A/N: Please see the author's note at the end of the chapter!
Volt Harmony loved to gaze at the stars at night.
Star gazing had become a habit for the young man over the years; no matter where in the country he and his family stopped for the night, Volt would always take at least a moment to glance up at the sky and see the beauty of the world and the night sky. After all, the night could be just as beautiful as the daytime could, and Volt was determined to enjoy both sides of the world.
Of course, Volt was never able to enjoy the serenity for very long, even tonight. "Volt! Come on, you're going to miss the start of the movie" Volt's little sister, Serenity, waved to him from one of the two double beds inside the motel room.
Today had been a particularly rough day for the family, however, and they were all tired. The Harmony family was rather famous in the Midwest as far as family bands went, both for the music they played, and for being able to bring a smile to the faces of everyone in a town. But in the town, they had tried to play in that morning, they had been forced to leave by a kind police officer, who was sorry to see them go but very insistent that they do so because of a festival going on in the town. Then, on the way to the next town, where they had planned to stop for the night, the family van had gotten a flat tire, and it had taken a while to fix as they'd had to dig the jack and tire iron from beneath their belongings.
But they had replaced the wheel, and even managed to get into the next town on time to check into the motel. Peter had gone out and purchased a patch for the tire, which they had then put back on in place of the spare tire, and they had all gotten clean and eaten dinner together, even managing to laugh at the terrible jokes Peter liked to tell– Peter absolutely loved to tell puns, almost as much as he loved to hear them, and always had a few in his joke collection, ready to be shared at dinner.
After dinner, the showers started. While they were all careful about trying to stay clean while on the road, they very rarely had any running water for true showers. Normally, they would use buckets of water from rivers if there were any nearby, and they always kept soap on hand. A stay in a motel and having running water for showering was a rare convenience, and one that they were all taking advantage of.
Volt was the third in line for the shower this time, right after his mother and before his father. As he stepped into the bathroom, the young man caught sight of himself in the mirror. Volt had always considered himself short and wiry, since he stood at five feet six inches, and weighed one hundred and thirty pounds, with long arms and legs that looked like toothpicks on his thin frame. Nevertheless, he was well-muscled, with well-defined abs and a hidden strength in his arms. Not many people had ever called his face handsome, with dirty blond hair he and his sister shared that they'd inherited from their father, though he had brown eyes that had come from his mother, unlike Serenity who had their father's deep blue, a short thin nose from his mother and the shallow cheekbones that the family shared. The entire family had deeply tanned skin from being in the sun practically all the time, and Volt was no exception, completely tanned from head to toe, though his thighs and hips were lighter from not seeing the sun as often.
Volt's shower went quickly. If the young man wasn't the last on the shower roster, he would try to hurry his shower, doing everything possible to rush through so that whomever behind him could have hot water. The young man emerged just as laughter erupted from the others, and smiled even though he had no idea what the joke had been. Because the young man knew it had to have been some stupid joke by his father, that had shocked the other two into laughing when they'd missed the obvious punchline. Volt knew that—and he loved that he knew his own family that well.
Their parents had occupied one bed, with their mother Melody laying her head on their father Peter's chest. Serenity had taken the other for them both, since with only two beds the two would have to share. Neither sibling minded, of course, as they were very close, and the sharing was nothing new, as they'd had to do so in every other motel for as long as either could remember. On the television across from the beds, a movie was just starting. It had become something of a tradition, that every time the family stopped over in a town and stayed in a motel instead of camping out, they would find a movie to watch on the television. Usually, it would be a very old movie that they would find while looking through the channel options, and they would all sit together and watch it until the end, before turning out the lights and going to sleep.
"Hey, guys, what's so funny?" Volt sat down on the bed beside his sister, the towel still wrapped around his waist.
"Your father was telling us a joke. What was it, honey?"
"Why can't you arrest a dolphin for its crimes? It doesn't do them on porpoise!"
This time, it was only Volt that laughed, but he did so loudly. They punchline to the joke had really caught him off guard, and he was especially fond of puns—something his mother insisted that her children had inherited from their father.
"Man, dad, your puns are terrible." Serenity threw one of the pillows from their bed at their father, who sat up and caught it easily, grinning.
"What can I say? The places I get them from are rather fishy!"
"Dolphins are mammals, sweetie." Melody Harmony pulled her husband back down to the mattress, then hit him with a pillow. The entire family dissolved into a fit of giggles that lasted minutes, until one by one they were all left breathless.
As Peter Harmony rolled out of his wife's grasp to go take his own shower, Volt took some clothes and followed him into the restroom, changing into them as his father readied his shower, and leaving the towel in the bathroom once more. The young man came back out to find his sister and mother already engrossed in the movie, and smiled to himself as he climbed into the bed beside Serenity and laid down.
