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.”

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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."

"I still don't remember any of when I was taken. But I think...the memory that feels most fresh is probably Venus and I on a rooftop. Ah...actually, I think that wouldn't help you place anything. It's...a little private."

And she blushed faintly, thinking back to what had spurred that memory to return.

"Anyway. It'll come. As will all things."

"It will, and..." she pauses for a moment, not sure if she should bring it up, "-and when we go home, more of them will come, surrounded by more people who love you. Ami, Makoto, Mamoru, Chibiusa, Setsuna, and Hotaru will all be very happy to have you home again."

Though, she wondered if Rei would consider it home.

"Just... just in case, though, should something happen, something that feels beyond you as you are, just... if you remember that crystal I told you about, try and call for that, Rei, and it will help in amazing ways, it always has."

Rei nodded quietly, dipping her head as she started pulling the car out of the garage and out onto the street.

"I'll try. I don't really know what I'm trying to sense, but if it's like the fire, control will come in time. I...hope I won't need it though."

"I don't want you to need it either, Rei.... but I also don't want you scared of it. The crystal is a part of you, it's your very life. It doesn't make you who you are, admittedly, but I don't want you afraid to use it."

She took a deep breath, leaning against the car seat.

"I'm sorry if it all sounds like so much, weird... aliens and magic and crystals sounds a bit much when it's not something you've grown up accepting."

"I won't be afraid."

Rei's voice was firm on that point. Solid, steady, and certain as always.

"And it's no stranger than musical magic, or Blanche and Lesedi's ability to teleport, or Doctor's psychic powers, Ivan's shapeshifting, and Pao-Lin's electrical powers. And Luce's fire magic. Or...whatever it is she has. That was a little confusing."

"I know, you have a will of steel," she took another deep breath though it was getting hard again to keep her eyes open after her long day.

"Ah, I guess that is true," she had only found out about everyone powers and abilities after she got them to the warehouse but it had been part of Rei's "full disclosure" though, the damage was done. Ivan and possibly (probably) wanted nothing to do with her. She was sure Rei wasn't happy she wasn't getting along with her family.

"It's... it's upsetting to know just how much was taken from all of you. There is no talking to Lesedi and Blanche," she always wanted to try talking but... "It's going to take all of us to stop them."

No, Rei was not happy, and she understood exactly why her family was upset. Usagi, Haruka, Michiru, and Minako had been cagey about any answers even before the departure from the labels. They weren't much more forthcoming now, with anyone but Rei. Add that in with other rescuers being wary of them and their own paranoia, and it was a recipe for a lot of unhappy feelings. Rei blamed nobody, but she had taken secret delight in revealing the girls identities and the looks of surprise all around.

"It is," Rei said as they drove off into the night. "Get some rest. I'll wake you when we're at the apartment."

Usagi was out before Rei even finished her sentence, unable to stay awake after everything that she had gone through today. She slept the entire ride home, honestly able to sleep anywhere if given the chance.

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☆TRACK XI: THIS FIXATION

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