avidreader: I truly am flattered.
Guest (Jul 11): I guess we all want that. :(
purplefurball, Guest (Jul 10), asdfg: Say something.
BeChloeFan01: Marami pong salamat. :)
Guest (Jul 9): Yes, I want that too. That was the purpose of the previous chapter. I tried to sprinkle as much Stolen as I possibly could into it. Oh the nostalgia.
frenchyloop: You have no idea how relieved I am revealing the treasure. I think I screamed 'finally' to myself. Beca shooting the stereo is just so classic Beca. LOL. I have a friend who really believes that it's the correct lyrics. Even after I showed her the legit one, she still keeps singing it with 'Oprah'. It's funny, so I just let it go.
RobOverstreet: That's exactly how I feel about the flashbacks! It's like walking down the memory lane, only we have new memories here. Weaving the pieces together was a difficult and nice challenge.
AnonTheWriter: Trust me, you don't want this to go on forever. Let's give Beca and Chloe the happy ever after now, shall we? They've been through a lot already! I couldn't end this story without showing Benji's perspectives. I had to let everybody know that it wasn't that easy for him too. And I'm not sure which line you're referring to, but you know me, I like leaving hints here and there. It's how I get an idea what to write on the next chapter. And by the way, thanks for checking out my other stories and leaving reviews for each of them. It means the world to me. :)
madness2013: My pleasure.
Guest (Jul 9): You should be scared.
Kartoffel: I hope I've answered enough questions.
aimeekiwi93: Replying back to the readers is the least I could do for all the time you spend reading this story. That makes me feel special, and thank you.
quietCRICKET: I think Stan and Rem would make cute babies together. Hmm, let's see about that...
MysticFalls94: You know me too well now.
crystalsoda1: Thank you very much! :)
Guest (Jul 8): He got so damn lucky.
Rennie Laroche: I tried to inject as much Fat Amy into it as I could. I think it's been a while since we last had some jokes around here. There's a thin line between love and obsession, so that's what Ben is now. About him sharing the same name as Benji, I didn't realize that until the chapter after I introduced his character. But the similarity was pure coincidence. I named him after Ben from Parks and Recreation, lovely guy he is.
Tofu9162: I hope you'd catch up soon. I really appreciate what you're doing. Enjoy the journey! :)
So I don't want to spoil you, but I thought I should give you some head's up. To be honest, I actually cried several times writing this chapter. With just a few more left, I feel like this is my love letter to you, guys, my farewell note. I really hope you like it.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Lost
The shock was slowly fading away as they made their way through the piles and piles of money; the interior space of the Victorian house was like Miniland of the same structure only with towers built not out of Lego pieces but of bundles of dollar bills neatly stacked one over the other and another and another. This, no doubt, was the treasure they all had been looking for.
"So it's real," Rem muttered under her breath, carefully touching one towering pile in awe. The feeling upon her skin made it seem so surreal. She had never seen this much money in her entire life. "Job well done, Applebaum. Job well done."
"Watch out for detonators, guys," warned the IT expert. Her pocket PC could detect a bomb nearby. Though it could be faulty, since the warning had been on display since she switched the device on. Considering all those booby traps they had encountered before, there was a great possibility that a bomb might have really existed around the area as a precautionary measure installed by Benji himself. "I keep getting signals, so just be careful with every step you take."
"But I really don't detect anything from the terrain. No bomb is buried into the ground."
Aubrey's voice was on speaker, reading out the interpreted results displayed on her laptop screen back at the van parked at the corner of the street.
"There's a bomb in here according to my sensor," the Australian blonde insisted. "I just don't know where it is."
"Maybe your device is just broken-down again."
Jesse offered an explanation which made a lot of sense taking into account the countless times that Fat Amy had actually dropped the device by accident. One time when they were on a mission, it failed to detect that the entire area was a land mine. Perhaps, this time, it was the other way around. The device badly needed some repair and troubleshooting.
"Besides it's the treasure," Clarence added. "I don't think Benji would risk planting a bomb somewhere here. It could blow up the house, hence all this money."
There's that to bear in mind. Of course, Benji would never be that stupid. He was smart enough to at least consider the idea. In fact, he was too clever to come up with this plan that it just didn't make sense to Beca, swirling in a pool of questions. Why this? How was this home to him? Why here when the entire world was a vast of prospects for hiding such treasure? Well, it was perfect for one thing. Nobody ever thought to come and search in this place. Well, nobody ever thought this place was in existence to begin with.
"Uh, babe?" Chloe called out. Her voice was coming from the living room. "You might want to check this out."
