Wow! It's been so long since I've updated, but fear not! I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. I simply had other things on my mind.
Jenna: Like the prom.
Yep. Oh! For those who haven't read We're All Going On A Summer Holiday, one of my romance fics, I must introduce my newest muse, Tiamet, Queen of Dragons.
Tiamet: Hi.
Well, now that that's done, on with the review responses!
Black Demon567: Well, I techniqually didn't write the lyrics, but you're right, they are catchy. The name of the song and artist are usually underneath my author notes at the top of the page. Thanks for your support!
Dracobolt: Mysterious is my middle name...well, it's actually Laura, but anyway, glad you like. I'm happy that you're not bothered by the song bit cause if my readers didn't like that, I would have been very upset. Thanks. Good luck to you too!
Kodoku: It's ok. I don't mind. Wow. Eight days. I wouldn't be able to cope. Thanks! (Glomps Kodoku and everyone else who loves the story). Hey, Nikuchimi, rambling is nothing but goodness.
Spirit Seer: Again, thanks. Yep, Piers has come far. He's my young (well, youngish) padawan and I have taught him all I know. Wow! Very deep and meaningful comments. I'm glad you can feel so comfortable feeling that connected to the characters through my writing. Thanks for the song idea. I hope you like the next song.
Alright. With that done, disclaimer please!
Jenna: Oracle doesn't own anything to do with Golden Sun...
Tiamet: ...Or any of the songs.
Thank you faithful muses.
(This chapter's song is the ever popular Blink 182 song, Always. I just thought it was appropriate. Again, please send me any ideas for songs, please!)
Golden Sun: Critical Hit
Chapter Three: Let's Get This Party Started
The gentle hiss of the shower slowed down to a drip as the handle was turned and the water supply was cut off. With her hair soaking wet and her body shinning, Mia reached out from behind the shower curtain and grabbed one of the fluffy white towels by the sink.
"Hi Mia," a cheery voice said.
Mia froze instantly, her hand still clutching the towel. She pulled it behind the curtain quickly, wrapped it tightly around her and peered into the bathroom.
By the large mirror, Feizhi and Kushinada were carefully looking through Mia and Sheba's make up. They were so absorbed with their task; they didn't even turn to look at the brunette hiding behind the curtain. Instead, they each waved a hand in a sign of greeting before continuing.
"Guys! What are you doing here? In my bathroom? While I'm having a shower?" Mia cried in embarrassment.
"Don't you remember? You and Sheba invited us over to help you get ready for your evening partying with Critical Hit," explained Feizhi, advancing on the wet brunette with a stick of lipstick in her hand.
"So, here we are, getting everything ready in your bathroom since your room has a distinct lack of mirrors and Sheba won't let us anywhere near her room," Kushinada finished, picking up a tube of mascara as she followed Feizhi.
"You went in my room!" Mia cried even louder.
She stormed out of the bathroom in a furious rage with her two friends still trying to put make up on her and went into the living room. She growled when she saw Sheba and Hama watching TV on the sofa.
"Hi Mia," Hama called out which was answered by another growl and the sound of a door slamming as Mia retreated to her room.
There was a long silence before Sheba decided to shout out, "By the way, Mia. I love the towel look. It's very you."
The door reopened and a rolled up pair of socks flew out, hitting Sheba on the head. Fortunately for the young blond, she was laughing with Hama, Feizhi and Kushinada too much to notice. The other two retreated back into the bathroom to figure out the best type of make up for Mia's complexion, leaving Hama and Sheba alone in the living room.
"And now for this weeks latest music news," said the news reporter on the TV. "After four weeks at the top of the music chart, Black Rock have been replaced by the new band, Critical Hit. Everyone has high hopes for the four boys in the band and I personally believe this won't be the last we've heard about them. Also, drummer Garet has recovered completely from his experience earlier this week and will definitely be playing tonight at Halo much to the relief of their fans. In other news…"
"Thank goodness for that!" said Hama, taking a slice of pizza from the box on the small table in front of them.
Sheba nodded and switched the channel back onto the movie they'd been watching.
