Screams.

Anguish.

Darkness.

These were the things that filled his mind as he began to feel his soul part from his body. It was the beginning of the end, he thought. And in a way he was right. But more so, he was wrong. The painful snap of his ribs did not attract his attention. Neither did the blood spurting out of his legs. No, what caught his attention was a green light that seemed to fill his eyes. It was...beautiful. Beautiful, mesmorizing, comforting. It defeated the screams. It defeated the anguish. It defeated the darkness.

The emerald brightness was the last thing he saw as his mind drifted into unconsciouness.

...

"Sir?"

Ace opened his eyes, only to quickly shut them once more. The room was too bright for his liking. Everything was white. The walls were white, the door was white, the bed was white, even the curtains were white. It was all so...clean. When was the last time he was somewhere clean?

"Sir?"

He slowly turned his head towards the source of the voice. A plump, red-haired nurse smiled upon him kindly. "Sir, are you awake?"

He nodded his head, his mind still in a daze.

The kind smile did not mask the anguish in her eyes. "How do you feel?"

How do you think I feel? Ace wanted to snap. Instead he gave a small shrug.

She nodded, her mind seemingly out of sync. "Okay...could you please move your legs for me?"

He nodded. Simple enough, he reasoned. He began to move his legs. But he couldn't. Once again, he tried. Even though his legs were rather skinny, they seemed to weigh a ton. They felt cemented onto the bed. He couldn't believe it. His life just got worse! No...no. It was just a dream. Yes, that was right...a dream. He would wake up with Snake kissing up to him, Arturo zipping around like a little mosquito, and with Big Billy asking him stupid questions. Yeah...it was all a dream...

He tried again.

Failure.

Again.

Another failure.

Tears brimmed his eyes. He felt for his glasses. They were not on him. No. The stupid nurse would see him cry. No....NO!! This couldn't be happening...! His mind went blank as he felt himself scream out in a rage. "NO NO NO NO!! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME!?" He seemed to be outside of his body, watching himself throw pillows at the round nurse and screaming in protest. He seemed to see his eyes filled with tears and anger. Rage seeped into his blood. It was a nightmare...

"Sir! Calm yourself!" the nurse ordered. Ace ignored her, his shouts filling the room with utter agony.

"Sir..."

"Shut up! Can't you see that I can't frickin' use my legs anymore!?"

"Sir..."

"God, woman! Can't my life get any worse? SHUT THE HELL UP!"

"Sir!"

Ace glared at her, his pain mixing in with his shame. "What." he growled.

"You could have died..." she said through gritted teeth, the kindness replaced with a cold aura.

"That was kinda the whole point..." he muttered. "But no, I had to get paralyzed instead!"

"THE GIRL WHO SAVED YOU IS IN A COMA!"

The statement brought an immediate silence. Ace blinked, the words not registering in his mind. "What do you mean...?"

The woman gave a heartless chuckle. "One of the Powerpuff girls is in a coma."

He stared in utter shock. No way...no frickin' way...

"...Which one...?" he asked, not wanting to find out.

"The green one. Buttercup. The impact had a more dramatic affect on her than on you. Her body mass blocked you from the full blast. Her, being a superhero, managed to get out of there alive, but..." the nurse heaved a sigh, her eyes watering up. "But even her superstrength couldn't stop the train's crushing of her bones."

Ace remembered the beautiful green light that he saw before he blacked out. "Oh...oh my God..." he murmured. Buttercup...

Buttercup...

BUTTERCUP!

His screams echoed through the halls. Pain. Anguish. Darkness. Torment. Anger. Rage.

Hhad thought that his life sucked before.

Now it wasn't even funny.