So after a long HIATUS it's back. I finally got a spurt of inspiration to get this next chapter up. I know it's not great but I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Dragon's Fury

Chapter 8: Guilty Pleasures

Bubble's scream sounded through the house like a klaxon that had been possessed by a banshee.

Buttercup stirred in Will's arms and suddenly jolted awake.

"I didn't do it!"

She grabbed his shirt tightly and tensed up.

Although surprised Will remained calm and tried to ascertain what the problem was.

"You didn't do what?"

Buttercup froze apparently just registering his presence and looked up at him with terror filled eyes. Tears welled up as the weight of her deed began to press down on her.

"I'm so sorry, I couldn't help myself. I was just so mad. I was so... scared."

Will knew that for Buttercup to admit she was scared it would have to have been a traumatizing experience.

Tears fell down her reddened cheeks and her expression turned from fearful to desperate.

She squirmed violently out of his arms and ran up the stairs to her room locking the door behind her.

Will stood still looking in the direction Buttercup had run, stunned, silent. What could she have possibly happened that had her so upset?

Bubbles felt light headed as she lay on the floor. Her vision was fuzzy and all the sounds she heard were distorted. She had never been very good with these things.

The others came into the room and Blossom knelt down beside her.

"Bubbles what happened?"

Before she could answer Miril intercepted the query.

"She got scared by the skeleton in the box."

Blossom looked at the young girl confused.

"Skeleton?"

Blossom walked over to the box that the boys were looking in and very nearly screamed at the sight of the ravaged carcass inside.

What was this thing doing in their home? What was it doing in their emergency food box?

The others quickly came into the room and Mrs. Utonium fainted instantly upon seeing the corpse, the Professor barely caught her in time.

Blossom saw Bunny roll her eyes then approach the carcass.

"Boys, come here", Krystal called to her sons.

They seemed reluctant to leave their present source of curiosity but obeyed and walked over to their mother's side passing Bunny in the middle.

Bunny knelt next to the box and studied the body for a few moments while the Professor tried to revive his wife.

"Hmm. Young male, about fourteen I'd say but it's hard to tell with so much gone.

"W-what's gone?", Blossom asked shakily. She dared not approach the body herself.

"All the meat's gone from the arms and legs and some of the organs are missing too, including the heart."

Blossom felt like throwing up and Bubbles also looked sickly.

How did this happen? Why did it happen? These critical questions were still unanswered.

Krystal took charge of Margaret's unconscious form and the professor bravely marched towards the dead remains.

He knelt down opposite of Bunny and stuck his hand inside the box and let it hover close to the remains.

"It's still radiating heat!"

This got everyone's attention.

"W-what does that mean?", Bubbles asked nervously.

"It means that this person was killed recently", the professor answered gravely. "Maybe even today."

Blossom suddenly caught a chill and shuddered.

The professor went on as he examined the remains more closely.

"Look at the bones. They're blackened, especially the skull. The limbs aren't even attached to the rest of the body. It looks like this person took a blowtorch to the face."

The shocking analysis caused more shivers.

Blossom looked over at Bubbles and saw Lily and Miril clutching her desperately: afraid.

Bubbles in turn wrapped her arms around them trying to provide what comfort she could in her own frightened state.

A soft moan came from the other side of the room as Margaret regained consciousness.

"It wasn't a dream?", she asked wearily.

The professor sighed.

"I'm afraid not."

With some assistance from Krystal Margaret slowly stood to her feet and composed herself.

"We-we should call the police."

Blossom looked at her father and saw hesitation doubt and possibly even fear. Did he know something?

Whatever it was he cast it aside as he stood up and said.

"Yes, I suppose that would be the right thing to do."

He pulled out his cell phone and was just about to dial 911 when suddenly he looked drowsy and his eyelids began to fall steadily. He sank to his knees and then keeled over unconscious.

"Professor!", the Puffs yelled alarmed. They ran to his side frantically trying to found out what was wrong with him.

"Looks like someone overworked themselves", Bunny observed as she stood over them.

"We should probably wait before anyone calls the police anyway, we don't have all the facts yet."

Blossom frowned not entirely agreeing with her but she didn't disagree either.

"I suppose."

Bubbled gasped.

"The Professor said this person was killed today right? So was he killed while Buttercup was sleeping? What if the killer is still hiding in the house?"

Blossom shook her head.

"I don't think..."

