A/N I'm trying to make the chapters a little longer than I normally do. A lot of this now is roughly the same as before. I just needed to rewrite and add a few things to the first two chapters. Read, Review and as always enjoy
Buttercup~
My hair dances across my face causing me to stir from a deep sleep. I assume it's the wind coming in from the open window. I have my queen sized bed pushed up against the giant circle window to get the most out of my small room. After years of begging for privacy, quiet time to study, alone space or whatever other bullshit excuse three preteens could come up with Professor finally caved and hired a contractor to split our giant room into thirds. Blossom and I are on the end ends while Bubbles is how she likes to be, smack dab in the middle of everything.
I move the floral comforter off my shoulders disturbing Meowmi at the foot of the bed. Meowmi is the cat that Bubbles and I share, clearly she named him. He is a bulky black cat with one bright blue and jade green eye, funny how he would have heterochromia that match our "respective" colors. Meowmi begins to purr loudly, which is odd. He normally only purrs when he's being pet or wants food. A heavy hand presses me into the mattress before I feel the weight of someone else on my bed. I would know this calloused hand anywhere and swallow the rising panic in my throat. How could I let him sneak up on me like this? How long has he been there just outside my window?
"What the fuck are you doing here?" I snarl, adrenaline surges through my body cause my muscles to tense and my feet to tingle.
"Oh I think you know, we spoke of a deal remember?" He purrs with the cat, Bubbles laughs in the other room as if on cue. I can barely hear Boomer whispering something lewd to Bubbles while Brick's laugh echoes in the hall. My eyes flutter closed as I weigh my options. I could scream but that would get my sisters involved and that's the last thing I want. Trying to feel out his mood without looking at him is hard, his hand is barely pushing me down and Meowmi seems to be fine with him. But still I don't want to cause him to tip the wrong way and end my cat's life. I steady my breathing, feeling the warm touch of his skin against my own is almost calming, almost. That scares me more than not knowing what he's thinking. Meowmi jumps over me and lands with the usual soft thud before padding his way into the next room. Butch puts most of his weight on me leaning over me in the process. He smells like crisp cool air as if he's been flying high in the atmosphere. The smell of an oncoming storm clings to him with undertones of his normal pine musk.
"Pig." I mutter as my heart hammers into my chest. He presses a sheet of paper into my hand his breath hot in my ear.
"If I was a pig I would have taken you right here and now Buttercup." His tone is half growl half desire, his hand trailing down my side causing me to shudder, "You don't have any underwear on and I can see your perfect pink nipples through your bralette."
He shoves me hard into the bed and I bounce up with the momentum, fists clinched as I sink into the mattress but he's already gone. I lean out of the large circular window to see only a faint deep green streak in the stratosphere ascending into the mesosphere. I sigh and sit crisscrossed with my back to the window once more. The paper in my hand feels heavier than it should. I silently curse Meowmi for taking his side before opening the small scrap paper. In Butch's sloppy script is written: Meet at usual spot 3am TONIGHT. Mums the word Butterbabe 3 I glare at the misshapen heart before growling to myself. The audacity of this green eyed boy is astounding.
Three am comes quicker than it should. My black converse kiss the ground gently just outside of the wisteria tunnel of Townsville central park. I instantly regret not brining my camera to the full bloomed tunnel on a clear night. The moon shines brightly overhead causing the tunnel to seem ominous and dark. About half way through I see Butch leaning against the wire wall smoking a cigarette, the flowers sway in his shiny raven hair.
"I see you made it." He flicks the cigarette to the ground and stomps it out, "Would have been a shame if you hadn't."
"Is that a threat Butch?" I'm already in a fighting stance, far angrier than I should be. His tone is lighthearted but I know not to underestimate this dark man before me.
"Relax, it isn't one…"His tone deepens, "yet." I size him up before leaning against the wire wall behind me. An empty threat for now.
