[ WP ] Magic is discovered and it 's channeled with music . Modern nations dissolve and new countries rise in their place divided by the preferred music . In the frozen north lie the Metal kingdoms . Far to the south are the countries of Soul etc .

`` Almost time to move.'' 
 
 Darius looked up at his friend stretched out on the roof, and then back at his watch. `` It's only 8, the club ai n't even lit yet.'' 
 
 Tom shifted his weight on the roof, cringing as old, red tiles cut into his arm. `` Do n't matter. We just need to go in there and get back the boss's shit.'' He pushed himself into a crouch, jumping ten feet off the corner of the drugstore and landing with a smile next to Darius. `` We got an inside remember, do n't worry.'' 
 
 Darius exhaled in exasperation; every single time Tom said `` do n't worry'' shit proceeded to hit the fan five minutes later. `` Alright alright, what's her name again and how do we know she's cool?'' 
 
 `` Kiki, and cause she's secretly one of us, `` Tom said matter-of-factly as looked himself over, apparently displeased by the new layer of dirt on his clothes. `` I'm tired of waiting, lets go.'' Darius begrudgingly followed Tom across the street, occasionally glancing at the dilapidated shop fronts and broken cars that extended down the road. He paused briefly to look at the club. Probably the only building not in some state of ruin, the building called'Hotline' shot up from between its neighbors, a twisted maze of neon lights, weed clouds, and melodic bass standing out in the old, concrete jungle. No one guarded the door, but a sign clearly labeled `` New Age Hip-Hop Weavers only'' hung ominously. 
 
 `` Alright stay close,'' Tom warned as he grabbed the doorknob, `` You ai n't never seen this shit, just do n't dance or we are both dead.'' 
 
 Darius swallowed and simply nodded, whispering a small prayer of protection at the same time, `` its called love, we do n't sing about it no moe.'' 
 
 Tom glanced back, surprised by his friend's words; Darius rarely invoked defensive lyrics. `` Yo man it'll be fine, just be ready to drop some shit eh?'' 
 
 Darius nodded again, this time with a small grin, sparking a wink from Tom before he opened the door and the two men disappeared into a flurry of smoke and lights. They paused for a second to adjust their eyes, shifting uncomfortably as they were immersed in slow base music. The club was deceiving large; barrels of wine were stacked forty feet high, cascading rivers of alcohol onto beautiful women who danced on raised platforms, their hips grinding to some unseen force. Lewd paintings lined the walls as people clustered around several leather booths, talking or smoking in small circles. Tom squinted through the room's haze, pointing at a faraway door. `` That's where the bosses book would be, c'mon, lets do this fast, I hate this artificial tune.'' Without waiting for a reply, Tom turned, shot past the booths, his face tight, and disappeared into a cloud of weed. Darius started to follow him when he suddenly realized he could hear the lyrics over the clubs speakers clearly for the first time. The words slowly began to repeat themselves in his head. `` Oooh I remember, I remember I remember when I lost myyy mind!...'' Darius smiled in spite of himself, humming the tune quietly. He knew he should have been keeping up with Tom, who was quickly becoming hard to see, but he just wanted to go somewhere he could hear the song better. Instead of following Tom, Darius crossed towards the booths, obsessed with the thought, `` There is just something so....pleasant about this place.'' 
 
 Just as he was about to jump into a a small group of dancers, eager to join in, a pair of hands grabbed his jacket from behind. Darius resisted, but refused to turn. His mind foggy, he was faintly aware of being pulled away from the booths to a secluded corner of the club. Annoyed at the sudden intrusion, Darius finally turned on his stranger, trying to knit a sentence together in his head when the hands slapped him quickly, three times to the face. Lucidity chasing the pain across his face, Darius fumed, `` What the fu-'' he paused, surprised to find a small girl in front of him. 
 
 She was maybe a head or so shorter than him, bright brown eyes framed by a small, chocolate face and loose brown curls. `` Your lucky I found you. Even heard indirectly over speakers,'Crazy' can twist people.'' 
 
 Darius paused, ``... You must be Kiki?'' 
 
 The girl beamed, `` That's right, and'thank you' is the normal response.'' 
 
 Darius reddened, `` Right... thanks. I did n't think the song would be so strong.'' 
 
 Kiki nodded, ``'Crazy' is one of the best insanity spells ever woven, even in its diminished, non-concert form its still good enough to catch people who are n't used to the style.'' She pointed over her shoulder, `` Anyways, I heard Tom was here, lets find him and get everything going.'' Darius agreed, following, but they had barely passed half the booths when two groups, breaking off from the tables, closed in around them. 
 
