//------------------------------// // 960 - Sweet Dreams // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// She’s another Silhouette. It was the only thing Lex could think as he stared at the naked girl in front of him, his attention focused on her despite the enemies that were attacking. When he’d unexpectedly met Nosey again in the course of his ill-fated trip to Las Pegasus, she’d told him about what the unhinged earth pony had done to her. That Silhouette had a deranged mind hadn’t been news to Lex, but the degree to which he was unhinged had been far worse than he’d thought. Particularly with regard to his obsession with Luna. Nisha, however, put Silhouette to shame. That should have been obvious from the moment he’d first laid eyes on her. He’d known that Nisha had possessed not just one tulpa, but several, each so strongly developed – and quite clearly not under her control – that they were actually able to speak aloud. A warning of that magnitude should have been impossible for him, of all people, to overlook. Having labored under the unrelenting torments a single such rogue portion of his own mind, subjected to ceaseless mockery during the day and horrific dreams each night, Lex knew all too well the burden that an uncontrolled tulpa was. While not physically harmful, the strain it had put him under had still been immense and unending, and although Lex could say without conceit that even as a mortal he’d been far more resilient than other ponies, he’d still struggled with it. And Nisha had been dealing with how many of those things? It was a question that it had never occurred to Lex to ask, too caught up in himself and his own problems. Now, however, he knew that she hadn’t been “dealing with” her tulpas in any sense of the term. They had – likely in conjunction with whatever she’d suffered at the hooves of White Wraith and Grim Darklight – broken her completely. And despite what she’d said just a moment ago about his having made her whole, Lex knew full well that he’d done nothing of the sort. If anything, bonding with her had done the opposite. Even as the link between them had formed, he’d registered what the process had done to her. The Night Terror’s divine aura could suppress his mystical senses, but similar to how it couldn’t dampen his ability to sense the future, it couldn’t shut down the bond between himself and the ones who had a piece of his soul in them. The result was that he’d had a clear picture of what was happening as Nisha had become his. She hadn’t reintegrated her tulpas back into her mind. Instead, she’d simply destroyed them and consumed what had remained. It had been the psychic equivalent of watching someone tear off their own legs and then devour them. Nisha had, one by one, broken down each of the rebellious parts of herself, stopping only when those portions of her mind were thoroughly destroyed before reintegrating them back into the rest of her. He’d been able to sense it happening. Even as her emotions were made known to him, he’d been able to detect multiple, disparate states of mind coming from her, knowing that they were her tulpas. Lingering resentment – likely directed toward himself, if her previously asking why he was helping her after throwing her away was any indication – was one of them. Another was self-loathing. A third was desperate loneliness. Those and so many other negative emotions, were one throttled one by one until they’d been wiped out, disappearing from his awareness until all that was left was love. Had Lex not been in his transformed state, with the powerful feeling of equanimity that it brought, he knew he’d have been recoiling from her in horror. Now, however, he was fully aware that he didn’t have that luxury. Nisha was bound to him, and would remain so for eternity, and there was nothing to do but deal with that. Which meant that in the meantime, he needed to focus on what he could do right now. Or rather, what she could do. Get us out of here! he commanded her as he spun in place, turning to face Steel Soul, Sanguine Disposition, and the “eremite” that Grim Darklight had called Algos. Right now! The order sent a rush of glee through her. Yes, my master! And then, still kneeling, she clasped her hands together in front of her chest and closed her eyes. Lex didn’t question what she was doing, trusting that she knew how to use whatever power she’d gained. All of his other soul-bound companions had received some new ability after he’d bonded with them – Solvei’s cryomancy, Nenet’s countermagic, and Mei Li’s feng shui – along with a host of complementary abilities, and all of them had instinctively known how to use them. Nisha should be no different. Of course, the powers they gained were also his to command, but unlike his wives – for he had, to his own surprise, accepted that designation for his soul-bound companions even in his own thoughts – he had to manually figure out what they’d given him and how to use it. And there was no time to do that as the Night Terror’s subordinates closed in. Algos’s advance had slowed to a crawl as he pointed at Nisha, and Lex’s foresight showed that the creature was about to use the same binding spell on her that he’d used on the Night Terror only a few seconds ago, albeit with less power. But knowing that – and with the small degree that his transformed state allowed him to push back against the Night Terror’s sensory suppression aura – Lex reached out with Nenet’s metamagic, seizing control of the spell. Even as he did, the wires that made up his