Welcome back, everyone!
To me, this fic feels a little like a mess. I knew exactly what points A, B, and C were, and roughly how to get from one to the next, but getting the characters to behave for me to connect events properly was a huge hassle. Hopefully it's just me and it doesn't show too much, but you know. Be ready for writing that probably isn't my smoothest. Also, it's pretty big, even compared to Insight.
Note: This is the third in a series of related chronological oneshots, starting with Calibration. You definitely need to read that and Insight before you read this, unless you're looking for confusion with a lack of context. In which case, please continue. :)
Spoilers for "T.K.O.'s House."
A siren began to blare, the source of the sound unknown. Overhead, clouds started to form, appearing out of nowhere and gathering at a single point in the sky. They rippled, forming an uneven bulls-eye, and then parted to reveal a widening vortex. From it dropped a single box, and the clouds dispersed as if they were never there.
In moments, K.O., Rad, and Enid were running outside, ready to take on whatever robotic opponent Lord Cowboy Darrell had decided to throw at them that day. K.O. took a breath, and after a brief flash of purple, T.K.O. was standing in his place, cackling excitedly. The teens didn't even glance in his direction; the alter had been coming out for the occasional battle for over a month and a half, apparently as part of a deal he and K.O. had made. Seeing as he had yet to trash the plaza or otherwise cause any real trouble, they chose to let the matter be.
The box hissed as it opened, smoke pouring out from the lowering face. When it cleared, it revealed the pair of robots within it, the usual Darrell and Shannon duo.
"Prepare yourselves, Lakewood Losers!" Shannon flaunted.
"We're gonna kick your butts!" Darrell chimed in.
T.K.O. groaned, wiping a hand down his face. "These two again? Why can't that idiot send robots that can actually do damage, if he's going to bother attacking us at all?"
Enid eased out of her offensive stance, turning to her frustrated coworker. "Want us to let you two handle them, T.K.O.?"
The alter rolled his eyes. "They won't even be a challenge otherwise," he said, earning an indignant "Hey!" from the robotic twins.
Rad stepped back as well, nodding as he took his place next to Enid. "You got this, bro."
Cracking his neck, T.K.O.'s tone was only mildly annoyed when he replied, "Getting a little friendly there, aren't you?"
"We'll teach you not to underestimate us, brat!" Shannon yelled, charging alongside her brother. "This won't be like the last six times you faced us!"
With a weary sigh, T.K.O. jumped high into the air, well out of either robot's reach. Suspended in the air, he closed his eyes, descending into an uncontrolled free-fall. His eyes snapped open, and P.K.O. twisted and shot downwards, landing a solid kick to Darrell's chest that sent him skidding across the parking lot. Hearing an approaching screech, he turned, grabbing Shannon's buzz-saw arm inches from his face. "Actually, I think this will be exactly like the last six times I faced you."
P.K.O. tugged, ripping the arm out of its socket. Darrell got back to his feet and charged, his own arm shifting into his trademark laser cannon, but P.K.O. was quick to sever it with the still-running saw. Tossing it aside, the fusion landed a brutal jab on the robot's face, sending his head flying off of his shoulders, taking him out of the fight. While P.K.O.'s back was turned, Shannon slammed the back of his head with her mallet of a remaining arm, and he collapsed. As he went down, he swept Shannon's leg out from under her, taking her down with him. Jumping to his feet, the fusion stomped down on the robot's chest with one foot, right into her core. She went immediately slack, the light dimming from her eyes. And just like that, the fight was over.
"Way to go, little dude," Enid congratulated P.K.O., who turned to acknowledge her. "I think that was a new record. Brutal as ever, too."
"Those guys couldn't even touch you!" Rad added enthusiastically. "That kick was way too cool! And the one-liner at the end?" The alien pressed his fingers together and kissed them with a flourish. "Icing on the cake."
"Aw, shucks," said P.K.O., rocking on the balls of his feet as he studied a tiny screw that had lodged itself in his legwarmer. "It's only because K.O. and T.K.O. have been getting along better."
