"Do you hear that music?" Prince asks as they land on the stage.
"Yeah, what's wrong with it?" Cordayl responds.
"It shouldn't be playing. I never let anyone play before my stage time. I like to build anticipation," Prince says as he enters his dressing room to see a nicely dressed businessman sitting on his table.
Prince walks past him and starts searching for an outfit for the concert. "And to what do I owe this pleasure today, Lulu?"
This Lulu smiles at Prince's rudeness. "I was in the area and decided to check the performance tonight. You never invite me anymore."
"That's because every time you ask for my autograph, it's on a dotted line," Prince says, changing his shirt.
Lulu laughs. It's a scary sound that's new to Cordayl. "I just want to optimize your talents. A gift like yours is limited on this tiny mountain," Lulu tells him.
Prince burps as he finishes a beverage, "I like this mountain. My fans know where to find me, and your vultures can't get to me," Prince says, buttoning his shirt.
Lulu laughs again, "Young and gifted is such a rebellious combination. You think you're so special. Your father was a real rockstar. Compared to him, you're just a child with a knack for the banjo."
"So leave me to play my banjo and entertain my millions of hick fans," Prince says, unbothered by Lulu's comparison.
"I will. I just wanted to apologize for my talent agents attacking you again. I told them to give up on you, but they are rather ambitious for a promotion. If they caused any harm, I apologize," Lulu says smugly.
"Do I look harmed?" Prince says, looking at him with disinterest.
"No, you don't. You look like you're ready to rock the stage. Break a leg out there, literally." Lulu says with a wink before turning to walk out.
Noticing Cordayl for the first time, Lulu stops as he sees how he shines. "I don't believe we have met before, Melatonin," he says.
"We haven't," Cordayl says dryly.
Lulu catches the drift but still extends his business card to Cordayl. "Call me anyway. I'm sure I can bring out the best in you. Maybe even protect you from dragons," he chuckles.
Cordayl takes the card and watches as Lulu walks into the wall and disappears in a smoke cloud before he hits it.
Prince takes the card from Cordayl and crumbles it in his hand. "Don't ever trust that guy," he calmly says, opening his dressing room door.
"Who was that?" Cordayl ask.
"That's Lucifer. A demented control freak who is obsessed with music. As much as he loves it, every musician and artist he gets a hold of loses the soul of their gift. He's been trying to sign me since grade school, but my father would never let that happen."
"How did he know about the dragon, though?" Cordayl mutters.
"The what?"
"The dragon. He knew about my fight with a dragon," Cordayl tells him.
"Not surprising. A wicked soul that has been here as long as his probably has ears everywhere," Prince pauses, "You said you fought a dragon?"
"Yeah, but it turns out he couldn't swim, so I just snuck away."
"I see why my dad wrote a song about your ancestor. You Melatonin are truly one of a kind," Prince laughs.
Prince and Cordayl quickly fly down and get on the stage. Cordayl falls back to the sideline as Prince takes centerstage.
The fans erupt as they see Prince walk on stage. They instantly start chanting, and the whole crowd is screaming in unison, "King! King! King!"
Prince smiles as his new guitar flies to him, and the crowd loses it even more. Prince snags it out of the air and plays a dope guitar solo track that enchants the crowd. As he strikes the last string, the crowd explodes with cheers, and the chanting starts again. "King! King! King!"
Prince stretches his arms and hands as he prepares to play his second song. Before he can strike a chord, a wave of negative energy tears through the crowd, and Prince stops all action as he watches the crowd cringe and react, confused, to the uninvited wave.
Cordayl is beside Prince as he wants to know what just happened.
Prince, eyes locked toward something in the sky, answers, "Someone just lowered the vibration," he says in a tone Cordayl hasn't heard from his friend before. It sounded serious.
Looking up to see what Prince is staring at, he sees the figure slowly descending from the sky.
Suddenly, a tune of heavy metal rock starts to play from this mysterious figure as he stops his descent several feet above the crowd. As he steals the show away from Prince, he also steals the crowd as they all start cheering and rocking with this rude ass imposter.
"Who is he?" Cordayl asks, observing this buff, all-red figure dancing in the air as he quickly strings the notes of the familiar instrument.
Noticing that this stranger is using the guitar Prince ditched back on that random planet, Cordayl points out, "Yo, that's your old guitar!"
"It is," Prince says through gritted teeth. "And I want it back," He growls as he launches through the air to meet this fake.
With nothing to say, Prince smacks the figure in the face with his guitar, sending him flying away. The unknown quickly bounces back and returns the blow.
"Good sucker punch," This unknown figure shouts, continuing to play his song.
"Nice to meet you, King, I'm Red the Maroon! And I'll be dethroning you soon, baby!" He says as he goes on the offensive and starts beating on Prince. As he delivers a smashing blow, Prince comes falling towards his fans.
