We signed our contracts and frequently drove up to Atlanta and back to produce songs. The girls came with us. It was pretty cool. I got to know the girls a little better. And Chris and Mina got a lot closer. They didn’t go on any dates because the chaperone wouldn’t allow it.
I learned Lana could cook very well. One time she prepared shrimp stir fry for everyone. It was awesome. Due to my braids coming down on all dies, she sometimes teased me by calling me “Jellyhead”. I thought it was lame but everyone else found it funny. She and I started to get along, actually. Mainly because I just rolled with her jokes and stopped going overboard with my retaliation. As long as everyone was smiling, I was good with it.
Amy was a lot smarter than I thought. And I already thought she was the brains of the group, her and Renny. Throughout the time they spent with us in Augusta, there were a few demon attacks on the Sailor Scouts, brought by some villain named Prince Diamond. It was pretty weird seeing a bunch of attractive girls fighting butt ugly freaks.
Since the Sailor Scouts were already known as the Sailor Scouts, us guys were simply referred to as G-Force. When people called for G-Force, they usually meant the guys. And when they called for Sailor Scouts, they meant the girls. And when it came to those monsters, us guys rarely got involved. The Scouts wanted us to stay out of it because it was too dangerous. Of course, Ken had to be restrained on more than one occasion.
Mina was sort of a cheerleader for Chris’s wrongdoings. Every time Chris did something bad, I mean so bad it was cruel, no one would laugh. But Mina would. She would laugh so hard that sometimes I thought she was faking it. She wasn’t. She had this stunning move that I saw her use on one demon. It’s called the Crescent V Shower.
She’d first power up her energy, then pointed out her index and middle finger together. Then all the sudden, hundreds of tiny golden hearts would spring out and spiral like a powerful whip at her disposal. I’ve had the pleasure of being accidentally hit by one of them. It wasn’t pleasant.
Serena had the power of the moon. Since the moon is closest to Earth, this potentially made her the most powerful. I’ve seen her use her special attacks to blow away cars and buses like they were toys. Everyone depended on her. She was their ace in the hole. No matter how many waves of monsters went up against the Sailor Scouts, as long as Sailor Moon was there, the monsters barely stood a chance.
Whoever said that power makes men evil, must not have had Serena in mind. In the eyes of many, she was the most irresponsible, undisciplined, disrespectful and scared girl they’d ever met. Every time Lana fixed dinner, she always had something to complain about it. Lana held her temper since she was the oldest and would probably do the most damage to her, but Rei wouldn’t.
Rei’s name was pronounced Ray, as in sun ray. It’s spelled like that because she was born in Toyko. Every time Lana cooked and Serena said something about it, it was Rei who would stand up to chastise Serena. The two of them would bicker like cats and dogs. Constantly. From day one, it seemed.
However, in songs, their voices blended in perfect harmony, into the most beautiful sound we’d ever heard. They’d often take whole verses together, just the two of them while the five would come in for a blended harmony during the chorus. But when they argued, it sounded like hell.
Rei had some very unusual, but fiery attacks, almost like a pyromaniac. She’d have these stickers reminiscent of some Japanese shrine. She planted one on me once when I tried to hold her back from attacking Serena. It stuck to my back and nearly put me into epileptic shock. It was like a scalding hot iron burning straight through my flesh. Serena didn’t even thank me. And it warned us G-Force guys to just stay out of their fights.
One time, I saw her sprint towards a demon, soar in the air while doing a corkscrew flip to plant one of those stickers on the demons back. Then once she jumped off, the sticker exploded like a bomb. Very unsettling.
We shot a music video for the first song we produced. The setting was in the very gym where I won my fight against Ryu. The video premiered on MTV on St. Patrick’s Day. So did the soundtrack album and the movie. We went to Atlanta for the premiere. For the first time, I felt famous. I took Rei and Lana as an escort, Chris took Mina, Ken took Serena and Ryu took Amy.
Of course, Chris had to have a little fun in front of a big audience. He had two water balloons in his pocket and was dying to hit Leonardo DiCaprio and his entourage. Leo recently did a super popular movie called “Titanic” and got mad props for it. Yep, the perfect target for Chris. Leo chased him. But Chris and Mina ran and escaped into the venue. I was happy for them. Mina looked like she was having the time of their life. And if it embarrassed Ryu, then more power to them. When he finally joined us at our seats, photographers got a picture of us. The shining jewel was Chris, a blue-eyed blond kid with the brightest joker smile they’d ever seen.
After the premiere and all the fan mail about our music video, Mr. B said it was time to go on tour. We were all excited about it. The Sailor Scouts were coming off strong with their hit, “Spice Up Your life”. Us guys followed up with the party jam, “We’ve Got it Going On.” When Chris and I told our mom and dad, they were reluctant about it. That was until Mr. B came along and told them it was going to be “bosanova!”
