The Death Of The Girls

At last, the day had come. The day of St. Eva! The day of God! The Mayor had ordered all the walls of the city hall save for the one with the Gate be removed, so now the door stood out in the open. The entire population of Townsville, villains included, had massed themselves around the church. A few yards before the gate, Hulk stood on a tall platform, a cross in one hand, and his other hand raised to the sky. He was chanting prayers to St. Eva in a foreign language. Father Manson and Bishop Henry stood by his side, heads bowed. Excitement, tension, and anxiety were in the air, as well as a bit of fear.

Professor Utonium fought his way to Hulk and called up to him. "Excuse me, I don't mean to interrupt, father, but where are my girls?"

"They'll be here." Hulk said, and continued to chant. The congregation began to chant after him.

Ray struggled in his bonds. He was heavily shackled to the wall in the upper wing of the church. He was positioned right in front of the window, so that he could see what was going on down below. And he didn't like it. He didn't know what his father had up his sleeve, but it must be something evil. He found himself debating his loyalty to his father endlessly. If his father loved him, he wouldn't scream at him and chain him up. Ray had screamed his lungs out to no avail, and now bitterly watched the ceremonies taking place. He didn't see Blossom, though, and that bothered him. But he knew his father would never hurt her. Right……?

The sky was red, and thick, black clouds swirled around and formed a concentric pattern above the Gate. At last, Father Hulk called for complete silence and began to speak.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Today is the day! The day when we behold our God! It is a day prophesized from thousands of years ago! And now it is here! You people have all been doing well, praying constantly and praising God's name. That is exactly what we wanted you to do! You have fell into our trap!!!"

Murmurs of confusion ran through the crowd.

"You see," Hulk continued, "You all know very very little about our religion! You haven't even been praying to a God!"

More cries of surprise.

"What's more, I'm not even what you see here! There is no Father Hulk!!!"

As the crowd watched, aghast, the form of the preacher shrank, melted, swirled around, and transformed itself into a short, round-headed man with long arms and gleaming reptillian eyes.

"Behold!" he cried. "I am Habaruku, founder of the St. Eva religion!"

The crowd screamed.

"Yes, be afraid!" Habaruku gloated. "Because you know what you've been doing? You've been feeding my master, Death Evans, tremendous power!"

More cries.

"That's right! By absorbing your foolish prayers, Death Evans gains strength! For millennia, this demon has dwelt in the bowels of the earth, and now you foolish humans have given him so much power, that he is ready to make his appearance! And when he does, the world will crumble before your very eyes!"

The villains of Townsville were stunned silent. "I was right," Mojo whispered. "It's all true… every bit of it. But what about……?"

Habaruku gestured to the sealed door. "This is the gate that leads down into Infinity, where Death Evans dwells. But he has already ascended quite high, and shortly after we open this gate, he will emerge!!!"

The people of Townsville were overcome by fear. Some dropped to their knees and cried, some screamed, and some just stood there, riveted by what they were hearing.

"And do you know what the key is to opening this door?"

The villains exchanged glances.

"The key is… the death of the Powerpuff Girls!!!"

The crowd screamed as one, and Ray's head jerked up and he strained himself against his chains.

"No, Dad!" he cried, "Don't do it! Please! I love her!"

Habaruku raised one hand, and another platform rose from the ground, where the Powerpuff Girls sat, bound and gagged. "It was said by our founders themselves: one with hair red as rose, one with laugh like a river, and one with strength over men … will allow God into the world. I give you the keys, ladies and gentlemen!"

He turned, smiled, then turned back. "Let's not waste any more time! Let us open the gate!"

"No!" Utonium screamed, and he charged towards the platform, but Manson grabbed him and placed his hand over the professor's face. Utonium collapsed.

Habaruku turned once more to the girls and stepped forward. "Now, girls… please die for our God!" He raised his hands, and the girls hovered above the platform, and then began drifting towards the door.

"Noooo! God damn it, no!" Ray screamed at the top of his lungs.

The villains were riveted to the spot in horrified fascination.

Unable to move or speak, the girls could only gaze at their people in a sad farewell as their bodies made contact with the gate.

Sparks flew, flames leapt from the door, and lightning and thunder filled the sky as the girls writhed and shook against the hard steel. Habaruku cackled. The crowd was in silence. Finally, with one huge burst of flame, the noise stopped, the door was open, and the Powerpuff Girls fell to the ground, lifeless and unmoving.

"NOOOOOOOOO!!!" Ray cried.

Mojo Jojo's eyebrows lowered. All his conflicting feelings spiraled in an endless tornado, and then anger filled his heart, and he thrust a finger at Habaruku and cried, "GET HIM!!!"

All the villains of Townsville were on his side, and they charged the squat figure. Mojo Jojo blasted and blasted, and Him cast spells of darkness, and the Gangrene Gang followed up with a physical assault. Of course, Habaruku, too, was armed, and he cast powerful magic from his hands, flinging them left and right to the ground. Princess flew in circles, firing her lasers. The evil cat (I forget his name) scampered up and bit Habaruku in the leg.

Him rose to his feet, took a deep breath, and engulfed Habaruku in a barrage of spit attacks, all the fury and anger built up inside him being taken out on Habaruku.

