CHAPTER 11: WOLVES ATTACK WITH CLAWS
ME: Thought I was dead, did you!? Thought I was gone forever, did you!? Well, you're wrong! I am back!
BRICK: *groans, face-palms*
BANDIT: Let's get this out of the way real fast: Kuku only owns the story and her OC's, like me.
BRAKER: And me! Oh, and welcome back.
ME: Let's do this!
Chapter 11: Wolves Attack With Claws
"Attack."
He charged and drew out his arm, the blade he was holding glinted in the light. But before he could cause any damage, the man he was fighting whipped out his own weapon.
Clang.
Leaning back, the boy felt a sharp blade scratch against his own. The noise irritated his ears, but he could do little about it. He jumped back and skidded to a stop on the floor.
"You're too slow. Move faster."
The boy gritted his teeth in irritation, trying to ignore the anger that the man's words brought him. Instead he just stood up and said, "Yessir."
"Again," the man commanded, getting into stance.
Taking a deep breath, the boy nodded. He pulled out his blades and charged again, his arm flashing forward. His opponent met his attack with their own blade, but this time he was ready.
He ducked down low, dodging the blade and any possible irritating noise. Then he thrust his leg forward, it smashing into his opponent's stomach.
The man doubled over in pain as the boy jumped away. "How was that, Danes?"
"...Better." Danes stood up straighter, his gray eyes glinting. "You're getting better, but you need to work on your timing. It took you six tries to get the attack to work. That's five times too many." Danes' lips drew into an even tighter frown, if possible, as his eyes narrowed. "And in the end, you had to resort to kicking. I told you; if you are to practice this technique, then you need to actually strike me."
The glow of joy that came with hearing Danes' praise vanished as the boy listened to the man's criticism. He sighed and dipped his head, trying to ignore the gnawing pain in his side. "...Yes, Uncle."
Danes nodded, satisfied as he stepped forward. The tall man placed a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "I'm proud of you, Michael. Really, I am. You know I've never regretted rescuing you after your parents died."
"Thank you, Uncle Danes. And...I know."
"Now go and get some rest. We'll continue practice tomorrow." Danes nodded, patting his nephew's shoulder before walking away. "With practice, I will grow even more proud of you."
Michael looked up, watching him go. He couldn't help but wonder, How long have you been telling me that?
"You're kidding, right?"
"No! I'm serious. Ashleigh asked Myrick* out on a date," Buttercup continued, gluing pieces together.
Butch laughed, leaning against his bed. "Okay, okay; so what did Myrick say?"
"Get this," Buttercup said, pausing dramatically. When she finally spoke, her voice quivered with laughter. "He told her to get lost!"
Butch's smirk grew, and he shook his head. "I wonder if he'll ever give her the time of day. Or any boy, for that matter."
"Well, she does get men." Buttercup stopped smiling, remembering Ashleigh's popularity.
Butch shrugged. "But not any of the men she's actually after. Like, Brick would never date her."
Buttercup looked up, raising an eyebrow. "Oh? And what about you, Butch?"
He paused, seemingly contemplating the idea. Buttercup didn't know why, but she waited with baited breath. Butch finally said, "...Maybe."
"Seriously?" Buttercup felt a weird feeling wriggling inside of her, but then she saw Butch's face.
"Pfft, what? Hell no! I mean, there's always the possibility, but as of now, she's just another annoying bitch," Butch said. "I was just joking."
"Oh." Buttercup felt relieved for some reason, and she punched herself for it.
"What's the matter?" Butch looked up, his eyebrows furrowed.
"N-Nothing." Buttercup focused on piecing the two popsicle sticks she was holding together, not meeting her counterpart's eye.
Butch watched her for a few moments, before smirking. "It can't be that you're jealous?"
"What!?" Buttercup's face flew upwards, burning bright red. "N-No way in hell!" Butch laughed, and Buttercup realized he was joking again. She hit him lightly. "Damn you!"
