The Music Masters: Disc Days

K

K. El-Amrani

Guest
Original poster
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Complete darkness.

That was what had greeted Alexander Rydell the moment he was placed wherever he was supposed to go.

It had been almost a year up to this point. He was a Music Master, and last year, he'd been taken in by Zero Beat. He'd ignored all of Rob's warnings. He'd left the remanents of what he called a "family" behind. He'd changed significantly, perhaps for the better, perhaps for the worst.

And now, here he was. He felt the blindfold coming off. Alexander's eyes looked on into only more darkness. He wiggled his moustache under his nose. The seat he was in was quite uncomfortable. Alexander fixed the neck of his red sweater, and adjusted his colored glasses. He had forgotten his gray beanie cap today, for some reason.

Something big was coming. He could feel it.

Light hit him from above all of a sudden. He squinted, seeing the outline of a vast room. A voice spoke from above, atop what looked like giant speakers.

"For a year, we have trained you. For a year, we have nurtured you. Kept you. For a year, we have watched you. For a year, we have enhanced you. Improved you. Condtioned you. Now, the new decade arrives. Now, you are ready. Now, today, you reach your purpose. You become Pop 5."

This was it, Alexander thought. This was the moment he'd been waiting for.

"Alexander Rydell. You are Pop 5. They Might Be Giants is yours."

Alexander was about to gag. They Might Be Giants? Were they joking? He resisted the urge to complain, instead focusing on something else. It was all he could to avoid screaming out towards Zero Beat and their mysterious authority.

"Hey people, please. I prefer Lex."

The light moved on, ignoring him completely. It stopped on somone a few feet away. He could see she was a girl, with mocha skin, a short ponytail, a plain grey tank top, and jean shorts.

"Zala Faeros. You are Pop 5. Megadeth is yours."

The light moved again. Lex didn't think much of Zala. Not his type at all.

It stopped again. The spotlight shined on a lean boy, dressed in a nice suit and sporting combed hair. His expression was stone cold.

"Roger Aimio. You are Pop 5. Vanilla Ice is yours."

Stuck up, Lex immeaditely thought. The light shifted again, this time showing a glasses-wearing girl, dressed in baggy clothes and sporting bright orange hair. She was only somewhat cute in the eyes of Lex.

"Janice Walker. You are Pop 5. Public Enemy is yours."

Lex looked on in curiousity. The light shifted, and he leaned forward to see what the last of the Pop 5 would look like.

It was 1990. Alexander "Lex" Rydell was sixteen years old, and now a officially a member of the world-famous, American Pop 5.

As he marveled at a dream come true, he wondered who remained hidden in the darkness, and what music would be put upon them by Zero Beat...
 
She sat in the darkness, her stomach knotted.

Ellie Becker watched the odd light as it passed from person to person, speaking in an epic god-like voice. She couldn't help but think "so is this god or something cuz I'm agnostic and this totally blows the whole bible thing outa the water..."

She saw Alexander and almost laughed. It's not that he was ugly or anything, but he looked like he was growing a squirrel under his nose. Does it smell like a squirrel?

Her shoulder-length red hair with the lone blond streak was falling into her face. She tried to blow it away, but of course, some of it got caught behind the lense of her deisgner glasses. She hated those damn glasses. They were seriously out to get her. She wiggled, hating the fact that she had to stand still for more than two minutes. She sighed, her head flopping back and she closed her deep brown eyes.

Well, she tried to. The second she managed to, the lights was on her. "Oh no", she thought, "I'm going to be abducted by god!"

The light spoke.

"Ellie Becker, for months you have been molded from a lump of clay to the pristine being you are now.."

Lump of clay? Wow, really? A fat joke? Shame on you, god.

"Ellie Becker. You are Pop 5. Janet Jackson is yours."

Wait. WHAT!? She hated Janet Jackson. She gasped theatrically and stuck her pierced tongue out.

"So unfair, you guys! Now I actually have to listen to her music! This is torture!"

The light moved on.
 