It all started a mere five days after K.O. had made the deal. T.K.O. had already grown bored of the robots across the street, and one day decided that a single Ernesto wasn't worth his time. Not quite willing to give up his freedom, he'd proposed to K.O. that they synchronize, claiming that it would make the robots more challenging. It was a close fight, but in the end P.K.O. had come out on top, if a little worse for wear. Since then, P.K.O. made an appearance whenever T.K.O. wanted to fight the robots on "hard mode." As such, their control over the fusion had grown, especially in recent days.
"Okay, come on out, K.O.," said Rad. "Someone threw Pop-Its in the explosives aisle, and there's no way I'm cleaning that mess up by myself."
"Um, actually," P.K.O. started, "is it okay if I help instead?"
"I wouldn't think that T.K.O. would want to spend his time cleaning other people's messes," Enid threw in. "You sure he's okay with that?"
"Come on, I've only been out for like, a minute," P.K.O. whined, clasping his hands together. "We gotta get the practice in somehow. It'll only be for a little bit, then K.O. can come back."
"You know I can't say no to you," Enid said with a friendly huff. "Just don't get into trouble. But you really should change back soon. Don't want Mr. Gar to think K.O.'s slacking."
"Okay!" P.K.O. exclaimed happily. He ran into the bodega, eager to get started. Rad, on the other hand, stretched, more than happy to give the kid as much of a head start as possible.
"...So, that's a bit new," said Enid, equally willing to stall for time.
"Well, I'm not complaining," Rad replied. "Maybe doing something besides fighting will make T.K.O. chill out a bit. Plus, it gives me less work to do."
"I can't argue with that... The first part, anyway." Enid sighed. "I just get the feeling that there's something more to this than training. Promises aside, K.O. never used to let T.K.O. out so often, even as P.K.O."
"Pff, you worry too much," Rad dismissed her. "It's not like T.K.O.'s holding K.O. hostage or something. They can separate whenever they want. Hey, you think he cleaned up the worst of it yet?" The alien followed P.K.O. inside, leaving Enid by herself to think.
In the end, the ninja figured he was probably right; according to K.O., they both had to be in-sync for the fusion to work, and the better they worked together, the better P.K.O. functioned. Enid had seen him collapse in the middle of a battle once or twice in the past, apparently right after the two had had some sort of disagreement. If T.K.O. really was trying to use K.O. like a spare battery or something, P.K.O. would just fall apart. She had nothing to worry about.
Somewhat comforted knowing that K.O. wasn't being held prisoner inside his own body- again- Enid went inside. She was a bit frustrated to find that two customers were already waiting for her at the counter, but also pleased to see that Rad was chatting it up with the version of K.O. they both knew and loved, who was still holding onto his favorite mop. Taking a moment to summon a clone to man the counter for a bit, Enid strolled up to them, greeting them with, "K.O., you're back."
"Yep!" K.O. chirped. "Just like I said I would be. T.K.O. just wanted to do something different for a while, is all."
Enid quirked a brow. "T.K.O.'s not making you do any of this, is he?"
As Rad rolled his eyes at her, K.O. replied, "Don't be silly, Enid! I think it's good that he wants to try new things. And now that we've started to get the hang of being P.K.O., doing these things with him has been a lot of fun! I promise that neither of us are doing anything we don't want to be doing."
The ninja considered his words, then shrugged. "Okay, if you say so." She went to the counter, dispersing her (embarrassingly incompetent) clone so that she could deal with the first of the customers. If K.O. said everything was fine, then that meant everything was fine. She trusted him. Still, she just couldn't shake the feeling that something was very, very wrong.
(~)
The following day held similar events. K.O. performed his typical duties at the bodega until the robots attacked, this time only a Raymond. K.O. transformed into P.K.O., defeating the robot with relative ease. He stuck around like before, this time to clean up the mess of glass that had once been their windows. Afterwards, he turned back into K.O., and things continued as normal.
The day after that, there was no attack, but P.K.O. made another appearance to help Rad stock the highest shelves, then once more to bring in the inventory boxes from a delivery truck. Naturally, Rad wasn't complaining.
Things were different after the weekend rolled around. Rad and Enid came in early to open up shop, and immediately got to work. When 4 o' clock came and went, they eagerly watched the front door as they usually did, knowing their young friend was out of school and on his way. When the automatic doors slid open, however, it was P.K.O. who came in, Carol not far behind. She walked towards the back where the office was located, presumably to greet Mr. Gar. Gross.
