A Girl Named Roxie

by Buttercrush

Planet Fusion had always been shrouded by mystery, and terror. When the planet begins an intergalactic rampage for universal domination and sets its sights on Earth, human-alien hybrid Roxie Leeblossom must worry about saving her friends, family, and even herself from an alien apocalypse. ( AU. Based on OC. )

6. My Life as a Teenage Alien

"Hopefully I can get the next chapter up sooner than five months later!" Eight months later...

No FusionFall news between these chapters, as FusionFall Retro has unfortunately gone offline since I posted the last chapter. Of course, I'm roped into this damn game for life and am still writing the Roxie story, at a very slowed pace. I'll probably rear my head around there again when the inevitable re-remake comes out in however many years.

Thank you to everyone who's bared with me teasing this chapter for the past eight months. I actually nearly finished this one back in March before Retro shutdown, but lost my motivation until recently, (life of the author, amiright?) Here's to hopefully pumping out more work in the coming months.

We're getting down to the wire for part one, as only four chapters remain after this one! Special thanks to THE Magtongen for proofreading this chapter. I want to be Americus.

---

31 March 2044

Planet Fusion's impact on Townsville, and the Earth itself, began to show further during the days following the Victory in Forsaken Valley. The acidic creatures of Fusion started to take the forms of even more rabid animals, inhabit carcasses of inanimate objects, and even began to burrow under the ground, essentially creating 'Fusion Lairs' guarded by wild gooey tentacles.

Despite the high morale that came from the battle won in the Darklands, Lord Fuse's minions ravished and took over more areas, turning them into the barred-off Infected Zones Dexter established. Inside the IZ walls, the Fusion Matter coating the land changed the area, altering gravity to create floating platforms, and housing a majority of those aforementioned Lairs.

The Fusions who lost the battle in Forsaken Valley began to loiter at nearby boneyard, which was walled off as an Infected Zone before the DexLabs Carrier flew deeper into the Darklands. Mandark's Carrier was chosen to stay over the Valley and act as a base of operations in the Darklands, complete with a S.C.A.M.P.E.R. to carry soldiers.

Locals started to refer to Goat's Junkyard as Megas' Last Stand, referencing the poor futuristic robot who stood immortalized among the Fusion Matter behind the newly constructed Infected Zone barriers. The Powerpuff Dynamo that fell here had decayed and fallen apart by the time the barriers went up, a lifeless reminder of what Fuse is capable of.

Dizzy World Amusement Park. Eternal Meadows Cemetery. Cuts and Bruises Skate Park. All turned to Infected Zones as the week progressed. Even the construction projects of Daddy Morbucks and Father's Delightful Developments were halted by Fusions claiming these zones for their own. Perhaps the toughest blow since the Spaceport, Fusions targeted Captain Stickybeard's Sweet Revenge stationed in Candy Cove. The Candy Pirates fought valiantly, but soon had to retreat and declare their old base as an Infected Zone.

The following week didn't bode much better for Earth. Fuse's effect on the Wilds was starting to become known. Leaky Lake, which separated the summer camps of Camp Kidney and Acorn Flats, was already pretty dirty before the invasion, but now was reduced to a murky vat of Fusion Matter locked behind Infected Zone barriers. The Creek where the young kids of Pokey Oaks hung out was strangely unaffected, and children still gathered there, (that is, if their parents even let them leave the house.)

In order to better protect his research and his family, Dexter moved all of his lab operations to DexLabs in Tech Square and moved his parents from their home in Genius Grove, (though, Dee-Dee seemed to stick around.) Much like Dexter, the operatives of Sector V took on a major project, using 2x4 technology to quite literally lift their treehouse off the ground, making it difficult for Fusions to reach. Their Jungle Outpost on Mount Blackhead was also opened to the public, both treehouses being promoted to bases for Earth forces.

The morning of the 31st brought heavy, looming clouds to hang over Townsville. A fitting setting for the somber situation that transpired at the base of City Hall. Crowds gathered in hushed silence around memorials for many of the lives lost in the past month, with framed photos, fresh flowers, and small nick-nacks lining the street in front of the government building. Notably, a larger makeshift memorial was constructed for Doyle Blackwell, who fell during the battle in Forsaken Valley.

Among the crowd stood Roxie, outfitted in a somber black dress, of course, with holes poked out of the back for her spiderlegs. Diana stood next to her, an arm wrapped around her daughter. Her brother Jasper was also present, dressed in black with his girlfriend, Frankie Foster. The family waited as the Mayor of Townsville stood atop the stairs to CIty Hall, Ms. Bellum next to him, her face covered by a black veil.

"I thank all of you citizens for attending this memorial." the Mayor began to speak, his normal, perky personality completely absent from his words. "These past few weeks have been some of the most difficult our city has yet to face. I can't even begin to describe the pain and sorrow my own citizens must be feeling at this moment."

"That's why my assistant, Ms. Bellum, and I coordinated this public vigil for the fallen." the Mayor pauses for many prolonged moments, as if to collect himself. "These invaders have taught us to cherish what we have now. We never know when we can lose our friends, family, loved ones. We must never forget the innocent victims of this terrible warfare, and never the ones who lost their lives while protecting not only our city, but our planet. We're not only here to remember them, but thank them for their sacrifices to keep us alive."

Silence still hung over the crowd, only interrupted by the occasional sniffle and hushed sob. Many people began to step forward, lighting candles in honor of the lost. Roxie's mother was lost in her tears, whereas Roxie herself didn't show much emotion at all. In fact, it almost seemed like she didn't want to be there. She stood without a word as the Mayor gave some closing remarks, signifying the crowd to disperse.

"Roxie!"

The blond perks up at the sound of her name, seeing both Blossom and Bubbles, dressed in black variants of their normal Powerpuff outfits, floating towards her. Professor Utonium approached alongside them.

"Girls, Professor." Diana greeted them calmly, wiping away her tears. "This was a lovely service." Her mother breaks free from holding onto Roxie, moving to give the Professor a hug.

"Let's hope this is the only one we need to do." the Professor replied, seemingly tearing up himself. Roxie is then bombarded with hugs from her neighbors.

"How are you holding up, Roxs?" Blossom asked.

"I-I'm alright." she mutters, basically the first words she had spoken all day. "But, how are you holding up?" Her attention moved to Bubbles, remembering the emotional meltdown she had following Doyle's death.

"Oh, yes." Bubbles was clearly caught off guard by the question. "I've… I've definitely been better."

"Even after saving the world before bedtime for years," Blossom sighed deeply. "We've never felt this bad about the collateral damage. Heck, I haven't felt this bad since…" She trailed off, tears welling up in her eyes. "Buttercup went missing."

"You mean when she died?" a raspy voice called out. The girls turned to see Roxie's boyfriend, Mitch, approaching the trio. Instead of dressing nicely for the memorial, the boy still walked around in his lame 'MITCH ROCKS!' t-shirt.

"Mi- Mitch!?" Roxie cried out. "Quit it!" Both Blossom and Bubbles floated silently in shock.

"It's not like it's a secret or anything." the hoodlum snickered. "She definitely would've showed up by now if she wasn't dead."

"Now is not the time, Mitchellson." Bubbles spoke up, her hands balled up into fists.

"What are you gonna do?" Mitch teased. "Hit me? Blast me with your freaky lazer eyes?"

"That sounds like a great idea." Blossom grunted, her big pink eyes beginning to glow.

"W- Wait!" Roxie held her arms out, separating the Powerpuffs and MItch, and triggering the glow to fade from Blossom's eyes. "I- I'll deal with him."

"Awe, shucks, babe." Mitch continued to tease. "Protecting me from the big bad Powerpuff Brats."

"... Babe?" Blossom questioned.

"I'll deal with it." Roxie repeated, stepping forward and grabbing Mitch by the arm.

"My hero!" the boy swooned as his girlfriend dragged him off, leaving Blossom and Bubbles with confused looks on their faces.

Diana noticed her daughter stomp off with Mitch, but didn't know whether to speak up or not. Roxie was trained to be a soldier in the war, so it wasn't like she couldn't defend herself. Besides, there were plenty of soldiers protecting the memorial service. Roxie dragged her boyfriend just outside of the crowd, to the street overlooking the Sunken Mall below CIty Hall. Once they were far enough away, the girl shoved Mitch rudely.

"Can you not be a dick for, like, two seconds?" she barked. "I don't care if you don't like them, but Blossom and Bubbles are my friends. Buttercup was… Buttercup is my friend!"

"You're friends with a dead chick?" Mitch snickered. "Sweet." Roxie shoved him again.

"Cut it out!" she cried. "You don't have to be such a bully all the time! What happened to the sweet-talker who roped me into this relationship?"

"He's still here, baby." Mitch shook his head. "It's not like you didn't know I was a blunt person before this."

"There's a hard difference between being blunt and just being rude because you can."

"It's freedom of speech, babe!" Mitch laughed.

"Freedom of speech protects you from the government controlling what you can say," Roxie sighed. "It's not an excuse to be an ass! Guess I shouldn't be surprised you didn't pay attention when we learned that in school."

"School, shmchool." Mitch grunted. "Sounds like you're being the bully right now, freak."

"Freak…?"

"I don't know what's worst, having a nerd for a girlfriend, or having one of them as one!"

"One of them?" Roxie questioned. Mitch immediately pointed his finger up at the sky, directly at Planet Fusion. Roxie completely froze up.

"You're half alien." he smirked. "For all I know, you're part of the reason your little space cousins even showed up here."

"Tha- That's-"

"I thought having an alien girlfriend would've meant I was better protected from those aliens." Mitch pretended to cry. "Now even she is pushing me around and yelling at me!"

"I… I already told you I'm not like them!" Roxie yelled. Some heads in the nearby crowd started to look at the bickering teenagers. "How dare you think I'm even remotely like those things!"

"Whatcha gonna do?" Mitch glared at Roxie. "Hit me? Take the side of those Powerpuffs?"

"Those Powerpuffs were my friends long before you sweet-talked me into this demeaning relationship."

