Chapter Text
Halilintar couldn't get those words out of his head.
It's been three months since that day. When the true villain was revealed, secrets were uncovered, and the names of his brothers were finally cleared.
Too late. Years too late.
When all of them--save for one--all died years before...
But, well. On the bright side, at least having their names cleared means Halilintar was finally able to bury them all properly. They now have proper graves.
On the bright side, at least he could now visit them freely. He could grieve without being shamed for it, or worse; risk the family he had left.
It was ironic, really. He was the most pessimistic one out of the eight of them, and then now it's like this. He supposed they all need to do what they need to do to stay sane.
Twelve years too late...
How ridiculous this world is. They should all disappear.
Tch.
"Yes. I know", he murmurs into the air. "I'm too young to be bitter. Bitterness is saved for when you're old and wrinkly, and unable to walk without a cane. But that's how I feel. Just leave me be, alright?"
He brought flowers for them all. Their favorites, or at least those he knows they'll find pretty even if they don't admit it.
Crysanthemums for Solar. Daisies for Duri. Blue roses for Ais. Flame peonies for Blaze. Carnations for Boboiboy.
...lotus flowers for Gempa.
Even if there are only five graves here.
He closed his eyes. "If you lived to see your 27th birthday too, I wonder how your lives would be like by then."
Maybe they'd slowly continue hero work, now that everyone knows they're innocent in the public eye. Or maybe their innocence is proven sooner.
They all would have been fine, Halilintar was sure. Solar was brilliant, he would have found a way to prove it.
Boboiboy had never been the type to sit still, either. Blaze and Duri, too. Ais was never the type to care about what people thought of him as long as he gets to do his own thing.
And Gempa.
He would still be happy, right? Because despite everything, they were all together. That was all he cared about.
If they just lived--
"Hali."
His eyes fluttered back open.
Hm. There's that, too.
"Come to pay respects, Taufan?", Halilintar hears steps getting nearer and nearer. "Okay. I'm...I'm leaving now."
The steps stop.
The sun was high up in the sky. It was a good day, the birds singing their songs in the trees around them, and the breeze was cool to the skin when it went past.
Silence passed for a while, before that same infuriating voice started again. "I thought I should return this."
Halilintar turns.
In the other person's hands was a worn-down cap, cleaned and preserved. Well-taken care of.
In the cap's back was the sigil of a mountain.
And the words returned with a vengeance.
"If only you knew how to reign in your anger and watch your words", that villain said, that day. "Then perhaps you would've had a different ending."
His throat felt dry.
It was ridiculous, to take a despicable man's words to heart. And yet.
Would the rest of his brothers have lived, if he had done things differently?
He wouldn't know.
==
For the longest time, he thought Taufan was the cause of everything.
How could it not be? If Taufan just knew to leave well enough alone, they wouldn't be in that mess.
Though, now that he had time to think back about it, analyze the possibilities and outcomes and everything, Halilintar realizes that wasn't fair.
If it wasn't Taufan, it would have been Blaze. Or Duri, or Boboiboy.
It all would have happened either way.
"Something on your mind?"
Red eyes turned, meeting amber. The woman smiles back at him, eyes soft as she walks over.
"...Yaya", Halilintar acknowledges.
Yaya smiles. The woman sits down next to him, gingerly holding out her hand. After a pause, Petir lets his hand fall to her palm.
Amber scrutinizes his face for a bit. Then her face softens. "Still thinking about the past again?"
Halilintar closed his eyes. He doesn't need this. "Look, Yaya--"
"I'm thinking about it, too."
He stops.
"If only I had said it. If only I stood by his side", Yaya mused, looking at her lap. There were small droplets that fell on her dress. "If only...I wasn't such a prideful, impulsive prick..."
"...Yaya."
She takes a deep breath. Lets it out in one harsh exhale. "But I'm still living. That means...there's still a reason I'm still here. So, we're carrying on--like we always did."
She turns back to him. Her eyes were watery, but her smile was bright--holding up their hands together, their rings shining in their hands.
Wedding rings.
They both...got married to each other once they were 20 years of age, four years after they lost so many. There weren't any romantic feelings between them, though.
Yaya just agreed becausethe only person that caught her heart was gone. Halilintar agreed because...
"Are you guys finally going to get lovey-dovey now? Mama? Papa?"
They both turn, seeing the door open and the child step in. Halilintar smiles. "Welcome back, Aqil."
Mahogany brown eyes twinkled, lips lifting into a small smile. Aqil waved, setting the bag down, before turning to the kitchen.
