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Dreams of an Absolution	By : DeusExProcella Category: +M through R > PowerPuff Girls Views: 9670 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own the Powerpuff Girls or any related characters. All characters exclusive to this story do belong to me. I make no money from these writings.

Chapter List
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"Yeah, the night's not over
You're not trying hard enough
Our lives are changing lanes
You ran me off the road,"
Reptilia (The Strokes "Room on Fire")
Dreams of an Absolution
Chapter 22
Taking a deep breath, praying to Aku that she'd made the right decision, Blossom took her first step down the dimly lit, abandoned sidewalk. The night air was frigid, colder than October typically dared to be. Blossom's hair blew freely in the gentle breeze; the Powerpuff girl watched the brightly colored leaves drift lazily across the street. The houses on the other end were hidden in shadow, practically invisible beyond the hazy glow of the streetlights. Taking another breath and holding it, Blossom made her way toward the intersection.
Every time she passed under the glow of the lights, she swore she could see someone, or something, flit out of view just at the edge of the light. When she stepped back into the darkness, Blossom couldn't help looking over her shoulder, expecting to find someone else cast in the light's shine. She shook her head and faced forward.
She neared the end of the sidewalk, a desolate four way intersection. Biting her lip, Blossom happened to glance to the left. There, she saw it. At the end of the street, there was a tall figure slipping into the shadows. She only caught a slight glimpse of him—she was sure it was a man—but that was enough. With only a passing glance back, Blossom hurried across the street. She licked her lips—they were cotton dry.
'Keep it together, Blossom...you've fought monsters a thousand times stronger and scarier than some...some lunatic,' She thought, though her own encouragement did little to ease her worries. This man had evaded their capture for three days. There was no way he was just some...lunatic. In the back of her mind, Blossom raced through the catalog of villains the girls had encountered in the past. Could any one of them be responsible?
'Woah!' Blossom dove behind the nearest mailbox, her heart racing at a thousand miles an hour. Focusing on her X-Ray vision, she peered over her shoulder, staring at the dark figure now staring her way. Maybe it was the combination of the darkness, the mailbox, and her overall weakness, but from a distance, Blossom couldn't get an I.D. on the kidnapper. He looked just too...generic.
'Not Mojo or Fuzzy...it wouldn't fit their motives anyway...gotta move!' Blossom crept out from her hiding place, making an effort to be more careful. They rounded another street corner, ducking into an alleyway. Blossom had to take to the air to keep up, and to keep hidden. The figure was nervous...he wasn't a seasoned criminal, by the looks of things. 'How then...' she pondered.
The night got colder and the wind started to pick up. The figure passed through a creaking gate, strolling through a picturesque lawn, pausing to look over his shoulder once he reached a pair of oak doors. Blossom stayed where she was, hidden in the bushes. All this time, he was hiding in a building that size? That couldn't be it, that didn't make sense. She knew for a fact they had searched that place.
It was the First Church of Townsville...the building was ancient, but still active. There was no way he could be hiding three little girls somewhere inside. Someone had to notice! Blossom jumped from the bushes. He had disappeared inside.
"This doesn't make sense...we searched that building!" She muttered, creeping closer. She reached the doors, making a quick sweep beyond them with her X-Ray vision. Nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, she couldn't even find the man she was tailing! Blossom crossed her arms, staring at the doors and weighing her options. There was no way he could have disappeared or left the building. That meant he was somewhere inside. And wherever he was, it was somewhere that even Powerpuff super vision couldn't see. Somehow, Blossom had the feeling that this man wasn't working alone.
"Okay...you can't waste time. God only knows what will happen to those girls if I don't save them now. After all..." she trailed off, unable to complete her thought. She knew the answer. That's all that mattered.
