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madphantom · 5 years

Text

The Sound of Life: Chapter 3

Winslow left the hospital two weeks later and quickly realized that he had nothing to wear and nowhere to go.

"You can stay at my place," Phoenix suggested.

Getting out of the room without the mask was a challenge for Winslow, but the mask had been stolen and he knew he had to get used to the shocked looks he got from strangers. And Phoenix was holding his hand so firmly and smiling so gladly that he quickly stopped caring about the disturbed glances. Or at least, stopped caring as much as he had before.

Three days after Winslow got out they were sitting in Phoenix' kitchen. Winslow was wearing some clothes that had belonged to Phoenix' ex. He'd forgotten them when she'd thrown him out.

"What you need are some new clothes," Phoenix decided. "You can't run around in black leather forever, although, admittedly, it looks neat."

"You want me to go shopping?!"

"Sure, where's the problem?"

"Excuse me, but have you seen my face?!"

"Yes. So?"

She was serious. Winslow groaned. "Okay."

That afternoon Winslow went shopping. He returned with a bag of black clothes and Phoenix sighed. "You're an all new person then I guess?"

"Nope." Winslow giggled a little. "I just never had money for the clothes I liked before." He'd fixed his glasses as well and they were tinted now. Phoenix knew the new look was overly dramatic but so was Winslow, so she let it slip.

In the following weeks life became normal again. At night Winslow slept on the sofa. In the afternoon he and Phoenix took walks in Central Park. At some point Phoenix painted Winslow's nails black because she insisted it would "complete the look". The amount of money they'd earned with Faust was enormous and after a month they sat down together to discuss what to do with it.

"We could just quietly live here for the rest of our lives," Phoenix suggested. "Live in a flat, take walks in the afternoon." She hesitated. "But I think we both don't want that."

"You're right," Winslow replied. "What do you have in mind?"

"I want to block the negative wave Death Records sent into this generation. Like, positive vibes, man! That's what we need!"

"Positive vibes?"

"Hell yeah."

"You mean...?"

"I mean new music."

Winslow froze.

"Are you okay?", Phoenix asked.

"Uhm...ahum...yeah...I just..." Winslow swallowed hard. "I have an idea."

Half an hour later they made the first recording of a song called The Hell of it. It was a message to Swan.

Winslow called Harold, Archie and Jeffrey and gave them the shock of their lives due to the fact that he was still plugged in for singing. When he had plugged the voice box out he quickly realized the garbled voice was not the slightest bit understandable over the phone and finally it was Phoenix who had to explain the plan to the Fruits. She laughed the entire time.

The Fruits came running over to the small flat near Central Park.

"Jesus fucking Christ," Harold said when Winslow opened the door. "Please, for the love of God, don't ever scare me like that again."

"A call from my dead boss asking me whether I want to do the backing vocals for a new song was not what I expected," Jeffrey agreed.

Winslow laughed. "Okay, from now on I'll make sure to say This is not Swan whenever I call you."

"Do that," Archie said and everyone laughed.

They sat down at the piano to work at the song. It was dark when they were finished, but when the recording stopped they knew right away that this was going to be a hit.

"Awright then," Harold said when he noticed a soft pitter-patter against the window. "I gotta get home. Radio said it's gonna be stormy tonight."

"Aw hell, really? I didn't take an umbrella with me!"

"Don't worry, I've got loads of umbrellas, I can lend you one." Phoenix dived into her closet and reappeared with a red umbrella which she handed to Jeffrey. "Just make sure to give it back."

"Remind me of that next time, I'll probably forget it."

Phoenix laughed and the Fruits left.

The storm was worsening.

Late at night Phoenix heard a bloodcurdling scream. She jumped up in bed. It took her a few moments to realize that the inhuman sound had come from her living room.

Winslow.

She got up and hastily ran to the living room. "Winslow, are you okay?"

He was sitting in bed, wide-eyed. He made a sound that reminded her of a beaten dog. Then he nodded. Phoenix sighed in relief and sat down next to him. "What happened?"

He made a sound, realized he wasn't wearing the voice box, put it on and started talking.

"Sorry, I just...had a nightmare... something."

"Was it because of the storm?"

He hesitated, then he groaned. "Probably. There's no denying it. I'm scared of thunder because of Swan now."

Phoenix cuddled up to him. "We all have our weaknesses. And guess what?"

Winslow turned his head a little. "What?"

A loud crash rolled over the night sky and the couple shrieked.

"I'm scared of thunder too," Phoenix whispered and laughed shakily. "Different topic, so we don't pay attention to our greatest fear: Seriously, I'm so happy you survived. I guess I do owe you an apology. I should've listened to you earlier."

"Honestly, I don't blame you. I may have freaked out a little too much anyway." Winslow chuckled.

"You had a reason to, but, yeah, that may have been the reason I didn't recognize you. That and the make-up. I mean, I have trouble recognizing people with a haircut, let alone with that many changes. And I barely knew you anyway.

Winslow laughed. "Yeah, I should've thought about that." He paused. "But somehow Swan ended up dead and we ended up alive...wow, happy end."

"Happy end."

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madphantom · 5 years

Text

The Sound of Life - Chapter 7

Winslow woke up because somebody splashed ice cold water in his face. He gasped and opened his eye. It was Emmy.

She grinned. "G'morning, bro. Time to get up."

He groaned and wanted to conter with something witty but he wasn't wearing the voice box. So he just glared at Emmy, rolled over and put it on.

She sat down on the bed. "I'm curious. How does that thing work?"

"I'm not completely sure myself," Winslow confessed. "Swan constructed it. I think I should start learning sign language in case the thing ever breaks or some shit."

"Probably."

"What time is it?", Winslow asked and sat up next to Emmy.

"Six thirty," she said. "Everyone else is still sleeping. I just wanted to have a talk with you alone." She suddenly leaned over and hugged him with all her might. "You have no idea how much I missed you." When she sat straight again Winslow saw tears in her eyes. Emmy laughed shakily. "Of course, everyone else did too, but I think I missed you the most. I just..." A tear rolled down her cheek. It surprised Winslow to see his big sister so vulnerable. She'd never showed any weaknesses, ever. He slid closer and put his arm around her.

