Warmer
by Gregory Cooper
Chapter Three: A Lover's Need
"Hmm...what is this that I have discovered, being that I have found it here...?" a voice said. The world's only speaking chimpanzee, the evil Mojo Jojo, had heard a crashing noise come from somewhere close by outside his volcano-top observatory, and upon exploring, found Blossom cowering in a ditch and completely out of it, trying to cover her sister Bubbles.
"This is not of my doing, for I am not the one who has done this...something powerful indeed must have attacked these annoying Powerpuff brats, and that is bad for me, Mojo Jojo; if something this powerful attacked them, then after it has killed them, it might come after me." Mojo Jojo scratched his brain cap thoughtfully for some minutes, trying to decide a course of action.
On the one hand, he could kill the girls where they lay, and then there would be only one pesky little Powerpuff left to deal with, who, weakened by the loss of her sisters and without their powers to back her up, would surely fall quickly.
On the other hand, if as he assumed, something had attacked them, then it would surely not want other supervillains on its patch, and would come after the likes of himself and Him as well.
"I shall most probably regret this decision in the morning", Mojo said sorrowfully, "as I believe that it is a choice that will be rued by me, Mojo Jojo, in the cold harsh light of the daytime when the sun is shining and lighting up the day, but I also feel that this is the right thing to do, as...ah, to heck with it!"
Mojo Jojo pulled a ray gun out of his pocket, that he always kept on him for emergency purposes, and began advancing on the two girls.
"Dad! Dad! Something's wrong!" Buttercup yelled as she flew through the house so fast, everything was getting knocked over and swept up into her slipstream. By the time that the good Professor arose from his slumber, the interior of the house looked as though a bomb had gone off in it, albeit only the contents were disturbed, not the structure of the house itself.
"Buttercup - what on earth are you making so much mess for?" Professor Utonium asked, looking at the chaotic state of his house. In the centre of the messed-up lounge stood two people; as the Professor stumbled, half-asleep, down the stairs, he saw Buttercup standing there in her forest-green pyjamas, and Robyn standing beside her the bottom half of a pale yellow nightdress flowing out from under her heavy overcoat.
"Robyn, why are you here at..." he glanced to a nearby clock, "two in the morning?!" he said, surprised by the lateness of the hour. "What is this about? You'd better have a good explanation, young lady", he said, directing this comment at Buttercup, who looked totally unfazed by the idle threat.
"Dad", she said, in an exasperated tone, "Blossom and Bubbles have gone missing!"
"What? Are you sure?"
"Yeah", Buttercup said, nodding, "I checked their room; it's empty, the window is wide open, and one of Blossom's hair bows was in the garden right beneath the window sill. They gone off somewhere, and...I can't feel anything from either of them."
"Can't feel anything...what do you mean?" the Professor said, moving into the kitchen to get a glass of water. He always had an uncomfortable cottonmouth just after waking up.
"They...they have a psychic link, Professor, all three of your girls", Robyn said softly, finally speaking up, moving towards him. Buttercup also moved forward and put an arm around Robyn.
"Usually, I can sense them, even when we're clear across the city from each other - granted my bond with them isn't as strong as their bond with each other, not by a long shot...but..." she said, babbling away, and Robyn gave her a gently reassuring squeeze.
"Don't worry BC, we'll find them," Robyn said kindly. Then she turned her attention to the Professor, and added, "I saw them flying off in the direction of Volcano Park, Professor - Bubbles looked really upset, then Blossom went after her a couple of minutes later; she looked pretty bad."
"She did...?" the Professor said, confused. "But why...?"
"We think we have an idea why - but that's not important; we need to find them Dad", Buttercup said, blinking back a tear. "Damn it - I knew I shouldn't'a let Bubs talk me out of sharing a dream with them! Her and her stupid hormones!"
That comment really confused the Professor. "Buttercup - what? What are you-"
They were interrupted by a loud crashing sound as something fell down in Blossom and Bubbles' room.
"The window!" Buttercup exclaimed joyfully, and started up the stairs when...
"It is I - Mojo Jojo! Do not shoot!" the familiarly gravelled voice declared.
