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 P.O.V.

1:39 am.

The night was dead silent. Little stars brightened up the dark skies, the moon merely a crescent. What a peaceful night it was as people were fast asleep in their beds.

A particular raven-haired man shifted about in his sleep, eyes squinted as he pulled at his covers. His long locks tousled against the pillow framed his pale face, accentuating its delicate yet strong features. As he finally felt comfortable—laying down sideways as he had his hand under his pillow—he began to sleep soundly.

The soft ticking of the clock was the only sound that echoed in his room, the rhythm becoming like a soft melodic song that lulled him in a deeper sleep.

However, it was suddenly interrupted by a loud beeping sound coming from beside his bed.

He groaned, throwing the pillow over his head as he hoped that it would stop. The beeping went on for a few more seconds, the sound ringing in his ears. Finally giving in, he threw the pillow down, angrily grabbing the watch that was beside his bed.

He looked at the name displayed on the screen, "For fuck's sake," Pressing down on the button in the middle, he put the watch closer to his lips. "What the hell do you want, Fuzzy? It better be a damn good reason or I swear to God I'll—"

"All the prisoners are gone."

His eyes went wide, taking a moment to let the words sink in. "What do you mean they're gone?"

"The guards were ambushed." Fuzzy said on the other end. "Big Billy and I went down to check on them since they weren't answering their MDPs. But when we arrived here, they were all freaking out as they were trying to find the prisoners."

"Every single one of them is gone?"

"Affirmative."

Butch gripped the watch tight, almost crushing the device with his brute strength. "I'll be down in five."

He put on the watch on his wrist as he yanked the covers off his body. He began putting on his clothes hastily, muttering curses as he did. As he started pulling his hair back in his usual ponytail, Butch began to make his way towards his door.

But then he stopped.

He stared at the doorknob for a while. He began thinking, and that's when he looked over towards his left. His forest green eyes glared at the door, fists clenched tightly.

It was quiet, almost too quiet. He felt it again, the feeling of uneasiness at the pit of his stomach. It seemed like the exact same feeling his redheaded brother felt when they first came here, that uncanny feeling that came just by looking at her.

When he finally understood the feeling, he now became cautious whenever something somehow involved her. He didn't want to believe it at first. He honestly thought of her as harmless, not some kind of threat.

But with all the things happening now, he didn't know who to trust anymore.

When he faced the Powerpuff girls a few weeks ago, it didn't feel right for him. There was something off that day. He, however, couldn't exactly figure out what it was.

Seeing as though their mission almost failed, he had trouble trying to acknowledge it. He didn't want to talk or even think about it. But as soon as he saw Butterfly in that sickly state, he couldn't help but be angry at himself.

With everything that was happening, especially with so many people on his ass ever since that mission, he just couldn't take it anymore. His frustrations and his anger began to pile up. In that anger, he wrongly blamed her.

But even after things had gotten better between, there was still something telling him in the back of his head that there was just something about her. There was something off, something different. His brain was sure that something was up, but something else inside of him was telling him to trust her.

And should he?

Ever since he saw her, he was already allured by her charm. Every time she turned him down, screamed at him, and kissed him, it just made him want her more. Was it the chase that made him feel this way? Was it the excitement he felt whenever those fiery eyes of hers burned with anger and passion?

Or was it that strong, unusual, yet undeniable attraction between them?

Whatever it was, he was fucking confused about it.

He didn't know what their relationship was at the moment. They're arguing one day, making out on another day, and now he found himself flirting and messing with her after she kissed him… again.

Man, that girl knew how to mess up his head.

As he began walking towards her door, he took the key hanging beside it. He unlocked the door, quietly opening it a bit as he took a peek.

Butterfly laid in bed, seemingly fast asleep as she slightly snored. Her lips were slightly open as her raven hair framed her face. She didn't have her usual clothes on, only wearing a black tank top as the covers covered the lower part of her body.

Butch looked around, trying to find any sort of evidence that might prove that she was up to something. To his surprise, everything seemed normal. Her room was tidy and nothing suspicious stood out in the room.

