Confused Emotions
by Buttercupsaiyan
Author's Note: The second half of this was written at 2:00 in the morning.
Gomen, if I have made any typos or obvious plot holes. Yes, I'll make an
epilogue. ^.^
Chapter Four
Buttercup interceded quickly to explain. "Well, we went out to fight crime a few weeks ago, and he saved my life. We've been friends ever since."
The Professor smiled. Buttercup hardly had any friends, and he was glad to see that she was getting out more often and socializing with her peers. It would do her good to have someone to talk to besides her sisters. Especially with the way they've all been lately ... I wish I could get down to the bottom of it, but they clam up and won't say anything.
Bubbles started to come down the stairs, but stopped and hovered uncertainly. Blossom cracked the door open, and stiffened when the boy looked toward her. The bedroom door closed again hurriedly.
Buttercup waved a hand toward her blonde-haired sister. "This is Bubbles. Bubbles, this is Belial."
Bubbles then smiled. He offered his hand, and shook hers formally. "I don't believe I've met you yet."
"No ..." Bubbles murmured quietly. Buttercup stepped in, and guided him up the stairs. "Why don't I show you our room now?"
"That would be fine," he said.
Bubbles watch her sister go up the stairs with wide eyes, and then collapsed into helpless giggles, no longer being able to hold them back. She recovered, and followed the two. The Professor just watched it all, bemused. Well, the boy seemed polite and trustworthy which was good. He wasn't so sure about leaving the girls alone with a boy, but knew they were more than capable of taking care of themselves.
* * *
Blossom was watching the progress of Townsville out the window nonchalantly as the boy walked in. She was always fascinated by the way the people interacted in city life, like a giant ant farm on a more complex scale. Plus, it gave her an excuse not to look at their visitor. Intruder, she corrected mentally.
" ... And this is our room, and the what belonging to who is by our colors," Buttercup stated to Belial. He nodded. "Hey, come over here to the closet! I'll show you all my cool toys!"
"Sure," he replied amiably. Bubbles skipped over, and pulled out her stuffed animals. She looked at the boy with large eyes. "Will you play dolls with me, Belial?"
He stood, undecided, for a moment. "I guess so." Buttercup gave Bubbles a threatening look, but she didn't seem to take notice. Bubbles and Belial immediately starting setting up a kingdom, declaring sides, and claiming toys.
Buttercup grumbled and mumbled darkly to herself. He was my guest! Bubbles just has to go "play dolls" with him. I can't believe that he agreed to that ...
She sat down at the desk, pointedly facing the wall. She put on her headphones, and turned the volume up loudly. Buttercup still snuck glances at the two every now and then.
"Ha, ha!" Belial intoned deeply behind his hand, animating a stuffed lion, "I shall take over your kingdom and send my evil ... barbies ... to do my work! Mwuah-ha-ha-ha!"
He knocked over a doll near the castle made of blocks. "Oh no! Not that! I have fainted!" He projected his voice in a ridiculous parody of a female.
A stuffed doll of Bubbles "flew" in, landing on a castle turret. The real Bubbles spoke out of the side of her mouth. "Not so fast! I shall stop you!"
"O HO HO HO!" the lion "said" with a snarl, "Forward, my minions!" A barbie doll walked up, wielding a sword which was actually a pencil. Two more Powerpuff dolls flew in while being held by Bubbles. "We shall save the day!"
The Buttercup doll spoke in a deep, almost masculine voice, "Let's go in and mindlessly kill all of the nameless and ex-pend-a-ble minions." Buttercup winced at the desk, not entirely deaf. Was that how she came off? I am so going to get you back for that, Bubbles.
"No! We're going to go through elaborate, complicated battle strategies and plans to undermine them in the name of justice and love! Respect my authority and don't argue!" the Blossom doll shouted back. Belial fell over, laughing hard.
Blossom left the room in disgust.
* * *
She went down the hall to the Professor's room. Something was bothering her, and had been for a while. Now she was almost certain that she could nail down the source of the problem. She opened the door.
Bubbles had called the boy "Belial" as if it was his name. Blossom pulled up a chair at the desk, and sat down. She booted it up, and it whirred softly with the noise of a machine. When she watched the boy unawares, he had pried Buttercup for information, and suggested disturbing things.
Blossom had never really worried about her origin or her age before that, but she had been thinking more and more about it lately. What he said had been deliberately phrased to make her think, and worry about it. She logged into the internet, and pulled up a search engine.
