Guest (Jun 11, 20, 24), JokersLastLaugh: I'm really sorry for the very late update. :(
Guest (Jun 6): Sadly, it's never going to happen too. LOL. Good thing we all have our imaginations, yeah?
avidreader: Probably because I could be such a whimsical sometimes.
AnonTheWriter: Beca and Maverick's relationship, I never planned it before but I'm glad it happened. It may have been implied in the story that Beca never had a normal childhood. She was trained by her father to be this deadly beast since the beginning, and so I had intended Maverick to represent the youth she had missed out. So yeah, maybe it's no coincidence that they like the same girl.
Kaylee Bravens: Giving you more... Feeding your addiction...
shifterboy: Give her some time, man.
Guest (May 27), Rennie Laroche: When you're hurting, I'm absolutely hurting too. Writing moments like that certainly breaks me into pieces as well.
frenchyloop: I did a little research, too, and that law is imposed in Columbus. The setting of the story is Atlanta (although I've never been there). Nevertheless, I don't think there would be a problem with Beca and Chloe breaking the laws anyway. They're kind of experts on that now, right?
BeChloeFan01: That's exactly what I meant, dear! LOL. Anyways, I wasn't exactly planning but it's a nice challenge to keep the details intact and coherent.
Yan: I don't know how to deal with all this hatred. I think you would enjoy this chapter.
aimeekiwi93: Jesse, here, is meant to be somewhat dependent. He's this really coward man, obviously.
ILOVEOREOS: LOL.
Guest (May 25): Patience, my dear.
RobOverstreet: And I really appreciate the patronage. :)
Kartoffel: Oh. Reminds me of the morning cartoons back when I was a kid.
MidgetB: You don't want to know.
By3: Sorry I'm just singing Your Love Is My Drug by Ke$ha right now.
MysticFalls94: I just can't end the adventure right then and there, right?
I know it's been ages since I last posted an update. To be honest, I had a hard time writing this chapter. Like I said before, actions are not my forte, but I like the result. For all the crickets who still want to read this story...
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Unlock
Rem looked out through the window. The scenery outside was just plain boring – just a landscape of complete darkness and some flickering lights as the ramp agents continued to load all the baggage into the plane. As blunt as it would seem, that's all there was. When will this fucking plane ever going to take off, she wondered. Why did she even have to leave in the first place? Well, maybe considering the fact that the great Beca Mitchell actually swallowed her pride and practically begged someone she extremely hated for this little favor… it was nice to see the mighty beast losing her mind. And it's all because of one particular person.
She turned away from her ineffective source of entertainment to stare at the redhead sulking in her own seat. Frown, check. And thoughts lingering in the deepest of her ginger mind, check. Her entire being was just as bad a liar as her mouth, to be honest. Maybe she wanted to leave all the trouble behind after all, but clearly, one stupid person outweighed all of it. That one stupid person could make this young heiress stay if she wanted to. But no, that one stupid person chose the road not taken.
This was why Rem was asked to go, right? To look after Chloe, make sure she would be at least fine. Okay, so just for the sake of it, because maybe it would do the trick, Rem put on a playful smug especially for her dear apprentice. Unfortunately, a frown was still perfectly painted all over the angelic face.
"First class," the blonde contemplated out loud as she looked around the cabin. She had never been in this kind of fancy. "It must have cost a fortune to purchase tickets for four people. Bitch sure is richer than I thought."
Either she was being ignored or the other was stuck in another reality.
"I can't wait to see Netherlands."
Giving the name of the wrong country was purely intentional, hoping the other would come to her senses and correct it. In the end, it was just Paul who was bothered enough to accomplish the task.
"Hey!" Rem whined, shaking the redhead rather a little violently. "If I want to talk to an unresponsive horrible creature, I should have stayed behind with Tinker bell, you know."
Chloe briefly gave her a glance before staring into space again.
"Okay, tell me. What would it take for you to get her out of your moronic brain, huh?" asked the curious fellow because, really, what would do it? By the look of things, it would be of use in the future.
The other simply shrugged her shoulders in response.
"Like I said, I'm not your girlfriend, so I'm going to be honest with you here. I'll tell you something they don't want you to know, something they never told you… You're never going to see her again, Chloe. The purpose of this trip is to make the four of us vanish into thin air. Yeah, we're going to get off the plane in Zurich, but we're not going to stay there for long. Honestly, I have no idea where we're going. Only Paul knows, I strongly hope, and he doesn't speak about it. Beca herself doesn't know. For protection. They could torture her to death, but she would have no beans to spill. So I say, you have to prepare yourself because tonight… tonight you're about to start a life without her, sweetheart."
