Help and Thanks: Lena-Jade, who is the beta reader for this story and the one who basically runs the FAQs site because I, being lazy and stupid, don't know how to run a website. Oops.
Copyrights: All characters and settings belong to Square-Enix and Disney. Motsu is based off of a real Motsu, who is part of an amazing Japanese music group called m.o.v.e. Rupert, a surprise OC, is mine, of course. The storyline is also mine.
Warnings: The sequel, being much more mature than its predecessor, is more violent and explicit. You have been warned. This chapter is mild but it may very well be the only mild chapter in the whole story.
I repeat, you have been warned.
Kingdom Hearts: The End of Tomorrow
Prologue: Yuna's Thoughts
How long as it been, Lenne? Five years?
' Maybe. You think I want to remember, Yuna? The memories are still painful for me, because time isn't static, a simple line, for me. Memories come and go, from the old days to my existence around you. That one night, when the magic in the dressphere started reacting to the emotions within us, I don't want to remember. It's still painful for me.'
I know. Sometimes I still dream about it.
Yuna sighed, fingered the beads attached to the blue strand of hair. She then stood up, studied herself in the tall mirror one last time, and made minor adjustments to her Songstress dress.
" Stage fright. I always get it," she murmured aloud.
' You're one to talk. You haven't performed as many times as I have. Remember, I was a professional…and you can imagine how many faces I had to see, how many raucous fans I had to endure, while I went around singing to make a living.'
Yeah, and I'm the one who destroyed Sin forever. People still stop me on the streets, addressing me as " Lady Yuna". Only problem is, half the time they nearly get run through with those bayonets Slate created. Being a celebrity comes with a bunch of bodyguards, I guess.
' Celebrity? You're Yuna, daughter of Braska, and one of the top members of the damn Order. To Yevon and hell if you didn't go around with bodyguards!'
I can fight, you know. I can sing people to sleep.
' Oh ha, ha, very funny. Abuse my powers, why don't you?'
I was only joking-
" Lady Yuna?" Someone was knocking on the door inside her room.
Yuna smiled with secret triumph as she tweaked her black skirt one last time, then turned around. " I'm coming. Is it almost time?"
" Five minutes to show time," Rupert called out on the other side. Cid's hired hand had become a huge asset to the workings within the Order; he was invaluable for his photographic memory, and the huge amount of respect he poured onto people. It was definitely not something he learned from good ol' Cid Highwind. " 5G Fire is almost ready, too. You might want to go over last-minute adjustments with them, just to make sure the performance goes smoothly!"
" Thanks, Rupert!" Yuna called out. Once she heard the heavy footsteps stride away, she reached for the gilt door knob. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and plunged into backstage mayhem.
People were still rushing about, making last-minute preparations for the concert. The blitzball stadium, which was currently functioning as a concert stadium, was reported as bustling with people and some of the workers kept making calls for more security. Others were discussing the extra screens, the lighting, the fire – the fire!
" Look, I don't care if you think concerts aren't worth it, just send in some more guards, dammit!" Yuna's uncle Cid shouted into what looked like a walkie-talkie. " I know there's more people than usual because of Lady Yuna but goddammit, there's Savvy out there – oh good, you get it now? Fine, send one of the division commanders over, then! He'll sort things out, I'm betting! She's not available? Well do you ever fucking listen, you great asshole! I said 'send one of the division commanders over', so send him over if she's busy doing some reconnaissance! So what! Tell Commander before you inform him! He won't kill you for following my orders! You got that? Good – Buddy, no, take it this way…"
Brilliant, His Majesty's attending the concert! This is so embarrassing…
" Yo, yo, yo, wazzup, Lady Yuna!" someone crowed from across the backstage. Half the crew froze in shock.
' Newbies. It's only Motsu.'
Oh shut up, Lenne. That's not nice.
' Hey, when you've dealt with people like them for a while, you start acting that way, too.'
Yeah, thanks for the tip-off.
