"Okay guys," Rose said, adjusting the tuning of his guitar. "Let's do a few songs to warm up." The random, clashing sounds of each person playing their own version of scales broke off as they turned to look at him.
Pamela and Patrick were in their orange and silver armor, and Patrick was holding a violin while Pamela held a silver flute. Not at all the usual instruments for a rock band, even one verging on pop. But Rose thought it made their sound unique, especially since there were ingenious amplifiers in both instruments. Rose had met them busking on the streets for coins, and had been impressed by their skill. It had turned out the siblings had been orchestral players… until the orchestra went bankrupt. Sometimes, instead of playing, they both backed him up on vocals. They were excellent singers, with voices that were pure and sweet.
The other players were more conventional in their choice of instruments. Gerrick was warming up his bass guitar. His outfit was all black leather, with silver chains. June was handling the keyboards and other electronic effects, which could sometimes be a difficult spot, depending on the song. Her shirt was brilliantly tie-dyed, and she was wearing a denim skirt. Thing was on the drums, one of the worlds' natural drummers, still in his green armor. And Rose, of course, handled the guitar and vocals.
He considered what song to play, reaching up to touch the scars between his eyes. It was an old nervous gesture. He was in his armor, too, and it practically screamed 'Unique! Combat model!' Not something he appreciated… but it was his. And if everything went down the crapper again, he'd be glad of it and his guns.
"Why don't we start with, 'My Momma Made me to Rock and Roll?'" June suggested, playing a quick series of notes on her keyboard. Rose grinned, and strummed a chord.
"Sure!" Soon, they were making glorious music. Rose smiled happily. The magic was with them tonight.
The concert was only in an hour. Soon, they'd be blowing everyone's socks off.
"A concert!" Axl bounced up on the balls of his feet, trying to get a better look at the stage. "I've never been to a concert before!" Zero grinned at the obvious enthusiasm.
It was day three of their vacation, and Zero had managed to score some tickets to a popular concert. It was an open air concert, and fortunately, the weather was mild. The band playing was one of Axl's favorites… the Leaping Frogs. Zero thought their name was retarded, but the music was good. Zero looked at a flyer someone had handed him they walked in.
"The warm up band is Rose Thorn." Zero paused, thinking about that. "Rose Thorn and the Leaping Frogs. Hahaha… the plant and animal show!" Axl snickered, then grinned.
"I've never heard of Rose Thorn," he said, looking towards the stage. "Do you think we can get closer?"
"Sure." Zero started making his way through the crowds. Most of the fans took one look at his armor, and made room for him. Everyone could recognize Zero on sight, and even those who didn't like him weren't willing to tangle with him. But most of the audience made way simply out of respect.
Soon, Axl tugged on Zero's arm. "This is close enough." He didn't actually want to be really, really close to the stage… and there could be trouble if Zero tried to force it that far. The people right by the stage had gotten there by staking out their spots a long time earlier, and wouldn't give them up willingly. They were the hard core fans.
Axl beamed, waiting for the band to come on stage. He'd never heard of Rose Thorn before, but he was sure they would be okay… as the warm up act, anyway. Warm up acts were usually younger, beginning bands, but the Leaping Frogs were so popular that being their warm up act was pretty prestigious.
"Ladies and Gentlemen… Rose Thorn!" The stage lights came up, and Axl cheered with everyone as the band entered the stage…
Then choked. He could vaguely hear Zero gasp, but his attention was riveted to the Reploid taking the main spot on the stage. A light illuminated each member… there was no way anyone could avoid seeing him.
It was… Axl. There was no difference between them whatsoever. The armor was the same, the eyes, the scars… Axl stared, starting to feel a little faint as his double onstage strummed his guitar, sending rolling sound over the audience. He flashed them all a grin, the same grin Axl saw in the mirror every morning.
"Viva Las Vegas!" His double yelled out, waving to the crowd. There was cheers and whistles from the audience. "I'm Rose, and we're Rose Thorn! Anyone want to make something of it?" He strummed another cord, and the crowd laughed. Then the band launched into a song.
