Lina pulled into Zelgadis' driveway and parked, grabbed her guitar and got out of the car. The garage door was open, and Zelgadis waved to her as he finished sweeping the floor, Rezo's car nowhere to be seen. She hoisted the guitar onto her back and walked to the doorway.
"Rezo's gone?"
Zelgadis wiped the sweat from his forehead, "Yeah, he's on a date tonight."
"A date?"
Zelgadis swept the dust and debris into a pile, "I know, I couldn't believe it either. He wouldn't tell me who it was either." Lina grabbed the dustpan and helped Zelgadis load it, then dumped it into the designated trashcan.
"Really? Oh well, guess we'll eventually learn the identity of Rezo's mystery date," Lina shrugged and clapped her hands, "But anyway, we should get things set up for the others. By the way, do you have that song finished?"
Zelgadis thought about it, the words he had written down and the few melody lines he had scrawled onto notebook paper, "Well, I don't have it on staff paper, if that's what you mean, but I do have it finished, yes."
"That'll work, if you're willing to give it a try," Lina suggested, "And if it sounds good, we should include it in our next program." Zelgadis only nodded, put the broom away, and dusted himself off.
"Well, let's get the equipment set up then, and then I'll get my song." Lina and Zelgadis lifted the sheet protecting the amplifiers and drum set in the back, rolled the amplifiers into the open, and moved the drums one by one.
"Phew, heavy work," Lina sighed, "Luckily, once we get out on the road, we'll have roadies to do this kind of stuff for us, right?"
"Roadies," Zelgadis chuckled, "Don't we need more than 5 fans for that to happen?" He sat on an amplifier and held out his arm, which Lina slid into and wrapped her own arm around his shoulder. He smiled at her, and she smiled before pinching his arm.
"Ow!"
"You deserved that, so don't whine."
"How did I deserve that?" Zelgadis asked as he rubbed his arm. Lina only responded by pulling a folded newspaper page from her pocket and slapped it into Zelgadis' lap.
"More than 5 fans you say," Lina poked, "Read that."
Zelgadis looked down at the paper, neatly folded and still smelling of fresh print. He gently took it in his fingers and began to unfold it, making sure to leave no tears at the edges.
It was a page out of Alternative, the college student-produced newspaper that circulated throughout Atlas City. Since most strong opinions came from college students, a newspaper inevitably would emerge to publicly display a small percentage of the educated opinion.
On the cover page of the entertainment section was a picture of Lina embracingh the microphone, the golden hair strands and flecks making her a starry sky in the darkness of the picture. The headline read: LORD OF NIGHTMARES TURNS THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN!!!
"We made the Alternative?"
"Read Zel, there's more to it than that."
He began to read. In the article a few other pictures were spliced, one being the ending pose from his guitar solo, with the caption "Finishing with a powerful chord, second guitarist Zelgadis Graywords is the latest addition to the band's dark yet powerful ensemble."
Zelgadis shook his head as he began to read out loud, "Despite the band's trend towards darker, heavy sound the lyrics of the songs are passionate, even tantalizing. In fact so tantalizing that a representative from Dragon Valley Studios was reportedly seen attending the band's performance.
A new maelstrom is forming, and it seems that Lord of Nightmares may be the next band to take the music world by storm."
Zelgadis set down the newspaper, paused for several minutes before he looked to Lina, "Shit."
"You said it," Lina admired as she hugged him, "All we need is that contract from Dragon Valley and we are set." She kissed him on the cheek, "And I want to thank you for your part in this."
"My part?"
"Yes Zel, your part. Without your coaching we would still look like talented amateurs. We would still be at the starter level you found us in.
"Now, we look like young professionals, and as such we have small clubs who want to hire us to come and perform, not just come to their new talent nights. You made us look good for the market, and now we can sell our music to the world."
"And play it," Zelgadis reminded, "Don't forget to do this for the music, or else we'll be sell-outs before you realize it."
"I know that," Lina said as she kissed him, "Of course it's for the music; the money's just a perk."
He pinched her hip gently and winked, "As long as you remember that. Here comes everyone else." He turned his attention to the black van and the small aquamarine car pulling in behind it. Out of the van leapt Xellos, who dashed over to Zelgadis with a wide smile on his face.
"Zelgadis," he cried cheerfully as he wrapped his arms around Zelgadis and gave him a warm hug, "The medication is making feel a whole lot better."
