Latin Guitar Latin Guitar
by Chustang Sundust

~Its a sultry night tonight
The sun is feeling the recoil
and I can feel music rocking in the soil~

Gene that night was haunted by the spark. It was burning especially for
him again, calling and calling in his dreams. Not burning, but more like
flickering. He'd ignored it for his life, and the single, unreal taste
of it lingered, waiting for the hunger to become too much. And now, the
outlaw could feel the pulse of it raging in his blood. But he couldn't
let them know.
Running his fingers through flame red hair, he leaned back from the
glass to look around the room. The crew of the Outlaw Star was
assembled, and they were relaxing in the hot night air. Yet Gene had a
heavy pressure to leave for his calling, and their light-filled eyes
were curious and held possible disagreement. He was too anxious.
He leaned back against the window, letting his steel blue eyes settle
on the misty green and gray dusk, and his heart twisted up in his
throat. It was too perfect to pass up.
Gene tentatively turned, and walked quietly down the hallway to the
dark storage room, before any of the motley group could notice.

~Its a secret life tonight
That'll be soaring on electricity
Higher and higher to find the key~

The dust swirled lethargically in the air, as the long forgotten things
were disturbed from their stillness. He shoved over boxes and heavy car
parts, along with a dust-lined mountain of books and music sheets. Gene
paused, as a antique-looking sheet silently settled to the ground, and
his scarred fingers ran compassionately over the ink in those familiar
shapes. His dark eyes were alive with a new light again, that had long
died before, and he smiled. Perfect.

~And I'm light struck
to this entity of passionate devotion
Time to set life into motion~

"Yes!" came the hushed whisper from the dark of the closet, thick and
awe struck. Gene leaned back onto his knees, feeling the familiar,
steely red hull gleaming beneath the dusty years of neglect. The years
of anguish, when it was too much of a heart-shattered, drunken escapade
to cope with, and he had forgotten about everything. It was all rushing
back now, and the silver glistening on the black, smoky gray, and red
body was still pulsing with it. It had the voice.

~Sweet release
and even sweeter return
to the fire of me I left to forever burn
Oh, Latin guitar on the New York streets
Night day in the field of light
Oh, Latin guitar sing tonight~

Gene slung the leather strap over his shoulder, and he quickly rummaged
the pick from the pile, with the nail-ingraved initials: G.S. Its cold,
silvery-bright body rested once again rested on him, and the outlaw
couldn't help feel his hands wander back to the steel waiting for its
voice to be heard once again, after so many unfilled moments of silence.
A grin came to his face, but was soon worried to the point where it
disappeared.
What about his rep? He'd worked hard to build a cold wall around his
soul, so he'd be seen as strong, but anything like this was like
smashing the wall down and pinning all the weaknesses and childish
things he'd done onto that rubble for all to see. Oh please, just don't
let them see me, he pleaded to himself. I don't want to look
sentimental.

~It's too deep engraved tonight
Fury into passion on this whirl
And for the world tonight, I'll unfurl~

Gene breathed hard, vice tightening every time he heard his foot
connect with the floor to utter a slight sound. Too much? Would Aisha
hear? He dare not gulp, for it might be the noise that offset him. And
to let the strings vibrate was suicide for his escape. He peered down
the dark hall, seeing the rich light of the living room, and hearing a
bicker erupt between Jim and Aisha. The outlaw leaned back against the
wall to pause, mind swirling in a bubbling pot of tension. He clutched
the paper, unable to put it in his pocket without telltale noise, and
looked over the words again. It felt good.

~It's my night tonight
Electric rush I love so much
please just unlock the door before it begins to shut~

It was time. It came on an impulse, too brash and untamed to resist.
Gene brushed his red hair back, closing his steel blue eyes, and shifted
the precious thing to his side, hoping to be less conspicuous. The
outlaw paused, then slowly moved around the corner, walking along the
far wall. He could see now, the Ctarl-Ctarl was chasing Jim and Melfina
around the couch, playing tag, and they were laughing uncontrollably.
Suzuka was sipping silently on her tea, and instantly, he knew her
assassin eyes had been keenly trained for movement. He had no chance to
hide.
He froze in fear. Gene was nearly panting, trying to figure what she
was thinking. It was so embarrassing, showing the hidden artistic flare
to her, yet he could find nothing in that pale mask. The considering
black eyes fell upon the red, black, and smoky gray thing at his side,
then up to him. Suzuka then did the unexpected.
She said nothing. Nothing, but just smiled knowingly.
Gene nodded thankfully, and slipped stealthily out the door, while the
others were too busy laughing and running to see him slip away.