"It's okay now," he whispered. "I'm okay."

She nodded and bit her lip. "Sorry for the random outburst. I just...I just missed you real bad."

"I missed you too, Ems," Winslow whispered.

She smiled and wiped the tears away. "Oh Jeez. Pulling the crybaby number here. Get up bro! You have a wedding to attend!"

Phoenix didn't turn up to the breakfast. The twins didn't either. "They're turning her into some elf queen apparently," was all Emmy let slip.

Instead of Phoenix Oskar joined the table. He still seemed a little nervous around Winslow, but a few jokes later he relaxed. Maite on the other hand was on Winslow's lap within minutes and started asking him about the voice box and his teeth. Winslow laughed while answering her countless questions.

"You'd be an amazing dad bro," Emmy finally commented before pulling him up by the collar. "C'mon we need to turn you into Phoenix' Prince Charming."

An hour later Emmy was painting Winslow's nails golden. She had insisted on doing so.

"What's up with everyone wanting to paint my nails?!", Winslow asked. "That's new!"

Emmy grinned. "It completes the look. Fits your hair." She added a finishing touch. "Speaking of that, are we gonna ponytail your mane?"

"Jesus, there's a massive chunk missing, no."

"I think it would look cute." Emmy tilted her head. "Yep. It definitely would. I've got some of that glossy stuff. Let's do this."

Five minutes later Winslow looked into the mirror and barely recognized himself.

"Wow," he said.

Emmy grinned. "I hope you appreciate it."

"I do, it's..." Winslow was lacking words. "It's incredible."

"Good." Emmy put away the nail polish. "I'll be attending in jeans and my favourite hoodie because fuck beauty standards. Hope you don't mind."

Winslow shook his head. "Nope."

"I knew I could count on you, nerd."

The wedding took place in the small church of Dunphy. The few attendants seemed to be as excited as Winslow. He was waiting by the altar when the door opened and his bride entered.

"Phoenix," Winslow whispered.

She was walking down the aisle in a beautiful silken wedding dress. Her hair was flowing over her shoulders like a dark waterfall. Her smaragdine eyes sparkled. She was so beautiful it hurt. Then she smiled and Winslow felt as if an angel was walking towards him.

The priest was a little old man who had known Winslow since the husband-to-be had been a little boy. He started talking. Winslow didn't even listen until the end "...til death do you part?"

He could feel how he was shaking when he nodded. "I do."

The priest turned to Phoenix and repeated everything he had just said. "...til death-" - Phoenix flinched a little. Undoubtedly she thought of her wedding with Swan - "-do you part?"

She nodded and smiled with relief in her eyes. "I do."

"You may kiss the bride."

They leaned forward and their lips crashed together. A giggle and a muffled "Ow" were audible. The church erupted in applause.

"Hiya, Mr Leach." Emmy popped up next to Winslow. She was wearing jeans and a faded blue Elvis hoodie, just like she'd promised. "That was nice."

Winslow smiled. "It definitely was."

"The kiss was hilarious."

Winslow laughed.

"Okay, but seriously bro, you may need some practice," Emmy pointed out. "If you need advice..."

"God no."

"I've seen the sixties, my friend, I can tell you more about free love than all of the Beatles and Yoko Ono combined."

"Emmy!" He was furiously blushing.

"Okay, okay, relax, bro. T'was just an idea." She laughed. "Jeez. I can't believe it. Lil' Mister Awkward is a married man."

Phoenix turned up next to them. "Well, hellooo." She smiled. "Hey Winslow, I like the hairdo. Looks nice."

"Thanks. It was Emmy's idea."

"Your husband heavily resisted."

Phoenix laughed. "Oh dear."

Archie appeared by their side. "Eyoo! Let's party!" He was drunk as fuck. Phoenix laughed and pulled Winslow along.

Late in the evening Winslow and Phoenix stumbled into Winslow's room. Both were drunk and happy. The lights from the garden reflected on Phoenix' jewelry and in her eyes when she turned to Winslow and smiled. She was gorgeous.

"So, what are we gonna do now?", she whispered seductively and leaned against the wall.

Winslow laughed. "Whatever you want, Mrs Leach."

"Alright." Phoenix' smile widened and she started taking off her jewelry.

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madphantom · 5 years

Text

The Sound of Life - Chapter 5

The days in the flat in NYC were peaceful until one day something extraordinary happened.

Everything had started perfectly normally. Phoenix had asked Winslow to put a box on the shelf. While he was doing so a piece of paper slid off and fell to the ground.

Winslow picked it up and looked at it.

Then he froze.

It was a mugshot of Phoenix.

She came in and noticed the look on his face. "Is something wrong?"

"What's this?", Winslow asked and handed Phoenix the mugshot.

She paled a little and bit her lip.

"Phoenix?"

"The reason I didn't take you over to my family," she finally said.

"What do you mean?"

Silence.

"Phoenix, what did you do?"

"I ran away from home when I was fourteen," she quietly said. "My father raped my mother when she was fifteen and she committed suicide when I was just seven. After that I was sent to live with him. But I couldn't. I just couldn't. He was the reason I ruined my mother's life. He was the reason I destroyed her. Without him I wouldn't ever have been born."

Winslow was listening in shock.

Phoenix looked at him and laughed shakily. "I never had a family like you, Winslow. I've always been on my own. After I was on the run for two years they arrested me and brought me back. My father was so angry. He yelled at me. 'Just like your mother!', he yelled. 'You're just like your mother! Don't be surprised when you wind up dead like her!'. I moved out as soon as I could."

"Phoenix...", Winslow whispered. "Phoenix...why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to know. I..."

Suddenly he launched himself forward and hugged her. "Phoenix!"

