Chapter 3
They arrived outside of the Zoo2 Arena, where the concert was taking place. It was built only 3 years prior and was the largest concert venue in the city, with a capacity of 30,000. It had replaced the old arena, which was half the size and starting to fall apart. The three of them got in line.
"So," Alister said, "first concert ever!"
"Indeed," Ashkii responded, "you'll love it."
Soon Alister noticed someone familiar right in front of him. It was a red fox. He was wearing black ripped jeans and a black Fall Out Boy t-shirt, with a black Warped Tour hoodie over it. He also had a black I See Stars hat and black streaks in his fur. He was wearing a heavy amount of black eyeliner and also had black chains around his pants as well.
"Hey!" Alister said, "you're the popsicle man!"
Emmitt looked up and noticed as well.
"Nick Wilde!" he said, "If it isn't really you!"
"Indeed it is," Nick Wilde responded.
"Great to see you," Emmitt said, "We even brought little Alister with us. do you have floor tickets?"
"Not this time," he responded, "I broke my ankle at an Asking Alexandria show not too long ago and it is still healing. I'm 26 and I feel like I'm getting too old for this. All these kids going around crowd killing. I got seats in section 203, seat 20."
"That's where our seats are!" Ashkii said, "right next to yours, 17, 18, and 19, respectively."
"Plus I've already seen the band so many times. Been a fan since 1994. I was 10 years old."
"C'mon!" Emmitt exclaimed, "fan since '92, after seeing them on tour opening for NOFX. Kerplunk days."
"20 whole years for me," Ashkii said, "saw them at a show in Richmond and had no idea who they were. Bought their whole first album at the merch table."
"And I've only gotten into them this year," Alister said.
"ah kyllä," Nick said in Finnish, "but you will remain a fan. Last time I saw them I finally got up onstage to sing Longview with them."
"Lucky," Ashkii said.
The doors soon opened, and they scanned their tickets before going to the t-shirt stand. There, Alister bought an adult small that was still too big for his young body. He didn't care, and was going to wear it anyways. After buying their shirts, they went to their seats. The arena was large, and had an amphitheater shape. There was a large floor section and another large section of seating right over it. Their seats were right above the floor area, about 50 yards from the stage. The view was absolutely perfect with no obstructions.
The opening band came on. It was a band called Rise Against that Alister had never heard of. They opened with "Collapse (Post-Amerika)," and Alister was impressed. They continued to play for another 45 minutes. Nick Wilde was going absolutely crazy, even though they were just the opening band. A good mosh pit had also started on the floor section. At one point, the singer, who was a skunk, got out an acoustic guitar to play "Hero of War". They came back to close with "Savior" before walking offstage.
"Wow," Alister said, "that was good."
"I'm going to have to listen to this band more," Ashkii said.
"That was great!" Emmitt said.
"Yeah, I've been a fan of them for a few years," Nick Wilde said, "they always do a good job on the stage. But this is just the start of it."
A stage crew then started to set up the stage for Green Day. A large video screen was put in place in the background and a drumkit was revealed. A drunk rabbit also wandered around the stage, pointing to the props.
"Oh, I will be telling everyone about this in Muskegon!" Alister said excitedly as he got in his earplugs.
Before he knew it, the "Song of the Century" intro started playing over the loudspeakers and the house lights went off.
"It's really happening, kid," Nick Wilde said to Alister.
"You're in for a treat," Ashkii said.
Soon, the intro to "21st Century Breakdown" started playing and the sold-out crowd let out a MASSIVE cheer. The band members each walked onstage one at a time. Billie Joe Armstrong (a fox), Mike Dirnt (an otter), and Tre Cool (a weasel). They also had three touring members with them. Eventually, they went into the full song, while a massive pyro blast went off on the stage. Alister was NOT expecting it. Billie was wearing a black shirt with a tie and stripy pants. Emmitt and Ashkii were both going crazy and shouting along the words, while Nick Wilde was standing up despite his bad ankle (Alister was sitting down, as he was still too young to be standing for a really long time, though he stood a few times during the show.
