Aria watched a week go by, making the sixth month roll around and there was no sign of Uncle Joe anywhere within the illegal, underground brothel. Rumors abounded, but Teenage Aria gave little heed to them. She had to commit to what she was planning before she lost her nerve.
She had to get as many people as possible to know what had really happened to Gloria. The story that Uncle Joe had made up for Gloria's sudden disappearance was that she'd been bought out from under The Stage by an incredibly wealthy buyer with enough money to make Uncle Joe unable to refuse. Most believed this story, given that some slaves were sold permanently from time to time to particularly wealthy clients who became unusually attached to a slave.
Aria smiled with a deep, abiding love for what her teenage self did that entire week as she began to eat and drink better, and started to boldly ask her guards after her "normal" work hours to go to the poles and work on her dance moves. The underground showroom was usually empty near dawn and despite her malnourished state and the sleep deprivation, she began her intense training for at least four hours every morning for the next seven days. She'd get a few jeers from her guards when she'd get started, but they'd usually quiet down after a few minutes, while Aria fought with her wig, mask, and wardrobe choice, mumbling curses under her breath as she struggled to keep her balance on the pole.
After being brought back to her room after her new practice routine the first time, she reluctantly serviced her guards without protest in exchange for a pen and some paper. It was usually against the rules for slaves to have anything to read or write on, but given Uncle Joe was gone, and her guards liked the way she begged, they eventually gave her what she wanted after giving their "swords" a good cleaning. She desperately needed that pen and paper so she could write the song she intended to sing along with her pole-dancing routine that would reveal everything to the audience. Two hours after every pole-dancing practice, Teenage Aria practiced her song until she had it memorized, praying and hoping that her plan would work.
Teenage Aria refused to think of anything but her routine as she begged the Lord to help her not lose her nerve as Uncle Joe finally made an appearance after a week of absence. By his foul mood and unusually violent attitude towards not only her, but pretty much everyone, Teenage Aria knew that time was running out. Either she would dance her routine that night and most likely face an execution then and there because of it, or she could wait until she was murdered like Gloria and be written off as some sort of cheap sale.
Aria already knew the answer as her smile broadened as she watched that fateful night arrive. Uncle Joe had to have known that Teenage Aria had been working the poles by that evening, but oddly enough, he'd said little to her about it as he sat in his usual seat in the back as his black eyes stared at everyone with an unusually icy glare. She knew there was something up with him, but to back out now would mean she'd never forgive herself.
She was performing in the same time slot as she'd always been before she'd chickened out because of Gloria's response to her emotional breakdown not that long ago. It felt like a lifetime as Teenage Aria made sure her wig, mask, and long dress were all secured into place before she let out a sigh and prayed for a miracle as she walked boldly onto the pole-dancing stage. As a sultry, spanish guitar strummed a lively melody from the surrounding speakers, she tried to relax and let God in as the music took her to another place in her mind, momentarily forgetting her surroundings as she danced!
Lit up on the stage, Teenage Aria moved gracefully, a vision of loveliness that left the audience staring wide-eyed as a collective gasp rang out. Her plain, brown hair had been replaced by exquisite, blonde, curly locks, while a red and silver mask hid her face that complimented her flamenco style, red dress that blazed like fire under the hot, stage lights! Dancing like she'd never danced before, Aria watched, transfixed, as she noticed Teenage Aria wasn't dancing like her pitiful attempts during practice just that morning. Even though Aria knew it was herself upon that stage, she swore she was watching Gloria herself twirl and cascade upon that pole like living fire!
Goosebumps blazed across Aria's skin as she watched herself dance! She was overwhelmed by the spiritual and physical miracle unfurling before her as Teenage Aria became overwhelmed as well with that unmistakable feeling that she was not dancing alone! She felt herself being embraced by another as someone far more experienced guided her body through the ebb and flow of her dance, filling her with a feeling unlike anything Teenage Aria could describe as her body swayed seductively upon the stage with the spirit of Gloria guiding her!
