Villain: The Epilogue
Chapter 7
The very next day Cat was supposed to assist Jojo in her villain duties for the day. Cat didn't really know what that meant exactly. She felt a little uneasy about the situation, but a part of her was excited. She hadn't been an active hero since she was eleven. And to be totally honest, she really missed the adventure and the action.
When she awoke, it was much later than she had meant to sleep. She wasn't too comfortable with the idea of wandering City Hall on her own, so she decided to return to the bookshelf until someone came to get her out of the room. She pulled out the diary of Mojo Jojo's again. Jojo said that she should read it, and she was curious to get to know the man that Jojo was so heavily influenced by.
She turned to the first page and began to read:
"The Powerpuff Girl, Buttercup, has been in my care for just three days now, and already the road seems clear that this young girl will one day become a great villain. It is very certain that this will happen, and I am very sure of it. I look at this teenager and see it as her fortune-destiny-fate. She possesses every quality, talent, skill, and ability needed to succeed as a villain. Most importantly, she has the desire, want, dream, and craving to be a villain. Yes, it is true that I have agreed to show her the ways of a true mastermind, all-powerful and mighty criminal. Upon adoption, she has also agreed to drop her identity as "Buttercup" and take my name as her own. The name "Buttercup" is no longer hers. Instead, she shall be called "Jojo."
Most importantly, I refuse to have a daughter, and so I shall refer to her as my son from this moment forth. For girls- for obvious reasons- drive me to absolute insanity."
There was a knock on the door, before it slowly creaked open to reveal Jojo. Cat smiled at her and set the book down beside her.
"Hey," Jojo returned a smile, and stepped into the room. "Want some breakfast?"
Cat nodded and hopped off the bed to follow Jojo into the dining room. When they entered, Cat noticed Princess already sitting at the dining table, eating a small plate of poached eggs and strawberries. She seemed to refuse to look at Cat, even though the young girl took the chair opposite to her. Jojo took a seat at the head of the table.
Cat couldn't help but think it sort of funny that the three of them sat at such a grand and large table, that was obviously designed to seat thirty or more people. A chef immediately rushed over to the table and held up a small menu to Cat's face. Cat pointed to the French toast and the chef nervously hurried away.
"So, Cat, do you wanna hear the plans for the day?" Jojo asked as another server came and poured her glass full of orange juice and then repeated the same for Cat's. Cat felt a little in awe of Jojo's high status.
Cat nodded.
"Alright, well, we just finished the invasion and final take over of one city, so it's time to begin the intrusion of another," Jojo began. She took a sip of her orange juice, and continued: "You see, the United States government has been very active at trying to prevent further city takeovers, which isn't too surprising, of course. But of course, we always win," Jojo grinned. "Whenever we begin our first attacks on a city, we are almost immediately hit by the military. They send thousands of troops, tanks, fighter jets- the whole deal- to try and kill my men." Jojo paused as the chef reappeared with Cat's French toast and the same meal for Jojo.
"Ah, you like French toast, too, huh?" Jojo grinned.
Princess loudly scooted her chair backwards and abruptly stood up from the table. She patted at her lips with her napkin before throwing it back down on the table, and marching off angrily, without any word.
Jojo rolled her eyes slightly at her. "Anyways," she started again, "When I get the call that the military has arrived, that's when I step in, you see? Cons and thieves are only human. That military can take them out no problem even if they're equal in number. I have sacrificed men, believe me, but I don't foolishly do it, when I can easily show up and blast every military bastard out of there in three minutes or less. Once I clear out those troops, that leaves the city open and vulnerable for my men to come back and do what they do best.
"So you're job today, Cat, is to do just that: Clear the path. Don't worry, I'll be there to step in, if you're a little rusty from not seeing no action for a while. All you gotta do is scare them out of there. But, seeing how you just discovered your special power and all, I'm pretty sure that you must be eager to try it out some more, huh?"
Cat smiled weakly back at Jojo. True, she was very proud of herself for having her own power. True, she wanted to try it out again. However, she still felt as if she didn't fully understand it. She didn't even know what to call it, really. When she did it, she didn't even realize that it was happening. What if she could never replicate it? Would Jojo kick her out right then and there?
"Don't worry," Jojo smiled reassuringly, "You'll do just fine. I believe in you, Kiddo."
Blossom, Candy and Cherry spent the night in Blossom's old home, located in Townsville. Blossom felt like she wasn't ready to leave Cat behind. Not without her other daughters understanding how bad the situation was.
