Eternals

He felt so wrong but so right at the same time. He had loved Clementine but it was never meant to be. He had lived in anger at her for a few weeks, believing she was a traitor for some reason before completely dropping it out with her. He had agreed to remain her close friend but hadn't spoken to her on a personal level ever since. If anything, he had chosen to remain around Roketto-Dan, mainly Nyarth. His blood brother and alter ego could help him for his resistance to feel love or pain shown when he seemed more out of it than ever.

Then he had slipped into a maniacal depression. He didn't intend to hurt anyone and didn't with Nyarth keeping him on a tame level. The others tried to help him as well but when Amber mentioned something about a flight to calm himself, he had seen something in his mind, a nightmare he had been having regarding the word fly.

Ever since his fallout with Clementine, he had bonded with Bashur who had sought him out in need of a friend at the time. He had given him friendship but soon nightmares of his friend began to plague his mind along with his usual clone ones. Bashur did not have an inability to fly but he had trouble doing it. He was also terrified of large heights and he was afraid of failing in flying from the times he was picked on by Sky and the others in Team Crafted before he became an Eternal. He forgave them but their antics left a scar on his mind.

His nightmares were normally the same thing. They were in an isolated area with only he and Bashur in it. Bashur would be practicing his hovering and jumping skills but then... the nightmare would be begin. He would attempt to fly at one point but be unable to and would fall down a cliff. Even being able to hover, he would be unable to use it. Instinct would kick in and Master Nyarth would completely forget that it was a dream and would attempt to save him. But no matter what tactic he used or how fast he went, he would be unable to save him and right before Bashur would hit the ground and surely die, he would wake up, his mind reeling and fear shaking his usually calm body.

It had all come back to him and once his maniacal state found Bashur, doing his best to try to calm him, he felt himself becoming tamer and safer around him. It confused him. His nightmares he kept to himself saying they were his usual clone nightmares. He had wondered if it was normal to have nightmares constantly about a close friend.

But then he started feeling... different around him. With Clementine, he never felt like this so he couldn't connect the dots at all. He would feel strange around Bashur like he just wanted to be close to him forever. He also began to notice the stuttering side of Bashur begin to show itself again, normally when they were together alone. Why though? He had pondered in his mind for so long until he began to spy on Pikachuu and Nyarth, taking note of their behavior around each other. Despite theirs being more open, he decided to refuse to believe he was in love. There was just no way.

He had thought he had loved Clementine, but was it possible that he never did and only thought he did? It was possible, seeing with how his scarred mind worked now. But how could it be Bashur? They were barely anything alike.

Even when he had asked Nyarth on what to do, he simply said to follow his heart and do what he believed to be right. When he had pushed him on his love for Pikachuu, he had suddenly become angry and snapped at him, refusing to answer his question and repeating what he had said. He hadn't asked him about it ever since.

Master Nyarth narrowed his eyes in thought, glancing over the side of the cliff he sat on staring off into the sunset being consumed by the ocean. He growled softly to himself, wondering how he went from a maniac to wondering if he loved someone, Bashur especially. There was no real answer to it. He was just meant to be here and therefore would do whatever he could do to protect the Eternals. It was always what he was meant to do, even if he wanted to think otherwise.

He knew it. He was in love with Master Nyarth. And never before had something bothered him this much. Even with his fear of being treated like the other living watermelons that had lived before him and being abandoned by those he trusted, nothing could compare to the amount of fear he had for being rejected by the maniacal and tough Master Nyarth. He was fine with Nyarth but his alter ego was different and he understood him better than even his brother, Sky. He could get on a personal level with him and just that fact alone probably caused his feelings to escalate.

He had felt love before but the feelings were never returned. Plus, he had always been the one being picked on by the others. He had always laughed it off and appeared to be carefree and happy. Normally he was but sometimes he wished for those he admired and trusted to pay attention to him and give him what he thought he deserved.

Then he had been captured by the squids, Pewface betraying him and Paps now dead. He had lived in fear for so long and then obedience. He and Deadlox. Now though, he felt happier and safer. He had clung to Sky who adopted him as his brother. And then he had been given the miracle of having Sky be his biological brother who gave him the love he desired from the one he admired. Even with him being revealed as a former squid, he loved him like the brother he was still.

But then he had found the secret of the living watermelons. He was technically the last of his kind and the ones before were used as food after a while. Paps was probably trying to protect him from that and knowing that broke him. He always questioned Sky, Chilled and the others as to why he wasn't the same as them. They responded because he was their friend and that they cared about him.

But his most support was in fact Master Nyarth who connected with him on many levels. When he had questioned why he wasn't killed yet by the others and that he deserved it, the maniac had angrily told him to not think that way and that he was loved by many and didn't deserve death. It was his heart-felt words that motivated him to not think so negatively about himself. But since then, he noticed something strange yet sort of familiar on his own part.

He began to act more nervous and shy around the maniacal Pokemon. He would occasionally stutter and would try his best to avoid eye contact. And Master Nyarth seemed more on edge than usual and didn't try to meet eye contact either. He always seemed to be thinking deeply about something.

