Metal Works

by Silvolf

A Freefonix fanfic possibly the only one on the net lol about my original character, Razz and her backstory on the show. I wrote this out like an episode of Freefonix. Needless to say, I root for Mantyz every time. A new sonic guardian is discovered but will she join Freefonix or turn to the darkside? They do have pizza, after all :D

Metal Works

It was another sunny day in Los Bosmos and Freefonix were on top of the O, playing their music for passers by, who were in a close enough vicinity, to hear and hopefully enjoy.
BB finished singing and the others stopped their music. It was a hot day and the singer needed a glass of water. She picked one up from the nearby table. It was warm.
"Oh man, there's no shade up here, my drink's warm. I'll just go get another one." She headed for the elevator as Mo and Freezbone laughed. Mo sat on a deck chair and fiddled with his sound shaper; a kind of drum he played that could tap into any sound frequency and create new sounds from it. Freez smirked at BB as she hurried off and sat down too, setting his electric guitar, Misty, in the guitar stand.
"It's a great day today. I think we should go to the b-boarding park after this" he said. Mo nodded, involved in his work.
Suddenly there was a glow from one of the speakers and Sugar Che appeared, their sonic genie friend. She looked slightly frantic.
"What's up, yomies?" she asked, "I've picked up the vibes of a new Sonic Guardian in the area! Only, we got a problem with this one..." she trailed off.
"What kind of problem?" asked Mo, he and Freez looked up at her, shading their eyes from the sun.
"She plays the 13th note. But she hasn't fully realised or harnessed her powers. So it's coming out corrupted. You have to find her and help her channel her powers before Vox discovers her and makes her free him from the Void of Silencia!" Sugar explained.
BB returned. "Oh, hi Sugar!" she greeted her friend happily. "What brings you here?"
Sugar explained and BB looked determined. "It shouldn't a problem."
"Yeah, forgot to mention one tiny thing...this girl plays some wack music, rock style. You mustn't let Mantyz find her first. I don't think they would have much trouble persuading her to go over to their side and then use her to get what they want." Sugar looked concerned.
"Don't worry, Sugar, we'll make sure we reach her first. We won't allow Mantyz to trick her." Freez said standing up and grabbing Misty.
"Good luck, yomies! I'm counting on you! With her powers realised, she will be an invaluable part of our team! Sugar out!" Sugar Che disappeared to wherever musical genies go off to and Freefonix headed out on their rides.

Elsewhere in Los Bosmos, a girl was sitting at Jack's bar enjoying a smoothie. She was by herself, just people watching. Over on one of the tables sat Mantyz, the metal band comprised of Kurtz, the lead singer/guitarist, Lady Lux his half-sister who played bass and Hitt, the drummer. Lux was moaning about Mya, their manager again.
"I'm seriously pissed off that she won't raise our pay. She's given some of her stupid prepsie bands more money but not us! We, who slave away for her all the time, do stupid missions for her and Vox, put ourselves out for them in an effort to keep our contract and get out there more...what the hell? She gives us NOTHING."
"Except our rides, apartment, most of our gear..." put in Hitt.
"Ok, well...maybe nothing. We don't get many perks anyway. And I'm also SICK of Freefonix always foiling our plans, wherever we go, they're there sticking their snotty little noses in where they're not wanted." Lux gritted her teeth and snarled at her brother, seeking his input.
Kurtz wasn't paying attention to her. Or Hitt. He was looking over at the girl sat at the bar, with much interest.
"KURTZ! Stop staring at women and listen! Do YOU think Mya treats us fairly? KURTZ!" Lux jabbed him in the arm, making the red haired singer wince and complain.
"Hey! What? Do you what? I mean, do I what?" he replied in confusion.
Hitt chuckled. "Kurtz was looking at that girl over there."
Kurtz snarled at him "Shut up! I wasn't. I was thinking about how mad I am at Mya."
"Mad at Mya for what, exactly?" shot Lux.
"For whatever you said, all the things you said. Ja." replied Kurtz.
Lux scowled at him. He hadn't been listening. She looked over at the girl. The girl had purple stripes in her hair, a black belly top with some sort of neon green design on, black jeans with a blue flame pattern up the legs and flame coloured Converse shoes with purple laces. There was something round her head but since she had her back to them, Lux couldn't see what.
"What? You're interested in HER? Go see her then...go scare her off." Lux sniggered cruelly. Their sibling rivalry was untold.
Kurtz snarled at her, narrowing his eyes in an equally cruel expression. His right eye had a black scar running through it, making him look incredibly spiteful when he scowled.
In an effort to prove his younger half-sister wrong, he stood up. "Fine! I'll show you how a REAL rock and roll legend woos the ladies. And it WON'T involve smelling their hair." He stared pointedly at Hitt, who not so long ago had tried to woo a girl by the name of Shanty and he had rather liked the smell of her hair.
Lux and Hitt looked on as Kurtz swaggered over to the girl at the bar. He walked up beside her, turned around so his back was on the bar, leaned on it and gazed down at her.
"Hey." he said, simply.
The girl looked up. Straight into a pair of strange, slate grey eyes, a steel gaze that made something inside her tummy flutter in an odd way. The eyes were framed by sleek, thick, red (dyed) hair, a narrow face and a small red goatee. The skinny guy stood about 6' 1'', a silver chain around his neck, a black waistcoat that showed off his tummy, over that, a black and grey striped jacket with a purple lining and tight black leather pants. He wore a belt with a buckle in the shape of a stylised M. Glancing down she noticed that he had three belts on either leg too, these ones with silver studs in them. His cell phone was tucked into the uppermost one on his right leg. He had black leather gloves on and a tattoo on his upper left arm.
"Hi" she replied with a polite smile.
Kurtz pulled up a stool next to her and sat down.
"Haven't seen you around before, you new in LB?" he asked. He had a German twang to his accent. She found this quite attractive.
"No, I've always lived in LB." She shrugged. "I just don't go out much? Dunno many people here. When we left school, everyone moved or got pregnant or something. I didn't have the money to go to university."
Kurtz ordered his own beverage and leaned on the bar, listening. He noted that the thing on her head that he'd seen earlier was a pair of neon green goggles. To his own mental disgust at comparing himself with the not so intelligent Hitt, he noted that she did actually smell quite nice.
"I'm Kurtz...you may have heard of me. Lead singer of Mantyz?" He grinned.
"Omg...Kurtz? THE Kurtz? I...I thought you were a lookalike or something." She laughed. "Er...sorry. It's just that no one as cool as Kurtz would talk to me I'm pretty sure." She suddenly went rather pink and stared at the remains of her drink.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Razz." She replied.
"Cool name" replied Kurtz, receiving his drink and taking a sip.
"Err...thanks" mumbled Razz.
"Aww you gone all shy now in the presence of greatness?" Kurtz moved his face closer to hers, to try and catch a glimpse of her blushing. He was also toying with her, trying to make her blush more while also working his own ego.
Razz looked up at him, her face red now. "I...well...yeah."
"You a fan of Mantyz?" Kurtz sat back now, having another drink of his beverage.
"Hell yeah! You guys rock!" Razz grinned. "I'd love to play like you."
"Oh? You play? What do you play?" Kurtz was interested now.
"Guitar. It's electric acoustic." Razz replied.
"Let's see then." Kurtz raised his good eyebrow and looked at her seriously.
"Really? Here? Er...ok..." Razz was desperate not to mess this up. She wanted to impress him. She knew she'd probably fail but she wanted to impress him anyway. She stood up and got out her guitar. It materialised in front of her, in the manner of most sonic instruments in Los Bosmos. It was purple and pearlescent and it had green arrow designs on it. She struck a dramatic pose and then strummed a few not so dramatic chords. She looked deflated.
"I'm not so good at playing in public." She hung her head. Razz really wished right now that the floor would swallow her up.
Kurtz put out his hand, standing up too. "Let me try."
Razz gave her instrument over to him and watched as he played a few epic power chords on it, really bringing out its spirit and purpose.
"Hmm..not bad" he said, examining the guitar.
Razz had just been sort of...staring at him. He was a rock God in her eyes and to have him playing her instrument was the greatest honour of all.
"Here." he handed it back to her. "Maybe we can jam sometime eh baby?" He winked at her. It was to make her blush again and it worked. And it stroked his ego some more.
"I'd love to." replied Razz.
"Wix. Rock you later!" Kurtz gave her the devil's horns with his fingers and walked off, one hand in his pocket. Razz had to sit down. She really had no idea what had just happened. She'd gone down to Jack's for a quiet morning smoothie. Had THE Kurtz just talked to her?
Kurtz strolled back to the others. Yes he had left his drink behind but he had proved a point to his disbelieving sister. Plus it was an excuse to talk to that girl. He had had his eye on her. She was slim and sexy and there was something about her that just clicked with him. And...had she been wearing a collar? He liked that a lot. Belts...collars...tying partners up with them. He shook the idea out of his mind for now.
Lux folded her arms and scowled. "Ok so you played her guitar. I noticed she didn't play yours in return" she grinned at her own sub-innuendo.
"Shut up. The fact is I didn't scare her off like you all assume I do with girls." Kurtz sat down.
"Some girls do get scared by you. That little freakazoid had a point when he said that." Lux was referring to when Freezbone had said Kurtz scared more than three girls a day. That mean comment had really got to Kurtz. Now Lux was rubbing his face in it. He'd had plenty of girlfriends. Admittedly a lot of them were one night stands but that was freakin' rock and roll lifestyle. And maybe some of the others had left him because they'd lost interest in his band and/or music but some girls were just shallow.
"Ja...well...that's why I need a bad girl. Someone who can keep up with me!"
Lux just snorted and the conversation was over. Hitt liked to keep out of all arguments between these two. They only ended up taking their tempers out on him.
It was then Kurtz got a phonecall from Mya. The others watched him while he was on the phone. When he'd finished, he sighed and clipped it back onto his belt.
"Well? What does the old witch want now?" asked Lux. This was the last thing she'd wanted to do today; another mission from Mya. They couldn't just enjoy the nice weather and hang out. Kurtz highly suspected it was Lux's "time of the month" because she was so snappy.
"Apparently another possible guardian has been discovered and this one doesn't have full control of her powers. Her 13th note is corrupted. She could be just what we need to free Vox!" Kurtz sounded excited. At least a mission would stop his sister bitching at him.
"Fine, let's go find her. I assume we have no description or anything to go on, as usual." Growled Lux.
"Nothing, other than that she's a metal fan and Sugar Che is freaking out about it." replied Kurtz. Lux smirked. This one should be easy then.
They headed out of Jack's.