horn lit up as he telekinetically dragged the eremite into Steel Soul’s line of fire. In an instant, the brilliant blue beams of the latter’s energy cannons tore through Grim Darklight’s flayed creature, one punching a huge hole in its chest even as the other crushed most of the thing’s head. Steel Soul roared in outrage as his shot was ruined, even as Algos – somehow still alive despite the damage it had taken – began to spasm as though having a seizure. At the same time, the eremite’s magic took effect, and Lex changed its target toward Sanguine Disposition. The vampire let out a surprised yelp as mystical chains of pure magic wove around him. But it wasn’t enough to stop his own spell – which, curiously, Lex still hadn’t been able to sense, even in his current form – from activating. Which was why he was taken completely by surprise when a tightly-concentrated explosion of force tore his foreleg to shreds. The force of the blow was staggering, all the more so for how it was contained in an area whose radius was less than a foot wide, heightening the power of it. Even so, Lex knew immediately that the damage he’d taken was near-totally cosmetic; for all of its power, all the spell had done nothing except to disrupt the shape of the wires that made up his talons. Except that in doing so, he’d momentarily lost his grip on Belligerence...ending his use of its negation power on Steel Soul. Despite having been taken by surprise when his blessing had been shut down, the mechanized stallion immediately recognized the opportunity he’d been given. “KILL THE ONE NAMED NISHA!!!” From outside of the blade barrier, Grim Darklight gave a cry of protest, but Lex wasn’t listening, instead reaching out to grab Belligerence as his claw reformed. Steel Soul, he felt certain, knew that he’d just bonded with the wolf-turned-woman, and was no doubt equally aware – or at least thought it highly likely – that killing her would cripple him. Which is why he knows I won’t do it, Lex knew, guaranteeing that the Dominata will injure me in the meantime. But that’s only the case until I can use the weapon to negate it again. Which means- “Got you...!” Lex had already foreseen Algos’s suicidal charge as the eremite flung itself onto Belligerence, letting the weapon pierce through his still-regenerating torso – passing directly down its length so that the quill went through its heart, seemingly unbothered by the permanent hole the organ now sported – to crash bodily into him. Completely impervious to the force of the impact, Lex immediately moved to fling the butchered creature away, but Algos made a burbling noise that might have been a laugh as he reached out to grab him, uncaring that his fingers were instantly flayed as the jagged wires of his body shredded them. Even so, the eremite hung on, and while Lex knew that he’d be able to dislodge Grim Darklight’s monster easily enough, the incredible damage the Dominata was inflicting on him meant that he’d need a few seconds to do so. That was time that Steel Soul and Sanguine Disposition wouldn’t fail to capitalize on. And if they were able to press him hard enough, then Lex had no doubt the Night Terror would resume her own attack. Letting someone else weaken prey for you was highly efficient, after all. Nisha, hurry! He registered desperation from her then, along with a disproportionately large amount of shame. Forgive me, Master! There are no dreamers nearby that I can sense! Having already known what she was going to say, Lex had more than enough time to come up with a solution. If that’s what you need, then use her! Even as he spoke, Lex – ignoring Algos entirely – focused on his enhancing his bond with Nisha. And with Nenet. The Night Terror’s attempt to rip the Night Mare’s power out of him had caused Lex indescribable pain, akin to when Solvei had died before...and similar to when Gwynharwyf had attempted to strike his bonds with his soul-bound servants. In the latter instance, Lex had been fully aware that the agony the eladrin had inflicted on him had also been visited on his wives. Hating that his connection to them had been used to hurt them, Lex had silently sworn he’d never let that happen again, immediately setting to work on a spell that could safeguard their bond from such tampering. But he hadn’t had time to finish its design – let alone cast it – before Sanguine Disposition had summoned him to Darkest Night. Which was why, in order to protect Solvei and the others when the Night Terror had tried to rip away the power that connected them, Lex had forced their link closed. There had been nothing tactical in doing so; if anything, trying to suppress their connection even while the avatar had attacked his very essence had made the pain even worse, like holding a heavy object while lying on a bed of needles, but he’d done it anyway, not wanting to them to suffer if he could help it. He’d succeeded in doing so, and because of that, he had what Nisha needed now. Perpetually able to sense their status across their bonds – even across the planar isolation of Mare Occultum, in what had been another clue that the realm wasn’t completely secluded – Lex knew that while Solvei and Mei Li were awake, Nenet was asleep. And while his wives were bonded to him and not each other, enhancing his connection to Nenet and Nisha both was enough to let him act as a relay, confirming an idea he’d theorized for some time but never bothered to test as he put the two of them in momentary contact with each other... Who is that? I can feel