MPC 81C (82X): Extradimensional Entourage

Reward: Bits

"Hey, what's goin' on, man?" Dylan asked that to the stranger approaching him from behind. The reason he acted so familiar with the person was that they were both obviously there for the same reason: one was the opening act for the other. Dylan's place was pretty obvious because it was his amp cabinet whose great mass he was struggling to push into just the right spot. The carpet of the stage was nice for preventing slips (Dylan had experienced enough of those, thank you very much), but the fight in friction it put up was a real pain for anyone with heavy gear. Still, worth it. The boy was just excited to be playing again, and getting on the bill in a real teen club with a recognizable act was a treat in and of itself! "You're early. Man, I wish more of us in the business knew how to be early."

The reason he knew the stranger was also a musician, without being in the same band, was that the other boy of around the same age was lugging his own amplifier behind himself. Like Dylan, he was dressed for the stage, though the stranger was more edgy-casual than the boy's own death-by-black. Also unlike Dylan he was a Japan native whose hair was shorter and brighter, but now short enough that Dylan might mistake it for a professional appearance. Dylan was jealous at the fact that the other boy was much more efficient about it, owning not only a smaller machine but one which could be easily rolled around on four wheels attached below. "How are we doing this?" Dylan's counterpart asked, "Are we backlining?"

"Yeah, we are." Dylan had respect for someone like this who could just walk in, get to work, and understand. This member of the headlining band was clearly on task. "I think it's gonna be a bit tight this way, but we'll make it work." Dylan continued to push. Physics continued to rebel. Without offering, the friendly stranger helped Dylan put his cabinet where it was supposed to be. "'Preciate that. Hey, I'm Dylan, guitar and backing vocals for Black Gear."

"Yeah, I was meaning to ask you about that." It wasn't just surprise in the stranger's eyes, though an unwarranted amount of that was also there. Dylan briefly suspected something about the band name was familiar, because the shock in the other boy's eyes wasn't quite proportional to the information learned. There was an odd air of suspicion when he probed, "Where... did you come up with that name?"

Dylan played it cool, but in actuality it was his turn to overreact to an innocuous question. His vague lie was, "My best friend came up with it. Thought it sounded cool, so we went with it. It's got no hidden meaning or anything like that." Dylan decided not to mention that his 'best friend' was a meter-tall alien lizard. Come to think of it... Shoutmon never mentioned how he came up with it. Unfortunately for him, the other musician looked like he wasn't quite satisfied with that answer. There was some internal debate going on in the blond boy about whether and how he should probe further. Dylan decided not to give the chance. "So, this might be because I'm a native English speaker, but your band name is actually pretty interesting to me. How did you get-?"

"I got it!" Dylan didn't even have to ask who it was that was bringing his new friend a bass guitar. The two looked so alike, but the newcomer was at least two years younger and not dressed in the same vein as either Dylan or the friendly stranger. This was obviously his little brother.

"Thanks, bro." Dylan internally congratulated himself for nailing it.

"We'll figure it out." It was in this moment when the headliner's little brother tapped his shoulder to divert his attention, not that Dylan would find out what it was about. The younger brother whispered in the older's ear, and whatever was said made the older excuse himself... quite hurriedly, too. "One second. I gotta, uh, call our manager." As the stranger and his brother both made off, it was Dylan's turn to get suspicious.

---

When Shoutmon thought it was safe, he just barely peeked between a small crack between the door of a car's boot and its bumper. As far as he could tell, the parking lot had finally emptied out, and it was safe to emerge... until the headliner and his little brother both emerged from the establishment's back door. That made Dylan's digimon shut the door almost completely again, but he still couldn't resist peeking... or eavesdropping.

"Who are you callin' a weak digimon, you little...!" As Dylan's Shoutmon partner threw the trunk door open and stood at full height, he continued for a good long while to shout across the parking lot at the two humans who had just unwittingly insulted him. "...and that's just the first taste of what I could do if you got any closer, you scared little boys!" It was quite a tirade Shoutmon had delivered before he finally calmed himself slightly down. Good thing he did, because it was only now when he looked down toward his feet that he saw there was a fourth person in this parking lot: lying on the ground and covering his nose with his two paws, Shoutmon had apparently conked a Gabumon right in the face when he threw the trunk open. "...Whoops."

Shoutmon now tentatively climbed out of the car to kneel by the injured digimon. "Sorry, I, uh, didn't see you there. Why are you just looking through people's cars, anyway, though? That's kinda weird if you know what I-" Apparently, the Gabumon wasn't badly injured enough that he wasn't able to make a sneaky move and pin Shoutmon into the concrete before he even knew how it happened. Shoutmon began to flail and scream, "Hey, hey, cool it man! I was invited here, dude! I'm with the band!"

Gabumon skeptically asked Shoutmon, "You're with Knife Of Day?"

"That's my band!" The older boy exclaimed, failing to hide a hint of wounded pride at this Shoutmon not recognizing the name.

"You're in a band, too? Hey, that's cool man. I came to see Black Gear play." Shoutmon was talking fast since his own muscle wasn't going to help him get back up. "You ever heard of 'em? Killer sound. Lead guitar's a cool guy, close friend of mine. I taught him everything he knows. Now can you get your bright yellow butt off of me?" Gabumon looked to the older human, who just sighed and shrugged. The pelted digimon released the other.

"Dylan's your partner?" Gabumon retreated to stand next to the older stranger who asked that question.

---

A few minutes and some embarrassing apologies from both sides later, the group ended up congregating back outside by the van holding the bulk of Knife Of Day's gear. "...the Honeda incident, so we were a bit on edge."

It was not-OK enough that Gabumon was icing it using a Ziploc bag and some stolen ice from behind the beverage counter but not not-OK enough for Gabumon not to nod up and down.

Takeru asked, "So you really didn't know what 'Black Gear' was?"

"Right, well, now that we've established we're all part of the same weirdo internet conspiracy theory-" Dylan gestured toward the back of the van. "-my drummer-slash-ride went down the street for a bite, and the rest of the guys aren't here yet. Need a hand hauling gear?"