Each Monster Mash boy was looking very closely at the Sixth Octave guys.
Mort kept looking at Frank with his eyes full of fury and resentment, but Frank didn't seem to have any grudge against him and even wiggled his eyebrows and waved at him like the well-mannered boy he was.
“Hi, Mort,” Frank whispered with a shy smile.
“Shut up, Rubinstein,” Mort grunted.
Anton was still looking down at Draco, with an air of superiority and a mocking face, behind him was Kevin, but he wasn't looking at anyone.
Alex and Paul gave each other challenging, slightly uncomfortable looks.
Finn and Jeyk looked into each other's eyes for a second, blushing and instantly avoiding the other's gaze.
Everett and Clyde?
They were both hissing and snarling at each other, though Clyde looked more like a maniacal raging pitbull while Everett looked more like a narrow-eyed polar bear.
This was almost as awkward as when Draco's sister and Zafira Rahman met in the ruins of the Bent Pyramid of Zehtt to negotiate a temporary alliance to fight the Zeldrich Threat.
Queen Batrix refused to cooperate and Zafira kept threatening her with her army of hunters, Yetis and everything she had gathered in her time in Zagarrta.
Draco tried to be a mediator, even Zeth tried, but both women were too powerful, and stubborn, to give in. Zafira was already considered queen of the entire country of Zagarrta, and Draco's sister was the queen of Evalon, so from that meeting, surely an armed peace or a war as big as the Clash of the Rahmans could begin.
It didn't help that Zafira wanted the throne where Draco's sister sat, after all, that's why she came to Evalon with her massive armies.
To become the new Queen of the Nine Kingdoms.
There was a moment when both women were no longer paying attention to anyone advising them, and Draco activated his dream mode, looking around the ruins, imagining chained dragons perishing under the rubble as King Anuber rode Anubyx and burned this place down with dragon fire. Draco always said that Anubyx was his favourite dragon because he was dwarf, fast and very playful, like him.
Draco could never pay too much attention for long, and even left for a moment to look at the skull of Kizerya, the dragon of Queen for a day Elizekhmet, while both Zafira and his sister argued. When Zeth found him, the resolution of the conflict had already passed, and even scolded him for leaving.
Damn! Right now Draco needed Zeth's wisdom and leadership, but he had to stay calm, and focused, or there would be a Clash of the Bands here and now.
"Von Stroker!" Anton yelled and Draco came back to Earth. Damn! It happened again!
“Oh wow! Please tell me more," Draco said his default line again.
"As I was saying. We're here to shoot a music video," Anton said, hands on his hips, "And then we'll give an exclusive interview for the blog of the famous Melody O'Pry, my sister."
"Well, I'm afraid to say that we will shoot here first!" Alex growled like a wolf.
"Put your dog on a leash," Anton told Draco, "We'll film here, and it'll be art, not like your videos…" Anton made a disgusted face and twisted his fingers, "God, you guys are so vulgar that I don't even know if your videos count as a form of artistic expression! Don't you even know what a shirt is? Or is it that you like to walk around half naked for money and views?"
"What are you saying?" Alex lunged forward, and even Frank and Finn had to hold him back.
"You are so banal. You guys look more like strippers than singers, no offense," Anton checked his nails and then gasped, "Oh! You know what? Yeah, get offended!"
“Anton,” Kevin whispered in his ear, “It's enough. You're being rude."
"I am only teaching mediocre people what it's like to be a professional," Anton replied, “If these cavemen wanted to be strippers, they should have worked at a club to get naked for money."
"Idiot! I'll kick your ass! Do you think being a stripper is an offense?! Are you trying to insult my origins?" Alex jerked out of Frank and Finn's control, but Everett quickly squeezed the Latino into his strong arms and held him back. Alex kicked and fought to break free to no avail as Everett picked him up and backed away. "Let go of me, ice face! Le voy a partir su madre a este cabrón! Hijo de la chingada! ¿Quién se cree que es este pendejo? Bájame, Everett! Put me down now, you... You... Iceberg with legs!"
"What is your dog saying?" Anton asked.
"I thought smarty-ass Anton O'Pry would speak a little Spanish," Draco sneered under his breath, "But I think you know, judging by how frantic my friend is, that he's not blessing you and your... Slaves?"
"You and your... Strippers, can leave now," Anton waved dismissively, turning to face the other members of his band, "Move on, gotta work."
"We're not going anywhere," Frank and Finn stood in front of Draco, and Alex, already in the distance, was giggling in Everett's arms.
