This is the Sectionals episode, and it just happens to be a Styx tribute as well :) As always, song list at the bottom. Enjoy, guys!

Glee – New Directions: Underdogs Once Again

Styx

"Well, we're finally here. The first competition of the year. Sectionals," Mr. Schuester announced, writing SECTIONALS on the board. "We're going against the Warblers and the Unitards this year. Does anyone have any ideas for the set list?"

"Not really an idea, but I happen to know that the Warblers are doing The Rolling Stones for their songs," Natalia informed.

"Confirmed," Dennis muttered. Mr. Schuester looked surprised.

"You two aren't supposed to spy! That's terrible!" he scolded. Natalia twitched.

"I don't know about Natalia, but I didn't spy. A little birdie told me," Dennis retorted. Mr. Schuester sighed. Quickly, his face brightened up, though.

"The Warblers want to do the Stones? Well, let's fight back with some Styx!" he suggested. Amber squinted.

"We're not throwing sticks at a bunch of dudes. That would get us disqualified," she stated. Alexandra smiled.

"Not sticks…Styx…like the band that wrote songs like 'Come Sail Away' and 'Mr. Roboto,'" she said. Mr. Schuester nodded. Dennis glared.

"While Styx has good music, I don't approve," he muttered.

"Why not?" Lei asked.

"My mom named me after Dennis DeYoung…he was one of the founding members of Styx, not to mention the first keyboardist. However, I dislike being compared to him. It doesn't make me feel inferior, it's just obnoxious. I mean, my parents even made me memorize the piano and vocals to every Dennis song," Dennis explained.

"That's fine! Antonio and Mimi are going to be leading," Mr. Schue reassured. Dennis rolled his eyes.

"So, then, we will do 'Renegade', 'Boat on the River', and 'Crystal Ball'! We start practice tomorrow!" Mr. Schue informed. He left the rest of the club to do whatever. Antonio and Mimi approached Roderick.

"Roderick, we have a favor," Mimi said. Roderick looked up.

"What is it, bros?" he asked.

"We need fake IDs to get into a bar," Antonio answered.

"So you ask me? Why do you need one?"

"Well, we need to get into our Styx spirit, so we're recreating 'Too Much Time on My Hands' at a bar. We heard you make fake IDs, so we figured we'd ask you," Mimi explained.

"…Fine. I'll get them to you in a couple of hours. Meet me here at around seven," Roderick informed, walking off.

"Wow, those IDs actually worked," Antonio muttered as he and Mimi entered Scandals by accident. Mimi looked around sheepishly.

"Yeah, but I wonder if we picked the right bar. Everyone's looking at us weird. I don't think I see any couple here that isn't same sex. Oh well. We might as well utilize what we have," she replied.

"Well, shall we start?" Antonio asked.

"Yep," Mimi answered.

"Yeah, I'm sittin' on this barstool, talking like a damn fool, got the 12 o' clock news booze! And I'm giving up hope for the afternoon soaps and a bottle of cold brew! Is it any wonder I'm not crazy? Is it any wonder I'm sane at all?" Antonio sang.

"Well, I'm so tired of losing, I've got nothing to do and all day to do it! And I go out a cruising, but I've no place go and all night to get there! Is it any wonder I'm not a criminal? Is it any wonder I'm not in jail?" Mimi sang.

"Is it any wonder I've got too much time on my hands? It's ticking away with my sanity! I've got too much time on my hands! It's hard to believe such a calamity. I've got too much time on my hands, and it ticking away! Ticking away from me! Too much time on my hands! It's tick-tock-tick-tock ticking away! And I don't know what to do with myself!" they sang together.

"Now I'm a jet-fuel genius; I can solve the world's problems without even trying!" Antonio sang.

"And I've got dozens of friends, and the fun never ends; that is as long as I'm buying!" Mimi sang.

"Is it any wonder I'm not the president? Is it any wonder I'm null and void? Is it any wonder I've got too much time on my hands? It's ticking away with my sanity. I've got too much time on my hands! It's hard to believe such a calamity; I've got too much time on my hands! And it's ticking away! Ticking away from me! Tick-tock-tick-ticking away! And I don't know what to do with myself! Mmm…Tick-tock-tick ticking away! Mm-hmm…too much time on my hands…too much time on my…" they finished.

