* * *

Blossom slowly opened her eyes, straining to see clearly…she felt like she had been asleep for a long time, her eyes were so sore. Everything was a little blurry around her still, so she closed them again, and took a deep breath. As she did, her memories started to come back to her, and she thought to herself, What a strange dream…I’ve had weird dreams before, but this one was…unique. I wonder what it all means…

She forced herself to sit up. She felt so stiff, though…Did I oversleep? she thought. Rubbing her tired eyes, she opened them again and tried to get a better look at her surroundings. She was surprised, however, to find out that she was not in her bed. She was in a small room, with walls made of metal, lying on a makeshift bed that was thrown together from some old rags. The only entrance to the room was a large heavy rounded door, like a hatch.

Where am I? Blossom thought. Unless I’m in the professor’s lab, this isn’t home. Her arms felt sore, and looking down, she saw dozens of tiny punctures the surface of her skin. They were very small, like they were made with pins, and looked like whatever had made them had been a while back, since they were healing. When she was looking at her skin, she noticed something else…her clothes were different. All she wore was a simple gray shirt, and pants that were a slightly darker gray. They were toddler-size, but the pants weren’t a perfect fit…they were a little baggy, and a string tied around the waist kept them up.

She didn’t know what to think of these completely unfamiliar surroundings, and scratched the side of her head in confusion. It was then that she became aware of something else: instead of feeling her long hair, her hand passed through an extremely short hair growth that covered the side of her head. She felt around, and realized most of her hair was gone, like someone had shaved almost all of it off.

While feeling around, Blossom also felt something else on the back of her head that made her freeze, a cold feeling shooting through her. It was something metal, like a hole, embedded right in her skin. Slowly, she recalled parts of her "dream", remembering something plugged into the back of her heard, and it began to dawn on her that maybe she wasn’t dreaming…

Filled with a brief sense of fear, she tried to fly up from the bed to find help, or at least find out what was going on. She didn’t make it far…she ended up falling from the side of the bed instead, landing on the ground with a *thud*, right on her shoulder. She cringed, clutching her arm.

Wh…what’s going on? she thought…Are my p-powers gone? What’s happening? She didn’t have long to wait for answers, for at that moment, there was a loud *clack* from the door, like a lock being removed, and the door swung open slowly. Someone strode into the room, and Blossom looked up to try and see them, although it was difficult against the light that was shining in from around them.

The figure got closer, and kneeled down next to her. She could see her clearly now…it was Query. Even though she was dressed differently, in more ragged clothing than the last time she had seen her, she still recognized her face. Query looked concerned, and said, "Are you all right, Blossom?"

"Where…where am I?" Blossom said, weakly.

Query picked her up and said, "You’re on board the Bastion, our ship. Don’t worry, we’ll explain everything shortly. How do you feel?"

Blossom clenched her eyes shut, rubbing them again, "I dunno…strange…a little woozy…" Her eyes flew open as another thought occurred to her, "Bubbles…Buttercup…"

"They’re fine," Query told her. "They’re in the next chamber over. Photon’s waking them up as we speak."

"I have to see them…" Blossom said, and tried to fly again, out of Query’s arms, but to no avail. She collapsed back into them and said, "What happened…to my powers…?"

"You still have them," Query explained, "They’re just not exactly the same anymore. Come on…Daedalus will go over everything with you shortly, but let’s see your sisters first." She carried her out through the door into a very narrow hall, stopping next to another door next to the one they had just come out of. It was open already, so she walked in.

Blossom gasped slightly. Bubbles and Buttercup were indeed in the room, each of them sitting on an improvised bed, but they looked so different. Bubbles’ blonde hair was down almost to a buzz cut…it was still thick enough to see, but nowhere near as long as it was before. She wore an old pair of sweat pants, and a sweater that was a little too big on her, with the sleeves almost longer than her arms. Buttercup’s hair had always been pretty short, but not this short…it was worse than Bubbles’. She wore an old shirt that had been imprinted to look like a football jersey with a #7 on it, and a pair of short jeans.

Photon was standing over by Buttercup, helping her up. Bubbles looked over as Query and Blossom entered and exclaimed, "Blossom!" Buttercup looked over as well, and seemed just as happy to see her.

"Girls!" Blossom said, "You’re okay!"

