Stage 00

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the AKB0048 series or any other songs or ideas that I might have obtained them from…Except for my OC. Note that asterisk stars (*) at the end of the chapter, refers to facts that can help clarify the terms.

January 9th, S.C 49

Akiba City, Akibastar…

Within the Inner Sanctum of Akibastar's central city, the chief manager of AKB0048, Tsubasa Katagiri, was racing towards the heart of the temple, which housed the mysterious Sensei Sensei. In recent memory, AKB0048 has been solidifying their strong presence within the galaxy. However, the ratings on their performances have been showing signs of decline, with various planets losing their interest in the idol group. At first, the signs were not obvious. But as years went by, the gradual loss in popularity of AKB0048 grew more obvious.

Alarmed by this, Tsubasa and the AKB staff has been working through the records to see what could be causing this as well as to see if they could work out a solution to prevent AKB0048 from falling out of the water. To her surprise, Tsubasa discovered that the decline began right after the disappearance of her best friend and fellow idol, the 13th Atsuko Maeda (Acchan). Looking further back, AKB0048 has been at the apex of its popularity in history ever since Acchan became a successor. But like all golden ages, it does not last very long.

Pondering over this, Tsubasa knew that she needed to be certain that the upcoming 77th Generation Audition, which is right around the corner, would bring a new generation of idols that can bring new life to their fans. But as she was thinking of it, the shrine maidens of the Inner Sanctum alerted her that Sensei Sensei had begun to speak again.

Dressed in her shrine attire, Tsubasa arrived at the hall where Sensei Sensei rested at the far end. A few shrine maidens stood there as they listen to Sensei Sensei speak. Seeing Tsubasa's approach, they immediately inform her of what was happening.

"Tsubasa-sama!"

"Sensei Sensei is speaking again?" Tsubasa inquired.

"Yes. He has been repeating a set of words we can't seem to understand."

Tsubasa glanced into the darkened hallway only to be met with dual glowing eyes as a deep echoing voice spoke.

"A Million Dreams. A Million Dreams. A Million Dreams."

"Those are the words Sensei Sensei has been repeating." A shrine maiden said.

"A Million...Dreams..." Tsubasa murmured in thought.

"The Energy Never Dies."

"Eh?"

"The Energy Never Dies. The Energy Never Dies."

"W-Wait…Sensei Sensei didn't say those words before..." Another shrine maiden muttered in surprise.

"The Energy...Never Dies..." Tsubasa quietly repeated in deep thought, 'What could Sensei Sensei be trying to say?'

Sensei Sensei's presence began to fade, "Metrostar..."

"Metrostar!?" Tsubasa gaped in shock, "That planet is-..."

"Tsubasa-sama." The first shrine maiden called, "What's wrong?"

"No…What's wrong isn't the question." Tsubasa turned back towards the hall entrance, "We should be asking, what could be on Metrostar that has Sensei Sensei so intrigued?"

As she exited the Inner Sanctum and return to her office in her business attire, Tsubasa contemplated over what Sensei Sensei had said. But as she did, warming memories of the past began to reappear, flashing across her mind. Perplexed, Tsubasa got to her Holocom and began looking through the immense number of applicants that had signed up for the AKB0048 77th Generation Audition and were accepted through the first round. Many of them were fairly promising with vocal talents ranging from decent to imposing. Of course, their inexperience was painfully obvious but the applicants certainly had spirit and that was what idols needed to have.

As Tsubasa was reviewing the last few applicants, a sudden call came in from her staff.

"Yes?"

"Tsubasa-sama. We have a situation."

The AKB manager blinked in alarm, "What's wrong? Has something happened?"

"Well, no. It's not a serious problem but…we have an issue here." The caller said with uncertainty, "You see, we have another applicant here who's performance apparently has placed the staff in a predicament on whether we should accept him or not."

Tsubasa blinked, "Him? Are you aware that-"

"Yes, Tsubasa-sama. We are aware of the rules but...I believe you should see this before saying anything."

The AKB manager was puzzled. The rules clearly stated that boys cannot be accepted into AKB0048. Even the general public, especially the fans, were aware of this. And yet, here is this male who still auditioned regardless.

"Send it over."

January 12th, S.C 49

Lancatown, Lancastar…

At the local space station, two young girls could be found holding their bags while they stood next to a shuttle that was set to take them to the orbital spaceport. One had long blonde pigtails named Yuka Ichijo while the other girl had long puffy pink hair named Orine Aida.

Holding up a promise made four years ago to AKB0048, they waited for their close friend, Nagisa Motomiya, who was also in on the promise. However, her recent doubts about it made it uncertain if she would join them.

Worried, Orine took out her unique riceball shaped phone to call Nagisa but received no response.

"Where could she be?" Orine wondered, concern lacing her voice.

Agitated by their friend's absence, Yuka scowled, "Forget her. We don't need that coward to come."

As Yuka boarded the shuttle, Orine felt hesitant to simply depart and leave her fellow pinkette behind. However, as the shuttle gave a loud rumbling noise, she took it as her indication to get on board. With the doors closing, Orine glanced over to her friend and could visibly see that Yuka did not want to leave Nagisa behind.

…But they had to go, to fulfil their childhood promise with or without Nagisa. As the shuttle began to take off, Orine noticed something just outside of the shuttle window.

"Nagisa!"

"What!?"

To both girls' shock, they can see their pink-haired friend racing towards the moving shuttle on her hovercycle. As Nagisa got close, however, her hovercycle suddenly lost balance and she fell off. Despite being a little hurt, Nagisa continued on foot, trying to keep up with the shuttle.

Seeing this, Orine acted quickly and opened the shuttle door, trying to reach out for her friend but as the shuttle picked up speed, they were getting too distant to reach each other. It was then that Yuka reached out of the shuttle door, bending over, and catching Nagisa by the fingers. Orine quickly joined in the effort and, just when the shuttle lifted from the ground, the girls pulled themselves into the shuttle.

As the shuttle ascended into the atmosphere at high speeds, the girls overcame the shock of the moment, all with tears in their eyes.

"Nagisa!" Orine called. "I'm so glad you made it!"

"Good grief." Yuka muttered with a hint of relief, "You scared me half to death, Nagisa. Don't do that again!"

Through her tears, Nagisa simply smiled, "Let's got together...toward our dreams!"

To be continued...

Next Time:

Stage 01 - The First Step

Nagisa, Orine, and Yuka meet some of the other girls also heading for the AKB0048 auditions and find out through the news that their friend Chieri is missing and is suspected to be heading towards the auditions too. But being away from their homeworlds, the girls are exposed to the dangers of the greater galaxy. However, the girls have an encounter that brings their fates to intertwine with an unexpecting ally...

Author's Note: Hello everyone, Seraphias here. The thrill for AKB0048 seems pretty much none existent and the old, classical members of AKB48 we have grown to love and adore are all gone. As sad as it is, I truly hope nobody as forgotten the old members of the greatest idol group in the world. Here is the remake of my AKB fanfic and it follows different route of the anime along with an OC. Hope you find it interesting.

Huge thanks to co-writer Nagisa Maeda for beta-reading this fanfic. Please do check out his stories!

And as always, review for anything including holes & errors, as well as possible improvements. Also, I welcome new ideas anytime. It will inspire me and prevent writer's block from happening so don't be afraid to share! See ya!

Here are lists of characters that are present in the chapter:

Audition Applicants

Nagisa Motomiya

Orine Aida

Yuka Ichijo

AKB Staff

Tsubasa Katagiri - AKB Manager