Later on that day, Freefonix were riding down near the beach, looking for anyone fitting the sort of description they had in their minds for this new guardian. She was either a goth or punk or something like that. BB was disgusted. Being an ex-prepsie, anything like that made her inner fashionista want to commit suicide.
"I bet she's obnoxious" mumbled BB as they rode down to the beach on their hov-boards.
"Now BB, don't go judging her before you've met her." warned Freezbone.
"Ah women, always at each others' throats in the name of fashion!" sniggered Mo. Suddenly something flew past them on a purple b-board.
"Hey!" yelled Freez. "That's not riding safely!" The rider didn't care.
The rider was in fact, Razz. She was in a hurry because she was late. She was going to an afternoon concert in the Enormodome. No, she wasn't playing; she was just going to watch. She'd been down on the beach enjoying the nice weather and not seen the time. It was rare for her to be late. She flew down the street, turned the corner and ended up colliding with a hov-hog. Swearing loudly, she ended up on her butt and her b-board clattered to the ground beside her, its power dying.
"Hey! Watch where you're going you little..." the owner of the hov-hog trailed off and Razz looked up apologetically. Straight into the eyes of Kurtz.
"Omg...I'm so so sorry..." Razz felt terrible. How embarrassing. She picked up her b-board expecting Kurtz to totally chew her out. "I haven't damaged your hog have I?" She felt like she was going to burst into tears. That's what you get for rushing, you idiot she mentally scolded herself.
"From a b-board collision? Pffft! Don't make me laugh!" Kurtz grinned. "Seriously, you think that little thing" he pointed to her board "could damage this baby? Wait...has it?" He got off his bike and looked at it, walking all around it. Razz hoped and prayed it was ok. Luckily it was. He stood in front of her, looking down at her 5' 5''-ness with that cold, calculating look of his.
"So, why were you in such a hurry?" He folded his arms.
"I was late for a concert. I was going to see Steeletrix at the Enormodome. Not that it matters now anyway. Sorry I crashed into you."
Kurtz smirked inwardly. Hmm, this was a perfect situation...for maybe a date? "You still wanna go?" he asked coolly.
"Well yeah but I'll never get there in time now. My board's bust. It'll be over if I went by foot."
"You want something faster than a board then. Hop on." Kurtz got on his bike.
Razz looked at his monster of a hov-hog with its flamejob up the sides and her tummy did that weird little flipping thing again. "R...really?" she asked.
Kurtz gazed at her through his hair, which flopped over his left eye, leaving the scarred one on view. "You wanna waste more time talking?" His voice was low and he had a mischievous glint in his eye.
Razz clambered on behind him. "Let's go then!" she said brightly, her helmet forming around her head. Hers had arrows on. She noticed Kurtz had a deck of cards on his, with the Ace of Spades face up at the front.
With a screech and a wild yell, Kurtz revved the bike and they were off.
Razz wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed up against him. She'd only ever been on a hov-hog once and the rider was certainly not driving so recklessly. Kurtz rode the bike up and over a bridge, then along the rooftops. Razz clung to him more. She didn't trust that he wouldn't crash, even though she suspected that he would really rather live as well.
"ROCK AND ROLLL!" roared Kurtz, one hand in the devil's horns and the other on the handle bar as they jumped off one roof and onto a lower one. The Enormodome was in sight now.
"OH SHIIIII..." was what Razz had yelled at that particular moment. Kurtz was enjoying this. Maybe too much. He was satisfied with how tightly he was making her hold onto him.
Soon they were there. Kurtz pulled up into a parking space outside, knocking another hog out of the way as he did so and got off.
Razz got off too and nearly fell over. Kurtz caught her.
"Th...thanks..." she leaned on him for stability. He smelled spicy with a faint sweet tone. Some sort of cologne...aftershave? Hmm it was nice.
Kurtz did that trademark little smirk of his and she tried to stand by herself.
"Come on, we're wasting time." he said, took her by the hand and lead her, still stumbling, through the doors. They pushed their way through the standing crowds around the massive stage.
In reality, Kurtz wasn't entirely sure why he had decided to go to this concert. No other bands except Mantyz really interested him, even though he and the other two often went to watch bands. Was it an excuse to go on a date with this girl? He saw how happy she looked and he decided this was in fact, a good idea. They were near the stage now. Kurtz pushed other people out of the way with a nasty air. He wanted the best place for them to stand. HE was famous after all...well...semi-famous...well...he was in a band who were once bigger than they were now.
Razz was having a great time. As she watched the band perform and danced to the music, she glanced at Kurtz every so often. Admiringly. She really liked him. She wasn't sure why he liked her though but why question it?
Elsewhere in the crowd, Freefonix were looking for the new guardian. It had been Mo's idea to actually look for her in a metal concert.
"Still don't know how we're gonna find her" said BB in a singsong voice. "Not unless we ask each of these people if they play any sort of instrument."
"Well, it's not the band anyway." Said Mo. I tested their music with my sound shaper. No sign of the 13th note, corrupt or not.
Freezbone suddenly started laughing. "Hey, hey guys...look over there...is that Kurtz? KURTZ with a girl?" He pointed to Razz and Kurtz.
"Na, she's just stood next to him." Mo observed.
It was then that Kurtz decided he'd put his arm round Razz's waist.
Freefonix stared. "No way! For real?" BB couldn't believe it. "WHO would date that loser?"
"Well she can't be dating him for his music" sniggered Mo.
"Music! That's it! I wonder if she plays?" Freez pondered.
"Pfft I doubt it. I bet she's just a fangirl. And besides, she hasn't reciprocated that little..." but Razz had indeed put her arm around Kurtz now.
"You were saying?" said Freez.
"Ok ok but that doesn't mean she's the new guardian." BB looked indignant.
"We'll wait till after the concert. Looks like Kurtz is alone anyway. Shouldn't be a problem" said Mo.

