I do not own the Power Puff Girls or the Rowdy Ruff Boys.

Chapter Twenty-One: In Their Heads

"Diapers, extra clothes, blankets, baby wipes, powder, toys," Blossom mumbled to herself as she prepared everything she might need for this unexpected outing with Coal. Even still, she kept going through the diaper bag to make sure that everything that needed to be there was there. After possibly the fifth time of checking it, she turned to Coal who was lying on his back in his crib looking over at her with his daddy's eyes. Letting out a sigh, Blossom went to retrieve her baby and hugged him tightly to her chest. Coal let out a small sound of protest and became a comforting warm spot against Blossom's chest.

Relaxing her hug, she then went about putting him in his car seat. Once he was strapped in, she checked three times to make sure he was secure before looking around for anything else that she may need for her son. Seeing as there was nothing more she needed, she picked up the bag and Coal and left the nursery. On a rack of hooks by the front door were her purse and keys. She nodded believing she had everything before realizing she didn't have her phone on her. Setting Coal down, she went back to retrieve her phone and hoped beyond hope that Brick left a message for her. Getting a call from the professor to meet at the volcano tower made her blood run cold. She knew something had happened when Halloween night passed, stressfully turning into November first.

The drive to the volcano tower was uneventful. When she pulled up to the park's parking lot, she looked up at the tower with wide eyes. She hadn't been here in years, and she never imagined going back, let alone for the current circumstances. Steeling herself, she parked and gathered Coal and their things. Her grip on the handle of the car seat was tight as she flew slowly up the volcano side. Coal for his credit gurgled and waved his arms excitedly as the wind blew around him. The sound of her son giggling eased some of her tension. When she landed on the porch, she didn't have to knock to enter for the door was already open.

Once inside she paused at the sight of the boys in their prisons. They looked terrible with their ragged clothing and chemically burned skin that was flaking in patches all over them. As if sensing she was there, Brick turned and he pressed his hands against the energy field. "Blossom? Blossom! I'm sorry! I didn't want to, but I couldn't help myself! I didn't have control of my body. I love you, but I never wanted to hurt you!"

Everyone in the room turned to look at the pink-themed Power Puff as she stood there holding her infant son. The sudden scrutiny made her uncomfortable and she quickly walked over to the stairs with Coal in hand without looking at anyone. "I'm going to get Coal set up in Brick's room. I'll be down to help soon."

Once she disappeared out of view, Mojo decided then to come out of his room. Bubbles turned back to Boomer, more out of consideration for Blossom than concern for Boomer. Buttercup looked to say something before the professor gave her a look and slight shake of his head. When the older man turned to look at Mojo, he rose a brow as if daring him to say something that would upset Blossom. Mojo snorted before looking up to where Blossom disappeared to.

Upstairs, Blossom wiped at the tears that ran down her cheeks. She wasn't crying for herself, but Brick. He looked so…disturbed by what he could've done to harm her. It wasn't much of a leap to believe that he was thinking of that night. What else would he have to be sorry for? Taking a deep breath, she looked around Brick's childhood room. Red and black were the predominant colors with bits of silver. His room was clean but had the typical boys' organization; favoritism over coordination of color or style. This was applied to his clothes, his books, music, and video games. It made Blossom smile lightly and shook her head. "Coal, you will organize better when you're old enough to clean your own room."

Going into Coal's diaper bag, she pulled out one of his toys and handed it to him only for it to immediately find itself into his mouth. She then went to Brick's bed using his pillows to create a makeshift playpen. Once that was done, she maneuvered Coal out of his seat only to pause when she saw the professor standing in the doorway. "No needles, I promise."

Blossom rolled her eyes and placed Coal in the middle of the bed with the pillows surrounding him. His toy wasn't far out of his reach and he went back to gumming it happily. "What happened to them?"

"Mojo thinks it's just rebound from attempting to cross into another dimension. Whatever influence of H.I.M was left triggered something in them. They nearly attacked Mojo and he acted to defend himself." The professor looked watched as she sat beside Coal and rubbed his belly in a small circular motion. "Did you know they were going to attempt something like this?"

