A/N 0.5: I feel like someone's not gonna like how this chapter ends, or at least some of the choices made.. More after the chapter.
Chapter Three
The Hylian, the Psychic and the Webhead
The Next Morning..
The group were walking down the street towards school, as usual, the girls chatting away while Nick smiled and listened to them getting along. Suddenly, Nick realized that, while he was still walking, the girls had passed him by as he saw a flash of a long yellow trenchcoat before a voice whispered in his ear. "Good morning, love. It's nice to see you're safe and sound. I was worried."
Nick turned, realizing his body was glowing slightly as he saw the culprit. A smile spread across his lips. "Momo! Where the hell have you been?"
"It felt like hell," Momo-Li Heix giggled as she released her psychic hold on Nick. "Nah, the Prof sent me and a few of the guys to go make sure Uncle Magnets is okay. Bit of radio silence between old friends and that kind of worry, you know?" She ended with a shrug.
"Ah. Well, even if the others won't say it, I missed you."
Momo-Li blushed, beaming as she put her hands behind her. "Well then, that's all that really matters, isn't it? Although," She looked at the others, somehow not yet realizing Momo had joined them. "Seems like one is still missing."
"Yeah, you know how Purah is. Got a text at like four in the morning from her saying she'd be back today, apparently passed out during an experiment over the weekend."
"And didn't wake up for days? Bitch should be dead."
"Hey! I heard that! Check it!" The sound of a camera shutter snapping made Nick and all the girls look up as another girl with white hair, a large red streak running down the front, sailed towards them on a glider, the apparatus disappearing as she flipped onto the sidewalk. "Ta da!"
"Purah! Where the fuck were you hiding the last few days?" Freya asked as Nick and Momo-Li caught up to the rest of the girls.
"Oh, I uh.. I fell asleep testing a new attack function on the Purah Tab. Don't know why I slept through days, though."
"Well, it's best you're back. Don't go overdoing your experiments, Purah." Claire admonished the girl, who chuckled.
"Yeah, yeah, I won't, Claire. So, what did I miss so far this week?"
"Another Darkside attack, Mark getting his Invincible ass kicked yet again.. Oh, and the harem has almost imploded several times already. Now that we're all here and present, maybe that bullshit will die back down."
"Jeez, what the hell is wrong that has you all on edge like that?" Purah asked curiously as Claire pulled her and Momo-Li back, Nick walking several steps ahead of the girls.
"Depends, have either of you been having nightmares recently?"
Momo-Li's eyes narrowed. "What do you know about the-"
"We've all had them, Li. All with one central theme, well maybe two I guess. Nick either dying, or becoming our own personal villain and killer. Which have you two had?"
Both of the girls looked down, eyes closed as the scenes from those nightmares came back to them..
Earth (Dandadan/X-Men Parallel)..
Momo-Li struggled as her powers just wouldn't work. It didn't help that the one keeping her powerless was the man she loved. Nick, dressed in one of the most vile outfits Momo-Li had ever seen, smirked as his eyes glowed a malicious red. "Your powers have no effect on what I am now, Momo. Join me, we can ensure no one destroys our kind again." He offered.
Momo-Li's eyes shut tightly, tears threatening to fall as her mind went through memory after memory of herself and Nick. "No, Nick, this isn't you! That damn ritual did this!"
Nick and Momo had been students of Professor Charles Xavier's School for the Gifted as well as capable mutant fighters on the roster of X-Men. That was until some sect of Egyptian bastards had come and kidnapped Nick a week earlier, with Momo having stolen the Blackbird in order to search for him, her psychic abilities- on par with Jean Grey's- bolstering her efforts as she had tracked him to the Pyramids, or at least a Pyramid no one could remember ever being unearthed. It was here she found Nick, unconscious in a pod opposite an elderly man. She didn't know what exactly had happened, but only Nick had emerged from that pod, now changed into whatever he was now. Momo-Li knew now that she had no other choice, she had to combine her psychic and mutant abilities and destroy everything here, or else the rest of the world would face this wrathful version of Nick. A tear escaped, streaking down her face as Momo sighed, heavily and breathlessly. "I'm sorry, little one. I thought I could save your father.. save you.. but I'm the only thing between Daddy and ending the world. Our sacrifice will be worth it.. But I wish we all could have gone home.. Goodbye." Opening her eyes, the tears flowed freely as her irises glowed brightly, a psychic aura crackling with uncontrollable sparks of psychokinetic energy sparking to life around her body as she felt her powers burning through her being as, with an anguished, pained scream, Momo-Li, Nick, the cult and Pyramid around them all ceased to exist..
~R.B.~R.B.~
"He was my villain.. and my killer, killer of an entire family.." Even knowing the nightmares weren't real- or were they?- Momo-Li's hand went instinctively to her stomach.
