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Sasha visited Marcy almost every night, sneaking into the depths of the castle. He would sit by the tank, talking to them in a soft voice, hoping they could hear him. He told them about the battles he'd fought, the new scars he'd gained. He liked to think they made him look cool. He told them about the accidental haircut he'd gotten after a robot sliced off his ponytail. How he'd looked in the mirror and finally felt like himself.
But when he visited the chamber on one dark stormy night, he didn't find Marcy in the tank. Marcy was working on something, wires connected to them and some type of headset on their head.
"Marcy?" Sasha hesitantly asked.
Marcy turned, and Sasha was fixed by a set of orange eyes. "Hello, Strength. It's nice to meet you." Their voice was distorted, mocking.
"You're not Marcy." Sasha said, a hand going to the hilt of his sword.
Whatever it was that was possessing Marcy smiled. "I am the core."
"Get out of them." Sasha growled, unsheathing his swords.
The core tilted Marcy's head. "This host is very fond of you. I think I'll let them watch what I'm going to do to you."
Sasha charged, and was immediately thrown back into the wall by an orange sparking force. Sasha charged again and again, and was repeatedly thrown around the room like he was a bag of air.
"Fight me, you coward." Sasha stood, spitting blood onto the floor. He was bruised and battered, but he wasn't giving up.
The core chuckled. "You're very strong, as was to be expected, of course. But you humans are very delicate. For example, you need air. I wonder how you'll do without it."
Sasha froze as some force pulled the air from his lungs. He gasped for air desperately, tears rushing to his eyes. He dropped to his knees, panic rushing through him. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears. His vision blurred.
"M-marcy... Please..." He rasped.
A strange electronic noise filled the room, and one of the orange eyes watching Sasha turned green. The eyes went wide as more of them changed.
"I w-won't let you.. hurt Sashy." Marcy growled out in their own voice. They shook their head then looked to Sasha. "The wires."
Sasha was being held down by the sparking orange force, but he could finally take in small gasps of air. He shook with the effort of trying to stand.
"You insolent child!" The core's distorted voice yelled.
Marcy screamed, grasping their head as they fell to the floor. Sasha was filled with rage, all of him focused on saving Marcy. A wave of pink light flashed , encased him in a vibrant glow. He broke the force's hold and launched himself at the wires, slicing them with ease.
A distorted scream rang through the room, and Marcy collapsed. Sasha sheathed his swords quickly and ran to their side, holding them in his arms. When they turned their head to face Sasha, all the eyes were green. A small smile lifted their tired face.
"Hey Sashy..."
Tears sprang to Sasha's eyes. He pulled Marcy close into a hug, holding them tightly. "I was so scared I'd lost you."
Marcy tucked their head into the crook of Sasha's neck as their fingers curled into his cloak. "It's okay. You saved me."
Their heartfelt reunion was interrupted by huge thuds down the stairs. They both looked to the stairs in horror as the salamander king stormed down the stairs. He looked out with an expression mixed with anger and fear.
"What did you do?" He bellowed.
Sasha untangled himself from Marcy and stood. The pink glow surrounding him brightened. "Don't worry, Marcy. I've got this."
Marcy stood, putting a hand on Sasha's shoulder. They glowed a brilliant green. Cracks formed in the helmet as moss and vines grew through, curling around it. They smiled.
"No, I've got it." They turned to Andrias, eyes narrowing.
An indecipherable look crossed Andrias' face, until he pushed it down. He started to speak, but was interrupted by a grapple arrow embedding itself into a gap in his armor. His eyes widened as Marcy propelled through the air towards him, and landed a punch directly across his face. He stumbled back, crashing down onto the stairs. Marcy jumped through the air, landing punches on him repeatedly.
Andrias put his hands up and looked at Marcy, a pleading look in his eyes. "Marcy please, I really did care about you. I didn't want this to happen to you." He said, desperate.
Some part of Marcy knew it was true. But... "That doesn't matter. You still did it."
Marcy landed one last punch on him, and knocked him out. He laid limp, weak. Marcy floated over to Sasha, who stared, impressed. They launched themselves at him, laughing.
"It's over! We defeated him, Sashy!" They giggled, swaying in place.
Sasha chuckled, pulling back just enough to look at Marcy. "All because of you."
He reached up and gently lifted the headset from Marcy's head. Marcy's eyes stared into his, filled with tears and something soft that made Sasha blush. Marcy smiled sweetly, leaning close.
"I couldn't have done it without you." They planted a kiss on Sasha's cheek.
The two went back to Wartwood, hand in hand. They were going home. Together.