Chapter 4: Generosity
September 14th - 10:45am – Gearshift Train Station
This felt bizarre to Trixie, from a murderous cult who will try to kill her when she turns seventeen, to now a vampire and a robot bird, and now she is teaming up with nine other kids from different towns to search for Jewelled Butterflies, let alone just Dib and Gaz, whom she met on the cruise. Especially since all of them had somewhat different goals.
Dib and Gaz are trying to bring down Diavoli Di Sangue themselves, while she was just running from them. Phineas and Isabella wanted to collect the Jewelled Butterflies to get back at the Iron Blackbird for injuring his brother. Billy and Mandy were trying to get a magic scythe back from a Vampire and Ed, Edd n Eddy are trying to solve a mystery surrounding a package that was delivered to them forty years before Double D was born.
Why couldn't Dexter just decline her? She wanted protection, despite that she doesn't deserve it, she's a fake who hurts people that care for her, or at least pretend to care for her, but now she's being sent to hunt for Jewelled Butterflies with seven strangers, and two very recent friends. But soon it occurred to her, if she goes on this, she may feel that adrenaline, that surge she felt when Diavoli Di Sangue made their first attack, when she went on that auction on the cruise, this may actually be what she's looking for, a purpose. She soon took a deep breath and hoped that this may be what she's truly looking for.
She was in the train station, all of them in the restaurant area having some fast food, due to the either not having any breakfast or very little food, plus their train would be arriving in fifteen minutes, so they had plenty of time to have some food while they wait.
Ed, Edd n Eddy sat with Dib on one table, Mandy sat with Gaz on a table far from them.
Trixie took a table with Phineas, Isabella and Billy, all of them had burgers and fries, except Isabella who had a taco, she wasn't against sitting with Dib, and she probably would've, but the seats were full before he arrived, she hoped that Dib didn't think less of her than he probably already did, she was just an asset for money and travel after all, and nothing else. Trixie herself kept quiet, and just listened to Billy's bizarre conversation with Phineas and Isabella.
"So, this scythe you're looking for really is magic?" asked Phineas with a fascinated look to him.
"Oh yeah." Said Billy. "It's actually the Grim Reapers!"
"Wait! As in, it's time for you to die, Grim Reaper?" asked Isabella now looking concerned.
"Yeah, when me and Mandy were kids, the Grim Reaper came to collect the soul of my hamster, but we challenged him to a game of limbo, he almost won, but we did in the end, and now he's our best friend forever."
Trixie listened in while eating, given this cult, vampires and robots, and supposedly magic butterflies, at this point, this didn't feel as surprising as it probably should be.
"Do you… still have this hamster?" asked Phineas.
Billy sighed a bit. "Nah, ended up dying anyway, choked on a tennis ball that somehow got in his cage. I do miss Mr Snuggles." Billy then went right back to cheery. "But I get to visit him once a month, Grim takes me to the afterlife every now and then to check up on him."
Trixie just looked at Phineas and Isabella's stunned silence, she couldn't help but find it amusing but kept quiet, even if she was just as baffled as they were.
"I wonder if I could see my biological dad when this is over?" asked Phineas looking to Isabella.
"Mom won't wanna see my dad." Said Isabella rolling her eyes slightly.
Trixie looked over to the clock on the wall to see the time, knowing they don't have that much longer before they need to head for their train, but there was still time to finish her food. Truth be told, she was eager to get going, for some reason, this danger frightened her, but her desire to feel that adrenaline was almost overwhelming.
"So, Trixie." Said Isabella, Trixie jumped a bit and turned to her, realising her, Phineas and Billy are all staring at her, she felt conflicted over this attention. "What did you do back home, Dimmsdale was it?"
Trixie felt extremely reluctant to speak up, but she felt like she had no choice. "Oh, um… just rich girl stuff really, school life, go to the mall every day, get all sorts of expensive jewellery and clothes. And then come home to my many butlers and maids and do rich girl stuff at home."
She felt bad for saying it, but it also technically wasn't lying, she did do those, but just to hide her real tomboyish nature. Besides, she wasn't entirely sure she could trust these three with something so personal.
"Really? You don't dress like one." Said Billy, tilting his head to the side.
Trixie kept her usual look, but inside she was panicking, he was right, she didn't look like one at all, could he somehow tell she wasn't really into them, is he smarter than he looks, but Trixie soon thought about it, and no, this was a disguise.
"Oh this? Well, I am being chased by a blood-thirsty cult, they're looking for a fabulously rich and wealthy girl, not a cheap-looking tomboy."
Billy nods. "Oh yeah, Ravioli de Salmon." Phineas and Isabella began chuckling a bit.
"It's Diavoli Di Sangue. Its Italian for Blood Devils." Said Trixie, feeling amused.
"We know that they were founded fifty years ago, and that they go for the heart and neck, and there's supposedly thousands of them in hiding." Said Phineas. "Is there anything else you know about them?"
"Aside from that all of them that have been killed are seventeen or older, not much." Trixie then directs herself to Dib, getting them to look. "Dib has a ton of research notes on them, that's where I got my info from before I met you lot."
"How long have you known Dib and his sister?" asked Isabella.
"Only a few days, we just so happen to bump into each other on the same cruise, he and Gaz stowed away so I paid for their tickets."
"Well…" Phineas soon looked over to the same table again, Trixie, Isabella and Billy looked to see as well. "Hopefully Dib will be more reliable than the Eds." He mumbled with a ton of spite in his tone.
Isabella placed her hand on his shoulder. "I know Phineas, but they really did do their best."
