Jaden Rose
04-18-2008, 06:26 PM
Power Rangers: Soul of Music
The Story:
The year is 2008, and the Earth is at peace… or at least, the best amount of peace that Earth can offer at this time. Though the same wars and crime go on, there are no evil monsters vying for world conquest against a group of super powered teens in tights. To put it simply, Power Rangers do not exist outside of the show that most people consider a kid’s show. However, music does exist in this world. It is in us and all around us. For some, it is a lifestyle, and for others, it is something that makes us happy. Some could even say it has mystical properties.
The truth is, when the soul of music is mixed with a good-hearted soul it can become mystical, being used to give balance to the world, and can be also used to protect others, and the owners of those souls. However, when mixed with the soul of a dark-hearted soul, the soul of music can become destructive and all-powerful, being used to kill and ravage the Earth. That is the goal for a record production president, simply named Mr. Cypher. He wishes for music to become soulless in his pursuit of wide-spread anarchy and destruction. In the pursuit of this goal, he slowly drains quality out of music using a combination of money and dark arts.
On the other hand, a woman named Gina Themis has searched all over the world for the many different types of music that Earth has to offer. However, she hasn’t found the proper good-hearted souls that are needed to bring balance to Earth. She has been aware of Cypher’s plans for the past 5 years and wishes to find the right people before Cypher actually succeeds in taking music away from the world and bringing chaos. She’s come back to the United States in one last attempt to find the good-hearted souls needed in order to combat Cypher. She has even developed the necessary technology needed in order to bring these souls and their love of music to full potential. Little does she know that everything will culminate in her hometown of Blackthorne, Ohio.
Enter the Soul of Music…
Chapter 1: New Soul, Part 1
Blackthorne City, Ohio, 2008
It was a beautiful summer day in the small city of Blackthorne, which was pretty much normal for the area. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the smell of street-side food vendors threw slight smells of hot dogs and assorted grilled foods in the air. More importantly, however, was the sound of a punk rock band performing in the biggest local music store, the Black Spin. Their song was instrumental for this set, but it still had rocking beats and furious guitar riffs that made the small crowd that gathered wild.
The lead guitarist seemed to rock out the hardest, having somewhat shaggy brown hair and a large smirk on his face. For a 17-year-old, he acted a little like a hyper kid, but this wasn’t a bad thing. His wild guitar playing and dancing only made the crowd cheer loudly, especially the girls, who cheered his name, “Matt! Matt! Matt!” Smirking even larger, Matt turned so his back was towards the audience, and looked back, giving them a nod and a smile. The girls cheered even louder, nearly drowning out the music.
Matt looked towards his brother, Lee, who rolled his eyes as he slammed on the drums, playing through the final parts of the song. Flicking his blonde hair out of his 19-year-old face, Lee stood up, putting both drumsticks in his hand. Holding them out, he dropped them on the floor without a care, signifying the end of the song. The crowd gave a long round of applause and cheers as Matt leaned towards the mic and said, “Thank you, thank you. You’ve been great.”
The crowd slowly dispersed, except for a select group of girls, who waited for Matt to put his guitar on the stand and walk off the stage. “Oh, Matt, you played so great!” most of them said, some even saying “Can I have your autograph?” Matt smiled and said, “Thanks, and, um, I’m not really good at the autograph thing. Sorry.” Some of the girls looked a bit sad, but they still crowded around Matt.
Looking at his younger brother, who was obviously getting overwhelmed, Lee said, “Ladies, ladies. Matt just finished playing for you and he needs his rest. Why don’t you ask him later?” The girls stared at Lee for a second before walking off, looking somewhat scared at Lee’s imposing attitude.
“Nice save, Lee,” Matt said, giving a little sigh. Even though he was good at flirting on stage, Matt was totally lost offstage. “No problem, little bro,” Lee said, but he noticed his brother wasn’t listening. He was looking at a register girl with long, dirty blonde hair and rosy cheeks. Her expression was bored and uncaring, as if she was trying to block something out. “Go get her, Matt,” Lee said with a laugh, but Matt wasn’t laughing. He looked like he was going to be sick, but he managed to slowly walk over to her.
