Twilight - Kaboom's chest

[Kaboom]

Introduction

Kaboom is now thirty years old. For the past thirty years he has been forced to fight Lucario, the Great Evil, and all the Pokémon of the Dark World. This battle is a part of a war spanning millenia, and now he is the only Pokémon of the Light World capable of holding his own against the tide of Darklings.

In his first year, Kaboom became slowly corrupted by the Darkness, and indeed was transformed into a Darkling himself by Lucario soon after sealing himself in the Dark World to close the rift between worlds. For ten years he was Lucario's minion, doing his bidding and assisting the Darklings in their bid to break into the Light World once more. He succeeded, but in doing so Lucario lost its grip on him and he returned to the Light.

Since then, Kaboom has done all he can to fight Lucario and the Darklings. His only real success so far was the defeat of the Organisation, but it was a small victory tainted with the loss of Gallade the Bearer of the Light.

This life of fighting and violence has left Kaboom with few emotions but hate and aggression towards the Darklings, and neutrality to those of the Light.

This means that Kaboom has never loved. Many have idolized him and many females loved him, but Kaboom's very nature as part-Darkling meant that his first relationship with a female ended in the swift death of said female. And so did all the others. Each one only made Kaboom less sensitive and more willing to destroy Lucario, who was at the root of his condition.

But, one day, he found one female he could truly love, because she too was in a similar state to him. This is the story of how they met, and what happened thereafter.

[Alexi8945]

Wow. This sounds epic already. ^_^ Can't wait to read more.

[Kaboom]

More coming, as per the request!

Chapter 1: First Encounter
Kaboom appeared in mid-air and landed awkwardly, stumbling a little before regaining his balance. The last traces of purple faded from his feathers, leaving just those around his feet tainted with their permanently altered hue. He looked back at where he had just appeared from, focussed on what was not there. What would soon emerge from the Dark World in pursuit of him. Seconds later, space distorted in front of him, and there was Lucario. This time, Lucario's modus operandi was in the form of a human revolver. He'd had to have it adapted to fit his paws, but nothing was too much if it meant the possibility of destroying Kaboom forever.

Kaboom threw a fireball swiftly at it, then broke into a run. He knew he could not fight a Pokémon with a gun, but he did know two essential things. He knew that Lucario had a spare hidden nearby, and he also knew that it had exactly fifty-three bullets in the gun it wielded now.

Fire rained upon him. If that sentence were taken literally, Kaboom would be dancing around happily. As it was, he dodged left and right as the semi-automatic punched little holes in the ground near him. He lost count of the shots, and so had no idea what Lucario had left. He ran for the small group of trees which meant cover and the discovery of Lucario's spare gun. Lucario ceased fire and chased after Kaboom.

On reaching the trees, Kaboom was thankfully unscathed... for the moment. He found the second firearm and grabbed it, turning it upon Lucario. He pulled the trigger and bullets showered upon the Great Evil, but it was swifter than the eye could follow, and he evaded every single bullet. Kaboom stopped and ran forward, firing the occasional shot in answer to Lucario's mirroring of his moves. They jumped up as they approached each other, colliding in mid-flight. They shot a few more bullets and crashed to the ground, arms locked together.

Lucario grinned. "You're empty."
Kaboom looked deep into its eyes and was surprised to see, beneath all the hatred, a single glimmer of self-doubt.
"So are you," he responded.
Lucario's grin slipped. It disengaged, and jumped back. Kaboom leapt to his feet also. It looked down at its ammunition-deprived gun and tossed it aside with a shrug. Kaboom did likewise. They faced off, then attacked with a flurry of fireballs and AuraSpheres. They fought to keep up their volley while dodging the other.

Then, quite suddenly, Kaboom's concentration slipped for a fraction of a second and the next AuraSphere impacted against his chest. He was blasted back and into a tree. He quickly climbed up it, jumped through a few others, then made himself invisible to all but the naked eye with a little Dark power.

Lucario approached. It could not see Kaboom hidden up in the canopy of the trees, but it stopped in the middle, sniffed the air, and stalked the trees, looking for the faintest scent that would tell it where he was. He found none, naturally, but he picked up something else. Something familiar. It was definitely the scent of Blaziken, but one it had never encountered before. No... it had encountered that scent before, but the one it belonged to had greatly changed...

Kaboom could not move without giving away his position, but he was puzzled by Lucario's behaviour. Surely it would have looked up by now... it wasn't that stupid...

