Warnings: discussion of codependency, violence, sensory overload.
Chapter One
They had always been together.
From that first moment they could think, when they'd bumped into each other and met a press of forehead to forehead, since noises had tumbled from their throats with no rhyme or reason, since a chill was only faded by their own hands and feet and shared sheets, the two of them had been together.
In the gaping void that told them nothing, that promised nothing, that gave nothing, the two of them had learned.
How to walk, how to run. How to hold, how to grab. How to communicate. How to argue. How to fight. How to make up. How to agree. It was no less intense without words, it was no less painful to be apart.
When the two of them decided things, they acted with perseverance and devotion. There was little to do in the cave they were trapped in except to explore and mourn and lay and sleep and climb. Not much indeed.
In order to explore, to escape, they needed to be able to see. They needed to know each other.
So they set to build a tower.
And the tower of rocks was slow.
One of them was full of ideas. The other was full of creativity. One of them was full of excitement. The other was often exhausted. Rarely did they cross each other's paths in personality, but it was there. It was present. One wanted to protect the other. The other wanted one to live.
So they made the tower together.
And they broke the ceiling together. And they met Rachel together.
She called them brothers.
She even named them the same thing in different languages. She taught them everything. She hugged them when they were sad. She told them about the stars, about the endless expanse of a sky, the chosen place where the special children lived and died.
They were not allowed to go there, but this was okay.
After all, they had each other.
Bam was more interested than Yoru. Yoru was stronger than Bam.
Yoru hated conflict, Bam hated for Yoru to be hurt.
They stumbled and fell, stumbled and fell, stood up again.
Bam loved to be touched, Yoru had to be coaxed. Bam loved his hair short, Yoru hated the concept. They loved holding hands. It was their warmest, safest way of feeling. Hearing the other breathe, bathed in the light above, thin and fleeting as it was. It was the closest thing to happiness they really knew. Even Rachel was a hope, a dream, a contentment.
Then she tried to leave.
There were things in between it, of course, but she tried to leave and that was enough for Bam to chase her, to chase the warmth, the light of someone else.
Yoru had followed of course, on their heels, as always. He was a real shadow.
And until the tower opened to them, that was enough for him, for them.
Rabbits talked in this world.
Rabbits talked and there were hungry eels and you climbed through tests and games.
Yoru was very glad he had followed Bam, in the end. His brother trembled with something, anger probably, his hand squeezing Yoru's tight. He probably would have run in right now if he were alone.
"It's okay," he said, voice hoarse, rubbing circles into the back of Bam's hand. "She probably got through already or did a different test. We'll be fine and so will she."
"I… I know but…" Bam bit his lip. "I need to see her."
"I know." Bam was like that. He needed visual reassurance despite their not great eyesight. "Let's hurry and fight."
"You always want to fight."
"So you'll be taking the test then?" Headon smiled at them, at the meager knives in their opposite hands.
Yoru didn't like the rabbit. Something about him maed his stomach crawl like the bugs he'd eaten whole.
"Yup!" Bam said anyway. Yoru made a sound in his throat of agreement.
The rabbit had teeth.
And women fly from the sky in this tower. Bam, hurrying over to the gate, to get hurt probably, got kicked in the face.
Yoru squawked indignantly, not that she seemed to care. Bam waved him off, rubbing his nose. Whatever she said after that was not a language either child had heard until a short man placed an orb in each of their hands. They were looking more at Bam, who was staring at the eel thing like he planned to eat it, so Yoru played quietly with the orb instead.
I wonder if I could throw it like a rock… A few seconds later he dismissed this idea outright. He had been given a gift. Gifts were rarely given to undeserving people, so he would have to treasure it. Like these clothes, like Bam's knife.
Bam squirmed impatiently in his spot and Yoru moved past him, watching the monster drift lazily in its tank. It moved so smoothly. Could he ever move like that? Could he protect Bam with that sort of movement? It was huge after all. A hundred of them couldn't make up for its size.
"Kid, what are you doing?" He turned to look at… he thought she was someone important. She had been talking to Bam. Her name was Yuri right?
"Sorry," he said, rubbing his throat. "It's… pretty, that's all."
"That thing is going to kill you and you call it pretty?" She stared at him, then he saw her smile at him. His chest warmed. "You've got some guts kid."
"Yoru?" Bam asked quietly.
"I have an idea," he said, just as low. "But… it's dangerous Bam. And I need another weapon."
Bam smiled a bit, unfaltering, as he always was. "Let me help!"
Yoru smiles and nods. "We'll do it together."
It was how they had started, it was hopefully, in Yoru's opinion, how they would end.
Evankhell's floor was supposed to be hell.
If hell was boring, that was the most accurate description Khun had found so far. Everyone was just killing each other to pass, like a bunch of machines. If this kept up, he'd have a boring team he'd have to leave behind on his way up the tower, instead of useful allies that could actually do things.
