2025-05-17: The Angel Takes Orb

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<Pose Tracker> Lilium Valerie has posed.


It's a beautiful night in the United Emirates of Orb. The moon--waxing gibbous, incidentally--is shining in the sky, the people are happily going about their business, and the elevated pyramid once built for a certain princess' indefinitely delayed wedding has been loaned out by the Seiran family for a rather different purpose.

The two semicircular rings around its perimeter are now laden with spotlights, speakers, and projection apparatus of various function. Cables stream down the sides into the trees below. The already-sizable audience stands have been expanded further, with the seating towards the back elevated. Seating that is already packed full of spectators. After all, there's a concert tonight.

The audience consists almost entirely of Orb locals, with the decently-sized remainder having come from abroad instead. The air is abuzz with conversation about tonight's act--that famous Symphonic Angel, The New United Nations Earth's (Alleged) Favourite Idol, Lilium Bella Valerie.

It'd be a lie to say there isn't a feeling of apprehension in the air; Ms. Valerie's ties to the Gaia Sabers are public knowledge, after all. But still... an Idol is an Idol. There's no harm in a concert, is there?

Cameras all around the area are trained on the stage atop the structure, set to broadcast to the various screens elsewhere around Orb's islands typically used for public announcements, news broadcasts, or advertisements (another courtesy from the Seirans). The speakers around these displays, curiously, have recently been inspected by technicians from a Britannian multimedia company known as Angel's Orchard Incorporated--A company mostly known to the public as Lilium's record label, but an enterprising researcher might be able to dig up evidence of some fascinating side businesses... assuming they weren't noticed doing so.

One of that company's employees, a Ms. Angelica Arcfeldt, is currently staring out of the tinted window of her limousine with a wry smile on her face. So many buildings... so many people...

So many potential customers. Ms. Arcfeldt turns back to the other passengers accompanying her, clapping her hands together. "Right, everyone! We're almost to the stage for tonight's show! Are you all ready?"

The first passenger, a long-haired girl in her late teens wearing a suit with a dark green tie just a little too big for her sitting across from Angelica, grunts affirmingly. The second, a shorter-haired girl the same age wearing a suit with a more reasonably-sized golden-yellow tie and a skirted suit sitting next to the first, elbows her in the ribs--winding her--and responds with a more committal "Prepared, ma'am."

The third passenger, seated next to Arcfeldt, stares out of the window with her soft pink eyes, before registering that she's been asked a question and spinning around. Lilium begins to stammer "Oh! U-uhm--I should be ready, Ms. Arcfeldt--I think I was loaded with the choreography already--I've been, uuuhhm... s-studying the tracklist--" Before being cut off by a light chuckle, and a raised hand.

"Good, good..." Arcfeldt says, nodding to the shorter-haired girl before reaching down to retrieve a briefcase from under her seat. "Now, then, dear..."

The case is unclasped, and opened. Lilium tilts her head slightly to one side.

"It's about time for you to take your medicine. You'll need a few minutes to acclimatise to it, after all..." Arcfeldt produces an injection mechanism of some sort from her briefcase, carefully slotting a vial of faintly orange-tinted, mostly translucent fluid into it. She's smiling warmly, but her eyes are hidden by her sunglasses. "Let me see your back, please?" Lilium pouts slightly... but turns as she's requested to, permitting Arcfeldt to bring the injector up to her spine. There's a faint pssshth sound, and the Idol's mouth opens slightly with a faint oh. Her pupils dilate. Her mind expands.

The hearts of the people of orb open to her. Overwhelm her.

        I can't believe she didn't tell me she was aNaturalCoordinatorCagalli oh Cagalli wherefore art thou CagalliWhy are the government letting that NUNE girl perform here anywayFor the last time PRIVATE a Murasame isn't a Gundam just because it has the--

Lilium slumps forwards against the window, breathing in and out. Her eyes struggle to focus. Ms. Arcfeldt nonchalantly places the device back into her briefcase, and leans back in her seat. Her smile has not faded. She turns to the girl with the golden tie; and calmly states "Right, then! Number... four, yes? Would you contact the good doctors and the rest of your team for me while our star gets ready for her work?"

'Number Four' nods once again, giving a curt "Right away, ma'am" as she pulls out her phone (A boring, undisguised block with a traditional screen) and dials a number.


Somewhere under that Pyramid, in a room filled with hastily-installed computer monitors, a woman in a Gaia Sabers officer's dress uniform's own phone begins to ring.

It's swifly answered, and raised to her ear:

"Cherub-Two, listening. Go ahead, Cherub-Four."

She listens for a moment, then places her hand over the receiver. "Doctor Frankford, ma'am? She's almost here. Arcfeldt wants the system started up."

Frankford sighs, but nods her head. "Of course. She really could have let us know earlier... still, we have time. Prepare to activate the systems! We want them at full power as close to the start of the concert as possible!"


Outside, the crowd as one turns to face the approaching limousine as it comes to a halt at the foot of the staircase... and the Angel of Peace exits to the roar of the crowd, and a supernova of paparazzi camera flashes.

Lilium waves to the crowd, that artificially photogenic smile on her face... but her eyes still don't look quite right. Still, most of the crowd don't notice... and she has every right to be nervous. This is the biggest show she's had since her debut, after all. She's not out on the steps for long, regardless--It doesn't take long for the two girls in suits and the ever-smiling Ms. Arcfeldt to swiftly usher her into the pyramid's depths. 

<Pose Tracker> Lacus Clyne has posed.

After a couple days of travel, Lacus has returned to Orb! And indeed, she's returned more or less right into a concert. It's been a while since she was meaningfully in the public eye... but she does miss it, a little. The world has changed and so has she, but there's part of her that wishes every day that it hadn't.

... Which brings her here, of course. She's not really sure why; part of her wants to see what NUNE thought was worth all this. Part of her feels like she needs to know what NUNE is planning. ... Maybe there's a little part of her that wants to dangle idol life just out of her own reach.

Despite the muddled reasons, the action is very clear. She's going to the concert.

She's near the front of the crowd, and not alone; the expression on her face is one of faint, burdened worry. 

<Pose Tracker> Aurora Dusk has posed.

         In that somewhere beneath the pyramid, both Ashcroft and Dusk are loitering. Not technically loitering, the former is part of the Cyber-Newtype consulting staff and the latter is generally agreed to be on some kind of plainclothes security detail, but with the amount of staff available Ashcroft is slightly redundant in normal operations, and Aurora isn't really doing much security standing here in the control room.

        Emily's eyes flick over to Minerva. This is the first time they've been in the same room together, isn't it? She would've made more of an effort to see the new head doctor in person, but she was too busy in the field. And with paperwork. Ashton is definitely qualified, at least.

        Her eyes pass back over to Aurora, who turns to meet her gaze. "It's your choice if you want to stay here or watch the concert from the stands." Aurora shrugs in response.

        Emily shrugs back. "Well, how does it looks, Doctors?" She CAN read the data on the monitors, it's just this side of the project isn't her primary field of expertise. Best to leave that to the actual specialists. 

<Pose Tracker> Minerva Ashton has posed.

"Un peu deblue pour hmhmhm"

Deep underground, in the Gaia Sabers' hastily erected command room, Dr. Minerva Ashton hums a tune to herself as she sits at her workstation, with a readout of a human brain holographically projected before her.

As Cherub 2 gets the call, the brainwaves on the screen start to spike as Lilium is given her "medicine". Minerva smiles a bit. All's going well. Dr. Frankford relays the orders, and Minerva is happy to oblige.

"Understood. Raise dopamine by 10% in steady intervals until start time. Give me PSX readouts, and I need crowdmapping analysis ready to go by the time we start," Minerva says to her coworkers.

Minerva looks at projected footage of Lilium as she exits the limousine. "This'll be quite the show, Miss Angel. I do hope you're as good as promised."

<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.

Last time Flay and Lacus spoke, they agreed that the matter of Lilium Valerie, the Gaia Sabers' Boosted Songstress was more than a little disquieting, for their own reasons. Today, it seems, that matter has brought itself just a little closer to home. Knowing what she does about Lilium's role, bringing to a nation with as much political unrest as Orb seems like a pretty obvious power move...