"Why shouldn't I? As a matter of fact, I'm just spoilin' for a fight right now..." Buttercup growled menacingly; as menacingly as she could at two in the morning in her pyjamas.
"I am arrived on an errand of mercy, that is why", Mojo Jojo said, clearly and surprisingly succinctly for the usually diuretically verbose chimp. And indeed, he appeared at the top of the staircase moments later, stumbling forwards, carrying both Blossom and Bubbles in his arms.
"You monster! What did you do to them?!" Robyn cried out.
"I am a monster, it is true," Mojo Jojo replied, "but that is of no importance. I found them like this in Volcano Park - there was a crash, and they were lying in the ditch in this very state that you now see them in, for they were unconscious; well, Bubbles was; Blossom followed shortly after. I think Powerpuff Bubbles was struck by lightning - I am not sure what is wrong with Powerpuff Blossom though...none of my tests could decipher it, so I brought them both here; Professor Utonium, I thought maybe you could help your girls?"
"But why? You try to kill them all the time..." Robyn said, rightly suspicious of Mojo's motives.
"Yes, well...it is not sporting when they were already half-dead." Mojo Jojo said, trying to draw up and look dignified as the Professor removed both girls from his arms. Then he swept down through the lounge and out the front door.
"AH!"
Blossom's eyes shot wide open - the first thing all present noticed was that her usual pink irises were missing; there was just a black pupil surrounded by the giant white area of the eyeball. Then she started shivering and shaking.
"Blossom honey, are you okay?" Professor Utonium asked as gently as he could, and with Buttercup's help, lowered her onto the couch, where she curled tightly into a ball.
"Y-y-y-y-yes D-d-d-d-ddaadddd...h-h-h-h-h-h---hhhoowwwww's B-b--b-b-b-b..." was all that Blossom could stutter out.
"Bubbles is okay, Blossom...I'm just gonna take her down to the lab to give her a check-up, okay?" the Professor said, and went down into his basement lab with little Bubbles cradled in his arms.
"You two, get Blossom warmed up," he called back to Buttercup and Robyn, "she looks like she's gone hypothermic." The two girls nodded to each other, and went off on separate tasks; Robyn went and made Blossom some hot sweet cocoa, while Buttercup flew off and grabbed some warm fresh blankets out of the linen closet and began swaddling Blossom in them.
"T-t-t-t-t-thththaannnnk yyyyyyoo-o-o-o-oooouu B-b-b--b-bbuuuuh S-s-s--s-s--sssseeeee...B-b-b--bbbaaaawwwb-b-beee..."
"Shh, Blossom; you're okay, you'll warm up in no time", Robyn said reassuringly, as both she and Buttercup sat down on either side of the shivering girl, and gave her a big warm hug.
"N-n-n-n-nn-oooottttt c-c-c-cccollllll..." Blossom stuttered and slurred the words out, trying to shrink into the warm blankets.
"Yeah right, Bloss," Buttercup said, condescendingly. "You're shivering and stammering, your teeth are chattering - you're cold; freezing in fact." Robyn just sat there, looking thoughtful.
"No she isn't BC; feel. She's really warm." And indeed she was radiating heat as if she'd just run a marathon. Buttercup just gave a confused expression.
"Huh?" Robyn shrugged her shoulders.
"Is there anything we can do, Blossom?" she asked. Blossom shook her head but didn't bother trying to speak this time. "Anything we can get you?"
Blossom nodded vigorously. "Y-y-y-y-y--yeeeeehhhhhh... Buh...Buuuhhhhh..."
"What is it Bloss?"
"Buh...buh buh buh buh... B-b-b--b-bahhhhhh bullllllsssssssss..."
"Bar balls?" Buttercup said, then put two and two together. "Oh, Bubbles!" Blossom nodded again. "She's downstairs, Blossom, Dad's checking her over. Wanna go see her?" Blossom nodded yet again, shaking even more. "Come on then."
Buttercup got off the couch and gave Robyn a hand, pulling her gently off the couch as well. Robyn gave a small curtsey and then two headed towards the lab, Buttercup floating and Robyn walking beside her. They stopped and turned to see Blossom trying to float along behind them.
