CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
the one with the final fight.
warnings: puke
here we go again

THEY FOUND BILL. Found him staring at a bloodied kid with one arm and a boat. Found him staring at someone who absolutely wasn't Georgie. Found him in time to hear Not-Georgie say "take me home, Billy" in a way that makes Ashley hurt for Bill.

"I wanna go home." Not-Georgie said tearfully, "I miss you. I wanna be with Mom and Dad."

Ashley didn't know what to do. Didn't know what to say. She thinks her heart cannot break anymore than it already is.

"I want more than anything for you to be home." Bill said. Ashley knew the feeling. "With Mom and Dad." Ashley watched as Bill walked closer to Not-Georgie. It made a blind panic surge through Ash and she took a step forward, but Beverly grabbed her arm before Ashley could go farther.

"I miss you so much." Bill said, inching closer and closer and-

"I love you, Billy."

"I love you too." Bill said. Ashley watched as he lifted the gun to Not-Georgie's forehead and oh shit oh shit oh holy shit. "But you're not Georgie."

Bill shot the gun, and despite knowing it was coming, Ash still gasped as Not-Georgie fell to the floor.

It was silent for a few moments. Ash was vaguely aware her cheeks were wet.

They all stared at the body on the ground. Ashley could feel fear and tension in the air.

She jumped back when said body started grunting and shaking and screaming and screaming. The screaming turned into some sort of monstrous roaring and he was shaking, shaking, shaking-

Until he wasn't.

Ashley knew better than to hope it was over.

Not-Georgie's legs and arms expanded, all with a pop. Ashley backed up on impulse, running into Bev on accident.

It.

It moved like a puppet as it sat up, cracking like one too.

"Kill it, Bill! Kill it!" Eddie screamed, and that seemed to make Ashley gain her vocal cords back.

"Oh my God, oh my God." Ashley muttered, digging her nails into her skin hard enough her fingertips came away bloody.

And everyone is just screaming and yelling for Bill to kill it, Bill! Kill it! but Bill's not fucking listening and Pennywise is smiling and Ashley is pretty sure that Mike said something but she can't fucking hear over all this screaming.

Bill listens after a minute of yelling, holds up the gun in the same way he held it up to Georgie and Ashley hears Mike say "Hey! It's not loaded!" but Bill fires anyway.

It puts a hole in It's head, making part of his forehead crack like a broken vase.

Pennywise grunted and looked up at the ceiling, throwing back his back in the process. He moved like a puppet. Ash couldn't get over that.

The roaring and shaking was back. Like a monster. It started it so suddenly, and Ashley actually screamed this time.

She walked backwards, couldn't understand why the others weren't doing the same, couldn't understand how they were just staring.

She found herself reaching for Beverly, but just grabbed empty air.

Them It was running, lunging towards Bill and everyone was screaming again and Ashley was scrambling to get away from It, trying to drag Beverly with her.

It was no use (she could never stop Bev from going back to Bill).

"Leave him alone!" Beverly exclaimed, lunging at It with weapon in hand.

No use either. It was stronger than her, stronger than all of them.

"Beverly, no!" Eddie cried. Pennywise tossed her back easily, back towards Ash, who clutched onto her like a lifeline, sending the weapon flying to the ground.

Mike ran up towards It, tried to so what Beverly had. It sent him flying backwards instead, sent him screaming.

Ashley wondered if she was screaming too. She couldn't tell anymore.

Beverly ran over to help Mike, so Ash followed suit, like a damn lost puppy.

"Help him!" Bev damn near ordered, and Ashley looked over to where Bill was attacking Pennywise.

It was growling again.

Ash watched as Richie jumped into the clown and as Ben and Stan pulled on It's arms. It swing them around and around like a damn carousel and Ashley needed to do something but she was drowning in dear amd God, she felt so damn weak and helpless.

Mike was holding up his own weapon again, and Stan was sent flying backwards, Richie following suit soon after.

Ashley was bad at fighting, but she could help.

So she ran over to the two, hesitating only over leaving Bev. She helped them to their feet, shaking as she did so.

She looked Stan in the eyes.

She supposed eyes could tell a whole story. Wasn't that a saying somewhere?

It was only then when Ashley realized It has a grip on Bill. She scrambled backwards to where the rest of the group was.

"Let him go." Beverly said. Ashley wished that the order in her voice would effect It.

"No." It said, shaking It's head. The smile on It's face was unsettlingly familiar. "I'll take him."

"Please." Ashley said, her voice shaky and raspy from screaming.

"I'll take all of you." It said, "And I'll feast on your flesh as I feed on your fear."

Ash pretended she didn't whimper.

It lifted a finger, shaking it in the process, "Or... you'll just leave us be.* It said.

In that moment, Ashley wondered what it would be like to die.

"I will take him, only him, and then I will have my long rest and you will all live to grow and thrive and lead happy lives. Until old age take you back to the weeds."

Ashley was shaking. She wanted to cry.

"Leave." Bill said, voice weak, "I'm the one who dragged you all into this. I'm s-s-so sorry."

"S-S-Sorry." Pennywise mocked. And laughed. God, It has the nerve to laugh.

"Go!" Bill shouted, and Pennywise laughed again.

"Guys, we can't." Beverly said, and she was right, she always was.

Ashley thought that she'd rather die than leave Bill here.

"I'm sorry." Bill repeated. Ashley's head hurt. She wanted to go home.

"I told you Bill." Richie said, "I fucking told you. I don't wanna die. It's your fault."

Ashley began to panic. What was Richie talking about? They couldn't- he wouldn't- would he?

