It started in favor of Brick, his rage overcoming Blossom's carelessness. But soon he became blinded with emotions and his female counterpart outsmarted him. That was how it always went. Brick the stronger. Blossom the smarter. Only this time, the reactions were different. Before, Brick would be the one taunting and serving to further anger his counterpart, but now Blossom was teasing and luring in Brick. The roles had flipped and yet the victor never changed.
Blossom stared down blankly at her fallen enemy. He was bruised and bleeding, as was she, but he unfortunately did not hold the item he had fought for. Instead, Blossom did. The knife had initially been ripped out of her pocket by him but through the battle it had slipped from his grasp and eventually fallen back into hers. He knew his counterpart would somehow win against him, she always did. No matter what, no one, not even he, could match up to her intelligence. Her keen wits. Quick thinking. Meticulous planning. And emotional stability, allowing her the upper hand in every battle. She could pinpoint her enemies weaknesses and manipulate them to her own will, poking and stabbing at the insecurities until her opponent was a dumbfounded mess, easy to defeat. Brick, in all the years he had known her, had not figured out how she was able to find her opponents weaknesses and decide how to act in such short time. Her solutions to problems were instant and never failed. Brick didn't understand it. Couldn't comprehend such intellect. And yet here it stood in front of him. Intelligence once again defeating strength.
Brick stared back at his counterpart, but not into her eyes. He looked at her face and tried to picture it smiling and filled with joy. He tried to recognize something from this girl. He wanted to see just a glimpse of the girl he fell in love with. But the only thing left that resembled his ex-lover was her pink irises. No matter how empty and emotionless she became, her signature color would never be erased. That was all he had left of her and it burned him in a way more painful than a branding iron ever could. He didn't even get to his feet or try to take the knife from her, he simply watched, lying on the ground, hopeless, as she turned to leave.
This no doubt would be the last time he would ever see this girl again. He would never get the chance to hug, kiss, or hold her again. His Blossom was gone. She had died the night he tried to save her. But he was too late, far too late.
"Wait..." He muttered through clenched teeth as he forced himself to sit up, ignoring the sharp pain in his stomach. Blossom paused and looked at him, no sympathy, no pain, no affection, no care in her eyes. She was empty. And yet he couldn't let her leave, not yet. "I know you hate me now. I know you want nothing to do with me or anyone else. I know you hate love and the last thing you want is for someone to-" He winced at the pain in his torso. "Forget it. Blossom, I just need you to know that I never wanted this to happen. Any of this. I didn't want to lose my brother and I especially didn't want to lose you. But if I've learned anything in my life it's that sometimes the best thing you can do is let it go. I saved you once and that's not what you wanted. This time I'm letting you go. I'm going to let go of my feelings. Everything. But only because I love you." He met her gaze. Her eyes were slightly widened. "I love you, I've never stopped loving you. We were created for each other, literally, and we had our chance. I fucked it up. At least now I can fix things. I can do what's right." He sighed heavily and she blinked, a flash of gentleness spreading across her face. "I will love you forever and never stop hoping that you are happy, wherever you are. But just promise me that you won't forget about what we had. Promise you won't forget about me."
Blossom glanced away and then strode over to him. She collapsed down on her knees beside him and looked straight into his dark red eyes. He was confused by what she was doing and then, before he could react, she grabbed the sides of his face and pressed her lips against his. He felt a jolt of electricity shoot through his body and his mind instantly told him to keep her there and not let her go. The softness of her lips, her gentle touch, he reached his hand out to hold her but found only air. He opened his eyes. She was gone. And this time, she was never coming back. Blossom was gone. For good.
"He won't answer his damn phone." Boomer growled as he punched in his brother's number for the tenth time.
Bubbles nervously held onto her boyfriend's arm, not sure what to do or say.
"Well then go to the house and see what the hell is going on." Buttercup ordered, incredibly irritated with the interruption.
Boomer frowned at her. "He could be in danger."
The green puff scoffed. "He's just being over dramatic."
Boomer pointed an accusing finger at her. "Okay, just because you choose to put the blame on him for Blossom's downfall doesn't mean he is meaningless."
Buttercup stiffened. "Blossom's downfall? That's what you call it?!" Her face was bright red as she turned on the boy. "The whole damn thing started because of him! It was all because the creep couldn't control his hormones! Who fucking kidnaps someone they 'love' and kills their own brother?!"
