Chapter 2
He and Mike walked side by side down the road that they both took on the way home. He had left his car at home today, Mojo Jojo had decided that along with the antidote X Brick had been forced to endure making his wounds heal incredibly slowly, that he wasn't allowed to use his his powers, he couldn't fly home and was forced to walk. Mike didn't question why they were walking instead of driving, instead repeatedly kicking a pebble forward as they walked. The lack of questions about walking surprised Brick, knowing that Mike Believe had to be the most athletically challenged person he knew and was incredibly whiny.
"You didn't show up at lunch," he said, kicking the pebble a little too far, and they continued walking leaving it behind.
"I know."
"I was forced to talk to those idiot members of my student council and the only logical person in that whole group was missing in action."
Brick knew that he was talking about Blossom, and Mike would have his hide knowing that he was the reason he had to deal with those stupid people alone was because of him.
"My bad, Mikey. I didn't think I would be gone for so long."
"Uh huh, where were you anyway?"
Brick blanched as she remembered being alone in a classroom with Blossom unsupervised, in a somewhat intimate position. Brick knew that he had absolutely no romantic feelings for the Orange-haired powerpuff, but Mike might get the wrong idea.
"Nowhere! I was alone! Nobody else there!" He said quickly in a panic. Mike turned to him quickly, a smile on his face and an eyebrow raised.
Brick continued to dig himself into a further hole, "I mean obviously, I don't talk to anyone, why would anyone else be there? Oh, stop fucking looking at me like that."
Mike burst into laughter as Brick rolled his eyes.
"Jesus, Brick. Now I definitely believe you." He said, slightly out of breath from laughing too hard. They reached the street Mike's house was on, the park was another block down, he did not look foward to climbing up that stupid-ass mountain.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll see you tomorrow." He stuffed his hands in his pockets and continued to walk, ignoring the snicker behind him.
-O-O-O-O-O-
Brick's shoulders sagged in relief when he noticed the syringe with familiar black liquid in it even before he read the note. He quickly injected the liquid into his arm, already feeling better as the power came back into his body and his wounds began to heal faster. He picked up the note that was being held down by his newly returned car keys.
My eldest son, the most responsible because you were born first, making you the eldest. It is your father MOJO JOJO. I in my incredible generosity have decided that you have learned your lesson, a lesson that was very difficult to learn, but a lesson was learned. You may now have your powers back , powers that were bestowed upon you at your birth, powers that i took away and will now return. I am not coming home tonight, I am getting the new parts to my machine so that I can destroy the powerpuff girls, and I, MOJO JOJO can take over Townsville.
Love,
MOJO JOJO, your father and creator, the being who is responsible for your inception and existence.
He rolled his eyes crumpling the paper into a little ball and tossing it into the trash. He set his backpack down by his unorganized desk. His desk was the only thing that was messy in his otherwise immaculately clean room. He may have been a rowdyruff boy but that doesn't mean he had to suffer and live in a pigsty like his brothers. He sat down at his desk and fiddled with his newest project. It was going to be a little music box, but for now it was just an empty box with various gears and bits in there. He began to tinker with it, his hands flying to place the mechanical pieces where they belonged. Brick wasn't sure what it was, but something about creating something from nothing and how each part had a role and a purpose aws extremely satisfying. Even the Duke of Destruction could make something beautiful.
The time flew by as he continued working on the intricate mechanical continued until his eyes began to burn with exhaustion and the time on the clock told him that he should go to sleep before suffering the consequences in his classes tomorrow. He couldn't bring himself to get ready for bed, a strange uneasy feeling in his stomach at the thought of sleeping. Brick decided to stay up and just continue working, but as his blinking turned into longer and longer moments of closed eyes, he fell asleep at his desk, willpower gone.
He saw himself, his red eyes widening in the mirror, as he spun around. HE was in a dark room with the only light focusing on him. The walls were mirrors and there was no door ensuring that he had no escape. HE peered up at the ceiling but only saw black, he realized that the light was coming from seemingly nowhere.
Without warning the mirror began to move, on all sides the walls began to close in on him. Brick tried to push back on a mirror, but to no avail wherever he was, he was powerless. Panic began to overtake him as he pounded at the mirrors closing in. He was going to suffocate he realized and in a last ditch attempt threw himself at the glass. He heard the shatter of glass and when he opened his eyes he was no longer in the room.
A familiar hand grabbed his shoulder and hoisted him up. Surprisingly, it was Blossom, she had her orange hair completely down with no bow in sight. The curls flowed all the way to her waist, which made him realize that she was in what appeared to be pajamas. Her tanktop and shorts, revealed more of her skin than he had ever seen. Her long legs looked surprisingly soft, he would have expected them to be muscular from all the exercise she did beating up villains. He noticed her tank top had rolled up exposing her midriff and he saw thin red line peek out from underneath her shorts.
"Are you okay?"
His eyes quickly shot to her face, hoping that he didn't notice him checking her out. Even in his dreams with no repercussions, he didn't want her to think he was a creep. He nodded and she turned her head, quickly glancing behind her shoulder and the tiny glass shards in her hair shimmered.
"This must be a nightmare…" She closes her eyes and pinches herself apparently trying to wake up. HIs eyes narrowed, why the hell was she trying to wake herself up in his dream? This was getting weird...
"What are you-" He started but a booming voice erupted all around them, nearly knocking them off their feet. His hand reached out and steadied her before she fell.
He grimaced as the unknown entity shouted ,"Heed my warning…"
Two fates irrevocably intertwined
Pay attention or you'll be going in blind.
Secrets never uttered and promises broken
The dark one and his gate shall be opened.
Opposite Powers destined to combine,
Reunited having been separated from the beginning of time.
The only two who can hold off the attack
Quickly save us before the world turns to black.
A burning sensation overtook him and he doubled over in pain. He felt like he was burning from the inside out, it was impossible to hold back his scream as it spread to his back. He heard a feminine scream, but as he looked around Blossom was nowhere to be found. Her pain filled shrieks filled the air only interrupted by the voice.
"Find her."
"Who?" he managed to say between gritted teeth.
"Blossom Utonium."
~ Brick~Brick's eyes shot open, as he fell out of his desk chair and slammed onto the floor. Brick felt like he ran a marathon as he panted, the burning sensation from the dream had gone only leaving a dull ache in his body. He slowly rose from the floor and yawned, his hands outstretched in front of him. He looked over his hands and arms, and saw that his wounds were completely healed. He rubbed at his face confusedly, he still felt like he had injuries on his face and back. He reached for his phone, he hoped it had enough battery to last the school day. Falling asleep at his desk had been a complete mistake Brick realized as he yawned again, he felt like he hadn't rested at all and his body felt sore and stiff.
