Manic's life has gone to crap. With the theft of a nostalgic pendant, everything in his life seems to have gone for the worse. And then another mean, green hedgehog came into his life...
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As far as places where Manic Automatic performed, The Fat Mutt was easily the nicest establishment. Manic just happened to know the owner since he was a kid, he just happened to enjoy the band's sound, and before they knew it, the band just happened to have a set every other Friday evening. And Manic couldn't be happier with the arrangement. A small stage next to a nice, long mahogany bar and a whole dining room arranged for a full view of the stage, all in warm wood tones and lit by gorgeous glass lighting. For a band used to playing in small bars and dingy clubs, this place felt like the Ritz.
Unlike in the Ritz, and unlike in certain snobby jewelry stores, it was perfectly alright to shout "OOOOH DAAAAMN" across the building to grab someone's attention, even if the dining area was half full.
"Dude, how long's it been?!" Manic ran towards another Hedgehog. Or rather, Manic took a few steps, and the other hedgehog had already run up to him.
Sonic greeted him with a cheesy grin and a cheesy finger gun, all topped off with a very cheesy "What up?!"
Sonic had found himself a comfortable life as a profession athlete, and he made sure everyone could see it. He only wore a slightly loose-fitting white tank top and a pair of black athletic shorts. And of course, his favorite, bright red and horribly flashy running shoes.
Scourge hugged Sonic with his usual energy. Sonia just watched on and laughed to herself.
"It's 'what's up,' Sonic." She said.
"You lost your guitar player again?" Sonic asked Manic. Manic scratched the back of his head.
"You know our luck. So does that mean...?"
Sonic pointed back at the stage. Sure enough, an unmistakable metallic blue guitar was on a stand onstage. Manic put both hands behind his head.
"Oooooooh! This is gonna be awesome!" He looked at Sonic again, and noticed something off. "Aw, shoot, this is the first time we'll play without our necklace."
"Yeah, I heard about that, bro." Sonic patter his brother on the back. "But I have good news for you."
Sonic put his arm behind his back, and pulled it back with the third necklace in his hand. Of course, Sonic couldn't just have a guitar. No, it needed to be a guitar shaped roughly like his head and with three necks no one could possibly play.
"And I thought you'd like this for now." Sonia walked towards the two. She reached into her right pocket, and pulled out a ball chain necklace with a single dog tag on it. "It's not the same, but I got it custom engraved." But instead of having it custom engraved with his name or a message, the front side of it bore the same shape as his old, stolen pendant. Manic snatched it up and put it on immediately.
"YooooOOOOO!"
"Wasn't that that group of thieves? Plague Reflux?" Sonic asked.
"Yeah, but they didn't bother with me. Three of didn't even notice me, it was fiiiiine."
"Three of them?" Sonic asked. "I thought there were only supposed to be two members?"
"Probably. I mess up everything." He laughed at himself. "When am I serious? We haven't seen each other in forever - we should be celebrating!"
Sonic grabbed Manic by the waist with his right arm, and Sonia by her waist with his left, and pullet them in. "It's been a while, guys."
After a tender moment, Sonic released his hold. "C'mon," Manic started, "We haven't practiced the new songs together yet. You got all the chords down, right?"
"Yeah! Yeah, I've been practicing them!" Sonic was suddenly a little uncomfortable. "Oh, yeah, so-"
"Is this about...?" Sonia asked Sonic specifically.
"Yeah... Uh, buddy, some of your lyrics are kind of uncomfortable."
Manic held up his hands and smiled. "Hey, I get what you're saying, but I thought experimenting with the lyrics would be kind of interesting."
"No... No, we mean, we're concerned about you, Manic." Sonia said. "It's one thing to make a joke about yourself here and there-"
"Naaaaah, you both worry too much!" Manic's energy slowly faded. "No one'll mind. It's just a joke!"
Sonia and Sonic looked at each other. There was an uncomfortable pause.
"Come on, we've got to practice! I've got some stuff to do."
Manic walked towards the stage. His siblings followed begrudgingly.
"Do you think we should take it off the set list?" Sonic asked.
"He'd notice, wouldn't he?"
"We could tell him I didn't practice the chords." The two continued arguing with each other as they walked into the back room.
"Eight fifty." Scourge thought. "Why am I doing this?"