"S-Sorry; I just couldn't help it." Butch wiped an imaginary tear away. His smile made her feel warm.
Buttercup looked away. "Pass me the scissors, would you?" she mumbled.
"Sure." Butch grabbed the green scissors and passed it to her, but then he couldn't pull his hand back.
Buttercup's eyes widened. "We're stuck!"
"Your hands must be really sticky from the glue," Butch remarked in agreement.
Buttercup and Butch stared at each other, before they began smirking and chuckling.
"So what are we supposed to do about this?" asked Butch, swinging his hand around. Buttercup's hand was forced to swing too.
"I don't know." She tried tugging, but her hand wouldn't budge. Wrinkling her nose, Buttercup shot Butch a look. "This is really sticky glue."
Butch nodded. "I guess it is." He tried to pull his hand back, but failed. Sighing, the green Ruff got up. "Which glue did you use?"
"I swear it was regular glue," Buttercup insisted, also standing up.
Butch didn't reply. Instead, he peered over at the glue she'd been holding earlier. He picked it up with his free hand and read the label. He remarked, "Afraid not, BC. This is Mojo's Special Superglue."
"What!? Oh shit," Buttercup groaned. "It was funny at first, but if this is superglue, we could be stuck like this all day!"
"Or even longer," agreed Butch, setting the glue down. He stared at their project. "At least we made progress."
"Not a lot though." Buttercup cursed her need to procrastinate by telling stories. "What are we supposed to do now?"
Butch shrugged. "The best thing I can think of is to find Mojo. The monkey's probably in his lab. Let's go get him."
"Okay." Buttercup nodded and took off.
"BC, wait!"
Buttercup glanced back and stopped flying as she realized that Butch hadn't been ready. He was toppled over, his hands and feet tangled together. She landed. "Oops, sorry."
"Eh, forget it." Butch stood up and shook his legs out. He began to float. "Let's go."
"Yeah." And with that, the two of them took off together.
They made their way down the stairs and over to Mojo's lab door, which was covered in labels. The door was made of metal and looked extremely heavy, as well as guarded. Labels and stickers with warnings on them made for intimidating decorations.
Butch knocked, and the hammering noises from inside ceased briefly. Buttercup waited with baited breath. Then a loud grunt sounded as the gruff mutated ape's voice welcomed them in: "Come in."
Shoving the door open with his free hand, Butch poked his head in. "Hey, Mojo! I need your help."
"What did you do this time?" Brick asked, lifting his face-protector and raising an eyebrow. "I hope you're not asking us to clean up your mess."
"It's not like that! ...Well, mostly." Butch pouted, looking sheepish.
Bandit appeared from underneath a motorcycle. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, standing up and wiping his hands on his apron.
"It means that while I did get into a mess, it wasn't entirely my fault," Butch replied, pushing the heavy door open completely.
Brick blinked. "And what's that"—his eyes widened as he slowly trailed off—"supposed to mean..."
Buttercup appeared from behind Butch, feeling embarrassed at all the eyes on her. Her hand was still stuck to Butch's.
"BC and I got caught in a little of Mojo's super-glue. I was wondering if the monkey could help us out?" explained Butch.
Mojo raised an eyebrow. He walked over an inspected the hands. Then he sighed and stood up straighter. "I, Mojo Jojo, am afraid I must apologize and say sorry to you two. The glue is a special substance made from many special materials an ingredients to create the strongest glue possible. As it is, the glue has already hardened, and thus it would be too hard to pry you two apart. I would need to make an anti-glue, and that would take some time. So I am afraid I cannot help."
Butch frowned. "And that means...?"
"I cannot help, I am afraid. You will be stuck like this for awhile until I can develop an anti-glue."
"...Oh." Butch's disappointment was evident.
Buttercup swallowed. Stuck with Butch... "For how long?" she asked.
"Allow my to think, as in process this, briefly." Mojo paused, assessing the situation before speaking again. "I fear that you two greens—a Ruff and a Puff—will be stuck and glued together holding hands for perhaps another 10 hours or around such a time."