We started with a tour throughout Europe. Mr. B said it would be practice for America. In a way, he was kind of right. We totally screwed up our first concert. Chris was falling on his spins and we were nowhere near in sync with our cues and choreography. We all got carried away and did our own thing. It was sloppy. And right there on stage, Ken and I broke out into an impromptu dance contest that started to turn bitter if Amy hadn’t calmed us down.
When the Sailor Scouts performed, it was perfect. And Lana was mesmerizing. The girls were wearing matching sailor outfits but with their own colors. They were so beautiful. When they sang, my body was shake and I’d catch goosebumps. Especially with those high notes hit by Amy and Serena. Lana and Rei had the stronger, more assertive tones while Mina’s voice was smooth and silky. Man, they were awesome.
The night after our first performance, us boys had a little argument about what went wrong. I swear Ken and I were about to come to blows before Chris hit me upside the head with a pillow. Ken laughed. So I hit him with a pillow. Then Ken punched me so hard in the chest that I fell out of the chair. That’s when Chris and I flat out jumped him. Then Ryu got into it, then Amy, and eventually the rest of the Sailor Scouts.
We tore up that hotel room. Pillows and cushions and chairs were thrown to and fro. At some point in the fray, Lana found her way on top of me. I dreamt of that moment for months. She just laid on me and looked into my eyes as I did her. Then she shouted, “DREAM ON” and cracked me across the jaw with her signature right hook.
Yep…that would be one of many occasions when all of G-Force got together and went at it in an all-out brawl. Ken won most of the times, always emerging with hardly a scratch on that face of his. Then second would be Lana, knocking out everyone with haymakers. And as per usual, she always seemed to go after me. As soon as the chaos started, all I knew was that I could count on Lana seeking me out like a shark in the water.
As we continued our tour, we got a whole lot better faster. Our friendship and experiences grew too. We got our first paycheck on April the 14th. It was the amount of $22,000. It would have been $25,000 but the group was liable for damages caused by Chris’s pranks.
In fact, due to that, Chris actually got beat up by Sailor Moon several times. One reason was because Serena didn’t play when it came to her money. Another was because if Chris so much as laid a closed-fisted hand on her, he’d have to deal with Ken. And when it came to Serena, Ken was fearsome.
The tour lasted till July 4th. We went all through France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Ireland and the U.K. Our last stop was in London. I think Ryu helped arrange it that way because he had a Street Fight with some boxer named Dudley. Ryu won the fight, but that wasn’t the highlight of our stay.
Lana and I were getting pretty close. So after the July 4th concert, at about eleven at night, I asked Lana if she wanted to take a walk. She said yes. So we went walking downtown where the streets were cobblestone and the lamps were black casted iron. We saw other couples eating ice cream. The tall buildings illuminating the park made it impossible for anyone to sleep outdoors, as we crossed London bridge with Big Ben in the distance.
Lana wore a nice green mink sweater dress with matching green and brown knee-high boots. I wore a black turtleneck with khaki pants.
“Nice night, isn’t it.”
“Not bad. I kinda like London.” Lana said. “Everybody’s getting along. The streets are clean. The police look posh and chic.”
“What about Jack the Ripper?” I smirked.
“That’s not fair, Majestic.” She chuckled. “That was like, a hundred years ago.”
She leaned into me and latched to my arm. I smiled. It was a heartwarming moment.
“Oh! Majestic, Ken said that his dad talked to your mom and dad and they moved to Los Angeles. That way we can make more movies.”
This came as a shock to me, a pleasant surprise. “Don’t you guys live in LA?” I asked.
She said yeah. My dreams were coming true. And so was Chris’s.
“So Lana, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”
She bit her lip and smiled, “What’s that?”
“Who was this guy who beat you in a…”
Before I could finish, a considerably large crowd of girls had spotted us, screaming our names. I laughed and grabbed Lana’s arms. “Let’s go!” I shouted.
We started running down the street when all the sudden, an explosion busted through the storefront window of a bank right in front of us. People panic and dispersed in all directions. We fell back and I covered Lana before looking to see about ten guys hurrying out of the bank towards large green unmarked vans.
Lana and I shook off the glass and dust. She called the rest of G-Force and when the vans peeled off, Lana transformed into Sailor Jupiter and took off after them. I was right there with her, until I heard someone screaming. I stopped in place. It shook me to my core. Sailor Jupiter kept chasing the vans in front of me, but in the burning building above the bank, I heard “HELP!”
Everyone else seemed hypnotized by the flames. I took action, running to jump through a window onto the second floor. It was an apartment. Fire was everywhere and spreading fast. The smoke scathed in my nostrils, like sand grinding in my throat.
“Where are you!” I yelled.