Taking one last look around, Blossom gently pulled the door open just enough to slip inside. She softly shut the door behind her, looking around again. The lobby was as obnoxious as she remembered. Fliers and bulletins in every crevice, a gaily carpeted floor that must have cost more than the cheaply made playground in front of the building. And the doors to the chapel, they were ridiculous. Gold-plating, made from polished maple. She shook her head and started looking around. They must have missed something. Or rather, something must have avoided them.
'Okay, get ready...' Blossom slipped into the chapel, again making sure the door shut quietly behind her. She took to the air, scanning the room for any sign of ambush. Like before, it was completely empty. The floor led to a basement that held the boiler room. The boiler room didn't lead anywhere at all. It was just a big, expensive, empty building. Blossom licked her lips and floated down to the floor. The chapel hadn't been disturbed. The air was stiff before she entered. That meant, he must have gone somewhere else. Sneaking between the pews, Blossom made her way to an unmarked door just to the right of the altar.
The door led to a small hallway, which in turn led to several small classrooms. Sunday school classes for the children, apparently to give them some excuse to feign interest, Blossom mused. She peeked inside the first room. Lines of pews, a desk at the front, and a blackboard. She frowned; there was absolutely nothing out of place in the entire building.
As she turned to go, Blossom caught a glimpse of a book sitting open on the desk.
'A Bible, obviously,' She thought, hovering over to see what had been so important the reader hadn't had the decency to close the book. The pages were a mess, covered in red ink on practically every page. Most of the lines—verses, she reminded herself—were crossed out. However, there was one that was underlined seven times, and circled another seven times. Blossom frowned, floating closer.
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
'Why would he underline that...' Blossom thought, glancing around the room again. She noticed the drawings that had been erased from the blackboard. Narrowing her eyes, Blossom was able to make out the images. Names, shapes, lines...nothing that made too much sense. That is, until she saw something written in the corner. It was a list of names...three of them had been crossed off.
'Amanda Beguile, Renee Temsik, and Julie Bean,' Blossom ground her teeth. Her bracelet sizzled slightly, but she managed to ignore it. So this was it, he kept erasing his work. Thank Aku for superhuman vision, she thought with a smug smirk. Blossom wandered from that classroom into the next one. The scene was much the same, except there was a variety of third-rate boardgames stuff in a cupboard. She shook her head, hoping she'd never have to suffer through a game of Heavenopoly.
'Another one...' It was another Bible, just as tattered as the first. This time, however, there was a different line underlined and circled, again, seven times each.
Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
'This guy can't be serious...' Had he actually taken his plan from the Bible, of all places? Blossom crossed her arms. No, it wasn't that simple. The lines weren't in any particular context. Maybe...he was just using them to justify his actions? But without the context. She shook her head. She didn't have time to understand his rationale, she had to find those girls!
Blossom scanned that room for any other clues, but her search came up empty-handed. No hidden drawings, no frantic scribblings. Just a lonely, tattered, vandalized Bible. Blossom crept back into the hallway and looked around. There were seven classroom, she noted. Each verse was circled and underlined seven times...this guy had a problem, she thought, shaking her head. Blossom entered the next classroom and went straight for the Bible, sure enough, sitting open on the desk.
Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.
Blossom shook her head immediately heading for the next room. This guy seriously seemed to have the idea that he was somehow...blessed with a mission. What kind of power did he believe himself to have? What did he hope to gain by kidnapping little girls? She surmised that maybe, just maybe, he was doing it as a warning? That had to be it. He intended to keep kidnapping children until the city repented for some kind of crime. Or gave him power. She still wasn't sure.
With the next room, she found another Bible. Blossom snapped out of her thoughts and glanced around the room. There were dolls...everywhere. Dolls of little David, Goliath, Jesus, Moses...Blossom shivered and leaned over the next Bible.
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
Blossom froze in her place. In context, it was a comforting line. However...she hurried out of the room. He was going to kill them. First he was going to starve them, then he was going to kill them. Blossom rushed into the next room, pausing and leaning against the desk. They were in the dark...somewhere under the church? Somewhere cold...Blossom swallowed and leaned over the next Bible.
