Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of the Demashitaa! Powerpuff Girls Z anime.
The storyline and any OCs are my ONLY property.
This merely serves as entertainment for the viewers!
(Warning: This story is rated T; it contains violence, vulgar language, and minor suggestive adult themes. Read at your own risk.)
Narrator/Third Person's P.O.V.
"Where have you two been?" A soft voice asked from a small screen. It was already past midnight, yet the three girls were still awake. "You guys weren't picking up when I tried to call you."
"I was just in my room." Bloom said while lightly scratching the back of her head."
"I was… Uhm… doing some stuff…" Bright answered as her cheeks began to visibly redden even through the dim surroundings.
"You know, if you guys were 'getting busy' with the guys you could have just told me."
"What?! No!" They exclaimed in unison.
"Professor just gave me some new info and Brick happened to be working on something which I presume to be about the stone, but there weren't any clear details that could serve as a clue." Bloom explained. "That and it's that time of the month for me, so I was just in my room."
"I just went on… on…" Bright stuttered. "A picnic?" Technically it wasn't a lie.
"With Boomer." Butterfly concluded. Bright no longer replied as she held her face in embarrassment.
"Are you doing okay?" Bloom asked, "You know… it might not be long until we… leave the place."
"...Don't worry." Bright reassured her. "I'll be ready for what happens. I promise."
Both of them gave her a look of doubt but decided to brush it aside for now. "So, anyway, I need to tell you guys something." Butterfly started. "Last night I was in the lobby. And from the corner of my eye, I think I just saw Keishiro."
"Keishiro?" Bright asked. "You mean Mr. Jones's son."
"Yeah, that's the one."
"How can you be sure?" Bloom exclaimed.
"He has white hair, right? I remember it from the picture you sent us."
"Still, it doesn't mean he's the only person with white hair in this place."
"It's still worth a shot trying to find him." Butterfly interjected. "We need to continue the mission too, it has been a while since we last rummaged this place. It's been enough time. I doubt they'd suspect us for any of the incidents even if we begin to make our move now."
"I was about to say that too… I just received some information from the Professor." Bloom explained. "The Egyptian passage mentioned a ceremony, though I still don't know just what that means. Right now, let's try to plan what we're going to do tomorrow night."
Bright tilted her head to the side. "That early?"
"We're not exactly sure just how much time we have left so we have to move fast."
"I agree, so what's the plan, Red?"
"I think we need to split up with this one." Bloom started as she clasped her hands together. "By now I think we've already gotten used to this place. We can work our way around it with ease. With that being said, each of us will be doing three different things.
"First, Kaoru, I want you to find out what you can about Keishiro. I doubt that no one would know about him if he's walking around the place freely. Maybe try and talk to some of the agents and see if you can get anything from them. If you are right and he is still alive, then we need to find out why the organization labeled him as dead.
"I'll try to access their digital files again. I'm not yet sure if I'll try and directly go into Brick's office or try to hack into his computer from here. Hopefully, all those files we saw in the file room have already been digitized.
"And you, Miyako, I've got somewhat of a special task for you. There has been something bothering me for a while now. You told me that you were led to a secret passageway after you took out the book from the library, right?"
"Mhmm."
"That's the thing that bothers me. I'm assuming that nobody knew about that book in the library yet it was the key to opening that passage. That and the fact that there is a secret passageway to begin with."
"I see…" Bright said, "You want me to investigate that place?"
"Yeah, with your invisibility hopefully you won't attract any unwanted attention."
"Okay, I think I can manage."
"How about you Kaoru?" Bloom asked. "Any violent reaction?"
"Nah, seems easy enough."
"Then it's settled," Bloom concluded, letting out a big sigh. "We're going to execute everything tomorrow. If you want to start in the morning that's fine just make sure to maximize your time. If you find any more leads outside of what was assigned to you don't hesitate to follow it if you still have time."
"Alrighty then, guess we'll talk again tomorrow. And please pick up next time." Butterfly commented, eyeing her two best friends.
"I still haven't found my ICED though, so if you wish to call me you have to do so through the compact." Bright said as she lightly poked at her cheek.