Breathing in and hoping she'd have enough air to sustain it, Teenage Aria's melodic voice then began to drift over the stage in an impossibly energetic serenade!
"Oh Gloria, Oh Gloria! An angel's name to me!
Beautiful, with sunlit hair, her blue eyes call to me!
Her shapely form would linger in the hearts of many men,
Until a cruel, Demon Frog did steal her away from Heaven!
His lustful heart did prey on her, as well his citizens!
Locked away, beneath a stage, she was used and abused by him!
She fought to keep her beauty and her heart was ever brave!
She and all who were locked away, she would risk her life to save.
Oh Gloria, Oh Gloria! An angel's name to me!
Beautiful, with sunlit hair, her blue eyes call to me!
Her shapely form would linger in the hearts of many men,
Until a cruel, Demon Frog did steal her away from Heaven!
Trickling through the very stones, her whispered words did peek!
A hero brave and pure of heart was whom she hoped to seek!
One who would free her and all who dwell below the dreaded stage!
Who wouldn't be bought or silenced as he freed her from this cage!
Oh Gloria, Oh Gloria! An angel's name to me!
Beautiful, with sunlit hair, her blue eyes call to me!
Her shapely form would linger in the hearts of many men,
Until a cruel, Demon Frog did steal her away from Heaven!
The Demon Frog had caught her whispers lurking in the dark!
Enraged by her betrayal of him, he sought to leave a mark!
Shouting how she spurned his gifts and sought to undermine him,
The Demon Frog shot fire at her until her life grew dim.
Oh Gloria, Oh Gloria! This angel's name, now free!
Beautiful, with sunlit hair, her blue eyes call to me!
Her shapely form will linger in the hearts of many men,
For that cruel, Demon Frog has sent her away to Heaven!"
A shot rang out as Teenage Aria curtsied after her performance, the bullet whizzing past her as she froze, looking up in horror! Watching Uncle Joe aim his smoking pistol at her from the back of the audience, Teenage Aria realized with paralyzing fear what was about to happen! Before she could think to turn and run, however, another shot much closer to her rang out, making Uncle Joe suddenly drop out of sight as a fire fight broke out!
Waking up from her near death experience, Teenage Aria tried to flee stage left as fast as her flamenco dress would let her! She didn't get very far before she felt a blast of fire and pain sear through her left side! It was utter chaos as Aria watched her teenage self collapse on the stage, her red flamenco dress almost disguising the blood that pooled around her!
She heard loud, stomping footsteps reach her as Teenage Aria looked up through her mask with a gasp of panic! An unfamiliar, young black man in a nice, black suit and tie crouched over her and picked her up like she weighed nothing as more shots rang out as he got her backstage. As soon as he got further into the dark shadows that filled the wings, however, he got jumped from behind, forcing the mysterious man to drop her! Teenage Aria fell to the ground, making her scream out in pain as the gunshot wound was stretched by her body twisting from the fall! There was the sound of a scuffle, and then something hard landed near her, making her look down to see what it was.
Looking at what had fallen near her, Teenage Aria stared at it, dumbfounded, as a black pistol sat right next to her right arm! One of her guards had the poor guy in a choke hold, while her other guard was trying to make his way towards her! Knowing that she needed that gun as far away from her guards as possible, she fought against the pain as she grabbed the gun and pointed it threateningly at the other guard heading towards her!
The guard hesitated only a moment before taking a lunge at her, shouting for her to give him the gun as she screamed in agony as he landed on her bleeding side! She'd been through a hell of a lot worse, though, as she fought against him to keep the gun away from him, shouting at him that he should be protecting her, not trying to kill her! Struggling for her life, she cried out to God to keep the gun out of the guard's hands as he punched her in the face over and over, but she fought to hold onto the pistol! After about the fifth punch, the guard decided to punch her in the gunshot wound, instead, the low blow winding her badly from the pain as she struggled just to breath as her vision went black for a moment!
