In the lounge…
In the lounge of the venue, Dachii was watching Mihina and Haruta talk, buying snacks while they gossiped and commented on the concert.
"I can't believe that girl could move like that!" Mihina remarked.
"I know! How did she pull off that glowing spin?" Haruta wondered. "That's gotta be some detailed special effect, because BOY did it look real!"
Mihina handed Dachii a bag of chips. "Here Dachii, this is for you!"
He took the bag. "Thanks…"
"So, what did you think of the concert—-?" she asked, before suddenly pausing, looking behind Dachii.
Haruta went quiet as well. Dachii sighed and looked back, noticing Toru, still in his dress attire, giving him an unimpressed stare. "Well, well."
Dachii turned around. "Yes…General?"
"Frolicking around, are we?" he inquired.
"Uh…"
He gave a Dachii a whack on the head. "Come with me."
Mihina hopped out of her chair. "Hey! Who are you? And why did you just hit my best friend?"
Haruta tugged on Mihina's arm. "Mihina…his skin is glowing too, I don't know if you wanna…you know…"
"I don't care! Answer my question!"
Toru narrowed his eyes at her before turning around. "Come, Dachii. Before your little friend gets herself hurt."
"Who are you—-?"
Haruta had to calm her down, and Dachii sighed. "I'll be back…"
"If anything happens to you, I'll kill him!" Mihina threatened.
Zentaruo and Chiho walked over, pointing to Toru. Zentaruo cleared his throat. "His skin is glowing too! I know you guys saw that! They're everywhere!"
Mihina folded her arms. "He seems mean."
"Now that I think about it," Haruta considered. "Maybe leaving Dachii alone with him wasn't the best idea."
"NOW you agree with me?" Mihina exclaimed.
"Well, he's scary!"
Toru took Dachii around the corner to another side of the lounge, where Squad S-6 and S-1 were sitting. "Enlighten me, Dachii. What did you find out during that concert?"
"Well…Saori won a dance challenge…" Dachii explained. "And now she gets to be on his next show…"
Toru lifted an eyebrow. "Is that so?"
Dachii nodded, and Saori jumped up. "Yeah! He said I did great!"
Toru appeared in front of her in an instant, his eyes serious. "Did you stop to think that if he is the enemy, he'd easily recognize that you are no human?"
Saori stopped. "Umm…no?"
Toru smacked the top of her head. "Foolishness."
"Ow! But I won!"
Hikari stepped in front of Saori. "Wait! She can go backstage, and get access to parts of the experience that other fans can't get! Maybe we could use that to spy? Besides, he didn't seem to mind, even if he did notice she's not human!"
Toru appeared to consider the possibility. "That doesn't sound bad on paper, but how do you plan to maintain your cover?"
Marachii got up. "I have an idea! He said she could bring an entire group! What if we formed a pop group to back her up? Ones that could sing and dance! That'd be something he can't resist! And then once they get super close to him, he might let his plans slip!"
"Pop group?" Toru repeated. "Who among these useless meager fodder can hope to join such a thing? Besides the rainbow girl?"
Hikari raised her hand. "What about us three?"
She motioned to herself, Akari, and Aoki, the latter of whom immediately refused and shook her head violently. "No. No. Hell no."
Hikari grabbed her shoulders. "Come on, Aoki! It'll be easy!"
"It won't be for her," Akari scoffed. "She can't dance or sing."
"Who can't?" she snapped back.
"You."
"You wanna put your life on that?"
Toru whacked them all over the head. "Enough. Including you three with Saori, that makes four. I think seven should be an adequate number. Which means three more members are needed."
Yamato jumped up. "Let me in! I know how to shake a leg!"
"No," Toru declined.
"Man!"
He scanned his members. "Reika, Noriko. You two should fit fine."
Noriko nearly had a heart attack, while Reika just tilted her head. "Me? Are you sure? I'm not really known for my…dancing."
"But you can dance, can you not?"
"Sort of?"
"Good," Toru stated. "So you and Noriko will join."
Noriko weakly got up. "Please, Sir! Pick someone else! Anyone else!"
He whacked her over the head. "Ow!"
"Now we just need one last member," Toru mused. "A face of the group, even. Who fits the bill?"
Yamato was jumping up and down behind him, but he ignored the boy. "Dachii."
"Oh great…" Dachii thought. "Not again…"
He pointed to Dachii. "I'm sure you'll give them a…unique flair. The emo-look would surely be a fan favorite."