~And I'm light struck
to this entity of passionate devotion
Time to set life into motion~

The outlaw sunk back against the moist brick wall, and the oceans of
uptight, high strung emotions that had been burning in his throat came
rolling out in a drone of laughter. Gene was panting, and his breath
clouded on the cold air like a mist, as he leaned back, and his steel
blue eyes rolled slightly back. He was so relieved that was over.
Tossing his red hair, he turned his eyes toward the nearest bar, which
had those wonderful words shining again.
'Open: Free Stage'

~Sweet release
and even sweeter return
to the fire of me I left to forever burn
Oh, Latin guitar on the New York streets
Night day in the field of light
Oh, Latin guitar sing tonight~

Gene felt his heart soar, and the smoke of the pub cleared as he walked
through it, giving him a sharp pulse of exhilaration. He was back. Back
home with his crowd watching. In the smoky room, their was an anxious,
awaiting thickness that hung incessantly in the air. The redhead glanced
around, and instantly, a pair of beautiful blue eyes greeted him with a
spark glowing in them too.
"Gene!" Iris cried, rushing from behind the counter and wrapping her
arms around his neck. The waitress was grinning broadly, and the sticks
of smoothed wood were polished, sitting waiting in her back pocket.
"Hey Iris," he said, giving a wink. The outlaw smiled as well, feeling
a contagious spark drift between them. "I actually came for the stage.
Is anybody going to use it?"
The blonde stepped back, and suddenly noticed the gleaming steel in the
dim light, and her face lit up like a match. Iris was shocked, seeing
the neglected thing appear out of thin, smoky air, for no apparent
reason. Its metallic shine still seemed to enchant her, and she lifted a
smile. "No. And I see you and Rouge are ready to step right up. I guess
you're hoping for a reunion of Castor tonight, right?"
"I was hoping, yeah," he reassured, in that low, laid back voice. Gene
glanced his steely blue eyes around, searching for the finishing touch
to the abandoned Castor. "So, if we're going to do this, where's our
bass?"
Iris looked around, wavy blonde hair glistening in the smoky light. Her
light blue eyes wandered the dark bar, and searched the familiar and
unfamiliar faces. None jumped out, and none called out to her. Was he
not here? That was impossible! He was here every night! "I could have
sworn..." she started confusedly.
"Looking for me?"

~It's silver-lined tonight
I'm found in the dark surrender
and I'll be living now forever~

He was leaning against the door, with his spiky red hair jagged in the
air. The second redheaded outlaw smiled, with grayish blue eyes bright
through the smoke. The thin, lanky body stepped out into the open, to
reveal a mirror image staring Gene in the face. He was exactly the same
as his twin, save for the absence of scars. There was a blue and silver
star on his left arm, which was resting on the steel of a black ,white,
and cadet blue bass guitar.
"Ebony!" Gene cried, rushing to his brother. They instantly exchanged
mock punches, and embraced.
The scarred twin smiled, and elbowed his brother playfully. "Hey Eb,
remember?" Gene said with an undeniable grin. "I wonder if you still can
play that thing. It's been... what? - four or five years since Castor
played?"
Eb grinned widely, lifting the steely neck of his bass guitar up to
Gene's face and defiantly belted out a few, expertly mastered chords in
a flurry of sweet sound. "You bet your life on it," he said proudly,
slapping his twin's back. "I presume it's reunion time?"

~And I say
Rock and roll with a star tonight
And I cry
Latin guitar sing tonight~

Gene clutched his steely electric guitar, and while the stage was being
set up, felt it pulse with with the electricity he loved. The redhead
grinned, turning from the curious crowd, and tuning Rouge, the name for
his red, black, and gray guitar, came face to face again with his
identical twin. He'd seen Eb often for all his life, and it never really
shocked him. After all, he was really just half of Eb, and Eb was just
half of him. He punched him in the shoulder, passing by and walking
jauntily back to the drums, where Iris was busy jamming to reawake the
old drumming nerves.
Eb gave a smile back, walking out toward to adjust the mike with the
same jaunty stride, and brushed back a punch. The flame-haired twin was
wearing baggy, dark denim jeans and a black t-shirt. Old fashioned yes,
but it suited him.
"Alright," Gene said, walking back out and smiling. "Are we going to
play or what?"
"Okay," Eb replied with a mischeiveous smile. "Play what?"
"How about Latin Guitar?"

