-Chapter 3: What Followed and the 2nd Nightmare-

The very next morning was a Saturday, so the girls were able to sleep in. When they did finally get up, Blossom was the last to wake. This was very unusual, because she always woke up along with her sisters. It seemed that the previous night's terrors had prevented her from getting a well deserved rest. Buttercup had noticed her right away.

"Man Blossom, you look awful." the lime eyed girl remarked.

"Speak for yourself..." Blossom mumbled.

Buttercup let out an 'hmph' and went about her way towards the kitchen for breakfast. Blossom meanwhile was lost in her thoughts throughout the entire meal. Unlike most nightmares and dreams she had before, this one played fresh in mind every second. It still gave her the shivers. Her sisters had remained oblivious about it because she hadn't told them about it yet. After thinking it through a few times more, the pink clad girl decided not to make anything of it. Besides there was really nothing to say about it and more likely it was Blossom's imagination overworking her mind. The Powerpuff Hotline in the living room rang. This time, it was Bubbles who answered it.

"Hello, Mayor." she sang.

"Oh Bubbles! Mojo Jojo is tearing up the city again!" the mayor cried.

"Don't worry, Mayor. We'll be right there!"

She put down the phone and was immediately joined by her sisters.

"What is it, Bubbles?" Buttercup asked.

"It's Mojo Jojo again." the baby-blue clad girl replied.

"Let's go!" Blossom exclaimed.

XXXXXXX

The rest of the day went on like normal. The Powerpuff Girls fought Mojo Jojo, two robbers who attempted to sack a bank and even the Amoeba Boys and sent them all into the slammer. It was further proof to Blossom that she needn't worry about the 'silly dream' she had the night before. So that night, she went to bed in the normal and cheerful mood along with the rest of her sisters.

xxxxxxx

Blossom felt strange. Really, really strange. She felt somewhat warm, like she ran the mile on a track field. The red-head could feel little droplets of sweat trickling down her skin. Everything was pitch dark. Blossom attempted to open her eyes but when she finally could, her vision was extremely blurry. The dim lights appeared to be candles, but they could have been something else, like stars. Blossom desperately wanted to investigate and find out where on earth she was, but she strangely felt limp and exhausted. Even more stranger, strands of her hair seemed to be sticking to her face and neck, like she had been sweating. Blossom herself was breathing in little gasps. The poor lass had no idea what was going on. The she saw Brick looming over her, being a little sweaty and with his hair messed up like herself. He was smiling an evil, sadistic, devious, and toothy grin.

xxxxxxx

Blossom woke up screaming. It caused Buttercup and Bubbles to jolt awake. Poor Bubbles nearly screamed herself in shock. Buttercup scrambled to quiet her pink clad sister down.

"Whoa, Blossom! Calm down!" the lime clad sister cried.

The Professor who had been awakened by all the commotion Blossom made, came rushing into their room, hastily flipping the light switch on.

"Girls? What's going on?" he cried.

At this point, Blossom's screams had turned to frightened sobs. She was terrified by the vivid images in her head. Buttercup was struck and concerned to see Blossom so emotional like this, as she rubbed her back. It took a lot for the red head to cry so openly. Bubbles was just as worried, she was about to cry herself. The girls had never in their entire lives seen their leader so emotional like this. Blossom herself was scared out of her wits. The Professor sat down on their bed and began to rub the pink clad girl's back himself.

"Blossom? Are you alright, honey?" he asked.

Blossom immediately clung to her creator and shook her head all the while trying to control herself. The rest of her family looked at her with great concern.

"Girls, I'm going to take Blossom down to the kitchen for a moment." Professor Utonium said.

Buttercup and Bubbles nodded as he scooped up their sister and carried her downstairs into the kitchen. After sitting her down at the table, the Professor went to get her a glass of warm milk. Blossom rubbed the tears out of her eyes and began hiccupping. The Professor gave her the milk and she took a sip and let out another hiccup.

"Now then, would you like to tell me what happened?" Professor Utonium asked softly.

"I...I had a really bad nightmare." Blossom sniffled.

"Oh? What was it about?"

"I...I can't really remember...it was really scary tho..."

Which was a lie. She remembered every detail of it. But Blossom just didn't want to say anything about it.

"It must have been if it's making you this upset." the Professor pointed out. "Are you sure you can't remember any of it?"

Blossom shook her head and took another sip of her milk. She just couldn't bring herself to talk about. Plus Blossom didn't want to dwell on what the Professor and her sisters would think, if she told them what she was having nightmares about. They might think that there might something seriously wrong with her to even think of such things. Untonium on the other hand was worried about how this was affecting his little girl. But he also wasn't going to force anything out of her.

"Well Blossom," Professor Utonium said with a light sigh. "if you ever need to sit down and talk to me about it, just know that I'll be here to listen."

Blossom gave him a smile and a big hug. She knew he meant well, but she still wouldn't fess up.

"Thanks, Professor." Blossom said.

"Now then, why don't you go back to bed." the Professor told her. "And no more nightmares."

They both went back upstairs and into their own rooms. Blossom was greeted by her anxious sisters.

"You okay, Blossom?" Buttercup asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Blossom replied softly.

The trio went back to their bed and resumed their nocturnal slumber.