Allies and Rivals II
Chapter 21
The Triumph of the Ruff-Puff Alliance
The City of Townsville, or rather, on an island off the coast of Oregon…
After freeing Dr. Edwards and Professor Utonium from their cells, the six burst to Ckracknow's lab. Ckracknow, however, was ready for them. Two, a genetically enhanced clone, then fought Buttercup and Brick.
Brick and Buttercup, with a little help from Blossom, was able to kill Two. But Brick's right arm was crushed, and he collapsed after the fight because of the pain from the injury. Buttercup was bloodied, her entire body covered with blood, but she was still standing and she had enough strength to do some activities. Dr. Edwards concentrated on patching up Brick, while Blossom, with her hands still cuffed, decided to accompany the doctor and look after the two. Professor Utonium and Buttercup were the ones who sought where Boomer, Butch and Bubbles was.
However, their plans were dashed when they discovered that the three were moved from their cells and their only contact, a henchmen, died from stroke.
"Just like the earlier thieves," remarked Buttercup remembering the various thieves that had broken-in on Dr. Edwards' home. "And I'm going to bet that the stroke isn't natural, but caused by Ckracknow to keep him from talking."
"I can't say I don't agree Buttercup," Professor Utonium replied. "Still, where can they have taken them?"
"Well, there are two possibilities. Ckracknow could have taken them away from this island, or they were hidden in other cells in this godforsaken island," Buttercup opined.
"Well, we better start looking then. Buttercup, scan the area around the island to look for boats or ships fleeing this island. I'll go look for them here," the Professor instructed.
"I'm on it!" Buttercup answered before zooming off the island.
Two hours later later…
The Professor was inspecting the endless cells and rooms in the island without any luck in finding the three. So far, he had looked on cells, rooms, labs, computer rooms, dens, rec rooms, comfort rooms, halls—in short, everywhere—but he couldn't find anything except the dead bodies of Ckracknow's henchmen, all of which died from stroke, not from being killed. He explored a large part of the base, but didn't find anything. He was discouraged, but continued searching on the places he hadn't looked yet.
"Hey Professor!" Buttercup suddenly shouted from behind.
The Professor was startled, and jumped back. "Buttercup! Don't sneak up on me like that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"Oh sorry, Professor. I just wanted to surprise you!"
"Well, you did a fine job at it! But did you find them?"
"I wish I could say I did, but I didn't. You see Professor, I found only a couple of boats and ships, and they weren't in any of them. I also searched underwater, but they're not there."
"Well, I've still not finished looking at the base," the Professor said with hope. "Maybe they'll turn up?"
"Well, I'll help you Professor!" Buttercup encouraged and zoomed off and searched room by room in a blinding speed.
Ten minutes later…
"I've looked at all the rooms, and I couldn't find them," Buttercup reported.
"Well, we better go to William and Blossom. Maybe they know a way to find them, because right now, I don't," the Professor explained.
Buttercup nodded, picked up the Professor, and flew towards the medical room, where a still cuffed Blossom and Dr. Edwards with an unconscious Brick lay.
"Any luck finding them?" asked the Doctor when he saw the Professor and Buttercup.
"No. They seemed to have just…disappeared!" the Professor replied. "How's Brick?"
"He's doing fine. He won't be able to use his right arm for a week at a minimum, but other than that, he's fine." Indeed, the Doctor had put his arm, on a cast and tied a sling over it.
"Doctor, does the communicator watches of Boomer, Bubbles and Butch have homing devices?" asked Blossom.
"Of course," thundered Edwards. "I am such an idiot for forgetting the homing devices! Okay. John, look over Brick while I'll try using the computers on this lab to find those three."
Dr. Edwards went to the computer in the room. He began to program the computer to enable him to use it for locating his two sons and Bubbles.
After twenty minutes of gruelling searching in the computer, he finally located the three.
"Bingo!" Dr. Edwards shouted triumphantly as he showed the Professor, Buttercup and Blossom an interactive map on the computer screen with three tiny lights on it. "There they are!"
"Well I'll be a monkey's uncle!" the Professor exclaimed. "They're just off the coast of this island, in a few yards to the south! Buttercup, I thought you searched around this island!"
"I did," Buttercup defended. "And I didn't see them."
"Maybe you missed a spot," suggested Blossom. "Because according to the homing devices they are wearing right now, they're 300 yards to the south of this island."
"Buttercup, I think you better have another look. But this time, it should be easier since you know exactly where to look!"