When Brick checked the time, his eyes shot open, any trace of being tired completely gone as he realized he was so late that he had missed first and second period. A text from Boomer said that they had let him sleep and had gone to school early, there were more texts sent after asking where he was. Brick tossed his phone onto his bed and scrambled to his dresser, where he yanked the first shirt he saw over his head. He pulled his pants on while he ran to the bathroom. Brick quickly grabbed his toothbrush and exited the bathroom, he began to brush his teeth furiously while he searched for his shoes. He spit into the trashcan of his room, and pulled his hair into a messy low ponytail. He scowled and shoved his hat over his messy unbrushed hair. He hadn't even had time to look in the mirror and could only imagine how ridiculous he looked. He shoved his keys into his pocket and quickly grabbed his backpack and phone before he bolted out of the front door. He drove as fast as he could to school.
He parked and locked his car, running up the front steps of the school. He sped past the main office, not bothering to get a tardy slip, third period had just started and he couldn't afford to be late, Mrs. Lebonsky was incredibly strict and unforgiving. He burst into the classroom and everyone turned towards him, their faces shocked. Mrs. Lebonsky was startled at the outburst, but her look of surprise shifted into annoyance. Her face began to turn red as the door loudly slammed closed behind him.
"Brick Jojo," she said sternly, "What do you think you're doing? How dare you disrupt my class."
"Uh- I'm sorry, it's just that-"
"Where is your tardy slip?" She held out her hand expectantly.
"Well I didn't-"
Her open hand clenched into a fist as she interrupted him.
"You come into my classroom tardy and have the audacity to not have a slip? I will not stand for this disrespectful behavior. You have taken valuable learning time away from these students."
Birck frowned at that, their supposed 'learning time' wouldn't have been interrupted if she had just let him sit down so she could continue with her lesson.
She continued her rant, her hand pointing at his face, "Not only that but you come to school looking like some kind of delinquent. Is that a gang tattoo?"
Tattoo? Brick's annoyance levels and confusion increased and opened his mouth ready to tell her exactly where she could shove her assumptions. However, he didn't have the time, because for the second time this morning, the door was slammed open with such force that the door was nearly ripped off its hinges. Someone barreled into him and he fell onto the floor with a crash, he heard a following thump which he could only assume was said person hitting the ground. He picked himself off the ground,and whirled around to see who had knocked him over. Blossom sat on the floor as she clutched at her face, and he heard her slight panting as she tried to stand with shaky legs.
He stepped forward and helped her up, his hand gripping her arm slightly too tightly. She removed her hand from her face ready to thank and apologize to him, but instead her eyes saw his face and her jaw immediately dropped. A biting remark about how happy he was to see her too died in his mind, when he saw markings on her face. Brick's face mirrored hers as he noticed three blue dots of varying size underneath both of her pink eyes. Another mark which looked like a 'v' shape was located in the center of her forehead and had another dot above it.
"Blossom? What the-"
Mrs. Lebonsky's enraged scream made both of them jump. She was so angry, her face had shifted from red to a putrid purple.
"BOTH OF YOU TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE!"
~ Blossom~
Brick and Blossom sat dejectedly on the chairs outside of Ms. Keane's office. Blossom tried to not be annoyed by Brick shaking his leg rapidly making the cheap chair he was sitting in squeak repeatedly. Blossom noted that his jaw was clenched and his brows were furrowed in deep thought. Blossom openly stared at the three long bright red lines starting from underneath both his eyes that ran vertically down and stopped at his jaw. He didn't notice as she sneakily leaned slightly closer to him trying to get a closer look. It couldn't be a tattoo, no needle could pierce their skin and even then, their superior bodies would get rid of the ink injected in them anyway.
Blossom figured subtlety be damned as she grabbed his face aggressively and pulled his face towards her. His eyebrows shot up but he didn't speak, and only looked at her questioningly. Blossom could feel her cheeks warm but stubbornly kept her grip on his jaw, studying the marks closely. He swallowed loudly, and his body shifted slightly but his face remained where it was.
"What is going on here?" Ms. Keane's voice made them jerk apart quickly. Both their faces flushed as Ms. Keane's eyes narrowed, eyes looking back and forth between them.
sighed and opened the door and gestured to her office, "Come on in."
Blossom and Brick shuffled quietly into her office. Blossom felt the anxiety make her stomach churn, today had officially been one of the worst days ever. She had been late and ruined her perfect attendance record. Then she had been yelled at by a teacher she had slowly and painstakingly made like her. That was especially frustrating, there were hours of sucking up that she would never get back. Lastly, she knew that she was going to be severely punished by Ms. Keane. Even though had reconciled with the professor and was now 'Mom' at home, the soon to be Mrs. Utonium turned into her principal when they arrived at school.
Ms. Keane quietly closed the door behind her and sat down at her desk. A framed picture of , the professor, and the three girls sat on top of her desk. Ms. Keane's smiling face in the picture did not match her disappointed face right now.
Blossom selfishly wished she had remained a kindergarten teacher, instead of slowly rising through the ranks to become a principal.
"I am very disappointed in both of you," Ms. Keane said.
She felt Brick stiffen at her side and she only shifted her feet slightly, but both remained silent.
Ms. Keane pulled out a form from within her desk and began to write, Blossom's anxiety grew with the deafening silence that was only broken by the pen scratching against the paper repeatedly.
She paused her writing to speak, her pen waving as she did so, "From what I've heard, you both arrived at school extremely tardy, interrupted class, and 'disrespected' your teacher."
She made air quotes at disrespected, which made Blossom want to laugh, but the inevitable tongue-lashing in her future made her stay silent.
"Listen, I know you both are good kids," Brick's eyebrows raised at 'both' but Ms. Keane continued, "I'm only going to give both of you lunch detention for a week starting tomorrow but it won't be on your official record."
Blossom let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
Brick's shoulders relaxed, "Thank you so much, Ms. Keane."
Ms. Keane just waved away his thanks, "Ah, don't worry about it. On another note…."
She leaned forward, hands flat on her desk, "What the hell is on your faces?"