Beca walked past several giant blocks of money on her way to the living room. There were more piles set in the area, occupying what could have been spots for essential furniture or electronics. She found her girlfriend behind one, right by the wall where some frames were left hanging. It's one of the few signs or rather, remnants of a sense of home instead of a mere hideout.
"Look at this," Chloe motioned for her to come closer. She was grinning, obviously amused by a certain view, which was, in a way, intriguing. "That's you, right?"
What? She was pointing her finger forward and so the brunette followed the direction with her eyes. One frame contained a picture, and on that picture was a very young version of herself. No trace of the monstrous likeness she would become in the future, except from that blank stare directed at the camera lens, at the tender age of three.
"Oh you're so cute,' Chloe was almost squealing in total amusement.
Innocence sprung from the pigtails kiddie Beca was sporting on the either side of her dark brown locks. That initial impression was instantly replaced, however, by a sense of viciousness as their gaze panned downward to see a headless Barbie doll clenched in the young girl's hand.
"Really?" Chloe turned to her with a hint of repulsion, dropping her speaking intonation as usual. "Even at that age, Beca?"
The horrible monster simply shrugged her shoulders in response. Maybe being a cold-blooded beast was an inherent trait for her. It's not like she could do so much about it if that was indeed the case.
"Here's one with Stan," her girlfriend was ogling at the next picture. "Yeah, he really is a charm."
Young Stan, at the age of seven, who donned the cutest navy blue hoodie was eating a cone of ice cream – two scoops of chocolate – completely oblivious of his mother equipped with a camera taking a stolen shot of him.
"He was a fucking loser," held the spirit of jealousy.
The redhead shot her a look before going over with the rest of the pictures. There were images which included Ronie and Phil too. These were family portraits of happy memories, or at least not tragic in nature; a reminder that there was once this beautiful family, that there was once something they called home.
"I don't get it, Beca. Why does this house have all your personal stuff? Did your family live here before? Why did Benji hide the treasure here?"
That was when Beca let out a chuckle and slowly shook her head. Fucking Benji. He had it all figured out. Clarence never had any knowledge of the existence of this Victorian house; he would have never found the treasure. Phil knew, but he would never come here without reverting back to his old self. This was going to be his home. This was where he could have redeemed himself and only then would Clarence could have achieved his goals. And Ronie, she was literally the missing link; she had the key. If all else would fail, which they did, she was meant to be found only by the mighty Phoenix. The rest of the blueprint, as she had already guessed a long long time ago, was just one big series of diversion.
"Oh my god, guys!" Fat Amy's loud voice was coming from the second floor. "There's a big tub over here filled with cash! Excuse me while I go Slumdog Millionaire in it, alright?"
"Wow," even somebody as rich as Chloe was astounded. "Do you have any idea how much this is, all in all?"
Beca was caught off guard for a second. Disclosing the figures would give away the anomalous activity – how could Clarence Beale save up One Hundred and Seventy Five Billion Dollars which was way beyond his means? It wasn't her secret to tell.
"Maybe you should ask your father about that. After all, it's his treasure, right? But when I first received the mission from Phil, he described it as a 'wealth more than you could ever imagine'."
Jaw dropped and eyes widened in surprise. No wonder everybody was willing to kill and die for this. "But this couldn't be all of it. I don't know."
This amateur criminal just might have a point. Beca instructed her to go fetch Fat Amy so they could check on the attic while the brunette found her way through to the basement. Even on every tread of the stairs had bundles of money lying on the side, and as she descended more blocks of greens had come into view. Without seeing it for herself, she knew that Chloe and Fat Amy were staring at the same scenery up in the attic. She realized this was way too much than they had prepared for. They could only take a few back to Georgia without earning unwanted attention once they had gotten on the road.
She walked in between the gaps, going deeper into the wide basement chock-full with cash. What was more eye-catching than the treasure though was the fact that a tiny strip of paper was left littering on the floor. Only it and no other trash were there. So, what was a tiny strip of paper doing in such secluded area with no window to crawl into?
"Hey, Tink!" Rem called out from the living room. "We have a situation here."
This crazy blonde almost never gave regard to threats so that when she made such announcement, everybody else gathered in the living room, surrounding the speaker, rendering their utmost attention to Aubrey's warnings.
"Yellow alert. We've got company."
"But are we expecting anyone?" Fat Amy raised the question which the Head Phoenix responded with a shake of the head.
"Four trucks along here at 3rd Street."
"Four trucks sighted here at 2nd Avenue."
Paul supplied additional information, necessary enough for the two mighty Phoenixes to conclude that these gatecrashers were here for the treasure. By the location, they were going to be surrounded, trapped right in the middle. Worse was that the uninvited guests had more than twice the number of their own team.
