CHAPTER 10

 

            Bubbles turned and stared at the Cabal member, who was now starting to back slowly out of the room.  He froze in his tracks, though, when Bubbles gaze met his, and she demanded, “Where is it?”

            “Where’s…w-where’s what?” the man stammered.

            “The essence of Mantorok.” Bubbles told him, narrowing her eyes.  “Tell me where it is.  Now.”

            Shaking his head, “I…I don’t know…I don’t…”

            She started to hover towards him slowly, raising an arm to point at him, and said, “If you do not know, then you are of no use to me…”  Her arm began to glow with a blue flame, and the man was suddenly lifted into the air, unable to move.  His muscles were tightened, and he tried to speak, but it only came out as a choked cry.  She repeated, “One last time, tell me where it is!”

            The man managed to grunt out, “I swear…I…d-don’t…know…wh-where…it…”  He never finished, because in the next instant, a bright blue energy flared up inside him, and he just exploded, splattering outwards all at once.  Only the man’s skeleton stayed put, and when Bubbles lowered her arm, the skeleton clattered to the ground, shattering into pieces.  She gave his remains a brief glance before she looked up at the doorway he was standing in and, without wasting any further time, flew through it, intent on finding the essence before the cabal could unlock its powers…

 

*          *            *

 

            “Was that Bubbles?” Buttercup asked, still carrying the professor by one of his arms.  “It…it sounded just like her…”

            “Not just like her,” Blossom replied, from the other arm.  “She never screamed like that before.  Something’s terribly wrong here…”  She looked over at the professor and said, “I’m going to fly ahead and see if I can find her.  Can you walk?”

            “I’ll be fine,” the professor said, testing his legs out weakly on the ground.  “I think I can make it…”  He winced a little as he tried to stand on his own.

            “Hold on a moment,” Blossom said, pulling out the Tome from under her arm.  She opened it up and started going through the pages, looking for the spell she used earlier, the one used for healing.  She wasn’t sure she’d be able to cast it, though, as using it on Buttercup earlier left her a bit drained, as well as her second, failed attempt.  But she knew she had to try anyway.

            As she was looking for it, the professor turned to face her, noticing the book.  “That’s… the Tome of Eternal Darkness, isn’t it?” the professor asked.

            “Yes,” Blossom answered, then asked curiously, “You’ve seen it before?”

            “I’ve read about it,” the professor told her.  “While I was researching the artifacts, I found some mention of an old book, said to have been created by Mantorok and given to mortals for some unknown reason.  Most of those who have possessed it were either driven mad, or killed…”

            Looking up from the book, Blossom said, “Killed…?” with a brief look of fear in her eyes.

            “Mostly through exerting themselves too much to try and stop the plots of the old ones,” the professor nodded.  “Learning too much, getting in too deeply…”

            Blossom stared at the book, and understood.  The Tome had given her a unique understanding through the eyes of those who had possessed it before, an understanding of how dire the situation was, how hopeless…she could see how some might give their lives to try and stop it, or how others would live in fear of the inevitable darkness the ancients would bring…

            She was startled out of her thoughts, when Buttercup suddenly lost her grip on the professor’s arm, collapsing to the ground.  As they looked over at her in shock, she weakly sat back up and said, “Ughh…Professor, I…I dunno if…if I can keep this up…”

            “You have to,” the professor said, clenching his teeth slightly as he stayed on his feet.  “Think to yourself, ‘I’m strong, I can do anything’, all right?”

            “I am,” Buttercup said, panting and getting back up, but she still had difficulty…every muscle ached, and she didn’t want to admit it, but it felt like her strength was slowly slipping, every second.  She just wanted to rest, she didn’t care if she had to go to the hospital or anything, she just wanted to feel stronger again.  I’ve never felt this weak before, she thought.  Hurts…so bad…

            Blossom flew over and tried to pick her up, “Listen, we’ll get you to safety, but then I need to come right back here and…”

            “…and what?” a voice interrupted, familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.  Everyone looked towards the doorway ahead of them, in total disbelief at what they saw.  Blossom and Buttercup were both speechless, and the Professor just stared in shock.  It was Bubbles, but she was different, horribly altered…the professor knew instantly what it was.  She lost control of the essence, he thought.  Bubbles…oh no…

            “Professor,” Bubbles said, still speaking in a tandem of her own voice and Ulyaoth’s, “I’m surprised to see you alive.  News of your death were exaggerated, but they served Ulyaoth’s purpose, so I’m grateful anyway.”

