Prologue VIII- Part II

Disclaimer: "Why did Master Crator wage war on the Milky Way Galaxy?"

"There's something that it has that we don't own, and Boss wants it."

"What? We have everything in this world!"

"Hannah Montana!"

"Oh yeah… The one thing we don't own... yet."

A/N: This chapter isn't as exciting as previous ones, but it ties up some ends and whatnot, so please read it.

"Let's see. I'm gonna say the rush is starting in… 3, 2, 1," Robbie Ray counted down.

"Hannah!" A man in a suit came running over to her, waving a form in his hand, "Glad I caught you."

He stuck out his hand, "Hello, I am from Aftermath, and my name is Tom Jefferson. I'm here to offer you a deal…"

A sudden commotion from the entrance interrupted him. In the distance, voices can be heard asking, "Where's Hannah Montana at?"

Tom Jefferson made a face, "... to our label."

Hannah opened her mouth, then closed it when a woman in a plain red dress entered the room and introduced herself upon seeing the star, "Hi Hannah, I'm Rosa Lynn, from Warner Bros. I'm here to first congratulate you of your highly achieved success. Second, we are offering you a place in the Warner Bros label and will provide full and utter support for the publish of your album."

The man paled for a second. Warner Bros is the best label yet. He was very worried at that instant that Hannah would immediately take up her offer. He quickly interrupted and said, "In addition to previous benefits, Hollywood Records would also…"

He was interrupted when another person came in the door and introduced themselves as an ambassador from Capitol. More filed in unstoppably, all from incredible labels that any singers would die to get into.

The door of the room opened again in the middle of someone's sentence to reveal a man in unexpected casual clothing, with a mere polo-shirt and a goofy tie colored on it a pink squirrel, and sweatpants. But the comfortable clothing cannot cover a feel of power and control in the man, which seemed to seep out and take over the room as he positioned himself.

He spoke, in a surprisingly soft voice for such an august man, "Hello Hannah. My name is Charles Partington, current director for Hollywood Records."

He turned to Robbie and smiled, "Nice to see you, old pal."

Robbie laughed as he went over and gave Charles a welcoming hug, "It's been quite a while isn't it."

"Indeed it is," Charles replied.

"I can't believe you became the head of Hollywood Records. I still remember you as the little salesman in Allentown."

"Things change, and that's a fact," Charles winked, "Advice given in your own song."

The two man laughed together, as the rest of the label people frowned seeing the closeness of the Hollywood Record chairman with Hannah's friends.

The door opened again to find another man in a T-shirt and khaki pants. Robbie looked up and greeted, "Hey David."

David looked around the room at the crowd and outside at the dozens of reporters. He winced, "I'm late, aren't I?"

"Ladies and gentlemen, please, excuse us," David decided to start kicking people out, "Let's discuss everything when the Ceremony is over."

The messengers from the labels began to shuffle out, disappointed at their lack of success. He then shut the door in all the reporters' faces. Shaking his head, he jokingly turned back to the group, "These media people…"

Through the massive exodus, Charles remained seated. David was unsure of whether he should also be asked to leave due to his informal clothing. Seeing their unfamiliarity with each other, Robbie stood up and introduced, "David, this is Charles, one of my great college friends and apparently now the head of Hollywood Records."

Upon hearing another label name, David reflexively went to ask him to leave, but controlled the urge when he digested the friendly tone Robbie was using.

"And Charles," the star country singer continued, "David is my manager for over two decades."

The two man shook hands, just a formal, traditional shake that didn't indicate anything else other than the classic welcoming gesture. The room elapsed into a brief period of silence when David turned to Hannah and complimented, "I heard about your song. Pretty awesome!"

"Thanks!" Hannah and David had known each other for a long time, since she started performing with Robbie in kindergarten. In fact, he was one of the few outside of the family that knew of her secret identity.

"So, tell me, what are you planning to do after this?" David inquired.

"Definitely pursuing music. I'm gonna use this awesome chance at this Ceremony to sign something," Hannah said, "So I don't have to rely on daddy for concerts."

"Wait, what!?" Charles stood up and motioned to Robbie, "What did you call him?"

