Musical practice!
The search team is investigating. Macroich and MC are leading.
Mobs (hey we have extras with us actually): We gots the strongest people with us~♪
Macroich: Tell everybody we're on our way~♪ That soon we're gonna save the day~♪
Mobs: We gots the strongest people with us~♪
Macroich: With our guts and our youth, who could ask for more~?♪ And a little smile to see us through~♪
fwoosh
MC: Something's there!
The mobs rock up! But nothing shows itself...
Macroich: ...look out, something's in the sky!
Oh no! Wyverns swoop and fly off with some of the mobs!
Macroich: Watch your backs! MC, over here! We're gonna cut our way out of this mess!
MC: Roger! / But we already lost people! / Dammit!
Macroich: Fergus Smash!
Macroich and MC calm the remaining soldiers down! But the wyverns dinosaurs are smart enough to regroup and gang up on Macroich!
MC: Oh no! MC Cover!
Macroich: No, they'll go after you too!
MC gets shanked by a dino claw because they took their eyes off the wyverns dinosaur in front of them...
MC: OOF. Naptime...
The wyverns dinosaur carries MC away!
Macroich: Noooo!
Macroich tries to save MC but fails...
Search Team Spaceship or whatever
Hecate: I sense something happened with MC. Hmm, I must be imagining it. They're with Macroich, it should be all good.
Leib: What's wrong, Hecate? You seem jittery.
Hecate: I'm worried. I really should have gone with them earlier, but I can still--
Boogeyman (offscreen): No need, you all know how strong those two are.
Boogeyman walks up. Hecate and Leib salute.
Boogeyman: It's just us, you can stop already.
Leib: In that case, I'll say straight out that you shouldn't underestimate the unknown wildlife. Danger scale's pretty different down here, but those two should be able to pull through okay.
Hecate: Oh no! Death flags everywhere! (looks outside the window)
Hecate: ...I hope they're all okay.
Cut!
Hecate: AAAAAA I CAN'T KEEP GOING
Cipactli: Again? I said we're supposed to make a full run of the rehearsal today. You can't keep having a breakdown after every line.
Macroich: She's getting better! She'll get used to it soon.
Cipactli: MC, you did good. The way you switch expressions on a dime makes you look like a different person! Like Christine!
MC: Tee hee, thanks. Maybe I should try going pro.
Cipactli: Maybe you should. Want to think about working on stage with me forever?
Hecate: HMMMM. Cipactli seems oddly sweet on MC.
Cipactli: No, you all are doing very well for first timers. The backstage crew could do this professionally too. The dinosaur golems are great.
Vapula: D'aww, thanks! I'm happy to have a stage to show off how much I've vaprogressed!
Cipactli: The backdrop looks just like El Dorado! You two are amazing, Itzamna and Turing.
Yep, things are going good for a crew that started off with a bunch of people having never done this before.
Leanan Sidhe: You can do it, Hecate! Try practicing these lines I picked out you'd specifically freak out over.
Hecate: STOOOOP!
Cipactli: Haha, shall I help too?
Hecate: No thanks, I'll never ask you for help! ...oh no, that's another flag!
MC: Wow, things are going great. It's more fun than I thought.
Suddenly someone sticks something cold onto MC!
MC: AHH! WHOMST
Leib: Tee hee, nice. Brought you a cold drink, kouhai. Keep hydrated, don't get heat stroke.
Welp, it's break time for some while others decide to keep working. Macroich is going down to the beach to play around with some of the Creators.
Christine: Imix, Hecate is a beginner. You should teach her more gently, like a phantom.
Cipactli: Feh, no mercy. I support going by the law of natural selection.
Christine: Oh my. Hecate, I will guide your hands and feet from behind then.
Hecate: OH NO BOTH SOUND LIKE THEY SUCK
MC: Yeah, Christine sounds like a micromanager. What should I do?
Leib: Damn, Hecate's really into practicing. It's cool if you work hard too, but be sure to take a break sometime. In fact, why not lie down in that shade?
MC: How about we nap together? / Can I cuddle up? / Wait, someone's there
---
(AB) Leib: Sure. Let me show you the ways of slacking off.
---
Leib: ...wait, someone's there already? Slack off buddies.
