CHAPTER 5

 

            “But…” Bubbles stammered, “b-but…that…wha…”

            “They’re…inside us?” Buttercup said, looking up from the book at the other girls.  “Is… is this for real?”

            Blossom ran a hand across her chest and said, “I dunno…I don’t…feel any different…”

            “Why would we?” Buttercup pointed out.  “I mean, if we were created like this…oh man, this doesn’t make any sense!”

            Bubbles held the sides of her head and closed her eyes, “This can’t be real… w-we weren’t made j-just for…we a-aren’t just…I don’t…”  She trailed off.

            Reaching over and taking hold of one of her hands, Blossom said, “Hey…take it easy, Bubbles…there’s still a little left to read.  We’ll get to the bottom of this.  Just hang in there, okay?”

            “Okay…okay…” Bubbles said softly.  The girls looked back down at the book to finish reading…Bubbles was visibly distressed, but Blossom and Buttercup were just as terrified, even if they tried not to show it.  They carefully began reading the final passages…

 

*          *            *

 

            From the moment I saw the three of you, I knew that it had worked.  The essences were contained within each of you; I could tell instantly from your coloration alone.  Blossom held the essence of Chattur’gha; of that I had no doubt.  Likewise, the essence of Ulyaoth had found its home in Bubbles, and the essence of Xel’lotath confined within Buttercup.  But most importantly, I could see the goodness in each of you.  As we spent our first day together, it was evident to me that you were indeed the beings of pure good I had hoped for.

            I still had some doubt, but as your personalities emerged, I realized just why the essences were so well contained.  As I mentioned before, each of the old ones had a weakness that one of the others exploited.  Blossom’s spirit and intelligence worked well to contain Chattur’gha, much in the same way Ulyaoth would.  Bubbles was more in tune with her feelings and emotions, a perfect counter to Ulyaoth’s power.  And Buttercup had no troubles keeping Xel’lotath’s essence under control, with her ferocity and strength.

            I admit, though, that I started to worry if your goodness went beyond the surface.  If you weren’t good to your core, it wouldn’t work.  After the initial incident with Mojo, I was afraid…it seemed for a moment that you were somehow putting the will of the old ones in effect by unleashing such terrors upon us.  For a moment, I was truly afraid that I had failed…but you proved your courage, your strength, and your dedication to that which is right.  I couldn’t have been more proud of you…and more relieved.

            As time passed, too, I noticed some changes.  The nightmares had finally stopped, and I was able to sleep soundly once again.  I saw no more of the Cabal, either; they had likely moved on, thinking that the essences had been moved away from Townsville.  The experiment was a success, and I realized then that the essences would finally be safe.  The presence of your unexpected superpowers made it even safer; there was no possible way anything could take them from you now.

            But it wasn’t over.  Although everything remained quiet for a long time after that, something happened the other night.  I had a dream…not a regular dream, either; this one felt as real as though I were awake.  I dreamt I was walking through some old ruins…some sort of ancient temple.  The walls were carved from stone, set with ancient carved murals and statues.  Everything was overgrown with vines, covered with cobwebs and dust.  Nobody had set foot in this temple in ages, possibly not for hundreds of years.  Yet I walked through it, ignoring the cobwebs and making my way deeper inside, guided by a voice that whispered my name.

            I finally entered into a lower chamber of the temple and saw…I can’t even describe it.  It was huge, covered with hundreds of eyes and mouths…a large mouth lined with teeth sat on the top.  It stuck up from the center of the room and on the sides, as though filling a pit beneath it, only the top visible.  I couldn’t even fathom how much larger this creature may have been.  The whole thing pulsated slowly, stretching and contracting almost like it was breathing, its eyes shifting to look around.

            As I stared in awe at the thing, a human form appeared before me, ghostly.  He was clad in what looked like ancient tribal garb…perhaps one of the former inhabitants of the temple, a priest or some such.  Like he was reading my questioning thoughts, he spoke, “Before you is what’s left of the corpse god, the immortal Mantorok, festering within this, his tomb, for all eternity…”

            “Mantorok…” I repeated.  I had heard the name before, as I had mentioned earlier…the fourth of the old ones, and the only one whose essence was still unaccounted for.

