The group went deeper and deeper into the cavern. Eventually, the lanterns on the walls disappeared. Everyone huddled around Infernape to see. This did not help his claustrophobia. With everyone so close to him, on top of the tiny space meant that Infernape was actively fighting his urge to run for the hills.
A foul odor soon overwhelmed the group. Everyone froze in disgust just to process this. Gardevoir pointed out,
"It smells like that fridge." Garchomp shivered before she finally told everyone what that smell was,
"I hope I'm wrong, but that…that's the smell of a decaying corpse."
"WHAT!" yelled Aggron.
"Relax," said an anxious but currently rational Infernape, "People can make fake smells. It's simple chemistry." Lopunny cockily remarked, perhaps too confidently, "Psh, yeah. It's a fake smell. It's a haunted house, what do you expect?" Infernape took notice of her strange behavior and playfully mocked her,
"Oh, I didn't expect the queen of Spookmis to be scared."
"Shut the fuck up," said Lopunny, "You're the one who's scared! I don't feel fear!"
Soon, they saw what looked like a large opening. A surprise gust of wind extinguished Infernape's flame. He was about to reignite it when the ground beneath them suddenly turned to mud. Everyone slid down into that chamber. Infernape tumbled into a pool of something. Gardevoir and Lopunny collided with something slim but hard, with some other unknown objects landing on their shoulders. Aggron and Garchomp got tangled in each other at the entrance of the chamber. Infernape pushed himself out of that puddle and felt around with the faint taste of copper in his mouth. He snapped his fingers, but this liquid stopped any spark from lasting. However, he had the briefest of glimpses as to what he had fallen into and a chill went down his spine.
He had fallen into blood. Screaming in terror, Infernape scrambled out of the puddle and tried to wipe himself off, only to spread more blood all over his chest. Aggron and Garchomp got up and asked,
"What? What's happening?"
"Are you alright, Infernape?" With no line of sight, Garchomp could only use sound to try and find him.
Alarmed by the sound of Infernape screaming, Lopunny tried to stand up to help him. That object on her shoulder stopped her. Gardevoir stood up as well but just like Lopunny, she was trapped. She created a pink sphere of psychic energy to illuminate the area. The thing holding them back was a pair of arms. Gardevoir screamed as she ripped that arm away from her. Despite her attempts at bravery, Lopunny also screamed in fright. She pulled away with so much force, it ripped the arm clean off. Immediately, she yelled,
"THAT'S CHEAP! THAT DOESN'T COUNT!" before going towards Infernape. Gardevoir lit the room up with another psychic ball allowing them to see Infernape coated almost entirely in blood. Not to mention the horrors that were all over that room. It was a lot to take in.
Sliced-up remains of Pokemon were little all across the room in jars. They were suspended in some sort of green liquid, as though they were being pickled. Fingers, scales, feathers, talons, eyes, tails, if you could name it, it was probably stored here. A few remaining bodies were left untouched, such as the dead Hitmonlee that Gardevoir and Lopunny fell into. They looked drained of all fluid, leaving them as empty husks. Additionally, there were bags of what looked like pigs defrosting, hence the puddle of blood Infernape was currently wearing.
Upon seeing the environment, Lopunny relaxed,
"Oh, this is just generic, schlocky, horror stuff. Not even the worst thing I've seen," she said. Aggron yelled at her,
"GENERIC?!"
"Yeah," said Lopunny, "The bodies, the props, the jars and…" she took a sniff of the bags and immediately recoiled, "Oh god, that's a real pig!"
"Wait so this is real pig blood," said Infernape incredulously, "How is that legal?"
"They've been trying to ban it for years, but bans keep getting shut down because, and I quote, 'It's rotting away anyway," said Garchomp. Infernape then screamed some more at the revelation that he was currently wearing a custom-fitted outfit made of a rotting animal's heart juice.
