Our Hearts Feel No Pain
Location: Home of Tears - Royal Canopy Club
Starring Primrose and SectoniaWord Count: 13865 (+14)
After exiting the sanctum and stopping briefly to catch those who'd stayed behind up on the current plan (and to help Rika crush some items), Primrose and Sectonia made their way over to the Royal Quarter. Pretty quickly after arriving they directed their attention to the Royal Canopy Club, the most likely place to find the target they were after. Primrose plucked a poster advertisement for the club from a light post as they went.
"The way I see it, we have two options," she said.
"We find Cornelia and tail her until we find an opening. However..." Primrose glanced at Sectonia, her majestic figure the exact opposite of subtle.
"...it would be unlikely we won't be spotted before we can get her alone.
"The second option is to strike while everyone is distracted; Cornelia and the people around her."Normally that would seem like the more difficult option, but if what she was reading about the Royal Canopy Club was true then it just might work. Performances by the famous and talented were always sure to turn heads. And Primrose herself was quite curious about the nature of the competition.
Sectonia could only huff at option 1. Primrose had a point, but she didn’t like it.
”if I wasn’t a ‘mercenary Queen’ as it were, just my name and kingdom would be enough to get an audience… ” Primrose could see Sectonia wasn’t happy about her plan, but understood it was necessary.
”... If we go with plan two, how would we even pull that off? If direct conflict is going to happen, the best distraction we have is the Koopa King. He would be up to causing chaos too…” Sectonia thought a bit to herself, trying to think of how this would go. Normally it would be the whole ‘poison in the wine’ trick, but she doubted that would work here.
”Really getting her to come out seems like the easy part. Getting rid of her without making it a huge mess… is the problem.”"We'll have to see what the inside of the Canopy Club is like. I've been in plenty of opera houses and entertainment halls, if it's anything like those there are seats reserved for the owner and their prestigious guests called boxes. Enclosed on each side, hence the name, with a window to watch the show. Many times the boxes are set away from the common audience. If Cornelia is in one of them during performances, she'll be cornered." As she spoke, Primrose did her best to illustrate her explanation with her hands.
"Of course if she is on stage instead, that changes things." It would be a lot harder to handle for one, and it would probably be impossible to catch her alone backstage.
"But our first matter of business will be getting in, hm?"”I suppose. Lets go about collecting information to see what that whole place is about. Perhaps something will enlighten us. IGV there wasn’t much help.” Sectonia said, dismissively waving a hand back at the Soul Sanctum.
When they reached the Royal Canopy’s opulent entrance, they found one annoying issue straightaway: the line. A great many well-dressed bugs and monsters stood queued outside the front door between the red-velvet ropes, and at the very front, fastidiously examining each and every would-be patron for the correct credentials, was a well-dressed
mighty mechanical man with a bow tie and little bowler hat. He positively towered over just about everyone at almost ten feet tall, and he wasn’t the only one taking security very seriously. A few members of the city’s mermaid guard stood by on lookout, their tridents much in evidence as they kept an eye out for any trouble. At least the line lay beneath the shelter of a gold-trimmed burgundy awning to keep the rain off, although it was a little cramped for Sectonia.
Waiting in the line took a good ten minutes, which gave the two a chance to look into whatever they could find in their surroundings. In addition to the queued-up club members in front of and behind them, they might notice the posters outside the Royal Canopy. The ones spread throughout the Royal Quarter came in all kinds of varieties, but these ones were uniform and united in purpose. They depicted a smiling Cornelia from the jaw down in the background, her hands cupped rather conspicuously in front of her chest beneath a spotlight, and in the palms of her hands stood an
elegant, fluffy moth striking a dramatic pose. The tagline was simply
Cornelia presents: Mothiva, and the main event was slated to begin in just about an hour’s time. There were a couple slight variations on this ad, but they were all pretty similar. It seemed like a major marketing push for this one bug’s debut performance.
”Hm… This ‘Cornelia’ has something about her that looks ‘off’. Like at any point she is going to bite your head off but in a crazy way. ” Sectonia commented, looking at the poster of their target.
”She has natural beauty, but chooses to use it to look more monstrous, what a waste. ” Sectonia then looked at the newcomer, a moth girl that wasn’t too out of place for all the insect themed members of this town.
”This one at least looks like she is trying to look beautiful to be beautiful.”"You think so?" Primrose tipped her head gently, following Sectonia's gaze to one of the posters and trying to see what the queen saw in Cornelia. The little bug in her hands did appear to be very elegant, no less than Cornelia herself, but Primrose didn't quite see what the shame was in her using her looks for promotion, or for intimidation. Was it so different than using any other skill one possessed? Then again, Primrose knew Sectonia did have some very particular views about beauty.
"Well, there could be any number of reasons she chooses to do that," the dancer said.
Reasons I won't look into, considering our goal is to kill her.She changed the subject.
"It may be that Cornelia will be on stage after all, as an opening or closing act for Mothiva." She was hard to tell what exactly was to go on inside the club. Were the dueling acts all part of a larger competition and Mothiva was just one performer vying for the number one spot? Or was it a separate event that would play out at some point? And what of the proprietress herself? Once they made it inside hopefully they'd find the answer to those questions. But this line...
"Hopefully we won't have any problems getting in. I've no idea what exactly they're checking for." ”Possibly. And if there is some competition going on, your skills will help.” Sectonia said, thinking about what exactly might be going on here, but not entirely sure. And with what Primrose noted at how long it took for people to come in and get checked, Sectonia gave her thoughts.
”If I had to guess, weapons.” Sectonia said.
”Royals have lots of enemies from both sides of the morality spectrum.”"Makes sense." Though hopefully that was not the case, as Primrose was not going to give up her family's dagger and she'd hate to have to come back and wait in line again after leaving it somewhere safe.
Eventually the two reached the front of the line and came face-to-face with the looming bouncer, Ottomo. At least, Sectonia could; even with her newfound height, Primrose fell rather short. The machine sized them up with the harsh glare of its unblinking yellow eyes, looking over both their faces and clothes, or lack thereof. “...Dressed to kill, are we?” he asked, a hint of sarcasm in his artificial voice. He spoke in the manner of a refined English butler, albeit undercut by a slight tinny distortion. A brief pause passed between the three of them, as if he were waiting for something. “...Your names, ladies?”
”Queen Sectonia.” Sectonia said, giving a bit of a haughty laugh at the metal butler’s joke, appreciating he knew proper etiquette.
"And Primrose Azelhart, sir." The woman in question smiled, her practiced expression confident but not conceited. She was following up a literal queen's introduction, after all.
The robot’s expression did not change. “‘Queen’, goodness…” Instead, he gazed out into the distance. “Hm-hm-hm,” Ottomo muttered. “Sectonia…Primrose…Azelhart. Hmm. Dear me, and yet…” His gaze snapped to the Queen, and there came a whirring of mechanical joints as he slowly crossed his enormous, long, lanky arms. “It would seem that you’re not on the list, ‘Your Highness’...nor you, miss Azelhart. And I can see that neither of you are Gold Members…a pity then, but I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to leave.”
Considering how little intel they actually had about this whole place, this wasn’t unexpected. Sure, she wasn’t denied out of shows in Floralia, but she ruled there. Here, she was a traveler, and not getting a free pass, if annoying, wasn’t unexpected.
”Hmph, I will have to have a word with the man who recommended this place.” Sectonia said, saving face as you do when rejected. But now at least they understood what the holdup was.
Primrose was not as concerned with her reputation, and so she asked the doorman,
"how would one go about being invited in? As an attendee or as a performer." As she asked he sashayed her hips so that the metallic accents of her outfit jingled, informing those around her of her trade.
Ottomo made a staticky sound that might have been a polite laugh, or maybe a snicker. “Hmhm. As an attendee, madam, you must’ve bought tickets of course. A week ago would’ve been a good time to start, before they sold out. And as a performer?” He turned his head in the direction of the nearest Mothiva poster. “Well, if you haven’t impressed someone important lately, perhaps you could entertain yourself on the rehearsal stage.”
At this point some of the
fancy bugs in the line were getting a bit impatient. Ottomo looked down his metal nose at the uninvited guests. “Now then, if you’re quite finished?”