Throughout the whole gig, Razz had felt like she could fly. She was with a super hot guy and she was starting to let go of any distrust she might have. Having been hurt in the past, she was quite wary of relationships. As for Kurtz, he was happy to prove his sister wrong. He was even happier that this girl liked him. Of course, how could she not? But some girls just had no taste. This one did, however.
After the concert, they headed to the bar for a drink. Kurtz's suggestion.
Sat down with their drinks, Razz noticed Kurtz was looking at her with THAT gaze again. The one that stared into her soul and made that odd sensation she was now getting quite used to, in her tummy. She felt little sparks of excitement just looking into those eyes. Then she decided that she would indeed, look into those eyes. Kurtz's eyes were steel grey with a little dash of green here and there and a slightly blue? tinge. They just looked into each other's eyes for the longest time. Razz's eyes were a pretty blue colour. Kurtz felt like he could get lost in them. He moved his face closer to hers. So close. Closer...their lips were nearly touching and he was still looking at her in that dark way of his.
"KURTZ!"
Kurtz spun round, taken by surprise and angered by this sudden interruption. That was almost a kiss! It was FREAKfonix. He snarled and jumped to his feet, his guitar, Axe, materialising in his hands.
It was Freezbone who had spoken. "Managed to brainwash some poor fan girl have we?" asked Freez with a snigger. Razz looked angry. Some poor WHAT? She also jumped to her feet. Kurtz stood between her and Freefonix.
Freez was a little taken aback. Was Kurtz protecting this girl from them? Freefonix were the good guys! Unless...she was the new guardian! He was trying to seduce her into working with Mantyz for Vox! The rest of Freefonix also made this assumption.
As Freez and Kurtz stared each other down, Freez having Misty out now and Mo for backup with his sound shaper, BB stepped up next to Razz.
"Do you play an instrument?" she asked.
"Why should I tell you? I've seen you guys around. Freefonix. You're so full of yourselves. Think you're the masters of Freewave."
BB was taken aback now. "What? No...er...no, just tell me if you play an instrument. That's all this is about."
"This is about if I play an instrument? Why? Why does it matter?" said Razz, puzzled now.
"Please tell me. And we'll go. If you tell me, we'll leave you guys alone."
"Ok, then, yes I do." Razz's reply was short.
"Ok...what do you play?" asked BB.
"You said if I told you, you would leave."
"Yes, but I need to know what..." BB trailed off.
"No, you need to go now. It's not a fair fight anyway." Razz nodded to Kurtz's back and Freez and Mo facing off with him.
"I swear I will blast you freaks into next week!" yelled Kurtz, playing a riff on Axe. The guitar was glowing a little.
"Freezbone, Mo, let's go. This battle is over." BB called to them. The two guys looked thoroughly puzzled but guessed that they hadn't found the new guardian and they backed off and then left.
Kurtz was livid. "Come back here and fight! Don't run away! That only proves what fucking wusses you are!" He shot a few blasts after them. Freez turned and looked like he was going to respond but Mo pulled him away and they left through the doors.
Razz put a hand on Kurtz's shoulder. "Just leave it..." she trailed off, expecting him to yell at her next. But he didn't. Instead, he put Axe away and sat back down.
"What did BB ask you?" he asked. "I saw her talking to you...what did she say?"
"She asked if I played an instrument. And what kind. I'm not sure why that mattered. I didn't tell her I played guitar. Only that I did play an instrument."
"Shit. They...erghhhh." Kurtz slammed his fist down on the bar.
"They what? What the hell is going on here?" demanded Razz.
Kurtz looked her in the eyes. He was not gazing this time. "They wanted to know that because they are looking for a sonic guardian of the 13th note. They saw you with me and I guess they thought I was looking too."
"And ARE you looking...wait...is that why you talked to me in the first place?" Razz looked horrified and mortified at the same time.
"No...no, no I talked to you cos I like you...kinda...a lot. We found out about the new guardian thing after I talked to you the first time." Kurtz's expression was now showing signs of desperation. He really didn't want Razz to think his intentions were dishonest. Because for once, for the first time in a very very long time, they weren't. Besides doing missions for Mya, he did in fact want some normalcy in his life. Lux dated, so why not him?
Razz looked uncertain though. "Seriously? You're not lying? You genuinely like me?"
"Ja! You're cool and sexy and I dunno, you caught my eye" he stroked her under the chin. Razz blushed.
"Well I think you're cool and sexy too..." she looked up at him with a small smile. "But why would they think I was a guardian? Why would they be looking for guardians? What the hell is going on here? A guardian of what?"
"Ok, we can't talk about this here. Let's go back to my apartment. It'll be safe there." Kurtz stood up. He had no idea if she was the new guardian but he didn't want Freefonix getting their hands on her regardless of whether she was or not. He liked her and they weren't going to spoil that for him like they had spoiled so many sonic battles.
"Safe...but wait...I...what?" Razz felt herself being pulled along by Kurtz. He was feeling panicked now. He wanted to get back home where it was safe and he knew Freefonix weren't going to turn up. Mantyz had split up looking for this new guardian mostly because he and Lux were arguing about it too much but he didn't want the others to know what had happened just yet. He needed to know for himself if she was the one they were looking for too. And he needed to play his cards very, very carefully. The others wouldn't be home so they could have some alone time. For talking about this whole mess of course. Mantyz shared an apartment together and that's where they headed now.
Razz wasn't clinging quite so tightly, having adjusted to how Kurtz rode now. Kurtz was still feeling panicked. He took that last corner just a liiittle too hard and his stomach lurched.
"You ok, Razz?" he asked her.
"Yeah I'm fine, enjoying the ride!" she replied.
Ok, ok. She has no idea what's going on. For now. Kurtz mentally calmed himself. He had no idea why he felt like he did. He assumed it was because he had feelings for this girl. He wasn't used to that type of emotion.
They reached the apartment building and no sign of Freefonix. Kurtz parked up the hog and they headed up to the apartment in the elevator. Razz was looking all around her, interested at a new environment and super excited that she was visiting the home of such a talented musician.
They entered the apartment.
It was a fairly large open plan apartment with instruments and band gear, a punch bag that Hitt trained with and a low orange futon couch. There was a large flat screen TV that sank into a compartment in the floor and a whole wall of speakers. There was a kitchen as well off to the left and a large window. There were doors to other rooms Razz could only assume were the bedrooms and bathroom.
Kurtz lead her to the futon and sat down. Razz sat next to him. Kurtz ran his hands through his hair.
"Well, this is a fucking mess." He mumbled into his hands and then straightened up. "Ok, let me explain. Freefonix are looking for Sonic Guardians to stop Vox being freed. Vox is a seriously badass Sonic Lord who was trapped in the Void of Silencia by Sugar Che, another Sonic Lord. Her main "minions" are Freefonix, that stupid pesky Freewave band and I'm pretty sure they think you're a candidate for another guardian. Vox transmits himself through a mirror in the office of our manager, Mya Dee Zya at ComaCo. So of course since she "owns" Mantyz, she gets us to do things to try and get Vox freed. In all honesty I have no idea why we actually help them. Other than that she holds our record contract and without her, we'd be struggling." Kurtz paused and snorted. "So they send us on all these missions to get Vox freed but Freefonix manage to stop us every time. Even when we're just trying to make some money and get famous again, FREAKfonix stop us. So much for everyone being able to "play what they wanna play" like their stupid prepsie princess bitch singer babbled about the prepsie bands. They never let us play anything."
"That's probably cos you work for Mya and Vox though, right?" Razz asked.
"Well, before we signed up with Mya, Freefonix wasn't even formed. We can play a corrupt version of the 13th note you see, which is why Mya saw potential in us. Freefonix had no idea what a sound clash even was when we first battled each other. And we won. And Hitt destroyed Mo Start's stupid sound shaper. But anyway, that's a basic lowdown on all this crap." Kurtz laid back on the futon and put his feet up on the table.
"Well, I've heard of Freefonix and seen them around. I don't exactly like their sound though and I've never been a fan of them. All they ever seem to sing about is how "wix" they are. But this guardian thing….I can't play the 13th note. Heck, I can't even play in public because I'm scared of messing up. My old guitar teacher always told me how good a player I was and how I could go pro but how can I if I can't even play in front of my friends?" Razz hung her head in shame.
Kurtz got out his phone. "Play me some chords." He said.
"What? I just said I have trouble…." Razz trailed off when she saw him looking at her with that gaze.
"Just do it for me? I've got an app on my phone that will let me know if you can play the 13th note or not."
"Well….ok. But I'm not great or anything." Razz stood up and got out her guitar. She played a wobbly riff.
"Ok well that's not good enough. Put some POWER into it!" Kurtz shook his fist on the word "power". "Come on, baby! Do it for me!" He grinned fiendishly at her. Razz nodded, took a deep breath and threw out one HELL of a power chord. She was determined to impress him this time. And it did.
"Yowza! That was a hell of a chord baby!" Kurtz grinned, but then looked at his phone and his face dropped. It was showing signs of the 13th note. Wobbly, jagged signs. Corrupt signs. But beyond corrupt. Totally messed up signs.
Razz's guitar disappeared and she sat down next to him. "What is it?" she asked. "I'm not the guardian, right?" She couldn't see Kurtz's expression since his head was down and his hair was hanging in his face.
"Ja, I'm afraid you are. Or at least you have 13th note powers. Like me…only waaay more messed up."
"Messed up how?" asked Razz.
"Well, basically you have little control over them and you haven't developed or harnessed them properly. The more corrupt they are, the harder they are to control. Yours are OUT of control. That's not necessarily a bad thing. But it's not good either." Kurtz explained.
"Well….I'm totally not confused anymore." Razz murmured with a small eye roll.
"Don't vorry about it. But don't tell anyone for now. I need to figure out what we're gonna do. Above all, Freefonix mustn't know that you're the one they're looking for."
"Oh don't worry, I won't be telling them. I don't wish to join them either. What happens if Vox gets free?" asked Razz.
Kurtz smirked. "Apparently Mantyz will become super mega famous and Vox will rule over everyone, destroy Freefonix and their stupid genie and that will be the end of our problems. Mya will rule beside him though but hopefully she'll be so rich and powerful, she won't order us around anymore. And we don't have to do these stupid missions since we'll be the world's greatest rock band!"
"In my eyes you already are the world's greatest rock band…" Razz looked him in the eyes. Kurtz was surprised at her sudden comment after getting himself wound up about this guardian business. He looked back at her and smiled.
"Ja, we are….you're right…." He moved closer. Razz felt her cheeks going pink but before she knew what was happening, Kurtz had planted a well aimed kiss right on her lips. She closed her eyes, returning it and sighed. He stroked a hand down her cheek. He'd figured that in case they got interrupted again, he'd just get on with it this time. It wasn't as though she would object. Razz felt weak at the knees despite being in a sitting position. Kurtz pulled her close, onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her, still kissing her, deepening it now and starting to explore her mouth with his tongue. Razz reciprocated, running her hands through his hair and leaning against him. Kurtz moaned softly into the kiss. Oh yes, he was enjoying this. To the point of his pants becoming uncomfortably tight. Razz growled a little and his pants felt tighter. Damn! That really got him going!
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING?" A voice shattered the moment completely. "We're out looking for this stupid guardian and you're back here getting frisky with the fans!"
Kurtz pulled away from the kiss and Razz nearly fell off his lap in shock at the sudden loudness of Lux's voice. She was stood behind the futon glaring down at them. Razz looked shocked and hurt, feeling now like she wasn't welcome there. Kurtz saw how upset she looked.
"This rude bitch is my younger half-sister, Lady Lux" spat Kurtz with extreme distaste.
"WHAT did you call me? I WILL make your life hell for this, Kurtz." Growled Lux.
"Don't bother, you already do that very well." Kurtz snarled up at her, his arms still around Razz, whom he had now pulled closer, knowing that she wasn't happy with the current social situation they were stuck in.
"So why are you back here with her? We're meant to be doing a job. Mya will throw a shit fit and I'm not bailing you out of cleaning toilets again. This is all YOUR fault."
"Why is it ALWAYS my fault? I'm sick of you blaming me for every little thing that goes wrong round here! Giving me snide comments and being sarcastic about me. Geez! It's like you delight in picking me apart and berating me! I want some sort of normal life too you know! I'm sick of these constant missions. I love rehearsing but I also want some sort of you know, relationship with another person! You have partners, why can't I?" Kurtz yelled.
Lux could see somewhere that he had a point about the semblance of normality but at the same time she was still mad at him. "I pick on you because you're an idiot! I'M the brains of this outfit. You're just the…the….poster boy! You look good but you're as thick as a brick! You couldn't think your way out of a soundclash with HITT!"
Somewhere behind them Hitt said "Hey!" But was ignored.
"You're the dysfunction and weirdness in our family! Hell, dying your hair is one thing but you dye your fucking PUBES for God's sake. THAT is how far down your ego goes and it disgusts me! You only wanted to be lead singer of this band so you could LOOK GOOD! And you try and take credit for ALL our lyrics." Lux yelled.
"Uh excuse me but your lyrics are crap and Hitt can't write music. You can't write music for that matter. Not properly. And let's not forget you play bass because anything with more than four strings is too much for you, LIZZY." Kurtz snarled the last word. Lux's real name. Elizabeth.
Lux was livid now. "How DARE you use my real name, KURT. It's LADY LUX!"
"Without me, you wouldn't even be able to PLAY the guitar" spat Kurtz, ignoring Lux's attempt to get him back with his real name. According to Kurtz, putting a Z at the end of things made them cooler.
Lux backed down a bit now. He was right. He'd helped her learn to play the guitar when they were small and argued less. In truth, Lux was jealous of Kurtz. She'd wanted to be the band's frontman but left it to him because he'd helped her start out. That's not to say her playing was bad. She was actually very formidable and dangerous in a sound clash and was indeed most of the brains of the band. But his comment about the bass VS the guitar and the strings had thrown her off.
"OOOH! You are FUCKING IMPOSSIBLE!" she seethed and stormed off to her room, slamming the door behind her.
Kurtz grinned at Razz but his face dropped a bit when he saw her expression.
"That's…your sister?" she said, shocked.
"Ja. Don't worry, she's not normally so lovely. And she's only my half-sister thank God." Kurtz reassured her. Razz was taken aback that anyone could talk to Kurtz like that. Hitt sat down next to them on the futon with a pizza he'd made in the microwave while Kurtz and Lux were arguing. He offered some to Razz, who took it but didn't eat since she was still a bit upset. She'd finally got to enjoy a little make out time with Kurtz and it had been interrupted.
"Don't worry baby, she'll calm down" Kurtz hugged her and she rested her head on his shoulder.
"Yeah she's a big softy really. Like me!" said Hitt, brightly.
"Ja….suuure. Soft like a pin cushion." Kurtz muttered. Razz smiled now.
"If you don't want that pizza…." Hitt began but Kurtz interjected.
"She wants it. Let her have it, Hitt." He gave Hitt a look that suggested he was in charge. Hitt smiled sheepishly and backed down.
"So, are you two dating?" he asked excitedly.
Kurtz scratched his head. "Well…uhh..I'm err…not sure. I haven't asked."
"Maybe you should!" Hitt giggled. Now Kurtz was going pink. He looked at Razz, who had suddenly become very interested in her pizza and hiding her face from Kurtz. Her hair was parted in the same manner so her left eye was also covered by her hair when she wished. And when her head was down like it was now.
"Well…uhh….wanna go out with me then?" he asked. Razz nodded. Kurtz brushed her hair away from her face and she looked at him with a happy little smile.
"But on one condition." She said.
"What's that?" he asked.
"Keep your sister away from us when we have alone time" she sniggered.
"Don't worry. She was only pissed cos I wasn't working and "slacking off" apparently. Oh, that reminds me, Hitt, did you guys find the new guardian?"
"Nope. Not a sign of her. We looked everywhere. It's like when we went looking for that two year old musical prodigy that turned out to be BB. Lux was pissed off about that too; cos we found nothing and don't have much to go on." Hitt replied, finishing his pizza. Razz was eating hers now, still sitting on Kurtz's lap. Kurtz thought this was just as well considering before the argument with Lux, he was packing some sort of a boner and she had been keeping it hidden.
"Ja well she'll have to keep her temper under control. I am not working with her like that."
"She's probably doing that monthly thing ladies do." Hitt scratched his head in puzzlement, "I don't know what it is but it makes them pretty cranky!"
Razz sniggered, having finished her pizza and now absently fiddling with the chain round Kurtz's neck.
Kurtz sniggered too. "Ja the monthly moodiness. Well whatever it is, she'd better get over it." Just then his phone rang. It was Mya. She was on video call as usual and he had to hold the phone right in front of his face so she wouldn't see Razz was with him.
"Kurtz? What are you doing? Your nose is nearly touching the screen. Are you wearing guyliner?" Came Mya's voice with its Russian accent and impatience.
"Uhh…I am but…what is it you wanted, Mya?"
"Have you found the new guardian yet?" she demanded.
"Not yet Mya. You haven't given us much to go on. It's a girl and she plays an instrument with a corrupt 13th note, ja? You know anything more about her?" asked Kurtz. Razz was cringing. She knew it was Mya now. Kurtz tightened his grip reassuringly with the arm that was around her.
"She likes your kind of music. It should be a synch. Are you at home? Get back out on the streets! I want that girl NOW!" and she slammed the phone down.
"I think she's having that monthly thing too." Hitt sniggered.
"I think I agree" sighed Kurtz.