"I can see that," Zelgadis replied as he pulled Xellos off, "So what exactly has the doctor got you on?"
"Oh, nothing strong, I was just teasing you. Well, I'd better help unload; see you in a few." Xellos laughed, then dashed back to the van to help Jiras, Vrumugun, and Zangulus unpack the band's extra equipment. Miwan, Filia and Amelia had emerged from the aquamarine vehicle with a couple of cameras and a few notepads.
"Filia and Amelia," Lina asked them as they walked up the driveway toward them, "What brings the two of you to our band's practice?"
"Well, Miss Lina, we both work for the school paper, and we thought that covering your band would make a wonderful article," Amelia said as she bowed elegantly, looking almost royal in the polo shirt and casual pants she was wearing.
"I just think that they're trying to keep reader interest while Zelgadis is still in the spotlight," Jiras commented as he brushed past them with the extra hats and crash cymbal he would need for that evening.
"That's not true, Mister Jiras," Amelia countered, then looked at the floor, "Well, sort of not true…Miss Lina, when does your band perform next?"
Zangulus and Vrumugun nodded greetings to Lina, who nodded back before returning to Amelia, "Well, our band performs just three weeks from graduation."
"Sounds like an appropriate way to sound off your high school career," Filia said, "So, what are your plans for the band after high school?"
"Lina, catch," Zelgadis said as he tossed her a water bottle, which she snatched in the air and took a swig from before she answered, "Well, it looks like we might have an offer from a record company or two, depending on whether they like our music or not. I guess it's really in the air until that either works out or falls through."
"Mister Zelgadis," Amelia called after him, "Is it true you fought with Mister Valgarv to protect Lina?"
"What does that have to do with the band?"
Amelia shrugged, "It really doesn't, but I'm very curious as to why you would be protecting her so much."
"Let's see; we're dating, she's one of my best friends, and Valgarv's a dick. Are there any better reasons you can think of to defend her from Valgarv?"
"No, I guess you're right, Mister Zelgadis" Amelia admitted.
"Lina, we're ready for you," Zelgadis said as he gently walked over to her and squeezed her shoulder, "If you two ladies would be so kind as to wait until later to interview us, we'll be happy to after practice."
"Certainly," Filia said, "We'll go run a few quick errands and be back in time to shoot some photos and do the interviews." Flipping her notebook shut, Filia turned and walked from the garage, Amelia trailing behind.
"Don't forget your song, Zel" Lina reminded as she walked to where her guitar lay propped against an amplifier. Zelgadis nodded, mostly to himself, and went into the house to retrieve the song from his room. Throwing the bean bag chair out of his way, he began to notice how the room was different. A green duffle bag, Lina's, lay on the far side of the bed, with the leg of a pair of pants hanging out and a plethora of Lina's things visible just under the cover of the unzipped flap. On his dresser sat two toothbrushes, one red, and his blue. The entire room had grown messy, what with assorted crumpled food wrappers and fast food bags, clothes, both his and Lina's formed a sandbag barrier to his closet, and the bed was streaked with long, scattered fire strands that caught the light and danced the light teasingly toward him.
He snatched up the papers he'd scribbled the song and notes on and moved back through the house to the garage, where he flagged everyone by waving the song.
"Found it," Zelgadis smirked.
"Good, but we need to warm up first," Lina told him as she plugged in her guitar, "Alright Lord of Nightmares, the show is on!"
The band warmed up, running the guitars to the limit and stretching out Jiras' arms. Zelgadis nodded out the rhythm as they proceeded to play and touch up on "Dragon Slave" and "Guardian", then allowed Jiras to do a song he'd written for the band, called "Blast Bomb", in which he'd written a simple yet beautiful set of guitar parts as well as a killer drum solo in the middle, completed with a little fun for the keyboard as well.
"Well, that's definitely concert worthy Jiras. Good job."
"Don't just thank me Lina, Zangulus helped me write it too." He looked to Zangulus with a smile, who only returned a smirk and nod.
"That leaves one more new song for us to try. Zelgadis," Lina nudged him and motioned to him, sweeping her arm across the space before them.
"Um, alright," Zelgadis sighed uneasily, "You'll have to cut me some slack, this is my first real song," he proceeded to walk to each of them and hand them each a sheet of paper, "I know it's not written in staff, but I think you should all be able to handle it.
"Ra Tilt?" Jiras asked.
