Brick was digging in the refrigerator, hoping to retrieve a can of beer, when he heard the stairs in the living room creak. He slowly turned around and narrowed his eyes at the stairway. Sure, he had super hearing and could hear the smallest thing, so the sound could have been nothing. But something in the air seemed odd and he couldn't disregard the noise. He quickly grabbed a beer before wandering into the living room. It was completely silent, save for the pop of his can lid. Maybe a mouse had gotten into the house. He walked passed the couch, popcorn and video game discs littering the floor, and caught a whiff of an unfamiliar scent. He had never been near a mouse before, but he knew they didn't smell like roses. His suspicions grew. No matter how desperate he was for the attention of his counterpart, Boomer would never wear perfume, even if he was stupid. Brick couldn't think of anything that could cause the smell except for one person. Shivers went down his spine. There was no way that anyone was in the house except for him. He shook his head. No, he was just imagining things out of hopeful stupidity. His exhaustion was getting to him. He pressed the side of the beer can to his forehead, wishing the cold metal would snap him out of his daze. Closing his eyes, he erased the images of her from his mind.
"Leave me."
Brick's eyes shot open, red irises alight with fear. What the hell was going on? Did he really just hear that?
"Let me die!"
He turned in circles, trying to follow the voice.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!"
His heart was racing, as was his mind. Everywhere he looked he found nothing. The voice didn't seem to be coming from any particular location, it was coming from everywhere. No...it was coming from him. From his head. He collapsed on the couch and rested his face in his hands.
"I'm going insane." He muttered to himself, knowing there was no one else in the room. Nightmares, flashbacks, hearing things, what next? Was he going to start seeing her too? 'I can't take it.' He thought. 'This whole thing is so messed up. I need her back, I need to see that she's okay. I want Blossom back.'
He raised his head and stared at the doorway, but no one came through.
"I can't find the end of the line." Boomer said as he jogged over to the three teens.
Buttercup threw her head back and groaned. "We're never gonna make it in time. The shows gonna be over!"
"Well there goes my night." Mitch scoffed, kicking at the dirt angrily.
Boomer pointed at Buttercup. "You know its your fault. You didn't need that jacket."
Buttercup stared at the blue ruff in shock for a moment before raising her fists. "I didn't see you trying to help me!"
Boomer threw his arms in the air. "Maybe you should learn how to clean your room!"
Buttercup hovered off the ground and got in his face. "I've seen your house before, it's no better!"
"I'm a guy!"
"What's the difference!?"
"The difference is I'M NOT A GIRL!"
"That doesn't answer my question!"
"I know you are but what am I?"
"Stop being retarded!"
"Your gonna eat your words, spit em out, AND EAT EM AGAIN!"
"THAT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE SENSE!"
"ENOUGH!"
Everyone shut their mouthes and turned to Bubbles.
The blue puff had her hands up and a serene look on her face. "Let's all just take a deep breath."
"Like that's gonna get us into the show." Buttercup grumbled.
Bubbles frowned at her sister before extending her arm towards the line. They all followed her arm and blinked at what they saw. The line was gone.
"Now do you want to go turn in our tickets, or should we stay out here and argue?" Bubbles questioned politely.
Buttercup rolled her eyes and quickly stormed over to the ticket booth, her comrades soon following behind.
She had searched her counterpart's bedroom first, as well as all of the other rooms on the top floor, but there was no sign of the knife. She knew Brick would never leave it somewhere like the kitchen or living room, so that meant he had it, which made her job so much more difficult.
He sat on the couch now with his head in his hands, humiliated with himself. She carefully peered over the couch and saw the handle of the knife sticking out of his pocket. It was possible that she could just take it at this moment and escape as quickly as possible, no violence needed, but so many factors could alter that plan. The best thing to do was to face him.
Blossom went to the kitchen and pulled open one of the counter drawers. She slammed the drawer shut, catching Brick's attention. She stood in the center of the room, waiting for him to run in. But he didn't.
She stepped back into the living room to find her counterpart unmoved, mumbling to himself.