In fairness, the rule was to reduce the number by half. It was just pure laziness on the part of the teachers in the tower to make the assumption it was to "kill 200 people and be one of the 200 that lived". The last part was a given at least.
So far, he had four. He'd like a few more before the counter ran out, but he'd passed by so many idiots it almost wasn't worth looking anymore.
Then he heard somebody scream. A word or a name? It sure wasn't a battle cry. Khun turned his head to look, if only out of curiosity. A tall man in a mask was staring down two… they looked like kids almost, through the grass. One of them clutched a knife in each hand while the other held a needle.
"Are you okay, Bam?" asked the one with the needle, softly.
Brothers, Khun realized, approaching in silence.
"My head hurts," mumbled the other.
"You headbutt his knee..."
"Stop moving and die," shouted the masked man.
"Bam, move behind!" called the other, lifting shaking arms carrying the needle. His grip was wrong, Khun noted immediately, but he was correcting it carefully as the sword above clanged onto the surface of the needle. The man hissed as the other, Bam?, made his way around, one of the knives raised. His grip was also bad. It looked painful. "Slice!"
Bam obeyed and sliced at the back of their enemy's knees. The man roared in pain and Bam hurried back. "Let's go, Yoru, before he falls on you!"
"Ok!" The two of them clasped hands and ran, adjusting weapons and heading close to where Khun himself was standing. He debated moving aside, they clearly weren't interested in attacking. But they hadn't killed the guy either. Interesting.
"You're not going to kill him?"
The two of them froze like startled rabbits. Bam raised his knives, with both hands, reversing their grip. "You don't look like you can hit a rabbit like that, relax." Khun leaned forward a bit to take a better look at them. One had brown hair that was short and messy, like someone had run their fingers through it instead of actually taking a comb to it like a normal person. They were dressed in a red vest with tan pants, that looked like they'd been washed to near falling off. The other wasn't much better, longer hair in the messiest idea of a bun he'd ever seen and dressed in purple and black… a dress maybe? He couldn't tell for sure. He barely looked at clothes if they weren't for him. There were nicks and marks on their faces and arms, their shoes the same, skin just barely less pale than his own.
But their eyes were the most interesting. They were a shade of gold he'd never seen in human eyes before. One had rings of red in theirs, the other had purple eyes with flecks of that gold.
Who let their lost children into the tower? He couldn't help but think.
His observation was cut off by the sound of arrows meeting flesh and bone. Both of them turned as their opponent was skewered by at least ten arrows. Overkill, he thought as the corpse hit the ground.
"I guess you don't have to now," he said, almost to himself. Bam, the short-haired one, tensed as Khun moved closer. "You can relax. I'm not going to hurt you." He flicked his eyes to… Yoru, was it, behind him, clutching the black needle in both hands. Slowly that one's shoulders lowered.
"It's okay, Bam," he said softly. "He means it."
Bam remained tense for a moment more. Then he put one of the knives in his pocket and grabbed Yoru's hand. "I'll trust you then," he said, eyes very wide, and very open immediately. "I'm Bam. This is Yoru, my brother."
"Hello," said Yoru softly, not meeting Khun's eyes now.
Well, that was interesting. And dangerous. People who trusted easily didn't last long in the tower. People who didn't have good skills definitely didn't last long either and yet here they were, invited in anyway.
Finally, something to think about.
"I'm Khun Aguero Agnes," he introduced and held out a hand. Bam was the one who shook it, but Yoru watched their hands rise and fall.
"Nice to meet you," they chimed together. Manners. Wild.
Then Yoru shifted his gaze to the left, and he shoved Bam right into Khun's chest and darted right. Khun didn't fumble, no he most certainly did not, but he caught Bam with one hand as the point of a spear stabbed right where Bam had been standing.
Bam wrenched free and turned to the dust cloud. Yoru was knelt on the ground, arms trembling, the black needle raised flat to hold up the spear just above his head. His knees threatened to buckle, scraped raw already.
"Stay back!" Yoru said. "He'll hit you!"
Bam turned slowly to glare at the opponent. It was an alligator that put cliffs to shame in terms of sheer height.
Khun however, had his eyes fixed on the hilt of the needle. Jahad's crest was on it. Then… that was the Black March. Well, he wasn't sure what was more interesting, that these two were together, one of them sensed an attack that definitely came from nowhere near here, or a thirteen month seeming comfortable in the kid's hands.
"Is that all you have, black turtle?" roared the monster. "Fight me properly with that weapon of yours."
"Why?" Yoru croaked, making himself roll over and out of the way of the next stab.
"Because I will gain strength from defeating you and your weapon."
That's a dumb reason, Khun couldn't help but think. "What a simple reason for a simple gator." Why was this field so full of rule-following sheep?
Bam moved back by Yoru. "My brother is tired," he said. "And we don't want to fight anyone. Go hunt someone your own size."
"I am not a gator!" shouted the hulking beast, ignoring him. "I am Rak Wraithraiser!"
