Allies and Rivals III


My two stories, Allies and Rivals II and The Date, were, for some reason I don't know, deleted from this site. I decided to repost the stories.


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 XVII

Anonymous Gifts


A. Stalling the Decision

The City of Townsville…

"Well, don't go anywhere till we come back with your dinner," said Brick, before he and his brothers left the room.

The girls groaned at this. 'How the heck am I gonna get anywhere like this?' Blossom thought.

The girls looked at each other, and each of them decided not to try to get free because not only would it be useless and would only cause them to needlessly sweat, but if somehow they can get all those ropes, tape, and cuffs off them, then they would still be locked up in the room, and with the boys hardetal armor, they eventually would be subdued, and they would be tied even tighter. And they could forget about expelling the gags.

The girls then tried their best to wait till about seven or eight in the evening before they were untied to eat. It was a long wait, partly because they are immobile and silent, but mostly it was boring. Just sitting and lying down tied-up with nothing else to do. And without the ability to talk to one another, it was not the most exciting thing the girls experienced. They were very bored, and as a result, time seemed much slower for the girls.

For Bubbles, it was worse. The very thick clothes that she wore that protected her from the worst of the tickling made her hot and sweat, and made her even more uncomfortable. Even worse, being bound as she was, she could not do anything to alleviate her discomfort, as trying to hop around will only make her sweat more.

Buttercup did the next best thing. She hopped to the couch, sat on it, grabbed the TV remote control that was lying on the couch using her hands (she could still use her fingers to grab things, even if her bound hands could do little else), then, feeling for the buttons of the remote, switched on the TV.


Meanwhile…

"Brick, have you been out under the sun too long?" Butch demanded as they walked out the corridor of the lab towards the outside. "Look, I understand being nice to those sissies, but why would you have us being disloyal to Dad?"

"Yeah Brick! Isn't the point of tying them then locking them up is loyalty?" Boomer added.

"I didn't say I'll do it. I said I'll consider it. Now, what we want is the girls not torturing us in our dreams, right? So we give them the illusion of the possibility of us doing what they want us to do. With that hope, they won't go to our dreams, because it might jeopardize their plans for our cooperation!" reasoned Brick. "If we just say no, there would have been nothing to restrain them going all out at our dreams. What I propose to do tomorrow is to tell them that we have still not decided the proper course of action, yet, and we have to evaluate all the consequences of our decision. Then, by the time we'll have to decide whether or not to delay the digging, the adults would have found whatever it is they want to find, and we would free the girls."

"Oh. But do you think we should really free the girls after this is over?" asked Butch.

"What would you have me do? Keep them prisoners forever? No. That won't do," said Brick. "One way or another, Dad would get angry with us, so let's make sure that what would anger Dad would be the most advantageous for us, and one that would make the girls more loyal to us."

"Um Brick, what if, for example, the girls are telling the truth? I mean about all this stuff. It sounds incredible, but many of our other adventures make this one boringly ordinary," said Boomer.

"Well, they're lying," said Brick. "If they're telling the truth, then they'd have brought proof, but they didn't."

Butch looked at his brother. "Well, I'm not sure. Not having proof meant that it's something we can't be sure of. I'm beginning to think that, well, she might be lying, or she might be telling the truth. We can't know since there's no proof for or against it."

"Yes. But in this kind of situation, we have to find the motives of the girls in telling us this kind of tales. First, they are our prisoners, right? They have a deep desire to escape! They also have a sense of mission that they must stop the digging, even though it goes against what Dad is for. So what is the best way to convince us to join them?" asked Brick.

"To tell that Dad really isn't Dad!" said Boomer.

"Bingo! They're trying to undermine our loyalty to him!" said Brick. "Look, there is no proof that Dad isn't really Dad! Sure, he's evil! But Butch in his dream pretty much chose evil and became evil till he repudiated it as not worth it! Our proof that the girls are lying is the V-mark, and Butch's dream. The V mark on his head, and his becoming evil, is Dad's choice, and the fact that Butch and I had no mark is our choice. That is why we know that Dad is really Dad."

Boomer and Butch looked at their brother. "Are you sure?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I want to believe that that man isn't our real Dad, but sadly, everything, yes, everything tells me that it is so," said Brick. "Oh I wish that Dad would become what he was—before that accursed mark on his head appeared. Don't you feel it? Dad's so different! It's so not like him! But we know it's him, even if in our heart of hearts we wish not. You might not know this, but I don't feel the same way about Dad now than before. Don't get me wrong. I'm still loyal, and I would never desert him, but, I don't think of him as highly now as before. I don't know. Before, well, I idolized him! I adored him! He can do no wrong! He's the coolest. Well, now, not so anymore. It's like he's become a different person. I feel sorry for the girls, to see them hear their own Professor tell them that he wanted them killed. That's why they're in denial. They don't want to believe that that's the real Professor. But that doesn't mean we should be denial too."

"Yeah, me too," said Butch.

"I miss him. I wish he'd wish to be good again," said Boomer. "But I don't like holding the girls against their will."

Butch looked at him with curiosity. "We've been this through before. Heck, I don't remember how many times we tied them up before, and you seem to have no problem with that."

"That's because we're just playing before, and we're pretending. Now we're kidnapping them for real," said Boomer.

"And if we don't, then they'd kidnap Dad," said Brick. "Remember that."

"Oh yes," said Boomer. "That's a very stupid thing to do."


B. Making Bets

Later that night, at about eight, the boys went to give the girls dinner. As usual, they carried the girls to the chairs, then strapped them to it, then removed the ropes on their upper body and untied their hands, and removed their gags.

