Happy holidays, people! Okay, don't give me that look. I know this update has been a long overdue already. I may have a perfectly good excuse, but forget it. I just really want to share this last chapter with you already. So excited… but so sad at the same time. :(

Pduongg: You are very welcome, and welcome back! :)

PitchPerfectLover: Phil used to team up with the Syndics, but last chapter, he had a change of heart. God, I just really love Stacie too. If only we have two Becas, you know.

Lackluster Brilliance: I like Stanree. I can't believe I've never actually thought about it!

MysticFalls94: Yeah, I really did take my time. LOL.

asdfg, IrynSue, Guest (12/07), madness2013: Breathe.

DieZeitVergeht: Just when you wanted so much more, right? I know the feeling.

AlphonseAl, avidreader, Guest (12/10), ibetyouknowme, sherralotz, Tankflames, apple-jacs, Mustafa09: I'm absolutely flattered. Thank you :)

atty jannie: Badass Beca will surely make an appearance here.

BeChloeFan01: I wish every mom is as cool as Ronie. LOL. The thing with the laser beams, I saw these kids one time playing with it (not the killer ones) pointing it to mirrors and was really fascinated by the way it went, so there. And you should know by now that I love surprising people with my plot twists. :)

cxcxcx386: I will never let him, no worries.

kassdunn: And I'm going to miss reading your reviews. :)

yoimbored: I owe a lot of people that two chapters of smut. LOL. It's been more than twenty chapters of heartaches, we needed that.

NOTE: During the fight, the only people who had communication with Aubrey were Stan and Cynthia-Rose. It's important that you remember this.

This is probably not suitable for the Christmas spirits, but it's Stolen so… and I don't know, I feel like the transitions are different this time, but I enjoyed writing every bit of it. This is not how I initially wanted to end this story, but surprisingly, I've fallen in love with it every chapter that I just couldn't end it the way it is. Now before we begin, I just really want to say thank you, guys, for joining me in this amazing journey. It doesn't matter if you've been here since day one or if you have come across this story only today, I love you all so much! xoxo

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: Dead

"Guys, what happened?"

Two versions of this panic-stricken statement of two variations of voices – Aubrey's and Cynthia-Rose's – rang in Stan's ear via a communication device both demanding for an immediate and adequate answer that was hopefully positive in any sense.

"No, no, no, no!" Stan ignored the queries, dropped his guns and hastily kneeled down on the marble floor by the fallen blonde's side. He cautiously placed his hands on her cheeks as the tears were threatening to fall down any moment. "Fat Amy, get up. Please don't die. Fat Amy!"

But she wasn't even breathing anymore. This couldn't be. No.

"She's dying, Aubrey," Stan cried out and a loud gasp immediately escaped from the other end of the line. "She was shot!"

"No! Not now!"

Jesse meekly raised his right hand in an attempt to make a point, but either the premises were too dark or his presence was simply discounted, nobody paid attention when he mumbled, "Uh… guys… actually… I-I see no blood."

"Don't let her die, Stan!"

But the young Mitchell was being helpless already. She was a friend, a really good friend. He couldn't lose her like this.

"Guys!" Jesse finally exclaimed trying to make his point for the second time. When still nobody wanted to acknowledge him, the IT expert went to switch the lights back on with the aid of his pocket PC device. He later on pushed the other brunet aside to reveal the fallen blonde unharmed except from this lead bullet still stuck into a hole on her sweatshirt. "See? She's fine, people. No blood."

And the rest were startled by the truth. There was a bullet, but no blood indeed. But how?

"Get up, Fat Amy."

With that, the fallen blonde slowly opened one eye just to make sure the theory was correct; her stomach suddenly kicked off with the up-and-down pattern as she began to breathe again. Overwhelmed by the turn of events, Stan could only laugh and then pulled her up with him. Moreover, the panic-stricken reactions were soon replaced by sighs of relief.

"I seriously thought I was dead," the thick Australian accent they thought they'd never hear ever again muttered under her breath. She hastily put a hand over her chest where the bullet struck and giggled. Of all places over her colossal body, the bullet landed right into the metallic pizza pendant the Aubrey Posen gave her as a gift, a friendship necklace, right before they took off for the rescue mission. She put away the bullet as a souvenir then kissed the pendant gratefully. "Who would have thought?"

"Stan, tell that stupid big fat blonde that she can't die tonight! I certainly forbid it!"

Chuckling, Stan nodded his head as if the Posen heiress was actually in the same room with the rest of them.

"You just saved her life, Aubrey."

"What did I do?"

"Hey, idiots!"

Stan, Jesse, and the newly-revived Fat Amy all turned towards the fancy looking staircase where on top of it stood Blue who had an awful grin on his face, his crooked teeth stained from the plenty of years of cigarette smoking flashed before them. The customarily coward Jesse initially grimaced in disgust, but instantly recoiled at the sight of a shotgun wrapped by Blue's hand.

"You're not supposed to be here," he said as he began to descend the staircase.

Stan toughened himself as he faced his greatest nemesis. He had been waiting all these years to finally have the chance to kill this person – for all the hard times the duo had given him, for being so loyal to Phil, and simply for getting on his nerves.

"So are you," he replied. "This is no place for a Phoenix, Blue."

"Don't talk to me as if I'm the traitor. I remain to fulfill the code. You know, that one you and your friends deliberately denounced. Fidelity to The Society."

Blue was getting closer and the pair of IT experts was unconsciously moving backwards.

"You know I was never sworn to that bullshit. Besides, technically, you too have already broken the code when you decided to team up with the Syndics in order to steal that fucking treasure. I guess we're all traitors here."

"Your father had no choice. You don't know what you're talking about."

"I know my father is also bullshit."

The bald man stopped right in front of the young Mitchell towering him with enormous height and a wall of muscular body. "You're going to die tonight, Stan."

"Someone's going to die tonight, alright? But it's not going to be me, Blue."