Then a fireball smashed straight into Lucario, blasting it off its feet. The ball was quickly followed by a second, then a third, each one surprising Lucario with its vigour. Kaboom looked around, and saw the conjurer of the fireballs. It was a Blaziken, but that was not all. A female Blaziken, and an attractive one as well. Kaboom was in a condition whereby he no longer felt attraction of this kind, but there was something else. Behind that beautiful face lay a deep sadness. She had lost so much and obviously Lucario was to blame. She advanced on it, a fourth fireball primed and ready to be thrown. Lucario was enfeebled by the three blasts and lay on the ground. The new arrival kicked it, and it grabbed her leg in a sudden burst of energy. Lucario exploded upwards, dragging the other Blaziken with it. The apex of its jump was twenty metres off the ground, and it bore down on the Blaziken, pinning her arms to her sides as they fell.

They landed with no small crash. The trees shook as the ground actually undulated from the impact. Kaboom was of course shaken loose from his perch, and landed as neatly as he could in front of Lucario. He dealt out several violent kicks until Lucario lost its grip on the ground and was launched away. The female Blaziken stood shakily, then was suddenly full of energy again. She rounded on Kaboom.

"Leave here immediately," she said. "Lucario is mine to destroy, and mine alone."
"Why is that, might I ask?"
"Because this is something I must do. You will not understand. Leave. Now."
"I think you'll find that it is my task to rid the world of Lu-"
Kaboom couldn't finish his protest when a sudden blast of aura energy from the other Blaziken threw him off his feet. She launched him as far away as she could from her. When he stopped moving away, he tried to move forwards again but met strong telepathic resistance. Kaboom watched anxiously as Lucario stood again and launched into an attack.

She fought well, but it turned out that only the element of surprise had allowed her to gain any slight advantage. Lucario was merciless, landing punch after punch everywhere on the general bodily area. Kaboom heard more than one bone break under Lucario's onslought, but she would not give up. Gathering her energy, she unleashed a powerful Blast Burn attack, forcing Lucario to retreat to the Dark World in order to avoid the flames.

She was greatly wounded, but she looked at Kaboom briefly before fleeing in the other direction. He vaguely wondered how far she would get before the inevitable struck, but he decided to go to the Dark World himself, to check what Lucario was up to.

[PBG011]

Wow, this is really good.
Very nice Kaboom :D

[Alexi8945]

Sweet. Epic battles are always fun. ^_^

She rounded on me.

This is the only mistake I found, but then, I wasn't paying much attention to mistakes. XD

[Kaboom]

Fixed. I'm used to writing in the first person xD.

Chapter 2: Stalking Lucario

Kaboom emerged in the Dark World and was immediately on guard in case of ambush. There was none. Lucario's scent still hung in the air. He had moved, but not far. It must be found, so he cast around, seeking where Lucario had gone without being detected. It seemed Lucario had simply moved in a circle, which meant...

A spike pierced Kaboom's back in an explosion of pain. It was swiftly withdrawn as Kaboom span around to face Lucario. Thankfully there was no Darkness in the attack, otherwise he would already be battling to keep control of his mind. Kaboom punched Lucario away and took a second to heal himself with Dark power. The wound sealed up as if nothing had happened.

Lucario jumped back to its feet and fired off a stream of Darkness. Kaboom dodged away behind a tree and counterattacked with a Flamethrower. Lucario equally evaded the attack. They both broke out of cover at the same time and charged at each other. They collided with a crash and fought each other with punches and kicks, each and every one blocked or taken at a point to minimalize pain. The exchange was fast and deadly, but neither one nor the other succeeded in properly breaking the opponent's guard. The duel was long and tiring, but they would not give up, fighting furiously on and on.

Then, mixed among the anger coursing through Lucario, a single memory pierced through Kaboom's mind. A memory of the other Blaziken, fatally wounded but running without requesting assistance. Kaboom's guard suddenly failed and Lucario hit him in the chest. It closed in on him, preparing to deal a crippling blow to Kaboom and thereby transform him into a Darkling again. Lucario tasted victory in the air as he closed in.

*********************************

The female Blaziken, whose name was Flammaria, ran away from the battle zone. She winced in pain with each step as her crippled body made for her sanctuary. She entered her den and collapsed to the floor. After ensuring that she was not being followed, she began to heal herself, bones rejoining and wounds closing. It took a long while, and it left her exhausted. She clambered onto her bed and fell asleep, vaguely wondering what the other Blaziken was up to.

