Inferno, Chapter 2
Okay, so I've got a few ideas I'm going to work with here. Also, the OC gate is closed until further notice. I've even taken it off the summary so there's no confusion. For those of you who have already submitted, thank you for your time. I will get them into the course of the story, but I can't perfectly predict when. Rest assured, it will happen. So, let's move on with the story.
A Tall Tale
Blaze cursed as he scrambled up from the floor of the kitchen and June screamed. Marie burst in a second later, shouting
"What the hell is going on?!"
Her attention was immediately caught by the gaping hole in her house, and through it she could see that Lora had been encased in a giant hand of metal that was connected to a very large robot. She didn't start screaming like her daughter; she would have, but her voice was caught in her throat.
Before either of the women could stop him, Blaze jumped through the hole in the home and raced out toward the robot. Lora, seeing this, shouted
"No, get away from here, Blaze! It's too dangerous, just leave me!"
"Like hell I'll ever do that!" he replied, forming a ball of fire in his hand. He launched it at the robot, where it struck it without causing any sort of damage.
"What?!" Blaze shouted incredulously. Then a peal of wicked laughter rang out as if it was being broadcasted on loudspeakers. When the laughing stopped, a mocking voice said
"Forget, kid! We know all about your firepower, no matter how long it's been! And we set up our capturing devices accordingly. You can fire all the flames you want, but it won't do a damn thing to me!"
Then the second hand reached out and tried to grab him, but he coiled his legs and jumped as high as he could to avoid it. He felt the pain from his injuries, and were the circumstances different he would have collapsed in agony. But Lora was in trouble right now, so he ignored the pain as best he could for the moment.
When he landed, the hand tried to grab him again and the voice said
"Hold still, you brat!"
Blaze didn't follow the order however, as he jumped to his right and rolled. He sprang back up and started running for Lora. He had to get her out of the robot's clutches before he tried unleashing hell on it. But the man, for the voice was undoubtedly male, controlling the robot was clever, and he lifted the arm out of even Blaze's reach. Blaze growled in frustration as he dodged another downward strike intended to capture him.
Fortunately, although the robot was tough, it didn't seem to have any extra weapons of any kind, or they would have been already used. Emboldened by this, Blaze continued jumping around avoiding being caught while his mind was wracked for a good strategy, or at least a strategy.
But ten minutes later, Blaze knew he was in trouble. The robot, which wouldn't tire, was as strong as ever, while he was already injured and tiring quickly. Worse still, he hadn't come up with a viable plan. He reviewed what he could do over in his mind, and after he finished dodging left after feinting right, he sighed heavily. He had a plan; it wasn't the best, but it was the only option he had left besides leaving Lora, which he wouldn't do in a million years.
"Lora!" Blaze shouted up to her. She craned her neck to view him as best as possible, and he continued.
"I'm going to take this thing down, so you'll need to brace yourself!"
She frowned and asked
"How?"
Blaze winced, then told her
"Well, I can't bring it down with grace, so I'm gonna have to do it with force."
Getting the idea, Lora shouted
"No, you haven't perfected that technique yet, and it hurts you back! Just leave me, I'll be fine!"
She could see Blaze's eyes burn with anger, and he replied
"Don't give me that crap! I'm not a child anymore, Lora. You know as well as I do that neither of us would be fine on our own, and that's why we stick together, no matter what!"
The man controlling the robot lost his patience and said
"If you two are quite finished, it's time we ended this!"
"Yeah, it is" Blaze said, beginning to cover himself with fire. The man laughed and said
"I already told ya, your precious fire won't work on me!"
Blaze, however, ignored him as he rushed forward. And as he did, the fire surrounding him swelled until it burst into a light blue energy that surrounded his body. His speed picked up as he neared the robot, and the man could be heard saying
"What the-?!"