"I know." Phineas placed his hand on his head in frustration. "It's just that…" he soon sighed as he finished his drink. He then looked up at the clock. "Oh, we better get going now."
Trixie looked at the time and realised they had about two minutes left, and she looked down at the platform through the glass doors to see the train's already here. Phineas made his way to Dib and the Eds table, and Isabella made her way to Mandy and Gaz's table, both to let them know the trains here.
She got up and made their way to the platform while Billy waited for Mandy. The others quickly catch up and they soon make it to the platform and see the train doors open; one by one they enter the train.
They all stay in one carriage, Trixie took a window seat, with Dib immediately sitting next to her, Eddy sat at a table opposite to Ed and Double D. Gaz noticed she couldn't sit with her brother or Trixie, so she sat on the seat behind them. Billy and Mandy share a seat with a table, with Phineas and Isabella taking the opposite end of said table.
Soon the train began to leave the station, with Trixie giving a quiet sigh which went unheard thankfully, she was curious on Phineas and Isabella's relationship with the Eds, so it might be something she'll ask later on, if they even want to talk to her, should they find out she's been lying to them, even if it wasn't a real lie, she soon shook her head again and tried to keep those thoughts out, and just focus on the scenery.
But as she was looking, she saw someone that looked very familiar to her. It was a tall lanky man in a white suit, he had a long nose, beady eyes behind a pair of thick square golden coloured glasses and short black hair. This man was sitting at a bench waiting for the next train, alongside two men in black suits.
Once he was out of sight, Trixie immediately remembered who he was. He was Adam Matelli, president of the company Matelli Metals, who specialised in all sorts of machinery, he's been making a name for himself more and more recently, she just shrugged it off and went back to watching the scenery.
September 14th - 11:23am – Train, between Tech Square and Townsville.
As the train zoomed across the tracks, Trixie watched the scenery go by, it was relaxing, it kept herself distracted from her thoughts, the gentle rocking sensation, and Dib talking to her about his times back home, which was fine, it was a one-sided conversation, but Trixie gave the occasional response to let him know she was still paying attention, which was half true, she was, just not everything, watching the scenery go from cities to open fields, the clear skies with the occasional cloud, the lush green grass, it was honestly mesmerising.
Despite this, her thoughts began to creep back in, like how she can just ignore Dib like that, he cares for her, or at least she thinks he cares for her, even if he didn't, him putting in the effort was more than what she could ever do. Trixie shook her head again, trying to keep her thoughts out.
"Uhh, Trixie, you ok?"
Trixie jumped, realising Dib saw her shake her head and turned to see him, looking genuinely concerned.
"I… yeah. Just the usual."
Dib nods. "Diavoli Di Sangue?"
"N-Not just them… but…" Trixie fell silent, she didn't want to talk about her thoughts to him, not only was it not worth expressing it, but Dib also deserves better than to have her share her turmoil with him, it was better for her to take it and take it alone.
"Yeah… the Iron Blackbird and this Vampire, Kasumi, was it?"
"Yeah, feels pretty crazy to realise we're hunting gems while having to deal with three different threats." It wasn't what she was thinking of, but she was thankful Dib gave her the excuse she needed to avoid telling him how she feels. Though now that she thought about it, the name of the vampire, Kasumi Iwamoto, it did ring a bell, she just couldn't remember where from.
"Yeah." Dib muttered. "Hope we can deal with them."
"Same."
"ENOUGH!"
Trixie and Dib jumped at the sound of someone shouting, they turned to look to see it was a member of staff who had yelled at Billy and Mandy, who had been fighting on the floor.
"Kids! This is a train for the public, not a damn playground! Now get back to your seats or I'll have to kick you off at the next stop!"
As the staff member walked off, Billy and Mandy stood up, patted themselves and sat back at their seats with Phineas and Isabella, whom the two had very amused looks to them. Trixie couldn't help but smirk. Seeing those two reminded her of bickering kids on the playground back when she was a kid.
'They make a cute couple.' She thought to herself.
September 14th - 12:00am – Townsville Train Station
The train finally arrived at Townsville, Trixie and Dib immediately got out of their seats and made their way to the door, with the others following in suit. As they left the train, they were unfortunately caught in a very large a crowd as several more people began leaving the train and entering it, suddenly feeling pushed back and forth.
"What the!" muttered Trixie.
"Move it!" Shouted Mandy.
Trixie struggled to get through, but that was until she noticed Ed was walking forward normally, pushing everyone out of his way, and that the others were behind Ed, letting him shield them. Without thinking, Trixie quickly jumped to the back of the gang behind Ed and let him push past.
As the crowd cleared, she moved out from behind Ed along with the others, she fixed her hair and hat, and made sure her backpack was still on. Even though it didn't matter what happened to her, she was at least glad her stuff was still intact.
"Everyone here?" asked Phineas as he looked around frantically.
"I think…" Mandy looked around again, trying to take a mental note of everyone's faces. "Wait, we're missing three."
Trixie looked around and realised that Dib was nowhere to be seen, same with Double D and Billy. But Trixie quickly noticed Billy on the floor with footprints on him, and a flattened pink nose. "Idiot." Mandy mumbled as she walked up to him and helped him up.
"Wow." Billy responded as he shook his head slightly. "Some people never clean their shoes; one had a big wad of gum on it." He coughs up the large piece of gum with a triumphant smile. "His loss is my gain."
Mandy simply smacks the gum out of his hand and looks around. "So where are Dib and Double D?"
Trixie looked around, and she just so happen to see that Double D and Dib were pushed back onto the train, and it was already leaving, seeing them panic made her heart sink a little as she pointed to them. "Uhh… Found them!"
