Homecoming | sequel of "Home" [✔️]

Chapter 26

Do you know how it feels to walk through the corridors of your childhood home, catching the familiar scent of soup that your mother used to make? Then just when you're settling down, smiling as you begin to remember the taste of home, the new owner comes up to you and touches your shoulder, reminding you that you no longer stay here?

That was how Ali felt, only to an entire world.

Everything remained the same, save for few shops and some new faces, and perhaps the androids wandering around the streets, helping various humans out with either simple or complicated tasks. No matter where Ali looked, he saw the wear and tear of time; the new shop he'd seen before had a broken sign, the customers at the stand chatting away with the owner like they were regulars for years. The fountain had a fresh coat of paint, a wondrous silvery sheen, in contrast to the worn-down rust he'd remembered. It spewed water smoothly, painting ribbons in the air.

This used to be his home, but now it was just a place he used to know. A childhood memory, a plaything that was given to another child, who happily played away until it broke. He once belonged here, breathed the air and walked upon the concrete, but his feet were stained with foreign soil, his lungs breathed the atmosphere elsewhere, far away from home.

Ali sighed from his nose, the air smelling of chlorine fountain vapor. His legs dangled from his bench, his back slouching as his eyes were set upon the crowds of people: parents holding their child's hands, smiling at them as if they were their little rays of sunshine. He saw fathers give their daughters piggybacks, and mothers bring their sons lollipops they'd bought from the nearest shops.

Watching all of this, he couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. He bit his lower lip, only now realizing the lack of a parental figure in his life, and his desperate search for one and unhealthy reliance on others. It continued to orientate between different, unsuspecting people: Rizwan, Zain, then Nikki, to which all of them were either dead, or had betrayed him in more ways than one.

When he met Fang, he wasn't just a friend. He was protective and caring and interested in his life, even if they were complete strangers at first. Fang's appearance was more than a companion. Ali saw him as a beacon, following him through thick and thin, even if his judgement seemed insanely mental. Fang was more family than anyone else Ali knew, even overshadowing Bakar's place in his heart.

Then, MATA reappeared, and they tore it all down, like they always do. And this time, they took Boboiboy with them. If Ali hadn't known any better, he would be surprised and wounded by the jab.

Boboiboy's betrayal was undoubtedly, the most unexpected betrayal that Ali's ever experienced. Sadly, he was far too hurt and wounded to even be offended by the experience, rather choosing to humor himself with his sickening, gullible trust.

Some part of him, however, thanked that it wasn't Fang that turned traitor. He would sacrifice everything else, just for Fang to be by his side, safe and sound, happy and maybe some outbursts caused by paperwork-induced stress.

But perhaps Fang was at a loss, too.

Fang never stopped turning to Boboiboy, asking for his advice, his say, even after Ali arrived, and even when he became an immortal just like them. It was like Boboiboy was the always center of attraction, and Fang was just the sidepiece. Despite being lower ranked than Fang, Boboiboy had more than once proved that he was one of the most powerful beings in 74 different galaxies, and counting.

But when Fang was with Ali, he never stopped doting over him. He checked on Ali's progress frequently, and sometimes an embarrassing amount. But it was proof he truly cared, even with the most insignificant of things, like when Ali taught the new recruits simple games (100% against protocol and the rules, but who cares, he's practically adopted by Fang), Fang watched in silence, smiling when Ali got along with the newbies.