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Buttercup was frozen. She trembled and babbled incoherent things while staring at the figure with her green eyes, which were shedding countless large tears. She shouted Bubbles’ name, but received no response, and the same happened when she called for her father. Therefore, she concluded that she was completely alone. Alone in front of her sister. Her dead sister, who should now be in the process of decomposing six feet under. Or rather, it wasn't exactly Blossom who was there: it was an extremely realistic hologram. Even more frightening than if it were a corpse, because the decomposition of the latter was natural, unlike the mutilated body of the hologram.
It happened that, having nothing to do after arriving home from school, the brunette had turned on the TV and casually picked up her phone. However, she didn’t notice that it wasn’t her device she had in her hands, and when she turned it on, she came across a photo of Blossom with her family. Shaken and furious, she threw the device against the wall and screamed the name of the former leader, cursing her and secretly wishing she were there to answer all the insults. Wishing so much that she were alive. However, after a few frustrating seconds of silence, the phone beeped and a robotic voice spoke:
— Do you wish to see the last recorded message?
“What the hell is this shit?” thought the mutant, scared and even more irritated. Not knowing what to do and hearing the sequence of repetitions of the same question, she shakily said yes. More uncomfortable silence followed until the voice spoke again.
— Voice recognition completed: Welcome, Buttercup! There is a message for you recorded on April 21. Do you wish to see the message?
She agreed, without noticing the significant date. Thus, from the camera of the strange phone, a hologram slowly formed until it created the image of a body. Almost as if she were there, a young woman of medium height, with long red hair and pink eyes, stared at Buttercup. And it is from this point that we begin.
— Holy shit, what the fuck! What kind of sick joke is this?! — the taller one whispered, never taking her eyes off it. The hologram was still loading, but the details were enough to keep the brunette paralyzed. She didn’t move by choice, tried to believe, and gave up on the lie when the loading was finally completed and Blossom began to move.
She looked exactly as she did on the day they found her hanged: with red, swollen eyes from crying, blade cuts all over her semi-naked body, and disheveled hair. That chaos was not characteristic of her, and seeing her so closely, the other superheroine felt herself collapse. Why had she been so weak and left the team? And the professor? And… damn, it was she who needed Blossom the most!
If that message had answers, Buttercup silently swore to herself never to forgive her for all the harm she had done recklessly.
— Hi! Buttercup. I know that… well, this must be weird or, I don’t know, maybe it’s better. — She brushed her bangs behind her ear, nervous and looking disturbed. — If you’re seeing this, it’s because I gave up on everything and had the courage to do what was necessary for everyone. It’s the best for everyone. — She smiled neurotically, in a lower tone when pronouncing the last part, and looked at the floor with a lost expression. — I’m not here to… look, I know you hate me, okay? I don’t know what I did, but that’s okay. I understand that I’m despicable and there’s not much I deserve beyond disgust. But… — Tears were already rolling down her pink, freckled cheeks, while she constantly rubbed both hands. — Please, please, just this once, listen to me. Because what’s happening to me will continue to happen to many people, many of them, by the way. And, believe me, even the strongest will fall because of this.
For about two minutes, she said nothing more, just moved from side to side and slapped her own forehead. Buttercup then realized that she was in the professor's laboratory and wondered how he would feel about this. However, her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of a chair being dragged: Blossom was now seated, scratching the skin of her mutilated arm even more.
— I didn't kill myself because of anyone, and I want to make that very clear. Never let anyone or anything make you believe that one of you was to blame for the shit I did or am going to do. Not even you, I won't let you think that. — The tone she now used was authoritative, strong, and hoarse. She raised a red eyebrow and laughed bitterly. — I know I'm no one to give orders, and that must be why I'm a terrible leader, sister, and so many other things. — She stretched out her arm to grab what appeared to be a vodka bottle, taking a large gulp and grimacing. — But… I can't let anyone take credit for the only right thing I've done in my life, can I? Besides, I love you guys. You're good people and deserve to be loved, but in this fucking city, you never would be, because they're all a bunch of damn hypocrites. I don't want those bastards to have any reason to talk about you.