“Why so serious?” Matt said, instantly thinking this statement to be stupid. The girl looked over with a blank look, and then said, “Oh, I’m sorry. How can I help you?” Matt simply scratched his head, dumbfounded that she wasn’t paying any attention, but he quickly regained his composure.
“So, did you see my show?” Matt said.
“Hard not to when a bunch of people are shouting your name, Matt,” the girl replied.
“So you know my name, but I didn’t catch yours,” Matt said quickly.
“I’d love to tell you, but ya know what? You just aren’t cool enough,” the girl said with a sly smile.
“Oh really? Maybe I can prove how cool I am,” Matt said with a grin. The girl leaned forward on the counter and said, “Hmmm, is that you asking me out on a date, without even knowing my name?”
“Maybe,” Matt said, with the grin still wide on his face. The girl looked him over, and Matt could see her beautiful light brown eyes go up and down his slender, yet muscular frame. “Heh, I don’t date guys who don’t know my name,” the girl said, looking towards the doorway. “Can I at least know who you are waiting for?” Matt asked, his grin replaced by curiosity.
The girl looked like she took pity on Matt, so she said, “My friends and my boss, Steven.” Matt nodded and walked back to his brother, but not before saying, “Nice to meet you, beautiful.” The girl looked a bit angry, but then she blushed a bit, before looking towards the doorway again.
****
Meanwhile, on the very top floor of Devilfish Records, a man by the name of Thanatos Cypher straightened his midnight-blue tie, which went well with his black suit and white dress shirt that seemed almost too perfect. His desk was the same way, with everything being perfectly straight and put in its place. His black hair was gelled off to the right, and his stern face had handsome features which hid his real agenda.
For years, Cypher had been waiting for this moment… the moment where he would finally use the music the world held so dear against everyone and everything. It was his right to rule this dammed planet and all its inhabitants. It was his destiny… after all; he was named after the personification of Death itself… why not live up to that legacy and have all that power to himself?
Leaning forward on his desk, Cypher thought about his current status. He had signed some of the biggest acts in the history of this world. Hell, he even turned one or two of them into the next targets for the paparazzi and the media to flock over as their lives went into a down spiral of popularity, drugs, alcohol, and bad relationships. Each time, Cypher only smiled as Devilfish Records became hotter than Hell itself each time one of these singers turned out like this. Acts signed on like crazy, trying to cash in on that popularity… it was like they were trying to make deals with the devil.
However, nothing compared to what Cypher had learned from those unholy scriptures long ago. He learned that music could be twisted and corrupted for personal gain. He learned that people could be turned into mindless, faceless slaves when music was drained out of their souls and used as bait for them to anything he wanted. He learned that music could be used to destroy everything.
“Now is the time,” Cypher muttered to himself, his deep, masculine voice reaching no ears but his own. However, the vibrations from his cell phone forced him to sit up straight, pick it out of his pocket, and say, “Cypher, here.”
“I’ve found them, or at least a few of them. Little, rotten brats they are,” a female’s voice said. It seemed very smooth and pretty at first, but it had a cold and venomous tone to it.
“Hmmm, how many are there now?” Cypher asked, his face slowly forming a smile. If there wasn’t that many, he could easily take them. “There are three as of now. They seem pretty obliv- wait! Three more just came in!” the female said.
Cypher’s expression was surprised at first, but it coolly slid into uncaring. “We will take care of them, also. You have enough Smilies, right?”
“Yes, I believe so. I will contact you when I have the brats.”
“Good, good. Make sure they aren’t harmed… too much,” Cypher said before hanging up. He was finding it hard to believe that there were now six teenagers that could possibly give him trouble with his great plan. “Nothing will stop my destiny,” he said cruelly, putting his silver phone back in his pocket.
****
The cashier girl stared at the doorway, having the same uncaring look about her. She was completely and utterly bored, until a group of three came in. One of them was wearing a bright green shirt that said “I Love Techno” on it, and a pink skirt, with black shorts under it. Her long black hair was tied up in a ponytail, which came over her shoulder until she brushed it back with her hand. She was light-skinned, but something with her appearance suggested she had some kind of Latin influence in her.
