WARNING! This chapter is long. Very, very long. Please only read this if you truly believe you have time to spare. Anyway, this one is based off of an original scenario suggested by guest reviewer AA who said:
"Hi.
I have another idea for an original idea.
A beautiful siren walks into town and makes ever man in Tranquil Town fall in love with her using her beautiful voice, including the boys from Grojband and the Newmans and Rick Salary. The girls from both bands have to work together to get their guys back.
Just a thought :)"
Writing this one was fun and I hope you all have as much fun reading it as I did writing it. Enjoy!
Chapter 37
Sound the Siren
It was a slow day at Billy's new hardware store. Billy had been sitting at the counter all day waiting for the customers to roll in.
"Man, I don't get it!" Billy said to himself. "I thought opening up this hardware store would bring in a boatload of paying customers! Guess nobody appreciates hard work no more."
The business owner jumped up when he heard the bell on top of the store door ring. Standing by the door was a tall blonde woman with sparkling blue eyes and a long white dress that went all the way down to her feet. She had on a necklace with a gold eigth note in the middle.
"Finally!" Billy chuckled. "I was afraid I'd have to close up shop early today! So, what can I do for you madam?"
The woman placed her hand under Billy's chin.
"It's not what you can do for me. It's what I can do for you." She smiled.
"I'm afraid I don't follow ma'am."
She started to sing:
Men are simple
Men are dumb
I can wrap them round my thumb
But even if they're not the smartest
I know they can work the hardest
Hardware store worker please
Work for me
Billy was lost in the woman's eyes.
"Wow, that voice of yours sure is beautiful!" he commented. "I'll work for you any day!"
The woman gave a sly smile.
On the other side of town, Party Stanimal was at a resident's house party.
"Rocking music, awesome décor, free refreshments…this party's got potential. Not perfect score potential, but I'd give it 8 awesomes."
The same woman from the hardware store arrived with Billy standing behind her. When she came in, everybody stopped dancing and having a good time and started staring at her. Party Stanimal was the first one to make her acquaintance.
"Hey. Don't know who you are or whether or not you were invited to this little shindig, but you seem like the partying type!"
"Sorry boys. Party's over." The woman sang again.
Men are simple
Men are dumb
I can wrap them round my thumb
But even if they're not the smartest
I know they can work the hardest
School party critic please
Work for me
Just like Billy, Party Stanimal fell under the blonde girl's spell.
"Whoa…this party didn't even start until you came in."
The other boys at the party left their dates and joined Party Stanimal.
The woman headed for town hall next where Mayor Swellow was leaning back in his office chair watching TV with his picture of his mother.
"Ah, I'm telling you Mother! Nothing says a day-off like sitting in your office watching soap operas all day!"
The woman in the white dress opened the doors and came up to the mayor's desk.
"Ahem…"
"Go away!" Swellow ordered. "Can't you see I'm off-duty?"
"Oh you won't be for much longer." The woman shoved the small TV set off of the mayor's desk, causing it to break.
"What is the meaning of this?!" the mayor demanded.
The woman just smiled and sang.
Men are simple
Men are dumb
I can wrap them round my thumb
But even if they're not the smartest
I know they can work the hardest
Sweet darling mayor please
Work for me
Mayor Swellow's angry face turned into one of awe and pleasure. He slowly pushed the picture frame of his mother off his desk.
"Think I've found me a first lady…" he said.
The beautiful singer continued to go around town, hypnotizing every man she saw. Her singing voice attracted the men like bait and they agreed to work for her from then on. After collecting almost a whole army of males, the girl's next target was a certain garage in the middle of town.
"Okay Core! Let's hear that riff!" Jackie told her lead singer.
Corey played a few chords on his guitar. The notes were so loud that they made Jackie fall out of her chair.
"Whoa…uh, nice job Corey. You were very uh…loud."
"I'll take that as a compliment!" Corey smiled with pride.
Jackie checked something off on her clipboard.
"Kon, you're next. Show me what you got!"
"Drum solo!" Kon yelled excitedly before busting out a fast rhythm. So fast that he didn't know when to stop. Jackie grabbed a hold of him.
"Whoa there big fella! Take it easy! We don't want those sticks to burn out now do we?"
Kon giggled as Jackie sat back down.
"Your turn Laney."
