[FICbit] Subtle Workings
Series: Megaman Star Force/Ryuusei no Rockman x Rockman. EXE crossover
Characters: Bad End!Shooting Star Rockman and Dark Rockman.EXE
Rating: no idea. PG 13 or T maybe.
Warnings: The bad end AU teamed up with a being created from the corrupting force that is humanity's darkness. I DON'T KNOW. EXPECT VAGUELY HINTED EXCEPT NOT REALLY VAGUE SHOTA HATELUST OR SOMETHING.
Notes: it's a babbleshot. It doesn't really warrant a "fic" status, it's just here because I hate the font setting for my Tumblr and I haven't gotten around to changing the theme yet. THIS EXPLAINS WHY THIS HAPPENED.
Summary: One would think that it was a miracle that they even met and teamed up in the first place. The real miracle, however, was how they had not destroyed each other yet.
The universe was vast. Both of the Rockmen knew this, and they both interpreted it as a vast amount of potential and possibility. Dark Rockman.EXE saw it as more places to corrupt, to search for the infinite power of darkness. Every living thing had its own darkest emotions, after all. Shooting Star Rockman (as Dark Rock had taken to calling him, what with his tendency to feed off stars' energy to survive), on the other hand, saw it as nothing but everything to be destroyed. Their differing points of view were a source of contention between the two.
It was strange. One would think that the two would be united in their desire to see the universe fall to ruin, and to a point, they were. However, looking closer at the strange partnership the two reluctantly seemed to share revealed the many inconsistencies and disagreements that made up its true form. Dark wanted the universe to continue existing in that ruin, for it to ferment and continue to succumb to its inner darkness, to revel in it. Star wanted everything to simply end once it was made apparent to the sufferers that they could never escape its grasp. So far, Star was the one who always managed to have his point get across for one simple reason: he could easily terminate Dark's existence in this time. In the end, despite originating from a Navi with human data, Dark was still a Navi. He had no physical body to claim his own. He was only solid and functioning due to Star finding his data and converting it to Wizard-like data. He functioned through a Hunter that Star had created for him and allowed Dark to embed in his own body, effectively making him a self-autonomous Wizard. Theoretically, in this state, he could use the power of darkness to create his own solid body, but it would take channeling a great amount of darkness, and with Star constantly destroying every single potential source they found, it would be risky to even attempt such a thing.
Despite Star's control over his existence, however, Dark was never subservient to him. He had too much pride to serve another in that way, and Star didn't bother to try asserting control. This meant that Dark acted with a surprising amount of freedom around him, and while Star ignored or rebuffed it all, Dark hoped to use this to his advantage.
It was a shame, really. Star had the perfect source of darkness close to him and could never seem to be corrupted by it. How any human could withstand such a large core of loneliness and vengeance and despair that was Andromeda and its key, and not be affected themselves was near beyond Dark's understanding. It was only after careful inspection that allowed Dark to notice that Star had actually somehow suppressed his emotions, a somewhat surprising discovery to Dark. He had seen Star act out so many emotions when interacting with others: anger, confidence, pity, rage. But when the two of them were alone with Andromeda, travelling through the universe, he was near silent and barely interacted with the outside world. Slowly, Dark came to the realization that all those emotions, while masterfully used and displayed, were all false. No human could go through what he had done, and not display any inconsistencies whatsoever. Star had artificially blocked off his true emotions, had ceased to be outwardly human. This was how he had resisted Andromeda's allure itself for so long despite being so close to it.
No matter. After all, no matter how much Star ignored or denied it, he was still human at his core. That was the key. Star was a fool to allow him so much freedom to corrupt whatever he chose...and he chose to attempt corrupting Star. This was the ultimate prize. The last human, a broken creature, with the key to an infinite source of hunger and loneliness...it was perfect. It was the infinite source of darkness he needed. The darkness that he was born of craved it. But overt attempts of infecting him were no good. Even if Star even dared to tolerate an open attack on his person-and Dark knew he wouldn't-the Andromeda Key's power itself made an effective barrier that shielded him. Its waves were strong, particularly so with Star's constant attention to it and powering it up. No darkness could penetrate it, instead it was was only absorbed to feed Andromeda’s insatiable core.