The other two obviously were of Asian decent and they were joking around with each other. One of them was a young man, with long black hair. Some of it was dyed a strawberry blonde, however, and thrown to the side of his face. He was wearing mostly black, except for a purple hoodie that was open because of the heat. The other was a girl who, oddly enough, had reddish-blonde hair. She was wearing completely pink, except for her hair berets, which were a bright red. A smile was wide on her face.
“Nice to see you, Erika,” the Latina said with a smile. “Sorry to keep you waiting, but I had to go get Eniji and Leigh.” She pointed to the two behind her, who waved with bright smiles. “Hey!” they both said brightly.
“Well, damn Natalie. I’ve been waiting here and getting hit on by guitar boy over there, while you’re taking your sweet time,” Erika said, pointing towards Matt, who was now cleaning up the stage with Lee. Both of them were talking in whispers, but you could tell that their conversation was frantic.
“Why such the change in attitude? He’s cute, most likely your type, and you know that you are so quiet and weird around boys,” Natalie said, looking over at the two brothers. She kept her eyes on Lee for a minute, before being snapped back to reality by Leigh.
“Looks like you got a sweetheart too, Natalie,” Leigh said brightly. “Don’t you stare a hole in ‘im. That’s just rude,” Eniji added, ducking under a pretend hit from Natalie. All of them laughed, which was hushed as a balding man came in. He looked a bit annoyed despite the beautiful day outside. “What’s up, Steve?” Erika said to him, warranting a look.
“Bah! These scene kids wanting a bunch of emo pop music. As if there was such a thing,” Steve said. He was well-known for chasing out kids who seemed to want the most popular music and sneered while they bought it. Walking behind the register, Steve said, “I guess you can take off. Go on, have some fun!”
“Thanks Steve,” Erika said, walking over to the time cards and clocking out. All of them looked ecstatic and didn’t notice when a lady with a kind face came in. Her hair was a little less than shoulder length, but its reddish color made her face stand out more. As for clothes, she was wearing hip-hugger jeans and a nice white blouse. It had been 5 years since she had been in Blackthorne, Ohio. 5… long… years. Then again, traveling around the world would make anybody loose track of time.
The lady quietly walked over to Steve and said, “Do you have Carmina Burana by any chance?” Steve looked up, smiled brightly, and said, “Gina! What brings you back to Blackthorne?”
Gina reached up and gave Steve a hug before saying, “I’m coming back to my roots, I guess. I’m actually starting a small record company here.” Steve nodded and said, “You know, it might be hard to do so with Devilfish Records around here. They make me sick with their lack of actual music.”
“We’ll just have to put the music back in Blackthorne,” Gina said smiling. However, that smile quickly faded when she saw who came in next.
This woman had silky black hair, which was accented by deep crimson streaks and flowed freely in the wind. Her face was beautiful, but it had a sense of coldness to it, as if she was a doll. Her eyes were dark, and the whites around them seemed to be a bit off color. She was wearing a lacy Victorian-style dress, which was very odd, considering the heat in the room. On her wrist was a peculiar crimson object, but it was mostly hidden behind her back, so no one could really get a good look at it.
“Nice to see you, Gina,” the woman said, walking in. Erika, Eniji, Natalie, and Leigh all suddenly felt very cold. Even Matt and Lee looked up with surprised looks.
“What the hell are you doing here, Eris?” Gina said, turning to the woman with fury in her kind features. Steve could only sink back and watch as the other woman said, “No, no, no. Not Eris, Gina. Amaranth is my name now. I’m here to take these little brats away from here.” She pointed to Matt, then Lee, followed by Erika, Eniji, Natalie, and, finally, Leigh. They all looked frozen and rooted to the spot.
“Why waste your time on a group of teens, Eris?” Gina said fiercely, slowly moving in front of the group. They were now that only ones in the entire store. The rest of the people slowly sneaked out.
“I’m… not… ERIS!” Amaranth screeched, her face fired up with rage. “I am Amaranth and you know full well why I am going to take these teens. Can’t you feel the musical energy radiating off of them? I know you can.”
