Keep in mind, this is an AU of the main stuff, and in no way affects it. Nothing from the Main Storyline will make an appearance here, other than some characters.
I will be uploading two chapters per week [Tuesday/Thursday], since the chapters are so short.
Thank you for clicking this story, and I hope you enjoy!
Part Seventeen – The Armpit Farter's Revenge
Beary was getting despondent. His vision was swimming, and everything was muffled. The pain in his ear was nothing to his leg. A soft moan left his lips as he tried shifting, but had no strength left. He felt a pinch on his shoulder, but lowered his head, having trouble holding it up.
Kumoko frowned, studying the cub's behavior and the blood pooling on the floor. They had been on the road for an hour, and while people had behaved, things were still very tense. "Sir, I believe this cub is badly hurt. Should we not seek medical treatment?"
"No. He is far too valuable as a hostage." Reed looked down at the cub as he patched up his own wounds with an old First Aid kit. He looked in the kit and found nothing left, as he had used it all up on his minor injuries. He looked down at where the gathered bears were. "You, gold one, come here."
Trixie looked up with hatred at the human. "I have a name, not that you're worthy of speaking it," she spat.
"Don't test me. Get up here and fix this stupid cub before he bleeds to death. He's lucky he kicked that daughter of yours out of the way, or she would have gotten it in the gut." Reed shook his head. "Foolish."
Trixie frowned. She hadn't seen that bit, but looking over at her muzzled daughter, curled up in her father's arms because her side hurt, she knew it was true. "Fine... I will come up." She glanced over at Henry, who was in the very back and forcibly restrained by Ted, Fred, and Zeb. "Henry, give me your necktie, please."
The older bear removed the golden necktie and passed it to Ted, who passed it to Zeb, who finally passed it to her. Trixie then got up and slowly walked down the bus and knelt in front of the polar bear. Immediately, she could see that Beary was in bad shape.
"Sanatore, have mercy," she murmured. "Lower him flat. Do it!" She waited until the polar bear did as asked and then began to feel the cub's leg, seeking where his injury in his leg was. She found an entry wound, but it was barely bleeding. However, the exit wound going through his upper thigh was nasty. Finding the full source of the bleeding, she slipped the golden necktie around his leg, trying to keep what blood she could within his body. She glared at Reed, who had used far too many bandages for his minor wound, but didn't ask for any of them back. No point in contamination. "This should have been dealt with an hour ago! You're lucky he's not dead, for if he was, not even your bodyguard could save your life!"
Reed, in return, pointed the gun at her head. "No funny business, bear."
"I would never purposely endanger a child," she responded shortly. She looked down at Beary's face, trying to get him to stay awake. "Beary? Kiddo, it's me, Trixie. Can you hear me?" She snapped her finger, hoping to get a response, but only one of his ears flicked. As if he couldn't hear her on the right side... the same side with the bullet hole in it. "Oh, damn it all," she whispered. Gently, she stroked his head, sorrowful at his pained whines. "Easy, little one..."
Beary opened his eyes and looked up at her. "Jewel...?"
"No, honey. Not Jewel." Trixie shook her head. She knew Beary wanted her daughter, but she didn't want to bring her daughter forward. She couldn't bring herself to do that. "Please, don't ask me to bring Jewel here..."
To her sadness, Beary continued to cry out for his friend. Trixie whimpered and continued stroking his head.
.~*~.
Henry looked out the window as they traveled through the city. They were back in Nashville, but he was nervous still. Trixie was still trying to get Beary to stay conscious, and, from what Henry could hear, the cub was drifting in and out of the waking world.
Henry wanted to rip Reed to shreds, but didn't dare attack. Reed still had his gun and his polar bear bodyguard.
The older bear was surprised that such a bear would be helping out the deranged human, but figured that Kumoko was being paid big bucks by the banker. It was no wonder why he'd turn on his own kind. But to allow a child to be hurt? How cruel could you be?
He turned his focus back to his band – if he could call them that – and found Fred eating more brownies ('when'd he get the time to make those? Or did he already have them?' Henry wondered), Ted muttering angrily to himself, Zeb wishing he had honey, and Tennessee consoling his muzzled daughter. He then looked up at Trixie and his son, his heart heavy. As soon as he was able, he was going to get Beary as far from here as he could. Take him back to his human family where he would be safe.
Finally, Reed directed Roadie into what appeared to be an empty lot with a big chain link fence around it. Shortly, they arrived inside what appeared to be some kind of warehouse and parked.
Henry watched solemnly as Beary was lifted up by the polar bear and carried off the bus after Reed and Roadie got off, and Reed ordered the rest of them off before he started shooting again.
One by one, the bears filtered off the bus, walking in a straight-ish line through the warehouse and into a large metal cage in the center.
"I am definitely changing banks," Henry snarled at the human, furious, but also knowing that if he spoke too harshly, further harm might be done to his son.
