Fall to Shadows

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Him began to cough up blood again.

He didn't expect his night to end up like this. His body was severely beaten to a dark red pulp as he lied on his back, the rain continuously hitting his bruised face in the dimly street lit night. He weakly rested his back on a metal fence as he faced his attacker, Blossom Utonium.

He was actually kind of impressed, despite how the situation was going. Out of the three girls, he thought the impulsive Buttercup would have been irrational enough to come at him alone. Hell, even Bubbles had more of a reason to do something like this but...

…there she was. The perfect girl, who was now in her teenage years, had not lost her vicious gaze on Him since he was knocked down. Her clothes, as well as her well combed hair were now disheveled and dirty, she was injured as well, but nowhere near Him's current condition. What got to Him the most though…were her eyes. Though he could see it was a mixture of emotions, the feelings that emitted from the pink, gem like pupils were pure.

Rage. Hate. Sorrow. Those were all too obvious to Him, but what worried him was that they showed no fear. She came to Him on her own will. By herself. She was prepared to kill.

…or was she...?

Him smiled at her, deciding to speak first.

"I must say, Blossom…" he began "I am quite impressed. Beating me into the ground all by your lonesome…"

Only silence came from the teen.

Him continued, "Though I have to admit, this isn't really like you. Taking down a villain in the middle of the night in an alleyway? What happened to the girl who would look before she jumped?"

He waved his claw, as if too stop her from answering, "Not that I mind… I like THIS Blossom better anyway!"

Him let out a tired laugh before he heard her speak.

"You're truly pathetic… you STILL make jokes even though you're beaten."

"Well….you know…" Him laughed, his claw drawing a circle in the air

"…Why?"

The abrupt question halted his laughter. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, his smile lost.

"Why WHAT?"

"Why now…? Why US? WHY HER?" Blossom growled

He knew what she meant. He smirked.

"Well, your answers in order, I was bored and nothing had been happening in Townsville in years, messing with you girls always make me cheer right up …"

His voice got lower "…and she's the most fun to mess with."

Blossom's foot quickly connected to his stomach. Him choked as more blood shot out of his mouth from the impact. Blossom slowly dug the tip of her shoe into where she had kicked before she removed it, watching Him writhe in pain before slowly getting on his knees.

"Wow…" he managed to grunt out, "…so impulsive these days. Are you taking advice from Buttercup or is this a reoccurring thing from built up stress?"

"Don't try to help me." She said bluntly

"Just saying they have people to help with that."

"Do you EVER shut up?"

"Not really." He giggled

There was another pause.

"It started simply, you know." He finally spoke up "I saw her walking down a street, so I sent a frightening image to her mind. Just to see how she would react."

His giggle became a laugh "The reaction was PERFECT! I just had to see it again… but the second time became every time I saw her…"

"I would keep sending those images to her, even at night sometimes… it was better when I did it like clockwork …and then switched it up on her! It was a RIOT!"

"Shut up."

"The times I did that in the middle of her class were hilarious too."

"Shut UP."

"How long did it take you to find out it was me? It was about a month and a half, so…"

"SHUT UP."

"…did she even get any sleep, Blossom?"

"JUST SHUT UP!" She finished, trying to hold back tears.

Him stopped for a moment. Another grin spread across his face.

"…oh. NOW I know why you came. I knew you knew it was me so I made the last one stay and keep flowing through her little mind."

Silence. "…so you think that if you roughed me up enough that I would eventually give your sister rest…"

He looked straight into her eyes.

"…or were you planning to end me to stop it instead? I AM a complete monster after all…hehahahaHHAHAHAHAHA!"

Blossom began to grind her teeth. "I'll do what I have to…so I can protect Bubbles."

"Hahahaha… I can't believe that you're even more serious than your kiddy years! ….but I doubt it was just for her…"

Blossom raised an eyebrow in question, not losing her expression.

"Oh, don't give me that look…" Him said beginning to stand "I know you want to kill me for yourself…"

"I don't know what you're talking about." She replied, anger rising in her voice.

"Please, Blossom, don't be STUPID." His smile leaving him "You try your best to be a walking sense of justice, doing what you think is right based on what society thinks is right."

Him glared at her, "…but what about the Blossom that wants to do otherwise? The one that wants to do and act as she pleases? You shoved her in the back of your mind because she wasn't socially acceptable."

"…and we both know how much you LOVE to be accepted…" He ended in almost a whisper

Blossom had begun to shake in anger while Him continued.

"You want me dead. I can see it in your eyes. You KNOW I'm too weak to defend now, you KNOW that I'm too evil to be left alone like you decided to do all those years ago…You KNOW that you'll see me again in about A WEEK'S TIME!"

His arms opened up as if to welcome her. "Then finish it. It may just be the only way to save your sister."

Blossom's eyes shot wide at his request, as if some clarity returned to her.

