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 the final three chapters this week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Thank you for clicking this story, and I hope you enjoy!
Part Nineteen – The Concert
Beep... Beep... Beep...
Light flooded his vision as consciousness slipped in. A silent groan left his mouth as he slowly opened his eyes.
Yellow walls with a blue stripe along the top was the first thing he saw. The next were balloons of all shapes saying "Get Well Soon!". Flowers came after, then pictures on the wall, and finally he noticed the brightly colored furniture.
Sitting upon that furniture, to his immense surprise, was none other than Allison and Norbert Barrington, both fast asleep. Next to them, in an armchair, Dex sat playing on his Gameboy. He must have had the sound on low, for Beary just faintly heard the musical notes of the Mario theme.
As he continued to look around, he wondered where everyone else was. Had finding the Bears been just a dream? Was he in a hospital? Did it really happen? His leg hurt, as did his ear. He reached up, expecting to find fur, but instead found a bandage wrapped around his ear. So he had been hurt.
Not wanting to disturb anyone, Beary decided that he'd simply watch Dex playing his video game, though he couldn't see what he was doing. He just liked watching the facial expressions that Dex took on when playing such games.
He must've laughed without realizing it, for the next thing he knew, Dex had set down the game and walked over to his side. It was only when his brother started to speak and he could only hear a muffled sound did Beary realize something was wrong.
Why couldn't he hear him? He had been able to hear the Mario game! Why did he sound so muffled? Like he was the worst whisperer in the world! He lifted a finger up to his non-bandaged ear and rubbed it, trying to see if perhaps he had cotton in the canal, but nothing came out. Beary was left looking at Dex in complete confusion.
Dex, meanwhile, frowned and nodded. He bent over and picked up a whiteboard and pen from a bag by the bed, and began writing. HOW ARE YOU FEELING?
Beary blinked, reading the words, and spoke. "Good, I guess?" He knew his voice sounded off by the way his brother flinched and his adoptive parents waking up. "Loud?"
Dex had to stop his parents from rushing in and speaking to Beary, letting them know that Beary was having a hard time hearing and to use the whiteboard.
Allison was the first. OH, BABY BOY! YOU'RE AWAKE! I'M SO HAPPY!
"I'm happy, too, Mom." Noticing Dex making a turning gesture with his hand, he spoke again, attempting to lower the sound of his voice. "Am I too loud?" When he got a thumb's up, he grinned.
Norbert took the whiteboard and scribbled out something. WE WERE SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU. DEX EXPLAINED EVERYTHING, AND SO DID HENRY. WE ALL NEED TO TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE.
"Henry? My Dad?"
Norbert nodded and Allison seemed to sniffle.
"Don't cry, Mom. I don't know him very well, but I want to. I have a chance to learn the truth about me, and he's explained a lot already. He's lonely, Mom. My, um... Mama? She was hurt bad, and he lost me. I... that man... I remember him. When I saw him in the warehouse? I remembered him from years ago. He scared me. I don't know why, but I remember him from the night of the accident." He drifted off when he realized they were glancing at each other with mixed expressions.
WHEN I MEET HIM, I'M GOING TO BEAT HIM UP FOR YOU, Dex wrote.
Beary smiled and decided to change the subject. "Where is Jewel? Is she okay? She's not hurt, is she?"
Dex shook his head and wrote some more. SHE DID HAVE BRUISED RIBS FROM YOU KICKING HER OUT OF THE WAY, SO I'M TOLD, BUT SHE'S FINE. DO YOU WANT ME TO GO GET HER? SHE'S GETTING A CHECKUP.
"I... hurt her?" His ears flattened. Well, one did, but the other stayed where it was, but emitted a sharp pain. "Ow..." He reached up, fingering the bandage again. "Hurts."
Allison started to say something, but Beary didn't catch it at first. Bits and pieces, words soft and sometimes loud. He couldn't make it out.
Dex shook his head and spoke to her, tapping the whiteboard.
She nodded and took it. SORRY, BEARY. I FORGOT. ARE YOU IN PAIN, HONEY? DO YOU WANT ME TO CALL THE DOCTOR?