"Demeaning?" Mitch began to laugh. "You're pulling out some big words for an alien. What? That time of the month?"

Mitch didn't have the time to laugh at his own sexist remark before Roxie smacked the boy across the face. The sound of her hand connecting with his cheek echoed down to the mall, and up towards the memorial crowd. Both Diana and Jasper finally notice the commotion and start walking over.

"You're a jerk, Mitch!" Roxie yelled at him. "I hate you!"

Mitch held onto his face, but still laughed at his girlfriend.

"See? You're just like them."

Roxie froze up again, only turning to see her family rushing over, as well as the shocked faces of the crowd. Jasper stomped right past Roxie, stepping between her and Mitch.

"I thought I told you to quit disrespecting my sister, punk?" he barked at the boy. Diana approached, collecting Roxie in her arms.

"She was clearly the one disrespecting me here." Mitch replied, a snicker still following his words. "She shoved me over here. She hit me!"

"And you better be glad she hit you instead of me." Jasper growled.

"Jasper…" Frankie called out, approaching the commotion. The man took a step back from the boy.

"Stay away from my sister, punk." he ordered. "I don't want you provoking or belittling her ever again."

"You're not my dad!"

"Come on, sweetie," Diana said to her daughter, who had begun to cry. "Let's head home."

Diana began to cart Roxie off, while Jasper ignored Mitch's latest bickering and following suit with his family and Frankie.

---

Diana's red hover-car floated up the Leeblossom's driveway, followed by Jasper's four-wheeled sports car parking out front in the street. The cold, gray clouds were starting to clear up, but Roxie didn't want to sit outside to enjoy it. Instead, without a word, she jumped out of her mother's car, running inside the house and up to her room.

"Roxanne!" Diana called out as she stepped out of her car.

"Just let her go, mom." Jasper sighed as he approached the house with Frankie.

"I'm worried about her, Jas. I didn't even know she had a boyfriend until this whole Fusion thing started."

"You know how she is." Jasper shrugged, looking up to the window that would lead to Roxie's room. "She's gonna keep to herself until she's ready to talk."

"... I know." Diana sighed. "I care about you and her too much… It scares me when she blocks herself off like that, especially after just hitting someone in the street…" She pauses for a minute, looking at Frankie. "Would you two like to come in? Have a cup of coffee?"

"That would be wonderful, Diana." Frankie smiled softly. "I know I don't Roxie too well, but I care about her well-being as well."

"You're too kind, Frankie." Diana shared her smile, leading everyone inside and towards the kitchen. "You know you're always welcomed over in my house. You're a part of the family too."

Not even seconds later, a knock rapped against the front door. Diana set down her keys on the kitchen counter, excusing herself to answer the door. Swinging it open revealed Alice Spacebyte, coupled with Courage sitting in her arms. The blue haired girl waved at her cousin with a warm smile.

"Hi, Diana!" she greeted. "I hope Courage and I aren't interrupting anything."

"Oh, Alice!" Diana leaned forward, giving the girl a hug. "You know that you're always welcomed to show up unannounced. I always make time for my family." She stepped to the side, letting the girl walk inside and set Courage down.

"Oh, hey Alice." Jasper called from the kitchen, watching his cousin walk inside. "Long time no see."

"Yeah, glad to see you're doing alright." Alice said with a nod. Courage quickly scampered to Jasper's feet, excited to see him. Alice turned to Diana after looking into the empty living room. "I don't mean to be rude, but I actually came here to see Roxie…"

"Oh, that's far from rude, dear." Diana smiled. "That's wonderful! She's, um, in her room right now. Recovering from a fight with her boyfriend."

"Hopefully ex-boyfriend." Jasper grunted as he leaned down to pet Courage.

"... Is this a bad time?" Alice asked. "When you guys came over a few weeks ago, Roxie said we should hang out more…"

"Oh, no!" Diana shook her head. "She honestly might be more comfortable talking to you than any of us."

"Should I just head upstairs then?"

"Yes, just knock on her door." Diana walked back over to the kitchen area. "We'll be down here. Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"No, thank you." Alice declined, but still continued to smile.

"Don't hesitate to let me know if you change your mind, sweetheart." Diana laughed calmly.

The blue haired girl beckoned Courage over to her, and the two began to ascend the stairs. It was clear which room belonged to Roxie, as the door was the only one shut. Alice tapped lightly on the door, not saying a word.

"Go away!" Roxie's voice muffled over from the other side of the wood.

"It's, uhm, Alice." the girl called out. "And Courage."

There's a few moments of silence before the sound of Roxie shuffling echoed through the door. A click rang from the doorknob as Roxie unlocked the door, swinging it open soon after. The two girls simply stare at each other without a word. That is, until one of Roxie's spiderlegs reached forward, pulling Alice into the bedroom. Courage managed to squeeze inside before Roxie closed and locked the door again.

"What are you doing here?" Roxie asked, giving her cousin a hug. "Mom didn't call you over, did she?"

"No, no... '' Alice was tense at the hug, but slowly relaxed, and smiled as she returned it. "I was in the neighborhood, collecting some things from my mom's house over in Peach Creek. But the Urban Rangers have the place covered in cardboard, so I thought I'd come see you."

"I'm actually pretty glad you're here, Alice." Roxie pulled away from the hug, moving to go sit on her bed. On the floor next to the bed was one of Roxie's pillows, but with the stuffing ripped out of it. "Better than taking out my emotions on my pillows."

"Is everything alright? Your mother told me about a fight with your boyfriend, or, erhm, ex-boyfriend?"

"I don't know what he is either." Roxie sighed as Alice and Courage joined her on the bed. "Besides a jerk."

"I didn't know you even had a boyfriend, Roxie."

"Yeah, like nobody did." the blond huffed. "His name is Mitch. Mitch Mitchellson. He was always the bully growing up. And I guess I'm stupid and let him talk me into thinking he was decent. We started dating back in January, way before this whole Fusion invasion. It wasn't terrible when it started, but we still kept it a secret. The only people who knew were my group of friends from school… You know, the ones who died…"

"Jasper also found out a few weeks before the Fusions came." Roxie continued, grabbing Courage to pet. "He was over here and we were in a bit of a fight since Mitch is an ass, and Jasper walked in on us yelling. And he's had his opinions on this boy since then. But today, Mitch found me at the public vigil at City Hall. I was talking to Blossom and Bubbles, and he started to basically laugh at how Buttercup is potentially dead. And when I called him out for acting like an insensitive prick, he said I was just like them!?"

"Like them?" Alice questioned.

"Like the Fusions!" Roxie cried out, tears appearing.

"Yikes…" Courage muttered.

"I've told him I'm not like them! I'm not a monster!"

"Everyone who really loves you knows you're not like the Fusions, Roxie." Alice said, placing a hand on her lap. "You're not an evil, mindless creature."

"I don't even feel human when he says that." Roxie sobbed. "Even a few weeks ago, he said since I'm half-alien then I must know what they're thinking, or how to beat them. That's not how it works!"

"You're more human-like than alien-like anyways." Alice nodded.

"You would think…" Roxie sighed. "I can't even describe what it's like growing up like me. The only thing people see when they first meet me is…" Her four spiderlegs lift up, wiggling a big before sulking back down. "And it's not like I know anyone who would… get it? You know?"

"Get what it's like being an alien?"

"Yeah." Roxie replied dejectedly. "My mom is a full human. Jasper is a full human. Grandma, grandpa, all my friends from school, even you! … The closest thing I have to non-human friends are the Powerpuff Girls, and even they're just superhuman."

Courage blinked at Roxie before staring at Alice. She stared back, seemingly tensing up. Roxie stayed quiet for a moment before she noticed the strange glances the two exchanged.

"Are you guys… ok?" Roxie asked.

"Roxie..." Alice sheepishly spoke up. "Can I tell you something? It's pretty private… And it's still new information to myself as well."

"Alice, you can tell me anything." Roxie looked really worried. "Are you alright? Is everything ok?"

"She'll be fine." Courage peeped with a shrug.

"I, uhm…" Alice clammed up. "I recently learned that my mother, Gale, isn't my birth mother."

"Oh, you're adopted?" Roxie tilted her head to the side as she listened. "That's not something to be ashamed of."

"No, no, Roxie." Alice shook her head again. "I know that, I'm not ashamed. I love my mother, and I know she loves me too. It's just that… I recently learned that I am… Actually…"

"An alien!" Courage finished the sentence. Roxie blinked at the revelation.

"An… alien?" Roxie repeated. "Al- Alice…? How do you know?" The blue haired girl seemed just as confused as her cousin.

"Apparently, Professor Utonium found me at the sight of a meteor crash thirteen years ago, and once he took me to the hospital, my mother took me in as her own without a question."

"That's…" Roxie broke off. "Alice, I'm not sure what to say."

"Me neither honestly." the younger girl shrugged with a bit of forced laugh. "It's been a lot of information thrown at me at once."

"Who else knows? How long have you known?" Roxie asked.

"Well, besides the Professor and my mom, only Aunt Muriel has known for the longest time." Alice explained. "I have to assume she's told Eustace at one point. No one else in the family knows. Except for you, now. And I told Courage after I found out."

The pink dog nodded in agreement. "I'm included!"

"I actually didn't find out until the Fusions invaded." Alice continued, now feeling a bit more comfortable with explaining it all. "After my mother went missing, the Professor took me to a Plumber base and explained it all to me. I guess mom wanted to wait until I was a little bit older to tell me, but after she went missing Aunt Muriel and the Professor decided I needed to know."

Without a word, Roxie latched onto Alice in a hug, wrapping both arms and all four spiderlegs around her cousin. Even Courage wiggled into the hug, joining the girls. Tears welled up in Alice's eyes as she returned the hug, a soft smile sitting on her face.

"I still love you even if you're… like me!" Roxie said, giggling a bit at the end. Alice joined in with a shared giggle.

"That really means a lot to me, Roxie." she said, wiping her bittersweet tears away. "Muriel even told me I should tell you someday."