'Maybe Brick was wrong about them… about her…'

He sighed, briefly shutting the door as he finally made his way downstairs.

As the door clicked, Butterfly opened her eyes, trying to see if Butch had already left. She shifted in place draping an arm over her forehead. '…the people here, they're not exactly as bad as I thought they would be…' Bloom's words echoed in her head. 'Don't you think they should be given… you know… another chance?'

She then looked back at the door, her eyes filled with sorrow as she let out a sigh. "Maybe they do…"

Morning finally came as the girls finally awoke from their slumber. They were worn out, still lacking about two hours of sleep after their late night mission. One girl in particular sat in her room dazed as her bright golden locks rivaled the rays of the morning sun.

Bright was exhausted. The muscles in her body were sore, a mild burning pain piercing through when she tried to move. Letting out a tired sigh, she took off the covers that wrapped her figure. She got off from her bed—her eyes still half lidded—and made her way to the vanity.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Her messy complexion was a nightmare, making Bright grimace. The white shirt she wore was wrinkled, her hair was tangled, and the way she looked all in all could only be summed up in one word: horrible.

Taking the comb from the shelves, she started brushing through her hair. She had forgotten to do her hair before she slept, a habit she still had even if she started to live in this place. It left her hair to have a wavy look to it instead of her usual curly hairdo. And as she brushed through the tangles, the curls became tame and even wavier.

"He might suspect something when he sees me like this." Bright said to herself as the dark circles around her eyes became evident.

Running her fingers smoothly through her hair, she put down the brush. Bright then took out some concealer she had stored in her belt. Squeezing out a small amount on her fingers, she began applying it under her eyes.

After covering up the dark circles she had, Bright laid her head on the vanity top.

Her dark blue eyes stared at the wall, dazed. Today, just like any other day whenever she had a mission, her body felt tired. She sighed, pushing herself from the vanity and standing up from the chair. As she opened the door, just as she expected, Boomer was nowhere to be seen.

"Guess they're already investigating the dungeon." Bright whispered to herself. She sat down on the couch, grabbing the remote on the coffee table as she turned on the television.

"Good morning Tokyo!" The announcer said, "Today, Mojo Jojo, as well as Sedusa and Princess, villains who we have assumed to no longer be active, have been terrorizing the city! The police have been trying to evacuate residents out of their homes and offices as we await for the Powerpuff Girls Z."

Bright stood up from her seat. "What?!"

Running back to her room, she opened her compact. "Pick up, pick up, pick up…"

After a few more rings, her compact finally flashed with Bloom on the screen. To her surprise, they were already dressed.

"Hey, I just saw what's happening on TV, are we going now?" She asked, grabbing the belt on her vanity.

"Yeah, but you have to stay here, Miyako." Bloom replied as a sudden flash of green light showed up behind her, revealing Butterfly. "Kaoru and I will take care of the villains. You stay here."

"What? Why?"

Butterfly then showed up on the screen, grabbing the compact from Bloom. "We've already made sure that nothing seems out of place back in our room just in case the dorks come back. Plus, we'll set up the hologram we used last time so that they won't suspect anything about you not being with us." Butterfly answered.

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

"I'm coming to pick you up."

"Wha—?"

Before Bright could ask what was going on, Butterfly had already teleported to her room. Grabbing her arm, they both teleported back in Bloom's room. It was then when she was suddenly given the book by Bloom. "Something showed up in the book about some stones. I'll have you try to do some research about it since I was only able to scan it."

"What? Stones? What do you mean by stones?" Bright asked, seemingly overwhelmed by the sudden instructions given by their leader.

"An entry in the book talked about some stones that the author was able to learn about while he was here in the organization," Bloom explained. "We need you to stay put here just to make sure that no one bothers our rooms while we take out the villains back in Tokyo."

"Are you sure that you'll be able to get there in time? I mean, Butterfly's teleportation range isn't unlimited." Bright asked, worried.