Who cared if Paul and Clarence were listening to this conversation, glaring at the newbie who had a very big mouth? The only one who mattered here was Chloe. She was paying the price for her father's wrongdoings. The least she could have was to know the truth.
"I'm still here and I already miss her," the young heiress heard herself mumble as she glimpsed at her ladybug tattoo. It felt like falling from the very top of the Burj Khalifa all over again, yet this time, she was going to take this fall. Just why the hell did she love Beca that damn much? It's unfortunate. Rem, too, couldn't help but heave out a long, deep sigh in surrender.
Before long, the pilot was speaking through the intercom and so the cabin crew roamed around to prepare the passengers for take-off. Finally, Rem breathed out in relief.The plane had started to move away from the jetway. the problem with it was that it reminded how time was running out.
"Well," the blonde turned to her seatmate once more and clicked her tongue. "You can still change your mind. Tink would totally kill me for this, but just say the word, I can pretend to be an expectant mother who's about to go into labor. And I am not going to deliver this baby miles high. I'm a fucking woman, how hard would that be to convince these idiots?"
One good thing that happened after was breaking the ice; Chloe couldn't help but chuckle at the proposal. There could be no way that people would believe that this crazy blonde was going into labor any moment; not when she was as skinny as a Disney princess. It was interesting, the thought of how she was going to convince everybody because she didn't seemed to be joking at all. But interesting wasn't enough to make Chloe change her mind. She was done biting the bait. She was done being taken for granted. Hence, she put her earphones on and closed her eyes to sleep as the plane finally took off.
"I guess I'll see you for the rest of our lives," whispered Rem, watching the redhead thoughtfully.
The truth was that Chloe was never going to get away from the mighty Phoenix as everybody had thought because as the blonde removed her bandana and tied it around her head, the phoenix tattoo on her forearm was exposed. Beca didn't choose her randomly; she could send Thud or Cynthia-Rose if she wanted to. It's because Rem had one thing that the others didn't, and the brunette had finally understood it. Benji made it possible; indeed, she was the cheat code - Rem was Beca, and Beca was Rem. Yes, the mighty Phoenix was a myth. There were two of them. Nobody knew about the story of the second one. Nobody would ever know as she would again hide into the dark shadows and serve as a living reminder to Chloe Beale that Beca Mitchell would always be with her in the spirit of a mighty Phoenix.
Knock knock. Skyler got no response from the other side of the door, but then, there never occurred one to begin with. Though it might have seemed strange, she was sure that there was music playing from inside the room. Rumors had it that it had been constantly playing for the entire day. She would never bet on it – the image of a cold-blooded beast that was Beca Mitchell, too coddled, floating around with the serene music in the atmosphere; maybe when the pigs had grown to fly. Skyler let out a sigh, stretching out her courage a little wider because this was obviously not a good time to deal with the so-called monster.
She decided to knock on the door again, louder than her previous attempt. For the second time, all she got was the muffled music playing out. Perhaps, the horrible monster was already dead? Maybe she got sick of everything and killed herself in her sleep. It wouldn't be a good news if that was the case. The mighty Phoenix just couldn't die, not yet. So in panic, Skyler hurriedly fished out her emergency key card to open the door and let herself in. But then there she was, Beca, lying on the bed; her chest was calmly following a rise and sink pattern, so she must have been still alive.
"Beca?" the taller brunette called out. She had to make sure that the other was still safe and sound.
Her boss didn't move except from the involuntary manifestations of breathing. Skyler soon realized that it was all she could get as a response. Hence, moving on, she shut the door close and slowly approached the bed, the music getting louder in the process.
[Guess it's true, I'm not good at a one-night stand
But I still need love 'cause I'm just a man
These nights never seem to go to plan
I don't want you to leave, will you hold my hand?]
It was Chloe's phone docked into a Hello Kitty portable speaker. Some of her belongings – her old house keys, a pink purse, a strawberry-flavored lip balm. and many others – they were stacked neatly on top of the bedside table. Apparently, the young heiress wasn't going to need all these items in the new life she was about to start in a land far far away with her father. It was a life designed to never include a certain quiet cricket, so it made sense that the mighty Phoenix was emotionally dying in her lonely cage. Who could blame Beca to desperately indulge herself with Chloe's playlist and preserve what little remained of the redhead's being?
[Oh, won't you stay with me?
'Cause you're all I need
This ain't love, it's clear to see
But darling, stay with me]
"I've never really pegged you for a music fan or something," Skyler tried to strike a smooth conversation only to fail as she had already expected beforehand.
[Why am I so emotional?
