The Enoch Echoes's Story

Aaron's hands flowed over his guitar like water over river rocks. A wide grin spread over Marty's face while he strummed his bass guitar. Meanwhile, Jacob gave order to the quick guitar picks with a fast rhythm of snare, high-hat, and bass. His sticks blurred in the sparkling light from the brass cymbals. Rebecca joined the melody with her keyboard. The music rose and fell like the tide as each member added their own element to the famous song.

"AAAHHHhhhh - Seems so long since we walked in the moonliiiiigh'... Makin' vows that jus' can't work riiight.... Oh open your arms, open your arms, open your arms..."

"Baby, let my love come runnin' in!" Aaron and Nathan sang in unison. "'Tis been a long time, been a long time... Been a long lonelylonelylonely lonely lonely tiiiiime..."

The music fell into a rocky blues rhythm between the keyboard, guitar, and drums.

"Thaaank yoouuu, Wing City!" Aaron called out to the crowd. "I hope you all are having a good evening. Welcome to the first stop on our Holiday Tour. I'm Aaron and we... are the Enoch Echoes!

As the song drifted away, a calm rhythm of Marty's bass guitar and Jacob's drums filled the silence.

"Well here we are. Another year - another season of food, family, and friends. Whether you're Jew, Christain, or none of the above, we hope you have a good time in this season of miracles. Do you believe in miracles? Because we sure do..."

Jacob's tempo slowed to a steady beat of snare and bass as Becca and Nathan joined with their keyboard and guitar. It bounced with a smooth reggae groove as Aaron bobbed his head with a grin.

"Oooohhhhh.... yeayeayeaaahhhhh...... Pamayahoh-ahohhhhh..... Just livin' in da miracle, candles are my vehicle. Eight nights.. gonna shine invincible, no longer be divisible, born through the struggle!... Keep on movin' through all this hustle!"

"Head up head down through all of da bustle," Nathan picked up the quick verse. "in Wing City gonna flex ya muscle! Look so down... Look so puzzled... Huddle 'round ya fire through all da rubble! Bound to stumble an' fall, but my strength comes not from man at all... Bound to stumble and fall, but my strength comes not from man at all!"

"Do you believe in miracles?" the two singers joined together. "Am I hearing you?! Am I seeing you?!... Eight nights and eight lights and these rites keep me right. Bless me to the highest height with your miracle!"

The Enoch Echoes?

Gabrielle couldn’t help but arch a brow at the name. She had never heard them before, but that wasn’t really a surprise considering the young girl didn’t get out much. Actually, the more she thought about it, she did remember briefly seeing a piece of news concerning them on the television, but she didn’t recall much of it. Shrugging a little, she crossed both arms against her chest and listened to them continuing to sing. Was a Christmas tour that big of a thing? Apparently it was by the growing crowd that was slowly filling up the Square. She couldn’t help but wonder if her father was helping fund this whole thing. It would be typical of him to do something like this and not contact her.

Well, if this was concocted by my pops, hopefully they don’t recognize me as a LeBeau and call me up to the stage on his behalf…

Unable to help it, she snorted at the mention of food, family, and friends, realizing that the holiday this year was going to suck on a massive scale. It was at this moment that she comprehended just how much she truly missed not just her father, but her deceased mother and sister. Why did life have to be so unkind to her? Reaching a hand up, the brunette wiped a few tears away, wondering if she should bail and go back to trying to find the address. Did she believe in miracles? No.

“Miracles don’t exist!”

The music faded from the chorus and fell into a calm bouncing rhythm. Nathan and Marty plucked at their guitars while Jacob kept time with a funky beat of snare and bass.

"Against all odds drove on till tomorrow." Aaron continued the fast-paced song. "Wipe away your tears and your sorrow. Sunrise in the sky like an arrow. No need to worry. No need[/u] to cry! Light up yo mind no longa be blind - him who search' will find - leave yo problems behin', you'll shine like a fia in t' sky. What's the reason we're alive? [i]The reason we're alive..."

"Bound to stumble an' fall but my strength comes not from man at all... Bound to stumble an' fall but my strength comes not from man at all!"

"Do you belieeeeve in miraaacles?" the song fell into the chorus. "Am I hearing you?! Am I seeing you?!... Eight nights and eight lights. Do these rites keep me right. Bless me to the hiiiighest heights of your miracle!"

The lights of the stadium dimmed at the end of the chorus. The remaining spotlight centered on Aaron as he held the microphone with both hands. "Eight... is the number of infinityyyy... one more than whatchoo knooow hooooow to beeee...." Aaron spread his hand over the crowd. "And this is the light of festivity... when your broken heart yeeeearns to be freeee...."

The stadium lights flashed with Jacob and Nathan's escalating tempo as the music fell back into the chorus.

"Do you belieeeeve in miraaacles? Am I heeearing you?! Am I seeeeing you?!... Eight nights and eight lights. Do these rites keep me right?!. Bless me to the hiiiighest heights of your miracle!"

