Inferno, Chapter 5

So, who's curious what will happen? Everyone? No one? Well, let's see what happens. For the purpose of this chapter, one week has passed.

Please Don't Leave Me…

Lora had just finished teleporting all the way back to the forest she had left Blaze in after finishing the business she had to settle during mating season. Now she had to explain why she had to go, despite that she didn't want to. It was stupid and it made no sense to her, but she, like the rest of her kind, had to obey their rules.

She scoffed at the idea, believing it ridiculous that she had to do so despite being on the run for her life, as well as her "child's". Speaking of which, she hoped Blaze was fine. She didn't want to imagine the horrors he would face if he was recaptured, and she would not be there to mitigate his suffering.

Soon she came upon the log that marked the entrance to the cave, but automatically Lora knew that Blaze was in trouble. There, wrapped around the log, was a length of sturdy rope that went inside the hole where Blaze had taken refuge. Lora jumped over the log and used her powers to levitate herself down, not taking it slowly this time.

When she reached the bottom, she checked and saw that the rope had reached the floor, or about a few feet above it, at any rate. As soon as she noticed this, she became aware of a vile stench, two vile stenches actually. One was closer than the other, so she moved toward it to inspect the cause. Behind the rocks, she saw what appeared to be a pile of vomit. She gagged and held her hand to her mouth, closing her eyes quickly and looking away. She was not particularly fond of vomit, and after having experienced it often when Blaze was an infant, she had a rather vindictive view of it.

Now knowing the cause of the first odor, she moved inward to ascertain the origin of the second. Along the way, she found a metal-mesh net that had some scorch marks on it, and in one area the links were brittle, suggesting super-fast heating. Lora's heart thumped as she walked on, occasionally breaking large amounts of dry sticks under patches of moss. Shortly after finding the net, she walked into an area of the underground cave that immediately made her worry.

The vast majority of this portion of the cave was charcoal black, and from experience Lora knew that only one person could have done this.

"Blaze…" she muttered. She continued searching around, and soon she stumbled across something severely burnt, and when she looked down, her stomach heaved. Luckily she didn't have anything in her stomach, but now she had a better idea where that pile of vomit had come from. She looked down again to confirm it hadn't been a vision or a figment of her imagination, praying it would be.

But no, there it was. It was unmistakably human, and it was clearly dead. For how long, though, was a mystery to her. One thing was sure, though; Blaze had been captured, but he freed himself by killing his assailant. Then he left, perhaps just to get away from the odor that was threatening to consume her. However, given the evidence he had left by the entrance, she believed he had fled from the scene, and might now be anywhere because of the crystal. The most she could do, at the moment, was search through the forest and scan for the signature the crystal gave off. If he hadn't used any of the power, it would emit a very strong signal. If he had used some but not all, it would emit a noticeable signal. If he had depleted it, it would be very weak, but traceable.

She walked toward the back of the cave, hoping to get away from the horrors that lay behind her. As she walked, the air steadily cleared, allowing her more vivid thoughts of what Blaze might be suffering right now. Undoubtedly, he was not in his right mind. He hated killing, even though it was required to eat. Lora had tried to do her best to mitigate that pain, but now she would be challenged far beyond normal. Blaze had taken a human life, something he had sworn he would never do. Even if it was Team Rocket who attacked him, he would still feel guilty for doing the one thing Team Rocket had tried forcing him to do, and which he resisted.

Not for the first time, Lora had wondered how she would help him if he did take a more sentient life, willingly or otherwise. All her speculations were fine and good in practice, but now that the situation had finally been applied firsthand, none of them would be of merit. She cursed to herself, then muttered out loud

"I knew something like this would happen when I left."

She walked on, using her powers to float over massive piles of rocks. In some places, she spotted traces of blood, making her think that Blaze had been through here and possibly scraped his hands and knees up. She continued on, hoping to see an exit soon.

In time, she found one, and when she crawled through it, she found herself in a completely different part of the forest. Since it wasn't familiar by any means, she knew that Blaze would have been wandering around, could even be doing so as she thought. She calmed herself and expanded her mind, hoping to find him, or at least the signature of the crystal he never removed, except to let her recharge it.

When she found neither, she frowned and inspected the ground, hoping to find any traces of him she could follow. Soon she found some torn up earth, and looking closely she could see marks made from oversized claws. Hoping she was on the right track, she jogged in the general direction it led. When the claw marks began to lighten up, she searched around first with her eyes, then her mind.

Toward the end of her mind search, she caught the faintest trace of something familiar to her. She turned her head in its direction and focused on it. It was still faint, but she recognized the trail of her crystal's energy. Since it wasn't moving, she could begin to pinpoint it. But she worried because no movement ever boded well for her or Blaze.

She walked toward the signature, hoping she could reverse whatever damage he might have inflicted upon himself. She had no doubt that dark thoughts had been pervading his mind since his "incident", and she would be hard-pressed to rid them from his core self. He deserved so much better than what he had received, but it appeared that didn't matter.

She continued following the trace of her energy, stored in the crystal, and it kept getting stronger and stronger, little by little. She was amazed that Blaze had gotten so far in his state, and it gave her hope that he could be retrieved. With time, maybe he could be back to normal.

