Ch. 11
xXx Bubbles xXx
"What about Him? What are you guys talking about?" Buttercup gave a confused glance to the tearful Blossom.
Blossom, however, barely noticed her entrance, "Bubbles, I don't understand. How could that happen?"
Buttercup raised her voice, "How could -what- happen?"
Once again she was ignored as Blossom took a few steps forward, "...Tell me what this is about," she spoke in a pleading voice, but it was not void of frustration.
"What's going on here?" Buttercup's scream filled the tiny kitchen, and she threw out her arms in defeat when Blossom refused to say anything.
She hesitated for a moment before deciding that she wanted, she needed, to tell the truth, "Remember when Professor was in the hospital? Despite what the doctors said, he wasn't doing well. So..." her mind became jumbled as she searched for the right words, "Him made him better. I know it wasn't the right thing to do, but I was so worried," she fidgeted uncomfortably as she felt the stares from the two other girls.
"So why did you kiss him? What did it have to do with saving the Professors' life?"
"You kissed Him?" Buttercup nearly choked on her words and backed away from Bubbles in disgust, "Are you guys playing some kind of prank on me, because it's not funny," she retreated even more when no one laughed and shouted out, 'got ya!'
Bubbles paid no attention to Buttercup's outburst, "It didn't have anything to do with that, it just happened," desperation crossed her face when she realized she couldn't possibly justify her actions.
Blossom thought for a moment, "You said Him saved the Professors' life, but for what? What does he hope to gain?" As usual, she was asking herself that question more than Bubbles.
Buttercups' irritated voice cut in, "What do you think? He's using Bubbles to get to us!" For the first time, Blossom looked at her raven haired sister.
Bubbles stomach turned as the conversation moved away from the kiss. Blossom's expression changed to one that said, 'why didn't I think of that?'
"Why did you wait so long to tell us? We could have helped you," grief was visible in both her eyes and voice.
Buttercup still appeared annoyed, but pain was in her voice as well, "We all know how powerful Him is, but that doesn't mean that you have to go through this alone."
Bubbles' legs failed her and she fell to the cold tilled floor of the kitchen, all while hot tears poured from her blue eyes. She sobbed alone for only a moment before her sisters rushed to her side and wrapped their arms around her trembling body. As she cried, relief washed over her; they weren't mad. Then again, they didn't know the whole story. Her heart ached terribly in her chest, it felt as if a predatory bird was trying to claw its way out. She knew what it desired, to tell the complete truth. The bird wanted to burst out and scream that Him had taken away their powers. That she had a helping hand in weakening them. Without putting forth much effort, she attempted to push herself away, but they clung to her with all their might. She took in a deep breath to steady her uneasy heart.
"There's something else I need to tell you," the two girls peered up in response to her barely audible words.
"What is it? Whatever it is, we'll work it out," Blossom said in a tentative voice, and Buttercup nodded in agreement.
She inhaled deeply once again, "The monster that destroyed your powers, it was Him's monster. It was Him's plan."
Buttercup was the first to pull away, "What! You knew! You knew the whole time and you didn't tell us!"
Her panic overpowered her voice, "I couldn't tell you!"
"Why couldn't you tell us? What could he possibly have over you to make you keep such a secret?" Buttercup was now standing, towering over her.
She felt Blossom move from her, but she said nothing. The tears had never stopped, but now they came twice as hard. Before she could speak, she sensed a change. She knew what this familiar feeling was, even though there were no visible signs yet. Then it came, the red smoke, the warmth, the gingery smell. Something new happened this time, though, all loud crash echoed from upstairs. Him appeared directly after, standing behind Blossom and Buttercup, out of their line of sight.
"Why don't you tell them why you weren't allowed to say? You've already told them everything else." Oddly enough, he didn't seem angry, it sounded more like he was enjoying it, "Did you think I wouldn't hold true to my threat?"
Her eyes widened, "The Professor!" She took off in a jolt of speed.
She was in the Professor's room in no time at all, but there was no father to be found. Instead, a huge hole came into view, letting light shine into the otherwise dark room. The footsteps of her sisters sounded through the hallway just behind her. Soon, they too were staring in shock at the gaping hole in the wall. She ignored the questions from the other two and dashed down the stairs and back into the kitchen. Him was not there. She spun around, checking all the corners of the room. No such luck. Butterflies zoomed violently around in her stomach as she heard Blossom and Buttercup calling out for the Professor. She wrapped her arms around her body, knowing they would not find him here. She grew more nervous as they came closer and closer, she knew there would be a confrontation.
A hand grabbed her shoulder and spun her around, "What happened to the Professor!" Buttercup screamed as she glared into Bubbles' melancholy eyes.
Blossom pushed Buttercup away, with some effort, and laid a shaky hand on Bubbles' arm, "What's happened? What is Him going to do with the Professor?"
Buttercup responded by rejoining the two and slapping Blossom's hand away, "He took the Professor away because you told us, didn't he! Why did you tell us if you knew that was going to happen?"
"Buttercup, you're not being fair! We wanted her to tell us!" Blossom turned away from her and was now facing Buttercup.