No, it's not a good look, gain some self-control
And deep down I know this never works
But you can lay with me so it doesn't hurt]
Skyler needed to earn the dead-like creature's attention. No idea how to do the almost impossible. Unsure, she slowly reached for the iPhone and tapped on the pause button, creating that eerie silence in the room. It was like an alarm clock, a wake-up call, because then, the Head Phoenix robotically got up, sat on the edge of the bed and directed her eyes towards her uninvited guest. It was the picture of regret for the other. She should have just left the room and ran away when she had the chance because staring at that blank face was sucking every drop of happiness in her.
"I-I'm sorry," she was nervously stammering. Okay, was Beca angry? Should she just come back later? "I-I just have to run through the plans with you one more time before we orient the others about it just in case you decide to change some details... or all of it again. I'm going to need your signature, too… for some paper work… and then I'll leave you alone. That's a promise."
The expression on Beca's face never changed, amazingly. She's not in the mood, yeah. But maybe it was a go. Her executive assistant began to speak, stammering and stuttering which didn't matter, for the words she spoke muffled upon the reach of Beca's ears.
"Aubrey?" was the only inquiry from the commander-in-chief, deliberately cutting off the lengthy narrative.
"She's still in, don't worry. She understands the implication of the plan to her father's business, their family business, but she's still in. Actually, she terribly wants to teach her father a lesson. She'll work with Jesse and Fat Amy on the maps when they all get back from the airport."
Airport. Of course, they would all be there at this hour – Aubrey, Jesse, Fat Amy, Stan, Thud, possibly even CR. If Skyler didn't have to work for the evening, she would most likely be there too, to bid Chloe and Rem goodbye. Also Ronie and little Maverick if only the doctors had given permission to the patients on the road to recovery.
"Let me sign those fucking papers." Beca held up a hand, waiting for the clipboard to be handed over. The sooner she could accomplish her duties, the sooner this babysitter would leave. "The plan is final as it is, ready for execution."
"Okay. Whatever you say, boss."
The Head Phoenix signed the last sheet of document and returned the clipboard to her inferior. Skyler flashed a quick smile for the sake of humanity then headed towards the door. She was about to reach for the knob when she suddenly stopped, hesitant to leave this early without some sort of closure on an unspoken tragedy. She turned around to face the young Mitchell once more, rather confused than upset.
"She's leaving tonight," she reminded as if the other had completely forgotten about that unfortunate information. It really bothered Skyler that this moron was in Pandemonium that very instant. "You should have gone to the airport, you know. You should be there right now. I think, of all people, you're the one Chloe would love to see there for her. You should have been there, Beca. You should have been there, wave her goodbye, hug her like it's forever, and kiss her for one last time. You know that's the right thing to do, so… yeah, why the fuck are you here?"
"Because I don't want to be there. I don't want to wave her goodbye or hug her like it's forever. I don't want to kiss her for one last time. I don't even want her to leave." Beca paused and let out a chuckle. Oh, the irony. This whole thing was her freaking idea, yet she didn't even want this. "If I've gone there, I might never let her go. That would defeat the purpose of me breaking her heart for the millionth time."
"But does she really have to go? I mean, she wants to stay. Here, with you. She even started training for combat. She just wants to help you win this war."
Beca looked up to see the same face, of a completely different person, that would still haunt her dreams at night. "The last time I let someone special help me... I had to watch her die in my arms."
"Chloe Beale is Chloe Beale," Skyler replied before deliberating whether or not she should continue with her point, to reveal a best kept secret which she had already come to unlock. "And Stacie Conrad is Stacie Conrad."
The latter sentence made the other froze in shock.
"She was my twin sister, wasn't she?"
Such inquiry was answered with a huff. There was no more use in trying to divert the subject when the cat was already out of the bag. "Do you have any other plausible explanation as to why the two of you look exactly the same?"
"The point is," it was Skyler who strayed away from the topic, "I don't know this Stacie. Never met her in spite off... I can only guess whatever thing you shared with her. But Chloe... I know for a fact that Chloe is far more… important to you than Stacie ever was. One day you had come all the way to Jersey to rescue me, and who am I? I'm just another Stacie, maybe even less. So, if you could save me, then it should be a piece of cake saving the woman you love the most."
"That's the thing," Beca shook her head in disagreement. "I'm no god, Skyler."
"You'll go find her, right? When all of these are over, no matter how impossible it will be, you'll go find Chloe."
How hard would it be to find a person in the entire face of the earth? Nonetheless, the mighty Phoenix offered a nod. She would. No matter what it would take, she would go find the girl with a ladybug tattoo.
