Versus 3: Eclipse

All You Destroy

It was funny how the lead vocalist of a band that just happened to be named Eroder was slowly chiseling away at her relationship with Goten. She wasn't sure how she would ever mend something that in a way she never really had. The letter Goten had sent told her that it was really over. Of course, it also told her that he still had feeling for her. It was confusing. If he were in her shoes, surely he wouldn't know what to do either. These were confusing times. Even as she stood in the club in which Eroder was about to play, she thought of him. In order for her to enjoy this night, she would have to get Goten out of her mind. At least for the time being. There would be time later to concentrate on him. Especially after Bra had talked Nick into skipping tutoring some nights. She smiled to herself.

Bra made her way over to her childhood friends. It was hard not getting bumped by all the other people who had gathered in this place. Boy, word sure got around this city fast. Were all of these people really here to see Eroder?

Pan greeted Bra with a confused smile. "This is so strange. What are you doing here? Aren't you grounded?"

Marron waved to Bra.

Bra folded her arms across her chest. "Nick invited me."

Pan screeched with excitement.

"Nick? As in Nick Carnage? THE Nick Carnage?" Marron asked.

Now here SHE was acting like she didn't know celebrities. Marron was kinda one herself. Bra frowned.

"Yep," Pan spoke for her. "I told you that he was living with her. He is SO cool. And he came to school this morning. He said that I had a nice name." She looked like she might explode with excitement at any given moment.

"I thought you were just joking. I didn't take you seriously," Marron said.

"Well, now I bet you believe me," Pan told her.

Marron nodded. She looked at Bra. "You are so lucky, Bra."

Bra thought for a moment. Maybe she really WAS lucky to have this guy around. He was obviously at least somewhat skilled at playing guitar. He was respectful, yet rebellious. And he was smart. Those were all big pluses in her book...

What was she thinking? This man was 11 years older than she. ELEVEN. This was worse than her first situation. Even if Nick were interested in a 16-year-old girl, they could never have a relationship. Especially after what she'd just gone through with Goten. He would probably tell her all the same things Goten had said to her. She wouldn't endure that kind of heartache again. She simply wouldn't. Not to mention the fact that with his popularity, Nick probably already HAD a girlfriend.

Pan took a deep breath. "This is so exciting. I know someone who lives with Nick Carnage. So, what's it like?"

Bra thought for a moment. What was it like? "It's like living with...YOUR dad."

"WHAT?" Pan yelled. "No way! Nick is waaaaaaaaaaaaay cooler than my dad. On a cool scale from one to ten, my dad is at the bottom and Nick Carnage is at, like, 30."

Marron raised her eyebrow. "Pan has a point. Her dad isn't cool at all."

"Hey! I can say that my dad is uncool, but you can't," Pan told Marron.

Marron shrugged.

Bra rolled her eyes. "Listen, you guys can think what you want. I'm just saying that living with Nick is like having a human history book around. He's really brainy."

"You're one to talk," Marron said. "You know everything about everything except relationships and history."

Alright. Bra had to admit, that was true. But Marron didn't have to mention the thing about not knowing about relationships. Couldn't she have left that part out?

"Ladies and gentlemen, without further delay, here's the band that needs no introduction," the club owner announced over the microphone. By the time the people in the audience realized that someone was up there talking, he was already gone.

Nick walked up to the mic and looked around for a moment. There was nothing but silence. "Good evening!"

The crowd broke into a fit of cheering simultaneously.

This was one of the things that Bra had been missing out on all of her life. A band up on a stage in front of her and a sea of people behind her. It gave her a rush that she'd never felt. Not even with all the DVDs of live performances in the world. She even found herself screaming at the top of her lungs. Now when had she even opened her mouth to do that?

This action received strange looks from Marron and Pan, but they too soon broke into screams of their own.

soon

With only a four song set, the young men on stage had finished performing in a little under 30 minutes. They had chosen to end the show with their very own rendition of the song 'Dirt'.

Bra was on clouds at the end of the show. In such a short time, the musicians were able to touch her in a way she'd never been touched. She was thoroughly impressed by their instrumental, 'Eternal No More'. There were really no words to describe it. And their song, 'Regret' was like a thunderstorm raging in a cloudless sky (if that were really possible to even imagine). Proof of this band's style was what she wanted, and boy, did she get it.

But their performance was now over and it was time for the club to go on doing regular club-type things. Eroder started packing up their gear.

"Man, I really love the way Wes moves," Marron said.

"He's alright, but you know who I'm for," Pan stated. "I'm a Nick fan all the way. He's so hot."

"Yeah, did you see the way he was strumming on the verse during 'Regret'? Man, that was pretty complex to be playing and singing at the same time," Bra interrupted.

Pan and Marron looked at her strangely.

"Strumming?" Marron asked.

"Yeah, his picking hand was almost off time, but you could tell that was the way it was supposed to be. And at the same time, he was able to pull of those vocals... I was really impressed," Bra added.

"Wha?" Marron began.

"Well, you know how Bra is. She's more interested in the music than the man. I just happen to see the man before I see the music," Pan explained.

Marron smiled at Pan. "Well now. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you have a crush on Mr. Nick Carnage."

