interstellar5555 | ☆TRACK XI: THIS FIXATION

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☆TRACK XI: THIS FIXATION

Who: Everyone! Especially Lapis and all musicians.
What: The Final Festival finally begins.
When: May 5th, 2055, at 5:55PM.
Where: Concert stages for both Pride and Virgo, as well as throughout the city.
Warnings: Lapis related violence.

“I think I'm drowning.
Asphyxiated.
I wanna break this spell
That you've created.

You're something beautiful;
A contradiction.
I wanna play the game.
I want the friction.”

☆THIS FIXATION

The start times of the festivals are very explicit. The first notes are to be played at 5:55 PM – no sooner, and no later. This has been enforced by every recital leading up to this point, and today the word is law. The audience view it as a peculiarity. How could both labels independently decide to do something so particular?

Those on the stage will feel it in their hearts. There’s more to it than just another concert. Something is happening, bigger than all of you, and something deep down tells you that you are powerless to stop it now. There’s a momentum that’s been building for centuries, and only now will the show truly begin.

the 55th minute | the 5th hour | the 5th day | the 5th month | the 2055th year
Those with magical, spiritual, or musical sense will feel it strongly. The magic of it is thick in the air, enveloping the entirely of Vista within its breadth. The music begins, and a terrible tension in the air finally breaks. In that precise moment, something has been released – and there is no going back from here.

☆THE SHORT AND DIRTY

The ritual has finally begun. So let's break this down.

► The same moment the festivals begin, and occult magical ritual has been set in motion. That special time window that the labels were waiting for? This is it. Why the number 5 is so important we may never know, but the key thing to note is that the force of musical power behind the labels are now multiplying, and will only be getting stronger the longer the ritual goes on. Those with Fame Power abilities will feel more and more potent as time goes on as well. Magical juice will come easier and they will get bigger magical effects for their effort.

► The festival will begin with the labels biggest acts, so only a few of the player characters will be on stage at that point. Veteran musicians will start things off on a high note, and the rest will be lined up and ready for a seemingly unending roll of music all through the night and into the entirety of Friday and Saturday. Friday has been deemed a city wide public holiday because that’s how seriously Vista takes its music. Fledgling bands with characters of Fame Power 4+ or Fame Fortune 4+ will have the honour of being part of the first wave of performances, all starting at 5:55PM. This is a seriously big deal. So don’t fuck up.

► Very shortly after the beginning of the festival, Lesedi Santiago is going to fuck everything up for you.

☆LESEDI FUCKS THINGS UP

And this is how Lesedi will fuck things up: she's getting Lapis Lazuli to do it for her.

Lapis was recently captured by Pride Records while trying to sneak out information to the rescuers. She has been powerfully enchanted by Lesedi to attack and kill Virgo musicians and Rescuers alike, and her water powers will be temporarily enhanced by feeding off of Lesedi's magic.

Lapis is being sent to attack Virgo musicians first - ideally disrupting as many Virgo performances as possible and FUBARing Blanche's ritual right from the get go. Juno will quickly regroup and start sending Virgo's magical adepts to try to stop her, while keeping as many of them on stage as possible. Meanwhile, this is all occurring in broad fucking daylight. So what do the civilians think?

Well, they'll be scared and try to save themselves from any attacks they get caught in the middle of, but otherwise...it's like they've been reduced to zombies. None of them seem capable of acknowledging that anything weird is happening - the only thing they can focus on is the music, and as long as it continues their minds are ensnared. Rescuers who have been heavily effected by the brainwashing of the musical singles may also feel entranced by the music at the concert as well, and may have a similar lack of survival instinct. They'll be drawn to the music regardless of all else, up to and including the risk of death.

Lapis's player has been planning out a variety of fight threads in advance, but since Lapis as the ability to create a lot of collateral damage, people can also be free to assume that they are trying to save civilians from surprise water hazards as this goes on, or simply trying to survive themselves. We will be assuming there are no deaths caused by Lapis unless it is cleared with her player first. This includes random audience members.

This will go on for a while, until eventually Lapis is chased away from the festival and goes to attack the rescuer warehouse with the chip removal equipment instead. Silver will sent out an urgent message warning the rescuers of this, urging them to get over there as quickly as possible and help to remove the equipment and take it to a safe place. Silver themselves will not arrive immediately, and Gold is still nowhere to be seen - at least, not until the very end, when they will make a surprise return appearance to help attend to the Lapis Lazuli problem.

“Now that you know I'm trapped-
Sense of elation.
You'd never dream of
Breaking this fixation.

You will squeeze the life out of me.”

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh. It was Rei.

Usagi had a minor moment of panic that someone would recognize her and steal her away again. She reached out for the arm and held onto it as tight as she could.

Which unfortunately wasn't very much at all under the circumstance.

"No no, you need- you should be home," she whispered, lifting her head to look around, although for the moment they were alone.

"And it will be fine, just-" even talking was a chore, she panted. "Just couldn't let them stay hurt like that," she offered softly, unable to make herself any louder. "Might... might have overdone it," she knew she had to say it lest Rei scold her for it, and Rei would have to return Usagi's bad habit for sacrificing her own life for the safety and well being of her loved ones.