"C-c-c-can't f-ff-f--ffllly..." she got out, then dropped to her feet - and immediately to the floor, when her shaking legs gave way. She curled up again, her arms tightly wound around her waist and shivering and shaking quite intensely now.
"Blossom, what's wrong?" Robyn rushed back to her, cradling the fallen girl. "And why are your eyes totally white? They look cold, like ice..." she said, and then got an inkling of an idea. "Blossom, talk to us, say something."
"B--b--b-bbbbuhhhh...bbblllllllssss..."
"Quick Buttercup, we need to get her downstairs, now!"
Buttercup didn't argue, grabbing up Blossom and Robyn with ease, and taking them straight downstairs, placing them both gently on a lab table, out of the way of the Professor working on Bubbles.
"Bobbi, what it is? Do you know what's going on with Bloss?" she asked, once they were all back on terra firma.
"Yeah", Robyn said in a hushed voice. "Well, I think I know, but I hope I'm wrong."
"Well, what is it?"
"I hope I'm really, really wrong..." Robyn said in a horrified tone.
"Ah, Robyn, Buttercup..." Professor Utonium said, making his way over to them around the lab tables. "It's not good - Bubbles has been out for so long, I think she's slipped into a coma."
"Oh shit."
"Robyn? Will you just tell us what you damn well think is happening?"
"Sorry BC - but I think they're linked."
"Huh?" That was the Professor, trying to keep up with the end half of a conversation.
"H-h--hh-h-h-hhellppppppppp..." Blossom forced out as loudly as she could manage, which wasn't very much right now, but it caught the others' attentions.
"How Blossom? How can we help you when we don't know what's wrong with you?" Buttercup said, grabbing Blossom by the shoulder. "You look like you're freezing, but your skin is warm - hot, almost. It doesn't make any sense!" she cried out the last, shaking her roughly.
"Helllllllllppppppp... sa-... saaaaayyyvvvvve Buhh...sssssayyyyyyyyvvvvvv herrrrrrr..."
"I'm doing all I can, Blossom honey, but she isn't waking up", Professor Utonium said, and then noticed Robyn standing off in a corner.
"Dammit, why did I have to be right!" she muttered to herself.
"Robyn, are you okay?" the Professor asked her, and she turned around, plastering a small, tight smile on her lips.
"I'm fine Professor Utonium", she said, keeping her smile rigid. Focus was drawn from her back to Blossom seconds later, thankfully.
"Bbbbbuu-u-u-u-u-hhhh bbbbblllllsssss...ssss..." Blossom said, growing ever less coherent as she was shaking and shivering far too much to put words together, let alone sentences by this point.
"What, Blossom?" Robyn said. "What about Bubbles?" She was still half-hoping she was wrong about all of this.
"N-n-n--nn-nnneeeeeee-e-e-eeddddd w-w-w-waarrrrrrmmmmmm..."
The Professor had gone back to attending the comatose blonde, leaving Buttercup and Robyn to decipher what Blossom was saying again.
"I thought you said you're not cold, Bloss?"
"Warrrr-aarmmmmm - B-b-b-urrrbbbbb..."
"Huh? You need to make Bubbles warm, or you need Bubbles to make you warm?" Buttercup asked, trying to make sense of that last cryptic statement. Blossom just nodded as best she could in the circumstances. "Both?" Another nod.
"Buttercup, she's burning up here," Robyn said, grabbing a thermometer. They quickly took a reading, and it said, "104 degrees...and climbing..." Robyn said in quiet awe.
"This is making no sense!" Buttercup exclaimed. "What the fuck is going on here?!" she yelled out.
"N--nnennneeeed Buubbbbbb...ssss...my s-s-s-ssiiiidddddde..." Blossom said, squeezing out each word with tremendous effort.
"Don't you get it yet, BC?"
"No, clearly I don't Bobbi", Buttercup said back, though not with any real acid in her words. Blossom was off in her own little world by now, not talking to anyone, just stringing syllables together, trying to work it out still for herself.
"Ww-w-w-wannnt wivvvvvv Buuuhhhhhhhh...bbbbbblllllllssssssss... c-c-c-c-aauuuuunnnnnttt l-l-l-livvvvv..." she said, then began to weep softly.