"Oh. I thought I would tell you since you're daddy's friend. Hannah Montana is my under-cover name. My real name is Miley," Hannah took off the wig for demonstration, "I gave myself a disguise so that I can be treated normally."

A look of realization crossed his face, "Hence the song, 'Best of Both Worlds'. So THAT's how you achieved Resonance, by literally singing your life out."

Miley turned to her father, "What's Resonance?

"It's when you project your emotions into the crowd so much, they resonate with your song," Robbie answered, "Basically an extremely valued quality in singers."

"So like that time when we are singing 'Stand' and the crowd went crazy at the end?"

"No, not even close." He closed his eyes for a second, "I, nor have Dolly, achieved Resonance even once."

Miley put her wig back on, "And I did!? How?"

Robbie pointed at Charles, "Like he said, you sang your life out. Also, you're a natural."

"Hey Hannah, so when did you start singing?"

"What inspired you to start singing?"

"What are you planning to do after this?"

"Which label will you be choosing?"

Leaving the room was torture. Hannah and co. barely stepped out for three seconds before the reporters that were shut out started to bombard her with a barrage of questions. The only good thing was that the labels representatives left, deciding that it was useless to be squished in with the media.

Hannah answered a few quick questions before shoving herself into the back of her limo. She landed with a thud onto the seat and wiped her brow. Quickly joined by her family, as well as Charles and David, she asked, "Is it always like this?"

Dolly, Robbie, Charles and David answered at the same time, "YES!"

The limo fell into silence, before David started, "We have to take care of this anyways, so let's start. Charles, let's talk about your offer."

"Ok, let's see, where to start. First, Hollywood Records will provide full…"

"..."

Miley sat on the couch, looking at all the different choices laid in front of her. Yesterday, Hannah had already met with all of the different labels with Robbie and David that they deemed deserving. Even with their strict criticism, she is still looking at about a dozen opportunities that any singer would die to get into.

Susan sat next to her sighing daughter and handed her a sandwich, "Still undecided?"

"Yeah. My first choice would be Warner Bros, since it IS the highest rated label. But then, I would have too much competitors and demands that I want to deal with," Miley explained, "But then again, I don't want some of the other ones because they don't have as much potential."

"Why not look at some of the moderate ones that have the potential to be a top label, but lack the artists to do it?" Her mom suggested.

"Like which ones?"

"I am leaning towards Hollywood Records, because they are not the highest level, so you don't have to worry about pressure. But they do seem to have a lot of prospects. They were created only a few years back, and they have been on a extremely steep slope of increases ever since."

"Most of all, Miley, I feel it's the best because your dad's friend is the chairman. He will provide a backing in the company that no others will. Charles is going to take care of a lot of roadblocks for you that other labels won't."

"That do make a lot of sense mom. I am still not sure though. It's just so important that I don't want to rush it, you know?" Miley leaned back on the couch, starting to develop a headache from reckoning about the future so much.

Susan laughed. "How about we all go to the lake tomorrow and enjoy a nice time without any troubles, then we can get back to worrying about these things."

"I thought the people want a reply as soon as possible?"

"Oh don't worry honey. Trust me, they are more worried about not getting you than you are," She patted her daughter on the pack, "Remember Miles, your job is to enjoy a fun childhood. Always keep that in mind. Go with your heart, and decide how much it can balance. But whatever you choose, we'll be right here to support you."
Miley smiled, "Thanks mom, that means a lot."

"It's so nice here," Miley yawned as she laid on a blanket, absorbing sunlight like there is no tomorrow. The Stewart family is camping at a comparatively wild part of Tennessee, near a beautiful lake.

Jackson yelled something senseless as he swung on a rope like a pendulum and cannonballed into the lake, before coming up and spitting out water. Robbie was strumming his guitar, bring a soft, peaceful tone to the lakeside environment. Susan was dangling her feet into the lake, whistling as she daydreamed about something.

Miley began to hum a melody along with her dad's chords. Jackson jumped back up the rock to restart another cycle of cannonballing. Susan was still sitting by the lakeside, reading a book, when she screamed.

