SAMURAI POWERPUFFS

CHAPTER TWENTY – Split Decision

Aku was literally burning…with anger. Flying through the atmosphere didn't bother it, nor did the return trip. The idea of what had just happened was the cause of its fury.

"Not even the samurai has the power to do that! Those creatures must be crushed, and soon! They cannot be allowed to join forces with the one who carries the sword!"

Having taken on its true form again, it raced back to earth, toward what was once the city of Townsville. It heard the last of the samurai's lesson to the children, and the question from the yellow-haired one.

"When do you think Aku will try something again?"

It decided to answer her, right then. It suddenly appeared above them in the sky like a giant black sun with a snarling face. It darkened the sky just as an eclipse might, and the black flames radiated out from it like the true sun's did. Those little flamelets didn't evaporate, though, they turned into whirling star-shapes.

Buttercup knew what those were. "Throwing stars! Watch out!"

A hailstorm of the deadly objects rained upon them. There were literally thousands of them. The girls shot up to block them. Buttercup whipped herself into her tornado spin. That blew many of them in a wide swath away from the intended target. Blossom gave a blast of her ice-breath, which didn't slow them but made them brittle, and Bubbles' thunder-clap shock wave shattered many more. They were hit by some of the flying blades and by exploding shrapnel, but it didn't penetrate their tough skin, only stung them. They could hear the steady 'ching-cha-ching' of ones that got through being turned away by Jack's slashing sword, and the savage yelling of his war-cry. Soon, Aku was spent and needed another short rest before trying something else. It took its own form again whenever it rested, and did so now, raising its fists. Because when it looked down, it let go with an earth-shaking roar of triumph.

"Hahahahahahaha!!! You young fools have done what I have not as yet been able to do! Ah, how sweet this victory will be, that good has unwittingly destroyed itself!"

The girls whipped their heads toward the ground. Jack lay there, bleeding from uncountable small cuts, where the flying shrapnel had eluded his blade. They tore down to the ground.

"Oh no!" Blossom cried. "What have I done?" She could see that he would bleed to death soon if they didn't do something, but there weren't any hospitals or doctors. The shrapnel didn't seem to have pierced his clothing; the cuts were all on his face, hands, arms and legs. But some of the cuts were deep and there were just too many.

"We're sorry, Jack!" Bubbles cried, literally. Buttercup wept, too. She had nothing to say. All of them had thought they were doing the right thing.

The warrior opened his eyes a sliver. "It is all right. You did the correct thing."

"No we didn't!" Buttercup said mournfully. "You always got away before we came along!"

Jack closed his eyes. "No. Do not blame yourself. Remember my words. Aku never wins unless we stop fighting. You must continue without me."

The demon's laughter rained down on them and it took immense joy in watching the tears flowing from the tiny things. Soon, it would dispense with them as well, and evil would rule the universe unchallenged. Suddenly, the laughter stopped and its flaming brows shot skyward.

"What?! NO! It is impossible!"

The girls' tears fell on the samurai's face and the wounds began to magically close. Jack felt his ebbing strength returning and sat up, startling them. They had no idea the effect they were having.

"I am healed!"

"Huh?"

"Jack!" Bubbles pointed. "Your face! It's all better!"

"Yes! You have powers that are unheard of!"

He stood up, telling them what they'd done, and they wiped their faces and rubbed the wetness on his other wounds. They had no problem making more tears, only these were joyful ones. The joy was short-lived, though.

"No!" Aku screamed, creating gale-force winds. "You draw your strength from the samurai's words and he draws his from your tears! You have seen the last of each other!"

With that, one of its claws slashed an opening in the sky. Jack knew right away what it was.

"No!"

"Yes, Samurai! Like you, they will be cast into the future, where I will deal with them!"

The wind reversed direction, sucking the girls toward the swirling rift in the sky. Jack leaped to catch Bubbles by the hand as she was ripped away, but they couldn't hold onto each other and he fell to the ground. They screamed and fought, to no avail. They were heading right into it. There was nothing any of them could do.

"You must fight! No matter where Aku is you must always fight!"

The girls barely heard it amid the howling winds and their own frantic screams, but they did. And stopped screaming. They remembered the lesson. They would not quit.

Buttercup looked into the laughing face of the demon and pointed at it. "You're goin' down, sucka!"

Just before the vortex closed on them, Aku did an incredible thing. It split itself into two identical demons, both laughing hideously. One half followed the girls into the vortex.

"There is no escape from Aku, for either of you!"

NEXT: The Final Deception