Gina clutched her fists, then noticed a group of about 5 people wearing smiley face masks and black hoodies crowd behind Amaranth. They kept their heads down, but they swayed back and forth, as if they were impatient. “Steve, call for help,” Gina said quietly, slowly moving her hands in front of her. They seemed to glow with a white light, which became more and more intense. Amaranth simply smiled and said, “Using that in front of Steve? Getting a little hasty, eh? We’ll just have to stop that. Smilies, attack!”
With Amaranth’s command, the hooded cronies ran into the decently large record store and reached for the nearest teen, who happened to be Erika. Still frozen to the spot, Erika could only watch as the Smiley grabbed her arm and pulled her forward. However, that’s as far as they got before a blur in red ran over and punched it in the face.
“No touching the girls,” Matt said, looking at the Smiley he just punched. It seemed to reel back for a second, but it quickly looked back at Matt and ran towards him. Matt quickly backed out the way and watched the Smiley crash into a shelf of CDs and stop moving.
“Oy, if you are gonna fight; try not to destroy my store! And I’ve called the cops on you, and your crazy Gothic ass,” Steve said, looking at Amaranth. She didn’t pay any attention to him; instead, she stared at Gina, whose hands still glowed white. However, a Smiley didn’t take Steve’s yelling too well, and grabbed the store owner by his neck.
It was Gina’s turn to take action. She grabbed the Smiley by the back of its hoodie and yanked it back, forcing it to let go of Steve, who collapsed on the floor. Gina then slammed the Smiley face first on the edge of the counter. The Smiley’s mask shattered as it hit the ground, revealing nothing but a black, featureless face. Gina quickly turned to the teens and said, “Quickly, get out of here!”
However, more Smilies blocked the doorway of the store, making Amaranth smile in delight. She was thinking that it was going to only be a matter of minutes and she could fulfill Cypher’s dream.
“We aren’t leaving you here to face all these things,” Erika said, waving her hand as to taunt the Smilies.
“Spread out a bit! We can hold these things off better that way,” Matt said, moving several feet away from Erika and her friends. Though Erika and her friends fanned out, Lee ran over by his younger brother, going into what looked like a fighting stance. “You ain’t gonna do this without me. I have to protect you, after all,” Lee said with a smirk. Matt nodded, kicking away the Smiley that decided to pick on him. Lee did the same, only adding an uppercut to the Smiley when it tried to come back. It got lifted several inches into the air and came down again, unmoving.
Leigh and Eniji were also back to back fighting off the Smilies, giving them a few quick jabs, then hard kicks that sent the Smilies back. The remaining three, Natalie, Erika, and Gina, had fanned out quite well. Natalie’s fighting style was the most peculiar, since it looked a little like a dance. She continuously moved around, dodging the Smilies’ attacks, and then countering with kicks of her own.
Erika’s style was quite normal, but she seemed to flow more than the rest, like water. She would go forward and punch a Smiley, then flow back and kick another. It never seemed to be rigid or rough around the edges, but ever flowing.
Gina, on the other hand, didn’t use any kicks or fancy moves. She only used her glowing hands, which she shoved into the Smilies. They seemed to go down a lot faster than with the teens, possibly because her hands were still glowing with that same white light. They also made a hissing, sizzling noise every time they hit the Smilies head on, as if they were burning.
Looking around at the others, Gina felt that there was a sense of hopelessness in the air. It felt as if they would never win… they would never get out of this store unscathed… The teens’ faces reflected this despite the fierce determination in their faces. Their eyes were the ones betraying their true feelings. Gina looked down sadly for a second, as if she was going to regret what she was going to do… what she was going to take them into.
However, she quickly looked up and thrust her hands forward, causing a bright flash of light to surround the area. This light remained for a minute or two, and while it remained, a soft music played, almost like a choir of angels. As it died down, the light did also, but what was left made Amaranth screech, “DAMNNIT!”
The teens and Gina were gone, leaving a crowd of Smilies littered on the floor, Amaranth looking venomous, and Steve looking in surprise. He turned to Amaranth and said, “Can you get the hell out of my store, now?”
