Astral glanced around the room they had found themselves in, until his eyes settled on an open doorway leading out into darkness. "We should be going. As humans, we need to drink and eat so we can't afford to waste time getting out of here."
"Amen," Dark Mist agreed, "Let's get moving!"
Astral stood up and tried to take a step before letting out a small cry as he fell back down. Dark Mist's eyes widened and he knelt down next to Astral, who had begun to push himself up again. "Luhke!"
"I- I am not used to walking. Whenever Yuma and I were in Zexal, he was in control so I did no walking at all during that time, so I have not actually walked since we died," Astral explained, attempting to stand again.
Dark Mist grabbed Astral's arm and threw it over his shoulder to support his twin. "I possessed that senator, so I don't have any issues. Here, I'll help you walk around this room for a while while you get your bearings."
Astral smiled at Dark Mist, making the dark-haired boy's breath catch. It was salient how much Astral being in human form could affect him. He almost couldn't believe that all that shit had happened to them, as in, everything that included and came after their deaths. Astral stood all the way up and leaned on Dark Mist, his legs shaking. "Thank you, Sebastian."
"Yeah, yeah, just walk you nerd," Dark Mist said, forcing a grin. Astral took a wobbly step and another. Dark Mist walked in sync with his twin, catching him when he fell. After a while, Astral was able to walk on his own, although he was still quite shaky.
"I believe I am prepared to continue onward," Astral said.
"Kay, but stay close to me and hold my hand," Dark Mist warned while taking a torch from the wall, "I do not want you falling or getting lost."
"I will not get lost, although the falling is a justified concern," Astral stated, "Actually, you're more likely to get lost than I am."
"Am not!"
Astral shook his head and rolled his eyes, "You used to manage to get lost in our own home."
"It was huge!" Dark Mist protested.
Astral smiled and sighed, "And this place is even larger."
"...I hate it when you win!"
Astral sighed again, "Come on, let's go," he grabbed Dark Mist's hand and they walked down the long passageway, the only light coming from Dark Mist's torch.
"We can dance if we want t, we can leave your friends behind. 'Cause if friends don't dance, and if they don't dance, then they ain't no friends of mine," Dark Mist sang.
"Please stop singing that song," Astral begged.
"Fine," Dark Mist pouted, "Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of beer, take one down, break it on someone's head, ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall-"
"Or that song," Astral hastened to add.
"You are no fun," Dark Mist sulked.
Astral started to reply but as he began to speak, the ground beneath him gave way and he fell down with a cry of alarm. It was lucky(no pun intended) that he had been holding onto Dark Mist's hand or else he would have fallen down the hole that had opened in the ground and that he found himself dangling over.
"LUHKE!" Dark Mist yelped.
"Ah! I- I am alright..." Astral said shakily, but his eyes betrayed his absolute terror.
"Hang on!" Dark Mist grabbed Astral's forearm with his other hand, dropping the torch, and pulled Astral back onto solid ground, where they sat panting heavily for a while with Astral hugging Dark Mist. The tanned boy ran his fingers through the bluette's hair and asked softly, "Are you okay?"
Astral nodded, his face buried in Dark Mist's jacket. "I- I think so."
Dark Mist sniffled and teared up. "I almost lost you again, Luhke. You almost died," he sobbed.
Astral, for once, had no comforting words to offer, but simply nodded, loud sniffles betraying his own tears. Dark Mist hugged his twin tightly. "Don't leave, Lucky, don't leave me."
"I won't, and don't call me Lucky," Astral said in a choked voice.
"Good, because we are NOT dying again, neither one of us!" Dark Mist said firmly.
Astral nodded and finally pulled away. "We- we should keep going."
Dark Mist picked up the torch where he had dropped it. Luckily it hadn't gone out. "Yeah, let's get a move on," he agreed. Astral fell into step behind him and had a death grip on Dark Mist's hand.
"You know, when we talked about falling earlier, I did NOT mean that," Dark Mist said jokingly. Astral smiled but said nothing. As Dark Mist walked, he focused on the little things of being human. He relished in the feeling of his lungs filling with air, and listened to the beating of his own heart for the first time in almost forever.