Meanwhile, Freefonix were back at the O.
"So, was that girl the guardian?" asked Mo eagerly. BB had dragged them back there. Clearly she needed to think.
"Well she plays an instrument. I think she could be, especially as Kurtz was fawning all over her like that. But we have a problem with this one. She LIKES Mantyz. She DOESN'T LIKE Freefonix. She told me she thinks our music is wack."
"What? Seriously? How can she like those has beens over us?" Freezbone was taken aback. "I mean, we've encountered guardians like Shanty who hadn't heard our music and some others who didn't know who we were but I've never known a prospective guardian to actually hate our music. This is gonna be harder than I thought. I mean it was hard enough knowing this girl is shacking up with Kurtz but it's just gotten a whole lot worse."
"Yeah but we don't know for 100% if it IS her yet" said Mo. "We'd need to hear her play. And for that, we need to somehow get her on our side."
"I've no doubt Kurtz has filled her head with lies and messed her up. We need to show her what would happen if Vox was to be released. Sugar said that her powers are corrupt because she can't control them properly. Once she learns to control and use them, she'll be able to play the pure power of the 13th note like us and join us in our fight against Vox." BB pondered.
"So how are we gonna get her on our side?" asked Freez.
"You talk to her" replied BB. "She doesn't seem to like me."
"She probably remembers you from your prepsie days" said Mo.
"I am NEVER going to be able to put that behind me, am I?" grumbled BB folding her arms.
"Probably not, but you're in the wixest Freewave band on the planet now so at least you've gone on to greater things!" smiled Freez. BB smiled too.
"You're right. I know we can get her on our side! It's not the first time Mantyz has tried to mislead a possible guardian."
"IF she is a possible guardian" put in Mo.
"Ok, well I'll see if I can catch up with her when she's on her own. I'm sure I can use my zen powers to make her see the truth and how important it is that she chooses our side and fights for good instead of evil." Freez looked confident about this. The other two nodded and the plan was set.

"Do you have to go now?" asked Razz. She was still sat on Kurtz's lap and Hitt was now eating a donut.
"Ja, we'll have to get back out on the streets. But you and I can meet up later if you like. What's your number?" Kurtz held up his phone and they exchanged numbers quickly.
Razz then reluctantly got off Kurtz's lap and Kurtz went and knocked on Lady Lux's door.
"Lux, we gotta get going. Only this time we'll go all together, ja?" he called.
The door flew open and Lady Lux stalked out.
"I want to find this stupid guardian TONIGHT! No more messing around Kurtz. You can see your little girlfriend after we've found her." Kurtz just nodded. He didn't feel like arguing again.
Razz shrank back behind Hitt. She'd never got on with other women that well, having more in common with guys. Women always tended to be jealous of her. She had no idea why.
"Let's go." Lux headed up the stairs and the others followed.
"Ok Razz, see you later ok?" said Kurtz and gave Razz a small kiss, which she returned longingly. Lux pulled a face and Kurtz gave her the finger.
"Jealousy won't get you anywhere, sis!" he smirked and got onto his hov-hog.
"I'm not jealous. I just wanted to do a job that wasn't shit. Now let's go find this girl." Lux sped off. The others followed, Kurtz looking briefly back at Razz and smiling.
Razz watched them go and got out her b-board. There was still no power in it though. Swearing mentally to herself, she started walking. She was a fairly fast walker but she missed flying. Her mind was on Kurtz. In fact every time she thought about him, her heart kinda flip flopped. She'd never been in love before but she guessed this must be what it was like. Sure she'd had relationships but she'd never been entirely happy in them and not one guy had just walked into her life and stolen her heart like Kurtz had done. Wait...that sounded soppy. Walked away with her heart? Razz snorted to herself. She was not a soppy girly girl but she found that red haired rocker had gotten her quite smitten. And he was a great kisser! She'd reached Down Town now. Yes it was actually called that, it had a sign that said so. People walked or flew past by foot or hov-vehicle. Razz was in a world of her own. She didn't like Lux much but Hitt was cool. Razz was one of those people who likes approval and acceptance from others. If she didn't get it, she felt she was out of her depth and tended to bottle up. She wasn't especially shy but it really depended on the company. She was missing Kurtz already. She was looking forward to him calling her but then it suddenly dawned on her about his pretence about not finding the guardian yet. SHE was the guardian and sooner or later the others would find out. What then? She couldn't free a Sonic Lord from some void. For one, she hadn't the confidence in herself. For another, she had never been especially important for anything. And what was this about her powers? What powers? She still had so many questions.
Mulling all this over as she walked, she didn't know she was being followed. Freezbone had spied her and was debating how best to approach her. He decided to just walk up and say Hi. And that was what he did.
"Hi!" he said, approaching her from behind. Razz looked round and recognised him, though she wasn't that good with faces so she wasn't entirely sure who he was. Was he that guy who'd accosted Kurtz earlier? She wasn't sure at all so she felt a bit out of her depth.
"Err hi" she replied.
"I'm Freezbone! I'm the guitarist in Freefonix." Freez had decided to just come out with it and see how she reacted.
"You again? What do you want? Why did you attack us earlier? Looking for the sonic guardian? You could have just walked up and asked you know." Razz grumbled.
"Well…Kurtz doesn't exactly like us and unless we wanted our butts sonically blasted, we had to go in guns blazing….uhh…so to speak." Freez looked a bit awkward. "Sorry about that. We didn't mean to come off as hostile."
"Hmm….well ok." Replied Razz. She didn't feel threatened by him anyway.
"I'm a musician too!" said Freez brightly. "I play guitar." He got out his guitar. "Meet Misty!"
Razz sniggered. "Your guitar has a name?"
"Well yeah. She's my MLP, Music Life Partner. Doesn't your instrument have a name?" asked Freez. It was the perfect opportunity to see what she played. He'd been edging toward that.
"Actually it does. It's called Adi. But I don't call it a "he" or anything. It's just a guitar."
"Oh you play the guitar too? Awesome! Can I see? I uh…don't meet many guitarists like myself." Freez said excitedly. He wasn't technically lying. He hadn't met any other guitarists except Kurtz and Lady Lux for a long time.
There was something about him that made Razz feel relaxed somehow. She'd never liked Freefonix much but that was their music mostly….and their attitude but she didn't judge a person before meeting them. She got out her guitar.
"Wow, that's a nice instrument!" said Freez, eyes wide and admiring. "What sort of music do you play?"
"Metal and rock mostly." Replied Razz. She was now wondering if he would ask her to play. She hoped not.
Freez was prepared for this. "Oh, you're a Mantyz fan right?" He mentally shuddered.
"Yes I am." Razz grinned. "But you don't get on with them do you" there was an acid tone in her voice.
"Doesn't mean I can't play their stuff. Ever done a duet?" Freez had figured that in order to get her to relax, he had to do things her way. He had no idea of course that she was nervous of playing. But it was really playing on her own that made her nervous.
"No, I umm…I'm not that good" Razz mumbled.
"Well why don't we play This Noise Destroys?" Freez mentally apologised to his guitar for what he was about to do. "Do you know that one?"
"I know them all" said Razz.
"Well? It would be really awesome to play with you. I haven't played with someone else for a long time so I'm probably not that good either." Freez smiled good naturedly. Razz looked unsure.
"Well how 'bout I start off and you join in?" Freez started to play.
Razz didn't trust him but he still made her feel at ease. And he was good at playing too. She started to strum along, keeping her own strums almost masked by his.
Elsewhere, Mo had tracked Freezbone and was using his sound shaper to analyse the music Razz was playing.
"We got our guardian." He smirked to BB.
Freez started to play a little quieter to hear Razz's playing. But the longer they played; the more enthusiasm she started to get and the louder she played. So he started to play louder too. Soon they were both playing and enjoying it. Well, Razz was. Freez hated defiling his guitar like this.
When the song ended, Freez put Misty away.
"That was wix! Put it there!" He offered her a brofist and she accepted, putting her own guitar away.
"You've got quite some power in that guitar." He was wearing an earpiece and Mo had told him she was the guardian. "You know, you can learn to harness it and control it, play the pure power of the 13th note! You're special. You're destined to be a guardian!"
Razz played the idiot. "A guardian of what?"
"The 13th note! Sugar Che is a Sonic Lord. A long time ago, she trapped an evil Sonic Lord called Vox in the Void of Silencia. But he's now trying to free himself. If he gets free, he will destroy the world. He'll cause sonic discord and disharmony and everything will be plunged into chaos! Which is why we need you to help fight the good fight." Freez explained. This was different to what Kurtz had told her. Now she wasn't sure what to believe. Was freeing Vox good or bad? Kurtz had told her Vox would make Mantyz the greatest rock band ever but Freez was telling her that Vox would destroy music. She didn't want to give out any evidence that Kurtz had told her anything. She wouldn't betray him like that.
"What about that Mya woman who owns ComaCo? I heard she was working with him. Wouldn't she rule with him?" asked Razz carefully.
"No way! He's using her as a puppet to help him get free. Without manipulating a human, he has no way of getting his way, if you see what I mean. He's trapped in a mirror in her office in ComaCo. As for Mantyz, she's using them to run around for her and help her work to get Vox free under the false assumption that riches and power will be hers! It won't! Vox is evil. He's using everyone he comes into contact with and you can't let him use you too. He wants your 13th note powers. At the moment since you have no control over them, they're corrupt and he can't use them. Mantyz play a corrupt version too. Vox needs a pure 13th note to get free."
"Then if Vox is so bad, I won't bother improving my powers. There's no point. He needs a pure power to get free, right? So he won't use me if I don't bother." Razz folded her arms, finding her own argument valid.
"He will. He knows you have guardian potential and he will try to get that from you. The pure 13th note is more powerful than the corrupt version. You can help us in the fight because if he ever did get free, we need all the guardians we can get. See, the pure 13th note will free him but once he's free it will also trap him again. We have guardians with all sorts of 13th note powers, from sonic shanties to sonic rappers, people who can play any instrument, even a young violinist who can change the face of time. Please think about joining us. We really could use your help and it's a worthwhile cause." Freez put his hand on her shoulder and smiled warmly. "You'll have good friends with us. Mantyz and Vox only use people to get what they want. They have no friends. Think about joining us at least. You won't regret it."
Razz nodded. "Ok. I'll think about it."
"Wix!" replied Freez. "Well I gotta get going. Gonna go jam with my Freefonix yomies! You're welcome to join us any time." He hopped onto his b-board and sped off.
Razz watched him go. Well this was weird. He told her something completely different to Kurtz. She didn't know what to believe now. Kurtz made her feel alive. She still didn't like the noise Freefonix called music but there was something genuine about Freezbone. She carried on walking. She was looking forward to Kurtz calling her but now was the time to head home and get some food.