She keyed in the phrase "Belial." The computer's glare reflected off her face. Her eyes suddenly became troubled as she opened a promising site. It appeared to be religious in nature.
"Belial: Found frequently as a personal name in the Vulgate and various English translations of the Bible, is commonly used as a synonym of Satan, or the personification of evil," the site informed.
Blossom closed her eyes, shivering. Everything came together. That boy is -- NO! I can't tell Buttercup this! It would devastate her! We were just being played against each other all along, and she's been used again ... I wonder if she could ever forgive me for being the harbinger of such news ...
Maybe he really isn't Him. She dismissed that notion quickly. It's all too fitting and opportune. And exactly how His mind would work. Maybe I should just wait this out before I go throwing accusations around. But what if I'm right?
Oh, what do I care anyway? She got herself into this; she can get herself out. Blossom's face twisted with regret as the unwanted thought passed her. She did care. A lot.
With a heavy heart, Blossom decided that she had to take the risk of being wrong or right. She had a duty to her sisters as much as she hated to admit it. She erased the internet logs, turned off the computer, and floated out of the room.
A scream came from the bedroom. She rushed it, practically knocking the door off the hinges in her panicked flight. Bubbles was on the floor sobbing. "WAAAHHH! My little squirrel is gone!"
Blossom relaxed. The other two looked at her oddly. "I thought something bad had happened," she said.
Buttercup shrugged. There was no telling with her sister sometimes. The boy looked up at the alarm clock, noting the time. He put a stuffed animal down regretfully. "It's almost dinnertime. I've got to be going."
"Okay," Buttercup said, nodding. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. Blossom looked away, hating herself right then for what she was going to have to do. The boy went to leave the bedroom, and glanced up at her expectantly. She was blocking the door.
Blossom turned around and locked the door. Both of her sisters and boy looked at her in confusion. Here goes nothing ...
"You're not going anywhere, Belial," she said, her voice hard. Blossom was surprised at how cold she sounded, but she was the same way inside right then. The boy's brow wrinkled in bewilderment, and he took an involuntary step backward.
"What do you think you're doing?" Buttercup demanded.
"Listen," Blossom said, her eyes meeting both of her sisters' pleading, "He isn't what he seems. The name Belial ... it means the Father of Evil in the Bible. He is using us, twisting us, to drive us apart again ..."
"What!?" the boy cried out. He looked so innocent and hurt right then that she almost believed she was mistaken.
"You're lying!" Buttercup accused her, standing protectively in front of Belial. "What has he possibly done wrong? You're just jealous!"
"Jealous of what!?" Blossom shot back. "Why would I lie about this, Buttercup? I don't like it anymore than you do, but I'm afraid that it is true. I hate telling you this."
"Please," Belial said, moving in front of her furious sibling, "It's just a coincidence. My dad ... he's got a twisted sense o' humor. This would be right up his alley, and my mother probably didn't even notice my name. I'm sorry that it backfired on everyone."
Buttercup turned her attention to him in sympathy, and then rose up in the air to meet Blossom. Her voice was a silky whisper that made the other girl suppress a shiver. "You don't hate telling me this. You're rejoicing because you think you found a way to get rid of the one person in your way who hasn't done anything to you."
Bubbles started to break out of her paralyzation at the other corner of the room. "Maybe she's right ..."
"Shut up!" Buttercup snapped. She dropped her head and looked away shamefacedly. Blossom looked at the complete hatred in those green eyes. She broke down and started to cry. Had she deceived herself? Maybe she was right, and she was just succumbing to petty jealousy because Buttercup had become better than her, smarter than her, got more of the Professor's attention, and Buttercup had stopped paying good attention to her anymore.
The last one hurt the more than anything else. Her own sister didn't love her anymore. She wasn't the Professor's favorite little angel anymore.
The boy looked on the edge of tears too. "I'm really sorry for all this."
"Don't be. It's not your fault that she's always been overbearing and spiteful," Buttercup said. He put his hand on her arm, trying to calm her down. The mirror at Blossom's vanity shattered suddenly. Several toys and anything else in reach hurled themselves at the pair.
Bubbles animated suddenly, and held back Blossom's arms gently. "No! Don't fight." The other girl panted, still crying. Tears stained her pink dress. "But ... " she protested, "They ... Look at what he's done to us!"
"Blossom ... " Bubbles tried to say brokenly.