Scourge couldn't answer his own question. Manic had an unforgettable voice... but that doesn't mean his band would necessarily be great. "It's a bar, at least. I can get plastered if he ends up sucking." Even if their whole horribly awkward exchange was enjoyable, he couldn't explain why he was driving to the show location to himself. He was some green kid. What did he care?
Twenty-Fifth Street. That's where he said this place would be. "The Old Mutt, right?" Seventh... Sixth... Fifth... As he passed the intersection at 25th and 4th, he saw the bar in the distance. The entrance was a set of double doors on the corner of the building, and going either way were tall, wide windows inside. A sign hung over the doorway reading The Fat Mutt, complete with an illustration of a stylized beige dog growling. Given the kind of guy Manic seemed like, this place was much snootier than he expected. He pulled his beaten-up convertible into an open space just a short walk away from the building.
"Hello, sir." Greeted the maître d', a white ermine in a polo embroidered with the bar's logo. "A table for how many?"
"One. By the bar." Scourge responded.
"Right this way, sir." The ermine lead him to one of the open tables near the bar. "Your waiter will be right with you." She gave her best smile, and walked away.
Nice place, Scourge thought. It was a bit bourgeois for his taste - More or less any place with well-dressed wait staff was too snobby for him. He wasn't hungry, anyways. He didn't even bother looking at the menu when his waiter finally came by.
"Good evening-" the man started to say.
Scourge waved the menu away. "I ain't hungry. Just get me a bottle of Gold Crest."
"Right away, sir."
Scourge sat in silence, watching the stage. Manic was setting up with a pink girl and some blue guy. Only three members? No bass? He thought. Hell's bells...
The waiter quickly returned with a bottle and a chilled glass. While he put them on a table, an older man walked onto the stage. He was a dark green insect of some variety - no one really knew, but no one really cared, either. He tapped the microphone in front of Sonia twice.
"Good evening, everyone." He had a surprisingly deep and rough voice. "I've seen most of you here before, so we shouldn't need any introductions. I'm Farrell, I'm the owner, yadda yadda yadda." He stepped more to the side of the stage. "And I know why half of you are here - the musical stylings of Manic Automatic, starting with, uh..." He looked at a piece of paper he tried to hide in his hand. "...A new song, Bitter Merlot! Enjoy the show, everyone!"
As soon as he said Manic Automatic, a few members of the audience cheered in response. Farrell motioned to the band as he walked off the stage. While Scourge poured his drink, he didn't take his eyes off the band.
He waited.
Manic wasted no time, and his drums roared to life in an instant. After a brief but intense drum intro, Sonic and Sonia joined in with a surprisingly catchy mid-tempo tune. A bit mellow for me, thought Scourge. Manic leaned closer to his microphone.
Screwed up bad again, didn't we?
Scourge shivered. He'd forgotten just how good Manic's voice was. Scourge was captivated once again.
Lay low, they'll never find you here There ain't nothing out there for me And nobody else inside
Given that the band didn't have any proper bass, Scourge was pleasantly surprised by how full the sound was. Sonic's guitar and Sonia's keyboard tone melded together with Manic's voice into a rough, yet surprisingly mellow sound. But the energy Manic drummed and sang with was hypnotizing. This wasn't how he talked when they first met, or when he dropped him off. This was Manic at his best.
Just you, me, and the drums Peeling walls and watery beer Don't know where this is coming from Don't know if I'm scared or just dumb But damn, I love the ride
Manic's voice carried through surprisingly well. With as strenuous as drum playing tended to be, Manic didn't sound like he was struggling over the lyrics or the melody at all. He sounded just about as clear as he did in the car earlier. His lyric writing was clearly the weak point of the song. Not horrendous or offensive, just amateur.
Scourge leaned back, and grinned. "Shit, I think I'm liking this." He sipped his beer just as the song got to the chorus.
Grab me by the neck, I'll drink your lies like Merlot Force me down and drown me in Galliano
Scourge had to stop again. Manic managed to project his voice incredibly loudly. If he was singing without the microphone, he would have been no less clear.
They find us and ruin us at any second Bruise me and hold me tight, teach me a lesson Have some fun, drink with me, don't make me beckon for love and a Blackout for two
Normally, Scourge would have been more than impressed with the way Manic held the final line of the chorus out. He'd normally be impressed with his intense, perfected drumming. He couldn't put a finger to it, but something about the song started to rub him the wrong way. Something...