As P.K.O. set off to clean the first mess he saw, Enid shot Rad a confused look, and this time the alien returned it. "You try telling me that this isn't weird at all," she said.
"Okay, yeah, this is pretty weird," Rad admitted. "Usually he shows up to help out with all the annoying stuff. But he literally just got here. What's he already fused for?"
"I don't know," Enid replied, "but I intend to find out."
Completely ignoring Dogmun at the counter, the ninja approached P.K.O., who was on his knees scrubbing at a stubborn spot on the floor. "Okay, what is your deal lately?"
The fusion looked up at her, startled. "Huh?"
"Don't you 'huh' me. You've been showing up constantly for the past week and a half over these stupid little things. And don't give me that 'T.K.O. is trying stuff out' excuse, either," Enid added before P.K.O. could reply. "I've seen him do this same exact stuff, and he was bored out of his mind. So what's the real reason you've been out so much?"
"...Well, I wasn't really lying," P.K.O. started slowly once he was sure Enid wasn't going to cut him off again. "K.O. and T.K.O. are just getting used to being me, that's all. Today, they wanted to try being me for the whole day, as practice. If there's ever an emergency where they need me, I gotta be able to stay coordinated."
"You seem pretty coordinated to me," Enid said, frowning.
Just then, Carol strolled out of the office, ruffling P.K.O.'s hair as she passed. "I just got everything cleared with Gene. Have fun, kiddo!" With that, she left the bodega, driving away seconds later.
Once Carol was gone, Enid continued. "So is this really just some kind of training, or are you-?" P.K.O. had gone back to cleaning the floor, his back completely turned to her. "No way. You're giving me the cold shoulder."
"It's like I told you: I'm practicing," P.K.O. replied without looking up, tone final. "And I can't slack off while I'm practicing."
Enid knew a dismissal when she heard one. She never thought she'd hear such a snippy one coming out of her younger coworker's mouth, though. Eyes narrowed, she pointed an accusing finger. "This conversation isn't over."
Rad gave Enid a curious look as she moodily stormed behind the counter. "Is it something suspicious?" he asked.
Enid's eyes narrowed further. "Very suspicious."
(~)
True to his word, P.K.O. was himself for the entire day. Any moment not spent working was spent evading or deflecting Enid's- and occasionally Rad's- probing questions. Carol eventually came to pick him up, waving goodbye to the bodega employees as they left.
The next day, P.K.O. was once again the one who came to work; at that point, Enid couldn't say she was surprised. Opting not to say anything with Carol around (she'd rather not cause a scene in front of the kid's mom), she watched the two out of the corner of her eye.
Carol knelt in front of P.K.O., crushing him in an overbearing hug that only a mother could give. "Mommy's gonna miss you, sweetie! You be careful fighting evil robots, you hear?"
"Mooom," P.K.O. protested, weakly attempting to fend off the hug. "I'll be fine, they're not that tough."
"Oh, I know." Carol looked up, directing her gaze to Enid. "Keep an eye on my boy for me, would you?"
Enid might not necessarily get people on a social level, but years of ninja training and near-daily villain attacks meant that she definitely knew how to read them. Carol's smile was as toothy and confident as it always was, her tone properly loud and boisterous, but none of it quite managed to reach her eyes. they didn't hold their usual mischievous light; instead they were dark, her eyebrows drawn with worry. She couldn't possibly be so worried about the robots, could she? Not after how long her son had been facing them. To Enid, there was only one thing she knew of that would concern her like this.
Keep an eye on my boy for me, would you?
She was asking for help.
Enid nodded resolutely, and Carol, having gotten her message across, stood, finally releasing her son. "See you soon, kiddo." With one last smile and a quick kiss on the forehead, she was out the door and heading for the dojo. Enid resolved to talk to P.K.O. during their break; she knew that she wouldn't get anywhere by immediately pestering him with questions he obviously didn't want to answer. But if Carol had picked up on the fact that something was wrong, and she felt the need to ask for help, then she needed to get to the bottom of this, and preferably sooner rather than later.