"Guys, I have bad news. Antonio and Mimi are unable to perform for Sectionals," Romeo said, walking into the Choir room. Mr. Schuester looked concerned.

"What happened? What's wrong?" he asked. Romeo sighed.

"Antonio won't tell me how, but he says he's incredibly sick. He's been throwing up since last night and the acid is making it difficult for him to sing," he explained.

"Yeah, similar thing is happening to Mimi. Her mother is making her take tons of medicine that's making her more sluggish," Natalia said. Stella rolled her eyes.

"They're lying to get out of Sectionals!" she accused. Romeo shook his head.

"I'm not sure about Mimi, but I visited Antonio. He looked like hell. For some reason he also kept complaining that I was yelling despite me whispering. His mother said she'll try to make him better, but I think she's making him worse by accident," Romeo contradicted.

"What do we do now? They were supposed to sing!" Lei complained.

"We'll come up with a new set. I made a back-up just in case something happened. I want to be as safe as possible so we don't have another Sectionals Disaster," Mr. Schuester reassured.

"What's the plan?" Natalia asked.

"I chose 'The Best of Times' for Romeo to sing at the end. The middle song will be 'Snowblind' which our winners of the duet competition will be singing"

"Because if you didn't let us, we would have made your life a living hell," Amber commented.

"Yep…and to open the show for us, we will have Dennis sing 'Come Sail Away,'" Mr. Schue finished. Dennis's eyes widened.

"What? No. I can't. Nope. No way," he quickly denied.

"Why not? You said you know every song! Besides, who better to sing it than you?"

"You apparently didn't fully listen to me!" Dennis complained

"Or at all!" Natalia added.

"But I guess I have to since you say so…" Dennis accepted.

"Great! Let's go rehearse!" Mr. Schuester said, leading everyone to the auditorium. Dennis stayed behind. Fear displayed in his face. How am I supposed to go against James? I'm not sure if I can actually do it…maybe he won't be singing lead. I sure hope he's not.

"James, you're part of the Warblers, right?" Dennis asked. The two had met at the Lima Bean later that day. James grabbed both of their coffees, handing Dennis's to him. They walked to their usual table, sitting down.

"Yeah, dude. Didn't I tell you that?"

"You did. I was just making sure. We're going against each other at Sectionals, then…" Dennis muttered.

"We are? Are you singing lead at all?"

"I am. I get a whole song to myself for the dumbest of reasons," Dennis answered.

"I see. I also get to sing a song. It's coming together pretty well," James replied. Dennis inwardly raged. Great. This is what I feared. Now the pressure builds. Dammit Schuester. He loves to torture everyone.

"I'm sure you'll do well…" Dennis unenthusiastically said.

Antonio called Mimi on his phone. He coughed a bit while lying in his bed.

"Hello?" Mimi greeted. Antonio smiled.

"Hey…how are you doing?"

"Shitty. Why the hell did we drink?"

"Because that one guy gave us free drinks all night…and we have a hard time saying no to nice people," Antonio answered.

"Yeah, well now I just keep getting sicker. My mom thought tortilla soup and lots of Advil would help me…but it made me vomit more…which encouraged her more…" Mimi complained.

"If we told our parents we were just hung over, we would have gotten killed. This is miserable, but I'm not ready to die yet. I just can't believe we ended up at a gay bar…" Antonio muttered.

"We wouldn't have figured that out had we not been hit on by people of the same gender," Mimi replied.

"I learned my lesson. I am never going to a bar again. I am never drinking again"

"Heh…you say that now, but you'll drink again," Mimi retorted.

"I know. That's the worst part. I need to go. My mother is back with more larynx burning tea. See you later," Antonio said.

"Bye," Mimi said. Antonio hung up.

"I just want to get better…ugh…"

The New Directions loitered around in the foyer of their Sectionals competition. Every member that had not been a part of the Sectionals Disaster sat around happily without a care. Natalia felt like she should be stressed, but brushed it off. She didn't care. Dennis and Glen shared a box of Jujubes to distract them from possible impending doom. Shantel just stared off in space, scared.

"Shanty, what's wrong?" Lei asked.

"I was in New Directions during the Sectionals disaster…"

"Really? Was it that bad?" Shantel nodded.