"Alright," the taller brunette snapped back to reality, putting on a small smile. A simple oath would be enough. "I-I should go. I have a promise to keep, I remember. I'll leave you alone now, boss. I'll see you in the morning, yeah?"
"Yeah," the other muttered back and watched her guest finally make it to the exit. Skyler was a big help, having her on Beca's side. The thought of it helped significantly reduced her nightmares about Stacie Conrad. Unluckily, it wasn't helping her cope with the pain of losing Chloe Beale.
Ting. The elevator had finally reached the ground level of the Phoenix Tower. The security guard posted at the reception hurriedly moved some of the chess pieces in his favor before the anticipated arrival of his opponent. He'd been winning for the three consecutive matches; that's not unusual. Strange though, nobody seemed to have walked out of the lift; not even a single footstep was heard.
"Weber?" he called out and received no response.
Perhaps, the other was caught up into something. He waited a little more, but still, no one came, and so he decided to drag himself away from the comfort of the cushioned seat and went to check on the elevator; maybe it was just being faulty again. All he found inside was the abandoned walkman blaring out Metallica's Seek and Destroy as heard through the old set of headphones. That's the unusual thing. Something wasn't right here. He knew his friend would never leave his walkman like this.
"Weber, talk to me. Do you copy?" he spoke through his radio. Much to his horror, he heard his own voice transmitted to the other device. It was coming right from above, outside the four-walled transport. "W-Weber?"
No further response came to his aid. His feet stepped on the line to keep the elevator door open; the sensor was alarming off creating the noise in the atmosphere. Several minutes passed by when he had this hilarious realization.
"Hey, Weber!" he laughed to himself at how ridiculous this supposed prank was. "This is not scary at all, buddy. Quit with the prank and come play chess with me."
Weber, however, was not responding to his friend's taunting. Instead, a clicking sound was heard and the man could feel the hair on the back of his neck was caught off guard, feeling a gun pointed right to the back of his head. He couldn't see Donald, but he could sense danger closing in.
"Help me and I will let you live," promised the Syndic.
"W-What do you want?"
"The vault."
"Vault?"
"Where's the vault? The vault where the treasure is?"
"W-What vault? What treasure?"
"Maybe you need a little push," Donald supposed. At the signal, the Syndic on top of the elevator rolled the fresh corpse over and dropped it in. "Recognize him?"
"Oh my fucking-" the security guard gasped. "Weber! Oh god!"
"I'm sure you don't want to share the same fate as dear old Weber."
He strongly shook his head and begged for mercy. "T-There's a vault on the top floor... but I-I don't have the key. I've never been there. I don't know how to open it."
"Thanks all the same," smiled the guy with a pair of nerdy eyeglasses before pulling the trigger; the impact was just as deadly even with a silencer on. The man's brain was blown off into bits and pieces. His purpose had been served, too bad for him. "Boys!"
A pack of Syndics expertly sneaked in through the front door – the alarm was already deactivated. Two men came out from the Control Room who quickly hauled the dead bodies out of the elevator to make room for the living while the others dispersed into their various assigned posts. Donald pushed on Floor Number 20, to what they had come to believe to be where the treasure was. There was just one little problem though. The elevator suddenly stopped halfway to the top, the lights flickered for quite some time until they finally shut off. It was terrifying - the pitch black filled with the unknown, the nerve-racking silence except from the whispers of troubled breathing.
"What the fuck happened?"" Donald screamed at whoever was standing anxiously next to him.
As if on cue, a loud creak then a muffled cry followed by a bam alarmed them. The lights came back a few moments after. They exchanged looks and realized that the group was already one member less. The IT guy was gone. He was supposed to hack the vault open, but then he's gone. For a very unfortunate explanation of such confusing situation, the tiny monitor installed above the buttons panel displayed a 'No Signal' warning before showing the beaming and mocking faces of Jesse Swanson and Fat Amy.
"'Sup, folks?"
They talked in unison which was more infuriating. These stupid Phoenixes, they just wouldn't give up, would they?
"How are you hanging in there? Our Thud's got your IT guy just in case you're wondering. Beca's on her way to the vault, so you don't really need him now anyway. Oh, and Stan's partying with the rest of the boys downstairs. If you could wait just a little bit more, you'll be dead soon too. Yay!"
Donald pulled out his gun in grave frustration and shot the annoying audio visual presentation. Still, the goofy pair had the final say in this pre-bloodbath battle. The elevator suddenly began to slide down in a speed of lightning. It felt like it was never going to stop, and if it was in fact the case, the group could only brace themselves for their impending doom. Hearts were racing wildly and prayers were recited for the first time in forever. But just a few inches away from the ground, as if it was a one great tease, the elevator made an abrupt brake.
