Neither Nathan nor Mimsy could believe that Bitsy saw fit to give them the time of day, especially after the tirade they'd gotten from her yesterday. They weren't even sure why she wanted to meet with them now. Whatever the reason, Nathan was prepared to kill her if need be. Only problem was... he wasn't sure what kind of weapon he should use to get the job down. Then again, today was the day of the 2029 New York City mayoral election. What would be befitting for such a day? Hmm... perhaps just a simple baseball bat would do. Neither he nor Mimsy could really go wrong with a baseball bat.

"Alright, boss, we're gonna use baseball bats," Mimsy said. "Now what?"

"Now comes the hard part, Mimsy," Nathan replied. "Once we've smuggled our weapons inside, we'll have to figure out the appropriate time to use them against Bitsy, got it?"

"Like when, boss? During the meeting or something?"

Nathan smacked Mimsy with a right hook and then shook his fist. "Shut up, Mimsssyyy! Yes, we'll have to use them during the meeting, but we're not going to use them right then until I give the signal."

"What signal, boss?"

Nathan made an upside-down peace sign with his right index and middle fingers. "Like this."

"Ah, I get it now, boss."

"Alright. Are we ready now, Mimsy?"

"Ready as we'll ever be, boss! Let's do it!"

It was raining outside today, so Nathan and Mimsy had to put on their transparent raincoats first. Once they got that out of the way, they proceeded to catch an Uber and ride it all the way to the Brandenham Hotel where Bitsy would be. Upon entering the building, they found Classi and Helen blocking their path.

"Oh, hello, Classi," Nathan greeted her with a smirk. "What are you doing here on this fine day?"

Classi just crossed her arms, her face unwavering. "Ain't no way I'm letting you see Bitsy right now."

"Oh yeah, why's that?"

"I know what you're gonna do to her if you're alone with her. If I were you, I'd leave right now before somebody got hurt."

Nathan gave Classi a sinister smirk. "Oh yeah, and how would you know, Classi? Can you see into the future or something? I can do it, too. In fact, I predict that something bad will happen if you don't let us see Bitsy right now." He turned to look at Mimsy. "Mimsy, would you mind demonstrating to Helen what's in the future for her and Classi?"

"Sure thing, boss!" Mimsy chirped.

Mimsy proceeded to wrap his hand around Helen's throat and start squeezing like a vise. Helen could feel herself panicking as Mimsy gradually tightened his hand on her throat.

"S-Stop!" Helen could only choke out. "P-Please, let me go!"

Nathan smirked. "Oh, Mimsy will let you go alright. All I ask is that you step aside and let us see Bitsy, okay?"

"You can see her!" Helen practically screamed. "You can see her! Just let me go!"

Mimsy did so, and Helen was left coughing and gasping for air. He and Nathan then pushed Classi and Helen out of the way while they prepared to make their way to the elevator.

"Nathan!" Helen couldn't help but call out.

Nathan whipped his head around to look at her, annoyed by what she just did. "What?"

"It's not too late, you know. You can still leave and forget all about this."

"Don't try to change my mind, Helen. Mimsy and I aren't leaving until we've informed Bitsy who she's dealing with."

Helen watched Nathan and Mimsy disappear through the elevator doors, unable to shake the dread clutching her heart.


"Ah, Nathan, Mimsy," Bitsy said from across the room. "Why don't you gentlemen have a seat?"

"Oh, Bitsy," Nathan replied as he and Mimsy walked over to her desk. "It's so nice to see you, old friend." He said "old friend" with the same inflection one might say with "you bastard."

"Ditto. Let's get down to business."

"Of course." Pause. "I don't know where you got the idea that Kayla convinced me and Mimsy to go rouge, but I can assure you that it wasn't the case."

"Well, that's the biggest load of bullshit if I've ever heard it. If Kayla didn't convince you, who did?"

"No one. It was our choice, and we haven't looked back."

Mimsy then added, "Well, it was mostly Nathan's idea, but-"

Nathan smacked Mimsy with a right hook and then shook his fist. "Shut up, Mimsssyyy!"

Bitsy huffed. "Regardless of who convinced who to do what, do you have any idea how much you've set me back? Do you know how hard it was to get them to agree to my redevelopment plans? I can't even rearrange them now without worrying that I'll bring the whole tower of Jenga bricks down around my ears. I've lost so much time, so much money..."

Mimsy then decided now was the time to chime in. "Not that it would help, Bitsy, but I don't think Central Park is the right place to bulldoze for a new district. It's just too culturally significant to not just New York City, but the state as a whole. Actually, it might be a blessing in disguise that your plans are falling apart."

All Nathan could respond with was, "Just ignore him. He's mentally handicapped."