Suddenly the puzzle began to form a picture in Blossoms mind as each piece fit into its place. The white patch of carpet, the overwhelming smell in the house, everything being cleaned.

"She didn't. She couldn't have!"

Bubbled looked at her sister worriedly.

"What? What is it?"

Blossom bolted out the door out of the basement with a startled and worried Bubbles and an exasperated Bunny following.

Mandy sighed.

"I was wondering how long it was going to take them to figure out she did it."

Billy looked at her.

"You mean Buttercup?"

"Of course."

Billy wasn't in full agreement with her. Often when one knew the answer but wanted it to be anything other than that people always came up with alternative theories until they could block the cruel truth no longer. What that what happened?

"Although..."

"Hmmm?"

Billy looked up at Mandy who had wandered over to the open box to get a better look with the cold analytical gaze that Billy knew so well.

"Bunny didn't seem very surprised", she said. "I imagine she had it figured out instantly."

Billy walked over beside her stepping around Margaret and Krystal who were tending to the professor.

"Why would she do that?", he asked. "If she had a good reason why would she hide it from her family. She would probably get off easier if she did."

Mandy pondered for a moment.

"True but technically she didn't really hide anything except the body. I think it's possible that she cleaned the house and everything to soften the blow."

Billy scratched his head.

"I guess that makes sense."

"Um could you two help us?"

Margaret's request interrupted their conversation.

"It's cold in here", she continued and the bed is more comfortable."

They sighed and nodded and the four of them carried the professor upstairs to his room.

Will knocked on the door to his girlfriends bedroom trying to figure out what had made her panic like she did.

"Buttercup open the door please."

His sharp hearing picked up soft whimpering from the other side. She was crying.

"I want to be left alone", she responded quietly.

"Come on we both know that's not true. Please just let me in."

Suddenly Blossom landed right next to him and banged on the door loudly.

"Buttercup open this door!", she yelled.

Will grunted in irritation and turned to Bunny.

"What happened?"

Bunny sighed.

"We found a dead body in a box in the basement. Burnt broken and quite devoid of meat."

Will nodded understanding.

That would explain the patch on the carpet.

Blossom whirled around to face them.

"You knew!"

Will shrugged.

"Well that super bleached part of the carpet and the smell made it pretty clear that someone was trying to cover something up."

"And when I saw the body in the basement I just put two and two together", Bunny added.

"Before we just thought she set fire to the carpet."

"Good thing it's fire resistant", Bubbles said relieved.

"Buttercup!", Blossom yelled again. "Open the door or I'll break it down."

Bunny put a hand on her shoulder.

"Better let us handle this."

Blossom stared at her.

"What?"

"We've had experience with this kind of thing before", Will told her.

Bunny gently pushed Blossom aside.

"You two wait here."

Suddenly Will burst into flames and slipped under the door and reconstructed himself on the other side. He opened the door and allowed Bunny in then closed the door behind them.

Buttercup was hiding under her covers curled up in a ball. They could hear her soft whimpers and sniffles as they approached.

"Buttercup", Bunny said gently. "We're not here to scold you or anything, we just want you to tell us what happened."

Nervously Buttercup poked her head out from under the covers. Her eyes had reddened from crying and her cheeks were red.

Bunny sat on the bed beside her and helped her sister to sit up.

"Just tell us what happened Buttercup and we'll try and help you."

Buttercup swallowed as she tried to calm herself down while Bunny gently rubbed her back.

"He threatened me", she said quietly. "He threatened to take my baby away."

As Buttercup recounted the events of what happened the blood of her audience boiled.

Bunny was appalled by the things he said he was going to do to the poor pup. But no matter how mad she was she knew Will was beyond furious, indicated by the rooms rising temperature.

Once Buttercup finished she looked at them with worried eyes as if awaiting final judgment.

"You're not a murderer Buttercup", Bunny said trying to put her at ease.

The light in Buttercup's eyes returned and her body straitened.

"Really?"

Will nodded.

"If you didn't do everything in your power to protect your pup then you would not be fit to be a mother."

He pulled her into a tight hug and Buttercup sighed in relief finally allowing her body to relax.

"What about the family?", she asked.

Bunny sighed.

"Well that will be more difficult."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Will said. "I'll deal with the body. Maybe you two can calm down Chip and Dale here.

Will opened the door and Bubbles and Blossom fell in.

Will stepped over them and walked down the hall on his way to the basement.