But Flay doesn't really know herself why she decided to accompany Lacus to the concert, with all the risks it entails for her. Averting her eyes won't make much of a difference. At the same time, if Orb falls to the political influence of the 'Angel of Peace', there's nothing she can do to prevent an outcome like that herself. So... why?

Perhaps there's something to be learned from the experience... or perhaps she's just curious enough to see a glimpse of what it's like to stand on such a stage. Whatever feelings she holds in her heart about it, Flay is here with Lacus. Considering she's a traitor to the Gaia Sabers, she's made the bare minimum effort to disguise herself too, in a way that could easily just be confused with a tourist - sunglasses and a sunhat to go with her sleeveless pink sundress.

Considering the worry on her companion's face, Flay finds it difficult to mask her own unease. "They're really putting on a show this time..." She remarks, just to break the awkward silence of it, more than anything. 

<Pose Tracker> Murasaki El-Amari has posed.

Unlike Flay, Murasaki knows exactly why she's attending the concert. Cagalli has asked her to look after the PLANTs songstress and her companion on this little reconnaissance. Of course, Cagalli herself wants to know herself what NUNE is up to. Using pop stars to influence public opinion isn't unheard of and Murasaki couldn't help but find the idea of an Idol war somewhat amusing.

She stands behind the two younger women, keeping an eye on them, and anyone who would try to interfere with them. Not exactly an easy detail in such a big crowd.

"Yeah, I noticed." Murasaki adds. "I'm honestly surprised the crowd is so big." 

<Pose Tracker> Gauma has posed.

Way, WAY back from the front of the concert...

"Okay, that'll beee 53 gilla 20 luke," a man with deep makeup around his eyes like sleep rings, and a prominent scar on his face, says. He's got a decent customer service smile at least behind that shaggy pink hair. While the customer scans their phone to pay, Gauma looks past, as the crowd near the entrance goes off. "Guess she's here," he muses to nobody, and when the customer asks what he said he starts. "Oh! Uh, nothing, here ya go."

*Relatedly*, Chise Asukagawa is out in the crowd in a sleeveless A-shaped shirt. She got to ride a submarine here, it was cool. 

<Pose Tracker> Shelby Korts has posed.


        Getting to go to a concert? Not a bad deal. She has a sizeable collection of music in her pocket at any given time, after all, and it aids her in being able to actually get some sleep at night. Being in a place like *Orb* to catch a concert for "public relations" purposes? Maybe it's going to be a propoganda-laiden intermission, or something...

        Still, Shelby Korts is in attendance, toward the back of the venue. Red-pink hair piled and pinned at the back of her head in the most sloppy of buns, she absolutely made sure to wear her most comfortable running-away sneakers and a nice jacket to the venue, passing for someone of that appropriately early(?) twenty-something(?) rather than--

        -- rather than someone that, despite her best appearances, has what feels like thirteen train stations running through her head, at rush hour, at the same time. Hopefully the whole trip to Orb will turn up something for her, to make it worth the migrane she's going to have later.

<Pose Tracker> Lilium Valerie has posed.


Up on a catwalk over the control room, a woman in a full normal suit is leaning against a wall, tinted-visored helmet rested on one hand, and that arm's elbow rested on her other. There's a little spider decal on the side of her helmet. She doesn't seem to have much to do at the moment, but the woman in the dress uniform gestures up to her-- "Cherub-Six. You'll be taking the Angel to the stage elevator. Make sure the final medical checks are performed, and her projection equipment is attached securely."

"..."

'Cherub-Six' nods her head in acknowledgment. Slightly.

Doctor Frankford, meanwhile, is surveying her domain. She glances over the workers around Doctor Ashton--they're following Minerva's instructions adequately, seemingly. Excellent. One fewer thing for her to micromanage... "She's been performing to expectations so far, Dr. Ashton... do try to make sure she stays that way?"

She turns to Colonel Ashcroft. "-Ah, her vitals are... well, stable would be a blatant lie, but she's taking to the supplements around as well as was projected for use in an urban area..." She sighs, shaking her head. "Unfortunate that we had to field-test it like this, but we've got to find out how it affects her somehow..."

The Good(debatable) Doctor(true enough) trails off for a moment, but is prevented from reestablishing her train of thought by the sudden entry of Lilium, Flanked on either side by Cherubs Three and Four. Ms. Arcfeldt, for her part, immediately heads down to the lower level where the rest of the Doctorate-holders are; while Lilium herself is ushered along the catwalk by Cherub number Six.

Technicians of all sorts swarm around her, shining penlights in her eyes, placing stethoscopes on random parts of her anatomy, and affixing devices to her outfit. Random callouts can be heard, along the lines of "Pupil response within acceptable margins--she's conscious and functional enough to remain in Primary Mode!" and "Outfit Projection Holoreciever is attached--sync it to the stage projector network and load tonight's programs!"

This continues for a short while, before Lilium is unceremoniously bundled out the other side of the catwalk, and up a set of stairs.


The lights around the repurposed stage shut off, and all is silent for a moment. The moon, high in the sky, shines down. The cameras streaming the concert around Orb are angled up at it, curiously enough. The audience holds their breath. And then...

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X85sOncih5U (Symphogear G - Dark Oblivion)

        (Lost in, a world gone astray.)

        (Questions, nothing left to say.)

        (But still, tomorrow remains.)

        (Yeaaah!!)

Bright reddish-pink lights switch on, revealing Lilium standing on the stage before them. She's dressed in something that could technically be called an evening dress: A dark blue strapless cropped top that covers pretty much exclusively the area around her chest, low-cut at the front with what looks like two mirrored copies of her slowly-becoming-iconic bird-and-star hairpin attached dead centre. Two segments of the same material in the same colour flow out downwards from either side of the central decoration, but neither connects to the bottom half of the garment.

A thin, translucent, sparkling pink cloth is wrapped around her neck, flowing down to her hands (each clad in a half-palm glove made of the same material), where they are neatly tied around a ring on each of her middle fingers and then flow down to just above the floor. Silver earrings modelled after her hair pin have been affixed to her, and her actual hairpin has been replaced with a larger-than-usual one in dull metal the same colour as her 'dress'.

Eight feather-like sections of fabric fall down her legs, with four at the front making it down to roughly her calves, while those at the back instead drape along the floor for an inch or two. Each is inlaid with a downwards-pointing design in the pink shade of her eyes that makes them resemble an inverted candle flame. The front and back sections are connected by a round-pleated miniskirt on her sides that just barely reaches past her hips, with a low cut that leaves her midriff exposed, and decorated on each side by two overlaid designs reminiscent of her hairpin in silver once again.

She stands upon a pair of high heels, which cover only her toes and the back of her heel. The rest of her feet, and legs additionally, are clad in sheer tights, with the straps of her heels extending upwards and crossing over each other all the way up her legs atop them.

Several more embellishments resembling her hairpin are attached to her tights up the outsides of her calves, with notably large ones on the upper surface of each of her feet.

She doesn't seem to be dancing as such, but is still swaying from side to side while mostly moving her right arm; as she's holding an old-fashioned spherical microphone in her left, holding it up to her mouth.

        "Falling to pieces, a shattered dreamland--nothing but shadows now."

        (As night starts to fall)

        "Open your eyes to a brand new nightmare--Try to escape, but how?"

        (As light wakes us all)

The lights behind her occasionally switch between a pattern of several, and one large one in the middle, and the camera footage being displayed on the monitors around the stadium and Orb as a whole is erratically cutting between different perspectives of her.

She sweeps her free hand out to one side dramatically, before drawing it back in to clutch it close to her chest.

The audience, meanwhile, seem enraptured almost immediately--after all, the lyrics of her song were hitting close to home... between Break the World, Durandal's allegations towards NUNE, the disappearance of their nation's crown princess... (and something specific about that princess she can't quite make out..? A task..? whose task?) it's hard for most of the Orb locals (and a lot of the others, really) not to think about things like that as Lilium sings.

        "What does the future hold?" (A fallen world once bold?)

