A/N: Looks like this one got a little long and it will have to be broken into parts.
Chapter 130: Blood for Blood (Part 1)
The City of Townsville. Suburbs. The House.
19 MAR (Sunday) 1989. 2340.
Blossom lay in her bed, curled up like a fetus in her bed, and thinking about the things she had done and what had been done to her. Earlier during this otherwise beautiful Sunday, after being 'grounded' by her new 'godfather', she was rudely shaken awake to work for him, without time to prepare herself, without time to come to terms with the fact that she had become the very same thing as the fallen cops who killed Bunny.
She and her sisters were set loose to shake down some drug dealers for the Lombardi's cut of the illegal profits, under the guise of policing Townsville's streets. The police officers who accompanied them had lied for them whenever untruths were needed, but Blossom felt dirty all the same, more so than ever.
Yet somehow, as midnight neared, she was able to fall asleep eventually, though the veil between sleep and wakefulness was never so thin.
She opened her eyes, cold sweat pouring down her face, and the moment she did, the things she was forced to do were still fresh on her mind. Sitting up, she wiped her face dry, already upset enough that she could weep.
The only thing that distracted her from her abusive 'friend' was the fact that the room had changed, subtly so. It was morning far too soon. No, it wasn't morning. The sun was in the wrong position. Though Blossom wasn't aware that the sun's position, whether on the east or the west, held any meaning, she was sure that it wasn't morning because of the shade the sun's rays took. It was more like dusk than dawn. Twilight. The sky was purple, purple like Bunny…
And was that…?
Someone was sitting at the pink kiddie table.
How was it possible? Blossom's eyes widened when she saw who was sitting there.
Bunny. But how? Blossom had wanted to wake Bubbles and Buttercup up, but she found out that they were missing.
On the wall, the clock ticked away, louder than usual.
Letting herself float, Blossom hovered towards Bunny, still staring at her, still wondering what on Earth was going on.
"Bunny?" she called out to her, tears spilling out of her eyes. Bunny was sitting on a purple kiddie chair, leaning on an arm as if bored. She was dressed in her uniform, with no armor nor weapons.
"Are we awake?" Bunny asked monotonously, her voice bleeding boredom.
"But- but what are you doing here?" Blossom stammered, holding back tears - Bunny was more important. She had to get to the bottom of this! "You were- you were supposed to be dead!"
"Whatever are you talking about?" Bunny said, as if unaware of that fact. Getting up and yawning, the somehow-resurrected Powerpuff padded towards a half-finished tabletop set on the ground, on top of a plastic cover protecting the carpet. There was also a painting kit nearby. Sitting beside it, she picked up a figurine and began painting it, humming the Clair de Lune as she added color to the plastic toy with care.
The figurine itself was almost completely unpainted. It would be a while before it could be finished. Blossom, still shocked, trailed after her and knelt beside Bunny, looking at the figurine. It was her - Blossom - in miniature.
Blossom's gaze then traced its way to the rest of the tabletop set. It was very life-like, perhaps a little too life-like to be normal. It was a representation of the Lombardi mansion, with the roof removed. The library could be peered in from the top, and when Blossom did, she saw figurines representation her sisters, as well as the Amoeba Boys and even the mobsters, such as Fedele Palladino, who she remembered, was attending to the mob dons.
The scene set up with the toys had reminded her of her mistakes, of what had led up to her enslavement, and of what might well be an eternity of servitude to the Amoeba Boys. It was all too much. Sitting down and leaning against the foot of her bed, she covered her face and wept as she pressed her knees up to her chest.
That was when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Bunny beside her, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. With ghost-like grace, Bunny pulled Blossom silently into a hug as the latter cried like a baby.
When Blossom's wails and sobs turned into quiet sniffles, Bunny pulled her to her feet silently before leading her back to bed.
"Please, try to relax… rest a little. Let yourself go," Bunny said, with that usual air of obliviousness she had taken since reappearing before Blossom. Blossom did as she was told, having no energy left to question her or wonder what was going on. Bunny was being unusually gentle even by Bunny's standards, helping to peel back the blanket, gently lowering Blossom down to her pillow before tucking her in. When Blossom was lying down, Bunny began combing her hair with her fingers in an almost elder-sisterly or even motherly manner whilst humming, once again, a string of notes from the Clair de Lune. "There, all better now…"
"I don't understand," Blossom wept, still.
"There, there," Bunny said as she stroked Blossom's forehead. "It gets really tough out there, but you can come back anytime."
"But- but-" Blossom stuttered, but sleep was overtaking her, like a sudden spell appearing out of nowhere. Her vision blurred, before darkening. "Bunny-"
"Shh…" she heard her voice one last time - and Blossom wasn't sure if it would truly be the last time she heard her voice."It'll be… alright."
"Bunny-"
"Blossom," another voice called out to her. "Blossom!"
Blossom opened her eyes. Rays of yellow light from the window were piercing her eyes like spears. She squinted upwards, expecting Bunny above her, only to find Bubbles in her place, baby blue in place of purple.
