The sun started a slow descent toward the horizon, a warm golden glow covering the landscape. The sleepy southside of Pokey Oaks was alive with a gentle hum of early activity in the evening; the park, nestled in the heart of the neighborhood, twinkled like golden jewelry. This amber light of the setting sun casted long shadows across an open field blessed with just a handful of trees and bushes.
A gentle breeze stirred through the air, elevating the scent of freshly cut grass and blooming peony flowers. A scarce amount of birds distantly chirped, helping the serene backdrop painted to this tranquil scene. The sky had been painted in hues of pink, orange and gold as if nature itself had put on a spectacular show to mark an end to another day. Another day avoided from the clutches of Fuse, another day to conquer.
Despite the heat of summer beating down, a handful of residents came out to enjoy the last few hours of daylight after getting off work. Some of them rested on their front porches, others leaving the windows open and lounging in their living rooms.
The golden hour stretched on, casting its languid beams across the neighborhood.
Niles missed this beauty earth had to offer; his cape rippled in the wind and so did his hair. He checked out the sky while he took his normal aloof stance: arms by his sides and hands in fists, the feet slightly spread out and his back up straight. He had an even more apathetic look on his face, failing to show any open emotion in the moment. The heart in his chest had swelled, his breathing calmed down. Nature's therapy soothed his broken mind and heart, giving him a moment of respite in this peace. The longer he remained in this timeline, the more whole he felt: many more opportunities to take advantage of. Though after taking a moment to watch the sunset, he seemed content.
"We haven't even started yet and you're already distracted."
On the opposite side of the field, standing by herself, Buttercup curled her hands on her hips. She had her legs outstretched and her arms slightly flexing her swelled muscles. Today she hadn't worn anything particularly enticing since it was just training: a sports bra, her black hand gloves, black gym shorts and her running shoes. Her hair slightly drifted in the wind, uncovering the smug smile she had. The girl knew she already was going to win today, though had come to recognize that Niles was a somewhat difficult opponent. She usually just needed to put in a little bit more effort than usual to keep him down, then call it a day. He was never going to learn his lesson, nor blatantly give up. She admired that in him, given his rugged history.
"What can I say? It's gorgeous out today," he started. "Besides, I'll never let go of the days here since I know my earth's gone."
She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I know. You can stare googly-eyed up at the sky when you're not training."
"What, you'd rather me stare googly-eyed at you ?" Niles teased. "And me being your new punching bag is training? You're not even taking me seriously anymore are you?"
Buttercup grinned from ear to ear, "I have yet to see improvements if you're hoping to impress me. I'm surprised your ego isn't hurt when you get your ass kicked every time."
"Oh it does, but then I remember I'm fighting the tryhard of the three and that I'm the only one between us who can handle losing."
She huffs, "Just for that, you're doing the rock climb tonight."
The Iron Warrior reached up and slowly unclipped both sides of his cape; it fell off, flattening in the grass behind him. The neckbrace reshaped back into his helmet, covering his head snugly up and replacing his face with that angry glare. The glaring eyes flared a bright yellow, the teeth a brilliant white. Kicking his cape back even further, he got into a defensive stance and held both of his fists up. He made sure his pose was perfect, looking back at her with a humored grin from inside.
" You deserved that one, though; It was worth it. " he said from the speaker.
She lifted her hand up and clutched it into a fist, hearing that last little comment step over the line she had been waiting for. "Oh it's on-"
At the flash of light she dashed forward, clashing her fist head on with his armor. It let out a loud ringing noise, sending him dragged back into the dirt a little bit.
BAM!
Buttercup's fist clocked him at the side of his helmet a second time, grinding him into the dirt several more feet back. He retaliated with a single laser beam from his hand, which was quickly sidestepped.
Yet again she hit him, his entire set of armor vibrating just from the sheer weight of her punch. He fell back even more, yet retained his balance. The man just bulwarked it while taking it all without saying a word.
The woman tilted her head, noticing his resolve and decided to test it a little bit more this time.
She leaped into the air and assaulted him with a flurry of fast-paced punches back to back.
He memorized her patterns, folding and bending his arms at the right angles and curves just to avoid getting hit once. It all happened so fast, both of them using lightning-speed reflexes counteracting one another.
Niles hit her with a fist to the cheek, which she handled very easily.
She grabbed onto his arm from underneath and lifted him up into the air, slamming him into the ground behind her.
"Punishment!"
From underneath his helmet, he grit his teeth and groaned in frustration. " Ugh! "
With her hand gripping tightly at his arm, she decided to play around and yanked him forward.
The man went flying, though not without any counter. His other arm grabbed onto her leg and swept her from the ground.
"AYE!" She squeaked, falling on her butt while he tumbled into the grass across the field.
The suit of armor pulled itself back up, getting into a tall stance. He reached both of his hands out and fired off two hand beams, aimed right for her.
One partially tore into her side, while the other burnt in the grass behind her. Part of the left side of her stomach was stinging a bright red from his beam, though otherwise remained severely unharmed.
The mixture of heat and pain jolted her back up and into the air, now this time levitating.
Pew! Pew! Pew!
Three green beams shot off from her eyes, which were all quickly deflected by his own in turn.
Without a word said, Niles started darting his way forward and extended a wrist. Folding out from the metal plates of his armor came a barrage of tiny missiles, sent at her right before him.
They all scattered forward, splitting up into near needle-sized explosives capable of high enough radiuses.
Noticing this distracting play, Buttercup's hands formed into two large bundles of green fire and started burning them away before they directly made contact. The little darts burnt up in her grasp, letting off little implosions right in front of her. With a certain unpredictability, she jarred the levitating by bouncing left and right. Never did she stay in one spot, always an unpredictable mess if given the opportunity.
