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Carmine's voice continued. "Oh, and if you want to call the police, be my guest," the voice from the speaker dared smugly. "The chief says he might have left his office light on, so if you could ask them to check it for him, that'd be great." Rose's heart sank and Hazel's eyes widened. She had her hooks in the police as well? After finding out Carmine had been steadily replacing members of their pop idol group, Angel's Embrace, with substitutes wearing skinsuits, Rose was not sure what was safe to assume when it came to their red-headed manager. She did not even know Carmine's real identity, all she knew was that she was actually a man and he derived perverse enjoyment from watching her suffer. If not for Hazel's presence, her painfully nervous expression unsuited to Linnea's normally cheerful face, Rose may have broken down then and there. Involving the police had been their best bet... They could have come in, taken control of the situation. They would have known what to do about the originals who were still Carmine's hostages. They would have... Suddenly a low, muffled moan ripped from the speaker in Rose's phone. "Save it for later, girls!" Carmine whisper-yelled away from her phone. It was the voice she used to get their attention backstage at a concert. Her attention returned to Rose. "Your bandmates here can't keep their hands to themselves if you leave them to their own devices for too long. Don't keep us or our guests waiting, Girly. " With that, Carmine hung up. The two worried girls exchanged glances. What awaited them on the practice stage? "Let's go," Rose suggested breathlessly. Hazel nodded. Leaving the bathroom, their footsteps seemed to echo ominously. Rose's developing trust issues threatened even the once cozy familiarity of the studio halls. Perturbed, Rose hastily began thinking aloud. "Okay, no police... but we do have Justin. And... maybe I can convince whoever Iris is to help us as well. Justin said Iris's fake seemed infatu- err. Interested in me." "Rose." Hazel stopped and Rose looked back at her in confusion. Hazel took a breath. "Calm down," she said simply. Her brows scrunched up, trying to put on a brave face. Rose rubbed her eyes, mitigating the pressure behind them that was the lingering remnants of her hangover. Hazel was right. Where was the composure that she had had when she confronted Hazel about all this, just a few minutes ago. She had not realized how badly Carmine's call had unhinged her. Having the hope that police involvement would take care of everything abruptly taken from her left her reeling. But the police had never been her plan from the start. For better or worse, Rose had been preparing to have to do this herself, and that had not changed. If she let her despair control her, she would be dancing on Carmine's strings like everyone else. Even if Carmine had coaxed her into the Linnea skinsuit, Rose was grateful she had managed to convince Hazel back to her side when she did. Her company was the only thing that saved her from feeling truly and utterly alone in that moment. Not only that, but remembering that the younger girl looked up to Rose, further resolved her to pull herself together. Rose had already betrayed Hazel's trust once already recently and she promised not to repeat that mistake. "You're right. Sorry. We'll just have to do this ourselves. We'll play along with Carmine's game for now, but if I see an opening, back me up." Hazel looked a little hesitant, but agreed. She may have been hoping for a more substantial plan, but this was the best they could do at the moment. ---- When they turned the last corner before the practice stage entrance, Iris was there waiting. Rose's eyes bulged when she saw the platinum blonde's outfit. An ice blue latex underbust corset connected to a thin choker of the same color by lacey straps that got lost sidling around her double D's, bare save for two pasties over her nipples. White garters affixed her thigh high snowy white stockings to the bottom of the corset which flared out where it ended around the start of her hips. A creamy white g-string rounded out the ensemble that looked more suited to an intimate bedroom than stage attire. "There you two are," Iris intoned petulantly. "Come get into your costumes, we've kept our audience waiting too long already." Iris grabbed Rose by the wrist and hauled her to the backstage area with a bewildered Hazel following along. The rest of the band was all there in equally obscene 'costumes.' Carmine still wore her typical business suit, but it was topped with a condescending smile. "Help them get dressed," she commanded simply. Narjis and Iris pounced on them, quickly stripping Rose out of the t- shirt and sweatpants that were her usual comfortable practice attire. She got to keep her simple pink panties but her bra left her person. Startled and stiff at first, Rose forced herself to relax and let her fake friends put her in whatever embarrassing get up they were planning for her. There was little to gain by trying to fight back here, better to conserve her energy, conserve her resolve. They slipped a sheer, nearly see-through empire waist nightie over her head; the front split open just above her navel and flowed out about her abdomen down to her thighs. Like Iri's corset, it was open in the bust, and the straps were tucked behind the outside curvature of her breasts. Iris stuck two heart shaped pasties over Rose's nipples before moving on. Her arms were sheathed in pastel pink latex gloves that were punctuated at the ends and wrists with cloud-like wisps of floof. Her legs were wrapped similarly in stockings that also fluffed at the thighs and ankles and were held up by a lacy garter belt. Rose cringed as they stuffed her feet into three inch heels to complete the oversexed ensemble. When they seemed finished, she stood, adjusting to the shoes. A little ways away, Justin helped Hazel into her own costume with a more gentle hand. Rose noticed Carmine standing to the side watching her. Her earlier smugness muted behind curious observation. "You're not fighting this?" she asked probingly. Rose looked her in the eye as defiantly as she could while looking the way she did. "Why would I, Carmine? What would I get out of that now..." Carmine's eyes flashed excitedly. "Interesting..." was all she said before turning to address the group. "Alright, girls. This is a short one. Just a small show of appreciation to our benefactors. Standard routine for 'Out of the Ashes,' 'Sing With Me,' and 'Together.' Any questions?" Just the names of those songs involuntarily summoned their lyrics and choreography in Rose's mind. They were some of Angel Embrace's most popular songs and 'Together' especially held special meaning for Rose and the real members of the band. It was the first song they wrote together and the song they ended all their concerts with. It felt dirty to be performing it in a team of imposters. Overall, the footwork between the three songs was not too intensive, but she wondered if the guys in girl suits among them would be okay dancing in heels for the first time. Well as long as Justin could manage, Rose might consider the other two hurting themselves as gaining an advantage. Hearing no objections or complaints, Carmine nodded and spoke into her headset. The lights dimmed and the accompaniment began playing through the speakers. Rose had been so focused on maintaining her composure in front of Carmine that the idea that she would be up on stage dancing and singing in this abomination of a costume in front of an audience had not set in until she saw Carmine's cue. She tried to move, but her feet felt leaden, her earlier resolve fled. She felt a poke from behind her shoulder. "Hang in there, Rose! It'll get worse if we don't make it through this," Justin whispered from behind her. The encouragement in Azalea's voice gave Rose