Wulfie-Chan: Alright my fellow darklings, this is the second chapter! And we're with Bubbles too. C;
And for all of you who are young, I advise you to watch out and/or stay away. The next few chapters might be on the edge of M Rated, just not quite there. So, now that that's said; Happy reading everyone~
Bubbles slowly made her way toward her second-to-last destination. An hour or so earlier, her and her sisters had split up, making their ways to the dreadful places they've been assigned to.
Currently it was 8:58; only a few more minutes until trick-or-treating was officially over in Townsville. Until she had to go the graveyard.
Bubbles flapped her snow-white wings up to the last house. The house was the only one with a porch light lit on the street, a small boy and a mother sitting outside on the step.
She smiled and made her way closer to the two. "Trick-or-treat!" she exclaimed happily.
The mother lifted up the plastic pumpkin, the small boy digging his hands inside to grab the candy. As he dropped the sweets into her bag, Bubbles heard many different candies falling and hitting each other. She looked up with a smile, "Thank you! But uhm, is this alright? I mean...you gave me so much candy."
The mother shook her head softly as she stood up, patting her son on the head. "It's fine, dear. We're not going to eat much sweets anyway."
Bubbles nodded as she flew away, the small boy looking at her wings in awe.
And now time for the graveyard... she thought with a shudder.
Bubbles looked inside her bag as she flew toward the cemetary. She had picked up many candies this year, her bag being 3/4 full. Maybe I should go this way again next year.
She pulled out a vanilla Tootsie and popped it in her mouth, throwing away the wrapper at a nearby trash bin.
When she rounded the bend, she forced herself to stop, hovering in place just a few feet away from the entrance of the cemetary. There was a small rickety old table that was set off to the side, an old-fashioned dirty-white dish placed on top.
As she slowly neared the table, she looked at the dish which had various sweets inside. It didn't look like anyone took any, judging by how full the dish still was. Bubbles tilted her head as she landed her feet on the ground. She picked up a few sweets and placed them inside her bag. There. Now whoever's stand this is might not be so sad that nobody took anything, she thought with a smile.
Bubbles turned on her heel to walk past the large black gate, swiveling through the many tombstones. Surprisingly as she found it, Bubbles wasn't all that scared now that she was here. Actually, it was kind of inviting. There were decorations hung in the trees and there were lighted lanterns and lights all around. She even spotted a few handmade ghosts and such, although poorly made they still looked neat.
As she roamed around the graveyard, she came upon a small tombstone that looked different than all the rest. It looked to be shaped in the form of a 'B', but Bubbles wasn't completely sure. She scrunched her eyebrows and set down her bag to the side, kneeling down on the grass, she wiped away the dust and dirt, inspecting the grave.
Bubbles let out an exasperated sigh when she couldn't make out the name of the deceased. She made a guess that the name was somewhere around Brandon or Barry or Benjamin. Everything else you could make out clearly enough, and Bubbles found that this person here seemed to have died really young, only be 17 years old, just a few years older than herself. Worse yet, the teen seemed to have died not that long ago either, which made Bubbles a bit sad.
Wasn't she a superhero? Isn't she supposed to protect innocent lives? Making sure they don't end up in places like this? I wonder what could've happened...
Fresh autumn leaves blew in the gentle breeze, making Bubbles shiver, gooseflesh appearing on her arms. The sound of crunching leaves echoed around her and she froze, not daring to turn around to look at the oncomer.
But what if it was the person who set out that small little table? Or whoever put up these lights and decorations? Maybe they'd like some help putting stuff away...
Her stomach grumbled and gurgled loudly, obviously unsettled with fear. However, Bubbles braced it, turning her head around slowly.
Bubbles got to her feet quickly, her wings already flapping and lifting her up off the ground. Standing right in front of her was a young teenage boy. He had really pale skin and sickly cuts and scrapes were present on his body. He had soft blonde wisps of hair that set on both sides of his face. His eyes were a deep blue which glowed brightly despite the dark color, as well as the ghostly white fog that surrounded him.
She noted that his shirt was ripped and torn, his sleeves' length both uneven as well as the bottom of his shirt, which hung around his ribcage, his slightly toned stomach sticking out. His black pants were the same way, his left pant leg was ripped up to his knee while the other was only torn at around his ankle. He wore no shoes and was wearing a long, heavy-looking chain all along his body.