Gardevoir, evidently shaken by that scare, began to make her way to the exit,
"Well, if that is all there is to see then we'll be on our way, " she insisted, trying and failing to hide the fear in her voice. She turned around only to run into the next monster. She yelped in terror and backed away from the creature, whose features were indecipherable with the eyes as a notable exception. They lacked irises, leaving only pupils and white sclera. They looked like they were hand-drawn with this rough, inky style that jiggled around like the linework was boiling. It outstretched its vague approximation of an arm to the wall and touched it. Within mere seconds, the entrance to the room collapsed. Garchomp was just barely able to pull Gardevoir away in time. They were now trapped.
With his fears seemingly confirmed, Infernape fell onto his knees. He tried to catch his breath in an attempt to calm himself, but it was all for naught. Aggron went down to Infernape level and tried to help him,
"Hey, hey! It's alright. It's part of the haunted house. This is all staged. We're gonna be okay!" However, right as he finished that sentence, hidden speakers began to sing their twisted song. Mumbled murmuring was heard from above. It sounded like something horrible had just happened. The voices then began to move around, eventually making their way to behind the blocked exit,
"HELLO! ARE YOU OKAY!" that employee from before yelled. Garchomp then yelled,
"WE'RE OKAY!"
"THERE WAS AN EARTHQUAKE, STAY WHERE YOU ARE AND DON'T DO ANYTHING. IT'll COLLAPSE IF WE'RE NOT CAREFUL!"
"WHAT!?" screamed Infernape.
"LEE," screamed Aggron, "We're going to okay, you hear?"
Lopunny immediately tried to lift the rubble out of the way. Try as she might, it felt like the rocks were fighting back. The rocks seemed to be pulled to the floor. It was such a powerful force that Lopunny's fingers slipped, scratching them quite badly. To say that Lopunny was growing desperate was an understatement. There was no way she was dying here. However, Lopunny began to think. They couldn't be that far underground.
Now that she thought about it, there were hundreds, if not thousands of people right above them. The odds of none of them having stone control was astronomical. She looked around to see Garchomp also trying to lift the rocks to no avail. This only further raised her suspicions, since someone with Garchomp's strength couldn't move some rocks roughly ten or twenty feet below the ground.
Meanwhile, Gardevoir was beginning to truly panic. She was struggling to keep her breath. The environment around them, not to mention the severity of the situation and how helpless they were, simply got to her. She raised her hand and fired off a psychic blast at the blocked door in an attempt to free them. However, the rocks withstood the blast as though it were nothing. Properly terrified, she slammed her fists against the wall in desperate fury,
"HELP! PLEASE!" Garchomp then stomped the ground, only for nothing to happen. Repeating this again, Garchomp found that she couldn't even control the ground around them.
Lopunny immediately recognized the oddity. Garchomp, at the very least, should be able to control the cave. It was stone, it made no sense for it to resist her beck and call unless… It all clicked for Lopunny at that exact moment. With this new knowledge, she raised her foot high and slammed it into the ground with all of her might. The rocks at the entrance suddenly fell over as though they were blown over by a gust of wind, revealing the vendor behind the wall. If looks could kill, the group would've turned the vendor into a red stain. The vendor, recognizing that Mariana trench-sized hole he had dug himself in under five seconds, tried to alleviate the tension with a joke,
"I guess we made it too scary."
For reasons that defied all logic, the group just sighed and let this go. This wasn't to say they weren't absolutely livid. So much so that, Aggron, Garchomp, Infernape and Lopunny all intentionally bumped onto his shoulder like some sort of middle school bully conga line. However, Infernape was still obviously shaken by that minute or so when he genuinely thought he was going to die in a cave. Aggron and Lopunny took charge in trying to help him,
"Hey, you did great, Infernape," said Aggron as he wrapped an arm around Infernape. The fire type lightly chucked at himself,
"You don't need to pretend. I was freaking the hell out in there." Lopunny patted his shoulder,
"Don't be like that. It's okay to be scared. Not that I get scared, no. That's why I like you. Need someone to balance me out,"
"There you all are," said a familiar voice. Everyone looked over to see a grim reaper walking towards them. Lopunny recognized that voice but didn't say anything. When everyone raised their eyebrows at this figure, the grim reaper pulled his hood back a little bit, revealing Blastoise's face. Blastoise then saw Infernape's shaking body and then grinned,
"What happened?" Lopunny then explained the situation, which left Blastoise both entertained and sympathetic. He told Infernape,
"Glad to see you holding up, soldier," he then patted the fire type on the shoulder, "It takes a lot of bravery to face your fears. I'm proud of you."
