AN: Not gonna lie, it's kinda discouraging to write without many people reviewing, so this might be the last chapter. I'll see if I can find the inspiration to write another after this one. Thanks to all of you who do keep up with my story and review, I love you guys!
Chapter 6: The Aftermath
Nobody's POV
It was the day after Buttercup's 'death' that her funeral was held. Everyone she ever came in contact with was there, even all of the kids at her new school and every soccer team in the tri-state area. The room radiated with sorrow, nobody talking because they had no words to say. After everyone arrived, the priest from their church began the service. "It is always a sad day when our… young ones… leave us." It was obvious that the middle aged priest was just as choked up about her death as everyone else. "We judged her as guilty when she was innocent… and she took the punishment anyway. Buttercup Blaire Utonium was always one of the more… outspoken people at this church, but she always did the right thing in the end. God gained an angel, and her blood is surely on our hands. We can only hope that God can forgive us and that she may be able to Rest In Peace and live out her dreams in heaven, may the first speaker, Blossom Utonium, come to the podium to speak." (BTW IM NOT TRYING TO MAKE ANYONE FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE IF YOU DONT BELIEVE IN GOD, BUT THIS IS HOW I PICTURE A FUNERAL)
Blossom POV
I get to the podium and look out at the huge crowd, I don't think she ever realized how many people loved her. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing would come out and I could feel a few tears fall down my face. I cleared my throat, she would tell me to suck it up and talk. So that's what I would do. "Thank you all for coming to my little sister's funeral. Many of you who knew about our relationship, you might've thought that we hated each other, but that couldn't be farther from the truth, I really did care about Buttercup, and I regret every moment I made her question that. Most of our time together was spent arguing over something petty, like her room being messy, her not waking up early enough, going off the plan during a battle, or even just forgetting to put the top back on the butter. No matter how much I nagged her though, she always had my back. I still remember the time she found me crying in my room after my ex boyfriend cheated on me. She wouldn't let me get off without telling her, and when I did tell her, she left. At first, I thought she was mocking me and got angry with her, but when he showed up to school the next day with two black eyes and a broken arm, I knew she did that for me. While it might not seem that upstanding a thing to do, it meant the world to me that she cared that much." My voice cracked a little at the last word, I needed time to compose myself. I could've sworn I heard her whisper in my ear 'c'mon leader girl, you gotta mouth now use it' I would've laughed if I was in a different scene. "The thing that I always regretted though… was when I told her I hated her in some of our arguments… she always clapped back without missing a beat, but she never said it back. I could see that it hurt her every time I said it too… I never got a chance to tell her that I loved her-" I let out a few sobs, but was able to compose myself. "She told Bubbles to tell me that she loved me, she used some of her last words… to tell us that she loved us, but- but… I-I never got the chance to let her know that… that I loved her too." I couldn't hold it in anymore and started crying uncontrollably. Professor came up to help me back to my seat. I looked up only long enough to see Bubbles walk up to the podium.
Bubbles POV
I knew it would take a while to get through what I would say, and right now I wanted to cry, but I could almost hear Buttercup telling me 'stop crying you big baby, it's not that bad!' I promised myself that I would make it through this for Buttercup. "From afar, it might have seemed like Buttercup bullied me, which she sometimes did, but she always apologized to me. It might not seem like much, but Buttercup never really apologized, but she always swallowed her pride for me. She may have seemed mean, but she always protected me, she always kept an eye on me in school because she knew how sensitive I was. If she ever found out anyone made me cry, she would make sure they would cry more. Like with Blossom, Buttercup hurt any boy who hurt me. She was always there, there was never a time that I cried that she wasn't there with me…. except now. Nobody knew this side of her, but Buttercup really was sweet sometimes. Every time I was having a bad day, she would stop by a store on the way home and pick up a tub of vanilla ice cream that we would eat together while she listened to me talk about my day. She always made me laugh when there wasn't a smile on my face, she always told me 'you aren't Bubbles without a smile'" I started crying, but I had to finish for her. "She never let me go to sleep thinking she hated me even if I told her I hated her…. a lot of people think Buttercup tells us that she hates us all the time, but really it's the opposite, and like Blossom, I regret every time I said those words to her. Thank you." I got of the stage and started crying freely, I would've made her proud. I could see the Professor walk up.