Blossom turned to Brick, waiting for an explanation, but froze as she processed what said. Did she say faces? As in plural? Blossom's hands rushed to her face, trying to feel for any marks. She saw Brick do the same, and then he pulled out his phone from his pocket. Brick froze as he saw the marks on his face in the phone camera.
Blossom's head spun towards Ms. Keane who looked equally confused.
Blossom managed to croak out, "Do you have a mirror?"
Wordlessly Ms. Keane pulled out a tiny hand held mirror from her purse and Blossom snatched it from her hands. When Blossom saw the marks on her face, she tried to rub them off but to no avail. Brick had taken a tissue from Ms. Keane's desk and seemed to be attempting the same. Oh God. Blossom began to panic, it wouldn't come off. If this was a prank Buttercup had pulled on her, then Blossom was going to kill her.
She must have woken up like this, but no one else had been home. Her sisters had been gone, when she woke up. She had been slumped over her desk, her face on her unfinished homework, and her whole body in incredibile pain. This morning, she had been so cold, especially after the dream. Less of a dream and more of a nightmare. That incredible pain she felt as if she was freezing from the inside out. That mysterious voice, saying strange things, and telling her that she and one other person was the world's only hope. That person was standing in front of her freaking out as much as her. That person also had strange markings and Blossom knew that they must be connected somehow.
Brick seemed to reach the same conclusion as they both screamed simultaneously, "WHAT THE FUCK!"
The school day had flown by, her mind preoccupied with other things. She had sat with them at lunch again to the surprise of Mike and Brick, but no one had been more surprised than her sisters who had stared at her from their usual table across the cafeteria.
Blossom could feel their eyes on her with every bite she took of her lunch. She sat next to Brick, who was equally quiet as he ate his own lunch. Mike's eyes kept flickering from her face to his.
"So, uh- What's with the- er- y'know." Mike awkwardly gestured to their faces.
Blossom and Brick stiffened. Her sisters' eyes narrowed from across the cafeteria as they noticed the tension between the table. Blossom glanced at Brick, and he turned his head making eye contact with her. His eyes asked her a silent question, Can anybody else know? She shook her head slightly. He nodded and took a deep breath.
Brick smoothly lied, "Just tryin' out a new look. Ya' like it?"
Mike wasn't convinced as he stared at Brick intensely. "Haven't decided…"
To Brick's credit he didn't waver under Mike's gaze, but Blossom tensed as Mike's attention turned to her.
"Sooo… I get this idiot doing something like this," He gestured at Brick, "But you? I have a hard time believing the vice president and top candidate for valedictorian would get a face tattoo."
Blossom panicked, her mind searching for any excuse. For all her intelligence, Blossom was a terrible liar and couldn't come up with any excuses. She could only sputter which only served to make Mike more suspicious. Brick turned to her with a face that said, Seriously? She pleaded for him to help with her eyes. Brick rolled his eyes.
She stiffened as he threw his arm around her shoulder. Mike's eyes nearly popped out of his head. The burning glare from her sisters' gazes were outmatched only by the burning of her face. Her face sharply turned towards Brick, whose face was calm but there was a hint of pink on his cheeks.
"Sweet lil' blossy here..." he pinched her cheek with the hand not around her shoulder, "... isn't one to back down from a dare, especially one from me."
She turned back towards Mike, hoping that he believed it.
Mike's eyes narrowed but he nodded slowly, "Huh. Who woulda thunk? Careful V.P. don't want ol' Bricky here to influence you."
Blossom's eyes widened, but Mike Believe just stuffed a forkful of salad in his mouth. What was that supposed to mean? She looked at Brick who just shrugged and continued eating lunch with his free hand. She was acutely aware of his arm still on her shoulder. It was warm, it must be his fire abilities that made him like a walking heater. As the 'Ice Queen' it might have just been the fact that she was usually cold, but this time she had a feeling that wasn't it. Was she so desperate that she was strangely comforted by Brick's arm? Brick of all people? She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, and she saw that he was just nonchalantly eating. He must not have realized that his hand was still there. Maybe it wasn't as big of a deal as she thought. What if he thought Blossom was weird if she said something?
She decided to say nothing. Not because she wanted his arm around her, but because she had determined it wasn't a big deal. She took a sip from her water bottle satisfied with her reasoning.
Mike cleared his throat and Brick and Blossom both looked up. He had a grin on his face as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Brick seemed confused until Mike's eyes flitted to the arm on her shoulder. Brick followed his gaze, and his face turned red as he ripped his arm from her shoulder.
She silently mourned the loss of his arm, not that she liked it or anything. It was freezing in here, that's the only reason she wished he had kept it there. His hand was now stuffed into his sweater pocket as he determinedly kept his eyes away from her.
Jeez... she knew that she wasn't the best looking but was he that embarrassed to be in that position with her? She angrily took a bite of her lunch. When the bell rang they all jumped out of their seats, Brick quickly grabbed his bag, clearly desperate to get away from her.
He was already beginning to walk away with Mike as she grabbed her backpack. She realized that they hadn't been able to talk during lunch and swallowing her pride she rushed forward.
His eyes were huge as he looked at her hand gripping his arm.
"We-uh- need to talk about-" She glanced at Mike who was listening closely. She stood on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear, "-a dream."
His eyes widened at 'dream' but he nodded. Mike tapped Brick's shoulder, and pointed to a non-existent watch on his wrist. She realized that the cafeteria was nearly empty as people rushed to their classes. Only her sisters stood waiting for her at a distance.
"Meet me in front after school. We''ll go to Mary's Diner," He said before turning and walking away with Mike. Mike said something to him that made Brick shove him slightly.
She smiled slightly and began to walk in the other direction to her next class and was met with blue and green eyes. Oh no.
She sprinted down the hall ignoring the hall monitors yelling and managed to outrun them, but ultimately they had the same class so their questioning would be inevitable.
Blossom sat at her desk and hoped that this class would be a calm and relaxing respite from her chaotic day. The intense stares from either side told her that would not be the case. She hoped that it would be a lecture period so she wouldn't have to answer their questions. When the teacher announced it would be a free period she slammed her face onto her desk.
"So Bloss... You didn't sit with us at lunch today," Buttercup said sounding suspiciously smug.
Blossom huffed, "I had important school council things to discuss with Mike."
"Uh-huh."
Buttercup threw her arm around blossom and pinched her cheek. She looked at Blossom and exaggeratedly blinked at her.
Buttercup had a smirk on her face, "Now Bubbles… does this look like school council things?"
