The figure danced around her, dipping in and out of the shadows as it manipulated the light to create illusions that made her head spin. The constant movement gave her motion sickness. The flashing lights burned her eyes. Two red orbs floated in front of her, followed her, everywhere she went. She shielded her gaze but could still see them. They invaded her thoughts tirelessly, a nightmare that ceased to end. She could feel a darkness coming. It felt like they were near a climax, in the middle of a story where the action had slowed and a terrible ending was closing in. The figure moved into her line of sight and she jumped away with a screech. There was no face or body, no details, just an outline filled in with black. But she knew the outline. She swore she did. It leaped out again except this time it caught her by the shoulders and threw her back. A scream split the silence and there was a heavy thud as her chest hit the stiff, hard...bed?

"EEK!" She jolted up so fast that her neck cracked and she groaned in pain. Her heart was still racing from the dream. "Not again..." She muttered and slumped back down with a whimper, shoving her face into the pillow. Ever since last weeks run in with Him, she had been suffering from the same nightmares every night. And every time it was the same thing: a black figure trying to distract her from the red glare that wouldn't leave her alone. The most terrifying part of the dream was the familiarity she felt. The eyes were Brick's, that was obvious. But the black figure seemed like someone she should know...someone she saw everyday...and yet she couldn't put her finger on it.

BZZZZ

BZZZZ

"Shit." She tore herself out of bed and searched for her phone in the darkness, feeling for it's vibration. When she finally found it, she put the blinding white screen to her face and squinted at the message.

Bank robbery on Cherish St.

5 masked robbers sighted at 4:00 am seen entering New Town bank, one firearm spotted, explosives used to break in, no hostages, no citizen involvement

Currently inside building at 4:15 am, no one has exited

Blossom narrowed her eyes. A bank robbery? At 4 in the morning? And the police couldn't handle it? She clenched her fists and let out a resilient growl before hurrying into the hallway.

"Girls get up!" She pounded her knuckles against both of their doors until they opened. She didn't want to wake them up for such a minor crime but they had vowed to always go together, and she didn't want to break that promise.

The first door to open revealed a surly, half-asleep brunette who sauntered out in only a t-shirt.

"Ugh what now?" Buttercup muttered as she stumbled into the hallway, trying her best to rub the sleep from her eyes.

Bubbles followed behind, just as miserable.

"Bank robbery." Blossom stated coarsely, already heading downstairs.

"Are you fucking kidding me!?" Buttercup roared, thoughtlessly throwing her fist into the nearest object which happened to be Blossom's bedroom door. The wood split and her fist went straight through it. Blossom spun around. Buttercup bit her lip. "Uhh...my bad."

The pink puff shot a scornful glare at her sister. "Thanks Buttercup."

The three of them took off to the bank, still clothed in their pajamas, and without the ruffs. Lately, Blossom hadn't been letting the ruffs tag along, purely because of Brick. Not only did she worry that he might get hurt but she also didn't want any civilians to get caught up in the mess. She knew it made him feel bad but it was just too risky. He had, however, been training vigorously everyday. His efforts were acknowledged but the results were...well...less than hoped for. In other words; Brick hadn't made any progress. She wanted to help him, everyone did, but there was nothing they could do. Not until she figured out what Him's words meant. A blood transfusion, but with who? Who could have the same blood type as Brick? Hell she didn't even know his blood type. But she would figure it out. She had to.

"God damnit, not these idiots again." Buttercup groaned as she tossed her head back.

They stopped in front of the bank, all three of their faces dropped as a group of green skinned teenagers waltzed out the front door with sacks of cash thrown over their shoulders. A huge, shit eating grin stretched the tallest one's face and then he looked up at them. He pushed down his sunglasses. Buttercup cracked her knuckles.

"What's up asshole?"

The sack fell from his hand.

"Fuck."

Blood Transfusion- a procedure in which the blood or blood products of one person are transferred to another person's circulatory system through a vein

Mild complications induced by an allergic reaction include fever, hives, itching, racing heart, shortness of breath, chills, and low blood pressure

Serious complications include hemolysis, blood borne infections, and Graft-versus-host disease

Blossom narrowed her eyes at the laptop screen as she read through the multiple articles, searching and scrolling endlessly in order to find an answer.