"Yes, yes. We'll get out of your way."After shooing the Seekers away, the
well-dressed Cur directly behind them in line stepped up, and Ottomo seemed to recognize him. “Ah, Mr. Greentail.”
“Ottomoooo!” Rukey greeted warmly, a somewhat sleazy smile on his nout. “I said I’d be back, and here I am!”
The robot crossed his arms. “Indeed, but I’m rather more concerned where you are not. Namely, the admission list.”
“Whaaat?” The gentlemanly Cur exclaimed, an astonished look on his face. “But I bought a ticket this time and everything! I was hoping to enjoy an afternoon of exquisite culture with my pal here.” Rukey produced a bottle of gleaming amber whiskey, his ears drooping with disappointment. “You’re telling me it’s gonna go to waste?”
The moment Rukey’s bottle appeared, Ottomo’s optics stuck to it like velcro. “Mmm… Mr. Greentail, you of all people should know that outside beverages are not permitted on the premises.” He suddenly held up a finger. “Oh, but I beg your pardon. It seems as though your name
is on the list. I’m afraid I’ll need to confiscate this liquor, but you’re free to enter.”
“Works for me!” Rukey grinned. He handed over the whiskey to Ottomo, who stowed it in a compartment in a flash, then waltzed right into the Royal Canopy. On the way he winked at Sectonia and Primrose. “Better luck next time, ladies~!”
Annoyed, but not blindsided by this outcome, Sectonia left the line with Primrose, taking her aside to discuss plans.
”Not surprising, but it's good that we know how to get in here. Do you feel like trying a bit of a performance?”"I wouldn't mind, but we'd need someone 'important' to impress first. Dancing right outside the club is a bit..." Well it was in bad taste for one. They couldn't be sure it was even allowed either, they didn't know the laws of the city. Maybe they needed a permit for outdoor performances or something to that effect. Maybe security would run them off. Or... maybe there was a slim chance that a dance would take some customers away from the club, thus the staff would usher them inside instead. But it would have to be something spectacular if tickets had already been bought and paid for. Primrose closed her eyes in thought. It may be best to try getting some attention from the professionals and their attendants in rehearsal, if she understood Ottomo right. If nothing else they could always go find a bribe for the doorman.
Sectonia looked at Primrose oddly.
”Outside the club? No no, the Rehearsal stage. I have antlions for something like that.” Sectonia said, surprised that was her first thought. Was that her profession before becoming a seeker or something?
"Let's see about that rehearsal stage. We'll try our luck there." Sectonia nodded, and the two girls went to find the rehearsal stage.
Built as an adjunct facility not just beside but beneath the Royal Canopy Club itself, the rehearsal theater -accessible via discreet staircase- was carefully tucked far away from the main entrance and the public eye, all to make sure that the club’s guests saw neither hide nor hair nor heard a peep from the performers as they practiced. All the hired help could be found rushing around and making preparations in that literal staging ground as well, from prop artists to costumers to aestheticians. Though a drab and unimpressive affair of wood by itself, this second-fiddle theater thrummed with activity as people undertook last-minute rehearsals and preparations. Of course, by now -with showtime hours or minutes away- any professionals should already have all their ducks in a row. However, that wasn’t the case for everyone, as the two new arrivals saw after a few minutes.
“No, no, no!” a one-wheeled
machine moaned, dramatically putting the back of a gloved hand to his head. Instead of a face his front panel featured a 4x5 array of rectangular lights, but their dejected red flashes expressed his feelings well enough. He’d been standing on the stage in front of two fluffy white moths while they rehearsed a dance routine. The one on the right, light on her feet and full of poise, had been dancing gracefully, her movements smooth and natural. In contrast, the one on the left struggled to keep up, often missing the mark -even if just slightly- and then hastily overcorrecting. Anyone with a modicum of experience in this field could tell that her problem came not from a lack of skill, but a lack of familiarity; this dance was not just complicated but also fast-paced, making it tough to learn from scratch. Unfortunately, this moth’s best effort wasn’t good enough. “You two need to move in lockstep!” the robot told the underperforming insect as his favorite stood haughtily aside. “Backup dancers need to be in perfect sync, not just with one another, but with the star of the show! There’s no room for error. Come on, let’s go again!”
“Ugh. Forget it.” With a sigh of exasperation and disgust, the moth reached up, took hold of a silver tab at her neck, and pulled it down. The white fluff fell away to reveal a
hair demon known as a Yomotsu-Shikome. Looking royally pissed, she shrugged off what turned out to be a convincing moth costume and tossed it toward the director bug before slinking off. Mettaton clapped both hands against his head, which sent a ripple of red across his yellow lights. “Another lost cause! How many is that, three? Four? You just can’t get good help these days!”
A well-dressed spectator ant nearby adjusted his hat, his antennae drooping and a defeated look on his face. “Two.”
“What matters, dear Anton, is that we bring in number three!” Mettaton decreed as he wheeled around, his segmented arms on his ‘hips’. “Come now, surely you must have some extra talent around here somewhere, Mr. Casting Director?”
“Look, I can ask around again, but everyone’s already busy,” Anton snapped. “And even if they weren’t, the routine is too complicated, and the pressure’s too high! Nobody’s going to stick their necks out. It’s a miracle Shiko even tried!”
Mettaton wobbled back and forth on his wheel as if about to faint, his palms pressed against the side of his head in shock. “Nobody!? Do you have any idea how much is riding on this performance!? How much
Cornelia spent promoting her new rising star!?”
“Not my problem,” Anton insisted, crossing two pairs of arms. “This is Mothiva’s fault for insisting on Silk Moths as dancers. And yours for encouraging her.”
The criticism seemed to affront Mettaton. “Hello? The group is
called ‘Mothiva and the Sugarpuffs’. Only Silk Moths will do! …Or a skilled stand-in in a Silk Moth costume. And yet there are no stand-ins to be found, let alone skilled ones!”
Anton rubbed his head, sick and tired of this whole ordeal. “Ridicule all you want, it still won’t get you a replacement. Why not just go with Mori?” He jabbed his mouthparts at the actual Silk Moth. “Or no backup dancers! Mothiva’s good enough to stand on her own feet, isn’t she?”
Mettaton gasped at the proposal. “
This is why you’re backstage and not on television. You can’t have a diva without backup dancers, first of all. And there needs to be an even amount of them, split evenly on either side so as to compliment the star, not distract from her! That’s showbiz, baby!” With Mothiva’s performance less than an hour away, however, and no spare performers on hand to literally fill the role, it looked as if Mettaton’s goose might be well and truly cooked. “Look, go after Shiko, will you, Anton? Tell her I’ll pay double. Triple! I can try to simplify the choreography! We need
somebody!”
Well, it seemed there was some opportunity here. While not much for the whole ‘preparing a show’ thing, as that wasn’t a Queen’s role at all, announcing her presence was. Giving a flutter of her wings to block Primrose, Sectonia said.
”Looking for another in your show? Luck would have it that my performer is looking to be in a show.”, and with her showmanship, lowered her wing to reveal Primrose. Catching on quickly the woman in question struck a simple pose as she was unveiled, though it ended up being a moot point given how desperate the robot was.
”It sounds like you're in need of dancers, and as it so happens, my dancer here is looking to be in a show. Quite serendipitous. ”Mettaton’s lights blinked excitedly. “Yes, yes, I heard you the first time. That’s marvelous news, provided she’s up to snuff!” He scooted right to the edge of the stage to get a good look at Primrose. “A human? How quaint! Still, it takes all sorts, as Lady Cornelia can attest! If you can fit the costume and dance worth a damn, you’re hired!”
Meanwhile, Anton looked taken aback. “Wait, hold on a second. I know you’re desperate and all, Mettaton, but I’ve never seen these people before. This seems way too convenient. Shouldn’t we vet her first?”
“There’s no time!” If the robot had eyes, he would’ve rolled them. “If she can’t cut it, I won’t send her out.” Bundling up the moth costume, Mettaton hurled it at Primrose. “Desperate times, Anton. Desperate times.”
After catching the costume and unfurling it to estimate if it was indeed her size, Primrose glanced at the room's occupants. She and her "agent" had not discussed a thing since walking in and witnessing the dramatic scene of a dancer quitting, but Primrose thought she had an inkling of what Sectonia was thinking. Either way they could talk about it after getting their "in."
