CHAPTER 21: WOLFISH SECRETS
ME: Well last chapter generated quite a ruckus.
BRICK: That's what happens when you try to kill me.
ME: Yeah, I got a few death threats.
BRICK: You deserve them.
ME: Well, I wasn't trying to kill you, just...injure you really badly.
BRICK: ...Like that's any better.
ME: I had sparring in hapkido last week on Saturday and I injured my leg. I've been limping around, and it started to feel better. But recently it started to hurt again, sort of in the foot area—and I have hapkido tomorrow. At least we had a long weekend thanks to Canadian Thanksgiving. I'm going to have another short week next week. Yeah!
BRICK: You deserve the leg pain.
ME: *kicks him* I may be injured but I'm not defenseless!
BRICK: Ow!
ME: *sticks tongue out* You deserve the leg pain!
BUBBLES: Review please! Kuku only owns her OC's and the story. *sweat-drop* Things could get ugly...
BOOMER: And let's go see if Brick is alive or not...
Chapter 21: Wolfish Secrets
A cold wind was blowing across the schoolyard, and five figures stood bravely in front of their fallen brother. The person they were facing was struggling to get up. That person was Vix.
Vix staggered upwards, keeping a wary eye on the Rowdyruff Boys that stood across from him. Butch's confrontation had clearly taken him by surprise; he'd been thrown into the ground, and now his arm was throbbing. The arm that had been burnt by Brick's laser vision still hurt despite his attempts to heal it. The healing factor would take awhile longer before it fully settled in.
"Are you finally angry at me, Butch?" rasped Vix, his voice low and gravelly. His hair covered his eyes, and the tone of his words surprised the green Ruff. "Do you hate me now for what I've done?" Vix stumbled to the side slightly and forced himself straight. He looked up and smirked.
Butch's glare hardly wavered as he slowly slid one foot forward and lifted his fists. "I tried to believe that you were still worthy of saving. But you're not, Vix. You're a fucking bastard."
"Ah, I wouldn't have expected anything less from you." Vix spread his arms wide as he smiled. "Come on, Butch. Fight me."
Bandit grabbed Butch's arm. "Don't you dare, Butch. That's the last thing we nee—"
"This is for my brother!" Letting out a holler, Butch's hands glowed green and he shot forward some energy blasts.
His opponent got hit multiple times, not bothering to move. When Vix looked up again, his eye was glowing white. "Now it's my turn," he announced, running toward the Rowdyruffs. Vix's hands were surrounded by a white energy, and he jabbed his fingers into Butch.
The green Ruff keeled over from the pain, gasping for air as saliva shot up out of his mouth. Butch wiped his lips and glared at Vix, his eyes glowing red. Yelling, Butch shot laser beams at Vix and his opponent flew through the air. Vix slammed into some bushes nearby.
When he struggled upwards, Butch was already upon him. Hitting Vix repeatedly, Butch didn't stop until the enemy grabbed his fist. Vix flung Butch into the ground, staggering upwards.
He drew his broken sword and aimed to plunge it into Butch's chest. The green Ruff let a green aura surround him as his hands glowed from green flames. Vix jumped up and got ready to slash his enemy into shreds.
"Enough!" yelled Bandit, creating a purple force field. Vix bounced off of it and fell to the ground. "This isn't the place for such things!" He stepped toward Vix and held up a hand. "Get out of here, Vix; or I'll—"
"You'll what? You can't kill me. You're too good for that. You Ruffs have moral codes." Vix started laughing. "I don't."
"...Rules were made to be broken." Bandit's fist glowed black and purple. His eyes shone white as a dark dragon creature made from pure energy surrounded him. "Back off, Vix, or I'll unleash this dragon on you. This dragon is a manifestation of all my energy. And I happen to have a lot right now. I can add and subtract as much power from this dragon as I want. Since I haven't had a good battle in quite awhile, I happen to have a lot of extra power lying around. So you better step down. I will not hesitate to destroy you for what you've done. Everything you've done.
"I might not kill you, but I'll break as many bones of yours as I can; so fast you won't be able to heal your wounds quick enough. Your eye has limits and we both know it. There's a limit to how many wounds it can heal at once, and every healing process takes time. Your eye could overload if you try to fix too many wounds at once, and the bigger the wounds the longer it takes to heal."
Vix narrowed his eyes. "...Show-off."
