Disclaimer: Thank Craig Mccraken. I don't - nor will I ever - own the Powerpuff Girls.


- CHAPTER 5 -

Betrayals


"Blossom, I have to tell you something," Bubbles knocked gently on the library door. She waited for her sister to answer while rubbing her hands nervously. She didn't want to betray the boy, but she couldn't just let him run rampant through the town without facing any consequences.

"You know you don't have to knock, silly. You're my sister, not to mention the princess! You can come in anytime." Her sister opened the door, a bright smile on her face. Even though Bubbles wasn't as close to her as when she was little, she still enjoyed talking to Blossom in times of need. The orange haired girl was rather good with coming up with solutions to difficult problems. "So, what did you want to tell me?"

Bubbles gulped and walked in, closing the door behind her, "There's a problem." Blossom tilted her head to the side a little, a small satisfied smile appearing, as if she had already known, and sat down in a chair. She smoothed out her dress and gestured to the armchair across from her, inviting her little sister to sit. Bubbles hesitated for a moment before lowering herself onto the plush cushion. "I met a boy this morning."

Blossom's smile immediately dissipated, her eye twitching a little, "Oh. Boy trouble? I'm afraid I can't help you with that. It's not in my... expertise." Her mouth formed a thin line, and started to stand up.

"Wait, wait, wait! I'm not having boy problems! Well, not really..." Bubbles reached out to grab her sister's arm. Blossom had a dubious look on her as she turned around and sat back down. She raised her chin a little, showing she was willing to listen. Bubbles gulped again." Yes, there is a boy. But not just any boy. He's from Gadrea, and goes by The Blue Shadow. He claims he only robs people so he can give the money to the poor, but I don't believe him. I was hoping you could do something, like put him behind bars or have him exiled. Now that you're marrying Brick you have that power, right?"

Blossom pursed her lips, obviously deep in thought. After a while she looked up and finally spoke,"Not yet. He's still their subject, but maybe I can convince Prince Brick to help." She stood up and walked over to a bookshelf. "Meanwhile, how about you keep an eye on him? If he trusts you to tell you that much, then he probably thinks you're on his side. Try to figure out as much as you can, and if possible, stop his wrongdoing." Taking out a book, her eyes drifted to the door, signaling Bubbles that she could leave now.

"Thank you so much! You are the best sister ever. All I want is for everyone to be safe. Thank you!" Bubbles was grinning from ear to ear as she backed out the the ginormous library. Phase one completed. Now to work on phase two. Befriending the enemy.

She dashed out the castle gates and immediately began her journey to Gadrea. It was a crime scene and there were witnesses to interrogate.

By the time she arrived, it was already starting to get dark, but she didn't care. Everyone always thought of her as the weak Utonium sister. The one that needed people to care for and protect. Buttercup got to go anywhere she wanted, any time she wanted, just because she knew how to fight and handle weapons. Blossom was the smart one, and people would listen to her. Bubbles was the naïve one, the one that played with puppies and made garlands with daisies. Well, She didn't like it. Nobody took her seriously. Nobody trusted her. She was the baby of the kingdom.

But now! Now she had a chance to prove herself! She had the chance to show them that she wasn't just some silly, shallow girl. No way in hell was she going to let this opportunity slip through her fingers. She plowed through the streets, asking if anything had been stolen, and if they knew anything about the thief.

"Thief? Yeah there was a thief. Stole my bracelet, too." Someone sneered from behind her. Bubbles whipped around to face a yellow clad girl about the same age as her with puffy red curls styled in two pigtails much like her own. She had an intricate gold 'P' necklace on her neck and enormous tiara resting on top of her head. " Name's Princess Morbucks. I'm the princess of Aleton as you probably already know, and last night a person dressed in blue stole my bracelet."

Yes!, Bubbles mentally cheered. She found what she had been looking for. "That's terrible Princess...Princess?" She stopped. That sounded terrible.

"Ugh. Just call me Princess you twit."