"It's not emo…" Dachii clarified.
"But what if he attempts to capture Dachii?" Akari asked. "Wouldn't that be a huge risk?"
"His mission is the artifact," Toru pointed out. "Attempting to abduct Dachii before getting it, especially in such a public setting, would only give him away."
"Well…true." Akari acknowledged.
"It is settled, then. Saori, you will bring these six along with you to the next concert. Whatever it takes, you will infiltrate his inner circle, and you will extract all the information you can out of him. As for me and my squad, we will search the surrounding cities for any trace of the artifact. Any information you obtain goes straight to me, got it?"
"Yes, Mister!" Saori replied.
Toru motioned to his squad. "Come. We've got more surveillance to do. Reika, Noriko, you will stay here and figure out the details of your new…arrangement."
"Wait, don't leave me!" Noriko begged.
But he and his squad were already gone.
"Don't they ever take a break?" Hikari asked. "They've been scouting the city all day now!"
"General Toru would rather kill us than let us take a break," Reika joked. "Maybe at midnight, we can find a place to lay our heads."
"Yeah, no," Hikari declined.
"How do pop groups work?" Akari asked. "What are we supposed to do?"
"Simple," Marachii explained. "It's kinda like a band. You have your dancers, your singers, your drummers, you know?"
"What's a drummer?" Reika asked. "Never heard of that."
"It's someone who beats a drum."
"Beats?" Aoki perked up. "We get to fight?"
Marachii sighed. "Here we go again."
Luca yawned from the couch. "How long until this next concert anyway? A week? Two weeks?"
"Two days," Dachii answered. "The paper said so."
"Two days to explain this ALL to them?" Marachii groaned. "There's no way! I haven't even gotten to the outfits, the lyrics, the special effects!"
"You've lost me, Marachii," Akari remarked.
"What are special effects?" Reika wondered.
Marachii sat back down. "Dachii, please explain this to them. They're giving me a headache."
"Sure…a pop group, is basically…"
A hand clamped down on his shoulder. "Jones!"
Everyone except Dachii jumped back in surprise, while Dachii remained still. "Yes, Okuda?"
Okuda laughed. "Knew I'd find you here! I didn't know you were a music fanboy!"
"I'm not…" Dachii said.
"This guy again?" Akari questioned. "Dachii, how do you know him?"
"Long story…"
Okuda noticed Reika and Noriko. "More glowing girls? What is this, some internet cult or something?"
Marachii scratched his head. "Hey, Okuda, sorry to bother you, but we're kinda looking to form a pop group of our own. Do you maybe…possible…potentially have any supplies or equipment we could use?"
Okuda stared at him before laughing. "I KNEW it! You guys are just a bunch of goofballs! Hahaha!"
He wiped the tears from his face. "Well. Since I am one of the most popular guys in school, I've got access to the band room in Silver Oak High."
"Great!" Marachii replied, relieved. "So if you could just get us in there, maybe we could—-!"
"BUT!"
"Ahh hell."
Okuda sized them up. "You've gotta prove yourselves first! You must beat me, in a GAME!"
"A game?" Marachii asked. "What game?"
"Not just any game," Okuda laughed. "BASKETBALL."
Marachii nearly passed out. "We're doomed."
Okuda broke into a fit of laughter. "10:30, brats! See you at Silver Oak! Win, and you get all the costumes and instruments you need! Lose? You all gotta bow down and kiss the ground beneath my feet! See you there!"
He spotted Mihina chatting with Haruta. "Is that my lady? Gotta go!"
"And he's gone," Marachii noted.
"Basketball…" Dachii murmured. "Haven't played in a while…"
Hikari cleared her throat. "So, what's basketball?"
"Yeah, is that another of your sports?" Akari wondered.
"Does it involve fighting?" Aoki asked.
"What's a sport?" Reika questioned.
"Is it dangerous?" Noriko worried. "Please don't be dangerous!"
Luca popped beef jerky into his mouth.
Marachii thought for a moment. "Is there any possibility where we just skip that challenge and we break into the band room ourselves?"
"We can't," Dachii shot down. "They move the location every month…so kids don't steal…"
"Darn it."
Dachii paid attention to the argument Mihina and Ohara were having off to the side. "Wow. They never argue…"
Ohara threw his hands up. "Fine! Come to the Silver Oak gym tonight! You'll see!"
Mihina crossed her arms. "Whatever! But I'm not coming for you, jerk!"