"Keep me updated, okay?" Bloom added, "I'll try my best to hack into the system while confined in my room so you can contact me anytime you want, especially if you need backup. No promises though, Brick might have upped the security after what we did."
"We'll all do our best, don't worry." Bright said with a sweet smile on her face before yawning. "Better get some beauty rest then, good night girls!"
"Good luck to us."
"Good night, everyone."
It was already early morning. Butterfly, surprisingly, woke up early to catch Butch before he went to his work. Despite the sudden disturbance of Boomer asking for his help, Butch technically spent the whole day off yesterday slacking away in his office. Thus, he had to go to sleep early, but not before giving a brief mention of getting up early to do some work. Though he was at least able to relax and get more hours of sleep, she still felt worried about him.
What the hell were they doing that was driving all the top agents to work nonstop?
Hopefully, she could find Butch and try to get some insight.
Hurriedly running out of the room, she caught the elevator just as its doors were closing. Descending to the ground floor, Butterfly quickly dashed out and went straight to the hallway that contained his office. Despite studying this building's floor plan beforehand, courtesy of her red-headed friend, it irked her that these halls seemed longer in real life.
It wasn't until she reached the final turn that Butterfly finally sighed in relief. However, she immediately stopped in her tracks as she heard two voices conversing. Looking back the way she came, there didn't seem to be anyone else there. Taking this opportunity, Butterfly leaned against the wall to listen in.
"Why the fuck are you here?" A low, angry voice said. 'Butch?'
A high-pitched scoff followed his question, "Funny, you didn't seem to mind my company the other day."
"Just cut straight to the chase. What the fuck do you want?"
"Is there anything wrong with me just dropping by?" The feminine voice retorted. "You haven't been returning any of my messages. Considering I know where you worked, I wanted to see what's going on; to see if you were okay."
"You see me now, I'm alive, so care to leave now?"
"So cold." A small, sinister giggle erupted from the woman. "I take it that you've now set your eyes on that brunette? Butterfly, was it?"
Butterfly's chest began to tighten, her mouth ran dry as she could feel her hands start to tremble. What the hell did she mean? What the fuck has Butch been hiding from her?
"What does she have to do with anything?"
"I saw you two hanging out the other day. I must say, you are very classy, Butch Jojo, preying on a different girl just hours after you slept with another."
The sting in her heart turned into a searing pain, forcing her to clench tightly unto her dress, almost tearing it with the strength of her grasp. The tears began to well up against her will. She bit her lip hard as she tried to stifle a sob.
"She's nothing, okay, don't bother yourself with her." Butch said with no hesitation. "I ain't your boyfriend, got that? So get the fuck out of my face and start minding your own business."
That was it. That was fucking it. Without a second thought, she quickly teleported back to her room. Leaning against the wall of her room, Butterfly covered her face with shaking hands.
He was vile, worse than that even. She actually thought he was a decent person. That he was more than what she initially thought of him. She thought that underneath that perverse and snarky persona was a caring and sweet individual that she could picture herself falling in love with.
She thought there was more, but she was nothing to him.
This wasn't a star-crossed lovers story like Boomer and Bright's, it was just a fairy tale that ended in her heart getting crushed, stomped on, and thrown in the fucking trash as the "prince" laughs in triumph as he successfully manipulated her into believing his lies. The worst part was that she let herself be vulnerable around him of all people.
That was her mistake.
Now, she knew. She now understood what she was to him. If she was indeed "nothing," then fuck him, she would gladly return the favor.
Bright had entered the library with ease as she blended in with her surroundings. The library was barely full. Fortunately, she was able to estimate what the best time it was for her to infiltrate before swarms of research teams come barging in.
Walking towards the aisle that held the mysterious book, she began looking around to find a switch of some sort. Feeling around where the book used to sit, she could feel a small knob sticking out from the shelf. It was barely noticeable, but as soon as she saw it, she immediately flicked it.
Just on cue, the secret passage opened. Looking around, thankfully, just like last time, nobody had noticed it.
