"What?" Eren's attention was hooked once more.
"Looking for that spice trial to lead you to the sun king?" Lucifer whispered mere inches from the Eren's ears, a smirk that grew on the blonde Reapers lips.
"What do you know?"
"Everyone has heard of the blood tooth's and this fabled El Ray Sol. Even a couple of my idols have been caught in that terrible, terrible web. But... I have someone that can give you all the little juicy details."
"Someone like?" Eren inquired.
"Charon... Please take Eren to see our lovely little songbird. You know the one." Lucifer turned to the reaper, who gave a silent nod. Stepping around the desk, gesturing to the door.
Back to the idol's preparing for a raid in the gate.
"Why are you here on Earth? Surely Gabriel didn't send the both of you?" Eren asked with a genuine curiosity. Although he forgot one essential part about the giant reaper…
He had never spoken a word to Eren, to anyone for that matter. A century of empty stares, letting his actions do more than any words could possibly convey.
"... ... ..."
Charon's mouth was sealed like a tomb. Nothing had nor would ever escape those lips.
Charon pushed the door open to the rehearsal studio.
All idols present turned to face the large man, some even with a smile. Though most with an uneasy acknowledgement. Except for Iwato, he was just as happy to see the disguised Charon as he was the disguised Lucifer.
A sweep across the room before landing on a woman; short waved hair with a single bright pink highlight.
Eyes of the same colour but far duller, tried and tired. Her form was more average than the other idols; she looked as though she ate sufficiently rather than starve herself as was common in the industry back in Eren's time.
"What?" A curt response; laced with bitterness. She wanted nothing to do with Charon's gaze.
But still, she was weary to tread dangerously under the gaze of that giant. "I'll be back in a sec."
The woman grabbed her red jacket; trailing after them to the roof where none would see.
An open expanse of concrete. A few potted plants that were beginning to grow brown. And a billboard of the group. Jumping high under the glow of a blue moon.
"Who are you and what do you want?" The woman continued her tone of bitterness, a glance to Eren then a glare to Charon. A fire of defiance that seemed to kindle contrarily to the presence of the two reapers.
"Crimson spice... What do you know about it?" Eren asked, a slight inflection in his voice. A rising anger that threatened to break the surface at the mention of the drug.
"Tch, what that blonde bastard tell ya?" She scoffed with a hint of disgust. Not how an idol should sound or act but maybe a regular street-smart person would.
"Pieces. He said that you can put it all together."
"Put it all together. Sure, whatever, but don't go bringing me or anyone else into this." She turned to Charon. "I know you can speak. Tell Mayuzumi that I'm done. I just wanna get out of this hellhole."
Charon ignored her pleas. Just an icy cold glare was given in response.
"Well fuck you then. My name is Agent Hana Sasaki. I was sent undercover by the regulators to investigate idol-guild involvement in the smuggling of the crimson spice." Hana took a cigarette from a box from her jacket pocket. Lighting it and taking a long, slow draw from the tab.
She really wasn't an idol at all. Barley a regular woman with a nasty addiction and foul mouth.
"And... What did you find?" Eren inquired of her investigation, she seemed to have a lot of information. The question was how much she was going to give freely.
"Nothing. I chased a rumour that these pretty boys and girls were being groomed into drug peddlers. All I found were some addicts that were so desperate to reach the top. They would take whatever would help them reach those dreams of grandeur." A bitter chuckle.
"Sounds familiar." Not quite a jab to himself. More a jab to the industries of the world. Whether you wanted to be a fighter, idol, or even a simple business man.
It was a system of exploitation where those in control would drain those, they had power over of every drop.
"Anyway... These guys are just a bunch of nobodies that have no idea what's going on in the world around them. I could care less about what happens to the industry, but that blonde bastard... He's a psychopath."
Hana certainly had some wit behind that foul tongue. Maybe not a psychopath, but certainly a narcissist with some form of sociopathic tendencies. He loved to play with his toys, not letting go until he was bored or he found a shiny new toy.
Thank the gods he found a wellspring with Eren.
"What did he do?" Eren asked, although the way spoke about the drugs, how she sucked heavily on her cigarette. There was no doubt that she was one of the many people that got caught in that net.
"I got done with the spice... Real bad. Ryu found me; and with that stupid smug look on his face, said that this place needed a new backup dancer. So, I parade around like some show pony. Put on some real girly voice." That last sentence she put her cutesy idol mask back on as she puffed out smoke.
"I've always fucking hated idols and all their cutesy shit. I'd rather be shot dead than live a life as one of them." She gave a look to the poster. A look of anger but perhaps a hint of despair too.
'Christ Lucifer what kind of fucked up shit have you been up to?'
Eren wondered, the blonde reaper had a habit of doing whatever suited him at the time. Indentured servitude was new.
"So do you have anything worthwhile to add or too just bitch about your boss."