the drive she needed to take that first step, and after that, she dashed out onto the stage. "H-Hello everyone! Thanks for coming out on this lovely... uh.. Wednesday afternoon! Hope you're all as excited as we are..." She forced her way through a generic greeting, praying that her shame did not show on her face. Every shift in her weight, every bounce with the music felt like she was drawing attention to her chest. It was worse than the actor's nightmare, being up on stage and inexplicably nude would have been less embarrassing than wearing that outfit that actively called attention to her privates. Out of her peripheral vision, she saw that Justin and Hazel were bright red in the face, but Narjis and Iris seemed unabashed, despite having more to show off than the other three. With little other option, Rose pushed through her shame and went on with the performance. To her surprise, the others kept up, if just barely. Hazel naturally had the easiest time, though, rather than reproducing Linnea's part of the routine, the other girl adeptly mimicked all of Rose's choreography. The boys hiding inside the other three struggled though. Rose felt bad for Justin, but shared no sympathy with the hell that the other two must have felt in their ankles and calves, not to mention other parts that would protest later to losing their pumps virginity. With some of them having difficulty with parts of the dance even when flat footed, those three songs were easily the worst performance the group had ever given. Rose found minor solace in being thankful that the rest of her real bandmates had not had to suffer through it. Following the end of the final notes, Rose heard a sparse applause. She had been able to tell that there were a few heads in the audience, but the spotlights on the stage made it difficult to make out specifics in the audience, especially when fans weren't decked out in glow rings and waving glow sticks. Just as Rose was preparing to give her closing, Carmine strutted out onto the stage, and addressed the audience in her stead. "Thank you, for coming today. We hope you enjoyed this special performance and encourage everyone to come down to the stage to meet the girls more... intimately." Rose suppressed a cringe. She desperately wanted to get out of that outfit, but she refused to give Carmine the benefit of seeing her squirm. As the lights dimmed, Rose focused on examining their audience to distract herself from her own appearance. Two representatives from the police force stood out immediately. The taller one even had the audacity to come in uniform. He shared a laugh with his stockier associate before they rose from their seats. As the older of the two, Rose assumed the shorter one was the chief. Neither one seemed ashamed to be accomplice to the indecent display the girls had just put on. Another guest was accompanied not only by his wife, but also by a maid. The man sported a dignified look with short cut dark hair and a cleanly trimmed beard. His crimson tie accented his sharp suit and matched his wife's scarlet evening gown. Her figure filled out the dress stunningly and highlighted her long blonde hair and pale skin. The maid seemed ordinary by comparison, but her lightly tanned skin was free of blemishes and her dark hair was well kept. The three talked quietly among themselves, the maid hovering behind her masters' seats. The only other man that already left his seat also wore a business suit and was flanked only by a female secretary. While the other businessman had looked dignified, he held himself more casually, even going so far as to prop up his feet on the seat in front of him. His white teeth contrasted his leathery tanned skin when he smiled sardonically, running a hand across his bare scalp. His secretary, on the other hand, seemed almost uptight in her intensity, somehow seeming to stare critically down her nose through her glasses. Her figure might have been alluring if the other women in the audience were not so breathtaking themselves already. Especially the one who sat alone. A foreigner, by the look of her long orchid hair that fell in waves to frame her Aphrodite figure all the way down to her thighs. Her almond shaped face and thin brown eyes gave her an exotic flair that set her apart from the others. She watched calmly from her seat with a small knowing smile. Rose and the other false band members gingerly climbed down off the front of the stage and met the guests as they slowly arrived at the front of the auditorium. Rose resisted scowling at the policemen's open leers, and was thankful for a change for Narjis and Iris's imposters. The two girls' shameless flirting drew the officers' attention away from Rose herself. Rose wondered if they were even thinking about maintaining their act at this point. Carmine clapped her hands together. "My, since you four seem to be getting along well, Narjis, Iris, why don't you entertain the chief and his associate from the precinct." Narjis's eyes flashed delightedly. "Very well, Miss Carmine. We'll be sure to show them a good time," she purred, licking her lips. Rose was alarmed to see Iris lead the police chief aside only to drop to her knees and unabashedly fish his hairy cock from his trousers. Nearby Narjis was already vigorously sucking off the other officer. The tanned businessman with the rigid secretary approached the stage next. He exchanged a friendly nod with the foreign woman before addressing Carmine with a contemplative look. "Lovely show, Miss Carmine. I can tell Rosy's the only original in the group; she really put the others to shame. You'll need to work on that, but it was impressive that they were able to achieve this much in such a short time." Rose's jaw almost dropped. He knew. This person knew that the others were fakes, and seemed wholly unconcerned by it. The man glanced at the policemen disdainfully before continuing. "You'll need to think about carefully about your marketing on this front. There's a lot of money to be had whoring out idols like this, but when they're that thirsty right off the bat it's actually a little immersion breaking. Even if your customers think they know what they're getting into, you gotta ease them into it, build the atmosphere a little so that when things get down and dirty it seems like a natural evolution of the situation." Carmine raised an eyebrow, perhaps not expecting the criticism, but smiled as she replied dryly. "I'll keep that in mind, Mr. Lokaturo. All that said, did anything catch your fancy?" By this point, Rose had pieced together that they were being pawned off for sex with the guests so she was not surprised when the man mentioned "whoring them out" so explicitly. His surprisingly business-like angle and preexisting knowledge of the skinsuits seemed to pique Rose's interest and she found herself hoping that he picked her. "You have spare private rooms, right? No cameras?" Mr. Lokaturo cast another sidelong glance at the two now fornicating pairs. "I like to think I have a bit more tact than some of our company present company." Carmine waved a hand dismissively. "Of course. You wouldn't think I would infringe on my honored guests' privacy like that. They are left out of the auditorium and up the stairs. Any room with a key can be locked if you take the key with you. Just put the key back in the door when you leave." It was Mr. Lokaturo's turn to raise an eyebrow. "I wouldn't put it past either of you," his eyes darted in the direction of the foreign woman for just a split second. "But I guess I'll find out for myself." He turned his attention to the girls, and Rose felt Justin and Hazel seem to cower behind her. After what the man said, it was obvious even to them what was coming next. "To be honest, you, Miss Carmine, are more to my tastes than these little girls, but it might be interesting to try something new. How about little Linnea." Picked as simply as that. Like