Blaze jumped and crashed head-long into the giant mecha-suit, causing it to lose balance. The arms flailed around, trying to regain it. Fortunately, Lora had the foresight to use her psychic powers to keep herself ramrod straight so her spine or neck couldn't be snapped. Blaze ran back the robot but didn't repeat the move. Instead, he jumped high and kicked the robot in the chest, sending its balance out the window and making it fall back. It crashed with a loud noise, and Blaze immediately jumped onto it and ran to where the chest was, or where it would be comparable to a human. Blaze raised his right fist which began to glow, and brought it abruptly down, denting the metal, but not penetrating.
Blaze winced in pain but raised his fist and repeated the move. After three hits, the metal gave way, revealing a mess of wires and lights. Blaze looked over them for a second, looking for a specific one, then shrugged his shoulders, reached a clawed hand in, and ripped a handful of them out, causing the robot to beep loudly. For good measure, Blaze sent a burst of fire into the weak point, then rose and ran down the left arm that was holding Lora.
He soon reached the hand as the robot gave off warning sirens for its imminent destruction. Blaze, with Lora's help, pried the large fingers off of her, freeing her. He picked her up and jumped down, making the landing as light as possible since he couldn't opt for comfort. He ran from the robot as the beeping picked up in intensity and volume, until it suddenly stopped before it exploded, sending the controller flying into the sky, and hopefully landing very far away. Blaze gave a sigh of relief as he fell over to his back, giving voice to his pain which he acknowledged again.
Lora helped him up after letting him rest for five minutes, then began scolding him.
"That was incredibly stupid!" she started. He grinned back and said
"It worked, didn't it?"
"That's not the point! You shouldn't risk your life just to save me; I'm not worth that!"
Blaze's grin became a scowl as he retorted
"Oh yeah? Then how was it that you took that Blastoise's attacks for me? Am I worth more to you than your own life? Because if that's the case, then you're worth more to me than my own life."
Lora sighed in frustration, and she wanted to beat some sense into his thick head. Since he was already injured, though, that was out of the question. Once he had healed, then the beating would begin.
They returned to the house, where June was wide-eyed and Marie threw herself in front of her daughter and her arms wide, as if this would protect her should they become hostile.
"Just what are you?" she hissed. Blaze sighed heavily and replied
"A bad experiment gone right."
Marie regarded him with confusion, and Lora said
"We mean you no harm. We simply wish to escape Team Rocket."
"Team Rocket? That's who that was?" June asked over her mother's shoulder. Blaze nodded and said
"Yeah, and they've been after me ever since I fled."
Marie frowned and lowered her arms but not her guard.
"Fled from what, exactly?"
Blaze sighed again and told her
"It's a long story…"
Flashback, fifteen years ago…
Team Rocket scientist Ned walked down the hall of the base in triumph. He entered one of many doors that lined the hall, meeting up with his associate. He carried a vial of vital importance to the next stage of their grand plan, and like all the other scientists here he wore a long, white lab coat. When he entered the room, his associate, Jenkins, looked up from his work and said
"Ah, you have it?"
Ned nodded and surrendered the vial, making sure not to drop it. If he lost that, he would undoubtedly lose his life; the boss did not handle losing progress very well.
Jenkins carefully took the vial and carried it over to a table, where he took a sample and inserted it under a scanning device. It made the preliminary scans, beeps and bops before a sheet of paper began to print out of the end of the machine. Jenkins grabbed it and greedily read over the information contained in the numbers. As he read, though, his greedy smirk became an expression of confusion, and he looked up at Ned and asked
"Are you sure this is correct? The scans say this is Blaziken DNA." Ned nodded and responded
"The boss wants to try something new for a change."
Jenkins nodded once, then tore the paper from the printer. He carefully added his notes to it, then stuffed it all into a large envelope. He grabbed a cylindrical container and put the envelope inside, followed by the vial. Then he stuck the container into a pipe that led through the roof, closed a transparent door, and pushed a button. With the customary rush of air, the container shot through its personal tunnel, reaching its destination in about ten seconds.