            “What…happened to you…?” Buttercup managed to say.

            Giving a small smile, Bubbles said, “My eyes have been opened, that’s what.  I was blind to not have seen it before, the greatness of my master, Ulyaoth.  I was a fool to think mere mortals such as yourselves could stop his will.  But now…”  She swept her hands to the sides in a wide gesture, “…his coming shall bring a new age of darkness to this world, and there is no one who can stop it.”

            “Wrong,” Blossom said with force that she truly didn’t feel.  “We can stop it…”

            Bubbles laughed and said, “You?  Please…your power is as nothing to the might of Ulyaoth!  He would crush you where you stand, or perhaps make you his slaves…or maybe just torture you for the rest of your infinitesimal life.”  She frowned and continued with more seriousness, “I only need one thing now to bring my master into this world…where is the essence of Mantorok?”

            “We don’t know,” the professor shouted back, “and even if we did, we wouldn’t tell you!”

            Shaking her head, a glow of energy built up around both of her outstretched arms as she said, “Still clinging to the last bit of hope, are you?  You must have heard something during your captivity, Professor.  Perhaps I can change your mind…”  With that, she lifted her arms, and bolts of bright blue electricity blasted out of them, striking Buttercup in the chest.  She cried out in pain…the electricity didn’t fade, but stayed constant, like a physical spike through the center of her body, lifting her into the air…

            “Stop it!” Blossom shrieked.  “Bubbles, don’t do this!”

            Ignoring her, Bubbles stared at the horrified Professor and said, “You have five seconds to decide…four…”

 

*          *            *

 

            Ireseth hurried into the ceremony chamber, a wide room lined with pillars and set with a circle of candles…at the center, the essence of Mantorok waited for him, as did several other Cabal members.  Noticing his approach, one of them said, “My lord, there is…there is news of the intruders nearing us…”

            “They won’t find us in time,” Ireseth told him.  “We’ll have the powers of Mantorok’s essence released soon enough, and none of them will be able to stand up against our power.”

            “But my lord…” another one protested.

            “Silence!” Ireseth shouted, stepping up to the pedestal holding the essence.  “We must begin at once.  Return to the halls, and have everyone guard the passageways to this chamber with their lives.  Let no one approach, be they man or beast, understood?”

            Nodding quickly, all of the Cabal members left the chamber immediately.  Ireseth smiled and stared at the essence, one of Mantorok’s many hearts, still beating with life, with power…he spoke aloud, “The blood of the sacrifices has been spilled, their lives given to your greatness, so that your power may be whole once again.  Now, let that power be transferred to me…”  He spread his arms, and started to chant, “Pargon…tier…pargon…pargon…redgormor…pargon…”

 

*          *            *

 

            “…four…th—…” Bubbles continued, but then suddenly broke off from what she was saying, swiveling her head to face another direction.  The bolts of electricity from her arms stopped, releasing Buttercup and dropping her to the ground.  Blossom rushed over to her to see if she was all right, but kept her eyes on Bubbles, who now looked surprised.

            The professor took a step closer and said, “Bubbles?”

            Bubbles didn’t even notice him…she whispered, “…Mantorok…” and suddenly flew off in the direction she was looking with incredible speed.  She disappeared through the passageway ahead of her and was gone in the blink of an eye.

            “Mantorok?” the professor said to himself, then gasped, “Oh no…”

            “What is it?” Blossom asked.  “What’s wrong?”

            The professor looked over at her and said, “Ireseth…he must be completing the last stages of unlocking the essence.  Bubbles felt it, and is heading for it now.  If she gets to it…”

            “No, we have to stop her!” Blossom exclaimed.  “Buttercup, will you be all right to…” She trailed off as she looked back at Buttercup in her arms…she was tensed up, and starting to glow a faint green color.  “…Buttercup?”

            “…Blossom…” Buttercup grunted, as the green glow started to get brighter, “…s-so…weak…h-help me…”

            Blossom looked at her open-mouthed, and was about to lift her up so she could take her to safety, when the Professor’s hand came down on her shoulder, saying, “We need to get out of here, now…”

            “But…Buttercup…”

            Fighting a tear, the professor said, “Remember what I said before in the journal?  Buttercup’s strength is keeping Xel’lotath’s essence contained.  We need to get out of here, now…”

            “No!” Blossom shouted.  “I can’t leave…”

            “Blossom, now!  Please!” the professor insisted, “There’s no time!”

