Done with Canterlot
Author's note: For this Chapter I will provide links for some songs in order to provide some sort of ambiance. Clicking on the links is entirely optional and is on the experimental age, so I have no idea how its gonna work out.
Vinyl Scratch was looking for that one album she always saw whenever she didn't want it. It was a classic Stupid Rocks album called: Pony After All. She began searching through the browser, passing through various albums but failing to locate the one she wanted. She began cursing her messy digital library, and by some extent, herself. Most albums lacked the basic information required to properly appear on the screen, so she was forced to skim through the artwork in the hopes she could catch a glimpse of the cover.
Ten seconds and a thousand albums later she finally stopped at the target. With a name like file066635215 she thought she should start filling out the basic data. "Meh, I'll do it later. Right now I have a very important mission." she said as she tapped the album and pressed play on the screen. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, dancers of all ages, you have been real awesome today, and I want to thank you for being so awesome by playing one of the best albums in house music history. All the way from the distant year of nine hundred ninety seven I give you: Projects by Stupid Rocks!"
She dismissed the long list of requested songs, these people knew nothing of dance music. They thought they wanted to hear Heartbreak or that little douche called Castrati, or at least that's what she remembered. As soon as she saw the first song began playing she heard the joyous roars of people as they started dancing uncontrollably.
"Oh yeah, just another good deed for these brats." exhaled Vinyl as she reclined on her chair and set her feet on the dashboard. Unlike most clubs, where the audience had direct contact with the DJ, this club had the disc jockey perched in a walled off balcony with one-way mirrors allowing her to see everyone. The noise was completely subdued by the multiple enchantments place by her so she couldn't hear the less savory sounds as the night progressed.
Half the album passed when she noticed that everyone was requesting the new Last Day of the Year by Skill-X. "What? why the fuck would they do that? I give them the good ol' classics and they tell me they want the new blender music." she began grumbling under her breath as she began scrolling through the list. Unlike the old songs, new songs were easy to find.
It took her a couple of minutes to think of a worthy playlist, mixing popular songs with less mainstream titles. When she unleashed the playlist she let out a sigh and headed for a small fridge under her work station. She grabbed a Crown beer and popped the cap with one of her records.
She refitted her jeans and white tank top, in the hopes of getting comfortable until the end of her shift. But her hopes were dashed when her boss walked into the room. "Hello there miss Vinyl." he said in his usual rough voice. "We need to talk."
"Sure thing man, grab a seat." she said as she sipped her beer. "Watcha wanna talk about?"
The suited man politely refused her offer. "It's about your job. People have been complaining that you haven't been respecting the Request List, and you know that in this club we value the customers' desires."
"You're complaining about that? I know that people want to hear their favorite songs, but you pay me to give them entertainment and to get them excited enough to stay here just long enough to buy another bottle. Did you hear them cheering fifteen minutes ago? That's because I sent that shitty playlist down the toilet and gave them some real dance music. That shitty playlist was just gonna entertain some, my playlist got all of them dancing."
"But yet people complained about not hearing their sings. And there's also the matter of last week, where you synchronize your music with several crates of rubber fish..."
"Sea Bass."
"Whatever. The point is that we can't have you climbing on the ceiling and setting up potential threats."
"Excuse me? It was thanks to those potential threats that this place made more than ten thousand bits in alcohol that day alone."
"And you endangered the lives of our clients. Do you have any idea of the money we would lose if one of your rubber fish..."
"Sea Bass." interrupted Vinyl as she threw the bottle toward the trashcan and managed to score. "Two points for me." she whispered.
"I don't care what species they are, I don't want to listen to accidents that occurred because one of your stupid things landed on a patron and it caused him to smash his bottle and trip on the glass. Or if your stunt caused a fight?"
"You're just throwing shit at me. I had that under perfect control. Those things were aimed specifically toward the dance floor, where, I remind you, bottles are strictly forbidden!" she exclaimed as she grabbed a can of beer, being careful not to explode the can. "If you've got to throw shit you might as well use good shit." she said as she slumped back to her chair, putting her right leg over the knee. "Or you want something else."
