A/N: Looks like it's this longfic's 1st year anniversary. Happy birthday, The Powerpuff Girls: Declassified! I didn't plan on releasing this chapter today, but I guess the stars have a way of aligning, and I couldn't add anything more to this chapter without ruining the flow of it. Enjoy!

Chapter 101: Escape

The City of Townsville. Suburbs. The House.

07 MAR (Tuesday) 1989. 0735.

The room was dark when Bunny opened her eyes. Room? Bunny didn't even know where she was. The last thing she knew was that she was in a gas stop. Before her were three circular port-like windows, and the only reason why she knew they were there was because of the starry night sky beyond them.

She tried lighting up her eyes, but the bioluminescence of her eyes wouldn't glow any brighter. She thought it was because she was drained; she did feel lethargic, after all.

"Dad?" Bunny called out but found that her throat was sore and her voice nearly muted. She coughed, and thankfully this time, there was no blood. Removing her blankets, she felt herself. Pajamas. Did Dad and Mom change her while she was out?

Bunny slipped out of bed, padding towards the door. But then two glowing orbs came into view before her, and Bunny jumped! Was that Lumpkins? No, Bunny decided. She remembered his eyes, those ghoulish milky-white eyes. Those 'orbs' before her were purple and glowing. They were actually her eyes, reflected off a mirror.

"Mom?" Bunny called out once again, only to get no response. Coughing once more, she padded towards the door, working off memory alone, nearly tripping on some kind of toy with wheels before bumping into the wooden door itself. She felt for the doorknob, taking quite some time to find it.

"Bubbles?" Bunny called out again as she opened the door. The corridor outside was just as dark. It was as if the entire house had suffered a blackout. She stepped into the corridor. She remembered vaguely that it was in this corridor that she bled from her mouth for the first time. She remembered feeling like she was being watched then.

The enhanced girl looked around her. She was getting the same feeling again, the feeling of being watched. Looking behind her, she thought she saw two orbs again, floating in the dark. Was it another mirror reflecting her purple, glowing eyes?

Not this time. The floating orbs were glowing red, not purple. Which meant- Bunny's eyes grew wide. She couldn't help but breathe rapidly, feeling faint from the hyperventilation. She wasn't alone, and the red eyes - they were clearly eyes - floated closer to her, accompanied by the sound of heavy, thumping footsteps. Feeling terror like never before, Bunny took off in the other direction, running, running as fast as her legs could carry her.

Despite being unable to see anything, Bunny could roughly remember where the stairs were, and when the required distance traveled was reached, she turned left. She began descending the steps twice at once, falling with each stride. But it was pitch black, and she'd missed a step as a result, slipping on the edge of the next step, causing her to tumble down the rest of the way, cutting herself on the edges of the steps, until she reached the foot of the stairs, screaming.

It wasn't supposed to be this painful. It was worse than getting shot by a terrorist with an assault rifle. She had come to a rest chest-first. Pushing herself up, she felt dull aches all over her body, especially at the joints. Her elbows and knees had suffered their fair share of knocks and jabs from the stairs. But she'd managed to get up on her knees. Something was slithering down her cheek and lips. Her hand instinctively went up to her face, wiping whatever it was away.

It was wet. Blood. Bunny could smell it even without her enhanced senses. But how?

The heavy footsteps continued above, coming down on her. Bunny looked up and saw the red eyes coming closer, still. She thought she could see pupils, and they were fixated on her. Frightened, Bunny ran - and it didn't matter which direction it was. She ran, knocking into couches and tripping over a coffee table until she thought she was in the kitchen - but she didn't have to guess for long.

The lights came on the moment she entered. She didn't remember motion sensors ever being installed in there. Nothing made any sense. But Dad was there, cooking. She could clearly recognize him even though he was facing away from him, due to his lab coat and black pants and leather shoes. There was the sound of spatula on metal pan, the smell of eggs being fried and scrambled.

"Dad!" Bunny cried as she crawled over to his feet and hugged his leg. "There's a monster in the house and I can't-"

Something was wrong. Bunny had hugged those legs plenty of times before, and it felt different this time. Too rough… Too out of shape. She fell back, crawling backward, away from the thing that wasn't her Dad. The thing stopped cooking. It'd started spasming, limbs twisting in ways that were unnatural. Reaching for its chest, it started pulling its skin and clothes off, revealing red skin underneath. Spines burst forth from the back of the creature that wasn't her Dad and hands fell off as if lobbed off by invisible axes to reveal claws from some hellish undersea monster crab.

Bunny bolted, she ran and screamed, and didn't realize that the house was no more. Something glowed white in the far distance. She ran to it. She could hear wet footsteps behind her, rapidly approaching.

