Allies and Rivals III


This fic happens after Allies and Rivals II: Commander and the Leader. But reading that fic and my other fics is not necessary for understanding or enjoying this fic. There are references to my other fics, notablyAllies and Rivalsand Allies and Rivals II. However, the only thing that needs to be understood in this was that a certain Dr William Edwards was the one who recreated the Rowdyruff Boys, not Him, after they were first destroyed by the girls by being kissed, and under his guidance, they were not evil anymore. And they were in alliance with the girls, called the Ruff Puff Alliance, with Blossom and Brick alternating as leader.


Summary:The Powerpuff Girls and Rowdyruff Boys race against time to prevent an evil from escaping to this world. Who are your true friends, allies, and enemies?


Disclaimer:I don't own the Powerpuff Girls or their characters. The Powerpuff Girls are owned by Craig McCracken and Cartoon Network. I only own my own characters, the most prominent of which is Dr Edwards.


Chapter X

Prisoners


A. How Did They Escape?

The City of Townsville…

The Powerpuff Girls had just been caught escaping by the boys, and were tied-up as a result. The boys vowed never to let the girls escape again.

It was July 19, six o'clock in the morning, at the Edwards' house. Dr. Edwards and Ms. Lawrence were still asleep, but the Rowdyruff Boys were already awake. They were in Brick's room to talk about something. They were still in their pajamas.

"Look Brick, it's six in the morning," Butch yawned. "Couldn't we at least get some more hours of sleep?""

"Yeah! After yesterday, I'm still bushed!" Boomer added.

"I know. But we have to finish this before Dad wakes up," said Brick.

"Let me guess, the girls?" asked Boomer.

"Pretty much. Our main problem is, we have no idea how'd they escape, so, short of tying them up constantly, we have no idea how to prevent it from happening again!" Brick said.

"Couldn't we just change the number combinations at the doors?" asked Butch.

"But we have to ask Dad about it, and he would ask why. And we couldn't tell him that the girls know the combinations, or he'll go ballistic!" said Brick.

"Besides, even if we change the combination, and they don't figure out the new one, well, they can still escape," said Boomer.

"I don't get it. Would you care to enlighten us, Boomer?" asked Brick.

"Well, I don't know, but you see, high up in the walls of the training room, you can remove part of the wall using a screw-driver. I think it's a panel the size of an illustration board. There, after removing it, you can see a lot of colored wires. Simply by hotwiring the right combination of wires, you can open the doors from the inside," said Boomer.

"Huh? What? Is this is so, how come I don't know anything about it?" asked Brick.

"I don't know. I though you know about it too," Boomer said.

"How'd you know about it?" asked Brick. "Did you look at the plans of the training room?"

"Heaven's no!" Boomer replied. "Dad, three years ago, told me about it, and how to hotwire it! He said that this is very important because we might accidentally lock ourselves in the training room!"

"Why the hell didn't you tell us?" asked Brick.

"Well, you, see, um, er, I forgot!" Boomer sheepishly replied.

"You forgot!" Butch shouted. "The girls nearly escaped, and it may be because they know about it, and all you can say is I forgot?"

"Easy there, Butch. The girls weren't able to escape, right? If they did, then you can yell all you want at Boomer," said Brick. "But it is pointless to argue since they did not. Besides, we're not sure how they'd really escape."

"Well, we know that there are only two ways that they could escape. First is that they know the code, then took advantage when Ms. Lawrence is entering or leaving the room to deliver the food. They would be too fast for Ms. Lawrence to see. However, one thing we don't know is if they know the combination to the keypad," said Brick.

"But only Dad, Ms. Lawrence, and we know the combination! And the door was locked, as far as we checked, when we left for the meeting, and Ms. Lawrence was with Dad when we checked it! And the door was opened from outside. So even if they know the combination, or Ms. Lawrence told them, that still doesn't explain how they used the combination on the keypad that wasn't inside! So the only positive explanation seems to have been that they know about the panel above, and hotwired it to open the doors," Boomer explained.

"Well, I agree, Boomer. Well, that does it! I though we can just use some other excuse to persuade Dad to change the combination, but, it would be useless since they can just hotwire it from a small panel near the ceiling," said Brick. "That meant that they must at all times wear the anti-gravity belt, and that meant either we watch them 24-7, or we keep them tied-up permanently. Since I don't propose for us to spend all our time babysitting them, you know the answer. Remember, above all, we must not let them escape, and we must never give Dad an excuse to order us to kill them."


B. Morning for the Shocked Girls

Meanwhile…

It was six-thirty in the morning when Blossom woke up. She felt it strange that she wasn't covered in blankets like she usually was when sleeping, so she tried pulling it over her. Except when she tried to use her arms, it was stuck together behind her.

'Huh? What the? Why are my hands—? Oh yes, I remember! We were caught, and they tied us up as a result,' she thought. She looked besides her, and saw that both sisters were sleeping soundly in their beds on either side of Blossom. They were covered with blankets up to their necks.

Buttercup was the first one to stir. Her eyes opened. Then, she started fidgeting. Then the realization dawned on her. She struggled for a few moments while lying down, trying to untie herself, but the ropes didn't budge. She then sat up and saw Blossom.

"Well, don't just sit there! Untie me!" Buttercup demanded.

"Well dummy, I'm tied up too, in case you're too blind to see that!" Blossom replied.

"How the heck did that happen?" asked Buttercup.