Zero poked Axl in the shoulder as Axl stood stunned. "You said you didn't know who created you?" Zero nodded towards the stage. "I'd say there's a big clue right up there."
"Yeah…" Axl said softly, staring at the stage. Seeing a double of himself was terribly strange. Even sibling Reploids had some differences, often large differences, to differentiate them from each other. Even Reploids meant to replicate identical twins usually had different armor so they weren't constantly mistaken for each other. What could his creator have been thinking to just… duplicate him?
Although he'd never picked up a guitar in his life. And who would name a male Reploid Rose?
"Could he be a girl?" Axl suddenly asked Zero, who blinked, then eyed the Reploid on stage sharply.
"…No way," he judged. "His voice is male, and I don't think there could be boobs under his armor. Weird that he's named Rose, though." Zero frowned. "Weirder that he looks just like you."
"Yeah…" Axl swallowed hard, hardly managing to appreciate the first song, even though it was the kind of exuberant, energetic music he enjoyed. He hadn't anticipated suddenly running into a clue about his past at a concert.
But soon, the music took him into its spell. And Axl wasn't generally given to introspection, so he started to get into the fun as much as the rest of the crowd. It helped that the music was very, very good.
Rose Thorn worked together seamlessly. The girl playing the flute would often slap it against her waist, where it stuck firmly to her armor, then join the lead singer in the singing. They did a duet in a modern love song, which was equally touching and grim. The boy playing the violin was an expert at weaving his sound in with the rest, adding poignancy to the sad songs and energy to the lively ones. The bass was thumping, the drums were carrying the beat and the electronic sound effects verged on explosive.
But what really made the band was the lead singer, Axl's double. His singing voice was unique. Very young, yes, but with a rough burr that made him sound much older. It was a voice that could never have succeeded in opera, but the unique sound was very appealing in rock and roll. And the kid was gifted with the guitar, and had a ton of stage presence. He moved around the stage relentlessly but naturally, drawing everyone's attention in. Axl was enchanted.
That wasn't to say they were perfect. No, they were still a young band, just starting out. But it was obvious why they had been picked to warm up the stage for the Leaping Frogs.
When the Leaping Frogs finally came out, Axl cheered as loudly as everyone else. But he reminded himself to get onto Zero right away tomorrow, and find out more about Rose and his band, Rose Thorn.
"Get up, Zero! Up up UP!" Axl pounced on the sleeping Reploid, shaking his shoulders.
"Wha… ghh… godDAMN it, Axl, what time is it?" Zero tried to ignore Axl, pulling his covers tighter around him. He'd been up late last night, and the bed was nice and warm…
"It's ten AM, and it's time you got UP!" Axl grinned maniacally, and tore the covers right off the bed, making Zero scream.
"Axl you BASTARD!" A wide-eyed Axl got a glimpse of… a great deal more than he had expected, before Zero snatched the blankets back and jerked them over his waist.
"You sleep in the nude?"
"Get out! NOW!" A pillow followed Axl's quick retreat, as the youngster started giggling hysterically. Soon, an irate Zero walked out of his room, decently clothed.
"Now what do you want?" He said irritably, grabbing a piece of toast from a plate on the table. Axl had obviously ordered a huge breakfast not too long ago, and eaten most of it. Axl beamed at Zero, looking far too awake and cheerful for even 10 AM in the morning.
"We were going to find out about Rose Thorn! Remember? Investigation?" Zero groaned, and mentally kissed a tour of the Las Vegas nightclubs goodbye. Unless they were lucky, finding the band would probably take all day.
"Alright, fine. Let's go." Zero started out, grumbling something about retarded children. Axl cheerfully ignored it, content that Zero was pointed in the right direction.
Zero was right about it taking all day, though. Everybody knew of the band, and some people had even seen them, but it seemed like they were always just a bit too late.
"Ah, I remember! That cute little boy, looked just like him?" The server, a lively young Japanese-American woman, pointed at Axl. Axl blushed. "He ordered an omelette."
"Mmm, that's nice, but do you know where they were going, lovely?" Zero asked in his best 'chatting up the girl' tone of voice. The waitress giggled, smiling up at him.
