CHAPTER X: TEARS OF LIFE
A glowing green hemisphere of cackling energy completely engulfed Blossom the instant the ray hit her, totally blocking her from view.
'Blossom!' cried out Bubbles from where she and Buttercup had landed. Before they could jump forward to do anything, smoke from the explosion swirled all around them, blocking out everything from view, even Mojo.
As soon as the smoke had appeared, it drifted away into nothing. Blossom's body remained exactly where it had been when the ray hit her, frozen about two feet in the air, glowing a luminous green. Very gradually, it floated lower down until it lay on the ground, her palms resting on the charred grass and her head turned sideways, still humming with energy.
'Yeah!' yelled Mojo in victory, leaping up and down whilst jumping around on the same spot. He was so giddy he didn't even take in what was going on down on the ground. Even though the spaceship was resting on the ground, the cockpit was still rather high. 'Woo! All right! I rock! I–' He stopped his celebrations once he saw what was happening, though. He titled his head, unable to see anything other than Blossom's glowing body.
Panting from the effects the battle had had on them, Bubbles and Buttercup zoomed their way over to Blossom's body, stopping right in front of her titled head. As they did so, many of the wounded villains started to stir.
'Blossom?' asked Bubbles, peering closer to what was her sister. As though her words were a trigger, the humming died away as the energy coating surrounding the body dissolved into nothing, leaving all of her skin, clothes and accessories a lifeless gray. Bubbles placed her hands on Blossom's head, shaking it for any signs of movement. Having just watched her sister's actions with a dumbfounded expression, Buttercup then moved to Blossom's side, grabbing her arm and pressing her own hand against it tightly, checking for a pulse.
At this point, the monkeys and villains finally came to. Groaning and moaning, they all stood up, group after group. Fuzzy and Rocko almost jumped when they saw what was going on in the middle. Likewise, Princess and Cha-Ching equally recoiled, the latter dropping his cymbals on the ground in surprise.
Buttercup slowly lifted her arm away from Blossom's, looking as though she couldn't believe it. Beside her, Bubbles stopped shaking Blossom's head, in even greater denial then her olive-haired sister.
'No...' She shot out a pair of laser eyes at Blossom's body. Due to her tiredness, she ended up letting it go mere moments after. It had produced nothing, no mark, not even a dent.
'No!' She tried it again, while Buttercup watched with her mouth hanging open a little. Indeed, all the monkeys and villains around were watching as the red laser vanished from Bubbles' eyes before she fired them up again. Every time, it was held for less, and every time, the hope that Bubbles still held within her eyes grew smaller. Even Hacha and Arturo didn't notice the bananas and tacos beside them, their attention fully held by Blossom.
Bubbles' final laser eyes attempt exhausted her so much that she was forced to stop. Blossom's gray shell was still just as lifeless. Bubbles tried yet again, but the lasers didn't even reach Blossom's body, vanishing from sight. Bags hung from Bubbles eyes as she panted over and over, unaware of her sore bumps, scratches and scars. Buttercup moved a little closer to Bubbles. Seeing no life in Blossom's pupils, Bubbles finally broke down.
'Blossom...' She collapsed onto Buttercup, who held her close as the blond-haired Puff finally cried. Small, shallow tears came out of her eyes, dropping onto the grass. They were absorbed in as more tears trailed down Bubbles' face. Buttercup just held Bubbles closer to her.
Big Billy bawled loudly as he too shed tears, with Rolo Ovo beside him also having water come out of his eyes. Wacko Smacko and Pappy Wappy sniffled, too stunned to even smack each other. Killa Drilla and Slim were also whimpering, the mandrill and skinny amoeba shaking both from the cold of the night and the sheer horror of what was going on.
Hota Wata and Grubber were making indistinguishable noises as they cried. Just as they ceased moving, the tears stopped falling to the ground. Instead, said droplets of water began bobbing through the air towards the center of the field. The white Asian monkey and barefoot teenager blinked upon seeing this, clearly wondering what was happening.
Hacha Chacha and Arturo fingered a hand each together, as the same thing stared happening to their tears, floating away from them. Princess and Cha-Ching, Cha-Ching were totally silent at tears came out of the corners of their eyes, surprised by what was transpiring, yet strangely not reacting to it. Even Rocko Socko and Fuzzy's tears were moving forwards, the pink Lumpkin wailing a bit as he, like all the others, felt sorrow at what they had caused, while the mountain gorilla felt his tough exterior melt faster than a glass of ice in the Sahara Desert. None of them ever wanted this. It was only now that they were realizing the horrors of death. And the knowledge that they were responsible... was an emotional virus to every villain.