        "Can we escape this cold?" (Fate abandoned)

        "When will a new sun rise?" (When will we realize?)

For a few seconds or so, just long enough for one line of lyrics, Lilium's eyes... and her voice... change. It's subtle. Most people might not pick up on it. But while it happens, her free hand is outstretched almost directly towards the Terminal party... and for the briefest, briefest moment, she almost seems to make eye contact with Lacus. Coincidentally, of course.

        "How many dreams must die?" (We cant turn back now)

The stage lights up with projections--meteors raining down, flames around Lilium. Striking imagery to engrave itself on the hearts of the people of Orb. Hearts that Lilium, of course, can feel all around her. Their apprehensions about the future. Their feelings of helplessness before fate. Their hopes for a new, brighter dawn... Their burdens as soldiers, for some of them... such as one behind that woman in the purple cloak and the oddly familiar redhead... Lilium feels them all, and more...

And the Boosted Songstress System continues its work.

        "Entwined in darkness, the light starts to fall"

        "Merciful gods will mean nothing at all!"

The fire around Lilium vanishes, and she points up to the sky as a horizontal line of bright pink lights switch on behind her.

        "Stand on hallowed ground; reflect inside. So many questions remain"

        "Tainted sanity preys upon us... We have to escape this pain."

        (I will fly...)

        "Stand up, stand up, come on, let's go now"

        "We will never fall again" (Not again)

        "Fate will never begin to bind us; in Dark Oblivion..."

Lilium turns away from the cameras for a moment, staring downwards. She's not dancing anymore, although she wasn't moving about too much to begin with. The lights fade briefly, giving the audience a moment to process things. To think, perhaps not consciously, about their place in this world. But only a moment.

The lights flick back on, with Lilium stretching one arm towards the camera, fingers outstretched before she curls them inwards...

        "Wrapped in illusion so parasitic, as this dream takes its toll." (A flame stirs inside)

        "Burning with anger, a searing passion... Helpless, we lose control!" (The fire will ignite)

Lilium stares directly into a camera, before twirling about on the stage and letting her 'dress' splay out. Weren't there things the people of Orb--no, the people of Earth shouldn't be taking lying down? A direction they should focus their anger? Righteous anger? Doesn't your head hurt, Ms. Korts? Are you okay? (what?)

        "Trapped in a wicked plan..." (A storm upon this land...)

        "No gods to lend a hand..." (Darkness comes now)

        "How can we stop this strife?" (This wreteched parasite...)

        "Can we retake this life?" (Keep moving forward)

The stage around Lilium bursts into blue-pink flames once again, and she points directly into the camera--specifically a camera located directly behind Chise, as it happens--with an almost twisted (if still markedly artificial) smile on her face. Her eyes stare directly into the soul. Asking what they'll do. Daring them. She holds the microphone horizontally before her face, tilting her head to one side, and sings on.

        "Relight the torch of the fire within;"

        "Burn through the darkness and consume the sin!"

The flames roar around her, and then part--yet are still reflected in her eyes, something which the camera's zoom clearly shows. The monitors continue to intermittently show translucent images of her from other angles overlaid on top of her, sometimes panning across the screen. Lilium pumps her arm upwards, formed into a fist, and stares up at the sky.

        "Break the cycle now; retake our lives! We must not live in regret."

        "Time will never wait; the clock's ticking"

        "We have to make our last bet."

        (It is time)

        "Stand up, stand up, come on, let's go now"

        "No need to be so afraid"

        (Don't look back)

        "One dream, one life, one chance to stand strong"

        "One hope for all mankind..."

Lilium lowers her arm once again, then turns her head sideon from the audience as all the lights deactivate save a single spotlight pointed towards her. Her audience's feelings resonate within her heart... all eyes are on her. Even beyond the concert stadium, most of Orb at the very least notices her performance on their TVs. A single thought occupies her mind as her body is run through the remainder of the night's first routine by its systems:

This is how it's meant to be.

This is correct. She belongs on this stage. The Angel gives what sounds like the final verse, and the lights fade out...

        (Lost in, a world gone astray.)

        (Questions, nothing left to say.)

        (But still, tomorrow remains)

        (Yeaaah!!)

        The music continues to play, but the stage is hidden for a moment... until the lights suddenly all switch on at once, illuminating the whole pyramid. Lilium sweeps about, turning to face the audience with her microphone held directly in front of her face and her free hand outstretched towards the night sky, and the moon beyond.

        "Stand on hallowed ground; reflect inside. So many questions remain"

        "Tainted sanity preys upon us... We have to escape this pain."

        (Fight as one...)

        "Stand up, stand up, come on, let's go now"

        "Reclaim our lives here and now!"

        (Together...)

        "Fate will never begin to bind us; in Dark Oblivion..."

Lilium lowers her microphone, but leaves her hand in the air. She stares out over the crowd as the music slowly dies down, letting silence return... for a moment, at least. Until the applause begins.


Meanwhile, as all this is happening, a girl in her early teens, wearing a pair of cargo shorts and a slightly oversized t-shirt decorated with an adorable Super Deformed rendition of the Gundam Mark Two in Titans colours, reaches the front of the line at Gauma's concession stand.

"Hey! Could I get a hot dog, pretty please?" She asks, staring directly at him with strangely cold eyes for her tone of voice. He had brightly colored hair... and she was in orb... but it was probably fine. Although she should call in soon... 

<Pose Tracker> Lacus Clyne has posed.

"Military might hasn't helped them in Orb," Lacus reflects to Flay, softly. "Nor has using Orb's institutions... this seems to be their trump card." It feels like it should be their last, desperate gasp; NUNE hasn't been the same since everything seemed to turn on its head. But there's something about this that doesn't feel like desperation, something that feels more confident than that.

Lacus pulls up her hood a bit, looking up at the stage -- after a glance to Murasaki. "... They're looking for something to believe in. I'm not surprised the crowd is this size."

She goes silent as the lights shut off; try as she might to adjust to her new life, there is part of Lacus whose dreams still live here, on the stage.

Lacus's relationship with music has always been more analytical than she'd like; as an idol and a lyricist she's become accustomed to the act of creation as a deliberate thing, rather than full, unfiltered expression. As Lilium sings, she's already trying to parse out the biases, the 'NUNE' of 'NUNE idol,' the reason they'd take such a drastic action. She looks to Flay for just a moment, then back up at the stage --

Her eyes widen for just a moment as Lilium makes eye contact with her. It's a rare expression for Lacus -- like someone put an ice cube down the back of her collar at a time she needs to remain silent.

The moment passes. Things return to the way they were. Lacus begins to, bit by bit, parse out the lyrics again, though there's something happening that she can't quite name -- something that has her a little rattled. She brings a hand up to her brow as the song ends and the applause starts; she's not applauding.

"... she's very talented," Lacus murmurs softly, though there's something acrid in the undertone of the way she says it. 

<Pose Tracker> Aurora Dusk has posed.

         Ashcroft nods. "My experience with stimulants is under different... conditions, but it's enough. If her vitals are as expected, then things are fine."

        Lilium enters, and she observes the examinations, stroking her chin as she speaks. "Enhanced personnel do sometimes have trouble with supplements... the thresholds for optimum performance can vary wildly. Fortunately, we only have one Songstress to manage dosages for."

        When Arcfeldt arrives, Ashcroft turns to greet her with a gentle smile. "Ms. Arcfeldt." There's no need to salute a civilian consultant, in her mind, but she does incline her head slightly.

        Emily and Aurora both listen keenly to the song, tapping their feet to the rthym. At some points, it feels like Lilium is speaking to them directly in the lyrics. Aurora in particular lands firmly in the camp that Lilium has heavy Cyber-Newtype appeal - she's a Cyber-Newtype idol for Cyber-Newtype listeners, even if she's supposed to have broad appeal.

        The (fortunately minor) alarms break Aurora's reverie, and Ashcroft turns to the screen. "Break in routine... minor deviation?" Emily resumes listening to the song, but paying more attention to the monitors this time. She's not here JUST to listen to the concert.