After about an hour, she finally found the cave where the crystal's signature was strongest. During that time, she had begun to sense Blaze's emotional state, and she was very worried now. She closed her eyes and focused on him, trying to make sure he didn't notice her inadvertently. Of course, with the cloud of doom hanging over him currently, she doubted he would notice her even if she walked in. Hoping for the best, she slowly stepped into the cave, not saying anything, but trying to find Blaze in the darkness. When her vision shifted and she saw him, she raised a hand to stifle her gasp.

He was lying facing the wall at the back of the cave, in the fetal position. He was twitching, gasping occasionally. His clothes were torn and dirty, and his bodily odor pervaded the cave, almost causing her to gag. The worst part, though, had to be the flies that were covering him. It looked like he hadn't eaten this whole time, but he had to have gotten water somewhere. Nevertheless, his figure was mostly prone, except the twitches, and his mental condition wasn't much better.

"Blaze?" Lora asked cautiously. He seized up, but other than that, he made no response. Lora walked in slowly, saying

"Blaze, what's wrong?"

He started trembling, and his voice shook as he spoke.

"You know what's wrong. Even if you didn't see it for yourself, you've seen it through my mind."

Lora couldn't deny either argument, so she said nothing. She knew she was treading on eggshells here, because if she said the wrong thing, he might completely turn against her. She knew he would never kill her, unless he had absolutely no free will, but he might rile up against her, saying things he normally wouldn't. She didn't want that for either of them, so she did the only thing she could think of; she sat next to him, despite his odor, and simply waited for him to open up. At the moment, the most she could do was be there for him, so that was what she intended to do.

He continued to tremble, and he hid his face from her. She wondered how long he had stayed like this, not counting food, water, and restroom facilitating, but she had a feeling if he wasn't doing any of that, he was curled up like this. But she wasn't aware how long it had been since the… incident. It could have been only a few days, it could have been the whole week. She needed answers, but she wasn't sure how to proceed.

He shivered and said

"So… you have fun while you were gone?"

Lora's heart broke; even now, during the worst time of his life, he still cared about her.

"Not really. I've never liked going, especially because I have to be separated from you."

He didn't respond, and she gulped before venturing forward.

"So…how was your week?"

He tensed again, and Lora panicked that she had said the wrong thing. Then he sagged and said

"I think you already know that one. I killed. After all these years, I finally granted Team Rocket's wish."

Lora hung her head for a moment, then asked

"What happened?"

He shivered again, then spoke in a low, quavering voice.

"The night you left, I made a fire and got some meat hunting. I set some traps, mostly sticks under moss, to alert me if someone was coming. I went to bed, but not long after, a Rocket grunt showed up."

Lora herself started to shiver, a horrified feeling stealing over her.

"He pulled out a net gun and fired a rope net, which I dodged and burned up. Then he fired a metal mesh net that I couldn't get away from in time. He started laughing and telling me I was going back."

Now he was trembling, and his voice broke apart as he kept talking.

"He said Giovanni would be very happy to see me again, and he started walking over to me, to drag me away. I panicked, I didn't know what to do. Then there was a massive heat in my throat, and I opened my mouth and covered the area in front of me with fire. The worst part was, the guy screamed for a bit… then stopped. I didn't. I kept going, until I just closed my mouth. I got the metal net off me, and when I saw what I had done, I puked my dinner up. I ran for it, going out the back of the cave. Then I found this one, and ever since, all I've done is drink or go to the bathroom."

"You mean you haven't been eating?"

He shook his head and replied

"I can't. Every time I do, I just throw it back up."

Lora was very concerned now. Damn those Rockets, why did they have to ruin everything?! She tentatively reached her hand out and touched his shoulder. He flinched at the contact, but she didn't back away. She scooted closer and began to rub his back, trying to ease some of the tension away. After about five minutes, he softly asked

"…why…?"

"Why what?" Lora asked. He turned his face to her, tears cutting through the grime that had accumulated.

"Why do you still care?! I'm a monster, can't you see that?! I shouldn't even be alive! Don't you get it?! I'm an unnatural freak of nature and a murderer! I don't deserve your care! You should be off living your life how you want to!"

He paused for a second, then he was far quieter.

"You told me you wanted to have children of your own someday. You'll never get that chance if you keep traveling with me."

Lora thought for a second, then replied

"Maybe, but I care too much for you to just leave you behind. I told you I would help you find your place in the world, and I intend to keep that promise. Besides, you know your crystal won't be as effective if I don't charge it."

Blaze shook his head and said

"That's weak. You know I speak the truth, and the most you can give are petty arguments. Believe me, I don't want you to go, but I also know that you can do so much better than stay in contact with me."

"I don't believe that. If I hadn't been paired with you, I would likely be dead, and your position would be far worse than what it is now."

Blaze said nothing in return. He just sat there, not convinced yet that he wasn't a monster. Lora stood and grabbed him with her psychic powers, saying

"Let's get you cleaned up first, then we'll worry about food."