Bitsy quickly climbed up onto her desk. "You know what? Fuck you! It's my own fault for trying to associate with people like you. I forgot you people don't even know your ass from a hole in the ground! I wish your parents had done the sensible thing and aborted you before you made life worse for everyone!"

Nathan wasn't sure how to respond to that at first, but then he gave with a sinister smirk. "I wouldn't say such things if I were you. Wouldn't want your precious Helen getting hurt now, would you? You love her way too much to do something like that."

"Why shouldn't I-" She suddenly stopped speaking and started giving Nathan a moon-eyed stare. "Wait. How do you know that?"

"Know what?"

"How do you know about my feelings for Helen?"

"How could I not know? It's kinda obvious if you think about it."

"I never told you that, though. Classi's the only person I've told about it."

"Ah." Nathan produced his iPhone 14 and started playing a voicemail message on it. "Maybe this'll help explain..."

Bitsy just started listening. Something about it seemed strangely familiar... it sounded like the argument she'd gotten into with Classi yesterday, but that was impossible. Classi hadn't been calling anyone when they were arguing, and neither had Bitsy. Unless...

"Oh, but you'd listen to your precious Helen if you heard it from her, right?" Classi could be heard asking. "Why wouldn't you? You seem to love her more than you love your dog and you loved Whitney. Isn't that what you told me when we first met?!"

"How did you get that?" Bitsy asked, frightened by what the answer could be.

Nathan smirked. "Simple. Classi pocket-dialed me."

"Why the hell would you hold onto it like that? That was a private conversation we were having!"

"Doesn't change the fact that you love Helen. In fact, dare I say it, I think you're in love with her."

"You... you asshole! You fucking asshole! I can't believe-!"

"Alright, let's change the subject. Clearly, I must've hit a nerve with you. Do you like Huey Lewis and The News?"

Bitsy calmed down a bit and shrugged. "I don't know. I've never listened to them."

"Their early work was a little too new wave for my tastes, but when Sports came out in '83, I think they really came into their own, commercially and artistically."

"I-I don't really know about that. I'm personally more of a Eurythmics person myself."

"The whole album has a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the songs a big boost."

"I don't know about that, but I guess I'll take your word for it. Besides, it feels like you're talking at me rather than to me."

"He's been compared to Elvis Costello, but I think Huey has a far more bitter, cynical sense of humor." Nathan started playing the song "Hip to be Square" on his phone. "In '86, Huey released this... Fore, their most accomplished album. I think their undisputed masterpiece is 'Hip to be Square', a song so catchy, most people probably don't listen to the lyrics." He then flashed the upside-down peace sign to Mimsy. "But they should because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity and the importance of trends; it's also a personal statement about the band itself. Oh, and Bitsy?"

I used to be a renegade
I used to fool around

"What?" Bitsy asked.

But I couldn't take the punishment
And had to settle down

Mimsy yelled out and struck Bitsy with a baseball bat from behind her, knocking her to the ground. It knocked her out briefly, but she came to soon enough and noticed that Nathan was also wielding a baseball bat in his hands.

Now I'm playing it real straight
And yes, I cut my hair

Bitsy only had enough time to inhale before Nathan struck her over the head with his bat. She quickly got up and started bolting away from him and Mimsy. This couldn't be happening. This just couldn't be happening.

You might think I'm crazy
But I don't even care
'Cause I can tell what's going on

"Don't try to bail out now, Bitsy," Nathan said. "We're only just getting started..."

It's hip to be square
It's hip to be square

"When we're through with you, we're gonna get your dog sent to China," Mimsy chimed in. "I'm sure he'll be good eatin' over there, right, boss?"

Nathan smirked. "Maybe."

I like my bands in business suits
I watch them on TV
I'm working out most every day
And watchin' what I eat

With a massive roar, Bitsy charged right at Mimsy, only to have him lift her up by her armpits and throw her at some furniture nearby.

They tell me that it's good for me
But I don't even care
I know that it's crazy
I know that it's nowhere
But there is no denying that

Nathan huffed. "I expected better from The Shadow. Is that really how you fight? Pathetic."

"You take that back!" Bitsy yelled.

It's hip to be square
It's hip to be square
It's hip to be square
So hip to be square

It was at that moment that Bitsy lunged forward and leaped onto him and started clawing at his face. Nathan retaliated by slapping her across the face and then headbutting her in the forehead, which left hairline cracks on the lenses of her glasses. Most of the physical altercation between them was one-sided with Nathan being the one to overpower her multiple times while they exchanged petty insults, with Mimsy on standby and watching in stunned silence.

Finally, Nathan decided that he'd grown tired of this fighting and grabbed Bitsy by the collar and started dangling her over the penthouse balcony.

It's not too hard to figure out
You see it every day
And those that were the farthest out
Have gone the other way

Bitsy started panicking. "Put me down! Put me down!"

