"The Boys From Atlantis (Pt2)" - by With_An_Apostrophe - Song and Dance Challenge

[with-apostrophe.livejournal.com]

Title: The Boys From Atlantis (Pt2)

Characters: John, Rodney, Ronon, Carson, Aiden (and a whole bunch more)

Genre: Gen, crack, AU, humor (a little serious in parts)

Wordcount: Much longer than I intended. Hence the two parts that LJ has forced upon me!

Warnings:  Second part of two. First part found here.

There's also another linked fic that I shall shortly post "Atlantis: Boy Band Extraordinaire"

A/N: Huge thanks to graceandfire and suicidallemoneater (the Grammar Queen) for their beta-ing, and for trying to stomp out my British-isms.

Any quirky punctuation is my fault. I blame the idea on anyone who wrote a fic that might have inspired me. This was started months ago; the only reason I've finished it was because of this challenge. 

The Boys From Atlantis (Pt 2)

With one and half years of experience, one tour and two albums behind them the boys embarked upon their international Through the Gate tour - each venue selling out within hours of the tickets going on sale. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Atlantis was the biggest boy band on the planet.

 

It was during this tour that things started to go wrong. While the hoards kept coming to the shows, and their popularity in their fan base never diminished, the band started experiencing problems. A time zone hiccup left them an hour late for a concert, leading to a vastly curtailed set list and a hugely disappointed audience. They came close to being late for two live TV appearances and completely missed another. Only a tenth of their usual merchandise stock arrived in Denver. They arrived in Oslo only to discover that no hotel accommodation had been booked, and none would be available as the WWFA (World Wide Federation of Astrophysicists) was holding its annual convention there that weekend. Lorne saved the day (or rather the night) by recalling a fantastic hotel in a nearby town he’d stayed in when he was a roadie. John proclaimed it a Hail Mary. The media had a field day with it all.

 

The band naturally blamed Caldwell, with whom they had never really gelled, but he always provided them with slick excuses, or was able to lay the blame squarely at someone else’s feet. Although decidedly suspicious of the man and highly protective of her boys, Elizabeth had no proof that their ills were in any way a result of his incompetence and kept him on because of his reputation and years of experience in the business.

 

Half-way through the tour, Atlantis’ sharp-eyed accountant, Chuck, started noticing strange payments to a company only described as ‘The Trust’, and imbalances in his spreadsheets so slight that a lesser man might have written them off. However, Chuck loved his job and pursued his lines of enquiry relentlessly, and two weeks later the paper trail conclusively led to Caldwell’s door. Not only was he found guilty of embezzling from Atlantis, but on further investigation by the FBI, was revealed to have been receiving payments from Wraith Records, who had The Genii - the Atlantis boys’ greatest rivals - under their wing. John, Rodney, Ronon and Carson later testified against him in court.  He pled guilty to charges of fraud, and receiving bribes from Wraith Records to undermine Atlantis’ reputation. Wraith Records went under as their acts swiftly parted ways with them, and The Genii were forever tainted by what their record company had done.

 

Lorne replaced Caldwell much to the band’s delight, and after a few minor glitches (like not informing a restaurant of Rodney’s citrus allergy and coming within half an inch of him eating lime-laced food) the band’s fortunes began to soar once more. Despite Lorne’s former occupation as tour bus driver, he had been in the music business his entire adult life, and had absorbed an incredible amount of information concerning how a tour should be run. With constant phone calls to George and Hank, two retired tour managers that he’d worked with before, he had the tour running like clockwork.

 

A week after the Through the Gate tour ended, Aiden was involved in a horrific car accident. It was a miracle that he survived, and with relatively few injuries; however, it left him with a hopeless addiction to painkillers. He denied his addiction to everyone, even his fellow band-members, but it was quite clear to them what was really happening to Aiden.

 

The addiction changed Aiden’s behavior and appearance. He became markedly erratic and at times paranoid - falsely accusing the others of laughing at him behind his back and treating him like a second-class band-member. He aged years in a matter of months, the once meticulous attention he paid to his hair and clothing a thing of the past.

 

Atlantis finished recording their third (and almost entirely McKay or McKay/Sheppard written) album Nobody Resists: Nobody Gets Hurt and were just beginning rehearsals for their next tour when Aiden disappeared. John and Ronon flitted around the country looking for him, while Carson and Rodney asked everyone they could think of where he might have gone. A week later they found him and tried to stage an intervention.

 

It was then both a huge shock and no shock at all when three days later they received a phone call from Elizabeth telling them that Aiden had left the band. John, Ronon, Rodney, and Carson presented a strong and positive attitude in public, while mulling over the departure of their cheery little brother in private. As sad as they were to see Aiden leave, they were also slightly relieved that at least he could admit that things weren’t working out.

