Bubbles made her way down the dark tunnel as quickly as she could. As much as she wanted to simply rush towards the faint light, she held back just enough so that nothing would be able to hear her. She, however, could hear the sounds coming from far off. The sounds of her sister, crying out in pain. Bubbles bit her lip and continued to resist the urge to speed up. She knew who she was dealing with.

The pit of Chemical X was not in its usual dark state. Large tube lights had been set up all over the cavern walls. Even with the light it was still difficult to make out the black liquid that flooded the floor. No light reflected off of its pitch black surface. Near the middle of the cave, a metal platform had been setup. On the platform, just barely above the dangerous chemical below, were Brick and Blossom.

Blossom's vision was hazy. Her head ached terribly. Her arms and legs felt as if they were being held down by multiple tons of lead. Her long red hair drooped down across her back, looking as if it had not been washed in weeks. She was not being held in any way, not by ropes, cuffs, or an energy field. Despite that, there was no way she could move from that spot.

While her body may have been in extreme pain, it could not begin to compare to the pain her heart was currently in. Brick was standing over her, his red eyes shining in the darkness. His expression did not show any joy, yet it did not show any remorse either. He simply looked down at her with a stony stare. Brick had left a letter in Blossom's locker, requesting that she meet him at the apartment where he and his brothers were living. She'd been so happy when she arrived, eager to spend time with her former enemy. All of that vanished when he had struck her over the head, so hard that she had blacked out.

Now they were down in the pit. Brick had been injecting bits of Chemical X into her. Each one felt more painful than the last. All Blossom wanted to do was talk. There were dozens of questions she had, but there was only one word she so wished she could utter…why?

So far Brick had not said a word. He simply watched her suffer with a blank expression. Blossom knew her body couldn't take much more of the Chemical X. Even worse, there was no way her heart could take any more of what Brick was doing to her.

After another minute, Brick finally spoke in a quiet voice. "I'm sorry it had to come to this Blossom. If I don't kill you and your sisters, then my brothers and I will have to pay the price. No matter how much I care for you…I can't put you first."

Tears found their way down Blossom's face. She wanted to plead to him, to tell him that they could find another way. She wanted to yell for her sisters to come help her. She wanted to know why this was happening. But her voice would not work. All she could do was sit there, helpless.

Brick's eyes widened in surprise as he saw a shadow lurk across the wall. He turned around and his angry red eyes met with a calm blue. Bubbles floated silently. It was clear from her intense gaze that she had purposely allowed her shadow to come into Brick's view. If Blossom had been able to see far enough, some her tension would undoubtedly have lifted. Bubbles was wearing a cameo ensemble. A long shirt, long pants, and a vest lined with many pockets.

Brick was completely unaffected by the spectacle. His face twisted in frustration at the sight of the Blue Puff. He let out the breath he had been holding in and began to speak. "You found us, I see. I'm afraid that your other sister was right in her assumptions. The three of us were sent here to finally end this battle. Now the time-"

"I know it's you." Bubble said firmly, interrupting Brick.

Brick immediately stopped his monologue. A huge smile spread across his face. Had either of his bothers been there to witness it, they would have felt shivers down their spines. Brick had not given such an evil and enjoyable smile in many, many years. Bubbles, however, remained steadfast. Although when Brick began to chuckle deeply, she felt her heart began to race. It was that same laugh.

"Well I knew I wouldn't be able to fool you, my dear." Brick said. "I thought if I avoided you I'd be able to have one of my plans go smoothly for once," He let out a loud sigh and looked sadly at the ceiling, "But really, when has anything ever gone smoothly thanks to the three of you?"

"I knew you'd come back someday." Bubbles said bluntly. "Even though you never stood a chance against us when we were children, your twisted mind thinks you can somehow defeat us now that we're stronger."

"Oh, is that what you think, that you're stronger?" Brick said, waving his hand for emphasis.

Slowly, the room began to change. The light flowing from the many tubes turned red. It crawled along the walls, making its way into the pool of Chemical X. The black liquid began to boil, sending bubbles into the air. Bubbles wrinkled her face slightly as she watched her namesakes float about as if they were in a lava lamp.

Brick began to slowly fly into the air. "Has our little Bubbles really changed all that much?" He hovered across from her and tilted his head slightly. "The clothing and attitude certainly suggest it, but let's take a moment to really analyze this situation."

Brick extended his arm towards Blossom, as if presenting the weak girl to a crowd. "I'm down here torturing your sister to death, which you must have figured out a while ago, and you've come down here to save her. Seems pretty simple at first," Brick lowered his eyes and grinned, "but…why did you come down here alone?"

Bubbles noticed that the cavern walls appeared to be moving. It almost seemed like they were breathing. The black bubbles of Chemical X weaved and moved around the room as Brick continued talking. "If you ask me it would have made a lot more sense for you to bring your other sister down her to help you out. Perhaps…" Brick began to move closer to the Blue Puff, although it was difficult to tell with all the erratic movements going on. "…what we have here is a girl who foolishly came alone so she could save the day by herself. This isn't just a horrible torture chamber down her, it's an opportunity. Perhaps this girl wants to finally prove herself and get the respect she never got."