Infernape seemed to take this compliment quite well. A warm smile creeped its way across his face. Lopunny then pushed her way up front and told Blastoise off worriedly,
"Grandpa. What are you doing here? The music's gonna start soon. It'll set you off." Blastoise couldn't argue with her, and it was nice to see his daughter care for him. Alas, there was someone here who needed him. You never abandon a troop in need. Blastoise told Lopunny,
"I'll leave before the fireworks are set to go off. It's in the brochure," he then pulled out the brochure. It looked a lot like the flier but with more details about the times. His eyes then gravitated to the music, which showed the major music acts, and the free spots right at the end of the show. Lopunny had told him about Infernape's little impromptu performance in Hydroton. He figured this would be right up the fire-type alley.
"I saw that there are a few spots for anyone to join. That sounds like it would be fun," he said. Gardevoir and Lopunny's eyes went wide once they heard that idea, with the former immediately telling Infernape,
"You've gotta try it, Lee!" she exclaimed, "You love music!"
"You were awesome in Hydroton! These people are gonna love you!" said Lopunny energetically. A little blush appeared on Infernape's voice as he rubbed the back of his head,
"Nah, I haven't practiced in years. I…probably sound like shit." Aggron chimed in with his own input,
"Nonsense, I'm sure you'll do great."
"Lee, you played the guitar better than half the fucking radio, you've got this," said Lopunny. Garchomp provided some additional motivation,
"Don't be coy. I'm sure you'll do great." The entire group soon surrounded him excitedly, eagerly hoping to hear him perform once more.
To say Infernape was hesitant would be grossly understating it. He was absolutely terrified of performing on stage in front of hundreds of people. Hell, he panicked when he sang for Ampharos and Gengar. Who knows what would happen if he performed at one of the biggest music festivals in the world?
But everyone here wanted him to do it. They wanted to hear him sing because they knew he had it in him. They just wanted him to let it out. They were living proof that he had no need to be afraid. Surrounding him was a family. A sister and her lover, a brother, two more who were elsewhere, a girlfriend, and…. None of them hated him or despised him or were hurt by being close to him. However, there was something missing. Two were missing.
Infernape cleared his mind and answered their call,
"Alright, I'll see what I can do." Everyone in the group cheered and they went on their way to the stage.
The concert stage had been built right on the edge of town. It was a massive stage with Spookmis decorations all over the place. From candy to skeletons, to zombies, every Spookmis trope was here. According to the attendance, there would be about 70,000 people here. Naturally, this shook Infernape's nerves quite a lot. However, with everyone having his back, he took a breather and signed up to perform. The lucky few who would get to play would be decided by lottery. Infernape sighed to himself. This was the checkpoint. This was where fate would decide that he wouldn't get the chance. All he could do was look at his number 392 and pray. An Arcanine in a hot dog outfit pulled out a wheel filled with balls and announced that there would be 3 winners. They spun the wheel and announced the first winner,
"592!" yelled Arcanine. A Frillish screamed out in excitement and floated over to the back to prepare. Then there was the second winner,
"229!" A Houndoom calmly and coolly made his way into the back to prepare for his performance. Having already mentally prepared himself to have 23 or maybe 69 win, he turned to the ground and apologized,
"Well, that's just the hand I was-"
"392!" yelled Arcanine. Infernape's eyes went wide in shock as the group erupted into cheer. He turned to see Arcanine hold that number in her fangs and stared in disbelief. Aggron then tapped Infernape on the shoulder and told him,
"Knock 'em dead." Gardevoir and Garchomp both chimed in as well,
"We believe in you, Lee," said Gardevoir.
"I know you have the talent in you," said Garchomp. Blastoise pulled his hood back a little bit so he could speak to Infernape eye to eye,
"Make me proud, Lee," he whispered. Finally, Lopunny gave Infernape a big hug, practically crushing him in it. Once she let go of him, she placed a hand on his cheek and cooed,
"Go get 'em, tiger." With a blush on his face and the support of his friends, Infernape turned towards the stage and entered the back.
