Chapter 13

Currently inside the Kaleido Stage building, Sora, Layla and Jennifer were practicing the fight scene on the ship. Right now Layla hit Sora in the side with the practice sword, making her fall into the safety below. "No Sora, that wasn't fast enough!" told Layla "I know! I'm sorry, can we try that again?" "All right! Get back up here!" said Jennifer, while Sora made her way back up to the tightrope, Anna, Mia and Marion were watching the whole thing from the audience. "That routine is so hard." said Anna, Mia nodded in agreement "I know!" the girls began doing the fight scene again only this time Sora's timing was too fast and she ended up smacking Layla in the side with her practice sword and made her fall into the safety net. "Sorry Layla! I was too early with that!" said Sora, again the girls began doing the scene once more and Jennifer began counting out loud for Sora "One, two, three! One, two, three!" Sora was following Layla who was walking backwards on the rope when the Japanese girl tripped and ran into Layla who in turn ran into Jennifer that happened to be behind her. All three performers fell into the net together and Sora quickly apologized "Sorry!" "They've got less than a week to go before the show opens." said Sarah, Ken who was right next to her was recording the whole thing on video camera "I know and Sora is way too freaked out about the timing of this thing. She's so worried about getting it perfect she messes up."

Later that day Yuri was taking both Layla and Jennifer home in his sports car and currently the vehicle was at a stoplight. While waiting Yuri said "I don't know what Karlos was thinking on this one. I mean your performance and Jennifer's performance styles compared to Sora's is about as mixed as oil and water. On the other hand this could be part of some publicity stunt that he stringed up. What if he's just using the three of you? One thing is certain to succeed you're going to have to perform at Sora's pace." the light then turned green and Yuri began driving down the road, Layla took a glance at Yuri before looking ahead of her "If she wants to keep playing leads then she have to perform at mine and Jennifer's." the Harrington then noticed a certain look on her friend's face and said "Uh…Layla? I know that look on your face…What are you planning?…Layla?" "You'll see." "And why do I have a sudden feeling that you're going to make me apart of your little plan too?"

That night at the dormitory Sora was in her room, watching over the footage of the fight scene Ken recorded earlier today. Fool floated by her side and watch the Japanese girl collide with Layla and Jennifer "Not your most graceful." "Oh I just can't get the timing right! If I stay with either Jennifer or Layla I'm too slow but if I do my own thing I'm too fast! I've just got to find someway to match them." she then heard a knock on her door and heard Sarah's voice from the other side "Sora?" "Yes?" "You have guests!" Sora got up from her seat and went over to the door "I'm not expecting anyone…" she then opened the door "Yes?" right there in front of her stood Sarah with Jennifer and Layla standing by her sides. Sora stared at them in shock and said "But Layla, Jennifer what are you?" Sarah took this time to make her leave "I'll leave you kids to it." "Thank you." said the two best friends "So…What's up?" wondered Sora "Jennifer and I are going to be staying with you, if you don't mind." told Layla, Sora stared at them in surprise before letting the two women in her room.

There just as they walked in Layla an Jennifer saw the footage that Sora was watching on T.V. Sora noticed this and began to explain "Oh! That was just a video I had Ken make for me…I thought it would help me get you twos timing." "That's exactly why we came here…Jennifer and I need to observe the way you move in day to daylight. Living in such closed quarters I hope we can understand each other's movements better." said Layla "So we understand each other's movements better? Right!" the two friends then put down their suitcases and took off their jackets gracefully having both Sora and Fool stare at them adoringly. "Wow! They look so elegant together!" muttered Sora "Oh my…" said Fool who began floating closer to the ladies only to have the Japanese girl grab him and put him under her foot. Jennifer and Layla looked at her once hearing something "What was that?" "Oh nothing! I just thought it looked cool how the two of you took off your jackets just now…And I was just about to go get some dinner in the dining hall, do you want me to bring you two back something?" "No we'll come eat with you." said Jennifer, the door soon was opened by Anna and Mia who looked into the room. "Sora!" greeted Anna "Wanna get some food?" asked Mia, the two soon gasp and fell back onto their butts as Layla and Jennifer gracefully strutted out of the room and down the walkway. Sora's friends couldn't help but stare after them "What the?" started Anna "What are they doing here?" wondered Mia, Sora who closed her door looked at her friends "Oh…They're going to be living in my room for a little bit." the two stared at her in shock and Sora simply began walking away "Come on you two let's eat!"