            The tribal priest drifted closer and said, “There is something you must do…Mantorok’s living essence is in danger.  It cannot—it must not—fall into the hands of the Cabal, for they would use it to destroy you…”

            “How did this happen?” I asked.  “Wasn’t it well-protected here?”

            “It was always in danger of discovery,” he explained.  “The Cabal were very close, but Mantorok took a risk…”

            I was confused, and asked “What risk?”

            Instead of answering, he stretched out his arm to the air in front of me.  At once, my surroundings changed, and in what seemed an instant, the images that formed around me explained what had happened.  I could see it all…Mantorok knew that the Cabal was very near to locating the temple where he was entombed, perhaps merely in a matter of months.  Not long enough for him to put any plans into motion.

            But all wasn’t lost.  Mantorok had watched my own activities from afar, and saw how successfully I had contained the essences of the other three old ones.  He longed for similar release, a way for his essence to remain forever safe, even if it meant putting it outside of his own reach.  He still needed a being of pure good to contain and hide it, and after much watching, an opportunity finally arose, when the three of you had snuck into my lab one afternoon to create a fourth Powerpuff sibling…

            [Buttercup, “Fourth…Powerpuff…sibling…”

Bubbles caught on first, and gasped, “B-Bunny?  Is he talking about…?”

            “He must be,” Blossom answered.  “Yes, he is, look…”]

            When the time was right, it was a simple matter for Mantorok to extend his will, even from afar, and place his essence within the bowl where you were mixing the ingredients.  It easily went beyond your notice, amongst everything else you had added.  His plan almost worked, too…Bunny was created, and his essence successfully contained.

            But Mantorok’s power runs thin.  Barely able to conjure a few twisted and dead corpses to his aid, his essence failed to give the strength and stability that the other ones did.  It was the old one’s presence, not the ingredients, which caused Bunny’s physical being to become twisted and deformed.  And ultimately, it was this weakness that caused her instability as well.  Mantorok didn’t intend for Bunny to explode, and couldn’t have foreseen it would happen.

            The risky move had cost him.  His essence was now exposed, no longer hidden safely away from the Cabal, or any other human.  It had settled from the explosion, for not even such a detonation could hope to damage something as powerful as an old one’s very being.  The blast carried it to the shore just outside Townsville, and there it lay, at the bottom of the bay, unbeknownst to all except Mantorok himself.

            That would change, however…eventually, the Cabal’s rituals located it; without its protection, they were able to gradually zero in on its location, and the very night I had this dream, it was found.  Once these final images were revealed to me, I woke up…the warning was strong, and meaningful; I knew what they were planning with it, and I knew also that I must put a stop to it, at all costs.

            There was little time, so as I spent the time writing this record out for you, I called up as many people as I could to try and find where the Cabal’s latest headquarters were.  Since I knew their alias, from the bill of sale on their former building, it was easier to track them down without drawing attention.

            And this is why I had to leave suddenly…I must stop them, girls, at all costs, even if it means my own life.  If there’s even a slim chance I can be successful, I will take it.

            But I beg you…please, do not try to follow me, or locate me.  I have to do this alone.  You must understand the risk…Chemical X gives you great abilites, but it is still a mere shadow to the might of the old ones.  If the Cabal manages to tap into the powers of Mantorok’s essence, this could give them the strength to retrieve the ones you hold.  This cannot happen.

            If I fail, the Cabal will surely be able to track you down, through Mantorok.  Please, run if this happens.  Leave Townsville, and never stay in one place.  They will hunt you to the ends of the Earth.  But I say again…do not try to follow me.  It is quite possible that this will be my last wish, so I ask you to please honor it.

            My little angels, I will always love you.  Farewell.