Each missile kept following after her, though one stray landed in the grass and let off a miniature explosion nearby.
Niles timed his beam right, firing off another one and hitting her square in the chest.
She got sent back, hitting the ground underneath her and left a crater in the ground.
Thud!
Her fist hit the ground in frustration as she got up, slightly getting angrier and bolted for him at lightspeed. Niles didn't even have time to react, getting waist tackled by her.
" WOAH! "
His back had been slammed up against the tree, causing it to ruffle. A handful of leaves quickly fell onto the ground, surrounding the two of them.
Buttercup had a hand around Niles' neck, the other balled into a fist as she grit her teeth.
" Okay, if we're fighting rough- " he coughed through the choke-hold, planting his open palm on her exposed chest as she started beating on him.
BOOF!
She had been punished, her bare stomach met with a high-temperature laser beam at point black. The girl winced, stopping her assault from the pain and grabbed onto her man followed with a combo by kneeing her in between the legs, then throwing a punch forward and hitting her in the cheek. He threw his entire weight into it just to get out of her blast, grabbing onto her arms and throwing her back.
A slight mark was left on her stomach and on her cheek from his intensity, showing that his more animalistic side was coming out. He growled from inside the helmet, moving forward and threw a loose swing right for her afterwards.
Buttercup side-stepped him, kicking him in the back and down onto his knees. "HI-YAH!"
Before he even had a chance to recover, she curled her hands through the folds in his armor and let out a barbaric roar, chucking him forward back over and into the tree.
CRASH!
The tree had been busted in two by his impact, falling over with a loud thud. Niles collapsed with it, smacking the dirt as a reaction and groaned from the pain. Out of a sudden panic, he lifted up both of his hands and double-tapped his feet. His rocket shoes went off, dragging him forward and up into the air with astonishing speed.
Three more laser beams were blocked by Buttercup as she honed in on him, grabbing onto his armor and spun him around wildly.
He was chucked forward, headed straight for the grassfield below.
" NOT AGAIN!" Niles struggled, fixing his trajectory last second with his boots and U-turned back up into the air.
Buttercup scoffed, following after him and formed a fiery fist. "You're not getting off that easy, tin can!"
The two clashed in the air, trading punches and kicks between each other.
For Buttercup, her speed and accuracy were not to be messed with.
For Niles it was a struggle, desperately clinging onto his defense.
The powerpuff eventually got the upperhand, gripping onto his neck again and threw him back down onto the ground.
Niles landed on his feet, climbing himself back up and widened his eyes. " OH-"
He did a side combat roll, witnessing Buttercup impact with the dirt right where he stood. Her force nearly crumbled the earth underneath, flattening and scorching the grass in her wake.
She wasn't holding back today, bringing a small ounce of fear in Niles. He had to retaliate and fast.
His first instinct was lifting up both hands, falling to one knee and forming one large superbeam. They lined up, though it was too late. Buttercup jolted at her superspeed again and ducked out of the way.
Everywhere across his body, she retained this speed and didn't even give him a single chance to hit. She was a living flurry of blows, smacking his armor on one end and then on the complete opposite on the other. She was like a speedster, leaving a green flash though never staying in one place at the same time.
Niles was frustrated, though had a brilliant idea. Feeling a punch in the side, he let out another groan from pain as the force pushed through the metal. He just held his arm out flatly, timing it right.
Ting!
Buttercup spun backwards and landed on the ground, grabbing onto her head. She accidentally hit his arm, falling down right underneath his metal feet.
Niles leaped forward, grabbing onto her chest and started pelting her with punch after punch.
" Hah! No! Super! Speed!"
She wrapped her fingers around his fist and shut him down, pulling his arm to the side. She held her breath, puffing out her cheeks and her chest when competing with his suit's strength. Niles bit down on his tongue from underneath the helmet, occasionally letting off some steam through his suit's exhaust.
She bodied him, switching places and landed right on top of him again. Still, she didn't stop. The girl glared at him and twisted his arm to the side, letting him screech out in pain.
" ACK! Buttercup! W-What are you doing?! "
She growled, "Now we're even-"
Without a second warning, the girl climbed off of him and scooped her hand around his ankle. She got back up and started flailing him around like a ragdoll, slamming him down back and forth with no trouble.
Each smack into the ground grew even more painful each time; it was swinging around on a broken rollercoaster that caused a searing sore afterwards. Niles couldn't handle it, feeling himself get dizzier with each swing. His stomach grew uncomfortable, beginning to form a sickening puke at the bottom of his throat.
He double-tapped his feet, firing off his boots and began defying her grip.
Buttercup's eyes pierced him, wrapping another arm around his other leg and planted her feet even deeper.
"Oh.. no.. you… don't!"
She snarled, forcing her upper body strength into fighting his rocket thrusters. She put all of her upper strength into not letting him go anywhere, the veins in her biceps pulsing while her thumbs curled around his ankles. The heat was starting to get to her wrists and arms from the ends of his boots, though she didn't flinch at it and just took it.
Another beam was shot from his wrist, hitting her in the chest and causing her to let go.
Now with some distance in the air, he set off another barrage of rapid-fire lasers. It was like a firework display, beaming into the ground and letting out a blast from underneath.
She ducked and weaved every single one, even boasting a little by doing a cartwheel.
Niles' rage built by the moment, feeling that taunt personally. He couldn't take it anymore and decided to then dash toward her at max speed, " Showoff!"
That was his last mistake.
Right before he was about to make impact, Buttercup swept in and curled her arms around his neck. She climbed right on top of him with her superspeed, spinning him around and bodied him into the dirt underneath. He made an impact, jittering his entire suit.
She kept him down on his back, grounding a foot over his chest and huffed in victory.