"They're connected!" Robyn cried out, rubbing Blossom soothingly on the back. "Blossom's in this state 'cos of Bubbles."
"I know we have our psychic link, Bobbi, but isn't this a bit far fetched?" Buttercup said, incredulously.
"How well do you really - I mean REALLY, Buttercup - know your sisters?"
"Well..." Buttercup started, then stopped. You don't know your own sisters very well, do you Buttercup? She shook her head at the memory coming back to her those six years earlier. "Well enough", she retorted, though even to her it sounded rather weak.
"Mussssst...nn--n-n-n-neeeaaarrrr Bubbbbbb..." Blossom muttered to herself, her eyes watering more.
"Things are going from bad to worse over here, Buttercup," said the Professor suddenly, breaking the three girls' trains of thoughts. "I think you should get Blossom out of the lab, she's a distraction at the moment."
"Right Dad", Buttercup said automatically, and tried to pick Blossom up.
"No", Blossom said, with a sudden and rather surprising clarity, even though she was still shaking strongly enough to make the entire lab-bench rattle about as it was fixed into the concrete floor.
"Bloss, you're no good to anyone in this state," Buttercup said, and Robyn nodded a tacit agreement. They tried to pick her up again, but she scooted away slightly from their outstretched arms.
"No", she said again, just as weakly. "Mus-s-s-sssst...h-hhhavvvvv B-b-b--bubbbblllllsssss..." she said, though the effort of speech was taking the wind out of her, "n-nn-nneeeeeeeeeeed t-t-t-t-t be near... wivvvvv h-h-h-herrrrr..."
"Blossom?" Robyn asked, growing more concerned.
"N-n-n-n-n-nneeeeeed to b-b-b-b-b--b-bbuuh...wiv Buuuuhhh... neeeeed B--b-buubbbblllllllllllllls..."
"Dad! How is Bubbles doing?" Buttercup shouted out, and the Professor stopped and scratched his head thoughtfully.
"Not good, Buttercup honey; why?"
"Blossom's still getting worse too, Dad; Robyn thinks the two of 'em are linked...she keeps asking us to help-"
"Naturally," said the Professor, with mild exasperation.
"But she's not asking us to help HER," Robyn said, butting back into the conversation. A light went on in Buttercup's mind.
"Of course - she's asking us to help Bubbles...it's all she's cared about the whole time; Bubbles is all she cares about, she said that to me once, that Bubbles' happiness was the most important thing to her. I don't think she realised what she was saying though..."
"Buttercup, what are you saying?" the Professor asked, confused and increasingly desperate in his methods to bring Bubbles around, and irate at the frequent interruptions from the girls. BEEP BEEP, BEEP BEEP the cardio-monitor alarm went off. "O my Lord, she's going into cardiac arrest now; you too, keep quiet and for God's sakes keep Blossom under control!"
Easier said than done. "N-n-n-n-n-need t-t-t-t... havvvvv Bubbbb-...blllsssss...w-w-w-w-wannnnnnn m-m-m-m-m-mmyyyyy Buh-bullls..." she was saying, her speech getting louder and more emotional, though no more coherent, as she kept talking. "B-b-b--buuuhhhhhh...AAAAH!" she screamed out, doubling up in agony. Something crackled over her, and there was a smell of ozone.
"My God - w-w-what's happening?" Robyn said, anxiety growing. Buttercup was watching the Professor using a pair of electric defibrillator pads to jump-start Bubbles' heart again. "The electricity...", she said in a voice like a whisper. Turning to see Blossom still crackling with electrical energy, she finally released. "Blossom could feel it...
"I said get her to shut up!" The Professor yelled out, distraught. The shock had jolted Bubbles' whole body, but it was a purely electromechanical reaction, she was still dying.
"Buh-BLLLLLSSSSSSS!" Blossom cried out, trying to look across the room at the blue puff lying prone on the operating table. "Wan' Bub-ulllllllllls...!"
"Dad!"
"Not now Buttercup! I'm trying to save Bubbles!"
"But Dad!" Buttercup yelled out, as Robyn yelled, "Professor!" Blossom was crying quite loudly now, and even though the storm outside was still picking up, it seemed from inside that basement lab at that moment to be as nothing. "Dad, Blossom's dying!" Buttercup tried again.