Butterfly frowned at her question. "I know that, it's exhausting." She said, "But we need to get going if we don't want to leave Tokyo in shambles."

Taking a glance at the blue-eyed girl, Bloom gave her a reassuring look, "If something happens, press the distress signal on your compact, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." Bright nodded in reply, still a bit wary about the task at hand.

"See ya, Sunshine." With that, they teleported out of the room, leaving Bright a bit dazed at first as she looked down at the book that she held in her hands.

Sighing, Bright ran her fingers through her long golden locks. Though she was thankful that she was spared from fighting so soon, she was still unsure if she had the energy to deal with this book so early. "This is going to be a very, very, rough morning."

Bright opened the door of Brick's room, peeking out her head to scan the hallway. With her eyes squinted, she held the book close to her chest as she began tiptoeing back to her room. She kept looking back and forth to check if the coast was clear. After a few more steps, she was finally able to reach her room.

Sighing triumphantly, she grabbed the doorknob,

"Oh, Bright!"

"Wah!" She suddenly fell back as the sudden voice made her lose her balance. The landing made her drop the book as a small figure wearing pink clothing approached her.

She had her unusually green hands up to her mouth. "Oh, God!" Lil' Arturo gasped in shock, "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah… you really gave me a scare there." Bright said, looking over to her. As her eyes landed on the book that was just in front of her, she tensed as her eyes went wide.

"Let me help you up." She said, taking one of Bright's hands and gently lifting her from the ground.

Bright coughed nervously, her eyes still glued to the book, "T-Thanks, um…" Bright said, her fingers nervously pointing towards the book, "I-I really need to go now, so… let me just grab that…"

As she crouched down to reach it, Lil' Arturo beat her to it as she held the book in her hands. "What's this?"

"Oh n-no! Tha-That's nothing!" Bright said, reaching out to snag the book away from her but she quickly avoided her as she looked at the book in curiosity.

"What are you doing with this book?"

"I… um…" Bright said, her fingers nervously fidgeting. "I may have, kind of, you know, borrowed one of Bloom's books and I really need to go back and read it."

Lil' Arturo's face then suddenly became interested. "Oh, is it? What's it about?"

"About… um… about… you know, girl stuff." Bright replied, laughing awkwardly.

"Really?!" Violet exclaimed. "Oh god! Is this the ultimate guide on how to extract juicy critters from people who have maggot infestation?!"

"T-There's a book about that…?"

"Or maybe it's a book about the ultra dangerous super awesome flesh-eating bacteria!"

"The what now?" Bright asked, a bewildered look on her face.

"Is it not?"

"No!"

"Then what is the book about?"

Bright began to panic, trying to come up with something fast. "T-This is a book about um… a new herbal face and body cream recipe!"

"Face and body cream? Isn't it a bit to put it in such a thick book?"

"Yeah, well, you know her," Bright said, trying to think of another excuse. "She obviously wanted the recipe to be perfect so she made different face cream recipes to make sure that they were phenomenal! That's why I really, really need to get that book back so I can try them all."

"Oh really? Then let's go read about it!"

Just as she was about to open it, Bright quickly yanked it out of her hands, "You can't!"

Lil' Arturo then looked at her in confusion, "Why not?"

"Because… uhm… because this is a very special body cream." Bright said, suddenly coming up with something. "It's actually a cream that's known to cure Gangrene!"

Lil' Arturo gasped in horror, making Bright smile in triumph. "Yeah! Very, very innovative. Bloom has actually told me she had been developing this recipe for months and she wanted me to review it. I'm actually considering making it and doing a test run, care to try it?"

"Oh god, absolutely not! That's the worst thing ever!"

Bright snapped her fingers, her face feigning disappointment. "Aw, darn, now that's just too bad."

"Who would even want to be anything other than green?" She exclaimed. "Why don't you try it? I bet green looks good on your pretty face."

"I-I'd rather not…"

As Bright was about to leave, she was suddenly caught off guard when Lil' Arturo suddenly exclaimed. "Aha!"