The girls got to their feet and ran to their sister trapping her in a powerful hug.

"I'm so sorry", Blossom sobbed. "I just- I thought- I'm sorry."

"Uh it's okay", Buttercup said trying to calm them down. "You'd have to be crazy not to be worried."

"I was never worried. Does that make me crazy?", Bunny asked coyly.

"How could you not be worried!", Blossom shouted. "Someone died in our house!"

Bunny was getting weary of this.

"He died for a damn good reason and if you want to protect your sister and your nephew you'll keep quiet, right?"

Bunny's tone sounded parental, almost condescending.

"Right", they agreed. Blossom was more reluctant.

She had fought to uphold the law all her life and although Buttercup was in the right(more or less) the whole thing seemed shady and it bothered her a lot.

Buttercup stifled a burp and Bubbles face lost colour and Blossom had to steady her.

"Easy Bubbles."

Buttercup hung her head shamefully.

"Relax Buttercup", Bunny told her. "It's something they all had to get used to."

The raven haired girl swallowed.

"But what about Mom and Dad? What am I going to tell them?"

Bunny sighed.

"They'll have to be told eventually but for now let's just play it by ear."

Blossom agreed. Finding a dead body in your home was enough to deal with for one day.

The Professor groaned and slowly sat up.

"Oh, thank goodness you're awake."

The Professor rubbed his eyes and stared at his wife in confusion.

"What happened?"

"You fainted."

The Professor looked at Blossom as if studying her expression then ran his hand over his face.

"I don't remember fainting. I was just about to call 911 but then I suddenly felt tired, and then... nothing."

That statement sent Blossom's investigative instincts into a frenzy. It was too much of a coincidence for the professor to loose consciousness right when he was about to call the police.

"Bunny", she mumbled to herself. She had done something, she was sure of it.

"Did anyone call police?", the Professor asked.

Margaret was about to speak but Blossom interjected.

"It's been taken care of, don't worry."

The Professor studied her briefly then stood to his feet.

"Where's Bubbles?", he asked.

"In the living room playing with the kids", Margaret answered.

"And Buttercup?"

"She left a little while ago to go clothes shopping with Laura, her daughters and Bunny."

The Professor looked at her with confusion.

"Why didn't you go with her?"

Margaret shrugged.

"I would have but I wanted to stay here and keep an eye on you."

The Professor sighed again and ran his fingers through his dark hair.

"What a day, what a day."

At the Endsville Mall Buttercup and her entourage were trolling through the women's clothing section for her new wardrobe.

They already had a substantial assortment and Will's sisters were currently presenting her with more options.

"I need a break", Buttercup groaned. She hated clothes shopping.

Auriah laughed.

"Aww come on Buttercup just try this on."

She presented a plain green t-shirt with black sleeves.

"I'll just take it", Buttercup said in annoyance.

"Awww, that's no fun", Auriah protested. "You have to try it on."

"You're too pushy", Maria scolded her sister. "Her day's been hard enough. You should give her some room to breathe."

"But we're here to shop and get her mind off what happened", Auriah argued.

"You're not going to accomplish that by smothering her", her sister shot back.

"That's enough", Laura ordered. "I don't want any arguing especially not in public."

"Has anyone seen Buttercup?", Elise asked.

They looked around and sure enough she was nowhere to be seen. Where could she have gone?

"Over here", Bunny called. She gestured down the aisle a little ways over.

They all moved over and looked down the aisle and immediately noticed what had drawn her there. The aisle was filled with baby items.

On one side were strollers, car seats and toys and on the other were diapers, baby food, and formula. However, in the middle of the aisle where Buttercup was standing both sides were covered in baby clothes.

The one the Buttercup was looking at in particular was a set of red pajamas with a little hood.

"Awww that's so cute", Elise gushed.

Buttercup jumped in surprise and Elise's outburst.

"And the material's nice and soft too. Perfect for a baby."

Buttercup's cheeks reddened.

"Um, I know it's early but cane we... get this?"

Laura smiled.

"Sure we can. I'm sure he'll look adorable in it."

As they added the pajamas to the cart Auriah picked out another one.

"Look at this! It's a cute bear outfit."

"My son is not a doll!" Buttercup snapped.

The girls jumped back, wary of the fact that the hormonal girl had not mastered controlling her new body and it's impulses yet.

Laura came up behind her and gently wrapped her arms around her.