"Sebastian," Dark Mist glanced back at Astral.
"Yeah?"
"What exactly will we do once Father and Uncle Gareth come with us away from Malachi and all of this is over?" Astral asked.
Dark Mist thought for a while, still walking. "Well, I guess we'd all live with Mom and... well, maybe if we can manage to take human forms after this... and before you say anything, I KNOW it's unlikely/near impossible we'll be able to. Anyway, if we're able to, maybe we could go to school with Yuma and Vector, you know, as students. And maybe Mom and Dad can get a house and live there part-time when we're on earth, as a normal family. I mean, it's not as if finances are an issue, we can get a handful of rocks from Astral or Barian World, which are very valuable on earth, and sell them. Then we could hang out with our friends or, in my case, become friends with some of yours and Yuma's."
Astral smiled softly, "I really like that plan. Of course, I hate to be the pessimist, yet-"
"It isn't likely we'll be able to attain human form outside of this ruin," Dark Mist finished.
"True, although I hope we'll be able to," Astral added.
Dark Mist grinned, "Me too! And- aw, crap."
Dark Mist's reason for dismay was evident. They had entered a large room with runes above a small opening in the wall, large enough for someone to go through if they were sitting or crawling. Dark Mist and Astral took a few steps inside, and the door behind them shut tight, the crash startling the pair.
Dark Mist and Astral stared at the sealed door in shock for a few moments, then Dark Mist commented, "W- well, we're not going back, huh?"
"That appears to be true," Astral said. He took another step into the room with Dark Mist following.
The dark-haired boy looked up at a set of pictures above the runes. "Well, judging by the pictures, because unlike Dad I can't read a single word of this shit, we are going to meet up with the others. Or at least, one of the other groups."
Astral looked at the pictures as well and nodded. "Agreed, I hope we do not end up with Malachi..." he said, his voice shaking.
"Me neither," Dark Mist frowned, his voice trembling as well, "Well, ladies first," he teased.
Astral blinked. "...there are no females here. Just the two of us."
Dark Mist facepalmed and let out a sigh. "Astral, I REALLY need to teach you common insults and sarcasm, because it is literally painful to see you embarrass yourself this much."
"...okay," Astral said, confused.
"What I meant by my earlier comment was crawl through the doorway," Dark Mist sighed.
"Ah! Okay!" Astral cried in sudden understanding. He got down on his hands and knees and started to crawl in, then stopped and backed up, changing his position to sitting upright.
"What's up?" Dark Mist asked.
"It appears to be more like a slide than a passageway," Astral said.
"Really?! Sweet! I'm right behind you!" Dark Mist grinned.
Astral steadied himself, then pushed off. A sliding sound behind him told him that
Dark Mist was right behind him. Both twins were screaming, for completely different reasons.
"Woo hoo!" Dark Mist cheered, enjoying the ride.
"AH!" Astral cried, attempting to stay upright. Finally the shoot ended and both twins flew out of it. Astral skidded and rolled on the ground, slamming to the stop against the wall. Dark Mist, on the other hand, crashed head-on with another figure flying out of an athwart shoot. Both of them crashed to the ground, clutching their heads and groaning.
Dark Mist blinked away spots, rubbed his head, and swore. When his vision came back into focus, he saw a boy who looked thirteen with dark blue hair and golden eyes.
"DAD?!" Dark Mist cried, momentarily forgetting the excruciating pain in his head.
Dmitri snapped to attention instantly and stared at Dark Mist in disbelief and absolute shock. "S- Seb- SEBASTIAN?!"
Astral blinked and looked from his father to the other figure who had flew out with Dmitri, another boy who looked fifteen and had black hair and silver eyes who was staring at Astral. "Luhke?" Gareth whispered in shock, "How...?"
Astral swallowed the wad of emotion that had clogged up his throat. "Guess the cat's out of the bag, as the saying goes. Hello, Uncle Gareth."
Gareth blinked in confusion, then his eyes widened. "Oh," he laughed, although it almost sounded like he was crying too, "Wow, I have been an idiot."
Astral shook his head sadly. "No, we just didn't want you to know because you couldn't see us. We didn't want to hurt you or Papa."