        "...speaking of stimulants, Aurora-" Ashcroft's question dies as it passes through the empty space where Aurora was five minutes ago. "Hm. Looks like she DID decide to patrol the crowd." She shrugs. It's not like Aurora was critical to the operation of the control room anyways, and her job title IS supposed to involve walking around. Besides, it's good for her to stretch her legs, right?

        ------------

        Aurora, wearing her Usual plainclothes outfit, finds her way to Gauma's stand around the same time the other girl does. She turns to look at her, eyeing her shirt. "...nice shirt." The SUPERIOR Gundam MkII paint scheme.

        "Hot dogs for me too." Aurora gives Gauma a curious look when she realises it's GAUMA's concession stand, but she doesn't comment on it yet. 

<Pose Tracker> Minerva Ashton has posed.

Minerva gives a nod and a wink to Frankford at her request. "Of course, my dear. We'll keep her in tip-top shape~"

"Go for Primary Mode. Harmonic Amplifiers are set," Minerva returns to her work as Lilium is checked out. "Seto, get the BL unit set, there's a small spot where it likes to fritz." Lilium is escorted upwards, and Minerva stands up and claps her hands.

"Alright people, it's showtime~!"


As Lilium begins her performance, Minerva begins to nod her head in time with the music as she works. Reports come in from her subordinates.

"Crowd analysis is active - mapping brainwave data now."

"Chibasong at 3000 and climbing."

"Excitement levels at 43%. She's reaching them."

"Good, she's holding steady. Keep it up." Minerva carefully tweaks a few knobs.

"Now, show me what that masterpiece of yours can do..." The reflection from her screens in her glasses obscures her eyes.

Before the song hits its chorus, something unusual - and notably unplanned - happens. Lilium's biometrics spike for just a second as she connects to something, and she deviates from the planned choreography. That should be impossible - the motions are literally programmed into her - and yet it just happened.

"Oh sh- brainwaves just spiked! Heartbeat is unstable!"

"Get her under control!" Whether intentionally or not, Lilium returns to her track - and Minerva does nothing but smile.

"Beautiful," she whispers to herself. "Just beautiful."

Lilium continues onwards as if nothing had ever happened, and the entire room breathes a sigh of relief. In fact, the crowd seems to be getting more active by the second.

"Excitement levels skyrocketing! We've got a few more sensitive types in the crowd - anything we should do about them?"

"No, just make sure they can't make the connection two-way," Minerva tells the worker.

"Chibasong has cracked 9000!"

"Increase harmonics!" Minerva orders. Everything is going spectacularly. In this moment, Minerva is no mere scientist - she is a conductor, and this is her grand score.

<Pose Tracker> Gauma has posed.

"You betcha!" Gauma says, with the vigor of a man whose paycheck will buy him several coveted bags of artificial crab. He turns quickly to get to work. "Heck of a set list, eh?" he says conversationally. Honestly he doesn't care for this type of music, but small talk gets people remembering you. He remembers that from...somewhere...? Maybe it was her--

Anyway, Gauma does not identify anything weird about Titans Color Gundams because he was dead at the time.

When he turns around to trot back with the dog, he sees Aurora has shown up. He tips his head a little before recognition sets in. "Fancy seein' you here," he adds, and skillfully grabs two more to bring up to the register.

*

Meanwhile, Chise feels briefly INCREDIBLY SEEN as a burst of flame highlights Lilium pointing DIRECTLY THE HELL AT HER and Chise meets those eyes, the eyes of defiance and command, and feels a sudden overpowering reflex to bury herself 100 meters underground and never be perceived again.

Fortunately, a high schooler arrives in the form of her other escort, Yume, who offers her a water bottle. "So this is a big concert these days, huh..." the older girl murmurs.

Chise briefly clutches the water iwth two hands like she could crush it and her anxiety in one. "High energy, right?" she says back, and laughs nervously.

<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.

"The people behind this project said it would completely change how war is fought..." Flay reflects, when Lacus points out that neither military nor political power was enough to subjugate Orb. "It's a kind of niche Earth was never really able to carve out for itself..." She adds, glancing down at her own hands, and then back up at Lilium, waving brightly on stage. "Until now, that is."

"It's way more of a crowd than I expected her to organically turn out," Flay replies to Murasaki, as she momentarily removes her hat to adjust her hair underneath. "But I guess that's the power of an idol for you, isn't it?" She adds, with a brief glance over to Lacus before she slides her hat back over her eyes - her smile not quite meeting her eyes. They're looking for something to believe in, Lacus says...

And an Angel's role is one of a messenger of exactly that. As Lilium sings and dances, Flay pays attention to both her - and the people around them, who seem to be immediately drawn into the music - the way it seems to perfectly encapsulate the anxieties that the average citizen of Orb might have. So this is the kind of message you can only send through song...

Normally, it wouldn't be too out of the ordinary that Lilium's hand looks as if it's reaching towards their group in particular - they're quite close to the front. But when Flay glances over to Lacus, and sees the way her expression subtly shifts... she wonders if it was truly a coincidence that Lilium happened to look this way, and sinks further into her seat as the song continues...

Until it closes to thunderous applause from the cheering crownd around them. "Oh, she's talented, all right... there's no way a smile like that can be real, but everyone still loves her." Flay answers Lacus's compliment, before gazing back towards the stage. "...You don't think she was looking this way, do you?"

<Pose Tracker> Murasaki El-Amari has posed.

Murasaki frowns a bit at Lacus's comment. Something to believe in? Why couldn't they believe in Orb?

Maybe it was because she was an immigrant to Orb, a refugee at that, and wasn't born here, not growing up with what was considered "the norm" "the boring". When she was younger, after the gene riots in Matsuyama took her parents, rejected by the PLANTs, and only Orb was willing to take her in, a place that wanted her to be there. Murasaki had found her thing to believe in, and her own battles to keep it a place that she felt she could still believe in...

The idea of anyone in Orb turning to NUNE as something to believe in at this point made her growl.

Then, the woman on stage looks at them. Well, she probably looks at Lacus. Murasaki's a nobody...but wait...she looked *at* Lacus, didn't she? Does she know?

Murasaki starts subtly looking around, figuring out the nearest exit routes. Why did they have to pick the middle of a crowd? 

<Pose Tracker> Shelby Korts has posed.


        Something feels ... strange, at least in the psychic's estimation. It's not the show itself; the production is borderline immaculate from the coordination of the clothes to the lighting and choreography, the presence of Lilium and her song. There's not a lot of excessive movement; singing this live *for real* too? Given, you're more likely to find someone like Shelby Korts tagging along with a crew of misfits for a warehouse punk show that runs until the cops show up to drive out all the trespassers more than one like this, but... she'd be lying if she said her tastes weren't diverse.

        Her head slants a bit through the song; there's something enthralling about it-- something she can't quite explain. But more than that, it's the Noise: The voices of the people around her; hearts and excitement and emotions and feelings and all the things blasting through their minds at a hundred miles per hour. Most assuredly, she's going to be a little bit of an exhausted mess when she gets back to her motel later...

        Of course, when Lilium pays attention to some folks down in front, she cannot help but give in to that human curiosity and try to get up onto her tip-toes to see where she's making hands towards, but -- alas, from here, it's a sea of people the whole way down the stadium, and her glasses are not *that* good. It might be good to hang out for a bit once the show is over, though -- see who stays, who goes, and who gets ushered right out the door.

<Pose Tracker> Lilium Valerie has posed.


Frankford nods her head, brow furrowed. "Yes, I'd imagine so... deliberately enhancing range is something of an untested field in general as well, I believe?"

Arcfeldt, for her part, bows her head just slightly in response to Emily. Even less than had been done towards her. Her smile remains, though her thick sunglasses still hide her eyes, and she gives a slightly curt "Mrs. Ashcroft! How good to see you...

This is, of course, around when Lilium deviates. Minerva's seemingly uncaring demeanour towards this would be something Frankford might find alarming... if she had time to notice. "Be preared to switch her to manual control! Someone get Cherub-6 into the control harness, if she isn't already! Ideally we won't have to transfer control, but we'll need to be prepared-" Frankford cuts herself off as Emily mentions stimulants again. She curses under her breath before sweeping her hand out towards the green-tie wearing girl in the suit. "Three! Get Five on the phone--Make sure she's taken her Glipheptin!"

