Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of the Demashitaa! Powerpuff Girls Z anime.
The storyline and any OCs are my ONLY property.
This merely serves as entertainment for the viewers!
(Warning: This story is rated T; it contains violence, vulgar language, and minor suggestive adult themes. Read at your own risk.)
Narrator/Third Person's POV
Bloom and Butterfly were left in shock, their eyes wide as they read the last part of the entry. The redheaded leader's hands stiffened around the book, slowly turning towards her friend. They looked at each other for a while until Bloom slammed the book close on her vanity. Bloom began mumbling as she began typing on her compact furiously.
Butterfly approached her, "Momo," She said, placing her hand on Bloom's shoulder. "Hey, calm down."
"Don't tell me to calm down, Kaoru." Bloom snapped, groaning as her compact's screen was loading, "This isn't humane! They're using these people in these twisted experiments and for what?!"
The screen on her compact was still black, making Bloom curse. "Damn it, pick up!"
Rolling her eyes, Butterfly held her shoulders, making Bloom look at her. "Hey," Butterfly said calmly, "I know this is serious, but you have to stay level-headed. We're a team, remember?"
Bloom stared at her friend, sighing in defeat, "You're right, it's just that… I didn't imagine that this was happening behind our backs for all these years."
"No one was expecting this Momoko, but we're the Powerpuff Girls," Butterfly replied, "Those people are counting on us. And we will save them, all of them."
Bloom looked at her worriedly, her fists clenching and unclenching, "I feel like we're running out of time Kaoru. We only have this summer to do this but I'm so frustrated that no one back at LUX even knew about this. I just want this to be over."
"And we will," Butterfly reassured, smiling. "Come on, your compact's ringing already."
Both girls walked towards the compact with Butterfly holding it, a soft bell sound coming from the small compact. After a few more rings, the screen lit up and split into two. One screen showed the Professor and Ken while the other screen showed their blue-eyed friend, Bright.
"Momoko-nee, Kaoru-nee, why'd you call?" Ken asked, cocking his head to the side. "Did something happen?"
Bloom and Butterfly both sat down on the bed, grabbing the book as they did. "We found out what those experiments were about." Bloom said, folding her arms. "They take countless amounts of blood from these patients because they need to extract a pure and perfect blood sample. Or at least, try to make a pure blood sample."
"And those experiments aren't being done lightly," Butterfly explained, sighing. "They go to… extremely great lengths to get the sample they want." She said, carefully picking her words as she saw how Bright began to react towards the story.
"What?" Both the Professor and Ken asked, their eyes suddenly going wide.
Bright covered her mouth in shock. "Oh God… all those people…" She began to tear up, looking at both Butterfly and Bloom and disbelief. "Why do they have to do that?"
"We still don't know, Miya," Kaoru said before looking at the screen where the Professor and Ken stood. "Professor, is there even a sole reason as to why they would need that kind of blood? Do they need it for chemicals or stuff?"
"I can't say for sure, but we can't rule out that possibility." Professor said, holding his chin as he began to think intently. "Does someone even have that pure blood that they're looking for?" He mumbled.
Bloom took the compact from her friend, "That's what I was thinking too. However, we still don't know what that 'pure blood' sample even means to them. We can only assume that they're looking for blood that fits a certain type of standard."
The Professor was still baffled, furrowing his eyebrows together as he began to type on his computer. "There has got to be a reason for this." He said, "I'll try to contact Tatsuya-san to see if he can help me with this."
"Are they okay with helping us on this mission? Won't they get in trouble?" Bright asked, curious.
"Don't worry," The Professor reassured. "It was your friends themselves who wanted to assist you in this mission. Even if it risked their own jobs at LUX, they're as determined to find out the truth of R.I.D. as you."
"Why keep it confidential again?" Butterfly asked.
"We don't need many people knowing about this, even the agency if we want to maintain a low profile for you three." He explained, smiling. "Don't worry girls, we've got this under control."
Giggling softly, Bloom replied, "We know Professor, we trust you."
Smiling, the Professor looked at the screen once again. "I'll contact you girls later when I get some information. For now, try to formulate a plan while you can."
"Sure thing, Professor." Butterfly replied.
"Bye, girls." Professor said, "Bye nee-chans!" Ken added, waving at the girls.
"Bye Ken, bye Professor!"
The screen on the left disappeared, leaving the girls alone to talk with each other.
Bright sighed looking at her friends nervously. "How are we going to do that? How are we going to save them? Are we still going to stick with the original plan?"
"I don't see why not." Butterfly replied.
"Did you see the people in the lobby?"
"Yeah, I know, but we don't exactly have a back-up plan. That is, unless a certain redhead has a plan?" Butterfly said, cocking her head towards Bloom.