And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
'The sun and air were darkened...' He couldn't mean...
"Aku," Blossom whispered. Blossom read the line over and over again. Had the Bible somehow predicted Aku's return? Was this...this stupid man trying to fight Aku? As far as Townsville was concerned, Aku was dead! Maybe...maybe it wasn't just Aku. She continued considering the implications as she found the sixth Bible.
"Maybe..." Blossom peered over the next book, arms crossed, brow furrowed in deep concentration. There had to be something more to this. Kidnapping little girls wouldn't bring Aku out...it just didn't make sense. Why little girls?
And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?
The beast given power by the dragon...it was the dragon that was thrown into the bottomless pit. Then that meant...he wasn't after the dragon. Blossom narrowed her eyes and went into the last room. She gasped, quickly covering her mouth with her right arm—her left arm was gone by now, completely numb. This room was covered in Bible pages, each more scribbled on then the last. There were verses painted in blood red, verses carved into solid wood, verses torn into the carpet. Blossom turned to the blackboard and took a trembling step back.
There, covering the blackboard, were hundreds of pictures: each one depicting a little girl, between twelve and five years old, with red hair. Written over and over again, sometimes covered by the pictures, sometimes written over the pictures, was a single phrase, in jagged, shaky text: Fallen now is Babylon the Great.
"This guy is insane..." There in the center of the photographs, was her own smiling face. It was her class photo from last year. A few months before...before Aku came into her life. Back when she was so naive and so closed-minded. Blossom swallowed and turned, spotting the last Bible. This one was surrounded by seven candles, all burning at the end of their wicks. She nervously wondered if they were going to burn until they set the table on fire.
"Did he do this all tonight?" How could anyone have missed this? How did they miss this? Blossom licked her lips and looked over the Bible, reading the final verse:
Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
"The Whore of Babylon..." Blossom muttered, looking over her shoulder at the blackboard again. Surely that man didn't mean...one of these little girls? Blossom shook her head. It couldn't be.
'That...that stupid, self-righteous, ignorant...ignorant man!' She thought, seething as she clenched her fist. He knew, he knew exactly who he was targeting, then why kidnap those girls? Why kill them? What was he planning! Blossom clenched her eyes shut and struggled to remain calm. More than anything, she struggled to figure out something, anything. And that's when it hit her. Like the fainted squeak of a tiny field mouse in the middle of the desert, Blossom heard something in the church give a near silent click.
In a heartbeat, she was back in the chapel. Her eyes dropped to the floor. Peering through wood and concrete she saw it, the boiler room. It was faint, practically impossible to hear. But, maybe it was the adrenaline, maybe it was the fury, she could hear it. And as soon as she heard it, that's when she saw it. There was a door. They must have overlooked it before, but there was a door in the boiler room, one that blended into the wall. A door with no lock and no handle, but a door nonetheless. Blossom hurried to the basement door, keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of Townsville's latest psychopath. She pulled the door open and took a deep breath.
The stairs were poorly made, even a little girl with no carpentry expertise could tell that simple fact. Blossom started to step forward, then calmly shook her head. These stairs would make some kind of noise. No doubt about it...it was better to fly. Blossom hovered into the dark stairwell, pulling the door shut against her better judgment. With only slight hesitation, her eyes lit up and suddenly the penetrating darkness was bright as day. Blossom swallowed and hovered deeper into the basement.
She wasn't sure how much time passed. Every second felt like an eternity, so for all she knew the sun was up. She could only pray it wasn't getting too late. The second Dexter figured out she wasn't at home—if he didn't already know, that is—she was as good as dead. Blossom could see the ember-orange glow of the boiler room just around the corner. She took one final breath and stepped into the boiler room.
Immediately, she noticed a doll lying on the floor. A little Raggedy Anne doll...nailed to a tiny wooden cross with 666 written in red marker on her forehead. Blossom shook her head and gently set the doll down. There it was...the hidden door. She had to wonder if anyone else, other than herself and her target, knew it existed.