"Well, I tried. I explained it all to her, she listened, she wasn't bitchy about it and I think I might have gotten through to her" said Freez excitedly.
"Let's hope you did. I was listening to your conversation. She seemed a bit apprehensive but interested in it. I'm sure Mantyz have been filling her head with junk. You should have asked if she was dating Kurtz!" said Mo.
"I'm not poking my nose in. It's none of our business if she's…" began Freez but BB cut in.
"If he's manipulating her, it IS our business. Besides, no one would willingly date that guy, would they? He's a complete loser! I bet he gave her goo goo eyes, swept her off her feet and now he's getting her to believe Mantyz's lies."
"Man BB, you really don't like him do you" said Freez.
"Or you're JEALOUS" sniggered Mo.
"I am NOT jealous! I just don't get why someone would date him. He looks like a half starved weasel! He acts like one too!" BB protested. The guys laughed.
"Hey, he does look like a weasel" chuckled Freez.
"An ugly one!" laughed Mo. "But seriously, I really hope you got her on our side Freez."
"She said she'd think about it. So that's the best we can do for now. I'm sure we'll have a run in with Mantyz and we can then prove to her that we're telling the truth and they're the bad guys." Replied Freez.

Meanwhile, Razz was at home. She had a small apartment in a more scenic part of the town, more inland. It had a nice view too. She was thinking about what Freezbone had said to her as she ate the meal she'd prepared. It was Chinese. She waited for Kurtz to call. He didn't call till late though. She really wanted to talk to him about all this or at least ask him again about Vox. She picked up the phone hurriedly.
"Hello?" she said, even though she knew it was him.
"Hey there baby! Wanna go for a ride? Or maybe we could just chill?" Kurtz said, the eagerness evident in his voice.
"Sure! Wanna come over to my place? I'm across town in the Delta apartments, apartment 5." Replied Razz.
"I'll be there in five! Rock you later!" Kurtz hung up and sped over to Razz's place. Razz sincerely hoped he would indeed rock her. She fidgeted while she waited for him but luckily he was true to his word and he was there in five minutes like he said. She had no idea where he'd started out from but if it was from his apartment, it should have taken him longer. Then again she knew how he rode. She heard the doorbell and rushed to answer it. There he was in all his rock god glory, trying to look casual but there was some worry evident in his body language. She hoped it wasn't anything to do with her…unless he was shy or something. He soon proved her wrong about the shyness though, leaning forward and kissing her. She returned it, feeling her cheeks flush. He pulled back and smirked, noticing this. He was enjoying the effect on her, his ego swelling a little. That was not a metaphor.
"Come in!" said Razz, inviting him in and closing the door.
"Hey, nice place you got here" Kurtz walked in and sat down on her couch. Razz joined him.
"Yeah it's ok. The rent's cheap at least." Razz shrugged. Kurtz leaned back and laid an arm along the back of the couch, his body posture inviting. Razz inched closer and he suddenly pulled her against him.
"Don't need to be shy, baby" he smirked.
"I umm….I wasn't. It's just in the past…well…I always feel unsure and afraid the guy doesn't want to do what I want to do. I need to feel sure before I make a move that that's what the guy wants…" Razz felt incredibly awkward about her lack of confidence.
"I laid back, I invited you…now you're in my arms…so what do you think happens next?" He stroked her cheek and gazed at her. Razz could sense the next thing was a kiss. So she did. Kurtz pulled her hard against him and kissed her eagerly, running the fingers of one hand up and down her back and his other hand slipping up her top.
Razz closed her eyes and ran her hands through his hair, leaning on him and wrestling her tongue with his. She moaned into the kiss as he found the nerves in her back and it gave her pleasant chills. He was moving his fingers on her as though he was playing his guitar. She felt amazing. Clearly he was experienced at this. He pulled her onto his lap and she straddled him, a leg either side of him, their crotches touching now. She thrust her hips a little, grinding against him and he moaned softly into the kiss. She started to trail kisses down his neck and growled seductively to him, getting into the swing of it now. She felt a sharp poke in her groin.
"Ooohhh Razzzz…..when you growl….damn that gets me going…." Kurtz then proceeded to ravage Razz's neck with little kisses and nibbles. Razz leaned her head back for him and moaned, enjoying it. He was still playing some kind of power chords up and down her back and one hand slid down to her leg, running up it and to her crotch, pausing to rub there. She arched her back into his touch and nuzzled him under the chin, grabbing the chain around his neck in her teeth and giving it a playful tug. Kurtz grinned.
"You like it rough?" he asked, still stroking her back.
"Hmm yeah….not like painful rough but dominant rough I guess" she replied, playing with his goatee.
Suddenly he shoved her down on the couch and straddled her, grinding his hips against hers and giving her a love bite on her neck, sucking it hard as he thrust. Razz raked her nails along his sides, going up and under his waistcoat. Kurtz moaned louder. He had quite a thrust on him. Razz guessed this must have been well practised while he was performing on stage. He was getting up a pretty good jackhammer and it was kind of a tease. She could only imagine what actually making love to him was like but she imagined it was like nothing else and certainly better than any other guy she'd been with. She growled again, time for some teasing of her own! This only encouraged Kurtz's hands to explore her body and his kissing to get more intense. They spent a long while just making out, getting to know each other better physically. Razz was lost in the attentions of her red haired rocker and Kurtz equally felt distracted by her too. So much so that it was taking his mind nicely off the fact that Lux had been furious about them not finding the sonic guardian before it got dark. The make out session was culminating in Kurtz doing some strumming in Razz's pants. He was smirking at her moaning and loss of control as she climaxed. It didn't take long with his experience. He played women like he played his guitar and it worked very well indeed. Razz finally collapsed against him, as she had been leaning back on him and he had his arm around her as he worked her. She relaxed, panting and enjoying the afterglow. He rested his chin on her head and looked down at her with a grin.
"Well? Ever been played like THAT?" he smirked.
"That was…unreal…." Breathed Razz.
"So was that power chord at the end!" Kurtz was referring to Razz's near screech as she went over the edge. The reference was corny but vaguely amusing.
Razz nuzzled into his chest, enjoying the scent of his slightly spicy cologne. She noticed his hair smelled like coconuts. Interesting shampoo. They lay like that for a while until Kurtz asked for a drink so Razz got him some Kool-Aid. He looked around her lounge as he put his glove back on. There were some shelves containing books and a fish tank with a variety of brightly coloured tropical fish in it. She had a fairly large flat screen TV and a laptop rested on the coffee table. Razz returned with the drinks and handed one to Kurtz, sitting back down next to him. His hair was a mess but she didn't say anything.
"So how did it go earlier?" she asked.
Kurtz sipped his drink and sighed. "Not good. Of course we didn't find the new guardian. Lady Lux got in a real mood. She said I wasn't looking hard enough because I wanted to come and see you. We argued again. I nearly told her. To be honest I don't think it would make much difference. But unless you learn to control your powers, Vox can't use you anyway. So I'm guessing I'll tell the others and we'll teach you. Once Vox is free, he'll destroy Freefonix, the freewave and we won't have any more trouble."
"Umm..Kurtz…when I was on my way home, I bumped into Freefonix. Well, Freezbone. He told me some stuff." Razz said quietly.
"What? What did he tell you?" Kurtz demanded.
"That if Vox was freed, he would destroy the world and that he's using you and Mya like puppets to get himself freed from the void."
Kurtz snorted. "Why would he lie to us? He's an all-powerful sonic lord! He can give us whatever he wants and he will reward us because we helped free him. He told us he'd reward us. Why would he lie about that? For someone with his power, it's not hard to just make Mantyz the world's greatest rock band. We'll be super mega famous and Freefonix will be has-beens." He waved a hand dismissively. "Freakbone was lying to you to get you to join them. He's NOT ruining this side of my life too. I'm sick of them keep beating us in sonic battles; I won't allow them to stick their stupid noses in my personal business. Wait….do they know you're the new guardian?"
Razz nodded and felt sick inside. What if Kurtz hated her now?
"Why did you tell them?" asked Kurtz.
"I didn't. I told Freezbone I played the guitar and he persuaded me to jam with him."
"WHAT? WHY would you do that? Play with that LOSER?" Kurtz looked livid now.
Razz shrank back. "He played This Noise Destroys. I love your songs. I didn't know he was trying to see if I was the guardian…I mean, I didn't know he was recording me or anything. How was I supposed to know? It was only him and me. I didn't know anyone else was listening in to what we were playing." Razz looked down at the floor, afraid to face Kurtz, afraid she was betraying him. She hadn't meant to. Most would be guardians are confused at first but she didn't know this of course.
"I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at THEM. They tricked you into playing for them." Kurtz looked seriously pissed now. He snarled and grinded his teeth a little, staring straight ahead. And if looks could kill….
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have talked to him. But I wanted to know more. I wanted to know their side of the story. Not to believe it but just to see how different it was from yours." Razz felt sicker.
Kurtz put an arm round her and pulled her close. "Well, you know who's side you're on, ja?" he asked.
"Well duh. I'm with you of course." There was a first time for everything. This was the first time a would be guardian had sided with Mantyz, without them tricking the person or having to manipulate them first.
Kurtz kissed her. "Good "he said. He was genuinely glad she wanted to side with them and not just because he was dating her. It was about time Freefonix felt the harsh slap of losing.
Kurtz sipped his drink. Razz had gotten herself one as well.
"So what happens now?" she asked.
"Now we gotta train you. Or rather I will. I don't want my sister getting any credit for this. I found you before we even knew you were the new guardian! Here." He got out Axe. "Have a go with my guitar, I wanna see how you do." This was weird for Kurtz, not that Razz knew but he never let anyone play Axe. In fact no one had ever played the guitar except him. Razz took the guitar carefully. She'd always marvelled at it but to hold it in her hands was something else.
"I can see how impressed you are with my guitar, playing that should force you to be even more confident! For a start you won't be used to it and for another thing, it's MY guitar" he grinned. He was looking for more ego stroking and she was only too happy to give it to him.
"It's an honour to play Axe but do you really think I'll be any good?" Razz asked uncertainly.
"Judging by that power chord you played me earlier, you got the power baby, all you gotta do is let it out. Now, let's hear some proper playing. Play one of our songs. I dunno, a ballad...Together In Leather! Something a little sexy!" He winked at her. Would she do the song justice though? It was a lot to live up to. Razz got up and played a scale to get the feel of the guitar. The tension was good in the sonic strings and she could feel the thing humming with power.
"Hmm...hold on..." she carefully put Axe down on the coffee table and rushed off into another room, returning moments later with a set of shiny metal...claws? Kurtz looked at them with interest. He wanted to know what they were for but didn't want to sound like a complete idiot by asking so he just waited to see what she did with them. She put them on her right hand, the hand she used to strum with.
"Ok, ready. Let's see what I can do then..." Razz played around a little, trying to work herself up to it, fiddling with the guitar and trying to remember the right notes. Kurtz knew how this was though, being an artist himself. He waited patiently, not wanting to rush her since it might make her freak out. Then he heard her playing for real. The claws she was wearing really helped her play the notes louder and with more ferocity. Kurtz looked on, impressed. She finished on a long, loud power chord and posed like a rocker. Then she looked awkward.
"Any good?" she asked. Kurtz clapped.
"Ja, that was beyond wix! You're really good! Some notes were bad but it shouldn't be too hard to get them under control." Razz sat back down next to him and handed over Axe. Kurtz took it and stood up. "Ok, now let's play together and see how you do. I'll correct you on any bad notes you hit." he said. Razz got Adi out and fiddled with the guitar before declaring that she was ready. They played several Mantyz songs together, including Fire, Thunder of the Wind, Three Wishes and This Noise Destroys. Since Kurtz knew how the songs were supposed to sound and knew them inside out, he knew exactly where Razz went wrong with them and could correct her. She was sounding pretty good but her notes were still corrupt. They sounded dark and menacing. Kurtz couldn't seem to get her to play them any other way. Clearly his plan was not working as he had hoped. She was trying her hardest and it wasn't because she felt awkward anymore. She was happy playing with him now.
Finally they stopped and sat down.
"Well, my hands are feeling a bit tired" said Razz.
Kurtz shrugged. "I'm used to that" he replied. "I've been playing concerts for years. Hours of kicking ass and rocking out!" He grinned. Razz grinned too.
"So, what now?" she asked.
"Tomorrow we'll take you to Vox. I've honestly no idea how to make your notes sound pure. Maybe Nerdry can invent something to help you. Then we can free Vox!" replied Kurtz.
"Who's Nerdry?" asked Razz.
"Mya's nephew. She hates him but she keeps him around because he can make useful gadgets. Heheh Mantyz hate him too. He's a complete nerd. She's ashamed to be related to him and her sister kinda dumped him on her, thinking she could give him a job. He has his uses and he's good for a verbal punchbag!" Kurtz smirked cruelly. Razz sniggered.
"I gotta say I'll be glad to see the back of Freefonix. I remember that time they kicked you off the number one spot on the music charts. They're always trying to kick you down. They seem to go out of their way to do it...not just because of the whole Vox thing."
"It's because they think they're the greatest! In truth they're just a bunch of dumb newcomers. Mantyz have been around for a few years now but that does not mean we're has beens. I mean, look at bands like Black Sabbath and The Rolling Stones! And Queen! They're legends who will never die! Mantyz will be the same as them one day. And Freefonix? They'll last a few years and then get forgotten about, shoved to the bottom of the record pile. Because they suck and we rock." Kurtz finished his drink. "Anyway, it's late, I guess I'd better get back home. You doing anything tomorrow?"
"I am in the morning, I have work. But you wanna meet up after lunch? We could go to ComaCo then?" said Razz.
"Sure, sounds cool to me." Kurtz nodded and then pulled her close for a deep kiss. Razz closed her eyes and felt that little twinge of excitement again. It felt good. Being with him felt good. Reassuring somehow. She wrapped her arms around him and moaned into the kiss. He was doing that thing with his tongue again. It had the same effect on her that her growling had on him.
Finally they parted lips and company and he sped off on his hov-hog, Kurtz bidding her goodnight. She didn't feel tired so she stayed up watching TV for a while. She found a music channel showing old Mantyz music viddies. She had decided. She was siding with Mantyz and she was going to free Vox. What Kurtz had said made more sense than Freezbone. She knew how much Freefonix tried to ruin Mantyz's fun and constantly thwart them even when they were just trying to make a living through their music. She felt Freefonix were conceited. Her mind was carefully thinking all this over.