He gave a little nod. Shouldn't they call the doctor anyway?
Norbert reached up and pressed a button on a console above Beary's head. The cub turned his head and looked up at it curiously.
They continued to talk via him speaking and the whiteboard, and finally the doctor came, looked him over, and spoke to his parents.
Beary eyed them in confusion, and became even more confused when the doctor tried speaking to him. When he raised his voice and stood on his left side, however, Beary was able to understand him.
"I hear that you're having trouble hearing. That might be because of the bandage on your right ear, Beary," the doctor said, unaware of how small he was making Beary feel. "We will run some tests and get you fixed up one way or another. However, you can go home and rest. You don't need to stay in this hospital. We'll keep you overnight here, and tomorrow we will release you. Do you understand?"
Beary furrowed his brow and gave a small nod.
"Good. Now then, let's start some tests." The doctor looked at the humans, spoke to them, and Beary watched as they walked out.
Beary was helped into a sitting position, examined, vitals taken, and looked after. The bandage on his ear was taken off, and he discovered that while he could hear a little from it, it wasn't very much. Still muffled and quiet.
Yet, they seemed pleased that his ear would move from their touches. That it responded. They seemed sad, though, that it wouldn't respond to what Beary saw as speech or the snapping of fingers.
While they did what they needed to do, Beary found himself wondering what had become of the band. Had they done their concert? How much time had passed since the warehouse and here? Was Jewel okay? What about Henry, his father? Where was he? Was he okay?
.~*~.
Henry Dixon Taylor sat by the enclosed bed of his wife. Every shelf was covered in get well cards from years gone past, and there were a few flowers. Every week he would change the flowers he brought for her. Sometimes he'd bring daisies, other times a bouquet of random flowers, but usually he'd bring different colored roses clipped from her rose bushes back home at the Hall.
"...And so the band did their first benefit concert last night. We had a fine crowd at the Hall, but not as big as I expected. Maybe two hundred people? I suspect that the people that came only learned from those we met on our travels to get the band back together. A lot of people probably didn't even know about it. See, I don't think Rip Holland promoted the show like I asked him to, but I couldn't get ahold of him to find out. It didn't matter, though. We made enough to buy us more time to pay off the debt, which wouldn't have happened if it hadn't been for Beary and Jewel.
"Oh, Helen... When I came to the hospital this morning and spoke to the doctors, they told me that you'd been waking up. I don't know whether or not to believe it. You look the same as you have for years. A sleeping beauty." He smiled fondly as he stood up and ran a finger over her cheek. "I just wish you'd wake up and come back to me... I miss you so much."
To his surprise, her eyes flickered and opened, shifting over to look at him. "H-Hi... H-He-Hen-Hendri." Her brow furrowed, knowing that wasn't right.
He couldn't believe it. Was he just dreaming this? "H-Helen?" He rubbed his eyes and moved his paw in front of her face, choking up when he found her eyes following it. "Are you... Are you really awake? This can't be... Seven years and not a peep, and then I get the band back together and you... you wake up. I must be dreaming."
Shaking, she raised a paw and rested it upon his on the railing. "I... here... Hendri."
The pepper-furred bear could not hold back any longer as he openly wept, leaning over to smother her face in light kisses. The heartbeat from his bond mark was strong and full of life. His lover was not only awake, but aware of him being there. Speaking. Seeing!
Helen managed a laugh as she licked his nose and kissed it. "My Hendri."
"My Helena," he responded, leaning his forehead against hers. "So much has changed, and I can't wait to show you. Little Beary's ten, now. He's gotten so big... But don't fret. You aren't the only one who has missed out on him growing up." Henry spent the next hour explaining what he had learned from the Barringtons, and how Beary had been raised, and telling her how grateful he was of them.
He did not, however, inform her of how exactly he lost their son. What Reed had told him of throwing him into the river. There was no point in upsetting her at this point, not when she couldn't do anything about it. The police were searching for Reed, who had slipped away and vanished. Even Rip Holland had not been located, nor that young polar bear Reed had been manipulating.
Henry bore the polar bear no ill will, but did hope that he'd realize what his actions had caused and would go to the police.
