Jango's mind felt cloudy and oblivious to his surroundings. He was having a hard time trying to remember what even happened to him, and his memory was almost flawless. He started to stir as the he felt the ground under him. It was soft and comfortable to the touch. His head was on a fluffy object that felt like a soft cloud.
He slowly opened his eyes, taking awhile to adjust to the light. When he was finally able to see, he realized that he was in a bed. But it wasn't his bed; it was actually a hospital bed. His eyes widened and he tried to get up, but a sharp pain made him lay back down.
He examined himself to see that he had bandages wrapped around his arms. His forehead was bandaged up as well. His torso was bandaged up along with a couple of moist towels on them. He was confused at the sudden change of environment. What the heck am I doing in a hospital? He thought. He turned his head to the left and his heart almost stopped.
Sleeping in the hospital beds next to him were Sphere and Flower. They were all bandaged up too. But what really caught his eye were the scorch marks on them. They were being treated with wet towels on them. He was starting to get scared now and looked at himself again to see that he also had scorch marks on him. Please don't tell me it happened again. He thought in a panic. He heard a groan on his right and saw something that did make his heart stop.
Amanda was covered in bandages on her body and head. Her tail was bandaged with noticeable burn marks on it. She looked like she was in pain from the expression on her face. She was stirring a bit and looked as if she was having a nightmare. Jango didn't like seeing her like this so he proceeded to wake her up. "Amanda, wake up. C'mon, wake up." He said in a loud whisper.
She didn't wake immediately, but after a few seconds her eyes fluttered open. She looked around a bit to see that they were not at the park anymore. "Jango?" She said confused. "Where are we?"
"If I had to guess, I say we are in a hospital. Also, you looked like you were struggling in your sleep."
Amanda's eyes drooped in sadness. "After everything that happened today, I'm not too shocked at the nightmare."
"What do you mean 'After everything that happened today'?" Jango said confused, however he had a pretty good idea what it may be about and is hoping he's wrong.
Now Amanda was getting confused. "You mean, you don't remember how you were on fire and destroyed the park?" Jango's eyes widened in pure fright. He started to remember brief glimpses from today, from going to the orphanage, to fighting David, and the last thing he could remember was admitting he loved Amanda. He clutched his face and started to growl at himself.
"Oh why, why, why did this have to happen again?" Jango said in frustration.
"Wait a minute, what do you mean-"Before she could finish, Ampharos, along with Zangoose and Jamison, came into the room. Ampharos hugged his daughter in pure joy.
"Oh, I'm so glad my little pumpkin is okay. I was so scared." His exclaims woke Sphere, Flower, and an unnoticed David from their sleep. David looked worse than the others. He was wrapped in more bandages, had third degree burn almost everywhere, patches of his fur were missing, and he was having an even harder time getting up.
"Dad…you're kind of…choking me here." Amanda gasped out. Ampharos let go and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Sorry, I just heard you talking and got excited that you were okay." He said embarrassed. Amanda shook her head and smiled at his antics.
"How did we get here?" David asked while rubbing his head from a slight pain.
Jamison started to explain, "After King Ampharos got that phone call from Amanda, we rushed over to the park as fast as we can. We found all of you past out on the ground and barely breathing either. Zangoose managed to get Sphere and Flower just before they were out cold. We managed to get you all here just in time."
"But what I want to know is why the park looked like it was on a barbeque." Zangoose said. Amanda, Sphere, Flower, and David stared directly at Jango, who was currently twiddling his claws. The adults looked at him curiously.
He started to nervously laugh. "Heh, funny story actually." Before he could say anything else, a Blissey with a nurse cap wandered in with a clipboard.
"Excuse me, my king. I need to talk to you about some scans I took of everyone, but mostly about Jango's." Ampharos looked back at Jango then back at the nurse. This can't be good. He thought before nodding his head and following the nurse out the door.
As soon as he left, David started to speak, "This is all your fault, Gecko Freak."
"How is this my fault?" Jango complained.
"I was winning the bet and suddenly you're all super charged. So what did you do, illegal experiments or some sort of radioactive weapon?"
"Neither and it wasn't my fault."
"Right, I'm sure you turning into a walking volcano was a freak accident." Jango glared at him with hatred.
"Hold on," Zangoose cut in, "what do you mean by bet?"