"Sorry for not looking enough," apologized Buttercup. "But I've gotta go! Wish me luck!" 'I hope I find Bubbles this time. I'll never forgive myself if Bubbles died or disappeared for good because I didn't look enough the first time,' she thought as she flew out to the south to look for Bubbles, Butch and Boomer
'Well, this is 300 yards south of the island,' Buttercup thought as she floated by. She then looked around. All she can see is water and the island, but no Bubbles, Boomer or Butch.
"Are you sure, Doctor, Professor?"
"Sure I'm sure," William Knox Edwards replied. "According to the computer, your homing device, Buttercup, and theirs, are on the exact same spot."
"Buttercup, maybe they're under the water?" suggested Professor Utonium.
"Way ahead of you, Professor," Buttercup replied as she dived under water to search.
The water was deep, and cold. At first, she didn't see anything except fish and water. She went further down into the seafloor. She found only rocks, corals, and fish.
After ten minutes of continuous searching, she surfaced to breathe.
"Seen anything, Buttercup?" asked the doctor from his watch.
"Nothing yet!" Buttercup replied. "But I will soon," she added optimistically. "Wish me luck!" Buttercup said to her watch as she again dived. This time, she closely inspected the sandy seafloor.
At the first few minutes, she was about to give up, when she accidentally brushed off some sand from the floor. She was surprised, when, instead of more sand, there was a smooth surface.
'What the?' she thought. She then touched it. 'Why it's steel! I wonder if…well, there's only one way to find out! X-ray vision!'
She then used her x-ray vision to look inside the steel floor of the sea. Interestingly, she found out that it was not a steel floor, but a steel box, shaped like a square. The length, width, and height, was about 20 feet. But what shocked her is to see three small skeletons inside of it, with the cuffs in their wrists and ankles too.
'Oh no, I'm too late. They're dead. They're now only bones,' she thought in panic.
Then, she got the shock on her life when she saw the skeletons move. In fact, she saw them poke each other.
Buttercup raced to the surface filled with shock. She was covered with sweat and shivering with fright.
"Professor, I just saw the skeletons of Butch, Boomer and Bubbles! They're dead," she shouted with tears, "but then, I saw the skeletons move! I think Ckracknow made them zombies!"
"Buttercup, calm down! You're not making any sense!" the Professor shouted. "Now, tell us what happened.
Buttercup narrated all the events that happened since she last dived and discovered through x-ray, the 'skeletons.'
"So there! Bubbles, Butch and Boomer are now skeletons and zombies!" Buttercup screamed, and crying at the same time. "I'm so sorry, Professor!"
But instead of sympathy, she heard laughing from her watch.
"What's so funny? They're gone! How could you laugh! How could you be so insensitive?" Buttercup sobbed and shouted.
"Because Buttercup, they're still alive. The reason you only saw skeletons is that you used x-ray, and since they moved, they're alive! Of course you saw skeletons, what would you expect from just using x-ray?" the Professor explained.
"Oh yeah! How stupid of me!" Buttercup said. 'I think I was too worried about them to think too clearly and I just panicked. I really should have given more thought into it!'
Buttercup then went back to the seafloor, and began digging around the steel box with her hands. Finishing after just ten seconds, she lifted the box, and brought it to the island where the Professor, Dr. Edwards, Blossom, and a now conscious but still weak Brick. After setting it just outside the huge lab, Buttercup gave it a big punch, and it cracked open.
They saw Bubbles, Boomer, and Butch tightly tied-up. Their hands were cuffed behind their backs, and so were their ankles. Their mouths were packed with some kind of cloth, with a large piece of bandana tied over their mouths to prevent them from spitting it out. They were wearing goggles, and a special kind of belt.
Inside the steel box are padded walls, like the ones most rooms in an insane asylum had. There was a single florescent light lighting the box-like room.
But what amazed them most was that they were alive and well, and playing around by trying to tickle each other using their feet. In fact, Bubbles was leaning against the wall, sitting down, laughing behind the gag, while Boomer was tickling her using his feet while lying down and Butch was hopping around for no apparent reason, but still laughing.
"Boys!" shouted Dr. Edwards as he quickly entered the steel box and tightly hugged Boomer and Butch.
"Mmpppphhhhh!" both shouted as they were unexpectedly hugged.
"Oh sorry," the doctor said. He then removed the gags from their mouths and both boys spit out the socks from their mouths.
