"So, could you open the door?" asked Red Uto, unable to hide a smirk at the frizzy hair the others were showing when they entered the room.
"I hate you," answered Loud Brick, running his fingers through his scorched, standing-up red hair.
"You could have told us about the electric trap!" Mili complained, though she was still professionally neat despite the chaos.
"You all should know by now that Mojo loved traps," followed Thornton without stopping his reading of Parra's report.
Buzzercup gave them a killer gaze. Noticing the three Ghosts had just showered, their hair still wet, and that they were lounging on their training mats side-by-side, she shook a hand through her hair. Then, she quickly pinched Thornton's nose, sending a high-voltage charge straight through the three boys.
The Ghosts yelped and immediately jumped up, their own hair now standing on end, sizzling with static.
"What the hell, Buzzercup?!" Red Uto snarled, rubbing his nose where the electricity had hit.
"Oh, you know, I just thought you needed to understand how it feels to have an unexpected high-voltage shock before bed," she replied, completely unrepentant.
"Served you well", said the Ruffs as they headed to their mats.
"Anyway, what are you reading, Ghosts?" Bubble, Bubbles' male version, leaned toward Blue Boom and read over his shoulder. Yet, he didn't make any comment about what was written. Opposite their female version, the Puff Boys respected boundaries better, even if they were just as nosy.
The Ghost closed the folders, for once with a tired look instead of an annoyed one.
"Just the same that Parra told us" answered Red Uto.
Of course, the doctor hadn't said everything with the others around, just skimmed the important part that could be shared. But he kept others for the Ghosts once the teens had left the room.
"There are a couple of details I think you should know, guys", he had told them while he sat in a bed in front of them, "most of the log, Mojo kept a formal attitude, even frustration and anger since the experiments failed, well, more than once".
Blue Boom looked incredulous for once.
"You mean, there were other Ruffs besides us?"
"I won't tell that exactly." The man made a pause, looking for the best words, "Let's say they were more like miscarriages, boys that couldn't make it to the first months."
"But still, they were like us." Blue Boom's comment was barely audible.
Thornton started playing with the wrinkles of his clothes. Red Uto closed the folder.
Parra kept going.
"Mojo found he needed a very specific DNA to get all his desired advantages. This man, Joseph, seems to have helped him look for that DNA, at least, that's what I can infer from the videos and records."
"But Mojo didn't say anything about him, right? It would amazed me if he did" Thornton said, faking boredom.
"Well, there are a couple of moments this man, Joseph, appeared to have come to Mojo's lab while he was recording. His voice is far away and hard to hear, and his images are blurred. Mojo stopped the video everytime Joseph came in, but still, if you want to see him, I can play those sequences", Parra offered.
The Ghost didn't say a word, though the three chose to look at the void, trying to make sense of everything they had been hearing.
"You said that Mojo was behaving in a way during all those trials," Blue Boom cut the silence. Lying on a bed, on his stomach, he looked straight into Parra's eyes. "What was his change?"
"As I said before, he seemed formal and critical in the first videos. Then, when he finally got the right formula and created you —the three of you— he wasn't happy or proud. He actually looked devastated," Parra finally said.
There was a pause.
"Whatta way to succeed" comment Thornton.
Then Parra added, more quietly, choosing every word with care.
"There's something missing between those recordings. Something big, and personal for Mojo. And whatever it was… it broke him. It left him unable to truly enjoy what you three became. Probably forever."
He looked at them steadily.
"But it had nothing to do with you. You were never the failure of that plan."
No one spoke after that.
Parra tried to read the three boys, unsure of how to act like the father he was supposed to be. Before he could think of anything to say, Thornton sneezed. Loud. Explosive. Like thunder in the quiet room.
"I guess Mojo forgot to make us immune to allergies," Thornton muttered as he blew his nose.
"Tragic flaw," Red Uto said flatly. "Between that and the strawberry rash, you're basically defective."
Thornton kicked toward his brother's bed without looking.
"Shut up."
Blue Boom snorted despite himself.