Buttercup did the same thing and stared down her red-haired sister, "She didn't -have- to tell us!" Her fists were clenched tightly at her side.
Blossom's hands were on her hips, "You would have done anything to make her tell us what was wrong."
Her checks flared, "Anything? I can't do anything without my powers!" she turned back to Bubbles, "which is your fault, too!"
"Buttercup!" Blossom physically forced Buttercup to face her again.
The raven haired girl cut her off, "No, don't defend her! You know it's her fault!" Once again, she threw her arms up in the air in defeat, and stormed out of the kitchen, out of the house.
"Bubbles?"
She looked away from her, "You hate me, don't you?"
Bubbles was immediately pulled into a hug, "No, how could you think that?"
She pushed herself away, "I have to find Him."
As she started to leave, a hand caught her wrist, which was still sore, "I'm going with you."
She jerked her hand away, "No, it's too dangerous. Besides, you need to find Buttercup."
Blossom shock her head, "Oh, no. you can't go alone, I don't want you to face Him by yourself. As for Buttercup, she can take care of herself, powers or no powers. Even if I did go after her, we would just end up arguing again."
"But..."
"No buts, let's go."
xXx Him xXx
A blue ribbon went back and forth between Him's claws, the beautiful blue clashed wonderfully against the vibrant crimson red. Occasionally, he would glance at the unconscious Professor, but his gaze was mostly fixated on the ribbon he took from Bubbles. An evil smirk played across his features; everything was going perfectly. All was according to plan. He knew sweet Bubbles would break and tell her sisters everything, especially after the latest kiss. The girls would slowly be torn apart; Buttercup would be the first to desert her. Blossom would take more time, but she will abandon her, too. The only thing that concerned him was the time. In a matter of days, Blossom and Buttercup would get their powers back.
Oh, yes, they would come back. He still had time, though, and if they stayed away for as long as he hoped, his plan would work perfectly. With one Powerpuff under his control and the two others powerless, it will only be a matter of time before the city fell apart. It wouldn't take much longer until the other villains noticed the town's vulnerability. Once that happened, the citizens will lose faith in the girls. When Blossom and Buttercup lose faith in Bubbles, she will have nowhere else to go but to him. This will prove useful when Blossom and Buttercup regained their abilities. He will use Bubbles to beat them, and the other low class villains...Perhaps she would remain with him, for another reason, but he couldn't focus on that now.
xXx Bubbles xXx
Blossom stood in the front yard of their house, thinking. After insisting that she come along, she stopped once they got out the front door. Bubbles waited patiently for her sister to do something, "I don't even know where to begin looking, when you disappeared, we searched all of Him's usual hideouts. I don't think he would go to a place we already know about," she pondered some more, "Where were you when he had you?"
"I'm not sure, but I had never seen anything like it, it wasn't a house, it didn't even look like it was part of this world," Bubbles launched into a story about Him's hidden lair.
By the time the tale had ended, Blossom had a look of desperation on her face, "How do we get there?" Not much hope lingered in her voice.
"I don't know, I went and left there with Him, through the red smoke."
Blossom sighed and rubbed her head in defeat, "What do we do?"
Bubbles tried to sound a little perkier, only to have it fail horribly, "We can at least search the places we know about, maybe we can find something that can help us."
Blossom nodded and suggested that they take the Professor's car.
xXx Buttercup xXx
Buttercup leaned against a dirty brick wall, in a dimly lit alleyway. She had been brooding there for a while, she wasn't sure how long. Slowly, she slid down the wall, and sat on the non-too-clean ground. She pulled her legs up to her chest and laid her head on her knees. Her arms wrapped around in front of her. A wind blew and rustled her hair, and it felt as if something got caught in it. She jerked her hand up and grabbed whatever it was, her hand went back down to hover in front of her legs. She raised her head and opened her eyes to see a crisp piece of paper with writing on it.
"You're not going to find me in that alleyway, and you defiantly won't find me by yourself."
She sprang up and reread the note, and looked from side to side before darting out of the alleyway.
xXx Bubbles xXx
Bubbles stepped out of the car, and waited for Blossom to do the same, this was stop one, a small house on the outskirts of Townsville. Blossom said this was the last place they searched when she disappeared.
Blossom frowned, "The door is still open from the last time I was here, it doesn't look like anyone has been here... we should check anyway, though."
They walked through the dank and dusty house. Blossom volunteered to search the living room, kitchen and basement, should there be one, while Bubbles began to search the bedrooms. The first room was completely empty, except for the dust bunnies. The second room, while void of life, had basic furniture in it. Something caught her eye, and it was laying on the dusty bed. The bright white of the paper dominated the gloomy surroundings.
The paper read: "Do you honestly believe you will find me here? You know where I am, but you'll have to try harder than this to find it. "
Blossom gasped when Bubbles suddenly appeared in front of her, "Did you find something?"
Bubbles read aloud the letter, "It has to be from Him."
Blossom gave one last glance to the dirty room, "We should move onto the next place."
