So, completely by chance I happened to stumble across a short clip on youtube and I happened to find this cartoon. I more or less binged the show and found I loved it. And of course, knowing me I just had to get hooked on the drama on having a dark/violent alter ego. (Seriously, I watched episodes 25 and 26 more than 5 times in two days). Anyway Of course I felt the ending wasn't dramatic enough and I felt I needed a little more hurt/comfort in it. Thus this was born... Seriously though... somebody help me... I don't think this is normal XP
Anyway I do not own! And I will probably be making more fanfics pertaining to this one. And to those of you waiting for my other two...three fics to be updated, I can't promise anything but I will try to pick them back up. Though I may wind up completely rewriting them.
"Huh?!" T.K.O groaned out as he awoke.
"It's time for you to get back in your cage." K.O ordered, an orangish glow surrounding him briefly before fading, all fear he held was hidden behind a poker face of a stare.
T.K.O. glared in anger as he rose from the ground.
"I'm never going back!" He growled dangerously low as he shot forward, fist raised high as he demanded a brawl with his weakling of a counterpart.
K.O. Raced forward with determination, not willing to give in to his angry half without a fight.
Fists collided, red armband meeting a spiked purple band. The two leapt as far back as they could, K.O. quickly flying forward with a grunt.
"You can't make me!" T.K.O. Screamed out as he blocked K.O.'s punch with his leg. He used the opportunity to counterattack with multiple kicks to his enemy before his good half had time to react.
K.O. luckily managed to block the attacks and waited for an opening. 'There!' He thought to himself when he noticed T.K.O. pausing for a split second. K.O. threw a fist forward with all his strength in hopes that it would catch him off guard, however, T.K.O. managed to effortlessly deflect the move and countered with a lightning fist.
T.K.O. went for an uppercut but was shocked when K.O. managed to catch his fist with both his hands, attempting to force his hand downwards before swinging him into orbit.
T.K.O. spun through the air, screaming out as he sped out of control. His screaming faded out when he realized he was stopping in mid air. He glanced around, slightly confused at first before letting out a dark chuckle.
He shot downwards at K.O. with amazing speed, K.O. only barely managing to dodge him by leaping in the air. K.O. wiggled his arms around a lit before laughing with glee at the fact he could fly.
T.K.O. flew up to meet his level, stopping feet away from the boy who was now looking at him.
"Don't you like being strong?" T.K.O. questioned.
"If being strong means hurting my family and friends then it's not worth it!" K.O. answered back as he flew forward, sparking another battle with the dark version of himself.
They flew upwards, exchanging punches, their speed picking up so fast two trails of lights were momentarily left behind.
"Do you really think you'll ever be a hero? Without me!" T.K.O. shouted as he landed a kick to K.O.'s gut, sending the boy floating backwards, before vanishing and reappearing behind him forcing both fists downwards into his back.
K.O. cried out in pain as he was sent slamming into the ground, T.K.O. beaming in directly behind him chuckling in victory.
"Face it, K.O." He taunted the beaten boy as he walked forward. "I'm stronger." He said as he raised a lightning fist as if to show off his strength. "Faster!" He teleported into a crouching position next to K.O. who was still face down on the ground.
"And if we're being real, cooler than you." He shrugged as if it were common knowledge
"Fact is," He continued as he bent forward, grabbing K.O. by the hair in order to lift his head up to look at him, "you need me."
Suddenly he yanked him upwards, "Now get up!" T.K.O. yelled, throwing him backwards so fast K.O. struggled to stay standing. T.K.O. barely gave him any time to react before throwing lightning laced punches that K.O. barely managed to deflect.
"Get back in your cage, faker!" T.K.O. ordered as he stepped forward, his onslaught of attacks never pausing. K.O. was being forced backwards,which made him more and more desperate.
"No, no!" K.O. cried out as he inched closer to the cell. "It can't end like this!" He pleaded to himself.
T.K.O was now flying, throwing more and more punches at an awkward angle for K.O. to counter, however, somehow he managed to keep blocking. "You can't match me!" T.K.O. spat, eager and ready to get back out there and fight more.
Suddenly the world around him became dark as he closed his eyes. T.K.O.'s voice faded into the background as he heard the buzzing of a fly.
K.O. snapped his head up, gasping in enlightenment as the words of his mother echoed in his mind. 'The path to greatness is hard, and long," K.O. smiled with newfound eagerness and hope. 'So you have to stay,'
"Focused" K.O closed his eyes echoed the words of his mother.
T.K.O. grunted before throwing a downwards swing that was flawlessly evaded by K.O. leaping backwards, eyes closed and looking downwards as he concentrated on his childhood lesson.
"Ugh! What are you doing?" T.K.O. growled out in frustration as he clenched his fists, lightning flaring slightly more than before.
"The path to greatness is hard." He felt his body relax as he folded his hands together in meditation pose, though he couldn't see it, he felt a strange new aura surrounding him. "And long."
T.K.O. , tired of waiting, marched forward. "Gah! Are you giving up already?" He questioned as he pounded his fist into his palm before lifting it into the air, ready for a final strike. "I always knew you were a baby!"