"Show me the steps once before I change," she said, striding forward.
"It will be a lot easier to see them when I'm not wearing a costume head over my eyes."Given her profession, she’d noted the two dancers and watched their movements when she Sectonia had first arrived. A complex routine to be sure, but one she should be able to replicate after seeing it properly up close. She hadn’t played the role of a backup dancer for a long time, but so long as she could match her partner’s pace -
or if she can match mine - it should work out.
She stepped up onto the rehearsal stage and paid close attention as the choreographer Mettaton laid out the steps and the moth dancer performed them. Then, with her brow furrowed in concentration, she duplicated the dance.
“Excellent! Stupendous! Astonishing!” Despite lacking an expression, Mettaton seemed incredibly relieved. “We’re saved!”
“You’re saved, you mean,” Anton muttered.
It’s doable. And better still she wouldn’t have to worry about schooling her facial features with that big head on.
"Which way to the changing room?" “Can’t you just put it on over that…erm, ‘outfit’ of yours?” Mettaton waved a dismissive hand at one of the rehearsal theater walls, which featured a number of small, unimpressive rooms. No doubt the big stars got dressed elsewhere. “Have your pick. But hurry back, we’re going to be rehearsing ‘til it’s time. Everything must be just right! Which reminds me.” Suddenly, all of Mettaton’s lights turned red as he regarded Primrose. “You’d do well to remember one thing. I know I lavished praise on you a moment ago, but keep in mind that you’re a
backup dancer. Don’t get a big head, and don’t deviate from the script. If you do anything to upstage Mothiva…” Mettaton slapped his ‘knee’, breaking the tension. “I’ll be the least of your worries!”
She blinked at his aggressive warning. Was he implying that if she made trouble, someone higher up the chain of command would see to her? Most likely that wasn't the point he wanted to get across, but Primrose nodded all the same. She turned away and beckoned Sectonia to follow her so that they could squeeze into one of the empty rooms. There, the two of them quickly discussed their plans while Primrose shucked the bulkier of her items and suited up. While Primrose rehearsed here and eventually made her way on stage, the queen of Floralia would get into the Royal Canopy Club herself. Once inside she'd pass anything she learned onto the dancer, who'd then do her best to draw some attention to herself - the exact opposite of what the choreographer cautioned against.
With Primrose having her in and her plan as a ‘distraction’ able to occur later on possibly, Sectonia gave her a silent and quick thumbs up before making her way out of the little room and to the club itself. Seeing as her dancer was rehearsing right now, she didn’t have a ‘free pass’ into the theater through the proper channels. But through improper ones, it wouldn’t be too difficult to sneak inside. Or that is what she would be saying if she wasn’t so large. She couldn’t just blink through the front door, as that would be far too obvious. So she’d have to find another way in. At least her flight made surveying the rest of the building not that difficult.
Using haste and her own blink ability to not give too much attention to herself, Sectonia found a few ways to enter the building. There was the main skylight, but that would be quite the foolish way to get in there. There were a few other windows along the building, but they also led to crowded hallways and suddenly appearing inside one of those could cause issues as well. It would take her some time to find a proper time to teleport in with one of these higher up windows, and she really didn’t like this whole ‘stealth’ thing. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to do it too often…
Using her blink ability and her haste ability, Sectonia found a good time to teleport inside, and did so. Finding a time to join a crowd walking to the next show wasn’t too difficult, although finding a spot that worked with her sensibilities wasn’t an option with this method. At least there was a place for flying bugs like her to hover and watch the performances. And another small aside, at least these were noble bugs so it wasn’t too bad…
Even if the Royal Canopy’s aesthetic didn’t quite gel with Sectonia’s personal tastes, she had to admit one thing: it
was opulent. In the middle of a vaulted, domed ceiling of golden grandeur, its arches arrayed like beams of light radiating outward from a glass facsimile of a starry night sky. Ornate lamps and chandeliers of gilded glass illuminated luxurious crimson tapestries, larger-than-life statues decked out in illustrious attire, and the faces of the impeccably-dressed guests. She’d reached the grand main atrium in the middle of a performance. Elegant classical music swept through the hall, played by a full orchestra of
ghostly musicians, and though little more than empty black suits and dresses suspended in the air behind the main stage, their symphony was one of haunting beauty. The limelight lay not on them, however, but on two equally faceless
machines engaged in an intricate two-person ballet dance. Though towering in stature and forged from heavy metal, the twins -indistinguishable but for one’s glittering golden jacket- moved with remarkable fluidity, grace, and power. Their stunning performance left the audience enchanted, and the last few minutes of their act flew by like seconds before the two finally whirled together, clasped hands, and took a bow.
Once the uproar of applause died down, the spotlights turned to highlight the best seat in the house, a raised circular lounge directly ahead of the stage where the occupants could not only take in the performances, but be seen by everyone else. Basking in the spotlight as if she’d been born in it was a
drop-dead gorgeous woman that by now Sectonia surely recognized. With wavy peach-orange hair, an irresistible smile, and a figure to die for clad in the finest burgundy silk dress and aristocratic plumage money could be, Cornelia drew every eye as she took a microphone in hand. “My my, another cutting-edge performance by the Royal Canopy’s very own Twins, Left and Right!” she sang out. “It’s shaping up to be a delicious evening! And as you all know, we’re due an encore performance as the Twins put their best feet forward against their challengers. Please welcome back to the stage after their breakout performance earlier, the Gruesome Twosome, the Heralds of Halloween… Skid and Pump!”
From behind the curtains between the two halves of the orchestra, two
ghoulish little guys emerged. They spotted the Twins straight away, each of them easily twice the pair’s height once stacked together, let alone by themselves. They gulped at the sight of their competition, clearly nervous, but the applause of the audience seemed to steady them. While many of the club-goers rooted for the Twins, entranced by them in more ways than one, plenty still wanted Skid and Pump to win. Being the underdogs against a well-established staple of the club for whom victory had become rote garnered them a little bit of an advantage, at least. They put on a brave face and advanced to the stage to join the Twins, who stood with one hand on a hip apiece staring at the newcomers impassively. The possibility of getting shown up in such a public venue certainly justified some nervousness, but from the way their knees shook Sectonia couldn’t help but wonder if something other than first place was on the line.
With a wide, almost hungry smile, Cornelia snapped her fingers. “Hit it!”
As one, the orchestra began to play, unleashing a wave of sound through the atrium. As it rippled across the floor and along the walls, patterns on the red carpet and lines on the walls lit up, peaking like the bars of an equalizer. Their music could be identified as an altered, punchier, more artificially resonant version of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, at least in part. On the wall above the rear curtain, a wide bar began to glow, its left half orange with an icon of Skid and Pump, its right half gold with an icon of the Twins. Then the icons slammed together in the middle, the opening concluded, and the face-off began.
The Twins advanced like ballerinas, quickly stutter-stepping on their tiptoes or making long, floaty, graceful jumps with one leg stretched forward and the other back. With the action amplified by the stage, each step sent out a ripple of golden energy, and each impact a stronger wave. Moving on every other beat, they quickly closed the distance on their competition. They kicked, danced, pirouetted, and fluttered their feet in time with the music, and in turn it punctuated their deadly flourishes with physical blasts of sound. Unable to withstand the Twins’ assault at close range, Skid and Pump boogied away as fast as they could, and though speedy enough to move on each beat, their shorter legs covered much less ground. As they struggled to find the beat, they tried to keep the Twins at bay by beatboxing with their mikes, dipping and dodging together in a peppy, catchy dance. With each beep and boop an amplified soundwave shot out like an arrow, flying at the Twins from different angles. At first it seemed like their foes had them on the ropes, and the slide of the icons towards the left as the Twins pushed them back indicated as much, but slowly Skid and Pump managed to synchronize, not just with the beat of the unfamiliar song but with one another, they began to take control. Speedy, brief notes stacked up between the beats of the orchestra’s song, livening it up faster than the Twins could overpower them. Their arrows flew swifter and stronger, and they kept up their almost taunting side-to-side dance all the while. Soon their icon pushed back toward the right on the display, and not long after it regained the midpoint the Twins changed tact.
