Driving Metal Pt 02

Driving Metal - Part Two: Standing Up Again

***Author's Note: This is part two of a three part story following the metal band Fractal Oblivion. If you haven't read Driving Metal - Part One: All That Glitters, you should go and read it first, otherwise you'll have a harder time knowing what's going on with these characters. Driving Metal - Part Three: Second Chances is written, but as we went over it with fresh eyes, we decided that it needs some work before we publish it. So we're going to take some time before we release the third part to give you our best effort. We may release some others before we come back to finish this story. We appreciate your patience. With that said, we hope you enjoy this offering and these characters. ~TwinSoulFlames

~~ Sacramento, California, July 2068 ~~

Brianna leaned against her motorcycle, her head tilted back and her eyes closed. She listened as a car pulled up and lifted her head. A broad smile appeared on her face, "Little Mischief maker!"

"BRI!" Willow leaped towards her, throwing her arms around the taller, dark-haired woman that moved like sex on legs. "Bri, this is my Master Kyp, Master, this is Brianna." She looked up at Brianna, "Did you get the gig?"

"Dunno yet, Master Jimmy said to be at this address, meet the band, see if we vibe together," she responded, giving Kyp a wry grin. "Said he wanted to make sure the mojo flowed right."

Kyp grinned, "Come on in. I'll introduce you to the guys." He led Brianna in with his arm around Willow tightly. The building was small. Enough for a few offices, a conference room or two, and three sound studios. He led her into the one marked two. "All right guys, listen up. Hank, Brian, this is Brianna. We're trying her on for bass. She's a friend of Willow's and has met Jimmy already."

Brian, guitar already slung over his shoulder with one foot up on a monitor nodded. "Good to meet you."

Hank grinned, "You know all the hot ones, Willow. Got any more?"

"Ahh...," Willow pondered, "Maybe, but she'd end up killing you, death by snoo snoo is not a way to go."

"The hell are you talking about? I fully intend to die by snoo snoo...," Hank protested. "Futurama had the right idea."

"Well... OK... but I warned you," Willow murmured dubiously, pulling out her phone and flicking through it.

Brianna peeked over her shoulder, "Oh that one, that's my favorite."

Willow giggled, then turned her phone around, it was a picture of Brianna, Willow, and a tall busty blonde that was easily six feet. All three of them were dressed in scandalously skimpy outfits and were wearing collars, blowing kisses to the camera.

"Holy hell...," Hank breathed, absently twirling a drumstick in his fingers. "That's a lot of woman."

"Yes, that's Rosemarie," Willow agreed, "She's an accountant and pianist, plays at Hair of the Dog most weeknights."

"Hair of the Dog...," Hank muttered. "Isn't that that bar down in LA? The one where Hell's Angels, Heaven's Demons mainlines? That place is pretty awesome."

"Yeah, she occasionally subs in for Skye when she's on Maternity leave." Her voice trailed off with fondness, "Now that girl has a serious set of pipes."

Brianna spoke up, "We should invite her up, the three of us. Hit the karaoke bars again."

"Only if we don't let her hit the tequila," Willow responded, "And Master agrees."

"Long as I get to come with. I'll even be the designated," Kyp replied.

"Sure, but you don't get to sing," Brianna said with a grin, "I don't drink much anymore, and I know Willow quit for baby." She winked at Kyp.

"Hey, I do enough singing. Be nice to listen for a change." He looked at Brian and Hank. "So shall we take this for a spin?" He looked at Brianna, "You know the sets, yeah?"

"Yes, Master Kyp." She winked at him, "I brought my own guitar though, Master Jimmy said it was alright." She hefted one hand that was holding the guitar case.

"Works for me. Plug in and let's light it up." She did, and Kyp led them through a forty-five-minute set, mostly their stuff, but a couple of the more difficult covers as well that they did on occasion. Brianna didn't miss a tick. As Kyp glanced back at Brian and Hank, they were both smiling and nodding as they played.

When they stopped, he looked at her "What do you think, Brianna?" he asked curiously.

Brianna gave him a grin, "It was fun, but I think I should have brought my other one," she winked at him. "Should I give you a few minutes to confab and make a call?"

He nodded, turning to Willow. "Babe, would you...?"

"Of course, Master," she hooked arms with Brianna, leading her from the room, "I thought you were going to bring the twin-neck?"

"Master Jimmy told me to hold off," Brianna responded, "Not everyone enjoys it in their band." She finished as the door shut behind them, leaving the three men behind.

Kyp looked at the other two. "What do you think?"

