A/N: Hey guys! Happy Heart's day! To celebrate, here's chapter 12, featuring DSM's haunting performance because this chapter is set during Halloween.

The next chapter might be up in a few hours as well. We'll see.

I don't own pitch perfect.


Time flies fast when you're having fun. That's what they said. Sometimes, it just plain sneaks up on you.

The months between the preliminary round riff-offs and the Halloween Bash went by too fast that Jessica felt absolutely nervous. They were in the Atlanta Event Center, the crowd filled with acapella fans and enthusiasts with deep enough pockets to afford the ridiculous price for the event tickets. Vocal-sity, Rhythmashers, and the Voicenotes were all there, embracing a group theme costume as the gang from Scooby-doo, the Addams Family, and the Ghostbusters, respectively.

DSM came dressed in fantastic costumes and make-up, all of them different monsters and ghouls. Notable members such as the Kommissar and Pieter were dressed as werewolves, while guy-liner Adonis came as a zombie. To Jessica, the creepy twins came as themselves, although Lilly said they claimed they were dressed as vampires.

The Filharmonic were also there as guests, dressed as undead versions of themselves. Members of Pentatonix were also present, each a different character from "The Nightmare before Christmas."

The Bellas seemed to have the same idea as DSM, all dressed in their own costumes. Lilly was dressed as the devil, which freaked Flo, who was a mummy, a little bit. She was still wary of Lilly after all this years, after being released from her possession. Aubrey was a witch. Cynthia Rose a vampire. Stacie came as an angel, although Jessica doubted that any angels wore dresses that had hems way above the knees. Chloe came dressed as a fairy, and Jessica had to hand it to her, she probably was one of the best dressed in the party. Judging from the attention she's been getting, she was definitely giving Stacie a run for her money. Amy rivaled Adonis man's zombie costume, while Jessica and Ashley came as a pair of ghosts. Emily embraced her inner werewolf, although she looked more like a tall and adorable puppy when compared to the intimidating versions of the same costume from Luisa and Pieter.

Beca wasn't there yet. Aubrey said that their famous friend had a prior event to attend in DC. Some kind of Halloween-inspired benefit gala for a children's hospital, one she had committed to months before the invitation to the competition came. The plan was for her to leave the gala early and fly in on her private plane to join the Bellas in time. Both the Bellas and DSM were told of their estimated time to be on stand-by for the performance, with the event organizers asking both the Filharmonic and Pentatonix to perform in-between the two groups. As the Bellas ended up dazzling the crowd more than DSM did during the prelims, and they delivered an excellent performance with their transitions and harmonies – apparently they were being graded – they had the privilege of going last.

There was a small stage set at one corner of the hall, a table set in the middle. To Jessica's surprise, John and Gail, the two hosts of that one acapella podcast that kept following the Bellas around, were invited to host the mini-competition for the event. To one side of the room was the DJ, dropping some sick beats for the guests to enjoy. Was he as good as Beca? He could only wish. But he was doing a good enough job. To the other side of the room, at the corner of the stage, was a table for the judges that was currently empty.

Jessica took a deep breath, checking the time on her phone. Chloe was getting antsy herself, with Beca still nowhere to be found. In a few minutes, DSM will start their performance. Looking around, all of them looked a little nervous. They've done all they could to practice the simple choreography Stacie helped work on so they can put a clean performance. They haven't had a real chance to practice it all together, working on bit and pieces individually or practicing via video chat. They tried to go over the performance a few times the night before. The Bellas gathered at Aubrey and Stacie's apartment, having only arrived that morning, and did a few run-throughs once they all got settled. But the living room space didn't really compare to their rehearsal space back at Barden. For one thing, it was rather cramped. They focused on the timing and the basics instead of delivering a full-blown performance.

John and Gail soon started to gain the crowd's attention, DSM occupying the dancefloor as most guests circled around the space, the judges taking their places in their designated seats.

Jessica took a sip of her drink to calm her nerves. The Bellas had been in worse situations before, winging a bit of their upcoming performance is something she believed they can handle.

Still, the intimidating presence of the German acapella team troubled her.

DSM was out for blood.


The spotlights all focused on DSM, as they took their position on the dancefloor, bodies contorting in incredibly uncomfortable figures to embody the very theme of Hollow's eve. Cynthia Rose couldn't help but feel the anticipation in the air, the excitement coming from the crowd as they awaited to be dazzled. The look on the Kommissar's face said it all.

