Chapter Text
Reki “woke up” in the familiar yet dark landscape of “S” the lights were bright and it looked to be about 3 am. The bright, colorful graffiti mixed with the flowers that seemed to take over every inch of his dream world. Taking a deep breath Reki pulled the light wands from his hoodie pocket making sure they were ready for the see no evils when they appeared. The wands looked innocent enough being a pink heart and a bright yellow start, it was hard to imagine them as the twin guns he used fighting “Wonder killers”.
Finally he was ready to break the wonder egg. He pulled it out from his pocket taking a second to admire the light blue hue and wondered what kind of person he was about to meet. Reki dropped the egg on the ground and took a step back while he waited.
Soon enough there was a boy with light blue hair and eyes the color of the ocean, he was tall, muscular build and beautiful pale skin. There was something angelic about him. The boy looked around before looking up at him.
“Where am I? Who are you?” His voice was quite and unsure which wasn't abnormal for someone in his situation
“You, my goodman, are in a dream world of my mind. And I’m Reki Your protector and the best mechanic you’ll ever meet.” Reki extended a hand to help him up from the ground with a wink. While he did he noticed the board on his back, though it didn't look exactly like a Skateboard. “What's your name?”
“Langa…”
“Well Langa, it's good to meet you.”
Langa nodded looking around looking slightly lost but he didn't look as scared as some of the other wonders he’s seen so he decided it was time to get moving.
“We should get going, try to keep up ok?” Reiki kept his voice warm and steady, softly tugging at Langa prompting him to move
“Wait, keep up? Where are we going?”
“The factory, it's the best place to fight wonder killers”
“Wonder killers? Reki your not making any-”
Langa was cut off by a blade wissing past Reki and just missing him. Before he could question what that was, a wave of small humanoids in red and black masks pushed over the cliff side. Reki started shooting at them with the light guns shooting off shots of pink and yellow one after the other and took off towards the factory urging Langa to follow him. The wave of see no evils quickly caught up moving in a swarm carelessly slashing everything in their path but Reki was able to hold them off just fine and keep Langa a few steps ahead of him so Reki could protect him.
Everything was going well until one pried its mask off and lunged for him instead of Langa. What the hell? This definitely was not how things were supposed to go. Before he had time to process the situation he heard Joe and Cherry explaining that these were haters and why they were changing. It was something about hate and resentment towards Reki and his fellow protectors
“Fuck!” Reki shouted at the top of his lungs, ignoring Joe and Cherry's comments. These .. What did they call them? Haters? They were no joke. It didn't matter how many he shot or how many Langa managed to take out with his board (truth be told Reki was impressed with the others skill) there was no end to them. He guessed he should be grateful that there weren't also see no evils mixed in although the way Langa fought he might have been able to handle it if there were still reiki was grateful he didn't have to chance it.
“Come on!” He shoved one of his guns into his pocket(not the safest place but it was an emergency) grabbed the snowy boy by the hand and took off sprinting. The boy followed him keeping up step for step which was impressive considering he was already athletic in the real world and the dream world only helped his physical abilities. He turned a sharp corner and jumped off the cliff waiting around the bend dragging Langa with him. The haters didn't follow but they wouldn't have peace for long.
The fall Lasted maybe 15 seconds before they fell into an open window where they suddenly turned to fall a couple more feet to the side landing completely unharmed. Reki turned to Langa expecting him to be terrified or maybe angry but instead he was laughing.
“That was incredible Reki! You're incredible! How did you know that would work? What were those things?”
“Those were Seenoevils but different, they’re called Haters. As for how I knew that would work… a lot of trial and experimentation.” Reki laughed softly, trying to ignore the fact that the blood heating his face was mostly a blush instead of bloodrush from the adrenaline of running away. With Langa and Reki safely sheltered in Reki’s workshop he started to calm down, the workshop tended to be a safe space here and in the real world. He was still going to reinforce it though. Reki groaned and sat up before flashing a smile at Langa. “Man, talk about bailing. You're not hurt are you?”
Langa slowly shook his head as he stopped laughing before looking around, againconfused. His Blue eyes took in the tools and saw dust. “Where are we? I know you said something about eggs and dream worlds but this doesn't seem like any afterlife I've ever heard of.”
“Well its not really the afterlife per say.. Or I dont think Joe and Cherry would send me to the afterlife every night or at least I hope not, i'll have to ask more questions but i think it's more like my dream scape. Pretty cool right?”
“Yea… cool” The boy thought for a moment, tracing the designs on his not skateboard his tone was nearly unreadable and his tone didn’t give Reki many clues either but he didn’t seem too upset. “Are those monsters always here?”
“Well yes and no they're different tonight for some reason, Normally I would be getting ready to fight your wonder killer but Joe and Cherry said the hater will be too much so we should wait here and fight tomorrow night.” When Reki stopped talking Langa was watching him looking both confused but eager to listen to Reki walking more. Something fluttered in his chest. Instead of indulging the feeling he turned and started pushing things in front of the doors and windows.