Behind him, Butch let out a snarl. "Just get it over with, Bandit." His own hair started to blow in a wind as a green aura surrounded him. "I'm ready to snap his arms."
"Every piece of shit deserves the pain." Even Blaster, who was usually sweet and gentle, looked extremely angry. His eyes were dark and enraged; his hands on fire.
"Stand down, you guys," commanded Bandit. "I'll take care of this." He turned back to Vix. "What do you say? Are you going to make use of your common sense and back off?"
Vix slowly stood up, and Bandit's dragon leaned forward as it curled around its master protectively like a shield. "You make a good point," Vix began, keeping one eye on the other Rowdyruffs. "So I'll heed your advice and leave." Bandit relaxed as his energy dragon started to fade. But then he stiffened again when Vix grabbed his arm and the dragon returned. The older teen was speaking again: "I have some advice for you too, however. About your hunting grounds; don't go to your current one tonight. Danes has a surprise for you there."
Bandit's eyes narrowed as he frowned. "An ambush?"
"Danes definitely has something planned."
"Why are you telling us this? How can we trust you?" snapped Blaster, his rage still visible.
Vix glanced at him. "Let's just say I—"
"—Like giving your 'prey' a head-start?" sneered Butch, finishing the sentence for Vix. He glared at his former-friend-now-enemy. "Enough bullshit; tell us why you're really willing to leak info. Danes would destroy you if he found out. You know he doesn't fully trust you."
"I've never been one to listen to a 'superior'." Vix shrugged simply, before turning back to Bandit. "Thanks again, Bandit. And about Brick? Don't worry. His act isn't over yet." He shook the purple Ruff's hand and disappeared as a breeze rustled the leaves around them.
"Where did he go?" demanded Braker.
Boomer, who had been healing Brick, looked up worriedly. "Guys, we should get Brick to the infirmary or something."
"How the hell do we explain this to a nurse?" Butch shot back.
"We won't." Bandit didn't turn around, his energy dragon fully dissipating as he kept a cautious eye on the spot where Vix had been standing. "Take him to the infirmary secretly, Boomer. Try and heal him as much as possible before lunch ends. We're calling Mojo."
"What? How are we supposed to sneak a body inside the school!?" Butch looked at his brother like he was crazy.
"You figure something out. I'm going." Bandit spun around on his heel and walked off.
"Dammit, Bandit! Get your ass back here!" yelled Butch, but his purple-clad brother didn't look back. Sighing, the green Ruff turned back to his other companions, who were hoisting Brick up. "How are we even doing this?"
"You guys distract the nurse. I'll take him in and try to heal him as much as I can." Boomer gently pressed a glowing hand to a burn on Brick's arm. "He's roughed up pretty bad."
Butch sighed. "I can see that." If it would've been any other time, one Rowdyruff Boy could've easily picked Brick up. But the red Ruff's wounds seemed pretty bad. They had to carefully carry him so that his wounds didn't hurt even more than they probably already did.
"What did Vix do to him? Since when did Vix have fire powers?" Braker wondered aloud.
"There's a lot about the new Vix we don't understand," Blaster pointed out. He looked down, his gaze sad. He'd gone from angry to disappointed. "Times have really changed."
No Ruff spoke after that.
They stuck to the shadows...and the ceiling. To hide Brick more easily, the Ruffs floated above the unwitting students who had no idea what had just happened in the schoolyard. They also took a more deserted route, making sure that they avoid nosy classmates.
Every single time a group of students were spotted, Butch and Braker would distract them. The two Rowdyruffs had stated on the ground, and Braker would ask any passerby loudly, "Have you seen Butch?"
They would look around and Butch would "conveniently" turn the corner. Then the students would spot him and let Braker know. Braker would thank them before flying off with Butch, pretending he had stuff he wanted to ask about. All the while, the other Rowdyruff Boys would be quietly flying ahead.
If there was more than one group of students, Braker would ask extra loudly and claim it was urgent.
Luckily for them, the nurse's office wasn't far from the schoolyard. Relieved that they had made it, Braker relaxed as soon as the door came into view. "Thank God," he sighed, "I was getting really tired of asking where Butch is."
Butch rolled his eyes. "I love you too, bro," he stated, smacking Braker upside the head.
Boomer and Blaster were still lingering in the air with Brick. "You still need to distract the nurse," Boomer pointed out.