Noticing that Blossom was being carried in by Query, Buttercup asked, "You can’t fly either?" As Blossom shook her head, Buttercup looked agitated, "What on Earth happened to us?"

Bubbles was still smiling, although she looked a little worried, as she said, "We’re just dreaming, right? We’re gonna wake up soon…right?"

Photon told them, "Daedalus will be here in a minute to fill you in on everything. In the meantime, we’re needed on the bridge." She nodded to Query, and the two of them started out the door. Photon added, "Don’t worry, you’ll be safe here." The door shut behind them.

Buttercup turned to Blossom again and said, "That…what’s-his-name…he did this, didn’t he? What did he do, take away our powers? Oh man…I don’t like this…"

"Take it easy, Buttercup," Blossom said. "I…I don’t know what’s going on any more than you do, but I have a feeling they’re trying to help us, not hurt us."

Buttercup was about to say something back, when Bubbles yelped. The two looked at her and saw that she had just pinched herself. "No, that didn’t do it…" Bubbles muttered, and pinched herself again, with another yelp. "No, that didn’t do it either…"

"We’re awake, Bubbles!" Blossom said, taking her by the shoulders firmly to get her attention. Bubbles finally seemed to realize this, because in the next moment, she started crying, covering her face with her hands.

Buttercup put an arm around her in comfort, but then looked up and said, "There’s gotta be a good reason for all this…there’s just gotta be…"

"Buttercup," Blossom asked her, "when you came out of that…pod-thing…did you notice what was around?"

Giving a somewhat confused look, Buttercup said, "A big area with lots of lights…I couldn’t really see it too well…"

"They looked like other pods to me," Blossom said. "Maybe it was some kind of transport arrival, or maybe…"

"Other people," sniffed Bubbles, interrupting Blossom, who stared at her in surprise. She lifted her head up from her hands and continued, still crying, "They’re other people…I-I know they were. Other people like us, trapped. I didn’t wanna believe it…I wanted it to be a dream…b-but it’s real, isn’t it?"

The door swung open, and the three of them turned towards it. Daedalus entered the room, dressed in the same outfit Blossom had seen him wearing just before she blacked out before. He smiled, and noticing their frightened stares, he said in a reassuring voice, "Don’t worry, Powerpuff Girls…you are ready to learn the truth now."

"Then tell us!" Buttercup demanded. "Where are we?"

"You’re home…Earth." Daedalus said. "I can show you, if you’d like. Are you strong enough to walk on your own?

Blossom tested her legs, and although they were a little bit unsteady, she said, "Yeah, I think so…" Bubbles wiped her eyes and stood up as well, as did Buttercup.

"Good," Daedalus said. "Then, follow me." He waked out of the room, and the girls stayed close behind him. Blossom had to admit, it felt strange to walk, especially when she was so used to flying everywhere. She had only walked a handful of times before, and each time, it was by choice. This was more or less being forced upon her.

Daedalus led them down a narrow corridor, sort of like a corridor on a submarine, with hatches along the side, undoubtedly leading to other rooms. They finally emerged into a larger chamber that was filled with computers and other equipment, not too unlike what they had seen in the hotel room. Except this was a lot more cluttered and included a circle of reclined bed-like chairs, more than a dozen of them.

Photon and Query were both here, and they recognized a man that looked like Reaper. Another man was seated at the computer consoles…he had short brown hair and a little bit of beard stubble, and was wearing a headband and a pair of old sunglasses, as well as a light blue tank top. He smiled slightly and nodded as they came in.

"That’s Tripwire," Daedalus said. "Our primary operator. No one knows his way around the Matrix here better than he does."

That’s the second time I’ve heard him use that term, Blossom thought. She asked, "The Matrix?"

Daedalus nodded, "Let me show you." He nodded to the others, who carefully helped the girls each up onto a bed. The girls noticed they were surrounded by equipment, and that the beds each had a hole about where the head normally rests. Each of them lay back, looking out at the others as Daedalus continued, "There might be some momentary discomfort, but it isn’t bad, and it passes quickly. Are you ready?"

Bubbles swallowed and nodded, as did Buttercup. Unsure, but curious, Blossom said, "I’m ready." She looked over towards Bubbles’ bed, and saw Photon bringing a cable up from underneath, towards the hole on the underside of the bed. Reaper was doing something similar with Buttercup.