David became tense and started to sweat. Jango had an evil smirk. "Oh yeah. David, do you remember that bet we made where if you win you get to-" The way David was flailing his arms telling him to stop brought a joyful smile to his face. Too easy. Jamison and Zangoose were confused by this, but decided to ignore it.
Ampharos came back through the door with the nurse. "Excuse me miss, but do you mine if you leave for awhile? I need to talk to everyone about what you just told me."
"I don't mine at all. I'll just get the forms filled out for you." With that, she exited the now quiet room.
Sphere decided to break the silence. "So, what did you want to talk about?"
"Well, I got good news and bad news." Ampharos started. "The good news is that you guys are free to go, just as long as you apply burn ointment to the burned parts of your skin."
"What's the bad news?" Flower asked.
Ampharos sighed. "The bad news is…you kids have been exposed to a strong amount of radiation." Everyone, but Jango, gasped. "The nurse said it wasn't too serious and you will be perfectly fine, so long that you stay away from microwaves or anything else that causes radiation. Also, when I was looking over your scans, Jango's shown that he has the most radiation in his body and he was the least in pain than all of you."
"How is that possible?" Jamison asked.
Sphere started to speak, "Maybe Jango has some sort of virus or disease."
Zangoose gave him a look. "Come on kid, there is no way that is-"
"He's not totally wrong." Everyone turned their gazes over to Jango, who was currently looking at his feet.
"What do you mean Jango?" Flower asked.
"I don't want to talk about it. Too many painful memories." He said slightly depressed.
Sense their beds were pretty close, Amanda sat up, scooted towards Jango, and took his paws in her paws. "Jango, please. I'm worried about you. You've been here for at least two days and I know already that something is bugging you. Today was proof enough that you are hiding something. Please tell me what's wrong. I want to help you." She pleaded.
If it weren't for his red skin, Amanda would have noticed the large blush on Jango's face. His heart was beating faster than normal and he had a hard time concentrating. Yeah, I defiantly love her. He thought. She was right though, Jango has been keeping secrets for awhile and after everything that happened, he did own everyone an explanation.
He sighed. "Okay…here it goes." He let go of Amanda and cleared his throat. "The thing is…there is an evil power inside of me from ancient times that causes deadly destruction." Everyone stared at him in silence. Suddenly, they heard David laughing like a mad man.
"Oh man, you got to be kidding me." He said through his laughter. He laughed awhile longer, but when he saw the serious look on Jango, he stopped immediately. "Oh, you were serious."
"This isn't some joke David. Do you realize that I could have murdered you?" Jango growled. David was about to say something, but shut his mouth either from not knowing how to respond or out of fear from the deadly glare from Jango. He continued, "Anyway, ever sense I was born, I have been harboring an ancient curse that started ever sense the Dark Ages. A curse known as the Hidden Blaze."
"Wait a minute!" Flower suddenly shouted. "I remember now. Amanda, before school ended, do you remember what we learned in history class?"
Amanda was starting to think, then she gasped in realization. "Yeah, our teacher was teaching us about those ancient myths from ancient times." Her eyes widen in fear. "Does that mean that the curse is real?"
"Unfortunately, yes." Jango said. "During the Dark Ages, Fire Lizard Valley was nothing more than just dirt and rock. The villagers were going through tough times trying to live on the food they had at the time. At the center of the valley was a large volcano that was thought to be dormant. That was their biggest mistake. The volcano erupted in lava and sulfur, slowly killing off the villagers.
"One brave Charizard, however, did not want to see the valley die. So he traveled to the top of the volcano to see if there was away to stop it. As soon as he got to the top, he started to speak to the heavens, asking the Legendaries to stop the madness that was spreading over the land. The one who answered his call was Ho-oh, the Legendary Phoenix himself. The Charizard pleaded with Ho-oh to stop the volcano from destroying the village. Ho-oh said there was a way to stop the volcano, but it came with a price. The Charizard agreed to the terms.
"Ho-oh, using its god-like powers, drained the volcano of its energy, slowly cooling the lava and cleaning the air in the process. The Charizard thanked Ho-oh for his help. Ho-oh then explained that the volcano was corrupted by an evil spirit that once tried to take over the Hall of Origins, but was quickly defeated and banished into the underworld. Ho-oh asked the Charizard to bond with the creature to keep its power under control. As soon as he agreed, the energy of the volcano was absorbed into him.