" Motsu, how's the stage fright?" Yuna asked cheerfully, striding towards the tall man with the blue spiked hair.
" What stage fright? I got no stage fright! I'm so ready to get out there and kick ass!" Motsu exclaimed. " But Yuna, you sure you want to perform that song first? I mean, compared to the other songs we'd be performing, it's a bit soft-"
" Hey, I like this song, okay? I wrote it, composed it with the help of some others, namely Lenne, and practiced it for ages! I'm releasing the tracks at the end of the year, too. The other version I have ready is so sad. But you can blame that on Lenne. She likes sad songs."
Motsu laughed. " Oh I just can't to hear what you've got ready to fire!"
" Which reminds me; just what are you planning to do with the fire?"
" Oh….well, it has nothing to do with your performance. Cid's got something planned for you, involving pretty rainbows and all that shiznit. 5G Fire's gonna live up to its name, you gonna see!"
Yuna laughed. " Oh I just can't wait. Where's the other half of 5G Fire, though? Where'd she go?"
" Uh…" Motsu scratched his head and laughed nervously. " Well…I told her to hurry up because we don't got less than five minutes left-I mean, we have less than five minutes left before you start your stuff. The last thing she did was cuss me out."
Yuna – and Lenne in the back of her mind – raised an eyebrow at this. " So Motsu the Friendmaker stirs up a hornet's nest in our good friend Lorien. Wise move, my friend, very wise."
" I know, I know," Motsu sighed and rolled his eyes. Then he turned his head and he smiled. " Hey, Lorien!"
Striding towards them was a tall, lithe young woman. Her red hair was pulled back tightly in a ponytail and she somehow slicked back her bangs. She was wearing ultraviolet-colored shades; cold blue eyes glared out of them. Lorien was wearing a long sleeveless white jacket with a large collar; underneath she wore a sleeveless white shirt with knots in the front, kind of like a tunic…or a bodice. Either one would be fine. She was wearing tight white pants, white boots, and wore a white bracelet on her left wrist.
She perfectly contrasted the dark clothes Motsu was wearing. They were total opposites.
" All white today, Lorien?" Yuna smiled.
" I like to stand out. Hi, Yuna."
The older songstress nodded. " I hear you were throwing a tantrum again."
Lorien scowled. " I did no such thing."
She was openly glaring at Motsu, though, who seemed to shrink away. Yuna and Lenne watched, amused. Ever since that infamous audition, when Motsu forced Lorien to wear something truly bizarre, Lorien had total control over Motsu…well, almost total control. He was the one writing the lyrics but for the most part he became very timid when Lorien was around. But that was only when she was in a less-than-cheerful mood.
" So…your girl going to watch us today, Motsu?" Lorien asked casually, tugging at her shades.
" Oh yeah," the man grinned. " Yesterday she showed me her collection of tickets. Very nice, I hafta tell you that!"
Yuna laughed. " Wow, talk about devoted!"
" Hey, you three!" Rupert yelled from somewhere in the chaos of the setup crew. " You're on stage in a minute, Yuna! C'mon!"
" Coming!" Yuna called out. She then turned to Motsu and Lorien, the 5G Fire. They were all sharing that smile, the kind reserved only for superstar rock stars. Yuna and Lorien also had something else – status.
And that got their friends some very good seats.
" He's watching?" Lorien smirked at Yuna.
" Totally. Just as devoted as Motsu's girl," Yuna said, though with a slight blush.
" Are…we…ready?" Motsu asked slyly. There was a sense of conspiracy between them.
" Let's kick some ass."
Author's Endnote: Well, I hope that was a good prologue part 1. The only dibs I can give on the next chapter are that it will feature more OCs, including the one central to this story. Please review and tell me what you think. I'll appreciate it more if you have some suggestions for this story, as long as it doesn't spoil Kingdom Hearts II or Kingdom Hearts III Yes, I am very aware of the secret movie. In any case, boom baby!