She heard Query from behind her say, "Look back up at the ceiling, and lie still." Blossom complied, waiting a little nervously to see what would happen. She abruptly felt something press against the back of her head, and cringed, clenching her eyes shut, as an electrical feeling shot through her entire body…

* * *

The feeling passed…when she opened her eyes again, all she saw was a brilliant white. There was no sound at all. She looked around in confusion, then glanced down at herself, noticing that she was wearing her usual pink dress once again. Feeling up with her hands, she found that she was wearing her hairbow, and was a little surprised to feel that her hair was back as well, still in its usual ponytail. But this is impossible…I was just…

Her thoughts were interrupted by Bubbles’ voice calling out, "Blossom?" She turned, and where she had not been before, Bubbles was now standing nearby, against the white void that stretched around them. Buttercup was there too, and both of them looked exactly as they normally did before, with their dresses and hairstyles back the way they were.

Blossom flew over and said, "Girls, are you all right?"

"Yeah, I think so," Buttercup said, still examining herself in amazement. She glanced up suddenly at Blossom and said, "Hey, did you just fly over here?"

Scratching her head, Blossom looked down and saw that she was floating off the ground. "Hey, you’re right! I think our powers are back!"

"In a manner of speaking, yes," came a voice from nearby. They looked in that direction, and saw Daedalus, once again wearing his trench coat and sunglasses. He motioned out towards the void and continued, "This is our construct program. It is like a low-level simulation of the Matrix itself. We can create whatever we need here, be it weapons or equipment, or training scenarios…"

"Simulation?" Bubbles said.

Blossom looked down at her hands, then back at Daedalus and asked, "This is a computer program?"

"That’s right," he replied. "Of course, you have the proof right in front of you. Your clothes are different, your hair is back the way it was…you even have your powers intact once again." He grinned slightly as he watched Blossom still hovering, and said, "It still amazes me how easily you can do that."

"So…what’s this ‘Matrix’ you keep talkin’ about?" Buttercup asked.

Daedalus turned and looked out towards the white void, and suddenly it became dark, almost in an instant. A huge city skyline spread out underneath them, a breathtaking view…the girls immediately recognized it as Townsville. "This is the world you know," he said. "It is nothing more than a simulation, a giant artificially-generated construct that we refer to as the Matrix. Within it, countless people go about their daily lives, unaware of what the world around them truly is."

As they watched, the city flickered, and was just as quickly replaced by ruined structures. The sky became dark and cloudy, and there was no life anywhere. It looked like the aftermath of a war. As the girls looked about in disbelief, Daedalus continued, "This is the world as it truly is. A nearly lifeless barren wasteland."

"What…what happened?" Blossom managed to say.

"Ages ago—no one even knows how long it has been—the first true artificial intelligence was created," he told them. "It was mankind’s greatest achievement…and it was also its undoing. Our records of history are sketchy at best, but eventually, war broke out between us…the humans, and the machines."

Blossom looked at the ruined cities and said, "We lost?"

Daedalus nodded, "We were outmatched in every way, and didn’t stand a chance. In a last-ditch effort to survive, we did this…" He pointed at the darkened clouds in the sky and said, "At the time, they received most of their energy from sunlight, and by cutting this supply off, we hoped to defeat them. But all it did was condemn us to another fate…"

The scenery faded out again, and was replaced by a large cavern, like the one they had been in when they first awoke. Hundreds of thousands of pods covered the walls, maybe even millions. They could see them clearly now…each one held a human being inside. The girls gasped, and listened as Daedalus explained, "They were able to take the natural bioelectric output of the human body, and the heat it generates, and use this as their source of power. And with so many humans at their disposal, they had a nearly limitless supply."

"But…but…" Bubbles stammered. She didn’t know what to say.

The scene vanished as the city of Townsville returned once again. He said, "They created the Matrix to keep us under their control. By having us live inside their computer-generated fantasy world, none of us would ever know the truth, and the human race would forever continue to be enslaved by them."

"No…" Blossom whispered, "This…can’t be…"

"I’m afraid it is," Daedalus said. "But that’s where we come in. A number of us have escaped their control, and together, we may be able to free them all. There is still hope, as long as we stay strong, and continue to fight."

The girls looked at each other, and then grasped each other’s hands tightly. This was more than they could have imagined, but they knew they had to do something about it. Blossom looked at Daedalus and said, "What do we need to do?"