Bubbles giggled, "No, and neither did the whisper…" Bubbles wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
She shoved Buttercup's hand off her shoulder.
"Ouch. Didn't do that to lil' fire-boy, now did you?"
She scowled and Buttercup continued with a snicker, "First, they get these temporary tattoos together, now they have matching scowls. What's next?"
She didn't want to let her sisters know that these marks probably weren't temporary but decided against it. She ignored their giggles and hid her head in her arms. It was going to be a long period.
When the period ended, she sighed in relief, knowing that the two hyenas she sat in between couldn't tease her.
Her sisters walked by her side as she walked towards the front door.
"Alright, Blossy. Let's head out, I'm starving and Dad is making a special dinner today." Buttercup rubbed her stomach dramatically.
"Oh! The newest episode of The Red String Of Fate is out today!" Bubbles exclaimed, and happily skipped through the front door of the school and hopped down the stairs.
Blossom hated to burst her bubble, "Actually, I'm not going home yet."
They reached the front lawn of the school. Blossom stopped and both sisters paused along with her.
Buttercup looked confused, "Where are you going then? You didn't mention anything earlier."
"Mary's Diner." Blossom said with no further explanation.
"Ooooh," Bubbles clapped her hands excitedly, "We'll go with you, i've been craving a-"
Blossom interrupted her, suddenly shouting "NO!"
Bubbles looked taken aback, and Buttercup looked at her suspiciously, "And why the hell not?"
"Because - because - I - I- you- you can't," She said lamely.
"Who are you going wi-" Buttercup's eyes widened as she trailed off.
Blossom spun around and saw Brick talking to Mike as they exited the school. Mike laughed and said something to Brick. Brick flipped him off and began to walk towards them. Oh no. Once her sisters realized who she was going with, there's no telling what they'd do. It wasn't a big deal they were only going as friends. Not even that. They were going as temporary allies against whatever this was. However, Blossom knew that her sisters would jump to conclusions.
Brick finally reached her side and said, "Ready to go?" He tossed his car keys in that air and then caught them. "I hope you don't mind taking my car, it's slower than flying but I don't want to leave it at school."
"Oh, that's fine. It'll be a nice break from flying." They smiled at each other but his gaze shifted to her sisters.
She saw his face become confused as he looked at her sisters. She turned and saw Bubble's jaw hanging open. Buttercup's eyes went back and from between them rapidly. Buttercup's face broke out into a grin.
" . Are you guys going on a-" Blossom's hand quickly clamped over her mouth and she laughed awkwardly, while looking at Brick. His eyes were wide, as Blossom aggressively patted her sister on the back.
"Well, Buttercup, I'll see you later. I'm helping Brick pick out a present for Mike's birthday." She removed her hand from Buttercup's mouth, Blossom's eyes dared her to say more.
Buttercup only burst into laughter, and Bubbles said brightly, "We'll see you later Blossy! I'll tell Dad you're going out. Nice seeing you Brick!"
Brick silently waved goodbye at Bubbles who dragged away a cackling Buttercup.
She rolled her eyes and turned towards Brick, "All right, where are you parked?"
Blossom sat across from him in the booth, sipping her chocolate milkshake and ate some of her onion rings. She hadn't ordered a burger because her father would be very whiny if she didnt eat when she got home. She couldn't help but be envious of Brick's mouthwatering burger, Mary's Diner had the best food. Brick bit into his burger happily. He looked so carefree, not a care in the world. Blossom couldn't help but smile at how normal this situation felt. Weird dreams and mystery tattoos aside, they must have looked like normal friends, maybe even more. Not that that would ever happen. Her train of thought was interrupted when Brick plucked an onion ring from her plate and stuck his tongue out at her teasingly. Her jaw dropped, which only made him smirk. She pouted, and dramatically began to sniffle.
He snorted and shook his head, "Drama Queen." His eyes were lit up and he looked extremely pleased with himself.
Blossom opened her mouth to retort, when a fry was stuffed into her mouth.
She blinked as he burst into laughter.
"There. Now we're even," He said in between laughs.
She begrudgingly chewed and swallowed the fry, then shook her head, "Fine, but watch your back."
She grabbed a fry off his plate and pointed it at him threateningly before giggling.
He laughed and raised his hands in mock surrender, "Consider me warned."
They continued eating their meal until Blossom only had her milkshake left.
Brick sighed with satisfaction and then looked at her. A mischievous smile appeared on his face, "That wasn't half bad."
"Half-bad? You practically inhaled that burger," She said, eyebrows raised.
"No, your excuse earlier," He leaned forward slightly over the table. "Didn't think you had a lie in you based off of your reaction to Mike's questioning earlier," he snickered.
"Oh shut up. I wasn't expecting the interrogation."
"Are you telling me to shut up?" He placed a hand over his heart and wiped away a nonexistent tear, "Not very 'everything nice' of you."
She rolled her eyes and leaned over patting his cheek, "Now who's the drama queen?"
Their laughter was interrupted by their waitress whose name tag red Daisy, "Anything else for you love birds?"
They both froze and she snatched her hand back. Both turned into red stuttering messes.
Blossom shook her head, "I- we're not- I mean-"
Brick was also shaking his head, "No- we - it's not a- we're friends."
The waitress giggled, "For now," her voice singing 'now' mockingly. Blossom could only watch as the smug middle-aged woman Daisy plopped the check on the table and walked off humming. Blossom glanced at Brick, he held his face in his hands like he was trying to hide.
"Brick?"
His face lifted from his hands and his red eyes looked at her intensely. Blossom gulped and shifted in her seat.
"Maybe we should talk about the -er- dream,"
He tugged at the collar of his shirt, looking uncomfortable. "Oh. yeah. Sorry I didn't bring it up earlier- im probably keeping you- I didn't mean to- You probably don't want to be here." He looked extremely flustered.
She placed a finger on his surprisingly soft lips, "Brick. Relax. I'm having fun."
Blossom noticed that Brick looked slightly red. Hopefully, he wasn't coming down with something. His chemical x must have been working overtime when it healed his wounds. She was still confused at why he hadn't healed that day and who had done it to him. She felt a surge of anger, she wanted to scream at him. Why wouldn't he let her help? What was the point of being a powerpuff girl if she couldn't even help someone she cared about?
She swallowed her rising anger and settled with, "Are you okay? You look a little red."
He nodded and grabbed her hand pulling it away from his mouth so he could speak. Her hand felt so small in his warm hand.
"Yeah-" He tugged at his collar again, "Sorry, It's kinda hot in here."