When the glowing thing came into view, she saw that it was her sword. Or rather, it was the sword she had taken from Ace. Reaching for it, she picked it up by the hilt, and immediately, the sword glowed red. It was heavy without her enhanced strength, but if there was something she knew as well as her father's love, it was hardship and pain. She whirled around to face the demon, sword held before her in a standard Kenjutsu stance.

But it was nowhere to be seen. The footsteps were gone too.

"Bunny…" a voice, like a wind, whispered in her ear. Bunny turned to her right, then left, promptly, fearfully. There was no one around her. She whirled around to see if anyone was behind her, but again, there was no one. No, there was something else.

A mirror. But it was dark, and she could see only her glowing, purple eyes. The sword's glow itself had dimmed, as if its energy had diffused elsewhere. She did feel stronger… Walking closer, the first thing she noticed was that the glow of her eyes was no longer purple. They were red.

The second thing she noticed was that her skin had taken on a red complexion, and her face was no longer her own, but her demon's, with its excessive gothic make-up and leering eyes and mocking smile.

That was when it happened. She saw her nose falling away, then her ears. Her skin rotted away as if aged a thousand times the speed. Soon, there was nothing but decaying bones left - and her shriveled and bloodshot, still-glowing eyes.

She screamed, clutching her skull!

The City of Townsville. Suburbs. The House.

07 MAR (Tuesday) 1989. 0740.

Bunny bolted upright in her bed, screaming and clutching her face. Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup were already up and sitting at the pink kiddy table, fully uniformed and armored and armed for the possible deployment ahead, waiting for breakfast. Blossom and Bubbles flew up to her the moment she came to. Buttercup stayed behind - Bunny could die for all she cares.

"Bunny! You're awake!" Bubbles squealed with glee - she had been so worried - but the horror evident in Bunny's face had made her joy short-lived. In her blind panic, Bunny tried to crawl away from her sisters only to hit the headboard of their shared bed, so both Blossom and Bubbles had to seize her by the arm each before she did anything rash.

"Bunny, calm down! You're alright!" Blossom tried to reassure her.

"Yeah, you're safe with us!" Bubbles added. It was only at this point that Bunny stopped shrieking. Buttercup's only reaction was a palm to her face. She didn't like the noise this early in the morning.

"You fought really well against Lumpkins, Bunny," Blossom said, hoping to perhaps brighten Bunny's day.

"Yeah! The three of us couldn't beat him, but you were like all four of us, all in one!" Bubbles praised her too, enjoying the fact that Blossom seemed to like Bunny again.

"Y-you're not mad at me, Blossom?" Bunny asked meeky, afraid that the wrong word could sour things between her and Blossom again. Blossom let go of Bunny. She looked down on the pink of the blanket, her mind going back.

"Blake told me about you, and how hard you're fighting and how much you were hurting, and I… I shouldn't have treated you so badly," Blossom said. She fixed her gaze on Bunny's eyes firmly after that, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We're going to try to become better sisters, aren't we, Bunny?"

Bunny was stunned. It was all she ever wanted. Blossom did not let her gaze falter… until Bunny nodded. And then Blossom smiled. Bunny smiled back.

"This is so sweet!" Bubbles exclaimed. "Group hug?" she suggested, and it was a suggestion that the three Girls did not hesitate to follow along with. But it felt incomplete. Something was missing.

"Buttercup, group hug!" Blossom ordered Buttercup, a hint of annoyance in her voice. Buttercup's only reaction was to turn her chair and body away from them while she hugged what appeared to be her only friend left - her Stoner Light Machinegun. "What's wrong with you?"

No one would ever find out what was wrong with Buttercup however, as the door opened and in came Agent Blake.

"Isn't that sweet? I swear, you Girls are all perfect little angels," the PTF soldier said. He, however, noticed something missing too, and turned his head to find Buttercup sitting all alone, pondering about… whatever it was that a Girl like her tend to ponder about. "At least most of you are."

"You told them about my mission yesterday?" Bunny asked the man.

"I had to. They were with your Dad late last night when he had to treat you - thank God you're not too badly wounded this time - They've overheard everything, so I kept them busy by telling them your story," Agent Blake explained. Walking over to Bunny, he handed her a canteen filled with… something. "Drink it. Your father mixed that up for you."

"But… Why tell them?" Bunny had so much to say, but she was blushing like never before. She took the canteen and smelled what was in it. It turned out to be Chemical X2-laced juice, and it was a stronger mix this time, likely made to replenish Bunny's Chemical X2 count faster. She took a sip of it, found it pleasing, before taking larger gulps.

"That mission wasn't top secret. Besides, your sisters deserve to know how good a job you did yesterday," Blake said. "You fought that 'Lumpkins' character to a standstill where a company of elite soldiers in a forest couldn't even pin him down."

"But… But… He's still alive!" Bunny said, now afraid. If he's out there…

"Yes he is, and I'm afraid he'll be back sooner or later. But thanks to you, I think it'll be much later," Blake explained. "It's basic psychology. I saw what you did to him. He was limping and wincing by the time he was running for it. He was slower than the last time I saw him, and from what I heard, even the police were almost successful in arresting him after the slugging you dished out at him."

