The Greatest Secret

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own iCarly

A/N: By the way, if you're an older reader or a new reader, chapters 90-94 marks Mitch's first appearance. Yes, he went with Freddie in that arc, simply due to the fact that I, as the author, felt it was more appropriate for that episode to center Freddie, for this story. Some things that happened in those chapters will be discussed as happening in this mini arc with Mitch.

Chapter 174 (Not how siblings act)

Melanie first wanted to try to talk to Freddie and maybe, just maybe, she could convince him to cut these people some slack. She just had to get him to listen to her. Carly might be more difficult, but she was just guessing. For all she knew, Carly might be the easier of the two. As she watched Freddie move behind an alley, she thought for a moment and narrowed her eyes. "I just realized something, Mitch. How the hell am I going to convince them that they're family?" She looked to the Christmas angel and smiled sweetly. "Please tell me?" Mitch blushed and kicked the gravel.

"Aw, well…it's simple, really. Well, only because you asked." He held his hand up and grinned as another dusty old journal appeared. Melanie's eyes sparkled as they landed upon the front cover, it was Marissa's old journal. "This, from front to back, describes her relationship to Robert. How in love they were, how well they worked together, everything. All these journals will tie together to explain how Carly and Freddie are related. Melanie, try to remember, they are the last ones in their family. Lionel's on the prowl, Bana's on the prowl. If they're ever found…it's all over for them." Her lips tightened together and she carefully nodded her head, she couldn't screw this up. "Another tidbit of advice…as we learned in Freddie's timeline, he grew up having no friends. When his father died, all that sadness, anger, and despair he felt…he wallowed in it. He let it become him. That makes him a very angry, troubled soul."

"Okay, I got it." She closed her hands and took a step forward, confident in her ability. She took the journals from Mitch and looked down the alley. Freddie could be heard arguing with someone, so she listened for a minute, until she heard a female voice. "Carly…" Thinking fast, she hurried to the Alley and saw both brother and sister in each other's faces, cussing the other out. "No! Stop fighting! Now! That's now how siblings should act!"

The two stopped instantly and slowly turned their angry glares to her. She winced and sucked the air in through her teeth. "What did you just say?"

"Yeah…that so could have gone better." She started moving towards them, not showing any fear whatsoever. "Anyway, I know you don't know me. You should know me, but…I'm Melanie Puckett." Freddie's eyebrows rose while Carly hung back. It seemed he recognized her last name, which shouldn't be a surprise. Marissa and Sarah had at least been best friends. "I uh, I found this in some old stuff. I don't know what it was doing there, but maybe Marissa dropped it…but it's the proof you need to know that you two are siblings. In case you're inter-" Freddie swiped the book from her and bounced his body to the right as he opened it and started reading it.

"What's this anyway, mom's old journal? Shay, get a load of this." Carly rolled her eyes and moved over as she followed Freddie's finger on the sentences. He raised an eyebrow and her lips parted briefly. Studying their reactions, Melanie was thrilled to see them at least calm. As they continued to skim the pages, Melanie started explaining all she knew about their history.

"As you can see, even Mrs. Peeloff was a Davidson, born to Zamira. You also very well could be brother and sister, and you actually are. Robert and Marissa found each other again, they loved each other and were going to get married." Freddie shifted his eyes to Melanie, licked his thumb, and turned to the next page. Carly kept her eyes glued onto the page. "Carly, your dad killed himself when Marissa died. Please, it's like Romeo and Juliet! Only, the other way around…All this warring you two do, you shouldn't. You're all you have left, seriously."

"What does that mean?" Carly asked while glancing up at Melanie. Melanie then handed the two a couple more journals. Carly's face fell and her eyes narrowed. "Seriously? You can't just tell us?" Freddie clicked his tongue and lifted his eyes skyward.

"I do not have the patience for this."

"I know, I know, just hear me out. Freddie, Carly, you two…there are killers hunting your family. Freddie, at that family reunion…you didn't go to it, did you?"

"Of course not, I don't want to be stuck with a bunch of old fuckups…"

"Okay then." She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, a bit taken aback by his words. "Still, a man named Bana Shay…murdered them all there…"

"Huh?"

"Carly, a man named Lionel Shay has been going one by one, killing off all Shays. Used to be, it was a Friday the 13th thing, but now he's changed his game plan because of the number of Shays there are. I guess he's after Bana now, but Freddie, Bana's hunting you…read those journals."

He growled as he opened up the journal and leaned against the school building. Carly did the same and crossed her leg over the other, frowning as she read. They had such emotionless faces that Melanie wasn't quite sure how they felt. She cleared her throat and hoped they'd hear her out. "You two just can't fight like this, you're all you have left in this world. You can survive this hell together, you don't have to end up fighting. Do you seriously think this is what your families would want?"

