Blossom stepped into the timeworn hallway, admiring her new clothing and the fact that she no longer had to rely on her long hair for censorship. She'd slipped into a plain pink t-shirt and jeans, even finding a pair of sneakers her size.
Blossom eyed the rest of her family and with their rivals as they busied themselves with endless boxes of clothing. Buttercup was slipping on a pair of fingerless black gloves, clenching and unclenching her fists in triumph as she admired her own outfit. Blossom wasn't surprised at her sister's choice in attire as Buttercup had always been stubborn about maintaining a certain punk-rock look. The redheaded girl rolled her eyes, quickly glancing over a leather-clad Butch who seemed ready to approach Buttercup with a smirk. Whatever he was planning to bother her with would not end well.
She finally caught a glimpse of blonde hair rising from behind a stack of boxes whizzing by. Bubbles was running around, still letting her fashionista side get the best of her in such concerning times. She scampered around with arms full of soft blue fabrics, skirts, shorts, jeans, dresses, and accessories, despite being fully dressed already. Blossom scowled, knowing she'd have to remind her young sibling that she wouldn't be able to carry such an excessive amount of items once they set out to explore.
Assuming everyone was busy with the task of getting dressed, the natural born leader decided to snoop around, peeking in and out of open rooms along the corridor. Some rooms were locked, others open but empty. A few broom closets, empty shelves, rooms coated in glass and rubble, and more areas full of more hauntingly empty caskets. Blossom shuddered at the sight but was relieved that there were no more lifeless bodies to occupy them.
She took note of her ultimate surroundings. In the dimly lit hall, Blossom could tell that everything seemed minutes away from crumbling apart. Every wall had ominous cracks, caked on dirt and grime, and the amount of dust that filled her lungs had induced coughing fits if she drew in too deep of a breath. The floor was solid and dry yet seemed to waver beneath her feet at times, while some areas were wet and rotted with mold.
She couldn't help but notice the stains, like patterns, drawn along the walls in numerous shades of green and yellow. It was almost too unsanitary just to look at. However, one particularly unusual stain caught her eye. Just a foot away from where she stood, a trail of reddish brown dragged from a metal door and led to the end of the corridor. Letting her curiosity get the better of her, Blossom approached the tall metal door only to find it locked. Part of her was relieved but she still felt the need to know what it could've possibly been. She kneeled down, following the path of the unknown dried liquid with her gaze.
It continued until the end of the hall as if something had been dragged to or from the locked room. At the very edge of the hall, a good few feet away, in the center of the farthest wall across from her was a large mark that dripped down to the floor, connecting with the dried trail.
She felt uneasy as she stood, slowly making her way towards the large stain. She had a feeling she knew what the residue that coated the floor and wall was, and it was not a good sign.
A few paces from the dreadful splotch Blossom held her breath. If she was right about the trail marks then this place, wherever it was, was not safe. Blossom hesitated as she finally stood at eye level with the strange spot on the wall. Her finger twitched slightly as she slowly raised her hand to the wall. She was inches away, drew a deep breath, and began extending her fingers.
"Don't!"
Blossom jumped, whipping her auburn head to face the sudden noise. Buttercup had emerged from the room a few doors down, Butch close in tow.
"Aw, come on! What's wrong with a little skirt every now and then?" Butch whined with his signature smirk. Buttercup continued storming off as the rest of the group began emerging from the room.
"Those tight pants do some good, too, actually." He continued. Buttercup silenced him with a swift slap he barely dodged, and he could only chuckle in response. Blossom sighed in frustration. It was typical of them to be loud and obnoxious, even in this environment. Forgetting the task at hand, Blossom moved forward to meet them, putting space between her and the wall.
"Nice to see you two are getting along." She folded her arms over her chest, sending daggers Butch's way. He stared back blankly, unaffected by her stance or tone. She eyed her green sister just the same and received an angry groan in response.
"I wouldn't get along with him to save my life." Buttercup mimicked her older sibling's stance.
