Bassist and the Beast

Chapter 63: End of an Era

Pete groaned, laying on his side as nothing but the faint sound of the slowing rain and Paul's cries reached his ears.

He pushed against the grass, trying to get up, only to stop as pain erupted through his leg.

"Someone help me out here," He stated, "I think my leg's broken."

His face turned up to see half of the crowd staring at him, no one making a move.

Pete stared back at them for a moment, confused.

"Now, what are you all..."

Suddenly remembering the makeup he had on, he quickly hid his face from the crowd, bringing a hand to his cheek.

Knowing that the water was washing away his disguise, Pete tried to use his sleeve to dry his face.

He looked at the fabric, only to see odd colors smeared on it.

Panicking, Pete brushed his sleeve against his skin as gently as he could in an effort to not cause any further makeup to wash off of his face.

Rory watched him silently, not bothering to tell him that it was already too late to fix it.

Up on the balcony, James took a step forward, staring down at Paul and John.

Cynthia quietly made her way over to George and Ringo, too shocked to speak.

A small shimmering sound made all three of them look at the rose inside its glass container, and they all watched as the final petal came loose and gently fell to the table, signifying that it was now midnight.

And that it was now too late.

The 300 year deadline was up.

Paul's sobbing died down, for mental exhaustion had caught up to him.

The only thing he could do was hug the still body beneath him as his mind overran with thoughts that he couldn't distinguish.

"P-Paul?"

The bassist ignored James.

Another moment passed.

And...

Was that shimmering he heard?

"Uh... Paul..." James repeated.

Paul coughed in an effort to clear his throat, and he lifted his head.

As the rain slowly came to a stop around them, small orbs of light began to form and shift around John, causing Paul to rise and back away.

He bumped into James, who said nothing in response.

Paul watched as the shimmering, golden orbs melted into each other and enveloped John's body, bathing him in light that easily made him visible to everyone in the courtyard.

Slowly, the light lifted him up, and he was raised into the air as a strand of white light began to quickly circle around him.

The white light shimmered as well, and it shone with great intensity as it traveled around John faster and faster.

Ringo, George, and Cynthia all stared at the scene intently.

Mike stepped closer to James and Paul, not taking his eyes off of the burning light show before them.

A sudden gust of wind blew through the area, and, along with it, the light grew so bright that John couldn't be seen within it.

A loud sound, not unlike that of an explosion, erupted from the sight as the light burst outward, forcing Paul to briefly close his eyes.

As the light faded and the sounds echoed, Paul heard something softly land in front of him.

He looked.

And there, laying where John had just been, was an auburn-haired man wearing high-quality clothes that looked as though they belonged in a very different time.

With the rain having gone away, the entire area was completely silent.

Paul stepped forward, James making no effort to stop him.

The man laying on the ground shuffled, and Paul froze, watching with wide-eyes as he got up on his knees and turned his head towards the courtyard.

Slowly, gracefully, he stood up and continued to stare down at the courtyard for a moment before turning around.

"P-Paul..."

Paul knew that voice from anywhere, and he took another step forward.

"J-John?"

John looked down at his hands, feeling tears forming in his eyes.

"I... Is..."

He ran his hands through his shoulder-length hair, his eyes darting all over the rest of his body.

"Is... I-Is this actually h-happening?"

Paul said nothing.

"I... I'm n-not in some kind of... Of afterlife purgatory or s-something, r-right?" John asked, trembling.

Silence.

Blinking his own tears away, Paul smiled warmly, stepping even closer to John and grabbing his hand.

"No, John, " he whispered, "You're here. Y-you're actually here..."

John blinked.

"Y-you're free," Paul continued, "You're alive... and you're free."

John trembled.

"I... I-it is f-finally over..."

John and Paul stared at each other, basking in the silence.

With no hesitation, they both closed the distance between each other and kissed, not caring about the rather large audience that they had the attention of.