Bubbles had not moved an inch. She continued to stay still as Brick came right up to her face. "If that's the case…I'd say you haven't changed one bit, Bubbles, you silly little girl." Brick whispered.

In the blink of eye, Bubbles reached into one of the pockets of her vest and threw a handful of sand at the Red Ruff. Brick hissed and recoiled as smoke leapt off his skin. He continued to smile though, and looked at Bubbles with wide, crazed eyes. "And still full of surprises!" He yelled with a laugh.

Bubbles moved back, and Brick was quick to give chase. She hesitated for a moment when she reached the wall. Brick drew his arm back and delivered a punch, which only met with the rock wall. His red eyes immediately began scanning the room. Bubbles hadn't gone far, so he lunged towards her again. Like before, his punches only succeeded in hitting the walls.

Bubbles soon landed on the small platform that held her sister. Blossom could feel herself recovering, albeit slowly. She had heard it, Brick taunting Bubbles and the sound of solid rock being crushed all around her. She had had enough time to recover her voice. "Bubbles…" she said quietly as her sister stood tall between her and her counterpart.

"Too slow." Bubbles said. "You don't know how to control his body completely."

While Brick was putting on a smug smile, Blossom heard her sister whisper to her. "Cover your ears." Gathering her strength, Blossom cupped her hands, trying to cover her ears as best she could.

"Completely…no. Enough…YES!" Brick said as he shot his eye lasers. Had anyone been watching, they no doubt would have noticed that they looked different. There was a swirling blackness twisted along the deep red. This did not concern Bubbles though, who opened her mouth wide and screamed. The sonic blast raged right towards Brick, dissipating the laser. Bubbles' cry rang out and shook the earth around them.

Brick stopped himself from falling into the Chemical X just in time to get hit in the face by a large stalactite. He let out an annoyed yell as it bounced off him. After checking to make sure another wasn't about it follow suit, he say a blue streak rushing out through the tunnel. More importantly, he noticed that the entire cave was falling in on itself. The cracks he had made while trying to hit the Blue Puff were sending large veins all along the walls.

"Well this is just super." Brick said as the ceiling closed in on him.

"Wait, we can't go in right away." Boomer said, putting himself between his brother and the large boulder.

Butch gave an irritated look. "The whole reason we came here was because-you know what, why am I even arguing about this." He tried to push his brother out of the way.

"No I'm serious!" Boomer said, refusing to let Butch pass. "We need like a battle plan, and uh maybe some weapons."

"Why didn't you say that earlier?" Butch retorted.

"Sorry I…I have a lot going through my mind at the moment."

"Look I'm just going to go down there and take a peek, ok? Now listen to your older brother and move it."

"You're not older than me, we were all born at the same time."

"Let's not get into this again."

The two ceased their bickering as they felt the ground shake. Before any of them could comment, Bubbles blasted through the boulder covering the tunnel. Buttercup barely had time to register what was happening as Bubbles placed Blossom in her arms, told her not to move, and disappeared into the woods.

The three gave their attention to the almost dead looking Powerpuff Leader.

"Oh God! Blossom, what happened!" Buttercup said, choking up at the sight of her sister.

"Oh…damn." Butch spat out. He couldn't bring himself to think of some kind of silly comment. Seeing Blossom so lifeless was much harder for him to witness then he would have thought.

The trio was met with another figure shooting up from the ground, this time it was Brick. He floated in the air above them, grimacing as he tried to shake the dirt off his body. "That…was unpleasant." He said as he looked at his surroundings.

"Aw great, gang's all here." He said downtrodden.

Before he could do or say anything, Bubbles shot out of the trees and slapped a piece of paper onto his back. Brick looked over his shoulder, confused, and then noticed what she had done. He screamed as his body was engulfed in a bright light. Boomer, Butch and Buttercup had to shield their eyes as the light intensified. Soon it was gone, and they heard a thud. Brick was lying on the ground in front of them. Above, however, was the demon known only as Him.

"I knew it!" Boomer yelled.

"What? What is going on?" Butch asked, looking between his brother and father.

Boomer pointed up at the clawed demon. "Him was possessing Brick!"

Him floated on his side, resting his head against one of his claws. "Literately a few seconds from completely destroying Blossom, only to have everything go to my favorite place. Story of my life."

Bubbles took the opportunity to rush towards Him once again. She flew above and dumped a canister of water onto his head. Him merely made a ticking sound and wagged his claw as the water went right through him. The apparition disappeared, and the real Him appeared behind Bubbles, hitting her with his venomous spit. She yelled and fell to the ground next to Brick, who was getting up. He eyed the demon with pure hatred in his eyes. "You…" He started, but fell to the ground in pain.

Boomer and Butch also fell, clutching their heads. Him grinned and looked down at Blossom, who was still in Buttercup's arms. "Be a shame to let all this go to waste." He growled, raising his arms up. Bits of black liquid began to rise up through the ground.

"Don't let it touch you!" Bubbles yelled, rushing over to her sisters as Buttercup took to the air.