The three of them immediately stopped what they are doing and rushed over to her. This proved to be difficult for Jackson since he was attached to the middle of a swinging rope. Robbie got there first, and did a double take at what he saw. Miley let out an ear-piercing scream as she abruptly jumped back, hitting Jackson. The two ended up rolling on the ground.

On Susan's ankle wrapped a medium-sized snake, the width similar to that of a banana and a little over two feet, that is still making its way up. Miley's mom had long been frozen due to fear, without the ability to even move a muscle besides staring at the monstrosity climbing up her body. Snakes had never been a big thing around this part of Tennessee, so one appearing is a shock to the family.

But the scary part is not its size, but its multi-colored scales along its back, detailing its extreme venom. Robbie, responding rapidly, grabbed a giant stick on the ground and smashed down parallel to his wife's leg. It proved to be useful, in a way, for that now Robbie had the full attention of the snake. It coiled itself back up, its head raised ferociously, and its slim, long tongue extending and extracting at a speedy, threatening pace, as if taunting Robbie to make a move. As the snake wished, he pulled his temporary club back into position, which prompted the snake to spring off Susan's leg into an attack against its provoker.

It was only seconds after Susan let out her scream that this rapid series of events occurred. Jackson, reflexively got up after falling down and reached for his phone. Finding his swimsuit instead, he remembered that his phone was in the RV when he decided to go swimming.

"Miley! Phone!" Miley threw her phone at him after pulling herself out of the shock. She had never seen her brother so serious, and so… demanding before. 911 was called rapidly.

Robbie swung at the snake, which hit his target with a SWAT. The snake, injured, was still a fierce fighter as it coiled itself around the club. Recognizing his chance, Robbie threw the stick, with the snake attached, into the lake, disposing of the poisonous animal without getting bitten. He rushed to Susan's side, along with the two siblings within seconds.

He drew in a quick breath when he saw her wound, already blackening from the venomous bite.

"Call 911!"

"I did."

"Good, get me the first aid kit."

Susan's blood circulation around the leg was quickly shut off to prevent further spread of the venom, and the vile wound was washed simply. The family freaked in the ten minutes needed for the ambulance to come. Each minute seemed like an hour. Miley, now with her enormous adrenaline rush, a dosage way higher than during the Ceremony, calming down, began to sob at the unfortunate turn of events.

Jackson came over to her and hugged her lightly. In return, she jammed herself into Jackson's grip, holding him tighter than she had ever before. The parents couldn't help but smile lightly at the scene. Even though the two were "sworn enemies" normally, it was cute that they did find heartwarming comfort in each other in emergencies. And also, of course, Jackson stepping up to the position of being her big brother in times of need.

And boy will those times of need come.

The ambulance came and trucked Susan to the hospital, along with the rest of the family. Paramedics diagnosed her situation, and assured them that the poison can be taken cared of simply. They only need to get her to the hospital for a full checkout just to make sure everything is okay.

The rest of the ride to the hospital was quite uneventful. Miley recovered from sobbing, and threatened Jackson to never tell anyone of her crying if he didn't want to float to Mars, to which Jackson replied that he would send the pictures of her, Rainbow Piggy and Beary's makeover to the entire elementary and middle school.

The nurse hurried out and approached the family, worrying waiting in the lobby, who stood up to greet him. Miley blurted out, "Is she ok?"

The nurse looked at her with a complex manner, "The snake bite, yes."

Miley and Jackson both let out a sigh of relief, but Robbie noticed the unreadable expression on the man's face.

"What's wrong?"

The nurse cleared his throat, "Y'all might want to sit down for this."

The sibling's slowed heartbeat sped up, and a feeling of uneasiness rose up in both their chests. Miley spontaneously grabbed her brother's hand. Robbie, though a little calmer, exposed his panic with a sharp, glistening look at the hospital worker. They went to sat down, and looked at him with anxiety as he opened his mouth.

"I don't know how to put it, so I am just going to say it," He looked at the three dead in the eyes, "She has leukemia. In fact, late stage."

A/N: This is kind of like an accessory chapter, just to tie up the details of the concert a bit. I know it's not the most exciting, but it's gotta be done. It's like paperwork.