her, she’s- Nisha’s eyes snapped open as she gasped. She’s dreaming! Master, I can get us out! Shoving Algos away, Lex grabbed Belligerence, his talons barely able to wrap around the ebony quill as the Dominata ate away at his ability to maintain his form. Worse, he could feel the wires starting to come undone, his transformation reaching his limit. Further back, Sanguine Disposition was casting another spell even as Steel Soul charged his weapons again. And up above, he could make out the glow of the Night Terror’s eyes, the avatar clearly aware that he was reaching his limit. Do it! Do it now! Without another word Nisha reached out and placed her hand on him- “You’re so pathetic.” Nenet, her body once again small and ugly, cringed as Adagio sneered down at her. “You never could do anything right, and that hasn’t changed. You went from being a worthless little spellbook to being a worthless little wife. No wonder Lex ran away from you so fast!” Cringing, Nenet felt tears filling her eyes. “Th-that’s not true! Master-, Lex loves me! I’ve felt it!” “And how long do you think that will last if you keep letting him down?” taunted Adagio, suddenly back inside the black crystal cage Lex had put her in during Kryonex’s attack. “He told you to keep me contained, and I still broke out.” Starting to dance again, she waved a hand toward the opposite side of the chamber, where a three-tailed fox was lying in a bloody heap. “He told you to watch out for that other little stray he picked up, and you let her get hurt.” Whimpering, Nenet shook her head. “I...I tried my best! He said he was proud of me...” “Is he proud that you let one of his new girls get hurt?” Twirling in place, Adagio swept her arm out, and the area changed with the motion, becoming the adlet village. Fighting raged in the background as Nenet found herself staring at Branwen’s dead body- Only to let out a scream as the vilderavn’s eyes suddenly snapped open, staring up at her accusingly. “Why didn’t you save me?” Her throat closing up, Nenet shook her head. Branwen continued to stare at her, eyes full of malice. “You knew how I felt. How alone I was. And you still let me die.” “N-no.” The word came out as a sob. “I t-tried to s-save you...” “And you failed,” retorted Branwen. “You let me down, just like you’ve always let down everyone who’s ever depended on you. You’ll let Lex down too, again and again, until he finally throws you away-” “That will never happen.” The unexpected voice caused Nenet to look up from where she’d curled into a ball, weeping. “M-Master?” All of a sudden, the adlet village was peaceful again, with everyone who’d been fighting having vanished. Branwen was gone too, as was Adagio. Instead, striding up from behind her... Nenet gasped as a wire-bound figure with glowing green-and-purple eyes stepped forward, barely noticing the dark-skinned beauty behind him. “Wh-what-” “I will never throw you away, Nenet.” Even as he spoke, the wires receded, revealing Lex’s familiar form. “Not now, not ever. I will always need my sphinx by my side.” What he was saying was more important than making sense of what was happening, and Nenet sniffled as she looked down. “But I keep failing you...” Kneeling down, Lex reached out with one claw, gently lifting her chin so that she was looking back at him. “You’ve never once failed me, Nenet.” “But-” “You faced Adagio all on your own, recovering my spine and allowing me to not only survive, but ascend.” All around her, the scenery changed, showing her grabbing the spine and racing away before the Siren could catch her. “You protected Mei Li from the undead Kryonex raised, where I was too busy fighting to be able to defend her.” This time she saw herself using her metamagic to empower to fox, the two of them fighting off the horde of monsters together. “You were the one who not only aided Solvei in holding off Burly Brawl, you also assisted Mei Li in getting a message to me in time.” Once again she was working with the kumiho, granting her the ability to use magic she never would have been able to use to avert disaster. “And you were the one who stood up to Gwynharwyf, delaying her long enough to prevent her from abducting anyone before help arrived.” This time Nenet saw herself standing between Gwynharwyf and Branwen, not moving even though she was alone and shaking, offering to let the eladrin take her anger out on her instead of the vilderavn. The sight made Nenet waver. “But I failed her...” “No, I failed her. And you. And Solvei, Mei Li, and numerous others. But it’s because you’re still here that I’m able to keep trying. Which is why I need you to stay with me, always. And why I need you to keep trying as well. And now-” He stood back up then, and Nenet was surprised to find that she was level with him when he did so, back in the new body he’d given her. “-I need you to wake up.” Blinking, Nenet yawned, rubbing her eyes as she sat up in bed. Slowly, a smile crossed her lips as she looked at where her hand was still clasped with Branwen's, the vilderavn's chest rising and falling slowly. “Master was right,” she murmured, remembering the dream she'd just had. “I can’t give up.” “I’m pleased to hear it.” Gasping, Nenet almost fell over as the familiar voice made her turn her head around. “M-Master?!” On the other side of the room, with the same purple-eyed woman she'd seen in her dream standing behind him, Lex nodded. “And that’s another thing you’ve done for me, Nenet.” “H-huh? I don’t...I don’t understand...” “If not for you, I wouldn’t have made it back.”