Game Week of the Multiverse: Riverbank Beach

[Fusion]

"I can assure you that if anyone in this multiverse were to understand, it would be Kora and I," Lee chuckled lightly, looking back up at the sly above. "But you have your secrets, such as we have ours. I will not pry, for I care not. As a selfish creature, like you called me, would say."

This... almost peace was almost convincing enough for Lee to believe things were easy. Almost. He let out a groan and shut his eyes. "You said you do not hate me, and you do not like me. I intended for everyone to entirely despise, so might I ask why you don't? I have a feeling it might be Kora, for some reason that brat thinks well of me."

 

[Navar]

"I'll tell him when I'm ready..."

Lance simply looked at the sky, wrapped in thoughts. Somehow, he felt calmer than he assumed he would be after talking with that Lycanroc. To that, he gave a faint smile.

"I used to be very idealistic, trapped by my own sense of justice. I did... things I now regret, but back then, I didn't care about what anyone thought of me. As long as I did what I thought was best for the greater good... everyone else be damned. Because of that... I killed people. A lot."

He sighed, looking at his paw in silence. Then, he continued. "Things got worse very fast. And yet... I managed to get better. I healed, or yet, I'm still healing. From everything."

He turned his face around, looking at Lee. "I guess what I mean is... I saw a bit of myself in you. Like... criminal, murderer, that... kind of thing."

 

[Fusion]

"I was afraid of that..." Lee's expression fell. That was probably the worst thing to have in common with someone. Especially someone so young...

Lee sat up, facing Lance. "You and I are similar, yes. You saw a bit of yourself in me, but you've essentially been looking in a mirror. Do you think someone as old and violent as me hasn't spilt blood before? Every time I hear of someone who had to do what we have, I can feel another part of me deteriorate, consumed by raged..."

"Kora and I were cursed, both from the day we were born. Centuries in between us, and we both were destined to the same fate... and he managed to find someone who's life mirrored our own." Lee looked at his paws, flexing them slightly and growling. ". . . Is it still to late to convince you to step away from him? Kora can't... he won't be able to handle all of this..."

 

[Navar]

"...It takes one to recognize the other, I suppose." Lance shrugged. How he wished things were different. That he didn't do all the terrible things, he wished to be... normal.

". . . Is it still to late to convince you to step away from him? Kora can't... he won't be able to handle all of this..."

Lance raised a brow, standing up and looking away. He clenched his fist, enough to draw blood.

"I've... changed. This isn't who I am anymore. Like I said, I'm healing. I go to therapy, I do exercises... I'm just glad I got out of it before it was too late. And Kora? Being with him... it helped. I feel wonderful... happy. Like I wasn't able to in years. He's helping me... whether he realizes it or not."

 

[Fusion]

"I am not asking for Kora's sake, I am asking for yours," Lee said flatly. "Kora doesn't have the luxury of being able to change, he and I are both cursed, and I mean that literally. He isn't safe to be around, and when he inevitably hurts you, he will not only be entirely heart broken, but what little mental strength he has left will be gone with it. If you think I am violent, Kora at his worst makes me look like a saint."

Trying to reason with a man nearly as stubborn as himself, was obviously going to be difficult. Lee didn't even know why he kept trying to help this fool, he didn't have to be nice out here, right? Away from most of the village? Why was he wasting his time with this?

"I fully understand that I come off as... what I am, but I am not so spiteful and vile that I would try to make someone do something they do not need to do." Lee stood up, a serious look about him. "Lance... I will be honest. The feelings you have for Kora, and his for you, are not something I have experience with, but I know it will hurt to part from him. But it is the right thing to do. For yourself, for our worlds... and for him."

 

[Navar]

Why was this so difficult? Couldn't Lance just be happy, for once? He felt tears on his eyes, and rubbed them off right away.

"Can't I have what I want? What I need?" Lance turned his back on Lee. "We have an arrangement already. Date until we have to return to our worlds. It's something we did at the moment we decided... well, this relationship. It was never meant to last..."

 

[Fusion]

"Can't I have what I want? What I need?" Lance turned his back on Lee. "We have an arrangement already. Date until we have to return to our worlds. It's something we did at the moment we decided... well, this relationship. It was never meant to last..."

Lee felt a faint, yet painfully sharp pain shoot through his chest. It was enough for him to flinch and grit his teeth. It didn't want to go away, and its taste was disgustingly bitter. The longer Lee tried to force it away, the worse it got.

"L-Lance, I..." Lee stuttered, taking a step forward. This hurt. More than it should have. A monster feeling regret for doing the right thing? For trying to do the right thing? Lee swallowed that regret down and clenched his fists, taking another step forward.