They move out of the way, unwilling to catch him, but before he can crash into the earth, Cordayl is there to catch Prince easily. Prince smiles at his friend as he stands on his feet.
Thanking him, before Prince rejoins the fight, Cordayl tells him to stop losing. Prince nods his head as he flies back toward Red the Maroon.
Prince launches his guitar at Red the Maroon and hits him square in the mouth, then he punches him in the gut, folding him over. Prince finishes the combo with a mean ass uppercut that sends the jerk flying up into the atmosphere.
From the ground, Cordayl cheers on his friend as he makes his comeback. Feeling a flood of evil stares fall upon him, Cordayl looks around and sees the crowd's animosity as they disagree with his support.
As they boo and throw every item at him, from a pack of cookies to a scooter handle at him, the voice scoffs, "Prince was right. No loyalty."
As a rugby ball smacks him upside the head, a vein pops onto his head, and he starts to boil over.
One foolish man sprints at Cordayl full speed, wanting to land a real punch on the lame, but when Cordayl moves aside and tosses the dummy 50 feet away by his pants, the crowd stops all movement.
Dropping the man's ripped-off pants, Cordayl stares at the crowd, letting them know he's not to be fucked with.
But with Red the Maroon amping up his next tune, Cordayl watches, surprised, as the crowd boldly rushes into the moshpit.
Cordayl runs to one side of the crowd to fake them out, but the voice teases him, "What a surprise you're running away again," it shuns him. "What, you gonna crowd surf away?" the voice laughs as it recedes.
Cordayl's jaw tightens as he jumps and log rolls his twisting body into three oncoming fans. Jumping back to his feet, he quickly goes on the offensive and starts unleashing on anyone dumb enough to attack him.
As Cordayl manages the fight, the overwhelming numbers become annoying, so he jumps back on stage to get some breathing room.
The crowd stares in amazement at the boy's leaping capability, but Cordayl doesn't care. As he motions to the crowd to bring it on, he shouts, "Come on!" and they jump on stage one by one.
Prince and Red the Maroon stand apart from each other, hating the sight of one another.
Prince mugs the phony and tells him, "You Lulu puppets are pathetic! You wouldn't even be able to stay in the sky if it wasn't for that evil fuck zombifying my precious guitar."
Red the Maroon laughs, "It's a guitar, baby. It isn't dead until it's in a wood chipper. How about this? I take that new guitar you got, and I just bury you next to this one?" He asks with a smile.
Prince grimaces and the two enemies rush each other and clash guitars like lightsabers. As they hash it out, Red the Maroon proves a worthy adversary for the Prince of rock and roll.
Disengaging, the two catch their breaths. Red the Maroon starts to laugh. Confused, Prince asks him what's so funny.
Still laughing, Red the Maroon explains, "Lulu just wanted me to come here and steal some of these fans, but look around you. Fuck our fight, I've already won! I not only stole your show, I stole all of your fans! Look at them rage and riot down there, freaking beautiful. This is exactly what the end of all my concerts looks like.
"So beat my ass, I couldn't care less. Afterward, I'll spit out the blood and let the energy heal me. These low vibrations feel better than drugs to me," Red the Maroon states.
To Prince's horror, he looks down and sees that Red the Maroon is 100% correct.
Prince watches, heartbroken, as his fans not only fight his friend but fight each other with tooth and nail.
What once was a nirvanic experience has now become a civil war.
Saddened beyond words, Prince bows out of the fight. Picking up an angry Cordayl who begs to be let back down.
"There's no point, my friend. The battle is lost, and I have been dealt a lethal blow. Is there anywhere I can take you? I want to be alone right now," Prince tells him.
Hearing this, Cordayl turns around to see Prince wipe the tears off his face. Cordayl looks back at the crowd, and his eyes lock in on the red jackass.
A small black energy emits from Cordayl's finger, and he whispers, "Ancestor's emotion, sadness, " flicking the energy away.
Red the Maroon is getting thrown up into the air repeatedly by the fans as he plays a sick ass guitar solo.
Levitating away from the mass, Red the Maroon continues his solo, turning up as he nears the end. A small black ball of energy enters his torso as he concludes his solo.
Red the Maroon feels the energy enter him, but the shot doesn't seem to damage him as he inspects his body. Then suddenly, Red the Maroon's body violently erupts, his entire upper body exploding, letting his legs and guitar crash down into the crowd below him.
From a distance, it looks like Red the Maroon just had an epic finale that finished with an unexpected fireworks display because a good percentage of the crowd still cheers even after he is killed. But one fan isn't so sure as he whispers to his friend.
"I don't think that was part of the show."
As Cordayl and Prince slowly drift through the sky, Cordayl can feel the Prince's heartbreak as they move in silence.
"Prince, play a song. It's too quiet." Cordayl ask. Prince obliges, letting the music flow from his guitar as they silently fly away.