As soon as his head hit the pillow, Volt was asleep.
Checkout the next morning was bittersweet. The family had only brought in their instruments and some spare clothing, so packing up wasn't a problem. The issue arose with actually leaving. None of them wanted to go, as once they left it would be back to camping outdoors.
Finally, Peter Harmony clapped his hands together, getting everyone's attention. "Alright, fellows, it was a nice evening, but we all knew we'd have to move on in the morning, so there's no sense delaying the future. Besides, we've got another town ahead that needs cheering up, and our music is just what the doctor ordered!"
The others let out a cheer at Peter's words, and as a family they all trooped from the room and to the front desk to check out. In moments, their belongings were back in place—even Volt's cello, which was secured firmly to the roof rack of the family van—and the Harmony family band was on the road to their next town.
The drive wasn't awfully long, but it was long enough to start boring them, even with the radio on. So, to pass the time, Serenity suggested they discuss the set that they would play, which they all wholeheartedly agreed on.
Peter liked to cover older country-western songs any time he could convince the rest of the family to do them, and he always started by suggesting 'Daddy Frank: The Guitar Man' because—as he liked to say—the father in the song reminded Peter of himself in some ways. This time, however, there was a thoughtful murmur of agreement from the others, instead of the usual shouting down of the idea.
Any further suggestions Peter might have, however, were interrupted by Serenity and Melody bursting into a squabble. Both loved folk songs from around the world, and the two would always get into a disagreement about which of their favorites the family band would play. The folk songs had never been big to play for the crowds, but a few of them would always draw people in to see the family band. They quickly agreed on two Irish folk songs—'Whiskey in the Jar' and 'Finnegan's Wake'- and a popular upbeat hymn, The Lord of the Dance.
The whole family agreed to play these first in the set, then Peter's song. After another round of discussion, they had all agreed to play a covering of 'Ring of Fire', and that one more song was necessary to complete the set list. They weren't too far from the town—Peter estimated that they had 5 more minutes—and only one more song. Peter and Melody discussed songs in the front seat, trying to determine what might go well with the rest of the songs but Serenity had noticed Volt fidgeting, wanting to say something but holding it in. So she spoke up. "What about the song that Volt wrote for me? 'A Family is What You Need'?"
The car went silent. Melody and Peter looked back at Serenity in astonishment, while Volt mouthed a silent 'thank you' to his sister, who nodded at him with a smile. Melody and Peter glanced at each other and smiled, then Peter turned back to the road while Melody looked to the back seat again. "I think that's a wonderful way to finish up our set, Sunshine. Thanks for the suggestion."
All Volt could think to say was, "Jivin'."
The van crossed into the town limits just then, passing a sign that welcomed them into Farroville, and they headed for the center of town. Farroville was a small town, with large, classic American suburbs on the outskirts: White picket fences along the sides of sidewalks, children watched by groups of parents as the raced from one yard to another, massive dogs in yards and fat cats lounging in windows; the town seemed to have been ripped straight from a storybook. As they got closer to the center of town, they started to see short and stout brick buildings that topped out at 3 stories, and large factories—some of which were silent and abandoned, rotting away with age.
Finally, they reached to the center of town, which had been designed to form an actual square. In the center of the square there was a small park with a large fountain in the center, well-trimmed grass, and a small playground. At the four cardinal points sat the mayor's office, which was a short white-brick building with a small dome that flew an American flag at its peak, a squat brown-brick building that proclaimed itself to be the post office, a large brown brick church with a green roof called the Episcopal Baptist Church of Farroville, and a museum, the largest building the family had seen so far—not the most difficult feat. The rest of the buildings around the square were in the same small brown—brick buildings as the rest of the town, and mostly held businesses.
They pulled to a stop in front of a building with the sign 'Mel's Convenience Store', and began setting up on the corner of the small center square in the center of town. "It must be really convenient to have a store like that in the center of town," Volt remarked to Serenity as he pulled down his cello, and she laughed and poked his shoulder, shaking her head.
"Now, now, behave you two." Peter had set up his electric organ, and was smiling as he watched the rest of them set up and get ready to play their songs. Volt set his cello case out in front of them, and Serenity took out the sign they had all worked to make. Please Leave Any Donations Here. Then, she sat down, taking out her violin. Melody had her tambourine on her lap, and was getting ready—she was their lead singer normally, and would be singing the first two folk songs.
They began to play, and people around the square stopped what they were doing to look at the family of four playing and singing on the corner of their town. A crowd began to form during the second folk song—'Finnagen's Wake' tended to be rather funny, and their audience was laughing and tapping feet and clapping hands along before the song was a third of the way through.