Before Blossom could answer, they heard Bubbles yawn. Like Blossom and Buttercup, it was a shock to realize the immobility of their upper limbs. She struggled and squirmed and finally gave up and simply sat on her bed. "Gee! Now I won't be able to fix my hair! Can you believe how messy it is?" she finally quipped. "What happened?"

"Well, for some reason, the boys were at the right place at the right time," said Blossom. "They managed to catch all of us by knocking you out and capturing me. Then they tied us up to make sure we don't escape."

Buttercup gritted her teeth. Jumping to the floor and walking towards Blossom, she growled. "It's all your fault Blossom. I told you we shouldn't have tried to escape! At least before, we're not tied-up! Now I can't even play the computer or change clothes or anything! All we can do is watch the stupid TV and cable! And it would be really difficult plopping some DVDs on the DVD player! Now we're on the same situation as before, only now we're worse off!"

"Oh please! How can I know the boys would show up at that place and time?" Blossom replied. "Ms. Lawrence assured us that they were having a meeting at the Mayor's office last night!"

"Oh never mind! What are we suppose to do now? How do we get these things off us? We can't even fly because of this belt!"

"Well, why don't we try pulling at each others knots?" Blossom suggested. "Problem is, Boomer's knots is really hard to unravel except by Boomer himself!"

"Well, the boys would have to feed us, right? So they have to at least untie us then so we can eat. After all, they don't want us to starve to death," Bubbles suggested, "do they?"

"Yeah, but they could easily spoon-feed us," said Blossom.

"But hey, they haven't gagged us yet, so maybe we can persuade them to at least untie us?" Bubbles suggested.

"Problem is, because of genius girl over here, they now think that we're trying to escape, and they won't untie us for that reason!" Buttercup answered.

"But we also need to go to the bathroom," said Bubbles. "And we can't do that tied-up."

"You're right. So maybe we can bargain with the boys," said Blossom.

"More like plead!" Buttercup muttered. "This really sucks!"

The girls then talked about lighter topics.


C. Breakfast

Later, at seven thirty…

The boys entered carrying a large tray of food with three plates.

"Well girls, here's your breakfast!" said Brick.

"Huh? I thought Ms. Lawrence's the one who brings us food?" asked Bubbles.

"Well, after your escape attempt last night, we had to be very careful," said Boomer.

"Well, aren't you gonna untie us so we can eat?" asked Blossom.

"Well, we'll see," said Brick. "Butch, would you attach those straps to the chairs?"

Butch nodded and proceeded to extract the said straps from a bag he was carrying with him. It not only had buckles, but a lock and key too. He then screwed the straps to the chairs.

"Now girls, go and sit on the chairs," instructed Brick.

"Huh? Why?" asked Bubbles.

"Obviously, you have to sit to eat," said Boomer as a matter-of-factly.

The girls did as told, and sat on the three hardetal chairs.

"Boomer, will you please?" Brick asked.

"With pleasure, my brother!" Boomer replied, and he proceeded to strap the girls to the chair. Their legs were strapped on either leg of the chair, except for Blossom. Blossom, who was wearing a knee-high skirt, had both her feet strapped together for modesty's sake and the strap was instead screwed on a horizontal rung under the chair. Bubbles, the hem of her dress only a few inches above the floor, had her feet simply strapped at each front leg of the chair. Plus, huge straps were wrapped around their waists to the back of the chairs, while wider straps were wrapped around their chest just below the armpits.

Each strap was buckled then locked into place using a key. After that, Boomer untied the rope around their wrists. He then pushed the chairs forward so they can easily reach their food with their now untied hands.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Aren't you hungry?" asked Butch.

"Gee! Thanks!" Blossom replied, her words dripping with sarcasm. "Don't you know being strapped to this chair like this even with our hands untied is more restricting than with our hands tied behind us and no more than that?"

"At least you can eat," said Butch.

The girls frowned, but they were hungry, so they quickly took their knives, spoons and forks, and ate. The boys silently watched them. After they finished, they gave a glass of hot milk to Bubbles, and two glasses of hot chocolate to Buttercup and Blossom.

"Thanks for the meal and the drinks, boys," said Bubbles in gratitude while she was wiped her mouth using a napkin.

"Brick, Butch, Boomer, can you not tie us up after this?" asked Blossom. "I promise we won't try to escape!"

"Yes, and if you actually do that, then pigs would fly and Princess Morebucks would become a humble, good, and thrifty girl," Butch replied.

"Yeah. We're enemies remember? Our job is to make sure you won't go anywhere, and it would be foolish for our part to just trust on your promises not to escape especially after last night," said Brick. "Sorry, but no can do!"

"But how can we go to the bathroom, or change clothes, or such, if we're always restrained?" Bubbles asked.

"Don't worry. We'll take care of it," said Brick. "Now listen. First, we'll untie only one of you, and we'll give her at least thirty minutes to take a bath, pee, change clothes, and fix herself, then we'd tie her up again. Then, another one of you will do the same, then finally the last one. Now, who will be the first one?"

"Um, I'll go first," Bubbles volunteered.

"Any objections?" asked Boomer to both her sisters.

"No," said Blossom.

"Good," said Brick. "Boomer, you know what to do."

Boomer, despite objections, retied Blossom and Buttercup's hands behind their backs, and unstrapped the all three girls from the chairs. Bubbles jumped out of the chair, and stretched her body, enjoying her newfound freedom. Blossom and Buttercup also stood from their chairs, even though their freedom of movement were severely restricted.

"Okay, Bubbles, you have thirty minutes to do whatever it is you need to do, and I suggest you use it wisely," said Brick.

