Inferno, Ch 3
Alright, I've gotten some approving nods for this, so thank you those who care. This chapter might answer some questions for you, it might raise others, but it should be interesting nonetheless. So, without further ado, enjoy!
Conflicts Aplenty…
Blaze and Lora walked through the woods, Lora searching for a cave she could hide Blaze in while she settled the mating business, and Blaze was searching for the courage to ask some questions he wondered about for quite a while.
Lora was too busy searching for the cave, a safe hiding place, for her to notice the emotional turmoil that was running through her "child" right now. Properly, he wasn't actually her child, but she had been entrusted with him since the day he was "born", and he had even called her mom before she had to break the news to him. It was a sad day…
Flashback/ eight years ago…
"Hey mom, check this out!" shouted a much younger Blaze, running into their shared room in an underground Team Rocket base. Lora had put aside her current project, sewing clothes for the growing child. She had to make them out of fire-retardant materials, which he said were distinctly uncomfortable. After Team Rocket had simply provided burlap sacks covered in retardants, which smelled horribly, he decided that Lora's hand-sewn clothes were softer than silk.
"What is it, honey?"
Blaze motioned with his hands as he backed up, clearly telling her to stay put. Once he reached a sizable distance, he drew back and inhaled deeply, then released a small plume of fire. It wasn't much, but his powers had just kicked in. Seeing this made Lora feel the cold dregs of dread flow through her body.
"Oh, why did it have to be now?" she asked herself. She put on the most convincing smile she could and praised him for it.
"That's great honey, now you know that you're growing stronger, right?"
Blaze nodded excitedly, then rushed over and tackle-hugged her on the small, coarse bed they shared. He nuzzled up against her and said
"I love you, mom."
A pang of sadness shot through her, and she rubbed his head, saying
"I love you too, but I have to tell you something. The Rockets ordered me to tell you about your origins when your power developed, and even if I didn't want to, they will make sure you know one way or the other."
As she spoke, hot tears rolled down her face, and Blaze noticed this.
"Mom? Why are you crying?"
Taking a gulp of air, she turned her head to the side so as not to see his betrayal and disappointment.
"Because I'm not your mother."
Blaze gasped lightly, and she could feel him shifting his position, perhaps to try to see her eyes better. That was unnecessary, as she looked straight at him, but what she saw was neither betrayal nor disappointment. Not yet at least. No, what registered on his face was confusion and slight hurt.
"What do you mean? You told me to call you mom, so I did. Now you're saying you're not my mother?"
He was breathing heavily now, his head turning to and fro as he tried to comprehend.
"Then… who is?"
Lora covered her eyes and said
"I don't know. You see, Team Rocket created you."
Blaze couldn't talk anymore, he was too shocked. Lora was crying silently now, and he curled up against her, saying
"H-how did… they… create me?"
She shook her head and replied
"I don't know. The first time I saw you, you were nothing more than a developing baby. I had been captured and wrested from my home in the forests of Hoenn and forcefully brought here. They placed this collar around my neck and began to inform me of my place; as a mothering unit."
"W-w-what's a mothering unit?"
"They are female pokemon that have either not borne children or recently became pregnant. If they are pregnant, Team Rocket destroys the unborn child and essentially forces them into subservience."
Blaze gasped, horrified.
"They would murder unborn children?!"
"The atrocities of Team Rocket know no bounds."
Blaze hesitated before asking
"Then what happens?"
"Well, we are assimilated into the mothering unit group. We are forced to sit through countless lectures how to properly raise a child, then given the same lecture but with Rocket endnotes. It's a horrible process, but not nearly as bad as the children who have to be brought up in this horrid environment. Oh, Blaze, I'm so sorry for lying to you all these years, willingly or otherwise. I'll understand if you don't wish to be with me anymore."
"Are you crazy?!"