'Too late to wonder now...just have to bite the bullet,' Blossom slid the door open. There were more stairs, but these didn't seem to go too far. Licking her lips, she hovered down the stairs and exited into a pitch black room, filled with crates and littered with the concrete support column to the church. There in the middle were three little girls, each tied to a different column.
The girls looked horrible...Blossom couldn't believe her eyes. Amanda looked the worst of the three, but that wasn't saying a lot. She was, thankfully, unconscious. She'd been stripped naked—they all had—and her body was covered in bloodied, purple lashes. Her fingers were purple, probably from the rope being tied too tightly, and every time she took a breath, her entire body trembled. Her once cute, freckly face was now barely recognizable, with a fist-sized black and yellow bruise covering her left cheek.
Renee was to Amanda's right, and had it been any other circumstance, Blossom would have imagined her to be one of the prettiest girls she'd ever seen before. Now, though, she was just as slashed and bloodied as Amanda. One difference between them was what he'd done to her...Blossom couldn't bring herself to look at it any longer. When Renee made it out of this...Blossom could only pray she didn't dream of having a family some day.
Last...there was Julie. Like the other two, she was naked, beaten beyond recognition and slashed by what looked like a whip of some kind. Julie had never had the prettiest face, but what he'd done to her was just...cruel. Her nose was completely collapsed, and from this distance, Blossom was pretty sure her jaw was dislocated.
'How did he hide this...why couldn't we see this room?' Blossom wondered, floating around the room's perimeter. Now that she was here...she didn't dare stay put for long. The door suddenly closed, dunking the room into darkness so fast, Blossom was startled. Her vision returned to normal, but she thankfully managed to slip behind one of the columns. Footsteps rang out in the barren room; a man's ragged, heavy breathing filled the air. He paused, much, much too close for Blossom's comfort. He had to be no more than a few steps from the column she was hidden behind. Time seemed to stand still...no one, not even the unconscious girls seemed to be breathing. And then,
"I know you're here...you finally came," he finally said. Blossom swallowed, hovering just a little closer to the ceiling. She heard the legs of a chair grinding against the floor, and the tell-tale sound of the man sitting down.
"I figured you'd come...just had to give you enough time," He was old, probably older than the Professor. His voice was rough and scratchy, the voice of a man who had smoked for a long time. Judging by the scent in the air, though, Blossom figured he must have quit.
"I can see in the dark...just in case you're planning on ambushing me," Blossom froze, now too terrified to risk peering from her hiding spot. He could...was he a meta-human? Or was he bluffing? Maybe he had some night vision goggles? Blossom took a slow, forcefully quiet breath to calm her nerves, and find her voice.
"Why?" It wasn't all she wanted to say but...she couldn't say anything else. Maybe it was all the religious material she'd just read. Maybe it was the sight of those girls. Maybe it was...because this was a man she'd never met in her entire life. But at that moment, Blossom was paralyzed with fear.
"These are the end of days...the whore will lead the world astray, but I..." he paused and took a breath, "I was given the task to stop her...to stop you, Blossom Utonium, Babylon the Great," Blossom swallowed and carefully peered through the pillar. He was old, but he was built well. He hadn't shaved in days, and his face was covered in uneven stubble. His hair was silvery white, and his skin was tanned. This man worked for a living, his fingernails were grimy, his clothes were stained. He...Blossom swallowed. It was the janitor? The church's janitor...it had to be.
"You're just a janitor," She muttered, stupidly. The man chuckled, unmoved by her insult.
"I was...now I'm a prophet...I suppose I have you to thank for that," Blossom moved, and the man's head snapped in her direction. She gasped, clamping her working hand over her mouth. She heard the man get to his feet, his footsteps slowly, methodically coming her way. Blossom floated all the way to the ceiling and carefully moved away, diving behind a different column. He casually peered behind her previous hiding place and shrugged.
