Author's note: On a bit of an off note, I've decided to put a little counter showing how many days left there are until the Battle of the Bands concert. It will count starting from the day after the story leaves off. So far, there are about 3 weeks left. Manami Nightray: Vincent is the type to be childish about these things. It also makes me happy to hear your enthusiasm. CatXtopia: I'm relieved to hear you liked the story. I had it on hold for the longest time and kept having to change it because I wanted the reason for the blindness in his left eye to make sense without bringing up the ability to get an artificial eye. Deko-gasu: Zwei's band is actually Edge of the Abyss' second biggest rival. Naturally, Bloody B-Rabbit takes the biggest rival role. I will go into more detail about her band in a future chapter along with another band participating in Battle of the Bands. It pleases me to hear that Break's past had the intended effect. Reim is trying to help him overcome his past which is why Break loves him. Like you've predicted, it will cause trouble.
Disclaimer: Mirella's mine. Nova belongs to jellybean-hearts. Pandora Hearts belongs to Jun Mochizuki. The song is The Phoenix by Fall Out Boy. Everything else belongs to their respective owners.
Reviews are loved~
Chapter 16: Phoenix Rising
Oz's POV
Thankfully, Jack was able to pull some strings and get most of the magazine writers to not publish Break's brief rampage. It helped that we were being backed by the police or else we would've had to do a lot of bribing. Unfortunately though, some of them were still pretty stubborn about sticking to the scoop they found, so Jack had to convince them to at least twist the truth without turning it into a lie in order for both parties to be satisfied. If only people weren't such gossips, then this event could've been put behind us.
As a result, Break was asked to take a temporary vacation while Gil took his place as Edge of the Abyss' drummer. Vincent tried to protest against this arrangement, but he happened to be too good at his job to be moved. To fix this issue, Elliot offered to take Vincent's position (even though he knew that I was currently having trouble working with him) while Leo decided to take the other empty bodyguard spot with Reim filling in for him. They both were able to prove themselves capable of the job, so there were no problems there. However, that made things slightly inconvenient due to the lack of a manager. Apparently, Lacie decided to back Bloody B-Rabbit without mentioning it to anyone leaving Glen to take that spot temporarily while Jack, as the main head of the company, took on double the workload much to his chagrin.
In the end, all public gigs were cancelled for the time being and we were to only take private concerts until all the hype died down. Interviews and talk shows of any kind were also out of the question causing our popularity to take a blow while Bloody B-Rabbit took our place. With all this media chaos going on, I almost lost sight of my main priority, but Break, not intending to stop teaching me, brought me back to the task at hand. He assured me that Jack will pull as many strings as needed to make this all work, so I simply needed to focus on this and wait. There was only a few weeks left before the Battle of the Bands meaning that I didn't have any time to waste.
"Oz-kun, I believe you have progressed enough to start attempting to write your own composition. It'll be interesting to see what you come up with," Break commented with a glint in his eye. "Finish this exercise and then we'll be done for the day. The composition will be your homework."
To show that I acknowledged his words, I nodded as I fulfilled the task given to me and let myself be absorbed into my own thoughts. I've never written music before. What am I supposed to write? More importantly, how am I going to hide this from Uncle Jack? He already knows that I've been taking lessons, but what if he decides to pry? I sighed heavily as I thought about the possible scenarios that may come up sooner or later. There's nothing I can do about it, I guess. I'll deal with it when I get there.
Upon stepping out the door, I decided that there was still time before I needed to be back at the apartment, so I took this chance to clear my mind by singing. I have seen street singers before, and have always found it to be sort of interesting, so I figured that there's no harm in giving it a shot. Just take a deep breath and sing. You're not singing to impress people.
Oz
"Put on your war paint
You are a brick tied to me that's dragging me down
Strike a match and I'll burn you to the ground
We are the jack-o-lanterns in July
Setting fire to the sky
Here it comes, this rising tide
So come on
Put on your war paint
Cross walks and crossed hearts and hope-to-dies
Silver clouds with grey lining
So we can take the world back from a heart attack
One maniac at a time we will take it back
You know time crawls on when you're waiting for the song to start
So dance alone to the beat of your heart
Hey young blood
Doesn't it feel like our time is running out?