"Being a hero was never fair to those that mattered, Lance. Doing the right thing, for the betterment of others, that will always take a toll on you," he said, gritting his teeth. "That is what you and Kora signed up for, isn't it? Losing everything? Coming out on the bottom? Never truly winning? It's bullshit!"

At this point, Lee was right behind Lance, radiating a furious aura. But despite that rage, he placed his paw on Lance's shoulder with the tenderness of a caring parent. "So I understand, more than you know, that having to do what is right is... painful. I know that pain, I know that hurt, I know that unfairness... and I'm sorry. From the depths of my heart... I am sorry."

 

[Navar]

Lance shivered, His heart thumped, beating so quickly that he was out of breath. Almost like he was running, but he knew what that meant, something he was so used to: a panic attack.

The problem was that this wasn't the time or place to have a breakdown. Even with trembling around his entire being, Lance looked at Lee, a single tear falling from his face.

"It isn't... it's not fair. It just... iSn'T!"

He finally snapped, falling to his knees and gagging, almost gasping for air. He made a notion as if he was gonna throw up, it was nauseating. He grasped the sand with his paws glowing in a violet tone.

With a distorted voice, Lance went on with his rambling. "WhY... I'm FiNaLlY fReE..." Lance took a deep breath, in and out, enough to calm his voice a little bit. "Free from everything, m-my trauma, my sins... so why can't I have this one, simple thing?!"

 

[Fusion]

Lee shut his eyes, kneeling down and wrapping his arms around Lance and rubbing the jackal's back with a gentleness severely uncharacteristic of him. He even put in some extra effort to fluff up and warm his fur, to be as similar to Kora's as possible.

How many times was he going to be the one to comfort another like this? This was the third time already, and frankly, Lee wasn't looking forward to seeing a fourth. All the sadness caused from this wasn't even tasteful to him, for whatever reason... "You deserve better than this, Lance. I can tell. All I can offer is a shoulder to cry on. Being alone when you're like this... is ill advised," he said, soft. "Let out your tears, I am the only one here to see them. You aren't alone in your pain..."

"Once... Once Kora's journey is over, and he's finally free from his curse, I know he will scour the stars for you once again. He would never truly leave you alone. While you are apart, he will cherish your time together, and when you reunite, he will grant you the world, and more... But let your sadness out now, so you can hold your chin up for him, and for yourself, until you can be together again."

 

[Navar]

Lance didn't bother to answer anything, or more precisely, he couldn't. But he did accept the offer to cry all he needed. Keeping things to himself, bottling them up... he knew how bad it was to do that...

He didn't hold back, tear after tear falling into the sand, while Lance roared out in anguish. It wasn't fair, not one bit... but wait! Arceus was there with them, and if he was as powerful as the rumors said, maybe--No. He said he was weaker in this world. Another failure to add to his pile. How pathetic.

"Are you telling me the truth... or are you just saying this to make me feel better? Do I really have a chance...?"

 

[Fusion]

If Kora wasn't at all involved in this, Lee would have been lying through his teeth. However...

"Koraza... Kora, isn't something that would let something as benign as a curse stop him forever. If even half of his praise towards you is true, then your future together is already sealed. He will not forget the kindness you have shown him, and he tends to overpay that kindness in return," Lee said, his voice still soft.

"He and I might be connected, but it is more... him keeping me alive. If I were to die, it would hurt him, yes, but not nearly as much as him dying would hurt me. And yet, he keeps me around, all because I did him a favor. He is a fool, and woefully stubborn, but he's got spirit to spare." Lee gave Lance a gentle squeeze. "You and him will be together again, I can guarantee you that."

 

[Navar]

"...Thank you. I can't believe I'm saying that, but you get the point."

Lance rubbed off more tears and got up, panting. That entire conversation was way more exhausting than it had any rights to be, but it had a happy end. Now with a genuine smile, Lance yawned, spreading his arms around.

"You know, maybe if things were different... I want to punch myself for saying this out loud... Maybe we could have been friends, or allies. I know you don't care for that, but I was always pretty blunt with my opinions on others. I think I should take my leave... I'm hungover, and all I really want is to lay down in bed."

 

[Fusion]

Lee let go of Lance and chuckled. "The amount of times I've heard someone thank me, then immediately follow it up with, 'I can't believe I'm saying that,' would be worrying to anyone other than myself. And I do appreciate the sentiment, despite how farfetched it is. Do not think of my one act of kindness as a show of what I am truly like."

This whole ordeal was... interesting, to say the least. It was a shame that Lee couldn't take any of Lance's sadness, but he did what Kora asked of him. That was one more favor crossed off of a lifetime of debt.

"Kora would not allow me to leave you here without at least offering to bring you back home, so extended said offer to you," Lee said, holding out a paw. "Walking around with a hangover is less than favorable, after all."

