body Watching her, Atia was easily the best in the dance class. She had something the others did not - and Amara was guessing it was experience. Serena, beside her, was goggling. The sandy blonde couldn't help from smiling at Atia's obvious joy in dancing. She was smiling, always smiling, and making faces in movement with the dance. Parts of the dance made her look sludgy, but she didn't seem to mind.

Suddenly she and one of the boys broke out in the kind of gymnastic moves you would see in the Olympics. At times it looked like they would crash into each other or the other dancers, but they never did. The music ended, and Atia did a back-tuck and landed in the boy's arms, and they sported the ending move.

"Okay!" the instructor clapped his hands once. "You all looked good. Ben, you're a half-second too slow on your layout, and Atia, you're a half-second too fast on the brandy. Five minute break." He walked out of the room.

Atia walked over them, making nagging faces of exasperation. "'You're too fast. You're too slow. Your movements aren't stiff enough.' Yadda, yadda, yadda."

"He only picks on you because you're good," Serena smiled.

Atia smiled. "Thanks."

Ben walked up to her with a yawn. "We had to've gone through that dance at least three times. I swear, girl, I'm going to drop you if he makes us do it again."

"You wouldn't do that to me, would you?" Atia crooned playfully, batting her eyelashes comically at him. "'Cause if you do I'm quite afraid I'll have to go a second too slow and kick your head in my back tuck."

He laughed and pulled her ponytail. "You're so nice, you know that?"

"Atia? Nice? Excuse me." Amara turned her head a coughed.

"I can tell when I'm not loved," Atia said dramatically, putting the back-side of her hand on her forehead and making a fake sob.

The rest of the break passed in much of the same manner. When the instructor came back in, he had them do two different dances and three different songs before he let them leave. Atia and Ben, however, stayed after for a moment, trying to get a part in the new dance right.

"No, left foot-"

"Hey, wrong way!

"Left!"

"No, that comes later!"

"That's my part!"

"Um, now what do we do?"

Silence.

"That's a good question."

When they were about done, Serena said, "I wish I could do that." When they were completely done, Atia beckoned at Serena. "Hm?"

"Come here." Serena obediently walked up to her. "Do this." She did a straddle jump, then stuck her right arm across her and heaved herself back so she did a complete body wave. Serena repeated it uncertainly but flawlessly. "Ha! I knew you could do that!"

Amara looked surprised. "Call the medics. I'm going to have a heart attack."

"Amaraaa!" Serena whined. Atia patted her on the head, getting her attention.

"Now do this." Taking her former stance, she crossed her left arm over her right, then pulled her right arm to her side and her left straight into the air, feet coming together. She stepped out on her left foot, then switched arm positions. She stepped out again and switched her arms back to their original positions, hopped in a circle twice, leaned to the left, stuck out her right foot, and put both hands on her outstretched knees and leaned on them.

"Aaahhh..." Slowly but surely Serena repeated it. "Hey. This is fun."

Atia smiled as though she'd won the lottery, then broke out in a goofy dance. "Uh-huh, uh-huh, Serena can dance, uh-huh!"

Ben laughed. "You're a site for the camera, you know that?"

"Bring it on," Atia smirked, then struck a silly pose. "Ima super model."

"You're a super freak," he laughed, grabbing her wrists as she lunged playfully at him.

*

Luna was waiting outside the door when Serena got home. The girl didn't see her as she rushed into the house. The cat frowned at the yellow sports car; it was Amara's. But the scent of lilacs and roses was strong.

Artemis came up beside her as the car pulled away. "Amara's in her company as well."

"It would seem that way." Luna's paws squeezed together - fists, if she were a human. "I could kill her. Rip her apart. If it weren't for her..." her voice trailed off in a growl.

"Let her fight Sebradon. If he doesn't kill her, then we can. She'll be too weak to fight back. We should probably finish off Pluto as well - she spells trouble with the other two," Artemis said in a deadly quiet tone.

"If Ocean and Sky come back, then what?" Luna frowned.