When she came back to herself, she heard two gunshots, followed by two heavy thumps as her guard suddenly landed on top of her! She fought to get him off her, but it was like...he was all dead weight! The realization horrified her as she screamed in sudden hysterics for someone to get him off of her as something about necrophilia came out of her mouth and people going to Hell for this!
Thankfully, the mysterious, young man got the dead body off of her as she hesitated before letting him take the gun from her before his two, strong arms suddenly picked her up, again, as she felt herself moving quickly in the darkness backstage. As she looked up at the mysterious young man going in and out of focus as Teenage Aria felt woozy from the loss of blood, she tried to keep her eyes open to see what was going on around her. However, her vision blurred or hazed over as she vaguely saw armed men in suits bust open doors and usher slaves down the hall in loud voices shouting "Move it!".
Aria watched as guards tried to down slaves and the intruders alike as a few slaves Teenage Aria recognized from pole-dancing shows fell and stayed down from the crossfire. However, despite their best efforts, the guards were being overwhelmed. The men in suits and ties armed to the teeth took them out quickly, along with anyone else trying to stop them.
It was only when she recognized that there was now a gaping hole where the hidden door that led to the outside world had been that she realized what was happening. This wasn't a gang raid or a coup from some of the guards. This was a full on rescue!
Finding herself out from under The Stage for the first time in six months, Aria watched her teenage self be rushed to the hospital in an ambulance so her gunshot wound could be treated. She was in and out of consciousness throughout most of the procedure, but thankfully, the shot had been a grazing wound, leaving her internal organs intact. What surprised her wasn't that she'd live, but that, after being sexually abused for so long, she wasn't five months pregnant from some client. It was a huge relief, to say the least, as her doctor and nurses reassured her that she was barren after her long, grueling ordeal.
Teenage Aria found out later that Uncle Joe had failed to kill the one remaining client bent on shutting him down. Uncle Joe had been gone from under The Stage for a week to answer a court summons concerning his involvement in an illegal sex ring. It had gone badly for him and when he'd returned that evening, he was bent on killing everyone under The Stage and leaving town. If the police hadn't already been involved in an undercover mission to find enough information to close The Stage, Uncle Joe would have succeeded.
The men in suits that had fired back on Uncle Joe and his men had been new cops years before who had been assigned as undercover agents to fool The Stage on and off for years by pretending to be regular clients. It had been a cop that had killed Teenage Aria's guards and who had picked her up and carried her all the way to the secret exit. It had also been a cop that Gloria had leaked enough information to put enough pressure on Uncle Joe, vindicate the added testimony of Teenage Aria's one remaining client bent on rescuing everyone, and give them enough pull to organize a massive raid if Uncle Joe tried something. Uncle Joe hadn't disappointed them.
Aria was thoroughly impressed by her teenage self as she thought about all that she'd gone through. It was so different seeing it this way with the emotions and thoughts all intact, unlike what she'd remembered in life. She'd forgotten how brave she'd been and had written off her daring plans as all suicidal tendencies instead of what they really were: daring moments of faith.
She'd accepted the possibility of death, but it didn't stop her from doing the right thing. What she'd done looked like the crazy antics of a depressed girl suffering from too much sexual abuse looking for a way out, and she knew her psychologist had been half right. However, she could never forget the hope she held onto that somehow, the Lord would bless her efforts and He had, despite her subconscious death wish that gave her the grit to be that daring with her life.
As Aria thought of the emotional turmoil Teenage Aria had suffered being back in the real world, not to mention being incredibly paranoid that she'd be kidnapped, again, and taken back to an illegal sex ring, she was incredibly surprised to watch how strong she was. Despite struggling with pornography as she tried to understand why she was a sexual being, why she still desired sex despite her harrowing experience, and how that could be a good thing, including her bi-tendencies, she still persevered. She refused to give up on herself as she sought a way to be healed from the traumatic events she'd suffered through.
As she continued to pray and read her scriptures, seeking help through the free Addiction Recovery Program The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints organized, she realized the program made the Atonement of Jesus Christ easier to understand and it taught her how to use it in her everyday life. She realized how the atonement worked in real-life situations, how to apply it, and how to let go of her fears about who she was as a sexual being. She was eventually able to come to accept her sexual desires as an eternal, sexual being as the Lord showed her how she was truly of infinite worth.
