The rehearsal door opens onto Brent Mercer, a slim young man with pale skin, wild spiky brown hair, and a narrow face. His bass hangs across his shoulder as he takes in Eric’s wrinkled shirt and Keiji’s scar.
Sazabi's Brent Mercer
The band cannot survive another night like this.
Brent steps inside but does not set down the bass. His gaze moves between the three men, and the unfinished argument seems to make the room smaller.
Keiji Shinoda
You overheard enough to make that call?
Sazabi's Brent Mercer
I heard enough. We keep treating every mistake like proof somebody does not belong here.
Eric looks down at his collar. Mu-shi remains behind the kit, silent beneath his worn trucker hat, while Brent shifts his weight with visibly uncomfortable hesitation.
Sazabi's Brent Mercer
My parents already think this band is wasting my life. I cannot give them another reason to be right.
✓ Quest Accepted
Keep Brent with the band
“I ask us all to face the mistakes without blaming each other.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +0)
Sazabi's Santana
We need to face the mistakes without blaming each other.
Santana’s words settle over the rehearsal space. No one interrupts. Brent lowers his gaze, and Keiji’s rigid shoulders ease by a fraction.
Keiji Shinoda
All right. I pushed too hard. Eric’s mistakes are real, but attacking him did not fix them.
Eric Greyman
I lost the chorus. I also should have said I could not hear myself before the take. That part is on me.
Sazabi's Brent Mercer
Then we deal with the actual problem. We check the monitors, run the chorus again, and stop turning errors into verdicts.
Mu-shi gives one quiet tap against the drum rim, then adjusts his worn trucker hat. The gesture breaks the stalemate without demanding another word.
Keiji Shinoda
We face it together. No more blaming the room, the singer, or whoever happens to be closest.
Quest Complete
Keep Brent with the band