"Okay!" said Bubbles, as she went to her drawer, took out a fresh set of clothes, a towel, a comb, some ribbons, and went to the bathroom.


D. Loyalty and Responsibility

"Why are you doing this to us?" asked Blossom. "After all we've been through?"

"Yeah! It's wrong! Specially restricting our freedom like this!" said Buttercup.

The boys stared at the girls.

"Because we have to," said Brick, "and right or wrong, that's all there is to it. Look, we're doing everything we can to not get you killed."

"How is tying us up and keeping us here going to not get us killed? Isn't what you're doing going to get us killed instead?" asked Blossom.

"Look, Dad wants you killed," Brick revealed, "because he knows that you're a threat to their plans. Now, when we captured you, we persuaded him that we could effectively keep you here as prisoners so that you wouldn't be a threat to him. If there is any possibility that you'll escape, oh, mark my words, he'll order you killed! We know that you'll try to escape no matter what, so we need to take away your ability to escape, so we tied you up and locked you up here."

"But why not let us escape and pretend that you can't find us?" asked Blossom. "It'll be much better for both of us! We'll have our freedom, while you won't have to keep us!"

"But you'll stop Dad, and we have a duty to our father," Boomer replied. "If there is any way we can be absolutely sure that you won't do anything to hinder Dad, then we'll free you immediately. But—no matter what you say, you're going to try and stop Dad, so we can do no other than to lock you up here."

"Couldn't you at least drop, for once, your loyalty to your father?" asked Buttercup. "Look, loyalty should be inferior to adherence to a certain set of values—your principles! If the Professor turned evil and ordered us to do evil things or to not stop evil, then we sure as heck won't just roll over and play dead like you did!"

"We're not like you!" Butch replied. "If we kept to our principles from the very beginning, then you'd be dead by now. Look, it was because of our loyalty to Dad that we didn't kill you after our very first fight after we were resurrected! And even after your second defeat? Do you think, if we're not loyal to Dad, that we would have spared you during that time? Remember, during the first clash, we hated your guts, and we would have laughed as we mutilated your bodies during your execution, and in the second fight, though we didn't hate you, we'd still kill you when you lost."

"Why didn't we do it? Because we were loyal to Dad! He didn't want you killed, so we obeyed him! Our very principles that day dictated your death, but because of our loyalty to Dad, we didn't! Of course, after that, we became your allies, and we slowly shed our dislike for you, and now, we don't want you dead! In fact, we will never want to kill you ever again! But can't you see? We're doing our best to keep you alive in the view of the situation! We're trying to keep you alive within the framework of our loyalty to our father."

"What he means is we're making sure that you wouldn't do something which would force Dad to order us to kill you," said Boomer. "Please understand the situation. The only way we can persuade Dad that you're not a threat is by making sure you can't do any damage to his plans, and locking you up here, and tying you up tight, is the only way to do it."

"Then at least tell us what convinced you that your father willingly chose to be evil!" Blossom asked. "Because frankly, I know your father as much as the next person, and I know that the idea of him becoming evil is bonkers."

Brick looked at Butch. Butch shook his head.

"No. I ain't telling you," said Brick. "Rest assured that the evidence pointing to his acceptance of evil is overwhelming. Not that I like him becoming evil, but those are the facts on the ground."

"Why don't you tell us?" asked Buttercup.

"It isn't necessary!" said Butch.

"Why not? We need to know ourselves!" said Blossom.

"You can take my word for it, girls!" said Brick. "Look, I assure you, everything we told you so far is the truth. The evidence definitely proves it to be so!"

"Then what is the evidence?" asked Buttercup.

"And you might interpret it wrongly! Whatever your evidence is, I'm sure can be interpreted as not becoming evil as oppose to becoming evil!" said Blossom. "Please, I need to know! I need absolute assurance that he really is evil, and that we have permanently lost you boys! Please, please!"

"Look, you won't understand! I'm pretty sure that it leaves no doubt of Dad becoming evil! You have to trust me on this!" said Butch.

"You might be mistaken," said Blossom.

"Are you calling me a liar?" asked Butch.

"No. I'm just saying that you might be honestly mistaken about it!" said Blossom.

"Look girls, if we're not absolutely sure that that is Dad, we wouldn't have done what we had just done," said Boomer. "I'm sorry, but there is no other way."

The boys defended their decision with passion, trying to present themselves in the best light as possible. And it came through their faces, their expressions and their gestures all indicating that they were quite sincere. They truly believed that what they were doing was right, and that they cannot do any other.

"Then we'll have to find out ourselves," said Blossom. "I don't know why you're hiding it, but it's obvious that you really believe that he really did become evil, and you're afraid to tell us about it. Until I see what evidence made you believe it, then I would not believe that that is the real Dr. Edwards. I know by now, after four years, that you bear no malice towards us, and we bear none to you. And whatever ill will I might have felt for you as a result of the last few days is gone because you are only doing what you believe to be your duty. I really respect you for sticking to your Dad. I still consider you friends, and I hope, that, you consider us friends too. The only thing is, it's just such a waste! All that effort! Gone! Why? Boys, you are closer to us girls than you'd ever imagine, and it's just such a shame that one little thing could drive a wedge between us!"

"Boys, I won't hold you against your actions," said Buttercup. "For four years, we have been close friends, even if you pretend and say we're not. We have worked together, have saved each other's butt, etcetera. And now this happens! We have our duty to our city, and you have your duty to your father. And perhaps, the only thing we can do is to prove to you that he isn't Dr. Edwards. After four years, how could you do this to us? After all we've been through! How about all our memories together!"