Stan threw in a hard punch. It was enough for the giant to involuntarily drop his weapon, although not hard enough to put him down totally. The younger Phoenix threw in a few more that were accompanied by some kicks on the side, but it only infuriated the enemy. Collecting all his strength, he went on to try and tackle him down, but the tactic backfired. Blue grabbed him by the shoulder and violently shoved him away.

Stan made another run for it, only to fail for the second time when he was met with Blue's elbow. He was later on locked in a headlock and soon uncomfortably bent over and desperately gasping for air. Jesse and Fat Amy were both holding up their respective guns, but with their poor accuracy, firing away might only cause more problems in the near future. It was merely a threat to be honest.

Fortunately, the young Mitchell found the power to elbow the giant right on his groin loosening the grip, and then purposely leaned back pushing the big guy towards the staircase until Blue's back had hit the hard surface of the newel cap. When Stan had regained composure, he turned around to give his enemy a big blow across the face. Blue fell down on the bottom tread and held on to his jaw with one hand, the other glued on an iron baluster. The younger Phoenix kicked him on the stomach as if the bald man was a football left unattended. Blue cringed in pain before throwing himself to the enemy. They wrestled each other on the floor until both were already bleeding somewhere on their bodies. That last jab on the nose left Stan crumpling on the floor while the bald man hurried to run back in. The two IT experts aimed and fired his way, but no bullet hit him unluckily.

"Stan!" they both ran towards their friend and helped him back up to his feet. "Are you okay?"

"He's mine to kill," was his only response as he wiped off the blood coming out from his nostril. "Stay here. There's not much enemies left. I'll come back for you two."

After giving out such instruction, he went on to pick up the shotgun from the floor and handed it over to Jesse. Just in case. Before long, Stan forced himself to run up the staircase to follow Blue in spite of his friends trying to make him stay. He needed to finish that business. He was going to kill the big guy no matter what it would take.

So left vulnerably on their own with only a shotgun to protect them from any form of danger, the pair exchanged nervous looks and shrugged concurrently.

With all the lights completely back on, it was riskier to navigate inside of the Syndics Mansion. You would never know who did survive the unanticipated initial attack. There were no more flashes of lightning to hide into or roars of thunder to scare off the enemies even further; Beca Mitchell only had a pistol, a back-up knife, and her own personal instinct to account for this time with no room intended for the possibility of failure. This was certainly the most important mission she'd ever been to. Forget about the treasure or The Secret Society or everything else in this planet, this was about doing the right thing and that was to save the love of her life. Must save Chloe Beale and it was all that really mattered.

But in order to do that, she must save herself first. She couldn't die just yet. So she shot the man who had his arm chopped off by the laser beams right on the forehead using the last bullet of her gun and then, with a quick lift of her foot, hurriedly salvaged another from a dead man lying on the floor to shoot at three more enemies. She could hear louder sounds of gun fires coming from the nearby hallway. That meant she was getting closer to where she should be, where they agreed to meet Cynthia-Rose who could show the way to the room where the hostages were being kept. The brunette took no time to pause; using every weapon she could scavenge from her casualties, she kept moving forward, never slowing down and consequently, enemies were little by little creeping into the gates of hell.

If it was some sort of a video game, really, she was doing a terrific job, not to mention she was enjoying every bit of it. Beca had the perfect long streak; bonus points for combo moves, an incredible recycled knife and just for being too resourceful and creative in this peculiar kind of art. The fun eventually came to an end though when she turned to her side and realized she actually had company, and this company was about to sport a lead bullet for a new necklace. The mighty Phoenix swiftly pulled Stacie in for cover behind a wall missing the death train much to the Syndic's dismay.

"Are you okay?" the spy asked her partner with adequate concern while more gunfire kept them behind their hideout.

Beca was already staring back at her; the typical poker face on display except the unusual softness in her eyes was unconsciously revealing itself. "The guy was aiming for you, not me."

"I know. I just want to make sure you're not hurt."

"Stacie, you have to look out for yourself too."

The taller brunette stubbornly shook her head and said, "Don't mind me, Beca. It doesn't matter if I get hurt anyway."

"But it does matter," the other insisted. "To me, it does. I care about you, Stacie."

And the moment became noticeably too silent. Footsteps were closing in.

"Look, when I said I would never want to lose you, I meant that. I mean every word of it… because I actually care. I don't ever want to see you hurt. And I'm not going to let any circumstance to happen that will make me lose you tonight, not now and not like this… And not even this guy will ruin everything."

Without warning, Beca rolled over Stacie's body and drew out her knife just in time to plunge it into the previous guy's chest before he could even aim his gun towards them. As he slowly lose balance, Beca pushed his body around to be a make-shift armor and reached for his gun to fire at more men. She advanced through the hallway with the other brunette taking care of the enemies from behind until finally the last man had dropped down on the floor.

"I hope that's it," Beca breathed out.

Stacie turned around to face her and offered a genuine smile. "I hope you and Chloe would soon get your happy ending."

"And I'm looking forward to your own happy ending, Stacie."

Beca willfully returned the friendly gesture followed by a moment of serious deliberation. The only reason why she was even standing in the middle of a hallway at an enemy's lair and fighting off all these people like some sort of a Bryan Mills was to rescue Chloe. But maybe, just maybe fate had planned this instant in which she was standing right across Stacie Conrad in such close proximity. Beca felt that she wanted to embrace this woman. It wasn't because of pity or the pressure to return the favor. It was simply because they were friends.

The mighty Phoenix was all ready to throw herself in only to be stopped by her strong senses, alarmed by a potential danger. Footsteps were at a distance, footsteps were quickly closing in. The pair of brunette alertly directed their weapons - Stacie with a pistol and Beca with her knife - towards the end of the hallway waiting for what seemed like forever for the incoming intruder. A glimpse of shadow appeared on the floor and so the well-trained assassin skillfully flicked her hand to release the sharp material. Thankfully, she was able to manipulate the trajectory at the flash of red-dyed hair during that last few split seconds. Cynthia-Rose had a mini heart attack as the knife missed the side of her neck by a few millimeters before landing completely on the large Venetian glass flower vase shattering it into pieces.