As she learned the skills the Addiction Recovery Program taught her on how to use the Atonement of Jesus Christ successfully, the Lord helped her forgive herself and helped her see herself as He saw her. She wasn't worthless. She was not unclean, unwanted, or unloved. God loved her still, even after all that had happened to her and all she had done and He would stay by her side forever, no matter what.
That belief and love from God, her beloved parents, and eventually, her most cherished husband helped her understand that she was worthy to be loved not only spiritually, but sexually through her marriage with her husband. She could never repay what her husband's love and mercy had done to save her during those darkest years learning how to love that sexual part of herself. He was everything to her.
As the memory finally faded until Aria was back with her teenage self standing in the darkness in that purple Disneyland shirt and blue jeans, she was no longer ashamed of her despite the blacked out tattoos and mangled ear. Failing to hold back her tears, she lunged at her younger self and hugged her fiercely, the feeling of her tender, loving arms filling her with comfort as she sobbed. What she'd done was enough. She had always been enough. Despite it all, she'd been true to herself and God had truly made a way for her. It was nice to finally see that.
"Thank you," Aria choked out, her emotions running high as she sniffled, but felt more whole as her teenage self gave her a warm smile and a tender kiss on the forehead. "Thank you for not giving up on me."
"Ha! We could never really bring ourselves to do that, no matter what mistakes we'd made," Teenage Aria said with a laugh, her warm chuckle filling Aria with light as she felt something ease off her soul. "You've been hiding from me, but now you see that I'm someone worth remembering. Maybe don't erase every scar you bore in life next time. It'll help you remember that you learned how valuable you are in all of this. I know I do. Thank you for sticking around until the very end."
"You're welcome," Aria choked out emotionally, her soul filled with so much joy and peace, knowing that she really had done all that she could to do what was right that she didn't know how to express it. "Will things be different between us, now?"
"I sure hope so!" Teenage Aria said with a wide grin as she gently squeezed Aria's arm as a loving expression so tender came over her young face that Aria never wanted to forget it. "I'm your friend...and I'll never hurt you. Never forget that."
"I won't," Aria answered with a watery smile as she hugged Teenage Aria one more time before she slowly dissolved into a cloud of glittering light until all that was left was herself in the darkness, her body now surrounded by a greater barrier of light that sparkled dazzlingly across her skin.
Aria was no longer alone, she thought to herself, as warm tears dripped from her cheeks in relief before she wiped them away and addressed the darkness.
"Ok, Rosie," Aria said with a smile of relief as she felt deeply grateful towards the Manifest Demon despite herself as she felt that light inside her brighten with the joy she felt in her heart. "I'm ready. Thank you for this, by the way. I...I'm sorry I was so reluctant to accept your help. Despite how awful it was to go through...I could finally see myself as a person outside of myself. My perspective was far enough away to realize that I was incredibly strong. So...thank you...for everything...even if I really didn't appreciate it at the time. Sorry about that."
"Why, you're very welcome, my lambkin!" Rosie answered with pleasant surprise ringing in her tone as the darkness parted to reveal Aria's home back on Earth, the living room exactly how she'd left it the day she'd died as Aria's stomach churned as she realized what she now had to face. "Now, then! Ready to face your final challenge? I must say, your repressed, psychic energy is incredibly filling, by the way! I'm practically bursting with delectable delights! You're simply divine!"
"Well...glad to see I'm such a gourmet experience for you," Aria answered sarcastically, nonplussed that Rosie just had to mention she was still feeding off of her as Aria felt the temptation to resist this last memory and try to chuck Rosie out of her head, but after all she'd already faced, she'd be damned if this last one would beat her into submission. "Sigh, fine...let's get this over with."
"That's the spirit!" Rosie said, sounding pleased as Aria walked into the memory as the sights and sounds of her beloved home embraced her just before that dreaded event sealed her inevitable doom.