"Not until the day before," she answered him, eyes focused on Coal's play.

There was a strained silence that settled between them, broken only by Coal's grunts of effort to chew on his toy. "About what Brick said…"

"Whatever you're thinking, please don't say it." She whispered, finally breaking away from Coal. The wide-eyed stare she gave the professor made him think of when she first found out she was pregnant. Scared and unsure. "We don't know anything for sure."

The professor was hard-pressed to believe that, but as he remembered how Blossom and Brick were that fateful morning, he felt things that a parent should never have to. He thought the worst had happened to his little girl at the hands of the boy monster that he knew could destroy her if he were so inclined; and not just her—her sisters too and by their own counterparts. Their crime-fighting days of chasing petty criminals lessened as adjustments were made to the police force under their instruction. They really only had to deal with the occasional monster from the Isle, but those were few and far between. Finally, Mojo and the boys were put in their place and taken out of the equation. The last true threat to them was the supernatural entity that was H.I.M and according to Brick, the demon was dead. At least that was the idea before the events of last night. "Blossom…"

"We're here to help them, or aren't we?" She asked as she stood up from her place on Brick's bed, leaving Coal to his own devices.

On the stairs, Blossom was stopped in her descent by Mojo. His body was tense, and his fur was obviously ruffled by his agitated nerves. When he saw her, the scowl on his face could've easily been seen as permanent for how deep it was. "I'm not keeping eye on him, because I care for him. Only because your father knows I wouldn't have allowed anyone else in my home. You and your sisters and only allowed because of the circumstances."

"I don't need you to tell me this," Blossom told him as she resumed her descent down. "You've always made your feelings quite clear."

"Yet here you three remain further entwining your fates with those of my sons." Mojo retorted.

Stepping down the stairs so that she was eye level with him, Blossom stared into pink-tinted eyes that were very dissimilar to her own. "I've tried to work with you Mojo. I really have, and not just me. We all have been trying for your sake, but you're so goddamn hellbent on this witch hunt you have out for us."

"Witch hunt would imply that you're innocent, which you are not."

"Did you forget how you were? You tricked us. Used our powers for your own agenda. Before we knew what you really were we believed we could've lived in a better world with you. It was you who ruined everything with us. You had a second chance with the boys and you're pushing them away!" She then laughed mirthlessly and shook her head. "You're even being given a third chance with Coal, and here you are spitting in his face." She then proceeded down the stairs wiping tears from her cheeks as she went.

There wasn't anything Mojo could say, so silently he went up the stairs. The professor looked at Mojo from beside the bed and gave him a warning look. "You keep an eye on him. If he cries, either give him one of his toys or his pacifier. If you need to pick him up, do it gently and cradle his head. If he needs to be changed, do it. If he needs to be fed call Blossom. Leave this door open."

The professor then walked out of the room leaving Mojo alone with their grandson. The chimp watched as the infant entertained himself before going to sit in Brick's desk chair.

The professor was instructing the girls to move the boys to Mojo's lab, an extension of the tower built above the residential area. The girls stood at the ready as the professor come by with Mojo's energy disrupter and placed it against the fields individually, starting with Boomer. Once he was free, he tried to get away, only to be caught in Bubbles' arms and forcibly thrust onto a table and strapped down. He struggled as he fought against the reinforced restraints. Bubbles placed her hands onto Boomer's face to hold him still.

"Let me go! Let me go!" He yelled trying to fight against her hold, only to release his own sonic scream that was deeper and seemed to vibrate everyone's bones.

"What the hell are you doing him?!" Butch yelled, trying to refrain from banging against the field like he did the night before. In his mind, he wouldn't be of any help to anyone if he rendered himself unconscious.

Buttercup stepped between Butch and the sight of Boomer being restrained. "Butch, look at me. Hey, snail boy, look at me."

Hard emerald eyes that appeared to be clouded over, turned to Buttercup and he growled at her. "Tell that thing to take its hands off my brother!"

"That thing is my sister. Bubbles, Butch. You know her. You know me."