"Oh shoot! What do we do!?" asked Phineas.
Trixie looked around, seeing Ed and Eddy's panicked expressions, and Gaz even looked a bit surprised, despite not knowing each other for long, she could get a gist of what she was thinking with her constant closed eyes.
Before anyone could say anything, Eddy's phone began to ring, he takes it out, see's it's Double D calling and answers on speaker. "Nice going Sock-Ed!"
"I know, I'm sorry. Look, we're gonna try and get the train back, just go on without us. We'll keep you posted."
"Got it but hurry up."
Dib's voice was soon heard. "Tell Gaz to stay with Trixie, I know neither of them have a phone but I'd rather she stayed with her."
"Whatever." Said Gaz.
"Meet you soon." Eddy ends the call and faces the others. "We're just gonna have to go without them, they'll get the next train back."
Trixie wondered about waiting for them, but she knew that it would waste time, she could wait for them, it wouldn't matter if she wasted her own time but knowing that Gaz is forced to stay by her side, maybe it was best to try and put in the effort, for her.
"Hope they'll be alright." Said Isabella.
"Double D will be fine; wouldn't be the first time he's screwed up like this. Dib I dunno."
"He's an idiot but he finds his way out of any mess." Said Gaz, who then went back to her Game-Slave and stands a little closer to Trixie.
"Alright, whatever." Mandy spoke up, deciding to take charge of this. "Let's just find this stupid Butterfly and get back to Dexter."
Trixie and Gaz leave the station with the others, and they look out to see the City of Townsville, it looked as simple as any other city, but the observatory on top of a volcano in the distance was the most eye catching. Trixie wasn't sure what to say, but she noticed Mandy taking a few steps forward, and then turning to them.
"Alright, let's split up and search this city."
"This whole city!?" Exclaimed Eddy. "How are we supposed to find a tiny gem in this place!?"
"Don't know, don't care, we just have to find it before anyone else does."
Phineas shrugged. "Guess Isabella and I will team up."
Trixie looked down at Gaz who continued to play her game, given that Gaz often just follows Dib, now that she and Gaz were separated from him, Trixie didn't know where to go or who to follow, she thought maybe she should take charge, but wasn't sure if she could, she then thought about maybe sticking with Mandy, she had a very authoritarian tone.
But before she could decide, Eddy immediately walks over to her. "How's about we team up, don't worry, I'll make sure you're safe." Trixie felt disinterested, immediately getting that this four-haired dwarf was only interested in being her boyfriend than a team member, she's had plenty of people like that, so she knows to reject him without feeling bad.
Just as Trixie was about to respond, Ed suddenly jumped in and hugged both of them, crushing them both in the process. Just missing Gaz who didn't pay attention to them at all. "YAY! WE'RE A TEAM!"
"ED! GET OFF!" Eddy grunted.
Trixie wheezes, unable to speak, and feeling very distraught, maybe it's karma for all the bad stuff she's done, but either way, she now felt stuck with them.
Mandy sighed and looked over to Billy. "You're with me, come on. Report back here in a few hours."
The gang split into three and made their way around Townsville. Billy and Mandy, Ed, Eddy, Trixie and Gaz, and Phineas and Isabella. As they split, Trixie looked back to the train station, she still felt as if she should wait for him there, but this was the order, so she complied, but she did notice that Gaz was also looking at the train station, she wondered if Gaz was just as concerned, but didn't show it. Either way, Trixie is going to need to keep an eye on her.
September 14th - 12:27pm – The City of Townsville
Trixie, Ed, Eddy, and Gaz are seen walking around the park area, it had plenty of families having picnics and children playing, it was also where the observatory on top of the volcano was placed, looking much more high-tech than anything else in the city. She thought it was quite the spectacle, yet she wondered what it was about.
Taking notice of an information kiosk not far from her, she made her way to it while the others stayed behind and watched the tower, except Gaz who was still focused on her game. As she approached it, she saw a man who was slumped there, looking like he was done with everything, something she can relate to, not that she shown it.
"Hi, can I have a map and guidebook, please?"
"Sure, two dollars." He said as he sluggishly reached for a map and guidebook not far from him and hands them to her.
"Thank you." She paid for them on her card, and was about to walk away, but she stops for a moment and decides to be generous, no doubt he's having a harder time than her. "Hang on." She digs into her pocket and takes out a twenty-dollar bill, and places it on the table in front of him.
"Anything else you want?" he asked.
"No. That's for you."
The man leaned up looking quite confused, losing his droopy look. "S-Seriously?"
"Yeah, must be a difficult job, so it's to let you know I appreciate it." She gave a smile as she walked off.
"Oh um... t-thank you." Said the man, with a bit more optimism in his tone.
Trixie walked back to the others who just noticed her returning, and she opens the guidebook to the observatory and gives it a quick read. "Supposedly this volcano became inactive once the observatory was built, and it's owned by a notorious villain named Mojo Jojo."
"Surprised they even let a criminal keep a house here in plain view." Said Eddy shrugging. "Why not just arrest him, tear it down and whatever?"
Trixie just shrugs herself. "The laws in this city are kinda strange with what I've heard about it." She gave it another ready to find anything in relation to why they would allow a villain to have a home here but couldn't find anything.
"Well either way, this butterfly is valuable to three different villains, maybe this Mojo guy has it?" asked Eddy.
Ed turns to them. "Let's knock on the door and ask."
"Ed you idiot! We'll probably be dissected!" said Eddy panicking.
"OH BOY!" Said Ed sounding excited.
"He'll probably turn us into jelly!"
"OH BOOY!"
"Then he'll disintegrate us!"