"So the rest of the day," Buttercup muttered.
Mojo nodded. "In the short version; yes."
Buttercup sighed and turned to Butch. "Come on; let's go continue working." She glanced back at Mojo. "We'll leave you to making that anti-glue, then."
Mojo nodded.
Butch and Buttercup took their leave, the door slamming shut behind them. Butch shook his head. "I can't believe that ol' Mojo couldn't even help us," he remarked.
Buttercup only nodded. She was worrying about working on the project with only one hand... As both she and Butch only had one hand that was left free out of the two, in total they only had two hands to work with. It would slow their progress down considerably, which was slow enough as it was.
"What's the matter?" asked Butch, staring at Buttercup and tilting his head to the side.
Buttercup blushed. "Oh, nothing. It's just that this is gonna slow us down."
"Don't worry about it!" She turned to stare at him in surprise, and was even more surprised to see him smirking. "We'll just have to work twice as hard and multi-task better!"
"...Right." Buttercup nodded, smirking in return. There's no way I'm letting him outdo me!
"Alright; let's do this," Butch announced, raising his hand. Buttercup nodded again, slapping her free hand against his in a sort of high-five.
"Let's take a break," Buttercup complained, flopping down on a cushion. Her free hand was sticky with normal glue.
Butch looked up, that ever-lasting glint of challenge in his eyes. "What, tired already, BC?"
"No way! I'm just saying," snapped Buttercup, rolling her eyes. "Let's go outside for some fresh air."
"Like this?" Butch seemed surprised. "I would've suggested it earlier, but I thought you'd hate to be seen outside with me holding hands."
Buttercup flushed red. "What kind of thinking is that? I'm not that big of a bitch."
"Well, you're not always the nicest either—"
"Don't finish that thought," Buttercup warned, shooting Butch a warning look. He nodded and held his hands up.
"Okay then. Let's go out," stated Butch, stretching as he glanced out the window.
Buttercup nodded and let herself be tugged along by Butch to his door. She felt weird, knowing that she was holding hands with a Rowdyruff.
They made their way down the stairs and to the entrance doors. Brick greeted them from the kitchen. "Where are you going?" he called.
"Out," Butch responded over his shoulder. "What are you doing?"
Brick glanced down at the three sandwiches he'd been making. "Getting snacks for Bandit, Mojo, and I."
"You're making them?" Buttercup asked, surprised.
Brick laughed. "Surprise! I can do housewife stuff like Boomer and Blaster."
"Woman, make me a sandwich!" Butch commanded before making a run for it.
"Be sure to hit him for me!" Brick shouted.
"I will!" promised Buttercup. Butch shot her a look and she shrugged innocently.
Butch warned, "Don't you dare hit me."
She did it anyway.
"OWWWWWWWW!" Butch whined, rubbing his sore arm. That was all that could be heard as the two flew through the sky.
It didn't take long for them to get to the park, which they decided to go to on a whim. It was a nice, sunny day and the park was as full as usual. The playground was filled with screaming children, and Butch claimed that his ears were bleeding—much to Buttercup's amusement.
"Let's walk around," suggested Butch, swinging his arm with Buttercup's.
She sighed. "I guess so." Then she smirked. "Are you showing off being with a Powerpuff?"
"Maybe, maybe not." Butch smirked at her, making her face burn slightly. The boy didn't notice as he looked off into the distance. "Well, there's a lot of stuff we could be doing right now. What do you want to do after the walk?"
"I-I don't really care," Buttercup muttered, tucking a stray strand of ebony black hair behind her ear.
Butch shrugged. "Neither do I."
The two began walking in silence, which seemed to bother Butch slightly. He didn't like awkward silence—he preferred loud noise. It didn't always matter what kind of noise he got; as long as it wasn't gloomy and quiet, he was satisfied. "Hey," he began, but Buttercup had stopped walking.
"Butch, wait." Buttercup swallowed hard, staring at something a little farther off.