They posed together, hands clasped like dance partners, and stomped the ground, sending out a soundwave that knocked Skid and Pump down. “Oho!” Cornelia called out, laughter in her voice. “The Twins are throwing down the gauntlet! Can the dynamic duo keep up?” After waiting a couple of beats for their cue, the Twins orchestrated a sequence of moves.
Clap, spin, clap, spin, clap, spin, dip!A beat later Skid and Pump’s cue came, and they did their best to match the Twins’ pattern, even the paired dip. Their efforts were a little off-beat, however, and their icon began to slide backward as the Twins’ next sequence came.
Left, right, spin, spin, jump, spin, dip! That one went even worse for the little monsters, who struggled with the paired jump. Adrenaline pumping, they redoubled their efforts for the next sequence.
Clap, clap, clap, spin, spin, spin, dip, jump, clap! That one went a bit better, but by the time the Twins finished five sequences, Skid and Pump’s icon lay at just 25%. But then their turn to lead came. They struck back with a vengeance, their moves much simpler but much faster than their opponents’.
Left-down-right-right, up-right-down-right-right-up-left, yeah! The Twins were not ready for such quick, inelegant motions, and bungled it almost completely.
Up-right-down-left-left-down-up-right-left, down-left-down-right-down-left-right-yay! After five sequences, they’d made double the progress of the Twins and pushed them all the way back to the 75%, not to mention inflicted a bunch of sound damage.
Another battle phase began, but that's when Skid and Pumps’ luck ended. The orchestra launched into a transitory bridge section of the song, and during it the Twins transformed themselves. Sharpening their fingers and heels into blades, they added new steps to their dance, Left with spider-like movement along the ground and Right by flying in the air. Both could extend their fingers for extra reach, and augmented their ballet with a laser lightshow. No longer able to escape their reach, Skid and Pump got knocked out before even reaching another rhythm duel. The Twins’ performance left them soundly beaten, both metaphorically and literally; while the robots took a bow, a couple of ready-and-waiting staff members carted the losers away. The audience, however, reacted as if nothing were amiss, some groaning but most of them applauding the victors. “Bravo!” Cornelia crooned. “Our brave little monsters certainly had speed, but it’ll take more than beatboxing to steal the show! Congratulations to the Twins, Left and Right. Now, for our next performance…” The show continued, inching closer and closer to Primrose’s time to shine.
With an intermission, Sectonia took this time to exit with a few of the other bugs who were getting refreshments for the next show. Seeing as Primrose would be up soon, it would be best to relay what she had seen. Leaving the venue was much easier than entering it, as no one batted an eye when she went down a more empty corridor and teleported out of the window, using her haste to make her way back to the rehearsal stage.
What Sectonia had seen... She really didn’t fully understand. But considering how frightful it seemed the one team was… was this some kind of bloodsport but with dancing? Considering the attack waves going out, that could very well be the case. But if this ‘sorceress’ needed to rely on such cheap tricks to get anywhere, she was even uglier than Bowser.
Finding her way to and re-entering the rehearsal stage wasn’t too much of an issue. Sectonia didn’t have to wait long for the current rehearsal to be over to ‘have a chat’ with her client, something Mettaton couldn’t refuse considering Primrose was saving him. And from what Sectonia had seen, that might just be literal. Once having a bit of privacy with Primrose, Sectonia told her what she had found out.
”So… It seems like this whole ‘dancing show’ is just a dancing bloodsport. Two sides compete dancing to the rhythm, with the one that is more accurate and aggressive dealing damage to the other side. Things keep on going faster and faster until one side collapses from either taking too much damage, or sheer exhaustion. And this is visually represented to the audience as some sort of ‘tug of war’ bar.” Sectonia said, relating what she had gotten the feel of, considering this wasn’t something she had seen before.
"Ah...?" It was hard to visualize exactly what the queen was saying, but Primrose thought she got the gist of it. With her costume head tucked under her arm for their chat, she wiped the sweat from her brow as she absorbed the information.
A dance battle in the literal sense, is it? Sounds kind of fun, she thought.
She was confused on one point though.
"When you mention damage... were they attacking each other on stage while performing? Blades, magic…?"”It came from the dancing itself. As if you kept to the rhythm, you did ‘damage’ to the opponents whenever you finished a ‘segment’ or something like that.” Sectonia clarified, not entirely sure what was going on fully, but stating the best she could about what she saw.
She then continued.
”It seems who ‘wins’ fights the next group in some sort of tournament bracket thing. The losers… From what I can tell, don’t lose. Cornelia seems to like the losers a bit too much, and not for any good reason I’m sure. From the looks of things, some of the dancers know what's going on, and are terrified of losing. ” This made Sectonia pause and think if Primrose somehow lost.
”... I suppose some good news about that is that our target is always on stage, or just off to the side as they announce the winners and losers, so attacking her wouldn’t be difficult. But I doubt that will go over well. A last resort perhaps.”Primrose laughed at that.
"I think not going over well may be an understatement. That's alright though, if we know where she is we can figure something out."Unafraid of whatever consequences may come of "losing" after seizing the spotlight from the main act and intrigued by the whole premise, Primrose thanked Sectonia for the information and re-donned the cutesy, silly moth head to squeeze in a little more practice. It was a good way to warm up for the real thing.
Primrose and Mori the silk moth had been practicing together for the better part of an hour before the appointed time was nigh. Mettaton hadn’t driven his precious dancers too hard with the rehearsals, since he couldn’t afford to exhaust them before their big moment. After a certain point, in fact, he didn’t drive them at all, needing to rush off to a different part of the Royal Canopy to manage something or other. That gave the two room to breath, although it still worked up a sweat. While not too uncomfortable inside the moth costume, it was rather hot. In contrast, Mori’s attitude was chilly, and rather than speak a word to Primrose beyond criticism and correction she kept things strictly professional. Eventually Mettaton returned, zipping into the room and making a beeline for the dancers. “It’s time, it’s time!” he exclaimed. Grabbing both by the wrists, he pulled them along enough of the rehearsal theater and down the hall past the upscale dressing rooms. “You two had better hurry, it’s a long way to the stage! Miss your cue, and you are
dead.”
After what Sectonia told me, I have the feeling he may not just be saying that… Harried and hurried, to the main stage they went. Speaking of the bee queen, she had moved to find a good spot to watch the show… and possibly influence both sides with her spells in the most subtle manner she could. Thankfully she didn’t have to use her staves to cast her more ‘support’ oriented spells.
In the Royal Canopy’s grand atrium, following the dramatic conclusion of the current bracket’s final showdown, Cornelia stepped up to make her announcement. “What a thrilling conclusion! Our sincerest thanks to all the talented performers who made today’s competition so heart-stoppingly spectacular! Everyone, put your hands in the air!”
After another round of cheers and applause, Cornelia put on an eager smile. “And now, for our final performance. An insect who by now needs no introduction, but ah, to hell with it! Please welcome to the stage, for their much-awaited debut performance: the talk of the town, the rising stars, the Royal Canopy’s very own, Mothiva and the Sugarpuffs!”
The curtain rose to reveal the upper half of a giant feminine-shaped automaton, flanked on either side by the two month dancers, who’d just barely arrived at the stage on time. The cupped hands descended to lay down on the ground, and from their palms rose the bug of the hour.
Mothiva stood to her full height with a flourish, the orchestra’s music swelled, and the dance began.
“Ohohoho! Are you ready for a splendid performance?” Mothiva stated to the crowd, cheers of her name coming from some of her fans. With that being said, she began her routine. Being more of a singer than a dancer, her moves, while very in beat, weren’t all that flashy as she was more the singer type. They consisted of more simple moments with snappy movement that didn’t interfere with her singing.
Professionals in their own right, the 'Sugarpuffs' kept up with Mothiva. So far they'd been model back-up dancers, accessories to the main star's performance made to make her shine all the brighter. Despite being a last minute addition, Primrose performed even better than she had in rehearsal once they'd all taken the stage. This was a far grander venue than she would usually find herself dancing in, but even so the lights beaming down and the excitement of the crowd was a familiar feeling. It put Primrose into the right mindset. For her, dancing had originally been a means to an end after her father's death. Back then she'd expected to hate it, and in some ways she had early on, but the art of dance had grown into something she genuinely enjoyed.
She took solace in it. She was damn good at it. And now she was really going to strut her stuff.