"We'll find a way to end them as well. It's not hard to kill someone these days."

Luna laughed hollowly. "That's true. So true."

*

Atia closed the door behind her, facing Trista with a smile. "She can still dance. I can't believe it." "Neither can I." They both chuckled, and Atia sat down on the couch. "How's your arm?"

"Throbbing, but okay. Why did it spread so badly when Darien touched it yesterday?" Atia sat down on a chair and unwound the bandage carefully. The burn looked second-degree.

"I think I've figured it out. When Darien touched you, the poison put into your arm by Sebradon's power reacted violently against his purity. It tried to strike at Darien, but you managed to keep it on your arm."

"I was nearly unconscious. How did I do that?"

"Look at yourself in the mirror, Atia. You're getting stronger. You have more control over your actions, even without your knowing."

Atia was silent for a moment. "It's funny. Before you touched me, I couldn't remember anything. Who I was, where I was. When you did, I remembered that much, but I couldn't remember the past. When I woke up from the sedative, I remembered." She sighed sharply and banged her fist on the table beside her, nearly splitting it. "Something bad is going to happen. Very bad."

*

The water that had been in Atia's mouth cannoned out of it and flew across the table. "What?!" she yelped, staring at Ben incredulously.

He was laughing. "How lady-like. Anyway, Mr. Keioni said we're having the actual recital in four weeks."

"But we just started learning that one dance two days ago, Ben! How can we have it right in four weeks?!" she groaned, banging her head on the table.

"Well, it'll help if you wouldn't give yourself a concussion," Raven, one of the other girls, laughed. "Come on, Atia, it's not that hard."

"Ooohh, God," came Atia's muffled groan, running her hands down her face in exasperation. "If your name is not Atia Tamuchi, it's not that hard. I've got, like, tons of things I need to do between now and then! College finals, work-out, my horse needs to be trained, I have to teach Serena the rest of that dance, and-" her next complaint was muffled by Ben's hand cupping her mouth.

"We get the idea, honey," he said with a smile.

"You do that we can't stop the show for anybody, even you," Naro said in his quiet manner.

"I know. I'll get over it, once I'm done complaining," Atia smiled.

"Girl, you are a nut-case, you know?" Valen giggled, smiling at her classmate.

"What else is new?" Jeff grumbled.

"Ah, plug it," Raven said, poking him in the shoulder. "Lighten up on the girl, Jeff!"

"Yeah! Where would we be without our little sister, huh?" Enaio smiled, hugging Atia's shoulders playfully. They affectionately called her that as she was the youngest in the class, even if not the shortest. Atia giggled.

Ashani, Trever, and Lance came running into the room breathlessly. "Guys guys guys!" Ashani shrieked happily. "Guess what? Mr. Keioni said that people not in the Academy can be in the show too! And he said there's going to be talent scouts, news reporters, the whole she-bang!"

"Eeee! No way!" Raven squealed, clapping her hands.

"Way! Oh, this is going to be our big break!"

The academy's twice-annual recitals were something to behold. It was an all-day thing, and people from all over Japan, even the world, came to watch the best dancers perform. There was media coverage of every sort, and talent scouts were always in the plenty. It was not something to miss.

"Atia?" Ben asked quietly, waving his hand in front of his partner's stone face. The other eight looked at her and got uneasy feelings. While Atia was sweet, there were moments when her expression got colder than ice and burned like fire. This girl, their little sister, was as beautiful as she was an enigma. And she was very beautiful.

"Uh?" Atia shook her head.

"You were doing it again!" Valen whined.

"Doing what?"

"That stone-cold face, the one you get when you're worried or something," Ben replied gently.

"Sorry. I was just thinking about my friend Trista."

"Oh, the one with green hair? You know, Atia, she's very good. She's cute, too," Lance said with a grin. "Maybe she should join."

"Nm." Atia looked away, putting an elbow on the table and cupping her chin in it. "She wouldn't. She doesn't like dancing routines with large groups. Makes her nervous. Maybe I could get her into an act with me. She'd dance with me."

