TW: OOC, Cruel thoughts and actions. Do be aware that your precious Kokotaim teams' good nature is being butchered right now.
"All hands! Clap for our heroes!" A cheeky reporter exclaimed, her mic was waved around to mimic the audience's motion.
The stadium vibrated with the momentum of joy and relief. Praises and thanks were thrown into the air, weaving a song for the glorious and the brave. The people were utterly grateful for the save their heroes had willingly carried out. Goodness knows, the folks have endured too much suffering under the hands of Retakka the evil, none hoped to wish the chaos bringer any light of day nor mercy.
Standing upright and dressed in formal Tapops suits, the Kokotaim team were shown off to the masses. They were the golden children of Tapops and the well-known favoured team that Tapops had in decades. Before Admiral Tarungs' return, no team can be compared to the past elemental holders. Due to that, the scale of destruction and war were in the hands of the bloodthirsty and greedy aliens when all elementals were slain to their deaths. Retakka used to be at the top of that food chain. That is, until Kokotiam decided to tip the scale in Tapops favour. Lady luck truly adores them. So do the people.
Yaya timidly waved to the people. Ying gave a wide eye smile and clasped hands with a few others. She decidedly stopped when a slimy tentacle shook hers with tremendous rigour. Yaya snickered at her friends' predicament.
Gopal took this chance to greet as many as possible. Shaking hands and teaching other aliens the custom of high-fives. He was trying to build his publicity with a good note. Fang, on the other hand, did not bother to boost his reputation. He was popular enough to be recognised with a glance and charismatic enough to have the youngsters squeal his name. He was too important to not be known.
Gopal shot Fang a traitorous glare, unhappy that the shadow user would always hog up the attention without trying. Fang simply gave the other a playful smirk before giving the masses a simple wave. Yaya watched their interaction, signing when she realised the boys might have placed a bet on this. She'd have to stop Gopal soon else her pockets would be emptied.
After a few minutes, Commander Koko Ci signalled Fang to approach the podium. The boy did as told, albeit reluctantly. For a man who loves fame, he has too few words to give.
Fang sneaked a look at the covered seating area at the edge of the stadium. A shadow of a man stood there, demanding respect and authority even though they could not be seen. He gripped the microphone tight and tried his best to calm the nerves. Fang would not disappoint them. He was watching.
"...", the audience fell into a pin-drop silence, awaiting the wisdom that they will be graced with by Tapops prized employee.
Fang, holder of the shadow element, leader of the Kokotaim.
Son of the Emperor.
--
He had just gone through the first line when an explosion interrupted Fangs' speech.
It had taken everyone aback. The severity of the situation has yet to dawn in their minds, except Ying. She recovered from her shock quickly and wielded 'Slow-Mo' in the nick of time. Said manipulator then sped towards the site, leaving her team in the dust. That was sufficient to snap the others out of their stupor.
Seeing Ying strain her powers thin, Yaya helped alleviate the rocks and hone her concentration to each and every material. Making sure that the people were not brought flying as well. Fang used his shadow hands to grab the remaining others whom Ying did not manage to drag out with her bare hands. Since the rescue operation left no room for one more, Gopal decided to pacify the victims and the rest that they were safe and sound as long as Kokotiam is here.
Gopal tended to the wounded while Commander Koko ci and Admiral Tarung commanded the people towards the other side of the arena. He was wrapping the bloody knee of a shivering kid when an orange blob slammed to his side. It threw Gopal off balance, the aid kit flung away from his side.
"Argh!"
The noise Gopal let out caused eyes to turn to him. Gopal should have felt embarrassed, if not for the anomaly he was seeing. His teammates immediately surrounded him, powers on display as they waited for the thing, sitting on Gopals' chest, to make a move.
And that thing was none other than-
"Help me!"
- an anthropomorphic kitten. A distressed crying toddler-sized kitten.
"Gopal! You have to help me!"
A cluster of confusion was directed to that molecule manipulator. Why was that cat calling his name?
"Who are you?!"
"Did you do this?!"
Fang and Ying shouted in tandem, eyes blazing alight with stored power. The show of aggression made the kitten growl in return, its orange fur standing like platoons in a parade.
Yaya quickly intercepted them all, blocking Fang and Ying from the kittens' peripheral. It's against their conduct to attack a civilian without concrete evidence of violence caused by them. It's written on the wall that these rules must be adhered to or else. They couldn't chalk the blame to this kitten.
She sneaked a glimpse to the Emperors' box at the highest level of the stadium, tinted windows covering whoever was in there. Yet, Yaya did not doubt that the Emperor was present. He was watching.
Yaya plastered a smile on her face and gently kneeled down to see eye-to-eye with the kitten.
"Hello little one", She greeted, keeping a calm composure. Yaya reached out a hand slowly.
"I'm-"
"Yaya", the kitten called her name, an incredulous look on his face. Yayas' eye twitched at being interrupted but took a deep breath to induce her annoyance nonetheless.
"Yup. The one and only", Yaya cheered, "Since you've known my name. It's fair that we know yours and your purpose here".