She did not start subtle. As the music thrummed Primrose shifted her foot, suddenly out of step with the other back-up. It was a large enough move to draw the curious eyes of the audience as they wondered if it had been a mistake. She felt the eyes of Mori beside her, judgemental and cold. In front of her, Mothiva seemed unaware - though she would catch on when the crowd's eyes began to shift away from her, and murmurs rippled throughout the seats.
Up in the recording booth, one of the astute camera-bugs noticed the discrepancy straightaway. “Wait, what’s going on with Left Moth?”
“Left Moth?” Mettaton whirled around and clasped his gloved manipulators on the box’s gilded railing. His links began to blink at a fever pitch. “Oh, no. Oh no!”
Primrose's next move deliberately set her apart from the other two on stage. She spun away to capture the eyes of all those present before beginning her own performance in earnest. The music was fast and peppy, easy to dance to. She stepped in time to the beat, shimmying in a way that made the fake wings of her costume flutter.
Tap tap tap tap. One long leg extended, pulled back in, mirrored movement on her opposite side, her arms swaying rhythmically in the air in front of her. At the moment she was a rogue moth, challenging the queen. She didn't reveal her true self just yet - Primrose was a performer, and knew just when to act to really capture the audience.
To her credit Mothiva went as long as possible to have her show go on, but the trill of the crowd would no longer allow her to ignore the dancer soaking up what should have been her spotlight.
“Ugh…. Who does this backup dancer think she is? Trying to upstage ME?” Mothiva thought, her detestment on her face as she watched Primrose trying to upstage her. She wasn’t a moth that liked her fame and spotlight taken, and she’d show that upstart her place. As the song picked up, Mothiva picked up her pace, her dancing improving but not her singing.
Ah ah ah, it won't be that easy. Primrose smiled within her costume, boldly flowing forward until she drew even with Mothiva on the stage. Each step was in time with the music, one foot over the other or forwards and back until she was dancing nearly beside the singer while she showed her up. At that point it was clear to the entire auditorium what was going on.
The added bonus of invading Mothiva’s personal space, and practically pushing her to the sidelines, only added further salt to the wound. Being challenged was one thing, and this wouldn’t have been the first time Mothiva needed to rise to the occasion, but as the burgeoning bit player flipped the script she couldn’t help but notice that the audience was eating it up. Though originally taken by surprise and thrown for a loop, the spectators were getting into it, both amused by the backup dancer's audacity and impressed by her unexpected skill. When this dawned on Mothiva, her focus flew to pieces, leaving her mental state in shambles. She staggered as if physically struck by this mere peon’s brazen one-upmanship, holding the back of a hand to her head like she was about to swoon. “This can’t…this can’t be happening!” she cried.
Her gaze locked onto the announcer’s box, and the look she saw on Cornelia’s face made her shrivel up like a raisin. While at first the celebrity showrunner had been just as shocked as everyone else, she’d fully expected her protégé to put this shameful upstart in her place. Instead, Left Moth was stealing the show, and Mothiva was letting her get away with it. Cornelia wasn’t just livid–she was disgusted. The sheer, scornful disappointment writ plain on her face was the bucket of ice-cold water Mothiva needed to snap out of it. She couldn’t let this happen!
“Zasp!” she cried, and into the air leaped a
tall orange wasp with a nasty-looking stinger and scary, scarred face. Up in her box, Cornelia gave a quick and discreet command, willing to give Mothiva this final chance to make things right. A moment after Zasp landed on the stage, the orchestra redoubled its efforts, and an equalizer wave spread across the stage. Above the curtain appeared the two-toned bar marked with a white Left Moth icon on the left and an orange Mothia & Zasp icon on the right, heralding the start of an impromptu sound-off. Captivated by the unusual turn of events, the audience shifted to the edge of their seats, many standing or leaning on the rails as they gawked at the unannounced contest. The question on everyone’s mind was
what is going on?, and Primrose was about to show them.
The Seekers' own dancer was not as surprised at the turn of events given Sectonia's warnings earlier. The stage itself remained the same, but now the rules had changed as the show runners moved to catch up with the performers. Primrose had been taking the initiative so far, and now was no different - she danced to the beat of the music, stamping her feet and twirling across the floor while one of the spotlights followed her. When she came to a stop she flung her arms out to her side; her left hand beckoned the audience to cheer with a curl of her fingers, and her right swept forward in front of her to gesture the same way to Mothiva and her companion in a playful taunt.
With her reliable partner Zasp in the mix, Mothiva could concentrate on her singing more than her dancing. Normally, this might’ve been a bad thing, but Zasp and his lightning fast movements could make up the difference. While Mothiva had a slower dance with her singing voice keeping up with the beat, Zasp kept moving at the pace of the song, often letting out a loud buzzing sound when he was really amping up his speed, moving so fast as to be very difficult to follow as he seemed to just rapidly appear and vanish. This occasionally led to a sharp bit of musical energy shooting at Primrose, akin to Zasp’s dart attack. Mothiva, being able to focus on singing meanwhile, had her song notes manifest as she kept to the rhythm, with large song notes launching at Primrose as well.
Sectonia saw that this fight was 2 on 1 as Primrose had managed to upstage Mothiva and catch Cornelia’s attention. Although she couldn’t reveal her hand too much just yet, she was getting a feel of how this whole thing worked. And now, so was Primrose.
There must have been something special about the stage that caused the movements to generate shock waves. The first few that the wasp created hit their mark, pushing the meter above the arena in Mothiva's favor. She and Zasp seemed to be veterans of this type of dance off, so they had the upper hand... for now. Primrose had a trick or two up her sleeve.
The steps of her beneficial dances were not set in stone; they could be modified, but they tended to follow a general flow. The Panther Dance needed a quicker step than what the orchestra was playing, but Primrose did her best to match it to the rhythm of the music. The attacks that were generated were weak, but it hadn't been the point. After speeding herself up in order to challenge Zasp, Primrose got back in rhythm. She danced across the stage, grinning in delight as her movements, now perfectly in time with the music once more, began to generate waves of energy that launched themselves towards her opponents. Watching from the audience, Sectonia used this chance to summon some backup dancers of her own, one of each of her Antillions. Sure their armor made their motions simple, but they only had to match a beat and exemplify Primrose’s actions, not be actual dancers themselves.
Spinning out of the way of Mothiva's music notes, and the Antillions cutely spinning with her, Primrose posed dramatically when her turns came to a stop. The audience was sure to enjoy a comeback, so Primrose went on the 'offensive' by dancing around the minions Sectonia lent her. They were elegant steps over and through the little ants, demonstrating her skill as she hadn't disturbed a single one as she moved. Every tap of her foot against the floor sent a shockwave across the stage.
Due to her focus in singing, Mothiva had a much more difficult time dodging the waves sent out by Primrose. However, every time Mothiva got hit by those shock waves, Zasp became more and more enraged, moving faster and his occasional wave hitting harder as he vented his rage at seeing Mothiva get hit. Mothiva herself had been going at Primrose at her full power however due to fear of what Cornelia would do to her, and could only throw the occasional note, but mostly focused her efforts on supporting Zasp, the wasp being able to step it up a notch further with his rage at seeing Mothiva struggle and get hurt.
As the song went on and the performers on stage kept the show going, the bar overheard gradually began pushing further and further in Primrose's favor. The talents of a professional dancer were a notch above what the singer and her bodyguard could produce, especially when her and Sectonia’s magic was added to the equation. The only leg up they had was their familiarity with the club's dance battle system in play which gave them a fighting chance... until the orchestra hit its crescendo.
It was here that the battle really reached its turning point. As Primrose, Mothiva and Zasp turned dance steps into energy and duked it out the musicians put their all into their playing, and when the music swelled just before coming down Primrose peeled her costume off. She did have her dancer's outfit on underneath, and though it had changed as much as she had it still held much of its original appeal. The bulkier items like her headdress had been removed, and now she unfurled from the fluffy moth skin like a flower in bloom with her dance fan in hand.
The response from the crowd was immediate - shocked gasps, excited cheers, all while Primrose made a little show of shedding the last of her costume and used the momentum to shower Mothiva and Zasp with the shockwaves created by her dance. She stepped and kicked, drawing her arms in front of her in elegant weaving motion, and when the song came to a close she struck a dynamic pose. Hip popped to one side, one leg extended, a hand on her chest and the other above her angling the fan down toward her face.