"Easy sweetheart. We know you've had a rough day but you don't need to worry. We're here for you."

Buttercup took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, relaxing herself.

At that moment Laura's cell phone rang. She released Buttercup and reached into her purse to answer it.

"Hello? Oh, alright then. Alright, have a good time and see you later."

She hung up and turned to Buttercup.

"William's here to pick you up. He'll be at the south entrance."

Buttercup's irritation was replaced with excitement and her face showed it as it brightened.

"Great! I'll go there now."

Laura nodded.

"Sure, we'll take care of things here. Have a good time."

"I will", Buttercup said as she left.

She passed through the crowds of the mall as she made her way to the south entrance trying not to bump into anyone but everyone was walking in seemingly random directions.

She exited the south doors and saw William standing beside his car waiting for her.

"Nice of you to come so promptly", he said as he graciously opened the door for her.

"They said they would take care of things", she replied.

She sat in the car and was greeted with the delectable aroma of...

"Pizza", she said dreamily.

"I bought three in case you were feeling peckish", Will told her as he sat in the drivers seat.

"Good", she responded. "Now hurry and go, I'm hungry."

Will smiled.

"Yeah, yeah."

He started the engine and started the drive home.

Esther Willmington and her husband were just leaving the Endsville mall after doing some errands for Master Jonah. They were standing at the curb in front of the west entrance awaiting their pick up.

"I wish Peter would have come with us", Esther said wistfully. "It's important to get out once in a while."

"Master Jonah knows best", Mark reminded his wife.

Esther sighed.

"I know that, it's just that we don't spend much time together as a family."

The sounds of excited chatter drew near and human nature compelled them to turn and look for the source. When they found it they were nearly beside themselves.

"Laura!"

Laura Yorknder and her daughters stopped dead in their tracks, the happy chatter evaporated in an instant and replaced with looks of shock and an underlying dread.

Laura was the first one to break the silence, with a very powerful and serious word.

"Mother? Father?"

Buttercup and Will sat on the couch in Will's apartment watching Little Nicky as Buttercup worked on the last three slices of Pizza.

"This is nice", Buttercup sighed.

Will smiled.

"The pizza or cuddling together watching a good movie?"

"All of the above", she answered.

"When I want "Us Time", I don't mean anything fancy or well planned. I just want it to be about us, just us. Together, alone."

Will nodded in agreement.

"I'm glad. How's Danté by the way?"

Buttercup smiled and brought her hand down to gingerly rub her stomach.

"He's full now. Right now I'm working on filling my own belly."

Will snickered.

"Like you've been doing for the past half hour?"

Buttercup gave him a playful punch in the shoulder and reached for her penultimate slice of pizza.

"I just really like pizza", she told him. "Besides even before I became a Dragon I could eat one and a half pizzas by myself."

"Well after you finish that last slice you'll have eaten two and a quarter pizzas."

Buttercup shrugged.

"I'm a whole lotta' girl, and a girl's gotta eat."

She wolfed down her slice and then leaned her head back against his shoulder as the movie played on.

"You know in spite of the genre of movie this is actually pretty romantic", Buttercup observed.

Will chuckled.

"Never figured you to ever think about romance much. Would you have preferred to watch a romance film?"

Buttercup slowly turned her head and looked up at him with a cocked eyebrow.

Will nodded.

"Of course not, that wouldn't be you."

"Damn strait. Besides you of all people should know what kind of romantic I am", she said with a sly grin.

He smirked.

"Right."

Buttercup grabbed her last slice of Pizza and stuffed it down then let out a loud belch.

"Very romantic", Will said smugly.

"Shut up.", she told him, but she was smiling.

This was perfect. She was at peace, she was happy. And as she lay there watching one of her favorite movies with her head on his shoulder and content smile a feeling came over her. It was on the border of conscious and subconscious but she knew it was there, and despite her youth she knew what that feeling was, there was no doubt in her mind what it meant.

'This is someone I want to spend the rest of my life with', was the feeling she had, and as she snuggled closer to that special someone and contently rubbed her pregnant abdomen she silently perhaps even subconsciously made a vow that she would be the life partner to this boy-no, this man.

She would be the one to wait at home for him faithfully and bear his children, not just this one. She would gladly have more if it meant he would be happy, and that would make her happy.

Yes, in her heart she knew where her place in life was, and it was exactly where she was now. At his side.