A/N: Heyo! NeoLarry here posting for Fluff since her computer is being evil. Hm...now that I have access to her account I can do all sorts of evil things...MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA cough cough Sorry lol. - luv ya Hailey. Hope y'all enjoy the chapter it's a g'dun.

Chapter 17: Breath of Life

Blossom found herself engulfed in warm darkness, cool air rushing past her face as she felt herself flying aimlessly through an empty black tunnel deep inside her mind. She opened her heavy eyes to see nothing. Nothing but black, empty void. She had no past and no future, no idea from where she had come or where she was going.

All she knew was the feeling of air rushing past her face and blowing back her hair as an unknown force took control over her body, leading it down this empty tunnel of darkness.

She began to panic as her speed began to rapidly increase, faster than she had ever flown before, and she couldn't stop herself. She felt herself going faster and faster, and her mind became blurred and clouded as she became more and more dizzy. Her panic soon turned to excitement as adrenaline rushed through her body and she began to enjoy the impossible thrill of this phenomenal speed.

Suddenly everything stopped.

Blossom was halted by an invisible force that slammed into her chest, grabbing her entire body from the neck down and stopping her cold. She opened her mouth wide in surprise as she felt the powerful impact on her body, but couldn't even utter a gasp as she was instantly frozen in space.

She now seemed to be moving in slow motion as she leaned forward ever so slightly from the momentum after the impact, and then her eyes, too, opened wide and then froze in the black abyss. She could feel her very soul, her life, her spirit, seeming to leak through her frozen open mouth, while the invisible shield seemed to hold her body back.

It was as though she had been on a roller coaster going at impossible speeds, and at the end she was suddenly halted, and something was grabbing onto her body and holding her back... only the rest of her, her spirit and soul, kept on going.

"So... this is what death feels like..." Blossom thought as floated through the endless nothingness. "Everything just... stops."

Blossom's eyes began to slowly close inside her consciousness, completely succumbing to the darkness of death.

"But... where's the light..? The light at the end of the tunnel..? Is this all? Is this.."

Before she could finish her thought her mind, too, was frozen in time. Only a tiny thread was left that tied her consciousness to reality, and it was unwinding at an inconceivable rate.

"BLOSSOM!" Bubbles and Buttercup screamed in unison, while Brio fell to his knees in shock.

The two worried girls rushed to their fallen sister's side, horrified by Quasi's simple but destructive blow.

Blossom lay helplessly on the ground, eyes screwed shut, her orange hair slowly becoming smeared red with the blood that was steadily flowing from the open wound in her stomach. Her chest heaved up and down slowly as her breathing became more of a chore each second and her heart fluttered weakly inside her chest.

Bubbles fell to her knees in shock, gaping and shaking in fear, her typically bright blue eyes now covered in a cloudy gray haze of sadness. Her dirty blonde pigtails drooped under the weight of the deluge of rain, and her cut and bruised body was soaked to the bone. She cried silently, her tears mixing with the rain that poured mercilessly upon her face, until her cries grew into loud wails and ghostly sobs, sobs that could be heard even above the deafening thunder.

Buttercup watched Bubbles in a daze, unaware of what had just happened. She turned her attention to Blossom again, half-expecting her to jump up and fight, only to realize that her breathing had slowed incredibly, and her skin had was slowly turning dangerously pale.

Buttercup's breathing quickened, her eyes grew wide as her vision blurred with tears. She trembled under the cold of the rain and the image before her while taking a hesitant step backwards, clenching her fists in rage and closing her eyes to keep the tears from leaking out.

She stood in silence for a few moments, letting the icy rain pour even harder upon her bruised and beaten body, before opening her eyes again, revealing them to have an even darker green shadow to them. She turned her furious gaze towards Quasi, who was standing nearby, smirking at his handiwork.

"You.."She growled under her breath while scowling at Quasi, "I'm going to kill you."

"You?" Quasi laughed, "You're going to kill me?"

He snickered and advanced on Buttercup.

"You couldn't come close even with four of you.. And now there are only three." He sneered, "I've taken out your leader, you're powerless now."

