I actually finally wrote during my Spring Break…which thankfully I had no homework for once in my life…and while I was sick. I technically had two weeks off. So, trying to make up for lost time, I wrote during those two weeks so I could post chapter 16.
On another note, the next chapter will be short due to the fact that it's going to be a filler chapter, but in a way, it will be important. So without further ado and without my stupid ramblings, I now present to everyone my sixteenth chapter of Silent Enemy…
Chapter 16: Connecting the Dots
Somewei
February 3, 2006
"WHAT IS THIS!" screamed Blossom as she burst angrily into the main control room. The many adults that were in the room jumped out in surprise as they watched the enraged redhead leader walked up to her parents and Ms. Bellum. Glaring at the three adults in front of her, she growled, "What is this? What the hell are you ordering me to do?"
"Blossom, we've realized that you've been under a lot of stress and all three of us figured we'd give you time to have a break from all the fighting and planning," John replied, choosing his words carefully. He knew that if he said something wrong, his daughter would throw a tantrum, but it seemed that fate was not on his side because Blossom's glare on him deepened.
"A break?" She whispered dangerously. "You want me to take a break when an insane woman is outside our base and is planning on killing me so she can rule the universe? While she terrorizes the world, I'm suppose to sit back and relax?"
John, Sandy and Sara nodded their heads nervously. Many of the operatives stayed quietly, watching the scenario unfold and they began to wonder what the leader would do. Blossom smirked and shook her head. With a small laugh, she said, "Right. You know, this is very funny, very funny indeed. When I come back, I better have a more applicable reason on why you are making me take a break."
She turned around on the ball of her heel and stormed out of the room. Standing at the doorway of the room, Bubbles watched as her sister exit and walk towards her room. Jogging up next to her sister, Bubbles asked, "You're not going to take a break, are you?"
"What are you kidding?" Blossom snorted. "Why the heck would I take a break. The only way I'm going to take a break is if I'm dead or I've defeated Ivy and trust me, I'm going to defeat Ivy. I just want to know why they're making me take a break."
"I know!" shouted a voice behind the two girls. The two Powerpuff sisters turned around and found Princess running up to them. She finally caught up to them and tired to catch her breath. "They're making you take a break because they're afraid of your emotional health."
"What?" Blossom whispered.
"I had told them that Ivy wants you emotionally ruined so you won't be able to lead the both the girls and the boys to victory. If you're drowning in your own misery, then Ivy can swiftly get rid of you," Princess explained with much seriousness in her voice. "By ruining you, she hoped to turn Brick against you. She knows that if you feel like a failure, then you'll fall."
Blossom looked down to the ground and murmured, "She almost made me feel like a failure. She almost succeeded with her plan. I almost gave into her."
"Please don't tell the others that I told you that," Princess pleaded. "I promised them that I wouldn't tell, but I went against what they said because I feel you have a right to know. You are the leader after all."
Blossom smiled slightly at her former rival. Princess excused herself and before she could leave, Blossom asked, "So we're friends now? Is that why you're giving me all this information?"
"No," Princess smirked. "Mere acquaintances, allies in battle."
Blossom smirked back at the auburn-haired teenager and watched as she left back towards the main control room. Once there was no sign of Princess, the Powerpuff leader looked down to the ground and sighed quietly to herself. Bubbles looked at her sister with soft eyes.
"Blossom," Bubbles began gently. The pink puff looked at her sister through the corner of her eye. "I know that you've been distant lately, but Buttercup and I are worried. I want to know what's been bothering you. I would read your thoughts, but I knew you would be upset."
"Nothing is bothering me, Bubbles," Blossom replied solemnly.
"But…" Bubbles tried to say, but was cut off by Blossom.
"I said I was fine!" Blossom exclaimed loudly. Bubbles bit her tongue and looked down to the ground. She didn't mean to upset Blossom and obviously her sister was not ready to talk about what she feeling. Blossom sighed, "Look, I'm sorry I snapped. I'm just not ready to talk. Anyway, do me a favor and get Butch, Buttercup and Boomer and tell them to meet me in the training room."
"Red, you better have a really good reason for waking me up," Butch growled as he, Buttercup, Boomer and Bubbles walked into the training room. Buttercup rolled her eyes and mumbled something about Butch and his sleep and then shook her head.
"Trust me Butch, it's a good reason," Blossom said as she ignored the growl coming from the green ruff. The other three super-powered teenagers rose an eyebrow in interest and curiosity. Sighing, Blossom continued, "I'm getting tired of Ivy walking all over us and Princess reminded me of something. When I was little I didn't let my personal feelings interfere with my duty.
"Mr. Wemmick from Great Expectations had once said to Pip: 'Walworth is one place, and this office is another. Much as the Aged is one person, and Mr. Jaggers is another. They must not be confounded together. My Walworth sentiments must be taken at Walworth; none but my office sentiments can be taken in this office.'"
The others stared at their redheaded leader in silence until Buttercup broke the silence by saying, "Huh?"
"What I'm trying to say I need to keep my personal life and work separated just like Mr. Wemmick did with his job and personal life outside of the office," Blossom explained to the clueless teenagers. Realization dawned upon the others as they finally understood what she, but Butch didn't look any happier than he did when he first walked into the room.
"You woke me up for this little revelation?" He scowled. "Something you could've told someone else or written it down in your diary like every other girl in world seems to do. You woke me up for that!"
"No," Blossom returned the scowl as she glared at him; "I woke you up because I've come up with a strategy. Maybe instead of jumping to conclusions and ranting about you and your sleep, you would've finally been able know why I called you here."
Buttercup also turned on Butch as she added in her own comment, "And not every girl writes in a diary. I don't write in a diary! I don't find the point in writing on a piece of paper. Instead, I let it all out and say how I feel."