Claire, realizing why her friend was suddenly so silent, hugged her. "It's alright, Momo. Don't beat yourself up about it, you did what you must have needed to do."
Now sniffling, her body shuddering in Claire's arms, Momo nodded. "Thanks, Claire." She said, her voice barely there.
"Always, little psychic. Now, Purah, what about you?" Claire said, turning to the white-haired girl who gulped.
"Uh.."
Earth (Legend of Zelda Parallel)..
Purah stared in shock at the figure standing in front of her. This absolute mountain of a man resembled a Gerudo, but that.. couldn't be right. There weren't any male Gerudo, never had been. But the red hair.. even if it freely flowed from his head in unnatural ways, it was only ever seen amongst the Gerudo, her own red streak of hair symbolizing her own half Sheikah, half Gerudo heritage. She was thankful she didn't look as identical as the rest of the Gerudo, although the odds of Purah having been born as she was.. well, the odds were astronomically difficult to even predict, let alone fathom even though she was living proof of the anomaly. "Who are you? Not one step further!" Purah hadn't brought out her multipurpose weapon/handheld computer of sorts today, leaving her with just a feeble kunai against the giant man.
The man chuckled, his eyes glowing a demonic red. "I am Ganondorf, leader of the Gerudo and the Demon King. Your Hero has already fallen," Purah dropped the kunai from her hand at those words. "This world is Mine!" Throwing his hands out, streams of Gloom emanated from his palms, engulfing the area around Purah as Hylian Soldiers tried to attack this mysterious foe, only for their weapons to be thrown against one another, the Gloom making the Soldiers exceedingly violent towards each other.
Purah was in shock. Nick can't be.. No, he saved Hyrule from Calamity Ganon, he can't fall to some.. No.." She witnessed the scene, however, watching this Ganondorf character awaken from a long slumber, the shattering of Nick's Master Sword, and the subsequent stabbing of Nick, the hilt of the Master Sword jutting from his body as it bled out deep under Hyrule Castle. She felt the Gloom then, now engulfing all but her head as a lone tear fell from her face as darkness and death took hold..
~R.B.~R.B.~
"Nick was killed by someone calling themselves a Demon King, but I was their first true victim. Nick was just the one standing in his way from doing what he wanted to do." Purah said, fidgeting with her glasses, perched in her hair.
"Damn, why are we all having these nightmares? What's the point?" Freya asked, frustrated.
"We need to talk to Mrs. Maximoff. She's the only one who could tell us more, with how powerful she is." Momo-Li said, referring to Wanda Maximoff- or the Scarlet Witch- who was the high school guidance counselor.
Claire nodded heavily. "Agreed, we need to get to the bottom of this."
Despite the girls believing Nick wasn't paying attention, he was. He'd heard everything about their apparently shared experience of having nightmares that- to him- sounded like twisted versions of the fictional histories he remembered each of his girls coming from. And if they had some form of memories from their fictional timelines, then could they possibly have hidden memories from the world he remembered? He shook the thought from his mind as the girls all caught back up to him, the group of eight falling in step with each other.
"So, Momo, was this mission you were on with Jiji and Okarun or was it an X-Men mission?"
"Neither. Although Okarun didn't leave my sight due to his own powers acting up the last week or two. No, granny took me to some psychic convention, thought I might find something to help channel my powers a bit better. You know how destructive I can get if I mix too much of my powers together." Nick nodded, knowing her end-all last resort was to sacrifice herself by unleashing both sides of her abilities at once in full.
"Well, at least we know where you were now. I was worried Freya may have done something to at least one of you with how it was just her, Bambi and I on Monday." He laughed as Freya pouted.
"Meanie." She muttered with a giggle as the group walked to school, finally all reunited.
Fifth Period Lunch, Crystalis Nova High, Cafeteria..
"So we're agreed, then? We go see Mrs. Maximoff after school before going home?" Claire asked the other girls, thankful Nick hadn't yet arrived in the cafeteria.
"Yeah, we need to make sure these nightmares aren't something to worry about." Momo-Li replied as the aforementioned counselor's twin sons, Billy and Tommy Maximoff, happened to pass by.
"What do you have to see mom about, Momo?" Billy asked. "Having issues with your powers again?"
"Nah, Billy, the seven of us have been having nightmares for a little while now, and we've only just realized that they all have similar.. themes, I guess. We were gonna go see your mom for advice about whether or not they mean something. You guys see Nick on your way over here, by any chance?" Momo asked, knowing the twins shared the same English class with Nick.
"Nah, he left halfway through class, Keyblade in hand. We only knew when he cleared the door and you heard him activate it." Tommy said, shrugging.
Laura frowned. "I wasn't alerted to anything.. Wait, you think it might be Force related? None of us have a way of knowing that otherwise and by the looks of it, the other Jedi kids aren't here, either."
Looking around, Purah hummed. "That's odd. Luke, Galen and Cal didn't leave class last period.. Should we go find him while we aren't disrupting other classes?"
