PITCH PERFECT SPOOKFEST 2023 - DAY 3 - POSSESSION

Summary: A few weeks ago, the Bellas purged a demon from a ventriloquist dummy that Amy had bought at a fair. They believed the purge was successful and the demon was gone, but they soon learn that may not be true.

NOTE: This is a follow-up/continuation of my Day 4 - Master of Puppets submission from Pitch Perfect SpookFest 2022.


THE PUPPET MASTER RETURNS

Beca was tired, more tired than she can remember having been in her entire life. For the past couple of weeks, her sleep has been interrupted by nightmares from the night she and the Bellas had to "exorcise" a demon from the ventriloquist dummy Amy had found at a flea market.

"You don't look so good," Chloe said when she walked into Beca's room.

"How do you look so well rested?" Beca asked, covering a yawn as she looked Chloe up and down. "I know my nightmares have been waking the girls, especially Amy. How are you sleeping through them?"

"I guess I'm far enough away from your room not to hear them," Chloe said, shrugging. "You should get to bed. You really look like you need the rest."

"I'll try," Beca said, covering another yawn. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight," Chloe said and left Beca alone.

Beca sighed as she slid under the covers. She yawned and was asleep by the time her head hit the pillow. The nightmare started immediately, causing her to start thrashing around in her sleep.

Cynthia Rose nodded and did as Beca said, and before they knew it, Jasper was pinned down. He screamed and struggled but couldn't get out of their grip.

"Here goes," Lily said, standing over Jasper while holding the broadsword pointed down at him.

"Nooooo!" Jasper cried just as Lily pushed the broadsword through him.

The girls all cringed at the wails coming from Jasper. Lily managed to lift Jasper without dislodging the sword and placed him onto the fire. The fire started popping and sizzling.

Emily covered her ears to drown out the screams coming from Jasper. Lily pressed down on the sword to keep Jasper from escaping the flames. The other girls stood at the ready to help keep him in the flames if needed.

The fire crackled and popped around Jasper. Suddenly, a stream of fire shot straight into the air, causing the girls to all fall back. They watched as a purple haze emanated from the flames. Screeching and screaming could be heard over the roar of the flames.

And, suddenly, all was quiet. Lily jumped up, rushed to the fire pit, and looked down. All that was left of Jasper was ashes.

"Is he really gone?" Fat Amy asked, peering over Lily's shoulder.

"Jasper's gone," Lily said. "Let's just hope the Master of Puppets is gone with him."

"You mean, the thing that possessed Jasper could still be around?" Chloe asked.

The girls shuddered and looked around, expecting to see another dummy coming for them.

"I mean," Lily said, looking at the group. "He may have invaded another body so he can continue his plan."

"How will we know if he did?" Emily asked nervously.

"We won't," Lily responded.

"How sure are you that the demon would possess another puppet?" Ashley asked.

"I'm not sure about that at all," Lily said. "He could be strong enough to possess a puppet or even a human."

The girls all looked up to the sky one last time before collectively turning and going into the house.

Beca remained behind. An evil grin came over her face as she picked up the discarded broadsword and made her way toward the house.

~~ Pitch Perfect SpookFest 2023 - Day 3

Chloe was in her room studying when she heard a noise and looked up to see Beca standing in the doorway.

"Beca?" Chloe said softly. "Are you okay?"

Beca looked at Chloe but did not see her. Chloe gasped when she saw the knife in Beca's hand.

"Give me the knife, Beca," Chloe said gently so as not to startle her.

She stood and moved slowly toward Beca.

"What's going on, Beca?" Stacie asked as she came out of her room.

"I think Beca's sleepwalking," Chloe said as Stacie stepped past Beca and into Chloe's room. "She's been having nightmares and isn't sleeping well."

"I've heard the nightmares," Stacie said. "But I've not seen her sleepwalking. And why does she have a knife?"

"I don't know," Chloe said.

Chloe and Stacie both screamed when Beca suddenly lunged toward them, holding the knife out in front of her.

"Beca! Stop!" Chloe screamed.

Beca stopped and blinked her eyes. She looked down and saw the knife in her hand and squealed as she loosened her hand and let the knife fall to the floor.

"What the hell?" Beca questioned as she looked around. "How did I get down here? And why did I have that knife?"

"You were sleepwalking," Chloe said.

"Sleepwalking?" Beca said. "I've never sleepwalked before."

"Apparently, you do now," Stacie said.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Chloe asked.

"I went to sleep, and um," Beca said, furrowing her brow as she thought about what happened next. "Oh, I started dreaming about that night we did that ritual to get rid of the demon in Amy's puppet."

"Is that the same nightmare that's been keeping you awake for the past few weeks?" Chloe asked.

"I don't. I don't remember," Beca said. "But I think it might be."

"We should ask Lily about this," Stacie said. "Maybe she can shed some light on why Beca keeps having nightmares about that night."