"No, we're not." Buttercup and Quasi turned in surprise towards Bubbles as she spoke and rose to her feet. "We are a team, and a team depends on each other, not just the leader."

Quasi's smile faded at one look into both Bubbles and Buttercup's eyes. Bubbles eyes, too, had a slight change to them - a faint yellow glow. Quasi shook his head and grinned again, convinced he still had nothing to worry about.

"Team or not I'm still going to kill you each one by one," he grinned, "But who goes first, hmmm?"

He grinned and scratched his chin in mock thought, while Bubbles began to glow with a light yellow aura and her blue eyes had turned almost completely yellow.

"You first," She said suddenly while leaping into the air and slamming her knee into Quasi's stomach with astonishing force and accuracy.

Buttercup snarled and rocketed off the ground, punching Quasi hard in the jaw, hard enough for him to cry out in pain and agony. Buttercup twirled around in midair and proceeded to pound Quasi's face repeatedly with her feet while Bubbles hammered his stomach with several powerful punches.

Quasi stumbled backwards in surprise, coughing and sputtering. He fell to his knees, breathing heavily, and looked up with wide-eyes at the girls. Buttercup was now surrounded by a more distinguishable shadow-like aura, while Bubbles was glowing like the sun.

What's going on? He thought, How did they suddenly become so strong?

Without wasting another second, Buttercup flew at him and struck Quasi hard in the chest with a powerful head butt. He went flying across the street and into the side of a building, where he then fell to the ground, barely conscious.

Buttercup and Bubbles advanced slowly on Quasi, their quiet, empty expressions contrasting the savage bloodlust in their eyes. Quasi raised his gaze to them, shaking his head repeatedly to clear his mind, and rose to his feet again, trembling slightly.

His fear soon turned to excitement as a plan came to mind. He grinned evilly at Bubbles and Buttercup, watching as they foolishly prepared to attack again.

"If I were you I'd be having nothing to grin about," Buttercup spat, "It looks like you're gettin' your ass kicked pretty good from my side of things."

"Well I did underestimate you now, it seems," Quasi said with a smirk and a chuckle, "You have proven to be somewhat of a challenge."

Quasi brought his arms back and clenched his hands into fists, "Try again, lets see what you can do this time."

Bubbles scowled and ran towards Quasi, fist back, prepared to strike. She leapt in the air at the last second, however, flipping around a few times before descending towards Quasi with a powerful kick. Quasi didn't move or even flinch. He looked up at Bubbles and smiled, before instantly morphing into the exact likeness of Blossom.

Bubbles gasped and darted to one side just before hitting Quasi. She landed nearby next to Buttercup, eyes wide in shock.

"Come on, Bubbles.." Quasi said in Blossom's voice, his red-pink eyes gleaming, "Lets see what you've got."

Bubbles just stared in surprise at Quasi Blossom. Buttercup turned to Bubbles angrily.

"What were you thinking? You had a clear shot!" Buttercup complained. "Lets get him!"

"I.. I.. I can't hit him like that Buttercup.. It's Blossom.. " Bubbles stuttered as she backed away hesitantly.

Buttercup turned to Bubbles and roughly grabbed her by the collar of her dress, causing her to gasp in surprise.

"That's NOT Blossom! Don't let him trick us into giving up!" Buttercup yelled in annoyance, "We've come this far, Bubbles, are you just gonna give up now!"

"N-n-no, but.." Bubbles squeaked, shaking in fear, "how can I hit him, when he looks like Blossom?"

"Look into his eyes, Bubbles, and you'll know that it's not Blossom." Buttercup grasped Bubbles' collar tighter and shook her gently but firmly.

After a few moments she released her and turned her gaze towards Quasi Blossom. She glared fiercely at him, bringing her fists back.

"If anything this dumb trick makes me WANT to hit him more," She snarled, causing Bubbles and Quasi Blossom to utter a small gasp in surprise, "He's just mocking us Bubbles, mocking Blossom. I'm not going to let him get away with mocking the Powerpuffs."