 

Aiden went through a wild and rebellious stage just after he left the band. He hung out with the wrong people and dabbled in substances much more dangerous than painkillers. The others never stopped trying to contact him. When he’d calmed down a little, he started responding to them again, although it was hard to predict when he’d choose to pick up the phone, or whether he’d turn up to meet them. They had a few quiet dinners together, and at times it would almost seem like things were back as they were before his accident, but he had a tendency to get angry or upset at the most innocent of comments (or sometimes at nothing at all) and run over the same accusations again and again before storming out. The others always reminded him that there was an open invitation for him to come back whenever he was ready, but he never accepted it.

 

Determined that they would grow through the experience, the remaining four threw themselves into rehearsals and ended up putting on a show that  was second to none. Every night they would take it in turns to say a bit about how they wished Aiden were still touring with them and dedicated a song to him, reducing the fans to tears.

 

~ o 0 () 0 o ~

 

Three years later, the boys were still going strong. They were nominated for many music and magazine awards and swept the boards at each one. More importantly, they won three Grammy Awards and Rodney’s head inflated so much that for the week following the award ceremony you could have mistaken it for the moon. They performed two more tours, venturing well into South America, and breaking ground in Asia where no other band had toured. With five out of seven continents covered, Carson used to joke about putting on a concert in McMurdo for the local penguins. Rodney seriously considered it before he remembered how much he hated snow (and penguins).

 

They released two more studio albums - Watching the Waves and Checking It Out  (with the inevitable slew of hit singles) and a double disc CD/DVD release Mission Reports: Atlantis Live! which had such undeniable creative energy, evocative lyrics and slick tight choreography that even the most jaded of critics found themselves praising it. The fans were ecstatic.

 

Four years in, the immortal words ‘written by McKay/Sheppard’ slowly started to appear on other bands’ and artists’ album sleeves. Schedules were re-arranged so that Ronon could spend half a day here and half and day there consulting for various video dance routines. Carson got engaged to and then married Laura. A thousand housewives mourned.

 

John finally gave in to pressure and much to his own amusement, the John Sheppard Hair Care range was launched, Rodney teased him about it mercilessly, especially as he was one of the few who knew that John’s hair did its thing all by itself. John got his revenge by emptying five-sixths of a tube of hair gel, and two-thirds of a can of mousse over his band mate. After that, Rodney became a little more subtle with his verbal jibbing, but couldn’t resist papering John’s bunk on the tour bus with the glossy full-page advertisements for John Sheppard Hair Care he’d collected from various magazines. John responded by papering Rodney’s bunk with pictures of Sam, Katie and SG-1, and estimates of how much money he was making from his hair care range. Rodney swiftly called a truce.

 

Four months after their Greatest Hits album was released, on the fifth anniversary of Atlantis’ inception, the boys called together a press conference. Rodney kicked it off by reading the following statement:

 

In 2004, thousands and thousands of young men and women auditioned for a TV show. Twenty weeks later, an unlikely group of five men chose Atlantis for our newly formed band’s name and soon had our first number one hit. Since then we have made four studio albums, had fifteen hit singles - thirteen of them number ones - and twelve of them written by band members, made one live album, gone on four tours, are about to embark on another and produced a greatest hits album.

 

We’ve had amazing experiences, traveled the world, played some of the biggest venues in existence, been on more TV shows than we care to recall, and one of us even got married. And we’ve had not-so-great experiences: Aiden quitting was the worst - I’m sure we don’t need to remind you of some of the others.

 

After much discussion and debate, John, Ronon, Carson and I have come to a decision, a decision that we did not make easily, nor one that we take lightly. After we finish our Greatest Hits tour and performed at the Super Bowl, an event that will surely be one of the highest points of our career as a band, Atlantis will be no more.

 

The band sat quietly as after a brief shocked silence the room virtually exploded with a cacophony of sound. They waited until the journalists had calmed down. Then it was John’s turn.

 

I’m not very good at expressing things like this, so I’m glad I get to read this.

 

All four of us would like to take this opportunity to thank the various people who have contributed so much to our lives over the last six years. First of all we’d like to thank Elizabeth and everyone at Pegasus Records for the time, money and effort they’ve poured into us. We want to thank the judges and everyone at CBTV who gave us this opportunity to start off with. Lorne, Radek and the rest of our road crew - thanks for sticking with us - we’ll miss you.

 

Aiden - our little brother - saying thank you is so completely inadequate, because as far as we’re concerned Atlantis was and is, and always will be a five-person band. We value your continued friendship above all else, because you know and understand like no one else.

 

Our friends and family, you’ve all been wonderful - we love you all.

 

Finally, and most importantly we’d like to say the biggest thank you of all to our fans. Without you, we’d have gotten nowhere. You guys have been wonderful to us, loyal through thick and thin, some of you supporting us when we were mere auditionees on a TV show. We owe our success to you, and you’ve enriched our lives with your love and creativity.