Blossom opened her mouth to reply but soon held back as Brick approached, only to continue walking past the others as if they weren't there. She followed his form as he sauntered to the edge of the hall, unfazed by the mildew and decay as he looked around the hall. With ease, he stepped up to the giant stain on the wall before he spoke.
"Hate to break up your little get-together, but I think we should move on from this area." He stated bitterly, backtracking his steps until he rejoined the group once more.
"Someone most likely died here."
Blossom scoffed at his deadpan tone. She'd always hated how easily he took things and spat them back without so much as a second thought. The blues physically shook, Boomer instinctively backing up as he always did.
"What do you mean someone died here?" Boomer stuttered, earning the group's attention.
"Weren't we already surrounded by people who died here? Those things in the other room were full of them." Butch added on, stealing the focus. Brick sighed and pointed to the wall.
"It's a bloodstain."
Bubbles gasped, receiving a dirty look for the redheaded boy.
"Relax. It's old. Not too old, but old enough for whoever caused it to be long gone from this area from now...Hopefully." He bitterly assured her as he continued down the opposite side of the hall.
"We'll go this way, and see if we can find a way out of this place." Brick ushered the group as he took confident steps back in the direction they came.
Blossom's eyebrow instinctively rose.
"Wait, who says you're in charge here, Brick?" She demanded. He stopped to turn back, glancing at the group of confused and nervous teens. His expression hardened when his eyes fell upon his counterpart, who stood with her hands on her hips and her chin lifted to meet his eyes.
Short moments passed, and Brick felt a smirk tug on the corner of his lips. He let out a soft snort, stepping towards her slightly. Her posture didn't waver, causing him to let out a small laugh.
"Who says I care where you take your prissy sisters, anyway?" Buttercup shot him a look, seeming ready to match him with an outburst of her own, but he continued.
"I'm taking my brothers away from this hellhole. You can go further into this mess for all I care." He spat, beckoning his brothers to join his side. Blossom dropped her guarded stance, mouth hanging slightly agape.
"Brick, that idea is ridiculous. We have no idea where we are or what's going on. Not to mention the possibility of a threat lurking around. As far as we know, we don't have powers anymore." She pleaded with him, earning an incredulous look from her raven-haired sister. The forest green counterpart, however, was next to chime in.
"What's the matter? Afraid you don't have us big strong men to take care of you girls?"
Bubbles was next to glare at him, which only triggered a laugh.
"Well, Boom is the exception. Maybe you should take him with you, he'd fit right in." Butch finished, turning to his younger brother.
The blue-clad boy simply turned away in response, shrinking into the background. Bubbles was ready to speak on his behalf when Brick finally cut into their battle of retorts once more, silencing the group for the last time.
"We may have woken up in this place together, but that doesn't mean we have to stay that way, Puff." Brick's eyes darkened as he backed away from his counterpart, who could only look at him in awe and disbelief.
With a final huff, she paced away from his as well.
"Fine. We wouldn't last long with brainpower as dim as yours anyway, Ruff."
With that, the two colour-coded teams split off, but not before Bubbles caught a glimpse of her counterpart as he sauntered off further into the shadowed corridor. She opened her mouth wanting to say something, anything to him to make sure he was okay. Her soft side was always dominant and ate away at her. Before she could get a word out, Blossom's fingers ran along her arm, gently pulling her away.
Bubbles sighed, throwing a glance over her shoulder at the lonesome blue boy, but he never looked back.
"Those boys piss me off." Buttercup spat as the girls made their way down the dingy corridor. They managed to stroll by the blood-splattered wall and down an entire hallway with ease. Contrary to their previous belief, nothing seemed to be waiting on the other side of the hall. It was relieving but unnerving to continue being met with silence.