Apparently she was the only one that didn’t believe that miracles exist because the crowd was singing along with the group. Rolling her eyes, she shoved both hands inside of her pockets, twirling a couple of her cards idly. The urge to blow them up was pretty intense and it took the half-mutant a few minutes of deep breathing to keep from doing just that. Gabby was finally calm when the lights dimmed and she wondered what would happen if she accidentally threw a brick at one of the band members face. Would they stop singing about miracles? No, probably not and she’d probably end up in jail. That didn’t sound appealing to her and so, Gabrielle decided to leave the Square before she did something homicidal. Well, if she wasn’t surrounded and cramped into one spot, she would leave, but her luck sucked.

“Oh great, I can’t even get away from here… Stupid crowds.”

A few people nearby slammed into her and she couldn’t help but jab her elbow into their throats. Turning back as they fell to their knees, she sighed heavily. There were far too many people around and it made her extremely paranoid. What if someone was out there at that very moment plotting to kill her? The thought made her very antsy and the brunette wondered if perhaps the band was involved as well. What if they were hired to start playing in order to lure her out into the open? Gasping, she snapped her gaze up towards them, her flight or fight instincts kicking in hardcore. Her eyes slowly shifted from purplish-brown to bright red as they started to glow. Whatever had been the cause of her anger back at the stakeout apartment was taking over her once again and she growled under her breath.

“I knew they weren’t here just to sing songs… No, you can’t fool me…!”

"Wooo..." Aaron panted as their second song drew to a close. "You're a great crowd tonight, Wing City! If you like our music, please leave a donation in the box on the side of the stage. All our profits are going to local charities. This was a tough year for Terra, but remember that it does no good to weep for the fallen. Instead we should weep for the families they left behind - all the orphans, widows, and homeless. This next song is a personal favorite of ours... It is a cry - a prayer - for peace - in the hope that one day our children can roam freely through the streets and nations will forget war..."

"One... Two... One two three four!"

A calm soothing string of chords emerged between the two guitarists, accented by a background resonance from the bass guitar. They strummed slowly and precisely across the strings.

"Ooooooahhyaaahhaaaa... Hamahalllaaaahaaa... One daayy... One dayy... Amalalaaa... One daayyyy" Aaron and Jacob sang and hummed into the microphones. Becca readied her violin behind them and formed the rhythm with a steady plucking from her bow.

"Sometimes I lay under t'e moon... An' thank God I'm breathin'!... Then I pray - don' take me soon... 'Cause I'm here for a reason!"

In a deft movement, Marty picked up his trombone and took over Becca's rhythm. Her free fingers danced across her keyboard with fluid-like movement.

"Sometimes in mah tears I drown..." Aaron and Nathan joined together. "But I nevah let it get me down... So when negativity surrounds... I. Know. Some. Day. It'll all. Turn around!

"Because..." Jacob joined with the drums. "All mah life I've been waitin' for - I've been prayin' for... for the people to saa-aayyy... That we don' wanna fight no more! There will be no more war! An' our children will plaa-ayyy..."

"One daaay!... One daaaay!... One daaaaayaaayy..."

"One daaay!... One daaaay!... One daaaaayaaayy..."

---

As the band flowed through the first verse, a gentle hand rested on Gabby's shoulder.

"Excuse me, miss..." said a voice. "Are you alright?"

A young man clad in an almond brown tunic and forest green trousers stood over her shoulder. An embroidered eagle was laid out across his chest. His gloved hand held a long wooden staff with the carved image of a resting falcon at the top. A dark brown satchel swung over his shoulder while a bright green wool-lined cloak flowed behind him. Curious hazel eyes looked down at the girl as slightly pointed ears twitched at the music surrounding them. A crimson runic tattoo glimmered with faint arcane energy across his face.

"You seem a little distressed," he said with a smile. "Need some help getting out of this crowd?"

Gabrielle was quickly losing her touch on reality and if something didn’t change quickly, she was going to completely lose it just like she did previously and this time Norrington wouldn’t be there to reel her in. The teenager was on the brink of insanity, an instability that was passed to her via her mother’s blood without her knowledge. In fact, if anyone was going to totally lose it, it should be her sister, not her, but apparently that just wasn’t the case. Both fists clenched against her sides and she fought to take in deep breaths in order to remain calm or as calm as one could be when they thought the world was out to get them.

Matters were made worse when the band indicated that they were playing for charity, but it wasn’t just that they were playing for a charity, it was what the charity was for. It struck a deep chord and now she wasn’t sure if she should start bawling or just blow up everything around her. Her jaw tightened as energy began to flow through her body, much like the music flowed around the crowd. Her hand was on the verge of dipping into her pocket in order to snatch a few cards when she felt a presence behind her. The touch of a hand upon her shoulder was more than the lithe female could handle and before she could even register what was going on, she was snatching for the arm attached to the hand in order to flip him over her shoulder if he didn’t move away from her, that is.

