I figure there's no avoiding it lol. So here's the next chapter. Maybe some of you will catch my own little joke I made at myself for how cliched and sometimes silly this story seems when I read it back to myself. I hope its not too much of a rip off.. I really did think of all these ideas myself and with the help of some friends. Oh well, I hope people enjoy it anyway.
On with the fic
Chapter 6: Exodus
Brio leapt forward at the last second, slamming his fist into the side of Quasi's metal skull. Quasi yelped in surprise and fired the antidote X blast blindly at the rock wall, barely missing Brio.
Quasi quickly morphed his metal arm from a gun into a tentacle-like appendage. The powerful metal tendril quickly wrapped itself around Brio's neck before he could attack again, and wasting no time at all, Quasi proceeded to give him several antidote X shocks similar to the ones Mojo could inflict on Quasi himself.
Brio cried out with each powerful shock, struggling beneath Quasi's powerful grip.
At once Quasi was hit hard in the stomach, causing him to gasp in pain and unconsciously release Brio from his strangling hold.
Brio fell to the ground, gasping for air and convulsing in pain from all the antidote X shocks, not to mention still recovering the energy he had lost when reaching through the antidote X rays to rescue the girls. His vision began to blur and go dark, and the image of a golden-haired girl was all he could make out.
Bubbles shook Brio a few times to try and wake him, while Blossom and Buttercup held Quasi off long enough to allow Bubbles the time she needed.
The energy Brio had transferred as a shield to pull the girls from their antidote X prisons had fortunately given them a burst in energy, and in turn eventually woken them from their dead-like sleep. Now as they took over the fight, the roles had switched from the rescued to the rescuers.
Brio's eyes opened after a few moments, and he stood up weakly with Bubbles' help. He gasped when he noticed Blossom and Buttercup fighting Quasi, the deadly tendril trying desperately to lasso both puffs at once.
"Girls! Be careful!" Brio warned and stumbled as he advanced on them, "Don't let that tentacle.. thing touch you!"
Buttercup and Blossom stopped for only a split second to comprehend what Brio was saying, and in that instant the tendril wrapped tightly around Buttercup's waist, causing all four of them to gasp in surprise.
Almost instantly following that was an extremely bright light, so blindingly radiant that nobody in the room could see, much less fight. Once again Quasi released his grip around Buttercup's waist before he got a chance to shock her, leaving her completely unharmed.
Everyone hollered and rubbed their eyes furiously, the after effects of the light leaving them each temporarily paralyzed and blinded.
Bubbles, however, the bearer of the brilliant blast, remained unharmed. Her appearance looked just as it did during the final battle with Quasi: bright golden light poured out from the tips of her hair, completely consumed her eyes in its radiant shine and even seemed to glow directly from her skin.
At true light speed, Bubbles grabbed the arms of Brio, Buttercup and Blossom; herding them out the door, up the stairs, out of the observatory and onto the park below in only a few milliseconds.
Bubbles stopped short at the base of Mojo's volcano lair, completely exhausted from her rapid escape.
A few moments later the effects of the blinding ray had worn off, and now Brio, Blossom and Buttercup were looking around them, confused.
All they had to do was simply stare at Bubbles' glowing form as it faded back to normal to understand what had happened.
"Geez, you really need to work on that move," Buttercup said, annoyed, while still rubbing her eyes.
"A simple 'thank you' will suffice," Bubbles said and rolled her eyes.
They all suddenly looked up, and with their heightened senses already knew that something was approaching from the top of Mojo's volcano lair.
"What on earth is that..?" Bubbles thought aloud.
"You don't want to know," Brio panicked as he urged the girls to follow him, "we need to get as far away from here as possible as quickly as possible."
"Bah, whatever it is, I can take it," Buttercup boasted just as four of the ten-foot black metal guard droids landed on the ground in front of them.
A man who was taking an early morning jog in Townsville park screamed and ran at the sight of these machines, and the puffs too were shocked at what Mojo had created.
After a moment however, Buttercup spoke again.
"...Pfft, that's nothing.. Mojo has created bigger robots than this,"Buttercup assured her sisters as she puffed out her chest.
Blossom shook her head in awe and took a step backwards, "No, Buttercup, I can already sense that these robots are way more powerful than any robot Mojo has ever made.."
"Nonsense," Buttercup chuckled as she took a fighting stance.
"Buttercup, NO!" Brio yelled in a panic.
"Leave me alone, Brio,"Buttercup spat, "I can take care of myself."
Buttercup jumped at the robots, pulling her fist back and slamming it into one of the droids' face. She screamed a painful scream as she recoiled in pain, making a small dent in the robot's armored skull.
