"You're doing it again!"

Blossom threw down the book she was reading on the word "again", accentuating her anger. Mojo jumped back a bit automatically. It was the next day, Tuesday, and it seemed that they were already at each other's throats, only twenty minutes into Blossom's lessons.

"Doing what?" Mojo cried indignantly. "I am merely watching you read my evil book about evil weaponry that you have no prior knowledge of because it is evil—"

"I know what you're thinking," said Blossom. "You're still thinking that I'm going to help you take over the world! You're still thinking that you're going to convert me to evil! You can't convert me to the side of evil, any more than I can convert you to good!"

Mojo felt his blood boil. "Well, why else would you be reading about evil if you do not plan to utilize your knowledge?"

"See, you're at it again!" cried Blossom. "I told you that I'm not going to help you in any evil schemes!"

"Well then, what is the point of me teaching you?" snapped Mojo, forcibly kicking the book back at Blossom. It was her turn to jump away. "With all of the knowledge you have accumulated by now, you should be putting it to use, not uselessly learning more things!"

Blossom stared down at the book, her mouth agape.

Mojo's jaw slacked too, when he realized just what he had said.

"Not that I am insinuating that you should—"

"No. I should," said Blossom hollowly. "I should leave. You're absolutely right. I should be putting my knowledge to good use, not sitting around here taking crap from you."

"But—" Mojo stuttered, not able to get the words out. But you said you'd leave only if I kept something hidden from you again! And I haven't!

But I also told my sisters I'd leave when I felt productive again, thought Blossom firmly. And now I've realized that I can't be productive here.

No, you can't…

"I'm leaving," said Blossom.

And suddenly, Mojo could no longer hear Blossom's thoughts.

"No—stop!" he cried. "You cannot leave! And you most certainly cannot separate our minds again! Blossom! BLOSSOM!"

Too late. Blossom had already turned and floated out of the room.

Alone, rejected, abandoned… Mojo stared at the doorway, shell-shocked.

How… how could she?

He had given her everything she wanted! Everything that she wanted and that no one else could give her! He had been the one that she had longed for all these years—he had known and she had unconsciously known too that, although it might take awhile, she would eventually come to him—because they were meant to be together! Because she still… loved him!

No one else ever had. Except maybe Bubbles and Buttercup, back when they had first met just your everyday, enterprising hobo Jojo. But their affections had been merely respectful admiration. No, it was Blossom who had, sweetly and innocently, given her heart to him… and he knew it, even back then.

He hadn't minded. It had worked out to his advantage. Little Blossom was willing to do anything he asked, and even at that early date, it was obvious that her sisters would always follow her lead.

He had always admired her mind. No doubt about that. Even before he realized that they, in fact, had more or less the same mind.

It had been odd, as a villain, to look upon his greatest enemy, the leader of his only obstacle to world domination, and feel a strange sort of respect for her.

Bubbles was just plain cute, and irritating to boot. Buttercup was too tough to win any sort of admiration. But Blossom, always the prettiest of the three girls, always the smartest, always the one to talk the most to the villains they fought, with clichéd words of justice…

He should have hated her. And he did. But there was always something else, nagging at him.

She was wondrous.

He grew to respect her even more when he knew her thoughts. She was so intelligent. She was annoyingly moral, yes. But that was admirable in its own way.

She was always outwardly confident, despite all those feelings of doubt that ran through her body.

What inward strength.

What outward strength.

And she still loved him.

Despite all the time that had passed, all that he had ever done to her.

Mojo knew all her thoughts, including this one.

It was hard to not begin to love someone under those circumstances, wouldn't you think?

Especially for someone like him. He had never been loved before! Oh no, not Mojo Jojo, the heartless, soulless villain! No, we all hate him! Crush him, beat the crap out of him, throw him in jail to rot, we don't care! Just get that ugly deformed chimp out of our sights! Oh, dear Powerpuff Girls! You know how to deal with this monstrosity that is defacing our city. Show no mercy, you dear, perfect, aggravating little freaks!

Why would Blossom want to be portrayed in such a merciless fashion? Why would she want to hide her feelings?

Just because she was the only person in the world to think that way—to actually love that monster—oh, so she wanted to keep up appearances, now did she? Because no one would ever understand—everyone hates him! Oh, isn't Blossom the freak for caring for that brute?