Bubbles nodded,"Of course. Well, I was wondering if you could tell me anything about him. Did he leave anything behind? Did he do anything strange? Did you-" Princess looked her up an down with disgust. Her arms were folded and she was squinting her eyes.

"Stop. I didn't see anything. Besides you are suppose to help me, not the the other way around! You better find me my bracelet before the first of November or I'll send my guards after you!" She poked a bewildered Bubbles in the chest. "Now go! Find that insolent fool!" She barged past her, toward a carriage.

I never said anything about helping her... Bubbles thought to herself, slowly turning around to look at the vehicle leave with the nasty princess of Aleton sitting inside, screaming at the coachman to go faster. And she's threatening me now? We just met!

She rolled her eyes and continued down the street, looking for more victims of "The Blue Shadow". Why was she here anyway? Isn't her kingdom at war with Gadrea? I guess I'll ask her the next time we meet. Bubbles blinked, pushing away her thoughts and focusing on the task at hand. But there was no one left. Everyone had went inside, and the lights were all out. How did that happen? She wondered, turning back toward the path that lead to Selodia, ready to go home.

Clong! The clock tower struck seven. In her kingdom, the townsfolk would be inside too, but eating dinner. The people here appeared to be asleep already. But it was eerily quiet, which was extremely strange. Unless... They didn't want anyone to know they were there. Unless they were hiding. Bubbles eyes widened at the fog that was reaching out toward her that she had previously ignored. That wasn't natural.

Something was stalking the kingdom of Gadrea.

The howl was what did it. The long ahoo coming from the midst of the fog was what sent Bubbles running. As she sprinted down the dirt road in her flats, she cursed herself for not bringing along Pearl, her horse. The fog moved faster, wrapping around her feet. Bubbles put on more speed. She was the fastest of her sisters, and was determined not to let it get to her. She ran and ran, until she saw the lights of Selodia up ahead. Turning her head, she saw the grayish white tendrils had retreated and were engulfing the entire kingdom of Gadrea.

It was terrifying.


"Where are you Mitch?" Buttercup growled at the darkness. She had been looking for him for ages already. Ten whole minutes! In her world, that was equivalent to a lifetime. "Argh!" She muttered to herself, finally giving up. Fine. She wasn't going to go look for him. He was going to have to find her if he wanted her to help.

Pulling her bandana over her nose, she leaned casually against a wall. Buttercup wasn't worried about getting found by a Gadrean or Aleton. She was a master of stealth. Besides, even if she did get caught. She'd escape. Why do you think she always got away with sneaking out of the castle? Nobody could keep their hands on her for more than a minute. She stood motionless for another ten minutes, glaring at every shadow that passed with her arms folded.

Guess he's not coming.

Buttercup sighed and stretched. She started to walk back towards Selodia when she saw a trickle of blood dripping from the wall. Bored, she looked up and saw a dead man about twenty years old lying flat on his stomach, a huge gash on his face. The color of his badge meant he was an Aleton scout. The Night Owls did this. She scowled at the corpse, disgusted by how easy it must've been to defeat him.

Well, if he's dead, I might as well steal his stuff. It's not like he'll need it anymore.

She quickly kicked off the left wall onto the right, then back and forth until she reached the top. Leaning over the dead body, she inspected him for anything worth taking. Nothing. She used her foot to flip him onto his back, where the good stuff probably was. She was right. In the cloth pouch tied to his belt was one of those fancy "pens" that didn't need to be dipped in ink before writing and could only be bought at the most western harbors of their land, and a gold compass. Unfortunately, she didn't need either of them. But she swiped the bag anyway as a gift for her sisters.

Rather disappointed, she kicked the man's stomach and started turning her back on it when she spotted a piece of paper fall out of his pocket. Thinking it could be something useful, she snatched it before it could be swept away by the wind.

It was rather small, and folded so many times that it could fit in the palm of her hand, but when she opened it she realized it intricately drawn map of Gadrea. And not jut any map, but a map of where all the soldiers were and where the defense was weakest. Jackpot! Mitch would be so happy when she gave it to him. Buttercup was about to head back towards Selodia to give it to him when she stopped. Her bright eyes flashed with anger as she remembered how Mitch ditched her.

