AN 2/09: Technically I could have inserted the chapter Frightklok before this, but I kind of like it being the last chapter. Comical relief, you know?
Version no. 4 of chapter 12 finally was chosen! Man, took me a while. But after going over the chapters with my bestest friend, we both thought that this version was less conflicting to the story. One version -after Moira fainted- Nathan takes her to the infirmary and sees her tattoo he noticed earlier. Then another were Lucy retells her horrible childhood to Toki. I was sad to take out a rather humourous line said by Toki, but it will be used later :D
Tracks of Choice: "Bach: Largo for Violin" "All my Lovin'" by Emilie Autumn, "Battle Ready" by Otep
Chapter 12: Deths-appearance
Depression… it was everywhere. The very atmosphere surrounding Mordhaus was depressing. Most of the girls stayed inside, not bothering to venture to the massive property behind the morbid mansion that was known as Dethklok's backyard in case one should be attacked by some unknown assailant in broad daylight. At least at night the men could depend on the savage yard wolves to attack any intruder. Bloodyfist was the only one willing to face the sun, since Murderface was still teaching her a few pointers about guns. News of the Undertakers leaked out to the media and spread like wild, every news channel was talking about it. Ofdensen thought it was too suspicious to be a coinicident but let the subject drop. He had more pressing matters to attend to.
A month had finally come to pass and it was now time for the much anticipated press meeting. The world would finally get to see Cancerous again on live television, broadcasted around the world.
Moira looked from behind the curtain, biting her lips as she watched the klokateers examine every reporter and their equipment for any possible threats. Moira wore a plain short black strapless dress with stiletto heels. Around her neck was a black bowtie. Her long hair had been loosely curled as she flipped a strand over her shoulder. She sighed in anticipation, golden eyes scanning the crowd for anyone she may know which she knew was unlikely. The text message she received still bothered her, keeping her up at night the past week which her makeup barely covered the evidence. Who was G.C.? She couldn't recall anyone with those initials. The only ones who knew her number were obviously Cancerous and her manager aside from her carrier. At least she still managed to get a few laughs. She smirked just remembering what happened on Halloween.
Offense scared her when he put a hand on her bare shoulder. "Jesus fucking Christ! You scared me." Putting a shaky hand over hear racing heart, she gave him the meanest glare she could muster despite her exhaustion. She had spent most of her sleepless night rehearsing her lines.
"My apologies. Are.. You ready for this?" He was a little concern, seeing her look more pale then normal and the obvious paranoia in her eyes. "Perhaps… you should rest."
"Nah, I'm just nervous though." She closed her eyes and shrugged, "Thanks for asking, I suppose."
Offense fixed his glasses by pushing them further up the bridge of his nose, "Don't worry. We have klokateers checking everyone in three stages. These uh… people have been here before as well. You're perfectly safe to be up on stage."
Moira crossed her arms and mumbled, "I still think I should be wearing a bullet proof vest or something." She smiled a little then, catching Offense off guard as she kissed his hairless cheek and hugged him, "Thanks Charlie. I see why Andy trusts you." Withdrawing her hands, she left to go talk to Runa who was there to watch her. It took a few moments before Charles slowly shook his head and walked away, ready to address the growing crowd before the front men of the bands came on stage in a few moments. The manager hadn't noticed a stunned Nathan standing several feet away from him. Did Moira have a thing for Ofdensen? He didn't know why a pang of jealousy shot through his body, but he did want to punch his CFO for reasons unkown.
--Half Hour Later—
"I present to you again, Nathan Explosion and Moira Implosion." Said Ofdensen's voice as he stepped back from his podium once he was done with his speech. The two made their way to their podiums, frowns on their faces for both hated talking to the hordes of people whose voices echoed in the room. Moira took the one to the end where a Klokateer stood still, a rifle in hand. Tapping her mike, Moira cleared her throat.
"Ahem, good afternoon everyone. I'm sorry about the high security, but as the media has come to realize, there is an organization after Cancerous by the name of Undertakers. To avoid a home invasion, safety is of the utmost importance here at Mordland." Cameras flashed, blinding her for a moment. She began to feel nauseous. "I will turn it over to Explosion who is to speak to you about our upcoming concert." She nodded her head at his direction.
