Boy, things got pretty bad last time, didn't they? Well, let's hope things get better... or maybe they'll get worse. Well, why don't we find out?
Warning: Chapter with category M. This chapter may contain content not suitable for all audiences. Discretion is advised.
Bubble Guppies Fanfic
Bubble Guppies Adult Years
Chapter 35: Poison Trap (part 2)
It's hard to see what's going on here. A relationship was hanging by a thread, where it was possible for it to break. And why is this? Zooli had found out about the "supposed affair" that her fiancé is having with his boss's wife, causing the wedding to be temporarily suspended, or perhaps permanently. The worst part is that things are not as Zooli assumed. It turns out that this woman named Lilith turned out to be a predator who sexually assaulted Urchin, going so far as to rape him. The situation was complicated, since socially and even legally, the boy had the paradigm against him. No one takes it seriously when it comes to a woman's aggression towards a man due to the same social stigmas. In addition, Lilith was a millionaire woman with a good social status, she could simply blame him and make dirty deals to clear her name and dirty Urchin's. Which left him only to keep quiet. However, he did decide to talk to her seriously about a very important subject. As was her custom, Lilith called him from time to time for her "adventures." And it was during one of those that he decided to talk to her.
"Wow, dear...I was waiting for you" Lilith greeted him in an office, ready to kiss him and move forward, but Urchin stopped her for a moment.
"Listen to me, you have to stop this...It seems like you lied to me" Urchin said bothered.
"What do you mean by that, dear? Don't tell me you want to rebel against me" Lilith asked him.
"Don't pretend. Lilith, the first time we "did it" it was recorded. And Zooli received that video!" Urchin confronted her.
"W-W-WHAT?! W-Where do you get that from?!" Lilith asked him bothered.
"I have no idea, but someone sent this video to Zooli...And now she and I..." Urchin tried to not cry.
"Owww don't tell me you guys broke up...Ho ho ho! Looks like there's no need to pretend you're not enjoying it anymore" Lilith smirked a bit.
"Are you crazy? I've never enjoyed "this" before. Besides, Zooli is the woman I love, and you know very well that I'm doing this because you're threatening me! Besides, someone recorded us... What if your husband sees the video? Huh?!" Urchin confronted him. She just walked up and slapped him on the cheek.
"I'll take care of the video later. And if anyone else finds out, I'll take care of it. So, don't ever raise your voice at me like that again. You're mine now. Do you understand?" Lilith said bothered and took him by the neck.
"Ugghhh Ughhhh" Urchin could only nod with his head.
"Okay. Good boy. Now, get undressed...I want to play rough today, my lover" Lilith said evilly. Urchin could only sigh and obey. Even though he didn't know it, the woman was worried about the video. She had to find out who the meddler was.
The other side of the coin also reflected pain. Zooli began to sink into a low mood like she had never experienced before. She had not felt anything like this since her last love disappointment. That pain and memories worsened her condition. Her work performance had dropped and neither the company of her animal patients nor her pets cheered her up. She was in her room immersing herself in her own pain. All the excitement and happiness of her upcoming wedding was gone. There was only disappointment and a broken heart in that room. She could only see some photos of her with her fiancé Urchin. She also took off her engagement ring from her finger and could only feel more sadness, knowing that the opportunity to start a family had vanished.
"H-H-How….H-How could you? I...I started to believe in love...thanks to you...And...And now? Now what?" Zooli dropped the ring and simply covered her face in her "knees" and suffered in silence. Well, at least she was going to bear all this alone.
"Huh…..Zooli…."
"Huh?!" Zooli looked up and saw that her Aunt Khloe was the one who had entered the room.
"Zooli...what's wrong? You've been very sad these days. You're not eating well and your friends are getting worried" Khloe asked her niece.
"...I just want to be alone" Zooli said quietly.
"But you've been like this for days. You were so happy about your upcoming wedding" Her aunt asked again.