"I'm surprised all of us haven't been having nightmares about that night," Beca muttered.

"Come on, Beca," Chloe said. "It couldn't hurt. Besides, I think there's something more going on here."

"Okay," Beca said. "We can ask her tomorrow. For now, I'm going back to bed."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Chloe asked.

"I'd like that," Beca said.

"I'll put this someplace safe," Stacie said, picking up the knife.

The three exited Chloe's room.

~~ Pitch Perfect SpookFest 2023 - Day 3

Two hours later, Chloe woke to find Beca straddling her hips with her hands around Chloe's neck.

"This is kind of kinky, Beca," Chloe said, looking up at her. "But I'm not into autoerotic asphyxiation."

"Shut up, bitch," Beca said in a voice that wasn't hers. "You can't stop me. I won't let you stop me. I'll kill you first."

Chloe started to struggle as Beca's hands tightened around her throat.

"Beca!" Chloe croaked. "Stop! It's me."

Beca suddenly pulled back from Chloe and stared down at her. She grimaced as if in pain and shook her head. Beca suddenly sneered and reached for Chloe's throat again. Chloe pushed at Beca and screamed.

Beca jumped up and ran down the stairs, knocking Stacie and Cynthia Rose into the opposite wall as she burst out of the room.

"Beca!" Stacie screamed.

"What the hell is happening?" Cynthia Rose asked as they watched Beca run down the hall and disappear down the stairs.

"Chloe!" Stacie said, pulling herself together and running upstairs to Beca's room.

Cynthia Rose jumped up and ran after Stacie. Chloe was sitting on the side of the bed, rubbing her throat, and Stacie rushed over to her.

"Chloe?" Stacie said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," Chloe said.

"What the hell happened?" Cynthia Rose asked. "We heard you screaming, and it wasn't the good kind."

"We heard it, too," Jessica said as she and Ashley appeared.

"I woke up to Beca choking me," Chloe said, her voice cracking as she continued to rub her throat. "Then she said something about not being able to stop her. That I wouldn't be able to stop her, and then she said she was going to kill me."

"It's happening," Lily said, pushing past the girls to stand in front of Chloe.

"What's happening, Lily?" Chloe asked.

"The Master of Puppets is taking over Beca's body."

A collective "What!?" went up.

"I believe he is taking over Beca's body," Lily said. "Or at least trying to."

"What can we do to stop that from happening?" Ashley asked.

"We have to get him to leave Beca's body," Lily said. "Like we did with Jasper."

"But we had to kill Jasper to get the puppet guy out of him," Jessica said.

"Lily's not saying we have to kill Beca," Chloe said, shaking her head.

When Lily looked down to the floor, Chloe gasped and said, "We can't do that!"

"There has to be something else we can do," Cynthia Rose said.

"I'm sure there is," Stacie said. "Right, Lily?"

"I'll see if I can find another way," Lily said. "Maybe you guys should go find Beca and bring her back here. There's no telling what he might try to make her do."

"Okay, girls," Stacie said. "Let's get dressed and go find Beca."

Chloe moved to stand, and Cynthia Rose stopped her. "Maybe you should stay here in case she comes back."

"Okay," Chloe said. "I'll get dressed and wait downstairs."

The girls scattered, and Chloe went downstairs to her room.

~~ Pitch Perfect SpookFest 2023 - Day 3

An hour later, Chloe was pacing around the living room when her phone rang.

"Stacie?" Chloe answered the phone, putting it on speaker as she continued to pace. "Did you find her?"

"Yeah, Chloe, it's me," Stacie said. "We found her. Actually, she found us. We managed to trap her in the Auditorium."

"You trapped her?" Chloe asked. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Stacie said. "And we had no choice but to trap her. She had knives and came after me. I ran into the Auditorium, and she followed me. The girls came in, and we surrounded her. She keeps lunging at us with the knives, but-. Um."

Stacie sighed, and Chloe asked, "But what?"

"She's acting really weird," Stacie said. "It's like she's still Beca, and then she turns into someone else right in front of our eyes."

"Beca is trying to fight the demon for control of her body," Lily said, causing Chloe to yelp and jump.

"Lily, when did you get here?" Chloe asked.

"Lily, what do we do?" Stacie asked.

"Stacie, can you keep Beca contained until Chloe and I can get there?" Lily asked.

"I think so," Stacie said. "But hurry. She seems to be getting more aggressive."

"We're on our way," Chloe said, ending the call. She looked at Lily. "Please tell me you found a way to fix this that doesn't involve us having to kill Beca."

"It's a bit unusual, but I think I found a different solution," Lily said.

"Let's go, then," Chloe said, heading for the door.

~~ Pitch Perfect SpookFest 2023 - Day 3

Chloe and Lily rushed into the auditorium to find the girls surrounding Beca and Stacie. Stacie held Beca to her, and Chloe could see Beca was crying. Jessica stood off to the side of the group, holding two knives.

