CHAPTER 9: LET THE WOLF HUNT BEGIN
ME: I thought I'd update a bit sooner than usual to make it up to you guys. Sorry for all the waiting between updates.
BUTCH: I'd prefer it if you kept updating quickly.
ME: Sorry. *sweat-drop*
BUTTERCUP: She owns nothing besides her own OC's and the story...
BLASTER: Like me!
DETH JACKSON: Or me.
BLASTER: ...I'm still not sure how I should feel about you.
ME: *smiles awkwardly, sweat-drop* Well...read on, I suppose; and don't forget to review!
Chapter 9: Let the Wolf Hunt Begin
Buttercup lay in her bed, tired and uncomfortable. She had been tossing and turning for minutes, thinking back to Michael's minty breath on her ear. And his words. Those words. What had they meant?
His breath tickled her ear. "And sadly I don't like talking to the friends of the Ruffs either. And what a pity too; you seem like such a nice girl." When he pulled away, his gaze was cold. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go."
Everything about Michael was proving to be a mystery, and it was one Buttercup couldn't seem to solve. There were just too many pieces missing to the puzzle; like the answers Michael had refused to provide for her questions.
Buttercup sat up, feeling drenched in sweat. Her room felt hot and stuffy, and she was thirsty. Michael and his friends were taking over her mind. Buttercup decided she needed air. Air to breathe; help clear her mind and let her think.
She slowly crawled out of her bed, carefully picking her way through the mess on the floor to the door. She winced as the door creaked when she opened it, and she set foot outside in the hallways. Buttercup shot a look to the rooms she knew her sisters and the Professor occupied, begging silently they wouldn't wake up.
Buttercup then floated silently down the stairs, making her way to the kitchen. The rooms looked unwelcoming in the quiet darkness, with dark, looming shadows. Buttercup flicked on the light to the kitchen, crossing the room to the sink.
She grabbed a cup and turned the tap on, watching as crystal-clear water splashed into her cup. She then turned the tap off and gulped the water down, letting out a sigh of relief for the refreshing treat.
Buttercup turned to stare at the window, out at the sky with the moon shimmering behind dark clouds. Should I go out? She knew it was nearly 2:00 am, and she had school tomorrow, but she desperately wanted fresh air.
So against her better judgement, Buttercup grabbed a coat and flew to the front door. She thrust it open and flew out, relieved to be outside.
Flying into the night sky, Buttercup did spirals and other cool moves as she drank in the different scents and noises. Everything seemed..."fresher" at night, especially after the recent rainfall Townsville had just had.
Buttercup soon found herself back at the forest she and Butch had been, where he'd pushed her out of the way as someone hunted for him...
What had he said to her?
"I'm not what you think I am," breathed the spiky-black haired bad boy, leaning in.
Buttercup landed silently, her feet grazing the forest floor. She surveyed her surroundings, and she was going to take off again, until she heard voices.
"Maxim, no one's here. Let's go already."
"I swear to God; I smelled him last time we came here. I even saw him! He ran in here."
An impatient sigh. "Dammit, Maxim; do you want to report to Danes that we wasted our hunting time looking in places we already looked?"
"Shut up, Coal. He was here, I know it!"
"Maxim—wait, stop. I can hear someone."
Buttercup froze, her heartbeat quickening. Have I been found out? How could he have heard me?
There was a pause as "Maxim" seemed to study the area. "...You're right. I hear someone as well. It must be him! I told you—"
"It's 2:00 am, idiot. Why would he be out here?"
Buttercup peered out from the tree she was hiding behind, spotting two people.
Maxim was an older man with a starch moustache and cold, stony gray eyes. He wore a sort of uniform, with a blue sash. A sword and gun were tucked into the sash at his waist.
The other one, who'd been called "Coal", had gray-brown hair that fell over his right eye. He was thin, but muscles bulged under his tight, pristine white trench coat. His eyes were a shimmering goldish-red, that turned silver in the moonlight.
"Who's there?" Coal called out, using an arm to block Maxim from attacking. Maxim had his hand on the hilt of his sword.
