"Let's get going.."
After EveryDay Loop had ended, Wolf calmly urged his team and left the van that had parked in front of Z Stadium's private entrance.
The silver hexagonal structure was surrounded by lush landscapes and featured an underground parking lot and several eateries.
Staff from X-9 Entertainment ran to and fro, stopping briefly to give heartfelt welcomes and brief inquiries. Wolf accepted each with a clear and amiable air, smiling gently, eyes warm.
"Wow."
"Just who is this humble Buddha that's replaced our vicious Wolf?" Voice low, Cherry sniped at her nephew that was a picture perfect being in public.
"Haven't you heard of a wolf in sheep's clothing? I'm the sheep now, so back off."
Mercurial eyes regarded the Agent sharply in a glance. Wolf continued to take long strides ahead of her after replying, dazzling onlookers and giving his most bewitching smile.
The clear doors of the building opened automatically. And greeting them right away was a very excited employee..
"Right this way Mr. Wolf! Agent C! And company!" Dressed in black and red, the uniformed teen guided them swiftly and spoke just as fast...
"The other members are already backstage for vocal warm-ups, hair and make-up just arrived, your wardrobe is ready for inspection, and I took the liberty of putting on 'Every Day Loop' Season 1, Episode 3: Let's Fish!' Oh! And there was a letter from the chairman in your door. I put it in the lounge with some mail from the acolytes.."
"...."
"..."
"Are you new?"
"Huh?"
Shocked. The youth stammered and tried to breathe. "Y-yes, Sir! I'm part of X-9's Integration Initiative. I'm human. I was told I need to let Idols know...since they aren't always sensing the beings around them.."
Smiling, Wolf easily kept pace with the other's fast walking and talking, resting a hand on his shoulder once they reached the entrance to his private chambers. "Don't worry about it. I sense automatically. Hey. Since you went out of your way to set up for me, I'll reserve some of the front row for you and some friends. No more than 4, to be fair.."
Startled, the youth stood there, mouth open and blinked occasionally.
"..and..you have asthma..?"
Wolf patted the breast pocket of the youth, nodding as he found the inhaler he knew must be on him. "..you won't need that after tonight." He tossed it to the floor, a robotic cleaner whizzing up to nab it.
"...."
"You broke him." Cherry poked the human that had turned to stone, undoubtedly caught in a stupor only Idols could induce. "You can not go touching and talking to humans like this. Just look at him..!"
"Bem."
The quiet assistant following behind responded quickly. The employee in question was picked up and taken to the infirmary to recover...
"Alright. Your road stops here. Lady Cheristhemane." Flashing a smile, Wolf stopped at the platinum doors of his private chambers. He regarded his aunt with cool eyes. "From beyond these doors Agents aren't allowed. This is the hallowed space where Idols prepare for their Acolytes.."
"Who wants to follow you?" Cherry rolled her eyes and turned on her heels. "I have more important things to do. Have fun preparing for the humans. But I will pop backstage 5 mins before..We can't skip the acolyte's bio-metric reports." Taking her assistant, the two followed another employee down a separate corridor and disappeared.
"You're the one who always forgets them.."
Wolf shook his head, entering the space belonging solely to Idols for preparation. The chambers of each Idol were assigned as multiple suites and interconnected to other Idols of the same team. It was his preference to check-in with his group members first. They were the closest thing to family, after all..
.
.
"THOUGHT YOU COULD ESCAPE US? "
Stepping into the communal suite, a trio of Idols pounced on sight.
"The PACK never dies!"
"We missed you!"
Drowned in warm welcomes, Wolf steadied himself and laughed as he still fell over from the weight of 3 guys.
"You sell out!"
"How could you go solo?"
"Give him a break.. you no-talent bastards. He doesn't need us anymore, that's why."
"Still as cruel as ever, I see.."
"Wolf! Fox has been mean to us all day! Just listen to him!.."
"He's never mean to you, Ori. I wonder why?"
"What the hell are you saying, Lab?"
"Birds of a feather flock together.."