 

*          *            *

 

            Blossom closed the book slowly, and looked up in silent shock.  Buttercup bit her lip and looked like she was going to say something, but couldn’t think of what.  Bubbles had tears in her eyes…after a moment of silence, she whispered, “…Dad…”

            “I can’t believe it,” Buttercup finally said.  “The professor…all alone on this…What’s going to happen?  What if…what if he doesn’t…make it back…?”

            “He will, he has to,” Blossom said, with confidence she didn’t feel.

            Shaking her head, Buttercup said, “No…didn’t you hear what he’s up against?  And…and they probably won’t let the same thing happen again…they’ll have tighter security…and…”

            “Stop it!” Blossom shouted suddenly.  “Don’t you think I know how hopeless this is for him?  Don’t you think…don’t you think he knows how hopeless this is?”

            Buttercup frowned a little, narrowing her eyes, “Well, it’s not hopeless if we help him.”

            “What?” Blossom exclaimed.  “We can’t…the professor s—…”

            “Forget about that!” Buttercup said back, getting to her feet.  “I don’t know about you, but I’m not gonna sit around here doin’ nothing, while the professor going off to die somewhere!”

            Jumping back to her own feet, Blossom yelled, “It’s not safe!  There’s too much at risk!  Don’t you understand?  We’re holding the fate of the world inside us!  If we go after him, then everything the Professor did could be for nothing!!”  Her final word hung in the air, as they continued to glare at each other in silence.

            The quiet was broken when Bubbles said softly, “What if we stop them first?”

            Blossom looked down at her, “What?”

            “Well, the professor said that the power of…M—…Man’troc…” she said, stumbling momentarily on the word, “…wasn’t controlled yet…”

            Buttercup frowned, and began to say, “What’s that have to do with…”

            “Wait,” Blossom interrupted, lost in thought.  “Wait, she’s right…we’re only in danger if the Cabal manages to unlock the powers from the essence of this ‘Mantorok’…so…”

            Buttercup smiled slightly as she caught on, “…so if we can get there before they do it, we can stop them…and still be safe!  Am I right?”

            Nodding, Blossom said, “But there’s still the problem of finding them.  The professor didn’t say where they were going, you know.  All we know is that it’s some building, somewhere…and it’s probably not even in Townsville.  Unless…”

            “Unless what?” Bubbles asked.

            Instead of answering, Blossom flew out from the lab, heading upstairs.  In an instant, she flew into the professor’s den, where his desk and all his papers were.  The girls came in behind her, and saw her leafing through the stacks of paper on the desk.  “Bloss, what are you doing?” Buttercup demanded.

            “The professor recently called some people to check up on that building,” Blossom explained as she continued to sort through the papers, “so there has to be a note or something where he scribbled it down, or at least a phone number…”

            “Unless he took it with him,” Buttercup pointed out.

            “Perhaps, but…” Blossom started to say, but broke off as she found a pad of paper on the desk.  Pages had been torn from it, but as she looked closely, she could still see the indent from whatever had been written on the page above.  She smiled, “Bingo!” and examined it more closely, “Okay…let’s see…Bubbles, write this down…”

            Bubbles grabbed a pen and paper from the desk, “Okay…”  Blossom carefully made out the address and read it off, one letter at a time.  It took about a minute, but Bubbles copied it down exactly as she read it.  She read it back, “755 Oakwood Blvd…is that it?”

            “Yeah, no city name or anything,” Blossom said.  “That probably means it is in Townsville!”

            Buttercup grinned, “Well, then what are we waiting for?  Let’s get there fast and save the professor!”  Without wasting another minute, Buttercup headed for the front door.  The other girls were right behind her, and together they flew out from the house, heading for the heart of Townsville to search for the address.  They each knew they had to hurry, but Blossom had a bit of doubt…the professor had specifically told them not to come looking for him, yet they were anyway.  The professor usually knew what he was talking about, too…she seriously hoped that, by looking for him, they weren’t making a big mistake…

 

TO BE CONTINUED…