For three months Nick was training in Apocrypha, and the only way he could and would describe it would be “pain slathered on top of suffering in a hell bowl.”

Not a day went by when something didn't hurt. On easy days he was forced to learn the vital points of most everything he would find in any Equestria, ranging from griffins to dragons to fairies, which he learned were all scary as hell. On the ‘testing' days he felt like his muscles were melting and his skin went through a barb wire scrubbing. The worst part was that almost every day he had to jog up those ungodly long stairs to the training area, and that was a warm up! Before Equestria, the most he ran was to the bathroom.

And after Nick was on the ground, panting and regretting his choice of teacher, Zoro pulled potions out of somewhere and healed him. ‘Heals the ripped muscles so you can train harder, longer, and get stronger quicker.’

He probably just enjoyed watching me suffer, were Nick's thoughts on the matter.

Sure, there were fun parts, like watching a few old but great shows on the Multiverse equivalent of Netflix, but it was all overshadowed by the suffering that Zoro called ‘training.’

So when the Omnitrix chirped, signaling its activation, he was both excited and worried. Excited that he would be ready to go back to his Equestria, but worried about his Final.

Throughout his stay in the Hentai Library Theme Park he had only faced off against Jeeves and the Lurkers separately, but almost always ended the fight in defeat.

But while each fight ended in defeat, Nick kept pushing to try harder every time. His persistence pushing him to greater heights he never even dreamed he'd be able to reach.

Nick during his training did not stop pushing himself to the brink of his abilities, but this Final would decide if all of the training, all of suffering and pain would be enough. Nick rubbed his face, he had visibly gotten a hell of a lot slimmer and more muscle toned then when he entered. His semi-afro cut down and he actually managed to fully develop a type of beard.

Nick currently was laying in the bed he had been sleeping in for the past few months, a notebook underneath his pillow with scribbles of all his available alien forms. A sort of strategy guide to using their abilities to their fullest. If I go from XLR-8 to Diamondhead while moving at top speed, it wouldn’t take much for me to simply slice Erebus in half, but I don’t think it’d ever be that easy. Nick thought to himself, still writing down the idea anyway.

“You’d need to make the blade pretty fast,” a voice said from over his shoulder, causing Nick to jump. “I’d personally go NRG. At least then I'd know I do some damage with that bulky suit of his that I'd be able to walk away from.”

Nick just glared at his teacher. Zoro made it a habit to have his input in almost everything he did, but damn if some of the advice he gave wasn't brilliant.

Nick took a breath and sighed, “I could potentially walk away from the attack with Diamondhead as well, the chances would just be very damn slim. My first taste of using my quick switch feature came from when I had to fight that undead mutant dragon back at Equestria. Ran up a wall as XLR-8 and wailed on him with multiple Echo Echo clones. I could’ve gotten closer and dealt a LOT more damage..”

“Ugh, don't get me started on undead. They’re the only bastards that can get past Haki. I call bullshit.”

“Pft seriously, good thing I only had to deal with one...but something tells me my Equestria’s Luna and Celestia are going to do something stupid before I get back...in terms of time outside of this book. We’ve been in here for 3 months, how much time passed out there?” Nick asked, not remembering specifically.

“Eh, it depends,” he shrugged his shoulders. “Could be a few hours at least, a week at most. I just
know my place, so on others it's kind of swing and miss.”

“I’m hoping only a few hours. Because if my Celestia and Luna do what I think they’re gonna do...well, it’s not gonna end well for them.” Nick said sitting up from the bed, putting the notebook down and beginning to stretch.

“They got my crew, so it could be alright,” Zoro said as they started walking towards the Summit, as they took to calling it. “But enough about stuff we got no control over, you ready for this?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Nick replied, rolling his head to pop his neck. He then took one more deep breath and exhaled, grabbing his blade from the wall. “Still have butterflies in my stomach. Pretty sure I’m using that saying wrong...but to be honest i really don’t care.” He said chuckling to himself slightly.

“Don't worry, Kid, you’ll do fine. Last you faced them was, what, a month ago? Plenty of room for improvement.”

“You’re not wrong about that.” Nick said gripping his blades handle tightly.

When they made it to the top, the Lurkers and Seeker were waiting. The entire area had been cleared of most of the usual clutter so there was a less likely chance of someone dying by trip.