"Baby... big?" Helen asked softly, turning her head to look at a picture on the tabled beside her – the last family portrait they had all taken together. "Jacob?"
"Jacob's moved out and is in Alaska, working with the coast guard. Trista's up in the Yukon dating an Andean bear named Kai. She's become a very popular vet and takes care of quite a lot of animals. Pets, wild, rehabilitation. Our daughter's done wonders with herself, and our son has saved many lives. And Beary... Well, he got my lazy butt in gear and we went and reunited the band."
She frowned, perplexed. "Why?"
He gulped. "Uh... because I put the Hall as collateral to take out loans to pay for medical bills."
"He-Hendri..." Ears flattening, she sniffled. Why hadn't he simply let her die rather than sinking into debt? She wanted to form more words, but her vocal chords did not want to work. She fell into a sorrowful silence and shared her emotions with him through tears instead of speech.
"Oh, honey... Shh... Don't cry. Don't cry. You might wonder why I didn't just have them pull the cord, and that's because I was afraid. I didn't want to say goodbye to my best friend without apologizing for my behavior that night. I know it was a rough time, but I should have been the one to take Beary out for that drive. I should have stayed up to calm him down. It's my fault. Please, don't cry..." He wiped her tears away with his thumbs and kissed her nose.
A knock at the door pulled him away from his beloved, and he went to answer it. "Oh, it's you."
Helen watched as he stepped outside for a minute, and wondered when he'd be back. It'd be soon, right? The door opened again and a family of humans walked into the room behind her lover. 'They must be the... Barringtons? Yes. That must be it.'
"So she's really awake?" Allison looked past Henry and found herself staring at the poor creature on the bed. "He really does look like her..."
"Indeed," Henry smiled. "Our other two children looked more like me. Trista and Jacob. Beary is Helen's lookalike." Henry stood by his wife's side, holding her paw. "Helen? These are the people that took Beary in. Allison, Norbert, and Dexter Barrington."
The family gathered around the bed, but Dex hung back, watching the interactions as Helen tried to speak to his parents but barely managed a word. He felt pity for her. He could see how thin she was, and how flat her muscular structure was. It would take a long time for things to get back to normal for the she-bear, if they ever did. He hoped so. He found himself wanting to get to know her. Make up for the mistakes he made with Beary. Someday he would, no doubt about it. He knew he'd been wrong, and he'd make it right again.
.~*~.
A few days later, back at the Hall, Zeb paced around inside his cabin – which he had spent the past few days cleaning and fixing up inside and out, trying to figure out what to wear. His estranged wife would be there any minute, and he was still trying to decide how to look. Should he wear a tattered white vest and his hat? Should he go for plaid? What should he do?
"I should have made dinner! Stupid, stupid, stupid. I don't even have any flowers to give to her! Ah, what was I thinking, inviting her here? Will she bring Fēnglì? She said she wouldn't. That she wanted this meeting to be just the two of us. To work things out. Oh, what am I doing. I don't have a chance with her."
Zeb Zoober was a mess of emotions, that much Méngméng could see as she watched him through the open window. She felt bad, too, as she had initially come to tell him that she didn't want to get back together. That she didn't know if she could trust him enough to stay sober.
Seeing him now, however, made her have second thoughts on the subject. Could he change? He seemed to be sober, but would it last? Was it worth trying to fix their marriage? She'd never divorced him, as she still loved him very much, so perhaps...?
Taking a deep breath, she straightened her sundress and knocked on the door, listening to the startled yelp and rustling from the other side with a small smile on her face.
Finally, the door opened, and Zeb stood in front of her... naked.
Méngméng, however, took it in stride, knowing full well he had probably forgotten that he wasn't dressed. She looked him up and down. "You look good."
"I... I feel good," he responded, his eyes trailing over her. "Uh, I... Oh, right. Come in. Sorry, I don't have anything to eat yet. Right now, we've all just been eating at the Hall, since we don't know if we're going to stay together yet."
"I see." Méngméng sat down on the couch, setting her purse on the table. "Alec, we need to talk."
"I know," he responded, sitting down beside her, but with some space between them. "I know why you left... and I'm sorry. It was my fault. Me and my drinking."