"Soon after, he went into a Meltdown Phase, the one you all obviously witness today by me. However, he learned of a way to control that power and used the Hidden Blaze's to replenish the lands of the valley. To thank him, they named the valley Fire Lizard Valley. The curse doesn't stop there, however. Every time the first child of a family is born, which is related to that Charizard, will be given the curse. I'm an only child and related to that Charizard, meaning I have the curse now." Jango finished. He looked at everyone's reaction.
Sphere was both intrigued and scared by the story. Flower's mouth was wide open in shock. Even David had a hard time with this sudden news. Zangoose's eyes were wide open with shock. Jamison kept a calm look, but Jango could tell he didn't take the news well either. Ampharos was heavily breathing into a bag to calm his nerves. As for Amanda, she looked at Jango with a mix of concern, curiosity, and fear.
"Hold on," Sphere said as he finally got out of his shock, "when you attacked Flower and I, the flames around us were doing as much pain and suffering to us equally."
Jango sighed. "That was unstable underworld fire you both were hit with. It kills no matter what it hits." Sphere and Flower gulped nervously.
Amanda gave him a questionable look. "Jango, didn't you say there was a way to control it?"
"Yeah, just one small problem. My dad never told me how to control it, ever sense the…incident." Jango eyes started to water. "Mom, Dad, why couldn't things have work out differently?" He whispered to himself.
"Jango, what's wrong?" Amanda reached for him, but he turned his back at her. He started to make sobbing sounds. "Jango, please tell me what's wrong."
Tears rolled down Jango's face. "I'm…an orphan." Everyone, except David who merely scoffed, gasped.
"You…don't have parents?" Jango merely nodded. "How did it happen?"
Despite being upset, he was willing to explain, "It all started when I was five years old…"
FLASHBACK
Jango was walking home from a friends house, happily humming a little tune. "I can't wait to get home. Mom said she is going to take me out to lunch and Dad is going to teach me how to play baseball. I just hope I don't hit another window again." He laughed at the sweet memory.
He turned at a clearing and gasped at his house. Or what was left of it. The house has been almost completely demolished and was barely standing. It erupted in flames and burned the near by grass. It gave off a strong smoke that touched the atmosphere of the sky. Every item in the house was turned to ash.
Jango watched this with great difficulty. He watched as the fire can be seen reflected from his eyes. He stared at the house for what felt like an eternity. His eyes watered as he kept looking at the destruction before him. He shook his head repeatedly, hoping this was nothing more than a bad dream. But every time he tried, he saw the exact same thing.
He started to whimper before saying, "Mom, Dad, where are you?" He stared at the ground, letting the tears fall from his face.
His sobbing only ceased for a moment when he heard a sound. It sounded like a struggle. Out of the trees that surrounded the once standing house came Jango's mother, Sandra, flying through the air and hitting her back against a tree painfully. She grunted as she clutched a bleeding wound on her side.
Jango gasped. "Mommy, are you okay?" He rushed over to help her.
Sandra gasped in shock. "Jango, what are you doing home early?"
"Terry's mom said I had to leave because he had a dentist appointment. But, what happen to you? And where's Dad? I'm scared." Jango hugged his mother and cried on her chest.
Sandra pulled him away gently and said, "Jango, it isn't safe here. You need to get as far away from here as possible."
"But…what is going on?" He asked terrified.
"Jango, your life is in danger. You need to run." She pleaded.
Just then, Jango's dad, Herbert, flew out of the forest but landed safer. His eyes and wings were radiating in flames. A harsh red aura surrounded him as he stared angrily at someone exiting the forest.
He was wearing a tattered, brown cloak that covered his face and most of his body. He clutched his fist with fury. "Give me that child, so that I may have his power for my own."
"If you want it so much then why not take mine?" Herbert asked as his aura intensified.
"Your Hidden Blaze has grown older over the years. But that child's energy will prove useful and more powerful. Now give him to me." The hooded figure shouted in anger.
"Hate to bum you out, but my son is far, far away from here and you'll never find him." Herbert then turned to see his injured wife and his scared, not-suppose-to-be-here, son. He face-palmed. "Dang nabbit."
"So that's your son. Come here kid, I won't hurt…yet." The hooded figure advanced over to Jango.
"Stay away from my son!" Herbert summoned a blazing fire ball and threw it at him. He skillfully dodged it without a scratch. The figure ran towards Jango.
"He…is…mine!" He shouted as he thrust his claws straight at Jango. Sandra blocked the path and was painfully stabbed through her chest. Sandra gasped at the shockwave of pain she received.