"Glad those socks were out!" Butch remarked. "Aw Dad, you're embarrassing me! Don't hug me in front of those girls and their Professor!"
"I'm just glad you're alright," Dr. Edwards said, releasing them from their hugs. He then removed their goggles, and their anti-gravity belts, but was unable to remove their cuffs in their wrists and ankles.
"I can't remove those cuffs," Dr. Edwards remarked. "Well, looks like you'll be all tied-up until we get home. At least you'll be less rowdy and naughty until then."
"Bummer!" grunted Boomer.
"Don't worry about it! I missed you both terribly! I'm so proud of all of you! You functioned well without me! Well, you maybe you're still kids, but you can now be called men!"
"Thanks Dad!" said Butch.
Dr. Edwards then ruffled their hair. "By the way, what the hell were you doing when you got free? I mean, tickling Bubbles and hopping around for no reason?"
"Hey, we're kids, give us a break!" Boomer said. "We're stuck in a cell, we're tied-up, we can't break our bonds, we can't talk because we're gagged, so what did you expect us to do? I mean, we can't just sit around! We'll die of boredom if we did just that! So we decided to have some fun the only way we can!"
"Anyway, what exactly happened?" asked the doctor.
Boomer then told the doctor everything that happened. After they were tossed in the cell, they were again gassed a few hours later. When they woke up, they saw that they were in another padded cell with a single florescent light. With nothing else to do, they just tried tickling each other using their feet and hopping around. After a few hours, they suddenly felt the cell move, and then, it cracked, and they saw their Dads.
"Interesting," said the doctor. "Well, you were probably put into that cell while you were out, then the cell itself was buried under the sea to prevent anyone from finding you."
"Whoa! What happened to Brick?" said a surprised Butch. They saw Brick, standing, looking at them, but with bandages on his head and body, his right arm in a cast and sling, with a smirk on his face.
"I was wounded, bozo!" replied Brick. "The bones of my arm got pulverized, so whatever you do, don't touch it, or else!"
"But how—"
"I fought Two! Buttercup and I fought him, and he was at first too strong. But because of my brilliant thinking, we were able to destroy him, but not before he gave me the thrashing of my life!"
"Isn't it funny?" laughed Boomer. "Brick can't use his right arm, but Butch and I can't use both our arms because we our hands are still cuffed behind us!"
"Bubbles!" the Professor shouted. "I missed you so much! Oh how are you, my little baby? I miss you my pansy wansy, my cute little girl, my soft and cuddly darling!"
"Mmmmpphhhhh!" Bubbles said.
The Professor removed her gag, her goggles, and anti-gravity belt, but like the doctor, he can't remove her cuffs at her wrists and her ankles.
"Sorry Bubbles, but I can't remove this things. It's the same thing with Blossom!"
"Don't worry Professor, the important thing is that we're together again, and nothing else matters!" Bubbles said.
"You're right, Bubbles, that's what's important. Besides, William has something that can remove those things from my poor Bubbly wobbly! Oh if I ever get my hands on Ckracknow, I'll break every bone in his body for ever touching my precious wecious baby girl!" the Professor tenderly said.
Then…
Buttercup shouted. "Ahhh, my back! It hurts!"
"You must have worked too hard after the fight," Blossom suggested.
"Yeah, Red, you're right. That Two must have damaged my back more than I had thought. It survived the fight, but must have been broken because of the rescue I did!" Buttercup explained.
"Let me see that Buttercup? Well, dear, it seemed to me that you need serious medical attention," said the Professor. "Don't worry Buttercup, I'll set you right!"
Professor Utonium then picked up Buttercup and carried her to the medical facility. He then treated her back.
Meanwhile…
"Hm. Let's look around this island while John treats Buttercup, shall we?" Dr. Edwards proposed to his three sons and Blossom and Bubbles.
"Yeah!" Boomer shouted.
So the six (Dr. Edwards, his three sons, Blossom and Bubbles) toured the island. Dr. Edwards walked. Boomer, Butch and Bubbles, unable to walk because their feet were still cuffed, floated besides them. Brick, although free, was too weak to fly so he just walked besides his father. Blossom, though her hands were still cuffed behind her, had her feet free, so she walked besides Dr. Edwards.
The father of the Rowdyruffs then showed them, in a large underground lab, the dead monsters that Ckracknow used for his experiments in mind-control.