[Alexi8945]

Kaboom emerged in the Dark World in was immediately...

The "in" should be "and".

Other than that, pretty good. The cliffy has me waiting for the next installment. ^_^

[Kaboom]

Chapter 3: Nightmare?
Flammaria awoke in the middle of the night. She was fully healed, but sore all over. She stood up, wondering what had caused her to suddenly awaken. It had happened before. Each time it had been followed by a swift attack.

She jumped as a wall has smashed to pieces. She quickly punched whatever was out there to avoid having to rebuild her den... again. Her fist clanged loudly against something metal, but she followed through and surprised the target. She jumped through the hole, ready for anything... except what she found. It was an Aggron, but three times the size of what was considered normal. It roared loudly.

"This has got to be a dream..." she said before jumping in and launching into an attack, dancing around the oversized Aggron while landing punch after punch. She jumped over its tail as it whipped around, but was unable to avoid the grip of its claws. She was being crushed by its tremedous power. Her flames dimmed as she began to run out of air.

Suddenly there was a screech from above. Flammaria couldn't turn her head to see what it was, but the Aggron saw it. It dropped her and used a teleporter to vanish from the area. Flammaria flopped on the ground gasping for air. The screech came again, much closer. Then there was a crash, and the ground shook.
"Where are you?!" boomed a voice. "You coward! You teleport away from me again?! You can never escape me, never!"
Flammaria stood shakily, her back was turned to whatever the voice was coming from.
"Well, look what we have here. A Blaziken. Just like that other one who tried to kill me several times over."
Slowly, she turned. She was stunned by what she saw. It was a Pokémon, that much was certain, but one that she had never seen before. It was made of steel, but it seemed to be a cyborg bearing fans which it used for flying, and the brand it bore on its neck was that of...
"Lucario. What are you?"
The Pokémon shrieked again before answering. "I am Aerilord! And you are soon to die, just like everyone else who crosses my path!"
"****," muttered Flammaria.

Aerilord lunged forward and made a grab for her, but she jumped over it. She landed, turned, and blasted fire at its back. It fans blew hard and the fire was dissipated harmlessly.
"You think you have a hope of even scratching me?" It lunged the other way and Flammaria dodged to the side. "I, who have known nothing but combat?" It slashed and slashed, but she evaded nimbly. "For thirty years I have slain others. It is my nature. It is the way Lucario made me. I am his creation, but I do all I can to bring it down, along with every single Pokémon on this planet! I will be the only one left, I shall live my life free from the existance of others! And you stand in my way!!!"
With that last yell, it dived forward, body-slamming Flammaria and landing on top of her.

"I can feel the life within you. The turmoil, the suffering, everything you have felt. I have no feelings. And so I take them from others. You have five seconds to live, Blaziken. Enjoy them."

Three seconds later, there was an explosion of purple light and Kaboom materialized in Dark Form. Catching sight of an enemy, he attacked the Aerilord without hesitation. His senses were focussed on Aerilord, so he didn't even notice Flammaria. His abilities enhanced by Darkness, he attacked Aeilord again and again, fireballing it with Dark flames.

Aerilord tried to resist, but after taking so much damage it fled, flying up high away from Kaboom's barrage.

Flammaria stood. This night was getting wild. First a giant Pokémon, then a created cyborg, and now this. She was certain he was the Blaziken she had prevented from fighting Lucario in her place, but he was now all blue and purple instead of red and orange.
Kaboom was, of course, berserk. The Darkness was making him so. He caught sight of Flammaria and attacked her without hesitation. Flames were next to useless here, so it would have to be close combat. He charged in and swung a few punches, testing her. Flammaria blocked them as well as she could. Her arms ached, but she put all her energy into preventing Kaboom from hitting her. Kaboom, naturally, increased the ferocity of his fighting; Flammaria equally incresed her blocking speed, and began to try a few attacks of her own.

The exchange of blows lasted about thirty seconds, then Kaboom phased, becoming semi-transparent and intangible. He floated up, then with a shout shot straight through Flammaria. She felt sullied and unusual. She felt like she was freezing from within, the few happy feelings she experienced being sucked away, leaving her as a shell, a lifeless figure.
No, she fought. She clung on to life with such ferocity that she did indeed survive. Kaboom saw this and several things clicked into place in his brain. He suddenly realised where he was and what he was doing. The unphased and returned to his Light self.