Buttercup took a deep breath, wondering what she should do.
Coal licked his lips. "There's no point in hiding. We won't kill you or anything; promise." He paused then, sniffing the air briefly. "...At least I won't. Maxim might."
"Coal," Maxim growled in protest.
"Relax. It's all good," Coal smirked, eyes swiveling as they searched the scene. "Tell me, why are you here at midnight?"
Not wanting to be caught or questioned, Buttercup blasted into the air. Her lime-green streak was left behind as she flew, her heart pounding against her ribcage.
Below, Coal and Maxim were staring up at the sky as they watched the green streak disappear.
"I knew it; it was him! And you let him get away," spat Maxim.
Coal's eyes narrowed. "...No. That wasn't him. It was someone else." His lips curled into a smile as his sharp nails glinted in the moonlight. "It was a girl."
School next morning seemed to whizz past Buttercup like a blur. She could hardly concentrate, frustrating Butch when they tried to work on their Socials project together.
It was now lunchtime, and Buttercup was getting ready to join her friends in the cafeteria. But words drifted over the air to her super-hearing, coming from a music room. Someone was strumming a bass, and the words they said interested Buttercup so she decided to check it out.
Floating toward the room, Buttercup peeked inside. Her eyes widened. Michael...! DJ; Darkai; Sidney...! They're all here!
Michael was sitting on an amp, strumming chords on a red bass guitar. "Guys, I'm getting sick of study books and more study books whenever I get home. Danes barely gives me any time to breathe."
Danes...? Buttercup thought back to last night, where Coal and Maxim had exchanged words over someone named "Danes".
DJ laughed. He was hanging from a beam in the ceiling, his arms crossed. "Danes is your uncle, Michael. He wants you be a good heir, so you can't blame him for shoving all those lessons down your throat." DJ jumped down, wagging a finger at Michael. "Back straight, young boy!"
Rolling his eyes, Michael swatted his friend's finger away. "Shut up, DJ. Danes needs to remember I'm still a teenager."
"Not exactly..." DJ began, but Michael nudged him sharply. DJ rubbed his arm. "At least your guardian cares about you." He rolled his eyes. "My dad's been on a business trip for two months now, and Uncle Slicer hardly pays attention to me."
Michael strummed one last chord, this one harsh and sharp, voicing his frustrations. "I just wish Danes would leave me alone already. I can take care of myself! He keeps saying we should join in on the hunts."
DJ snorted. "I'd rather not. We've got enough to deal with at school."
Sidney piped up then, quiet and shy. "Ross texted me last night. He says he'll be joining us soon."
"About time he joins in on the torture," Michael sighed. "How long has he been gone again?"
"More than awhile, that's for sure. I lost count a long time ago." DJ let out a forced laugh that sent chills down Buttercup's spine.
"Danes has been talking about Ross non-stop," Michael admitted, "saying how talented he is and other crap like that."
"Are you crazy?" DJ laughed again. "Ross says Shamus always talks about how he should be more like you; disciplined and smart."
"But Ross has raw talent," Michael pointed out, setting his bass down.
"And a cold," Sid stated, glancing down at his phone.
"Guys," Darkai interrupted in his low, solemn voice, "someone's at the door."
Buttercup immediately flew off, hoping they hadn't noticed her. She took off above, so that they wouldn't see her green streak. She sighed. Sometimes having a streak of light behind you when you flew can be such a pain in the ass.
When she landed in the cafeteria and made her way over to where her sisters and friends were sitting. Setting down her lunch, she said, "Hey, guys. Sorry I'm late."
"Hey, Buttercup. Where were you?" Bubbles asked with wide blue eyes.
"Just checking something out." Buttercup avoided their curious gazes as she unwrapped her sandwich, and her friends didn't press any further.
Butch yawned, stretching. "I just hope your head's out of the clouds now. You were totally out of it during Socials."
"Sorry," Buttercup muttered in reply, rolling her eyes. She bit into her sandwich. "Hey, Butch...do you know anyone by the name Coal? Or Maxim...?"