"Find who?" Came Nick's voice as he joined them, giving each girl a kiss on the cheek respectively. "Sorry, I felt a disturbance, went and consulted the Council." He explained, smiling as Freya handed him the second lunch bento she had had sitting in front of her.
"It was related to the Force! What happened?" Claire asked, her eyes and tone concerned.
Nick shook his head. "Not here. Tonight, let's all meet up at the Clubhouse, after dinner. Nothing's really happened, but there is some worry."
The girls all nodded before the conversation turned to the more mundane once again.
Dismissal, Guidance Office..
"Well now, the resident harem. What can I do for you girls today?" Greeted Wanda Maximoff playfully as the seven girls entered her office.
Momo-Li felt her cheeks heat up as she led the conversation, being the closest to the oldest mutant. "Hey, Mrs. Maximoff. Um, I've told you about my nightmares resurfacing a while back, but uh.. It seems it isn't just me."
Wanda raised an eyebrow over the rim of her glasses. "Oh? All seven of you, I'm guessing?" The group nodded in sync as Purah closed the door to the office. "And are you all having similar nightmares?"
"Yes, Mrs. Maximoff." Claire answered. "I've assessed what each of us has seen, and the only thing in common between them all is the presence of Nick. Otherwise, it all seems like a.. a different life."
Wanda sighed, putting her glasses down. "I was afraid you girls might say something like that. I know the phenomenon you're all sharing an experience with, and I'm afraid it goes beyond even my powers to tell you the full scale. I will have to consult with the Sorcerer Supreme before I say more than this, however: Trust that this is your life, that the Nick you all know is your Nick. Since he is the overly connecting factor, this all stems from him in some way. It isn't catastrophic, otherwise we may all very well have been dead and erased from all existence months ago, however I'm going to have to see Nick myself. Tomorrow, as I know he's already left for home today. Never lose faith in your family." Wanda finished explaining as she crossed her arms across her chest with another playful smile. "Now go on and get home. Some of you have after school training to get to before going out to that old clubhouse." She said, winking as the girls all giggled sheepishly, Purah leading the group back out of the Scarlet Witch's office.
Once the girls had left, Wanda stood up, throwing her red leather jacket over her shoulders in one fluid motion. "Dreamwalking like that sounds horrifyingly similar to the shit I almost put this world through.." She shivered as a long repressed memory of another lifetime she herself had once experienced flashed through her mind. "Just what exactly is going on? This week alone has been highly chaotic without me having to worry about potential Incursions." She said, snapping her fingers to shut her office lights off as she hurried to her car. The Sanctum didn't leave their doors open much later than school dismissal as it was.
Sanctum Santorum, Twenty Minutes Later..
Wanda smiled as Stephen Strange answered the door. "You were expecting me." She said with a hint of a smile.
Doctor Strange chuckled. "What's going on, Wanda? You seemed a bit more anxious than usual over the phone."
"Listen, Stephen, we may have some form of Incursion on our hands." The Sorcerer Supreme frowned. "It isn't an alternate me this time! No, I think it has to do with one of my students. Nick Negron. I've mentioned him before, the one who captured the heart of that adorable step granddaughter of yours."
Strange chuckled, knowing she was referring to Momo-Li, to whom he had been married to her grandmother Seiko for several years now. "Ah, yes, the harem master of Crystalis Nova High. You believe this kid is dreamwalking without any form of magical training in such?"
"No, no. It isn't him, not like that. See, he's the connecting factor between the seven nightmares these girls are seeing. And since Momo-Li's own nightmare had to do with Nick becoming Apocalypse.."
"So there are seven girls having nightmares where the boy they love dies in some way?" He asked, scratching his chin.
"Yes, basically. But the issue is that we can't be dealing with another Incursion, can we? The multiverse doesn't exist like that here."
"No, it doesn't.. But apparently, those girls are all remembering what can only be alternate histories of themselves. And with how I found Momo after she first told me of the nightmares," That had been when Strange had referred Momo-Li to see Wanda about the visions. "We need to know why, because it could send them all over the edge."
"And we can't have that. Nick practically has an army made up of armies with the power just the girls possess, not to mention the bolstering effect he has on them and vice versa. If any of them go nuclear, then the world is done for.." Wanda said as the older wizard nodded sagely.
~R.B.~R.B.~
Meanwhile, Heaven..
God was watching the world, unable to see what could happen next. He made the world a utopia, but now it seemed like his starting of this blended reality made it possible for some new villain to rise, as this dark Force Wielder was not one who existed before, at least not in the form he did now. What went wrong? Why is this reality evolving even more into its own entity? Why must there always be some villain to disrupt what was meant to be a peaceful existence? He asked himself as he sent Michael to see one who may know what was truly going on.
Hell..
"Ah, Michael, old mate. How are we doing, brother?" Lucifer asked with a mischievous grin as Michael approached.
