Chapter 13 - The Game of Their Lives
Two hours later, they looked around the arena they had been led into. There were large nets at either end and lines similar to a football field minus the hash marks.
"What is this?" Buttercup asked.
"A soccer field." Butch groaned. "Man, I hate soccer."
A gate at the opposite end of the field they now stood in opened and Colonel Cunada walked out onto the field, puffing on another cigar as he approached them. Several of his men accompanied him with rifles.
Colonel Cunada swept his arm around to take in the field. "Soccer, a truly wonderful sport. You will play my men for the letter."
As he spoke, the opposing team arrived on the field. Twenty-two men in all stood before them. The Colonel righted his jacket and put on a pair of sunglasses. "I realize 22 mere men against four super powered children is a bit uneven, but I'm sure my men will make the game interesting." He turned and picked up a soccer ball and placed it on the ground in front of Blossom. "Play ball." He walked off the field.
"Uh-oh," Blossom began. She looked at the eleven men remaining on the field waiting for them to put the ball into play. She then looked to the side line where the rest of the team waited until it was their time to play. "OK, guys, speak up. How many do you think you can take on at once?"
Buttercup looked the team's starting lineup over. "At this point, probably four or five at a time."
"Butch, how 'bout you?" Blossom asked.
"Same here." he replied.
"Brick?" Blossom asked.
Brick leaned over, the pain in his side now ripping insanely through his body. "Totally healthy, probably half a shift's worth. Right now..." he shook his head.
"Great," Blossom sighed. "That leaves a possible eight more, even if Brick could take on half a team right now. I don't know if I could beat that many at my best, let alone more than that."
"What choice do we have?" Buttercup asked.
"Good point," Blossom nodded. "OK, we play his silly game. Butch, you're goal. We'll do the best we can to keep them off you."
The Colonel shouted at them to begin the game. Blossom shook her head and kicked the ball into play. The Colonel's team raced up the field towards them quickly closing the distance between the two teams. The men took possession of the ball and zoomed around the children. They headed for the goal as Buttercup ran to catch them. "Man, this is not good!" she yelled.
They scored on Butch easily. Butch picked up the ball and angrily threw it back onto the field. They played for several hours as Colonel Cunada's team relentlessly advanced down the field and scored goals.
Blossom, Buttercup, Butch and Brick huddled in their end of the field during a break in the game. They were breathing hard and thoroughly exhausted. Brick's side ached and blood oozed out of his mouth.
"This is impossible!" Butch exclaimed, "How long does this game go on?"
Blossom pointed to a large area in the wall of the arena to their left. "He said when that dugout is completely shadowed, the game's over." The dugout she referred to was already growing dark.
"We can't beat them all." Butch stated.
"We're gonna lose big time." Buttercup huffed.
Blossom shook her head. "No, we can't lose. Besides, the Powerpuff Girls never lose!"
"Then we're gonna need a miracle." Buttercup replied.
"No, we need to CHEAT!" Brick stated.
Realization dawned on them and they grinned in spite of their imposing task.
"OK," Blossom said with a sly grin, "Let's play."
The Colonel's team raced towards them, the ball in their possession. Blossom stood ready to intercept. She made a lightning fast move around the man with the ball, took possession of the ball, and headed back the other way as the men quickly turned to chase her. The turf welled up behind her as she ran at top speed. She kicked the ball with all her strength at the goal. The goalkeeper jumped in front of it as it came towards him. It hit him directly in the chest, driving both him and the ball deep into the goal net.
"Score!" Buttercup shouted.
The opposing team attacked again, this time getting past Blossom. Buttercup stood her ground as they approached. One of the men kicked the ball towards the net. Buttercup quickly spun into a neon green tornado, deflecting the ball from the goal and back up field to Brick. He sped up the field and one of the defensive players made a move to kick the ball away, but only managed to knock it into the air. As it came down, Brick slammed it with his head towards the net. It whistled past the goalkeeper and blasted through the back of the net.
The game continued on for several more hours as Blossom, Buttercup and Brick continued to smash the ball into the net for goals. Butch blocked every attempt by the opposing team to score on him, causing them to suddenly be on the losing side of the game. Colonel Cunada became more and more enraged with every goal the four children scored.
Finally, the game ended as the shadows fully enclosed the dugout. Blossom, Buttercup, Brick and Butch celebrated their decisive victory as the opposing team trudged off the field, exhausted and defeated.
The children approached Colonel Cunada and stopped in front of him. Blossom put her hand out to him and said, "We won, give us the letter."
The Colonel, instead, tucked the letter back into his jacket. He had a smug look on his face as he spoke. "You will not get the letter. You cheated."
"WHAT?!" Buttercup yelled. "No way, we didn't cheat! A deal's a deal, pal, give us that letter!"
"You said no flying. We didn't fly anywhere!" Butch protested.
"We played by your rules, Colonel, and we won," Brick stated. "We earned that letter."
"A matter of opinion," Colonel Cunada replied. "I say you lost. You didn't have enough participants on your team, so you automatically forfeited the game. You will all be shot in the morning." He lit his cigar, turned, and walked away.
Butch and Blossom, both mad as hell, took off after the Colonel, their streaks following behind as they accelerated. They tackled him and Butch pummeled him while Blossom ripped the letter from the Colonel's jacket.
The Colonel's soldiers, upon seeing their commanding officer being beaten on the ground, went into action. Blossom, Buttercup, Butch and Brick turned to see the men running towards them.
"Let's go!" Blossom shouted to the others. The four of them took off straight into the air as a barrage of gunfire followed them. The soldiers watched in amazement as four streaks of colour glowed in the sky, one red, one pink, one dark green and one neon green. The game was apparently over.