Before him were hundreds of instruments. Guitars, drums, marimbas, celeteas, pianos, banjos, if you can name it, it was here. One of the organizers told him,
"A very kind benefactor gave us all of these for aspiring musicians to use. Now, do you have an original song to play or do you want to do a cover?" Since he didn't have any material, Infernape chose to do a cover and was given a list of songs to do. The organizer also told him,
"You can choose to have a Holo-Band play whatever instruments you don't use." Infernpe was only half paying attention and responded,
"Yeah, sure," for he was too distracted tuning a guitar he picked up. He would play a note and adjust to a very specific frequency. Each string was individually adjusted just to get the most out of each individual note. So much focus he poured into this that one of the organizers mocked him for it,
"Wow, picky are we not?" This was met with a simple glare. While he was perfecting his temporary guitar, his mind began to think about what song to do. He wanted something that worked with his most comfortable vocal range, a low tenor. He could go as high as a soprano and as low as a bass tone but he didn't want to stretch his vocal cords too much on his first go around in years.
However, there was more to his song choice than just what suited his vocal range. With everything that's happened to him, he needed something that sent a message, but what message to give the audience. What could he do that would give him that emotional edge that would send his performance into the stratosphere? Love was an easy one, as was sadness. But something didn't feel right about sadness, and while Lopunny had stolen his heart, he was intelligent enough to realize that he was on this stage for him, not for her.
Infernape was surprised that he thought that way. However, he knew why he was here. He knew why they wanted him here. This was all for him. They were giving him a chance to break free from the chains that had formed around him. A blowtorch had been shoved into his hands and now all he had to do was burn through those and soar through the air. Soaring through the air. Infernape grinned at that idea. Flight was the ultimate freedom allowing anyone to escape their confines and soar above the clouds. So he chose a song that would be an announcement of his newfound freedom. An announcement to his friends, his love, his newfound family…
And his brothers.
The rest of the group attended the music festival and had an incredible time. All the major acts played their very best. However, the group was eagerly awaiting for Infernape's performance. The other acts were incredible, with H3RO putting on a particularly good show with their song "Skyscraper," but they were here to support their friend. Lopunny then bumped into someone and apologized,
"Oop. My bad," That someone, who turned out to be Gourgeist, simply wave it off and smiled,
"It's fine. Love your costume," yelled Gourgeist over the crowd. Carracosta then also complimented Lopunny's costume,
"That looks great!"
"Thank you!"
"What are you two supposed to be?" asked Aggron who overheard everything. The two simply shrugged and explained,
"Honestly, I don't know. It was labeled 'Rocket henchmen' or something and it was cheap so…we bought it."
"We're slumlords," remarked Carracosta jokingly. Gourgeist then elbowed Carracosta in the chest with a glare that could kill. Sensing her anger, Carracosta simply rubbed the back of his head cheekily. With that Gourgeist asked Lopunny,
"Have you seen a Grim Reaper walking around?"
"Oh yeah, he's my grandpa."
"Grandpa?!" exclaimed Gourgeist in shock,
"Ehehe, you flirted with a geriatric!" laughed Carracosta. Gourgeist then growled at Carracosta,
"Say that again! I dare you!" Slightly amused at the two's arguing, Lopunny giggled and told them,
"Grandpa's outside."
It was too much. Blastoise had grossly overestimated his ability to handle all of that noise. The pyro, the music, the loud bass shaking the very dirt. It was too much of a reminder. So Blastoise simply went to the outskirts of the city. There was a significant tailgate around the city of Fortren. Dozens of men were drinking beers, grilling food, and just having a good time. Admittedly, tailgating wasn't Blastoise's cup of tea, but for Infernape, he would try to have some fun.