(~)
A couple hours later, Enid found P.K.O. in the break room, snacking on a small baggie of goldfish crackers. Rad was napping in one of the nearby lounge chairs, a men's health magazine splayed across his face. Steeling her nerves, Enid walked up to P.K.O., determined to get an actual conversation out of him.
The fusion could likely guess what she wanted; he held his crackers a little closer, his expression clearly one of annoyance. "I thought you'd been pretty quiet," he spat.
Okay, wow. That definitely wasn't K.O. talking. "P.K.O., we seriously need to talk."
"There's nothing to talk about," P.K.O snapped. "I keep telling you, I'm fine, and T.K.O. isn't controlling anyone-"
"I know that," Enid interrupted him. Her face softened. "Look, you've been around so much lately, way more than normal. You haven't even separated since yesterday, have you?" His stony silence was all the confirmation she needed. "Sharing a mind and body around the clock can't be good for you, can it? I'm just... really worried about you, okay?"
P.K.O.'s frown eased into calm understanding. "Enid, it's okay, really. Being me doesn't hurt. I'm not tired or strained, or anything. I could go weeks, months, even years like this, and it wouldn't hurt anything at all."
Enid was quiet for a moment. "Is that really what you want to do?" P.K.O. gave her a confused look. "Are you really planning to stay like this? For years?"
P.K.O. smiled, but it was uneasy, guarded. "That's not such a bad thing, is it?"
"Of course it is, P.K.O.!" Enid suddenly shouted, startling Rad awake. "If you stay, then when does K.O. ever come out again?!"
"Is that all you care about?!" P.K.O. shot back, standing and raising his voice to match hers. "All that matters is that K.O.'s around, doesn't it?! Doesn't it matter what happens to T.K.O.?! What happens to me?!"
"Of course that matters!" Enid yelled. "But if you're going to exist forever, then what about them?! When do they get to live their lives?! You can't just rob them of that!"
"I'm not robbing them of anything!" P.K.O. shouted, incredulous. "They're the ones who chose to synchronize in the first place! They want to be me! If you were really K.O.'s friend, you would understand that!"
And that was when it clicked, the thing that had niggled at the back of Enid's mind. Her voice lowered, and her eyes narrowed. "I think I know what's going on here." P.K.O.'s eyes widened a fraction. "T.K.O. would never willingly spend his time mopping up spilled drinks. And K.O. would never use our friendship as ammunition for a stupid argument, either. For someone who's only supposed to talk and act when they do, you seem to contradict them a lot."
P.K.O. held his ground, but his aggressive posture started to waver. "What are you even talking about? You know I can't exist without them."
"That may have been true before," said Enid, leaning down to eye level, "but that isn't the case now, is it?"
Suddenly furious, P.K.O. drew back a fist, crackling with golden energy. Then, as if realizing what he was doing, his eyes bugged out in alarm, and he turned on his heel and ran into the main body of the store. Enid bolted after him, and soon Rad was running alongside her, following the fusion outside.
"Enid, what's happening?!" he yelled.
"Somehow, P.K.O. is acting independently of K.O. and T.K.O.!" the ninja called back without breaking stride. "He's planning on existing forever, but I know they're still buried down there somewhere! It was only for a second, but I saw K.O. in there! I think that if we can get them out of sync, we'll be able to separate them!"
"Okay, but how do we do that?!"
Enid sighed. "I think our best bet will be appealing to K.O.'s kindness, and I hate to say it, but that probably means we have to pick a fight with him. If this is anything like the times with T.K.O., then goading him into attacking might be our best bet at stopping him."
"Well, w-what about the alternative of hugging him and telling him we love him?" Rad tried.
"If complimenting him was going to work, you would have pushed K.O. out last week. And it's not gonna matter anyway if we lose sight of him, so come on!"
Rad and Enid picked up the pace, but P.K.O. was faster than either of them gave him credit for. He turned sharply, running into the forest next to the bodega. Rad and Enid were much bigger than he was; they were going to lose him if they didn't catch him soon.