"I brought you here today to discuss the details of our deal." I roll my eyes as he speaks. I should be thinking about anything other than this bullshit coming out of his mouth. I should be thinking about how to write the declining acceptance offers to the top sports colleges in the States. I should be thinking about where my first assignment will be with Nat Geo and TIME magazine and what lens I will need to pack. Sure I got a full ride on sports but I always have to hold back, coaches groan that I am too fast, too strong too… Buttercup. With photography I am free to excel, to show my true potential.
"Are you listening?" Butch's cool voice pulls me back to reality and I am no longer wondering if my first assignment will be in Japan for the Olympics. I don't answer but he continues.
"Do you want to protect your sisters or not? I can easily arrange their deaths." I snarl and lunge for him but he easily catches me by the chin. I rip free of his grip and take a step back.
"Yes." My voice comes out breathy, desperate, "I'll do anything Butch."
"Anything?" He purrs, looking over me hungrily. That hunger could be anything, he could want me or he could want to destroy me. I hope it is the latter and not the former. I put on the sexiest face I can muster and sashay to him, I cup his face and seize his lips with my own. The kiss is igniting right off the bat, I lick his lips for entrance and he obliges. For a moment I forget who I'm kissing until he shoves me against the wire wall by my throat. Twisting wood digs into my spine and one will crack before the other. I gasp out for breath and he loosens his grip a little.
"Oh no no no. I'm not going to fall for that trick little vixen." His forehead is pressed against mine, "You think I don't know you? You'll somehow get me to fall in love with you and then you'll pull some Gone Girl shit and slice my throat wide open as I climax. Hell no."
But he looks like he wants to kiss me again, his eyes flicker to my lips a final time before he pushes off of me.
"I want to know that you'll do anything for them Buttercup."
"I will."
"Then you'd kill for them?" My eyes are locked to his forest green orbs without hesitation I answer.
"Yes."
"Even if they are innocent?" I can't hold his gaze, innocent people? I think for a fraction of a second truly weighing my options and what my sisters would do if they found out. I lock eyes with him, feeling a mix of anger and determination swelling in my chest.
"Yes." I have made a deal with the Devil. The same Devil who would hold me down while his brothers tortured my sisters, the same Devil who almost crushed in Bubbles skull but that's another story.
"Perfect, then welcome aboard my little right hand woman."
My eyes flutter open only to be blinded by bright overhead lights. I squeeze them shut and mentally feel out for my right arm and fingers. If I can't move them or feel them then it might be gone. I take a few short breaths at the thought of losing my dominate hand but quickly swallow the fear. I woman up and force my eyes open to see my arm still mangled and gently lying beside me.
"Oh good you're awake." Dr. Caldwell says flicking a syringe, "I prefer my patients awake for this procedure."
"What exactly is this procedure that I need to be awake for?" I ask trying to sit up but she gently pushes me back down.
"I'm giving you chemical X, wait for your arm to reattach before sitting up."
"You might as well have cut it off and let me/her just regrow a new one." Butch and I say in unison. I cringe at his voice and sit halfway up to glare at him. He's leaning against the wall near the sliding doors, no cape or crown in sight. Just a loose worn out muscle tee with the arm pit holes too low and black cargo shorts. I fall back on the pillow with a huff, I couldn't even escape him in my dream remembering all too well how our odd relationship started, if you can even call it that.
"Master Butch forgive me for speaking out of place but that would take up too much chemical X. The supply is low you know. Our source is refusing to give us anymore." Dr. Caldwell injects me with the X and I already feel it burning through my veins, "There is only enough to heal your arm and your lacerations." She whispers knowingly. I side eye her, if she has any idea who I really am why doesn't she just say so? Because Butch is here and STILL has no fucking idea who I am? Dumbass. But what really burns me up is how he is just standing there so casually, dressed so casually as if he didn't just end an innocent life. I glare at him but all I can see are those lifeless blue eyes. My heart clinches as the X courses through me faster. Every cell in my body reaching out to the X attempting to remake it but failing. My bones snap into place, my muscle pulls itself toward my hand reaching until it begins to intertwine into stronger fibers. My flesh begins to smooth out over the veins and muscular tissue before my nerves sing out that I have a usable right hand again. I stand swiftly, the burning fueling my rage while my back stands half healed I float off the table while forming a lime green ball in both hands. I begin throwing ball after energy ball at Butch who blocks with this forearms as I advance towards him. So many raw memories stirred up from that dream.