The green Ruff blinked forest-green eyes. "What's the matter, BC?"
Buttercup wasn't sure if she should answer Butch, as she was worried how he would react. She only managed to slowly say, "It's someone who looks like he...recognizes you."
"Who?" asked Butch, raising a clueless eyebrow.
Buttercup held back an exasperated sigh. "I don't know—he's coming over."
"Hello, Jojo."
Butch's head snapped upwards just then, and his eyes immediately narrowed. A growl seemed to rumble out of his throat, and Buttercup was startled by how quickly he became like an animal.
"...Maxim," he snarled.
"It's great to see you too, young boy. I trust you've been doing well?" The man Buttercup recognized from the forest at 2:00 am** raised a thick eyebrow. He had a neat uniform with a sash for a sword, and a starch moustache.
"I've been doing fine." Butch looked the man over. "I see you're still dressed as pompous as ever."
The man's lip twitched under his thick moustache. "Watch your tongue, young boy. Don't want word to get back to Mojo that you've been disrespecting your elders again."
"You are rather old," Butch agreed haughtily, a trace of malice tainting his voice.
Maxim's eyes bulged. "How dare you!
You insolent little—!"
Buttercup coughed lightly, interrupting the man. "Excuse me; I don't know what your problem with Butch is and I have no idea who you are"—she was only half-lying here—"but you may want to calm down. You seem to be drawing unwanted attention to yourself."
Maxim appeared surprised, as if just spotting Buttercup, before looking around. Indeed, a few people had stopped to stare at the older man and younger boy, curious.
"Yeah, Pops. Listen to BC," Butch agreed.
Maxim turned ominous gray eyes onto Buttercup. "'BC', huh?" he echoed.
Buttercup winced. She didn't want Maxim to realize that she was the Powerpuff Girl that had been eavesdropping on his and Coal's conversation.
"...I see." To Buttercup's relief, Maxim didn't ask about her real name. Instead, he said, "So you finally found a girl willing to date you?"
"What!? NO!" they both shouted at the same time.
"Oh, looks like I was wrong. I apologize for jumping to such a ludicrous conclusion," Maxim murmured.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Butch snapped angrily.
Maxim waved his hand in dismissal. "Oh, nothing. Anyway, may I ask why you're holding hands then?"
"I'd prefer no," Butch muttered.
"Super glue," Buttercup said quickly, shooting Butch a warning look.
"...I see." Maxim smirked slightly. "That is a rather amusing predicament. Well, I hope you solve it soon."
Butch let out an irritated snort. "Gee, thanks."
"You're welcome." Maxim returned Butch's angry look with a challenging one, before walking away.
Buttercup glanced at Butch. "What's his problem with you?" she inquired.
Butch grumbled in reply, "Nothing special."
Frustrated, the green Puff didn't press any further.
After walking around for a few minutes, the green Puff and Ruff reached the forest. They sat down to take a break, both wanting to get away from the sun for awhile.
"Let's rest here," Butch suggested, pointing at a clear patch of green grass.
"Sure." Buttercup nodded and sat down.
Silence followed, until Butch interrupted it. "So...what's going on in your life?"
Buttercup rolled her eyes. "Mostly just having to deal with Blossom's prissiness. Nothing new, really."
"Ah, I know how that feels. With Brick, I mean," Butch laughed.
Buttercup smirked. "I guess you do. Since our siblings are all counterparts, aren't they all alike?"
Butch nodded his agreement. "They sure are."
Buttercup glanced out at the park from behind the trees of the forest. "Remember when we were little and we fought here? We got a scolding from Blossom for nearly destroying Townsville Park, when she had gotten so mad at Brick she nearly destroyed half of it."
Chuckling, Butch nodded as he pulled grass out of the ground. "Brick scolded us for not doing enough property damage. I guess he was jealous Blossom caused so much more destruction than he did with her ice breath."
"She sure was mad that day. It sucked having her take it out on us," added Buttercup.
