A/N: (This was an author's note written in 2008.)

Hi! This is CLS, the author! (...duh, right?) I just wanted to say this is my first fanfic I'm ever writing so go easy on me when you review this! If you review, that is. Feel free to criticize, just don't be too harsh! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own the PPGs! Just this story! Hope you enjoy!

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"Help! Help!"

A desperate cry for help was heard in the Townsville Park. Three figures with huge eyes were holding up a boy twice the size of them upside down, shaking him mercilessly so money would slip out from his pockets. Passersby who heard the cry would search for the source of the sound, but when they saw the faces of the three bullying kids, they turned their heads away from the sight with a heavy heart, for the trios were none other than—the Rowdyruff Boys.

"Oomph!"

When the continuous drops of dollars came to a stop, the Rowdyruffs loosened their grip, causing the boy to fall on the grass head first. The victim of their bullying quickly stood up and started to run, afraid they would do him more harm. But luckily, all three only cared about the money, and not one paid interest in pursuing him. The one with the baseball cap started gathering up all the cash littered on the ground, quickly followed by another with jet-black hair. The last remaining blond ruff was all set to join them, when something stopped him short. He pondered in his spot for a few seconds.

"Uh, Brick?"

"What now, Boomer?" The redhead replied somewhat annoyed. His eyes never left the money in his hands which he just started to count.

"Why are we taking someone's money when we can just steal stuff?"

"Because it's much more fun, you idiot!" Butch the green ruff shouted while also not stopping from counting.

"I wasn't talking to you!" Boomer yelled back.

"Well, you are now! So just shut up and… Aww man! Nice going, Boomer! I have to start all over again!"

"Like that's my fault." Boomer mumbled crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"It's totally your fault!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

Brick looked up from his money, only to find his siblings rolling all over the ground punching each other. He rolled his eyes, and resumed back to what he was doing. He wasn't exactly in the mood to yell at them. They wouldn't listen to him during their fist fights anyway.

"Ouch!"

Just then, the redheaded ruff was interrupted by a sharp pain on his head. An object bounced off his head and landed right beside him... It was a stone. Brick turned red with anger and glared at the direction it came from—and he was surprised, for a moment, not to see their usual rivals, but about twenty normal kids each holding as much stones they could carry in their tiny hands.

The children were throwing daggers through their eyes, never seeming to blink. Then in a moment's notice, the small group rapidly encircled the ruffs, which finally stopped Boomer and Butch from their fight. The two got off from each other and stood up, blinking in confusion. Brick was puzzled as well, but soon put on his usual frown and placed his hands on his sides.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?" He demanded.

By that, a boy named Mitch Mitchelson stepped out from the small crowd, took a deep breath, and pointed his finger directly at them.

"You're gonna pay for what you've done Rowder-up boys!"

"It's Rowdyruff!" Boomer corrected, but Mitch didn't seem to care.

"All this time we had to be bullied for no reason! And I say it's not fair!"

"Yeah!" The others shouted in agreement.

"So it will be better for you to surrender, before we really show you what we've got!"

"Yeah!" Again, the children shouted in unison. A bit louder this time.

...

Complete silence befell the park. Everybody had stopped their motion to watch what was going on. Even the drivers on the nearby street had parked their cars to look out the window.

The Rowdyruffs for that matter, stood still without a word. Their mouths started to quiver, but still nothing. Seeing that, Mitch took it as them trembling with fear. However, he was flat out proven wrong when they suddenly started to burst out laughing.

"Pffft...HAHAHHA! They want us to surrender! PFFFFHHHHAHAHAHA!"

"Show us what they got! WAHAHAHAHHA! Oh, man, it's… it's killing me! HAHAHHAHAHA!"

The three collapsed on the ground and howled in their fits of laughter.

Mitch and his small group of friends narrowed their eyes and clenched their teeth, trying to hold back the rage boiling inside them. Obviously the ruffs weren't taking their words seriously.

For a few seconds the RRBs wallowed in amusement, until slowly, their laughter died down. Though when it did, the boys were practically gasping for breath.

Brick managed to calm himself down first, and so the redheaded leader stood up and wiped a tear out from his eye, stepping closer to Mitch. He raised an eyebrow at him and smirked.

"Ain't fair for you to be bullied, eh?"

Mitch slowly crossed his head. Brick leaned closer, and whispered softly in his ear.

"...Whatya gonna do about it?"

With that, in a brief second, Brick punched Mitch in the gut, sending him flying into a bush. His friends were shocked by the happening, and ran to the bush to see if he was okay. The ruffs cackled loudly, soon returned by the kids with death glares. They simply couldn't take it anymore, and neither could Mitch. The brown freckled face boy balled his fists and shrieked to the top of his lungs.

"Crush 'em!"

On cue, the kids let out a battle cry and hurled their stones at the RRBs. The boys ceased their laughs only to see countless stones coming right at them. Their eyes widened to the size of saucers. It was only natural the three never expected the kids to actually attack, which was why they couldn't find the time to dodge all the stones.