"Alright everyone!" Billie screamed into his microphone as the crowd screamed back at him, "get out of your fucking seats and go fucking nuts!" (Otter's note: This is why I gave the story a T rating).
Alister stood up, as he watch the band finish "21st Century Breakdown" and go right into "Know Your Enemy."
"HEEEEEEEEEY-OOOOOOOOOOH!" Billie screamed into his microphone before going into the song.
The crowd continued to go crazy. There were fans of all ages, some even younger than Alister, and some who appeared to be over 50.
Eventually, Billie brought up a fan. It was a teenage weasel, who had a prosthetic leg.
"I've been waiting for this to happen!" said the teenage weasel to Billie, "I'm Dashley Mustelle, I just moved in from Saskatoon, and I finally get to do this!"
"Alright," Billie said, "tell me you know the words!"
The weasel than sang the "oh-ey" parts of the song into the microphone, as Billie held it. Eventually, he motioned for her to jump off the stage. As soon as they kicked into the last chorus, she did so, and crowd surfed her way back into the pit.
"I want to do that some day!" Alister said, after the band finished the song.
The band then played more songs off of "21st Century Breakdown" and "Zootopian Idiot", as they continued through their very long set.
"Alright," Billie said, "We're taking it back to the older days. This next one is called Burnout!"
Alister looked over at Nick Wilde, who had started to go absolutely NUTS. That was Nick's favorite Green Day song. Alister's favorite was "Letterbomb". During that one, he, his aunt and uncle, and Nick Wilde, all pointed at each other during the "You're not the Jesus of Suburbia" line. Emmitt's favorite one was "Geek Stink Breath" while Ashkii's favorite was "Horseshoes and Hand Grenades". The band also played two even older songs, "2,000 Lightyears Away" and "Don't Leave Me", which Emmitt and Ashkii both loved. The band continued for nearly 3 hours (Alister had to take a few bathroom trips).
When the band started to play "21 Guns", Emmitt and Ashkii both got lighters in the air. Alister sang along to the lyrics, before looking over at Nick Wilde, who had started crying, leaving black streaks of eyeliner going down his face. A shower of sparks shrouded the stage as the crowd cheered, and many other audience members were definitely crying now. After going back into "Minority", the band walked offstage.
"Are they done?" Alister asked.
"Not yet," Emmitt said, "they will be coming back for an encore."
"Oh yes!" Ashkii exclaimed.
"This is one of my favorite of their shows," Nick said, "and this is my tenth time seeing them!"
"Number 12 for me," Emmitt said.
"And my 15th," Ashkii replied.
Momentarily, the band walked back onstage and went directly into "Zootopian Idiot," leaving the crowd to cheer EXTREMELY loud. Billie even let the crowd sing the first verse of the song. They also played "Jesus of Suburbia". Eventually, Billie was the only one left on the stage, and did a few acoustic songs, before ending with "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)". Nick Wilde started crying again, sending even more eyeliner down his face. Even Alister was starting to cry, at the concept of this concert being over. Emmitt and Ashkii hugged each other. Eventually, the song finished, and the rest of the band walked back onstage to take their final bows, before going off once more.
"That was absolutely AWESOME!" Alister said excitedly, as the house lights turned back on.
"I said so," Nick Wilde said.
"That is one of the best times I've seen them," said Ashkii.
"Same," Emmitt replied, "they never disappoint. I can't wait until they get their next tour going. And Alister you can come back down here to see them again."
"Oh yeah!" Alister said excitedly.
"I really had the time of my life," Nick said, "I love these guys."
"Me too," Alister said, "I can't wait to tell my friend James!"
"Great to know your family even more," Nick Wilde said, "Thank you for coming out tonight. It was absolutely great!"
"Thank you too," Emmitt said, "it is always a pleasure with you."
Nick walked back to his van, while the Ottertons went back to the metro.
Alister immediately went to sleep in the basement. That night, he had the complete time of his life.
Otter's note: This is the end for now. Should I add more? What about if Alister goes skiing in Vermont, maybe something different?