"I hate to say this, but… Maybe we shouldn't kill him?" Blossom offered. She remembered the toll being exacted for killing. It still weighed heavily in her heart. Some of the people who died shouldn't have, and it ate at her soul. Thoughts of it, along with the accompanying sweat-inducing post-traumatic shock, would come and go like some insidious terminal disease. "He was just looking for food the last time."

Bunny was about to state an opinion on the contrary but thought better of it. The last time she'd done it, unknowingly, it didn't end well.

"Maybe we can try talking to him the next time…" Bubbles suggested too. "He stopped fighting us when Blossom tried to be nice to him - sort of."

"We can always try impounding him, but with an enhanced creature his size and strength? That would be next to impossible. The Anti-X your father provided didn't drain him as much as I hoped," Blake explained. "Killing him shouldn't be off the table. He's had time to learn and change for the better. He didn't."

The door opened once again, and Professor Utonium stepped through. Blake turned to look who it was. He nodded at him before taking his leave.

"Bunny! You're alright! You've got to stop scaring me like this!" Dad said as he hurried over to Bunny and sat down next to her, nudging Blossom aside, reminding her, once again, that she was second to Bunny. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, Dad… It was just a nightmare," Bunny said. That strange dream from the dark was still fresh on her mind. They hugged.

"My poor little rabbit - traumatized to the point of having nightmares," Dad said. "Tell you what - I'm going to give you a warm bath, some good breakfast, and then it's back in bed for rest, okay?"

"But what about school?" Bunny asked. She had missed school the previous day, and she didn't want to lose another school day again. School day meant more time with her sisters, and the chance to hone some basic skills to fight crime better - overlooked skills like mathematics, communication and visualization (in more normal terms, art).

"Are you sure you want to even leave the house?" Dad said. "You took quite a beating yesterday, and I've injected you with anesthetics last night and the night before."

"I'm fine, Dad. I want to go to school," Bunny said firmly.

"And that's what you'll do," Dad relented. He stroked Bunny's hair. "Looks like you're growing to be really smart, you little genius you!" Dad cooed at Bunny

Blossom was incensed. Wasn't she the smart one? The little genius? She was shaking with anger when she realized, once again, that Bunny was taking away everything from her - despite all the effort she was putting into being nice to her! How unjust could the world get!? But Blossom kept it all down. Inside, she told herself to calm down repeatedly, as if it was a mantra. She remembered her promise to Dad even better than Dad himself - she had to be nice to her sisters. Sure, she meant Bubbles, but it felt like it applied to Bunny too. After all, the right thing to do was often the hard thing to do, right?

The City of Townsville. Suburbs. The House.

07 MAR (Tuesday) 1989. 0745.

Because of her insistence to go to school, Bunny had to rush through her bath (which was more like a shower) to catch up with the rest of her family. After putting on her uniform, armor, and gear, she rushed down to the breakfast table. There was no time for Mom to cook her a proper breakfast, so she poured her a bowl of milk and some Lucky Captain Rabbit King Nuggets. She couldn't complain though, as it was as good a breakfast as any, and her favorite animal was on the box, dressed as a pirate… and captain… and king. She couldn't decide which it was.

Dad had tried to get Bunny to sit in the family sedan after that, but Bunny was headstrong in keeping her chin up. Besides, she was required by standard operating procedures to keep her bike close, in case of emergencies and deployments. Flying wasn't the best option either, necessitating the bike, as she had yet to clock in enough flight time to be stable, and it would burn precious Chemical X2 energy she hadn't been able to recover for the past two days.

While the family got into the car, Bunny went to her bike and saw something from her nightmare. Ace's sword, the katana with a red handle. No, Ace's sword had entered her dreams somehow. Drawn to it, Bunny held the sword by the handle - and was immediately beset by flashes of her nightmare. The creature in the dark. The red eyes. Dad changing into that monster, and of course, she had turned into that red-skinned thing before finally… turning to dust and bones.

Bunny gasped, jerking awake as if she had fallen asleep again.

"Hey Bunny, you sure you don't wanna hop in!?" Mom shouted at her from the driver's seat, having rolled down the window upon seeing that Bunny had zoned out, or something, next to her bike.

"I'm fine, Mom!" Bunny yelled over the hum of the sedan's engine before putting her helmet on and climbing on top of her bike. With that, the entire family headed towards school, and on the way there, Bunny stared at the rising sun through her helmet visor, willing herself to be hopeful. She remembered Dad's story about Daedalus and Icarus, and imagined the father and son duo flying across the sky. Was that what they were going to do? Bunny remembered that Dad had told the story right up until the part where they had made the feathered wings. Maybe he would continue telling the story tonight?

Well, it was one more thing to look forward to.