The house was the same as when she'd left it. The lawn was cut, the bushes neatly trimmed, the exterior of the house spotless, and the Professor's car still sat in the driveway, untouched. She drew in a sharp breath and slowly made her way up the walkway. Her pink eyes swept over everything, looking for any sign of danger or concern. She found nothing by the time she was planted in front of the door. She raised her fist up, arm trembling, but couldn't bring herself to knock. There were so many emotions overwhelming her mind, thoughts of what could have happened to her sisters. Had they really survived? Did Brick keep his word? Were they different? Had they moved? She bit her lip, stiff as a board. Maybe they were sleeping...should she wake them? What if they hated her for what she did? She shook her head, disgusted with herself. This was her sisters she was talking about, they could never hate her, no matter what she did, because they were family. They had promised each other to always love one another, regardless of the situation. So with a shaky sigh, she lightly knocked her knuckles against the wooden door.
She waited.
And waited.
But nothing happened. No one answered. Her stomach began to sink with dread. She clenched and unclenched her fists and stole a glance over her shoulder. Brick was perched against the side of someone's house on the other side of the street, hidden from her sisters' line of sight. He tipped his head forward in a slight nod. Blossom put her hand on the doorknob and it felt like she had to use all of her strength to push the door open. Her breath caught in her throat at what she saw. The house may have been untouched on the outside, but inside it was a disaster. The couch was split in half, stuffing littering the floor. Glass and other broken objects stuck out of the carpet. Splatters of food and paint and whatever else stained the walls. The TV was smashed. The table crushed. And that was only the living room.
She floated over the mess and peered into the kitchen, surprised to find things perfectly in order, but even more surprised to see the table set up with still steaming eggs, toast, and glasses of orange juice. One bite had been taken out of the toast but the rest had been left alone. She blinked and cautiously walked out of the kitchen and upstairs.
"Bubbles?" She crept into her sister's bedroom. Nothing. "Buttercup?" Nothing. She begged herself to stay calm and slipped into her own room. A few of her drawers were open and one of her favorite shirts was lying on the bed. She went over to her dresser and felt her eyes tear up. A picture of her and her sisters, which hadn't been there before, now sat on the dresser. Pink and red roses rested beside it. She dropped to her knees and took the frame into her hands. A huge smile was strung across all three of their faces, arms wrapped around each other. The Professor had taken it when they were nearly ten. She remembered it because it was when Buttercup had discovered her special power, which was quite similar to Boomer's; lightning. It had felt like the first time in a long time that they had all truly connected as one again, no differences or weaknesses dividing them. She smiled and set the picture back on her dresser, only then noticing the slip of paper laying beside the flowers. She frowned at the computer-like writing and then her heart leapt to her throat. "NO!"
She rushed out to Brick as quickly as she could, letter in hand, and began rambling on the second she was in front of him. She was in full blown panic mode and Brick's eyes went wide at seeing her in such disarray. He put his hand on her shoulder and urged her to calm down so that he could understand. She spoke more quietly but couldn't stop herself from slurring her words together. She attempted to take off into the sky but Brick pulled her back.
"Blossom, what are you saying?" He questioned calmly.
She glared and shoved the letter into his chest, incredibly frustrated. He looked down at it and was shocked by what it said.
Dear Blossom,
I knew you would find a way to save him, seeing as how smart and strategic the powerpuff leader always is. And I also knew that he would only fall deeper in love with you when he found out that you saved his life. I knew it would lead to him letting you return home. Too bad you don't have anyone to return home to. You may be wondering where your sisters are. Well, I decided to try out my new invention: Antidote X induced gamma ray gun. Enough power to wipe away their powers permanently, making them weak enough to kill. But do not worry, I only dosed them with regular Antidote X for now. They're safely tucked away in my lab. Without you, however, they have no way out. Oh, you might be wondering...why did I take your sisters? Because they're your only weakness and I want you gone. The minute you picked up this note a timer was set off for 1 hour. In that time you will come to my lab, ALONE, and do whatever I say in order to save your sisters. Fail to meet my requests in the time limit and the ray gun will be fired. Your sisters will die. So what will it be Blossom?
Mojo Jojo
"Now do you understand?"
Brick looked up at Blossom as she impatiently hovered over him.
"I have to go, Brick, NOW." She tried to take off but a hand caught her wrist again and yanked her down. Brick's cold eyes glared into her own.
"Do you know why he wants you?" He questioned. She paused and he released her hand, waiting for an answer that never came. He continued. "Because he knows that you're changing me and he thinks that the only way to keep us evil, to take over the world, is to get rid of you." He held the letter up. "He's going to kill you."
She pushed the paper away and glared back at him. "He's going to kill my sisters. I've already risked enough to save them once, I'm not letting that go to waste now. I won't let them die."