Of course she was a freak! No one else had ever loved him—no one else ever could—

What would Mojo have without her love—

No one else could ever—

She actually had the gall to leave—

NO! She COULDN'T! Didn't she UNDERSTAND that she was ALL he HAD?

He wasn't going to just let her LEAVE like this!

Mojo tore out of the library and to the front door. No—she wasn't going to go through with this! He would make her stay if it was the LAST thing he did!

And there she was! Standing by the door—her suitcase packed, her face shocked at the sight of him. Blossom. Of course she would be named Blossom. She couldn't be named anything else. So beautiful, so terribly beautiful that she made him rely on her for his own sanity—so beautiful, yet he wanted to pick the blossom's petals off, one by one.

"You cannot leave!" Mojo shouted at her. He felt his face burn with rage. Too much, too much! He was going to explode! And it was all her fault—always her fault!

"I told you, I won't let you threaten me into staying," she said. So calculating. He could kill her. "I can't stay here anymore…" She took a step towards the door. Fearfully. Yes, of course. She should be afraid.

"This is NOT a threat!" cried Mojo, grabbing her shoulders and ramming her against the door. Oh, feel her warm, soft flesh from beneath her shirt—look at those wide, intelligent pink eyes—just smell the sweet odor from her glossy hair—feel her tremble—she should— "You cannot leave here—you are mine!"

"What makes you think that?" cried Blossom, trying in vain to struggle out of Mojo's grasp. Snippets of fear bombarded Mojo's mind—ah, of course she couldn't keep that barrier up for long! "I'm not yours! It was my choice to stay here, and it is my choice to leave! And right now, you are only proving to me that the choice to leave is the right one!"

What.

What?

WHAT?

He was driving her away?

NO!

He COULDN'T be!

She LOVED him!

And he WOULDN'T let her leave!

"How DARE you, you ungrateful little bitch! I gave you EVERYTHING you ever wanted!" He pushed her against the door again—she gave a yelp of pain—good! "And you thank me by LEAVING me? I LOVE you! Does that mean NOTHING to you? Oh yes, of COURSE it doesn't." He laughed hollowly. It was a strange sound to him. Good. Let it be strange, let it scare her! "EVERYONE loves you. You think that what I have done for you can be obtained from anyone. Of course you would think THAT—you have NEVER known what it is like to be unloved! But I am the ONLY one who can give you what you REALLY want—and THIS is how you thank me!"

"You're insane," whispered Blossom fearfully. "You're truly and certifiably insane, Mojo. Now I know I can't stay."

"But you can't LEAVE either—you LOVE me!"

"Maybe… maybe I just love the memory of you, Mojo," she whispered, looking down at the floor. "I think I only love who you used to be… because I can't love you now."

Explosion.

Did she say something after that? Did someone knock on the door? Was a huge monster destroying Townsville again?

Mojo didn't know. The clanging and pounding in his head was too great to hear anything.

She lies.

She lies.

SHE LIES.

"You LIE!"

"Let me go, Mojo."

"You LIE! You are MINE—do NOT try to escape!"

"I'm not yours—let me go! Please let me go! I want to go home!"

"This IS your home!"

"You're crazy—I don't love you—I never loved you—"

"MORE LIES!"

"Let me go—I never want to see you again!"

The clanging, THE CLANGING. He couldn't hear anything anymore. He couldn't even think.

He pushed her again against the door—again—make her hurt—make her suffer—make her—

Without warning, he yanked her down to his level and pressed his lips against hers in a tight, sweeping kiss.

Blossom lost it right then. Her mind collapsed, her thoughts once again with Mojo's, but by this time both their thoughts were too incoherent to matter. Stop, stop, stop, Blossom pleaded silently, although she was falling into his arms like a broken doll.

Yes, yes, you ARE mine, Mojo gloated, feeling her weakened body submit to him and debating whether to crush her, to hold her tenderly, to just continue kissing her and make her more and more his…

Blossom pulled her face away. "Stop!" she cried aloud, her eyes wet with tears. "Don't do this to me!"

