Music is what fills the soul. Music says things that we feel but cannot put into words. Music is basically the universal language. In Olympus, music was very widely used and one of the most heard sounds in the city next to people talking and cars passing. Everyone in the city loved music but if there was one thing the people loved more than the music, it was the artists. Beautiful and handsome singers whose faces lit up the stages whenever they performed, serenading not only men but even immortal gods with their voices.
Many singers were popular in Olympus, all were blessed with gifted voices in singing and hands in instrument playing by the great Apollo, god of the arts and music. These artists were loved and revered by the people for providing them with entertainment. But two great groups stood out amongst the rest, mainly because of their near perfection. The Graces and The Muses. The Graces, also known as Orange Caramel, was a group of three women who used their cute charms to garner attention from their fans, especially the men. They weren’t womanly, very pink and girly as a matter of fact and it showed in their image. Their costumes were doll-like, often pastel and petticoat, like dolls. Their makeup was bright and made them look young, done to achieve the porcelain baby doll look. You may see them and think that their target was little kids but trust me, they appeal to old men just as much as provocative singers and stars do. If you know what I mean by “old men”. To let you in on a little info, these girls may be just of the same age as you teenage girls reading this.
Orange Caramel gained so much popularity from the first day Apollo sent them from heaven. Their sugar coated songs and sweet, melodic voices filled the air. Until Apollo grew weary of it and thought it wouldn’t be such a bad idea if there was another girl group to somehow challenge Orange Caramel and push them to their limits. Apollo decided to create nine wonderful, beautiful, and monstrously talented young ladies. These nine ladies were sent from heaven, in all their decadent iness. The exact opposite of Orange Caramel, they were the Nine Muses. Nine beautiful ladies of song and drama, exact clones and female versions of Apollo descended from the soft, lofty skies of Olympus to bring joy and excitement to men on Earth. Always clad in short, uniform dresses, the Nine Muses had been tantalizing and leaving people’s jaws hanging open.
“I don’t want no playboy...No!” the Nine Muses sang in chorus one night in a sultry, smoky bar. Their sensual style of singing blended in with the low-lit atmosphere and drunken mood that the bar provided. Sensuality was the name of the game for the Nine Muses. As a matter of fact, they were so sensual to the point that their bar performance neared striptease. One of the members danced around a pole and slowly teased by stripping a bit of clothing, only to swiftly put it back on, heightening the tension and arousal amongst the male crowd. While the drunken boys and men had their eyes ogling at the performer’s bodies, the women were smizing and whispering amongst themselves, obviously due to insecurity. They made some snide remarks about how provocative the Nine Muses were.
Orange Caramel were often asked if the Nine Muses posed as a threat to their career.
“We don’t know them. We don’t want to say anything.” answered their leader Nana. Raina and Lizzy just nodded.
“We think they are beautiful, though.” Raina said with the spirit of camaraderie. It was very professional of them to see their fellow artists this way.
“However, we would rather you focus on our careers, asking us questions about us than of other people.” Lizzy said. The press admired them whenever they are thrown with comparison questions. Proof of their maturity.
What people actually do not know about them is that they were actually feuding. Behind the cameras, a rivalry between the two of them was going on. Apparently, Orange Caramel couldn’t believe the massive success that the Nine Muses had received. A kind of success that took Orange Caramel years to achieve. It didn’t sit well with them, as they often talked amongst themselves.
“Those hussies don’t even have talent. They don’t deserve to be here!” Nana told her two friends.
“All they do is get for men.” Raina agreed.
“While we work our asses off day and night for money, they are overpaid and over-blessed for seducing customers at the bar.” Lizzy commented.
“If that’s all it takes to become famous, then we might as well just do it!” Nana said.
“We need an image change. We need to be more mature. We need a new look.” Raina said. “Something that’ll knock them down.”
“Definitely.” snarled Nana. “They want y? Goddammit I’ll give them y!”
Orange Caramel wanted to shock the world with their brand new image. They decided that they would go from sweet and cute to risque and dark, something that was a far cry from their familiar image. They were so sure that it would shake people and change their perspectives.
“How do we get ourselves to channel our inner devils?” Raina said. It seemed as though it would be much harder than it seemed to turn into y vixens, for a group of girls who have been so used to being cute.
“We have to. We can’t lose to the Nine Muses.”