She walked slowly. With her feet finally reaching the corridor, the door behind her closed. Turning around, she began examining the entrance more closely.
She tried tracing the outline of it, though such a task proved to be very difficult with the lack of light and the way that the door blended with the wall. With the way it was so well hidden, anyone who didn't know about this entrance most likely would think that it was just a wall.
Bright began feeling around for a possible switch or button that would open the door again. And after minutes of searching, there seemed to be none.
'So there's no way out after you walk in.' Bright thought to herself. 'Although, that does seem very strange. If I remember correctly, the exit that Boomer led us to had hand scanners that meant one could go in and out as they please. So it's either there's actually two entrances and only one exit, or there's an exit route I haven't found yet.'
Wanting to test her theory, she quietly began walking down the dark corridor. She walked straight down the corridor in front of her. She thought this was a dead end at first, but seeing how well the secret passages were hidden, there might be something more to it than meets the eye.
She ran her hands all over the wall, trying to find something, anything that could confirm her suspicions. Crouching down, she started to feel the ground around it as well. Just as she was about to give up searching, however, she felt a small metal button that was hidden in the mossy floor.
Bright pressed it at soon as she felt the coldness against her fingertips. Slowly getting up, Bright began to wait anxiously. It took a few seconds until the wall began to slowly open. Her eyes widened at the sight before her
It looked like an abandoned room; it had a bed, a closet, a desk, and a small door in the corner. Walking in, Bright instantly coughed with the amount of dust that filled the place. By the looks of it, the room seemed uninhabited for years.
Carefully approaching the door, she removed some of the cobwebs before twisting the door knob. In there was a small bathroom that had a simple toilet, sink, and shower. The marble started to turn yellow, probably from its age and lack of cleaning of any kind.
By this point, Bright was dumbfounded. What was this place? And why was it hidden away from all of the organization?
As she began looking around, there she noticed a red curtain that completely covered the wall. Pushing them aside, she noticed a small window. Something that looked like a gray wall was blocking the view.
Inspecting it, that's when she saw a small latch to the side. As she flipped it, the thing that was blocking the wall immediately vanished. The bright light that emanated from the window made her squint. She let her eyes adjust for a minute before she realized what it was.
The window showed the outside world in all its beauty. Well, at least a part of it. It was angled in a way that showed the bright sky vividly. So vividly, it seems like it was magnified greatly.
Flipping the latch back, the gray wall blocked the view again. Hidden passages, a secluded room, this was all so bizarre. This made Bright wonder, was this room. perhaps, a hiding place?
Whatever this was, she needed to tell the girls immediately.
After a few minutes of searching, Bright exited the room through a hidden hatch under the bed. It had led her to an underground tunnel which had her walking for a couple of minutes before finally reaching the end. She opened up the trap door above her, quickly climbed up, and closed the opening.
Looking around, she realized that she was outside; the dense green forest scenery was bright and vivid in the early afternoon. Bright stood still for a moment. The surroundings, aside from the loud chirping of the birds, were quiet. For now, she at least was confident that she was in the clear.
She got up from where she sat. Taking out her compact, she checked the trap door one last time. Just like the other secret entrances, it was hidden within the forest floor.
Opening the compact, her fingers began to swiftly press buttons and type on the keypad.
"I found something important, we might need to investigate further."
That room, these secret passages, was it possible that the organization was aware of it? From what she had seen, it seemed highly unlikely. That room must have been built around the time the R.I.D. got started.
And if it was, who used it?
And why?
Bright's P.O.V.
I was back in my room as soon as I made my way out of the forest. It wasn't that far from the organization, but it still took me a couple of minutes on foot. As soon as I saw the building, I immediately went back to being invisible and entered the building; going visible once I knew the coast was clear making it look like I just came out from one of the hallways.
"Got it, we'll talk later. I'll tell Kaoru."
Putting my compact back in my belt, I decided to rest for a bit. If Bloom was planning on checking that room, there was a high probability that we would do it tonight. Having a few extra hours of sleep, whether or not we were going to investigate, wouldn't hurt.
