The red-haired Powerpuff disappeared in a massive, oozing black cloud, which rose rapidly skyward and took shape into something Buttercup and Bubbles had never seen before. The demon Aku had finally revealed its true self. It was almost entirely black, with a green face and a flaming red beard. It bared huge fangs in its hateful mouth and its deep-set black eyes reflected the light from the actual flames that made up its eyebrows. It waved its long, pointed devil-tail slowly behind it, almost like a dog that was happy to see them. Aku was, in fact, quite pleased with itself. The troublesome time machine was no longer a threat. Its hands became enormous, long-fingered things, and it raised them menacingly.
"So, Samurai!" it said in a deep voice that seemed to shake the whole earth. "Your little friends have chosen sides. They have chosen wrongly!"
It bored its fire-filled eyes directly into theirs. "You have chosen to follow the samurai and you will face my eternal wrath along with him!"
"Th-th-that's Aku?" Bubbles squeaked, shaking with fear. The shape-shifter was now dwarfing them, standing fifty feet high. Buttercup dropped the sword and froze, staring, her eyes about to burst. Jack quickly scooped the weapon up in his right hand, then moved behind the girls, crouching and whispering to them with a gentle hand on each of their shoulders.
"Do not be afraid. It has not met the likes of you. Make believe you are fighting those giant dragons you told me about."
The legend of the dragon was something he knew quite well, and he had seen some fantastic creatures in this future, but he couldn't comprehend some of the slimy beasts they had described. That they would be able to defend themselves against Aku, he was sure of. Destroy it, no, but together, perhaps they would drive it off. He would take them under his wing and they would search for another way back to their respective pasts. But the girls were fear-struck and in grief as well, and he needed to get them past it.
Buttercup sobbed, "But we can't, without Blossom! An' she's…gone!"
Tears rolled down Bubbles' face. "Professor too!"
"They are with you where they matter most." he said, making a fist and tapping it against his chest. "Right here."
He jumped up, knowing sudden action on his part would get them moving. He rose his sword over his head and bellowed, "Aku! You have stolen a child's father for the last time! Today your reign of evil comes to an end!"
A deep rumbling laugh filled the air as Aku towered above them, raising its massive fists.
"End? My reign is just beginning!" It flattened out its hands. At that action, twin shrieks startled it as the two girls launched themselves at it.
"Ahhh, you have wisely chosen to die swiftly! So, die!"
Hundreds of tiny, razor-sharp arrows came out of those huge, flattened hands. On the ground, Jack readied his sword to deflect any that might get by them. He had seen Aku use this one before.
"You are in for a surprise!"
Blossom coughed and tried to see through the thick, choking smoke. She had fought her way through debris, literally punching herself a path. Her anger at what Aku had done, for surely the Professor wouldn't have destroyed everything, kept her mind off of the horror. She knew he had to be gone now, and the girls and the samurai, who knew about them. But she didn't want to leave him down here, if she could just find him…maybe there was an air pocket somewhere. She kept calling out for him.
"Professor? Professor, can you hear me?"
"It's no use. He's …gone. Everything's destroyed. We can't go back now…what are we going to do? What am I going to do? What if I'm the only one left?"
She heard a deep-pitched roar and she felt the ground tremble. It had to be Aku. It was time to find her way to the outside somehow, but there was so much rubble. There was literally tons of wreckage on top of her. She slammed her fists into some more boards and heard them splinter, then surprisingly, the smoke cleared. It was being drawn away from her. That meant fresh air was around somewhere!
With renewed hope, she called out, "Professor!"
"Blossom? *cough, hack* Blossom, is that you?" The voice was tinny, echoed.
"Professor! You're alive! Are you okay?"
She blasted through several more feet and found the source. His voice was coming through a long section of pipe; the chimney flue.
"No." came the voice, sounding weaker. "Where are the girls?"
"I-I don't know."
"Find them, Blossom. *cough* Forget me, find them…"
"But…"
"Blossom, please listen…the time portal was destroyed…"
"Oh no!"
"Don't move, Professor, I'm coming!"
He chuckled. "Don't move, huh? Blossom, there's nothing you can *hack* do. I'm in an air pocket but the whole thing will collapse before you can get ten feet from me…you must find the girls and *cough* find some other way home…Jack will look out for you…"
"No, Professor!"
"Yes, Blossom, you must…please…it's the only way."
All she could do was sob. She could barely hear him now.
"Blossom…that thing out there…you can *cough* beat it…I know you can."
"I'll try."
"Blossom, you have to…*cough* ..you have…you….hhuuuuuhhhh……"
"Professor!!! NO!!!!!"
She didn't know if he had just passed out, or…or. It was too horrible to think about, as was the possibility of traveling this world endlessly, looking for a way out. That thing was going to pay…
The demon watched in amazement as the tiny creatures flying at it batted away its arrows like they were so many gnats. If they were afraid, they weren't showing it.
"They are strong and fearless, but they are children. They are no match for Aku!"
It suddenly shrunk to a tenth of its size, putting all its energy into its tail, which became a massive club. It swatted Buttercup right into Bubbles, and the force drove them into the ground, creating a giant crater. It then swung the club at the samurai, who was forced to take evasive action. Aku easily evaded the sword-thrusts, which were defensive in nature. That sword was the one thing that could possibly destroy it, though it had survived contact with the magic blade on more than one occasion. Aku had simply retreated, promising to deal with the warrior at a future date. Today was that date, sword or no sword.
A blinding pink streak shocked it out of its thoughts.
"Aaaagghhhh!!!" Blossom blasted from the debris and grabbed the club. She swung it in a circle until her and Aku's colors blended into one pinkish-gray blur. Taken by surprise, the demon couldn't reshape itself quickly enough and Blossom let go, flinging it into space. She raced to the crater. Her sisters were just stirring, and she felt Jack at her shoulder. She hadn't even seen the samurai, so focused was she on Aku.
Rubbing their heads, her sisters saw her, and they knocked her over, joyous at seeing her. Their joy quickly turned to sadness when she told them about the professor.
"Jack?" Blossom asked. "Can we help you look for another way back to the past? If you think we'll be too much trouble, we can just-"
A wave of his hand silenced her. "You are no trouble. You have now become a danger to Aku and it will want revenge. We are best off by staying together."
"Great!" Buttercup exclaimed. "Now you really can teach me all sorts of cool samurai stuff!"
He smiled. "The most important weapon a warrior has is his mind. There are many lessons I can teach you, and most will have nothing to do with weapons."
That brought a smile to Blossom's face and disappointment to Buttercup's.
"I will tell you a very important one right now. You see, this sword has great power. It was this sword that Aku sought to escape by casting me into the future. I have wounded it a number of times since, but always it has escaped. That has taught me something."
"That evil will always find a way to escape?" Bubbles said. "No bad guys ever escape us!"
"Yeah, Bubbles, but there's always some other bad guys or evil monsters to take their place." Blossom noted. "Is that what you learned, Jack, that evil will always get away?"
"No, Blossom. I have learned that evil fears what is good and right, and that is why it is always forced to flee. Evil cannot stand to face good for very long. That is why it will never win a final battle. Evil can only win by fighting small battles. It wins some of those, but not all, as long as we fight back. Evil can only defeat us when we give up."
"The Powerpuff Girls never give up!"
The three girls extended their hands until they met. A fourth rested on top of theirs.
"Nor will I."