Bubbles followed after her when she left the house. Everything was silent as Blossom drove down the deserted road, and it stayed that way until they entered the city. Blossom slammed on the brakes and the car came to a screeching stop, "Why did you stop?" Bubbles rubbed her chest where the belt had been.
"Buttercup!" She was now looking behind her.
She followed her gaze and saw Buttercup running toward them. Blossom rolled down the window just in time for Buttercup to stick her head in. Even though her view was blocked, she could tell Blossom was given something. Blossom didn't turn to her and Buttercup got in the backseat.
Finally, Blossom faced her, "I think we're on a scavenger hunt," both notes were exchanged between the girls.
"So, what does it mean?" Buttercup asked Blossom
"'You know where I am,' I'm pretty sure I know where he means," she gave Buttercup a short description of the world Bubbles was in.
"So, how do we get there?"
Bubbles answered, "I think we have to find more clues."
Buttercup ignored her entirely and kept her eyes on Blossom, "Blossom, I asked you what we're going to do."
Blossom gave her a disapproving stare, "Bubbles right, we need more clues."
Buttercup snorted, "What are we on, 'Scooby-Doo?'"
xXx Him xXx
Him laughed in dark amusement as he watched the girls find the notes he left behind. Once again, he ran the blue ribbon through his claw; the ends were becoming torn and tattered as it slid over the sharp edges. Before he became completely consumed in his own thoughts, a grunt came from behind him. He turned to see that Professor Utonium had awoken, and was struggling to stand up. Every time he attempted to push himself up, he would end up flopping back down onto the ground. He did, however, manage to roll onto his back and open his eyes.
"W-where am I?"
"Why, you're here, with me," he laughed as Professor Utonium gasped in surprise.
Before the Professor had a chance to ask any more question, Him decided that he didn't need to be awake, not just yet.
xXx Bubbles xXx
She stood in another dank and dark room, in the second house of their search. This one was still distant from Townsville, bit it was easier to get here through the city. She sat down on a dusty bed with a sigh, coming to the conclusion that this room held nothing of significance. That is, until it happened again, the smoke, the temperature change, the smell. Before he had even appeared, she clutched the nearest thing she could find: a pillow. As soon as she saw his gleaming eyes, she hurled the pillow at him. All he had to do to avoid it was to shift his weight to one side. After the fluffy excuse for a weapon flew past his head, it fell to the floor with a soft thud.
He let out a light, dark chuckle, "You still have your powers, and yet you throw a pillow at me, and you miss."
She ignored him and sprung up from the bed, "What have you done with the Professor?" She tried to keep her voice low, as to not attract attention.
Once again, his evil smirk widened, "Why are you upset with me? It's your fault I have him," he shrugged nonchalantly, but took satisfaction in the guilty expression that consumed her.
She tried to shake her guilt away, "What have you done with the Professor?"
"Oh, poor, sweet Bubbles, so forlorn, you're repeating yourself," he disappeared and reappeared behind her and leaned in close so that he could whisper in her ear, "You're so concerned about him, you haven't even thought about what I'm going to do to you."
A shiver ran down her spine, and it happened again when he placed his claws on either of her arms. She took a deep breath and tried to pull away, but he simply pulled her back. Ideas of fighting back bubbled to the surface of her thoughts, but then she remembered how badly Blossom and Buttercup were injured when they fought him.
"Why are you doing this?"
He was silent for a moment, surprised that she so easily ignored his earlier statement, "Doing what?"
"Everything. Why me? Why not fight us head on, you beat Blossom and Buttercup before, it wouldn't take much more effort to beat all three of us."
He leaned in closer, which she didn't think was possible, "It's more fun this way."
"Fun?"
"Yes, you know the meaning of the word, don't you?"
His sarcasm only made her more annoyed, "This isn't fun!"
He laughed, "I never said it had to be fun for you," he decided that this would be a fun moment, "though you seemed to enjoy the kiss."
Her face flared, but she was saved by the...Blossom, "Bubbles, if you haven't found anything, we're leaving!"
She managed to blurt out a response, "Okay, I'll be right out," she lowered her voice again, "let me go."
"Is that a demand? How very bold."
xXx Him xXx
He spun her around, and made sure to keep a firm grip on her arms, knowing that she would back away if she could. Defiant eyes glared up at him, instead of her usually peaceful ones. He ravished over the effect he had on her, that he could make her fell this way. That he had made such a connection with her, and she didn't even realize it. Honestly, he preferred the sweet Bubbles, but this one was always interesting to witness. Without a second though, he pressed his lips against her. He removed his claws from her arms and rapped both of his around her waist when she refused to kiss him back.
As he held her closer, she became less tense, which caused his smile to widen. That was a mistake, it made her tense again, which made him frown. He was actually confused, why wasn't she kissing him back? She did before. Was she really that upset about him taking the Professor? Perhaps he wasn't making as much success with her as he thought.
He pulled away, "You're still trying to play the role of the hero, that won't do at all."
She frowned, "I am a hero."
He tightened his grip, "No, you're not, you belong to me...In every way possible."