"Sometimes in a reckless way that gets us in trouble," Bubbles muttered to herself, but Buttercup caught the comment. The green puff turned her stern glare onto her sister and immediately forgot about Butch's comment.
"Why don't you be quiet! If I remember correctly, you once went out of control when the others called you a baby!" She snapped. "You got me and Blossom into trouble! So you shouldn't talk you hypocrite! Another thing, at least I don't cry every five seconds about something!"
"At least my crying isn't hurting anyone or damaging anything!" Bubbles yelled. "Besides, I let everything out by crying!"
"Your crying doesn't hurt anyone?" Buttercup repeated loudly with a snort. "It does hurt someone for your information, Blondie. Like my ears for instance!"
"ENOUGH!" Blossom shouted over the crescendo of the yelling. Both her sisters and two boys jumped up from the sudden shriek and turned their eyes on the leader. Her eyes stared at them piercingly as she said in a calm voice, "My patience is wearing thin and I'm trying my best to be calm about your arguing. Buttercup, Bubbles, grow up. You're seventeen years old and you need to break this stupid habit of arguing over trivial things. Apologize to each other now."
"But Blossom…" The two sisters began in unison.
"NOW!" Blossom ordered loudly once again. Fearing their sister's temper, the two girls turned to one another and mumbled their apologies. The four stayed silent, not daring to speak another until finally the angered redheaded leader let out a slow sigh and said in a tired voice, "Can anyone tell me any weak parts of Ivy? Can anyone one think anything we can use against Ivy?"
The others continued to stay silent until Bubbles spoke in a small voice, "It seems like she's perfect. She beats us at every angle and no matter what we throw at her, she's a step ahead of us."
"I think you're wrong, Bubbles," Boomer spoke up for the first time since the meeting began. "Everyone has a weakness, a downfall. Buttercup's is her temper, mine can be the same and it's the same for everyone else in this room. Blossom's own intelligence can be her weakness – "
"That's it," Buttercup interrupted. "Our strengths are our weaknesses, and it's the same with her. I think we need to figure out how to use her strengths against her. We need to take away her advantages."
Blossom sat down on the chair behind her and watched her friends and sisters converse with one another. As she watched them chattered excitedly, a small smile grew on her lips. She always knew that they were smart enough to figure things out for themselves with her guidance. The thought that they could do things without a leader gave her a sense of peace. If they continued to think of strategies without her coming up with them then even if she did fall to the hands of Ivy, Blossom felt confident they could continue you on with her say so involved.
"Blossom?" Buttercup interrupted her thoughts. "Did you hear what we said."
"I'm sorry BC," Blossom said quietly. "I didn't."
"We said that Ivy relies on the Doom Girls and Brick a lot," The green puff repeated proudly as sense of accomplishment came over her.
"We also thought that she relied on her computers too," Bubbles chirped.
"Well then," Blossom said as she stood up. "It seems we need to take the Doom Girls, the computers and the Brick out of the equation. It also appears to me that we found out what 'x' is and we need is to finish the equation."
February 7, 2006
"It's too quiet," Ivy muttered to herself as she watched her servants repair the damage from her previous fight with Blossom. The redheaded female villain half-expected Brick to make a comment, but when he didn't she looked at him and saw the red ruff looking off to the side. She rose an eyebrow as she noted that he was in deep thought and didn't appear to be listening to her at all. Hoping to grab his attention she said, "Brick. Brick, pay attention."
The red ruff wasn't paying attention to her though nor did he hear a word come from her let alone any sound for that matter. He had blocked out everything from the real world and remained buried in his thoughts, buried in his turmoil and confusion. The red ruff was confused why Blossom said she was sorry to him before he punched him in the stomach. Did she say an apology because of her attack on him or was it possible that she said sorry because she knew what he was feeling.
"Brick," a cold voice cut through his thoughts. He turned toward the owner and saw Ivy glaring at the young boy. Now knowing Ivy had his attention, she began to lecture him. "Next time you decide to daze off and not pay attention to what I'm saying, I won't be so nice trying to snap you out of your daze. What were you thinking of by the way, if I may ask."
"Nothing," Brick mumbled. Ivy narrowed her eyes as she examined the red ruff.
"I'm not stupid," She said bluntly. "I know what you were thinking about because it's written all over your face. It would take an idiot to miss it. You're thinking about her aren't you?"
"Yes," Brick said calmly. "But not in the sense of what you're thinking. I'm thinking about what she'll possibly do next. If I know Blossom, she won't stay quiet for long. No, she's waiting for the perfect chance to come along to throw you off guard."
"What do you think she'll do?" Ivy questioned.
Brick sighed, "I don't know. She'll probably come after something to try and weaken you. Or at least that's what I would do if I were in her position. Like for example, knowing her, she'll probably get rid of your source of information. She'll go after the computers."
Ivy listened to what he said and then let out a sigh as a smirk began to appear on her face. So, the exhausted leader is trying to weaken her. The redheaded villain found this very amusing. Her thoughts were cut off when Brick continued, "She saw your flaws."
"Pardon me?" Ivy snapped.
"She saw your flaws," Brick repeated. "She saw your arrogance. She saw your mistakes. If you hadn't put Buttercup against Butch, then we would have had Butch still on our side. If you hadn't been arrogant none of that would have happened. What is pitiful is that you continuously do that. What's worse if that you locked the Doom Girls away. Dawn could have intercepted or stopped Buttercup from turning him over. You also could have done a two-on-one fight against Blossom, but you didn't. Because of that Blossom has a chance of winning."
"And what do you propose we do about that?" Ivy muttered angrily.
"Simple," The redheaded teenager said calmly. "Take it back. Cover your mistakes and make Blossom believe she has no chance. Attack with full force. Unleash the Doom Girls, unleash your power and unleash everything you have. Don't give her a chance to attack. Of course don't let the other villains do anything about it. They are so incompetent that they'll ruin it."
