"Alex, do you think you can hear what's going on up there?" Finn asked discretely, trying not to bring his microphone close to his lips or make obvious what was happening. It wasn't easy with all these people and these cameras, and even less so being centre stage.
"I can try, there's a pause after my part that might let me hear something." Alex said, looking up. Zeth and Evie were both fighting Basil. Punches, kicks, gymnastic moves. It was worthy of an action film.
The tune of 'I've Seen The Darkness' was playing louder in the background, and Finn took a long breath.
"You can do it, Finn," Draco whispered, giving him a thumbs up. Finn nodded, then looked up to see Evie slamming the enemy into the speaker.
A BOOM and pyrotechnics made Finn nod and step forward, raising his microphone to his lips.
And then he sang, for Evie and not for the audience.
"I've seen the DARKNEEEEEESS! I have been BETRAAAAAYED!" Finn belted. His voice sounded powerful. He hit Zeth's high note effortlessly, he didn't even close his eyes. On the platform above, Evie and Basil covered their ears. This gave Zeth time to deliver a flying kick to the enemy. Finn then took another long breath and sang again. "I got my scars... Learned from the PAAAAAAIN! I've seen the DARKNEEEEEESS! I have seen the FLAAAAMES!" Finn's voice sounded even more powerful than before. Wow! That was much easier than he thought! He was even impressed with himself. In this brief pause, the crowd went wild and started shouting his name. "I died and rose up from the deeeeeead..."
"I... Have... Seen... The... Flames..." The audience sang in unison, some even jumping and clapping.
"Alex, do you know something?" Finn asked discreetly.
"I heard something about Evie almost going deaf because of a speaker up there," Alex replied. "But it seems the enemy is also stunned."
"That's good, isn't it?" Draco asked.
"Yeah, but there's gotta be a way to protect Evie's ears," Frank said as the crowd continued to sing.
"I have solution. Draco," Everett reached out to the vampire with a closed hand. "Here. I have earplugs for Evie. They are new. Do you think you can deliver them?"
"Yes," Draco said, taking the sealed package of earplugs from Everett's huge hand, "But first, I'm going to sing!" Then he ran like a kid in a candy shop to the centre of the stage and sang. "I woke up in a co-oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-offin..." Draco smiled at everyone in the audience, then looked up. Evie and Zeth were fighting Basil together. Draco did some quick calculations, looked at Everett and the big guy understood immediately. "Hey! Hey! Hey! The Opera House!" Draco addressed the audience, taking a few steps back until he was close to the platform, "Hey everyone! Check this out! I'm gonna do a super flip! Everett, please help me!"
Everett took Draco in his hands and threw him up into the air.
The audience screamed with excitement.
"Evie!" Draco shouted. She turned around. "Take these!" He tossed the earplugs, and Evie caught them.
"Thanks!"
"See you later!" Draco saluted as he fell, flipped in the air and fell right into Everett's arms.
"Wow!" Cadence gave a standing ovation
"Okay! Let's continue! Sing with me!" With his feet back on the ground, Draco finished his part. "Screee-eh-eh-Eh-Eh-eeaming! Let me ooooout..."
"Let me ooooout..." The entire audience sang along.
Draco ran up to Finn then, giving him a thumbs up.
Finn looked up, watching as Zeth and Evie pushed Basil towards the huge speaker.
"I hope you've plugged your ears already, Evie," Finn looked at the audience, took a long breath and sang. "Now I feel like a... Mo-oh-Oh-OH-ONSTEEEER! RAAAAWR!" Finn hit a D6 that made Basil cover his ears, giving Zeth and Evie the opportunity to land a few blows. "I'm not FEELING HUMAAAN!"
"I was awakened by darkness!" Frank sang, shuffle-spinning to take a quick look at Evie and Zeth dodging Basil's punches. Frank knew what he had to do. He slowly transformed his arm into a cannon and configured the settings with his bionic eye, changing it from electromagnetic pulse to spark blast. He had to be careful. His hand was still functioning poorly and this could be risky. One miscalculation and someone could end up electrocuted. "It made me stronger and wiser! I was in pain but my wounds were healing fast. Was I deeeeeead?" Frank sang and raised his bionic arm.
Frank fired his arm-cannon, shooting a small sparking sphere that exploded into many sparks that illuminated the stage.
The electric explosion blinded Basil for a moment, allowing Zeth and Evie to land a couple of punches while the audience screamed in amazement.
"I trusted people in the past!" Alex sang, dancing sensually, taking slow steps back to stand under the platform, "And got sta-a-a-abbed! In the back! Fancy... I was revived just to take revenge on my... Murderous frieeeeends!" He twitched his ears. It was not easy with all the noise around him, but Alex heard Zeth say something about the enemy's nature. A snake? That meant cold-blood, right? Alex smiled. He now had a plan. "Hit it, Everett! Let it snow!"
Everett understood immediately.
"I've seen the DARKNEEEEEESS! I have been BETRAAAAAYED!" Everett sang loud and clear, like an opera singer, giving the audience and the judges goosebumps.
"That's singing!" Cadence shouted way too excitedly and the audience went wild. Anton turned bright red as he watched his mother stand up and bow to the big man.
"I got my scars... Learned from the PAAAAAIN!" Everett sang as if it were nothing difficult, as if he was just speaking, without a drop of sweat or effort.
And then he raised his hand, shooting an icy blast at the platform.
There was a white, crystal-clear explosion.
The scaffolding froze, making it slippery.
Snow fell upon the audience and the judges, a cold mist filled the air with a cotton candy-like scent, and some beautiful northern lights appeared near the spotlights.
It was beautiful.
The temperature dropped in a second, and above the stage, Zeth and Evie looked at each other with a smile.
