Chapter Fourteen

Gently Weeping Guitarist

Mina's body felt almost as it had turned to stone sitting on the hard wooden chair backstage. Normally she could feel nothing but exhilaration when she was about to go on stage. Right now, though, all she could feel was a crushing defeat and infinite helplessness. She wasn't surrounded by her bandmates and friends, she was surrounded by a bunch of muscled up thugs in robes with her only possible friend locked in a cage next to her. The closest she came to a hospitable stagehand was the silent and sour faced makeup girl prodding at her face. Stella had buried her head in her knees so that no one would see her tears—Mina half wanted to do the same. She was two steps off from bursting into sobs herself but she could only read the lyrics on her paper with her energy draining by the second.

"We want you to sing a song for everyone."

"Why did you need to kidnap me for this?! The publicity department takes requests and we host parties! Couldn't you just have done that?!"

"No. If we didn't have you secured like this, you wouldn't cooperate."

"What's so wrong with a SONG?!"

Her fingers tightly gripped the delicate paper in front of her, wrinkles spreading across it. She wanted to just tear it up right there and then but both her and the captive in the cage would get in trouble if she did. The cultist would likely be offended if Mina destroyed something so precious to them—and the popstar knew very well that you don't want to offend the type of people who looked capable of snapping you in half like a twig. She had seen weapons earlier, too. The cult had made no secret of hiding them from her and Stella, likely to scare them.

Her glare focused in on the dark haired matriarch of the Frost family in the corner, chatting with the massive capybara. THAT terrible woman. Every awful thing she had revealed made Mina's skin crawl. It was as if Vanessa Frost had savored the disgust, fear, and horror that had reflected on her prisoner's face while revealing their intent.

"We are Primum Semper. We are the true thinkers, the true achievers, the true successors to the world. It's only natural that everyone should listen to us. And with your precious little voice, we can make absolute sure that no one ever dissents from our superior thoughts."

"I would never help you with such a horrible goal."

"You have no choice. You are in great danger, as is my little niece—I have no qualms with her having an 'accident' tonight, after all. So you will sing the song that we give you, and both its sound and lyrics will be broadcast across the entire world of Mobius. Pockets of opposition might be left afterwards but they'll be overtaken by your HUGE fanbase, Miss Mongoose."

She grit her teeth. If there was anything that could offend her more than the fact that they were using a small child against her, it was that they were taking advantage of her fans while doing it. She was a pop star of worldwide fame and she had all of them to thank for it. Any famous singer worth their salt had that respect within them. To be used to manipulate and hurt them like this was absolutely unforgiveable. It was taking advantage of their years of dedication to her own dedication.

There were good people out in that crowd who wanted nothing more than to support her, and there were just as many good people at home about to tune into this supposed 'smash hit concert of the century' that had been announced in Station Square. Tune into Mina Mongoose's new hit song, they had announced. You'll fall in love with this fantastic new rhythm; it's sure to be a new classic for the ages. Fans new and old will be ENCHANTED by it.

She repressed a sob again.

Her music was about to hurt people.

Again.

"It is a song specially written and composed by Agoston Hoff, the original founder of Primum Semper. It affects the mind. It blocks out the capability to process free thought, and instead subjects the individual to the will of their superiors. For decades we were entrusted with Agoston's final melody for the day when we found a musician with enough popularity…and now we've found you. It's truly fantastic, really—we, the esteemed and higher members of Primum Semper, will be where we belong. Always First, Never Last."

"That's INSANE! I won't sing this!"

"I already told you that you will. Because if you don't, something far worse will happen to both you and that little girl back there. And since we can't have any direct witnesses, bad things might also happen to that crowd out there…."

"…You can't be serious…"

"Oh, I am very serious. And I suggest you put some serious thought into what's more important as well. Now you should get to the makeup crew—your face looks absolutely ghastly. I swear I'd replace your mediocre self with me if I had the star power to do it."

Hands on her arm snapped Mina out of her reverie. Startled, she looked over to the white fox kit in the cage beside her. They hadn't bothered to replace the torn up, dirt caked pink coat that Stella had been wearing. It lay discarded in a corner of the cage. Now she just shivered in the sleeveless, light purple dress underneath it. But she wore a cautious smile on her face even as her ears were enveloped by a pair of massive purple headphones.