They were here to play for keeps.

Luisa kicked things off, a dominant figure in the middle of the dancefloor, crawling towards the crowd, DSM disjointedly shook their figures to the melody and beats some of their members made to follow the Kommissar's lead.

Monster, how should I feel?
Creatures lie here, looking through the windows

A girl in a gothic Lolita outfit takes over the lead, Cynthia Rose never paid much attention to her before but apparently she could sing really well. The creepy twins joined her with back-up vocals as DSM provide a very Cirque du Soleil performance.

That boy is a monster (Mo-mo-mo-monster)
That boy is a monster (Mo-mo-mo-monster)

I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed

The beats start to pick up and DSM transition to a more upbeat rhythm. Their choreography started to incorporate some marching element as they move about in their places in perfect synchrony. The Kommissar briefly took charge after.

Very superstitious
Writing's on the wall

Then Pieter and Adonis jumped in to steal the show. Pieter took the lead with his well mastered theatricality. Adonis led the back-up vocals while DSM maintained the beats of Rihanna's "Disturbia."

No more gas in the rig (bum bum be-dum)
Can't even get it started (bum bum be-dum dum)
Nothing heard, nothing said (bum bum be-dum)
Can't even speak about it (bum bum be-dum dum)
Out my life, out my head (bum bum be-dum)
Don't want to think about it (bum bum be-dum dum)
Feels like I'm going insane (bum bum be-dum)
Yeah (bum bum be-dum dum)

Luisa once again took over while Pieter easily slinks back to provide some adlibs of a Duran Duran song. Cynthia Rose couldn't help but wonder if the two songs they were singing had anything to do with their costumes. The rest of DSM maintained the beats of "Disturbia" in the background as they kept to their marching steps.

There's a she-wolf in the closet (bum bum be-dum)
Open up and set her free (bum bum be-dum dum)
There's a she-wolf/Mouth is alive, all running inside (bum bum be dum)
And I'm hungry like the wolf (bum bum be dum dum)

DSM mixed the melody of the new songs with Rihanna's song in the background. The gothic Lolita girl jumped in once again to steal the show after that. Cynthia Rose was starting to get the impression that she was the Kommissar's apprentice of sort.

I'm one of a kind, got everybody in love (bum bum be-dum)
And I don't have to try, I just do what I does (bum bum be-dum dum)
Don't have to tell me, I already know (bum bum be-dum)
They all want me (bum bum be-dum dum)

Half of DSM still maintained the beats of "Disturbia" while the other half slowly joined gothic Lolita girl with the chorus. DSM's performance have been pretty good so far. Not a movement misplaced in their choreography. Their synchronicity was almost mesmerizing, if Cynthia Rose allowed herself to admit it. Every transition was well placed too, mixing each song with the next smoothly.

I'm a monster, I'm a m-monster
I'm a monster, I'm a m-monster
I'm a monster, I'm a m-monster
I'm a monster, I'm a m-monster
I'm a monster, I'm a m-monster
I'm a monster, I'm a m-monster
I'm a monster, I'm a m-monster
I'm a monster, I'm a m-monster

Traces of Rihanna's song completely disappeared as DSM did another transition. Luisa once again took the lead, pulling zombie Adonis along with her as her dance partner, incorporating a bit of tango move sets as she sung. Pieter stepped up ahead of the rest of the team, sticking behind the two to lead the efforts for back-up vocals.

Oh, he'll buy me a thorn before he'll buy me a rose
Be covered in dirt before I'm covered in gold
He's trying it on, yeah, he's ticking me off
Say what you want but I won't ever be told
'Cause I'm in love with a monster

The creepy twins then stepped up with a rather cold delivery of "The Monster Mash" mixed with the chorus of "In Love with a Monster" delivered by Luisa and Pieter. Adonis jumped in with the deep delivery of some of the lines from the popular old song in the middle of the chorus.