"Aha? What do you mean by aha?" Bright asked.

"Bloom loves reading books right? She might have that incredibly deadly venomous inland taipan snake that I've been wanting to read about for so long! They don't have it in the library so I have to ask!"

As Lil' Arturo ran towards Brick and Bloom's room, Bright came rushing towards it, blocking the door with her hands. "Uhm, now is not a good time!"

"How come?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Because you know…" Bright started, getting closer to Violet as she whispered, "Brick and Bloom are a little busy right now and I don't think they want to be disturbed."

Lil' Arturo understood almost immediately, snickering. "Oh, I see, I see." She said, smirking. "Well then, I'm going downstairs now, Ace needs my help and he might get upset again if I'm late. Ba-bye!"

"Bye!" Bright waved goodbye to her as she began to run at lightning speed towards the elevator.

As soon as she was out of sight, Bright sighed in relief. With the book in hand she ran back towards her room. As she went inside, she made sure to leave a tiny bit of space between the door and the doorway. Their room was the room before Brick's and Butch's. So, if someone were to walk past, she'll be able to see and hear them.

Sitting down on the couch, she placed the ICED in her ear. As it began to turn on, she pressed a button to connect with the Professor on the other line.

"Miyako?" The Professor asked through the device, "Is something wrong? Why aren't you with Kaoru and Momoko?"

"Hey Professor, sorry for the very early call, I've got something that I need your help with."

The Professor chuckled on the other end, "No need to apologize, dear. Now, what can I do for you?"

"I need you to look something up for me," Bright answered, "You see, Momoko asked me to go over the latest entry in the book. She said it contained information about some stones? Anyway, is it okay if you could search about the stones on your computer as I read it out?"

"Sure, no problem." The Professor replied.

"Okay, here it goes…"

Many things have happened during my stay here. The once horrid memories are starting to fade and I don't know why. It will not take long before they'll fully get into my head. And… I don't know if I'll be able to stop it.

My stay revealed three items of interest. Due to the lack of information I was able to gather about the three artifacts, I have not been able to put the pieces together.

The three artifacts I have been able to discover that may have a connection to this place are the Resurrection Stone of Osiris, The Ruby of the Red-dressed Woman, and the Diamond of the Samurai Warrior.

They are all stones of legends that hold different kinds of supernatural abilities. They may sound like precious stones, but from what I was able to gather, they all possess an evil aura. And from what I asked from the people here, I've learned that they take a keen interest in these particular stones.

But I don't know why.

This may be the last entry that goes into this book. Whoever finds this, continue where I have failed. I, for one, do not know if this will truly lead you in the discovery of their true motives. However, please know that the world is in danger. Every piece of information I have given you will hopefully help you in some way.

Please… continue this mission…

Save us.

-K.J.

"Did you get those, Professor?" Bright asked, a little down as she closed the book. The pressure she felt seemed harder to bear as she read the last two words left by the author. Those words made her more determined, but also more terrified.

"Yes, I have it pulled up here." Professor said, "Let's take a look first at the first stone mentioned in the book, the Resurrection Stone."

"What were you able to find out?"

"Apparently, it is a stone first originating in Egypt during the 5th Dynasty. Osiris was the king of the ancient Egyptians during that time where he ruled alongside his wife, Isis. His brother Set plotted revenge against him wherein he murdered his brother twice. The first time, Isis was able to resurrect him; the second time, Set cut Osiris up in different parts which led Isis to find the missing body parts."

Bright started to look disgusted as the Professor told the story, "That's very… brutal…"

"Well, we're reaching the end of the story so bear with it Miyako," Professor said comfortingly, "Unfortunately, she was not able to gather all the parts of his body. With the help of her sister, Nephthys, and the God of the Dead, Anubis, they patched up the body to give it a proper burial. During this time, Ra, the God of the Sun, seeing this act, resurrected Osiris. It was then that a piece of his heart was taken and made into a stone and given to Anubis, the Resurrection Stone."

"Is that so? What exactly did the stone do?"