"…..no. I can't kill you… It's not—"

"…'Right'…?" Him finished for her "It's not RIGHT to destroy a manifestation of evil? Guess it's true what they say. Justice IS blind…"

"I'm not going to k-kill you…" she stuttered, starting to back away

"Well then your sister's mind will be completely destroyed…I'm not going to stop."

He stepped closer,"…and when your pouring tears out when you pull the plug on the mindless vegetable that used to be your happy little sister…you'll be the one to blame."

"I WON'T LET YOU DO THAT!" she screamed

"Then finish me, Lady JUSTICE!"

Blossom barely knew what happened. It happened so fast, her mind couldn't comprehend. She did however wore a horrified expression of what she saw right in front of her.

Him's face no longer showed his trademark grin, only a wide eyed expression of shock. Who could blame him? Blossom's entire forearm was sticking straight out of him.

Blossom had punched a hole right through his ribcage.

She slowly pulled her arm out of Him's chest, the body hitting the ground hard, blood spurting from the wound. She had begun shivering in fear as she looked at her blood covered mitts and forearm. She had the sudden urge to vomit.

What does she do now? She hastily formulated a plan in her mind, trying her best not to panic. Hide the body was a first, but what to do after that? Should she leave Townsville forever or would pretending nothing ever happened be better? Wait, wouldn't killing an evil being like Him be considered good?

She quickly shook that idea from her mind…that was what Him said. She didn't want to sound like Him. She decided it would be best if she dealt with the body first, but as she turned to the body, she saw it turn into a reddish smoke which began to surround her.

"Well done, Blossom." She heard an all too familiar voice say

"Wait…no. It can't BE!" She began to back away

"It IS." the voice replied calm "You have done something truly great, Blossom… you destroyed evil."

The red cloud closed in, "With that, you will receive a most interesting of gifts…"

"W-Wha?"

"You get to BECOME EVIL ITSELF!" Him's voice finished, the red cloud engulfing the teen.

She shrieked, pain suddenly surging throughout her body. It was as if her skin was on fire doused with gasoline. Soon two red, metal claws had appeared on her mitts, which increased her pain even more. Though she cried out in agony, the sound was trumped by Him's laughter.

"Someone has to replace me, Blossom, besides; you're the most qualified here."

"Noooo…you can't…" she muttered, lying on back in extreme pain.

"Sorry, but that's the rules… you kill Him…you become HIM! HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHHAHAHH!"

Blossom's vision began to get hazy. All of her surroundings, the pain, and Him's insane laughter began to fade away until she was finally covered in darkness.

….

Blossom barely realized were she was after everything faded back.

She was sitting up in her bed, right back at her house. She looked around at her room, remembering how the girls finally got their own rooms, where as she decided to stay in the one she used to share. She smiled, thinking back at the memory, wondering why she hadn't left this one, when she heard the door open. Buttercup had walked in, looking like her usual annoyed self.

"Why aren't you up yet?" She asked

Blossom looked at her before she laughed softly "Sorry, I guess…I overslept."

"...That's a first." She said, looking at her sister oddly "Hurry up, Bubbles doesn't want to get to school before you."

Blossom was surprised "Bubbles is awake?"

"Yeah…I'm just as shocked as you are." Buttercup said shrugging her shoulders "She was in a hypno-trance at one point and now she's totally normal now….well as normal as Bubbles gets."

Blossom thought about what she said for a moment.

"Uhh…yeah…I'll be down soon."

"Whatever…" Her sister replied before exiting her room

Blossom got out of her bed and headed for the bathroom. As she walked, she tried to answer the immediate questions in her mind. Bubbles was okay? She was a nervous wreck before she entered an inert state. She was fine now? How could that have…

Her memory began to flash images to her…she disregarded them. It was a dream. It HAD to be. She was in the middle of an alleyway when she blacked out, so she would have been there if it was real. Sure she had thought out it was Him torturing Bubbles. Sure she really wanted to teach him a lesson. But sneaking out late at night to attack him? That wasn't her at all. She must have fell asleep and dreamed up that bit….

…Though when it turned into a nightmare still made her shudder in disgust.

She entered the bathroom, looking at her face in the mirror. No dents, no scratches, and her hair was looking fine.

She sighed in relief. "What was I thinking…I guess I'm going…"

She looked at her clothes. They were the same clothes she went out to find Him in. They were still torn up.

"…going…" She had glanced down at her left mitt in the mirror. In its place was a familiar metal claw.

Her body had begun feeling numb. The thought that it was all real was seeming more convincing. She turned her head to look at her mitt, thinking that it was all a trick in her mind. The claw was still there, her eye twitching as she gazed at it.

"..going…" She repeated once more, her eyes not leaving the new metal appendage.

"…Crazy?"

Her head whipped toward the direction of the voice, right in front of the mirror. Instead of her own reflection, she saw Him, fully healed, with the widest smile she ever seen him wear.

She could barely hear herself scream…

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Shall I Continue?