plucking a piece of fruit from a stand, with no passion or even lust. Was he really planning to solicit sex? Rose could sense Hazel stiffen behind her. Rose was not sure whether the dehumanizing, the imminent rape, or being 'settled for' was more humiliating for the other girl. Rose glanced behind and met Hazel's terrified, pleading eyes. Was she about to betray her again? Rose grit her teeth. "Are you sure you don't want to play with me instead?" Rose did her best Iris impression, stepping forward to press her front against the man's chest. He blinked in surprise at her sudden and aggressive approach but then smiled with a look of understanding. "Trust me, you'll both prefer it this way," he whispered cryptically in Rose's ear before taking her by her shoulders and pushing her aside. Out loud, he scoffed. "Another time, girl. I've made my decision." He faced Hazel and, to the group's mutual surprise, bowed and offered her his hand. "Forgive me if my earlier banter with your manager gave the wrong impression. I promise you that, unlike certain law enforcement, I intend to treat you with the utmost respect, Miss Linnea." Hazel's eyelids fluttered and she blushed, uncertain of how to take this development. She looked quickly at Rose who, not seeing any other way out, gave her a quick reassuring nod. Hazel licked her lips but found the courage to accept Mr. Lokaturo's hand and the man and his secretary gracefully led Rose's friend from the auditorium. Carmine watched them with a discerning look but made no further comment. "I think I heard something about private rooms?" The other businessman and his two lady companions finally made their way down to the stage in the wake of the departing unexpected gentleman. Seeing their approach, Carmine was all smiles again. "Richard! Lara!" Rose stared as Carmine embraced the man and then his wife. "Welcome! Thank you for coming, I hope you enjoyed the show. I wanted to thank you again for your consultation and investing advice the other day. I couldn't believe how quickly things turned around! I may be ready to believe that you really do have some kind of magic." The couple laughed politely. "We all have a bit of magic in us," Lara responded, "You just need to find what it is that best brings it out." "Well said, my love," Richard commended, kissing his wife in front of everyone. The maid cleared her throat. "Hm? Oh, my apologies, thank you, Maria. Ahem. "As I asked, if you have private rooms, we would be interested in entertaining Miss Azalea's company," he announced. It was Justin's turn to stiffen nervously. Rose was having a difficult time getting a read on the lovey-dovey couple. Why were they here? They were obviously besotted with each other, and even had a maid if they wanted to get kinky with a third wheel. Rose was considering making another appeal for herself but hesitated. Who should she flirt with? The decision was taken off the table before she could make it though. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and before she could react, Justin stepped past her, offering her only a brave but apologetic look over his shoulder. He curtsied before the couple to their delight. Carmine offered them directions to a free private room but otherwise sent them off with no further comment leaving Rose alone with her malicious manager and the foreign woman in the auditorium. At the friendly couple's departure, the orchid haired lady finally rose to her feet and swayed over. Rose could see glimpses of her long slender legs through the side slit in her dress that went all the way up to her thigh. Carmine smiled and she smiled back and when she closed the distance, they kissed, deeply, passionately, and Rose was left gaping at the sudden display. Still wrapped in each others arms, Carmine broke away from the woman's lips to explain to the perplexed Rose. "This is my wife and your benefactor, Luluka Ruruen," she stated matter- of-factly. "I'm actually glad none of the guests picked you, I was prepared to redirect them if I could, but I've decided it's finally time to put you away with the rest of your friends. I've had my fun with you certainly, when you wield power for so long, there's sometimes novelty in seeing what you can accomplish without it. I underestimated you however; you've done an impressively dangerous job of rallying my substitutes to sympathize with you, and I can no longer simply let that slide. Now then..." She reached for Luluka's dress slit and pulled at it, twisting the fabric around Luluka's waist till the slit aligned with her crotch. At this point, Rose would have been surprised to see a woman with a normal vagina and she was not disappointed. A rapidly stiffening penis stuck out from the front of Luluka's panties. In the course of Rose watching it, the member engorged to a tremendous size: ten inches hard. It throbbed excitedly and it was difficult for Rose to tear her eyes away from it. "Suck on it," Carmine commanded. "Take it all the way to the base, even if you have to choke to get it down." Rose hesitated, glancing first at Carmine, still clasping Luluka's arm to her chest from the side, and then to the woman with the cock herself. Rose's eyes widened and she almost gasped. For all her beauty, Luluka's eyes were muddied, lost, almost as if they were clouded over even while staring straight ahead. She breathed, gave off heat, and blinked, but just the vacant look in her eyes made Rose question yet whether this person was truly alive. "What are you waiting for?" Carmine barked. "It's your favorite, cock. One of the best in the world, I should think. You wouldn't want to miss getting a taste of it?" Rose's vision blurred, her headache returning. Was her hangover coming back? She blinked and shook her head. She noticed that she was on her knees now. When did that happen? It was close. Her favorite. The pulsing member smelled delicious. Her favorite thing in the world, and what a fine specimen this was. It felt hot against her lips, the salty spunky taste was nectar on her tongue. Air? Breathing was secondary. Rose wanted to make sure she sheathed all of this beautiful shaft in her throat. She needed it. She needed to... to... ---- She needed to wake up. Rose parted leaden eyelids and was overwhelmed by light. A fuzzy shadow loomed over her, but the sound of a gentle song sung softly by a familiar voice soothed her. She blinked, trying to force her eyes to adjust to the light. The singing stopped. "Rose!" Azalea gasped. Her worried face resolved in Rose's vision. She heard movement around her, but as she tried to sit up, her stomach sloshed sickeningly. She was vaguely aware of her bandmates beginning to gather but she found herself suddenly distracted by the realization of what filled her stomach. She clapped a hand over her mouth as she felt her stomach heave. A few feet ahead, she spotted a toilet to which she scrambled desperately. She made it just in time to empty her stomach into the bowl. Panting, she sat back on the ground to catch her breath. Rose only just noticed the sink nearby when Narjis padded over to it to wet a piece of cloth. The tan skinned girl offered it to Rose who gratefully accepted it. Iris came over as well and helped Rose stand after she cleaned up a little. The water from the faucet was not particularly cool, but simply being fresh made it relieving. "We all did that the first time," Narjis admitted wryly, trying to comfort Rose. She tried to give a reassuring smile, but her concern creeped in through her raised eyebrows and tightened corners of her mouth. This was the real Narjis. She could put on a convincing enough smile from afar, but up close, the way she felt at any given time always showed in some way on her face, whether it was worry or anger or joviality. "Unfortunately, that's how they feed us here." Iris interjected, her tone twisting in disgust at the end as she gave a sidelong glance to something behind Rose. Narjis looked daggers look over Rose's shoulder as well. 