Chapter Text
A burning light pulled Khun back to awareness. A flame swirled into shape before him, taking the form of a fish. Searing heat rolled off of it, but Khun wouldn't back down. He was Khun Aguero Fucking Agnis for Bam’s sake.
Of course, context would be nice… Khun tried to remember… A splitting headache stopped him.
“Khun Aguero Agnis. I’ve been called to test you.”
Oh wonderful . The Fish could talk. It was going to be one of those days. This was probably a floor test. The sooner he cleared it, the sooner he could get back to Bam. “Alright, then. What’re the rules?”
“I will ask a question and bring you through your memories. You will decide the answer.”
“Fine.” This was too easy. He hoped Bam would be okay on his own for a bit.
The Fish-Administrator met Khun’s eyes with a flash. “So, Khun Aguero Agnis. Answer me this. Are you worth fighting for?”
The Floor of Tests comprised Khun’s best and worst memories. This looked like the former, Khun noted as he and the Fish floated above a young Bam. Khun couldn’t help the fond smile as he mouthed along with his younger self’s first promise to Bam. “I will escort you to the top of the Tower in the most evil and sneaky way possible.”
“But you haven’t been, have you?” Ugh. Why did the Fish have to ruin the moment? Not that the memories noticed.
Khun forced himself to look away from Bam’s beaming grin to the duller Fish. To be fair, nothing could overpower Bam’s energy, when he was truly happy. Even now, Khun’s attention was drawn back to Memory-Bam, test be damned. It’d been too long since he’d last seen Bam smile that brightly.
“And he’s climbed farther without you.” The Fish was really pissing him off.
It wanted Khun’s attention? Fine. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“I told you.” It brushed against him, but Khun stayed calm. He’d long since grown used to being a minnow in an ocean of sharks. “You failed him, and he paid the price.”
The scene shifted to the waiting room that forever haunted Khun’s nightmares. The Fish’s heat burned into his back, but Khun refused to turn, knowing it would drift around his younger self. “What good are your strategies to a dead man?”
Khun had no answer.
When Khun blinked again, the Hand of Arlene awaited them. Bam’s hand outstretched, a different kind of plea as he screamed at Khun to run. He’d happily slap himself out of this useless frozen state - not that it’d help. On second thought, he could use the stress relief…
“And again.”
If anything could motivate Khun, it was the terror gleaming in Bam’s eyes, memory or not. “Here, I was a liability. But I did free him from FUG.”
“You played a part, certainly.” Khun ignored the Fish to cup Memory-Bam’s cheek, trying to soothe his fear. “He thought you’d died.”
Of course he knew. But the Fish had to say its piece and the world swirled away. This time, Khun was ready. Still, his heart shattered anew when he recognized the One Shot, One Opportunity game. His cowardly younger self hid as Bam’s grief spilled over.
“I lost my reason to live anyway.”
Khun glared at the Fish. “Yes, he suffered. But I had to wait! If I’d acted too soon, they would’ve killed us to punish him, and that would have been far worse.”
“Why?”
The last shred of Khun’s patience melted under the Fish’s gaze. “They had to use us as hostages to turn him into Viole. If we died, he’d lose himself entirely!” The scene sped forward again, but Khun didn’t care enough to stop. “He values us - his friends - and that counts more than anything else!”
Dawn broke. There they were, just after the Workshop Battle, Khun wrapped up in his Bam-called ‘blanket burrito’. Somehow, one of Bam’s hands was tucked inside.
“Hmmmm.”
Didn’t a test like this go against the nature of the Hidden Floor? Khun pushed aside the question and his growing unease.
It was (un)surprisingly easy to do, when Bam stood Blue Oar, offering his hand. “To go together… Couldn’t you do it… for that reason?”
Even the clouds above couldn’t compare to the fluffiness of Bam’s hair, stirred by the wind. Bam’s eyes held no judgment, only kindness, and… hope? Khun’s breath was snatched away once more as Bam’s smile was bright enough to blind the sun.
“Were you so willing to break your promise to him that you weren’t willing to struggle?”
“No.” Khun was again too transfixed to defend himself properly. “Struggling was always pointless for a Khun. Either you succeeded, or you died.”
“And you refused to be ordinary enough to fight?”
“Of course not.” How could he let anything stand in the way when Bam looked at him that earnestly?
“But you know he’s pulling further and further away from you.” Of course he knew. “And one day, your strategies won’t be enough to save him.” Khun stayed silent, staring at Bam’s outstretched hand. “Tell me, this, Khun Aguero Agnis. Would you rather fall short now? Or risk failure, knowing what’s at stake?”
These were far too close to the thoughts that haunted Khun on sleepless nights. “What kind of floor test is this?”
The Fish brushed against him and Rachel’s vile laughter rang in his memory. “What is your answer, Khun Aguero Agnis?”
Somehow, he still couldn’t turn away from Memory-Bam. “What if I answer wrong?”
“Is there a wrong answer?”
And Khun hesitated. He was nothing if not logical. His desires were meaningless. It was Bam that mattered. Bam’s decisions, Bam’s safety. Bam’s happiness.
Bam.
“You’re telling me that one day, I’m going to drag him to his death?”
“Perhaps. You are only a regular.”
Perhaps. A world of worries carried in a single word. How far would his selfishness extend? How long would he drag Bam down?
And yet, the warmth of that sunlit morning mixed with Bam’s laughter in his heart. Khun couldn’t muster the selflessness to let him go.
His hand moved on its own to take Bam’s.
“Is this your answer then?”
“It is.” Khun returned Bam’s smile with his own. “As long as Bam wants me by his side, I owe it to him,” to himself, “to at least try. Besides, I have a promise to keep.”
“Very well.”
Whatever force had been holding Khun vanished, Bam’s hand dissolving away. He fell, flames roaring around him. But the ghost of Bam’s smile danced across his lips, as he dove headfirst into the inferno.
“Let’s see if you’ll regret it.”
“Khun?!”
“BLUE TURTLE!!”
Khun glanced at the unfamiliar surroundings. “Where… am I? Where’s Bam…?”