"Hey!" Mia's head poked around her bedroom door and she glanced at the pair on the sofa. "Sheba, are you gonna get dressed or what?"
Hama looked at Sheba, who was still in wearing her pyjama top and shorts even thought it was half past five in the evening since she'd been curling her hair all day, and nodded in agreement.
"I guess," Sheba sighed before heading towards her bedroom with Hama close behind.
They only just heard Mia's screeches as she was ambushed and forced into the bathroom for a make over.
Two long hours later, all five girls had met in the living room, almost ready for their night out, although only Sheba and Mia looked as if they were going anywhere. With Hama, Feizhi and Kushinada's help, they'd put together their outfits for the night and they were looking exceptionally beautiful.
Sheba had gone for the rock chic look. Her blonde hair was now in tight curls and she'd managed to streak a few lines of purple through her bangs. Around her neck was a black choker-like collar with a circular pendant on her throat which was accompanied by several silver bangles as well as a thick black bracelet on her arms. Instead of her pyjamas, she was wearing a dark amethyst coloured top with one long sleeve and one spaghetti strap and a very short black denim skirt which had a few chains hanging out of her pockets with her favourite pair of knee length boots.
Mia was dressed much simpler. Her brown hair was hanging around her faces in waves and she wore a silver necklace around her neck with a pretty heart charm and a few of Sheba's spare silver bangles. She was wearing a short dress which was an attractive pale blue colour and shimmered whenever she went near light. Around her feet was a pair of sapphire coloured sandals which were tied around her long legs with thin straps.
"Finally, we have achieved perfection," Feizhi said with a smile as she wrapped her arms around Hama and Kushinada's shoulders. "Now get out of here you two and remember to get us lots of autographs!"
Quickly, the three girls pushed Sheba and Mia out of their apartment and instantly ransacked their fridge before seating themselves in front of their friend's TV for a night of movies while the pair outside the door finally realised what had happened.
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Music was already thumping in the hall of the Halo club while people quickly ran around putting the final touches to the large room where teenagers would soon be dancing.
Menardi rushed from person to person with a clip board pressed against her red silk covered chest, checking that everything was in place and that things were moving along smoothly. A glare suddenly appeared on her pretty face when she realised that three of her staff were missing. Knowing who they were and where they would probably be, she handed her clip board to a younger red-headed girl who was standing nearby checking the microphones for a final time.
"Karst, could you please finish the check up? I have to go find a trio of slackers," she said loudly to be heard over the almost deafening music.
Karst nodded and replied, "Ok, sis," before Menardi walked out of the hall and down a corridor, her high heeled boots clicking on the floor.
As she approached the door at the end, she could just about hear the sound of laughing coming from inside the room. She knocked twice and waited a second before storming in.
"Where are they?" she asked, trying to keep her temper from rising. "Where are those no good slackers?"
Five pairs of eyes looked up at Menardi innocently.
"What do you mean?" asked Isaac with a smile on his face. "The only people in here are Garet, Ivan, Felix, Jenna and I."
Menardi growled, her eyes searching the room for her prey, but she couldn't see and sign of them.
"Fine, but if you see Alex, Saturos or Agatio, tell them to come find me. The club opens in an hour, by the way, so I suggest that you all get ready."
She handed all five of them a backstage pass each, then turned to leave when something catch her eye.
"Are they cigarettes?" she asked, arching an eyebrow as she pointed to a ash tray with three cigarettes sitting inside which had been placed on the table in front of the sofa where the five teenagers were sitting.
"Oh, yeah. They're mine," Felix admitted, showing no emotion on his face to hide the truth, although he couldn't stop his eyes from sparkling mischievously. "It's a habit of mine. Just a few before a performance to calm me down. I'm trying to stop."
Not saying anything else, Menardi nodded and left the room quickly.
Everyone sighed in relief as Garet got up and opened a door which led into their bathroom. He grinned when three figures tumbled out who'd apparently been listening through the door.
"She's gone," he said, going back to his seat next to Jenna.
"Good! She can be such a pain sometimes," Alex complained, picking up one of the cigarettes which was still alight and taking a long drag.