"What about a matching blood type?" She tapped in her question and began to scavenge.

Hemolytic transfusion reaction- a reaction that occurs when a person is given a blood transfusion with blood that doesn't match their own. A person's immune system will attack these foreign red blood cells (hemolysis) and destroy them. This can be fatal.

"So how the hell do I figure out his blood type?" She groaned and dropped her face into her hands. She had never been very good with science, it was always math and english that she thrived in. Very unlike her father...

"We're baaack!" Bubbles' sing-song shout rang through the house as she threw open the door and bounced in, forcing Blossom to put a smile on her face.

"Did you have fun on your-?" Her words faded away as another blonde head followed into the house. Blossom's smile faltered. 'No, no, no. Please don't be hanging out here, I have so much research to do! Please no."

Boomer offered a shy wave and Blossom returned it.

Bubbles grinned. "Don't worry Blossy! We aren't going to interrupt your studies, I just came home to grab a few things before we go to the movies."

A silent sigh of relief left Blossom's lips and the smile reappeared. "Well that's nice, what movie are you seeing?"

"The new version of Romeo and Juliet!" Bubbles giggled happily and winked at the apprehensive ruff. She then glanced down at her dress and pulled a face before disappearing up the stairs. "I'll only be a minute, Boomie!"

Blossom's eyebrow shot up and she turned to the other blonde. "Boomie?"

He chuckled nervously. "Heh, yeah..." He glanced upstairs, seeming to search for her sister, and a hot blush overtook his face.

Blossom followed his gaze but Bubbles was locked away in her room, out of sight. She furrowed her brows at the ruff. "Everything okay Boomer?"

His hands began to fidget rapidly and he wrung them together, chest rising a little more heavily. "Er...no...not at all." And then he rushed to the seat beside her and turned to her with horror in his eyes. She flinched back at the insane amount of fear. "Blossom, we have a problem. A really bad problem."

Her stomach dropped and she prepared herself for something concerning Brick. "Tell me."

His jaw clenched and he looked to the stairs once more. "I think...I think I like your sister."

Wait...

What?

She blinked at him. "You...like Bubbles?"

He crossed his arms and stared at the blank television, face pale as the moon. "Yeah, I do. I really, really do."

She put a hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh and Boomer turned even redder, if that was even possible.

"Oh yeah, its just so funny. Laugh away." He grumbled angrily.

She shook her head, "No, I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you. I just thought it was funny that you're coming to me for relationship advice now."

He scoffed but said nothing.

"Boomer, I'm not making fun of your feelings. I think its great that you're finally becoming friends with someone, especially my sister. You shouldn't be afraid of it." 'Actually I'm just relieved that nothing bad happened to Brick.' But she didn't mention that aloud.

He glanced up at her. "But I've never had friends before much less a...crush. I have no idea what to do. What if these feelings are wrong? What if she doesn't like me? What if its too soon? What if I ruin everything? What if she actually hates me and these feelings I have are making me weak?"

Blossom put her hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eye. "Boomer, listen to me. No one ever knows what to do when they get their first crush, but as I've told you before: we all make mistakes. My sister knows that and would never ever judge you for something like this. She's a forgiving person, you aren't going to ruin anything. Whether or not she likes you and when is too soon is up to you two, but a crush does not make you weak. Brick fell in love with me and almost died but does that make him any weaker?"

He shook his head. "It made him stronger."

She nodded, "Right and because of-"

Oh my god.

She concealed a gasp.

Brick fell in love with her and almost died. Boomer is falling in love with Bubbles. His body is not made to withstand love. Boomer is going to get sick and...die... . Brick. 'B-but Him's heart is gone...' Her eyes went wide. She parted her lips.

"The same blood type."

Boomer's face twisted. "Huh?"

She shot to her feet. "The same blood type! It's you!" She pointed at him. "You and Butch, three people with the same blood type! I know how to save Brick!"

Boomer got up. "Really?!"