"Lucifer. Have you been up top recently? This new reality seems to be having some issues in staying peaceful and Father is getting worried. Things are beginning to escalate into true chaos up there as we speak and Father wants none of that here, you agreed to no trouble if He would keep you alive during the transition between realities."
"Michael, Michael. Mikey, mate, I have been up top, but I haven't caused trouble. I own a nightclub in Crystal Springs, for His sake, I have to keep an eye on my investments. The trouble brewing more and more wildly up there is not my doing. Perhaps that strange corruption that caused Father to create this hidden little Reality has somehow crept into it."
"That's impossible, Lucifer, and you know it. Father handpicked the realities to create this one, but left all the hostility out the door. Now it seems the girls central to this own reality being in existence at all are being plagued by nightmares of their lover- usually- killing them or otherwise being dead before they meet the same fate. And now, there's some Dark Force user escaping containment as well as some unknown force. Father says he knows nothing of it, only that whatever corrupted the Realities he used to create this one? It's some form of invasive energy that emanates from whatever this outside force is."
"Well, brother, I'm not sure what's going on, but I will help stave off whatever is going on. Go back up top to daddy, and tell him I'll have every resource at my disposal listening for information. Anything comes up, I will personally make the trip up there myself. But, you said something about a truly Dark Force user?"
Michael nodded. "He goes by the name Darth Caedus, as those Sith miscreants do, but not even Father knows who or where he really came from, they were apparently already here in this reality. However, something has happened and Caedus has awakened from whatever kept him unconscious. Scientists were studying him as well as another Force user, but we have even less information about them since the facility has otherwise now gone quiet. To be completely frank, Lucifer, even Father doesn't know what the facility was for, only that it was related to both LexCorp. And Cadmus."
"Ah, two companies prone to hostile activities. Well then, I guess I know where to start, then. Wonder if Maze still works over at Cadmus?" Lucifer said, his last sentence aimed at himself.
Michael sighed. "Alright, I'll let Father know. Take care of yourself, Lucifer."
"Don't worry, Michael, a little bit of alternate psychic powers are nothing for me." Laughing, Lucifer nodded at his brother as the Archangel disappeared from sight.
(Now) Abandoned Science Facility..
The woman continued her stasis, unbothered by much other than the innate knowledge of the intense darkness stalking the facility around her, thankfully still unable to to locate her own signature in the Force. It seemed that whatever the walls in this place were made from had some form of Force-dampening effect, or at least in some form as she could sense outward further than the room, although that might have been because the Force itself beckoned her in one direction, as if willing her to awaken fully and find the source of this supernatural signal. It was too soon, however, her energy was barely recovered from her recent revival as it was. Her hopes of escaping the evil she felt nearby would have to bide its time longer..
Meanwhile, Calyxguard National Park..
The seven girls were all seated around the clubhouse they had all built and used growing up, a small thing built at the base of an enormous tree known as the Amber Ambrosial, a tree of shining, golden bark that filled that ground of the park itself with a tangible feeling of life. The clubhouse had once been a hollowed out area at the base of the massive tree, and the bark illuminated the room with a soothing glow. "Nick, what happened at school today?" Freya asked, frowning.
Claire nodded, arms crossed as she thought about earlier. "What did the Jedi Council need with you?" She further asked.
Nick shrugged. "They don't know yet, either. Apparently, I was the only one who felt something disturb the Force. Badly, too. I could feel it screaming in pain, warning of ancient forgotten evils soon to be awakened. The Council thought Sith, but there's been no record of Sith ever in the area, let alone this side of the country. They asked me to investigate the matter since I'm the only one who felt whatever happened in the first place. So, tomorrow I won't be at school."
"None of us will," Nick looked at Chorada as the Ninja spun a kunai on her index finger. "What? We aren't leaving you by yourself to look into this shit. We're all in this together, no more going off on your own. You almost died when Mark went berserk last year while you and he were supposed to fight some other prick."
"That wasn't my-"
"No, Nick, you aren't doing this alone. So where do we start?"
Nick shook his head, smiling. "Alright, alright. I get it, girls. Tomorrow morning at the cafe by the school. Make sure the teachers know, because they already know I'm not gonna be in."
"We will. What do you think it is?"
Nick shook his head again. "I can't be sure. The feeling was definitely Force-related but it's like it was muffled, underground or hidden. The Council assigned me because, due to the hybrid nature of my own powers, I am invisible to other Force users unless I actively tap into the Force."
"That makes sense.. alright, in the morning then, it's already late." Yawned Laura, snapping her fingers to disappear in a flurry of vines and wisps of darkness.
Claire chuckled. "Ever impatient, that girl. Cho, you mind getting a couple of us home real quick?"
Chorada giggled, giving her a thumbs up. "I can bring a few of us home, not all of us are helpless." She rolled her eyes playfully as she held hands with Momo and Claire before they all disappeared in her own whirlwind of leaves of a Jitsu to get home.