"I guess I could put you down," Nathan said. "But I'd like to keep you dangling over your balcony instead and watch you squirm."

You see them on the freeway
It don't look like a lot of fun
But don't you try to fight it
An idea whose time has come
Don't tell me that I'm crazy
Don't tell me I'm nowhere
Take it from me

"For God's sake, put me down!" Bitsy screeched. "Please! You can't do this to me!"

"Oh, I'll put you down, alright..." Nathan gave off a psychotic toothy grim. "Down where you belong..."

It's hip to be square
It's hip to be square
It's hip to be square
So hip to be square
Tell 'em, boys
So hip to be square
(Hip, hip)

After enough time had passed, Nathan loosened his grip on her collar and let her descend ten stories down, where he was certain she would die. Blood started pooling underneath Bitsy when she finally hit the ground.

"Try razing Central Park now, you stupid fucking bitch!" Nathan shrieked out.

Bitsy lied there motionless for a while before realizing that she was still alive somehow, and she struggled to lift herself off the ground. What were the odds that she would walk away from being thrown several feet out of her own hotel, and with only minor injuries no less? She wasn't sure she wanted to believe her luck. That had to have been a fluke or something, right? She didn't have much more time to think about that when she heard Nathan yell out to Mimsy to chase her down.

"Oh shit!" Bitsy exclaimed to herself. "Gotta move fast!"

With that, she bolted down from her hotel to the sidewalk, hoping to get as far away from Nathan and Mimsy as possible. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening. This just couldn't be happening. She only had enough time before one of them caught up with her, so she took an opportunity to try to cross the when she thought she was in the clear, however, she heard Mimsy yelling out for her and froze. She then looked behind her and saw that he'd quickly caught up to her.

"H-How?" Bitsy asked increduously.

"Never mind how, Bitsy," Mimsy replied. "You'll be good as dead once Nathan gets here!" Immediately after saying that, he noticed an ambulance heading down the same road Bitsy was on. "Bitsy, look out!"

Bitsy craned her neck to look at Mimsy. However, she'd reacted too slowly before the ambulance came speeding through and crushed her, bones and organs and all, underneath its wheels. Mimsy couldn't bring himself to do anything except watch it all unfold. The sight of more blood leaking out of her was enough to startle him greatly.

"Aah, Bitsy!" Mimsy started panicking. "Oh my God! Bitsy! Bitsy, can you hear me? Oh God, oh God! I gotta get you some help!" He proceeded to dial Nathan's number into his phone and then waited a bit before Nathan picked up. "Oh my God, boss! You won't believe what just happened! Bitsy just got run over by an ambulance! An ambulance, boss! We gotta get her to the hospital, now!"


It wasn't long before Goldie, Maya, Abby, Spinel, Savannah, Butters, Classi, Helen, Rabbi Cartman and his family, and Masa and his aunt and uncle had headed out for the hospital, eager to be by Bitsy's side. When they arrived at the hospital, they signed in as visitors for her and then made their way towards the waiting room, where they decided to wait for an update on Bitsy's condition. As it just so happened, Nathan and Mimsy were also there, having already beaten them to it by about ten minutes or so.

"Wow, boss!" Mimsy exclaimed. "Looks like everybody's here!"

Abby chuckled. "Yep, everybody's here."

"Boy, could we use your support right now! After what just happened, we could use some distracting right now."

"Hey, wait!" Masa chimed in. "Where's Kayla?"

"She should be here soon," Helen assured him. "She just has to take care of some things first."

"Helen, is Bitsy going to be okay?" Maya asked her ex-girlfriend.

"I'm not sure, Maya," Helen replied. "But this is the best hospital the paramedics could find in Manhattan. Bitsy's getting the finest care there is."

"Oh God, I hope so," Mimsy chimed in. "I can't bear to think that I just watched someone die right there."

Nathan smacked Mimsy with a right hook and then shook his fist. "Shut up, Mimsssyyy!"

"Time and place, asshole!" Rabbi Cartman yelled at Nathan.

After what felt like an eternity of waiting, a doctor finally came out and walked over to them.

"Excuse me, are you loved ones of Miss Brandenham?" the nurse asked them.

Helen urgently stood up out of her seat. "Yes. How is she, doc?"

"Miss Squillace, I'm so sorry to say this, but Bitsy's injuries are just too severe for us to save her," the doctor replied apologetically. "I don't know how much time she has left, but if I were you, I'd go in and say my goodbyes now before it's too late."

Helen could only let out a meek "Thank you" and watch as the doctor walked away. She and everyone else took this as a cue to follow them into Bitsy's room. When they made their way inside the room, they could see Bitsy lying motionless on the bed, eyes closed, hooked up to tubes and wires.