Laney strummed some notes on her bass.
"Very nice Laney! Much improved!"
"Show-off…" Corey mumbled under his breath.
"Okay Kin. You're up." Jackie waited for Kin to start playing but she didn't hear a sound. "Kin? It's your turn. Kin?"
Kin was standing over his keyboard leaning his right hand on his right cheek.
"Hey Kin!" Kon shouted in his brother's ear. "Anybody home? Earth to Kin! Wake up!"
Kin just sighed blissfully, completely ignoring Kon. His eyes were focused directly on a certain brown-haired girl holding a clipboard while scratching her neck. He sighed again and hearts filled his eyes. He started imagining himself and Jackie walking in a field of wild flowers while holding hands. He pictured the two of them sitting down in the meadow side by side. He already knew how the scene would play out. He would give her a flower he just picked and she would smell it sweetly. Then she would playfully poke him on the shoulder. He would smile and poke her even harder. Then they would both engage in a little poke battle before Jackie would tackle Kin to the ground making the two tumble down the hill. It would end with Jackie on top of Kin and both of them would be smiling. Kin sighed as his vision slowly faded. Corey came up to the love-struck keyboardist and played a loud riff to get his attention. Kin screamed and hid under his keyboard.
"Quit staring off into space Kin!" Corey scolded. "This new song needs to be perfect and it's really important that we each practice our own part!"
Kin stood up. "Sorry Corey. It's just that…I was thinking about…" he paused. "You-know-who…"
Corey looked over at Jackie who was still writing on her clipboard. He gave a mischievous smile.
"Oh yeah, that's right. Sorry Kin, we all forgot how much you love to imagine yourself and your precious Jackie frolicking in a meadow!"
"Hey! How'd you know I was thinking about that?"
"I read the entire paragraph dude."
"Too bad Jackie couldn't read it." Kon giggled. "She could have laughed with us!"
And so Corey and Kon laughed.
"Oh Jackie!" Corey imitated Kin. "Won't you hold my hand while we walk through some wild flowers together?"
Kon did an impression of Jackie. "I'd love to Kin, but I can't fall in love with you because you're my keyboardist and I will forever only think of you as a friend! Plus I don't know if you knew this or not, but I don't date nerds!"
Corey and Kon continued laughing hysterically. Kin just glared at the two of them.
"Aw, don't listen to them." Laney told Kin. "It's not like they know what love is."
"And you do?"
"Sure! It's a very powerful emotion and sometimes it can take you over completely. I know exactly how it feels."
"Really?"
"Yep. Cause I've got my eye on someone too. He's really cute and charming, but sometimes he can be a jerk." Laney glanced at Corey as he and Kon laughed. She sighed.
"Sometimes I get caught up in how I feel about him too."
Kin smiled, feeling a bit better. At least someone else knew what it was like to be in love.
Then suddenly, an angelic voice could be heard from outside the garage. Corey and Kon immediately stopped laughing.
"Whoa, where's that awesome singing coming from?" Corey asked.
He and Kon opened the garage door and that's when they saw the beautiful blonde-haired girl.
"Wow…" they both said.
"Hello boys."
Jackie stepped outside.
"Who are you? I've never seen your face around here before."
"Well sister, some people call me…Malady." She sang again.
Men are simple
Men are dumb
I can wrap them round my thumb
But even if they're not the smartest
I know they can work the hardest
Singer and drummer please
Work for me
Corey and Kon were amazed at how pretty she sounded. The two gained hearts in their eyes and they somehow managed to float towards Malady.
Laney and Kin met up with Jackie.
"What's going on?" Laney wondered.
"I don't know!" Jackie claimed. "This lady just started singing a song and the next thing I knew, Corey and Kon started following her!"
Tracy and Macy came outside.
"Aw, too bad!" Tracy pretended to be sad. "Looks like Beanie Boy and the Big Ball of Lard have found a new girl to take orders from! Guess now they'll totally forget all about you and your stupid band will never bother me with their noise again!"
"Corey and Kon wouldn't forget me!" Jackie insisted.
"So…" Malady began while magically lifting Corey and Kon. "Now that you boys work for me, I suppose that makes me your new band manager, doesn't it?"
They both nodded. "Totally…"
"That's what I thought. Now come with me you two. You've got an empire to build."
Malady left with the boys floating behind her. Jackie was shocked.