Sky had apparently been noticing his behavior and had questioned him. Bashur had not held back, he had slipped everything and asked for how to find out if Master Nyarth returned his feelings. Instead, he had gotten Sly who claimed himself as the 'love doctor' somehow. He was a curer sure but love really wasn't his special talent or anything. They had asked Amber to open up his dream-scape so they could see if he did dream of Bashur.

But he instead had nightmares. Bashur watching himself fall seemingly to death and Master Nyarth attempt to save him but fail over and over again hurt him. How he could hide his constant nightmares was a mystery to him until he had told him of his resistance to pain but he knew what else he was resistant to now. Love. Since Clementine, he didn't want to be heartbroken again and was trying once more to sever his ability to love. But it wasn't working and it was getting to Bashur too.

Sly and Sky urged him to not wait too long but tell him when he felt it was time. He wasn't ready now but upon taking a simple walk out of the territory to calm his thoughts, he noticed Master Nyarth sitting above the cliff and staring off into the night above the ocean. There was clearly something wrong but whether or not he wanted to approach was the real question.

In the end, he felt he had no other choice. Choking back any sign of fear, he trudged over to his best friend.

Master Nyarth's senses were sharper than normal from once being the ruler of the alternate dimension. But he never returned there. No, not with Jessica and Jimmy ruling there, wanting him dead. Plus, he felt happier and safer as an Eternal, his earlier betrayal aside. He hadn't been connected to his real emotions then and now, he was very much in tact with them if he was here debating with his feelings in the first place.

He easily sensed Bashur approach him and did his best to choke back any sort of fear of him falling off the cliff by silently creating an invisible barrier around the cliff so that he could prevent that. Maybe he noticed or maybe he didn't. He couldn't tell for he didn't seem to notice. Bashur moved to sit down next to him though he decided to not look at him yet. His heart was already beating faster than ever, which only strengthened his acceptance of his love for the watermelon. He didn't care what he was, he just liked him for who he was.

Shaking his head, he looked to Bashur, staying silent as he gazed through his 3D glasses and into his black eyes beneath only briefly before he blinked and flicking his blue and black eyes away.

"Hey Bash" Master Nyarth said blandly attempting to smirk but otherwise failing miserably at trying to hide his intense thought process.

Bashur was not too stupid. He knew there was something on his mind. And when he had met his black and blue eyes, he saw pain and slight fear as well as a strange hidden feeling that he couldn't identify. His voice was different and his attempt at appearing to be fine raised a red flag in his mind.

Taken aback by his sudden change in mood, Bashur remained silent for a few moments before he placed his hand on his shoulder, noticing him tense up out of surprise at his touch.

"Master Nyarth? Are you alright?" he asked him, struggling not to stutter, worry lacing his tone.

Master Nyarth attempted to smirk once more before turning back to Bashur. "Alright? 'Course I'm alright! Why wouldn't I be? A maniac can't be worryin' 'bout emotions an' t'oughts, A clone can't feel strong emotions..." he trailed off, pain filling his eyes once more. "...right?" He flattened his ears against the top of his head as a layer of grey took over his charm.

His confession surprised Bashur who took a few moments to recover from the shock of his mental state. It was the first time he had ever seen his charm lose colour and the maniac question himself in general. He still thought himself as a clone of Nyarth and hearing him feel as though he couldn't worry over his thoughts and emotions because he was a maniac... It broke his heart. But he was sort of used to hiding that kind of emotion.

"You're not a clone, Master Nyarth. You can worr-" Bashur began to say, attempting to touch his shoulder in a comforting way. He was cut off by Master Nyarth growled slightly and then pushing Bashur away, he looked back to him, emotional pain filling his eyes.

"But I am a clone! A clone isn't supposed ta worry 'bout t'oughts an' emotions. Dat's why I'm a maniac, I can't feel pain or anythin'" he breathed, his growl fading as he held back something he had only experienced by himself. Tears. Tears of emotional pain and suffering. He held it back the best he could but he knew Bashur was no fool.

He was right for Bashur easily could see the tears forming in his eyes and threatening to spill out like a waterfall. But his arguments on why he was a clone only made him feel broken knowing his friend and the one he admired and loved was doubting himself, his entire character so openly.

"Even if you were a clone, it doesn't matter" Bashur whispered to him, causing Master Nyarth to look into his eyes with confusion.

"What do ya mean? 'Course it matters! If I'm a clone, I can't feel an' I'm not real an'..." Master Nyarth paused, a few tears slipping from his eyes. "I should just be dead" he shut his eyes and looked down, almost in defeat.

This was not the Master Nyarth he had fallen for. Somehow Bashur was about the work up the courage to do what he did next, stuttering a little only to remind himself of the fact as to why he was here, why he kept going throughout his Eternal life.

"D-Don't say that! If you d-deserved to die, you w-would already be d-dead. I-I mean that is that i-it d-doesn't matter if you a-are a clone or not. Y-You're still capable of e-emotions and w-worries and we all c-care about you" Bashur softly spoke, hoping to somehow get to the tough heart of Master Nyarth.