"It couldn't be the Syndics," Beca supposed.
"I recognize these people. They're from the street gangs."
The former Syndic couldn't be wrong. He had seen Bumper making transactions with these people before.
"We have to get out of here," proposed Rem according to her intuitions.
"Orange alert! They're armed. First line, prepare for encounter."
Of course, they're armed.
"H-How did they know we're here?" Chloe was just as puzzled as everybody else. Whoever were these people, they had properly anticipated for a deadly battle.
"Beca!" Rem screamed at her because the Head seemed to be paralyzed at the moment when they're supposed to be escaping already. "Let's go!"
"But what about the treasure?" Clarence rebutted. They didn't come all the way here to Michigan just to surrender the treasure into the hands of this bunch of strangers. All of their efforts for nothing? Hell no!
"We're leaving," the Head Phoenix decided in contrary. She grabbed her girlfriend by the hand and led the way to the front door when the old man blocked the way.
"Are you serious about that, Beca? You're scared of street gangs now?"
"They're not just street gangs!" she shot back. "It's Bumper! He lost most of his men when we attacked the Tower, so now he's got to be utilizing the street gangs for his new army. That makes them more dangerous than ever especially with a price on our heads! He's not going to send people who don't know how to execute a murder! So either we leave now or we die here!"
"Red alert!"
Shit. Sounds of gunfire echoed from the other side of the line, louder as the chaos on Stan's group was coupled with the encounter on Paul's.
"Send a signal back to Pandemonium. We need back up from the nearest chapter," Beca instructed Fat Amy who frantically punched in some codes into her pocket PC while Rem was already on her way out of the door. It's not going to make a huge difference, but the others were surely in need of as much help as possible. "Now stay here, all three of you."
"I'm coming with you," Chloe caught her girlfriend's hand.
"No!" the other firmly shook her head. "You're staying here, Chloe. Stay close to the treasure. It will keep you safe."
"But-"
Beca hurriedly kissed the redhead, probably for the last time ever, and smiled at her. "It's going to be alright, I promise."
Before the young heiress could make any more protest, the mighty Phoenix had already left for the combat. And as she quickly disappeared from view, Chloe's heart sank deep down. It's going to be alright, I promise. Those were the words coming from the best liar in town. No, it's not going to be alright. That promise was meant to be a big fat lie.
Everything happened so fast. They knew they were fighting a battle they had already lost right from the very beginning. It was merely an attempt at survival. The chance of it just seemed pretty slim the first ten seconds. Thud kept a wounded Jesse down on the ground while they seek for protection hiding behind a huge tree trunk, just a little bigger than the bald guy's colossal body; Aubrey hauled Stan's unconscious body away from the open; armed with an uzi, Rem was the only one keeping the enemies from crossing the borderline. Soon, she was going to run out of ammunition and hand-to-hand combat, no matter how skilful she was on that area, was not one of the very few options.
Meanwhile, on the other side of West Canfield, Paul was left on his own to protect himself with both his companions already lying dead in the middle of the street. Beca's help moments later didn't really do any better. She wasn't in her best self, of all the days. Her still not fully-recovered fractured bones slowed her down and made her miss most of her shots. When the Syndics rained them with bullets, they could feel the car crumbling as they stayed down on the ground just hoping for the best.
Six minutes and twenty four seconds. That's all it took for the pack of Syndics to conquer Beca Mitchell's team. This would be remembered in the underground community. History would never forget this day. Bumper proudly stood in the middle of the front yard while the mighty Phoenix, blood oozing out of the bullet wound on her arm, was shoved down on her knees with a gun pointed at the back of her head. On the opposite side were her teammates who suffered the same fate.
"Don't worry about it," he told his counterpart, referring to the wailing siren and the persisting gunfire. "My men will take care of the police. We've got time til they send in the helicopters."
She remained unaffected, unyielding, her noxious eyes simply fixed upon her greatest nemesis.
"Beca!"
Chloe ran out of the house to the love of her life only she never made it. Halfway through, a pair of hands grabbed her, and held her in place. It was Ben McDouglas.
"Get your hands off of me!"
"No, Chloe," he tried to calm her down. "It's me. It's okay. You're safe now."
"Get away from me, Ben! Just let me go!"
From out of the blue, Ben was hit with a hard punch. Beca had gotten away from the limits imposed by her watchdogs. Well, didn't this idiot hear the lady? She told him to let her go! And he wouldn't, so the horrible monster gave him another well-deserved hit before tackling him to the ground. Two to three men had to restrain the incredibly strong midget and prevent the young McDouglas from suffering from a possible hemorrhage. He took a gun from one of the men and threatened to shoot the brunette. Chloe quickly stood in that little gap between the two, covering up most of her girlfriend's body.