"Don't be ridiculous! She's just a little chilly!" Professor Utonium shouted back over the next attempt to use the paddles to shock Bubbles back to life.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Blossom screamed, loud and high enough to shatter several test tubes.
"Will you keep her quiet!"
"Professor!"
That one single cry stopped Professor Utonium dead in his tracks for several seconds. "You haven't called me that since...in over 8 years..." the Professor muttered.
"AAAAAAAAAH GODDDDDDDDD - I NEEEEEEE' MMMMYYY BUH-WWWWUULLLLLSS!!!" Blossom wailed out at the top of the voice. Tears were streaming down her face and making a large puddle in the lap of her pyjamas, and her cheeks were puffy and her eyes looked bloodshot.
"Does she look - whiter than usual?" Robyn asked, fighting to be heard over Blossom's loud wracking sobs. "Her cheeks are, like, totally colourless..."
"I CAN'...I CANNNNN' LIVVVVVVV WIVVVVOOOOWWWW 'ERRR!" Blossom continued to cry at full force, dropping her face into her hands and not caring at all about looking like such a big baby. The ground rumbled slightly, as though a train was going past somewhere nearby. "I NEEEEEEEEED 'EEEEERRRRRRR!"
"Why Blossom? Why?" Robyn asked, whilst the Professor looked on, completely dumbfounded at this spectacle. Never in all his eleven years of raising the triplets had he ever seen any of them in such a terrible state as this, let alone seen Blossom acting in such a way. She was always, almost without fail, the most emotionally mature of the three.
"BE-UZZZZZZZZ I WWWWUVVVVV 'EEEEERRRRRRRR!" Blossom burst out into fresh bouts of tears. For a moment, everything died down.
"I do," Blossom said again, far more quietly, still crying her eyes. "I wuv 'er."
"You see, Professor?" Buttercup and Robyn said, turning to the older man, who stood stock still, utterly speechless.
"No, I don't - I won't." Professor Utonium said hastily, busying himself with jolting Bubbles back to life.
"Blossom loves Bubbles! She wouldn't admit it earlier, that must be what the fight was about!" Robyn said, and Buttercup agreed. "I felt sadness, hurt; lots and lots of pain from both of them, and then they just went. It's gotta be."
"No, it can't be", said the Professor. BZZT BEEP...BEEP...BEEP...BEEP... the cardio monitor registered a return of Bubbles' vital signs, but they were still dangerously low.
"I...wuvv...my Bubb-elly..." Blossom muttered to herself, weeping, after thrashing about with another electrical shock. "I weally do...AAAARRRGGGHH!" She screamed out in immense pain again, clutching her hands tightly together and cradling them close to her chest. "IIIIIITTTTT HURRRRRRRRRTSSSSSSSSS!!!"
Robyn rushed forwards, and managed with some difficulty, and then finally some assistance from Buttercup, to pry her hands apart. They had turned a bluish-white colour and were slightly see-through.
"Like ice..." Robyn said quietly. "She's turning to ice...so why is she so hot?"
"Her power is control over heat, Bobbi," Buttercup said, bumping lightly against her best friend as she moved around to examine the fingers of ice. "I think she's subconsciously trying to keep herself warm. But it isn't her body that's freezing in the first place, it's her heart." Blossom was whining with the sheer agony she was going through, as the ice seemed to spread over her hands. In fact, her hands were actually turning into ice.
"Iiiiiiiiiiiii wwwwwuuuuuuvvvv her wiiiiiiiiivvvvvvvvv aaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwllllllll myyyyyy haaarrrrRRRGH! ... So mu-u-u-u-u-cch it hurrrrrrrrrrrrrtssssss!"
"Oh, this is just super!"
"Who said that?" Buttercup said, whirling around to look for the source of the mysterious voice that had piped up.
"'Twas I, little Buttercup!" trilled the voice again. And with that, the demonic entity known as Him appeared in a puff of smoke.
"HIM!" Buttercup shouted. "So you're the one behind all of this!" she said, waving her arms about wildly to indicate what she meant.