The boys' eyes were slightly wide, confusion and surprise swimming in them. Bubbles noticed he was carrying a white dish and a small gasp escaped her lips.
She shyly flew a few inches forward, "So you're the one who put out the candy?"
The boy blinked hard, as if not expecting someone to notice he was there, or even talking to him for that matter. He shook out of his daze and gave a shy nod. He looked almost sad, gloomy even. As if his whole life had been ripped away from him and something terrible happened.
"Does anyone ever come by here? To take some candy or even look around?" she asked and he shook his head, still standing frozen in the same spot.
"Oh..." Bubbles said quietly. She looked around at the cemetary again before looking back at the boy, noticing that he took a few steps forward. "Did you put up these decorations? They're beautiful. They make this place not so bad or scary-looking."
The boy looked down at his feet with much interest. A barely audible sound coming from his lips; if Bubbles didn't have superhuman hearing, she probably wouldn't of heard the two words, "Thank you..."
Bubbles smiled at the words. They were soft and lulling, almost the complete opposite of the boys' voices she knew which were all loud and rough; although he did have a bit of a deep voice.
"Your welcome."
The boy looked up at her again, his brows beginning to furrow together. Bubbles flew forward a few more inches until they were face-to-face, even with the wings and her being off the ground, he was still a few inches taller.
Bubbles stepped onto the ground and let her wings rest, feeling a bit overwhelmed at flying like that.
The boy seemed to back away shyly, though never actually stepping away. She looked up at him through her bangs, a small smile on her lips. "What's your name? And how come you're here at night? Oh! Were you dared to come here too? That's why I'm here. Except it's all my sister's fault I'm stuck here until morning." Bubbles stopped her ranting when she noticed the boy seemed a bit on edge. "Sorry. I tend to talk a lot sometimes, but that's why I'm everyone's friend. Do you think we can be friends too?"
The boy looked down at her surprised. "Friend?" he asked quietly.
She nodded her head. "Yeah!" Bubbles' smile faded slowly as she realised something. "Don't you have any friends?"
He shook his head and looked back down at his feet. He jerked when a hand came into his line of vision. He looked up a bit to notice Bubbles' outstretched hand.
"I'll be your friend. I'm Bubbles, by the way." she said cheerily with a smile.
The teenager looked down at her hand, his own slowly reaching out, shaking as it did so. When she lightly grasped onto his hand, a small gasp escaped his own lips to which Bubbles gave a small giggle. When he regained composure, he looked up at her face which glowed brightly. "I'm...I'm Buh-" he started, but trailed off. Bubbles gave his hand a squeeze. "...I'm Boomer."
"Nice to meet you, Boomer."
"There, that should be all of them." Bubbles flew down to the ground, holding the last handmade ghost.
Boomer nodded and grabbed the object, all his concentration put into holding it, as if it'd fall to the ground instantly if he looked away. Once the decorations were all put into a box, he sat down on the ground in front of the tombstone she had earlier inspected. "Thanks for helping me...Bubbles."
She smiled and kneeled down in front of him, "No need; friends help each other, after all."
Boomer seemed to get lost in thought, spacing out suddenly. "...I don't understand..." he kept whispering.
Bubbles began to feel creeped out so she tapped his arm, accidentally hitting the chain. Boomer seemed to notice and gulped, scooching back farther. Bubbles felt curious. Why would a chain bother someone so much? She sat down fully on the grass as she stared up at him, her eyes drifting to the chain that was hung over his body. "Why do you have them on? They look painfully heavy."
Boomer blinked and upon hearing her question, he glanced away, avoiding eye contact. "Because...I can never take them off."
Bubbles furrowed her brows. "Of course you can take them off! First you just have to unravel yourself from it. Here, I'll help you-"
"No!"
Bubbles flinched as her hand stopped mid-way. She instinctively reached her hand back, rubbing her other arm for warmth. "Sorry..." she murmured.
Boomer bit his lip as he looked at the girl in front of him. She was so open and friendly towards him, the first friend he had ever had, and he just yelled at her... "...You shouldn't be apologizing. I'm the one who yelled."
"No-no! It was I who didn't even ask first."
Boomer cocked his head again as he stared at her. "Well I'm sorry anyway."
Bubbles nodded, a hint of a smile playing her lips. She got a sudden chill and shivered, her teeth chattering in the night.