She leapt at Quasi Blossom and landed several punches to his face. Quasi Blossom jumped at Buttercup but was easily dodged, giving Buttercup the chance to grab a handful of Quasi Blossom's hair and yank him back. Buttercup smashed Quasi Blossom into the street several times by his long orange hair before swinging him around and finally letting him go across the street and into a parked car.

Buttercup then turned to Bubbles, calling out to her again.

"Come on Bubbles!" she shouted, "Get him! Now!"

Bubbles hesitated for a moment, but then remembered what Buttercup said. She looked towards Quasi Blossom as he slowly stood up and stepped over the wreckage. Bubbles looked deep into his eyes, and saw the evil red gleam that told her instantly that it couldn't be Blossom. She closed her eyes and began telling herself the same thing again and again in a soft whisper.

"It's not real, it's just fake.. it's not real, it's just fake.." Bubbles repeated quietly a few times before opening her eyes again and glaring at Quasi Blossom.

She ran towards him and pounded her fist into his face, so hard and so fast that it knocked some of Quasi Blossom's teeth out. Bubbles hit him again and again, screaming in rage and attacking with uncontrollable power.

Buttercup soon joined Bubbles in the onslaught, pounding him harder and harder as their power and fury increased.

"Don't you see Quasi?" Buttercup said in between punches, "We've conquered all your stupid shape shifting tricks. You can't trick us anymore."

In one final blow from Bubbles, Quasi Blossom was knocked out of his disguise, and he immediately morphed back to normal.

He quickly took a few steps back, his battered body giving way to weakness and pain. He just stood there, coughing and gasping, waiting for the next attack.

Buttercup looked at Bubbles and signaled for her to go first, and Bubbles nodded and stepped forward.

Bubbles stretched her arms out in front of her to create her part of the Starburst ray, but what happened instead surprised and startled her. Instead of glowing blue, Bubbles' hands began to glow a bright golden yellow. Before she could stop it, the blast exploded towards Quasi, spreading all over the area in one blinding yellow flash. The blast lasted for only an instant, but it had hit Quasi directly in the eyes, blinding him for several minutes.

"What on earth was that?" Buttercup asked in surprise.

"I don't know! I've never done THAT before!" Bubbles explained.

"Well whatever it is, do it again!" Buttercup said as she began to power up, "Maybe I can do it too!"

Meanwhile, Brio was still in a deep state of shock, fallen to his knees and oblivious to the world around him. The rain had poured unforgivingly upon his silver-colored hair, washing away his hair tie and causing it to spread messily over his shoulders.

His glassy eyes watched the ground intently, but nothing in particular. His power being fueled by the life of the others around him, when in the presence of death itself he is weakened and stopped in his tracks when one of his teammates is hurt or killed. The mere feeling of death hung in the air around him, froze him in time and space, and rendered him completely helpless for a few moments.

Bubbles' blast snapped him back to reality, and he jerked his gaze quickly to where Quasi was still stumbling around in a daze, and noticed Bubbles and Buttercup gathering their energy for another attack.

They were each glowing even more brilliantly now, Bubbles' aura resembling the bright yellow light of the sun, while Buttercup's image was darkened by black shadows.

Brio gasped and his eyes widened.

W-wait.. Bubbles and Buttercup are still in touch with their inner powers.. Brio thought to himself ...But.. That's impossible without all of us being alive.. ...that means.. that..

He looked over to Blossom who was still lying motionless, save for her slowed breathing, on the wet street in a pool of her own blood.

Blossom.. She must still be alive!

Just as he thought that, he gasped and watched in horror as Blossom laid completely still for several long moments, but let out a sigh of relief as he watched her inhale again.

She may not be alive for long though.. ..but I can still help her.

He jumped to his feet and rushed towards Blossom, only freezing in mid-step as common sense took over.

But if I use this now, it will completely drain my power.. And the girls need me to help them destroy Quasi...

He looked back and forth between Blossom and the girls, debating the crucial decision.

If Quasi isn't stopped now, he'll just keep killing. I have to help them.

He began to head towards where Bubbles and Buttercup were, but something held him back for only a moment. He looked back to Blossom again, watching a trickle of blood start to pour from her mouthas her breathing turned to short gasps. He reached out to her in concern, but drew back in an instant, closed his eyes sadly and clenched his fists in rage.