"I don't know, it sounded good," Zelgadis defended, "Alright then. A one, a two, a one, two, three, four."
Jiras started with his drums, slowly tapping out what was on the paper in front of him, and Zangulus followed to help build the intro. Lina jumped into with her own written chords, screaming quickly across the air before everything died down to a whisper, while Zelgadis plucked gently against his own strings, giving a sorrowful, lonesome sound to the overall piece. Zelgadis took a breath, and started singing:
Source of all, your souls eternal
Find me wracked, pain infernal
Monster in the infinite
Fighting in the darkness there
You saw, held me, but did not scare
Dark angel of the far starlet
Zelgadis then hit guitars strings, bringing his voice and the rest of the band to a powerful and blasting chorus, Lina and Xellos accompanying:
Everlasting flame of blue
Let the power hidden in you
Save my soul from its kismet
Called forth from the infinite…Ra Tilt!
The band played an intermittent segment before quieting again so Zelgadis could continue, his focus entirely into the song and his dark voice rolled out again:
See now on the concrete bled
Died like ink, the shades of red
The night slips over me
And yet you reach inside for I
Won't lose the touch, won't say goodbye
Still you let the monster be
Once again they struck up the chorus, throwing a volume pitch in a multi-branching solo behind Zelgadis pained and tortured words. The solos faded until only Lina's guitar was playing, and Zelgadis began to sing, Lina's lyrics starting off-beat to Zelgadis' but coming together at the very end:
Source of all, your souls eternal (we are eternal)
Find me wracked, pain infernal (found you pain infernal)
Monster in the infinite (monster in the infinite)
Found me in the darkness there (found you in the darkness there)
You saw, held me, but did not scare (I am your light, you do not scare)
My angel of salvation (your angel of salvation)
This time on the chorus, the entire band joined in to sing with Zelgadis, and finished with a tremendous crash of instruments.
For several moments, no one uttered a word, but then Lina turned to Zelgadis, "Wow, I think we actually might be set. One thing though."
"What's that?" Zangulus asked.
"You need to add more voices to your piece Zel. I think that if you added a part or two it would sound so much better."
Zelgadis nodded, "I'd been wondering if maybe another part would add to the song, but I wasn't sure, so I omitted it. Say, now that we've practiced, why don't we eat? Lina, I'm leaving you in charge of the operation."
"Chinese," Jiras suggested.
"I'd rather not," Vrumugun replied stoically, "It gives me gas."
"Mexican," Zangulus mentioned.
"Nah, Italian," Xellos chimed.
"How about we compromise and get pizza?" Lina shrugged. After a few moments of grumbling between the others, they each gave a cooperative nod.
"Alright then, what do want on the pizza?"
"Olives," Xellos cried out.
"Yuck, how about pepperoni and sausage?" Jiras asked.
"No way," Zangulus retorted, "Extra cheese and tomatoes, or else White Pizza."
"How about anchovies?" Vrumugun murmured. Everyone stopped their argument and looked to him. He simply shrugged , "What? I like anchovies."
"How about Ashford's famous Dragon Pizza?" Zelgadis suggested, "I've heard it's one of the spiciest things in town."
"Done," Lina answered with a nod, "We'll call Ashford's and have them deliver a Dragon Pizza, a pizza with everything on it, and one vegetarian for those who feel self-conscious about meat. Anything else?"
"Don't forget to ask about the free sodas when you order 2 pizzas," Jiras piped up as Zelgadis entered the house and returned with the phone, which he handed to Lina.
"Right; give me five minutes and pizza will be ordered and on its way."
Lina met the delivery guy as he got out of his car, handed him the money, and turned to the others, "Get the plates; dinner's here."
Zelgadis handed everyone plates, then ran down to get the sodas from the delivery guy.
"Mmm, they smell delicious," Lina smirked as she lifted the lid.
"Lina, can't you wait until we get to the garage?" Zelgadis groaned as he watched Lina slide a slice from the box and take a large bite out of it. She chewed slowly, her groans of delight easily audible, Zelgadis guessed, from the next block over.
"Mmmm, delicious," Lina squealed, "You guys have to try this!" Without need for more prompting, the others came over and started to take slices as Lina made her way into the garage.
"Ah, feeding frenzy!" Lina laughed as she set down the boxes. Suddenly, Lina and Zelgadis found themselves fighting to get at slices of pizza they wanted. Amidst laughter was the occasional "Dammit, that's my slice!" from Zelgadis and a distinct, "Hands off!" from Lina, followed by a slap of someone's hand and a curse.