Though it had seemed like it was almost moving on to yet another person, Lex watched as the light turned off, leaving the five of them in darkness. Then, a dim light went on above, revealing a door nearby. Lex took a good look at the girl Ellie, staring at her hair and wondering what would have ever possessed her to put blond coloring in it, and if red was even her natural hair color in the first place. Then he slowly got up, and opened the lonely door, wondering what they were to do next.

An idea popped into his head. He had known a little bit about the Pop 5 before these events, and so he had a bit of an idea where they were to go next.

"Hey people! Follow me. I think I know where we're supposed to be heading." he said, motioning for the others to follow him. Surprisingly, they did, in silence, before they all reached an elevator nearby. When it opened up for them, Lex stepped inside, and everyone else seemed to follow suit. The elevator began to ascend, but the ride was long. On one side, Lex was next to Roger and Ellie. On the other was Zala and Janice. Lex could see a look of annoyance on Roger's face. Something slipped out of his mouth, louder than he'd probably expected.

"Nigger bitch."

Zala looked over, wondering if she'd heard right. Then, like an animal, her hands went for his throat, and it took everything in Lex's power to hold her back. Roger didn't seem to help the situation, as he seemingly egged her on with an arrogant smirk on his face.

"Woah, woah, woah! Calm down everybody!" he said to her as he held her back, until she finally decided to give up. Her voice came out with a very angry tone.

"So I have to deal with a racist now? Great. My life is great."

"You're in my space. Why don't you just jump out the window and save us all some trouble?" Roger remarked nastily, and Lex pushed him back in an attempt to relieve the tension.

"Hey, stop with that, alright? Keep your damn words to yourself if you don't have anything good to say."

Roger seemed to remain silent after that. The elevator finally opened, and the Pop 5 proceeded to make their way out.

"You've arrived. How wonderful." said a voice, wizened but joyful. An tall, old man, with gray hair and a aged smile, greeted them all in butler attire. He bowed courteously, before presenting them all to their new home. They were officially going to be living here, in the 5 Penthouse, the exclusive floor that each generation of the Pop 5 lived in. The place was complete with a large kitchen, a few deluxe-sized bathrooms, a dining room, a spacious lounge filled with entertainment, and five large bedrooms specifically for each member. It was more than anyone, especially a teenager coming from a life without money or luxuries, could ask for. Lex smiled as he looked all around him, extremely excited by the very notion that he'd be living here for probably the next ten years.

"I am Bastian." the butler told them. "I welcome you to the 5 Penthouse. You'll be glad to know that your Zero Beat ID's, along with your new credit cards connected to the exclusive expense account, are waiting for you in your respective rooms. Would any of you like a drink? Some refreshments perhaps? I am at your service."
 
When the light went out and the overhead came on, Ellie realized she was being watched. She let her head angle so her hair would cover her face and the smile that grew on her lips. She sighed as the squirrel/mustache man barked orders, but she did as told. Once on the overly crowded elevator, Ellie began getting hot, so she unzipped her oversized jacket a bit, revealing a cute, softly curvy figure. When she hear the racial slur, her eyes widened.

That's when the shit hit the fan.

People were pushing and choking others and snapping at each other. The only safe area was Ellie's corner, where she squeaked and tried to stay out of everything. The last thing she needed was her glasses broken or her hair fucked up.

When Lex started breaking everything up, Ellie smiled. So there was one other sane one in the group. She listened to him scold the group as if they were children, then they all sighed in relief as the elevator opened it's doors to pour their sorry asses out. Ellie, being the oddball she loved to be, patted the elevator as she stepped out and quietly apologized that it had to see that.

They were greeted by an oddly tall, skinny old guy in a butler's suit. The first thing that Ellie thought was "creeper." The next was "He looks like a light pole in a suit."

When the creepy butler guy offered drinks, Ellie literally began jumping up and down, her hand raised excitedly. She had a test for they guy.

"Yeah, I want a pina colada! Is that possible?" She had only ever had virgin coladas, and was almost vibrating with the excitement of possibly trying a real one. Hell, she was 18. She could vote for christ's sake, so why couldn't she have a harmless colada?
 