Khun decided that, at this moment, that he honestly didn't care. These kids were more interesting than anyone else he had seen so far. Surely it couldn't hurt to watch that play out.
It was strange to take someone's hand.
Rachel had never been fond of holding hands. Sometimes when she guided them, or stopped them, but never like this, clearly to pull Bam onward. He was used to Yoru's scarred, but soft hands in his, carding through his hair, singing little melodies he'd heard filter through the hole in their ceiling.
It was unfamiliar, but Bam couldn't say he minded it.
Yoru trailed after them, shrinking into the rocks they hid behind. Bam watched him carefully, the way he slowly wrapped his arms around himself. His brother was stronger than him, in a lot of ways, but he hated the smell of blood and the sound of pain, and Rachel had been in both more than either of them wanted to think about. A pang of guilt filled his throat that he'd dragged his brother into this mess, even if it was for Rachel. But he couldn't imagine leaving Yoru behind in that cave, all alone until they found a way out and back to him. Even though this tower was nothing good so far, as long as Yoru was with him, they'd be okay.
He would just have to protect him better this time. It wouldn't be like that eel.
The person holding his hand - Khun-ssi, he'd said his name was - his smell was nothing like anyone here. Apples and weird stone and surety with something underneath. Did he not want to be here either? It'd be weird to ask, so he didn't. He knew that much.
"Phew," he said, smiling in a way that felt less like a smile and more like a knife. "Close one, huh?" He wasn't relaxed but he wasn't afraid, Bam could tell by how he angled them further behind the rocks, how his hand was still in Bam's with the suitcase in the other.
Bam agreed though anyway, glancing at Yoru. Yoru hadn't made a sound since they'd settled here, curling around Miss Yuri's weapon like he was afraid to drop it. Miss Yuri had been kind, giving it to Yoru like that, even if just for a while. Knowing Yoru, when things were quieter, he'd want Bam to take it instead. Not that Bam really wanted to.
Khun-ssi followed his eyes. "So, how did you get a weapon from one of the Princesses of Jahad? The thirteen month series doesn't get handed out easily, you see."
Ah there it was, the smell of rust and blood and sour skin. Interest, sharper, uncertain steps.
"We can't tell you," Bam said as Yoru ventured softly, "It's a loan. We'll give it back."
"Yoru!" Bam exclaimed in a whisper. Now that he was paying attention, he could hear that crocodile yelling for them in a rage. Determination lit up his stomach; he would not let that person near Yoru. Not until he promised to not hurt him.
"He'll know anyway," Yoru said in that reasonable 'don't argue with your brother' voice he had picked up from Rachel ages ago. "We can trust him."
Khun-ssi's eyebrows flew high into his hair, like he didn't believe what Yoru said, or maybe that he had said it. The thing was that Bam did, because even Bam's own gut said Khun-ssi wasn't a bad person. But he didn't want Miss Yuri to get hurt because of that.
"That's a tall order," said Khun-ssi with that face again. It had a name, but Bam couldn't remember it. "Trusting a Khun."
"Does your name mean we shouldn't?" Bam asked as Yoru ducked his head shyly back down.
"It tends to, yes."
"That's silly," they both said together, and Bam watched Khun-ssi's eyebrows go even higher. Bam felt himself smiling.
Yes, Yoru was right. This person was safe.
"We have someone we're looking for," Bam finally said. "She brought light to our world when all we had was each other. I don't… I can't speak for Yoru but… I'm not ready to give that up just yet."
"She's important to me too, Bam," Yoru said, looking at him.
But Bam knew it wasn't the same. Rachel, to him, had given them everything that they couldn't have gotten themselves, and Bam adored her for it. There was no other word for it, no other way to explain it. Yoru felt differently than he did, but Yoru wasn't able to explain it, so he hadn't pushed.
"Would you say she's like your rule then? Your reason?" Khun-ssi stared at him, at Bam specifically. It made Bam's chest feel fuzzy, out of sorts, and a terrible intensity he didn't want to lose.
So he thought about the question. And then he said, "No. Yoru is my reason. She is precious to me, in a different way."
He didn't have to see his brother's face to know the look on it, the raw gratitude and the tears welling up in his eyes.
Khun-ssi seemed to be looking over both of them now, like they were being judged. "I see." He nodded, almost to himself. "All right, I've decided then. I'm going to climb up the tower with you two."
"Eh?"
"Why?"
He laughed, like they had said something strange. "Why not? You two operate under different rules than this place. To me that's more interesting than the people who will die."
"Us?" Bam murmured. He looked at Khun's eyes, at the hand now being offered. Then he looked at Yoru. His brother shrugged. Bam reached out and took the hand in front of him again. "Okay, Khun-ssi. I don't know how much either of us can offer you right now, but… let's climb the tower together."
Something in Khun-ssi's face told Bam they had made the right decision.
A/N: I don't think I've ever made a twin au before. This is for hannilock on tumblr and also ellie again for letting me ramble in dms! Finally for day 7 of khunbamweek! Night/names.