The pain was unbearable, leaving him stiff and unmoving for a second. His arms and legs outstretched, eyes looking up at the girl who triumphantly kept him down.
"You give up yet?" she huffed.
His speaker picked up his staggered breathing, though his voice eventually broke out, "Y- Yeah ."
The helmet folded back into the neck-guard, revealing his face again. He had a couple of marks on his face as well, though remained mostly unharmed. "I'll beat you someday-"
"Keep dreaming." she smiled back, staring deeply into his eyes while she had him down. Her thigh strained, taking up all of her weight just to keep him pinned.
"Look at that, I even bruised you this time," Niles remarked as he inspected her face closely. "Why'd you choke me out like that?"
Buttercup finally got off, brushing off some of the grass and dirt on her. "Your neck is easy to grab; you need to protect it better."
"It's already reinforced," he replied, getting back up and also started cleaning himself off. "That and you just like strangling me."
She shook her head, "It's a weak spot, just like you got me in the stomach. I didn't expect that."
"Well, seeing as to how you went wild back there, yeah."
"So did you!"
His stepping was a little bit off, though he adjusted his posture and started following behind her.
"Did I bruise you too much or are you okay?" she asked, her competitive tone replaced with a soft one.
He waved a hand, "Nah, I'll.. be fine."
"Alright," she gestured with a hand. "You know the rules. C'mon, let's go."
Niles in his suit was a clomping sentinel following beside the powerpuff girl. While her movement was light and peppy, he acted more as a mech with each step. Together they gathered their things from the field and started a walk over toward the hilly and somewhat mountainous area of Sector V itself. Nestled in between this portion of the large suburb and its number one competitor: Endsville, the area itself has proved to be geologically complex. On one end you had nearly flat plains with several bundles of light woods, then the next it had a vast reach of hills and creeping valleys. Thanks to the efforts of the actual population who lived right next to the war front, rebuilding homes and adapting to living needs was no sweat. A majority of people who were a part of Sector V chose to be there, usually families who worked as side personnel for all of the jobs in between to keep all of the cogs clean and going in one place. It was a rugged position to be in, unless they lived on the other side of the southern ocean where a majority of the other families were. Still, it was a heavily protected home for training, respite and preparation for the missions ahead.
Yet again the man in the suit had been distracted by the gaze of the many buildings until Buttercup decided to speak up, "You lasted longer this time, so there's an improvement. You're getting better at acting on your feet, though not like you weren't already."
"Thanks," he nodded, his shoulders and arms stiffly swaying forward and backward. "I'm gonna work on my reflexes a bit more."
She waved a hand, "Nah, I'd say you're doing pretty well so far. I'd have to see you rough up some other guys, given the time you've spent. Compared to the first fight, you've developed with that suit pretty well."
He looked down at one of his hands, curling his fingers a little bit. There was a moment of silence until he closed it into a fist, "Yeah, Blossom did pretty well with it.."
"You are going to forget about me now?" a tiny third voice piped up from inside the suit.
The girl snickered a little bit, looking up at Niles.
"I can't forget Nano Alien X either; I'll give credit where it's due," he commented in a teasing way, then shifted the tone as his eyes opened up a little. "Oh, speaking of nanos. Are you going to try and get one?"
The powerpuff girl shook her head, "Nah, I don't think so. Unless I, like, beat a fusion and it drops something behind? In all honesty I think I'm okay with my sisters or by myself for help like that."
"Fair enough." Niles shrugged.
"I thought about it for a moment," a thought popped into her head. "Since Dex finally got around to developing that nano tech, are you gonna get any other nanos or keep X?"
He clicked his tongue, "Hmm, that depends. They were pretty helpful in the future's war, though I lost my old ones unfortunately."
"I wonder how X would feel, watching you cheat on him for a second nano. Maybe even a third!" Buttercup chuckled.
Nano Alien X withdrew himself from the suit, appearing on Niles' plate shoulder and kicked his little stubby legs. His hands helped his posture, sitting him up rather comfortably. "As much as I admire the personal relationship between the mister and I, he needs all the help he can acquire in order to defeat Lord Fuse. I am in favor of it, as I would enjoy coordinating the suit with one or two other allies."
She clicked her tongue, "Well, good to see you wanna succeed. I can't make fun of you for that."
"Wow, being nice today huh? That's rare." Niles snorted.
A fist banged up against the side of his plated arm, causing the entire suit to rattle like a rumbling shopping cart. "Be quiet, dork. Don't forget I'm the only thing still grounding you from your power fantasy."
X turned his head to look over at Niles, who was currently adjusting his posture after getting super-punched.
"I like your sweet side, though! Ouch," he patted his arm. Even in titanium armor, she could still cause him some pain, "Also on that note, that's not fair. I just wanna be helpful-"
She scanned him, realizing there was a little bit of hurt at that last bit. He revealed a side of him not many had seen before based on the way he spoke, causing her to think twice about it.
She was always hard on him, though for his better self. The superhero life was frequently unforgiving.
"I know," she replied calmly, reaching up and patting him at the side where she had punched him. "I don't normally say it but I appreciate you for that. A lot of guys are cowards."
Niles smiled, looking down at her.
"I don't mean to interrupt but sir," X replied, tapping him on his bare neck with a cool hand. "Are you going to get new nanos?"
He rolled his shoulders, tilting his head left and right in uncertainty.
"I have an idea," Buttercup said shallowly. Her eyes looked away for a second, her fingers rubbing anxiously on her backpack strap before suggesting, "You talk about Blossom from the future a lot, and you still have that bow.."
His eyes opened up a little bit at her comment. A part of him felt appalled about the idea, though at the same time a selfish feeling overcame him, one longing to get a chance to interact with her again. It didn't matter what form she'd take.