"Pina Colada? Ah, yes, I'd be happy to fix something up for you, my dear."

Lex marveled at the sights of the penthouse around him as his fellow Pop 5 members passed by. He only somewhat heard Bastian's proposal, and as such his response was quick.

"Yeah, I'd like a Pepsi. Make it nice and cold."

"Something strong." Roger added. "I'd like to get drunk. Very drunk."

"J-just some cranberry juice for me." Janice nearly whispered in the first words to finally come out of her mouth.

"Nothing for me." Zala said, her tone still obviously annoyed. "I'm fine."

Lex made it his immeadite duty to explore, poking into the first room he assumed to be one of the bedrooms. By chance, he had come upon his own, and he smiled at the space. A luscious king-sized bed, plenty of dressers and drawers for keeping stuff, and even his own big stereo. He patted the machine lovingly, before making his way back to the living room, where he sat down on a couch around the rest of the Pop 5.

Ellie was on his right, while Janice was in her own seat across from him and Zala and Roger seemed to be as far from each other as possible. Lex could easily feel the bad vibes emanating from the two of them.

Lex coughed, as if to clear the silence in the air. "So now we're Pop 5, huh? Pretty cool.Defintely a crazy dream come true."

Roger sounded less than enthusiastic. "As long as they pay for my shit, I'll do whatever they need. Just pisses me off that I got to see color around here."

Zala shot him a glare from where she was sitting. "Go fuck yourself, dipshit."

"Hey, what did I say?" Lex intervened once again. "Let's all play nice here, okay. We are going to have to live together, after all. The last thing we need are bad vibes."

"Excuse me," said Bastian politely from behind them all. "Your drinks, my masters."

One by one, he gave them each what they ordered. Lex popped his bottle of Pepsi open and gulped down. After a refreshing drink, he turned to Ellie, a smile on his face.

"Alright, Ellie, right? Story time! Where you coming from, what's your deal?"
 
Ellie held up a finger, stood, and walked over to Roger. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and smacked him as hard as she could, leaving a very red mark across his face. Enough was enough.

"Look you biggot spineless mother fucker, NO ONE CARES WHAT YOU THINK! You're only one guy, and a shitty excuse for one at that! I bet that chick is a billion times groovier than you will EVER be and you wanna fuck her so THAT'S why you're being like this! So just shut the fuck up like a good little boy and go suck your dick in the goddamned corner!"

She dropped him, went back to her seat and sat as if nothing had happened. She noticed her jacket had come unzipped a bit, so she zipped it back up to the perfect closure and smiled sweetly at Lex.

"Oh ya know, I'm from all over. I've moved around so many times I've lost count, really. I'm not quite sure I have a 'deal' as you call it..."
 
"Oh." Lex said, his words failing to form in his head for a moment. "Well, that's cool. Very cool, in fact. I'm from Queens, but this high-rise stuff is pretty new to me."

Where he was sitting, Roger looked like a stunned bullfrog. A finger touched the mark on his cheek, and it took every fiber within his being not to get up and start throttling Ellie.

After all, Momma had always said to never hurt a woman. Especially one who was pure, like him.

"So what about the rest of you? You guys come from all over or what?" Lex asked.

"North of here." Zala shot out. "That's all I'll say."

"I-I'm from Utah. It was a long flight.." Janice added quietly. Roger's words seemed to come out with noticeable uncertainty, as he shuffled in his chair.

"Just a bit downtown from here. By the docks."

Lex grinned, laying back before his mustache quivered on his upper lip. "Very nice. Now we're all playing nice. This is great. I got a feeling we're all going to have a beautiful friendship, you know? The kind you see in the movies. But less cheesy."

"So now that that's out of the way..." Lex then began, a devilish kind of look appearing on his face as he pulled his new credit card from his back pocket. He looked back and forth, as if what he was about to do was illegal.

"We all got ourselves a big expense account. All we need now are some expenses. Any ideas, anyone?"
 