It took only one painful reverberation of her powerful punch for Buttercup to realize what Brio and Blossom had been trying to say. Buttercup took a step backward, stuttering in fear as the robots prepared their antidote X guns to fire upon them.
"I dunno about you guys but I say we should retreat this time," Buttercup said as she slowly inched farther and farther away, close to her siblings again.
"Exactly... normally I'd say that the Powerpuffs never lose or back down from a fight, but like I urged before... I think it would be wise if we RUN!" Brio shouted right as the robots opened fire.
The girls and Brio took off towards Townsville, hoping to evade the robots and seek safety long enough for Brio to regain his energy again. At least that was the girls' agenda, Brio, however, was only concerned with remaining hidden long enough for him to share his special plan with the girls.
When Brio reached a dark, deserted alley, he quickly herded the girls behind some old boxes where they sat silent and hidden until the coast was clear.
After a long, frightened pause, Buttercup finally spoke up.
"Thanks Brio, for saving us back there... And you too, Bubbles.. we owe you one.." Buttercup said as she grabbed each of her siblings in a hug.
"I should be thanking you all, it was all of us working together that got us out of there alive," Brio corrected.
"I'm sure Quasi was really steamed when he found out that we got away..." Bubbles trailed off, quivering a little in fear, "only a matter of time until he finds us again."
Brio hugged each of his sisters tightly but then began to speak rapidly and softly, so to remain hidden.
"Girls, we don't have much time," He reached into his pocket and pulled out the scrap of paper he had found in his room.
"...What's going on here?" Blossom asked curiously, "We're all still very lost.."
"I feel like I've known this was coming.. for a long time... I had sensed it.. that Quasi wasn't dead. And..so I've been thinking.. I've been thinking about how we could defeat Quasi since we obviously didn't the first time. And I've done some research on a possible way that we could stop both him and Mojo-," He said quickly.
"It's impossible." Buttercup interrupted flatly. "Now that he's teamed up with Mojo, he's unstoppable. You saw very well how closely we came to being killed back there by those robots-"
"Yeah," Blossom interrupted, "the design is genius.. not even chemical X powers can put a dent in them..."
"This time we can't even touch them," Bubbles added, "They've won and you know it, Brio."
Brio's face twisted into a determined glare, causing the girls to recoil in shocked silence.
"There is still a way," he said simply.
"But.. how?" Blossom asked helplessly, "What can we possibly do?"
"This is a longshot, but it's our only hope.." he glanced at his scribbled sheet of paper and then back at the girls.
"There is a legend that describes a similar situation to this," Brio explained.
"What do you mean?" Bubbles inquired.
"As I was searching for you girls, I came upon this sheet of paper that I took some notes on. About two or three weeks ago I discovered a news headline about it that sparked my interest," he said.
"Yeah, yeah," Buttercup insisted, "get to the point,"
Brio scowled at Buttercup but continued speaking quickly, "You see, this ancient structure was recently discovered in central Africa. Something of legend that nobody thought really existed. Coincidence? Maybe. But it could be the key to stopping Quasi."
"What is this legend?" Buttercup asked impatiently again, "And what does that have to do with this?"
"The structure in Africa looks much like the one described in the legend. The inscriptions on the door are in Latin, leading archeologists to believe that the structure is from the ancient Roman empire.."
"The Roman empire? In central Africa?" Blossom asked skeptically, and then took on her usual snobbish, know-it-all tone of voice, "I'm quite sure that from memorizing the Encyclopedia that the Roman empire stretched into Egypt but not into central Africa and-"
"Skip the history lesson and tell us the freaking legend," Buttercup nearly yelled, before Brio clasped his hand over her mouth and signaled for her to be quiet.
"I've looked up on this, Blossom.. I discovered that their empire stretched farther than any other before them, even farther than most laymen know of.. nearly every square mile of Europe, parts of the middle East and even down into northern Africa.."
"Wow.." Bubbles said in wonder.
Buttercup yawned rudely, not listening at all.
Blossom waited impatiently, tapping her foot.
"But not even the most educated historians and archeologists knew that the Roman empire even stretched deep into the heart of Africa, the Congo."
"Neither did I," Blossom said, completely sure of herself, "and I still don't believe it until I see it for myself."
Brio ignored her rudeness,"This milestone is an enormous breakthrough in history and science, but unfortunately, the structure they have unearthed is made of solid stone, and sealed so tightly that none can get in, not even man's most powerful machines and even dynamite."
Buttercup rolled her eyes and finally spoke up again, almost as loud as before.
"Well this is all very nice.. But what on earth does it have to do with us?"
Brio turned to Buttercup and smiled, his saint-like patience one of his greatest virtues.
