Hello! This has been an idea bouncing around in my head for a little while. Took me a bit to figure out how to write it, but here it is! Also I wanted to write more Frindo.
Disclaimer: I don't own NEO TWEWY. That games is twisted enough without my own takes and theories.
Giddy Graviton
"And in that moment, I swear we were infinite." -Stephen Chbosky
Minamimoto grinned, studying Nagi like she was an interesting math problem or something, "Go ahead. Tell me all about your calculations, and why you think this imaginary number applies to me."
Nagi, eyes bright as stars, took a deep breath. "T-Then let me regale you on the mighty adventures and wonder of y-y-your g-g-great L-L-Lord T-T-T-Tomo..."
Fret watched the nerdy madness from a few feet away in Dogenzaka. Nagi descended into passionate, near-incoherent babbling about her favorite character ever, while Minamimoto's toothy grin stayed locked in place. The Wicked Twisters were supposed to be doing turf mission stuff right now, but...
...But this was perfect.
While his two teammates were distracted with each other, Fret quietly slipped away around the corner. Sure enough, there was Rindo, checking his phone for the fifth or fifth-millionth time. Waiting on Swallow, no doubt. It was always Swallow. How could he still be so attached to Swallow, who wasn't on the team at all, when here in the UG-
"Hey Rindude!" Fret called out, but not too loudly.
Rindo yelped, hastily shoving his hands into his pockets. "Y-Yeah?"
"So, I was thinking..." Okay, how to not make this sound weird. "Since Boss and Mr. Minami are..." He glanced back. "...busy and all, but we should do, like, something, why don't we go fight some Noise? Y'know, rack up some points for the Slam?" There we go, nice and clean reasoning. Probably.
"What? Just us? Isn't that way too risky though?" said Rindo, frowning. "Let's just wait."
Yep, this was gonna be awkward. "C'mon, doesn't have to be a chain of Noise or anything. We'll just find a random frog symbol. We can handle frogs, right?"
Rindo, however, still didn't seem convinced. "Even frog Noise can be dangerous, Fret. And what if more Noise show up while we fight?"
"Hey, we can always bounce if it gets to be too much. Hell, we can just run circles around 'em until you're ready to go, if you wanna be super-safe!" Rindude, c'mon...
Rindo's eyes narrowed. "Then what's the point of fighting the Noise if we don't even fight the Noise?"
Fret waited for his galaxy brain to rescue him, only for it to turn into a black hole instead. "Uh..."
"Okay, what are you really trying to do, Fret?" asked Rindo. "If you need to talk about something, we can talk here, or go in a building. We don't need to be kinda-sorta fighting Noise for that."
""But that's-" Fret was able to stop himself, but only for a moment. "But fighting Noise is...kinda the point? Maybe?"
"What do you mean that's the point?" asked Rindo. "Putting ourselves in danger for no reason?"
"It's..." Somehow Fret still retained his grin, though not his eye contact. "Look, when we...whenever we go fighting Noise and using psyches and stuff, do you...feel stuff? Like, emotional stuff? Like, intense emotional stuff? From the other people?" He waited, and that brief silence was painful.
"Um, yeah, actually," said Rindo. "It's...really weird."
"Hell yeah it's weird," said Fret, forcing his eyes back on Rindo. "But, it's...kinda good too? Like, maybe kinda really good?"
"You like it?" asked Rindo.
"Do you?" Maybe Fret asked that a little too quick.
"...Yeah, I guess I do?"
"Sweet! 'Cause I sure do!" Fret went on, and he didn't even have to force a smile this time. "It's like, super galaxy brain mind meld go! And we become, like, a gigabrain! And suddenly you're like, more than you, and I'm like, more than me. And we're all part of the same thing, yet still us enough to notice each other? Or...something like that?" He probably horribly mangled that explanation.
"I...think I get it?" said Rindo. "Like when people say they're 'part of something bigger', I think I finally get what they mean now?"
"Yeah, you get it, Rindude!" said Fret, winking and pointing. "Man, I thought using psyches to fry or freeze or whatever would be best part, but no, it's this." Because once the battle ended and they returned to the UG, all he could think about was the next fight, the next connection.
