Game Week of the Multiverse: Riverbank Beach

[Ambyssin]

"Eh, I'm used to it." Nero shrugged. "My team leader's done a lot of crazy stuff that I may or may not have gone along with." He beamed. "I mean, there was this one time we took down a power hungry primarina by out-dueling him a sing off in front of a live audience." His fish tail wagged.

 

[Fusion]

Lee chuckled, shaking his head slightly. Brawn over brain was certainly a precedent across worlds, wasn't it? "The Lucario that is our team leader is more intelligent than Kora, but he and that nitwit did have the bright idea of challenging a gang of purely fighting type to a televised brawl."

"You could hear the entire city erupt in laughter at the start, then everything fell utterly silent once those two won. It was glorious."

 

[Ambyssin]

Nero frowned. He wasn't exactly a huge fan of fights getting televised, but he wasn't going to openly criticize. Instead, he shifted from brown to a pensive gray. "I take it you're the type of person who gets a kick out of other people getting tremendously bummed out about something."

 

[Fusion]

"It was part of whatever I am. I'm more in tune with the emotions of others than most, and normally I took power from their negativity," Lee said, then let out a faint groan and looked to the side, either ashamed, disappointed, or confused. "But ever since I was joined to Kora, negativity has begun to leave a vile taste in my mouth. And positivity in high amounts stings."

He clenched his paws and growled. "Even thinking back to the humiliation those fight brutes felt after their loss... it's starting to make me sick."

 

[Ambyssin]

Nero kept a neutral expression, because parts of that explanation sounded eerily similar to Dark Matter. And a Dark Matter definitely existed in this world at some point in time. Whether it actually survived like his or not was another story, but still something he'd have to file away.

"It sounds to me... like you don't really do what you want for yourself." Was Nero's little habit of reading into people slipping in? Probably. But it had already been said. "You're letting circumstances dictate your thoughts. And those thoughts drive your behaviors.

"So what if you're joined to a doofus? You can either continue to gnash your teeth in frustration — like you've been doing since we got here — or carve out your own path." Nero's head crest fanned out. "Something tells me that zoroark won't try to stop you from doing your own thing. He may even leave you alone if, say, he finds it too boring for his sugar-fueled self."

 

[Fusion]

"He wouldn't, but I don't have a choice but to follow him. When I say I am joined to him, I mean literally joined. I pushed my self past my limits one too many times, and he's the only thing keeping me alive," Lee sighed. "I am dying at an impossibly slow rate, and I need energy and negativity to stay alive. Kora has both in excess, and causes enough misfortune that used to make me feel like I was living again."

"But being a part of him, slowly becoming him... I have started to take on not only his powers, like shape shifting, but his kindness as well, and that conflicts with my... entire being," he went on, clenching his fists. Dwelling on this wretched life of his made him sick to his stomach, metaphorically. "If I stay with him, I will continue to deteriorate from the inside out. If I leave, I die within weeks if I am lucky. If he dies, I won't even last a second longer...

He let his fists go, crossing his arms and exhaling gently. "How could I not be frustrated with this sort of life..?"

 

[Ambyssin]

It sounded to Nero like Lee just needed his spirit patched up. While his core yearned to leap to this guy's aid, the rational part of him knew that was a bad idea. Not from the same world. The rules with spirits could work differently.

... but maybe there was at least something that could be done temporarily?

"I think anyone would be frustrated with that kind of life," he said. "Or they would choose the quicker way out, depending on the way their world works." The silvally's glowing parts faded to a dull blue. "But what if I could offer you a temporary reprieve? At least while you're in this world. And perhaps you could use that time to figure out exactly how to make your current arrangement work." He lowered his head and added in a whisper, "Or if it's an arrangement that's worth keeping at all."

 

[Fusion]

Lee stayed silent for a moment, not even sure if he should even consider there being a true reprieve from all this, or if he could "make this work" at all. He had searched for a solution before, but being how he was, being what he was... Lee couldn't find a solution that wouldn't have been the same as this hell with a different host.

Obviously, Nero's offer sounded too good to be true, but this Silvally already said he dealt with spirits. If anyone had a possible fix for this, would it not have been him?

"...What do you have in mind?" Lee asked, raising his head to face Nero.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Well, I can poke around your spiritual energy to see its relative composition." Nero's glowing parts shifted between pink and silver and a striped combination. "My boss and I... we can use light and Z-Power to mend tears in spiritual energy. It's not the most pleasant process, but it's worth it to give others peace of mind."

He bowed his head. "I don't think it can be permanent right now, though. If anything, it'd be like putting a bandage on a wound; a temporary measure. And you'd definitely lose those whackadoodle powers of yours. You'd probably end up more like a typical lycanroc."

 

[Fusion]

"If you need a relative composition of my soul, you are looking at it," Lee said flatly, He grabbed the side of his chest and pulled it open, revealing a swirling mass of black and purple in place of actual organic matter. "I was born with a higher amount of aura than my body could survive, and within a year I had lost almost all my of body to it. In its place was this darkness, and what little organic bits I had left turned into a core. A gift from my father, who was cursed from his god."