"Ben, stop!" she yelled out while holding up her hands. "Put the gun down!"
"No!" he refused. Once and for all, he was going to kill the only reason why he couldn't have the girl of his dreams. "Chloe, get away from her. Let me finish this now. Chloe!"
"Please don't hurt her, Ben. Please! Just stop."
For the second time that afternoon, he was struck on the face. This time, it was his own older brother who inflicted the injury.
"Don't mess up with my plans," he hissed at the younger McDouglas then turned towards Beca. "You know we can't stay out here for a long time, so let's make this quick, Phoenix. How's it going to be? Do you want to go first or do you want to watch your friends die one by one?"
She didn't give an answer, but she made it clear that Chloe's out of the option as she secured the redhead behind her.
"When you're dead, my brother's going to take over your girlfriend anyway."
"If I don't kill him first," she replied.
"You want to watch your friends die then, hmm?"
Bumper pulled out his pistol and walked away. He had the rest of her team lined up, except for Stan who was left dying on the green grass. He ran his eyes over those faces until he decided to go for the blonde girl with partly shaved head and hair dip dyed with rainbow colors.
"Let's start with her, shall we?"
"No," it was Chloe who responded to the question, desperately tugging Beca's hands to make him stop, to save the cheat code. But even Rem knew that the cricket wouldn't be able to do something.
"Any last words, cutie?" asked the Head Syndic as if he did care.
The crazy blonde wore her best smirk yet especially for him. "Go fuck yourself."
"Hmm."
"Hey, Bumper!" Clarence spoke out. "You want to kill someone? I'm right here. Let the kids go. I'm the one who double-crossed you. I'm the one you should want to be dead."
"Dad!"
"There's the treasure, you get to kill somebody, Beca and the rest will never bother you again. I swear to god."
"Are you seriously trying to make a deal with the devil again, Mr. Beale?" Bumper began laughing hysterically. Really, did the old man never learn anything from the past? "Well, I'm glad that you're owning up to your mistakes. Don't worry, dude, I think they'll forgive you."
"Just kill me already!" the Head Phoenix exclaimed out of frustration. It's obvious, too obvious. Bumper wanted her dead, that's just it. The hell he care about the rest of them.
And so he pointed the pistol at her head, grinning wildly. That ecstatic feeling of being a threat to Beca Mitchell, only he ended up with dismay when her facial expression never changed. She was still tough even with Chloe begging her to take back her words.
"You should have killed me when you had the chance, Phoenix."
Yeah, she should have. But that opportunity had long slipped away. Just when victory could almost be tasted, the Syndics were speedily loading the treasure into mobile containers. This time, she had truly failed. This war was about to end, and The Secret Society was about to lose it.
"I'm not as bad as you think I am," the devil dropped the gun much to everybody's astonishment. "You spared my life once, I don't forget. Now consider the debt paid."
"What? But Bumper!"
Disregarding his brother's protests, Bumper made a signal and soon, his men were moving to accomplish a secret task. A pair of paramedics came rushing from an old van parked on the neighbor's side of the street. They cautiously transferred Stan's unconscious body onto the stretcher and brought him into the van for first-aid treatment while the rest of the group were escorted to the getaway car; Thud was awarded with the key. Beca, still in place and overly dumbfounded, turned to the Head Syndic. There had to be a catch. He couldn't just let them all go away like that.
"By the way," was how he started his last statement, "never strike a deal with the devil."
Right at the end of it, a bomb exploded at the middle of the street – bloody flesh and internal organs, burned and crushed and disintegrated, went flying all over the place along with a mini tracker chip which landed somewhere on the grasses. Everybody gasped when they realized who the bomb was. Beca quickly wrapped her arms around Chloe, just held her tightly until the redhead could grasped that there was nothing left to salvage from her father's body. Clarence Beale was already dead gone.
Who knew how long it had been? Beca had lost track of time. Between this instance and the moment the bomb exploded – Fat Amy was right, after all; there was a bomb close by – she knew nobody spoke a word and nobody had the courage to close their eyes and sleep it off. It was like there was this one great flood or a super hurricane that swept away what little remained of their sense of life.
They arrived back at Pandemonium twelve hours later. Thud collapsed on the driver's seat while Stan was automatically sent to the infirmary with Aubrey who stuck by his side in spite of her own injuries. Rem had to console Fat Amy, and Paul had to carry Jesse in. Chloe climbed off the car, speechless and helpless; Beca was only given the privilege to watch her shatter into pieces. Yes, they made it back home. But they were lost. They were dead people deep inside.