Professor let out a soft 'hmm' as he seemed to be analyzing something. "There is not much information about it since the stone was said to be lost. Allegedly, someone stole the stone from Anubis which caused the God to become angry and place a curse on the stone. Since then, because of that curse, no one wanted it despite the rumored powers it seemed to possess."

"Which is to bring someone back from the dead?"

"Exactly."

"Well, it is a legend right?" Bright asked. "It can't really bring someone back, can it?"

"It is a legend, Miyako, so we don't know if it is true or not."

Bright lowered her head, suddenly feeling a bit gloomy. "I see."

"Shall I continue with the next one?" The Professor asked, a little confused about her abrupt sulky tone.

"Yes, Professor, I'm in a bit of a rush since any one of the boys could be on their way back."

"Don't worry, I'll give you the gist on the next two." Professor replied, chuckling, "The Ruby of the Red-dressed Woman was a story about a woman who was about to get married to a wealthy man. It was him who had given her such a precious ruby stone as a gift, however, he frequently cheated on her with many other women. When she caught him in the act, she was so consumed by anger and hatred that she killed him."

Bright sighed, 'Another murder story…'

"When she did, she was eventually caught and sentenced to death. However, because of the amount of hatred and spite her spirit felt, she merged her soul into the ruby that her late fiancé gave her, bringing misfortune to anyone who were to possess it, especially couples."

"Does it have any sort of powers?"

"Other than giving bad luck to others, I don't think so. It's not a well-known legend so there's not much information about it."

Bright folded her arms, carefully thinking about the information the Professor said. 'If it's only supposed to bring bad luck, why is it an artifact of interest as stated by the author? Even if they were going to use that to others, wouldn't it also bring misfortune to them?'

For her, it didn't make sense. However, she needs to know all she can about the stones before she could come up with a theory of her own.

"Okay then, next, the Diamond of the Samurai Warrior." The Professor started, "There was once a Samurai Warrior that had two sons, Ryoku and Isamu. The Warrior was well-known and loved all across the land because of his strength and compassion, however, he was old and was soon going to die. Both of his sons were being trained as Samurais themselves, and were soon going to inherit his fortune and throne.

"However, one night, they were ambushed by ninjas who seeked the fortune of the Warrior. Weak and old, he was defeated. The ninjas searched the whole house but they found nothing. Unbeknownst to them, the brothers were there and they clashed with the ninjas. With swords that seem to glow, they were able to defeat them and avenge their father."

Bright raised an eyebrow in confusion. "When does the diamond come into play?"

"I'm getting there." The Professor replied, "Those swords were embedded with the most precious stone that their late father possessed. Each sword had half a diamond piece which bestows immense strength to the one that owned it. It was an artifact that was found by their father that made him the well-known Samurai Warrior that he was."

"That might be the one that they're looking for…" Bright commented.

Professor then gasped, "That's not all."

"What do you mean?"

"When the two halves are merged into one again, it is said the one who possesses it can bestow power to others, also giving them immense strength."

Bright jumped up from her seat, "That might be it!" She exclaimed.

As she got the book, she opened the door to her room when she suddenly heard footsteps down the hall. Panicking, she quickly threw the book somewhere in her room and ran towards the doorway.

Running out of the room, she stopped in the middle of the hallway with her arms and legs wide open. "Bloom and Butterfly are busy and do not want to be disturbed so please do—"

"Bright?" A familiar voice said, making the blue-eyed girl look up to see a tall man in front of her with shaggy blonde hair. "What are you doing?"

Bright blinked a few times, taken aback by Boomer's question. "O-Oh, it's just you." She said dejectedly as she walked back to her room.

"Is that a bad thing?" Boomer asked as he followed her.

"I don't know, that depends." She replied, facing him with her arms folded, "If things were to go exactly like they did last time we talked, then it is."

Boomer then looked at her, seemingly unfazed by her statement "Anyway, did you eat breakfast yet? Seems too early for you to get out of bed."

"Why are you suddenly taking interest in my morning?"

