At the summit of the Red Line, the Holy Land of Mary Geoise was enveloped in an almost supernatural silence. The immense palaces of the Celestial Dragons stood beneath a perfectly clear sky, while guards patrolled the gardens and marble corridors, completely unaware of what was happening beneath their feet.
Deep within Pangaea Castle, a solitary figure moved slowly through a deserted corridor. A long black cloak completely concealed their body, while a crown with impossibly tall spikes stood out against the faint glow of the chandeliers.
Imu.
The being who secretly ruled the World Government had just left the Empty Throne room. Yet, contrary to their usual habits, their destination was neither the royal chambers nor the castle's mysterious gardens.
This time, Imu was heading into the depths of Mary Geoise.
After passing through several forbidden corridors, the figure stopped before a monumental door concealed behind a tapestry depicting the twenty kingdoms that had founded the World Government.
Imu placed a hand against the cold stone.
An ancient mechanism immediately activated, producing a low rumble that echoed through the walls. Slowly, the door swung open, revealing a narrow staircase descending into darkness.
Without the slightest hesitation, Imu began the descent.
The first steps were still illuminated by a few torches, but their number gradually dwindled as the staircase plunged deeper beneath the castle. Soon, the marble walls gave way to roughly hewn black stone, its dampness bearing witness to the age of the place.
The air grew increasingly cold.
Every footstep produced a lingering echo, as though the depths of Mary Geoise were trying to remind their visitor that no one was supposed to venture this far.
After several minutes of walking, Imu reached a first landing guarded by two soldiers in full armor. Their faces were hidden behind helmets devoid of decoration, and their weapons were forged from a dark metal.
At the sight of the crowned figure, both men immediately knelt.
"Your Majesty..."
Imu did not even glance at them.
"Open it."
A single word, spoken in a calm voice, yet carrying an authority that allowed no argument.
The guards hurriedly rose and activated two mechanisms positioned on either side of a gigantic metal door. Several locks disengaged in succession, accompanied by sharp clicks that echoed through the underground depths.
When the door finally opened, a gust of freezing air escaped from within.
Imu entered another corridor, far older than the previous one. Rusted chains hung from the walls, while strange inscriptions written in a forgotten language covered some of the stones.
No windows, no openings to the outside world.
Only darkness and the steady sound of water dripping from the ceiling.
This place appeared on no map of Pangaea Castle. Even the Five Elders were unaware of the existence of some of its chambers, and the few servants permitted to maintain the upper levels had never been granted permission to descend any farther.
For the depths of Mary Geoise concealed secrets that even the World Government itself must never discover.
Imu continued onward until reaching one final door, much smaller than the others. Unlike the monumental entrances on the upper levels, this one looked more like the entrance to a cell forgotten for centuries.
A massive lock sealed it shut.
Imu drew a black key from beneath the cloak and slowly inserted it into the mechanism.
Click.
The lock released.
The door opened with an endless creak, revealing a vast chamber shrouded in absolute darkness.
No torches burned inside. No chandeliers illuminated the walls. The place seemed to have been deliberately deprived of every source of light, as though its occupants were never meant to know the difference between day and night.
Yet Imu did not hesitate to enter.
At the far end of the chamber stood an enormous cage made of thick iron bars, reinforced with several chains. Mysterious inscriptions covered the metal, and the floor surrounding the prison bore the marks of an ancient containment device.
Inside, two figures remained hidden from sight.
Imu stopped a few meters from the bars.
For a long moment, no sound disturbed the silence. Then a faint movement could be heard in the darkness, followed by the rustling of fabric against stone.
The two prisoners were indeed there.
Imu slowly raised their head, their red eyes appearing like two ominous lights beneath the shadow of their crown.
"It has been a long time..."
Their voice echoed through the underground chamber.
"The world keeps turning, kingdoms rise and fall, and yet you are still here."
"So, you two... listen to me carefully."
Imu remained motionless before the gigantic cage, waiting for a response from the two mysterious prisoners. No words came from the depths of the darkness. Only the steady sound of water dripping from the ceiling disturbed the silence.
Then, suddenly...
Dling...
The first note of a guitar echoed through the cell.
Imu tilted their head slightly.
Dling... Dling... DLANG!
A second guitar joined the first, producing a much more powerful chord. The two instruments began playing a strangely catchy melody, their vibrations reverberating against the stone walls.
"...What is the meaning of this?" Imu asked.
No answer.
Instead, the two guitars gradually picked up the pace, until a powerful spotlight appeared out of nowhere and abruptly illuminated the inside of the cage.
FLASH!
For the first time in centuries, the darkness of this prison was driven away by a brilliant light.
And Imu finally discovered the two individuals standing before them.
"Who are you?"