As much as how difficult it was, Beca was left with not much of a choice but to sit on the cold and dull floor in the infirmary, next to her girlfriend who was still in a state of trauma, trembling and crying quietly in misery against the wall. The brunette wanted to, but she couldn't touch her; she wanted to, but she couldn't speak to her. Her presence might not even be in recognition at this point. They simply sat there beside each other, hindered by a million worlds and tragedies that fate could generously offer.
"Chloe?" she whispered into the thin air. It blended with the beeping sounds of the monitor and all other noises in the room most certainly. Good, because if the name bearer heard it and decided to give a response, the cricket wasn't prepared. Truth was that she was scared. She was scared that Chloe would never speak to her ever again, and at the same time, she was scared that Chloe would say something and that would be the end of this entire relationship, because it's possible, when Clarence Beale had died, and Beca Mitchell was allowed to live.
She turned her head a little to the side, just enough to catch a glimpse of the broken one. The redhead still had some tiny bits of her father's blood and flesh stained upon her skin, her hair, and her clothes. Worse was the evident picture that she was confined in that small invisible box of desolation, and it hurt even more that there's nothing Beca could do to get her out of there. She slowly, with all the bravery she could collect, moved her hand and reached for Chloe's, clasped them together, gentle at first then gradually clenched it tighter so that maybe the tremor would stop, maybe her presence would cease to be ignored, maybe she could be her sanctuary at this unfortunate circumstance. But it was as if she was holding a dead creature.
"I'm sorry," muttered Beca, and she couldn't seem to find the decency to search for the pair of gloomy eyes. She was drowning in guilt. "I didn't do anything to save him."
Was there anything she could have done in the first place? A tracker and a bombing device were implanted into his system in secrecy.
"I should have killed Bumper way back then. I should have killed him every chance I got. I shouldn't have underestimated him. I should have been more careful in protecting everybody. I should have... done something. It's my fault."
There was nobody else responsible for this, she convinced herself.
"I'm sorry," was all there was to say. The anguish was evident in Beca's upset sigh. And that was when she felt a squeeze upon her hand. The other end of this bond was finally responding; the connection was still working. She turned to the side and found Chloe's bright blue eyes directed towards her.
"It's not your fault," her girlfriend assured.
Lying was something Chloe was never good at, yet it was just too hard to believe with all the facts haunting every moment passed by.
"Nobody should have ever tried to steal somebody else's treasure," the redhead added. "It wasn't you, Beca. You were made to do things you were manipulated to believe to be just as right as anything else in this world."
The image of abhorrence stained such angelic face. She didn't know. She was still under the illusion that people were trying to steal a treasure that her father had worked so hard for. And she would never have the chance to correct such chimera. She would never learn about the truth about her father, or her mother's death, for whatever it was. Not unless Beca would break it to her. This was the time Clarence was referring to, only his words were just as dead as he already was. It was up to the mighty Phoenix to create his moment of vindication.
"He loved you so much, Chloe. Probably more than I could ever love you."
There. When his words were deemed useless, Beca did as she was told. Chloe would never see her father's face again, but she didn't despise him. In fact, she believed every single thing in those statements. Mission accomplished.
Sadly, the crying didn't stop. The overwhelming sensation just made it all worse. The redhead wept even more. Damn it. The cricket had run out of tricks. She badly needed a lecture on Giving Comfort 101 exactly this instance. With no aid to come to the rescue, she pulled Chloe closer and embraced her feeble body and then let her cry in her shoulder. Aubrey emerged from the Emergency Room supposedly to check on her best friend and inform them that Stan was already out of danger. But then she found the couple and Beca glanced her way in panic; the blonde smiled and nodded her head approvingly, so the monster must have been doing it right.
Few hours later, Chloe was finally sleeping. Beca couldn't help but stare at the sleeping beauty lying so close to her on the bed. She could definitely do this all day and all night long. She was supposed to be in mourning, but would it really hurt so much to feel so lucky that this girl was hers and only hers?
She raised her hand, ready to stroke that gorgeous face or maybe brush her fingers along that striking ginger hair. Forget about sleeping. This was better than anything she had ever dreamed of. However, she stopped halfway through, scared of accidentally breaking her beyond repair just like how she did with all her Barbie dolls in her early childhood. There would always be that tiny voice in the back of her head murmuring, 'her heart is no place for a monster like you.' And every single fucking time that she would hear that fucking voice, it just happened – she was reminded how she would always be the mighty Phoenix. Really, Chloe's right, was there ever going to be an end?