"This actually explains so much!" Roxie reached up, grabbing a lock of Alice's hair. "I knew no human could have natural blue hair this pretty."

"At least I still look human on the surface." Alice continued. "I'm starting to learn your struggles, but having alien limbs is something I wouldn't understand."

"Are you kidding me, girl?" Roxie was racking her brain. "I've had my whole life to come to terms with who I am, you've barely known who you are for a month!"

"It's been a lot to swallow…" Alice shrugged. "I've still got a long way to go."

"... Do you know what kind of alien you are?" Roxie asked. "I know it's not surprising that there's species out there that look identical to humans but…"

"I don't know, actually." Alice sighed. "The Plumbers did run some tests on me after the Professor told me everything… WIth my consent, of course. But I didn't want to know just yet."

"Well, that's ok." Roxie patted her cousin on the back. "It's totally ok. It was already a lot for you to hear. I mean, even I'm still trying to wrap my mind around this."

"Exactly… I just wasn't ready…" Alice agreed. "I know I can go to them whenever I want to know…"

"If you're up for it…" Roxie pulled her cousin a bit closer. "Whenever you're ready, I can go with you to whichever Plumber base you went to. I can be there for you when you're ready to learn."

"Oh, Roxie." Alice's tears appeared again, but it was clear these were happy tears. "I really appreciate you. I'd appreciate your support too."

"Of course." Roxie smirked lightly. "Us aliens, we gotta stick together in times like these."

Both girls broke out in a small giggle fit at her comment. It was the first time Roxie felt genuinely happy all day, and the first time Alice felt comfortable even talking about who she really was, (even if bringing it up made her feel a bit awkward.) Even Courage, who didn't contribute much to the conversation, was feeling elated with the girls' attitudes.

"Hey, Alice, want to go do something fun?" Roxie asked. "Besides sitting in my room and pouring our hearts out?"

"Seems like a common theme for us to sit in a bedroom and do that, huh?" Alice joked.

"The mall is pretty heavily protected." Roxie thought. "Want to head over there?"

"I haven't been to the mall since before the war began." Alice looked to Courage. "What do you think, buddy?"

"Everything I weigh in on ends horribly." Courage squeaked, making both of the girls laugh again.

---

Midway through the afternoon, the skies had completely cleared up, (aside from the looming alien planet, of course.) The crowd that had gathered for the memorial in the morning was long gone by now, but all of the pictures and mementos laid out for the lost still sat along the street to City Hall. Most of the candles lit had been blown out, either by people attending the vigil earlier, or by the soft wind that blew.

The Sunken Mall to the south was reaching the height of business for the day. At least, the shops that were opened had. Many of the storefronts in the mall hadn't opened since the initial invasion, out of fear of the alien creatures. But even in the mists of alien warfare, many people still found the time to visit a Townsville staple.

Most of the stores lined the walls of the Sunken Mall. Clothing shops, makeup boutiques, gaming stores. There was even a branch of Morbucks Savings and Loan here. One of the biggest pulls to the mall were the many kiosks that littered the large space between all the stores, as well as a large stage towards the south entrance where many artists used to perform. These days, not so much.

Alice, Courage, and Roxie entered the mall from the southern staircase, having taken the DexLabs Slider Bus downtown. Many advertisements lined the wall on the way down, including an advertisement for an upcoming Puffy AmiYumi concert right here in the mall! Though, it seemed most of the J-Pop stars' posters were covered by stickers labeled; 'POSTPONED DUE TO INVASION.'

Surrounding the stage was the majority of the food court in the mall, with Burger Frenzy taking up the largest storefront on the southern wall. Business there seemed to be a bit slow today, however. The trio stepped down towards the food court, mulling over all the options for a moment.

"Surprised prices haven't dropped with the Fusions killing business." Roxie huffed, rummaging through her pockets to find some Taros.

"We don't have to eat if you don't want to, Roxs." Alice said. "I'm good with just browsing the stores."

"We can do that, but we'll need to circle back here." Roxie patted her own stomach. "I haven't eaten all day."

"Then let's go ahead and eat." Alice smiled. "It's ok, I can pay!"

"Oh, you don't have to." Roxie said as they approached the Burger Frenzy counter. "I have some allowance left over from before the invasion."

"Aunt Muriel gave me some spending money to grab lunch anyways." Alice pulled a few bills from her dress pocket.

"Welcome to Burger Frenzy, what can I get you today?" the man at the counter asked. He was a little taller than Roxie, with messy brown hair covered by his Burger Frenzy visor. His name tag was labeled as; 'Walt.'

"Can I just get, uhhh…" Roxie trailed off as she looked at the menu. "Just a normal burger and fries combo. With water to drink."

"And I'll just have an order of chicken tenders." Alice added. "Make it two waters, please."

"What about me!?" Courage whined.

"Three waters, actually."

"Alright." the boy lazily punched their order into the computer, sighing as he did so. "Total on that will be twelve Taros and eighty cents."

"Here you are." Alice said, handing over the payment with a smile.

"It'll be ready for y'all in about five minutes." he continued.

"Thank you, uhm…" Roxie squinted as she read his nametag. "Uhm, Walt!"

"... What?" He looked at her confused, before glancing down and beginning to snicker. "Oh, um, my name is actually David. I'm new here, this is all they had."

"Oh, my mistake." Roxie said with blushed cheeks.

"It's no biggie." David shrugged. "You're the first person to even thank me since I got this job."

"Really?" Roxie blinked. "How long have you been working here?"

"What day is it?"

"It's March 31st." Alice answered.

"About a week." David nodded.

"... You got a job during the alien apocalypse?" Courage said, clearly judging the boy.

"I mean, I technically got a job during it too, bud." Roxie muttered, looking down at the dog. "Granted it was fighting against the aliens… And it's volunteer work so I'm not getting paid…"

"See, exactly!" David sighed as he leaned on the counter. "I already know how to fight things! I need something to do to actually make some cash."

"I guess I can't knock anyone for getting a job." Roxie said. "... Anyways, it was nice to meet you, David."

"Yeah, same with you." He paused, looking between the two. "Sorry, y'all don't have name tags to guess."

"Oh, it's Roxie." the hybrid girl answered. "And this is my cousin Alice."

"Hello!" Alice waved lightly.

"Cool." David smirked. "Catch 'ya on the flipside then, Roxie and Alice."

It would only be a few more moments before the girls got their food, moving to sit down at a table within the food court to eat. Courage sat at the table with them, mostly just to eat Roxie's fries as the girls exchanged small talk. They were so invested in each other and their meals that they didn't notice the crew of green-skinned thugs carting their equipment into the mall and over to the concert stage.

Roxie began to perk up once the largest of the green men wheeled the final of his group's equipment to the stage. To most of the world, this ragtag group of hoodlums was the Gangreen Gang, a popular alternative-punk band based in Townsville. To Townsville, however, these guys were notorious for their prolonged lives of crime, as well as being some of the Powerpuff Girls' biggest rivals.

Lil' Arturo, like his name suggested, was the shortest member of the group. He was the band's manager, yet still performed with the boys on stage and appeared on their album covers. Grubber didn't really seem all there, and no one was ever sure where his hanging eyeballs were looking. That never stopped him from being a damn good keyboard player. Snake was built, well, like a snake, and even had a tongue that backed up his strange appearance. He played the bass for the band. There was also Big Billy, the largest, (and roundest), of the Gangreen Gang, and the band's drummer.

Rounding out the group was the gang's vindictive and cruel leader, Ace. Through the band, he put on a typical rockstar persona to show to the world, but those close to the Powerpuffs knew who he really was. He played guitar for the band, and also provided lead vocals. It was clear he ran the show, even going as far as to make all the other members wear the same black, leather jacket as him.

Roxie watched on without a word as the gang set their equipment up on the stage. Perhaps if she wasn't such good friends with the Powerpuff Girls, then she'd like their music. But knowing how terrible they've been to the girls made their music leave a sour taste in Roxie's mouth.

"I'd offer to stick around for the upcoming show," Roxie said to her cousin, "If it wasn't these terrible people perfor-"

She cut herself off at the sight of a… sixth member…? Indeed, there was a sixth person in a leather jacket with the gang's logo on the back walking up to the stage along the group. However, her skin wasn't green, but did have green highlights in her black hair, and a tattered green skirt. Alice's attention followed Roxie's to see this new girl arrive on the scene.

"Everything ok, Roxie?" she asks, feeding Courage one of her french fries.

"I didn't know the Gangreen Gang had groupies..." Roxie muttered.

"Groupies!?" David's voice broke in between the two. The Burger Frenzy employee had left his post, and scooted a seat up to sit between the girls. "That's a member of the band!"

"Jeez!" Roxie leaned away from the boy in shock. "You can't just sneak up on women like that, dude!"

"Oh, whoops." David shrugged. He took one of Roxie's fries and gobbled it down. "My bad." he continued, with his mouth full.

"Aren't you supposed to be working, David?" Alice asked. The boy shook his head.

"I got bored." he sighed. "So I quit!"

"A little impulsive, isn't it?" Roxie asked. David began to laugh.

"Oh, totally!" he chuckled. "That's what makes it fun! There's aliens falling from the sky! If you ain't living life a little impulsively now, then I don't know what to tell 'ya." Roxie and Alice blinked at his words.

"You know…" Roxie tapped her chin. "I know a boy who you seem like you'd get along with really well. His name is Am-"

"I don't like making friends, don't worry." David cut her off, taking another fry. "So let's not get this twisted, alright ladies? We're having a friendly conversation, but that doesn't make us friends."

"... That really makes me want to continue the friendly conversation…" Alice murmured.

"Yeah, yeah." Roxie rolled her eyes. "Forget all that jazz." She pointed over towards the Gangreen Gang. "You were talking about that girl. She's in the band?"

"What, y'all don't keep up with the Gang?" David snickered. "They're, like, my favorite band, dude."

"Sorry I don't keep tabs on felons." Roxie scoffed.