~Latin guitar sing tonight.... tonight....~

In the smoke hanging in the air and the echoing cheers as the crowd
left, very much well satisfied, the two twins leaned back on the stage
and stereos, with the blonde waitress lying tiredly over their feet.
Gene sighed, taking the strap from his sore shoulder, and placed at his
side, letting the neck lean against his shoulder. He looked over to his
twin, and stretched.
"Hey Gene," Eb said suddenly, in their silence and relaxing, and nudged
his twin to keep from falling asleep in exhaustion.
Gene groaned, closing his eyes and tilting his head to the side, while
laying against the stereo. "Yeah, Eb?"
A smile came to the hauntingly familiar face, one missing the scars,
the one pulsing with the same youthful energy, and he paused. "Ah, it's
nothing. Forget it," he said finally, picking up his bass guitar and
slinging it over his shoulder. Ebony Starwind was about to walk out the
front door, as he heard it creak open, letting a flood of streetlight
light pour into the empty bar. The unknown twin let the two sleep, and
crept silently out the back door, leaving again as the face of Melfina
peered curiously in.
The black haired girl, her brown eyes bright in the haze of the bar,
looked around, and saw her beloved outlaw stretched out on the stage,
with his arm wrapped around a guitar. She had heard music from down the
street, and the android blinked. It clicked suddenly in her head. As she
had gotten closer to the bar, Melfina remembered hearing a voice in the
music. Haunting, it echoed again, and the lyrics bounced off the edges
of her imagination. Gene? Had he been singing it?
"Mel?" A curious little voice called to her, and the blonde partner,
Jim Hawking stepped in through the door, to see her standing in the
smoky room. She glanced back at Jim, then smiled.
"Oh, hello Jim," she said politely, as he walked up beside her. "Did
you hear the music?"
The eleven year old kid stuffed his hands into his cargo pockets, and
causally stopped beside her, eventually settling his eyes on the
sleeping Gene. "Yeah," he murmured quietly, with a soft confusion fuming
in his voice. "I heard it all right. Do you think...."
Melfina grinned, and her silky black hair framed her pale face. With
liquid brown eyes, she happily said to Jim, "Come on Jim, let's go home.
Gene'll come home in the morning."
They turned to leave, just as Gene cracked a gray-blue eye open, over a
satisfied smile. The outlaw sighed contentedly, turning onto his side,
then fell back asleep.

~Latin guitar cry tonight....~

End

~~~~~~~~~
Author's Notes:
Hey, here again from Gram's house! No internet, no friends to call, a
lazy dog and a tv with no MTV can make you really bored. So, I sit here
writing away. I have no idea what I'll write about, but I'm here for the
whole weekend... Anyway, I kinda wanted to have a songfic, and I was
listening to Train, and I thought, Hey, I wonder what it would be like
if Gene sang in a rock band? (I have lots of time to think up that kinda
stuff) and I just started typing.

Lyrics for Latin Guitar
by me

Its a sultry night tonight
The sun is feeling the recoil
and I can feel music rocking in the soil
Its a secret life tonight
That'll be soaring on electricity
Higher and higher to find the key

And I'm light struck
to this entity of passionate devotion
Time to set life into motion

Sweet release
and even sweeter return
to the fire of me I left to forever burn
Oh, Latin guitar on the New York streets
Night day in the field of light
Oh, Latin guitar sing tonight

It's too deep engraved tonight
Fury into passion on this whirl
And for the world tonight, I'll unfurl
It's my night tonight
Electric rush I love so much
please just unlock the door before it begins to shut

And I'm light struck
to this entity of passionate devotion
Time to set life into motion

Sweet release
and even sweeter return
to the fire of me I left to forever burn
Oh, Latin guitar on the New York streets
Night day in the field of light
Oh, Latin guitar sing tonight

It's silver-lined tonight
I'm found in the dark surrender
and I'll be living now forever

And I say
Rock and roll with a star tonight
And I cry
Latin guitar sing tonight

Latin guitar sing tonight.... tonight....

Latin guitar cry tonight....