“That's right you don't know what im talking about… Wonder killers represent why you… yea. But you don't have to be afraid because i'll protect you”
“Why I killed myself…” Langa held his board tighter to his chest. Crap Reki probably shouldn't have said that but like it was better then giving him no warning right? Panicking Reki weighed the pros and cons of if he had kept his mouth shut. He was interrupted by Langa.
“Are you here because you also?...” Langa Looked up with Large eyes. Something about the look crushed Reki; it was like a puppy looking for reassurance.
“No, but I'm trying to bring back my friend who did.” When he finished fortifying their hiding place Reki sat next to Langa brushing legs with the blue haired boy.
“You sound like a really good friend Reki, I wish I had someone like you when I was alive.” Langa’s voice cracked softly. Without another word Reki Gently guided him to Lay on his shoulder. Caring for and comforting the wonders was also his responsibility in this world but more than that he wanted to make Langa feel better to be able to provide him with any happiness in this moment. “I don't think I would have done it if I had a friend like you.
“Want to tell me more about it? I'm a pretty good listener. I do have younger sisters.” Reki prodded trying to offer Langa a reassuring smile.
“What does being a big brother have to do with anything?” While there was confusion in the blue haired boy’s tone there was also a hint of humor. Maybe Reki was helping after all.
“It means I spend most of my day listening to any and everything under the sun! I know all the tea there is to know about Miss Sato’s kindergarten class.” Reki Chuckled and Langa joined him before taking a deep shuddering breath.
“I was never any good at socializing with kids my own age, or anyone really, so I spent almost all of my time snowboarding or doing some other physical activity. Since I shyed away from kids my age they all decided I must be looking down on them or something like that. While it hurt a bit I always had my parents so I was able to forget about it for the most part. I was almost always with my dad.” Langa’s lips turned up in a bittersweet smile though his voice grew less steady. “We did almost everything together, he taught me everything I knew about snowboarding. We had family movie nights with my mom and sometimes she let me go to work with her and hang out at the nurses station while I colored.” The small brightness that grew in Langa’s eyes died suddenly as he seemingly remembered how his story ended.
“Everything changed after a snowboarding accident. My dad… he didn't make it home. After that my mom started working more and was never home.” Tears welled up threatening to spill in those ocean toned eyes, Reki wanted to wipe them away. ”She kept saying things like there was staffing issues and that w-without Dad she needed more hours and that was probably part of it but above everything else I think she was trying to forget about losing him. I don't think she realized that she was forgetting about me too.” The first of the tears finally spilled over. When they did Reki pulled Langa closer and carded his hands through his soft blue hair and muttered encouragement to continue. “A few months later we moved to Okinawa where she grew up and I started looking for a part time job. I hoped that maybe if I could help her with money she might be able to spend time with me again… that she might want to spend time with me again but I couldn’t even do that.” A sob bubbled up from the other’s throat. “I was so lonely and I just couldn't take it anymore.”
“I would have been your friend, I could have taught you how to skateboard and we could have played video games together.” Reki spoke softly but confidently. He hadn’t spend hardly any time with Langa but there was just something about him that made Reki sure they would have been the best of friends. Even if it was just him being weird, Reki wanted to show Langa at least part of that reality.
“I think i would have liked skating, can you tell me more about it?” The blue-haired boy looked up at Reki with large hopeful but timid eyes.
“Yea! So lets start with board types!-”
They spend the rest of the dream talking more, Langa listening to Reki talk about skating and sometimes offering up his own opinions and questions and Langa talking about snowboarding and the best restaurants from his hometown. They could hear the Haters looking for them but the workshop provided enough shelter that they were safe for the night.
-Time skip to the next night-
“Venie!” Reiki shouted and released Gears, the brightly colored gecko went to work gobbling up the haters as Reki cracked Langa’s egg for the second time. When the boy appeared he smiled and tackled Reki into a hug.
“Reki! Your back!”
“Of course I came back, I still have a job you do remember?” Reki grinned and held the other boy close. They both knew it wasn't just a job he had returned for even if that was part of the reason
“Now do you think you can keep up with me at the factory?”
“I’ll race you there.” Langa challenged as if playfully offended at the thought of his physical abilities being challenged. Reki found himself admiring the lighthearted and handsome smirk the other wore. Langa was really pretty.
“Alright but dont say I didn't warn you.” Reki offered his own smirk and stood next to Langa starting a childish countdown. He was finishing the last number when Langa turned and gave him the sweetest smile.
“Good luck Reki”
If Langa’s smile and wish of luck caused Reki to stall giving the other a small head start neither was the wiser. The race did end up being pretty even with Reki beating the other just barely, Langa had a lot of raw skill but no one knew this place like Reki and that was his secret weapon against wonder killers and insanely cute wonders. Reki laughed and walked over towards the other.
“Told you so.”