The vindictive laugh he let out was a near bark. "Right, as if I can tell one minion of hell from another."

Buttercup hated the cruel smirk that was on her husband's face and turned to the professor. "They're delusional."

"An effect of failed trans-dimensional travel no doubt." The professor said as he walked over to Butch's containment bubble. "Be ready, Buttercup."

Pushing the sleeves of her sweatshirt up, she readied herself for the scuffle that was sure to happen. The moment the professor released Butch from his prison, the Rowdy Ruff Boy knocked the professor aside and charged at Buttercup. Ready for his attack, Buttercup caught him by surprise as she dodged by flipping over him and grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. She yanked hard and he was jerked violently until he was slammed onto the adjacent table by Boomer. He was strapped down as Buttercup sat straddled over him using her weight and strength to hold him down. Once he was secured, she tightened the restraints for extra measure, both grunting at the stress. Butch looked up at Buttercup and snorted before hacking a disgustingly thick loogie at her face. It caught her near her eye and he laughed at the disgusted face she made. Drawing her hand back, Buttercup threw it forward only at the last second to swerve left and punch the table below. A clear impression of her fist was left as she swung her leg back to fall away from Butch. Using her sleeve, she wiped her face and turned away.

Blossom was standing beside Brick's containment watching as his brothers were restrained. As the professor came to release Brick, Blossom too stood at the ready, but she saw it to be needless. Brick didn't even bother to put up a fight as he was released. He simply collapsed to his knees before Blossom and wrapped his arms around her legs. His contrition was heartbreaking, and Blossom reached out to brush his hair back.

"Brick, it's okay." She tried to tell him only for Brick to shake his head.

"It's not okay." He moaned. "It shouldn't have happened. Not like that."

Blossom pulled Brick up and helped him to the examination table, restraining him just like his brothers. She stood by his side and brushed his hair from his sweat-slick skin. "How do we help them?"

The professor held a syringe in his hand and went to Boomer first. It was with Bubbles' help that he was able to find a vein in Boomer's arm and sedate him. His struggles lessened until he was completely under and Bubbles was able to release him. "For now I'm going to sedate them so I can treat their wounds. Mojo used a much stronger concentration of Antidote X and it's impeding their healing. As for their mental states, I can't really say without an EEG scan. It could very well be a temporary thing and they just have to ride or…"

"Or?" Bubbles asked, growing worried as Boomer groaned in his unnatural sleep.

"Or it could be something more supernatural. If that were the case, then I'm not sure how much help I'll be." The professor admitted. He came to sedate Butch and had to fall back should he get blasted in the face with laser vision. Blossom spun and clasped her hands over his eyes, wincing at the sting as it burned the palms of her hands.

"Buttercup! Get over here!" She commanded.

The green Power Puff turned sprinted to the professor, grabbing the sedative from him. Turning to her counterpart, she wasted no time in stabbing the syringe into his arm and pushing the plunger. Blossom released the moment he was off of it, when the stinging of laser vision ceased. Taking her hands from his now-closed eyes, Blossom looked down at her burned palms. Her ice powers were drawn to help with her healing. Buttercup looked to her sister's hands and frowned. "Sorry about that."

Blossom shook her head. "It's not serious."

After Brick was put under, the professor went about treating their burns. All the while he was disinfecting and wrapping the wounds, low sounds of distress continued to break from their mouths. Seeing their varying states of anguish, he wished he had the equipment at his disposal to run a brain scan. If there were something in their brain scans that he could diagnose, he might be able to help them. Their distressed sounds grew louder and the professor could only guess as to what they were seeing in their heads.

It was that horrible night all over again. Brick, Butch, and Boomer were five years old again and they were being punished by H.I.M for their failure. The girls had gotten the best of them purely by chance, and now they were going to suffer for it. Brick stood proud with his shoulders back and chin lifted, despite his face still being wet from the tears of embarrassment he shed following their defeat. Butch was more agitated and felt overly defensive, as by his hunched over shoulders and folded arms. He'd roughly wiped the remains of tears away and was only sniffling at this point. Boomer was openly frightened, eyes wide and he was trembling. It was an unconscious action, but he was partially shielded behind his brothers. Not that it did much.