"Uh…" looking at the piece of paper before him, Nathan frowned, "After much debate…" he paused and squinted, "Wait, what the hell? I don't talk like this…" throwing the paper behind him, he gripped the microphone and brought it close to his mouth, "Russia, prepare your asses for the best fucking concert you've ever seen. Our location is a secret. One billion tickets will be sold but not all of you will get to see it." He set the mike down, crossing his arms and leaning back to stand up straighter. Moira groaned and placed her head in her hand in a defeated manner. She had a fleeting thought about him living up to his last name, Explosion. It should have been blabber-mouth.
The reporters began to talk all at once, some making a mosh pit in the front of the two representatives in hopes of getting picked. Feeling uneasy, Moira pointed to a brunette haired woman with high cheek bones and librarian style glasses dressed in a much too sexy outfit. The skank.
"Yes, I'm from People's Magazine. Have anymore relationships occurred after the drummers? No one knows because of the intense blockade around Mordhaus." She sent a hungry look to Nathan, her brown eyes looking up slyly. Moira raised a brow while Nathan seemed to ignore her.
Nathan and Moira simultaneously looked off stage where Skwisgaar and Runa where both shrugging their shoulder. Looking back at the audience, both of them nodded. Moira was the one to speak, "Skwisgaar and Runa have been together for over a week now, and not to long after, Toki and Lucy. Bloody fist, Murderface, Nathan and myself are trying to keep this partnership as professional as possible it seems. I will answer no more questions concerning relationship status among our band members. This is a conference, not gossip time between school girls." She felt sweat trickle down her temple. The air was getting stuffy but she could feel the cool air circulating around everyone. What was this feeling?
"Fat guy with duck tie." Nathan's voice rumbled through the speakers.
"Have any of you have personal connections with Javier Van Winkler? Especially you, Miss Implosion. Do you believe this could somehow relate to your father's death some years ago?"
Moira gasped as her eyes widen. Nathan narrowed his, "No." he hissed. Taking a quick glance from the corner of his eye, he saw the front woman become paler. The tan she had received from staying outside of the grand Mordhaus during her first couple of weeks was completely gone. The reporters began to bombard them with questions. Moira all of a sudden felt trap. Perhaps it was being cooked up, locked away from the world that was making her sick of everyone. If she had eaten anything that morning, she was sure she's have regurgitated it right then in there. Thank goodness the bile rising into her throat never made it out. But maybe the empty stomach was making her sick. Who knew?
"Do you know why Van Winkler is doing this?"
"Is this really why Dethklok took in Cancerous?"
"Will the Undertakers arrive at the concert?"
"Should we fear for our lives?"
"Will this break up Cancerous?"
"Miss Implosion, tell us more about this accident when you were a child!"
"Explosion, are you having a sexual relationship with Miss Implosion?"
Moira all of sudden became dizzy as she swayed left and right from where she stood, before tumbling down on the floor. A cold sweat had worked itself onto her body. The media grew more frenzied, trying to take a snap of the fallen superstar. A loud shot from the klokateer's rifle immediately stopped the noise, causing everyone to take a step back from the stage. No one paid attention to the dark figure that exited the room, followed by another shortly after.
"The Mistress is not well. Please leave." Was all he said as he stood in front of her. He trained his gun the crowd. "There will be no more pictures."
--Later--
Moira didn't bother to move as Nathan came trudging into her room without knocking. The small woman was lying in the center of her bed, a dazed look on her face as she stared at the black ceiling with the fan whirling around. It had been over three hours since her fainting spell. The doctor had said she suffered from small heat stroke and the sleepless nights did nothing to help her. On top of that, she hadn't eaten very much since her band mates found out about their problem.
"Uh… hey." Nathan said in hopes of getting her attention as he took a seat on the computer chair by her bed. He nudged her bare foot for good measure. She acknowledged him by tilting her head. "Ofdensen wanted uh… what was it?" he scratched the back of his head, trying to remember what the CFO said. "Shit… uh…"
"Whatever it is, I don't care. My head still hurts from that fucking fall." She rolled to her side, facing away from the Amazonian man. "If he thinks I'm embarrassed, that's hardly the case. I've done worse than that." She lazily directed her arm to a photo beside her bed. It was a picture of a younger her and Lucy, both dressed as Sumo Wrestlers in some festival. Behind the two who looked like they were struggling to run, the other women of Cancerous were laughing.