"I like it," Ivy said as a smirk began to dance on her lips. After a moment of silence, she added, "You're are more like me than I thought. So cold, so calculating."
Brick turned his fierce red eyes on her and growled, "I am nothing like you. Unlike you who cares for only herself, I can care for my brothers and their safety. I used to be like this before I became good. I used to care about nothing besides my and brothers and I. We are nothing alike."
"Yes," Ivy growled back. "It seems that way."
Blossom stood up as fog licked her legs. Her pink eyes narrowed as she saw a figure approaching, but then relaxed when she saw whom it was. She walked towards the figure with a stoic expression and an even step. She knew that the figure was the dragon. Finally the dragon appeared and the two came face-to-face.
"You have summoned me?" The Dragon asked. Blossom nodded and the dragon continued you, "Why have you called on me? Are you in need of some assistance?"
"In all my dreams you have come to me and have either protected me or provided me with information," Blossom began calmly as she watched the dragon. Dragon closed his eyes and listened to her speak. "I am in a desperate need to know who you are, to know your purpose. I know what to do. I know what I need to do, but all that's left is to know who you are."
"I have told you," Dragon said, "You will know when it is time for you to know. You are not patient enough. I will tell you, though, that I am both very close to you and yet very far. That, Blossom, is all that I will tell you."
Blossom's guardian began to disappear when she called him back. Dragon reappeared suddenly and looked at her. A perplexed expression came over his face instead of his normal calmness. Taking in a deep breath, Blossom asked, "Can you at least tell me what your purpose is? And if not, are you really a dragon or a human?"
"My purpose is to protect you from that woman. I will disappear once you figure out who I am and when Ivy is defeated," Dragon replied. "That is all I am here for. To protect you and give you strength in your time of need. As for whether I am human or dragon, I am neither human nor dragon. I am merely a figure representing someone. A dragon is always regarded with strength, and that is what I am representing for that person."
"Strength…" Blossom murmured as her eyes turned downcast and she looked to the ground. Her head then shot up as she said, "When I find out who you are, will it come to suddenly or piece by piece? Will it be like a puzzle?"
"Blossom," Dragon said. "It is already a puzzle for you. Like I said, it will come when it comes. Have strength."
Blossom nodded and watched as her guardian dragon began to disappear, but suddenly he reappeared. The redheaded leader cocked an eyebrow, confused. The dragon then quickly said, "You must take out Brick."
"We already have -- " The pink puff began, but was cut off by the dragon.
"No," He said as he shook his head. "You must him out. You and you alone. Ivy knows that you may use everything you have - including your sisters and his brothers - to bring him back. You must make him come back. Even if he doesn't want to.
Blossom once again nodded and without another word, the dragon disappeared from her sight. As she began to think about how to get Brick back, a bright light covered the place, the fog vanished and she, too, disappeared from the place.
Blossom opened her eyes and noticed she was lying down on her desk and had a many papers scattered all around the desk. She lifted her head up from her desk and looked down at the papers. She lifted them up as read them and then slowly began to crumple them. They were plans on getting rid of Brick and the Doom Girls. Once she threw them all away, she began to contemplate a new plan.
For the past four days, she had been trying to think of a plan, and now they were all useless because the dragon told her that she couldn't use her sisters or the other two boys to bring Brick back. She sighed heavily as she thought about the dream. Throughout the dream, she had tried to see how this mysterious dragon was, but all she got was the same answer - it will come when it comes…
"Well," Blossom sighed, "that was a useless trip."
She got up and began to wander around her room. She looked around and tried to think of a plan. When she couldn't, Blossom became frustrated and went to her desk where she found several of her favorite books. Her anger rose when two books fell off the desk and onto the floor. She growled as she picked them up. Blossom's eyes squinted when she read the titles of the two books. One was a book of Alexander the Great and the other was a book about early Greek civilizations. She flipped open the second book and came to a familiar page with a familiar battle tactic.
"The Hoplite Phanlax," She murmured as a smirk played on her lips. "We could use this to defeat Ivy's minions. She'll expect us to destroy computers and take out the three girls and Brick, but she won't expect us to make her completely powerless."
She continued to flip through the pages and then decided to look at the book about Alexander the Great. As she looked through the pages, her smirk began to grow into a wide grin. Finally getting an idea on how to defeat Ivy, she began looking through all her books about wars and strategies. She then looked up after reading several books when she thought about what the dragon said.
"I must take him out," She whispered as her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "That means I have to isolate him. Ivy will not let me near him unless I force her to, but I need to think of something. I need to force her to agree to let me fight him."
As Blossom continued to search through the books, a quiet knock came at her door. The redheaded leader looked up and found Princess standing at the door. "Blossom, the professor requests your presence in the main control room. He says there's an urgent meeting being held. Your family and the Bellums are there."
Nodding, Blossom put the book she was reading down and followed the auburn-haired teenager out of the room. As she followed Princess to the main control room, she continued to ponder how to defeat Ivy and her followers.
Once Blossom entered the room, she found her sisters, her parents, the boys and Ms. Bellum standing around a table. A bright light emitted from the table and above the table was a holograph of Ivy's palace. The redheaded leader furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at her family and friends. John looked up from the hologram with a grim expression.
"What's wrong?" Blossom asked cautiously.
"We just got word from Aaron that Ivy is planning a full scale attack on us," John explained. "She's going to use everything that she has. Apparently she got the idea from Brick."
"Brick?" The Powerpuff leader asked in disbelief as she rose an eyebrow.
"Yes," the professor replied. "He knows that you are planning a counterattack against Ivy and also knows that you have a gained a new sense of confidence. So, I guess to counter you, he's telling Ivy to not give you a chance to attack."
Blossom's eyes narrowed as she listened to her father. Finally, she said, "We have to stop her."