"I agree," admitted Saturos as he sat down on one of the empty sofas with Agatio.
"I thought she was your girlfriend?" asked Ivan.
"She is."
The boys started to laugh while Jenna rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest.
"You three had better go," she instructed sternly. "The boys have to get ready."
After many groans, the slackers finally left leaving Jenna alone with the band once more.
The boys had started playing on the game consoles, so, with a weary sigh; Jenna decided to retreat into one of the dressing rooms to get changed out of her vest top and jeans, and into something a little fancier. She closed the door and found her bag which she'd dumped in the room when they'd arrived. Pulling off her vest top, she searched through her small rucksack for the new top that she'd bought earlier that week when she'd accompanied the boys on a sight seeing trip around town. Her hand felt the silky material at the bottom of the bag and she carefully pulled it out. Holding it out in front of herself she examined it for any flaws before pulling it over her head and looking at herself in one of the large mirrors. Satisfied with the low cut ruby red silk top with sleeves that extended way past her hands, she turned to begin the search again for her pair of glittery jeans only to come face to face with someone see didn't expect to see.
"Hello again," said a smooth voice as brilliant gold eyes took in her every detail making her feel slightly uncomfortable, but otherwise at ease.
"You!" Jenna cried, her hands rushing up to cover her mouth in shock as she stared at the man.
"Yes, me. I'm glad that you took heed of my advice and remembered me," the man said with a smile.
"Who are you! And what did you do to Garet! Why are you doing this!" Jenna yelled, advancing on the man menacingly.
The man simply laughed and grabbed Jenna's fist which she was about to launch at his face.
"My name is Piers, I only allowed Garet to see the truth and I'm doing this because I need your help, now please calm down, Jenna," he said soothingly.
Jenna stopped when he said her name, and then tried to pull her hand out of his grip.
"How do you know my name? Are you stalking us!"
Again, Piers laughed before he shook his head.
"No. My intentions are nothing but good. I promise. All I want to do is show you all the truth. Jenna, this is not your world. You are in trouble because of who you are. I need your help."
Piers slowly lifted his spare hand up slowly so he wouldn't startle Jenna and placed it on her forehead.
With a small gasp, Jenna's eyes closed and she saw amazing things pass through her mind as if they were part of a movie behind her eyes. She saw Felix and her parents, but they were happy! There was no sign that her parents were fighting. In fact, they were playing with her and Felix, and then she saw it. A stormy night, an accident where Felix ended up in the water, a large boulder rolling down a hill, then she felt it; a horrible loneliness in the pit of her stomach.
"Jenna?" The door to the dressing room opened just as Jenna opened her eyes.
She blinked and gazed around the room. Felix was standing by the door, but Piers was no where to be seen. Running a shaky hand over her forehead, she felt sweat trickle across her skin. Her heart beat uncomfortably in her chest.
"Jenna?" Felix asked again, walking over to her. "Are you ok? We're going to perform in a few minutes, are you ready? Hey! You're shaking! What's wrong?"
"I'm…fine," Jenna answered; only partially lying.
She didn't felt all that different. Her heart had stopped racing and she felt warmer although that feeling of pure fear and loneliness remained. Attempting a small smile, she shooed her brother out of the room, giving him the excuse that she still needed to get changed. After a short debate, she won and Felix left. She leant on the back of the door and slowly slid to the floor.
'I'll have to talk to Garet,' she thought. 'If what happened to me happened to him, maybe he knows what it means.'
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"Make way! Coming through! VIPs so let us pass!"
After a lot of angry cries and a few rude comments, Sheba had managed to pull Mia to the front of the long queue that was waiting to enter the club. Bright light tinged red and yellow shone from above, highlighting the beautifully dressed people below.
A man quickly side stepped in front of the pair with his hands on his hips and a glare on his face.
"Before you enter, can I see your passes?" he asked.
"Oh, Alex! You know it's us," said Mia, playfully punching one of his arms which were covered by a long sleeved white shirt.
"I'm just doing my job," he replied, winking at his cousin as he checked the passes that they were wearing for all to see around their necks.