Ellie laughed and refrained from touching his moustache. God, it was so 70's! How old is this guy, like 24? He has the hair growth of a 24 year old. Mustaches intrigued and disgusted her. Most she'd let any of her guy-friends have was stubble. She took a sip of her colada and almost purred in pleasure.

"Hot damn this is good! Uh, we should get new wardrobes. Like what, do we need matching outfits cuz I vote pinstripe suits. My body looks damn fine in some pinstripe."

She eyed Roger, who looked confused as all hell.

"How bout you, white boy? Any thoughts? And by thoughts, I mean any non-offensive ideas on what we could buy..."
 
"I think I'll pass on pinstripe suits, despite how you might think you look in such a thing." Zala remarked, with what seemed like support from Lex.

"Yeah, I'd have to agree with Z there." he said, turning to Zala to make sure he wasn't crossing any boundaries. "You don't mind if I call you Z, right?"

Her arms crossed, Zala's response towards him seemed uncaring. "It doesn't matter to me."

All the way across from her, Roger was pondering over Ellie's question. Part of him could still feel the power of her slap on his cheek, but he tried to ignore it and give her an answer. "I don't know. I'm not really up for any shopping. After all..."

His voice seemed to start giving way. The effects of the strong liquor he had ordered was beginning to get to him. He burped before downing the rest of his drink. "I'll pass, bitches."

Zala stood up, an annoyed look on her face. "I think I'd rather stay here too. Not in much of a spending mood, I guess."

Janice slowly raised her hand. "I t-think I want to stay here too. Sorry."

Lex looked back and forth, and just sighed when he finally turned to Ellie. He stood up, twirling a finger around his handlebar mustache before clapping his hands together as if he was preparing for something big.

"Well, I guess it's just me and you then. You sure you want to head out with Lex Rydell? After all, I barely know you, and you barely know me."
 
Ellie shrugged and stoode, nodding. She didn't care who she was with, she just had to get out of this depressing house with these depressing people.

"Yes, please, take me with you, mustache!"

She giggled as she donned his official nickname. It was the only thing one could look at! She hadn't even noticed the color of his eyes over that damned liphair.
 
"Whatever. It's just the two of us!" Lex stated, and unsurprisingly, his words managed to settle in Bastian's ears.

"Are you young masters going out into the city? I can arrange for Clarence, your chauffeur. He'll bring anywhere your heart desires." Bastian told them, his bony hands reaching for the nearby phone of the wall. A smile grew on Lex's face at the thought of riding around in limo all over New York City, with a credit card in his pocket that could buy him practically anything he wanted.

"Awesome, Bastian. No use in waiting up here then. We're heading out, Ellie!" he told the girl, taking her by the hand as he headed for the elevator.

Soon, they were gone, the rest of the Pop 5 left behind. In the quiet of the main lounge, Roger was just finishing off another cold drink, and there was a clear redness on his face. He slurred out a few words as he stared at Zala from where he was sitting.

"Fucking...curvy...why don't you come over here so I can shut that mouth of yours..."

Janice huddled up in her chair, hoping there wouldn't be any confrontation. Zala just looked back at him in disgust.

"Not in a million years, pervert."

"Ah, yeah! This is where it's at!" Lex said out loud. Not even for a second had he thought that the place he'd told Clarence to drive them to may or may not have appealed to Ellie. His eyes were like those of a hawk, as he scanned the aisles, marveling at the massive amount of toys in this place.

"What to buy, what to buy, so many decisions..." Lex pointed out, as he scanned over Transformers toys as if they were items of pure gold. At sixteen years old, collecting was still one of Lex Rydell's biggest hobbies, and he'd needed a Transformers fix every so often since the day he met his longtime friend Rob Kay. So naturally, Lex figured that Toys'R'Us should be their first stop. After all, who didn't like a good toy, he thought.

"See anything you like?" he asked Ellie as they stood in the action figure aisle, Lex's fingers still wrapped around a package containing Megatron. He smiled back at her, hoping she would share in his delight.
 
Ellie was miserable.

