Chapter 4 - The stage is set

Narrator 2: You know, I wonder what's gonna happen next.

Narrator 1: Maybe we'd find out if you shut up and let the writer focus.

Narrator 2: Okay okay, you don't have to be a dick about it.

* Dragon and his friends are sitting in his apartment trying to track down leads on potential guitarists.

Dragon: Anything?

Digit: Nope.

M.L. Starr: Nada

Mike: That's a negative.

Phoenix: We got nothing mate.

Dragon: Damn it, I should've known something like this would happen. After all, when bands form what's the first thing they look for?

Phoenix: A party with lots of beer and fire?

Dragon: It was a rhetorical question. Anyway, I think I got a better idea.

Z.N. : Don't hold out on us man, what is it?

Dragon: Well, maybe instead of looking all over social media. Maybe we should be looking in clubs and bars.

Digit: True, that's usually where most musicians are.

Dragon: Exactly, I think tonight we should all go to a bar or club to see if we can find anything. Just make sure to communicate through text about what you find.

Phoenix: I Ay mate!

Z.N. : Can do

Mike: Sure

Nando: Sounds good

M.L. Starr: Okay

Digit: No problem

Dragon: Now, pick a club or bar and make sure it's different from everybody else's.

* Dragon and his friends spend the next few hours getting ready and deciding where to go. Eventually, at about 11:30. They head out to the parking lot of dragons apartment.

Dragon: Alright, everybody's got their assignment. Just make sure that they can play guitar.

* Everybody nods and heads for their individual cars. Later, they all arrive at their respective locations.

Text: Everyone set? - dragon

Text: Yup - digit

Text: We're good here mate - Phoenix

Text: I wanna go home. Sorry, wrong person - mike

* Dragon is once again at the dive bar he met Starr in. He stands by the bar, looking around. After some time, the manager sees him and walks over.

Manager: Hey dragon

Dragon: Hey

Manager: What are you doing here? Your not scheduled to play tonight, or are you? Sometimes I lose track of the musicians that the owner books.

Dragon: Just trying to find some guitarists for my band.

Manager: I see, well your in luck. We got a guitarist playing here tonight. They'll be on in a bit.

Dragon: Kool, I'll wait then.

Manager: Okay

* The manager walks off to tend to other business, leaving dragon to just stand by the bar and peer at the lone microphone on stage. Later, the manager comes on stage to introduce the guitarist he was talking about.

Manager: Please give a warm welcome to.... Bullet blood!

* The guitarist walks on stage and plays the most epic solo ever. When he finishes, the crowd gives him a loud cheer. He packs up and starts heading for the door. Before he does, dragon manages to catch him.

Dragon: Hey

Bullet blood: Sup

Dragon: That was a really Kool solo you played up there.

Bullet blood: Thanks

Dragon: Ever thought about joining a band?

Bullet blood: Na, I've never really thought about it before. Why?

Dragon: Because I'm putting a band together, and we could really use someone with your level of skill.

Bullet blood: What kind of people do you have in your band so far?

Dragon: I have a roadie, a technician, a drummer, a bass player, a keyboard player, and a Dj. Then there's me, I'm the singer song writer.

Bullet blood: Wow

Dragon: Yea, now we just need some guitarists. What do you say?

Bullet blood: Well, alright. I'll do it.

Dragon: Kool

* Dragon and bullet blood exchange contact information

Bullet blood: Well, I gotta go. See ya.

Dragon: See ya

* With that, they part ways

Dragon: One more, just one more guitarist and the band will be complete.

Text: I found us a guitarist but we still need one more. Anyone have any luck? - dragon

Text: Nope - digit

Text: No - M.L. Starr

Text: Sorry bro - Nando

Text: Om nom nom, hmm? Damn it, I knew I forgot something - Phoenix

Text: Couldn't find anything - mike

Text: Didn't find a damn thing - Z.N.

Text: Shit - dragon

* Suddenly, a newspaper slides to dragons feet. He sees it and picks it up. A smile then forms on his face as he looks at the article in the paper.