"There will be no wedding, aunt!" She hid her face in her knees. This worried her aunt. She just put her hand on her niece's back to comfort her.
"Wait...What? Something happened...Something happened between you and Urchin?" Khloe asked, a bit surprised by the answer.
"Urchin...He...He...He cheated on me with another woman...A woman married to his boss...And a video proves it...No...I didn't expect it from him…." Zooli told her with great sadness. Those words were hard to swallow. Zoey's sister couldn't believe those words.
"Wait...Urchin? The same Urchin I know? That...That can't be possible" Her aunt doubt a lot.
"I thought the same thing...But they sent me a video...Where he and she...sniff...They didn't just kiss...They had intimate relations...I thought he wanted to do that only with me...I felt betrayed, deceived...I knew it...I knew it! Falling in love again was a mistake! How could I be so stupid?!" Zooli broke in tears again. Khloe had never seen her niece so emotionally devastated in a long time. One of the few times she remembered her suffering too much was with the death of her parents. Which was saying a lot, it meant that the emotional pain was enormous. Disappointment from a crush is not the same as disappointment from a fiancé. All she could do was comfort Zooli. Everything seemed horrible to her too. For Urchin was the boy who made her believe in love again. But Khloe was a wise grown woman, full of experience and knowledge, and she knew something was wrong.
"Zooli…Are you absolutely sure that...Urchin did that?" Khloe asked her quietly.
"Yes, I have no doubt...This video proves it…." Zooli just showed her the phone. She didn't want to see it again. Her aunt preferred to only watch a few seconds to avoid morbidity.
"Can I ask you something: Did you speak directly to him?" She asked again.
"Aunt, please...Don't defend him. Please. Why so many questions?" Her niece asked, a bit annoyed.
"Dear, I don't know if I should tell you but...I know a case very similar to this" Khloe doubt at first to tell her something important.
"Huh….W-W-What do you mean?" Zooli was curious and started wiping her eyes.
"Have I ever talked about how your parents got together?" Her aunt asked it. That caught her niece's attention. She almost forgot the reason for her sadness.
"Huh? Snif...No...No, you haven't" She wiped her tears and her nose with a handkerchief.
"Your mom had a huge crush on your daddy. She was going to ask him out during the second year of high school, but some had other plans…" Khloe started to tell her the story of how Zooli's parents knew each other.
"Wow...there was another one huh?" Her niece now was more interested in the story. Because it started with drama.
"Yep. You remember your dad's cousin Zeke?" Her aunt asked her.
"Oh! Zeke...I have blurry memories about him" Zooli couldn't remember much about him, since the last time she saw him was at her parents' funeral. And if they saw each other on another occasion, she didn't remember it.
"Well, Zeke had your eyes on your mother since they started high school, and he had always taken the opportunity to ask her out" She continued with the story.
"Really?! Well...I know that they were good friends but...I never imagined that he felt something more for her" Zooli was kinda surprised.
"Oh, he was desperate! And he DIDN'T accept no for an answer" Khloe added.
"Uh oh"
"'Uh oh' was right. When your mom turned him down for the umpteenth, he took matters into his own hands. He pulled her into the janitor's closet and did some... very unpleasant things to her" Khloe said it in the most appropriate way.
"My goodness! Did he...you know…" Zooli asked a bit unsure of the kind of question.
"Yes, he did. Not only that, but he had one of his friends film the whole thing" Khloe continued with the story.
"My..." Zooli was speechless.
"Zoey was blackmailed into dating him and keeping quiet about the whole thing" She added.
"I...I...I can't believe it. H...How did dad react about it?" Zooli wanted to know more.
"Sooner or later, he figured it out. And you know what? Your dad had a hard time believing your mom at first. But he found out it was all Zeke's idea. It took a while for them to heal, but your father and mother got through it together... And their love grew so strong over time that they got married... And had you years later" Khloe touched her niece's hair softly.
"That was...nice...Even though something horrible happened, something good came out of it...But why did you tell me this story about my parents?" Zooli asked her.