"Look at what you've done!" Buttercup interjected. The boy looked at her silently, and she shut up. Blossom's lip started to tremble. She rounded on her sister, angrier than she had ever been in her life. The doorknob started rattling.
"My fault, my fault, MY FAULT, MY ... FAULT ... ! " Blossom chanted, her voice rising in a crescendo. "It's always my fault with you, isn't it, Buttercup! No one else can possibly be to blame, and certainly not your little infatuated self, or your boyfriend! Well, I'm not going to complicate your sweet little perfect life anymore!"
"Fine!" Buttercup shouted back. Bubbles started crying again loudly. Belial pulled back. And Blossom whipped around, punching Buttercup as hard as she possibly could, her red hair flaring around her like a holy fire. Then she took off, crashing through the window, and leaving the house in tears.
The door burst open, and the Professor stumbled into the room. It was a mess. The boy was holding both a weeping Bubbles, and a ranting, bruised Buttercup while Blossom was nowhere in sight. He looked at the older man sadly.
"Girls!?" the Professor asked, "What the heck is going on here!?"
* * *
The Professor held his face in his hands. His life had fallen apart within less than twenty minutes. He had three traumatized daughters on his hands, one of whom was missing, and someone else's boy on the edge of a nervous breakdown.
He had finally gotten the entire story, but now, he wasn't so sure if that helped him come to any better solution. He knew that he needed to locate Blossom swiftly though.
He went to the phone and began dialing the police. "Hello? Yes, I have an emergency. I would like to report a missing person. Blossom? Yeah, the Powerpuff Girl. ASAP, please. Ok. Yes. Yes. Thank you."
The Professor hung up the phone, letting his head hang for a few moments before going back to the children, and embracing them tightly. "Everything will be alright. You girls canset your problems aside, and everything will be fine. You'll see."
The two girls nodded dully, and the boy looked out the window worriedly. "I'm going to go look for her. I can't help but feel that I'm the cause for this, all because of my name."
"I'm going with you," Buttercup offered immediately. Belial looked down at the ground.
"I don't think she really wants to see you right now, Buttercup," he said. "You said some pretty bad things back there?"
"Like what?" the Professor prompted. Apparently, they hadn't told him everything. Buttercup looked nervous, and Bubbles withdrew into herself, covering her face with a pillow, and started crying again. The boy sighed and stood. His hand lingered on Buttercup's for a moment before he turned and left the Utonium house.
* * *
Blossom sat by the shore, crying into her hands miserably. She hated herself. She hated everyone else for being so cruel to her, not even giving her a chance. No, they tried to, but Buttercup had other plans. Buttercup was so blind sometimes.
Fittingly enough, drizzle started to fall from gloomy skies around the craggy cove. The water slid off her skin, and dampened her hair. She retreated further into cliffs around the bay, slipping partly under a crag.
Maybe I could have said it more clearly ... maybe I could have just hinted, and let her figure it out on her own. Whatever I said or did, I must have done it wrong. "Great with negotiating," indeed, Mrs. Keane. I couldn't even win over my sisters when it counted the most.
Oh, Buttercup ... she heaved a deep sigh. You must despise me now too along with your hatred and resentment. I guess I don't get much lower than that.
Rain started to fall even harder, until it worked its way up into a full-fledged storm. The rocks around her lit up, and thunder crackled ominously. Again, louder. Blossom had to cover her eyes, and she wiggled back against the cliff.
Thunder roared in her ears every few seconds or so, but she still managed to hear someone faintly calling out her name. "Blossom? Blossom!" She debated whether to ignore it or not. I can't let them walk around in this storm. Someone would get hurt.
Blossom floated up partly away from the cliff. Belial was standing at the top, looking down. He hadn't seen her yet. "You!" she growled menacingly, advancing.
The boy fell back a step fearfully. "Blossom? W - wait, give me a chance! I think I know the answer to your problem!"
Blossom paused. That wasn't the expected reaction. She crossed her arms, and waited impatiently. Belial took a deep breath and said, "Okay, it's about my dad. I think he's actually 'Him', as crazy as that sounds. I've known him for all my life, and the shoe fits. But I have to take you to my house."
"This is a lie ..." Blossom said, preparing to go on the offense. He shook his head quickly. "No! I'm not lying! Let's say if I was who I was, would I continue to deceive you right now? What profit would be in it?"
"To tear us further apart," she filled in. Belial looked sad.
"If you had been at your house," he said quietly, "you would have seen that it wasn't necessary."