"Patience," Daedalus said. "We still need to determine exactly what the machines had planned for you. It was something important, that’s all we’re aware of, but we’ve yet to figure out what it is."

"Us?" Buttercup exclaimed. "They’re after us?"

"They already had you," he reminded them. "There’s something unique about you three. Normally, the Matrix has a very strict set of rules, such as gravity and other physics. With training, we can learn to bend or break these rules…yet, you three have done something that no one, not even some of our best-trained people, have ever accomplished."

"What’s that?" Bubbles asked.

"You’ve broken some rules entirely, and with no training whatsoever," Daedalus said. "That is completely unheard of. We’re going to run some tests on you to find out why this is happening, and with your help, we can find out what they were planning, and perhaps use it against them."

Setting her jaw, Blossom nodded and said, "Whatever we can do, we’ll do it. We’ve been trying to do what’s right our whole lives, so of course we’ll help you however we can. Right?" Bubbles and Buttercup both nodded along with her.

"Excellent," Daedalus said. An instant later, everything went black once again…

* * *

Blossom took in a sharp breath as her eyes opened. She was lying on the bed again, with the computer equipment buzzing and beeping around her. She tried to lift her head, but something was holding it in place…Query, at her side, reached down below her head and unhooked something…she felt like it was pulled free right out from her skull. "There you go," she said with a smile. "How do you feel?"

Sitting up, she held her head and said, "Dizzy…but okay, I guess…" In reality, she was far from okay. She couldn’t shake the awful feeling she got from everything she was shown. Everyone on Earth, she thought…How terrible! All this time, I thought we were saving the world, but we were just saving a computer program, while evil went ahead controlling the real world. We can’t let this happen! We have to stop them!

Daedalus had just been unhooked from his own station, and got up, "You need to rest. I know it’s a lot of information to digest. We’re going to need the time to come up with a training scenario for you, anyway."

Blossom nodded, "All right…"

Query helped her get to her feet again, and she started walking back to their room. As she went down the corridor, Bubbles and Buttercup caught up with her. "I can’t believe what happened," Buttercup said absently.

"Me either," Bubbles agreed. "I wish things could just go back the way they were…"

Closing her eyes for a moment, Blossom said, "We can’t. Daedalus was right; there’s no way to go back to our old lives now. But maybe we can still make a difference here…"

* * *

A few hours passed before it was time for their training to begin. That gave them time to rest and think over everything they had been shown. It wasn’t long, though, before they found themselves back in the chamber on the beds, hooked into the system once again. They waited as training session was going to start.

"Let’s see," Tripwire said from the computer console, going over the list. "Combat training seems kind of pointless…you’re already accomplished fighters. Still, you could always improve. Let’s start with some Aikido…"

"Aikido? Won’t that take a long time to learn?" Blossom asked.

"Yeah," Buttercup said. "How long are we gonna train for, anyway? Years?"

Tripwire grinned slightly, popping a small disc from a stack into his computer console, and pressing a button. Buttercup suddenly tensed up, clenching her eyes shut, almost like she was in pain. The other girls gasped, trying to lift their heads to get a better look, but they couldn’t, since they were still plugged into the system.

After only maybe five seconds, though, Buttercup relaxed again, suddenly opening her eyes and letting out the breath she had been holding. She stared at the ceiling in shock, and said, "That’s…that’s…"

"Amazing, right?" Tripwire finished for her. Buttercup just nodded.

Bubbles blinked a few times and asked, "What just happened?"

"You’ll see…" Tripwire said. He punched two more buttons on the console, and both Blossom and Bubbles tensed as they felt something jolt through their heads. Blossom tried to focus on the huge flood of information that was just uploaded into her memory, but it was rushing far too fast for her to sort out. That was only for a few seconds, though, before it all stopped…and she ‘remembered’. She didn’t know how, or when, but all she was sure of was that she had learned Aikido sometime in the past. She remembered every step, every move, like she had known it her entire life. The sensation was indescribable.

Tripwire looked over and said, "I take it by your smiles that you’re happy with it?"

Blossom hadn’t even been aware that she was smiling, but she was. She glanced over at Bubbles, and saw a similar smile on her face. Looking back up at the ceiling, she thought, Well, this ‘training’ isn’t going to be as strenuous as I thought it would.