Said girl began rubbing her temples, concentrating as she had her eyes tightly closed shut. "I'm thinking, okay? I'm thinking. Things aren't exactly easy when the odds aren't in your favor now is it?"
"Well, first we need to figure out how to get to that dungeon without setting off any more alarms."
Butterfly chuckled, "Amen to that."
Suddenly, Bloom stood up, pacing around the room for a bit. "I don't think it will be that hard to find or teleport to the dungeon since we know where it is already." Bloom stated, "But we need to lay low for a while, maybe a few days. Agents have been on patrol 24/7, and I bet that the dungeon security has doubled, maybe even tripled."
"What happened a while ago I wouldn't call "laying low", Momoko." Bright interrupted, plastering on a concerned face at their leader's statement.
"What happened a while ago?" Butterfly asked, confused.
"We, sort of, hung out with the other female agents at their spa."
"They have a spa?"
"I know, right? It was shocking for me too."
"Sorry, it was unprofessional of me." Bloom said, her head hanging low. "We'll give it some time, but once the mission is back on, we're not going to rest for even a second until we save every single one of those prisoners and stop this agency."
She remained silent for a while, but then she sat down back down besides Butterfly, her face turning serious once more. "I know it's hard to wrap our heads around this. This was happening without our knowledge but now that we're aware of it, it is our duty to stop it. We're going to get to the bottom of this, no matter the risks. Remember what we swore that day?"
Butterfly nodded, smiling softly. "Come what may, we will be there for each other."
"To fight and right the wrongs together," Bright continued, closing her eyes as she had her hands on her chest.
"As one family, as sisters." They all said in unison, all of them smiling towards each other, giggling.
It was that pact they made years ago that helped them survive the harsh world they lived in. They lost everything, but even so, they stuck by each other. There were a lot of tough situations, but they got through it as long as they did it together.
They were each other's family now.
Butterfly then chuckled, "Well, it looks like we've come to an agreement, we'll take a few days off gathering information before attacking then?'
Bright eyed Butterfly teasingly. "Yes, Kaoru, we will. Eager to see a certain green-eyed man?"
"Ugh, don't make me puke on the way back to my room."
Bright giggled, her smile growing wide. "Sure, Kaoru, sure." She said, "Anyway, I have to go. Seems like dinner's already here."
"Bye, Miya." Butterfly said, waving at the screen before turning the little pink compact towards Bloom.
"Bye Miyako, good night."
Bright blew a kiss to both of them. "Thanks, you guys too!" And then the screen went black.
Both girls remained quiet, not even moving from where they were. The silence lasted for a few minutes until Butterfly called out her friend. "Ne, Momoko."
Bloom looked at her curiously. "Yeah?"
Butterfly covered her mouth with her hand, bringing her face closer to her friend. "By any chance, is there a possibility that these people are cannibals and or vampires?" Butterfly whispered to Bloom, making the red-eyed girl look at her bewildered.
"Really, Kaoru? Really?!"
Butterfly raised her hands in defense. "Just saying."
A small pink tube was being suspended in a small cylinder, surrounded by red scanners that analyzed its structure and contents. Machines began moving, a little robot grabbing different samples as multiple agents were gathering files. The computer that some agents were operating kept entering data, digits being encoded at the speed of light as different faces were being flashed on screen.
Their chatters filled the room as a red-headed man stood in the corner, his hands folded and back leaning against the wall.
Brick had been waiting for a few hours in the lab after giving the chapstick to the forensic team. They have been testing for DNA for everyone they had in their database, including all the agents in the organization. Due to the very small amount of DNA found on the sample, agents were having trouble in determining its owner. But nevertheless, they were persistent in analyzing it.
The computer began going through possible candidates. Agents slowed down its process for proper checking, each face showing up on the monitor for a few seconds before going to the next one.
A picture of Bloom showed up, making Brick stiffen up. He was waiting for hers to show for so long, just wanting to know if his suspicions were true, if she and her sisters were up to something. But honestly, he didn't know if he wanted to be right. He wanted to believe her, but he had to find out the truth first.
And at that moment he did, for her picture disappeared and another showed up.
Brick sighed heavily, bringing his hand to his chest. He hadn't even noticed that he was holding his breath while the computer was going through Bloom's profile. It felt like a weight lifted off his shoulders. But, how come, it still didn't feel like his questions were answered?
"Match found."
The computer suddenly said, making Brick look up towards it. He immediately marched towards the agents, pushing them aside.
Staring at the computer, Brick had his fist clenched. Another familiar red-headed girl appeared on the screen. She smiled, her pink ribbon that matched her bubblegum pink eyes made his crimson ones burn in anger.
"Match: Blossom of the Powerpuff Girls."
