Relief and felicity washed over her as she opened her arms and was tackled down by her sisters. They fell to the grass together. Blossom sobbed tears of joy, burying her face into them as they cried along with her. Bubbles had her arms around her sister's waist, wailing loudly. Buttercup was tangled around Blossom's neck, head leaned against hers, muttering her sister's' name. Finally, finally, they were reunited.

"I knew it. I knew something was-" Buttercup choked on her words and Blossom rubbed her back reassuringly. "I knew you weren't dead." The green puff admitted and swallowed her sobs. Blossom smiled at her and gave her another squeeze. They laid there for a while, oblivious to their surroundings, holding onto each other for dear life. A monster could have stormed down on them, aliens could've attacked, and they still wouldn't have moved. It was only when Blossom muttered her need for air that the trio began to untangle.

Buttercup slowly slipped away from her leader but Bubbles refused to let go. The little blonde's arms only tightened.

"Bu-Bubbles, come on." Buttercup hiccuped, trying to separate her from Blossom.

She shook her head. "N-NO!" She sobbed, tears spilling down her cheeks. "B-B-Blossom."

"It's okay, Buttercup." Blossom murmured softly to her sister, who only rubbed at her wet cheeks and let out a weak, "hmph."

Blossom pet her little sister's head delicately, using her other hand to wipe away her tears.

They were here. Her sisters were here. They were alive and from what she could tell; uninjured.

They hadn't changed much since she'd seen them in Mojo's prison, but now she was seeing them up close. Both of them still had dark circles ringing their eyes and pale skin. Buttercup's hair was a mess but she was standing just fine, her leg had healed perfectly. Even the gash across her face had disappeared. And Bubbles...oh, Bubbles. She still had her blonde locks tied into her signature pigtails and there wasn't a single sign of the wounds she had endured. But they looked so tired, so sad. The only joy she could really see was in their eyes.

"I missed you girls so much." Blossom smiled and held both of their hands.

Bubbles sniffed and forced a small smile onto her face. "We missed you, too, Blossy."

Buttercup, however, wasn't so sentimental. Her eyes narrowed and she pointed an accusing finger at her sister. "You missed us? Do you have any idea how hard it's been for Bubbles and I without you to tell us what to do? We've been sitting around with our thumbs up our asses!" She tossed her arms into the air. "We were lost without you, how could you abandon us?" Her voice was still loud but broken and her face instantly fell. "Why...?"

Bubbles shook her head at her green sister. "Stop it, Buttercup. We don't even know what ha-happened yet."

"Were you kidnapped? She was kidnapped. Who's balls am I gonna have to break?" Buttercup seethed as she began to crack her knuckles.

"Stop Buttercup." Bubbles whispered, trying desperately to persuade her sister to back down.

Blossom, however, just smiled solemnly. "Girls, I think we should take this inside." She glanced at the boys. "And perhaps in private."

Bubbles and Buttercup blinked and spun around, as though they had forgotten about the boys' presence entirely.

Buttercup growled. "You shit heads were a part of this weren't yo-!"

Bubbles grabbed her arm and ushered a fuming Buttercup into the mansion while Blossom paused to speak with the boys.

She turned to Brick and her eyes filled with fear, she couldn't resist it any longer she hadn't spoken to him for three days and right now she desperately needed his advice. "What do I do?" Her voice was quiet. "I don't even know how to explain...what if they hate me for what I did?" She began to chew on her bottom lip, nerves getting the best of her, her commander ensemble falling apart. "How do I start? Do I tell them that I chose my pride over them? Or that I abandoned them to fend for themselves while I've been on vacation in a mansion with the ruffs?" Her hands began to tremble and Brick took hold of them, his red gaze softening.

"Blossom, they won't hate you. We all make mistakes, it's perfectly normal-"

"Normal? So it's normal to let my sisters die because I can't accept defeat?" She flinched at her own bitter words. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean-" She dropped her head. "I'm just so scared. Usually I'm prepared but this is so sudden and I have nothing..."

Brick frowned, suspicion overtaking his expression. "But I thought you've been planning what you'd say this whole time? Isn't that why you needed to be alone for a while?"

Her eyes widened. "Yes! I mean, yeah that is what I've been doing. I've been thinking of...my...er, sisters." Her cheeks burned and she turned away. "You know what? They're just my sisters, I'll be fine."

She tried to saunter off but Brick caught her wrist. Her gaze flicked to his hand then to his face and she had no way to cover the blush that tinted her cheeks.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?"