Butch's eyes darkened immediately. "Why are you asking?" he replied.
"You know why." Buttercup shot him a look. "That night in the forest, when—"
"Yeah; I know a Coal and a Maxim." He shrugged. "So what? Big deal."
"It is a big deal when—!" Buttercup began, her chair sliding backwards as she stood up.
However, Brick interrupted: "They're nothing you should concern yourself with, BC. They're just some people we happen to know."
Boomer and the other Ruffs nodded, agreeing with Brick. Buttercup wasn't satisfied with their answer, however.
"Are they old friends of yours?" she demanded.
"Old friends of Michael's," Brick replied, sharing a glance with Butch. He then shrugged. "And you know how we feel about Michael."
Buttercup bit her tongue to keep herself from screaming in frustration. This is getting me nowhere! "How'd you guys meet?"
Brick didn't meet her eyes. "...During a...party," he responded.
"That doesn't explain—" Buttercup began, but Blossom intervened this time.
"I don't know what you're trying to get at, BC; but it's clear the Ruffs don't want to talk about it." Blossom's eyes bored into Buttercup's, a look of warning on her face.
Buttercup stared at her sister in disbelief, before opening her mouth to protest. But then she thought better of it and snapped her jaws shut.
"Thank you," Brick said, looking gratefully at Blossom. She nodded back.
"I only have one more thing to ask," Buttercup finally said.
"And what's that?" Bandit asked, raising an eyebrow. His gaze was guarded and cautious.
"...Do you guys go hunting often?"
The Ruffs blinked at her, before they all started to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Buttercup demanded, irritated that she wasn't being taken seriously.
"Hunting...? Occasionally, but not often. We're not wild animals, BC. We can go to the grocery store for food," Bandit breathed between chuckles.
Buttercup folded her arms. "Why is that so funny though?"
Blaster smiled innocently at her, trying to contain his own laughter. "We're sorry, BC. We—pfft—consider hunting a silly pastime that Mojo takes us on. To hear you ask about it so seriously..." He burst out giggling.
Buttercup narrowed her eyes.
Before she could press any further, the bell rang.
Butch let out a long sigh. "Ahh, thanks for the good laugh, BC." He clapped her on the back. "Oh well; guess it's time for Math class now."
"I just don't—" Buttercup began, but Brick cut her off.
"Now, let's hurry. We don't want to be late, now do we?"
Buttercup glanced at Blossom, who had a stern look on her face. She turned back to the Ruffs and sighed. "No, I guess not."
Buttercup said her "see you later"'s and flew to her locker. She was entering the combination to her lock when she spotted Sidney walking by. "Sidney," she called. "Are you on your way to Math class?"
Sid stopped, looking around in surprise. When his gaze landed on Buttercup, he smiled shyly and nodded. "Y-Yeah," he stammered.
"Well, let's go together then," Buttercup offered. "Butch and Brick are probably already going to class, and Blossom's probably already there."
Sidney hesitated when he heard the Ruffs' names. He glanced between Buttercup and his watch, before nodding. "Okay," he squeaked.
"What's the matter? Do you not enjoy my company?" Buttercup teased, raising an eyebrow. But she really did want to know.
Sidney shook his head. "I-It's not that..." He hesitated. "It's just that...Michael said..."
"Oh." It was all Buttercup could manage to say. She thought back to Michael mentioning how he didn't want to talk to friends of the Ruffs, and that probably went double for his friends as well.
"I'll still w-walk with you, i-if you want," Sid said quickly.
"Only if you want to." Buttercup forced a grin.
Sidney nodded, and so Buttercup followed him toward the Math classroom door. She reached for the doorknob when it was swung open and she was greeted by a cheerful face.
"Helloooo, Buttercup and Sidney! How are you today?"
It was Mr. Apocally, the Math teacher.
"Hi," Buttercup managed to reply, but Mr. Apocally had already moved on.
