mr. Nuncreed, and even the Valentines have ordered some,” she instructed. 

“Huh, I wonder if they’ll let me past the gate to deliver this? I don’t think I’ve ever been inside of there,” Luka mused, then realised that this would take him pretty close to Beck’s house; perhaps he could catch her there! The boy hefted the crate into his arms. “Gotcha, I’m on the case!” he said, waggling the crate a bit as if to ask his mom if she got the pun.

Eleanor smirked and ushered him out of the kitchen. “Go on then, Buckaroo!” she cheered with a roll of her eyes. Luka carefully rushed out the door, jars clinking together as he made his way towards Mr. Toliver's stall first.

It was a wonderful day in Beacon Pines, the sun was shining brightly today and although there were a few clouds in the sky it looked like it was going to be a pleasant day. Rushing past the giant welcome sign to beacon pines he crossed over into the small town towards the small creek where Iggy was busy throwing small rocks into the water. Luka took a step onto the bridge “Hey Iggy, where’s Tish?” he asked as it was a rare sight to see the two apart.

Iggy threw one last pebble across the creek before turning to Luka. “Who’s asking?” he replied in his usual snarky tone, before realising who it was. “Oh, it’s only you, Luka. She’s uh… not feeling too hot, she’s come down with a cold,” he said, returning to searching for pebbles to skim across the water.

“Oh, that’s not good, we should see about sending her a get well card. We can make one at Mission Control later if you like?” Luka offered.

“Nah, she ain’t one for that sentimental trite…” Iggy responded, even as he glanced towards the forest that led to Mission Control. “Though, for an unrelated reason that has nothing to do with what we just said, I’m gonna head there.”

“Of course, see ya there Iggy!” Luka said with a smirk and a with a roll of his eyes, before continuing on his journey to Mr. Tolliver's stall. 

Passing by the fountain in the town centre, Luka noticed that Ms. Hatch was reading what appeared to be a graphic novel. Unusual, but the library only had so many books; perhaps she was trying something new? From the cover it looked like some sort of SuperHero crossover. Luka could make out Hank Atomic but didn’t recognize the other hero. Despite nearly bursting with questions, he pressed on; there was no getting answers out of Ms. Hatch until she was done reading.

As Luka arrived at the stall, Mr. Tolliver, Fitz and Roxy were busy stocking up for today's sales. Luka approached with his crate of jam and set it down softly. “Jam Delivery, Mr. Tolliver!” he beamed as the older squirrel turned to address him.

“Oh, good morning Luka!” Mr Tolliver cheered. “Thank you very much! Fitz dear, can you sort those for me?” he asked as she approached the crate. Fitz carefully took all of the jars labelled for the stall and then glanced at Luka. Fitz cocked a brow, before turning and walking to the shelf where they keep the jam. The deer realised that maybe he was watching a little too much.

“Earth to Luka…” Roxy called as she nudged his arm, snapping him out of his trance.

“Bwuh? Oh, hey Roxy! Uh, why are you here so early?” Luka asked, cheeks flushing.

“Oh, you know,” Roxy replied nonchalantly. “Ever since Rolo had his little growth spurt, he’s been really dedicated to his chores to the point he’s started doing mine! Kind of leaves me with nothing to do some days, so I help out Fitz with her chores instead,” she explained. “Speaking of Rolo, he said to meet him at that dorky tree-house.”

“Mission Control,” Luka corrected her with a glare.

“Yeah, that’s what I said…” Roxy smirked ruffling the top of Luka’s head.

"Right, got more deliveries before first. See ya!" Luka replied, before turning around and trotting off towards Mr. Nuncreed's drugstore.

Taking a right turn from Mr. Tolliver’s took him down the main street of Beacon Pines, past the library to the store where the delivery was due. As he approached the door, it swung open and the large figure of Mr. Nuncreed towered over him. "Ah, there you are, lad. Come on in," he said, holding the door open for Luka to enter.

Luka waddled over to the preserve aisle of the store and set the crate down, before stocking the shelves himself. Nuncreed smiled "I've told you before you don't have to do that." 

"Oh, I don't mind,” Luka explained. “If it helps out then all the better." He set the last jar in place neatly on the shelf, making sure the label was prominently displayed.

"Thank you Luka. Here, for your trouble," Nuncreed said, tossing a small bag of sour gobs towards Luka who caught it swiftly. 