"That is quite probable," X replied. "He would need to defeat a fusion of the same power and transfer its energy with the bow into recreating a fusion of her, seeing as to how Fusion Blossom's mass has been gone for some time now."
Niles sighed, his eyes looking away for a moment.
"Well you know how it works," The nano ushered. "You could recreate her again with your imagination."
Buttercup shook her head and grinned, "No wait, that's actually really sweet."
"I guess I could," he said. "I'd hate to let go of the bowtie, though."
The nano lifted up from his shoulder and pointed a gloved hand forward proclaiming, "We can get to that later, sir! I shall leave you to your exercise."
The three of them had now arrived at the bottom of a hill, the same one which had been used several times for this particular workout. Niles loathed it, likely the most enduring one out of the many trials and tribulations the powerpuff girl put him up to. It didn't matter how easy it felt going up the hill, his entire body suffered a special kind of lethargy for this.
Sitting comfortably at the foot too was a jagged, oval shaped boulder. It was nearly the size of a lawnmower, though flat enough to prove capable of carrying. It took either a man or a woman of pretty decent strength to lift it up.
"I love it when X works with me," Buttercup dropped off her backpack and placed her hands on her hips again. "Thanks, buddy~"
His nano gave a little wave, "Of course, Miss Utonium!"
The Iron Warrior fled from his suit as X disappeared, peeling off his shoes and started on his clothes in general. The cooling inside was a stark contrast to the summer heat, a bit of fresh hot air covering all of him. Next came his shirt, then his black ankle socks.
He stood up straight and scratched the back of his neck a little; now he was reduced to simply his gym shorts and underwear underneath. A majority of his body was exposed to the girl, showing off the toned muscle she had helped build throughout their time together. By now, with enough free time to really dig deep and max him out as a raw human being, he was at the peak of his physical condition.
Niles sharply huffed about X; He was gonna get it later.
Buttercup smiled widely, "You can start whenever you're ready."
As he looked at the boulder sitting in front of him, he took a sharp breath in slight frustration. This was about to be extremely painful, though he still had to carry it on anyway. She knew what was best for him and he had done this before, scaling the hill.
Niles crouched beside the boulder, his hands gripping its rough surface as he prepared to lift it. With a grunt of effort, he pushed himself upward, muscles straining against the weight of the stone. The stinging strings of his bruised body pained from their recent fight, making it much more difficult than anticipated. Sweat quickly formed over his forehead and temples, his messy hair falling down slightly over his eyes. Slowly, inch by inch, the boulder began to rise from the ground, its bulk shifting as Niles straightened his back.
The girl took this time to enjoy the rest and relaxation, leaving her backpack beside his suit and started up the hillside. She casually took a few steps up, then sat down on the ground and put her elbows on her knees. A soft breeze blew over the two of them, her hair drifting slightly. To give him a little bit of encouragement, she spoke nonchalantly, "Take breaks if you need to! Just don't cramp your stomach again."
The boulder, though not overly large, still posed a formidable challenge. Its weight pressed down on Niles, the strain evident in the lines of his face as he fought to keep it steady. His cheeks puffed out, his face shading into a hue of red. The weight of his thighs and feet kept him up, fighting the disinclined trail with slow but heavy steps up. He bit down on his teeth, determined to press on despite the overwhelming strain. With each step, his muscles screamed in protest, and sweat funneled on his brow despite the mild breeze. Still, it felt good even if it was only a minor bit of relief.
The weight of the stone bore down on him like a burden he couldn't shake, his back slightly twitching and trembling in response. Next he changed it up a bit, returning it to his feet below to distribute the weight. His fingers curled underneath the curves of it, rolling it and flipping it over. Each step was like tossing a fat coin, except landing it on the opposite end of the rock each time.
As he made his way to about a third of where he needed to go, sweat caking all across his shoulders, arms and face. The speed was increasing, his fingers quickly adjusting angles and posture just to get it up even more. The short adrenaline rush from his anger had him keep going, though at some point he just couldn't take it anymore. The agony was unbearable, his tormented arms begging for some rest and his mind about to break. The boulder landed on the ground on the final flip with a thud, caving a dirt indent. He took a moment to catch his breath, his chest heaving as he wiped himself off. The hill loomed above him, its summit still far out of reach but he refused to be defeated. Gathering his resolve, he forced himself to continue his uphill battle, one step at a time. Only this time, he decided to sit down beside it and still his nerves.
"Off to a great start," she levitated up a little bit to see where he landed, then plopped back down on the ground beside him. "I will admit, I'm a bit impressed. Those bruises have gotta hurt."
Niles dragged his wrist heavily across his forehead, sniffling while grasping for fresh air. He lifted his head up, looking weary while side-eyeing her, "I am in.. serious pain right now."
"Take a break, the hill's still there waiting for ya," she waved a hand off, enjoying every minute of this. Admittedly she tried not to train her eyes on him too much, moreso fixating on the other thoughts scrambled in her brain at the moment. "I can see why you are always looking up; today is an awesome day."
Niles gave a husky reply, "Now you know I'm distracted for a good reason, and not just when you're around."
"You flirting with me, Arachnid?" she chuckled. "Gross."
He turned his head to the side, noticing her and replied back, "If you thought it was gross, you wouldn't be smiling."
Buttercup just shook her head and couldn't stop grinning, rocking her legs left and right a little bit while the two sat there. He was right and she didn't want to admit that either; what was this feeling anyways? Her history of boys had been complicated, the ones she had known or been with never really suiting her tastes. Even just humoring the idea of it, a guy like Niles was a peculiar choice.
Was this how Blossom felt? Bubbles had it easy, though picking a guy like Boomer was interesting.
