Boomer whimpered, shifting to kneel slightly behind Butch. Brick was still furious, breaking any piece of furniture he could find. The living room was in shambles. Upturned and torn apart furniture littered the floor. Feathers from pillows fluttered in the wake of the redhead's anger. The carpet, ripped in a majority of places, revealed charred hardwood flooring underneath. They all knew what it meant when Boomer revealed what happened on his date. Butch had jokingly slapped him on the back, telling him he'd finally grown up. Brick had launched into a tirade, berating him for being so careless. If he'd been this far along, he should have told them instead of thinking he'd be fine.
When there was nothing but the kitchen left in tact, Brick turned toward his brothers, eyes spitting fire. Boomer cowered even further behind Butch, uncaring of how he'd be teased for it later. Surprisingly, Butch stepped between them, placing his hands on his brother's shoulders.
"There's no point in doing any more than this. So? What're we gonna do now?" Brick sighed, shaking off Butch's hands and spinning his hat on his finger.
"We're in the clear because Boom actually used his brain for once, but it's only a matter of time before she remembers. We don't have time to wait for them to warm up to us."
"So Plan B? Are you sure? Even I think it's a bit hasty..."
"We have no choice now-"
"Now now, boys. Let's consider all the possibilities hmm?" The boys coughed as sickening red smoke invaded their lungs and clouded their vision. When it receded, Him stood in the center of the wreckage, looking much to smug and at home. Brick stepped forward, baring his fangs.
"We have the situation under control. We don't need your interference. He was suddenly seized by a sharp red claw, digging into his neck. Butch and Boomer immediately straightened, baring their fangs as they moved toward Brick. Him tsk'd releasing the eldest as his brothers moved beside him.
"At least you're still close. Mojo would be happy to see that-"
"Don't talk about him!" Boomer growled, his navy blue eyes flashing gold in warning. Him held up his claws in surrender, choosing to get back to the task at hand.
"I didn't bring you fools back from the brink of death to lose you to the curse. I waited, but it seems you boys can't handle anything yourselves. But I also know you can't force the girls to be with you. So if that's the only problem..." He clicked his claws, his eyes flashing pitch black before returning to normal. "I just solved it." The boys paled, Butch moving to the forefront.
"What did you do?! Haven't you done enough?! Stop meddling in our affairs!" Him floated over to him, snapping his arm with an expert twist. Butch screamed, dropping to one knee at the angle he was being held. Brick and Boomer pounced. Brick tackled Him, shooting laser beams from his eyes. Boomer pulled Butch out of the way, standing in front of him. Him only laughed, dissolving into smoke and reappearing in the air.
"Don't waste the opportunity I've given you." He vanished as dramatically as he entered. Boomer looked to Brick, his expression more serious than he'd ever seen it.
"What're we going to do now? There's no telling what he's done." Brick was beyond frustrated. The 'opportunity' presented to them would definitely come with some kind of a catch. They couldn't ignore it either, so the only choice was to play this game, whatever that entailed.
"We'll go to the girls and figure it out from there. We move in the morning, that should be enough time for Butch to heal."
Bubbles groaned awake, blinking bleary baby blue eyes. The over sized bear Boomer had gotten her sat in her arm chair, facing the window. Bubbles stretched, grinning as her back cracked and realigned. Maybe I should do some yoga today? Or join BC on her jog... Bubbles shuddered, immediately trashing that idea. Last time she made the mistake of joining her sister on her run, she'd nearly died. All of the girls were in shape, but Buttercup and Blossom were beasts for sure. To this day, she wasn't sure how Blossom had kept up with the ravennette, especially since Bubbles couldn't recall seeing her exercise. Then again, it's not like we spend every waking moment with each other.
"Bubbles! Breakfast!"
"Coming!" Bubbles stood, humming to herself as she bustled about the room, completing her morning routine. She had just finished washing her face when red and pink smoke began leaking from the bear, spilling over the chair to cover the floor. Bubbles didn't notice, hanging up her face towel and spinning out of the bathroom, giggling to herself. The smoke was undeterred, steadily filling the room and coiling itself around her ankles. Bubbles opened her eyes too late, realizing in horror her body was almost completely consumed. She struggled, or tried to, but it felt like moving through sludge. She opened her mouth to scream, but the smoke rushed in, clogging her throat and filling her lungs. With a gasp, she faded from sight, the smoke closing around the crown of her head as it swallowed her.
"Buttercup! The food's gonna get cold!" Blossom huffed, beginning to fix her own plate after making sure everything was turned off. She settled into one of the bar stools, scooping eggs and grits into her mouth. Buttercup I can understand, but Bubbles isn't usually so slow. I can't even hear her moving around anymore. Blossom stood, placing her plate in the sink. Buttercup had started moving around, her footsteps echoing through the ceiling. But the space below Bubbles's room was devoid of sound, making Blossom grow increasingly suspicious. Her foot had just touched the first step when she heard the tell tale ticking of an eye turning on. Blossom turned back to the kitchen, turning the eye back off. That was weird... She turned back around, only to notice red and pink smoke pulsing around her. "What the...?" She tried to get to the doorway, but her movements were slow and heavy, as if she moved through quicksand. She couldn't even fly, trying to lift her legs in vain. She was so absorbed in trying to break free she didn't notice Buttercup enter the scene until she grabbed her hand.
"Blossom! What is this?" Blossom snapped her head up, sighing in relief.
"Buttercup! Pull me up!" Buttercup tightened her hold, flying backwards but jerking to a stop when Blossom didn't follow. She again tried to move further back, growing more frustrated at each failed attempt. Blossom began to sink, pulling on Buttercup's hands in increasing desperation. Buttercup continued her attempts to free her sister, instead getting dragged with her. Blossom, accepting the futility of the rescue, slackened her grip on Buttercup's hands. Buttercup, realizing what she was trying to do, gripped her in an iron hold, refusing to let go. "Buttercup, let go!"
"I won't!"
"Buttercup!"
"No!"
"That's an order!"
"I don't care! I'll pull you up!" Buttercup struggled harder, even as the smoke continued to rise, now at Blossom's chest.
"Buttercup, it's alright. The same thing might happen to Bubbles. Let go." The conflict was clear on her face, biting her lip as she looked between Blossom and the door. Blossom, now only visible from her shoulders and up, moved her arms back and forward, launching her sister to the door. Buttercup grunted as she landed on the stairs , scrambling back on her feet as Blossom slipped under the smoke.
"BLOSSOM!" Buttercup turned, flying up the stairs and bursting through Bubbles's door, praying she was in time.
"Bubbles!" Nothing but smoke greeted her, hastily wrapping around her form and halting her escape. Buttercup struggled, managing to raise her hand in an attempt to reach the doorway. The smoke was having none of that, continuing to engulf her being. Buttercup choked as the smoke flooded her nose, a whimper escaping her as her vision faded.