"I got this," replied Braker, "don't worry." He pushed the door open and called out, "Hello?"
"What can I do for you, Braker?" The nurse appeared.
"So, I wanted to ask you about like, what to do with wounds and stuff since I'm a Rowdyruff Boy and fight a lot and can get hurt a lot. Like, what do you do if someone's been burned really badly?" Braker smiled sheepishly as he finished. He had put emphasis on the word "burn", because he wanted some information that could help Boomer heal Brick.
"Yeah, I was wondering about that too," Butch added.
The nurse raised an eyebrow. "You boys can heal yourselves thanks to Chemical X."
"Well, we still get hurt," Braker continued, "and if it's really bad our body takes longer to heal. So I was just wondering about what to do..." He started to lead the nurse away from the infirmary, all the while talking about burns and wounds.
When Butch, Braker, and the teacher disappeared for sure, Boomer nodded at Blaster. The two remaining Ruffs floated into the infirmary, still carrying Brick. They chose the bed furthest from the door, hidden by curtains. Gently laying Brick into bed, Boomer then drew the blankets over his brother. He didn't cover the burned arms, however.
"Let's start healing him," sighed Blaster. He looked drained of all energy.
Boomer nodded, glancing at the clock on the wall. "There's only 10 more minutes until lunch ends. Let's hope Braker and Butch can live up to their 'master distraction' name. We should try and heal as much of him as possible."
"Bandit better hurry too. We need Mojo and Him to pick Brick up right away. We'll tell the teachers Brick wasn't feeling well so he went home. Mojo will leave a note." Blaster's hands glowed yellow. "Let's start."
Boomer's own hands lit up with a navy-blue. He pressed his hands to Brick's arm and willed his own Chemical X to help Brick's Chemical X heal the burns.
Meanwhile, not very far away, Bandit was talking urgently to Mojo on the phone. He'd walked until he found a secluded section before calling one of his fatherly figures.
"What do you mean there has been a slight complication or problem?" Mojo was rambling, his voice rising.
"Vix appeared, okay! Brick and him fought. Brick's been burned pretty badly," Bandit interrupted, trying not to let his own voice become a yell. He was failing, however.
"Since when has the sneaky traitor known as Vix ever had such powers; he's never shown he was capable and good at controlling fire."
"I don't know! There's a lot of things about 'new' Vix we don't know."
Mojo sighed. "And what is it that you wish Him and I, Mojo Jojo, to do? Do you desire us to come to the high school of Pokey Oaks High and pick Brick up?"
"That's the main point of this call, yes," Bandit replied, getting exasperated.
"So what are the other so-hinted at 'points' to this call over the phone that I, Mojo Jojo, wish to know and be in the know of?"
Bandit glanced out the window. "...Vix said some things before he left."
Mojo snorted. "He always happens to utter 'things' that are usually of no importance and only said to be an insult—"
"Not this time," interrupted Bandit, his gaze resting on a rabbit outside the school. "Vix said that we shouldn't go to our hunting grounds tonight. He said that Danes has something planned."
There was silence on the other end as Mojo contemplated this. "And you are sure we can trust him?"
"That's just it. I don't know." Bandit watched as the rabbit spotted a student walking by outside and streaked back into the bush. "I can't tell if he was telling the truth. Vix has a tendency to lie. But what if his warning is real? Have we become the prey, Mojo? Are we the rabbits that always go into hiding when predators try and hunt us down?"
The lack of a reply made Bandit feel uneasy. Finally, Mojo spoke: "I think we shall have to heed his warning this one time, thanks to special circumstances. As for us becoming the ones you refer to 'prey', or 'rabbits', I am not entirely sure myself."
"It doesn't rest well with me. We're the Rowdyruff Boys. We aren't the hunted."
"I know, Bandit. But this time things are different, as are the circumstances." Mojo sighed. "Him and I shall go and pick Brick up. Make sure to keep his new injuries a secret from the teachers and staff of the school; so in other words, hide this new outcome. I will make sure to call the office and let them know that Brick is...not feeling well."
"...Thanks, Mojo."
"I shall be there soon."
The click that sounded let Bandit know that their call had ended. Sighing, the purple Ruff collapsed against the wall and raised his head to the ceiling. What's going to happen now, Brick?
Back at the infirmary, Boomer's hands stopped glowing as he let himself take a break. The burns all over Brick's arms and hands were taking a lot longer to heal than he had hoped. "This is bad," he murmured. Brick had at least stopped bleeding; they had wrapped bandages around his injured body.