Peter took over for Melody to sing 'Daddy Frank: The Guitar Man", and the crowd listened attentively to his deep baritone as he sang. Then, Serenity and Volt sang 'Ring of Fire' together, trading off verses and singing the chorus together in harmony. The number of people in the crowd had grown quite a bit by then, and a pile of money had formed in the cello case while they went through their set. The crowd cheered as they finished 'Ring of Fire', and the family all smiled at each other.
Then, Serenity set down her violin, and Volt began to play as low as he could on his cello as she stood. She took a deep breath, and began to sing.
Serenity: I was always told that life is hard
That it's long and tough and never fair
People said to me that happiness
Was just a dream, I shouldn't waste any air
On chasing joy, or looking for love
but now I know what I need in life
Now I know what makes my life complete
All: All you need is family
To love life and be happy
All you need is someone
To be there when you're sad
All you need, please take heed
A family is what you need.
Volt: When dark and dreary days have come for me
And life is bleak and gray and dim, it's sad
nothing is going well that I see
To say that sometimes it gets too much
Would not be too far off the right mark
But still, I know that we are agreed
That a family is all that you need
All you need is family
To love life and be happy
All you need is someone
To be there when you're sad
All you need, please take heed
A family is what you need.
Peter: Because life isn't easy, sometimes not fair
Melody: And it's easy to get down and stay blue
Peter: Troubles abound, so take heed and care
Melody: There are things we can't control in life
P+M: But life can be a wonderful thing
And your future can be bright, so sing
All you need is family
To love life and be happy
All you need is someone
To be there when you're sad
All you need, please take heed
A family is what you need.
As they finished their song, the entire square erupted in applause. People cheered and clapped and whistled as they stood and bowed. As the family began to pack away their instruments, the crowd dispersed, many of them throwing more money into the cello case.
Serenity and Peter carried the case into the van, and Volt carried his instrument in and set it in the front seat before joining his parents and sister to see how much they'd made. As he got into the back of the van, Volt saw the rest of his family staring at something in Peter's hand. Getting closer, he could see it was an anklet. There was a design on the either side of a firefly in midflight, with five small citrines lining either one's back. The band itself was gold, and tapered off in front of the fireflies, slowly getting thicker until it met the other ends of the designs.
"It's an anklet." Peter informed his son as Volt sat down across from him.
"What are we going to do with it?" Melody was playing with her hair, a nervous habit she'd developed years ago and had chosen never to break.
"We have to keep it." Serenity's voice was adamant.
They all considered the golden anklet for a moment, each lost in his or her own thoughts. Then, Peter came to a decision. "We can keep it if it fits any of us."
The others all agreed immediately, and insisted that Peter go first. Peter unsnapped the clasp on the anklet, and tried to fit it around his own ankle, but found that it was too small to close properly. The same happened with Melody, who sighed and smiled disappointedly as she handed it off to Serenity. Serenity tried it, but it was too large and loose for her ankle, so she groaned in frustration and handed it over to Volt.
Last came Volt. He took the anklet with trembling fingers, knowing he was the last of them to try it. The young man chose the foot he wanted the ring on. As he slid it on, the anklet seemed to expand in his hand, sliding perfectly around his ankle, and closing with a loud snap.
The rest of his family cheered, and Peter slapped Volt on the back. The others filed out of the back of the van, off to do things around the town before they left for the next one. Volt kept staring at the anklet, wondering if he had really felt it expand. With a laugh, Volt closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to clear it. There was no way that an anklet could get bigger or smaller just in the young man's hands.
As he opened his eyes, a small yellow humanoid with long antennae and two large, yellow glowing eyes was staring at him. "Hi! My name is Rayzz! It's nice to meet you!"
All Volt could think to say was, "Jivin'."
A/N: Alright! Volt was a very fun chapter to write, mostly because I love to write really happy and loving families! They're really awesome, and I loved to write them! Volt's pretty cool too, and I can't wait to right more about him.
Again, I'm sorry that this chapter was late, but we're still playing catch up! Thank you all for being patient, and we really hope that you all enjoy this chapter!
The song I wrote into this chapter is a completely original song that I wrote for Volt and his family. The song was rather difficult to write, and it added a huge amount of words to the word count, but I loved making it! I hope you all enjoyed it!
The kwami's name is pronounced Ray-zz, for those of you who are keeping track of the pronunciations.
As always, thank you so much to my anonymous pre-reader and my editor Plaggerism. You've both helped me so much with this story already, and I can't thank either of you enough. You're both completely indispensable to me, and I don't know how I would be able to write this story without either of you! Thank you both so much, and I look forward to continuing to work with you!
And thank you to all of you who are reading this story! We hope that you are enjoying reading it, and we hope that you'll stick with us right until the very end of this story!
Thanks for reading!