OH BOOOY!"
Trixie was feeling a bit more distraught, although going to a villain may allow her to feel that adrenaline, her flight response was starting to kick in more, and needed to find a way to make Ed change his mind, but he hardly knew him at all, so she just had to take a wild guess. "If he does that, you'll never get to watch TV again."
Ed immediately went from excited to horrified. "Uhh… l-let's not visit him."
Eddy sighed and turned to Trixie. "Thanks, he's a handful."
Trixie was shocked to find out that worked, she totally guessed, she just nods a little. "Not a problem. But either way, this Mojo guy will be a cause for concern, we should let the others know about this when we get back."
Eddy nods. "So where should we try next."
Trixie thought about it, and as much as she was going to hate the idea, she began to remember that having a phone would be extremely useful for this mission, and that Gaz doesn't have one, so she chimed in. "Actually, we should head over to a phone shop."
"Why?" Eddy asked.
"Gaz and I don't have one, remember?"
"Oh yeah. Yeah, let's go now."
The three left with Gaz following, as they walked, Ed soon spoke up. "Um, I left my phone at home, can I get a new one too?"
"Sure, I don't mind paying." Said Trixie with a smile. Having a use to the team was making her feel better, she wasn't sure if they were secretly taking advantage of her, but at this point, with how much bad she's done, it feels fitting for her. Lying and hurting her friends, running away from home, putting Dib in danger trying to protect her, it honestly didn't matter, this was her use now, and she should get used to it.
September 14th - 12:32pm – The City of Townsville, Phone Shop
The phone shop didn't look anything outstanding, just a basic looking modern shop with a bunch of phones on display, Trixie couldn't quite remember what her old phone was exactly, but to her it didn't matter, any would do, and Gaz didn't know what kind she wanted either, so just pick any, most of them are the same anyway, especially to someone like Gaz. Soon enough, she got one for herself and one for Gaz, similar models so it'll be easy to set up both at the same time, the one she picked for Gaz was a black coloured one to match her hoodie, as well as differentiate hers from Gaz's.
As she looked at them, she began to remember her old phone, with all the texts from Remy, Tad, Chad and Veronica, she didn't know what they said, but she knew they would relate to them discovering her façade, or at least questioning it, the constant buzzes she got, the constant messages, they began to plague her mind, she now wondered if it was a good idea to throw away her old phone, since she'll never find out the truth behind those messages.
But there was no way it would be praising her, they have to be making fun of her, or telling her they hate her now, it was the only logical conclusion. After all, she had been lying to them for years, and when she revealed it, she hurt Remy, he didn't deserve that. Diavoli Di Sangue killing her would be beneficial to everyone, she wasn't needed or wanted, only her money, she was the means for them to get around, but they just need her wallet and card, not her, she didn't matter, not to anyone.
As her thoughts clouded her mind, Eddy soon approached her with a phone model, seeing him out of the corner of her eye forced her out. "Here, Ed's one." He said handing her the phone model.
"Thanks." Trixie soon made her way to the desk and gave them to the staff member. 'Just focus. Just focus.' She put her card in the reader and put her pin in, after an approval, she took the three phone models. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Said the cheery staff member, she thought about giving him an expensive tip too, but he seemed fine, so she didn't bother.
Trixie soon hands Eddy the phone he picked out. "I'll just go set up mine and Gaz's and we should be good to go."
"No problem. Gonna need a minute to set up Ed's for him."
Trixie nods and makes her way to Gaz and hands it to her.
"Thanks." Gaz said as she takes it and looks at it for a moment, then looks at Trixie. "So how does it work?"
"Oh right, this is your first phone, isn't it?" asked Trixie, feeling a bit sheepish, forgetting that phones aren't just instantly known how to use, she then moved to stand beside her so they could both see the screen.
"Yup."
"Ok." Trixie soon points to the largest button on the side of the phone. "Hold this button down for two seconds to turn it on, it'll then ask you to put in some details, like your name and such."
Gaz soon pressed the button down for two seconds and the screen lit up, after a few seconds, it then asked her to type her name in, though she couldn't see a keyboard on the screen or buttons which indicated it. That was until Trixie tapped the white bar where the name goes, and a keyboard popped out from the bottom of the screen.
"Huh. Interesting." Gaz mumbled as she began to type her full name. Soon it asked for more details, including preferences in lighting, sound and whatnot. And each time, Trixie helped guide her through them, though not too much since Gaz was smart enough to figure out for herself, but Trixie helped with some small bits that stumped her.
After a few more minutes, it was set up and Gaz was shown the main menu, seeing all sorts of icons. She soon turned to Trixie. "So now that that's done, I wanna know how to put games on here."
Trixie nods. "Sure, but let me at least exchange our numbers so we can contact each other should we get separated." Gaz nods as she hands Trixie her phone for her to do the details. As she did this, she also set up her phone at the same time, using one hand for each, feeling pretty professional at this.
"BABY SISTER! GET OFF MY PHONE OR I'M TELLING MOM!"
Trixie jumped to see Ed screaming at his new phone with Eddy trying to hold back his laughter. She looked around to see the staff and other customers are distracted by Ed's screaming. She began to feel angry; they were causing a scene when they can't afford to, not to mention she has to hang out with these idiots who are starting to embarrass her. Trixie immediately stomped up to the two and without even thinking, she shouted herself.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?"
The two jumped to see Trixie. Eddy immediately hid behind Ed.
