8-02 Cocaine Counterstrike

Rockso tried in vain to hide behind a lamp post in the setting sun as the two black hoods pulled up on the curb. One of them got out, spotted the mass of bluey-purple hair and strode towards it. Rockso glanced quickly in their direction, the shoulders and biceps of the footman bulged and flexed as it made a V line straight for him. "Oh sweet Mary Jane!" The clown thought to himself, "This one's an assassin! 'n' he come to kill Doktor Rockso!". He slipped a switchblade out from his furry boot and waited for the shadow to come closer. He turned, screamed and planted the knife right in between the eyes of the hood.

"Rockso?!" Toki Yelped in surprise as the black hood he had just removed was impaled on the lamppost, his hand still clutched the top.

"Toki?" the clown enquired, "Why tha hell you dressed like an assassin?!" Toki began to laugh.

"Oh Rockso, you always know hows to make me laughs."

"Oh, arrrrh, yeah, Yeah Baby! Rockso's just yankin' ya ch-ch-chain again. You know how it is." The clown forced a few laughs to solidify the facade. "But seriously, what's wid the get up?"

"I sneaks out of the grounds in this. It ams a disguise! Pretty smart, huh?" Toki replied beaming with pride.

"Well b-b-baby, looks like you gone to a lot o' trouble to get out o' there." Rockso had an agonising flashback to some of his experiences in that haus. He dropped his voice and asked "They ain't keeping you there against your will, are they? Like a hostage?"

"No, nots like that. I just…" Toki tried to find the correct words but the clown was distracting him by examining every millimetre of his face for even the faintest hint of a lie. "I just didn't wants anyone else whats to know where I was goings." Toki said and then diverted eye contact with Rockso, "I really am needings a drink. Where can we goes where no one woulds look for me?"

Rockso finished scanning his face; Toki needed his special goods again from the look of him. Those two always seemed to find each other when they had hit absolute rock bottom so rocking at the bottom seemed the correct course of action.

"Oh B-b-baby! If you feel like disappearin' then I know a place where everyone tryin' to be someone else."

They walked for a few blocks through the back streets and alleyways so as to stay out of sight. Rockso did a dance number around a sleeping homeless man and Toki chased after about three alley cats before they arrived at Palamino's tribute band emporium. The bouncer didn't look twice at them and they found themselves a reasonable spot at the bar. Toki ordered them some beers with a side of vodka and a vodka chaser. He looked around at the other patrons, there were so many people dressed to look like other people. There was one guy dressed like the singer from 'Judas Archbishop', a few look a likes of 'Ozzy Ozzbirth' at various stages of his life, a number of glam rock guys who made up the complete 'Steel Kitten' outfit and finally…..

"Oh fucks me." Toki said to himself.

"What's wr-r-rong, baby?"

"Not'ings, just…" Toki pointed over to the Dethklok cover band.

"Ha ha, oh yeah baby. At feust, it like lookin' at yourself if you pumped gas for a livin'. Then you realise you ARE lookin' at yo self if you pumped gas for a livin'. An' then you do this!" the clown produced a fat clear bag of powder like a magician's rabbit, "Cocaine!"

Toki looked over at the Dethklok knock offs and wondered as the soft, relaxing vodka coursed through him, if a life like theirs would really be so bad. He watched them laugh together and share a beer amongst three of them. They seemed to really enjoy eachothers' company and playing to this (tiny) crowd was a treat not a chore.

He remembered years and years ago when Dethklok used to play venues like this but that was only for about six months. Then it was the larger music venues, music halls, theatres, convention centres, stadiums, then they had to build their own structures to fit in the people; after a while they just held huge outdoor concerts. He thought back to his very first show, peeking out through the curtains every two seconds; how nervous he had been, how naive. He heard the man in white say "Don't worry, little Toki. Just follow my lead." And place a reassuring hand on his thin shoulder….

"T-T-Toki?" The clown stuttered as his hand clapped the guitarist's shoulder, snapping him out of his day dream.

"Hmm, Ja?" he replied, broken from his daze.

"Doktor Rockso thinks it about time we go powder our nose with some o' this sweet CO-CAINE!" The clown jiggled the bag under his nose. Toki smiled and looked down thoughtfully. "Look baby, it plain to see you don't wanna talk about whatever it is dat got you so down, but Doktor Rockso got a prescription here that'll pick you back up! So let's jus' melt away those problems by melting away that brain o' yours? Hmmmmm?"

