Chapter Text
In all honesty, Lucy did not know why she had decided that standing there and watching him leave was a better alternative than chasing after him. Then forcing him to come with her. You could say that it was the combined power of shock and heartbreak that rendered her body useless, but for the whole five minutes it took for her previously-thought-dead boyfriend to completely clear the hill of his presence? Yeah, no. She more than knew better and had the time. She just… Didn’t.
However. If she considered herself to be good at much of anything, it was being stubborn and bullheaded. It didn’t take long for her to snap out of whatever weird trance she had found herself in, wipe away the remaining tears in her eyes, and turn to look at the house.
The house she had built as more than just a memorial for the person she lost. She was fast at building, one of the fastest in fact, but had taken her time, spending days and nights getting every single detail that she remembered right. It was grueling, and had her break down more times than she liked to admit… But now.
Now. As the Masterbuilder stared up at it, newfound determination filled her posture, furrowed her brows, it stood for something brighter. No longer was it for sorrow. It was a sign.
Lucy was going to get her Emmet back. It didn’t matter what he went by, what he had done. She’d forgive him anyway. She’d love him anyway. It was the least she could do after everything they had done and said to him. And by the looks of things… He wasn’t doing so hot mentally, either.
So she’d give this new Emmet, Rex, a chance. Hoping he’d give her another one.
In the end, it was a good thing she didn’t end up following him down the hill. Because she took off in the opposite direction with a new purpose in her step, towards what was once the Resistance HQ, now the palace. Watevera had suggested the idea to make it a symbol rather than leaving it behind, a symbol of their past and future, and even Wyldstyle admitted it was a sweet idea. The desert gave her and Batman room to grow and expand too, so it was almost perfect. She was meant to be on her way to another peace meeting (that typically ended up following with a 8-hour long party she hardly ever joined in on), but now the ex-rebel knew she was late and could care less.
Not when she had just learned both the most wonderful and heartbreaking news.
Her hoverbike wasn’t parked all too far, so Wyldstyle hopped on and took off after revving the engine a few times, just as a test. It was mixed with Apocalypseburg and Systarian pieces, both muddy and dark colors with lighter, bright accents, lights in between the empty spaces and wrapped around the hover-wheels. She was rather proud of the build, and it was fast enough to get to the front gates in under five minutes.
She leapt off the bike to run straight to the front gates, which unfortunately had already been closed, but she wasn’t about to let some dumb doors stop her now. She slammed the side of her fist hard against the wood until a watchman peaked his head out down to her. And in a distasteful manner, called, “Late again, Miss Wyldstyle?”
Lucy hardly had the patience for this; she only scowled up at the man. “I do not have time for this right now Bertrand, let me in or else.”
It was always like this with him; she’d be late to meetings on most occasions, and every time it was Bertrand who would reprimand her regardless of the time. Usually Lucy would let it go, pretend like it never even happened, but this was urgent. Important. So she knew that he knew what exactly she was capable of; she didn’t have to elaborate on what the threat entailed. She could tear down this wall if she so desired, but chose the more neutral path for the sake of neutrality.
She could still see the way Bertrand scowled down at her disapprovingly, but seemed to think better of commenting anything else and disappeared behind the wall. Not a moment after the doors began to open did Lucy waste any time. As soon as she could fit through she bolted right between them as fast as she could, through the large foyer to the other set of large double doors to the HQ castle (or the HQC, as Batman had begun to call it) that, thankfully, were still open.
The place was massive, as any palace would be, but by now Lucy knew almost every hallway, secret passage, even if it wasn’t even fully completed yet. About half of the castle was left to build, but she memorized the blueprints beforehand. Just in case. Now it was serving its purpose as she ran right for the large central meeting room and kicked the doors open to announce her presence with a flourish. The room itself was circular with windows lining every wall, floating platforms carrying speakers and system leaders alike, including the Queen herself, who along with everybody else turned her attention down to Lucy as she practically stomped up to one of the ground podiums, not a care in the world in her about the disapproving stares she was being given. Whatever it was they were discussing could wait. This was more than just important.
“Wyldstyle,” Wa’Nabi acknowledged her with an air of patient intrigue. “What is the meaning of this?”
“I have news. Important news.” Was the ex-rebel’s reply, about as stubborn and determined as ever as she looked around the room, to make sure that every person there was paying attention. “Life-changing news, even.”