“I’m in here!” I heard someone yell back.
The voice was coming from behind a safe door. I instantly ran and tried to turn the knob but failed. It was hot and stuck. I pounded on it but it was useless. I didn’t give up. I was determined, prepared to save this person or die trying.
Outside, what used to be a clear beautiful sky was now dark with thunderclouds. The thunder was so loud that it sounded like WWII was going on. Sailor Jupiter, with incredible speed was amazingly able to keep up with the green vans. The other G-Force members were on their way in a Pontiac Grand Prix that Chris stole. They were able to catch up and help Sailor Jupiter.
In the bank, I tried talking to the person trapped behind the safe room door. It was two girls. I tried to keep them calm. All I could do was punch harder and harder and when I saw that I was making dents in it, it boosted my self-esteem. And suddenly I saw a bolt of lightning drive through the floor next to me. It hit with a blinding flash of light. And when my vision came to, I saw that there was a sword driven into the floor. It looked Japanese, a long katana with a carved lightning shaped design etched into the blade. The hand guard appeared golden.
After staring at it with this perplexed expression, I whipped up the sword and told the girls to back up. I then stabbed the vault and carved a circle into it. It was so easy, like carving through butter. The girls then kicked the vault open themselves.
“Let’s go! Hurry!” I said leading them down a path outside to safety.
Once we were out, everyone applauded me. I noticed my turtleneck had flames on my shoulders and freaked out, rolling around on the ground before I finally asked, “is there anyone else in there!?”
One of the girls grabbed me up by my shoulder and pointed, “You have to save my sister, Morrigan!”
“Right, wish me luck.” I shouted before rushing back in.
It was hotter than before. “Hello! Is anybody in here!?”
“In here!” Someone yelled.
The voice came from an upstairs room. I climbed the stairs towards the closed door and rammed my shoulders twice to break through. In the corner, I saw a scared teenage girl with her arm crossed around her knees.
“Give me your hand!” I shouted over the raging fire.
“No! You’re going to get me killed!”
“Look, if we wait any longer the whole place is going to crash in so its better to come with me than lose your life!” I shouted in one long breath.
She just stared at me with eyes that seemed to reflect all sorts of lights and colors.
“Look, my name is Majestic. I’m just trying to help. Please!”
Finally, she gave me her hand. “You better not get me killed.” She told me.
I gave her my shoulder to lean on as we walked down the stairs. The smoke was getting to be too much. Then the worse happened. Almost down the stairs, the steps beneath my foot collapsed. I fell to my knees and Morrigan hit the ground. Before I could get up, I was engulfed by the flames. Then there was an explosion. Onlookers from outside saw that huge explosion, what looked like a fireball flying against the building across the street. The fireball was me.
I bounced off the building and fell to the pavement. Firefighters were on the scene and thankfully, put me out before the flames could burn flesh. I laid where I was until paramedics came. They were amazed to see me push myself up. They asked me a whole bunch of questions. I ignored them and looked around for Morrigan. I couldn’t see her. I then looked at the two girls I saved. They were crying.
Blood was now gushing from the top of my forehead. I had bruises on my back and arms but I couldn’t feel pain. The paramedics were still trying to ask questions but all was silent in my ears. All I could hear was the crying of the two girls who looked about my age. Their tears were my fuel to do what I must. Their tears were from then on, forever embedded in my heart. To not think. Just do. When it came to saving lives.
I balled my fists tight. The same hands I extended to try and save Morrigan. At my feet was the miraculous sword given to save the two girls. I picked it up. That sword would come to be my symbol to deliver justice and protect. Even though I failed to save Morrigan, I still saved two girls. Now it was time to deliver justice.
A police helicopter with blinding spotlights was flying above. I whipped up the katana sword and jumped as high as I could. I reached the perch just above the fourth floor of an apartment complex and leaped building-to-building trying to keep up with the police chopper.
On the ground, G-Force was doing the best they could. Chris even tried freezing the ground but realized it would put his friends in danger as well. After an exhilarating pursuit, I finally spotted the three green vans speeding my way. Sailor Jupiter was on the hood of the Grand Prix they stole.
From my vantage point on the ledge of a building, I aimed the sword at the engine of the lead van. Chris pointed and shouted, “Yo! It’s Majestic!”
“Lightning Strike!” I wasn’t sure what would happen as I bellowed my battle cry. But it did happened. By sheer will a huge bolt of lightning streamed from my sword and struck the van with perfect precision. The engine was blown. It swerved and rammed into the side of a corner building. The other vans spun out of control and stalled out. I hurried to meet my team.
The group jumped out of the car and ran to me.
“Majestic are you alright?”
“That was awesome!”
“How did you do that?”
“Where did you get that sword?”