"Shall I move on to a little Jeet Kune Do?" Tripwire asked

"Yes!!" all three of the girls shouted at once. He laughed, and loaded the next disc in, while the girls settled back and prepared for the next upload…

* * *

The three of them floated in the middle of a large, empty room. Daedalus stood before them, and was speaking, "As I mentioned before, the Matrix is a set system, and has a strict set of rules, but with the proper training, anyone can use their mind to alter the Matrix, causing these rules to bend or sometimes even be broken entirely. Things that would be ‘impossible’ for a normal human to do."

"I think I see what you’re saying," Blossom commented. "How hard is it to do?"

"You already have an advantage," he told them. "Your subconscious is already making small modifications for yourselves. Such as your flying…it is merely ignoring the rules of gravity. Your strength…it simply increases the level of force delivered. Your speed…you can react quickly because your subconscious mind is directing your actions straight from your conscious thought."

Daedalus paused, walking up to Buttercup, "The trick is…you must learn to affect the Matrix consciously. Only then will you be able to achieve your true potential." Staring into her eyes, he said, "Attack me."

Shrugging, Buttercup threw a punch at him, but he effortlessly deflected it with his hands, grabbing her and flinging her right out of the air to the ground. She just lay there, stunned a little.

"You see?" Daedalus said. "You obviously have me outclassed in strength and speed. So how did I manage to defeat you so easily? Because I knew that I could."

Bubbles scratched her head, "So…if we just think that we can do it, we can?"

"Sort of," he answered. "You can still only do what your mind will allow you to do."

Nodding, Bubbles said, "I think I see. Can I try?"

"Certainly," he said, and stood still, waiting for her attack. Bubbles drifted forward, and suddenly threw a small flurry of punches. Daedalus blocked each one, and tried to grab her arm, but Bubbles suddenly dropped underneath it, sending a kick towards his legs instead. He did a back flip over her kick, landing a safe distance away.

Blossom and Buttercup both gaped. Although she still wasn’t fast enough to hit Daedalus, Bubbles was still moving faster than normal. Daedalus smiled, and said, "You’re catching on. You’ve got the right idea…now you just have to forget about any doubts you might have, and focus on your objective. The three of you aren’t doing the ‘impossible’, you just need to realize that within the Matrix, nothing is ‘impossible’."

"That reminds me," Blossom asked. "Our eyebeams…and our other powers, like my ice breath…how come they work? We’re not altering any rules, there."

"That," he said, "is a very good question. And that’s why you’re probably so important to the machines. You’re right that it’s not an alteration of the rules. It’s an alteration of the Matrix itself. That is why we must find a way to get you to consciously control these skills. If you were to do so, nothing would be beyond your ability."

A wall materialized in the center of the room. Daedalus walked over to it and said, "We’re going to try a little experiment. Blossom…I want you to fly through this wall. Not physically, though. You won’t be able to, as it’s far too strong. No, you’re going to ignore the fact that the wall is even there, since in reality, it isn’t."

Blossom looked at the wall. It seemed real enough, but she remembered that it was just a computer program. She closed her eyes and said, "No wall. The wall isn’t there." She hovered towards it confidently, and flew right into it. However, she struck the surface, almost as she had been expecting to do. Rubbing her face, she said, "Oww…!"

Daedalus nodded, "It’s all right. Something like this is tricky, even with all your natural abilities. This could take a lot of time to master. Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of time right now. We need to make a trip into the Matrix ahead of schedule, so we’ll have to cut your training short for now."

"What for?" Bubbles asked.

"The machines are conducting some kind of test," he said. "Since they’re doing so in your home city of Townsville, it is probably connected in some way to why they’ve taken such an interest in you. If we observe them, we might be able to find out what they’re trying to do."

"I see," Blossom said. "But will we be okay going back in there?"

Daedalus thought about this, and said, "It could get rough. Your presence would hardly go unnoticed, particularly in a town that had once hailed you as its heroes. The agents would be on you quickly."

"Agents?" Buttercup asked.

"Artificially intelligent programs," he explained. "Their job is to maintain order within the Matrix. You saw some of them by your house, and another one attacked you at the bus stop. They are highly dangerous, and would be able to locate you quickly if you’re spotted by anyone. On the other hand, your fame in the city could work to our advantage, as the agents would not be able to easily convince the local law enforcement to assist them against you."

Blossom nodded, "I guess that’s true. So when do we go on this mission?"

"Soon," Daedalus told them, signaling Tripwire to cut the simulation. "Very soon."

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