It took Winslow a moment to figure out that he was dreaming when he opened his eyes and saw the Paradise. Then he saw a flashy crimson figure dancing on the stage and he realized that he was at the opening night.

Beef spun around and started playing a guitar solo. Suddenly Winslow noticed a dark shadow above the stage and suddenly he realized what he was about to witness.

"No!", he screamed and tried to make his way through the crowd, but they walked right through him. He was nothing, just a silent spectator.

That didn't stop him. He rushed forward, desperately trying to warn Beef or warn the Phantom or warn the both of them, but they couldn't hear him.

"All of you might satisfy me!", Beef sang and Winslow stopped.

He stared at the crimson figure dancing on the stage. Then back at the masked shadow above.

The Phantom threw the prop. It flashed towards Beef and he was struck by a bolt of electricity. Flames consumed the crimson figure on the stage and from somewhere above nightmarish laughter was audible.

"What have I done?", Winslow whispered.

Late in the night Phoenix found him standing on the edge of the roof.

"Winslow," she whispered and hurried to his side. "Winslow!" She took his hand.

"I have to," he whispered.

"Have to what? Winslow!"

"I have to jump."

"Winslow!", she uttered. "Winslow! Look at me!"

He took one more step forward. And suddenly Phoenix, with the same strength that let tiny mothers lift cars off their children, wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him back just in time.

He gasped, stumbled back and then realized where he was.

"Phinny..." He looked around to see her swaying on the edge.

"Shit shit shit shit!", she screamed as she lost balance. Winslow launched himself forward and grabbed Phoenix' hand just in time to hold her.

"Don't let go!", he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"How stupid do you think I am?", she screamed back.

Winslow pulled with all his strength. Phoenix helped him as much as she could. Finally she managed to crawl back on the roof.

"Oh fuck," she whispered. "Oh fucking fuck."

They were both lying on their backs, the starry sky above them. Phoenix' hand found Winslow's.

"What was that about?"

He hesitated. Then: "I never apologized to Beef for murdering him."

She looked at him and he saw that she understood. She reached out and ran her fingers across his wrecked cheekbone. "We will. Tomorrow. I promise." She looked up to the stars. "You never told me what happened then."

"I didn't think you wanted to know."

She glanced over to him. "Beef was my best friend. I didn't tell you everything either." Her hand ran over his wrecked cheek. "But I don't blame you."

"You should."

"No, I should not!", Phoenix suddenly hissed. "I blame Swan. I blame him for everything that happened to us. I blame Swan for all the shit you had to go through, I blame Swan for making me believe you were dead and I blame Swan for making you think Beef was a fucking horrible person!" Her eyes were glowing. "You thought that, right? You thought he was just another guy trying to ruin your music. Because Swan wanted you to think that. When Beef didn't want to sing the part that was written for me Swan made sure he stopped complaining. Swan put this macho image up. And you fell for it, but that was not your fault!"

"I should have known the world was wide enough for both Beef and me," Winslow whispered.

"It's okay," Phoenix assured him. "You couldn't have known. We were all caught in Swan's web."

The next morning they set out early. It was still dark when they got in the train. At some point Phoenix fell asleep on Winslow's lap. They travelled all day and night, and finally, they arrived.

Cincinnati was gleaming in the golden morning sun. Winslow and Phoenix got off the train. Winslow bought a bouquet of flowers in a flower shop. Then they searched for Beef's grave. They found it quickly.

Winslow carefully put the flowers down on the grave. Benjamin James "Beef" Appleton the gravestone read. 1943 - 1974. A picture of him was engraved into the stone, smiling, with flying hair and a happy face, a relic from better days. Right underneath it a poem:

We all dream of fame

We all dream of glory

We want the world to know our name

We want the world to tell our story

-B.J.Appleton

"He wrote it himself," Winslow realized.

Phoenix put her arm around Winslow's waist. "If he lived he would forgive you, Winslow. I know it."

As they walked away Winslow saw a small elderly woman approach the grave. She put a bouquet of orange roses on the grave.

"Flowers," he heard her whisper. "Fresh flowers for my son..."

They decided to eat in a restaurant. It was relatively full, but the atmosphere was rather relaxed. They picked a table near the window and ordered two salads.

"Hey Phoenix," Winslow said while they were eating.

"Yeah?" She could see he was super nervous.

Suddenly Winslow knelt down in front of her. He could feel the eyes of everyone around them on him.

"Will you marry me?", he asked.

Her hand flew to her mouth and she audibly gasped.

"I-I don't have a ring with me or something," Winslow stuttered. "To be honest - this is rather spontaneous...if you don't wa-"

"Yes, yes, yes, I will!", Phoenix squealed before Winslow could say anything more.

Around them the entire restaurant cheered as Phoenix pulled Winslow up and they kissed.

"Congratulations!", some random biker yelled.

"Thank you!", Phoenix yelled back.

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madphantom · 5 years

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The Sound of Life - Chapter 6

The next day Phoenix phoned Harold while Winslow was in the shower.

"Hey Harold, guess what? Winslow proposed!"

"He what?" Harold sounded pleasantly surprised. "I...I was sure that would happen at some point, but...holy cow! Can I tell the others?"

"Sure!"

"Archie's gonna go apeshit," Harold announced.

Five minutes later Phoenix was on the phone chatting with Emmy. Of course Winslow's big sister just had to freak out when she heard the news.

"He...he actually proposed? Winslow 'the Hermit' Leach proposed?!", she yelled. "Oh my God...mum!"

"What?", Joan called.

"Winslow proposed!"

"Winslow what?!" Within a second Joan, too, was on the line. "Phoenix, dear, tell me the truth: Is my daughter tricking me again?"

"No." Phoenix smiled. "She's not."

Joan took a deep breath before yelling: "Harry! Guess what happened!"

Phoenix couldn't hold in the laughter while she listened to an entire clan freaking out over the news.

"Are you freaking serious?!"

"Crazy son of a bitch actually did it!"

"Emmy!"

"Sorry, momma."