“Alright, ground rules,” Zoro started. “One, no transformations. Two, if the Kid is mutilated or killed, you four stop and wait for him. When this is done, everyone gets alcohol.” The Lurkers looked… happier, if you could tell the difference, at the last part. “Ready to start, Kid?”

“Sure but I need one thing before we start, that second rule...I want them to keep going, Erebus and his lackeys won’t stop when I’m down. I need to be ready for that.”

The Swordsman grinned at him. “Sure thing. You heard him, guys.”

“Yesh, Mashter Zoro. We will endeavor to reshpect his wish.” Was he grinning? It's so hard to tell with the… the tentacles and the face.

Nick stepped forward, his eyes on the Lurkers and the Seeker. He took a stance, putting his dominant foot which was his right forward. His sword in his hands tightly as he kept his eyes trained on them.

"Begin!"

It was one of the Lurkers who moved first, bringing down an overhead strike. Nick dodged quickly, surprising himself with how fast he was compared to the creature. Nick shook the thought of his improvement in speed.

In that brief moment, another Lurker had gotten behind him. It smacked him hard in the back, sending him flying towards the third. Thinking quickly, he duck and rolled under it the moment his feet could touch the ground, barely dodging as it spew out tentacles. He slashed the back of the leg, but not the knee as the first Lurker was upon him.

He dodged it’s blow, slicing its arm as it missed him. He could have gotten in another bloq had it not been for the Seeker. He felt the wave of energy go through him, stumbling long enough for another Lurker to get a blow in.

Dammit, forgot about him. That spell though…Nick was having an idea, and he grinned. Now it's time to stratergize.

He spent the next few minutes dodging and weaving, attacking and counter attacking whenever he could, but he stayed on the defensive. Eventually, all of them were in the places the human needed. One enemy covered each of his sides, but he only had eyes on one. When the Seeker launched another spell, Nick threw his sword towards the Lurker opposite. On normal occasions, this wouldn't do jack shit. But this is a Displaced we’re talking about here, crazy shit is basically in the job description. The sword penetrated it’s head, yes, but didn't do much damage. The Seeker’s spell gave Nick much more momentum than he could've gotten normally. Using the momentum, he pushed the blade through the Lurker’s head, bringing the body to the ground. One enemy defeated.

He didn’t have time to pat himself on the back over the small victory, moving in on the next Lurker he used his smaller form to slide underneath it, pressing his feet roughly against the ground he stopped his momentum and then ran forward. Cutting open the back of its leg, he returned to being in front of it. Leaping up and slamming both of his feet into its stomach which he followed up with by launching himself off of it effectively knocking it over, sliding on the ground to recover he stood up and charged forward. Not pausing in the slightest he jumped in the air, ramming his sword through its throat and then pulled the blade upward, splitting its throat and head right down the middle.

He contorted out of the way of another blast before rushing to its source. Seekers were basically mages, and that meant they weren't as well versed in close-combat as the other Daedra, right? Mostly.

They had very durable skin… hides? Whatever they had, it was as tough as a rhino. But there was one place not as protected, if you didn't count the eyes. As it was readying another spell, Nick slashed at it’s mouth, causing the spell to backfire and injure it internally.

Nick then landed on the ground, standing tall and very proud. He looked at the remaining Lurker, his eyes narrowed as he stayed still, almost daring it to attack with his stature.

It roared, shooting acid covered tentacles towards him. He barely dodged, his arm getting a small cut in the process. Rushing forward, he dodged and weaved it’s attacks. When he was right up to it, he sliced the Lurker in the stomach, making it ooze green blood. He put all of his strength into a kick to the left knee, bringing it into a kneeling position. Nick jumped into the air and plunged his blade into its skull, penetrating it down to the heart.

“I’ll admit,” he began to speak up, “I did not expect to do this well! This is good, I feel stronger! Faster!” Nick looked at Zoro, who seemed to be watching all of this unfold. Nick tilted his head, giving a cheesy smile and a thumbs up to his mentor.

The Swordsman chuckled, turning off the music and standing up. “Congrats, Kid. First person to graduate from the University of Zoro Badassery. And for your consolation prize, Skyrim Loot!” He bent over the Lurkers’ bodies, taking something from each of them. In his hand he had jewelry. A Gold Necklace, a Gold Sapphire Ring, and a Silver Ruby Ring. “A necklace that fortifies Magic resistance, the gold ring resists poison, and the other Fire, each at maybe… 40%? Been a while but feels about right. Perks of being sensitive to magic, I guess. Here, they’re yours.”