Nodding when he saw that the passes were fine, he escorted them inside, much to the displeasure of all the other waiting teenagers.
Alex stuck his head into a room right next to the entrance and scanned the group of club workers for one of his roommates. Luckily for him, Agatio was just putting a bottle of clear water to his lips in the far corner of the room.
"Aggy! Come here!" he called out, then waited patiently for his friend to walk over to him. "Are you busy right now?"
"No, I'm off duty for the next hour," was the reply from the large Russian.
"Good. Would you mind watching the door with Satty while I take these girls inside?"
Taking a moment to think, Agatio nodded and smiled at Mia and Sheba before he left them to take his position by the doors.
Alex wrapped his arms around the girls' shoulders and walked them into the huge hall. Lots of people were already dancing as a man played music from his place behind the decks.
"That's Eric Newman," explained Alex once he'd realised that was who Mia was looking at. "He's the owner of the club and the most popular DJ, DJ Ice."
"He looks kinda like you," she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, glancing from her cousin to his employer.
Alex had never thought about it before, but he had to admit, their hair was similar since they both wore it long and down most of the time, they both had the same mischievous grin when they were happy about something, and Eric had been wearing that grin ever since Critical Hit had decided to play at Halo, and although Eric was older, there wasn't much difference between their build and size. They looked almost like brothers.
"Huh? I never really noticed," he confessed, taking a good look at the professional DJ.
After a few minutes of walking around dancers and waiters taking drinks to their owners, Alex finished showing Mia and Sheba around and left them with the promise that he'd personally take them to see the band after their performance, as well as a couple of free drinks.
Sheba managed to drag Mia onto the dance floor where they met and eventually danced with a pair of cute boys who they vaguely knew from college. They were soon dancing close to each as the club slowly filled. Their sweaty bodies pressed up against each other in a mess of various movements. Mia grabbed Sheba's arm suddenly when a small cry from across the room, eventually becoming a loud scream as others joined.
"It's them!" Mia cried above the noise. "It's Critical Hit!"
The cheers grew to an enormous level when four boys rushed up onto the stage, waving and smiling at the crowds below them.
Mia and Sheba forced their way to the front so that they were right next to the stage and right next to the band. The squeals of the girls around them were almost deafening, but they didn't care as long as they were near the four musicians.
"Hi everyone!" Isaac cried, raising a fist up into the air above his head. "Everyone having a good time at Halo tonight!"
A loud cry of, "Yes!" echoed around him, making him smile.
"Great! Now, we're gonna sing one of our newest songs, so we hope you all enjoy it!" Ivan shouted excitedly as he put his strap around his neck and let his bass guitar hang down by his waist.
Garet grinned from over by his drums, twirling his drum stick around his fingers in a rock star-like manner while Felix nodded moodily as he tuned up the spare guitar he was using for this song since his keyboard wasn't needed, much to his dismay.
"Yeah! You go Garet! And you bro!" a girl yelled from next to Mia.
Sheba looked around Mia, who was focused mainly on the boys, and saw a red-head around Mia's age smiling mainly at thedrummer and the keyboardist filling in as a guitarist.
"Did you just say, 'bro'?" she asked.
The red-head turned and grinned at Sheba.
"Yeah. I'm Felix's sister, Jenna. Nice to meet you…"
"Sheba. And this is Mia."
Mia reluctantly turned away from the lead singer and waved briefly at the girl.
"Hi," she said.
A hush suddenly fell over the teenagers as the boys started their song.
"I've been here before a few times," Ivan started in his melodic voice, instantly capturing the crowd in his words.
"And I'm quite aware we're dying
And your hands they shake with goodbyes
And I'll take you back if you'd have me."
"So here I am I'm trying
So here I am are you ready?" the two blondes sung together before jumping straight into the chorus.
"Come on let me hold you touch you feel you
Always
Kiss you taste you all night
Always."
There was a brief pause from the singing where only the instruments could be heard, Isaac and Felix's guitars most of all.
"And I'll miss your laugh, your smile," Ivan continued, grinning happily at the excited crowd.