"So much for love," Dachii thought.
Okuda walked past Dachii on his way out. "10:30. Don't forget it."
Mihina stormed over to Dachii. "What business do you have with that jerk?"
"Uh…just…a game of basketball…"
She gripped his shoulders tightly. "You better not lose, okay?"
"…Okay."
She sighed and slung her purse over her shoulder. "I have to go relax my mind. I'll see you guys later."
She left the lounge, and Marachii watched her with a perplexed look. "What's up with her? She's usually never this mad!"
"Who knows…" Dachii responded. "Who knows…"
"Yet again," Akari repeated. "What IS basketball?"
"We should…go to the court…" Dachii suggested.
"Yeah," Marachii agreed. "We should."
At Silver Oak High…
Dachii, Marachii, and the others all piled up into the gym, where other kids were playing, shooting on the opposite side of the court. The moment Aoki saw them, she flinched. "You didn't say other humans would be here!"
"They won't…bother you…Aoki…" Dachii reassured.
"They better not," she warned, her eyes flickering red for a moment.
Akari noticed the rack of basketballs on the sideline. "What are we supposed to do with those?"
Marachii pointed to the basketball hoops that were attached to the ceiling. "You put them in those hoops."
"That sounds easy," Akari said, grabbing one and walking over to the hoop. "Like this?"
She threw the ball into the hoop and it bounced a few times before going in.
"She just violated…many rules…" Dachii remarked.
"Yeah, she did," Marachii replied. "We've still got an hour. Hopefully that's long enough. Who should we pick to play on our team?"
Dachii shrugged.
"Well, Luca is a must," Marachii decided. "And Akari and Aoki are pretty athletic, but their attitudes are a bit of a…red flag."
Akari put her hands on her hips. "Excuse me, my attitude is fine."
"And I'm the Vice-General," Aoki scoffed. "I can act however I want."
"My point exactly," Marachii sighed.
Luca picked up a ball. "This sport seems interesting. What's the deal with it?"
"Everyone sit down," Marachii ordered. "This might take a while to explain."
Meanwhile, backstage inside the venue…
Uta was busy packing up all of his equipment when one of his assistants, a young boy named Jiro, walked over to him. "Sir! There's a visitor for you!"
"Oh? Who?" Uta inquired.
"She calls herself Water Witch!"
Uta's eyes lit up. "Really? I'll be right there!"
He patted Jiro on the head. "Could I trouble you to pack the rest of this up for me in the meantime?"
Jiro nodded. "Of course!"
Uta walked through the backstage halls until he reached the front of the stage, where a Zharian girl was sitting in a chair, wearing a black and teal dress while crossing her legs.
"Princess Vortessia!" he greeted. "What brings you to my humble little show?"
She got up. "Humble isn't the best way to describe it," she remarked. "And I told you, don't call me 'Princess,' Melodar."
"Yeah, yeah. So, did you come to sing?"
She shook her head. "Singing is beneath me. I came to assist you on your mission. Did you find the Armor?"
Uta rolled his eyes. "Of course you'd talk business. But my scouts searched this city and didn't find anything. It's probably in one of the neighboring ones."
"I request you hurry and find it," she insisted. "The Master has been unresponsive for days now, the other Elites are scattered on what to do, and by everything I hold dear, Mysteria is driving me CRAZY!"
"Ha! Well, don't worry! I'll find the armor, and I'll strum a nice little song, too! You wanna hear?"
Vortessia turned toward the exit. "Decline. Goodbye, Uta. We will meet again."
She walked out, while Uta sighed. "Why does she always have to be so cold?"
Outside, Vortessia walked through the night streets, stopping abruptly to tilt her head back. "You can come out, now. I know you're there."
With a snap of her fingers, a powerful wave of water washed from her body, forming a hand that grabbed her stalker, a Voltian in a hoodie and cargo pants.
"Interesting," Vortessia noted. "One of the Queen's very own agents. It seems they've caught wind of our plan."
"Let me go!" the man demanded.
Vortessia slammed the man down in front of her, breaking his back. "Argh!"
"How cute. I didn't think your race could get any more pathetic. Not going to magic your way out of this one?"
He held up his hand, but nothing came from it. Vortessia formed a spike out of water, holding it high in the air. "I'll give you a tip. Next time, don't listen to royalty."
Her eyes glowed blue. "They can be deceiving."
And from far away, the scream of the man could be heard as the spike collided with his body.
—-