Chapter Text
Lukey had read once, in a dusty book back at his first ever laboratory, that Science was nothing more than the refinement of everyday thinking. And so, as a scientist, when the world wasn't actively ending right above his head, all he strived for was innovation.
Now that the corruption was arguably dormant yet again, now that the urgency of his cure research had died down, his research was less of a world-ending importance. And Lukey, as a scientist, found himself free to use science in other departments.
Bad and Pangi, bloodthirsty as usual, were working on teleportation technology, as preparation for the upcoming fights against yellow. The so-called war they raved on and on about, the one that never fully broke out.
And so, after Bad achieved an unstable but impressive wireless-stasis, and after Pangi, god-knows-how, found himself in possession of a 'teleportation stick'... They both looked to Lukey for something even better. For innovation.
A teleportation device that could teleport the holder to any given set of coordinates.
Something Lukey would have no idea how to even approach, if not for his teammates' knowledge and input.
"Okay, you can't leave wires hanging out like this, this is a mess." Pangi grumbled, their device in one hand and a laser welder in the other. He took care of all the mechanical aspects, all the machinery, because admittedly-
"I'm not an engineer, Pangi. I'm a chemist."
The man rolled his eyes with a soft smile. "Well, you're in luck, cause I am an engineer."
Lukey laughed and came up behind Pangi whilst he worked, making sure he'd seen him approach and he wouldn't startle the paranoid man. Lukey snaked his arms around Pangi's shoulders, absentmindedly playing with a strand of hair he found there. "Oh, yeah? Where'd you get your engineering degree, mister?"
Pangi grinned at him, looking over his shoulder. "Self-taught."
Lukey chuckled and leaned down, resting his forehead against Pangi's shoulder. "Ugh, you're so lame."
Pangi laughed too as he playfully elbowed him in the ribs. Lukey ultimately stepped back so Pangi could continue welding. For a few minutes he silently watched the machine light up against the metal sheets and the sparks that flew against Pangi's armor and his face mask.
He had to admit the man looked hot, wielding this tool with precision, any wrong step and he'd be gravely injured. Which is why he didn't even let Lukey hold it, even despite the scientist's complaints.
The loud sound of the machine stopped, and Pangi looked up at him as he threw his mask at the table and ran a hand through his messy hair. Lukey kind of wanted to kiss him. "So, are we done with this, then?" The pangolin asked, pointing at the device.
"Um, yeah. Well, probably not, but we're done with the beta version."
Lukey stood in the center of their lab while Pangi carefully picked up their project, bringing it to him.
"Are you gonna be testing it?"
Lukey nodded and hummed impatiently, to which Pangi frowned at him, a familiar look of concern overtaking his face.
"Oh, come on! I can test my own shit, I'm not that useless!" He exclaimed, holding his hand out for the strap of their invention.
Pangi shook his head. "I wasn't- nevermind, fine, fine! Do your thing, if you're so big and strong!" He pushed Lukey's extended arm out of his way and, instead of handing it over, opened the buckle of the belt and slipped it around Lukey's waist in one swift movement. He tightened it extra tight with a teasing smile, and pulled on the buckle.
"What the hell!" Lukey exclaimed as he was pulled forward, almost causing him to lose his balance. Thankfully he found support in Pangi himself, his hands steadied against his hard netherite chest plate.
Pangi giggled, and before he pulled away, he planted a quick kiss on Lukey's lips, the type they exchanged more and more these days.
Lukey rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath. He made the last few adjustments to the device's panel in a hurry, entering a random location, near enough that he could easily get back to the lab. "Ready?" He looked at Pangi.
"Ready."
With a press of a button, Lukey closed his eyes tightly, awaiting the feeling of instant transportation to take over him. But for a moment, nothing happened. He opened his eyes and looked down at the belt to see the light glow of the small engine looking back at him. It was as teal as ender pearls, the main component of what powered it.
"Hear that?" Pangi asked, hesitantly stepping closer, as he stood at the other end of the room.
Lukey stopped for a second before he heard it too, the click of the redstone machinery, activating, the sound of liquid bubbling like in a brewing stand, the faintest humming noise that came from the device. "I think it's work-"
Before Lukey could finish his sentence, a blast came from his belt, and in a cloud of greenish smoke, he was thrown backwards down the hallway. He heard Pangi yelling his name in pure panic, but before he could feel himself touching the ground, or see the silhouette of his partner running to him through the smoke, he was being transported.