Gritting her teeth, Enid moved through a series of hand signs, and her shadow shot forward, darting between the trees and raising itself in front of P.K.O. Surprised, the fusion ground to a halt, giving his pursuers just enough time to catch up. Before he could take off again, Rad caught him in a finger beam, lifting him a few feet off the ground and pinning his arms to his sides.
P.K.O. thrashed about in an attempt to break free, baring his sharp teeth. "Let go of me! Let me go!"
Enid stepped forward. "P.K.O., this has to stop. You can't go on like this forever."
"That's my decision to make!" the fusion shouted, kicking his feet uselessly. "I never asked you to be okay with it!"
"Maybe. But are K.O. and T.K.O. even okay with it?"
"They made me! They have to be!" P.K.O. argued. "They don't control me like they used to, but they're still a part of me! They can stop me whenever they want! So it should say something that they haven't, shouldn't it?!"
"But you just said they don't control you," Rad said in honest confusion.
"Shut up!" P.K.O. snapped. "What do you even know about any of this?! What K.O. might have happened to tell you?! That isn't even half of it!
"Do you know what it's like? To have two people- three people- inside your head, all the time, and only one of you can exist at a time? And... And people only ever want to see one of you?" He tried to blink back frustrated tears, but they pricked at his eyes anyway. "I'm not any less of a person than they are, you know. All they are is an influence. I have my own thoughts, my own feelings, and my own motivations. I don't even like the same music that they do. So what gives you the right to say that only one of us gets to exist?! I have just as much right to be here as they do!"
It wasn't like what he was saying was wrong. It really wasn't anyone's place to say that P.K.O. didn't deserve freedom; nobody was saying that. But as much as P.K.O. preached selflessness, he clearly wasn't inclined to share, and was more than willing to tell half-truths to keep it that way; Enid doubted that K.O. and T.K.O. had as much say in the matter as P.K.O. made them out to have. This wasn't easy, but she needed to remember that.
"...So prove it." At P.K.O.'s astonished silence, she went on. "You're a level 7, right? Rad and I together are the same, so if you can get us into a position where we can't fight anymore, you'd earn your place out here. We won't bother you about it again."
The quickest way to stop P.K.O., Enid thought, would be exploiting T.K.O.'s bloodlust. It was the one thing K.O. absolutely refused to put up with. If she could get P.K.O. to fight seriously, then maybe the two would argue enough that the fusion would fall apart. She desperately wished she had another plan, preferably one that was actually guaranteed to work, but as things stood, this was their best shot at getting K.O. back.
Unfortunately, P.K.O. recoiled at the suggestion. "But I can't fight you guys. You're not very good friends, but you're still my friends."
Okay, ouch, that did sting a bit. Enid knew she was being a bit mean, but she didn't know what else to do. "Just think of it like sparring. Unless you think that a 3 and a 4 are too much for you?"
P.K.O. scowled. "Are you kidding? That isn't too much."
Enid smirked, injecting just the right amount of smugness. "So prove it."
This time, P.K.O. was frustrated enough to take the bait. "Fine, you asked for it! I won't be going easy on you... So let me go already!"
Rad and Enid looked at each other and nodded. Rad chuckled. "Whatever you say, little dude."
The alien grabbed onto the beam with his free hand and spun in a circle, dragging P.K.O. along in front of him. Once he'd built up enough momentum, he dug his heel into the dirt and released P.K.O., sending the fusion flying towards a nearby tree. He just barely managed to right himself in time to latch onto the tree rather than crashing into it. Sliding down the trunk, he shouted, "Hey, that wasn't fair!"
"Not fair? Don't tell me Rad is too tough for you," Enid guffawed. "He's only a level 3."
"Did you have to tack on the 'only' part?" Rad asked, grimacing.
P.K.O. growled and charged at Enid, fist cocked. She didn't even try to dodge the punch; she let it connect, but rather than meeting flesh, the fist phased through her like smoke. The fusion looked up, only to immediately jump to the side as Enid's heel embedded itself in the ground where he used to be. Before he could counter her, Rad barreled into him from the side. This time unable to catch himself, P.K.O. tumbled several feet before landing and skidding on his feet. He bared his teeth in a snarl, and his subtle aura grew visibly brighter.
Enid really hoped this would work.
"Ha! Are you done already?" Rad taunted.
