Chapter 6: Concert Night

The next morning, Citan had awakened earlier in the morning than normal. He felt rather disturbed, as well as anxious. On one hand, the day would be a very busy one, moreso than one had been for the past month. Tonight, Anime 99 would be giving a concert at the Central Auditorium, around 7:00. This would be the public debut for the entire band as well as himself.

“Yeah, you’ve been playing in the band with us on the weekends in the coffeehouse, but this will be different,” the lead singer had said when he expressed confusion, “This time, we’ll be playing in a very public facility. I even heard a rumor that there may be scouts from the industry in attendance.”

“Maybe so. Dena, is it normal to be this nervous? About playing in public like we will be doing?”

“Oh definitely. Let me tell you something, Hyuga,” she had lowered her tone accordingly as she continued, “I’m scared out of my wits. But I know I’m going to have fun with this anyway. I don’t know about the others, but that’s what I’m going to do.”

He nodded quietly, and she had frowned in a worried way.

“Dena…? What is wrong?” he had asked.

“Hyuga…something’s…different about you lately. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but while it puts me at ease, it seems…wrong.”

“How is it wrong? Dena, you and the others have helped me to fit in here. If I had not come across you, I do not know what would have happened to me.” He smiled a bit and hugged her close. “Thank you,” he breathed quietly.

She had chuckled and replied, “…you’re welcome.”

Now, he went into the kitchen and took a couple of meals out of the fridge. After his arrival a month ago, Dena tried numerous times to teach him how to cook, so that he would be able to help with that. Every time she had tried, it seemed to work, but whenever she had him try to cook a meal afterwards, it would become a disaster. Of course, the night always ended with them winding up going out to eat.

However, one thing she had considered a more minor accomplishment was that she was able to teach him successfully how to use the micro to cook. That certainly was a help, especially in the mornings, and especially today.

Citan cooked some breakfast in this manner, first for her. She generally hated breakfast foods, although she didn’t mind French Toast or pancakes, and knew what exactly would be perfect for today: her favorite, chicken fingers, corn and a brownie. He put this in the micro and started it just in time for a loud, constant ringing to fill the air.

“Uhhh….freaking clock,” he heard her groan, “Lemme sleep a little longer…”

He called out to her, “Not today, Dena. The concert is tonight, remember?”

She chuckled sleepily, then added, “Oh yeah… Lemme get changed, then, and I’ll call Andrea. We rehearse this morning, then get set up at the Auditorium after lunch. Between those, we have some free time.”

***************

Ghaleon walked from his chamber in the unusual palace that had become his—their—headquarters. His sleep had been rather peaceful, for once, which had been a surprise. For once, he did not dream about the turning point in his life, the main one, that had turned him from the path that everyone had expected him to take.

“Althena,” he growled, “If you hadn’t decided those many years ago to become reincarnated and break the chain, none of this would have happened. Now…you are under our control…and will remake the multiverse in the vision of my benefactor.”

“Don’t you mean our benefaktor, Ghaleon?” the haughty, imperious voice he was now very familiar with spoke from his left.

He smiled a bit grimly as he saw her. Ever since they had been paired up, the two of them had been learning a lot about each other. Ultimecia was not a morning person, for example. One had to be very careful until noon, when she was much less…dangerous to comrades.

“You look well this morning, Ultimecia,” he replied, “And yes, I do mean our benefactor. Sleep well, I hope?”

“Do I look like I kan sleep well? When we have such an important task so klose?” she retorted, “We kan finally take the final Musia soon. The power has not kompletely awakened yet, so we kan’t until it does.”

He chuckled and agreed, “Very true. Once we have her, we can finally begin the master plan. As we agreed, we’ll take Eve when we go after her.”

She laughed with him and was about to remark when they heard footsteps coming towards them…very light footsteps.

This made both of them tense for a moment until they remembered who else was here, besides themselves and the Musias. Within another minute, their guess was valid.

In front of them, a now-familiar shape turned and walked towards them. It appeared to be a woman, a tall one, though not as tall as Ultimecia. She had a strange color for hair, two tones of blue. First it would seem dark, then light, then dark again. It was normally long, although it was currently put up in a bun, with a streamer hanging down her back. Her skin was the shade of a perfect pearl, which truly surprised them, but not as much as her garnet eyes. She wore a simple outfit, a maid’s uniform, in the colors of the Musia, white and blue.

“Good morning, master, mistress,” the strange maid spoke, inclining her head a little. Even her voice was unusual and yet perfect for a maid. Cool, perhaps emotionless, and certainly not defiant.

Ultimecia sighed, like she did every morning, and simply nodded her head.