"Have you decided yet?" asked Blossom as soon as her gag was removed.

"Well, I'm still thinking about it. A decision like this shouldn't be made rashly, you know," said Brick.

"Will you please hurry? We don't know how long before those people get hold of the bottle!" Blossom urged.

"You are asking me to do something so contrary to my character and you ask to me to take it lightly? You ask me to betray my father on the theory that he might not be him?" Brick replied. "If you even want me to consider it, give me time to think it over."

"Well, sorry for rushing you," apologized Blossom. "But if you make the decision, please remember what we said before. The father whom you are now taking orders from is not really Dr. Edwards, but the Voice, and that if the Voice is released from the bottle, then it would be catastrophic."

"I'll think about it," said Brick, "but I may not necessarily believe you."

Her two sisters and his two brothers just listened to them, and after that, the girls ate while the boys watched the TV on the training room.

After they finished eating, the boys cleaned the table, retied Blossom and Buttercup's hands behind them then unstrapped all of them from the chairs, then released Bubbles so she can take her turn at the half-hour breaks. They hopped Blossom and Buttercup to their beds where they sat the girls.

"Boys, what can we do to prove to you that we're telling you the truth!" said Buttercup while they were waiting for Bubbles to finish. "We swear! We're not lying!"

Blossom and the boys were quite taken aback at her outburst.

"Buttercup!" Blossom scolded.

"Oh please! You're outdoing Hans Christian Andersen in Fairy Tales!" replied Brick. "Except your tales are boring and utterly laughable."

Blossom gritted her teeth. "Listen Brick, we're not lying! If we happened to be right, if we prove to you that we're not lying, then what would you give us."

"Huh?" Boomer said. "What do you mean?"

"A bet! Since you're so sure of being right, then why don't we make a bet? If it turns out that I am right, what will you do?" asked Blossom.

"Free you? What else? Besides, even if you're wrong, I'd still free you after they finish the digging," said Brick.

"No, it's too light. Let's say, if we are right, then we'd still be allies," said Blossom.

"I'd guess so," said Brick.

"I know what they want. They want an apology for how we treated them," said Butch.

"Well, I don't want an apology," said Blossom, "but it would be nice. Besides, we know you're not doing it for malice's sake. What I want is simple. If it turned out that what I'm saying is true, then we reform our alliance, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Then if that happened, I'd still be leader since I was leader when the whole thing began, right?"

"Yeah. So?"

"And in the normal course of events, if these crisis ends before the end of this month, you'd be the leader in the first of September, right?"

"And your point is? I know the arrangements that have been made four years ago. We alternate, right?"

"If I am proven right, then I'd be leader of the Ruff-Puff Alliance uninterrupted for one year," said Blossom.

"Okay, but what would you do if you can't prove you're right?" asked Brick. "After all, we can't make this a one-sided bet, you know."

"Well, you could be leader for a year," said Blossom.

"Irrelevant. If you can't prove we're wrong, then the alliance as it was won't be reformed since we're enemies," Brick replied.

"Well um, we waive our freedom. We won't require you or hold you to your promise to free us after the digging," Blossom suggested. "In other words, you can keep us here as long as you like, and you can keep us tied-up and gagged forever, and we won't complain."

"Please. We decided to free you after the digging because it costs too much money to feed you and wash your clothes and such, and it is really boring and cumbersome to attend to your every need like you're a baby because you can't do anything 'cause you're tied-up," said Brick. "By freeing you, you would provide for your own needs. It's not as if we care for you or something. The Rowdyruff Boys caring for such sissies as you three! Ha, that would be the day! I'm afraid, Blossom, you would have to think of a better offer if you want to deal."

"Oh," said Blossom.

"Well, we can give you everything we have," said Buttercup.

"We can easily take it even if you object. You're tied-up, right?" Butch replied.

"We won't tell your Dad how bad you acted," Buttercup offered.

"If I'm right, it would be irrelevant because it is Dad who ordered us to do bad things," said Brick.

"Well, we'll think of something," said Blossom.

Bubbles, at that time, chose to emerge from the bathroom wearing a nightgown. "Hi guys. What are you talking about?"

"Oh nothing," said Boomer as he tied-up Bubbles. He tied her exactly the same way he tied her since her second capture.

"Well, what is that nothing that you are talmmmppphhhh!" Bubbles asked but was cut off by Boomer putting a large wad of sock in her mouth.

Bubbles frowned and glared at him.

"Sorry Bubbles, I gotta job to do. Now please open your mouth even wider so I can put two more wads in?"

Bubbles sighed and further opened her mouth as Boomer put two more socks in, then secured it with three bandanas and duct tape, like the way she was gagged before. He then carried her to her bed, where he carefully tucked her in.

Brick at the same time untied Blossom, who then went to her drawer, got a towel and her nightgown, and went to shower.

"Guys! Believe us!" Buttercup blurted out. "Don't be pigheaded! If you don't let us go now, it might be too late! Too late! You hear? Too late! If they were able to free the Voice, and the world is destroyed as a result, it would be on your shoulders!"

"Whatever!" Butch replied.

"Why should we believe you? You never gave a reason why we should we believe you!" said Brick.

"If we did, would you stop their digging?" asked Buttercup.

"If it helps Dad," said Brick.

"But—"

"Buttercup, if you don't want to be gagged before you take your bathroom break, I suggest you shut your mouth," Brick warned before he joined his brothers watching TV in the couch. Buttercup slumped against the bed and waiter for her turn.

Twenty-five minutes later, Blossom emerged from the bathroom already in her nightgown.

"Okay Blossom you know what to do," said Brick.