"Again, is that a bad thing?"

Bright looked at him intently, trying to see behind his motives. "I guess not…" She said, raising an eyebrow at him. "However, it's still none of your concern."

"Well, okay then." He replied, taking off the leather jacket he frequently wore and throwing it on the bed. "Can I ask why you were trying to stop anyone from disturbing your sisters?"

"They're busy, I tried talking to them but they just got very crabby. If any of your brothers go near them now there's no guarantee that they'll be getting out of there alive."

"I'll tell them then."

Bright sighed, avoiding his gaze. "Why are you even here?"

The blonde-haired man raised his eyebrow in confusion, "Because this is my room?"

She didn't respond, quietly walking back towards her room. As she opened it, she suddenly stopped in her tracks as Boomer spoke once again.

"I wanted to talk to you."

Bright froze, her body remaining stiff as her mind began to go haywire. The loud beating of her heart ringed in her ears. Mustering up all of her courage, she looked over her shoulder. "What?"

"Meet me at the ground floor entrance later in ten minutes, I'll be waiting."

Then, he left again.

Turning around, her eyes stared at the door once more. She had her hands up to her chest, feeling the fast thumping of her heart. There it was again, the effect he had on her with his words… his stupid words.

She was contemplating whether or not she should go, for a strange feeling was starting to envelope her.

And she didn't like it.

"Man is this getting annoying!" Buttercup exclaimed as she swung her hammer yet again at the giant robot in front of her.

Almost twenty minutes have passed since they got here but the three villains just wouldn't give up. She took on the large monkey by herself while Blossom and "Bubbles" handled Princess and Sedusa. It was tricky to act like Bubbles was actually there, especially for Blossom as she had to hit them with greater speed than usual.

"Why haven't they arrived yet?" Buttercup asked Blossom as they had their backs pressed up against each other.

"Tatsuya and the others are busy," Blossom replied, throwing her yo-yo again at Princess and Sedusa. "The chief has already called some people back so they can assist us."

Buttercup struck the ground hard, knocking all three villains back, "Well, they better hurry, who knows when those Rowdies will be getting back to their rooms!"

As both heroes and villains clashed, their surroundings shook with each move. They zipped and flew in the sky, chasing after each other with such speed. Blow after blow, hit after hit, the fight got more intense.

"You Powerpuff Sluts are going to get it now!" Princess shouted, suddenly summoning a giant rocket launcher and draping it over her shoulder. "Take this!"

A rocket flew blasting through the sky heading towards the girls. As Buttercup braced for impact with her hammer, another rocket came by blowing up the one Princess had shot. With debris falling down, all five of them looked down to see a few policemen standing by with their own weapons.

However, in spite of their police uniforms, Buttercup and Blossom knew who they really were.

LUX members.

"Finally!" Blossom said, gesturing towards the people on the ground.

Buttercup chuckled, lifting her hammer high, "You guys are in for it now." She said, preparing to swing.

"Retreat, now!" Sedusa said, shielding the other two as she pushed a button on her watch. Within a second, all three of them were gone as Buttercup swung the hammer at nothing.

"What the—"

Before Buttercup could say any more, Blossom quickly pulled her as they both flew away from the town as quickly as possible. Thinking that they were far enough, they both landed on the ground.

"That took longer than expected." Buttercup said, stretching her arms, "It was a good exercise though."

Blossom ignored her comments, taking out her compact and pressing the blue button on it. As it rang, a sudden beep from Buttercup's own compact made both girls jump. Taking it out of her belt, Buttercup opened it as it showed the Professor looking quite frantic.

"Professor? Why'd you call?" Buttercup asked.

"Get back to the agency, something might have happened to Miyako!"

"Huh?!" Blossom exclaimed, "What do you mean?"

The Professor then began pacing, "I was talking to her when suddenly she got all excited and I started to hear her run but then suddenly I heard something get thrown and the door slamming closed and then all of a sudden the connection was lost!"