Meanwhile, Freefonix had their minds on Razz. They were at Freez's place, the O, only sat around in his living room and not on the roof, chatting about the situation with Sugar Che.
"Ok, well we know she's the one. But I've a bad feeling Mantyz has been messing with her head." said Freez. "Plus we ...think she's dating Kurtz."
"WHAT? That's totally wack! Dating Kurtz?" Sugar looked shocked.
"I know, gross isn't it." said BB.
"Well I guess he deserves love as much as the next person but not when the fate of the world is threatened! You cannot allow Mantyz to use her! And also dating someone for all the wrong reasons is completely bogus. He's clearly manipulating that poor girl. You guys better get your butts in gear! The future of the Freewave is at stake!" Sugar said seriously. "You can't allow him to use her. Sugar out!" She faded away.
"We'll see if we can catch up with her tomorrow and bring her back here" said Mo. "She was cool with Freezbone, so if he talks to her again, we should be able to show her the right way."
"You're right little cous, I got a totally funkular vibe off her when we were playing, I could feel the pure notes under the corrupt ones. I'll talk to her tomorrow and see if she's thought about it yet." said Freez.

Kurtz had gotten back to the apartment he shared with the band. Lux was watching TV and Hitt was in the kitchen making a late night snack.
"Hey guys" said Kurtz, heading down the stairs. Lady Lux looked round.
"You were a long time, take her to bed did you? Why didn't you just stay the night hmm?" she said, spitefully.
Kurtz just rolled his eyes and sat the other end of the futon.
"No, actually. I found the new guardian." He folded his arms as Lux sat up and looked at him in surprise.
"What? Where was she? Find her on the way home or something?" she asked eagerly.
"No. Razz is the new guardian." Said Kurtz simply. Lady Lux snorted.
"Yeah sure. Stop trying to mess with me, Kurtz. Just because you're in love with her and life's a bed of roses for you right now doesn't mean you have to glorify her."
"I'm serious. But I knew you wouldn't believe me so here." He passed her his phone, where there was a viddy recording of him and Razz playing, which he'd used to see what kind of sounds she was making with her guitar. It showed the corrupt notes and a very faint base line of pure 13th note power.
"Ok ok so you weren't lying. But her 13th note is beyond messed up. It makes you look like a saint or something. I think it's down to HOW she plays." Lux listened to the recording carefully.
"Ja, she's not got the confidence she really needs. She was ok playing with me but she can't play in front of crowds or anything. She sounds awful then and completely messes up." replied Kurtz.
"She doesn't need to play in front of loads of people. So long as she can play for Vox, that'll be fine. But not unless she can harness her pure 13th note." said Lux.
"Ja and that's where we got a problem. I don't know how to train that out of her. We tried and I thought that if she played songs she really enjoyed, it would bring it out but it didn't seem to work. She was playing dark versions of Mantyz songs, as you can hear. So I told her we'd take her to Vox tomorrow and see if he can work out how to get it out of her. Or maybe Nerdry could invent something that could do it?"
Lux looked thoughtful. "Yeah we'll do that. Ok, so how long have you known about her being the guardian?"
"I found out tonight" Kurtz lied. "I tested her just in case it was her and then I found out it was so I came back to tell you guys. We can finally kick this plan into motion. Unfortunately though, Freakfonix also know that she's the new guardian. And you know they'll try and stop us."
"Have they talked to her?" asked Lux.
"Ja, she said Freakbone talked to her but she assured me she's on our side."
"Hmm maybe it is good you're dating her. She'll side with us now and we can use her to free Vox. Good thinking Kurtz. For once. If she starts to change her mind, just throw yourself at her or something. That'll work since she seems so stupidly crazy about you." Lux smirked.
"I'm not using her. I told her the truth. That if she helps us free Vox, we'll be famous and he'll rule the world. Of course she'd get a cut of the fame, dating me and all. She was happy with that but she did say some crap about Freefonix saying Vox was using us and when he was freed, he'd just destroy everything and we wouldn't get the fame we were promised."
"And you believe that? They'd say anything to get her to believe them and side with them. Besides, we're contracted to Mya, we have no choice anyway or she'll make sure we never play in any town ever again. ComaCo is the biggest corporation in the world. They practically own Los Bosmos. We get gigs; she gets us working for her. We're all happy." Lux said.
"No we're not all happy" spoke up Hitt. "We do this cos we have to, not cos we really want to" He'd just said what was on everyone's mind. "I miss the good old days before Mya."
Kurtz sighed. "We all do. But this is what we do now and we WILL beat Freakfonix and we WILL become the world's greatest rock band."
"I think this might be our big break." Lux muttered, deep in thought. "So when are we meeting up with your little girlfriend?"
"We're meeting her after she's finished her work shift. She works at Fuzzy Nubs" replied Kurtz. "We'll meet her outside."