"Don't you notice a pattern here? Like some similarities...No?" Khloe raised her eyebrow.
"Wait...You imply that it is possible that..." Zooli was doubting.
"It's just my opinion and my theory...Also, a question: Did you talk to him? Did you let him explain himself?" Khloe asked again.
"...I think...from the anger I had...and the disappointment...I didn't let him explain himself...But...Please...Is it possible that she could...force him?" She began to let go of her anger towards her fiancé and that feeling turned into doubt and uncertainty.
"We must not underestimate the evilness of people. Besides, you know Urchin well…" Khloe said wisely. Zooli decided to clean up a bit and got ready to leave.
"Aunt, I have to go. I still have to think about everything that is happening. And I think... I will take more points of view" Zooli took her things and she left the house. She wanted to seek someone else. She was in doubt now. Could it be possible that she misinterpreted the facts?
Now we'll focus on a remote place, where we would never think one of our protagonists would be. It was Urchin, who was in a place where he was never used to being: a bar. He had no problem getting in, but he wanted to be alone in one part of the bar. The bartender served him a jug of beer, something that was not at all normal for him.
"Here's your order, sir...Hey, why the long face?" It was a lobster man in a suit and an eye patch. He looked tough, but he was very polite.
"(sigh) I'm just...cornered with problems..." Urchin hesitated to tell him details.
"I see. But hey, have a cup and you'll feel better. Believe me, they always come out of here happy and without anything to worry about" The bartender offered. The boy thought about it for a long time and decided to take the cup and drank a little. However, Urchin had never drunk before and he decided to spit the drink out.
"Ughh Yuk….True, I was never a beer drinker... I never liked the smell and I have never had anything alcoholic" Urchin reminded himself.
"I see, you are a debutant...I will bring something lighter for you" The bartender said kindly. At that moment, a rough subject arrived, a gray fish with dark clothes.
"Hey, you idiot! What? You didn't like the beer... Because you spit on my shoes!" The fish shouted at him.
"I-I-I'm sorry, sir…I…Wait….Do you have shoes?" Urchin asked nervously.
"Are you trying to pull my leg, you weird guppy?!" The fish said angrily.
"No-No-No, sir….I….Wait….You don't have legs" The green-haired guppy corrected nervously.
"So you think you're smart, shorty? Get out of here or I'll get you out myself" The fish shouted.
"S-S-Sir, please. As you can see, I can't defend myself. I don't have the condition to do anything to you...So please, leave me alone" Urchin was panicking.
"As if that matters to me, freak. You should have thought about that before bothering me" He clenched his fists until someone arrived. He was a guppy boy wearing a jacket and a cap.
"What's going on here?"
"None of your business, busybody!" The fish threatened him.
"Dude, relax. Leave the kid in the wheelchair alone. Just go and have another glass of beer" The mysterious guy said calmly.
"I guess you don't know who you're messing with?" The fish said threateningly, discreetly showing him that he had a hidden dagger.
"And I think you don't know who you're messing with either?" The subject secretly showed him two things: a gun and a police badge "If you want to get out of this in peace...Just leave and I'll act like none of this happened" The guy said with a smug smile. The fish just snorted and left Urchin alone. The new guy sat down next to the guppy in the wheelchair.
"That was...amazing...But don't you think you should have done something with him?" Urchin asked him.
"Hehe...what he doesn't know is that some of my colleagues are waiting for him outside. We were looking for him…." The guy said calmly "Of all the places in the city, I didn't expect you to be here...Urchin"
"Huh?! How do you know my name?" Urchin asked shockedly.
"Friend, don't you recognize my performance?" At that moment, the boy took off his cap and showed himself to be one of his best friends.
"G-Gil?!" Urchin identified him.
"Hehe….You saw how I could change my voice... Tricks I learned in the police force. Sometimes Miranda, I and a few other guys come in here undercover, either to arrest someone or get information that will help us. In fact, we rarely do these things. But I was lucky to save your skin. Hey, what are you doing in a place like this, all alone? You're not that kind of person" Gil asked him curiously.