Gareth smiled, "Well, I still should've guessed," he crawled over and embraced Astral, who hugged back.
"Uncle, I missed you," Astral said.
"You were right there with me for the past month, excepting three days," Gareth replied, his tears making his voice crack.
"You didn't know who I, or Sebastian, were. I question whether or not that counts," Astral cried.
"Too true, too true," Gareth muttered, still crying.
Meanwhile, Dmitri was still stuttering. "How are you... you were... I saw... you're... dead..."
"Um, yeah, about that..." Dark Mist said, wincing, "Surprise, we're alive. Well, sorta."
"Wha- what?" Dmitri asked softly, his eyes full of tears. He reached out and brushed Dark Mist's cheek with his hand softly, as if fearing he would disappear if he touched him.
Dark Mist stared at Dmitri for a few seconds longer, then threw himself on his father, sobbing and hugging him. "Daddy! Daddy... Daddy..."
"Sebastian," Dmitri whispered in a choked voice, "You're really here... what about Luhke? Is he-"
"I'm right here, Papa," Astral chimed, his voice riddled with sobs. He made his way over to his father and joined his twin in a hug.
"Luhke..." Dmitri sobbed hugging his older son.
"Papa... I missed you," Astral whispered.
Dmitri swallowed some more sobs, "You're both... but Malachi killed you... I saw your bodies! He admitted to killing you!"
"Yeah, I hate the b*tch for it, too!" Dark Mist snarled. Dmitri blinked in surprise at the chosen insult, tears still welling in his eyes. Dark Mist saw his gears turning. "Yeah, whatever you're thinking, it's probably right."
Dmitri stared in shock for a while. "...Dark Mist?"
Dark Mist smiled softly. "Yeah, sorry for not telling you," he hugged his father again and Dmitri hugged back still crying. Then Dmitri wiped away some tears on his sleeve and hugged Astral again.
"Papa..." Astral sobbed in Dmitri's shoulder.
Dark Mist smiled through his tears, then looked over at Gareth. "Uncle Gareth!"
"So NOW you pay attention to me?" Gareth said, smiling, although he was also crying just like everyone else. He hugged Dark Mist tightly. "Missed you, Sebby," he sobbed.
"Same here. You know, missed you knowing who I was and us being able to act as a family," Dark Mist cried.
Gareth laughed through his sobs. "Your brother said something similar."
Dark Mist pulled away and pouted, "Aw, why does he have to get things first?"
Gareth laughed through his tears. "You haven't changed at all."
"And I never will!" Dark Mist smirked, making Gareth laugh again. The two dark-haired boys looked over at the bluettes, who were still hugging.
Finally Dmitri pulled away from Astral, then looked down at himself and blushed. "I- ah-"
"Are you embarrassed, Father?" Astral asked.
"I'm a frigging thirteen-year-old right now when I just reunited with my sons who I thought were dead!" Dmitri replied, still blushing.
"We followed you around as incorporeal spirits and not telling you who we were for the past month!" Dark Mist called, "I don't think we are exactly the people to judge if our dad looks younger than us right now!"
Gareth snorted, "He has a really good point, Dmitri."
"Yes, it is one of those terrifying times he makes sense," Astral said.
Dark Mist scowled and stuck out his tongue at his twin. "You suck!"
Dmitri chuckled lightly, even with heavy sobs still in his throat. Astral, Dark Mist, and Gareth grinned; it had been a long time since any of them had heard him sound so happy. "So Dad, been having fun in this ruin?" Dark Mist asked.
"Not even," Dmitri scowled, "I woke up and got Gareth up but when he woke up, he panicked and demanded to know who I was. I had to repeat my name almost five times before it got through his head. Then I had to deal with him asphyxiating me in his inescapable hugs."
Dark Mist cracked up while Astral hid his smile. It was Gareth's turn to blush as he stammered, "I- you- the- these damned hormones were messing with my mind! I'll tell you, I did NOT miss puberty at all. And I wasn't the one who was muttering swear words for an hour straight as we walked."
Dmitri playfully glared at Gareth. "Don't you dare repeat any of the words I used to my sons."
