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The water splashed neatly beneath his feet as Pangi landed in the lab. The pool in the lab had a way of doing that. No matter who landed or what condition they were in, the splashes had always been satisfying and grounding. To Pangi, it was a reminder that now he was safe.
Pangi closed his eyes and took a breath before exiting the pool. It had been a long day with new quests, an interview with Aimsey and, of course, Zam’s tumultuous return. It had given him a lot to think about which wasn’t necessarily a good thing because Pangi was supposed to be focusing on ending the world. He didn’t want to think about Bad’s corruption or have his plan challenged by his old friend from a different land. He was supposed to be ending the world because it was the right thing to do. Thinking about it too much was starting to give him a headache.
Pangi walked down the hall and pivoted into the lab’s office expecting to see Lukey passed out on the desk where he had left him. Pangi hated when Lukey fell asleep in the office because it never looked comfortable and most definitely meant Lukey was overworking himself late into the night. For that reason, Pangi was glad that Lukey wasn’t there because it probably meant Lukey had actually moved and actually fallen asleep in his bed for once.
Pangi made his way to the bookshelf wall and slid down so his knees were to his chest and back to the bookshelf. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. It was rare for him to be awake later than Lukey and he appreciated a peaceful moment alone. A moment where he knew Lukey was safe and there was nothing but the crackling of the fireplace
Pangi opened his eyes when he heard a pangopup shuffling in the corner behind the decorative office bush. He chuckled as the small creature tried its best to make its way up the stairs to where Pangi was sitting. For a moment Pangi wished things could be peaceful like that all the time. Of course, life wouldn’t be interesting if that was the case but it would be so easy. How hypocritical of him to wish for peace when he was the one getting ready to end the world. Not like this world had ever been particularly peaceful anyway. At least he was self aware.
Pangi’s hypocritical moment of peace was rudely interrupted by a scream coming from down the hall.
Lukey.
Pangi bolted up to run out of the room as his scales flexed on instinct.
Lukey was screaming. Something was wrong.
Pangi felt as if he couldn’t run fast enough.
Upon his rushed entrance into the living quarters, Pangi saw Lukey sat up straight in his bed. Lukey was panting as if he had just been to hell and back. Maybe he had. Pangi ran up the stairs to the bed noting how Lukey didn’t seem to notice Pangi was there despite staring straight at him. Pangi sat in front of Lukey and put a hand on his shoulder. Lukey flinched and blinked a few times with his pupils dilating like a camera coming into focus as his breath began to slow.
“Pangi?” Lukey’s voice was timid and unsure. He cocked his head doubtfully.
“Yeah I’m here man.” Pangi smiled the best he could and pulled his teammate in for a hug. “It’s me. It was just another dream.” Pangi let out a sigh of relief and felt his scales soften because while Lukey was definitely in emotional distress, at least he wasn’t in physical danger. At least he was here with Pangi. At least he was alive. At least it was just a dream. Lukey had bad dreams quite often and Pangi had a rough idea of how to handle them because he’d done this before.
“Thanks dude.” Lukey said exasperated. He pulled away and pushed himself back so he could lean against the bed frame. “That was… rough.” Lukey’s desperate eyes met Pangi’s.
“What happened?” Pangi moved across the mattress to sit against the bedframe next to Lukey. Lukey’s eyes never left Pangi’s face but Pangi pretended not to notice, choosing to stare forward instead.
“I…” Lukey’s voice trailed off. “You’re real? Right?”
“I hope so.” Pangi laughed a little before turning to Lukey and realizing the question was serious. Lukey’s breath was still unsteady and the veins in his eyes were a more visible red than normal like he had been crying. “I mean… I am. Yes.”
“And I cured you?” Lukey’s eyes hardened into something that looked more like determination rather than fear. It was comforting.
“Yes.” Pangi allowed himself to smile a little.
“Ok.” Lukey nodded and turned his head away to face the front. He adjusted how he was sitting so that his shoulder was pressed against Pangi. He pushed into Pangi’s side a few times. “Just had to make sure.”