"Beca?" Chloe called out as she hurried over to her.

The girls stepped aside to allow Chloe through. Beca pulled away from Stacie and looked at Chloe.

"Help me," Beca moaned and suddenly went rigid.

Stacie released Beca and stepped away from her. Chloe reached for Beca only to pull her hands back when Beca's face morphed into something evil.

"She's changing again," Stacie said, grabbing Chloe's arm and pulling her away from Beca.

Lily stepped forward and stood about a foot away from Beca.

"I need to speak to Jasper," Lily said.

"You got rid of Jasper," Beca snarled in a voice that was not her own. "Remember? I know I do."

Beca lunged toward Lily; Lily stood stoic, holding up her hands to try and keep Beca from her.

"I need to speak to you, then," Lily said, causing Beca to stop in her tracks.

"What do you want?"

"I want you to leave Beca's body," Lily said.

Beca started laughing, literally holding her sides from how hard she was laughing. She suddenly stopped laughing and said, "That's not going to happen."

"Fine, then I'll just talk to Beca," Lily said.

Possessed Beca sneered and lunged at Lily again. Lily sidestepped her and turned to face Beca once again.

"I know you're in there, Beca," Lily said. "You have to fight to come back. I need you to be you so I can help you. We love you, Beca."

Beca shook her head, and her body went rigid for a moment. Chloe and the rest of the girls stood by, watching and waiting to see who Beca would turn into.

Beca's shoulders slumped, and she fell to her hands and knees. Chloe instinctively reached out to her, only Lily was faster and now kneeling in front of Beca.

"Beca?"

"Yeah?" Beca responded, raising her head to look up at Lily.

A sigh of relief came from the Bellas.

"I need you to keep fighting to stay with us," Lily said. "I think I've found a way to get Jasper or whatever its name is to leave your body."

"What do I, ahhh!" Beca said, grimacing. "I feel him; he's trying to take control. Ahh! What do I need to do, Lily?"

"Chloe, come over here," Lily said. "I need your help with this part."

"Okay," Chloe said and knelt next to Lily. "What do you need me to do?"

"Kiss her," Lily said, indicating Beca.

Chloe's eyes widened as she stared at Lily; Beca's head jerked up in surprise.

"How is my kissing Beca going to get rid of…the thing possessing her?" Chloe asked.

"I don't have time to unwrap the obvious pining happening between you two," Lily said. "I know Beca is in there, and the only way to get her to keep fighting against him is to make her want to be the Beca we all know you love."

Chloe blushed and looked around at the girls standing over them. When her gaze fell on Stacie, she just smiled and said, "Do it!"

Chloe swallowed and looked at Beca. Beca looked back at her with a raised brow.

"Well?" Beca challenged. "Are you going to help or not?"

Chloe licked her lips, took Beca's face between her hands, and placed her lips on Beca's. Beca rose to her knees, holding Chloe's wrists to keep her from breaking the kiss.

Beca and Chloe smiled as they broke the kiss. Suddenly, a sneer appeared on Beca's lips.

"Kiss her again," Lily said quickly.

Chloe smashed their lips together, and a low growl escaped from Beca.

"Hold it," Lily said. "And don't stop until you know Beca is back."

Beca tried to twist her head away from Chloe, but Chloe maintained a tight hold. Beca seemed to relax and pulled Chloe flush to her. Chloe moaned, wrapped her arms around Beca's neck, and deepened the kiss. Beca visibly relaxed further.

"That's good," Lily said. "She's coming back. Keep going."

"Ahhh!" Beca screamed and jerked away from Chloe. "You bitches!"

Beca's body went limp, and she started to fall to the side.

"Beca!" Chloe screamed, grabbing her before she hit the floor.

Chloe pulled Beca to her and held her. Everyone watched Beca closely to see if Beca was really Beca. After a few minutes, Beca started to come around. She looked at Chloe and smiled. Chloe smiled back.

"I think he's gone," Lily said.

"Thank god," the Bellas said simultaneously.

"Beca?" Lily said.

"Yeah?" Beca replied.

"What do you remember?" Lily asked.

"Um," Beca said, looking around at the girls and then at Chloe. "It's a little fuzzy, but Chloe kissed me. And I liked it; I liked it a lot."

Lily chuckled when she saw Chloe blush.

"She's back," Lily said, standing

"If the demon that possessed Beca is gone," Jessica said. "Where did he go?"

Lily looked around, stopping to stare at each of them for a few seconds before moving on to the next.

"I don't feel him anymore," Lily said. "My best guess is he left to find someone who he will be able to control better."

"Well, I am glad he's gone," Beca said, standing and pulling Chloe up with her. "Maybe we can talk about that kiss over dinner tonight. Just you and me."

"I'd like that," Chloe said, hugging Beca. "I'd like that a lot."

The rest of the Bellas joined the hug to express how glad they were that Beca was their Beca once again.