I'm gonna change you like a remix
Then I'll raise you like a phoenix
Wearing our vintage misery
No, I think it looked a little better on me
I'm gonna change you like a remix
Then I'll raise you like a phoenix."
After singing the chorus for the first time, a crowd started to form and someone had jumped in to join me in singing. Unfazed by the sudden addition (since my eyes were closed to focus on the sound), I went with the flow and continued singing.
Oz and Jack
"Bring home the boys and scrap scrap metal the tanks
Get hitched, make a career out of robbing banks
Because the world is just a teller and we are wearing black masks
"You broke our spirit," says the note we pass
So we can take the world back from a heart attack
One maniac at a time we will take it back
You know time crawls on when you're waiting for the song to start
So dance alone to the beat of your heart
Hey young blood
Doesn't it feel like our time is running out?
I'm gonna change you like a remix
Then I'll raise you like a phoenix
Wearing our vintage misery
No, I think it looked a little better on me
I'm gonna change you like a remix
Then I'll raise you like a phoenix
Put on your war paint."
As we approached the climax, I was completely swept away by the music that I barely noticed that this duet has become a trio.
Oz, Jack, and Glen
[4x]
"The war is won
Before it's begun
Release the doves
Surrender love
(Wave the white flag!)
Hey young blood
Doesn't it feel like our time is running out?
I'm gonna change you like a remix
Then I'll raise you like a phoenix
Wearing our vintage misery
No, I think it looked a little better on me
I'm gonna change you like a remix
Then I'll raise you like a phoenix
Hey young blood
Doesn't it feel like our time is running out?
I'm gonna change you like a remix
Then I'll raise you like a phoenix
Put on your war paint."
Breathing heavily after singing my heart out, I opened my eyes to see Uncle Jack and Glen nonchalantly standing beside me. In the most eloquent way possible (loudly demanding an explanation), I questioned them as to why they were here instead of at their apartment or at Pandora. Uncle Jack admitted guiltily that he was taking a break from working while Glen defended his claim by saying that he was here to bring Jack back, but joined for the sake of not making a spectacle of breaking up this street show. I wasn't pleased in the slightest to hear their reasons, yet I couldn't bring myself to push them away. They are much more tolerable than my father when it comes to my affairs, so I couldn't reveal any of my complaints without feeling a bit bad about it later on.
Fortunately, this garnered some of the press as they praised us for our performance and promised to put in a good word for us. Not wanting to stay for any more questions, I fled the scene going in the opposite direction from where Uncle Jack and Glen were headed and made my way towards the apartment to start the composition. I had to admit that singing just for my own sake really did a good job of clearing my mind to make room for any ideas on what sound to try to create, so I was eager to get started.
However, although I say that, having the notes mesh together in a way that didn't sound like a screeching cat is not the easiest thing to achieve. The song had to be deep in some way and light at the same time because I didn't want to write something depressing. Several paper balls later, I crashed on my desk and fell asleep without finishing the first line. There has to be something I can use as a reference... But what?
In the back of my mind, a young Gil was calling out to me with teary eyes. It was a vision of the past.
"Oz, I'll never stop waiting for you to come back. I promise I won't forget you!"
Never stop...
I'll write about that then. I'll write about that promise, and my own promise that I made upon starting my lessons with Break.
I'll never stop loving you, Gil.
The next morning, the company received word of Edge of the Abyss' overall review as a band participating in the upcoming Battle of the Bands. Apparently, everyone has been practicing in various places outside Pandora's practice rooms causing the press to catch wind of it. This resulted in a review that reads:
Phoenix Rising!
After an incident at one of their concerts where the drummer, Xerxes Break, went on a rampage and nearly attacked a group of people in the audience, it was likely that the band would be greatly affected by this and lose their footing in the music scene. However, after several witnesses found the members and even the company heads performing in a variety of public places, many have come to realize that they have no intention of backing down and losing to this scandal. Anonymous says, "At The Blue Angel café, I was able to meet with Edge of the Abyss' lead guitarist, Elliot Nightray. He informed me that they still have every intention of participating despite what the media has to say and they intend to fully blow everyone out of the water." Wow! What great confidence! I, like many others, have hope for this group and believe that they will definitely get far. In the end though, we will not know how far they will go until we see them at the Battle of the Bands in sixteen days.