P.K.O. turned towards him and charged, moving quickly enough to leave a golden trail behind. Rad braced himself for the blow, but P.K.O. suddenly darted right, ricocheting off of a tree and tackling the alien's exposed side, bowling them both over. The fusion managed two awkward, glancing blows as they rolled before Rad tucked his legs in and kicked him away, grabbing him in a two-fingered beam once his own momentum had stopped. Enid rapid-fired fireball kicks at her immobilized opponent, but he quite literally broke free, taking to the air. He rocketed back and forth between the trees at speeds Rad and Enid could only track thanks to his persistent glow, and they quickly took back-to-back stances in an effort to minimize any openings.
"Okay, he's mad and it's not helping," Rad noted. "What do we do now?"
"Just keep fighting and keep taunting," Enid replied. "The idea is that K.O. and T.K.O. will eventually end up doing the fighting for us."
"How is making him mad enough to maybe shut down a good idea?!"
"It's not," Enid said, "but it's the only option we have."
Rad let out a heavy sigh. "Whatever you say... Hey P.K.O.! I bet you're too chicken to-!" He was cut off when the fusion landed a flying kick to his face. The alien was unlucky enough to hit a tree with enough force to send bark scattering and leaves falling. P.K.O. leaped forward to follow up on the attack, but he hesitated when something hit the back of his head. He turned around and glared when he saw Enid, juggling a small stone like it was a hacky sack.
"Come and get me," she said.
Enid expected P.K.O. to charge at her, maybe bounce between a few trees first. What she didn't expect was for a volley of Power Fists to come her way. She jumped, shimmied, and contorted herself into all manner of ridiculous poses, managing to evade them all in the process, but P.K.O. was in her face the second it was over, fist pulled back and shimmering with a wild light dwarfed only by the furious, manic energy in his eyes. He was too fast, too close. Enid knew that she wouldn't be able to dodge. She also knew that it was going to hurt.
Except that wasn't what happened. P.K.O.'s fist flew forwards, but along the way the energy fizzled out and died. The blow connected with Enid's cheek, still powerful enough to send her reeling, but not before catching a glimpse of the baffled look on his face.
Maybe it's actually working!
Enid used the confusion to backflip away, then kicked a fireball in P.K.O.'s direction. The fusion was able to sidestep it, but the movement was awkward, unsteady. Enid knew that if she let up for even a second, the moment would pass. Rad was still recovering; it looked like it was just her for now.
"If you thought only one of me was bad," she called, feeling more confident now that she'd made some headway, "then try twelve of me!" She put her hands together, and clones branched out from her body, surrounding P.K.O. in an uneven circle. He warily glanced around, then predictably attacked the original Enid, who dissipated in a plume of smoke. Surprised and alarmed, he spun around and made to leap at one of the remaining clones, only to second-guess himself and face another one. He glanced around, turning to yet another clone. Good, he's indecisive.
One Enid shot towards P.K.O., leg already poised to strike. P.K.O. saw the kick coming, and bent his knees to jump. To his immediate panic, he only managed a small sideways hop and fell flat on his face, letting the kick sail over his head.
As P.K.O. scrambled back to his feet, Rad was finally able to get himself together, taking his place next to Enid. P.K.O. got into a stance, but for the first time since accepting the challenge, his expression was hesitant and uncertain.
"It's over," Enid said, looking down on him in a way that made the height difference abundantly clear.
P.K.O. met her aloof stare, his eyes misting with frustration. "No, it's not over! I haven't lost, you can't make me go back! I don't want to!" When his tone became more of a whine, Enid's gaze softened just a fraction, but she didn't reply. "You can't shove people aside and hope they go away! You have to understand, please! Stop trying to tear me apart!"
Desperately, P.K.O. threw a fist that crackled with power he couldn't quite maintain, only to grab at it with his other hand and hold it close to his chest. The tears finally fell as his eyes glazed over, face blank save for the occasional twitch of his eyebrows or the corners of his mouth.
Even though it was unnerving to watch an expressionless kid cry, internally, Enid was cheering. K.O. and T.K.O. were fighting from the inside. If they kept up, it wouldn't be long before the fusion broke up.
