Donny
Even though it was the middle of April, one of those rare winter winds must have graced us with its presence, because the night air was a lot colder than usual. I’m glad for it though, since I prefer the cold and although Chrono-Haven has four seasons just like everywhere else, it never got too hot for to long.
Usually I would be enjoying this kind of weather inside, with a warm cup of coffee while raiding in one of my games… But I promised them. It’s not like I hate the idea of going to the concert, but it’s still kind of hitting me that I am actually going alone. Even I know that’s a sign of desperation… But still, I promised.
My clothes weren't anything special, as usual. Just some black jeans, a gray shirt, and my favorite leather jacket. I’m no good with fashion, the kind of guy with the same identical three shirts in 5 different colors. Don't even get me started on dress shirts! If it has a button or a collar it’s a definite no-no! I am not even sure how I am supposed to dress for a pop concert anyway, so I tried to at least dress like I did when I went to rock and metal concerts with Greg.
While throwing my cigarette on the floor and stomping it out I heard the sound of an engine. I guessed that was probably for me since I lived in a… Well, you could say “student area”. Most of these streets here are all owned by landlords who were leasing them to students. Bicycles and electric scooters were really common, but a car? Now that was rare. And judging by the long black limo that pulled into the street and stopped right in front of me, it looks like I guessed right..
The man that came out.... No, not man… The only thing that came to my mind and that moment was “holy shit the zoo had a fucking break out for their polar bear exhibit”. He was at least 2m tall, built from muscle head-to-toe. His bald head combined with his mustache made him look like he was the villain from a 60s movie. He was dressed in a complete black suit with dark leather gloves and the classic pairing of sunglasses and earpiece. I actually had to tilt my head back to actually make eye contact and I began to pity any fool who tried to start something with this guy.
“Excuse me, sir, I am looking for a Mr. Porter.”
Even his voice sounded like a bear was growling. I also noticed he had a weak northern accent, no wonder he was so huge. The Northern plains were full of native barbarian tribes from up to 150 years ago until the Kingdom of Vepar conquered them. Even though they are civilized now, their descendants are still born bulky. I also watched a few documentaries going over some tribes that still followed the ways of their ancestors high into the mountains. There were even some amongst them that had the blood of the extinct draconian beast-kin. It was also probably the only time that the Kingdom of Vepar and the Oligarchy of Ebonrath actually worked together. To fight together against a more dangerous foe… And, of course, like every extreme measure taken before it, it ended in genocide.
Even still, you had a few descendants who were just as big and tough as their ancestors. And a prime example is this giant polar bear who began to look upset… Oh crap, did I monologue in my head too much again!? A clearing of the throat that sounded more like a threatening growl of a bear made me stop thinking about his origin and prompted a fast answer from me.
“That would be me sir, I am Donny Porter.”
He just raised an eyebrow and looked me up and down while putting a hand on his chin… Holy shit! That hand alone is bigger than my head!
“May I please see some identification sir?”
I swear I could actually see his chest muscles flex! I hastily pulled out my wallet and showed him my documentation that had my picture next to my name and some other basic info confirming my identity.
“Is this fine sir? I’m afraid I don't have a driver’s license. Not a fan of driving...“
I was sweating like crazy while this guy was going over my picture on the document, and praying to anything I can think of that this guy doesn't decide that I took too long and that he would rather punch me. After a few more moments the man finally returned my document, but his expression took a turn for the worse..
“I am afraid this is wrong sir.”
I could only open my mouth in disbelief as the man’s hand grabbed the front of my shirt.
“It says 179 cm here, but we both know you have at least a centimeter extension on your shoes…”
Holy shit, holy shit, ho- Wait!
“Those motherfuckers!”
“Hahahahaha!!!”
The man immediately dropped me and slapped my back in a friendly gesture… Well, I believe he wanted to be friendly, unfortunately it felt like I got slammed by a linebacker.
“Apologies Mr. Porter, but you know how Mr. Jones is.”
Then he opened the back car door and motioned with his hand for me to enter. I followed his instructions and just by entering I could say this limo was incredible. I realized even more so just from sitting down on the plush leather seats. Wow! I made sure to have a nice chair at home since I spend so much time at my desk on my laptop… But this was a different world. After I settled into my seat, his words from earlier hit me.
“That son of a bitch! I will make him pay for that comment from earlier!”
A Grin spread across his face as he took the driver seat and lowered a window that acted as a partition from the driver and passenger.
“Oh, please do! And please, be informed that I would gladly join in that wonderful endeavor, now shall we be off Donny?”
…OK, he’s clearly nice, but the feral grin that he had spread across his face still gave me goosebumps. Let's just hope he doesn’t talk too much…
************
About 45 minutes later, Tolgan and I were screaming in laughter while listening to an old rock band. We were talking the whole time and I found out he was a diehard D&D fanatic. It also turns out he was good friends with Felix and Chris, meaning the stunt he pulled earlier was probably revenge from earlier this morning. And Tolgan… Holy crap, I’ve never been more wrong in my life! This guy was a bear, yes! But he was a freaking teddy bear!