The Story:
The year is 2008, and the Earth is at peace… or at least, the best amount of peace that Earth can offer at this time. Though the same wars and crime go on, there are no evil monsters vying for world conquest against a group of super powered teens in tights. To put it simply, Power Rangers do not exist outside of the show that most people consider a kid’s show. However, music does exist in this world. It is in us and all around us. For some, it is a lifestyle, and for others, it is something that makes us happy. Some could even say it has mystical properties.
The truth is, when the soul of music is mixed with a good-hearted soul it can become mystical, being used to give balance to the world, and can be also used to protect others, and the owners of those souls. However, when mixed with the soul of a dark-hearted soul, the soul of music can become destructive and all-powerful, being used to kill and ravage the Earth. That is the goal for a record production president, simply named Mr. Cypher. He wishes for music to become soulless in his pursuit of wide-spread anarchy and destruction. In the pursuit of this goal, he slowly drains quality out of music using a combination of money and dark arts.
On the other hand, a woman named Gina Themis has searched all over the world for the many different types of music that Earth has to offer. However, she hasn’t found the proper good-hearted souls that are needed to bring balance to Earth. She has been aware of Cypher’s plans for the past 5 years and wishes to find the right people before Cypher actually succeeds in taking music away from the world and bringing chaos. She’s come back to the United States in one last attempt to find the good-hearted souls needed in order to combat Cypher. She has even developed the necessary technology needed in order to bring these souls and their love of music to full potential. Little does she know that everything will culminate in her hometown of Blackthorne, Ohio.
Enter the Soul of Music…
Chapter 1: New Soul, Part 1
Blackthorne City, Ohio, 2008
It was a beautiful summer day in the small city of Blackthorne, which was pretty much normal for the area. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the smell of street-side food vendors threw slight smells of hot dogs and assorted grilled foods in the air. More importantly, however, was the sound of a punk rock band performing in the biggest local music store, the Black Spin. Their song was instrumental for this set, but it still had rocking beats and furious guitar riffs that made the small crowd that gathered wild.
The lead guitarist seemed to rock out the hardest, having somewhat shaggy brown hair and a large smirk on his face. For a 17-year-old, he acted a little like a hyper kid, but this wasn’t a bad thing. His wild guitar playing and dancing only made the crowd cheer loudly, especially the girls, who cheered his name, “Matt! Matt! Matt!” Smirking even larger, Matt turned so his back was towards the audience, and looked back, giving them a nod and a smile. The girls cheered even louder, nearly drowning out the music.
Matt looked towards his brother, Lee, who rolled his eyes as he slammed on the drums, playing through the final parts of the song. Flicking his blonde hair out of his 19-year-old face, Lee stood up, putting both drumsticks in his hand. Holding them out, he dropped them on the floor without a care, signifying the end of the song. The crowd gave a long round of applause and cheers as Matt leaned towards the mic and said, “Thank you, thank you. You’ve been great.”
The crowd slowly dispersed, except for a select group of girls, who waited for Matt to put his guitar on the stand and walk off the stage. “Oh, Matt, you played so great!” most of them said, some even saying “Can I have your autograph?” Matt smiled and said, “Thanks, and, um, I’m not really good at the autograph thing. Sorry.” Some of the girls looked a bit sad, but they still crowded around Matt.
Looking at his younger brother, who was obviously getting overwhelmed, Lee said, “Ladies, ladies. Matt just finished playing for you and he needs his rest. Why don’t you ask him later?” The girls stared at Lee for a second before walking off, looking somewhat scared at Lee’s imposing attitude.
“Nice save, Lee,” Matt said, giving a little sigh. Even though he was good at flirting on stage, Matt was totally lost offstage. “No problem, little bro,” Lee said, but he noticed his brother wasn’t listening. He was looking at a register girl with long, dirty blonde hair and rosy cheeks. Her expression was bored and uncaring, as if she was trying to block something out. “Go get her, Matt,” Lee said with a laugh, but Matt wasn’t laughing. He looked like he was going to be sick, but he managed to slowly walk over to her.