"I'll be back," her voice was almost inaudible so as to not interrupt the other from her deep sleep.
She kissed her princess before carefully leaving the bed. Where to go, she had no idea. She simply left the room – barefooted, clad with her girlfriend's Hello Kitty sleep shorts and plain black top – and strolled down the hallways. Odd looks were thrown her way; fuck them all. She made sure to stop by the kitchen, make herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, because damn she was hungry. And thirsty, so she grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge. Then she kept wandering around equipped with the feeling of both lost and free. It wasn't for long when she reached the Green Room. Everybody was in chaos with no leader to put them back to a straight direction. Cynthia-Rose was in command while Skyler was in charge of the logistics department; everyone else worked and followed orders. Beca emptied the bottle in one long gulp then walked up to the center of commotion.
"Hey," Skyler was the first one to take notice of her presence. "What are you doing here? Go get some rest first."
"I'm done," said the Head Phoenix.
CR breathed out a sigh of relief. "Great, we need you. We can't do this without you, Beca. Word's all over the underground. The Council is not happy about what happened. Bumper's attacking our chapters. People are either dying or surrendering. We're losing-"
"I'm done," the young Mitchell repeated.
No, it couldn't be. Skyler gasped. CR raised an eyebrow in question, and she was responded with a soft gaze, not the usual strong yet vacant stare. She shook her head in disbelief.
"Tell me I'm wrong, Mitchell. Tell me I'm wrong!"
Beca took a deep breath. So this was where she was going. "I'm done being the mighty Phoenix."
Everything just shut down after that. There was very little drop of hope remained in them when Bumper walked away with the treasure. All that hope, after Beca's declaration, had gone completely dry. The second she ceased to be the mighty Phoenix, in mind and in spirit, that was the end for The Secret Society. Game over.
An episode from the most recent season of Modern Family was playing on the large TV screen. Bumper watched comfortably from a recliner armchair with Blue Moon on one hand and a Smokehouse Deluxe on the other. His entire body shook with every fit of laughter. This was exactly how he pictured how his celebration would be, and everything was going according to the plan. The only flaw in this occasion was the awful look painted all over his brother's gorgeous face glued on his peripheral view.
"Could you be any happier?" he called out at the man sulking in the corner. "Maybe you should fetch a rope and hang yourself somewhere, brother. I can slash your mouth and make you look like Joker. How wide would you want your smile be?"
The younger McDouglas, wordless, continued to stare down at his shoes.
"You want us to build an empire together, right?" Bumper had to pause the TV to throw a dirty look at the pathetic kid he had for a brother. "Well, this is it, dude. We have the treasure, and in a few hours from now, The Secret Society will be as good as dead. We are the kings of the underground now. So stop whining, and drop your shit!"
"You didn't kill her," Ben muttered under his breath, rubbing off the blood stains courtesy of Clarence Beale on his white rubber shoes. "You let her go."
"I was paying a debt."
"Well, you owe me something too."
The Head Syndic stifled a laugh. "What? That chick? Get over her already."
"That chick has a name," hissed the other, eyes burning with revulsion. "It's Chloe. And you promised to get her for me."
"After what happened to her father? I don't think she ever wants to be with you, little bro. I mean, dude, even if I kidnap her now and force her to marry you, I'm pretty sure she'd rather commit suicide than have anything to do with you."
Ben suddenly went up to his feet and dashed to attack his brother. He pulled him from the chair by the shirt and threw in some punch. But he would never be half a criminal as the devil. Bumper easily pushed him off and fought back until the younger McDouglas was already lying on his back. He had tried killing this man once before, he could definitely do it again.
"What the fuck is your problem, Ben?"
"You blew him up!" the other shouted back.
"We fucking blew him up! You're responsible for his death just as much as I fucking am! 'Let's build an empire together,' remember? You wanted this as much as I did, so don't fucking give me the shit!"
"You used me!"
"Oh boo hoo, who fucking cares?"
"All I wanted is for Chloe to be mine!"
"And I'm sorry, that's never going to happen because, let's face it, you are such one pathetic douche who couldn't do anything right! I mean, if I was her, I'd totally go all lesbo on Mitchell. At least the lady has got some balls!"
Blazing with fury, Ben once more launched an attack towards his brother. Bumper gripped his arms and pushed him away. He was always going to win everything.
"Will you shut it?" the Head Syndic glared at him. Okay, this was taking too much time than he gave a damn. "If you want to go to Pandemonium and kidnap the girl, then go. I'm not going to stop you. You can do whatever fuck you want, dude, I don't care. Just let me watch my damn thing!"