P.K.O. was by now completely immobile, the only motion coming from his trembling knees. Then, without warning, he doubled over. His hair burst out of his headband, and spikes protruded and withdrew repeatedly from red wristbands. His eyes, wide and terrified, rapidly flickered between brown and violet. His whole form trembled. Then, just as suddenly as it all began, it stopped. Blood briefly sprayed out of his nose, his eyes rolled back, and he promptly passed out.
Both Rad and Enid gasped in horror. "K.O.!"
(~)
The first thing T.K.O. realized when he came to was that he had the absolute worst headache. It was a horrible, searing throb that numbed his hearing and, when he tried to open his eyes, turned everything into a blindingly bright blur. If this was what blacking out was like... well, he'd be much happier if it hadn't happened to begin with.
The second thing he realized was that he couldn't breathe.
"Oh, K.O.!" Carol blubbered, hugging her son for dear life. "I was so worried about you! I had no idea how to help you, I just hope you can-"
"You have the wrong one," T.K.O. said, muffled by her bosom.
After a pause, Carol held T.K.O. at arms-length, looking at him as if she'd just realized who he was. Which, honestly, was exactly what had happened. Disappointed by her lack of a response but not at all surprised, T.K.O. looked around, seeing as he was no longer being suffocated. He was in the same forest that he'd passed out in, which was to be expected. Rad and Enid knelt a few feet away, both looking beyond worried. Mr. Gar was there as well, off to Carol's right, his "stoic" concern not as stoic as he probably would have liked. Those three, at least, seemed to understand the concept of personal space.
"T.K.O., are you all right?!" asked Enid.
"Yeah, what happened?!" Rad added.
T.K.O. absently wiped the blood off of his face with the back of his hand. It was still wet, only slightly crusty where it met his lips. That meant that he hadn't been out for long, at least. "It's not a big deal. K.O. and I got pushed out at the same time, is all. Guess that's what happens when we forcibly disconnect."
"Oh, honey," Carol frowned. "This doesn't happen every time you unfuse, does it?"
T.K.O. sneered at her. "Don't be stupid. I just said that both of us got pushed out. It should have been only one of us, but those idiots over there-" he nodded in the teens' direction, "-managed to create a situation where P.K.O. basically force-quit. And because I know you're all going to ask, K.O.'s fine, so I'm just gonna hand control over to him so that you guys have someone you actually want to fawn over."
"Before you do that," Enid said, "we should be asking if you're okay."
"Like you care all of a sudden?" T.K.O. spat.
Enid sighed. "Look, he went about it all wrong, but P.K.O. had a point. We've all been fretting so much over K.O. lately and worrying about him, that we completely neglected you in the process. You're not K.O., even if you do share a body. You're a part of his life, and it shouldn't have taken this long to realize it, but that makes you a part of our lives, too. It's not fair to ignore you or push you away just because you're not the one we expect. You're a human being, with real thoughts and real emotions, and it's about time we accept you as the person you are, not as the one you're not."
T.K.O. pulled a face. "I don't want your dumb pity, or whatever this is supposed to be."
"Dude, Enid's actually showing you kindness," Rad smirked. "You should take it while you can. You won't get much of that from her." Enid elbowed him hard in the ribs.
"You know, she really does have a point," said Carol, smiling faintly. "We can't really keep treating you like K.O. if you're not K.O. Why don't we have a mother-son day on Saturday, just the two of us? Maybe do some shopping? I know how much you like makeup, Cob knows you've gotten into mine enough times."
Mr. Gar cleared his throat. "Er, I'm sure I have a position free, if you're interested. Night shift, maybe? Weekends?"
"We could hang out at the Danger Zone!" Rad exclaimed. Carol shot him a stern look. "I-I mean, we could do something totally safe here at the plaza!" He grinned, shooting T.K.O. a very obvious conspiratorial wink.
The alter wrinkled his nose, indignant. "I don't want special treatment from any of you losers!"
"It's not special treatment, T.K.O.," said Enid. "It's friendship."
The ninja wrapped her arms around T.K.O., soon followed by Carol, then Mr. Gar, and finally Rad. "I don't want your crummy friendship, either," T.K.O. mumbled, blinking harder than he strictly needed to. He hated hugs. Absolutely despised them. But he could let it slide, just this once.