Bubbles gasped and quickly released her counterpart's arm as electricity sparked across his skin. She backed up, eyes wide.
Boomer growled at the green eyed girl. "Your little leader was the one who hoed around and broke the hearts of the guys she supposedly 'loved' just because she couldn't resist being a slut! She's the reason for Butch's death, she's the tease who made Brick snap, she's the cause of her own downfall!"
Buttercup's eyes lit up in fury. "What the fuck did you just call her?"
Boomer hissed back, "A manipulative, betraying slut."
Bubbles could do nothing but turn away and cover her ears as the fighting quickly turned physical. She hoped and prayed that some sort of distraction would stop the two.
'Why didn't you just try again?'
'How can you still live with yourself?'
'Wouldn't it be so much easier to just end things?'
'What is stopping you?'
'Who is stopping you?'
The wind blew harshly against her back, edging her off the roof. Pink eyes glared down at the road, visualizing her fatal fall. So many possible ways to die and yet none of them seemed appealing enough. Or maybe it wasn't the appeal but rather a voice in the back of her mind telling her now was not the time. She couldn't figure out why she couldn't kill herself a second time, why she couldn't summon up the courage and strength. It wasn't that she didn't have the will power to do it, she definitely did, but a figure dressed in red kept invading her thoughts yelling at her to stop.
Brick.
She knew he wanted her alive and well even after today's events. Why? Because he loved her. But did she love him back? That was a question she no longer could answer. She had loved him however after her attempt at suicide she now despised the word love. It made a person weak and vulnerable...but it wasn't like she needed to protect herself from anyone or anything at this point, so what did she need strength for? Everything was so confusing. She wished she could erase all of her memories from the past year and just start over. But that wouldn't bring Butch back. That wouldn't heal her and Brick's relationship. That wouldn't bring her back to her sisters. So at least she knew what her underlying problems were and yet it still didn't explain why after her 'resurrection' it appeared as though a switch had been turned on and all of her worst features came to life. She couldn't even think clearly when she became angry, it sort of just blinded her and she acted out. She didn't contemplate her actions until after she had calmed down. She hadn't flipped out on Brick, not like she did on the Gang Green Gang, but she did manipulate and taunt him. She seduced him into bewilderment, pushed him towards trust, encouraged his rage, then awoke his pain, all while having only one thought in her mind 'get the knife.' God, it hurt her to think about the horror she had caused him but now he saw her as the evil snake she was and hopefully he would be able to forget about her. Because even though she was a terrible person who no longer believed in love and had only darkness in her life, she still wanted Brick and her sisters to be happy. And the only way for that to happen was for her to leave their lives. But still, something told her that that was not the right thing to do.
Bubbles was quickly becoming fed up with the two arguing teens, especially with the added fact that Brick could be in danger. It wasn't that she particularly liked the red ruff, after all that had happened, with the kidnapping and such, but he was still considered a friend in her book and she was concerned for him. She also was not keen on her sister and boyfriend fighting. So she decided to end the fight.
"I am so going to destroy you you filthy piece of-!" Boomer slugged Buttercup across the face, interrupting her speech.
"Who's the toughest fighter no-" Buttercup shot the blue ruff down with her laser eye beams.
Boomer growled and prepared to pounce, Buttercup copying the action. Just as they leapt at each other, a light blue energy shot them both down.
"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Bubbles hollered, her voice deep as it filled with rage. "BOTH OF YOU ARE ACTING LIKE CHILDREN AND IT IS PATHETIC!" She looked between the two teens. "Now, Brick is in possible danger and we are not going to stay here and act immature all night. Buttercup you take Mitch back home. Boomer, you and I are going to check on Brick. If anything goes wrong, I'll call you Buttercup."
There was no response.
"IS THAT UNDERSTOOD!?" Bubbles roared and the three teens all nodded their heads rapidly.
Bubbles tone returned to being sweet. "Good, now come on let's go."
She took off into the air, Boomer soon following behind her as a dumbfounded Mitch and Buttercup were left behind.
His skin went cold as he spotted a head of red hair standing on the edge of the building. He immediately knew who it was, even though her back was to him. Fear rose within him as he pondered whether to approach her or not. She could attack him, she was angry, but he felt the sudden urge to reach out. He had to speak to her.