Her old home was still in tact, like nothing ever happened. The next day, she woke her children to take them with her to revisit a horrible memory.
Candy and Cherry found themselves in an old, blown up, abandoned building. An entire wall was missing, and there was rubble everywhere. The floor was littered with old candle holders and withered flowers and wreaths, as if a memorial had once existed long ago.
"Where are we?" Candy squeaked quietly, looking up at her mother.
Blossom was quiet, and her face was pale. This place brought back horrible memories that she had refused to relive again in her mind since it happened. "This was my high school before my sister destroyed every friend, teacher and mentor I had along with it."
"Jojo did this?" Cherry asked, looking around at the haunting scene. The building they were in specifically definitely used to be some sort of gymnasium. The basketball hoops no longer hung on the walls, but crashed and mangled on the floor, next to shattered pieces of what used to be a score board. The wall the was missing, was replaced with rubble and debris of old bleachers.
"Yes," Blossom answered. She took a deep breath, and began to retell the story to her daughters:
"Buttercup had only been gone for about a week. We already were aware of her intent to become a villain, and her new relationship with our enemy: Mojo Jojo. However, we were completely unaware of her other new- and apparently very close- relationship with another old enemy of ours.
"The villain was known as Princess. Truthfully, we had not had any conflict with this villain for several years. I thought she had finally grown up and realized the errors of her ways. However, I suppose that rarely happens in the case of Evil.
"We did not know that Buttercup was with her. We only saw Princess at first as she attacked the cafeteria. I should have thought it to be suspicious right then, since it was no where near any meal hour. The cafeteria only had a few school employees hiding in the kitchen at the time.
"The bratty teenager didn't put up much of a fight, but it wasn't long before we heard screaming coming from the gymnasium. You see, in case of a school attack, the evacuation plan was that if the cafeteria on the East side were to ever be attacked, then all students and faculty would be evacuated to the West side of campus… specifically the gym. This gym.
"We busted through the ceiling, landing several feet away from our sister. I held onto Princess by her collar, who fought to be released. 'Let her go!' Buttercup demanded, before I even recognized her. When I saw her, I was in total shock, and that shocked state must have caused my grip to loosen 'cause Princess immediately pulled free and ran over to stand beside Buttercup. 'You okay?' she asked Princess without her nasty glare off Bubbles and I.
'She hit me!' Princess exclaimed, pointing a finger at me. 'She hit me right on the face when I didn't do nothing to her yet!'
"Honestly, I didn't hear anything that was happening. I was focused on my sister's hands. They were engulfed in green fire and electricity. This was her death ray. Her special power she had discovered in her new venture to become a villain. One shot from that deadly ray, and Bubbles and I would be finished. It sucked the life from you, while replenishing her own health. It was truly… evil.
'Blossom,' Bubbles squeaked, 'Her hands….'
'I know,' I whispered back, my eyes still fixed on the growing fire and electricity.
'She swung a cheap shot!' Princess whined again. 'Aren't you going to do anything about it?' I had no idea why that brat was even there, and I didn't really care. Again, I was preoccupied by that green glow growing stronger and stronger.
'Is this true?' Buttercup asked.
"I remember my throat being dry and wondering how I would get out of this. How would I talk my sister out of this? I knew what she was up to. I could see it happening before it even started. 'B-Buttercup…' I began unsurely. 'What are you doing here? A-and what are you doing here with her?'
'Is Mojo Jojo here too?' Bubbles asked, too.
"I remember Buttercup just glaring. She was focused and so full of hate. 'I said,' she began again, 'Did you throw a cheap shot at my girlfriend?'
"To hear my sister call the stubborn brat her girlfriend was a surprise. I had always known my sister to be a lesbian. It was just sort of was an unspoken thing in the family. However, to be adopted by one villain and then dating another in about a week's time… it was absolute madness. I just stared at my sister, trying to desperately plan something-anything- to prevent what was about to happen. My mind raced madly. I could see it happening. I knew what she came for….
'Princess?' Buttercup called.
'Yes?' she answered.
'Stand behind me, Baby.'
"Princess hurried behind my green-eyed sister and she held out both my fists towards the bleachers of students. I blinked at that moment and when I opened my eyes again, my ears were flooded with a thousand screams. Buttercup's hands erupted with their deadly power.
"I began to fly at the crowd of students and teachers, but Bubbles held me back. I screamed as they screamed. I remember my heart shattering the moment I saw all their faces in that sick green glow. I screamed and kicked and fought to get to them, but Bubbles held strong. After all, there was nothing I could do.