“I am going to do whatever it takes.” Nana spoke determined to come out on top. “Even if I have to summon the dark souls from the Underworld.”
“Nana, what are you saying?” Raina asked, sort of worried and alarmed by the desperate measure that Nana was willing to take just to become better than their newly sworn rivals.
“I’m saying that I don’t care if I have to summon a demon just to channel our inner bad girls. Orange Caramel, have you lost your zest to perform?” Nana scolded. “Are you giving up on our dreams? Are you saying that you are surrendering to the Nine Muses?” The temptation was great, they must admit. It must be so grand to be just as or even ier than the Nine Muses, to have males gazing at them, observing their every move and watching them with great lust and wanting. To upgrade their performance from the cutesy dolls to badass vixens. In their heads, red was the new pink.
But their only problem was, how were they going to do it. No matter how hard they tried to shake their coquettish image off, they just couldn’t do it. It seemed as though Apollo had made them this way. It was like a curse they could never break free from. It was their destiny.
“But how are we going to make a transformation?” asked Lizzy. “I mean, I don’t know where we are going to get that power.”
“We don’t have to work hard to make a transformation. All we have to do is consult a daughter of a friend of mine.”
“And who is this friend of yours?” asked Raina. Nana smiled slyly, fluffing her big, fluffy blonde hair.
“Oh she just happens to hold all evil.” A smirk came on Nana’s face, only making her two cohorts more curious.
“Who is she?” they asked once more. Nana seemed to delay the answer.
“You might very well know her as Pandora.” the smirk never left Nana’s face as she looked on with joy, seeing her two co-singers faces light up with excitement.
“Pandora? You mean the holder of Pandora’s box?”
“Yes.” Nana answered. “She holds in her tiny little trinket box all the miseries and sins of the world. We can get some of those sinful souls to possess us and turn us into the badasses we want to be.”
“Where does Pandora live?”
“In the slummy area of Olympus City. Near the border. She lives alone with that box. Everyday she’s in misery but we’re desperate so we are in need of her help.”
“What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”
“Yeah. We have a performance tonight, right?” Lizzy said.
“Yes. And we come right after the Nine Muses. We have to show those people AND them who the bosses are!” their leader said, determined to make the Nine Muses fame crash down.
“So what are we waiting for? Come on, let’s go to Pandora’s.” Nana led Orange Caramel out of the small brothel that the three of them shared. They hurried down the stairs in their performance outfits, the usual pink petticoat doll dress.
Orange Caramel ran down the cold street of Olympus, their heels clacking on the cement. Pandora’s house wasn’t far off from the brothel, it wouldn’t take them 30 minutes to get there. The three of them were more than happy and anxious to see what the spirits of Pandora’s magical box could do for them.
Upon reaching Pandora’s doorstep, Raina and Nana couldn’t stop giggling. Nana had to shush them.
“Keep your holes shut!” Nana scolded. “Pandora! Pandora, are you in there/!” Just then, a frazzled, frail young woman clad in a dress that hung on her like a dress on a hanger. Her ribs and bones were very visible through her skin, and it looked like she had starved and lived in poverty for days. Her hair was messy and frizzy. She was Choi Soo Young, known to the residents of the neighboring brothel as Pandora. Because of her magical box that contained all the evils and sorrows of the world, life had become miserable for them, most especially for her. It showed in her way of living and the way that she looked. Soo Young was once as beautiful as her friend Nana but all the miseries made her look just as miserable.
“Nana! Oh! Why have you come?” Soo Young greeted with a soft and anxious voice. Soo Young looked at the two other girls with misty eyes, ones that have seen so much sorrow and harshness in life.
“And who are these girls?” asked Soo Young.
“Soo Young, we are Orange Caramel and we are performers now. This here is Raina and this one is Lizzy. We are in need of your help. This is urgent.” Nana complained, taking Soo Young’s pale and bony hands in hers. Soo Young felt warmth for the first time in her life.
“You sing?” she asked, her eyes widening in wonder. “Oh you have gone so far, Jin Ah!”