He struggled a bit, but couldn't do much in his weakened state. Mindful of this, Lora held him a good two, three feet off the ground and exited the cave, found a nearby stream, then began to strip him so he could be properly bathed. He struggled against her, but since she was using her powers, there was little he could do.

When she had the tattered, grimy garments off of him, she eased him into the river. He struggled against the cold, then raised his body temperature as much as he could on his limited energy, which didn't make much of a difference. Then, while still holding him down with her power, Lora began to bathe him. He struggled again and said

"I can do this myself, Lora!"

She giggled and said

"You can, but you won't. Besides, I've been doing this since the day you came under my care. There's nothing you have that I don't know about."

Blaze blushed furiously but turned away, muttering darkly under his breath. Lora smirked and brought some water up in a psychic barrier, dumping it over his head. He spluttered as the water ran past his face, and when it cleared he shouted

"Dammit, warn a guy, would ya!"

Lora giggled and said

"Feeling better already, are you?"

"Bah" Blaze responded, turning his back on her. Lora giggled again and continued washing him. She ran her hands over the scars he had accumulated from Team Rocket's tortures, mostly whippings. There were occasions when they would go so far as to pour salt on his wounds, sometimes mixing it with lemon juice. Although somewhat childish, it was incredibly effective on its victims. Even Blaze had broken down from such a treatment, but his spirit never wavered. When she reached the end of his torso, he grabbed her hands and said

"I'll take it from here."

Lora eyed him and said

"Are you sure? Can I trust you?"

He nodded, so she stood and picked up his clothes, carrying them further downstream. For the most part, they were still intact, but they could use ministration. What she lacked was a needle and thread to work with. She had brought her needle, but she wound up dropping it during the course of their travels. Needless to say she never found it. Nor was she willing to steal from a human market. Forget the fact that stealing was wrong, stealing was just profoundly repugnant in her mind, especially when she saw the lengths Team Rocket went with the simple action.

Reaching a comfortable distance, she set the clothes next to her and worked on his pants first. The flame patterns on it appealed to him, and since the material was fire-retardant, there was next to no chance he would wind up naked. Lora wrung the pants several times underwater, then brought them out and inspected them. Several loose seams, some stains, and a couple of rips here and there, but overall definitely salvageable.

Next came the shirt, mostly red but with a distinct yellow spot in the center. The vest was designed to match the coloration of the shirt, with the exception of the white that would represent the fur on a normal Blaziken. Lora had done her best to disguise him as a Blaziken since there was no helping his claws or horns, and from a good distance you couldn't really tell. Up close, though, and it was obvious he wasn't a Blaziken. He could pass off as a regular human, just strangely dressed, but when it's revealed his clawed "gloves" don't come off, that's when the trouble starts.

Lora sighed as she set the shirt on top of the pants, draped across a rock in the sun. She expanded her mind to make sure nobody was sneaking up on them. So far, she felt no one, but that had been the case before she left. She was fairly positive that they had developed a method to avoid her psychic wanderings, so now caution was top priority. Not that it hadn't been before, but nothing ever triumphed over STAY ALIVE.

She soon finished washing the clothes out, which had been desperately needed, and she wrung them as hard as she could to get all the water out. When she finished, the clothes were very wrinkled, but dry. She smoothed the wrinkles out and walked back to where Blaze should still be.

He was still in the river, not wanting to be fully exposed. She laid the clothes on another rock and went off to give him privacy. As he grew, he became more secretive, and while that was to be expected, it still saddened her. She loved to entertain that she was, in fact, his mother. But then reality would slap her in the face and she would feel empty inside.

When she heard footsteps behind her, she turned and saw a much cleaner Blaze walking up to her. Normally he would stride, but circumstance had robbed him of his pride. Lora sighed inwardly and asked

"Shall we hunt?"

Blaze's stomach growled loudly at the prospect of food, but he said

"I'm not hungry."

His stomach reacted to that, it seemed, growling loudly in protest. Lora looked seriously at his face and said

"You shouldn't do that to yourself; it's not doing you any favors."

He shook his head and told her

"I can't eat anything right now. I just don't have any appetite."

Lora said nothing. Instead, she turned and began to walk through the forest, hoping to find some berries. Since she hadn't been paying attention before during her search for Blaze, she didn't know if this forest even had berries. If not, they would have to use the crystal to find something else. She didn't eat meat, so that wasn't an option for her.

For the next half hour she searched, but the forest was devoid of edible berries. Lora threw her hands up in frustration and said

"I give up. Maybe we should just teleport somewhere else and find food there."

Blaze walked up to her and said

"There's no guarantee that we'd find somewhere with food. And even if we did, we could easily be found again. And I really don't want to go through that again."

Lora turned to face him, then cupped his cheek in her hand and said

"I promise, while I'm around, I won't let anything get to you. Please, let me help you. I know I can."

Blaze hung his head for a minute, and when he raised it again, he nodded and grabbed the crystal in his hand. He held his hand out, and Lora grasped it. He drew her closer, then closed his eyes. The crystal began to glow, and in a flash of white light, they were gone.

Well, then, how was that? Let me know soon!