"Oh yeah! We're not leaving!" Alex yelled at the top of his lungs, with a laugh celebrating a victory that had not happened yet, "Que se armen los pinches chingadazos! Everett!” Alex was too far gone already. Draco was already getting worried. Maybe after this he should tell Alex what happened to the two Sapphire Sentinels of House Alfaro who refused to recognise Zehtt Greak as the King. Sometimes it was necessary to shut your mouth and lower your head, even for a short time, to prevent a dragon from burning you alive. But Alex did not have a degree of prudence or calm in his being at this point, “Put me down, Everett! Let me go! We are going to teach these fine juniors what we vulgar strippers can do to silk breeches!"
"And what do we do, exactly?" Everett asked.
"We give them atomic wedgies! What else?!" Alex yelled.
"I want to give them atomic wedgies," Everett said, nodding slowly, "It sounds painful. Life is painful, but pain is temporary and the lessons are valuable. I want these men to learn valuable lessons, and I want to be hand that rips out their spines... Delicately."
Everyone went quiet, so quiet that even blinks echoed.
"Everett, I think the wedgie will suffice," Alex said, finally relaxing his body, "Now put me down, you scare me."
"Let's start with atomic wedgies, then," Everett nodded and opened his arms to free Alex, who was slowly taking steps back, head down but eyes up just in case Everett lost it completely.
"How about instead of atomic wedgies, we just give them regular wedgies?" Finn asked. "Maybe that..."
"Nobody's going to give atomic, regular, or delicate wedgies to anyone!" Draco yelled.
"Vulgar, uneducated apes, that's what you are," Anton said, glaring at the boys, shaking his head while inspecting his nails, "It's like watching a cheap comedy show, a circus of freaks."
"Well, it's more fun being ourselves than your slaves," Finn said, puffing out his chest. "You don't even let your bandmates…"
"Oh, shut up, sushi roll," Anton rolled his eyes.
"We are true to ourselves," Frank tried to calm the waters. "Maybe we're not fine art like you and your friends, but at least we're authentic."
"That doesn't justify anything!" Anton snapped. "Now, how about you go to a strip club and fool around while we make art? You can probably take that low-class girl of yours to shoot your video," Anton chuckled briefly. "It would be fun to see her dance like a monkey with you. She's not professional, is she? Well!" He waved his fingers, "Maybe she'll learn something about the striptease business from you. That way, she can pick up some money from the floor in case her second-hand clothes need sewing."
"It seems someone was offended that we gave the interview to Jade and not Melody," Finn said. "Now Cadence's criticism makes sense. She wanted to launch her offspring to stardom through cheap tricks, sinking the competition."
“My sister will be someone in the music industry soon," Anton crossed his arms. "But still, you asked that silly girl to be a model for your video, unprofessional of you. Do you know how much Melody loved you? When she saw in the interview how you guys asked a Freak to be in your video, she got really upset!"
"Is that how you treat your fans?" Frank clenched his fists.
"Fans need to understand where they belong..." Anton raised his head. "Off the stage is where they belong."
“Of course!” Draco put his hand to his chin and snapped his fingers.
“Of course what?” Anton cocked his head, frowning.
"Can you give me and my band a second?" Draco said. "Alone, please."
"Only because you said please," Anton snapped his fingers, and all the guys in his band hung their heads and walked out the door. But before he left, Anton looked Monster Mash up and down over his shoulder.
Once they were gone, Draco quickly turned to face his friends with a huge fanged smile.
"Guys, I have an idea," Draco narrowed his eyes with a finger to his chin. "I think there's only one thing Zeth would do right now."
"Call a lawyer?" Frank asked.
"Well, yes and no," Draco rolled his eyes.
"Make a bigger and more expensive video than the other guys?" Alex crossed his arms.
"Yes, but no," Draco huffed.
"Push us to be better than them?" Finn cocked his head.
"Maybe, but..."
"Death match?” Everett asked, “With knives and swords?”
"Okay, Everett, that's what you would do," Draco sighed. "Zeth would think classic, something that would shout to the world 'This is who we are! We are Monster Mash!’ and remind fans they are a part of our band! Of our lives!”
"But Zeth isn't here," Frank lowered his head.
"Exactly," Draco snapped and played with his fingers. "And as the second oldest member, I have an idea... We're leaving, let these guys shoot their smug video, we'll do something else."
"WHAT?!" All of them asked in unison.
"I've got a great idea," Draco rubbed his hands together and licked his lips. "We're going to do exactly what that Anton guy expects us to do… But we'll do it right. But we need Jade."