Solar knew many things, but knowing why he was so attracted to this particular island was out of the question. It wasn't a question to begin with. He just felt like he belonged here, and it was the place he should be. It was like salmon returning to its home to nest.
Except he wasn't here to nest.
That's gross.
Oh, there's also the fact that he passed out the moment his feet hit the grassy terrain in front of the stall where he met Fang and the others, catching the only silhouette of an elder man before he blacked out.
He had never dreamed for years. It's not like he slept much. His body was genetically altered to be able to remain awake for approximately thirty days, one month in average.
It had been one month since he slept. It's annoying, because he never knows when he's going to pass out. He was like a device that just shuts down after the battery is depleted. Without warning, and he was out like a light.
But now it was his first dream in a long time. Solar drifted in an endless abyss, with no light in far sight.
Time was fluid in dreams. He lost all sense of time and emotion. He was part of the darkness, and the darkness was a part of him. It was one thing that will never, ever change.
He couldn't feel, but he was aware he was in a dream. He didn't know how. He just knew. A gut feeling. A wild guess. A bored assumption, but with no solid evidence.
Faint memories and voices replayed in his mind. They were distant and faded, because they were the only recollection he possessed that included both his parents and family. He couldn't recall their faces nor their voices. He only knew that they had once been a happy family, fated to be apart.
Look here, Boboiboy! Come on, don't rush yourself.
Say hello, Boboiboy! Meet your Tok Aba! He makes the best cocoa. Come on, try some.
Say hello to Magnetbot! Isn't he cute? Look, he likes you!
Wait.
Magnetbot?
A power sphere? What was that doing in his dreams? His mother had said that... hadn't she? Who did? He can't remember details, but he was dead sure about one of his parents owning Magnetbot.
Vargoba had owned Magnetbot.
Before him, it was his parents.
Vargoba had stolen the power sphere from them.
Vargoba was the one that set up the experiment that included him.
The faint memory of his dying mother's cries and him being whisked away into an unknown world came to mind. Someone did attack them, but not Vargoba. So who was it? one of his henchmen?
But why did his parents own a power sphere?
Why did he remember it now?
Before he could press the matters further, his body was suddenly swept into a swift current upwards and he shot up in reality, unable to keep his breathing regulations even.
At first glance, he couldn't comprehend his bearings. There was a roof over his head, and he was on a bed. The walls and roof were constructed of wood, with an accessory of the solar system – no pun intended, seriously – and posters of football teams and such.
Solar swallowed a bitter taste in his mouth. He had seen this place somewhere before. But where?
"Hey, take it easy."
He turned. A petite old man sat by his bed, warm eyes following his every movement to check for any pains or illnesses.
Solar coughed awkwardly. "Uh... where am I? Who... are you?"
The old man chuckled. "You're in my grandson's room. You can call me Tok Aba. You came out of nowhere and passed out. I didn't know what was wrong with you, so I took you here."
Solar only heard half of it. He was trying to wrap his head around the fact that someone cared for his wellbeing.
"Your... your grandson won't mind?"
Tok Aba smiled sadly and shook his head. "No. He's been missing for over a decade." His eyes fell on his attire. "But your clothes..."
It was then Solar realized that he was not Solar. His powers weren't active when he was unconscious. He was merely Boboiboy, a powerless runt who had been scarred for life at the young age of 4.
"Oh," Boboiboy stuttered. "My teammate Fang loaned me this. He said it was a gift from..."
The gears in his mind turned. He spent a good four seconds lost in thought, before recalling what this old man's name was.
Say hello, Boboiboy! Meet your Tok Aba! He makes the best cocoa. Come on, try some.
It's a gift from Tok Aba at Hari Raya Aldifitri. It used to be his grandson's. Fits you perfectly though.
You can call me Tok Aba.
This man is his grandfather? He was his grandson?
Boboiboy had mixed feelings regarding the sudden discovery. He had always saw himself as one without a family, destined to walk his paths alone. But now he had suddenly discovered that he had family that had yet to pass.
The priority was: should he reveal himself or no?
"Hm? A gift from who?" Tok Aba quizzed.