"THIS IS FOR FORCING ME TO HELP YOU!"
"THIS IS FOR NOT REMEMBERING A DAMN THING ABOUT IT OR WHO I AM!"
"THIS IS FOR YOUR SYMPATHY FOR ME!"
His flesh is melting off of his arms, pooling on the floor near his feet. He lowers them as I stand before him knowing the chemical X is almost out of my system.
"And this is for killing that girl." I pull my fist back and connect it with is rugged jaw line sending him flying through the titanium wall. My knees give out from the force and exertions but he comes back fast enough to catch me before I hit the floor.
"Let go of me!" I snarl, I just want to scream and cry. I want to beat the shit out of him, break his bones and claw his flesh until I feel satisfied with my work. Instead I find myself pushing against his well-defined chest with all of my might. He doesn't even move an inch. I feel blood seeping into my white gown around my neck and mid back.
Butch is gripping my shoulders so hard that bruises begin to appear. His face is beet red, his breathing labored and I know all he wants to do is scream in my face until he turns blue. He lets out a sharp breath through his nose after giving me a rough shake.
"We will talk about this later." He sneers through gritted teeth.
"Make sure she gets those stitched up." He growls at Caldwell before leaving. I hear a few pillars give way causing the whole building to shake. Caldwell's hazel eyes fixate on my in a mix of wonder and horror. Her usually neat caramel hair is messier than I remember.
"You could have gotten yourself killed." She says turning her back to me gathering supplies.
"It would have been worth it." I grumble thinking of that bluish black bruise I left on his cheek. If he still doesn't know who I am after all of that then I will kill him.
"It wouldn't have been, Buttercup!" Caldwell turns on me faster than I expect, desperation clouding her eyes, "Then what would we have done without you!?"
Brick~
My shoulders are screaming from being hunched over my work in the lab for more than forty eight hours. I trusted Blossom to be alone for a while and sensed she may have needed some alone time anyway, especially after the news I gave her. Plus today I didn't have time to baby sit. I had to get this project underway to keep Him happy. I didn't have much else to do on the project but the hard part. The grueling hours of trial and error for a perfect and stable formula. I've been trying to fuse these two chemicals together for the better part of the day, my eyes crossed and I squeezed them shut just in time to see the chemicals meld together.
"BROTHER!" A large crash of lab doors cause the chemicals to separate and I all but explode on Boomer. I grab him by his throat and shove him hard against the wall above me.
"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" My voice comes out a growl while Boomer looks down from his nose at me. A snarl playing on his lips but it quickly turns into a knowing smirk.
"Father sent me to come and get you." He says shoving himself out of my grip. He lands on his feet and I smash my work table to pieces to get out the rest of my frustrations.
"What in the name of Hell does he want Boomer that I can do but you can't?" I hiss out gripping the bridge of my nose. My work is ruined and I feel almost defeated worried that I will never be able to recreate this chemical.
"Retrieve Butch." He says picking up my lab notebook before quickly setting it back down. A sure sign that he has no idea what he just read.
"And you can't do that because?" I already know the answer. Boomer has had an edge to him lately, his blue eyes darken by the day as deep purple bags hang under his eyes. His newfound irritability and Butch's rage would be a fight waiting to happen.
"Because one I want to rip his weasel head off and two, you have a little more sway with him…..now." Boomer looks down at the ground, as if searching for their old companionship. It's true, now I do have more sway when it comes to coaxing Butch to do something but it still isn't much. Especially compared to what Boomer could do, before the new beginning, before Bubbles came along. I sigh and reach for the ceiling to crack my hunched back.