Blossom was resigned to her fate, and she turned around and put her hands behind her. "Brick, I know what we can offer you if we can't prove it to you," said Blossom.

Brick, who had just cuffed her hands and is now wrapping rope around it, was curious. "Okay, cough it up!"

"You're going to release us after they found whatever it is they're digging, right?" Blossom started. "Dang it! It's too tight! Couldn't you loosen it up a bit?"

"Nope! Besides, it isn't any tighter than before, but of course, it's not looser either," said Brick as he completed tying her ankles and began wrapped rope around her waist and shoulders. "So?"

"Anyway, my offer is we won't try and kidnap your father like we did before," said Blossom. "I know you can guard him well enough, but you have our personal assurance that we won't even try."

Brick stopped from a moment and turned Blossom around so he faced her. "That's crazy! But okay, I can take it. So it's a deal. If you're right, and Dad's not really Dad, but is stuck in his own mind, then you could be leader for the next twelve months. If I am right and Dad really became evil, you won't try to kidnap him when we free you?"

"Yes. Deal!" said Blossom.

"Okay, let's shake on it," said Brick, and he extended his open hand.

"Um, I'm a bit tied-up here, so—"

"Oops, I forgot!" said Brick. He then completed tying her, adding more ropes, pulling all of it tight before he finally cinched it and knotted it all off.

Brick then took an oversized scarf and folded it into a large ball a little larger than the size of his clenched fist.

"A scarf? I thought you'd pack my mouth with socks?" asked Blossom.

"Well, since you're the leader of the Powerpuff Girls, then I thought you should have special treatment!" said Brick. "Now, be a good girl and open wide."

"Oh I'm so lucky," she sarcastically said but nevertheless opened her mouth as wide as she can to receive the wad. Brick with some difficulty was able to put all of it past her teeth, filling her mouth. He then took some wide bandanas, pushed its wide center past her teeth, and pulled it tight, then knotted it behind her head. He then instructed her to bite on the gag and then to close her lips together. He then wrapped duct tape around her head ten times while making sure her hair was untouched by the tape by a cloth padding, then wrapped to more bandanas over the shiny gray tape. He wrapped two bandanas over the tape. After gagging her, he carried her to her bed and tucked her in.

Brick then went to Buttercup. He untied her and she had her bathroom break, then after she emerged, Boomer tied her and gagged her and tucked her in bed.


C. Reminiscing the Past

Later that night in their dreams…

"I say let's go to their dream and show them who's boss!" Buttercup ranted.

"No we can't!" said Blossom. "If we do that, then they won't even consider delaying the digging!"

"Oh screw the digging! I'm going to get even!" Buttercup shouted.

Blossom suddenly pulled Buttercup towards her. "If you do that, and in the next morning, the boys would come mad looking for revenge, then I for one would deny that I and Bubbles have anything to do with it! And we would sit tight in our beds, laughing through our gags as the boys would even make worse torture on you! And I would suggest that they'd hogtie you permanently, so that you'd remain on the bed, and you can't hop over to the couch when you want to watch TV!"

"You wouldn't dare!" said Buttercup.

"You don't know how ruthless I can be," said Blossom. "I'm a leader for a reason, Buttercup, and it isn't being soft on insubordinate underlings, even if it has to be my sister!"

Buttercup glared at her, but did nothing. "Okay, you win! But it better have a good tradeoff."

Blossom suddenly smiled. "I knew you'd see it my way."

"So how do we convince them that we're telling the truth?" asked Bubbles.

"We can ask Walter to go to their dreams if he can," said Blossom.

"Oh please! Maybe Butch's is right and we have to kiss his feet or even lick it—yuck—in order to convince him to do it!" said Buttercup, shuddering at the memory of kissing the very very very old man.

"Maybe we can ask Dr. Edwards something?" Bubbles suggested. "Surely, he knows his sons well enough so that he can suggest something that would convince them that we're telling the truth?"

"That's a swell idea," said Blossom. "Come on, let's visit Dr. Edwards."

At that, the three girls disappeared into Dr. Edwards' dream.

They found him inside his house on the couch reading some of his books. "Hi girls! It's nice to see you here. I've been lonely the past twenty-four hours, since you woke up. You know, not having anyone else as company. Now I know what it's like to be really alone," he mused. "What brings you here? Walter won't be coming back for another two days, you know."

"Oh we just figured that you'd like some company now that you're all alone," said Bubbles.

"Oh thank you!" said Dr. Edwards. "But I still miss my three sons, and Ms. Lawrence too. What I wouldn't give to be with those three naughty ambitious tykes."

Buttercup smirked. "Well, as soon as you're back to normal, Doctor, could you do as a favor and punish your sons—"

"Shut-up, Buttercup," said Blossom, using her hand to cover her mouth. "What she meant was, that, you must tell them what is necessary so that they won't be fooled if another person takes over your body."

"That's a well thought of idea, Blossom," said Dr. Edwards.

"Well, could you do us a favor?" asked Bubbles.

"Hmm? What is it?" asked Dr. Edwards.

"Well you see, your boys won't believe a word we say," Bubbles began, "and they think that we're lying so we could escape. Could you find a way to convince them that we're telling truth?"

"I don't know. I'm stuck here, you see, so I have no idea how to reach my kids," said Dr. Edwards.

"No, no, Doctor. I know that," said Blossom. "What I meant was, you know, tell us something to tell the boys that would convince them that it really is you whom we talked to in your dreams."

"Well, how about a secret only you and the boys know? Then we could tell it to the boys and they'll be convinced!" said Bubbles as a matter-of-factly.