"This," Dr. Edwards explained, "is where all those super-strong monsters you fought were made. Ckracklow kidnapped them from Monster Island and turns them into zombies who took their orders from Cracktop himself. I saw this a few days ago when we were still working for Ckrackers—"
"Dad, I think it's pronounced Ckracknow, not Ckracklow, or Cracktop, or Ckrackers," said Brick.
"Whatever!" replied Dr. Edwards. "Anyway, whatever his name was, when you arrived, these monsters were still alive, even thought they were all unconscious. Now, they are dead, no doubt killed by Ckrackerhead the same way he killed all his henchmen, by inducing an artificial stroke."
"Those poor monsters," Bubbles said.
"Poor monsters my ass!" Butch said. "If Ckracknow hadn't killed them, I sure will!"
"Anyway, the tour is finished. I'm going to plant explosives all over this place so it could never again be used for evil," said Dr. Edwards.
"Why use explosives?" Butch incredulously replied. "I can use my laser eyes and I could still smash my body against these walls. After all, even if my hands and feet are tied up, I can still fly and use my eyes! Watch!"
Butch then smashed himself against one of the walls to demonstrate his point, and completely demolished it in the process. After which, he used his laser eyes to demolish another of the walls.
"See?" said Butch.
"I see your point! I guess you can smash it all by yourselves even with those cuffs on, but leave the destruction later. I still have to save all the data in his computers on compact discs so all that knowledge won't go to waste."
"Whatever you say, Dad," Boomer said.
The kids then went to where Buttercup and the Professor were while Dr. Edwards went to the lab to store the information in CDs.
Later…
Dr. Edwards had long finished copying the files from Ckracknow's computer into CDs, and had just finished loading into a helicopter he had found some of Ckracknow's most expensive equipment. Professor Utonium had just finished fixing Buttercup. Buttercup's body was now covered with bandages, though she could still walk and use both her hands, even if she's too weak to fly, like Brick.
"Well, I guess we can go home now!" Professor Utonium said.
"Finally, I can have these cuffs off my hands," Blossom exclaimed.
"And things can finally be back to normal!" Brick said. "Now that we don't have to worry about anything, maybe I don't have to take orders from Blossom anymore!"
"Wrong Brick! I'm still the leader, and you still have to obey me in matters of the alliance, saving the day, and being superheroes!" Blossom asserted.
"Yeah, yeah, but keep in mind, I still want your position, and I ain't gonna stop trying to take it!"
"Trying is different from succeeding, ain't it Brick?" Blossom said.
"We'll see, we'll see Blossom," Brick said.
"Okay, Blossom, Boomer, Butch, Bubbles, destroy the lab!" Professor Utonium ordered.
"Yeah!" shouted the kids, and they began their destruction. They mostly used their laser eyes, or used their bodies as battering rams, while Bubbles and Boomer also used their sonic attacks. After ten minutes, every facility in Ckracknow's island was destroyed.
"So how'd we do?" asked Butch.
"Just fine!" replied Dr. Edwards. "Now get in the copter. We're going home!"
"Yeah!"
The four kids then went into the helicopter. (Brick and Buttercup were already there).
"Well, we won," Brick said. "We won!"
"And I'm so proud of you, Blossom," said the Professor. "You really did a great job of being a leader, leading your sisters and the Rowdyruff Boys! You are a great leader, my darling daughter. You led them through this crisis, and you led them to victory. I'm glad you're the leader of the alliance!"
"Thanks Professor," said Blossom. "I really am a great leader, aren't I? The greatest there ever was! And the most beautiful too!"
"Yes you are!" the Professor said, before hugging her tightly. Blossom then turned to Brick, and stuck her tongue out, with an 'I'm-a-great-leader-better-than-you-and-you'll-never-be-leader-of-me' look on her face.
"And I'm proud of you too, Buttercup! You really did that Two good! You're so tough, yes you are! You're the toughest of them all!"
"Oh Professor, thanks," replied Buttercup in gratitude.
The next day, September 22…
The Edwards and the Utoniums had just arrived from their adventure to Townsville the previous day. Dr. Edwards removed the cuffs from both ruffs and puffs, and thanked and paid Ms. Keane for taking care of the kids while they were gone.
Both men, Dr. Edwards, and Professor Utonium, were walking on the street in Townsville, discussing the events of the previous days.
"That was some adventure, John," William said. "Reminds me of our escapades when we're young, but without the evil monsters, evil mad scientists, superpowered children and danger to our lives!"