The following morning, Razz was at work. She worked at a pet store. It was called Fuzzy Nubs. They sold a range of cute animals, from smaller things like rodents, to larger animals like puppies and kittens. She couldn't take her mind off Kurtz and near to the time when she was finishing her shift, she saw Mantyz waiting outside for her. Her heart leaped at seeing Kurtz and sank a little at seeing Lady Lux. But maybe she would be less unpleasant today. She signed off her shift and rushed outside. Kurtz was stood next to his ride and the others were sat on theirs.
"Hey baby! Ready to rock?" yelled Kurtz as Razz approached.
"Hell yeah!" she yelled, giving the devil's horns. She hugged Kurtz and he reciprocated with a kiss. He wanted to make his sister jealous. Look whose getting action, not you! Lady Lux rolled her eyes.
"Come on you two, we don't have time for a makeout session; we've got to get to ComaCo. Freefonix might be around."
Kurtz got onto his ride and Razz sat down behind him. They all sped off, in the normal formation. Kurtz at the front, flanked by Lux and Hitt on their hogs. Kurtz's hog was the biggest. He'd insisted on that when they were assigned them. Lux had always joked that the size of his ride made up for a size that lacked in certain other areas. Kurtz had thrown his fizzy pop can at her. The neck of his guitar was also very long, making it look more dramatic. In return for her previous insult, Kurtz had told her that this reflected the size in certain other areas. He needed something to match it after all. She'd just scowled as Hitt had laughed and told him that that was gross.
However, Freefonix had been tracking Mantyz. They weren't sure where Razz was and figured it would be easier to follow Mantyz and wait for them to meet with her. They were now following them. They had also heard Lux say about Mantyz heading to ComaCo.
"Let's head them off Down Town" said Freez. The others agreed and they rode along the monorail on their hov-vehicles. BB and Freezbone had b-boards. Mo had a hov-scooter. None of their rides were fast or powerful enough to outrun Mantyz or catch up to them but once they knew where they were going, they could ambush them along the way by using shortcuts.
Mantyz rounded the corner and there were Freefonix waiting for them.
"You're not going to use Razz to free Vox!" yelled Freezbone.
"We won't let you destroy the world!" yelled BB. "Sound clash!"
The sound clash being declared, Mantyz wouldn't back down and they drew out their own instruments, leaping off their bikes. Kurtz told Razz to stay on his hov-hog and she watched in awe as an other dimensional rift formed around the players for the sonic battle. This kept the real world out of the clashes and unharmed while the bands could kick each others' asses as much as they liked.
"Razz!" yelled Freezbone, "Mantyz are trying to use you. They don't want to be your friends. They never do. Please understand that they will stop at nothing to get their way and free Vox from the void!"
"Shut up, Freakbone!" yelled Kurtz and shot a sonic riff at Freez, knocking him backward off his feet. He landed on his butt. BB leaped in and shot a blast at Kurtz, who dodged it. Lux and Hitt joined the battle, both picking enemy band members to attack. Hitt went for Mo and Lux went for BB. Blasts flew around everywhere as the two bands started to sing. Mantyz were singing This Noise Destroys and Freefonix were singing We Rule the Playground. Razz was mentally sniggering. What silly lyrics. They weren't even kids!
Mantyz were winning. Something was telling Razz that Freefonix were letting them win. Were they playing martyrs to get her to side with them?
"Razz please, we really need you to help us!" yelled BB as Lady Lux surrounded her with dark sonic power and trapped her. Mo was getting a beating from Hitt, quite literally and Freezbone was losing out to Kurtz, who by now was so angry that his rage was making him more powerful.
"We can't win without you, Razz! Please help us!" yelled Mo. They were! They were playing the martyrs to get her on their side! Razz was angry now. That was just dishonourable. She watched as Mantyz forced Freefonix into submission and got off the hov-hog, getting out her guitar.
"What are you doing?" yelled Kurtz as Razz headed over to where they were fighting. "You don't believe those freaks do you?" Razz faced Mantyz, looking for all the world like she was going to blast them into next week. Mantyz looked at her in horror. Not again! But suddenly Razz spun round and fired a massive power chord of a blast at Freefonix, blasting them all into a wall, which they hit, fell down and broke the dimensional rift.
"I DO NOT like people who take me for a fool." She yelled angrily. "You LET them beat you to get me to join you. Well guess what? I'm NOT going to join you. You think Mantyz are dishonest? Take a look at yourselves. Trying to get my sympathy. Seriously! If you guys were as good as you say you are, you wouldn't have to do that." Freefonix sat in the dust of the street trying to protest but didn't know what to say. Beating Mantyz wasn't that hard and they had to admit, they probably could have tried harder and yes, a small portion of the plan was to gain her sympathy. This was the first time it hadn't worked.
Meanwhile Mantyz was just standing there dumbfounded. They'd honestly thought she'd turned on them. Kurtz stepped up beside her.
"You heard her, losers! You're even worse than we are! You should be ashamed of yourselves!" He put an arm round Razz and she grinned.
"But Razz, what about what I told you! You're making a big mistake! You can't free Vox!" yelled Freezbone, getting up.
"Sit back down" growled Kurtz, aiming his guitar at Freez. "NOW!" he yelled when Freez failed to comply. Kurtz's voice rose an octave in his anger, hitting some odd broken high note. Freezbone slumped back down. Freefonix looked up at Mantyz pathetically. There was nothing they could do. Hitt and Lady Lux stepped up either side of Kurtz and Razz and they all glowered down at them grinning.
"See?" said Lux "This is how it should be. Mantyz on top, Freefonix at the bottom of the charts, where they belong. We'll be going now. And if you DARE to follow us, we will put you down at the bottom for GOOD." Mantyz turned and walked away.
"PLEASE reconsider, Razz! You don't know what you're doing" BB called after them. But Razz wasn't listening. She was enjoying their victory. One she had helped to achieve. She'd never even been in a sound clash before. Kurtz hopped onto his ride, followed by Razz and they all rode off, yelling and wooping in victory. Freefonix stood up.
"Uhh, what just happened?" asked Mo.
"I...I think we...lost" replied BB in disbelief.
"I really thought I'd reached her" said Freezbone, picking up his guitar. "What do we do now?"
"I dunno...we have to go to ComaCo though; we can't let her free Vox. I don't care what they said about not following them. Let's go!" BB said, hopping on her b-board.
"We'll beat them. We always do" Mo reassured them. The others nodded and they sped off.
Mantyz had nearly reached ComaCo by now.
"Wow baby, you were totally rockin'!" yelled Kurtz.
"Yes, you didn't fall for their little ruse like everyone else seems to. I'm actually impressed" said Lady Lux. Razz felt herself going a bit red.
"It wasn't much. And I still can't play a pure note."
"You sound a bit like Satch, remember Vox's servant who played that serpent trumpet?" said Hitt. "It's that kinda music."
"Oh ja, she does sound a bit like him" Kurtz agreed. Lady Lux nodded.
"Ok we're here" she said. They'd reached a huge building with a giant C on the roof that seemed to be fashioned into some sort of office or lookout point. The building had to be the tallest in Los Bosmos.
"Wow..." Razz got off Kurtz's hog and stared up at the building, feeling rather insignificant near this massive structure.
"This is ComaCo" said Kurtz, also getting off. "Come on." They headed to a large and slow moving conveyor belt that lead up to the main entrance. Standing on the belt as it slowly moved, Razz looked around. The others just stood there, waiting for the journey's end.
They reached the entrance and acknowledged the guard behind the desk, then headed for an elevator.
"This place is huge!" breathed Razz as they entered the elevator.
"No shit" replied Kurtz. "It matches Mya's ego." He rolled his eyes. Razz sniggered. The elevator had a glass front so they could see out as it sped up its shaft. It went fast because otherwise it would take all day to get there. Razz's ears popped from the pressure as they got higher. Finally they reached the top and got out, heading along a corridor with various paintings adorning the walls either side of them. They all showed a ridiculously blond haired woman with perfect makeup and probably perfect skin looking vain and beautiful.
"Is that Mya?" asked Razz.
"Who else would it be?" snorted Lady Lux. "Her ego makes Kurtz's ego seem nonexistent.
"I don't have an ego!" snapped back Kurtz.
"Oh yes you do and Razz has been stroking it for you. Or should I say fondling." Lux pulled a face and Kurtz scowled.
"Ah you're just jealous you're not getting any!" he smirked. It was Lux's turn to scowl as they entered the office at the end of the corridor.
The office was HUGE. There were more conveyor belts leading down into it after a couple of steps and what looked to be the biggest bonsai tree in the world in a large pot off to the right. Completely defeating the purpose of bonsai trees of course. There was some sort of oriental sand garden as well and a massive desk. It dwarfed the blond haired woman who sat behind it. Razz and Mantyz headed down the conveyors, Razz feeling very nervous by now. The woman seemed to demand respect and fear. She noticed Mantyz didn't share her apprehension.
"Here she is, Mya. The new guardian." Kurtz gestured to Razz, bringing her forward with his hands on her shoulders and holding her there in front of him. She backed up automatically against him, trying by instinct to back away.
"Ah, finally you've done something right!" Mya muttered her Russian accent heavy. "So, you can play the pure 13th note then?" she asked Razz.
"Well um..." said Razz but Kurtz squeezed her shoulders reassuringly and spoke up.
"She can, but she needs to play through something that will filter out the corrupt 13th note and let the pure one be heard. It's there but the rest of her music is beyond corrupt and the pure notes can't be heard."
"Oh not a problem." Mya pressed a button on her desk and yelled into it. "NERDRY! Get your worthless backside up here this instant!" she screamed.
"Yes Auntie Mya!" came a voice on the other end of the comm.
"DON'T call me Auntie Mya!" yelled Mya. Razz was assuming she didn't have her own kids. She would have scared them all off by now.
It wasn't long before a young man in a white lab coat and green goggles came rushing into the office. He sped to Mya's side like an obedient puppy dog.
"Nerdry, we need something that will filter out the pure 13th note from the corrupted 13th note. Do you have anything that will do that?" Mya asked him.
"Why yes! I had an idea a few weeks back that maybe Mantyz have a pure note under their corrupt version and I was going to test it out on them sometime. I finished it yesterday but I haven't seen them lately." replied Nerdry.
Lux spoke up. "That's because Razz here is Kurtz's new girlfriend and he's been refusing to work.
"Exsqueeze me! I FOUND the new guardian! So shut up!" yelled Kurtz.
"Stop it with the sibling rivalry already" sighed Mya. She was so sick of their little fights.
"You're just jealous we're gonna free Vox because of me" murmured Kurtz, stroking Razz under the chin. Razz smirked. She didn't mind him taking the limelight. She was shy about being center of attention anyway. Another reason why playing solo on the stage wasn't for her.
"Nerdry, go get the device you idiot!" yelled Mya. Nerdry had been distracted by the happy couple, wishing he had his own girlfriend.
"Oh, yes! Right away Auntie Mya!" He rushed off excitedly. Mya growled in annoyance. He never listened. She hated having a family member like him so she tried to disassociate with him as much as possible. Him calling her "Auntie" didn't help though.
Kurtz had his hands on Razz's waist now and they remained where they were. Mostly because Razz appeared not to want to move. Lux went over to Mya's desk and sat on it and Hitt was looking at a delicately carved bust of Mya with great interest.
"Don't touch that, Hitt! It's priceless! It's made from white gold!" Mya was always having her likeness carved into expensive rocks and minerals. The carvings were beautiful but usually ended up getting damaged or smashed. Hitt apologized and moved away quickly. He hated when Mya was angry.
"So, how long have you guys been uh….dating?" Mya was trying to make small talk.
"A couple of days" replied Kurtz.
"And what do you play?" Mya asked Razz.
"Guitar" replied Razz.
"I see." Said Mya. Lux yawned.
Kurtz lead Razz over to the couch and sat down with her. The office was bare except the small couch, the massive desk and the weird bonsai garden. Razz sat right up next to Kurtz; this huge office really intimidated her. Kurtz put his arm around her.
"Mya's ok, don't worry, I can handle her" he reassured her. In truth he couldn't handle her at all. He just liked to think he could. Razz snuggled against him, finding solace in his familiar smell and the warmth of his body.
Presently, Nerdry returned with the device, zooming up to Mya's desk with the enthusiasm of someone who had just won the lottery. Or a school science fare.
"Here it is, Auntie Mya! All Razz has to do is play a few chords and the device will record them and bring out the pure notes underneath!" Nerdry explained. He put the device on the desk and Kurtz ushered Razz from her comfort spot next to him, over to the device. He got up with her and then stood back after leading her to it.
"Just get out Adi and play a few chords, baby" he said, mimicking strumming with his hands.
Razz looked very very uncertain as she got out her guitar and played a couple of notes.
"That's too quiet, you need to really belt them out!" said Nerdry, smiling encouragingly at her.
"Use those claw things you used earlier, maybe they'll help" suggested Kurtz. Razz put the claws on. But it wasn't really that or the lack of it, it was the fact she was so nervous. She tried to play again but again, she failed. Mya was getting angry by now.
"Just play the damn chords! You're supposed to be a musician, now bloody get on with it!" she screamed, easily enraged and with the patience of a bear with a thorn in its paw. Razz started to feel rather wibbly.
"I...I can't..." She trailed off and her eyes got moist. Kurtz snarled. For once, he COULD handle Mya.
"HEY!" he yelled, striding forward, "Stop bitching at her! She doesn't need that kind of pressure. She's not very confident ok? Let her do it in her own time!" He put an arm round Razz and pulled her close to him. She buried her head in his chest, feeling like a complete failure and her shoulders started to wobble as the tears started to flow. Not only was she a failure but crying in public was even worse.
"Time? I don't have time! I want Voxy to be freed now so I can have my fame and fortune and rule the world! Nerdry, use the machine on Mantyz instead. Let's see if they have a pure note under their corrupt ones. This Razz girl is a waste of space. Mantyz! Get playing!" Mya ordered.
Kurtz sighed and lead Razz over to the couch while the others got their instruments out.
"It'll be ok, just sit there and we'll get on with it." said Kurtz and joined the rest of the band. Razz wiped her eyes and watched them, still tearful and ashamed of herself. She'd put her guitar away.
Mantyz had started to play, they were playing Thunder of the Wind, which was one of Razz's favourites. The epic riffs that Kurtz put out in that particular song were absolutely amazing. She noticed the mirror was starting to move and a dark black shape was appearing in it. It was highlighted with purple and looked rather jagged. She watched it carefully.
Mantyz stopped playing as the song ended.
"I'm afraid there is no pure note underneath their corrupt 13th note. Mantyz are completely corrupt, there's no two ways about it." Nerdry reported.
"Oh great, that means we'll have to get that musical disaster over there to play again" murmured Mya, gesturing to Razz with a roll of her eyes.
It was then that the creature that had formed in the mirror spoke up. It had a deep voice and oozed evil.
"Ah so the new guardian is here, let's have her play and I can finally get freed from this god-awful void I've been stuck in for fuck knows how many years." It was Vox, the sonic lord. Razz stared at him, half in fear and half in awe.
"Ok, Razz, you're gonna have to play." said Kurtz, with an urgent tone in his voice as he rushed up to her. "You don't wanna see Vox mad" Now there was even more pressure on her. Kurtz wanted to reassure her more but now Vox was present, they couldn't mess around. "I'll be right here, ok? Just do it like you did back at your place. You'll be fine."
"But what if I mess up? Vox won't kill me will he?"
Kurtz laughed. "Hell no! He can't do anything while he's stuck in that void, which is why we need to get him out. If you free him, you'll get a cut of the reward too you know." Razz nodded and stood up. Kurtz walked behind her as she assumed her position in front of the device and Vox, who was grinning, if you could call it that, in a delighted way.
"Ok Vox, Sir, I have to see if I can bring out her pure 13th note with my device, then she can play for you and free you from the void!" Nerdry explained.
"Very well, play!" said Vox with sinister glee, rubbing his hands together. Nerdry gave Razz the thumbs up and she prepared to play. She glanced over to Kurtz, who was standing nearby and he nodded, smiling in encouragement. If only she didn't mess up. She knew she'd break down if she did this time. Now though her mind was a blank. WHAT would she play? It seemed every song she knew had just walked right out of her head in her nervousness.
"Come on Razz!" yelled Kurtz. "Show them how to rock out!" That was it! She'd play Rock and Rave. It was a newer Mantyz song that Kurtz had only done a demo for. She started to strum and then knocked out some killer riffs with the metal claws on her fingers. Kurtz was impressed. He also wondered how she'd gotten hold of the unreleased demo. She ended with an epic a pose as she could pull off.
"That's great! You do indeed have the pure 13th note underneath the corrupt one!" yelled Nerdry triumphantly. Razz smiled, still feeling wobbly and shaking due to the adrenalin rush she was having right now. Kurtz patted her on the back.
"Excellent! Now play! And free me from the void!" roared Vox. Razz was feeling much more confident now. She figured to be on the safe side though, that she would play the same song again this time. Just in case. Nerdry was setting up the device to suck in Razz's music and release it as the pure 13th note.
"Ok, ready!" he said and pressed the button on it. Razz flexed her claws.
Suddenly the doors flew open and Freefonix burst in.
"HOLD THAT RIFF, RAZZ!" yelled Freezbone.
"SOUND CLASH!" yelled BB.
"Not again" murmured Nerdry and Mya, Mya facepalming in desperation. Vox growled angrily.
"Play it, Razz! PLAY IT!" he roared. But Razz found she couldn't, not with the sound clash going on around her. It was hard to concentrate when there was other music playing.
Mantyz and Freefonix were attacking each other full on, both fighting with the bitterness of rivals who really despised one another. This time though, Mantyz were not winning. Freefonix were getting the better of them.
"We're not gonna let you win this time, Kurtz!" yelled Freez. He and Kurtz were bitter rivals, both being guitarists and having sparred in the past.
"Oh ja? Prepare to eat my notes, freakazoid!" spat Kurtz, shooting out a power chord that sent Freezbone flying backward. He got up and carried on fighting, not staying down this time, much to Kurtz's rage. Freefonix were working together now, forcing Mantyz into submission. This was also ruining Razz's concentration. Vox was still urging her impatiently to play but how could she when her boyfriend and his band were getting their asses handed to them on a plate?
She'd had enough! With an angry yell, she turned from Vox and rushed into the musical fray. Vox protested but she ignored him. Freezbone was blasting the hell out of Kurtz and Razz was enraged about it. She yelled and cursed at Freez, playing out an ultra corrupted power chord that enveloped the hapless musician and pulled him into the air, throwing him down to the ground and coursing through his guitar, ripping out its sonic strings until it was just a useless lump of wood. With his instrument destroyed, Freezbone could no longer fight back and he backed away, grabbing his guitar before she was harmed further. Kurtz was sat on the ground where Freezbone's riff had thrown him and Axe. Razz stood over him as he had stood between her and Freefonix back at the bar. She snarled and focused on BB next, who was giving Lux a run for her money.
"You ok, Kurtz?" she asked, glancing down at him.
"Ja I think so" he replied, getting up.
"Let's go get BB, double team. I dunno if I can do it on my own" said Razz.
"You're...something else..." breathed Kurtz and Razz blushed. "But I'll reward you later, let's go rock their fucking socks off!" They charged into battle, joining Lux who was getting screeched at by BB's sonic voice and let rip a double power chord, which both disabled the singer and destroyed her mic with the corrupt 13th note from Razz's guitar. BB looked horrified.
"Mo! Don't let them destroy your sound shaper! Quickly, get to that device that Nerdry was using to free Vox and disable it! Don't let them use it to free Vox!" Mo nodded and dodged Hitt's attacks now, heading for the device. Razz, Kurtz and Lady Lux shot sonic blasts at him but he'd formed a protective bubble around himself and the blasts bounced off it.
"We're gonna have to all shoot him at the same time if we wanna get anywhere" yelled Kurtz. "Hitt! You too!" Hitt nodded and followed them. With Razz's help as well, they would have no trouble bursting the bubble when normally they would have struggled.
But Mo was already at the device. Nerdry had run away in fear and Mya was nowhere to be seen. Vox couldn't do anything either, he could do nothing but watch in horror as Mo destroyed the device. Meanwhile Mantyz and Razz had fired sonic blasts at the same time, bursting Mo's bubble and shorting out his sound shaper. It was now useless.
Kurtz laughed like a maniac. The device might have been destroyed but being able to defeat Freefonix like this gave him a great feeling of satisfaction. Together, Mantyz surrounded Freefonix in a ring of dark energy and held them in place. They were beaten and defeated, their instruments shorted out and useless.
"You've defeated us for the last time, freaks! Now it's payback time, now Mantyz rule the soundwaves, WE rule the music! We may not be the world's greatest rock band just yet but at least we're not you, a bunch of silly little kids who can't hold their own in a proper sound clash. Look at you! Look at how pathetic you are!" The rest of the band laughed as Kurtz paused. Even Razz sniggered. This was a total first for Freefonix. They had NEVER lost a prospective guardian to Mantyz before. They looked up at Mantyz in horror. Mantyz grinned at them. Razz grinned too. There was absolutely nothing Freefonix could do and Mantyz were revelling in their helplessness.
"So, what do you think we should do with them, Kurtz?" asked Razz with a cheeky smirk.
"Simple" replied Kurtz. "We do what they've done to us so much in the past. We'll blast them into next week and throw them out of ComaCo on their asses!" And they did just that. They blasted Freefonix out of one of the large windows in Mya's office.
"And stay out!" yelled Hitt as Freefonix landed in a passing garbage truck that by some miracle caught their fall. The sound clash was over.