“Good morning, Kado,” Ghaleon replied simply, “Are the women awake?”

“I have carried out my morning instructions 8.2533 minutes ago, Master Ghaleon. The women are currently awake and are awaiting their first consumption, with the exception of Eve and Julia, who have been escorted to the library, as Mistress Ultimecia commanded last night,” she replied.

Kado’s manner of speech always brought a little smile to Ultimecia’s face and a little laugh from Ghaleon. Neither one had any idea what she was, not even when they first found her the day after their benefactor had brought them, Julia and Eve to this…palace.

What they knew, from Kado herself, was that she was a maid in the Musia Palace, and that her assigned duties were to obey the residents (who were always Musias) and to keep the place in pristine condition at all times. When they learned this, Ultimecia and Ghaleon had informed her that they were the new residents and that she was to continue her duties, as well that their commands were to take priority over those of the Musias until their memories and full powers awakened.

Two of the things that both liked about Kado was that she was very punctual when attending to any duty or order and that she carried them out perfectly. The perfect maid, to their minds.

“Excellent, Kado,” Ultimecia now said with a smile, “Go ahead and kontinue your duties. I will be in the library shortly.”

“Yes, mistress. If there is nothing else, I will proceed to the kitchens where I will commence with the meals. I speculate that you will both be wishing your breakfasts in the courtyard, mistress, master?”

“Yes, and lunch as well. You may go, Kado,” Ghaleon replied.

The maid bowed, simply and gracefully, and walked away from them, heading for the kitchens. Even her walk was perfect grace.

“We couldn’t have chosen a better maid ourselves,” Ghaleon murmured.

“Yes, it lets us get more things kompleted, and the Musias less in our way,” she agreed, “Now, let us go to the kourtyard, shall we?”

***************

Dena, Citan and the rest of Anime 99 arrived at the Auditorium after lunch, as agreed upon. Although it was called the Central Auditorium, in truth the front building looked rather small.

“How can such a small building hold so many people?” he asked Mitzi, who was standing to his left.

“You—oh, that’s right. That building is just the box office. The Auditorium that’s behind it is really an outdoor theatre, and it’s a lot bigger,” she replied.

“That makes sense,” he replied. He was carrying his flute, which was now in a brown, thin case with red crushed velvet inside for the padding, as well as one of the guitars.

“We’ll need to sign in, then set up and run a sound check.”

“Sound check…? Like over at the coffeehouse?”

“Exactly,” Dena replied, “After all, we’re playing in larger quarters. We need to make sure that the audience is going to be able to hear us, and well. After the sound check is a full rehearsal, so that we know if there are going to be any bugs.”

Citan nodded. “I must admit, I am starting to get excited about this debut.”

Carlos chuckled. “Same here, my man…same here. Ai Orikasa will be by later as well for the full rehearsal.”

The Zenogias native nodded, and then raised an eyebrow at someone he saw at the box office doors.

He looked to be a teenager, although he certainly wasn’t tall…perhaps only about 5 foot. He had dark skin the color of caramel, blue-green eyes, wore normal clothing, in the form of a brown shirt, brown pants, black belt and shoes. His hair came down to the top of his shoulders and was pure white.

“You recognize him from here?” he asked quietly and pointed.

Dena peered closely at the location. “No. Must be a new kid in school. But with hair like that, he’s gonna get picked on and mistaken for an albino.”

He nodded and they continued towards the doors.

“Afternoon,” the boy greeted them with a warm smile, “What can I do for you today?”

Dena peered at him and asked, “You work here?”

“Not normally. I’m volunteering time to help the Auditorium staff with the event tonight.”

She nodded. “I see. Well, we’re here to sign in.”

The strange boy looked at each of them, although his gaze lingered on Citan for a long moment.

“Is something wrong, young man?” he asked.

“Hm? No, no…it’s nothing. You’re Anime 99, right? Go ahead and sign here. I’ll let the staff know you’re here.” He proffered the sign-in sheet.

“Hey, thanks,” Dena replied and began writing the names of the band members. After she was done, he had a look at the sheet.

“Just making sure,” he asked, “Which one’s Mitzi Carrington?”

The woman with back-length red hair raised her hand.

The boy nodded. “Carlo Statton?”

A tall, black-haired young man with tanned skin and brown eyes replied, “Over here.”

“Allie Southers?”

The short young woman that was in her mid-twenties with curly brown hair answered with a giggle, “That’s me, cutie.”

The white-haired boy cleared his throat, then continued, “Andrea Long?”

The black-haired woman replied, “Here.”

He nodded and asked, “Hoo…hmm…this one is hard to pronounce, so if I miss it, sorry. Hooga Rickdoe?”