"Mommy, NO!" Jango screamed in agony.
"J…Jan…Jango." She said with the last of her breath as the figure pulled his claws out of her and she fell to her knees and collapsed to the ground. Her eyes were shut and there wasn't any life in her anymore.
"SANDRA, NO! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS MURDERER!" Herbert erupted in anger as the flames and aura intensified to their outer most limits and he violently tackled the murderer and sent him flying through eight trees and two boulders.
"Mommy, please, please wake up, please." Jango begged frantically as tears were falling hard from his face.
"Jango, I'm sorry but…she is dead." Herbert said gently. This caused Jango to cry even harder pound his fists on the ground. Herbert looked over to see that the figure was slowly getting up. "Jango, you need to run, now."
"But…I don't want to lose you too." Jango sobbed out.
"You'll never lose me son. I'll always be there for you…and I'll always be here, in your heart." He poked Jango's chest where his heart should be. This made him calm down a bit. "And always remember this…The love that people give you is the strength we need to fight on. Always remember that, trust me." Herbert finished.
Jango nodded and gave his dad a heart warming hug, which he happily reciprocated. "I'll miss you Daddy." He released the hug and ran as far away as he can.
Jango kept running farther and farther and farther from the burning forest as he tried to find somewhere to hide. He didn't dare look back at the destruction and forced himself to just keep running.
He continued to run until something, or someone. Jango looked up and recoiled in fright as it was the hooded figure from before. "I must admit kid. You put me through a lot of trouble just to get hold of you. And your dad put up quite a fight. Too bad that his fighting days are over now, and his ability to breathe." Jango started to whimper and shut his eyes. "Don't worry kid, as soon as I'm done extracting that power from you, you'll be able to see your family again. Course though, part of the trip is considered painful."
Jango fell over and started to crawl backwards away from the killer. "Leave me alone." The figure started to move forward. "Please leave me alone." He cried. The figure still advanced forward. "Pleases, I mean it." The figure slowly reached down to grab his neck. "I said…LEAVE ME ALONE!" Jango erupted in flames and they quickly expanded, destroying everything and everyone.
"That…power." The figure said in awe as the flames hit him too.
The flames started to engulf the entire valley. The flames eradicated trees, rocks, plants, and all life inhabiting it. The flames erupted towards the sky for a few seconds before the valley exploded into ash and sulfur.
FLASHBACK END
Jango shuddered as he finished. "When I awoke, the valley was turned to ash and dust. There was no sign of life anywhere in the valley. I was found the next day and taken to an orphanage to live the rest of my life until someone adopted me. But word spread quickly that I was the one who caused the fire. The kids would threaten me and pick on me all the time. Parents were afraid of me and thought I could have killed them. Four years later of torment and rejection, I decided to escape and live the rest of my life alone. Life for me was hard."
Everyone, even David, was incredibly shock by what Jango had to go through for most of his life. But the one who was greatly shocked was Amanda. She happens to know what it is like to lose someone close to you. She would have been even more depressed if anything happened to her dad.
She couldn't take it anymore as she lunged at Jango and hugged him comfortably. "Jango, I'm so sorry that ever happened to you. I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that pain and suffering. I promise you that you'll never go through that kind of pain ever again. I'll never let anyone harm you, I'll never let go through that depression again, and I'll never hate you no matter what the reason."
Jango was shocked by the hug and kind words. He started to relax to the hug and blushed a bit. He started to hug her back as well. "Thank you Amanda. You don't know how much that means to me. Do you really mean all of that?"
"Every word." She said gently.
Everyone stared at the scene in awe. Ampharos was tearing up a bit and blew into a tissue. The only one that didn't find this heart warming was David. "That little freak. I'm going to-" He was interrupted when a Leech Seed hit him and wrap around his mouth. Instead of draining his energy, it tightened around his mouth to shut him up. He mumbled in anger and glared at Flower.
"Hey, I don't want you ruining a happy moment, especially one this sweet." She whispered harshly at him. He mumbled something and lay back down. Everyone just enjoyed the moment between Jango and Amanda.
They finally realized that everyone was watching and quickly separated, blushing hard.
"Alright you two, if you're done now, I'm going to take all you home now." Ampharos said with a slight chuckle.
Everyone got up and walked out the door, with David frantically mumbling 'Can some please remove these vines around my mouth now?' When no one even bothered looking, he sighed in defeat and just decided to remove them at home.