"I can't believe it!"

"He's gonna be the first kid getting married! Winslow is gonna be the first kid getting married!" The twins were already getting dressed to spread the news across the village.

"Just so you understand why we're all going bananas over here," Emmy explained while Joan was telling the twins to put on a scarf. "Winslow's literally never ever had anything even remotely close to a girlfriend. Thinking about it, he didn't actually have friends either." She giggled. "He just spent all his time hyperfixated on his keyboard. By the way - we need to discuss your outfit. We need to."

Phoenix laughed. "Alright. Alright. We're coming over. I'll just talk to Winslow."

Later that month everyone who was going to attend arrived in Dunphy. They had decided to marry in Winslow's hometown, because that was where most guests lived. There wouldn't be many attendants anyway: The Leach family, Oskar and Maite, the Juicy Fruits, that was it. Lucy had come a day earlier, but she'd left Oskar at home, claiming that this was "a super close family and bestie matter". The Fruits were there also to celebrate the Bachelor party with Winslow. Although - celebrating consisted mainly of the Fruits getting drunk and Winslow crying laughing about them.

The Leach Sisters had escorted Phoenix to Emmy's old room and suspicious giggles were audible from behind the shut door. The Juicy Fruits and Winslow were in the garden throwing a barbecue.

"Daaang, tomorrow you'll marry the hottest chick in the hood," Archie, who was already drunk groaned. "Lucky strike, Birb Man."

Winslow laughed. "Eventually you'll get yourself a girl too, Archie."

"Me? Haha."

"Oh, come on, I got Phoenix, even though I look like a burnt chicken nugget."

The Fruits laughed drunkenly.

"Oh, don't be too hard on yourself," Harold commented and Winslow laughed.

In Emmy's old room the sisters were chatting with Phoenix. They'd made themselves comfortable nests of pillows, piled snacks and sweets around themselves, played music and discussed Phoenix' wedding.

"You couldn't have possibly picked a more awkward husband," Emmy informed the bride-to-be.

"I know," Phoenix laughed. "I knew that right away."

"It's easy to guess, I mean, you literally can describe Winslow in one word and people will find him."

"Which word?"

Jenny giggled. "Dork."

Everyone laughed.

"No, but seriously," Emmy said once they were done laughing their heads off. "I'm so curious how things are going to work out for you two. Winslow's literally the most antisocial antisocial on this planet and you're, like, super social."

"Too social," Phoenix grinned.

"Maybe."

Everyone laughed.

"But how do you like the dress?", Lucy changed the topic.

"It's perfect!" Phoenix smiled.

"Winslow's gonna get a heart attack."

"Oh, please not."

"Now we only have to figure out what we'll do with your hair..." Sandy opened a beauty magazine. "Have you ever considered getting a sidecut?"

"Sandy, I beg you, that doesn't fit the dress!", Emmy laughed. "How about just leaving it open?" She grabbed a piece of paper and started sketching. "Or braiding or some shit, I don't know, I'm not a beauty queen..."

The other sisters started sketching as well and after a while they started trying their ideas. Phoenix couldn't stop laughing and she was looking forward to the next day like a caveman looking forward to his mammoth steak.

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madphantom · 5 years

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The Sound of Life: Chapter 2

They were told that Winslow was in operating room 3 and searched for it. Phoenix soon became very sleepy, but she was determined to stay awake. After a while Harold almost had to carry her.

"I suggest we sit down and wait," Archie said.

"Yeah," Jeffrey agreed when suddenly the door to the room opened.

A doctor walked out and Phoenix rushed over to him. "How is he?"

"We're working on him," the doctor said. "Uhm, by the way, Miss, do...do you know, by any chance, what his name is?"

"Winslow Leach," she mumbled.

"Excuse me?"

"Winslow Leach." She looked him in the eyes.

He frowned. "But...hold on, sorry, but... Winslow Leach? The composer? Didn't he die?"

"Yeah, I thought so too," Phoenix sighed. "Listen, Doc, I've had a rough week and an even rougher night and I am so tired..."

"Alright, alright. You can sit down here on the bench. A nurse will come to you when he wakes up."

She nodded sleepily. "Uh-huh."

The Fruits and the singer sat down on the bench. Phoenix fell asleep almost immediately. Archie disappeared into the cafeteria and reappeared with a bag of crackers that the Fruits shared.

"Thanks Doc," Harold said when he noticed that Phoenix was already half asleep on his shoulder. "Come on, Goldfish, time to go to bed."

"So, what are we gonna do now?", Harold asked. "Swan's dead. Not that I liked the guy. But he filled up our pockets. And we're not even remotely close to being talented enough to write our own songs."

Archie laughed. "Yup. Thinking about it... we're just a bunch of losers Swan made popular."

"Yeah," Jeffrey agreed.

"Any jobs you guys had before this apeshit pop star business?", Archie asked the others.

Harold nodded slowly. "I was going to work in a supermarket. But the boss hated me. I don't think he'll take me back."

"Nope for me," Jeffrey admitted. "I failed school as thoroughly as possible."

"Really? I thought you'd be the teacher type."

Jeffrey laughed. "Good joke."

"So, in conclusion, we're just three dudes who lost their job," Archie concluded.

"Yeah."

They sat in silence for a while.

"T'was nice though," Harold suddenly said. "Being in one band, you know. Going on tour together. Seeing our photos in the news. All that. Not because of the fame, just...you know, I like you guys. You're my best friends. My best and only friends."

"Honestly," Archie agreed. "I hate to be sentimental, but it was amazing. You guys were so much fun. I loved being one of the Juicy Fruits. You guys rock."

"Absolutely. All that touring together, the jetlags, the shows, getting yelled at by Philbin...it was such a great time and now... it's just over."

"Just over. All the illusions are gone. What's left are just three guys sitting in a hospital with a sleeping chick on their laps that isn't even their girlfriend."

"Strange place for the story to end, isn't it?"

"Strange place."

"I'm gonna miss it."

"Me too."

