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[shadow-trick]

【Rexmet】The Forgotten Sunset（pt.1-3）

English ver. is translate by deepL！love it！

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

*1 Gambling

　　"Why can't you just get it?!" Rex's almost hysterical voice fell with his fist. Tangled up with Emmet, he clearly had the upper hand, but his voice contained a hint of an almost imperceptible tremor, but that tremor was completely overshadowed by the moves he was making like a blizzard. "You mean nothing to them! They don't care about you at all! You won't be able to wait for your so-called best friends to save you even if you stay here for a hundred years!"

　　Honestly, it was more than he had expected, Rex had wanted to simply take away his past self so that Emmet wouldn't be harmed by the people he recognized as his "friends". But there's no denying that when Emmet asked him to save his "friends" from becoming the brothers he never had in the past, Rex was overwhelmed by Emmet's offer - and everything that followed was both intentional and the result of going along for the ride. After all, Armamageddon was already doomed, and he was just helping fate. Using fate to keep Emmet away from those heartless plastic friends was a perfect plan any way you look at it.

　　However, he didn't realize that Emmet, who had never experienced the pain she had suffered, didn't believe him at all, but still chose to believe in those "friends" and was determined to save them.

　　"Because I knew she would come! As soon as they get out of there!" Emmet shouted hoarsely. "Lucy will come - she'll come for me!"

　　That was it. No matter what Rex said about the pathetic ending he'd gotten, no matter how much Rex emphasized that no one would come to this drying galaxy to save him if he waited any longer, Emmet still believed it, stubborn and obstinate to the point of Rex's despair. But somewhere in his heart, Rex knew that this was proof that they were the same person. Rex could remember a time when he'd believed the same thing as Emmet, and how determined he'd been to- - It seemed so foolish now. -It seemed foolish and ridiculous now. But that kind of conviction really wasn't something he could turn around with a few words.

　　Only by seeing it with his own eyes would Emmet realize that what he was saying was the truth. Only by shattering his naïve and childish beliefs would he be able to rebuild a hardened mind that wouldn't be hurt by it all again.

　　"Fine." gritted Rex. "Emmet, do you dare make a bet with me?"

　　"You need to recognize the truth. You can't leave because I will never let you go. To put it simply, you've been kidnapped, brother. But I'll give you a chance - since you're convinced 'your friend Lucy' is going to be here," Rex said in his most conspiratorial tone as he spoke of what he once considered to be his best friend. "So, we'll wait here now until you're satisfied. If she comes, you win, and I'll let you go without ever stopping you. If she doesn't come ……"

　　"Fine!" Emmet replied before Rex could finish. An almost lopsided battle ended there, Emmet was now in a sorry state but glared at Rex unconvincingly, "Just you wait and see - Lucy she'll come, she'll bring all her friends to save me! I believe in them!"

　　He was answered with a sneer from Rex. "You'll see."

*:: 2 Cold War time

　　Of course Lucy and the others won't come. At the moment, they've already encountered "Armamageddon" and have been sealed in a storage box.

　　Lucy and the others will not be able to escape until they receive Mother's permission for their release. Of course, for Emmet, it may be a bit difficult to understand all this - after all, even when he first "saved the world" and went to the real world, he did not understand what the "real world" is. After all, even when he first "saved the world" and went to the real world, he didn't understand what the "real world" was, and he didn't even understand how he got the ability to be a Master Builder.

　　He did his best to get the boy to notice him and drop him back into the LEGO world, but he still doesn't understand what kind of gift "coming to the real world" is, and he's already seen the truth of the world. Only he, who has become a Rex, knows how long ago he had the chance to break out of the box. Only Rex, who had spent countless days and nights under the Drying Galaxy and understood the laws of the real world, could grasp this opportunity and use it to create the future he wanted.

　　Emmet, who doesn't understand all this, is sitting at the border of the Drying Galaxy, looking forward to the arrival of his friends.

　　But no matter how long he waits, there will only be one ending. After learning about the real world, Rex realizes what the key to all this really is. Since the beginning of all his tragedies came from the conflict between those two siblings, it didn't make sense to just let them make up so easily, right?

　　So, [Rex destroyed Watevra Wa'Nabi himself while working with Emmet to stop the wedding] - and it was complete, unrecoverable destruction.

　　His Master Destruction Fist was enough to turn her into the same parts she was before he created her in the first place, mixed in with the debris of the temple ruins so that she could never be put back together and restored. His creation became his disaster, and ultimately destroyed at his hands, just as the one who freed the devil with his own hands sealed it back into the bottle again.

　　Of course, Rex understands that Armageddon will not last until the end of the world, that Lucy, and the others, will be released, and that a mother cannot stop her children from playing with their toys forever. But if only for a little while, Rex is confident that he can win his bet with Emmet before then, and take him far away with him. From then on, imagination became reality, the sky and the sea were wide enough for them to travel, they could travel through the vast universe, they could travel through time and space, and they could go wherever they wanted to go.

　　Rex hadn't realized yet that he had underestimated Emmet's faith and patience.

　　After the bet was made, they set up camp at the edge of the Drying Galaxy where the bottom planets meet cosmic space, and Emmet and Rex battled it out, with Emmet looking in the direction they came from, and Rex keeping an eye on Emmet to keep him from escaping-which Emmet had already tried to do, in fact. Only Rex didn't let him succeed, while packing up his tent and supplies for the night.

　　He was ready to stay here for days on end. He was confident that within a few days, he would be able to make Emmet realize the truth and give up his obsession with his so-called friend and leave from here with him.Rex had even made a plan on which world they should jump to and what kind of adventure they should embark on once they left from this world. He already had a few alternate destinations in mind, just waiting for Emmet's nod so they could set sail.

　　"Really don't want to stay in this place though." Every second here made Rex feel uncomfortable. Unlike Emmet, who had literally been trapped here for countless hours, he had been crushed here, and even though he had been reborn as "Rex", this place still caused him immense hatred and pain. But every time he saw Emmet's back, sitting on the edge of the drying galaxy between the bottom of the galaxy and the universe, Rex gritted his teeth and endured. He remembered why he was here, what he wanted to achieve, and with his ultimate goal just this much time away from him, there was no way he was going to give up, no matter what. It was equally impossible for him to leave Emmet alone beyond the Drying Galaxy, because he remembered how painful it was to be alone in this place, so it was impossible for him to leave Emmet alone here.

　　Time passed, and Rex set up his tent, packed up his other things, and paced back and forth under the Drying Galaxy a few more times, but couldn't find anything else to do or divide his attention elsewhere. That pervasive feeling of emptiness and torment seeped into him from memory the longer he stayed here, and Rex couldn't stand it any longer, so he just went to the edge as well, put some distance between him and Emmet, sat down and started to wait. "They can't be out that fast." After some time, Rex finally couldn't resist taking the initiative to break the cold war stalemate. "You're just wasting time waiting here."

　　"Knowing that they will come, so my waiting is also full of hope." Emmet was still laughing at the moment. "Rex, they'll come for me, they must be thinking the same thing I am, just like I'm trying to save them now. You're finding it hard to wait too, so please, can you let me go so I can go save them?"

　　"Don't you even think about it, no way." Rex refused coldly. "Don't you dare cry when you can't wait for them."

　　"That won't happen." Emmet was equally adamant, as if he'd already seen Lucy flooding into this place with everyone from the borders of the Drying Galaxy, taking his hand and laughing as she led him away.

　　"Whatever." Talking about the subject only made him angrier and angrier, and Rex closed his eyes, dismissing the idea of continuing to talk Emmet down today. However, he didn't expect to see a marvelous sight beyond his imagination when he opened his eyes again.

　　The first thing that came into his eyes was a reddish, almost violet light, bright with a slight hint of obscurity and softness that belonged to twilight. The endless sky and the evening sun from far and near, are dyed by that light into different shades of cee color, forming a gradient color sky from bright red to pinkish purple, and then to blue purple.

　　"Is this …… sunset?" Rex rubbed his eyes and looked ahead again to confirm what he was seeing. As it turned out, the landscape in front of them was no longer everything they had seen from the ground-level perspective of the real world, but had become a magnificent, magnificent sunset.

　　Their world was made up of a combination of "reality" and "imagination", as long as there was a certain background of reality, coupled with a strong enough heart and imagination, it would be enough to create such a landscape. Emmet did not seem to notice that something was wrong, but was just facing the bloodstained sun, waiting quietly as if she wanted to see through it.

　　It was the time when the sun was setting, and some of the sunset glow fell into this room from the window, and Emmet let it grow into this sunset landscape in his imagination. The rays of the setting sun fell into this gap from the other side of the sky, and the ruddy glow, like a flame, carried a faint warmth as it fell, but somehow carried a faint sense of loneliness.

　　"Huh?" came a sudden questioning snort from Emmet. Right beside him, Rex suddenly came over and sat down without a word. "What are you doing?"

　　"Don't you think the view is extraordinarily good from this angle?" Rex said casually.Emmet had grown up a bit after this period of time, and could see that Rex's words were merely pulled to perfume him, but he was still in a state of semi-cold war, and did not continue to make conversation after all, but just looked away in the direction of what was once Castle Doom, and was now a wasteland. I don't know if it was Rex's illusion, but as twilight drenched the sky, the light of anticipation in Emmet's eyes seemed to fade a little. Is the light fading because night is coming, Rex thought uncertainly.

　　As night fell, Rex built a campfire and roasted some sausages, corn, and marshmallows, half coercing and half cajoling Emmet, who had tried to refuse even the food he had brought.

　　"I don't want to see you starve to death first before the outcome of the bet is known." With that said, Rex forcefully passed the sizzling sausage towards Emmet's mouth, who in the end ate the food Rex gave him. Seeing this scene Rex's mouth corners of that classic villain general impish smile are a little softer.

　　At night, under the Drying Galaxy even the stars in the sky could not be seen, the night seemed particularly eerie.Rex pointed to the tent: "Are you really not going to go to bed?"

　　"No, I'm going to wait here." The firelight reflected Emmet's back, while most of his body was dried in the shadows, as if he had been surrounded by dust, burying even himself in it.

　　"Aw……!" Emmet suddenly felt something soft hit him. He rubbed his head and picked up what had just hit him to see that it was a blanket.

　　"The night temperatures will freeze you to ice." Rex had another blanket wrapped around him and sat directly next to him. "What, you think I'm going to give you a chance to escape?"

　　Looking at Rex, who seemed to have completely taken over the role of 'kidnapper', Emmet felt a hint of amusement despite his resentment, and couldn't help but raise the corners of his lips. He wrapped the blanket around him, and within moments the warmth returned to his already chilled body, causing him to let out a long breath.

　　"Thank you, Rex," Emmet spoke suddenly. "Uh……," Rex rolled his eyes a little incredulously in Emmet's direction and flickered off again in the opposite direction with desire, and then he suddenly glared back hard as if in reaction, clenching his teeth with a note of hatred: "Don't thank me, you're my prisoner now, I'm just doing what needs to be done! Like you, you're bound to have Stockholm Syndrome!"

　　Emmet ducked his body in the opposite direction at the sudden aggression of Rex, who, seeing that the intimidation was working, sat upright again under the blanket with his arms folded and looked away. After a few moments, Rex suddenly hears a low-pitched question, "Why are you doing this?"

　　Rex was startled. He turned his head, and from the light of the fire reflected behind himself, he saw Emmet looking at him.Emmet looked uncomprehending, and a little sad, "Actually, I still don't understand why you're doing this to me, and everyone else?"

　　"Since we met, Rex, you've always been good to me, and I've really had fun when we've had adventures together - I know I've never been mature enough, or tough enough, and I've always let my friends down. But you've never made me feel lost, never made me feel like I can't do anything right."

　　"But why did you have to trigger Armageddon? You know it would obviously make me, and everyone else, very sad. But then you take care of me when I'm feeling like you're a bad person - even though that's not what you're saying, what you're doing is being as nice to me as you were in the beginning."

　　"I …… don't understand. I'm confused, Rex," Emmet's gaze was clear and helpless, like a meek lamb lost in the wilderness. "All I know is that you are me, too. But if you are me, why are you doing this to me?"

　　"Why be nice to me and then push me away? Why hurt my important friends? Why do you want to comfort me and take me away after destroying the world and doing things that hurt my friends and broke me too?"

