He cared too much.
He knew he did the moment he didn't attack. Instead he wanted to help the other; bring him back and tell him it would be alright. He felt sick with himself the moment that thought crossed his mind.
But in the end, he thought it and he couldn't go back.
Things were hazy when it happened. Everything moved too quickly for him to keep his eyes on anyone. He saw Boomer move and throw a punch at Blossom and she was sent into the wall.
They all gasped in shock but Butch and Buttercup were too eager to commence the battle.
His vision blacked out for a moment as he stumbled backwards and onto his knees. He tried to move but his mind kept flashing in and out to the dream.
Boomer kicked Butch in the stomach and ducked under Buttercups fist before he sent an uppercut to her chin.
Bubbles was crying as she tried to get him to stop, but ended up just getting in the way as the three teens tried to fight Boomer. He skillfully avoided each and every blow and hit sent at him and deflected most of not all the punches.
The professor saw him and ran over. He tried to help the redhead up, but he wouldn't move.
Then he saw it again.
A cold and dark room that smelled of blood and chemicals. He knew this place, somehow. He felt his stomach lurch when he saw a medical bed in the middle of the near empty room. Just the 'bed' and a metal table next to it with weapons and needles of sorts. Then he saw the same chains on the walls.
He heard a door creak and he turned around-
Boomer got sucker punched in the face by Buttercup and twisted his body around the fists being thrown by Blossom who was behind him.
The professor was shaking him and he blinked.
"W-what-"
"Brick, something is wrong, we have to get out of here!"
His head nodded but then stopped halfway the moment he heard it again.
Oh, well isn't this fun~?
Do you like him?
He clutched his head when the migraine burned itself into him and groaned. Who was that voice?
You don't need to know that now. However, I am interested in what would happen if I found you too. You'll just have to ask about me of course!
He forced himself up and pushed past the professor in favor of going towards the fight.
Blossom saw the increasingly destroyed house and flew outside, Boomer and the others following.
Brick sighed in frustration and ignored Bubbles who was still in the room and went towards his fighting friends.
But then his mind flashed again and he stumbled.
He was in a dark, narrow hallway. It was all made of both stone and metal and his feet clanked loudly against the ground. He felt himself shiver, it was so cold…
He heard laughing and looked next to him. A door was suddenly there, closed and sealed. He hesitated before he reached out to pull the handle.
He smelled smoke and booze and the room was dimly lit. There were several darkened silhouettes sitting at a table with cards. He wanted to go in and ask where he was, but something against his foot stopped him.
He looked down and saw a ball-
He saw white. He looked up right as Buttercup was thrown back against the lawn and into the snow. He felt cold again but forced himself to try and float.
Whatever the visions suddenly were weren't going to stop him.
He saw as the necklace on Boomer's neck pulsed lightly and his gaze became more empty as he dodged a swing from Blossom and easily kicked her in the ribs, sending her back.
Butch scowled and threw punch after punch left and right, but the blonde dodged every single hit.
"What the hell Boomer?! Why are you attacking us?!" He shouted at his opponent but received no answer.
Butch screamed in anger as he charged up a green blast of energy and shot it directly at the blonde, but it barely fazed him as he held up his hands and created a quick protection field and deflected it.
Brick flew up at them and barred his teeth. "Boomer!" He shouted. "Stop! Just pay attention and quit all this!"
A bolt of lightning was sent to him and he barely dodged as it grazed his knees. He shouted in pain and gripped them, but refused to go down.
He saw the golden chain glint in the morning light and knew what to do. He glared at Butch, "Butch! Get the others out of the fight!" Just as he said that, Blossom and Buttercup were back and already charging Boomer.
Butch looked at him as if he were crazy but the stern look and "hurry!" made him move.
"Hey guys, Brick wants this fight, let him do it!" He shouted at the girls. They sent Butch the same expression as he waved them off. They twirled and avoided any attacks from Boomer and Butch nodded to Brick as they landed on the ground.
He was about to go after them, but Brick flashed in front of him, smirk on his face. He charged up his energy and hardened his muscles before he shot off at his rival, eyes dead on the locket.
Then his mind went blank again.
He was back in the cold room from before, with the chains. But this time he saw someone connected to the chains.
It was a small boy, about the age of twelve, with his wrists above his head and face down. He appeared to be unconscious. His breathing was shallow and his dirty golden hair fell into his face. Scratches and scars littered his body and fresh blood leaked from his head.
He walked over to the boy and called out to him, but got no response.
Then he heard it again.
What are you doing here? It was the voice this time, loud and clear. It was so familiar but so distant he couldn't place a face with it.
"Who are you?" He asked.
That doesn't matter. The question is what are you doing in this world?
No one but him can enter.
He suddenly felt searing pain in his cheek and then in his stomach but choked down his cry of pain as he looked around the room, searching for the strange voice.
No one but who?
The one who lives here of course. Then again, you are the one this was meant for. Maybe it's possible you're connected…?
Brick straightened up and felt a slice of discomfort in his shoulder.
"Connected? Meant for? What the hell is this?" He growled lowly but the voice only chuckled.