"That's what makes it exciting!" David laughed with an added wink. "Anyways, the green fellas are the normal band, but they've got two back-up singers. Didja' think Grubber provided all the high-pitched vocals in their music or what?"

"I don't listen to their music, actually." Alice spoke up. "I've always been a fan of The Funkaneers."

"I'm more of a Trendbenders girl, myself." Roxie smirked.

"Well, you two are lame." David swirled a finger near his head to call them crazy. "Anywho… It's actually kind of weird to see one of the back-up singers out here with them. They don't really perform live with the group. But that one is definitely Belladonna Green. The other one is a blonde chick named Maya. I think her last name is Green too, but I don't know if they're sisters or not."

"How come I've never heard of them before?" Roxie asked. "Do they not participate in the gang's rampant robberies and physical assaults?"

"I dunno, man, I'm just here for the music." David shrugged. "I'm gonna go meet them."

"I don't think that's a good ide-" Roxie couldn't finish before David literally climbed over the table, scrambling over to the stage. "Wait!"

For some odd reason, Roxie leaped from her seat as well, following David towards the gang. Alice blinked at the sudden, impulsive movement, and waited a few moments before getting up to rush after her cousin. Courage shifted in his seat like he was going to follow, but instead, he simply hopped up on the table and began to devour the remainder of the girls' meals.

None of the Gangreen members even noticed the trio approaching the stage as they finished setting up. In fact, most of them seemed too interested in tuning their instruments, or just smashing his fingers against the keys in Grubber's case. The girl of the group didn't look at the approaching kids until David was only a few feet away from her. He ripped off his visor, and unbuttoned his Burger Frenzy shirt slightly before outstretching a hand.

"Name's David." he greeted with a sleazy tone. "David Starsky."

"Uhm." the goth girl blinked at the sudden introduction, and continued to be confused by the girls who approached after him.

"Hey, sorry!" Roxie forced a laugh as she grabbed David's shoulders with her hands and spiderlegs. "My friend here-"

"We're not friends." David nodded.

"... My acquaintance here," Roxie rolled her eyes. "Is on a bit of a high of impulsive decisions right now! He just quit his job, and this is his favorite band, he doesn't mean to bother you…"

She trailed off once she got a good look at the back up singer. Average height, with messy black hair. She wore biker gloves and torn, dirty leggings, along with some black high top shoes. But her face was just so… familiar. Roxie almost felt like if this was wearing a little less eyeliner, then she'd recognize her. And her eyes… They were abnormally large, and a deep green color.

"... It's no big deal." the girl scoffed. "I'll sign an autograph or something but we're performing soon."

"Oh, yes!" David proceeded to rip his Burger Frenzy shirt completely open to expose his chest. "Sign my chest, Belladonna!"

"... Do I know you from somewhere?" Roxie asked, completely letting go of David.

"Uhm," Belladonna pulled a stick of black-colored lipstick from her jacket's pocket, and scribbled her name lazily on the fanboy's body. "I don't think so, girl. Preppy types like you aren't really my speed."

"I am a changed man." David triumphantly struck a pose as he turned away from Belladonna. He then held up his hand to Alice, waiting for a high-five she wasn't going to give him.

"You just look… So familiar." Roxie continued, staring at the rocker intensely.

"I get that a lot, sis." Belladonna laughed. Just as Roxie looked her up and down, Belladonna does the same to her. "You know, you actually look a lot like my girl Maya. Maybe I should be the one asking you these questions, blondie."

"I don't know any Maya…" Roxie shrugged. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry for being so familiar too, I guess."

"Someone bothering one of my girls?" a man's voice echoed down from the stage. The Gang's leader, Ace, stepped down from the stage, wrapping an arm around Belladonna as he reached them. "Oh shit! You could be M's twin!" he laughs at Roxie.

"Just some excited fans, Ace." Belladonna explained, her eyes locked onto the alien girl.

"Oh, wait a minute." Ace lowered his sunglasses to the bridge of his nose, taking a prolonged look at Roxie's alien appendages. "I know who you are. You're friends with those goody-goody Powder-Puffs."

"Powerpuffs…" Roxie corrected before glancing back to her cousin standing uncomfortably with a swooning David. "I was just leaving."

"Not gonna stay for the show?" Ace asked, pushing his sunglasses back up to his eyes. "It's a free performance!"

"Oh, I'm SO in!" David called out.

"I, uhrm," Roxie took a step backwards as David sprinted to the closest seat he could get to the stage. "I'm spending the day with my cousin. We'll catch the end of the set."

"I'll keep an eye out for you, blondie." Belladonna smirked with a teasing wink.

Roxie forced another laugh, then shot pretend finger guns at the girl before turning on her heel and returning to Alice. Her heart was beating so fast… But why? It's not like this was the first time she was face to face with a notorious Townsville criminal. It must've been…

"Roxie?" Alice asked, touching her shoulder lightly. "You look a little sick."

"I feel a little sick." the hybrid nodded in response. Her attention drifted back to the Gangreen Gang prepping the stage. "That girl. There's just, like, something in my stomach that's telling me I know her."

"I wish I could help you figure it out." Alice's own shoulders rose into a shrug. "I didn't recognize her."

A moment of awkward silence fell upon the girls. It lingered for longer than either of them would like, only ending at Roxie shaking her head and averting her eyes.

"Last time I had a gut feeling like this, my school fell on top of me." she sighed. "But it must be nothing."

Even as strong as a feeling this was, there was nothing left for Roxie to do other than to shrug it off for now. The girls headed back to their table, David-less, only to stumble upon a gorged Courage lazing about, the table empty of all food. After a short moment of scolding, they both went back to loving the pink puppy, who graciously accepted the love.

Just as they planned, Alice and Roxie went on to browse the storefronts, Courage in tow, (albeit, a bit slower than usual.) Nothing too exciting caught their eyes, but it didn't stop them from stopping to try on a few clothes. It boiled down to, mostly, Roxie insisting that Alice would look good in whatever garment she came across, and sending her into the changing room with a variety of outfits to try on. While Alice felt a tad out of her element, it wasn't all for naught. She liked a few of the outfits her cousin picked out for her, and even bought a cute white cardigan Roxie loved.

They must've spent hours in the walls of the mall, as the sky was painted orange as they walked back out into the open air. At this point, the Gangreen Gang's show had attracted quite the crowd, and they were in the thick of performing a song from their latest album, the Then Then. Even though she told Ace and Belladonna she would catch the end of their set, Roxie didn't have much interest in stopping in to see the rest of the show.

Strangely enough, a new figure caught her eye. This trip to the mall was just full of introductions, huh? In the crowd of concert goers, a… teal Powerpuff(?) stood out. Before Roxie could even point Alice's attention to the mysterious girl, she was already walking over to greet the cousins.

"You're Alice Spacebyte, correct?" the girl asked. She was about the same height as Roxie, give or take a few inches. Her outfit, while not quite the same, resembled that of the typical Powerpuff Girl outfit, colored in teal and outfitted with a choker tied around her neck. Her hair looked almost like Alice's, being a strange but natural color of teal that matched her outfit.

"... Who's asking?" Alice hesitated to reply, looking to Roxie for guidance.

"Yeah, you can't just approach a young girl like this, miss." Roxie interjected, grabbing hold of her cousin's hand.

"I'll deal with you later, Leeblossom." the girl barked, triggering Roxie to blink in shock. "My name is Tessa Wren, CEO of Exervent."

She held out a card detailing her credentials. Exervent was the third, and quietest, company to run out of Technology Square. It laid to the north of the district, staying out of the way of both DexLabs and Mandark Industries affairs. Nobody was really sure what they studied there, or how Tessa came to power there. In fact, most people didn't even know who Tessa was.

"Wren?" Roxie questioned. That surname was all too familiar to her. "Do you know a Holden Wren?"

"Do not compare me to that imperfection." Tessa snarled at Roxie, her glaring eyes moving back to Alice. "Alice Spacebyte, am I wrong?"

"Uhrm…" Alice shook her head, becoming possibly the most uncomfortable she had been all day. "You are correct, Miss Wren."

"Delightful." Tessa replied with a manic smirk. In the blink of an eye, her arms were outstretched, a pair of scissors pulled from her pockets and quickly snapping a lock of Alice's hair from her head.

"Back off!" Roxie yelled, stepping between the two.

"Stop it!" Alice added, holding her arms up and, somehow, knocking both Roxie and Tessa away from her. Roxie only stumbled forward a few feet, but Tessa was knocked flat onto her butt. Alice's eyes widened at the sight, pure confusion painting her face.

"You insolent brat!" Tessa hissed, scrambling to her feet. The woman cleared her throat before inappropriately spitting at the girls. Her lougee landed on the tile in front of Alice, sparking with an electric shock.

"I- I'm sorry!" Alice cried out, completely unaware of what just happened. While Roxie was also confused by the touchless push, protecting her family was her first concern.

"I think you need to leave." Roxie stood her ground, placing herself in front of Alice. Courage cowered behind the girl as well.

"I said I'll deal with you later, Leeblossom." The teal haired girl snapped.

"How do you know Alice and me?" Roxie continued on. "Are you some sort of psycho stalker?"

"I know everybody." Tessa grinned. "You'll know what you need to know when you need to know. I got what I came for anyways."

"After physically assaulting a thirteen year old girl!?" Roxie's hands had balled up into fists at this point. "You need to stay away from me and my family! Got it?"

"Eat my dust." Tessa shrugged her shoulders lightly, taking off at an abnormally fast sprint.

The only sounds that filled the air now were of the screaming crowd cheering on the Gangreen Gang as they finished up a song. Then, all at once, Alice began to sniffle and cry, only causing Roxie to grab her into a hug.

"Are you ok!?" she asked. "Did she hurt you?"

"I don't know…" Alice sobbed, holding up her hands to feel for where Tessa clipped her hair. "Why did she do that?"

"I'm gonna find out." Roxie said, pulling away from the hug to look into Alice's eyes. "She has the same last name as Holden, one of my neighbors. She talked like she knew him."