"Here."
Bubbles looked up to see Boomer had outstretched his hand, the blue shirt he once wore now in his hand as he offered it to her.
As she slowly took the torn fabric, she stared at his bare torso. He was extremely thin, barely any meat on his bones. Despite being able to just barely seeing his ribs, you could tell he was still fairly built. More cuts were lined along his body, and a deep and long scar etched across his stomach vertically.
When the blue shirt was over her head, she couldn't help but seem a little curious as to where and how he had gotten those scrapes.
Another breeze blew past and Bubbles shivered once again, though not as much as before. She looked over to the shirtless boy who's eyes were trained on her, not any sign of gooseflesh on his body. "Are you not affected by this coldness?" she asked.
He shook his head. "I haven't felt anything in years." he said which made Bubbles even more confused.
An awkward silence hung in the air for a long period of time.
"I wonder how Blossom and Buttercup are holding up..." Bubbles murmured silently.
"What is a 'blossom' and 'buttercup'?" Boomer asked suddenly which made Bubbles jump.
Bubbles giggled as she heard this. "Not a what, but a who. Technically, a blossom and buttercup are flowers, but in my case I have two sisters named Blossom and Buttercup." she explained. After a few minutes of silence, Bubbles tilted her head, "Do you have any siblings?"
Boomer seemed surprised by this, taking longer than expected to answer. After about 5-10 minutes of thinking, he shrugged. "I don't know. I don't really remember anything before coming here."
This caught Bubbles off guard. He doesn't remember ANYTHING? How long has this Boomer kid been here anyways? Does he live here? Oh my... "Boomer," she began, "is this place where you live?"
Boomer bit his lip and looked down, "Yeah..." he said quietly.
Bubbles stood up suddenly, Boomer jumping back in surprise. "How long have you been here? Look at you! You look as if you're starved! As soon as I get to go home I'm going to take you with me!"
Bubbles turned around, her back facing Boomer as she stared up at the moon. "I wonder if it's almost time to leave yet?" When Bubbles turned back around, Boomer was standing right in front of her, her body flying backwards as she bumped into him.
His hand flew out and caught her wrist as his other hand wrapped around her waist. He pulled her back to her feet and switched places so that her back now faced the 'B' shaped tombstone.
Bubbles cheeks blushed bright red as she noticed he still had hold of her. "B-Boomer...?" She gazed up into his blue eyes that now fogged over like the mist that surrounded him. "Can you let go of me now? Please?" she asked softly, her eyes widened in fright. "Y-you're hurting my wrist."
Boomer blinked back at her, staring straight into her eyes. "You're...leaving?" He seemed to take no notice of what she had earlier said.
Bubbles took a deep breath in, trying to calm herself down. "Yes. At midnight...I should really be getting back soon, do you know what time it is?" she asked casually, hoping that he might let go.
"Midnight?" he asked with a tilt of his head, "But it's past midnight. It's almost 3AM." His words made Bubbles stiffen. "And by the way, you can never leave now."
Bubbles pulled her wrist back harshly, finally getting her arm free. When she began to step back, she fell, her head up against the tombstone. "Ouch..." she said in a daze. Little white dots filled her line of vision and she waited a few seconds for them to disappear. She sat up slowly, rubbing her elbow where a deep gash had cut into her skin, blood oozing down her arm. She looked up, expecting Boomer to be standing there watching her. Instead, all she saw was the graveyard. Boomer was gone.
"This could be my chance. I gotta get out of here..." she breathed under her breath.
Bubbles got to her feet and quickly stumbled her way to the gate. She could hear a faint voice behind her, presumably Boomer, who kept saying the same sentence over and over, "You can never escape. You'll be here forever! Stay with me..."
When Bubbles got to the gate, she stopped, fear racking her body. The tall black gate which looked to be brand new when she first got here, was now old and rusty, a large padlock wrapped around the two gates in chains, sealing her inside.
"Maybe I can...fly up there?" Bubbles bit her lip and concentrated, trying to fly up past the pointy spikes of the gate. Whenever she got closer, the gate seemed to get higher, expanding into the sky.
Bubbles dropped down to the ground in disbelief. Even her laser beams and x-ray vision wasn't working. It was as if all of her superpowers faded and all she had were her life-like wings.