At the dining hall Charlotte and Julie were in line getting their dinner, both were mad that Sora got another lead role and will be co-starring with Jennifer and Layla. "If they wanted a new face for co-starring with Layla and Jennifer they should have chosen one of us!" grumbled Charlotte "That fight would be perfect if I had done the show!" declared Julie, Jennifer and Layla who happened to be standing next to the two said "Could you keep the line moving please?" Julie looked at them "I'm not finished making my salad yet!" soon she and Charlotte completely jumped back in surprise once realizing that Jennifer and Layla were standing there. Once getting their food, the two top performers went over to a table and sat down with Sora joining them. The performers who were already in the dining hall couldn't help but stare at the three as they simply sat there and ate their meal. Not at all believing that the two top performers were here eating in the same dining hall as them.

20 minutes later the girls were returning back to Sora's room and on their way there, the Japanese girl carefully observed how the two best friends walked in sync with one another. "Both Layla and Jennifer have got a graceful walk even when they're not in front of an audience." thought Sora, once back inside the room she asked her two co-stars "Would you two like some coffee?" "No thank you but I would really like to use your shower." said Layla only to make Fool stare at the stoic Hamilton "Oh the nerve of her!" "Are you sure?" asked Sora who kept an eye on Fool, Jennifer noticed how she sounded and asked "Is there something wrong Sora." "Umm…I…No! Ha, ha, ha of course not silly! Go right ahead Layla, take your time!" the Japanese girl quickly grabbed Fool, tied him up and stuffed him in drawer just as Layla entered the bathroom to take her shower.

While the Hamilton was taking her shower, Jennifer was laying on Sora's bed staring up at the ceiling, while the Japanese girl was stretching on the floor. "She and Jennifer can be graceful even when they're saying no to coffee." thought Sora who soon heard the bathroom door open and looked up. Once she did, the Japanese performer lightly blushed as Layla gracefully walked in wearing a long red night gown "Look out that!" Fool who had escaped his ropes that Sora tied him in opened the drawer door and watched the blond performer "Oh my…" noticing that the spirit was out Sora quickly slammed the drawer shut with her foot and looked at the Hamilton "Hey Layla wouldn't you be more comfortable in a pair of my pajamas?" "What's that?" "You know so that you can get in touch my rhythm." "But how will that-" Sora pulled out of pair of pajamas "Here I think this one will fit you and Jennifer I probably have one for you also!" "But Sora we don't…" started Jennifer only to have the Japanese girl cut her off "Look if the two of you are going to stay in my room you're going to have to follow my rules ok?" the women looked at each other then back at Sora nodding "Whatever you say."

5 minutes later once the two best friends were dressed in Sora's pajamas, they began pulling out their sleeping bags that had brought along. Sora noticed this and said "Oh no…You two can't sleep on the floor, take my bed I won't mind." "One problem though Sora, Layla and I can't fit on this bed." said Jennifer "We're sleeping on the floor and that's final." told Layla, Sora stared at them feeling a bit unsure but reluctantly nodded "Sure…" 20 minutes later while Jennifer and Layla slept in their sleeping bags, Sora laid wide awake in her bed and was deep in thought "Having Layla and Jennifer live with me…Having them sleep in my room…If I can't get the timing right after this…No! Don't think about that! I'll get their rhythm down I have to!" suddenly Sora noticed Fool floating right above her, gazing down at both Jennifer and Layla "They both look like sleeping angels." "Hey! How did you get out?" Sora harshly whispered "Let's just say I was exceptionally motivated…" Fool did used his magic for a fortune, he looked at the card he held in his hand "The Tower…It means you should expect the unexpected." "You mean like having Layla and Jennifer come over for a surprise visit?" "Huh…Good aren't I?" "Whatever…Just try not to wake them up ok?"

The days progressed and slowly the girls were becoming in sync with one another, soon it came to the point they were getting their timing right for the fight scene. During today's rehearsal of the fight scene, Ken was pleased to see how well the scene was coming along and thought "The girls are finally starting to work together, their moves are starting to fly!" Yuri who was also their at the rehearsal but was practicing doing his own thing, stopped what he was doing and watched the girls thinking "But will all that momentum stall when they get to the climax?" Another day passed and today the girls were having a meeting in Karlos' office concerning about the show. "Sure I think we can open on time…However I think we should tone down the climax or else this show is going to blow up in our faces." told the script director "So you're saying is you want to make the fight scene easy?" questioned Layla "Yes…For the time being I think we should cut the Diablo it's just keeps getting in the way." "What?" wondered Sora "Breaking in a newcomer is enough of a risk I don't want anyone to get hurt up there as the director I think this is our only option right now." "But I can do it! I've worked so hard!" "I know you have Sora but we're running out of time!" "Unacceptable." said Layla, the director looked at her a bit surprised "But Layla I'm only-" "We can't hold back on the climax…The show will fall apart all we need is one more day." "But tomorrow is the final dress! We can't move that! Are you saying we postpone opening night?" "We'll use stand ins for the final dress." told Karlos, the director tiredly sigh and turned to the boss "Are you serious?" "I'm serious." "You won't be sorry Karlos." told Layla