"Huh?"
"He's saying Fox likes you, little Ori.."
"I'm not little! I'm taller than many humans!"
"Yeah right."
"Smol Ori.."
"Woolllffff!"
Being clung to on all sides, Wolf broke into a smile, flinging his brothers into three piles of arms and legs..
"Ow.."
"Damn it.."
"..Don't be rough with us!"
The three scattered Idols, Ori, Lab, and Fox, groaned pitifully on the floor. Being flung across the room with an Idol's strength still hurt even if you were one yourself.
Ori, the shortest, puffed his cheeks and batted long turquoise lashes. His hair of the same luminous shade, fluttered to his waist. Two summer green pupils shined like glass, framed by an inner golden ring. He stalked back up to the Idol he'd always looked up to and pointed.
"Are you back for good, Wolf? This..welcome home concert..is it our last as W.O.L.F?"
"Yeah..sneaky bastard..is this the end? If so, just tell me." Fox, the only one eye level with their leader, narrowed his sunset colored eyes. His complexion was slightly warmer than the rest of the group, contrasting obsidian tresses that hung in a loose ponytail. "I've got an offer to do a drama on planet LIQ..the payout for that is far better than the slug wages X9 gives us.."
"It's all about the money with you isn't it.."
"Of course it is, Labri. Money is the key to independence from the company. I can pay contract fees if I need to jump ship, and buy what I want without my Agent giving me crap."
Labri, usually called Lab, shook his head of wheat blonde hair, softly spiked with white tips. His handsome features were gaunt as his gold eyes flashed with anger. "I don't want to hear about your offers outside of the group! Is it so easy for you to leave us? You think about it all the time huh?!"
Advancing on the taller male, Lab grabbed him by the collar and brought their faces close. Fox turned his head so their eyes didn't meet, his expression somehow gloomy at the other's reaction. The blonde Idol grilled him for a few seconds and eventually sighed, turning him loose.
"If you're going to feel bad after saying it, how about you keep your slug mouth closed?"
"Shut up, Lab. I'm done with you."
"Uh huh. Sure you are."
"Lab, don't fight with him. Fox is sorry.."
"Shut up Ori."
"That's enough." Wolf lightly urged his companions to quiet, and their eyes turned to him immediately. Within the clear and iridescent glow of each, was a sense of weariness..
"Guys. I'm back."
"...."
"For real.."
"...."
"....."
"I know the rumors. About W.O.L.F disbanding."
"Well yeah, every Idol that reaches platinum usually parts with their group. Jewel, Vans, even Midnight. You were gone for several years, Wolf. We had our own projects but still.."
Wolf looked from one face to the other, as each Idol nodded in turn. He frowned.
"We AREN'T disbanding."
"Wolf.."
"I left to handle some business. Not to go solo. That tour and album were all Cherry's scheming. I didn't want to go platinum either. Tonight's concert isn't a farewell, but a return!" Fist to his heart, Wolf gave his chest a solid pound. His tone was resolute, gaze filled with loyalty and depth. "The pack never dies."
"THE PACK NEVER DIES!" Lab pounded his chest in turn, jumping on Fox who followed suit with an averted gaze.
"Yeah yeah. The pack never dies.."
"The pack never dies!" Ori joined in and jumped on the Fox who was intent on not 'looking' happy. Caught off guard, the three were soon launched to the plush carpet, each bearing a part of Wolf's weight as he returned the spirited welcome.
Clearing the air and going over each other's experiences, the Idols got to work on the evening's show. On the multi-tiered magnetic stage that moved according to programmed maneuvers, Wolf, Ori, Lab, and Fox, modified their performance dozens of times..
"At the three minute mark, Lab, I need you on platform A...At that point, Fox, you leap to platform C and wait for Ori. I'll phase between D and B before the aria. Then, during pixel rain, we go back to platform A together, and it drops to ground level.."
Breathing heavily, each Idol sat on the edge of a hovering platform, beads of sweat trailing the contours of their shirtless chests. The lights above were surgically bright, giving view to the many devices embedded in the great spherical stadium, the construction unlike man- made devices, in texture, form, or function.