"And just how do you propose we do that?" Buttercup asked.
"Brick is obviously the brains of the operations now," Blossom said, "because Ivy wouldn't let Brick do anything like that unless she handed him the power to create strategies and he's becoming very influential to her. We have to take him out."
"But Ivy won't let you or any of us near him," Bubbles pointed out.
"True," The leader said, "But I'm going to make an offer she can't resist. It isn't going to take me awhile to think of one. I already know what it's going to be. I have to make Ivy let me fight Brick without her being able to interfere. We attack on the twentieth."
"But Blossom that's thirteen days from now!" Boomer exclaimed.
"I know," Blossom said. "But I need a chance to prepare many things such as a plan for you guys to defeat Ivy and her henchmen. We are going to need everyone to fight. So, give me those thirteen days and then we'll attack."
February 20, 2005
"Leader Girl!" Buttercup called as she knocked on the door. When she heard no answer, she knocked again and called, "Blossom, come on answer the door! Blossom, don't make me barge in there!"
Sighing, the green puff opened the door and smiled when she found her sister asleep on her desk. She walked up to her sister's desk. When she leaned over to look at the multitudes of objects, she found books on Alexander the Great, battle strategies, and plans written on paper. Shaking her head, Buttercup shook her sister awake.
"Bloss," Buttercup said gently. "Wake up, come on."
Blossom's eye fluttered open and looked up. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "What is it, BC? Are we under attack or something? Because if we aren't, then don't wake me up."
Buttercup shook her head, "No, LG, it's been thirteen days and today is the twentieth. Everyone is waiting outside. We need leave now."
"Ugh," Blossom groaned. "Okay, I'm up. Tell the others to be ready to attack full force, and tell Butch not to use power because I'm going to need him."
"Okay," The green puff said as she turned around and left the room. Sighing and rubbing the sleep out of eyes, the pink puff got and neatly put the papers away in a wooden box. She grabbed the box, went to her bed, lifted it up and found a secret compartment. She opened the compartment, put the box in there and then closed it. She put her bed down and sighed satisfied.
Once she finished her task, she left her room and walked down the hall. She noticed her friends and two sisters and quickly nodded at them. Immediately, Butch spoke up, "What do you need me for? Buttercup told me to save all my power."
"Because I'm going to use your power to threaten Ivy," The Powerpuff leader explained. "When I nod at you, you're going to power up and nothing more. If I tell you to, then you'll blow up her computers, but if I don't say anything, don't do anything, understand?"
Butch nodded, "I understand completely."
"What about us?" Boomer spoke up causing the other two girls to nod in agreement.
"You won't do anything unless I order you to. Be ready for an assault from her and don't let your guard down," Blossom ordered. The four teenagers stay silent. "Ready, you guys?" They nodded again. "Alright, let's go."
Ivy stared out the window with a grim expression on her face. It had been two months since her last encounter with the Powerpuff Girls and the two Rowdyruff Boys and the team of heroes made no movement of attacking. Turning away from the window, she then turned her gaze the distant red ruff.
"Brick," The female villain snapped. "I grow tired of waiting for her next move. Blossom has not showed any means of attacking. You told me that she would attack. If that was so, how come she stays hidden inside her base – no means of moving!"
"I told you, Ivy," Brick sneered. "Blossom will wait until she has the best opportunity. She knows that you are waiting and she knows that you are becoming upset. She'll move when she sees fit. Apparently, she doesn't see fit."
Ivy growled in animosity as she walked away from the window. She was about to say something to Brick when a blast broke through the window. The pressure from the blast knocked Ivy to her feet. Brick stood his ground against the blast and shielded his eyes from the glass with his arms. Once the wind settled down, the red ruff looked up and found his brothers and the Powerpuff Girls standing before him; Blossom position in the middle of the group of five. Ivy shook her head and then looked at the scene before her.
"Well," She said with disdain. "What an unpleasant surprise. I didn't know that I was expecting guests today."
"Too bad," Buttercup said sarcastically. "Deal with it."
"My, my, Buttercup," Ivy said mockingly as she stood up. "Such a temper you have. You should learn to control it."
Blossom ignored the comment and proceed to talk to her opponent, "I have a little proposal that may catch your interest. If you give me a little time to explain, I think you'll enjoy it."
"What makes you so certain that I want to listen to this little proposal of yours?" Ivy asked. Blossom narrowed her eyes and growled at the older woman. She looked to Butch and who nodded who immediately reacted to the motion. Ivy raised an eyebrow as she noticed electricity form around the green ruff.
"I am certain because if you don't listen then Butch here will blow everything you've worked for up," Blossom said as she pointed to the computers. It was Ivy's turn to growl as the pink puff continued, "It's your choice and I suggest you listen."
"Fine, I'm listening," Ivy scowled, "You know you're becoming pretty assertive, Blossom. Nothing like before."
"What Ivy," Blossom taunted, "Scared? Are you scared because you no longer have control over me. Scared because I am no longer emotionally weak? That was your plan wasn't it? To make me fall emotionally because you figured that if I'm out commission then everyone under my command falls? Is it a hobby of yours, Ivy? To toy with people's emotions, I mean?"
Ivy snarled, "Princess told you that, didn't she? She told you everything that I was planning to do. When I get my hands on her – "
"No, Ivy, you won't be getting your hands on her," The hot-tempered leader interrupted. "Why don't we discuss the proposal I want to present you with."
"Hurry it up then!" The female villain snapped angrily as her fists clenched into a ball and glared at Blossom harder. Blossom ignored the glares that were coming at her and countered it with her our fierce and intimidating glare. Everyone in the room stayed silent as they watched the two hotheaded leaders.
"I want a fight – " Blossom began.
"Fine," Ivy agreed, but was taken aback when Blossom shook her head.
"Not with you," The Powerpuff leader said. She then looked at Brick, "With him."