Her mouth dropped in surprise. "Alec, I never should have left the way I did. I got angry. I got flustered. I shouldn't have taken Fēnglì away from a father who loved him dearly and never harmed us, even if he is a drunkard. He... He asked so many times to go see you, but I... I knew if I went back, I'd never want to leave again. I knew I had made a mistake, and I wasn't sure if you'd forgive me for it. I didn't want to see our money going down the drain because you wanted honey. I wanted him to see a father who loved him. I wanted him to have clothing he needed. School supplies.
"I made it, though, Alec. I became a rescue paramedic. Fēnglì's doing well in elementary school, and so many envy his stripes. He's very smart in his studies, and he's a talented pianist and fiddler."
"You... You taught him to play the fiddle?" Zeb blinked in surprise.
"I wanted him to have a piece of you..." she murmured, ears lowering. "Since I took him from you."
"Méngméng..." He gently cupped her cheek. "Don't beat yourself up. We're both at fault. We should have worked through it together. I love you and Fēnglì. You're my family, and I threw that away for some honey. You saw that I was throwing our savings away and took what you could and left. That was brave of you. Yes, at first I was mad. I was heartbroken that the only she-bear I ever loved left me, but as time went on, deep down I knew it was the right thing to do. It has taken me many years to get sober, and now that I'm finally on the road to recovery, I wanted to ask you if we could pursue a new relationship. Fix things between us, and, if you will allow it, be a family again."
"A family?" She sniffled and nodded. "I'd like that. I'd like that a lot... I miss being with you, and I want to see you change back into the bear I fell in love with."
"You mean the wild animal you slept with at the bar?" he teased, purring.
"Oh, that first night might have been against my character, but the results... I found love and life with my mate. I did a dare, and I won." She leaned forward and licked his nose. "And this time, I won't give up on you again."
He licked her back, blushing. "Nor I, you." He leaned forward to kiss her, only to be stopped by her finger. "Méngméng?"
"Oh, no, you're not getting me back that easily. You're gonna have to work for it. I'm not an easy girl, Alec. I want my love to be earned by you." She looked him up and down again. "Then again, you're already undressed... Oh, decisions."
"Un-undressed...? OH HOLY CRAP!" He grabbed a pillow and covered himself up with it.
The silver she-panda smiled. "Oh, don't fret. I thought you looked nice. So tempting..."
"Méngméng..."
"Oh, what the hell." She pounced and he welcomed her with open arms.
.~*~.
Night of the second and final concert...
"How are you two feeling?" Ted Bedderhead asked as he walked up to the two cubs that sat side by side, one in a wheelchair and the other on a crate.
Beary looked at him curiously, trying to figure out what he'd said at first, and decided to repeat the question to make sure he got it right. Hearing in his left ear had returned greatly, but not 100% yet, whereas his right ear was still fairly damaged. "Feeling? Okay, I guess. As good as I can, considering the situation."
Jewel nodded. "Yeah. I can't wait to be up there as you guys perform. I just wish Beary could join in, too."
Fred came up beside his brother, nodding sadly. "I know, but we don't want risk to you any further. That creep is still out there."
Beary shivered and nodded unhappily. He didn't want to be hurt again. "Where's Dad?"
"He's finalizing things with Big Al, and picking up the money from the ticket counter. Your parents and brother are working in the kitchen. This time we're going to have homemade food, like cookies and slices of pie," Fred explained, drooling at the thought.
"Mom's pies are really good. Speaking of Mom... um, do you know when Henry, I mean, Papa will let me meet Mom? I mean, Helen? I mean, Mama?" He frowned, confused as to what to call everyone. He felt kinda silly calling Henry 'Papa', but what was he to do? How was he to differentiate between his human and bear dads?
"I'm sure he will soon, Beary. He's most likely waiting until she's stronger and able to communicate better. I'm sure he doesn't want to frighten her about your condition," Trixie stated, walking over with Tennessee.
Tennessee nodded, sniffing. "She wants to see you more than anything, kid."
Jewel agreed and licked her friend's cheek. "You'll see her soon, I'm sure."
"Will she even like me?" he asked softly.