Buttercup felt her body and mind heavy; every word that came out of the redhead's mouth destroyed her. That couldn't be Blossom, not to her.
— You know, Buttercup? I fucking love you. All my life, I've admired you because you were always honest. And I have always been a lie. — Blossom threw the empty bottle to the side, taking the last gulp of the liquid. — I criticized you so much for being impulsive that I forgot that if I were half of who you are, I'd be… — She sniffled. — Better. Anyway, I wouldn't be here and maybe someone would still love me. Actually, I think no one knows that I bleed too. — She laughed, and the harsh sound made Buttercup shiver. — Everyone thinks Blossom Utonium is invincible, that she's amazing and so… uh, perfect! You know what they say, Butter! You always made a point of saying you thought I was a fake and unhappy piece of shit. Again, your honesty is so amazing! — The redhead raised her arms and smiled broadly, with tears streaming down her face. — I bleed! Ah! I bleed as much as any dead animal on the side of the road, man. No one notices, but I've been bleeding for years, and if I'm dying, it's from internal bleeding. Hilarious, isn't it?! Buttercup, do better than this. I beg you never to let yourself die like I did.
— Blossom... — In a faint voice, Buttercup called her, but there was no response. She just watched as she looked for another bottle of alcohol and, upon finding it, returned to the chair.
— It's my fault. It's always going to be my fault, even when I'm dead. — More whispers and then, screams: — I love you so much, Buttercup. Why didn't you accept my love? Why?! I needed you so much, Bubbles, or the Professor. Damn, am I so cursed that everyone ignored what was already obvious?! I needed help... — Desperate, the redhead seemed about to explode. — I don't want… I don't want to be a burden anymore. I'm so tired of hearing that I have no reason to cry, that I'm cold, selfish, that I don't deserve it. I know all that! Hell! — She was shouting louder and louder, getting up from the chair and throwing it away, above the camera. Her pink eyes so lost, so dead and painful. The open wounds seemed incurable as they bled, everything seemed to be collaborating for Blossom's death.
Shouts, laments, gasps followed for torturous moments. Until it all ended, and only the breathing of what was once a living young woman could be heard.
— I'm sorry... — She repeated several times, in a dragging and weak tone. With her head down, Buttercup couldn't see her face. — I'm broken inside, totally broken and useless now. The depression I ignored is about to devour me forever. I can't and won't be able to overcome it because I'm weak. I decided to endure the memories, like the times I heard your insults, Bubbles' painful accusations, and the Professor's judgment. I tried everything, but I reached my limit. I thought to myself that if there's no way to ease this pain, it's better to simply stop what makes it continue here: my life. The only person who can be responsible for myself and all the shit I do is me. And that also applies to the rest of this fucked-up mess. — She slowly raised her head, revealing blood tears sliding down to her chin. — You really want to know, Butter? It's easy to say that you're going to end things once and for all, like you always did and will continue to do. But it's hard to really finish things. I've lived with this cruelty all this time, listening to what I had to listen to and what I didn't, being tortured by people who have worse mistakes than mine. However, the worst part isn't the rumors that spread around, but what I heard from the people I loved the most. Anyway... — Blossom wiped the blood from her face and smiled weakly. — I see that everything is my fault in the end, and I think this is the biggest discovery I made. I hoped people would notice my state, but no one knew. You never knew me, of course you wouldn't know I was there, because I didn't want you to know. Pain is just pain, I thought for a while... — The pause was just enough for more blood to stain her skin. — I was told to look for the reason why it hurts. And, even before being here, I already knew very well. I'm hurting because of myself. It's all my fault, because I was born this way. But I still tried to live, thinking it would make a difference. I asked myself why I had to do it hundreds of times, and it was never for me. It was for you, for Bubbles, for the professor, for the city, and for all this scum that follows. — She laughed again, without humor. — I wanted to do something for myself. I guess I didn't want to face the world anymore, enough of these villains for me, Butter.
Buttercup was silently weeping, waiting for the moment when it would end and cursing it. She needed her sister more than ever to tell her everything would be alright. And she needed to tell her the same.
— I love you, sis. And that's why this has to end.
The hologram finally disappeared. And the robotic voice pronounced:
— Message successfully completed.