Chapter Text
It all started that one, fateful day.
Everything takes a dark turn when a meteorite falls from the sky, almost completely obliterating humankind from existence & instantaneously turning the earth into a dystopia filled with sickness, famine, and death. As the unofficial guardian of the CHO TOKYO, it is up to them, the Rowdy Shogun to guide and protect the survivors, even more so when the head of the city is part of the mortality counts during the catastrophe. It is only natural for the group to take over the said job, seeing how the people had depended on them even before the meteorite dropped.
The only difference is that rather than protecting the common people from thugs and criminals, Rowdy Shogun is now protecting the humans, from each other. The desperation and hunger is enough to turn even the kindest and humane person to be cruel, remorseless and vicious, losing their sanity and satisfying their bloodthirst just to have a meal on their table for the day. Since then, there is a common question that lingers in everyone's mind, what does the universe has planned for humanity?
Lucas has been asking himself the same thing in every waking moment, but no answers could satisfy him. Hades, his eyes tired and his face haggard, just adoringly ruffled the younger's hair and laughed, the question seemingly enough to lighten up his mood and relieve his fatigue even for just a bit. Bailey just changes the topic by asking about his day, and Marduk, a man of a few words, just sighs, but even then each breath that he takes feel heavy and suffocating in the dirty, polluted air in the city. But Lupus, ever being warm and gentle, selfless in his action and affectionate in his words, chuckles and pulls the blond-haired man closer into his embrace, two arms all wrapped around the tiny waist from behind, with Lucas' back plastered to his lover's chest.
"Whatever the reason is, I'm glad that I still have you with me."
Lucas takes comfort in his dark-haired lover's reassurance and fortitude, even when his mind, fragile and brittle after all the sufferings and hardship, is having a hard time chasing away the nightmares during the darkest of night. Lucas was, still is, a fighter, his body has borne the brunt and pain from all the fights he had as a member of the Rowdy Shogun way even before the catastrophe, but his mind.. He cannot say the same thing about his mind. He thinks too much, he feels too much, and he remembers the most in the group.
Miya used to say that it is unhealthy for him to do that, and Goemon has advised him to let go of the memories that are too painful for him to retain but it feels impossible for him. He has a feeling that he needs to remember everything, or else.. he would end up being forgotten. And after the meteorite fell and shook earth to the core, he has a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that the dreaded moment would arrive sooner than later.
Thin, lithe fingers creep and hold tightly onto those forearms around him, the cold that is stuck on the fingertips slowly seeps into the warm skin and dissipates. Warmth intermingles in between those two bodies that remains plastered to each other, enough to shield Lucas’ body from the gripping teeth-shattering cold on the rooftop of their hideout. Lucas will never trade these precious moments with anything, both of them together in the dark, cold night, only them against the world.
“Stay with me.”
Let’s see the end of the world together.
-
Lucas dreams.
In this age and time, a dream is a rare occurrence, a luxury even for some, as the world has become too dark and too cruel for one to dream and hope. Time goes by slowly in a human's waking moment, but always passes too fast in their slumber as if the universe is not granting even a tiny leeway for the humans to rest.
But Hokuto dreams nonetheless.
In his dream, he sees a figure, standing alone in the middle of a field, his back is facing towards Lucas. Dark crimson locks softly blowing in the wind, hiding the pair of eyes that are staring at the dark, star-less night, with his skin fair and his lips bitten red. The unknown figure is wearing an all white outfit, a rarity to be found in this current world full of smoke, blood and dust that Lucas occupies, and the color is a striking contrast to the otherwise black scenery around them. He looks like an angel sent by the heaven, a beacon of light that is beckoning Lucas closer, but all he feels is the goosebumps breaking all over his skin and the cold sweats running down behind his back, his mind screaming the word ‘DANGEROUS’ and his instinct is to break into a run and never come back.
It has been a while since Lucas last had this feeling.
Fear.
It is such a strong, ugly feeling that has Lucas rooted on the ground, helplessly watching the figure slowly turn his head around to finally face him upfront. It is fear that strains up his vocal cords and choking him inside out, rendering him voiceless and unable to call his dearest name out loud. It is fear that blurs his eyes with tears, making Lucas feel as if this will be the last moment of him alive before everything ends. It is fear that grips his heart tight, too scared of not being able to see him one more time.
The imaginary clock above his head is ticking, counting down from five, four, three, two—
“Lucas?”
Lucas gasps, his voice is strained into a mixture of screaming and crying, the sound hoarse and grating even to his own ears. His heart stutters and beats a little too fast than usual, causing the blond man to clutch his chest tight as if to rip the cloth apart and calm the thunderous organ underneath his ribcage right then and there. His bangs are plastered onto his forehead, the heat and sweat still lingering on his skin, starting from the crook of his neck down to the curve of his back and finally to the tip of his toes, the humidity is a rarity considering it is still far from the eve of autumn.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay, I got you. Lucas, look at me.”
Dark, misty eyes that glisten with unshed tears continue to roam across the room, unable to find a certain point of focus at the owner are still left unsettled and haunted by his dreams. His lithe, fragile body is shaking like leaves and his condition is getting worse by the seconds, until a warm pair of hands sneak their way to Lucas’ cheeks, effectively stopping the tremors and garnering the blond-headed man’s attention, grounding him to reality.
“I’ve got you.”
It takes a while, but Lucas finally manages to calm himself down, but not without the help of his lover beside him, staying still and quiet until the worst of his nightmare has passed. All that is left are red eyes, puffy eyelids, swollen cheeks and a blotchy, stuffy red nose that sniffles every now and then. Lucas is sure the sight of him is unsightly at the moment, but Lupus is looking with no less than adoration and tenderness in his gaze that it never fails to leave him breathless.