We were incredibly fired up after reading those words to say the least. Elliot didn't add any further comments to his statement, but we were all very grateful that he acted completely on impulse. To make sure that no one is let down, we practiced more than usual and decided to perform in public more frequently until the day of the Battle of the Bands. In a way, we truly are like a phoenix. Break's rampage did cause a lot of issues, but we were still continuing to rise back up after being knocked down. We are just going to keep looking forward. There is no turning back now.
Gil's POV (Starting from the day after the band member change)
As of late, Vincent has been acting unusually lenient by allowing me to talk to others freely now. Normally, I would've been pleased by this freedom, but the people I wanted to speak to were too preoccupied to notice that I was given this opportunity. Could this have been planned? I shook my head lightly. I believe that Vincent is doing this for my own good even though it's a bit too much restriction. Maybe this is all just a coincidence.
Suddenly, while I was alone in my room looking over the music I was told to practice, my phone beeped to indicate that I had a message from Alice.
Meet me at the street near my house. I need to talk to you.
Since Alice usually prefers to call rather than text, this worried me because I felt as if something must be wrong. Vincent was busy having a serious talk with Echo, so I simply slipped out of my room and out the door to avoid having to explain where I was going. However, before locking the door behind me, I stopped upon hearing my name mentioned in their conversation and tried to figure out why I seemed to be a key topic in whatever they were discussing.
"I have no objections towards your actions though I am curious to know when you started to fall for him."
"Vincent-sama, I can explain..."
"There is no need. I'm not angry at you, Echo. This is actually beneficial to me, but I am surprised."
There was a brief moment of silence as Echo shifted nervously under Vincent's gaze.
"I'm sorry, Vincent-sama."
"As long as it helps me keep Gilbert away from harm, then I won't pry into your affairs."
She stopped moving only to speak a single word in response.
"Yes."
After that, I swiftly and inconspicuously shut the door and ran into the night towards Alice's house. My head throbbed painfully as I pondered over their words constantly until I couldn't think straight. What am I forgetting? I needed to know. And by the looks of things, it appears that Alice is the only person I can get answers from without being shielded from the truth.
From afar, I could hear the sounds of lighthearted chatter and the clinking of plates and skewers. Seeing Alice ravenously devouring a kabob only clarified the fact that there was a party going on to celebrate something... but what? I thought back on what has happened in the past few days and remembered that Bloody B-Rabbit has been having quite a stroke of luck in gaining popularity so quickly, so it must have to do with that. But then again, that's not really important right now, so I'll push that aside for now.
"Did something happen?" I questioned neutrally considering my shaky relationship with Alice.
"Yeah. You probably don't remember though."
She averted her gaze immediately after looking at me.
"What-"
"I'm sorry, okay? If I wasn't being so stubborn and actually bothered to dry off before this all happened, then everything would've been fine!"
In an uncharacteristically quiet voice, she muttered a small "Thanks" in my direction.
No. There's something else I'm forgetting...
"Alice, please tell me who Oz is to me."
I was desperate. There was a hole inside my heart gradually getting larger every second spent ignorant of who I was before. Even if it meant asking someone who I wasn't on best terms with, I will find that missing piece.
"If you don't remember, then maybe you weren't meant to."
She bit her lip and turned away from me.
"You'd better figure it out soon or else your going to lose him. You only have until the day Edge of the Abyss and Bloody B-Rabbit battle it out."
Trying to put myself in Alice's shoes is pretty difficult when I've never experienced things like this (fighting against someone with amnesia I mean). Echo's feeling rather guilty right about now too. I'm not all too keen on leaving the Bloody B-Rabbit members alone, so I'll make sure to give them a happy ending as well. Oh, and brownie points to whoever can guess what song Oz was hinting at. With that, I hope to continue hearing from you guys in the next chapter, and I'm sorry if I'm being a little unoriginal or annoying with the songs in almost every chapter. I'll try to space them out a little more.
-15 days left-