I'm in love (I'm in love)
I'm in love (I'm in love)
I'm in love with a monster (The monster mash)

(I did the mash)
He did the monster mash (The monster mash)
It was a grave yard smash

I'm in love (I'm in love)
I'm in love (I'm in love)
I'm in love with a monster
I'm in love with a monster

DSM then dropped some epic transition between the songs they did, picking up the beats once more. Gothic Lolita girl jumped in with a brief ad lib as the rest of DSM spaced out, one member grabbing what looked like the iconic red jacket worn by Michael Jackson in his music video for "Thriller" and tossed it towards Luisa.

But when I kissed a cop down on Thirty-Fourth and Vine
He broke my little bottle of Love Potion Number Nine

Luisa sleekly dons the jacket and took charge with their rendition of the required song in the medley. DSM delivered a lively performance, complete with the well-known choreography of the song. Pieter and gothic Lolita girl provided back-up.

'Cause this is thriller (Thriller)
Thriller night (Thriller night)
And no one's gonna save you
From the beast about to strike

The crowd was loving it, some even started to sway to the song thanks to DSM's infectious performance.

You know it's thriller (Thriller)
Thriller night (Thriller night)
You're fighting for your life
Inside a killer (ki-ller), thriller (thri-ller) tonight (tonight), yeah

Pieter howled like a wolf as the song ended, even dropping on the ground acting like one, and using the biggest spotlight on them as his reference for the full moon. The crowd grew wild, screaming and cheering them on. They delivered a hell of a performance.

Cynthia Rose took a deep breath. The Bellas certainly had their work cut out for them.

Here's to hoping they deliver.


John and Gail took over with their hosting duties after DSM's performance. As per usual, their comments weren't exactly encouraging to the Bellas, but whatever. That's fine. They've dealt with it before and they're kind of already used to it.

What wasn't exactly a great feeling was the nervous energy that started to occupy the Bellas. They both had the same amount of time to prepare, but DSM had the advantage on this one. They toured together, performed together. That was their literal jobs. Maybe they even lived together? They gave such a flawless performance that Ashley was a little worried their humble set and simplified choreography wouldn't be able to compare.

John and Gail went on about how there would be a fifteen minute break before the Filharmonic and Pentatonix dazzle the crowd with a performance of their own. Ashley took a deep breath. The Bellas still had time to calm down, forget the showmanship that DSM just demonstrated and focus on their own set.

She looked around. The rest of the Bellas seemed to be thinking the same thing. Emily took charge of the pep-talk. Eventually, Aubrey took over, reminding the girls that they beat DSM once. They could have also beaten them in the riff-offs had there been another lightning round. They practically dominated the performance then, and they had about the same preparation time then.

But this was different. With the riff-offs, anything can happen. A team didn't need fancy and practiced move sets, they just need to be in sync with each other's harmonies and on top of their singing game and discography knowledge. The medley face-off challenged required a level of crisp, clean, flawlessness to every aspect of their performance. Just like the one DSM pulled off.

One that may not be possible given the Bellas had a disjointed kind of preparation for this challenge thanks to geography keeping them apart and their day jobs.

The odds would really need to be in the Bellas favor to make it through this one.


A/N Pt 2: The DSM performance is based on the Halloween Acapella Mash-Up/Medley (by Rosendale) which includes Monster (by Meg & Dia), Monster (by Lady Gaga), The Monster (by Eminem ft. Rihanna), Superstition (by Stevie Wonder), Disturbia (by Rihanna), She Wolf (by Shakira), Hungry Like the Wolf (by Duran Duran), Problem – The Monster Remix (by Becky G ft. will. ), In Love with a Monster (by Fifth Harmony), The Monster Mash (by Bobby Pickett), Demons (by Imagine Dragons), Ghost (by Halsey), Love Potion No. 9 (by The Searchers), Thriller (by Michael Jackson), and Ghostbusters.

In my head, the performance would have a bit of a different arrangement in places, make it more haunting but also energetic towards the end with Thriller. Like they would burst out a high energy performance (the energy kinda' dips a little towards the end of the medley, and Thriller sounds tired) and then took out the Ghostbuster's part because I don't see DSM busting that out towards the end. I also took out Demons and Ghost because of it (that's when it starts to slow down). What happens is Love Potion No. 9 directly follows the Monster Mash and still used as a transition to Thriller. It allows for the song the judges wanted to be included to be the main event instead of the song falling into the background (DSM's Thriller rendition is more like Jared Halley's in the MJ acapella, see the playlist). I kept the wolf howl at the end though :D