All these floating tears made their way in the direction of the Powerpuff Girls. As they approached, Bubbles, who was still crying, looked up. She and Buttercup watched in amazement as the tears moved towards Blossom's face and hands, congregating around them. As soon as each tear touched her skin, it vanished. Bubbles blinked out more tears in surprise, these doing the same actions.
The Go-Go Patrol gibbons were all weeping, their tears doing the same. Ace was in exactly the same boat among them. Snake titled his head in confusion as his tears left his eyes.
The various Doot Da Doot Da Doo Doos and Bossman, being small and emotionally breakable, were sobbing large tears. Blah-Blah Blah-Blah, the black chimpanzee, and Junior, the amoeba sporting a black cap, were hunched over in despair, their tears doing the same actions as all the others'. Bonzo Bango, the head-ramming gorilla, let out a howl of sorrow, his tears drifting forwards too.
At that point, Professor came into the clearing, panting heavily. Behind him was Mayor, with Ms. Bellum bringing up the rear. They all jump started when they saw what was happening in the park clearing, however.
Mojo Jojo came out of the spaceship's ramp, walking around to the front. He glanced around, watching with realization as many tears moved past and around him towards the Powerpuff Girls. He had made a mistake. He never should have fired that ray. He never should have tried to destroy the Powerpuff Girls... and these events finally made him realize that.
From above, one could see all the tears floating towards the center of the area in shining parallel lines. In the darkness of the night, they meant many things for everyone present. Hope. Courage. But most importantly... love.
Bubbles and Buttercup glanced left and right as the last of the tears reached Blossom, absorbing into her gray shell. But as soon as they were all in, it suddenly glowed blue. Not the same shade as Bubbles' or Boomer's blue, this was brighter, illuminating the whole area.
Mojo blinked once again, making a small confused grunt, wondering what would happen next. Blossom's body continued to glow blue, but it didn't move. As Buttercup held Bubbles close to her, she, for the second time in their biggest journey yet, shed a few tears of her own. They hung from her eyes as her eyes wobbled with emotion.
'Blossom... I love you,' Buttercup mumbled. As though this was a trigger for her eye glands, her tears left her eyes. They floated down to Blossom's face, until they finally settled into the formally pink-eyed puff's eyes. They leaked their way into the gap through her skin and vanished from Buttercup's sight.
All of a sudden, dawn broke over Townsville, the sun moving into sight from behind the buildings and hills on the horizon. The area, lit mere moments before by just Blossom, now shined a bright blue, like something in one of Bubbles' drawings.
Down at ground level, the monkeys and former bad guys watched as the light illuminated the whole area. Somehow, the light around the Powerpuff Girls felt much brighter, almost as though there was a column of light extending upon them from the heavens. Just as this was happening, the villains saw something startling happening, so huge they could only watch.
In front of Bubbles and Buttercup, the latter still holding the former against her, color started returning to Blossom's body. Her dress and eyes turned pink again. Her bow and hair returned to their shades of red, and her skin became that creamy mixture of pink and white that Caucasian people are.
Then she stirred, straining upon the ground. Bubbles and Buttercup were startled by this. They gasped in delight as Blossom pushed herself up from the ground, her scars and bruises strangely not bothering her.
Blossom's face came level with theirs. Her eyes totally glimmered with life as she looked at her two sisters.
'Bubbles?' Bubbles just stared at Blossom, her mouth hanging open with a delighted smile. Buttercup's lip was trembling, her mouth and eyes looking like she was about to burst from happiness. 'Buttercup?'
'Blossom!' they cried out simultaneously, leaping upon her. All three girls giggled happily from it, rolling around and around on the ground over each other, truly reflecting yet again the innocence of them. They were no creations. They were as human and as real as anyone.
The Professor smiled happily, very overjoyed else. He walked forwards in the direction of the girls, knowing that all had been fixed. The Mayor was crying too. Ms. Bellum handed him a handkerchief, which he dried up the tears with before he followed the Professor forwards.
Grubber and Hota Wata looked at each other, smiling in unspeakable delight from what they and everyone else had just learned. Arturo and Hacha Chacha cheered happily in their simian and Mexican accents, both punching the air with a fist. Princess and Cha-Ching, Cha-Ching mumbled cheerfully, all anger gone from their faces now. They then looked at each other, smiling in a solid truce.
All the Doot Da Doot Da Doo Doos were hooting happily, hugging and shaking hands with each other. Bossman tossed his fedora into the air in delight, Indiana-Jones style. The Go-Go Patrol gibbons chuckled in delight, linking arms with Ace and Snake again, the latter green-skinned teenager hissing his signature hiss, yet with an innocent smile accompanying it this time. Sedusa massaged Cruncha Muncha gently with one of her hair wisps, making him curl up as he enjoyed it greatly. Fuzzy Lumpkins and Rocko Socko cheered happily for the girls, slapping hands and clapping each other on the back.
