"You're. . . sure about this?" Inferno asked Burst Stream as he, Steel, Ace, Ty, and Ice surrounded Burst. "Three of us are avatars, so there's a chance you'd still tank a lot of damage even if they hold back."
"I'm sure Inferno." Burst said with a nod. "Besides, you and I have both gotten stronger. But that's not the point of this. So far, we've only had to deal with basic minions ganging up on us at once and they're easy enough to defeat. I don't think any of us has had to fight multiple powerful opponents at once. No telling whether the rest of the Chaos Kin might decide to gang up on us and start an all-out fight or form an alliance to try and take those of us who are still mortals out. Now show me what all of you got!" Burst Stream got into a defensive stance with his sword and one of his blasters!
The rest of the original six Elements of Heroism were a bit hesitant to charge their leader, but threw themselves into the spar! Tyrannus fired a blast from his cannon, but Burst leaped into the air to avoid it! However, he was far from safe as Steel edge flew right at him! Burst fired a charge shot from his blaster, but Steel's shield took the force of the blow! Steel then fired out a blade beam from his sword, but Burst countered it with his own blade beam before landing!
"Don't relax just yet!" Arctic Ace called out as he fired a blast of ice magic right at Burst! "We've got magic now too! You didn't think we'd be limiting ourselves, did you?"
Burst Stream smirked as he rolled out of the way of the blast of ice aimed at him! "You kidding? I'd be insulted if you didn't come at me with all the new skills you guys have!" At that instant, Tyrannus stomped the ground! The mini quake caused by the stomp messed up Burst's footing, and gave Dark Ice just the window he was waiting for to take a swing at Burst with his claymore! "It just shows how much stronger our team's become!" Burst fell to his back, and fired off a shot from his blaster right in Dark Ice's chest right as Ice was about to swing!
"Then let's see how strong you've gotten as a leader!" Inferno cried out as he flew towards Burst Stream! Firing a charge shot from his blaster! Burst Stream smiled and counted with a dual charge shot from his twin blasters! The blasts exploding as they collided with each other! As soon as the smoke cleared, Inferno leaped out from the smoke with his sword drawn! "Show me the power you've got!"
Burst raised his own sword to parry Inferno's! "Show me how much you've tapped into your potential!" The rest of the Elements of Heroism decided to hang back and watch the fight with knowing smiles. Burst and Inferno were the best of friends. And when the two fought, almost nothing could stop them and no foe stood a chance. When they fought each other? They tended to get pretty wrapped up in their sparring. Each one's strike seemed to parallel their fighting style. Burst's swings were few, but each one contained great speed and power while Inferno swung his own blade numerous times. Inferno's hits weren't too damaging on their own, but each swing set up a combo that could potentially tip the scales in Inferno's favor.
If one were to compare them to elements, Burst would be like lightning while Inferno would be like fire. Burst struck hard and fast with devastating power. His movements sudden and violent, but so constant and flowing so seamlessly. Inferno on the other hand didn't hit as powerful, but each of his hits built upon each other and contained great ferocity like how embers grow into a raging flame. In short, the two had fun sparring against each other. That much was evident with the smiles on their faces that never seemed to fade even when one of their attacks missed or they tanked a hit.
Sparks showered forth as their blades clashed, and small explosions were constant as each of their blaster shots collided! It seemed like the two were evenly matched, but Burst had one advantage. He'd been trained longer, and was particularly skilled in offensive spells.
"Sorry Inferno! But I'm afraid this is gonna end with another one added to your losing streak!" Burst called out as he powered up his magic! "White Lightning!" Burst fired off a blast of destructive light energy that hit Inferno dead-on! Inferno twitching slightly from the shock and impact of the blast. "Hope I didn't hit you too hard man. You alri-AGH!" Burst clutched his arms in pain, and fell to the ground!
Inferno immediately shook out of his stunned status and rushed to Burst's side. "Burst, what's wrong?" He quickly helped Burst up. "Are you feeling alright?"
"I'm. . . not sure." Burst said. Wincing in pain as he tried to power up his magic. "I felt a bit of a tingling sensation when I was charging up that blast of white lightning. But after firing it, I felt pain shooting through my arm. Oddly enough, this isn't the first time I've felt pain when tapping into my power. It was back in Manehattan when we fought the second wave of Machina. I transformed into my nightmare form, I felt pain all over my body after I got knocked out of my transformation and even more when I tried to change again."
"Maybe you better call it a day." Inferno suggested. "I've got no problem filling in for you, but I'd rather you be fighting alongside us than on the sidelines."
Burst nodded. "Yeah. Good idea. Maybe these last few battles have just been pushing me too hard. Plus, maybe my dad might know something about this. It's probably something he couldn't fit in with how rushed my training was. See you guys around!" Burst holstered his weapons, and headed back to his house. Smiling at who he saw on the couch when he returned. "Hey Moon."