The next morning, the sun shone bright, radiant yellow rays flooded through the window of Bright's room. It lit up her matching blonde hair, making it glow beautifully with each wavy lock. She looked like an angel. Her peaceful face remained flawless and beautiful.
'Beep beep, beep beep, beep beep'
Well, that was until an alarm began going off.
She groaned, shifting around in her bed. As she turned around, Bright tried to reach for the snooze button. Her arm moved blindly and lazily, her eyes still closed as she was clearly still sleepy.
The beeping continued, ringing in her ears repeatedly. Bright reached, but the alarm clock seemed so far away. She tried to find it, still keeping her eyes closed. What she didn't notice was that she was slowly getting off of the bed. She wasn't fully awake until…
Thud
'Ow.' As she rolled over and hit the floor, Bright got caught up in her blanket. 'Why does this always happen to me?'
Freeing herself from the blanket, she dusted herself off before going to her drawer. She grabbed the alarm clock, but it wasn't even turned on. Confused, she looked around her room. There, on her vanity, something lit up that caught her attention.
Bright walked towards her watch, pressing the main button just above the strap.
"New Mission Acquired: Please head to the Mission Acceptance Room immediately."
Sighing, she looked at her clock.
6:00 am
"Who would call me to do something this early?" She asked, scratching her head in confusion.
Yawning, she put down the watch back on her vanity as she grabbed her towel. Walking in the shower, Bright began to take her clothes off, the sound of water running through the shower echoing in the bathroom. She stepped in, sighing as the hot steam kissed her skin and the warm water began flowing through her back.
Bright closed her eyes, trying to calm down while the water eased her tension. Her head ached, she felt tired and exhausted. The knots in her body were soothed by the soft massages she did on her skin.
'If only he could get out of my head…'
Last night, said man came back to their room earlier than both of them expected, with him catching up with dinner even when he told her not to worry about him. It seemed a habit for her to order for two now since both of them always ate together in his room.
But this time, it felt different for both of them.
When their meals were served, they sat at the coffee table. Bright stayed still while Boomer began to grab his utensils and cut his food. She hoped that he would at least acknowledge her, or even talk to her, but he didn't. Instead, he ate silently.
She fidgeted her fingers, looking at the food with sad eyes. It wasn't until Boomer was half-done with his dinner when he started to notice that his roommate wasn't eating.
"Not hungry?"
She sighed, looking at him. Her heart jumped a little with the eye contact between them, but it was short-lived as she saw that blank expression that he still had plastered on his face. He looked bored, uninterested.
Like he didn't even care.
"Boomer… You know that… I…" She stuttered, nervously eyeing him.
She wanted him to say something, or at least get even the tiniest bit of reaction from him, but he remained nonchalant.
She sighed, standing up from the sofa. "You're right…" She said, walking towards her room. "I'm not hungry."
Bright closed the door to her room, running straight towards the bed as she grabbed her pillow. She hugged it tightly, burying her face into it. Her cries were muffled, but she still let out more hoping to relieve all the pain she was experiencing.
Now, she was happy. Well, more like relieved that another distraction came to her. Bright was never the type to face her problems head on, unlike her friend Butterfly. She was more reserved, keeping her problems to herself and never really venting it out to other people like Bloom does. She always was the timid one, the quiet type out of the three of them.
But now, as the soothing feeling of warm water calms her nerves, Bright began to question herself on whether or not this awkwardness between her and Boomer would stop if she kept quiet about it.
And if it will affect this 'relationship' they had.
Turning off the shower, Bright breathed another sigh. "Why is he even acting like this?" She whispered, leaning her head against the wall.
She was tired of playing dumb. She was tired of pretending like this wasn't bothering her. She was tired of hiding everything.
She let her guard down for him, a villain that she was meant to destroy. And now, after he just confessed, he's suddenly withdrawn. Now it was Bright wondering if she was the one who had done something wrong.
But, why was she so concerned that she had done something wrong?
She wasn't supposed to get this attached to him. But for her, it felt like she was falling deeper and deeper and she couldn't pull herself up anymore. What was she going to do?
Bright needs to confront this.
Whether she liked it or not.
Bright left her room, fixing her pigtails as she closed the door behind her. It was still early, but several agents were already going out of their rooms and towards the elevator. On the way, she met with Princess who rolled her eyes at her.
"Where are you going this early?" She asked, her high-pitched voice making Bright wince in annoyance.
"I just received a mission." She replied, "How about you? Are you even allowed to be here at this time?"
Princess giggled, clasping her hands together. "Oh, how silly. It's pretty easy to sneak in when you have friends on this floor," She said, "But anyways, I am off to meet my new potential husbands downstairs."
"Pardon?"