"Fine I will take care of Butch, but I have to check on Blossom first." Boomer leaves at that and I collect my lab notebook and a few scattered pieces of paper. I walk from deep within the bowls of the castle to the foyer of the giant manor. I take a hard left and begin making my way to the residence wing. As always I stop in front of Butch's door and miss hearing his laughter from behind it. Butch was always a loner but he's never turned his back on us before. He's never resented us before either. I let those thoughts fade away as I turn the key in both the deadbolt and the door knob. I step inside to a dark apartment which is odd. Normally Blossom would leave a light on for me in the living room even though I've told her time and time again I don't need one. Maybe it's late and she's asleep by now. I check my watch but it only reads 10pm which is worrisome. Blossom has always been a night owl like me, never going to bed before midnight. I float to the bedroom door and ease it open. I can see her wrapped beneath the blankets. I smile to myself as I tip toe over to her to give her a small kiss but a salty smell dances in the air. I know then that Blossom isn't asleep at all, she's crying.
"Hey." I say scooping her up blankets and all. I sit on the bed with her in my arms and her sobs become uncontrollable.
"Bloss what's wrong?" I say rubbing her back but she's crying too hard to speak, "Baby I can't fix it if you can't tell me."
"You'll never be able to fix how much of a fucking coward I am Brick!" She shrieks into my chest. I am both taken aback by the screaming and the language. Blossom never uses the word fuck unless she is seething mad. Whatever this is it's serious.
"Hey Pet, baby Bloss, you aren't a coward." I comfort but she's having none of it. She pushes back to look me in the face. Deep sorrow twists her features into something that causes my stomach to clench, her eyes turn empty for a moment as she speaks.
"She needed me Brick and I did nothing. I couldn't do anything but watch." She buries her face in my chest once more as another round of sobs chokes her out.
Butch~
When I first saw her in the pits it drove me mad how familiar she looked, how I felt I had known her in an intimate way, it scared me really. How would I know how she would counter attack? Every. Single. Time, I knew her every move, when she would take a breath and the few times her guard would be down. I sit in my thrown staring down on what has to be her seventh or eighth match today. I haven't missed one yet to keep my eye on her, usually I love to see a champion fall after a winning streak but her, oh no I was almost rooting for this green eyed vixen, she was even invading my dreams. I thought maybe magic was at play and foul magic at that.
I slumped more in my throne and angrily sipped my rum which was doing nothing but fueling my rage. She was up against six opponents today, Father was testing her. Pushing her to her limits and this was something I was relishing. Watching this girl overcome anything my Father sent her way. The champion takes a hard hit and I growl inwardly, something I can't stop myself from doing. I get defensive, on edge when she's hit. Rage burning up my throat as energy tingles in my hands. I grip my glass so hard it crushes to dust in my hand. I curse and Father gives me a pointed look. I glare down at her as she swings at her last challenger, she strikes him hard enough that teeth fly from his mouth. She smirks as she cradles her fist and I can see from here a tooth is sticking out of her knuckles. I can't help but feel a little proud that yet again she has beaten one of Father's test. But that quickly sours as she sends me a quick glare before leaving the arena. I cannot take it any longer, the feeling that sits in my stomach and cause my chest to ache when she glares at me with such disdain. I need to do something, say something. Finally find out who the fuck she is!
I make my way underground to find her heading towards the showers, wrapped in nothing but a towel. Her shoulders littered with new found scars. Some older and deeper than any human should be able to heal from. The humans around me scatter or slip into the showers to avoid me while she seems unfazed. I seize her by the slender throat and her jade eyes widen before narrowing on me. I slam her against the wall next to the entrance, pinning her against rough stone.
"Just who the hell are you?" I growl, nose to nose with her. I feel on edge but relaxed with her skin against mine. She bares her teeth at me and the sexual tension multiplies. I can't help but stare at her plump lips, I feel myself pulling towards her.
"If you can't remember then it doesn't matter now does it?" Her voice comes out like venom. Venom that actually stings, her tongue's as sharp as a knife yet somehow I know it can do more than cut. How can she speak to me like this? I am a King, hell I am a God to be feared. I squeeze her throat harder and she lets out a small puff of air, the bruises bloom quickly under my touch.