This is met with a slightly begrudging "Oo fuckin' rah, sar..." under the girl's breath, but she complies--pulling out her own phone, enclosed in a case designed like the handle of a tactical knife.

Arcfeldt, meanwhile, is leaning over Minerva's shoulder with a smile on her face. "Doctoooooor~... You're sure she can go through the Transformation routine alright, yes? I know it's only a slightly more complex escalation of the normal outfit change program, but I've been lead to believe this is rather new ground we're breaking here..."


Lilium's outfit starts to glow and change, and the lights shining down upon the stage shift to a bright golden colour. As she leaps into the air, high-heeled boots in a metallic blue form about her legs up to her thighs, and attach to bright red garters that can briefly be seen to attach to a belt above her waist; before a glowing silver ribbon entwines about her and flashes into a tight strapless white tube dress.

She lands, and then skips across the stage as matte black panelling with jagged edges linked by a simple square belt appear up either side of her dress, constricting her waist in a manner similar to a corset.

She flings her arms out and twirls about on the tips of her toes while a bright red jewel inlaid in a golden oval shape attaches to her outfit, just above her chest. A black ribbon with orange stripes within its folds materialises from under it, connecting around her back and falling to her arms just above her elbows.

The Angel dances out of her twirl, as further glowing ribbons in the same metallic blue as her thigh-high boots appear about her outstretched arms; before they tighten about them and transmute into elbow-length fingerless gloves as she raises them to the sky.

A wide smile on her face accompanies a peace sign with one hand held out in front of her, before a V-symbol in golden light forms from it, jumping to her forehead; before forming into a tiara with two golden fins pointing almost directly upwards, inlaid with a rounded square shaped deep red gem (which, incidentally, is engraved with the word 'QUATTUOR', and below it 'YF-777'.) After a moment, two silver prongs materialise diagonally to create a second, more traditional V-fin shape.

She sweeps her arms out to the side once again, and a pair of little feathered wings sweep out from behind her back as the music swells...

        "Baby, do you need me?"

        "I'll come as soon as you call"

        "Your angel in the skies, soaring past MACH SPEED"

        "Feeling the Gs through my body, twirling around and around"

Lilium hops up across a series of platforms that rise from the stage, arms outstretched to either side. She twirls in the air as she jumps between them, before grasping a polearm that was embedded in the tallest one and taking flight more properly on her tiny wings, soaring over the audience from, presumably, wires suspended between those two semi-circular platforms above the stage.

        "I spread my wings and plunge into a dive" (I'll keep fighting for you)

        "My spear pierces the enemy's heart" (No matter what)

        "Blood stains my feathers, I don't know if it's mine" (Until my body burns out)

        "Will this keep you safe another day?" (So long as you still say I'm yours)

Lilium soars high into the air above the stage, before turning and diving down once again with her shining spear stretched out forwards. She strikes the stage and bright red lights switch on, red sparkles filling the air around her. A single tear is projected onto her cheek as she floats back into the air, passing directly over Flay as she does so. Fighting to keep your loved ones safe is a hard life, isn't it..?

        "Baby, do you need me?"

        "I'll come as soon as you call"

        "The angel in your room, shooting you a flirty WINK"

        "Holding onto you so tight as we dance around and around"

Lilium turns on her side, posing like she's lying on something in the air. She kicks her heels, head rested on her hands, and does, in fact, wink at the crowd. The audience's mood shifts from somewhat sombre to heavily excited instantly--she even blows a little kiss in no particular direction.

        "I spread my arms and you dive into my embrace" (I'll keep serving for you)

        "The arrow of your love pierces my heart" (No matter what)

        "Payment for my services, I force a smile" (Until my body wears out)

        "Will this keep me safe another day?" (So long as you're still protecting me)

She's still dancing happily, having set back down upon the ground, and the music still sounds upbeat... but that sombre feeling can't help but linger in the attendees' minds. She's making eye contact with Flay this time, and it's lingering...

        "What is it that I still live for?"

        "Flaming arrows twirl around me" (MISSILES raining all around)

        "Orders come and I follow without thinking"

        "I do as I'm told, you tell me what to do"

        "My body is your tool: use it however you need"

The angel, bathed in red light once again, clutches her hands together close to her chest and stares up at the audience almost pleadingly.

The lights switch to be primarily behind her, making it hard to make out her face, and she skips across the stage with a series of erratic movements. The crowd, for their part, are still being bombarded with feelings of... loss, perhaps. That people are forced to live like this by Conflict and Disunity... it's not worth it, is it..? She's staring slightly towards that girl in the purple cloak again...

        ""Wings set you free", but mine feel so heavy"

        "This sky is nothing but a prison" (Will I come back alive today?)

        "I dance and leap through, my body feels the strain"

        "Responding in kind and then swinging back around" (Who were they?)

        "Next I'll fly back to your side."

Lilium runs across the stage, arms outstretched. What can be seen of her face, with good views being available mainly to Chise and Yume's side of the arena, seems to show her with an unusually distressed expression.

The idol runs about as she sings, desperately grasping at something. Failing to do so.

Flying through the air again. Stabbing wildly with yet another spear.

Diving and twirling as spears of light chase her through the air.

One strikes her fairly close to Shelby's seat, and she spins down out of the air and collides with the stage. The audience collectively gasps... but she props herself up on her knees, staring down at the ground as she continues to sing as if nothing has happened.

        "Being with you makes me feel as if my feathers are being plucked, but that's okay..."

        "So long as I can still please you" (Oooh, you keep me alive...)

        "I want to survive, no matter what"

        "So tell me, baby--"

        "Do you still need me?"


"I'll take it in a minute, mom, I'm trying to enjoy a nice--" The young girl at Gauma's hot dog stand--Cherub-Five, evidently--finds her attempt at sarcastically answering her Minmay doll phone cut off slightly by a realisation.

Her hand is trembling.

She dives past Aurora, snatching the hot dog from Gauma's hands before pulling a little reddish-orange plastic bottle out of one of her sizable pockets, squeezing its contents over her hot dog before downing the whole thing at frankly alarming speeds.

She turns about, hands folded behind her back, and a wide smile on her ketchup-stained face. "Ehehe... Sorryyy, I don't know what came over me--how much do I owe you, by the way?"

She gives a polite little nod to Aurora when she thinks Gauma isn't looking, additionally. 

<Pose Tracker> Shiiko Sugai has posed.

        Shiiko Sugai is on leave. Well, that's what she's taking it as, anyways. Technically, she should be within the hastily put together Gaia Sabers command center and not in the crowds of Orb, shouldn't have insisted on taking a more 'hands on approach' to being on security detail, and definitely shouldn't be with her son. And yet, she turned in some favours to get a ticket for Shuuichi to join her for the concert.

        From their vantage point to the side of the event, Shuuichi is focused on the idol while his mother carefully scans the crowd back and forth. "The crowd seems to be enjoying it." Shiiko says softly to her son. "Makes our job here easier."

        "Huh? Oh, yeah." The much taller Sugai snaps back to realty, having been lifted up by the Angel's song. "Isn't she pretty? What did you say her name was again, mom?"

        "Lilium Valerie. I wasn't sure what to expect, when I heard about an idol for the Sabers. I suppose this reaches hearts and minds in a way, too." Shiiko's gaze goes back to scanning the first rows of attendants. A flash- and she focuses in on the side of a woman in a sunhat, a sundress, and red hair. For a moment, she thinks... No, it couldn't. Right? She suddenly gets poked hard in the side.

        "Mom, the next song is starting!"

        "R-right..." And yet, she can't tear her gaze away from the traitor.

<Pose Tracker> Lacus Clyne has posed.

When Flay mentions how confident the Gaia Sabers were in this plan -- that it would change the face of warfare -- Lacus scowls. Someone singing for that... that hurts her. Whatever was boiling inside that made that compliment so acid threatens to bubble over; Lacus has better self-control than to get so angry, especially at a concert, especially with something nagging at her...

... but it does actually take, at this point, self-control.

