Author's Notes: Wow, it has been two years since I wrote this story and what a journey it has been!
And now hoping for a happy new year and best hopes and wishes for everyone here!
Chapter 109: Better the Devil You Know
The City of Townsville.
Townsville General Hospital.
This hospital will just be another hospital in our particular setting if it were not for it being the hospital housing one of the most important figures to our main characters, or at least three of them. The creator of the Powerpuff Girls, Professor Utonium is presently being treated for his injuries in this medical facility, and his life hangs on the balance.
A grim moment indeed for our dear heroines, and our best wishes and hopes for Professor Utonium...
[Townsville General Hospital, Downtown Townsville, 2.00am]
Creak!
The door to Professor Utonium's ward creaked opened, and a nurse entered into the room to check on Professor Utonium's vitals. The nurse walked towards the life support system and took the readings before leaving the room. As the door closes behind the nurse, a reddish pink fog materialised beside the hospital bed.
A large crab-like pincer gently caresses the forehead of a heavily bandaged man, careful in its every stroke. A pale red being in a dark red dress watches over with its emerald green eyes, its regretful expression visible on its face. The dim lights of the intensive care unit is bright enough to illuminate the pale crimson skin of the being beside Professor Utonium, and the sullen face shook its head as if denying the truth before its very eyes.
"Oh Utonium... What have they done to you?" The infernal being said with a heavy heart.
The demon sat on the chair beside Professor Utonium's bed, taking a sigh as it moved its pincer to rest upon Professor Utonium's hand.
"This is not meant to be Utonium, this is not meant to be." A discordant and yet soft voice spoke out remorsefully.
Him is not pleased of this particular development, for Professor Utonium is vital in more ways than one to Him's plans with both the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys. With such a solid pillar of strength and reason taken out, Him's vision of the possible paths of the future turned murkier. There is also the implication of Townsville shutting down due to most of the technologies used in this city are Utonium's brainchild, but that is a secondary concern to the demonic overlord.
"Oh... How little Bubbles will be torn apart..." Him's eyes glowed with a fiery emerald flame. Him knew who the perpetrators are, for it bears the trademark that Him knew only too well. Heth hath no fury like a demon scorned, and a someone owe the demon its due.
[Townsville High Auditorium, Townsville High, 3.30pm]
While the rest of the Winter Ball group went about their arrangements and performance practices Boomer is sitting cross-legged on the stage, pondering what he will need to do in order to make the Winter Ball a success. Or at least the performance he was assigned to do. However Boomer's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden silence.
Boomer faced the source of the slight annoyance, only to see Bubbles entering into his view. The platinum blonde girl appear to be rather down and upon closer inspection, Bubbles' eyes are a little red. Another thing caught his cobalt blue eye; Bubbles not tying her hair in her usual pigtails and instead she had let her hair down her shoulders.
No...she didn't even bother to tie her hair,Boomer figured.
Bubbles placed her bag on one of the chairs as the other students murmured, and Boomer noticed that not one soul even say hello to the Powerpuff Girl. Indeed, Boomer felt that the others are staying away from her. Boomer took it upon himself to break the icy cold atmosphere, and he got up and immediately floated towards Bubbles.
"Bubbles, come with me." Boomer asked Bubbles gently. Bubbles stared at Boomer for a while with her light-blue eyes, but her nod signalled her acceptance of Boomer's offer. Before long the blonde boy and the blonde girl make their way towards the exit. Everyone else watched in silence as the two got out from the auditorium, wondering what will happen next.
Okay...so..um...how's the preparation for your Winter Ball performance?" Boomer asked once they are out from the auditorium.
"Guess it's going well." Bubbles answered monotonously.
Boomer knew that Bubbles is lying. The truth is that Bubbles been skipping her practices, but the other members decided to give her the breathing room she needed. Boomer decided to continue on, despite sensing a rather problematic vibe from the Powerpuff Girl.
"I see, that's good. That's good."