As I was about to get in bed, however, I heard a knock on Boomer's door.
"Bright, are you in here?"
That familiar voice from outside made me jump. I hurried out of my room to get it. And as soon as I opened the door, I was greeted with a small bouquet of flowers.
"Good morning, princess." Boomer said such a charming smile on his face.
Giggling, I took the bouquet from his hand. "Isn't it already afternoon?"
"I know, but I feel bad for forgetting to greet you this morning. So, I thought that we could eat lunch together." He then raised his hand to reveal a small plastic bag that had a bunch of plastic containers as well as a few drinks.
"Silly, you're spoiling me too much."
"And you, my princess, deserve it."
I took the plastic bag from his hand, "Well, let's go eat then. I'm starving."
He pouted. "No kiss?"
Playfully rolling my eyes at him, I gave him a quick peck on the lips. "It's your fault for forgetting it this morning."
"Okay, lovebirds, no more PDA in the hallway."
We both turned to look where the voice came from. From the other side of the hallway was Butterfly, standing in the doorway of their room carrying a couple of duffel bags.
"Are you going somewhere?" I asked curiously. Where did she even get the bags to begin with?
"Yeah, your room." She answered nonchalantly. "Can I crash for a while?"
"Pardon?"
"Why, what happened? Was it my brother?"
"He's Butch. That enough of an explanation for you?"
Though Boomer just shrugged, I was still a little baffled by her sudden request. "Does he know about this?"
"Even if he did, I don't fucking care. He can do whatever or whoever the fuck he wants in there."
She trudged angrily towards the room. As she got in my room, I looked over toward Boomer.
"Is it okay with you?"
"I don't mind. I mean, my brother can be an asshole so I don't blame her. Frankly, I'm surprised she didn't move out sooner."
"I'll try talking to her. Hopefully, it's just a misunderstanding."
"I'll talk to Butch too when I see him."
As we made our way inside, I glanced towards my door. Though Butterfly has the tendency to act on impulse, this felt different. She was dismissive, not blunt. Not angry, instead, she seemed more… hurt.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
She was staring at the ceiling for a good fifteen minutes now. With her head resting on her hand, she hadn't said a word as soon as she got in. Boomer had left after lunch to work, which left me to look after Butterfly.
"Talk about what?" She answered in a soft voice, seemingly having barely any energy left.
"Did something happen between you and Butch?"
"Even if something did, it's irrelevant."
"So you suddenly deciding to stay here was just a random thought you had?"
"Would you believe me if I say yeah?"
"Kaoru, talk to me."
It took a few minutes of silence before she said something. "It's pretty stupid, isn't it?" She started. "You and Boomer, it's just so stupid. We aren't supposed to compromise the mission by falling in love with them you know."
Before I could interject her statement, she added, "Jokes on me, I'm a bigger idiot than you."
My heart ached for her. Butterfly seemed so defeated. Every word that came out of her mouth sounded so soft and hurt, like she was just about to break and start crying.
"…What did he do?"
"Looks like the rumors were true… he's a player, Miyako. And I was stupid enough to fall into his game. I thought he liked me. But then I just had to find out that he was fucking some other girl.
"And you know what's the worst part? I don't even have the fucking right to be angry at him. I don't have the right to get hurt by his actions because we aren't together. I fucking hate it."
"Oh, Kaoru…"
The tears began to well in her eyes, but she took a deep breath to calm herself down. "…Do you ever regret it?"
"Regret what?"
"Falling in love with Boomer?"
The question caught me off guard for a second. It was a question that I felt I'd been asking myself since I realized that I was in love with him. Though, no matter how many times I asked myself that, I never came to a definite answer.
"I think… it's not so much as regret as guilt." I said, "He has been nothing but sweet and caring, and here I am giving him the false promise of being by his side no matter what happens. Honestly, I've thought about ending it. But… my own selfishness prevents me from doing so. I hate the fact that I'm going to hurt him either way."
"This must be so hard for you."
"It is." I agreed, sighing. "I imagine it must be the same for you, too."