“Another nightmare?” Lupus runs his fingers through the soft, blond locks of his lover’s hair, the tip of fingers reaching down to the scalp and lightly scratching the skin. The action is akin to petting a drowsy, pliant cat, which Lupus takes delight in doing every now and then.
Lucas just nods, all his energy is now depleted from the stressful awakening he just had. His body is half slumps towards Lupus, eyelids half-open and heavy while his mind prefers doing nothing but to continue sleeping once again.
“What did you see today? Which memory came to haunt you this time?”
“It wasn’t a memory from our pasts,” Lucas shakes his head, his eyes staring into a distance as he tries to remember his dream. “It is..I don’t know, I couldn’t understand it either. I could see someone, standing in the dark with their back facing towards me. I keep having this feeling that I should have known them from somewhere, but I couldn’t put my hands on it.”
Lupus frowns, “That’s all? Then why..” What saddens you this much, is left hanging at the tip of his lips, but Lucas seems to understand that much.
“Because I’m scared,” Lucas stares back into his lover’s eyes, his hand sliding down the span of the forearm that is wrapped around his chest and finding the warm fingers at the end of it. “I feel like something is coming..
..and it’s going to be the end of us all.”
-
“Are you sure?”
Lucas nods, wrapping the coat around his body a bit tighter. The night is a bit colder than usual, the sky painted in jet black with no stars and moon in sight. The trees have shed off the last of their leaves, leaving their branches and stems bare and weightless without anchor. The Rowdy Shogun are preparing and setting up their combat gears and weapons for their patrol session that night, as per their routine every weekend. They are usually divided into groups of five or six persons depending on the area they are tasked to cover that day. But Lucas has requested to stay at their hideout, feeling a bit tired and wanting some extra resting time after such a hectic week.
His request is granted immediately by Hades without question, as the older man knows that the blond-haired man is not getting enough sleep and rest due to his recurrent nightmares. The same nightmare has been plaguing his sleep for a few weeks now, and Lucas basically has imprinted in his memory every detail that he sees in the dream. It feels like a premonition dream, but he has no way of knowing for sure. The red-headed person that he sees in it has become a familiar figure to him now, even when their identity remains unknown for now.
“We’ll be going now, Lucas,” says Travis, waving his hand as a farewell, his action mirrored by Sarutobi and A-Not.
“If the alarm goes off, you know what to do,” says Bailey, passing a communication pod to the younger man, while Goemon peeking behind him with his hand signaling the word ‘call . Lucas just laughs, waving off the two’s worries exasperatedly. Each and every one of his friends slowly bids him goodbye, leaving one person until the end. Lupus just hugs his lover without words, but the action is more than enough for Lucas.
Their team hideout is located right at the border of Cho Tokyo, a decent size of land that has nothing but a not-so-empty warehouse (as they have renovated it into their living quarter) surrounded by grassfield and a single control tower that they use to monitor movement and transits across the border. No one from Cho Tokyo ever brave enough to cross the border without the group’s permission, while any citizen from Shin Tokyo or Babylonium is monitored by Astro 9 and Mad Jesters respectively
The first two hours of the night are spent by Lucas by cleaning and tidying up his (shared) room, their living room, the training center, the rooftop, basically every nook and cranny that he can access (which unfortunately, does not include his friends’ rooms, not that he wants to enter their messy, cluttered rooms in the first place). After a hot shower and a hearty late-night snack, Lucas is content and sleepy enough to go to the bed, the terror and anxiety of his nightmare is being placed at the far back of his mind.
But it is the wrong night for him to do that.
A shrill, piercing melody rings in the otherwise silent warehouse, and Lucas jolts awake. He scrambles to find the communication pod, trepidation slowly rising as he braces himself for any bad news from his teammates. He knows the danger is not from his side, as the alarm around their hideout has not been set off. With slightly trembling fingers he taps the answer button on the screen.
“LUCAS! Get outside fast!” Lupus’ voice greets his ear without so much as a hello, and that promptly sends the blond-haired man running outside of the door in record time. He is still panting as he stands in the middle off the field, his eyes alert and his ears sharp to pinpoint any suspicious movement.
“What is it, Lupus? There’s nothing out here.”
“No, the sky! Look at the sky!”
And that is when he sees it.
“What’s..happening..” Lucas’ question is uncompleted, as he sees nearly two dozens of astal-like projections traveling across the expanse of the vast, dark sky, their sheer luminance is enough to temporarily lighten up the dark night.
“These meteorites do not appear as big as the one that landed that day,” Kisaragi’s voice quips in from the receiver, as the rest of the Rowdy Shogun seemingly watching the phenomenon from wherever they are at the moment.
Q-b adds, “I agree, they appear much smaller. Wait, I think one of them is going to land close to our base,” he points out.
“I’ll check it out,” Lucas once again breaks into a run, ignoring his friends’ indignant shouts for him to wait for them as it could be dangerous for the blond-haired man alone. It takes a few minutes for him to reach where the ‘shooting star’ lands, and he can see the grass among the field being burnt off from the impact, creating a small crate on the ground. As the fog and dust begin to settle, a figure is seen standing in the middle of the clearing, wearing an all white outfit that stays pristine and untainted even after all the chaos, as if there is an invisible barrier that protects him from the surrounding.
Cold sweats and goosebumps begin to appear across Lucas’ arm and back, his eyes not being able to believe the scene in front of him. The figure turns and turns, until he finally faces Lucas. The fire from the rest of the meteorite begins to burn brighter than before, revealing the dark crimson hues of hair atop off the man’s head that somehow feels familiar to Lucas. But that face..
What?
Lucas’ breath is caught in his throat as he finds himself staring into his own face.