"I don't know about the image, but she's got the skill for sure," Hank said. "I'll leave that up to Jimmy though. If he's cool with it, I have no objections."

"I like her. She's got attitude on that bass," Brian said. "More fire and less technical than James did. I really like that."

Kyp nodded, "That was my thinking too. I think we're to a point where we can start branching out sound out a little bit and I want to let the three of you off the chain some more. Longer riffs, bigger solos. Bring back that early metal feel, you know? She's got the chops to do that too."

Brian nodded, "So keep her?"

"Yeah, I think so. I'm not worried about Jimmy figuring out how to sell it, Hank. Let's face it. That guy could sell ice to a fucking Eskimo."

None of them heard the door open. "The hairs on the back of my neck are standing up. Is my favorite metal band badmouthing me in here?"

"Perfect timing, Jimmy. Yeah, we want her. Sell the change in the press and make it happen."

"Excellent. This will be good for you guys, I think. Draw a wider crowd too," he observed.

"Kinda figured that was how you were going to play it. But you're not wrong," Kyp observed.

Kyp pulled out his phone and texted Willow to bring Brianna back in. Willow glanced at her phone, and pouted, hooking her arm in Brianna's and started walking her back, "No, no I can't believe James did that. He seriously just kept that old picture?" Brianna laughed, looking down at Willow. "God he's such a shit." She laughed again. "No, he's staying at my house while he's recovering, his nurse felt a clean, nice home would help him more than a rehab facility. He wasn't comfortable there, said it looked too much like a sanitarium."

They walked through the door and Jimmy turned, grinning at Willow, "He agrees with you. You're glowing." Kyp walked over and kissed her temple.

Willow smiled up at Jimmy, leaning into Kyp happily, "Yes, Master Jimmy. He makes me very happy."

He turned to Brianna and grinned, "So... It looks like you've got a gig if you want one."

Brianna smiled, "Sounds good, Master Jimmy." She tilted her head, "Does that mean I get to change my wardrobe?"

"Yeah. I'll have Carla get in contact with you and you can work it out. In the meantime, you guys are writing and recording for the next six months. We'll have a month and a half of editing and touch up and start releasing singles ahead of the album then. Release the album in ten months and you guys are on tour again for another three." Jimmy rattled off the dates.

Brianna's eyes glazed briefly as she memorized his words, then nodded, "Sounds fine to me, Master Jimmy." She smiled at him, then smiled at the other three, "I look forward to working with you."

Willow grinned as she leaned into Kyp, her fingers flying over the keyboard on her phone, "Rose will be here on Saturday, so we've got a plan." She squeaked in visible happiness.

Kyp looked at Hank. "You coming?"

Hank shook his head. "Plans. There's a game this weekend and me and some buddies are going to go tailgate it."

Kyp nodded and looked at his lead guitarist. "Bri?"

Brian thought about it for a moment, then shrugged, "Sure. What the hell. I'll go."

Kyp made a fist and held it out and Bryan bumped it with his own. "Sweet. I'll pick you up. It'll be a good time. We'll get some dinner and hit a couple of bars. The girls can sing for us. It'll be great."

Brianna chuckled softly, "Alright, sounds like a plan. It'll be fun, and slightly chaos."

"We always are," Willow murmured with laughter, "I'll ask Master to record it, for posterity." Brianna and Willow's eyes met and they burst into laughter.

"All right. Shall we get started? We've got a lot of work to do and only six months to do it in," Kyp said.

"I'm ready," Brianna commented, walking over to her guitar.

Willow pulled Kyp down for a hot, passionate kiss. "Have fun, Master. I'll get lunch."

The group began working, laying down new riffs and mixing and matching things until they sounded right. Words flowed, both in song and in heated discussion. And Brianna held her own through it all, adding both constructive commentary and productive music work to the mix. They had lunch and were back at it until just after six before they all went home. Day after day, they ground it out and that first week was one of the hardest that Brianna had ever worked musically in her life. Kyp was a machine, driven and passionate, but unrelenting and by the end of the week, they had about a song and a half done for the new album.

Saturday came and the girls were excited, Rosemarie had pulled in late Friday night. Kyp and Willow had graciously offered the use of one of their guest rooms. The three girls had commandeered the Master Bedroom to get ready, with Kyp laughing fondly. It was a few minutes later that they came out, dressed to the nines. All three of them looked like sex walking. Slinky tops, skin-tight jeans, and bangles. Willow was the only one wearing a different collar, she had the solid gold one around her throat Kyp had given her.