"Only up to a point, little one. But it was looking like such fun, I just HAD to get involved!" Him gushed, prancing about the lab gaily.
"You...you didddd diissss do meeeeeee..." Blossom spoke up through her sobbing, "dooooo uzzzzzz..."
"You mean your strong feelings for each other, Blossom?" Him said, rather condescendingly. Blossom nodded dumbly. "No, no no no, I can't take the credit for that. Your love for your sister was entirely your own mess. I merely capitalised on it with that lightning strike."
"That was you?" Buttercup said through gritted teeth. "You hit Bubbles with lightning?!" she asked, incredulously. Him just nodded vigorously, grinning like an inane idiot. "Ooooh, you're gonna pay for that, girly-man." Him didn't even flinch at the pathetic insult.
Instead, Him sat on the end of a nearby bench, the grin never slipping. "Who's going to take me to task for it? You don't have the brains to beat me, Butter-crap. And I think both of your sisters are rather out of commission at the moment."
Robyn, watching this scene, but never having been this close to one of Townsville's many villains, stepped up beside Buttercup. "I'll help her," she said, giving Buttercup a watery grin and a half-hug.
The effeminate demon just smiled even more broadly, and laughed manically at them. "Oh, that's just precious. Missy here is standing up for her little girl-fwiend. How QUAINT!" He said, the last word coming out in his deep, evil demonic voice instead.
"You shouldn't have hurt Bubbles", came a cold voice - Blossom's voice, the others recognised it as. She was standing on the lab bench, her arms and legs now entirely turned to ice, and still shivering, but her voice was steady with confidence and something more - unequalled fury.
"Blossom, you're not in a fit state - ", Robyn started to say, but was cut off by Blossom shoving her gently into Buttercup's arms, causing both girls to blush and fall silent.
"I love Bubbles - no, I'm IN LOVE with Bubbles - with all my heart and soul, Him", Blossom said, "and you would do very well to get out of my face right NOW!" she finished with a scream, as the ground began to rumble and shake violently beneath the house.
"Er...what's happening now?" Professor Utonium said, having been quietly keeping an eye on Bubbles the entire time. "I can feel the ground...uh, it's splitting - run!" Buttercup and Robyn didn't need to be told twice; Buttercup at once picked her friend up and zipped out of the basement, grabbing the Professor and Bubbles on the way.
"You think you have the power alone to defeat me? How childish of you little Blossom..." Him said, watching as the room around him crumbled and began to fall apart. Through the cracks in the floor that were now forming, deep fissures ran down through the ground and were now filling with white hot lava.
"I'LLLLLLLL KILLLLL YOU FORRRRRRRR WAAAAAAAAA YYYYYYOOOOOOOOO DDDDDDDDIIIII' TTT MMMMMMYYYYYY BBBBBBBBUUUUUHHHHHH-WWWWWUUUUULLLLLLSSSSSS...!!!!!" Blossom screamed, and the sound reverberated with more force than should have been possible. Everything in the room shattered from the intense sonic barrage - glass, plastic, even the tables and concrete began to crumble. Him just looked down, eyes going wide with one emotion he'd never felt; Fear. He realised he was actually staring his own death right in the face.
It was as though the basement laboratory of the Utonium household was, for a small time, filled with the energy from a small sun, or maybe a supernova. Upstairs, the Professor plus Robyn and Buttercup cowered in the larger of the girls' bedrooms (Blossom and Bubbles' joint room) as it felt like the whole house was shaking itself apart bit by bit, whilst downstairs in the lab, it was an inferno of truly Hellish proportions. Everything that had not already been shattered into pieces, and everything that had too, was vaporised, turned into superheated plasma hotter than the centre of our very Sun itself. Him was screaming in the most excruciating pain, worse than he could even have imagined for any of his many victims down the millennia, and yet...
"HOW?!" He bellowed out, as he saw a silhouette of Blossom through the flames; she was still in her pyjamas, with her bow in her hair that was whipping about her face from the gale force tornado that was blowing up, turning it into a blazing maelstrom inside the room. She was entirely turned to ice, tinged lightly pink, floating slowly towards Him with her feet hanging below her and her arms outstretched, as though on a crucifix. She floated on...Him tried to move, to vanish in a puff of smoke like he had arrived in, but was held immobile in mid-air through the total chaos. She floated on still further, and passed right through Him. He felt the intense heat, hotter than the hottest of all the stars in the sky, even than the creation of the universe itself -
BOOM! - and exploded.