Hm. Maybe you'll make things more fun. You're lucky this time, but I'll come back and bring this world back to you~
He opened his eyes and saw the plain white ceiling of their house. He groaned in pain as his back felt ached more than ever, like something just spent their time stomping and jumping all over it for an hour.
His eyes burned at he still felt like he could smell the faint traces of the blood. What had happened…?
Then he saw Bubbles. And Blossom. Then Buttercup.
They all looked equally worried as they looked him over. He couldn't focus on what they were saying because all of it was just so familiar.
The bed, the flower in the vase by the window, the sunlight streaming through as he could barely keep his eyes open…
But then he remembered what he was doing. He… was trying to get the necklace. His eyes widened as it all came rushing back and sat up quickly.
He looked around the living room and laying against Butch with a blanket over his shoulders was Boomer.
He would have been angry. Should have been angry. But all he felt at that moment was overwhelming relief when he saw the locket in Blossom's hand.
He found his voice, "Boomer." He got up and walked to his brothers side before kneeling down. He looked up at Butch who nodded at him, a slight smile that wasn't a smirk for once on his face.
"You… you were right. Somehow, you knew." He said, voice cracking slightly.
Brick frowned at looked at the blonde who was unconscious. His expression was relaxed and he had dirt all over his face.
He thought of what he saw. The blonde boy he saw, chained…
Was it real?
The girls walked over and they decided to set Boomer on the couch. They hoisted the surprisingly light teen up and set him down carefully. He shifted and his expression tensed before his eyes slowly fluttered open.
Dark blue eyes focused on them as a look of confusion graced his dirty face.
"W-what… happened…?" He asked. He tried to sit up, but his trembling arms refused him. Blossom and Bubbles helped him and he held tightly onto the blanket. He saw the locket in Blossom's hand and the exhausted looks of the others. And the slightly marred and unorganized living room.
The professor suddenly appeared with water and he gasped and ran over to them. He gave Boomer the water and looked him in the eyes.
"Do you know at all of what happened?" He asked him seriously and the boy shook his head before drinking the water.
He sighed and scratched his head. "Boomer, something with the locket, it made you… attack everyone." The blonde choked on his water and coughed.
"What?!" His voice trembled with fear and the man nodded.
"Brick seemed to know what to do and got it away from you. We should be grateful. But both of you… you seemed to have a lack of control over your bodies."
Brick shuffled his feet as he stared at the ground the moment the professor turned to him. "Brick." His voice was firm and the redhead knew what he wanted.
Brick groaned slightly. "I, erm… I don't really know what happened. I just- I kept seeing things. And hearing a voice."
Bubbles tilted her head and Blossom asked, "a voice?"
"What did it say?" The professor asked and Brick wanted to just hide in his room
"It was saying all these weird things. Like if I liked how Boomer was acting." He muttered.
"What…" his father paused. "What did you see?"
"I saw all these different things. I saw a this dark room with a medical bed, then all these hallways and a room with these people laughing. And I saw a ball. Then I was back in that room again…" He trailed off, eyes looking at Boomer. His head was down but he could tell he was thinking.
"And…?" The man prompted.
"I saw a boy. He looked kind of like Boomer, but I don't know." He sighed and lifted his cap to run his hand through his hair and put it back on.
Butch looked at Boomer with an oddly calm expression. "Booms…? You know this place?" He asked.
It took a moment and Blossom looked ready to ask again, but then he slowly and barely nodded his head.
Brick's eyes widened. "How…?"
"It's… w-where I l-live…" Boomer mumbled.
"Were you there? In that room?" Brick pressed and the boy grimaced.
"Yes… but it was because I was in t-trouble-!" He quickly said but Brick was having none of it.
"Boomer where is that place?" He asked and stepped forward, which seemed to make the boy sink further into the couch.
Blossom raised her hand as a warning to her counterpart.
"Boomer, please. Where is it? Who did all this to you?" She asked with a relaxed tone.
The boy fidgeted with his jacket. "I, uhm… I n-needed to a-ask about it a-anyways…" He said under his breath.
"That's right!" Bubbles exclaimed. "You wanted to tell us something. What was it?"
"W-well… I'm n-not really here of m-my will…" He said and everyone was focused. "I was sent on a m-mission."
"A mission?" Butch wondered and he nodded.
"Yes. I… I need y-you all to c-come to that place. A r-r-rebellion," he choked on the word, "is about to b-break out. W-we need you h-help…" The conversation was taking an obvious toll on him.
"A rebellion?" Blossom asked.
"Yes. By M-Mojo…" He replied.
The girls gasped.
"Mojo?!" Bubbles gasped.
"Like Mojo Jojo?!" Buttercup asked in disbelief.
"No way! He's still with you?!" Blossom inquired and he nodded.
"He w-want to beat…" He couldn't finish the sentence so Blossom changed tactics. "Boomer, why would you trust Mojo?"
"He- He actually w-wants to help me… Mojo is the one who t-took care of me a-all those years. He taught me t-to bandage myself a-and certain t-tactics. He's the only one who ever p-paid at-t-tention to me." He explained and Brick felt his heart pang a little.