After H.I.M returned, he screamed and yelled at the boys for their failure. When he asked what they had to say for themselves, Brick said something about the faulty cootie shot that backfired and that was when H.I.M began the assault. The claw had cut Boomer as it threw him across the platform they were on. Brick and Butch were stunned into silence at what just happened. There was a beat before Brick sprung into action. He tried to fight H.I.M, but the demon merely swatted him away as if he were a fly, hitting a wall with enough force to render him unconscious.

Butch stood there frozen in place, watching as H.I.M turned to him. He tensed waiting for a blow to come, but it never did. Instead, H.I.M turned to Boomer and proceeded to beat him while Butch stood frozen. When Brick came too, Butch saw his brother try to get in between the H.I.M and Boomer. He tried to fight H.I.M throwing punches that landed but were useless. Boomer given a reprieve from the beating was sobbing loudly from the pain. H.I.M's beating of Brick was worse than the one he just landed onto Boomer. When he was thrown to the ground H.I.M pierced through his leg with his claw, making his brother scream. Butch cringed at the sound and the sight as H.I.M pulled his claw from the bloody mess that was Brick's leg. Boomer curled in on himself and shrunk back from the glare H.I.M sent his way.

Brick's screams and Boomer's whimpers echoed horribly in the created space of the pocket dimension. H.I.M finally turned to Butch, making the boy stiffen as he tried to appear strong. His green eyes were full of unshed tears that he didn't want to fall but were close to doing so. Rather than attack him outright, H.I.M took Butch into his grasp and with one of his claws piercing his temple and the other his cheek. He was forced to look upon the fallen forms of his brothers while listening to the whispers in his ear about how he felt so helpless at this moment. How terrified he is and should remain. H.I.M wanted Butch to always be reminded of this sight should they ever fail again. Butch was then beaten much like his brothers were and left broken and bleeding in the platform, breathing painfully. They were then left there to think about their failure. Boomer cried for the longest time while Brick laid there tried to reset his bones. Butch just laid there, cursing his fear-induced paralysis.

At five years old, their worst fear was being beaten by H.I.M. Now, their fears went beyond that of just physical reprimand. There were others that could suffer in their stead, or secrets and insecurities to be played upon. That's how the boys found themselves separated and seeing their fears played out before them.

Before Boomer was a scene crafted from his own imagination. Bubbles was kissing Jamie as she used to kiss him. Her arms around his shoulders. His hands caressing her body. Both of them much too close together to be platonic.

Boomer shook his head and closed his eyes. "No. He kissed her. He's at fault."

"But she isn't so innocent, is she?" An echo of a voice whispered in his ear, making the fine hairs on his neck rise in fear. "Remember how she used your lust to distract you?"

Images of their weekend at the lake house came to mind. His face full of rapture, while Bubbles looked ashamed and lifeless under him. Boomer couldn't look away from the sight of the one-sided lovemaking. When he tried those different positions with Bubbles, their faces were either turned away from each other or at an angle that made it difficult to see the other's face. He didn't know for sure how she truly felt. He'd simply taken her word for it when she said she liked the new positions they tried.

"How do you know she didn't fuck him too while you were apart?" the voice asked. "You know how good it feels to be between her thighs. Maybe he knows too."

The image shifted so that it was no longer Boomer making love to Bubbles, but Jamie. Bubbles' face also changed from bored aloofness to ecstasy. She also wasn't silent anymore, as she gasped and moaned for Jamie's ministrations. The sight alone was enough to churn Boomer's stomach. When the two apparitions looked him in the eye with twin smirks of mirth of pity, he yelled in furious anguish.

Butch's vision wasn't much different from Boomer's. Before him, was Buttercup being held under the ministrations of that sleazy swinger from Vegas. His cupcake's eyes were dull despite her soft moans of pleasure. Butch wanted to go to them so he could pull the bastard off her, but he found his own body occupied with the swinger's new wife. She touched him in ways that only Buttercup should've been allowed, and he too was unable to help his sounds of pleasure.