"Fuck this shit! Move!"
The Right Hand ordered his men to get them out of there in any manner possible. The emergency trap door was locked. The only option was through the landing door. They disabled the panel wirings then forced the door open, thanks for the help of their new recruit, X, who could easily be a contender for the World's Strongest Man. Instantly, they were met with a team of armed enemies at the lobby headed by Stan Mitchell himself. The lives of some inferior Syndics had to be sacrificed as they were used as body shields in order for the superior ones to safely reach the emergency exit. With the ground floor infested with Phoenixes and the elevator system controlled by the enemies, the stairs was what's left to get to the top floor. How were they going to race to the treasure against Beca Mitchell? Even the gigantic X let out a disappointing sigh.
"They're out of the elevator and now on the move."
Beca heard Fat Amy's voice in her earpiece. Stan and Thud must be hearing the same information from Aubrey and Jesse, respectively. It meant that there was only one long and tiring journey up the stairs between her and a team of Syndics eager to see her dead. The bad news was that the stupid key to the vault was still nowhere to be found.
"Do you have the key?"
The quiet cricket didn't bother to say a response out loud.
"Okay, I'll take that as a no."
Fuck, fuck, fuck, Beca screamed in her head because where the hell was that key. Time was of the essence here. She looked through the papers in the drawers once more, desperately trying to search for the silver thing. It wasn't helping at all when she was already almost panicking while she could hear the crunchy noises of biting taco shells from Fat Amy's side of the line.
"I'm sorry, tacos?"
Nothing! Beca had run through the entire office without the key in sight.
"Fifth floor, Beca. They're at the fifth floor now."
So Clarence said that Benji hid the key somewhere in his office, in the most convenient place where the man in danger could readily use it to his advantage. Logically, it should be hidden somewhere on the desk since Clarence spent all his time sitting here. Wait a minute, what if she was looking at the wrong place? What if she was at the wrong office? After all, Benji could have not anticipated that Richard Posen would ever take over the Phoenix Corporation.
"Direct me to the President's Office," she instructed her guide almost immediately as she rushed to the door.
"Sure, but they're not slowing down, partner."
"Tell Thud to buy me some time."
"Telling Jesse to tell Thud to buy you some time."
It was on the eighth floor where each of them had started to really feel the pain and fatigue. Every muscle in their body was aching to its limits and their lungs had never puffed as much air as this instance. But they had to keep going. They could slow down and relax all they want after they finally get the treasure.
"Let's go!"
X had to be the one to urge them all to carry on because Donald was on the verge of collapse just like the others. They had to reach the vault before the mighty Phoenix did. So when nobody seemed to have moved, the gigantic man scooped Donald and another fellow Syndic and literally carried them away. As he took another step, however, he was struck on his back with a fire extinguisher. Shocked and angered, he turned around slowly to see this bouncer-looking man whom he could only assume to be a Phoenix.
"Going somewhere?" Thud inquired, acting like an innocent bystander.
The other giant mindlessly dropped his teammates and picked up the fire extinguisher as if it was a tiny key chain. With no time to waste, he threw it back to the enemy who quickly dodged it and directed its path towards the skinny one of average height, hitting him on the head thus making him fall unconscious.
"Oops."
Most certainly, he wasn't apologetic. Sensing the imminent clash between the two Godzillas, Donald composed himself and led the others back to their flight. Thud hurriedly ran to stop them as he had been instructed only to be blocked by X's concrete-like body, going a little off balance.
"I'm going to hell, and I'm taking you with me."
The Syndic gritted his teeth and balled his fist. Thud knew that he was already facing death in this man, a rare creature who could tower over his six feet and six inches height. X pushed his opponent violently, and the other would have to admit how powerful it was. He mentally apologized to Beca; she would just have to deal with the ten Syndics who had gotten away from his watch because Thud obviously had a greater problem – how was he going to put this Goliath down?
"Still nothing?"
The visual proof of fists slamming against the wooden desk and the sound of glasses shattering as they hit the floor answered Fat Amy's query. The beast in the young Mitchell was starting to manifest out of impatience.
"Eleventh floor. Just in case."
Beca breathed sharply. Think, think, think, you idiot. If only Clarence could have been more specific. So maybe she was wrong with her intelligent guess. The question was how wrong could she be? Perhaps, after all, Benji had prepared for the possibility of the Beale patriarch to abandon his corporal post. His successor could have decided to change the desk which would eliminate the material from the range of options. Suddenly, the idea of Back to Basics came into consideration. Beca thoughtfully looked up to the ceiling. There was a vent panel. Familiar it was. She quickly climbed up the table, but unfortunately, she was still too short to reach it.