“DO NOT TOUCH ME!”

It took her a couple more minutes to register that there was an actual body attached to the arm despite that being logical. She stared hard at the stranger, trying to figure out if she knew him, if he was an enemy or a potential murderer. She narrowed her glowing red eyes towards the individual, taking in every inch of his being from the strange runic tattoo all the way to his foresty-type outfit. Her ears were ringing and she fought to actually hear his words and could only nod when he asked if she needed help out of the crowd. Her head was spinning and she knew there was a chance that she was about to faint or kill – one of the two.

"Ooph!" Crulamin grunted as he slammed into the concrete. "Woah... Didn't see that coming."

The half-elf attempted to rise to his feet as the band continued their song. He rubbed his head and looked down at the girl. Crulamin quirked his eyebrow as she nodded and stretched out his gloved hand for her to take.

"I don't like crowds either." he said. If she took his hand, the half-elf boy would help her up and lead them both through the crowd.

Bigsby suddenly snapped back into reality as his efforts elsewhere seemed to be in vain and with a strange gesture of his hand he was gone from sight and mind.

Gabrielle dug her hand into the pocket of her jacket, snatching three playing cards; a 3 of diamonds, 9 of spades, and a 9 of clubs. To most anyone looking, they appeared to be normal playing cards, but in her hands, they were had the potential of being completely dangerous. She didn’t even realize that at some point in time, she had managed to crouch down on the ground, the sounds of the music and crowd rushing over her head. It was becoming far too much and even as he held out her hand towards her, Gabby was subconsciously charging the cards. Ever since the deaths of her mother and supposed death of her sister, the young teenager had immense difficulties controlling her abilities gained through her father’s genes.

“Rrrr…”

There was enough sense in her to know that throwing the cards at the stage or into the audience would cause innocent deaths and injuries, but that sense was quickly disappearing. Finally taking his hand, she kept the glowing cards close to her, making sure not to touch anything or anyone with them. Of course, it would be only a few seconds longer before they discharged on their own and that could cause her hand to be blown off. That wasn’t a good thing either. Finally spotting an empty spot far enough from the crowd that no one should be hurt, Gabby threw the three cards towards the ground. The explosion wasn’t super loud and she hoped that no one would hear it nor notice it over the band’s music.

“…Get me out of here before I start killing…”

"You've been a great crowd tonight, Wing City" Nathan said as they finished their third song. "We're gonna take a ten minute break before playing our last two songs." Marty flipped a switch and a smooth blues song played through the speakers. The band set their instruments aside and walked backstage.

Meanwhile, Crulamin guided Gabrielle through the dense crowd. They weaved between the music enthusiasts, who conversed with each other as the ambient music played. After a minute they emerged from the edge of the crowd. Crulamin plopped onto a bench and rested his staff against the armrest

"I'm not a fan of crowded areas myself." he finally said. "Never even planned on going here... I was just walking along, heard the music, and thought it was interesting..."

When the band finally took a ten minute break, Gabrielle felt her head clearing just a little bit. Was it the music? Was it doing something wonky to her mind? Shaking her head, she kept a firm grasp on Crulamin as he moved her through the crowd. Thankfully he seemed to find his way through the people without much trouble. She removed her hand from his as he sat down on a nearby bench and she peered up at the sky with a sigh. The teenager was feeling a little bit better now that she wasn’t being all crammed in with people. Or was it because the music they were playing stopped? Of course, there was some kind of blues song playing, but it didn’t have the same type of pulse like the others.

“…Well, thanks. Wait! You said that you weren’t planning on coming here, but the music drew you in?! That… that means! Oh course!! The band is up to something suspicious! They’ve got to be! It’s the only explanation of how the crowd grew so large in such a quick time! When I first came here, there were barely anyone around, but before I knew it, the people flocked like mindless sheep to the barn to be sheared!”

She glanced back towards the stage and noticed that it was empty. She had exactly ten minutes to snoop before the band returned to their instruments. Taking off like a shot, she weaved between the talking people, leaping up onto the stage. Everyone was busy doing their own thing, so no one noticed her or at least she hoped that was the case. She picked up one of the guitars, peering at it closely. Was there some enchantment on it?

“Hmm…”

Gabrielle had long grown tired of investigating the instruments in the Town Square and suddenly remembered the address she was supposed to be looking for. Setting down the guitar, she glanced over towards the fellow that helped her out of the crowd and just nodded her head towards him out of respect. She also shouted out a quick thank you before leaping off the stage and heading down the street once more. She wasn’t quite sure where she was heading, but figured her gut instinct would lead her in the right direction. The blues that had been playing all but died out and she shoved both hands into her jacket pockets, sighing up at the sky.

The Rocketeer stops, muttering something about having to get off-planet, and fast.