Text: Guys, I think I have an idea - dragon

* Dragon leaves the bar and meets up with his friends back at his apartment. When he gets there, everyone decides to discuss the situation.

Phoenix: What are we gonna do mate? We're still short a guitarist.

M.L. Starr: Yea, what are we suppose to do?

Dragon: Don't worry, it's like I said in the text. I have an idea.

* Dragon then drops the newspaper from earlier on the table. Nando leans over and reads the head line.

Nando: Local guitarist wows club?

Z.N. : I don't bloody get it.

Dragon: I know this guy that they're talking about in the article.

Phoenix: Really!?

Dragon: Yea, I met him when I had to retake my musician class. We became pretty good friends. I think if I ask him, he'll probably be willing to be our guitarist.

Digit: Nice

Dragon: We'll go to that club tomorrow night and talk to him about it.

Nando: Sounds like a plan.

Dragon: I'll also invite the other guitarist I mentioned before.

M.L. Starr: Who is that by the way?

Dragon: His name is bullet blood, he's a really good guitarist.

Phoenix: Kool, so what's the name of that friend of yours from the paper?

Dragon: His name is green chaos.

M.L. Starr: Wow, fancy name

Dragon: Yea, anyway. We should all get some sleep, we got a big day ahead of us.

* With that, everyone says bye to each other and heads out. Dragon lays on his bed staring at the ceiling, wondering what tomorrow will be like.

Dragon: Green chaos was a good friend, but then again..... so was crusher. So tomorrow could go either way.

* Dragon then gives a slight smirk

Dragon: Guess I'll just have to wait and see.

* The next night, to dragons surprise. Green chaos agrees to be in dragons band. He exchanges contact information with dragon and everyone else. Afterwards, they all go back to dragons apartment to discuss the situation.

Dragon: Okay, now that we have everyone that we need. I officially call to order our first band meeting.

* Everyone gives a low but enthusiastic clap

Dragon: First off, we need to see what kind of fire power we have. Because we're gonna need a lot of it in order to survive battle of the bands.

M.L. Starr: Well, I was talking with bullet blood earlier. Turns out both of our instruments double as assault rifles.

Dragon: Good, we'll definitely need that.

Green chaos: My guitar is a sniper rifle.

Dragon: Great, since your our back up guitarist they won't be expecting you to be the sniper. Since that job is usually given to the lead guitarist.

Z.N. : My keyboard is wired into mini guns. What do you think about that?

Dragon: Now that is good, that heavy fire power will come in handy.

Phoenix: My turn table can dispense records that are also ninja stars.

Dragon: Good, they won't be expecting something that subtle.

Digit: My drum set has drums that can flip and double as cannons, along with my nunchuck drum sticks.

Dragon: Kool, that'll be good for long range shots. As for me, since I'm just the singer. They only thing I have is a baton, but it's hidden inside my microphone. So that will help with sneak attacks. I think our band just might pull this off.

Mike: And what pray tell is the band even called?

Dragon: I..........actually haven't thought of a name yet.

* Everyone begins to discuss with one another what they think the band should be called. All while dragon decides too, what he thinks the band should be called. He then gets an idea and interrupts everyone.

Dragon: Guys, I think I have an idea.

Narrator 2: Fast forward, three weeks later.

* Dragon and his friends are walking on the streets talking and joking with each other. When suddenly, a newspaper that was blown by the wind lands at dragons feet. He stops to pick it up and reads the head line to the article.

Dragon: (reads) " New band, chaotic justice takes the city by storm".

* He turns around and shows everybody the paper

Dragon: Now this is a true testament to everything we're working for.

Phoenix: I know mate, I can't believe it.

Digit: Yea man, it's only been three weeks and people already love us!

M.L. Starr: Well, we have been playing some pretty great shows.

Dragon: Yea, a few more shows and we'll have enough fame points to qualify for battle of the bands.

* Dragons friends cheer after they hear his words

Narrator 1: Fast forward, another three weeks later

* We now find ourselves in the office of a music producer. His chair is turned around so you can't see him. A knock is heard on the door before crusher finally enters the room.

