The Hunt for Sviederbach

Disclaimer: I do not own Shake it Up

A/N:

Chapter 30 (Extinction)

Mala felt numb standing there, staring at her mother. She wanted to scream, she wanted to shout, she wanted to tell this woman many things. Tabitha looked at her with a motherly smile, her face softening. "After all these years," Tabitha whispered, "I get to see you. I know this is frightening to you, but you have me here now…there are so many things I've wanted to tell you." Tears sprang in Mala's eyes as her chest throbbed with a dull ache. "Most importantly though, I need you to know…" Tabitha walked over to her, gazing into her eyes. "I loved you."

She was overcome in her mother's eyes, locked in place. "You never meant to give me up? Why did you try and kill Mr. Bransford and King Gunther?" Tabitha looked over to the couch and motioned her over. Mala didn't hesitate to follow her guidance and sit down with her. When she felt her mother's hand over hers, a sob shot from her lips. Her mother's touch was warm and gentle, much like that feeling she felt when the mist shrouded her the other day.

"In my final days, I will admit that I lost myself. I lost who I was and what I was searching for…I never once believed you were gone, but it was becoming harder and harder to find you. I turned to revenge, I killed the man who hurt me, and I admit that it should have stopped at that." Mala leaned forward as her mother gently touched her fingertips to her right cheek. She felt a static feeling connecting her mother's touch. Her body trembled and her tears were beginning to intensify. "When I was in the cells I realized that it was the Lamont family that must have you, but I couldn't do anything. When they hung me…I swore I would not cross over until I found you, until that family was gone, and you were brought back to my sister and her family. I want you to meet them…"

"This is a lot to take in. You don't know how I've felt over the years, being told you didn't want me. Not to mention, I always thought no one would want someone like me." Mala closed her eyes as her stomach flipped over, she sobbed quietly and wiped her eyes, trying to stop. No matter how hard she fought, she couldn't cease her tears or quell the stabbing pangs in her chest. "The things that family did to me, it wasn't all Martin. They never let me forget how I was born or conceived."

Art sat beside her and put his hand over hers, she took a sharp breath and listened to her mother's soft voice. "I would never hate you. You were my baby either way it's looked at. It would also seem that you have a man that would like to be with you despite anything…" Mala opened her eyes and looked to Art with a sad smile, she put her head to his shoulder and exhaled. Tabitha reached around her, hugging her. "I'm sorry I wasn't around for you. I wanted to be. I love you, baby. Will you please talk to the Bransford family?"

"I-I will…" She wanted to, they were her family in the long run. Emotions were like fireworks inside of her, she had finally gotten what she wanted, time to talk with her mother. "I don't feel strong, Mom…I've always felt weak up to now."

"You're not weak, and confidence would come easy to you, but you just have to see that. You're a very strong, beautiful, and capable woman." Tabitha put her hands to her cheek and lifted her head up towards her mother's gaze. Tabitha leaned forward and kissed her forehead. Mala's lips opened in a gasp and her heart shot from her chest. "My brown eyed angel, I'll always love you."

"Mom…" She leaned against her mother's chest and wrapped her arms around her. "I wish you could stay forever…"

"I know sweetheart, but I can't. This is my last chance to not only make things right, but to make sure you're safe. You won't be safe as long as you're endangered by that family."

"You really have more than an hour?"

"Yes." How was this possible? She didn't understand those soul-disks at all! Tabitha slowly rose to her feet and closed exhaled softly. "I was already here as a spirit, so all that machine did was to give me flesh. This is so that I can carry out my final work before crossing over." She was beginning to understand, but it was almost a frightening concept. "I need to protect you, and I need to help the royal family. Currently, it would appear they're all at the castle…"

"Yes, although Martin does have a side house, but he's never been over there." Tabitha hummed for a second and slowly reached out to her. Mala gazed at her hand with uncertainty, what would happen if she took her mom's hand? She placed her hand in Tabitha's, then was slowly led outside. "Mom, what are we doing?" Tabitha smiled at her and glanced over her shoulder at Art, still standing in the doorway.

"Would you stay here and wait for my daughter?" He nodded and Tabitha looked to Mala with a grin. "Tell me, have you ever flown?"

She chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of her neck. "On a plane, yes." Ghosts often had a few supernatural abilities, or so she heard. If this was the case, she really wasn't sure she wanted to go flying through the air. "What's going to happen?"

"We're flying over to that castle." Mala's eyes widened as her body lifted off the pavement. Within seconds, she was flying against the wind with her mother. It was thrilling, but at the same time, she was practically crushing her mother's hand so as not to fall. "I should let you know that I'm not going to take mercy on the Lamont family."