"Him!" The fierce villain exclaimed. "Why would you possibly have a fight with him? Well whatever the reason is, I don't agree to it. I don't want you near him. You or any of your little friends that are standing behind him!"
As Ivy spoke her stubborn speech, Brick stared at his counterpart wide-eyed. He hadn't expected Blossom to say she wanted to fight him and obviously Ivy hadn't either. He continued to stare at her as she kept her glare onto Ivy. He turned to Ivy and saw her stubbornly proclaiming that he wouldn't fight her. Blossom, on the other hand, wasn't listening and was calmly waiting for Ivy to stop her rant.
"Will you listen to me," Blossom snapped impatiently causing Ivy to stop her screeching. The redheaded villain narrowed her eyes. Silence passed between the two before Blossom continued on, "If I am going to fight I will go under your conditions and follow them if you follow mine."
"What are they?" Ivy demanded.
"If I win, I take Brick whether it is willingly or unwillingly," Blossom started. "And if I lose, Brick can hand me over to you and I will do whatever you want. Whatever you want. That is, if I'm not dead."
"Whatever I want?" Ivy questioned.
"Whatever you want," clarified the pink puff.
Smiling, Ivy said, "I agree, but while you are fighting, you don't talk to him or make any motion to persuade him over to your side, is that understood?"
"Done, but you or your little flunkies don't interfere in the fight either," Blossom compromised. "And no one gets harmed during the fight. No one, that is, except for me and Brick. The moment you break these conditions, I win and Brick comes with me."
"The same with you. The moment, Blossom, you speak to him, our little agreement is over with and you are mine. And if you win, Brick goes with you," Ivy said. Blossom narrowed her eyes as she noticed a malicious smile coming from the woman. She frowned and looked at Buttercup, who nodded in response.
"To make sure you keep your promise, we'll hold this until the fight is over with and Brick is at our headquarters if we win. Then, we shall return this," Blossom said as Buttercup held up as small emerald jade. Ivy gasped and glanced at her enemy and noticed she was smiling. "It seems that this small trinket is important to you."
Ivy growled and stepped forward, but was stopped when Buttercup pulled the necklace closer to her and said, "No, no, no. You come a step closer and I'll crush your precious little necklace right here, right now. Don't worry, though, we'll return it to you once we get what we need."
The redheaded woman growled as she turned to Blossom and snarled, "You want to take away everything from me. I am concerned, though, as to why you want this fight."
"Because, Ivy, I'm tired of everything," Blossom said, confidence filling her voice. "Trust me, when Brick's and my fight is over with, I'm coming after Daisy and then I'm coming after you. I pretty sure that Buttercup and Bubbles would want to go after Dawn and Dandy also."
Behind her, she could hear Bubbles and Buttercup giggle. Blossom's face became very serious as she began to float several inches off the ground. "Tomorrow Brick and I will have our fight, and tomorrow everything changes. Tomorrow, is the start of the end of this war. Come on guys."
Without another word, the redheaded leader shot out of the window with her pink streak tailing after her. Following her closely was Bubbles, Buttercup, Butch and Boomer. Ivy growled and stormed out of the room once the heroes had left, leaving Brick to watch his brothers leave with Blossom and her sisters. Still shocked about Blossom's proposal, he stood thinking about the upcoming day.
"Blossom," Butch called. "I thought we were going to destroy the computers! You told us that we were going to do that today!"
"Change of plans, Butch," Blossom replied as the five of them speed through the air. "While I'm having my fight with Brick, I'm having Princess and Aaron shut down the system permanently. Their going to download all of Ivy's information then send a virus to destroy every single software on the computer. It'll take months to get everything back."
"Speaking of the fight, how are you going to talk to Brick when you can't even speak a word to him?" Bubbles asked. "We all know that you can't speak to him because of this stupid condition. Why did you even agree to it in the first place?"
Blossom stopped flying and turned around. The other five stopped flying and waiting for Blossom's explanation. The leader sighed and explained, "I knew that if I didn't agree with Ivy, I would never get a chance to have a fight with Brick and speak to him. So, I agreed and as I made my conditions a thought occurred to me."
"What?" Boomer asked.
"That I didn't need to speak to him," Blossom replied. "Listen, Bubbles can read my mind and relay everything to him telepathically. If absolutely necessary, then Buttercup will show several illusions to try to convince him."
"Blossom," Bubbles said in a small voice. "What if you lose the fight? What if you become captured?"
"I already thought of that. A good leader always has a backup and trust me, I have a backup plan," Blossom said. "Underneath my bed, in a secret compartment, there are several plans that I had written out for the five of you to read and follow through."
"But Blossom," Bubbles started to protest. "You know that Ivy will want to kill you! We can't follow those orders without you telling them to us!"
"No, Bubbles, you can," Blossom stated. "Ivy thinks that if I'm gone and not barking out orders then you guys will fall. I want you guys to prove her wrong. Now, my plans are only an option to follow. You can come up with a completely different one if you want."
"Blossom – " the blue puff began, but was cut off by Blossom silencing her.
"BB, no," The pink puff interjected. "You five are perfectly capable to make your own plans. You each have important talents that can help you come up with a strategy. You guys are artistic, athletic, confident, and above all, you guys are very true to each other. You rely on me too much and I'm not always going to be there to make plans for you. It's time you rely on yourselves and your talents and abilities."
Sighing in defeat, Bubbles looked down as once again the five heroes took off towards their base.
February 21, 2005
"You are an idiot," Brick said coolly. Ivy, who was pacing, turned on the teenager with an angry glare.
"I'm a what?" she asked menacingly, obviously not happy with Brick's statement.
"She wasn't going to blow up the computers," Brick said. "And even if she did, you would still have me, Mojo and all those other villains out there who know a lot about the girls. Having those computers destroyed would have been nothing. Now she has a chance a getting me back. Lucky for you, I won't be so easily persuaded."