The receiving end of the container eagerly took it out and opened the envelope after making sure the vial was secure. The lead scientist of this group, a man by the name of Wesley, read over the basics of the notes, then looked over the scans. Once he was finished, he grinned evilly at his cohorts and said
"Looks like we got a new experiment, boys."
The gathered scientists in the room began to murmur, but a glare from Wesley put a stop to that. He grabbed the vial and opened the cap with precision grace. He poured the contents into a specialized funnel which led to a series of tubes and beakers that were all connected in one way or another. He watched the sample go through the process of mixing with the other sample that had been acquired. Once it was all finished, after about an hour, he took the end result, about half a beaker full of it, and carried it carefully over to a container large enough to carry a human filled with a strange orange liquid.
He turned his head over his shoulder and asked
"Is the egg in place?"
"Affirmative."
Wesley nodded once and took a rubber stopper out of his coat pocket, stuck it into the mixture and withdrew a small amount. He carefully put the tip of the stopper into a small opening and squeezed the mixture into it. He threw the stopper into the hazardous waste basket, placed a rubber cork into the opening of the beaker, then turned to his fellows and addressed them.
"Gentlemen, today we make history. We shall give rise to the new world order under our glorious leader, and he will recognize and praise our achievement for many years to come. Johnson, has the agent fused with the egg yet?"
Everybody turned their attention to a man on a computer, who was staring intently at it. He held up a finger, as if to command silence. Normally Wesley would have torn apart anybody who told him what to do, with the exception of his boss, but he was willing to wait for the results. After a painful minute, Johnson jumped out of his chair and shouted
"The egg has accepted the agent!"
The scientists in the room began to cheer. All except Wesley. He simply grinned and walked back toward the overlarge container, staring intently into it. He couldn't see anything now, but within a few months, as long as nothing happened, the fruits of their labors would be revealed.
Five months later…
A Gardevoir with a collar was forced into the room filled with scientists. They all leered at her, and she felt self-conscious. She tried ignoring their leers and her situation altogether. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be given that opportunity. A middle-sized, middle-aged man approached her and said
"You are the new mothering unit?"
The Gardevoir refused to answer with words, so she simply nodded her head. The man didn't care, though; he simply grinned evilly and said
"Good. Follow me."
He turned and began walking through the mess of table and computers, and his associates seemed cowed by his presence alone. Whereas when she walked through, they all watched her with evil behind those grins. She shuddered multiple times, wishing she could attack them all and kill them, but the collar prevented her from using her power without permission. Damn those hunters.
The scientist she had been following stopped in front of a large container she could have fit in with room to spare. If there was something in there, he was hiding it from her view. He looked over his shoulder and motioned her forward, which she did reluctantly. He moved aside, allowing her to peer inside the container, and what she saw both made her curious and repulsed.
It appeared to be a developing fetus of some kind. That was unnatural to the Gardevoir, who believed that children should all be born naturally, not like this. She placed a three-fingered green hand against the cool glass and timidly asked the scientist
"W-what is it?"
He grinned again and told her
"This is experiment 97840-1A. He is the first of his kind, and you get the honor of mothering him once he's ready."
"There's no honor in this whatsoever" the Gardevoir thought to herself. She tried to divine what the developing child would be, but it was still a bit too early to figure out; the finite features had not yet developed, but the fur was obvious enough. However, it appeared humane, which made the Gardevoir wonder
"What are his origins?"
The scientist chuckled evilly and replied
"Half human, half Blaziken. Like I said, he's the first of his kind, not least because he was our first of few successes. He will be the glorious leader of the strongest part of our force, and he will serve us for many years to come."
The Gardevoir's heart broke at his words, and she looked upon the developing child again.
"Poor thing… not even half a year into development, and his fate has already been decided for him. If nothing else, I need to do what I can for him once he is placed under my care."
The scientist was watching her intently, and he broke the silence between them.
"So, what is your answer?"
After taking one more glance at the child to resolve herself, the Gardevoir faced him and said
"I accept."
Present…
Lora was shedding silent tears as she remembered that horrible day, believing that Blaze would never know the meaning of happiness, of kindness, or love.
