Cast the Darkest Shadow
Deus Ex Procella
The woods along the outskirts of Tokyo City were eerily silent. A dark calm had fallen upon the city, leaving it slumbering in an almost cryogenic state. It seemed like time itself had frozen to capture this moment forever. But silence cannot last forever, and the sound of a twig snapping in the forest broke the silent chill of night.
A dark clad figure walked confidently through the dark, frightening forest. They were small, but carried something massive along side them, signifying assuredly great strength. Their face was completely covered by a shield of darkness, hiding away their identity. There appeared to be no skip in the figure's step, no enthusiasm behind their actions, just a single-minded drive to accomplish whatever it may be they had set foot into the forest so early in the morning for.
The figure came to a halt, seeing a large pink figure stumbling through the woods, knocking away trees and marking its territory. The giant pink monster saw the figure and turned, unimpressed by such a tiny intruder.
"Who are you? Get out of here, this is my territory," The figure stared listlessly then in a flash leapt forward, their foot slamming into the monster's chest and knocking him through a tree and to the ground. The monster stood up and stumbled around, holding its chest painfully. "What in the world? How are you so strong, you little pest?" The figure didn't speak, it simply appeared in front of the monster and grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against another tree. The figure lifted up their large object, causing the monster's eyes to widen in fear.
"You…you little thing…pu-put that down! Put that down now!" The dark plate covering the figure's face pulled away revealing them to the monster and caused an even greater wave of fear to course through his body. "You…you…you're…" Before the monster could speak again the figure grinned wildly and swung the weapon at him.
The Fuzzy Lumpkin's scream rang out across the forest, as a great black light shown from the forest and slowly dissipated. When the light was gone, the scream went with it.
The day had gone by slowly—at least slowly as far as Momoko was concerned—but finally school was out and Momoko had a mission to set out on. She nervously looked around, feeling like a minor about to sneak into an adult club. Fortunately, it wasn't that serious. Unfortunately, in Momoko's eyes, it was still very serious. She stood outside the Beauty Salon with a tremble in her spine. She was about to take up the greatest adventure in her life, something she'd never accomplished before.
'I can't believe I'm going to cut my hair…but Kuriko said she didn't like Blossom's hair, maybe if I get a haircut she'll like her better!' Momoko smiled and nodded confidently, completely unaware that at the moment a thin black aura was radiating from her body. The aura quickly hid itself while Momoko swallowed the lump in her throat and marched through the doors. The sight before her was like something out of her nightmares. Horrible fantasies of facing the Great Michel and those giant scissors of his came flooding back. While she was ready to flee, the image of Kuriko's eyes sparkling with admiration at the sight of Burning Blossom's new, much cooler haircut steeled her nerves and gave her the courage to take a seat and wait her turn to have her hair manhandled.
'Just think about making Kuriko proud…don't think about how bad this might end…do boys like girls with long hair better? Probably not…look at Miyako, she has shorter hair.' Momoko made sure to keep her eyes off of any and every mirror or reflective surface. She didn't want to see the look of terror on her face waiting to take her turn in the chair of doom.
"Next!" Momoko practically screamed when the cheery beautician informed her that her time was finally up. Momoko blushed furiously and kept her face turned down as she nervously sat down in the chair. The beautician smiled and looked Momoko over.
"My, my, your hair is really long! Have you ever had it cut before?" Momoko laughed nervously and closed her eyes as the beautician lifted her head.
"Uh…I've had my bangs trimmed by my mom but…I've never…yeah this is my first haircut," Momoko laughed nervously again. The beautician smiled and nodded, resisting the urge to laugh when Momoko leapt in her seat at the sound of the beautician's scissors snipping thin air.
"So do you have a particular idea in mind?" Momoko took a deep breath and shook her head, realizing that she'd just put the fate of her hair in the hands of this woman she didn't even know. The beautician put her fingers to her chin then snapped her fingers when an idea hit her. "Alright then cutie, I'll give you something that'll drive the boys wild!" Momoko blushed and nodded; cringing and whimpering when she felt the first clump of hair fall away. Her eyes, which were clenched tightly shut, watered but she bit her lip and decided it was too late to turn back now.