"I've also put conditions to the point where she can't talk to you or make any motion -- "
"That doesn't matter," Brick interrupted. "What matters is – "
"Who wins," a voice interjected. The two villains looked to their right and found Blossom looking at them very pensively. The red ruff looked at his counterpart bitterly and then looked at Ivy. The female villain was growling at the pink puff as Blossom said, "Well, I hope you two are ready for this fight because I most certainly am."
Brick was about to comment when Ivy spoke up, "Where's my jade necklace?"
"I thought I told you that it was in our custody until the end of the fight," The pink puff said slightly agitated. "Now, if you'll follow me. We need to be in a more appropriate place for the fight."
With that said, Blossom took off into the sky with Brick and Ivy following close behind. When they reached their destination, they found Bubbles, Buttercup, Boomer and Butch waiting. The three landed and Blossom immediately started walking down a steep, rocky hill that led to a huge clearing where she and Brick would fight. The red ruff figured he needed to follow and walked down the hill too. Before Ivy could start walking Buttercup said, "You watch the fight from up here with us."
Brick caught up with Blossom and the two walked next to each other with an even pace. They stayed in silence until Blossom finally broke the silence, "I hope you know that I don't hate you."
Brick looked at her confused. When they reached the bottom of the hill Brick asked, "What are you talking about?"
"I know you think I hate you," Blossom said. "I also know that you think I think you are a traitor. I don't know where you got that idea, but I want let you know that's not true."
"How would you know that," Brick questioned lowly. Blossom looked down to the ground as if afraid to say how she knew what he thought. The red ruff glared her, waiting impatiently for an answer.
"I saw it…" she whispered, "…in your dreams."
"You went into my dreams?" Brick said angrily. Blossom looked at Brick frightened as she watched his anger crescendo to new heights. "You invaded my privacy?"
Blossom opened her mouth to reply, but was stopped when Bubbles shouted for them to begin the fight. The redheaded puff looked up at her blonde sister as her fear turned into worry. Darn it! Now I can't speak to him.
She looked back at Brick and noticed he was standing there anymore. She started to look around when she felt Brick twist her arm behind her back roughly and then sink his knee into her back. She gasped out in pain as she fell to the ground. Brick kicked her in the stomach and Blossom flew straight towards the rocky hill. She stood up and dodged Brick's incoming punch in time. He glared at her said, "First you take away my family and now you take away my privacy."
Blossom looked at him and was upset she couldn't reply. He punched her in face and she once again went flying away from Brick. When she came into contact with the rough ground, Blossom realized how much her body hurt. Hadn't she slept enough? She stood up and tried to dodge all of Brick's assaults.
Blossom struggled to keep up with Brick. Although she didn't show it, she was extremely tired and her body was starting to give out. Blossom was worried at the fact that her body grew tired so early into the fight. She punched her counterpart in the jaw. Brick grunted in pain before countering her attack. He grabbed her wrist, twisted it and then proceeded to knee her in the stomach. She coughed out in pain before she was knocked down by Brick's roundhouse kick. She collided with the ground and in a split second a flash of light blinded her.
Blossom looked around and noticed she was in the middle of the ruined city of Townsville. She started to walk around before she was knocked back by a sudden force. She jumped to her feet and got in a defensive position, ready to defend herself from who was attacking her. Blossom dropped her position when she saw herself fall to knees. Blossom furrowed her eyes at the scene in confusion and then suddenly the pink puff knew why she was on the verge of crying. They were gone…all because they saved Blossom from certain death…
Everyone watching the fight was silent…
The silence was broken when the six heroes heard a familiar wicked laugh. The redheaded female leader looked up and found Ivy laughing triumphantly.
"How dare you…" 'Blossom' hissed. "How dare you laugh. You have no right to laugh…"The real Blossom watched. Who was gone? Why was Ivy laughing? Why was she having a hard time breathing and dealing with what happened? Blossom stepped back, trying to leave the scene, but she knew she couldn't. Her breathing started to go shallow. She was lost and afraid of what happened. Was this going to happen in the future? She started to shake her head in disbelief.
Bubbles furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to read her sister's mind. She gritted her teeth and then relayed a telepathic message to Buttercup, I can't get anything from Blossom. All I can get is that her mind is a mess and most certainly in distress. I'm guessing she's having a vision and not a very happy one at that.
She never has a good one, Buttercup thought bitterly.
Blossom clutched her head, trying to block out the vision, trying to escape. She closed her eyes and hoped that it would go away. When she opened her eyes she saw Dragon standing next to Ivy and he was looking at her. She looked into his eyes and noticed his eyes were red. Had his eyes always been red? Or was it she just noticed now? Dragon suddenly started to fly around Ivy and then he landed next to Blossom. She looked at him.
She looked at his eyes again and then cocked her head slightly. She had seen his eye color somewhere before. She squinted her eyes as if trying to remember where she had seen this and then it suddenly came to her. She knew who the dragon was. She was about to open her mouth to speak when a bright light blinded her again.
Blossom opened her eyes and looked around. She couldn't hear anything. She couldn't hear her own breathing, she couldn't hear the sounds of the day, or the rumbles of the fight. She looked at Ivy and frowned and then turned her glance at Brick. She then closed her eyes, and without warning, her hearing rushed back and her ears could hear everything around her. She winced as she started to get on her knees, and then gritted her teeth as she started to stand up. Blossom opened her eyes and looked at Brick.
I can't loose this fight… Blossom thought. I can't loose him. I love him too much to let him go.
Despite the fact that her heart was pounding against her chest, she kept a straight face and turned to her counterpart. She was scared of what she saw, but she wasn't about to let it affect her. Brick growled as he watched her stand up and then said, "You don't give up, do you?"