"THIS IS A SHOP YOU IDIOTS! DO YOU THINK SCREAMING HERE IS ACCEPTABLE!? I HAVE TO DRAG YOUR STUPID ASSES AROUND AND PAY FOR YOUR SHIT AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME! MY LIFE'S ON THE FRIGGIN LINE AND YOU WANNA ATTRACT EVERYONE WITHIN A TEN MILE RADIUS!?"
This screaming rant continued for a bit.
September 14th - 1:13pm – The City of Townsville, Little Tokyo District
Trixie simultaneously hated and liked what she did, hated it because not only did it cause a bigger scene, forcing them to be kicked out of the shop, in addition, she felt bad for verbally abusing Ed and Eddy for this. But at the same time, it felt quite liberating, shouting like that made her feel like she lost a lot of weight on her shoulders, her heart was also beating fast from it, getting a small dosage of adrenaline, something she was beginning to crave, she wanted more, it felt good, but she didn't want to let it out, she had to remain composed, anyone could be Diavoli Di Sangue in disguise, and they could be searching for her now. So, she tried to keep her composure, and continue on their mission, hoping she can find the means to let it out in a legitimate way.
The four shared each other's new numbers and pondered where to go next, after checking the map of Townsville, Eddy gave the idea to check out the Little Tokyo District, since it was a fancy looking artistic place, and a Jewelled Butterfly looked pretty artistic and fancy, Trixie was unconvinced, but didn't argue, so the four made their way to it.
It took a while to get there on foot, but they made it, and to their surprise, it was as big as any other part of the city, but it was all Japanese themed, from the billboards written in Kanji, to the buildings and houses having a more Japanese theme, even having pink trees, as well as having more Asian people than American. It was like stepping into another country, Trixie was American born, English was her first language, but she did visit Japan every year and loved it there, and her Japanese was a little rusty, but could still switch to it if necessary. Either way, seeing this Japanese themed district was making her feel nostalgic, it was making her happy.
"Hey Ed, remember when you were a sumo wrestler?" said Eddy.
"Yeah!" said Ed with his usual big smile. "And then we made Jimmy one too. I couldn't feel my everything for days."
"Lucky you." Said Eddy annoyed. "I felt everything."
Trixie soon turned to the Eds, now feeling like she should ask for context, because it sounded too weird not to ask. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Oh yeah." Said Eddy. "Ed, Double D and I had some really crazy days back home, back in the day, we used to try and do scams to try and get rich, so we can buy jawbreakers." Soon Eddy gave a sigh while rubbing the back of his head, looking guilty now. "But… barely any of them went well, in fact we got hit with karma several times."
Ed soon chimed in. "And we decided to never do it again."
"Yeah… reality hit us even harder. So, I took up baseball, Ed's trying to be a comic book artist, and Double D's trying to be a scientist."
"I see." Said Trixie. It didn't exactly answer the Sumo question, but she decided not to question further, she lost interest.
Trixie soon noticed Eddy looking at Gaz who was still playing on her console He then glared down at her, which she only noticed him ten seconds later and looked up at him. "You glued to that thing twenty-four seven or something?"
Gaz just shrugged. "Twenty-Three and three quarters." She said in a joking term.
"Does your bro put up with this all the time? He does all the work while you play your games?"
Gaz looked at Eddy properly, giving him her full attention. "If by work, you mean his stupid alien hunting."
"Aliens?" Ed asked looking intrigued, Trixie recalled how much Dib talked about Zim, but didn't speak up.
Eddy looked at Gaz directly in the eye. "He's trying to find the guy who killed yer mom. Don't you think you should put in the effort?"
"I'm only here to watch him get beaten into a bloody paste. It's not like it'll bring mom back. Besides, Dib's an annoying twerp." Gaz then resumes to play her game.
Eddy looked furious, he grabbed the top of Gaz's hair harshly and forcefully pulled her head up to look at him directly in the eyes. Trixie felt shocked by this, she stepped back feeling quite worried for this.
"I don't know your relationship! But you should be friggin thankful you have a brother like him! You could've ended up with a brother like MINE!"
Despite how angry Eddy looked, Gaz had a look of uncaring, she wasn't intimidated, Trixie now wanted to know what Eddy meant by this, Dib did mention everything back at Dex-Labs, but Eddy never mentioned his brother. And given Eddy's angered look, she could tell Eddy seems to have a rough relationship with his brother.
Gaz then smacked Eddy's hand away and responded. "You're right. You don't know my relationship." She then proceeded to return to her game.
"Whatever…" Eddy grumbled as he began to walk away. "Let's just split up and look around." Eddy made his way down one street.
Trixie didn't want to argue, but she also felt like they should stick together, but in the end, she decided to comply, she just hoped that Gaz doesn't get into trouble. She looked back at Gaz for a moment, locking eyes, before she turned back around and walked away, leaving Ed and Gaz behind.
September 14th - 1:25pm – Little Tokyo District, Restaurant
Trixie felt miserable, she wondered if it was her fault, maybe her yelling at the Eds was what caused it. It wouldn't be surprising if it was, she always makes things worse, even without trying. She knows Dib asked Gaz to stay with her, but she was better off with Ed, he seems much nicer and less of a screw up than her, so it was for the best.
She couldn't focus on anything, she was just beating herself up as she rightfully deserves, so she went to a small restaurant, ordered some light food to try and cheer herself up. She was on the second-floor balcony, right next to the railing that prevented her from falling, it had speakers on the walls with quiet Japanese inspired music that was soothing to hear, the smell of cooked food was pleasing, and the people below offered some ambiance as they talked and walked around, living their lives.
She had already ordered and was just waiting for her food. And soon enough it arrived, a waitress with a tray of Yakisoba and a glass of coke. Yakisoba is a Japanese dish of stir-fried noodles, seafood, and vegetables in a thick, sweet-savoury sauce, this dish is often sold at Japanese festivals, but it was also being sold wanted something light since she didn't eat that long ago.