"Well, I believe the key to unlocking your powers completely lies inside this ancient Roman temple. And the only way to defeat this.. 'QuasiMojo Empire' is by unearthing your individual powers completely, and each of us using them to work together."
"But.. how?" Bubbles asked in wonder. "How could something from an ancient race of people help us now?"
"That's where the legend comes in," Brio explained.
"Finally," Buttercup said as she began to half pay attention.
"This legend comes from thousands of years ago, just as the early Roman empire was beginning to gain more power. It describes a monstrous demon of pure evil, conquering the world and causing chaos, death and destruction with its phenomenal power."
Brio paused for effect, "The only force that could stop it was the four universal powers."
He showed his notes to the girls and pointed to a small pencil sketch. A circle in the center represented earth, within it was a fiery core and on one side of the circle was complete darkness, while the other was the sun.
"These powers belonged to four different gods-"
"Yeah, yeah, I know all of this," Blossom interrupted, "Roman Gods.. Jupiter, Pluto, Neptune.. those guys."
"I'm afraid not, Blossom. First, there was Vulcan, the God of Fire. He held the powers within the earth, the flaming core of our planet," he gestured towards the core on the picture.
"Helios, the God of Light, held the powers of the sun that rises everyday and its light and warmth is shed upon the earth," he pointed to the sun.
"Erebus, the God of Darkness, held the powers of darkness and the cold of night as it covers our earth in sleep." He then pointed to the dark side of the planet.
"And finally, Mithras, God of Life. He is the connecting thread that holds all of these things together, making the world we live in. In ancient times he was believed to be the mediator God, containing powers of the sun, heaven and earth. Without him, none of these things could work in sync with one another and life couldn't be set into motion the way it should." Brio said, while gesturing in a rotating motion all around the picture, to signify the movement of life and the forces of nature.
The girls sat quietly and listened, waiting for more.
"For lack of a better description, Mithras would be like the modern being we know of as God, a warrior and also a mediator."
Brio coughed a few times, still weakened from before, but continued.
"Anyway... Vulcan, Erebus, and Helios each combined their powers into an unstoppable force, while Mithras sealed it all into a single weapon with great power," Brio explained further, "And this weapon was supposedly sealed in a hidden temple, and until now that temple was never found."
"So.. The ancient structure they recently discovered is where this super-weapon is?" Buttercup asked, suddenly interested and excited, "Then lets go get it!"
"Unfortunately, it's not that easy." Brio said with a sigh.
"Whaddya mean?" Buttercup protested impatiently, "We can easily break through solid stone!"
"I'm afraid not, Buttercup,"Brio said, "According to legend this temple is locked up tight with Mithras' spell, and can only be opened when the bearers of the four universal powers blast through the door at once."
The girls fell silent, the excited hope leaving their faces at this news. After a moment Brio continued:
"But as you may have already figured out, each of your hidden powers is a reflection of the power of each of those Gods."
They looked up to him in awe.
"Us?" Blossom asked in wonder, "We hold powers.. of gods?"
Brio simply nodded and smiled at their flabbergasted expressions.
He pointed to Blossom, "Blossom, you possess the power of Vulcan, God of Fire. It is also refereed to by its ancient name, Bruciare."
Brio then turned to Bubbles, "Bubbles, you hold the power of Helios, God of the Sun. Your powers of light were once called Brillare."
"Well..." Bubbles said in awe while looking down at her two hands and chuckling, "that explains a lot."
He then finally looked to Buttercup, "And finally, Buttercup, you contain the power of Erebus, The God of Darkness. Which we call by its old name, Buio."
"Darkness..?" Buttercup thought aloud in disbelief, "...sweeeet."
There was a moment of silence as the girls took in this crucial and startling information. Finally, after a long time, Bubbles turned to Brio, her eyes wide and curious.
"What about you Brio? Do you have a hidden power too?" She asked.
Brio laughed a little and smiled at her.
"Well, I guess you could say that. I have a bit of each of your powers... But if you mean one specifically to me, yes, I do. My powers are from Mithras, the soldier God of Life," Brio smiled, "My powers are known as Brio, or life, but you can just call me Brio," he said with a wink while the girls giggled a little, but soon became serious again.
"But the difference between my powers and yours is that mine are already awakened, while yours are still lying dormant."
"Ahhh.. I understand now," Bubbles said thoughtfully.
"When each of your hidden powers have been awakened, together we will form the unbreakable bonds of the four sides of the Diamond."
"The what?"
"Remember that technique we tried when were fighting Quasi before?" Brio asked.
"Yeah.. when we all tried to awaken our powers.. The one that didn't work?" Buttercup asked skeptically.