"I'm going to kill you," said the other. He was serious, more than ever.
Bumper, however, erupted in a hysterical laugh - holding his stomach with one hand and pointing at the other in mockery with the other.
"I'm going to kill you," Ben repeated, more convincingly.
"Oh I'm trembling. I'm so scared. Should I beg for your mercy? No, Ben, no. Please don't kill me. I'm your brother."
The intensity of hatred was too much to hide already. Ben balled his fist and repeatedly cursed the devil for a hundred times in his head. He had killed him there a thousand times over.
"Wait, wait," still laughing, Bumper ran to his armchair and retrieved his gun. He made sure it had bullets then loaded it before handing it over to the angry lad. Afterwards, he stood in front of the television screen and spread his arms open wide as he repressed another laugh. "There, there. You can kill me now, my dear brother."
It was that easy, really. All the other had to do was to point the gun into his skull and pull the trigger for as many times as he wanted. That would be the death of Bumper Allen, in the hands of his loser of a brother. It could possibly happen any moment from that point. Ben raised his hands with the end of the gun pointed directly at the devil's head. That sinister smug flashing before his eyes only made him want to kill this man even more. Just pull the trigger, he instructed himself. But for some stupid reason, he dropped his hands to the side and so Bumper Allen was still alive. Laughing out loud, he approached his brother just to ridicule him more.
"I will kill you," the threat was still the same.
"Yeah," Bumper frowned at him sarcastically. "That's what I thought."
Ben shoved the gun against his brother's chest and left the room, leaving the Head Syndic rolling over his armchair in hilarity. So much for a Modern Family.
This emptied room was no different from the look it had when it was fully-furnished. In fact, Beca had summarized her stay for over a decade in one medium-sized backpack containing mostly of her clothes designed in shades of black. She ran her eyes over her cage one more time; it was going to be the last time.
"Knock knock."
She turned around and Skyler was at the door, half-beaming and half-frowning. This was the fateful day and everything was all set. Nothing could stop the mighty Phoenix from leaving.
"Your car's waiting."
As a sign of gratitude, for standing by her side all this time in spite of all the cold shoulders, the cricket offered a smile for her former babysitter. It was highly appreciated, that heartwarming gesture from a typically insensitive animal. Beca, then, pulled out her knife from her pocket, stared at it for a moment, and put it on top of the bedside table – she wasn't going to need it anymore. She grabbed her backpack and walked out of the door. The sound of it, the feeling of her hand letting go of the knob – she never thought she would value them this much.
"Do you really have to go?" questioned the other.
"Yes," was the answer.
"For real?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure you're not going to change your mind? I mean, you always change your mind when it comes to battle plans at the last minute. Maybe this is just one of those instances."
"Skyler," Beca looked at her apologetically. She'd never seen such distress on the part of the usually quirky woman. "This is not a battle plan. I'm not changing my mind."
"But, Beca-"
"Chloe needs me."
That was the nuclear bomb, the kryptonite, that put the mighty Phoenix down. Skyler heaved out a sigh and nodded her head understandingly. Here was someone seeking for a life anew with the love of her life, and what right did everybody else in this world have to rob that opportunity away from them? It didn't stop Skyler, however, from stealing one long hug from her overgrown baby no matter how much she would probably hate it.
"I'm going to miss you," she cried.
A chuckle escaped from Beca's mouth as she gently rubbed Skyler's back. Of all the evilness she had done, what could have warranted her to deserve this lovely form of goodbye?
"Before I forgot," Skyler pulled herself away and quickly wiped her tears and laughed in embarrassment. What was she doing crying in front of the mighty one? "Before you leave, the Head Phoenix wants to see you."
Unless they changed the rules and agreed to elect over fifty people as the Head Phoenix, Skyler lied. Behind Cynthia-Rose was all those under her command; they had all gathered in the lobby, exactly like the first time Beca was pronounced to succeed her father, only this time, they were bidding her a farewell with a large banner hanging on the wall spelling out the words, Thank you for the adventure, kiddo. There's a stain of ketchup on one side, so it must have been Fat Amy who put this thing up.
"We can't let you go without a proper goodbye," the new Head Phoenix explained to her friend. "You're going to get a lot of hugs today, so prepare yourself."
Even before Beca could finish groaning loudly in protest, her tiny statue was crushed when her team rushed to give her a hug. Fat Amy was crying on her sleeves; Jesse's eyes were welling up with tears; Aubrey pretended that she wasn't going to cry; Stan, with crutches, stood behind his sister; CR and Skyler had also joined the group; Thud who was already bawling like a baby scooped Rem and Chloe into the circle, then he sealed the team with his long and big arms. Team Pura would never be the same after this.