Hana put out her stub. Taking a second cigarette and lighting it. A long breath in, and a puffed-out smoke ring.
"The one thing I managed to find out... One of the big shots of battle idol. The cherry blossom queen, 'Kaguya Tsuzuki.' She's in on it with El Rey. Got some of the girls from this agency hooked. Or former girls really, Ryu let them go a while back…"
Hana hated the idea of being idol and the industry that controlled them. Although she hated that she was a hostage, confined by a conceited manager. A regulators job it was to keep tabs on rankers and all their dealings… She had to stand there and watch them fall into the pit; the same pit she herself jumped into.
"Anything else?" Eren asked, taking in the sight of the city below. A sky full of neon lights, and cylinder glass towers.
"No... But ya friends with Ryu, yeah? The way he looks at you. Ain't nothing like how he looks at anyone. Even when I first met em'."
"What's your point?"
"My point is, I want out. That bastard going to make sing n' dance till I'm an old woman… Please, speak to him…"
No bitterness to this request. A plea from one desperate person to another.
"No promises..." Eren walked inside the building once more.
Leaving a very dejected Hana behind. Charon followed behind, like a second shadow, as the reaper descended the floors.
"What do you think?" Asking behind without a glance.
"..."
Still no words, but he felt it, Lucifer had his fun. But time enough for anyone to be his plaything.
Unfortunate there was only one way to get Lucifer to let go.
A way that Eren would always regret soon after.
***
Gate Info.
Name: Highlands of Saryn.
Opening time: Every 3 days for 72 hours
Danger Level: B
Owners: Dusk Rose idol agency
Last clear: Two weeks, 3 days ago
Rewards for clear: Various equipment and items.
Closing Time: 00: 16: 08: 04
---
Eren, in all his wisdom, decided to help Hana the only way he knew how. To bargain with Lucifer; giving the Reaper exactly what he wanted.
"Mr. Heart, thank you for accompanying us into the gate." Iwato's smile and bow was as sincere as it could be. Cut from a different cloth than many in this ward.
"Yeah, well I needed something from Mayuzumi. This seemed better than what he usually asks for."
Iwato was taken back. His brow raised but only momentarily. A curiosity to those that surrounded the infamous man known only to them as 'Mr. Mayuzumi.' What mysterious lay under that golden smile.
"What does he usually ask for-"
*CLAP* *CLAP*
Ryu clapped twice. All idols snapped into attention.
The MV shoot was to take place in the basin between the highlands, moss green hills that reached high to the tops of jagged cliffs. Weather was dreary, a light fog that hung around the edges, and the constant threat of rain.
Not the most ideal of conditions to film in. But through the magic of film and editing; anything can be made to look beautiful.
"Alright, listen up my lovely stars." Lucifer commanded the presence of everyone who was present.
The ten idols that comprised the group. Now wearing matching white armour and swords, a dash of pale blue mixed into the colour scheme. Girls with ribbons in their hairs and boys with capes.
Royal warriors in the court of an unnamed kingdom.
"I've also brought the legendary director Mr. Eiji Ogawa to help us capture this vision in a way that no other director can." Lucifer gestured to a man pre-occupied with little circular camera drones and a couple of crew members. All dressed in warm jackets and beanies. Although they seemed to not pay Lucifer nor the idol's any mind.
"Have fun." Lucifer skipped off to take a seat by Charon. Patting his lap for Eren to take a seat. Like a master and their pet. A temptation that was rejected when Eren sat on the soft mossy ground rather than on his former trainer.
"Awe my little dove, that's no fun..." Lucifer pouted.
"Fuck off... I'm just here to do the job." Eren was less than happy. Being surrounded by people who did things just for the sake of fame and money, and a demon that used this for the sake of entertainment.
A great deal of patience was required for Lucifer one that seemingly only Charon had mastered over the millennia.
The scene was set; a song about overcoming obstacles and banding together under the banner of friendship. What better way, to fight the boss of the gate.
A giant cobra that rested within a cavern's darkened maw. Yellow eyes stared out like spotlights. Its body coiled, ready to pounce on anyone who dared to enter the cavern.
"Idols of dusk... Take positions!" The crew scrambled to prepare for filming.
Those drones buzzed around the area with a high-pitched whine. Like a well-run military, each man and woman knew what to do. Even if the crew were less than enthusiastic.
"Alright. Bring it!" Iwato drew a sword from its sheath. All the other idols followed.
"Steady..." He held out a hand, signalling the others to hold.
The serpent slithered forward. It's body moving like a wave, a slow yet menacing approach. Eyes unblinking as it analysed its prey.
*HHHHHHIIIISSSSS*
At least as big as several semi-trucks, maybe even as wide as one too.
However, only the scales around the head managed to emerge before...