"You don't have to say anything if you have nothing to say." The sudden words that came out from Bubbles is much harsher than Boomer expected, and felt a little hurt by the comment.
"Alright...alright. Just trying to be friendly here, don't have to bite me for it." Boomer raised his hands in a non-confrontational gesture.
"You don't need to." Bubbles' uncharacteristic edginess made Boomer particularly uncomfortable, and it was then that Boomer decided to go straight to the point.
"There are times where people need to accept things, even if it sucks. Yeah, you'll need to accept that... Professor Utonium may not make-" Boomer added on, but a flash of anger appeared on Bubbles' face. Boomer's immediate instinct is to activate his Zeus mode. Boomer's hand immediately caught Bubbles' hands just an inch before it reached his face.
"He will make it." Bubbles gritted her teeth and for some reason Boomer felt a tinge of pain in his heart when he saw Bubbles' anguished wiped her eyes, but her tears kept on let go of the Powerpuff Girl's hand, and the Powerpuff Girl's teary zircon eyes is filled with denial and anger. She turned away and stormed off, leaving Boomer alone in the hallway.
"That ended well." Boomer realized that the situation is worse than he thought.
[Townsville General Hospital, Downtown Townsville, 4.30pm]
Bubbles sat beside the injured Professor Utonium and held on his hand once more. Bubbles swallowed as she watched Professor Utonium took each labored breath. It is Bubbles' turn to take watch over the professor, and she wondered if every moment will be the last time she will see the professor. The doctors had informed that Professor Utonium's life is hanging precariously by the thread despite the operation. The doctors also had informed the Powerpuff Girls that everything else is dependent on the professor's will to live.
The blonde Powerpuff Girl looked around anxiously from time to time, only to be greeted by the absence of any other living soul in the room.
Bubbles had been on for edge ever since the demon known as Her intruded into her mind. Bubbles always felt the presence of something sinister lurking somewhere whenever Bubbles felt depressed or anxious, and it is getting to her. The once chirpy teenage girl had lost some weight as a result, and her mental fortitude is slowly cracking. It felt as if every demon had the ability to enter into her mind, and she is afraid of what will come next.
Bubbles wanted to tell her sister about how she felt, but she never found the chance. Blossom had buried herself into her investigative work to find out the culprit, while Buttercup had dived into the various calls by TOCTSeF. Bubbles had not found something that can occupy her thoughts, nor had she been able to make herself do something. Her mind is a mess in more ways than one, and Bubbles known it.
So... This is Professor Utonium.
"Who's there! Reveal yourself!" Bubbles snapped, looking around the room once more for the origin of the deep voice.
It.
"It?"
"It that lurks in the darkness of evil men. It that clouds the actions of good men. It that fester in the indecision of uncertain men."Bubbles watched as a darkly flamboyant figure exited from her own shadow, causing her to jump back in repulsion. The silhouette given form is darker than the darkest black, and its imposing height is enforced by its long and lanky limbs and body.
"Greetings Bubbles Utonium. Can I have a word with you?"
Bubbles had no idea how the entity known as It does it, but somehow the rest of the hospital is pitch black, leaving on the immediate area around Bubbles and It the only illuminated area.
Bubbles watched anxiously as the tall and dark figure walked beside her, and Bubbles is instinctively reminded of the dashing appearance of French Musketeers. However while the romantic view of a French Musketeer is bright and colorful, the entity before her is anything but. The unnatural blackness if the entity is itself as disorientating as it is disturbing, for the darkness around Bubbles is brighter than the entity itself, if that even made sense to her. The grimness of the entity is further compounded by the single empty skull-like eye socket on one part of its face.
"Odd isn't it?"The being pulled a chair and sat beside her, all while under the wary gaze of the Powerpuff Girl.
"What do you mean?" Bubbles asked, knowing that the entity before he is a demon and all demons are predictably unpredictable.
"You and It have the same objectives, yet we are at opposite sides. We are here to stop Him, yet we are like oil and water. Even now, you will view me with suspicion. And you are right. For It is the one that did the deed."