"It just had to be him, him of all people." Butterfly said with such frustration in her voice. "I should've seen this coming. I shouldn't have given him the benefit of the doubt. He's Butch fucking Jojo, what else was I expecting?
"I thought… he was a decent guy, you know." She then started to cover her eyes, her voice starting to crack. "I love that asshole. I fucking love him, Miyako, why did he have to do that to me?"
"Is it possible that it could have just been a misunderstanding?"
"I heard him crystal fucking clear, he said that I was nothing to him." She said through sobs. "Nothing… I'm just…"
She couldn't talk anymore as her cries became louder. I came closer to her, hugging her as tight as I could. I could feel her tears on my skin, and it breaks my heart that I couldn't do anything to save her from the pain she was feeling.
Butterfly, in spite of what others may think, was very fragile, more so after the murders. Though she tries to hide it, though she would tease Bloom with how easily she cries, Butterfly wasn't callous.
I've seen her with her past boyfriends, and when the relationship ended, she was so heartbroken. She would come running to us for support as she cried and sulked for weeks. Seeing her now, however, her sorrow seemed heavier in comparison.
Her cries grew louder as she whispers how it hurts and how much she loves him.
I held her until she finally fell asleep from exhaustion. Covering her with the blanket, I went to go sleep in the other room on the sofa. Butterfly needs to rest, and if she would need me, I could easily go to her room.
Hopefully, she would feel a bit better than before. But with the way it looks, it doesn't seem to be that easy.
For she truly, genuinely, loves him.
Narrator's/Third Person's P.O.V.
Midnight came rolling seemingly faster than before. The boys weren't back, which meant that they most likely were staying in the office overnight once again. This was the right time for them to converse and plan.
"Kaoru, are you sure that you're okay?" Bloom asked from the other end of the compact. Butterfly's eyes had visible dark circles from crying.
Her lips curled into a small smile. "Don't worry, I'll tell you in the morning, okay? This is more important."
"You better, I'm not backing down until you tell me what happened." Bloom said before turning to look at Bright. "You messaged me about finding something, what was it?"
"I went back to that secret passage in the library, and I found a hidden room within it. It looked like a bedroom of some sort, though it seemed pretty much abandoned."
"Could it be related to the author of that book somehow?" Butterfly questioned.
"Possibly, considering that the book was the key to opening that entrance." Bloom started, "If you guys are up for it, we could go check it out. We'll be quick. Just try and get as many clues as we can."
"We could, it's not like we have any other leads."
"Did you not find anything from their files, Momoko?" Bright asked.
"I found something that may help us, but I don't think we will be able to act on it until tomorrow night. I think going to investigate that room will be enough for today."
"We'll grab you in a few then."
"See you."
As opposed to days and even weeks before, the lobby was still brimming with agents running around and working. The girls had successfully teleported from Bloom's room to the meeting room before; they had done so while under Bright's invisibility for extra caution.
Scanning the outside with the X-Ray vision, there seemed to be quite the number of agents. Turning to look at Butterfly, Bloom asked, "Think you can teleport us directly to the library? It's a few doors away."
"I'll try." Butterfly then pressed her palm against the wall, trying to better visualize the layout of the hallways. As she was able to locate the library, she grabbed hold of both of their arms. "Get ready."
With a giant flash of light, they teleported to one of the back aisles of the library. The lights were turned off, and no agent was in sight. Quietly leading both Butterfly and Bloom to the bottom shelf, Bright flicked the small hidden switch. And just like that, the secret passage opened once again.
They walked inside cautiously. As the door behind them closed, Bright stepped forward into the hallway and pressed the button with the tip of her shoe. The wall opened to reveal the room from before, still in the same state as she had left it.
"Creepy." Butterfly commented as she stepped foot inside it.
"It's a bit cramped, the person who lived here must have been pretty small." Bloom added, looking around the room. "Okay, let's try to find whatever we can. Bright, go search the left side of the room, Butterfly, you take the right, and I'll focus here on the bed."
Both of them nodded in agreement before they began to scan every nook and cranny.