Princess groaned, raising her eyebrow at Bright. "Seriously? You haven't heard?"
"Heard what?" Bright asked, cocking her head to the side.
"There are a ton of new agents coming in this morning!" She exclaimed, a malicious glint in her eyes showing. "And I, Princess, formerly known as Shirogane Himeko, am going to snatch a hunk for myself."
Snickering, Princess sped towards the elevator, waving at Bright. "Ta ta, darling!"
Bright looked at her as the elevator went down, puzzled at her obviously hopeless attempt. "Some things really don't change."
"Well, she is permanently in that state, so there's no turning back."
Bright jolted at the sudden voices behind her. Looking over her shoulder, she saw her two friends, gossiping about the encounter.
"I'm surprised that you didn't start yelling at her to shut her up." Butterfly commented, snickering.
Bright giggled, folding her arms, "Of course you would."
"Duh."
Bloom laughed at her comment, but her eyes landed on Bright. "Yeah, well, where are you off to, Bright?" She asked, "Sent on a mission too?"
Bright nodded, "You guys too?"
"Yeah, got one as soon as I woke up." Butterfly said, groaning. "I think it's for the best, we don't want anyone suspecting us about this." She whispered to both of them as they entered the elevator.
Bloom smirked at her statement. "Girls, we've got this under control. We just need to get some information and we'll start moving, remember?"
"Well, yeah, about that…" Bright trailed off, recalling what Princess had just told her.
Bloom and Butterfly looked at her in confusion, "What?"
Just then, the elevator doors opened. The sight they saw made all three of them shocked as their jaws hung open.
The main lobby was filled with so many more agents than there is usually. Men and women dressed in their uniforms roamed the halls in groups. Agents held documents, contraptions, chemicals, and they were all chattering amongst themselves. It was so packed that they couldn't even make out their destination.
"What the fuck is this?!" Butterfly exclaimed.
Before they could get out, a large crowd of people walked in the elevator, pushing them back and trapping them.
"Are you kidding me?" Bloom snapped, using all of her strength to push the agents in front of them. But the more she pushed, the more came in.
Butterfly cursed again, grabbing both of her friends' hands. "Hold on."
Before they were about to get crushed by the crowd, Butterfly was able to teleport them into the lobby. Unexpectedly, more people began bumping into them. They kept getting pushed back, making the girls stand back in a corner.
"What the hell is going on?" Bloom wondered as more agents began passing by them.
"More agents are coming in this place." Butterfly said in reply.
Bloom rolled her eyes, lightly slapping the raven-haired girl's shoulder. "And what makes you say that? The agents in the lobby or the bumping and pushing?"
"This was what I was warning you guys about." Bright said.
"Could've told us sooner you know." Butterfly retorted, shooting her a look of annoyance.
"I was going to!"
"Quit it, you two." Bloom reprimanded, holding up both of her hands to their mouths. "We all know that this is the exact opposite of what we want to happen. But now, instead of us getting more worked up about this, why don't we just try to get some kind of information during these missions. Don't waste any time doing so, got it?"
"Got it." Butterfly and Bright said in unison, turning their backs on each other with their arms folded.
"Calling agents Bright, Bloom, and Butterfly." The P.A. suddenly said, making the girls snap their heads up. "Please proceed to the Mission Acceptance Room immediately. I repeat, Agents Bright, Bloom, and Butterfly please proceed to the Mission Acceptance Room."
"Ugh, it's high school all over again." Butterfly complained.
As they made it to the Mission Acceptance Room, with a little shoving, the girls had gone to the scanners.
"Agent I.D.: 1513, Name: Bright, Please proceed to section A9 to accept your mission."
"Agent I.D.: 1512, Name: Butterfly, Please proceed to section A17 to accept your mission."
"Agent I.D.: 1511, Name: Bloom, Please proceed to section A15 to accept your mission."
After gathering the needed details, Bloom looked at her teammates. "You know what to do." She whispered, making both Bright and Butterfly nod in agreement. Then, they went their separate ways.
Each girl went to their respective sections, scanning their hands as they turned the knob. They entered, but what they saw made all three of them mentally slap their foreheads.
'You have got…'
'To be…'
'Kidding me.'
Bright's P.O.V.
I said I wanted a distraction.
And this was not the distraction I wanted.
I sighed, folding my arms as I eyed the blonde male that sat at the desk in the middle of the room. He remained still, his eyes closed with his hands clasped together as if he was thinking about something. He remained still as the door closed, not moving an inch from where he sat.
I clutched my chest, the familiar pain coming back once again. It burned, seeing him not even acknowledge my presence made it hurt even more. I wanted to ask him, I want to know the reason why.
"Why did you ask for me?"