Rei looked at that weak grip, very nearly just tearing her arm free and beginning a short lecture on propriety, but she stopped herself. That was done, that was all a fake persona, a means to keep her separate. This was her friend...so instead she reached out with her free arm and tugged Usagi upwards and then readjusted her Tokyo Blade's baseball cap.

She was disguised. She was wearing a leather jacket, jeans, and that hat with sunglasses instead of her more fashionable outfits. She was, to all appearances, just a tourist or a recent immigrant, even going so far as to slur her accent just slightly...enough to seem like she was definitely fresh off the boat.

"I'm fine," she said mildly, "You're not. I know you can't let anyone stay hurt, but you need to be more careful. And I'm not leaving you in the streets for who knows what to find. Come on."

Usagi follows weakly because everything she does at the moment is "weakly." Weak protest and weaker movements. She swallows and leans heavily on Rei, closing her eyes and smiling at the scent of fire that always lingered on Rei's skin whether she knew it or not, like her internal fire seeped through her skin. She took a deep breath and looked up at Rei.

"Ah, I thought that was pretty careful," she smiled, not minding the soft scold since it was Rei just being Rei. "Ah, yeah... probably... yeah I don't think I'd have made it home any time soon," she concedes on the matter. She was starving, though, and more than that, she was wondering where she even was.

"Do you know where we are?"

Rei held her close, not willing to really let the blonde girl go. Taking the weight was easy, but something about what Usagi said rankled in her. The implication that she shouldn't have been here, working and helping the group she was now a part of...like she was incompetent. That irritation probably made her voice a little sharper than normal.

"Of course I do. I've learned my way around the city fairly well at this point. We're about a block from the garage I parked in. Once we get to the car, I'll get you to safety."

She'd gone about things the smart way, leasing a small sedan so that Haruka wasn't the only one with wheels. She'd be long gone, she figured, before the lease ran out...so it seemed a worthwhile investment with the money she had on hand.

It wasn't that she was trying to imply Rei was incompetent, but she had just gotten Rei back from months long brainwashing, a Rei who still didn't remember her and everything of her past. It was pure terror at the thought of losing Rei again more than anything else.

"Ah, so smart," she smiled as she remained leaning on Rei. "Sorry, about being heavy," she mumbled, knowing that she was not someone who ate as much as she did and come out of it light as a feather.

"Sorry about everything," she offered as they walked to the garage in question. Whether she was sorry about the situation or literally "everything" she didn't elaborate on. But she knew she had made Rei angry again and she didn't know what she did wrong, yet again.

"You're not heavy," Rei said with a huff, taking more of Usagi's weight easily. It helped that whatever supernatural power had granted her strength hadn't wavered when she'd left the label though. She couldn't change yet...and she'd tried to remember how...but it didn't matter much right now. That would come in time.

"And don't apologize. Just..." a sigh. "Take better care of yourself? Don't overdo it. And don't worry so much. Your heart's racing half the time you see me outside my room. I'm not made of glass, you know. Just ask Minako."

"No... no, you aren't... I'm not very good at holding back when people are hurt," it's what got her in most of her situations and nearly killed or outright killed in most situations.

She nearly apologized again but... but she wanted to know.

"Rei... I know... I know that you are remembering more and more each day... but... would you trust me with your life if it came to such a matter?" she was prepared, she told herself, for whatever answer Rei would give. She would be okay with Rei not trusting her so deeply yet, she would be happier if she was, but whether or not she did, Usagi would defend Rei's life with her all regardless. "Never mind," since she supposed the answer wasn't that important at the end of it all. She'd protect Rei regardless. "It's- I mean, it doesn't-" Rei wouldn't live with her if she didn't, right?

Her heart raced for more than just seeing Rei out and about but she wasn't sure how to explain it. You would think she would be a pro dealing with brainwashing and its aftermaths by now.

Rei looked back over at Usagi, her expression just a little incredulous. Had she seriously just asked that? What on earth was going through this girl's head? That didn't even make sense...

"Usagi. I already have trusted you with my life. And the lives of my family, too. I don't know where that question's coming from. I mean, think about what you did for me, and what kind of danger I placed myself...?"

To her it seemed obvious, and a little ridiculous for the girl to even worry about it. She didn't get it, and she figured that this was all extremely obvious. Clearly it wasn't, though, and that meant reassurances.

"I- I know," she did, she was just...

Well no, she wan't worried about Rei not trusting her, she knew she trusted Rei and Rei the same.

Maybe she just wasn't thinking straight, she knew she was usually more hopeful than this, better assured in herself, but what if she wasn't strong enough?

"I'm just... we're just... it's just..." so many were injured today, so many she couldn't help... She couldn't save them all, so how could she save the ones closest to her? "Rei-chan, I'm not used to being able to do so little," but if she sacrificed her life... what would that do here? "Not just fighting our enemies, but getting people to safety, making things better. I can't let myself entertain the notion we won't win, because I simply can't let that happen. But there are so many things unknown to us. We keep losing rescuers every day..." and poor Lapis...