"Why wouldn't she?" Jewel questioned, just as perplexed as the adults. "You're her son."
He simply shrugged and looked out at the red curtain, wishing he could be out there, too. Jewel was going to get to play her guitar, but he was to sit backstage. He was happy for her, of course, but wished he could share in the joy of playing with the band. Yet, how could a half-deaf bear cub play with musicians? He'd simply mess them up, he was certain of it. Plus, he'd bring further bad publicity to them all with his injuries. People might question why the band didn't protect him and boycott.
"Where's Zeb?" Beary asked, changing the subject.
"Oh, probably having his fill of that panda of his," Ted grumbled. "How he got such a gorgeous she-bear is beyond me. I, on the other hand, have my eye on someone more practical and better matching."
"Is it Jade?" Jewel asked, grinning.
The others started to laugh when Ted got flustered.
"Oh, Ted, just go and ask her out."
"I barely know her!"
"And yet you have a crush on her. Nothing wrong there, Teddy. Sometimes a fling can be the best decision you ever make," Zeb said, finally walking in through the door to the practice room, holding his wife's paw. "I know it was mine. I managed to snag myself the most beautiful she-bear for my own." He leaned down and kissed her nose before glancing at Trixie and Jewel. "Present parties excluded."
Méngméng laughed and shook her head. "Beary, how are you feeling tonight?"
"Fine, I guess. Nothing new to complain about. I mean, shot, broken leg, deaf... What else should I complain about?" He lowered his gaze, noticing the others quietly leaving. "All I am is a target and burden..."
Jewel's eyes narrowed. "You're a hero, and heroes don't always come out without injuries, or if they do, they're gone the next episode. You're a hero, Beary. You're my hero, and heroes get a kiss."
"Don't you dare!" His cry went unheeded as she kissed him lightly before backing away. "Bleh! Gross."
She laughed. "You're such a child sometimes."
"We're the same age!"
"I'm four months older than you."
Méngméng shook her head at the squabbling of cubs. "Fēnglì will be here soon. His friend is bringing him."
"Fēnglì?" they asked, glancing over at her.
"Mhm. Mine and, well, Zeb's son. He's two years younger than the pair of you. I hope you'll enjoy his company. He, too, will be backstage, Beary, as will I and Henry. You won't be alone, kiddo," Méngméng stated with a smile.
Beary hated that smile. He knew she was trying to be kind, but to him it felt condescending. Forced. Everyone was trying to smile at him and reassure him, but why? Were they trying to reassure him that he'd be all right? That no further harm would come to him? If that was the case, they could pack their bags. No further harm? He was only ten, for pity's sake! He'd be harmed again somewhere down the line! Fools.
"My, my, you are grumpy," Méngméng laughed. "Then again, I can understand why. Such a pity that you can't just enjoy the concert as a fan rather than being upset that you can't be onstage."
Beary scowled at her and wheeled himself away, heading towards the practice room, wanting to play one of the games there.
Jewel sighed and followed him. "Beary... Do you want me to not play tonight?"
"What?" He looked back at her in shock.
She repeated her question and he frowned.
"Jewel, I want you to have fun. I just wish I could have fun with you." Beary frowned when he couldn't get the door open and grumbled. "Forget it. I'm just gonna go behind these crates and draw. I'll come out when you play. I want to see you."
She smiled and nodded. "And you will, I promise." Her ears perked when she heard Henry. "All right, time to get going for some warm ups before he opens the Hall to guests. Are you going to be okay?"
Beary nodded as he finished hiding himself behind some crates, unaware that he'd gotten a wheel stuck between the wall and the floor. He frowned, feeling a bit unbalanced, but figured he'd moved wrong in his seat. "I'll be fine." He reached back and grabbed his bag, pulling out his sketchbook and pencils and erasers.
Jewel frowned a little, her ears going back slightly, and backed away. "Well, talk to you after the show, okay? I promise."
He nodded, focusing on his work. It wasn't until he heard his birth father's introduction to the band did he realize how much time had passed. Oh well, at least he had gotten fairly done on his latest sketch, which featured Jewel and her guitar. He snapped the book shut and put it in his bag, which he then hung on the back of his chair. He could hear the music starting, and his heart raced. Jewel was expecting him to watch!