"How...how did...I've never met you..." She called, already trying to find a new cover. The footsteps started toward her again.
"You're right...we've never met. But that didn't stop you from killing me," The tone of his voice...it was horrifying. What did he mean? She killed him? When? She only killed that stupid dog. His fingers wrapped around the edge of the column, but Blossom was gone by the time he looked behind it. She could make out his eyes now. They were giving off a silvery-green glow. He had night vision...just like her. But...that meant...
"When you attacked...the people of Townsville were herded to the bunkers beneath the city," He was returning to the middle of the room...the chair slid against the concrete again as he sat down. He sighed and cleared his throat, "My daughter and I...we weren't so lucky. They came into our house, I tried to fight them, and then...there was this light. A horrible, red light, more painful than anything...well, almost anything," The man paused, wiping his eyes. He looked up, staring at the three beaten little girls in front of him.
"Your heat rays, I was told, collided with my home. My daughter, she was never found. I was pronounced dead at midnight. So you see...you killed me, but that wasn't the end of my story, no," Blossom sank to the floor, trying to keep her eyes on him, while also trying to find some way to get to another hiding place.
"He came to me, and gave me life once more," Blossom looked up, shaken from her deliberation.
"Who?" The man chuckled and kissed the crucifix around his neck. She hadn't noticed it before.
"The Lord...he told me what had become of you. I couldn't believe they'd just...let you go. He gave me the task of killing you. Of saving the world from your reign, of tearing down Babylon the Great," There was no doubt about it now, the slight glow to his skin was a dead give-away. Some how, this man had been exposed to Chemical X, just like...
'Sedusa...' Someone had managed to get a hold of the real stuff and was handing it out wherever he could! Creating some...some kind of army of super assassins! Blossom narrowed her eyes and slid to her feet. She kept her back against the pillar, but kept the man fixed with her deadliest glare.
"Why the girls? What did they do?" The man climbed to his feet slowly. He lashed out faster than Blossom expected, grabbing Amanda by her throat. The little girl moaned and shuddered. Faintly, Blossom thought she could her hear begging him to let her go. The psycho let go of Amanda, giving her another fierce backhand, leaving behind a bruise on her right cheek to match the one on her left. Blossom bristled; it took all of her willpower to not rush out and face him. If he was powered up by Chemical X...she wasn't so sure she could keep up with him.
"They were a message to this damned city! Repent and cast out the whore, or-" Blossom sneered and cut him off.
"You'll come in the night like a thief?" The man put his hands in his pockets and nodded, turning away from the girls.
"That's right...now, I think I've humored you long enough. Face me, Blossom," his voice took a sudden sharp turn, becoming stern, like an angry grandpa. Blossom swallowed and quit breathing. As silently as she could, she slipped to the ceiling and began to make her way around him, trying to find an opening to attack. That's when she heard it: the sound of a gun cocking.
Without a warning, the man held out the gun and fired, a clean shot straight through Amanda's forehead. The sound was enough to wake up the other two, who began screaming instantly.
"No! No! Don't kill me! Please, let me go!" Renee's voice was shaking, and she tripped over her words, but Julie could only scream. Blossom ground her teeth, slipping behind another column. Just like that, he killed her. No warning, no demands. He just shot her between the eyes. He watched her die like it was nothing.
"That was your warning, Blossom. Come out, or I'll kill the other two," That got the girls screaming and crying even more. Suddenly, Blossom, who was a social pariah, became their only hope for survival.
"Blossom! Blossom! Help me! Save me! I don't want to die!" Renee cried, going limp in her restraints, dissolving to pathetic whimpering. Julie tried to say her name, but it only came out as a garbled yelp. Blossom grit her teeth and slipped behind another column. She jumped when another shot rang out, and Renee's crying went silent. Julie's screams, however, became even more panicked, even more desperate.