Not one book, not one easle, not one damned animal or drawing pad. This was where children came to drool and play with themselves and the toys they'd never have. She poked through the little robot-looking dolls on the shelves, following Lex around like a depressed puppy. This kid was just that: a kid. There wasn't anyone her age in here, and a small part of her thanked the lord for that. If a hot guy were to see her running around with this over-haired child, she'd never get a boyfriend.

"Uh, sure Lex. Mega-bot and tron-asaur and what-not..."

She knew her voice was lifeless and bored, but she just really didn't want to be here. When he said out, she thought he meant to Barnes and Noble or Target or Walmart at least. Somewhere where she wouldn't want to take one of the plastic lazer-guns from the shelf and shoot herself. She humored the overly excited Lex, though, and followed him through the aisles of endless toys. She ran her hand over some stuffed animals, "accidentally" knocking an entire line of them to the ground.

"Oops..."

She grabbed a giant black teddy bear with a hot pink bow and put it in a child's rocking chair at the end of the aisle, just to amuse herself.
 
Lex laughed as he looked at the figure in his hands, and then glanced at Ellie not too far away. She had somehow knocked over some stuffed animals, and was now holding a large teddy bear complete with a pink bow.

"I still can't get enough of this stuff. I'm sixteen years old, I've been a DJ at some nice clubs, hung out with some truly hot babes, and I still can't get over liking these action figures. I mean, it's dorky. I told Rob it's such a geek thing. But I like them. I like collecting them, and wasting money on them, and sometimes, even playing with them."

Lex walked over to Ellie, motioning for her to look at the packaged figure as he pointed at its wings. "You see that part? That's where he transforms. You can change him from a robot to a plane. It's pretty cool."

He shook his head, touching his mustache again out of annoyance. "Look at me. Talking to a girl about transforming action figures. Yeah, I'm a dork. Crucify me for all I care."

Lex touched the fur of the teddy bear in Ellie's hand. It was soft and comfortable. He smiled.

"Nice. Stuffed animals are always a sweet kind of thing. This one girl Marlene that I knew down in RazorVex, she liked them a lot. Foxes, in particular. Never could get her one of those though. But then again, never could get her to bed either. But that's a story for another time."

"So." Lex said, his hands holding his action figure tightly. "What do you think of all this Pop 5 business? I mean, this is a big deal after all. We're going to be doing some serious shit out there, as Music Masters. We're like a SWAT team, honestly. The thought alone just kind of scares me."
 
Ellie listened to the kid ramble on about airplanes transforming and stuffed animals and having random sex, all the while, his mustache twitching. She shrugged when he asked about the Pop 5. She was still a bit confused as to what exactly she was, but she wasn't going to admit it. She put the bear down in disgust and walked away, suddenly feeling drained.

"Lex, I don't understand toy talk. I'm more of a book and art kind of girl... Sorry."

She thought about the Pop 5. SWAT team? Really? She hated violence unless it was in a video game or comic book.
 
Lex furrowed his brow, and annoyance was becoming clear on his face. He turned around, the toy still in his hands as he walked off in another direction.

"I'll go make my purchase. Then we can get out of here and go wherever the hell you want." he said out loud, before disappearing down an escalator towards the cashier in the front.

After he had bought his figure, Lex remained relatively silent as they got back into the limousine. It was obvious how pissed Lex had suddenly become. He'd had to deal with plenty of dumb girls at the club he used to DJ at, RazorVex, but Ellie seemed to be topping all their bullshit. He could hardly look at her, feeling both misjudged and insulted. As they sat in the car, the chauffeur, Clarence, looked back at them with a pleasant smile on his face.

"So, where to next?"

Lex continued to look out the window, a kind of blank look on his face as he watched people pass by as he responded. "Ask her. I don't care. We'll go wherever."

Yeah, this day just got ruined, he thought.

"Well? You have any place in mind?" Clarence asked Ellie, an eager expression on his face as he waited for her response.
 
Ellie felt sorry for the kid. He was alone and looking for friendship, just like she was.

"Uhm, we could go to an amusement park to spend some more of this cash. Whattya say, Lex? Want to go ride rollar coasters till we puke on people?"