She nodded and scooped up her laptop before hurrying to the door. "Tell Bubbles to hurry up, I have to go tell Brick."

Boomer stepped forward. "Wait tell me how-!"

But she was already gone.

She couldn't believe it. She had actually figured it out. She knew how to save Brick. Everything could go back to normal! Everyone could be happy. But god, how stupid had she been? Of course it was his brothers, who else would have the same blood type? What an idiot. It was a good thing that she knew how to save Brick because the stress was deteriorating her mind and she didn't know how much more she could take. That didn't matter now, though, because she was going to get Brick back to normal.

She rapped her knuckles against the door before entering, her excitement overtaking her patience.

"Brick!" The kitchen was empty but she saw the television on and figured Butch was home, so she went to see. "Butch?"

There was no one in the living room either. Odd. Butch rarely ever left the house, same with Brick, especially with his new...problem.

"Hello?" She called at the base of the stairs. Nothing. Her phone began to buzz in her pocket and she pulled it out to see a text from Buttercup.

BC: The idiot and I ran into each other at the arcade so we're hanging out for a bit. Don't know when I'll be back.

So that explained why Butch wasn't home. But where could Brick possibly be?

And then a sigh of hot air slithered down her neck and a hand grabbed hers.

"What the hell are you doing here?" His voice was deep and malicious and he wrenched her back to face him. His gaze was just as ferocious.

But she wasn't afraid. She had a cure.

"We have to go to the hospital." Her words seemed to trigger something and he dug his nails into her wrist. She tried to pull her hand away. "A blood transfusion, we have to do a blood transfusion and-GAH!" The sound of sizzling skin matched her scream as she tore herself away from him, grasping her singed arm.

"Oh I get it. You're going to try to disperse Him's powers between me and my brothers so this demon in my head will go away, right? Well that's not happening." He sneered in her face.

She held herself a distance away from him. "Brick we have to hurry before its too late, we don't have time for fighting right now. Please just come with me."

The growl that escaped his throat was not human and those eyes did not belong to Brick. 'My god...' Those eyes belonged to a demon, a sadistic, bloodthirsty, raving demon straight from hell. The same one that was taking over his body.

She stared straight into the dark glare, feeling herself fall towards the empty pits that had replaced his red irises. No, he only had pupils now. Black, terrifying, huge pupils that were filling his eyes. She took a step back.

"Brick we need to go."

He sulked towards her.

"We can fix this. All of it. Bring things back to the way they were." She couldn't move. "Don't you want that?"

No answer.

"We can be happy."

Closer.

"We can be safe."

He was in front of her.

"Let me help you."

A slimy grin curled his lips.

"B-Brick?"

His hand shot out and blast of energy threw her across the room. She smashed through the wall and into the kitchen, rolling to a stop beside the table. He strode in after her with his hands in his pockets and she grabbed one of the legs.

"Princess-"

BAM

The table shattered and fell to the ground in millions of wooden slivers, revealing a very pleased demon.

Brick's grin was wide.

"You're going to play this time?" He cooed.

She threw her hair into a ponytail and tightened it with a yank. She was done with the bullshit, it was time to fix things. "Well, I'm quite literally going to beat the devil out of you, so yeah..." She raised her fists. "Let's play asshole."

He released a delighted chuckle before swinging his fist towards her stomach. She jumped away and kicked his legs out from under him. He was back up in seconds and blasted her with his eye beams. Her arms went over her face to deflect them. Then she dropped to the ground, dodging a flying kick. As she was getting up, a heel connected with her throat and pinned her back down.

"You look amazing like this, babe." Even his voice was changing. It wavered between pitches just like Him's and that terrified her.

She lifted her legs as high as they would go and drove them into Brick's torso. He stumbled back from the kick, freeing her throat. She was on her feet instantly and fired an energy burst at him. He swatted it away like nothing and rushed at her. She tried to block his punch but he was too quick and her head flew back from the impact. Another hit connected with her cheek and the skin split, sending a gush of blood down her face. She wiped the liquid from her mouth with a snarl. Brick watched with glee.