"Usagi," Rei said just as sharply as before, pulling the girl into a bear hug. Is this what this was about? Really?

"We will win. Casualties happen but those people aren't dead. They're inside the towers. Waiting to be rescued. You can't think like that, and you can't talk like that. Least of all in front of people you're supposed to be helping. You may not be able to fix it all yourself, but who said you have to? That's why there are other people here to help. Myself included."

She's exhausted, certainly, but not enough to stop herself from hugging Rei, though it takes her a bit longer to hug back.

"We will win," she believes that as well, she has to. She tells herself every day they can, but sometimes it's harder to say, to believe in. She tried to smile but that require more energy than she had for the moment as they leaned up against Rei's car. "Whether people choose to stay here or to come back home... we have to stop Blanche and Santiago."

"You and the other senshi... I don't trust anyone more than you girls... And I don't... I don't say it in front of anyone but the senshi, my moments of doubt," she offered softly. She knew she couldn't say her doubts in front of anyone but the senshi. But maybe the senshi were tired of it. She could be stronger. She had to be stronger... She was better than this constant fear.

She was about to say sorry, only she realized Rei probably had no desire to hear that.

Edited 2016-05-12 07:37 (UTC)

Rei pulled open the car doors, giving Usagi a very serious look. She knew what the girl was saying, but a part of her wanted to snap back that she wasn't a senshi. She had some of her memories, but she didn't even really know what the word meant. If someone would tell her, that'd be one thing, but nobody had bothered. Just...you're one of us, and we'll protect you, and something inside her bubbled angrily about that.

"There can't be any room for doubt, for victory to be assured. We have to move forward with absolute conviction. And if there's doubt then you need to shove it down and forget it. Don't let it cloud your mind. You are strong enough to make it through this. I'm just a musician and I'm managing." A lapse, thanks programming, "So, don't worry so much."

She climbs in, not necessarily hiding from the look so much as trying not to collapse on the ground again. Still, she would offer everything if Rei asked, there was no need to hide anything anymore.

At Rei's comment she couldn't help but smile. Always so confident, so sure, and so convinced. It was one of the things Usagi depended on, when she couldn't be confident on her own, she could believe in her friends' beliefs.

"You're more than a musician. And even if you weren't, you wouldn't be 'just' anything, Rei, you never do anything 'just' except maybe to do it 'justice,'" okay so it was a bad play on words but she was tired.

"You keep...using that word, Senshi. I don't know what it means," Rei said once they were in the car and had the engine going. She is going to ignore the stupid pun, because believe her, Doctor shares enough dad jokes.

"I know it means soldier in Japanese. Or warrior, but...there's more to it than that. I can tell."

"Ah... sorry," she then blushed and cleared her throat. "Sorry for the... ah but now that you're out, I can answer any questions, no... no pass this time. But a senshi is... well, I guess it's your space lady. It means you are a guardian who protects your planet and ah... in this case Earth as well. You are... er... well, the humans, many years ago," MANY years ago, "called us goddesses. I guess that isn't really... wrong since we are immortal to a point. But uh, is there something specific you want to know?"

"I know I'm not human, and you've called me the god of war, and that I understand...but what am I supposed to do? I protect Mars?" She doesn't quite get it.

"No no, you protect Earth, Mars is where you gain your powers from, but we all live on Earth, now. We used to live on our respective planets and moons, but as millennia passed, we all went to Earth. You protect Earth from those who would do it and its people harm. On more than one occasion, it's been attacked by dark creatures as well as aliens from other planets."

"Okay...so those memories weren't just nightmares..." Rei breathed out with a shudder, taking her hands off the wheel.

"I'd almost hoped they were."

"I... well, no, some of them were nightmares given to us by the enemy, so I wouldn't know exactly what you saw, especially since you have the ability to see multiple possibilities and futures. But I could tell you which ones are real and which were from them enemies, if you want?"

"Do the names Nemesis and Pharoah 90 mean anything?" That's what she remembers...

"Second and third major enemy we faced as a group. Er... do you want to know about them? It will take a bit to explain them both.

Should she even bring up the whole... time travel aspect?

"No. I'll remember in time. Are they dead?"

She didn't want to go home to find Cthulu waiting, okay?

"Oh! Oh yes, they are!" and since she now knew what to look out for in the future, she'd know better regarding the 30th Century.

"They're both dead, we defeated them all together, Pharaoh 90 took all nine of us, Nemesis was just the Inner Senshi. We've defeated all of our enemies who have come to hurt the earth and solar system."

"Good. That's...that's good. I don't think I'd want to go to sleep at night knowing I'd be going home to fight against a...I'm not even sure what those things were."

"I don't know when exactly they took you from us since your memories are... well... different. But I do know that it isn't your fault, regardless. You probably fought as hard as you could to stop them, Rei. As for what awaits us... ah... well, as far as I know, only... one really big obstacle remains."

The... catastrophe she prevents thus making her and Endymion king and queen of Earth again, she doesn't know what it is this time, though, only that it doesn't happen until her early 20s.

"But we've always been able to achieve everything together, that's why the brooches changed into hearts, to show our unity."

☆TRACK XI: THIS FIXATION

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