"I should rip out that sharp tongue." I snarl and she responds by head butting me. It doesn't faze me but her forehead splits from the force. A trickle of blood flows down over her left eye forcing her to shut it. The image feels like dejavu, like I've seen this hundreds of times. I only now notice that she's been digging her fingers in the sweet meat of my ribs, the gesture feels familiar. It feels like it should hurt badly but it doesn't.
"Do it then." She gasps out, even as she's turning blue in the face she fights. I explode and punch the wall beside her head, the rock gives way from the force and I drop her. She lands on her feet like cat and growls my way. A bell rings overhead.
"Thanks for wasting half my shower time asshole. I just got the privilege back." She spits blood at me before disappearing into the steam. I bite my lip as I soar into the sky, tonight I'm to purge the outer city limits before going to the west coast to get more information on this rumored uprising. And if I can't make her pay for how she makes me feel than the outer city limits will.
Her scent and defiance stick to my skin the entire mission, fueling my cruelty as I kill and maim whomever is unfortunate enough to fall in my path. It takes a few days to get to a small uprising headquarters and every village in between was set ablaze to light my way back home.
"Tell me where the others are!" I snarl in this guy's face, my giant hand engulfing his skull. I'm already painted red with his friends' blood it wouldn't be hard to add to it.
"Our hope lies in the toughest fighter." He screams at me for the hundredth time. It's all I've fucking heard for the past hour and a half torturing the eight people in this small hovel. I exhale out of my nose trying to collect myself, this guy is my last hope for any real information and I can't kill him just yet.
"One last chance boy." I say real low, "Where is the rest of this rebellion hiding?"
"We are all under your noses, never resting, never dying!" I shove my finger into his eye having heard this answer before too. He screams out in pain before adding, "EVER FIGHTING!" All I've done here is waste my time. I've gotten nothing but a dead end and a headache from all of the occult talk. A few days have passed and still the champion taunts me from the shadows of my mind. I think of how I've missed four matches or so matches of her fighting. I think of how Father said he had something special in store for her on tomorrow's date. I've been trying to get back in time to see it, Father made it seem very entertaining, which means it's going to be a bloody and unfair match I'm sure. I crush his skull while he drones on even in his dying breaths, as they all did.
I return home and immediately shove off my boots. My eyes ache from sleep deprivation and my nose crinkles from the stench of death that clings to me but at least I don't smell her anymore.
"Brother you are late." Brick hisses sitting at my dining room table. I sigh out.
"I'm really not in the mood for your shit Brother." I retort heading for my fridge, I clear my scratchy throat, I am in desperate need of water.
"You said you would be back in time to catch the Champions last match and you weren't there. I had to sit through the whole damn thing." He growls but I just ignore him as I drain my sixth water bottle.
"I was a little tied up doing the dirty work," I say gesturing to the caked blood and mud on my body, "as you can see."
"And was your mission fruitful?"
"If by fruitful you mean finding out no information what so ever except some chanty bullshit then yea it was fruitful." I hiss rummaging through my cabinets for Hecate's special sleeping brew she makes me. I need a full night's sleep, just one will make up for the past three months of waking in a cold sweat. Brick lets out a heavy sigh and I don't need to turn around to know he is pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Well I have some bad news and good news for you Brother." He says tapping his fingers against the cherry wood. I pour water into a cup and heat it to boiling in my hand while I slosh the tea bag in the scalding liquid. The aroma from the tea is already begging me to lie down, to ease into my plush bed upstairs and ignore whatever bullshit Brick has to spew at me.
"And that would be?"
"The champion won her fight but…" He trails off turning to face me once more, "She may die. She's been three days without medical attention and her wound is bad brother, I hear she is already dead."
I drop my cup as my heart free falls into my stomach. Buttercup dead? She can't be… she can…she can handle anything I know she can. I leave before my brother can say anymore and fly straight to the Pits. I use my nose to guide me to her cell but when I step in front of the iron door something smells off, almost rotten. I rip it from its hinges and find her lying on her stomach with a blood soaked shirt sticking to her upper back. She's asleep but her breathing is labored and slowing quickly. I panic and rush for supplies. When I return her heartbeat is barely audibly and I straddle her damp burning body quickly. She groans under my weight and tries to fight to move. I lean over and whisper in her ear.