"Creepy stuff is only supposed to happen in Nowhere!" Courage whined, rapidly looking around as if he was waiting for another disturbance to show up.

"But Alice…" Roxie's tone shifted from worry to concern. "Was that you? Did you push me?"

"I… I think so?" the young girl lifted up a sleeve to wipe her eyes. "I've never done that before. I promise I didn't touch you."

"It's ok, you were in danger." Roxie wrapped her back into the hug. "Maybe there's more to this alien thing than you think."

"You don't think she knew, do you?" Alice asked, voice filling up with dread. "No one is supposed to know about me. I barely know about me!"

"I doubt it, sweetheart." Roxie broke the hug, turning to see if Tessa was nearby. The mysterious girl had completely vanished from sight by now. "I have to know how she knows us, though. Why does she know of us?"

"Nothing good is going to come from this." Courage whimpered.

"Wren. Tessa Wren." Roxie thought to herself for a moment. "I'm going to have to ask Holden if he knows this chick, and why is she so crazy?"

"I think, I, uhm," Alice stood, simply staring down at her hands. "I would like to go home now."

"Of course." Roxie didn't know what Alice was capable of, but it didn't scare her. "The last five minutes were more emotionally stressful than the rest of the day."

"For once, I would also like to go home." Courage sighed.

"I think we should tell someone about what you just did, though." Roxie said. Alice shook her head.

"I- I…" Alice stuttered. "Aunt Muriel wouldn't know what to say."

"Then maybe you can trust the Professor, or the Plumbers?" Roxie shrugged. "I just don't want you to hurt yourself."

"Y-Yeah." Alice nodded. "Maybe. But I just want to go home now."

"Ok." Roxie looked around the mall, taking in the sights again. The orange sky faded into a dark hazy curtain, lights emanating only from the stores that hadn't closed yet, and the continuing encore of the Gangreen Gang's show. The air was light, a soft breeze drifting down through the hole in the ground. It would've felt like a normal night, if it weren't for Roxie's terrified cousin, her grandparent's whimpering dog, the mysterious girl performing on stage, and of course, the horrifying Planet Fusion glaring down at them. She exhaled deeply, looking back to Alice.

"Let's go home."

---

1 April 2044

Sector V's Jungle Outpost at Mount Blackhead became, what seems like, an overnight sensation. It was only opened up to the public, notably those above the age of 13, a few weeks ago, but it was already a bustling hotspot for the war effort. Volunteers would prepare for their patrols here, hang out in their downtime here. Funnily enough, Morbucks Savings and Loan even branched all the way out to the Wilds here!

While Princess Morbucks was the most notable of her family, (for all the wrong reasons), her cousin Prince King ran the show at Blackhead. It helped that he was only ten years old, making him fit right into the K.N.D. Outpost's environment. And those who hung around the area loved him, even if he was a bit condescending.

Unbeknownst to the many teenage and kid soldiers below, many Kids Next Door operations continued in the many treehouses that littered the treetops atop the mountain, (aside from the sacred Magic Tree, of course.) Most Sector V operations still occurred back in the suburbs above Nigel Uno's house, but given the trying circumstances, the five members of the Sector had to branch out. Though this particular operation was to be kept secret.

A young blonde boy stood at a command center in one of the treehouses, mashing buttons on his control panel below while the large screen in front of him displayed strange text. Every second, the text symbol would change to a different one. And then another. Every few symbols, the boy would grunt angrily, but to be fair, random anger was par for the course for Wallabee Beetles, better known as Numbuh 4.

"I'm getting so sick of this!" he cried out with a thick Australian accent. His words triggered another figure to peek into the room.

"Are you getting mad at the computer again, silly?" the girl's voice snickered before she skipped into the room. The small black haired girl had to stifle back her giggles by holding her outstretched green sweater sleeves up to her mouth as she approached. Kuki Sanban was the cheeriest member of Sector V, known there under her operative name, Numbuh 3.

"I don't know what any of this crud means!" Numbuh 4 growled. "We've been staring at these stupid numbers for over a month! For what!?"

"Oh Wally," Numbuh 3 lazily shrugged as she approached the control panel. "I told you we should tell Numbuh 1 if neither of us can make any sense of this!"

"No!" the boy barked. "I told you, I followed the instructions! Numbuh Vine said not to tell him, specifically!"

"The cryptic, alien, foreign instructions?" Numbuh 3 laughed. "We barely even know who Numbuh Vine is."

Both of the operatives whipped their heads to the screen following the girl's doubt, a static sound buzzing as the strange symbols counted down to a normal, plain zero. They stared at the zero in shock before the screen buzzed again, seemingly switching to a video feed.

"Wait!" Wallabee said, pressing some of the buttons and turning a knob on the control panel. "This might be them!"

"You really have no idea how to work this thing, huh?" Numbuh 3 laughed.

"Shut up!" he yelled, looking back to the screen. "Hello? Come in?" Only static fed through the speakers. "Can you hear me?"

"No, no!" Kuki reached across the control panel. "You gotta push this thing-y over here!"

"No, don't!" Numbuh 4 threw his arms up to try and stop his crush, but she had already pushed the button she pointed at. Instead of helping the situation, the button pulled up the official webpage for Rainbow Monkeys Industries, coupled with the company's childish theme song blaring through the speakers. "Awh! Now look what you did!"

"What?" Numbuh 3 snickered at him. "I like this site. Rainbow Monkeys, Rainbow Monkeys!" She trailed off as she sang along with the song, making the blonde grow increasingly frustrated.

"Enough already with the Rainbow Crud!" he yelled, pressing the same button to pull the screen back to what seemed to be the video feed. "Come in, Numbuh Vine! Are you there?"

"We love you!" Kuki screamed at the screen as she stuck her face against it. Wally shoved her away.

"You did not…" he sighed. "This is an intergalatpogos call!" Kuki's expression narrowed at the boy.

"Intergalactic." she corrected.

"Ugh, whatever." Numbuh 4 grunted. "You don't say I lov-"

"Earth operatives?" a distorted voice interrupted the two, triggering confused looks as they stared at the screen. The picture on the screen finally started to come into focus, revealing what appeared to be a sentient potted plant with long vines for appendages on the other end of the call. An alien. "Are you there? Do you read me?"

"Oh, hi, Numbuh Vine!" Wallabee cheerily greeted, waving his hand. Numbuh 3 waved her own hand as well.

"Numbuhs 3 and 4, greetings." the now named Numbuh Vine replied. "Are preparations underway?"

"Yep!" Numbuh 4 confidently answered. "We posted the video just like you said!"

"Excellent!" the alien operative seemed optimistic. "Now everyone on Earth will… Wait, you WHAT!?"

"We posted the video!" Kuki repeated, just as confident as Wally. "All we had to do was press this button right here!" She pressed down on the same button she pressed before, triggering the Rainbow Monkeys webpage to jump back up on the screen. "Hey, that's not it! But I LOVE this song!" Just as before, the girl began to sing along without a care.

"IDIOTS!" Numbuh Vine screamed, cutting the webpage's song and somehow making the screen return to her video. "You weren't supposed to post the video until after the countdown ends!"

"Well, how were we supposed to understand all those weird alien numbers?" Numbuh 3 barked back, hands on her hips.

"Yeah-uh!" Numbuh 4 was quick to back her up. "We never studied Canadian in school."

"They're not Canadian, you Earth dope!" the alien growled, using her leafy limbs to pull up the symbols on the screen. "That's the galactic standard base ten numerical system. It combines the pictographic treatments of galactic ancient-"

In the middle of her sentence, Numbuh Vine's appearance flickered. At first Numbuhs 3 and 4 thought it might have just been the screen. But it soon became clear that it definitely was not, and that Numbuh Vine's appearance shifted to that of a short and stout girl, with ginger hair braided into pigtails. The operatives jaws dropped at the sight, since they recognized that girl as Lizzie Devine, who was Nigel Uno's ex-girlfriend.

"Oh, for the love of…!" the girl on the screen groaned, her distorted voice now sounding identical to the voice they knew belonged to Lizzie. "Now my human disguise is acting up! Who was running the tech department while I was on Earth? Numbuh Moron!?"

"Tell me about it!" a distant voice, probably Numbuh Moron, buzzed from Lizzie's end of the call.

"... Holy fuck." Numbuh 3 uncharacteristically cursed at the sight. Numbuh 4 leaned closer to his friend.

"She looked better as a plant…"

"I HEARD THAT!" Lizzie screamed at the two.

"So we messed up your dumb internet video thing." Kuki began to snarl back at the girl. "It's not like it had any cute cats in it!"

"... Annnnnnywaaaaaaays." Wallabee whistled. "What do we do now?"

"Now?" Lizzie asked. She pointed a stubby finger at the screen. "Now you get everyone off that planet!"

"... Uhhh…. Everyone?" both Numbuhs 3 and 4 questioned in unison.

"Everyone!" Lizzie yelled. "Every Kids Next Door Operative! Every adult! Every boy, girl, man, woman, and child! Because-"

The video feed began to fill with static again, becoming coupled with Lizzie's enraged screams after a few moments. Wallabee and Kuki stared at each other as the screen faded in and out, only to soon reappear with Lizzie's image. However, a new video feed streamed to both parties, revealing a trio sitting within a golden room. On their side of the screen, a golden robot, a small green boy, and a ginger haired girl outfitted in a retro pink uniform looked on with both worry and concern.

"Excuse me!" the green boy piped up. His space suit had the name Sparky etched into it.

"Ugh!" Lizzie groaned. "What is it now!?"

"Ahem." the pink-outfitted girl cleared her throat. "This is Galactic Guardian Sector 1683 leader Atomic Betty speaking."

"Galactic Guardian?" Numbuh 4 asked.

"This is quite the transmission you three are sending." she continued. "I'm not seeing any reports of any authorized cross-space calls. What exactly is going on here?"

"Are you kidding…?" Lizzie grunted to herself. "Now you're telling me Numbuh MORON forgot to mask our signal from the Galactic Guardians too!? Whoever was dealing with things when I was on Earth is getting fired!"

