Starlight hated this part of her family's adventures; the part where she sat in a hospital and waited for Sunset to awaken from what most doctors said was a coma. It wasn't a coma, as she tried to tell them that it was a magical sleep that he sister went through every time she regained her body from the demon that she shared it with. Usually Searing only possessed Sunset's body for a few hours at most, which meant that she'd miss out a day or two at most, but this time she had been taken over for at least three days... maybe four at the most. According to her estimates that meant that it would take Sunset a week at most to recover, and she had double checked her calculations to be sure that she was right, but unfortunately she was right on this matter.
Sunset would be in the hospital for another few days, sitting out of the victory that she had worked hard to achieve and not being able to watch the new Secret Agent Clank video that had been released recent... not that Starlight was even interested in it now that her sister couldn't watch it with the rest of the family.
Angela and Maul, the two who were the most skilled in the art of using the lightsaber, had been staying away from each other ever since Maul had saved Searing from the assassins that had boarded the Hyperion. Starlight knew that the two of them would eventually have a real fight with their weapons, as that was what they were able to divine from what the mysterious Maul had told them. Angela had spent the time either practicing her skills with her weapon or making defenses that were resistant against EMP's, so that they didn't have a repeat of what Nefarious did to the ship.
Ratchet and Clank had spent some time finishing the latest show episode, as well as do some research into ways that might be able to help them restrain Searing. Starlight helped with the research, in the magical way anyway, while they figured out if there was a way to use technology to help them in their endeavors. She wondered if it was possible to recreate the spell that had been placed on the golden bracelet that Sunset had been wearing back on their first adventure, but from what she could figure out chaos magic wasn't the easiest form of to wield.
Starlight eventually let out a sigh as she stared at her sister's sleeping body, knowing that if she bothered to say anything there wouldn't be any form of response, as she was the only one in the room with her sister. A few seconds later she got out of the chair that she was sitting in and headed for the door, knowing that there was some research on the Cores that she had to do, research that might help them with Searing in the future.
Finally, I thought she would never leave.
Starlight turned around and stared at the hospital room, knowing that she had heard something speak the moment she had reached for the door with her magic. She had been alone in the room with her sister, she had been sure of it the moment she had taken her seat in the chair, but now she knew that there was something else in the room. She looked around the room, seeing if she could find anything without using her magic, but after a few seconds she igniting her magic and formed a scanning spell that would detect anything else that was in the room with her. What her magic showed her was something that she wasn't expecting, because standing beside her sister's bed was the shadowy form of Searing.
Searing was staring at Starlight with a look of complete shock on her face, as if she hadn't expected to be found out until she was actually ready to reveal herself.
Um... hi? Searing said, waving one of her hands for a moment, as if she was trying to be friendly and not hostile for a change, I, uh, wasn't expecting to be found out so soon.
"How... are you able to exist outside Sunset's body?" Starlight asked, as she was sure that something like this was definitely close to impossible, despite the amount of power that both Sunset and Searing possessed.
Honestly? I have no idea. Searing admitted, turning her attention back to Sunset for a moment, as if she had been deep in thought about something before Starlight had found her out, Why does she hate me so much?
It Starlight a minute to realize that Searing was talking about Sunset, though once she figured that out she knew that the answer was obvious and wondered what game the demon was playing. She knew that her sister would hate the demonic side of herself, because Searing was responsible for shattering worlds and ultimately the complete destruction of one world. it made complete sense to her, but then she started to wonder if Searing was referring to something else, as if she was a young kid asking a parent or other sibling why another sibling hated her.
Starlight's eyes widened as she realized what she had stumbled on, if she was right anyway, but they returned to normal before the demon turned back to face her.
"Are you referring to Sunset?" Starlight asked, just to make sure that she was right in her thoughts, or if she was overreacting and overthinking everything.
...yes... Searing answered, letting out a sigh as something flashed in her eyes, something that Starlight assumed was either regret or shame, I've saved her from death itself and stopped her enemies from laying waste to both the Bogon and Solana galaxies... so why does she hate me so much?
"Because you go overboard." Starlight replied, causing Searing to raise an eyebrow, "Take for example when you went to Koros; you didn't need to actually destroy the planet, as all you really had to do was get rid of the facility and the enemies that were in the city. Searing, I'm going to be completely honest, if you toned back the amount of power that you put into your attacks, and stopped breaking every world that you fight at, Sunset might actually start to like you more."
The unfortunate thing was that she had no idea if Sunset would actually like the creature that shared her body, as she had to imagine that the transformation between their forms had to be painful. Sunset was likely annoyed with the amount of destruction that the demon caused, though she had no idea what her reaction would be when she learned of Koros' destruction.
I always thought she would like having her enemies destroyed. Searing said, letting out a sigh as she floated beside the bed, Do you remember that bracelet that Sunset was wearing? The one that was shattered?
"Yes, I do," Starlight replied, not understanding what the bracelet had to do with Sunset liking Searing, but she figured that the demon would tell her something interesting.
We weren't always like this, Searing commented, staring at Sunset's sleeping form for a few seconds, Sunset doesn't know about her past life, before she put that bracelet on, but the chaos magic that was attached to that bracelet didn't work on me at all. I'm forced to remember everything about our past life, and everything we did, and yet I cannot tell anyone anything about what we lived through. I can tell you that Sunset hated me for the longest time... and that it took something much stronger than her to make the two of us become united in a sense.
Searing paused for a moment, as if she was silently remembering the creature that she had mentioned, but Starlight wondered what was actually going through the demon's mind at the moment.