 

We know you’ll be upset at our decision, but we hope you’ll understand and come to accept that no boy band lasts forever, and we it was right to quit while we were still ahead.

 

The room exploded again, and the boys spent the next hour and a half fielding questions, with a good few curve balls thrown in for good measure. As usual, John and Rodney did most of the talking, Carson being too overcome by emotion to speak for much of the time, and Ronon being his normal taciturn self.

 

The next day special help lines were set up all over the world for distraught fans who thought their universe was coming to an end to phone and talk about their grief. They were manned around the clock for the next two weeks, and were available during the night for two weeks after that. The operators were rarely left waiting for a call.

 

~ o 0 () 0 o ~

 

And so Atlantis ‘Greatest Hits’ Tour also became their farewell tour. They were besieged by more fans than ever, and in five cities the venue was moved from the proposed arenas into the stadiums to accommodate for demand. It was an exhausting, emotional rollercoaster and the guys were both grateful and distraught when they departed Japan to return to the US for a short rest and their last ever rehearsals in preparation for the Super Bowl.

 

There were rumors upon rumors flying around concerning what this last performance would consist of, and anyone involved in the preparations was sworn to the highest levels of secrecy. Some thought that the band would parachute into the stadium; others thought the team of McKay/Sheppard would write a special farewell song, while others dreamt of duets with big screen versions of Frank Sinatra, Freddie Mercury, and Marilyn Monroe. When the day came, the performance far surpassed all expectations, and strangely, no one had predicted what actually happened.

 

The TV audience that day was the largest recorded for a Super Bowl, as millions who cared nothing for football tuned in for Atlantis. Even the competing teams had begged their coaches to be allowed to watch at least the first five minutes so they could honestly say they’d been there for Atlantis’ final performance.

 

More nervous than they had ever been in the nearly six years of their career the four boys made their way out on to the stage to a rapturous reception. All over the world, Atlantis fans (some weeping even before the performance started) huddled expectantly around their cable TVs, some staying or getting up in the wee small hours of the night for the occasion.

 

For thirty seconds they stood there, clearly overwhelmed and trying to drink it all in, before Carson of all people pulled himself together, and announced that a special guest would join them. If the initial reception of the band had been rapturous, then the reaction when Aiden bounced out on to the stage could only be described as euphoric, bordering on hysterical. In living rooms all around the globe, girls of all ages burst into tears (if they hadn’t already been crying) or shrieked loud enough to wake the neighbors, clutching at their friends in paroxysms of delight.

 

When the screams finally went down a few decibels, the band launched into a slick medley of their greatest hits, Aiden joining in the vocals and choreography as if he’d never left the band. None of them missed a beat, or sang a flat note or hit a duff chord. It was the finest performance that any of them had ever delivered. The start of the second half of the game was delayed by twelve minutes due to one of the longest standing ovations in the history of anything anywhere, and the virtual baying of the crowd for an encore (‘Hide and Seek’ the very first of the McKay/Sheppard number ones). Only the most steely-hearted of the hard-core football fans complained.

 

None of the five ever spoke about what they did for the rest of that monumental day.

 

~ o 0 () 0 o ~

 

When the furor surrounding their split finally died down from a roar to a barely audible murmur, the guys felt able to get on with the rest of their lives.

 

While Atlantis had consulted with other choreographers during their career, it had always been Ronon who had been the driving force behind the creation and execution of their dance routines. The other choreographers had been brought in only when he was too busy with other band stuff to be able to give their routines the attention they deserved, and even on those occasions, the moves had to meet with his exacting approval before they’d be allowed on stage or into a video. He’d quickly gained a reputation for being one of the finest and most exciting choreographers in the world, and a few hours of consultation time with him had been voraciously sought after even when he was still in the band. After Atlantis Ronon was deluged with offers to choreograph for videos, shows and even films and musicals. He was able to pick and choose the projects he wanted, even among some of the most established and popular artists in the world.

 

In 2017, he was accorded a special and unprecedented mention at the Academy Awards for the stunning choreography he designed for that year’s Best Motion Picture; a wonderful remake of West Side Story that the critics proclaimed to be even better than the original.

 

Aiden had got himself back together while Atlantis was still up and running. His moment of epiphany came when he met a lovely young lady called Vala. Vala had been through her own catalogue of problems and come out the other side a stronger and better human being. Together they turned his life around, until he was able to function normally again. They moved out to Georgia when they heard that Aiden’s grandmother was ill, and stayed there after she died. Eventually he became a much loved breakfast radio show presenter with Atlanta’s biggest radio station, and his former band mates soon learned to expect to be dragged to at least one grilling on his show if they went to visit.