As all the apes and ex-villains watched the girls rolling on the ground, laughing in delight, they knew what they had been missing. And now they had found it. A strange power radiated around... and they felt complete.
The girls finally got up from the bright, strangely living grass, just as Professor got close enough to them.
'Girls, I'm –' His statement was cut short when Bubbles jumped straight into his arms, almost making him fall over. He had barley regained his balance when Blossom did the same, with Buttercup following suit.
'That bedtime story you told us was true, Professor!' said Bubbles cheerfully. 'Everyone's tears brought Blossom back!'
'Well,' thought Professor briefly, 'I didn't think it would actually work.' He placed the girls back down on the grass.
'Maybe it had to be a demon,' said Buttercup with all seriousness, yet still retaining the inspired look that had been brought about from what had just happened. 'Wasn't that the case in the story?'
'Oh, it doesn't matter,' dismissed the Professor, bending down to their eye level. 'The important thing is, you're safe.' All three girls broadly laughed, Professor joining in shortly afterwards. It was very brief, though, for a short cough interrupted them. Looking to the side, they saw that it was Mayor.
'Hi, girls!' he said happily, holding up a hand and flicking his fingers comically. The girls turned to face him, none of them angry with him, not even Buttercup. 'Thanks for saving our beloved town!'
'Aw, thanks, Mayor,' grinned Blossom, dismissing his comment with a swipe of an arm. 'But it wasn't just us.' Before the confused Mayor could ask what she meant, she gestured around at all the ex-villains and monkeys, who were chatting eagerly, smiling and hugging each other. Few of them were paying the girls any heed right now, but they wouldn't forget what they did for them.
'Them?' asked Mayor, perplexed and confused. 'But they were the ones who –'
'It wasn't any of these guys,' interrupted Blossom. 'Him was the only real bad guy.'
'He was using all of them,' explained Buttercup, more calmly than usual. 'And some aliens too.'
'Besides,' piped in Bubbles as innocently as ever, 'if it wasn't for these guys, Blossom would still be dead. So we owe them something.'
'Right,' said Mayor, nodding as he understood. 'I'll just have them do community service to fix our town.'
'Also,' said Blossom without warning, changing the subject fast. 'Sorry we got angry at you that day. That wasn't you. Him was duping us.'
'Aw,' said Mayor cutely, leaning over and ruffling Blossom's hair. She giggled more like how Bubbles might have. 'You can always drop by my office, even when I don't call you.'
'That's okay, Mayor,' said Blossom. 'We still kids, and we're proud of it!' They took that moment to actually hug the Mayor, and he squeezed them back.
'Besides,' said Blossom again, looking to the side. Bubbles, Buttercup, Mayor and Professor followed her gaze to the ex-villains and monkeys again. The Amoeba Boys were messing with their cool hats. Ace and Snake were messing with the Go-Go Patrol gibbons. 'I don't think we're going to need the Hotline much anymore.'
'Let's 'ear if for da Powderpuff Gerls!' shouted out Fuzzy out of nowhere. He picked up Blossom and Bubbles, sitting them on his shoulders. Beside the now-calm hillbilly, Rocko Socko placed Buttercup on his shoulder, both of them having formed a solid truce. All around, the ex-villains and apes were cheering, for the girls!
Only one person was not joining the celebrations. Back in the cockpit of the spaceship, Mojo was watching the scene, dumbfounded but having finally realized. He stood rather still, his arms still open by his sides.
'She sacrificed herself to save her sisters,' said Mojo to himself, his mouth hanging open in the shock of the epiphany. 'I forced them against me, but not until they set aside their differences did I see the true power we all share deep inside.' Finally coming to a decision, he started up the spaceship again, closing the underside ramp. 'I see now that the circumstances surrounding one's entrance, arrival and creation into this world does not matter, nor what anyone else thinks of you.' The spaceship started to rise into the air, drawing the attention of some down below on the ground. 'It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you truly are.' He flicked a certain ability of the vehicle on, promptly grabbing the thumbsticks in his hands. A small hole on the spaceship's bottom opened up, a column of dancing light spilling out of it.
It came down onto the ground, right on top of Hota. The white haired hot spring loving Japanese Macaque had only just looked up at it when his feet started leaving the ground. Grubber blew a soft raspberry as he watched the monkey raising higher, the beam moving away from where he had previously been.
It came down over Sedusa. Even though it should have lifted her up, only Cruncha Muncha lost the effects of gravity. He chirped a happy farewell as he rose higher, away from her. One of her wisps shook the end of tail in return just before he was gone from her grasp.