"Yeah, it's nice to see you again too, Beca. Indeed."

Along with the emotionless facial expression, the horrible monster casually shrugged her shoulders in response. She didn't even look apologetic about any of it.

"Really? Still no small talks for me, Mitchell?"

Worse, Beca only stared back.

"Fine," Cynthia-Rose sighed in surrender. "Come on, let's go save your girl."

She went on to collect the knife that almost took her life - better use it in a more productive way - then led the path to the most sought-after room for the evening.

"I really think we should go after Stan," Fat Amy voiced out her unsolicited opinion. "I mean, have you seen Blue? He can absolutely crush my soon-to-be boyfriend."

"Stan told us to wait here." Jesse didn't let her interrupt the worry-fueled back and forth pace he'd been engaged into for the last several minutes. "He said that he's coming back and he will. I know so."

"But what are we going to do, mate?"

"W-We stay here," he convinced his friend, but more so himself. He wanted to go in but the feeling of fear was holding him back. He wanted to do anything to be of help, but there were too many buts to defy and they were already waging on a war in his head he was sure to explode.

"But we can't just wait here and die!"

"We are not dying here, Fat Amy!"

"Well, do you have a better plan?"

"I-I will… come up… with s-something… genius."

"You better be."

"Hands up!"

Both were startled by the sudden existence of a third voice in the room filled with only a couple of people still breathing alive. Somebody was yelling at the pair. No, it sounded like a pair of men. The IT experts carefully turned to the side to witness a pack of enemies. It was definitely more than a couple. Most of them had bleeding cuts that they almost looked like zombies walking towards them with all guns possibly pointed right to their heads.

"Aw, fuck."

"Time for that genius plan of yours, Jesse."

As calm as possible, both slowly backed away finding refuge at the very open territory of the staircase.

"Uh…"

"They're getting closer, Einstein."

"Stop pressuring me!"

"Well, do something!"

"Fuck!" was all he could come up with frankly. "Fuckity fuck fuck!"

"Give me that," Fat Amy, from out of the blue, snatched the shotgun from him. She certainly didn't know what she was doing – How do you hold this? How does it actually work? – but then surprisingly, she was able to load it. It was an accident that she pulled the trigger and the lone guy in the front row collapsed to his death. "Oops."

Everybody, in awe, directed their eyes towards the shotgun clutched in Fat Amy's hands like it was some kind of a recent world discovery.

"How did you do that?" asked the brunet with eyes shut wide open.

"I really don't know," was the truthful answer.

"Well, do it again!"

At the cue, the enemies started moving forward once more, and the Australian blonde pulled the trigger over and over diminishing their numbers. It felt like playing Time Crisis at the arcade, only this was real shit.

"This is so fucking awesome!"

Jesse idly nodded his head while he worked on his pocket PC. The shotgun would soon run out of cartridges, he knew that. They needed a Plan B. And true enough, Fat Amy's brief real-life Time Crisis moment ended. She threw the gun away and started moving backwards pulling her friend by the jacket.

"Uh… Jesse?"

"I'm on it," he hurriedly punched in the last codes into his device before shoving it back to his pocket and then grabbed Fat Amy for a run. "Let's go! Let's go!"

Whatever set of digital codes Jesse did enter into the device, it prompted the customized cartridges around to aim for the marbled floor. One… two… three… all together they projected the killer red beams which upon contact with the marbled material created an incredible diffusion of painful and gruesome death. And that was why Pandemonium never had marbled floors. Jesse Swanson would never be jealous again.

It was as if Bumper Allen had already anticipated his greatest enemy's arrival. It was as if he had been waiting for her all along because when the three women entered the premises everything was already in place according to his battle plans. At the other side of the room was an unconscious Paul between Clarence and Phil, all three tied up to a hanging post, and behind them was Chloe being held securely as a hostage by Donald at gun point with a Syndic on either sides acting as a vanguard of protection. Bumper stood right in front; it didn't matter if he was too exposed in the middle because the rest of the area was already surrounded by more of his best people. Beca could do the Math, the number of cartridges loaded in her gun would never suffice to kill them all even if she could pull off a curving bullet, so she knowingly didn't make a stupid desperate move.

"I'm glad you could join us tonight, Beca," Bumper put on his signature smirk for her specifically. "Although, it would have been better if you could have just died back at the diner. You've been a real pain in the ass, I'm not going to lie about that. Do you know how many of my men you have killed in a span of a week?"

She didn't respond. She wasn't going to waste her limited words on it.

"Stop this now, Bumper," Phil butted in throwing a death glare at the young man. "This is not what we agreed upon."

The young man deliberately turned around to face the operating Head Phoenix with a mischievous grin on his lips. "Why, Phil? Don't you want your best Phoenix to be well-informed about the situation? If you're too embarrassed about it, I am more than willing to volunteer to tell your daughter why her hero of a father teamed up with the evil and selfish Syndics."

Beca briefly met with her father's eyes. She showed no emotion as usual, but he understood very well just how curious she must have felt.

"I'm sure she can handle it, dude."

The Head Phoenix sported a threatening look, but the young man knew it was worthless when the old man was being completely powerless at the moment.

"What was your thing again? Ah, 'get rich for the poor, kill the bad ones, and steal from the ignorant.' A round of applause, everyone, for the saints and angels of The Secret Society. Now when we put it that way, the Bourgeoisie Syndicate truly sounds horribly satanic because we don't really care about other people. But Phil Mitchell here, the Head Phoenix, came knocking at my door one day asking for my help. Sure, he wanted to earn for The Society… until it was more than that. He wanted to get the treasure for himself. Boy was he greedy."