"That's it, give into your desires. Fulfill them with whoever you want." That wretched voice whispered to him.

A shiver of pleasure ran involuntarily down his spine and he looked down at the hazy eyes of the woman he was losing himself in. When he felt himself orgasm, rather than feel relaxed and fulfilled he was left cold and empty. When he saw the man over Buttercup finish, he thought the two of them would be able to console each other, but he was intercepted a woman—a different woman—and his body reacted to her amorous ministrations. The moment his erection was at full mast, she mounted him and started the vigorous process of bringing him to another climax. At the same time, another man had begun to move over Buttercup, and she reached her hand out toward him.

Butch reached out, but his hand was taken and brought to run over the body of the woman beneath him. When she sucked on his fingers, Butch turned his head away in disgust. She whimpered as the guy leaned over her and licked her from collarbone to cheek.

"Buttercup." He whispered, the action being the only voluntary thing he could do.

Moans ranging from those of pleasure to exertion filled the air in a terrible symphony of sin. It echoed in the hells of Butch and Boomer's mind, before colliding with the horrific screams that came from Brick's created circle.

"Blossom, I'm sorry. I'm not doing this. I wouldn't do this to you!" he cried as his body moved against his will. A nightgown, pale pink, and made of cotton was easily ripped apart from the smallest effort. Blossom tried to fight him off but to no avail. The fire powered Ruff was stronger than her, so much stronger. His weight and strength were used to pin her down into the red sheets of the bed. He loomed over her like a beast while his face was frozen with shock and fear for his actions. Brick could do nothing as his hands held Blossom's wrists down and his knees parted her thighs.

Everything he was doing to her was his worst nightmare. He knew he didn't remember the true events of that night, but he refused to believe that this violent act was what happened. Her sisters, her father—would've heard the assault. They would have come to investigate. They would have stopped him. What he was seeing and doing was a manifestation of those fears of the unknown. Still, that didn't diminish the wrenching feeling that was tearing through his heart. Seeing Blossom, real or imagined, so terrified of him shook him to his core. He never wanted to see her look at him with such revile. The look she gave through those watery pink orbs of hers when he thrust into her and she screamed, made his heart tear with each push and pull motion and plea that fell from her lips.

"Please. Please! I want to stop. Let me stop!" He begged to anyone that could hear him. Someone save him from the nightmare that was his violently sexually assaulting Blossom. He loved her too much to cause her this much pain.

"But why? Didn't you want this? Want her?"

"Not like this." Brick said as he closed his eyes, not wanting to see the pain splashed across Blossom's face. "Never like this."

"Oh? Then why are you enjoying the feel of her wrapped around you?" The voice spoke into his ear. "Ready to spill yourself."

Brick tried to resist, but when he felt himself release the sensation of Blossom wrapped around him disappeared. He only opened his eyes when he heard crying. A different kind of crying; softer. Looking around, Brick located the source of the soft crying and felt his heart seize again. The one crying now was his son. Blazing Coal was lying in the middle of nothing, naked and writhing, screaming out his distress. Not even in real life has he ever heard his son cry like this, and he hoped to never hear such a sound. Paternal instinct taking over, he moved to go to him and hold him. Show him that he was safe in his arms. Would be safe from all dangers.

But for every step Brick took, his son moved further away from him. He started to run to no avail as Coal was further pulled away from him. His crying growing louder despite the growing distance between them. "Coal! Coal!" he called hoping that the sound of his voice would reach his son and soothe his fears. Before he could ever hope to rescue his son, Coal found himself being wrapped in two red, sinewy arms. At their ends were nod hands, but claws. Large and sharp, and much too capable of snapping his infant son in half should they so desire.

As the arms and claws revealed themselves, so did the figure that they were attached. Booted legs appeared along with a feather boa that wrapped around the elbows and body of the effeminate demon that Brick prayed to never see in the flesh again. "H.I.M." he whispered, terrified at what his presence meant. "No, no, you're dead."