"Oh….I don't know...I'm not having a good time..." Urchin was nervous to comment his situation.
"Let me guess, that has something to do with a video of you being with another woman who is not Zooli?" Gil asked fastly. Urchin was stunned. His face turned pale and he broke out in a cold sweat.
"Where do you get that from?! Don't tell me...Don't tell me Zooli..." Urchin was panicking again.
"Urchin, calm down...Take a deep breath and drink some water...(sigh) No, Zooli didn't tell me anything or show me anything...Someone sent that video to us, the guppies. I received it, as did everyone else" Gil explained. Although Urchin was able to calm down a little, it didn't calm him down completely. He blushed in embarrassment and lowered his gaze.
"So, all our friends know I'm a cheater...Right?" Urchin said sadly.
"Urchin, just tell me one thing...I know you did it but...Did you want to do it, yes or no?" Gil asked seriously. Which was odd coming from him. He wasn't upset, but he was serious.
"...Would you believe me if...if I told you that she...that she forced me to do it? Why do I bother? Of course you're not going to believe me" The wheelchair guppy looked down. There were a few seconds of silence, until his friend spoke.
"Urchin…..That was all I needed to hear...I believe you"
"Huh?!"
"Friend….(sigh) You are not the only guy in the world who has been abused by a girl. In fact, you are seeing someone who was abused by his ex-girlfriend" Gil commented seriously.
"Oh….Really….I mean….I know you were Jane's boyfriend….but…." Urchin was trying to understand more.
"Well, I was lucky that Jane didn't try to sexually abuse me...But I did suffer physical and psychological abuse from her. I don't doubt that if that relationship had lasted longer, she would have wanted to try it...And yes, I suffered some of what you feel now...Believing that they wouldn't listen to me...But let me tell you that you are not alone" Gil supported him.
"I can't believe it...Do you really believe me?" Urchin asked in surprise.
"And not just me...Goby and Nonny are helping me with the investigation...I suspect something strange is in that video" Gil said confidently.
"And...what about the girls?" Urchin asked.
"Molly, Deema and Oona should be with Zooli now... We learn that Zooli wanted to break off the engagement when she found out. So they want to talk to her. In fact, why don't you come with me? We'll go there" The blue-haired guppy proposed.
"I…I….I….I….I don't know….I could…Huh….I…" Urchin was very nervous.
"Don't worry, man. Trust me" Gil smiled at him. It seems he had something in mind.
Elsewhere, Zooli was still processing everything her aunt told her. About how a misunderstanding nearly broke her parents' relationship. Could it be that her entire problem with Urchin was also a misunderstanding? The doubt was there, and she got the guilt. She felt that she should have let him talk. Why didn't she? Of course, she knew. Her mind and heart filled with pain and anger as she remembered previous betrayals and thought that Urchin would be her new disappointment. Well, she still doubted if he did it deliberately or if something else was hidden. She knew that she would need help and advice. She wanted to talk to her friends in private. So Zooli arrived at the new house of the new Shaskan-Pirruccello family. She thought about talking to Oona first, but she was lucky that both Molly and Deema were there. So... she wanted to touch on that personal subject.
"Zooli, how nice that you have arrived...We just needed to talk to you" Deema said.
"I needed to talk to you girls too" Zooli added quietly.
"It's Urchin, isn't it?" Molly asked her.
"Y-Yes...How do you know?" Zooli asked them. The three girls looked at each other in silence, as if they didn't know how to tell her or who would dare to tell her.
"Hey friend... All of us... and the boys... received a video of dubious origin... of Urchin in a compromising situation" Oona was the brave one who decided to tell her.
"Oh! So...you already...you know…" Zooli was speechless.
"(sigh) I'm very sorry" Deema comforted her a bit.
"It's just that...I never thought he was capable of doing something like that" Zooli was still in doubt.