"Shut up!" Phil yelled out.

But Bumper carried on anyway, "I guess the new doctrine now is 'get rich for Phil,' huh? And I've always been so curious about what you, guys, mean by 'bad ones' exactly 'cause I know Beca here intentionally killed her own mother."

Okay, that was the truth but too personal. Beca took a step forward ready to attack the young man, but was immediately stopped by a bullet hitting the floor five inches away from her right foot. Reflex and anger prompted her to point her gun towards the stupid Syndic who dared to threaten her and killed him in an instant. The rest of the ensemble aimed their guns at her but she never cringed in fear.

"And you did it again," said Bumper, not amused at all. "You just killed one of my men… again… in front of the rest of us. Not cool, dude."

"Well, you should teach them how to kill me properly."

The Head Syndic chuckled at her brave statement. Indeed, she was one of a kind. Beca Mitchell was too much of a badass. The fact that she was still alive and fighting after all the booby traps they had built for her was a proof that she was rightfully the mighty Phoenix.

"You can try, but one of us will eventually kill you, Beca."

She only huffed as a response.

"But I will give you a chance for salvation, dude. Say, trade with the devil. I'll spare your life, come join my army."

As an answer to the offer, she raised her gun once more and accurately shot the man standing sloppily next to Donald right in between his eyes. Two men were down, and the one responsible for their death was still pretty much alive surprisingly. It would have been easy to just pull the trigger and kill her off, but the Syndics suddenly became afraid that she would still be able to kill them in spite of. But Beca knew better. It would be one hell of a miracle to survive a shootout even with Cynthia-Rose and Stacie to back her up. They would all die. And that's why she chose to kill that particular man, to have an excuse to look at Chloe probably for the last time in her life.

During that moment, that one quick stolen moment, Beca caught her most favorite pair of bright blue eyes, those eyes where she could no doubt live for an eternity and would never get tired of it. Her gaze zoomed out to witness the look on that angelic face. It wasn't the most glamorous picture of Chloe Beale, but damn, it was still perfectly beautiful. The redhead offered a suppressed smile, and suddenly, it felt like being back at the Black Room where the mighty Phoenix could only hopelessly wait for the love of her life to suffer once again.

"I will trade with the devil," Clarence spoke out determined to save the day. "You can have the treasure, just let us all go and never bother us anymore."

Bumper let out a laugh. "That's convenient. I like that"

Beca turned towards the owner of the treasure. Unlike the last time, she couldn't pick up a message, no silent agreement on a secret plan for counter attack, and with Chloe's life in danger, this must be it already. No more playing games, just full surrender then everybody could win the war.

"You already have the key," explained the rich man eyeing the black remote kept in Bumper's hand. "It's all yours, dude."

The Head Syndic glanced at the device in all seriousness and inquired, "Where is the treasure?"

"Pandemonium," Clarence gave his most honest answer and everybody turned to him in shock. All this time, the treasure was in Pandemonium? That answered one important question – why Benji had to stay even after his master had left the organization. He needed to guard the treasure. He needed to guard his master's vault which happened to be Pandemonium itself. "The Head Phoenix's table stands on top of a carpet. Underneath, Benji dug a hole where a box could fit. Open the box by pushing the lone button on that remote. There's your treasure."

"Wow," was all Bumper could say in this triumphant moment, chuckling and clapping his hands together and shaking his head in great disbelief. He did it. He was almost there. He could almost reach the treasure with his hands. "Thank you… Clarence."

"I did my part of the bargain," replied the redhead. "Now it's your turn, Bumper."

And Bumper nodded his head compliantly. "We will leave, alright? But nobody should come follow us. Especially not Beca. We'll execute this deal in the most peaceful manner, everybody agree?"

In most cases, silence meant yes.

Gradually, the room became more alive than usual. One by one, the Syndics started leaving the room while the others stayed quietly in place. Chloe was finally released by Donald who went to stand by his master's side; she could normally breathe again. Beca stared back at Bumper; the Head Syndic flashed yet another devilish grin before proceeding with his own exit, so then Cynthia-Rose moved to untie the hostages with the knife and Beca was more than prepared to go kiss her girlfriend already. However, the happy reunion did not last long enough to be savored when Bumper's voice again filled the air for the last part of his brilliant plan.

"Nobody should ever trade with the devil," he said as he nonchalantly raised a gun aimed at Chloe and pulled the trigger multiple times. Her death would be the best way to end the boring negotiation, for all the troubles that these people had caused him, because her death would mean the soulful death for the rest of them.

Beca, without thinking twice, quickly stood in front of the redhead bracing for the impact of the bullets. She would kill for this woman and would die for her, and this moment should have been the greatest testament of her love.

Chloe's tears were already out the moment she felt the brunette's body against her own. She would have pushed her aside to save her, seriously, but it all happened so fast. The bullets all came in as expected only it wasn't Beca who took them. The mighty Phoenix realized that Stacie's back was glaring at her. As the enemies rushed out completely, Stacie's body slowly collapsed down with Beca's hands worriedly guiding the friend she never wanted to lose gently into her arms.

"No," she shook her head firmly secretly hoping that the gesture would magically heal the gunshot wounds. "This can't be happening."

The brunette whose chest was already bleeding uncontrollably managed to let out a laugh. It was because of the fact that she was witnessing a very rare scene – Beca Mitchell, the cold-blooded horrible monster, was crying her eyes out. And it was because of her.

"Hang in there, Stacie. I'll get you to the hospital and then you'll be fine."

"No," she whispered. "I'm… d-dying, Beca."

And that made the other stop. Because it sounded so true. This was the person who, once in a lifetime, didn't tell her the entire truth, but this was the person who would never lie to her. So yes, Stacie Conrad was, in fact, dying. She was dying in Beca's arms. And there was nothing else that Beca could do to save her. Nonetheless, Stacie raised her trembling hand to wipe off the tears she never thought she'd see. Right there and then, she thought it was the perfect way to die already. Beca, however, had a different plan. No more mental deliberation; she just delicately placed a hand on Stacie's face, looked intently into those eyes she would never see again, and planted a real kiss on those pair of lips she would never be able to taste again.