"Oh my God..." Maya whimpered. "Bitsy, no..."

"It can't be..." Goldie could barely bring herself to say much of anything. "You're really... gonna..."

"Dammit, Bitsy, you can't die!" Kikujiro punched a hole into the wall beside him. "I'm not gonna stand for it!"

Rabbi Cartman gave out a sigh. "Well, normally, I wouldn't give last rites for someone who wasn't a strict Jew, but I'm willing to make an exception now if it helps. Here goes." He hummed a wordless melody known as a niggun before then reciting, "Ufros aleynu sukkat shlomekhah." Pause. "Goldie, it's your turn now."

"Okay." Goldie cleared her throat. "The Jewish tradition provides us with rituals to sanctify the passing of time and to mark life's transitions. Just as each year we say a confessional prayer, a vidui, on Yom Kippur to mark the transition from year to year, so too we will mark this transition with a vidui. We pray that this vidui will prove to signify a transition to new life, even as we know that it may mark life's final transition."

"Now you, Maya," Rabbi Cartman said.

Maya took the cue. "Since Bitsy is unable to speak, I will recite the vidui prayer on her behalf: Modim anakhnu lakh Adonai eloheynu v'elohey avoteynu v'imoteynu shekhayenu musrim b'yadkha. Yehi ratzon milfaneykha shetrapey et Bitsy hakholah hamiskeyn hazeh r'fuah sh'leymah v'im hamavet kalah yavoh b'ahavah b'shalom u'vahavanah. B'odeynu m'vakesh libeynu s'likhot, ba'et hamavet, yihi ratzon milfanekha shenislakhim anakhnu. Ana kaper l'Bitsy kol khiteytiv sh'khataeynu b'galui u'v'seter. Tastireyhu batzel k'naf'kha v'ten lo khelek bagan eden. Avi y'tomim v'shomer almanoot hegen ba'ed k'ruvav asher nafshah k'shurah b'nafsham. B'yadkha yafkid rukha. Padita otah Adonai, el emet."

Then Rabbi Cartman and Maya both chanted, "Shema yisrael Adonay Eloheynu Adonay ekhad. Barukh shem kivod malkhuto le'olam va'ed. Adonay hu ha'Elohim."

Then Rabbi Cartman repeated, "Adonay hu ha'Elohim." He then sang to Bitsy quietly, "Mi'y'minekh mikhael u'smolekh gavriel u'milfanekh uriel u'makhorekh r'fael v'al roshekh sh'khinat el. Khazek v'ametz, al tafkhed v'al heykharid- kil imekh Adonai elokhayikh b'khol asher tilekh. Adonay yishmot tzeytkha u'voekha mey'atah ve'ad olam." He then capped off with the same niggun he'd hummed at the beginning.

Just as Rabbi Cartman had finished humming, Bitsy's hands started twitching and making rapid movements.

"Wait, what's she doing?" Yentl asked.

"I-It looks like she's trying to communicate with us," Maya replied.

Indeed, it looked like Bitsy was trying to communicate in ASL. Fortunately, Goldie and Maya were naturals at deciphering sign language, given that they'd been taught to recognize and use it themselves.

"Helen, you were the best thing to happen to me, and I regret not telling you this until I was on my deathbed," Bitsy signed. "Thank you for being there for me when no one else would. I love you."

Helen wasn't quite sure how to respond to that nor was she sure whether Bitsy actually meant what she'd signed. Not that it mattered right now anyway since the moment was soon broken by Bitsy going limp, followed by the sound of her flatlining, much to the horror of everyone else. A doctor decided to check her heartbeat. Nothing.

"I'm sorry," the doctor said. "She's gone."


"Sorry I'm late, guys!" Kayla apologized. "I had to pick Jupiter up from school. What happened? Did I miss anything?"

"Well, um..." Helen trailed off for a second, unsure of how to broach the news to her fiancee. "Bitsy, well, she... she's gone."

"...what? Gone?"

"Yeah, she just died several minutes ago."

Kayla's eyes widened while the gears in her head started turning. "Oh God, no... she can't be dead. I never even got to tell her I'm sorry..." It took a few seconds before she fully registered that she would never see her adoptive mother again. "Oh God, no..."

"That's not all. The last thing she said- well, signed -was that she loved me."

"Oh..." Kayla didn't know what else to say. "...that sure is a thing that happened."

"I know." Helen started turning green at the gills. "I think I'm going to be sick..."

"What, why?"

"I-I think I might've felt the same way she did. Hand me a trash can."

Right after saying that, Helen grabbed ahold of a trash can that Kayla had just handed her and puked into it.

"Are you okay?" Kayla asked, concerned.

Helen just shook her head. "I think I need a minute to think about this. Goddamn it..."