"Ugh," she groaned, stretching her arms up in the air. "You're annoying sometimes."
The guy grinned, picking up on her reaction rather quickly, "You still keep me around, though!"
"Probably because you wanted me around," she smirked, side-eyeing him. "I don't think I've ever met a guy as weird as you."
"I doubt that," he replied, a moment of silence until he said, "Let me take you out on a date! Like, actually."
"I don't know," she pondered. "Where would we even go, if you did take me out on this date?"
Niles rubbed his hands together, his strained mind working a mile a minute, "I don't know but somewhere nice like a fancy restaurant down at Orchid Bay or off to see a movie, especially since it would be the first date. I'll dress up formally and everything."
"Alright Niles," she replied, stopping him with her hand held up. "I'll humor you."
The powerpuff girl turned her head back, reaching a finger and pointed up to the summit of the hillside. "I know this is your hardest exercise, so if you reach the top of the hill today, I'll go out on a date with you."
He breathed out heavily; that was a difficult task. He was capable of getting it up the hill so far and keeping it up was the hard part. Though surprisingly, she was willing to dip into the idea if he was able to pull it off.
"Alright." he replied simply.
With enough time to recollect himself, he stood back up and gripped onto the rock. His breathing was impactful, focusing his entire body into this whole process. It wasn't just an attempt for a date to him but a measure of how far he'd come in the past. Did it amount to a lot, or was it simply just nothing?
Niles hoisted the boulder back onto his shoulders with a determined grunt, feeling the weight dig into his muscles once more. He steeled himself against the strain, channeling all his focus into the task at hand. "I-I'll try.."
"Don't break your back for me," she chuckled, lifting herself up with her levitation and decided to just watch out of curiosity. "Blossom would kill me if I had to bring you in with a broken spine."
Could this be the key to his motivation? Was she his key? The answer couldn't have been so easy, hidden under her nose this whole time. Then again, she was able to deduce that she was his favorite. Maybe it was.
Every single step of the way proved to be an agonizing struggle; the stone felt like it was getting heavier and heavier as the length from the top to the bottom of the hill was being closed in. His legs now fully trembled underneath the weight threatening to give out at any moment, but Niles refused to falter. He pushed himself forward, driven by not only a fierce determination to conquer the hill but to get that date. As he climbed higher, the slope became steeper, the ground beneath his feet more treacherous.
Now at two thirds of the way, he threw the boulder back down in front of him and stopped it from tumbling. His bare feet clawed into the dirt, smothering them in the raw earth underneath him. His arms shook violently as he collapsed onto one knee. The salty sting of a sweatdrop in his eye caused him to close it shut. His hair had now covered a portion of his neck and most of his face as he sat there for a moment.
The way Buttercup loomed over him was almost ominous, lounging in mid air as if she was outstretched up on a couch. Her head rested on her hand, the other over her hip. Slightly she drifted up and down, a satisfied grin on her face from the amount of effort he had put in for her. She was visibly blushing; no matter how much he could try, he would never amount to the achievements she had.
Now at the near top of the hill through an incredibly long stretch, the Iron Warrior held the boulder in place. He cradled it, having reached farther than any point in this exercise before. The point he had reached was squished into a little dip, letting him balance on the steep hill while desperately reaching for any fresh air. He had no food, no water, nothing but his sheer physical capabilities to even get him this far. With that ounce of pride and the possibilities of a great night, he pressed on. The boulder flipped, reaching another step higher. The summit was practically there, overlooking not only a majority of Sector V but the distant edge of Endsville as well. It was one of the higher peaks of the suburb, a great place to get away from it all if needed for some private time.
As his entire body shook, he shut his eyes and stood up straight. His legs were stretched far, violently shaking as he mustered the last bit of might left in him. Niles let out a slight groan in torture, heaving the boulder up on another flopped side to get it to move. His teeth were practically stabbing into each other with how roughly he gripped his jaw, trying to get his mind away from the flailing exertion all across his body.
Right at the edge of landing the boulder flatly on the very top, his hand slipped.
The weight he had shifted into his grasp violently chucked him forward, collapsing himself weakly onto the ground at the top. The boulder quickly rocked back over and started its way back down, weaving around and past his legs. It kept going, flipping over each side until the momentum started to really pick up.
No matter how fast Niles could turn around and grasp for it, the boulder was already a third of the way back down the hill already.
It tumbled, slightly bouncing in the air and heading straight for the bottom.
The man's heart shattered, though it didn't hurt as much as his whole body did. All he did was simply cushion his back on the grass underneath him and outstretch. He shut his fatigued eyes and remained still. Not a word was said, his pose already spoke enough for him.
Buttercup watched with bated breath as Niles approached the summit, her eyes fixed on his determined figure. She could feel the tension in the air, her heart pounding with anticipation. In an instant, everything changed. Niles stumbled and before she could even react, the boulder slipped. It all happened so fast. Buttercup's heart sank as she watched it gain speed, crossing her arms. A mixture of disappointment and frustration washed over her, her shoulders slumping. He was so close. She wanted to call out to him, to offer words of encouragement or comfort but the words were caught in her throat. All she could do was watch helplessly.
"That sucks," was all she could say, blinking with wide eyes. "Man.."
The embarrassment on his face was hidden as he lifted a hand up and rubbed on his skin; despite the aching in his chest, a good part of him felt relieved that it was even over. Every time he had to do this exercise, it was a living hell. He hummed and just laid there for a second, not even moving.
When she dropped back down beside him, the green powerpuff squatted down and eyed him carefully. He could barely move already, having pushed himself a little bit too far. His muscles were a bit veiny, still pulsating from the amount of work he put in to this display of raw strength. She should have known better, especially for someone like him to give him a hope like that. "C'mon dude, let's get you up."