"Zooli, actually...We are not seeing it the way you see it" Molly commented.
"What do you mean with that? I thought it was so clear" Zooli asked her.
"Zooli, we've known Urchin for years and I don't see him capable of doing something like that to you" The pink-haired guppy expressed her thoughts.
"Also, not only that...Nonny analyzed the video for me and noticed that there are...'parts of the video conveniently cut out'..." Oona said a bit worried.
"Girls, can I ask you a question? Do you think it's possible that...Urchin did it...against his will?" Zooli presented her possible theory. The other girls thought about it for a bit.
"It's...It's exactly what we're thinking" Molly commented.
"R-R-Really?" Zooli was surprised.
"Dude, some dumb guy at college wanted to..."do that" against my will and wanted to videotape it. In fact, Urchin stopped him...If that guy had managed to "do that to me", surely that video would have been posted and I would have been exposed...And obviously it was against my will!" Deema remembered her past experience.
"But...Is it possible that Urchin...was forced too? It's just that...the boys are usually the ones who take initiative in that" Zooli asked doubtedly.
"Well, it's possible that boys are victims of abuse by girls too. I know this because Gilly was physically and psychologically abused by Jane... Luckily, she didn't try to do anything more to him... But she probably would have" Molly remembered this experience her husband suffered.
"I don't know, girls...I want to believe but...Why is it so hard for me? I want to believe the best. That he didn't betray me" Zooli said with a low tone of voice.
"Zooli, with what we are seeing...It is likely that Urchin did not do it voluntarily" Molly tried to give her hopes.
"In fact, there is something we are investigating...Who sent us the video, and why? Because all the Bubble Guppies received the same video" Deema asked.
'"W-Wait….The boys too!" Zooli was shocked.
"Unfortunately, they know it too. In fact, we are all investigating it" Oona answered.
"Oh! Speaking of them...They are outside" The blonde-haired guppy noticed the sound of somebody knocking the door. Oona greeted the visitors and it turned out to be her husband along with Gil, Goby and... surprisingly, Urchin was there. This delighted and surprised the girls. Zooli and Urchin looked at each other in surprise. Neither expected to see each other so quickly. They tried not to look at each other too much. No words came out of their mouths. And so, the 8 adult guppies were gathered in the living room, ready to talk about the subject.
"Alright, we all know why we're gathered here... We all received a video of our friend in a situation that none of us would want to be in. Here we have two problems in one. First, this Lilith woman surely forced Urchin to do intimate actions. And second, someone wanted to defame him by sending us those videos. We must get to the bottom of this" Gil explained the situation.
"Guys...do you really believe me? That woman...abused me" Urchin asked them.
"Of course. You are our friend and we know you well" Goby commented.
"It's hard to say, urchin...But don't feel guilty. You are a victim of r*pe" Nonny said, trying to be firm.
"...Doesn't this stuff usually happen with women?" Urchin asked with shame. He felt exposed. As if he were naked in front of everyone.
"I used to think that applies to domestic abuse" Deema said, remembering when she underestimated that topic before.
"Unfortunately...38% of the r* cases are male victims. They are more common than you think" Nonny explained.
"Really? Why haven't I heard of any cases like this? I've only heard of women being…you know…. r*ped...not men being" Zooli asked with some doubts.
"(sigh) It is more common than you think. What happens is that...men tend to keep quiet in these cases out of shame and fear that no one will believe them because of the same stigmas. These cases make men doubt their own masculinity and their own confidence. They tend to keep quiet because they would be exposed to social criticism and ridicule, like women. A notable difference is that...not even the police take these cases seriously. That is why men keep quiet in the vast majority of cases. The same as women..." Gil gave his analysis.
"In other words, both men and women...boys and girls...we can all be victims…" Nonny added.
"And what are we waiting for? We must teach that tanned witch a lesson!" Deema said bothered.
"It's not that easy, Deema...Lilith is a very powerful woman in social status, and she is rich. Without strong evidence, she could get out of jail without repercussions" Goby commented.