"I love you," Beca told her in all honesty. It wasn't because of feeling guilty or the pressure of acting like a Marius to a dying Eponine. It was definitely much more than an act of sympathy. It's only because Beca truly loved Stacie.

Stacie weakly smiled. "Thank you, Beca… for this… Y-You… are… my one and only… happy ending."

She turned her gaze towards the redhead standing right behind Beca. Chloe was also crying because of her – if it was the other way around, she probably wouldn't cry for the young heiress – and so Stacie finally understood why the mighty Phoenix had chosen Chloe of all people. Feeling life slipping away from her, the curly-haired brunette closed her eyes, took one last breath, and laid to rest forever.

Beca embraced the dead body as tight as she could as the tears continued to flow out. The pain would never feel like the thought of losing Chloe; just the feeling of losing the Stacie Conrad, and that essentially hurt a lot.

"Damn it, Stan! Fight him off! If you die, I swear to god I will kill you!"

The young Mitchell listened to Aubrey's inspiring words of encouragement through the communication device on his ear while he wiped off the blood coming from his broken lips. It's been a while since he had been wrestling against Blue, and both were already sporting lots of bruises and ruptured body parts and broken bones, but still, neither one wanted to surrender. No one was going to stop until the other would die.

Stan moved to begin yet another round of hand-to-hand combat; his jabs were deflected while his kicks were simply being endured. His size relatively was a disadvantage because the giant could ruin the game for him with a single solid punch. And there it was again. The young man had to make an involuntary pause. While it happened, Blue caught his neck with his strong hand depriving him from air every second that passed. Aubrey shouted more as she heard the sound of Stan's misery.

"Prepare to die, Mitchell."

Really, this fight had to end already. It couldn't go on forever.

"No! Stan! You can do it! Just stay-"

The sound of gunshot ringing from the other end of the line left the Posen heiress dumbfounded that the air became dead for a moment. She could only give a remorseful look towards Ronie who had been anxiously sitting next to her in the kitchen.

"Stan?"

His heavy breathing and gasps for air only brought half of relief to the pair of ladies. He would have said a word to assure Aubrey, but the sight of his father who just shot the man dead was keeping him from doing so. Phil just killed his most loyal servant. Phil just saved his son's life.

"Dad," Stan heard his own normal voice which made Aubrey sigh happily.

"Go get your sister and leave." Phil was direct to the point knowing so well that he didn't have much time before the others could realize that he had already left the hostage room. "I started this fucking mess, I am going to end it. Now I can't get you any of you involved anymore. Leave now."

"Dad," the younger Mitchell dragged himself to stop his father.

"Just do as I say, Stan!" the Head Phoenix purposely pushed him out of the way and started to walk away as quickly as possible. It was for everyone's own good.

"Where are you going? Just stop it already, dad! Quit searching for that fucking treasure!"

"This is my last chance, son!" Phil furiously turned around to face the son he shared mutual disappointment with all these years, and for the first time ever, both treated each other with respect and equal concern. "I have been such a failure as a husband and as a father. All this time, my son has been looking at me like I've been the worst person he'd ever met in his entire life. We became strangers who loathed each other for all the wrong reasons. Now this treasure, if I make this right, I might have a shot to change all that. Maybe if I could save The Society… like Beca, you too would finally start looking at me like I'm your fucking hero… That's all I want, Stan. I guess that's what every father really wants."

Speechless by the words he never expected to come out of his father's mouth, Stan stayed in place clasping on his stomach. Taking advantage of the situation, the Head Phoenix carried on to his mission hoping for no more interruption to take place.

"Let me come with you," the younger Mitchell hurriedly hauled himself over to follow his old man right after gaining back his senses. "Let me help you, dad."

"Just fucking stay!"

Phil desperately pointed the gun towards Stan's knee and instantaneously pulled the trigger. Killing him was not the intention, he simply needed to force his son to stay and be safe, but Jesse who just arrived at the scene with Fat Amy in time to witness only the shooting thought his former boss was to murder his friend. So after a split second of interval, using the same gun he used on Benji a long time ago, he shot Phil Mitchell on the back.

"No!" Stan cried out.

But his father had already turned around to face his murderer, awarded him a thumb's up along with the phrases 'Nice shot, Swanson. Told you you'd need the gun again,' and dropped dead on the floor. He, too, was gone forever.

Stan hurried to his father then threw himself over the dead body. Realizing what just actually happened, Jesse faintly released the gun from his shaky hands and fell down on his knees while Fat Amy went on to console the young Mitchell. Stan's sister, meanwhile, came in too late a few moments after; there was no more Phil to go after, only an upset brother to let him be.

They had lost two important people already, so much for a bogus peaceful agreement. Beca gritted her teeth and balled her fists tightly in great resentment. No, there was no way then that she would let Bumper and his gang get what they wanted. Hence, she pulled herself together, picked up the abandoned gun in front of Jesse, and quietly made her exit.

An early celebration was already on its toll for the convoy of two cars on its way to Pandemonium to claim the most coveted prize of all. There were a few drinks which they picked up during a quick stop at a convenience store, also a sing along to the good old country songs. Sure, Bumper was singing his despicable heart out all because of the overwhelming feeling of victory. It didn't stop Beca Mitchell from crashing the preliminary party though. That's when they realized that the war was far from over yet.

Equipped with only a single gun against the convoy of enemies, such limitation necessarily summoned for the mighty Phoenix's daredevil kind of driving skills. Bumping and going against the traffic flow and sidewalk misadventures were the desired tactics, and when the target should be close enough for her to witness the gruesome death up close, she would take that gun out and shoot them dead. If and when the guys fought back, she could barely notice it or just maybe she didn't care at all. Beca was beyond determined to kill them all and get that fucking treasure once and for all. And one way achieve such goals was forcing a tragic crash for the convoy of two cars. The mighty Phoenix happened to be an expert on that.