She scooped her arms around him and helped him up; his right arm was placed over her shoulder, the other hanging by his side like a deflated balloon. His stance was wobbly, uneven. It was hard to get a good grasp on him, seeing as to how he was slippery everywhere with the sweat. His eyes were drooping hard, his hair covering how he was really feeling.
"I was so close."
The trip back down to the bottom of the hill was quick and painless, the breeze soothing his burning muscles. It didn't take long until they arrived back to where they started, the boulder now having perfectly landed back to where it was when it once started.
"I think I'm gonna go home," he started lowly, slipping out of her grasp. "Get some rest, probably see about finding Major Glory."
Niles didn't look at her out of embarrassment, reaching for his clothes and started putting them back on.
Buttercup frowned, crossing her arms and puffed out her bottom lip a little bit, "Hey, you did pretty good for today. The warmups, workout, fight and climb? I was surprised you were actually able to reach that far high up before you tripped."
"Thanks." he replied with a blush.
She rubbed the back of her neck, feeling a little bit of anxiety swell up in her. Still, the girl persisted and spoke out, "Listen, I.. don't mind if you wanna go out sometime. You tried really hard today and, well I'm honestly kinda flattered. No guy has put in that much effort for me, except for dad."
Niles turned his head back, looking at her with a pair of surprised, heavy eyes. He replied, "Really? You mean that?"
"Yeah," she smirked. "But you gotta learn your lesson first: quit tryna bite off more than you can chew! Between the two of us, I'm better at that!"
At the mention of that, his embarrassment eased up a little as he started chuckling. Then it turned into a laugh as he threw his shirt over his damp shoulders, "Haha! Yeah, I guess you're right."
"Besides," she waved her hand. "You always push yourself way too hard; if you do that again, you might actually break something. Quit it."
Next came his socks, "Yeah, I can imagine that actually."
"On a side note, what's up about Major Glory?" she tilted her head.
He looked back, pulling on the other sock and scooped up his shoes lastly, "Oh, I'm going to see if I can help Major get his powers back."
"You're really thinking about tracking down Demongo in the Darklands?" Buttercup questioned. "Especially including your whole history with that place?"
The man weakly shrugged, "I have to. We need to win."
"I agree," she replied. "Though you gotta be careful, dude. Don't need to be fighting battles that don't need to be fought. You can only last so long without that suit."
Niles raised an eyebrow, "Any one less problem on this planet is a blessing."
"Still, take care." she emphasized.
He nodded, "I shouldn't be gone for too long; confronting Demongo is gonna be the hard part, though. You gonna miss me?"
"Well yeah, who else am I gonna train with?"
All he could do was just shake his head at her question in return; doing this day in and day out became routine, what was once a rough start up for practice turned into precious time spent between the two.
"Fair point," he nodded, stepping back into his metal suit. "I'll do my best, though I'll see if Jack could possibly help me out."
The girl didn't know too much about Samurai Jack's influence in the Darklands, outside of the fact that he was a pretty influential fighter. Dozens of soldiers, especially the ones who favored melee weapons, praised him as a model. "Good luck with that. I guess now is a good time to say I also have a little mission on my own, so it works out."
"What mission?" he asked.
Buttercup began explaining, "Recently, I got a call from Blossom about helping out Foster's Home. Apparently more debris fell down there recently and they need the mess cleaned up."
"That's more than likely more future fusions," Niles sighed. A flash occurred in his mind as he suddenly spoke frantically. "Don't get too cocky; play it smart. Bad vibes."
She raised an eyebrow, "Future sense?"
"Future sense." he nodded in response.
The powerpuff girl took a bold step forward and pressed her finger in his chest, looking up at him. Firmly she spoke, "Got it, and I'm telling you the same thing mister. You aren't just gonna ask me out on a date and then die on me when you leave. I will never forgive you."
"What would Blossom and Bubbles think, hearing you say this to me-" he drifted off playfully.
Buttercup groaned and lifted her head up, "Niiiiiles."
"Alright, alright! I'm just playing," he chuckled a little bit, then looked down at her. "I'll be careful and watch where I'm going, I promise."
Her cheeks puffed out as she stepped back, then crossed her arms, "That's what I thought. Now I'm gonna let you go; I gotta call the girls and get ready for tomorrow."
"Oh yeah, of course," he replied. "Thanks for spending time with me."
The folds of the suit closed around him as he got back into it; reaching a hand out, he hoisted her backpack out to her. She took it, throwing the straps over her shoulders and gave him a little wave. "Also, whenever we do manage to get around this, you let me know where you want to go."
Buttercup tilted her head, rubbing the back of her neck a little bit, "Yeah, okay! See ya later."
Giving him a little wave by, the two of them stepped away from each other backwards. Buttercup darted off into the sky, Niles stood there, it all ended. He couldn't help but smile pitifully, despite the ache in his muscles and the bruises mauled on his skin. The starting walk back to his home was slow, though steady.
Nano Alien X popped back out from inside, kicking two little legs over his shoulder and swaying left and right. He watched the clouds fly by, clearly in an esteemed state of contentment. "I think that went well."
"I forget you hear everything sometimes," Niles exhaled loudly, as if held in for hours. "I really thought it was over there for a minute."
A pipsqueak chuckle escaped X, "You put in your best effort. Still, you reached a higher point on the hill today."
"Yeah I did," Niles managed a little pep in his step. "Though I don't want this whole thing we're planning ending up as a pity date."
The nano retorted, "I doubt that was her intention. If it was, I believe it would be very obvious you would know it is a pity date. I have to admit, this is fun to listen to."
"Of course you think that you little eavesdropper. What were you programmed for?" Niles asked sarcastically.