He didn't answer right away, browsing quietly through the tablet he had before saying, "It's the same as before," He explained, still not looking up to face me. "A few sketches and drafts."
"I see…" I began to clutch the hem of my skirt again, feeling a little disheartened by his cold demeanor. "Why this early…?"
"We've got a lot of work to do." He deadpanned, putting down the tablet back on the desk.
Before I could say anything more, he pressed something on the keyboard of one of the computers. "Mission 19812: Agents complete, start mission."
A beep sound came from it, "Mission 19812 Successfully Accepted: Agent Boomer Jojo and Agent Bright are now officially active."
"Let's go." He ordered, turning his back on me as he began to walk towards the exit.
And I, instead of asking more, absentmindedly followed him.
Bloom's P.O.V.
"Do you mind explaining why you called me here, Brick?" I asked, raising my eyebrow at him as he stared back at me. It was a bit of a shock for me, but for some reason, I felt relieved. If I'm going to be on a mission with him, does that mean that lip balm worked?
Or was this bad news and I was going to be punished?
"Surprised?"
"Pretty much," I replied. "Considering the fact that all three of us are being called on a mission."
"The boys might have their own businesses with them." Brick said, "Or at least to discuss something, that's what I heard."
I folded my arms, "Your brothers are with them?"
"Concerned?"
"No, but don't you think it's a bit cliché for the three of you to call the three of us at the same time?"
He shrugged, placing one of his hands inside his pocket. "It's just a coincidence, don't worry about it. My brothers aren't trying to do anything with your sisters." He said, "Well, at least that's what I want to think."
I groaned, pushing his shoulder back in annoyance, "Tell your brothers to stay away from my sisters unless they want to get decapitated and or castrated, understood?"
"Whatever you say, Ice Princess." He replied, turning away from me. "Mission 19885: Agents complete, start mission."
"Mission 19885 Successfully Accepted: Agent Brick Jojo and Agent Bloom are now officially active."
Grabbing a folder from one of the computers, he then made his way towards the door. Glancing over his shoulder to look at me, he said, "Let's go, we need to talk."
He exited, leading me to ponder for a bit before following.
What exactly was he planning?
Butterfly's P.O.V.
I held a finger up to my partner in this mission, shaking my head violently. "No, no, no, not you again." I complained, pointing at Butch as I glared at him.
He rolled his eyes, "Quit being a drama queen, Butterfly," He said, looking back at me with a smirk on his face. "Would you rather have someone else to accompany you on this mission?"
I groaned, "What does Mojo need again this time?"
"He wasn't the one who called us." He replied. "The head of the Training and Security Division called us today. He said that he needed assistance on the new security system the agency was planning to put in the dungeon."
I looked at him, pretending to be dumbfounded by what he had said, "What dungeon?"
He ignored my question as he moved back to the desk in the room. "You'll find out." He said. "Mission 19907: Agents complete, start mission."
"Mission 19907 Successfully Accepted: Agent Butch Jojo and Agent Butterfly are now officially active."
Butch placed his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer to him. "Heard that, we're officially together." He stated, snickering.
I pushed him away, rolling my eyes at him. "Keep dreaming." I said, "What are we going to do anyway?"
"You'll see."
"You know that I won't stop talking about this dungeon until you tell me." I reminded him, crossing my arms over my chest in annoyance.
He chuckled, looking straight into my eyes as he did. "That's why we need to go now, come on."
He grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the exit. I protested, but all I got were more chuckles and teasing from him. It took a while before I finally realized something about his previous statement.
"Aren't you the head of the Training and Security Division?!"
Instead of answering, he just grinned wildly, wiggling his eyebrows annoyingly.
"You pervert!"
Narrator/Third Person's P.O.V.
Butch and Butterfly went through the crowd of people that flooded the lobby, with the green Rowdy keeping Butterfly behind him as he tried to push the agents away. The protests of his partner didn't stop when they exited the room, but fortunately for him, it drowned in the loud noise of the crowd.
As they were able to go towards the other end of the lobby, Butch went down the hallway that lead to where they teleported to the dungeon. Somewhere on the wall, he laid his hand against it. Out of nowhere a door had appeared from the walls.
It didn't have a label like the other rooms. It was a black marbled door that didn't have any door knobs, which made Butterfly confused at first. Then, a hand and eye scanner showed up just at the right side of the door. Butch began to place his hand and look at the scanners, a red light emitted from them as it began processing.
"Scanning complete: Welcome Mr. Jojo."
The door slid open, revealing a small elevator that stood in the middle of the room. Unlike the elevators that they used in the lobby, this one looked old-fashioned. It was dark mahogany in color and was outlined in dirty gold.