They swallowed as they flipped through the journal entries. Their faces twisted and lips fell, clearly they were sickened by what they were reading. The two lifted their heads up simultaneously and met each other's gaze. Freddie looked to Melanie and handed her the journal. "I can't read anymore. Tell me…just what the hell do you intend to do? I mean…"

"We don't want to be hunted down." Carly said exactly what Freddie was thinking, neither of them wanted to die. "What are we supposed to do, sit here and wait to be found by Lionel or Bana? I certainly don't feel like waiting."

"We're sitting ducks." Melanie agreed and took the journals from them. With a sigh, she met their concerned eyes and gave them a smile for confidence.

"I intend to take these journals to the police. Marissa's subordinate would likely shelter you two, if you needed it. You probably do. But listen, family is very important. I know it's hard to, but you can't just focus on one parent forever, otherwise you…you lose sight to what's important. The rest of your family." A lesson to be learned, and she needed it most. "Please think about it, don't let an old unnecessary grudge tear apart the last vital connection you two have. Each other…"

"Yeah, thanks…How's uh, how's your dad holding up? I know you guys moved back in 2005, right?"

"Yeah, he's okay. Uncle Morris was killed, though…" Freddie smacked his lips and Carly let out a pitiful sigh. Melanie breathed in and turned away from them, trying hard not to cry. She kept forgetting that this timeline wasn't real, but damn it, it felt real. "Anyway, I have to go…get these journals to the police."

"All right…"

"You guys…Find a place to hide until it's safe. Watch the news or something. Okay? There has to be somewhere…"

"We'll be fine." She nodded and quickly hurried off. Mitch appeared next to her, floating happily in the air. She rolled her eyes and stared dryly at him.

"I'm running, trying to save my friends' lives and you're all happy?"

"Of course! I have someone to spend the holiday with, even if it is for a short time. Anyway, if it helps, I can tell you where Bana and Lionel are, I magically wrote it in Nora's old journal, that she found their locations just before she was killed." She raised her eyebrows and lifted her hand up, giving Mitch a high five.

"For an annoyingly intrusive angel, you sure come in handy sometimes."

"Well no one ever is friendly with me, so I thought I'd help you. Besides, if you had a lesson to learn, I'd say you're learning it."

"What? Family is important and not to focus on the one relative I can't be with?"

"Exactly!"

"Great…"

When they made it to the police department, they ran through the offices until they found Gunsmoke. Melanie started ranting about Bana and Lionel, saying how she found their journals, and just as she was about to be carted away from the officers, Gunsmoke raised his hand up for them to stop. "Okay, you're saying you found some journals indicating Lionel Shay and Bana Shay, their whereabouts?"

"Yes, they were taken by some girl named Nora, she has a journal of her own. I think Bana may have done something to her, because I found these in the cemetery. She set the journals down on the desk and waited patiently as the veteran officer began reading through them. After some time, he started to pale.

"Holy shit, how can someone…" He groaned and flipped over to the last page, where he saw that Bana was staying at the docks while Lionel had checked himself into a five star hotel. "Okay, if they're still here…we'll find them and arrest them. What of Freddie Benson and Carly Shay?"

"They should be safe, but…" Melanie put a sheet of paper with two phone numbers down. "These are their numbers, you can call them and help them. Please make sure they're safe."

"I will, and thank you, Miss."

Just hours later, the police were in two separate locations. The dock, and the large hotel. When they found Bana, he was sleeping on one of the docked boas. Gunsmoke narrowed his eyes and reached for his belt. Bana's eyes flew open and he quickly leapt up. "Bana Shay, you're under arrest for the suspected murders of the entire Benson-Davidson clan."

"You cannot prove a thing."

"I believe we can, but nonetheless, you are to come with us."

"Okay…" Bana chuckled and reached down in the ship. Gunsmoke's eyes widened as he watched the killer pulled out two semi-automatic rifles.

"Shit! He's loaded! Everyone down!" The officers ducked as Bana started firing off and charging into the crowd, laughing insanely. Thinking fast, Gunsmoke rose up and placed a well timed bullet into Bana's chest. The killer abruptly sank to his knees and landed on the ground, convulsing. He sighed and lifted his head to the sky as his radio went off. He grabbed the radio and spoke. "Any news on the hotel front?"

"Yes sir...the hotel manger caught his name and let us know what we needed. We arrested the man then and there."

"Good. God knows we don't want any more deaths in this town. Let's get moving."

At her own home, Melanie was watching the news on television with her father. She cheered when they ran the story about Lionel and Bana. David chuckled and rubbed her shoulder. She had so much to do, and yet, so little time.

Now that is quite a bit of action and so forth, hope you enjoyed the chapter