Aqil--
"H-Hali", chocolate brown eyes were wide with tears, pushing the toddler into his arms. "S-save him. Please, save him."
It was the right thing to do--taking the kid in when the kid already lost two sets of family already. A father and a mother...a big brother.
Of course, Halilintar isn't perfect. He's far from perfect, really--but Aqil turned out to be such a good kid, in the end. That's a small miracle in itself.
Although, perhaps Yaya had a bigger hand in that fact.
Aqil went between them, greeting Halilintar and Yaya with quick hugs before running off to his room. It was typical of him; he's a growing teenager, after all, and as long as he comes down for dinner and the daily family time hour, it's fine.
But then Aqil stops at the top of the stairs. He promptly speaks up like it's an afterthought. "By the way, um...uncle is singing again. Not uncle Taufan, but..."
Halilintar didn't realize he tightened his grip on Yaya's hand until she squeezed back. He took a small breath.
"Right", he then says, instead of a million other things. "Thank you, Aqil."
==
The reason why there's only five graves was that they couldn't bury the sixth corpse.
It was all...a grey area. Gempa was--technically alive? But it wasn't any better. Halilintar could even say it's a worse fate than just dying.
Taufan didn't know where Gempa is.
It's for the best he didn't know. If he did, he'd try to break something unbreakable and...and hurt Gempa further without meaning to.
Nevertheless.
"Chanteur is lonely these days", the woman mused, guiding Halilintar to this familiar path for the nth time. "But he worked hard not to do anything. It's been a while since I heard his voice before this."
The singing isn't made from a human voice, although it feels like it is. It's reminiscent of an amalgamation of a harp and a violin, soothing and pulling all at once.
This song was also so strong that Halilintar could hear it even from about a mile away...
Chanteur. That's what the locals call him now. The beast who laments for the moon.
Heh. Makes him sound like a tragic monster from those ancient myths or something.
Though, Tanah technically is one now.
During that whole mess, when the whole galaxy had turned against them, Gempa and Boboiboy made a stand here on Earth. The rest of them--or, at least what was left of them by then--couldn't reach them on time.
Earth remained untouched.
But Boboiboy died scorned and hated by all the living things he fought so hard for. And Tanah...
His eternal--place, was here in such a beautiful cavern. The conditions were harsh, as even if the shimmering crystals covering the whole place were mesmerizing, no one could touch any of it and leave unscathed.
That is, unless it was Halilintar who did so. Or Yaya, or Aqil. The kid must have made a quick visit during his trip...
"Here we are", the woman then says, stopping just ahead. She smiles kindly at Halilintar. "I can't enter beyond this point. You'll have to get there on your own."
Halilintar nods. He wasn't surprised, that this hadn't changed.
Walking just ahead will lead you to a hallway that's supposed to be dark, and yet somehow one could still see perfectly clearly. Walk a little bit more, and you'll see crystalline doors by its lonesome.
If you were someone lured in, someone the thing inside called with his song, you'll enter and never leave again.
If you were one of the exceptions like Halilintar, the doors will open on their own and you'll see him. Chanteur.
Or, rather, Gempa. He looks human, looks exactly the same as the age they had lost him, with his jacket and those shoes and without his hat.
If Halilintar didn't know any better, he'd have assumed that Gempa was simply asleep inside that crystal. Unfortunately, he did know better.
"Hey, big guy", he went closer, anyway. The lone living eldest brother to the trapped little brother. "Sorry it took so long to visit. Work has been hell on me recently, since you all got pardoned and all."
The song, which he'd been hearing as background noise for a while now, transitioned to a different tune. Something softer, something fond.
Halilintar managed a lopsided smile at this. "Yes, yes. I am not forgiven."
He's...tried to visit as often as he can, even though it's useless. All the technology in TAPOPS had told him that Gempa's consciousness had been mercilessly shredded to bits with his own power when these crystals engulfed him whole.
All that was left were instincts. Leftover feelings left from the person he once was.
Unable to die.
Unable to be set free.
The crystals are at a higher tier, made from desperation and something close to despair--even Tok Kasa didn't know this kind of amalgamation.
Gempa is gone. Only a sliver of love and the instinct to feed in any way possible was left. Halilintar knew that.
And yet.
"I would've brought the lotus flowers here if I didn't know it's just going to rot", he found himself telling anyway. "But now that I'm here...those flowers would've been a good meal for you, huh?"
The song shifts to a playful harmony--almost scolding, the way Tanah always scolds Halilintar and the rest of their brothers when they did something insignificant in the long run but still stupid.
Haha.