"Blossom." He called to the lone figure.
She turned her head back so that he could see her glistening pink eyes. She was crying. His heart skipped a beat at seeing her in pain.
"Brick." She whispered, tears slipping down her pale cheeks.
Without thinking, he held out his arms and to his great surprise, she accepted his warm embrace, burying her face in his chest as she sobbed quietly. As she cried, he slowly ran his fingers through her soft locks of crimson hair, closing his eyes and letting his thoughts drift away. He was savoring the moment; the feel of her fragile frame once again in his hold, the soft scent of roses wafting into his nose as his head snuggled against hers, the gentle shivers that she made while she cried. He had missed this so much, holding her. She belonged with him forever. He wouldn't let her go, not this time.
"I love you so much." He murmured.
She didn't respond, as she was still crying. He tightened his embrace and attempted to soothe her by rubbing her back. After a few minutes, her shaking calmed and she was able to turn her sobs into soft whimpers. Brick waited for her trembles to cease before bringing her face back so he could meet her eyes. He gingerly brushed away her tears with his thumb, admiring his gorgeous counterpart's features. Her full red lips, lightly blushing cheeks, small and cute nose, and then those eyes. He sucked in a breath at seeing her stunningly bright irises, unaware of the dangerous glare he was receiving until she spoke.
"Are you a complete idiot?" Her voice snapped.
He blinked, completely taken aback by her sudden disdain.
She pushed away from him, forcefully shoving him onto the ground so she could glower down at him.
He felt his stomach drop, fearing she would leave once again. "Blossom, I was just trying to help. You were cry-"
"Because of you." She hissed venomously. Her face had returned to it's stone cold, empty state. "Did you really think that I would come back to you? After all that's happened? You didn't even try to find me, to pursue me, after you stopped me from dying. You said you loved me. How is this love?!" Her eyes were filled with insanity. "We can't be together Brick! It's poisonous. This-this 'thing' we have just can't go on."
Brick stood and reached for her hands but she pulled away. "Blossom, please there must be some way. We were made for each other, i-it can't be the end. God, Blossom, I'm begging you don't let it end here. I need you."
Her expression darkened. "If you truly loved me, you would know how to fix this. If by some incredible chance there happened to be a way to mend this disaster then you would figure it out. But trust me when I say the only way you'd have even a slight chance is if you remembered what made me fall in love with you in the first place. Without that, this relationship is history."
She tried to leave but Brick refused. In a flash, he spun her around and forced her hands into his, getting low in her face as he growled. "This relationship will never be over, ever. You will be mine forever, do you hear me? Forever. Nothing will ever change that. I will find the solution and when I do you'll see that I am being as honest as I ever have been when I say I love you. You and I, we are destined for each other and soon you will believe that too."
This time, Brick pushed away from her, glaring as she stared at him in shock. But she quickly wiped away the surprise and replaced it with a grin.
"Now that's the Brick I know. The leader of the Rowdyruff boys has returned." She chuckled. "Now wake up."
Brick blinked at her.
She got into his face suddenly and shouted, "WAKE UP!"
Brick gasped as two hands grabbed onto his shoulders and shook him awake. He looked around in a panic to see Boomer standing over him, clearly distressed, and Bubbles behind him.
"Dude!" Boomer yelled in frustration at his brother.
Brick rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on from all the yelling.
"What the hell happened?" Boomer questioned worriedly, eyeing Brick's bruised face and bandaged torso.
The red ruff swung his legs over the couch to sit up properly, still dazed from the dream.
"Boomer, give him a minute." Bubbles quietly spoke to her counterpart.
Brick shook his head. "Its alright, I'm fine. I just uh-" He glanced at the blue puff. "-I'd like to speak with my brother alone for a minute."
Bubbles nodded and hurriedly exited the room, knowing Boomer would fill her in on all of the important details later.
Brick released a sigh as his brother took a seat beside him. "I'm sorry, I was exhausted and took a quick nap. I didn't think-"
"She came back, didn't she." Boomer stated.
Brick nodded. "She did, but not for me. Not for anyone. She just wanted the knife back."
Boomer frowned. "What kni-" His eyes widened as he realized. "Oh..."
