Split Souls (an OK K.O. fanfiction)

Chapter 5

The next morning, K.O. woke up and was relieved to find he wasn't tired at all. He actually felt great! Guess T.K.O. kept his word to let me get some sleep. K.O. looked out the window. It was bright outside and the sun was high in the sky. What time is it? K.O. looked at his clock. It read 10:15. "10:15!" he exclaimed, then quickly covered his mouth. He'd forgotten Dendy was still there. K.O. peered at Dendy. She was still asleep on the mattress. Sighing with relief, K.O. checked the clock again. 10:15?! I'm way beyond late for work! Why didn't Mom wake me up?! K.O. carefully crept out of his bedroom, carefully making sure not to wake up his best friend. He walked downstairs to find a stack of pancakes near the stove and a note. Confused, K.O. looked at the slip of paper. K.O. and Dendy, I left to get to work. I made you some pancakes for breakfast. And K.O., don't worry about work. Mr. Gar let you off for today. Relax and get some rest. Love, Mommy.

K.O. smiled, then grabbed a plate and some pancakes and sat down at the table. A few minutes later, Dendy came downstairs.

"Hey, Dendy!" K.O. greeted her. "How do you feel?"

"Much better," Dendy replied. "I don't feel tired at all."

"Me neither," K.O. agreed, happily taking a bite of his pancake. "You want some pancakes?"

Dendy nodded her head and walked over to the cabinet for a plate. She came back a minute later with a pancake on her plate. K.O. and Dendy ate silently for a few minutes before K.O. asked, "So, what do we do about T.K.O.?"

Dendy glanced at him. "I don't know. I don't have much data about T.K.O. to start with anyway." Dendy showed K.O. a holographic screen with unfinished drawings and charts coming from her wrist. "See?"

"Whoa..." K.O. breathed.

Dendy closed out of the screen and thought for a moment. "Hm, you become T.K.O. when you feel exceptionally powerless, correct?"

"Um, I think so. I'm not sure," K.O. admitted, scratching the back of his head. "And that's when I become T.K.O., not let him out of my subconscious and into the real world.

"True."

"Hm, what about where I first became T.K.O.?" K.O. suggested.

"Do you remember where that happened?" Dendy asked.

"I think so! Come on!" K.O. got up from the table and ran out of the house, Dendy following behind.

K.O. led Dendy through the woods until they finally reached a sunny clearing with a beautiful pond, tall trees, and part of a stone fist sticking out of the ground. He knew the place well. His mother used to bring him there to train when he was little. Well—littler.

"Wow," Dendy breathed. "This place is amazing."

"I guess," K.O. said distractedly. There was a mild pain in his head, slowly growing stronger by the minute. T.K.O. was definitely stronger here.

"Now, tell me K.O., how did you first unlock T.K.O.?" Dendy asked, sitting down on the soft grass.

K.O. sat down in front of her with his legs crossed. "Well, I sat like this and entered my subconscious." K.O. closed his eyes and slowly breathed in and out, focusing on his heartbeat.

A few moments later, K.O. opened his eyes and found himself in his mindscape. But something was different. The area around him was no longer eerily quiet. There was a softly moaning breeze blowing through. Was that even possible? I guess so, K.O. thought.

K.O. looked around. Where was T.K.O.? "Hello?" he called. "T.K.O.?"

"Over here," T.K.O. called back. K.O. turned around. T.K.O. was pretty far behind him. K.O. run up to him. When K.O. neared his counterpart, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. K.O. and T.K.O. both winced at the same time.

"D-Did you feel that, too?" K.O. asked. Still wincing from the pain, T.K.O. nodded.

Suddenly K.O. realized there was a new bit of information in his head. Blinking in surprise, K.O. said, "I might have an idea to get you out of here."

"How?" T.K.O. asked.

K.O. opened his counterpart's cage. As K.O. opened the cage, the wind suddenly began howling. K.O. held out his hand to T.K.O. T.K.O. looked at him, puzzled. Then he smiled slightly and grabbed K.O.'s hand. As K.O. pulled him up and out of the cage, the wind blew even harder; K.O. and T.K.O. both began glowing a blue-ish purple color. They looked at each other, one thought on their minds: What is going on?!

In the real world, K.O. had begun to glow. He was floating up in the air. Like in his mindscape, a howling wind blew through the clearing. Suddenly, a burst of energy erupted into the air. Dendy, who was watching from behind a tree, had to look away from the blinding light. When she dared to look, she saw that there were now two boys floating in the air. They looked so similar they could've been twins. Except for their hair. K.O.'s was still up in a red headband. T.K.O.'s hair fell over his back in spikes.

Both boys collapsed on the ground, unconscious. Dendy ran up to K.O. "K.O., are you okay?" Dendy asked.

K.O. groaned and opened his eyes. "Ugh, my head is killing me," he moaned.

"Are you okay?" Dendy asked again.

K.O. sat up, rubbing his head. "I feel so dizzy," he groaned. Dendy let K.O. lean on her to balance himself. "Did...did it work?"

To answer his own question, somebody groaned nearby. K.O. stood up, wobbling a little and swaying on his feet. Dendy helped him balance himself, and they walked over to T.K.O., who was lying on his back and unconscious. K.O. nudged him gently. "T.K.O.? You okay?"

"Hmm..." T.K.O. groaned. His eyes flickered, then slowly opened. Once he caught sight of K.O. and Dendy, he panicked. He jolted backward, his eyes flashing from Dendy to K.O. Suddenly he put his hand to his head and groaned, "Ugh, my head."

"Calm down," K.O. told him. "My head hurts too."

Suddenly T.K.O. realized he was in the real world—with K.O. "I-I'm real. It worked!"

"What did you even do, K.O.?" Dendy asked.

"I let him out. Uh, sorta. Whenever I'd get super frustrated, he'd take over. This time, I just let him out of the cage without feeling angry."

"How'd you know to do that?" Dendy asked.

"I don't know. Although, my head started to hurt for a second in there. Then I just knew what to do," K.O. explained the best he could.

Meanwhile, T.K.O. was still marveling at the fact that he was real. He kept clenching and unclenching his fists and checking himself over. He leaned against the tree and stood up on unsteady legs. He nearly fell over, his head still pounding.

"Careful!" K.O. was at his counterpart's side in a second, stabilizing him. T.K.O. shrugged him off.

"I-I'm okay," T.K.O. said stubbornly.

"Are you sure?" K.O. asked.

"Of course, I'm sure," T.K.O. grunted.

"So, now what'll you do?" K.O. asked him.

"'Dunno," he replied vaguely. "But I'll be seeing you around." T.K.O. turned away, but then he paused. "Oh, and K.O.?"

K.O. blinked in surprise. "Yeah?"

"Thanks." Then T.K.O. teleported away.