Mina gazed at them blankly.

Uncertainly.

Hatefully.

"I can't believe you're holding your own niece hostage. She may even hear the song! You're risking depriving her, too!"

"Oh, I always intended that."

"…W-what…?"

"Did I stutter? I never had a chance for it before, since there was no solid plan to capture or entice a musician talented enough. But I always knew to go by my creed. It was my creed even before I found my fellows. Always First. Never Last. As soon as that child is malleable, she'll give up my fortune with no struggle. And I'll be first like I was always supposed to be."

"But she's your FAMILY."

"Family never stopped me from cutting the brakes on her mother's car."

The mongoose's blood had run cold at that moment. It had finally clicked in her head that Vanessa Frost was not joking, and that she held no affinity for anyone besides herself. And because of that, Stella Frost now sat in front of Mina smiling innocently with no knowledge of what the headphones would do to her. All she knew was that Mina would be singing, and it would go into her earphones to make sure she heard the lyrics.

And her mind would immediately go to mush.

Mina swore under her breath.

She found herself wishing so dearly that Sonic hadn't fallen for Vanessa's scam. The mongoose had been cautious once she had been taken in, particularly due to Stella's behavior upon seeing the woman, but the capybara and the older fox had kept Mina close by their side and as far from the 'hero' as possible. The best she could do was shoot him a worried look and a frantic wave from across a crowd—it had probably just come off as stage fright, thought for a moment she had thought she had seen concern and realization flicker in his eyes. Only moments later he had been ambushed by Vanessa to talk loudly and jovially about his previous deeds as a Freedom Fighter.

Tails had disappeared. Maybe, she figured, that was for the best. He was a child just like Stella—neither fox deserved to be subjected to this kind of show fueled by the greed of adults. But at the same time she wished the boy could be here. At the very least he would catch onto the situation somehow. She didn't know how. Sonic's odd sidekick was an incredibly clever child in many regards and right now she needed SOMEONE to notice that she was being guided around like a prisoner rather than a guest. The cultists had passed it off as heightened security due to the kidnapping.

They probably even planned that…

Unconsciously her thoughts drifted to the Hooligans, and to Nack. They had all been unceremoniously shoved into police cars while their leader yelled expletives. It had been exactly how Mina had wanted her time with them to end, and yet right now it felt incredibly hollow. Just like her, the three of them had been tricked and even if they were slimy lowlifes, it was obvious that Vanessa stood as their adversary. Hell, Nack had to be dragged unconscious to the police car thanks to a misguided attempt to shoot the fox woman—he had been tackled and disarmed with no punches held back. And it had taken a whole hoard of the cultist rats to down Bark and Bean afterwards.

It was the stupidest thought that had ever popped into her head, but right there and then, she almost wished that the Hooligans were next to her. Even Nack with his grotesque inability to not act like a jackass. They were liars, they were cheaters, and they weren't loyal to anyone outside of their little gang—but for just a fleeting moment Mina wished for their help too. For just that brief, solitary second she remembered being saved from the lagoon and watching the clear affection that the weasel was trying to pretend he didn't harbor for his younger charge. Just to see them messing up would be enough to lift a bit off her heavy heart right now.

She sighed.

I guess its official. I've gone completely insane. I guess I'll fit in with Primum Semper's new world order….

"Mina."

"Hmm?" She looked up to the arctic fox's worried eyes. "Oh, Stella…what is it?"

"It's going to be fine, Miss Mina. Me 'n them, we've stopped Vanessa before. It wasn't on a grand scale like this but we've done it. And we can do it again." Stella's words were so full of sheer trust that it was hard to not believe them. "I believe in them and you should too. Even if you don't like them that much, they'll come through for us. They might complain a bit about it first though."

"Nack? You even have hope in NACK…?"

"Yeah, even him. 'Specially him. He'll especially complain a lot too." Stella giggled, bringing a soft smile to Mina's face. She supposed any other day she would've been perturbed by the girl's devotion to the Hooligans, but today wasn't any other day. Today she could use some hope. Even if it was just the hope of a little girl in a group of indomitable miscreants.

She bit her lip.