　　"I ……" Rex opened his mouth, suddenly speechless. How was he supposed to go about explaining this? Was it to say that he'd actually been trying to be nice to Emmet, trying to save his past self, so he'd done things that included hurting Emmet's friends and ejecting Emmet into this shithole of a hellhole and forcibly detaining him here? Or did it start with the abandonment, betrayal, and forgetfulness that he had actually told Emmet about, so he took the liberty of making choices for Emmet's sake? That he saw through the reality of the world, that all of them are just toys of the so-called "gods", that destruction and reconstruction are only at their whim, and that the world they live in is just a "matrix" that exists in the gap between the real world and the imaginary world, and that he wanted Emmet to be a part of it? "So he wants Emmet to be truly free?

Time travel is complicated beyond belief, and the world they live in is doubly so, and Rex has no compunction about destroying Watevra Wa'Nabi, triggering Armamageddon, and reducing everyone to the level of a storage box precisely because he knows it's all just a bunch of plastic toys. Those people have no real hearts. Those people had no real hearts, but in the hands of another, they would be brainwashed into doing things that were so out of character that in the hands of that little girl monster, superheroes and supervillains could even call themselves brothers and sisters! Because he knew this, he didn't hate those who had been his friends much, but rather became to not care at all. Perhaps one other person he cares about more or less is Lucy, but his feelings for her are completely different than they used to be, and are only left with a grudge because of her withholding, betrayal, and abandonment as a result. If he had to say that making that world what it is now is "revenge", he would agree, after all, in that world he got nothing but deception, ridicule and disregard. Except for Emmet, there is no one he cares about in this world, and Rex only came to this time and space for Emmet, who is his only obsession, his hope and future, and the meaning of his life.

　　But all this he has no way to explain to Emmet, explained Emmet most likely will not understand, just as he passionate speech his rebirth road, the result of Emmet only understand the first sentence.

　　So he had no answer for all this. At Emmet's gaze, Rex could only furrow his brows and say viciously, "Because I did it because I wanted to, is there a problem?"

　　Emmet withdrew his gaze in defeat.Rex turned away with a betrayed look, but the question Emmet had asked lingered in his mind for a long time.

　　And was he really doing the right thing?Before Rex's eyes, once again, Emmet's sad look appeared. This is like a pot of cold water, poured on Rex's heart. At this moment, his heart felt as if he couldn't step on the ground and couldn't make any strength, but he didn't understand - he and Emmet were obviously the same person, obviously, he realized his own wish was to realize Emmet's wish. Originally Rex was so unwavering in his belief, he believed that when Emmet saw himself abandoned and forgotten by Lucy as well as the others Emmet would understand and support him …… But suddenly he didn't seem so sure anymore. Though Rex himself didn't understand it, a fear and panic spread gradually upward from his stomach like a blanket couldn't keep out the chill of this night, as if it were trying to freeze his heart a little.

　　"Hoo ……" Just then, Rex suddenly heard a small snoring sound. It turned out that Emmet had fallen asleep at some point during the wait. He fell asleep, body a crooked, will fall to the side.Rex hurriedly reached out a pull, finally did not let Emmet directly head to the ground. As a result, Emmet's body swayed in his sleep, and he leaned directly onto Rex's shoulder, not only that, but the blanket he was draped on also slowly slid down and fell to the side.

　　"Ugh." Rex sighed. Looking at Emmet, who was asleep at the moment, he really didn't want to toss and turn too much. He could carry Emmet into the tent to rest, but they were still in the middle of a semi-cold war, if he woke him up, it would be too embarrassing.Rex wanted to pull the blanket up for Emmet and let him fall asleep like this, but unfortunately Emmet's blanket had already slipped out of Rex's reach, and if he tried to hold onto it, he would probably wake Emmet up. In the end, he was worried that Emmet would get sick from the cold if he fell asleep like this, so in the end, Rex could only pull his own blanket to wrap around both of their bodies, and kept the position of Emmet leaning against him as he continued to keep watch.

　　After Emmet fell asleep, there was no other sound around them. All was silent, the only sound left in the long dark night was the occasional crackle of a campfire burning.For a moment Rex felt as if he had been transported back to the time when the ship had crashed and he had been thrown here. Though that event had happened a long time ago for him, it was easy to get swept back into that vortex of gray memories whenever he dreamed, or was left alone. This time though, even after staying in this nightmarish place, Rex didn't have that sad, almost breathless feeling. The cold winds that once traveled through the bottom of the Drying Galaxy seemed to have all but disappeared …… or rather at this moment he could no longer feel them, and at this moment Rex could only feel the warmth coming from the person leaning against him beside him.Rex turned his head slightly sideways and realized that at this moment Emmet's sleeping face was very serene, like a bird's nest in a tree on a stormy night, curled up on the warm belly feathers of the mother bird. Like a nestling curled up under the warm belly feathers of a mother bird on a stormy night in a tree.

　　Suddenly, Rex's heart softened. He would let Emmet have everything he had ever wanted, everything he had ever wished for, but had never been granted, and now he would fulfill all of Emmet's wishes. Only if Emmet had everything he once didn't have could he soothe his soul.

　　Being leaned against by Emmet was like having a warm baby snuggled up next to him, dispelling the chill that hovered in the back of his mind. Just feeling Emmet's presence already made Rex feel like he had been rescued from the place he had once been trapped in.

　　At some point, Rex fell asleep without realizing it, surrounded by this warmth.

*3 Sage's Farewell

　　It was Emmet who was the first to awaken early the next morning.

　　"Wow." he had been mildly surprised, or rather startled, upon realizing that he and Rex were sleeping leaning against each other, causing him to scurry to the side, which caused the blankets on them to slide down.

　　It was then that Emmet noticed that the blanket he had been draped in last night had slipped to the floor, and that it was Rex's blanket that had been warming him last night.

　　That Rex would share a blanket with him and fall asleep leaning against him? Leaving no time for Emmet to be surprised, Rex quickly woke up with a yawn, "Heh ah …… you woke up so early to see the sunrise?"

　　"Sunrise?" The sky was just fish-belly white when Emmet woke up, but in a matter of moments, it was already bright. "There's no such thing as a sunrise here."

　　"No sunrise?" Though a little puzzled, Rex didn't pursue the question. "Whatever - is there anything you want to eat in the morning?"

　　Emmet, who had been worrying about his friends since he woke up and started thinking about ways to get out again, didn't really have an appetite or mood. Still, Rex strong-armed him with a cup of coffee with sugar and milk, fried eggs, and a sizzling muffin toasted to perfection, while he sat back calmly with his black coffee. "I'm still watching you, so don't think about running."

　　"But for Lucy's sake, and everyone's …… I can't stick to my agreement with Rex." Being a good and honest boy, seeing that there was really no possibility of getting Rex to release himself, Emmet finally made a difficult decision. He secretly thought that he had to find a chance to just escape and rescue his companion who was trapped in the organizer. But it turned out that no matter what Emmet came up with, Rex was able to anticipate his prediction, and even when Emmet ran out he was able to be captured and returned with a group of raptor crew members. "I told you, I won't let you get away."

　　Soon the next day the sun set, Emmet is still sitting in the same position as yesterday's sunset, looking away from the sunset, looking melancholy, Rex was a little annoyed by Emmet's cleverness, but still conscientiously as a good "nanny". Days like this continued day after day. In the next period of time, the battle of wits between Emmet and Rex has been continuing, each time to Emmet by Rex to catch and return to the case and end, every day, Emmet will sit at the bottom of the drying galaxy and the junction of the vast universe, and Rex and look at the red bright like blood sunset. Until the end, exhausted all the escape methods Emmet completely gave up struggling, can only sit in the same place all day long staring blankly at the organizer, as well as the direction of the former Fortress of Doom.

　　At first, Rex thought that Emmet did not run away, he can greatly save his mind, and for this reason, he also breathed a sigh of relief - he was also almost out of tricks by Emmet, if not for the hands of a team of velociraptor crew members and the power of science and technology, he really can't suppress Emmet, but he did not last long, after a day, Rex felt that Emmet was not a good person. After only one day, Rex felt that Emmet might as well be a bit more boisterous ……

　　Because now Emmet is too silent, so silent that Rex panic. Emmet as if already know the result, waiting for the final judgment to come, sitting in the old place, looking into the distance. As the sun sets again and again, the light of hope that was once bright in his eyes dims; he no longer confronts Rex, but also reduces his communication with him.

　　This very abnormal Emmet makes Rex feel uneasy. He was worried that Emmet was sick, and secretly used the machine scanning method to test Emmet's physical condition, but the machine gave the feedback that Emmet was healthy and everything was normal. Later, Rex guessed that Emmet was thinking about those "friends", so he sat down next to Emmet, accompanied by Emmet to talk about jokes, the movies he had seen, what he had seen and heard in the time-traveling …… He tried his best to replace those friends in Emmet's mind. He tried his best to replace the friends in Emmet's heart, but the result was very little.Emmet's look has always been with a sadness that once would never appear on his face, but correspondingly, it seems that he is also rapidly becoming more mature.

　　If it were Rex in the past, he would have been very impressed by this change in Emmet. But as the time accompanying Emmet grows longer and longer, Rex does not feel much relief for Emmet such changes, but instead feels a …… very subtle sadness. Is it infected by Emmet's mood?Rex felt that because it was Emmet's mood was too low, so it made him himself not happy; after all, they are the same person, maybe there will be such a situation is also normal, so he did not think deeper.

　　However, as the number of sunsets they had seen increased, Rex's thoughts changed a little, Emmet's figure looked too lonely as he sat in the afterglow of the sun's bloodstained rays, even if Rex would accompany Emmet every time he looked at the setting sun, even if Rex could break the silence and talk incessantly about any topic, the forlorn aura of Emmet's body wouldn't dissipate and as the number of sunsets they had seen increased, Emmet's mood wouldn't change, and as the number of sunsets they had seen increased, he didn't think about it too deeply, so he didn't. number of sunsets they'd watched, it became thicker and thicker.

　　Looking at Emmet like that, Rex convinced himself that this was the growing pains that had to be experienced on the road to maturity, and that when he passed through this stage, Emmet would no longer have to be afraid to endure the loneliness and the anger of betrayal in order to become strong enough, as Rex himself had. Yet there was a voice in the back of his mind that kept questioning: really? Are you sure?

　　But that voice is so small that Rex, though a small doubt exists, quickly puts it behind him. He absolutely believed in the path he chose, only in this way could he prevent the tragedy that happened to him from being repeated on Emmet, he was the future Emmet, and only he could give Emmet everything he wanted, he could make Emmet happy.

　　Day by day, Emmet still insisted on waiting in that place, but Rex felt that his patience was running out. More than once he had wanted to ask Emmet if he had waited long enough, but he had held back each time and just sulked and stayed by Emmet's side. He had sensed the source of his own unease behind this anger - though he insisted that there was absolutely no way Lucy and the others would come to Emmet's rescue, but what if? What if they did come, as he had once expected when he was trapped as Emmet? By the end of the day, Rex couldn't tell if he wanted to see "Lucy and the others won't come" or "they will come". Emmet has shown his obsession with waiting for the end, and Rex has been tortured repeatedly in the process, making him anticipate the final result and at the same time feel intense anxiety.

　　And the moment when the final outcome is revealed finally arrives sometime during sunset.

　　As Rex suspects, Armamageddon will be over when the real-life siblings make up - or are able to superficially get along and stop fighting over toys. The Lego ban was lifted and the two siblings got their beloved toys back out again.Lucy and the gang were released.

　　At that moment Rex felt his body freeze. Anxious for a result, the present Rex, and the Emmet within him, who had been trapped for so long at the bottom of the Drying Galaxy, seemed to merge at that moment, and together with the Emmet who had been "kidnapped" by Rex in the present timeline, looked expectantly toward the Castle of Doom, which seemed to be so far away that it had merged with the waning rays of the setting sun! --Or rather, it used to be the city, Fort Doom, but now it's not sure what it is, but it's the place where Lucy and all the other people that Emmet loves are located.

　　But no matter how much Emmet waited, no matter how much he tried to run to the place, no matter how much he tried to call for help (Rex hesitated, but in the end didn't stop Emmet from sending the signal), the place didn't respond, and Lucy and the others really weren't looking for Emmet.

　　Rex thought to himself, "That's it!". In the bottom of his heart, the Emmet who had been waiting for a long time under the Drying Galaxy was also looking forward to a different result this time. Unlike in the past, when he set out on his journey through the universe alone, this time Lucy and the others knew that Emmet had been taken by Rex. Lucy, the "friends", and the superheroes will not do anything?

