A Kraken Debut Party

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 20, Post Number 499

-Capital Crocus, 7:00 P.M., outside Boomslang-

Dressed in her "office lady" attire of a white long-sleeved shirt with navy blue knee-length skirt and navy blue dress flats, Diana clutched in her right hand a VIP ticket to the debut party of DJ Kraken, a new addition to Undersea Life, the record label that had signed both DJ Krill and DJ Beluga. She had received it a few days ago because she had attended both the DJ Krill party in Boomslang and the DJ Krill/DJ Beluga collaboration on board a party boat and the record label had wanted her to keep the streak going. While she was not anticipating receiving tickets to the event, let alone VIP tickets, the blonde was not going to turn them down because she had taken a liking to DJ Krill's style of music. It was electronic music that was often bass-heavy, but it was surprisingly good with good beats and good instrumentation. She also wanted a break from cloak-and-dagger work for her guild and high-risk jobs as a "Guildless" mage.

Diana took her place in the back of the line of young twentysomethings that was about forty people long and patiently waited her turn. She had all night and nothing else to do, so time was no object to her. Diana patiently waited and slowly moved forward until after a twenty-minute wait she finally approached the front double doors. A muscular black-clad bouncer holding a clipboard in his left hand looked at her and Diana wordlessly handed over the ticket. He looked at her, then the ticket, and finally glanced at the clipboard.

"You Diana Winchester?" He asked.

"Yes." Diana answered politely. He pulled a laminated pass on a blue lanyard out of his back pocket and gave it to her.

"Here's your pass to the DJ Kraken debut party. Present it to security at the double doors to the VIP section and they'll let you through." He instructed her.

"Thank you." Diana thanked him before the door opened for her. The huntress ignored the withering glances of envious people and entered Boomslang to attend the party and hopefully have some fun doing what "normal" people did.

-Inside Boomslang-

Diana walked into the club and was greeted by a dubstep track with bass so loud that she could almost see it shaking the shotglasses sitting on the counter of the well-stocked bar. On the dance floor were hip young twentysomethings dancing to the music. Diana had no idea how to dance to dubstep, but what really caught her attention was how the stage was set up. The stage was set up to resemble an electrical power plant with two large plasma balls on towers constantly sparking and a false generator behind the DJ sending up special effects sparks whenever the bass dropped.

Manning the turntable was a tall, skinny girl in a black tank top and dangerously short blue jean skirt with electric blue and hot pink-streaked hair. Around her neck was a silver necklace with a silver lightning bolt charm. According to the display screen flashing behind her, her name was DJ Dynamo. Diana could see why she chose that name... in between the lightning bolt, the power plant stage, and the way people were reacting to her music, it was a fitting name.

Diana made her way through the crowded dance floor and slowly wound her way to the double doors that marked the entrance to the VIP section. She kept her right hand clutched protectively around the VIP pass that would be her ticket to the DJ Kraken debut party. She did not want to lose it so close to her objective.

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After winding her way through the crowd and having someone "accidentally" brush against her backside at least twice, Diana finally stood in front of doors to the VIP section, which were shut to anyone without a pass and further "protected" by a velvet rope. Two bouncers vigilantly guarded the door to keep would-be intruders from slipping in. Fortunately Diana did not need to plot a way around them because she had legitimate access thanks to the VIP pass she had been sent by Undersea Life executives. A bouncer at the door stuck a hand out to stop her and the huntress complied.

Diana wordlessly handed her pass to the bouncers, who used a special hand-held scanner to verify its authenticity before handing it back to her. The larger of the two spoke to Diana as his partner removed the rope and opened the doors for her.

"All right Miss, you're clear. Enjoy the event." The bouncer said. Diana nodded and walked through the open doors and into the area set aside for DJ Kraken's debut party.