"You punched me in the face." Richie said, beginning to count on his fingers, "You made walk through shitty water. You brought me to a fucking crackhead house. And now..." Richie pulled a bat out of the pile of junk, and oh, oh fuck. "I'm gonna have to kill this fucking clown."

Ash smiled.

Pennywise there Bill to the ground and stood up, growling.

"Welcome to the Losers Club, asshole!" Richie exclaimed. Pennywise roared and lunged toward Richie, who swung at It with full force, knocking it back and throwing it odd balance in time for Mike to take his turn, running at the clown and going to take a swing at It.

It stopped it though. With It's mouth, of course. Black and burned hands came out of It's mouth, screams coming from inside of It.

Stanley picked up something sharp off the ground ran towards. He chopped the hands- or what looked like hands- in half, letting Mike free.

It suddenly transformed into the creature from before that had been attacking Stan and immediately ran towards Stanley.

"Stan!" Ashley exclaimed as she watched the boy yell and knock It back with whatever he picked off the ground earlier.

It gave Mike the chance to attack It again, the damn self sacrificing idiot. It knocked him to the ground, and Ash didn't have a clue what the fuck it transformed into after that. It had some sort of claws, and they dug into the ground as It tried to get to Mike.

Mike rolled away from It, as Pennywise began to laugh maniacally, getting closer and closer and-

Ash grabbed the bat out of Richie's hands, ran forward and took a swing almost twice as hard as Richie's had been.

It knocked the creature back, only for it to turn around and face Ashley. It transformed It's face into that of a roaches. Then there were bugs crawling on her, on her skin, up her clothes, everywhere.

She ignored it and flipped the bat around and prayed to God the laws of physics were on her side as she took a stab at the creature.

The laws weren't, but it sent It stumbling backwards and growling. The bugs were still there and then there was buzzing in her ears, the faint sound of wings fluttering.

And then blood.

Ben had stabbed It and Ashley scrambled away, bat still in hand. She threw it back to Richie, like a "thanks for letting me borrow that" gesture.

"Kill it! Kill it!" Everyone was screaming that again. It gave Ashley a vague sense of déjà vu.

She watched as It transformed into a mummy, wrapping whatever tissue it was made of around Ben, pulling him closer to it and roaring.

Bill picked up a chain and hit Pennywise with it. Richie hit It with his bat and the double impact sent It to the ground. Ashley picked up a bar off the ground and began swinging wildly.

At this point, they were all surrounding It, attacking It with their respective weapons until It transformes into a leper after Eddie has attacked him.

Then It proceeded to throw up all over Eddie, who gagged and spit something up.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Eddie screamed.

Ash believed it, too.

Eddie kicked It directly in the chin, sending It backwards with a grunt. It sat up and stared at Beverly as It transformed into a man Ash didn't recognize.

But she knew. She knew.

"Hey, Bevvie." It said, in a much deeper voice, "Are you still my little-"

It didn't get to finish, because Beverly yelled as she stabbed It directly down the throat.

Ashley has never been so in love.

The impact caused It to start choking as It's face slowly regained the painted, clown form it had been.

It spit out the bar like it was nothing.

"Oh, shit!" Eddie exclaimed.

It fell backwards and began to scramble away slowly, grunting in what Ashley assumed was pain.

But she didn't know how this monster could feel pain. Couldn't wrap her head around it.

They all followed it slowly as It back up into a well like hole, grunting and shaking maniacally.

Then It started chuckling, like It had played a cruel little joke.

Ashley wished this was all a joke.

It's smile turned into a frown as Bill started speaking. "That's why you didn't kill Beverly." He said, "Cause sh-sh-sh-she wasn't afraid. And we aren't either."

Pennywise began to mock stutter again, but Bill continued on like it was nothing. Maybe it was. "Not anymore. Now you're the one who's afraid."

He said it so confidently. Ash wishes she could be like him.

"Because you're gonna starve."

It began to make some sort of gurgling sound before rolling backwards like someone has pushed It- only, of course, no one had.

Pennywise grabbed onto the ground for dead life, grunting. Ashley found herself wanting to step on It's hands.

"He thrusts his fist against the post and still insists he sees the ghosts..." It began repeating this as Stanley handed Bill the wrench he'd ben holding.

Bill went to swing, but It fell back more and made a low growling noise as his head began to do the vase breaking thing again, pieces of paint floating into the air.

"Fear." It said.

And then It fell.

It fell with a low roar, and Ashley felt like the world had just been taken off her shoulders. Her knees almost gave out and she clutched onto Bev as they all stared at where It has previously been.

"I know what I'm doing for my summer experience essay."

Ashley couldn't help but smile. She shook her arms and legs to her rid of some of the bugs crawling on her, but she never took her eyes away from where Pennywise had been.

They all stared, and Bill wrapped Beverly in a hug. She felt the jealousy again, the same jealousy she'd felt when Ben kissed Bev.

She ignored it. Pushed it deep down.

"Guys. Guys." Eddie said, looking up. Ashley followed his gaze. "The kiss are floating down." He said.

There was an odd beauty to it all, Ashley believed.

She didn't see Bill walk off to the yellow raincoat, but heard him drop the wrench and dragged her eyes away from the sight of the floating bodies to see Richie walking towards Bill.

They all followed after him, walked over to the boy crouched on the floor, clutching the yellow raincoat to his chest.

They all surrounded him as he began sobbing. Richie and Eddie gently touched his shoulders as the others watched in silence, unsure what to do.

That is until Beverly leaned down and wrapped her arms around the crying boy. Soon enough, they were all wrapped in a group hug centered around Bill.

Ashley thought that they all would be okay.

It hurt. It hurt so damn bad, and there were still bugs crawling on her, and Eddie was covered in puke, and they are all just kids and God, they all ached

But they'd be okay.