"I hope you did your homework, because we'll be handing them in today!" he announced, louder than usual, seeing as he was addressing both Buttercup and Sidney, as well as all of the students there.
Butch groaned as Mr. Apocally shot him a look. It was clear Butch hadn't done it (like usual), while Buttercup, who also often didn't finish her work, had actually done it for once. Buttercup and Sidney made their way to their seats and sat down.
"Today we're going over more and more algebra, because who doesn't love algebra?" He paused. "No, there's no need to answer that. I already know who doesn't like algebra. For one; Buttercup, Flash, Ashleigh, Butch, and almost every other kid here hates Math."
Flash grunted from his seat, while Ashleigh didn't respond at all. She was too busy checking her phone for messages.*
One kid threw an eraser at Mr. Apocally's head, and the teacher caught it without even turning around. He was humming as he scribbled onto the board in his usual messy writing the schedule for the class. "We'll go over notes and homework," he said, "in order to prepare you for your test soon."
He crushed the eraser between his fingers as he turned around. "Now, who threw that eraser...? Flash, I hope it wasn't you again. I know you have a date with Kelly tonight, so you might not want to push my buttons or I'll sentence you to detention." He was still smiling and saying all of this in a cheerful, singsongy tone, despite obviously being irritated.
Flash opened his mouth to argue, but thought better of it.
"That's better," Mr. Apocally said cheerfully. "Oh, and Ashleigh—give me your phone."
"Fine," Ashleigh whined, giving him her yellow iPhone.
"As you all might know, we might get a new student soon." Mr. Apocally smiled brightly, turning around again. "And I don't know if he'll be hot, Ashleigh."
Buttercup smirked as Ashleigh looked shocked that Mr. Apocally had guessed what she was thinking.
"Anyway, let's move on with our lesson, shall we?" Their teacher smiled charmingly one last time before turning around.
When class was over, Buttercup was busy gathering her books when Butch approached.
"Hey, BC. I was thinking that today might be a good day to work on our project?"
"I suppose." Buttercup shrugged and swung her bag over her shoulders. She smirked slightly. "You big lug."
He shot her an unamused look, before saying, "You could come over to my house and we could go out shopping for supplies."
"Sure, why not?" Buttercup nodded, shifting her bag's weight.
"Sounds like fun," Butch smirked back.
Buttercup raised an eyebrow, but said nothing more as Butch turned around and flew off. She glanced back to see Blossom talking to Brick, and Sidney still packing his things.
Then with a deep breath, she flew off too.
"Good afternoon, Danes." A sweeping bow as he pulled his hat off of his head.
"Jamel, it is good to see you. How are things going with your group?" Danes asked in a low, rumbling voice. He was never one to waste time on formalities. It bounced off of the pillars in the grand dining room. "Come, sit down and eat with me."
Jamel smiled, golden eyes glinting. "They've been going just fine, Danes. But I must ask, you know we won't catch them anytime soon. Even if we find them, what are we to do with them?" He sat down and a maid took his coat.
Chuckling, Danes set down his wine glass. He replied when a chef came with their food: steaks—juicy, still bloody—steaks. "I only want to scare them a little." His laugh was cold and sliced the air like a knife. It was as if he was unacquainted with laughing charmingly.
"Ah. Scare them." Jamel pressed his lips to his wine cup, tasting the blood-red liquid it contained, before setting it down and folding his hands together. "And how is Michael doing?"
"My nephew has been learning many things this past week. I've been making sure he's prepared." Danes scowled. "You know a battle draws near. We can ignore it no longer."
Jamel pushed his chair back. "Of course." He closed his eyes. "It's clear the peace has been shattered the night he was attacked."
"I hear the boy's fine now." Danes traced holes in his steak with his knife, before stabbing it in. Juice squirted out onto the silver knife, shimmering with Danes' reflection.
"Shamus and Ross are coming back too, aren't they? They have been off the grid for awhile. Guess our prey will have a lot to watch out for as soon as they come back." Jamel laughed. "What lucky soul has been assigned to go on a mission with Ross?"