"Shhhhh Butterbabe." The nickname slips out and I love the ring to it, "I'll take care of you."
She rouses more, tries to thrash as panic sets in.
"Enough kitten." I growl as I place my hand roughly on her shoulder and she ceases to move. I'm not sure where that nickname came from either but it seems to have an effect on both her and me. Something burns at the base of my neck but I ignore it as I survey the damage while trying to remove her once white shirt. Her shirt sticks to her like a second skin as I try to ease it from her shaking body. She lets out a small moan as I gently pull it from between her shoulder blades and rip it up to the collar. I take a moment to take in the full effect of the damage that has been done. Her olive skin is separated from each other for at least a foot, pink vertebra wink at me in places underneath dark red frayed muscle. The edges of the wound are beginning to turn rotten and the black blood seeping from the wound is no good sign either. This, this is bad and I'm not sure I'm going to be able to save her. I never could figure out how to heal flesh wounds like this, just bones. I let out a breath to collect myself before deciding what to do.
"This is gonna sting." I whisper to her, petting her hair as I pour the alcohol up the length of her wound. She lets out a small scream and squirms beneath me, my hand lingers on her raven hair and she stills some. I push gently around the wound causing black blood to rush out and I continue to prod until it begins to turn a lighter shade. The wound is in worse shape than I thought with all of the black blood in the way it was hard to tell how rotten her back had gotten, what she needs is a little chemical X but I know I can't get my hands on any, Father has it locked up in his personal chambers and Brick still can't recreate it. I do the next best thing and make my index finger into a claw. I slice my wrist a few times to get a good blood flow before my wounds heal. Hecate taught me the power of my blood and the benefits of bloodletting. I squeeze my arm until the small wounds burst again and let my blood mix with hers. In moments the wound begins to turn back into a bright red instead of green, her skin turns back to its normal olive shade though irritated around the edges. Her pain must have gone down too as her breathing has become less shallow and rapid.
"Feeling a bit better?" I ask and she nods, "This next part is going to really hurt but I need you to stay awake for as long as you can okay?"
She shakes her head before taking a deep breath.
"Butch you can't just sew me up, you're the worst at this." She chuckles, before wincing from the movement, "I've seen you sew up Boomer, the stitching won't be straight."
Her green eyes shine in the dim light as she looks over her shoulder at me and all I can do is sit there mesmerized. How would she know about me sewing up Boomer when we were seven and how, even to this day, complains that the stitching was crooked and that's why his scar is weird. A few images flash before my eyes, three girls fighting three boys, my fist connecting to her face with force that should have killed her but instead she returns the favor, her lying with her bare back to an open circular window, a heated kiss under the wisteria tunnel in Townsville Central Park. The last image causes the nape of my neck to burn with an intensity I haven't felt before and I grit my teeth, slapping my palm to the pain. I squeeze my eyes shut as the pain seers through my system.
"Oh did I hurt your feelings?" She teases, pulling me back into the moment. She sighs out, "Get it over with." I smirk at her bravery and forget about figuring out how she knows about my skills. I sink the needle into her skin near the base of her spine and she tries not to flinch. I work my way half way through the wound pulling tightly causing the skin to pull together. Her breathing become labored again as I work at the widest part of her injury.
"Stay with me Butterbabe." I coo as I gently push the needle through her flesh. Normally inflicting this type of pain would be the highlight of my and I would drag it out as long as I could but for some reason I'm having a hard time stomaching her grinding teeth and moans.
"It hurts." She says breathlessly, I'm surprised she's admitting this to me.
"I know. I'm sorry." And I actually mean it but that doesn't stop me from helping her. If anything actually feeling pity for someone else's pain should be a red flag for me but it isn't. Instead I push on as her muscles shake from fatigue. Near the top of her injury is when she finally passes out and I let her. I'm mostly done and she needs the rest. There is nothing I could do to get Father to call off whatever fight he has in store. I finish quickly and drip a little more of my blood on her wound. I dismount and sit next to her, watching her body rise and fall with uneven breaths. I'm worried she won't make it through the night so I lean against the wall closest to her head. My hand finds her hair on its own stroking her midnight hair until the sun begins to shin through the window. I leave before she wakes and pray she sleeps in past sunrise training and halfway through their breakfast time.