Instinctively, Blossom blew cold air on his face, he closed his eyes savoring the cool air coming from her lips.
She whispered, "Better?"
"Yeah…" Brick said in a low voice and looked at her in a way that made her heart jolt.
He cleared his throat and averted his eyes, "So… the dream…"
He then explained the dream to her in detail. Based on what he told her, they seemed to have been in the same dream. The only difference was that for her, Brick had disappeared.
She shivered, remembering the extreme cold she had felt. She was always sort of cold, her ice powers making her temperature slightly lower than average. She was also usually immune to extremely cold temperatures, but she had felt humanly weak as she had felt that freezing within her. Blossom had been so cold she felt like she was burning. She remembered hearing her own screams and Brick's. Blossom had cried out for him but he had abandoned her, and left her alone, again.
She looked up at Brick and saw her worried expression mirrored in his, and he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
She had asked the voice how to save the world. A chill ran through her bones remembering its booming voice.
Find Brick. Ask Him about the 'Dark One'.
Blossom and Brick silently walked to his car. He opened the passenger door for her, closing it after she slipped in. Brick walked around the car and silently entered. They both sat silently, Blossom's fingers running along the seam of her seat. She watched as Brick's fingers tapped the steering wheel nervously. He made no move to start the car, but looked lost in thought.
"Who's the Dark one?" She blurted before she could stop herself.
He turned towards her, "The dark one? Hell if I know."
"It told me to find Brick and ask 'him' about the dark one."
"Maybe, 'him' doesn't refer to me," He said thoughtfully, fingers tapping rapidly. She frowned at that, if 'him' didn't refer to Brick then who the hell was it talking about?
Brick tuned his key in the ignition, the engine starting with a low hum. He looked at her expectantly.
She buckled her seat belt and noticed he was still staring at her, "What?"
"Uh- I- don't know where you live," he said sheepishly.
"Oh!" She resisted the urge to slap her forehead, " I live on 107 Pokey Oaks South."
He nodded and began driving towards the direction of her house. Blossom noticed that there was some tension in his shoulders as his eyes were focused on the road. Blossom noticed that the red marks on his face hadn't faded, and figured that hers most likely hadn't either. The lines emphasized his strong sharp jawline and Blossom had to admit to herself that it made him slightly more handsome. Blossom resisted the urge to trace the lines on his face with her hand, instead she held her own hands tightly in her lap.
The car pulled in front of her house, and Brick killed the ignition. Blossom's hands were white, as she practically cut off the circulation from her hands with her tight grip.
Brick's hand gently lifted her fingers from her hand, saving it from her constricting grip. Blossom's head snapped towards his face. He had moved closer to her, his face was now centimeters away from hers and his bright red eyes made intense eye contact with her.
"Snowflake. We'll figure this out together... I promise," he whispered, voice slightly husky.
At the word 'promise' she stiffened, but she nodded rapidly anyway. Together. Promises broken the voice had said. Could she still trust him? Despite all logic, Blossom knew that she could trust Brick with her life. Logic was overshadowed by her pounding heart and the close proximity. Blossom's eyes darted to his lips, one slight movement forward, and she would do something that she could never take back. Blossom's willpower wasn't as strong as she thought it was, especially with the way he was looking at her.
A sharp knock on the window saved her from her inevitable mistake. She squeaked, face snapping toward the window's direction. Oh no. It was Ms. Keane, now in full 'mom' mode, her arms crossed and eyes narrowed. Her face burned as she quickly tried to unbuckle her seatbelt. Brick was now pressed against the driver's door, in an effort to create as much distance between them as possible .Brick looked absolutely panicked, his face red. The metal portion of her seatbelt was stuck in the buckle. She tugged at it uselessly, and Brick moved forward from the opposite end of the car he had fled to.
He wiggled the buckle and muttered under his breath, "Sorry, this buckle always gets stuck. I've been meaning to fix it," and finally freed her with a satisfying click.
She scrambled out of the car, face still on fire.
Ms. Keane walked towards the driver's side of the car. Brick rolled the window down and Ms. Keane leaned over to speak to him through the window.
"Well… thank you Brick for bringing Blossom home safely."
Brick's only response was nervous and rapid nodding, and Blossom cringed inwardly.
"Oh! Silly me," her mother shook her head, "How rude of me, would you like to join us for dinner?"
Blossom and Brick blanched at her invitation. Her mother just stood there smiling, but even Blossom could see that the glint in her eye, made the invitation more of a command.
He gulped, "Uh- ye-yes. Thank you for your hospitality, Ms. Keane."
Her mother smiled a little too widely and cheerily walked back inside the house, leaving Brick who rapidly tried to exit the car. He locked the car door and stiffly walked to Blossom's side. They both walked to the front door, and Blossom's hand stopped on the doorknob.
He looked at her questioningly, Blossom only mouthed, "Sorry."
His eyes widened but she didn't wait for his response as she turned the doorknob and entered the house.
~ Brick~
It was nicely decorated, with most of the furniture being a modern style. Brick could see the television playing some sort of rom com, as the protagonist chased a woman through the airport. Bubbles was seated on their blue couch, eyes glued onto the screen. She was so invested that she didn't acknowledge them entering the room. Buttercup however was sitting upside down on the couch, feet in the air and head hanging off the seat. She looked incredibly bored but her face broke into a mischievous grin when she saw Brick and Blossom entering.
It made Brick uneasy and he could tell that Blossom had tensed as Buttercup sprang from her seat and rushed over to them.
"Bricky, Bricky, Bricky… What brings you here? How long does it take to pick a present?" Buttercup's grin was like the Cheshire cat.
Brick blinked uncomprehendingly, "Present?"
Suddenly, Blossom's elbow jabbed his side, and he remembered Blossom's excuse from earlier.
"AH- the present! Mike is incredibly picky, and I want it to be just right." Brick glanced at Blossom who just nodded solemnly.
"Uh-huh."
Brick bristled as Buttercup looked at him skeptically. Brick felt extremely uncomfortable, with every second that passed, Brick felt as if Buttercup could see his inner thoughts. Buttercup must know that he had enjoyed their litte- er- hang out a little too much. She must have known that when Blossom laughed, his heart skipped a beat as her nose crinkled slightly and pink tinged her face. Brick was sure that Buttercup knew that he thought the markings on Blossom's face only made her more beautiful as they emphasized her bright pink eyes. Not that he liked her, just that he could appreciate her beauty … aesthetically. Brick was practically sweating bullets as he tried to think of something to say. Luckily for him, he didn't have to think of anything as Bubble's scream made them all clamp their hands over their ears.