He wasn't even trying. He had dark magic, he could read her mind, he could shape shift, and create illusions...but he wasn't using any of that. He was having fun and taking his time.

"This isn't a joke." She hissed.

He only chuckled and drove his elbow into her throat. She bent over with a gasp, only for his knee to come straight up and connect with her nose. She stumbled into the wall and spit a glob of blood onto the ground.

He wasn't trying and yet he was winning.

An energy beam shot her through the wall and she flew over the couch, head meeting the television. The glass screen shattered over her before another blast threw her into the window. She grabbed onto the window sill and looked down at her crimson arm. She was panting, gasping for air, and could feel the aches and pains all throughout her body. He was too strong.

"Oh come on, princess, you can do better than that." His thick voice filled her head but she couldn't find him. She pushed herself off the window sill and staggered forward. Her patience was gone.

The house was a mess. Two walls had been destroyed and one had a large crater in it. The table was demolished, the TV gone, glass and wood littered the ground, and cracks split the floor. Maybe if she could get into a larger area she might have a chance. She just needed to lure him away and to do that she would have to find him.

The living room and kitchen were empty so she began up the stairs, which surprisingly hadn't been destroyed yet.

"Daw, you're bleeding."

She spun around. She swore the voice came from behind her.

"Don't worry, princess, it'll be over soon."

No, he was behind one of the doors. She slowed her pace and crept down the hallway. She placed her hand on the first doorknob and pushed it open.

Nothing.

"Aren't you supposed to be smart?"

"Shut up." She growled.

Her fingers brushed the second door but she paused.

"Don't you know how illusions work?"

He was behind her. His voice was behind her and yet no one was there.

"Don't you know anything?" His dark chuckle bounced off the walls and came from everywhere. She shivered.

"You are behind me, aren't you?"

And then she felt his hot breath slide down her neck again before a pair of hands wrapped around her throat. He slammed her into the wall hard enough to break it before tossing her down the staircase. She hit the ground, hard, and coughed up blood. He strode down the stairs after her, eyes pinned on her. She began to crawl away, as fast as she could.

"I always thought you were fearless." He spoke.

Her legs scrambled to push her back.

"Strong."

A shard of glass pierced her palm and she cried out.

"Intelligent."

She ignored the pain and continued to back away.

"And beautiful."

Another stream of blood stained the carpet.

"But now I'm starting to see through your mask."

He stood over her and she reached out to make a final attempt but he caught her fist. He dropped down to his knees and pinned her arms above her head. She trembled as his nose brushed over hers.

"You're scared, Blossom. You've always been scared. Scared that the world, your sisters, my brothers, and me will discover your fault." Something rigid touched her neck. "That you are weak."

The trembling overtook her body as she watched him put a piece of glass to her trachea, his crimson gaze burning with hate.

"Brick, no. Don't do this. I can help you, I-I can. We're so close, just hang on a little longer. Fight it, Brick, please." Her voice was even shaking.

The glass cut through it's first layer and the hot blood that dribbled down her throat terrified her.

"Brick. Brick please."

He wasn't listening.

The pressure was too great, he was going to slice straight through, she was going to die. He was going to kill her. She'd never be able to save him. She couldn't let that happen. No. She had to do something.

"Brick." She looked straight into his dark gaze and refused to let her voice quiver as she spoke, "Forgive me." And then she tore her arms from his grip with all the strength she had left before grabbing his head and crushing his lips to hers. His grip on the shard instantly faltered and she slammed her knee into his groin. He hissed in pain and collapsed to his side, releasing her. She jumped to her feet and ran into the kitchen. She wrapped her arms around the fridge and yanked it out of the wall. When she turned around, Brick was there. He shot towards her at an alarming speed. She held her breath, lifted the fridge over her head, and brought it down as hard as she possibly could.

CRACK

It broke into two. Brick dropped to the ground in an unconscious heap, his head already bleeding. She let the split refrigerator fall from her grasp. Fear threatened to rise up her throat but she shoved it back down. She had no time to hesitate. She pulled out her phone and put it to her ear.

It was time to bring Brick back.

"Get your asses over here right now, we need to go to the hospital."