It's Boogeyman, and he looks up from his phone or whatever.
Boogeyman: I'm on break, not slacking off, okay...?
Leib: Oh, you could hear me? And slacking off is awesome. And it's even better when someone else is working hard.
MC: You're on break? / I didn't know we get a signal down here / ARE YOU DATING SOMEONE!?
(AB) Boogeyman: My students were calling, so I picked up.
(C) Boogeyman: N-No! I just got a call from my students!
Leib: Wow, your students must like you to call you on vacation. My labmates run when they see me.
Boogeyman: Haha, well they weren't afraid of me to begin with, but I'm still glad. I showed them a picture of this place when they asked what I was doing, then they complained about being left out.
Leib: Heh, it does look like a resort here. Hey MC, how about we send pics to Alp and the others too? Swimsuit pics and stuff.
MC: He's gonna be so jealous / You are so bad~ / Uh, we're here to work
Leib: They've been worrying about you since we can't talk about the musical, so this should make them chill. But then again if we just send pics, they'll think we're playing around and try to come along. Wanna ask the Entertainers if that's okay? You can go ask Imix.
Leib gets up. Seems he really is going to take pics on the beach.
Boogeyman: ...hmm. Maybe I'll come too and ask Imix for acting tips.
Leib: Damn, can no one chill around here? I'm totally taking a nap after pics.
Boogeyman: I need to get used to going on stage rather than trying to stop myself.
MC: Huh, surprising. You don't have any problems going wild when telling kids off, and isn't that acting?
Boogeyman: Macroich also told me that whenever I'm doing that I put a bag on my head. Hiding my identity makes me feel braver, like I'm someone else. And I kinda am someone else then, and it'd be nice if I can work together better. Maybe children won't be as scared of me if I do my usual thing without the bag.
Boogeyman realizes he's lowered his voice and smiles like a freak.
Boogeyman: Okay bye. See you at practice later, whooo~
Leib: ...let's get going then, MC.
Later
Leib and MC go to the beach for pics of Leib.
Leib: Heh, I can imagine how they'll look already when they see this.
There's allegedly pics of MC too that they send in. Not even five seconds later...
Leib: Wow they're calling already? That was fast. How about you answer?
Leib hands his phone over without waiting for an answer.
Alp: WAAAAAAH
Eardrums shaking.
Alp: MC you told me you were going for work but it looks like you're playing around!
MC: u mad / Not telling you where I am! / I'm on break now
Alp: Waaah! I wanna play with you too!
Leib: I guess we could ask the owner if you guys could come?
Alp: Promise? I hope you use your pay for a resort vacation for all us Ueno members!
Look, the other Ueno members are coming over to talk.
Cu Sith: MC? I saw the pictures! You look like you're having fun!
Fenrir: SINNERS! Hell is too good for the likes of you two, gallivanting in the pleasure gardens alone!
Pazuzu: Hmm, I sense that you're hiding something. You met a big cute lizard, didn't you? I can tell!
MC: Tee hee, secret / Damn he's sharp / Oh no the signal is breaking up oh nooo
Pazuzu: Hey, isn't everyone interested in finding out if the sewer gator rumor is true?
Hastur: That's just you. If such a thing were real, it would have eaten these puny fools already.
Yuma: ...I'm glad you two seem okay since you wouldn't tell us what you were doing.
Leib: Sorry about that, Yuma. Client's orders.
Jambavan: MC-senpai, is Leib-senpai working you to the bone?
MC: He's super dependable / He's actually working like oh my god / Yes...
---
(AB) Leib elbows MC and coughs.
---
The Ueno members ask if they can come too.
Leib: Okay gotta go now, bye guys.
Alp: Don't forget to ask if we can come!
Leib: Yeah yeah, no promises. We're on break now too.
Everyone says bye and hangs up.
Leib: Welp, good luck fielding questions tonight. I'mma head back and lie down, tell Cipactli for me.
And so MC heads off to find Cipactli and Boogeyman.
Later
Boogeyman: Wasn't Imix around here...?
Look, there he is.
Cipactli: Hm? What is it?
Boogeyman: Would you help me practice acting?
Cipactli: Okay, but I think you'll be fine. You just aren't used to acting without a mask on.