Blossom stopped. She didn't know what to believe anymore, didn't know if anyone even loved her. Suddenly, she threw her head back and started laughing and laughing and laughing ... the rain felt cool against her skin, and the sky, well, there was a star out. One little, lonely star.
* * *
She woke up again. She realized that she had blacked out, and that time had elapsed. Blossom turned her head, groaning slightly, and looked out a window. The rain had stopped.
Someone helped her sit up. She took a look around; she was in another's disorganized bedroom. Blossom saw that the boy was assisting her, and brushed him off, looking at him suspiciously. He smiled in a sickly fashion, and pulled her to her feet anyway.
Belial stepped away from her hurriedly. Her doubts about him were starting to disappear now; he gave no trace of acting oddly. She berated herself. Don't be a fool.
"I want you to come see my father now. He's home from his ... "work" at the store. But be silent," he cautioned. She followed him out into the hallway, suspending her disbelief for the moment. Blossom walked quietly, and peeked around a corner after he pointed.
It was a rather rundown house, and this was its living room. A weary woman sat in one chair, not facing the man opposite her. He had tan skin, a black beard, and brilliant green eyes. Although he was human, there was an uncanny resemblance.
The male crossed his legs and giggled. The lady gave him a black look. He waved a hand offhandly. "Oh, come on in, Blossom. I see you've met one of the progeny of My many forms on this sin-filled planet, hmmm?"
She stepped into the room, her expression angered. It is Him. He is the one to blame for this. Belial walked in with his head down, quite suddenly submissive and withdrawn. His mother leapt up, and swept him into her arms. Blossom looked around herself. Her voice was as cold as the deepest winter as she asked, "Why?"
"The 'why' is simple, My precious little cherry blossom. You girls are the embodiment of everything nice, and are powerful. But the 'how' was deliciously thought up, don't you think? I do believe I've succeeded this time."
"I'll go back and tell them ... " she began to threaten. He laughed.
"Oh, you can, but will they believe you this time either? They'll find that Belial's father has had an accident suddenly, in traffic, around the time you had disappeared. And in their hearts, they're starting to believe that the boy was Me. What will they think?" He grinned at her, His canines looking disturbingly enough like fangs.
The woman had taken the boy out of the room. Blossom was alone with Him now. A dark anger had been filling her steadily. She remembered Buttercup's blazing green eyes full of bitterness and hostility, Belials hurt look as she accused him, Bubbles' tears at her ruthless actions, and her own face as she looked into the mirror. Blossom had seen someone who had lost control of themself.
"You are My creature now," He purred.
"No," she gasped, "No, I'm not! Because Your creatures do evil out of malice while good ones do it out of ignorance! And some people just make mistakes!"
He raised an eyebrow. "All people makes mistakes, and they use that excuse for justification for their actions. But what you did was partly out of malice. Admit it, Blossom, you were covetous of the boy stealing your sister away. And I remember a certain little Father's Day incident too, yes?"
Blossom looked at the floor morosely. She found herself almost believing Him -- before remembering who he was. He could twist truth and lies together until there was no distinction. He laughed.
"I'm not lying, Blossom. The truth in this hurts you more than any lie ever could. You are partly Mine, and in eternity's time, I will have you. Did you know that it is almost impossible for you to die or age? You're next to immortal. You have what these petty humans only dream of ... and you can remain a child forever. No need for grown-up problems or worries about right and wrong if you're only a little girl." His green eyes glittered.
Blossom shook her head. "A child can damn themself as surely as an adult. Only rightly-born baptized infants are spared. I can at least make my life a moral one."
"You will give in eventually," He taunted.
She forgave Buttercup in that instant; they were no better or worse than each other. She wouldn't give herself, no. A deep calm filled her, as if everything was right again. Blossom screamed. In wasn't in fear or rage, but her family would have recognized it; a battle cry.
His eyes went wide as she launched herself at him. A white light surrounded her, and a beam shot forward from her hands, dissolving unseen magic around Him. Blossom reversed her momentum, and kicked Him across the room. He landed hard against the wall, blood starting to trickle forth. The body was engulfed in flame, and disappeared.
She hovered in the air, breathing deeply and raggedly. She didn't know what she had done, right then. Blossom guessed that it was another undiscovered superpower, much like her ice breath. The white aura slowly faded, and her thrill of victory died. She was dead exhausted.
Blossom floated downward peacefully, and curled up on the floor, asleep. Belial came out from around the corner, holding his mother's hand tightly.