"You WERE lying—I KNEW it!" cried Mojo, as Blossom's crushed, terrified thoughts flooded his own. "You DO still love me!"

But I can't stay.

Oh, yes you can. You WILL.

"No—I don't care anymore. I don't care how I feel for you. I'm LEAVING!"

With that, Blossom forcibly pushed Mojo away from her, sending him sprawled on the floor. "I'm leaving," she said again, her eyes narrowed. "You can't make me stay."

"FINE!" shouted Mojo. "Leave—see if I care! GO! Never darken my door again, you ungrateful, foolish little girl!"

"And I most certainly never will!" snapped Blossom. She opened the door, stormed out, and shut it with a slam.

And then, she blocked her thoughts from Mojo's mind again.

Mojo stared at the door, gasping with rage.

What a fool.

She was killing them both.

O.o.O

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Blossom, honey, you have to tell me! Your sisters said you didn't want to leave! Did Mojo hurt you?" The Professor was still hugging Blossom, even though it had been a good five minutes before she had appeared at the door, with puffy eyes and desperate whimper of, "Oh, Professor!"

"He told me the truth, that's what he did," said Blossom. "I promise, Professor, I'm going to lead a better life. I'm going to actually make a difference—"

"What are you talking about?" cried the Professor. "Did Mojo say that saving the day isn't a good use of your time? You can't listen to that, Blossom—"

"No—saving the day isn't enough! I need to better society with my knowledge! I've been nothing but a worthless bum my whole life, but I'm going to make up for that—I know more than almost anyone else on Earth! Only Mojo knows as much as I do—and he won't help at all! No, I have to do this myself!"

"Blossom—"

"I'll be in my room… I need time alone."

The Professor watched her fly listlessly up to her room.

What was troubling her so much…

…and why wouldn't she say it?

O.o.O

A few hours later…

"We're home, Professor!" Bubbles's sweet voice called out.

"Professor?" Buttercup said, looking around.

Maybe he's down in the lab again, thought Bubbles.

"Girls—" The Professor came in from the kitchen, looking relieved to see them. "Girls, Blossom came back this morning, and—"

"Oh my God, are you serious?" Buttercup gasped.

"We only talked to her yesterday—is she here for good?" Bubbles asked.

"I don't know," sighed the Professor. "She wouldn't give me any straight answers—she's been up in your room all afternoon. Could you… go and talk to her?... I'm worried about her…"

"But you don't want to intrude," said Bubbles, understanding.

"Well, leave it to me," said Buttercup. "I'm a qualified intruder."

"If nothing else, just try to find out what's got her so upset," said the Professor pleadingly.

"I've got a hunch that it's a certain monkey," muttered Buttercup, hovering up the stairs. Bubbles followed apprehensively.

Be gentle, Buttercup! Bubbles warned.

Don't worry, I will be, assured Buttercup. But I'm going to make damn sure that we find out exactly what happened! She said she wasn't coming back until she felt like "a productive member of society again", and I doubt she could feel that way in less than twenty-four hours!

She cracked open the door to their room. "Blossom!" she said. "Are you in…"

Her voice trailed off as she stared at the sight before her. Blossom was sprawled on her stomach on her bed, her eyes reddened with tears. She looked up at her sisters and quickly wiped away her tears.

"Oh… hello, Buttercup, Bubbles… I'm sorry I… I hate crying," she muttered to herself, her voice still breaking, however.

Bubbles floated over to Blossom and sat next to her, wrapping her arms around her waist in a comforting hug. "What's wrong, Blossom?"

"And why did you come back?" Buttercup asked, still hovering in the doorway. "Not that I mind, of course, but you said that you wouldn't come back until you felt productive again. And I don't think you could suddenly feel productive in less than twenty-four hours… and anyway, you don't look productive!"

"I'll never be productive," said Blossom bitterly. "I don't know what to do. I want to learn and be loved, but I can't even be happy then." She sniffed back incoming tears. "I hate crying. I HATE IT! I wish I was never born!"

"Don't say that!" gasped Bubbles.

"I do! I wish I was never born!" cried Blossom, shaking with emotion. "I can never be happy! I was never MEANT to be happy! I can't do anything right—I'm a hindrance to everyone on Earth!"

"No you're not!" cried Bubbles, trying to hug Blossom again. "We love you!"