“Yes. Thank you. See, we are in stiff competition with another-“
“Come in please. Let us not talk out here. Make yourselves comfortable!” Soo Young allowed Orange Caramel in her house and what great surprise did they feel when they saw the state that the house was in. Everything was in disarray. All the furnitures were ripped, the appliances not working, and the rooms dark, the only source of light being the single bulb in the middle of the apartment. The smell-don’t even get started on the smell! It smelled like dead rats and rotten food combined. You can only imagine the look Orange Caramel had on their faces upon inhaling the foul stench. So as not to offend, they simply kept quiet as Soo Young led them to the torn, tattered couch where they sat.
“So what is it that you were saying?” asked Soo Young who sat with them. Raina and Lizzy were obviously very disgusted.
“We’re performers now and we’re in stiff competition with another group called the Nine Muses. Since their debut, not many people have been paying attention to us. They would much rather watch those hussies take their clothes off as they dance!” Nana said with all jealousy reeking from her skin.
“Ah. So what is it that I can do for you?”
“We are trying to be at par with them. To be as y or ier than them so we can outperform and become more famous than them. To be better than them. We can only do that if we channel our inner demons. Only these can make us bad girls.”
“If it’s demons that you need,” Soo Young said, her eyes turning from gray to dark black. “Then you have come to the right person. Wait for me, I shall get my box.” Soo Young raised her rail thin body and walked to a dark room where all her trinkets are kept. Upon coming back from the room, Soo Young had in her hand her box. The Box that she had become known for. Orange Caramel’s faces lit up and with grand excitement, placed their anxious hands on the Box.
“This box holds all the sins in the world. Every bad thing that feels good is in here. Just tell me what you want, I’ll summon it.” Pandora spoke like an oracle. Orange Caramel had so much faith in her box that altogether, they closed their eyes and for a moment envisioned what they would be and look like if they had demons in them. If they had become bad girls. Fame, fortune and glory. It had never tasted this good.
“To be lusted after. To be the envy of everyone. To be wealthy. To be famous and worshipped. To be the greatest.” The three of them said together. Soo Young smothered the top of the box and concentrated. She focused hard on the box, channeling the spirits that were within. She felt a stirring sensation in between her bony fingers, rattling her small frame. The Graces started to feel the strange, malevolent powers of the spirits inside the box slowly come out and envelope them in the room, along with a weak and cold gust of wind.
“Lust. Envy. Greed. Pride.” She called on the spirits of the said sins. With more concentration, the box started to rattle and pretty soon, Pandora opened her eyes and looked at the Graces’. She placed one slender finger on the lock, twisted it and faced the Graces.
“Are you ready?” she asked. Orange Caramel nodded, not even thinking about the consequences of their actions, blinded by sin and greed. Upon their will, Pandora lifted the lock and opened the box, unleashing the spirits that they have stirred. Within a few seconds, the four spirits howled and s their way out of the box, encircling the room and making their presences felt. The Graces opened their eyes but Soo Young scolded them swiftly.
“No!” she pointed a finger at them, looking more skeletal than ever. “Do not open your eyes. Focus! Breathe them!” They closed their eyes once more and allowed the spirits to enter their bodies.
“Feel them! Breathe them! Be them!” Soo Young screamed at the top of her lungs. The Graces were just lucky that their eyes were closed, otherwise they would’ve seen Soo Young’s scary, skeletal face screaming and chanting. They felt the spirits electrifying them deep down inside, making their personalities shift.
What was only 30 seconds felt like an eternity. Pretty soon, the ritual was complete and all they needed to do was open their eyes to see what they looked like. Soo Young herself was blown away as they had look so much different than when they arrived at her doorstep.
“Mother of God!” Soo Young gasped. Her frail hands dropped the box, unleashing all the other spirits once more, as she had done in the past. Orange Caramel opened their eyes.
“What happened?” asked Raina. She turned to her right and got a huge shock when she saw how different Nana looked.
“W-what the?” she looked at her own self and saw a great change. Their bodies had become more shapely and vase-like; they were in y black lingerie-type performing clothes and instead of doll shoes, they had boots. Lizzy and Raina had tattoos while Nana had piercings. Their hair was now dirty blonde, black with highlights or messy brunette. In short, they got transformed into es from dolls.
“This is everything you have wished for.” Soo Young said. “The Box just gave you what you wanted. “ Orange Caramel looked greatly pleased with the outcome, so they thanked Soo Young with all their heart.
“Thank you so much, Soo Young.” Nana embraced her emaciated friend. Soo Young hugged her back, suddenly feeling jealous of the beauty that the Graces possessed. She assessed them from the minute they walked into her house. They needed no miracle. They were already beautiful.