Mojo saw his chance, and assisted Him by trapping Habaruku in a blaster beam. Princess followed suit, and Fuzzy Lumkins crushed the founder under a boulder.

Mojo dusted his hands. "The Fab Four are back!"

"Look!" Princess screamed. The boulder was beginning to crack and crumble, and then to their horror, it shattered, and a huge dragon rose from the rubble, towering over all of them. What's more, Manson and Henry in turn transformed into equally large dragons.

"Umm, this could be a problem…" Mojo whispered.

"You're not alone!" called a voice.

Mojo spun. "You!"

It was Steve, and behind him was a whole troop of beasts from Monster Isle. "I figured I'd bring you guys some backup," Steve said with a shrug.

Habaruku (I'm still calling them by their names, even though they're all dragons now) snorted smoke and hissed. "You are all fools!"

Steve cracked his knuckles. "Ready to rumble?"

Mojo turned and began hurrying in the other direction. "My observatory has a very powerful laser," he explained. "I'm going to man it, so we can hurt those dragons badly."

Him grew himself to a monstrous size. "I'm ready as I'll ever be."

The Rowdyruffs flew into position beside Him. "We're with you too." (BTW, yes, Mojo Jojo recreated the Rowdyruff Boys, because he knew that there was going to be a big conflict and that he would need help.)

"All right then," Steve said. "Chaaaaaaarge!"

Steve reached Habaruku first, and landed a punch right in the dragon's face. Habaruku came back with a strong laser blast from his mouth, which caused Steve to falter to his knees.

A huge snake was fighting with Manson, trying to dart in and sink his fangs into the dragon. When that failed, he coiled himself around Manson, only to scream and pull back, because Manson engulfed himself in a ball of fire.

A three-headed bird was battling Henry, shooting three-colored triangles and sharp stars at him. Henry winced with each impact, but then raised his snout to the sky, and lighting shot from above and electrified the bird.

Now it was Habaruku's turn. He took flight, and flew over the mass of monsters, breathing fire. The monsters scattered, and he set down in the middle and breathed a ring of fire all around.

Suddenly, a bright orange bolt hit Habaruku square in the head.

"It's Mojo!" Princess cried gleefully. "He's shooting at these assholes with his laser!"

More bolts shot into the dragon, and he was forced to fly up, and he landed on top of the church and shot chain lightning down upon the combatants.

Manson lifted off as well, and with his talons outstretched, flew low over the group, slashing anything in his way. Him narrowly avoided getting hit, and he countered by grabbing a wing and filling it with a dark poison. Manson fell, and Him shot acid at him as he went down.

Ray cried as he watched helplessly. The horror which he beheld was almost too much for him. His girlfriend was dead, his father was a demon, and a bigger demon was on its way. Then, the tears left his eyes and anger filled them. Pure, raw anger. He had to avenge Blossom's death. He had to do what was RIGHT!!!! With a scream, he filled his body with magic and broke his bonds, and he kicked open the glass window and jumped down to the ground.

"You, little one," said a Gangrene member, "Get out of here, it's not safe for you!"

Ray ignored him. He waited for an opening. Finally, all three of the dragons had alighted on top of the church, firing upon the monsters.

"Everyone," he cried, "Focus all your lasers or whatever on all of them! I need as much concentration of energy as I can get!"

"What?" Him asked.

"Just do it!"

Princess fired her laser beam, engulfing the trio. Him followed with a blast from his mouth. The Rowdyruffs used their eye lasers, and whatever beasts had laser power, used it.

Ray raised his arms into the sky. "I have no tears for you, father," he said, and then closed his eyes as his hands began to glow. The glow brightened. The dragons writhed under the concentrated laser fire. Finally, Ray's magic exploded into a huge comet that flew into the center of the laser blasts.

There was a tremendous explosion, and a blast of heat as the sky turned white with flame. The villains and monsters alike fell backwards, and for a moment, the earth was trapped in a ghostly white halo. And then the light faded, and the dragons and the St. Eva Church had vanished.

"We did it!" Princess cried. The monsters slapped each other on the back, as well as the villains.

"Um, people…" Him whispered, pointing down to the ground. The jubilation fell dead as they remembered their loss. They walked slowly to where the Powerpuff Girls were lying.

Fuzzy lifted Bubbles' hand from the ground, but it dropped right back in place. He looked up and shook his head.

"Are they…? Are they…?" Him stammered. He felt himself filled with a compassion that he never knew his black heart possessed.

Mojo had rejoined the group, and he walked forward and lifted Blossom's still form from the ground. He placed his hand over her chest, and felt no heartbeat. Two tears slipped from his eyes as he hugged the lifeless girl. "I'm sorry…" he sniffed. "I'm so sorry…"

Professor Utonium dropped to his knees and bawled.

Ray ran to Blossom and grabbed her from Mojo. "Blossom, don't do this! You're still alive, I know it!" Nothing. Tears flowed like a fountain, as Ray cursed his life, and he cursed his father, and he cursed himself for not being there when she needed him most!

The monsters stood silent, heads bowed. There was nothing to be said.

And then Ray looked up, as the ground began to shake.

"What was that?" Mojo asked.

Ray gazed into the blackness of the open gate and whispered, "Death Evans is coming."