No.

She wasn't going to give this valuable piece of information to him, just for him to take all the credit. She was going to present it to the Black Cats tomorrow night, at their meeting. This would for sure guarantee her a place in their group. They wouldn't let her in because she was the princess, but now they definitely couldn't refuse.

Then we'll see who goes on more missions, Mitch, She thought as she jumped from roof to roof, towards her kingdom.

"Over there four roofs away! Aleton scout!" Came a shout from far away. Buttercup whipped around, to see a figure sprinting towards her, occasionally leaping from roof to roof. In his hand was a sharp steel blade, glinting in the moonlight. She sighed, rather annoyed. Why do people always assume they can just take her down or something? Rolling her eyes, she slide two blades down her sleeves so when the figure got near her, she could easily stab him without him knowing.

"Bring it on, big boy."

He landed in front of her, and even though he had a mask on, she could tell he was sneering. Buttercup gave him a quick look-over, rolled her eyes again, then folded her arms with a satisfied smirk. Fit, but not much muscle. Probably somewhere around five feet eight, she could use that to her advantage. Clearly confident that he could win.

Hah. She'll be spitting on his carcass soon enough.

"What's a little girl like yourself doing out here in the middle of the night? Shouldn't you be home with your Mama and Papa?" He said mockingly, while twirling the knife in his hand. She shrugged, smug.

"What can I say? I'm not like most girls." Buttercup took a step forward. "And what about you, sir? You should be at home too, taking care of your family. Or do you not have one, you poor stupid creature? " His face suddenly darkened, as if something she said hit a nerve. Good, she thought. Weaken the enemy with words first, then kill him. "Tch. Doesn't matter anyway. You'll be dead in a few moments anyway."

"Enough!" He bellowed, charging towards her. "Talk is cheap! Let's get this over with." She snickered and step sided quickly, positive he wouldn't hit her.

"Is that the best you-"

A knife flashed and she felt something wet against her cheek. She reached up to find her bandana ripped and a gash in the side of her face. Snarling, she wiped away the blood, the pain completely unfelt as she was suddenly blinded by shock and rage.

Oh, boy was he going to pay.

Abandoning her previous plan, she whipped the knives out of her sleeves and spun around to disembowel the fool. Unfortunately, the second she turned around, she felt a searing pain in her left shoulder. Damn. Another cut.

"I always win, little girl." He said from behind her as she turned her head around to inspect the wound. "I'm really sorry it has to end this way, but hey, see you in hell?" He shrugged, a smug smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Growling, she made a wild grab for him, her hands tightening around his throat. Even though his face was slowly turning red, that damn smile of his was still spread wide across him face. Buttercup smacked the knife out of his hand and shot a hate filled glare at him.

"Ooh... F-feisty! I... Ack... Like yo-ou!" He choked out, his hands clawing feebly at his throat, eyes bright. Disgusted, Buttercup slammed him into cold, wet stone. "Can you...ease...u-up a bit.. Sweetheart?" He coughed, struggling. Now more infuriated that ever, she let go of her grip and instead started punching him in the face. Soon, there was a small stream of blood dripping onto his shirt, but he was still grinning.

"What is your problem? We're fighting if you haven't noticed! You're not supposed I be enjoying this, you disgusting...psycho !" She screamed, sending another blow at his ribs. Leaning in closer, to the point that their noses were touching, she stared into his dark green eyes and whispered harshly, "I'm going to enjoy killing you." His grin widened as he lifted his hand up and...

Ripped off her mask.

Buttercup gasped and immediately leapt off him, turning so her back was to him. If he found out that the princess of Selodia was spying on his kingdom, the deal would be off and the war would continue. He stood up, wiping the corners of his mouth and slightly swaying back and forth due to the massive pounding he had received.

"What is it little girl? I thought you said you were going to kill me? Or are too afraid to show your face?" He spat, looking up to see where she went.

Nobody was there. Only a torn bandana.