His words made her heart flutter and she cursed herself for it. "Yes, they're my sisters, right? They could never hate me."

He slowly released her wrist and she gave him a small smile before hurrying inside.

She slammed the door shut and shuddered at the weightless feeling in her chest. 'No, this is about your sisters now. Forget about him for the time being.' She took a deep breath and pushed away from the door, striding into the messy living room. She flinched at seeing her sisters sitting on the couch together, staring at her. One with a look of patience and the other crossing her arms and tapping her foot eagerly. It was so odd to see them in the ruffs house, especially in this situation.

"Bloss, are you okay?" Bubbles nearly whispered, her eyes widened ever so slightly.

The red haired puff nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. But this is going to take some time to explain so-"

"You mean to explain why your face is redder than a firetruck?" Buttercup scoffed.

Blossom stiffened. "Oh...that. Well I'm just kind of flustered, I guess, by all of this."

Bubbles folded her hands in her lap and looked up at her sister with big blue eyes. "Bloss, I know it's been a while but we can still tell when you're lying."

Buttercup nodded in agreement, giving Blossom an unamused look.

Blossom sighed and took a seat on the carpet in front of them. "Fine, that's a story for another time though. Right now I need you guys to be patient and I need you to at least try to understand." She glanced at them, waiting for their compliance.

Buttercup leaned back. "We're all ears, Leader girl."

Bubbles offered a reassuring smile.

So Blossom began.

"It all started when the ruffs came back. You remember they were stronger, smarter, and more driven?" Two heads nodded. "Well Brick was especially. He knew my weak spots and he used them to his advantage, especially my ego. We did more talking than fighting and his words, his taunts, always distracted me. No matter how hard I tried to block him out, he made sure to say just the right thing to hit me deep. Eventually I just couldn't take it anymore, what with the repeated battles that went without a victor and the endless crimes that we could never stop. They were just too strong. And it hurt me," She sighed. "Or, I should say, it hurt my pride. So much so that I didn't care about anything besides shutting him up, proving him wrong. I wanted to show him that I was the leader and I wouldn't fall for his stupid tricks. So when he threatened to kill you...I" She bit down on her lip, averting her gaze. "I challenged him back." She heard Bubbles' light gasp but couldn't bare to look at her. "I said, "You can't. I don't believe you. Because you guys are still too weak to kill us and you know why? Because you have a lame excuse of a villain for a leader."" She pressed her hand to the bridge of her nose, shutting her eyes. "And every time we fought he continued to carry that threat but I never listened. No, I believed that I was playing the reverse card and outsmarting him. But in truth, he outsmarted me. He knew how I would react and he planned it out so meticulously that I couldn't see it, I couldn't see anything past my damaged ego."

"Blossom...-"

She held a hand up to her blonde sister. "No, I have to finish." She opened her eyes but stared at the ground. "When the day finally came for him to stick true to his word, I did something even more terrible." She sucked in a sharp breath, feeling winded. "I-I" Her chest was so heavy, suffocating. "I didn't know-I thought..." She clenched her fists and built up the courage to speak the words she feared most and relive the memory she had forced into the back of her mind for too long. She breathed out, "I fled."

This time Buttercup gasped. "You...left us?"

Blossom squeezed her eyes shut again, tears trickling out the corners. She nodded.

Bubbles covered her mouth. "B-but why?"

"Because I-" Her stomach hurt so bad. "-was scared." Her sisters could only stare in horror, wishing it wasn't true. But Blossom continued. "He told me that if I didn't submit myself to him that he would kill you two. I just couldn't-couldn't see that. I thought, 'there's no way he's strong enough to just kill us. To erase us, just like that.' But oh was I wrong...so wrong. Because when that day came and I saw the wicked glee in his eyes I knew that I had been wrong. At that moment my whole world had flipped upside down, I had been fooled by myself. I had no plan B, hell I didn't even have a plan A. I was utterly lost. I looked in the sky and could see you both fighting with your counterparts and Brick was coming towards me. I was so terrified in that instance that the only thought, the only instinct I had was to run. And so I did. And when I came back, finally with an idea, it was too late. It took only moments and you were both gone. Just like that." She snapped her fingers. "Just like Brick had promised."

They were silent.

Their eyes wide. Mouthes open. Bubbles was shivering.

Blossom wrapped her arms around herself. "Well, I found you...and Brick found me. And he offered me another option. A way to erase the horror in front of me."

Buttercup sat up.