Him laughed as he continued to draw up the Chemical X. "If you girls want to stop me, be my guest. Of course, if you take me down, my boys will be going with me. You want to defeat me, and save the boys…let me make this as clear as I can…," he said as he lowered his eyes, "…you cannot do both."

Bubbles let out an angry gasp. She looked at Blossom, at Buttercup, at Him, at Boomer. She didn't move. She wanted desperately to take action, any action. Her body and mind refused. The sadistic choice had no answer.

The Chemical X continued to rise up. The drops began to gleam with a red tint as the demon put his essence into them. Him turned his attention to the City. "Now then, what do you say we revisit that time I turned the entire city against you girls? Only this time, let's see what happens when the citizens are able to fight back! If the boys don't want to play, there are always new weapons to be made!"

Brick felt some of the pain begin to subside. Some of the drops of Chemical X had been drawn into him as they came out of the ground. With each drop, the pain in his body become less and less. When he heard him say the word weapon, he shot up into the air.

Him cried out as Brick grabbed onto his neck and throttled him from behind. "What, how are you?" He said angrily, and increased the pain within his child. Brick cried out as he felt the intense pain return, but also increased his grip on the demon's neck.

While the two were in their deadlock, Boomer and Butch had begun to recover.

"Dammit…we're…we can't…do anything…" Butch said as he breathed heavily.

Boomer got to his feet. "I'm gonna do something, even if it kills me!" He proclaimed and flew into the air.

"YOU?! More like all of us!" Butch yelled after him.

"Ungrateful little-" Him said as he continued to struggle. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the blue streak coming towards him. He let out a small laugh as he embraced himself for the impact. Boomer slammed headfirst into the demon, causing Him to yell out in pain. Now badly injured, Him, Brick, and the Chemical X starting falling to the ground.

Boomer quickly caught his brother, leaving Him to hit the ground. Following without delay was a wave of Chemical X, which hit dead on as if being guided. Him began to let out a horrible wail. Red smoke rose from his body as if he were on fire. He continued to howl in pain, his voice deep and booming. Soon his screams grew quieter, until he was doing nothing more than squeaking in his feminine voice. His body disappeared into red smoke, which vanished into the air.

Blossom had regained enough of her energy to stand, with some support from Buttercup. The three girls watched with their mouths agape as the demon that had haunted them for so long slowly died away. The boys watched in a similar fashion.

No one moved. There wasn't a sound to be heard. The six of them stood there, waiting. Waiting, and waiting…and waiting. Butch was the first who dared to move, patting himself along his chest. He looked over at his brothers, and scratched his head. "We're not…blowing up or meltin' or anything…" He said cautiously.

Brick let his shoulders fall. He took in a long breath. He never realized how great it felt to breath. "He was lying to us." He stated.

Boomer let out a huge sigh and fell onto his back. "Good, that's so great. I've never been happier to been lied to." He said with a smile.

"That is great and all…" Butch said, "…except that the two of you didn't know that when you offed him!" He yelled.

Brick shook his head and walked over to the girls. Boomer sat up and looked at Butch. "If we hadn't done something the whole city would be tearing itself apart right now." He said.

Butch frowned. "Well excuse me for not being as suicidal as you guys."

Like Boomer, Bubbles was also sitting down, relieved.

Brick walked over and put a hand on Blossom's shoulder. "You ok?" He asked.

She smiled. "I've had worse."

"That could have been it," Brick said, "I could have died right there."

Buttercup moved over as Blossom allowed Brick to help support her. "Wouldn't be the first time, huh?" She said.

Brick smiled. "Yeah, only this time there'd be no magical demon to bring us back…"

Brick tilted his head toward Blossom until their foreheads touched. Blossom felt her heart began to race as she looked into Brick's eyes. He stared deeply into her large, pink orbs. "I've been living my life all wrong. Thinking I had to go along with those crazy maniacs. No, life is far too short to not be doing what makes me happy…"

With that, Brick pulled Blossom in and kissed her. Any pain Blossom was still experiencing from her ordeal vanished. She took it all in, the feel of his lips against hers, his scent mingling with the raw soil that he was still covered in.

The other four watched on with wide eyes. Boomer was surprised, but happily smiled none the less. Buttercup was trying to hold her smile back, but not doing a good job of it. Bubbles may have been better at trying not to, but it was evident in her face.

Butch, however, was not so amused.

"Oh, come on!" He said angrily. "You were gonna let us die just because all you can think about is getting into her pants!"

A comment like that would have ruined any romantic mood. Luckily Blossom Brick were too absorbed in each other to have heard him clearly. Buttercup and Boomer were free to give him dirty looks. Butch pointed an accusing finger at his blue clad brother. "I'm pretty sure you were thinking about something else then the stupid people of stupid Townsville! Say what you will about all the crap I've done, but I never put a girl over the two of you." He mumbled angrily to himself as he flew off.

Brick was only vaguely aware of his brother's outburst as he held Blossom. "I've been lying a lot to you Blossom. I need to tell you about what-"

"We can worry about the small things later." She said, looking at him. "The important thing…that's what I know now…" she said softly.

Brick let out a content sigh. They weren't out of the woods yet, but they were on the right trail.