"I wish I had Octi..." she murmured as she crouched down, bringing her knees to her chest as a few tears escaped. "I just want to go home."
A chilling whisper sounded in her ear, "But you can't go home. You have to stay with me forever."
Bubbles shot up and turned around, Boomer standing right in front of her. His whole body was transparent now and she can see directly through him. "Wha- What are you?" she asked shakily.
"I'm your friend, remember?" he said slowly, making the distance between them short.
"I just want to go home!" she yelled, tears spilling over cheeks. She brought her hands up over her eyes, as if not seeing this boy might make him go away. Instead, she felt a frigid coolness wash over her.
"It's alright. You don't have to be scared of me; we're friends." he said calmly, his arms wrapped around her in a tight hug. "You don't have to worry anymore. We're home, somewhere safe where nothing can hurt you."
Bubbles shivered at the coldness he was giving off. Why was he saying these things that don't make any sense? Why won't he just let her leave and go home?
"You are home, Bubbles. With me." he said quietly, releasing her and taking a step back. "Don't you want to be my friend anymore? Is that why you wanna leave me?"
Bubbles took a few more steps back as he glided forward, his feet no longer touching the ground. "Just...l-leave me alone." she whispered, her eyes wide.
When he still came forward, she shut her eyes tight and closed her hands into fists, her hands flying forward as she punched him with all the force she had. Upon re-opening her eyes, she gulped, her hands seeming to have punched nothing, going right through his body.
Bubbles screamed and ran forward. She had to get away from him. She had to get out of here. There must be an exit somewhere. On and on she ran until she came upon that same tombstone. There was something suspicious about it that kept pulling her back to it.
A hand caught her wrist and she looked back frightened. "Friends help each other, don't they? I need your help; won't you help me? I don't want to be alone anymore, Bubbles. Can you stay here with me forever? It gets so lonely here all by yourself..." his voice trailed off, his eyes staring at the ground. Now he looked like that same shy boy she met just earlier before.
Bubbles heart fluttered. She just couldn't comprehend any of this. It was all too fast for her to keep up with. One minute this kid was the shy sweet person who was her friend, the next he's acting all creepy and scary. Now he's the shy one again. What's going on? she wondered.
"I see." His voice made her jump in surprise. "You don't want to be here with me, do you?"
Bubbles blinked at this. She bit her lip and shook her head slowly.
"I guess I'll just have to force you to stay here with me. Of course, the process is almost complete anyways."
Bubbles breath caught short in her throat. She pulled her arm away from Boomer and fell back down again, her head right beside the tombstone yet again. Depite everything going on, she just had to know... She wiped her hand on the grave, dusting off the dirt and grime to expose the name of the deceased; Boomer.
Suddenly, Bubbles was rolled onto her back on top of the fresh grass of the grave, autumn leaves and twigs sticking in her hair and scratching her arms and legs.
"We'll be able to be together. You're already turning transparent like me," he said in a hush. Bubbles brought her hand up to her face to notice that she could see right through it. "You even have a grave right next to mine. I won't be alone anymore. We can really be friends forever now, Bubbles!"
Bubbles turned her head to the left to notice a new tombstone, this one shaped into the letter 'B' just like Boomer's. She narrowed her eyes to get a better view of the name, the name that said 'Bubbles'.
Another shriek ripped its way out of her throat and Boomer placed his hand over her mouth. "Shhh, everything will be alright. It's just time to go to sleep, just for a little while. Then when you wake up, we can play together, okay?"
Boomer leaned down to her, removing his hand from her mouth. He closed his eyes as their lips met, a surprising warmth evading her body. Boomer used his left hand to lift her head, connecting their lips even more for a deeper kiss. His right hand was placed against her waist, pushing her upwards into a half-sitting position.
A whimper escaped her lips as her eyes slid closed. The hand at her waist disappeared and he pulled back from the kiss slowly. Opening her half-lidded eyes, she stared up at him in a dazed stupor.
"It's time to sleep, Bubbles. Okay?"
Their lips met again, and an ear splitting shriek erupted in the night as a dagger was stabbed deep into her stomach. Boomer twisted the knife and pulled it out painfully slow. Blood flowed from the wound and her mouth, but no pain was felt.
"Good night, my sweet angel... I'll see you when you wake up."
He placed a loving kiss to her forehead and then she was succumbed to a deep black void, into the abyss of unconsciousness.