Can't be prince without a king Even the garbage needs a leader
No, not just about the song, about the performance too. While Manic was completely absorbed into the performance, Sonic and Sonia seemed uncomfortable. Sonia occasionally darted her eyes at the audience, then away, as though she was ashamed, or embarrassed. Sonic looked down at the stage. He tried to smile and put on a show, but the energy he'd normally give off? Gone.
All you want is a plaything And I can give what you need Or do you want some more
Plaything? Scourge thought. What's this kid talking about?
Grab me by the neck, I'll drink your lies like Merlot Force me down and drown me in Galliano
This time, Scourge thought about the lyrics. It hit like a brick how dark the lyrics seemed. Not intentionally dark, either. 'Grab me by the neck' and 'Force me down' weren't sung with any twinge of sadness or remorse. Manic seemed to sing them completely seriously.
They'll find us and ruin us at any second Bruise me and hold me tight, teach me a lesson Have some fun, drink with me, don't make me beckon for love and a Blackout for two
Scourge just about dropped his drink. This song wasn't dark, this was disturbed.
He watched Manic's siblings as Manic performed a drum solo for a middle eight. Sonia looked at Sonic. Her eyes were wide and concerned, as though she was begging for help. Sonic looked like he was trying to get Manic's attention, but Manic was too involved in an incredibly intricate drum solo. His siblings seemed to remember they were in the middle of a performance, and stepped back into position with forced smiled as Manic reached the end of the song.
Burn me like cheap whiskey and be smooth as Merlot Force me down and drown me in Galliano We'll probably die before everything's over I'm not gonna ache or get smashed and hungover Have some fun, drink with me, don't make me beckon for love and a Blackout with you Blackout with you
All three members stopped playing as Manic belted out the final note, closing out the song with an impressive, long tone.
There was a pause.
The regular fans of Manic Automatic burst out into applause. Even many of the diners who didn't seem to know who the band seemed to have gotten into the performance. Scourge was one of the few people who didn't seem to have loved the song. Oh, he loved the composition! Everything else about the song was much, much more than he expected from this band! But the lyrics stopped him from being comfortable with any of it. It was as though he wanted to be abused. As though he thought of that as healthy.
After a moment, Sonic started back up with a guitar riff. This kid ain't right... Scourge thought. He took a long drink. He was going to need it.
The band's set only lasted an hour and a half. Most of the song were surprisingly catchy, some were nice and mellow, and a few were... underwritten, to say the least. Scourge was able to get into most of the music, as well as most of the diners, but Scourge couldn't get that first song out of his head. Manic needed some kind of help.
...Show them that the hedgehogs are back Let's do it to it
The last song of the set was a horribly cheesy bit of 90s pop-rock sung by Sonic. As the song finished up, Manic stood up, and grabbed his mike. A few people in the restaurant cheered. "Hey, thanks for coming, everyone- Oooooooh, Mina, What's uuuup?!" He pointed to a young woman in the crowd. "Thanks for coming, everyone. Sonia's gonna be working the rest of the night, and we'll be hanging around here. If you want any CDs, we've got you covered. Peace!"
As the band walked offstage to applause, Ferrell walked back on. "Everyone, our next set ain't for another thirty minutes. We've got some more entertainment in line, so just sit tight." With that surprisingly brief message, Ferrell walked offstage once again.
Scourge was just a little bit tipsy. He'd only had three beers - the bottle of Gold Crest, some froufrou beer called Black Lashes (it was alright), and a bottle of Corlette. For him, a light night. The waiter was trying to get Scourge to leave all evening, since he refused to order anything else, so he finally got up and walked to where the band was sitting. It was a round table with four chairs at it. Sonia sat between Sonic and Manic, and the fourth chair remained empty. All three of them drank from water glasses. Manic had pulled out yet another stack of hand-labeled CDs.
"He split before your last performance?" Sonic asked.
"We had to ask Max from Mina's band to fill in for the night." Sonia laughed. "We can't find anyone else to stick after you left."
"Hey, I'd love to play with you guys all the time!" Sonic raised his hand in front of him. "I don't have the time."
"Heeeey, don't worry, we get it." Manic said. "You can't be lazy if you're gonna compete internationally. You- Oooooooh damn, you actually came!"
"Language, Manic," Sonia said, as all they turned around to face Scourge.
"Good show, kid," Scourge said. "You've got some pipes on you."