"Stop hearing things. Stop imagining it. You're insane, you're just insane."
Her chest ached at hearing him say that because she knew it was her fault that he felt this way, but it was also partly his own. He was the one who had saved her after all, knowing she wanted nothing more than to die. She turned around and crossed the kitchen to the cupboards. She threw one open and grabbed a stack of plates and let them slip out of her grasp. The sound of shattering ceramic shook the house and she knew that he wouldn't ignore her this time.
He jumped out of his crazed stupor as the piercing sound of shattering glass split the air. His heart pounded, but not out of fear. He quickly got to his feet and slowly walked to the kitchen, where the sound had erupted. His fists clenched and unclenched, nerves tingling across his skin. He took a deep breath and held it in as he turned the corner, praying it was who he thought it was. But when his gaze fell upon the intruder, it wasn't what he expected. His red eyes went wide. A hooded figure dressed in black leaned against the kitchen counter, head bowed. He took a step towards the stranger and caught a glimpse of glistening orange hair underneath the hood. He bit his tongue, stopping himself from calling out her name. Fortunately, he didn't need to say anything, for she lifted her head at that very second and glared at him with pink eyes. Her gaze shocked him, the emptiness within them frightened him. How could someone who held so much love and strength in the past now have no emotion whatsoever? She reached her fingerless-gloved hands up to the hood and pulled it back, allowing her orange hair to spill out and the light to hit her face. Her skin was pale, dark circles rimmed her eyes, there was a cut above one of her eyebrows and many more on the parts of her body that he could see. She cast a dark aura over the room. Brick began to wonder if this was truly Blossom.
She pushed herself away from the counter and glided forward, eyes never leaving his. "Brick." Her voice was so dull and flat, it was as though his name was poison on her tongue. His throat tightened as she drew closer, so close he could smell her rose scent. He wanted to turn away but his body wouldn't obey his mind. Her eyes were lidded as she approached him, a clear disinterest in everything around her, a careless attitude. She stopped one foot away from him, letting her hand baerely brush against his. He held his breath. "Say my name." She whispered. He stared at her at first confused by her request. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't tell me you forgot it." She cocked her head to the side. "You still remember me...right?" She ran her hand delicately up his chest, following the movement with her eyes. His heart hammered as she became so close that he could feel her cold breath on his neck. She let her fingers run down his abs and slowly over to his hip. "You couldn't forget your counterpart." She used her other hand to suddenly grab onto his shirt and pull him against her and he lost all thoughts and comprehensions within that moment. She hissed into his ear, "We're soul mates, Brick." And then, as she backed away, he felt it, the sudden relief in his pocket. His hand shot to it and felt around for an object. When nothing was found, his red eyes snapped to his counterpart, who glared right back at him. In her hand was the knife he had used to kill Butch, his brother. Brick felt many emotions in that minute. He felt anger, for her taking something that belonged to him. He felt fear at this new woman standing before him. He felt longing, for his old counterpart. But he especially felt sadness, that she now held no compassion in her eyes and he knew better than anyone else that when a person lost emotion, it was near impossible to retrieve, especially after what Blossom had been through. His glare softened into a look of hurt.
"Why?" He asked.
She raised an eyebrow, already tucking the knife into her back pocket. "Because he meant more to me than he did to you. You murdered him after all." Her face darkened. "You betrayed your brother, your family, for a girl."
Brick kept his mouth shut, not knowing how to respond and fearing he would choke on his words.
Blossom straightened up. "You're weak, Brick. Weak and stupid, naive. You believed in a happy ending even after all that you had done and continued to do. You believed in the impossible, in a fairytale. Your future with me was as likely as a Rowdyruff boy being one of the good guys." She crossed her arms. "You believed and you killed your brother because of it."
He shook his head. "No, Blossom, I meant why did you turn into..." He gestured towards her. "This?"
