Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars!
Saki's silver-moon eyes were starry as they reflected the rainbow of heavenly, celestial light she and her faithful Photon friends were so blessed to see as they soared through the galaxy in their ship of silver and cyan. They left Earth's orbit, flew past the ISS, past the moon itself, singing and dancing and spinning through the stars. Their ship ran on rocket fuel and song, after all.
Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars!
They passed Mars, a bold red-orange, and Jupiter, a powerhouse giant. How beautiful they looked up close and personal, in real life! So much better than any astronomy textbook or documentary film. Saki could even see some of the rains down on Jupiter. Of course, it was not like the rain on Earth, but the magnetic storms were exactly that to behold: magnetic!
In other words, hold my hand.
Oh! How romantic it all was! Who could not view the universe in all of its splendor and glory and fall a little more in love? Not just with the universe itself, but…
Full-moon eyes finally turned away from the stars ahead and to the crewmates that surrounded her. Towa and Noa were holding hands, smiling at one another as they pointed out their favorite stars and planets together. Ibuki watched them proudly, her gray-blue eyes darting between her crewmates and the control panels, making sure Saki did not feel like she alone bore the full burden of steering the ship.
In other words, darling, kiss me.
When Ibuki caught Saki staring, smiling at her, Ibuki returned the look and walked over to her. In an especially affectionate mood, she wrapped her arms around the younger, smaller girl from behind and kissed her moon-white hair.
Fill my heart with song, and let me sing forevermore!
Saki's heart swelled, and she subconsciously spurred the ship on a little faster. The words were out of her mouth before she could even think, further fueling the rocket. "You are all I long for, all I worship, and adore!" she cried, and Towa and Noa turned to her and Ibuki.
They began to smile and sing as well. "In other words, please be true!"
"In other words, I—!"
Nnnnyyyyeeeerrrrnnnn!
"Ahahahaha!" A much more compact, round spaceship suddenly went soaring past, flying so close to Saki and Photon's that the sides nearly scraped. While Photon's rocket was slim and sleek, futuristic, this one almost looked cobbled together, yet there must've been some source of stability for it to fly so well and so fast, especially given how far away from Earth Photon was. Likewise, while Photon's ship was white and cyan, the one that went flying by was predominantly green, with bits of purple, white, gray, and other colors swirled and sprinkled in.
"WE'RE GOING ON A TRIP! IN OUR FAVORITE AI SHIP! ZOOMING PAST THE WORLD! UNICHO-ORD!" Michiru was singing and dancing so heartily that she swung the ship's joystick controller this way and that. One of her passengers was content to dance along, flashing two peace signs. The other slipped back and forth, looking like she was about to be sea (star?) sick.
"That doesn't even fit rhythmically!" she criticized the DJ's off-key parody. She should stick to remixes! Not…! Whatever… THIS… is…
The last member of the Unichord quartet was the ship's GPS system itself.
"Hey! They stole our style!" Towa was indignant, hands clenching into fists as the green ship soared by.
Saki needed no further prompting, silver eyes narrowing as she urged Photon's ship forward. They quickly caught up with Unichord.
In a matter of minutes, the blue and the green were racing across the galaxy. First one back to the moon won. It was a Groovy Space Race! And it would determine which of the two units truly deserved to have the astronomical aesthetic.
"Fly me to the moon!" Michiru started, almost boasting as she cut Saki off before Saki could even open her mouth.
"And let me play among the stars!" Saki, however, was quick, and refused to be beat. Demure though she was, space was the one thing she was willing to get all fired up over. As if responding to her voice and thoughts, her rocket's thrusters even pushed themselves harder.
"Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars!" Lumina's face appeared on the window of Unichord's ship, taunting Saki and Photon's.
"In other words, hold my hand!" Noa and Towa resumed holding hands and harmonizing in solidarity.
"In other words, darling, kiss me!" Hayate was dancing with Kokoa, dipping her and lowering herself down until their lips were inches apart. Kokoa turned as red as a supernova, or a red giant star, but she forced herself to keep singing with Hayate.