The dizzying feeling overtook him, more similar to the one he felt getting in and out of the Null, moreso than the sudden click of a stasis. It was as if he was suspended in time and space for just a moment. He closed his eyes, and lost track of himself.
Clueless to how long it had been since he closed them, he opened his eyes to see a blinding blue sky above him, and to feel a piercing pain at the back of his skull. Fuck, did he hit his head?
With a weak groan, Lukey found the strength to lower his vision from the bright sunlight, trying to focus it on the horizon. With a blurry sight he noticed buildings, or more-so structures, incoherent at a first glance, half broken down stone and obsidian, rudimentary shelters up on hills, and craters littering the ground. The place looked inhabited, but war torn or maybe abandoned.
He tried and failed to place the sight in front of him to anything he'd seen on the Realm, any villages torn down and turned to farms that lack aesthetic... The type of place his teammates would make in a paranoid hurry, miles and miles away from spawn.
Looking around, he spoted a person, standing ahead on the same path Lukey had fallen on. The man standing a few feet from him looked like some kind of hybrid, with voluminous white hair and two round ears on top. Like a bear's ears, a polar bear, Lukey's hazy brain connected.
"Oh! Hello!" The bear man greeted him with a smile. "You're not supposed to be here." His voice was joyful but strained, like it held something darker.
Lukey wanted to stand up, to not leave himself in a defenseless position, but he could barely feel his legs still. "I-... Um, frankly, I have no idea why I'm here. Or where 'here' is..."
For a moment, he had thought that wherever he was, he could always contact a Keeper for help. But now seeing the stranger in front of him, he had a feeling wherever he was, the Keepers most likely weren't a thing here. He was quick enough to realize this probably wasn't even the Realm. He patted himself down quickly to confirm his suspicions; Yep, no teleportation belt around his waist, no armor or bags or mess of gifted chorus fruit and gapples in his pockets. He was someplace new.
If his head hadn't been so fuzzy and his eyes so blurry, he would've probably noticed the bear man in front of him shooting a message on his transmitter, slightly hidden behind his own suit jacket.
Instead his eyes only focused back on him when the guy crouched to be on his eye level, still a safe distance away.
"Well, I'm Woogie, s'nice to meet you!"
"Lukey." He tried to match the man's enthusiasm but all he got was a sharp pain to his cranium every time he opened his mouth to talk.
Woogie clapped his hands once. "Well, welcome to Lifesteal, Lukey!"
Lifesteal. The word echoed in his already ringing ears. He found himself staring at the horizon once more, trying to find anything he might understand about this unknown place. The explosion craters that littered the landscape, the same ones he had come to associate with Pangi. The obsidian scattered everywhere, the same obsidian Zam had used to block his exit, a barrier, defense and offense. Fuck.
When Lukey's eyes swam back unsteadily to where Woogie stood, he saw another figure behind him, blurry in the distance and crossing some bridge, but rapidly approaching. Lukey's heart sped up with the anxiety. Now that he knew where he was, he couldn't help that feeling of helplessness, the chill he got when danger lurked at every corner. The fear crawled up his spine like a leech, making his nausea worse.
Everything seemed to freeze for a second, when the person behind Woogie got close enough for the light to catch him properly, when Lukey's pupils finally focused on him. Pangi. He recognized immediately, not a doubt in his mind. Lukey instinctively felt a smile tugging at his lips.
Although, this Pangi looked much different. His hair was short, much shorter and messier than Pangi had ever had them for as long as they'd known each other. His face, despite bearing a few scars across his cheeks and jaw, looked visibly younger. From what Lukey could see at least, and despite the heavy frown the man adorned.
Pangi barely spared him a glance from behind his sunglasses, he turned to Woogie instead. "Free hearts?" His words were wrapped in a chuckle, amused and careless. These words had the effect of ice water being dumped on Lukey's head.
With a light punch to Pangi's arm, Woogie scoffed. "You're already on twenty, aren't you? Greedy motherfucker."
"You farm his hearts, then. I know you need them." Pangi unstrapped his sword from his back in one smooth motion and shoved it against Woogie's chest.
Woogie glanced where Lukey was still helpless on the ground from the corner of his eye, and he must have felt something not unlike what you'd feel from seeing a mouse stuck in a trap. He shook his head with a chuckle.