One was a stocky man with messy brown hair and a thick beard. Dressed in a simple T-shirt, he wore an almost insolently defiant expression. An acoustic guitar hung against his stomach, and his eyes burned with an absolutely outrageous level of confidence.
The other was an older, heavyset man with a balding head, glasses, and a short beard. Despite his calm appearance, his fingers danced across the strings of his guitar with astonishing virtuosity. He seemed completely indifferent to the fact that he was standing before the secret ruler of the world.
Imu stared at them in bewilderment.
The two men exchanged a glance.
Then Jables broke into an enormous grin.
"Kage..."
"Yeah, JB?"
"I think our audience has finally arrived."
Kyle adjusted his glasses.
"About time, dude. We've been waiting forever."
Imu felt a growing irritation welling up inside.
"You dare mock me? Do you even know who stands before you?"
Jables slowly raised a finger toward Imu.
"Oh, we know EXACTLY who you are!"
Kyle struck a thunderous chord on his guitar.
BRAAAAAANG!
Jables spread his legs, struck a rock-star pose, and pointed straight at Imu.
"YOU ARE THE DEVIL!"
Kyle leaped to his feet beside him.
"AND WE ARE THE D!"
The two men then launched into a wild rendition of their anthem, transforming their prison into a full-blown concert stage. The following lyrics, improvised for the occasion, echoed through the underground chambers of Mary Geoise.
Jables:
"You hide beneath a golden throne,
You rule the world but rock alone!
Eight hundred years of fear and lies,
Now face the thunder in our eyes!"
Kage:
"You've got your crown, you've got your schemes,
But we've got riffs to haunt your dreams!"
Together:
"WE ARE THE D!
THE MIGHTY D!
NO KING CAN STOP OUR DESTINY!"
Jables began headbanging frantically, sending his hair flying in every direction, while Kyle unleashed a guitar solo so fast that his fingers seemed to multiply.
Imu instinctively took a step back.
"But... What the...?"
BWAAAAAAAM!
An invisible drum kit suddenly joined the two guitars.
Then a bass guitar.
Then a gigantic organ.
Nobody was playing these instruments, yet the music now filled the entire chamber, making the chains vibrate and the bars of the cage tremble.
Jables planted one foot on a stone and leaned forward.
"KAGE! GIVE ME THE POWER!"
"YOU GOT IT, JB!"
Kyle unleashed an absolutely monstrous solo.
The vibrations traveled up the walls, passed through the foundations of Pangaea Castle, and caused several chandeliers to tremble all the way up in the Empty Throne room.
Several floors above, a guard suddenly froze.
"Did you hear something?"
His colleague looked up at the ceiling.
"It sounds like... music?"
"Here? Under the castle?"
Another thunderous rumble echoed through the building.
DUN-DUN-DUN-DUUUUUN!
The two soldiers exchanged worried glances before silently agreeing that they had heard absolutely nothing.
Back in the underground prison, Imu had completely lost all composure.
"SILENCE! I ORDER YOU TO BE QUIET!"
But Jables and Kage were no longer listening.
They played back-to-back, their guitars shooting bolts of golden light with every chord. Jables leaped from one side of the cell to the other, while Kyle continued playing with almost supernatural concentration.
"DO YOU THINK HE LIKES OUR SONG?!" Jables shouted.
"I THINK HE LOVES IT, DUDE!"
"THEN LET'S CRANK UP THE VOLUME!"
"YEEEEAAAAAH!"
The two men simultaneously struck the strings of their guitars.
KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!
A shockwave of sound swept through the chamber.
Imu's crown vibrated dangerously on their head.
Their enormous cloak billowed under the pressure, and the torches in the corridor went out one after another.
When the final chord finally faded away, an almost unreal silence settled over the prison.
Jables remained motionless, one arm raised toward the ceiling.
Kyle blew on his fingers before adjusting his glasses.
"Not bad, JB."
"NOT BAD?! DUDE, THAT WAS LEGENDARY!"
The two men gave each other a high five.
CLAP!
On the other side of the bars, Imu stared at them without saying a word.
The being who had ruled the world from the shadows for eight hundred years had just suffered something that no pirate, revolutionary, or ancient kingdom had ever managed to inflict upon them.
A musical humiliation.
Jables approached the bars, still wearing his enormous grin.
"So, Mr. Secret King of the World..."
He cupped a hand around his ear.
"WE CAN'T HEAR YOU CLAPPING!"
Kyle casually added:
"Yeah, dude. That's not very rock 'n' roll of you."
Imu stood frozen.
Author's Note: Just a little troll chapter after rewatching the Tenacious D music video. Sorry about that! ^^
Tenacious D - Beelzeboss (The Final Showdown) HD