"And that's why...I have a plan…" Gil smiled a bit.
"I was hoping you'd say that... What's on your mind?" Molly smiled too.
"We can catch her red-handed. But...for that...we need Urchin and Zooli to cooperate with us" Gil said. Zooli and Urchin looked at each other in silence. Not knowing exactly what to say at that moment.
"If….If with it…I can prove my innocence….I'll participate" Urchin said stuttering.
"Friend, I must warn you that it will be risky...You will have to be very close to her, unfortunately" Gil warned him.
"Hmmm….This isn't the only time I've been this close to her. (sigh) She has me so cornered and threatened that... I've lost count of how many times she's "done that" to me" Urchin lowered his face. Something he didn't expect was that someone touched his back, comforting him. And from the person he least expected.
"It's not your fault...She is manipulating you and forcing you to do something you don't want to do…" It was Deema who learned a lot about this topic thanks to her therapies.
"Urchin...I'm helping Gil find out who recorded and sent us the video...We think that..."He" might come back...Don't you think?" Nonny said. Urchin looked at him and knew what he meant.
"...I don't know…..I haven't done that since the BubbleTucky Battle... "He" stopped doing that a long time ago" Urchin understood his hints. But he didn't feel comfortable going back to that job. Although, well... We all know that Urchin wasn't telling them the truth about the disappearance of "Him".
"We need to know who recorded that and who sent that to us...And why" Gil said to him.
"We need to clear your name and not leave even a shred of doubt" Oona added. Urchin thought about it for a bit and analyzed the options...He made the right decision.
"(sigh) I will. Just because I want to prove to Zooli...that I'm telling the truth. That...that's all I care about right now" Urchin said determinedly.
"U-Urchin…" Zooli was surprised to hear him.
"Perfect...So let's get to work..." Molly said a bit happier.
"Stop right there...I want Urchin to say it" Gil smiled a bit.
"What should I say?" Urchin was confused.
"You know, buddy….Your phrase….His phrase…" The blue-haired guppy begged him. The boy in the wheelchair understood and fulfilled his friend's wish.
"Ahem…Wait for the Unexpected…."
And so, the 8 Bubble Guppies pooled their knowledge, skills, and resources to begin gathering evidence to prove the guilt of Lilith and the mysterious subject who had recorded them. In that process, Zooli began to reconsider her thoughts and ideas. If Urchin was guilty, why would he try so hard to prove his innocence to her? She noticed that Urchin's priority was to clear his name just for her, he wasn't even interested in Lilith's conviction at that moment. That's where she began to have a little hope... that Urchin really is the love of her life. But there was something pending: Stop Lilith once and for all!
The Bubble Guppies are united again against a crazy woman! Where have I seen this before? Nah, it must be just a coincidence (LOL). It's always great to see guppies united to care for and protect each other. Is there any salvation for Zooli and Urchin's relationship? We'll find out soon.
Please leave your reviews to know what you think. I will go to respond to the reviews of the last chapter.
PrimroseRaspberry: Hi friend! Nice to see you here. It really hurt me to see what happened to Urchin. It seems that Zooli is slowly learning the truth. And we'll see if Lilith falls. Let's hope the guppies' plan works out.
SuperSonichero18: Hello! I agree, Urchin needs a hug... And yes, Lilith could be worse than Jane. Still, Jane should not be underestimated.
GojiRaptor06: Hello there, dude! Sadly, it's true. Many rapists get away with it, regardless of whether they're men or women. But perhaps Lilith is an exception. It's possible that Zooli made the mistake of not letting him explain himself, but perhaps her past traumas made her believe otherwise. The others banded together to help this couple in crisis and expose the truth. Will they succeed?
I think that's all for now. Don't forget to follow my DeviantArt account called: DarthWriter2021, where I post the update notes of my stories and publish exclusive material from time to time. Here I say goodbye and see you in another chapter of this great saga. Don't miss it.