The haircut had happened, Momoko's luxurious locks had been ravaged by a woman who had frankly made Momoko increasingly uncomfortable the longer she was in that forsaken chair. Momoko ran her hand through her much shorter hair, letting it fall back into place and gulping. She only had a vague idea of what it looked like, she still refused to look at herself in the mirror. Now walking the sidewalk on her way to Professor Utonium's lab, Momoko felt a thick heaviness in her chest. What if the haircut wasn't good enough? What if Kuriko hated it? She blushed at the next thought: What if the boys who ignored her already now started saying she was hideous because of her haircut? So many painful thoughts, she would have had a mental breakdown had she not looked up and seen something horrible about to happen.
"Hey! Look out you idiot! There's a car coming!" The boy, maybe about ten years old, who had been walking in the street looked up. Without a second thought Momoko broke into a run and tackled the little boy out of the way as the car in question sped by with flagrant disregard for either of the two children the driver could have hit. Momoko lost her breath as she hit the ground and coughed, her eyes shut painfully as she pushed herself up from laying on the boy.
"Are you okay, God what were you doing in the street you moron?" She opened her eyes and her heart stopped for a moment when she saw the boy lying beneath her. He had dark blue hair, like Kaoru's, with a large cowlick coming from the top and his long bangs fell in front of his face, covering his right eye but leaving the left—his eyes were a dark green color—clearly visible. He wore a large green jacket, dark pants and his shoes had roller skates attached to them. Momoko fell backward staring at him in terror as Butch of the Rowdyruff Boys pushed himself up onto his elbows, staring at her in shock. Slowly a thin blush spread across his cheeks.
"Y-You s-saved me…" Momoko didn't respond, afraid that if she did he would recognize her voice and attack her. Too late of course, since she'd already spoken to him twice now. Butch sat up and continued blushing as he stared at Momoko. She looked somewhat familiar, at least the pink eyes seemed familiar but the hair he couldn't place. Her hair was only shoulder length, with two long locks of hair coming from either side of her bangs and framing her face like a photo. The middle bangs had been cut shorter and had been jelled so that they stuck out and seemed to defy gravity—the side bangs had this effect as well, however they were less pronounced in their gravity defying quality than the middle bangs. Butch stumbled over words trying to think of the proper way to thank this girl for saving his life. Finally the magical words came to him.
"Wow you're really pretty," Momoko blushed furiously, completely unprepared for a compliment, much less one like this. Momoko smiled and swallowed a lump in her throat, getting to her feet and helping Butch to his.
"Uh…right…listen don't walk in the street, I won't help you next time," Butch nodded, still staring at Momoko like a love-struck puppy. Momoko blushed again and waved before walking passed Butch to hopefully head home. Unfortunately Butch didn't seem to be finished ogling her yet and started following her, falling into step behind her with a rather adorable pink blush spread across his pale face.
"Oh geez…now I've got a Rowdyruff Boy following me around…" Momoko mumbled, glancing back at Butch casually. He noticed and waved, which made a bead of sweat drip down the side of Momoko's head as she smiled sheepishly and waved back. After several blocks of this Momoko finally became uncomfortable enough to face Butch.
"Um, hey uh…why are you following me…" Butch stood up straight and grinned, scratching his head and laughing sheepishly.
"Butch! My name is Butch, Pretty Girl!" Momoko blushed again and looked down at the ground, her hands clasping behind her back nervously.
"Geez…Momoko, my name is Momoko, it's…nice to meet you? I don't know?" Butch's grin got broader, if possible, and his hand shot out to Momoko as little hearts seemed to dance around his head.
"Really nice to meet you, Ms. Momoko! Wow, you're pretty!" Momoko laughed breathlessly again as a second bead of sweat joined it's predecessor and she shook Butch's hand feebly.
"Uh…geez…um thanks I got a new haircut today," Butch flashed her two thumbs up, only seeming to make Momoko increasingly uncomfortable with his admittedly cute, though still disturbing, attraction to her.