Danes raised an eyebrow. "Why you have, Jamel."
Jamel nearly choked on his drink. He quickly forced a smile. "I hope what I heard is just a joke. You cannot be saying I've been assigned with Ross."
"I am quite serious." Danes' gaze was stone-cold. "What makes you think I am joking?"
"Ah..." Jamel smiled weakly. "I suppose joining Ross will...be innovating, to say the least."
"Of course. That is what I told Shamus you would say. Ross has raw talent."
"...Right. Raw talent." Jamel tapped his fork to his wine glass, and a maid immediately refilled his drink. "I just wish it wasn't in such an obnoxious young fella," he muttered under his breath.
"Is something the matter?" Danes asked, raising an eyebrow. "Did you say something? I fear I did not catch it."
"Only that I look forward to working with such a spirited young boy," Jamel said through gritted teeth. He cut his steak and took a bite of the juicy meat.
"I am glad to hear that." Danes' eyes narrowed. "I have been informed of disturbing news. It appears that Coal and Maxim found someone in the forest. They escaped before either Maxim or Coal could question them, however."
"Typical," Jamel replied mildly, still enjoying his luxurious meal. He gulped it down with more of the blood-red liquid.
"It was a girl."
Now Jamel really did choke. He nearly spat out his drink, but a butler patted him on the back. Jamel swallowed hard, wiping his lips with a napkin. "Surely you jest."
"Not at all. You know me, Jamel. I never jest."
It was true. No one could be more serious than Danes. "Alright, so it was a girl. What's the big idea?" Jamel shrugged.
"The big idea is that this wasn't just any ordinary girl. She could fly."
Jamel reminded himself he couldn't choke on thin air. Struggling to speak, Jamel said through gritted teeth and a forced smile, "So she is one of them?"
"A Powerpuff Girl."
"Oh. Which one?" Jamel glanced down at his meal. He wasn't as hungry as he had been before, but he longed to eat more.
"The green one. What was her name again...? Oh, yes. Buttercup. Buttercup Utonium, I believe."
Jamel poked at his food with his fork. "What do you want Ross and I to do?" He looked up, raising an eyebrow. "If she's not one of them, we should have no reason to worry."
Danes chuckled darkly. "Oh no; I am just strategizing. If she knows them, then—"
Jamel's eyes widened. "I see why," he said, dropping his fork.
Danes nodded coolly, lifting his knife and slicing off a piece of steak. "We could draw them out."
"We may finally catch them."
"They'll know it means trouble, of course. But that is part of the fun." Danes aimed, and shot his knife forward. It landed smack in the middle of Jamel's steak, blood spurting into the air. "It'll be our trump card."
"How intriguing," Jamel responded, pulling Danes' knife out of his food. "Your nephew could help you."
"Of course. He'll finally have a real mission to do," Danes agreed.
Jamel swatted the knife back to Danes, and it slid from one end to the other end of the long dining table. "And when will this new mission begin?"
"Now," Danes promised with a somewhat wicked grin. He stabbed his knife into his steak once more, resting his elbows on the table and folding his hands. "Let the wolf hunt begin."
*(A/N: Reference to Hung Up on You!)
ME: Yes! I'm done, I'm done, I'm done!
BUTCH: Fast updates are awesome.
ME: I suppose so. There are a few things in this chapter I'm not satisfied with, but I sure hope all of you liked it!
BOOMER: So many OC's...
ME: Yeah, this is quite a lot; and there's more where that came from! But you can all relax—none of them play a huge role. The primary focus will remain on the Puffs and Ruffs, although Michael and his small gang of friends will be a pretty big part in the story.
BRICK: They're all so obnoxious.
DETH JACKSON: Hey; I heard that!
ME: I referenced Hung Up on You more than just a few times here! Hope y'all like that. Oh, and I'm trying to introduce more drama, so get ready for crap to hit the fan soon! I mentioned how Flash is dating Kelly, and I even included Ashleigh. *laughs evilly*
BANANA: *rolls eyes* And don't forget to leave a review, people.