Demon Rising

A black mist passed through the quiet streets, slithering along unnoticed by the few people who were about during the late hours. It floated silently into an alley and began to materialize, forming a black pool on the ground. It stretched upwards, the black mass shaping itself into a human form. The final form was that of a young man. His body was enshrouded by the black mass like a cloak, leaving only his head exposed. His eyes glowed an eerie blue and his hair was golden blond.

"Glad you could make it," a voice sounded from the shadows. A very tall cloaked figure moved into the dim moonlight. He removed his hood to reveal a pair of emerald green eyes and black hair that stuck straight up on his head like a pillar of spikes. His face was scarred in several places and his eyes were glazed over like those of someone who had seen unspeakable horrors in his lifetime.

"Where is Lucifage," the blond man inquired.

"He hasn't arrived yet," replied the other.

"It's not like him to be late, especially to his own timetable."

"Maybe he's having his way with some hapless mortal," said the green eyed man. He snickered loudly at his comment.

"Unlike you Amducious I have the willpower to control my urges," said a voice from the shadows. Another cloaked figure emerged from the shadows of the alley and set his hood to his down upon his shoulders. His eyes were a fiery crimson, glowing like hot coals against the darkness. His hair was dark orange and it hung down to his shoulders. He smiled upon his comrades. "Sorry I'm late, but I had to check up on some old friends."

The other two smiled back knowingly.

"Were they any trouble?" asked the blond.

"They pose absolutely no threat to our plans," replied the redhead. "Our takeover will be swift."

"Urobach will be pleased," said the blond

"We must return now. Urobach awaits news of our progress." said the redhead. He turned to the farthest wall of the alley and touched his hand upon it. At once the bricks began to recede, revealing a portal in the wall. The three men walked through the portal and the bricks immediately returned to their places leaving no trace of their passage.

It was well past midnight and life had all but ceased in the City of Townsville. In the dormitories at the prestigious University of Townsville, all but one light had been extinguished for the night. Beside a tall stack of books sat a haggard looking Blossom who was scribbling away in her notebook, fighting hard the enticing urge to sleep. She nodded now and again, her fatigue weighing on her more every second that passed. Finally she allowed herself to succumb to the alluring temptation and closed her eyes, telling herself she was just going to rest them for a moment, but they did not open. Her head drooped lightly, coming to rest atop her notebook and her pink pen slipped from her fingers and fell with a light pop upon the hardwood floor.

Suddenly a loud noise shook Blossom from her slumber. She jolted upright, both dazed and confused in her half asleep state, and turned her head sharply towards the source of the sound. She breathed a sigh of relief as her eyes fell upon the ringing cell phone lying amongst her school work. She picked it up and placed it to her ear.

"Hello, Blossom speaking." She recited in a groggy voice. She paused for a moment as she listened to the frantic voice babbling on the other end of the line. Her eyes widened in shock. "What? What happened... Is she okay?... I'll be right over." Blossom shoved the phone in her pocket and and rushed towards the window. She opened it and leapt out of her dorm room and took flight, taking off full speed into the night sky. In a matter of seconds she was at Townsville General Hospital. She dashed to the reception desk, smacking the service bell so hard that it was flattened beneath her palm with an ugly crunch.

"Can I help you?" a rather annoyed looking secretary asked, eyeballing the pancake of metal half embedded in her countertop disapprovingly.

"Yes, my name is Blossom Utonium. I'm looking for a Buttercup Utonium. She was just committed not long ago."

"Yes, Buttercup Utonium. Let me see… Second floor, Intensive Care, room 221."

"Thank you," Blossom called as she wasted no time rushing towards the stairs. She quickly located the room and entered to find Bubbles, Robin and the Professor leaning over a bandaged Buttercup lying in one of the hospital beds. Blossom rushed over to her sister's side.

"Hey Bloss. Glad you could make it." Buttercup's voice was weary and creaky. She gave weak smile up at Blossom.

"Buttercup, what the hell happened to you?" Blossom said frantically, taking in Buttercups bandaged chest and hand.

"Some weirdo outside the nightclub came outta nowhere and blew up my car. I tried to attack him and busted my hand on his face." Buttercup raised her bandaged hand so that Blossom could see it clearly. "He busted my ribs too. I didn't even see it coming. I didn't think anyone could be that strong."

"I tried to go after him," Bubbles continued, "but he just disappeared. I carried Buttercup here and had Robin call dad."