　　The answer was now clear.Rex sighed and turned to Emmet just about to say something when he saw a tearful Emmet.

　　"Ah …… hey, don't cry ah …… "At this time Rex can't have much heart to mention anything about winning or losing a bet, he hurriedly picked up a towel and wiped Emmet's face off the Tears. "I told you, none of them deserve your trust, they don't deserve your love!"

　　The words did little to comfort. Rex was a little overwhelmed at the prospect of facing Emmet, who was crying out in pain, and finally he threw away the towel and wrapped Emmet in a hug, "It's okay, I'm here."

　　"I am you. I will never betray, never leave you, never forsake you. I will always be there for you." Rex stroked Emmet's hair, letting the particles of blue tears that continued to erupt from beside Emmet's cheeks pile up around them and roll down towards the side.

　　Everything on that day seemed to have melted into the cinnabar-colored slanting sun, and what remained in Rex and Emmet's memories at last was that from the lofty sky to the distant earth, all of them were dyed by the setting sun into a brilliant, bright red color with a slight hint of dark violet, as if their pasts had been melted by the red flames of the setting sun, and a blood-colored bond had been recast between the two of them. The whole world that was dyed with the color of Xi seemed to be the world itself's last and grandest farewell to Emmet.

　　After that Rex took Emmet by the hand and led him step by step to the Rexcelsior and threw Emmet a big welcome party with the raptor crew, Rex took Emmet by the shoulders and with his other hand raised an energy drink and made a loud toast, he told Emmet that they were going to set sail into the infinite universe of space and time, into a whole new world of futures and adventures, and that they would be the most loyal of friends. They would be the most loyal of friends, the best of brothers, family forever. emmet smiled a little forcedly, but never mentioned Lucy or his former friends again.

　　When the ship was about to jump out of the two different galaxies of the universe, the place that used to make up their whole world, and in reality was a small "home" for their parents and two children, Rex subconsciously looked at Emmet.

　　He saw the melancholy in Emmet's eyes that could not be dissolved, as well as the pain that he tried to hide. It was as if the grand sunset had been forever engraved in the bottom of Emmet's eyes, and as they went into the distance, the warm colors belonging to the sunset gradually dispersed, leaving behind only bleakness and sadness.

　　Seeing this scene, somewhere inside Rex also became empty.

　　What he did, was it really right? That voice resounded softly in the bottom of his heart again, as if an echo suddenly came from the infinite universe.

　　At this moment, Rex really couldn't answer himself.

TBC.

[shadow-trick]

【Rexmet】遗忘日落

Summary：忘记那无数次的日落，去迎接你的日出。

　　*1 赌约

　　“为什么你就是不能明白？！”Rex几近歇斯底里的声音和他的拳头一起落下。和Emmet缠斗在一起，他明显占了上风，但是他的声音中含着一丝几乎微不可察的颤抖，但是这一分颤抖完全被他如疾风骤雨般使出的招式盖了过去。“你对他们来说什么都不是！他们根本不在乎你！你在这里就算待上一百年也等不到你所谓最好的朋友来救你！”

　　老实说，事情发展到这一步已经超出了他的预想。Rex最初只是想简简单单地带走过去的“自己”，让Emmet不再收到来自他认知为“朋友”的那些人的伤害。但是不可否认，当Emmet向他请求去拯救那些“朋友们”，从此成为他过去从未有过的兄弟的时候，Rex对Emmet开出的加码无比心动——之后的一切既是他有意，也是顺水推舟的结果。毕竟“Armamageddon”已经成为了注定，他只是顺手帮了命运一把而已。利用命运，让Emmet从此远离那些没有心的塑料朋友，怎么看这都是一个完美的计划。

　　但是，他没有想到，未曾经历过自己所受到苦楚的Emmet根本不相信他，而依然选择了相信那些“朋友”，并且坚决要去救他们。

　　“因为我知道她一定会来！只要他们从那里脱身！”Emmet声嘶力竭地呐喊。“Lucy一定会来的——她一定会来救我的！”

　　就是这样。无论Rex怎么说自己得到的那个可悲的结局，无论Rex怎么强调再等下去也不会有任何人来到这片烘干星系下来救他，Emmet依然这么相信着，倔强固执得令Rex绝望。但是心底某处，Rex知道，这就是他们是同一个人的证明。弥漫着寂灭气息的烘干星系，还有恒久的孤独没有击碎他的灵魂，但是被所有人遗忘，而遗忘他的人们享受着无尽的幸福和欢愉，就此抛弃了他，却让他的灵魂被恨意的火焰烧尽。Rex能够回忆起来，他也曾和Emmet抱有同样的信念，而他自己那时是多么坚决——现在看来那真是愚蠢而可笑。但是，那样的信念确实不是他几句话能扭转的。

　　只有亲眼看到，Emmet才会明白，自己所说的是真相。只有打碎他天真幼稚的信念，才能重建出一个坚韧的、不会再为这一切伤害到的心灵。

　　“Fine.”Rex咬了咬牙。“Emmet，你敢不敢和我打个赌？”

　　“你得认清事实。你走不了，因为我绝对不会放你走。简单点来说，你已经被绑架了，兄弟。不过我给你一个机会——既然你相信‘你的朋友Lucy’一定会来，”Rex在说出曾经他自认为是最好的朋友时用了最阴阳怪气的语调，“那么，我们现在就在这里等，等到你满意为止。如果她来了，你就赢了，我会放你走，绝不加阻拦。如果她没来……”

　　“好啊！”没等Rex说完，Emmet就回答道。一场几乎一面倒的战斗就此结束，Emmet此刻很是狼狈，却毫不服输地瞪着Rex。“你等着看吧——Lucy她一定会来的，她会带着所有的朋友们来救我的！我相信他们！” 　　回应他的是Rex的一声冷笑。“你会看到的。”

　　*2 冷战时间

　　Lucy和其他人当然不会来。此刻他们已经遭遇了“Armamageddon”，被封印进了收纳盒呢。

　　在获得“母亲”的允许刑满释放以前，Lucy以及其他人当然不可能逃出来。当然对于Emmet而言，要理解这一切可能有点难——毕竟就连当初第一次“拯救世界”，他去到现实世界时，也没弄明白“现实世界”究竟是什么，他甚至都没太明白自己究竟是怎么获得建造大师的能力。

　　他能凭着一腔信念让男孩注意到他、将他投放回乐高世界，已经拼尽了全力，但是他直到现在也没有明白，“来到现实”究竟是命运怎样的馈赠，他那时已然看到了世界的真相。只有已经成为Rex的他才知道，从多早以前自己就有了跳脱出这个箱庭的机会。而只有在“烘干星系”底下，经历了无数个日夜，明白了属于真实世界的规律的Rex才能把握住这个机会，并且利用它创造出自己想要的未来。

　　而不明白这一切的Emmet此时正坐在烘干星系的边界，充满期待地张望着、等待着他朋友们的到来。

　　可是，无论他等待多久，结局只会有一个。在了解过现实世界之后，Rex明白这一切的关键究竟在哪。既然他一切悲剧的开端来源于那对兄妹的矛盾，那么没道理就那么轻松让他们和好吧？

　　所以，【Rex在和Emmet一起阻止婚礼的时候亲手毁了Watevra Wa'Nabi】——而且是彻底地、不可恢复的破坏。

　　他的大师破坏拳足以让她变成当初他创造出她之前那些零部件，混在神殿废墟的碎片之中，让她永远无法被重新拼合恢复。他的创造物成为了他的灾难，也终究毁灭于他的手中，正如亲手释放魔鬼的人又将魔鬼再次封印进瓶中。

　　当然，Rex明白，所谓的“Armamageddon”不会持续到真正的世界末日。Lucy以及其他人，终会得以释放，母亲不可能永远阻止孩子们玩玩具。但是只要这一段时间足矣，Rex有信心在这之前赢下和Emmet的赌约，带着Emmet远走高飞。从此想象成为现实，天高海阔，任他们遨游，他们可以穿梭广袤宇宙，可以穿越时空，去往任何一个他们想去的地方。

　　Rex此时还没有发觉，他低估了Emmet的信念和耐心。

　　赌约开始后，他们在烘干星系底面星球和宇宙空间相接的边缘处扎了营。Emmet和Rex较劲般地开始了冷战，Emmet巴巴地张望着他们来时的方向，而Rex则一边盯着Emmet不让他逃跑——事实上Emmet已经尝试过了，只是Rex没有让他成功，一边收拾着过夜用的帐篷和物资。

　　他已经做好了在这里连续待上几天的准备。他有信心在几天之内靠磨嘴皮子让Emmet认清真相，从而放弃对所谓友人的执念，和他一起从这里离开。Rex甚至已经做好了计划，等从这个世界离开，他们应该跳跃去哪个世界，展开怎样的冒险。他心里已经有了几个备选目的地，只待Emmet点头，他们就能启航。

　　“虽然真不想待在这个地方。”在这里的每一分每一秒都让Rex感觉不舒服。和Emmet不同，他真真切切地在这里被困了无数时光，他在这里被狠狠击碎，即使他已经以“Rex”的身份重生，但是这里依然让他无比憎恨和痛苦。但是每当看到Emmet坐在烘干星系底与宇宙之间的边缘地带的背影，Rex就总会咬咬牙，忍耐下来。他记得自己是为什么来到这里的，他要实现怎样的愿望，而他的最终目标都和他仅仅相隔这么一段时间了，他无论如何都不可能放弃。他同样不可能丢下Emmet一个人去到烘干星系之外，因为他记得孤独地待在这个地方是多么痛苦，所以他不可能把Emmet一个人留在这里。

　　时间一点一滴地过去。Rex扎好了帐篷，收拾好了其他东西，又在烘干星系底下来回踱了几圈，却再也找不到其他事可干，也无法将注意力分到其他地方。那种无孔不入的虚无和煎熬感随着他待在这里越久，越从记忆之中向他渗透而来。Rex实在受不了这种感觉，索性也到了边缘处，和Emmet之间相隔一段距离，坐着开始等。“他们不可能那么快出来的。”过了一段时间，Rex终于忍不住主动打破冷战僵局。“你在这里等只是浪费时间。”

　　“知道他们会来，所以我的等待也是充满了希望的。”Emmet此刻还笑得出来。“Rex，他们一定会来救我的，他们肯定和我想的一样，就像现在我也想去救他们一样。你也觉得很难等，那么拜托了，能让我离开，让我去救他们吗？”

　　“你想都别想，没门儿。”Rex冷��无情地拒绝。“到时候等不到他们你可别哭鼻子。”

　　“那不会发生的。”Emmet同样坚决，仿佛已经看到了Lucy带着大家一起从烘干星系边界涌入这个地方，拉着他的手笑着带他离开的情景。

　　“随你吧。”说这个话题只会让他越说越生气，Rex闭上眼，打消了今天继续劝解Emmet的念头。可是他没想到，自己再睁开眼时，看到的是超乎他想象的奇妙的情景。

　　首先映入眼中的是红耀近紫的光芒，明亮中带着些许属于暮色的晦暗柔和之意。一望无际的天空与晚霞自远及近，都被那光染成了深浅不一的茜色，形成了从亮红到粉紫，再到蓝紫的渐变色天空。

　　“这是……日落？”Rex揉了揉眼睛，再次望向前方，确认自己看到的情景。事实证明，他们眼前的风景不再是现实世界的地面视角看到的一切，而变成了壮美恢宏的落日。

　　他们的世界是由“现实”和“想象”结合构成的，只要有一定的现实背景，再加上足够强大的内心和想象力，就足够创造出这样的风景。Rex眼睛撇向Emmet，正稳稳坐在那里的Emmet似乎丝毫没有注意到哪里不对，只是面对着那如血的残阳，仿佛要望透它一般静静等待着。

　　此刻正是太阳落山之时，一些落日的辉光从窗户落进了这个房间，而Emmet让它在想象中生长成了这片日落风景。夕阳的光芒自天际彼端落进了这个间隙，如火焰般的赤色辉光落到身上时带着淡淡的暖意，却不知为何带着淡淡的孤寂感。

　　“Huh？”Emmet忽然发出了一个疑问的鼻音。就在他身旁，Rex忽然不声不响地过来坐下了。“你做什么？”