Once the explosion died down, Ice Blossom looked around herself, and saw an alien sky; the remnant debris-clouds from the already fading hypernova surrounded her, and somewhere off in the distance, she could see a small yellow pinprick of light; the Sun. Focusing on it, she teleported herself back to Earth, to the shattered remains of the Professor's lab, and climbed the stairs, feeling her prodigious burst of strength failing her quickly with each and every step.
"Must...go...on..." she panted, staggering into her room, to find the Professor, leaning over Bubbles who was lying on the bed, Buttercup and Robyn cuddled up close together in a seat in the corner of the room, both blushing but focused still on Bubbles' well-being.
"Blossom!"
"What happened, Bloss?" Buttercup said, making to get up as Blossom staggered to the bed and collapsed against the side of it. With her power deserting her, Blossom broke into fresh floods of tears, staining the blankets with them in minutes.
"Buuuhhhh...Buhhhbbb... Buuuurrrrr b-b-b--bullllllssssssss ...pweeeezze sob waaaaaaaaaaaaa waaaaaaaa-haaaaaaa... waaaaaakkkkkkeeeeee uuuubbbbbb!" she said, breaking down and falling prone across Bubbles' comatose body. "I neeeeeeeeeeee' yyyyooooouuuuu..."
"Blossom?" Robyn said quietly, really, really not wanting to intrude on this moment. "I think she needs to hear you confess your feelings." Buttercup nodded mutely in agreement.
Blossom managed to hear Robyn's statement over her loud crying, and wailed out, "Buuuuuhhhhhhh...bbbbblllllllzzzzz... I-I-I-iiiiiii'm innnnn wuvvvvv wivvvvvvvv 'ooooo...GAH!" she screamed, feeling her joints slowly solidifying, turning into ice. Without warning, she burst into flame, though no heat came from it, and it was a mixture of icy blue and white in colour. "Pweeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzze wwwwwwuuuuuuuuvvvvvvv meeeeeeee tt-t--t-t-ttoooooooaaaaaaaRRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHH!" she cried out in pain again, the light in her eyes beginning to fade. Her flames were getting smaller. "Pwwwwwwwweeeeezzzzzzeee... 'fffffoooorrr iiiiittttsssss t-t-tt--t-ttooooooo l-l-l-l--aaaaaaaat-t-t-tteeeeeeeee..."
Eyelids fluttered slowly open, and two sky blue orbs looked around, feeling a weight resting on top of their owner.
"B-b-b-blossom?" Bubbles said weakly, her voice barely managing a whisper after having been electrocuted. But it was enough.
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh Bb-b-b-b--b-bubbbbbb uuuuullllllllllllzzzzzzz..." Blossom cried out. "Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii..." she couldn't get any further, she could feel her vocal chords stopped working at that point. Her mouth hung open in a silent scream, clutching wildly at her chest, trying to claw rabidly at the frozen block of ice feebly beating within it.
"Oh Blossom - I love you! Please don't die on me!" Bubbles blurted out, just in time. Blossom could only roll off to the side, leaving Bubbles able to sit up finally, falling limply to the bed and lying there, tears pouring out and flowing over her cheeks, down her face, all over the bed in little rivers, and sobbing, and whimpering with the extreme torture of being practically frozen solid.
"Blossom - someone, what's happened?!" Bubbles said, leaning over Blossom and pulling the other girls' head into her lap, softly stroking her hair.
"She...when you got struck," Buttercup said, haltingly, "she started freezing up; she kept saying she couldn't live without you..."
"And you were in a coma, dying", Robyn put in hastily, "and not having you there was killing her. She was freezing..."
"She needs me to keep her warm," Bubbles said quietly, biting her lip nervously. "She needs me as much as I need her...oh, my God." Then gathered Blossom as much as she could into her, hugging the shaking, crying red-haired girl tightly. "Oh Blossom, it's all alright now, I'm back. I won't leave you ever again, okay?" she said softly in Blossom's ear, although with her lips right up against Blossom's earlobe, the sound didn't need to be loud.