She's pulled out of that thought by Flay's next prompt -- and takes a breath, then exhales. "... It felt that way. It's possible she's recognized us..." She looks down slightly, as if trying to shake everything off -- then to Murasaki, next.

"People's values often find themselves in flux," she murmurs softly. "When the times change, we change as well." It turns Lacus's thoughts inward. As much as she'd like to say that her philosophy -- decide, then act -- has carried her well... it is hard for her to say she likes the change in herself since... the Axis Shock? The Bloody Valentine? It's hard to say when it even started -- when she became an abstraction of herself.

The music starts again. Lacus listens -- no, more than that. Lacus does her best to understand; even if this is artificial, it's still something born of the way the Earth Sphere is right now. She notices the looks toward Flay, noticing the way that Lilium sings to her --

-- and finds herself caught off guard again by that stare. The reaction is subtler, this time, but that moment of connection still catches her off guard, still stirs some sort of feeling in her.

So this is what takes the stage while Lacus Clyne stays off of it, she reflects.

It's enough that her usually-sharp awareness doesn't catch the woman staring at their small group.

<Pose Tracker> Aurora Dusk has posed.

         "There were some early experiments that touched on it, I believe," the Colonel recounts, "but they fell by the wayside. This work is functionally novel. Most performance enhancers are for stamina, response time, added sensitivity..."

        Arcfeldt is, of course, not actually a part of their command structure. The Mrs. is culturally standard, too, but it still brings back memories. That wound in particular is raw enough that you couldn't serve it at a restaurant, even after all these years. Still, she gives Arcfeldt a cool smile in response, her own speech clipped and pronounced carefully. "Good to see you, too." Ashcroft doesn't need sunglasses over her eyes, in the same way that good enough actors don't need masks.

        "...You know, I really do try to drill the importance of being regular with their medicine into them, but these slipups still happen. No accounting for human error, I suppose." Emily sighs. She really does wish you didn't have to account for that. Even Aurora forgets, or runs out of medicine sometimes. "...it's a good thing Aurora doesn't take glipheptin, she only needs her pills once a day."

        ------------

        Both Aurora and Ashcroft watch Lilium's transformation from their respective vantage points. Aurora's jaw drops, and she pokes the side of her cheek awkwardly. She listens to the song somberly. It feels extremely targeted. It's no less an allegory for combat piloting than it was last time... and something else besides that. It speaks to a need she can relate to; as a weapon.

        Emily can relate, too. Maybe not as hard as Aurora can, but... she listens quietly. The life of a pilot is hard and full of sorrow... "...The allegory is clear here, isn't it...?"

        ------------

        In exchange for the hot dogs, Aurora scrapes together the limited spending cash she has, and forks over the money she's earned by Doing Her Thing. "Mm." Fancy seeing Gauma here, too. Do concession stands need official approval here? Well, she's already bought the hot dogs, so that's like tacit approval, right?

        Aurora's train of thought is derailed by Five diving past her and hurriedly applying Glipheptin to hotdog. (Aurora, of course, recognises it on sight. She doesn't partake in that particular brand of stimulant herself, but she's been around.) She... didn't know you could use it as a condiment. Cherub-5 nods at her, and she nods back to her fellow weapon.

        Aurora counts out her remaining money. Just enough. She pulls up a bag and continues ordering hot dogs for the rest of the team, starting on one of them herself.

<Pose Tracker> Minerva Ashton has posed.

Minerva turns to Dr. Arcfeldt and gives her a wider smile, eyes completely unfazed.

"She'll be fine. I double checked it myself. Innovation is my job. Have a little faith in me, won't you?" A beat of tension passes between the two.

Lilium performs her costume change successfully, and Minerva bows slightly, an "I-told-you-so" expression on her face. As Lilium continues, so too does she.

"Spike negative emotion here - we want to make this an emotional rollercoaster, after all."

"Bring it lower, lower, and . . ." 

<Pose Tracker> Gauma has posed.

Chise has mostly settled from her shock at as the next song goes through. "The quick-change outfits are kinda cool..."

"It's all holograms," Yume says with a huff and a slug of her own drink. "I mean, it's not not cool, but...different?"

Chise heeems. "Yeah, I see. I guess it's all part of the magic of showbiz, huh?"

Lilium dashes past them, showing what looks like incredibly real distress, and Chise tips her head. "Really selling it..."

"I hear big idols like this go to like, acting camps," Yume says, though her eyes narrow true. "...some serious acting to do while singing your heart out, though..."

        *

MEANWHILE, Gauma is once again flummoxed by teenagers. "I," he says, blankly, because An Entire Child has just stolen a hot dog out of his hand and scampered away while dousing it in Substances. He scratches the scar on his cheek a little skeptically. "You're usually s'posed to pay first," he says, because sometimes kids just need to be told things, "but it'l be 9G." CONCERT PRICES

To be clear, it's an actual concert concession stand, he's just manning it. Gauma is more of a 'works a million part time jobs' type of wandering weirdo.

And then, paydirt! "Oh, wow, ordering for the whole team today, huh?" he quips to Aurora, and scampers to prepare things.

<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.

Whether Lilium truly had seen Lacus or not, Flay wasn't entirely sure what to expect from Lilium's next performance. What she does know is that she's never seen Lacus Clyne look so... angry. Perhaps she has the right to be. Flay gives her a sympathetic look, and then a worried nod to Murasaki, when Lacus also points out they might've been recognized.

"I think for some people... it doesn't matter what that change is. As long as things are different at all." She reflects, on what it means for the world to change.

Lilium begins to sing once again, and Flay finds there's something about the song that deeply unsettles her in a way the last one didn't. She tries to relax, and sink into her seat, but she finds she just can't - until Lilium seems to fly directly above her and she hears that voice in her head as if it were speaking directly to her.

It all hits way too close to home, as if she was made to relive some of the worst days in her entire life. "No no no no no..." Flay murmurs, as her sunhat droops over her face - even as Lilium seems able to stare directly through it. How could she understand? How could she possibly understand? "Stop it! Don't look at me!" She snaps, without a second thought, but it's easily drowned out by the sheer volume of the music.

Breaking the eye contact, she looks behind her and tries to drown out the music in her head - and instead notices a very different kind of attention upon her. The hostile intent comes first, and then woman with her teenage son. For just one moment, Shiiko can see her face, though the light makeup on it's already been smeared. "No way, is that..." The Witch, she doesn't say out loud, as if it were a bad omen.

'Do you still need me?'

As 'Angel on Call' comes to a close, Flay finds some relief... but all the same, she just can't stop thinking about it. 

<Pose Tracker> Murasaki El-Amari has posed.

The growing fears of recognition from Lacus and Flay are becoming more and more apparant to Murasaki. She tries to scan around the crowd behind her, pulling out her phone to give herself the plausable deniability of a selfie at a concert. Too many faces, too many possible threats. Something was especially worrying Flay, and Murasaki unfortunately couldn't read the younger woman's mind.

But the looks Lilium was sending in their direction. They were starting to creep Murasaki out. The sort of false polity someone gives you when they hate your guts but they can't cause a scene. It's starting to become more and more clear that this concert is starting to target them, but surely that couldn't have been the intent...right?

She leans in between the two of them and says, loud enough only for the three of them. "If you two need to get out of here, I'm not going to say no..."

<Pose Tracker> Shelby Korts has posed.


        A thousand whispers roaring on all sides of her and the showy performance leading to on-stage costume changes and the tale being woven through song and dance. It isn't just that Sound from everyone around her, but the waves of emotion that ebb and flow and slam into her on all sides. Nanai would tell her to ride the wave and see where it goes, but Anser would tell her to plant her feet and stand against it: Don't get caught up and swept away in everything.

        Truth be told, it's hard not to. At times like this, she's more hoping that nobody can read *her* mind, caught almost helplessly in the torrent of swaying reaction and feeling.

        She sucks in a breath as the spear of light comes sailing down toward her, the red-and-pink-haired young woman's body tensing before it strikes the seat near her; a sensation (or lack thereof) settling on Shelby like leadened weights-- she does so *not* like it when she can't sense things, even if it's all part of the show! Still, her head snaps back to Lilium, watching-- listening, focusing.