"Oh, I hate to lose a customer as foolish as you," Reed retorted. Once the others were in, he spotted Jewel cowering in the corner. "Oh, you poor dear. Are you scared?" He didn't taunt her very much, afraid of her attacking him again. "Tell you what, I'll let them release the muzzle when we're gone."
"We?" Henry asked. "You give me my boy!"
The banker thought for a moment and glanced over at Beary. "Hm... Should I? Or should I just drop him into a river? I could do that. Make it a quick death. He looks like he's almost there already. Hey, maybe he'll join his mother in a coma. Still don't know how she survived being pushed off the side of the road."
Henry's head shot up. "Pushed? What do you mean?"
"Duh. It wasn't just a hit and run. That stupid bitch of yours should have died that night." Reed rolled his eyes and looked at Kumoko. "Toss him in. Let him die with his 'heroes' watching. Hell, give them their instruments, too. That'd be great. They can have one last concert together."
Kumoko frowned a little and looked down at the cub in his arms. "Sir..."
"Do as I say! I will write off your family's debt, remember? That was our agreement."
Kumoko's ears flattened and he sighed softly. He walked into the cage and gently set Beary down before backing out. "Of course, sir. Sorry, sir." He then left to the bus and gathered up the instruments, taking his time – hoping that the band would overrun Reed – and brought them back, setting them down and leaving.
Reed slammed the cage door shut and locked it with a mighty key.
Henry immediately moved over to his son and lifted him up and away from the human and polar bear.
"Why are you doin' this?" Fred asked.
Thimple looked at him, surprised at the question. "Why?"
Beary, delirious, decided at that moment to be a smartass and spoke sarcastically. "That's what he asked, genius," he slurred.
The Bears and Roadie all winced at the light brown furred cub's sarcastic reply. Henry tightened his hold on him, whispering soothingly and begging him to be quiet.
"Why? You ruined my life!" Reed shouted, his voice echoing in the semi-empty warehouse.
"What are you talking about?" Henry questioned, finally glancing up at the banker warily.
"I can't let you have that show and ruin what I've been working on for thirty years!"
"Thirty years?!" Henry blinked. Hadn't the band only been around for seventeen years? And broken up for ten? Why did he say thirty? Had he miscounted?
"I've been plotting and slowly rising to the top of the food chain, waiting for my chance to destroy the place that brought me misery. To destroy the bear that ruined my family." He took a step towards them. "Finally my day came, but then this little pain in the ass came along and nearly ruined everything!" His voice had risen to a shout as he aimed the gun once more at the cub's head. "I told you twenty-seven years ago that I would have my revenge."
Henry's eyes widened in recognition as the memory of a teenager saying similar words came to mind. "Oh my word! You're Benny Boggswaggle!" he accused.
"The armpit farter!" Zeb exclaimed.
"Ew..." the others groaned as they all took a step back.
"A sweet, innocent kid," Thimple went on.
"You hit me with a chair!" the former honeyaholic then stated.
"Yes, I did. All part of my plotting," Thimple, now revealed to be Benny Boggswaggle, growled. "And I started it about seven years ago when I ran your wife off the road. Oh, seeing your jeepster was so obvious. Stupid fool, driving that around every day. That your youngest was inside was just an added bonus. Yet, somehow he survived being thrown down the embankment.
"I was very surprised when I found him in a bush, but alas, how cruel would it have been to leave him there alone? He'd be dead by morning, most likely, picked off by some wild animal. So I did the only humane thing I could think of and picked him up. Oh, he squirmed. I actually thought about keeping him, raising him to hate you, but then the little brat bit me, so I did what anyone would do. I threw him in the river, hoping he'd simply drown."
Henry was shaking with anger as full understanding of what Thimple had done dawned on him. He passed Beary over to Fred and slammed his paws on the cage walls, rattling them. "You son of a bit-"
"Now, now, no need to bring my mother into this," Reed cackled and smiled. "Maybe I'll pay your wife a visit, too, hm? Let her join you in death. Oh, you don't understand? Look around you on the pillars. Yes, that's right. Bombs. This place is set for demolition in just a few hours. And you all just happen to be in the heart of it! No one will find you here." He backed away from the cage door. "Enjoy watching another one of your family member's suffering!" He laughed and left the warehouse.
Kumoko looked back at the caged bears and then at the fleeing human sadly, before returning his gaze to the cage. "If... If you can work together, you can get out of here. Or... Or if you have a phone..." He bent down, pulled something out of his pocket, and slid an object in a small opening under the cage. Quickly, he righted himself and left.
"Papa...?"
Henry, after picking up the small device and passing it over to the nearest person – who happened to be Jewel as she was walking back to a corner – slowly turned and looked at his son, who Fred had set on some rags that Zeb and Ted had made into a makeshift bed of sorts. Trixie was knelt beside him, tearing her dress to make a new bandage, as the other was completely bled through, and replaced the bandage, frowning.
"Henry, he's in really bad shape," she murmured, getting up.
Henry looked her over, noticing that the golden fur on her paws had been stained red with blood. "I... I know he is." The pepper bear sighed and looked over at Jewel, who was sitting on the floor away from the group. "You... You should go check on her. I'll sit with him."