'Feed?' Rose, still puzzling over Iris's words, followed her friends' gazes. Rose's attention was drawn to the pair of eyes watching her, and the set of metal bars separating them. A prison, and the warden sat on the other side, placidly sipping a chardonnay upon a plush but otherwise undecorated couch. Carmine had changed into casual wear, a simple white blouse with small red floral embroidery and a pair of form-hugging jeans. She had that knowing little smile, one with a thinly veiled sadistic twist once you knew what she was really about. Rose had grown to hate that look, it only ever brought her suffering. Azalea interrupted their stare down coming over with a creamy white sheet and wrapped it around Rose, who had not realized she was naked. The others all wore minimalistic wraps clumsily fashioned from the same off-white linen. When she did not pull away, Rose noticed that Azalea was holding back tears as she embraced her friend. "I'm sorry, Rose. I... when you were brought here, I couldn't help myself. I was happy to see you again, but I should have been upset that they got you, too. That you would have to suffer with us down here... I'm sorry that I let myself feel happy at your expense..." "Hey now," Narjis objected, "that's not something to apologize about." Linnea nodded in agreement. "Yeah, 'she' might be doing it anyway. Our faux manager has some way of getting inside our heads and making us feel or think things we wouldn't normally," she warned. Carmine gave a soft chuckle. "I'm impressed. I've been very sparing with it, so I did not expect to be found out," she intoned mysteriously. "Where is this?" Rose asked, drawing some courage from being reunited with her real friends. Rose looked around the rest of the room. Carmine shared the far side of the windowless room with other conspirators. A mix of low grunts and soft moans emanated from the behind Carmine's couch. Past Carmine's silhouette, they could see a somewhat chubby, greasy man with a focused look on his face jerking his bare hips enthusiastically. His blonde partner lay on her back atop what might have been a card table, legs propped up and offering no resistance to the man's attention. A pale-skinned suit draped over the back of the couch, and Rose noticed platinum blonde locks falling almost to the ground. To her horror, Rose suddenly recognized the blonde girl. Her moans were Rose's own voice. Rose got a better look as the man leaned in, and as his partner rose to kiss him. He hoisted her off the card table and dropped into a chair where Rose watched herself bounce eagerly in his lap. She knew it would happen eventually, but for her own imposter to finally appear felt frightening. It represented everything she had feared from the very beginning of this terrible nightmare. She did her best to close her ears to the sounds of herself being pleasured by the unseemly man. Hazel still wore Linnea's skin but had dressed in a t-shirt and a frilly skirt, both black, that Rose recognized as belonging to Hazel herself. She stood behind Carmine's couch, her eyes uncomfortably avoiding everyone, especially the fornicating couple. In the far corner, a boy sat huddled. Justin's friend, Sam. Rose only barely recognized him from the concert. His own pale arms wrapped around Narjis's tanned legs, the rest of Narjis's suit, in varying degrees, crumpled and splayed out from about his waist. He wore no clothing, neither Narjis's nor his own. His blank expression made him seem oblivious to the Azalea that seemed to be trying to console him. She at least was dressed in a light camisole and a floral skirt. Justin... he really cared about his friend, but he lacked the assertiveness that might have prevented this. It did seem that he found wearing Azalea's face comforting, but surely he knew he could not stay that way. It was just wrong. The sound of the Fake Azalea's voice made it to Rose's ears, but not loud or clearly enough for her to make out words. Hazel and Justin's presence still on the other side of the bars gave Rose a bit of hope in an otherwise hopeless situation. "We are underground, beneath my mansion. This is a specially made room for special guests such as yourselves," Carmine answered Rose's question. She glanced lazily over her shoulder at the skin draped over the couch and the couple behind it. "It also serves as a lounge for my... associates... to relieve themselves of the burdens of their facade, if just for a time." "You have a mansion here, right? Can't you give those two their own room? If I have to keep watching them I might puke, too," Iris asked dryly. Carmine gave a crooked smirk. "Our new Rose is just consummating her new identity with her biggest fan." She lifted the Iris skinsuit next to her. "He insisted on being himself and I insisted that this be the only place he's allowed to be himself, so there you have it." "And you call yourself the manager of Angel's Embrace," Linnea jabbed, joining in. Iris and Narjis both snorted. Carmine cocked an eyebrow. "Hm? Oh, because I'm restricting where he can 'be himself?'" She laughed as well. "Perhaps it is ironic for me to say, but not everyone's happy just 'being themselves.'" Just then, the Rose imposter yelled out in orgasm, and the unsightly man's voice joined her drawing the room's attention. Even Hazel could not help but glance awkwardly at their climax. They separated with heavy breath and only then seemed to finally realize that they were the center of attention. Rose finally recognized the man, confirming her earlier suspicion that he was the man with his supposed daughter at the concert that Sam had crashed. Arnold, she thought his name was. If the man was Arnold, then could the fake Rose have been his... but they were just having sex... Carmine looked back again. "Just ask Luna here. I'm sure she'll help us usher in a new era for Angel's Embrace. You don't have to like who you are, but you can work to change yourself." Her smile widened, amused by the twist in her words. "We shall sing wonderful songs about becoming who you really want to be." The fake Rose blushed and looked away. Carmine shrugged and continued on her own. "Luna was a classic victim of impossible beauty standards. Perpetually unhappy with her self image, she stopped eating to get thinner. She attempted her own dental corrections because her family was too poor for professional help, but that only made things worse..." Rose grimaced, both at the imagery and the fact that Luna had to listen to it. That was enough to remind Rose though, of the young girl accompanying Arnold. Homely at best, her overbite and unfortunately large nose did her no favors. Even Rose had to suppress the thought that a skinsuit face could be good for her. Before they had an opportunity to inquire further, however, Hazel's phone rang. Fumbling to extract it from the small pouch hidden among the frills of her skirt, she stared at the caller id as if surprised to see who it was. She seemed to panic suddenly and set the phone down to claw frantically at the back of her neck. "Hang on, Li- Hazel," Carmine started, as startled as the girl. "just the tongue, girl! you don't have to... hah.." She sighed, too late to stop Hazel from ripping open the back of the Linnea skinsuit's neck and tearing its face off her own. The remains of Linnea's head lay limply over her chest and Hazel hastily answered the phone in her own voice. Carmine scowled. "I hope this call is worth what you'll have to pay me back to get that fixed, girl," the redhead grumbled. "What? No... wait, I'll come back. Please... I'm sorry, call up the others, let's talk about this together." She paced a few steps anxiously coming abreast of the side wall. Carmine turned to better eavesdrop, suddenly very interested in Hazel's call. Rose did not like the look of that. "Hazel!?" Narjis and Linnea both hissed behind Rose's