"I'll admit I'm wrong if you'd tell me
I'm so sick of fights I hate them
Let's start this again for real."
"So here I am I'm trying
So here I am are you ready?
So here I am I'm trying
So here I am are you ready?" Isaac and Ivan repeated, and then they returned to the chorus with a leap across the stage which received a loud cheer from their fans below.
"Come on let me hold you touch you feel you
Always
Kiss you taste you all night
Always
Come on let me hold you touch you feel you
Always
Kiss you taste you all night
Always."
There was another pause where Garet struck away at his cymbals and Isaac, Felix and Ivan played their guitars, putting their souls into every chord and every note. The music changed suddenly allowing Isaac to play solo with Garet the only one playing in the background until Ivan began to sing again.
"I've been here before a few times
And I'm quite aware we're dying."
There was silence for a few seconds, and then they all started up again and returned to the chorus for the last time.
"Come on let me hold you touch you feel you
Always
Kiss you taste you all night
Always
Touch you feel you
Always
Kiss you taste you all night
Always."
The crowd simply went wild as the band stopped playing. They looked around the hall, happy that everyone had enjoyed the song and were just about to start their next one when a man quickly ran onto the stage, his long hair flying out behind him. He stopped next to Isaac and pulled him away from the microphone slightly to talk to him privately.
Isaac nodded and took some sheets of paper which the man had handed him, then turned to each of his band members and whispered something into their ears before handing them one of the pieces of paper.
A ripple of muttering passed through the people below which were interrupted when Isaac returned to the microphone.
"Alright everyone! I'd like to introduce Mr Eric Newman, the owner of this amazing club and the man with the alias of DJ Ice!"
The crowd cheered the man who smiled briefly as he slowly left the stage.
"He's requested that we perform one of his favourite songs and we can hardly turn him down, although, his choice of music is a bit strange," said Isaac as he looked over the sheet with song lyrics and the music notes on it, but he still struck the first chord on his guitar and the others followed.
The song sounded a lot different from any of the songs they'd ever played before, yet the crowd still seemed to enjoy the random beat of Garet's drum mixed with the gentle sound of the three guitars.
"Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Venus," the four boys sung together, not quite understanding the meaning behind these words.
"Release the powers you gave us at birth
Aid us in our final battle
Wind, Fire, Water and Earth."
The crackle of energy filled the room and a bright white light covered the stage. At first, it all seemed to be part of the show and the crowd prepared themselves for a rowdy rock song until the floor began to shake violently, lightning flashed menacingly around the ceiling, icy cold rain started to fall despite the fact that they were inside and burning flames jumped up from the ground, attempting to lick at the bare legs of the teenagers.
Screams filled the air as everyone rushed towards the entrance until only a few people were left.
The band looked around them, shocked and scarred by the events unfolding around them. They tried to run off of the stage to get away from the raging elements, but found Eric in their way, his previous smile replaced with an evil grin.
"I'm afraid I can't let you leave," he said as his hand reached out towards Isaac.
"NOOO!"
With a loud cry, a familiar blue-haired man appeared on the stage in a mass of shimmering lights and he tackled Eric to the floor.
"Is that…Piers?" Jenna asked, rushing towards the boys and the fighting pair with Mia and Sheba behind her.
"I won't let you get them! Not again!" Piers yelled, pushing Eric away so that he could pull something out of his pocket.
He held a small light blue stone out in the palm of his hand and said, "Teleport."
The word seemed to have the desired effect since the stone suddenly glowed brightly and shrouded everyone in the same mass of lights that Piers had entered in.
There was a distance shout as five other people rushed into the room and were caught in the lights as well. There were various other cries from different places in the room until there was a deathly silence and the light turned to darkness.
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I really hate that ending!
Jenna: Why?
It just seems rather rubbish. (Hangs head in shame)
Tiamet: I dunno. I thought it was good. A cliffhanger is always a good way to end.
I suppose...
Jenna: Boost Jenna's confidence and review with nice comments please!
Tiamet: Yeah, until next time...
BYE!