Soon after, Nick and Freya were all that were left in the clubhouse, Freya frowning at Nick. "I don't like what you're planning, love."
"Oh? And what am I planning, Frey?"
"You're not even meeting us in the morning, are you? You're going to go off alone to protect us in case something goes down. Especially with Momo's powers not working on Force users."
Nick sighed. "I'm not surprised you picked up on that."
"Of course I did, just because it isn't constant doesn't mean my divine foresight is nonexistent." She walked up to Nick. "Just promise me you'll be careful and not lash out without thinking."
Nick nodded as he bent his head to kiss her. "Of course, Freya. I'm only scouting about, no fighting involved. Just do me a favor and make sure the others don't go too nuclear at this."
Freya smirked. "Well, that I can do. Come see me tomorrow? When it's all said and done."
"I'd like that. Keep yourself out of trouble."
"Mm, maybe. If I'm in that mood." Freya winked playfully at Nick before vanishing on the spot, the only proof of her being there were the petals of the flower she sometimes liked to keep in her hair. Nick picked one up, smiling as the petal caused his own instant travel home.
Crystalis Nova High, the Next Morning..
"Where is he? And where's Freya?!" Purah asked in irritation as the six girls stood outside the school.
Claire shrugged. "I don't know.. Oh, Freya. Where's Nicky?"
"Not coming. He never was." Freya said, walking past the others to get to school.
"The fuck do you mean he was never coming?!" Chorada said as Laura sighed.
"I figured he would pull this stunt again. That boy does too much to keep us safe, especially when he's the one who could be in danger."
"How can you act like it doesn't bother you, Freya?" Momo-Li asked as the psychic caught up to the teenage goddess.
"Because I trust in Nick to come home safe. And it does bother me, but I have to keep myself in check otherwise I'll lose my control again. Just focus on school, Nick will be fine."
"And how are you so confident in that, Reya?" Bambi then asked.
"Because Nicky is unstoppable when it comes to protecting us, even if we think he can't handle something. But that's the bitch, because Nick is the strongest one of us all." The other girls all smiled and nodded.
"He should have-"
"He tried, but we're all too stubborn to listen when it comes to him fighting on his own. The Jedi entrusted him with this, trust in that."
"Freya's right, girls. Nick wouldn't want us destroying the city looking for him, either. Let's just get to class and when one of us hears from him, we all will." Claire said as the others agreed and dispersed to their homerooms before the bell for classes to begin rang.
Cafeteria, Lunch..
The girls all sat around their usual table, visibly upset at not having heard anything from Nick as of yet. Fang saw the demure look on Claire's face and walked over. "What's with all the long faces, luv?" Fang asked as her arm wrapped around Claire.
"Nick's off on some secret Jedi mission, left us here for our protection. You know how we get without him around."
"Ah, a case of the grumps. Purah, darling, don't you know how to track Nick with that nifty tablet of yours?"
"Yeah, but Nick also knows my tracking of his phone is based solely on whether or not his phone is on. He hasn't answered any messages and calls went to voicemail so my assumption is he turned his phone off early this morning before any of us were met up and waiting for him. I hate that he outsmarts me."
"Oh, please. That shit turns you on, Purah." Laughed a new voice as Zelda Hyrule and her boyfriend Linkoln Hateno walked up. "I figured you would just tinker with the Tab a bit more, you usually do when you get into one of these moods."
"No, I'm done tinkering with the Tab for a while, Zee. Not after the last modification knocked me out for several days. Hey, Linky. Finally managed to swap out the old green shirt, huh?"
Linkoln chuckled. "Had to wash it at some point." He said with a shrug.
Zelda giggled. "Well, if you girls need a distraction after school, you're all welcome to hang about the manor after school until Nick makes himself known again. Most of this school is still too cautious about hanging out with royalty, it seems."
Freya smiled at the princess. "No, that would be cool, Zelda. Thanks for the invite, we'll swing by. We need to start hanging out without Nick anyway, we still have some synergy to work on between each other. Right, girls?"
The others nodded with a collective laugh as the teens all continued chatting. Freya breathed a sigh of relief, feeling things were starting to brighten just a bit, even in Nick's absence.
After School, Hyrule Manor..
Having taken the Hylian princess up on her offer, the girls had gone back to the- physically speaking- castle that served as Zelda and Linkoln's home, as well as the central landmark of Little Hyrule, the neighborhood where Purah lived. Currently they were all lounging around Zelda's pool, Linkoln having gone to get the group drinks.
Zelda had asked a question, but Freya was still a bit distracted by her worry for Nick. Nodding along without paying full attention, she pulled her phone out, noticing the notification for a new text she had missed only a couple of minutes earlier. It was from Nick.