“And then, you see, our party's undead Dark Elf is running from the inquisition! The guards all screaming `In the name of the King Stop` And- *Chuckle* -and this bastard just stops in the middle of the square and goes ` What’s his name?`!”
Both of us were screaming in laughter again as I retold my favorite Felix moments.
“Hahaha! I can believe Felix would do that! That guy is so serious at the worst possible moments!”
Tolgan was clearly enjoying himself as he was slamming the steering wheel in laughter. As I was wiping the tears from my eyes, I noticed we had gotten off of the highway and were now surrounded by people, tents, and parked cars.
“Did these people… Actually sleep here?”
Tolgan just grunted as he stopped laughing and was now focusing on dodging the pedestrians. His grunt still sounded like a giant polar bear defending his territory, and I swear a few of them heard it loud and clear as they started jumping out of the way.
“Well the stadium can only keep about… 150,000 people? Half the tickets were sold online while the other half were sold here… Got sold out in about twenty minutes after the ticket stand opened this morning… It was not a pretty sight. Just glad I am not on ticket stand duty anymore.”
Holy shit, I knew INFINITY L00p was popular… But, this popular? After a few more minutes of careful driving, Tolgan finally came to a stop. He exited the limo and immediately came to my doors side and let me out. First thing I noticed after getting out of the car were 5 more bulky guys in suits with shades and earpieces. Tolgan looked at me, reassuringly.
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“Just some extra protection, my friend. Some of these fans… Well, it wouldn’t be the first time people got mugged just before the concert.”
Yeah… I was fine in the car, but I could feel the panic starting to set in..
“Ah! There is their manager, Mr. Ozeth. He will explain the schedule for tonight. Enjoy Donny! I hope you have fun!”
As the limo drove out of sight, I felt alone again. Tolgan was someone I could see myself hanging out with, so I felt comfortable. But before I could even think about yelling for him to stop to exchange the contacts, one of the security guards gently took my arm as another did the same on the other side. They began to walk, guiding me as they did..
“Best not to linger too much, Mr. Porter… Some of these fans are crazy.”
At that exact moment, some crazed fan was screaming about letting them in. I noticed one of the security guards intervened… Did that guy just fireball her in the face!? My panic worsened from the conflict I noticed, and it only got worse as they brought me to their manager. He was clearly a demon, and even though he was only half my height, he was massive! I noticed a writhing flame in between his horns where his hair should be, and then I saw him eat a bagel… With the mouth on his stomach… Holy crap that’s a big mouth! Yeah… Can I go home now?! Fuck promises!
Ranva
I could only look in satisfaction as I finished sharpening my knives. Ozeth can say whatever he wants but we both know that the fans love it when I start throwing them around.
“And one... And two.... And spin!”
While Xera was doing her regular routine in the center of the room warming up for her dance and double checking herself.
“Looks like he didn’t take the threat seriously.”
Vermilia was of course going through her phone, guessing she's deciding some poor bastard's fate. What did he do again? I can’t really remember which fool it was or what he did. Guess I’ll wish him good luck, but I couldn't care less.
Then right on time, about twenty minutes before the show, Luna came through the door to our dressing room… And shit, her expression wasn’t a good one. Not only did we have a way smaller dressing room this time due to some construction or whatever, but we also had that issue with the ticket stand this morning. And an upset Luna before we even start is screaming we’re going to have a difficult night.
“OK ladies! The show starts in twenty minutes. let’s do some final prep and survive like alwayst!”
Xera stopped dancing and simply nodded her head while Vermilia moved her gaze towards Luna before frowning. She saw Luna's face and looked towards the stack of papers in her hands, likely the V.I.P. list for tonight.
“Is that tonight's V.I.P. list? How does it look, darling?”
To which Luna sighed. There we go, I knew something was bothering her other than the dressing room and ticket stand. Honestly, I don't blame her, none of us do. We all hated dealing with the V.I.P.s. When we first started this package it was actually awesome. The fans that were coming were normal and somewhat civilized… But now…
“The usual really, three of them are representatives from three different companies, probably using this opportunity to offer us to be the face of their new product or to make some deals or sign some contracts… hehe.”
That made all of us chuckle. Ozeth is a monster when it comes to negotiations and it’s not surprising they are trying to skip him and approach us directly. Unlucky for them though, they made the biggest mistake of their careers. There is a reason why Ozeth is so keen on making sure all contracts and deals go through him. If Ozeth is a monster then Luna is definitely the devil when it comes to the business world… Poor bastards.
“Then we have four… *cough* `people of standing`.”
“You mean four rich brats using daddy’s money to show off?”
Luna gave me a glare warning me about my comment. And it would have worked, but the small smile at the edge of her lips gave her away. After a resigned shake of her head, she continued.
“And of course, we have two of the types that we all love. I bet you all know who I am talking about.”