Bubbles sped over in a flash of blue and stood next to Buttercup.
"A visitor! Hey Brick! Buttercup…" Bubbles shook her finger at Buttercup as if scolding her, "you didn't even offer to take his jacket. What kind of hostess are you?"
Buttercup huffed angrily, "I didn't invite him."
Bubbles smacked the back of her head and turned to them smiling widely. "Dinner's almost ready," She pointed at Professor Utonium humming while making dinner in an apron.
Blossom grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to the kitchen and away from her sisters. Brick let her lead him away with no complaints.
She opened the fridge door and turned to him, " Want anything to drink?"
"Just some water please."
She nodded and went to the cupboard by her father and grabbed a glass cup. Her father didn't seem to notice as he angrily fiddled with the toaster.
"YEOWCH" her father exclaimed as he snatched his hand away from the toaster. Professor Utonium looked at his hand sadly and began to glare at the toaster.
"Professor? You okay?" Blossom seemed concerned as she filled his cup with water. The professor looked up just realizing that Blossom was there.
"It's this evil toaster, I can't seem to fix it after the last time I tried to upgrade it."
"Maybe I can help," Brick blurted.
Both Utoniums spun towards him, eyes wide. The Professor didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that there was a teenage boy currently in the house. Not that he had anything to be bothered about. However, the professor did seem to be bothered by the fact that Brick had offered to fix something the professor couldn't.
"Well now- I hardly think you could…" His voice trailed off as BrIck walked towards them and picked up the 'evil' toaster.
Brick began to fiddle with it, grabbing a screwdriver that the professor had left on the counter in his botched attempt at repairing it. Brick could feel their eyes on him as he began to repair the toaster. It was a simple mistake, the Professor had rewired a cricut incorrectly which threw the whole machine off. He could see a strange power source that normally wouldn't be in a toaster. That must be the upgrade the professor was talking about. In theory it might have worked, but the professor was using it the wrong way. Brick moved it to a different area in the machine rearranging the wiring. He quickly slammed the panel shut and placed it back on the table.
"Try it now," he said quietly. Blossom's eyes were wide and her grip on the cup was tight. The professor only picked it up and tried to use it. Even though Brick knew that it would work, he couldn't help but hold his breath as the professor placed the slice of bread in the toaster.
A quick ding came from the toaster a second after he placed the bread into the slot. Out shot a piece of toast into the Professor's hand.
The professor jumped holding a piece of perfect toast triumphantly, "Behold! Toast!"
The Professor outstretched his hand to Brick, much to Blossom's surprise.
Brick firmly shook it and the professor's eyes were shining, "My boy, where did you learn engineering?That was very impressive."
Brick was surprised at the praise and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly," I-uh -I'm self taught. But I work at the auto shop in town."
The Professor inspected the toaster and shook his head, "You're much too good for a mechanic's shop."
Brick didn't know what to say and only remained silent, inwardly smiling at the recognition. Professor Utonium was a genius and to hear someone like him be impressed, made Brick extremely happy. He glanced at Blossom who was studying him, with an impressed look on her face. The Professor suddenly slapped a hand on his back nearly making Brick jump out of his skin.
"Y'know, I've been meaning to get an assistant, what do you say? All the interns they've offered me are so incompetent that I could never keep one. You'll be well compensated of course."
Brick's jaw dropped, "I-uh- don't know what to say."
A booming laugh erupted from the professor, "You could say yes."
"Alright. Looking forward to working with you."
He smiled and the professor beamed but his face froze when Ms. Keane walked in.
"Cutie-Patootie...can I talk to you?" She said a little too sweetly as she noticed how friendly the Professor was towards Brick. Ms. Keane who was usually very nice to him didn't seem very happy after the car incident and was especially unhappy now that Brick was inside their home. Brick knew that he had a bad history but he was surprised at Ms. Keane's hostility. The only explanation was that she didn't really think he was a good kid, and didn't trust him in her house. He couldn't blame her, he had done a lot of bad things in the past, but his chest tightened knowing that still held a grudge. She seemed angry at the professor for some reason too.
Brick looked confusedly at Blossom, who made eye contact with him, she quickly grabbed Brick by the arm and said brightly, "We'll set the table!"
Ms. Keane's eyes noticed Blossom's hand on his arm and Ms. Keane's eyebrows furrowed, Brick didn't have time to determine what that look meant before he was yanked into their dining room.
He could hear the muffled scoldings from and the Professor's apologies. Brick could only wonder if they were arguing about him. Blossom hummed as she set the plates on the table, she seemed to have calmed down from earlier in the car, which was a huge relief. He hoped he hadn't made her uncomfortable. Seeing her so concerned in the car had worried him. He was so desperate to comfort her and when she had looked at him, her wide pink eyes filled with relief, he had almost done something that reluctant allies definitely shouldn't do.
Suddenly his phone rang, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw it was Boomer. Brick knew that if he didn't answer the call then he would never hear the end of it.
Blossom watched him closely as he answered.
"Brooooooo! Where are you!"
Brick held the phone slightly further from his ear, "What do you want Boomer."
"Butch told me you went to the diner and didn't invite meee."
Brick pinched the bridge of his nose, "Do you need something?"
"Yeah! Dinner! Can you bring me a burger?"
"I'm not at the diner anymore," Brick spat into his phone.
"Then where-" Boomer was cut off by Butch in the background, "He's with his girllllfriend."
Brick's facepalmed as he heard Boomers insinuating voice, "OooOO, who's the lucky gal?"
"THERE IS NO-" Brick paused and glanced at Blossom. She was looking at him questioningly. He chuckled awkwardly and mouthed, 'brothers'. She giggled but nodded knowingly, her giggle made his heart do a mini-flip in his chest.
He heard Butch in the background, "Its the Ice queen, he's probably warming her up as we speak!"
Boomer cackled, "Apologies for interrupting your fun! Carry on!"
"BOOMER! IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK YOU LITTLE-" Brick's rant cut off as Boomer hung up on him. When Brick got home that cheeky little bastard was going to get it. He shoved his phone into his pocket angrily.
Blossom giggled again, "They really know how to get under your skin, huh?"
"You have no idea."