"Okay, Professor, breathe! We're on our way back." Turning to look at Buttercup, they both quickly changed into their other clothes.

And with that, they were gone.

"Okay Miyako, calm down." Bright said to herself as she exited the elevator. Her heart pounded louder and even faster than before, the nervous feeling she had intensifying with each step. She was so anxious that she even began to shake.

She opted to alter her usual clothes, discarding the leather jacket as well as the choker and gloves. She had lighter make-up on, only a touch of nude lipstick and eyeliner in contrast with the usual heavy and dark make-up that she wore with the outfit. It was simpler, yet still looked good.

However, as she clutched her hands around her outfit, she began to get flustered.

'Why did I actually take the time to make myself look presentable?' She thought to herself. 'W-Why am I doing this? He just wants to talk right? Why did I have to overdo it? Oh God, Miyako, what were you thinking?'

Absent-mindedly, she was getting closer and closer to the entrance. As she was still asking many questions in her head, she didn't notice the blue-eyed man who was eyeing her weirdly nor the fact that she started mumbling.

"Now I'm not sure about this outfit…" Bright said as she looked down on her dress. "Maybe I should've kept the—"

"Are you okay?"

"Dwah!" Bright exclaimed, startled by the sudden voice. "What the, how did, when did I get…"

Boomer chuckled, "Interesting outfit."

"Uh, thanks." Bright said, raising an eyebrow at him. "So, what are we going to talk about?"

"Oh, we're not going to discuss it here."

"I see, then how are we going to—wait, what?"

He only smirked, taking Bright's hand as the gates opened.

'What?!'

As they flew through the forest, they finally stopped as they reached a very tall tree. Boomer stepped on the big branch that sprouted from its trunk; sitting down, he slowly guided her to sit beside her, making sure that she was comfortable.

"You okay?" He asked, still having his hand wrapped around her arm.

"Y-Yeah," She replied, adjusting herself on the branch. "Just a little shaken up, I guess."

He didn't say a word after that. Instead, he looked up at the blue sky, the sun shining brightly on them. He remained like that for a while, making Bright stare at him in curiosity.

"You know," He started, still not looking at her, "When I look at this view, it reminds me of those times when I would fight with the other villains. I would always isolate myself and just ponder about… certain things."

"What do you mean?"

He sighed, "How I was always looked at as the weak one out of three. They saw me as the dumb one, mocking and fighting me countless times until I would eventually just lose it."

Bright was tongue-tied, shocked at his sudden story. But then, he scoffed.

"The only thing I could do to get through it?" He asked, finally facing her direction. "I had to pretend like it didn't hurt. When I was upset, angry, I just kept them all inside. The only time I let out all these emotions was whenever I came to this place."

He then looked up at the sky again, "I remember punching this tree over and over again until my hands would start to bleed. It was my escape. My brothers tried to make them stop but it didn't work no matter what they did. So one day, after getting made fun of and beaten up again, I looked up towards the sky just like right now and I vowed that day that I was never going to make it seem like it affected me.

"Strangely enough, it worked. They all eventually grew tired of it. However, the feeling just never… went away."

Her heart suddenly stung, making her clutch her chest. The pain he felt… it was almost as if she could feel it too. 'I didn't know… I can't believe he went through this."

He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "These walls I've put around myself are the reason why we're here right now."

Bright looked at him with sad eyes, "What do you mean by that?"

"I'm not used to having someone aside from my brothers to talk to whenever I was down." He said, "I mean, ever since that day, I had my guard up pretty high. It wasn't until you came when that barrier I put around myself began to fade away. And it's just… It gets harder with time when I just keep all of these feelings inside of me. The longer I keep them away from you, it just grows stronger."

"What are you saying?" Bright asked, the nervous feeling creeping up on her again.

He looked at her dead in the eyes, a simple gesture that sent shivers down her spine. Grabbing her hand, he squeezed it lightly. "I'm saying that I'm done lying to myself."

"Boomer…" She whispered, feeling uneasy. "What do you mean?"