"Nah. I don't need it that badly. Let's be hospitable to our new guest." He pushed Pangi's sword away and back securely into his hands. "If i need hearts urgently I'll talk to Reddoons. He owes me."
Lukey felt sick. Being talked about, not like a human, but like a wounded deer... Having people discuss his life so lightly right in front of his eyes, it made something acidic rise in his throat. His hard shaky breathing must have been louder than he thought, because for the first time since he showed up, Pangi's eyes were on him. Really on him.
With the newly growing adrenaline, Lukey found the will and strength to stand up on shaky legs. Pangi tensed and tracked his every movement like a wolf, his hand hovering near his side, ready to reach for a weapon mindlessly at any second. Lukey knew the tells, he had seen Pangi restless and twitchy, bloodthirsty, he'd seen the paranoia and the instinctive reflexes of his hands reaching for his crossbow. Lukey knew, he assured himself he knew. He was terrified of this world and completely out of his depth, but if there was one thing he knew; it was Pangi.
They stared at each other for a long moment, holding eye contact at a distance, the way you'd calm a wild animal. Woogie broke the silence first. "Well, I have to go. Pangi, you can take care of him, right?"
The corner of the pangolin's mouth twitched. "Sure."
Lukey watched in a haze as the two men parted ways, saying their goodbyes. He made a mental note that they seemed really friendly, maybe even teammates, he assumed that was the word. As soon as Woogie walked away, Pangi's glare was fixed on him again.
"You look rough. Could use a regen pot, hm?"
Lukey wondered what Pangi saw in him, if he looked as half dead as he felt. He ran a hand through his messy hair and grimaced when it came back slick and warm with blood. He considered Pangi's offer for a moment. Lukey wasn't stupid enough to believe he could trust this version of Pangi, but on the other end, without a potion he'd probably faint eventually and succumb to his concussion.
"Yeah... If you have one, I'll take you up on that."
With a hum of acknowledgement, Pangi just started walking ahead, and fuck, Lukey realized, he had to follow him somewhere. He would have hoped for the man to have his potions on him. But now the same guy who had wanted to kill him and... Steal his heart, or whatever, was leading him somewhere.
"You gonna tell me your name? You've heard mine." Pangi asks, like the exchange of such information was vital to him.
"Lukey"
"Lukey, mh. Look around you. This is spawn, but a tour would be too dangerous for you."
He did look around, but his brain barely registered any of what he saw. Lukey was too disturbed by Pangi's attitude. He was too quiet, too cold and stoic. Frankly, it reminded Lukey a little too much of purple scales and a camping trip with someone who regarded him as a stranger. Except even that version of Pangi was sweet, softened in a different way. Warm even in their unfamiliar, tentative rapport.
"I built most of this, ya know?" He grinned, cocky. Lukey recognized that, at the very least. Pangi's hand found the railing of the bridge they were crossing. His fingers trailed across it with reverence of a creation. "Spawn basically belongs to me."
Lukey almost laughed, but held it in. If this was his Pangi, he'd check his ego, mock him, and push his buttons. But now, that kind of misstep could get him a sword to the stomach. He just hums instead.
A few steps ahead of him, Pangi stopped and turned to him once they had crossed the bridge. He stands on some kind of campsite, abandoned and messy.
"So, this used to be my house, but someone stole it." He spreads his arms like a dramatic shrugging gesture. Something like recognition sparks in the back of Lukey's drowsy mind. He'd heard of a story like that from Pangi, the Pangi with memory loss. He remembered some conflict, something about his enemies moving his house block for block. 'A few seasons ago', Lukey recalled him saying... So if he was right, that story was maybe a year or two in the past-?
"And so," Pangi's expression went from pleasant to deadly serious. He approached Lukey with a determination and a purpose in each step, and stopped inches away from him. The only reason Lukey didn't flinch or back away, frankly, is because he was all too used to Pangi's proximity, just as Pangi's threatening stances. "Once I show you my secret base, no going back."
Lukey exhaled, incredulous. "What do you mean?"
"I mean if you know where my base is..." Pangi's hands gravitated to Lukey's collar, not pulling but just holding it firmly, menacingly. Again, Lukey didn't move an inch, stayed perfectly still out of something like self indulgence. "I can't risk having you run your mouth, can't let you out of my sight. I've got too many enemies."