Maybe she remembers something about that creature and that I remind her of him. Searing continued, I thought this time I would be able to get her to like me, and maybe accept me without having to fight each other, but it seems that I've messed everything up once more.
Starlight couldn't actually believe what she was hearing; that Searing, the demon that had obliterated an entire world, was actually admitting that everything she had done was in an effort to get Sunset to like her. If what Searing said about the previous life she and Sunset had lived, and the defeats that the demon had suffered, then Starlight guessed that making friends with the person you were sharing a body with was the next best thing. It would have been much easier if Searing had bothered to reveal her existence to them when she was first revealed, back on their first adventure after she had saved Sunset's life, instead of waiting until the bracelet had been broken.
And I guess I might have gone a little overboard when I attacked Koros, Searing said to herself, which only made Starlight sure that the demon was losing her mind, I was so close to actually achieving total control over all of our powers, thanks to my anger towards Nefarious, and yet I backed away right before I reached the threshold between what I was using and the power that I could wield. I destroyed Koros when I was at the threshold between levels of magical power, but I retreated from our true power like a coward. What does it say about the 'Goddess of Destruction' when she actually fears her own powers?
Starlight was somewhat confused for a moment, because she was sure that Searing had always been using the maximum amount of power that she had at her disposal. Now, however, she was learning that there was another level beyond what Searing was capable of using, something that she actually feared with every fiber of her being. As she thought about it she began to see something that she was sure that the demon was talking about; the more she was in control of Sunset's body, the closer she got to Sunset's own powers. They were literally two sides of the same coin, though it appeared that Searing wanted to stay away from whatever form of magic the combination of her powers and Sunset's powers took.
Searing was actually scared of realizing her true potential, which meant that she and Sunset had to become one again to truly realize everything that they were capable of doing.
"It means that you know that wielding your full power is too dangerous, for yourself, Sunset, and everyone around you," Starlight answered, though she was still shocked to be hearing this from the demon, "If you toned back the amount of power that you put into all of your attacks, and stopped breaking all of the worlds that we visit, then I'm sure that Sunset would open up to you. You should also use your powers for the good of the universe, such as tracking down and capturing people who break the law, or helping us deal with whatever villain is coming our way next."
What makes you think that there will be another villain after Nefarious? Searing asked, raising an eyebrow at Starlight while she spoke, though it was a fair question to ask.
"There will always be villains roaming the universe," Starlight replied, a smile appearing on her face an instant later, "which means that heroes must step forward to fight them and to protect those that cannot defend themselves. Searing, you can help us protect the people of the universe against whatever threat is coming our way... and I'm pretty sure that Sunset would be happy to switch bodies with you if we could determine a method that wasn't painful."
"Ugh... its hard to rest when someone doesn't stop talking," a voice said, to which both Starlight and Searing turned to the bed that laid between them, watching Sunset's body move for a few seconds before she moved into a sitting position.
Starlight was amazed that Sunset could even muster the energy to get up after everything that Searing had put her body through, but the evidence was sitting right before her. It showed her just how strong Sunset really was, that she could take anything that the universe threw at her and emerge victorious in the end. Though despite all of that Starlight could see that Sunset was tired, no doubt because of the amount of time that Searing possessed her body for during their fight with Nefarious. That, and she was confused as to why Searing was floating to the right of her, in the shadowy form that she was currently using to talk with Starlight.
"I'm too tired for this," Sunset said, though that was followed by her preparing to go back to sleep, but she stopped part way through the motion, "Searing... I'll deal with you when I have more energy. For now... just stay beside Starlight and don't blow anything up."
Searing barely had time to do anything before Sunset was laying back in her sleeping position, though this time she knew better than to speak and wake her once more. She could tell, from what little had been said, that Sunset knew about the destruction of Koros, because she mentioned blowing something up before laying her head back on the pillow. It told her so many things at once; like the fact that Sunset was fully aware of what Searing did when she was in control of her body... and that she disapproved of the damage she had done to the galaxy. It hurt knowing that the one person that she was trying to impress was disappointed in her, but she decided that she would have to improve herself in any way she could.
That was why she had folded her shadow into Starlight's, so she could get out of the hospital without alerting any of the staff seeing her and causing a commotion. The last thing they needed was for someone to think that she was going to attack Starlight and use her for whatever goal she was working towards. Searing was bound to Sunset alone, which was something that the two of them were going to have to work around so they could live in harmony in the near future.
Starlight, on the other hoof, had an idea that might get rid of some of the pressure that Sunset was dealing with and, at the same time, maybe develop a method that would forge a stronger connection between the two... one that wasn't so painful. The bad news about that idea was that it involved using the three Cores that they had recovered, which might actually harm Searing in the process, but at the moment it was the only thing that they had to go on. If the experiment was a success then they would be able to start training the connection between Sunset and Searing, so that in the future there wouldn't be any pain when they switched mindsets.
Oh no, I know that look in your eyes. Searing commented, to which an eye appeared in the shadow next to her, though it stared at her for a few seconds before disappearing before someone else saw it, Please tell me you aren't thinking of using the Cores.
Starlight could only give the shadows a small smile as she made her way to the dock where the Hyperion was being repaired at, all while knowing that this was literally the only option available at the moment. There were only two outcomes to this; either Sunset and Searing forged a bond that allowed them to share their body... or Searing was forever purged from Sunset's body and they would have to help their sister regain her footing once more. It would be a few days until such a experiment was ready, so she would give Sunset all the time she needed to rest and relax before they tried it out... and maybe watch Angela fight Maul later.
Then they could all prepare for whatever villain was coming their way next, and whatever crazy schemes this one decided to bring to the table... though they couldn't be worse than what Nefarious tried to pull off.