Both of them went inside, the doors of the elevator automatically sliding open. As they went inside, the gold interior almost made Butterfly wince at its brightness. It was fully gold in color inside, aside from the silver ceiling and railings it had inside. It had little design, a bit of swirls here and there, but it oddly felt elegant all in all.
Another odd thing that Butterfly noticed was that there were no buttons, not even a screen that would show what floor they were on. The only thing inside were the bright reflective walls that surrounded them. There was absolutely nothing that could tell her where they were.
Looking around her for a while, there was a sudden shift. She stumbled a bit, but her grip on the railing kept her balanced. It was then that the elevator began moving downwards.
"Weird elevator you guys got here." Butterfly said, trying to get some kind of information from him. If they wanted to get there through her teleportation, she needed to at least know what kind of security they had as of the moment. And as far as she was concerned, it seems as though they try to keep the dungeon as concealed as possible.
"It's a one way trip down." Butch replied. "There will be only one way out later."
"Seems very inconvenient, don't you think? Why have it that way?"
He smirked. "You'll find out once we get there."
Butterfly rolled her eyes in response. "Will I ever get a proper answer from you?"
"That depends." He replied, "Now you're interested?"
"In you? Never."
Butch folded his arms over his chest, chuckling. "I meant about the mission, Butterfly." He answered. "What's with the sudden interest?"
"O-Oh, I don't know." Butterfly stuttered, trying to make up an excuse. "Just seems cool to get a mission on a dungeon, I-I guess."
"Uh-huh." Butch said, seemingly not convinced, but he shrugged it off.
After a while, which Butterfly noticed took longer than expected, the doors opened. A familiar sight for Butterfly, the dungeon seemed more eerie than she last remembered it. The torches burned brighter, lighting up the dark brick walls. It seemed cramped, but she knew that once they got towards the tunnels from where they fell last time, it would be an endless cavern of prison cells.
Signaling her to follow him, Butch began to lead the way.
Butterfly began to feel that draining feeling she had experienced back then. She felt exhausted, like her energy was being sucked out of her. 'So they already put up those power-cancelling machines here,' She thought as she began to strategize how she and her teammates were going to enter.
Both of them walked straight ahead for about two minutes when they finally reached the tunnels. Unlike when they first came here, Butterfly was taken aback by the number of agents now guarding the tunnels.
At the very entrance, there were ten men with guns that guarded it. They didn't faze when both of them appeared, but as Butch held up his hand, the men put down their guns.
"Did the Captain come by here already?" Butch asked, but all ten men shook their heads.
The tall one that was at the very end of the formation answered, "No, Sir. Sir Ace has been the only one who has come to this place. He is at cell 012."
'Ace…' Butterfly thought, her eyebrows furrowing together. 'He better not be doing anything to those prisoners.'
"I see." Butch said, turning to look at Butterfly. "You stay here."
Butterfly glared at him. "What?!"
"I'll be back quickly, just stay here."
"Oh no you don't." Butterfly said, pulling him by the arm. "You dragged me here with you, so I have every right to go where you have to go."
Butch rolled his eyes at her. "I'll be quick, I'll give you something to do after."
Butterfly became more impatient as she gritted her teeth in anger. She needed to know how tight the security was no matter what it takes.
And even if she was going to regret what she was about to do afterwards.
Butterfly grabbed his jacket, pulling him towards her. Butch wasn't able to react as his lips met hers. Butterfly kissed him passionately, like how she always did when she wanted something from him.
Butch slowly gave in, closing his eyes as he grabbed her hair, pulling her in closer. He licked her lips, but he felt her hands push him back before he could do anything more. He was about to say something, but Butterfly looked at him pleadingly.
Butterfly bit her lip slightly, "Now will you let me go with you?"
Butch was left tongue-tied. Butterfly looked at him with half-lidded eyes, her long lashes framing her jade green eyes. She had her lips, those soft pink lips pouted. She looked so alluring, so seductive, so goddamn sexy.
And he was loving every bit of it.
He smirked, grabbing her chin as he brought her face closer to hers. "Whatever you say, babe."
"What are we doing here?" Bloom asked, looking up at the bright blue sky as Brick led them both to the top balcony of the castle.
It was a small room, but the balcony was wide enough and had a beautiful view of the forest. "And what is that for?" Bloom asked again, pointing to the couch and small coffee table that was placed on the balcony.
Brick chuckled, "Thought you needed to rest a bit." He replied, sitting down on one end of the couch. He turned to look at Bloom, gesturing to her to sit beside him. However, Bloom looked at him suspiciously as she stayed where she stood.
"Okay, Romeo, I think we can stop with the jokes now and get back to our mission." Bloom said, turning her back as she started walking back to the door.
Brick looked serious, following her with his eyes. "This is the mission."