Blossom said nothing and continued to just stare at him. He narrowed his eyes and started running towards her. The red ruff knew Blossom was tired and she was too slow to keep up with him. Blossom, too, knew this fact, but also knew this wasn't going to stop her.
From afar, Bubbles clutched her hands near her chest and struggled to keep from crying. She could see the look of determination on her sister's face and it broke her heart that she couldn't help her. She breathing turned shallow as she held the tears back.
Don't cry Bubbles, she heard Blossom say to her. Although Bubbles knew that Blossom wouldn't look at her, she knew that Blossom was talking to her. Bubbles, do you think that you could talk to Brick for me? Relay my messages to him when I tell you to?
Yeah, Blossom, I could, Bubbles replied. She saw Blossom smile and knew that her sister was happy with the reply. Before Bubbles could say anymore, she saw Brick throw a punch at her. In a graceful, fluid movement, Blossom dodged the attack. Irritated, Brick threw a series of punches and kicks at Blossom.
Bubbles, tell him things to try and get him back…anything…Blossom said. Bubbles thought hard on what to do until finally she got an idea.
Brick, Bubbles said. Brick, listen to me and listen to me with an open heart. Your dreams are telling lies. Blossom has never hated you and she never betrayed you. Your family hasn't abandoned you. They're right here…
Brick barely dodged an attack Blossom threw at him. Who ever was sending these messages was distracting him and also telling him lies.
That's not true! He argued. If my family is here, then where are they? I don't see them!
Your family is up on top the hill. Boomer and Butch are standing here, hoping that you'll join them. They're worried that you are going to stay there forever. They want you here with them. They want you to be their leader again, their brother again. Stop being their enemy, Brick!
Stop telling me lies! Brick yelled as he stopped his assault. Blossom watched him and then threw a punch at him in the abdomen. He stumbled back and this caused Blossom to furrow her eyebrows. She knew he was listening, but not listening at the same time. He was arguing with Bubbles and by the look of it, things weren't going so well.
Brick, I'm not telling you lies! This is true! You're on the wrong side! Your family doesn't hate you, your friends don't hate you and Blossom doesn't hate you! In fact, she's trying to bring you back! Bubbles tried desperately.
No! She's only going to bring me back so she can use me again…just like how everyone else had used me… The red ruff claimed stubbornly.
No one is going to use you!"Stop it!" Brick yelled out loud. Blossom stopped attacking and stared at him. "You're telling me lies! Stop trying to trick me! I won't be used anymore!"
Bubbles! Blossom interjected. Put a direct link from me to him!
After several moments of silence, Bubbles finally replied back, Go ahead, Blossom, you have a direct link to him.
Thanks Bubbles, Blossom replied and gave her a sincere smile. The pink puff then turned her eyes towards her counterpart. Brick…
Brick looked up in shock and then looked at his counterpart's mouth to see if it was moving. When it wasn't, he was even more shocked. Blossom could tell she had his attention and continued, Brick, you must listen to me. You can't stay with Ivy! You can't leave your brothers behind!
"Stop it," Brick muttered angrily.
Blossom's right, you can't leave your brothers! They miss you so much…NO! You'll all just use me! Why don't you leave me alone! The red ruff screamed causing Bubbles to wince. He punched Blossom in the stomach and Blossom crouched over in pain, but continued nonetheless.
Brick, where did you get that idea that we're using you? Was it Mia? Was it Ivy?"No," He growled lowly as he stopped his assaults again. "It was you. You did everything."
Blossom wasn't using you, Bubbles cried. She never even used you. If anything it was Mia!
"Just shut up!" The hot-tempered leader's anger was beginning to rise immensely and he was beginning to feel like he was going to explode any moment. He hoped that they would stop, but was even more angered when Bubbles started up again.
No, Brick, we're not going to shut up!
Brick, why would I use you! Came Blossom's forlorn cry. Brick didn't reply and both the girls started calling him all at once.
Brick… came Bubbles' voice.
Brick… came Blossom's voice.
One over the other, the two voices began to confuse him and overwhelm him. The red ruff became very irritated and finally shut the two girls up with a loud yell.
"Shut up! All of you!" Brick yelled as he tried to block Bubbles and Blossom out. He clutched his head and fell to his knees. Blossom bent down and lifted his head gently. She stared into his eyes sincerely and with much compassion. She was silent for a brief moment before speaking in a small, cracked whisper.
"I don't care about anymore," she said quietly. "But you must listen to me. I would never use you or hurt you in anyway. My body is tired and I'm holding onto the last strand, but before you take me to Ivy I just want you to know how I care about you. I'll always care about you."
The red ruff stayed silent as he watched his counterpart. She could sense his doubt and in response to this, she tenderly took his head and cradled it in his arms. She could feel tears brimming from her eyes and held them back. Taking in a deep, shallow breath, she took his head and pressed his forehead against hers and continued speaking quietly to him, "Don't let me stop you from being with your brothers. Go, take command of them. You won't have me there to stop you or be around you anymore. I shall be invisible like the wind. I shall be silent like the cast outreach of space. Don't let me hold you back."
Blossom released him from her grip and stood up. She took one last look at him before she started to walk towards Ivy. She could see Ivy looking at her suspsciously and finally saw a grin grow on the villainous woman's face when Blossom shouted, "I have broken one of the conditions! Because of this I lost the fight! I am in your custody!"
With a sad smile as she watched the woman smirk, the redheaded puff turned back to her counterpart and once again bent down to his size. He stared at her with a mixture of emotions. He didn't know whether to be angry or morose or confused. She looked at him for a moment and then said, "I am so sorry, Brick, for hurting you. I don't know how many times I can repeat it. I never wanted to. I may give this apology, but you don't have to accept it. I am so very so sorry."