"Well, here goes," said the doctor. "By the way, what are the favorite pranks the boys like to play on you girls?"

"Well they like to tie us up and gag us for absolutely no reason other than to make us mad and to prove how superior they are to us," said Blossom. "Then, they'd tickle us and do whatever things they want to do to us. Like their revenge this morning."

"They also like to scare us with disgusting things. I remember, once, Boomer put a dead rat on my lunch at school," said Bubbles. "They also put some bugs on my hair once, and I panicked."

"They also like to ruin our hair," said Buttercup. "I can't count the times they pulled off Blossom's bow, or the things holding Bubbles' ponytail, in the middle of class."

"Then they'd get us into trouble with the teacher and the Professor. Most of the time, they'd do it so well that nobody but us would detect their hand in it," said Blossom.

"But most of the time, we gave as good as they throw at us! Ha, we always get our revenge on them!" said Buttercup. "They always pay."

"But why do you want to know?" asked Blossom.

"Oh I just missed my boys so much that I want to know as much about them as I could. Anyway, as for a secret, well, let me see. Okay, here it is. Remember your tenth birthday?"

"Oh I remember that! Oh we remember the presents of the boys. Brick gave me a broom," said Blossom. "Boomer gave Bubbles floor wax, and Butch gave Buttercup a mop. Boy, did we get mad at them!"

"Yeah! Why don't those boys ever give us decent presents? Every Christmas and during our birthdays, they gave us things like dusters, a pencil, a empty can of soda, a pen with no ink, dresses made of transparent plastic, glue that can't stick anything!" said Bubbles. "They're nice, but why can't they be as nice as the other kids?"

"Okay, remember every time, each of you had presents with 'anonymous' written on it," asked Dr. Edwards.

"Yeah. We have lots of admirers," said Blossom. "On our birthdays and Christmas, each one of us receives one anonymous gift. It seemed that whoever it is that sent the gifts knows what we really like, since we loved every gift that we received. On our last birthday, Bubbles received a ball gown, I received a new doll for my collection, while Buttercup received some expensive rubber shoes!"

"Well, the secret is, that the boys were the ones who regularly sent those presents," said Dr. Edwards. "Only me and the boys know, and I'm sure they haven't told anyone else."

"What? They were the ones who sent those presents? But why? And why did they keep it a secret?" asked Bubbles. "And why did they keep sending those awful gifts?"

"Hey, did you force them to give those gifts?" asked Buttercup.

"Well, okay, first, no, I did not. It was their idea. They said they appreciate your help and cooperation in the Ruff-Puff Alliance, and those presents are a way of thanking you. As for keeping it a secret, you know my sons well enough that they are too proud to say they are the ones who gave it to you. Besides, they don't like you to think of them, as Butch said, as 'soft, hearted weak emotional girlie sissies! We're not, but if they know that we sent it, then they might think we're like them! We're not! We don't like them at all,' to me. You know the boys. They will never admit liking you, or caring for you, or thinking about you, or saying you're no more than allies of convenience. Brick also said that 'Blossom, if she knows this, will take advantage of it so that she can gain an advantage in our contest for leadership.' It's simply not them. You have to read between the lines and such, and look at what they really do, to see their real attitudes. They don't have problems showing their emotions to me or to each other, so I don't know why they like you to think of them as cold-hearted bastards who only thinks about themselves."

"As for the other presents, well, they are intended to tease you, to insult you, to get on your nerves, to play a prank on you, you know, the usual stuff. Besides, sending those stuff will make sure that you will never even think my kids sent those anonymous gifts. And that would cement their reputation as well, not nice to you, and tough and ruthless," said Dr. Edwards.

"Oh! Why those bastards!" said Buttercup.

"Well, thanks for the information," said Bubbles. "We'll be sure to thank them for that."

"Well, what else can I do for you three girls? I am in debt to you, you know, and I can't thank you enough for what you've done for me," said the Doctor.

"Don't thank us yet. We're not out of the woods yet," said Blossom.

"Yeah. We still need to persuade the boys to believe us and we still need to prevent the Voice from leaving," said Bubbles. "But I'm sure we can manage that."

"Oh yeah. I can't wait to get back to my body," said the Doctor. "You're going to the Professor next, right?"

"No. We figured, once we defeated the Voice, the Professor and all the others would be automatically freed," said Blossom. "Once he's gone, then they'll be free."

The conversation drifted to other topics, as the girls kept the Doctor company until it was morning and they had to wake up.


D. Telling the Boys

The next day, August 18…

The girls, were as usual, already awake when the boys entered with their breakfast. They put the food on the table before they carried the girls to the chairs and strapped them to it. After that, they untied their hands and ungagged them so the girls can eat.

The boys were a bit unnerved when they saw the look the girls gave them while they were carrying them. It was as if they were very happy and grateful.

"Oh boys, thank you," said Bubbles as she suddenly hugged Boomer as soon as her gag was removed and her hands untied, as was possible with the rest of her body strapped to the chairs. Boomer suddenly blushed, and his hair stood on end.

"Bubbles, you're choking me! Let go!" he said, as he tried to pry the blue puff away from him, but he largely failed.

"You should have told us before," said Blossom, as she suddenly hugged Brick too while giggling like mad.

Brick was shocked and pulled himself off her.

"Confound it Girl, have you gone bonkers? Wait, you already are bonkers, every since you called that face of yours beautiful. That's when I knew you you've clearly lost your marbles," said Brick.

Buttercup just smiled sweetly at Butch, which was an improvement as she usually smirked, grinned evilly, or frowned at the green ruff, and he returned the compliment. "You know, you're a bastard, but you're not that bad of a bastard."