"Whatever memories we share," Boomer began, "we also share more precious and cherished memories with Dad. Oh from the day we were resurrected, to the time he put us to school! Oh you cannot know how much we owe our father. He has done so much for us in the fast four years, how can we repay him except by being good loyal sons? We are where we are today because of him. We are better boys because of him. We owe everything for him. At this hour of need, we cannot betray him no matter what. Evil or no evil, he is still our father. Between you and me, I'm sorry, but no matter how close we are to you, we've got to choose him."

Suddenly tears began streaming forth from Blossom's eyes, and she cried. "I can't believe this! Townsville is in danger and all you can think of is your loyalty! But that's not the point, is it? Because that person is not Dr. Edwards!" she said, then she sobbed uncontrollably. She unintentionally buried herself in Brick's shoulder, her tears wetting his shirt.

Brick was surprised. He had almost never seen her cry. "Look at you! Dry your tears! We are your enemies, and you must never show weakness towards us because of that! Look, I want you to get through this, and I don't want you to babble like a baby!"

"Oh shut up, Brick!" Blossom replied, standing up. "You may not know it, but all of it hurts! It hurts! It really hurts!"

"But we haven't harmed any of you! You're perfectly safe!" Butch replied, puzzled.

"Not physically, dummy!" Buttercup replied. "Emotionally! And I'm quite hurt too by all of this! I'm not just the type to cry over this."

"Now stop that," said Brick. "I hate seeing all of you cry! It isn't becoming of a Powerpuff Girls!"

"As if you know anything of what is becoming of a Powerpuff Girl!" Buttercup sneered. "What? Are you telling me all this time that you're a Powerpuff Girl all this time?"

"Oh shut up, Buttercup!" said Brick. "What I meant was that I don't like seeing you or anyone else cry!"

Blossom then stopped crying. "You know, boys, do you still hate us?"

"No we don't. We haven't hated you in four years," said Brick. "And we consider you close allies, if not friends. All three of us, you must know, personally don't like what we're doing now, but we must do it as it is our job! I'm very sorry but family trumps friendship!"

Since Blossom's hands were still tightly tied behind her back, Brick got a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the tears away. Blossom looked at his face. His expression was cold, neutral, as if he wasn't feeling anything. He clearly wanted to give the impression that despite his words, he was cold, uncaring, and ruthless, to the girls.

But she saw his eyes, and though nobody else noticed it, she saw that he actually was internally conflicted by all this. His eyes showed a mixture of determination, guilt, and uncertainty, though the rest of his face and his actions indicated no such thing.

Butch's emotions were incomprehensible, even to her, so she guessed it was similar to Brick. Boomer's face is a combination of sadness and resignation. He clearly didn't like what was happening here.


E. Bubbles and Boomer

At that point, Bubbles left the bathroom. She had taken a shower, and put her blond hair in a ponytail. She wore a long, full blue casual day dress, with sleeves reaching to her elbows, and the hem reaching to her ankles. She was barefoot, but that was resolved when she took a pair of shocks from the drawer, wore it, took her pair of shoes from under the bed and wore it too.

"I'm finished!" Bubbles cheerfully announced, totally oblivious to the events of the past half-hour.

"Well, come here," said Brick. "Okay, who's next?"

"Me," said Blossom. "I'll be next!"

"Okay! Boomer, tie Bubbles' hands then untie Blossom's," ordered Brick.

Boomer nodded, and took a length of hardetal rope and went to Bubbles.

"Aw, please don't! I promise I won't try to escape!" Bubbles asked, making a very cute face to try to sway them.

Suddenly, for some unknown reason, Boomer became very nervous and his face became red. "Um, er, well you see, what I meant was, um guys, a little help over here?"

Brick sighed. "Butch, would you help your brother?"

Butch went to Bubbles and Boomer. "Sorry, but like your captivity, this is not negotiable," Butch said as he pulled Bubbles hands behind her. "Boomer, stop babbling and do you job!"

Boomer recovered from his nervousness and tied Bubbles hands tightly. Bubbles just pouted.

Boomer then went and untied Blossom. Blossom took some clean clothes from her drawer, another bow, a huge hair brush, a towel, and went to the bathroom.

"Hey Boomer, could you switch on the TV for me?" asked Bubbles.

"Huh? Okay," said Boomer. Bubbles walked towards the couch opposite the TV and sat on it.

Boomer then did as requested.

"Um, could you change the channel?" she asked.

"Um, what channel?" asked Boomer.

"Cartoon Network," said Bubbles.

Boomer then took the remote and changed the channel.

"Um, it's a rerun, can you change it to Nickelodeon?" asked Bubbles.

Boomer did.

"Nevermind. Another rerun," said Bubbles. "Maybe Disney channel has something good."

"Well, okay, but make up your mind," said Boomer. He changed the channel.

"Oh it's that show! I hate it! Um, could you—"

"Why don't you change your channel yourself?" asked Boomer.

"Well, if you untied me, I would," said Bubbles.

"Okay, okay, I will," said Boomer. "Uh, what channel would you want to watch?"

"Well, I'm not sure. I know! Can you get me my Cable Guide?"

"Where is it?"

"Um, I forgot," Bubbles said.

"Well, let's look for it then! Just tell me if you saw it, and I'll get if for you," Boomer said.

"Um I forget where I put it," Bubbles replied sheepishly.

"Oh what the heck, I'll find it for you," said Boomer.