Bubbles replied immediately with a fist aimed towards the entity's face. However Bubbles felt something odd from her knuckles, and she tried to pull away from It's face. Try as she might, Bubbles is unable to pull her fist from its face and that is a great cause of alarm. Its presence mocked Bubbles, for the' inability to exact retribution to the being that had hurt Professor Utonium haunted her even as she stared at the figure. Bubbles looked into the abyss in It's empty eye, and the abyss looked back at her. Bubbles hated the blackness given form before her, but she wondered on how does one hurt something that can never be hurt.
"You have a good glare right there, Bubbles Utonium."
Bubbles blood boiled like magma, and she can feel the rising warmth in her head and chest. The sensation is getting to her, and all she can feel is dread. But she can only follow the footprints set by her emotions, and she could not bear that she loved Professor Utonium every day and could not do anything to help him. The sadness and anger would not stop, and it repulsed the distraught Powerpuff Girl. Her body froze from her roiling emotions, and she gritted her teeth so much that a thin line of blood is running down her lips.
"Rage breeds rage, and if you face that desire it will overflow into you."
"Let go of me!" Bubbles felt the unnatural sensation like what she felt previously, and she struggled to break free, but no amount of force will allow Bubbles to escape its adhesive hold on her. Bubbles launched another fist at It's face, but like her previous attack she felt a strange sensation and now both her hands are stuck in the entity's face.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. By that rationale, it is better for It to just stop a good man in the first place."
"Let go!" Bubbles started to panic as the being's face started to form hands and grabbed on Bubbles' wrists and fists. With each hand several more hands grew and grabbed on to her forearms. Like a ivy vine slithering on a stick, the black flood of hands slowly made its way towards Bubbles.
"Thus, to prevent Him from triumph, It has done something: It had taken Professor Utonium from the equation of the Phantom's Blood."
"LET GO OF MEEEEEEE!" Bubbles shrieked as loud as she can, the force of her shriek causing the floor and the surrounding walls to crack and cave in. However the figure appear to not be affected in any way by the shriek. The inevitability of the darkness engulfing her only served to heighten the horror within her.
"Let her go." A dark baritone growl surprised It and Bubbles, for both recognized the voice that entered into the fray.
"Him?" Bubbles called out the name, only for her to feel a heavy sensation on her shoulder. Bubbles glanced to see the dark red pincer of the effeminate demon resting on her shoulder.
"Him." The dark being spoke with a condescending tone.
"Him indeed." The demon's usually affable demeanor is not present, the usually sickly sweet voice replaced by a dark baritone booming voice. The darkness enveloping Bubbles released itself from her arms and the eldritch darkness given horrible form returned itself to It's face and reformed itself. The dark adjusted its wide-brimmed hat on its head before responding to the new arrival with a shrug.
"Well, It sees no point to antagonize Him. It will make its leave." The black demon responded jovially as it tilted its hat.
"Get out." Him snarled.
"Have fun you two." It waved to the platinum-blonde Powerpuff Girl. The dark entity stuned away slowly before walking away from Bubbles and Him, slowly submerging into its own shadow. As soon as the entity disappeared, Bubbles turned her attention towards the other demon in the room.
"Are you here to mock me too?" Bubbles' said with venom in her voice, yet at the same time it is trembling with a great sadness.
"No. I am here to stop him from breaking your mind." Him's voice slowly regained its feminine contralto, resonating alongside its deep baritone voice.
"Aren't you always doing that to me?" Bubbles snarked.
"I prey upon your flaws and weaknesses, not your misfortunes." Him materialized a black cigarette from thin air, gently biting on the cigarette before it was ignited with a bright green flame. The demon took to leaning on the wall nearby and puffed up in the air.
