Choices and Chances (a ppg fanfiction)

Chapter 16(the end)

“Callahan!” he heard Chief's familiar voice. He looked at the chief with clear betrayal and hurt in his red eyes. Chief Guerra threw something towards him.

“Tomorrow I wanna see you back in the force.” The Chief’s voice was authoritative but also gentle and kind. He looked at the small golden badge shining in the dim light of the basement.
“And your 2-word resignation letter? I refuse to accept it.” With a smile, Chief Guerra went back out. He softly touched his police badge and gulped down his tears.
He heightened his senses and felt someone came down the stairs. He already knew who it was and he knew he couldn’t escape her even if he wanted to.
She sat beside him The girl he knew as Rhea Timmons for the past 7 weeks and as a Blossom Utonium for an hour. He tried not to look at her. He was sure if he looked at her lovely features, he won’t be able to make a choice. She was a variable he hadn’t taken into his account when he joined the troop. He focused his mind on his badge.
He knew she could hear his thoughts. So he took his chance.
‘You ruined my life.’
“Brick…” she mumbled.
“Arias. My name is Arias.” His voice had venom.
“Okay. Arias, I am so…” He didn’t let her finish.
“Forget it, Rhea. Damage is done.” He said. ‘I’m saving us both the awkward moments. I have enough for today.’ His thoughts were so distinct. He wasn’t even trying to hide his thoughts.
“Arias..” She tried to talk to him again.
He smiled and then started to sing a song in his head, cutting all the other thoughts to the surface. His every action deliberate which allowed him to cut Rhea from reading him but at the same time keeping tabs on her emotions.
“It's working you know.” She said softly. “I can't hear Anything except the song.”
He hid his smile. Rhea was so wretched.
“I can't help what I feel. I am miserable right now. There is no way to mask it.”
He knew that. He could read her loud and clear. She was nervous, she was scared and he could see she hadn’t slept in ages.
“They want you to come back.” She informed him.
“Yes. I know.”
“Then?”
“I am not going back.” He stopped singing in his mind. She could see it in his mind. He was serious. She was the reason he fled. He wanted a fresh start. An entirely new identity and she took that away from him.
She felt pain in her chest and her breaths became shallow.
He whimpered. Her emotions were making a direct impact on him.
He placed his calloused hand on her arm and took a deep breath. He calmed her down, her pain momentarily taken away.
She gazed into his eyes. The eyes having the scariest color. Bright red. Two burning coals. She wasn’t scared. Red to her was a color of bravery, passion, and strength. He with red hair, she with pink ones, leaders of both Powerpuff and rowdyruffs was dealt with odd eyes. The odd ones.
“Nothing has changed, Arias. Only two more people know the reality. You can adjust back on the force.” Her voice was soft. Her psychiatrist's voice.
“Everything has changed, Rhea. My chance to start over, my second chance at life, normal life is …” his voice growing louder and wilder, “GONE!”
His mind was disorganized. Millions of things going through his mind and she cannot grasp anything. A tangled mess of threads.
“I won’t even bother you. If it I who bother you, I'll leave. I'll leave Townsville. I'll…”
“It's not that, Rhea.” His voice was very low. “Will others now see me as a person I came to be or,…”
She stayed quiet. Her silence encouraging him to speak more.
After an audible sigh, he made eye contact. He did his best to keep her out of his head.
“Arias…” she was desperate to know his thoughts.
She hated invading other's privacy. She believed that every person should have a right to think what they want unless they can act on their criminal thoughts.
She studied him finding suitable exposed skin to create a neurological connection. She called it “Dive”. A connection to read all the memories and thoughts of a person being connected to. Only the exposed part was his face.
She took a deep breath and placed her hand on his cheek.
He froze. His memories, his thoughts, dreams, the most private parts of his mind were exposed to her.
‘Arias’ he heard her voice in his head. ‘talk to me'.
‘Get out if my head!’
‘Will you talk to me?’
‘Get out, I said!’
She broke the connection. She took out her contacts to expose her real eyes. Shimmering Pink.
“It is not fair, taking advantage of weak like that.”
She stayed quiet.
“So you have your answers?” Arias asked. His posture was defeated.
“I only saw where you are planning to go and you are scared. I broke the connection before I can see some meaningful thoughts.”
“It is difficult to talk about it.”
“But are you willing to show them to me?” she asked and placed her hand back again.