*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOOM*
The cavern exploded, a flash of light and dust. The cobra's head served clean through by the jagged rocks and debris.
Crew, idols and even the serpent didn't see the attack coming. A stunned silence filled the valley. Everyone was left speechless, no one saw the attack, everyone except for Lucifer. Who held that stupid smirk on his face.
"Oh my. Another episode of industry sabotage. I love it. Oh, I LOVE IT!!" Lucifer turned giddy, clapping his hands and giggling.
"What is the matter with you?" Eren's exacerbated tone fell on deaf ears.
"Common place for agencies to try to sabotage each other. Planting bombs to kill the boss, sabotaging our MV shoot, our new single gets pushed back, and our rivals get a new number one single. That's how it's done in this ward." The words were spoken like a man who took a little too much pride in the cut throat nature of this world.
"AH FUCK!" The director cursed aloud.
"PACK IT UP! WE'RE DONE!" The director continued to shout. Flinging hands into the air.
Iwato looked around, head turning trying to salvage what they had left. Although, Hana seemed a little happy with the explosion.
"Eren..." Lucifer looked down at the reaper who sat by his feet.
"What?"
"Could you be a dear and help salvage our little shoot?" He acted as if Eren would always do whatever he wanted.
"Why should I?"
"Because you're the best ward a reaper can ask for and you can't help but indulge in doing the right thing. Besides a favour form me; oh, the things I would allow you to do to me-"
"Stop… Talking." Eren's face scrunched up in annoyance.
The white-haired reaper looked to his shadow behind.
"Saku. You have 5 minutes to organize a show. Make it look as authentic as you can."
"My lord..." Saku's head emerged from the shadows of the ground. A quizzical head turn to show on that emotionless face his confusion.
Silence ensured but the more it dragged on the more the skeleton began to understand the assignment at hand.
"It will be done..."
5 minutes later:
"Please Mr. Ogawa. Can we try a different gate-"
"Eh, we've put weeks into prepping this. And you think we can just up and move to another gate? The budget is blown." Director Ogawa was not in the mood to be reasonable. He had a job to do and that job just blew up in his face. Like any good meticulous director, he took this act of sabotage personally.
"Director, please..." Iwato pleaded, trying to roust his colleagues back to life. A blow to moral as weeks of intense preparation and dedicated work was now all worthless.
*Thud* *Thud* *Thud*
Shaking ground and thunderous steps. Something was approaching beyond that light fog, slow but with weight.
Something big. It began to grow, the fog that laid around the valley pulled back the curtain; replacing it with clouds of dust.
"You are ever reliable as you are handsome, my little dove." Awe as a 12-meter rock giant emerged from the fog. Monolith made its debut in the world of the living.
"What about now director Ogawa? Do you want that money shot?" Lucifer's smirk was one of a man who knew he had won the game; that other never knew they played in the first place.
Monolith stopped. By his foot a hooded figure waving a staff around, a hooked staff with a black gem embedded into its base.
"Okay, okay, yeah this can work. A giant snake replaced by the mysterious appearance of a golem class monster. GET THOSE CAMERAS ROLLING!" Ogawa was back on board. A job to do once more.
"Idols. Places." Iwato commanded.
All ten idols stood in formation, each prepared to face this sudden challenge with fire. The girls at the front, the boys behind.
They stood ready to defend the kingdom from a fearsome foe.
*Upbeat pop synth music starts*
*WHAM*
*WHAM*
Monolith took two steps closer. The giant of stone, reached down, attempting to pluck mossy rocks.
Whilst a disguised Saku rose Eren's army of shadows, each wielding a weapon, and hiding behind rocks, to form small battalions. All controlled by a reaper who watched on from the side.
A little surprising that no one questioned the sudden appearance of a 12-meter-tall golem, and it's necromancer master.
But in this world, anything and everything could be possible. Everyone present had seen crazier shit in their lives, so what's a golem and a necromancer to them?
Eren, watched on as his forces engaged with the idols.
Nerfed as they were; they still posed a formidable threat to the unprepared. However, the idols seemed to be skilled fighters, dancing around the shadowy foes and striking them down with ease and grace. All too the beat of a generic pop song.
"I love it." Lucifer sat on Charon's shoulder, enjoying the mayhem of the overblown music video.
Sure, it Eren may have hated everything about this new world idol industry, but the work that these men and women but into this coordinated shoot; to be able to spontaneously fight and still retain whatever message the song had. Admirable.
A quick eye scan through the landscape; eyes going up and down the highland knolls as his forces slowly lost ground.
Something though, in the corner of his eye caught the reapers attention.
A smile.
Between the clash of steel stood the rings visage, that wicked smile and eyes like black holes.
Staring directly at the reaper. He heard the whisper from where he was seated.
"Madness law; no good deed goes unpunished. For all the good you do the world yet remains unchanged. Maddening is it not?"