"Fall to him entirely and he would save you two. I accepted. Of course I accepted. The ruffs had Chemical X, lot's of it, and they had Mojo, who knew how to fix you unlike any surgeon or doctor could. They saved you both. I left you that note because I would never be allowed to see you again or come in contact with the outside world ever. I signed a contract that day, a contract that signs me off as property of my counterpart. And now I'm his until the day I die." She let her head fall and folded her hands.

"Blossom?" A delicate voice pierced her ear and she looked up. Bubbles had tears spilling down her face. Her beautiful cerulean gaze locked with her own. "Why wouldn't you tell us? Why wouldn't you try to escape? Why would you give up?"

"Because Brick said that if I disobeyed him then he would kill you. I wasn't going to make that mistake again."

"You should've told us." Buttercup muttered. "You should have told us about Brick's threat and then we could've figured it out together."

"I know..." Blossom's voice broke and she furrowed her brows. "I know I should have. I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry girls. I'm just glad that you got to see me today and that you now know who was at fault." She rubbed away the tears. "I wish there was a way to find you a new leader or to have someone who you could follow, who could actually protect you. Maybe Brick...could replace me, because he was right after all. He really is the better leader. You know, I think he could teach you a few things. Just please don't give up like I did. I know you won't, but don't abandon Townsville. This world needs you girls and-and" She couldn't hold it back anymore. Her voice cracked and she burst into a fit of sobs. She brought her knees to her chest and tried to bury her face. "I'm sorry, I don't want this to be about me. I don't w-want to-" The sobs split through her words and she gave into them, body shaking. This was so wrong. She shouldn't be crying, shouldn't be feeling sorry for herself. This was supposed to be about her sisters, about setting their lives back on track and erasing the damage she had done to them. Now she was just tainting them more with her pathetic excuses.

Brick as their leader? What was she thinking. They probably thought she was a traitor now, that she was on the ruff's side. They didn't know that Brick was trying to change, that he had changed. How could they know? Now it just sounded like she was trying to turn them into villains. 'Stupid. You're so stupid!' She shook her head and brought her knees closer. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid puff.' Maybe she should just leave and-

A hand fell on her shoulder and then a pair of small arms wrapped around her frame. The sweet smell of vanilla filled her nose and a soothing voice spoke to her. "It's okay, Bloss, it's okay. We understand."

She peered at her sisters over her arm and saw their blurry faces. Buttercup was kneeling behind Bubbles, her right hand on Blossom's shoulder while Bubbles embraced her.

"B-but how could you-I left...I-I"

Bubbles looked at her with watery eyes. "We all make mistakes."

Buttercup nodded.

Blossom was taken aback. Her eyes went wide. "You don't...hate me?" She breathed.

"Hate you?" Buttercup snorted. "You're our sister, how could we ever hate you?"

"Because I let you get hurt, I-"

Buttercup interrupted her. "This one here-" She tilted her head towards Bubbles. "-hit her head and thought she was Mojo and tried to kill us when we were kids. I tried to knock out Bubbles' teeth for money and joined the Gang Green Gang as a kid, almost letting you two get melted in lava. Also remember when Bubbles went hardcore? Yeah, she beat the shit out of you."

"But neither of you let anyone die." Blossom stated.

"Do we look dead?" Buttercup asked. Blossom slowly shook her head. "Exactly." The green puff got to her feet. "All of us have hurt each other, so what? It's not your fault that the ruffs got stronger. You're the one who made a deal to save us. You gave up your freedom, your dignity, your life for us. Why should we hate you?"

Blossom lifted her head and Bubbles smiled at her.

"You may have left us then, but you can still make up for it, because we need you now." Buttercup spoke and offered her red haired sister a hand, green eyes blazing. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "What do you say Leader girl?"

Bubbles tilted her head to the side, still holding a loving smile.

Blossom glanced down at her hand then up at her sisters, who were both waiting for an answer. Would she lead them again? Did she have the strength, the security, the right to still lead them?

'If you don't have confidence in yourself, then you are no leader.' The words rang through her ears and she pulled away from her knees. 'You were born for this. You are the commander and leader. It's time for you to make things right.'

She turned to her sister and held her strong gaze. "I say I will always protect my sisters."

And she accepted her sister's hand, allowing herself to be pulled up, taking her rightful place before her sisters. They fixed their eyes on her, awaiting their commander's orders, the respect once again returned to their gazes.

Bubbles clapped her hands together with a smile and Buttercup grinned. "What now Leader girl?"