“Why so serious?” Matt said, instantly thinking this statement to be stupid. The girl looked over with a blank look, and then said, “Oh, I’m sorry. How can I help you?” Matt simply scratched his head, dumbfounded that she wasn’t paying any attention, but he quickly regained his composure.
“So, did you see my show?” Matt said.
“Hard not to when a bunch of people are shouting your name, Matt,” the girl replied.
“So you know my name, but I didn’t catch yours,” Matt said quickly.
“I’d love to tell you, but ya know what? You just aren’t cool enough,” the girl said with a sly smile.
“Oh really? Maybe I can prove how cool I am,” Matt said with a grin. The girl leaned forward on the counter and said, “Hmmm, is that you asking me out on a date, without even knowing my name?”
“Maybe,” Matt said, with the grin still wide on his face. The girl looked him over, and Matt could see her beautiful light brown eyes go up and down his slender, yet muscular frame. “Heh, I don’t date guys who don’t know my name,” the girl said, looking towards the doorway. “Can I at least know who you are waiting for?” Matt asked, his grin replaced by curiosity.
The girl looked like she took pity on Matt, so she said, “My friends and my boss, Steven.” Matt nodded and walked back to his brother, but not before saying, “Nice to meet you, beautiful.” The girl looked a bit angry, but then she blushed a bit, before looking towards the doorway again.
****
Meanwhile, on the very top floor of Devilfish Records, a man by the name of Thanatos Cypher straightened his midnight-blue tie, which went well with his black suit and white dress shirt that seemed almost too perfect. His desk was the same way, with everything being perfectly straight and put in its place. His black hair was gelled off to the right, and his stern face had handsome features which hid his real agenda.
For years, Cypher had been waiting for this moment… the moment where he would finally use the music the world held so dear against everyone and everything. It was his right to rule this dammed planet and all its inhabitants. It was his destiny… after all; he was named after the personification of Death itself… why not live up to that legacy and have all that power to himself?
Leaning forward on his desk, Cypher thought about his current status. He had signed some of the biggest acts in the history of this world. Hell, he even turned one or two of them into the next targets for the paparazzi and the media to flock over as their lives went into a down spiral of popularity, drugs, alcohol, and bad relationships. Each time, Cypher only smiled as Devilfish Records became hotter than Hell itself each time one of these singers turned out like this. Acts signed on like crazy, trying to cash in on that popularity… it was like they were trying to make deals with the devil.
However, nothing compared to what Cypher had learned from those unholy scriptures long ago. He learned that music could be twisted and corrupted for personal gain. He learned that people could be turned into mindless, faceless slaves when music was drained out of their souls and used as bait for them to anything he wanted. He learned that music could be used to destroy everything.
“Now is the time,” Cypher muttered to himself, his deep, masculine voice reaching no ears but his own. However, the vibrations from his cell phone forced him to sit up straight, pick it out of his pocket, and say, “Cypher, here.”
“I’ve found them, or at least a few of them. Little, rotten brats they are,” a female’s voice said. It seemed very smooth and pretty at first, but it had a cold and venomous tone to it.
“Hmmm, how many are there now?” Cypher asked, his face slowly forming a smile. If there wasn’t that many, he could easily take them. “There are three as of now. They seem pretty obliv- wait! Three more just came in!” the female said.
Cypher’s expression was surprised at first, but it coolly slid into uncaring. “We will take care of them, also. You have enough Smilies, right?”
“Yes, I believe so. I will contact you when I have the brats.”
“Good, good. Make sure they aren’t harmed… too much,” Cypher said before hanging up. He was finding it hard to believe that there were now six teenagers that could possibly give him trouble with his great plan. “Nothing will stop my destiny,” he said cruelly, putting his silver phone back in his pocket.
****
The cashier girl stared at the doorway, having the same uncaring look about her. She was completely and utterly bored, until a group of three came in. One of them was wearing a bright green shirt that said “I Love Techno” on it, and a pink skirt, with black shorts under it. Her long black hair was tied up in a ponytail, which came over her shoulder until she brushed it back with her hand. She was light-skinned, but something with her appearance suggested she had some kind of Latin influence in her.