She pulled her hood back up, covering her face in a pool of shadows. "Because you learn from your mistakes. I made mistakes and I learned. I tried to use my knowledge to make things better for everyone, but you weren't as smart as I. You made many mistakes and learned nothing. You ruined my chance to better things by saving me and so I realized my biggest mistake of all, loving. I loved Butch, I loved my sisters, I loved the Professor, I loved the town, the world, and I loved you." His stomach dropped and he let his eyes flicker away for a second. "But those things all caused me pain and in turn caused everyone else pain. Love destroys us. It is the very thing that can end all wars and no one thing can end a war. Love is difficult and simple. It is safe and dangerous. It is happy and sad. Angry and content. It causes opposites to attract and that is caused by a magnetic field and a field is a border. That border marks the end of achieving greatness and satisfaction. Love prevents life. Love only creates death. And death only hurts because of love." She stated simply. "Love no one and no one can hurt you."
Brick tried to speak, but only a breath of air came out. He was bewildered by her words. Maybe someone was impersonating her, maybe this wasn't the real Blossom. Maybe the real Blossom was somewhere else in the world, maybe she was dead. This couldn't be her...could it? The Powerpuff leader who was so full of pride, kindness, and dedication. Who would do whatever it took to protect the ones she loved. The girl who was followed by her sisters as they fought as one against all evil. Blossom, who's heart was overflown with love...now saw love as evil?
Blossom nodded. "It's a lot for you to take in, but at least now you won't have to worry. Now you know that Blossom is truly gone, for good. You can move on. Create a new and better life." Oddly, even as her voice was overall flat and lifeless, there was still a hint of hopefulness in her eyes. She stared at him for a few more seconds, before averting her gaze and walking passed him. Brick refused to move his eyes from the spot where she had stood as he contemplated everything that had happened, then in one quick motion he snatched her arm and whipped her around to face him.
He glared. "If I have to get over you, then you have to get over Butch." He put his hand out.
Blossom looked to his open palm, then to the hand wrapped around her arm, and finally into her counterpart's eyes. He had regained his sanity and his anger was now boiling. She didn't expect him to let her go easily, not when she had something that was meaningful to him. So instead of arguing, she pulled her arm from his grasp and delivered a fierce, solid blow to his face. He was sent stumbling back, holding his already bruising cheek. Then he looked at her with wide eyes.
"His death was your fault." She hissed.
Brick composed himself. "No, Blossom, I might've put the knife through his body, but you're the one who killed him." He clenched his fists, finally coming to a realization. "You caused everything that lead to his death, you are responsible." He spit out his last sentence with venom. "You murdered my brother."
Blossom, for the first time, showed emotion as her face paled with shock. She dropped her head to stare at the floor tiles, remembering the many times she had stood in that house. The times she had slept with Butch, with Brick, betraying them both. Driving their jealousy to a maddening rage, a wrath of blood lust. Twisting and knotting them around her finger and playing the victim the entire time, even as she was the villain. Her chest began to ache, but she ignored it. This was what she had forced herself to overcome. It wasn't just love that she despised, it was the feeling of regret as well. For love created decisions needed to be made and those outcomes formed regret, regret turned to anger, anger turned to sadness, and all of those overwhelming emotions promoted a stress that tore a person down until there was nothing left of them. Just as it had done to her.
She glanced to the side. "Yes, I am guilty." She stated. "But that doesn't change anything. I tried to fix things. Tried to make amends. But you prevented me from that." She glared at him, pain hiding behind her eyes. "You didn't allow my own fate to fall in my hands, you chose to claim it for yourself. You tore me away from my last hope of dignity. Now I have nothing. This, right now, what I have become, is because of you. So don't try to blame everything on me. You've played the victim as well." Her face grew red with anger. "But now I'm finally going to take control of my life and not worry about anyone but myself."
Brick raised his chin, accepting his counterpart, and ex-lover's new proposal. "Fine." He stated.
She touched the knife that was concealed in her pocket. "And that starts now. You don't get to decide when I get over Butch."
Brick furrowed his eyebrows. "Then you don't get to decide who keeps that knife. It's mine."
Blossom hissed back at him, "Come and get it."