"Yeah William, if the consequences of failure wasn't so life threatening, it would be fun," said the Professor, "but that said, I don't like to experience that again!" John replied.
"Yeah, but with our kids, I bet it wouldn't be long before we're on some kind of crazy adventure again!" William remarked.
"Well, we better enjoy the peace and tranquillity while it's here," John said. "Tell you what. Let's go to the bar and let's get drunk. I haven't been intoxicated, in, let's say, 20 years or so?"
"Yup! Let's have some real fun!" William replied, slapping Professor in the back. "By the way, I just want to say, that I don't hate you, and I consider you my friend again."
"I know, I know, and I'm glad we can be old friends again," John replied. "Like when we were kids! Me, you, those pranks against Sarah, Sandra, Spence…"
"Speaking of Spencer, I think we did a great wrong when we accused him of being behind all those attacks," William said.
"Yeah, but I don't blame you. I mean, who could have thought that some guy with a funny name, Ckracknow, is behind all of this? Morebucks is the most logical answer, even if we're wrong. I think we owe him an apology for falsely accusing him," John reflected.
"Well, I still hate him, but you're right. He maybe guilty of many things, but he was not behind those monsters and those thieves with numbers as names," William said. "Well, we better get going. Let's get it over with so we can be drunk again, like the old days!"
Later…
"Mr. Morebucks, Dr. Edwards and Professor Utonium are here," Mr. Morebucks' secretary announced.
'What? I thought Ckracknow took care of those two idiots? He's going to pay hell for this!' Morebucks thought. "Let them in."
"What is it you want?" asked Morebucks "And make it quick. I'm a busy man!"
"It won't take long, Spence. Now listen, and listen good. I was wrong. You weren't the one who was behind those monster attacks or those thieves. It was a guy named Ckrackart, and there was no evidence you even knew about him…"
"William, it's Ckracknow!"
"Whatever, John. Well Spence, I'm sorry for falsely accusing you. But that doesn't mean we're in good terms. I'm still going to run your business to the ground!" William Edwards ranted.
"Always direct to the point, eh, Bill, I'm—" Mr. Morebucks replied.
"Don't call me Bill, goddamnit! How many times do I have to tell you, don't call me by that name," Edwards shouted. "Call me Edwards, Dr. Edwards, Mr. Edwards, William, but don't call me Bill, Will, or Billy or Willy! You know I hate those nicknames! God, can't you remember one measly name?"
"No more than you can remember Ckracknow's name, William," John Utonium joked.
"Shut up, John. I don't care how you pronounce Cocknow's name. Spence, there! I made my apology for falsely accusing you of being behind those burglars and monsters! I'm leaving so I don't have to spend another precious second in your filthy presence. Good bye and good riddance to bad rubbish!" William Edwards shouted to Mr. Morebuck's face and stormed off, followed closely by John.
Outside…
"Well, that went well," John said.
"Don't ever mention that again. It was the most distasteful thing I ever did. But forget about it. Let's go to the bar and let's get drunk!"
"Yeah! Let's have some fun!"
So the two went off to a bar and spent the rest of the day drinking.
Later that day…
A small man in a white lab suit, with blond hair, and large shades, covering his eyes, entered Morebucks' office.
"Ah, Ckracknow, tell me, why, with all the advantages that you have, have you damned failed to eliminate Edwards and Utonium, not to mention their kids? Now, what is it you want?"
"Well, Mr. Morebucks sir, I did mess up the last operation, but I promise you, I'll succeed next time!" Ckracknow said, promptly apologizing. "I'm sorry for having blown it all away!"
"Now, you are either a liar or an incompetent!" shouted Mr. Morebucks. "Because you told me that you have gassed and immobilized all six of the ruffs and puffs, and to boot, captured the Professor and the Doctor. And nobody even knew. You have Two, one of the most powerful clones in the world, even more powerful than each individual ruff or puff, and you have an army of ordinary clones. You have a battalion of monsters you could have used. And yet, you managed to botch it up! Am I right? Or are you lying and all those status reports you handed me are all false? Tell me, because more than I hate incompetents, I hate liars!"
"I'm not a liar. Those kids got me when I least expected…" Ckracknow explained.
"Precisely why you're incompetent!" Morebucks thundered.
"Well, I have another island off the coast of Washington state, where I have built a back-up base precisely for this sort of contingency," Ckracknow explained. "But most of my equipment and technology was destroyed in the first Island. So, could I ask $100 million dollars so I can rebuild?"
