Marshall took in the scene before him and blanched. "What the fuck?" The words fell from his lips, a soft utterance of shock. "Hunter? What are you doing, man?"

Hunter's eyes flicked to Marshall. "Thanks for getting me in, dude. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you."

Marshall looked around. "I had no idea he was going to do anything like this, honest."

"What exactly did you think he was going to do?" Sullivan asked, taking a step toward Marshall.

"He said he wanted to talk to her. I figured he might--" Marshall broke off lamely, shrugging. "I figured--"

"You knew he was batshit crazy and you knew he'd do something insane," Dane interjected angrily. "You hoped he'd take her out of the picture somehow and we'd need you to fill in!"

Marshall's silence said it all.

"But I didn't think he'd hurt her," he finally said. "I just thought he'd, you know, take her somewhere."

"I wish you people would stop talking about me like I wasn't here," Hunter said loudly, making Momoko jump. "I'm right here, and I'm not crazy. I'm just here to take what's mine." He gestured with the hand that held the knife, keeping his other around Momoko's waist. "I need you to move away from the door, please."

When Momoko felt his hand move away from her neck, she kicked up and back from the knee, catching him viciously in the crotch with the heel of her lucky pink pump.

Hunter let out a yell of pain and staggered backward, releasing her in his surprise.

Sully leaped on him, knocking the knife out of his hand and tackling him to the ground, punching him in the jaw for good measure. This, coupled with Momoko's kick, took all the fight out of him.

"A little help over here?" Sully called.

His voice got the security guards in motion, and they ran over to where he sat straddled on top of Hunter, pulling out their handcuffs as they came.

The door opened and organizers of the competition rushed in, just as they heard the distant sound of sirens. They were quickly followed by the band who'd recently performed onstage.

"Shit, we're supposed to be on, right now," Tommy said. "I didn't hear them call us."

"Let's go," Momoko said, swiping at her neck.

The guys looked at her in horror.

"We can't, Peaches," Jude said, putting an arm around her. "You were just nearly killed. You need someone to look at your neck, we have to talk to the police--"

Momoko shrugged his arm off impatiently. "No. We do all that and we miss our slot, and it's all over for us, we're out of the competition. We have to get onstage right now, come on! Hurry, before the police get here, and we don't have a choice anymore!" She grabbed Jude and Sully by the hands and began pulling them from the room.

"Peppermint Silk, this is your third and final call."

Dane and Tommy followed them, looking uncertain, but unwilling to be left behind, and all five headed for the stage, nearly running by the time they were close.

Momoko took the mic and waved to the crowd, which began clapping immediately, though there was pointing, and sounds of uncertainty as people saw the blood dripping from her neck.

"One! Two! One, two, three, four!" Momoko counted, and they were off into "Flower Girl," their next selection. She smiled at her guys as she sang, trying to reassure them. And, probably because they'd rehearsed so much, the song came off without a hitch. When the song ended, the applause was thunderous and immediate. 

"Round seven, here we come!" Sullivan said as they left the stage.

"We're in the top four, you guys," Tommy crowed.

"Shh, don't jinx us," Momoko begged, but she knew in her heart it was true.

They opened the door to the dressing room, and what had transpired there hit them afresh. There were police officers, security, and more people from the venue and the contest milling around.

"There they are," Kay said, striding toward them. "Momoko, you okay? Let me see your neck." She tilted Momoko's head back so she could see the two cuts. "You sounded amazing, by the way. Well done."

"Thank you. I'm fine," Momoko told her. "Where's Hunter?"

"The Police took him away," Kay told her. "And speaking of police, they're waiting to talk to you." 

"You know what I want to know?" Tommy asked, catching sight of Marshall, who was talking to the police. "How in the hell did he get in here?"

"I guess his name was on the list from being Mangled's lead singer," Kay told him. "They never took it off. And when he came in, he brought Hunter with him, saying he was his kid brother and he was dying to meet someone."