A few voices began murmuring, some tinged with fear. One called out hesitantly, “Is it world-ending news?”
Lucy smirked, despite herself. It was a valid fear; after being at war for five whole years, and almost on the brink of Armamageddon of all things, she did not blame them. Some even thought that Armamageddon was still bound to happen. She shook her head. “No, it’s not world-ending. But it somehow feels worse.”
Here was where Batman and Unikitty had decided to arrive themselves, the vigilante entering with a simple dramatic flare of his cape, the cat next to him quietly calling out a cheerful, “Hiii!!” To the entire room. He eyed Lucy on the podium as he made way to another, pressing the button to float upwards right beside his newly wedded wife, Unikitty flying towards where Benny was sitting with General Mayhem. All quiet and tense as they waited for whatever news the Masterbuilder on the ground had to say.
She waited for just another brief moment, locking eyes with Batman, before saying with all the sincerity in the world, “Emmet. Is alive.”
Immediately the tension in the air released into various voices groaning with annoyance, or sighs of relief that had Lucy turning her head in confusion, as if unexpecting their reactions. Watevera’s own shoulders untensed and her brows furrowed, while beside her Batman stiffened.
“Wyldstyle,” The Queen acknowledged again, a note of sympathy in her voice. “We’ve been over this countless of times. There’s no way–”
“No, no just–listen to me, alright? Just listen.” Lucy found herself almost begging, desperate even, and she took a breath to calm down. Getting hysterical and emotional was not the way to handle this. “I know. I know that I have claimed this a bunch of times in the past, and a lot of that came from my grief, but this time I swear I’m not being crazy, or delusional, or otherwise. Because I saw him. He was standing right in front of me, talking to me. He was actually. There.”
“We checked the Systems about a hundred times over.” Came a random Systarian with a roll of their eyes. “If he were alive, it’s very likely we would have known by now.”
Something with that sentence didn’t sit right with her. Had her blood shoot with anger. She glared right up at the alien. “And what’s that supposed to mean, exactly??”
From her left, of course, came the duo of Dumbledore and Gandalf, which already had her scowling. They always brought trouble with them when it came to the topic of Emmet. “I think you may already know what they mean.” Said Dumbledore, chin lifting as he addressed the rest of the room with a simple turn of the wrist with his wand. “Anyone else find it coincidental that the threat of Armamageddon disappeared along with Emmet?”
Next to him, Gandalf nodded sagely. “Yes, almost as if he would have been the cause.”
Incredulously, the room echoed with murmurs of agreement. Actions that had Lucy gripping her stand and gritting her teeth. How dare they talk about him like that, after everything Emmet did for them?
Then again, she wasn’t entirely sure why she was so surprised.
What was was the fact that it was not her who spoke up, even as she began to open her lips to scold the two old wizards; instead, Watevra formed a hand and slammed it against her own podium, causing everyone to jump and turn to see the look of anger on her face. A rare emotion to see on someone usually so kind and helpful. It rendered the whole room quiet with shock, as if they had forgotten she was with them.
“Look here.” She scolded, barely keeping that tint of irritation out of her voice as she sent her glare to every part of the room, lingering last on Gandalf and Dumbledore who both looked taken aback. “I know that some of you have your, opinions, about my Creator, some strong ones, in fact. Not a day goes by where I hear at least someone say something strong about him. But you all also must have forgotten something: Emmet is the reason why I even exist in the first place.”
Wyldstyle felt a surge of grateful pride at the way that last sentence hung in the air, watching as a few people even began to wince or look guilty. It was good to know that she wasn’t the only one that cared for Emmet so strongly, and Watevra hadn’t even met him.
And she wasn’t even done.
“You can say whatever you want about him behind my or Wyldstyle’s backs, but I will not tolerate blatant disrespect of his name, in my presence. Emmet was the one who started all this, and you will do well to remember that. In fact, outright accuse him for something like causing Armamageddon again, and I will personally make sure neither of you or anyone else who says such things are allowed in any kind of parties for at least a week. Am I clear??” The Queen finished with a crossing of arms and definitive glare, as if daring the two wizards to so much as try to argue with her.