He closed his eyes, and listened to the song once more. "Yes, yes. I know. I'll bring the whole bouquet next time."
Halilintar let himself pretend once more. Just once more.
==
G - G - D - D - E
Notes of a piano greeted Halilintar when he came home. It was already late at night; everyone should be asleep by now.
But by the keyboard they have, Aqil was there. Playing the keys as if trying to fish out a memory out of his reach.
G - G - D - D - E
...Halilintar takes off his shoes and lets the kid play. Nothing needs to be said, anyway.
==
"You spoil him too much."
Gempa looks up, meeting stern red eyes briefly before those orbs scowled down at the person sprawled across his lap.
His face ended up softening, anyway. "Don't be like that, Hali. Blaze worked hard on the mission today. He deserves something nice."
Halilintar huffs. Sure, that's...true, but they were all heroes. Shouldn't they have a reputation to uphold?
"...hey, Hali. Do you like flowers?"
Halilintar blinked. "I don't...like or dislike them."
Where did this come from?
"Oh...I see! Well, for me, I love flowers. Ying and I are alike that way", Gempa giggles to himself, fingers continuing to card through Blaze's hair. His shoulders visibly loosened. "I've never actually seen a lotus flower."
"You--you haven't? But didn't we live next to them in our old house?"
"Yeah, but I was too busy taking care of the younger ones. You know how it is."
Halilintar flinched a little. Of course, without a father and a dead mother in the picture, there was no one else to...
"...oh, don't look so sad. You'll get wrinkles", Gempa pulls Halilintar's cheek softly, fondly. "When we go back to Earth, let's find some lotus flowers, okay?"
Oh.
Yeah. Yeah, he can do that. "Mn."
Gempa's smile widened.
They never did get to search for lotus flowers together, in the end.
==
Yaya couldn't stop laughing. "Boboi--oh, I can't breathe!"
"You're not allowed to laugh at me! My voice is amazing!", Boboiboy insists from his place at the seat in front of the piano, definitely not flailing an arm. He swiftly turns to the little child next to him. "Right, Aqil?"
Aqil thought about it. He then smiles from ear to ear. "Big brother sounds like a trumpet."
The look of betrayal on Boboiboy's face was priceless. It had Yaya almost fall to the floor in her amusement, really.
Still, he ended up grumbling. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, why don't you."
"Again!"
"Give us an encore, Boboiboy. Pfft."
He narrows his eyes at them. "You just told me my voice is horrible."
Aqil simply reached out to the piano keys again, pressing note after note with much difficulty.
G - G - D - D - - A
"Ah. Aqil, that's. Here", Boboiboy reached out to press the E key. "See, doesn't that sound better?"
Aqil stared at the E key. He promptly pressed A again.
Boboiboy let out a long-suffering sigh.
Yaya had a thought, though. "Now that I think about it...since when did you learn piano?"
"Hm? Ah, a few days ago", Boboiboy mentions, playing a few more keys for Aqil to copy. "Aqil said he wanted to learn, so."
"Oh...I see..."
Aqil let out a wide grin. "I love you, big brother!!"
Boboiboy stares.
He suddenly wrapped his arms around the child and squeezed in what was undeniably cuteness aggression. "Aaaah, I can't stay mad at you!! Yes, yes, big brother loves you, too!"
Yaya watched them, unable to shake off her own smile.
In the future, only one of them will remember this moment clearly. Only one of them could.
==
"I found a way to travel back in time."
Halilintar blinked. He squinted at the person in front of him for good measure.
"I'm serious", Kaizo snapped back, slamming the scroll down onto the table separating them both from each other. "One chance. This timeline will still exist when we do this, but a new branch will be created in the flow of time. No paradox, just a separate reality."
"Hold on, we? I never agreed to this."
"I know you will. You've been miserable, aren't you?"
He felt his teeth clench. This guy...
It was both comforting --and infuriating--to find that Kaizo hadn't changed all that much, even after Fang's death years ago. Still an a**hole to his core.
Though Halilintar can't claim he's much better, but.
Still. "I can't just leave my family here, Captain. Aqil isn't an adult yet. And you think I'll let Yaya face the future alone?"
There was never anything romantic between him and her. But she was still his friend.
And...and he promised Boboiboy that...
Kaizo searches his face. Whatever he found on Halilintar seemed to make the older man sit back and put the scroll away. "Well. At least I can say I've tried."
Halilintar glared at the older man as he went, hoping he could just zap him out of existence. Alas, that did not happen.
Really, what would performing a spell like that do in the long run?