Hey. Just got home. Didn't find anything, really. Exhausted, though, and starving but too tired to care about that right now. Do you mind bringing something to eat along with you when you come back towards the neighborhood? I'll fill you in on what I did find.
Her smile widened. "Nick just got home, says he won't be available the rest of tonight as he's already on his way to Dreamland. He also says that he didn't find anything to worry about. And he'll see him in the morning." She said, her eyes never leaving the phone as she flicked her finger to simulate playing a game.
"Finally! Jeez, tell him to stop making us worry about him like that. Today was a bit much, even for my patience." Claire said as she surfaced from the water at the edge of the pool.
"I did. That boy gives us more stress than it seems we ever give him."
"And yet, you girls still have some of us feeling jealous despite the shit you put Nick through." Came a new voice as Linkoln came back out along with a girl with mostly blonde hair and green eyes, several streaks of blood red showing down the front, while her hair naturally went from blonde at her roots to a light reddish color at the bottom. She wore a black shirt with red trimming, creating a spider's web patterning on the shirt as well as down the sides of her leggings, the shirt also adorned with a large spider silhouette colored in white on both the front and back center. "Hey, girls."
"Gwen! When did you get back into town? I thought you were living with your dad in Colorado?"
Gwen Watson, twin sister of Peter Parker's girlfriend Mary Jane, beamed. "Yeah, well, my dad couldn't figure out how to stop the.. nevermind. It isn't important. Either way, I've been back in town only about a week, keeping to myself for the most part. Can't stand staying home and listening to my sister with her boo, so I called up Zelda to chill, although I didn't know she had also invited you guys around today. How has Nick been?"
"Why? You still trying to spin your way into his web, 'ret?" Asked Chorada with a giggle.
Gwen's reply was a prompt blast of webbing colliding with the ninja's hair, making her scream as her hand then became stuck in her hair. "Even if I was, you girls need to remember you aren't the only ones Nick's ever liked. Or liked back. I was just as close to him as Freya was when we were little."
"Yeah, until you and Pete got bitten by that spider. How many times did Mary Jane almost wring your neck due to that pheromone issue?"
"Too many to count, albeit I'm thankful to finally have control over that. Or, more like I had theaster Weaver removed that little issue. For me, at least. Unfortunately, the pheromone thing couldn't be fully dissolved, only moved. So.."
"Oh, that's why Cindy and Pete keep ten feet between them at all times! The powers are fun, but being a Spider Totem is kinda fucked."
"That isn't even the half of it, Momo. Seriously though, how's Nick?"
"He's alright. Looks like he's accepted his role as our harem master, at least," Freya giggled. "Not that I'm completely set on that acceptance myself as of yet."
"I don't blame you. Bambi may have been the first to tell you about her crush, but you knew I felt for him as well."
Freya nodded. "I did, but you didn't want to be involved with what was beginning to grow out of those crushes, Gwen. So what's changed?"
The look the blonde gave Freya told Claire everything as she hummed, pulling herself to sit out of the water. "You're having the nightmares, too."
"Too? You mean..? You girls..?"
"That's right, we've all been having nightmares as of recent weeks. Was Nick your killer or killed in front of you?"
"Or both, mine was pretty harsh." Momo-Li chuckled nervously as Claire leveled a glare at her.
Gwen hummed. "It was.. I don't even know. Nick was another Spider Totem, but something went wrong. He mutated, became nothing more than an animal in a vaguely humanoid form. He tore apart both of our families at what was otherwise a nice date enjoying the weather. Everything had started out just fine.. but then, it was chaos. Nick screamed, an extra pair of arms grew from his torso, his face morphed into a visceral visage of disgusting animosity..
"I was horrified, but the Spider within me couldn't help but feel.. elated. Like the carnage and transformation only turned me on. I tried to stop him, but.. Everything went black before I saw what happened. It always happens like that, nothing ever changing."
"And here I thought Nick becoming an anti-god and threatening to exterminate most of all human life in existence was bad. From how sudden you make it seem, your Nick may as well have been patient zero for some horribly mutative bioweapon."
"You mean like the Ooze? I don't think we're talking some retrovirus that turns you into an anthropomorphic entity." Purah said, scratching her head.
"Purah.. Either way, this means something, right? We thought it was just us seven connected so heavily to Nick having these nightmares, but that's obviously not really the case. If there's another girl having them, that can only mean-"
"No, we aren't talking about this right now," Freya barked, frowning. "Things are going good right now, a lot better than any of us figured before this week, and I'm not restarting that progress because the crush that left happens to come back home."
Momo frowned at the wording Freya used. "Freya, wasn't that what you told me that vision I saw a year ago? The crush that left?"
Freya nodded but Bambi was the one who replied verbally. "That isn't the point. Freya, after all that's happened over this week? All the progress? You're really going to be a turtle about this?"
