"La-la-la—-!"
"No, no, no!"
Toru walked inside the house, where Marachii had Akari, Hikari, Saori, and Aoki lined up, with Dachii and the others in the back watching. Marachii shook his head. "Let's try this again. Only Hikari and Saori are supposed to be singing. And you're not supposed to sing at the same time!"
"Then who sings first?" Hikari asked.
Toru cleared his throat. "What madness are you children playing at in here?"
"I was trying to organize them," Marachii admitted. "But I don't know if this is going to work."
"Let's just hurry up and dance, so we can get this over with," Aoki demanded.
"Yeah. I've been around this psychotic brute long enough," Akari agreed, gesturing to Aoki. Toru whacked them all upside the head.
"Did I ask for your personal input?" Toru remarked.
"Ow…"
He straightened himself. "Have the girl guide them. Her mother was a renowned dancer, with a lovely singing voice as well. It'll make more sense if she controls the rhythm."
Saori's eyes lit up. "Me? I get to teach them?"
"That's what I just said, did I not?"
Aoki narrowed her eyes. "She's just a little girl, why would you give her such responsibility—-?"
Toru whacked her across the head. "Enough complaining! Get to work! Form your song and routine in the next few days! No meals or sleep until you do!"
"But sir…" Noriko moaned. "We need food!"
"Then get it together."
He disappeared.
"I hate him," Aoki growled.
Marachii sat on the couch next to Luca, who was asleep as a wolf. "Well, I need to sleep. Saori, can you work your magic?"
She clapped her hands. "Of course! Give me some music!"
Marachii went over to the speaker, holding his phone close to it, and a catchy melodic tune began playing, catching Saori's attention. "Ooh! What's this?"
"It's a style of beat humans use," Marachii explained. "Like modern pop music."
"Awesome! Turn it up!"
As the music got louder, Saori grabbed Akari and Aoki by the arms and pulled them forward. "Line up! Line up!"
"Saori," Akari worried. "What are you doing?"
She straightened Akari's body out. "You're so stiff, Akari! Get loose!"
"Saori, I know how to dance—-"
The little girl shifted attention to Aoki, who visibly winced as she approached. "Don't even. If you touch me, I swear—-!"
Saori spread Aoki's stance out. "You're so tense! Relax!"
"I am relaxed, you little gremlin!"
Saori got in front of them, tapping her foot on the ground. "Now, follow my moves!"
She swayed her hips and did a twirl off one leg, causing a rainbow glow to appear around her as she spun like a top. Aoki and Akari watched, silent. Saori spun around them a few times before landing gracefully.
"Your turn!" she encouraged.
Aoki and Akari both shared a look before taking deep breaths and attempting to mimic Saori's routine. They swayed side to side and attempted to twirl, their bodies glowing with magic, but they accidentally bumped into each other and fell to the floor.
"Move!" Aoki demanded.
"You move!" Akari shot back.
Saori shook her head, crossing her arms. "That's terrible! Try it again!"
They both groaned and got up, glaring at the other before they closed their eyes and found a rhythm. Almost naturally, they began to twirl, with both of their bodies erupting in brilliant flashes of white.
"That's it!" Saori cheered. "Keep going!"
As they twirled left and right, they accidentally collided with each other and tumbled over, knocking Dachii to the ground.
"Aoki!" Akari shouted. "If you can't dance, just stay out of my way!"
"You came towards me, stupid princess!" Aoki argued back.
Saori sighed. "Wrong, wrong, wrong!"
Hikari inched over to Marachii. "So…umm…what else do we have to do?"
"Write a world-class song, master the art of special effects, display great skill and rhythm with your instruments, and that's not including the dancing and vocals," Marachii explained.
Hikari groaned. "That sounds like a LOT of work…"
"Well, that's what practice is for!" Marachii assured.
Akari smoothed out her clothes. "I won a DANCE competition. I don't need to be a learner. Get me away from her."
Aoki got up as well. "That's cute. I've only been alive almost a hundred times longer than you. You think I'm some amateur?"
"You look like it," Akari scoffed.
Saori fired a rainbow into the air. "Girls! Stop fighting! You have to dance together! As a pair!"
"Ew," Akari remarked.
"Gross," Aoki agreed.
Noriko nudged Dachii. "Are they always this…dysfunctional?"
"Yes," Dachii replied.
"I find it entertaining," Reika laughed. "Shouldn't all music groups have drama?"
"But if we don't get this right, we'll fail and General Toru will kill us!" Noriko warned. "There has to be some way this can work! Right?"
"Not to mention the singing," Marachii pointed out. "How are we going to get you guys to sing a human-style song?"
Luca stretched and yawned. "The hardships of life."
Saori fired more rainbow beams into the air, her face suddenly deadly serious. "Listen up! We're going to put on a show and you're all going to like it! Miss Aoki! Miss Akari! Grab each other's arms! You're going to do a double twirl!"
"A double twirl…?" Akari questioned.
"The hell is that?" Aoki wondered.
Saori took Hikari's hand in hers. "Miss Hikari! When I spin, I want you to spin at the same time! Then we'll merge together and form a super-cool twirling tornado!"
"That sounds odd…" Hikari commented. "But okay!"
Hikari grabbed her hand and spun just as Saori did, golden magical sparks flying off her body. They both twirled at the same time, spinning so fast they became one massive spinning torpedo, with dazzling golden and rainbow light coming off of them.
"Whoa," Reika gasped. "Awesome."
Once they stopped, Hikari and Saori gracefully separated. Hikari wiped the sweat off her face. "You were right, that was cool!"
"I know!" Saori cheered, turning to Akari and Aoki. "Now you two try!"