Finally the door opened and a nurse walked out.

Harold gently tapped Phoenix. "Hey. Hey. Phin'. The nurse is here."

Phoenix jumped up. "How is he?"

"He's awake now," the nurse said.

"Can I see him?", Phoenix asked. "Please!"

"Yes. He asked to see you. But-" The nurse handed her a noteblog and pen. "-we had to take off the device he used to speak. He can't wear it until the wound has healed."

"Okay. Thanks." Phoenix hastily rushed into the room.

Winslow was lying on the bed. Machines were buzzing around him and a beeping sound told Phoenix how rapid his heartbeat was.

"Winslow," she whispered.

A wince escaped his throat. It was obvious that he was trying to speak.

"The doctors said that you can't wear the voice box until your wound has healed," Phoenix explained. She handed him noteblog and pen and sat down at the edge of the bed. "How are you?"

He gave her a weak smile.

"Okay I guess" he wrote down.

"Does it hurt?"

"Just a little. They filled me up with painkillers."

"Good. I mean - good that it doesn't hurt that much." Phoenix smiled helplessly. Winslow laughed a little.

"You gotta explain a lot to me," Phoenix said.

"I guess I do." Winslow sighed. "What do you want to know?"

"Tell me everything. From the beginning. Why you came to New York. What Swan did. How you survived." Phoenix looked him in the eye. "Everything."

"Well..." Winslow started scribbling. After five minutes he gave Phoenix the first piece of paper and she started reading.

Suddenly she dropped the paper in shock.

"Swan had your teeth pulled out?!"

Winslow nodded.

"Why would he do that?!"

Winslow shrugged his shoulders and wrote something down. "Humiliation I guess."

"That's horrible!" She hesitated. "Can... can you show me?"

He nodded slowly and opened his mouth. Two rows of blinking metal glittered in the light of the lamps. Phoenix gasped.

"Oh my God...how cruel is that?"

He laughed a little.

"Winslow, you were tortured."

He shrugged his shoulders again. His expression said I know.

Phoenix picked up the paper again, but was quick to let out another gasp. "Wait - what?!" She looked Winslow dead in the eye. "You were at the audition?"

He nodded.

Phoenix took a deep breath. "Winslow Leach, are you honestly trying to tell me that I was right thinking that you were always around whenever my career got another boost?"

He laughed and nodded. Phoenix facepalmed. "Oh...my...God. This is the worst. I'm so embarrassed right now."

Winslow smiled a little. Then the smile died down.

"I know that I hurt you, that night, on the roof," he wrote down. "And I know that there are wounds that can never be closed. But I hope that we can at least try."

"Winslow," Phoenix whispered. His eye widened in fear. "Winslow... I've forgiven you already. Whatever you did that night, you've redeemed yourself by saving my life. You were ready to give your life for mine. The only question is... can you forgive me?"

A wince escaped his throat and something, a sound, that slightly resembled that of her name. His lips twitched and then he smiled. It was a weak smile, but it was sincere.

Suddenly the door slammed open and the Juicy Fruits stormed in.

"We investigated!", Harold panted.

"Yeah, we couldn't believe it, but...!"

"We thought we owe you an apology...!"

"...scraped this together...!"

"I even went to the police station and told them to fucking investigate, but Swan controlled everything...!"

"Guys!", Phoenix calmed them down. "Guys, relax, Winslow literally just woke up!"

Archie and Jeffrey shut up, Harold kept talking. "... anyway, Mr Leach, we decided we owe you a big fat apology, scraped together seventy percent of what we earned with Faust and hereby hand it over to you." He gave Winslow a thick envelope. When Winslow opened it dollar bills fluttered out.

He gasped, counted the money, then gasped again. The sum was enormous.

"Thank you!", he hastily scribbled down.

Archie shrugged his shoulders. "Seventy percent. You probably deserve more, but the bank thought I was high again and wouldn't give me more. Besides..."

"It's enough, it's more than enough!" Winslow laughed. Harold and Jeffrey sighed in relief.

"Hallelujah," Jeffrey said most sincerely. "We were so worried that we messed this up."

"We didn't want to be dicks, you know?"

"Just wanted to do our job and ended up being the bad guys."

"Relax, I'm not angry. Sorry for trying to bomb you guys up."

"Is my singing that bad?", Jeffrey asked.

"Yes, it is," Archie replied. "Sometimes even I want to bomb you up, man."

"Thank you." Jeffrey glared at him and Harold laughed out loud.

"What are you guys going to do now?", Winslow scribbled down.

The Fruits fell silent and threw each other nervous glances.

"Well...", Harold began. "We discussed that outside while you two were talking here and...uhm..."

"We decided to split up," Archie said quietly. It was obvious that the words were hurting him.

Phoenix' eyes widened. "Split up?"

The Fruits nodded.

"Swan's dead. Death Records is finished," Jeffrey explained. "We're not even remotely close to being talented enough to write our own songs. They just used us as mannequins. We've got no image."

"Swan was always the biggest ad. Swan presents the Juicy Fruits - you can't believe how much more the Swan presents counted." Harold sighed.

"You don't have to split up," Winslow wrote. "You can try and start again, only this time being yourself instead of being someone you're not."

Archie laughed sadly. "There's no ourselves. Ourselves are boring talentless farts who can't sing or write or play anything."

"That's not true," Phoenix suddenly said.

The Fruits laughed. "It is."

"No, it's not. Archie, I saw you improvising at that one show where the guitarist was sick. And Harold, I have a copy of that duet you sang when you weren't famous yet. It's awesome. And Jeffrey - you've got potential. Loads of it."

The Fruits blushed.

"Uh, thanks," Archie mumbled.

"You've got that duet? There were just, like, fifty copies!"

"I know." Phoenix smiled bashfully. "Found it in a thrift shop and thought, hey, why don't you listen to what your colleagues did before they got famous."

"Oh my God."

Winslow snapped his fingers to catch their attention again. "Is anyone here interested in founding a label with me?"