"It looks great, Ms. Momoko!" Momoko smiled and at least had one worry cleared off her mind. If one of the Rowdyruff Boys thought her hair looked good, it couldn't be too horrible. Momoko then glanced around and realized she was late to getting home.
"Listen, Butch, I need to get home," Momoko took a step back, and cringed when Butch took a step forward. "Could you stop following me? It's really starting to creep me out, kay?" The hearts above Butch's head popped, but the blush remained as he stepped back and rubbed his head again sheepishly.
"Oh right, sorry Ms. Momoko." Momoko smiled and took another step back, thankful when Butch didn't step forward.
"Uh…right…see ya around Butch," With that Momoko turned and fled at full speed. Butch giggled and opened his eyes to watch her take off. He cocked his head, seeing a thin black aura around Momoko. His confused expression slowly spread into a smirk.
"Yeah…I'll see you later Ms. Momoko." He grinned and skated away, heading in the direction that Momoko had fled.
Buttercup dodged a thrust from the monster, growling and swinging her hammer at it.
"Swing Sonic!" The Monster dove out of the way and flung its arm outward, the spike on its forearm stretching out and slapping Bubbles out of the air. Buttercup growled. Since they're gotten the call to fight the monster, it had been a game for the creature. The creature was only as tall as Buttercup herself, with the head of some kind of bird, and a humanoid body that was completely covered in down, save for on its forearms where it had two outward pointing spikes which it could extend and retract like whips to seemingly limitless distances. Bubbles dodged another attack and swung her wand at the monster.
"Bubble Neba-Neba!" The thick sticky goop shoot out to hopefully hold the monster in place so that Buttercup could land a hit on it, unfortunately, it was in vain. The monster flew into the air and came down swinging one of its bird-like feet at Bubbles. The blue heroine put her wand up and struggled to block each relentless attack. Buttercup dove in front when she had the chance, finding her mark and swinging her hammer.
"Megaton Dunk!" This time the hammer found its target and sent the monster into the air. Buttercup drew her hammer back and swung it again, while Bubbles swung her wand.
"Swing Sonic!"
"Bubble Champagne!" The two attacks flew and joined together, ready to smash the bird monster. The monster recovered in mid air and shot one of its spikes back, using it like a grappling hook to pull away from the attacks.
"Dammit! Where's Blossom? This would be a great time to see those new powers of hers!" Buttercup cursed, ready to take another swing at the monster.
"Firestorm!" Bubbles and Buttercup looked up gratefully when a small series of fireballs slammed into the monster and drilled it into the ground. The new Burning Blossom flew down and landed beside her teammates, who were frozen in bewilderment to see her.
"Hey girls! Sorry I'm late, I was…why are you staring at me?" Blossom self-consciously ran a hand through her hair, cringing when she figured they might not like her haircut.
"You cut your hair…" Buttercup stuttered out, pointing at Blossom with her mouth hanging agape. Blossom nodded, glancing at Bubbles who suddenly grinned and squirmed a bit in excitement.
"You look so cute Blossom! I love it!" Blossom beamed and held up V-for-Victory. Buttercup nodded and turned her attention back to the monster. At least, she focused on the monster for a few moments before turning to look at Blossom again.
"Yeah you look…wow it's just…yeah you look good," Buttercup fully focused her attention on the monster, though was clearly still unnerved by what she'd seen. Blossom nodded and took her place at the head of the three, with Bubbles and Buttercup on either side of her.
"Alright so what can this thing do?" Blossom questioned as the monster picked itself up and screeched at them. It swung both arms, causing both spikes to extend out and knocked the three to the ground. Blossom pushed herself up, growling—her growling earned her a look from both Buttercup and Bubbles—and glaring at the monster.
"Right, it can do that. I'm going to hurt him!" Blossom got up and held her hands up, placing them together and extending her first two fingers like a gun. Fire began building up at the tips of her extended fingers as a scowl fixed on her face.
"Napalm Blast!" The fire gathered at her fingers doubled in size and turned dark red before firing at the monster. The monster dodged the blast and flung its spikes at Blossom. Blossom dodged and charged at the monster while firing another Firestorm at it. Bubbles and Buttercup watched as the Napalm Blast hit the ground and exploded, creating a dome that left a crater in the middle of the street.