<Pose Tracker> Lilium Valerie has posed.


Ms. Arcfeldt leans back, arms crossed. Her smile remains the same. "Very good, Doctor. Very good indeed..."

Dr. Frankford, meanwhile, is leaning back in her chair. Minerva was excellent at managing the B-Song system... Which left her free to look at the bigger picture, of course, but also to converse with the line officers. "Yes, yes, I do recall to some extent..." She sighs, shaking her head. "...You have no idea. If number five had one of her, ah... withdrawal episodes in the concert venue... well, we'd have more problems than just treating her symptoms."

She rises to her feet once again, glancing down to Arcfeldt and Minerva. "Right, then! We've got a couple simple routines to go through before the next complex one! Take the time to evaluate her current status--biometrics look fine now, but keep an eye on them!"


The rest of the concert passes largely without incident--Lilium performs a couple more songs, with standouts including another performance of her first single, TERRESTRIAL GIRL CELESTIAL WORLD, to general mass applause; and a new cover of Lynn Minmay's My Beautiful Place that draws out a more cathartic emotional state from the audience.

Eventually, however, the lights fade out once again, and the time comes for the final song of the night.

Lilium's outfit shifts one final time. She's wearing a black leather jacket with the front open most of the way down, a pair of matching pants, and thick heeled boots.

A pair of stylised silver pilot's wings sit upon her chest, and a deep orange scarf is wrapped about her neck.

A patch rests on her left shoulder, depicting a black-haired, pale-skinned angel with amber eyes holding a red apple. Above the circle is written '7th MOBILE GROUP', while beneath it is written '77th STRATEGIC RESEARCH SQUADRON', and below that ANGEL'S ORCHARD.

Her hairstyle has changed slightly, providing her bangs with a more aggressive shape, a remarkably large hair bow made to resemble the leather of her jacket and pants, and almost shining pink highlights in several places throughout. The sound of an electric guitar fills the stadium, before Lilium raises her microphone to her mouth; and screams.

        "OOOOOOOOOH!!!"

The idol, clearly not even slightly out of depth despite the genre shift, pumps her fist in the air as she sings.

The instrumentals backing her continue to escalate, and the stage is lit by a projected thunderbolt.

        "They say that this world is"

        "A wild and restless storm,"

        "A FLAME OF LIES, bringing ruin to all!"

Lilium strides confidently about the pyramid stage, pointing out over the audience (Directly towards Lacus, timed specifically with the last line of the previous verse).

        "They say that this world is"

        "A wild and restless storm,"

        "Tearing us apart, isolation's our fall!"

Various symbols are projected around the arena--Downwards-pointed swords embellished with wings.

Eight-pointed circular stars.

Red circles, decorated with two concave triangles placed together.

Anvils with holes cut out from the bottom.

Several more appear, generally having similar themes, while Lilium herself turns to face away from the audience, leaning her head back to wink at them (This time her gaze lines up almost perfectly with Shelby). This reveals another symbol on her jacket--Three concentric circles. Dark blue on the outside, white within it, and red at the core. The traditional symbol of the AEU British military, sometimes claimed to date all the way back to the cockades worn by the revolutionaries who first expelled the Britannian monarchy.

        "But even the weakest of us"

        "Can be strong if we stand together"

        "Believe in each other, believe in love,"

        "Find the ANSWER sealed away in your heart!"

Having turned to face the audience (Chise, Yume, and Shiiko) once again, Lilium makes a heart symbol over her chest while kicking up one leg behind herself.

There's a big smile on her face, and she winks to the cameras behind Murasaki, and thus past Flay and Lacus.

        "BABY, it's a free-for-all!"

        "But so long as you hold me tight,"

        "I'll always be BY YOUR SIDE!"

        "My heart burns for you!"

The various floating symbols all vanish, before 'lightning' strikes the tip of Lilium's finger (pointed high in the air once again) and they flash back into being as a single uniform symbol; a simplistic depiction of the earth with an upwards-facing sword overlaid onto it. Lilium herself's jacket's symbol has also changed to match.

        "They say that this world is"

        "A wild and restless storm,"

        "But so long as we don't let go of our love,"

        "We'll be together forever in the eye of this wild"

        "CROSS THUNDER LOVE HURRICANE!"

As the last line is shouted, a dramatic wind picks up on the stage--but is strangely silent, simply blowing Lilium's clothing and hair about in a deliberate, flattering manner, while providing no disruption to the actual song. Holography can do so much nowadays...

        "BABY, BABY, keep me close"

        "Bring me into your life"

        "Give me purpose with your FINAL RESOLUTION"

        "Let me show you my endless love!"

Lilium hugs at herself as the wind 'batters' her, marching forwards defiantly. Her voice resounds through the converted concert hall, before she throws her arms out wide after scaling yet another raised platform.

Lilium clutches one hand into a fist, placing it over her chest and sweeping out her other hand.

        "If we believe in each other"

        "We can overcome anything!"

        "Let's fly together to the ends of this world"

        "Riding the wings that dreams are born from!"

The wind picks up again, and Lilium is blown backwards from her perch. She hits the ground rolling, returning to a crouched position, and then to her feet.

Her outfit is far more dishevelled and torn than it reasonably should be, with a large tear having been taking out of her big leather hair bow.

        "There's no end to things that hurt me"

        "And it feels hard to go on"

        "But as long as I'm still living"

        "Isn't that what's fun?"

Lilium clutches one hand into a fist once again, pumping it defiantly towards the sky. The 'wind' picks up once again, and 'lightning' strikes repeatedly, but this time it seems to exclusively be affecting every part of the stage but a circle in her immediate vicinity.

        "They've told me this world is"

        "A never-ending storm"

        "But it's not so bad to be caught up"

        "In your wild hurricane of love..."

Lilium remains in her stance, one arm pointed up at the sky, another cast out to one side, with her head tilted back, even as the music fades, the projections die down, and the crowd give their final round of applause.


Back at the concessions stand, Cherub-5 is fishing through her wallet. "Right, right... sorryyy..."

she fishes out... six britannian dollars, which she quickly slips back into her wallet next to some sort of membership card. She eventually finds roughly 11 Gilla worth of coins.

"Could I get change?" she says, looking away from her money to stare at the sheer quantity of sausages Aurora is attempting to procure. 

<Pose Tracker> Shiiko Sugai has posed.

        Shiiko's heart leaps for a moment as the two's eyes met - it's the traitor. She's here. The Witch raises her hand to her ear, ready to call it in, when Shuuichi cuts in.

        "What's up, mom? Did you see something?" He asks as he goes to scan the crowd as well.

        Shiiko shakes her head. "No, never mind. I think I just saw an...old subordinate." Her hand slowly lowers from the receiver.

        "Perhaps we could find them after the show. I'd like to know more about your comrades..."

        "No." Shiiko responds quickly. She then cringes, hating to snap at her son. "I mean... It wouldn't be a good idea. It'll be tough to find them in the crowds leaving. C'mon, let's just focus on the show."

        Shuuichi makes a noise, but doesn't argue the point any further. The Witch glances back down at Flay Allster and her little group for a moment. Just a moment. Be thankful, that she cherishes her son more than her duty.

        Upon the conclusion of the performance, the mother and son join in the applause, Shuuichi calling for an encore and Shiiko watching the flow of the crowd once more. 

<Pose Tracker> Aurora Dusk has posed.

         Emily's praise for Minerva is less snide. "Impressive work, Doctor. It was a groundbreaking routine, but we seem to have pulled it off." When Frankford calls out, she turns her eyes back to the monitors. Best not to be TOO distracted.

        'Do you still need me?' The words resonate in Aurora's head long after she first hears them. 'Do you still need me?' Something in Aurora's soul resonates back as she watches Lilium fly overhead. Again and again, Aurora proves she is still needed, that there are reasons for people to want her around. Is it good enough to justify her being here? 'Do you still need me?'

        Gauma quips at Aurora about buying for the whole team, and she nods. "Yeah." Her eyes periodically flick back to Lilium, on the stage, as if drawn there. Then, she turns to look at Cherub-5, before gently and attentively placing each hot dog into the bag.