Suddenly, Nathan remembered. "Nah, that's not what he wanted to know… Um, he was wondering if you by uh… any chance knew were your manager was."
Moira flipped over and sat up, "Andy's not in Mordhaus?" Nathan stared at her for a bit, trying to register what she said. He was distracted by her movement, causing her chest to bounce more then they should. The front man briefly wondered if she was wearing a bra, and either way, the dress had fit her upper torso like a second skin. All he had to do was reach over and unzip her to reveal the rest of what was hidden from his eyes.
Slowly, Nathan shook his head, still caught up in his fantasy but not in so deep that he couldn't give her a relevant response. "No. He didn't say anything yesterday at the photo shoot." That was a blunder. Moira blushed a little. Some of the poses she had to do with Nathan was a bit on the suggestive side that blurred the line of non-sexuality between them. What scared her most was that it had left her wanting him touching her. Moira shook her head to clear her mind. Skwisgaar and Runa's pictures were probably the best ones out of them all, especially since the she-devil was once a model and the most gorgeous one of them all. Moira couldn't wait for the final prints for the others.
"So you don't know, hmm?" Nathan then got up, a frown on his face, "Munkittrick wouldn't pick up his-" That got her attention.
"What! But he's worse than a teen girl with unlimited text and minutes!" Moira said, jumping up from the bed. She was out of her room like a bat out of hell, dashing to the managers' office across the large home. Bursting into the room, she slammed her hands down on Charles' desk. "Andrew's not picking up his phone?"
"Miss Implosion, I'm glad to see you're doing well after today's… mishap." Charles said coolly as he neatly stacked a pile of papers in his outbox. "But no, he hasn't." Just then, Murderface walked in.
"Hey, I need to talk to you more about Planet Pish."
"Murderface… I'm a bit busy now." Ofdensen said without looking up.
The male bass player wanted to growl, "You're alwaysh buschy!"
"Shut up! We have a crisis here!" Moira hissed, "Andrew's gone missing!" She whipped her head to face him, stunning him for a moment with her peircing glare.
"Wh-who?"
"Munkittrick you dumb ass!" she rolled her eyes in exasperation.
Ofdensen cut in. " Perhaps Munkittrick is somewhere outside doing a sweep. There are several dead zones out there. I'll call him in an hour." The CFO sighed, hoping it would calm the rather frazzled girl. Moira visibly relaxed, but couldn't shake off her uneasy feeling.
"Hope you're right Ofdensen." Again, Murderface was ignored.
--On a freeway leading away from Mordland—
General Crozier sighed as he took his rather cliché reporter's cap off. He had pretended to be one and obtained fake documents to allow him access to the Dethklok-Cancerous Concert meeting. He had to see Moira in person, even if he couldn't talk to her.
He figured the message he sent to her phone left her confuse, but there was no other way for him to reach her. She didn't know that a group of highly dangerous people with some curse following them were going to be the only ones to protect her. Moira was his god child dammit. He had no children, no wife, or a family for that matter to call his own. Edgar Implosion was the closest thing he had to a son though Crozier was about fifteen years older then him. When Moira was born, Crozier was perhaps the most excited one of them all. Moira had smiled and giggled for the first time in his arms. It was a bitter sweet memory.
Seeing her all grown up tugged at his heart. He missed out on so much, not even bothering to look for her when the Implosions left to Russia. He never understood why they moved there, but he had been a busy man and thus had no time to look for someone he wasn't related to. Boy did he regret that.
The old General was nearing his sixties, but he could remember when he met Edgar Implosion during Vietnam. Implosion was a part of one of the last battalions to come to his camp grounds. The young man, although visibly scared, had proved to be quite a hero, saving Crozier on more than one occasion at the tender age of eighteen. He owed the man his life. The two had remained close friends, despite their age difference. Crozier was even there at the Implosions wedding, having the honor of being the best man then being at the hospital a few years later when their only daughter was born.
The general frowned. Them moving to Russia just didn't make sense. They were still in a Cold War with them at the time. Perhaps Edgar was trying to learn why the Russians were against America? Either way, there was nothing he could do. The thought of visiting Moira's mother, Tina, crossed his mind numerous of times, but would she even talk to him? She sure didn't care about her only daughter anymore. It infuriated him that she would dare lay a hand on her child.