"Maybe?" said Rindo. "This mind-meld gigabrain whatever-you-call-it...I don't know what to think of it, to be honest. Since it's also really...scary? I just feel so...lost in everyone's emotions sometimes? Like I don't know where I even am in all of it?"
"Don't worry, I can always find you!" said Fret, before he realized how weird that sounded. "Anyway! Yeah, it can be a lot sometimes, with Boss and Mr. Minami there. Though it can be a lot of fun too! They both feel so different, y'know? But, I get it if that's a bit much for you sometimes."
Because Rindo always seemed a little intimidated by Minamimoto, and very intimidated by Nagi. The way Rindo gravitated toward Fret when Nagi started screaming, his anxiety sloshing over Fret, it made Fret almost...angry? Not at Rindo, of course. Not even at Nagi, who he could tell by their connection meant no harm to Rindo whatsoever. So Fret took it out on the Noise, the actual threat, and that felt good. And him feeling good helped Rindo and everyone else feel better too, so it was a win-win!
"...Uh, Fret?" asked Rindo.
Oh crap, had Fret really just spaced out mid-conversation? "Right! So, uh, that's why I thought it'd be nice if we just fought some Noise together, just the two of us! Because it...it's different when it's just us? Better even, maybe?" That first day, when it was mostly only them...
"That's why you want to fight Noise?" asked Rindo, still seeming uncertain.
"Hey, like I said, we'll just find some frogs, run laps around them, and bounce if we really wanna play it safe. See, easy!"
"I dunno..." said Rindo. "What if you got hit by a stray bubble or something?"
"Dude, I can tank a few bubbles," said Fret.
"I mean, I-I don't like feeling you getting hurt. It makes me feel bad?" Now Rindo was the one wearing a nervous grin. "Well, I mean, duh, pain hurts, right?"
"Yep, and this floor is made out of floor," said Fret, though he had a good-natured smirk. "Though, I kinda know what you mean. It somehow hurts worse if someone else gets hit? So we'll just be extra careful and not get hit! We've even got that Tigre Punks healing pin if we really need it! Haven't used it myself yet...Hey, if someone else getting hurt feels extra bad, do you think maybe healing someone else feels extra good?" Now he kinda wanted to try it.
"Maybe?" asked Rindo. "But let's try not to get hurt in the first place."
"Right," said Fret. A clumsy silence spanned between them. "So, we doing this?"
"I..." Rindo glanced around the corner. Minamimoto went on about complex math stuff and Nagi listened, enraptured. "I guess we could do it real quick? If you really want to?"
"Hey man, I don't wanna force you, or the whole connection thing's gonna feel real awkward," said Fret. "But, uh, if you're up to it..."
"Then let's do it," said Rindo, more firmly this time. "But if anything seems too dangerous, we're outta there."
"Got it!" said Fret with the biggest grin yet. "Then let's go! Super galaxy brain activaaaaate!"
They found a frog symbol almost immediately, and got sucked into the Noise plane. Yep, nothing but a few frogs. Nothing they couldn't handle.
And there it was, that surge of power and foreign emotions melting the walls around Fret's Soul. Rindo was nervous. Of course he was. He was always nervous, about everything. Fret understood that better now, thanks to these connections. But Fret also understood that his own eagerness helped relax that anxiety. Even now he sensed Rindo loosening up, getting ready to fight.
The frogs hopped toward them in their usual clumsy way. If they weren't so massive they would have been adorable, just like real frogs. Hands glowing with power, Fret fired several bouncing Icky Beam shots at the closest frog, stunning it. Oh right, he meant to change to that new Tigre Punks pin...Wait nevermind, Rindo had it on instead. Guess he wanted to be extra safe as always. And hey, they to draw out this fight, right? Fret being the only attacker would certainly do that. Well, Fret wanted it to last, anyway.