Butch looked at her confused and befuddled. "What has gotten into you?"

Boomer was finally able to pry himself out of Bubbles' firm grip. He was flushed, as he blushed profusely. "Aw, Boomer, you're so cute when you're blushing."

Boomer shuddered, as he practically crawled towards Brick and hid behind him like a cowed dog.

Brick looked at him with a mixture of pity and contempt. "You are such a lowlife," he said. He turned his attention to the girls.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You are acting way too nice to us!" said Brick.

"Yeah!" said Butch. "What the heck has gotten into you?"

"Well, we want to thank you," Buttercup, of all people, said.

"Oh boy. This has gone really screwy! Buttercup, thanking us? That's news!" said Butch.

"What the hell for? Look, we have kept you continually bound and gagged for the past few days. We have deprived you of your freedom, and we mocked your tales and your attempts to convince us that you're telling us the truth," said Brick, still perplexed.

"Well, we know," said Bubbles, giggling.

"You know what?" asked Butch. "Don't talk in circles."

"Well, we know that—"

"Wait. Before you tell us, eat your breakfast first then have your half-hour break. Then tell us whatever it is that made you so googly eyes to us, right before you're gagged," said Brick.

"But I want to know now!" said Boomer.

"Well I am the leader, and I say they tell us later!" said Brick.

"Well, okay," the girls happily said as they began eating. The boys watched them with befuddlement and wonder.

The boys then untied Bubbles and Bubbles went to have her shower and her change of clothes in the bathroom, while they retied Buttercup and Blossom's hands behind them before they unstrapped them from their chairs.

"Let me guess. You already have your proof that you're right? That's why you're so happy and act so weird," said Brick.

"Yup! And you'll soon find out as soon as you want us to," said Blossom.

"Well, I'll be hearing of it soon," said Brick. "Make sure that your proof doesn't have holes on it. Because if it has, then I'll rip it apart."

"Don't worry. As soon as we tell you about it, then you have got to believe us," said Blossom.

"By the way, have you decided whether or not you will stop, or at least delay the digging?" asked Buttercup.

"Huh? Oh, well, I haven't decided yet. I still need time to evaluate all options," said Brick.

"Well think fast. At that rate, by the time you've come to a decision, they'd have finished digging, and it would be too late," said Blossom. "By the way, how was the progress of the digging?"

"Very slow. They were still demolishing bit by bit the subway system under the city," said Brick.

"Well, that gives us lots of time then," said Blossom.

Twenty minutes later, Bubbles emerged. She was wearing a plaid long-sleeved ankle-length dress, with two underskirts underneath it, and with thick white tights covering her legs and feet. She was wearing black shiny shoes, the only part of her lower limbs visible under the dress. It had the effect of making her look like a princess.

Boomer was sufficiently recovered to come and properly bind Bubbles' hand behind her and tie the rest of her body, from her ankles to her shoulders, tightly together. Though he didn't gag her yet on instructions from Brick.

"Can I tell you now?" asked Bubbles eagerly.

"No, we have to wait till your two sisters are ready," said Boomer as he watched Brick untie Blossom so she can go have her turn freshening up. So it was only about an hour later when both Buttercup and Blossom were finished, and they're tied-up and not gagged like Bubbles, did Brick decided to let the girls tell what they know. Blossom wore pink shorts that stopped above her knees, a dark pink short-sleeved T-shirt, white socks and brown shoes. Buttercup, as usual, wore blue jeans and a dark green t-shirt.

"Okay, now we're finished, so can we now tell you what we know? You'll believe us once you hear this," said Buttercup.

"Well, we're listening," said Butch.

"Well, a while ago, you were wondering why we thanked you and why we acted nice to you," Blossom began. "Well we know. We know you sent those anonymous presents that we loved, along with those no-so-anonymous presents that we hated."

The boys were dumbfounded, shocked, and surprised. "H-h-h-h-how did you know it was us?" Boomer stuttered. "Only Dad and us know, and we never told anybody else."

"Well, um, your Dad told us last night in our dreams," said Blossom. "Well, do you believe us now? Because if we're lying, then how would Dr. Edwards have told us about it since it's only you and he that knows about it? Now there's your proof that we're telling the truth! Now I demand that you untie us and let us go right this minute!"

The boys were still shocked, and they looked at each other. "Um girls, we guys gotta talk among ourselves first before we do anything. You can wait for our answer at lunch."

"What? Why wait?"

"To see if you're lying or not," said Butch.

"Ha! Take your time. But the evidence points out that we're telling the truth!" said Blossom triumphantly.

"Butch, will you gag them please," said Brick when he recovered his composure. "We'll talk about this when we leave them here!"

Buttercup protested. "What, you do that to mmmpphhhh!" she protested as Butch gagged her and her sisters anyway the same way as before.

"Well, girls, sorry for the interruption, but we promise, we'll tell you what we think at lunch!" said Boomer.

The Powerpuff Girls were mad that the boys chose to delay their release. What's to wait? After all their evidence was full proof.

"Before we leave," said Brick, "we just want to say that you shouldn't thank us or think too much about it. The only reason we gave those presents is not because of some emotional gibberish. No, we don't feel anything about you but dislike! We just did it because Dad ordered us to do it, and because we were threatened punishment if we did not!"

The girls groaned at this.

"Well, see you in a few hours," Boomer said, waving his hand in a goofy sort of way, before they left the girls.

The girls were very frustrated that they weren't at least untied that morning.


E. Brick's Reasoning

Outside…

"How the heck did they know?" said Brick. "Did any of you tell any of them or anybody else?"