“Oh, let me guess! Last time it was those singers so… this time it’s probably actors, right ?”
Xera’s question was answered by Luna with a nod, which made the rest of us groan in pain. Even I commented on this, just based on how difficult they were to deal with..
“Crap! They’re the worst! They think because they’re popular we’ll drop our panties as soon as they flash a smile or drop a compliment! And half of them are sponsored by their fucking managers to come and dont even care about us!”
Xera gently grabbed my shoulder and gave me a reassuring smile, but a little mischief twinkled in her eyes.
“On that subject, what happened to that show host? You remember, the one that got his nose broken after Luna had enough of him annoying her all night?”
A cool, evil smile creeped its way across Vermilia’s face.
“Oh, don't worry dear. He will never bother us again.”
I’ve known Vermilia for a very long time… And that sadistic smile that only she can make still scares the shit out of me. Before she could go into detail about how she made his life- or I guess what was left of it- a perfect hell, Luna got our attention again. It was clear as day that there was something confusing her, and this was the main source of her frustration.
“The only strange thing about tonight is this guy.”
She presented the file in front of us with some basic info… Well, it was basic info for one of Luna’s “background checks”.
Donatello Porter
Height: 179cm
Weight: 81kg
Age:31
Blood Type: AB+
Eyes/Hair: Brown/Brown
Address: Chrono-Haven South / Clockwork 21st street. Building 13/ Floor 7/ Apartment 19
Occupation: Librarian
Power/Rank: Unknown/ Assumed Rank F
“I did a quick background check on him…”
That sentence made Vermilia cock and eyebrow while Xera’s were both raised. I let out a small chuckle… Yeah, “quick background check” my ass..
“And it's not adding up at all. He definitely doesn’t have the income to buy something like this. I mean, even if he was saving up, he isn’t one of our hardcore fans. Ozeth already approached him after I brought it to his attention. Apparently he got it as a birthday present, which makes even less sense to me.”
At first we were all confused. All I could think was “wow, what good friends and family he has.” But then the name and the mention of a birthday present hit me!
“Ahhh crap! But good thing he actually came! Awesome!”
The rest of the girls were staring at me now, clearly waiting for an explanation.
“Ah! Yeah, sorry, sorry, I forgot to tell you guys. He’s a friend of Chris and Felix!”
“Who?” Vermilia unsurprisingly had no idea who I was talking about..
“Wait, those two guys from Neon Magic? The group that you helped out a couple of years ago as a part of Ozeth’s marketing campaign?”
But Luna of course knew who I was talking about. She tends to keep the list of potential rivals and business partners in her head. Vermilia and Xera unfortunately still had no idea who I was talking about.
“Yeah! They called me a few days ago and asked for a favor. A V.I.P. for a discount, so I talked to Dante, Ozeth’s assistant. He set it up, but I guess he never told Ozeth…”
Good thing he actually came. He gave a 50% discount… Holy crap, good thing he never told anyone that part, Luna would kill me if she found out.
“And you just agreed?”
Not surprising Xera found it strange. We rarely do favors for anybody, especially if it’s somebody not all of us are familiar with.
“Well, yeah they're good peop- Well, excluding that bitch Laura!”
The rest of the girls rolled their eyes. They knew how much I hate that condescending southerner bitch! Just because she has tanned skinned and that smug fucking smile, and her manager-
“Ranva?”
-tells her nothing when she twirls those stupid batons while I have to f-
“Void to Ranva!”
-ucking have to deal with Ozeth every time for my knives, and let's not even mention that stu-
“RANVA! Stop thinking about murdering Laura and finish the explanation!”
Ah shit! Did Vermilia have to scream into my ear? Still, Laura is a bitch!
“Where was I? Oh yeah, Chris and Sandra are both amazing and wonderful people. I still talk with Sandra every few days! And Felix was actually the one who was begging me and we all know we kind of owe him for setting up our sound system during the last album for free.”
Luna and Xera looked at each other with a complicated expression while Vermilia sighed in annoyance. She sat on the couch while crossing her arms, clearly bothered.
“Let me guess, we are supposed to be extra nice to him and show him a good time Ranva? Maybe hold his hand through the whole process and act like he’s our best friend!?”
Well I can’t really blame her for being upset. This could be a complete disaster. But excluding Chris, Felix is a good judge of character. And according to him that guy is just shy and very antisocial with new people. Apparently they can tell he’s in a very bad place and wanted to help him out.
“Well… We do owe Felix.”
Yes! Good Job Xera! I knew you would join my side, you big softie!
“Yes we do Xera! And by the information you collected on him, he seems normal, and Felix is a good judge of character! So let’s give him a chance… We can always make him have an “accident” if it turns out he’s an idiot.”
Doesn’t matter how good of a friend I am with them, we still have our boundaries. lets just hope it doesn’t come to that, I don’t want Ozeth to call another cleanup crew.
“We start in ten ladies! Get ready!”
And the announcement from the staff member was our cue to switch gears and focus. It’s show time!