Citan replied, “Sorry no. It’s Hyuga Ricdeau.”

“Oh! My apologies,” he quickly said, blushing. Even with the blush, he looked very surprised for some reason.

“No problem; lots of people have trouble with it.”

The white-haired boy nodded and continued, “That leaves Deindra Treis.”

The blonde-haired woman beside Citan replied, “That’s right, but call me Dena.”

Now he looked rather surprised, more than at Citan. “You’re Dena Treis? I’ve heard of you.”

She chuckled, “How strange, because I’ve never seen you before. You know our names, but I don’t know yours.”

He scratched his head as he answered bashfully, “Aw, that’s not important. I’m just passing through. After tonight’s event, I’ll be moving on.”

She nodded. “If you say so.”

“So don’t worry about anyone in school picking on me or thinking I’m an albino.”

Citan looked amused as he said, “He heard you, Dena.”

“Aw, shaddap,” she grumbled, then motioned for everyone to continue on.

000000000000000

The white-haired boy looked on as the band continued inside the Auditorium with their equipment.

He was very shocked to see Hyuga on this world. He knew the man came from elsewhere, namely Zenogias. What made the surprise worse was that he not only looked mostly like an Earth native…but also spoke and acted like one.

Has he completely forgotten…? If he did, this spells disaster for all creation, he thought.

“I see something is bothering you,” he heard a magnanimous voice come from behind him. He turned and saw a black-haired man in a complete white suit and wearing a mask that was part black and part white.

“Yeah,” the boy replied, “The chosen one…his memories are completely gone, it seems.”

The man nodded. “Being so far away from his home world with no reminders of who a man is will eventually wipe away all memories of being from somewhere else. He needs…a reminder. A good one. I have seen that it will manifest itself at the concert tonight.” There was a pause. “But you, young man…are you sure this is what you want? If you say yes, then even I cannot stop what will happen.”

The younger one answered, “My mind is made up, Philemon. She’s out there, somewhere…this is…the only way. I know it.”

“So be it, then. After the concert, I will take you to the world where you will meet up with them. Once you arrive, I will leave.”

The boy nodded silently again.

000000000000000

Night came…and with it, came the crowds from the city as they piled into the Auditorium.

Backstage, the members of the band were in a circle, heads bowed as they held hands and murmured a prayer of luck.

Now I really am nervous, Citan thought, and excited, too.

A moment later, the prayer ended and everyone murmured the single word that always closed a prayer: “Amen.”

He looked up and said, “Time to put on the show of their lives, right Dena?”

“Couldn’t have put it any better myself,” she replied with a grin, then said, “The lights’re going to dim, soon, so places, everyone!”

With that, the circle broke up and everyone got into place, with Citan being a very short distance behind Dena and to her left.

No sooner than Carlo and Mitzi arrived at their spots than the lights went out, and the crowd outside went quiet.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to present this concert tonight. As many of you know,” the announcer spoke over a microphone, “This group members are citizens of our own city of Greenhill that got their start in the 5^th Avenue coffeehouse, located downtown. When Angela Carson fell ill, a new member stepped up and already has made his own in the band. Ladies and Gentlemen, I proudly present to you, the public debut of the one…the only…ANIME 99!”

With that, the audience applauded and the curtain rose. As it did, a slow, almost sad piece of music began to play, seemingly of alien instruments. Citan knew that the song was Alien Dream, chosen to be the opener for the concert. Only now was he glad that the leader had said to get to their places before the lights went out…he was afraid that if he had waited, he would have tripped on something.

Now, Citan raised his flute to lips and began to play, right on time. He could hear Dena’s voice harmonize…and it had become completely different than what he had heard all this time. True, it was still her voice, but…it had drastically improved.

Something did happen yesterday at the coffeehouse, he thought.

Right then, a spotlight came on, aimed right at her. It paused for a moment before shutting off, then a second one turned on, directly over Andrea, then to Carlo, Citan, Mitzi and Allie, in that order. Once the last spotlight switched off, all of the lights came on and the stage was alit in light and color…a beautiful sight to behold.

In the front row was the strange, white-haired young man, looking at the band with a worried expression, although he could see in the child’s eyes that he was also enjoying this music.

The opener came to an end, and the applause from the audience was a cheerful roar.

Dena smiled at Citan, then turned to the audience and said, “Thank you. It’s a wonderful night here in Greenhill, don’tcha think?”

They quite agreed.

“It sure is, with all the stars come out to listen and play. And, speaking of which…we have a special guest with us tonight, ladies and gentlemen. This woman is rather famous in the Japanese and Anime circles, and one of her best voice actor works was as the blonde Arab named Quatre in Gundam Wing. We’re going to bring her out here now to sing one of Quatre’s image songs with us, namely Hoshi no Manazashi. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome, the legendary Ai Orikasa!”