Brick furrowed his brows. "I mean I shouldn't have been surprised. Everything in the past year happened so fast and she was so innocent, it all just came crashing down on her too hard. She broke and I only made it worse." He rested his elbows on his knees. "But ya know, I was only doing what I thought was right. And hell, I've never been good at that. I'm an ex-villain for Christ's sake, how the fuck would I know what's right? Still...I think we can all agree that saving her life was the best thing to do. Letting her die, fuck that, I ain't gonna let her life end there, not like that. She's meant to do great things. She has done great things. Her destiny is to be a hero and she doesn't believe that right now. She's lost, she's hurt. But I'm going to show her the way. I'm going to get her back. I will bring her back. Because it's our destiny, to be together." His red eyes regained their confidence. "The problem is I don't know how to fix her."
Boomer looked at his brother intently, listening to his every word.
"When she came here today, she said that she hates love. She said that love destroyed her life and is the cause of death. Then she told me that death would have been her last chance at dignity and I took it away from her. Her whole viewpoint of the world flipped upside down. How do I turn it right side up?" Brick met his brother's gaze, hoping for some sort of advice.
Boomer narrowed his blue eyes. "A person can not be changed unless they want to be." He said. "Show her something that will make her want to be her old self again. Show her what she has become and what she is doing to her family and friends." He leaned forward and spoke lowly. "Hurt her."
Brick's eyes widened. "What?"
"Put her through emotional pain again and while she is vulnerable show her why she has to change." Boomer explained.
Brick contemplated his words for a moment before nodding. "Thanks bro." He placed a hand on the blue ruff's shoulder. "But when did you get so smart?"
Boomer scratched the back of his neck. "Well, you see, Bubbles used these same steps to change me into a good guy. She's been teaching me a lot about redemption."
Brick released a relaxed chuckle. "I'm glad to have my brother back."
Boomer laughed as well as Brick pulled him into a one-armed hug, both brothers grateful to have each other.
"Look at this piece of shit." A matured man's voice rang through the alley. He gave the boy on the ground a rough kick. "How pathetic."
A group of men circled around a helpless preteen, shoving and kicking him repeatedly, while teasing him verbally. They all wore ragged, black clothing and had hoods pulled over their heads.
The 'leader' of the group pulled a knife from his pocket and flipped it around in his hand, eying the boy who had fallen to his knees.
"How much money you got on ya?" He questioned the young teen.
"N-none. I used my pocket money to-to buy lunch." The boy stuttered.
The man's face fell and he tightened his grip on the knife. "We talked about this, little boy. You bring me money every week and in turn, I don't hurt you."
The teen sniffled, knowing what was coming next.
The man raised his knife.
"DROP IT." A dark voice ordered.
The knife clattered to the ground.
Pink eyes filled with rage, a girl stepped out of the shadows and into the moonlight. All of the men immediately put their arms in the air and dropped to their knees. Blossom walked closer to them, until she was directly in front of the leader.
She grabbed onto his collar and lifted him off the ground. "You're going to return all of the money you stole to him, down to every last penny. Do I make myself clear?"
The man nodded and she threw him into the brick wall, watching as he broke through it and was knocked unconscious. Then she turned to the other men, a dark expression on her face.
"Stand up." She demanded.
They did as told, except for the teen boy who's leg was bent at an awkward angle, preventing him from standing.
Blossom picked up the knife that had fallen to the floor on her order and glanced at the men who were in a circle around her. In one quick motion, she slashed every single man's throat, leaving them to gasp and collapse to the cement. Blood oozed out all around her, but she stepped over it and approached the boy.
He stared up at her in pure terror, shivering.
Her pink eyes softened as she looked down at him. She opened her palm and offered it to the scared boy. He hesitated, unsure whether or not to trust her.
"I won't hurt you." She spoke, her voice incredibly gentle and smooth. This reassured the boy and he placed his hand in hers. She pulled him up and helped him balance on one foot. "Where do you live?" She asked, looking into his innocent blue eyes.
"At the end of the alley, in the apartment building." He answered.
Blossom nodded before scooping him up into her arms. "I'll bring you to the hospital to get fixed up and will check in on you at your house everyday this week to make sure your money is returned and those men don't bother you any further."
Before the boy could say anything, she took to the sky, not noticing that the boy was gazing at her the whole time, thinking he was in a superheroes arms.