"Yes! The seven of us have worked way too fucking hard for Nick's affections- which are only now being openly returned bit by bit- to have any more women join this harem of ours. I don't want this already extensive show becoming a circus performance."
"Freya, it isn't all on us to decide that kind of thing, either. I think Nick needs to know about this. He should, as it concerns him just as much of not more than it does us girls." Laura brought up, smirking at the frown Freya shot back at her.
"Ugh, fucking whatever, Laura. I'm going home." Freya said, slipping her shoes back onto her feet before she left the area, not another word spoken.
Zelda hummed. "She really still has that possessive streak, huh?"
"She wouldn't be Freya without that fanaticism, but damn does it give us all a headache. Should I..?" Bambi said, her voice trailing off as she looked towards where Freya had left from.
"Nah, she'll be fine." Claire said with a shrug. "Chances are, she's just going to Nick so he can calm her back down. He's the only one capable of it once she gets like this.."
"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to disrupt anything.." Gwen apologized with a frown, looking down at her feet.
"Don't worry about it, Gwen. Freya just needs to realize that even as unconventional as this harem shit is, it's entirely plausible there are still girls outside our Core Seven that have feelings for Nick. Personally, I don't mind another girl or two," Purah said with a laugh. "But again, the final call belongs to Nick himself."
"Don't make the girl think she doesn't have a chance, bestie." Zelda said as she joined the conversation. "Although, she's lucky I met Link when I did, otherwise I might have gotten the chance to fall for him, myself. I could never leave Link, don't get me wrong, but Nick does know how to handle a sword." Linkoln facepalmed as the girls all giggled before the Hylian princess sighed, looking at Gwen. "Seriously though, Gwenny, you need to tell him how you feel. Freya is only a temporary obstacle for what I would find surprising not to pass. Nick likes having his harem, even if he won't just outright say it. And that boy is pure in ways that make any of us girls lucky to even have him look at us like he does Freya, Claire, Purah and the others. Mid has had a crush on that boy for so long, too."
"Midna better not try. I will banish her to whatever hellscape her people came here from, I swear to the Goddess!" Purah said, fuming.
Zelda laughed. "And now, Gwen, you see why Midna won't make a move. Purah wouldn't actually hurt Midna, it's a simple, girly rivalry that some girls just stay stuck in. Purah also just wants to say she's the only Hylian on Nick's little list of conquests."
"He hasn't conquered any of us, and I for one am getting tired of-" Chorada said until Momo slapped her mouth shut with a psychic hand.
"Jeez, where did this perverted streak of yours come from all of a sudden, Cho? Did Naruto's uncle finally corrupt you, as he'd put it?" Asked Laura while stifling her own giggles.
"Hey, Lord Jiraiya doesn't step anywhere within ten feet of me, not after what he tried at Sakura's sweet sixteen."
"Still, you're being a colossal pervert. Ever since we dispersed for homeroom this morning, every other sentence out of you has been at least half innuendo."
Zelda shook her head with a laugh as she brought Gwen away from the now bickering friends. "Really, go talk to Nick about it tomorrow, alright? I'm sure you're worrying over nothing."
Gwen smiled, running a hand through her hair. "Yeah, I'll do that. You're right, Freya just.. doesn't like new variables. She's nerdy like that, always has been."
"Obligatory, too, knowing she had to study from a young age to control her own personal magic. It sucks being a mortal goddess, sometimes, although being smart is never a bad move, these days." The two shared a laugh before joining the others once again, squeezing themselves into whatever conversation was currently going between the other girls.
Nick's House, Not Long After..
Nick opened his window, frowning at the expression on Freya's face. "Hey, baby. You're here earlier than I expected.. and visibly upset. What happened?" Freya muttered something under her breath as she climbed inside Nick's room, sitting down on his bed while crossing her arms across her chest, her bottom lip pushed out in a pout. "I'm sorry? I didn't quite catch that." Nick pushed, pinching her chin gently to make her look at him.
"Gwendolyn is back in town. And she's interested." Freya replied, still frowning.
"Gwendolyn.. Gwen Watson? She came back?"
"Yeah, told us all about how she's not eternally drawn to MJ's man anymore and something about having nightmares. I don't know, I kind of zoned out on seeing red knowing she's looking for you."
Nick chuckled. "There's my jealous little goddess. Freya, does it really bother you that much if I were to extend the harem?" The girl looked at him with a hard stare before she sighed. "If this is going to work, for everyone, then you can't be starting fights or losing control over little things like this."
"I know, but.. but it's her. Fucking Spinneret. Her and Mary Jane never had to try to look good."
"And neither did you, silly. You're literally a goddess in mortal form, your beauty stacks up way higher than any woman lesser in that regard. So, I'll ask again. Would it be that bad if there was at least one more girl included in our admittedly already large future family?"
Freya's frown curled upward as she sighed, this time much heavier than before. "No, I guess it really doesn't. Maybe you should talk to Purah about such issues, though. I'm not the only one a bit.. possessive of you when it comes to some of the other girls in school."