            Blossom gave Buttercup another glance, and biting her lip, released her, backing up and following the professor, who was now making his way to a door at the other end of the room.  He was limping, but still managed to get there on his own.  Buttercup was already starting to flare up, surrounded by a green flame, and used the last of her strength to cry out, “No, please…don’t…don’t let them…take…”

            Clenching his eyes shut as they left the room, the professor whispered, “I’m so sorry…”  They both disappeared from view as the flare around Buttercup reached its brightest point and began to fade back out again.  Buttercup sat back up, then rose into the air limply, her head and limbs hanging almost like a puppet’s.  Her skin looked almost as though it was shriveled and rotting, her body becoming frail and useless, but her eyes shined a brilliant green, giving hint to a greater power than her form suggested.  Buttercup only looked briefly in the direction the professor and Blossom had left, before she let her eyes follow Bubbles’ path…she spoke in a cacophony of voices, only one of which was her own, “The essence will be mine…”  She drifted backwards a few feet, the air behind her distorting strangely as though reality itself were being twisted, and in the next moment, she had vanished entirely.

 

*          *            *

 

            The Professor didn’t stop until he was a safe distance from the room they had left, and Blossom stopped next to him, staring back the way they came.  “Buttercup…is she…she’s…”

            “I’m sorry,” the professor nodded.  “It’s all my fault…I thought…I thought you girls would be all right, but…but no, I should never have told you where I was going…I shouldn’t have let you come here…”

            Blossom continued to stare for a few moments longer, then closed her and said, “Professor, go.”

            “What?” he replied.

            “If I remember right, this way will take you back to the surface,” she said.  “You can make it.  Go, just get out of here…I’m staying.”

            “Blossom, don’t you realize what will happen?” the professor told her.  “Don’t you realize that if we can’t stop…”

            Blossom swiveled to face him, opening her now tear-filled eyes, “Of course I know!  But I also know that…that you’re the most important thing in the world to me…and that you know more about this than I do…so if…if anyone needs to survive this…it’s you…all right?  Just go…I’ll be fine…”  The professor was about to protest, but fell silent as he saw it in her eyes.  Blossom did know how hopeless it would be, and in that moment, he understood what was going to happen.  Blossom reached over, handing the Tome of Eternal Darkness over to him, adding, “Take this…you’ll need it more than I will…”

            The professor slowly nodded, taking the Tome from her, and backed out of the passageway, never leaving eye contact with her until the passageway finally took a bend, forcing them out of sight.  Blossom watched him go, then stared down at her hands.  She thought It really is over, isn’t it?  One of them will get the essence of Mantorok…the ancients have already won.  There’s nothing we can do to stop it now…nothing…         She closed her eyes again, hanging her head and letting a few tears escape for humanity.  She heard the voice deep within her, Chattur’gha, waiting for his release, held only at bay by the remains of Blossom’s crushed spirit.  It was pointless to fight it now…she knew that the darkness was coming anyway, it was only a matter of time.  She took one last breath, and surrendered to Chattur’gha.

            Red flames flared up around her, obscuring her long enough for the task to be completed.  When it finally faded, Blossom raised her head, opening her eyes to reveal nothing but a burning red light surrounded by darkness.  Parts of her skin were ripped free, the muscle underneath exposed and throbbing with power.  She clenched her fists and glared off in the direction where she now sensed Mantorok’s power as well, and flew towards it in a straight line, arms outstretched.  Nothing could withstand her pure, raw strength now, and even the nearly indestructible walls of the temple did nothing to slow her down…

 

*          *            *

 

            The professor traveled a bit further before slumping against the wall, letting tears fall for his daughters…Bubbles and Buttercup had both been claimed by the old ones, and he could see Blossom giving into hopelessness, which meant that she wouldn’t be far behind.  How could I have let this happen? he thought.  There must be some way to save them…something I can do to prevent the Eternal Darkness…

            He looked down at the Tome, and despite all that he had seen this evening, despite everything that had come to pass, he suddenly felt a spark of hope, but he didn’t know why.  What was it? he thought.  It was something he had read, something long ago…something about Mantorok.  Something about this Tome…

            There’s a way, he realized.  There’s a way that humanity can be saved.  I have to figure out what it is, quickly, before it’s too late…I only hope it’s not too late already…  He pulled his strength together and started heading back into the temple, opening the tome and looking through it quickly as he went.  With all efforts from both the ancients and the Cabal centered on Mantorok’s essence, he figured he’d have no opposition, so he hurried as fast as he could in his condition.  Everything relied on him now, and he would likely only have one chance at this…

 

TO BE CONTINUED…