Boogeyman thinks it's weird that Cipactli doesn't seem interested and tries again with his script out.
Boogeyman: Um, teach me your tricks?
Cipactli: Just get used to it. I don't have any specific advice for you.
Boogeyman: But you gave so much to Hecate!
Cipactli: Because it was natural that I teach her. I've nothing to teach you.
Boogeyman: Pleeeease?
Cipactli: You aren't an amateur. You know how this works.
Boogeyman: Pretty please with a cherry on top? I've been a fan since your debut!
Cipactli: Wow that's a long time. Then you should already be aware that as a current non-pro I can't teach you anything.
Boogeyman: ...so something happened?
...
Boogeyman: I can tell something changed. It didn't get worse, but you seem like someone else now. Like being on stage hurts--
Cipactli: SHUT UP
People start coming over to see what's up. Cipactli whispers to Boogeyman.
Cipactli: There's nothing for me to say to someone with the courage to go on stage without a mask. Unfortunately for you...I can't act like I did back then.
Boogeyman sees Cipactli in his earlier days uncomfortable on stage in him right now and stops talking...
Flashback!
This is when Cipactli first started going by Imix. It wasn't that long after he came to Tokyo.
Christine: You fear being known as a kaiju. It's okay, you can be like that on stage. We can even give you a new mask and role if you want. No wait, you probably won't need that since no one's ever seen your face. You are a great kaiju who can reach the clouds just by standing, someone as big as nature itself. Which is why I'm here to recruit you! Want to join the Entertainers? That way you can be someone who isn't the world threatening beast Cipactli.
Cipactli (narrating): I could be up front as Imix. Those days were fun like a dream, but they didn't last long.
Present
Boogeyman: ...so something did happen.
Cipactli closes his eyes and seems to be trying to remember something.
Boogeyman: When I first saw you, you were playing as a fearsome kaiju. You weren't just scaring people, you were having fun for some other reason. It was a shock to me given that scaring people was my thing.
Cipactli: Huh. Life must've been hard for you too.
Boogeyman: Haha, well it was also me being myself.
Boogeyman puts on his bag mask and activates his artifact, taking Cipactli into his Reality Marble.
Cipactli: ...huh. I'm impressed you could take all of me.
Boogeyman: I figured you didn't want anyone else to hear.
Cipactli: Thanks for your consideration, but I don't have anything else to say.
Boogeyman: It's cool. As a fan I'd like to talk to my favorite star some more.
Cipactli: Indulging fans is good and all, but kidnapping is kind of crossing a line. (sighs and looks around)
Cipactli: I'm reminded of a musical about fairy kings arguing over which kidnapped children belonged to whom. You look like you could give the God of a Thousand Forms a run for his money!
Boogeyman: I think there's a fairy tale like that in Tir na Nog. Maybe it's the original story. Lots of stories about super mean fairies get whitewashed and prettied up.
Cipactli: Aren't Leib and Hecate from there too? They don't seem to be the super mean type.
Boogeyman: Everyone changes like changelings when going to another world. If nothing else, everyone in Tir na Nog was afraid of fairies. I'd never have believed I'd be a teacher for little children if you told me back then, hehe.
Cipactli seems sympathetic.
Boogeyman: Tokyo is so weird and surprising. Horror attractions and movies make horror into entertainment, and I have a bond with children I'd never have dreamed of back in my home world. Now I believe my power might be able to do something besides traumatize people someday.
Ghosts pop up behind Cipactli! Boogeyman laughs and says they're part of his cast in a haunted house thingy as he takes the bag off.
Boogeyman: Maybe the musical show will help me think of something. I have to thank MC for inviting me on board...
Cipactli: ...right, you and Hecate are half forcing yourselves. I hope you find some meaning in this.
Boogeyman: Christine would say the stage is the art of possibilities, but I think of Tokyo as a stage too. I know you're afraid of something, but I think you're okay.
Cipactli frowns.
Boogeyman: Hehe, that's all I wanted to say. Thanks for what you made me feel before, and I hope you get to see the passion you've forgotten.
Cipactli: I bet people tell you that you nag for forever. Don't be like your students.
Boogeyman: Too late.
Boogeyman laughs. Cipactli laughs back, amazed.
End of Episode Part
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