"What do you think, Master?" She asked, the three girls turning in a circle.

"I think you all are going to kill some poor guys out there. Shall we go pick up Bri and get some dinner?"

"Sounds fantastic, Master," Willow said, bounding over to sprawl against him and kiss him passionately.

Rosemarie smiled fondly, "You guys are so damn cute..."

"Aren't they? It's almost sickly sweet," Brianna replied.

The four of them loaded into his car and headed for Brian's house after Kyp sent him a text that they were on their way. It was about a twenty-five-minute drive there and they pulled up after entering another gated community, this one in Granite Bay. Brian must have been watching for them as he walked out of the door in a sport coat and jeans with a casual T-shirt. He walked over to the car and opened the door. "Mind if I ride with you ladies?" he said with a smile, looking at Rosemarie and Brianna.

"Of course," Brianna said, scooting over closer to Rosemarie to make room for him, "Wouldn't be the same without you."

The drive to the restaurant was fairly quiet, Willow was snuggling into Kyp's side and Brianna was flexing her fingers and massaging her hands. When they were seated at the popular Mexican restaurant and had ordered, Rosemarie sat back, looking at Brianna, "So spill little girl, how's your big brother doing? Is he actually listening to you and did he wig about you taking his spot in the band with the evil Hank the Horndog?"

Brian was taking a sip of his Corona and choked, coughing and blinking as he teared up. "What?" he gasped. "You're James' sister?" He looked at Kyp almost irritated and asked, "How the hell did we not know that?" to which Kyp shrugged. He hadn't known either. He looked to Brianna.

"Ahh," she paused, then took her long locks and then pulled them up into pigtails before tilting her head and giving them a closed-mouth smile, "Perhaps this image will ring a bell?"

"No fucking way!" Brian gasped before laughing. "That was you?! Christ, the way he talked, we all assumed that was a recent picture!"

Rosemarie froze, then busted into guffaws, "I'm sorry, I thought you guys knew. James is a little protective of his little sister. Of course, that's like saying the Ol' Miss is a little river. He didn't want Hank the Horndog getting ideas about her."

"I mean... I totally get that," Brian said, holding up his hands innocently. "Trust me... though, I'd be more worried about you than her at this point. But no, we had no idea. Not that it matters. Our Brianna here straight up kicks ass. No questions."

Rosemarie shrugged, "I doubt I'm in any kind of trouble." She glanced at Brianna, "So why didn't you tell them? I know you were a tad perturbed when you discovered the picture he was using."

"It just never came up, and we have the same last name," Brianna responded with a shrug. "Besides, James is flirting with his nurse. She's cute as a button and thinks he's just adorable."

"How's he doing?" Brian asked somberly. "We've been trying to give him a little space away to help."

"He's doing better, my house doesn't have the memories that his does. He's...," Brianna fell silent for a moment, "He misses you guys a lot, but doesn't want to drag you down. Jasmine, his nurse, thinks he should try writing and calling you guys. He's just... being a man."

Kyp nodded. "He's got all our numbers. Any time he wants to talk, he can call me. Day or night."

Brian nodded, "Me too. The last thing I want is for him to feel like we're abandoning him. Just want him to get better. Slow down, you know?"

Brianna nodded, "I told him that, but what do I know? I'm just the little sister." Her eyes rolled, and she looked at Rosemarie, "So, now you can back me up and then smack him in the head like you did when we were kids."

"Sounds good," Rosemarie responded with a wide grin. She sat back and looked at the four of them, "You guys look good together, I approve."

Brianna rolled her eyes, "Rose, honey, you can't just decide I'm going to be with Master Brian, it doesn't work that way."

Rosemarie pouted, "Well it should. I'd be an excellent matchmaker. A regular female Cupid. I could learn how to use a bow and arrow..." Brian moved his hands to his face nonchalantly to hide the blush there as his eyes flitted to Brianna.

Brianna stared at Rosemarie, then glanced at Brian giving him a sheepish, shy smile, "Don't worry, I promise I don't pounce and bite, Master Brian."

Rosemarie chuckled wickedly, then sat back as the food arrived, "So, have we decided what music we're going to torture and torment?"

"I'm thinking 80s hair band, nobody will care if we screw those up," Willow murmured.

"Deal, as long as we do Rhapsody," Rosemarie responded firmly.

"Fiine... I swear we do that song every time," Willow responded.

"That's because Bri is so cute when she's doing high."

"I want to do work from home too," Brianna interjected.

"Deal. I'll take the rap," Rosemarie responded.

