Rising Stars! Rise to the Top!

[Harri-chan]

Cherry climbed from the car, sipping her can of soda as she did so, casting nervous glances around to see if anyone was watching them.

[Zilla]

It was difficult for Joanna to stare at the taxi driver due to a new stinging sensation in her eyes. If she could bear the pain enough to keep them open, she would see that her skin was changing too, becoming lighter in tone and blemish free too! Even the skin on her hands was different; before, it was more than a little rough from years of strumming on guitar strings, but now it was dainty and delicate with no traces of scars or calluses.

"Lady, I ain't doin' a thing! I'm just watchin', I swear!" The driver shouted from the front. He certainly was watching...

"Watch the ROAD!" she snaps, holding her eyes shut and rubbing them with her fingers... Her fingertips... They feel so soft against her eyelids. The usual callouses are gone.. instead, they're soft and pliant.

What is going on...??

Joanna knows the contract is riding on this, but... should she call it off try to figure out what was going on?

No, she decides. Aside from her eyes, she hasn't been in pain... and... Well, she couldn't ignore that SOMETHING was happening to her, in a very big way. She just had no idea what.

Joanna sits, resolving to let this pass, and hopefully stop having this strange hallucination.

[Mystic Mina]

((I've been busy, busy, busy... And busy. But now I've finally got time to update this!))

If Cherry expected to walk into the studio without a commotion, she was sadly mistaken. Right when Taylor and the girls walked inside the building, a small crowd of news reporters suddenly swarmed upon them. Their eyes were assaulted by the flashes of cameras, their ears were attacked by rapid fire questions, and their faces were smacked by numerous waving microphones.

"President Eric Taylor, why is Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals now a music recording company?"

"How do you intend to win the Mad Music Melee with rookies that will only receive a week of professional training?"

"What is your response to your competitor's allegations that your company may possibly be cheating to win the Mad Music Melee?"

"Geez... Paparazzi already?" Taylor groaned to himself as he tried to shove the annoying mics away. "Girls, try to ignore them. We've got no time to waste on these guys."

---

Joanna didn't have to wait much longer for her "hallucination" to stop. After a few more minutes of sitting in the taxi helplessly as her body softened itself into something unrecognizable, her weird metamorphosis finally came to an end. And just in time too; she was right outside the studio!

With her now bright red eyes no longer stinging, she could see that she no longer was the hard-edged punk rocker that just stepped into the taxi moments ago. Instead, she looked like a sugar-powered teenage girl who spent more time making lovey-dovey eyes at boy bands than actually playing any music.

"So... Uh, ya' know what, the fare's free." The driver muttered quietly. "Just get goin' quick. I don't wanna catch whateva' ya' have..."

[Harri-chan]

Cherry actually looked as if she was enjoying the attention, in a shy kind of way. She had the soda can against her lips as they walked amongst the reporters, but Taylor could see the little smile on her lips around it. There was an almost mischievous glint in her eyes, that was in stark contrast to the worn out look of her brown eyes the night before, when she'd been a woman of nearly thirty.

Lowering the can from infront of her lips, she smiled brightly at one of the cameras. "Hi, I'm Cherry Blossom. I'm going to be the singer", she introduced herself.

[Maiden Miki]

Makino wasn't sure how to take the attention from the reporters. She wanted to hide a bit but realized that if she already had this attention then might as well use it. Still she didn't want to do it alone. She slowly walks next to Cherry and posed a bit. She tried to look a bit sexy.

"And I am Makino," said Makino as she wrapped an arm around Cherry to look as if she was friends with her. "I am the drummer."

[Hira Kanaki]

"I am Chiaki the groups most awesome bass player!" Chiaki said after going towards the paprazzi in a very energetic way.

[Ookalf]

I'm, uh, keyboarder, the... Jashmine, yeah... *Face flushed, Jasmine tries to look away from all the reporters following her slurred introduction. Drunk or not, she's never really liked crowds.*

[Zilla]

Joanna is shocked at the driver for a moment, but she knows to take advantage of a situation when it presents itself. She exits the car and removes her bags from the trunk, then closes it with a thud... Her guitar case's straps were quite uncomfortable, especially since her bra was already too snug.

Joanna sees a huge crowd of people at the entrance to the studio, and a group making their way inside. She's going to have to follow them, if she wants to get anything done with this stupid competition... Joanna lightly jogs away from the taxi, straining even more than usual with her bags.

"Coming through!" she yelled at the reporters, trying to make her way past the crowd that had gathered to enter the building.

[Mystic Mina]

The news reporters absolutely ate up the girls' performance, and they clamored for more! Taylor, however, would have none of that. If they stayed and answered all of these reporters' questions, they would be stuck here forever!

"I'm sorry, but we have to go and practice! Your questions will have to wait for next time!" After wrapping his arms around the girls to shield them from the flashing cameras, the president led his pop star team further into the building and into a white walled hallway. Along the hallways were doors, each etched with Jasmine's, Chiaki's, Makino's, and Cherry's names. There also seemed to be a door with a blank spot for a name...