The police quickly took their statements, Momoko refused medical treatment and took care of the cuts herself in the bathroom with some antiseptic and a couple of band aids. She couldn't do anything about the blood on her blouse, and didn't even want to try to wash it out, so she left it alone.

She looked around the dressing room when she returned. The police had left, and only the security guards remained. The remaining bands had migrated to the four corners of the room, Mangled in one, Jellyfish in another, Justice for Joshua in the next, then them, Peppermint Silk. 

Yikes. 

One more elimination, then each band would play a short set, then final two, then the winner.

Suddenly she felt her hand grasped, and she was being pulled toward the sofa.

"Jude? What?"

He sat down, pulling her onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her. He buried his face in her hair.

He shrugged and shook his head. "Dunno, just a bit of a delayed reaction, I suppose. I feel like I almost lost you, love. I want a bit of a cuddle, you know?"

Aww.

Momoko put her arms around Jude's slim form, trying to offer comfort. They remained that way for a couple of minutes, until Sullivan came and sat next to them, leaning in. Jude let Momoko lean back into Sully, so they were both holding her. 

Dane and Tommy saw and came, pulling her legs up and holding them, so Momoko sat across all their laps. They stayed this way, taking comfort from each other, eyes closed, until they were called to the stage.

After they were called, Momoko spoke with her eyes still closed. "You guys? I feel like something quiet. Could we maybe do 'Flower Child'? Sounds like Mangled and Justice for Josh went kind of soft too."

"All in favor of switching to 'Flower Child'?" Dane asked, eyes closed as well."

There was a chorus of "Aye"s all around.

They rose and hit the stage, and knocked "Flower Child" out of the park.

Momoko's voice, probably from what had happened with Hunter, had grown a little raspy, and gave the song an extra pathos that it didn't usually have.

When they were once again backstage, Momoko looked around at the guys. "What do you think? Good enough to make top three?"

They looked back at her, and Sullivan nodded. "Yeah, Peaches, good enough for sure."

His words were confirmed a few minutes later, when the top three were announced:

"Mangled, Peppermint Silk, and Justice for Joshua."

The members of Jellyfish were devastated, and began packing up.

"Sorry man, next year," Tommy said as they left.

"Luck, you guys," the drummer for Jellyfish said as he left, giving the room a thumbs up.

Top three, top three, top three. The words rolled around Momoko's head as they geared up for their short set. She went over titles and lyrics of the four songs, asking the guys if they wanted to change anything.

"I don't think so," Dane said. "It's a strong set, and nothing I've heard from either of the other bands makes me wants to change anything. 

"And definitely 'Furnace' for the finale, assuming we make the finale?" 

All four guys nodded. "Furnace" was a brand new song, written by Sullivan, Dane and Jude, specifically for BoB, equal parts pop and rock, and the whole band was in love with it.

"Okay, top three, guys, we did it," Momoko said with a dazzling smile.

"Yes, ma'am," Sully said exuberantly.

They were first in the rotation, so they took the stage and rocked it, even though it was closing in on one AM. The crowd, too, showed no signs of flagging, though most were pretty bombed. More than a few of the guys were shouting lewd things to Momoko, and she laughed when, between songs, someone could very clearly be heard calling, "Show us your tits!"

In response, Tommy rose and lifted his shirt, exposing his very nice pecs to the crowd, which went wild.

After, they sat backstage, swigging water and listening to Mangled and Justice for Joshua performing their short sets.

"They both sounded really good," Momoko remarked. "Really good."

"So did we," Dane assured her. "How's your voice? Gonna make it? 'Furnace' is kinda loud."

Momoko nodded. She took a deep breath, letting it out, trying to quiet her nerves. For the announcement of the final two, they wanted all three bands onstage, so the dressing room emptied after all the votes were calculated, and Momoko stood with her guys, heart in her mouth, as the two bands which were advancing were announced.

"The first band to advance to round ten is--Mangled."

The audience went wild, with applause and cheers. The members of Mangled, predictably, were high-fiving and hugging each other.

"The second band to advance to round ten is--Peppermint Silk."