"But…but…I…I mean they…"
"It's so nice to be the older and wiser one." Tracy whispered to Macy. "Now out of the way squirt! Rick Salary is taking me out for ice cream today and I would say I don't want your band messing everything up, but it looks like that's not going to happen today or ever again!"
The dark-haired girl laughed evilly and walked off. Kin got a good look at Malady as she was leaving and gasped.
"Guys! That girl! I know what she is! I've seen her before in my Rock Lore books! She's…she's…a siren!"
"What's that?" Laney asked the scientist.
Kin grabbed one of his books and flipped to a page on sirens.
"Here it is!" he pointed to a picture of a woman who was very similar to Malady. "'Siren: a human-like creature who uses its beautiful melodies to attract the opposite sex and force them to become its slaves'. Don't you guys get it? That siren is hypnotizing all of the male citizens so she can use them to create her own empire!"
Just then, the three heard singing again.
Even if they're not the smartest
I know they can work the hardest
Manager, bassist please
Work for me
Malady was using her powers to make Jack and Larry of the Newmans fall under her spell.
"So beautiful…" the two of them sighed.
Kim was hysterical.
"Jack! No!" she grabbed onto Konnie and cried. "They always leave you for a cute blonde! Always!"
"I'm a cute blonde." Konnie remembered.
"That's only cause you dye your hair." Carrie reminded her.
"Oh yeah."
"This is not good." Jackie decided. "What are we gonna do?"
Kin read on. "It says here that the only way to break a siren's spell is to perform an even better song than their own!"
"Is that all?" Jackie scoffed. "That's easy!"
"Yeah, but we still need lyrics if we're gonna break the spell!" Laney pointed out.
"I know!" Jackie beamed. "Let's go find Tracy! She said she had a date with Rick Salary so maybe we can ruin it and get her to go diary!"
"Perfect!" Kin put down his book. "You girls find a way to get those lyrics and I'll see if I can snap Corey and Kon out of that trance."
"But Kin! You're a boy!" Jackie stated. "What if she uses her powers to hypnotize you?"
"Oh don't worry. I won't fall for her tricks so easily because I'm already devoted to a girl." Kin blushed as he looked at Jackie. "Besides, Kon is my responsibility so I have to be the one who saves him from an evil power-hungry siren."
"You're such a good brother." Jackie put a hand on Kin's shoulder.
"I know." Kin turned even redder. "Well um…gotta go!"
The black-haired kid ran off.
"Jacks, I just thought of something." Laney said. "What if Kin doesn't get Corey and Kon to snap out of it? Lyrics won't be our only problem! We'll need more people to help us play music!"
"Oh yeah, you're right…" Jackie thought about it, then she looked across the street where Carrie, Kim, and Konnie were standing. "Wait! I think I just found our replacements!"
"You want us to what?" Carrie repeated after Jackie explained the whole thing to her.
"Play your instruments while we sing a song to break the siren's spell!"
"Absolutely not!" Carrie shook her head. "The Newmans are a legendary band. They don't accompany lesser-known bands with unpopular managers!"
Jackie ignored the last comment.
"Look, we get it. You don't want to help us because we're fierce rivals competing to see who's better than the other. Trust me, we don't want to be seen with you either."
"But we're not asking you to do it because we like you." Laney went on. "We're asking you because we like our bandmates. Some more than others." She blushed. "And if you like your bandmates as much as we like ours, you'll help us stop that evil siren."
Kim wiped some tears from her eyes.
"You mean, if we play our music with you, Jack will come back to us?"
"Totally!" Jackie nodded. "So, what do you say?"
Kim and Konnie smiled at Carrie as she thought it over.
"Well…okay! Fine. Just this once though."
"Yes!" Jackie and Laney high-fived.
"Now you guys stay here while we get the lyrics!"
The manager and bassist ran off.
WICKED COOL TRANSITION!
The men of Tranquil Town were hard at work building an empire for their new-found love, Malady. The wicked siren was sitting on a homemade throne while being fanned by Corey and Kon.
"Tell me again. Who's the most beautiful siren in the entire town?"
"You are Queen Malady." Corey and Kon answered simultaneously.
"That's right."
"Hey!" Jack called out. "Beat it nerds! It's our turn to fan the queen!"