"I failed to formulate a plan in time. And now it was too late.
"I remember Buttercup and her new girlfriend laughing maniacally throughout the whole scene. It sent chills down my back, and drove me mad at the same time.
"She stopped the death ray after about five minutes of destruction. When she was done, there wasn't a live person left in the building besides she, Princess, Bubbles and I.
"Buttercup turned and faced us, smiling a proud grin. For once, Bubbles was in so much shock she did not immediately burst into tears. I was also speechless as I stared at a thousand dead bodies- most of them my very dear friends. My body shook and I didn't even realize it at first. I was about to explode. At any moment I would erupt with a combination of fear, shock, and anger. Bubbles finally began to start crying.
'Buttercup…' I just stared at the hundreds of bodies, my eyes glistening with tears. 'How could you…?'
'I take it, you ain't going to fight me today either?' she said crossing her arms. She was referring to a couple days before when she wreaked havoc on the city and demanded a fight with Bubbles and I, but we ran. It was her villainous debut.
'You're gonna have to learn to fight sooner or later, Girls. Get over this whole 'sister' thing. I did,' she said, rolling her eyes. She then took Princess by her hand, and began to walk towards the exit.
"I wanted to say something to stop her. I couldn't just let her walk away from all this, like nothing really happened. But the words… they were gone.
'Buttercup!' Bubbles shouted. She looked at our sister, tears streaming down her face. Her body was shaking. 'You did a bad thing,' she frowned.
"Only Bubbles would phrase the most horrific thing we ever saw so… simply.
'Yeah, I guess I did,' Buttercup said with a shrug.
"Bubbles shook her head. 'But you're not a bad person. I know you're not.' She tried to smile, but just couldn't manage it. 'You can still come home. We'll still take care of you, Buttercup. We'll make sure that-'
'No,' I interrupted. I had to. At that moment, I felt beyond betrayed. We had spent an entire week exhausting ourselves with possibilities of how to rescue Buttercup from Mojo's villainous brainwashing.
"However this… this was not Mojo's doing. A school rampage? This did not sound like the monkey mastermind I knew. He would never plan something so childish and amateur- as tragic and horrible as it was. I knew then, that Buttercup thought of this on her own. This was her. It screamed her.
"It was all her.
"I could not look at Buttercup, but I continued as best as I could: 'Bubbles, she can't come back home. Ever.' I clenched my fists and shook with anger. Finally I brought my eyes to Buttercup. I glared at her meanly… as meanly as I could manage so that she knew that I was serious when I said it: 'You're evil!' I shouted. The tears finally began to escape my eyes. 'You're horrible! Get out of here! JUST GET OUT!'
"She paused for a moment, and I thought for a second: Maybe she realized what she's just done? Maybe she realized how far she's gone?
"But no.
"She just smiled, and said 'OK,' and left. And it was as simple as that…."
Cherry and Candy were silent for several moments after they heard the story. "I'm sorry, Mom," Cherry finally said softly. Candy threw her arms around Blossom in a tight hug and cried quietly.
"This is the Jojo we're dealing with, Girls," Blossom said petting Candy's hair. "This villain believes what she believes and believes her actions to be totally justifiable. She is simply insane. And she will teach these things to your sister, Cat. You heard it for yourself… it's already begun. We have to get her out of there, Girls. We have to prevent this."
"OK, Mom," Candy replied.
"Cherry?" Blossom turned to the redhead.
Cherry simply nodded. She was torn. She believed her mother, but she also felt that her mom failed to recognize Cat for who she was, and instead seemed to automatically file her into the same category as Jojo without any hesitation. To Cherry, Cat was different than Jojo. They just had to be. Why was Blossom so convinced that history was about to repeat itself, but with Cat in Jojo's place? Something was missing, and she could not put her finger on it.
However, she guessed whatever her mother knew was probably more than she and Candy did. Perhaps she knew best. Perhaps, she was right.
"OK, Mom," Cherry finally said. "It's going to be difficult. It's definitely more than a fragile situation. But, we'll get her out of there. Somehow. I promise."
Blossom smiled in relief. "Let's go home, Girls. We need to start planning on what to do."
The two Powerpuffs took their mother by her hand and they began to fly back towards Neighborfield. As they traveled through the air, Cherry caught sight of military tanks in the distance.
"What's that?" Candy asked, seeing them, too.
"It must be a battle," Blossom answered. "Jojo must be beginning a new invasion into a new city, and they're trying to stop her."