"I swear to God I didn't tell to another soul!" said Butch.

"Neither did I. But Brick, what's the matter? They have to be telling the truth! Who else but Dad could have told them of that?" Boomer argued.

"Yes, yes. Obviously, the girls are telling the truth about Dad telling them about the gifts. But, the question is when did Dad tell them? If the girls, as they claimed, only found out last night, and since the only contact they could have with Dad is by his dreams, then Dad is really imprisoned in his own dream. However, if Dad told them earlier, let's say, before he became evil, then things would get even much simpler. Now, consider this theory."

"First, we can believe every word that those girls tells us. However, there is an alternative theory. We know that the girls are very close to Dad ever since we moved to Townsville, right? So it might be possible that Dad told them, contrary to his promises to us, just before he because evil and we captured the Powerpuff Girls the first time. Now, in this case, Dad, in order to make sure we don't find out that the girls know that we've been giving those anonymous gifts, convinces the girls to keep it a secret, so we don't know that they know. Now, they decided to tell us this information right now so to persuade us to believe them that they are telling the truth!"

Brick finished. "Now ask yourself this. Which, of the two, is more probable, is more realistic, makes more sense, and simple? That Dad is really possessed, and Dad was imprisoned in his own dream and gave the girls the information to convince us of their truthfulness, or that Dad told the girls some time before in the past when he was still friendly to the girls so that they won't think were heartless bastards, made them promise not to tell us, then now, when they really want to be free, to claim that Dad told them in their dreams? Which makes sense?"

Both boys said, "the second one."

"However, if they can provide proof that Dad did tell them in his dream last night, not before, then they are really telling the truth and we'll untie them," said Brick.


A few hours later, a twelve noon, the boys entered the training room and put the food on the table. The girls immediately looked at them and tried calling them through their gags. As if to oblige, the boys carried them to the chairs. Before they removed their gags, Brick decided to say something.

"Okay. Here's the deal. I say that Dad told you before he became evil the truth about the anonymous gifts, and you kept it a secret as a request from Dad to us. Now, you decided to tell us this so to convince us that you're not lying."

The girls vigorously shook their head to protest their innocence of Brick's accusation. They shouted at the idea. However, it was only a barely audible squeak that was able to escape past the multiple layers of gag.

"However, I'm not saying that you're liars. If you can really prove that you got that information from Dad's dream, then I'd believe you and I'll let you go right away. I want solid proof. That's all I ask. If you fail to give me convincing proof, then I'll believe my accusation that Dad told you long before, and I won't let you go until the digging is over."

The girls looked angrily at Brick, but then, they calmed down their angry glares after the boys made no move to remove their gags.

"Well, I guess you have already calmed down," said Brick, after he noticed that the girls' eyes were no longer giving looks of fury. "Boomer, will you remove their gags?"

Boomer simply nodded and carefully removed their gags.

"Brick, do you always require proof? Couldn't you just take our word for it?" Bubbles said as soon as she could talk.

"Yeah! Honest! We're not lying! We only found out about it last night! Please! Believe us!" Buttercup added.

"Yeah! We're telling the truth! If Dad told us before, then we would have thanked you before for it!" Blossom added.

"Honestly, right now we're enemies, so we can't simply take your word for it. Who knows? Maybe it's a ploy on your part to trick us into freeing you prematurely? Surely, you must know better than to present half-baked proofs to us! Now, tell me, what proof is there that Dad didn't tell you before he became evil? And when I say proof, I meant other proof other than your own words."

"How can we provide proof other than what we say, if we're tied-up and gagged all of the time for God's sake, not to mentioned locked up?" Blossom spat.

"Oh I know how. Since you can access Dad to his dreams, go tell him to tell us when he wakes up that you are telling the truth!" said Brick.

"But he's stuck in his own mind! And the Dad that you see when he's awake isn't really your Dad!" Bubbles protested.

"Oh excuses, excuses! I don't believe it!" said Brick. "Now, eat your lunch. I will have no more of this until you can show something that I can believe!"

The girls growled, but since they were in no position to do anything about it since their still tied-up, signalled that they were ready for it. The boys then fed the girls their lunch, although it was tenser than usual because of their disagreements.

After lunch, the boys left the girls to themselves so they can talk privately for one hour.

"I can't believe it! Those boys are so stubborn! What would it take for them to believe us? What happened to the good old days when we just believed each other? When we just take each other's word as is?" Buttercup asked.

"We were allies back then. Now we're enemies," said Bubbles. "Oh I wish we can be allies again."

"Not to mention friends," Blossom added.

"Well, I think we still consider each other as friends," said Bubbles. "If they hate us, or didn't consider us friends, then they'd treat us much worse."

"Oh Bubbles, you always look and see the best in people, and always are very optimistic," said Blossom. "But you're right. The boys still care for us. It's just that they're simply too loyal to their father, and their too blind to see that their father is not their father, to act otherwise."

"But I want to get free! I want to get out of this ropes! I want to be untied! I hate being tied-up and gagged for three days straight! I want out of this! I want to stretch my limbs outside the bathroom! I want to be able to play the PC! I want to play the PS! Is it too much to wish for it? And why do the boys kept insisting on keeping us tied-up even though if we're not gonna escape this hardetal room? If I knew when we were captured the first time what would have happened, then I wouldn't have even attempted to escape! That way, we're still locked up, but we're not tied-up and gagged!"

"I agree with Buttercup," said Bubbles.

"Well, what proof do you think we should give the boys?" asked Bubbles.