The other three, Brick, Butch and Buttercup looked at it and were stumped. Blossom was somewhat sad and dispirited, while Buttercup was angry, but Bubbles, despite all, was cheerful, and Boomer was just doing what Bubbles told him, except untie her of course.

"Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle! She's acting like this is some kind of game!" Butch remarked.

"Bubbles is always the most cheerful of us," said Buttercup. "But I'd never thought she'd be that happy given our situation."

"Well, at least one of you isn't completely miserable. You should be like her. It could get worse," said Brick.

"How could our situation get worst short of us getting killed?" asked Buttercup.

"For one, I could gag your big mouths," said Brick.

"Okay, fair point," said Buttercup sarcastically. "What'd you do after I finished getting dressed and you tied me up again?"

"Leave you here to yourselves till lunch," Brick replied.

"Couldn't you just untie us? It's not if we can escape your prison! Besides, there'd be no reason for us to escape! There's TV, food, and most of our stuff! And even if we wanted to, we can't, because the walls are impregnable, and we can't break it, and we don't know how to open that door! Honest!" Buttercup said.

"Like you didn't try to escape last night because of all that?" Butch replied.

"Honestly, we can't trust you anymore on the escape issue," said Brick. "We know you can escape if we just locked you up. Tying you up is the insurance we need to make sure you won't escape, and that's that!"

Boomer finally found the Cable Guide under the bed of Blossom.

"Okay. Here's your stupid Cable Guide," Boomer said after ten minutes of searching.

"Okay, can you turn the pages for the schedule of July 19?"

"What? You want me to flip the pages for you? What I am, your slave?" Boomer replied.

"Well, I can't flip the pages if my hands are tied behind me," replied Bubbles. "Of course, you can always untie my hands."

"Oh never mind," said Boomer. "Brick will kill me if I did that. I'll do it." He then flipped the pages to Bubbles, who then scanned the shows.

"Oh, there's nothing good here," said Bubbles. Bubbles then went to the pile of DVDs near the TV. "Um, could you put all the DVDs on the floor?"

Boomer growled, but didn't say anything. Bubbles resisted the urge to giggle. He laid all 200 DVDs on the floor for Bubbles to examine.

"Well, put it back on the shelf. I think I'll read a comic instead," she said after scanning it and deciding not to watch TV at all.

"Make up your damn mind!" Boomer said as he picked up the DVDs. 'Damn it, for some reason, I can't just say no to all her stupid requests!'

"Okay, where's your comic books?" asked Boomer.

"Oh in that bookshelf over there," Bubbles said as she walked besides it. "It's near the top shelf. I'd fly and take it myself, but I can't because I'm wearing a gravity belt and I'm tied-up. Can you get the comics for me, pretty please?"

Boomer sighed. "Yes Bubbles," he said as he went and took a pile of comic books from the shelf. "Which one do you want to read?"

"Um, that one," said Bubbles. "Now return the other comic books on the shelf, in the correct order."

Boomer then arranged the comic books.

"No! That issue should go before that issue! No Boomer, issue 7 should not go before issue 3. No, that series should be besides series 8 and the other adventures," said Bubbles, instructing Boomer. Boomer simply did as told.

"Happy?" he asked.

"Please return the comic books to its proper shelf," said Bubbles.

Boomer did as told.

"Um, I think I'll read another comic book. I think Issue no. 12 is much more interesting, don't you think?" Bubbles replied.

"Why don't you get you own—oh never mind! You can't," said Boomer dryly as he went and took the pile of comic books.

"I want that one," said Bubbles.

"Are you sure? Are you really absolutely sure you want to read this and not another comic book?" asked Boomer.

"Yeah," said Bubbles.

The blue ruff gave her what she wanted.

"Um Boomer? I think I want another hot milk," Bubbles mused.

"But you just drank a cup of hot milk right after you ate your breakfast!" Boomer replied.

"But I want another. Would you make me one? Please? Oh please! Please! Please! Boomer! You know Boomer, you're really—" Bubbles said trying to make a puppy dog face and scooted closer to him.

"Okay, okay, just stop doing that!" said Boomer. Boomer then went out to the kitchen, and made a cup of hot milk. He then returned. "Here!"

He then put the cup over to her mouth so she can drink.

"Um, I think it needs more sugar!"

"What?"

"It's tastes awful!" said Bubbles. "But I know you wouldn't let me drink such milk, would you?"

"Oh never mind," Boomer said and took the cup and went to the kitchen and added sugar and went back.

"Oh, thank you Boomer. You're too kind!" said Bubbles.

"Here," said Boomer and put it near Bubbles mouth. She drank it, and Boomer put the cup back in the kitchen before returning.

"Um, can you get a napkin and wipe my mouth?" asked Bubbles.

Boomer looked at Brick, with a look of 'Get me out of this mess!' on his face, but Brick just looked at him, amused at his inability to simply say no to Bubbles, even when Bubbles was Boomer's prisoner, and she was quite literally tied-up at the moment.

Boomer took a nearby napkin and carefully wiped her mouth.

"Eh, my nose is itchy. Could you scratch it? And please be gentle," Bubbles asked.

Boomer gritted his teeth, but for some reason, he just can't protest and say, 'can't you do it yourself?' Well, because she really couldn't. He scratched her nose.

"Anything else," asked Boomer, nearly mad.

"Can you turn the pages of my comic book?" asked Bubbles.

"I wish we didn't have to tie you up if I knew this would happen," Boomer quipped as he did and he turned to page one.