Bloom halted in her tracks, slowly looking over her shoulder as she looked at him with a confused look on her face. "Eh?"
"Like I told you, I wanted you to take a break. Come here." Brick said, patting the seat beside him.
Bloom was taken aback, eyeing him weirdly.
'I-Is he s-serious?' She thought, obviously not buying anything he was saying. But, if she wanted to get some kind of information from him, she had to play along.
Slowly, she walked towards him. His eyes followed her every move, making Bloom feel uncomfortable. As she sat down, Brick, surprisingly, smiled.
"Not that hard now, is it?" Brick joked, chuckling softly.
"Uh-huh," Bloom replied, maintaining her distance from him. A few minutes of silence passed, both of them looking away from each other. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife, and both of them were uncomfortable with it.
Brick sighed. He dropped the folder he was holding on the coffee table, a few papers peeking through it. He didn't say anything, making Bloom hesitantly grab the folder from the table. She opened it, her eyes growing wide.
"This is…"
"Your father's profile." Brick said. "I was able to find it in the file room. Since he is no longer an agent here, his files weren't a top priority for our division so it's not on our database."
Bloom was left speechless. She was wondering why she didn't find anything about Professor Jones. However, why was he doing this? "I… Thank you." She said, not knowing what else to say.
"Don't mention it." He replied, letting out a small smile that lasted only mere seconds before he looked at her seriously. "Can we talk… please?"
Bloom snapped her head towards him, shocked at his sudden question. He looked genuinely disappointed. The softness of his voice when he said that made Bloom feel bad again. She had always been the type to be easily persuaded by pleads, especially when it was someone that she… well… someone she sees as a colleague.
At least, that's what she tried to think of him as.
"Talk about what… exactly?"
He paused for a moment, before looking deep into her eyes. "Sorry."
Her eyes widened at his statement. 'Did he really just…'
"Let's admit it, ever since you guys got here, things haven't really been running smoothly for the two of us." Brick said, finally facing Bloom. "I don't want us to keep getting at each other's throats."
Bloom blinked a couple of times, trying to find the words that she wanted to convey. "So… you… you want us to be like, friends?"
"I mean, it's better than me trying to accuse and interrogate you about anything and everything." He said, chuckling.
Bloom just laughed nervously, shyly facing away from me. "I see…"
"I really want to make this thing work between us, Bloom." He said, turning serious again. "It's hard for me to control myself sometimes, I know, but I try, okay? You might not notice it, but I just can't help it. I'm a hopeless case."
"I beg to differ." Bloom replied, letting out a small smile.
He smirked at her remark. "I may not have been born from the Z-rays like most of the other agents you know around here, but I'm just as bad as them, if not more. I don't expect you to forgive and forget everything I've done to you. All I'm asking is that we bury the hatchet right here and now."
Bloom became silent, her fingers fidgeting.
She was hesitant about his request. She didn't come here to make friends, she was here to destroy them. Building relationships with the people here would just hinder her.
But, what had she been doing yesterday? Chatting with the others, actually having a good time with them? She was confused.
Right now she didn't see the villain that disgusted her when she was a kid, she saw a human. A person who was lost, blinded. She could see through Brick's façade even before this talk. He seemed so innocent, but he strongly believed that he was something bad, like a shot of poison in the world.
He didn't believe he had any good in him, but I could see that he did no matter how hard he tried to mask it. He showed so much humanity in his little gestures than he thought he did, and it just… just isn't right.
If only she could change all of them, change him.
But it was impossible.
"Bloom?" Brick called out, snapping her out of her deep thoughts.
"Y-yes?"
"Were you even listening?" Brick asked, seemingly annoyed at her sudden silence.
Bloom faced him, "Of course I was." She answered, "It's just that… this seems weird…"
"What do you mean?"
"Why are you trying to befriend me? Didn't you hate me?"
Now he was the one who became silent, slightly blushing at her question. "I never said I hate you."
"We don't end up fighting as much as Butterfly and Butch but we haven't been getting along that well either." Bloom stated, "That must mean you must resent me even a little."
"I know, I'm a dick, but hear me out." He replied, holding his hands up. "I really, genuinely, want to stop these misunderstandings we keep having. For once, I don't want to start any more trouble with you."
Bloom looked at him, her face stern but inside, she felt like she had turned into mush. "I-I… Uh… Sure, yeah."
His head snapped, looking at her with a mix of shock and relief. "Did you just say yes?"
"Yes, Romeo, I did. We can bury the hatchet." Bloom said, laughing softly.
Suddenly, a pair of arms squeezed her. Her head leaned against his chest as Brick hugged her tightly. Bloom remained still, not knowing if she did so because of the sudden gesture or because she actually enjoyed it.
Of course, she went with the former.