"We don't have enough energy for this." Blaster hit his head against one of the poles holding up the curtain that hid them from view. A light thump sounded as the pole rattled. There was creaking as the door opened just then, and a squeak of alarm wafted into the air.
Blaster and Boomer froze, exchanging looks.
"I-Is anyone in here?" a soft, shaky voice called out.
Boomer relaxed when he realized that it wasn't the school nurse (and that it was male). But then he stiffened again. "Sidney!" he hissed to Blaster.
Blaster nodded, holding his breath as footsteps sounded.
"Nurse, hello? I came by here for some more ointment. I-I got another sunburn." Sidney's voice was quiet and shy, as usual.
The two Rowdyruffs shared looks of panic. Only a curtain was obscuring them from Sidney's view.
"I'll distract him," Blaster mouthed. The yellow Ruff slipped out of the curtain, leaving Boomer with Brick.
When Blaster was outside, his heart was thumping. Sidney was part of Michael's group of friends, but the shy boy hardly ever caused trouble. Blaster looked around and spotted the other teen. Sidney hadn't seen him yet, so he cleared his throat loudly.
Sidney jumped and spun around, eyes widening. He relaxed (but remained stiff) when he spotted Blaster. "Oh; y-you scared me," he said.
"I can see that." Blaster took a step forward, unsure how to act. Even if Sidney was friends with Michael, he had never really tried to stir trouble with the Ruffs. So Sidney didn't deserve hostility, but since he was friends with Michael, he didn't exactly deserve kindness either. Besides that, Blaster had two sides to his personality. While he was usually the cheerful, innocent one, his temper was fiery and as bad as they came. Blaster had never tried to hide his displeasure of Michael or Vix, but he wasn't sure what to do when it came to Sidney.
But then Blaster remembered Sidney's mention of a sunburn. Go figure, he thought. Sidney and his friends had never been the strongest when it came to sunlight, but the shy one's weakness to sun was particularly bad. Blaster sighed. I can't just turn him away if he's got a sunburn. But I need to save my energy to help heal Brick.
"...Maybe I should just...go," Sidney suddenly offered. He looked nervous. He was already inching for the door.
"No, wait..." Blaster said the words before he could think them over or even stop himself.
Sidney froze, eyes wide.
"I'm not going to turn an injured person away," sighed Blaster, giving in to his generous side. "Even if they are...not on great terms with me."
"O-Oh no; I really think I should—"
"Come here."
Faltering, Sidney clearly hesitated. Then he approached Blaster carefully.
"I'll get you fixed up," promised Blaster, trying to add a cheerful tone to his otherwise awkward offer.
"There's no need—"
Blaster grabbed Sidney's arm, pulling his sleeve up, before examining it. All along both of Sidney's arms were blisters. They dotted his skin like a bad case of chicken pox; little bumps on very red skin. Blaster tried not to be disgusted by the image.
"I-It's not a very pretty sight," mumbled Sidney shyly.
Blaster sighed. "No, but it's not unfixable." He pressed his hand to Sidney's arm. The boy let out a squeak of pain at the touch. "You really need to be more careful."
"I-I try." Sidney averted his gaze. "It's just that our current gym unit is outside."
Blaster didn't respond as he watched part of the sunburns disappear. Sidney relaxed visibly, and Blaster looked his "frenemy" over. In a way, Sidney was much like him. They both loved sweaters and were usually shy and sweet.
I wonder how he ended up with such a bad crowd. Blaster tried to block images of irritatingly teasing Deth Jackson, so-mysterious-it-was-annoying Darkai, bossy Michael, and lying, thieving traitor Vix out his mind. And what about the new kid, Ross...? Blaster knew Sidney was friends with them because he had grown up with them, but if things had been different he and Blaster could've been friends...
After a few moments, Blaster was done. Sidney's sunburns were gone. Sidney looked relieved. "Thank you," he said, pulling a black bottle out. Blaster glanced at it and quickly read the label: "Better Antidotes!: True Sunscreen". In a smaller font it read: "Helping sensitive skin since 1873". He remembered seeing Sid and his friends use it often.