“I’ll win next time… If there is a next time I mean.” With his smile faltering slightly Reki’s own heart shuttered at the reminder of their situation. Trying to distract the taller, Reki guided the other to sit on a nearby crate to wait for the wonder killer. While they waited Reki told Langa a bit about his new buddy and Langa told Reki a bit more about snowboarding. Somewhere in the back of his mind Reki imagined a world where Langa could teach him how instead of just telling him stories.
Unnoticed by both of them a chilled fog gathered around the factory taking over and hiding the terrain while dulling their senses until Reki noticed Langa’s eyes focusing on something across the factory except when he tried to see what the other was looking at. A thick, cold, white fog covered his line of sight. Unsteady of waiting for the killer to relieve itself he shot at where Langa was looking, blasts of orangish yellow and pink fired off through the fog but even their color seemed a bit dull in the suffocating force. He could only assume he missed when the sound of talking came from the upper floor.. Something about a staffing issue? The voice shifted from a feminine voice to a masculine one.
“Langa? Where are you? Alone like always?.” Besides him Langa stiffened and looked to the voice, his eyes were glazed over and he seemed under some sort of spell. “Come to me son, we can be together again.”
“Dad? Dad, you're here?!” Langa tried to stand and run towards the voice but Reki grabbed his arm trying to hold him back. Langa didn’t even spare him a glance and just struggled in his hold. Reiki tightened his grip as much as he could without hurting the other
“Yes, I'm waiting for you. I've been waiting so long to see you again.” Langa managed to tear away from Reki’s hold and took off sprinting through the fog as the voice once again shifted to its feminine tone. How many of these monster’s would Reki be dealing with?
“It’s going to be another all nighter… I’ll have to remember to bring dinner for my shift, Langa can take care of himself, wait Langa who was that again?” The voice sounded closer to Reki this time. Looking towards the direction of the voice and where Langa went he chose Langa’s path.
“Langa! Where are you? Answer me!”
Reki was looking for the other as quickly as he could without getting stabbed by any of the rusted handrails or tripping over the steps and debris.
“What’s taking you so long? Don't you want to go home? No one else will ever love you, what's the point of living anymore, even your dear mom stopped Loving you. What's left for you?” The voice was male again and speaking in a deceptively soft tone. The same way Reki spoke to his sisters when trying to lull them to sleep. He had trouble figuring out where the voice was coming from now his sense of direction was getting warped. It didn't help that the fog was getting colder by the second
“You’ll always be alone, Langa.”
Irritation at not being able to track down the voice or Langa turned into anger. These were most likely the thoughts that had driven him to his death. Langa was amazing and he deserved people who Loved him! Reki couldn’t tell where he was going just that it was up.
“Don't Listen to it Langa! It’s lying to you!” Reki could only hope that his voice would carry but he wasn’t sure it would. He had to find Langa.
“I'M HIS FATHER WHY WOULD I LIE? I ONLY WANT THE BEST FOR MY SON”
“YOUR JUST SOME MONSTER! LANGA IS AMAZING AND I WOULD GIVE ANYTHING TO GET TO BE HIS FRIEND!” Reki reached the top of the staircase he was on and stopped just short of falling off of the unknown drop. The cold air made him shiver. Scanning his area Reki saw a small light above him maybe towards the top of the platforms? Having nothing other than blind hope it would lead him somewhere useful he climbed. As he did he heard a new voice that sounded like a teen just slightly younger than himself.
“You act like you're above all of us! Are we not good enough to be your friends?”
“Your never going to have any friends with the way you act”
The insults and comments continued, the voices getting louder and more aggressive, some Reki barely heard because of the speed in which it was replaced with another.
“Look at how much stress you're putting on your poor mother.”
“Prodigy”
“Show off”
“I'm sorry baby things are just harder with your father gone.”
“I'm working a few night shifts this week, you’ll be fine alone right?”
“The accident was your fault”
“We should have died together, or better yet you should have died instead.”
Finnaily Reki reached the top of the platform or he assumed it was the top and saw a vague outline that looked like Langa, the voice was deafeningly loud but nowhere to be seen. Rushing forward and shouting to the other he tried to reach for Langa’s arm but before he could make it far the blue haired boy took a step closer to the ledge still under the trance of this monster. Reki Stilled to think, he knew he could survive the fall but there was no way Langa would without help, could Reki make it so him in time? Once Reki caught him how would he get them both to the ground safely? He’ll have to figure it out as he goes. Just as he took another step forward the voices stopped all at once.
“You can make it all stop Langa, if you do what I say I can take you home.” The voice that Reki guessed was Langa’s dad’s sounded from the ground right below them soft and full of venom and lied filled love that Langa eagerly responded.
“I’ll do anything, please I want to go home.” the ache in Langa’s voice hurt, he sounded so lost
“Good, it will be easy, you’ve already done it once.” the voice encouraged.
“What is it?” The blue hair all but begged, Reki tried to use this chance to get closer.
“Jump.”
Immediately and wordlessly Langa stepped from the ledge and fell.