　　“你不觉得这个角度风景格外好？”Rex随口道。Emmet经历过这段时间的事，到底是成长了一些，看出来Rex这话只不过是扯来敷衍他的，但他还在半冷战状态，到底没有继续搭话，只是遥遥望着曾经的末日堡，现在是一片荒地的方向。不知是不是Rex的错觉，随着暮色浸染天空，Emmet眼中期待的光芒似乎渐渐变弱了一点。是因为夜晚来临所以光线变弱了吗？Rex不确定地想。

　　夜幕降临的时候，Rex生了一堆篝火，烤了一些香肠、玉米和棉花糖，半威逼半哄着本来连他带来的食物都想要拒绝的Emmet吃了。

　　“在赌约的结果见分晓前，我可不想先见到你被饿死。”这么说着，Rex强硬地把烤���喷香的香肠往Emmet嘴边递，Emmet到底是吃下了Rex给的食物。看到这一幕Rex嘴角那种经典反派一般不怀好意的笑容都柔和了一些。

　　夜晚，在烘干星系下连天上的星星都看不到，夜晚显得格外幽寒。Rex指了指帐篷：“你真不打算去睡觉？”

　　“不，我要在这里等。”火光映照着Emmet的背影，而他大部分身体都被烘干阴影之中，仿佛已经被灰尘环绕，连自己也被埋没其中。

　　“Aw……！”Emmet忽然感到了什么柔软的东西砸到了自己。他揉着脑袋，拾起刚刚砸到他的东西一看，发现是一床毯子。

　　“夜晚的温度会把你冻成冰块。”Rex身上裹着另一张毯子，直接坐到了他身边。“怎么，你以为我会给你逃跑的机会？”

　　看着仿佛已经完全代入“绑架犯”这个身份的Rex，虽然Emmet心里还有怨，但仍然感到了一丝好笑，没忍住扬了扬唇角。他裹好毛毯，不过片刻暖意就回到了他原本已经发寒的身体，让他长长吐出一口气。

　　“谢谢你，Rex。”Emmet忽然开口。“呃……”Rex有些不可置信地朝Emmet的方向转过眼睛，又欲盖弥彰地向相反的地方闪去，接着他像反应过来一般忽然又狠狠瞪了回来，咬着牙，带着恨铁不成钢的意味：“不要谢我，你现在是我的囚徒，我只是做了该做的而已！像你这样，一准犯斯德哥尔摩综合征！”

　　Emmet被忽然逞凶的Rex吓得把身体往相反方向躲了下。Rex看威吓起效，在毯子底下抱起双臂重新坐正，望向远方。过了片刻，Rex忽然听到压得低低的一声疑问：“你为什么要这样？”

　　Rex一怔。他转过头，从自身后映来的火光中，他看到Emmet正看向自己。Emmet神色中带着不理解，还有一点点难过：“其实我到现在都没明白，你为什么要这么对我，还有大家？”

　　“从我们相遇开始，Rex，你一直对我很好，我们一起冒险的时候我真的很开心——我知道我一直不够成熟，不够硬汉，我总是让我的朋友们失望。但是，你从来没让我感觉到失落，从来没让我感觉到我什么都做不好。”

　　“但是，为什么你要引发末日？你知道这明明会让我，还有大家都非常伤心。可我在感觉你是个坏人的时候，你又会照顾我——虽然你不是这么说的，但是你做的是，像最开始一样对我好。”

　　“我……我不理解。我混乱了，Rex。”Emmet的目光清澈而无助，就像在荒野迷失了归途的温顺羊羔。“我只知道，你也是我。但是如果你是我，为什么你要这么对我？”

　　“为什么要对我好，又把我推开？为什么要伤害我重要的朋友们？为什么你在毁掉这个世界、做了那些伤害我的朋友也让我伤心的事情之后，还要安慰我、带我走？”

　　“我……”Rex张了张口，忽而哑口无言。他该怎么去解释呢？是说他其实一直想对Emmet好、想要拯救过去的自己，所以做了包括伤害了Emmet的朋友们，还有把Emmet弹射到这个鸟不拉屎的鬼地方，还强行把他拘禁在这里之类的事？还是从他实际上已经告诉过Emmet的那段被抛弃、背叛和遗忘的往事开始，所以他擅自为Emmet做出了选择的事？说他看破了世界的真实，他们所有人在现实里都不过是所谓“神”的玩具，破坏与重建只在他们的一念之间，而生活在其中的他们的世界只不过是存在于现实与想象世界的夹隙中的“矩阵”，所以他想要Emmet也得到真正的自由？

　　时间旅行的确超乎想象地复杂，而他们所在的世界更是加倍复杂。Rex对于毁掉Watevra Wa'Nabi、引发“Armamageddon”、让所有人沦落到被关进收纳箱毫无心理负担，正是因为他知道那都不过是一堆塑料玩具。那些人没有真正的心，只不过到了另一个人手上就会像完全被洗脑一样，干出极其不符合人设的事情，在那个小女孩怪物手里，超级英雄和超级恶棍甚至能称兄道弟！因为知道这些，所以他对那些曾经的朋友并没有多少恨，而是变得根本不在乎。或许还有一个人他多少有点在意，那就是Lucy，不过他对她的感情和以前已经完全不同，只是因为她的隐瞒、背叛和抛弃而因此留下了芥蒂。如果非要说让那个世界变成现在这样是“报复”的话他也认，毕竟在那个世界里他除了欺骗、嘲弄和无视什么都没得到过。除了Emmet，这个世界已经没有他在意的人了。Rex是也只是为Emmet来到这个时空的，Emmet已经是他唯一的执念，是他的希望和未来，是他活下去的意义。

　　但是这一切他无从向Emmet解释，解释了Emmet多半也不会懂，正如他激情演说自己的重生之路，结果Emmet只听懂了第一句一样。

　　所以这一切他无从回答。在Emmet的注视中，Rex只能皱起眉，恶狠狠地道：“因为我想这么做就做了，有问题吗？”

　　Emmet失落地收回了目光。Rex一副赌气的样子转过身，但Emmet问的问题却久久盘桓在心头。

　　而且他做的，真的是对的吗？Rex眼前，再次浮现出了Emmet难过的神情。这就像一盆冰冷的水，浇在了Rex的心头。这一刻，他心里感觉仿佛踩不到地面、使不上劲儿一样，可他不明白——他和Emmet明明是同一个人，明明他实现自己的愿望就是实现Emmet的愿望才对。本来Rex这么坚定不移地相信着，他相信等Emmet看到自己被Lucy以及其他人抛弃、忘记的情景时Emmet就会理解和支持他的……可是，他忽然好像没那么确信了。虽然Rex自己也不明白，但是一种恐惧和慌张就像毛毯都挡不住的、这夜的寒意一般，从他的肚子渐渐向上蔓延，仿佛要一点点冻住他的心一般。

　　“呼……”就在此时，Rex忽然听到了一个小小的鼾声。原来Emmet在等待中不知何时已经睡着了。他睡着睡着，身子一歪，就要往旁边倒去。Rex赶紧伸手一拉，总算没让Emmet直接一头栽地上。结果Emmet在睡梦中身体晃晃悠悠，又直接靠到了Rex的肩上，不仅如此，他披在身上的毛毯也缓缓滑了下去，掉在了一边。

　　“唉。”Rex叹了一口气。看着此刻睡熟了的Emmet，他实在不想过多折腾。他倒是能把Emmet抱进帐篷里休息，但是这会他们还在半冷战之中呢，万一真把人弄醒了，那就太尴尬了。Rex想把毛毯给Emmet拉上来让他就这么睡着算了，但是不巧Emmet的毛毯此刻已经滑到了Rex够不着的地方，要再去抓住它也很有可能把Emmet弄醒。到底是担心Emmet就这样睡着会被冻病了，最后Rex只能拉过自己的毛毯裹住他们两个人的身体，保持被Emmet靠着的姿势继续守夜。

　　Emmet睡着后，周围就再没有其他声音了。万籁俱寂，在漫长的黑夜里只剩下了篝火燃烧时偶尔发出的噼啪声。Rex有那么一瞬间感觉自己仿佛又回到了飞船坠毁，自己被抛到了这里的时候。虽然那件事情对他而言已经是很久以前发生的了，但是每当他做梦，或者一个人待着的时候，都很容易重新被卷进那片灰暗记忆的漩涡中。不过这一次即使待在了这个噩梦般的地方，Rex也没有那种难过得几乎要喘不过气的感觉。曾经在烘干星系底穿梭的寒风仿佛已经全部消失了……或者说此刻的他已经感受不到了，此刻Rex只能感觉到从身边靠着他的人身上传来的温暖。Rex稍稍侧过头，发现此刻Emmet的睡颜非常恬静，就像暴风雨之夜在树上的鸟巢里，蜷缩在鸟妈妈温暖腹羽下的雏鸟。

　　蓦地，Rex的心就软了。曾经他求而不得的一切，他一定会让Emmet得到；曾经他许下过愿望，却从未得到实现，而现在，Emmet的所有愿望就由他来实现。只有Emmet拥有曾经他没能拥有的一切，才能抚慰他的心灵。

　　被Emmet靠着，就像身边紧紧贴着一个暖宝宝一样，驱散了盘旋在他心底的寒意。光是感受到Emmet的存在，就已经让Rex感觉到曾经被困在这里的自己得到了解救。

　　不知何时，Rex在这种温暖的包围中，不知不觉也睡去了。

　　

　　*3 茜色的告别

　　第二天清晨，率先苏醒的是Emmet。

　　“Wow.”当发现他和Rex相互倚靠着睡在一起时，他有被小小地惊讶，或者说惊吓到，让他赶紧往旁边闪了一闪，这一动就让他们身上的毛毯滑落下去了。

　　此时，Emmet才注意到，自己昨晚上披的毛毯已经滑到了地上，昨晚一直温暖着他的是Rex的毯子。

　　那个Rex会和他分享一张毛毯，还和他靠在一起睡着了？！没给Emmet留下惊讶的时间，Rex很快就打着呵欠醒了：“呵啊……你醒得那么早，是为了看日出吗？”

　　“日出？”Emmet醒来的时候天才刚刚鱼肚白，但是不过须臾，天光就已然大亮。“这里没有什么日出。”

　　“没有日出？”虽然有些疑惑，但是Rex并没有追问下去。“不管了——早上有什么想吃的吗？”

　　醒来之后就在担忧着朋友们的Emmet又开始思考脱身之法，其实并没有胃口和心情。不过Rex还是强硬地给他塞了一杯加糖加奶的咖啡、煎蛋和烤得喷香的松饼，而他则淡定地喝着黑咖啡坐到了一旁。“我还在盯着你，不用想着跑。”

　　“但是为了Lucy，还有大家……我不能坚持遵守和Rex的约定。”作为一个诚实守信的好孩子，眼见真的没有可能让Rex放自己，Emmet终于艰难地做出了决定。他暗暗想，必须找机会就逃出去，去救援被困在收纳箱里的同伴。但事实证明，无论Emmet想出了什么办法，Rex都能够预判他的预判，就连Emmet跑出去了都能被他带着一群迅猛龙船员抓回来。“我说过了吧，不会让你跑掉的。”

　　很快就到了第二天夕阳落下的时候，Emmet仍然坐在昨日看夕阳落下的位置，远望着落日，神色惆怅。Rex被Emmet耍的小聪明搞得有些恼火，但是还是兢兢业业地当好了“保姆”。接下来，像这样的日子就持续了一日又一日。接下来一段时间里，Emmet和Rex之间的斗智斗勇一直在持续，每次都以Emmet被Rex捉拿归案而告终，每日，Emmet都会坐在烘干星系底部与广袤宇宙的交界地带，和Rex一起看着那红耀似血的落日。直到最后，穷尽所有逃跑办法的Emmet彻底放弃了挣扎，只能整日坐在同一个地方呆呆地远望着收纳盒，以及曾经末日堡所在的方向。

　　一开始，Rex还觉得Emmet不逃跑了，他可以大大省心，为此还松了一口气——他也快被Emmet整没招了，如果不是仗着手中有一队迅猛龙船员以及科技的力量，他还真没法镇压住Emmet。可是他这种状态也没持续多久，过了才不过一天，Rex就感觉，Emmet还不如闹腾一些呢……

　　因为现在的Emmet太沉默了，沉默得让Rex心慌。Emmet像是已经知道了结果，在等待最终审判的来临一般，坐在老地方，眺望着远方。随着一次又一次的日落，他眼中原本明亮的希望的光也渐渐黯淡；他不再和Rex对抗，但也减少了和Rex的交流。