"What in the world? If she hits a building or something with that someone is going to get hurt!" Bubbles nodded and held her wand tighter.
"We'll help her so she doesn't hurt anyone with her new powers! Bubbles Champagne II!" Swinging her wand, the swarm of bubbles slammed into the monster as Buttercup dragged her hammer and brought it up, slamming it into the pavement.
"Graviton Drive!" The shockwave came too fast for the monster to recover and slammed it up against a building, groaning in pain. The monster got free and lashed out, doubling over when Blossom's burning fist slammed into its stomach. Another punch sent it sprawled on the ground.
"Now it's my turn, say g'night Loser!" Blossom flew into the air and gathering a fireball quickly threw it down at the monster. "Blast Burn!" The fireball glowed bright orange as it slammed into the monster, causing a pillar of fire to erupt from where it hit, completely consuming the monster in a shower of flames and smoke. Blossom landed and brushed her bangs out of her eyes, grinning at the crater left behind after her attack.
"Ha! Did you see me? I completely destroyed that ugly thing!" Buttercup and Bubbles nodded as they joined her, looking around and noting in disdain that the property damage caused by the fight had increased substantially when Blossom joined them.
"Yeah, hey listen can you be more careful with your new powers next time, Blossom? You could have hurt someone," Blossom shrugged and grinned at Buttercup, surprising both she and Bubbles.
"No I won't! And if someone gets hurt they shouldn't have been standing around gawking anyway! I'm in total control don't worry about it!" Bubbles frowned and glanced around again.
"If you say so Blossom, just please be careful, you were acting recklessly." Blossom waved off the comment and floated off the ground.
"Whatever, I need to get home! Maybe we'll be on the news by the time I get there!" With that Blossom shot off, leaving Bubbles and Buttercup behind. Bubbles leaned on her wand and looked around while Buttercup crossed her arms and shook her head.
"Yeah, you were right Bubbles, there is something wrong with Blossom. I don't know what though…" Bubbles nodded and floated into the air, Buttercup joining her a moment later.
"I'm glad that Blossom feels confident now…I just hope that new power doesn't go to her head," Buttercup nodded in agreement and after saying their goodbyes the two flew off toward their respective homes. Nearby on a roof, Butch sat up from where he had been hiding, grinning excitedly.
"Oh cool! Blossom's the one with the black aura, just like me! So Ms. Momoko and Blossom are the same person...man I have to see her again," Butch swung his legs off the edge of the building grinning in a love-struck daze, "Maybe it's the black light…she's so hardcore now, and really pretty!"
Momoko squealed as Kuriko splashed water at her face. She retaliated by blowing the bubbles back at her sister, who giggled and held her hands up to keep them from getting in her eyes. The two were sharing a bubble bath after a rather restless day. With their hair down and wet, it seemed like relative to Momoko, Kuriko's was longer, which was a little strange.
"I really like your haircut sis, but why did you do it? I mean that's so weird, you and Blossom both getting a haircut on the same day!" Momoko splashed Kuriko and grinned, seemingly unfazed by the obvious connection.
"Well when I was out I saw Blossom getting her hair cut, so I decided to get mine cut just like hers! You like it, right?" Kuriko nodded and splashed Momoko back.
"Uh huh, it looks really cute on Blossom too! Does she seem like she was a lot tougher today? She might be tougher than Buttercup if this keeps up!" Momoko smirked and tugged on Kuriko's ankle, dunking her under the water. Laughing Momoko did her best to fend off the bubbles Kuriko promptly threw at her.
"Tougher than Buttercup huh? Do you still think she's lame?" Kuriko halted her splash attack to think about that. She shook her head, then paused and shrugged.
"I dunno, she's not as cool as Buttercup or as cute as Bubbles, but whatever's gotten into her she's not as lame as she was before!" Momoko grinned and nodded, dunking Kuriko under yet again, much to her sister's chagrin. So Kuriko thought Blossom could be tougher than Buttercup? Well she'd just have to test that theory. If Kuriko liked the tougher, more hardcore Blossom better, that was the Blossom she was going to be!