Now, in the noisy room as everyone got ready to sleep, the Ghosts thought about everything. They glanced at the other Ruffs and the girls as if they were following their conversations, answering now and then with a "Yes," "No," or—more often—"Bite me."
Someone turned off the lights, and little by little the room grew quiet. Someone snored. Someone else mumbled in their dreams. Someone even giggled in their sleep.
"It seems we're the only abnormal ones here," Thornton broke the silence in a soft voice.
He didn't need to ask his brothers if they were awake. He knew they were, because none of them had moved. And even if he had been wrong, it would have meant he was the only one who had noticed. That would have been for the best. But it wasn't the case.
With a soft jab to his ribs, Red Uto pointed toward the exit.
They floated through the corridor. Blue Boom stopped at a crossing. His brothers followed his gaze. At the end of that corridor, one level down, were the bedrooms. Mojo's was at the very end. Next to it, the fifth room.
Joseph's room.
They landed. Blue Boom traced the map mentally and looked at his feet. His brothers noticed. They were standing right over that room. If it had the same layout as the others, the desk would be somewhere near where they hovered now.
Red Uto shook his head and walked away. The others followed.
"If I hadn't seen how Loud Mojo looks at the Ruffs with pride," Thornton said as they headed to the kitchen, "I'd have thought they were the strange ones."
"Yeah, but all the other Ruffs seem to find that normal," Blue Boom added as he grabbed some cookies.
"I guess that means all the other Mojos are alike," Red Uto finally said, pouring milk into his glass.
They ate in silence, thinking about what they had just said. About everything that had happened.
They had always known the other Rowdy Ruff Boys were different from them. They had just never asked why.
Now they understood.
The way Loud Mojo listened to his sons' ridiculous plans. The patience with which he helped them refine those ideas. The pride he showed when everything worked out. Those were the things they had never experienced.
Since the other Ruffs found that kind of relationship completely familiar, the Ghosts had to assume the Mojos across dimensions were alike: some more protective, some more carefree; some rigid, some permissive—but always there for the three boys they called "sons."
"Well, that also explains why Mojo—ours—called us 'Rowdy,' but insisted on us being quiet," Blue Boom murmured, watching his cookie soak in the milk until it broke apart and sank.
It was the first time any of them had referred to him as our Mojo.
And that brought them back to what Parra had revealed.
To the knowledge that they hadn't been the first experiment—only the first success.
To Mojo's change of attitude.
"Devastated," Boom whispered, not even realizing he had spoken the word instead of just thinking it.
"Why are you surprised?" Thornton replied. His words didn't match his face. He frowned, even as he tried to sound cynical. "He was never proud of us. He never even saw us. Being devastated was just his normal state."
He grabbed his glass—and his brothers', even though they hadn't finished—and washed them with rough, angry movements.
For a brief moment, he wondered if Mojo would have shown pride if that missing link in the recordings had never happened.
But there was no point in wondering.
The only thing they knew for sure was that there had been a man named Joseph. That he had been close to Mojo.
And that, suddenly, he was gone, leaving Mojo broken, and them, lost.
The next morning brought its own set of chaos, and with it, a new layer of existential dread they hadn't anticipated.
The Ghosts were already up, sitting on the branches of the sequoia.
"Hey, guys, what are you doing?" Flannel Brick greeted them loudly. "Checking the leaves won't prepare a surprise attack on us, you know?"
The Ghosts hummed a distracted greeting in response. Flannel frowned.
"You didn't sleep, did you?"
No answer.
He sighed and moved on. Then, the Ghosts stopped him with a question.
"Hey, you know this Him guy pretty well, don't you?"
"Yep," Flannel answered. "Of course. He raised us. And he's actually Mojo's partner. Why?"
"Well, if we're going to fight him eventually, we'd better collect as much information as we can."
They climbed down and headed toward the kitchen, where a full riot was already in progress.
"Canned meals again?"
"I know, but there isn't any fresh food, just rations!"
"We can just go to a store and buy fruits and vegetables!"
"That's too risky! Him may have spies all over Townsville!"
"Then let's go somewhere else!"