 `` Can I help you?'' Darius growled, trying to appear more confident than he felt at the sudden trap. One man from their group of assailants detached himself stepping forward with a smirk. 
 
 `` Well... I see you drive round town with the girl I loooove,'' The man broke into song. Darius openly cussed and lunged at the man as Kiki slapped her hands over her ears, but both were too late. The man sidestepped, grinning from ear to ear as he pointed at Darius and Kiki, `` and I'm liiike, FUCK YOU and a FUCK YOU TOO!!'' 
 
 Darius gasped, twisting as his back was slammed by some invisible force. The last thing he remembered was the laughter of the group around him as his head smashed into the floor. The first thing Darius realized, upon regaining consciousness, was the blissful lack of music. The second, was that he was outside, bound by the hands and feet, in what appeared to be the alley behind'Hotline'. He turned, seeing Kiki and Tom in similar positions, guarded by several men in baggy clothes and heavy coats. 
 
 `` Not a very good plan I got ta say.'' The voice made Darius whip around, laying his eyes for the first time on the Great Traitor. The man was clothed in a purple suit with heavy wool coat, smoking a cigar as he regarded his charges. `` I knew his majesty wanted the tome back, but I'm sad he only sent three to do it.'' His face changed from disappointment to one of annoyance, `` After I went through the trouble of discovering and ignoring your spy, just to encourage you!'' 
 
 Darius turned to look at Kiki, who had woken up along with Tom, only to catch a flash of anger on her face at the insult. 
 
 `` But really I must ask,'' the traitor leaned in close to Darius, `` before I send you back to your lord in pieces, what was the plan? I mean I might have lost a bit of power since the revolution but Jesus, to send only three people is just downright disrespectful.'' 
 
 Darius grimaced, not only did he get captured, he was captured easily. He hardly deserved to be in the inner entourage if he could n't even stop such an obvious knock-out spell. Either way, he reasoned he should go out with some semblance of respect, so he was about to tell the traitor to fuck off when another deep voice cut him off. 
 
 `` They were never supposed to get the tome, only distract you morons.'' Everyone whirled on the voice, near the club entrance, where two guards laid unconscious at the feet of a small man. He did n't look terribly imposing at first, with some crazy-looking braids, a long black coat, and small flask in his right hand, but his eyes were different. They were as black pits, holding some deep vast power, but at the same time brimming with amusement, as if he found the world funny. The man stepped forward, taking a sip from his flask before continuing. 
 
 `` I did n't expect them to get past you; your just too paranoid, playing your spells in that club 24/7 to catch enemies.'' The man grinned, lifting up his left hand to reveal a plain looking, blue notebook. `` I just needed them to get you outside for a moment so I could recover this.'' 
 
 The Traitor snarled, turning to face the man, `` You dare to challenge me in MY territory!?'' 
 
 The man stopped smiling, flipping his book open and yelling a line out of it. The traitor and his followers tried to scream, `` WELL FUCK YOU AND A FU-'' but were cut short. 
 
 The man's whispered his line, so softly Darius and the others barely heard it, but it rang clearly in their heads, ``... the question is detrimental paralyzing my thoughts.'' 
 The man closed his notebook, apparently pleased. It took Darius a second to realize the traitor and all his men had frozen, veins visibly pulsing in their temples. He turned to Tom and Kiki, who looked equally dumbfound that such a simple line could generate such a powerful paralysis spell. The man walked up the the traitor, until they were inches from each other. 
 
 `` My old friend Cee lo, you betrayed the purist rap weavers, and for that we will never forgive you.'' Cee lo could say nothing, but his eyes betrayed his cold rage. `` However, you will return to us in the days to come,'' the man leaned in close to Cee lo, smirking, `` wars often force enemies together in interesting ways...'' 
 
 Later that night, after departing'Hotline' Darius, Kiki, and Tom stood behind their lord atop a hill overlooking the Hub City. 
 
 `` My lord,'' Darius said, `` what now?'' 
 
 The man paused and, looking down at his newest tome. He considered the name he had given it, what the Metal Lords and Soul Sultans would think. He chuckled to himself; his old idol would be pleased. The man looked back at the city, and, raising his hand, outlined a triangle in the sky, yelling words from his tome with all the anger he could muster, `` Now I run the game, got the Whooole world talking, KING kUNTA!'' 
 
 Darius and the others jumped back as a beam of bright light shot from their master's hand, arcing up into the clouds. A moment later, hundreds of similar lights began to shoot up in response, all around the city. Distant roars and chants could be heard in the distance, and explosions began to streak along city's skyline. Kendrick turned back to his followers, a grim smile in his lips, a familiar, knowing glint in his eyes, `` Now the world knows, its time the Rap Kingdom rises again.''
