The Hunt for Sviederbach

Disclaimer: I do not own Shake it Up

A/N:

Chapter 28 (Showdown at the Bank)

The bank was a tall and quiet building with barred doors. When inside, it felt cold and empty. The only one there was a teller hiding behind a glass cubicle. She had short brown hair and a fearful expression, it seemed she knew something was up. "Hey miss, my mom's trapped in your vault, I think…" She paused and looked down to Astor, embarrassed and astonished. "Never thought I'd walk into a bank and say that." Astor laughed.

"Please help me," the teller said. "I can't move. They bound me in chains."

"What!" Aveline rushed over to the teller and looked at her feet. The floor had tiny chains bolted into it and attached to cuffs around the teller's ankles. Her hands were also chained to the desk. "Okay, don't worry, we'll get you out of these binds-"

"Not so fast," a voice remarked. Her gaze shot over to the restrooms where a man and a woman were slowly walking from. Their faces were twisted into wide smirks, and their deadly eyes pierced into her soul. It didn't take much for her to figure them as Maxwell and Heather Lamont. "We would much prefer you not touch the teller. See, the rules of our game requires a little more detail. You can't touch anyone else or be assisted by anyone. Just you, and us."

"Two against one?" Aveline smirked and wagged her eyebrows, feeling overly confident. She wasn't going to be outnumbered or overpowered with that. "Sounds fair to me."

"Oh? We do work best with our hands, Princess." The two moved their hands from their backs and revealed their palms, showing off ruby crystals strapped to their hands. Their thumbs curled beneath the crystals and pressed into a button. Her heart stopped when not only did the crystals begin to open, but fire shot out of them. She cursed and quickly dove to the side, pulling Astor and Noak to the ground with her. She moved to her hands and knees, breathing heavily and glaring at the two. Maxwell smirked and narrowed his eyes. "Do you still feel confident?"

"Okay…I see what you're up to…let's take this outside."

"Fair enough."

Outside, she could deal with them a lot better than inside. Not only that, but she knew the length those flamethrowers could go. She only needed to stay fifteen feet away from them at all times. Astor helped her to her feet and frowned. "Do you think you can do it, sis?" She sucked in a deep breath and quickly nodded.

"I know I can…this is a long distance matchup, not a close one." The two Lamonts made their way outside. Aveline thumbed her nose and removed her bow from the quiver strapped on her back. "Stay in here with Noak, and don't touch a thing." She narrowed her eyes and turned her attention to an emergency exit door at the back of the building. Did they have a ladder to the roof? Most buildings had ladders in the back. She could ask the teller, but then again, she wasn't allowed assistance. "I got this."

She bolted out the emergency exit and looked from her left to her right, grinning when she spotted a steel latter attached to the far corner of the building. With a grunt, she jumped up to the rungs about five feet above her and began her climb to the top. After arriving there, she removed an arrow from her quiver and walked to the edge of the roof, aiming towards the unsuspecting Lamonts. "Let's see, I can either take a cheap shot and shoot them now, or I can warn them." She clicked her tongue and let out a loud exclamation, startling the two. "I'm in no mood for games, Lamont!" The two turned to her, their mouths agape.

"What the hell are you doing up there!" Heather screamed out. "Why aren't you down here on the ground?"

"No one specified that I couldn't use the environment to my advantage. That's what I like best." Enraged, Heather lifted her right hand to start the flamethrower. The fire nearly reached the top, making Aveline jump back a bit. She quickly aimed the arrow into the center of the massive blast and fired it off. What followed was an ear piercing scream, Aveline's arrow had shot through the crystal and through Heather's hand. Max's eyes widened at his wife and he quickly began running around the building. She smirked and trained her arrow onto the ladder, waiting as she listened to the sound of heavy feet slamming onto the iron bars. "Come on Max, you really think I don't know what you're up to?"

The second his upper torso appeared into her view, his face twisted in shock and she fired off an arrow into his sternum. He let out a loud grunt and released the sides of the ladder, falling backwards. "Damn you, Princess!" His scream ended with a loud clattering sound, so she hurried over to see what was going on. Maxwell landed directly in the dumpster. She chuckled and started to reach for another arrow.

"That gives a new meaning to taking out the trash, don't you think?" Max groaned and slowly opened his eyes as Heather rounded the corner, screaming out his name. Her right hand was dangling at her side with blood trickling from the wound and dripping onto the street. "Look you two, all I want is to see my mother, do you really think I have the time to play your little 'game'. It's bad enough I have to play Martin's game! Which, by the way, what did you guys do to him?" She paused as the two glared up at her. It was probably best that she didn't know, the fire in her soul was already raging with enough intensity, so there wasn't any point to further aggravate the situation. "Second thought, don't tell me."