The next day Layla, Jennifer and Sora headed over to the docks there they approached a boat where a crew were setting things up. "Good morning! Is it ready?" greeted Layla, the captain of the boat turned and smiled at the girls "Ah! It's good to see you this morning Ms. Hamilton, Ms. Harrington! Everything should be in order." "We appreciate it." said Jennifer, Sora stared after the two friends as they got on the boat only to have Layla say to her "Sora hurry and get on the boat!" "Coming!" once they were all on the boat, the captain turned to the performers "And it looks like the weather is going to cooperate too!" "I think you're right." agreed Layla, Sora looked up at the sky to see the clouds were dark and couldn't help but think "Those clouds don't look good at all…" soon the captain drove the boat out of the docks and headed out into the sea, during the ride Sora couldn't help but turn to Layla and Jennifer "Excuse me but…" "Before you ask Sora we're going to practice out here." told Jennifer "What?" soon the boat stopped once the waves had calm down and the captain and his crew set up a contraption where it had two platforms on both sides and a tightrope right in the middle. The girls quickly changed into their practice clothing and now stood there staring at the tightrope set. Feeling a bit uneasy about this Sora turned to the women "Umm…Layla…Jennifer…I know our practice in getting our timing right was getting a lot more synchronize but is it safe to do this over the water." "We want you to forget everything you learned up to this point." told Jennifer "Huh?" "Sora…We've been beating our heads against this routine and trying to get every single move perfect but then Layla and I realized that having the fight be perfect isn't enough." "It's practically been the same kind of choice I've been making on stage for years along with Jennifer." said Layla "What are you both trying to say?" asked Sora, Layla looked at the Japanese girl "This has to be a real fight between the three of us." "A real fight between, Layla, Jennifer and me?" thought Sora, seeing how she didn't give an immediate answer Jennifer questioned her "So what? Will you do it or not Sora?" Sora firmly nodded with determination set in her eyes "I'll do it!"

The girls then pulled off their jackets and grabbed their practice swords but before they made their way onto the tightrope, Layla looked at her partners "You two can use life lines if you want. I'm not using one because it'll just get in the way when I move." "Then we'll simply won't use one either right Sora?" said Jennifer, the Japanese performer nodded "Right!" the girls then got onto the tightrope set and prepared themselves for the oncoming fight. Layla sent a smirk towards Sora "You're starting to look like you could be a real adversary." Jennifer chuckled a bit while Sora made her way onto the tightrope first followed by Layla. The two then began the fight and Sora was completely caught off guard by the force put into her sword making the Japanese performer take a few steps back. "She's really serious about this about this! If I drop my guard for one second she's gonna toss me into the ocean!" thought Sora "Make that mistake again and you're going to be shark bait!" told Layla who quickly took a step back as Jennifer entered the fight with Sora joining in. As they fought for a bit, the waves that were now appearing started rocking the boat back and forth. In turn this made the girls lose their balance and held on tightly to the rope. "Out on the ocean neither Layla or Jennifer can predict when the next wave is going to come so out here they're-" Sora's thought was broken as she saw Layla get back onto the rope and darted toward her only to have Jennifer stepped in and block her attack. "Sorry hurry up and get back on the rope!" barked Jennifer "Right!" and thus the girls continued on with their actual fight out on the ocean waters.