"Uh, I could actually see you, you know."
The brunette huffed in dismay and deliberately flipped off the IT expert through the CCTV camera.
"How… inspiring."
She then picked up the table lamp and used it to ram the vent panel open. Upon her success, she jumped off the table and hurriedly stood at the farthest corner.
"Are you sure about that? I'm not."
Well, she had to try. Collecting all her positive vibes together, Beca sprinted as fast as she could and then leaped to the desk to launch her up to the small rectangular hole. Too soon; her head hit the ceiling instead before falling right back to the desk then ultimately on the carpeted floor.
"Let's all pretend it doesn't hurt, huh?"
Disregarding the Australian's speech of 'I told you so', the mighty Phoenix pushed the desk a little further then positioned herself back at the corner once again.
"Fourteenth floor."
With no more time to waste, Beca went for another try. This time, it was successful – well, kind of. Most of her upper body was in the vent, but the rest of her was still hanging in the air. It was absolutely astonishing how her arms could maintain all her weight up there.
"I am totally saving a copy of this video."
Ignoring the least regard her partner in crime had for her welfare, the young Mitchell struggled to reach for her flashlight and examine the vicinity for the desired key. Fortunately, there was a small red dot just right above her head, apparently a marking. It was a box. Beca could barely raise herself furthermore to uncover it when her arm slipped and her entire body crashed on the table before ultimately tumbling into the floor.
"Whoa, are you okay?"
She turned to her left hand with her left arm spread over to her side and revealed the most desired key - a coin-like pendant - sitting on her palm.
"Got it."
"Brilliant!"
Beca forced herself up in spite of the physical injuries she had already incurred. She dashed to where the nearest fire axe was then broke the landing door open. The elevator car should be the fastest way to outrun the enemies to the top according to their plan.
"Uh, there's something wrong with the elevator."
So what then?
"Ever heard of that weird guy, Tarzan?"
She rolled her eyes in realization. Did she really have a choice anyway? In the absence of stairs, Beca jumped into the shaft and clutched the hoisting ropes tightly in her hands. Her feet dangling, she peaked in below to what was waiting for her if she ever made the mistake of letting go – just fifteen floors to smashing herself dead. So shaking off such whole possibility, the young Mitchell began to hoist herself up. Her grunts were the only noise to be heard because even Fat Amy could sense the fatal threat just awaiting a grand opening to present itself.
"It's moving."
Amazing how the Australian blonde was capable of an inaudible whisper like the sound they make in horror movies when something creepy or terrifying was potentially about to happen. For real, indeed, there was something horrific about to happen.
"The fucking elevator is moving up!"
"Shit."
All the screens inside the monitoring van parked nearby had static on display after an explosion erupted on the third floor of the Tower. It must have completely shut down all sources of electricity or worse, interrupted the entire communication system.
"No, no, no!" Aubrey hit the side of the monitor with her delicate hand. "Stan and the guys need my guide!"
Her two companions exchanged looks. Power failure; out of all the alternative plans they made, how could have they forgotten about power failure! Leaving them no other choice, that's the premature end of their task. Not until the system could resume, they would just have to wait and pray for the other's safety.
"It's only a matter of time before the police-"
The Posen heiress didn't have the chance to finish her sentence when the loud and long siren was closing in from the distance. She sighed deeply, the air vacuuming away their collective hopes.
"They're here," Jesse quietly voiced out the bad news.
"I have to go," skeletal blonde fetched a gun from the counter and marched towards the door.
"W-Wait!" the other blonde tried to stop her by trying to barge the path with her colossal body. "Where are you going?"
"Stan needs me," was Aubrey's subtle reply before slamming the door shut and running towards the partially burning building.
Fat Amy turned to her only remaining companion. "Does this mean I have to go after Beca too? I love her and all, but that's cardio. And yeah, no, don't put me down for cardio."
He waved her off to dismiss the idea. It would be absurd; they'd just end up killing themselves. "Get the map while I figure another way to contact them. We need to arrange a new exit route."
"Yes, but I'm still calling you Padawan," she gave him that annoying pat on the head.
Authorities from the local police were preparing to launch an attack for the purpose of neutralizing the area while representatives from the media arrived one after the other to cover the big incident. Another explosion suddenly transpired inside the building. A part of it quickly collapsed, weakening the very foundation of the structure.
Aubrey kept her hands above her head to protect herself until the amount of falling debris was tolerable. When the coast was clear, she resumed with her trail through the lingering smoke in the atmosphere. The last time she talked to Stan he was at the third floor with four other Phoenixes; she had to reach them.