I wake from the memory in a cold sweat, tearing the covers off of my already naked body. I groan as I stare at the time. I have a huge meeting with Father and my brothers first thing this morning and then I will be able to retrieve my new house guest, I had to give myself a few days to calm down after her little outburst. Brick visited me late last night to warn me that if I didn't attend this meeting Father would have my head. I grit my teeth with the oncoming migraine causing blotches of black to blur my vision. Whenever I dream of those damn green eyes I wake up feeling hungover and achy. As if I got into a huge fist fight with both of my brothers at the same time. I make my way downstairs quickly ready to get this day over with already smelling the amazing breakfast Hecate is cooking me. She gives me a whole pot of coffee to take with me to Inner City for this dumbass intel meeting even though I already told Brick everything that I knew a week ago.
I'm the first to arrive which means hell is about to freeze over since I'm always late. I look over the giant meeting table and take a seat closest to the door. My plan is to get out of here as soon as I can, not wanting to waste another moment in the company of Father or my brothers. I prop my feet up on the table for the time being, sipping my coffee.
"Feet off the table." Brick interrupts my day dreaming as he comes in with Blossom in tow, pulling her by her chain. She gives me a sheepish smile as she stands next to my seated brother. I roll my eyes at his obvious display of power over her and down my last two cups of coffee, totally not in the mood for the song and dance he puts on.
"Feet brother." Brick says again as Boomer files in just before Father is expected to enter the meeting room with Bubbles filing in slowly after him. Her normally bright blue eyes are duller than ever and she's wearing a high neck dress in ninety degree weather. Odd. I narrow my eyes as she takes a seat but before I can investigate further Father bursts through the doors.
"Oh perfect all three of my lovely sons are on time! For once." His singsong voice turns dark at the end. We all avoid his gaze as he sits at the head of the table.
"So fill me in one at a time according to creation." Father sings sipping on his tea. Brick starts by droning on about his lab progress and how things are going smoothly and blah blah blah. The profit margin is high despite the lack of civilized territory and blah blah who gives a shit. I tune him out as Father's eyes seek out Boomer next. I place my head in my hand and try my damnedest not to fall asleep as Boomer fills Father in about China and their influence on the smaller Asian countries and how this will benefit us and how I might have to make a trip to Japan for extra measure. As usual doing their fucking dirty work. Both brothers have taken more than fifteen minutes each to talk and my mind is anywhere but here. A pause fills the air before I realize that Father's beady black eyes have fallen on me.
"And you my green one, what news do you have to share?" I shrug as he takes dainty bites of his tea sandwich.
"Nothing as notable as your other sons Father." I say dryly, "I have pushed your borders tenfold over the past week and we almost have control of the unruly outer limits of both Citysville and Townsville along with a good portion of the middle states. No real news on the uprising as it's not big enough to even be classified as one." I yawn and feel bored with the meeting already. Father's eyes linger on me and he taps his claw on his chin.
"Brick, Boomer," Both of my brothers snap to attention, "Please leave, Butch and I have something to discuss." Boomer and Brick make quick work of exiting and leave me alone with HIM. As soon as the door closes HIM takes no time to get to the point.
"About that champion Butch. Why do you want to keep her alive?" He asks pouring more sugar into his tea.
"I see what's mine and take it. If it feels good, tastes good, it must be mine." I smirk and Father laughs. A chill runs down my spine at the cackle.
"And? There has to be more than just that boy."
"I told you, she will be an asset to us. We can use her to hunt humans, she can gain their trust in the outer city we could fake a whole underground rail road, her the beacon of hope just to lead them to the jaws of Death. Our jaws of Death." I say coming up with an impromptu plan then my smile turns devilish, "Plus I would get to crush more than spirit one that way." Father laughs again
"This is why you are my favorite son, evil is like a living organ in you Butch my boy." He purrs and I feel pride and shame swim in my chest.