"Wha- What? Where?" Blossom wondered deliriously, lost.
"You were mumbling in your sleep!" Bubbles said, concern in her voice. "It was a nightmare, wasn't it?"
Blossom sat up, rubbing her head. "No…" she replied. She wasn't exactly lying, but she fell silent after that, revealing nothing more. Talking about Bunny still hurt, and she had to put up a braver front, if only for Bubbles. Last night had been a struggle for her as well: she had to hide the fact that she had been slipped a dose of His Secret 2.0 by the Amoeba Boys, however, she couldn't get help from Dad as they had to hide their involvement with the most powerful crime family in Townsville. It was an unwelcome reminder of the past when she had hidden her addiction to the ethereal drug until it was too late.
The City of Townsville. Pokey Oaks North. Pokey Oaks Kindergarten Complex.
20 MAR (Monday) 1989. 0804.
It was the first day of school after a week of absence. The drive there was, once again, mostly silent. The front seat was empty. It used to be occupied by Selicia and now, there was nothing, no one, except a lingering sense of emptiness. The back seats were once crowded even with Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup's size due to Bunny, but now there were vacant spaces between the three of them.
Professor Utonium drove with a hunched, tired back. He was still not himself. He had neglected to shave the previous day, or even take a shower, though he hadn't neglected himself for long. He stared at the rearview mirror. Blossom caught sight of those eyes, those reddish, bloodshot eyes rimmed by darkness. He hadn't slept much, and it wasn't just work that kept him up.
Blossom remembered last night. Everything was normal, though 'normal' had lost its meaning. He had put them to bed and left them there, simple as that. But she'd heard the sobs coming from the living room. Even though Blossom's hearing wasn't as enhanced as Buttercup's, she could still hear as well as the best of them.
It wasn't just work that kept him up, that much she knew.
"Is there something you want to tell me, Blossom?" the professor asked, having caught sight of her inquisitive stare.
"No…" Blossom said, afraid for a second there that Dad had known all along about her secret, about what she'd been doing out there. She looked away immediately, even though it was excruciating to do so. There was so much she wanted to tell him. The mistakes she had made (besides her mistreatment of Bunny), the mess she had gotten herself into, and the things she was forced to do. But she knew her Dad couldn't take it anymore. He was like a rubber band that could snap should any weight be put on it.
"What about the two of you?" the professor suddenly asked.
"Nothing…" Bubbles said, looking away. Buttercup folded her arms and did the same thing. The professor stared at Buttercup as if contemplating something, but he thought better of it.
School was more than what Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup remembered. As Ms. Keane knew about the Powerpuff Girls' recent hail of plights, she had been busy encouraging her students to draw and write cards for them. Each of the Girls had received over a hundred cards each as a result, when word spread to other classes about the Powerpuff Girls from the media.
It didn't help as much as they should though, because Blossom and Bubbles were hiding their terrible secret, and the outpouring of gratitude and empathy felt undeserved. Buttercup, on the other hand, barely acknowledged the cards as she was still harping on Dad's burning of Blanky, and the nihilistic meaninglessness of existence. As a result, they went about their way feigning smiles while hurting inside, hour after hour.
And when the Powerpuff Hotline started calling out to them, it offered more relief than it should.
The City of Townsville. Downtown. Market Square.
20 MAR (Monday) 1989. 1251.
The Powerpuff Girls swooped across the sky, faster than before, in higher spirits than they had ever been for the past week. The call had come in from Commissioner Davis personally, concerning a group of oddly-shaped green-skinned thugs rampaging across downtown, breaking what police lines were set up to contain them. Ever since the death of Bunny, the USDO had seen fit to confiscate all Duranium firearms from the TPD, rendering even their newly-formed elite STARS nearly helpless against enhanced individuals.
The Girls were just glad that the Amoeba Boys weren't the ones summoning them. For Blossom and Bubbles, it meant avoiding all sorts of unpleasantries. For Buttercup, it meant retaining more control over herself, even if it was under Blossom. Still, it had been fun playing Blackjack with Slim and Junior…
"This is Flight Control Seven. Location Update. Market Square. Over and out," one of the flight control officers informed the Girls. Blossom steered her team accordingly, and it didn't take long before they could see where the trouble was.
The Market Square at Downtown was a traditional open-aired market, with only traces of modernization in the form of restaurants and supermarkets ringing the huge, open area. Or at least, it was a market. Now, stalls were swept aside, the grocers' livelihood smashed against the ground with just as much currency adding some shine to the bricked floor.
As the Girls approached the scene, they saw Ace wielding a staff, swinging it threateningly left and right as he pursued and harassed whoever was foolish enough to remain. Billy was jumping a couple floors high and drop-slamming into a fruit stall butt-first, flattening tables and piles of fruits. Snake and Little Arturo, on the other hand, were emptying cash registers and plastic containers of currency into their bags. Grubber, lastly, was vandalizing wall and floor with a pair of spray cans, turning otherwise old but relatively pristine walls and road green – sometimes, even people who were running away weren't spared from the recoloring.