"Thanks Mr. Nuncreed." Luka said as he left. He had one last stop before heading to Mission Control; the Valentines.  Ever since the events tied to Perennial Harvest, the Valentine siblings had been trying to figure out where their place in the town was now, especially with the juvenile Sharper to look after between them. The mayor, Gus, seemed to have finally settled into his role, but nobody had seen much of Heiress in a while. Heading to their house was an interesting prospect to say the least. And, maybe Luka would visit Beck while he was there.

As he thought about the Valentines, Luka suddenly bumped into someone "Ah!” He cried as the crate of jars jingled in his grip. “Oh, I'm sorry!" Luka apologised, trying to peek over the basket at whoever it was.

A sly chuckle answered him. "Nah it's okay. I kind of planted myself in your way to snap you out of Dreamsville,” a raspy voice replied.

“Beck!” Luka cheered, “How’re you doing?”

“Not bad, just chilling,” she replied. “Was about to head over to the treehouse. Whatcha doin’?”

“Jam delivery for my mom,” Luka replied. “I’ve got a bunch left to give to the Valentines.”

“Huh, that’s different,” Beck replied, before her eyebrows raised. “Wait, that means you’re gonna go right up to the door. Can I come?”

“Sure!” Luka replied, before continuing on. “Still never been inside the gate, huh?”

Beck shook her head, sending her single lock of blue hair swaying. She’d quit wearing a beanie to hide it years ago. “Can’t find a good spot to jump the fence. Or climb down from it after getting up there.”

Luka glanced at her sideways. “...You’re a cat,” he noted.

“Yeah? And if I can’t climb down the inside of the fence, how am I meant to climb up again on the way out?” she questioned.

“Good point,” Luka agreed as they reached the fence. “Luckily you won’t need to. Uh… could you grab the bell for me?” he asked sheepishly, jostling the large basket in both hands.

Beck chuckled, before poking the button on the gatepost console. A small buzz replied , and then a minute later a crackly rendition of a refined voice followed. “Valentine residence,” Heiress announced pointlessly, “may I ask who’s speaking?”

“Luka VanHorn,” Luka replied, “Jam Delivery.”

“Ah, perfect,” Heiress replied, and a lower buzzer sounded. “Please come in, I will meet you at the door.”

Beck pushed the now unlocked gate open, and the two of them entered. “Well this is…” the tomboy said, rolling one hand in thought.

“Your mom’s done a really nice job with this garden,” Luka noted.

“Oh yeah, definitely,” Beck replied, “but I can see that from outside the fence. What I wanna know is what’s in that house? Why’s Heiress been hiding away so much? Why’s she ordering your mom’s jam?”

“Well, maybe we can ask her,” Luka replied as they approached the door. It opened, and Heiress Valentine looked down her long nose at them. Luka was a little surprised to see her wearing only a dress shirt and neatly pressed trousers, not the suit jacket she might be wearing if she were outdoors.

Her eyes immediately fell on Beck even as she faced Luka. “You didn’t say you had company,” she noted.

Beck shrugged before the deer could reply. “I’m just hanging out. Whatever this is, I know less about it than he does,” she explained.

“Hm,” the dog mused simply, before looking back at Luka expectantly.

Luka set the basket down and started picking out jars and handing them to the woman. “I have a whole, uh, half dozen for you, Ma’am,” he said.

“Fantastic,” she replied, taking them.

“Seems like a lot between just the two of you,” Beck probed.

“Hm,” Heiress replied, pausing a moment in thought before continuing “I don’t tend to eat it myself, but Sharper loves them.”

Luka blinked. “Huh. Kind of ironic, considering…”

Heiress nodded. “Indeed.”

Beck looked between the two of them, before rolling her eyes. “Alright, Luka and I have places to be. Enjoy your day, Miss Valentine.”

“Same to you, children,” the woman replied before shutting the door. Luka and Beck trotted back down the path and out the gate, letting it click shut behind them.

“Was she being deliberately evasive, or just… herself?” Luka asked.

“I dunno. What I do know is that the inside of that house looks like an old people’s home,” Beck replied. “Think I’ve seen all I want to just from the front door. C’mon, let’s head to the treehouse already.”

“Alright sure, uh…” Luka looked at the crate in his hands. “Mom’s not gonna need this back before the end of the day, it can come to the treehouse.” And off they went.