"Alright, before we actually start practicing, you girls need to dress up first! We need to make sure the outfits we ordered for you fit after all... And I know what you told me about forming your own identities, Cherry. I promise I'll do something about that later, but for now, we don't have much of a choice."

---

Joanna successfully pushed through the crowd and rushed into the studio. She had to wander around for a while, but she was able to find the group she saw before.

[Harri-chan]

Cherry smiled brightly as Makino and Chiaki put their nerves aside to enjoy the attention. She put her arm around the drummer's waist, and blew kisses to the camera. Hearing Jasmine's slurred voice, she turned to look at her in surprise, "OhmygodJasmine... you're drunk!", she whispered, and after a moment of staring in disbelief, she started to giggle at the keyboard player.

As Taylor guided the group down the hallway, he'd find Chery's arms wrapped around him. "Thanks, Taylor... this is so much fun", she said, before her expression turned slightly suspicious when he mentioned they already had outfits waiting. Any awkward confrontation was averted however as the sound of Joanna yelling reached them. Releasing Taylor from the hug, she leaned around him to see the pretty guitar player arrive through the crowd.

"Hey, you must be our final member", she said as she went over to meet Joanna. She was a fourteen year old girl with long auburn hair to her waist, wearing a pale blue t-shirt with a bunny on the chest, her flat tummy left bare, a pair of small denim shorts, with pink and white sneakers. "I'm Cherry. What's your name?".

[Maiden Miki]

Makino smiled as Cherry had put her arm around her waist. She giggled a bit as she saw Cherry blowing a kiss and she did the same too. The tiny girl was surely making her feel a bit more confident about doing all of this.

Eventually they were being dragged out of the mess of reports which made Makino feel a bit better. Even though it looked like she was having fun the truth was that she was as nervous as a jack rabbit. She was never into crowds and such so doing something as bold like that in her current condition was pretty nerve wreaking.

"Clothes? What kind of clothes for us?" asked Makino kind of unsure if she wanted to know.

Eventually a new member had came and she looked at her. "You are our final member? No offensive but you don't look like anybody who is into music unless it is like a fangirl or such."

[Hira Kanaki]

"So this is the inside of the building, and those seperate rooms." Chiaki said before turning to the new member that popped up. "Oh hello are you supposed to be the new member of our group?" Chiaki said looking at the new person.

[Ookalf]

Cherry smiled brightly as Makino and Chiaki put their nerves aside to enjoy the attention. She put her arm around the drummer's waist, and blew kisses to the camera. Hearing Jasmine's slurred voice, she turned to look at her in surprise, "OhmygodJasmine... you're drunk!", she whispered, and after a moment of staring in disbelief, she started to giggle at the keyboard player.

I'm not drunk, shilly. I'm too young f'r that... *Jasmine waves to Joanna as the latter comes in.* Yo~!

[Mystic Mina]

((Sorry Zilla, but I want to keep things moving.))

"Hate to say it girls, but introductions will have to wait until later. For now, get into your outfits!"

The girls were led into their rooms by Taylor. All four of these rooms were similar in looks: White walls, blue rugged floors, racks in the corner for clothes, a vanity with a nice big mirror... What was on the racks, however, differed for each band member.

For Cherry, it was a ridiculously frilly white dress that was adorned with a countless number of red ribbons, with a little red bow right at the neck. It had nothing to cover the shoulders and the skirt on it was so incredibly poofy that the entire thing looked more like a fancy ballerina outfit. Along with the dress were a pair of bright red bloomers, white stockings, and a pair of also red mary-jane shoes to finish the ensemble.

Makino also saw a dress, though it was completely different from Cherry's. While the other girl's was over the top with its prettiness, her's was much more elegant and simple in design. ((It was the outfit that you saw in the picture I gave you for your transformation. >_>))

Chiaki... Didn't get a dress! Instead, she received something a bit more boyish: A white tank top with a black tie that was embroidered with red, really short red shorts, small white gloves that had silk red flowers attached, and a set of white boots with red laces. Cute, eh?

What Jasper saw was not a dress at all, but something quite a world away from the others'. On the rack was a black one-piece catsuit that had high heeled boots built right into it. Dark red stripes ran along the chest, the arms, and the legs. From the looks of it, the outfit was going to be an extra tight fit for Jasper... But at least it didn't have a skirt, right?

[Ookalf]

What Jasper saw was not a dress at all, but something quite a world away from the others'. On the rack was a black one-piece catsuit that had high heeled boots built right into it. Dark red stripes ran along the chest, the arms, and the legs. From the looks of it, the outfit was going to be an extra tight fit for Jasper... But at least it didn't have a skirt, right?

Funky outfit... *Jasper takes off her current clothes and changes into the catsuit. That done, she stumbles out of the changing room, her drunken status really not helping her lack of experience with heels.*