He closed his chest and turned away from Nero, watching the water flow downstream. "In my world, I would be classified as an aura based lifeform. I don't have a body, and I no longer have a natural core thanks to over exerting myself. Kora is my core, and I would wish you luck in trying to patch his soul up."

"It would... be better for you not to waste your effort on me," Lee sighed, sitting down in the dirt. "But I thank you for offering, Nero."

 

[Ambyssin]

So, that was the catch, huh? "Never tell me the odds."

Nero walked up to Lee. His cheek bolts whirred rapidly in their sockets. Pink turned to yellow. Yellow to a vibrant gold. Ripples of gold light fanned across Nero's head crests. His beak practically rattled in his head. Yes, his insides weren't enjoying this. But it would only be a few more seconds.

With a heavy breath, Nero opened his beak... and coughed up a light brown, diamond-shaped crystal. Despite its small size, it seemed to pulsate with an unusual energy.

"You want a different core? It might not survive the trip back to your world, but it's yours here if you want it." Nero gestured to the crystal. "My core is crystal to some extent. And my boss' core is, like, a massive version of this thing."

He shrugged. "Or don't take it. Ultimately, it's not going to make a huge difference." The gold faded from Nero's synthetic pieces. "But you sound like you've been cooped up in the same situation for far too long. Why not try something different?"

 

[Fusion]

...A core.

Lee had to blink a couple times to make sure he was seeing that properly. That was a core. Rock type as well. Bonding to it would certainly alter Lee's self, but he couldn't tell to what extent.

"You... made me a new core," Lee muttered, lifting it with a paw. It felt like how people who describe things as "having an earthy taste" probably thought that meant. Earthy, mineral-rich, and all of that just from his usual aura sense and holding the thing.

He would be... free. Severely weakened, lacking the abilities he had gotten accompanied to over centuries of surviving, but free. There wouldn't be any Kora in him, or at least not as much. That fox's influence would dwindle further and further until... Lee was himself once again. It had been so long since he thought that was even possible, he had forgotten who he even was without Kora's being drudging it up.

"Nero... why?" Lee asked, clutching the core tightly. "You do not know me, you saw how I act towards others. I flat out admitted I used to revel in the negativity of others... Why help me?"

 

[Ambyssin]

Why indeed. He got that question often but there wasn’t a perfect answer. Else he’d have committed it to memory.

“I believe people can change,” Nero said. “Even those who are shrouded in shadows can be coaxed with a gentle touch of light.”

 

[Fusion]

"You believe... people can change..?" Lee blinked, taking a step back, holding the core to his chest. "I can... change..."

A shapeless, black figure lifted me in its arms. Its breathing was ragged, pained, from the battle before. From the damage I caused...

"I tried to kill you, you fool! What the hell are you doing?!"

"You could... have killed us a whole buncha times already... b-but you kept holding back..." It said, chuckling. "Wh-Why?"

I remained silent, not having an answer. The figure chuckled again, stumbling over broken stone.

"S-See..? Y-You never wanted... us dead. Th-That means, y-you aren't bad... s-so I won't... leave you..."

"Y-You can... you can change... Lee."

"I can change," Lee said softly, shutting his eyes and sighing. The edges of his mouth curled up in a small smile, and he chuckled. "Yes, I can quite clearly see why Kora thinks so highly of you. You are both either hilariously naive, and infectiously kind-hearted."

He took a deep breath, aiming one of the edges of the core towards his chest and jamming it inside. Black electricity crackled around his body, and he let out a pained hiss from between gritted teeth. A dark aura rose from his body, fading into a lighter brown. As the electricity and aura started to fade, Lee lurched forward, panting heavily and digging his claws into the dirt.

After a moment or two passed, Lee stood up and let his head hang back as he took a deep breath. Instead of sensing the well of emotions coming from the village behind him, Lee felt... mostly nothing. Nothing but himself, and a few faint, strong traces of Kora. But even those were starting to fade away. His mind was clearer than it has been for several centuries.

He brought his head back down to face Nero, a grateful smile along his snout. "It worked, for the most part. I can't feel everyone anymore... but I still feel Kora. Faintly," Lee said, resting his paw over his core. "It won't be long until we leave, but I think, before then, I'll be entirely myself once more... Thank you.

 

[Ambyssin]

During the entire exchange, Mew wound up falling asleep. Sighing, Nero levitated them up to plop them on their back. "You're welcome." Of course now was the part where voices were questioning if this was a good thing to do. And he had to fight the urge to scoff at being called hilariously naïve. Nero understood what it was like to be taken advantage of. If this guy really did step out of line, then he might have to rectify the situation. But that would make it another lesson to add to the growing collection.

Nero turned back toward the path. "Catch you later, I s'pose." He trotted off with Mew sleeping soundly on his back.

 

[Fusion]

"Yes, I suppose," Lee nodded, sitting down at the edge of the beach. Staying closer to the earth felt rather pleasant, all of the sudden. "Until then."

At any moment, Kora would have felt their connected nearly entirely severed. He would have been worried, of course, and try to find Lee as soon as possible. How would he take this, Lee wondered? Probably not easily, but he would have to understand...

"I will cross that bridge when it comes to me," Lee muttered.

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