Blaze let out a shaky breath, and he looked over to their hosts, both of whom looked horrified yet fascinated.
"I was created by Team Rocket as part of Project Hybrid to destroy cities and villages, to recruit members, and to be an unstoppable force. Once I started getting the hang of my powers, hoiwever, I decided to make a break for it. I brought Lora along so they wouldn't hurt her, the only one who never hurt me. We've been on the run for almost a year now, but they keep finding us wherever we go."
Marie worked to unstick her throat for a few moments, then asked
"So how did you wind up on our doorstep, battered and sopping wet, when you were being pursued by Team Rocket? And why was Lora unconscious?"
Lora shuddered and Blaze replied
"Yesterday we were found by a Rocket grunt. He knew us from the Rocket Wanted list, so he immediately brought out a Blastoise and had it attack me. Lora jumped in front of me and took the blast, and she was thrown against the ground and knocked unconscious. Then I became the target. We only managed to get away because of this." He held up the pendant he wore that saved their lives. Marie and June were fascinated by it, and Marie asked
"What is that?"
Blaze let the pendant drop back to his chest and he answered
"It's a teleportation pendant. Lora created it for me on my thirteenth birthday, or at least the day I was created. It allows me to teleport multiple times over short distances or make a very long jump. Once its power has ben drained, though, it has to be recharged by a psychic. Otherwise, its nothing more than a necklace with extreme sentimental value."
Lora held out her hand and said
"And on that subject, let me recharge that for you."
Blaze undid the pendant from the back and handed it to her. She held the main part between her hands and her eyes glowed. While she charged the pendant, Blaze continued talking to Marie and June.
"I've had to use that pendant on multiple occassions, but no matter how far we get, they always manage to find us. It doesn't help that I look like this, and the fact that nature tends to get in the way."
June tilted her head in apparent confusion and asked
"What do you mean?"
Blaze hesitated for a second, then looked at Lora as if asking something. She nodded once and continued charging the life-saving pendant. Blaze turned back to June and answered her question.
"Despite her humanoid appearance, Lora is still a pokemon. That means that, like all others, she has her mating season. In fact, I think that's coming up soon. Whenever that happens, we have to seperate for a while, and I have to go hide in a deep cave until it passes. I never use the same place, of course, but while she's gone, I'm very vulnerable. She can sense other people based on their emotions, so she knows if someone is hunting us. Plus, she can use her psychic powers to protect me from most attacks. Without that, and not knowing very well how the human world functions, I can't do very well by myself. I'm trying to get accustomed to the style the humans lead, but it's very confusing."
Nobody spoke for a minute, after which Lora handed the pendant back to Blaze and said
"I gave it a little extra this time. Make sure you stay safe."
Blaze smirked as he put it back around his neck and said
"Don't I always?"
Lora scowled and Blaze laughed. Then he looked back to the kitchen and sighed, saying
"I'm sorry you got involved in this. If you want, I could try and repair your house, or we can just leave and hopefully never bother you again."
Marie gave him a strange look, then said
"I think you should just leave. Even if you did fix it, with Team Rocket after you, there's a good chance they'll destroy some other part of the house."
Blaze nodded and stood, offering a hand to Lora. After lifting her up, they walked to the front door. Blaze checked outside, sweeping his head around for a full view. Once he determined there was no one around, he turned back to them and said
"Again, I'm sorry for having gotten you involved. I promise we won't bother you again. Thanks for your help."
And without waiting for a response, he and Lora left the house, Blaze putting his hands behind his head and asking Lora
"So, any idea where we should go now?"
Lora thought for a second, then replied
"Well, first we need to find you some shelter. Then we'll worry about where to go."
So they walked into the woods, but unbeknownst to them, a Rocket agent was standing behind the front corner of the house. He chuckled with an evil smirk and said
"Alright, I'm back on the trail."
Ta-da! Well, that's the second chapter of Inferno ready to go. Remember, the polling for OCs is closed, so don't send anymore. Thank you.