"Well. Someone's home early." Nightmare Moon said with a flirty smile. "Training end early today? Or did you just miss me so much that you decided to come home as soon as possible?"
Burst smiled lovingly. "Does the answer really matter so long as I come back to you?" He set his Duelist Arms on a rack and sat down next to Nightmare Moon. "The guys thought I was pushing myself a bit too hard after the last two battles. It's good to know they care about me just as much as I care about them. So it looks like I've got the rest of the day free."
"It doesn't surprise me. Especially considering your little trip to Manehattan." Nightmare Moon said as she crawled closer to Burst Stream. "I hope I don't sound clingy, but you had me worried sick. Hearing you call me right after a battle always put my heart at ease."
"Hey, I'm pretty sure Celestia would be worried sick about me too if we were still together." Burst looked at Nightmare Moon sadly. "Moon? Do you think I've made the right decision?"
"About what?" Nightmare Moon asked.
Burst sighed. "About me trying to fix my relations with Celestia." Burst stared at the floor in thought. "It's been weighing on me how easy it is to still talk with her. It's almost like I don't have to fix anything. Like it would be so easy to pick up where I left off with her and just go back to the way things used to be. But then. . . I think of you whenever that happens. How you've been alone for essentially all your life and how cruel it would be to just leave you like that because now I love you. But no matter how much I love you, there's still some part deep inside of me that wants to be with her again. And it just tears me up inside a bit each time."
"Burst Stream. . . " Nightmare Moon said with a sad look in her eyes. She then pulled Burst into her arms. "I've always known about how you're feeling." Burst was about to ask how when Moon silenced of him. "Princess of Dreams, remember? I've seen that conflict you're talking about in your dreams." She then tightened her embrace. "If it makes you feel any better, Celestia's the only person I'd ever let have you. She still dreams of you too. It's almost like you're made for each other."
Burst gave Moon a small smile. "Thanks Moon. But for now? You're the one I've chosen to love. And I've got a lot of love to give you." Then, an idea came to him. "You know, I never did have my parents meet my girlfriend before. Care to help me change that?"
"I'll change into my princess outfit." Nightmare Moon said with a smile as she headed into her room to change. She exited a minute later wearing her crown and her usual tank top had been replaced with a t-shirt saying: This is My Princess Outfit. "I'm ready."
Burst let out a small laugh. "You wanna take the train, or do you wanna go the fast way?"
"I'll teleport us there." Nightmare Moon said with a smirk. "Wouldn't be very romantic if I was the one carrying you on my back as we flew towards your home, now would it?"
"Hey. I've got no problem with you laying on top of me or using me as a pillow when we go to bed." Burst said with a smile. "Speaking of dreams, what kind of dreams do you have of me?"
Nightmare Moon let out a small giggle. "Wouldn't you like to know~?" She said with a seductive glance towards Burst. "Then again, you've already helped make all my dreams come true. But as much as I enjoy all this sweet-talk, we shouldn't keep your parents waiting. Stick close to me." Nightmare Moon began to channel her magic. She smiled when she felt how tight Burst Stream held onto her. "Looks like I don't have to worry about you being hands-on in our relationship."
"Care to suggest anywhere else that needs my attention?" Burst Stream asked with a smile.
"Depends on which base we're on." Nightmare Moon replied with a giggle as she teleported the two of them to the doorstep of Burst's old home.
Burst Stream knocked on the door, and smiled when he saw his parents answer. "Hi Mom. Hi Dad." He then stepped aside to reveal Nightmare Moon. "I'd like you to meet my girlfriend. Nightmare Moon."
"Hi." Nightmare Moon said with a smile as she flashed Burst's parents the peace sign. "Now I know where Burst gets his good looks from." On the inside, Nightmare Moon was a bit nervous. Especially considering that the memories of Aether in her head were from when she was bonded with Luna. The last thing she wanted to do was get one of the greatest heroes in Unity's history angry. And she was also quite nervous about what Burst's mom would think of her. "He treats me quite well. And I hope to more than return the favor."
"Well, don't just stand there!" Lumina said with a warm smile. "Come inside! We've been wondering when Burst would bring home a lady for a long time. There's so much to tell you about Burst! Oh! And we also have some videos of his early days! If you think he's cute now, you haven't seen anything yet!"
"You two can feel free to chat about my embarrassing past." Burst said with a sigh. He then turned his attention to Aether. "Hey, Dad? I've been having a small problem lately. Could we talk about it?"
"Sure thing son." Aether said with a nod. "But maybe it's better if we speak about it in private. Do you mind?"