"Uhhh, wrong number?" Wally lied with a forced grin.

"Data shows this call has progressed for several minutes." the robot buzzed. It had a large 'X-5' painted across the front of its gold plating.

"Indeed." Atomic Betty nodded. "Why would you be on this call for so long if it was a wrong number? And with the… Galactic Kids Next Door of all people."

"Don't act so high and mighty." Lizzie snarled. "We're doing more for the universe than your ragtag group of adults controlling children!"

"... I'm not interjecting to get anyone in trouble." Betty muttered.

"We don't entirely know what's happening here either." Numbuh 3 shrugged. "Wally was the one who messed things up!"

"No, no!" Numbuh 4 slammed his hand down on the control panel. "Don't put this crud on me! It was Numbuh Vine…" He paused, eyes narrowing on the familiar girl on the screen. "It was Lizzie who didn't tell us exactly what to do! She sent us that creepy video!"

"I would've had better luck with Numbuh T than with you two nimcapoops!" Lizzie stuck her nose towards her screen, giving Numbuhs 3 and 4 and the Galactic Guardians an unpleasant view of her nostrils.

"Tell me about the video." Betty said.

"It's not any of your concern!" Lizzie said, pulling away from her screen. "This matter is a threat to Earth at the moment, not the universe."

"Well, I am a human." Betty shrugged. "From Earth. That concerns me."

"Jeez…" Lizzie rubbed her temples. "Now I'm gonna be the one to get fired." She sighed, the sound of her fingers tapping against surfaces and buttons as she sent the video over to Betty and her team.

The Galactic Guardians remained motionless as the video began to play on their screens. This video was not familiar to them, but it wasn't the first time an Earthling had viewed it. In fact, many citizens of the planet saw it on the day of the Fusion Invasion in the minutes it was posted to the Rainbow Monkeys website, and Dexter had even shown the graphic film to a conference room full of heroes and geniuses a few weeks ago. It was the video of an Imaginary Friend nearing a Fusion Spawn in a dark room, causing the Fusion to writhe in pain.

"What is that…!?" Betty exclaimed, a hand sitting in front of her mouth in shock.

"It's a Fusion." Lizzie sighed. "Nobody was meant to see this video until today, but these two foreheads posted it before the g:K.N.D. was ready!"

"Wait, wait, wait a minute!" Numbuh 4 called out, waving his hands spracticially. "You guys knew about these Fusions!?"

"Well, uhm…" Lizzie nervously stuttered.

"The Fusions?" Betty asked.

"The evil alien goop invading Earth!" Numbuh 3 sighed. "Should someone guarding the galaxy know of that?"

"No sensors indicate any alien threat to Earth." Betty's robot friend buzzed again. "However, it seems that something large is blocking all signals, commercial and distress, sent from Earth."

"It's not my fault!" Lizzie cried. "Yes, the g:K.N.D. have been fighting that Fuse thing for… a while, but I'm not the one who calls the shots!" As she spoke, her appearance started to shift again, flickering back to the plant-like plant creature she was before. Her voice remained the same, however. "I was only instructed to send this film to the Kids Next Door on Earth, but these two couldn't even follow basic instructions."

"Interesting to see the Galactic Kids Next Door has accepted a Flourana into their ranks." Atomic Betty rubbed her chin. "Haven't seen one of those since that Tennyson guy turned into his Wildvine fella."

"Why didn't you warn us!?" Numbuh 4 yelled at Lizzie, pounding his fist on the control panel again. "The Moonbase is still offline! People have died! Do you realize how stressed Numbuh 1 is?"

"I…!" Even with a potted plant for a face, everyone could tell Lizzie was uncomfortable when Numbuh 1 was brought up. "I should've just sent this to Numbuh 1 in the first place…"

"You're darn right, you should've!" Numbuh 4 spat. "The Earth is in chaos and you could've prevented it!"

"Excuse me." Betty piped up again. "Lizzie, was it?"

"Numbuh C55H72O5N4Mg." the alien replied. "Or Numbuh Vine."

"Well, Numbuh Vine," Betty reached forward from her seat, reaching a control panel visible on screen. "I'll be contacting my superiors and sending backup to Earth. I'd advise you to contact your superiors and urge them to do the same."

"It's not that easy-!" Lizzie was cut off before she could continue.

"You have to try!" Betty yelled, standing up from her set. The camera displaying Betty and her cohorts began to zoom out, revealing the gold room they sat within was actually the inside of a spaceship, with stars littering the scenery behind the glass panels of the ship. "You're only going to keep beating yourself up over this if you feel like you could've prevented this."

"Course set for Earth!" Sparky muttered under Betty's voice.

"Not even us Galactic Guardians knew about this!" the space ranger continued. "Somehow… And we know all the going ons throughout the galaxy. But we can fix this!"

"Uggh!" Lizzie groaned. "I don't like any bit of this though, and the g:K.N.D. won't either."

Lizzie's end of the video feed cut off after the alien slammed a vine down offscreen, leaving Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 4 alone with Atomic Betty and her crew. They all stared at each other for a few silence moments, the only noise coming from either side being the roars of the spaceship as it traveled through space. A couple loud yells and laughs filtered into the Jungle Outpost control room, giving the operative an excuse to look away from the screen.

"We still don't know what to do now." Numbuh 3 shrugged.

"Are we in, like, trouble, or something?" Numbuh 4 asked.

"No, no." Betty sat back down. "Even if I had the authority to determine that, you two were just caught in the crosshairs of…" A deep sigh escaped from the girl's lips. "Another poor decision made by the Galactic Kids Next Door."

"Poor?" Kuki rubbed her chin with her sleeve.

"Of course, not discrediting the work of your Kids Next Door," Betty sighed. "The intergalactic branch of your organization tends to act… A bit shady, for lack of a better term."

"What's shady about stopping evil adults all across the universe?" Numbuh 3 shrugged. Numbuh 4 crossed his arms, expression unsure of whether to be mad at the topic, or agree.

"There's nothing wrong with that!" Betty chuckled lightly. "Though, the g:K.N.D. sets their sights on all adults, rather than just the evil ones."

"I don't see anything wrong with that." Numbuh 4 grunted.

"Oh, really?" Betty's eyebrow rose, her arms crossing to mimic the operative's. "You want all adults gone? Your parents? Your grandparents?"

"Well, uh, not exactly…" Wally's arms fell to his side.

"Exactly." Atomic Betty glanced to her side, looking out the windows of her crew's ship. "You should tell this Numbuh 1 fellow about the video you received. As well as anyone else who could help analyze it, further protect the Earth. I'm on my way to your location."

"Wait!?" Numbuh 4 yelled. "Right here?"

"I'll convene with you then."

Those were Betty's last words before the long transmission came to an end. The two operatives exchanged wary glances before looking back to the screen. The Rainbow Monkey's webpage replaced the video feed. Though, Kuki didn't sing along with the catchy tune this time. A call from Sector V began to ring through on the screen.

"We have to tell them about the video." Numbuh 3 sighed.

"Awh, crud…" Numbuh 4 grunted. "We're gonna be in trouble with them, for sure." A long pause separated the boy's words. "Should we tell them about… Lizzie? Er, Numbuh Vine? Is Lizzie even her real name?"

The call from Sector V didn't even wait for the two to answer, and suddenly went through. An image of Numbuh 1 appeared on the screen.

"Status report, Operatives." he said calmly.

"Numbuh 1!" Numbuh 4 exclaimed. "We, uhhhh-" Numbuh 3 placed a hand on the boy's shoulder to silence him.

"We've got some confessions to make."

---

6 April 2044

"We're getting close."

The deeper people ventured into the Wilds, the more dangerous it got. And that was just before the villainous Fusion began taking over. Even the most adventurous of people strayed away from the darker areas of the Wilds these days, staying close to Mount Blackhead. That, of course, didn't stop those with a goal from stepping out into danger.

Within the heavy foliage, two heroes made their way into undiscovered territory. Juniper Lee led the duo, looking far and wide with her fists ready to bop anything that would get in her way. Gwen Tennyson followed suit, however, she didn't pay as much attention to the path as her older friend. Instead, she held open the ancient Book of Prophecy, skimming the pages and adjusting her glasses every so often.

"Have you ever been out here before, Gwendolyn?" Juniper asked.

"A few times." the ginger-haired girl spoke up. "When I was 10, my grandpa took my cousin and I on a trip around the country, and we ended up out here a few times."

"Ever been here, specifically?" Juniper asked again, pushing back some leaves to reveal their destination in front of them.

Giant waterfalls poured into the burrow in the ground where the Hani-Baba Temple sunk into the earth. It seemed like the area was the perfect setting for the local wildlife to flourish, yet the Fusion Matter encroaching on the area drove most of the wildlife into hiding. The temple itself wasn't untouched either, with multiple Fusion monsters scaling its sides.

"Not here specifically." Gwen replied as they overlooked the ancient ruins. "I've read about it though."

"In the prophecy book?"

"Well, yes, but also before this." Gwen nods. "Seems an ancient civilization left these here before disappearing mysteriously. The Book of Prophecy doesn't mention anything like that, but explicitly links the temple to totems like the one we activated in Crystalline Caverns."

"Guess we better go check it out, huh?" June smirked while pounding her fist into her hand.

"Carefully, Juniper." Gwen folded the book shut, tucking it under her arm before she began the descent towards the temple. "We don't know what's inside the temple, Fusion or otherwise. And we don't know who else may know about this. I've been doing this long enough to know that someone else always somehow knows."

Juniper watched her step as she followed Gwen down into the ravine holding the temple, getting situated with her as they stared at an opening leading inside. Two Timber Terrors, tree-mimicking Fusions, lurked outside, but the girls didn't seem to be worried. Gwen lifted her free hand to form a void of pink colored energy, rocketing it towards one of the Terrors. June stomped on the ground with a wicked expression, sending a shockwave of energy through the stone to erupt underneath the second Terror. Easy work for these two.