　　这样十分反常的Emmet让Rex感到不安。他担心Emmet是生病了，暗中用了机器扫描的方法检测Emmet的身体状况，可是机器给出的反馈是Emmet身体健康，一切正常。后来Rex猜想，是不是Emmet想那些“朋友们”了，所以他坐到Emmet身边，陪着Emmet说玩笑话，说自己看过的电影，自己在穿越时空时的见闻……他想尽办法尝试去取代Emmet心里的那些朋友，可结果收效甚微。Emmet的神情中一直带着曾经从不会出现在他脸上的哀愁，但是与之对应地，他似乎也在飞快地变得成熟。

　　如果是过去的Rex，一定会十分信息于Emmet这样的变化。但随着陪伴着Emmet的时间越来越长，Rex对Emmet这样的变化感到的没有多少欣慰的情绪，反而感觉到了一种……非常微妙的难过。是被Emmet的情绪感染了吗？Rex觉得因为是Emmet的情绪太低落，所以让他自己也开心不起来了；毕竟他们是同一个人，也许会有这样的情况也正常，所以他没往深处想。

　　不过，随着看过的落日一次次增加，Rex的想法也产生了一些变化。Emmet坐在残阳如血的余晖中时的身影看上去太寂寥了，就算Rex每次都会陪着Emmet看着落下的夕阳，就算Rex能够打破沉默，滔滔不绝地说起任何话题，Emmet身上那种落寞的气息也不会散去，而且随着他们看过的日落次数的增加，变得越发浓厚。

　　看着那样的Emmet，Rex说服自己，这就是迈向成熟之路上必须经历的生长痛，等跨过这个阶段，Emmet就再也不用害怕像Rex自己一样，经受长久的孤独和被背叛的愤怒才能变得足够坚强了。然而在他心底隐隐有个声音，一直在质疑着：真的吗？你确定？

　　但是那个声音太小了，Rex虽然存在着一点疑虑，但很快就将它抛到了脑后。他绝对相信自己选择的道路，只有这样才能避免发生在他身上的悲剧在Emmet身上重复，他就是未来的Emmet，也只有他才能给Emmet想要的一切，他才能让Emmet幸福。

　　日子一天天过去，Emmet仍然坚持守候在那个地方等待，但Rex感觉自己的耐心已经快用尽了。他已经不止一次想问Emmet等够了没有，但是他每一次都忍耐下来，只是生着闷气陪伴在Emmet身边。他已经察觉到了这种怒气背后，自己不安的来源——虽然他坚持Lucy他们是绝对不可能来救Emmet的，但是，万一呢？如果他们真的来了呢，正如他曾经作为Emmet被困在这里的时候所期待的那样？等到最后，Rex都有些分不清自己是想要看到“Lucy他们不不会来”还是“他们会来”的结果了。而Emmet已经表现出了等待结局的执着，而Rex也在这个过程中在自己的内心被反复煎熬着，让他期待最终结果的同时，又感到强烈的焦虑。

　　而最终结果的分晓时刻终于在某一次日落的时候到来了。

　　正如Rex猜想的一样，等现实中的那对兄妹和好——或者说能够表面和睦相处，不再为了玩具而争斗的时候，“Armamageddon”就结束了。乐高禁令被解除，两兄妹又重新拿出了他们心爱的玩具。Lucy他们得到了释放。

　　那一刻Rex感觉自己的身体都僵住了。他急于得到一个结果，现在的Rex，还有他内心里，过去那个被长久困在烘干星系之底的Emmet仿佛在此刻合为一体，和现在时间线上被Rex“绑架”的Emmet一起，期待地望向那遥远得仿佛与夕阳残光融为一体的末日堡——或者说，曾经是城市，是末日堡，现在不知道是什么，但是Lucy，以及其他所有Emmet爱着的人所在的那个地方。

　　但是无论Emmet如何等待，如何想要不顾一切地奔向那个地方，无论他尝试用什么方式求援（Rex犹豫过，最后还是没有阻止Emmet发出信号），但那个地方都并没有给出任何回应。Lucy他们果真没有来寻找Emmet。

　　Rex心想着“果然如此”。他心底过去那个在烘干星系底下等待许久的Emmet也有着一分期待，期待这一次的结果是否能有不同。和过去他孤零零地踏上穿梭宇宙的征程时不同，这一次Lucy他们知道Emmet是被Rex带走的。Emmet被“反派”绑走了，他们……Lucy，那些“朋友”，还有那些超级英雄，难道真的什么行动都不会做吗？

　　现在的答案已经很明确了。Rex叹息一声，转向Emmet刚准备说些什么，就看见了泪流满面的Emmet。

　　“啊……嘿，别哭啊……”这个时候Rex可没有什么心思再去提什么赌约输赢的事情，他急忙拿起毛巾给Emmet擦掉了脸上的泪。“我说过，他们都不值得你信任，他们不值得你的爱！”

　　这句话没有起到一点安慰作用。面对痛哭出声的Emmet，Rex有点不知所措，最后他扔掉毛巾，一把将Emmet抱住了：“没关系的，我在这儿。”

　　“我就是你。我永远不会背叛，永远不会离开你，永远不会抛下你。我会永远陪在你身边。”Rex抚摸着Emmet的头发，任由从Emmet脸颊旁不断迸出的蓝色泪水的粒子堆满了他们周围，朝着旁边滚落。

　　那一天的一切似乎都熔化在了那茜色的斜阳之中，最后留在Rex和Emmet记忆里的，就是自高渺的天空到遥远的大地，尽皆被夕阳染成了一片艳丽的、带着少许暗紫的亮红色彩，仿佛两人的过往都被那夕阳的红焰烧熔，在他们两人之间重铸起了血色的牵绊链接。被染上茜色的整个世界，似乎就是世界本身对Emmet最后也是最盛大的送别。

　　那之后Rex牵着Emmet的手，一步一步带他到了Rexcelsior上，并且和迅猛龙船员们一起为Emmet办了个盛大的欢迎会。Rex揽着Emmet的肩膀，另一手举起能量饮料大声祝酒，他告诉Emmet，他们将扬帆启航，去往无垠的宇宙时空，奔赴全新的未来和冒险，他们会成为最忠实的朋友，最好的兄弟，永远的家人。Emmet笑得有些勉强，却也再没���过Lucy以及他曾经的朋友们的事情。

　　当飞船真的即将跳跃出这个包含了两个不同星系的宇宙、曾经构成了他们的全世界，在现实里是属于父母和两个孩子居住的一个小小的“家”的地方时，Rex下意识地望向了Emmet。

　　他看见了Emmet眼中化不开的惆怅，以及被努力掩藏起来的伤痛。仿佛那场盛大的茜色落日已经被永远刻在了Emmet的眼底，随着他们去向远方，属于夕阳的热烈色彩渐渐散去，只留下了凄清和哀伤。

　　看到这一幕，Rex内心某处也变得空落落的。

　　他做的，真的是对的吗？那个声音又在他心底轻轻响起，仿佛无垠宇宙里忽然传来的一声回音。

　　这一刻，Rex真的没法回答自己。

　　

　　*4 星海漫游

　　正如Rex向Emmet承诺过的那样，利用无数种时间机器改造的时空穿梭飞船，他们去了很多个全新的宇宙和时空，经历了非常非常多的冒险。

　　他们曾到过侏罗纪世界的时空，看迅猛龙船员们和那些被驯服的迅猛龙迅速打成一片，Rex和Emmet则和欧文很有共同语言。他们携手制服了出逃的翼龙群，一起躲避暴虐龙的追杀，观赏过霸主霸王龙的咆哮，Emmet甚至还在Rex的保护、欧文和克莱尔的指导下尝试了投喂沧龙。

　　他们曾在漫威宇宙里帮助变种人逃避九头蛇及其他人类的迫害，和复仇者联盟联手作战，击退侵扰地球的外星人。当然也少不了寻找无限宝石，顺带还为阿斯加德神王家调解了家庭矛盾。值得一提的事，星爵和Emmet都是尬舞的一把好手，而且不知处于什么诡异的默契，他们每次相见都要来一场斗舞，所以经常能看见两个人随着音乐声开始摇摆，而Rex和火箭就坐在一旁以手（爪）掩面，脸上俱挂着不忍直视的表情。

　　很巧的是，这些世界总能和某个人初次亮相时的自我介绍对上。经历过类似的世界和事情多了，Emmet终于察觉到了这件事：“所以你之前和我介绍你是‘银河护卫队’和‘迅猛龙训练师’都是因为……”

　　“嘘嘘嘘！”Rex急忙捂住了Emmet的嘴。装逼被人当面戳破，而且是被Emmet当面戳破的羞耻简直让他从脸到身体都要熟透了。“算我求你了，别计较这茬了行吗？”

　　“好吧……不过你得把你吹过的牛里所有提过的身份都给我实现。”这么一段时间的相处下来，Emmet和Rex已经就像真正的兄弟一样亲密无两。Emmet眨了眨眼。“牛仔？”

　　“Fine！”Rex又选定了新的世界，逃也似地拍下了穿越的按钮。收到宇宙规则的影响，那在他们原生世界里不过是黄色塑料玩具、不会变色也没���凹凸起伏的脸现在红得就像秋天打霜的柿子，就连耳朵都泛着一层淡淡的红，让Emmet不禁一怔。

　　他们也曾去过类似的乐高规则世界。他们先去了DC宇宙，见到了和他们世界相似却又不同的蝙蝠侠，他们那边的蝙蝠侠身边可不会环绕着一群小罗宾鸟。

　　在这个超级英雄遍地走的世界里，两人作为异世界来客受到了关注。Rex还是放不下芥蒂，但Emmet的友善和天然让他很快和正义联盟里的大家混熟了。

　　“我有个问题。”离开这个世界的时候，Emmet向Rex提出自己的疑惑。“为什么同样是以漫画为基础，同样是超级英雄世界，我们去漫威的时候就会成为‘人类’，进入的DC就是和我们一样的乐高规则世界？”

　　“这个……”Rex差点没被噎死。对啊，为什么呢？

　　这个问题成为了他们两人才知晓的永远的未解之谜。

　　在星战世界，他们开过千年隼，帮助过卢克·天行者毁灭死星，见证过“我是你爸爸”的经典名场面，联手揍过被黑暗原力诱惑的本·索罗；在幻影忍者世界，他们仿造了命运赏赐号，在这个全新的世界四处遨游，虽然Rex和Emmet谁都没能学会幻影旋转术，但是他们的建造和破坏大师的能力也让劳埃德、凯等元素忍者啧啧称奇，就连吴师傅以及加满都都对他们的能力起了兴趣，Rex更是差点被特别看好他的加满都强行绑走，成为魔王麾下大将，结果被Rex和Emmet联手使出的双子破坏拳拆家拆到破防，骂骂咧咧地把两人赶走专心对付吴师傅和劳埃德等元素忍者小队了。

　　“对了Emmet……谢谢你。”两人离开那个世界之前，两人单独在一块时，Rex为了Emmet来从加满都的手里救他的事情向Emmet表达了感谢。这样表达坦率感谢这样的积极情感时，Rex看上去反而格外不好意思。

　　“喔……我还以为你不会说出来。”Emmet已经了解到了Rex的性格有多别扭，反而是Rex说出来了比较让他惊讶。“毕竟我们是兄弟，是一个人嘛，这不是当然的吗？”

　　“……不是这样。你和我……”等Emmet不在意地转过去之后，他听到Rex低低地嘀咕着什么，但他没听清楚。“什么？”

　　“没什么？”Rex走到了控制台前，过了片刻才和Emmet对上目光。“那么——下一站，想去什么地方？有想法吗？”

　　“是啊……下一个目的地……”Emmet怔愣了片刻。刚刚那个瞬间，他下意识的反应是“回家”——回到他们的原生世界，回到那个现实里虽然小但是温馨的家，回到他原初的宇宙。但是他知道，拼尽全力带他逃离那个地方Rex绝对不会想回去的。他就像一个在无数不同的世界间辗转的流浪者，这场看不见终点的旅程中没有一个中转站或者一个目的地会是他的故乡。

　　Emmet望向自己身上所着的服装。曾经鲜艳的橙色建筑工人马甲和裤子早不知道被丢到哪里去了，现在他从发型到衣着都和Rex几乎一模一样。这是代表变得坚强成熟的标志，但是直到现在Emmet也依然觉得它们并不合身。他常常会想念过去的时光，在梦里回到他的城市，回到末日堡，他的朋友们都在那里。每当醒来，看到陌生的世界，亦或待在Rexcelsior的船舱里，Emmet依然觉得自己不属于这里。