Five minutes later, the only thing remaining was the untouched Dragon's Pizza. Everyone stared at it, but no one touched it. For several more moments, a silence hung over the group, and Lina looked to Zelgadis.
"Zel, you suggested it, try it."
Zelgadis blinked, "Me, but what about the rest of you?"
"Well, someone has to test it first, to see if it is suitable for consumption," Vrumugun spoke up. Zelgadis looked to each face, met by a nod, and Lina's grinning face.
"Looks like the group has spoken, and poor Zelgadis is our sacrifice. You're memory…"
"Lina, drop the dramatics," Zelgadis smirked. "This won't kill me." He crossed to the box, opened it, and took a slice. The air that wafted from the box stunk of spice, and Zelgadis swallowed hard. He could see the peppers buried underneath the payer of cheese, and he started to regret having made this decision.
"Come on Zel, go for it," Jiras insisted. A grumble of agreements, and Zelgadis raised the pizza to his lips, hesitating to bite from it.
"Come on Zel," Lina urged, "You're not getting any younger."
Closing his eyes, Zelgaids bit forward, tearing the point off, and chewed slowly. The peppers crushed under his teeth and squirted juice into his mouth, instantly stinging his gums and the inside of his cheeks. After a few seconds, the sting was gone, mostly numbed by the sting itself.
"So, how is it?" Lina asked.
Zelgadis swallowed the piece, allowing the spice to tingle his throat before responding in a semi-hoarse voice, "Not bad. You should try it."
After an uproar of laughter, each of them took a slice as well, where Zelgadis noticed similar reactions to the pizza.
"Wow, hot!" Lina spurted.
"Damn that has a sting to it!" choked Jiras.
"Shit Zel, you didn't warn me it was this hot!" Zangulus cursed.
"The stinging is unpleasant," the stoic Vrumugun responded.
"Much too spicy for me," coughed Miwan.
"Hmmm," Xellos mumbled as he finished his slice and went for the last one, "Not bad."
"Hands off Xellos," Lina warned, "That's mine."
"Au contraire, Lina, that is my slice of pizza."
The phone rang, and Zelgadis rose from his spot, "I'll let the two of you fight it out. It's not that great a pizza." He crossed into the house and grabbed the wall phone.
"Hello,"
"Zelgadis, do you know what time it is?" came a relaxed and slightly slurred voice over the receiver.
"Rezo? Um, wait, let me check," he looked to the clock on the microwave, "Shit, it's almost midnight! Where are you?"
"Oh, never mind me. I'm staying over at my date's house tonight. Had a little too much to drink I'm afraid."
After Rezo said that a laugh broke through the receiver, a haughty, high laugh that made Zelgadis' eardrums shatter. He froze, his blood nearly curdling. When he spoke again, his voice was shaking.
"Rezo, you d-don't mind if I have the band stay o-over tonight, d-do you?"
"No, that's fine. Just be sure to clean up after yourselves. Goodnight, Zelgadis."
"Goodnight Rezo," Zelgadis answered emptily, then hung up the phone. He turned, his mind spinning, and walked back into the garage, where he saw Lina tangling with Xellos as she wrestled to eat the last remaining slice of pizza, Miwan fretting quietly over the both of them.
"Who was that?" Lina asked, pulling the slice closer to her face.
"Rezo," Zelgadis answered blankly.
"Oh, is his date going well?"
"Fine, I guess."
"Zelgadis, what is it?" Lina asked, a little concerned by Zeladis' tone.
"Rezo has a hot date, a hot date with Ms. Naga."
Time seemed to freeze. No one moved or breathed, and shock had replaced the normal looks on their faces, Jiras stopped in half chew, Vrumugun's cup frozen inches from his face, and even the normally active Xellos was stuck in his awkward twisted pose, his face contorted in surprise.
Lina, whose face etched with confusion like sculpted stone, felt disbelief watch over her. She released Xellos, and let go of everything that wasn't attached. The pizza slice turned and tilted, a clumsy, out of control dance before it slapped, face down, on the floor, breaking the silence that was their shock.
Xellos was the first to come out of this though, and he snatched the pizza from the floor, "Ten second rule. Mine now."
"You can keep it Xellos," Lina gasped, "You can keep it."