The rocks broke through and thrashed on to their near invincible bodies, yet still leaving small cuts and bruises. They were never enough to hurt them badly, and because of that they could have easily overpowered the assaults. But unlucky for them, they lost their chance when more citizens approached the scene, triggered by the bravery of the children standing up to the boys.

In a blink of a second, the small crowd turned into a huge mob surrounding the ruffs entirely. More rocks were pouring in, hitting the boys harshly on every part of their bodies. And though it was hard to even see through the massive stones now, the sight of the three wrongdoers powerless under their will served as motivation, encouraging the civilians to attack more severely.

Brick in the meantime did his best to defend himself from the onslaught. He curled up his body and protected the back of his head with his arms in fetal position, while his brothers did about the same. Surely, the pain from the thrown stones was tolerable, but Brick was brought to absolute rage when he heard the words coming from the mob.

"Don't even think about laying your filthy paws on our children!"

"Yeah, nobody wants you around, you son of a monkey!"

"Why don't you just do us a favor, and get lost!"

"I bet even your so-called parents don't care about you. They're only using you to defeat the puffs, which you never will!"

The words whirled around in Brick's head and tangled up with other newly made nasty comments. He squeezed his eyes shut, biting down on his lip, until he finally reached his breaking point. He got out of his defense and stood up screaming in bloody rage, blasting people away randomly.

The next moment, screams and cries pervaded the park as the citizens were knocked out or injured right on the site. Those who were lucky enough to escape ran away for shelter, leaving only three boys standing in front of a scene of mostly unconscious people strewn on the ground.

Left in the burning remains, Butch and Boomer couldn't close their mouths, both astonished by what had happened... until Boomer was the first to speak up.

"That was so cool!" He blurted out.

"Radical, dude!" Butch concurred.

The tongue of the latter was dangling loosely from the edge of his mouth, his figure twitching from excitement. Admittedly, the green boy hadn't been like this for a long time.

Together, the two kept on chattering about how cool Brick was, and apparently didn't notice the 'too quietness' of their leader off the side. The red ruff was still quivering from anger that hadn't simmered down. His fists were curled up, and his eyes looked as if they were on fire. The words he thought sickening were haunting him again...

"…your filthy paws…"

"…nobody wants you around…"

"…get lost!"

"…they're only using you to defeat the puffs…"

Soon enough his short trance was intervened by a tap on his shoulder.

"Hey, Brick, you alright?"

It was Butch, calmed down with a bit of concerned look on his face. Brick frowned and pushed him away, a sign from him to leave him alone.

Butch was perplexed, but his expression soon gave wake to a devilish smile.

"You don't care about what they said, do you?" He suggested to Brick mockingly. Boomer snickered in support.

"Aww, did those mean people hurt our Bricky's feelings?"

The two roared with laughter, causing their leader to fume out of his eyes.

"Brick is a sissy! Brick is a sissy!" They chanted together, and that was enough fuel for Brick to blow his top once again.

"I'M NOT HURT! OKAY?! NOW SHUT YOUR PIEHOLES, AND LET'S JUST GO HOMMME!"

Brick's voice was so loud that it reverberated throughout the park. Boomer stood dumbstruck. Butch growled because of the damage Brick's voice had made in his ear. Not seeming to care, the leader ruff just turned around and took off from the ground, promptly heading for the observatory. Boomer followed suit in close range. Two streaks of color remained in where they had passed. Butch, who was left behind, mumbled about Brick being bossy and reluctantly decided to go after them. When suddenly, he remembered the money.

The raven haired boy looked down at his feet. There he saw, crumpled dollars with lots of footprints planted on them. They were quite dirty, and many were taken. Butch assumed it to be the citizens who caused all the racket.

"And they call us bad…" Butch rolled his eyes at their hypocrisy.

He collected the few dollars that were left and was ready to fly off.

"Hey!" A voice called him, stopping him from what he was about to do.

It was Mitch, who was badly injured. Cuts were all over his body, and he was barely standing on his feet.

"What do you want?" Butch asked, crossing his arms.

"You're not leaving until we end this fight!" Mitch shouted recklessly, despite his condition.

The green ruff smirked, and punched him in the face without a second thought. Mitch fell hard on the ground with a black eye now emerging on his face. Butch was just about ready to really let him have it, but was stopped dead in his tracks by someone behind him.

Butch turned around, his eyes meeting a pair of red ones. Brick was standing there holding Butch's arm firmly. He and Boomer had come back since their brother wasn't following.

"I said, LET'S JUST GO HOME." Brick said coldly, emphasizing the part he had spoken before.

"Yeah Butch, let's just ditch this place before the Powderpuffs arrive!" Boomer added.

Butch started to protest, but Brick didn't give him the chance and soared up to the sky with Butch still in his grip. Boomer tried to calm Butch down from struggling, while Brick kept silent.

Stopping Butch from a fight wasn't what Brick usually would have done. But he knew he wasn't angry at the citizens in Townsville anymore. He was angry at someone else, and he never wanted to see their snooty little faces again. And while they were on their way back home, he couldn't keep this one particular phrase out of his head.

"…they're only using you to defeat the puffs…"

"…using you to defeat the puffs…"

"…to defeat the puffs…"

.

.

..

"Puffs…"