Bubbles recognized the truth coming out from lips that are now puffing out light pink vapor, for the dark soul has a twisted sense of honor. Him treats everyone as a plaything, an easily replaceable toy that can be controlled and broken to its heart's content. But it will never achieve such a thrill if it does not create the situation itself in the first place. Indeed,Him's insistence on playing mind games with the girls to make things entertaining for itself is always its downfall as Him has a bad habit of underestimating the girls' willpower and overall resourcefulness.
Or is it?
The events of the past few months had shown that Him had outmatched them time and time again, and had plunged the city into a state never seen before in Townsville, no, American history. Somehow, something had made Him more direct and brutal and that unnerved Bubbles. Bubbles watched as the demon did not disappear, and Bubbles wondered why it stayed.
"I didn't know that you smoked."
"I just never smoked in front of you children before. By the way, aren't you forgetting something?" Him nonchalantly replied in a courteous manner.
"Forgetting what?"
"A thank you."
"Are you even-" Bubbles is unable to express her disbelief. For the demon to demand a token of gratitude is unbelievable.
"Of course not. After all, I did brought this upon you Bubbles." Him admitted with a heavy apologetic tone.
Bubbles clenched her fists, and she wanted to strike her fists upon the demon's face. However, something stopped her. Bubbles sensed that something is wrong with the demon, just like the day she noticed that something is off about Him in Little Moscow. The demon's flamboyance and theatrics is not present, and there is a certain world-weariness lingering around the demon. Him noticed Bubbles' observation of itself, and closed its emerald eyes as if to shut away the intensity of Bubbles' eyes.
"Don't mind me. I am just going to ramble on by myself." The demon warned the Powerpuff Girl before taking a puff from its cigarette.
Bubbles decided to lean on the wall beside the demon, and decided that there is no discernable harm in the demon just rambling to itself. If Blossom is around, she would had told Bubbles to not let the demon speak at all. Him's magic is of an ancient and powerful magic and the Powerpuff Girls had enough experience with it that if given a choice they rather not let the demon utter even a single word. But as previously noticed by Bubbles, the demon is behaving in a very uncharacteristic manner and Bubbles decided to listen first and shoot later.
"For old time's sake, I will impart my two cents; justice without strength isn't justice at all." The demon advised.
Bubbles was not expecting Him to give her anything, let alone an advice. Yet, there is something in her that compelled her to listen on. Yes, something had asked her to stay put, and she looked at the demon with her blue zircon eyes. The demon opened back its eyes, and the light in the demon's emerald eyes dimmed to a dark shadowy forest green. However the demon is just staring at the ceiling of the Townsville High hallway.
"There are countless examples of false heroes who don't think ahead and jump in to save thousands. They are just egotistical fools who happened to have luck on their side that fateful day. Troublesome to the extreme to others.What a true hero of justice need is intelligence, strength and spirit...the power to make their ideals a reality, the power to make the impossible possible. The resolution to put their sense of justice onto others." Him puffed its cigarette once more, and Bubbles listened on. It is not everyday that a villain imparts advice to their adversary, and Bubbles is graced by this very rare opportunity. But demon is as hypocritical as it comes and the advice may be a way to play with her mind.
"If you want to walk down the path to justice, you will need to become stronger." Him stopped to disintegrate its used cigarette, before lighting up another cigarette. Him got off the wall and started walking away from the Powerpuff Girl, and a red fog started to form around the flamboyantly suave demon.
"Wait..." Bubbles reached out to the demon, but her hand just went through the demon.
"Either you rely on someone else...or you pay some kind of price." Him's words slowly faded away like its own body, leaving Bubbles alone in the hospital ward.
Bubbles awoke with a gasp and cold sweat running down her forehead. The Powerpuff Girl looked around frantically and found herself in the intensive care unit where Professor Utonium was placed. Bubbles placed both her hands on her chest, and tears started to form in her light blue eyes.
Her phone vibrated, interrupting her from breaking down. Bubbles immediately checked her phone and she saw several messages from her sisters and Brick.