"This is ridiculous!" Cherry shouted over the wind. "Will she not stop?"
"No, she won't," Blossom answered. "Not until she's taken over the world or is forced to stop."
"Why haven't you let us stop her, Mom?" Candy asked. "We're the Powerpuff Girls. We are supposed to stop bad guys from doing bad things! And this is definitely bad!"
"She's too powerful for you girls. I planned on telling you about the war in time. I planned on letting you defeat her for good. As you grow, so do your abilities and strength. But, you are still too young, and don't have enough power to defeat her. You'd stand no chance!"
As they flew past the military, they noticed approaching light in the sky. There were two streaks: one green and one yellow. "Cat!" Candy shouted as she saw her sister approaching the army.
Cherry stared at her yellow-eyed sister who flew side by side with the villain. "This has to stop!" She looked down at her mother. "Candy, take Mom home," she said releasing Blossom's hand and shooting off towards the two in the distance.
"Cherry, don't!" Candy shouted after her. She looked down at her mother, "Mom, what do we do?"
Blossom shook her head. "I don't know, Candy…."
"Alright, Kid," Jojo began as they flew towards the battle. "Just focus all that negative energy inside you, and unleash that sound blast of yours. It should take care of our friends here no problem."
Cat nodded. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She felt… excited.
Just as they neared the large armored tanks and troops, there was a flash of red light in front of them, and Cherry stood there in the air with her hands firmly on her hips.
Cat immediately stopped in her tracks, just inches from her sister. Jojo stopped behind her.
"What are you doing here?" Cat signed with a shocked look on her face.
"I'm here to stop her," Cherry said bravely, nodding her head in the direction of Jojo.
Jojo laughed a little. "Me?"
"Yes. You," Cherry replied. Cherry began to fly up to Jojo, but Cat grabbed her hand so that the attention was on her again.
"What?" Cherry asked. "Cat, she is a villain, and I am a hero. Heroes stop villains." She returned her attention to Jojo, and began to stand as if readying herself for battle.
Cat blinked back at her, unsure of what to do or say.
Jojo laughed again. "Well, Kid, I'm just hear to see things along. This ain't my mission," she grinned. "It's Cat's."
Cherry's eyes widened and she turned around to look at Cat, who stood there nervously.
"So if you want to pick a fight with anyone, it would be her," Jojo said with a sly smirk. "Go on, Kiddo," she said to Cat, "Show her what you got!"
The two siblings stood there in the air, staring at each other for some time. They each did not know what to do. Neither of them wanted to fight each other. Sure, Cat was OK with the idea of blowing some tanks up. It sounded like it could be fun. But fighting Cherry? She wasn't ready for this… not the least bit ready.
But if she didn't fight Cherry… what would Jojo think? The villain would be so disappointed in her. She would probably not believe in her anymore or her ability to be anything.
She'd be that weak, helpless mute girl again.
Cat prepared herself. Her body stiffened as she clenched her fists tightly and wore a serious expression.
Cherry was surprised by the challenge. She hesitantly prepared herself as well.
Cat's eyes softened. She couldn't do it. She bit her lip nervously and thought for a moment. "…Let's fake it," she signed to Cherry.
Cherry smiled a little, but quickly shook it off before Jojo could see it. She simply nodded.
The two siblings wore serious looks again. Those looks were only an act, but Jojo believed them. Cherry darted off into the distance in a quick flash of red light. Cat followed after her, and so their staged battle began.
Cat caught up to Cherry in flight, and purposely shot her laser beams two inches too low, so that Cherry could dodge them.
Cherry dodged the fake attack easily. She charged at Cat and appeared to serve a swift punch to her sibling's face. However the force was hardly powerful, though Cat did a very convincing job at pretending that it was enough to send her flying backwards through the air.
The two continued on like that for several minutes. It was a good thing that they had flown so far away from Jojo's sight. The villain could still see them in the distance, but was not close enough to notice the obviously weakened attacks.
Cherry used her special power- her wind blasts- to create a small tornado to carry Cat backwards by several yards.
As Cat flew backwards, she heard shouting from below. She quickly stopped herself and turned around. The two girls had managed to gradually move their battle closer and closer to the military below.
"Ready…. Fire!" shouted the general from below.
Cat's eyes widened as a thousand missiles flew directly at her. She only had time to throw up her hands as a shield, as the powerful blasts sent her flying backwards, engulfed in flame.
Cherry screamed after her sister, "Cat!" She did not mean to do this at all. She wasn't paying enough attention.