Sidney rubbed it on his arms, before looking up and smiling. "Th-Thanks for the help; I'll be g—"
The door slammed open and Michael appeared, his blue-green eyes snapping toward Blaster and Sidney. He seemed to be dumbfounded for a few seconds at the sight of his friend being with a Ruff. Then he frowned and stormed over, standing protectively in front of Sid. "I don't care what you want from my friend, but you're not getting it," he claimed loudly, a challenging look in his eyes.
"Michael, no—" Sid tried, but Blaster was already getting annoyed.
"Butt out of this," Blaster snapped at Michael, glaring at the boy.
Michael narrowed his eyes. "You Ruffs are nothing but trouble. You're so bad you hide behind this 'sweet and nice' facade."
"It's not a facade!" yelled Blaster, angered that Michael thought he was always pretending to be nice.
"STOP!" shouted Sidney, shoving both boys away from one another. "We can't fight here!"
"Tell that to your godawful friend Vix!" Blaster blurted in anger.
Sidney turned to stare at him in shock.
"What do you know about Vix?" snarled Michael, shoving his face into Blaster's. "You barely know anything about him!"
"You're right; I don't know the new Vix. But he's certainly not a good friend. He betrayed us for...for you guys! And even after everything with Damon—"
"Damon was inhumane!" snapped Michael.
"He was our friend!"
"There you go! If you can be friends with a traitor, then we can be friends with Vix—whom you happen to call a traitor!"
"He fought my brother today! He hurt him!" Blaster shouted.
"Guys, stop!" screamed Sidney, covering his ears with his hands. "Enough fighting! We can't fight here. As for Vix, I have no idea why he decided to attack today."
Blaster kept a wary eye on Michael. "I don't trust any of you."
"Why you little—" Michael grabbed Blaster by the arm.
"Don't!" cried Sidney, his eyes widening as he shoved Michael away.
Stumbling backwards, Michael's glare shot daggers. "What the hell, Sid! You know what a pain these Ruffs—"
"Michael, don't. Blaster helped me today. He healed my sunburns. See?" Sidney held up his hands, which were shining thanks to the sunscreen he used.
Michael backed off, but his glare never left his face. Blaster was fine with that, because he was also still wary.
"Thank you, Blaster. I'm really grateful. I hope your brother will be okay," murmured Sidney.
"...You're welcome." Blaster straightened.
Michael let out an annoyed huff as he rolled his eyes. "I only came by here to check on Sidney. I'm leaving." Then he stomped away.
Sid was about to follow, but Blaster stopped him. "Why did you stop Michael from attacking me?" Blaster realized that it had been the first time in a long time that Sidney had been...not shy.
Sidney blinked, before smiling gently. "It was just a matter of choosing sides. I couldn't just let Michael harm you. Even if Michael's my friend, it doesn't mean I can't see that sometimes he'll be in the wrong. I'll always try to do what's right, even if it has to involve me confronting my friends. Besides, you...you helped me." The boy walked off. "Bye, Blaster. See you around; and thanks again..."
Blaster watched him leave. That's right. They're the enemy, but they're not evil. They still have morals. Except for Vix...
Boomer tackled Blaster as soon as the door closed behind Sidney. "What the hell were you doing, Blaster!?"
"I couldn't just leave Sidney all injured!" exclaimed Blaster in defense.
"And what about Michael!?"
"I got mad, okay!?"
Boomer sighed. "Let's just wait for Bandit, Him, and Mojo."
"I'm sorry, Boomer." Blaster glanced down at the ground. "I guess I wasn't thinking straight."
"...It's okay." Boomer swung an arm around Blaster's shoulder, offering a comforting smile. "Having your brother be attacked and injured really badly can ruin anyone's day. I'm pretty sure no one would think straight in that situation."
Blaster managed to smile back.
The two tried to heal Brick more, but both of them had exhausted a lot of their healing powers. They were relieved when Bandit showed up with Mojo and Him.
"How's he holding up?" Him asked.
"Not well. He's still not awake," Blaster said.
"We will take him back to the place we call home, as in our residence. You Ruffs should get ready for the class that shall start in just a few minutes," Mojo ordered.
"Yes, Mojo." Boomer checked one last time on Brick's breathing before following Blaster and Bandit out the door. Boomer looked back at the infirmary one last time, sighing quietly.
Blossom stared at her phone, lying on her bed. She had a pounding headache, but she couldn't stop thinking. School had ended terribly—Brick wasn't in any of his classes after lunch. The teachers got calls from the office that Mojo and Him had come to pick Brick up because he "felt sick".