Stan hung one arm around Jesse's neck and the other around Fat Amy's as the two IT experts carefully guided his way towards the hostage room to meet the rest of the group. It was a very quiet trip except from the sounds of groaning and grunting which came endlessly from the injured man.

"I'm sorry," Jesse sincerely muttered specifically towards the young Mitchell. "I honestly thought he was trying to kill you."

The other brunet didn't respond causing Fat Amy to secretly mouth 'give him some time' at her other friend.

"I'm really sorry, Stan."

"Apology doesn't bring back the dead," he replied. He had always hated it whenever his sister would say this statement in the most indifferent manner. He would find it very insensitive and rude, but then, he did, too. Nobody wondered but yes, he could sound just as indifferent as the cold-blooded monster surprisingly.

The Australian blonde cautiously reached out for the knob, turned it open, and pushed the door revealing yet another view of tragedy before them. Chloe sat next to Stacie's dead body while her father assisted Cynthia-Rose in attending to Paul's needs.

"Phil's dead too," Stan broke out the news and the murderer lowered his head at the mere mention of it.

"No," was all Clarence could utter in disbelief.

Chloe shot herself up, alarmed. She turned to the trio and frantically asked, "Where's Beca then? She said she would bring him back here, stop him from going after the Syndics."

Fat Amy shrugged her shoulders in response while Stan was just clueless.

"I saw her back there earlier," Jesse supplied an answer, his voice trailing off, unsure if he really did or was it just a product of his mind during such unstable state? "But she left after some time."

"Please don't tell me she went after Bumper and the others," Clarence pleaded even standing up just to make sure he was being noticed. "She can't go to Pandemonium."

"But she's probably on her way already."

"No!" the rich man exclaimed. "It's a trap! There's no treasure in Pandemonium! I honestly don't know where the treasure is! I really don't know. It's just a trap, Stan. The remote will activate a bomb!"

Chloe could already feel her tears rolling down her cheeks as her father explained the truth, and the fact that Stan turned as pale as she was signified that it was a terribly bad news. From their location, there was obviously nothing they could do to stop Beca. Even if the fastest driver among them had gone off, he would never make it on time.

"I'll go after her," Cynthia-Rose volunteered desperate to save Beca. "I can try."

"Aubrey is closer to Pandemonium," Jesse contributed an excellent solution. "She has better chances to make it there just in time. For the meantime, Cynthia-Rose and I could send a message to the Phoenixes stationed back there, and tell them to stop Beca at any cost."

Stan nodded his head in agreement and started giving instructions to Aubrey through the communication device. This plan should work. This plan could not fail… or he might lose his sister, too.

As soon as she got the message from Stan, Aubrey automatically enlisted Ronie's help, and the Chief Directress needed not to hear more besides from the idea that her daughter was in great danger and needed to be saved. She grabbed her car keys; they abandoned the make-shift Communication Room and hurriedly left the house.

"Pandemonium," the Posen heiress announced their destination as soon as they got into the pink Toyota hatchback. "We have to stop Beca, get her out of there before anything bad could happen."

Ronie was already nodding her head even before the end of that sentence. She would do everything to save Beca. If only her stupid old car would start the engine immediately, that would be really helpful.

Beca entered the premises of The Secret Society headquarters through the fire exit at the back where only a young couple making out at the alley barely noticed her arrival; the main entrance was overcrowded with people who wanted to get into the bar club for a good night of partying and drinking away, not to mention she was actually declared as an enemy of and by the organization. Holding on dearly to the remote – thanks to an unconscious Bumper lying in the middle of the road – in her hand, she fought off a pair of Phoenixes stationed to guard the fire exit from the inside. Since when did they post somebody at the far-flung area?

After hoisting the dead bodies to the side of the wall, she went on with her mission. Channeling her best very quiet cricket persona, she sneaked into the main passageways avoiding any Phoenix as much as possible until she had reached the lobby. The entrance to the Green Room was also guarded. Seriously, since when did they begin to be so strict with the security when the existence of this headquarters was actually buried in secrecy? Did her father really think of her as a big threat when she left the organization? If only there was another way to get inside the room without drawing too much attention to herself. And so for some weird world conspiracy, she felt the urge to look up and think when suddenly, the idea of meeting an old friend came across her mind. Welcome back to the vent, Beca!

Before long, she was trying to make a successful noiseless leap from the opening of the vent to the side of the Head Phoenix's chair. If the guards at the other side of the door sensed the presence of an intruder like her, she could be done. Afterwards, she pushed the heavy wooden table aside with all her strength for a better access of the so called spot. True enough, she was met by a carpet. She had sat on this same spot before as the leader of The Secret Society, but she never even for once bothered to consider that the treasure was buried right in this spot. She had never thought of such possibility in the first place. Nevertheless, if the owner of said treasure said it's here then it had to be, so she bent over to pull the old grubby carpet away, and there it was – in the middle area showed the top of a box just like she was promised. Waiting for nothing further, Beca pushed the lone button on the remote following the instructions of Clarence to Bumper, and automatically, the top of the box was starting to lift. However, much to her dismay, instead of a treasure – money or any form of treasure – what was waiting for her inside that box was a time bomb. Five seconds. She only had five seconds and counting down before doomsday. She wasn't going to make it out of there.

"Aw, fuck."

Aubrey and Ronie arrived faster than what Jesse had calculated. Still, it was too late. There was no more Pandemonium. The building was already being swallowed by tongues of fire despite of the courageous attempt of the firefighters to salvage it. Some had survived the incident while others had died inside, trapped within the burning walls wherein all they could do were to yell out a hopeless cry for help. Most of the people outside ran frenziedly in panic, not really sure what to do exactly; others like Ronie simply froze in place while the tears silently crept out of her eyes watching helplessly the band of fiery colors and listening to the screams of agony coming from the inside of the sweltering building, one of those screams could be her daughter's.