Red Uto paused in the doorway, honestly trying to follow the chaos.
"What's going on?"
"We're running out of food," someone explained. "There's enough for four people, but right now we have about three times that. These supplies won't last long."
"Yeah, but pink boots here doesn't want to go out for more," someone else added.
"We could gather wild berries," another voice suggested. "It's the season."
The Ghosts listened in silence. Of course, running out of food before a battle was important. Just… not enough to justify the level of panic.
"We can check if the Green House is still working," Blue Boom finally said.
"The what?" several voices asked at once. "You have a greenhouse inside this tree?"
The Ghosts nodded.
"But we haven't been there in… like, four years or so," Thornton added.
"Let's go!" Candy Blossom and Candy Bubbles cheered at the same time. "Where is it?"
"Next to the library."
"…You have a library too?"
"Where did you think we've been working all this time?" Punk Brick said dryly, not hiding his annoyance about being ignored even if the Nerd Club was doing the most important work right that moment.
They followed the Ghosts through the corridors until they reached a massive room filled with shelves, maps, relics and artifacts—most of them stolen, and most of them priceless.
But that wasn't what caught the Puffs' attention.
"Why is there a clinic next to the library?" Mili asked.
The Ghosts shrugged. A faint flush crossed their faces and vanished just as fast.
"We used to throw books at each other when we got bored reading," Thornton said.
The Louds and the Punks laughed.
"We did that too!"
"Did you build forts with them?"
"Still, why a clinic?" Buzzercup pressed. "How hard did you throw those books?"
"Hard enough," the Ghost shrugged.
They passed through a small door that opened into the Green House.
It was enormous. Warm. Bright with solar light. Plants grew everywhere—vines, trees, and rows upon rows of fruit.
"This is perfect! We won't have to eat the same thing every day!"
A sudden shriek cut through the excitement.
"Look at the size of these strawberries!" one of the girls exclaimed. "They're huge!"
Everyone rushed forward, grabbing fruit eagerly. The berries were sweet, ripe, and abundant.
Mili offered a handful of them to the Ghosts.
They hesitated.
Blue Boom clearly looked uncomfortable. Red Uto and Thornton each took a subtle step back.
"Come on," Mili insisted. "We've been here for days! You still don't trust us even with strawberries?"
"They give me a rash," Red Uto admitted flatly.
"What? You're allergic?!"
Slow, devilish smiles spread across the faces of the other Ruffs. The Buttercups followed. Even the Puff Boys looked tempted.
"I wouldn't recommend it," Blue Boom added calmly, choosing grapes instead. "Last time I tried that, we ended up covered in jam."
Several hands froze mid-air.
Bossy Blossom eyed the Green House suspiciously.
"Is that why there are showers in here?"
The Ghosts nodded.
Everyone kept chatting while they ate, until a sudden cry cut through the room.
"What is it, Bubbles?!" Buzzercup rushed to her sister, alarmed.
"They're bones! Bunny bones!" she cried, real sadness filling her eyes—though nothing suggested the animals had died anytime recently.
"Don't cry over something like this," Punk Butch scolded her. "It's not a big deal. These rabbits died ages ago."
"But she had babies! Look at the little skeletons…" Bubbles whispered, heartbroken.
"Geez… are you sure you wanna be a vet?" Skye Blossom asked, half lecturing, half teasing. "You're gonna see plenty of them like this."
"And open them up. And, if necessary, put them to sleep," added Bummer—Boomer's female version—true to her name, her tone grim but matter-of-fact.
"I'm… not so sure I want to study that anymore," Bubbles said, wiping her face.
The conversation slowly shifted after that: from bones to careers, to plans for the future. One Blossom wanted to go into science, another into sports; one Boomer dreamed of becoming a tattoo artist, another a film photographer. The possibility one had dropped was still the first option for another self. They all shared goals and dreams, filling the cold room with warm chatter.
Only the Ghosts stayed silent.
This didn't go unnoticed by Green Butter.
"Well, what about you, Ghost? I hope you're not planning on follow Mojo's plans and dreams", she said as she leant over Red Uto's back.