Nano X placed a hand on his chest and said, "I have been programmed to aid you in your endeavors as well as act as a general guide for the past. This ranges from something as broad as the current mission to something as simple as a cooking recipe. In this case, it is relationship support!"
"Was this your idea or Blossom's?" Niles side-eyed him.
X squinted his eyes into his own little smile, "Theoretically neither, as I was programmed for aid and this happened to be a situation in which you needed help with-"
"Don't over-explain; I'm too tired."
"If you insist."
The young man waved a hand as a grin crept back on his face, "Regardless, I hope it all goes well. I can't believe this is actually happening. I hate the fact that I feel so giddy but.. this isn't real."
"I am sure that it is exciting. Niles I must ask, why her?" The nano asked curiously.
His eyes rolled up and to the right as he continued walking along, taking a good moment to recount why.
"Every time I see her, I just feel so warm. I like her personality, the way she fights hard, her tastes, the way she can really party if given the chance. It's somewhat comforting. In a way, it gives me life, you know?"
X leaned in a little bit, patting his shoulder rhythmically.
He continued, "Back in the future, no other girl was like her. Since I was younger, she used to always call me 'kid' whenever I hung out with Blossom. I guess at first it was one of those older crush things. Overtime, the more I developed this trip to becoming something more than just a soldier, I saw her more often. She seemed so confident and whenever she got into a fight, it was so mesmerizing to watch. I mean, it goes for all three of the Powerpuff Girls, really. The boys she'd always date were terrible for her, especially since they didn't know her. That's why her sisters were always so protective of her and, well I think something just sparked a little bit in me."
"Would you say you wanted to take care of her?" X asked politely.
Niles shook his head, "Kind of, but not in a weird way. I don't want her to fall into that cycle again; she's too precious."
"I can say for certain that is very sweet of you, sir," The nano began. "You are doing a fine job of handling it so far. The best advice I can offer for this is to keep up with what you are doing and do not rush it. You have a tendency to act in the moment if given the chance, though I have come to know that is who you are. Remember, you should remain aware of the dangers lurking on this earth though acknowledge that it is not every man for himself anymore. You are still in your pattern of survival."
Niles sighed, "I know; I can't help it."
"That is okay, you will adjust," he replied.
"I don't even know for certain if this is the key to winning the war," he says, widening his eyes a bit. "We all fought so hard and failed to take the opportunities given. Everyone disagreed, argued, even hurt each other at times. At one point even my own captain left me to die out in the wilds."
X's eyes opened up a little bit in reaction, "I will take note of that. Still, I will remind you that we are currently in a time period in which earth's forces are significantly more powerful than the previous ones. The probability of winning is higher if you care about statistics, even more so if you act on your plans of convincing the villains and rescuing the heroes."
"That helps a little bit, I won't lie," Niles responded, gripping his fists. He winced a little bit, feeling the stinging string of nerves tense up from his sores. "I just don't want anyone else to die, not again."
The nano sighed, "I can say that is a near impossible request, though the odds of higher survival are prevalent. That is what you fight for, right?"
"Of course," he nodded. "I fight for everyone; not just for myself or for earth, but everyone. I didn't care too much about the people who ran away because I cared about the people who stayed behind."
On the other side of the suburb, Buttercup's cozy front door softly closed. She let out a sigh, relaxing her shoulders and furrowing her brows. As she kicked off her shoes, she wandered over toward the sofa and completely collapsed on it. A pitiful hand reached out to turn on the lamp, casting the room in a warm fiery glow. With a weary smile, she ran a hand through her hair, the tension slowly melting away though still slightly there. Her lips twitched into a hesitant grin, uncertainty flickering in her eyes. Today was eventful, she loved that. As she rolled over and sunk her back into the cushions and back pillow, she placed a hand on the back of her head and pulled out her communicator.
There were a handful of messages waiting for her, most of them nonchalant and group chats she hadn't' really paid that much attention to. On the other hand, she had a few emails regarding performance for earth's forces including private details pertaining to her trip the next day. Her tired eyes simply went past them, admittedly not wanting to think about that from today.
Finally Buttercup reached her sisters' chat and quickly typed, 'Anyone up to talk tonight?'
There was a couple minutes of silence, though Bubbles was the first to respond, 'Yes! I'm free tonight :)'
The phone rang instantly, followed by the usual cheery and slightly higher-pitched voice of her sister, "Yo! What's up, Buttercup?"
"Hey sis," she began. "How's it going?"
Bubbles replied, "I'm doing great! Just got a bunch of work done today, then tomorrow we're moving on to another sector for clean up. You?"
"Good, just got done with training," she said. "We're taking a break for a little while, since I've got that mission and Niles is wanting to do something."
The other girl widened her eyes a little bit, "What does he wanna do?"
"He says it's weird future stuff again; specifically he wants to go help Major over at Bravo Beach. I was gonna ask you if you'd like to help him out with that?" the girl asked.
Bubbles tapped her chin with a finger, "Hmm, I could probably make time, yeah! I'll send him a message before we meet up tomorrow."
"Okay, cool," she let out a sigh and paused for a few seconds. There was a hint of hesitation in her voice as she spoke up, "I was gonna wait for Blossom to show up too, though I suppose I should go ahead and say it."
Bubbles blinked on her end, raising an eyebrow, "Say what?"
"At some point, here in the future," Buttercup held her breath. "I think Niles and I are gonna go on a date-"
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
The girl made a face and held the communicator back as Bubbles' screech nearly deafened her up close. Her eyes looked up to the ceiling in despair.
"That's so cute, Buttercup! I figured you guys would probably get to it eventually; based on what I know, you guys work out really well!" Bubbles raved, her smile even able to be heard by the tone of her voice.