Putting his paws on the wheels, he attempted to move forward, only to find himself stuck.
"Are you serious?" he muttered to himself, looking to see how he had gotten stuck. "Oh, come on!" He pulled on the wheel, flinching when he jarred his broken leg. "Great. Now what?" He tugged a few more times, even tried tilting, but it was stuck good and tight. "Ah, man. She's going to be so upset with me!" He couldn't even call for help, as it would disrupt the show, which was getting louder.
"Need some help?"
Beary jumped, not expecting the voice. He lifted his head, eyes widening when he found a deranged looking Reed Thimple standing before him with a muzzle. He opened his mouth to scream, but Reed got to him first, slipping the device over his snout and locking it behind his head. What was he doing here?! How'd he get in?!
"And just so you can't take it off, here." Reed tied his wrists tightly to the arms of the chair, almost tight enough to cut off circulation. "You know, things were going fine until you showed up, bear. I had the destruction of this place in the bag! Now I'll have to do it myself, and it'll be messy. Perhaps lives will be lost, too. I wonder how dear Henry will feel if he loses his son?"
The ten-year-old stared at him with fear. Was he going to kill him? Kidnap him? Wait, why was he covering him with a blanket?
"You stay here and be a good little boy, and maybe things will be quick!"
Things fell silent for a while, and then Beary heard screams and smelled the smoke.
.~*~.
When the fires around the building started, Jewel didn't notice at first. She simply strummed her guitar and stood by her mother at the keyboard, listening to Roadie drum a beat behind her. The bright lights shining down upon her blinded her to the audience.
She didn't know that Reed Thimple had been walking around the outside of the building with gasoline, nor did she know that he had even been walking through the crowd with a large bottle of flammable liquid, spilling some every few feet and creating a trail. She did not know something was amiss until she realized the stage curtains had somehow caught ablaze, and once that happened, the flames followed a trail of gasoline from backstage to a side tunnel to Henry's office, around to the entrance where it split outside and went further inside, burning the trail and then the wooden walls and flooring.
She did not realize how much danger they were in until someone began to scream.
"FIRE!"
Fire? Jewel didn't understand. What fire? Where was it? Or was someone just trying to cause trouble?
The scent of burning wood, however, told her otherwise. She turned to look at her mother, having stopped playing. "Mama?"
Trixie backed away from her keyboards, sniffing the air and looking around. She couldn't see into the crowd very well because of the bright lights upon them, but she could smell the fire. She glanced up and quickly pushed her daughter out of the way as a curtain rod fell, clattering between them as the fabric upon it burned a bright orange. A burnt rope lay beside it.
Screams filled the air, and the other members of the band began to take notice. Instruments were passed to Fred, who took them to the bus just outside the practice room door and just set them inside, while Ted went to help people get through the flames, which had spread faster than he believed they would.
Zeb made a beeline for Méngméng and his son, who had been standing by Henry, hoisting Fēnglì up and out of harm's way, while Tennessee went straight for Trixie and Jewel and led them out of harm's way. Roadie went to move the bus away from the building, and Big Al joined Ted in helping people get out.
Henry made for the kitchens after checking backstage for his son. Upon not finding him, he assumed one of the others got him out and went to find the Barringtons in the kitchen to make sure they got out the kitchen door safely.
Fighting to get through the crowd of panicking concert-goers, Henry finally made it over to the kitchen and was thankful to find that it wasn't on fire, even if the area outside the concession counter was. He barged through the door and looked around, thankful to find all three gone.
Coughing on the smoke, he made his way to the pantry and out through the door usually used for deliveries to the kitchen. He had to find the others and set up their mini fire brigade! Briefly, he found himself wondering if the boys even remembered what they were doing – since the Hall grounds were so far from Pendleton town and Nashville, they had been trained by the volunteer fire department on what to do in case of a thing like this.
He was relieved to find them setting up hoses to the pumps and turning them on the blaze. Yet he knew that even if the fought the flames outside, there were still the ones inside.