"Boomer, can we decide on something?" She knelt down to look at him better and he nodded.
"Can we just wait a while? We don't trust you to go to Mojo. We need to be patient with this. And our priority is getting you back on the right path, alright?"
He seemed surprised by this decision but still agreed, albeit hesitantly. "A-Alright… If you say so B-Blossom."
She smiled at him. "Good. We just need to stay vigilant for this 'voice' and whoever is doing this to Brick." She turned to look at him and he looked away.
"Now," she stood up. "Why don't we clean up this mess and watch some Christmas movies?" Everyone hastily agreed and got to cleaning, except Brick and Boomer, who were told to sit down and recuperate.
Brick sighed when he looked at Boomer who was staring at the balled up yellow blanket in his hands.
"Boomer, did you ever… hear a voice too?" He asked.
The teen looked at him. "... yes."
His eyes widened. "Really? Who was it?"
The boy paled considerably and trembled where he sat as if he was seeing something he wasn't. "It was- was-" he stuttered the whole word as he thought of the voice. "HIM."
Brick was confused for a moment and was about to ask for an explanation before it dawned on him.
"You mean… that guy who said he was out father because he brought us back to life?" He could barely believe it. Sure, he was strong, but he was creepy as hell. Never would he imagined that the wierdo would have been behind it.
"He i-is out f-father…" The blonde mumbled out.
"Listen," Brick sighed. "No matter what, ever since we stayed with the girls, we were always cared for. No matter what stupid shit we did, the professor never hurt us or tried to kick us out. He insisted on helping us, which was pretty stupid if you ask me." He paused and the other was still listening.
"Either way, the point is that a father isn't supposed to do screwed up stuff to you. He isn't supposed to chain you up, or beat you to a pulp. That was our job," he chuckled.
Boomer's face scrunched up. "So wait… you… w-weren't k-kidnapped?"
Brick raised a brow at the question. "What? Kidnapped? Nah, we decided to live here after you went missing." He twitched nervously. "B-Because we needed help finding you of course! Not because they offered us food or anything, haha…" He laughed awkwardly and the teen just looked confused.
"Erm...A-Alright. I t-trust you, Brick." He smiled innocently at him and Brick felt a stab of pain in his chest again.
At that moment he really thought he deserved to burn in hell.
But, before he could do that, he needed to tell everyone who they had to deal with now.
Maybe this really is all just a hell on Earth.
And it was when he told them.
"What?!" Blossom screeched in a very un womanly manner.
"Brick, are you sure?" Bubbles asked him later that night and he nodded. Now that Boomer had gone to bed, they could talk.
"Alright, so our kind of sort of father is the one who's all behind this?" Butch asked and Brick flinched.
"Y-yeah, kind of. But we don't know what he's been planning this time. Him and Mojo are in his life still, so it would be safe to assume so are the other villains." He explained and Blossom nodded.
"That's right. So they have to have a plan, it would just be too weird! Plus they still sent Boomer to attack/kidnap you so something is definitely up!"
The professor sat down at the dining table they were at with a grimace.
"So we're dealing with HIM, huh? This is going to be tricky."
Buttercup leaned back in her chair. "The guy was a creep, but this takes it to a whole new level." She whistled.
Blossom crossed her arms and thought.
"Well, I wouldn't want to go after him now. Later, but... we're not ready. Not against them all at once." She conceded and they all frowned. "HIM gave us enough trouble, so we need to be ready for when he see him next."
Brick sighed. "I just want to know why the heck I'm part of all this. Or how, really."
Blossom sighed. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it again with a defeated expression.
Then Buttercup cut in, "hey, uh, shouldn't we tell the mayor or something about all this?" They all seemed to think about that and the professor shook his head.
"Usually, we would. But right now Boomer can't handle that publicity. We made a huge fuss over him disappearing, it stretched on for six months before it finally started to die down a little. Telling everyone now would be reckless, and you know the mayor wouldn't keep this secret. We'll tell him when we're ready."
"And ready meaning when school starts again, right?" The tough girl asked and he paused. Bubbles looked at her and she elaborated. "Boomer probably needs to actually get back into society, and that includes school no matter how much we hate it. We need to start getting him used to people again before it's too late. All that time doing who knows what can't be good for the mind and he probably has a lot of backwards ideas- if sitting doggy-style for dinner on the floor was any indication."
They looked at her in shock, mostly Blossom. "Buttercup, you really thought of all that?"
She scowled, "hey! Just because I like whooping bad guy butt and food doesn't mean I don't think!" She banged her fist on the table and the professor held up his hand for quiet and attention.
"It seems we've made a decision, albeit a temporary one. Come on everyone, let's just head to bed. We need to keep our eyes out. For us and for Boomer." He sighed with a troubled face, eyebrows scrunched together and teeth worriedly biting at his lip.
With that they all stood up to get ready for bed but Blossom stopped them. "Oh! One more thing!" They all halted and looked to her.
She smiled at everyone.
"Merry Christmas!"