"You're the best, Ice Princess." Brick said, nuzzling his head in the soft locks of her bright auburn hair.
A few seconds passed. None of them moved until Brick realized what he was doing.
He immediately let go, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "Sorry 'bout that, I got too excited."
"It's okay." Bloom replied, caressing her arm.
As moments passed, Bloom found herself talking to him and laughing. They both lost track of time. But at that moment, two people who were different in so many ways were finally able to find a common ground and enjoy the time they had.
Silence.
The atmosphere was filled with even more awkwardness with each minute that passed.
It was so silent, but it seemed deafening to Bright's ears.
Neither one of them said a word nor made a move ever since Boomer told her what to do. They were in the same position as last time. Her, sitting at the drafting desk with a pencil in her hand, and him, sitting at his own desk sketching something else.
She kept taking a glimpse of him every once in a while, but he never even looked at her on the way here.
Bright thought it would annoy her, but she didn't feel that way. Unlike the tough character she had to portray, a little bit of Miyako was beginning to show.
For her, it almost felt like it hurt when he was still ignoring her.
Sighing, deciding to at least try not to get bothered by him, she continued drawing. With each stroke of her pencil, it felt like it was getting heavier or heavier. She didn't know if it was just her imagination, or if it was the feeling in her heart.
Unbeknownst to her, the moment she went back to drawing, another certain blonde subtly glanced at her. His expression blank and motives unclear, but his eyes followed the graceful movements of her dainty hand.
Boomer silently placed his own pencil down, standing up as he moved to her spot without even making a sound. He stood behind her without her even noticing. Instead, she kept drawing. It wasn't until she tried to take another glimpse at him when she noticed the tall man that was behind her.
"Oh my Go—!" Bright exclaimed, startled by his antics. She almost fell off the chair, but her quick reflexes made her grab the end of the drafting desk, keeping her steady. With her hand over her chest, she looked up at him. "What is up with you?"
"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" He replied coldly.
Bright stood up, her face serious now. "Me?" She asked, pointing at herself in disbelief. "I haven't done anything to you, Boomer. But you're acting as if I did. What has gotten into you?"
"You honestly don't know?"
"I don't! And that is why I don't get why you're doing this to me."
He frowned, turning away from her. "I never should've…" He wasn't able to complete his sentence as he sighed.
She clutched her chest. It began to hurt so bad, and her sudden silence made Boomer turn around to face her again. Before she knew it, Bright began to pour out her thoughts.
"Why did you have to say those things to me?" She started, getting up from where she sat. "Did you just say that for me to foolishly hope that we could get along? Were the things you said to me even true?
"Why'd you have to confuse me this much? My mind keeps running around in circles just thinking about you and you're here acting like nothing ever happened between us. Was it all a joke? Was this just one of your infamous Rowdyruff pranks?"
Her voice got louder, cracking at the sudden surge of emotions. "I thought you were nice, thoughtful, different from the guy I thought you would be. But with how you're acting now, I'm starting to question myself on everything. How could I fall for it? After everything that happened, how did I even end up caring and liking you?!"
Bright suddenly gasped as she felt a warm liquid staining her cheeks. She brought her hand up to her face, feeling the tears that began to escape from her eyes. Distraught, she closed her eyes as she began wiping the tears.
"Bright—" He called out, but Bright interrupted him.
"I don't want to hear it." She said, picking up the drafts that she had been doing and shoving it in his hands. "Here, take it, I've done my part."
With that, Bright stormed out of the room, slamming the door on her way out.
Boomer stayed where he stood, his head hanging low. The crumpling sound of the paper filled the room as his fists clenched around the piece of parchments. He threw them down, a grunt escaping from his lips.
He grabbed handfuls of his hair, pulling at it in frustration. It was then that he went to his desk, grabbing the piece of paper that he was drawing on.
There, sketched in all her beauty, was the girl that had just left him. Boomer captured the beauty of her eyes, the hue rivaling the bright blue color of sapphires. Her lips, so perfectly shaped with a hint of red staining the center of it. And her golden locks, the waves that seemed so flawless and elegant without her even trying.
Looking at it, Boomer couldn't help but smile. But, it was short-lived when he crumpled the paper, throwing it on the floor with the rest of the papers.
Another slam of the door echoed through the walls of the office, with nothing else but the bittersweet memories left in the room.
Author's Note: Things are getting juicy. Are you guys loving the drama as much as I am? I've been drinking tea the whole time while writing this and boy is this entertaining to write. And I also present to you the cliche but oh so amusing chapter where all the girls coincidentally get paired up with their male counterparts, you're welcome.
Be sure to leave me your thoughts as you favorite, follow, and review this story!
Take care of yourselves, everyone! Stay safe!
~Disastress