"It happened like this…"

We were standing on stage while the first song opened. Amanda, the star at the time, came on as if she were queen of the world. However, she had the Showchoir Jitters. She had them bad. She drank two cups of coffee, three monsters, and ate six donuts before coming on stage. She thought it would help. It did the opposite. She opened her mouth to sing, but instead she puked all over the back of Natalia's hair, which was really long and beautiful at the time. Guess why she cut it. Well, Amanda ran off the stage crying.

"I QUIT! I QUIT!" she cried. However, as she was running off, one of the old members turned around…and puked all over the front of me and in my unfortunately open at the time mouth…

"OH GOD!" I screamed and ran off. Glen and Dennis came after me.

"IT SMELLS LIKE OHIO!" Natalia had screamed, for you see she used to live in California before her freshman year, and I guess Ohio smells bad.

"And that's the rundown…" Shantel explained. Lei looked sad.

"That sounds terrible!"

"It was, Lei. It was the shits," Shantel replied.

"Well, you guys lived through that? You shouldn't be nervous anymore! You hit rock bottom, so the only place to go is up, right?" Lei asked. Shantel nodded.

"I never thought of it that way. Thanks"

"You're welcome!"

The chime for everyone to get into the auditorium for the completion to start sounded. Everyone gathered their things and headed into the auditorium. The New Directions took a seat somewhere near the front. They didn't see the Warblers, so they were likely up first.

"Let's welcome our first performance, all the way from Westerville, Ohio, the Dalton Academy Warblers!" the announcer announced. The curtain opened to reveal a bunch of men in Dalton Academy blazers humming the first notes to "Paint It Black." Apollo and James were amongst the boys up there, Apollo off to the side and James in the middle. James walked out in front of the others.

"I see a red door and I want it painted it black. No colors anymore; I want them to turn black. I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes! I have to turn my head until my darkness goes! No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue. I could not forsee this thing happening to you. If I look hard enough into the setting sun, my love will laugh with me before the morning comes! I see a red door and I want it painted black. No colors anymore I want them to turn black. I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes! I have to turn my head until my darkness goes! Hmm, hmm, hmm... I wanna see it painted black, painted black. Black as night, black as coal. I wanna see the sun, blotted out from the sky. I wanna see it painted, painted, painted, painted black. Yeah, hmm, hmm, hmm..." James sang. The song finished and the curtains closed. The New Directions decided to meet in the green room while the Unitards were performing.

"The Warblers were pretty good. Not as good as we are, though," Tate commented.

"I agree. I think we have a good shot at winning this. I mean, the Unitards are a joke," Natalia said.

"But we're more of one since the Sectionals Disaster," Shantel pointed out.

"Whatever, we've got this. Especially with Dennis starting us off," Glen said. Dennis slowly nodded. But I can't really go against James, can I? I mean, what if he hates me?

"Speaking of Dennis, I need to talk to him. Dennis, can you come with me?" Natalia asked. He nodded, following her into privacy.

"Kid, I can tell you're having a mental battle over whether you should sing or not," Natalia stated.

"No I don't"

"Yes you do. Apollo is my boyfriend, and James is his roommate. Do you really think I wouldn't have noticed that you two know each other by now?"

"I guess you're right…I just don't want him to hate me. I treasure my friendship with him, and I don't want to screw it up," Dennis pointed out. Natalia sighed.

"Yeah, and Apollo is my boyfriend. I really don't care about this choir since Schuester never held up to his end of the deal when I got you and the twins to rejoin, however I don't have a single problem with wiping the floor with the competition. I don't care how many of them I know. Nothing feels better than going on stage and doing the best that you can do," Natalia explained. Dennis thought for a moment.

"I guess you have a point. Are you sure James won't be mad if we win?"

"Positive. I don't think he's easy to piss off. He's pretty laid back"

"Then I'll have to give it my all…" Dennis decided. Natalia smiled.

"I knew you'd come around!"

After a while, it was time for them to go on. The girls were dressed in short, strapless cocktail dresses. They were black with shimmering polka-dot sequins, and had bright pink showing underneath. Complementing the dress was a bright pink sash around the stomach and black stilettoes. The boys were wearing reddish pink shirts with black vests and bright red ties. They had on black jeans and black boots.

Everyone stood backstage, save for Dennis who was behind the curtain with a piano. He swallowed his fears. The curtain parted, and a spotlight focused on him. He began playing the opening notes to "Come Sail Away." His fears dissolved as he got into the music and focused on playing every single note spot on.