back. Azalea gasped, but Iris merely sniffed disapprovingly. Rose forgot that the others had not known; it must have been a rude shock learning one of the imposters was someone they knew. She gestured behind her back and turned to whisper to the group, hoping that Carmine would not hear. "I know what you might be thinking, but Hazel might be able to help us get out of this if there's an opportunity, so reserve your judgement for now. The Azalea fake sympathizes with us and wants to help, too." Azalea nodded immediately, but among the others, even Linnea seemed reluctant. Iris sighed. "Wish there was more of a plan, but I guess it's better than nothing." That was enough to get Narjis and Linnea to nod their assent as well. Hazel's escalating voice drew them back to her. "We can meet up. Don't just go and disband without me! I- uh, yes, I realize I shouldn't have up and disappeared like that and I'm sorry, but how did... No, wait! Please list- Aaaghhh!" she cut off, her voice rose to a cry. She tossed her phone away angrily. Two petite fists thumped dully against the wall. She ground her teeth and sniffed caught in a tumult of frustration and loss. Luna seemed to cower behind Arnold as they watched the other girl breaking inside. "How unfortunate." Carmine's tortuously melodic voice pierced the silence capturing the ear of everyone in the room. "My dear Hazel, perhaps you might be interested in joining Angel's Embrace instead? It seems you already have some experience with us. "But after what you've done here, do you think they would truly accept you? Even if Rose vouches for you, can she promise that the others won't look at you with distant eyes? Perhaps if there was a different kind of opening, it might be easier to... get inside. If that's what you want, there are four here who would gladly welcome you. But to be with them forever, there are five obstacles to overcome." Rose saw what she was doing, it was not even subtle anymore. She opened her mouth to protest, but stopped. Hazel stared at her but the look in her eyes stilled Rose's tongue. Clouded, her dark pools that used to sparkle with such light had grown murky somehow. It was... saddening. "If Rose weren't here..." Hazel mumbled languidly, "If I were Angel's Embrace, would I be happy? I... want to know." "Uh... about what you were saying, Rose," Linnea whispered nervously. Suddenly, Sam stood up. Justin followed him helplessly as he hobbled listlessly over to the bars. "Yes..." he mumbled. His voice grew louder with each word. "She loved Angel's Embrace. If I send you all to Heaven you can sing for her there! Oh! And, I'll become Angel's Embrace here in your stead, and I can dedicate all of our songs to her!" "Sam, no..." Justin started but the boy was deaf to his friend's pleas. It took a moment for Rose to realize what the crazed boy meant but once she connected the dots his despairing state suddenly made sense. The sight of Carmine's smug face clearly enjoying this set Rose off. Rose forced down her fear and was surprised to find anger fill its place. There was nowhere lower than where they were and Rose was tired of simply taking punches. "Do you truly believe this is what your sister would have wanted?" she asked quietly, coldly. Sam froze. "I get that you loved your sister, and that your sister loved our music. But if you really understood what we sang for, then maybe you'd think about how your sister really felt. This was never about us, about Angel's Embrace. It was you using your sister's love for us as an excuse to run away from your pain! To escape having to deal with the fact that your sister was dying in front of you!" Rose's throat was starting to burn again from yelling, but she needed to let this out, for her sake and his. "Don't talk like you understand her!" Sam shrieked, but Rose stood her ground. "If she was a true fan, then I understand her better than you. You know what I think she would have wanted? Rather than literally fucking with us for the last three days, she would have wanted her brother by her side!" Rose breathed in and breathed out slowly, lowering her voice back to a normal speaking volume. "At least then you could have told her goodbye." Sam's jaw moved feebly, but no sound escaped. He stumbled taking a step back and Justin caught him but they both ended up on the floor. Rose looked down at him, her anger with the boy had fizzled and pity was all that was left. She looked away, glancing back at Hazel. The girl stared back at Rose with watery, but clear eyes that shone with a mix of startled realization and relieved affirmation. Her quiet voice pierced the suffocating silence. "Be true to yourself, Every smile, every scar. Don't deny even one, They all make you who you are." Hazel sung, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "I... I'm sorry," she sniffed, "I almost let myself use Angel's Embrace as an excuse to run from my pain, too. Just like back then, when I hated myself for giving up, for feeling jealous, for self destructing and doing things I regretted. I took it out on you even though we hadn't seen each other in years but you just smiled and sung that for me... as if you could see right through me. Telling me that...that it was okay to fuck up sometimes...just, just as long as you own up and see it through." She cried openly by the end. Out of the corner of her eye, Rose saw Arnold and Luna shift uncomfortably, reminded of their complicitness in this. Hazel grabbed the Linnea face still flopping at her neck. "This! This isn't being true to myself. This is the opposite of being honest with myself, and I don't want anymore of it!" Rose was not the only one who jumped when Carmine suddenly clapped her hands. "I think you've done enough damage to that poor skin already..." she said quietly. The statement was plain, but her tone made it sound like a warning. A threat. Hazel let go of the skinned head. "Thank you." Carmine turned back to address Rose. "That was a beautiful speech. I understand now why you were picked as the leader of your group." It barely sounded like praise in her tone. Rose's anger flared once more. Carmine was the one truly at fault for all of the misgivings and misfortunes to have befell everyone in this room in the last three days. Maybe even longer. Had there ever been a real 'Carmine?' Rose might never know. But what she did know was that this one was the catalyst of her recent suffering. "Was that your doing as well?" Rose barked, drawing a raised eyebrow from the redhead. "His sister's passing... Divine Darkness, too?" Everyone looked at the only person in the room who still seemed relaxed. Carmine took her time, considering how to answer with a playfully thoughtful look. Finally she gave a patronizing shrug but her eyes were full of mirth. "I'm flattered you think that I'm capable of influencing events from so far away, but I cannot take credit for these... terribly untimely coincidences." Rose was not sure how well the other original bandmates were following the conversation, but Iris seemed to see an opening. "'You can't take credit...' as much as you wish you could," she suggested, slowly. "Don't put words into my mouth, whore." Carmine snapped, her smile vanished and her eyes narrowed. Despite her quick objection, Rose realized that Iris's question had already planted the idea in the heads of the people that cared. As generally shady as Carmine's behavior had been up to this point, she had not given her pawns any reason to question her until now. Carmine stretched as she stood up. Facing the prison bars, she sighed. "It really is a pity that the most interesting ones are the ones too dangerous to simply observe. I have not been so impressed since... well, since the last group of kids that gave me grief." Carmine picked up her glass of wine from the side table and took a sip. Sam lunged with an inhuman screech at Carmine, thinking her off guard, but without setting