Hang in there Blossom.. I'll help you as soon as I can..

Brio turned to where the fight was taking place, determination and fury in his eyes, and began running towards his sisters.

As he ran he began to glow white as he poweredup for the attack. The girls turned towards him and nodded, before looking back towards Quasi and glowing even brighter than before.

As the sheer force of the energies surrounding the three of them grew, the air began to rush around them in a whirlwind of power, even picking up some of the debris caused from the fight, rushing again and again with more speed and intensity into a swirling vortex of energy.

By now Quasi had long since regained his composure and was already steadying himself against the force of the three energies as they combined for an attack. Noticing this, Brio shouted to the girls over the howling winds, the thunder and the torrential rain.

"We can'twait untilwe've reached our full power!" He strained his voice to be heard over all the noise and chaos around them, "We have to attackwhile we still can!"

Quasiwalked slowly towards the three heros, each step a chore when facing against these powerful, turbulent winds. He brought his arms up to shield his eyes against the ever-growing radiance of these powers put together as one.

Once he's close enough... Brio's eyes narrowed as he watched Quasi's movements intently and gathered the white energy in his hands, with Bubbles and Buttercup following soon after ...just a little closer..

"NOW!"Brio shouted at the top of his lungs, as he stretched his hands out in front of him and fired an enormous blast of pure white energy simultaneously with Bubbles and Buttercup. Buttercup's dark blast made up the core of the attack, and it was soon surrounded by Bubbles' and Brio's attack. Bubbles' wave blended automatically with Brio's creating the powerful outer shell of the beam, moving at lightening speed towards Quasi.

Quasi's bright red eyes widened, for this blast was far too big to dodge. The beam slammed into Quasi's body, pushing him backwards down the street. He spread his arms out wide and grasped the wave, pushing forward with all his might while roaring in fury. He dug his feet deep into the pavement, trying to skid to a stop, but instead kicking up more concrete and debris without slowing a bit.

"PUSH! MORE POWER!" Brio cried in between shuddering gasps, "KEEP GOING!"

Buttercup growled and roared loudly, opening her eyes and revealing them to be nothing more than pools of black ink. She pushed more dark energy into her blast, as the images of Mr. Cole, the little girl, those people in the bank, all of the lives that were taken at the hands of Quasi.. each flashed through her mind in only an instant. She began to cry uncontrollably as she poured all her energy into this one single attack, moved only by the deep sadness that was living inside her.

Bubbles screamed in rage as she pushed more pulsing energy from deep inside into her blast. Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead and her entire body shook and shuddered from the incredible energy flowing from it. The image of Blossom's fallen, bloody, form flashed in Bubbles' mind, and she let her rage completely control her as she put her entire being into the power of that blast.

Blossom's eyes opened again in the darkness of her mind, but she found her body to still be frozen in time and space. She looked up above her, and saw a faint white light glowing far away in the darkness.

"W-What's that?" she thought.

Brio cried out in a mixture of pain and rage as he, too, pushed every fiber of his being into this one attack. As he did so, the blinding light grew even stronger, and he felt Quasi's resistance weakening.

Quasi skidded farther backwards, weakening with every second against this cataclysmic attack. He roared and brought his arms in front of him, determined to push back the wave.

"NO ONE CAN STOP ME!" Quasi bellowed.

Blossom watched helplessly as the light grew ever brighter, but still nothing else was visible within this black abyss.

"So this is the end I guess.." Blossom thought emotionlessly.

But then she began to hear faraway noises and some faint voices...

Brio closed his eyes and fell to one knee, not sure how much longer he could take this. His entire body trembled under the strength of his own blast, and he was close to releasing the beam out of exhaustion.

No.. I can't give up on Blossom.. He thought to himself before rising to his feet again and slowly pushing forward, soon followed by Bubbles and Buttercup.

Blossom felt the warmth of the light on her cold skin as it drew ever closer to her. She watched in a daze as the light shone down upon her, glittering and sparkling with inconceivable beauty. She felt her eyelids get heavy beneath the warm light, but was shaken from her daze again by more faraway noises and voices.