　　只是他已经回不去了。Rex告诉他的没错，他被抛弃了，所以他也放弃了曾经拥有的一切。

　　“Emmet���”Emmet抬起头，看到Rex露出了疑惑不解的神色：“没有你想去的世界吗？”

　　“啊……下次去轻松一点的地方吧？”Emmet勉强地笑了笑。但是他当然没糊弄过去，Rex很快察觉了Emmet的情绪变化，皱起眉：“你不舒服？”

　　“什……没，没有啊！”看着丢下操纵台走到他身边的Rex，Emmet急忙矢口否认。Rex用手触了触Emmet的额头：“没有发烧啊。你真没有其他地方不舒服？”

　　在得到否认的答案之后，Rex观察了Emmet一下：“所以……你在不开心？为什么？”

　　Emmet的回答是长长的叹息。“可能是累了吧。”

　　“那我找个适合度假的世界。”Rex立刻开始点自己手上那些风景看上去不错的海报。“这个看上去不错？”他选定了锚点。“《请以你的名字呼唤我》？名字有点怪。”Rex觉得这应该是个悬疑片，但是只是单纯度个假，不参与进故事的话，应该不会被麻烦找上。“总不可能比Hidden Side那样存在灵异的宇宙更棘手吧。”

　　事实证明有这样天真想法的他们大错特错，被强行掀开了新世界的大门，最后三观都受到了冲击的Emmet和Rex两人几乎是连滚带爬地跑回Rexcelsior的，又闪电般随机选了个世界极其狼狈地穿越走了。

　　这一次他们来到了一个漫画世界。两个人进入新世界的瞬间就躺倒在地，齐齐吐了魂。

　　可怜可怜这两个天真无邪的乐高小人儿吧，他们只是分级3+的小玩具，16+乃至R18的剧情对他们的冲击还是太大了。当时他们因为丢失了飞船的遥控器，而变回了乐高形态混进了两位主角所在的别墅里寻找丢失的东西，天知道他们看到两个谈恋爱的男人发生了床上运动时被吓成了什么样。一开始他们还没明白两位主角在干什么，等两人发出的声音越来越不对劲时，率先反应过来的Rex下意识去捂Emmet的眼睛，结果不明所以的Emmet以为Rex是在整他扒开了Rex的手，结果就目击了冲击性的一幕。

　　“为，为什么……”Emmet回神之后都还因为震撼有点结巴。“为什么他们要这么���？”

　　“因为他们陷入了爱河！”Rex想起来都觉得头���。

　　“但他们是同性啊！”

　　“这个世界上有人就是这样的。”虽然Rex实际上也不是很明白，他内心也很慌，但是在Emmet面前他必须永远靠谱，永远正确，所以他硬着头皮搜肠刮肚地开始瞎解释。“呃……有些人相爱的时候不会因为双方的性别，种族，或者其他什么因素影响而改变相爱的事实，他们会相爱只是因为对方是对方！疯狂动物城里不就是狐狸和兔子相爱了吗，两个男人相爱又有什么稀奇的！”呸，实际上Rex觉得稀奇得很，他的三观都要碎了！

　　倒是Emmet听完Rex的口胡一脸的若有所思，仿佛已经接受了：“不受任何因素影响的相爱？”

　　“嗯，就这样！”Rex浑身不自在，他实在接受不了继续讨论这个话题了，急忙引开了话题。但是那天发生的事情，到底在两人心底留下了痕迹。不知道是不是受那天冲击场景的影响，Emmet和Rex之间好一段时间接触起来都有些不自在。

　　但事情就是那么奇妙。在漫长时光里仅有彼此的朝夕相处，发展出几乎从不分离的亲密，一同经历过无数惊险刺激的冒险之后，渐渐地有奇妙的感情在Emmet和Rex之间生根发芽。直到一切已成定局，Rex回忆起来时才发觉，也许他们的感情早已注定会发展到这一步了。

　　在Rex想明白这一切之前，他和Emmet已经先发生了“某件事”——正是他们还对这件事蒙昧无知时所见的，让他们打开了新世界大门的，相爱的人之间才会做的事情。

　　

　　*5 不再同一

　　和Emmet一起倒进柔软的床里时，他们本并不是出于发生什么的目的——那本来只是很正常的打闹和嬉戏，只是两个人在仿若交缠般紧贴在一起，在柔软的床上滚来滚去的行为实在太暧昧了，到最后两人相对视时，都情不自禁地红了脸。在气氛的推动下，Emmet行动已经快于思想，他揽住了Rex，然后吻上了Rex的唇。

　　那一下Rex真的被吓到了。在这具人类身体里的心脏猛烈地跳动起来，血液在他耳边轰轰涌动，一瞬间让他失去了听到除此之外任何声音的能力。明明用人类的身体呼吸应该是一种本能才对，可是此时他连怎么呼吸都想不起。他的所有知觉都凝聚在了唇上，凝聚在了此刻吻住他的人身上。那种感觉让他放松，让他欣悦，让他沉醉其中。一种前所未有的幸福将他环绕包围，让他几乎有种想哭的感觉。他不想推开Emmet，甚至他骨子里有什么在蠢蠢欲动、渴求着更多。他的理智几乎被那种温暖的幸福快乐融化，在它彻底消失之前，他迟钝地想到，这好像已经远远超出了最初他带Emmet离开时想要拥有的，而且发生过这件事之后他们的关系肯定再也回不到从前。不过渐渐远去的理智最后留给他的想法就是，他绝对不会后悔。

　　所以Rex��着Emmet的脸，主动加深了这个吻。

　　不得不提，在这段时间之中，他们的成长是全方位的……包括性爱的知识。在越来越熟悉人类的身体之后，他们渐渐地也理解了人类的行为。不过实际进行这种亲密接触，无论对Emmet还是Rex都是第一次。

　　“So……”在亲昵拥吻了一会儿，两人的衣服都落到了地上之后，Emmet有些犹豫地问出了那个重要的问题。“Rex，你想做哪一方？Top？Or bottom？”

　　“……你觉得这个问题还有问的必要？”Rex打量了下两人现在的姿势，哑然。从一开始两人闹着玩的时候开始，到亲吻，以及到现在，都是Emmet先手行动、主动进攻，就连现在他在姿势上也是居高临下、骑在Rex身上，把Rex揽在怀里的。在这方面，和他们之间的经历和感情一样，虽然是Rex主动奔赴而来，但其实从头到尾，Emmet都掌握着主导权。而且……虽然Rex不是很想承认，但是感受到Emmet掌握主导、对他主动进攻，这个过程已经让Rex感受到了一种隐秘的快感，以至于现在Emmet温柔地咨询他的意见反而让他感到羞恼。所以他扭过脸：“别婆婆妈妈的，要做就……唔……”

　　已经相处了那么久，Emmet自然也对Rex无比了解。因为曾经的孤独和无助，让Rex把希望和执念都寄于另一个自己，也就是Emmet身上，所以Rex会喜欢Emmet强势的表现。而且，Emmet也能察觉到，Rex内心中渴望着被Emmet强势地对待，正如没有得到拯救和帮助的Rex渴望着有谁能够从天而降来救他一样。

　　这不仅是一场亲密和激情的接触，这同样是一种治疗。Emmet的强势和温柔能让Rex对安全感和爱的渴望最大程度地得到满足。Emmet笑了笑，接着再次低下头，封住了Rex的唇，让Rex发出了含糊的声音。他的手缓缓下移，划过Rex的脖颈、锁骨和饱满的胸肌——在他们作为乐高的身体上看不出来，但Rex在健身和锻炼上付出所有的努力在他变成人类的身体上能够体现得淋漓尽致——

　　“啊……”忽然，映入Emmet眼中的景象让他停下了动作。

　　Rex的左臂上有一道伤口，Emmet一直知道，但是他从来没去问过。他知道那是玻璃小行星撞击到Rex的飞船时给他留下的伤痕，但是Emmet以前并不知道这道伤痕这么大，从人类身体的角度看更是狰狞——它从Rex的的胸口中央，贯穿整个左胸直划到左臂，就像一条嵌在身体上的长长的虫。这道伤痕起始处更是比Emmet想象的更严重，如果Rex是人类，造成这道伤痕的伤就已经足以要了他的命。

　　本已有些沉醉的Rex见Emmet迟迟没有动作，略带不满地看向Emmet——待注意到Emmet在盯着他胸口上的伤看的时候，他愣了一愣：“哦……很难看，对吧？”

　　在来到人类世界，获得人类身体的时候Rex就���意到了这条疤痕。它的丑陋让他也暗自为之皱眉，不过都说“伤疤是男人的勋章”，所以他也并没有特别在意这个问题。但是此刻当Emmet看到这条伤痕时，他心里却油然生出一种窘迫来。这条伤疤不仅丑陋，也代表着那段他最难堪的过去，就这样赤裸裸地展现在Emmet面前，还是在这种情境下，还是让他感觉到不适和不安。

　　“不是的……”Emmet伸出手，缓缓抚摸着那条伤疤。他并不觉得它丑陋，他只是为Rex感到难过：“痛吗？”

　　“你知道对我们来说痛没有什么意义。”Rex咧嘴一笑。“我曾经质问、憎恨过命运，我到底犯了什么错，为什么要让我遭遇那一切？不过现在也许需要感谢命运——没有它，我们不会像现在一样在一起。”

　　这种时候好像已经无需更多的语言。Emmet俯首吻上那条伤疤，让Rex情不自禁地仰头发出一声叹息。

　　人类的身体确实和他们的乐高身体很不一样，像这样每一处肌肤被触摸时传来的的温暖舒适，自要害处传来的酥麻快感，每一种都是塑料的小身体概念性的“触感”无法比拟的。

　　此刻Rex能感受到，Emmet的手正在爱抚着他的身体。明明那双手和他自己的没有什么两样，可是被Emmet触摸时的感受和他自己的碰触完全不一样。那双手碰触到他身体的哪一处，哪一处的皮肤就仿佛有细小的电流通过一般。

　　这种微妙的，熟悉和陌生感交织的感觉，让Rex为之战栗。有某个瞬间，他甚至会产生一种迷茫，明明抱着他的就是“自己”，为什么自己却产生了仿佛是在和“别人”亲密一样的感觉？不像是来自同一条河流的水汇集在了一起，反而更像是火与水的碰撞？

　　Emmet用带着润滑的手指缓缓探入他的身体时这种奇异的感觉达到了一个新的高峰。他能感觉到自己身体变得何等滚烫，Emmet手上冰凉的润滑让他几乎无法放松，在这一刻他根本没办法维持成熟冷静的姿态，只能抓紧了床单努力不让自己颤抖得那么厉害。是Emmet注意到了他的紧张，急忙收回手，重新把他揽在怀里，在他的脸颊上落下细密的吻：“没事的，Rex，不要紧张……要是你很不舒服，我们今天就算了……”

　　“不。”都到这一步了怎么能停止？Rex看了看自己和Emmet的男性器官，它们在先前的刺激中已经产生了激烈的反应，翘得老高。Rex头上青筋都快跳了出来:Emmet愿意忍，他可不愿意啊。“我会放松……你继续就完了，别在乎那么多。”

　　Emmet轻咬Rex的唇，算作回应。整个前戏并没有耗费太长时间，在他探到Rex身体里某个地方之后，Rex整个人就忽然软了下去，眼神都涣散了，Emmet在确认过Rex不是“断电”了，而是因为敏感处被碰触后带来的过于强烈的快感折腾的失神之后，就茅塞顿开，迅速将这一方面的技巧融会贯通，让Rex的身体仿佛酒醉的贝壳一般为他轻易地打开。当Emmet轻吻着Rex的胸膛，一边将他的性器慢慢顶进Rex的身体深处时，强烈的被侵入感，还有敏感处被碾压到产生的快感，让Rex几乎产生了一种近乎濒死和被送上欢愉顶端之间的感觉，让他狂乱，让他迷惑，让他失去对自己身体的控制，一边颤栗着一边随着Emmet的动作发出类似哭泣般的呻吟，双手抱住了Emmet的背，双腿也不由自主地盘上了Emmet的腰。而Emmet则伸手擦去Rex脸上不知何时流下的眼泪，一边挺身将性器压进Rex身体更深处。后来，所有的难受都随着习惯而消失，只留下了一次比一次强烈的欢愉。最后Rex发出一声压抑嘶哑的吟叹，整个身体像被煮熟的虾一样泛起潮红，整个身体反弓起来，胸膛和Emmet的紧紧相贴。Emmet也同时重重挺身撞进最深处，释放了出来，一场极为短暂的阵雨就落进了焦灼干渴的泥土，让春天来临。