The other two obviously were of Asian decent and they were joking around with each other. One of them was a young man, with long black hair. Some of it was dyed a strawberry blonde, however, and thrown to the side of his face. He was wearing mostly black, except for a purple hoodie that was open because of the heat. The other was a girl who, oddly enough, had reddish-blonde hair. She was wearing completely pink, except for her hair berets, which were a bright red. A smile was wide on her face.
“Nice to see you, Erika,” the Latina said with a smile. “Sorry to keep you waiting, but I had to go get Eniji and Leigh.” She pointed to the two behind her, who waved with bright smiles. “Hey!” they both said brightly.
“Well, damn Natalie. I’ve been waiting here and getting hit on by guitar boy over there, while you’re taking your sweet time,” Erika said, pointing towards Matt, who was now cleaning up the stage with Lee. Both of them were talking in whispers, but you could tell that their conversation was frantic.
“Why such the change in attitude? He’s cute, most likely your type, and you know that you are so quiet and weird around boys,” Natalie said, looking over at the two brothers. She kept her eyes on Lee for a minute, before being snapped back to reality by Leigh.
“Looks like you got a sweetheart too, Natalie,” Leigh said brightly. “Don’t you stare a hole in ‘im. That’s just rude,” Eniji added, ducking under a pretend hit from Natalie. All of them laughed, which was hushed as a balding man came in. He looked a bit annoyed despite the beautiful day outside. “What’s up, Steve?” Erika said to him, warranting a look.
“Bah! These scene kids wanting a bunch of emo pop music. As if there was such a thing,” Steve said. He was well-known for chasing out kids who seemed to want the most popular music and sneered while they bought it. Walking behind the register, Steve said, “I guess you can take off. Go on, have some fun!”
“Thanks Steve,” Erika said, walking over to the time cards and clocking out. All of them looked ecstatic and didn’t notice when a lady with a kind face came in. Her hair was a little less than shoulder length, but its reddish color made her face stand out more. As for clothes, she was wearing hip-hugger jeans and a nice white blouse. It had been 5 years since she had been in Blackthorne, Ohio. 5… long… years. Then again, traveling around the world would make anybody loose track of time.
The lady quietly walked over to Steve and said, “Do you have Carmina Burana by any chance?” Steve looked up, smiled brightly, and said, “Gina! What brings you back to Blackthorne?”
Gina reached up and gave Steve a hug before saying, “I’m coming back to my roots, I guess. I’m actually starting a small record company here.” Steve nodded and said, “You know, it might be hard to do so with Devilfish Records around here. They make me sick with their lack of actual music.”
“We’ll just have to put the music back in Blackthorne,” Gina said smiling. However, that smile quickly faded when she saw who came in next.
This woman had silky black hair, which was accented by deep crimson streaks and flowed freely in the wind. Her face was beautiful, but it had a sense of coldness to it, as if she was a doll. Her eyes were dark, and the whites around them seemed to be a bit off color. She was wearing a lacy Victorian-style dress, which was very odd, considering the heat in the room. On her wrist was a peculiar crimson object, but it was mostly hidden behind her back, so no one could really get a good look at it.
“Nice to see you, Gina,” the woman said, walking in. Erika, Eniji, Natalie, and Leigh all suddenly felt very cold. Even Matt and Lee looked up with surprised looks.
“What the hell are you doing here, Eris?” Gina said, turning to the woman with fury in her kind features. Steve could only sink back and watch as the other woman said, “No, no, no. Not Eris, Gina. Amaranth is my name now. I’m here to take these little brats away from here.” She pointed to Matt, then Lee, followed by Erika, Eniji, Natalie, and, finally, Leigh. They all looked frozen and rooted to the spot.
“Why waste your time on a group of teens, Eris?” Gina said fiercely, slowly moving in front of the group. They were now that only ones in the entire store. The rest of the people slowly sneaked out.
“I’m… not… ERIS!” Amaranth screeched, her face fired up with rage. “I am Amaranth and you know full well why I am going to take these teens. Can’t you feel the musical energy radiating off of them? I know you can.”