"Mr. Henry! Henry!" Jewel cried, running over to him. Her mother was helping the band out with the hoses by pairing up with Roadie, as had James and Tasha Stone [Jordan was at a babysitter's], leaving Jewel to be with the Barringtons.
"Jewel? What is it? Are you all right?"
She nodded. "Is Beary with you? We can't find him!"
"C-Can't... Can't find him?" Henry repeated, not sure if he was hearing right. He felt his heart skip a beat and found himself frozen in place as his eyes scanned the area.
"No! I thought someone else got him, and they thought you got him, and... and you must've thought we had him..." Her eyes turned towards the blaze.
Henry knew immediately what she was going to do and grabbed her as she tried to bolt. "No! I'll go! You stay here! Jewel!"
"No! He's my friend! It's my fault he's back there! He probably got stuck!" she cried, trying to squirm free.
"Back where? Backstage? I didn't see him!"
"He's hidden behind some crates by the practice room door. Under a window! Please, let me go find him!"
"Under the window?" Henry frowned. In that area, the flooring didn't meet the wall. Beary could have easily gotten his wheelchair stuck! "I know where you're talking about. I'm going in after him. You stay here and help where you can. If you got hurt, Beary wouldn't forgive himself, would he?"
Ears lowering, she nodded, and he finally released her. All her instincts told her to run into the building, but she held back, watching as Henry jogged past the others to go through the door to the side building practice room.
No sooner had he vanished through it, did the small structure collapse behind him.
.~*~.
The forty-nine-year-old pepper furred bear coughed on the thick smoke as he glanced back at the now collapsed room with a heavy heart. How would they get out now? The main back door that had been used to unload supplies backstage had been stuck for almost a decade now due to a wood pile being put in front of it outside. They'd have to try to go through the tunnel to his office. He just hoped no flames were in it. He did not want to have to travel through the Hall in order to get to the main door. The entire floor was on fire.
Suddenly, he found himself glad that he had not allowed Helen to come and see the concert that day. Who knows what would have happened to her?!
"Beary!" he called, trying to see through the smoke to find his child. Jewel had said he was behind some crates by the window, but would he have stayed here? Most likely, if he had indeed gotten stuck.
The older bear made his way over to the tall pile of crates underneath the window, but all he found behind them was a blanket covering something. Maybe Jewel had been wrong. He began to turn to look at the other window, when the lower part of the blanket moved.
A sinking feeling in his stomach, Henry ripped the blanket away, startled to find his cub muzzled and tied by the wrists to the wheelchair.
Wasting no time, Henry began to pull on the ropes, hoping they'd just snap, to no avail. Beary's struggles to loosen them had only made them tighter at the knot. Thankfully, Henry remembered the pocket knife he always carried around, and pulled it out. "You're going to be okay. Papa's going to get you out! I promise!" he soothed, using a serrated edge to start cutting through the ties.
As soon as he was through both sets, Beary pushed himself off the wheelchair towards him, not ashamed of the tears that rolled down his cheeks.
"Shh, I got you... Let's get this damn thing off of you." Putting the knife away, he unbuckled the harness and threw the muzzle into the flames. "Who did this to you?"
Beary coughed harshly. He didn't know the man's name! "B-Ban-Ban...ker!" he hacked, his throat crying in pain from the taste of smoke.
"Banker?" Henry's eyes narrowed darkly. 'That bastard! When I get ahold of him... He probably started the fire, too!' He had to remind himself to stop and get Beary to safety before letting his anger get the better of him.
Mindful of his leg, Henry cradled his son in his arms and covered him with a blanket. "Easy, we'll get out of here, Beary. Just trust me. Do you trust me?"
Beary's only working ear, however, was pressed up against Henry's chest, so he didn't hear him. He could hear his racing heartbeat, though, and could see the flames licking the walls of where he'd just been – if his father hadn't come when he had, it was very likely he'd been burned alive.
Henry moved away from the burning crates. He knew they had to get off stage; he could hear the snapping of the ropes that held up the lights and other things.
He began to run, trying to see through the smoke and flame that filled the back of the stage, and groaned when he found the tunnel full of smoke and flame. There was no way he'd make it through. He wouldn't risk his son further. He could feel him shaking as he coughed.