　　两人在快乐的巅峰中交颈相依，在潮落时耳鬓厮磨，交流述说着这第一次的经历有什么样的感受，谈论着下一次想要尝试的方式。Emmet一手环住Rex的腰，脸贴着脸，亲昵地和Rex分享他自己和Rex恋爱乃至发生关系的感觉有多美妙：这个世界上没有哪两个人会比他们更相配了，他们从身体到灵魂无不契合，因为他们本就同出一源。现在会以这种方式融为一体，本就理所应当。

　　“是因为我们相互交付信任，相互坦诚了所有吗？和你在一起的时候，我感觉那么舒适又安全，和以前不一样……”Emmet忽然没了声音，神色变得黯然。那一日最温柔也最残酷的茜色夕阳仿佛再次在他的眸中燃烧起来。即使Emmet没有说，Rex能从他脸上看出那份紧紧缠绕的思念。

　　“你知道的……你可以改变那一切。”Rex忽然开口。他叹息道：“哪怕回到初次接触‘抵抗神器’的时候也没问题。你可以成就更伟大的事业，完成更伟大的梦想。哪怕你想要每个人都崇拜你，对于现在的我们也是轻而易举。只要你想，那整个世界都可以成为你的……”

　　“不不不，那太……”听到Rex说的话，Emmet略带惊愕地侧过头打断了Rex。与Rex双眸相对，Emmet当然知道Rex并不是在开玩笑，但是他根本无意这么做。他叹息一声，脸上挂上了笑容：“过去的已经不重要了。”

　　到底是激烈地运动了一场，身心舒爽的Emmet很快就放下了杂念，抱着Rex就睡着了，然而Rex却久久无眠。

　　Rex和Emmet到底曾经是同一个人。他们有着同样的思维，即使想法不同，但两人依然能够轻而易举地领悟到对方的所思所想。Rex怎么可能猜不出，Emmet依然为失去了Lucy以及其他友人，失去了他最珍惜的故乡的事情而遗憾？虽然和Rex在一起让他感到幸福，但是那道伤痕却已经留在了他的心上，始终无法愈合。

　　而这一次，Emmet心上的伤痕并不是来源于其他事，其他人——Rex很清楚，是他毁掉了Emmet原本的幸福，然后在废墟上强行建立了自己的王国，让Emmet生命里除了他再没有其他的选择。

　　没有选择的幸福是幸福吗？Rex心里那个声音再次冒了出来，质疑道。现在所谓他们的幸福，其实只是Rex自己一人的幸福而已，而且这份幸福是他从Emmet那里抢走的——是他把自己的愿望强加给了Emmet，自以为是地夺走了Emmet的所有！

　　不，不是这样，他只是选择了最不会让Emmet受伤的道路，用最小的牺牲换取最好的结局。Rex在心里对那个声音辩解。作为同一个人，他当然知道——

　　Rex和Emmet根本不是同一个人。那个声音强势地压下了Rex的自辩。明明这件事，他刚刚才“切身”体会到呢，怎么他能忘得那么快？

　　如果他们之间真的把对方当作“自己”对待，那么刚刚的那一切根本不会发生。一个人不会亲吻自己，不会和自己发生关系。一个人对自己的爱，和两个人之间的爱完全不一样。

　　所有的一切只证明一件事——他们早已不再同一。那么显而易见的事实，他得多瞎，才会视而不见？到底不过是不愿意相信，所以在自欺欺人罢了。

　　Rex悄悄地将Emmet的手从自己腰上放了下去，无声地走到了房间里的阳台上，从Rexcelsior的舷窗里看向外界。此方宇宙的群星遥遥闪烁，此情此景与他们起源的那个宇宙里，他与Emmet所见的几无差别，但是Rex明白过去和现在，他们所见的星空已经是完全两片不同的星空了。

　　是啊，连眼前所见的相同景象本质都完全不同，他凭什么认为他和Emmet就是同一个人呢。Rex捂住脸，默然无声地笑了。

　　从他们的经历产生分歧的那一刻开始，他们就已经成为了不同的人。两条河流来自同一个源头，可流向不同的地方，经历过不同的风景之后，也成为了两条完全不同的河流，就算再度交汇也是泾渭分明。

　　他自私地割断了Emmet的过去，禁锢了Emmet的现在，夺走了Emmet的未来。他才是Emmet生命里最大最糟糕的反派。直到今天，Rex才认识到这一点。

　　

　　*6 追溯原点

　　无疑，认识到这个事实对Rex而言是一个打击。不过在短暂的消沉之后，Rex就振作了起来。事已至此，与其在这里自怨自责不如采取行动。

　　“我最初的愿望……”Rex闭上眼睛，回忆着在烘干星系底下动弹不得的时光，还有他挣扎着逃出那个地方时最初怀抱着的执念。“我希望那一切从未发生，我希望自己不会遭到那份悲剧。”因为他自己的经历已经再也无法改变，所以他才想去拯救另一个自己。

　　然而，他所做的却是给Emmet施加了另外一种悲剧。“这已经背离了我自己的愿望了嘛。”

　　Rex自嘲地笑了一声。“那么从头开始吧……”

　　“没错……我最初的愿望的本质，那就是让Emmet幸福。”让那个天真的，没有���到过伤害的自己不再受到伤害，幸福地生活下去。

　　“可是……对Emmet来说，什么才是他想要的幸福呢？”Rex蓦然陷入沉思。直到这一刻，他终于察觉自己离Emmet有多远了，他们的经历和心灵已经完全不同，本质已经相差太多，以至于他已经完全无法理解Emmet会想要什么样的幸福了。

　　“直接去问？感觉不太可行……”Rex光想象都能知道Emmet会给他怎样的答案。Emmet是那么温柔贴心，善解人意，为了照顾Rex的心情，他一定会说自己现在已经十分幸福了，而绝口不提自己内心里真实的想法。所以这个问题的答案，只能由Rex自己来寻找。

　　“可是该从哪里找起啊……不如说，现在哪里还有线索？”Rex按住脑袋，开始在记忆里拼命搜寻。他们离开的时候除了Emmet的人之外，什么都没有带走，可是现在连Emmet的橙色建筑工人服装都不知道扔到哪里去了，Rex一时间毫无头绪。

　　“等等……虽然我们离开的时候确实什么都没带走，但是更早以前可不是！”Rex霍然抬头。

　　他带着Emmet第一次上Rexcelsior时，他用破坏拳破坏了Emmet的飞船，但是事后他并没有扔掉那些碎片。也就是说，现在，Emmet的小屋飞船的碎片仍然留在Rexcelsior的船舱里。

　　Rex马不停蹄地来到了当时存放Emmet飞船的碎片的仓库。那些金黄色与明蓝的色调在暗蓝为主调的飞船机舱里显得格格不入，让Rex看着它们久久不语。一种近似于近乡情怯的心情让他几乎无法动弹，但是最后他还是鼓起了勇气，拿起曾经被自己亲手破坏的碎片，一块一块地缓缓还原曾经装载了Emmet所有期待和梦想的……“家”。

　　建筑大师的能力无疑让Rex能够一瞬间将这些碎片复原回原有的状态，但是他并没有那么做。他慎重而珍惜地仔细看着每一个碎片，努力挖掘着深埋在自己记忆深处的，拼出这座小屋时自己的所思所想，在每一块碎片之中感悟着曾经属于Emmet的爱和期待。这已经不是单纯的“拼装复原”，而是一场重走往昔之路、回到原点的心灵巡礼。待Emmet的小屋被完全复原的时候，Rex终于，重新理解了Emmet。

　　小屋风格童趣可爱，一切设计都简单纯粹，充满了当时Emmet对渴望与之共同生活的人全部的爱，对他们共同的未来的期待。

　　Rex拿起那个写着“E&L 4-EVER”的抱枕，长长叹息一声。

　　是啊，Emmet想要的从来很简单，不过是普通平凡却快乐的生活，只要能和他所爱的人在一起他就已经心满意足。他没那么喜欢刺激的冒险，也不在乎物质财富和声名权望；他拥有一颗赤子之心，是最纯真无邪的存在，他本来就值得这世上一切美好，本该迎来一个幸福快乐的大团圆结局。

　　但是他所爱的人们……Rex完全是不自觉地露出了厌恶的神情。即使已经过去了那么久，即使那一切��属于Emmet的世界线没有再发生……但是他依然无法忘怀，更无法释怀。

　　那些家伙对Emmet并没有感情，所以才会���此轻易地抛弃了Emmet……还是两次！Rex想起Emmet发出了求助信号，却没有丝毫回音的结果，又忍不住为Emmet生气起来。——就那些家伙，怎么可能让Emmet幸福呢？

　　忽而，Emmet凝望着夕阳的场景又付现在了Rex的脑海之中。不仅是在烘干星系底下看日落的情景，还有在其他宇宙的时候……每当黄昏到来，Emmet总会不自觉地被吸引走，最后变成他们两人一起静静欣赏着日暮的风景。Rex能够察觉到Emmet的身影有多寂寥，也能够隐约察觉到Emmet沉浸于那带着忧伤的景色中的原因，对此他不可能不介意。而此刻再想起来，Rex忽然明白了他真正需要偿还给Emmet的到底是什么。

　　“不是能陪在他身边会去爱他的人。”在这一点上，Rex相信，没有人会比自己更爱Emmet，不会有人像自己一样毫无保留地给予包括陪伴在内的所有。而他给Emmet的，远不能抹消Emmet心中的遗憾和伤痕。从这个角度而言，也许那些伙伴爱不爱Emmet其实已经并不重要了。

　　“不是无敌的力量，不是完美的人生。”

　　“是……相信，是信念；是选择，是自由。是足以支撑人在往后余生中不断向前的力量，是通往未来的道路。”

　　无论那些“朋友”是真情还是假意，能做出的应该只有Emmet自己。无论结果如何，Emmet都应该在自己的宇宙，自己的时间中继续前行。Rex以他自己的意志强加给Emmet，夺走了Emmet的信念和能够选择的可能性，将他流放到了这个看似有无限宇宙可以探险游玩，可实际上没有目标没有方向的虚无之中，就好像在众多宇宙夹隙之中漫无目的地飘荡的幽灵。

　　或许Emmet还没有察觉到这种不幸，但是终有一天他会明白自己失去的不仅仅是故乡，还有他应有的未来。这种自己一手造成了所爱之人之不幸的感觉让Rex感觉到窒息。

　　Rex回到房间，重新躺上床。Emmet就在他旁边。他想去拥抱Emmet，但是此刻他竟然连这么简单的动作都根本不敢去做。愧疚仿佛一条毒蛇一般在他肚子里翻滚，噬咬着他的五脏六腑。

　　忍耐着心中的酸涩和疼痛，Rex咬紧了牙关。可是就在这时，Emmet梦话般小声问道：“Rex？”

　　“嗯？”Rex轻声回应。下一秒，Emmet就伸出手，抱住了Rex。这让Rex当即怔住了。“Emmet？”

　　“你还在啊……真好。”Emmet的声音就像刚烤好剥去外皮的棉花糖。那种温暖柔和，却让Rex差一点就流下泪来，一句“对不起”到了嘴边，却怎么也说不出来了。

　　Rex悄悄地往前蹭了点儿，和Emmet贴得更近。他能感受到Emmet的心跳，那安宁稳定的脉动就像一首生命原初的摇篮曲，通往人类最古老的梦。不知不觉之中，Rex的心情也平静了下来。

　　对不起。他在心底再次对着面前的人说。既然这一切错误是由他开始的，那也该由他纠正，Rex暗下决心。就让他最后再替他所爱的人做一次选择。

　　感受着Emmet的温暖气息，Rex闭上了眼睛。

　　

　　

　　*7 回归最初

　　“回去？”

　　听到Rex这个提议的时候，Emmet大为震惊：“Rex……你没在开玩笑吧？”

　　“这还能有假？”Rex喝了一口手里的黑咖啡。“你看上去很惊讶？”

　　“是啊……我本来以为我们一辈子都不会回去了。”Emmet反应过来，尝了一口Rex给他做的咖啡——是Emmet最爱的口味，奶油和糖的比例恰到好处，让咖啡香甜得几乎感觉不到苦涩。“为什么突然决定回去？”