Nick sheathed his sword, and tilted his head. Taking the enchanted jewelry and rubbing his chin. “Thanks. But here’s to hoping I won’t need it,” He said smirking and pocketing the items. He rolled his shoulders, trying to loosen them up a bit.

“Ha! In our line of work, we need everything we can get our hands on. It's why I've got, like, six lightsabers.”

“Fair enough,” Nick replied chuckling a bit, “now. What now? Considering I believe I passed my final exam rather well.”

“Well, as I see it, we have two choices: Go back to your home, or finish that last season of Friends. But it's your choice if you think hanging around an old dude like me is too uncool for you.”

“I think I should probably get back. However we can finish Friends another time. Maybe after I deal with this whole Erebus situation.” Nick said pounding his fist against his hand, “I’m ready to finally put that dickweed in his place…”

“Alright, now then-” Both humans froze, feeling a familiar presence. This time however, Nick didn't quake in his boots. Only shivered when he gazed at the Daedric Prince.

“Good show, Nicholas. You’ve certainly improved since coming here. Most impressive.”

“Thanks, gonna be honest I’m probably gonna miss this place. I finally gained the courage to sleep and not be woken up by the slightest noise.” Nick said joking.

“Well we can't have that, now, can we?”

“Hermaeus,” Zoro growled at the Prince.

“Don't worry, Roronoa Zoro. I have no interest in giving him the same deal I gave to you. I am simply… rewarding him. Yes, rewarding him for his splendid display throughout his stay. Nicholas, I shall grant you a… gate, to Apocrypha. Whenever you want.”

“I...thank you. As long as I am welcomed, I’ll probably come back. It is nice to have a TV again, and another mentor when it comes down to it.”

"Such a polite young mortal. Why ever can't you behave like him, Roronoa Zoro?” All the Prince got in return was an almost animalistic growl. “Always rebellious, aren't you? No matter, soon you’ll fulfill your end of the deal. But you, Nicholas, shall always be welcomed. And should you... find anything to your liking,you are free to trade Knowledge for Knowledge.”

“Kid, we’re leaving, now.” Zoro opened a portal and almost shoved Nick through, sending Hermaeus Mora one final glare before jumping through himself.

The Daedric Prince simply ‘smiled.’

When they exited the portal, arriving back into Twilight’s Castle, the Library wing. They noticed it was around midnight. No one was awake.

“Well, at least Celestia and Luna aren’t completely dunce...also, I’m gonna be honest. I couldn’t tell if tentacle god himself was hitting on me or not, and that is a tad concerning..”

Zoro sighed, rubbing the back of his head as he took a seat. There was a flash of purple on the table, revealing a small, black book with a familiar looking logo on the cover. The emblem of Apocrypha. “... Think that's yours.”

“Thank you, very much appreciated. I’ll try and keep it from Twilight… along with Eris-” Nick was cut short as a massive explosion of energy erupted from the trees of the Everfree Forest. A mix of gold and a nice vibrant blue. “God dammit spoke to soon…”

“I'm guessing that's either the Sisters or this ‘Eris?’"

“I’m hoping it's Eris, but something tells me I’m not gonna be that lucky…” Nick sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “It’s always when I fuckin get back from training to, I swear…”

Zoro got up and grabbed a calendar. “Heh, week vacation and people decide that it's time to do shit. Welp, nothing we can do about it. I'm sensing, Sunny, Moony, my crew, and their guards decided to go on a little man hunt for E-something. Sound about right??”

“Yeah that’s what I was thinking...god damnit.” He muttered, taking a deep breath. A bright light flashing from Nick as he transformed into XLR-8.

“Well, I need some stress relief. Wanna go crash their little party?”

“That’s what I was planning on doing,” Nick said in his raspy Kineceleran voice.

Zoro pulled out Kitetsu and Shusui. “Then let's get going,” he said running towards the area of the blasts, almost appearing like a green blur.

Nick’s facemask slammed over his face as he raced toward the forest, MUCH faster then before. Leaving a trail of dust and smoke behind himself as he approached the forest.

This is going to be a long night.

Author's Notes:

Thanks again to PrincessMoonzilla for doing this crossover with me! And actually being patient with me, hopefully part three will go up next weekend! Assuming nothing important happens that weekend! Otherwise, ciao my boys and gals!

https://ben10.fandom.com/wiki/XLR8_(Classic)