Akari and Aoki both looked like they had been slapped in the face. Saori nudged them. "Come on, it's easy!"
After a moment's hesitation, Aoki roughly took Akari's hand in hers, who responded by yanking her arm in turn. They both tried to find a rhythm and twirl, but as they spun their bodies couldn't find a harmony, and they repelled off one another.
Saori slapped her forehead. "Fine! You both can practice this all night, until you do it perfectly!"
They both groaned.
The next day…
Toru walked into the living room to find Marachii, Luca, Hikari, Reika, and Noriko all sleeping. Dachii was standing off to the side, not moving.
"What on earth is this?" Toru asked.
"They fell asleep after all that practice…" Dachii answered.
"Where's Saori and the other two?"
Dachii pointed to the backyard, where Saori was busy teaching Aoki and Akari dance moves. Toru rubbed his chin. "All night practice? I love to see it."
"It won't work…" Dachii admitted, pointing as Akari tripped over Aoki's foot, who laughed. "They don't…like each other."
Dachii and Toru watched as Akari got up, enraged, firing a blast of energy at Aoki, who causally dodged it before throwing a red card in her face that exploded.
BOOM.
Saori got in between them, but to no avail. As both got into fighting stances, Toru whacked them both upside the head, interrupting them. "Enough. Cut it out."
"Hey!" Akari shouted. "Go away, she deserves it!"
"Yeah, old man, something has to give and it's not going to be me!" Aoki growled.
"I said ENOUGH."
He formed his lance and used the butt of it to send them both flying to the ground. "You are both soldiers. Act like it."
They both grumbled as they got up. Toru turned to Saori. "What are you teaching them?"
"I'm teaching them to dance as a pair!" Saori explained. "But they can't seem to grasp it!"
Toru cracked his neck. "Let me offer assistance."
Saori stepped back, curious.
"You both like to fight, right?" Toru asked.
"I guess," Akari remarked.
"All the time," Aoki admitted.
"Combat is a form of dance," Toru clarified. "Attack me, and you will see."
"Attack you?" Akari repeated. "In these outfits?"
He formed his lance. "Did I stutter?"
Akari and Aoki rolled their eyes and got into fighting stances, Aoki drawing her blade and Akari summoning her shield. In the blink of an eye, Toru lunged at them, swinging his lance high.
Akari ducked low, managing to remain on her heels, before attempting to kick him. Aoki tried to slash his head, leaping over his swing.
"Hah."
With a quick twitch, he evaded them both as they landed. Aoki tried to sweep his legs, while Akari performed a jump kick. Toru easily twisted his body between them both, avoiding them. "Inferior moves."
In quick fashion, they both tag-teamed him, swinging punches and kicks as fast as they could, while Toru blocked and evaded them. As he countered, he grabbed both of their arms and stepped back, leaving the two girls face to face with each other.
"See?" he pointed out. "Art. The same way you both can remain on your heels in combat should be the same way you can remain on your heels when dancing. It's the same art, just different forms."
He released their arms. "As teammates, you should be able to synchronize with each other. There should be no flaws in your movements. Every action, every pre-action, it should all be precise."
They both turned around and folded their arms, and he grabbed them by the scruffs of their necks. "I see you both want to do this the hard way. How about some human dance classes then?"
They both immediately turned around. "No! No! We'll listen!"
He held up a poster that showed free tap dancing lessons. "Are you sure? They're open all day."
They both nodded.
He headed for the door. "Good. I expect progress then. If sufficient advancement is not made, we shall turn to the human side of things."
He closed the door behind him, and Aoki shuddered. "Humans…no…anything but that!"
Akari looked at her outfit. "I can't let them see me dance in this! I'll look ridiculous!"
"Then you better get to dancing!" Saori giggled, mischievously.
They both reluctantly grabbed each other's hands as Saori resumed her teaching. Dachii watched from inside as Toru appeared behind him. "And how is your side coming along?"
"What side…?"
"The MUSIC," Toru stated. "Is the song and beat ready?"
"Not…exactly…" Dachii shrugged.
"I see," Toru said.
He moved in the middle of the room in an instant, slamming his lance on the ground and waking the others up. "Everyone up! Your job is not fulfilled! I want no rest, not even a brief shut-eye, until you've got the background music and vocals picture perfect, understand?"
They all groaned as they awakened. "I shall take that as a yes."
Meanwhile…
Yamato drove from house to house, looking for any signs of suspicious activity. As he drove through the Silver Oak streets, he eventually stopped at a certain house, where a woman was frantically attempting to lock the door. He immediately recognized her and pulled up.
"Hey! I know you!"
She immediately stopped, the color draining from her face. Once she turned to see who it was, her heart stopped. "Yamato? Why is a Voltian here?"
"Kia!" he realized. "I'm on a mission! An important one at that!"
"Are my kids with you?" she questioned.
He nodded. Her face immediately hardened. "Get them out of Estrium, now."
Yamato gave her a confused look. "Why?"
"It's not safe," she warned. "It's not safe at all."
"Well, we can't leave until we've completed our mission!" Yamato told her. "Any bad guys that come, they'll get laid right out!"
Kia grabbed her head, dropping to the ground. "Ugh…don't stay here…go…take my kids with you…please…!"
"Hey! Is something wrong, Kia?" Yamato called out.
As soon as he got out of the car to check on her, she was no longer there. The house was barricaded as well, with a lock on the front and a sign that read: "KEEP OUT."
"Could this hold the artifact?" Yamato wondered. "What is this place?"
Yamato touched the lock, but the moment he did, a massive wave of shadow erupted from the front door, knocking him out. When he came to…
…the entire house was gone.
—-