Butterfly had nothing much to work with, especially since there was only a small desk on her side of the room. Opening the drawer, there was nothing in it besides some bugs and cobwebs. She kneeled down to inspect the underside of it. And to her luck, she saw a small piece of parchment stuck there.
Using the tips of her fingernails to get it out and unfold it, she realized that it was a letter. Sitting down, she began to read in silence.
Bright began to investigate the window once again. As she flipped the latch to remove the obstruction, that's when she saw what the window what truly for. The moon, in a perfect waxing phase, shone brightly through it.
This confirms it; the author K.J. was here. This was why the journal would only unlock with the moon's light because that was the only thing they could see.
Bloom began to rummage through the bed. It was dusty all throughout, though thankfully there were no disgusting stains to be found. Flipping the futon over, that's when she saw from the corner of her eye a small photograph.
Her eyes grew wide as she saw what the photo was.
"The book would only reveal its contents when the moonlight shone on it. This window is specifically angled so one could see the moon clearly. This window is hidden with this latch that blends that window in with the gray exterior of the castle. This must mean that the author stayed here with no one noticing." Bright explained, moving aside the show them.
"I found something too." Butterfly added, "This is a letter signed by someone with the initials A.S.J. It talks about how he was caught and locked up, and he advises the receiver of this letter to escape while they can and come meet this A.S.J. person with the journal."
"A.S.J.? Wait… that seems familiar."
"It's the Professor." Bloom concluded. "Professor Akira Senjou Jones. The one who stayed here was Keishiro." She said, showing them the picture of Professor Jones hugging a small, smiling child with white hair.
"Keishiro Senjou?" Both of them asked in unison.
"Or rather, his real name, Keishiro Jones."
They looked at her in shock. "Wait, Keishiro was the one who wrote that book?" Butterfly asked in confusion.
"But wait, the journal only works with the moonlight, meaning that he had to be here with the journal." Bright wondered, "If the journal talked about how he was down in the dungeons, a place where no moonlight could shine through, how did he get here and why was the journal even with him?"
"Here's my theory." Bloom started. "Professor Jones said that he created an artificial child, but that he was taken away from him. What if Keishiro wasn't taken away as soon he was created?"
Butterfly raised her eyebrow at her. "What do you mean?"
"What if Professor Jones hid him? Professor Jones was one of the first agents to come to this establishment. What if he was one of the people who helped construct it even? This place must have been built by him to hide Keishiro from the organization.
"Once they found out about it, Professor Jones must have found a way to get this letter to Keishiro to tell him to escape. But Keishiro got captured as well. That must have been how he got into the dungeons with the journal with him."
"Over time, they had manipulated him enough that he became an agent. Seeing that he might succumb to their brainwashing, he must've hidden the journal in the library as a last resort in hopes that someone would continue whatever he was researching."
"Meaning that that piece of paper that you found in the book wasn't written by Brick at all, it was Keishiro." Butterfly concluded.
"Exactly."
"But why was the journal so important to Professor Jones?" Bright asked.
"Guess we're just going to have to ask him ourselves." Bloom answered.
"Then does that mean that Keishiro is actually dead?" Butterfly said, "The last entry of the book said something about them getting into his head. Could it be related?"
"I found someone from the files I've read." Bloom started, "He's responsible for documenting all the agents that go through this organization. I looked at any record purchases from his M.D.P. and I was able to find out that he visits the bar every Saturday. And guess what day it is now."
Both Butterfly and Bright nodded, understanding what must be done.
"Guess we need to talk with Professor Jones as soon as possible."
"We will."
Author's Note: And finally! Chapter 22 is up! It's so fucking frustrating trying to find the time to write with midterms coming to kill my sanity. And yes, I do know that I have class early tomorrow and it's already midnight. That's how much I love you guys :') Who needs sleep anyway?
Thank you so much for continuing to tune in to this story. I know updates are slow and I'm very sorry for that but rest assured that this story will still be continued! Make sure to leave a review as well as favorite and follow this story! Just 8 chapters away until the finale!
Stay safe, everyone!
~Disastress