Luka set the basket down at the foot of the tree. “Do you want to do the honours?” he asked. Beck obliged, stooping to pick up a stone before lobbing it at the underside of the treehouse’s floor hatch.

A moment later it opened to reveal Rolo’s large, fluffy face. “Hey guys!” he called down, “Awesome, we’ve nearly got the full team!”

“Sure do,” Beck replied, “can you throw the ladder down so we can, like, come up and… Mission, Assemble, or whatever?”

“Yeah sure Beck, gimme a sec…” the larger cat replied, before tossing down a rope ladder. Beck quickly scurried up followed more slowly by Luka, taking it easy on his more tired arms. “So what’s the plan today?”

“Making get well soon cards for Tish,” Iggy filled in from one corner, already hunched over a pile of blank cardboard, marker pens and tubs of glitter.

“Sounds good!” Rolo said, dropping down next to him. “Wait, what’s wrong with Tish?”

“She’s got a cold,” Luka supplied.

“Oh, so nothing super bad? That’s good,” Rolo replied.

“I dunno,” Beck said jokingly, “her sneezes are probably pretty powerful…”

Iggy shot her a harsh look. “Can you not?” he said.

“...Yeah, fair,” Beck replied. “I dunno how I’d work a ‘rhinoplasty’ joke in properly anyway. Cos, y’know, nose surgery, she has a cold, she’s a rhino and it starts with rino so it’s a funny coincidence…”

“They come from the same root word,” Luka supplied, “it’s not a coincidence.”

“Huh. Well there goes half of the joke anyway then,” Beck said. She looked at Iggy, who was still glaring at her. “So, what’s her favourite colour?”

“Blue,” Iggy supplied, “like ice blue.”

“Neat,” Beck replied, reaching for the same-colour card but stopping as Luka shivered suddenly. “Uh… you okay, bud?”

“Y-Yeah, just…” Luka cleared his throat. “Bad dream last night., Like the old ones.”

“Ooo!” Rolo gasped. “Y’wanna talk about it?”

“Uuh… sure,” the deer replied, noticing that everyone was exclusively paying attention to him now. “So, I was at the Source again, and… y’know the older me from some of my dreams? This time I was him,” he said as his friends nodded, recognising the trend from the troubled dreams he’d had around the time of their last experience with the pit in the original Beacon Pines. “And there was a rope around my waist and cleats on my feet, and someone pushed me in.” Rolo gasped, and Iggy frowned, muttering something to himself. “I lashed out, and caught the wall with one of the boots, and then was suddenly upright on a field of ice in a snowstorm.”

“Bit of a jump,” Beck commented dryly.

“Yeah. And with nothing else to do I walked forwards, and the ice started cracking underneath me-”

“Did you fall in?!” Rolo asked, frightened.

Luka shook his head. “Before that happened, I saw a silhouette in the blizzard ahead. I called out to it, but there was no reply. I got a bit closer, and I thought I could make out a lot of long hair and a dress blowing in the wind-”

“A girl?” Iggy asked.

“Possibly,” Luka agreed, “but the silhouette had antlers. My mum doesn’t have antlers.”

“So a guy wearing a dress?” Beck asked.

“Or a ROBE!” Rolo yelled. “Like a WIZARD!”

Luka paused for a moment. “...You, uh, want to link that back to aliens…?”

Rolo put one finger to his chin for a moment. “Hmm. Nah,” he replied. “Aliens wear spacesuits, not robes.”

“Huh. Anyway, I yelled to… them, some more,” Luka continued, “and they spoke back, in a voice that sounded like it came from right next to me.”

“What was the voice like?” Beck asked.

Luka paused. “Well, it was-”

All four of them jumped as the walkie-talkie on the shelf in the middle of the room burst to life, blasting static into the room. They all froze for a moment, before looking at each other. The other handsets “borrowed” from Perennial Harvest were hidden in each of Luka’s, Rolo’s and Beck’s rooms… and one more was out in the original Beacon Pines, stood on the front desk of the old town hall in case someone ended up lost there, somehow.

Rolo was first to react, hurriedly getting to his feet and picking up the handset. He held it up to his ear in one shaking paw. “Uh, hello, over?” he radioed.

The reply was weak and laden with static, but Luka felt his whole body chill as he recognised the voice coming in reply. It was the voice from his dream. “P-Please, it’s… it’s so cold. Please help…”