Crusher: Mel? You here?

Mel: Yes? What is it?

Crusher: We have a huge problem! He's surfaced!

Mel: Who?

Crusher: My ex friend, the one I told you about!

Mel: Yes, I remember. What about him?

Crusher: He's put a band together, they've gotten popular quick. If we don't do something, he's gonna take me out. Or worse, he'll tell the council everything!

Mel: Not to worry, this is why I became your producer. Because I have the connections that are necessary to fix any problem. Just give me the name of his band, and I'll make a few phone calls.

Crusher: Okay, thank you.

Mel: No problem, what else am I here for?

* We now switch back to dragon and his friends. They're all in his apartment celebrating, all except for Phoenix who went to get snacks.

Dragon: I just want to say thank you to all of you. This has been an amazing experience. But most importantly, we are just a few points away from qualifying for battle of the bands!

* Everybody cheers and claps at his final words

Dragon: I couldn't ask for a better group of friends to be at my side for this moment.

* Amongst the celebration, dragon here's a loud knock at the door and decides to go get it. He opens it and is toppled over by Phoenix, who has a look of panic on his face.

Dragon: Ow! Phoenix! What are you doing?!

Phoenix: Mate, we got a huge problem!

Dragon: What is it?

* Phoenix then hands dragon a newspaper. He reads it and then takes it to everyone else.

Dragon: Guys, we got a big problem on our hands.

* Dragon then drops the newspaper on the table so everyone can see it.

Digit: (reads) " New band chaotic justice black listed from battle of the bands".

Mike: Black listed? What does that mean?

Dragon: It means that we've been officially put on a special list of bands who aren't allowed into the contest.

Green chaos: This doesn't make any sense, why would they do this?

Digit: (continues reading) " The band was black listed on the grounds that one of its members had a previous criminal record that was not made aware of before".

Bullet blood: This is complete bullshit!

M.L. Starr: What are we suppose to do?

Nando: I still don't get why this happened.

Z.N. : Yea, the fucks going on?

Dragon: I'll tell you what's going on, he's scared.

Green chaos: Who's scared?

Dragon: Crusher, the one I told you about. He's afraid to lose to us because he knows we can win. He was so scared that he decided to get us black listed in order to keep us from the contest. Because in the end, he knows I'll stop at nothing to bring him to justice.

* The room goes silent for a few minutes before being broken by digit.

Digit: So.......what now?

Z.N. : Do we even have a fucking back up plan?

Dragon: At the moment, no. But at least we know how and why this happened. All that's left, is to decide our plan of attack.

Z.N. : I say, we find this crusher guy. And end him!

Dragon: We can't do that, at least not now. With the way things are, we won't be able to get close to him or his band.

Bullet blood: So, are we just gonna do nothing?

Dragon: No, not necessarily. But we do need to plan everything out very carefully. Otherwise everything will go to hell if we don't.

* Dragon pulls out the bands fame points counter and looks at the screen. The screen contains their band name, along with parenthesis that have the words " black listed" in them. After looking at it for a few seconds, he turns back to the band.

Dragon: Guys, I think I have an idea.

* Dragon turns back to the counter and changes their band name. Afterwards, the parenthesis disappears and he shows it to the band.

Dragon: What do you guys think?

Digit: Looks awesome dude

Green chaos: What about our faces? Won't they recognize us?

Bullet blood: Yea, what are we gonna do about that?

Dragon: Don't worry, I have an idea for that too.

Narrator 1: And.....fast forward yet again.

Narrator 2: (enthusiastically) To four months later!

Narrator 1: It's the day that everyone has been waiting for.

Narrator 2: That's right, it's finally time for........

Narrator 1 + 2: Battle of the bands!

Narrator 1: We now turn our attention to crusher.

* Crusher is walking up to the front entrance of the stadium where the contest is being held. Along side his producer and his fellow band members.

Crusher: The day has arrived once again, it's battle of the bands. And we're gonna win.

Mel: I should hope so, this will be your third consecutive win if you do.