down the glass, she caught his forehead with one hand and at he crumpled to the floor at her feet, unmoving aside from an occasional twitch. "What... what did you just do?" Narjis asked the question no one else wanted to. Rose was not sure she wanted to know. Carmine did not answer, instead, she took another, deep swig of wine. Rose froze, finally understanding how the protagonists in horror films must feel when faced with incomprehensible fear. In eerie unison, every other head in the room swiveled to stare blankly at her. Every head except Justin's. Rose saw his eyes widen as he noticed the others' strange movement, but when he met Rose's eyes he quickly put a finger over his lips hushing her. Rose drew courage in this otherwise terrifying situation from seeing his seemingly arbitrary resistance to Carmine's super natural power. It was not difficult to act terrified, it was not even really an act. She was terrified. But Justin's advantage would be lost if she gave him away and he may as well have been all the hope she had left. Carmine lowered the glass tapped two thoughtful fingers to her lips, savoring the flavor while considering what to do next. "Hold her down," Carmine commanded, and in moments Rose found herself on her back pinned by her own friends. Their dispassionate looks frightened Rose more than even confronting Sam minutes ago. Their clouded eyes offered no room for negotiation. "Just keep her there, no one else move. I'll be right back." Carmine added. With that, Rose heard the sounds of her leaving through the door at the far end of the room. Exactly as ordered, the room stayed still for several minutes in Carmine's absence, and Rose grew increasingly restless but her bandmates never loosened their grip. As she had feared, no matter how Rose pleaded, they did not respond. Whatever spell bound them held fast. Eventually, Rose heard signs of movement across the room as the witch returned with what sounded like something on wheels. Carmine promptly resumed barking orders. "Justin, Arnold. Switch with the bandmates and take over holding Rose." As she commanded and so it was done. Rose did not resist, she was obviously outnumbered. When Justin took Narjis's place holding down Rose's forearm, he made a concerned face that only she could see. His only advantage was the element of surprise but it would be of little use here behind the bars with Rose. "Narjis, Iris, Linnea, Azalea, come put these on. Justin, Arnold. Let Rose watch." The boys' grips loosened and Rose flexed muscles that were beginning to grow stiff before sitting up and seeing what new torment Carmine had planned next. The costume rack that Carmine had wheeled in was populated by a selection of large skinsuits, bigger than what Rose remembered seeing of the girl suits before. Iris pulled one off the rack and she turned it around so that Rose could see the large hairy cock snake out from between its legs. One by one, the girls disappeared inside the skins of various men, some tall, some short. All of them were burly and well endowed. As their transformations finished in turn, their thick cocks rose to hardness. All the while though, their faces never changed, each wore the same blank expression with clouded gaze that the band girls had before. At this point, Rose recognized the look as someone under the influence of whatever power Carmine wielded. His back to Carmine, Justin gave Rose a hapless look. If these skinsuits worked the way the other ones did, then the mind controlled bandmates would have the physical strength of the men they were suited as. Even if they tried to mount an escape now, they were brutally overpowered. With no other choice but to continue playing along, Justin and Arnold passed her back to the flock of new males that invaded the cell after they had all stroked themselves to full erections. The cell door closed and locked. Carmine looked in, four stiff men crowded around a defenseless young woman, their dicks making their intentions clear. Satisfied with the setup, Carmine settled back on the couch, Hazel and Luna sitting down on either side of her. She intended to watch and wanted to enjoy herself while doing so. Justin and Arnold stood behind the couch, one in patient attention, the other awkward helplessness. "Alright, 'boys.' Fuck her till she stops breathing." One of them grabbed her by her wrists and with startling strength, lifted Rose off her feet. She yelped in surprise, twisting in his grasp but to no avail. Other rough hands grabbed at her, spreading her legs and they dropped her on the first cock, letting her weight push it deep into her. Rose groaned at its size. Hands pried apart her butt cheeks and a second meaty dick forced its way into her rectum, sliding deeper with short quick thrusts of his hips. Rose cried out, her already hoarse voice sounded awful but she no longer controlled her vocal chords. The two massive cocks renovated her insides and Rose found herself pushing and scratching but the fake men continued to ravage her unphased. Two more waited their turn, stroking themselves to keep primed and ready to perform. Her mind swam, struggling to piece together conscious thought above the pain and stress of her rape. She wondered how long it had been since the fucking started. How long had she been in this cell? How long ago was that awful performance on the practice stage? What happened to the Justin and Hazel when their 'benefactors' took them away. How had Hazel broken out of Carmine's-! The most Rose could manage was a strangled whisper. "Believe in yourself,... I'll believe in you, too... We'll make it... through... to the end... Together. Me. And You!..." Guttural cries drowned her out and the two cocks inside her exploded, Rose felt their jizz spray out with alarming force. Her cavities flooded with cum and, with nowhere else to go, began sputtering out of her holes around the rods that plugged them. When Rose opened her eyes to the face of her nearest assaulter, she saw a generic male face twisted in torment, with tears flowing down his cheeks. She saw in his eyes, alarm, regret, confusion. Emotion. All around her, the false men cried together, unable to contain the swell of feeling that Rose's verse had summoned from within their hidden true selves. 'Together,' was their signature song. It contained the girls' hopes and dreams and it embodied the themes that Angel's Embrace stood for. The circumstances of its conception made it all the more special to the girls of Angel's Embrace. In that dingy apartment inadequate for five girls to call home, at the end of a day where everything went wrong and they thought they could not sink any lower. It started with a random tune, and one by one, each of the girls added to it. They sang together, guided only by their resonating hearts, until the entire apartment building sat outside their door. Though they were previously strangers, they came, drawn to the girls' song. Some cried, some sang with them. It was a song no one had heard, but everyone knew. When their voices finally failed them, and the world grew silent, a family beyond blood had been forged. And no mere brainwashing could threaten the integrity of those bonds. A crash of glass resounded sharply against the sobbing chorus and everyone jerked around to look. Blood dripped thickly from under Carmine's hairline down her face, shards of broken wine glass floated in her hair, sparkling in deadly splendor. Carmine twisted look behind at who had attacked her, tossing Luna out of her lap where the girl had been taking Carmine's own shaft. Hazel jumped off the couch out of the way as well. Arnold held the broken bottle neck, and seeing that he failed to knock her out with it, wound up to thrust with its sharp remains. Carmine evaded though, and stepped forward hastily to put the couch between her and her attacker. "Do you not care what happens to your goddess?" Carmine asked in a frenzy. She