He and Larry were holding two giant feathers of their own.
"We were here first!" Corey argued. "And Queen Malady likes us best!"
"Does not!"
"Does too!"
"Does not!"
Malady snapped her fingers and all four boys immediately stopped fighting and gave her their attention.
"Come now boys, you know I love each and every one of you equally." She muttered under her breath. "Zero percent." She pointed to Larry and Jack. "Listen, why don't you two bring me some freshly-picked grapes and you can feed them to me while these two fan me."
Jack and Larry saluted.
"At once Your Grace."
Kin stepped up to the throne just as Jack and Larry left.
"Ahem!"
Malady looked down and saw the boy in glasses.
"Oh another slave." She cleared her throat "Excuse me, but why aren't you doing my bidding by structuring my castle walls?"
"Because I'm not a slave 'Your Majesty'. I'm Kin Kujira, keyboardist of the greatest band in Tranquil Town! And you made a terrible mistake disrupting our rehearsal! So give me my brother back right now! Oh, and Corey too."
Malady was surprised at first but then she smiled sinisterly.
"I've got a better idea. Why don't I sing you a song instead?"
Men are simple
Men are dumb-
"Your little melodies won't work on me Malady! Sing all you want, but I'll always remain faithful to the one I love." Kin took out his picture of Jackie. "She's got beauty on the inside and the outside. Not only is she pretty, she's smart, kind and talented. In fact, I don't think I could ever ask for an even better manager. I love her so much. And you can't change that no matter how pretty your voice sounds. Because you may have a beautiful voice and a beautiful face, but you'll never be able to compare to her beautiful heart."
Malady stood up from her throne and got a look at Jackie's picture.
"So, I'm guessing she's your girlfriend?"
Kin blushed deep red. "What? Oh no! Not at all! But it would be nice if she was."
"Oh I see. You're in love with a girl who doesn't even know you exist."
"What? No, no! She knows I exist, she just doesn't know I like her, that's all."
Malady laughed. "Well, that's not very polite of her is it?"
"Huh?"
She's so overrated
Doesn't pay attention to you
"Well, I wouldn't say that."
She's rotten and hated
"Not by me."
Don't deny it, it's true
Oh, she's never gonna love you
You're just not meant to be
Why don't you just forget her
I know that you won't regret her
Sweet Kin Kujira please
Work for-
"No!" Kin shouted firmly.
All of the men gasped while Malady just stood still in silence.
"No? Oh…I see…"
You're smarter than I thought
I guess not all men are useless
I could use a kid like you right by my side (Men: Right by her side)
Malady pulled Kin closer and pinched his cheeks.
I'll give you what you aspire
Anything your heart desires
Can be yours if you just let me be your bride
Jackie and Laney were watching the two of them from a safe place.
"Be my bride?" Kin repeated.
"That's right sweetness." Malady dropped Kin and placed a crown on his head.
Just imagine you and me
We could rule these men together
A long line of hypnotized citizens formed near Kin, each one holding an object that Kin desired.
They can pamper you and serve you anything
Malady picked a dandelion off the ground and placed it in her mouth.
You will have your share of power
If you let me be your flower
She handed the dandelion to Kin, causing him to sneeze and blow the seeds off.
Now is that too much to ask to be a king?
(Men: You'll be happy, oh so happy)
Go ahead my little genius
Try to figure this one out
Kin glanced at his picture of Jackie.
It's a very easy choice you gotta make
Would you rather have a girl
Who doesn't know you're in her world
Or would you rather have a queen for goodness sake? (Men: For goodness sake!)
Malady used her magic powers to lift Kin off the ground.
Now I know you think it's wrong
To have this chapter run too long
But I assure you that's the way it's going to be
Jackie and Laney watched the scene in horror.
Sweet Kin Kujira please
Work! (Work!)
With! (With!)
MEEEEEEEEEEE!
Kin's eyes changed to hearts for he was finally under Malady's control. Jackie and Laney gasped. Malady gently lowered the keyboardist to the ground.
"So, what do you say now, partner?" she asked him.
Kin tossed his personal photo of Jackie and hugged Malady's waist while giggling.
"That's more like it."
The frame landed in front of the girls and broke in half.
"Oh no!" Laney cried. "She got Kin too! Now what do we do?"