She could hear other people coughing from a considerable distance – she couldn't distinguish whether or not these were friends or foes. Nevertheless, she would have to keep following those noises because it had to be where an emergency exit was. Stan better be in this side of the building. She held up a gun with her trembling hands, ready to shoot as soon as a target would come into sight. A man seated on the steps quickly stood up and raised his gun when he saw her – a Phoenix would never react this way to her presence. Aubrey quickly pulled the trigger and shot him down. Oh, that indescribable feeling of killing a living creature. It could be haunting.
Another Syndic was poised to kill her as she ascended the stairs. There was nowhere to run for cover. Luckily, the front door was burst open by the police on the move. Both parties were sent into panic with some trying to shoot back while some opted to seek for refuge in the upper levels of the building.
"Aubrey!"
She looked up at someone calling out her name. Stan, with a bloody face, was located few floors from her. He could just jump out, but then shots were fired through the gap, compelling everybody to stand back from the edges.
Impatiently, the young Mitchell let himself slid down the steps. He had to reach Aubrey as soon as possible because there was no way she was going to survive out there on her own. As luck would have it, the gunshots kept on coming. People were fighting back the police.
"Aubrey!" he yelled out to the blind landscape of chaos. The stun grenades didn't help his cause.
"Stan!"
"Where are you?"
More gunshots were fired, he could hear, but no sound of Aubrey's voice was heard anymore. Stan felt his heart die in the moment.
"Aubrey!"
Nothing. He had reached the second floor where he had thought to find her in. Instead, he was met by Syndics and Phoenixes alike battling each other and the authorities sworn to neutralize them all. But where's Aubrey?
Multiple shots, he couldn't be wrong, were fired from behind him, at a very close distance. He was woundless, however. He vigilantly turned around, a gun ready to shoot the potential threat. A Syndic, face ruined by the shots, slowly fell dead. Then for the second time that night, his heart died as he stared back into the pool of hazel greens.
"What, we can't be friends now?" was Rem's ever sarcastic greeting.
"Y-You're here..." his voice trailed off, his hands dropping to his sides.
"Aubrey's waiting for you," she said, tilting her head towards the nearby door to the offices. "Get her out of here. The others will hold the police while I'll go get Thud and Beca."
"You'll get them?"
"I promise," she assured him before they parted ways.
There was one problem she intended not to disclose though. She could probably reach Thud at the eighth floor, but she could only wish for the best to reach Beca on the twentieth floor in time.
The Syndics reached the vault first. Beca had to hold up the key to prevent them from shooting her to death. Donald, hesitant at first, eventually gave in to her too-good-to-resist kind of offer. They didn't have an IT expert to hack the vault, but she had the key ready to be used. They would deal with whoever could have the treasure afterwards when they would arrive at the scene. So Beca was allowed to advance to the huge door. She ran her eyes over the surface of what should be the entrance. After placing the key into the correct hole, the door started to part open. Anticipation was inevitably building up. Only Benji Applebaum knew exactly what was awaiting them.
"Fuck."
Jaws were left gaped open in a grand surprise. Beca herself couldn't believe her very eyes as she stepped into the vault. In the middle of the scene sat piles of money that could amount to millions of dollars. There was, after all, a treasure in this vault! But there shouldn't be because the blueprint showed otherwise.
Boom. Another explosion shook the building in a tremor. The Syndics rushed towards the treasure and began to load money into their bags; this building would soon collapse, and they would never evacuate the area without the freaking treasure - Bumper's order. The Head Phoenix was supposed to do something, fight for the treasure, but she had frozen into place. There was the treasure, and she was simply letting them take it all away.
A sudden burning feeling on her feet brought her back to sane consciousness. She looked down and saw this brownish liquid quickly yet silently oozing through the tiny pores on the surface of the floor. Curious, she bent over to inspect the substance, dipping a finger into it. It only lasted less than a split second when she was stung by the same burning sensation. Horrified in realization, she identified the substance to be burning sugar – it glued itself to the skin and burned like hell at the same time! This was it – the trap especially prepared by Benji.
In panic, she turned to the others who were too caught up with the treasure, hence completely oblivious of the threat that was about to open the gates of hell for all of them. To add to her list of concerns, the door was closing, fast.
Beca dragged herself towards the lone exit; the injuries she had previously sustained from falls and the unfortunate elevator incident slowed her down let alone stepping on the burning sugar felt like treading through quicksand only it was a hundred times harder especially when it was almost the same level of her boots. That was when the others realized the danger, but it was too late. They were trapped. The youth Mitchell, meanwhile, ignored the sting and forced her way out. The last part of her body passed the boundary in time for the door to shut close. Then it only took some time before cries of pain and agony erupted from the other side of the door. It was one of the most terrible ways to die – that slow and painful death. And the treasure would never be able to change that.
