One Side of the Story

Chapter 2

Transmission got up and snuck to the doorway. He peeked around the corner and saw the same three anthros, Sugar Cube, Dart, and Unlucky. Lucky was also with them, his ears flattened. "So.. what's going to happen then?" Dart asked, his arms crossed. "Do we get a day off or something?"
"I believe so." Lucky replied. "I think they just want Transmission to get a chance to meet everyone."
"That would make sense, that poor guy's seems like one of the more cowardly ones." Sugar Cube added, sitting on Dart's head.
How dare they! Transmission held back a hiss. I'm not a coward, I could easily defeat all the demons here! He went quietly back to the stage, trying not to make any noise. His eyes glowed angrily. I'll show them all!
Transmission put his instrument away, and put it with all the other instruments. "Hey, watch it."
Transmission nearly jumped when he heard a voice behind him. He looked back and saw Dart standing there. Sugar Cube was gone. "You almost kicked my bass." He pointed out.
Transmission moved his foot embarrassingly. "Sorry.."
Dart pat his back. "Don't worry, happens more often than you think."
"Oh."
"Anyways, did you find Fog?" Dart asked, while checking his unsheathed claws. Transmission stared then nodded. "Yeah... She looks.. Um.."
"Old? Yeah, she's the only demon that ages here. She was one of the first demons created, too." Dart said. He picked up his bass and his bow. "Do you want to play with me?"
Transmission looked embarrassed. "I.. just put my instrument away, but okay.." He picked his case up and undid the latch. He opened it and pulled out his violin.
Dart watched and put his bow in position.
"How do you play that?" Transmission asked when he put his violin on his shoulder. Dart shrugged. "It just came naturally to me."
Transmission looked uneasy and put his bow in place.
"You play first." Dart instructed. "I'll join in when I've got the flow."
Flow? Transmission nodded and started playing the song Roundtable Rival. Dart looked surprised as he realized what Transmission was playing, and joined in on the deeper part.
Their song rang around the cave as everyone was walking around. Everyone stopped talking as they heard the music, and one by one slowly began to come into the room to watch. Dart and Transmission continued, the deeper part beginning. Dart played alone this time, for a moment, until Transmission rejoined. Soon a whole crowd of demons sat in front of them, watching. Transmission noticed Fog in the crowd. She had a look of approval. Transmission was looking in the crowd to see if there were any other demons with jackets, and if they were part of the 'Dining Demons'.
Transmission smiled proudly as they started to play a finale, ending with a slur.
Transmission and Dart were sweaty when they finished, but it was worth it when everyone cheered for them.
"Wow, I never knew the newbie was so talented!"
"Amazing!"
"I'm impressed, newbies usually aren't put into the Dining Demons so fast!"
They both bowed and went backstage to put their instruments away. The demons started to leave the room, but Fog and four other demons that Transmission didn't recognize. Fog went up to them, nearly jumping out of her fur in excitement. "That's my boys! You sounded amazing! But don't forget to save it for tomorrow!" She smiled. "Oh, and Transmission, you haven't met the others yet, have you? I brought them here for you to meet." She waved her tail as the four demons came into the room. One was a tall anthro wolf demon and had grey fur with black stripes all around it's body. It had pure black eyes with red iris' and had black horns. Two of them looked identical, being blonde cats with reefs around their necks, and pink eyes. The last one was a short ginger koala anthro, he had black freckles around his cheeks and had black paws. His eyes were black and he had sharp teeth. All four wore the jackets.
Transmission gulped.
Fog looked at them. "Well? Go ahead and introduce yourselves!"
The wolf stepped forward. "I'm Strope."
"I'm Kayley!" Said the blonde female cat.
"I'm Kaleb." Said her twin.
"And I'm Hap." Said the koala, looking threatening.
"Oh... Nice names. My name is Transmission." He said, repositioning his jacket so it didn't fall off. Hap nodded a hello to him. Kayley looked at him in awe, and Kaden looked at him with disgust. Strope said nothing.
Dart looked at him, then the other four. "You guys need to work on your manners." Dart added.
Strope scoffed and walked off the stage, his fur fluffed out.
"What's up with him?" Kayley asked Kaleb.
"He gets offended easily." Hap said. "Last show he noticed someone in the crowd on their phone and not paying attention, and he nearly jumped off the stage."
Transmission's eyes widened in surprise. "He looks pretty chill."
"Don't judge a book by it's cover!" Kayley exclaimed randomly.
They all stared at her.
Fog smiled. "Alright, alright. Now that you all have met, I think it's time we settle down."
Dart leaned on the wall. "Mhm. Okay."
Kayley and Kaleb nodded. Hap dipped his head.
Fog's tail stuck up. "You all can go back to your business now. I have somewhere else to be." She trotted off the stage, her paws sliding across the floor. She leaped down off the stage and went out of the room.
Transmission looked at all four of them. "So... this is all of you?" He looked at each of them. "I thought it'd be bigger."
"Well, very few demons are talented enough to play an instrument." Dart explained. "And we're also seen as a 'higher rank' than others. There's performers, entertainers, jesters, organizers, and a few others, but there is no ruler."
Transmission smirked. "Not for long.." He murmured.
They looked at him, puzzled. "What?"
Transmission coughed, then cleared his throat. "Nothing."
If they found out, this would be the end of his plan. He'd be kicked out faster than you can say 'demon'. He knew this was where he was supposed to be, but he didn't want to admit it. He looked at them. "When is our first performance tomorrow?" He asked.
"About 10 in the morning." Hap replied. The two twins sat and listened to their conversation, as Transmission complained that it was too early, while Hap calmly told him it was just their schedule. Once they finished, Hap, Kaden and Kayley walked off to help do some work, leaving Dart with Transmission. Dart sighed. "I can see you're upset about our first performance time."
"Yeah, becau-"
"Well there's no need to be." Dart snapped. "We have a guest coming, a special one. So you'd better look willing, m'kay?"
Transmission nodded in agreement, though he hesitated. Dart patted his head and walked off the stage, his paws in his jacket pockets. "Okay, I expect to see you tomorrow."
Transmission winced a bit at his bossy-like attitude, and looked away. He looked around the stage to see if there were any weapons, but there was nothing but boxes of costumes and whatever else fit in boxes of that size. He growled gently and crossed his arms. It was going to be a long night.