"Yeah, after we get done with our stuff we're gonna try and get it all together," she sighed. "I was hesitating calling you guys but like, I guess I should."
Bubbles reassured, "No yeah, it was good you called. We don't want you getting tangled up in something that might be bad."
A couple of seconds passed and the third finally popped up. Blossom's little icon appeared as she began to speak, "Hello~"
"Blossom!"
"Hey sis."
There was a little snicker on her end as she replied, "What's up, girls?"
"Not much! Buttercup and I are just talking about her date with Niles soon~!" Bubbles cackled.
Blossom slightly paused and then said, "What? Date?"
"Yeah, we got done with training today and.. he insisted on one," Buttercup spoke shyly. "You guys know I'm not really good with these things, so I wanted to call and check."
The red powerpuff took a deep breath, "That sounds fun; I'm happy you called."
"Where are you guys gonna go?" Bubbles asked in anticipation.
The green powerpuff shrugged, "I'm not sure yet; he said either a restaurant or go watch a movie."
"Okay, for a first date? That's not bad," Blossom criticized. "I'm trying to be fair here but I just can't see you guys actually dating. You're going as friends, I'm assuming?"
"Well," Buttercup took a few seconds to respond, a bit hesitant. "No, we're actually going together."
On the other end of the phone, Blossom was standing alone in her own room. Dressed in nothing but a cherry red bathrobe, her hair had been tied into a big bun in the back. Her makeup had been wiped off for the evening, leaving her bare but naturally pretty face to the phone beside her. The carpet underneath her feet flattened as she paced over to a walnut wood wardrobe, fetching tomorrow's eye-gazing outfit. With a heavy sigh she spoke, "Alright, well, just be careful alright?"
"Yeah I will, but why do you ask?" she replied.
Blossom extended a hand and pointed at the phone, "I mean, he's a guy with great intentions but I honestly don't think he's for you. You guys get along really well but I don't think it should be in a romantic way is all I'm saying."
"Well why?"
Bubbles chimed in, "I mean, she can still give it a chance."
"No yes, I'm not saying she shouldn't give him a chance," the girl quickly defended, repetitively folding her clothes over and over again. "Niles is very sweet. He listens, works hard and has a lot in common with you but we need to think about his past for a second. I am willing to believe that there are two things: for one, if he didn't grow up normally like the rest of us, I don't think he'd have developed that well if he just fought in the war. Two, almost half of his entire life he has been involved in fighting. I guess his own war but it's a parallel universe."
"Our lives aren't normal, so who can say what normal is?" The other girl debated.
There was a little grin formed on the red powerpuff's face, satisfied with Buttercup's question almost, "Ah, we've argued too much. Good point, but my other point still stands: he's hurt. You've seen how violent he can get and, I'm not saying he'd ever beat you in a fight, but what if he lashes out on you like that or burns off his temper? How do we know he can recover from his loss in the other war?"
Bubbles blinked, "I mean, yeah that's true. He's just, like, way too serious."
"If he's going to want to date Buttercup, he's got to be prepared mentally for it and not just physically." she smacked her foot down.
The third girl took a second to let her words resonate within her. It was a lot to take in, especially diving into this territory. She didn't like a lot of what she had to say, though with a bated breath she spoke, "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"Another thing to note: does he know about when you disappeared? He probably does but how is he going to act differently knowing this ahead of time?" Blossom questioned. "You need to keep these things in mind; don't just pick him up, you know?"
Buttercup waved a hand, "Sheesh, alright, I get it! I'll be cautious. No need to get up-tight about it, I was just saying we're going out."
"I know, sis," she softly replied. "I'm just worried about you. I don't want you to get taken advantage of."
She grinned, "Well I appreciate that. Besides, this isn't gonna happen for, like, a few more days? Probably a week? He'll be up in the Darklands."
"Why would he ask you out on a date right before he leaves for the Darklands," Blossom pinched the bridge of her nose. "He's gonna get himself killed."
"That's what I said!"
The three girls went on to speak for a few more hours, trailing off while flowing effortlessly into all sorts of different topics. Their conversation eventually widened down, one by one they said their goodbyes and hung up. Buttercup ended the call and set her phone aside, a content smile lingering on her lips. She stood up, stretching her limbs before heading to the bathroom. What followed was a lengthy, steamy shower. It eased her tension in her muscles, washing away the grime and sweat of today's workout. Afterwards, she prepared a simple dinner, binged a couple of episodes from her new favorite series and went to bed.
|Even still, laying in the pile of sheets with an arm over her bare chest, she blinked and looked up at the ceiling in front of her. The events of today replayed in her head, recalling each specific detail from the colors of the sky to even the slightest hint of smells. Everything just felt so.. grounded, right in front of her yet so complicated. She rolled on her side, blinking once and stared out at the window. She smiled.
It was just stupid, but a good kind of stupid.
5/19/24
Welcome back! Good to see you.
This chapter took me a while to write, even when I got a head-start on it. There were a lot of complex emotions to deal with, as well as setting up a lot for the next upcoming chapters. I wanted to romanticize struggle a lot in a numerous amount of ways and only had so much to convey it with. Given that relationship-wise I'm likely going to focus on Niles and Buttercup a lot more often than the other ships, I figured it would be important to give into some insights on how both of them are feeling. With what research I've done, I can honestly say that Buttercup is an ironic character. She's a romantic favorite in the fandom though is the worst at dating out of the three powerpuff girls. On an honest note, I don't really have a lot to say about this chapter since it's all there. Though I will say for obvious noting: Niles' exercise is based off of Sisyphus's divine punishment.
I hope you're enjoying it so far; unfortunately, it will be a little while before we get to see some more content between Niles and Buttercup.