Blossom turned to the Professor a look of worry on her face. "Dad, is she going to be alright?" she asked.

"It's alright Blossom," Utonium said in a reassuring tone. "Her ribs were only fractured and there was no internal damage. Her accelerated regeneration will have her fixed up in a few days. I would be more worried about who did this to Buttercup. Whoever it was is still out there and must be incredibly strong to break a Powerpuff's bones."

Blossom clenched her fists tightly, anger written all over her face. "I will go and find who did this. Nobody hurts one of my sisters without answering to me," she said acidly.

Buttercup forced herself upright ignoring the pain that shot through her chest. "Blossom, you can't go after him. He's just too damn strong. If you face him you'll just end up like me or worse.

Blossom turned to Buttercup, her eyes glowing with a fierce determination. "I can't ignore my duty to Townsville or to you Buttercup," she said sternly. "If there is someone out there who threatens the safety of anybody in this town, especially my sisters, than I must take steps to insure that threat is eliminated.

Buttercup grit her teeth, seeing the seriousness in Blossom's eyes. "Well promise me then that you won't go until I'm better. I wont let you and Bubbles go without me. Besides, I have a personal score to settle."

Blossom smiled and nodded. "Fine Buttercup. When you're better we'll all go out together and find the person who did this."

Buttercup fell back onto the bed, relieved that Blossom would at least wait for her to recover before going after the strange assailant. Her mind wandered back to the scene in the street. She could picture the figure clearly in her mind. She couldn't help but feel there was something familiar about the cloaked stranger. His voice. His demeanor. She had fought many villains in the past, more than she could count, never mind remember, some stronger than others, and some not even worth mentioning. The stranger obviously knew her and her sisters from somewhere. Buttercup strained to remember but try as she might, she could not bring a face to mind.

The minutes passed by inscrutably as the night grew ever deeper. The time seemed to slip by very slowly with each passing second stretching into what seemed like hours. Such a phenomenon was common in the realm that sits between realms. For countless centuries this had been the dwelling place of the demon Him whose true name could not be spoken amongst mortals. The years had weighed heavily on him, nearly driving him insane, causing him to act out in ways far from respectable for a demon conquer such as himself. Such a place proved to be torturous even for a demon, the endless stretch of nothingness expanding outwards into a lifeless infinity. He could not even remember when it happened, when he was banished to this realm. It was so long ago. He had angered the great demon commander Baal by failing to lead a demon platoon to victory over mortal soil. It was a shameful defeat. He had lost the entire platoon to the human resistance. None survived the onslaught, save he and his failure had scarred his reputation as a demon conquer. He was banished to the nameless realm that sat between Hell and the mortal world, a demon's Hell as some had called it, until a time when he could prove himself by overthrowing a great mortal foe and claiming his domain in the name of Hell.

The demon sat on his throne of stone peering at a yellow rubber duck, his one source of companionship throughout the years of imprisionment. He squeezed it once in his claw, listening as it squeaked beneath the pressure of his grip. It was a sound that had brought him so much comfort over the years, but now it seemed empty, lifeless. He cast it aside. He would no longer be needing it now that the time was near.

There was loud buzzing as a portal opened up before the demon's throne. It spread into a wide archway and three cloaked figures emerged, their hoods removed to reveal the three who had passed through the portal in the alley. Him smiled, looking over his disciples. Here before him stood the very keys to his success, the ones who would ultimately pave the way for his conquest, the conquest of Townsville.

The three men approached the throne and bowed before the demon. The red haired one presented himself, stepping forward from his brothers.

"Lucifage, what news do you bring from the mortal realm," Him cooed.

"We have surveyed the city as you asked my lord," said the redhead, his voice filled with deep respect. "I had Amducious take the south and Eurynomous take the east. I myself took the north and the west. We have secured the city for your arrival. All is ripe for your takeover."

"And the girls?" The demon pried.

"They pose no threat whatsoever lord Urobach. You needn't exhaust the slightest concern I assure you."

"Good. Very good. All is set and ready then. You three are about to witness a great triumph in the name of Hell. Within the hour the city of Townsville we be mine and I will have my freedom from this accursed realm once and for all."

A swirling vortex opened up above the Him's head, sucking him upwards in a spiral until he disappeared into its center. The three men followed suit, hovering towards the vortex and allowing themselves to be sucked inside as well. They disappeared in a bright flash, the portal closing fast behind them. This was to be the last time any of them would look upon this realm again.