She nudged him, hoping and praying for a smile. She hated making people upset.
 
Lex barely even gave her a response. "Yeah, sure."

In the back of his mind, he was wondering why Ellie would have such an urge to go to an amusement park, a place he felt was filled with the same childish thing as a Toy's'Rus, yet she'd treat his little toy fix like it made him some sort of creeper. Lex didn't even take a moment to look at at her, ignoring her nudging as he spoke to Clarence, his eyes still focused outside the window.

"Take us to Coney Island." Lex told him, and the driver nodded before starting up the limousine. Lex reached down, finding a bottle of red wine and two glasses. He poured himself a glass in silence, still looking out the window as he tried to rationalize when he'd get over this growing annoyance towards Ellie.

The red wine stung his lips a bit, but if anything, he hoped a little alcohol would calm his nerves as opposed to a cold Pepsi or the like.
 
"Yeah... Coney Island..."

Lex was being a stubborn brat. Toys and Coney Island. How old was this kid, twelve? She sighed as her plan of being nice and trying to do things he would like completely backfired. Ellie watched him, a bit pissed, then astonishment took over as he pulled out alcohol.

"Woah woah woah are you old enough to be drinking that, kid? I don't think you should be getting drunk..."

She didn't want to snatch the bottle away and seem like a mother-figure, but also didn't want to watch a kid drink himself dumb.
 
"Yes, Coney Island." Lex replied indignantly, speaking to Ellie as if she couldn't understand plain English. "Do you suggest somewhere else? Because that's about the only damn amusement park I know in this city. At least, one that's worth going to."

God, what a dumbass girl, he thought in his head. He was ready to ignore her again, and just enjoy the red wine, when she started spouting out words like his mother would often do. He glared back at her as he answered her with the same annoyed tone of voice.

"Kid? Kid!?! I am not a kid. Let's get that straight here. I've been laid with girls way hotter than you, so don't go calling me a kid."

That was a complete lie of course, as he was indeed still a virgin. The farthest he'd ever gotten was with a girl named Mallory who was a regular at RazorVex, and he'd been fucked over completely when it just happened to be her time of the month. But it's not like Ellie needed to know that.

"Just who the hell do you think you are? First you treat me like a creep for liking Transformers, now you're telling me I can't enjoy a drink?" he replied. Then he leaned forward, raising his voice to get Clarence's attention.

"Hey man! Do you care if a guy wants to enjoy a fine beverage? You can understand that, right?"

Clarence's voice seemed to ooze out like that of a seasoned brown-noser. "Of course, sir. I completely understand."

Lex leaned back, taking a sip of wine as Clarence continued to drive them to their destination. There was a triumphant smile on his face. "See? He knows where it's at. Now I'd appreciate it if you just lay off, Ellie."
 
That was it. She'd had it.

"Clarence, stop the car!"

As the limo pulled over, she glared at Lex.

"You have NO right to tell me what to get straight, little man! I'm an 18 year old woman and I don't give a rat's fucking ass who you've fucked! I'm glad you see your hand as so many different women because that's as close as you will EVER get! I refuse to be ANYWHERE near you!"

Tears filled her eyes but she ignored them.

"I thought you were cool, man! I thought you were a nice, laid-back guy that I could hang with and relax around but you aren't! You're a stubborn, stuck up little kid who collects dolls and refuses to be open-minded to others! I don't need your sniveling squirrel-lipped undermining immature ass, man! I can find a good time by my own goddamned self! I'll find my own way home so you just go play at Chuck'e Cheese in the fuckin' ball pit! I'm sorry I ever tried to make you feel better, I'm sorry I felt bad about hurting your feelings, I'm sorry I ever tried to be nice to you at all!"

She got out and slammed the car door behind her, tears falling. She thought she had finally made a friend, but she had just realized, she was better off alone. As the limo drove off, it began to rain. Great. She held herself and shivered. At least the rain would hide her tears. She turned in the opposite direction the car was driving and began walking. She didn't know where she was going, but as long as it was away from Lex, she didn't care.
 
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