Momoko was so tense she was seeing spots in front of her eyes. She felt herself being picked up, as first Sully, then Tommy hugged her. Then she was jumping up and down, unable to contain her excitement.

"Mangled had the higher score in round nine, so they will perform first in round ten. Ten minutes to prepare, bands."

All three bands exited the stage, with condolences for Justice for Joshua. 

"Okay, guys, we need to relax, and not flip our shit, right?" Dane said, looking around. 

"Starting with you," Tommy said, reaching over to where Dane was twisting his fingers together. "Relax, bro, you need those digits to play."

Mangled left almost immediately to take the stage, and the members of Peppermint Silk were silent, listening intently. They were performing an upbeat, pop rock tune, much like they themselves were going to. Kirsty, their singer, still sounded fresh.

"I love you guys." Momoko's voice was raspier than before. She looked around, eyes bright. "I'm so grateful you took a chance with me."

"I love you."

"Love you, so much."

"I love you, Peaches."

"I love you, Momoko."

As Mangled was wrapping up their song, Momoko looked around. "I wish I could write songs like you guys do. I wish we could sing a song for the finale that shows how we feel about each other, you know? How we love each other?"

They all looked around.

"Magical?" Dane asked the room at large, eyes wide. 

Silence.

"Second." Tommy said.

Silence.

"Okay, then, we all agree?" Sully asked, looking around some more. "This is huge, you guys. An a cappella ballad in four part harmony? We doing this?"

They all looked at each other, smiling.

"We are." Momoko's smile was blinding. "Oh my god."

"Peppermint Silk, first call."

They passed the members of Mangled in the narrow corridor.

"Nice job, guys. Beautiful vocals, Kirsty," Momoko said.

"Thanks," the young woman said, sounding surprised. "Good luck."

"Thank you."

They took the stage, and there were susurrations from the audience and the judges when they moved their mics together, and no one picked up their instruments.

Momoko sang the first note to orient everyone, and then they were off.

Magical

Gossamer wings, moving in the night
Sable hair and eyes, shining so bright
Spirit like a dragonfly, right into our hearts
Magical, Magical

Laughter is like water in the light
Soul and body lovely, perfect and right
Spirit like a dragonfly, right into our hearts
Magical, Magical

Sleep on the sofa, lost in dreams
Skin looks like soft peaches ice cream
Spirit like a dragonfly, right into our hearts
Magical, Magical

Running to the ocean, sandy feet like a child
Sparkling in the daylight, flying into the wild
Spirit like a dragonfly, right into our hearts
Magical, Magical

Momoko's voice was loudest, and raspy, and soulful. The other four backed her up perfectly, singing Dane's beautiful melody and lyrics straight from their hearts, expressing the love they had for the girl in their midst.

When they finished, there was a beat of silence, then the applause rolled down on them like a physical thing, along with cheering, and half the audience, maudlin with fatigue and alcohol, was crying, feeling the emotion of the song, projected so magnificently by the band.

The members of Peppermint Silk just stood, basking in the love, the absolute adulation of the crowd, waving, blowing kisses, and bowing, over and over. Finally, they just left the stage, as the audience showed no signs of stopping.

They opened the door to the dressing room to be met with the stony stares of the members of Mangled.

An a cappella ballad for the finale?" Stu asked, arms folded. "Bold choice. I guess you're hoping you'll get points for originality. But it is called Battle of the Bands, you know, not Battle of the Singers."

Jude shrugged. "We've spent the whole night being a band, they know we know how to do it. It's a cumulative score for the win. We wanted to show that we could sing as well, there's no rule against it."

They were being called back to the stage almost immediately for the announcement of the winner, so that meant that there was no question who it was, the judges hadn't even had to discuss it.

Both bands trouped back to the stage and gathered together.

The audience was shouting for their favorite, and Momoko wanted to believe that there were more shouts of "Peppermint Silk" than "Mangled," though she could've been imagining it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the winners of this year's Battle of the Bands, the $10,000 prize and the studio recording time is--"

Momoko and the guys all joined hands.

"Peppermint Silk."