While they tried to keep up with Primrose, not being specialized in dance like she was, and thanks to the magical aid of Sectonia, who had been trying to be subtle with her antlions (And only using them, for now.) the explorer team couldn’t keep up. Mothiva went down first, which greatly enraged Zasp. But even his enraged steps couldn’t keep up the beat as well as the song sped up and got more complicated, eventually with the bodyguard going down as well. While Mothiva was dignified when standing up, both her and Zasp didn’t look all that remarkable on the ground. Zasp looked ashamed of himself for not being able to help Mothiva, who herself was more livid with the whole situation than anything.
When the two fell, a shocked hush washed over the Royal Club, hanging in the air for a tense couple second. Then the grand atrium shook from the resounding chorus of their adoration, going beyond polite applause into outright cheers. Surprised, astonished, confused, then suddenly enchanted, and finally captivated by this mystery insurgent’s grand reveal, the audience loved it. While Primrose being an objectively better performer than Mothiva -as proved by the sliding scale- was one thing, the drama of the whole situation helped to elevate the dancer’s stunt to a whole new level of intrigue and appeal. No doubt this moment would be talked about for weeks to come, and this would be a day that lived in infamy.
Not if Cornelia had something to say about it, though.
“That’s quite enough!” She boomed, stopping the guests’ idolatry in their tracks. Explosions of dark magic went off under the Antlions on the stage, instantly killing them. Stepping up to her box, Cornelia planted one leg on the rim and leaned forward, resting her elbow on her knee with her other hand on her microphone. The elegant lady’s lip twitched in barely-suppressed anger as she treated Primrose to a look of utter disdain.
“Is this what’s become of high society?” she asked, her venomous tone laced with a potent blend of condemnation and disappointment. “A little drama, and suddenly the ladies and gentlebeasts of the Royal Quarter are hooting and hollering like common barroom knaves? And you…” Her gaze fell upon Primrose. “You’ve got some guts. And you’ve managed to give the more impressionable fools here a tantalizing taste of the exotic. I’ll give you that. But you’re out of your element.” Standing up straight, Cornelia put her other hand on her hip and glared haughtily down. “Just look at you. A bizarre, motley outfit with neither grace nor cohesion, decked out with jangling, gaudy baubles, and stretched out over that ghastly, swollen body.” Smirking laughter filled her voice. “I’d have pinned you for an alley dancer, flashing the goods at passers-by for loose change, or perhaps a cut-rate courtesan, but with those ungainly muscles a construction site suits you far better.” The audience began to adjust their collars, scratch their heads, and look away. Using her own authority and the guests’ pride, Cornelia was convincing them they’d been suckered in by a cheap trick.
Her words, though powerful and biting, only affected the audience. Still bathed in the spotlight and breathing deeply after her performance, Primrose grinned up at Cornelia with her head held high. She'd probably heard hundreds of comments comparing her to a common whore, but none of it had ever put a dent in her pride. Neither did it now, and the dancer spoke loud and proud when she answered Cornelia's antagonizing.
"Spit your venom if it makes you feel better. I stand unashamed." No matter what her body was put through, it was worth it to accomplish her goals and protect her companions. Primrose raised both of her arms high, displaying her full person and letting the mage's comments roll off of her back.
"And besides Lady Cornelia, you alone are proof enough some beauty is only skin-deep."Cornelia turned up her nose with a huff. “Talk is cheap. Your triumph over Mothiva only reveals that she was an abject failure. So before you get a big head, let’s do away with the smoke and mirrors. Ottomo?”
“I am here, my lady,” a synthesized butler’s voice replied. It came from right behind Sectonia, and when the big wasp turned around, she found not just the mechanical bouncer, but the mechanical ballerina twins, too. The three towering machines stood around the box where Sectonia positioned herself, not taking action but nevertheless significant for their presence. Sectonia just let out a “tch” sound as she saw these three, not all that worried about them but knowing their presence.
“Did you think that I, the mistress of magic, wouldn’t notice your friend’s interference?” Cornelia snickered. “I think it’s high time we put you in your place. See what you’re really made of.” “Ladies and gentlebeasts. It would seem that you’re in for a special treat today. I, Cornelia von Arnim, will give you a much needed-reminder of what beauty and class truly look like!”
In a flash of magic, Cornelia warped down from her box onto the stage. As the band began to play, black-feathered mechanical wings unfurled from her back, spreading wide as she struck a grand pose with both arms in the air. The pose instantly amplified the stage, and a final sliding scale appeared above the curtain with Primrose’s icon in brown, and Cornelia’s in red. With a sneer the mistress of magic beckoned to her opponent.
Come and get me.The afternoon had certainly taken a turn that neither Primrose nor Sectonia could have predicted. But they were too entrenched in the Royal Canopy Club's rules and atmosphere to do anything else but play along. The dancer glanced out into the crowd, finding the queen bee flanked by metal enforcers, and the two of them shared a look. They were both strong enough to look after themselves- and invigorated by this kind of battle after getting a taste of it, Primrose was ready to challenge the woman in charge of it all. Accepting Cornelia's invitation Primrose sauntered forward until the two women were properly squaring off, and she started things off by simply tapping her feet.
She opened again with her Panther Dance, not only to enhance her own speed but to push herself into a proper second wind. This time she weaved the dance steps into the music much better than before, starting the rhythm battle off with some bold movements of her hands and legs to send shockwaves rippling across the stage toward Cornelia.
But Cornelia had taken to the air. With majestic flaps of her ink-black wings in time to every other beat, she flitted twice to the right, then twice to the left. Impact waves along the ground wouldn’t reach her up there. While her wingbeats created pressure waves, they fell well short of Primrose as well, though Cornelia didn’t seem to care. Instead, she performed a midair pirouette and raised her arms above her head, where silvery light began to gather. As the audience gazed on in awe, an arcane moon took shape over her head. Cornelia smirked, then struck a series of four midair poses in quick succession, each not only creating a flashy sparkle of moonlight around her, but also sending four moons down to rain on the stage, suspiciously close to Primrose. Upon impact each cast of Luna Λ burst into a big silvery splash capable of nullifying the Resistance of anyone in the way, dealing damage based on the full value of the caster’s impressive Magic stat. The audience only oohed and aahed over the somewhat blatant attack however, as if it were all just part of the performance.
Sectonia noticed these attacks, and knowing magic for what it is, wasn’t impressed. She found it even humorous that this sorcerer would have the audacity to call her out on spell casting when she herself was doing it to win a dance fight as well. Although with the robots nearby, there really wasn’t a super amount she could do right now… Well, she could give herself a Chaos Shield, knowing eventually the group would be fighting her. All they would see is Sectonia having a bit of a rainbow shimmer, but if they found that grounds to attack, she had ways to deal with them, and fairly subtly too as most of the crowd was looking at the dance off. Seems like she’d need to interfere here shortly, and these robots wouldn’t like her counter attack should they attack her.
Back on stage, Primrose twirled away from the last couple of Lunas, regaining her footing and groove after the wave of the first two washed over her. Very quickly she too realized what was going on.
So it's like that, is it? This wasn't just a dancing duel, it was an actual battle in its own right. Cornelia had caught her off guard with those spells, but now that she was onto the game it wouldn't happen again.
The Peacock Strut saw her own magic power strengthened. She kept on tempo as the orchestra's pace increased, her quick steps taking her back and forth across her side of the stage. This was still a show for the audience after all, keeping up appearances was as important for Primrose as it was for Cornelia. From that point of view her dark magic, when compared to the light of Cornelia's Luna, might paint her in the role of a villain. It was one she was happy to perform, and hopefully reverse by the end of the show.
Primrose swept her hand up from left hip to right shoulder, arcing gracefully over her head as she danced. She repeated the action with her opposite hand, performing the Moonlight Waltz. Shadowy circles of magic formed below Cornelia, and they sent blasts of darkness up at her with every well timed tap of Primrose's feet on the stage. She pushed it further by Boosting, her body taking on a glow as energy swirled, swelling the spell so it had a greater chance of hitting its target.