The next explosion reminded her that the night wasn't over yet. She rushed to the elevator; the ground floor was almost swallowed by fire. Phoenix Tower was about to go down that even the police and firefighters seemed to have given up on the situation. Their new priority was to assure the safety of the immediate surroundings. Besides, the remaining criminals in the building would never make it out of there alive. But not Beca, not the mighty Phoenix. She refused to die this fateful evening… because she needed to see Chloe again. After all, the truth was that she wanted to be with Chloe, wave her goodbye, hug her like it's forever, and kiss her even for one last time.
So, when she reached the seventeenth floor which was devoted as a museum for visitors, she collected all the flags representing the extent of business influence of the Corporation displayed on the walls, and then tied them together ensuring the durability of the product. She broke a window and stood by it as she took the deepest breath she ever had.
"You're Tinker bell, right?" she mused to herself. "Pixie dusts, motherfucker."
Before she could change her mind, she jumped out of the tower, two hundred and thirty-eight feet from the ground. Her audience below were simply left stunned by the reckless move, chorused in a terrified gasp when her make-shift parachute was deployed in synchronize with the partial collapse of the building.
"Idiots! Go get her!"
The Chief screamed at his men who remained paralyzed in the moment especially when the woman had disappeared into a colossal cloud of smoke. Beca, on the other hand, could barely stand from a still rough landing when she felt a pair of hands carefully assisted her back to her feet.
"Come on."
That voice. She knew it too well. Startled, she looked up and met those bright blue orbs urging her to move.
"Beca, come on. We need to get you out of here! You're badly injured!"
"Y-You're not supposed to be here," mumbled the brunette who was trying to stay conscious.
Chloe was stern yet soft all at once. "You're not supposed to fall in love with me either, okay?"
"I need you to be safe."
"Well, right now, I'm not the one who needs saving."
Whether Beca liked it or not, she was guided away. Chloe found a car parked nearby, unsuspicious-looking, a perfect getaway car indeed. Skillfully using the first key among her own set of auto-jigglers – it was undoubtedly provided by Rem and the things she thought to this apprentice- the door was unlocked and the injured had fallen unconscious into the passenger seat.
Beca woke up with a throbbing head and strained body. She blamed the elevator car for her scraped knee, some of her flesh chunked away. She blamed the big fall for the dying feeling. But most of all, she blamed the redhead who rested her gingerness and fell asleep on her wounded hand for… well, this indescribable sensation. Beca already felt healed and safe at this touch. But maybe, involuntarily, she moved her fingers because something must have woken Chloe up.
"Hey," the young heiress was undecided whether to smile or appear serious. Just one thing was sure – this was where she wanted to be, with Beca, and nowhere else in the planet. "How are you feeling, cricket?"
The brunette couldn't manage to find her voice at first. "What… W-What happened?"
"Oh," replied Chloe. It was the last thing she expected for an answer. "Uh… Thud has some fractures. Stan's injured too. We lost some of our men, but all the Syndics were terminated. It's going to be difficult for Bumper to reorganize. And… my dad guarantees that the money in the vault is fake. Jesse hacked and deleted all videos the media had; Aubrey's dad is all over the news."
"I meant you. What happened to you?"
And that was the question Chloe had no answer prepared for, except perhaps from a shrug moments later. How would she put her abstract emotions into concrete words to construct an explanation that would make sense? "Sorry it took me so long. I tried to get back here as fast as I can, you know. I took the first flight back. I… Just, I can't do it, alright? So, please… don't you ever ask me to leave you again."
Pulling her girlfriend by the hand, Beca let Chloe lie in her arm, wrapped her in a tight embrace before planting a loving kiss on her electrifying red locks. "So can I keep you forever?"
"For as long as you want," smiled the other.
It should have been the perfect day to stay in bed and cuddle all they want. They had the time and excuse to do so. But, of course, Beca's mother had to come in at this hour and ruin the mood.
"I should really get a schedule of your cuddling moments," Ronie who had graduated from her wheelchair days suggested to the lovebirds. "There's something I need to talk to you about, young lady."
"M-Maybe I should go…" Chloe attempted to leave, but Beca wouldn't let her go.
"'Find home', is it?" said the older brunette referring to the most reliable clue they knew about the treasure. "I think I know where it is."
Song: Stay With Me - Sam Smith
Disclaimer: I don't own Pitch Perfect