Silence.

"Hell yeah, that's genius," Phoenix suddenly said.

"Right."

"Awesome."

"We're in."

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madphantom · 5 years

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The Sound of Life - Chapter 9

Another month into marriage. By now two important changes had begun. First of all, Winslow and Phoenix had bought an old recording studio that had used to belong to Death Records and begun turning it into their own label - Lifesound. Secondary they had by now started to learn sign language because the voice box was inarguably just totally ruining their morning cuddles. Winslow was not fluent in it yet, but his knowledge was enough to communicate with Phoenix. She, on the other hand needed a ridiculously tiny amount of time to memorize it all.

One morning Winslow was peacefully sleeping when the door crashed open and Phoenix flew into the bedroom like a Soviet missile.

"We're on number one!", she screamed.

"Huh?" Winslow was not entirely awake yet.

"We're on number one! The Hell of it! We're on number one!"

Suddenly Winslow realized the meaning of those words.

"Number one?!", he signed and quickly rolled over to get the voice box. For this he needed to speak.

Phoenix jumped up and down. "Yes, isn't that great?!"

"It's amazing!", Winslow signed while putting on the damn thing. He clicked with his tongue and continued, now vocally: "Oh my God."

Phoenix cuddled up to him. "We're gonna be pop stars! We're gonna be pop stars!"

Winslow laughed. "We've only got one number one hit!"

"I don't care. I can feel it. We're gonna be rich and glamourous."

"How about for now we just eat breakfast?"

"Okay, okay."

During said breakfast the phone rang and the Leach clan congratulated. After the breakfast the doorbell rang. Winslow opened.

It was the Fruits. Harold was waving a bottle of champaign. "Morning! We gotta celebrate!"

Phoenix popped up next to Winslow and laughed. "Come in, guys."

"Party!", Archie screamed and Phoenix laughed. "Aw man, the neighbours will hate us. I don't care." She scurried over to the radio and after a few seconds The Hell of it was playing at full volume. Harold was filling the champaign into wine glasses.

Just minutes after the Fruits left the doorbell rang again.

"Huh, did they forget something?", Phoenix asked.

But it was not the Fruits waiting behind the door. Instead there were two men Winslow had never seen before.

"Can I help you?", he asked.

"Hello." The shorter man, who was around thirty and had a beard greeted him. "We wanted to talk with you and Mrs Leach about a creative project."

"Sure, come in."

Winslow shook hands with the taller one, a lanky man of around twenty-five to thirty years with shoulder-lengthed dark blonde hair, glasses and a little moustache. The man smiled shyly. "William Finley."

"My name is Brian de Palma," the second man introduced himself after he, too, shook hands with Winslow. "I'm a movie director. I wanted to ask whether I could make a movie about your life story, Mr Leach."

"That sounds hella interesting," Phoenix commented as she joined them. She smiled. "I'm Phoenix."

"Right." De Palma and Finley smiled back.

"I saw Sisters," Winslow finally burst out. He gave Finley a nod. "You did an awesome job."

Finley smiled bashfully. "Oh, thank you. I have your album at home. Loved it. My girlfriend is asking for an autograph, by the way."

"Sure, do you have something to sign?"

Finley shyly pulled a cassette out of his bag. Winslow grabbed an edding and signed with his name.

"What's your girlfriend called?", he asked.

"Susan."

He added for Susan and gave the cassette back. Finley thanked him and put it back into the bag.

"Let's go sit down," Phoenix suggested. "We can discuss the movie in the living room or something."

They sat down on the couch and De Palma started explaining what he wanted to do. "I was thinking of turning it into a musical movie...and I'd probably have my friend William here play you, Mr Leach."

Winslow glanced over to the actor. Finley was slightly taller than him, and he had a different eye colour. But otherwise...

"I'll shave the moustache of course," Finley laughed. "And curl my hair."

"We'll try to get Paul Williams to play Swan," De Palma explained. "And the Juicy Fruits can play themselves."

"Ooh, they're gonna love it," Phoenix grinned. "Who's gonna play me?"

"We haven't found anyone fitting the role yet. I was thinking of casting some newcomer."

"Yes, that sounds good. I mean - I was a newcomer too." Phoenix laughed.

"May I suggest something?", Winslow asked.

"Yes?", De Palma replied.

"Let's turn it into a drama. Make it a warning. No happy end." Winslow grinned like a young shark. "We'll have the people crying into their popcorn."

De Palma leaned forward. "Go ahead. I'm interested."

"Let's have me die in the end of the movie."

De Palma's mouth spread into a smile. "Brilliant."

Phoenix laughed. "They'll be bawling their eyes out if we do this right." She leaned back. "Oh, Jesus. Three years into showbusiness and there's a movie being made about my husband."

"Surprise," Winslow said.

At some point De Palma turned to Brian and Finley turned to William and by the time the movie makers left they all got along greatly.

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madphantom · 5 years

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The Sound of Life - Chapter 4

The next morning they were eating breakfast. Phoenix was still wearing her pajamas.

"Phoenix," Winslow suddenly said.

"Yeah?"

Winslow looked as shy as he had on the day Phoenix had seen him for the first time. "Ahum... Phinny..."

"Yeah?"

"Phinny... on Friday it's my sister Lucy's birthday. I...I think it's about time you meet my family."

For a second she was very quiet. Then: "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh."

Dunphy looked just like it had when Winslow had left to look for fame. A soft summer wind was blowing over the yellow fields and playing with his hair. The sky was blue. First golden leaves were sailing across the streets, but most trees were still green. Some people passed them. Not everyone recognized Winslow. Those who did looked surprised or shocked. And they whispered.

"Look!"

"It's him! It's Winslow!"

"Harry's kid!"

"The Leach boy! The one who ran off to New York!"

"The musical one, who got lessons from Carmine!"

"My God, what happened to his face?"

"And who's the girl?"

"Yes, who's the girl?"

Before he rang the doorbell Winslow realized that Phoenix deserved a warning. "Phoenix...I have five talkative sisters."