That was exactly what Toki needed to hear. Their heads swooped down and along the mirror on the men's room counter like a pelican skimming its beak on the water. Toki lost himself in rush of the powder, in the burn of the vodka, in the rhythmic thud of the music. This is what he needed… he needed his clown.

The night moved on, Toki and Rockso had gone diving for the third time that night when the rhythm guitarist heard the first few notes of a very familiar song come through the men's room door. His eyes went wide and he rushed out to the main bar with his cigarette clenched lightly between his teeth. He stopped at the edge of the pit and smoked as he experienced for the first time ever, Dethklok's music being played back at him. They were good, well good enough, all except for…

"Dat lead guitarist, hims can't plays for SHIT!" the Norwegian raged as Rockso came up beside him rubbing his red nose.

"Oooh, yeah, that's pretty bad." Rockso commented as the lead guitarist squeaked and missed a few notes.

"Pretty bads?! Do you knows how hard he works on dat music? How much of hims ams in it?! What he gives to makes it?! And here ams some fuckings dildo up dere, cuttings it up like what the meat guys does!"

"A butcher?"

"Yeah! He ams butcher it!" Toki was getting really passionate about this and the clown thought maybe the kid had had just a little too much cocaine.

"Easy now baby. Why you so worked up about this?"

"Because it ams Skwizgaar's music and he t'inks he can plays it!" Toki's blood ran cold as he flashed to those exact words coming from the swede's half naked body. The world spun for a moment and he thought he might throw up. He steadied himself using Rockso, the Lead guitarist made another three mistakes in quick succession but the crowd seemed happy to accept them. Toki, however, could not and he made a rash, drug fuelled decision. He made his way through the throng of people to the side of the small stage. There he jumped up and yanked the lead out of the lead guitarist's instrument. The rest of the band stopped and looked at Toki (damn, he really made a good effort to look like him).

"I's not let this goes on anymores! If you can'ts plays hims music right den you nots plays it at all!" Toki screamed at the teenager (geeze, he even did the voice), the boy looked terrified but tried to defend himself.

"Dude! Do you know how hard this shit is to play?! I was doing pretty well!" the sandy haired kid rebutted. There were a few murmurs of agreement from the crowd.

"I knows exactly how hards it is!" Toki yelled back. The crowd began to heckle Toki to leave the kid alone and stop being such a cos-play freak! This gave the kid some confidence and he stared defiantly up into the brunette's face (fuck! Even the moustache was dead on!).

"Well if you think that you can do better, man…" The kid slipped out of his guitar and held it out to finish the sentence. He wore a challenging smirk, this cos-playing fuck had been called out.

Toki looked at the cheap, old, chipped guitar with ripped stickers all over it and a frayed strap. He smiled to himself in reminiscence of his very first Gibson. The crowd became restless and began to taunt him again. Cries of 'come on ya dildo!', 'yeah, go on ya pussy!' and a chicken sound gave Toki the mettle he needed to not give a fuck about blowing his cover. He extended his arm and grabbed the neck of the boy's guitar; No one insulted Skwizgaar like that.

Toki looked over the jeering crowd, took a deep breath then broke into one of Skwizgaar's best known and most difficult solos. His fingers moved effortlessly over the frets. His pick shot like lightning across the strings. The cocaine had quickened all of his reaction times and for a brief moment he thought he might have matched the guitar god's speed. Sweat dripped from the tip of his nose, the strings cut into his calluses and the lights were blinding but still the music rang out. He pushed on, not missing a note, feeling the music, feeling Skwizgaar's soul meld with his. If the swede could only see him now. That's right you bastard, you'd look at me. I'll make you look at me. FUCKING LOOK AT ME! Toki finished flawlessly although he really thought he might throw up this time; He had held his breath for the entire 16 bar solo. The whole room was silent except for the whine of the amp and Toki's effort to catch his breath.

All eyes were on him and Toki flushed pink, then white and then green. He slipped out of the guitar and jumped down, it was only then that the crowd broke out of its shock and erupted into a cacophony of applause. Rockso pushed through the crowd and grabbed Toki's wrist. There was no way they could make it to the front door and so the clown pulled the guitarist away from the mob and down the short hall to the backstage area. Toki shoulder barged the fire exit/load in door and then projectile vomited all over the dumpster.

He leaned against it with both hands at arm's length and Rokso held his hair out of the way as Toki retched again. The noise scared a cat that ran up the lane way.

"Beklager, pus." the Norwegian called after the cat.

"Holy Fucking Hell." The sandy haired teenager said in awe as he stood in the gangway of the load in door. "It's you. It's really fucking you! Toki fucking Wartooth!" He stood there wide eyed and wide mouthed.

