Him walked casually down the long corridor, contemplating his next move. His ideal scenario would be to slowly corrupt the blessed teens, and wreck havoc on the surface until he grew bored. But since the girls had divine protection, it would be easier said than done. The fastest way to get what he wanted would be to force the girls to join his side, but unless he corrupted the boys he would have no way to keep them in line. I don't want to waste the boys' potential either. They do have God powers, and it would be such a waste to kill them prematurely.

He pushed open the doors to the lower chamber, where the boys sat on their knees in a row. Their necks were shackled and attached to the pulsing brimstone floor by deceptively rusted chains. Their arms were shackled on either side of them, with the rest of their body left free. Butch practically foamed at the mouth as he hurled obscenities at the demon. Boomer quietly glared, pulling against the restraints. Brick fixed him with a cruel glare, his body perfectly still. Even though none of them could get free, their murderous auras had Him practically shaking in glee.

"I don't see why you still resist. I can give you what you want. All you need to do is agree to form a contract with me." His smile was devious, his claws clacking in amusement. Boomer spit at the ground near his feet, his cobalt eyes blazing.

"So you can kill us like you did Reed and the others? Only they were dumb enough to make a deal with a demon." Him shook his head in disappointment, the smile never leaving his face.

"It's so unfortunate to hear that. I so hoped we could come to an agreement. But since you want to do this the hard way..." He stopped pacing to stand in front of Butch, who eyed him warily with each step.

"What're you going to do?" Him's smile stretched to take up his whole face. Butch shrank slightly in on himself at the sight, only able to continue facing him with false bravado.

"Only the best I can." He placed his claws on either side of the green eyed man's head, closing his eyes. Then, the screaming started.


"Now hold still. This shouldn't take long." Blossom sat on her bed, gritting her teeth as Bubbles finished healing her. She was lucky her arm hadn't been ripped off, and she would be in perfect health once Bubbles was done. But that didn't mean the healing hurt any less. Buttercup reclined in the bean bag chair in front of them, tossing a ball in the air.

"I know we said we'd wing it, but we don't even know where they are! So how are we gonna go in swinging if we can't even find them?" Bubbles frowned, trying to think back through what happened.

"Surely even demons have a home. I don't think he would've taken them all the way back to the demon realm. So they've gotta be in some kind of in between space. As for tracking...you're the best out of us at following residual magic trails BC." Buttercup gawked, looking around the room before pointing to herself.

"Me?! Since when?" Blossom rolled her eyes, sighing in relief when Bubbles pulled away from her.

"Since forever. You've always had a better instinct than any of us. If we go back now there might still be enough left to track." Her body protested as she moved to stand. Bubbles followed suit, but Buttercup waved her hands in the air, confused.

"Um, hello? Need I remind you we just got our asses kicked, and we only even made it back here because your boyfriend sent us away. So now we're gonna just rush back there with no plan, no idea where the trail will lead, and barely any magic power? I can't believe I have to be the voice of reason here!"

"Well I don't know about you two but my magic reserves are pretty much full. Raiden gave me full access when he unlocked my powers."

"Okay? So why don't we just let you lead the charge then? Because I've still barely got a grasp on mine. I was literally a regular person until, like, today, so excuse me if I want to have more confidence in my abilities before rushing into this!"

"The best teacher is experience! And who knows what's happening to them to longer we wait?! I'm not gonna sit around when I have the power to do something about it!"

"And what if our rush gets them killed?! I can't...I won't have Butch killed because of me again!"

"Enough!" Buttercup and Bubbles both turned at Blossom's shout. Her back was straight and her bubblegum pink eyes glowed with determination. She brushed past both of them, pausing at the door.

"I agree with Bubbles, but I also understand your fears. But while we sit and debate, a demon is doing what he pleases with our men. I thought I'd saved us once, but this time I'll make sure of it. Now quit your whining and come on." Buttercup swallowed her retort, her frown speaking for her. She turned away from both of them, opting to leave through the window.

"Fine. But don't blame me for saying I told you so when this comes back to bite us in the ass." Blossom and Bubbles followed her, heading back to the center of town.


"Get out of my head!"

"It's her fault you died you know. Do you want to repeat the same mistakes again?"

"It wasn't! I chose to take that blast to protect her."

"Protect her? Yes...because that worked out so well."

"Leave me alone!"

"But isn't all of this Blossom's fault? She reincarnated you. Forced you to live with all your memories intact, while she and the rest lived in blissful ignorance. You've had to deal with your longing, without even being able to tell the one you wanted who you are to her."

"That's not..."

"True? Isn't it? If you had remained dead in your last life, you could have avoided being here, tortured again for your power. You wouldn't have to deal with painful, one sided feelings. Even when Blossom and Buttercup came back, it wasn't to rescue you and the boys. All they cared about was Bubbles."

"But-"

"Deep down, you know it's true. You can't lie to yourself any longer. It hurts, doesn't it? How devoted you've stayed to Buttercup, when she remains so indifferent to you."

"...up."

"But yet she was beginning to get so close to Reed! What a hilarious twist of events! Doesn't that just prove that you never meant to her as much as you thought you did?"

"Shut up."

"And in your last life, are you sure it was love that kept you together? Or pity, once she found out what Mojo and your stepbrothers had done to you?"

"Shut up!"

"Poor, tortured Butch. Chasing after a woman who had no interest in him. How pathetic. Even Reed had the guts to go after what he wanted. But you just stood by and watched your woman be charmed by another man. Watched as your brothers were sacrificed. Watched as the girls were captured. No wonder Buttercup has no interest in you. You couldn't protect her then, and you can't protect her now."

"SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!" Him cackled as Butch slowly lost his reason, spiraling instead into madness. He turned to the remaining two, moving to stand in front of Brick.

"Don't look at me like that! You'll join your bother soon enough."