The door flew open, and the ten teenagers looked up to see Mr. Keioni storm in, looking slightly flushed. "Tamuchi!" he shouted.

Ben saw his friend stiffen, then collapse into a state of calm coolness. She stood and quietly waited for Naro to move, which he did in a hurry. "Yes, Mr. Keioni?"

"You never told me you were helping with the primary class, Atia!" he fired angrily.

Atia rose an eyebrow. "What's the problem, Mr. Keioni? I've been able to handle both classes so far, haven't I?"

The man's dark blue eyes sparkled in rage. "You know as well as I do that this new dance is becoming a problem for you. If you cannot get it right by the end of this week, you're out."

Atia jerked back in alarm. "What?"

"You heard me, girl!"

"Today is Thursday!"

"You can't do that to her, Mr. Keioni! You know she's the best dancer we have!" Raven cried.

"Yaole will snatch her up in a heartbeat!" Trevor agreed.

"Silence now or you're all out!" the man bellowed.

Atia shook her head. "If I can do all of that dance right now without missing a single beat, without the music, this threat will never come up again for me or for the others. And I will be allowed to perform with any class I choose."

The instructor's eyes narrowed, then he smirked in contempt. "Deal." He stuck out his hand, and Atia shook it with a raised eyebrow. "And if you can't, you're out."

As she walked by the shorter man, she knocked him sharply in the shoulder with her own. She stood in the starting position, then looked up at Ben. "Start me off?"

"Ready, three, two, one, four, three, two, one..." his voice trailed off as she signaled an okay around her graceful movements.

It was as if she'd dance this dance a thousand times before, so calm was she. Her eyes closed, and it was like nothing they'd ever seen before. She moved flawlessly and on clouds, her feet never misguiding her. As she moved, she sang softly, lost in her own world.

Suddenly they all recognized the end of the dance, but she kept going, doing something totally different. It looked as though it fit into the dance, as though what they had learned was not all that there was. When she stopped, all jaws were on the ground. She smiled sweetly at the man who had been so angry before. As sarcastic as it was, it was very pretty. "There. All of the dance."

"I...I...you..." Atia stared at him innocently, batting the-dubbed legal eyelashes at him. "You're in," he finally managed. "Where did you learn that?"

"When you dance, Mr. Keioni, it shouldn't be some routine that you get paid for. You should dance because you feel the rhythm, let it move you, because you're happy. When I was dancing just then, I did what felt right, what felt good." Her eyes regarded him with slight disgust.

Mr. Keioni was silent for a moment, studying her with awe still in his eyes. Finally he clapped his hands once, thinking. "Okay. I'm going to go back to the board meeting. Stay put, gang." With that, he turned and jogged out of the room.

Atia fingered him when his back was turned.

Ashani was scowling. "Show off."

"You're just jealous that she'll get a contract and you won't," Enaio snapped. "I don't want a contract," Atia said quietly.

"Are you crazy?" Raven squeaked, staring at her incredulously. "You could really hit it off, Atia! I mean, you're pretty, smart, a great dancer, a fantastic singer, sweet, and you have a great personality! You're a perfect idol!"

Atia smiled vaguely. "Thanks. But I'm not perfect, Raven. The idea..." she gazed out the window, "just doesn't appeal to me."

"You have a bad memory of something related, don't you?" Naro asked.

"Mm." Atia looked away, then gazed at the long stretch of floor behind her. Without a word she launched into a standing back handspring, then preformed routine moves down the length of the floor. When she stopped, feet hitting the floor hard, she looked at Naro. "Yes."

*

"It's over, Trista." Atia almost slammed the door behind her and threw her bag down.

"What's over?" she asked in alarm.

"Hiding my not-scout identity from the Guardian cats. The academy is having a recital in four weeks. Artemis, Luna, and Diana will be there to watch Rini." Atia rubbed her temples. "We need to do something together. As a tribute."

"I agree." Trista stood up and walked over to her. "How many acts can we do?"

"Five's the limit."

"Five it is."