"They said something about going to the Y for a swim. But that was a while ago, I don't know if they would still be there."
"Thanks, ducky," Zero said with a smile as he and Axl left the restaurant.
"You did it again," Axl remarked, and Zero tilted his head. "You called her ducky."
"Oh, give it a rest…" Zero snorted, sticking his nose in the air. "You're just jealous of my skill with the ladies." Axl giggled, dashing ahead of his friend. "Hey!"
Cheerfully wrangling and racing, they arrived at the Y. And while everyone remembered them, the band wasn't there. But they found a lifeguard who remembered them.
"Hmm… I think there was a group in here with a redhead. They had this really big, ugly dude, a Reploid I think, and he kept sinking in the pool. Sound like them?" Axl nodded enthusiastically, remembering the drummer. "I think they said something about going back to their hotel. Uh… geez, what was it?" The lifeguard glanced around with a frown. "Misha was talking to them… hey Misha! That guy you were chatting up, d'you know where they were going?"
"Zak's Hotel and Grill!" She called from her seat in the hot tub, tossing back blond hair. "Down by the south side, look for roaches the size of small dogs, you can't miss it."
"I sure HOPE that's an exaggeration," Axl said as he and Zero were leaving. Zero shrugged.
"Oh, it has to be. Probably. If they haven't been dumping chemicals." Zero said, and Axl winced.
"Okay, that's reassuring… not…" This time, they caught a taxi… the south side would have taken them a long time to reach, and Zero had no idea where Zak's Hotel and Grill was. The cab driver seemed to know the address very well, though, and soon they were looking at a building so far gone to decay that the only thing holding it together was paint.
"Wow, this place hasn't been condemned yet?" Axl gazed up at it, appalled. "And what's with that sign?" It was a neon spectacle that made the rest of the strip look tasteful… and one letter was missing, which turned it from garish to just pathetic.
"Hmm, no small dog roaches. They are pretty big though." Zero said thoughtfully, looking around the hotel as they stepped inside. "Must be a breeding program going."
"Can I help you?" A very old woman behind the front desk said, brisk and unfriendly. She gave Zero a fishy look, and Axl suppressed a giggle. He was willing to bet the red hunter had met his match in the charm department.
"Yes, darling, we-" Zero didn't get very far before she cut him off.
"Margaret!" She barked, and Zero blinked, nonplussed. "I'm old enough to be your grandmother. I'm Margaret, not darling, whippersnapper!" Axl couldn't hold in a giggle, and Zero gave him a scorching look. Then he turned his attention back to the old lady.
"Margaret… we're looking for a group, a band, with a kid who looks like this one in it." Zero motioned for Axl, who stepped forward obligingly. The woman gazed at him from over her glasses, as if she was thinking about it, then snorted.
"I'm sure I couldn't remember," she said haughtily, and Axl grinned. He was sure she remembered down to the last second. Zero looked about ready to get really angry, when Axl decided to try his own version of charm.
"Are you sure? He's my brother and we've been separated a long time so I'm looking for him…" Axl widened his eyes, trying to look cute and innocent. The old woman's lips twitched, then she seemed to soften a little. Axl guessed she had a grandchild who used the cute card to get his way.
"Well, maybe… we have a group in room 27 who brought in a lot of equipment, the slobs. You can go talk to the maids, if you want." She gestured towards the rooms, which was more of a concession than she'd given Zero.
"How did you do that?" Zero asked Axl, annoyed, as soon as they were out of earshot. The younger Hunter grinned.
"I'm just that cute!" He answered cheerfully.
"Hmph. Well, you can have the old ladies, I'll keep the young ones…" Soon, they found a maid who was hard at work picking up what looked like dried vomit. "Hi, honey. Can you tell me about the people in room 27?" They'd already tried the door, and no one had answered.
"The band?" She answered. "Sure, they're off cutting a record at Hibichi studios, downtown." Zero groaned, and Axl snickered.
Downtown was where they had started originally. They'd come full circle.
"Well, let's go!" Axl dashed off. "I feel good about this one!" He was sure they would finally find the band at the studios…