She laughed. "Good company for me. Let's go."

He pressed the bell.

For a few seconds nothing happened. Then the door opened. The fragile elderly woman in the doorway had fluffy hair and was wearing thick glasses. She hadn't changed a bit.

"Winslow!", Joan Leach yelped and pulled him into a long hug.

"Winslow?" Suddenly a tall lanky girl with equally thick glasses and a ponytail appeared in the corridor. "Winslow, bro!" She sprinted over and joined her mother in hugging the lost son.

"Whatcha sayin... Wins'!!!"

"The lost son has returned!"

"Bro! Bro! Bro!"

"Winsy! I knew you'd come back!"

"Sonny, don't you ever dare scare your poor old dad like that again!"

In the end, four siblings and the father had joined the group hug. Phoenix was awkwardly standing next to them.

Finally Momma Leach chased her children off. "Dear God, we're gonna suffocate the lost sheeple. Emmy, Jenny...Jenny! Sandy! Ellie! Harry, don't smother your son like that, I want him to live another day. Winslow, for God's sake, what kind of trouble did you get in in New York?"

He laughed shyly. "I'm gonna tell you later, first of all-" He reached out for Phoenix and pulled her to his side. "- I want you to meet Phoenix, my girlfriend."

"We've lived to see the day, my wee lil bro got himself a girlfriend," Emmy commented.

"Emmy!", Joan hissed. The girl shrugged her shoulders. Winslow laughed.

"Why are we standing in the doorway?", Jenny suddenly asked. "Come in! Let's get in the living room!"

They sat down at the table. The twins, Sandy and Ellie, brought two extra chairs.

"Winslow, we want you to tell us everything," Poppa Leach said. "And Phoenix...if he exaggerates stop him from doing that."

She laughed. "I will."

"First things first: What the hell happened to your visage?", Emmy asked.

"Emmy!"

"What? He was ugly already when he left, but it was definitely not the pollution in NYC that made him even uglier."

"Emmy!"

"No, no, she's right," Winslow laughed. "Gosh, Emmy, I missed your salty comments."

"See, mum?" She grinned triumphantly.

"Anyway," Winslow continued. "I got my head caught in a record press."

Poppa Leach looked over to Phoenix. "I asked you to prevent him from exaggerating."

"In fact he's understating,' Phoenix mumbled.

"Gosh, Winslow you've always been one clumsy individual, but this just takes the cake."

"Emmy!"

"How is it even possible to do that?"

"Right, how do you get your head caught in a fucking record press, Winslow?"

"Sandy! Language!"

"I tried to destroy all copies of Faust Death Records printed," Winslow tried to explain.

"Oh yeah, I heard those bastards play your stuff on the radio...!"

"Ellie! Language!" Everyone laughed.

"And your voice?", Joan asked.

"Same thing."

"I've told you, son, New York is no good," Harry murmured.

"But how did you two meet, I'm curious!", Jenny burst out. Everyone else was quick to beg Winslow to tell the story. He laughed. "Well, I heard her sing Faust and..."

"Dot dot dot? Ey yo, you're not usually that type," Emmy remarked.

"Emmy!"

"Sorry momma."

"We kind of lost contact after we first met and then later Winslow found me again and we had a chat - I didn't recognize him then, because-" - Phoenix gesticulated at Winslow - "-Face. Then the next day Winslow saved me from being shot and got wounded himself and while he was in hospital we started talking and, well, became a couple."

"Awwwww," Jenny commented. "Hey, Phoenix, you're his first girlfriend, just so you know."

"Really?" Phoenix looked over to Winslow. "You didn't tell me!"

He blushed. Everyone laughed.

"Lucy is gonna marry soon too!", Ellie burst out.

"Really?" Winslow raised his eyebrows. "What'd I miss?"

Sandy grinned mischievously. "His name is Oskar. He's a historian from Germany. He's divorced and has a kid."

"They met in the grocery store!", Ellie yelled.

"I wanna know more!"

"She bumped into him..."

"...more or less deliberately."

"Less, according to her! Apparently it was an accident!"

"Sure."

"When is she coming?"

"Should arrive any minute, Winslow. Get ready for confused German mumbling!"

Everyone laughed.

"I left the cake in the oven!", Joan yelled and rushed into the kitchen. She returned with a warm oven-fresh cherry pie. A wonderful smell filled the living room. Winslow felt truly at home. The doorbell rang.

"That's them!", one of the twins yelled and sped off to open the door.

"She's gonna go flippin' when she sees you, Winsy," Jenny whispered.

"I hope she doesn't get a heart attack from your visage, bro," Emmy joked.

"Emmy!", Joan hissed. Winslow quickly combed his hair over his bad eye.

"That's not necessary, you know," Phoenix remarked.

"I was just joking," Emmy agreed.

"I know, I just thought I really shouldn't shock Lucy more than necessary right away." Winslow grinned.

A short woman of around forty with wild dark blonde hair and thick glasses walked into the kitchen, only to freeze as soon as she spotted her long lost brother. She stared at him in pure shock.

"Winslow?!"

"Hi." He grinned like a young shark.

Behind Lucy a lanky redhead of forty and a little girl with pigtails appeared.

"Hey, Lucy, what's wrong?", Oskar asked.

She pointed at Winslow, her face as pale as if she'd seen a ghost. "Tha-tha-that's my brother...and he's dead!"

"Happy Birthday," Winslow replied.

Lucy looked like she'd just been forced to swallow a rolled up newspaper. "H-h-how this possible?"

She was so shocked she'd literally forgotten grammar.

The Leaches looked at each other and collectively burst out laughing at Lucy's puzzled expression. Finally Winslow got up and walked over to her.

"Jesus was resurrected," Emmy commented.

"Emmy! No jokes about God!"

"Sure, mum."

Lucy blinked five times. Then she reached out and touched Winslow to convince herself that he was, in fact, real and standing in front of her. Then her eyes widened. "I'm not dreaming!"