"Okay, go to page three. Page five please. Can you go back to page one, I think I forgot something she said. Go back to page five. Page seven please. Ha, ha, isn't it funny. So that's why it happened. Can you go back to page three. Oh, this story is interesting. Page nine please. Page eleven please. Aw, look at that! Page thirteen please…" Bubbles said as she read her comic book.

"Watching them, I'm beginning to think that Boomer's the prisoner of Bubbles, not the other way around," said Butch, snickering.

"Yeah! She's so innocent! Even after all those experiences," said Brick. "You're lucky to have her for a sister, Buttercup."

"Yes. And you're not too bad a captor yourself! Others would just treat us as miserably as they could," said Buttercup.

"Well, even though we're enemies now, we just can't forget the past four years, now can we?" said Brick. "Any other prisoner, and we would have treated them like shit. Just ask Hoefel."


F. Buttercup's Turn

At that point, Blossom left the bathroom and entered the training room proper. She was already fully dressed. She wore a pink T-shirt, and a full skirt up to her knees. Her long hair was steadied by a big red bow at the back of her head. She was barefoot, but like Bubbles, she quickly put on socks and shoes.

"Boomer, will you come here for a while," Brick barked.

"Sorry Bubbles, duty calls!" Boomer suddenly said as he rushed to Brick.

"Okay, Blossom is finished. Go and tie her up and untie Buttercup," Brick ordered.

Blossom did as told. He encountered no resistance from Blossom as he tied her hands behind her, and untied Buttercup. Buttercup quickly took her towel and clothes, and went to the bathroom.

"Boomer, can you come here! I can't turn the pages on the comic," Bubbles shouted.

"Do I have to?" asked Boomer to Brick, but nonetheless went to Bubbles and began turning the pages.

"What's going on?" asked a puzzled Blossom.

"Oh nothing. Just Bubbles wrapping Boomer around her finger," said Brick. "Short of acting disloyal to Dad and to us, he'll do anything Bubbles told him to, even if he doesn't want to, and what's worse, Bubbles knows it!"

"Unless of course you ordered him to cease," said Butch.

"That's why I'm not ordering him too! It's just too much fun to see Boomer squirm like that!" said Brick.

"Oh you're really evil, Brick!" Butch commented.

"Bubbles is just treating this as if nothing happened in the past few days," said Blossom. "Maybe she just wants to lift our spirits!"

"Still depressed, eh Blossom?" Brick asked.

"And do you suppose that I should be happy?" Blossom replied.

"Well, Bubbles is," said Brick. "Or at least pretends to be happy."

"Yeah, I know," said Bubbles. "Brick, what we'll happen to this city?"

"I don't know," said Brick. "I really don't know."

Twenty minutes later, Buttercup finished. She wore jeans and a dark green T-shirt. She wore her shoes and socks soon after. Boomer then tied Buttercup. The boys then left the training room. It was nine o'clock.

Blossom was pacing back and forth on the floor, obviously thinking, Bubbles was reading her comic books, this time turning the pages herself by turning her back to the comic book and using her fingers to turn the page, then turning back again to read the page. Buttercup wanted to play the computer but obvious can't, so she decided to talk.

"What are you thinking about?" asked Buttercup.

"How to escape," said Blossom. "Obviously, the boys had though of everything. We can't simply hide in the room between the doors, because they'll see us. Even if I could slip unnoticed, I wouldn't have reached the keypad since I'd have to fly to do that. Assuming I can reach it, I won't even be able to properly press the buttons."

"Another escape attempt, Blossom?" Buttercup curiously asked.

"Yes. But first, we gotta get this ropes off us," Blossom said. "The boys obviously won't untie us, so we have to do this ourselves."

"Hate to break it to you, Blossom, but that ain't gonna happen. It's very tight, and Boomer's a demon on knots," said Buttercup. "Now if Butch had done it, all it would take is a few tugs, and it would unravel. But Boomer, no."

"I know," said Blossom. "Guess it's hopeless then."

"Yeah, I know," Buttercup said.

"Sorry Buttercup. Guess you were right. It would have been better if we just observed them. At least we're not tied-up before."

"I know, but you did have a point in escaping," Buttercup replied.

"Well, we'll have to wait for something to turn up," said Blossom. "There's still hope. But it's not in our hands. We'll have to wait."

"We'll just have to act like Bubbles," said Buttercup. "Hey Bubbles, why are you acting like we're just playing and not actual prisoners?"

"Oh nothing really. It's just fun to have Boomer do everything for me since I can't do it because they've tied me up!" said Bubbles. "Yes, I know, it's hopeless, we're prisoners and we should be glum. But I figured, being depressed and sad and angry would only hurt us. And being happy and forgiving would not hamper our ability to fight the boys if the opportunity arose. And seeing the brighter side of life would only help us, right?"

"Right," said Blossom. "Now, if only I can get Brick to do for me what Boomer did for you."


Meanwhile…

"You know Brick, I feel bad locking them up, and tying them up," said Boomer. "This is not a tie-up game, cowboys and Indians, or Cops and Robbers game. Or something. This is real! Sooner or later, their patience will run out, and they'll hate us for it."

"Yes I know," said Brick. "I perfectly know. But if you're in my shoes, would you do any different?"

"Sadly, no. Dad is still the final authority, no matter how we feel," said Boomer.

"If it's anybody but the girls whom we did this to, they'll surely hate us by now," said Butch. "I don't get it. We betrayed them, turned on them, beat them up, locked them up, then tied them up, but they still don't even dislike us? Why?"

"Maybe the girls know us far better than anyone else," said Brick, "unlike the others. I myself really don't know why they act like that."


