Can't Get That Song Outta My Head - Version 7.2

[ButchyBoy]

Cricket just stood there, still not believeing what she had just seen. This was the same "it's all about me" spoiled brat? This was the same self-centered diva who kept referring to herself in the third person? It just didn't seem possible. Yet, there she was, singing a very heart-felt song at the piano. The song was over now, but Electra was still playing a tune on the black and white keys. Not sure what to expect next, Cricket decided to just approach the piano and get the answers right from the source.

"Th-that was beautiful." Cricket said, rather timidly.

On hearing another voice, the pop diva looked stopped cold, and looked up with a gasp. When she saw who it was, Electra gave a simple "oh", and went back to playing.

"They're looking for you." the pink-haired diva said without looking up again.

"What about you?" Cricket said in reply. "What brings you in here?"

Electra sighed, still playing, still not looking at the other girl in the room.

"Oh, I always look for a room, or someplace like this anywhere I perform. It's my only chance to get away from everything. The only chance I ever get to be myself."

Now Cricket was confused. This was no stuck-up pop princess sitting in front was her. Was that all really an act? And for whose benifit? Cricket decided the best way to find out was with one, simple, direct question.

"Who are you?" she asked.

Now the playing stopped again. And now, Elcetra looked up, and spoke to Cricket face-to-face.

"My name is Ruby Summers. And no, you've never heard of me. I'm just another nameless songwriter with a decent voice. Oh, I tried making it as Ruby Summers for quite a while. Or I should say Frank and I tried."

"Frank King?"

"Yeah. If it weren't for him.....Annyway, he's the one who set me up with Simon Crawson. And it was Simon who suggested I take on the 'Electra Storm' persona. He came up with the songs, the look, he shot all the videos."

"So, if Simon handles everything for you, where does Frank King come in?" Cricket asked. Electra...or Ruby just grinned at hearing the question.

"Dear Simon has a nasty habit of rubbing lots of people the wrong way. People of influence if you know what I mean. "

"And your Frank gets along with everybody."

"That's right. It's always been our ace-in-the hole against him. See, it was ok at first, becaue I was geeting out there, and getting exposed to the public. Even if these songs were.......are...." The singer seemed to be suddenly struggling for the right words. Cricket helped out.

"So sugary, they could give an elephant cavaties?" That brought a laugh from Electra.

"Yeah, that's one way to put it I guess. But when I wanted to do my stuff, even maybe move away from Electra Storm......Simon just kept tighting his grip. It turns out the contract we signed has about a million clauses that would keep us in court the rest of our lives if we even thought about defying the all powerful Simon Crawson." As she talked, the diva's face became more and more sad. "And he's done everything possible to make sure Electra Storm never goes away. Insisting I play the part of a spoiled brat with an attitude so awful, nobody would even think of liking me!"

"Well," Cricket said with a sigh. "I must admit, you really had me fooled."


Electra was on the verge of tears by now, but she composed herself.

"Frank though, he's fought Simon every way he's been able too. Staying on as my manager. Buying Erin for me insisting to Simon that a star of my stature needed a personal bodyguard, and that Erin could be the new wave. You know....cybernetic dancers, that whole thing."

"So......what was Erin to you?" Cricket asked.

"She was the best friend I ever had. At first, behind Simon's back, she was there as a companion for me. And then, she started to convince some of the other dancers that I really wasn't so bad after all. That I was just putting on an act. But she did it real quiet, and not all at once."

"So you really were close to Erin?"

"Yes" Electra said, now unable to fight back the tears of grief any longer.

"Cause of her, I was able to make friends like Bobbie Maxwell and Jason Woodcreek. And even Mark Davis, I wanted him gone long ago, but Erin was always sticking up for him, even though he was super rude, and was always making fun of her."

"Simon had to be aware you were starting to make friends. Did he say anything to you?"

"That's the strangest part to all of this." Electra said, wiping the tears away. "The last month or so, he seems a totally different person. Frank and I still don't trust him"

"Yeah, well, you have good reason not to." Cricket said. "Dear Simon is the one who wants you dead." The diva looked even more sad hearing this.

"Guess I should be shocked and suprised, but I'm not. After all, he'll make millions off poor 'dead' Electra Storm' right??"

"Your not dead yet. And you won't be, I promise you." Cricket said, waith a reassuring smile. The pink-hair pop princess Electra Storm gave a genuine smile back, but it was Ruby Summers who hugged the robot girl tight.

When the embrace broke, Cricket went into full dective mode.

"Did Erin trust Simon at all?"

"Oh no. She went into full unitelligent robot mode when ever he was around."

"That proably kept her from being dismantled. Still, whoever got to her was someone she trusted, I'm sure of it. And that's the person we need to look out for tomorrow night. The question is who. Erin tried to tell us before she died."

"How? I mean, she just made random sounds when she was......dying, right?"

"You have to understand how an android's mind works. At her last moments, Erin was pushing a single thought, a single line of data if you will, right to the top of the list in her mind. The thing she though most important to say as she lay dying. Those random sounds as you put it;
'Jaaaaaaaa.....Jaaaaa......Waaaa.....Waaaaaa' That was Erin trying to tell us something, probably the name of the person who sabataged her."

"So, who was it?"

"I've been thinking about that all afternoon. "Jaaaaa......Jaaaa.....Waaaa.....Waaaaa'. Talk about something you can't get out of your head." That's when the 'little light' in Cricket's head went off.

"Head.....head......headband!!! Wowie Zowie!!! That's why he was the only one!!!" Cricket grabbed the diva by the hand and raced her out of the room. "We have to get back to Harry and the others. Tomorrow is gonna be a night Simon Crawson and The Chairman are never going to forget!!!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next: The final chapter, the big show
(Any guesses out there who our little Cricket suspects?)

[DollSpace]

Beautiful as always, and a little sad, too..I really liked it ^^

Ryn