"So was Brick. Some things just don't work out the way we want them to, huh?" Butch closed his eyes. "Life's weird like that. Never thought I'd go down the path I did either..."
Buttercup was suddenly reminded of Butch and the other Rowdyruffs' new secrecy. She remembered Brick's words of how Butch would tell her if he wanted to. So she opened her mouth. "Hey, Butch—"
But Butch had frozen, blinking his jade-green eyes. He sniffed, narrowing his eyes. "Wait," he finally commanded.
"What's wrong now?" demanded Buttercup.
"I hear something. Be quiet for a sec."
Buttercup tried to listen, but she didn't hear anything. "I don't—"
"Shhh!" he warned.
"'Shhh' yourself!" Buttercup exclaimed indignantly. "Will you stop always—"
Butch clamped a hand over her mouth. "Quiet!" he hissed, "Do you want them to hear us!?"
"It's a little too late for that," a voice remarked.
Both Butch and Buttercup spun around to see a tall male standing before them. He was chuckling.
Butch's eyes immediately widened. "What the hell!?" he demanded.
The man wore a mask, and it had cat ears. It only covered half his face, and Buttercup shuddered at the sight of piercing green eyes.
"Who are you?" Butch hissed, standing in front of Buttercup. "You with Maxim?"
"I'm not in the same league as that old fool. He's long overstayed his welcome, if you ask me."
Butch straightened. "I can at least I agree with that. Well then, who are you?"
"Call me Vix. You must be wondering if I'm friend or foe, no? Well..." The man lifted two hands and pressed them together as he bowed. "I will be your opponent for today."
"The fuck?" demanded Butch, but then he froze. "Wait a second..."
"Yes. It seems you've finally recognized me. Well, it's too late for that!" Vix reached for a long, thin blade tucked into a sheath behind his back. When he whipped it out, Butch was already in Vix's face, dragging a wide-eyed Buttercup behind him.
"Too slow," Butch spat, punching Vix in the face where his mask wasn't.
Vix slammed into a tree, but recovered rather quickly. He wiped his mouth and smirked. "I must say I'm impressed by how much you've grown."
"Why are you doing this?" Butch demanded, rushing forward to kick Vix in the stomach.
The taller male easily blocked him with his sword. "It's what I've been ordered to do. I never disobey orders." Vix paused, looking Butch and Buttercup over. "Is there any reason you're lugging that deadweight around? It'll slow you down."
Butch glared at Vix. "We're stuck with super glue. Besides, I can beat you up with just one fist no problem. Now shut up. If you're here to fight me, let's—"
"TO HELL WITH YOU!"
Both Vix and Butch reacted in shock as Buttercup slammed her foot into Vix's face, sending him flying. "I am not deadweight!" she screamed angrily.
"I must apologize. You aren't deadweight, you're a nuisance," spat Vix, standing up.
"Like that's much better," growled Buttercup, raising her free fist. "Insult me again and I'll—"
"And you'll what?"
To her shock, Vix was already in her face. When she didn't react in time, he smirked. The world seemed to slow down in that one instant, before...
He grabbed her neck.
"It'll be a lot easier to finish my job without having to deal with you," Vix explained. "It's nothing personal—well, now it is, seeing as you've kicked me."
"You...deserved that," choked Buttercup. Vix's hand tightened and she coughed.
"Let her go!" snarled Butch.
"No thanks." Vix opened his mouth, running his tongue over his teeth. Buttercup was shocked to see such large canines.
"I said...LET HER GO!" Suddenly, Butch rushed forward and shot a green light at Vix, sending him flying. He then appeared in a green flash above Vix, smashing his foot down into the man's face. The whole time, Buttercup was being dragged along behind Butch, her throat having been released from Vix's grip. She only had a few seconds to gasp for air and comprehend the situations before Butch moved again, pummelling Vix.
Butch's face appeared in Vix's own bloody one as he punched the tall male. "You're going to pay for what you've done," spat the green Ruff, his pupils having shrunken a lot. His lips were drawn back in a cat-like snarl, and his sharp teeth glittered in the light.
