"Its really weird. Not having him around."
"Why? Thought you hated the guy."
"I did. But then I spent two years sharing a body with him."
Bonzo sighed. He shouldn't miss Peter. He should be glad to be back in his own body, with his own friends, to be away from Gwen and her friends and endless drama. But he kept wondering where his third arm was, kept forgetting how to walk after he was so used to floating, kept waiting for that flat but condescending voice to come out of him. He missed being able to play that silly excuse of piano-chello. He missed Gwen and all her troubles, it was really nice to care for someone. Reminded him of all sorts of old things like Toledo and Valentine. There were no true aspirations with Ponzo, no wishes to be the best or hegemon or alive or dead. The only things that mattered were game and Gwen and them.
"Hey? You alright?" Bonzo looked up, and realized he was crying. He wiped his tears on his arm, and sniffed.
"I'm fine. He wasn't that important anyway."
"Valentine, he's just sitting out there. Its been hours."
"I'm sure the whole exploding and then going god tier experience was very jarring. Give him time Ender."
Peter gripped the sand on the beach. Why hadn't they fallen closer together? It doesn't matter that Achilles stole him from his quest bed and Bonzo somewhere completely else, they should've come back in the same place. It was supposed just be them. They agreed after year one that they would keep the silly charade of Ponzo up, and by the time year two rolled around he was starting to lose his sense of self. Sure, if anyone asked him, Ponzo had always been under his control, but the longer they had stayed in that sprite the more their voices began to mesh together. Every they slowly became a "he", every silly wish for godhood melted into more time in that mess of a sprite. A constant presence around Peter was just endlessly nice, someone who wasn't afraid to tell him his ideas were complete murdery horseshit, someone who whispered little reminders that he was human, he still had his humanity, he didn't have to grow up into Alpha Peter and his life wouldn't stop when he died. He pounded his fist into the sand and yelled towards the ocean.
"Peter!" He whipped around. Right, Val and Ender were watching him. They crossed the sand, and sat on either side of him. Ender eyed him, Peter scowling. Val just rubbed his arm, comforting but clueless as always.
"Val, how do you get to the dream bubbles?"
"Been awhile."
"It's been, like, a day."
"After two years together, that seems like a long time to be apart."
"…Yeah."
"Peter, look, I know being Ponzo was…fun, but we can't just go back to him."
"Why not? Val's got a spell for fusion, you'd be alive again, we'd get everything great about him back."
"Damnitt Peter you can't just do something because you want to."
"Yeah! That's why I wanted to make sure you were okay with it, and then we can be 'I' again without Gwen or any of that's bullshit!"
"Gwen was part of the reason Ponzo worked! Guiding and caring for her was more important then any of that other shit the two idiots he was made of wanted. He was so great because he wasn't us."
"Well, I have to know if we wanna go through with this by tonight, so, please reconsider? I…miss having someone tell me I'm a fucking idiot."
Bonzo bit his lip. Being Ponzo was immaculate, but Peter had the completely wrong idea on why he worked. Ponzo wasn't either of them, he was his own person built on the two of them, free of everything that had made them terrible. For some ungodly reason Peter had gotten the idea that Ponzo was just the two of them in wackily controlling the same body.
"That wasn't it."
"Huh?"
"I know that you're thinking I just thought it was the two of us fucking around with the same set of hands. I'm not dumb, I know that he could exist so completely separate from us, that he was just…him." Peter gently grabbed Bonzo hands and held them in his own. "That's what I want Bonzo. I don't want to be Ponzo because I want to be with you…okay that came out wrong." Bonzo just smirked. "I want to be Ponzo because he's better than us, he's able to be a crazy-ass bastard but in the good caring way and I have no idea how I did that but I know it has something to do with…you." Peter let go of Bonzo's hands, but Bonzo just interlocked their fingers again.
"Peter, I think I'll have to take you up on your offer."
"Well then! Should probably go get Valentine."
"I'll be here."
Gwen sobbed. The past few days had been horrible. Ponzo had exploded, Dap had left, and now she was stuck with Alpha Peter for god knew how long.
"Yo."
Gwen froze, then turned around slowly towards her bedroom window. On her windowsill was a tan boy with wavy hair and dark highlights. He had three arms and a shit-eating grin, a stupid excuse of a piano-chello, and had ripped the sleeves off of his sweater. "The hell you crying about, I was the one who exploaded." Gwen rushed across the room, wrapping her arms around her former sprite.
"Wait, how are you back? Like, no that I'm complaining but-" Ponzo placed a single finger on Gwen's lips.
"I just wanted to be me again, and I knew someone who could help me. Now, why the hell are you crying?"
"Alpha half of you is back with a vengeance, and Derse is super fucked because of that." Ponzo's eyes narrowed, and pulled THE FLEET'S BANE [a really good energy sword Gwen made early on in the game] out of his Net-modus. "Looks like Peter needs another ass-kicking." He handed the Bane to Gwen, and was about to pursue Peter when Gwen tugged on his jeans. "What?"
"Youre back to stay right? You can't die again?"
Ponzo just laughed. "I'm about as permeant as you get, now come on." Gwen grinned and rushed to catch up with him.