"You bitch!" Heather screamed. The woman quickly moved to the ladder and started to climb it with one hand. Max called out for her not to do so, as she might set off the flamethrower. The woman ignored him and pulled her body up. Aveline quickly trained an arrow onto her, narrowing her eyes onto her target. Much to her surprise, however, the flamethrower was triggered, and an explosion sent Heather flying against the building on the other side of the alley. Aveline's jaw dropped when she saw Heather's hand sailing through the air. "Maxwell! My hand! Oh god, my body, it hurts…"

Upon seeing Heather's body, a wave of disgust hit her. The woman was burnt from head to toe and painted with her own blood. She wanted to give her a mercy kill, but after hearing the things Martin said his family had done, she wasn't sure if mercy was a good option. "The best I can do right now is pray his soul doesn't go to hell with his family…because they're already hellish enough…"

Aveline took a slight step back and stared at the now destroyed ladder, her lips pursed together and her eyes rolled towards the sky. "Looks like I need another way down. Thanks for nothing, Heather." She moved her gaze to Max, who was eyeing his wife, too shocked to move. Heather had finally entered the pain stage and was screaming at the top of her lungs, giving Aveline a massive headache. "One thing you two dumbasses forget…environment is my specialty. I may be weak when it comes to close quarters, and the only reason Martin's cousins almost got me was because that yard was a closed off area. When we're in an open area, I'm much more proficient!" Max turned his glare to her and quickly flipped her off.

"Screw you!" Not taking too kindly to the insult, she quickly moved her bow and arrow onto him and fired an arrow through his middle finger. Max screamed as his finger shot through the air. "What the hell! God!"

"No, you want to know something? Here's something for you…God hasn't forgotten Martin like he thinks, no, not at all." Max raised an eyebrow as she reached for a new arrow and slowly brought it to the bow, positioning it dead center. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "No, because here's the deal…I'm God's answer to Martin's problems. I know it sounds conceited, but I guess since I have to play the hero, I'll be the hero even to my enemy. For when two enemies have a mutual enemy…" She carefully pulled the string back, opening her right eye and training the arrow for Max's forehead. "That's when common ground can be found."

"You-" She wasn't interested in hearing his arguments or curses any longer. Without hesitation, she released the arrow, grimacing as it sliced through Max's head. "You can stay right there in the dumpster with the trash, like you belong. Someone will probably come by shortly…"

"Max!" Heather screamed out, still positioned against the wall, and no longer able to move. Blood was pooling around her and her face was drenched with tears. Aveline's heart clenched in her chest, once more feeling nauseous at the smell of blood. She grabbed another arrow, aimed it for Heather, and shot it into the woman's heart. Heather gasped out, then her head fell downwards. Aveline closed her eyes and slowly lowered her bow.

"It's better that you not have to die painfully…I don't have the heart to make anyone suffer like that." When she looked back to the ladder, she could see that it was only melted off at five feet off the ground, leaving her ample space to climb down and jump off. "Great, now that I've dealt with those monsters, I need to get my mom…"

When she climbed down and went inside the bank, she saw Astor had already cut off the chains and shackles around the teller's wrists and ankles. She was glad to see this already taken care of, so they could move on much faster. "You okay sis?" Astor asked. "How did it go?"

"Well I can't say it was pleasant. I'm still antsy over all these lives…it has to be done though."

"Yeah…anyway, the teller's going to open the vault now."

"Great." Tears sprang to her eyes as the woman led them towards the vault in the back of the bank. She watched with growing impatience as the woman slowly unlocked the door. "Come on, hurry…" The teller looked to her and she shot an apologetic look at the woman. "Sorry I'm just…it's my mom."

A full minute passed before the woman was able to open the door. Standing in the middle of the vault was Cece, her cheeks red and puffy, stained with streaks of tears. Aveline practically jumped for joy as she ran and threw her arms around her mom. Cece hugged her back, holding her tightly. "My baby, you're okay…"

"Oh Mom, I've needed to see you so much." She willingly let go of her emotions and started to quietly sob as Cece kissed the top of her head. She was not letting go of her mother, not for anything. "It's too hard…"

"You're doing fine baby. You're doing just fine…I'm proud of you, okay? I love you, sweetie. I love you."

"I love you too." Finally she could start truly feeling happy again. All that was left were Ander and her father, as well as the Bransford parents, but she was most concerned about her father and boyfriend. The quest was almost finished, she could feel it. "I was scared I wouldn't see you again, Mom." She buried her face into her mom's chest, still hugging her tight. She felt Astor wrap his arms around them, crying as well.

There was a lot to catch up on, but now Aveline had a greater confidence and determination. She was concerned about whether her mother had eaten anything or not, and wanted to make sure when they got back, that her mom was checked over for any injuries at all. She wouldn't settle for less than the best for her mom.

Unfortunately, she had no idea how she was going to deal with Martin when it was time to face off with him. This was something she needed some time to figure out, and time was something she was not certain that she had.

Cece's rescued! What a battle that was, what were your thoughts? Still, Gunther and Ander are left, as are Frankie and Karin. Martin, Aunt Erin, Chuck and Ethel are the remaining Lamonts. Erin being the worst of all of em, and yet, all are now at the castle. Prepare for intensity to come.