"Oh?" The red devil taunted as he looked over himself. "I seem to be very much alive."

"No," he should his head. "You died! I ended you myself. You're not here! You're not real! None of this is real!" Brick screamed as he brought his hands up to tangle in his red hair. His grip tightened on his locks and threatened to tear it from the roots with the stress. He closed his eyes hoping that the lack of sight would banish the image, but Coal's cries still assaulted his ears and he couldn't not look upon his son as he beheld by the monster. "Please. Let him go."

"Why should I do that?" That saccharine voice purred venomously. "I have as much claim on his life as you do." He coddled the crying child, smiling to himself as if the baby's cries were music.

Brick in his fury tried to charge but felt himself unable to move. Looking down, he saw that his legs were encased in molten stone, rendering him immobile. "NO! Let him go! He's my son!"

"And he wouldn't be here if it weren't for me!" That deep demonic voice that even now instilled fear in Brick rung throughout the space. "By my influence, he came to be. By right I own his life."

"No!" Brick moaned as he struggled to move forward. He couldn't allow his son to be put thought the horrific treatment that he and his brothers were put thought. "NO!"

"NO!" Brick yelled in his uneasy sleep as he thrashed about much like his brothers. "No!" he kept yelling out.

Beside him holding his hand was Blossom with a worried look on her face. "They've been like this for the past three hours."

"Isn't there something that can be done?" Buttercup asked tensely. She'd made room for herself to sit atop a table by shoving Mojo's equipment and tools to one side. Her knees were tucked under her chin and her fingers were locked in front to prevent her from fidgeting and bouncing in annoyance. "I can't stand to see them like this."

Looking up from the microscope, the professor noticed how his girls were emotionally spent from the worrying. He himself was trying to work on an antitoxin. After taking their blood, he noticed that there were spores like particles when it was examined. Getting a swab from their noses confirmed that they breathed in something left over from H.I.M's dimension. The substance was deep in their nostrils and as black as that bile from months before. Unlike before where the boys had a fever to help fight the effects, the intoxicated like behavior was something they had to ride out until a proper medication was applied. "Girls go take a break."

The boys yelled out, and each of the girls turned to their respective boy. Buttercup shifted in place and exhaled deeply. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Buttercup, take a break." He coaxed softly, rubbing his eyes. "I'm no sooner to finding a way of creating an antitoxin than I was an hour ago."

"I'm not leaving." She remained adamant in her decision to remain where she was.

"Buttercup," the sterner tone of his voice called her attention, "you are not helping anything by sitting there scowling. Also, I can't help them to the best of my ability if I'm worried about your health as well. Go get something to eat if you can, and maybe rest a bit."

Bubbles lifted her head from Boomer's chest and rolled her head around to get the kinks out. She then stood and waited for her sisters to follow her. Blossom stood and gasped, her hands going to her breasts. "I have to feed Coal."

"Call Mojo down will you? He might have some ideas on where to begin."

A disgusted sound escaped Buttercup and she unfolded herself from the table. She left the room in a huff, not waiting for Blossom or Bubbles. Bubbles and Blossom followed after their sister, only to part ways when Blossom rushed to Brick's room where she knew her son to be.

When she first entered the room, her heart froze as she didn't see Mojo. Coal however was in the middle of the bed, looking to have been unmoved from his position and was softly making sounds of irritation. Feeling her breasts let her milk down, she disregarded Mojo's lack of presence over the need to care for her son. Closing the door behind her, she raised her shirt while unhooking the nursing bra she had on. When she sat on the bed, the gently picked up her baby and began to nurse her. Coal suckled hard at her breast obviously hungry. While he ate, Blossom ran her fingers over the soft red spikes that made up his hair. He looked so much like Brick with his bright red eyes and nose that was a soft imitation of his father's. The bits of herself that she saw in him was his hair color similar to her own with its red-gold hue. He also had her ears she noticed.

Lost in her scrutiny of her child, she didn't hear anyone approach the room until the door opened. Turning around, she saw Mojo beginning to enter, only for him to start when he realized that she was breastfeeding. He quickly spun and cleared his throat. "I didn't know you were up here, nor that you would be…nursing."