Buttercup saw light flashing from both of the fighters' hands as silver metal hit metal; Butch must've drawn out a blade or something to counter Vix's own sword.
When Butch was done beating Vix to a bloody pulp, he stood up, panting. "That...should do it," he huffed, before his eyes rolled to the back of his head.
"Butch!" gasped Buttercup, just as he fell backwards. She just managed to catch him. Silence ensued, and Buttercup wondered what she should do about Butch. But then all of a sudden, something shadowy rose from the dirt.
"It seems that I've underestimated your growth, dear Butch."
Buttercup looked up, startled, to see Vix wobbling upwards. Blood was dribbling down his lips and his white clothes. His mask was even cracked, but he could still stand, move, and even speak with relative ease. Vix smiled menacingly, revealing those sharp canines again as his eyes shrank. The mask covering one of his eyes had been cracked to reveal a glowing, pupil-less white eye that countered the green one. "I take it you didn't miss me much."
Panting, Butch struggled to sit up. "I missed the old you, not the monster you've become."
Vix laughed. "In the end, aren't we all monsters? Some of us have a better gift for it, is all." Vix's white eye glowed as the wounds covering his body began to heal. The blood disappeared from his scrapes and cuts.
"What the hell...?" Buttercup whispered.
"Oh well. I wanted to play with you a bit more, but it looks like time's up." Vix stalked over and picked up his sword, which had fallen in the process. He raised it above his head. "Now it's time for—"
"Shove it, you asshole!" Buttercup shouted, jumping up, ready to defend the green Ruff.
"Ah, ah, ah." Vix easily knocked her back down. He smirked. "It's my turn now." His eyes shone with amusement as he swung his sword down, it looking like a flash of silver light.
Buttercup squeezed her eyes shut, but instead of the noise she was expecting, she looked up and saw Vix smiling. "Goodbye, Butch." Then the male disappeared.
"What the fuck...?" whispered Buttercup. She rubbed her eyes with both her hands. I wonder what he just—wait a second. She paused, studying her hands. Something's different here... Then her eyes widened as a light bulb lit up in her mind. Of course! Our hands! They're not stuck together anymore!
She looked up, staring at where Vix had been standing; where a breeze was blowing and leaves now stirred in his place. Did he break the glue with his sword...? That would've taken a lot of precision. She paused. Wait, why'd he even do such a thing? I thought he wanted to kill Butch. Her eyes narrowed. And why was he smiling...?
Butch suddenly coughed, drawing Buttercup out of her own thoughts. She glanced down with wide eyes. "Are you...okay?" she asked awkwardly.
"I don't...understand why he did...what he just did," Butch choked.
"Shhh, don't worry about it for now."
Butch smirked weakly. "Now who's shushing who?"
Buttercup flushed red. "Oh shut up. Now, answer this: are you okay?"
"For the most part." Butch closed his eyes. "Us wolves fight with our claws, after all."
Confused, Buttercup grabbed her counterpart's shoulders and shook them slightly. "Hey, what are you talking about?"
He didn't reply though, having fallen unconscious. His silence left Buttercup to wonder about his words and Vix on her own.
"Us wolves fight with our claws"...? What does that even mean?
*(A/N: Ashleigh and Myrick were introduced at the end of my story "Hung Up on You"!)
**(A/N: Reference to chapter 4!)
ME: Yay! Done the new chapter. I hope you liked it. I wanted the drama to start, so I decided to include action this time around. Did you like it?
BUTCH: ...Why me?
ME: Why not? It's your and BC's story, after all.
BUTCH: Yeah, but...why does bad things have to happen to me? You already tortured me enough in Hung Up on You and that wasn't my story!
ME: *rolls eyes* All stories need a conflict, duh.
BUTCH: *pouts*
BLASTER: *sweat-drop* Please review... It'll make Butch feel better...? I guess...?