“Anything for you, my dear friend.” She said.
“So does this thing wear off?” Raina asked. Soo Young smiled and crossed her arms on her chest.
“Sin only wears off when you choose it to. For as long as you sin and never repent, you can never take it off.” Soo Young warned. The Graces grinned. What they would give to forever be on top? If this was all it took, then they would never be sorry nor regret this day.
“Thank you, Soo Young! Thank you.” Soo Young nodded and smiled, going back to her house as the three hit the streets once again to head to their club where their gig, followed by the Nine Muses was to take place.
[AT THE BAR]
At the bar, everyone was waiting for the performers. People were ecstatic to see Orange Caramel perform delightful, kiddie-like hits but what they were more excited about was the coming out of The Nine Muses. It was certainly like being on cloud 9. Just imagine, nine hot women dancing for you. Who wouldn’t want that?!
“I wonder what the Nine Muses are going to do tonight?”
“Beats me. But whatever it is, I’m sure it’s going to be hot.” Customers would talk about them all night long and even after their performance had ended, they still wouldn’t stop blabbering about these ladies.
However, they weren’t prepared for the surprise that was to come.
Orange Caramel had arrived just in time for their performance. Nobody backstage had seen them yet except for themselves so it would be perfect to debut it on stage.
“Ladies and gentlemen! For tonight’s show, first up we have Orange Caramel!” the MC said. People clapped and some cheered but they weren’t mighty excited. Orange Caramel were still backstage giving themselves one last makeover, checking their makeup for any flaws and their clothes. Everything was ready and they now decided to show Olympus City their new look.
“Where are they?” the audience noticed that they were taking longer than usual to come out, making them feel bored and wanting the Muses to perform first. However, just as they were about to go back to their own agendas, the lights dimmed way low and very sensual music started to play. The kind of sensual music that made use of heavy saxophone. People started to wonder if the Nine Muses had finally decided to play. It was alright to skip Orange Caramel right now, though. They were only for ‘light drinkers’.
Until now.
Raina appeared on stage wearing a black bra, see thru-thongs, and lace up stiletto boots. The audience seemed shocked and in utter disbelief, their mouths hung open.
“Is this real?” they asked amongst themselves. Feels like just yesterday Orange Caramel were kiddy, doll like and very cute but now they zoomed past the opposite of cute. They were too y and the audience was loving it.
“Goddammit, man! This is scorching H-O-T!!!” squealed one guy. Raina heard him and smirked. She walked to him and began to dance for him and while she was doing that, Lizzy appeared on stage. She wore an S&M inspired outfit complete with a whip. Lizzy strutted her way down the stage, cracking her whip with each step and eyeing a customer to arouse. A young man who looked like he hadn’t been in a bar before got lucky when Lizzy gave him an arousing . You can just imagine how good that guy felt.
“Oh man! It’s my lucky day!” he howled. Lizzy heard him and giggled.
“Sure is.” She leaned over him and gave him a kiss. Things couldn’t get any better for him.
Last but not least, it was leader Nana’s turn. Nana appeared in a bikini and stilettos, dancing to the jazz music that was infesting the speakers of the bar. All the guys stood up and raised their drinks to the leader who was showing off her stuff before them. Never had they seen a transformation this quick. Orange Caramel didn’t need to sing as a matter of fact. All that they needed to do was dance and act y and anytime, the guys would go crazy.
Backstage, the Nine Muses felt rather nervous. Before this massive transformation of theirs, they were on top. They were the best. Nobody could outperform them. But seeing that Orange Caramel had taken their image up a notch was totally heartbreaking. They needed to step their game up if it was competing with the three they were looking for.
“Well if it’s iness that you want, it’s iness that you’ll get.” Sera said feistily.
“Come on girls, let’s show them who’s boss!” Erin said. The Nine Muses left their dressing room and strutted down the hall of the backstage, making their way to the stage. It was rude, but desperate times call for desperate measures. They weren’t about to lose to Orange Caramel, girls who used to be below them. They were going to do whatever it took to maintain their title as the iest girl group in Olympus.
Orange Caramel were still performing and giving the boys the show of their dreams when the Nine Muses appeared from behind and pushed them aside. The music stopped as Orange Caramel fell to the floor and looked nothing short of surprised when they came face to face with their bitter rivals.