So Fret was all too happy to run circles around the Noise, flooding the field with his shots while Rindo stuck by him. Rindo was restless from not being able to attack, but that was okay, because Fret could just siphon that feeling off him. Fret was glad to take away that feeling, and any other negativity Rindo felt, and let it power up his own attacks. And to better bask in Rindo's kind and caring nature beneath all that anxiety, while keeping all the lousy stuff safely balled up in his heart and his projectiles.
What did he feel like to Rindo, Fret wondered. Even Fret often didn't know how to explain his feelings, just that he had a lot of them. Maybe he should ask Rindo later. Maybe he should ask Rindo now. "Hey, Rindude? What do I―Ow!" Man, did he really dash face-first into those bubbles?
"Fret!" That spike of panic from Rindo hurt worse than the stupid bubbles did. "Hold on, we got this!" He tapped his pin.
That hot rush of healing energy was far more than either of them needed, but Fret was here for it. "Feeling better already!" In fact, he felt better than better. He blasted the nearest frog to oblivion with extra gusto. A step toward their Souls blending even more, but only a step.
Admittedly, this wasn't the frenzied vortex of emotions whenever they were attacking together. That would get to the point where they could barely tell each other apart, until they unleashed a fusion attack. But this...this was good too. Comforting even? To let himself sink slowly, drifting on these calmer currents...To lose himself in anything that was not himself...
...Oh. The battle was over already. Wait, let them linger in this state a little longer...Please...
But of course they were briskly and coldly ejected back to the UG soon after, and the walls grew back, and he was just Fret again, staring up at the sky.
"...Hey, Fret?" Rindo squeezed his fingers, sounding...concerned? Wait they were holding hands?
With a yelp Fret let go. "S-Sorry! I, uh, don't remember doing that? Or did you...?"
"I...don't know?" admitted Rindo. "I think it happened right before we shifted back?"
"Oh." So Rindo didn't know either? Well, their minds were blended at the time..."Anyway...uh, thanks Rindude! For doing that for me, I mean. It was fun and awesome and...uh, nice?" Still, he felt troubled, even though they just got done with the battle. What was wrong with him? He should feel happy, or at least okay.
"You sure you're okay, dude?" If Rindo of all people picked up on it...Or maybe there was some lingering link after all?
"Oh yeah yeah, I'm good!" Fret answered, beaming. Yet he hesitated. "Just...uh..." How to explain this? "Like, I definitely wanna win the Game and get outta here and stuff. But, I think I'm gonna miss this kind of thing? Like, miss it a lot even?" Because if forging deep emotional connections was this easy in the RG, then maybe his friend...
"Guess there's not really anything like this back in the RG, huh?" Rindo almost echoed his thoughts, yet not at all. "Not until they make, like, internet that connects directly to your brain or something."
"Dude that would be so cool!" said Fret, grateful for the distraction. "Though, would you have to install ad blocker for your brain then?"
"I mean, yeah, probably?" said Rindo with a little grin. Maybe Rindo was glad about the different subject too. "Unless you wanna dream about toothpaste or something?"
"Dude, who'll need toothpaste when we'll have, like, regrowable robot teeth or something?"
"I mean, you'd still need to clean them with something right?"
And so they babbled on as they walked back. Fret hardly remembered his side of the conversation, as he chattered on almost mechanically. But even conversations like this, shallow and dumb as they were, could be nice in their own way. Maybe...maybe this would be enough.
And so the topic of shared feelings was forgotten. At least until the next battle.
Since I had a lot of fun adding my own spin to the OG TWEWY battles, I wondered what I could do for NEO TWEWY's very different battle system. So this is what I came up with: a system where the emotional connections are more intense, due to everyone being on the same plane instead of being separated. This both requires and causes high synchronization, causing a hive-mind effect. This also causes it to be addictive to certain people, especially those who are highly sociable, or long for deeper connections. Like Fret.
Since I couldn't really fit it into the fic itself: Minamimoto was aware of their absence and what they were doing, but said nothing since he figured they could handle themselves. Nagi meanwhile is too distracted by Minamimoto's presence to notice anything. She's usually quite observant, but when her fangirl mode kicks in that seems to go out the window.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!