The room slowly returned to normal as the dimensional shift dispersed. Vox was laughing. By some miracle.
"Vox? You're not angry they broke the machine and you're still stuck in there?" asked Kurtz, a little nervously.
"What? Well yes I am pissed off they ruined our plans once again but seeing you giving them that epic butt wooping really made my millennium! AHAHAAHAA! I haven't seen anything so amusing for quite some time! Well, not since Aw'right Jack's silly superhero costume at least hehe." Vox laughed and wiped a sonic tear from his cheek. "Oh man…"
Kurtz pulled Razz close suddenly and she yelped in surprise.
"And we couldn't have broken Mo's sound bubble without you baby" he grinned, kissing her deeply. Lady Lux made puking sounds. She couldn't understand how anyone would want to kiss her brother. Razz blushed, returning the kiss.
Mya wasn't happy though.
"But what about my fame, fortune, power and CREDDIES?" she wailed.
"You don't get any" smirked Vox. Mya glared at him.
Kurtz finished the kiss and put his arm around Razz's waist. "Well, I don't think Freakfonix will be any more trouble for us" he said, "Now we've got Razz to help. They have their guardians, why can't we recruit a little army of our own? They don't play fair because they have more people on their side. I think it's time we take a leaf out of their cheating book and fight back properly." Vox nodded.
"Hmm yes, I can see having just the three of you is not working out. We need more. Many more. And then I'll escape this box for good!" His evil laugh echoed all around ComaCo.

Meanwhile, Freefonix had managed to get themselves out of the garbage truck. They all stunk of trash.
"Guess this is payback for when I dumped Mantyz's instruments in the garbage bins the other side of town" grumbled Mo.
Freezbone picked a banana skin off his head and shuddered. "This is NOT cool, guys."
"Seems like Mantyz have a minion of their own now" said BB, sniffing her top and then grimacing. "Because I really think Razz is there to stay, especially if she's getting it on with Kurtz."
"We MIGHT be lucky. She MIGHT not involve herself in their battles with us" said Freez hopefully.
"I really doubt that" said BB. "She lacks confidence on her own but with others, she seems to be killer. Did you SEE how mad she got when she saw us kicking Mantyz's butt?"
"I FELT how mad she got when she saw us kicking Mantyz's butt. It's great that she's there for her friends and fights their cause but too bad it's Mantyz she's fighting for. They are not a good cause for anyone to fight for." Freez said, shaking his head. "And poor Misty! Razz has some sort of power that shorts out and destroys the sonic power of our instruments. We need to tell Sugar about this. We have something big on our hands, guys. Big and bad." The other band members looked at him, the horror of the situation sinking in. Mantyz would be even harder to beat now and it would be far more work for them. They had a feeling some sort of war was on the horizon and it didn't look good for the future of the Freewave.

Mantyz were back at their apartment enjoying a celebratory drink. They were glad Vox hadn't got mad at them like he usually did when they failed. They were all sat on the futon with the exception of Hitt who was in his favourite place; the kitchen. Razz was leaning on Kurtz and he had his arm around her as they sipped their drinks. Lady Lux was leaned back relaxed and fairly content.
Hitt walked in and sat down with a hotdog in a bun. "Heheh did you guys see the looks on their faces when we beat them? They were all…" he mimicked how Freefonix's expressions had been. The others laughed.
"Ja and I really felt the power when we had them trapped and helpless and threw them out the window! Ha! I've been waiting so long to do that. And in front of Vox." Kurtz smirked and stroked Razz under the chin.
"Maybe now we'll get a pay rise" said Lux. "It's about time."
"Course we will! We kicked ass back there! No doubt about that, sis." Replied Kurtz.
"Yeah and I finally have the confidence to play properly or at least, when it counts….which reminds me….Kurtz…I thought you said you'd reward me later? Did you mean….what I think you meant…" Razz fought the temptation to hide her face. It was pretty forward but she wanted to know if bringing it up in front of the rest of the band would make him blush. He merely smirked and gave THAT gaze.
"And what did you think I meant?" he asked, completely reversing the whole thing on her, annoyingly. Razz blushed furiously.
"I umm…I dunno" she shrugged lying through her teeth. Kurtz raised his good eyebrow and smirked again.
"Well, here's a clue then…." And he kissed her deeply, the movement of his tongue clearly suggesting other things.
Lux rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to stay here and watch you guys make out. It's sickening." She got up. Kurtz pulled out of the kiss.
"Don't bother moving. We'll move instead." He took a grinning Razz by the hand and lead her to his bedroom. Time for a proper celebration!

END