With what Kaizo is describing, there's nothing to help the people in the here and now. Gempa would still be trapped in agony, Yaya and Aqil will still be themselves, nothing would change between him and Taufan, and the rest of his brothers would still be dead.
All he'd get are versions that wouldn't be his own anyway.
Tch. That man had really gone insane, huh.
==
Now, Halilintar wasn't planning on this. But.
"I brought drinks", Taufan says to him, falling into step beside the older brother before sitting down next to him. A can of soda was offered. "Here. Strawberry soda. I hope it's still your favorite even after all this time."
Red eyes glanced at blue. Out of the million things he could have done, he reached out to take the soda anyway.
The stars were twinkling in the sky. The night air was gentle, soothing, like an embrace.
There was a space between them, a spot someone else was supposed to fill.
There were spaces all around them, meant to be occupied with laughter, with teasing and annoyed kicks and goading screeches.
Halilintar breathed in and let himself feel it, just this once.
Feel everything.
The silence went on, and on, until. "I hate you."
There was a deliberate pause. Then, the quick hiss of a can opening. "I know."
Halilintar didn't turn around. "I hate that you f*cked off somewhere for years and years."
"I know."
"I hate you for leading them all to die."
"...I know."
The once-eldest looked at the can in his hands, and feels his heart get hollowed out. "I thought you died, you a**hole."
This time, Taufan didn't say anything. He simply took a sip from his can, and let his body lean on Halilintar.
Halilintar let him.
If only Taufan chose differently.
If only he chose differently.
And so the truth is this; Taufan made mistakes. Petir made them too. Both of them took things that could not be put back.
Both of them helped kill the people they loved most.
What could be expected, though? They lived in the world, eight of them--now down to two.
Reality didn't bend to either of their wills. Things shattered around them and now they're here.
He felt his heart break in pieces, over the years. Over and over and over, once, twice, seven times, nine.
It never got easier.
Now, they're here. Taufan who never learned how to stay on the ground when his strings keeping him tethered were cut, and Halilintar who never knew how to properly direct lightning to love, to protect.
Was it really his fault, like that villain said?
He supposed it didn't really matter now. Everything was over. All they have was ruins, here.
And yet.
To Taufan, he says. "...do you want to see Yaya again?"
Blue eyes snapped to him. Tears pooled and fell immediately after.
It's a start.
==
Of course, as all things typical with their lives, everything had to go wrong just as things were mending.
Taufan stepped foot in their house. Yaya saw him, slapped him across the face, and cried on him so much that Taufan's jacket was so moist after she was done.
Aqil met Taufan before, but only in passing. In all honesty, the kid barely remembered Taufan--which was natural.
Aqil was a toddler when Taufan disappeared.
Aqil was a toddler when Boboiboy died.
Taufan had started to visit regularly. Once a week, then every couple of days, then...
Things had been looking up. Finally.
And then something went wrong during a mission. What they all expected was a simple negotiation mission, trading a power sphere with another artifact.
Yet somehow, Halilintar couldn't move. He can't feel his legs --there was only debris and ruins around him.
It hurts. Did he hit his head?
There were lots of screaming, too...and loud shots. Guns? Weapons.
He has...he has to move--gnhh!!
"Halilintar!"
Ah. Was that...Kaizo?
He tries to lift his head, but. He can't. It hurts, it hurts, he can't move his leg.
Red pools beneath him.
That's...probably not...
Without meaning to, Halilintar closed his eyes.
==
Red eyes snapped open to the sudden absence of pain and a lighter weight on top of him.
The first thing he realized was that he was lying on something soft. Not the cold ground he'd been on.
He was lying on his back.
And--Taufan was on top of him. Taufan, who snapped awake and stared at him and--
He looks young.
He looks very young. What?
"Oh, Allah", the way Taufan grabbed his face, voice shaking, didn't match this face at all, though. "You...you were dying, and...!"
A bird chirps from outside. Typical good morning.
Then the other blinks. Halilintar's younger brother falters. "Wait. Your face is wrong. Did Kaizo mess it up?"
Halilintar has a bad feeling about this. "Mess what up?"
--click.
"Good morning! Rise and shine, big brothers! Gempa made your favorites today!"
A wave of coldness shot down Halilintar's spine. No, it. It couldn't be.
And yet when red eyes flicked to the side, the sight was unmistakeable.
Wearing an orange shirt and brown pajamas, hair sticking out in all directions, brown orbs looked between them.
"Why are you two looking at me like that?", Boboiboy, younger than he should be and standing there where he shouldn't be, says. "Bad dream?"