"I'm sailing away, set an open course for the Virgin Sea. Cause I've got to be free! Free to face the life that's ahead of me. On board, I'm the captain, so climb aboard! We'll search for tomorrow on every shore, and I'll try! Wo, lord, I'll try! To carry on! I look to the sea. Reflections in the waves spark my memories! Some happy, some sad…I think of childhood friends and the dreams we had…" Dennis sang. Another spotlight appeared to show Stella playing the drums.

"We lived happily forever, so the story goes. But somehow we missed out on the pot of gold. But we'll try…best that we can…to carry on!" Dennis passionately sang, lifting the microphone up as he stood. More spotlights revealed Romeo and Shane on guitars and Alexandra on bass. Dennis migrated to the front of the stage.

"A gathering of angels appeared above my head! They sang to me this song of hope, and this is what they said! They said!"

"Come sail away! Come sail away! Come sail away with me, lad! Come sail away ! Come sail away! Come sail away with me! Come sail away! Come sail away! Come sail away with me, babe! Come sail away! Come sail away! Come sail away with me, babe!" everyone sang.

"I thought that they were angels, but to my surprise! They climbed aboard their starships and headed for the skies! Singin'" Dennis sang.

"Come sail away! Come sail away! Come sail away with me, lad! Come sail away! Come sail away! Come sail away with me! Come sail away! Come sail away! Come sail away with me! Come sail away! Come sail away! Come sail away with me! Come sail away! Come sail away! Come sail away with me! Come sail away! Come sail away! Come sail away with me! Come sail away! Come sail away! Come sail away with me!" everyone finished. The crowd cheered as everyone filed off stage. The band members rearranged the instruments to be out of everyone's way. Then, the lights dimmed off. Roderick walked onto the black stage. The lights glittered like snow as the opening notes of the next song played. When the time was right, Roderick began singing.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, the face you've shown me scares me so. I thought that I could call your bluff, but now the lines are clear enough. Life's not pretty even though I've tried so hard to make it so. Mornings are such cold distress. How did I ever get into this mess?" he sang. Amber ran on stage, the other members following her as they sung back up.

"Now I'm snowblind, can't live without you! Cause you're so fine, I just can't get away! Yes, I'm snowblind, snowblind, snowblind!" Amber sang strongly. The audience immediately got excited and began cheering. She walked over to Roderick, dancing with him.

"Harmless and innocent, you devil in white! You stole my will without a fight! You filled me with confidence, but you blinded my eyes! You tricked me with visions of paradise! Now I realize I'm snowblind, can't live without you! Cause you're so fine, I just can't get away! Now I'm snowblind, snowblind, snowblind!" Amber sang more. As the guitar solo started, Lei and Shantel took the focus on stage, doing intricate dancing. They were almost like acrobats.

"Woo…woo…woo…ah-hah!" New Directions saved.

"And baby I'm snowblind, can't live without you! Cause you're so fine, I just can't get away! Yes, I'm snowblind, snowblind, snowblind!" Amber sang. The stage darkened to show only Roderick.

"Mirror, mirror, I confess…I can't escape this emptiness. No more reasons to pretend. Here comes that same old feeling again!" he sang. The stage brightened up again as Amber ran back over.

"Yes I'm snowblind, can't live without you! Cause you're so fine, I just can't get away!" she sang. Roderick joined her.

"Won't you throw me a lifeline? I'm going down for the third time!" they sang together.

"Cause I'm snowblind, and I can't get away! Baby I'm snowblind, snowblind snowblind…" Roderick sang. He and Amber hummed the last bits of vocals with the rest of New Directions as the song came to an end. They joined the rest of the choir as Romeo stepped out in front.

"Tonight's the night we'll make history. Honey, you and I. Cause I'll take any risk to tie back the hands of time and stay with you here tonight!" he sang.

"With you tonight…with you tonight…with you tonight…with you toni-ight…" the girls quietly echoed in the background.

"I know you feel these are the worst of times. I do believe it's true! When people lock their doors and hide inside…rumor has it, it's the end of paradise! But I know…if the world just passed us by, baby I know! I wouldn't have to cry, no no!" Romeo sang more.

"The best of times are when I'm alone with you! Some rain, some shine! We'll make this a world for two!" New Directions sang.