-Inside the VIP area-

Once Diana was inside the doors shut behind her. She walked through the familiar setting and noticed that there was an aquatic theme to the decor; aqua-colored lights were a prominent part of the theme, as were false life preserver rings hung on the walls at 50-meter intervals. Diana made her way up the stairs to the bar and took an empty seat at the bar, the same bar where she had once met an amorous young woman after leaving a one-sided argument with the domineering mob princess Francesca Corlone.

"What'll ya have, Miss?" The same male bartender from last time asked her.

"Water." Diana replied. The bartender nodded in acknowledgment and prepared a glass of the simple beverage. After about thirty seconds it was ready and he handed it to her without further delay.

"Thanks." Diana thanked the bartender before taking a sip. Diana listened to the background music playing over the speakers and heard a female voice announce the track as one of DJ Beluga's older tracks called Sonar Pulse. True to its name, it began with a rhythmic PING like a sonar sweep was being conducted aboard a naval vessel, then it segued into electronic music with drums and a prominent synthesizer beat mimicking the sonar sweep at five-second intervals. Diana was not a big fan of the synthesizer-heavy sound, but it was decent enough background music that she could bear it, especially since she did not have to pay to get into the event.

Diana eventually emptied the glass and paid the bartender the cost of the drink plus tip. She stayed in her seat at the bar for a few minutes more debating whether to get a second glass of water before heading to the party. After a bit of thought she decided against the second glass and got up from the bar to head to the area where DJ Kraken would be playing his debut album for the party guests.

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-VIP area, Music Lounge-

Soon after getting up from the bar, Diana followed a stream of other guests and soon arrived in a music lounge that was about the size of an average movie theater viewing area that was decorated in the same aquatic theme that dominated the VIP area. There was a dance floor in the middle and seating located along the edges of the lounge for people who either could not dance or just did not feel like it. Diana was squarely in the former category, so she would be sitting during the debut party and leaving the dancing to those who could... or thought that they could dance.

Dominating the front of the lounge was a large platform with speakers, a turntable, and other sound equipment set up for a performance. Behind it on the wall was a screen with the image of a kraken clutching a large wooden sailing vessel in its tentacles and threatening to break it apart. Diana could not help but to be amused at the choice of imagery. Aside from fitting with his name, DJ Kraken also must have been sending the message to listeners, record label executives, and critics that he was going to break up the status quo with his music. It remained to be seen whether the new addition to Undersea Life could live up to such bold imagery, but if he had the musical talent of DJ Krill and DJ Beluga, then there was a good chance he could deliver on the promise.

Or Diana could be reading too much into it and DJ Kraken was just going for a memorable debut party.

At any rate, she took a seat on the right edge of the dance floor and left the floor to the other young people who composed the majority of the debut party attendees. After allowing a few minutes for stragglers to finally arrive, the lights dimmed to an aqua blue and the man himself walked onto the platform. He was a black-haired youth who wore a blue t-shirt with the words Undersea Life printed in black along with blue jeans and white tennis shoes. DJ Kraken was a slender fellow, much like DJ Krill and DJ Beluga. Maybe they were so slender because they were so devoted to making perfect music that they often forgot to eat... she did not know and did not have any special insight into their personal lives, so speculation was all that Diana had to go on.

"I'd like to thank everyone here for coming out to my debut party! It's been a long way from Magnolia Town to here, but I've finally made it and it wouldn't have happened without the people at Undersea Life giving me a chance!" DJ Kraken thanked the record label for giving him a chance to make music for a living. The attendees cheered and Diana gave polite applause alongside some middle-aged men in suits that looked to be important people, perhaps even record label executives. DJ Kraken then manned the turntable and put on a track he called Undersea Bass.

True to its name, the track was bass-heavy with thumping base that laid the foundation for the track and hi-hat cymbals that sounded at four-second intervals along with an occasional electronic screech like undersea life sounding a call. People flooded the dance floor to dance to it, but Diana was not among them. She preferred to sit back and enjoy the atmosphere and not think about about her double life, if only for a night. Tonight was the night to witness the rise of a new musical talent and listen to what he had to offer to the world.

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