Crusher: It should be easy since I don't have to worry about " him " showing up.

Mel: Yes, thankfully my connections were able to pull out that bit of information for me that got his band pushed out of the contest.

Crusher: Yea, if he had still been in the competition. I don't know what I would've done.

Mel: Well, rest assured. This contest should be in the bag. There are a lot of amateurs this year.

Crusher: True, but I heard that there are some pretty good bands coming out that have been really popular lately. Did you hear about that new band?

Mel: What band?

Crusher: That new one that came out not too long ago. They've been getting a lot of attention lately.

Mel: What are they called?

Crusher: No one knows, they haven't told anyone their name yet. All I know is that they wear masks and cloaks. So no one even knows what they look like.

Mel: Interesting

* Just then, crusher notices a group of people walking by. He can't see their faces however, because they're each wearing a unique wolf mask. Along with red cloaks. With the exception of one of them, who appears to be wearing a black cloak.

Crusher: That's them over there

* Mel turns to look at the group

Mel: Hmmm, definitely interesting

Crusher: Yea, last I heard. They said that they would reveal their name during the contest.

Mel: This will definitely be an interesting contest this year.

Crusher: True

* Suddenly a voice comes on the loud speaker

Loud speaker: Will all bands please report to registration. All bands, please report to registration. Thank you.

Crusher: I guess that's our cue

Mel: Yes, let's get going

Narrator 1: After a while the contest was in full swing

Narrator 2: The whole thing itself will last about a week

Narrator 1: The first few days will just be each of the participating bands playing one by one

Narrator 2: So that way, everyone can relax and enjoy the music

Narrator 1: After that is when it's gonna get tough.

Narrator 2: Definitely

Narrator 1: The days after will be elimination rounds

Narrator 2: Most people will die during this part!

Narrator 1: On the last day, the top two bands will face off against each other. And afterwards, there will be a big party to celebrate the winners.

Narrator 2: Who will come out on top you may ask? Even we don't know.

Narrator 1: But what we do know is that things are gonna get crazy.

Narrator 2: You can count on that!

Narrator 1 + 2: And now, back to our regularly scheduled program.

* It's the first day of the elimination round, and crusher is looking at the matching list

Crusher: Hmmm....

Mel: What is it?

Crusher: Nothing, there are just a lot of interesting bands this year

Mel: Maybe, but I'll bet anything that more than half of them won't make it past today.

Crusher: True, but it's still quite the turn out

Mel: Yes, quite. What kind of bands showed up this year?

Crusher: Only two classic rock groups this year. But we have a ton of pop rock this time around

Mel: That figures

Crusher: But that's not even the half of it

Mel: Oh?

Crusher: Yea, for some reason. We have only one punk metal group this year.

Mel: Well, we'll just have to see what happens.

Crusher: Yea

Narrator 1: Fast forward

Narrator 2: It's now day two! Of the elimination rounds.

* The announcer sends a message through the loud speaker

Announcer: Will bands 4938 and 2219 please report to the main stage. Thank you.

Crusher: Interesting

Mel: What is it?

Crusher: Band 2219 is dreams on fire, they're an interesting bunch.

* Both bands take the stage, dreams on fire is on the right. And the other is on the left. The one on the left is the people in wolf masks. The one in the black cloak takes the microphone.

Black cloak: Hello everyone!

* He is greeted by a loud enthusiastic cheer

Black cloak: My name is dragon wolf, and this is my band!

* He proceeds to introduce the band

Dragon wolf: On guitars, we got bullet wolf and chaos wolf. On bass, is comet wolf. On drums, we have silver wolf. On the turn table, we have pyro wolf. And on the keys, we got neon wolf.

* After listing the final band member, the crowd lets out an almost deafening cheer. Mel and crusher watch this with more interest with every passing second.

Dragon wolf: I! Am dragon wolf! And together...

* Dragon wolf takes his mask off before his final words, revealing that it's dragon.

Dragon: We are......the midnight wolves!!!

* The audience greets him with another enthusiastic cheer, while crusher and Mel stand there dumb founded by the sight before them.