As Cat shot backwards, her skin burned underneath the intense heat of the explosion. She silently screamed in pain. Finally, she was able to stop herself, and the heat began to cool. It was like an instinct to her. Without thinking, she charged back at the army.
The tanks fired again. This time, Cat stopped her charge, and stood firmly in the air, watching the missiles come straight at her.
She clenched her fists tightly, and felt them heat up with their yellow glow. She crossed her arms into an "X" in front of her, and closed her eyes. She focused all her negative energy, just as Jojo had advised her to do. She focused hard. It hurt her head, she focused so hard. Her mind throbbed underneath the pressure of the growing loudness inside her head.
When she opened her eyes, the missiles were six feet from her face. Her mind screamed at her then… ready to explode. She could see a bright yellow ball of energy concentrated in the middle of her crossed arms. It hovered dead center in the middle of her "X" and as it hovered, it radiated low, deep, bass-like booms.
Cat gritted her teeth, and shouted in her mind: "TAKE THAT!"
She uncrossed her arms, throwing them down hard to her sides, and the ball of yellow energy exploded into a loud sound wave that swept forward.
As the sound waves traveled, they hit the missiles first and they exploded upon impact of the invisible yellow wall. The sound wave continued, and hit another line of missiles and they, too, exploded before the wave continued farther. The wave reached the army, just as the tanks began to shoot off another round of bombs.
As the invisible wave hit those missiles just escaping the tanks, they caused a chain reaction of explosions. Row by row, each tank detonated into huge fiery explosions.
The amount of blasts, made the sky turn red with fire.
To everyone who stood in the path of the sound blast, they could hear Cat's deafening cry, backed by a throbbing booming bass. But to Cherry, who stood to the side, watching the demolition helplessly, she heard nothing. She only saw destruction and death.
As Cat watched everything burn, she could not help but smile at the sight. All that from her?- She never experienced so much power. She was proud of herself. She grinned big, and could not help it.
"Cat!" Cherry screamed at her.
Cat's smiled immediately left her face.
Cherry's eyes began to fill with tears, as she stared at her sister whose body was just a shadow against the bright, red and blazing background. "What have you done?" she screamed at the shadow. "Cat, what did you do?"
Cat stared back at her sister, shocked by her reaction.
"They're dead!" Cherry screamed.
"Oh…" Cat thought to herself. She looked down at the fire, and saw the destruction for the first time. She didn't see it as that at first… she saw it as her very own new special power that she loved. But now that she took a second look, she could see the people burning. She could hear them screaming in agony as they all perished. She could see them dying.
And to be honest… she didn't know what to think about all that.
Cat began to approach her sister, feeling sympathetic towards her screaming. It hurt her to hear it. "Cherry-" she began to sign.
"No!" Cherry screamed back, interrupting her. "What happened to it being fake, huh? This isn't fake, Cat! This is real! This is bad!" She stopped, taking a moment to finally breathe. She inhaled the thick black smoke that now began to fill the air. She could smell burning flesh, and it sickened her.
The Cat she knew would never do this. What just happened? How could this ever happen?
"No, Cat," Cherry said again, "I guess I really don't know who you are, do I?" Cherry could feel herself about to explode into tears and distress. She was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Before she could erupt, she tore herself away from the horrific scene and flew fast away from Cat.
Cat watched her sister fly away fast, disappearing within a few seconds from her sight. As she watched her sister vanish, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at Jojo, who smiled: "Good job, Kiddo."
Princess sat at her vanity mirror, brushing her hair when she finally heard Jojo enter the bedroom. It was late. Too late. Princess set her brush down, and looked at Jojo through the mirror, who just smiled back at her. "Where have you been?" Princess asked, with an annoyed tone of voice.
"You know where," Jojo laughed a little.
Princess crossed her arms and pursed her lips into a pout.
"Oh, you're going to make me say it, huh?" Jojo smirked. She walked over to Princess and held out her hand. Princess stared at the hand, not wanting to take it. She was trying to prove a point, after all.
"Oh, come on," Jojo persuaded, keeping her hand extended in her direction. Princess reluctantly took her hand and Jojo helped her onto her feet. She pulled Princess close and held her in a Waltz-like stance. "I was out, on our mission, of course," she finally answered.
"With who?"
"You know who."
Princess pouted again.
Jojo smiled, "You don't want to hear her name so why make me say it out loud? It only makes you angry, right?"
Princess said nothing. She just continued to pout, as she danced stubbornly with Jojo.