"Thanks, my man!" Manic said. He pushed the seat out. "Come on, take a seat. There's are my brother and sister, Sonia and Sonic." They both nodded at him. "This is Scourge, he stole our car!"
As he'd expected to do at some point, Scourge glared at Manic. Sonic nearly spit out his water, and Sonia gasped. She held her hands up to her face. Manic waited for a moment, then smacked his own forehead.
"Oh yeah! Sonia, the car was stolen earlier, but everything's fiiiine now."
"Manic, don't hang out with a car thief!" Sonic said. "You get in enough trouble as is!"
"Yeah, I thought that too, but-"
"Are you alright?!" Sonia asked.
"I'm a-okay. Yeah, I thought that, but I ain't exactly a stranger to theft." Manic had definitely lost some of his pep, but he was still keeping in good spirits. "So anyways-"
"No, Manic, you can't be friends with someone like him," Sonia said.
"We have to ask you to leave, Scourge," Sonic stared directly at Scourge when he said that. Scourge stared right back, not wavering.
"Hey, don't judge, blue boy." Scourge was grinning, but every word was caked in spite. "You ain't got a clue who I am."
"Unlike me, if you get past his criminal tendencies, he's actually pretty cool!" Manic made a dumb grin at his joke. "You liked our CD that much, huh?"
"You've got some talent. So do you, girl." He looked at Manic and Sonia, respectively. When he was done, he looked at Sonic for a moment, then leaned back in his chair. "So what's with the necklace?"
Sonic picked up his pendant between two fingers. He tried not to act too offended. "We started this band when we were just kids."
"But then we were Sonic Underground!" Manic made some grand hand gesture as he said the band's old name. "Sonic cut these out of old soda cans so we could look cool, and Sonia got them covered in silver for some reason!"
"It was Sonic's idea." Sonia was trying to be sociable, but still looked uncomfortable.
"And what did yours looks like, Green?"
"Check it out!" Manic gave him his new dog tag. "It's like that, but not on a dog tag."
"That's cheesy as all hell." Scourge laughed, but continued looking at the dog tag.
"Hell yeah it is!"
While Scourge returned the dog tags, Sonia and Sonic looked at each other and shrugged. "Manic, I have to talk with my manager quickly." Sonia said. Before Manic could even respond, Sonia was already leaving.
"Wait, Sonia!" She was already at the back of the restaurant, and leaving into the employee-only area. "That isn't what I thought you were going to do." He mumbled under his breath.
"What'd you think she'd do?" Scourge asked. He went in closer to Sonic.
"She was supposed to give the three of us a reason to leave." Sonic said. He stopped abruptly, and sniffed at the air. "Have you been drinking?"
"It's a bar, ain't it?" Scourge asked, before standing up. "I was gonna leave soon, anyways."
"Wait, like, drive away? Don't drive if you've been drinking." Manic said. The conversation seems to have slowly drained him, until he was speaking in the same half-awake way he did when they first met. "I'll drive you back, buddy, don't worry." He stood up, walked up to his brother, and patted him on the back. "It's been awesome seeing you again. Keep in touch, alright?"
Manic strided out the door, undistributed CDs in hand. Scourge waited until he had left, and turned to face Sonic. "Your brother's cute."
"Don't you dare hurt him. If you do-"
"Don't touch me." He yelled, and pushed Sonic away. "I wasn't gonna touch him, anyways. Manic's cool, at least. Why are you such an uptight little shit, anyways?"
Sonic moved in close, and held his finger very close to Scourge's face. "I don't want to fight someone like you." He said through gritted teeth.
"Then lay off." Scourge pushed his hand away, and walked out the door. Sonic walked towards the window, and watched him walk down the street to his car. Sonia walked up behind him.
"What are we going to do?" She asked.
Sonic sighed. "Manic needs more friends, but that guy's gonna hurt someone," he said. "Why would he trust him this much?"
Scourge was patting all his pockets. "Where the hell are my keys...?" He looked up, only to see Manic twirling them in his right hand. "Why the hell did you-"
"You stole my car. Now we can call it even, right?" Manic let out a weak laugh. "Hop in."
Scourge grinned. Now that his brother was out of the way, they could actually talk. They jumped into the front seats of the cars. As the car pulled out of the spot, Scourge looked at Manic. "So what was up with that first song?"