"Why bother? They'll just rationalize it away, and say that we're lying so we could escape," said Blossom. "Still, I have an idea. We send Walter to their dreams, or maybe since he is a god of some sort, maybe he can appear in the real world, either to rescue us, or convince the boys that we're telling the truth?"

"Walter? Forget it! He'll probably demand that we'll kiss him and rub his stomach or such other disgusting things!" said Buttercup.

"There's the rub! But we have to do it!" said Blossom. "Unless you want to spend the next month or so tied-up and gagged."

"Oh I guess. But even thinking about it makes me sick in my stomach," said Buttercup. "Why do our savior, this time, have to be such a dirty old man?"

"Well, beggars can't be choosers," said Blossom. "So it's agreed then?"

"Yes," said Bubbles.

"I suppose. But I don't like it. And only to get these ropes off me!" said Buttercup.

"Then in two days, that's what we do?" asked Bubbles.

"The same as usual," said Blossom. "When we're awake, we play damsel-in-distress. When we're asleep, we keep Dr. Edwards company."

"Oh this sucks," said Buttercup, pouting, and she would have crossed her arms if she could.

The next two days, nothing much happened. The girls continued to pester the boys to believe them when they can, while the boys continued to serve the girls their needs and wants. Dr. Edwards, of course, was a bit disappointed. The girls, by this time, simply were bored as they can't do anything, or even talk to each other most of the time when they're awake.


F. The Return of Walter

It was the night of August 20, and the Powerpuff Girls were already in the Doctor's dream. They are waiting for Walter to arrive.

"Where's that old man? He's late," said Dr. Edwards as they waited for him just outside the house.

"Yeah, what's keeping him?" Bubbles asked.

They haven't have long to wait, since only a minute later, they heard loud footsteps approaching them. There was high pitch laughing, and they at once knew it was him. A minute later, he was besides them, but for some reason, was still laughing.

"You have to hear this! It's so funny!" he blurted out between laughs. "Oh it's so funny!"

The others just look strangely at Walter. "Um, what's the joke?"

"Well, there was this man and a woman, who, wait, was it a man, or a boy? Oh well, they, went to—well, they went to—darn it, I forgot about it! But heck, it was so funny! Ha, ha, ha!"

"Will you stop laughing and get on with business!" said an impatient Doctor Edwards.

Walter stopped laughing, took his cane, and whacked him on the head. "Don't shout at me, sonny boy! Have more respect! Why, back in the good ole' days, we laughed at our elders' jokes, even if it wasn't funny! Now look at you! Where are your manners! Back in my days, we always respected our elders! And young men like you are not only respectful, but also deferential!"

"Well, Walter, you did promise to tell us today," said Bubbles.

"Oh yes, I remember. Now, you were wondering, how did my dentures get some gold teeth?" Walter began. He then extracted his dentures from his mouth, and showed it to the Powerpuff Girls, saliva drips and all.

"Eeew!" said the girls. Walter put it back on his mouth, his hand covered with saliva.

"Now, it was about six hundred years ago, well, I was already an old geezer, and I my teeth was mostly gone—"

"Look, sir, we respectfully don't want to hear about it. We just want to know how to free Dr. Edwards from his own dream world!" said Buttercup.

"Don't shout at me! Why, in my days, when we were young, we respected our elders and we never interrupt them elders while they were talking. What has this age come to? Where is the moral fabric of society that just disregards their wise elders! Oh the horror!"

After a few minutes of similar rants, he talked about business. "Okay, you want to know about freeing the young man here?"

"But first, can we ask you something?" Blossom suggested.

"What is it?" Walter asked.

"Can you, say, go and enter the dreams of the Rowdyruff Boys and tell them that we're telling the truth? Or if not, can you go to the real world and show yourself to the Rowdyruff Boys so they'll believe us!"

"Well, I'm an old tired man who only wants certain pleasures in life! My back hurts, my feet hurts! I'm half blind. The only way I answer it is if the girls over there make it worthwhile. Say, my feet had no feeling. Please massage them and kiss them so blood may flow to it?"

"What? That's too much!" Dr. Edwards shouted.

"Well, in that case, I'll go where I am needed, not to some place where the people would disrespect me in my humble requests!" the old man said, and he began to stand up and walk out on them.

"Wait! You're our only hope for getting out of here, and much as I hate to do it, we'll do it. Just help us," said Blossom.

Dr. Edwards looked disbelievingly at Blossom. "But—"

"Doctor, sometimes, sacrifices have to be made," said Blossom. "Girls, are you with me?"

"I guess," said Buttercup, grumbling.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Bubbles added.

Dr. Edwards sighed, defeated. "Okay, Walter, let's go. Follow me."

Dr. Edwards led the group inside his house. He let Walter sit on a couch, and lifted both his feet on the footstool presented.

Walter looked at the girls. "Well, what are you waiting for? Remove my shoes and my socks so you can begin."

Bubbles went and undid the shoelaces, and then removed the shoes. At once, a terrible stench made its presence felt, and they were forced to cover their noses. Bubbles then went and proceeded to remove his extremely dirty and sweat drenched socks, and as she did it, their delicate noses detected an even stronger stench. In fact, the stench was so strong that Bubbles suddenly ran outside where she vomited.

"This is too much! Come on girls, I'll give you something to help you with what you're doing," said Dr. Edwards. Dr. Edwards, his hands covering his mouth, led the girls upstairs. When he came back, he and the three girls were wearing gas masks.

"Before they can massage and kiss your feet," said Dr. Edwards, "I think I should wash it first to remove the stench," said Dr. Edwards. He went to the bathroom, and came back with a bucket full of warm water, a sponge, soap, a towel, and a metal basin. He carefully put his feet on the basin, and took a pitcher, filled it with water, and was about to begin to wash his feet when Walter objected.