The peppery bear looked out across the building, frowning at all the flames. He'd get burned most likely, but if it meant getting Beary out and to safety, so be it.
He made his way out on stage and walked down the stairs to the main area, glancing back with a heavy heart as he looked at the destruction the fire had already done. There would be no more concerts on that stage.
"Ah, Henry. You did make it back inside. I had wondered if using that little brat as bait would work."
That voice... He knew that voice. "Reed." He spat the name out like it was poison. He flicked his ears, listening over the crackle of the flames in an effort to find him.
There was a sharp crack, and white-hot pain blew through his knee, causing him to collapse and drop his son, who rolled a little towards the fire. Henry immediately reached out and pulled him back to him, fighting back the tears of pain as he looked down at his bloodied knee. He couldn't move it! Reed probably had shot him! Now how was he to get Beary out?
Through the flames, Reed Thimple walked towards the fallen bears while wearing a flame-retardant suit to protect him from the heat and to give him clean air to breathe. He had stored it in one of the crates shortly before starting the fire and had changed into it in the tunnel after having spread bits of flammable liquid around the area just before starting the fire.
Henry fixed him with a hard stare. "You pla-anned this," he coughed.
"Of course I did. I didn't get the destruction of the Hall that I wanted. You didn't really think it was over, did you, Henry? That I would just give up and let the police take me before enacting my revenge?" Reed walked around him, studying the fallen duo with wild eyes.
"You're psychotic! How can this all stem from the fact that you were beat at a talent show?" Henry asked after checking on Beary and recovering him.
"You think it's honestly just that? No. It's because of the Vietnam War. Do you remember Benjamin Boggswaggle? He was assigned to your unit. The only casualty your unit suffered. You saved the rest of your unit and became a hero, but Benjamin Boggswaggle was not saved! You left my father to die and instead saved the rest!"
"What?" Henry blinked a few times, thinking back to the war in which he had been awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor. "He had been too badly wounded, Reed! There was nothing anyone could do! You're willing to injure innocents over something that no one could control?! It was not my fault your father died! He rushed the enemy and got my unit captured! He died because he wanted to be a hero! He almost got all of us killed!"
"That's a lie! My father never would have done something like that!" Reed shouted, holding the gun out, ready to shoot him again.
"Your father was a fool who threw his life away for nothing. All throughout training he was rude and vulgar. Said how many he wanted to kill. He wasn't right in the head, and he passed that onto you. I have nothing but pity for you. You allowed your anger at me to spill over and attack the band. Attack innocent children. You need help, Benny! Come with us, and I'll make sure you'll get it!"
Reed hesitated, still holding the gun pointed at the bear. Everything in his father's letters pointed to his hatred of Henry, and that hatred had spilled over into Reed after his death. Was it possible that his father had been at fault for his own death? And now he'd sentenced his own life to it. After everything he'd done, he'd never get help. Even with a plea of insanity, he didn't want to go to a ward! What would that do to his wife and son? It would ruin them!
He dropped the gun and kicked it away from himself and Henry, and pulled off his gear, tossing it over to the bear. "Put your boy in that. It'll at least give him some oxygen and protection."
Henry blinked and watched as the human walked towards the burning staircase up to the balcony, and turned away as he danced in the flames and flung himself off the railing in a way that broke his neck. He found himself hoping that Reed would finally find peace in the afterlife.
He pulled the blanket off of Beary and put him into the large suit, sealing it once he got him inside. At least he'd be protected from being burned, as there was no way Henry would be able to carry him out of the building. Not with his leg the way it was, unable to support any weight.
He looked through the clear facemask at the frightened expression on his son. "It'll be all right... You'll get out of this. I know you will. I know you can't hear me right now, but..." Henry looked around him at the burning building, letting his tears fall as he realized he'd never see Helen again. Would she cry when she realized he'd died? Would she mourn for him? Would this hinder her ability to get better? He knew that deep down, losing him would take its toll on his beloved, but there was nothing more he could do other than protect their son for her.
"Helen, forgive me..." he cried, pulling Beary into his arms and covered him with his body, coughing heavily as the ceiling began to cave in.
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