"There aren't any shortcuts." He continued mumbling to himself, not allowing the taunts to get to him.
"Don't think I'll be taking it easier on you." T.K.O. announced before throwing a punch, only for it to be effortlessly evaded with a small movement. Angrily he continued to swing as fast as he could, only feeling the frustration and anger building as each hit misses.
"Why won't you hit me!?" He yelled out, swinging his fists more wildly as K.O. simply stepped backwards until they were mere inches away from the cage.
Keeping calm he continued his monologue, "So I gotta stay..." 'Just a few more steps.' he thought to himself.
'NOW!'
K.O. caught the fist of his violent counterpart, much to the other's shock. T.K.O. looked at his weaker self, disbelief evident in his violet eyes. His lightning was dispelled in a matter of seconds, making the darker counterpart suddenly scared as he stared behind K.O. at the cage that had been his cell for years already.
"Focused!" K.O. shouted, his eyes snapping open to reveal glowing yellow eyes. He quickly spun T.K.O. to where he landed between him and the cage before landing a single blow, sending him flying into the iron cell.
T.K.O looked at him, tears falling from his eyes as he angeredly cried out while K.O. slammed the door shut. As soon as the metal collided K.O. gasped awake.
At first he felt relief seeing his friend and mom were all surrounding him.
"K.O.!" They all announced in harmony.
"Are you okay?" His mother added, only pure concern written on her face. Before he could answer something caught his eye.
"Oh no." He mumbled out as he turned his head he found the building next to him was nearly completely demolished. His eyes widened in regret and fear and he snapped his head around to take in the rest of the plaza. Tears welled up in his eyes as he took in the sight.
"I did all this?" He whimpered out in a barely audible tone as he knelt up. He wanted to cry, to explain what happened, but honestly, he had no clue what happened. All he could remember was letting his anger free then nothing. He could barely remember fighting with his darker half before waking up in the middle of the plaza's parking lot. He stood up, taking in everything little thing that he- T.K.O.- had done, not only to the plaza but to his friends and family as well.
Nausea hit him like a tidal wave as he remembered everything.
"K.O.?" His mom asked once more. He looked at his mother then back to his friends. Rad looked terrible, like almost every bone in his body had been broken, however he expressed no anger or distrust towards him, much like Enid, who while not in as bad of shape still looked worn down and bruised. Mr. Gar seemed completely neutral, it was hard to tell what he was thinking, but if his time working under him has taught K.O. anything, it was probably not good.
K.O. couldn't help but take a step back, an overwhelming feeling of guilt and shame overcoming him.
"K.O.?" Enid was now the one to speak. She sounded worried, but K.O. couldn't hear it. All he could hear were his thoughts.
'I did this.' 'I hurt the people who cared about me most.' 'It's all my fault.' 'I'm a monster.' 'I'm weak!' 'Useless!' 'PATHETIC!'
"NO!" K.O. screamed out, gripping his hair tightly as tears streamed down his face, alarming everyone around him. Carol stood up with urgency, moving as quickly as she could to comfort her baby boy who was not taking more than a few steps back. The others seemed to have the same idea as she had because as soon as he spun around and began to run the group, minus Rad who was attempting to quickly limp forward, sprinted forward- the same fear striking every one of them.
"K.O.!" Carol and Enid called out, both diving forward to secure the young boy from running God knows where. Luckily the two women managed to wrap their arms around the child who was now crying out and yelling to be let go.
"Let me go! Please! I'm sorry! I didn't want to!" Enid looked over to Carol, who gave her a nod, before releasing her hold on the boy in order to let his mother have him.
Carol spun the boy around gently, wrapping him in a tight hus as the boy continued to sob. Muffled apologies and barely audible words continued to spill from the boy's mouth.
"Shh. Shh." She cooed as she stroked his hair in an attempt to comfort the boy. "It's okay, baby, I got you. Everything is alright."
"No, it's not okay." K.O. explained as he pulled back some.
"What do you mean, little buddy?" Rad asked, finally catching up to the group.
K.O. stared at his broken friend once more, tears welling up in his eyes again. Seeing the soul crushing guilt in the boy's eyes, Rad quickly made an attempt to console the boy.
"Hey, it's alright! It's just a few broken bones, they'll-" He groaned sharply as he felt a quick and sharp pain in his body. "heal in no time." He gave a weak thumbs up in an attempt to solidify his statement. Despite his claims, he could see the boy didn't believe him so he tried another approach.
"So what was that? How did you get all that power?" He asked, and to everyone's surprise K.O. began panicking, his breathing increased to dangerously high levels. Carol quickly made all attempts to soothe the boy.
As she did K.O. choked out between sobs, "I...don't...know...what happened… There... was a man… and a boy… who looked...looked... just like me!" His sobs became heavier but his mother's soothing words slowly began to calm him down.
"...but he was so scary and strong… He… locked me up in a cage! I'm so sorry! I never wanted to hurt anyone! I just wanted to be strong. I didn't know!"