"I know. I'm not saying-"
"Brick I'm running out of time!" She suddenly shouted, face growing red. "I only came to you so that you would at least know what happened to me, but I have to go now." He again pulled her down and she tried to calm herself, speaking lightly to him. "I understand that you're concerned about me but these are my sisters we're talking about. If Mojo wants to kill me, then he can go ahead and kill me. As long as it ensures my sisters' safety."
He shook his head. "I won't let you die."
She clenched her fists. "This isn't your decision."
"We can find another way, I can help you-"
"No." She growled. "You can't. Mojo said that if I fail to meet his requests then he'll kill them. I'm not putting their lives at risk again."
"Blossom," He begged. "Please. He won't know that I'm there. You can distract him while I-"
She shook her head. "No. We're not doing this. I have to save my sisters." He refused to release her and she glared at him. "Brick, why do you care so much? This is wrong, something about how you're acting is wrong." She sighed and put her hand up to silence him. "Never mind, it doesn't matter. I have to go."
He called out to her, to try to change her mind, but it was too late, she was already gone, her pink streak fading in the direction of Mojo's volcano.
Her heart ached as she flew, her eyes focused on Mojo's lair but her mind only able to think of Brick. Of course she wanted to save her sisters. She would save them. But in doing so she would be leaving them and Brick. Yeah, he was supposed to be her enemy but the desperation in his voice...the sadness in his eyes...the words he had spoken to her just a few hours ago.
'Boomer was right.' She realized. Brick wasn't just crushing on her, he actually loved her. At first, him saying the words didn't solidify the truth, but the emotions he had previously revealed did. What was she doing to him? Was it true, could she really be turning him good? 'It doesn't matter. You did what you could for him, now it's time to save your family. They come first.' But if that was true, then why the hell did it hurt her so much to leave him behind?
Her thoughts were quickly shaken away as Mojo's volcano came into view. Her eyes narrowed and she picked up the pace, landing swiftly on the rooftop of the dome. She had two options. 1. Burst in and try to take Mojo by surprise but ultimately surrendering if she had to. Or 2. Go in quietly and do as the the monkey said, securing her sisters' safety. She had never been one to be reckless but she also hated surrendering her pride...but she had already put her pride over her sisters' once before, she wouldn't do it again.
With her head bowed and her arms slack at her sides, she flew to the open door and entered. Why risk lives when she didn't have to? This was the best way. This was how she would redeem herself.
The door clanked shut behind her and the only sound that could be heard was the tap of her shoes on the steel floor, the floor that her and her sisters had made as children. Back when things were simple. She looked around and searched for the short chimp, not surprised that he was hiding, he always was a coward. Her gaze flashed upwards towards a green blur and just as she caught sight of him, his voice rang through a microphone.
"Welcome, Blossom. Glad you could make it." A sly smirk curled his thin lips and she saw the malicious twinkle in his eye that all villains eventually adapted, after so many years of failure, when the insanity finally won over.
She clenched her fists and shot daggers at her childhood nemesis. "No games, Mojo. Where are they?"
He tapped his chin and glanced around. Then he looked over at a clock on the wall. "Hm, are you in a hurry, Blossom?"
Never in her life had she so badly wanted to punch a hole through someone's head as she did right now. She grit her teeth as she spat out his name, "Mojo, where are they."
He locked eyes with her, giving her a terrifyingly disturbing smile, before smashing his fist down onto a large button. The floor shook from the action and she hovered in the air, watching as the ground opened and a prison made of electricity lifted up, holding her sisters inside it. She gasped at the sight of them. Their eyes were closed, rimmed in dark circles, sunken in with clear exhaustion. Their bodies were tossed carelessly together on the floor, limp, just like the last time she had seen them. But it wasn't how bad they looked that made her gasp...it was how good they looked. They were alive, breathing. No scars, no wounds. Sure, they were seemingly sleep deprived and most likely exhausted from depression, but their injuries were gone, just like Brick promised.
"So, Blossom." Mojo spoke, still standing in a little room high up and away from her, protected by a wall of some sort of glass. "Have you made up your mind?"
She scoffed at that, unable to hold it back. "You really have to ask me that? I thought you were my arch nemesis. Aren't enemies supposed to know things about each other?"
Mojo ignored her words. "I'll take that as a yes. Well then, I suppose I should at least explain how this is going to work."
He began rambling on and, without knowing it, Blossom held her breath. She knew what Mojo was going to say. She knew what was coming. But it wasn't an easy thing to prepare for.
"-And then when they wake up they won't remember the last 24 hours." She winced. He was going to erase their memories which meant that they would never see her, they would never get to know that she hadn't died that day, that she was standing 10 feet away from them right now. But it wouldn't matter anyways because in a few minutes she'd be dead for real. She shook her head, trying to follow his words. "So they'll be brought back to the safety of their home, never to be heroes again without their lovely leader. Leaving an opening for my sons and I to bring the world to it's knees and I shall be the ruler of the world."
She blinked. "Wait...what's going to happen to me?"
His eyes glittered with malice. "You're going to be the first test subject of my new ray gun."