The pink Puff couldn't help but wonder if Brick was really sick, or if he was deliberately avoiding her. Did he really hate her that much?
Sighing, Blossom pressed her fingers to her temples and rubbed. The rain was splashing against her window relentlessly outside, and the drab weather fit her dreary mood.
A knock sounded on Blossom's door. "Come in," murmured the redhead.
The door opened and Bubbles appeared, her blond head bobbing as she walked over to her sister. "Blossom, I need some advice."
"On what?" Blossom sat up and raised an eyebrow, trying to ignore her protesting brain, which suddenly felt even more dizzy.
"...It's about boys, but just in a 'friends' way," Bubbles admitted, after clear hesitation. "There's this really sweet guy I know, and I talked to him today. He was really cool. But then there's this other guy I know who told me to stay away from the one I had just talked to. But I really do like this nice guy, so what do I do?"
Blossom smiled slightly, amused. Is she talking about Boomer? "If he's really as sweet as you say, then it shouldn't matter if you keep talking to him. Gentlemen are few and we girls should make the most of their company—" Blossom stopped herself, an image of Vincent drifting into her mind. She quickly shoved his image away and continued speaking: "—Tell your friend this..."—Blossom's head started to hurt again. She remembered how her argument about "gentlemen" had gone with Brick—"but be careful of your friend's feelings."
"Okay. Thanks, Blossom." As Bubbles disappeared, Buttercup entered the pink Puff's room.
Buttercup glanced back at Bubbles' retreating form. "What was that about?"
"Boy troubles."
"Oh. Okay." Buttercup sat down at Blossom's desk and flipped through her sister's binder.
"Will it kill you to knock every once and awhile?" Rolling her eyes, Blossom flopped back down on her bed and rubbed her temples again.
"The door was open." Shrugging, BC walked over to Blossom and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Say, Bloss... Are you mad at me?"
Blossom sighed and propped herself up. "No." But even as she said it, she knew that she didn't completely mean it. A small, cynical part of her was mad at Buttercup.
"...Okay." Even Buttercup didn't look 100% convinced. She glanced back down at her lap, fiddling. "Sorry about the text."
"It's okay." Blossom let her head fall into her pillow and moaned at more aching in her head.
Buttercup hesitated, before placing a hand on Blossom's shoulder. "Maybe you should go visit the Ruffs and talk to them."
"...You think they'll talk to me? What if Brick's already told them why he hates me?" Blossom peeked up and frowned.
"Oh come on. You know Brick's not that kind of guy. He's my friend too, y'know."
Blossom felt a weird feeling when Buttercup said the last part. How do you know Brick so well? But she kept her mouth shut as Buttercup kept talking.
"Brick usually bottles his emotions up and won't tell people why he's upset."
"Gee, that helps a lot. Thank you." Blossom rolled her eyes.
"I'm serious! Go talk to him," insisted Buttercup.
Letting out another sigh, Blossom forced her tired body to get up. "Maybe I will," she finally said.
Buttercup grinned. "Awesome!" She ran out the door. "You better go now. Grab your coat and an umbrella! Talking to Brick is top priority. Hut, hut, hut, Bloss!"
"But it's pouring rain outside." The words left Blossom's lips before she could stop herself.
Buttercup's head poked back in and she gave her sister a blank stare. "Oh come on. Do you want Brick to hate you even more than he already does? Just explain things to him. Let him know I'm sorry too, 'kay?"
"'Kay," murmured Blossom.
Buttercup nodded and disappeared again.
Blossom, on the other hand, slipped on a pink-and-black jacket-coat. She reached for her pink umbrella, glancing it the window. Heavy rain splattered against her window, and the pink Puff closed her eyes and sighed again.
Then she flew off. She made her way for the door, saying bye to the Professor. He asked why she was going out in pouring rain, and Blossom almost couldn't answer. Buttercup saved her by telling him that Blossom was working with Brick on their project. Remembering that Blossom had planned this ages ago, the Professor asked if she needed a lift. She said no and he told her to be careful flying outside in heavy rain. Then Blossom left.
The Rowdyruff Boys' house was just as Blossom remembered it. She landed at the front door, her pink streak fading behind her. Taking a deep breath, Blossom raised a tentative fist and knocked.
"How's he holding up?" Butch immediately bombarded his brother Bandit with the question as soon as the purple Ruff appeared on the stairs.