Professor POV
I had always hoped I wouldn't have to do this, I never wanted to live to see one of my daughters die. "Buttercup was my middle daughter. She always made her presence known, and I loved that about her. But I can't help but fear that she never believed that. I always was so hard on her, not because I loved her any less, because I love all my daughters equally, but because I saw a bit of my younger self in her." I had to stop for I while, I would never see her again. "She really did have a sweet side to her. Sometimes I would spend late nights in the lab and miss dinner, and I guess she knew how much I hated eating alone, because more often than not, I would find her sleeping at the dinner table with a full plate of food waiting for me… and a full plate that she- that she n-never ate. She always waited for me. I ne-never thanked her for it, but it meat ev-everything to m-me." I was hardly holding myself together and I was only halfway done. "Then there was the day where she seemingly killed Mojo… I-I knew sh-she would never do that. I kn-knew she didn't mean to d-do it, but I di-didn't even give her a ch-chance to explain herself before calling her a… monster. I honestly don't know why I said that. And I hate myself for it every day…. I knew that was her worst fear. Going too far. Becoming a monster. She confided in me when she overdid it with Fuzzy Lumpkins when she was only 5. She thought I didn't l-love her. She always thought she was the daughter I just put up with. I visited her in her prison not too long ago…. and the thing I regret most was not trying to prove her innocent. She told me that Mojo visited her! I was just too- too narrow sighted to believe her! I was such an awful dad to her! That was the first time I saw her cry. She yelled to me that I never loved her I did, she
yelled that I never wanted her I always wanted her, but what kills me… wh-what kills me. Is that I know I did something to make her think that. And even-even though she truly believed I didn't love her, her last words to me… before I… left." I had to pause to compose myself. There was no way I was getting through this without breaking down. "'I love you dad'" I started sobbing pitifully. "Sh-she n-ne-never call-called me d-d-dad before." I couldn't speak anymore, I just cried. If she were here she would be making fun of me. Thinking about her at this point made it even worse, Blossom had to help me down from the podium. If she were here, it probably would've been Buttercup. I couldn't even look up long enough to see who spoke next.
Brick's POV
This whole situation was my fault, and it only made it harder to see how it affected her family. They loved her so much more than we did Mojo, hell we never even really liked Mojo. We just found it annoying that someone offed someone we knew. I slowly made my way up to the podium after the professor's speech. "First off, I want to apologize to her family. I really am sorry about this whole situation, and I regret everything. I still remember when we first met at 5 years old, the first thing she did to me was send multiple punches to my gut, and honestly, before then, I always believed girls couldn't hit. Eventually, we gave up our criminal lives to live normal ones in Countysville, where 11 years later, I met a girl named Blaire Neptune, who was actually Buttercup in disguise. She may have had a new name and look, but she was still the same Buttercup, and I don't know what life is going to be like without her anymore. She always let me copy her homework and when we ate lunch together, I always choked on my food at least once a day from something she said. She-she was like the little sister I ne-never h-had. And the w-worst part is th-that this is a-all my fault!" I actually started crying, realizing that I would never hear her jokes again, hear her laugh again, and never see her smile again. " I-I KILLED HER!" I broke down in front of everybody and made my way off stage, me being replaced by my bro Boomer.