"What the?" Bubbles raised an eyebrow. Bubbles checked the messages one by one, and each one of them are asking her where she is. The concerns in the messages are genuine, but there is a particular theme in the messages. The messages are informing Bubbles of a meeting between the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys, and it is called by both Brick and Blossom. Bubbles knew that the two redheads do not see eye to eye often, but things must have gone really bad if the two redheads are organizing a meeting together.
[Pop's Diner, Downtown Townsville, 6.15pm]
"Things are worse than we thought." Blossom opened up.
The Rowdyruff Boys and the Powerpuff Girls are gathered in the diner, and the atmosphere around the table is particularly tense. It is not every day that the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys come together, let alone coming together for a meeting. Indeed, this is the first time that they are having a meeting like this without the instigation of either Professor Utonium or Lilith Morningstar.
Blossom placed a piece of paper on the table, and everyone except Brick and Blossom looked upon the paper.
"Is that... A map?" Boomer pointed out.
"The map of Townsville to be exact." Brick emphasised for his blonde brother.
"Why... What is this drawing on the map... It looks like a snowflake inside a box." Buttercup voiced out the particular thing she noticed on the map.
"If we are meeting just to talk about doodles, I'm out of here." Butch expressed his annoyance.
"These points," Brick pointed towards the four points that made a cross, "Marked the locations where the most spectacular attacks are made... Or in the case of Townsville High, about to be made."
"Townsville High is about to be attacked?" Buttercup slammed her hands on the table, causing Bubbles to instinctively jerk away.
"Yes...it will draw in everyone that wanted a piece to duke it out in the school. But Townsville High is high-profile distraction for Him's real objective. Now... These locations here are all the areas where the Lunatics had either taken control or some event had caused some uncertain amount of destruction." Brick pointed towards the other points and Buttercup recognized the mall that collapsed underground, burying Brick and herself. Boomer turned his attention to the point where Brick is pointing at and realized that he is pointing at the exact area where Bubbles and himself had fought Murcielargo in Little Tokyo.
"If everything is linked together, you will get an eight-pointed star in a ward, and at the heart of it all is a location we are all to familiar with." Blossom pointed towards the center of the asterisk-like lines and everyone leaned forward to take a good look.
"No way... Is that what I think it is?" Boomer expressed his shock.
"It's the monkey's home." Butch answered his brother.
"To be exact, it is the volcano." Brick emphasised the object of interest.
"But...what are we looking at exactly Brick?" Buttercup asked.
"We are looking at a Octagrammatical ward. Him's doing a damn ritual with the entire city, but I got no clue what he's doing." Brick admitted that the objective of the Lunatics escaped him for the moment.
"They took something of note at the military base, the prison and from inside Brick... It must play a role in this plan..." Blossom explained.
"Huh? What the hell did they took out from Brick?" Buttercup questioned her sister, and Blossom was reminded once more that her sister is not privy to the information that Brick knew. Blossom gave a glance towards Brick to allow him to explain himself.
"Something called the Trinisphere. And no, I got no idea." Brick preempted Buttercup's inquiry.
"But whatever it is, that is the reason why everyone's coming to Townsville. There's something here that everyone wants, but we don't know what it is exactly." Blossom pointed out.
"Phantom's Blood." A barely audible voice spoke out, attracting the attention of the other Rowdyruff Boys and Powerpuff Girls. Everyone is just as perplexed and surprised that Bubbles had the missing piece of the puzzle.
"That is why It... The black demon hurt the professor." Bubbles went silent once more, stopping everyone else from asking her for more details. Everyone took a seat, and moments later their meals are served to the Powerpuff Girls and Rowdyruff Boys. There is a moment of silence, as that is a lot of information that they need to digest.
"So...we now got a Battle Royale coming to Townsville High... And the volcano will play a role in whatever this Phantom's blood is... Don't know how that works, but that's how it is." Butch sighed.
Butch is half right, Brick thought. Brick had not informed Blossom of Operation Pantheon, and perhaps this operation will be linked to why the Rowdyruff Boys are placed in Townsville in the first place.