Hope…frustration…

I told myself I wouldn't have to rely on 'hoping' for anyone again. She thought, eyes downcast. But here I am making lists of people to help me…

"There's nothing wrong with a little hope now and then, y'know. Sometimes we can pull ourselves out of a hole but I'm starting to think that sometimes we need some help with that pull." Stella interrupted Mina's train of thought. The mongoose quirked an eyebrow at her words.

"Where did you hear that?"

The fox smiled broadly. "One of Nack's CDs."

Oh.

"You give me all this hope, even though you say you're a trollop, and when life pushes me into that hole, you take me hand and pull me right on out into our pitiful globe." Stella sung softly under her breath—the fox's voice was pitchy and untrained, but she clearly knew the lyrics by heart. Mina could only assume this was a frequent song on her trips with the Hooligans. "I say I loathe, you say we should go elope off to that world, and for five minutes I want to take that trollop hand."

"Kind of mean."

"I guess. But it gets the point across, in its own way."

Mina pushed purple strands of hair behind her cream colored muzzle, looking down at the paper clenched between her hands. A pair of the cultists rapidly approached them; Stella scooted to the back of her cage with fear in her wide blue eyes. The mongoose watched her as she felt goosebumps running across her skin. Closing her eyes, she pressed the paper against her forehead. Determination spread across her youthful features as the two rats rounded behind her. From behind them, Thaddeus emerged from the shadows to look down upon her. The make up girl stumbled away from the both of them.

Maybe they can help pull me out of this hole. But I refuse to not play a part.

"Are you ready for your final show, Miss Mongoose?" He rasped. A sneer was obvious on his features. Mina took a deep breath, letting her hands fall to her lap, green eyes opening to stare steadily into the beady black ones of the capybara. For a few moments they just engaged in a silent war of stars, the rats and their other captive watching warily.

"…I have one final request."

"You have no room for final requests, Miss Mongoose, remember that you are our captive." Thaddeus grunted. "Please refrain from such abstract idiocy."

"It could benefit you."

Thaddeus leaned down, eyes squinting as he tried to solidify the image of the mongoose in his visage. The hot breath from the massive capybara's snout blew Mina's bangs up against her forehead; one of her own eyes squinted at the odd scent that the beast gave off. It wasn't bad, more like it didn't smell like anything at all—like a hunter trying to find prey. Whatever was wafting off of him cancelled out scents, and left her feeling vulnerable against a far more trained enemy.

She could NOT allow it to break her.

"I was just thinking that maybe I could open the show with a different song than this." The angry snort that blew her hair back made it clear that Thaddeus wasn't pleased with the offer, and it took all of her being to retrieve her heart from her stomach and continue. "W-wait, don't j-just dump it. Hear me out first. I was just thinking that if you—WE allow some more time for people to pour into the stadium and tune in, then more people will be captivated by your lyrics. T-that's all."

"…Hrmm." Thaddeus sniffed loudly and Mina cringed back into her seat. "Hrm. Yes, I can see the benefits of what you are proposing. Do you have a song that you wish to perform first? I certainly don't care what you choose but if it is not good, it will chase people off rather than do what you are saying."

"O-of course I understand that possibility, BUT…" Mina flashed him the most phony, million-dollar smile she could conjure up. "…who would walk out on Mina Mongoose, Mobius' number one pop sensation?"

"Hrmm. Do it, then. But remember…" Beady eyes narrowed, his snout exploring across her face; Mina froze as a shiver ran across her entire body. His fingers plucked the paper out of her hands—according to what she had been told, it was the only copy they had and was considered 'sacred' in a way. "…if you try anything, then we have ways to punish you for your insubordination. I am sure that Vanessa has explained these things to you already, yes?"

"Y-yes. Trust me. There's nothing I can do." Mina casted her eyes downward to avoid another facial probing from the half blind capybara. He snorted in approval, grunted heavily as he rose to his full posture. "T-thank you. I just wanted one last performance before everything changed."

And maybe, just maybe, it'll buy enough time.

She squeezed Stella's hand before she rose to leave, a tight lipped smile on her face. To her surprise the fox child wore a look of astonishment—Mina couldn't quite tell why.

But then again, she also didn't see the three suited men behind them.