"Your powers were still very young, and you were not yet ready to unleash them to their full extent. To make it work, your powers need to be at their maximum potential, forming the bonds of the Diamond. The Diamond is the key to revealing the power necessary to defeat Quasi."
"...Really?" Blossom asked in awe, "Are you sure it will work?"
"Yes, to form these bonds successfully and defeat Quasi for the final time we need to awaken your powers, go into the ancient Roman temple, blast through the door, and retrieve the Diamond sword."
"Woah, woah.. back up.. ..what?" Buttercup scratched her head in confusion.
Brio rolled his eyes, "Remember? That super-weapon?"
Buttercup thought for a moment, "...Oh yeah! Sweet."
"Wow.. A Diamond sword?" Blossom asked in wonder, "the weapon supposedly forged by the Gods themselves?"
"Yeah, and it is imperative that we retrieve it soon, before Quasi and Mojo gain more power than we can handle."
"Heh.. No pressure," Buttercup said with a nervous chuckle.
"Okay... Next question: How do we awaken our powers to do this?" Blossom asked.
Brio flipped over his paper of notes and smiled a little as he read them over quickly.
"I've already gotten that covered as well," he said, "To awaken your powers, you must go to the sites of your particular God's power."
Each of them fell silent, however, as metallic footsteps ran past the alley they were hiding in. After a few moments Blossom spoke up in a hurried whisper.
"Sites?" Blossom asked quickly, "Where do we have to go, Brio?"
He read his paper aloud in a soft, rapid voice: "Blossom, you must go to the city of Pompeii in Italy, that is where Vulcan's power is hidden. You'll find a chamber that leads inside Mount Vesuvius, the volcano. There you will search for the beast you must defeat to obtain the power."
"Beast?" Blossom asked, "Geez this is something straight out of Zelda or Harry Potter.."
"Don't blame me, blame the writer of this ridiculous story."
"What?"
"Nevermind," Brio cleared his throat and continued, "Yes, each of you will find a beast that you must defeat in order to gain your hidden power."
Bubbles spoke nervously and gulped, "Why does there always have to be a monster?"
"In order to control your power, you must defeat it," Brio said.
Before Bubbles could ask another question Brio was already giving her very important instructions.
"Bubbles, you must go to the city of Korinthos in Greece, climb to the peak of Mount Akrokorinthos, the mountain dedicated to Helios himself. There you will obtain your power."
"Right," Bubbles said, determination masking her fear.
"And Buttercup, your destination is Mount Erebus in Antarctica, another volcano."
"Antarctica!" Buttercup exclaimed and began to complain, "How lame is that? They get to go to Italy and Greece.."
"Yeah, it is where you will find Erebus' power hidden in the summer, because there is little to no sunlight, a perfect place for the power of Darkness. You'll need to find a small entrance at the base of the volcano and go underground into the darkness, and that is where you will find your power."
Even Buttercup gulped and shivered a little at the thought.
"So uhh.. that was a lot of information just then.. care to run it by me a second time?" Buttercup asked nervously with a laugh while Brio slapped his forehead in frustration.
"Okay.. Two things. First off, what? Second off, how the heck do you know all this!" Blossom asked.
"I'm just THAT good," Brio said with a goofy grin while the others rolled their eyes.
"..Can't you come with me Brio? I'm scared to go alone.." Bubbles shivered a little."I can't go with you. If you can't do this alone we don't have any hope of stopping Quasi."
Bubbles bit her lip and whimpered a little bit. Blossom was in deep thought, still trying to process everything.
Suddenly, more metallic footsteps were heard approaching rapidly from far off, causing Brio to stand up quickly in panic.
"Girls, you need to get out of here, now!" He ordered, "Go where I told you to as soon as possible, it's our only hope!"
"But-" Blossom started.
"Don't worry about me or the Professor or anything else, just go!" He shoved his paper into Blossom's hands and pointed off in the distance. "Hurry! They're coming!"
Without hesitation the girls were off in separate directions.
The QuasiMojo robots watched them fly off, but just as they were about to split up and follow them, Brio leapt into the street, shouting at them.
"Come on you metal morons!" He boasted at the top of his lungs, "Just try to hit me!"
The robots turned their attention to Brio, staring icily at him as they readied their guns in preparation, their previous mission forgotten.
Thanks for reading
A/N: Ifthere's anybody out there who would like to do some fanarts they would be much appreciated.. I want to see the kind of ideas that other people have in their minds about this story. Personally I'll be sticking to only drawing after this, not so much writing. But thats more than anyone cared to know lol. Sohere's some stuff thatI drewto help: Brio:http/img. http/img.