G. Eminent Domain

Meanwhile…

"What do you think of my plan?" asked the Mayor.

"Frankly, it's idiotic," said Dr. Edwards after hearing what the Mayor had in mind. "Even with Kaczinsci's one thousand police, it's really not a good idea."

"And I suppose, that you have a better plan?" asked Ms. Bellum. "I suppose you have a suggestion on how to get the people out of there other than forcing them out using overwhelming force?"

"I've talked to John about the problem, and he came up with a solution," said William Edwards. "John, will you please?"

"First of all, we are not opposed to clearing out the central portion of our city. Our main concern is how. Now, what you're proposing, Mayor, Ms. Bellum, and Mr. Kaczinsci, is the bull in the china shop approach. Oh it would be messy, and it would draw unwanted attention. And the people would react violently, especially if we just take their property away from them. What I am suggesting is we use the Principle of Eminent Domain. It would still be the same. We force the people out. The difference is that we pay the people whom would be displaced a sum corresponding to the value of the property that he would have given up if he left the place."

"But why would we do that? Isn't it better just to force them out so we show them who's really boss?" asked Kaczinsci.

"No, it won't be. I assure you, it's better if we persuade them to leave their homes and businesses than if we force them to," said Dr. Edwards. "They might even cooperate with us if we give them gobs of cash for it."

"But do we have the money?" asked Jay Mayor.

"Yes we do," said Professor Utonium. "Aside from the more than considerable revenue this city had this fiscal year, with a one billion dollar surplus, this city had, in spite of the incessant monster attacks, had surpluses in its budget for the last ten years, which, today, gives us a reserve of twenty-two billion dollars. Enough, money, I might add, to buy out everyone in the central district and to pay the demolition team to destroy it."

"Besides, a number of the people living in that district own guns, and sure as hell, your loyal police force would take in significant casualties if you proceed with your plan," Dr. Edwards said.

"Couldn't we just use the Rowdyruff Boys to deal with that if that happened?" asked Ms. Bellum.

"Bah! Those Rowdyruffs are too soft! I don't trust them. Besides, they're busy right now," said Dr. Edwards.

"Busy doing what?" asked Kaczinsci.

"Guarding the Powerpuff Girls. They're our prisoners, you know," answered Dr. Edwards.

"Prisoners? Prisoners! Why didn't you have them killed?" shouted the Mayor.

"Because the Rowdyruffs are somehow attached to the Powerpuffs, and would only go so far on what they'll do to the girls. Right now, they're loyal to me, but, if I insist on the Puffs death, do you really think they'd stick around? Most likely, they'd defect, and you know what? We don't have a chance in hell if both the Rowdyruff Boys and the Powerpuff Girls went against us before we have completed our mission!" Dr. Edwards sharply replied.

"But if you don't kill the Powerpuffs, then they're still a threat to us," Mr. Kaczinsci argued.

"They're still alive, and the their prisoners on my training room, and they can't escape, so they're no threat at all. On the other hand, if we pull the boys to do some work outside, chances are, the Powerpuffs will escape," said Dr. Edwards. "Doing either is an act of monumental stupidity that will make Hitler's declaration of war against the United States an act of diplomatic brilliance. Right now, we have the best of both worlds. The boys are reasonably loyal, and the girls are neutralized. Tampering with it will only make it worse. We can deal with both of them simultaneously after we complete our mission. Till then, we should play our cards right."

"Okay. Then we'll do it your way. We compensate the people for the property we will take, and the Rowdyruffs remain on guard duty to ensure the Powerpuff Girls will not be trouble," said Ms. Bellum.

"Thank you," said Dr. Edwards.

So it was decided.


H. The Next Seven Days

The boys went back at one in the afternoon to serve the girls lunch, but unlike breakfast, they instead didn't bother to either untie them or strap them to the chairs. They just carefully spoon fed the girls. They then left and returned only at eight at night, where they repeated the routine they established during breakfast. They'd strap the girls up on the chair and untie their hands so they can eat on their own, then they'd give each of the girls thirty minutes to go to the bathroom and change and all that, then they'd tie them up again and tuck them in bed. The next morning, the same routine would happen.

That was the routine that the Rowdyruff Boys and Powerpuff Girls followed for the next seven days as nothing of note happened. The boys would always grant the girls whatever they requested, except for three things. First, they wouldn't go against their father or switch sides. Second, they wouldn't let them out of the training room. And third, because they're still afraid that the girls might attempt a successful escape, they wouldn't untie them. The girls, for their part, would try to nag the boys about those three things everyday, but they wouldn't try to antagonize them too much seeing as they were pretty much at the boys' mercy.

The Powerpuffs just tried to make the best out of an undoubtedly bad situation. Still, for some reason, relations didn't get any worse than it already is. The boys didn't like it either, but for some reason they didn't understand, felt some responsibility for the physical, emotional and mental well-being of the girls, within the constraints of the three non-negotiable conditions of course. The girls refused to feel sorry for themselves, and try to think of ways to escape, none of which was realistic however. They felt pity for the boys, and felt superior to them for the choices they have made. But they didn't mention it to the boys at all, since they knew it would only lead to something worse. After all, they haven't yet loss their tact in dealing with the Rowdyruffs.

As for the city, things went much more smoothly for the new masters of the city than they expected. The Mayor made a speech stating that they needed the central portion of the city. There were howling protests against it, but once the monetary compensations were mentioned, they were more amenable to it. Soon, most of the residents agreed to sell their property in the center of the city when the Mayor, at Professor Utonium's suggestion, agreed to give them some sort of land at the North Edge of Townsville in exchange. A tiny minority refused, and the police forcibly seized their property as a result, but even they were compensated.