"Agreed," Willow said, with a beaming grin, cuddled into Kyp.

Brianna looked over at Brian, then leaned over and murmured, "My apologies if she made you uncomfortable. She's pretty blunt and doesn't beat around the bush."

"Not uncomfortable. Just... startled a bit," he murmured in reply. "Let's face it. We're rockers. It takes a lot more than that to make us uncomfortable..."

"Yes, Master Brian," she smiled at him, then focused back on her food, leaving her hand resting on his arm for a long moment before moving it. Willow and Rosemarie were playfully bickering about whether or not twerking actually counted as dancing. Brianna interjected, "No, it's just jiggling your ass, we can do that without actually having to work for it."

"Well, that's true, but it doesn't mean watching people turn red isn't a hoot," Rosemarie responded with another throaty chuckle. "What do you think, Brian?"

He blinked, glancing at the three of them, then shrugged, "If you've got it, use it. And if people don't like that, fuck 'em and go find someone else who doesn't care. Life's too short to surround yourself with that kind of negativity."

"Indeed," Rosemarie's eyes were twinkling with impishness as she looked between Brian and Brianna.

After dinner, they headed over to the club the three girls had used before it was more hole in the wall, but Willow, Rosemarie, and Brianna seemed to know everybody there as they led the two men in. "Naw, they're with us tonight," Rosemarie spoke firmly, "Just a couple of guys out with their girls hanging out, let's keep it simple, yeah?"

"Sure Rose, whatever you say," The bouncer fist-bumped her, "Fractal Oblivion ain't here, and your usual table is ready, have fun."

Kyp nodded at the bouncer. "Much obliged," he said as they passed.

"Not a problem," the bouncer smiled. "We love you guys, but understand wanting to be just a dude. Have fun, if anyone gives you any trouble, just let Rose kick their ass. We'll take out the trash."

He pulled out a card from his pocket and discretely held it out to the bouncer. "Call this number and leave a message with your phone. I'll find a way to get you and your fellow bouncers some good tickets to a local show, yeah?"

"Thank you," he took it, giving Kyp a grateful smile and tucking it in his jacket pocket. "Enjoy your evening, Kyp."

"You too," he said as he followed the others in.

The table had four seats, but the three girls were already at the stage talking to the DJ, who was laughing and gestured to the stage, "Well, as a surprise, our Trio of Angels has arrived for a visit. Let's give it up for the Wonderful Wills, Bodacious Brianna, and the Rocking Rosemarie." He clapped, "Don't bother taking a seat, you'll be dancing soon enough."

Willow was tapping out a beat on the drums, then the three girls launched into song. They started with Living on a Prayer. While not technically perfect they brought a lot of soul and fire into the music. Afterward, they bowed and exited the stage, Willow grabbing her and Brianna a bottle of water while Rosemarie got a beer and sprawled out in one of the chairs. Willow sat on Kyp's lap leaving Brianna to sit beside Brian.

"That wasn't some bad Jovi," Brian observed. "Grew up on that stuff... Richie Sambora was one of the reasons I wanted to play guitar in the first place."

"My parents played it a lot in the house, I think that's why James and I cut our teeth on guitars." She paused a fond smile appearing, "We just ended up having different skill sets."

Brian nodded in agreement. "Different. Like them both, though," he observed.

"Thank you," she smiled at him, "You know, I'll talk to James, maybe bring you out to the house and you can join us when we duet. I know he misses playing music with you."

"I'd really like that. Shared a lot with your brother. Ups and downs," he said softly.

"I think he would too," she rested her hand on his, "I'm not going to be able to replace him, but I would like to be your friend too." She smiled at him.

He looked at her confused. "You're in our band. You're not my friend, you're family." He paused, then smiled sadly, "I mean, that means you have to take Hank too, and I'm sorry for that, but..."

"Nah, I'll just let Rosemarie run interference. That's going to be hilarious." Brianna said with a soft giggle, then leaned over and murmured, "She thinks Hank is cute."

He snorted, "Cute... really isn't the word I'd use to describe Hank..."

"Fine, she thinks he's hot," Brianna rolled her eyes, "I think he's a twerp, but that's just me." She patted his arm, then pulled out her phone sending James a text, she bit her lip, "He said you're welcome to come out tomorrow, or next Saturday. Hank's not allowed though, he's still too party hard for James to be comfortable yet."

"I get it. I'm free tomorrow if that's OK. I mean... your house..." he said softly.

"Of course," she smiled at him, "You're family remember, that means you're welcome at my house." She texted him her address. "You'll always be welcome there."