"I…" He said softly, caressing her hand with his thumb. "Like you…"

Bright gasped, shocked at his words. "You… like me?"

"I mean, not that it's much of a surprise but, I really do. You're not that hard of a person to like, Bright."

Her heart burned, but it wasn't painful. She actually felt… happy. The feeling made Bright even more confused as she tried to find the words that she wanted to say. "But… you… how?"

"You just did." Boomer said, chuckling softly. "I don't know if it was when we met, when we had a mission together or even when we kissed. I don't fucking care when I started to feel this. It was just your smile, your voice, the way you act, with everything you do you were just so… captivating."

He then brought a hand up to caress her face. "It didn't feel right at first, I didn't trust anyone so I thought that when I told you what I felt, you didn't feel the same way. It wasn't right for me to assume, but I didn't want to get hurt anymore. But instead, by trying to bury these feelings inside of me, I've hurt you."

"Boomer…" Bright said, "All of this… is so sudden." She said, looking away.

He smiled at her, gently holding her chin and bringing her face up to meet his deep blue eyes. "You don't have to think about this now. I just wanted to let you know that I'm really sorry about acting so cold towards you. I wanted you to know that I really, genuinely, like you.

"I've been thinking these past few days, and I realized that it's okay if you don't like me back. I just… wanted you to know everything I'm feeling right now about you. You've made this dummy fall head over heels for you."

She clutched her chest, her heart not beating any slower. "I think… I do too…" Bright whispered, almost sounding like a sigh. 'Even if I shouldn't…'

"Then why does it seem like something's holding you back?" He asked, a bit hurt.

Bright dared not look at him, afraid that she would give in and blow her cover. "Because I know that I'll only hurt you."

"What do you mean?" He wondered, "Do you like someone else?"

"No… it's not that." Bright said, mirroring his actions a while back as she now grabbed his hand. "Honestly, meeting you felt like I found a piece of myself that was missing. No… it wasn't just a piece, it was like founding half of myself. But even though it felt so satisfying, it seems so wrong."

Boomer raised his eyebrow in confusion, "Why would it feel wrong? It feels like we're actually fucking made for each other. I thought I was the only one that felt that way."

"You and I are just so… different."

"How different? I mean we're both villains, we take an interest in arts, heck, we both even have the same goal in this life and yet—"

"That's the problem." Bright said, cutting off his statement. "You think we're not that different but trust me, we are. What if I'm not the one who you were expecting me to be? What if you found out who I really was deep inside? Would you still like me?"

With each question, the tears in her eyes began to well up. It was agonizing for her to actually tell him the truth about her feelings when she knew very well how this was very, very wrong. Even if she wanted to be in his arms, even if she wanted to hold him, even if she wanted to tell him how badly she was in love with him, she couldn't.

They were each other's missing half, but it just can't be.

Boomer tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, smiling gently at her once again. "Nothing in the world could make me hate you. I know that you might feel conflicted right now, but just know that I really do love you, Bright. Different or not, that will never change."

"You promise?" Bright asked, a single tear running down her angelic face.

He held a hand to her face once again, wiping away the tear that fell, "I promise." Pulling her close, their lips finally met.

It was then at that moment that Bright asked herself, was this the right thing to do? Does admitting her feelings actually free her from the pain she felt whenever she thinks about him? Should she be relieved that he likes her back? Should she even believe his words?

These questions ran through her head but all she cared about was him. The feeling of their lips pressed against each other was just as perfect as the last one. It felt like two halves finally becoming one again. She loves him…

But she has to betray him.

Author's Note: The blues are just breaking my heart, man. Why do I do this to myself? I've been listening to Just So You Know by Jesse McCartney (Who looks like a teen Boomer with his blonde hair back in the 2000s, ngl) while writing this chapter and I kind of just went with the flow with that, lmao.

Which reminds me, do you guys want me to make an official playlist for this story? I have a lot in mind so feel free to tell me your thoughts!

Don't forget to favorite, follow, and review!

Stay safe and wash your hands, loves!

~Disastress