Trixie nodded and moved over towards her daughter, shooting Tennessee a look as he bawled, and knelt down beside her, glancing back to see Henry taking a seat next to Beary and softly talking to him. "Jewel? Are you okay? Wait, hold on. Let me get this damn thing off of you." She started fiddling around with the leather and metal muzzle, finally managing to unlatch it and free her child of it. She then tossed it aside. "Honey?"
"It's my fault... If I... If I hadn't attacked him and been so bearish, Beary wouldn't have kicked me out of the way and gotten shot again. Why... Why did he do that, Mama?" Jewel asked softly, staring at her cupped paws and paying no mind to how much her side her.
"Because he's your friend and he cares about you. You are family to him. Family isn't always blood. It's the people in your life who want you in theirs; the ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile and who love you no matter what." Trixie smiled a bit. "No family is perfect. We argue, we fight. We even stop talking to each other at times, but in the end, family is family. The love will always be there."
Ted frowned, thinking on Trixie's words, his mind floating back to what Beary had said earlier, that a family loves each other. He then traveled back to 1983 during an interview with People magazine, where the band had stated they were a family and meant it. "I... I'm sorry. Fred, Zeb, Tennessee... I was wrong. About everything. I forgot what things were like before we... before I got greedy and wanted more money. I was selfish. I was angry that things weren't going my way. Zeb, I should have stepped in and stopped Rip from taking you to those bars all the time. I should have intervened long ago. Tennessee, I should have listened to your worries and fears, and comforted you as best I could. Fred..." Ted frowned, staring at his brother.
"Fred, I'm sorry for the fight we had that drove us apart. You're my brother, and I threw that away. And for what? To go off on my own and become a has-been? A wedding singer? Even rich people's children's birthday parties. Every time I sang, I found myself wishing you were there beside me. You're my baby brother. We're a unit. I'm sorry."
Fred smiled a little. "Aw, brother, you finally apologized for being a jerk! I'm so proud of you." He went right over and picked up his older-but-smaller brother and snuggled him tightly.
"Ack! Fred! Put me down!"
"Nope. You're gettin' hugs."
Zeb laughed a little. "Cute. I... I have regrets, too. Not just with the band, but with my personal life after it. When I met Méngméng, I had it all. A beautiful girl by my side, honey, and some money. Not to mention the wild se- er, I mean, wild time in bed." He glanced sheepishly over at Trixie. "Sorry. Anyway, I threw all that way a few years after my boy was born. Money was getting tight, and I was getting frazzled, and started drinking more and more. People would buy me drinks, see, 'cause I was famous and all. I just got drawn more and more in. Méngméng finally got fed up with me. She packed up Fēnglì and took off. I came home in the middle of the night to find them gone.
"I... I had a chance to be happy, ya know? Start fresh. She even got me off the drinking for a bit, but one night... One stupid night, I went to a bar and got recognized." Zeb sighed. "I regret it so much. It just opened a waterfall. But now that I'm back with you all, I thought that maybe I could fix things with us..." He started to cry. "But looking at where we are and surrounded by bombs, I don't think I'm going to get the chance!" He walked over to Fred, and was pulled into the bear hug as well.
Tennessee blubbered a little and looked at Trixie. "I should have come for you sooner. I should have listened instead of sending you away, baby. I should have stayed close and helped you achieve your dream to be a singer. But I was a fool. I threw away what I had, and missed out on my daughter's cubhood. I so sorry! Can you ever forgive me?"
"Tennessee, if I hadn't forgiven you, we wouldn't have torn up that room on our reunion night," Trixie laughed.
"Speaking of..." Jewel smiled. "Am I getting a brother or a sister?"
Trixie stammered, not sure what to say. Tennessee simply started laughing as he pulled his daughter up to his arms and hugged her tightly, loosening his grip at her soft cry. Trixie got up and joined them. Fred, not wanting to be denied a big group hug, had Zeb pull all three other bears into his group's hug.
Henry, meanwhile, smiled sadly at the group before turning his attention back to his child. "We'll get out of this, Beary. I promise you." He gently brushed back Beary's hair, trying to soothe him the best he could. He knew if they didn't get out of here, Beary would die. Then again, they all would, with those bombs.
He shook a little from fear. His poor boy was suffering. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't protect you. I failed."
Beary looked at him pitifully, trying to figure out what exactly he was saying. Slowly, he looked around uncertainly. "Phone? Jewel, phone Dex... tell him tracker... tracker. Use tracker..."
Henry frowned. Tracker? What was the cub talking about? "Jewel?" Henry turned to look at her. "Jewel, do you have a phone?"
The she-cub and nodded and opened her paws, revealing the phone Kumoko had slid into the cage. It was her phone that the polar bear had taken earlier. "I don't know how much battery I have left. We can only make one call, I think. Or, wait! I'll text!" She opened it and went to messages, immediately starting to type as carefully as she could. Once finished, the hit SEND. She just prayed that the message would get to him as her phone died.
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