Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A frantic morning in 2017, and Colt Fathom rushes his 14-year-old son, Felix, to Royce Middle School in his Ford. Felix's trip with his class to San Francsico's Exploratorium that relocated years prior is organized by his Science teacher, Mr. Paige. However, the absurdity of traffic has Colt feeling stressed as he was just woken up to drive his son to the school.

"Felix," Colt sleepily asked. "How are your grades?"

"They are doing good, father." He gleefully responded, the excitement of the trip influencing his response. "I managed to get an A+ for the Science Quiz Mr. Paige had us do!"

Colt, somewhat sleepy, smiles as his son, a prodigy in History and Science, has done his best. However, traffic is further slowed after a cop patrolling the busy school time traffic pulled over a car that made an illegal right turn.

"Well... just my morning..." Colt said moodily.

"Father... I'm-"

"No son," Colt interrupted. "It's the other driver's fault the traffic further slowed. Sometimes, we do too far to do what we need to do and face the consequences."

"I... see," Felix sighed in relief.

He dropped off Felix in the school's designated drop off zone. He waves his father goodbye and tells him "I love you!" before closing the Ford's right rear passenger door. Mr. Paige, already doing headcount, sees Felix arriving.

Kagami Tsurugi, Felix's childhood friend since elementary school and her best friends Joanna and Marianna, giggle as Felix arrived late. Felix has known Kagami since she and her mom, Tomoe moved from Tokyo to the U.S. since he was in the Fifth grade. They get along well.

"Ah, Felix," Mr. Paige said with some stress in his tone. "You are to be assigned with Kagami, Joanna and Marianna."

"Lucky guy," Bertram said with friendly jealousy.

His best friend, Ralph, chuckled. Felix has been friends with Bertram and Ralph since Kindergarten. They have been called "The Three Musketeers" of Mesa Fields' Floringale Elementary for their deeds, helping their teachers and students.

Since the entire Eighth grade is being transported to the Exploratorium, they know they are in for a long ride to San Francisco.

Felix approached Kagami, trying to strike a conversation with her.

"Just... keep your distance, idiot" Kagami said coldly.

Huh?

Felix was shocked as he heeded her words and sat with Joanna in the School Bus. For some odd reason, Kagami started being cold to Felix. Now, he was was pondering why as he snoozed during the bus ride.

Zzz...

Chapter Text

Felix, sitting in the bus wakes up in the wreckage of the vehicle, mangled and rusted. He woke up as he stands an avenue where corn and other vegetation pushed up through the cracking the old pavement. The stalks rose taller than the ruined buildings. And well, a derelict Ferris wheel hung frozen against a bruise of sky with no birds flying in the sky. The world smelled of rusted iron, but the sweet pollen smell contrasts the smell.

He blinked and took a step. Sunlight filtered through the leaves in soft, irregular stalks. The air itself seemed to listen. but a figure watches from behind the stalks.

A feminine laugh, small and practiced, threaded through the tall sticks of nature's yellow gifts. A girl around Felix's age and armed with a dagger, stepped out into from the corn. She had frazzled Copper-Yellow hair, wore clothing a scavenger would wear, a worn-down Ado T-shirt from a tour on her torso, and a leather satchel with tools clinking with scavenged things.

"You don’t...  belong here," she said, deadpan with curiosity.

"Hi... uhm, my name is Felix.” He said his name with some slight worry in his tone. "Felix Fathom."

She said nothing but told him her name moments after.

"Hibana." She tasted the syllable, turning it like a coin. "You look like a hostile or food. Either way, you captured alive pays in this ruined city."

Felix took a step back as he felt threatened by her remark. But he looked around the cornfield in the ruined city, though he is the park. And now it is a strange thing all that corn is growing. But he remembered; The name the young girl said at the back of his throat as if it belonged to a life he’d not yet lived. Hibana offered him a wrapped scrap of a sandwich with strawberry jam. He took it, as the dream taught small courtesies.

"There’s an old warehouse,” she told him without emotion. “Though it is guarded by the remnants of this City's Finest. I hear the stuff being guarded worth a lot of Old-World Dollars. Help me get these items, will ya?"

He didn’t know the reason for, but he said yes. Perhaps because the corn itself asked for help that felt like necessity, or perhaps because the tone in Hibana’s voice suggested there were debts to be paid and the world was short on people who wanted to pay them. She taught him how to step quietly without making too much sound, how to read check abandoned cars in the road for salvageable "loot," and how to utilize the environment to his advantage.

At the warehouse that is now abandoned, they rummaged through crates of hoarded loot. A partial drawing of a woman from time before. Army Rations and six days' worth of drinkable are what they can salvage.

Hibana's smile turned to a frown. "I can't believe we're being given these junk..."

Felix knelt beside her. He remembered, oddly, a life lesson from his father, Colt, about "making do with what one is given."

"Just... make sure you live a long happy life," Felix said. "Just make sure you don't cause trouble for others."

Hibana, the ever-stoic individual is shocked by what Felix said. She gave Felix a tight hug. Felix, shocked by the sudden hug, hugs her back.

"Okay, dad, I'll behave." she said. "But you'll come back here one more time but will have to wait another two years to come back."

What.

As Felix was about to ask her, the world turned pitch black. He woke up as Mr. Paige, Joanna and Marianna surrounded him. They arrived three minutes ago, and they see him bawling his eyes four-fifths of the way to their destination.

"Felix... were you... were you crying in your sleep during the transit?" Mr. Paige asked.

Felix, embarrassed by what had transpired, apologized to the trio. 

Meanwhile, Kagami, annoyed by her two close friends being held back to check on Felix, gets impatient.

"Idiot, why were you crying in your sleep in the first place?"