Finally close to his hotel that he was staying at, Crozier stopped at a local photo development place to drop off his camera. He hoped one of the few pictures he took would come out nice. He wanted a more recent picture of the diva, even if it was stalker like, but he honestly didn't care. Turning on the radio, one of Cancerous' songs was playing. Moira rapped pretty well.
Simple souls overload as I explode data banks
Cause the earth & space gave birth to this paleface
Supreme -- linguistic -- mental machine
Your brain cells swell - the intellects extreme
Fire fills my veins as I proclaim my resistance
To the mind-swapping parasites that feed off my existence
As I -- skin the burn to relearn the royal plan
somewhere out beyond the edges in the depths of spirit land
Its authentic, apocalyptic destroyer
Damaging challengers -- resurrection, disorder
A monument of crisis - eye strikes this - your dead
Line my nest with your soul -- cleansed in bloodshed
BATTLE READY!
Poets gonna take control
BATTLE READY
Souls violate parole
BATTLE READY
Violently invade your home
-- breaking the bones
OF THOSE WHO POSE
Commanding the mic -- striking up a verb-fest
Mass destruction is my function - time to put it to the test
In combat -- attacking since way back
In the days I drew praise for the way that I slayed facts
Formulating flows in revolutionary science
Its the catastrophic prophet from the anarchist alliance
Freaking techniques -- this creature of speech
Ewe feel the fury of devastation cause we tasted defeat
I am alone on my throne in this universe of fear
Royalty divides my soul -- in this role I am revered
As the pinnacle -- lyrical master -- queen of disaster
I ruin brain fluid -- the UNKNOWN IS WHAT I'M AFTER…
Crozier got out of the car for the valet guy to take it away once he made it to the hotel. A nap sounded good right now.
--Back at Mordhaus—
Bloodyfist was pacing the rec room, grumbling to herself. "Where the hell is he?" Morning had turn to night and there was still no sign or answer from a certain CFO of Cancerous. The girls had gathered in the game room in hopes of coming up with a logical reason for the disappearance of their manager. It was not like him to make them worry, it was suppose to be the other way around.
"Guards says he wents on daily sweeps of the south borders." Lucy said, biting into her snow cone. Runa nodded in agreement, currently brushing her hair to free it from knots when she took a shower. Besides them was Runa's violin and Lucy's keyboard.
"Uh-huh. Ya sure? Ok then, see ya hon." Cherry got off her phone. "Well, Pickles and the boys say they've found nothing yet. But I wanna know why the hell they got wolves out there!" the red head crossed her arms and leaned against the bar of Toki's Dance Dance Revolution game. The foreigners shrugged as they set up to practice. Runa stood up, tucking her violin under her chin and began to play. The haunting melody of the duo filled the room.
For the first time since they arrived, Moira was in the hot tub. At first she was a little scared about all the germs in there, but one of the klokateers in the cleaning staff assured her the water was changed every other day, and today was one of those days. A tray of warm sake was floating nearby.
All five of them waited around impatiently with only Runa and Lucy's music still playing, glancing at several screens showing the Dethklok Minute program. Moira attempted to throw her sake bottle at the nearest TV when an image of her doing a face plant was shown, but missed horribly. A few minutes after the blue eyed women were finished, Lucy messed with a few controls until a track began to play. The other's smiled and joined in with the familiar beat of the old Beatles song. Moira just rolled her eyes as she sank deeper into the jacuzzi.
Close your eyes and I'll kiss you
Tomorrow I'll miss you
Remember I'll always be true
And then while I'm away
I'll write home every day
And I'll send all my loving to you
I'll pretend that I'm kissing
The lips I am missing
And I'll pray that my dreams will come true
And then while I'm away
I'll write home every day
And I'll send all my loving to you
All my loving, I will send to you
All my loving, darling I'll be true
Close your eyes and I'll kiss you
Tomorrow I'll miss you
You know that I'll always be true-
Lucy's phone rang. Seeing Toki on her caller ID, she answered. Everyone heard from the other end a very worried Toki.
"Where are yous?"