Gina clutched her fists, then noticed a group of about 5 people wearing smiley face masks and black hoodies crowd behind Amaranth. They kept their heads down, but they swayed back and forth, as if they were impatient. “Steve, call for help,” Gina said quietly, slowly moving her hands in front of her. They seemed to glow with a white light, which became more and more intense. Amaranth simply smiled and said, “Using that in front of Steve? Getting a little hasty, eh? We’ll just have to stop that. Smilies, attack!”
With Amaranth’s command, the hooded cronies ran into the decently large record store and reached for the nearest teen, who happened to be Erika. Still frozen to the spot, Erika could only watch as the Smiley grabbed her arm and pulled her forward. However, that’s as far as they got before a blur in red ran over and punched it in the face.
“No touching the girls,” Matt said, looking at the Smiley he just punched. It seemed to reel back for a second, but it quickly looked back at Matt and ran towards him. Matt quickly backed out the way and watched the Smiley crash into a shelf of CDs and stop moving.
“Oy, if you are gonna fight; try not to destroy my store! And I’ve called the cops on you, and your crazy Gothic ass,” Steve said, looking at Amaranth. She didn’t pay any attention to him; instead, she stared at Gina, whose hands still glowed white. However, a Smiley didn’t take Steve’s yelling too well, and grabbed the store owner by his neck.
It was Gina’s turn to take action. She grabbed the Smiley by the back of its hoodie and yanked it back, forcing it to let go of Steve, who collapsed on the floor. Gina then slammed the Smiley face first on the edge of the counter. The Smiley’s mask shattered as it hit the ground, revealing nothing but a black, featureless face. Gina quickly turned to the teens and said, “Quickly, get out of here!”
However, more Smilies blocked the doorway of the store, making Amaranth smile in delight. She was thinking that it was going to only be a matter of minutes and she could fulfill Cypher’s dream.
“We aren’t leaving you here to face all these things,” Erika said, waving her hand as to taunt the Smilies.
“Spread out a bit! We can hold these things off better that way,” Matt said, moving several feet away from Erika and her friends. Though Erika and her friends fanned out, Lee ran over by his younger brother, going into what looked like a fighting stance. “You ain’t gonna do this without me. I have to protect you, after all,” Lee said with a smirk. Matt nodded, kicking away the Smiley that decided to pick on him. Lee did the same, only adding an uppercut to the Smiley when it tried to come back. It got lifted several inches into the air and came down again, unmoving.
Leigh and Eniji were also back to back fighting off the Smilies, giving them a few quick jabs, then hard kicks that sent the Smilies back. The remaining three, Natalie, Erika, and Gina, had fanned out quite well. Natalie’s fighting style was the most peculiar, since it looked a little like a dance. She continuously moved around, dodging the Smilies’ attacks, and then countering with kicks of her own.
Erika’s style was quite normal, but she seemed to flow more than the rest, like water. She would go forward and punch a Smiley, then flow back and kick another. It never seemed to be rigid or rough around the edges, but ever flowing.
Gina, on the other hand, didn’t use any kicks or fancy moves. She only used her glowing hands, which she shoved into the Smilies. They seemed to go down a lot faster than with the teens, possibly because her hands were still glowing with that same white light. They also made a hissing, sizzling noise every time they hit the Smilies head on, as if they were burning.
Looking around at the others, Gina felt that there was a sense of hopelessness in the air. It felt as if they would never win… they would never get out of this store unscathed… The teens’ faces reflected this despite the fierce determination in their faces. Their eyes were the ones betraying their true feelings. Gina looked down sadly for a second, as if she was going to regret what she was going to do… what she was going to take them into.
However, she quickly looked up and thrust her hands forward, causing a bright flash of light to surround the area. This light remained for a minute or two, and while it remained, a soft music played, almost like a choir of angels. As it died down, the light did also, but what was left made Amaranth screech, “DAMNNIT!”
The teens and Gina were gone, leaving a crowd of Smilies littered on the floor, Amaranth looking venomous, and Steve looking in surprise. He turned to Amaranth and said, “Can you get the hell out of my store, now?”