        Aurora soon returns to the command center, bag of hot dogs in tow, ready to be distributed among the team. Ashcroft accepts the hot dog with a "thank you", and Aurora goes to pass the rest out. One for Frankford, one for Minerva, one for Arcfeldt... she reserves one for Lilium, too, when she gets back. Dogs can fetch pretty well, can't they?

        --------

        On her way back from the hot dog stand, Aurora happens to walk past Flay, coming up on her from behind. Her footsteps are quiet enough, and the concert is loud enough, that Flay might not notice she's there until she's almost upon her. Fortunately, Aurora isn't here to attack her or Lacus. As she walks past, Aurora's piercing gaze briefly
 settles on Flay. It doesn't stay there too long.

        Back at the hot dog stand, Aurora nods at Cherub-5 again and resumes watching Lilium and ruminating. 

<Pose Tracker> Minerva Ashton has posed.

"Why thank you! I'm very proud of what I've been able to accomplish here," Minerva says to Emily.

"Will do, ma'am~" she tells Frankford.

For Lilium's last song, Minerva puts her all into her work, a bead of sweat dripping down her forehead as she toes the line of influence and analysis. As she finishes, she lets out a gasp of relief, wiping her brow.

"What beautiful music, Miss Angel" Minerva pushes her glasses back up.

"What beautiful music indeed."

<Pose Tracker> Lacus Clyne has posed.

Flay's panic momentarily pulls Lacus's awareness away from the stage -- and the feelings she's trying to squeeze down as she listens. She can tell that Flay feels this too -- something strange in the concert, a sign that maybe this idol project of the Gaia Sabers' is the genuine article. It's a little frightening, in a sense -- even for Lacus, who... as far as she can tell, isn't getting it with both barrels, as it were.

"... I'll stay. This is an important moment for Orb," Lacus says to Murasaki, quietly, shortly before Aurora approaches. And it is important -- no matter how it goes, things will change for the United Emirates of Orb.

The last number starts, and she takes a breath. This feels deliberate and yet not -- there's definitely something arresting about it all.

... Lacus's cloak isn't actually that inconspicuous. This may well be deliberate, but that's not quite what it feels like for Lacus...

It's not that she's fully swept up into Lilium's song -- no, far from it; she's still approaching it like an analyst, like an expert -- but something about the exercise of listening to it feels... like a door is being opened and can't be shut again.

She's still looking up toward the tip of Lilium's finger as the applause continues -- and even past its dying. It takes her a few moments to do anything but stand transfixed -- and even then, all she can do is murmur, "Can this really unify the world...?" It's only then that she pries her attention away, saying, "... It would be best if we left," to Murasaki and Flay. 

<Pose Tracker> Gauma has posed.

Do you still need me? The words seem to be bouncing around the heads of many people here. Gauma tugs out a grin at Aurora and Five even though the vibes are Vaguely Un-Chill. He spots her fumbling with her wallet, but apparently isn't bothered by Britannia Bux. He's from Nouvelle, man, he saw a dude try to get change for a black pearl one time.

Speaking of change, he hands Five hers back and then leans back. The crowd's eased up considering the concert's well under way, and his eyes narrow at what he can see of the stage from back here.

"...are you here at all?" he mutters to himself, faced with a formless sea of mankind.

        *

Meanwhile, Chise starts a little at that scream. "Oh, are we metal now??" she laughs, startled. "She's really going her through her paces out there."

Yume hums an affirmative and slurps her soda.

<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.

Although Lacus may be much better at bottling her feelings inside than she is, Flay can tell it's been an uncomfortable time for her as well... and she finds herself glad that she isn't the only one who sees just how wrong this is. Beyond that, it seems things are approaching dangerous territory between Shiiko and Aurora - and Murasaki offers an out. "I won't run away from this either," Flay assures her, even if she's certain all three of them would rather be elsewhere.

Thankfully, the Witch offers mercy today - and Aurora offers no more than a brief spike in cold pressure. Before Flay can say anything about it, she's already gone... but at least that means the Cyber-Newtype is still alive. As the music continues, Flay takes a deep breath of her own. It's a lot easier to focus now, but there's still a tinge of melancholy in watching Lilium dance and fly around the stage.

Lacus, it seems, is even more lost in thought about it than she is. She's sure they all have the same question on their mind: if this will flip everything they know about warfare on its head, then what comes next for Orb? What comes next for the world? It's Lacus who voices such a question. "..It definitely won't be the same." Flay says, and then looks to Murasaki.

"...We'd better make it quick too." She adds, with one last lingering gaze from Shiiko and her family, across to Aurora, and finally back to the empty stage. 

<Pose Tracker> Murasaki El-Amari has posed.

The image of the patch burns itself into Murasaki's mental camera reel. 7th Mobile Group, 77th Strategic Research Squadron? Was that name familiar...she feels like she's heard it before. Very clearly something to follow up on.

But when Lillium looks at her...or the camera, but through her...that's when a chill runs down Murasaki's spine and she starts to get an idea of what Lacus and Flay were experiencing.

When Lacus suggests a swift departure, a lot of tension starts to leave Murasaki. "Yeah, let's get the hell out of here." 

<Pose Tracker> Shelby Korts has posed.


        She's enjoying the concert, for sure, especially as the final performance for the evening starts with an attention-grabbing metal scream. The smooth, nigh-flawless performance and the show of holograms and light with the volume of the music is actually helping drown out some of the Noise in her head; opening her up a bit more as gazes line up even at a fair distance, even then -- looking Lilium in the face, if not the eyes directly.

        Much as she tries to keep herself under control, Shelby does emit familiar and recognizable pressure: Someone open, someone present in more ways than the obvious-- and, unfortunately for the pink-haired young woman, someone that loses a few moments in the eye contact before blinking, suddenly snapping back to the beat and sway of the music in and through the finale of the last song.

        Adjusting her glasses in the midst of regaining herself, however, the pilot joins in with the applause and rises from her seat, adjusting her jacket with a few precise tugs. It might be prudent for the Terminal agent to make a quick exit, though she cannot help but cast her gaze back to the stage with another lingering look...

<Pose Tracker> Lilium Valerie has posed.


Lilium waves to the audience, smiling in her usually artificial way. "Thank you, everyone! Thank you all for coming out here! You've been a wonderful audience!"

The B-Song system's grip on her body is still pretty firmly in effect, of course. This is good, since she's coming down from her Medicine. And it's giving her a splitting headache--but her reducing range is giving her a little more precision. Enough to notice...

Her gaze turns, imperceptibly, to the departing Shelby once again. Your appearance is similar to mine...

She shakes her head--or would if she had more direct control over her body, anyway. Her senses also pick up... that girl with the red hair. Next to the one with the cloak.

        I should... know her. Why don't I..

        It doesn't matter right now. I'll figure it out for you, okay? Try not to think so hard until they take that stuff out of you.

This... makes sense to Lilium, probably, but the girl with the cloak... Also worries her, for reasons she doesn't understand. Everyone else, she can't really tell apart from any other member of her audience--She can sort of locate Aurora, but that's nothing she doesn't expect.


Speaking of Aurora... Cherub-5 is following her back to the backstage area, as one does. She has nothing better to do, after all, and the concert is basically over. She'll have to leave soon. Cherub-6 is having her extraneous equipment stripped off of her normal ssuit. Cherub-2, being less preoccupied with her job, has knelt in the corner of the room to maintain her officer's sabre (which, for reasons known only to herself, she insists on carrying.) Three has grabbed four by the tie.

Ms. Arcfeldt has taken some important business call, leaving Doctor Frankford to clean up and pack everything away. Rebecca gives a polite nod to Emily ('Yes, we've done it again somehow...'), before vaguely gesturing to Minerva to start packing up herself ('Beautiful is one word for it, Doctor Ashton...').

And Lilium herself, having been handed a hot dog as soon as she reentered the backstage chamber, is hooked up to a series of tubes. They had to get that stuff out of her somehow, after all... so she has plenty of time to think. Her own thoughts, and...

You really did good out there today, you know? We're one step closer to your dream...

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