"No need, Dad. Probably already know them all anyway," Dark Mist sang.
"I still have absolutely no idea where he learned those words," Astral added.
Dmitri cracked another smile. "I missed you two so much."
"So did we, Dad. And someone else did too, in case you forgot," Dark Mist said with a grin.
Dmitri looked puzzled, then his eyes went really wide. "Eva? Is she really...?"
"Yep!" Dark Mist grinned with Astral nodding in confirmation.
"What? What does Eva have to do with this?" Gareth asked.
Dmitri looked at his brother with tears in his eyes again. "They said, or wrote when we didn't know who they were, that they were visiting their mother when they were gone."
Gareth's eyes widened. "No way... really?!"
"I believe we just gave you confirmation on that," Dark Mist grinned.
Gareth looked shocked, then he grinned, "What was her reaction when you told her who killed you? I'll assume you did not remember what happened before your deaths before you started collecting the numbers here because you took little interest in Dmitri or I before the first ruin."
"Oh, um, we did not tell her that because we didn't remember it then, but we did tell her how Malachi was treating you. That went over well, as you can imagine," Dark Mist said.
"Mother was furious," Astral added.
Dmitri smiled fleetingly, "She would've been."
Gareth smiled but smacked Dmitri over the head, "Hey, lover-boy, I know you miss Eva, so do I, but let's focus on getting out of here."
Dmitri shook himself, "Yeah, you're right. But lover-boy? Not very mature, Gareth."
"WE'RE not mature right now, Dmi," Gareth joked.
"I know, I know," Dmitri sighed, "This whole situation is like Christmas has come early but there's no snow on the ground."
Dark Mist grinned, "Yeah. Oh, and is your head still hurting?"
"A bit," Dmitri replied, rubbing his head, "I'm fine, though. Are you alright, Sebastian? You're not hurt at all?"
"Yeah, I'm good, Dad. Let's get going and try not to die again like Lucky almost did on the way over," Dark Mist said.
"Wait, WHAT?!" Dmitri cried.
"Oh, the floor caved in and Astral almost fell down it," Dark Mist said, his voice shaking slightly, "It was absolutely terrifying. Seriously, rack up a fear of heights right up with the cats."
Dmitri gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. "F*ck Malachi. F*ck him so hard."
"Please don't say that, Dad," Dark Mist protested.
"WHAT?!" Dmitri cried, "Why-"
"Don't say that because I don't need the image of him doing... that... in my head ever," Dark Mist clarified.
Dmitri laughed. "Alright, THAT makes more sense."
Astral yawned and swayed slightly, causing Gareth to reach a hand out to steady him. "Hey, are you tired, Luhke?"
"Tired? Oh... I had forgotten what it felt like," Astral muttered.
Dmitri looked slightly devastated. The fact that they had died and had lived as almost the equivalent to ghosts for so long hit him like a bullet train. It hurt knowing they had forgotten exactly what it was like to be human. And that they would be forced to return to being spectral was painful. Sure, there were probably lots of perks about that existence, but he could tell his sons wanted to be able to be human as well.
"Well, let's turn in," Gareth said.
"No complaint here," Dark Mist said, stretching, "And Dad? Uncle Gareth?"
"Yes, Sebastian?" Dmitri asked.
"Well, I know for a fact that Dad packed one blanket and we don't want to take the chance to get separated-" Dark Mist started slyly.
"You want us to sleep together?" Dmitri asked, amused.
"Well, last time we did it, you had no idea who we were so, yeah," Dark Mist said.
"Well, we do need to conserve body heat. It is a bit nippy in here," Gareth stated.
Dmitri smiled and pulled out a blanket from his bag. "Alright, everyone get under the blanket." The four all got under the blanket, going in order from left to right, it was Astral, Dmitri, Gareth, and Dark Mist.
"Night, Dad! Night Uncle Gareth!"
"Goodnight Father. Goodnight Uncle Gareth."
"Sleep tight you two. Same with you Dmitri, no nightmares tonight."
"Goodnight Sebastian, Luhke. Goodnight Gareth and don't worry," Dmitri smiled as he settled down and made himself semi-comfortable, "I won't be having any nightmares tonight."