She flinched but looked at him. He seemed mad, or even livid, but his eyes were wet, and he threw himself at her, catching her by surprise. After a moment of hesitation, she wrapped her arms around him again and gently cradled him, wishing with all her heart that this didn't have to be.After a minute, Blaze began to choke out
"I-I don't c-c-care if you're… not my m-mother… be-because, you're the only one… who doesn't t-treat me like-like… like a freak!"
Lora's eyes widened, and she gently lifted his head to meet her eyes, asking him
"Who's been calling you a freak?"
"E-e-everyone! They all point at me, and they whisper 'There goes that test-tubed freak!'"
Lora closed her eyes again, streaming with fresh tears. She hugged him closely and gently sang a lullaby to him, one that she had heard often back in her forest, among her kind. She had first sung it to him when she first received him, hoping to put his justified cries to ease. It had worked, miraculously, so she used it every time he came home sad, or if he couldn't get to sleep because of the nightmares he often suffered at the hands of those damned scientists.
It managed to calm him somewhat, but it couldn't take away the entirety of the pain he felt, she knew that. She tilted his head up and smiled at him, saying
"It doesn't matter what they think, alright? Just know that you aren't a freak; you're special."
He sniffed, wiped a tear away, then asked sadly
"I am?"
"Yes, you are the most special child here, and do you know why?"
He shook his head, and she answered
"Because no matter what they do, no matter what they say, you just walk away from it. You don't start any trouble, but if it finds you, you'll send it away with its tail between its legs, right?"
He sniffed again, but when he nodded, it was with a small, if still watery, smile. She hugged him close again and told him
"I'm sorry I'm not your real mother; believe me, I wish I was. But no matter how you were born, we met up and became close, right?"
After he nodded again, she said
"And as much as I can help it, I will stay by you if you need me."
He wiped away the remainder of his tears and said
"Really?"
She nodded solemnly and he grinned. He pressed himself back into her and asked
"Can I still call you mom?"
She gave a soft laugh at the question, then rubbed his head and hugged him, saying
"Of course you can."
Present…
Lora discreetly wiped away her tears, not wanting Blaze to see her like this. She wasn't too good at it though, and he turned his head to her and asked
"Hey, what's wrong, Lora?"
She shook her head and replied
"It's nothing; don't worry about it."
Blaze stopped and crossed his arms, telling her
"Look, I may not be able to sense emotions the way you can, and I might not fully understand them, but even I know that you don't cry for no damn reason. Come on, you know you can talk to me, right?"
"He's too grown up" Lora thought to herself "circumstance has denied him everything he deserved. I cannot trouble him with my worries."
She smiled and said
"Yes, I know that, and I appreciate your concern. But it really isn't anything important."
He gazed into her scarlet eyes for a moment, then smirked and said
"You're a terrible liar, you know that? I'll let it slide this time, but if I see you crying again, I won't stop until you either confess or knock me out cold. Whichever comes first."
Lora started laughing loudly, then quickly covered her mouth, looking hurriedly around her. When she saw no one, nor could she feel the presence of anybody, she lowered her hands and said
"You're ridiculous, you know that?"
Blaze chuckled softly, then said
"I learned from the best."
Lora tried to playfully swat him, but he dodged and stuck his tongue out at her. A vein twitched in her forehead, making him stop. He turned and fled further into the forest, shouting
"Shit!"
She ran after him, charging a Psychic in her hand. She would teach him to disrespect her!
She extended her consciousness to find him, and when she burst through a curtain of vines, saw him standing atop an old log. He panted and said
"Ha, ha, you'll never catch me!" He jumped to the other side of the log and after the sound of snapping twigs and rustling leaves, he fell through. He shouted out in surprise, and Lora was quickly at the log, peering into the hole. There was a moment of profound silence, then a loud THUMP!
Her heart seemed to fail her for a moment, at least until she heard a thunderous
"YEOW!"
She sighed in relief, the weight of the world off her shoulders for a while. She levitated herself and slid into the hole, being careful not to brush up against anything. After about two minutes, she reached the bottom, where she released herself and created a ball of light using her psychic powers. The resulting light was purple and cast strange shadows, but it effectively lit up the… whatever they were in. Lora cast the ball up high for maximum coverage, then saw they were in an underground cave.