For Mojo's sake, she turned as carefully as she could, so as not to jostle Coal's meal. "I thought you were watching Coal."

"I wasn't aware I had to be in his presence the entire time." Mojo threw over his shoulder.

"He's a baby." Blossom turned her head so she could look at Mojo's back. "Be glad he can't crawl or walk yet, or I might've ripped your head off for leaving him by himself."

"He was fine." Mojo retorted lifting a small device with a screen. "I was monitoring him. His toy provided more than enough entertainment for him. I hardly needed to be here."

Blossom huffed an icy breath that wafted over Coal, making him groan and flare up briefly. "That's not the point." The second breath she took was to calm her nerves. "The professor was asking for you. He's having a bit of trouble coming up with an antitoxin for the boys."

Mojo didn't give any hint that he was or wasn't aware of the current situation. Instead, he went vacated the space he once occupied silently. Upon making his way to his lab, he passed the living room area and noticed that Bubbles was sitting on the couch with her knees pulled up and her forehead pressed against them. Her usually pigtailed hair was loose and shielded her face from anyone's viewing. He didn't say anything to her, wanting her to wallow in whatever self-pitying mindset she was in. Buttercup he outright ignored, despite her noisily banging around in his kitchen as if looking for something to eat.

Nearing his lab, he heard them before he saw them. Ramblings of incoherent thoughts spewed from their lips. Their closed lids twitched madly as their eyes chased their nightmares. Fingers clenched into fists and their sporadic muscle twitches were no more than echoes of motions they wished to do in slumber.

As if sensing he was there, the professor turned to Mojo with a slightly relieved look. "Mojo, come look at this. Maybe you can make sense of it."

"Blossom said you needed an antitoxin." He walked past his sons, hating how helpless they looked. It brought him back to the last time they were in the hospital. Hopefully, they recovered quicker than before.

"Yes. They were infected by some kind of hallucinogen. However, when I look at it, it doesn't react, or mimic any other hallucinogen or drug I've ever seen."

Mojo looked through the professor's microscope to the samples he had. He quickly noted that the black cells weren't exactly "cells". Organic in nature sure and seemed to have some sentiency but lacked any real intelligence. "Curious." He couldn't help his fascination with something new.

"Please try not to sound excited." The professor softly pled. The gleam of interest in Mojo's eye was hard to miss.

Looking up from the cells, Mojo couldn't help the small smirk that came over his face. "My apologies, but their nature is fascinating."

Just then Boomer let out a yell of pain and tugged against the restraints so hard, that they threatened to give way. The professor and Mojo watched as some of the tension released from his body, but not enough for them to believe that the worst was over. Mojo's smirk fell as he remembered what this toxin was doing to his sons. He looked back down and examined the hellish cells once more. "These cells are like a sentient virus."

"I know."

"Have you seen what it could do to blood or cells, not from the boys?" Mojo asked.

"I tested it against the girls' blood. The cells as you call them didn't react." The professor informed him while reaching into his coat pocket for his pipe. Mojo rose a brow as he stuffed it with tobacco and proceeded to light it. "What?"

"It's rare that I see you partaking in that nasty habit as of late," Mojo noted.

Taking a deep inhale so the kindling would light, he took a few shallow puffs before blowing out a thick cloud of smoke. "Not as often, but moments like this force me to. It's…soothing."

"Hmmm." He returned to examining the cells that vexed the professor. "Do what was the origin of this?"

"I can surmise that it was something they caught when they rebounded from H.I.M's dimension." The professor said around puffs on his pipe. "Why? You have an idea of the toxin's nature?"

Mojo hummed and got up from the microscope. He went to a very specific place in his lab and moved a fake-out book set from in front of a safe. The professor watched curiously as Mojo covertly put in a code and had his thumbprint scanned. When he opened the secret safe, he pulled out a small vial that held a clear liquid that the professor believed to be water. However, the notion was cast aside as surely Mojo would have something of more value in a safe than water. The professor watched as his former simian ward set the vial beside the microscope and then went about searching in his drawers for an eyedropper. When he found one, he carefully inserted it into the vial and withdrew a small amount. He was about to add a drop to the slide when he looked up at the professor.