The kitten kept quiet. Its sclera kept widening from circles to slits. Yaya thought that that was unusual. Yet the cat had barged in and assaulted Gopal, also calling the Kokotaim team with too much familiarity. No one addresses them like that.
Yaya was referred to as Captain, as well as Ying. Gopal is still a Captain-in-training, usually the members of the ship would call him CT.
Fang, on the other hand, was special. He adorned the title Ascendent. Linking his bloodline to the emperor. No one below him should call Fang otherwise. Unless you are a friend of his.
Yaya maintained a smile. Only her friends call her by name, and this kitten is an enigma.
"Tick tock lil guy. Time's ticking", Ying threatened, on the verge of patience.
The kitten fixed its gaze on the lithe form of Ying. Shock gracing the eyes and its mouth muttered something in disbelief. Ying raised an eyebrow at this but remained still. The emperor was watching. She could feel it. Ying turned her head to Fang, awaiting his orders. Yaya stood up without any rush, looking back towards Fang. Gopal too was looking at him, his fingers poised and ready to strike this strangers' jugular. The attack was well hidden that the kitten failed to notice it. They all were waiting.
A deep breath. " Att-ACK!"
Before Fang could enunciate his order, the Kitten had made the first move. It slammed its boot into Fangs' stomach. Making sure to fling the other to Yings' glasses as well. It then hopped down onto the rubble and slipped between the crevices before Yaya could catch it.
"AFTER IT!" Tarung bellowed.
Yaya lifted the rubble without a second hesitation, Gopal shot a powered beam to every glimpse of the kittens' tail. Ying forfeited her glasses and dashed after the kitten. Although, she had to tread slowly due to the decrease in vision. Fang looked up at the Emperors' box. Even if no one could completely look inside, Fang was aware of the lack of presence in that box.
The Emperor had made a move.
"NO!"
--
The cage was thrown ruthlessly onto the cold tile. Its cylindrical shape was dented but none of the detail matters. What everyone in the room was focused on was the kitten in the cage.
It whimpered for every contact between its body and the metal bars, as the cage bounced towards the throne. No one dared voice a second thought on animal brutality, especially if Admiral Tarung was the one who did so.
Fang watched as the cage rolled to a stop a feet away from the throne. He stole a look at the Emperor. That man showed no emotion. The Emperor simply sat and stared.
No one voiced a word nor a syllable. They only mimicked the Emperor in devoted silence. Even when the kitten hissed in pain and grunted when the cage was uprighted. Besides Tarung, nobody moved an inch.
The kitten took some time to make itself aware of its surroundings. It shook its head and watched the others with a dazed expression. Yaya looked down at it from where she stood. She felt sorry for the young Kitten. To experience a capture by the hands of the Emperor was no joke. Either the Kitten was a total enigma or it had done something to warrant the Emperor's attention. All in all, the kitten was no longer her business.
The Kitten remained dazed, confused. Throwing a loopy smile at any of the Tapops Captains or staring at the others with a blank face. However, emotions started pouring in when it saw the Emperor.
Colour bled into its face and its blue eyes glowed with intense anger.
"You!" It shrieked, a finger raised towards him.
At that, the Emperor cracked a malicious demeaning grin.
"We meet again, Ochobot"
---
Ochobot knew from the moment he saw himself, things were drastic. He knew he had robot arms and a floating body. He never knew what it is to have legs other than wheels. Ochobot surely knew what it feels to be depleted of power but never hungry.
However this body, this weak body, was not a body he was familiar with. Nor was it a body he was proud of having.
Firstly, the agony of needing rest and feeling hunger was too foreign. He grappled with it for months to balance its psychological impact.
Second, his abilities were severely depleted. As a robot, he was a regulator for the many elements inside of him. However, this meaty flesh could not summon forth the abilities he needed without bringing consequences.
Third, and what Ochobot dreaded the most, he was useless. His brain tend to be too slow for information. Goodness, he is in a child's body. His knowledge was still intact but he needed time to draw upon it.
When he saw Yaya, it took him a couple of minutes to process the new information around him. Yaya was wearing green. Ying had swapped her trademark blue for tangerine orange and Gopal had a red theme in his style. Everyone looked so different. Fang, instead, still had a purple outlook but Fangs' style too was overwhelmed by the black accents. It gave him a broody and scary aura.
Ying was too impatient. Yaya had a malicious intent behind her gaze. Gopal was acting smarter than usual. Ochobot felt a spike of pain in his head. This was too much information for his feeble mind.
'They', Ochobot stared at all of them, 'They are not my friends'.
Despite the overload of information, he did not miss an important fact.
Boboiboy wasn't to be seen.
END OF PT 1
AN: Tada! Made a new Au after I overheard the a certain tiktok trend. The foreboding music and use of rhetorical questions made me whip this up right after a night class.
Originally, I wanted to make this BBB and Kokotaim angst. However, my writing derailed from my original plan, and here we are with Ochobots' angst. I would really love to see any comments about his character.
Furthermore, what ya thoughts about this? I'll probably expand the lore in pt 2. So, any thoughts of who you think the Emperor might be? Where is Boboiboy? Why is the remaining Kokotiam team so weird??
Aha, till next time ;))
Unedited