 

[Navar]

"Don't think of me lashing out as how I am, too. Like I said, I'm working on it."

Lance held Lee's paw, raising a brow. "I feel like I should mention, this is probably the second time I'm hungover... how do I cure this? My head feels like it'll explode any second."

 

[Fusion]

And thus, proof of why Kora's only drinking buddies were Lee, a Weavile drunk, and a Sneasel that healed absurdly fast.

Lee, carefully, pulled Lance onto his back. With the Lucario settled, he made his way downtown. Not walking fast, ready to ignore the strangers he'd pass, and entirely Orbeetle homebound. "Plenty of water, rest, and food. I heard cake was a good hangover food, but my only source on that is Kora and his sweet-tooth-armed companions. Anything to kickstart your metabolism, really. If you do not do any excessive movements, you should be back to normal in a few hours."

"And... I will keep this conversation between us under wraps as long as you do as well," Lee muttered. "As pleasant as being seen in a positive light might be, I am highly unused to it. And no one here would believe you either... I have a reputation as an asshole to upkeep."

<><><><><>

 

[Fusion]

With Lance taken care of, Kora... radiating an absurd amount of happiness, and the village currently not on fire, Lee decided to go back to that little beach. The water was nice and cool, it was quiet and off to the side, all the same reasons he came here in the first place.

The wolf let himself into the water, face down once again, and let himself be. He kept himself in place by digging his claws into the riverbed, allowing the water to flow around him.

 

[Ambyssin]

After a quiet night of unsuccessfully attempting to get a message out through Ultra Space to the teammate who could help get him home, Nero decided to quietly walk around the town. It wasn't like there was much happening that he was aware of.

His grass and water selves got the better of him and led him down a path toward a very small stretch of shore. Not really enough to make up an actual beach compared to what he was used to back home. But it was still a nice change of pace from the rest of the town.

The fur on Nero's back itched. He hadn't even noticed Mew had hitched a ride until the little cat squirmed around on his back. "Mew!" they squeaked and pointed toward the water. Nero followed their gaze, but they teleported atop the rocky spikes sticking out of the water. "Mew mew." They waved their hands, summoning silt and sand from the bottom of the water to pile on top of the spikes.

 

[Fusion]

'. . .'

It sort of felt like something was falling on top of Lee. It wasn't raining, and whatever was on him was sort of... grainy. He let out a growl, quickly putting together that someone smartass was piling sand on him, and from the lack of giggling or overbearing presence of dumbassery, it wasn't Kora.

"Whoever's doing this had better be prepared to lose a limb..." he said, but didn't raise his face out of the water, so it was nothing but blubs and bloops.

Lee tried to ignore it for a bit longer, it was actually getting to be quite comfy, but the sand his claws were anchored to started to dwindle, so he had to get back to shore now. Reluctantly, he crawled back to the water's edge and shook some of the sand and water from his fur.

"And to whom do I owe the pleasure of getting sand out of me?" he grumbled, looking up at the pink feline and its chimera companion. "Oh... you two," Lee said flatly, scratching his ear. "One of the Mews, and I believe Kora called you Nero?" he asked, growling as he shook more sand from himself.

 

[Ambyssin]

Nero looked at Mew. "Y'know, that wasn't very nice."

Mew pointed their tail at Lee. "Mew mew mewmew myuuu."

"What do you mean you wanted to see if he was a pyukumuku?" Nero briefly glowed orange. "You're a psychic, for pity's sake. Use your ESP or whatever."

Mew pouted. "Myuuuuuu."

"I don't care if it's boring," Nero said. "You're a guest in this place. You have to be polite."

Still pouting, Mew gently floated down onto the sand. They continued sitting there, arms crossed and lower lip jutted out. Nero shook his head. It wasn't worth trying to reason with them.

"Yes, I'm Nero. You're the one that was with that hyperactive zoroark." It was a statement, not a question.

 

[Fusion]

Good lord it was like looking in a twisted mirror, almost. "Yes, I'm unfortunately attached to Kora. And I frankly don't care what Mew does, they seem vastly less annoying than Kora normally is. Although, again, sand is a pain to deal with..."

"And that ESP wouldn't work quite as well as you'd think, Kora and I both are immune to ordinary psychic abilities," he said, plucking off his arms and dropping it in the water. It grabbed onto the shore to let the water take as much sand out as possible.

Having brought up Kora, some of the stories the fox had said about Nero came back to Lee's mind. How powerful the Chimera was, the kindness he had shown Kora during their first meeting... something about 'love,' that caused Lee to just feel pain... He could have sworn he forced himself to forget that last one.

"...You are a Silvally, correct?" Lee asked, glancing back at Nero for a moment before tending to his arm again. "You are the second one I've met, and frankly, I've never really thought about your species' creation. You were created, correct?"