"Oh yeah, you liked that?" Manic asked. "Sonic and Sonia hated that song. They said it was skeevy? I dunno."
"Well, yeah, it kind of is, kid. You don't ask your lover to force you down or grab your neck. That's messed up."
Manic looked away, still smiling a faint smile. "No, you don't get it. They're not literal, they're supposed to sound wild and passionate."
"'Bruise me, teach me a lesson' isn't a damn metaphor." Scourge yelled. He stopped his yelling abruptly, and said more quietly, "that song sounded straight up abusive."
When they stopped at an intersection, Manic twisted his head around to look at Scourge. "I'm just some gutter kid. You think I deserve a nice relationship? I'd be happy with anything. I don't really care that much." He punctuated this with yet another laugh.
This was the first time Scourge ever really looked at Manic's eyes. His eyes would normally be very striking and gorgeous. His irises were a rich honey gold, with flecks of vibrant green radiating from around his pupil. But his eyes didn't look sarcastic. His smile was wide and his laugh sounded genuine, but his eyes looked sad and hollow. He was looking in Scourge's direction, but not at Scourge. He was gazing into space, his large, sad eyes almost looking like they were beginning to tear up.
He abruptly shook his head and faced the road again. "I didn't like those lyrics that much, anyways. I'll rewrite them at some point."
"What's going on?" For once, Scourge didn't seem angry or mocking in his tone. He sounded genuinely concerned. "Something's wrong." Manic gave a heavy sigh, even though he didn't stop smiling.
"I don't know, man. Ever since that robbery stuff, I haven't felt that great. Maybe that necklace brought good luck. I remember this one psychic guy I go to a bunch told me things like that carry good vibes, right? Maybe there's something to that." The car was starting to drive slower. "And Sonia's been on my back about getting a real job. I know I need one, but when we get a new guitar player, we're gonna go big!" He looked away. "I think she's scared for me."
They sat in silence for a while.
"Pull over."
Manic looked at Scourge, but he didn't look back. He was looking into space, just as Manic had before. He didn't look angry, either.
"Why, dude?"
"I want to talk."
Manic was very cautious. He could feel his anxiety going into overdrive. He was used to being so anxious he no longer felt afraid, but this? He was getting dangerously close to having it all boil over. With some slightly fumbled driving, he pulled the car into a large, empty lot next to some closed hardware store. He turned the car off, and all they heard were distant cars and the slight buzzing of some street lights.
"Close your eyes, kid." He was looking away from him even more. He seemed nervous.
"Is something going on?" Manic asked.
"Just... Just close your eyes." He spoke more annoyed this time. "I need you to stay there."
His anxiety was about to go over the top. He's going to hurt you, isn't he...? Crap, what am I gonna do? Oddly enough, Scourge didn't push the point. Eventually, Manic begrudgingly gave in. "Alright man, they're closed."
"I'll be right back."
Manic could hear Scourge jiggling the keys out of the ignition, and opening his door to the car. The sound of his feet stomping on asphalt moved to the back of the car. Then, a click and a creak, followed by a sound that could only be Scourge shuffling around for something. Eventually, the sound of shuffling bottles, paper, and boxes stopped, and he could hear a car door close. Scourge paced back around the car, and closed his door.
Scourge put his hand on Manics, and after a moment of hesitation, opened his fist. Manic didn't want to open his eyes, but he could feel Scourge's hand tremble and hear him breathing. He seemed scared. His hesitation eventually ended with him slamming something made of paper into Manic's hand.
"Open your eyes."
Manic cautiously opened his eyes. Manic was now leaning on the car door, looking as away from Manic as he could. He clearly shifted the passenger side mirror. Manic could see Scourge occasionally glimpsing at him, before quickly looking away again. He was very slightly blushing. In his hand, he now held something, wrapped haphazardly in crumpled newspaper and masking tape.
"What's all this about?"
"I had a hunch about something." Scourge didn't sound annoyed, he sounded nervous. "Just open it before I change my mind."
Manic started peeling off the newspaper. It wasn't easy - Scourge clearly had no idea how to wrap a present. Layers and layers of tape had been wasted, so Manic gave up and started tearing the paper itself. At first, he was very, very confused. He knew exactly what he was given, but he had no idea why he'd been given it. But he took another good look at Scourge, and it came to him. The way his quills fell, the way he stood, the tone he spoke in...
Manic took another look at his newly unwrapped drum pendant.