"Even when I try to get what I want, it doesn't do anyone any good! It doesn't even do me any good! I wish I was dead!"

Buttercup had had enough of both Blossom's screeching and Bubbles's concerned attempts to calm Blossom down.

"Get a hold of yourself!" Buttercup screeched at Blossom, grabbing her by the shoulders.

"DON'T GRAB ME LIKE THAT, FOR GOD'S SAKE!" bellowed Blossom, the force of her yell knocking both her sisters to the ground.

Bubbles and Buttercup exchanged glances.

Be gentle, Buttercup, for goodness sake! thought Bubbles.

But be firm too! thought Buttercup. We'll never figure out what's bothering her with your method of "interrogation"!

"Blossom, please, tell us what's wrong," said Bubbles quietly. "Did Mojo do something bad to you?"

"What kind of a question is that?" cried Blossom, glaring at her sisters. "He's been doing bad things to me my entire life! Why should things change now? I was crazy to think that they would! I was stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! I don't deserve to live!"

"Calm down, Blossom!" cried Buttercup. "Look, we don't even know what you're talking about. Calm down and tell us exactly what's happening!"

"That is, if you feel comfortable telling us," added Bubbles.

"The hell if you feel comfortable telling us," snapped Buttercup. "I can tell that you probably never will be ready to tell us, but we need to know. We're your family. Tell us—in a way that we can understand!"

Blossom sighed. "I don't know how I can make you understand, because I don't really understand, and I can't make you understand something that I don't understand… understand?"

Bubbles and Buttercup looked at each other again… and then burst out laughing.

"What?" Blossom demanded harshly. "What?"

"Sorry," giggled Bubbles. "It's just really obvious that you've been with Mojo for awhile."

"Oh God… did I really just say the word 'understand' five times in the same sentence?" Blossom cracked the smallest of smiles for about a millisecond. "Look, girls, I'm sorry for… well, for everything. I'm sorry I'm who I am. Everything is just—"

"Blossom!" cried Buttercup in frustration. "We get it that your self-esteem has been flushed down the toilet! We want to know why now!"

"It was something Mojo said to me today," sighed Blossom. "He said that I should be out utilizing my knowledge instead of spending all my life just trying to gain more. He's right—he's completely right—I've been wasting my entire life, and now it's too late to do anything to change that."

"You've been wasting your entire life?" Buttercup snorted. "Tell that to the thousands of people you've saved. You've done more in ten years than most people have done in a lifetime. You're a hero. And you're super-smart. Of course you'd want more knowledge!"

"But that was only for me," said Blossom. "It was only for selfish reasons. Look at what I did to try to gain that—I ran away from home and skipped school to stay with an evil and psychotic chimp!" Blossom looked away sadly. "And he is psychotic. Girls… he was hiding thoughts from me… he still wants to take over the world, and he was planning on talking me into helping him… and either getting you two to join us… or to kill you."

Bubbles and Buttercup exchanged glances again.

"We're talking about Mojo here," Buttercup finally said. "That really doesn't surprise me."

"I TRUSTED him!" Blossom exploded. "I thought I knew his every thought and so I TRUSTED him—I gave my soul to him—and what does he do? He calls me his PROPERTY! He went PSYCHOTIC on me when I said I was leaving! What can I do?" She flung herself back on her bed, laying on her stomach and pulling her pillow to her face. "Despite everything, he's still the only person on Earth I could ever love and learn from. And look where that's got me. I'm a wreck. I can never be happy. Mojo's my only chance of being happy… and I'll never be happy from him."

Bubbles hesitated for a moment before speaking. "You can be happy without romantic love, Blossom," she finally said. "Mojo's not your only chance. Don't say those things. You can stay here and maybe forg—"

She cut herself off before the entire word "forget" was out of her mouth, but Blossom knew what she had been about to say. "I wish I could forget, Bubbles, but you know I can't."

There was silence. Buttercup looked down at the floor, rubbing her upper arm awkwardly. There were too many awkward silences for her own liking lately.

"What are you going to do now?" she finally asked.

Blossom lifted her face from her pillow and shrugged sadly. "Try to get back to my normal life and act as if none of this ever happened, I suppose…"