The three answered indifferently.
"Not that he can have a word on this" Uto replied.
Green Butter didn't say a word. Not on what Uto said and not on the fact that he didn't pushed away as he usually did when she leaned on his back.
"Oh, you guys have questions about Him, don't you?" Flannel just remembered and brought the topic back, "You can't have a better moment than this".
"You do?" wondered Hoodie, then he answered himself, "Oh, right! I forgot your formula was stable so you didn't evaporate."
"True! If you're going to fight Him, you need need all the info you can get" added Mily.
Flannel shoot her a suspicious look, but stayed quiet. Red Uto had said those same words about an hour earlier.
"So," Uto began, leaning forward, "what can you tell us about fighting magic? His strength? Any weaknesses? Anything we can use?"
The Ruffs groaned—not because they didn't know, but because they hated explaining things.
"Well, Him usually doesn't fight you, he preferees to turn people against you, specially your beloved ones," Bossy went ahead, thought the questions wasn't for her.
"That's true, but the most important factor it's Her's magic", Brooke –Brick's female version– answered, "She'll trick you, make you doubt each other… or vanished to make you think you won."
"Him's the same. But if he has to fight, he will bend reality, I mean, he may transftorm branches to tie you up or to protect himself" added Loud Butch.
"I can try to teach you a couple defensive spells", offered Bummer.
"Wait, you can cast spells?" Bubbles gasped.
"Duh, yeah. She used magic to brought us back to life; of course some sticks", explained Brea.
All the Puff Girls looked at the Ruffs, except the Ghosts.
"Are you telling me you boys can use magic too?!" someone asked.
Shrugs all around. But it wasn't the Ghosts shrugging this time.
"Yeah," Punk Brick admitted.
"But it's boring. Too much study and patience and weird words," Punk Boomer complained. "Punching is faster."
"That's what we told Her!" Bummer said dramatically. "Does—does Him force you to learn magic too?"
They all nodded. A strange moment of interdimensional solidarity passed between them.
"But the worse are the ghosts," Chatter Boomer added, then corrected quicky, looking to the Ghost Ruffs, "I mean, the real ones, not you. Those ectoplasmic beings can be a pain in the ass."
"I know!" shared Bummer, "I was pested by a pip-eye one! Trapped him in bottle and threw it in a river!"
So, the conversation became about ghosts, spirits and ghouls, with the Ghost Ruffs being ignored for being too quiet, but still listening intently..
"Can you really see all those beings?" asked one Buttercup.
"Yeah. Some of them, at least. Others prefere to stay hidden."
"And you need to be smart when they're around," warned one Butch, "Weak ones will try to trick you".
"But the worse are the Spirit Guardians. You have to listen to them if they come."
"I know!" one Ruff girl chimed in, "I pretended not to hear one and it almost took my powers off!"
"Why would a Spirit Guardian contact you?" asked Butterscotch, "I thought they wanted chaos".
"Guardians are neutral," Punk Brick corrected. "But if you mess with the universal order? Yeah, they'll come for you."
"And if you're wondering," he added, tone more serious than usual, "they can take away your powers. Or your existence if things get cosmic enough."
He shrugged.
"But I doubt they'd bother with us. At least, my brothers and I stay out of all that universal-law nonsense."
All the Ruffs nodded in agreement.
The Ghosts didn't. They were too distracted, trying to process everything they had just heard—magic, spirits, cosmic rules, Guardians. The memory of last night, the feeling of being observed, felt real again, like a cold heaviness in their cheast. Their eyes weren't even focusing on the same point.
Chatter Butch noticed.
"In fact," he said loudly, with a dramatic gasp, "I think there are some Guardians around. Very, very close."
Thornton blinked, alert.
Chatter Butch grinned.
And then he launched himself onto Thornton's back, knocking him off the bench.
"THERE! I GOT ONE!" he yelled as the rest erupted in laughter and the Ghosts tried to pry him off. The ensuing wrestling match, full of roughhousing and laughter, effectively swallowed the last serious thought in the room.