"Nope."

And suddenly she launched herself forward and gave him a hug. Winslow laughed. "It's nice to see you too, Sis." Over his sister's shoulder he greeted Oskar, who looked quite baffled. "Hi, you must be Oskar. My sisters told me about you..."

"Ja," Oskar replied in confusion, then realized he was speaking the wrong language. "Ich...I mean - yes, I'm Oskar."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Winslow Leach." They shook hands and Lucy let Winslow go. She reached behind herself and took the little girl's hand. "Maite, c'mon. Winslow, this is Maite... Oskar's daughter. Maite, this is Winslow - your uncle."

Maite tilted her head curiously. "Mr Winslow, why do you have silver teeth?"

"What?", Lucy asked in confusion, followed by a "Holy shit!"

She looked absolutely helpless. "Oh my God...oh my God...I... I...I need a chair."

Sandy brought her one and Lucy plummeted onto the seat. She was still staring at Winslow like he was a ghost. Joan served the cake. "Lucy, will you drop the plate if I give it to you?"

"Wha - no." She took it. She was still staring at Winslow.

"Her eyes are going to pop out any second," Harry commented.

"H-how come you're here?!", Lucy asked Winslow.

He laughed. "Ah well... it's a long story. But first of all, I want you to meet Phoenix - my girlfriend."

"Hi." Phoenix waved. "It's nice to meet you."

"Okay, I must be dreaming," Lucy slowly and serenely uttered. "Winslow's back, he got a makeover and he has a girlfriend. I'm asleep and my brain is playing tricks on me."

Winslow and Emmy collectively rolled their eyes.

"Now you're overreacting," Jenny said.

"No, I'm not." Lucy finally managed a shaky laugh. "Alright. Winsly - you have a lot to explain." She frowned. "Hey, what's that with your eye?"

Winslow wiped away his hair and Lucy visibly paled. "Alright, the tabloids weren't lying."

"Nope," Phoenix agreed. And then Winslow started telling the wild story that had happened to him. Joan gave everyone pieces of cake. Occasionally Winslow was interrupted by gasps, either from Lucy or Jenny or Joan. The twins admired Winslow's makeover. Harry asked him whether metal teeth were more useful than usual ones. Phoenix and Emmy soon appeared to get along greatly. Ellie slid off and returned with Winslow's long-lost copy of Goethe's Faust - she'd borrowed it. It was a wonderful afternoon.

When it got dark Lucy and her new family left to drive back to Oskar's home. The twins were sent to bed, but of course they didn't even bother to go.

"It is crazy to get you back, bro," Emmy at some point commented. "Specially with that Goth upgrade you got."

Winslow chuckled. "Thanks."

"Still," Jenny added. "I wouldn't be surprised if I woke up tomorrow and it would've just been a particularly nice dream."

"Me neither," Winslow laughed.

Joan checked her watch. "It's getting late. Did you take the train?"

"Yes." Phoenix nodded.

"The last train goes at midnight," Emmy said. "Will you take it?"

"Probably," Winslow replied.

"Then you oughta hurry. It's eleven thirty," Joan said. She sighed. "Winslow, I don't want to sound like a stereotypical country mum, but I hate to see you leave."

He chuckled. "I'll come back."

"You promised that last time."

"And I kept my promise, didn't I?"

"You were a year late."

"But I came."

"I have an idea," Phoenix suddenly said. "I can just leave our phone number. And y'all can call. Whenever you feel like it."

And so they did. Phoenix scribbled down her number. Then they left. When Winslow turned around for the last time he saw his family standing in the doorway and waving.

He smiled and waved back.

#you can find the other chapters under the tag the sound of life on my blog #sound of Life #phantom of paradise #phantom of paradise swan #phantom of paradise beef #phantom of paradise phoenix #phantom of paradise winslow #fanfic #madphantom #phantom of the paradise winslow #winslow leech #winslow leach #because like speaking in terms of the story hell of it is probably in winslows pov #winslow goth

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madphantom · 5 years

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PotP OC Contest for my fanfic

I'm going to write a fic about what could have happened if Winslow Leach had survived, here's the thing:

In the fic, Phoenix will be pregnant, but the child is not Winslow's, but Swan's. So here's the contest: Send in your OCs (must be female, because...plot). I need a name, a picture and a bit information about them. Just tag me in your posts. You have two weeks ❤️

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madphantom · 5 years

Text

The Sound of Life - Chapter 8

They were a month into being married when Phoenix came up to Winslow. She was pale and serious.

"Winslow," she said.

"What's wrong?", Winslow asked.

"I...I went to the doctor today...and..."

Winslow suddenly felt scared. "What's wrong? Phoenix?"

"I'm... I'm pregnant." She looked him in the eye, trembling in every limb.

"But what's wrong with that? That's terrific news!" Winslow was confused.

"Winslow." She started sobbing again. "Winslow...the child is two months old. You know what happened two months ago."

And suddenly he understood. Two months ago. The opening of the Paradise. Beef's death. Phoenix' triumph. The conversation on the rooftop. Her escape from him. Her betrayal.

Swan's child.

He backed up, shaking. Swan's child. His enemy's child. The last thing left of the man who had destroyed his life.

"I could abort it," Phoenix whispered. "I could just abort it. This child doesn't have to be born."

He thought about it. It was a solution. Just abort. And that's it.

But then he realized he could never do that. He couldn't just murder again and again because of his angsty bullshit. Beef had been enough. He didn't want any murders anymore.

"No," he said.

Her eyes widened. "Winslow, Swan did that to you."

"I know. But this is not Swan. This doesn't even have to be his child. It's your child too. We don't have to tell it, you know. It can grow up as our child. It doesn't have to know."

"You want to raise it?!"

"I don't want any deaths in my life anymore. I could never forgive myself for murdering this child just because of it's father."

"Winslow!" She launched herself forward and hugged him. She was crying.

"Careful, careful! You'll squish the baby!", he laughed.

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