She looked at the shifting form of the Blaziken/human hybrid getting to his feet, a bit unsteadily, and rubbing his behind, which he had landed on. He looked around him and his eyes widened.
"Whoa…"
"Indeed. I think this will serve as an excellent location for you to take refuge in while I… settle some business."
Blaze frowned slightly and asked
"You mean mating, right?"
Lora only blushed, she couldn't answer. Blaze shuffled his feet, then asked
"Hey Lora, why do you even go? If it's only for mating purposes, why do you go? You never do anything."
Lora sighed and told him
"It's… complicated. Yes, we do meet for the purpose of finding a mate, but it also serves as a consensus if you will. It helps us keep up with who's around and who's… not."
Blaze thought about this for a second, then said
"Well, is it possible that Team Rocket could track you there? And if so, then shouldn't we stick together?"
Lora hesitated for a second, then said
"Well, Team Rocket will most likely track us wherever we go. Even so, I have to go for reasons I would rather keep to myself."
Blaze scowled and pestered her for another five minutes while they began exploring the cave. Finally he gave up, throwing his hands into the air with exasperation.
"Fine, don't tell me now, but when you get back I will make you spill, no matter how many times you knock me out."
Lora sighed and said
"Fine, when I return, I will tell you. But for now, review your knowledge of hunting and gathering."
So for another ten minutes, Blaze went over the skills of hunting, trapping, and gathering Lora had taught him when they first went on the lamb. In the meantime, Lora had discovered a small but fresh stream of water that ran through the cave, meaning Blaze would have a steady supply of water, which relieved her. And as long as he didn't forget how to hunt, he wouldn't go hungry.
Soon Blaze had created a torch for himself, which he said was a relief from the sharp purple that her powers made. Lora had laughed softly at this remark, then checked his pendant to make sure he would have the necessary energy to run if he needed. She added a little extra for good measure, then the two hugged and Lora told Blaze
"Be careful. Remember, if anything happens to me, I want you to keep running and never look back."
"Nothing will happen to you, so quit sayin' that. I'll see you in a week."
Lora nodded, and in a flash of light, she had teleported away.
Blaze sighed, then gathered wood for a proper fire. After finding some old branches, and giving them a short blast of heat to evaporate any water, he set up a fire pit and carefully lit the campfire. He sat back in contentment for about a couple of hours before his stomach started growling loudly. He groaned and stood up, stretching.
He climbed out of the hole next to the log, but only after carefully checking for possible threats. After determining there weren't any, he scrambled out and brushed himself off, then walked on, hoping to find something slow. Most often, he blasted his prey with fire, but even as a half fire type, he preferred his meat rare. Catching something slower allowed him a bit more room for error, which he tried to never make.
Unknown to him however, the Rocket agent who had been tracking him since the incident at Marie and June's house. He stealthily followed behind him, reveling inside. He had lost track of the pair sometime after they ran through the forest. But now he had a lock again, and his Gardevoir companion wasn't with him. It would be harder if he decided to wait until the mutant was asleep to try and capture, because surely the Gardevoir would be with him again. But he could simply kill her with a special dart he had. The boss had been specific; the boy he wants alive, the condition didn't matter, but he was wanted alive. The Gardevoir, however, was a traitor and therefore to be killed on sight. If she could be used as bait, however, then that would be the priority.
In time, Blaze managed to catch his dinner, a deer of some sort, and he slung it across his back and carried it to his newest hidey-hole. He stuffed it through the hole, then tucked himself and jumped in. The Rocket tracker rubbed his hands and chuckled evilly, being sure not to be too loud. All he had to do was wait for night to arrive and the boy to fall asleep. Then he would collect the boy and his reward.
Okay, that concludes the third chapter of this story. Tell me what you think so far and wait eagerly for the next chapter!