Chapter 21

[Unsettled]

Blossom was fortunate enough to have an understanding beat cop show up on foot. After giving her brief explanation, she expressed concern about wanting to check on Ashley, and he kindly offered to take care of things here so she could leave.

It was hard for her to say how much time had passed, though it probably hadn't been more than a few minutes. Upon her return home, she saw Bubbles sitting anxiously in a kitchen chair. She heard footsteps coming from the lab and they both turned to see Professor coming up the basement stairs wearing a look of weary concern.

He froze for a moment when he met Blossom's gaze. After a few seconds he turned his eyes away and finished his ascent, closing the door behind him.

"What happened while I was away?" Blossom asked.

"I've dosed her with Antidote X," Professor said as he joined Bubbles at the table. "She seemed very agitated, so I handcuffed her to a chair downstairs. She should be all right for a few minutes while we discuss this. I want to know exactly what happened."

Blossom, not knowing what Bubbles might have already said, gave Professor the whole story.

"She didn't seem to know what she'd done wrong," Blossom added. "She also seemed pretty sure about how to go about chasing someone. I...don't know where she got that notion. Professor, did we have any major issues like that at her age?"

Professor shook his head. "Oh, no. No, I can't say that you did. Your default modus operandi seemed to be helping rather than hurting."

Both Blossom and Professor were slightly comforted by their clinical analysis and over-elaborate wording. Bubbles just sat quietly.

In the intervening silence, they heard a loud banging sound from the basement. Neither of the girls could bear to look through the floor to see what was going on.

Professor seemed equally content to ignore the noises. "I'm not sure if this will explain anything or not, but can you tell me what deviations you might have made from the formula? Specific ingredients for her 'everything nice,' perhaps?"

Blossom froze up, ceasing even to breathe for several seconds. When she did speak, she worked her way slowly to her revelation. "Buttercup's nightgown from her bed. A Barbie. A fresh-picked buttercup. One of the coloring books we just did." She paused to take in an uneasy breath and added, "And some of Buttercup's ashes."

The room was silent for a time. Even the banging in the basement had ceased several seconds ago.

"My god," Bubbles said, regarding Blossom with a mix of disgust and betrayal. "What the hell did you do?" Blossom just stood in silence and let Bubbles build up speed. "Did you think this was some kind of evil ritual? Her ashes? Her gown? You used her ashes?"

"I just--" Blossom started to reply.

"Ashes!" Bubbles interrupted, leaping up from her chair and grabbing Blossom's arms painfully. "You did it! You put death in her!"

Bubbles's anger turned swiftly to helpless sorrow. Without another word, she pounded up the stairs to her room and slammed the door shut.

Blossom turned to Professor, still numb with shock.

He regarded her coolly, and just as calmly said, "We can't say for a fact that the ashes are responsible for this. Come, honey. Sit down."

Still reeling, she did so without realizing she'd complied.

"However, I will admit it's a delicate mixture. There's a degree of symbolism involved, intended to focus your own mind during the process and create harmonious thoughts in the immediate area. The purpose is not to create the perfect little girl, but your perfect little girl."

Leaning back in the chair, clasping his hands behind his head, he continued."It's entirely possible that Ashley will be a little different than you girls were. I have faith, however, that we can work through this together. She seems to be a kind, happy soul. It's probably more a matter of properly educating her."

He looked Blossom in the eye and smiled. "This is hardly the worst thing to happen to our family. We'll pull through."

A wave of relief passed over Blossom's body. When she sighed, it felt as if she'd been holding her breath for ages.

"Thanks, dad."

Professor stood up and put his hand on her shoulder. "Now, I'm sure Ashley's very frightened and confused right now. She's latched on to you, you know. You're a very important person to her, and I think you're the one she needs to talk to right now. What do you say we go downstairs and work our way through this?"

Blossom smiled weakly and nodded, standing up to follow him down.

Professor opened the door and called out, "It's okay, Ashley. Big sister Blossom's here to see you."

They waited. There was no response. Professor opened his mouth again, but Blossom put her hand on his arm and stopped him.

"It's okay," she said softly.

Slowly he closed his mouth and nodded. Blossom started walking down the stairs, Professor trailing behind her.

"Ashley," she called out as she descended. "I'm sorry, sweetie. You gave us quite a scare earlier, but it's all right." As she neared the point where she could gaze out over the lab, she called out again, "Ashley?"

Stopping there, her eyes swept across the lab. They were drawn to the stark contrast of red and green sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall.

Blossom drew in a sharp, wheezing breath before placing a hand tightly over her mouth. After a few moments she screamed, parting her fingers slightly to let it out and emptying her lungs further with a few dry sobs. She spun around and ran upstairs.

Professor ran down instead, rushing to the motionless, blood-covered body propped against the wall. A stream of red ran down her neck and darkened her clothes. It seemed a waterfall of blood had passed over her before now, though surely only because she'd had plenty of time to bleed out. Her eyes were wide open, staring blankly towards the stairs. To Blossom, it had been as if Ashley were staring right at her.

He dropped to his knee and checked her arm for a pulse, not daring to disturb the cut on the left side of her neck. Though he suspected as much anyway, his heart sank when he felt nothing.

With a look of profound sadness he rose to his feet and looked around. In her right hand he spotted the scalpel she'd cut herself with. Both it and the handcuffs on her wrist were red with blood.

He turned to see if Blossom or Bubbles had come down the stairs while he was distracted, and in so doing noticed one of his metal cabinets near the stairs had been opened up. He wasn't sure why, as he kept nothing but papers in there. His tools, including the scalpel, were kept in other areas.

Finally he turned to the chair he'd restrained her in. It seemed one of the armrests had been loosely connected to the back of the chair. Somehow Ashley had managed to break it loose and slip free.