She turned and Brick followed her gaze to her sisters who were bringing food from the kitchen to the table arguing the whole way. Ms. Keane and Professor Utonium followed, the Professor looked like a scolded puppy and Ms. Keane appeared extremely pleased with herself.
She looked at him with a smirk on her face, "I think I have some idea."
Dinner was pleasant as Brick discussed a variety of projects he was working on with the professor, while Blossom listened to him intently. He had begun to relax as Buttercup and Bubbles had decided to take a break from interrogating him and focused on eating their dinner. Blossom chatted happily about a new book she was reading, her eyes sparkled as she talked about an interesting plot point in the book. He couldn't look away from her even as she stopped talking and looked at him expectantly.
Her pink eyes bore into him and her soft lips said, "Brick?"
He blinked and snapped out of his trance, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"
She rolled her eyes and continued while he took a sip of his water, " I said, Did you hear about-"
Ms. Keane cut Blossom off abruptly and with a surprisingly sinister smile said, "Sooo... Brick."
Brick continued to drink his water anxiously while Blossom only looked at her mother figure questioningly, waiting for her to continue.
"...Got a girlfriend?"
Brick choked on his water coughing and hacking as Blossom patted his back concernedly.
"Mom!" Blossom admonished.
"What?" She said innocently, "I'm just trying to learn more about your… guest."
Brick's face was red and he wasn't sure if it was from the coughing or the embarrassing question. Blossom's hand began to rub his back in a circular motion absentmindedly.
Buttercup chimed in from the opposite end of the table, "Yeah, what's wrong with the question? It's a simple yes or no."
Bubbles finished her thought, "It's an important question! Especially if the answer is yes."
"And why is that?" Blossom hissed. Her tone surprised Brick, but her harsh attitude was a stark contrast with the continued gentle rubbing on his back.
"Isn't it obvious? I don't think Brick's girlfriend would appreciate the date you went on earlier."
Ms. Keane's eyes popped out her head and she whirled around to face him and hissed, "Date?"
Blossom and Brick blanched and yelled out in unison, "IT WASN'T A DATE!"
Her sisters cackled, Ms. Keane fumed, and Professor Utonium casually continued eating his peas.
"What does this look like then?" Buttercup then held her hair up in a fake ponytail and batted her eyes excessively. Bubbles held up a finger under her nose as a fake mustache, in an attempt to look like a boy.
Buttercup began to speak in a high pitched voice, in an attempt to sound like Blossom, "Oh Brick!" She then patted Bubbles, who was apparently supposed to be Brick in this situation, on the cheek.
Buttercup continued in 'Blossom's voice', "I'm going to tease you mercilessly to hide I have feelings for you!"
Blossom turned pink next to him and she cradled her face in her hands, looking positively mortified.
Bubbles responded in a gruff voice, "Oh Blossom! I'm going to stuff this fry in your mouth in an attempt to flirt with you! You're the only one I tolerate so hopefully you get the hint when I toss my arm around your shoulder at lunch."
Now it was Brick's turn to blush. He tried to make a rebuttal but only sputtered as he mumbled incoherent nonsense. Oh god. The Professor and Ms. Keane are going to kill him. He was a dead man because Bubbles and Buttercup were saying things that weren't even true. Okay! Maybe they were a little bit true but they still shouldn't have said it! He began to panic. Oh. God. Blossom was never going to talk to him again.
"Hey!" Everyone turned to a now angry Blossom."Were you watching us at the diner?"
Blossom's ears were practically blowing out steam. He realized she had a point. The - er- fry interaction had happened at the diner, so the girls must have been watching them.
Bubbles and Buttercup let out a panicked, "NO!" Then in a flash of blue and green streaks they were gone.
"Well- this has been fun!" The professor began to pick up his plate and grabbed Ms. Keane's arm. Ms. Keane was glaring at Brick and oh man, if looks could kill.
"We're going to start washing up but I'll see you soon for your internship," The Professor said cheerily, and dragged a fuming into the other room.
Blossom and Brick sat next to each other silently. Brick was conscious of her hand still on his back. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. Her pink eyes were focused on the table as she chewed her lip thoughtfully. Brick rapidly tapped his fingers on his thigh, he wasn't sure what was faster the tapping or his heart rate.
Brick's phone rang again, he scowled before answering it.
"What?" He snapped.
Boomer's voice screamed at him through the phone "Brickkkkk!"
"What is it, Boom?"
"Butch set the-"
Butch's voice cut Boomer off, "Don't tell him about the T.V.!"
Brick's eyes shot open, "What the hell happened to the T.V.?"
Butch screamed from the, backgorund, "Don't worry Boom! I'm putting out the flames!"
"Flames?" Brick exclaimed.
"Uhhhh-"
click.
Boomer quickly hung up leaving a fuming Brick angrily holding his phone. Blossom's hand began to slowly rub his hands in a circular motion. Her reassuring hand calmed him with every circle, and he let out a slow breath of air.
"Better?" Blossom's lips were pursed with concern. He gave her a reassuring smile.
"Yeah… I have to go, my idiot brothers are fucking up the house."
She frowned but nodded anyway and rose from her seat. He also stood up and followed her to the door. He paused right before exiting and waved goodbye at the Utoniums in the living room. They all waved goodbye enthusiastically, some more angrily then others. Mainly . He opened the front door and stepped out. He turned to say goodbye to Blossom and saw that all of the Utoniums in the living room were watching them closely.
"I will… see you at school." He said awkwardly, he could see 's scowl from here. Blossom's eyebrows raised at his strange goodbye. Blossom turned and saw her family's stares. She scowled and stepped outside with him and closed the door, effectively giving them some privacy from their prying eyes.
She shifted awkwardly and sheepishly said, "Sorry about that."
"Don't worry about it, my brothers are way worse."
She giggled, "Based on your phone call, I have to agree."
"Yeah, sorry that I have to leave so soon."
"It's fine, we'll hang out again soon."
Brick's eyes widened at that prospect, "Yeah, looking forward to it."
She smiled and her hand reached for the doorknob but Brick's hand grabbed her wrist. Blossom's face turned toward him questioningly.
"Wait." He swallowed hard, he felt nervous for no reason. It wasn't even that big of a deal but his stomach churned anyway.
"I don't have your phone number," he said quietly. He looked down at his feet, not wanting to meet her eyes.
"O-OH!" She pulled out her phone and opened up the option for a new contact. She held it out to him and he entered his number quietly. He decided to leave the contact empty and let her decide what to put him under. She quickly typed something in and put the phone back in her pocket.