He didn't know what to do, so he just ran, leaving the female Blaziken behind him.
She was crying. She had come closer to death than she ever had done, only this was almost worse than death. She remembered that moment, when every good feeling was gone... there was nothing, nothing but blackness. She gazed after the fleeing figure of Kaboom.

"What the **** are you?" she whispered into the night as she returned to her den and flopped onto her bed, enjoying the light breeze that the hole in the wall engendered.

[Kaboom]

Chapter 4: Co-operation
The next morning, Flammaria woke up to the song of the Staravia flying on their morning forage. She sat up and remembered the events of the previous night. She cautiously stepped out of her den and looked around. She saw Kaboom sitting on the ground, looking at the horizon.

His ears pricked and he spoke.
"I'm sorry. Last night. Lucario made me lose myself. I had no control."
"You almost killed me, and now you come to apologize? Just who do you think you are anyway? I saw you, all purple and evil. What are you?"
"I... am corrupted. The Darkness lies within me and it uses me to do evil deeds..."

The conversation came to an abrupt halt as Lucario materialized in front of them.
"Sorry to interrupt," it said, "but I couldn't help noticing that Kaboom has regained control of himself again. I'll just put him back and I'll be off."
"In your dreams, Metal-head," responded Kaboom as he leapt to his feet.
Flammaria stood beside him. "I'm only fighting with you because the enemy is Lucario. Afterwards, I will not be so accepting."

Kaboom and Flammaria simultaneously launched Flamethrower attacks at Lucario, who moved aside faster than could be seen. It threw a pair of AuraSpheres, which Kaboom blocked with Protect. The effort showed on his face. Flammaria ran forward and attempted to punch Lucario, but each lunge was blocked with apparent ease. Kaboom entered the frey on the other side. Lucario strained to keep up, and then suddenly blasted Aura energy, launching Kaboom and Flammaria away to land sprawled on the ground.

They didn't give up. The two Blaziken jumped up and had the same idea at the same time. Lucario found itself stuck between two incoming Blast Burn attacks. It quickly considered its options. It could flee to the Dark World, or get melted by fire. Not a big set. It chose the first and disappeared. The blasts merged and burned birghtly before subsiding.

Flammaria spoke. "You fight well."
"And you. Where did you train?"
"I trained in the region of Hoenn, fighting the Elite Four until I finally beat them single-handedly. You?"
"I'm from Crindo. I gained strength by constantly fighting Lucario."
"I guess I was wrong about you. Why do you fight it?"
"It killed my parents, and all of my friends. I am alone because of it."
"My family was slaughtered by Lucario. It didn't quite kill me and I recovered. Since then I have hunted Lucario far and wide."
"We share the same objective, then."
"We do. If we co-operate we shall be stronger."
"I was about to ask you the same thing."
"Working together it is, then."
"Agreed."

[Settara]

cool!!! Kaboom might be my fave character. keep it up, I'd love to see more of this...

[DX-MON]

I'd love to see more of this Kaboom, I await chapter 5 eagerly.

[Kaboom]

Chapter 5: Travelling
Kaboom and Flammaria had barely set off when they found a note left for them by Lucario. As always, the hadwriting was in immaculate monospace.
My dearest enemies,
I regret to inform you that I have once again come up with an ingenious plan to destroy you. If you want to stop it, you will have to travel to the top of the tallest mountain in the region. I shall be waiting for you there. I do hope you can make it, but maybe a mountain so high would be too difficult for you to climb... you are so feeble...
"I hate that Pokémon!" shouted Kaboom.
"Sounds like a trap to me."
"It is a trap. It's always a trap. But if you don't take the bait then it'll kill hundreds of innocent Pokémon until you turn up. We have to go, no matter what."
"What day is it?"
"The forty-second of summer... why?"
"Well, it's just that on that day every year a solar flare reaches down upon the planet... and the fact that the highest mountain is higher than the summit of the Sky Tower."
"So we'd be lacking in oxygen for fire and radiation will be raining on us. Like I said, I hate that Pokémon!"
"But what choice do we have?"
"None. Let's go quickly."

Together they ran to the west, towards the mountain range.
"There's also the problem," said Kaboom," that Aerilord lives in those mountains. We have a high chance of running into him up there."
"As if we didn't have enough problems already."
"Aerilord can be defeated with very strong flames. After all, he is primarily of Steel type. The hard part is breaking through the nitrogen plasma coating."
"He has nitrogen plasma coating?"
"Yes, he has. Which just goes to show how strong he was to survive the process."
"Oh, crap. Just what we needed."