Bandit sighed as he trudged down, too tired to even fly. "Not good. He's still not awake, but at least he's alive."
Butch groaned and collapsed against the wall. "This blows."
"I know it sucks, but this is how things turned out and we're going to have to live with it."
"Does this mean Brick won't come with us for the new hunting grounds problem?" asked Boomer, popping up.
"I suppose so. I mean, how is he going to get up and walk around after this?" Bandit responded.
Butch let his head fall thump against the wall. "My head hurts."
Bandit raised an eyebrow. "Hitting your head won't help."
"Shut up."
"This isn't the time for fighting," scolded Blaster, carrying a tray of medicine, pills, bandages, and other medical supplies.
"Yeah, we need to stick together." Braker's voice had lost most of its usual enthusiasm.
Blaster looked each of his brothers over one last time before floating up the stairs for Brick's room. "We still have a lot of him that we need to patch up."
"You go do that." Butch stood up, glancing at the front door right behind him. The Ruffs had told the teachers Brick was feeling sick, and Mojo and Him visited the office to confirm it. Then the teachers got phone calls and acknowledged the fact.
Blossom seemed particularly concerned with Brick's sudden disappearance. Butch didn't know if it was because she cared, or because she hated when students missed class.
"I'll make some dinner. We still need to eat." Boomer's words snapped Butch out of his depressed thoughts. The blue Ruff began heading for the kitchen.
Just then, a knock sounded on the door.
Butch's eyes widened. "What do we do?" he hissed.
"Answer it, stupid!" Bandit hissed back, before disappearing into the shadows. The other Ruffs followed his example.
Rolling his eyes, Butch got up and opened the door. To his surprise, Blossom stood outside with pouring rain behind her.
"Blossom...?" Butch blinked, trying to figure out why on earth Blossom was there. "What are you doing here?"
The rain was pelting down against the ground, creating deep puddles. Blossom could feel cold wind against her back, and she shivered. She wondered why the door was still unanswered.
Before she could knock again, the door was thrown open and Blossom met eyes with Butch. He seemed surprised.
"Blossom...? What are you doing here?"
Wincing at his harsh tone, she tried to piece together a quick excuse: "I just wanted to see Brick for our pro—"
"Brick's not feeling well."
Blossom stared at Butch, feeling hurt. He hadn't even let her finish speaking. "I know; he wasn't there at school, but I wanted to at least check on him—"
"No!" said Butch quickly.
He sounded panicked. Blossom swallowed. "Butch, please..."
"I mean..." Butch paused and took a deep breath, his eyes growing dark. "He doesn't want any visitors."
"But I just want to talk to him quickly!"
"Sorry, Bloss; but I don't think Brick wants to see you."
Blossom felt like she'd just been hit. "...Excuse me...?"
Butch shrugged. "Sorry. I really don't think now's a good time. Maybe later."
"Wait!" cried Blossom.
"Bye, Bloss." Then Butch shut the door in her face. Blossom was left out in the cold, rain pounding against the walls. Did Brick really tell them about our argument? Is that why Butch was so curt with me? He looked like he wanted to get rid of me.
Sighing, Blossom stared at the Ruffs' door and tried not to scream. She knew an argument was just an argument, but the way everything was going down made her feel so much worse. The thought of every Rowdyruff Boy avoiding her for life didn't sit well with her. As a five-year-old, Blossom would've cared less what the Ruffs thought of her. But now, as a teenager, they were friends.
And friends stuck together, right? Which was why it hurt so much more when things fell apart.
I guess Buttercup was wrong. Brick is the kind to tell people why he's mad.
Blossom closed her eyes and felt something wet slip down her cheek, although she tried to convince herself it was just the rain. Then, taking a deep breath, she turned around and slowly trudged off, the rain pelting against her skin.
On the other side of the door, Butch collapsed against the wall. Was I too harsh? Maybe, but I kind of needed to be harsh. Blossom's known to be nosy and poke around when there are things that aren't her business. If I hesitated even a little bit, she'd try to pry information out of me. He tried to convince himself that he hadn't been in the wrong. Besides, even if I did let her in, Brick can't talk to her right now. He's unconscious, for God's sake! None of us want to worry the Puffs or freak them out. BC already knows too much when it comes to Vix. We don't need them to find out more. This is private matters. Right...?