This continued on even when a storm appeared and the captain and his men stared at them in disbelief as the girls continued to fight in the ran. "They're like…Machines…" said the captain, the girls continued on until they stood there tiredly panting. "Are you…Ready to give up yet?" panted Layla, Jennifer panted but gave a smirk to her best friend "No…Not at all…What about you Sora?" "No way!" and they continued on with their fight until all three performers jumped up high and managed to hit each other with their swords before beginning to fall. "No Ms. Hamilton, Ms. Harrington!" exclaimed the captain and to his relief the girls grabbed onto the tight rope just in time. All three were heavily panting and Layla managed to ask "You two still in one piece?" "Yeah!" with that they ended their fight and made their way inside the boat to change into dry clothes and rest. While they sat in a room drinking a warm beverage, the captain came in and informed the girls "I just radio the docks and the storm is even worse out there, we're better staying put out here till the morning." "If you think it's best ok." told Layla and the captain took his leave. The three sat there in silence until Sora spoke up "Wow…Tomorrow we're doing the show for real…" "Doing it for real…" whispered Layla having both Jennifer and Sora look at her "What?" "I wonder…If Jean can add some rain to the effects?" "That would be awesome." agreed Jennifer "You know you're really incredible Layla…You also Jennifer…The two of you are always thinking of ways to make Kaleido Stage shows better!" told Sora this made the two best friends smile at this and laugh a bit. "Do you mind if I ask you two why you joined Kaleido Stage in the first place?" "When Jennifer and I were little girls, we came to see one of their shows with our parents. It was wonderful of course like a beautiful dream but the thing we like best about it is…That it's the first time in my life I could see my parents laughing like children." told Layla which made Jennifer smile as she heard this. "Really? What show did yours and Jennifer's parents take for the two of you to see?" asked Sora "The show was Alice In Wonderland…" answered Jennifer "Alice In Wonderland? That's the one I saw with my parents before they died…It's one of my favorite memories…Because…Seeing that production was the last thing my parents and I ever did together…" "It was same thing for me…My Mother had been very sick and that day was the first time in my life I ever heard her laugh so hard unfortunately…It was also the last time…After she died…My Father tried to forget by throwing himself into this work…" told Layla "Same goes for me…Seeing that production was the last time my parents and I did something together before they went on a road trip for business and got into that horrible car accident…" said Jennifer

It soon became silent for the girls and they stayed like that for a bit until Sora spoke "Wouldn't it be nice for your father to come see the show?" both Layla and Jennifer looked at her a bit surprise and Sora quickly noticed this "Oh! I'm sorry! Did I say something I shouldn't have?" "No." answered Layla who then sipped her beverage and thought "I never told anyone about my family before…Only Jennifer knows about this but…It's almost like Sora has the power to change people's hearts…" Jennifer covered her mouth and yawned a bit "Well…We should try and get some rest." "Ok…" Layla then looked at the Japanese girl "Oh and by the way Sora are you aware that you talk in your sleep?" told Layla which happen to surprise Sora "Huh? No…I don't…" "Yeah you do it was kind of weird…" said Jennifer "Oh…" the Japanese girl then thought "I wonder if they heard me talking to the Fool…"That morning all the performers rushed outside of Kaleido Stage and to the dock that they had. Everyone watched as a boat docked with Sora, Jennifer and Layla on it they all sighed in relief as the girls climbed up the dock ladder. "Sora! Welcome back!" greeted Anna "Thanks!" once joining everyone, Layla turned to Marion's father "Jean can you make it rain during the fight scene?" "Rain? Well…I can try!" he then turned to the others and yelled "Hey I need my crew!"

Later that day they opened the show right on time and it went off smoothly soon coming to the fight scene. The audience members watched in excitement as they saw Layla, Jennifer and Sora on the swaying boat with the rain hitting them. Both Layla and Jennifer ran at each other real swords drawn and began the scene with Sora joining in a minute in. Everyone watch in amazement as the fight scene continued on soon coming to the part where the ship came on fire. Layla, Jennifer and Sora quickly jumped up to the tight rope above them and continued on fighting. Sora then lost her sword as Layla knocked it out of her hand before quickly turning around and blocking Jennifer's attack. Sora then jumped up high and over the two women and pulled out her Diablo in turn doing her trick. Though as Sora knocked Layla's sword out of her hand and landed on the rope, she slipped and began to fall towards the fire. Everyone gasp as they saw this both Jennifer and Layla leapt into action. Thus the Harrington grabbed Sora's hand and Layla grab Jennifer's other hand with her right and held the rope tightly in her left "Sora!" the Japanese performer looked up at her co-stars and sighed in relief "Thank you Layla…Jennifer…" the two smiled a bit at this before looking up in confusion as they heard applause. Turns out the whole audience like the whole turn out of the scene and were now standing up from their seats clapping. Jennifer toss Sora up to the tight rope and Layla did the same thing for her best friend before standing beside her co-stars. Sora stood in the middle of Jennifer and Layla as they did their bows. Once they did them Layla turned to Sora and Jennifer saying "It's been awhile since I've heard the audience applaud like this." tears of happiness appeared in Sora's eyes as she heard this "I'm…So happy! I don't know what to say! I don't want this moment to ever end!" Jennifer giggled a bit and ruffled Sora's hair "Neither do I Sora!" the girls giggled a bit before taking another set of bows as the audience continued to clap for them