"Fill my heart with song," Ibuki continued, also staring out the window of Photon's ship to meet Unichord's challenge directly.
"And let me sing forevermore!" Lumina answered.
"You are all I long for, all I worship, and adore!" Again, Michiru sang before Saki had the chance to. Their spaceships raced on faster and faster, and soon, the universe was just a bright blur outside their windows. The two units were unable to exchange verbal blows, too lost in the heat and dance of the song, but their eyes said it all. They exchanged taunting smirks, eyes twinkling like stars as their intergalactic battle continued.
As competitive as the two quartets were, however, there came a moment when Saki couldn't help but smile and laugh genuinely. She pulled off a daring barrel roll, spinning over top of Unichord's ship.
"Woah!" Michiru gasped in admiration and envy, and before Kokoa had time to yell at her not to, Michiru tried to pull off a fancy, aerial maneuver of her own. Now, the ships themselves were dancing through the starry sky, their whining, whirring, roaring engines harmonizing with each other.
"In other words, please be true!" Saki sang earnestly, some of the fire of the competition genuinely lost and forgotten in the bliss of the moment. They could all see the moon now. Not too much farther… Saki pushed the ship's controls forward again, urging it on as she sang.
"In other words," Michiru also pushed the joystick controller of her ship forward, though she paused to look at Saki in the final few seconds before either of them would determine which ship had the better, faster, stronger crew and musical thrusters.
Silence hung in the air between the two ships, lasting less than a second, but seeming to be an eternity in length. But right before Kokoa could demand why Michiru had suddenly stopped singing, and before any of Photon could question Saki, she and Michiru suddenly both jerked the respective controllers of their ships away from the moon. Maybe the rest of their respective units were confused, but not the two DJs. In that one look, they both had a brilliant idea, and they both understood. I love you…!
The end of one song gave way to another, a seamless transition, the birth of a distant star.
Moon river, wider than a mile! I'm crossing you in style someday…!
What need was there for them to fight? When the universe was so big and bright and beautiful! Was there not enough space to go around? Did not the journey become more beautiful when it was a Space Race together rather than against? Why did they have to prove their superiority against one another? Why not some other challenge? An outside adversary? Better yet, why prove "superiority" at all? Yes, they were competitive, but…
Oh, Dream-maker, you heartbreaker!
"Wherever you're goin', I'm goin' your way, hey!" Michiru again took the lead in the vocals, but she was singing an entirely different tune now. The next time she pulled the controls back towards Saki and Photon, both ships had completely passed the moon. They met on the other side, each DJ grinning at the other. There were no winners. There were no losers. Technically, they would never know who reached the moon first because they both actively decided to veer off course and miss the moon completely.
"Two drifters, off to see the world!" Saki agreed, silver eyes shining and glowing again. Blue and green… Just like all of Earth!
And how beautiful and delicate the Earth looked, suspended in a sea of black and white.
"There's such a lot of world to see!" Michiru nodded.
"We're after the same rainbow's end!" Lumina sang, and Saki noticed how her voice was white and gold. Hayate and Kokoa harmonized with her, holding hands.
"Waitin' round the bend!" Michiru veered Unichord's ship around a planet and Saki did the same with Photon's ship, going around the planet's other side. Towa and Noa waved out the window at Hayate, Kokoa, and Lumina on one of the ship's windows.
"My huckleberry friend!" Michiru agreed as she and Saki met at the back of the planet. Ibuki rested a hand on Saki's shoulder, smiling proudly.
The astronauts and cosmonauts sailed on, looping through the galaxy, slowing down only to gaze at the moon as they flew by. All eight pairs of eyes met, Michiru and Saki the first and last to hold one another's gazes.
"Moon River...!"
"And me!"
AN: Bayonetta versions, all I gotta say.
Also, no beta, I wrote and posted this in like an hour, LOL!