However, once the citizens agreed with this scheme, it took far longer to implement it. Most of the property had to be listed, assessed of its value and worth, then paper work done to effect the transfer of money to the previous owners based on the value of the lost property. Plus, there was the time that the people would need to move most of their things to their new home, if they had one. So it went very very slowly.

The Mayor complained, but Professor Utonium said it's better than forcing people to leave and having violence. Of course, the police made sure that everyone took the offer.

Seven days later, the bureaucratic work was still not done. The offices at city hall was crowded with people filing for a surveyor to assess value of their property, were filled with people filing for the cash based on the receipt offered by the surveyors, filled with people complaining that the value of their property as determined by the surveyors were too low, and people filing for the purchase of new land in the North of Townsville for those displaced.

And it was maddeningly slow. But Professor Utonium and Dr. Edwards thought it was better than outright brute force. After all, Dr. Edwards reasoned to them, time is on their side, and once they got what they want, it wouldn't matter anyway.

Nevertheless, by July 26, about one fourth of all residents of the Central District have moved out.

On the training room, it much the same except that everyone noticed that the room was a mess. Plus the fact that most of the clothes of the girls were dirty and they badly needed to wash it. All of them knew that the girls can't clean it, while the boys are not willing to do it. So the only solution is…


I. The Letter

It's two p.m. on July 26…

"Ms. Lawrence, how long can you clean this training room?" asked Brick after they entered the room.

She scanned the entire room. The girls were on the couch, watching TV, while the boys were watching her. The room was huge, and very messy.

"About two hours or so," said Ms. Lawrence.

"Ms. Lawrence!" Bubbles shouted and glee, as she jumped out of the couch and run towards her. "How I miss seeing someone else other than the boys!"

"I miss you too, girls," said Ms. Lawrence.

Both Blossom and Buttercup also followed Bubbles.

"Nice to see you, Ms. Lawrence," Buttercup greeted.

"It's been a while," said Blossom.

"Now, go and sit on the couch. I'm going to clean this room. Gosh! It looks like a hurricane passed through here!" she exclaimed.

"Well, the boys are very sloppy," Blossom said as she emphasized the word, sloppy, "and the boys won't let us clean this room!"

"More like you can't," replied Butch.

"And we're running out of clean dresses," said Bubbles.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it," said Ms. Lawrence.

"Sorry we couldn't help you. We're a bit tied-up at the moment," said Bubbles.

"Don't worry, I understand," she said.

The boys just looked on silently.

So she went of cleaning the room. She did is effectively and efficiently. Pretty soon, it was spic and span, cleaner than a shiny pin.

"Well, thanks Ms. Lawrence," said Blossom.

"Yeah! And please be quick with the clothes!" Bubbles added.

"Wow! You really are a good!" Buttercup commented on her cleaning.

"Well, bye girls! See you later," she said as she and the boys, who all this time watched her silently, left the room. The boys also carried all the dirty laundry of the girls.

"Well, at least it's not as boring today as it was the past seven days," Blossom said as she walked to her bed. Before she can turn around and sit on it, she noticed there was a piece of white paper folded three ways on top of her bed. The words "To the Powerpuff Girls" were handwritten on it, and the name From Miss Tiffany Lawrence below it. "Hey girls, I think she gave us a letter! Come on here!" she shouted.

Both girls went to Blossom's bed.

"Look!" said Blossom.

"Um, so who'll open it?" asked Buttercup.

"I'll do it!" Bubbles volunteered. She then turned around, and felt the letter with her hands, then carefully using her fingers, unfolded it.

"So?" asked Bubbles.

"Well, you've got the back on top. Flip it!" Buttercup instructed.

Bubbles did so.

"So?"

"Okay. We can read it now," Buttercup instructed. "Turn around."

Bubbles did, and the three girls began reading her letter. It was handwritten with blue ink.

Dear Girls,

I am very sorry that your escape attempt failed. Dr. Edwards, myself, and the Rowdyruff Boys went to a meeting at City Hall that night, as I said to you. Well, things went well, until Dr. Edwards remembered that he forgot to bring his report. So he ordered the boys home to retrieve it. To make it worse, he happened to remember it at exactly nine, so the boys happened to be home at exactly the same time you attempted your escape. I'm very sorry. I guess luck wasn't on our side then.

Anyway, I'd like to say that I'm very, very sorry. But don't lose hope. I've contacted Miss Sandy Keane, and she knows all about what's happening. She and I have been planning your escape for the past few days. I can't tell you now what it is, as it isn't finalized. Rest assured that in the next few days, we will attempt to bust you out of there. All we require of you is to be ready at all times. Most probably at night, so don't change to your nightgowns or pajamas so when the time has come, time wouldn't be wasted.

I'm not sure when, but rest assured, your deliverance will be soon.

One more thing. I am very saddened to report this, but I must so you won't fall into his trap once you get out. Utonium has gone to the other side. Yes, he has an inverted V mark on his forehead, and is working closely with Dr. Edwards and the others in whatever diabolical plan they have for the city. And he doesn't care about you—at least judging by his statements of the past few days. However, rest assured that that is not the Professor at all, just like the Dr. Edwards we see today is not the real Dr. Edwards. Some kind of evil had taken over them, and had secured the mistaken allegiance of the Rowdyruff Boys. Hopefully, we can free them from whatever it is that possesses them.

Sincerely Yours,

(signed)
Tiffany Lawrence