Looking back to Bashur, he struggled to hold back his tears as he questioned him, questioned the one thing that made his own heart beat almost out of his chest.

"Bashur... I have lost everyt'inl I have ever known an' everyone I give ma heart ta, crushes me. All dose pat'etic cat Pokemon from da old days, Pikochu, kind of Fluttershy, an' now Clementine..." He sighed, feeling that strange sense of security he felt when he was around Bashur now resurfaced, threatening to overtake him. "I've allowed ma heart ta feel love again but maybe I should just cut it off again" he looked away from him, avoiding his eyes once more.

Cut off his ability to feel love? Bashur's own pain in his heart returned as he gazed at the seemingly broken version of the maniac he had grown to love. How was it that he could simply turn it on and off. From his experiences with Sky and Sly to find out if Master Nyarth loved him back, he could only guessed that he felt the same way but maybe he was wrong. But then, why would he be avoiding his eye contact?

"Don't" Bashur stated, more forcefully than he had ever done so with Master Nyarth. A question filling his pain ridden eyes, he looked back to his friend, avoiding direct eye contact while doing so.

"Why shouldn't I? No one could truly love a maniac who could also be a clone" It was almost like defeat was filling his body. Never once before had he felt defeated in anything but the strong forces of love. Why was love always so difficult?

"Nyarth loves you like the blood brother you are. Roketto-Dan loves you as one of their own" Bashur started.

"Nyarth is ma alter ego, 'course he feels close ta me, but not love. Roketto-Dan likes me, not love" Master Nyarth interrupted, not understanding why he was even trying to cheer him up.

Bashur continued as if he didn't interrupt, though he did hear him and did take note of it. "Clementine loves you as a friend. The others in the Rainbow Factory love you too"

"Clementine is just a friend now, not'in' more. Dey like me, not love. I'm not exactly deir best addition anyways"

"Amber loves you like her son. The other Eternals love you for who you are"

"Amber maybe but I wouldn't bet on it. Da odas probably act like dey like me but dey really just hate me"

"And I..." Bashur trailed off, pulling his own gaze away from him.

Master Nyarth looked up, tilting his head slightly as he wondered what he had been about to say. Then it clicked. Nyarth had told him to follow his heart when he had asked him for advice on how to tell if Bashur felt the same way as him. He had done research on his own by hacking his dreams and seeing what he dreamt about. The nightmares of him attacking and even killing Bashur because he 'fell in love with the wrong person' hurt him but only gave him the clues he needed to put two and two together here.

"Bashurverse" Master Nyarth said, a more strong and curious tone reaching his voice. With the change of mood, Bashur looked back at him, confused and surprised as he used his full name. No one used his full name unless it was extremely important.

"Y-Yeah?"

"What is it ya see in me ta make ya feel da way ya do?" It was a simple question but it was one that was filled with meaning.

Bashur allowed his heart to beat faster and his eyes to widen slightly as he gazed at his friend, shocked that he knew his secret. He knew that he loved him. Somehow, someway, he knew. Whether that was good or bad, he was about to find out.

"I-I see someone who is misunderstood, s-someone who was shrouded by d-darkness because you knew no other w-way. I s-see a maniac, not a c-clone, who had to cut off y-your emotions to prevent yourself f-from getting hurt. I-I see a friend, someone who deserves g-good and... love" Bashur spoke, gradually meeting Master Nyarth's eyes directly. Pain was replaced by that once hidden feeling that now didn't seem too strange anymore.

"I hoped ta not love again ta not feel da pain once more. I didn't understand it at first but... I need ta tell ya what I know ya know already" Master Nyarth said, allowing himself to smirk carefully as he gently yet firmly pulled Bashur into a hug. Once more, he felt the safest he could ever be, being close to the living watermelon he had grown so close to over the small amount of time.

Bashur too felt the happiest and safest in Master Nyarth's embrace. He held on tight to him, as he allowed the words to finally slip out, the words he had longed to say for so long and get the same thing back. "I love you Master Nyarth"

The maniac's smirk widened at this. "Hey, I meant dat I'd say it first" he jokingly said as he returned his hug. "But whatever. I love you too Bashur"

Their loving embrace lasted several long moments, neither wanting the moments to end before Bashur pulled back and looked out to the moonlit horizon over the sea.

"Master Nyarth. Teach me to fly" he stated, catching him off guard.

"What? But what if somethin'... happens?" Master Nyarth questioned, a slight pang of fear hitting his body as the thoughts of his nightmares returned.

"Nothing will happen, because you'll be there with me" He smiled widely before tapping the barrier he had placed around them. "Remove this. I'm ready when you are" Bashur patiently waited for him to recover.

Twisting his burnt paw, the barrier faded to nothing. Master Nyarth looked out to the horizon as well before he looked back and met Bashur's eyes. He smirked and narrowed his eyes in a serious yet playful manner. "Come on Bashy, let's go"