Bra raised an eyebrow and looked at Pan. Could Pan actually be attracted to this man? She was basically in the same shoes Bra was in. She was barely a year older than Bra. Of course, Bra had always thought that Pan and Trunks would somehow get together. Maybe she was wrong about that. Maybe Pan really DIDN'T have the kinds of feelings for Trunks that she accused her of having for him.

Pan blushed deeply. "No. I just respect him as an artist. I mean, he's a superstar."

"Yeah, right," Marron said. She continued to bug her about it.

Bra laughed to herself. There was really no telling whether Pan liked a guy or not. She seemed to respond in this way to any guy she or Marron chose to discuss. She looked around the place when she heard some music start playing. How could these people listen to the crap the d.j. played after they'd just heard one of the best bands around?

Bra folded her arms across her chest and looked toward the door at the back of the club. She soon realized that Nick was standing there, trying to get her attention. Bra raised her eyebrows.

"Come on back stage! We're almost done here!" Nick had to almost yell to be heard over the rest of the club noises.

Bra looked at Marron and Pan, then looked back at Nick. "Mind if I bring some friends?"

Nick shrugged. "That's cool."

Bra looked back at Pan and Marron, who were still squabbling over who had a crush on whom. "Alright, guys, let's go."

"Let's go?" Marron asked.

"Where are we going? Are we leaving?" Pan questioned.

"No, we're not leaving," Bra told them. "Nick wants us to come back stage."

Both Marron and Pan squealed.

"Oh, my gosh! Do I look okay?" Marron asked. She started messing with her hair.

Pan started straightening up her clothes. "Man, this is awesome."

Bra frowned. Maybe she shouldn't have told them to come back stage with her. They would probably just make her look bad.

They made their way to the back of the club. Bra couldn't help noticing that Eroder's instruments hadn't even been put away. She looked at Nick's instrument of destruction. At times like this, Bra really wished she played guitar. Or any instrument for that matter. She frowned.

"Come on over. We won't bite," Nick said to Bra and her friends. He and the rest of the band were standing on the other side of the room like they had just finished up a meeting.

Todd looked at the girls. "Hot babe alert." He started walking toward them. "Don't listen to Nick, there. We'll bite if you want us to."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Down, boy." He grabbed Todd by the back of the shirt and pulled him back to where he was standing before. "Ignore Todd. He can be a real jerk sometimes."

That Bra could already see.

Nick looked at Pan. "Hey. I remember you from earlier today. You're the girl with the cool name. Pan."

Pan grabbed Marron by the sleeve of her shirt. "He remembered my name," she hissed.

Marron just looked surprised.

It was pretty easy to tell when Pan and Marron had lost their cool. The usually talkative pair had become somewhat silent. Sure, meeting a band back stage was a little overwhelming, but it probably wasn't a good idea to show it.

Bra smiled at Nick. "Well, ignore Marron and Pan. They seem to be at a loss for words." She took the liberty of introducing the girls to the guys in the band.

"I'm sorry. It's just such an honor to meet you," Marron told all of the guys.

"Yeah. We never in a million years thought that we would meet the creators of songs like 'Angel of Mercy', 'Inside the Volcano', 'Regret', 'The Eloquence of a Man Who Spoke But One Word' and 'Metal is My Catalyst'," Pan rambled quickly. She took a deep breath.

"The honor is all ours," Wes finally said, bowing to them.

Hunter nodded to them.

"Nick, man, honestly, where did you find all the hotties? And you're living with one of them?" Todd asked. "I mean, those two look kinda young, but..." He was obviously referring to Bra and Pan.

Both Pan and Bra frowned.

"That's right. So don't get any stupid ideas," Nick told Todd. He looked back at Marron, Bra and Pan. "It's nice to have dedicated fans. You three are welcome to come back stage anytime."

Pan gasped. "This is great. Thank you so much. Your show tonight was killer."

Bra nodded.

"Thanks, really," Marron said to the band.

"We should be the ones thanking you. If it weren't for fans like you, we wouldn't be where we are today," Wes told the girls.

"Yeah, thanks," Todd added. It was the most sensible thing he'd said all day.

Hunter gave them a thumbs up.

Nick nodded. "And if you'd like, you ladies can come eat with us. My treat."

Pan, Marron and Bra looked at each other.

"We wouldn't turn it down for the world," Pan said with a smile.

All You Destroy

Yet another episode of Eclipse is out. Thank you for reading. I know it's been a while since I last updated, but I don't have access to a computer often.

Anyway, enough of that. I know some of you are depressed because Goten hasn't been around for a while. Please be patient. He'll be back. I promise. Remember that this is a Bra/Goten fic, not a Bra/OC fic. Besides, I prefer for Goten to be around too. I mean, he's one of my favorite characters.

Miscellaneous remarks: I couldn't help noticing that some of you aren't into heavy metal (or rock in general). This must be murder for you. I'll try to make things less painful for you in the future. And for those of you who don't know, Deep Purple is a 60s/70s heavy metal band most widely known for the song 'Smoke on the Water'. If you don't know that song, then there's little chance that you know this band at all. But never fear. You won't have to put up with too many more rock references because the Eroder saga is quickly coming to a close.

Once again, thanks for reading and thanks for the past reviews. 'Eclipse' only has about 10 or so more lines, so that's probably how long it'll be before this story comes to a close. That's a lot of ground to cover. So there's no telling what new twists and turns will be added to hopefully keep you interested in this ballgame.