"I'll see you later Blossom," He smiled and shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Maybe even tonight in your dreams," she giggled.
Brick laughed but his laughter died when she stood on her tiptoes and pressed a quick kiss on his cheek. She quickly entered her house without another word, leaving a dumbfounded Brick on her doorstep. His hand was on the cheek she had kissed, her lips had been softer than he had imagined. He didn't like the butterflies that were forming in his stomach after that. She was just being friendly, he shouldn't feel like this.
The drive home was a blur and he was still dazed when he got home. He opened the door and when he entered the living room tossed his keys on the coffee table and sat on the couch. Brick was so out of it that he didn't notice the still smoking t.v. in front of him.
Butch and Boomer sat on the other couch nervously looking at eachother. Brick had a slight smile on his face as he stared out into space. Her goodbye played on repeat in his head. He didn't pay attention to Brick and Boomer when they anxiously approached him.
"Brick? I'm sorry about the -uh- t.v."
Butch's apology snapped Brick out of whatver trance he was in.
"Huh? Oh, its fine," Brick waved off Butch's apology. Brick had forgotten about the T.V.
He had other things on his mind, and had a hard time thinking about anything else. Butch and Booomer looked dumbfounded at his lack of angry response but he couldn't bring himself to get angry right now.
Boomer spoke up, "Are you okay? You seem kind of off."
"Oh I'm fine, just tired." He walked into his room and opened the drawer to his dresser. He changed into sweats and took off his shirt. He was actually tired but felt apprehensive about sleeping. Brick sat on the edge of his bed now shirtless and contemplated whether or not he should pull an all nighter.
Butch and Boomer walked into his room and noticed he was ready for bed.
"You going to sleep now, boss?"
"Maybe. Haven't decided yet."
Boomer sat next to him on the bed.
"I've been meaning to ask… what's with the marks on your face and back?"
"I have absolutely no idea Boom." Birck paused, "Wait. DId you say back?"
"Yeah, i mean you can't see it but there's this huge tattoo there."
Brick tried to turn to see it but couldn't twist his neck enough to see.
Brick handed Boomer his phone, "Can you take a picture so I can see?"
Boomer nodded and moved behind him to take a quick picture. When Boomer handed him the phone. Brick inspected the picture of his Back carefully. The markings were the same color as the lines on his face. There was a large circle with a smaller circle inside. Between the two circles, weird symbols were written. In the center of that circle, there were outlines of two hands tilted diagonally. These markings covered his whole back, and were going to be too large to cover up. He had missed swim class today when he had the mandatory meeting with so no one had been able to point it out. How the hell was he going to hide this tomorrow? Did Blossom have markings too? He tried not to think about intricate markings down her bare back slowly leading to - Brick coughed and shook his head trying to clear those thoughts from his head.
Butch looked concerned, "Brick what the hell did you-"
Brick's phone rang and cut Butch off.
Brick answered with, "Hello?"
Blossom's voice was on the other side. "Hi Brick, I was calling so that you could save my number."
"Oh yeah! Will do."
Brick ignored his brother's questioning looks and pointed to the door indicating they should leave. Both brothers reluctantly nodded and shut the door behind them when they left.
He continued his conversation, "Are you going to sleep yet?"
"Not yet… To be honest, I'm kind of scared to sleep."
"Yeah, I don't really want to sleep myself."
Their conversation turned into a comfortable silence. Should he bring up the symbols on his back? He didn't want to worry her, and had a hard time trying to figure out how to ask if she had looked at herself recently.
"Brick?" Her melodic voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Yeah?"
"Do you have any preferences for your contact name?"
Brick laughed, "You could put me down as the guy of your dreams, literally." He wanted to kick himself as soon as he said it. Guy of your dreams? Really?
He was relieved when she laughed, "I'll do you one better. Hottie with the body. Get it?"
It was his turn to laugh, "Hottie with the body huh? That one's new. But y'know what, Bloss?"
"What?"
"We already have nicknames for our contacts don't we? Not that I don't like 'hottie with the body'."
"You're right, plus I can't let that contact name get to your head."
They both laughed together, and Brick added her as a contact in his phone as 'Snowflake'. Little did Brick know that in her own room she changed his to 'Firefly' at the same time.
Brick continued to talk to Blossom over the phone until two in the morning. They laughed and talked before they slowly drifted off to sleep, their phone call still going.
Brick was in a dark tunnel he didn't recognize. He was laying on the ground and got up slowly. His head hurt, which was strange considering this was most likely a dream. He saw inscriptions etched into the ceiling of the tunnel and his eyes followed the markings to more inscriptions on the wall. Stalagmites and stalactites hung from the ceiling and jutted out from the ground. He could hear rushing water in the distance and saw that the tunnel was damp. Droplets of water dripped down from the hanging stalactites. His fingers traced over the indentations in the rock. What did these strange symbols mean? He heard a soft grunt behind him, and he spun around ready to fight whatever it was. He breathed a sigh of relief, when he saw it was Blossom trying to pick herself up off the ground. He walked over and held out his hand to help her up. She looked up with relief when she saw it was Brick and took his hand gratefully.
Blossom was wearing an oversized t-shirt with the only indication she was wearing anything else was a sliver of blue from her shorts underneath the shirt. Brick couldn't help but think about what she would look like in one of his shirts. She saw her eyes widen as her eyes trailed down from his face. He looked down and realized that he was still shirtless. His cheeks flamed as he cleared his throat, and pretended not to notice that he was not wearing a shirt.
He gestured at the ceiling, "What do you make of this?"
She flushed and looked away from him and at the ceiling. "I have no idea. Where are we?"
"I don't know, do you think we're supposed to find it when we're awake?"
"Maybe..." She squinted at the markings, "it would help if we had a clue as to where we are…"
Ask Him.
The familiar voice boomed through the cave and instinctively Brick grabbed Blossom and held her tightly.
The Dark One.
A harsh wind began to blow through the cave, nearly knocking them off their feet. Brick held Blossom tightly against his chest, in other circumstances he might have been embarrassed. Right now he could do little other than grit his teeth and brace himself against the powerful gusts of air. A familiar pain began to burn through him. He felt Blossom's skin become colder as she shivered in his arms. He tightened his grip around her as he began to burn from the inside out, steam formed between him as her body temperature dropped and his rose.
You must stop The Dark One.
A searing pain coursed through them and even though they were both screaming, Brick held onto Blossom. He wasn't going to abandon her this time, he would never leave her again.