"Do you have other samples of this?" Mojo asked.

"Yes, but—what are you doing?" The professor ran to Mojo's side to look over his shoulder at the results. When Mojo moved him aside with a single hand and looked down at the microscope. Looking to the vial nearby, the professor couldn't hold his curiosity much longer. "What is this?"

"Holy water."

The inhale the professor took was sharp and caused him to choke on tobacco smoke. Pulling his pipe from his mouth, he beat his chest and turned away to collect himself. With a face red and his chest clear, he turned back to Mojo, incredulous. "Holy water."

"From a catholic church. I have quite the collection of anointed water from many different churches and religious factions. I found it came in handy when dealing with a demon. That among other holy items."

Now rather than staring at the vial incredulously, the professor stared at Mojo. Only this time there was anger in his gaze. "You mean all this time you could've done something about that demon and did nothing!"

The reproach in his former guardian's tone triggered a deep-rooted conditioned response within Mojo. His eyes widened and his fur stood on end with fear of physical reprimand that came in the form of a struck palm. After remembering that he wasn't a young chimp in a diaper and was in no danger of being struck, he relaxed and scowled. "As far as I knew, the boys' only issue with that demon was that he was invading their privacy with a tenaciousness of a meddlesome mother. Also, need I remind you everyone was lying to me, aside from H.I.M strangely enough. So what need would I have to reveal my personal measures taken to defend against him?"

The argument that was sure to erupt was smothered like a beginning fire under a blanket the professor's forced attention brought back to the cells. "What happened when you added the holy water to the slide?"

"See for yourself," Mojo said as he stood up and left the table's side. He looked over to his sons and folded his arms over his chest. It seemed that as a parent, one never became comfortable seeing their children in pain. It was harder for Mojo to stomach, no matter the severity or lack thereof, considering he watched his children be broken down to their baser components before his very eyes.

Under the microscope's lens, the cells from the toxin writhed and slowly disintegrated. Seeing that was the first ray of hope and the professor waited minutes to see what would happen after. As a man of science, his knowledge of the supernatural was limited. Granted the lack of knowledge in such an area in the current circumstances was not a severe hindrance; it would still behoove him to add some countermeasures to such attacks to his arsenal. Looking up, he took in Mojo's tightly wound body. "They're going to be all right. Your holy water remedy will be their saving grace."

A rough grunt was all the answer he was going to receive. Mojo's attention was completely on his sons. It took a moment for the professor to realize that this was one of now very rare times spent with all three of his sons. It also didn't escape his notice that each time was wrought with one crisis or another. The professor couldn't help the stirrings of sadness that formed as the realization struck him.

Feeling the heavy stare of him, Mojo's fur stood up as righteous anger swarmed. "Don't you dare presume you have the right to pity me."

The professor tried to find a response, but Mojo rushed out of the lab without a backward glance. Seeing as there wasn't going to be any headway in making an effort toward Mojo's coarse feelings, he returned his attention to finding the best way to administer the holy cure to the boys.

Hi, my lovelies. I know I've been making it an unintentional trend to post triweekly, rather than biweekly. At first, it was more I take a short reprieve and then jump back into it. However, that wasn't the case with this chapter. The words wouldn't come. It wasn't really a block, just finding an insufficiency in how to really describe the feelings of the trauma the boys were going through.

That being said, what a trip the boys went on, and even now I still think this was mild by comparison to what I could've written. Hopefully next chapter I'll get my mojo-no pun intended-back. Also, I've put a small dent in writing my original. That will be posted on Fiction Press and Watt Pad. Notices will be attached to the end of my chapters of Growing Up until I begin posting the story on the other platforms. I'm also going to try to put notices on my Instagram with-hopefully-artwork of the characters. I'm stretching myself with the personal project, but I believe when it comes to fruition it will truly be worth all the effort. Thank you all for the support, as I wouldn't have been at it this long without it.

Until Next Time