What happened next lasted only a few seconds, but it felt like everything was going in slow motion.

Quasi screeched in pain as he was driven back yet again. All of his energy had left him, and he dropped his arms to his sides in pure exhaustion. He hollered and cried out in a ghostly voice, screaming in pain as his body began to slowly break apart back into its original ingredients. Tearing, ripping, slashing, splitting... his screams could be heard from miles around, echoing throughout the streets of the city and hanging in the frigid air. His body was finally consumed by the deadly beam. He uttered a final scream to the heavens before his body was completely destroyed, leaving him to be nothing more than useless chemicals.

The bright beam immediately fizzled and disappeared as the heros fell to their knees in exhaustion. Their powers faded away and they returned to their normal state yet again.

Bubbles looked at her smoking hands in awe, and then looked in surprise at the cut on her arm which had split open, and was slowing oozing with blood.

Wow.. I completely forgot about this cut, I was concentrating so much on the attack.. Bubbles thought to herself in wonder.

Buttercup fell backwards and laid on her back, wincing in pain from the wound on her shoulder, but soon relaxing on the ground, breathing heavily but with a sigh of contentment. She even let a smile spread across her face as she stretched her arms out and put them under her head like a pillow. She stared up at the deep blue night sky, before gasping in surprise and excitement.

"Hey guys! It's not raining anymore!" She squealed enthusiastically, but the others were too tired to hear her.

As she smiled to herself over Quasi's defeat, she soon began to think of the sister that they lost, and still couldn't shake the guilt of losing her, even after destroying her killer. Buttercup looked to Blossom, feeling the tears building up behind her eyelids and quickly wiping them away. Sensing Buttercup's thoughts, Bubbles, too, looked over towards where Blossom was lying and sighed to herself. At the sight, Buttercup's ever-present grin of victory soon faded into a faraway, sorrowful expression.

"We haven't lost her,"Brio said simply, shaking the girls out of their thoughts. "There's still a way."

Brio walked briskly towards Blossom, followed closely by a curious Bubbles and Buttercup, and knelt over her and took her head in his hands.

"Hang on Blossom, we're here for you..." He torn off the rest of his already torn sleeve and carefully wrapped it around Blossom's open wound. "I don't have enough energy to completely restore you to life.. but I'll give you what I have, and we'll let God do the rest."

Brio looked towards the sky and said a silent prayer to himself before looking back towards Blossom. He then placed his hands firmly on her forehead and began to slowly breathe in and out, closing his eyes in meditation.

"Breath of Life.." Brio whispered, while beginning to glow with a very faint white aura. The small bit of white energy flowed from Brio's hands and into Blossom's body, giving her just that spark of life that she needed.

Buttercup and Bubbles held each other close and watched hopefully as Brio's aura finally faded into Blossom's body. His last ounce of energy leaving him, Brio wobbled a bit and fell unconscious next to Blossom, who was beginning to breathe more regularly again.

Without warning, the bright white light exploded across the black abyss, creeping slowly around her in an attempt to completely consume Blossom and detach her completely from reality. But she didn't welcome the light.. she shrunk back from it.

She heard a strong, echoing voice deep inside her mind, a voice that couldn't be determined if it were man or woman, child or adult.

"No.. It is not her time yet." As the voice spoke the light froze in time, controlled completely by this unknown power.

"Go back to earth Blossom, the world needs you." Just as the words were spoken, the blinding light shrunk back from where it came, and the black abyss returned to normal.

Blossom couldn't think about what had just happened, for her mind, body, and soul was exhausted. She simply closed her eyes in her dream and fell into a deep, thoughtless slumber.

Without a word, Bubbles lifted Brio in her arms and took off towards home. Buttercup walked over towards Blossom and carefully lifted her into her arms, took one last look towards the black and white puddle that remained where Quasi had once been standing, and then glanced back at Blossom's unconscious face with a little smile.

"We did it, sis, just like you said we could," she whispered before taking off after Bubbles into the clear, late night sky.

Thanks for reading and for those of you who just skimmed GO BACK AND READ IT! lol just playin', hope you liked it!