So maybe it wasn't mind control. But then what the heck is it? Nina's going to need some help with this one.

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After some intense reflection, Nina had come to the conclusion that her problem might not actually be mind control. But eliminating a possibility for the cause still did little to uncover a cure. She was starting to wonder if maybe she had some sort of disease. And as brilliant as she was, she was no Doctor.

Thus, with reluctance, Nina was forced to ask for help.

"Hey, Uncle. You gotta moment?" she said, approaching Cortex from behind. He was hunched over his work desk, busily drawing up his next evil scheme, but then, he was always doing that.

After a brief moment, Cortex swiveled around in his chair and glared at her. "I'm busy planning for world domination, Nina."

"You're always busy with that."

Reaching toward the sky dramatically, he cried, "But I'm close to a breakthrough!"

"You're always close to one."

Sighing, and running a gloved hand down his face, Cortex said, "What do you want?"

Squirming a bit in discomfort, Nina said, "Well, um… okay, so, there's this girl. I'm supposed to hate her, but I can't get her out of my head." She sighed, took a deep breath, and continued, "I'm having these weird, sappy thoughts about her hair and, like, wanting to touch her and stuff. I thought it was mind control, but I've ruled that out, and-"

Rolling his eyes, Cortex interrupted with, "Dear, you're gay."

An awkward silence pervaded the room for one eternally long moment, as both Cortexes stared at each other, one clearly bored and the other clearly confused.

Finally, Nina spoke. "...I know that . But it's Coco ! I can't feel that way about my mortal enemy!"

With a shrug, palms up, Cortex replied, "The heart does what the heart wants." A dark look overcame his face, one hand balling into a fist, as his stare drifted to some indistinct point to the left of Nina. "I know that all too well."

Stamping her foot, Nina yelled, "But I hate her! I don't like her! It's gotta be something else!"

Chuckling, Cortex said, "No, no, that's definitely it. Your reaction only makes it clearer." He paused, then laughed again. "Maybe you can turn that brat evil and we'll have one less obstacle in our path to world domination!"

Nina looked like she was about to explode. Through gritted teeth, she forced out the words, "I don't think you're taking this seriously."

"It's hard to take a child's crush seriously compared to, say, evil plots to rule the world. Which I'd like to get back to, I might add."

Throwing her hands up, Nina shouted at the ceiling, "Ugh, Dad, you're impossible!"

Apparently gripped with a sudden, violent panic, Cortex shot up in his seat and looked wildly about the room.

Nina rolled her eyes, arms crossed. "No one else is around, you big baby!" Then she turned on her heel and stomped out of the room.

[][][][]

This whole thing was ridiculous. There was just no way he could be right. And to prove that, Nina decided she'd make a list of all the things she hated about the obnoxious blonde bandicoot. It was as follows:

I hate that she keeps getting in the way of my evil plans.

I hate what a goody-two-shoes she is.

I hate that stupid flower in her stupid, perfectly-combed blonde hair.

I hate those adorable blue overalls she always wears.

I hate how smart she thinks she is.

I hate how smart she actually is.

I hate the pretty sound of her laugh.

I hate her cute little nose.

I hate how soft her fur is and how much I want to touch it.

…Crap.

Staring at her list in horror, realization finally struck Nina square in the face. He was right. She wasn't just crushing on Coco, she was crushing on Coco hard.

Ripping her list to shreds, Nina screamed at the sky, then paced back and forth, trying to figure out what to do. Well, if this was how it was, she would have to own it. She wasn't going to let it get the best of her anymore. If she really did like Coco, she was going to do something about it, dammit!

And thus Nina started writing letters. They were short, usually just a sentence or two. She'd write them, look them over maybe once, then seal them in an envelope and mail them directly to Coco. They contained such gems as:

For a scientifically evolved marsupial, you're pretty smart!

Unlike your mangy brother, you keep your fur surprisingly clean. It only smells a little bit!

Those overalls that you wear every single day (seriously do you not have any other clothes?) actually look pretty good on you.

The brilliant and powerful Nina Cortex demands that you meet her in Wumpa Town at 12:30pm this Friday!

She didn't receive any response until two days after she sent that last one. It read: "Change that "demand" to a "request", the "12:30" to a "1:00", and the "Friday" to "Saturday", and you've got a date. Also, my number is xxx-xxx-xxxx. The letters are adorable, but you can just text me next time. If you're worried about typos, 'cause of your fingers, don't be, I don't mind."

The visibly shaking, almost overwhelmingly excited Nina couldn't respond fast enough. Her big metal fingers slowed her down, but for once, she didn't feel quite so bad about it.

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Gonna be at least one more, for their date, of course! :3