~Blossom~
With the reuniting of her sisters and herself, Beatrice found her headaches to have disappeared. She aimlessly wondered if they were in any way connected to the stress of living without her sisters in her life at all. She tied her coat around her waist tightly, the cool November wind rustling her hair to the side.
Brick had asked her to meet him in North Townsville, but he didn't explain as to why. The longer she waited for him, the stupider she felt, and the more her panic would rise.
On the horizon, the sun began to set behind the skyscrapers, and with a chilling fear she realized it would soon be dark in the worst part of the city.
"Bea," a voice called out from behind her, one that she had grown to recognize even in the loudest of surroundings. She had noticed that as time passed, Brick began to grow into the Brick she had known years ago, and that wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Sure, he was no longer as shy and awkward, but that also meant that he was possibly more manipulative and calculating.
She managed a smile, "Hey Brick. So what did you need?" And why did you need to bring me to North Townsville at dusk to get it? She added silently.
"I need…" he paused, as if to find the words, "To make things right," the words felt as though it was causing a heavy struggle inside him. He was wearing his heart on his sleeve, and she could see the conflicting emotions travel across his face.
Should he or shouldn't he?
Should he what? What is he going to do?
"Do you trust me?" he said finally.
Do I?
"Yes," she said on impulse, slightly surprising both herself and Brick.
"Can I trust you?"
No. She thought, but she didn't voice it, "Of course," she said instead, placing her hand on his bicep, "what's this about?"
"I'm going to get into a lot of trouble for telling you this…" he said slowly, and she felt her sense heighten.
Finally. But her emotions weren't relief. They were guilt, and shame.
She waited for him to continue, and when he did, she wasn't surprised at all that he began to talk about the Xion android, she was however shocked to discover that he was the only Rowdy Ruff who knew about it, and that he was strongly opposed against it.
He looked at her with concerned eyes, as if what he had just told her might cause her head to explode. She took a slow breath, unsure of how to handle this. She half contemplated spilling everything, too, but decided against it.
He's telling this to Beatrice whom he trusts. Not deceiving Blossom. She shuddered at her given name; she hadn't called herself that in years.
"Well," she began, "Don't you have super powers? Can't you do something?" She felt so childish.
He chuckled grimly, "Have you met Him? I hope not," he added, not allowing her to finish.
She hadn't realized how trapped Brick had been, as well, and she began to saw him in a completely new light—instead of pure evil, he was now merely a man who did what he could to survive. That didn't make him exactly good, but it was better than simply having evil intentions.
Her motherly instincts kicked in, and she wanted nothing more than to hold Brick in the same way she would hold a crying child. She yearned for her lost years, wondering if she would ever even be a mother—she didn't think she wanted to raise a child in a sort of post-apocalyptic world.
Has this always been the way? She thought, wondering if he had the same conflicting emotions about causing havoc all those years ago when they had the greatest fight the world has ever seen.
"Well what are you going to do? Are you just going to let Him get away with killing three quarters of the world's population?" She placed her hands on her hips, and looked at him expectantly.
He chuckled again, "You remind me of someone I used to know,"
"Used to?" She challenged, "What happened to them?"
"She's gone," he winced slightly. Again, she considered telling all, but figured he would feel betrayal more than relief.
"You have to do something," she begged, hoping he would have a change of heart.
"There's nothing I can do. The situation's hopeless."
Hopeless. She repeated silently. Everything about my life is hopeless.
"So you're just going to sit back and watch people die?" She spat, unable to control her disgust, wondering how she ever felt pity for someone who only ever wanted to save himself, "Why tell me?"
"I wanted to warn you-,"
"Well I wish you hadn't. I can't believe you."
He must think he's being so valiant. By warning me. Yet he refuses to do anything to save the millions of other people who are going to die fighting for their freedom. He's just going to sit back and watch.
"Don't be a hero, Beatrice," he sounded heavily concerned.
"It's not being a hero. It's being a leader, and not a follower. That's the difference between good and evil, Brick. It's either saving your own life and watching others die, or leading the fight to freedom," she was surprised out how venomous she sounded.
"What's the point if you know you don't stand a chance?" he pleaded.
"The point?" she sounded incredulous, "It's the principle of the matter. I will not lose my morals,"
He looked stunned, but she didn't care, because it was at that moment that she realized it didn't matter if she didn't have her powers back. She was tired of laying low, and cowering in fear. It went against everything she's ever worked for. It was time to be a leader. She clacked off and began to walk home, not bother to look back and see if he was still there.
She needed to tell her sisters what she found out immediately, it was only right.
When she got home, locking the door behind her, she let out a sigh of relief. Only, it didn't come out like she thought it would. Instead, it came out icy. A little too icy.
I can't believe it. I have to call Bianca and Belle. Now.
Author's Note: This is me answering some questions that I figured were pretty clear, but that's because I wrote it and I know what's going on :P! So here are questions I've collected (paraphrased):
Q: Could you write longer chapters?
A: I could, yes, but to be quite honest, I can't contain myself. Basically every chapter is a different POV, I like ending a chapter when I want to switch POVs because in my opinion as a reader, it makes it slightly clearer when reading. And like I said, I just really want to get it out there for you guys to see, because I love your reviews. You all are just so sweet and I hate keeping you waiting.
Q: Why does HIM make the guys sign contracts? Is he really afraid of the law or is he just trying to give them a sense that they have a choice?
A: HIM is manipulative, so, yes, he does want to give them the sense that they have a choice. If you notice in the chapter I bring up the contracts, Brick says "If we agree to signing them," and HIM pauses as if he's irritated with Brick for even suggesting they have any more say in the matter. The RRB are basically the law, so it wouldn't be because of that. He simply likes laying it out flat, the details, and then having people sign off to it. Kind of like how the devil makes people sign their souls, if you know what I mean.
Q: Why doesn't HIM just kill Morbucks and steal his money?
A: It's not really HIM's style ;)
Q: What is a Writer's Block? (Don't feel stupid!)
A: Writer's block is when an author loses the ability to produce new work. It varies in intensity. Sometimes it's having trouble wording something, and sometimes it's having trouble finding out how to solve a problem, or what to say next. It could be something minor, like a temporary difficulty in dealing with the task at hand. Or it could be extreme, like being unable to write anything for months at a time, maybe even years, or maybe even abandoning the project. Sometimes it's just the author viewing their work as inferior or unsuitable, when really it's gold.
Q: What's up with Eric?
A: If you remember, in one of the first few chapters, Belle thinks Eric is cute. She becomes good friends with him, and when Bianca suggests Belle try jealous tactics, Belle sees the perfect opportunity with Eric.
Q: Are all the other villians dead?
A: I'll leave that up to you guys. While watching the show, I only saw three villians the girls had trouble with. The rest were practically harmless, so to speak. Him, RRB, Mojo Jojo (he was harmless too, but he caused the most trouble).
Q: Do they ever talk about how the girls actually killed the boys first?
A: When Mojo Jojo first discovers his boys in the park, they don't remember him. This is because they are technically a new RRB. So they would be mad that the PPG 'killed' them, but it wasn't really them.When RRB killed the PPG, the girls weren't re-created, they were saved.
Q: "The worst kinds of nightmares were once memories."- Did you make that up?
A: Yes siree bob.
Q: Why does HIM hate the PPG so much?
A: Because HIM is evil and the PPG are not. Because HIM wants to take over the world and the PPG want to free the world. They are literal opposites, and they simply irritate HIM.
That's about questions in the first three (?) pages, and I'm too lazy to go back and answer the other ones. Enjoy this chapter :)!