"I came to tell you that I'm done with you. You have been ignoring our standards for too long and have brought little in return." said her boss with a frown as he scratched his bald head. "As of tomorrow you will be placed with a better Dee Jay..."
Vinyl burst out laughing, spilling beer all over him. "Better? Don't you mean: more docile? You know that there isn't a better DJ than me in all of Canterlot. No one, and I really mean no one, could resurrect this fucking dump after someone got murdered here. I took this job 'cuz I wanted to teach fellow young people what real dance music is. If you want a fucking robot to do as you want the fine!" she yelled as she took her bag, Val laptop, and stash of beer.
"Sadly, you won't be leaving." said the bald man as two men blocked the entrance.
"So what are Gorilla and Rhino doing here? You plan on killing me?" she asked as she turned on the room speakers and programming a playlist for at least thirty minutes.
"Killing you? No, that would be too bad for business. These men are here to escort you to your new boss."
She scoffed: "New boss? I haven't even chosen a new job you shithead."
"You haven't but I have. Your new boss will be Count Gold Bar."
"Like hell he will!" she exclaimed as she grabbed her toy gun she kept close.
"I've already been paid, so you've got no choice. You will now serve him, whether you want to or not. Men, take her." he said as he pushed past the two burly men in leather jackets and white armor vests.
"Wuba dub dub motherfuckers!" she yelled as she put on her signature grey headphones and pressed play on the main screen. The speakers blasted dubstep, stunning the guards and allowing her to escape. She ran as fast as possible, smacking her former boss with the butt of her toy as she passed him. She was about to crash through the exit when she saw three thugs block her exit. They were pulling out pistols from inside their jackets.
She dropped to her knees, sliding past the various bolts of magic as they erupted from the guns. She reacted by firing a blast of magic from her stocky toy. The explosion caused the goons to freeze mid-air, shifting only to the rhythm of the song. After a couple of beats they fell down unconscious.
"You might want to call me a waitress..." she said cockily as she put on her purple tinted glasses and programmed her V-pod to the playlist. "cuz you just got served!"
As she stepped outside she was met with a storm, soaking her as soon as she stepped into the dark skies. She took out a white and blue umbrella from her bag and opened it, only to wish she hadn't. Standing in front of her were at least ten dudes armed with muskets and all had that we're gonna get you one way or the other cuz we've been paid look.
"Do you guys get hired by the bulk?" she asked before the used her weapon. The beam was weaker without the music, but her headphones provided enough punch to blast the first three dudes and stun-lock them for a couple of seconds. She followed with a smoke grenade she always carried for dramatic effect. The thugs reacted by unleashing a barrage of green bolts, none of which actually hit Vinyl. As soon as the smoke began spreading she vaulted over the steel rails and ran through the alley. "Suckers." she whispered as she calmed her pace and walked normally on the main street.
She walked home as if nothing had happened, but she still kept an open ear just in case anyone came after her. Occasionally she felt as if she were being followed, and the hoot of an owl was enough to discomfort her. Still, nothing attacked her by the time she could see her house. It was here where she just how obsessed the man that bought her must be. The apartment building was [infested with goons. There were probably twenty men on the courtyard, just standing around and smoking.
Most of them were grouped together, sharing cigarettes or stories as they soaked themselves in the rain while under the front patio's roof. There were three guys at the entrance stairs, completely missing the point of guard duty as they chatted as loud as possible.
"Well fuck you too asshole." she mumbled as she began sneaking through the entrance. The lobby was very spacious, having a common room and even a public kitchen where some of her friends would usually cook things to cure hangovers. She quietly took cover underneath the counter, hoping that no one would bother looking there.
"What do you mean with she's gone? I thought you said you were professionals!" shrieked the voice of a snobby young man. "I gave you everything: guns, weapons, armor, an identity and most important of all money. All I asked for in return was the girl."
"Listen you highness, why don't you go back to your tea parties and let us tough guys do our job?" she heard a more masculine voice say as the sound of patting was heard.
"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me why are you taking so long?" said the young voice. Against common sense she moved slowly, hoping to put a face on the name and voice. The responsible for her current misery was a man barely older than herself dressed in clothes worth more than the building. It was of the finest silk one could imagine. His chromed golden hair was groomed by several products, and his face probably sported a thin layer of makeup.