"Howdy-doody, mister spooky man," called out a fun-sounding voice. Blastoise grinned at the thought of the costume he put on to bring attention away from him was doing the exact opposite before turning around. At first, he saw no one until he looked down to see a chandelier shaped pokemon. There wasn't much to really describe Chandelure because he literally was just a chandelier shaped Pokemon with yellow eyes that had a line connected the two alongside two parallel lines that made it look like a skeleton's mouth. The only major difference was the mummy costume he was wearing, the yellow flames instead of the usually bluish purple, and the fake skull he had in his 'hands.'
"Hello there, did you need something?"
"Actually yes," said Chandelure, "I have some friends who are currently busy with a business project, so I need a watching partner so that New York and I don't get lonely."
"New York?" asked Blastoise. Chandelure nodded before suddenly snapped at the skull in his hand,
"No, I'm not replacing you, New York! I just want someone else to talk to! …I'm not saying you're boring, ugh, let's not talk about this right now. He's watching."
Blastoise blinked in surprised amusement. He had seen a lot in his long life, but this was certainly one of the stranger sights. Then again, it was obvious that Chandalure needed a friend or at least a friend that wasn't a prop skull that looked quite real when he looked at it. If anything, Chandelure would be entertaining to be around. He shrugged his shoulders and agreed to watch Hauntasia with Chandelure and 'New York.'
Serperior then slithered her way toward the two and asked if she could join. Chandelure allowed her to join after another debate with New York. After a moment of confusion, she coiled up and grabbed a beer, alongside Blastoise. Chandelure got a soda instead and the three clanged their cans together as they watched the show. As the hours went by, the three cheered and drank. Blastoise cut himself off after 2 beers and switched to soda. However, admittedly, he didn't pay too much attention to Serperior and Chandelure. Throughout the entire performance, Blastoise was saving his loudest cheers of Infernape.
By the time Infernape was called up to perform, every major act had been performed. The entire crowd was exhausted from cheering for the various acts. Most of the group's voices were completely worn out. Lopunny was on the verge of losing hers, but she would still hold out. Aggron's voice was in rough shape. Gardevoir and Garchomp's were the least worn out, the former because she didn't want to drown out the music, and the latter because she preferred clapping. Suddenly, the name Son Lieyanhou was announced and the group fought against the pain to cheer for him,
"GO LEE!" yelled Lopunny before erupting into coughs.
"SHOW 'EM WHOS BOSS!" screamed Aggron. Gardevoir, completely drowned out by the crowd, meekly shouted,
"You can do it!" Garchomp ended their screaming quartet with,
"COME ON LEE!"
"Hello," said Drapion, appearing from seemingly nowhere, scaring the group by his sudden appearance. When asked what had taken him so long, Drapion refused to answer, He was completely and utterly silent. Naturally assuming it was Phantom Corp-related, they didn't press him on it. However, he did clarify that the costume contest was,
"Extremely revealing about the Pokemon condition."
Stalagmiton was cold out tonight. Shady, very dark, labyrinthine. The last place you would want to end up. However, it did have several electronic stores with TVs currently switched on to watch Hauntasia. An entire crowd of people filled this store to capacity. Luckily, once electric-type fellow managed to squeeze his way to the front.
"Excuse me sir, you're stepping on my foot," said Ampharos as a Nidoking had stepped on his foot, obviously. The Nidoking looked down and scowled at Ampharos,
"What did you say to me?" he hissed. Ampharos almost retracted that statement immediately, but instead of taking it, he held his ground,
"Y-y-y-y-y-you're stepping on m-m-m-my f-foot," he whimpered with the fear of god instilled within him. He then stared up at Nidoking, trying to look intimidating but looking more like a puppy angrily barking at a steam roller. Nidoking then backed away, deciding that it wasn't worth the effort.
Ampharos was surprised at himself for a moment. Someone had done something inconsiderate towards him and he stood up for himself. He was surprised that he didn't immediately faint on the spot. Barely a few months ago, he would've just called himself a coward and given into fear, but now, he could stand toe to toe with Nidoking and only partly give in to fear.
Then the name Son Lieyanhou was announced.