"Idiot! You have a lot of gall to ask for a hundred million dollars after you blew more of my money than you could ever see in your lifetime! What kind of a fool do you take me for, Ckracknow? All that money for nothing! You couldn't even eliminate two scientists!"
"But you did not do everything ineptly. You managed to cover my role all along. So you're not a total waste of oxygen. So I'm giving you Two-hundred million dollars to build your second base! But this is your last chance, Ckracknow! How long can you make this base operational?"
"Three months! I can create another clone like One and Two and kidnap more monsters, and make more powerful creatures. I'll use the money to make the equipment I need to accomplish it. Plus, I have backed-up all of the data I researched in CDs before I escaped so I could replicate all of the things I did!" Ckracknow explained.
"Three months? Well, it's September 22, the Autumn Equinox. I want William Knox Edwards Sr. dead by January 1! I want John Utonium dead by January 1! I want William Bricker Edwards Jr. dead by January 1! I want Wilbur Butch Edwards dead by January 1! I want James Boomer Edwards dead by January 1! Furthermore, my daughter, Princess Morebucks wants Blossom Utonium dead by January 1! She wants Buttercup Utonium dead by January 1! And she wants Bubbles Utonium dead by January 1! And if they're not dead by the New Year, I'll have you dead! This is your last chance, Ckracknow, now get out of my sight before I change my mind!"
"Yes sir, Mr. Morebucks, thank you for being considerate. I promise you, I won't let you down this time, I promise!" Ckracknow said, quickly leaving. He couldn't believe his luck. He did not expected Ckracknow give him the money.
Three days later, September 25…
It was back to normal for the six kids. There were only petty crime and the usual monsters, which by this time were absolutely no problem for the kids who had passed level 17.
Blossom was back being the bossy leader of the Ruff-Puff Alliance, Brick was still playing second fiddle, though by this time, Brick was the only one whom Blossom consults about the important decisions regarding the alliance. The pairing system continued, with Butch and Buttercup being paired again. This time, the fear of being tied-up and tickled kept them in line. Bubbles and Boomer, of course, worked smoothly because by this time they liked each other, but only as friends. Brick and Blossom, also worked fine because they respected each other as leaders, though they told everyone they don't like each other at all.
Anyway, Brick's arm has healed considerably, though not completely. He still had his cast and still wears his sling, but that hadn't impeded his actions. Buttercup had completely recovered by this time.
They, being the smart kids they were, easily caught up with the rest of the class after a long absence.
It was after school, and the kids were preparing to go home.
"Hey Brick, boys," said Blossom to the three.
"What?" asked Brick. "Some stupid granny lost her even more stupid cat in her tree again?"
"No, no! It's just that we decided to have a party to celebrate our victory at our house! And it won't be complete without you," explained Bubbles.
"So you're invited! Are you going?" Blossom asked.
"No," Brick sharply said. "I hate parties!"
"Oh common!" Blossom replied off-handedly. "After all that we've been through, we need to celebrate! We're friends after all!"
"That's what you think! We're not friends! We are allies, but not friends, remember that!" Brick tersely replied.
"Oh please, can you come?" asked Bubbles, trying to be as cute as she can be, looking at Boomer with a sly grin. "Or if Brick won't come, can you, Boomer, at least go?"
"Um, well, uh, you see, I'll only go if Brick goes too," Boomer replied.
"Brick, please! With sugar lumps on it?" Bubbles said, trying to sweet talk Brick into it. "I'd really be happy if you can join us?"
"Sorry, I can't," Brick replied. "I decided that our relationship should be only a matter of business, not personal things. So we would only meet in meetings that would require our presence, and only in important events. As such, we'll work together, and fight together, but that's about it. We won't use this alliance as an excuse for parties, for us to play together, or for having fun for fun's sake."
"So you aren't going?" Bubbles asked.
"Nope! Besides, we gotta get home! See 'ya tomorrow!"
"Boomer?"
"Sorry Bubbles, I'll go with my brother," replied the blue puff.
"Wait guys! I remember! We have still our deal where I would clean your house in exchange for you and Brick playing with me the rest of the day?"
"Oh yeah!" Brick said, slapping his hand on her head. "I completely forgot about the deal. Okay, you can play and have fun with us, but only because of the deal!"
"Thanks Brick, Boomer!" Bubbles said, and in an unexpected move, quickly made a peck on the cheek on Brick and Boomer.
"That was gross!" both boys simultaneously said, wiping the kiss off their cheeks.
