A/N: This chapter is shorter than the last one, and less "epic" in scale. It's not that is a bad chapter, nessicarily, but it only exists so the rest of the fic can exist. Sorry it took so long. The computer was bein' evil again, and then I started to read some stories which sucked in my attention. Please forgive me. I AM NOT WORTHY!

Biskuits: Thanks again for all the praise! I feel all warm an' fuzzy inside...like I just ate a teddy bear. I'm glad you liked my musings and comments on the gods. I always wondered why deities would have so much free time on their hands in the show, and Eris' comments in the "Happy Huggy Stuffy Bear" episode about having less power got me thinking more. And I just like mythology and thought it would be fun to write about some of the goddesses. And I have a question for you, too. Don't take this the wrong way, but where did you get your pen name? It sounds like something Gir would say on "Invader Zim." And, y'know, biscuits are good in general.

Jess: I, too, ramble insanely at the slightest provocation. For instance, my journal isn't exactly a record of stuff, but just pages and pages of metal insanty. And, hey, you made me laugh. Everybody wins! And I went through a phase two years ago where I would blame any and everything on elves/faeries/leprechans, which I don't think I ever truly got over. Also, I was thinking of the eppy with the warof the dwarves and elves. That's just gotta cause more mental scars on Billy's microscopic phyche, hense the dark tone. Anyways, I love Grim, too! He is cool like dat. I have fun writing him. OH! Thanks for the heads-up on the dimesional doom prophesy! I knew there was a reason my quirky leigon of demonic vassals told my to get the underground bunker ready by 2011! The equinox is coming...

Zyalea: Thanks for reviewing! I write all the chapters in Quick Edit on the school computers because I don't have the Internet at home, so consequencely, no Spell Check (and the computer mashes words together, likethis). Thanks for pointing that out. And I always thought they were about 9, maybe 10, in the show, though there's no proof either way. You haven't watched the show in months? Poor you! I'd go stark raving nuts if I didn't get my fix for a week, much less a month, or several months! And all the confusing-ness is intentional. Cliffhangers are an excellent device in my evil scheme of sucking people in to my story...

Zoicytes-Shadow: Yes, I ship Grim/Mandy the most, but I also kind of like Grim/Eris and Mandy/Junior. I try to be open to all things. I'm glad you like my story. I try, y'know?

Finn Mac Cool: Some interesting questions you ask, but not ones I am liberty to answer. Not in the interest of exposing future plot points, but simply because there is no rhyme or reason to it. As I write it, Mandy doesn't really even care why such feelings took root; she only wants them to go away. That's somthing of a theme here, in a story entitled "Eradication." As for the "depth," I imaging anything she feels would be strong, as she is a rather intense person. I really appreciate your reviews. They're always thought-provoking. And twisting an adage was an on-the-spot decision that unintentionally summed up most of the story. Where love is normally construed as valuable or rare in a true form, it is stripped of all senimental value and seen as a flaw. However, that tone may lessen slightly in later chapters, though not before some serious triblation...But I digress.

alisha-marie: Glad you liked my story. That's an interesting idea you have. What sort of comical mishap would fuse two so opposite together? Would they switch personas back and forth, or would Milly have a single, combined personality? What would their parents say? And, perhaps most importantly, would there be any cookie dough involved whatsoever? I must know!

Did I overdo the resposes? I think they're longer than the chapter...Why didn't anyone notice the couch joke last chapter? That was my favorite joke...

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Aphrodite was thoughtful. The plight she had recently heard still weighed on her mind. At least it was better than the endless montage of soap opreas and online-dating-service sucess stories she was normally party to. Still, as she had said, she was basically at a loss. Her powers never were any good in reverse, anyway.

She frowned to herself. There had to be something else, something she just wasn't seeing there. The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she became, sure that there was an answer somewhere in the details of the girl's story.

Then it hit her. Simple yet profound, she saw an oppurtunity. All it took was a simple shift of perspective, like a lateral thinking puzzle, where the key lies in a simple detail buried in an overabundance of facts and and circumstances. Once the important part was located, the rest fell into place.

Of couse, in this case, the rest would fall to the mortal, and to some measure of chance, but the task didn't have to be as impossible as she thought.

To every event, there must be the first spark of a catalyst, and if there was ever a role a god was born to play, it was just that.

She wasn't entirely confident in her abilities. This was tricky business, and a spark would be all she could give. But maybe, just maybe, that was all that was needed. It would all depend on the timing, and on circumstances she had to research for herself. There was more than a decent chance it would fail, but even so, an attempt would hardly make things worse.

Summoning her powers, the Goddess of Love peered into the world of mortals for the first time in many years...

ooo

Days later...

ooo

Mandy paced her room relentlessly. Everything seemed to agitate her more than usual, from the clueless chirping of birds outside to the way the myriad of stuffed animals and dolls (at least the ones that weren't decapitated) seemed to bestaring at her.

She paused and rubbed her eyes. This was truly ridiculous. Here she was, giving herself a hernia over this stupid...thing. Avoiding everyone and everything, spending hours on end locked in her room or spacing out in front of the TV, watching daytime programming and Dinobonoids (that show refused to die...).

It never went away.

She couln't go on like this, strung out and fighting with herself. She was a train-wreck of nerves and it was only getting worse. Sooner or later, this would have to be confronted.

What went wrong? She was supposed to be strong. She was supposed to be in control. What was happening?

Here she was, in love (in love!) with someone. And no, not just anyone, but the Grim Reaper himself! The same person she'd teased and tormented for years, had used and controlled, the same one-fifth fire-and-brimstone, four-fifths frustrated and melodramatic guy she'd enslaved when she was nine!

At some point, for some incomprihensible reason, she'd started to lose the hatred that balanced her life, and now she was dangerously off-center and willing to grasp at any straw as long as it would do something to fix this.

But there was nothing. The Goddess of Love had told her that herself.

For the seemingly thousandth time, she rehashed that conversation in her head as she continued to pace. She couldn't even remember it all; random pieces of her drawn out expositon, just a retelling of her life minus much of the emotion...Aphrodite shaking her head...bits of her consloation speech that managed remarkably well not to be at allconsoling...

"I'm sorry...not as powerful as we used to be..."

"...any real value anymore?..."

"...highest degree...even in the days of power..."

"...infatuation...kids on Valentine's day develop crushes on each other..."

She paused, a memory tugging at her.

That had happened, years ago. A crush...the object didn't so much matter as the solution she had found...

...A very simple solution, in fact...

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A/N: I think I should make this clear: Aph's revelation and actions did not cause Mandy's decision. That's her mind working entirely independantly, and Aph's actions, when they do appear, are subtle and understated. The only reason these partsappear in the same chapter is there's really not enough to let them stand alone, and I needed to keep within my plan to have exactly 13 chapters in this story. That's right, 13. I actually know where I'm going! I'd have to guesstimate I'm about 7/9 finished with this story (Algebra II repri-SENT!), and what little I have left is mainly turning notes and rough drafts into something with some semblance of polish.

Well, that's about it for now. See you soon, and...WATCH OUT FOR THAT MIME BEHIND YOU!

(Made you look...)

Demi