“What happened?” Pangi decided to push the question again despite the fact that usually Lukey was closed off about his dreams.
“You were corrupted again.” Lukey’s voice shuddered a bit despite his best attempts to hide it. “It was…”
Pangi waited but Lukey never finished the sentence. It was hard to tell if Lukey was truly awake after his bad dreams, oftentimes he seemed to be in a state of half-awake as he lacked his usual wittiness and banter. They sat in silence for a few moments with nothing to listen to but each other's breathing and the sound rattling of minecarts from the cave in the distance.
“It won’t happen again.” Pangi stated and turned to Lukey. He didn’t know how to convey to Lukey how much he meant it. He didn’t know how to convey that when Lukey had been messing with the corruption earlier it had sent Pangi into a panic. He didn’t care that Lukey wanted to save the world with his unconventional methods. Saving the world meant nothing if Lukey got corrupted. Pangi didn’t know how to tell Lukey how much it scared him too, because the last thing Lukey needed was more to worry about. So he put on a brave face.
Lukey didn’t look at Pangi and so Pangi decisively grabbed Lukey’s chin, rotated Lukey’s head to face his own and tilted him up slightly so there would be eye contact. Lukey didn’t resist the motion and stared solemnly at Pangi’s face. Their faces were quite close and they would have probably made some joke about it if the room had not been so tense. “I promise. It won’t happen again.”
“Don’t make a promise.” Lukey’s eyes shifted.
“But I want to.” Pangi nodded assuredly. “You told me yourself after I was cured. You asked me to never do that to you again and I won’t.”
It was a promise that Pangi could keep. That was why he had to end the world. Pangi had lived through the corruption, forgotten everything and felt the emptiness of not knowing what he was missing. He had found himself on the brink of death where uncertainty rounded each corner. He had felt the overwhelming and terrifying sensation of all those lost emotions flooding back after he was cured. He had lost and regained all his trauma and everything that had made Pangi, well, Pangi.
The hardest part of it all was witnessing the world mourn him. When he looks back at his time corrupted it becomes abundantly clear how much it had hurt all the people he cared so much about and how oblivious he was. Now he recalls how Lukey put his helmet on and kept his distance with a gut wrenching lack of trust. He remembers Aimsey’s concern when Pangi admitted he was getting cold feet about being cured altogether. The corruption was a terrible thing and Pangi had almost lost himself to it. It wasn’t fair for him to do that to anyone again. If he ended the world, he would be protecting everyone. No one would have to feel themselves wash away. No one would have to watch their loved ones lose their minds. Perhaps most importantly, Pangi wouldn’t have to watch the corruption win. Everyone would be safe from all that pain, including Lukey.
The rest of the plan is where things got… messy. Pangi would go back to Lifesteal in a heartbeat because it was simple there. It had its own flaws, primarily the lack of security and distrust at all times, but maybe that was better than this world. The Realm had taught Pangi a lot — at the very least he had learned how to love — but at the same time, at his core he would always be from a much more violent place. The duel with Aimsey had reminded Pangi of a scarier side of himself that always craved something more than The Realm had to offer. A part of him wished that part of him didn’t exist. That he could just enjoy everything he had gained but with the corruption worsening by the day it was easier to allow that tendency towards violence to return. Hence the whole plot to end the world.
“Ok.” Lukey sighed, seemingly too tired to refute the promise or perhaps he was even a little glad to accept it. “Thank you… please stay.” Lukey’s voice was soft as he laid his head on Pangi’s shoulder. Pangi looked down to see Lukey’s eyes already closed as his breath finally steadied out back into a pattern of rest. Pangi smiled at his teammate's stupid little sleeping face.
“I’m never going to leave, Lukey.”
Oh, Lukey.
Pangi still wasn’t quite sure what to do about Lukey.
But for now Lukey was safe sleeping on his shoulder in their lab that they had built together.
And for now that was enough.