gestured emphatically behind her where the bandmates were helping Rose lay down to recover. Carmine did a double take. "Wait, what are you doing? Screw her! Fuck.. no, just strangle her. NOW!" Rose felt her bandmates stiffen around her, but they did not move. Carmine stared incredulously. "No, not another anomaly. After all this time, why now!?" she growled. Luna stepped forward, blocking one way, while Arnold rounded the couch to cut off the other route. Hazel got up and stood behind Luna. Justin stood behind the couch, perhaps to discourage Carmine from vaulting it. Carmine glared intently at each one in turn, the slow trickle of blood from her temples only added to her intensity. When none of them backed down, though, she grimaced. "It's you... I should have known... you rat and your pack always get in my way!" she spat, trying to split her glare between them. Suddenly, she lunged at Arnold. Arnold made another swipe with the bottle, but Carmine dodged it again. Her hand shot out and she grasped Arnold's forehead. Justin gasped suddenly grabbing his head as if he were in pain but it was Arnold who collapsed to the floor, just like Sam earlier. The way clear, Carmine jumped over Arnold's body and bolted toward the door. Justin made as if to chase after her, but hesitated after just a step with a conflicted look. In the doorway, Carmine stopped and glanced back over her shoulder, judging she had time for just one more jab. "Enjoy your victory today, Girly," that pet name... she was talking to Rose. "But you'll wish you had stayed in my hand because you're now part of this secret world, where no one is who they seem. Is your precious Azalea really herself? Is the old man walking down the street as innocuous as he looks? Or is it me? Whether I'm there or not, you now have to live with me in your head, always in the back of your mind feeding your doubts. An unceasing whisper." She spared only a quick glare for Justin and then she was gone. Justin grimaced but relaxed with a sigh. He gave Arnold's form a worried look, and then turned his attention to Luna and Hazel who spontaneously jumped in surprise at apparently nothing. They blinked and looked around in bewilderment, but Justin had moved on. He regarded the confused bodies in the prison for a moment before hastily reaching behind his neck and opening the seam in the back of the Azalea suit. Azalea's head deformed and pulled forward to reveal not Justin, but a dark skinned girl. She appeared to be in her early to mid twenties, like Rose, with a modest bust, dark eyes and short straight black hair. "I know you were expecting Justin, I switched with him after the private concert earlier, I was disguised as one of the guests." she said with a slight accent that Rose could not place. At seeing the girl unmask, Rose's bandmates mimicked her, tearing at the backs of their necks, desperate to remove themselves from the male skinsuits. Amid the frantic movement, Rose tried not to watch her friends' labors too closely, instead focusing on the surprise newcomer. "Who are you?" she asked weakly. "My name is Linn. My friends and I have been chasing the person pretending to be your manager for a long time, trying to stop him from continuing to do to others what he did to you. We have Gifts like he does that allow us to fight him when normal people cannot." "A... Arnold?" another distress voice interrupted. Rose and Linn looked over to where Luna hunched over the crumpled man. Linn came over to inspect the man but her pained expression never faded. "I've never seen him do this before, so that was new to me," she apologized to the concerned girl and the unconscious man. "Are you two... related?" Linn asked hesitantly. Luna shook her head. "N...not by blood. Wh... when I tried to... uh... well... my parents didn't want a mess up like me, but Arnold took me in. He showed me Angel's Embrace and said it was what they would have wanted..." Luna glanced nervously at Rose, who continued to stare back sympathetically. "He.. changed after he started seeing Carmine... I thought she was nice at first, getting us back stage passes, but..." She cut off as Rose was assaulted by sobbing bandmates. "I'm sorry, Rose... I'm so sorry..." they apologized almost in chorus. Azalea hugged her tightly, crying into Rose's shoulder, Linnea wrapped her arms around them from the other side. Narjis and Iris had the dignity to not overcrowd Rose's personal space, but were equally repentant. "It wasn't your fault, guys..." Rose tried to sooth them. "It was Carmine, she made all of this happen..." "I know, but... It just feels like we let you down..." Narjis admitted ashamedly. Hazel came over, and opened the door. She bowed as well, but Rose interjected before she could say anything. "I forgive you. There's already been more than enough apologizing. Let's just think about getting out of here for now," Rose asserted. Hazel looked like she still wanted to apologize, but swallowed her words and just nodded. Rose's bandmates helped her to her feet and they limped out of the forsaken cell together. Behind the couch, they found Linn checking Sam's unconscious form. "It's... like he scrambled the boy's head just to make it shut down." she reported. "Arnold, too. I'm afraid I don't know how it will affect them in the long run, but I do know someone who might be able to figure it out." Iris gave her a suspicious look. "You... Linn was it?" she asked in a guarded tone. "After all this, why should we trust you?" Linn stood up slowly, thinking carefully. When she met Iris's gaze, there was a fire behind her dark eyes. "We share a common enemy. If breaking a bottle over his head did not prove that, there's nothing else I can say that would. I ask only that you give me and my friends a chance to prove ourselves going forward." Rose could hear weight behind her words. "I can start by helping us get out of here." Linn tread over to Hazel's phone on the ground where she had tossed it, and picked it up, glancing over to the owner. Seeing that it was still working, she held out Hazel's phone for her. "Can you unlock this for me? I need to make a call." ---- "Believe in yourself, I'll believe in you, too! We'll make it through to the end, Together, me and you!" The final notes resounded around the stadium until their echoes were overtaken by the roar of the crowd. Rose smiled, the deafening cries were music in their own right to her ears. The members of Angel's Embrace lined up on the stage to give a bow together. When they straightened back up, Rose shared smiles with each of her bandmates. To her right, Azalea and Narjis beamed. The tan skinned girl waved peace signs over her head while Rose's less flashy childhood friend opted to simply wave normally. To her left, Linnea decided that she was going to pirouette on her mark of all things to pick for a victory pose. She almost kicked Iris who casually put some distance between her and her spinning friend. Iris was going to complain about that later so Rose made a mental note to be prepared for it. The girls' bright smiles and enthusiasm encouraged the crowd to make more noise. As the girls filed off stage, they heard the emcee announce the encore of an earlier act. "And now, Divine Darkness takes the stage once more to bring you an exclusive preview of their new album, 'Resurrection!'" Hazel grinned nervously as Angel's Embrace passed her while leaving the stage. Rose shot her a quick thumbs up before the stage hands ushered them through to their respective marks. Backstage, the girls shared high fives as staff rushed the thirsty performers some much needed hydration. "Great work, girls!" The band turned to greet their redheaded manager. Though there were smiles all around, some of the girls stiffened involuntarily. Carmine's eyebrows raised sheepishly. "Let's get back to the changing rooms so we can hear ourselves think!" she suggested over the re-excited crowd. The girls