　　“有了几项新的实验和发明，最重要的是，我想验证一下我的猜想。”Rex抬眸和Emmet对上目光。“你不想回去的话就算了……”

　　“不！我当然……”Emmet下意识地说了出口，就看到Rex似笑非笑地望着他。“嗯……你不是又在诈我吧？”

　　“恭喜你已经习惯了，但是没有奖励。”Rex放下咖啡。“不过我早就知道了——你不是一直想回去吗？”

　　“你怎么知道……好吧。”他们两人作为恋人相处的时候，总让他忘记了Rex是一个加强版自己的事实。Emmet得承认，在Rex面前，自己太容易被看穿了。Rex对他的了解，总是他对Rex的了解无法相比的。“我能问问，我们回去是要做什么吗？”

　　“关于这个嘛。”Rex指了指一旁桌子上看上去像一个小型Rexcelsior的小机器。“你看得出它是做什么用的吗？”

　　“我试试。”Emmet兴致盎然地检查起来。“好有意思，镜头，时间之沙……一个小型的时空穿越设备，定位到指定时空之后拍摄影像，往回传输信号……这是个时空摄影机？！”

　　“精准的概括。”Rex鼓掌。“用它，我们就能知道当初你在等待的时候，你那些‘朋友’到底发生什么事了。”

　　Emmet几乎不敢相信自己的耳朵：“Rex，你的意思是……”

　　“当初我不是用那个赌约逼你从那里离开吗？本来我确实打算永远不回去，也阻止你回去的。”Rex微微偏开了目光，看向桌子上的器械。“但是……过去了这么长一段时间之后，我发现可能我的想法有失偏颇。也许他们不是故意的，也许有什么他们确实没有办法来帮助你的理由……最重要的是，你告诉了我，你放不下，你不开心。所以……我希望你知道真相之后自由地去选择。是回到那里，还是留在这儿，一切都决定于你。”

　　“我有吗……？”Emmet瞠目结舌。“我表现那么明显吗？”

　　Rex用“你说呢？”的眼神看向Emmet，Emmet只得干笑。不过被所爱之人如此珍之重之地放在心上，被如此着想，让Emmet心里一阵温暖：“谢谢你。”

　　“……是我该道歉。”Rex没等Emmet反应过来，就启动桌上的机器，“事不宜迟，现在就开始试试吧。”

　　桌上的小飞船瞬间消失。很快，信号就连通了，Rex定位了时间，让时空摄影机传输回来的信号投在光屏上。“看吧，这就是那时候发生的一切。”

　　两人聚精会神地看起了从Emmet被Rex推下烘干星系底的时候起，其他人身上发生的一切。

　　他们看到的是一团混乱。Lucy在混乱中被弹射到了现实世界的妹妹的桌子上无法动弹，但没有人理睬她；蝙蝠侠以及其他人一直在哭着寻找Watevra Wa'Nabi，但是他们怎么都没办法将她复原；最后那对兄妹将一切归于了收纳箱。过了很久，所有人才重见天日，但西斯塔星系和末日堡已经彻底没有了联合的可能。两边皆是一地鸡毛，超级英雄中的蝙蝠侠失去了他爱的人一蹶不振，连带着无论超级英雄还是超级反派的其他所有人都像一盘散沙，所有人都无比迷茫，整个末日堡被低迷的气氛笼罩。就连可爱的Unikitty都失去了活力，蜷缩在Emmet小屋原本所在地方整日睡觉。人们变得不再相互关心，连行动都懒得行动。而唯一没有受到这种气氛影响的Lucy则还被困在现实世界，对一切无能为力。

　　看起来是Watevra Wa'Nabi的消陨导致了这一切。Rex敏锐地察觉到了这一切的关键。没有了她，那对兄妹之间的冲突化解不了了，因此导致了两方所有人情绪上的低落，乃至失去了活力。

　　“不……不。”亲眼看到这幅情景，Emmet都快无法呼吸了。他把脸埋进了双手之中：“这都是我造成的……”

　　“少大包大揽，要怪也该怪我才对。”Rex狠狠一拍Emmet的背，把Emmet差点掀翻。“那么，你想改变这一切吗？”

　　“你的意思是……”Emmet眼睛一点点亮了起来。“玩点时间的小把戏——正是我们擅长的。”Rex点头表示认可。“我知道你会怎么想——让这一切，”Rex点了点屏幕，“从未发生过，对吧？”

　　“你太懂我了Rex。”Emmet点头，接着又露出了怀疑之色：“但是……等等，如果我们回去的话，那这条时间线上，不就有你，我，还有一个新的‘Emmet’了吗？这样难道不会……”

　　“你能想到的我当然也能想到，我自然有解决方案。”在Emmet疑问的眼神之中，Rex取出一个怀表。当怀表的盖被Rex打开，Emmet才发现它是做成怀表形状的道具。“使用它，抵达我们离开那个世界的那一刻之后，倒转时间，我们就能在不创造出新时间线的情况下实现在时间轴上的位移。简而言之，在使用它之后会产生时间倒流的效果，我们可以回到相遇之前，让你重新做出选择。”

　　Rex越说，Emmet的眼睛越亮。他梦寐以求的事物已经近在眼前，这个Rex送给他的重新开始的机会让他仿佛看到了曙光：“也就是说……”

　　“对，你可以回到你那些朋友的身边，你可以重新成为他们的救世主。”Rex的声音里带着淡淡的无力和疲倦，但是Emmet太兴奋了，因此并没有察觉这一点。“不，不止是这样！Rex，我们可以一起回去了啊！”

　　Emmet忽然紧紧抓起Rex的双手，放在他自己的胸前：“我们可以回到城市，或者末日堡，还是随便怎么说——我们可以回到那里一起生活了，我们有家了！”

　　“你想把房子修在哪里？是能看星星的地方？还是有很多鲜花的地方？还是临湖的地方？噢，我要设计一个可以让你的迅猛龙船员们也能住进来的大房子！”Emmet已经开始兴致勃勃地谋划了。“我都等不及向其他人介绍你了，我要让大家都知道，你是另一个我，也是我的另一半，我往后共度一生的人。可以吗，Rex？”

　　回应吵吵嚷嚷的Emmet的，是Rex的封缄之吻。虽然Emmet觉得Rex是因为嫌他太吵所以干脆用这种方式堵住了他的嘴，可是很快也沉醉在这个吻之中。

　　Rexcelsior渐渐从太空之中下沉，平稳地落到某颗星球上。远方，这个星系里恒星的光芒依然明亮，不过随着他们所处星球的自转，此刻他们面前呈现出了夕阳正在下落的情景。霞光万丈，灼灼如火；天地同色，仿若寰宇皆熔于一炉。如血染般的茜色一如当初Rex和Emmet离开他们原本的世界时所见的情景。

　　看了那么多次日落，Emmet的目光下意识地想越过Rex，去追随那嫣红的光芒。可是Rex用手托住了Emmet的脸庞，强硬地把恋人的脸掰向了自己。“看着我。”

　　Emmet听话地照做了。在夕暮的光芒之中，Rex的身影仿佛即刻将被一同熔化在那片耀眼的红之中一般。Rex拉着Emmet倒在柔软的床铺之中，接下来Emmet就遗忘了其他一切，被欢愉的狂浪淹没，直到夜幕暗沉的蓝将黄昏的茜色彻底吞噬。

　　……

　　“Rex，我准备好了！”回到了他们离开这个世界的那一刻，Emmet的语调里根本藏不住他的兴奋，他即将重新出发，去拯救他的朋友们。“回到过去之后，你还会来的，对吧？就像我们初次相遇的时候那样？”

　　“嗯。这一次，你一定会得到让你满意的结局。”Rex打开了那只怀表，抬眸和Emmet对上目光。“我要传送了？”

　　他拿着怀表的手有些僵硬。不过最后，他还是深吸一口气，毅然决然地按下了中央的按钮。那一刻，仿若磁带倒带，电视倒放，这个世界的一切都开始倒流。Rex闭上眼睛，握紧了另一只手里的字条——

　　……

　　“一旦这么做了，就彻底无法反悔了。”

　　在准备的时候，Rex看着那只怀表状的道具，心中微颤。“时光倒流启动之后，不止是身体状态，就连记忆也会回到原点，只有来自这个世界以外的东西能够得到保留。但，无论我还是Emmet，都不会记得我们曾经是什么样的关系，我们曾经有过怎样的冒险。”

　　“如果历史被修正，Emmet没有了再成为我的可能性的话，我就会消失。”一直以来，Rex都视这个事实为自己的阿克琉斯之踵，也对Emmet隐瞒着这个事实。可是他从未想过，自己有一天，居然会主动去实现它。

　　“要反悔的话，现在还来得及。”他心里的那个声音变小了许多。“如果告诉Emmet的话，他绝对不会舍得放弃你的。”

　　沉思片刻之后，Rex轻笑了一声。

　　“我穿越时空，回到过去的出发点，就是为了拯救Emmet，让他得到幸福。为了让他能够前进，‘我’这个错误必须被纠正。所以……用不着犹豫了，这不正是我期待的结果吗？”

　　“没错，我就是为此而来的，这就是我存在于这里的全部意义。”Rex���里的那个声音像是感到赞同一般，彻底消失了。

　　只有日落彻底结束、夜晚过去之后，才能迎来新的一天。

　　新的一天终归会来到的。而现在，黎明将近。

　　“No regrets.”Rex拿着怀表，笑得释怀而坦然。

　　“你和我不一样。你还有无限的希望，你有广阔的未来。你是初生的太阳，如此闪耀。所以……忘记那些日落吧，Emmet。”

　　怀表形的装置被启动之后，时间倒流回了Emmet乘上他的小屋飞船的那一刻。随着一声清脆的声响，Rex手中的怀表不断破碎、裂开，最后变成了齑粉，消散为一缕尘烟。

　　……

　　“奇怪，怎么感觉头那么疼？”Rex环顾四周。他回过神来的时候，发现自己已经带着一船迅猛龙船员抵达了时间上的目的地，此刻他正在楼梯门的对面，只待穿上宇航服去拯救将被玻璃小行星撞上的Emmet了。

　　“嗯？我手里拿着的这是……一张字条？”Rex怀抱着疑问打开了字条，接着他愣住了：“我自己的字？嗯……去时空神殿之后让Emmet安排计划，回到Rexcelsior上等待，不要多加干涉？”

　　“这都是什么，我的计划里根本没有去时空神殿这一环啊？等等，难道说我已经失败过一次了？！”Rex大惊。“但是为什么我没有任何记忆？难道说……是我自己消除的？”

　　“怪了，发生了什么让我要连记忆都消除掉，只给自己留下一个提示？”Rex疑惑地撕碎了纸条，把它扔进了垃圾桶，接着快速给自己换上了宇航服：“不管了，等真发生了再说吧，再不去‘我’可又要栽到烘干星系底下去了！”

　　“我绝对要拯救到‘我自己’！”Rex从Rexcelsior的舱口毅然跃入了无尽虚空。他咬着牙：“不惜一切代价！”

　　

　　*8 遗忘日落

　　“那我们还能做最特别的、最好的朋友吗？”

　　“永远都是。”

　　柔和温暖的灿烂光芒洒向大地，仿若寒冬回春，一切都焕发出了勃勃生机。就连永远死寂一片的烘干星系底部也接受了阳光的照耀，变得斑斓一片。

　　和Lucy牵手的那一瞬间，Emmet突然望向前方，停住了脚步。

　　“Emmet，你在看什么呢？”Lucy投来不解的目光。但是Emmet那一瞬间什么都说不出。阳光落进了他的眼睛之中，让他忽然有了种落泪的冲动。

　　他感觉自己好像遗忘了某件事情，某件非常非常重要的事情。但是他死活想不起来那件事是什么，就好像一场沉沉大梦醒来之后，梦里所有的经历都随着苏醒消散殆尽了一般。

　　眼前的阳光有些过于耀眼了。Emmet心里忽然冒出了这样一个想法。他曾经看见过更……

　　更……什么样的，什么东西呢？

　　Emmet想不起来了。最后，他指向了太阳：“Lucy，你看啊……太阳出来了。”

　　“是啊……日出真美。”Lucy用柔和的声音赞叹。“新的一天总会到来的。”

　　“嗯。”Emmet轻声附和。欣赏了这绚烂美丽的日出美景片刻，他终是放下了那些想不起来的事情，和Lucy携手，向那阳光照耀而来的方向走去。