Burst blinked in surprise. "Actually, no. In fact, I was hoping we could keep it between the two of us." And so, Aether led Burst to the portion of the house where Burst's training had occurred. Meanwhile, Lumina was striking up a conversation with Nightmare Moon.
"So." Lumina asked with a pleasant smile. "When can I expect to see a grandchild your highness?"
Nightmare Moon smirked. "Well, that all depends. How soon do you want me to get busy with Burst? Also, I didn't think you thought Burst and I were already that intimate."
"Princess Nightmare Moon. With a body like yours, it's not that hard to picture you and Burst having an eventful evening."
Nightmare Moon giggled. "Call me Moon please." She then smiled. "I believe you said that you had pictures of my boyfriend during his early years?" Lumina whipped out a huge photo album, and opened it up. And Nightmare Moon blushed when she saw a photo of kid Burst holding a certain Optimus Prime plushy. ". . . I want twenty copies of this one."
Meanwhile, Burst and Aether were in the training facility under the house. "Alright son." Aether began. "What seems to be the problem you're dealing with?"
"Well, it's probably nothing serious Dad." Burst said with a shrug. "Lately, I've been feeling pain when I've tried tapping into my magic or using my power. Pain just shoots across my entire body and parts of me feel sore in multiple places. I think it's because of how hard I've been pushing myself in these latest battles."
At hearing this, Aether's expression turned grim. ". . . Burst? Could you please remove your coat and shirt? There's something that I want to check."
"Uh, sure?" Burst said warily as he proceeded to remove his coat and shirt. And what he saw shocked him. His right arm was covered in a series of cracks and it looked like magic was being emitted from the cracks! He was further shocked by the appearance of similar cracks on his left arm! "Wh-what the hell?!"
Burst then looked towards Aether with a panicked gaze. "Dad! Dad what's happening to me?! What is this?! What's going on?! Why are these cracks appearing on my arms?!"
"I was afraid of this moment. . . " Aether said in a fearful tone. "Burst. Do you remember how exhausted you felt after you first developed the White Lightning Overdrive?"
Burst slowly nodded. "Yeah. I felt really worn out. Like it'd but all of my being into that one attack. But what does that have to do with this? You're not saying this is all because I created the overdrive, are you?!"
"No son. I'm not." Aether said as he shook his head. "But. . . have you ever had to use the technique in a successive amount of times?"
"Y-Yeah. Back when Big Saturn attacked Manehattan." Burst answered. "His second wave of minions were a bunch of tank robots, and the only way I could take them out was with the White Lightning Overdrive. After that battle, I felt a bit of pain in my arm but-" Burst Stream's eyes went wide with the horrifying realization. ". . . That's when this started, wasn't it?"
Aether slowly nodded. "When you said your whole being felt like it was on overdrive, you have no idea how right you were. Though your past battles have made you stronger and you no longer collapse from exhaustion after using the technique, it still exacts a heavy toll on your body. Normally, after some rest, you would be able to recover with no problem. But because of that one battle, you had to rely on the White Lightning Overdrive too much. And all that extensive use made your magic unstable. From there, it just kept backfiring. And now the damage from the backlash has manifested itself quite physically. Couple that with how active you are in using magic when you fight and-" Aether was silent for a moment, and closed his eyes. ". . . I don't want to say it."
"Dad." Burst Stream gripped his dad's shoulders. His eyes pleading Aether to tell him what was wrong. "Please. Tell me what's going to happen to me."
Aether's face contorted into a pained expression before taking a deep breath and looking his son in the eye. Returning Burst's pleading gaze with one filled with great sadness. "Because of how actively you fight, any time you use magic in combat further accelerates the damage from the backfire. And once it hits the point your body can't take any more, you'll literally burst. Son. . . you're a ticking time bomb. You won't destroy the world when you go, but you will do a lot of damage. And your countdown has already begun."
". . . " Burst Stream just stood there for a full minute. The longest minute of his life as he stood frozen in complete horror. "No. . .No!" Burst Stream stumbled backwards! "This can't be right! It can't be! I knew I'd be putting my life on the line constantly! But this?! THIS?! NO!" Burst hastily put his shirt and coat back on and raced back up to the first floor of his old house!
As he watched Burst run away, Aether fell to the floor. Tears falling from his eyes. "I should have never trained him. . . " He sobbed. "I should have never brought him into his world." Aether looked to a picture depicting him in battle with one of Unity's greatest enemies. Tirek. "And now. . . he's going to clean up the mess I've made soon enough." He glared at the picture of Tirek. "I should have never let you live. . . " He then looked to the picture of him, Lumina, and a young Burst Stream. "You really are like me Burst." He clutched the picture close to his chest as he wept uncontrollably. "And in the end, that just might be what ends you. . . "