The applause was just as thunderous as the Japanese woman in question came out from behind the curtain, bowed to the audience respectfully, then stood next to Dena. During this time, Citan and Carlo switched places, with the older man at the keyboard.

At her signal, the Zenogias native began the song, already knowing it by heart. He had gotten good enough at the instrument that he didn’t need to be constantly looking at the keys while playing, so he looked up.

You’ve forgotten. That is disastrous, for everything, he heard in his mind.

I haven’t forgotten a thing, his thoughts retorted.

Oh…? Who are you? Where do you come from?

I’m Hyuga Ricdeau, from Europe.

Liar…!

It’s not a lie!

Who is your daughter?

I don’t have one. I’m not even married!

When Deindra found you, why were you injured?

I got lost and had an accident in the snow.

That’s what you tell everyone. What do you think Yui and Midori would say if they saw you like this?

I don’t know any such people. Whoever you are, get out of my mind!

Then you won’t mind if you see something in front of you, correct? If you’re right, you won’t be affected, and I’ll never be in your mind again. But if you’re wrong, it’s high time for you to stop living a life that isn’t your own…and start living your true life, and following a destiny.

If it will get you out of my mind, fine, I accept!

At that final retort, Hyuga found himself disoriented…and above the front row, facing the stage…in mid-air.

He could see everyone that was on the stage…and, to his utter shock, he saw someone at the keyboard…himself.

What the hell?

Watch.

Hyuga complied.

In her place at center stage, Dena and Ai Orikasa were singing.

The form of Anime 99’s lead singer was starting to change. For a moment, the image changed to one he recognized easily…Quatre from Gundam Wing.

There was no change to Hyuga.

The image shifted from Quatre to a girl with long, blonde hair that was put up in two meatballs, with pigtails at the ends. She was in…an outrageous outfit, half-sailor and half…something otherworldly.

He didn’t recognize this one at all, but he remembered Carlo saying her name was Serena.

The image shifted, and as it did, a white glow surrounded the woman. This time, the image changed to a woman in a strange space-like uniform. She had long, back-length auburn hair and summer-blue eyes.

He blinked, something flashing in his mind as he saw this.

Immediately, it changed, the auburn hair becoming indigo and back-length shortened to neck-length. Her outfit changed, as well as her eyes, which matched her hair. A cold expression was on her face.

…iang…Miang…

The image shifted one last time…to that of a man, this time. He was tall, with tan hair that went down to the middle of his back. He wore a strange ornamental crown on his head, and his outfit matched the auburn woman’s…except that it seemed more fancy.

Shock filled him as he realized that he completely recognized this man…and remembered him.

Krelian!

There was a moment of disorientation, and then he was only behind the keyboard…and not in mid-air, facing the stage.

He blinked, shook his head to clear the cobwebs as the song came to an end.

000000000000000

Ultimecia and Ghaleon were giving instructions to Kado when they suddenly stiffened, feeling the resonance from yesterday…only this time, it was very strong.

“It’s happened,” the sorceress said quietly, with an undertone of excitement.

“Yes,” the warlock agreed, “Finally, the Musia of Earth is awake, completely awake!”

Both looked at each other, then nodded.

“Kado,” Ghaleon ordered, “before breakfast tomorrow morning, you will bring Eve and only Eve to the courtyard. We’re going after the final Musia.”

“Yes, Master Ghaleon,” she replied.

000000000000000

After the concert and the people had left, the white-haired man turned to his left, where the man with the two-toned clothing appeared.

“You did as you said you would,” the boy said calmly.

“Yes,” was the answer. “The last two images are what triggered his memory. He will begin to remember again, slowly but surely. In addition to that…his time on this world is at an end.”

The boy nodded, then said, “Are you ready to take me to the meeting world…? I know I am.”

The man said, bemusedly, “Change those clothes first.”

He looked down, smiled sheepishly as a small blush tinged his cheeks, and then closed his eyes.

His body was bathed in a soft, white light for a moment, before vanishing. When it did, he wore a black bodysuit, yellow gloves and boots, as well as a yellow vest with a blue slash on a side.

His blue-green eyes opened and he asked casually, “Is this better?”

“Yes, it is,” the older man agreed, “Now…remember, after you arrive, I will return to my own world, and you will not see me again until the end.”

“Yes, I know. I’ll be on my own.”

“Precisely.”

He nodded and said, “I’m ready.”

The young man then closed his eyes again, completely bathed in a brighter light…before he and the man disappeared.