Blossom turned to the black and green-clad girl, taking in what she'd said. It wasn't as if Blossom could disagree; the boys were, for lack of a better word, a nuisance. Yet she couldn't quite shake a feeling about them, most notably her crimson counterpart. She couldn't help but notice, he seemed… different. Almost crueler than what she could remember. The way he mindlessly sauntered away from the group, barked orders, sent nasty glares, and didn't hesitate to cast the others aside as soon as danger was sensed. Naturally, it was to be expected from a RowdyRuff Boy, but she felt a way she couldn't really explain. His sudden mood swing most likely clouded his decidecision-makinglities, as she feared splitting up was the biggest mistake.
Of course, she didn't much care to roam around parts unknown with her sworn enemies in tow, yet somehow she felt responsible, and somehow, disappointed.
"Those boys piss everyone off. What's important is we stick together and find out where exactly we are." The pink-clad leader replied before her steps slowed. Her sisters took note of the sudden change, stopping in their tracks as well.
"Did you guys notice anything different about the boys, by any chance?" She finally questioned.
The other two siblings exchanged glances before coming to conclusions of their own.
"Other than Brick being salty about not having his stupid hat, Butch still acting like a 13-year-old brat, and Boomer being as stupid as ever, I'd say nothing really changed?" Buttercup huffed, crossing her arms across her chest.
Only then did Blossom notice the absence of his signature cap. It was true that there was something different, but she was sure not having a baseball cap to adorn his long red hair wasn't the only thing that had changed.
"Didn't they seem… older, to you?" Bubbles chimed in. That was also true, Blossom noted. While she was busy attempting to explore the area, she hadn't paid much attention to anything but the building itself. Now that she thought of it, Brick seemed to tower over her. His gaze seemed to be dark with traces of eye bags forming just above his structured cheekbones. She remembered his voice; scratchy and soft, yet demanding and low. He looked more tired than old as if he'd underslept or even slept too much.
"You're right, they did seem like they were. I don't recall Brick being that much taller than me, now that I think about it…" The leader concluded.
Blossom turned to her youngest sibling with the sudden realization, analyzing Bubbles' features, then Buttercup's. Both seemed different, subtly so. So subtly that she couldn't quite place a finger on what had changed. Bubbles' soft features were still the same, only they seemed more focused and pronounced. Even her voice seemed slightly lower at times, clicking in and out like a pleasant hum every now and then. Buttercup was no different, her voice sometimes resembling smooth honey.
Blossom noticed changes in herself and the boys, but initially blamed them on the lack of hydration, dim lighting, and dusty atmosphere. Suddenly she felt herself longing for a mirror. It was a new mystery for her, only bringing forth more confusion. Blossom shook off the thoughts and urged her mind to focus on the more important task at hand; figuring out where they were and how they got there.
"We all sound different, too." Bubbles echoed Blossom's thoughts. "My throat hurts, yelling at that pig didn't necessarily help." Buttercup added, earning nods of agreement from her family.
Blossom positioned herself to take another step forward, ready to resume their briefly halted journey down yet another old winding passageway.
"Hopefully on our way out we can find some water to drink before we-" Blossom was unable to finish her sentence as she took a step forward. She let out a yelp of surprise before she felt her cheek collide with the hard floor, and just as suddenly she felt a jolt of pain tear along her leg. Buttercup and Bubbles let out gasps, crying out for their elder as the panic set in.
Through the dizzying motion and the tears that stung the corners of her eyes, it didn't take Blossom long to realize what had happened as she planted her palms firmly to the floor, struggling to keep her grip on virtually nothing.
She had fallen through the brittle floor, held up by nothing but rusted support beams and the weight of her upper body to keep her from falling.
And she had no way of knowing how far the drop would be if she let go of the grip she barely had.
Finally, I can now get in the swing of things! New chapters coming soon! Thank you for reading, despite my unreasonably long hiatus. Hopefully, I can set up a schedule soon, but I can't promise that yet. It might take a bit before I can get a definite pattern. I will start up reviewer recognition soon enough.
Thank you, again! Reviews and critiques are appreciated.
.Broken Emotion