"Don't ever do that again!" Brick shouted.
"You boys are funny!" giggled Bubbles. "Especially you Brick! Pretending to be all proud and tough, but underneath you're all just nice and sweet!"
"I am not nice or sweet! Keep that up and I might terminate the deal!" Brick said.
"And Boomer is nice and sweet, and he doesn't hide it, like Brick!"
"I'm not sweet!" shouted Boomer.
"You two are disgusting," Butch remarked. "You let that girl get the best of you?"
"Shut up, Butch!" Brick scolded, glaring at Butch.
But both boys allowed Bubbles to go home with them.
"Wow, I don't know how Bubbles does it! I can never make Brick do things that isn't alliance related without difficulty, and Bubbles seem to melt those two boys without effort," Blossom said to Buttercup besides her. "But things are going according to plan."
At the Edwards home…
Bubbles, Boomer, Brick and even Butch were relaxing, since there wasn't much mess to begin with for Bubbles to clean. The three boys were fixated on watching TV, so Bubbles took her chance.
She quietly sneaked out so the three boys won't notice her, and went to the lab where Dr. Edwards was working.
"Hi Doctor!" Bubbles cheerily said.
"Hi Bubbles," replied the doctor without taking his eyes off his work.
"Could you do me a favor?" asked the cute little Bubbles.
"Of course, how could I resist someone as cute as you?" Dr. Edwards said, stopping his work and faced Bubbles, pinching her cheek.
"Well you see, the Blossom and Buttercup and me wanted to have a party to celebrate our victory. Well, we invited the boys to a party in our house, but they don't want to. So could you instead hold the party here and the boys could invite us instead?"
"Um, of course, I'd be glad to! I'll invite John, and Sarah, and Sandra, and even the mayor and my colleagues too. I'll also ask Mitch and Mike if they could also come!" Dr. Edwards said. "And I'll invite you too—"
"No, doctor, I want the boys to ask us!"
"But how will you make the boys invite you? I mean if they don't want to go to a party in your house, what makes you think they'll invite you to a party here?"
"Blossom will think of something!" Bubbles replied.
"Okay, I'll prepare the food and the entertainment, and we'll have a party…when do you want it?"
"In three days, doctor," Bubbles said, "in the morning of September 28. And please make the boys dress up."
"So you want a formal party?"
"Nope! Blossom does. She told me to tell you that … oops, I'm not suppose to tell you that Blossom was behind all of this, but oh well!" Bubbles said.
"Okay!"
Later…
"Were where you?" asked Boomer when Bubbles rejoined the boys.
"Oh I was just talking to your Dad," said Bubbles.
"Okay! What did you talk about?" asked Brick.
"Well, you know, about this and that, and all those things," Bubbles replied.
The boys left it at that, and the three spent the rest of the day watching TV. At six, Bubbles left.
Later that night…
"Hello?" Brick said as he picked up the phone.
"Hello. It's Blossom," she said at the phone.
"What do you want?" snapped Brick.
"Well, I want to convene a general meeting on some important matter concerning the alliance!"
"Okay, you want it to discuss it with me only or with the entire group?"
"The entire group!"
"So where and when do you want this meeting?"
"I'm thinking, in three days, on September 28, at your house! Since this is an important matter for the alliance, then I can order you to, okay?"
"Yeah, so it's agreed. September 28 at our house, we'll have a meeting," said Brick.
"But you have to invite us first to come to your house," Blossom insisted.
"Why bother? You three just come here in three days!"
"You just invited us!"
"I did?"
"Yup! You told us to come there, and that's an equivalent to an invitation!"
"Okay, okay, I invite you girls! Jeez, you girls are so pushy!" Brick remarked.
"Thanks Brick!" Blossom said, then hung up.
"What's going on Brick?" asked the doctor, who had just passed his son.
"Well, I invited the girls to come over here in three days," Brick said.
"Ah! So you invited the girls to our party?"
"What party?"
"The party that I'm going to throw on the 28th to celebrate our victory over Ckrackbow!"
Then it hit Brick. He had been duped. 'I'm such a sucker for falling for it! I should've seen it coming.'
He then stormed off towards his brothers, angry at Blossom, but mostly angry at himself for falling for such a trick, without saying another word to his father. 'Oh that Blossom is a tricky one! She'll pay for that! We'll see who has the last laugh once I grab the leadership from her!'