Her magic sprang forth in magnificent plumes of inky, oil-black prominence, like splashes of the night sky itself. Cornelia did not attempt to dodge, instead focusing on a lighter-than-air dance number on the wing. But, amped up by her opponent's buffs as well as her attunement with the orchestra's jazzy melodies, the Moonlight Waltz hit such a crescendo that Cornelia felt it even through her own potent Resistance. Her mechanical wings got it worse, however, and for a frightful moment they seemed to be on the verge of malfunction. She huffed, raised her microphone, and sang.
"It's not secrets, it's not lies if you don't know.
It's not such a vicious guise if you don't know.
You can't get hurt by the things that you don't know.
You don't kno-o-o-o-o-ow!"As she sang, Cornelia performed a backflip and swooped down, then dove in a glittering corkscrew back and forth. Moving in a five-pointed star pattern on every other beat, she happily struck anyone too slow to get out of her way as she left a trail of moonglow in her wake. On the tenth beat she finished the star, and on the twelfth she dive-bombed its center to make the whole area erupt in a blast of silver light.
Primrose weaved out of Cornelia's path, one step ahead on the off beat. She made her movements look elegant and effortless even though she was concentrating hard on both keeping the rhythm and avoiding the hostile magic. Each pass the pompous mage made across the stage crowded Primrose until she was inside the shape's middle.
Center stage - just where I want to be, she mused, hands wreathed in magic as she continued to dance. When Cornelia came shooting down towards her the magical explosion ripped through Primrose's Baldur Shell. The dancer stood tall in the aftermath thanks to what damage it reduced before breaking, letting the last of the shimmery light fall around her. Her counter attack was a circle of fire, the Black Flame in one hand and the Flame Fan in the right as she danced a quick, tight circle around her opponent. Every note of the orchestra's horns and beat of their drums saw Primrose kick or twirl, the swaying of her hair and hips carried by the music. The fire swirled together closing in on Cornelia before her inevitable escape.
For a moment it looked as if the sorceress’s plunge landed head-center on her opponent, but Primrose emerged mostly unscathed thanks to some sort of protective shield. In a sensational pyrotechnic display the two-tone vortex of flame closed in on Cornelia, but after a painful moment spent burning she cut through with rays of moonlight. Her tenacity and pride wouldn’t be incinerated so easily.
”Myyyyy heart feeeeeeels nooooooo pain!” A critical Luna Λ moon had blossomed above her head, casting its many-faceted glimmer all around the atrium like a giant disco ball, and now streaks of silver radiance carved through the stage like laserbeams. In unison they swept up, then down, then up again while revolving, all perfectly rhythmic.
Getting out of the way while keeping in time to the music was easier said than done, even for a professional. Primrose managed somewhat, eyes wide as she took in as much of the stage as possible while continuing to dance. Swift steps took her out of harm's way, but not every time. When she did get caught by a moonlit streak of magic, she recovered by turning each stagger into a dance step. Falling to one knee she swept her opposite leg out into a low spin, continuing to turn as she stood up again. Her eyes flickered up to the spell shining overhead. She danced closer to it, and after performing another wide spin with a flare of dark magic, she struck a pose with one hand held up defiantly towards the false moon. A shadowy lance formed above it, the Rite of Termination slicing down and popping through the Luna as if it were a bubble. The dark pillar spread its own waves of magic over the stage.
Of course, the nebulous spear piercing Cornelia’s celestial orb meant it hit the sorceress directly beneath it, too. “Agh!” She flew backward toward the curtain, her wings out of commission for the time being, and only barely salvaged her fall with a backflip handspring. She slid to a stop in a crouch, her hair and dress in disarray as she breathed heavily, but only for a moment. “Not bad,” she admitted, straightening up -and straightening out her appearance- in the blink of an eye. Overhead, the icons were almost neck and neck; Cornelia had been putting on more of a show, while Primrose had been landing more attacks. It was time to put her foot down. “Let’s see what you’re really made of.”
With one hand on her hip, shaking to the beat, she began to snap her fingers, creating small purple flashes. After a brief moment more snaps joined the mix–yellow, green, blue, white, and red. Out from behind her sidled five
familiar figures, their skin of polished plastic and their hairdo’s hard and shiny as rock candy. Wordless they began to groove along with Cornelia in sync, two to either side of her and one directly behind. The sorceress smiled. “Can’t have a diva without backup dancers,” she announced smugly, equipping a
cross-shaped staff. “Shall we?”
Primrose used the short reprieve to catch her breath while Cornelia recovered. It must have been a spectacular show for the audience so far, and even with as intensely as the two women had been going at it Primrose got the feeling things were only just getting started. She unfurled her ornate fan with flourish when the back-up dancers appeared.
"Time for the main event," she said, and Cornelia's song continued.
”You spun your web, put your lies, thought I didn’t know…”
Left, right. Left, right. Left, right, spin.The tempo of the song picked up, spurring Primrose into action. She did her utmost to mirror Cornelia's dancing; a one-two step to her left, another to right, a jazzy little sequence ending in a quick turn.
“Saw through your mask, and your glow, ‘cause I had to know…”
Spin, left. Spin, right. Lift, plant, spin.The turn became a longer twirl as she sailed to one side, stopping only for a brief moment to strike a daring pose with the fan held coyly in front of her face, and then she was spinning back to the right hand side. The movement became a jump, one leg rising before the other in one smooth movement. She landed with her arms rising around her, hands up as she span once more.
“No more secrets, no disguise, puttin’ on a show…”
Left-right-right, left-right-right, spin, spin, spin.Cornelia was talented. If it wasn't apparent enough to the people watching, her skills in song and dance were better than any Primrose had seen.
But I'm better, she reminded herself, breathing deeply to keep her stamina up and follow the routine she was being challenged with.
Left, right, right. Her feet crossed over each other as she danced across the stage, matching the shimmy of her shoulders. She snapped her fan closed and made an X shape with her arms in front of her chest, fingers tilted almost daintily upward as she went into a triple turn.
“You played your games, parlor magic, let your hand show…”
Plant raise raise, plant raise raise. Burst!She came to a dramatic stop with one leg extended, fan flicking open again and fluttering in front of her. Even with no back-up dancers or support (as any movement from Sectonia risked drawing the ire of the guards around her), Primrose was keeping up. A little momentum saw her legs kick up with the rhythm of the music. She made a short leap, landing with her feet turned toward one another as she swept her hand through the air before going into another kick and leap. A more exciting display followed as the Flame Fan made another appearance and joined her dancer's fan, scattering glowing embers around the Seeker as she raised it overhead after sticking the landing of her jump.
“You can’t get hurt by the things that you don’t know…”
Plant-spin, left-right-left, right-left-right, burst!Primrose kicked off the stage, going into a fast one-legged spin while her spell still shined. The arm holding the flame was tucked close to her, drawing up and down as she span to create a hypnotic display as the fire trailed behind in mesmerizing motion. The turns ended but she didn't come to a stop; taking deep, heavy breaths through her nose she went into the next steps.
Left, right, left. She danced, and at the end she threw her arm up and let go of the spell, letting it burst above her.
This kind of battle, pushing the limits of her skills as both a dancer and a mage, was unlike anything Primrose had done before. It was exhilarating. There was a smile on her face, one that clearly said she was enjoying herself despite the way this confrontation had started. She was having fun, but she didn't forget the reason she and Sectonia had come here in the first place. Framed in falling embers and spotlight, she raised the dancer's fan and fluttered it at Cornelia.
"I hope you're not finished yet," she said, her smile turning to a taunting grin.
Breathing heavily, the sorceress paused for a moment. This time Cornelia’s glance at the scoreline wasn’t quite as well hidden. Seeing it brought her no solace, either, for Primrose’s icon had perceptibly pushed her own back to the right.
Impossible, she thought, floored by the revelation. As the dancer taunted her she clenched her teeth, forced to recognize that this woman had real talent. No more messing around, then. “I’m barely getting started,” she replied, her weariness replaced by haughtiness. “Let’s raise the stakes.” With a narrow smile she clapped her hands. “And turn down the lights.”