"In da recs room." She looked around at the confused girls. "Why?"
"Stay dere! We comings back." In the background, there was the distinct voices of Nathan and Pickles swearing. The low murmur of Ofdensen could be heard.
"Toki wha-" Lucy didn't get a chance to finish as the line went dead. The brown haired girl closed her phones, looking worried. "I don'ts likes how he sounded. Do you tinks dey found someting?"
Rapid footsteps were heard down the hall. Ofdensen's voice echoed as he gave orders to the klokateers making their way toward him. "Get this to the crime lab! Check for any fingerprints. This blood was seen around the area, send troops to search the woods. The attacker could still be nearby." The girls looked at each other with wide eyes. Dethklok came rushing in a second later, Pickles was the first to grab Cherry's hand and drag her away, telling her to hurry. Skwisgaar did the same with Runa and Toki literally carried Lucy, keyboard and all, out of the room.
"Murderface, what's going on?" Bloodyfist said when he approached her. Her heart was racing.
"Shomeone got pasht shecuirty. They could have gotten your manager." He raised his hand, covered in what they thought was reddish brown mud. "We found thish not to far from where a guard shed they shaw Munkittrick thish afternoon."
Bloodyfist grabbed his hand, examining the substance. "Blood?" her brows furrowed, her breathing labored.
Moira shot out of the hot tub and jogged up to the frowning front man. She didn't care that she was only dressed in a skimpy black string bikini probably found on some Sport Illustrated model and causing huge pools of water to sink into the floor. "What's going on?" hundreds of Klokateers were pouring into the hallway, wielding various medieval weapons strapped to their backs. Moira's heart began to race. "Nathan?"
The large man grumbled, crossing his arms, "Your manager was probably kidnapped." Bloodyfist and Moira's eyes widen.
Charles came in, a set of klokateers behind him. "Ladies, get your stuff packed immediately. Someone had possibly infiltrated Mordhaus, probably having access from a traitor among the klokateers we haven't crossed examined yet. We leave for Moscow at midnight." He glanced at his watch, "It's ten right now, you have five hours to pack and get something to eat." He turned to the two hefty guards behind him, "Make sure no one but Dethklok or myself enters their rooms." The two nodded, gripping their battle axes tightly.
"M-Moscow?" Moira whispered, "Why there? Our concert is in…"
"The Undertakers are most likely expecting us to leave tonight. The helicopter is being analyzed for any threat by the flight crew and then myself. If the Undertakers are here, they might have gotten the information about us heading to St. Petersburg. Moscow would be the last place for them to find us. I'm sorry." Charles put a hand on her shoulder, understanding that the city, as much as she loved it, was the one place she never wanted to return to.
Sighing, she was escorted by guard 718, who handed her a towel, to her room. The door remained ajar as she stuffed what little belongings she had into her case. "Hey, number 718." The man poked his head in. "Can you come here for a moment? I can't reach my last bag up in the closet. Thanks." The man set his axe to the side and did as he was asked to do.
"Anything else, mistress?" his deep voice rumbled with a slight western accent. Moira thought for a moment.
"Hot wings and a bottle of beer. Dunno why, but I'm craving them." She said with a sarcastic laugh as she rolled her eyes. 718 nodded and called for the room service klokateers to bring what she desired. "Shit, would this be considered comfort food?"
-----
In less than an hour, everyone found themselves on the dethcopter that was to take them all the way to Russia. Looking down at the shrinking property from her window, Moira sighed. She was sitting on a chair beside the window, waiting until they were up in high altitudes before daring to walk around. If they hit turbulance while she was up and about, no doubt she's up chuck her unhealthy snack.
"Andy… what happened to you?"
And there you have it! Chapter 12, hot off my laptop!
Dragonz: Wow... really? :O How odd that we have similar taste in music! So weird. Destiny? Lol.
YourSweet: No problem, Angela should never say such things! :D That Cherry line is one of my favorites for her.
Glad you of both like it!
-Just Because I feel like ranting-
While watching Klokblock, did anyone noticed that the woman Toki was with looks like Skwisgaar? Black shirt, jeans, studded belt, long blonde hair and blue eyes? Wow... And then in the Dethgovenor episode, I find it so gross that a gmilf is resting on a very much naked Skwisgaar weewee. Ew...