"Is he gone?" the woman asked in a melodious voice.
"I think so," the boy replied softly, and went over to Blossom, putting a hand against her back lightly. He nodded. "Yeah, there's a heartbeat."
His mother exhaled a held breath. "We'll never escape him, but we can try to have a regular life for a while. He's got a lot of other children to worry about on this planet than just one. I never knew about your name though; we'll legally change it."
Belial listened closely, and nodded again. The two smiled tentatively at each other. He turned away to scoop up Blossom in his arms. She hardly weighed anything at all. He blew a kiss to his mother, and left the house again.
* * *
Belial walked through the door carrying Blossom over his shoulder. The two girls, and the Professor surrounded him, flooding him with questions and comments.
The boy set Blossom down gently on the couch, covering her with a blanket, and fluffing her pillow. She looked as weak as he had ever seen a Powerpuff Girl. He turned around, still being babbled at.
"Where was she? Is she okay? Why is she so pale? Why were you gone for so long? Why aren't you answering us? Belial?"
"I'm going to give leader girl such a pounding for pulling that stunt again... where did you find her? Did she apologize to you?"
"My little angel! Is she alright? She doesn't look healthy. Maybe I should take her down to the lab instead... "
"QUIET!" Belial roared, even his tolerance wearing short. Everyone fell silent, stunned at the outburst from him. He smiled. "Alright, now. I found her at the cove. She just fought my father, Him, and won. He's gone now, thankfully. I brought her back here as soon as I found her. There is nothing more to say."
The boy went over to an unoccupied chair, and sat down heavily. He was tired, and had had a bit too much excitement from today. Buttercup joined him by perching on the armrest. Bubbles took the opposite one, both convinced that there was more to say. The Professor watched over Blossom worriedly, but it was obvious he was listening.
Belial looked at their expectant faces, and elaborated more until they were satisfied.
* * *
Blossom woke up groggily. The room was bright with the newly-risen sun pouring in. She was relieved to see her own living room. Wait a minute -- newly risen sun? It was been late evening! Apparently, time's passed again.
She looked around, and shook a snoring Buttercup sitting next to her. She whispered quietly in her ear. "Hey. Hey. Get up. Come on, Buttercup, I'm starving."
"... Ah? Uhn? What?" Buttercup responded intelligently. Her eyes opened, and she yawned hugely. "Huh?"
"I'm hungry," Blossom complained. She was suddenly caught into a tight hug, and blinked, astonished. "You're awake! We were so worried 'cause you looked so weak last night after fighting Him! You scared us half to death when you ran off like that, and didn't come back."
"Sorry," Blossom offered. She was just as suddenly being shaken roughly, Buttercup's eyes focused on hers. "And don't you ever do that to us again, ok? Or I'll never let you live it down! I'll make a punishment ten times worse than the Professor's!"
"Okay, Buttercup," Blossom said, laughing to herself inside. Her sister never displayed any sort of affection to her family without trying to cover it up quickly. "I'm probably in trouble, right?"
"Loads," Buttercup said with a smirk. "You're grounded for like, a month, even from crimefightin'."
"Yeah, I expected that," Blossom said passively. "Listen, I'm hungry, and if you're not making breakfast, I am."
"At six o' clock in the morning?" Buttercup grumbled, but not too loudly. Blossom flew into the kitchen, and got everything ready to cook eggs and toast. As she cooked, Buttercup tried to "help" and was swiftly shooed out of the kitchen.
"Okay, breakfast is ready," Blossom informed the girl. She had to repeat it several times -- Puppet Pals was on the television. Buttercup sat down at the table along with Blossom. They ate quickly.
"Hey, this isn't half bad," Buttercup admitted grudgingly.
Blossom smiled. "High praise from you."
"And you've got another superpower that we don't," Buttercup said, pushing Blossom in the arm playfully, "Not fair!"
"Hey, it's not like I ask for them," she responded, floating away and putting their dishes next to the sink. She began to clean the mess she made from cooking. Spontaneously, she looked up at the sunrise through the kitchen window. Buttercup followed what she was looking out.
"Hey, Buttercup?" she said.
"Yeah?"
"I'm really glad that you found a boyfriend in that boy. He's not half bad even though he's not your type," Blossom remarked.
Buttercup crossed her arms, and tried her best to scowl but it kept on slipping into a smile. "High praise from you, I guess."
They both laughed together as the sun's rays poured into the room, beginning another day.
The End