"That's two...this one is your friend, isn't she? If there is any part of you left untainted, won't you do the right thing and throw down your life to save hers?" Blossom grit her teeth. Two innocent girls were dead...she had to do something! She had to confront him! She had to risk losing everything to save Julie. If she died, her sisters would never forgive her. There had to be some way. But...she'd never been so terrified. He had Chemical X, and he had a gun. In the past, a gun was more of a running gag against the Powerpuff Girls than a real threat. But, in her weakened state...
"Alright, fine! I'm here! Over here!" As quick as she shouted, Blossom zipped to cover, barely dodging a shot that would have taken her head off.
"That's not very heroic..." The man muttered. Blossom heard Julie's cries reach a new height, except, now muffled somehow. She peered out and gasped. He had the gun jammed in Julie's mouth. His eyes were locked with hers. He could see her, just as well as she could see him. Blossom shook her head slowly.
"I gave you a chance," The gun fired, blood splattered the sides of the column, "You have only yourself to blame," Blossom clenched her fists, trembling with rage. Her left arm was still useless, but her bracelet was sparkling, throwing electricity around like party favors. He pulled the gun from Julie's mouth and paced toward Blossom. She took a step back. No matter how angry she was, how much she hated him...she was too afraid to act. Her fear kept her backing away with each step. Blossom dodged just as the gun went off. Her assailant made no attempt to hurry after her, he just kept taking step, after step, after step.
"There's nowhere to run, Blossom. I hold the keys to death..." He held up an old-fashioned, silver key, "and Hell," Blossom gasped and hit the floor, the bullet whizzing over her head. She tried to climb to her feet but...there he was, staring down at her with those eerie, glowing eyes. She tumbled backward, scooting until her back hit the wall. He casually reloaded his pistol, eyes never leaving hers. Very slowly, with an almost reverent glimmer in his eyes, he pointed it at her.
Blossom looked around desperately. There was nowhere to run.
"Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire," The gun went off with a deafening bang, and time seemed to slow down around her. Blossom watched in high definition as the bullet exited the barrel and came screaming toward her.
And every night...I lay awake...
Her eyes got wider with every inch it crossed. She took a deep breath and watched, as the bullet collided square with her left arm, piercing the skin.
I find...the conclusion...
Blood shot from the wound and pain she'd never felt before shot through her body. Blossom fell forward, screaming and holding her arm. The janitor stopped just in front of her, leveling the gun with the back of her head.
And every night...it just stays the same...
"For strong is the Lord God who judgeth her," Blossom could barely hear him through her own screams. She was barely aware of his presence through her own pain. Even when the gun went off, there was only one thought screaming in her mind...only one voice she could hear...
I dream...of absolution
The still night air was broken by a deafening scream. A vicious sound that went on again and again, growing louder and more feral with every passing second. The earth shook, the entire infrastructure began to come undone.
Black, nightmare, smoldering ruins, a pained scream rings out, shattering the engulfing silence. High above, thunder crashes.
"What? What in the name of Heaven? G-Get, Get away from me!"
A blistering crack rang out again and again, echoing like thunder and striking like lightning. Bones snapped and sinew tore with every lash. Blood splattered across its face and painted the floors. The scream echoed a second time, this time, free of pain and suffocating with unbridled fury.
Skin tears and blood splatters the concrete. Tears mingle with sweat on purple bruises, a sickening thud hits the ground. The sky trembles in silent despair; the Earth holds its breath.
"NO! GOD HELP ME! GET AWAY! WHAT ARE YOU! W-"
An explosion rocked the neighborhood, startling those who were supposed to be sleeping peacefully. Another scream rang out, this one older, deeper...and dying. A disgusting schlock shot through the air. Blood trickled to the floor, followed by a lifeless thud. The air fell completely silent...
A lone figure stands; the world finally succumbs to its scars. Eyes ablaze, encased in a sheathe of fire. A shrill laugh splits the dead air. Darkness devours the dying light.
"YOU KNOW WHO I AM!"
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Dreams of an Absolution