"Zeth, you must go down there and sing," Evie said, looking at a weakened Basil, "I can handle this alone now."
"I know you can, baby," Zeth nodded, and with a quick leap above the railing, he free fell towards the stage.
The crowd watched in silence.
Zeth flipped in the air and landed like a superhero just as pyrotechnic torches flamed with a BOOM of the song, making everyone scream and clap.
Even Cadence was impressed.
Zeth slowly stood up with a cocky smile to shouts and praise, walking like a model towards the judges. He pulled his microphone out of his suit and turned it on.
"The Opera House! Did you miss me?" With one leap, he stood on the judges' table, and with one hand raised, he began to sing... "I've seen the DARKNEEEEEESS! I have seen the FLAAAAMES!" Zeth sang loudly, his powerful raspy voice sounding like a heavenly echo that drove everyone crazy, "I died and rose up from the deeeeeead... Everyone! Sing!"
"I... Have... Seen... The... Flames..." The entire audience, including Cadence herself, sang at the top of their lungs in unison. Zeth backflipped off the judges' table and ran to the other boys.
Above the stage, Evie watched Basil shiver. He was dizzy, in pain.
"Let's stop fighting. We can make a deal," Evie offered.
"N-N-Never," Basil stammered, and despite the cold, he lunged forward. A kick, a punch, Evie dodged them both.
And then he slipped on the frozen metal, landing hard on his shoulder, barely able to breathe.
And for the first time, Evie felt sorry for him.
"C-Come on. F-Finish me!" Basil yelled but Evie crouched down next to him, shaking her head.
"Nah. I don't want to kill you," Evie said. "Enough of all this death and pain. It's time to move on. You and me? We can be more than the trained killers we were meant to be. We can be heroes, not villains."
Suddenly, Basil began laughing.
"T-Those boys were w-willing to h-help you. That's not f-fair. You only w-won b-because you ch-cheated. You're not w-who you used to be. B-Being in l-love has m-made you weak."
"Loving someone is not a weakness, Basil. It gives us a reason to fight," Evie said calmly, and then she offered him a hand so he could get up. It took him a moment of doubt to accept her help. "Careful, the floor is very icy," Evie said as she helped him to his feet.
"D-Don't y-you s-say," He held onto the railing to avoid slipping, looked into her eyes, said something under his breath and walked past her, shoving her with his shoulder.
"Basil! Wait!" Evie said before Basil could jump off the platform. He stopped dead in his tracks, not turning to look at her. "I can give you a new purpose."
"A p-purpose?" He asked, looking over his shoulder, "Talk! I'm f-freezing!"
"I'd like you to join my team of bodyguards. You're very good at fighting, you gave me and Zeth a run for our money."
"I d-don't w-want your p-pity."
Evie rolled her eyes. She had expected as much.
"Are you in or not?"
"I will t-think about it," Basil said, "If I'm interested, I'll l-let y-you know n-next time w-we meet."
"Good."
"But I'm g-going to w-warn you, just b-because you l-let me live," Basil said, "W-Watch your b-back. Kasey's around, and s-she's got h-her eyes on your sh-shouty boyfriends." And then he jumped over the metal railing.
When Evie approached the edge to see where he was, he had already disappeared, but the rifle was still down there, shattered into pieces.
"Okay, time to get off this mini ice rink," Evie said to herself, looking around, "I think I'll take the stairs this time."
As Evie descended the metal steps, her mind and body ached all over. She felt tired and weak.
She had to find a way back to Jade, and quickly, before anyone noticed her presence here.
Once down the stairs, she turned. She had a clear visual of the stage from this angle.
"It's quite a party," she whispered, watching the Monster Mash boys living their best lives. "I better hurry and go back to my seat," she took two steps, but as she took the third, she crashed into someone, "Ouch! Sorry!" But when she turned up...
How strange. There was no one there.
"Evie?"
"Paul?" she looked around. He was nowhere to be seen, "Paul, where are you?"
"I am in front of you, but I am invisible," she felt his hand on her shoulder.
"Why are you invisible? Why are you not on the stage with the others?" Evie frowned.
"It's a secret, I'm not allowed to talk about it," Paul said, "Anyway, you shouldn't have come here. Our bodyguard has his orders and...."
"Not anymore," Evie replied, "But what are you doing here?"
"I guess I must confess something," Paul sighed, "Just... Don't get mad at me, okay?" He turned himself visible. He was dressed in casual clothes, a grey compression shirt and purple joggers...
And he was holding a microphone.
"Oh... Now I get it," Evie whispered, eyes wide, and then she turned to look at the stage, where pyrotechnic torches were flaming.
The guys were already halfway through the show, dancing as if there was no tomorrow.
The Fifth Octave boys danced almost robotically, but Monster Mash ignored the plan entirely to dance their own routine, going down fast and up slowly with hip thrusts to the beat of the booming song.
The stage lights went out, and flames encircled the stage, erupting with each BOOM of the tune that was changing back to the 'Phantom' song. Between flares and flashes of red light in the dark, Zeth nodded to his bandmates, taking several steps forward.
"Where are you going?" Anton yelled. "That is not your position! Now you're supposed to stand behind us, get down on your knees, and clap your hands!"
"In your dreams," Zeth winked over his shoulder.
"Go back and kneel and clap your hands!" Anton yelled.
"Estás bien pendejo si crees que lo haremos," Alex laughed.
With each burst of fire, the Monster Mash boys ripped off their suit jackets, yanking off the Velcro shirts they were wearing, much like the ones they wore at the strip club the night before. And with another yank, their Velcro slacks flew off.
When the flares and flashes stopped, and the light returned, the audience was speechless, and the judges were too.
The Monster Mash boys were all dressed in super tight black boxers, and nothing else, with their bodies covered in oil and mocking smiles on their faces.