Three days later, on the 28th…
Professor Utonium and his three girls knocked on the door of Dr. Edwards' home. All of them were in formal attire, with the Professor wearing a tuxedo and a bow tie, and the girls wearing fancy party dresses, the same apparel that they wore in the episode, 'Octi Gone' complete with the little ribbons in their heads.
"You're late," said Ms. Keane, who opened the door. "And you'll never guess that William asked me to be the hostess for this party."
"John, glad that you arrived!" said Dr. Edwards, who joined them. He wore an ordinary business suit, with a vest and hat, in color black. "By the way," he whispered, "there's wine so after this party we can drink ourselves silly!"
The other guest include the Mayor, Ms. Bellum, most of the business colleagues of Dr. Edwards, and most important people of Townsville.
"Where are the boys?" asked Bubbles.
"They're upstairs, in Boomer's room," said the doctor.
"Thanks," Blossom replied, and the three girls went upstairs to join the boys.
They found them with Mike, Mitch, Robyn and a couple of other kids sitting around a large table, with chips and piles of play money, playing poker. The three boys were wearing white shirts with ties, though they had their jackets removed. Brick had a vest on and was the only one to wear a hat.
"Brick, stop that right now! Gambling is not good!" Blossom scolded.
"Don't be a spoil sport," Brick shot back. "Besides, you're only using play money. That reminds me…"
He then lay his cards down, and announced…
"Please, all those who are not either a Rowdyruff or a Powerpuff please leave the room. We are going to conduct a very important meeting, so we need to have some privacy."
"Okay, see 'ya later," Mitch replied, and he and the other kids left the room.
"Okay, what are we suppose to meet about?" asked an incredulous Brick.
"Oh yeah, I just want to announce that we won't continue our training at the same pace that we did during the crisis. That's all!"
"That's it?" Boomer said with a wide open mouth.
"Yup!"
"That was just a ploy to get us to invite you to this party, and you had Bubbles con Dr. Edwards into throwing one!" Brick charged. "I suspected it, but your so-called 'meeting' confirmed it."
"Yup! How'd you find out so soon?" Blossom asked. "I thought that plan was a secret?"
"I'm not dumb, you know," Brick replied.
"Nevermind! You, Blossom Utonium, are a despicable, contemptible, loathsome, ugly little girl who don't deserve to be the leader of this alliance, a minute longer, but I have to say, that was a pretty good trick you played on me! And you're not too shabby either as a tactician and strategist!"
"You, William Bricker Edwards Jr., is a despicable, arrogant, mean, cruel, heartless, cynical, opportunistic boy who won't be leader ever as long as I'm around, but thanks anyway for being a good sport about the trick I did. And you're not too bad a tactician yourself in the fight against Two! Those were brilliant."
"Well, as long as you are here, we might as well enjoy ourselves," Brick conceded. And the six kids enjoyed the rest of the party, but with the relationship of the boys and girls basically cordial, but not warm.
Author Notes –This is not the end of the story. Just wrote it to let you know.
Also, after the events of this chapter, but before the beginning of the next chapter, the events of The Date, What is Buttercup's Plan? and The Dance occurred.
If you want to read more about the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys during the two months between this chapter and the next, you can read The Date, when Brick and Blossom arranged for Bubbles and Boomer to go on an amusement park one day. Buttercup was annoyed by the two leaders' arrogant attitude and tried, with Butch, to teach the redheads a lesson, but it slipped away. Will Boomer enjoy his date? Will Brick and Blossom get what they want out of the deal? Will Buttercup succeed in teaching the two readheads a lesson? And what is Mitch Mitchelson doing here?
Then there is What is Buttercup's Plan?, a story that happens directly after The Date, where Blossom attempts again to arrange something for Boomer and Bubbles, with Brick, but Brick wouldn't bite. It would be the last straw for Buttercup, who decided to implement her plan to teach the redheads a lesson! Would Buttercup this time succeed in getting the best out of the two brilliant redheads? What of Boomer and Butch? And will she escape revenge?
Then there is The Dance, a story where a Sadie Hawkins Dance, where the girls ask the boys, and the boy has to take the first girl to ask him to the dance, or else! The boys conjure ways to get out from being asked, and going to the dance, while the girls, as a result of a combination of events, were left with only the Rowdyruffs to ask. Will the Rowdyruff Boys escape from the terrors of the dance? Or will the Powerpuff Girls manage to get the boys to the Dance? And what does Princess Morebucks have to do with all of this?