Boomer's POV
I walked on stage slowly, I would take my time getting up there because I knew I would cry. It took a while but I made it there eventually. "I only had one class with her, but after the 1st week of school she was also eating lunch with us every day. The first day she came to our school, I saw her in my chorus class and the teacher made her sing. She looked terrified at first but I could see her frustration when the teacher began to reassure her. She was asked to sing On my own since that was our school play and I've never heard it sung better. She was never anything but sweet to me, even though I saw her be not so sweet to my brother Butch." A few people laughed sadly, remembering what they would never experience again. I began to tear up, remembering that I was one of the people responsible. "She told me I reminded me a bit of her sister, I wasn't sure what to make of it at the time, but it's all pretty clear now. I just wish I could've had more sense when we were given the job to choose her punishment, i wish I would've said something to stop it, she never deserved this!" I started crying hard, she would've told me to suck it up and walk off stage with my dignity, but at this point I didn't care about my dignity. I walked back to my brothers and looked to Butch who was already crying. "Do I have to go up there?" He asked me in a soft tone I never heard from him before. "She would want you to." That was all I could get out, but it seemed to work well enough since he nodded and started walking.
Butch POV
This was something I never wanted to have to do. I never wanted someone close to me to die, and it only made it worse that I was the cause. "Saying we didn't start out on the right foot would be the understatement of the century." All of the people laughed, but I could tell they were far from happy. "The first time I met her alias, Blaire, was when she ran into me in the hallways since I was late as usual." A few people let out quiet half laughs. "It might not sound that out of the ordinary, but I was the only other person in the hallway." A few people chuckled again. "She was quick to get away from me, and looking back on it, she probably felt guilty about "killing" my dad. The next time I saw her was in gym, the only girl I ever saw in the class. I honestly thought it was a joke until she totally showed me up in soccer." A heard a mixture between laughs and sobs. Honestly, I had to pause for a while, memories of her and me playing soccer together flashed through my head and I actually let out a choked sob before trying to continue. "I'll- I'll always regret th-this, but-but I h-ha-hated her f-for it. I only h-hated her more wh-when she took m-my place as t-team captain. On the B-BOYS team." I took a minute to calm myself down. "I followed her home that night, not in an inappropriate kind of way, but I wanted to find something to use against her. I saw her get attacked by these two guys with knives. I almost jumped in, but before I could, she took care of them herself. I'd never seen a girl take a knife to the side without making a sound. But now that I know who she was, it seemed strange that she didn't use any powers. She walked home and treated her injuries by herself, and cried. Now that I think about it, it was probably more from the stress in her life than the pain from being attacked. The thing I always regretted the most was that I recorded her out of context and plotted to send the video to the whole school, but I felt even worse when she apologized to me for being so mean to me and taking my spot as captain. I never saw her look more betrayed than when the video was sent out. I wanted her to yell at me for it, but she wouldn't, she forgave me, like I should've done for her. That was the start of our friendship. She was the funniest person I'd ever met, not to mention she liked everything I did. We were an unstoppable soccer team, we were always making awesome plays, we were the dynamic duo of our team. Nobody even came close to beating us and nobody was going to. Then that fateful game arrived, where I found out who she really was. I couldn't even think straight. I spoke with, befriended, played with, ate with, and-" I choked on my words, I couldn't bring myself to say it, not when she wouldn't be the first to hear it. "And ate with the one who apparently killed my dad. She was the very person I swore vengeance on, and I doomed her to the same fate that my father apparently suffered. The worst part was that she just took it even though she knew he wasn't dead!" I started crying, I couldn't take this. I loved her and I realized it too late. "Wh-why did she just t-take it? Sh-she didn't de-deserve it! The thing that r-really kills me th-though is that I r-realized a little t-too late that I-I actually loved her. A-and I still do." I started to sob uncontrollably. "I-I'm s-so s-s-sorry! E-everyone!" My brothers had to help me off stage since I couldn't find the strength to do it myself. When we got back to our seats, the priest went back up to the front, obviously moved by all the speeches. "B-Buttercup's family and friends worked hard to make a slideshow of all of her memories. At this time we will take a moment to relive her memories." The lights turned out and the screen in the front lit up, starting with a picture of her five year old self. It was captioned 'first battle' her smile could've split her face in half, her hair was messy, which was the only evidence of her being in a fight, and I recognized the sparkle of victory in her beautiful green eyes. I was already crying. Then the music from "if I die young" started playing from the speakers. The next picture was on Halloween. She was dressed as a spy while her sisters were princesses, everyone sadly laughed at this picture as it showed her distinct personality. Many pictures from when she was young went by, all of them displaying her personality perfectly.