"Here you are Miss, sorry for the wait." Said the waitress.
"Arigatō" Trixie said without thinking and felt surprised she just blurted it out. It was Japanese for Thank You; she felt a bit embarrassed despite it being natural for her to say it at a Japanese restaurant.
The waitress simply bowed with a welcoming smile and said "Dōitashimashite." Meaning You're Welcome Dear, and she walked away.
Trixie chuckled a bit, feeling a bit flattered by the response, she thought she might have looked weird, but she soon shook those thoughts away. It was fine, she's half Japanese, she can speak it, and she's eating in a Japanese restaurant, if anything it was more appropriate for her to say it that way.
She took a bit of her food and was sent to bliss, it tasted fantastic, she was starting to feel better about herself. As she took another bite, she was starting to try and reason with herself. It's true that she shouldn't have yelled at Ed and Eddy for so long, but scolding them was appropriate, leaving Gaz with Ed was most likely a bad idea, but she hopes that Ed will take care of her. One thing she knows for certain is that every time she experiences adrenaline, it makes her feel again, as bad of an idea it is to go through certain danger, it might be something they'll be forced to do, especially since Diavoli Di Sangue, Kasumi Iwamoto and the Iron Blackbird are after the Jewelled Butterflies. Trixie began to wonder if it might be a good idea to improve her body via training, it may help her feel the adrenaline again and make herself useful to the team more than just her finances.
"Thank you for coming, Professor."
"It was my pleasure, Mayor."
"Please, we've been friends for years, Bellum will do."
Trixie jumped out of her thoughts after hearing that brief conversation. She looked behind her and round a corner, there were two individuals, she couldn't see them but hear them. But she noticed a round mirror on the railing, it was mainly used to let people know of others around the corner just in case, in Trixie's case, she could see the two speaking.
The woman who spoke was very tall, had a blue suit and skirt combo, and a sash around her shoulder to waist, she had massive red curly hair, her back was to the mirror so she couldn't see her face. The other was a handsome man with short black hair, a squarish head, and wore a lab coat. Both of them had ramen while they were talking. Trixie decided to listen in, it was none of her business, but it might be interesting information. Plus, if what they said were true, this was a conversation with the mayor of Townsville and a Scientist. So, she listened in carefully while eating her food.
"Sorry, we've had the old mayor for so long, I keep forgetting you're our new mayor." Said the Professor.
"Indeed. I'm happy for his retirement, and I'm glad the people have elected me, though, I think I do miss his shenanigans." Said Mayor Bellum.
"Same, even if he was a headache. But I assume you've asked me out for business meetings, not a date."
"Yes. I'm sorry to bring you out this far, but my concerns lie with the future of this city, and we need to know more about those who were infected with Chemical X."
'Chemical X?' Trixie thought.
The professor sighs. "Especially since now that those who had been previously expose to it are starting to develop new capabilities."
Mayor Bellum nods. "Exactly. We know the Powerpuff Girls had received new powers a year ago."
"Yeah, Blossom's Teleportation, Bubbles Hard Light Projection, and Buttercup's Electrokinesis."
"Yes, but even criminals exposed to them are starting to evolve themselves. Mojo Jojo has gained more humanoid features, he's taller, and gained new powers like levitation and brain blasts."
"Yeah. Bullet the Squirrel is capable of speech now, and there's Mary, Joey, Jeff and Kim, they had been exposed to the substance because of Mojo are starting to redevelop their powers, capable of levitation, they're stronger, no heat vision yet."
"The old mayor hasn't had any changes, but I don't know if that's because of his age or if he had Antidote X."
"He may have just not noticed it. As much as I didn't want to, I tested Antidote X on Blossom, and it didn't work on her."
"It didn't work!?" Mayor Bellum said sounding shocked. "So, you're saying that now those who had Chemical X are not only started to get back their powers or develop new powers, but they also cannot be removed anymore!?"
"That's the concerning part. And even the Gangreen Gang are developing new powers. My girls told me that they had those powers years ago due to an overdose of sugary products like candy, coffee and soda, mixed with the girl's heat vision that had minute traces of Chemical X in it, but they lost it all in just a few hours."
"And… now they're getting those powers back?"
"Yes. Though on a very minor scale. And then there's the girls' school rival, Princess Morbucks, she had powers, but they were removed."
"Has she been developing new powers?"
"It's a safe assumption, yes. But my girls haven't seen her for four days. We want to bring her to the lab to find out, but no luck yet."
"And the four children?"
"They'll be coming to my lab tomorrow. If we can't remove their powers, we're gonna try and train them into controlling it and using it for good, not necessarily be new crime fighters, but help the public through any other means."
"And that leads me to my most important question. What about the Rowdyruff Boys?"
"I don't know, no one's seen them in two years. I'd send my girls out to find them, but with crime escalating to an almost ridiculous degree, I can't afford them to leave, and I can't put the four children into that kind of danger."
"I understand. And thank you for your assistance. I'll provide a substantial funding to the Townsville Research Centre."
"Oh… t-thank you."
"Think nothing of it, you and your girls are the sole reason this town isn't a pile of rubble, and with the ever increase in escalation of crimes, along with the evolution of Chemical X, I feel the entire town is going to need you and the Powerpuff Girls more than ever."
"Indeed, I can only hope I can find the solution."