"I get to boss around people. It's really weird, yo."
Both of the Heads snickered – it was actually one of the best perks of being that person on top of the organizational ladder. They stood quietly at one place while watching the others load the bags into the car. Who knew Aubrey needed eight bags for her clothes alone?
"Any piece of advice you want to share with me?" CR inquired from her predecessor.
"Fidelity to The Society."
It was the code, the ultimate rule, meant to govern the members yet easily broken and snubbed. And this was what CR was so good at – obeying the code. This was why Beca never hesitated to pass the torch to her.
"The people who came to see you, that's all we have left," the new Head revealed. "After the massive attack, the loyal ones died while the namby-pambies joined the Syndicate. They're bigger and more powerful these days, you know. The number of survivors could barely make up for a basketball team. The members of the Council are diminishing as well. Well, this happened before. You fixed this before. Now how the fuck am I going to do that?"
"I have faith in you." Who knew Beca could pull of some words of encouragement? "You were right there with me when the flame almost burned out. You fixed this too."
"Not without you."
The young Mitchell sighed. "It's just me, and Chloe, and Stan, and Aubrey who are leaving. You still have the two idiots, and Skyler, and Thud, and that blonde bitch. Paul will help too."
"And we will still need you."
"CR," Beca's voice trailed off because she had run out of ways to present an optimistic view of this situation.
"Do you know what would be my greatest challenge here?" asked CR. What? "It's that everybody is expecting me to replace you, Beca, and then I have no choice but to try. You see, the thing is, nobody could ever replace you."
"I'm the worst Head Phoenix ever. I am meant to be replaced. I failed to accomplish the biggest mission ever. How does it sound like for a legacy, huh?"
But the successor was shaking her head disapprovingly. "You're the best one ever. You did something no Head in history ever did… you ruled with your heart."
"Beca."
Beca followed the source of the voice and found her heart. Chloe, and the rest, were waiting by the car. It was time to go. So she patted CR's back for good luck and hopped into the car as well. Her girlfriend was staring at her for a moment, apparently giving her the last chance to change her mind, but the quiet cricket turned to the redhead and grinned. She wasn't going to change her mind.
Beca locked the front door and sighed. It was weird, coming home and breathing in the fresh air in the atmosphere unlike the suffocating environment that the underground could offer. But this was her life from this moment forward. And it was much better than before especially with this beautiful redhead, asleep on the couch, to come home to.
"Babe?" she was on her knees as she gently tapped her girlfriend awake. "Let's get you to bed."
Not that she enjoyed the Yellow Room and the walls of eyes destruction, but the bed upstairs just seemed to be more comfortable than this couch.
"Come here," Chloe slid to the side instead to make room for the brunette.
Beca slowly lied down and her girlfriend immediately put an arm around her, resting her head on Beca's chest. Perhaps, comfortable was wherever they share a moment like this.
"How was your day?" asked the young heiress in a sleepy voice.
Come to think of it, they never asked each other about their day. This seems to be a very normal thing to do. Good, they're starting to act like normal people.
"We found a new apartment for Stan," the other answered. "And then Aubrey took me shopping after burning all my stuff because apparently, my clothes are too… alternative for her type, it's eccentric."
Chloe giggled. "That explains why you're wearing a lavender shirt."
"Yeah," cricket rolled her eyes. "What about you? How did your day go?"
"My dad left me a lot of things to do. Gail and Kimmy will set me up a meeting with Aubrey's father before I officially join the Board, talk about the remaining stocks and all."
"Are you alright?" the young Mitchell had to ask. After Clarence's death, her girlfriend had not been emotionally stable. Dealing with a problematic corporation just might give her the unnecessary anxiety.
For a while, there was no answer. Beca panicked, because it meant no.
"I don't want to be here anymore," was the honest truth. "Earlier, I had a nightmare. I was watching him blow up into pieces again. Over and over again. Maybe you're right. Staying here isn't really such a good idea. There's too many bad memories. So, I've been thinking… would you like to run away with me?"
Beca shifted her body so her arms were wrapped around Chloe's body. She held her tight and planted a kiss on top of the red locks. That was her way of saying yes. There's nothing she wouldn't do for Chloe. No more mighty Phoenix, she would go wherever the redhead would go. Besides, leaving town just might be what they needed in order to be whole again.
I'm still crying (with people dying and leaving). I wish I could jump into the story and join in the big group hug. I'm going to miss all these characters when this is over. I've put a piece of my soul into every chapter I wrote, so forgive me if I've become emotional (and likely annoying) with this one.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pitch Perfect.