Ampharos immediately sputtered out in shock,
"LEE?!" sure enough, Infernape jogged on stage with a guitar in hand. Remembering how good Infernape was in Hydroton, he was immediately absorbed into the contest. To see one of his best friends seemingly overcome his fear made his heart soar with excitement. Behind him, Tyranitar watched the broadcast with a grin on his face. That was one of the people who topped his rampage. All he could say was,
"Good for you,"
In Darequin, Roserade was flicking through the channels on her hospital room. Blaziken was at a party so Swampert was by her side. Security had been tripled upon his request and she had been returned to the hospital since the doctors recommended that she do her physical therapy in the hospital rather than in Swamperts house. So here she was, looking through the channels trying to find something new when she passed by the Hauntasia broadcast and saw Infernape's face for a split second before it flicked to a sitcom. She sputtered,
"Infernape!" and switched back to see Infernape waving to the crow with confidence, although you could see the worry in his eyes. Roserade when wide-eyed with awe right as Swampert barged into the room,
"WHAT'S WRONG!? Oh, it's Hauntasia. Jeez, gave me a huge scare there," he exclaimed. Roserade quickly told him,
"That's one of the men who helped me in Stalagmiton," she said in shock. Swampert then shut the door behind him and joined in on the viewing.
"Wow, I had no idea Son Lieyanhou had musical talent," said Chatot in surprised as he and a guest watched the broadcast, watching as Infernape made some last minute adjustments to his guitar. Next to him, Furret sat in her chair with a teddy bear and plush elephant to help comfort her on this spooky night. She nodded in agreement,
"H-H-He, Ampharos and the others saved my village. I'm s-s-so proud of him," Chatot, surprised, turned around and remarked,
"They saved your town? I had no idea."
"You-You didn't know?" asked Furret. At that moment, Chatot slapped his head,
"Oh, silly me. I remember now."
Gengar couldn't help himself. He really couldn't. As soon as he returned to the mansion, after he was patched up by Vida, he went to a private corner of the mansion and started to search for the group. He didn't have their numbers, only their names, so he searched Infernape's name on the internet to see social media exploding with that name. Immediately, Gengar clicked through and found out about Infernape's performance at Hauntasia. His eyes went wide. Infernape was on a stage. When he met that poor bastard, he was an emotional trainwreck. Now, Infernape was nearly unrecognizable in the best way possible. A smile crawled up Gengar's face, only to fade away. Everyone else was there cheering for Flame-on: goody-two-shoes, stupid, thunder sheep, goody-two-shoes but bigger, grandpa, cowboy, and fluff while he was here. Surrounded but alone. With all of that, the only thing that Gengar could say was,
"Good luck…Lee."
Infernape looked around to see all of the thousands of people around him. Cheering, screaming, and yelling, albeit to a lesser degree than they were when the show started. He wouldn't be deterred by this. Something began to awake from within him. A part of him that had been dormant for eight years now. His worries, his fears, they all washed away like a message on the beach. Every little insecurity was slowly vanishing away. A new Infernape was emerging right here on the stage. He had a microphone earpiece that projected his voice. Holograms appeared behind him, ready to fill in the instruments he couldn't play. No more wasting time. He took hold of his guitar, took one last breath, and began his song.
Manage me, I'm a mess
Turn a page, I'm a book half unread
I wanna be laughed at, laughed with, just because
I wanna feel weightless and that should be enough
The crowd felt like they were being brought back to life. This performer that they had never heard of before just swooped in and sang with this incredible voice. The way he delivered his lines had this enchanting earnestness to them on top of his tenor voice that was borderline hypnotic. Like a final sendoff of the school year in June, infinite possibilities without a care in the world for whoever thought otherwise. That was the best way to describe this voice. It wasn't just his voice. His guitar skills were like that of a god's. Each note was played to perfectly. In the cold October air, he didn't miss a single note. Hell, he was probably doing a better job than the holograms were. He was better than AI.
But I'm stuck in this fucking rut
Waiting on a second-hand pick-me-up
And I'm over
Getting older
The group was stunned into silence. It was like they had fallen under his spell. They all simply stared at Infernape like the crowd and hung on to every word he said. However, that would quickly change as he made his way to the pre-chorus.
If I could just find the time
Then I would never let another day go by
I'm over
Getting old
Infernape then spun around and erupted into the chorus with contagious energy.