Eventually, the conversation began to devolve into a casual conversation, so Trixie stopped paying attention and finished her food. Still, this was a lot to process, and while there was nothing on Jewelled Butterflies, she found it interesting, and should probably bring it up to the others, she wasn't sure what this Chemical X is, but the idea of superheroes and supervillains in this city is no doubt a cause for concern.
September 14th - 1:45pm –Little Tokyo District, Shopping Street
Trixie was walking through the shopping streets to find any signs of a Jewelled Butterfly, she's been in a few shops, but no such luck. It was expected she wouldn't be able to do much, even listening to that conversation didn't provide much for the mission, instead she just pried on someone's conversation while stuffing her face, some team member she was. She decided it would just be best to wait for Dib and Double D at the train station, clearly she couldn't do anything useful by herself and needs someone to tell her what to do.
As she walked, she stopped and noticed a scuffed up old man sitting in a corner, he had a tray with some coins in them, and a sign next to him that said. 'Ex-Military, yet I'm homeless, please give me some change.'
She felt stunned, a soldier who's homeless, her dad would always tell her just how important soldiers are, to see one reduced to this felt so wrong. She dug into her pocket to get some more money, but discovered it was empty, the only spare cash she had outside her card was a twenty, and she already gave that away to someone who was having a bad day.
She began to feel miserable; she should've saved it for him, but just gave it to someone who already had a home and a job, he just had a bad day. She looked to her right and saw a bank, it was decided, give this old man more. Without thinking too much, she walked into the bank and went to the nearest cash machine, put her card in and requested five-hundred dollars, she grabbed the money and made her way straight to the old man.
"Here you go sir." She said, holding out the five-hundred dollars to him.
He looked, keeping a miserable look, but the moment he processed how much it was, his eyes lit up and tears began to form, he then looked up at her. "Are… are you serious?"
Trixie nods. "You need it way more than me. Stay safe, Soldier."
The old man started crying but tried desperately to hold it back as he gently took the money. "T-Thank you… bless your soul."
Trixie took a few steps back, with a genuine smile, she gave a salute to the man, before walking away. She turned back for a moment to see the man looking at her and waving, before he slowly stood up, took his tray of coins and walked in the opposite direction.
She wasn't sure what he would do with the money, but it made him happy, and in a twist, it made her feel really happy as well, to genuinely help someone, as she turned back around and started walking. But this feeling persisted, it made her feel really good, not only did she make him happy, and helped him out big time, but it made her feel useful. It was then she realised something.
By collecting the Jewelled Butterflies, she'll be going against three villains, and by taking them down, she'll have helped hundreds if not thousands of people, and even if she cannot fight them, she can use her wealth to aid them in taking them down, and finally, she can use her wealth to help the normal people in need during their travels. In fact, when she has time, she should find a place to donate to charity.
"Hot Chick at twelve o clock!"
"Chickens! Where?"
"Oh, for crying… I mean Trixie."
"Oh! That kind of chicken!"
Trixie recognised those voices and looked to her right, but when she did, Ed immediately grabbed her, she gave off a quick shriek as she was thrown onto Ed's head and clung on, Gaz on the right shoulder, and Eddy on the left. And Ed was running as fast as he could.
"Hey Trix!" said Eddy. "Find anything useful?"
"I- ah…" Trixie was still processing what was happening, but got it together, she noticed that Ed and Gaz had some bruises on them, like they had been in a fight, Eddy seemed fine, but still had some marks. Looking like they've done more than her, she would've mentioned donating some money, but it wasn't relevant to the mission. "N-No… sorry."
"Well don't you worry." Said Eddy looking very smug. "I've found out who BOUGHT the Butterfly!"
"Wait. Seriously?" asked Gaz, who strangely enough, looked interested now.
"You got it! Let's get back to the train station and tell the others!"
As Ed ran off with the three, Trixie held on, feeling the speed, it began to add a bit of exhilaration to her, she was enjoying it, and with the feeling of helping people still fresh, she felt like she's found her new purpose, if she can't help herself, she might as well help everyone around her, give herself the purpose she needs.
September 14th - 2:12pm – Townsville Train Station
The gang left Little Tokyo District and were near the train station, the four were now walking normally, all while Gaz continued to play her Game-Slave as usual, as they were making their way back, Trixie took notice of Phineas and Isabella reading a newspaper on a bench together, and thankfully, Double D and Dib were there, they were also reading it with them, peering over. Trixie felt glad to see him alright.
In front of them were Billy and Mandy, and Mandy had a new fashion change, she was wearing a dark pink cap and a pair of sunglasses.
"We had a run in with a crazy hair-raising chick." Said Billy.
As he said that, all of them took notice of her, Eddy, Ed and Gaz approaching them, and as Billy and Mandy turned to face them, visible bruises and marks were on the two as well. Implying they were in a fight with someone, just like they did.
"You too, huh?" asked Eddy.
"Ed! Eddy! Are you alright!?" asked Double D as he stood up and walked up to them.
"Yup! We had worse!" said Ed.
"We got jumped by some green skinned guys." Said Eddy. Trixie was curious, but didn't ask.
"Gaz!" Dib saw her bruises and immediately ran to her, kneeling down slightly and placing his hands on her face to examine her wounds. "A-Are you alright!?"
"I'm fine Dib. Now get off!" Gaz slapped his hands off her face. Trixie saw this and thought it was kinda cute, seeing how much Dib cared for her.
"So did you find anything besides trouble?" asked Mandy, as she spoke up, everyone turned to face her.
Eddy puffed out his chest slightly, looking very smug. "I sure as hell did."
"Excellent, glad you could do so much without our help." Said Double D, but soon looked back at Eddy and Ed's bruises.
"Relax Sock-Head, like Ed said, we've been through a lot worse." Said Eddy.