That left only one option, to slowly try to influence Star himself. Not the Star that Dark was familiar with, oh no. The true ‘Star,’ or whatever his human identity had been. He was there. He was aware. If he wasn’t, then Star would not pursue his activities with so much drive and purpose. So far, any attempts had been rebuffed or ignored. This made no difference. He had all the time in the universe to try, after all.
“Maah, I’m bored…” Dark casually slinked up behind Star, draping his arms around the other’s shoulders. Naturally, the motion was ignored.
“Boredom is a useless emotion. Drive it out by doing something useful, if you must.”
“Hah, like you’re doing anything? Sitting like a statue all day can’t be any fun.”
“I feel no boredom, thus I need to do nothing, as you can see.”
“Tchah! I doubt that!” Dark threw up his hands as if he was frustrated, then draped one arm over Star’s shoulder yet again, the other hand poking Star’s cheek. “I bet inside, you’re all curled up and sniveling and miserable. You should let loose a little more, you know?”
“Your attempts at corrupting me are transparent. Cease your antics and focus on a task that can actually be accomplished.”
Dark ignored him.
“Those tasks are far too tedious, Star. They happen too easily, too quickly. Nothing resists the allure of darkness like you,” he trilled, the last few words lowering in pitch to the barest hiss of a whisper, just to annoy Star that much more. “Really now, wouldn’t it be a relief, not having to act so stiff all the time? Maybe then, you’d actually enjoy what you’re doing.”
“Enjoyment is not necessary to my goal. If it was, it would counter all that I stand for.”
“Really, now? Then why would you willingly expose yourself to something like me, hm? Something that could disrupt your stalwart focus so easily?”
“Your data was powerful, and you prove to be useful. That’s all. You know this well enough, so stop dragging out this pointless conversation.”
“Pointless? Maybe for you, not for me. But I don’t think it’s pointless. You keep continuing it. You keep giving me barbs to respond to and counter. I know the real you desires this conversation. Not as stable as you thought you were? Desperate to cling onto anything just to preserve some semblance of humanity, so that you can continue to pretend your goal is just and noble? You just don’t want to acknowledge that you’ve turned yourself into a simple killing machine, isn’t that right, Star?”
Finally, a reaction. Star had turned his head slightly to bestow a baleful glare on Dark. It was barely a glance, but the fact that he had moved at all spoke volumes to Dark.
“My humanity,” the last word was spoken in a quiet hiss, “is not necessary to define me. I refuse to acknowledge the weak person I once was. That weak person would not be able to bring salvation to everything. That weak person would simply have broken down. They are gone now. You need not bring them up.”
“Oh, but I do,” purred Dark. “Because of course he isn’t gone, is he, ‘Rockman’? Why else would you continue to do what you do? How else do you define yourself, if not by your oh-so-fragile humanity?”
“The human I once was no longer exists as his own self. He has become my foundation. He is what my purpose is based off of. He himself is gone, those fragile emotions no longer within me, but his goals are mine. I acknowledge that much. That he exists now…that is false. I am Rockman now, just as you are. We both no longer need our origins to survive on our own.”
“That may be so, but I still like to give my former self a good shout-out now and then, you know? Revel in my strength that triumphed over his. Let it loose. Actually do something with it. Maybe then you’d actually feel secure in your own existence.”
“Tell me…” There was a heavy silence between them, even as Dark continued to poke Star’s cheek. “Why shouldn’t I end your existence here and now?”
“Oooh, a dull answer as usual. Really, do you respond to all your problems by threatening to destroy them outright? Change it up a little!” Dark giggled softly as Star didn’t respond.
“But really, you said it yourself, didn’t you? I’m interesting and useful. You wouldn’t dare to get rid of me, with all the help I’ve given you.”
“’Useful’ does not mean the same thing as ‘necessary,’ Rockman.”
Dark did nothing but laugh at the steely answer as he lay his head on Star’s shoulder. His next words came out in the barest whisper.
“Not yet, Rockman.”
[ooc:] is it bad to say i hateship these two now. because i hateship these two now.