"The only thing we can do Laney! Get lyrics from Tracy so we can sing a better song than Malady's and bring her empire down!"
"But how are we gonna get lyrics from Tracy?"
"Easy! Malady may have a huge army of men to do her bidding, but there's still one boy she's missing…" Jackie came out of her hiding place and ran up to the evil siren. "Hey Malady!"
Malady dropped a love-struck Kin and faced the manager.
"Oh, it's you." Malady smiled. "The obsolete one. Why don't you just give up on your nerd friend here? He's mine now."
"I'm not here for him. I want to talk to you about something else." Jackie pulled Malady closer. "Listen, do you ever get the feeling that your army is a male short?"
SIREN'S SONG TRANSITION!
Tracy and Rick were sitting on a bench in the park eating ice cream cones.
"Rick, are you sure that you don't want a lick of my ice cream?" Tracy offered her crush her cone.
"So your lips will have touched what my lips have touched and it'll be like we just kissed?" She thought.
"Nah." Rick shook his head. "Rick thinks that strawberry is a more fulfilling flavor than chocolate."
Tracy looked at her cone and purposely dropped her scoop of ice cream on the ground.
"Oops! Oh well! I'll just have to go buy another one I guess!"
With that, the teenager stood up and headed over to the ice cream stand just as Jackie and Malady entered the scene.
"There he is!" Jackie pointed over at Rick who was sitting on the bench licking his ice cream. "So, what do you think?"
"Hm, he is cute. Love the hair. And he loves strawberry ice cream as much as I do." Malady thought it over. "He'd be perfect as my royal advisor."
The siren started to sing again.
Men are simple
Men are dumb
I can wrap them round my thumb
But even if they're not the smartest
I know they can work the hardest
Hunky Rick Salary please
Work for me
Rick turned his head after hearing the music. As soon as he saw Malady, he dropped his ice cream cone in awe.
"Rick Salary's found a new favorite flavor."
Meanwhile, Tracy was at the ice cream stand arguing with the stand owner.
"What do you mean you're out of strawberry?!" she yelled. "I'm trying to get an implied kiss from my future boyfriend!"
The lady at the counter scoffed.
"Well don't look now sweetie, but it looks like your future boyfriend is stepping out on you."
"What?" Tracy looked behind her and saw Rick with Malady.
"Rick digs girls who know how to sing." He said. "Rick will totally be your royal advisor."
Malady tickled Rick's chin.
"That's my big strong hunk!"
Tracy started turning red with anger.
"After all I've done for Rick, he's talking with some blondie just because she has a nice voice and junk?! I THOUGHT ACTIONS SPOKE LOUDER THAN WORDS!"
Tracy shot up into the air surrounded by strawberry ice cream cones. Her diary floated into her hand and she wrote inside of it. The trees in the park burned up in flames and the giant ice cream cone on top of the ice cream stand blasted out fire. Tracy held out her burning pen once she had finished writing and returned to normal, landing on the park bench. Jackie caught the diary in her hand while Laney and the Newmans met up with her.
"Got it!"
"There you guys are! Do you have those lyrics ready or not?" Carrie pointed to the diary. "And what's that thing for?"
"Oh this?" Jackie thought quickly. "Uh…it's our lyric book! All of our lyrics are written down in here!"
Laney raised her eyebrow at Jackie.
"Hey! It's not like I'm lying!"
"Lyric book?" Malady chuckled. "What in heaven's name are you planning to do with that?"
"Oh you'll find out 'Your Highness'" Jackie grinned. "Hit it girls!"
The Newmans started playing their instruments while Jackie and Laney sang.
Girls and boys are different
But they can also be the same
So whenever there's a problem
Why do girls give boys the blame?
We all live on this planet
No one's good or bad you see
Why can't we just combine our nations
And live in harmony?
Boys and girls belong together
They should not be apart
No matter the cost, no matter the weather
We'll all join forces and
Make a new start
Malady's army of men immediately stopped building for her and moved to where they heard the beautiful song. Malady saw this.
"Hey! What are you doing you fools? Stop! Don't listen to them! I'm your queen!"
Jackie and Laney: Just because we're female
Malady: Men are simple, men are dumb
Jackie and Laney: Doesn't mean we are not right
Malady: Don't listen to that beating drum
Jackie and Laney: We may be different genders
But we do not have to fight
Malady: Why can't you see? You work for me!