Boboiboy tugged at the orange colour. "... a gift from you. It was your grandson's, wasn't it?"
Tok Aba nodded. "Got it for him when he was still a toddler. He would fit it in one day, but that day will never come. Glad to see that you gave it some use, considering that Fang boy is still deep in his prideful emo-phase."
Boboiboy snorted. That pretty much summed Fang up in three words. No more, no less.
"Yeah. Pretty much..." A faint smile played itself on Boboiboy's face. It was hidden, disguised under awkward airs and confusion, but it was definitely there.
"Are you from space?" Tok Aba asked. "Are you an alien? Your hair is quite peculiar."
"No, I'm a human," Boboiboy clarified. "My hair's something I don't... want to talk about. I guess I'm from space – I've spent my life out there."
"So you don't have a home," Tok Aba guessed. "You can stay here for now, provided that you help me at the stall for a bit. There's no free lunch, eh? What'd you say?"
Boboiboy didn't see another option at the moment. It was a golden chance to see whether if his theories were not just assumptions.
He nodded. "Yeah, I will. Thanks."
* * *
"He quit?" Fang demanded. "Since when? Why hadn't he told us?"
The commander lowered his glasses. "Cadet Boboiboy had left voluntarily earlier today. His current location is unknown."
Newsflash: you people were the ones that forced him to. For the love of god and all that is holy, you wouldn't even let him go when he wanted to.
"Unknown?" Yaya repeated. "Where could he have gone? All the ships are still intact!"
"I do not know. But we do have traces of him." Ciciko dug in his drawer and fished a small glass vial the shape of a tear out.
Fang studied it. There was something abnormal occurring in there. Golden lights like fireflies floated in there, causing the vial to glow a faint gold.
"What's this?" Ying quizzed.
"It's the residue of a molecular reconstruction transportation through the fabric of time and space itself. It was located shortly after Boboiboy's departure," Ciciko explained. "It has enough energy to power Sunnova for three years."
Fang blinked. "How? What device did he use?"
"We have no readings. Judging by the power signatures is similar to Boboiboy's other elementals, we can only assume that he is the one that has the ability to teleport." Ciciko returned the glasses to their original placement on his face. "We must not let this incident delay our missions. You are to retrieve a power sphere located in..."
* * *
It's weird.
Weirder than anything he had worked with before.
Tok Aba taught him how to use earth machines, which he found intriguing. The coffee machines in space were fully automated. The ones in earth had to be dealt with several procedures before making a beverage.
"Since Ochobot's in space, you can help me by making the drinks," Tok Aba instructed him. "You know him, right? Are you two close?"
Boboiboy's hand froze over the array of porcelain cups.
"Uh," Boboiboy drawled over, "we don't talk... much?"
"He's a good robot. Maybe you two need some time." Tok Aba prepared the stall for business. "Friendship takes time, eh?"
He stared at the old man's back, silhouetted by the sunrise. For a moment, he could see his parents replacing his spot, faces still blank.
Boboiboy turned away. He can't keep this charade up. He needed to get himself a peace of mind before he drove himself insane—
"Wear this." Tok Aba opened one of the cupboards. He retrieved an orange-red cap and dusted it off. "Not much young people have white hair, unless they're old like me. You shouldn't attract that much attention."
Boboiboy held the cap in his hands. There were three white horns on top, with a gold lightning B at the end.
"This letter." He turned the cap towards Tok Aba. "Is... it your grandson's?"
Tok Aba ruffled his hair and nodded. "Yup."
"And you're just going to... let me borrow it?"
"No, keep it. You shouldn't walk around with hair like that. It gives people a wrong impression. Come on, it's time to work. Do you remember how to make a latte?"
Boboiboy nodded stiffly, fingers still tracing the hat's material. He had no idea how to put this on. Is this supposed to be designed like this? But as the sun came up, he fitted the B at the front, and tried to manoeuvre around the beverage machines.
Tok Aba watched the boy question himself on why earthlings needed so many machinery to make one single cocoa drink. No older than 14, but suffered more than anyone in his lifetime. He could tell through his years and years of experience.
Young people had always reminded him of his supposed-dead grandson, but somehow this young man gave him the air that this was him, in front of him.