An array of questions came all at once and I couldn’t tell from who. I suddenly dropped to my knees, succumbing to the fatigue of crossing buildings. Chris tried using his ice powers to heal me but suddenly, the guys in the vans came out.
“You bloody kids! I’ll make you pay!” One of the robbers yelled. This robber looked like he could hold his own in a fight. He had blonde hair with blue eyes. He ran at us with chains while his gang came with bats and knives. The police were still far off.
“Alright Sailor Scouts! Let’s show these bad guys who they’re messing with!” Said a surprisingly bold Sailor Moon.
The girls all rallied around Sailor Moon as Chris encased himself in a block of ice before breaking out to reveal himself in a blue ninja uniform, his Sub-Zero form. And finally, Ken and Ryu put on their red sparring gloves.
“That strong blond one is a Street Fighter named Cody,” Sailor Mercury told us.
“Then I’ll take him on.” Ken shouted. “You guys handle the pushovers.”
I was still exhausted and down on one knee. But as an all out brawl took place in the middle of an intersection, I saw Cody tackling Ken so hard that they went through the wall of a warehouse. The other bank robbers were taken out like trash by the Sailor Scouts, Ryu, and Chris. After Sailor Moon put them down for the count with one of her magical wand techniques, Ryu and Chris rushed into the warehouse to check on Ken.
Ken was still squaring off toe to toe with Cody.
“Don’t worry about me!” Ken shouted. “Take Majestic and get back to the hotel!”
Sailor Venus lent me her shoulder to pick me up, while I grabbed Mercury and asked her to find the two girls I saved and bring them to me. She nodded, taking Sailor Mars off to find them.
Cody hit Ken with a vicious haymaker and licked his lips. “This ain’t a martial arts competition, boy.”
Ken clenched his jaw. “I’ll make you wish it was.”
They continued their fight. Cody knew a form of martial arts known as judo. He grabbed Ken by the arms a number of times and slammed him into the wall and ground. Although his attacks were strong, Cody had yet to plant a critical strike. And Ken was used to getting thrown from Ryu’s hip toss.
So Ken played around with him for a while, dodging Cody’s slow punches, checking his kicks while countering with one-two combinations and stiff jabs. And finally, he got into his shin-ryu stance and taunted with, “Say hello to the boys in the slammer!”
“SHORYUKEN!”
Ken bent his knees and launched himself with a powerful burst of force to pound an uppercut into his stomach and driving his fist up to his chest and chin. This amazing attack sent Cody sprawling in the air while Ken landed on his feet. Cody landed on his back a few seconds later, hitting the ground hard.
“Get used to the black and white stripes, bruv.” Ken said, walking away all suave-like.
…
In the hotel room, I laid in bed patched up by a private doctor. All I could do was think about Morrigan. I could see her face as if we were on a bright sunny beach. And suddenly it was Rey’s red-shadowy eyes that came before me.
“Majestic, how did you do that?” She asked.
“Where’d you get this sword from?” Ryu asked as he held it up to the light.
I didn’t answer. All I could think of was Morrigan. I had the chance to save her and failed. I still couldn’t even piece together what exactly had happened.
Chris stared at the sword Ryu was holding. Everyone else was still asking me questions when I finally addressed Chris. “A bolt of lightning hit the ground beside me. And when the lightning was gone, that sword was there.”
Everyone looked at Chris in dead silence. “It is to be called, Excaliber. At anytime you’re away from it, you can telepathically bring it to you. Except if someone steals it. If it’s stolen, my power will be heightened at an incredible rate to get it back for you.”
He then whipped out and snatched the sword from Ryu’s hand. Chris twirled it and handed it to me.
“It’s beautiful.” Lana said.
I sat up, wincing from the pain in my abs. “It helped me save two girls. They were about to die in the fire and I saved them. But I couldn’t save their older sister.”
Everyone turned to me. Even the nurses. “I was walking down the stairs with her on my shoulders and I fell. Next thing I know, my face is on the concrete.”
I got emotional just recanting the images. Lana put her arms around me just as Amy entered the room followed by the two girls and their mother. The girls came running and hugged me crying. I started to cry as well. I then got out of bed and keened to their mother.
“I’m sorry. I am so sorry.”
“Majestic, you’ve done more for me than any mother could ask for. You saved Juli and Juni. Just because you didn’t save Morrigan, it doesn’t mean you should put yourself down. You did ally you could at the risk of your own life.”
Cameras and news reporters poured into the room. Juli and Juni gave me one last hug.
“Come on, girls.” The mother called.
“God bless you, Majestic!” the girls said in unison. I watched them usher through the reporters.
By then, Ken came in through the window. Reporters were asking everyone questions. Then the police came in asking questions. I looked around and thought to myself, “is it going to be like this every time I save a person’s life?” Then I closed my eyes and fell flat on my bed.
Stage In The Sky 