The light faded and as Cee’s eyes adjusted to her new surroundings. It looked like a black room filled with many lights and smoke filling the area. Everything was colored black from the curtains to the catwalk, except for one thing that popped out from detail painted on the floor. It looked to be designed like a giant collection of lily pads that had been in the main stage where she had been some time ago. She thought she was alone in this place until a woman stepped out from the smoke.

Her skin was a sight as the snow, but she was dressed in many colorful views that tied from her middle finger and attached to her top. She wore a long skirt that looked like a ballerina with bare feet touching the floor creating a splash of invisible light with every step. Her long ears were pierced with ivory tusks that matched a white diamond that decorated her forehead. She could tell by the shape of the four leaf design and shimmer that it displayed that she was the master of this stage.

She lifted her head into the headlights and moved body in fluid motions. Each step she took on stage was an act of ballet lifting herself through her body through the air, twirling in circles as her long skirt ruffled through the air at tornado force speed. She glided around the stage, turning her head and moving like a prima ballerina until her last step where she leaped halfway across the stage and landed right in front of Cee as gently as a feather. Cee slowly clapped, having seen her amazing display of angelic grace.

“Thank you,” the bejeweled woman said with a bow. “It’s not my best work, but it’s still missing something.”

“I thought it was pretty good, what could possibly be missing.”

“Good?” She said with eyes as wide as flares. “It has to be great, it has to be marvelous, something with flair. Anything else would be just dancing, this needs everything. Magic, wonder, something that summons the very elements themselves.”

“What do you mean?”

“Take my hand and I shall show you.” She said, extending her hands.

[ Acquired Cooperate Lv. 1 ]

A window appeared the moment she touched her hand. Before he could even accept Cee found herself being dragged along the stage at lightning speed. Not sooner had they rushed to the fate shuffled at quicker speed, so fast that Cee didn’t have enough time to see the cards play. It was only after they reached the downstage of the lily pad that the results became apparent.

[ 2 Hands Combine to make 4 of Kind. ]

[ Your combination IS SEPTUPLE EFFECTIVE! ]

[ 7 Part, Earth Strut Begins. ]

The moment Leven’s foot hit the ground, the stage began to tremble. Cee could feel her body moving the shaking rhythm in a frenzy of fearsome dance moves, possessed by an unknown force and guided by the hand Leven at the edge of he Lily pad. Together they twisted, turned and twirled until once again, she lifted up in the air and landed again upon the ground.

BOOM! The ground shot again, like a quake of the earth, and again the sequence began again. Cee hopelessly holds on for dear life as Leven leads her to replicate every move of the quake shift like a teacher managing a student.

BOOM! Again the earth shook to the third, and fourth act followed by the fifth. The ground growing more off balanced unstable like dancing on a ship in stormy waters. Cee could feel her body wobble, wiggle, like going on a never ending rollercoaster ride with no way to get out. Then when she ran one last time building her momentum with every step, they both took to the air with one great leap and together crashed to the ground.

BOOM! The moment they landed Cee could swear she could see the very earth lift up like gravity had no meaning. Chunks of rock and dirt came blasting through the air like an exploding landmine had been set off. She could feel the particles of soil and grim rain down upon her green hair, the wind of the blast from the impact of earth. Yet, after the instant that Leven helped her up to her feet, her body remained clean and unscathed.

“Wha...as...at?” Cee asked, trying to catch her breath from the feeling of such a powerful skill combination.

“It’s the results of the spirits of luck looking down on us and granting us favor for our mutual skills development.”

[ Cooperate (Lv. 1)

A passive skill.

When one or more players make a group challenge,

Player pays 80% of Karma, Luck or G$ cost.

Cost: 20% KP, LP, G$ cost. ]

As she read the open window in her eyes, Leven went on further to explain talking to the stage light as if speaking to the spirits themselves.

“The spirits favor individuals, but when more than one plays as one any results can be made possible. No matter what you do or how you do it, it’s all connected to praise the spirits of Luck. That is why my ballet alone could not form a spectacle worthy of their praise. That’s how I knew that when you arrived, I could finally perform a show that will make the very heavens tremble in awe.” She turned over to Cee and bowed in a polite and graceful manner. “Would you care to join me in expressing their praise through the art of movement?”

Cee knew that any more of this cooperative skill could be a spectacle, but the only question was whether her mind could take such action. Reluctantly she took Leven’s hand and the dance once again as they rushed over to stage right of the lily to begin another dance.