"Get the fuck out o' here 'fore I remember your face!" the clown yelled back and the kid high tailed it faster than you can say I-swear-I-was-never-in-an-illegal-Dethklok-tribute-band.

Toki Turned around and leaned unsteadily against the reeking dumpster. "Fuck." He said to the world at large. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FARRRRCK!"

"It's ok, baby. Doktor Rockso knows a place nearby we can crash at. Sweet bit o' ass that always got a hankerin' for clown meat, you know what I'm sayin'?" Rockso said as he ushered Toki up the lane way.

"Why Mes, Rockso?" The Norwegian said as he used the walls of the buildings to steady himself as he walked. "Why dos I always haves to be me?!"

"Why you say dat? You Toki! Who else would you wanna be?" The clown said earnestly. Toki knew exactly who he would rather be. He stopped and hot tears pricked at his eyes.

"Fuck!" he said again and slammed his fist sideways into the brick wall. "Farrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrk!" He slid down the building onto the cold, damp paving stones of the lane way. "Fuck hims, FUCK HIMS!"

"Hey baby, the singin' be the only good bit about goin' to church." The clown tried to joke but Toki just put his head in both hands and began to drunkenly weep.

"What da fucks am I doing dis for? My fathers was fucking right! Djevelens barne!" Toki had confided some of his childhood history to Rockso. Even though the majority of their relationship was comprised of collaborative mischief, there had been some intense times and more than a few drunken D&Ms. "I tries, Rockso, I really tries really hards! but I can'ts stop feels deese things. I don't wants to feels dem no mores but I can'ts keeps dem out!" Toki tugged at his hair line.

"Hey now baby, we don't get ta chooooose how we go an' feel about somthin'." The clown tried to console the hysterical young man.

"Don'ts you gets it?! I loves him! I fucking loves him! I fucking hates him so much but I can'ts gets him outs my blood!" Rockso shifted uncomfortably on the spot from guilt (his own father had been quite decent). "Du jævla drittsekk." He spoke to his knees, "Du vakker, jævla, drittsekk. " Toki took his hands away from his face and wiped his eyes with the heel of his palm. "I ams goings to Hell, I just knows it."

"Now don't you go thinking that kind o' shit!" The Clown was off on his own rant now and made the brown hair snap to attention, "Toki, you listen ta me! You the most lovin', generous person I know! An' I ain't just sayin' that. I don't know if there a heaven or a hell, but if there is, you ain't gunna fall on the wrong side of that fence. You know what I'm sayin'?" Toki sniffled a little.

"But I'm a sinner…" He protested.

"We all sinners!" the Clown cut in, "Seems to me that a Sin is anything that makes yourself happy. So you know what cancels out a sin? Hmm?" Toki thought that even if he was a cat he wouldn't have the lifespan to say the required number of Hail Marys, "Well?" The clown prompted.

Toki just looked up at him pathetically. The clown sighed and crouched down in front of the sniffling Norwegian. "When you go an' make someone else happy." Rockso explained in a soft and earnest voice. He looked at him with complete seriousness, "And when you get up on that stage you make hundreds, thousands, Millions o' people happy. So you see, Toki…" Rockso looked straight into the pale blue rock pools, "there ain't no way you can go ta Hell."

The rock pools overflowed again as Toki lurched forward and hugged the clown around the middle. He sniffled there for a while until a window opened two stories above their heads.

"Hey! Get lost or I'll turn the hose on you!" The head of a fat, middle aged man said.

The clown stood up and called back at him, "Hey! What's your problem, hmm?!".

"My Problem is you two fags sucking each other off under my window!"

"Oh, if you want a liddle bit o' lovin' baby, thad's all right!" The clown put his hands behind his head and waggled his junk at the man in mockery. "It's gunna cost you, though! Oooooooooooooh yeah!"

"Get out of here or I'll call the police!" The man finished and slammed the window shut.

"I DO COCAINE!" The clown cried back. The surrounding neighbourhoods' dogs began their chorus.

Toki giggled from the paving stones and Rockso smiled back over at him as he lit two cigarettes. He passed one down to him then held out his hand.

"Now there's the face Doktor Rockso like ta see." He said as he helped Toki to his feet and the two little burning dots stumbled away together into the night.

Beklarge, Pus - sorry, Kitty.

Djevelens barne – Devil's Child.

Du jævla drittsekk. Du vakker, jævla, drittsekk. – You fucking bastard. You beautiful, fucking, bastard.