As the girls stepped over the Fusion Matter corpses of the monsters and entered the temple, the dapper consort of Him faded into existence. Them materialized floating above the revive, narrowing their eyes onto the pair stepping inside. A high pitched voice escaped their mouth as they crossed their arms in front of their chest.

"I've got my eye on the Prophecy!" they sang, almost in a mocking tone. "Him is sooooo full of it! Just sending us on a wild goose chase while he deals with all the fun torture."

"Don't act so coy." Them grunted to themselves in a deeper voice. "We knew the Book of Prophecy would be discovered one day."

"But it wasn't supposed to help people!" the first voice whined. The demon started to stomp and cry in the air, throwing a visible tantrum. "We wrote the book so we would know what to do with those totems, not humans!"

"We soiled that after we shoved that book full of nonsense." Them's deeper voice rattled. "It should've just recorded the Hani-Baba Totems' power and use and been done with it like we planned. Not fill with worthless spells and distractions."

"Quit bickering!" Them's third, and calmest, voice blurted out. Their face started to fluctuate as their personalities exchanged angry glares with each other… Using the same face. "Let's just get in there, get the book back, and return it to Him."

"So he can prolong the alien nonsense?" Them's darker voice huffed. "He's using us for our knowledge of the Temple. He doesn't want us to stop the Fusions with it."

"We trust Him. He doesn't want to deal with the aliens anymore than we do." the calm voice replied before immediately falling in pitch again.

"We were there thousands of years to see what power the Temple holds. We know what it can do. And we know how Him would abuse it. We know he's been itching for a big sting now that there's one less Powerpuff to deal with."

"Lots of downtalk on the demon we've pledged our lives to." The high voice stuck their nose in the air.

"Which is why we know what he's like." A guttural growl shook itself from their throat. "We get the book from the humans. Then we'll talk."

Them can't even reply to themselves before they de-materialized, using their demonic powers to teleport their physical body where they wished. Them rematerialized inside the Hani-Baba Temple, overlooking a large, dank chamber. The sound of rushing water could be heard on the other side of the bricked walls, some of it forcing its way inside to form small puddles. Many rats and insects littered the ancient room, some congregating near the large totem centered in the room.

There was only one passage leading into the dark chamber, which Them watched intently until they noticed a faint, pink glow coming from the corridor. The demon faded away once more, but this time just simply turned themselves invisible. The pink glow grew stronger until it revealed Juniper Lee alongside Gwen, who had her hand outstretched in the air to use her own magic as a torch.

"It's right here." Gwen whispered to her friend. "The Totem we're looking for."

"How many of these are there?" Juniper asked, carefully entering the chamber. It was clear the both of them were looking out for booby-traps.

"The Book of Prophecy details six, including the one we already saw." Gwen nodded, pulling the book from her arm and opening it back up. She held her other hand closer to her, illuminating the pages better. "I'm still not sure if I'm reading this right, but what I can gather is that the locations of each totem is detailed in the book, just with a different language describing each one."

"I can know all the magic in the world and still be thwarted by a simple language barrier." Juniper shook her head, giggling like a fool.

"The book explicitly tells us about this totem," Gwen glanced at the totem in front of her, "And the Hani-Baba Temple in English. I'm sure this implies whoever is planning to use these is meant to start here."

"And we already saw the one in the crystal cave." Juniper Lee thought out loud.

"The next couple pages in the book are completely unrelated to the totems, but this page," The ginger stopped flipping the pages on a page that looked darker than the ones surrounding it. "This page lines up with some theories I found in other studies, saying each obelisk must be activated before use, like a series of locks."

"All we have to do is find a bunch of tall rocks around the world?" The Te Xuan Ze's eyes were lit up as bright as the stars. "Gwendolyn! A magical scavenger hunt across the country! That's amazing."

"Oh, June…" Gwen gave a weak smile to her friend. "I know you're excited to explore the world, so I don't want to burst your bubble, but there may be a way to activate them all with this central totem in the Temple."

"Oh!" The black haired girl looked up to the obelisk, lazily shrugging her shoulders upwards. "I mean, that's good too…"

"We would of course go out and find the rest of them." Gwen's smile grew warm. She wiggled the book lightly. "For completion's sake." Juniper's frown turned around as she slumped closer to her friend.

"What would I do without you, Gwendolyn?"

"I wish more people would start saying that." the ginger girl laughed. "After activating this one, I want to try a spell to attempt to unlock all the totems. With the two of us here, we can most likely use our abilities to channel the power towards Planet Fusion. If it works" Gwen closed the book, but didn't tuck it away. "This may be more of a test run than anything. The Book seems to intentionally leave out important details."

A childish snicker rattled from the spying, invisible Them, but didn't reach either of the magical girls' ears. Unbeknownst to all three people in the ancient chamber, another source of light was beginning to reignite the corridor leading towards them.

"Last time, all we did was hold the book adjacent to the obelisk." Gwen muttered to herself quietly. Juniper stepped to her, placing one hand onto the book.

"Can't hurt to try it again, right?" Juniper gave her friend a warm nod, which she shares.

The two held their arms out to push the Book of Prophecy closer to the totem, triggering the same reaction as last time. Both the spine of the book and the symbolism on the obelisk began to glow with an orange light. Instead of fading to a blue color, this totem only seemed to glow brighter, letting Gwen extinguish her magical flame as they looked at the ancient stone.

"It sure is doing something alright!" Juniper called out, giving Gwen a thumbs-up with her free hand. Before Gwen could recite her spell, the mysterious fourth party creating the light growing the corridor took a loud step into the chambers, a heel clacking against the stone.

"Of course, a Tennyson." a woman's voice grumbled at the sight. Gwen's eyes grew worrisome at the sight of her old rival, Charmcaster. "Why am I even surprised?"

"What are you doing here, Hope?" Gwen took a step in front of Juniper, as if she was guarding her.

"Ugh-yuck!" the white haired and purple cladded witch exclaimed. "That is not my name! Never call me that and get out of my way!"

"Do you really think I'd just step out of the way after all the times I've dealt with you?" Gwen scowled, her hands beginning to glow with her power.

"You'd be making both our afternoons a lot smoother." Charmcaster laughed at the girls with an evil smirk. "The Hani-Baba Totems are mine to control, as is all the magic in the universe!"

"Ya' know, I heard a lot of bad guys say that before and it never really ends well for them." Juniper shrugged her shoulders as she looked at the newcomer. Nearby, the invisible Them would still be watching the scene intently.

"So you know about them?" Gwen asked without letting her guard down. Charmcaster gave off a snarky nod.

"I know about a lot of things you don't, Lucky Girl." the witch scoffed, then took a step back to enter a fighting stance. "You know I'm gonna get what I want, so just move on over."

"What do you want with these things, Hope?" Gwen asked again, taking an exaggerated step towards her rival.

"The same thing I always want." Charmcaster's hands glow with a white light. "Power." She quickly threw her hand into the air, launching a magical blast of energy at the two.

"Heads up!" June squealed, throwing her own hands out and creating a temporary shield in front of the two. Gwen's appearance shifted into her radiant Lucky Girl costume while the shield blocked Charmcaster's attack.

Using her Anodite-based powers, Lucky Girl shot up into the air of the large chamber riding a platter of energy. She clutched onto the Book of Prophecy in one arm, using her other to lob multiple energy balls to the opposer. Charmcaster thrashed her arms in front of her, bouncing the attacks off her own tiny, temporary shields, and her scowl growing tighter with each attack.

"She looks mad at us." June yelled out to Gwen above her.

"I am!" Charmcaster growled. Avoiding another attack from Gwen, Charmcaster reached a hand into a small sack tied to her belt, pulling out and dropping three small rock figures. She waved her hand as they connected with the stone below, causing herself to disappear, and the rocks she dropped to begin glowing and increasing in size. She reappeared a few feet to the right of the totem as her rock monsters grew six feet tall and roared in agony.

"She's got back up!" Juniper called out, wasting no time to mimic her attack she used on the Timber Terrors outside. A hearty stomp smacked against the ground, sending a shockwave that toppled over one Charmcaster's rock minions. "Divide and conquer!" The Temple itself would shake following the blast.

Gwen took this exactly as Juniper intended, focusing all of her attention on Charmcaster and leaving Juniper Lee to the rock monsters. June leaped from her spot, reaching incredible height before swinging her leg down at the second living rock, which effortlessly fell at her touch. Charmcaster rushed to the totem's side, placing her hands on it.

"Yes, yes!" she seemed to excitedly say to herself. As Gwen approached, it appeared as if Charmcaster was siphoning the power out of the temple… with her bare hands. The orange colored aura igniting the symbol looked like it was fading, while Charmcaster's very hands started to glow with the same power. After raising her brow, Gwen hurled a flurry of energy blasts at her rival.

"This power is not yours to take!" Gwen grunted as she hurtled another attack in Hope's direction. To her surprise, looking down to Charmcaster revealed all of Gwen's own attacks suspended in mid-air. The white haired woman wore a disgusting grin as she held up one hand in the direction of the attacks.

"You're powerless against me, Tennyson." She laughed. Not a second passed before Charmcaster hurled Gwen's own attacks back at her! They pelt into Gwen's mana hoverboard, causing it to shatter and fade. Gwen started to fall to the wet stone below, but was suddenly suspending in mid air as Charmcaster spoke a hushed spell. She tightened her fist in front of her face, halting Gwen from falling, but starting to crush her neck as if Charmcaster's gloved hands were physically constricting her.

The Te Xuan Ze took only a moment to hear Gwen's struggling breaths, seeing her floating in the air gasping for air. A determined look painted her face, making another insane leap, this time hopping off the head of one of Charmcaster's minions to reach Gwen, and pull her from the trance.

She landed on her feet, helping Gwen to her own as she gasped for air. Gwen looked up in horror to Charmcaster once she caught her bearings. Her brow furrowed, and her gaze narrowed on Charmcaster, specifically her purple and tattered clothing. A grey, hexagonal stone sat on her chest, hanging from a makeshift necklace and glowing with a pink symbol.