"That's fine…" She didn't want anything too violent to happen, but at this point, she couldn't bring herself to care about what happened to them. She turned her lips down and gazed at the ground flying below. The wind was cool against her face, her hair was whipping wildly in the air. "One thing though…Martin's been tortured his whole life, so if you have to kill him too…be quick on him."

"I'll try to make it painless, but if you want my perspective as a mother, he deserves a bit more."

"I know…"

As they approached the castle, Mala felt a growing sense of peace in the realization that soon she would never have to worry again or fear for her life. She couldn't believe the dream, that things were almost over. "My time as a spirit, I've learned where they're keeping the King and the Bransfords. It's time to free them…"

The two landed on the balcony and Mala looked over to a camera in the corner with arched eyebrows. "Momma, a camera…" Tabitha looked over and huffed. "We might be on camera. The Lamont family has a lot of cameras."

"All right, I got this." Tabitha walked closer to the camera and smiled slightly. "Hello Sviederbach, you are not dreaming, it is I…Tabitha Nilsine. I've come to liberate my daughter as well as our King. Your days of terror will end…I don't expect forgiveness, I know killing King Brustrum was bad, even if he did assault me. I'm here to do what my job description entails, neutralize the threat that is disturbing the peace of this country. I will not go easy on the Lamont family. That is, the remaining members."

Tabitha had no fear, but why should a ghost fear anything? She marched into the castle, overcome by a wave of nostalgia. She extended her arms and breathed in a heavy dose of air for the first time. "So much better than being a disembodied spirit."

"Momma, what happens after this? Where will you go?" Tabitha looked to Mala with a subtle smile.

"My soul will be redeemed." She lifted her eyes towards the ceiling, thanking the Lord above for this opportunity. She heard the sound of screams coming from the room over and raised an eyebrow as Mala shouted out that the screams belonged to Martin. The two ran towards the room and froze at the sight they saw.

Martin was sprawled on the ground as both Erin and his grand-uncle Chuck tortured him. Erin was clawing his thighs and groin with while Chuck was slowly pushing down on Martin's neck with his foot. "I'm sorry!" Martin screamed out. "Damn it, get off me please stop! You're-" He gagged out and clenched his fists on the carpet below him.

"I gave you one simple task," Erin growled menacingly, "How fucking difficult was it to bring the wench back here?" Mala hid behind Tabitha. The woman put her hand to her churning stomach and tried to swallow the bile rising up. These were the repercussions for having flesh again, those nauseating feelings came sweeping back, but so did the fire inside of her. She was not letting this fly.

"I'd stop doing that, and run, if I were you." The Lamonts froze in place and looked up at her. Erin cursed and ordered them to run while Martin lost consciousness. Erin bolted towards another room while Tabitha charged for the elder man struggling to flee. She heard him call out to his wife in another room and smirked as the elder came rushing in with a gun. "Guns won't help you now."

Ethel Lamont aimed her pistol towards Tabitha and fired off six bullets. Mala screamed as Tabitha's body jerked from each shot, the final one striking her forehead and tilting her head back. She collapsed in a dramatic fashion as Mala fell by her side and began weeping. Ethel walked over with a camera recording to the world, and she faced it at Tabitha's body, laughing wildly. "Sviederbach, this is your attempted savior. The attempted savior of your royal family…Tabitha Nilsine is-" Tabitha's body began shaking, startling Ethel into silence. Mala froze and put her hands to her mother's arm, questioning what was happening.

Tabitha's lips curled into a wide smirk as the bullets in her body slowly popped out of her wounds and rolled across the floor. "I'm already dead." Without a second of hesitation, Tabitha swept her wrist blade in the air, cutting through Ethel's right knee. The woman screamed and dropped to the ground while Tabitha flew into the air and pounced above her. She pulled her fist back, pointing her blade down at the trembling elder. "Ethel dear, you just made your fatal mistake, God will tell you where to go." The woman screamed as Tabitha slammed her blade down into her chest, then twisted it into her heart.

"Ethel!" Chuck screamed. Tabitha winced as the blood shot onto her left face. It had been so long since she had to fight someone, but it was a good feeling that she wasn't rusty. Tabitha moved to her feet and glared over her right shoulder at the elder man.

"You're next, old man." Chuck's eyes widened as she lifted her leg and slammed the heel of her foot into his chest, throwing him into the wall. Before he struck the wall, she was upon him, swinging the side of her arm back against his chest and forcing him into the wall with extra force. He gasped out for air. Tabitha narrowed her eyes at the sound of bones crushing inside him. "I'm the zombie you don't want to meet, Lamont. This is what you get for harboring my daughter, this is what you get for trying to take out the royal family. You're done!" She grabbed his shirt and swept him through the air as though he were a simple cloth. She released him into the air above her, extended her wrist blades high above her head and leapt upwards.