"Not you sonny!" the old man said. "I want those girls to do it!"

Dr. Edwards sighed and stepped back, as Bubbles and Blossom went forward and proceeded to wash his dirty feet until the stench was gone. After the washing, as Walter required, the girls gently massaged it until finally, some blood flowed into it and color was restored. They didn't kiss his feet however, and Walter seemed to forget about that minor infringement. The girls and the doctor then removed their gas masks.

"That was wonderful," said Walter. "Thank you girls. I can feel my feet William! By the way, do you have some fresh socks that I could wear? And while you're at it, could I have some decent shoes too?"

"Whatever you say," said Dr. Edwards, and two minutes later, he came back with some fresh socks and a pair of shoes. Walter put them on.

"Ha, ha, these fits perfectly!" said Walter happily. "I'll now answer your question. No, I can't go into their dreams because I can only visit those dreams where the Voice possessed them. And I can't go into the real world. That's my weakness."

"Oh? Is that so. Well then, guess the only way we can persuade the boys is to free Dr. Edwards so he can tell them himself," said Blossom.

"Now tell us how to free Dr. Edwards?" Buttercup demanded.

"You haven't kissed my face yet!" Walter reminded. "The foot massage was only for telling you whether or not I can go to the Rowdyruff's dream and if I can go to the real world."

The girls growled, but they decided to get it over with. First Bubbles, then Blossom, then Buttercup finally did. They each kissed each of his cheeks ten times, then his lips once, then they stroked his beard, as Walter instructed.

"Ah that's much better. Now I can tell you," said Walter. Suddenly, a coin fell from his hand to the feet of Blossom. "I'll get it," he said.

He went down quickly to pick it up, with his head on the ground at Blossom's feet. He then turned his head up, and there was a loud noise.

Blossom had whacked him hard in the head. "You pervert! You peeked under my skirt!" Indeed, as Blossom was wearing at that time, a red skirt that ended just below her knees. She also wore white tights.

"Ouch, that hurt!" said Walter, gently stroking a six inch bump that formed in his head. "Ow my head! I think I have a headache!"

"Well you deserve it! Now tell us how I could be free? The girls kissed you, so they paid their due!"

"You are all disrespectful and rebellious kids! I'm just having some fun! Why back in my days, we never ever hit our elders! Kids these days! Have no respect for their elders! But all right, I'll tell you. If you want Doctor Edwards to be free of the Voice, you'll have to do the following things."


Author Notes

This story was deleted along with all the reviews, but I decided to include my replies to the author notes as they could give some information about this story.


To Lynx Sarnage, yeah, the girls aren't getting a lot of breaks lately, huh?

The boys are simply stalling on the offer, but yeah, it's unlikely that the girls will torment the boys in their dreams though, but hey, you never know.


To Kim, well, as the Professor, they can't reach him because the other Powerpuff Girls in the Professor's dream think they are imposters. Well, let's hope they find a way to free them.


To Kezzer, well, the old man was modeled on a combination of Roshi, the Elder Kai, and Grandpa Abe Simpson. You see the pervertedness of the first two, and the crabbiness of the last. Well, we'll see if they would be able to stop the digging.


To Tones, yeah, good thing he's there to help them, though he could be more helpful, really.

Well, the boys and girls really don't want to be enemies, but events conspired to make them so, but personally, there wasn't that much to make them hate each other.


To Dooly, yeah, Buttercup should thank her lucky stars it wasn't spiders. Well, I said the old man is modeled on a combination of Master Roshi, the Elder Kai, and Grandpa Abe Simpson. Well, thank you for the idea, but you see, even that seemingly fool-proof plan has holes, and Brick quickly found out what it is.


To John, thanks.


To Akum, well, I'll first finish Prank Wars if I finally decide to come to updating it. I'm pretty busy with this fic, you know.


To BrYtt BRatt, yeah, it must be horrible for them, but they have no choice since only Walter knows how to free Dr. Edwards. Talk about bad luck!


To Hairy Gregory, well, I figured a backstory to explain all that had happened is overdue.

Well, judging by the reaction of BrYtt BRatt and Tones, well, I think that it's fair to say that the girls saw a lot of things wrong with kissing a very very old man with a face full of wrinkles and with very bad manners.

BTW, I forgot the name of the episode, but you can compare it to when the girls ran away from a boy their age who they thought had cooties and that boy kept wanting to kiss the Powerpuff Girls so Mojo Jojo used it to scare the girls away.

Well, the boys pretty much rationalized it away, just as you thought they would.

Well, I'll leave it to the audience to decide whether or not Walter is a good guy.


To Scott Boyo, well, he's simply a perv with powers who helps but would not hesitate to gain leverage to get what he wants in exchange for his help.

Well, that's the point. The girls can't know. But I think it's best to stall in making the decision, because it means that the boys don't have to lie to the girls about not stopping or at least delay the digging.


To Zero Unknown, yup, sweet revenge! Well, Brick, I think, is pretty cool in all my stories, though he can't always be cool in every situation as it would make for a boring and one-dimentional character.


To Somewei, yes, that's the only problem, but it's a pretty big problem considering it is the boys that are holding the girls' prisoner.

Well, yeah, I guess that would have been their reactions had they really found out.


To Firespirit, yeah, and with them tied-up and gagged as it is, those were really long three days.

Yeah, nobody really wants to rely on perverted old men. But you have to take what you can get.

Well, just read future chapters and you'll know how they'll defeat the boys.