Two hourster.


    The final round of the Californian Young Star contest was taking ce in Orpheum Theater—a massive building, the concert hall of which fit 2000 guest seats.


    The walls of the hall were painted gold-like yellow, and on the ceiling was a massive oval mural with mythological scenes. Other decorations were made in a simr style of old luxury—the ce looked almost like a Gothic church with its many decorative wall arches.


    Today, the audience hall was full, and people who were invited, together with those who bought expensive tickets, all waited for the show. The special guests from the showbiz industry and various celebrities sat in the front row, and judges had a separate table right next to the stage.


    Nelson was an almost ordinary guest today—since they apanied Tristan, they could buy tickets in the second row, and rtively cheaply. As for Derek, he was here to do anything Tristan might need, or make others do it.


    To his surprise, Tristan also saw Rafael "Big Rocket" at the very edge of the front row. It was just a coincidence, he supposed—Tristan hadn''t contacted Rafael yet since their meeting through either of his identities, and Rafael was entirely unaware of who Tristan Gemello was.


    Here, the security was strict, and every artist was apanied from the moment of their arrival to the performance itself. Tristan guessed that the failed attack on him at the previous round of the contest made the organizers more cautious.


    Now Tristan was sitting in a waiting room with no option to go anywhere else, watching the contest happen from the screen and eying other participants.


    Like him, all of them had tuned their instruments and put on their stage costumes and makeup, many of them doing it somewhere else. They all were ready.


    There were neen of them, with Tristan being the twentieth. Young geniuses and people with experience who only recently decided to step on stage… Many had talent, but Tristan had an unfair advantage.


    He smirked.


    On the stage, the host was hyping up the crowd with his own over-exaggerated dramatics.


    "Greetings, people of Los Angeles and everybody who traveled to get here! Today, on this stage, 20 Californian young stars will fight for the grand prize of FIFTEEN! THOUSAND! DOLLARS!"


    The crowd cheered, but to the people in the front row, those weren''t big money.


    At this point, those weren''t huge money even to Tristan. Poprity and status he could get from this all were a much bigger draw!


    ''I might earn thousands… dozens of thousands Criminal Points from this. I already can convince almost anyone to take me seriously and manipte them to do whatever I want—what if I raise my fearsomeness to 1000? Or if I raise my physical stats… Even with all the distance and walls between us, the boss of Angulos won''t stand a chance.''


    "And to determine who is the worthiest among the worthy, we''ve invited those incredibly experienced people and their sharp eyes and ears. Greet them: Isaiah Caldwell! A Grammy-winner, this man had watched music change for decades and shook hands with the kings of pop-music!"


    Anky old man in rectangr sses stood up and bowed while people apuded.


    "Next to him is Kira Montez! Although he''s not performing at the moment, a while ago he won the Californian Young Star contest herself!"


    A handsome man in his thirties smiled brightly and waved at the apuding audience.


    "And now, the beautiful half of our judges. Wee Reba Hale! She has an eye for talent, and spent years working with musicbels!"


    A tall, gorgeous brte whom Tristan knew already stood up and waved to the audience.


    "Thest but not the least is Selene Waters! She hasposed soundtracks for many award-winning movies, and even has an Oscar for Best Soundtrack standing on her shelf!"


    Selene was a short, plump and well-endowed blond woman. She didn''t stand up or smile, just gave a small wave.


    "And finally, today''s special guest—Mary Jade! Dozens of pop-stars wore outfits from her fashion lines, or designed by Ms. Jade personally. Although she didn''te here to judge, she sure will give her opinions on the styles of today''s contestants!"


    That woman wore her fashion on herself in the form of a bold ck dress with countless purple sequins. Although she didn''t look quite like a model, she could''ve been: blond, tall, hourss figure. Mary smiled slightly at the audience as she waved, but her eyes were cold.


    The host talked for longer, exining some history of the event and the overall rules, before calling the name of the firstpetitor in line.


    Tristan was the third, so he knew he wouldn''t have to wait long until his performance.


    The first contestant was a teenage girl who made a beautiful, almost theatrical dance show out of her song, but could barely sing, which was immediately and harshly pointed out by Isaiah. When the girl pouted and almost cried, Kira encouraged her to try again and the girl''s handler moved her off the stage before she got too emotionally unstable.


    The second performer was a man in his twenties who yed the flute. The melody was truly haunting and grim, as well asplex. It required a lot of technique, which the musician had. Isaiah and Selene liked it, especially Selene, who asked about the piece''s story and background. However, the rest of the judges looked bored.


    Thanks to watching their reactions when his name was called, Tristan knew what to expect, and what would appeal to each of them. Not just in this part of the contest, but when the time for the "secret" part of it came.


    Dressed in ck leather studded pants, white T-shirt, ck leather jacket and red sneakers, Tristan stepped onto the stage and felt the pressure of people''s gazes on him. There were so many, they felt heavier than the weight of a guitar slung over his shoulder.


    Many of them, he knew, were already his fans ever since his previous performance.


    "Wee—Tristaaaaan Gemellooooooo!"