The big merc was probably two meters tall, with a very well built body and the same uniform and equipment as the rest. A communicator was strapped to his right bicep, which started bleeping as soon as she saw it. "What is it?" he asked as he pushed the button.
"Sir, the interceptor party has been compromised. The Royal Guards caught them and took them to central, I managed to get away just in time to report." said the voice from the walkie.
"Have you heard anything from Pearl's Party?" asked the burly man.
"Yes sir, they took at least six casualties and the prey got away. Apparently there was a third party involved."
The man was overtaken by fear the instant the message ended. "Was it The Owl?"
"No sir, not unless the Owl can summon lightning with an electric guitar."
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
"You heard me sir, I even heard the guitar solo myself. After he finished the area got bombarded with lightning"
"Great. Just what I needed. Another thorn in my side. So no sign of the Owl?"
"None so far sir. But I heard his hooting a while ago. He could be tracking our target."
"Fuck, okay guys. Pack it up!" The soldiers began grabbing their things and walking out.
"What? Where do you think you're going? You have a job to do!"
"Yeah, but no amount of money will get us to fight against Owl. That asshole has already trashed five clans. I won't let him take my men."
"So that's it? You said nothing would stop you! Not even the legendary Kaiju could stop you!" protested the nobleman. "You're a bunch of cowards."
"And you said that this was a simple snatch-and-grab operation. We both lied so let's get over it. I'm not sacrificing my men just because you don't want to pay a whore. It would have been cheaper than this excuse if a mission." ranted the leader as he grabbed the musket and turned to the door.
Vinyl sighed loudly as she realized that she was safe. Two milliseconds later she noticed that she no longer was. "There she is!" shouted the noble as he pointed his finger at the DJ staring at him.
"Fuck." she said under her breath. "Can't we settle this like men?" she asked as she tried to put her best innocent face possible.
"Of course we can!" said the boy. "Just come with me and enjoy your new life as my personal DJ. You can have whatever your little electronic heart desires."
"Yeah, my mom told me not to trust strangers. And my dad told me that there's nothin' free in this life, so fuck your shit!" she exclaimed as she pulled out her gun and pulled the trigger. The beam was fast enough to hit both opponents, paralyzing them in mid-air. "Taste my wubs bitches!" she yelled in excitement.
But her victory was very short-lived. The attack had pretty much alerted the whole block. Soon the walls were being perforated as green bullets pierced the walls and forced her to get down. She poked her head over the counter and saw three goons approaching her. "Dance to this!" she yelled as she fired her gun once more. Two mooks managed to roll out of the way, abandoning their comrade to the shock of dubstep. She continued firing blindly, hoping that she would get lucky at some point.
She only lucked out with one of them, giving her enough chance to run past him and up the stairs. She started running up and several bullets whizzed past her, chipping away the wooden handrail. One of the bastards managed to hit her left calf, paralyzing it completely. She held onto the handrail and limped toward her room. She thanked the Gods of Techno that she couldn't afford a penthouse and was forced to live on the next floor.
She tried barging into her room but was stopped by the lock. She rummaged through her bag, trying to find that key that always disappeared whenever she needed it. Finding the key inside one of her inside pockets she rushed to unlock the door. She tackled it as soon as she heard the bolt slide, forcing her to fall to the ground. She started hearing orders from the rest of the goons. Some of them had reported their inside, while the rest sounded like they were afraid of something.
After locking her door she tuned her speakers to a playlist. If they planned on taking her out, it was gonna cost them more than a Limited Edition Stupid Rocks Helmet autographed by both artists. As the music blasted her ears she expected the door to burst open. But after ten minutes she decided to look out the door and realize why no one was chasing her.
The courtyard was now the main attraction as a person dressed in what she considered to be a superhero cosplay. He/she was wearing light grey armor, a cowl with short eyebrows that struck out of the mask lightly. His cape was probably silk, but he seemed to have small wires inside that made it look as if the cape had feathers. The figure was walking menacingly, his/her eyes reading all of his/her opponents, looking for a chance to defend (him/her)self.
"The Owl is here..." whispered Vinyl as she went for her bag of popcorn and a towel and went to watch the show.