"You said there was a man?" Carol asked, still rubbing his hair in comfort. She felt a nod under her hands. "And another...you?" She found it harder to ask, the simple thought of there being such a negative and violent part of her baby was terrifying. He nodded, confirming her fears and worries.
"The man told me he could help me reach my true potential… That I was stronger than every one of my friends combined…"
"I don't know about that!" Rad announced, K.O. didn't bother to look up in fear of seeing his handy work once again. The rest of the group however glanced over to the obviously in pain teen. "I was totally just holding back cuz I didn't wanna hurt you."
"Uh-huh." Enid rolled her eyes and sent a light jab from her elbow to his side, sending the blue toned teen to the ground in a weeping mess.
K.O. grimmised in pain just from hearing him.
"Keep going." Enid softly announced in hopes Rad's little outburst hasn't deterred the child.
"I just didn't want to be weak anymore, always causing trouble. When he said he could unlock my true power, I was excited. And when I got a funny feeling he gave me his hero card." He reached in his pocket and pulled out the card. Carol grabbed the card he held up to her and examined it. Something felt off about so called 'hero' card.
In all her years she never came across a hero that had the obvious air of a villain. But there it was, numbers in blue- that is for a moment. "What the-" Her holding the card seemed to have nullified whatever glitch had been placed on the card because the card screen spazzed out before resetting- revealing a negative number. "A villain card!" She mumbled out, K.O., hearing the comment along with the others, felt his eyes widen in pure anger.
Horror, anger and a surge of protectiveness flooded her body. 'How dare a villain do this to my son!' She thought angrily.
"I believed him when he said I was strong. I'm so stupid!" He growled out as he balled his hand into tight fists. A familiar purple light forming around him, vaguely shocking his mother who still help him in her arms. "I should have known he was just using me! I'll never be a hero!" Anger and frustration burned beneath his skin as he felt a terrifying feeling creep over him once again.
"K.O.! You're wrong!" Mr. Gar finally spoke up, immediately making the boy freeze up, disbelief. He walked up to the boy and his mother and knelt to the ground. He awkwardly placed a hand of his shoulder and for the first time since he returned, K.O. looked him in the eyes, shock and hope reflecting his brown tear stained eyes.
"You will be a great hero. You fight harder and train harder than anyone I've ever known. You're helpful to everyone you meet, even when there's nothing in it for you. So what if you've made a mistake here today? We all make mistakes. It's how you deal with them that makes you a true hero." By the end of his little speech Gar was blushing so red that he could make a strawberry jealous.
K.O. pursed his lips together tightly. He truly was happy to hear those words come from his idol's mouth, however there was one big issue that scared him to no end. "He's still here." K.O. mumbled only loud enough for the immediate group to hear.
"What do you mean, sweetie?" His mom asked, finally loosening her grip on her son. He pulled back some and used his fist to wipe up his tears.
"T.K.O…" He answered, defeat evident in his tone. "He's still inside me, somewhere. I can feel him. He wants to get out again….and… and hurt everyone. What if I can't hold him back? What if I lose control again, but next time I can't beat him? I don't want to hurt anyone again." He pulled his knees to his head and hid his face when he felt the tears pickle at his eyes. He was sick of crying and he felt so tired suddenly.
He just wanted everything to be over. He wanted the Shadowy Figure man to pay for what he did. He wanted T.K.O. to just disappear forever. But mostly he wanted to yell. Yell at his friends for making him so mad before that he felt like he wasn't good enough. Yell at Mr. Gar for never seeing how much he had done. But above all else. He just wanted to scream at himself for how stupid and blind he had been.
Before he could continue his inwards rant he felt a bunch of arms around him. He realized in a pleasant surprise that everyone was wrapping him in a group hug.
"We'll be here to stop him if he ever comes back." Rad declared. "Next time I won't go easy!" He winked and K.O. felt a small smile prick at the sides of his lips.
"You're strong, K.O.!" Enid announced. "You can't lose to someone who doesn't have friends to back them up. And we'll always have your back… "
"None of you are mad?" He asked. "I destroyed everything. The dojo… Your shop..."
"That wasn't you!" Enid announced without a hint of hesitation. "T.K.O. may be a part of you but he is not you. Would you ever intentionally hurt your friends or mom?"
K.O. shook his head quickly. The last thing he wanted was to hurt anyone.
"Then there's nothing to feel sorry about. Besides, we all had a part to play in this." Enid continued.
"We pushed you away a lot lately. Sometimes we tend to forget that you're not just a kid. You're our teammate. And you do just as much as any of us here. If we hadn't have treated you like that you would never have felt like you needed to be stronger so fast."
"She's right." Rad agreed.
"I should have worked harder to help you improve than what I did." Mr. Gar looked away, ashamed.
K.O allowed himself to really smile as tears began falling once again.
"You don't have to carry this weight alone." His mom exclaimed as she planted a kiss on his forehead. "Remember what I told you? I'll always be here if you need me."
K.O. felt his heart tighten from the rush of emotions. 'Maybe...maybe I really don't have to go through this alone.'
As always please leave your thoughts on it. I hope you liked it.