A combination of SWATs and STARS were huddled behind a building nearby, hesitant to take any action, and it was no wonder. There was a trail of destruction along a road, and wrecked police vehicles and dead cops were among them.
Blossom led the Powerpuff Girls towards the Gangreen Gang, flying down to the ground and landing before its leader at full speed, putting themselves between Ace and the Townsville citizens he was harassing. Ace stopped, but the smile on his face suggested anything but fear.
"If it isn't the Powderpuff Girls," Ace joked as he leaned on his wooden staff, which looked more like something ripped out of furniture than a purpose-built weapon. Blossom studied him from head to toe hatefully. She never liked bullies, having suffered under the parenting of Selicia and now the godfathering of Bossman. She never liked bullies because she hated herself for being one.
But where was his sword? It didn't take long for the truth to strike her as a sword would have.
Bunny had it. With her memory enhanced to be photographic, she remembered the sword instantly. It was the same one that had wounded her so badly during the terrorist attack on the Morbucks Industries Research Labs.
But she had lost it too. Even while Blossom was crying over Bunny before and after her death, she hadn't failed to notice what she was carrying: almost nothing. Her sword was nowhere to be found, she had dropped her pistol and had expended some grenades.
"Why are you doing this? Why are you stealing from those poor people!" Blossom yelled at Ace, who smiled regardless, condescension still evident even with his angular shades.
"Why am I doing this?" Ace dropped his smile so suddenly, it was almost frightening to the Girls. "WHY am I DOING this!?"
"I'll tell you why," Ace said. "You know that purple freak of yours who stole my sword?"
"Bunny?" Blossom gasped.
"Stop calling her a freak, meanie!" Bubbles added. Buttercup began cracking her knuckles in anticipation of a fight, mimicking the way adults, including her Mom, would do it.
In the meantime, the other members of the Gangreen Gang had stopped what they were doing and returned to Ace's side. Together, they were imposing to the Girls as they were both larger and more numerous than them.
"So you do know her," Ace surmised. Removing his shades, he revealed a pair of eyes with the whites pinker than before… and angry. Blossom had never seen Ace this mad before. "Y'know what she did? Ya really wanna know what she did!?"
In truth, Blossom didn't really want to know. There was plenty enough to stain her memory of Bunny.
"She's your friend, ain't she? Well, she's a murderer!" Ace revealed.
"She's our sister…" Blossom said, finding that she couldn't get angry at Ace even if she wanted to. It wasn't exactly a secret that Bunny had killed and had been trying to kill.
"The plot thickensss…" Snake, who was beside Ace, said.
"Your sister is a murderer," Ace said, with no little contempt in his voice. "She killed everyone I ever cared about, every last one of them. Men, women, and children. An old man. Everyone. She destroyed my home. That old, run-down dump was all I had."
"Tell her about that other thing," Lil' Arturo rushed his gang leader.
"Yeah, the icing on the cake and now the cherry on top," Ace said. "I asked for your help and you turned me down, remember? Must be easy for you, doin' it over the phone…"
Realization set in immediately. Blossom had been angry with Ace then because of the incident with the armored truck, how he had injured Bubbles, but now, she was coming to regret that moment of anger, hard. Ace had needed her help; she heard screams and gunshots in the background when he called her, and yet she turned him down. She didn't imagine that it was Bunny who was rampaging in the Gangrene Gulag…
"I'm sorry…" Blossom mewled as she stared at the ground, unable to face Ace. She closed her eyes, unable to face even the streets.
"She's sorry," Big Billy repeated Blossom's sincere words to Ace. "Er… What do we do?"
"You're sorry?" Ace said, ignoring Big Billy.
"You're sorry!?" Ace repeated himself, before laughing bitterly. "Saying sorry ain't never gonna bring them back, not my sensei, not my friends, not all those kids who just had a run of bad luck since they were born."
"Sure, we've all done some things we ain't proud of, even the kids livin' with us," Ace continued. "But it ain't our fault we were stuck in that part of Townsville where the sun don't shine, scraping for food and wood!"
Then came a series of raspberries from Grubber, which disgusted the Girls more than anything, if the appearance of the bulging-eyed monster with clothes that could barely be considered as such didn't scare them first.
"He's saying that you should have seen the mess your sis made," Lil' Arturo translated the raspberries… somehow. It was either the gang had picked up the 'language' by spending a long time with Grubber, or they were psionically linked. "And the state some of our folks were in. They were starving and sick and cold because of the winter. Your sister made it worse."
"Is there… Is there anything we can do to help?" Blossom said, sincerely touched by Ace, Grubber, and Arturo.
"You can help me by dying. Your sister killed mine, so I'll kill hers. Blood for blood," Ace said coldly before crossing his arms. "Boys, let's teach these babies how to make better sisters!"
And with that, the Girls and the gang clashed.