"Iiiiiii'mmmmm ssss-s-s-ssorrrrr... - " Blossom tried to say, but another sob robbed her of her speech temporarily.
"Shhh now love, there's nothing to be sorry for", Bubbles said in a kindly voice. "What are you aplo...apog...ag...saying sorry for?" she said, starting to get rather tearful herself at Blossom's unbridled display of emotion.
"S-s-s-s-saying I diddddddddnnnn wwwwwwwuuuuuvvvvv 'oooooo... sob ... ttthaaawww I 'addddderrrrrrr beeeeee strrrronggggggg..."
"Who for? Me?" Bubbles said, piecing it together. Blossom nodded dumbly.
"Yehhhhhhhh... coooooooodnnnnn dooooo iiiiiiiittttt..."
"But Blossom love, we can be there for each other", Bubbles said, slowly and carefully. "You don't need to be strong for my sake all of the time, you're not God after all", she said with a smile. Then she leant forward very slowly and carefully, and gave Blossom a kiss on the lips. No big fancy kisses, no tongue, not even with open mouth. They felt no fireworks, it wasn't that kind of a kiss. All that was in it was pure, innocent love.
"Shhhhhhhh love, we'll talk more in the morning", Bubbles said, motioning the others to kindly leave their bedroom. Too weak from still being in recovery from her date with a bolt of lightning, and with Blossom unable to perform all but the simplest of tasks, she just laid them both down on the bed gingerly...and the Professor turned out the light as he left them to sleep.
"Bub...bbbbllllzzzz...?" Blossom said weakly, and a little tired out too.
"Yeah Blossy?"
"I wealllllyyyy dooooo wwwwwuuuvvvvv 'ooooo..." she said, still weeping lightly.
"I really do love you too Blossy. Always have", Bubbles said, with a smile, and they both quickly dozed off to sleep. In the night, Bubbles wrapped herself more tightly around Blossom as she woke up to feeling the redhead shaking strongly, almost enough to rattle the bed to pieces. "Don't worry Blossy, you'll be alright, n' that's a promise", Bubbles said with certainty.
End of Chapter Three
OK, I have to admit, I feel some points were rushed. Particularly in this chapter and the next (final) one. One brief moment to answer reviews here:
Philip: Yes, the ages jump a lot in the first two chapters. It's not a continuous storyline for most of chapters 1 and 2, just a collection of scenes showing the way that Blossom and Bubbles' relationship develops. So yeah, there is quite a bit of discontinuity there. I realise that Blossom "coming out ages ago" is quite unrealistic, but you have to take into account that Blossom is quite mature for her age (considering how smart she is at age 5, not surprising), so maybe that makes it less unlikely, a little. OK, the scarring was going a bit OTT, but I wanted to show that Blossom puts Bubbles' happiness over any pain she might endure in the process. Also, their invulnerability is a power, right, so she was caught by surprise by the scalding, that's why she was vulnerable to it. It did eventually heal up though, it just took a fair while to do so.
Masturbator: Love your name - how long did it take you to come up with it:) Can you tell me where in the first two chapters, you can find kiddie porn? They're just being very affectionate sisters, that's all. Sure, the relationship grows in chapters 3 and 4, but they're not kids any longer. And it should have been obvious from the summary that this is Bubbles/Blossom incest, in which case, if you find that offensive to your person, why were you reading it?
Neo-Larry: Hey man, surprise again! The rest of the story is posted; woohoo! I finished a story that I started. :D Yeah, you wanted to see a relationship between Buttercup and Robyn too, maybe I pushed things a bit quick at the end there then, but you'll get to see a quick scene of them together. :) Blossom finally gets over her denial, which was imposed on her psyche by society's views of incest in reply to her feelings for her sister. And I am not a psychiatrist (I'm sure you can tell, LOL).
Alex Moss: Thanks dude, this is the third chapter and the fourth is already ready to post. Gonna make you wait a couple of days to see the ending though, I hope there's a surprise twist for you. :D