A wave of darkness spread across the stage as she cast Death Γ, blanketing it in blackest pitch. When the overhead lights snapped off as well, Primrose could see everything beyond the stage, but not a single thing in her immediate vicinity. Then, five spotlights appeared, slim enough to accommodate just one member of 1010 each, surrounding her. Rather than attack they continued to dance, trying to distract her, until after a couple moments the red-haired robot turned to reveal Cornelia behind him, who posed with him in a dramatic dip. A massive dark magic flare went off under Primrose’s position the next moment. As she continued this strategy three more times, it would be up to the dancer to interrupt Cornelia before she could complete the attack.
On her guard when darkness descended, Primrose's eyes shifted between the robot dancers. Tension was high, and as Cornelia reappeared leaning in deep Primrose danced away from her. She felt the swell of magic and in trying to avoid it, her back hit the yellow-haired robot.
"Uhff." He pushed her forward into the spell, her steps faltering when she took damage before she corrected herself. Cornelia repeated the pattern, but this time Primrose fought back with her own darkness. She twirled in the center of the ring of dancers, letting her Moonlight Waltz carry her through. Her own spell came to life whenever Cornelia emerged from the darkness, staggering the woman's chosen dance partner and throwing off both her groove and her attack. By the time the fourth round of this began, Primrose switched tactics and cast her Night Ode, the wide area of effect erupting in a circle around her large enough to engulf all of the metallic boy band, though Cornelia herself had escaped to the air.
The lights switched on, and newly-manufactured replacements for the lost members of 1010 sidled out. There was a brief lull in the orchestra which Primrose was quick to take advantage of, flowing into the beginning of a new routine when the music came back to life.
"Eyes on me," she purred.
An ethereal voice from the orchestra took over the singing.
”Me in the palm of your hand and you think you'll never lose in the game of love…”She began with a simple tap of her foot, and then she was off. Left, right, left, left. A half turn, her foot drawing a crescent before she danced back the way she came. Right, right, left, right. Her arms shifted with every movement, tracing the line of her hips and flowing over her head.
Recognizing the challenge, Cornelia landed back down on the stage, her staff ready as 1010 drew up around her. “Simple,” she murmured, moving in sync with her backup to replicate the steps exactly.
“You spread your pretty wings and try as you might - you'll never fly fly fly…”Her opponent rose one leg high and turned once, twice, then went into the more complicated steps. Left, forward, back, back, right, forward; all with a sway of her hips in time to the beat of the music.
Cornelia’s face tightened. Despite all the advantages in her corner, she had almost
too much going for her. These moves, elegant in their simplicity, demanded less from her bag of tricks and more from her raw ability. She managed to match the pattern, but 1010 wasn’t smooth enough to keep up. They were getting out of sync.
“Stopped listening to the sound of the beating of your stone cold heart…”A calypso style leap saw her twist in the air before she came down to the stage, dropping low and turning again before snaking her body back to stand at her full height. A quick one-two and then she rose off the ground again, coming down to land on one leg and spin. A forward step, her legs crossing over each other as she sailed across the stage, left, right, back, forward, forward, left, right. She struck a dazzling pose with her fan fluttering up from her stomach to her face.
Rather than jump on her own Cornelia deployed her wings for an extra flourish, but the drag slowed her down. She fell short, then overcorrected too fast. She matched Primrose’s strut, but half a beat behind. After the flutter-step she posed by twirling her staff and then planting it in a burst of darkness for the pose, but it didn’t match her opponent’s gracefulness. With a strained whine of frustration she hurled her staff away as if it was to blame, which bowled over the faltering members of 1010.
“You spin, and spin, and spin, me out of your life.”Now that the performance had returned to just the two women on stage giving their all to a duel of dance, it seemed the competition was reaching its finale. Unwilling to let Cornelia turn this around, Primrose didn't slow down, keeping her steps to rhythm and pouring all of her energy into the display.
She threw her arms behind her and arched her back, her head falling backwards as she drew one knee up, holding the pose for a moment before extending her leg and falling forward. Her weight shifted, bringing her into another one legged stance as she spun in place. She twirled low, muscles in her legs supporting her as she sank and rose again. Transitioning swiftly into a complex step pattern with her hands at her hips, Primrose danced her way across the floor. A series of short hops and turns took her to center stage, where with the light of Warmth making her very hands glow she started gracefully toward the front. Left, right, forward, forward, right, left, forward, forward; her arms swayed across her body as they followed the path her feet were making across the area. She ended her dance with a wide spin, coming to a stop with one leg extended behind her, toes touching the stage while her chest was pushed proudly forward and her arms spread to either side to welcome the applause of the audience.
For it was indeed a moment of complete and utter triumph. In the moments that followed, Cornelia held on as long as she could, vying to follow suit with her whole being–as if she wanted to prove that, with all her tricks stripped away, that she could still steal the show. But she could not. For her, dancing had been a pastime, a fun diversion and a means of stoking her own ego. And even if the Agarthan once known as Cleobulus allowed her mask to become her true face, and her vanity her true allegiance, in the end this wasn’t who she was. When the moment passed she’d fallen to one knee, her muscles unable to emulate the feats Primrose performed, her privilege-softened body wracked with fatigue. While she languished in the remains of her dark magic, Primrose stood beneath the golden glory of the audience’s adoration, polite applause thrown to the wayside as their roaring voices cheered for her and her alone. Cornelia, chest heaving and hair askew, didn’t even bother looking at the scoreline. The knowledge that she’d been defeated weighed down on her harder than any burden. She thought about venting all her raw emotion out in the form of Death Γ against Primrose’s back, but try as she might Cornelia couldn’t lift a finger. Instead she fell down on forearms with a muted cry. It was over. It had never been more over than it was right now.
At some point Primrose had let her eyes drift closed, savoring the praise being lavished upon her from the crowd. Her limbs were on fire with the strain of a job well done. It had really been the performance of a lifetime.
Primrose turned, looking down at Cornelia. Though she didn't know the woman beyond the bit of deadly fun they'd had, at the end of the day Cornelia was a potential obstacle in the Seeker's path to free the world from Galeem, however tangentially related to the campaign she was. Primrose and Sectonia had come here for one reason, and the dancer was going to carry it out. But first, the end of the show.
Primrose let out a deep breath, then went to Cornelia's side. She took hold of the Agarthan's bicep and helped her stand. Her hand found its way to Cornelia's wrist and she lifted both of their arms before the two women bowed to the audience, Cornelia catching on and trying to save what face she could. While the people's eyes were on them, Primrose's Makami was summoned off to the side where it drifted up to pull the curtain of the stage closed.
When no one could see them any longer Cornelia wrenched her hand from Primrose's grip.
"I hope you enjoyed your final performance," Primrose told her, voice dark. She had never been a woman of mercy, even before her transformations in the World of Light. The dancer performed her encore, one final Moonlight Waltz to close the curtains of Cornelia for good.
In doing so she just barely dodged what would have been a full-force Luna Λ to the head. The moonlight blazed on past to blow apart a panel of the wooden backstage, while the darkness struck true. Cornelia perished with an ugly scream, and as its echoes faded away she left behind only her spirit, her facade of immaculate beauty preserved within.
With Cornelia being dispatched by Primrose, not needing much in the way of help from Sectonia, the bee queen left her box, blinking away from the robots that ‘supervised’ her involvement with this show and gave her own stage presence and announcements, seeing as the former club leader Cornelia had been dispatched.
”To the winner of the final dance of the evening, the spoils. And with that, the show has been concluded.” and hastily closed the curtains to the two of them some privacy
Turning to Primrose, Sectonia said.
”That was a good show. Glad to see my faith in your abilities was not misplaced.” Primrose looked over at Sectonia as the bee approached, a small but genuine smile on her face.
"I'm happy to hear that. Praise from a queen is high praise indeed."Sectonia looked from the dancer then to the spirit of Cornelia laying on the ground.
”You can choose what you want to do with that. She had a few interesting spells at the end of things, but you did all the work so the fate of that spirit is up to you.” Primrose nodded, collecting the Agarthan’s spirit. With a wave of her fan the ashen remains - and the evidence of what they’d done - was scattered away.
Now the issue of keeping this place up and running without its socialite running it anymore, at least until Consul P was defeated, arose. And even then, Setonia would be bereft of herself if she was to let such an attempt at opulence fall into obscurity. Perhaps finding that Mothiva that Primrose had to upstage and convince her to take over could be of benefit if she wasn’t allied with Consul P. Now where did those two go…
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