Thankfully, both had at least some sense to look ashamed and back down with murmured apologies, going right back into their previous spots in the air. Lucy had to fight the grin that threatened to cross her face. There was still another issue to deal with. One she already saw coming as Wa’Nabi turned back to her, gaze softening into something apologetic and sad.
“Now, Wyldstyle. I understand where you’re coming from, I really do. There’s nothing I want more than to be able to give my Creator the biggest hug he could have ever imagined getting.” To emphasize, she formed two arms to squeeze herself with a true, warm grin. The display lasted for only a few seconds, however, as she returned to her original form, all evidence of joy vanished as solemnity took its place. “But… I can’t. And you know that I did everything that I possibly could to help find him. To bring him back home. I almost sacrificed everything.” The Systarian Queen shook her head with a sigh that sounded much too tired. “But I can’t do all that again. I can’t keep wishing for something that can’t happen. We have to move on, and… And it’s time that you do, too.”
If it was any other person, any other time, Lucy would have taken offence to that. She would have yelled, threatened, stomped off to “prove” she was right. But not only did she know that Watevra’s pain was real and deep, but she wasn’t about to back down from this. Not this time. The image of Rex’s scraggly new features was almost plastered into her mind, and the Masterbuilder wanted nothing more than to have her see. See that he was there, that she could hug him like she wanted. It was why Lucy furrowed her brows even further with nothing but determination, prepared to argue herself, when:
“I believe you.”
Every single head, including her own and Watevra’s, turned to where the voice spoke. To where Batman was standing, jaw hard and his own brows furrowed but with something else. Lucy’s heart jumped into her throat as she realized he was not at all joking or trying to simply placate her. She could hardly believe it; the relief she felt almost made her want to faint. She gripped the sides of her stand until her knuckles went white to keep herself calm and steady.
“You do…?” She breathed, incredulous.
“Yeah.” The vigilante responded gruffly. “On the way over to this meeting Unikitty and I ran into this strange dude. He stared at the window of a laundromat for like, fifteen or so minutes before I knocked him out of it. At first, I didn’t think anything about it, but then… He spoke.” Those shining white eyes hardened. “I can’t believe I didn’t connect the dots until now.”
It felt as if the very room was now holding its breath. Watevra was staring down at her husband, for the first time in regards to this conversation in utter disbelief.
Lucy herself could hardly believe this was even happening. She couldn’t even tell by Rex’s voice, he had to basically spell it out for her. And when he did, it all somehow made sense even though it didn’t.
She had to get a hold of herself. Just to double check, though…
“What was he wearing?” The ex-rebel found her voice much steadier than she expected. “What’d he look like?”
“Blue and green vest with no sleeves. In fact, he might’a ripped ‘em off himself.” Batman instantly supplied. “Mad muscles, stubble and much longer and darker hair than I thought he’d ever dare to get in all honesty.”
Perfect description. Exactly to the tee. They had managed to spot him.
But of course, someone in the audience exclaimed, “That does not sound like the Emmet we know at all.”
Lucy all but rolled her eyes; they didn’t have time for this. “Yeah well, because he isn’t the Emmet we knew, not anymore.” At that Batman raised a brow, to which she added, “He goes by Rex, now. Rex Dangervest.”
Again the room dissolved into murmurs, though the Dark Knight gave a sort of solemn scoff. “‘Dangervest’. He would rename himself somethin’ like that, wouldn’t he?”
She was only able to smile back at him as a response, because the look on Watevra’s face caught Wyldstyle’s attention. And it might as well have broken her heart.
Because she looked so grief-stricken, almost guilty, but as if she wanted nothing more than to believe. To believe that somehow, after all this time, her Creator was still alive. She looked from Lucy, to Batman, to Lucy again, as if searching either for any sort of dishonesty.
“Is… Is it true…?” Her eyes were full of nothing but fearful openness, wanting to trust without heartbreak. “Is he… My Creator, really alive…?”
Lucy took that offered trust and filled it with complete confidence, lifting her chin with every bit of sincere determination she had. “He is. And we have to find him, before it’s too late.”
This call to action seemed to be the thing that had Wa’Nabi believe them. What reason would Emmet’s love or her own husband have in lying about all this?? With a newfound strength of her own, the Systarian Queen furrowed her own brows, nodded, and straightened her own figure high. A pillar that radiated business.