A few moments more and the others had finally arrived. The absence of Beca among the duo in despair they found by the hot pink-colored Toyota Yaris signified that they had all failed. Chloe didn't wait for the car to stop before letting herself out. Clearly devastated by the horrible truth, she nonsensically ran towards the fire crying out Beca's name on the top of her lungs only to be speedily stopped by her best friend before she could enter the danger zone. The redhead fought her way out of Aubrey's claws – she had to go in and save Beca – but more hands held her in place until she could only collapse on her knees and begged for whatever supreme being to bring her back the love of her life. She waited and waited even until the sun came up the day after, but Beca Mitchell had never returned.

Three days after…

It was a very intimate and private funeral ceremony at the cemetery – only the family members and the closest friends were invited to attend. It was not technically a funeral ceremony per se, not even close, because they knew all three of the dead would have insisted that they didn't need anybody's blessing, not even that of His who people so deliberately called God would they solicit for if He ever even existed in the first place.

There was no such thing as paying tribute to the lives they once lived as well. Phil, if he was still alive, would have said it was only a waste of time; there was no point in doing so, for the dead would always be dead from then on and that's just it. Beca, of course, would have nothing to say. Being the very quiet cricket that she was, she would have stood among the very last row, put her straight face on, and wait impatiently for the end of it. She would have preferred to be anywhere else, probably go for a long drive in her badass Aston Martin Volante. Stacie, as usual, would have simply agree with whatever Beca had in mind. But all three were all gone and so none of them could make a protest when their loved ones decided it was sensible to shower them with roses afterwards.

"I lost my father and my sister because of your treasure," Stan told Clarence who stood by his side.

"They were important to me, too, Stan. I loved them both. And believe it or not, I wish I could have done something, anything, just to save them all."

"You could have surrendered the treasure. You could have said where it really is."

"But I don't know where it is," the old man shook his head. "I told you, only Benji knew where it is. I gave the treasure to him, asked him to hide it, and hoped to never see that curse again."

"Why?"

Clarence shrugged and sighed. "I don't need it. I only need my daughter."

"Congratulations then," said the young Mitchell, obviously sarcastic. "You killed her girlfriend. Good luck on convincing her to forgive you, Mr. Beale."

Mr. Beale looked over to where his daughter was standing at the front row next to Aubrey. She was clearly crying; it never stopped since Beca died in that Pandemonium bomb explosion. Chloe initially refused to believe in the truth, kept insisting that the mighty Phoenix would come back for her, but the authorities found the burned body among the many others and the DNA results furthermore confirmed that it was indeed Beca's. Since then, the world was never the same place for the young heiress. Just when she thought everything was about to get better, she lost the love of her life. Clarence knew his beloved daughter was broken, even more broken than the time she lost her mother. And he couldn't really blame her when Chloe had stopped to talk to him and decided that looking at him felt too much pain to bear especially when she firmly believed that it was her father's fault that they were burying her girlfriend dead.

Three caskets – one for Phil, one for Stacie, and the black one was specifically made for Beca's urn of cremated body – were hovered down six feet under the ground. Paul took the initiative when nobody else seemed to be willing enough to say goodbye, moved forward and dropped the three white roses he had in hand, one for each. Jesse soon followed. Fat Amy grabbed little Maverick with her and walked over to do the same. The little guy kissed the last rose lovingly before throwing it over to his good friend, his dear Becky. Aubrey left her best friend for a short while to make use of her own sets of roses, regretful that she had very little time to spend with Stacie and a quiet murmur of 'I'll miss you, idiot' for Beca. Clarence marched from his place with an abundant amount of reluctance to bid farewell to his best friend, the brother he never had. Stan did the same, and then braved the tears as he eventually turned around and hugged his mother for comfort. It was least expected, but Veronica was calm and serene, not a single tear stained her lovely face anymore. It was as if she had grown tired of it already, as if she had ran out of tears to pour out to the world, and just gave up her utmost desire to complete the wrecked family.

Last in line was Chloe sobbing as she made her way to where she should be. She dropped one white rose for Phil, one white rose for Stacie, then paused right before the black casket. It's like the tears never wanted to stop. Another drop came rolling down as she held on to the last rose for the day; unlike the others it was red. It was a long-stemmed red rose supposedly for Beca because just as Chloe remembered – they were at a cemetery, too, that one time – Beca told her it meant 'I love you'. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant for saying goodbye. Even so, the redhead honestly didn't want to say goodbye. Not yet, not when her heart wasn't ready to take it all in. But she turned to Ronie who smiled at her and gave her an encouraging nod. So, with all her strength, Chloe carefully released the red rose from her tight grip. It wasn't goodbye, not even a tiny bit of it. It was just a sense of 'until we meet again, my love'.

Ronie stood at her doorstep and sighed heavily. It's been a really long day. Everybody had been trying to console her when, honestly, she didn't need them as much as Stan or Chloe. Really, nobody was as brokenhearted as those two. No, Chloe was the champion of them all. How she managed to drag herself away from her bed was still a mystery. Sure, Ronie lost the man she had sworn to love for eternity, but she had long been prepared herself for that day. The break-up and the divorce were a big help. The young heiress, on the other hand, suffered from the knowledge that she had lost half of her being. If only she knew. You can't kill a phoenix with fire because as it burns to ashes, it will only rise from the dead.

Barden Chief Directress opened the front door with her keys and pushed her way into the house. She let her shoulder bag fall on the floor, hung her coat, and placed the take-out pizza on the coffee table right next to the pair of feet in a pair of black boots rested upon the furniture. Ronie put her hands on her hips and tilted her head to the side waiting for a response from her guest seated comfortably on the couch. Nothing came though.