Jojo sighed. "Alright," she said, "With Cat. Happy?"
"No," Princess said with her nose upturned.
"Why do you have to be so jealous, Princess?" she twirled the short girl in her arms and brought her closer. "She's just a kid," Jojo smiled. She looked Princess in the eyes. "No one will ever replace you, Sweetie. No one."
Princess pulled away a little, and stopped dancing. She looked Jojo in the eyes. "You promise?"
"Replace someone as pretty and deadly as you?" Jojo grinned, and Princess could not help but smile. "Never," Jojo said with a loving smile. "And yes, I promise."
Cat could not fall asleep that night. She had the sight of her sister's horrified gaze stuck in her head. The look made her feel sick. Cherry looked at her as if she was a monster. She wasn't a monster. …Was she?
Cat could hear Jojo laughing and talking with Princess across the hall in their room. She figured this would be a good time to leave. She had to see Cherry. She had to try to explain herself.
She had to prove to her sister that she was still the same Cat she knew.
Cat crept out through her bedroom window and began to make her way quickly to Neighborfield.
When she arrived at her old home, she flew straight into Cherry's room. The red Puff was already in bed with the lights shut off. Cat slowly approached her bed. She gently placed her hand on Cherry's shoulder.
At the slight touch, Cherry awoke immediately. "Cat?" she sat up.
Cat brought her finger to her lips, signaling for Cherry to remain quiet. "I'm sorry," she signed to her sister. "I'm sorry I made you angry."
Cherry frowned. "I'm not angry, Cat," Cherry signed in return, "I'm… disappointed."
"I didn't mean it," Cat said. It was half-truth. "It just… happened."
Cherry frowned again. "I know you didn't, Cat," she signed. "I know." She stared at her yellow-eyed sister, who sat beside her on her bed with a sad expression. Cherry threw her arms around her and hugged her tightly. She couldn't help it. "What are we going to do, Cat?" she whispered softly.
Cat slowly pulled away from Cherry's grasp. She tried to smile, but could barely manage. "I think I have an idea," Cat signed.
"Really? What is it?"
"Well," Cat began, "Jojo really likes me. I know she will protect me from all those cops that are after me... and the towns' people, too. And I know she will let me stay with her, just so long as I continue to try to become a villain like her." She paused, seeing Cherry's expression grow concerned. She held out her hands: "Now, wait! I won't be one! OK? I understand… we can't be sisters anymore if I choose that. And I don't want that, OK? I don't want to lose you."
"Really?"
"Yes," Cat smiled a little. Cherry threw her arms around her again in another tight hug. Cat pulled away again, and again pressed her finger to her lips. "I'll only pretend to want to be a villain, so that I can still live with Jojo. And when we all get older, and become much stronger… I'll leave. You can defeat Jojo then. Then we'll all be sisters again. We won't have to fight… not even crime. Because it will all be over when she's gone." Cat's smile disappeared. She felt guilty about using the villain like that. She really liked Jojo. But… she also loved her sisters. This was the only solution she could see at this moment.
"Cat," Cherry signed with a big grin, "That is genius!"
Cat smiled again.
"So," Cherry began, "Every fight we fight from now on, will be fake?"
"Yes," Cat nodded. "But… I have to win, OK?"
"Why?"
"Because, I don't want Jojo to think I'm bad at being a villain. If she kicks me out… our plan is over." Cat paused… "I'm sorry, but… that means any military guys need to go…."
Cherry frowned. That was killing. And she could never condone killing. She thought for a moment, "No…"
"I have no choice, Cherry."
"Maybe… I can tell the militaries to not send people somehow… I'm sure there's got to be a way to electronically program tanks to attack on their own without actual people inside. And if not, I'm sure Mom would be glad to help engineer something like that!"
Cat smiled: "Good idea."
Cherry smiled. "Then it's decided!" she signed. She held out her pinky and Cat smiled and took it in hers. "Catherine Utonium?"
Cat laughed silently and then nodded.
"Do you pinky swear to keep your promise to only pretend to be a villain until we are old enough to carry out our plan to defeat the evil Jojo of Townsville?"
Cat nodded.
"Good!" Cherry smiled, as their pinkies shook.
The two girls embraced each other in one final hug, before it was time for Cat to leave.
"Tell Candy I said not to cry."
Cherry laughed a little. "OK."
Cat paused as she stood at her sister's window. She looked back at Cherry and smiled weakly. She gave a thumbs up, and Cherry smiled back at her.
That would be the last time the girls saw each other outside of battle for nearly three more years.