nodded in agreement and let themselves be corralled away. The stadium they performed at held sporting events more often than concerts so their changing room was more of a locker room, but they had checked it earlier and agreed that it was secure enough for their private use. As the girls began to change out of their colorful costumes, they kept an ear to Carmine's feedback. "I was a little worried going into this event that not everyone had fully recovered from last month's trauma, but I'm proud to say you cleared my concerns spectacularly! We'll go over individual notes with the trainers when we get back home, so for now rest easy, I have and have heard nothing but good things." Rose hid her blush in her shirt as she slipped it over her head. She found it a bit odd that she was actually looking forward to the individual feedback. She wondered if something was wrong with her for feeling awkward about getting nothing but praise from this new Carmine. No, it's not wrong to seek criticism in the spirit of improvement. "I know you don't like seeing this face," Carmine continued. "Yuan is working on making a replacement for me, so just hang in there for now. Appearances aside, I would like to know how you girls think I'm doing as your manager. I know full well that I'm a greenhorn at this parading around as a veteran so I have to step up my manager powers quick. Even if I won't be staying with this face for long, I know you'd all rather have a competent manager regardless of how I look." Yeah, nothing unusual about it at all. Mostly finished changing, Narjis posed a question. "Are you sure Evil Carmine is not going to come back after us?" Carmine looked taken aback, but mostly because she had been expecting something else. "Well it did sound like he threatened to, but knowing I'm around will make it hard for him to approach. My presence with you girls is a ward, a scarecrow. I represent our party's protection over you, now that he got you involved in our fight. That's why I took on your manager duties. In addition, masquerading as Carmine for now seals him from using this identity for other things. If people start asking too many questions about being in two places at once, it'll hurt him more than it creates problems for us." "Evil Carmine," as some of the girls had taken to calling the villain, seemed to have vanished completely after abandoning her home where their last confrontation had taken place. Linnea rapid fired another question on the heels of Carmine's answer. "Do you ever get tired of being someone else? Why not just be Linn, Angel Embrace's manager?" The redhead sighed. She was still getting used to Linnea's straightforward personality. Linn was what she called "Gifted," and more than simply being smart, she had powers that still boggled Rose's mind, even after they had all been victims of Evil Carmine's own supernatural powers. Linn was part of a group who had been contesting Evil Carmine for far longer than sounded possible. Their leader, Yuan's ability to create skinsuits much like the ones Evil Carmine used has been instrumental in dealing with Evil Carmine, whose mind control was rendered ineffective against a suited target. Yuan had been deeply troubled by the news that Evil Carmine had procured some way to create new skinsuits of her own, especially since they lacked the full shielding effect that his own suits provided. None of the girls objected to Yuan taking custody of the extra suits that Evil Carmine left behind for research purposes. After what had happened, Rose was certainly not keen on keeping them around. Since Angel's Embrace had been targeted by Evil Carmine's machinations, but was the first to successfully repel, her, Yuan assigned Linn to guard the band. As part of their protection, the whole band had all started living out of their studio, and Linn with them. "I've been doing this for so long, being someone else actually feels more comfortable than being me," Carmine admitted. "Oh, sorry to hear that. And Richard?" Linnea replied casually. Carmine blinked at the comment, but responded quickly enough. "N..no, it's fine. Don't let it bother you. Jakob, the maid that was with us is taking over Richard's role for now. And Luna is doing well in Jakob's old position as Lara's personal maid in Jakob's place. Anything else?" Azalea thought of something to ask as she finished slipping into her sandals. "Have you heard from Sam and Justin at all yet?" "Oh!" Carmine responded excitedly, apparently reminded of some related news. "Justin said that Sam recently recovered vocal functions but there are big gaps in his memory. Yuan thinks he'll make a full recovery eventually though." Azalea seemed relieved. It was very like her to worry about Justin. Rose understood better than anyone else the camaraderie that evolved between those two kindred spirits. "And... Arnold and Luna?" Iris asked, hesitantly. Rose was surprised to hear Iris express any interest in the one who had impersonated her. Aside from his unofficial adoption of Luna, Arnold turned out to be a pencil pusher with an infatuation with Rose and Angel's Embrace. When they traced his home searching for a contact, they found at least one of every piece of merchandise that had ever been graced by Rose's face enshrined in the man's apartment. Many of the leads they found were dead ends, but telling in their own right. Despite having merchandise packages waiting for him at home, he was overdue on his rent by several months now. After his insurrection against his 'goddess,' and her acolytes (the rest of the band), perhaps he did not want to wake from his perpetual dream. Carmine shook her head solemnly. "No change." Whatever evil Carmine had done to Sam and Arnold it had hit them hard. Rose wondered how much Justin's influence had played a role in Sam's recovery. The boy stayed with his friend almost 24/7, according to Azalea when she had last visited them. As the last of the crew finished dressing, they piled into their van and set a course for home. The white noise of the engine combined with the beginning of rain lulled the exhausted idols to a tranquil sleep. ---- "Um, Rose?" Carmine gently shook the sleepy blonde back to consciousness. Rose squinted against the light reflecting in through the windshield. "Oh, we're home? Alright... I'll wake the others... man it's really coming down out there..." Rose answered blearily. "No.. well yes, but. Uh.. is that a friend of yours?" Rose squinted again, looking through the rain. This time, she spotted a small figure sheathed in a black raincoat squatting in front of the door to the studio. "Um... I'm not sure. I suppose it could be one of the kids from my old apartment complex. Some of them have been here before." Carmine's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but she did not say anymore. Rose disembarked from the passenger seat into the pouring rain. Even if it wasn't a kid she knew, it would be wrong to leave them out in the rain. She heard Carmine climb out of the driver's side. "Hey!" Rose yelled through the downpour as she drew closer. "Are you sure you should be here?" The hooded figure looked up. "Are you Angel's Embrace?" a little girl's voice squeaked back. Something sounded off about her but it was difficult to tell through the rain. "This is Angel's Embrace's studio..." Rose answered cautiously. The girl seemed to think for a second. "I must speak with Rose from Angel's Embrace. I have important information regarding the one you know as Carmine." That sounded ominous. "What's your name?" Rose asked. The girl seemed to take moment to think again. Rose nearly yelled in alarm when the girl put down her hood to reveal two black horns curling out of the sides of her head. She stood, and Rose saw that she wore not boots, but had hooves for feet. "My name was once Dhoran. The one you call Carmine is my ex-wife, and I know now that she is not who I thought her to be." ~End~