Lukey noted now that they're up close that this younger Pangi was slightly shorter than him, just by an inch or so. Lukey laughed nervously, unable to fully focus with the proximity and the back of his head still bleeding out. "So, you're gonna... What? Keep me prisoner in your base?" He giggles.
A darker look crossed Pangi's face, deathly serious. His grip on Lukey's collar tightened and he pulled a bit. "Maybe I will."
Before Lukey could respond or react, Pangi's hand moved to his shoulder and pulled him suddenly, almost causing Lukey to lose balance and fall. Instead, Pangi steadied him, held him with one hand as they both stood on a cobblestone platform. "What the hell-!" Lukey yelled before quickly losing his train of thought, as the platform started descending into the ground, slowly.
"Redstone door, really?" He asked, faking an unimpressed tone.
Pangi didn't answer him, just grunted at him and acted as if there was something fascinating about the dirt walls of the entrance, avoiding to look at Lukey.
"So much for a secret base, middle of Spawn? Y'know, the Pangi I know is-"
Pangi turned to him abruptly, frown deep and mouth agape, confused. "What?"
Lukey's brain completely froze for a second. As they reached the bottom of the elevator, the platform shook harshly and the throbbing pain in his skull came back full force. Fuck, had he really said that? Should he explain, even? Would this brash and violent version of Pangi even be open to hearing him out? His vision was spotty and dark, he could barely follow the train of his thoughts anymore.
"Ugh, nevermind... I'm gonna puke I think,"
Pangi rolled his eyes, annoyed, and pulled Lukey inside and out of the elevator-like entrance. And for a moment, looking around, Lukey thought he was dreaming or hallucinating. The place was huge, with a grand center hall and corridors running all four ways down the walls, with a beautiful tree in the center of it all. The hallways snaked in all directions like a labyrinth, and if the walls were white, Lukey would have thought he was back home, in their lab. The walls, however, were of wood, stone and that goddamn obsidian. The similarity of the place made his head swim.
Pangi pushed him with a hand on his back down one of the halls, to a cozy space with walls of chests and a simple sitting area, he again, manipulated Lukey into a chair like a doll. "Jesus, man, I can walk... Kind of. No need to throw me around."
Turning his back to Lukey, Pangi started rummaging through a chest full of potions. The impact of glass on glass, it's high pitched sound, made Lukey wince. "If you think I'm gonna let you freely walk around my base, you can think again." He spat the words out, bitterly laughed.
"Still, no need to treat me like a hostage."
Pangi turned with a potion in hand and without hesitation, in a swift movement, broke the glass bottle against the wall above Lukey's head, letting the refreshing healing liquid drop over the wounded man. Instantly, like cold water on a burn, Lukey could breathe again, feel the piercing pain of his skull turn to a dull throb. The gesture made him smile, the way Pangi splashed his potions, never drank them. Familiar affection washed over him.
"You are." The pangolin says, matter-of-factly.
Lukey shook his head lightly, coming out of the brain fog that plagued his focus. "Sorry?"
"A hostage."
Dread was distantly creeping into his guts, replacing the previous nausea. He laughed, incredulous at this man's audacity. "Huh? I'm not gonna stay trapped in your base, you freak."
The familiarity slipped into his words, and he thinks he's incapable of speaking to Pangi any other way. This Pangi, though, didn't laugh, didn't argue back playfully. He looked him down with a glare. Silence hung heavy for a moment.
"Oh, you can try to leave."
The challenge, the threat, the thrill that came from the promise of a chase, it makes Lukey's heart pound, it fills his every nerve with newfound energy, enhanced by the healing potion.
He stood abruptly, and Pangi didn't even move or flinch, he stayed perfectly still, calculating Lukey's next move, getting ready to pounce whenever the position was optimal. For someone who acted on impulse and emotion, his instincts were calculative and sharpened, just like that.
So Lukey ran. He dived off the corner of the storage room, and into the large hallway, letting the adrenaline carry him. The underground air burned in his lungs with its familiar humidity, and his running took him down corridor after corridor, senseless. Just when his legs started burning with the effort of his speed, is when he realized he had no clue how to find the exit. Had he really started running just to get chased? How stupid and dangerous of him-
Pangi's claws digging into his arm, pulling him back into his chest is what snapped Lukey back to reality. Before he could react and wriggle away, a sword, still in its scabbard, was sliding snugly against his throat. The threat wasn't deadly but it was present, it came with the feel of the sharp blade through the thin barrier of leather. It could just as easily serve to choke him out, Lukey thinks, lightheaded.