Maybe it's not my weekend.
But it's gonna be my year
The entire crowd exploded into cheers right as he started. Gardevoir, Garchomp, and Aggron all exploded into screams. Next to them, Gourgeist and Carracosta followed suit. In Stalagmiton, the entire store sans Ampharos also joined this chorus of yelling. The electric type's eyes went wide with excitement and he pumped his fist into the air. Blastoise, Chandelure, and Serperior rose to their feet and tail and weird spike thing alongside the entire tailgating community. Roserade from her hospital yelled out,
"YOU GO, INFERNAPE!" whilst Swampert stared wide-eyed in shock,
"Holy cannoli."
"T-t-t-that's Infernape?!" exclaimed Chatot in utter disbelief. Furret had let go of her plush toys and was fully absorbed by what was unfolding on screen. Meanwhile, in the Phantom Corp HQ, Gengar was the only one watching the broadcast not reacting with wonder and happiness. Instead, he just stared at the screen with his jaw hanging open. Stunned.
And I'm so sick of watching
While the minutes pass as I go nowhere
And this is my reaction
Infernape's onstage charisma was unparalleled. He moved across the stage with great enthusiasm. He would bend forward and back to emphasize certain notes, raise his hands to control the crowds cheers, but no energy was wasted. He never ran across the stage, only walking back and forth. Never did he try too hard to appear energetic or cool. This was all for a reason as the first chorus came to its end.
To everything I fear
'Cause I've been going crazy
I don't wanna waste another minute here
As the rest of the song continued, Infernape only got better as time went on. It was like he was an entirely different person. Lopunny stared silently at Infernape as he performed. She watched as he started to incorporate his pyrokinesis into his performance, creating pillars of fire right as he entered the second chorus. However, all the lights and noise and glamor couldn't distract Lopunny from Infernape. The way he composed himself on stage was simply incredible. In his eyes was a spark that had long since been dormant. For the first time since she had met him, she had seen Son Lieyanhou, and her first impression, he was amazing. His attitude, his confidence, his charisma, it all combined together to form a man beginning to free himself from the chains of his past.
As the bridge came to a close, the lights dimmed. Flames were extinguished and left only a single spotlight on Infernape as he sang the last few lines of the bridge. In that small moment, when the synth began to rise, he took a breath and smiled. He hoped that they heard this. He shot right up onto his feet and sang out,
Maybe it's not my weekend.
But it's gonna be my year
Before rocketing up into the air followed by a trail of flame. He strummed his guitar as he spun around in the air above the crowd. Flaming pillars exploding all over the stage as he sang his heart it with an impassioned performance. Soaring over the crowd's heads, he passed by the group, giving them a small smirk before shooting back to the stage to deliver the last line of the song.
I don't wanna waste another minute here
With that, he simply bowed as the crowd erupted into the loudest cheers of the night. Defying their exhaustion and pain to give him the ovation he deserved for such an unbelievable performance. Infernape then stood straight and raised his hand into the air. Everyone there began to hold on one note each. An entire stadium of people all beginning to harmonize as per Infernape's direction. He would sing out a note and the audience would repeat it. Then, he would raise and lower his hands, signaling high and low notes and the audience would follow suit with ease. In all, he had managed to create this magical sound that cannot be articulated. One can't fully encapsulate that feeling of watching thousands of people, all from different backgrounds, uniting under the simple beauty of music.
It was this magic that stirred something within Lopunny. She was the only who present at the stadium that didn't join in the chorus. Instead, all she could do was stare at the fire type on stage. A faint fluttering began to grow in her stomach. Scoffing at herself, and clutched her head and smirked to herself. All she could say was…
"Wow."
"...dude, dude, Dude, DUDE!"
"Ugh, why do you need to be so loud, what is it?"
"IT'S THE HAUNTASIA BROADCAST! LOOK!"
"...Oh my god,"
"LET'S FUCKING GO! …Sorry!"
"Lee."
"WE'VE GOTTA GO THERE ASAP!"
"Hold on, we've still got our responsibilities here. I'll talk to the management and see if we pay Lee a visit. I'm proud of him."