"Yeah, wish we got to you sooner though, it was a pain to get the money to afford a train ticket." Said Dib, he looked at Gaz's bruises again, but then faced the gang. "Had to dance for coins."
"A loooot of coins." Double D added with a fed-up tone to his voice.
Trixie gave a silent sigh, if she was on that train, they would've been back sooner. In fact, she could've bought a ticket to get to them, and then bring them back. She kicked herself a bit, but on the other hand, the information on the Chemical X evolution and donating to that old soldier, she would've had those if she did go to get them.
"In any case, we should exchange what we learned." Said Phineas. "Mandy, how about you start?"
"Well, we discovered a building called Morbucks Tower. My theory is that perhaps this Gregory Morbucks was the one who has the Butterfly, he's super rich and let's be real, a gemstone like that would fetch a pretty penny…" Mandy sighs a little. "But I lack evidence to prove otherwise."
"Let's be thankful that I managed to find something." Gloated Eddy, he soon cleared his throat. "I came across an antique shop that had a photo of the butterfly!"
"Seriously!?" asked Double D, looking proud. "Well done."
"But it's JUST a photo, right? Nothing else to go on?" asked Mandy.
"That's the thing. The old shop keep said someone bought it ten years ago, and he mentioned that the buyer had a big orange moustache."
Isabella soon spoke up. "Well, Mandy's theory might be correct, while a conspiracy newspaper isn't exactly accurate, some things do add up, especially with what Eddy said."
Phineas responded. "I'll give you the gist. There's been some sketchy rumours that Mr Morbucks has been losing a lot of business money thanks to that of Matelli Metals, Adam Matelli's company."
Trixie soon recalled that she saw him at the train station as they were leaving, it was weird to see him and he became relevant to this subject. She thought about bringing it up, but decided not to bother.
"And he's been trying to climb the political ladder." Isabella responded. "He primarily works on selling metals, machines and parts for machines."
"But according to this newspaper." Phineas continued. "Morbucks continuously used the same business tactics and mainly worked with various stocks and food trades, along with cars and car parts. From what we gathered, he was losing finance since he wasn't trying anything new, he wasn't adapting."
"C'mon, get to the good part about how he has the butterfly!" Eddy interjected.
"Eddy! Don't interrupt, this is important!" said Double D.
"Anyway, it also turns out that Matelli isn't just doing machines or machine parts, but has rather underwent similar trades to Morbucks, forcing him to lose customers." Phineas continued. "And they've also claimed that Morbucks has been selling stocks and assets to keep his company standing, but he's falling fast."
"And… we found this nugget!" Isabella turned to a specific page, and it shown a rich looking fat man with an orange moustache, next to him was a young girl with orange hair in two baubles, but in the man's hand, is a jewelled butterfly.
The butterfly was pure white with black straight lines going around the wings, the photo itself looked to be quite old itself.
"Bingo!" Mandy responded.
"And with a big orange moustache to boot!" said Eddy.
"It looks like a Black-Veined White Butterfly." Said Double D. "This was first listed as a British species in 1667, but this large butterfly became extinct in the British Isles around 1925 with its last remaining stronghold in the south-east of England. It was always considered a rarity in the British Isles but on the continent, it is often very common. The female is known to rub her wings together and loses many of her scales by doing so, resulting in an almost-transparent look when compared with the white wings of the male. The reason behind this unusual behaviour is not known."
"Are you a walking Wikipedia?" asked Dib raising an eyebrow.
Mandy interrupted "Either way, we'll need to infiltrate Morbucks Tower. Assuming he still has it."
"Even if he doesn't, we can still hack into his computers and find out who he sold it to." Said Dib.
"I feel bad for breaking into a building, but we have to do it before anyone else does." Said Isabella.
"Either way, we should only have a few of us go in." said Double D. "Three at most."
Isabella turns to Phineas. "Hey, do you remember those Ninja suits you made? The ones that make you hide from anyone not wearing them?"
"Yeah, they're still at home, but they don't fit anymore."
"Hide from anyone? Can you recreate them?" asked Dib.
"I think I can, problem is that Ferb and I make all our machines together, without him, I can only do half as good."
"Well, you're gonna have to try without him, we're low on options." Mandy then turned to Dib. "Can you hack into his computers remotely?"
"No, not without my own computers at home. Even then I'm not very good at it."
"Either way, we should book a hotel for the night so we can have a base of operations." Said Trixie, trying to involve herself more. "I can pay for everything we need."
"Good." Mandy speaks up again. "Ok, get some supplies, get whatever you need for these Ninja Suits you mentioned, and we'll infiltrate the Morbucks Tower tonight. Can you get them done by then?"
Phineas shrugged. "If I can remember how, I did them before, I might be able to make at least one, but if I begin immediately."
"Alright, let's find a hotel, find the right stores and let's get to work."
Everyone agreed and began to move back into the city. Trixie felt both confident and hesitant, although there wasn't much she could do outside of paying for their stuff, she at least decided that she was going to make sure they get the best they need.
She dug into her new phone and began to look up hotels, she was going to find the most luxurious hotel she can find, and it didn't take long to find one that not only had the finest food and comfort, but one of their rooms were big enough to accommodate all ten of them, perfect for them.
'Alright Trixie, your time to be useful begins now, do not screw this up.'
To be continued
While not much happens, I hope you found the talk between Professor Utonium and Mayor Bellum to be interesting, and more evidence of this are in the other perspectives. So again, whether you wanna read just one perspective, more than one or all five, it's up to you.
Either way, sorry for this chapter taking so long, but I hope you enjoyed it.