"Since you missed your own funeral, I thought you could use some pizza. It doesn't taste as good as yours, but it's… it's pizza, you know."

Beca Mitchell, still pretty much alive, kept her gaze on space and huffed as a reply.

"Well," her mother decided to occupy the area besides the younger brunette and kicked her shoes off before kicking Beca's off the table as well. "It was a very quiet occasion. I'm sure you would have enjoyed every second of it, young lady."

Still, Beca wasn't speaking a word.

"Your friends looked lovely that I was so close to being so amused. Jesse was wearing a suit and tie while Fat Amy rocked that black dress. Your brother still looked handsome even with the crutches. Aubrey… well, Aubrey is Aubrey as always. And… Chloe. Oh boy, where should I start with your most precious Chloe?"

"I only came back to get some of the money," Beca eyed the small pack of greens on the table as an attempt to change the topic of conversation. "Give the rest to Stan when he comes over. He'll need it to pay his debt to Richard Posen."

"You should have your wound checked. My healing powers, unfortunately, can't do anything about that."

"It's just a minor burn."

"Oh it's not that," the Chief Directress shook her head. "I meant your aching heart."

Wordless, the mighty Phoenix stood up from her seat, collected her brand new black leather jacket and the pack of money, and began to head towards the door.

"You don't have to go, Beca."

No response.

"Chloe needs you."

And that made her stop. After all this time, she still couldn't resist Chloe. She was still the only person who could make her get out of character just by her entire being. Nobody realized it before, but the redheaded monster was the most effective trap that Clarence Beale had never intended to make. Beca, indeed, was the best weapon there was, but Chloe was her very own kryptonite.

"She at least deserves to know that you're alive."

Beca turned around to face her mother with no words to deliver.

"You know I have the right to kill you right now, right?" Ronie knowingly looked at her daughter. "You promised to never let her go, remember? And you said, if you did, I must kill you."

"Mom, I have to go look for the treasure. Phil and Stacie died because of it. With Bumper surviving the crash, more people are going to die, and it's not going to stop until the treasure is finally found. If there's anybody who deserves the money, it has to be the people. I know Phil – dad would want that."

"What about Chloe?"

"I can't risk her life again. It's now clear that Clarence really doesn't know where the treasure is. That means they'll leave him alone from now on. I'm the only rival they have now, so the more they believe I'm dead, the safer Chloe is."

"But she'll never be as happy as the way she used to be when she's with you."

Beca shrugged her shoulders and sighed. "I am the mighty Phoenix. I kill and steal, and then I chose to go after a treasure than be with Chloe. I will always be the monster that I am, mom. And I'm afraid the truth is… her heart is just no place for a monster like me. She deserves better."

Ronie briefly raised her hands in surrender. Obviously, she wasn't going to win this debate anymore no matter how hard she could try. Nevertheless, she stood up, walked over to her shoulder bag, pulled out a sealed white letter envelope, and slammed it into Beca's hand.

"What's this?" asked her daughter.

"I have to do something for you," the Chief Directress answered. "Do you honestly think I survived on my own? Somebody helped me, Beca. I don't really know what's inside that, but then I was told to give it to you after Phil Mitchell dies, only after Phil dies even if it meant exposing to The Society that I'm still alive. He said it's something you'd need."

Wasting no time at the urgency of the circumstance, Beca hurriedly tore off the side of the envelope. It contained a small piece of paper and an old renaissance key. She kept the key in her pocket as she read the note.

Go find home, Beca. Find home and you'll find the treasure.

And Beca turned to her mother positively. This could be it. It's going to be a long shot, but this could be the first step to finding that treasure.

Valentine's Day…

Beca spent the entire afternoon secretly hiding behind a humungous tree trunk as she watched Chloe picnic all by herself by what was believed to be Beca's grave. There was food everywhere and she had a fresh long-stemmed red rose for the love of her life. The redhead, just like during her frequent visits, talked to the grave about everything she had in mind, as cheerful as she could, but even from a distance view, the glint of loneliness was evident in her bright blue eyes.

If this story could have been written with a happy ending, the two of them should have been at Chloe's mother's grave as the mighty Phoenix had promised before. They would have shared a laugh as the brunette would have offered one of her super corny jokes. There would have been nothing this fucked up planet could have made to ruin such perfect day. However, not all stories were written with a happy ending. So once again, Chloe Beale put on her best bittersweet smile as she ran her fingers over the inscription of Beca's name, whispered a heartfelt 'until we meet again, my love', and walked away.

From a far, Beca watched every step intently and longingly. The urge to scream out Chloe's name was right around the corner, but she wasn't going to do that. Not yet at least. Because she saw Chloe opened the car door and then frantically looked around like she had just seen a ghost, Beca knew that the redhead had already seen the red rose she had sneaked into the passenger seat. Did Chloe get the message? The message to wait for her, that maybe someday Beca would come back for her. When there will be no more twelve million people to think about or a treasure to be found, maybe then, they can be together again and their love will last like a Phoenix, like an emblem of immortality.

The end of Stolen

So that's it. It wasn't the best way to end a multi-chapter, but it was one way to end a story, right? And so I think I have to explain myself for a moment here: (1) I know I promised not to kill off Stacie, and that was honestly the initial plan, but then I realized that there was no other way to give her a happy ending. It doesn't feel right to make her happy with anybody else. Her happy ending is just Beca. (2) I need to kill off Phil because his death would be essential. Otherwise, Beca would have never gotten the key. (3) So I ended this with some sort of a cliffhanger leaving the possibility for a sequel. I'm not promising anything, but maybe. Just maybe… because there are so many questions left unanswered and more questions that needs to be answered, but I kind of also wanted to move on with a new story. You'll find out my decision in the future. For now, I bid you all a temporary good bye. Until we meet again, people! Again, thank you for joining me in this amazing journey! :)