The beam then moved over Blah-Blah, bringing him up into the tractor beam too. Junior looked on in amazement as Bonzo jumped into the light, floating up afterwards his fellow chimpanzee. Mayor removed his monocle, rubbing his eye to get a proper look. As Wacko and Pappy ascended from 20 feet to 30 feet, they proceeded to give each other light slaps of each other's cheeks, except this time they were signs of affection, and not attempt to prove that one was a better slapper then the other.
Killa approached the top of the beam, floating through the opening into the spaceship seamlessly. Directly behind him was the Go-Go Patrol, hands linked around each other as they twirled through the hole, forming in the shape of DNA. Rolo came behind the gibbons, but he knocked off the side of the hole. He rubbed his head painfully as all the Doot Da Doot's congregated around him, rolling him to the side and into the spaceship. The red-skinned spherical ape and abundant monkeys vanished through the last part of the beam.
Buttercup subconsciously floated down onto Fuzzy's head, watching along with her two sisters. As the last of the monkeys were lifted up from the ground, the remaining ex-villains gathered around, awestruck. Rocko grunted happily in Fuzzy's direction, giving him a salute as he rose higher. Cha-Ching gave his cool cymbals a clap that didn't give anyone a headache as he floated up, Princess waving bye to him as he went. Finally, Hacha was lifted up. Carrying loads of bananas and tacos, he shrugged, knowing he didn't really need them.
'Here ya go!' he said, tossing them down to the crowd. As soon as the proboscis monkey was through the beam, the hole closed, the beam vanishing as soon as the opening was sealed up.
'Mojo,' said Blossom slowly from Fuzzy's shoulder, looking up at the spaceship above. 'Where are you going?' As the spaceship started to rise higher, they suddenly heard Mojo's voice from it, clearly projected through the microphone.
'Where our hearts may possibly learn what yours know so well.' Even though they couldn't see Mojo speaking, everyone could hear the sincerity. Professor smiled a little, as did Mayor. Arturo took this moment to whip out his comb, which he dubbed Maria, and comb his black hair backwards. 'What happened here today, I will always remember. And, Blossom, Bubbles, Buttercup...'
The spaceship turned 180 degrees, so the cockpit was facing them. They could just about make out Mojo at the front of it. Using their super vision, they zoomed as close as they could, able to make out Mojo more clearly. His eyes were curved in happiness, and even his hands seemed warm and forgiving, gripping the microphone.
'I'm sorry I betrayed you.' Just as the meaning of this statement sunk in, the spaceship turned around again, and soared away from Townsville. Within seconds, clouds blocked it from view.
As those left behind greeted each other happily, as the Amoeba Boys laughed with Bubbles, as Buttercup shared a taco with Arturo, and as Blossom continued to stare at the spot where Mojo had said that last statement, they girls knew one thing.
They were kids, yes. They may have been created in a lab, but they were as real as anyone else in Townsville. And they were also superheroes.
They were The Powerpuff Girls.
Approximate Chapter Running Time: 72:55-78:46 (NTSC) 70:00-75:37 (PAL)
Approximate Credits Running Time (Imaginary): 78:46-84:36 (NTSC); 75:37-81:13 (PAL)
Overall 3-Act Structure Division (NTSC): 22:13 - 36:49 - 19:44
Overall 3-Act Structure Division (PAL): 21:20 - 35:20 - 18:57
Finally, it's done. Despite the lack of inspiration at points, this finished exactly the way I visioned it when I started.
I am planning a third movie. I know many people write follow-ups to their own fics and they come out horrible. But I've been planning this since I started this story. It would finish the Powerpuff Girls Trilogy (with the official movie being the first, obviously, and this being the second). So, do you guys want it? I know this fic doesn't have a huge amount of reviewers (although it has surpassed my expectations), but your opinion counts!
By the way, if any of you have a suitable subtitle for this story, let me know. I can't think of one, but maybe you guys can!
And now I must ask you, the fans, a favor. For your review of this chapter, I would really appreciate if you would state the following, giving reasons if you can (those reading this months later, that applies to you too). I've provided my own examples also:
- Favorite Chapter (for me, this chapter)
- Favorite Quote ("I'm gonna miss Johnny Bravo!")
- Favorite Character (Mojo Jojo. Although I liked almost all the villains, except for Sedusa and the Rowdyruffs)
- Favorite Moment (the moment where Buttercup, tearfully, said she loved Blossom)
- Things that were fantastic (I probably shouldn't say my opinion on this...)
- Things that you didn't like (rereading it, I find the way the villains' plan is gradually unfolded to be a little flawed)
- Did it feel canon? Did it feel like the show's staff wrote this? Did it feel like a movie that justified this, or just a stretched-out episode? Please answer this last question out of all of these.
Thanks for all the support. It's been a real slice (and loads of bananas and tacos from Hacha and Arturo).
Groudon202 out.