"The Alpha Rune…?" Gwen questioned aloud. Her eyes grew wide. "The Alpha Rune!? Juniper, watch out!"

"Huh-what?" June caught a glance in Gwen's direction, questioning her and getting distracted from the two rock monsters charging her. Two blasts from Gwen managed to save Juniper, and leave the two dazed as the girls rushed to safety. "The Alpha what-now?"

"I thought Rook destroyed it the last time Ben and him fought her." Gwen shook her head. "Charmcaster has the Alpha Rune, something that powers the Ledgerdomain where all magic flows. And is now giving her control over magic. Including our own powers. I've dealt with a stunt like this of hers before."

"Oh boy…" June sulked a bit, looking to Charmcaster start to continue to siphon the mana from the totem. "So she's using that to try and steal this power, ain't she? Isn't there bigger fish to fry, with the alien invasion and all?"

"We've got to stop her somehow…" Gwen sighed, her appearance dying out as it fades back into her normal clothes and glasses.

"Oh!" Juniper nearly jumped out of her own skin with excitement. "Gwendolyn! That ain't the only thing that controls magic you know. I was literally born to do that!"

"What are you suggesting?"

"Just follow my lead."

Juniper jetted off around the chamber at superhuman speeds, speeding around Charmcaster and the totem, and drawing the three rock monsters to the center of the room. Soon, June comes to a full stop behind one of the rocks, suddenly lifting the weight like it was feathers before she threw it over her head at a second monster. The two magical beasts shared a comedic scream before they smacked into each other, crumbling into rubble. Gwen's voice echoed through the room as she recited a spell to launch a heavy energy wall in the third monster's direction. Charmcaster dropped her hands from the totem at the sight of this.

"Why do you two Tennyson freaks keep bringing your freaky friends along with you!?" Charmcaster complained. She took a few quick steps forward towards Juniper Lee, whispering a cryptic spell while angrily snatching her hand into a fist in front of her face. Silence falls across the two as... nothing happens. Charmcaster smacked her hand into a fist again, And then again.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention," Juniper started giggling like a schoolgirl at Charmcaster's failed spell attempts. "The Te Xuan Ze is immune to some magical abilities. Even if you can control it."

"Te Xuan Ze…?" Charmcaster grew a deeper scowl. In an instance, the villain's face turned upside down, lips curling as her eerie grin grew. "I wouldn't have bothered with the totem if I knew all the power I need is inside of you."

A grunt escaped Gwen as she threw her whole body forward with her hands, launching a thick and large blast of energy at Charmcaster while she was distracted. It knocked Charmcaster clear across the chamber, as well as knocking her focus off just enough to make the final rock monster lose its energy, shrinking to its original, lifeless size,

"How did you know her spell wouldn't affect you…?" Gwen asked between heavy breaths, running to her friend. Juniper shrugged with her hands in the air.

"I didn't!" Juniper playfully flipped her air. "There was a 50/50 chance whatever she did wouldn't work. Jeez, that would've sucked if I was wrong, wouldn't it?"

"We need to work on our gameplans…" Gwen muttered, rubbing her temples and taking a moment to collect herself before looking to Charmcaster.

The woman struggled to get herself off the ground, but did so, using the wall to pull herself up. Gwen and Juniper take a stand in front of the totem, looking to Charmcaster with triumphant looks. Juniper even opened her mouth to deliver another wacky zinger, but didn't get the time to speak before Them's body materialized between the girls and Hope.

"What an interesting display of your magical abilities." Them snickers at the three girls, a high pitched voice echoing in the large chamber. "Quite impressive! Oh, bravo, ladies!"

Even Charmcaster would be confused by the green-skinned demon's sudden appearance, and their words of praise.

"If you're all done squabbling over power," Them's hoarse and deep voice replaced the previous one. "That book belongs to us."

"The Book of Prophecy... ?" Gwen clutches onto the book tighter, looking to the demon. "Who are you?"

"Humans always need introductions…" A third voice sighed from Them's lips. "To put things simple, we are Them. The book in your possession is actually one of our original works."

"And we're taking it back whether you like it or not!" The first voice giggled like a child, gleefully jumping about even though they were floating a foot off the ground already.

"Them?" Juniper scratched her head. "Like Him? The demon who hates the Powerpuff Girls and shops at Malph's?"

"They have incredible deals on household appliances." Them's squeaky voice snickered.

"Like Him." The calmer voice actually replied. Their head slowly turned around completely, like an owl's, to look at Charmcaster.

"But you are more interesting than some measly book." Them's darker tone said, pointing a clawed finger in the direction of Charmcaster's chest, and the Alpha Rune she was in possession of. "The human witch who stole the rune from Ledgerdomain, where all magic in the universe comes from."

"You've heard of me?" Charmcaster leaned against the wall, clutching onto her handmade necklace as she recovered from the pain of the previous attack. "I'm kind of hot stuff 'round those parts."

"Surely the wielder of the Alpha Rune holds more use to us than that book." Them continued, but this time seemed as if they were speaking to themselves.

"Him's instructions were very explicit," a second voice chimed in. "We are to retrieve the book and return it to him. Do not pass Go, do not collect two hundred dollars."

"Such a stickler for the rules!" Them rolled their eyes at themselves. "Think about what we can do with these stupid stone towers with all that power!"

"They're totally talking to themselves, right?" Juniper leaned closer to Gwen to ask. "It seems like they're talking to themselves."

"I think so too…" Gwen sighed. "Wa- Wait!" She stepped forward, causing Them's neck to snap back into place to look at her. "The totems, you made them?"

"We said we wrote the book, not created Stonehenge." The high-pitched voice yelled.

"We're not abusing the power like her!" Gwen continued on, taking another step closer. "Your book is vague, but implies we can stop a life threatening event like this alien apocalypse with the power of the activated totems, right?"

"Magic can do a lot of things, little girl." The same voice continued.

"But that is our plan…" Them's calmer voice replied.

"Was our plan!" The previous voice cheered. "None of that matters with all that power available to us!"

"Like I'd give you any power." Charmcaster spat at Them. "I work alone."

"A smart move." Them's deeper voice said with a shrug. "Perhaps Him would be interested in the aid of another all-powerful magical woman. Perhaps we can convince the Te Xuan Ze to come along with us. Perhaps she'll have to be forced."

"Unlikely!" Juniper called out, cupping her hands around her mouth to carry her voice. "On both ends!"

"Perhaps you're onto something." Charmcaster strangely smirked, finally standing up straight as the pain from the attack wore off. "You'll help me take the mana from the Temple?"

"We'll help you use its magic without the Book, anywhere, any time, anyway you want." The darkened voice of Them teased, turning their full body to Charmcaster, and holding their claws out to her. "Do we have a deal?"

Charmcaster said no words, but took the demon's hand. In the blink of an eye, both Charmcaster and Them were nowhere to be seen, surely warping themselves away, but leaving Gwen and Juniper with the activated Temple totem that still illuminated the room with its orange glow. Slowly, the final rock monster figure rolled along the dirt to the girls' feet, void of all energy from before.

"What the heck just happened…?" Juniper cried out. "Who was that!? What did they say to her!?" June started pacing a tad as she rambled off in thought. "I swear, Gwendolyn, these excursions with you are only asking more questions than answering them. Some of that didn't make any sense."

"It made sense to me." Gwen glanced around, as if to see if either of them would come back. "We know Charmcaster is after absolute power again, but that's per usual for her. Her interest in the totems, and that demon's connection to them are what's troubling me."

"Well, what about this?" Juniper held her arm out to the glowing obelisk. She took a step closer to it, just as the orange glow started to fade into a light blue color, exactly like the previous totem they discovered did. Moments later, that light would fade too, darkening the room again.

"Look here…!" Gwen pointed out, using her free hand to recreate her magical torch. The spine of the Book of Prophecy matched the glows of the obelisk like before, but after the blue light faded, two symbols on the spine remained lit up. "I wish I could've asked the author more questions, since I'd like to assume these mean the two totems we've seen have been activated."

"Shouldn't activating this one do the same for all of them…?" Juniper asked, reaching out to cautiously touch the obelisk.

"I'm gonna have to assume Charmcaster did something to it while she was stealing the energy from it." Another sigh escaped her lips. "Of course she had to make everything harder on us."

"It can't be that bad, Gwendolyn!" Juniper wrapped an arm around her friend. "We have to go out and explore the big, wide, open world now! Plus, we've got some solid leads outside of that Kanker girl! Real threats!"

"I don't have to tell you that saying real threats like that isn't entirely exciting." Gwen snickered to her friend.

"It's perfect, Gwendolyn!" Juniper stood tall, taking on a superhero pose.

"That demon mentioned Him as well." the ginger adjusted her glasses as she pulled the pages of the book apart again. "Confronting him might be a good move to make, but we have to be extremely cautious dealing with him."

"Magic, aliens, demons." Juniper offered a friendly laugh. "Oh my! This is all so awesome!"

"We should probably try to decipher more of these pages before we do so, figure out where the rest of the totems are before Charmcaster can find them…" Gwen's head hung a bit as she closed the book. "... Juniper?"

"Yeah?"

"You made a deal with the Grim Reaper…? Right?"

---

As always, reviews and comments both positive and negative are appreciated, and a list of every represented show/their continuity can be found at the end of chapter 1. My DMs are always open here and on Discord for any questions or comments you have about the story.

Alice was introduced in the last chapter, and is the main character of What Gets Me Through the War by AnimeGirl 144, better known as Kyra Xyrespace in the FF community. Kyra is current releasing an updated rewrite of her story, now titled It Calls For You, which you should read as well! This Alice is based off her FMHQRP iteration. Hope everyone caught the reference to the April Fools g:KND video ;)

Tessa Wren (c) zerowing21

David Starsky (c) DavidStarsky/Buttercrush (Inspired by the character of the same name from the original FMHQRP)

Can you tell I took six months to write that last scene?