 

Carson decided to leave the world of singing and dancing behind him. He studied to become a physical therapist, and after a few years established himself as one of the most expensive and in demand therapists in Hollywood. His patient list consisted mainly of pop stars and A-list actors as word of his excellence in treatment, outstanding levels of discretion, and being the nicest man in Hollywood spread.

 

However, he always made space in his busy schedule to treat John, Ronon, Rodney and Aiden for their various ailments and aches and pains (whether genuine or exaggerated) He wouldn’t even hear of them trying to pay him. He looked forward to their appointments as an opportunity to reminisce and trade barbs with them, relishing the opportunity not to have to be Mr. Nice Guy.

 

He and Laura had three children, and he felt himself greatly contented with life, even if his youngest continually pestered him about getting a dog instead of the turtles and fish they had as pets because of his allergies. He flatly refused to adopt any sheep or penguins.

 

Rodney put his musical genius to good use and became a film score composer, relishing the challenge of writing parts for an entire orchestra, choir and various weird and wonderful instruments besides. He soon became well known for the amazing levels of emotion he weaved into his scores, and more than one critic commented that his music had saved a film from being dragged down by sub-standard acting.

 

He also won Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music in the Creative Arts Emmys

for an exciting new TV show about a group of intrepid adventurers who visited different planets with the use of a device clumsily named the ‘Door to Heaven’.

 

Of course, that was overshadowed when he won the Academy Award for Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original song).

 

Rodney did not win the Oscar by himself. John made his own career in LA as a record producer after buying his own state-of-the-art studio, and even recorded a few solo albums himself, although while they all did moderately well, only the first one met with levels of success comparable to those he had enjoyed while in Atlantis. He also kept up his writing partnership with Rodney, penning an astounding number of hit records and making millions on the royalties. Their manner of writing was at times a strange one, as Rodney’s line of work took him all over the world searching out the appropriate orchestras and musicians. More often than not, Rodney would phone John to complain about the current problems he was experiencing with his recording; along the line of the studio was too big or the orchestra or soloists were too eager and sycophantic. John would pretend to listen sympathetically, but if he weren’t engaged in producing someone’s album, he’d find a co-pilot and fly over in his private jet to wherever Rodney was. Then they’d spend the next however many nights staying up way too late, snarking at each other, eating junk food, and writing songs while watching sci-fi, before John had enough and flew back to LA. If he weren’t able to get away, they’d switch to speakerphone and stay up all night, snarking with each other, eating junk food, and writing songs while watching crap on YouTube. 

 

When they accepted the film theme song commission Rodney flew to LA where John was putting the finishing touches on an album. They stayed up all night in his studio, snarking away, watching a ‘Door to the Lost City’ marathon (spin-off of ‘Door to Heaven’), writing, and in a bizarre twist of fate, recording the song themselves. The final version used the very first take, which held an intensity of emotion that quite eclipsed the film. That McKay/Sheppard would win the Oscar was a foregone conclusion. All five ex-Atlantis members attended the award ceremony, with Lorne and Teyla throwing them their own after-party on a disused tour bus to celebrate.

 

~ o 0 () 0 o ~

 

Ten years after Atlantis went their separate ways, Elizabeth (who had moved on from Pegasus Records and become a multi-multi-millionaire entertainment business mogul) had the idea of putting on a reunion show. John, Ronon, and Aiden readily agreed, eagerly anticipating the thrill of being adored the way they had been while, in Atlantis, even if it was only going to be for one night. Carson was terrified at the prospect, his life being so very different now, but caved when he heard that Rodney had also agreed. Rodney’s refusal to participate died the moment after Elizabeth e-mailed him a copy of the contract leasing Carnegie Hall for the night and he couldn’t get on the phone fast enough to tell her ‘yes’.

 

The concert sold out in less than an hour, and the media joined the fans in calling for more dates. This time, they just shrugged and agreed, playing ten US cities on their mini-tour and even venturing across the Atlantic to play one night in London’s Royal Albert Hall.

 

They pried Lorne and Radek away from their current tours and Elizabeth got hold of Teyla to recreate some of their more memorable costumes. The dance routines were more sedate than they used to be, as only Ronon was now capable of performing the energetic choreography of their heyday.  The vocal arrangements were different, as their singing voices had matured or grown slightly rusty with disuse.

 

But no one really cared, because it was Atlantis back together again, and their voices melted into one, reminding everyone why they would always be the best boy band in the universe.

 

THE END.

 

Additional Author’s Notes: There will be a prize for whoever first correctly guesses the British boy band that parts of this are vaguely based on, and puts their answer in the comments.

 

Comments

[with-apostrophe.livejournal.com]

Thank you, thank you! The thing is, they're so much better looking than ANY boy band out there.
And yes, Take That - but someone got there first!

[raging-insanity.livejournal.com]

Ah damn ;)