"No!" Right as his body connected with the tips of her blades, she swept her arms outwards, slicing him from head to toe. His body landed on the ground in two halves. Tabitha closed her eyes and let out a whispered prayer for the two souls.

"Now Erin, you're pretty good at running, it seems. My only regret is that I didn't kill you twenty years ago." Tabitha walked into the other room where Erin had run and put her hands to her hips, narrowing her eyes. "Had I known you were going to be a threat to everyone in this country, I would have done it. Now quit your hiding, because one thing is certain…" She slowly made her way to the bed, crouched down and put her hands to the bottom, then flipped it over, revealing Erin beneath. "You don't hide from a ghost."

"Tabitha!" Erin jumped up and laughed nervously as she fixed her hair. "It's been a long time, hasn't it? I remember all those years ago…so nostalgic." Tabitha narrowed her eyes, holding back a dangerous growl.

"I don't find it in good nostalgia." Years ago when the assassination attempt the Lamonts tried on Brustrum happened, Tabitha had her run-in with Erin. The woman was cruel, cold, and calculating. The fight had been lost through some cheap shots. "Looks like we're on equal ground now…I'm dead, and none of your cheap shots are going to work on me…You may as well hand your soul over now."

"Screw that, I'd rather fight." Tabitha rolled her eyes and dodged a frontal kick by Erin. She twisted her body back and swept her left leg through the air, slamming it into Erin's side. Erin crashed into a nearby dresser, slamming her head hard against one of the handles.

Scoffing, Tabitha slowly walked over and grabbed Erin by the hair. "Gutsy move, fighting a ghost…" Erin's eyes shot open as Tabitha yanked her off the ground, then shoved her out of the bedroom. The woman started crawling on the floor, but Tabitha lunged forward, jumping through the air and kicking out into Erin's back. A loud snapping sound zapped past Tabitha's ears like music that she'd not heard in such a long time. She leaned forward, grasping Erin's hair and pulling the woman's head up. Erin was breathing heavily and had blood trickling down the front of her face. "I'm not here to torture you, as much as you deserve torture. I'm not here for revenge, though I am going to kill you because you put your hands on my daughter at some point of time…I'm here to send you to hell. Or well, God will do that himself." She put the edge of her blade towards Erin's neck, glaring as the woman opened her eyes and stared at her with pure malice.

"I don't understand. You say you're saving the royal family, but you tried to destroy them twenty years ago!"

"I lost myself back then, I admit it. When you've gone through the shit I have, and you think everyone you've ever cared about is dead, then it's a struggle not to go insane."

"Shit…"

"Precisely." With one swift move, showing no remorse, Tabitha slashed her blade across Erin's throat. She slammed the woman's head on the ground and quickly rose to her feet. "…One left…" She slowly walked over to Martin, his eyes were open now and he was breathing heavily, gazing up at her with a defeated gaze. She bent on one knee and stared down at him, resting her arm on her raised leg. "I feel sorry for you, that this was the family you got stuck with. You had a chance, as I said."

"I know that," Martin replied weakly. "I-I prayed for the first time in a long time…maybe he hasn't forgotten me."

"He hasn't. I don't think you'll be going to hell, but you realize…I still have to take your life." Martin closed his eyes and Tabitha started to move the side of her wrist blade to his neck. It was her duty to take out the Lamont family, and every one that was involved with each other. Since Martin had not strayed or made an effort to stray from his family, since he had not kept Mala from them, and since he actually took Mala back after having broken up with her, he had to die. "In life, you have two paths, two fates. A simple twist can change your destiny, your future…because you stayed slave to your family before I was brought back for this, you must die with them. Had you changed and strayed away from them, and had you not done what you did to my daughter, I might not be doing this to you right now."

"I know, but it's harder than you think. I couldn't just get away from them without…you know…"

"Yes. That is why this is a mercy kill…no matter how much I hate you, it doesn't matter. What happens with you is between you and God. Mala requested I not tear you apart like I just did the rest, so I won't."

"Tell Mala…I'm so sorry…Tell Aveline and her family, I'm sorry for putting them through this…Please, end it. I hate this prison…I would rather die than suffer the pain alone!"

Tabitha pressed her lips firmly together, looking over to Mala, who was watching with tears in her eyes. She cleared her throat and returned her gaze to Martin. "Goodbye Martin, may God embrace you in his arms…" She lifted her blade up into the air as Martin began to close his eyes. She said one final prayer, then brought the blade down, crashing through his neck, taking his life in an instant.

It was the one kill she felt a hint of sorrow towards, but perhaps now, he would be freed. With him, the Lamont family was gone.

Reason for the daily updates is because I have two chapters left of this. What did you think of this chapter? Your observations?