What was he truly playing with? This wasn't his Pangi, the man who vowed to protect him, who would kill for him... He couldn't predict how far this Pangi would go, careless to causing him harm.
"If you do manage to escape, you wouldn't even last an hour out there. Most people here would farm your hearts until you have nothing left..." He murmured, close to Lukey's ear. His breathing was heavy but controlled, perfectly timed warm puffs against Lukey's neck.
Unlike Lukey, who was still struggling to fill his lungs between each couple words. "You're one to talk... You wanted my hearts! Fuckin hypocrite...!" He was not truly mad. He thinks Pangi could likely hear the smile in his voice.
Pangi laughed, and Lukey hated how the sound made his chest contract with fondness. "Ah, but I have twenty, it'd be a waste..." Slowly, his hand snaked away from Lukey's arm and onto his chest, holding his palm open over the exact, accurate, place where his heart was beating wildly. Pangi's claws dug into his skin through the layers of cloth, almost teasingly. "Although, maybe I should take one, just for fun. Just to show you what they'd do to you, out there..."
Lukey knew he should be scared, should treat this like a serious threat on his life. But he was never really good at self-preservation, was he? Excitement bubbled in his chest, right under Pangi's palm.
"Fuck, man, take me to dinner first." His head rolled back on his own shoulder, trying to find Pangi's eye. But just like that, the sword was off his neck and Pangi had peeled himself away from his back, like a ripped bandage.
Lukey turned just in time to see the flash of pink on Pangi's cheeks and the man's messy hair after the chase. He felt way too satisfied about this, realizing it was his doing.
"Anyway. I'm keeping you safe here, aren't I? I don't wanna feed my enemies your extra hearts, I like having my high ground, thanks." Pangi's aggression had seemingly deflated in an instant. And although his hunger for Lukey's heart had felt very real, the tension in the air calmed to a bearable level.
"Oh yeah, you and your fucking power plays..." Lukey swallowed nervously at the slipup, continuing before Pangi could even respond. "You talk a lot about your enemies... Should I be worried?" He probed for information, trying to learn about the situation, see if he was right about the timeline.
"Nah... This place should be secure. Only my teammates know about it." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm at war with this group... They're no big threat as a whole, but they have Clownpierce, one of the strongest fighters here."
He said the name as a one off, like Lukey wouldn't know and didn't care to know. But of course he did. "And you're gonna fight that guy...?"
Despite the unbelieving tone he forced onto his words, Lukey knew Pangi was one overconfident motherfucker, he knew he was exactly the type to go into fights he could lose, be confident enough in his survivability to take the risk. He kind of admired Pangi for that, his lack of fear.
"Yeah. In a few days, or something. Me and my teammate are planning for that."
Lukey hums. He wonders if the teammate in question is Woogie. Or maybe Zam...? Would Zam even be around at this time, would him and Pangi be...?
Soon the conversation had died down, and they stood awkwardly in the middle of this hallway. Lukey was painfully aware that soon, very soon, he would either have to escape, or tell Pangi the truth. Where he was from and the way he ended up here. In his current predicament though, maybe it would be in his interest to get Pangi's help; after all he'd need a lot of materials if he wanted any hope to rebuild the device, to get back to his present. And Pangi, his Pangi, had helped so much with the creation of the device, even if he'd never admit it to his face.
Pangi fixed him a heavy stare. "I'm gonna go rest, now that you know not to escape. Soon I'll set you up with armor and necessities."
It made Lukey smile, reminded him of the pearls, the golden apples and the chorus fruit, the belts filled with strength potions. It reminded him of the care and the protection, even though this version of Pangi had no reason to give him any of that protection.
"Sounds like you care a whole lot about my safety, man." Lukey teased. He couldn't help himself.
Pangi turned, on his way to what was, Lukey assumed, his room. He stood there wordlessly for a long moment, and then, he would have sworn the man's eyes dropped to Lukey's chest, piercing a hole right through his heart. Hunger radiated off of him in waves.
"Maybe I've just called dibs."