“Then, we will pause this meeting, as more urgent matters have come to light. There are always other times to talk about the fun-meter of every system. Now, we must band together and find Emmet–or Rex now, I suppose, with his new look in mind. It doesn’t matter how different he acts or looks, he is still my Creator on the inside, and I will not allow him to go another day or night without a warm bed to sleep in, food to eat, surrounded by people who love and care for him. General Mayhem!”
The room had already dispersed into frantic sounds of shouts and chaos as they all attempted to leave to find their long-lost missing Special. The aformentioned General came flying from the higher seats with Unikitty and Benny in tow, stopping right in front of the Queen and saluting.
“Yes your Majesty!”
“Gather any and all of the guards or otherwise that you can find, have them scour the city, and beyond if you must. I will go with my husband and his group of friends to join in on the search, and broadcast an alert throughout the Systems. We must find my Creator.”
“Of course, right away!” The Systarian bowed low, popped on her helmet, and flew right through an opened window.
Once that was all said and done, Watevra turned to Lucy, a guilty look on her face, but before she even opened her mouth the Masterbuilder lifted a hand to stop her.
“I know what you’re going to say, you don’t need to apologise. Trust me, I wouldn’t believe me either if he hadn’t stepped through the house.” She smiled, true and grateful. “I’m just glad I won’t have to look for him by myself now.”
Here was where Benny interjected with a note of nervous skepticism, tapping his knuckles together. “But, what if we can’t find him? Or what if he doesn’t wanna be found?”
It was a question Wyldstyle was more than prepared for. Just as the Queen and her husband descended to the floor she turned herself around, a new urgency to her step as she led them all out the door. “Oh we’ll find him, and he’s got some questions to answer. Whether he likes it or not, we’ll find him.”
Rex groaned, finally uncurling from the ball he had been in for the past hour or so now (it was hard to tell with these sort of things) to fall to the ground, exhausted. That had to have been one of his worst panic attacks yet; his heart was still pounding just a bit too fast and his fingers were still shaking slightly. There were fresh nail marks biting into the undersides of his upper arms, thanks to gripping them so hard.
He should have been out of there by now. He should have gotten up, regardless of his weak knees, found the nearest bus stop or spaceship or otherwise, and left Apocalypseburg far behind. But no, instead, he just had to get stuck in his brain again, reliving his past, all that good stuff. At the very least, nothing big was happening, or he was at least safe from being found. Even if it was in some dirty alleyway behind trash cans and garbage bins; he’d prefer this than interacting with anyone else for the rest of his life.
Letting out a breath of air, Dangervest let his eyes drift up towards the sky, which had significantly darkened since he found the spot. Which, he guessed was even better. Sure, it was starting to get chilly and he didn’t really have any kind of thing to keep him warm, but it gave him time to formulate a plan, slip away into the dark if need be. Come sunrise he wouldn’t have to worry about anything or anyone for a good, long while.
Too bad that’s not how things actually work out for him.
Rex let out a sudden shout of fear and sat up straight as something loud blasted throughout the streets, his head whipping around in utter confusion at the noise. What the heck was happening??
“ATTENTION!! EMERGENCY!! QUEEN WATEVRA WA’NABI HAS SENT OUT AN IMMEDIATE ORDER TO LOCATE THE SPECIAL KNOWN AS EMMET BRICKOWSKI, OR AS HE NOW GOES BY, REX DANGERVEST, AND BRING HIM HOME!! I REPEAT!! THE QUEEN HAS ORDERED THE IMMEDIATE SEARCH AND RESCUE OF EMMET BRICKOWSKI, OR REX DANGERVEST, SO HE CAN BE RETURNED WHERE HE BELONGS!”
The message was repeated over and over again, echoing throughout the streets, people coming out of homes and stores and immediately leaping to action all throughout Syspocalypstar as Rex, who’s face had fallen at the sound of his name, slowly walked just barely out of where he was hiding, gaze fixated in the distance.
Because there, on a building with an electric ad sign, was a drawn version of him. Thick eyebrows, stubble over his chin, messy hair, blue vest. It was rather crude, but it sat next to an actual image of who he used to be, a smiling Emmet Brickowski, and the message was clear.
“... Shit.” Rex deadpanned, the sounds of chaos ensuing all around him.
He was in deep trouble.