When the group finally released the boy some time after, it was a pair of brown eyes that looked back at them. "Hey guys. I'm back."
"K.O.!" Carol wailed, renewing her hug-slash-choke-hold. "I was so afraid I'd lost you! Both of you!"
"I'm okay, mommy," K.O. laughed, wriggling away just enough that he had room to breathe. "I'll just be more careful as P.K.O. from now on."
"...Is that even a good idea anymore?" asked Rad.
"Speaking of which," said Mr. Gar, "what was the situation with P.K.O.? When Rad caught my attention, he made it sound like T.K.O. all over again. Erm, no offense."
"No, you're right," K.O. agreed. "I think it was almost exactly like that. It's just that being P.K.O. was so much fun, and it was great to have both of us be outside at the same time, in a way. But at some point, we realized that P.K.O. wasn't really us anymore. He became someone totally new, and he wanted his time outside, too."
"So you mean you guys really weren't in control at all?" asked Rad, amazed.
K.O. had to think for a moment. "It's... kind of complicated. I mean, at first he did whatever T.K.O. and I did, but he's always been able to talk on his own, just a little bit. I'm not sure we ever really were in control. I think we sort of just... affect him, like how T.K.O. affects me sometimes."
"...I guess that makes sense," Enid said slowly. "But there's one thing I still don't understand. You said that you and T.K.O. use an imaginary machine to synchronize." K.O. nodded in confirmation. "So how come you didn't unplug or something?"
The kid sheepishly tapped his index fingers together. "T.K.O. tried to, but he said the plug was stuck. He couldn't pull mine out, either."
"I'll bet P.K.O. was intentionally keeping you from doing so," Mr. Gar growled.
"I know he was. But he wasn't doing it to be mean!" K.O. was quick to add when his boss bared his teeth. "He just wanted to be able to do the stuff he wanted to do, and he can't do that without us. He's not a bad guy, really."
"But he was gonna keep you guys like that forever!" Rad shouted incredulously.
"He's not a bad guy," K.O. reaffirmed with utmost certainty. "He just needs to learn to share. T.K.O. and I can try talking to him, and if he decides to be naughty, I can just imagine a big pair of scissors! But I think we can get him to listen to us."
"Why don't you do that another time, honey bun?" implored Carol. "I'm sure you've had a rough couple of days."
"Yeah," said Rad. "We're just glad you're okay."
"Just try not to let any more alter egos take over your body, yeah?" added Enid.
K.O. laughed a bit. "Don't worry, it won't happen again."
"Let's hope it doesn't," said Mr. Gar. "It's a good thing no one got hurt this time around."
"The splinters in my back have something to say about that," Rad complained. Enid chuckled, and then the entire group was laughing. Things really could have been far worse, but this time, they weren't. Everyone was okay. So even though the issue was far from settled, they chose to celebrate this one little victory.
And there you have it. Nearly 7000 words of what basically turned out to be the T.K.O. episode but with excessive Enid dialogue. It just sort of happened. And dang, I don't think I've written hand-to-hand combat in like two years.
If you're confused, here's the gist of the P.K.O. deal: As K.O. and T.K.O. synchronized more often and for longer periods of time, P.K.O.'s personality began to develop based on the two's experiences and memories until he essentially gained autonomy. While not an outright jerk like T.K.O., one trait that carried over from him was the desire to be his own person and be free, partially stemming from Dendy's words in Insight. Unfortunately, this meant suppressing K.O. and T.K.O. to get his way, and then lying to keep the teens off of his back. Despite now existing as technically a separate entity from his components, he still relies on their synchronization to exist, meaning he can still unfuse if K.O. and T.K.O. fight him hard enough (like with T.K.O.). If he's holding them back as this happens, however, then the machine ejects them both at once, resulting in their physical body wrestling with two minds pushing their way to the forefront and causing serious mental strain. It's like ramming into a door. It'll go down with enough force, but you're falling through with it. He really isn't a villain, despite everything. He was just desperate, which led to him making bad decisions.
So, there's definitely more to come. I've already started writing part 4, and it won't be nearly as charged as this one was. Keep an eye out!