A/N

Oh, this is a suspenseful chapter… enjoy!

Snake, Big Billy, Lil Arturo, and Grubber each made their way through the city dump with frowns plaguing their faces. Their feet trampled through polluted puddles, leaving behind a path of hazy footprints.

"Duh…Big Billy is sad!" Big Billy wailed.

"Where do you think Ace is?" Lil Arturo wondered.

"He'ssss probably at the shack," Snake hissed.

Grubber blew a raspberry in solemn agreement.

Right as they were about to reach the shack, the door flew open. Ace ran out, right past them. He skidded to a stop when the members called after him.

"Where are you going?" Lil Arturo asked.

"I need to find Bubbles," Ace explained in a hurry. "I need to tell her I'm sorry!"

"But her ssssisters will beat you up," Snake said.

"They can do what they want," Ace waved him off. "I just need to talk to Bubbles. She gave me a chance and now I need to take my chances with her."

"Wait!"

Everyone froze, not recognizing the unfamiliar voice. They slowly turned and Ace lowered his sunglasses, eyeing his friend in disbelief. "Grubber?" he breathed. "Did you just talk?"

Grubber nodded, his posture no longer sloppy. He cleared his throat. "We are your friends, Ace," he said in a surprisingly poetic voice. "Let us accompany you and together we shall speak with Bubbles and her sisters."

Their mouths still hung agape but slowly, Ace recovered and nodded. "O-Okay, let's go!"

Grubber returned to normal, blew a raspberry, and along with the other members, followed Ace out of the city dump and headed towards the Powerpuff Girls' house.

Buttercup, along with Blossom, lay in their beds silently, staring up at the ceiling. The Professor had all ready read them their bedtime story, kissed them goodnight, and turned off the light. But still, they were wide awake. How could they relax? Their sister had not yet returned home and it was nearing ten o'clock.

"Where could she be?" Buttercup wondered. "And why isn't the Professor worried? It's been nearly four hours!"

Blossom had to admit: something was wrong. With her overprotective dad, it was a shock that he had not all ready called the police and filed a missing person report. But if he was so worrisome and Bubbles had still not returned, why hadn't he said anything yet?

"Maybe she's with Ace and the others," Buttercup shrugged. "They're probably just making up or something."

"I don't think so." Blossom scooted her legs over the edge of the bed and sat up. "Something's up. Let's go talk to the Professor." She was just about to flick the lamp on when she heard a ping. "Did you hear that?" she asked Buttercup.

"Shhh…" Buttercup hushed her. They waited a moment before it happened again. "It's coming from outside. Something's hitting the window."

Blossom creped over to the window and peeked over the sill. She was surprised to find the Gangreen Gang gathered down below. "The Gangreen Gang?" she said to herself before sliding the window open. "What are you guys doing here?"

Ace dropped his handful of pebbles and sighed. "I need to talk to Bubbles."

"Bubbles isn't with you?" Blossom asked, now even more worried.

Ace shook his head.

Blossom gasped and flew out of the room, directly to the Professor. She knocked quickly and instead of waiting for an invitation, kicked the door open. The Professor jumped, his eyes wide. He was seated at his desk with reading glasses perched on the end of his nose. He swiveled his chair around and said, "Blossom? What are you doing up? I thought you and Buttercup would be asleep by now."

"Where's Bubbles?" she panted. "She should have been home by now and she's not with the Gangreen Gang! Professor, what if something happened to her? It'll be all our fault! We let her go into the city alone. We should've—"

"Whoa, whoa, Blossom," he said, settling her down. "Bubbles is fine. She called and left a message saying that she was going to be spending the night with her friend, Marissa. She sounded quiet upset. I think this whole business with tonight really troubled her."

Blossom sighed a breath of relief. "Okay, Professor," she nodded. "As long as she's safe…" She was just about to leave, her hand ready to close the door, when she stopped. Facing her dad, she raised an eyebrow. "Wait. She's spending the night at who's house?"

"I believe she said her name was Marissa." He pointed to the phone resting on the nightstand beside his bed. "I saved the message if you want to listen to it."

And she did listen.

"H-Hi Professor," the message began, "it's me. I think I am going to spend the night with my friend, Marissa. I don't think I can come home right now after what happened. Please help me make up with Blossom and Buttercup tomorrow. If you don't, I will be in trouble. And make sure you read them the story about the forbidden tower. That is their favorite bedtime story. Goodbye."

The message was definitely from Bubbles, but something was wrong. Her voice was shaky, as if…

As if she was afraid.

"See?" the Professor said. "She's fine."

She played the message over and over again and each time she did, she picked up on subtle clues.

The message was different. It wasn't a simple reminder or informer; it had certain words that messages don't usually include. She said she couldn't come home. It wasn't that she couldn't; it was that she wasn't capable of it because she was trapped. And she asked the Professor to please help her make up with her sisters, yet she made sure to include the words please help me. Plus she said that if he didn't help her, she would be in trouble.

"And she said goodbye…" Blossom whispered.

"Blossom, I'm sure your sister is fine," her dad reassured her.

"No," Blossom sighed. "No, she's not."

"What do you mean?"

She dropped the phone, glaring up. "Bubbles doesn't have a friend named Marissa."

She left him no time to question her as she flew out of the room and back to Buttercup. She explained everything to her and by the time she was finished, Buttercup was all ready dressed and up.

"When I get my hands on the one that kidnapped her, I'm going to—!"

"Buttercup, wait. We may need help." Blossom walked over to the window. "Ace?"

He glanced up and shrugged. "Did you find out where she is?"

"Sort of, but we need your help."

Ace frowned.

"But we don't even know where she is," Buttercup exclaimed. "Where should we even begin to look for her?"

Blossom shrugged. "I don't know—" But then she remembered. At the very end of the message, Bubbles instructed the Professor to read them the bedtime story about the forbidden tower because it was their favorite. What did that mean. Perhaps it was a clue to her location. "But what villain lives in a tower?" she muttered to herself. "And it's our favorite?" She crossed her arms, deep in thought. "If it's our favorite than that means we would go there often, more than any other villain. But which villain have we dealt with that—"

And then she realized who it was that had kidnapped Bubbles.

A/N

Don't worry Bubbles! Your knight in shining armor is coming to your rescue ;D hehe I think you BACE shippers (Bubbles x Ace) will enjoy what's coming up next!