"Sounds good Pup"
"Don't call me Pup, prawn."
"DON'T CALL ME PRAWN!" Ori fumed, and threw his water bottle.
"Wanna fight?"
"Stop guys, it's too hot in here and we're being recorded." Lab took his towel and draped it over his head to disappear.
"Yeah ...if the Agents find us slacking, they'll go back to running us like the slave drivers they are. Don't screw this up for me.." Smoothing his hair back, Fox added to the other's warning, gathering his onyx mane into even pieces to braid. "That said, are you sure it's okay to end with the platform in the midst of the acolytes? Security will be pissed."
"Who cares about them... the acolytes here haven't had contact with us in years. We should give them something to remember, shouldn't we?" Wolf grinned, his jovial and carefree mood infectious.
Lab broke into a smile "..of course they deserve it.."
Fox sighed, breaking into a small grin of his own. "..Let's do it. But we'll be counting on you, leader. Protect us with your platinum powers to evade fines and the Agent menace."
"Think they'll reach out and touch us?" Ori lied back on the cool crystalline platform, cheeks flushed at the thought. "..my Agent never lets me touch them. But they're so sweet. I just have to squeeze them.."
"What if they jump you?" Wolf glanced at the time and decided to lie on his back too and rest.
"Hmm. If they jump me.. I think I might..bite a few of them..." Despite being the youngest, the devious look accompanying that syrupy tone gave each Idol pause.
"Ori! Control yourself.."
"Sorry to interrupt, boys.."
A forceful kick of the stage entrance door interrupted the meeting of Idols. Cherry stalked gracefully to Wolf's platform and threw down a glass slab. The tablet shaped device was lit with an unknown code, streams of numbers and holographic diagrams flashing across the screen.
"Everyone attending has registered for tonight. As usual, we compared the bio-metrics and genetic data of all nonhuman guests and found no match to your strain. However.." She pointed to a flow of characters, pinpointing one unique string of non-human letters and numbers. "A routine scan of 'human' data...came up with a match."
"Human?" Wolf sat up. He took the tablet and burned the bio-metric data into his mind. As he viewed the height, weight, blood type, hair color, and other such information, his eyes widened.
"What's up with you? I'm just showing you so you can fix it. You're the one who designed this program. It's obviously a bug. No human acolyte is capable of gene resonance with an Idol. It's scientifically impossible!"
Wolf tuned out his aunt's words, holding the tablet with a stronger grip, as the tension in his body began to ebb and his eyes softened. He could not see a face that belonged to the ID..but somehow..
"Are you listening?"
Hand on hip, Cherry scrutinized the Wolf that had been daydreaming while staring at a screen. She grew increasingly worried about the not so young anymore nephew and considered mentioning retirement before he snapped.
"I wasn't listening." Wolf returned the tablet and smiled simply. "But it's not an issue. Just, get everything ready.."
"For?"
The smile that warmed the Idol's features only grew brighter. "A Resonance Event. No more putting it off. I'll find them tonight."
"Who?"
"My muse, who else?"
"Are you serious?" Lab frowned, wondering where this sudden willingness had come from. "You know you can't force resonance, right?"
"Yeah, I know."
"Wolf!" Ori cheered in excitement, bringing the man into a tight embrace as he leaped over. "We're finally getting a big sis!"
"What big sis? My muse is not going to spoil any of you so don't get your hopes up."
Lab nodded in approval. "Even if it's just showing up on a human, the fact that there's a match isn't a lie..it's just tagged the wrong species. You'll definitely find them tonight."
Fox shrugged. "..I'm fine as long as they aren't from GHV. Insectoids creep me out.."
Cherry looked at the raised spirits of all the members and sighed. "Listen up Wolf. Don't waste my time. If I prepare everything for a Resonance Event..and the Muse doesn't show up... or worse, resonance fails.."
She looked squarely at all of them.
"You 'will' retire, and for the safety of this planet.. leave for good.."