‘It's not fair, you know.’ He said in his mind.
‘I am sorry, Arias.’ He heard her.
‘let me go, Rhea.’
‘Please, Arias. Talk to me. I’ll help. No matter what you will decide, I will help you out.’
He used his ability to judge her sincerity and she was so genuinely interested in knowing his side.
‘After I knocked you out, I also thought a great deal about this whole scenario. If a psychiatrist and my partner changed knowing truth about me, then how can the public handle a rowdyruff who used to terrorize the city as their police officer?’
She was ashamed of herself. She lowered her head.
‘After I became Arias, I locked Brick down in remotest parts of my heart. I denied myself being me. Brick was bold, a bit arrogant yes, but confident, lively, and with all the rowdiness aside, he used to express his thoughts and put them into actions. He was adventurous, more importantly, I was the person who had a family. He was living not surviving.’
‘what about Arias? Is the opposite of Brick?’ her voice asked.
‘Arias is a good guy. He is kind, hardworking, and careful. His record is clean, he is smart, he lives to amend what Brick did. But he also lives in constant fear. He has no family, he is scared of making friends. He is afraid of what will become of him if someone will somehow learn that he is being created in a prison toilet seat and caused havoc in this town for years.’
She removed her hand. “You are amazing, Brick. To change your life to this extent, you have accomplished so much.”
“I want to start a life, Rhea, where I am not afraid anymore. Where there is no constant fear of rejection. An inconspicuous life. I don’t want the spotlight. All I want to live, not survive. To be me. I want both Brick and Arias to live on.”
Hesitant, he took her hands in his.
“Do you understand what I want?”
she nodded.
“Do you also understand that I can never achieve it here? I was the leader of rowdyruff. Just like the leader of Powerpuff is still serving this city, I am always the leader of rowdyruff if I am not careful.”
“Do you want to leave this city? Start afresh?” She asked.
“Am I allowed? Will the ones who know real me allow me to leave?” he asked in return.
She squeezed his hands in reassurance.
“I’ll make sure they will.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A month later, A headline was running on all local news channels.
“Townsville’s supercop Officer Arias Dylan Callahan is found burn in his vacation cabin in the woods. There appear to be burst in the oven which caused massive fire….” Blossom paused the volume.
She smiled sadly and remembered an argument she had with her father, Mayor, and Chief. Bubbles were still not talking to her. They wanted to keep Brick here in Townsville. How she had told them that he had atoned a lot, paid for every crime with interest. They had to let him live the life of his own choice.
She was prepared for the pseudo funeral Arias was having. She checked herself in the mirror. Her black clothing was perfectly suited for the funeral.
She heard the knock.
She opened the door only to find a delivery guy.
She signed to receive the package.
It was a small box. A letter, an iPod, and a key.
Her heart was beating faster and faster as she read the letter.
Rhea or Blossom whatever you prefer,
I cannot thank you enough for how you f get for me. Thank you. You provided me with a chance to live. Keep an eye on my brothers. Especially my niece Evelyn. I knew about Boomer and Butch but I can’t just go and introduce myself to them. I watched them, looked out for them. Please watch over them in my stead. I leave you my Harley Davidson, keep it or sell it, your choice.
Tell Blondie and Professor to forgive me.
Btw, Pink, you have crappy taste in music so listen to what I leave you. listen listen to Bach, Mozart in this century!
Don’t ever try to find me, please. There are finally prefer left unsaid. We both know what they are. Speaking of it won’t do anything good about it.
I don’t want to be forgotten so remember me once a year at least. I want to be remembered by the one who prodded my head.
Arias
She placed the letter and key in her safe compartment and attached headphones iPod to listen to Three Days Grace. She didn't bother to hide her tears.
…………
Somewhere in the middle of Argentina, A tanned guy was looking at his red eyes in the bathroom mirror.
He placed brown lenses in his eye es when someone called in a thick Latin accent.
“Luca?”
“Si?”
“Vamos amigo, we have work to do.”
He took his bag which had mechanical tools.
He had made his choice but he knew he can never be free.
Pink eyes and long hair of her psychiatrist back in Townsville still haunt his dreams.

The end

Author's note: thanks to those who took the time to read this. Please give comments and vote, let me know you love or hate this story. Peace.