"Purah doesn't have to know Midna's had a spot reserved for months already," Nick laughed, ever thankful he had regained clarity over the previous events of this reality. "Purah does, however, have to grow up about it. Or kiss Midna, either one might work."
"You just want to see some pair of us girls kissing, don't you?" Freya said, rolling her eyes.
"Eh, maybe. I mean, Fang and Claire kissing is kinda hot to think about, and Fang isn't even my type."
"Ah, but she is Claire's type, hence why you don't mind her being so intimate with one of your girls. You get off on the sight."
"And the knowledge Claire ultimately chose me, not that it's really that much of a power trip kind of thing. I know my girls are all loyal to me above all."
Freya frowned with a huff. "Just don't change, Nicky. You're.. you're perfect the way you are, as good as you are. None of us can stand to lose you, you're our hope, our treasure." She embraced Nick like a koala, climbing onto his lap and wrapping her arms and legs around his body.
Nick smiled and kissed her softly. "With girlfriends like you and the others? Why would I ever change?" He laughed. "So, you aren't going to go nuclear if I let Gwen join? Or possibly others?"
"I'll have to get used to it. I'm not going to like it for a while, but maybe some more girls will balance out the stupid bullshit. We chose each other first, you and I, and that means I'm never going anywhere, even if I'm pretty irked at Gwen right now."
"It'll all be fine, love, I promise."
"I know it will. So, how'd the search really go?"
"Like I told you, didn't turn anything up. The energy seems to come from the abandoned LexMus lab, but that was as close as I got, the lab has nothing in it worth anything, not since LexCorp and Cadmus probably came and looted their shit from the place."
"Mm, well, then what's going to happen about this dark Force energy? Is the Council going to investigate further, or.."
"I don't know, I think they want to wait until something else goes down, where my unique abilities at sensing the Force may be needed again. For now, at least, I'm free of the Order's bureaucracy. Will you stay with me tonight? Tomorrow there's no school, after all."
Freya smiled, shaking her head as she stood back up. "No, not tonight, unfortunately. Mother wants me home early tonight, apparently there's some divine event going on tomorrow she wants me home for."
"That sucks. Wonder what the occasion is, since the Elder Gods don't call a divine event out of nowhere."
Freya laughed. "Fair, but one must always consult the Elder Gods if no other option seems optimal. But, my mom doesn't like troubling me with those affairs usually, so I'm kinda anxious about it."
"Just don't speak out of turn, I'm sure you'll be fine, Frey. Get on home, then, before I decide to kidnap you for the night anyway."
Freya turned to him with an incredulous look. "You're not seriously thinking about that, are you? My mother would kill you for doing that shit again."
"Nah, Aphrodite loves me for keeping you in check. But, for you I won't incur the probable wrath of your mother's divine might. I like the way I look."
Freya rolled her eyes, giggling madly. "You're such a doof, Nicky. Well, I'll see you after whatever happens tomorrow, okay?"
"Even if there are other plans, you know you're always my number one priority. Just keep it in check, little miss attitude, got it?"
The smile Freya gave him was mischievous and playful as she giggled. "Yes, daddy." Before Nick could say anything, Freya had already snapped her fingers, teleporting herself home while leaving an intact flower in her wake this time.
Shaking his head, Nick picked the flower up and placed it on his nightstand, knowing the illusory manifestation of Freya's powers- no one truly knowing how that particular ability of hers worked or why it did so- would eventually dissipate into energy particles during the night. What am I going to do with you, Freya? He thought as he went downstairs to get something to eat. Despite his tiredness, Freya's visit had at least energized him enough to not starve himself before his inevitable nap.
Despite it still being somewhat light outside, thirty minutes later saw the teen passed out in his bed. And Nick wouldn't wake up until the next day..
A/N: Alright, so I made some changes from even what my plan had been until literally… three days ago. There will be a few more girls added to the Original harem for Part One before, in my planned Part Two, the inclusion of a reality-stranded Astral Express with a surprise set of crew members! I'm sorry, I can't help but love Star Rail and thus include it somewhere in this ridiculous crossover, so much damn lore to explore.
So the first new girl is a variant of Gwen Stacy, if she was MJ's twin sister and happened to have been bitten by the spider that bit Peter Parker, calling herself Spinneret- which I know is an actual Spider Person, but they don't exist in this blended reality like Cindy Moon does, although she now doesn't have the powers of a Spider Totem. Next girl up might be this world's Midna, I have to work on that one before I decide she's in or not. I do have a few others waiting in the wings, ready to be formed into the mold needed for this story.
Sorry this took so much space to say, but that's the text on here as far as my own reading is usually concerned haha. Hope to see you next time.
Next Time: Gwen meets up with Nick, and Freya learns things in their usually peaceful world are not as tranquil as they would believe.