“What the hell was that for, huh?” Nana snarled.
“Stealing our show, huh?” Sera, the leader of the opposing group, spoke up. “ Well let’s see who can last!”
“SHOWDOWN! SHOWDOWN! SHOWDOWN!” the people were chanting for a showdown to happen. Both groups were competitive and would never say no to a face-to-face performance. They accepted the challenge and began to show off their skills in dancing and singing.
Orange Caramel came first. The DJ dropped another y tune which they gyrated and spread their legs to, looking hotter than ever. The men felt the tension and passion running through their veins as the girls ily performed. Fewer in number but very much enticing, Orange Caramel won the audience’s hearts. The Nine Muses however, weren’t going to sit there and take it. They too wanted a taste of attention so the beautiful ladies faced their rivals and began to show real skill, relying less on appeal and more on talent. Orange Caramel only danced but the Nine Muses right her did a song and dance combo which wowed the crowd. Pretty soon, the attention that they gave temporarily to the Graces because of their y transformation soon reverted back to the Nine Muses which were a crowd favorite. It did them good to hear the voices of the Muses.
This was Orange Caramel’s waterloo. Singing. Though they may have looked y and danced seductively, their voices were still the same squeaky, doll-like voices that would undoubtedly ruin and sultry song that they would sing if ever they tried so in order to stay safe, they just decided to dance. Anyways, their dancing was a real crowd pleaser so their voices need not be heard. The Nine Muses, however, thought it was unfair that they sang while the trio did not. Knowing that this was their weakness, they challenged Orange Caramel to a singing contest.
“I know how, shall we say, lovely your voices are. So let us hear it.” Sera teased. Orange Caramel knew that they were insulting them and took this to heart. Deeply. Without warning, Raina charged at Sera and slapped her across the face. Hard. This was an act done out of cowardice and guilt and because of it, the Nine Muses charged at Orange Caramel, resulting in an all girl rumble. This excited the guys even more, pumping their adrenaline. Cheers and howls and screams could be heard as the girls rumbled on the stage with background party music. What was a serious fight between the two groups was a joke and an entertaining show to the audience.
Just then, a ray of light came shining from the middle of the bar, blinding the audience. Everyone stopped whatever it was they were doing and looked on to see what the light was. Even the warring girl groups were stopped in the middle of their catfight to check the light out.
“MUSES. GRACES. WHAT IS THE MEANING OF ALL THIS?!?” The heavenly voice belonged to none other than the God of Light and Music Phoebus Apollo. G-Dragon appeared in the middle of the bar and walked up to the two female groups in the bar. To his great displeasure, the girls were fighting and looked very disorderly and disheveled. But what angered him more was the transformation Orange Caramel underwent for this show.
“GRACES!” he bellowed. “LOOK AT YOU!?! WHAT HAPPENED?!?” He was angry at how they looked.
“We changed.” Nana spoke humbly with her head down.
“HOW?”
“We went to Pandora.” She said. “And had her bad souls posses us.” Apollo was mighty angry now, especially upon hearing that they purposely had demons possess them just to look like this. To him, it was a great dishonor.
“WHY?! HAVE I NOT MADE YOU PERFECT?!” Orange Caramel and the Nine Muses were now very afraid. Erin noticed something when she looked at the Graces.
“Their clothes! They’re going back to normal!” As Pandora said, for as long as they did not repent and admit their sins, they would stay bad girls for as long as possible. Since Nana and her girls were in fear and wanted to repent, they were going back to normal.
“We’re sorry, great Apollo!” the two groups said in unison. Apollo was angered by how unprofessional the two girl groups acted and he was left with no choice but to punish them.
“I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO LEAVE YOU WITH A PUNISHMENT! FROM NOW ON, YOU ALL WILL BE SILENCED, NEVER TO SING AGAIN; PARALYZED NEVER TO MOVE AGAIN. YOU WILL ONLY BE IMMORTALIZED AS STATUES.” This angry statement made them cry and beg for him to give them another chance but Apollo was pissed. Mighty pissed. He put his hands forward and shone some light on the girls. That was the last time anyone had seen them alive.
Now, the Nine Muses and the Graces were statues, beautifully built and standing at the Olympic Mansions.
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