And yet, Butch couldn't help but feel guilty for turning Blossom away so readily. The look on her face was so upset it hurt. Butch groaned and hit his head against the wall. Life sucks. I wish Brick was awake. He's our leader. He'd know what to do. Goddammit life sucks.
"I'm home!" The door slammed shut behind him as he sighed, throwing his bag down on the ground. The boy sat down, pulling his scarf off and ruffling his curly brown hair. "I had a tiring day today."
"Tell me about it."
Jumping, the boy turned around and relaxed. "Jesus, Vix! You scared me."
"I have a tendency to do that." Vix winced as he sat down on a coffee table by the stairs.
It was just then that the boy noticed the wounds that crisscrossed Vix's arms. One of his arms were even burnt! "What the hell did you do today?" demanded the boy.
"I got in a fight, okay?" grunted Vix, rubbing one of his hands. He let out a curse when he noticed that a cut had started bleeding again.
"You didn't even try to get patched up?"
"I didn't have the time to do. After the fight I had some arrangements I needed to make. I just got back."
"Damn it, Vix; are you trying to kill yourself?" sighed his companion.
Vix tossed his long red hair aside, narrowing his jade-green eyes. "I wouldn't try to do nearly suicidal missions if it weren't for the fact I do all of Danes' dirty work."
"You know that's not true."
"He doesn't trust me. I'm one of his lackeys."
The boy frowned, grabbing Vix's arm. "Okay, that's it. We're getting you patched up."
Vix let out a protest, trying to pull his injured arm back. "I'm fine. I just need to rest my eye for a bit and then I'll heal everything."
"You'll overload your powers and you know it."
Vix grumbled, "I wish I was stronger."
"You're already plenty strong. You just do crazy things that even super powerful people can't do," the boy responded, grabbing some bandages from his bag. He began wounding the soft gauze around his friend's arm. "How did this opponent burn you?"
"He's got some pretty cool—or should I say 'hot'—powers."
"...Okaaay." Tying the knot, the boy leaned back to admit his handwork. "There you go. All bandaged up."
Vix flexed his arm. "Not bad," he remarked, his eye glowing white. Then he winced. "Ugh."
"Are you okay?" The boy glanced back at Vix and was shocked to see blood seeping down Vix's cheek. "What the!?" he shouted.
"I've used my eye too many times today," panted Vix, covering his eye with his hand.
"Dude, go rest or something!" yelled his companion. "Since when did your eye bleed!?"
"It usually doesn't. It only does when I use it too much. Guess that's why people say not to bite off more than you can chew."
The boy looked down. "Does this mean you lost the fight?"
"...No. I won." When his friend looked up, he was surprised to see that Vix actually looked guilty.
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"I guess. If you want to put it that way." Vix reached into his pocket and pulled out an eye-patch, which he tied around his face. It was a soft white pad. He wiped the blood off his cheek.
"Did you...kill your opponent?"
"No," sighed Vix.
"Does this mean he wasn't a threat?"
"He is a threat. I just can't seem to bring myself to kill him now," murmured Vix, glancing at the clock on the wall.
"Why not?"
"...He used to be one of my best friends."
"...Oh."
Vix stood up, swaying slightly. He steadied himself by grabbing the stairway railing. He turned back to his friend. "Oh, and one more thing."
"Yes?" The boy looked up, brown hair falling into his face.
"Thanks, Ross."
"...You're welcome."
ME: So yeah, that's the latest chapter! To be perfectly honest, I've been hoarding this chapter.
BUTCH: You mean you were done ages ago!?
ME: Yeah, but at first I just wanted to space the update times more evenly. Then I kind of just forgot.
BUTCH: *face-palm*
ME: What!? I've been really busy! With like, schoolwork and drawings on DeviantART! Go to my dA and look at my latest Halloween contest entry. It's huge, with like 20 characters!
BUTCH: I don't want to hear it, man.
BRAKER: Leave a review so Kuku will be happy and update sooner!
BLASTER: Oh, and next chapter we deal with the hunting grounds issue~ Look forward to it~
BUTTERCUP: This has been a loooong day, hasn't it?
ME: Yes. It's spanned quite a few chapters now.
BUTTERCUP: ...I meant for us. In the Author's Notes. But yeah it's been long in the story too.
ME: ...Also a yes. It has been a long day. *glares at Brick and Butch*
BRICK: *rolls eyes*