BC's POV
I was in the back of the building watching the whole thing while invisible. I could remember all of these pictures. I was honestly touched by all the speeches. It felt nice to know nobody hated me anymore. The pictures kept going by, the songs shifted from "if I die young" by the band perry to "Funeral" by lucas graham to "Each coming night" by iron&wine. Everyone in the room was crying at the end of it, which made me feel bad.
Professor's POV
I couldn't keep myself from crying. I just watched all of the memories for my baby girl's short life. She only really lived for 11 years! What kind of father was I? I know she was a superhero and all, but I still felt like I should've protected her! I didn't even try to prove her innocent! The service eventually ended and we joined the procession to watch my little girl get buried. I never wanted to watch that, but I felt like I owed at least that to her. Blossom and Bubbles sat in the back not speaking a word. Buttercup should've been there with them. We eventually arrived at the place she would be buried at, her favorite place to relax. It wasn't a well known area, but after today, it would be. It was a field on a big hill that overlooked the city, there was a large mimosa tree in full bloom with a field full of buttercups, a worn down path that was created by her, a clearing where she always sat, where she would be buried. It seemed cliché and she might hate it, but I figured she would secretly want this to be her final resting place. Many people watched as she was lowered into the ground. Many cried, but only few were as heartbroken as me. I failed her, it was my job to take care of her until she was at least 18. I had a 5 year head start and still failed. Most of Townsville left after the dirt completely covered her. I looked at her head stone. It read:
Buttercup Blaire Utonium
"Guess I finally kicked the bucket as hard as I kick ass."
I honestly had to laugh at that. She always said she wanted that on her headstone and her sisters wouldn't have it any other way.
1998-2009
Townsville's faithful hero until the end
On a stone next to her headstone, was the story of her life and how she died. It was impressive that they could manage to build a sculpture of her as fast as they did. Every inch looked just like her. Her oval face looked identical to her real one, the peridot stones that they used for her eyes shone in the light like hers did. She was posed as if she was fighting a villain, one fist punching out with a fierce look. I couldn't look away. It was like it was the last I would ever see of her.
Blossom's POV
This is how she would've wanted it. She would've wanted to be buried here, she would've wanted her headstone to say that, she always reminded us that's what she really wanted. The only thing she would go without was the story and the statue. I turned to Bubbles and just hugged her and we found comfort in each other.
Butch's POV
I just sat there staring at the statue. Not anywhere else but her eyes. Those gems might reflect the sun, but they would never sparkle with victory, or darken with hurt, or even burn with anger. It might have looked like her, but it would never be the same. I walked up to her father and put a hand on his shoulder. "Sir, I'm so sorry. I loved your daughter, you know. I wish I saw that before I did what I did. I can't fix what I did, but if there is anything I can do to make it up, I'll do it." What he replied with shocked me and replayed in my head a few times. "I forgive you, she loved you too much for me to hold a grudge. If she can love you, I can forgive you." I stayed there until it was night, I could always fix my mistakes, and it really freaked me out that this was one I couldn't fix.
BCs POV
I must say I was pleased with my resting place, they actually put that on my headstone! Coulda done without the story and the statue, but it looked cool anyways. I got tired with all this moping around Townsville so I had to find a way to reveal that I wasn't actually dead to Townsville. Now this, I didn't think about…
AN: IMPORTANT! yeah, so I stopped here because I had no idea how to bring her back and I was really hoping that you guys could give me some suggestions on what should come next. Pleaseeeeee review suggestions! I need some help with this! Thanks again for those who read my story, it is appreciated!