Jackie and Laney: Nobody works for that girl
She's done nothing good for you
But if we take time to make some changes
There's nothing we can't do!
Carrie performed an incredible guitar solo, sending the song through the crowd of men. Once they heard it, they snapped out of Malady's evil spell.
Jackie and Laney: Boys and girls belong together
Through thick and through thin
And as long as we be true forever
We will always
WIIIINNNN!
Carrie played a final chord and fire shot out of the stage. The crowd applauded, happy to know they were free of the siren's curse. Or were they?
"No!" Malady screamed. "You can't do that! Those are my slaves! They work for me! I'm their queen! ME! ME! ME!"
"Wow, she's as bad as Tracy." Jackie muttered.
"You girls think you've won? Ha! Not a chance! I'll just sing my song again and they'll go back to building my empire like good servants!"
Malady took a deep breath and was about to sing but nothing came out. She took another breath and opened her mouth but it was no use. The girls' song was powerful enough to take away her beautiful, hypnotic voice!
"What?! Impossible! I can't sing!"
"Gee, that's a real shame…" Billy commented.
"A party without a singer? Not a party in my book." Party Stanimal remarked.
"Boy, some day-off this turned out to be Mother." Mayor Swellow complained to his picture frame.
Rick nodded. "Rick's going to get some strawberry ice cream."
The men/boys of Tranquil Town started going their separate ways. Jack and Larry got together with Carrie, Kim, and Konnie.
"Carrie, from now on, you're the only singer I want to hear." Jack promised.
"I wouldn't want it any other way Jack." Carrie agreed.
Larry and Kim gained jealous expressions.
"No…NOOOO!" Malady got on her knees and pounded her fists on the ground. Then she got back up and gave Grojband a scowl before creating a portal with her left hand. "You can't keep me quiet forever! Sooner or later I'll have my voice back and sooner or later I'll come back to wreak my revenge on all of you!"
She got in Jackie's face.
"Especially you, you nosy nuisance! You hapless pest! You…you…you!"
It was Kin's turn to get in Malady's face.
"That's enough!" he shouted. "Listen up Little Miss Vocal Chords! Your time in Tranquil Town is finished! It's over! You lost and we won! And you know why? Because our music inspires people to unite as a whole while yours just forces people to do what you say! Sure, you may have gotten a few men on your side, but only until your voice gave out and left you all alone again! Let me tell you something sweet cheeks, music isn't supposed to control people, it's the people who control the music! Got it?! Now why don't you just go back to where you came from and stay there?! But most importantly, don't you ever, ever, EVER insult my favorite manager AGAIN!"
The last word was so loud that it startled Malady and she tumbled into the portal, sending her back to her own world. Kon stood still in silence.
"Whoa…remind me not to get on Kin's nerves for a while…"
Kin looked on the ground and saw his personal picture of Jackie broken in half. He picked it up and snapped it back together before hugging it to his heart.
"Do you really think she was serious?" Laney asked Jackie. "Will she really try to come back for revenge?"
"I dunno." Jackie shrugged. "Maybe if this story gets a sequel." (A/N: That means pray for a second season!)
"So Corey…" Laney began. "Have any ending monologues you wanna share with us?"
"Hmm…" a spotlight shined on Corey. "Well, let me think about that…uh…"
The spotlight disappeared.
"Nope! I think Kin summed up everything this time! Thanks for coming out everyone!"
Hopefully I didn't offend any of my male readers. If I did, I sincerely apologize. On a different subject, I am really nervous about Grojband Season 2. I'm pretty sure all of the episodes of the second half of Season 1 have aired in Canada already and we should have known about the show's future by now. I keep checking the Neptoon Studios blog and Todd Kauffman's Twitter every so often and there's still no new information (does it look like I care about MonstroCity High? It just looks like a ripoff of Monster High anyway). Unless Todd has already implied about Grojband's fate. I did read a certain post that complained about Corey and Laney's relationship in Season 1 and Todd responded by saying "That's what Season 2 was supposed to be for." WHAT DO YOU MEAN "WAS"?! I am extremely worried. If anyone out there knows anything about Grojband Season 2, please let me know! At this point, I don't care if it's bad news, I just want to know so it'll stop eating at me. Okay, that's enough ranting. See you guys later!