Blossom caught him by surprise when she leaned in and gracefully captured his lips with hers. Brick did not know what to do, but he did not have time to react because the small kiss did not last very long. With a small faint whisper of "I'm sorry" from her, the pink puff passed out. The red ruff stared off into the distance for a moment before he started to pick up his unconscious female opposite. He began to walk up the steep hill with the puff in his arms when he heard Ivy call to him, "Brick, bring her to me!"
He hesitated for a moment and looked between his brothers and Ivy. Then in a loud, clear voice he said, "No, I had forfeited the fight before she broke the condition. I lost the fight, not her."
"That's a lie!" Ivy screeched, obviously not happy with Brick's decision. "She broke it! She's mine! And you should be on my side! Not theirs!"
"What makes you so sure I would choose you over my brothers?" Brick challenged as he glared at her. "I'm going with them and I'm taking Blossom with me. She's in my custody now. You come after us, I promise you that you'll be my new victim." With that said, Brick turned his back on Ivy and motioned for the others to follow him. Butch, Boomer and Bubbles took off into the sky immediately.
As Buttercup turned to go, Ivy shouted after her, "What about my jade necklace!"
"I think we'll give you that back when we safely reach the base so you can't harm any of us," The green puff said with a mischievous grin and then took off into the sky, her green streak trailing off behind her. Ivy stood there for a second before screaming out in frustration.
"I'll get you back Blossom!" The female villain yelled into the sky. "You'll pay for what you did!"
Author's Notes:
There ya go peeps! Chapter 16! I hope you enjoyed it. The quote that Blossom used in the beginning of the chapter was from Great Expectations. I don't have the exact page because where I got it from was a book that has all the page numbers messed you.
Anyway, as I said previously for chapter 17, it will probably short due to the fact that it's a filler chapter. I honestly expect it to be at least six pages a the most…maybe a little more so hopefully it'll come out sooner rather than later. That is, if my muse, Misha, decides not to take a vacation this time.
Misha: Well, it's not my fault you were boring me…
HEY! I was studying for your information! I'm telling you that AP Ancient Civ. Isn't a walk a in the park…especially with my teacher…
Misha: Yeah, yeah…like the Hoplite Phanlax is so interesting…
Actually, without it, I wouldn't have an idea on how to defeat Ivy…
Misha: Technically it was my idea…
Shuddap…Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and here are the review replies…BTW, where's Blaze?
Misha: -hides rope and duct tape behind her back- I dunno…
Review Replies:
Lil Fang: Don't worry about everyone being older than you. In my case, I'm shorter than everyone is although I'm older. Sad, but true. Anyway, thanks for the review and wishing me happy birthday.
Kaz: Well, there's the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for the review!
Tonifranz: Yeah, Ivy isn't a Napoleon or an Alexander, but neither am I! LOL. I was actually very proud of the way Buttercup brought Butch back. About Brick, I'm trying to mirror this Brick with the Brick in your story because I find your Brick rather irritatingly smart and very witty. You do such a good job with the boys! Anywho, thanks for the review and wishin' me a happy b-day!
RayeBBG: Thank you for the review and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Hairy Gregory: Your right about the professor accepting Princess and Aaron, but John Utonium is still the professor we all know and love. LOL. Anyway, yes everyone seems to be safe and sound; including Brick now! LOL. Brick, gained some sort of sense in this fight while he confronted Blossom…hopefully…
Polska: Well, Brick came back this chapter, so there's your answer. As I read my story over again I realized that you were correct…Brick does seem to be an Ivy clone. I decided to show that he wasn't in this chapter because it kind of freaked me out….LOL…Thanks for the review…
Witchy-Witch-Karinka: WOW! I didn't know anyone liked my story that much. Mucho gracias senorita!
Amity-Star: Thank you for wishing me a happy b-day! I great appreciate it! LOL. As much as I enjoy reading mushy stuff like that sometimes (sounds like Sniper's story BTW), I have other plans for these two…more of a dramatic direction without death…
Mmdmdvcnfhm: I tried to add a kissing scene to make you happy -smiles- but to be completely honest with you, romance isn't one of my strong points…or more like kissing scenes aren't one of my strong points. On another note, I hope you enjoyed the story! LOL…I'm a nutcase! I also plan to finish my story, don't worry, otherwise my friend from my bio class will scream at me for not finishing…LOL! Thanks for the review and thank you for the compliment!
Kezzer: Ah…my longest reply…a pain in the neck…nah, just kidding. LOL. I'm a really bad comedian…pay no attention to that joke for your own health…LOL. Anyway, continuing. I believe getting Butch back with enough emotion was the right thing rather than how Boomer was brought back. I decided I needed to have the boys come back differently (ex: Boomer kissin' Bubbles, Butch sees memories, Brick forcefully).
I was actually running out of ideas on how Ivy should hit the girls and then while I was watching Sailor Moon with my little cousin, I saw that they continuously "hurt" them where it hurts the most - the "heart"... sort of speak. I wouldn't say my writing is better than yours is, I've read some of your work and I enjoyed it. You have a great writing style!
LOL. Trunks? I honestly think Trunks is the coolest character followed closely by Gotenks (Arrogant, yes, but extremely cool…though he does have some weird attacks, but then again, who doesn't?) Although Ivy maybe seem invincible in strength, she most certainly lacks in the strategic area as Tonifranz pointed out.
The Doom Girls are definitely the darker side of the girls. I got the idea from Kingdom Hearts actually. Sora has a shadow version of himself and then the penguins in my head started working. Anyway, in conclusion, thank you for the review and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Wow, it took me a whole page to write down the review responses. Did you know I had like three different files with three different scenes for this chapter? Weird….Anyway, stay tuned peeps for Chapter 17: Promise My Heart…I love the chapter name. Now I must go a play Final Fantasy X…er…I mean write for the next chapter!
Somewei
"You are not finished when you loose…you are finished when you quit."
- unknown