"All memories of yesterday will last a lifetime! We'll take the best; forget the rest! And someday we'll find…these are the best…" Romeo sang.

"Of times!" New Directions replied.

"These are the best…"

"Of ti-imes!" Everyone then paired off and began dancing together. It was a ballroom style of dance, but each pair had their own personal flair to add on. When more lyrics were coming up, Romeo broke away and slowly meandered back to the front of the stage.

"The headlines read 'These are the Worst of Times!' I do believe it's true. I feel to helpless like a boat against the tide. I wish the summer wind could bring back paradise! But I know. If the world turned upside down, baby I know! You'd always be around, my my!" Romeo sang as fiercely as he could.

"The best of times are when I'm alone with you! Some rain, some shine! We'll make this a world for two!" everyone sang. Everyone except for Romeo continued to sing the chorus. He went on to sing over them.

"When I'm alone with you…everything's alright! When I'm alone with you, you brighten up the night! Said when I'm alone with you!" he sang as they all finished the song. The curtains closed, marking the end of the performance.

All three show choirs stood side-by-side on the stage. New Directions was to the right, Unitards to the left, and Warblers in the middle. The main judge came out with the trophies.

"Coming in at third of the 2015 Showchoir Sectional is…the Unitards!" he announced, handing them the smallest trophy. The Unitards filed off stage. The New Directions and the Warblers scooted closer to each other.

"Runner up is…the Dalton Academy Warblers! The McKinley High New Directions have won first!" he enthusiastically announced, handing the bigger trophy to the New Directions. Everyone in the club cheered. Against all odds, they had won. Shantel, Glen, and Lei gave Dennis a huge embrace, congratulating him. Dennis practically cried from joy at his success. Amber and Roderick shared a friendly hug before Kourtney and Tate pulled them into a group hug. Natalia ruffled Romeo's hair, giving him a thumbs up. Romeo smiled, thanking her.

They had won…and it felt like a miracle…

The following Monday, Will put the trophy in their trophy case. He triumphantly turned around and smiled at the club.

"Look at it, guys…after a humiliating defeat at Sectionals, we have prevailed and made an amazing comeback! I'm so proud to be your coach!" he said. Antonio and Mimi sighed.

"I just wish I could have been there to at least see it…" Mimi said.

"Yeah…Styx is one of my favorite bands…it's a shame…" Antonio complained. Romeo and Natalia looked at each other and went to the front of the room.

"Not to worry, then. We figured you two would be upset, so all of us put together a rousing number just for you," Natalia informed. Romeo nodded.

"It's even Styx, so you can pretend you saw us perform," he added. Antonio and Mimi smiled. They were dragged to the front of the room as everyone cleared the sitting area of chairs. Antonio and Mimi both took a seat as the music started. Everyone hummed the beginning notes of the song. Immediately, Antonio was excited. Tate walked out amongst the group, all of which were pretending to be part of a circus.

"Welcome to the Grand Illusion! Come on in and see what's happening! Pay the price; get your tickets for the show!" he sang. Kourtney walked out next.

"The stage is set! The band starts playing! Suddenly your heart is pounding, wishing secretly you were a star!" she sang. Mimi smiled at her. Glen was the next to step forward.

"Don't be fooled by the"

"Radio!" everyone sang.

"The TV or the magazines! They'll show you photographs of how your life should be, but they're just someone else's" he continued.

"Fantasies! So you think your life is complete confusion because you never win the game. Just remember that it's a grand illusion, cause deep inside we're all the same!" everyone sang.

"All the same!" Lei sang. After skipping about half the instrumental break, they continued humming to build up to the second chorus.

"So if you think your life is complete confusion because your neighbor's got it made…just remember that it's a grand illusion" everyone sang.

"And deep inside we're all the same!" Alexandra sang. After another short instrumental break, the singing continued.

"America spells competition! Join us in our blind ambition! Get yourself a brand new motor car!" Stella sang.

"And someday soon we'll start to ponder: 'What on Earth's this spell we're under?' We made the grade and still we wonder who the hell we are!" Natalia finished.

Too Much Time on My Hands - Mimi and Antonio

Paint it Black by the Rolling Stones - James with the Warblers

Come Sail Away - Dennis with New Directions

Snowblind - Amber and Roderick with New Directions

The Best of Times - Romeo with New Directions

The Grand Illusion - The New Directions