[ 2 Hands Combine to make a Full House. ]

[ Your combination IS QUINTUPLE EFFECTIVE! ]

[ 5 Part, Wind Strut Begins! ]

They moved together as a mighty wind star blowing across their hair. As they spun, a tornado of fabric and ribbons swarmed them blowing in the direction with each powerful gust. First to the left, then to the right, and finally down from the air like a gust of wind. Even with her skin tight frog suit, Cee could feel the power of the wind like that of a hurricane lifting them to their next destination.

“Try to tuck and roll when we land,” Leven screamed. “We gotta about 3 more acts to go.”

“Fan~ta~stic.” She said lips and cheeks were brought back by the sheer force of the wind.

[ 2 Hands Combine to make a Flush. ]

[ Your combination is TRIPLE EFFECTIVE! ]

[ 3 Part, Fire Strut Begins! ]

They landed stage left as gently as a feather but began twirling around as if fanning a flame with their bodies. Twisting and turning, like two flames and then spreading rocking back and forth together and then coming back together like a tornado of fire. Cee could see the heat of invisible flames bending her vision as they continued to dance in a tango of fire dances with big finishes. Without saying a word they spun together toward center stage and began their fourth act.

[ 2 Hands Combine to make a 3 of a Kind. ]

[ Water Strut Begins! ]

They landed on their feet like sticks on a drum, droplets of water rose up from the ground creating a splash upon the Lily pad. Around Cee looked around and could see the waves rippling across like landing on a lily pad in a pond. When they rose up to their feet again, Leven, without even missing a beat, grabbed her by the hand.

“Ready for the big solo?”

“W-what?” She asked dazed and confused as to when she agreed upon a sudden solo could only wait until the results.

[ 2 Hands Combine to make a Full House. ]

[ Your combination IS QUINTUPLE EFFECTIVE! ]

[ Activating Cooperation (Lv. 1) ]

A storm began to appear over their hands, and all the elements began to collide from the stage. Winds, water, fire and earth came together in a torrent of the elements combined. They spun, they twirled, and Cee was lifted in the air like a frog in the hand. When the storm came to its climax and opened its clouds into the heavens of bright brilliant light, Cee was shot like an arrow upstage to land on the edge of the Lily Pad.

CRASH! A powerful thunder bolt of pure electricity hit the floor, with Cee as the conductor. She felt exuberant, empowered as if anything and everything could be done with lightning quick speed. Her body was guided, fully possessed as she began to perform a solo dance of her own creation. Every step seemed to count down the time of the next thunder and lightning strike.

CRASH! Her legs performed a L-kick attracting the lightning to the floor. She began to sweep, swipe and kick her legs to the echo of the thunder rumbling through the stage.

CRASH! He dropped to the ground as if falling to the ground in a fit, before spinning, floating and pushing herself up to fall flat on her back again.

CRASH! The lightning brought her up to her feet with a Kip up, as she began to power and lock her body in as contorted as a tree slowly summoning the air and water into a strong mist that filled the stage. One her final commotion she froze like a frog caught in mid jump, standing on one leg with her hands outstretched. The mist had faded and the lights of the stage produce a majestic rainbow above her green hair.

[ Runway has advanced to Lightning Strut Lv. 5. ]

[ Break Dancing has advanced to Lv. 7 ]

Leven started clapping exuberantly as the rainbow, having witnessed her solo and apparently more than pleased with that result.

“Bravo, bravo.” She said, “I thought you would finish with a fire or water strut, but you pulled off a lightning strut, no bad. Talk about a twist on the ending. You must have some good dancing training.”

“Dancing...well I studied a bit of breakdancing in grade school, but...”

“Time does not fade a talent, it only lies dormant until you need it, like swimming or riding a bike.” She said approaching Cee. “You should nurture that and make it better.”

“W-well, I would have loved to have been a dancer, but... ah, that was just a child’s dream.”

“Trust me, I’ve got a foresight for these things,” She said, placing her hand on her shoulder. “Dreams are always there, until you help to make it real.”

The light on her four-leafed clover four-head looked as bright as a shooting star that was coming close with each passing second. In a flash of brilliant white light, Cee found the entire area disappearing as quick as she had arrived. What replaced it was a new window that she had not expected to see having been lost in the dance routine for what seemed like an eternity.

[ Congratulations! ]

[ You have made it to the semi-finals. ]

[ Please enjoy the winner’s lounge. ]

As the light disappeared, new shapes of another area began to form. Washed by strange lighting like fireflies embedded in crystals into walls of marble, was a warm setting with comfy looking furniture in every corner of the room. There was a long lounge couch, and several seats and futons lying about, near the bright part of the room was a wooden bar, set up with several spinning bar stools, and sitting on those seats was a familiar face. She couldn’t remember her name, but she would recognize that feathery tiara anyway with the sparkling sequin dress.