Dance of the Battle

     The monster’s footing showed it was adept at fighting in the swampy environment, compared to the stumbling quartet of heroes. If one didn’t know any better they could assume the group was practising some sort of intricate dance routine. Rohane grinned as this thought came to him. “That’s what we need!” he told the others. “This monster is nothing my Bladedancer ability can’t handle!”

     “Yes, great idea!” Talinia shouted, joy spreading across her face. “I’ll join in with my Battle Dance ability!”

     “Umm, you two, are you sure that’s such a great idea?” Mipsy frowned. “If you recall correctly, when we tried using similar abilities at exactly the same time in the Lost Desert, it kinda caused the program to… glitch a little?” But it was too late, they hadn’t been listening. Rohane and Talinia were busy prancing around the swamp, channelling the power of their abilities into their weapons. Sure enough, the world around them began to fuzz, as strings of letters and numbers formed in the air. The program’s coding was beginning to malfunction.

     Mipsy frantically called out, but the two weren’t listening. In the corner of her eye, Mipsy could see a Malevolent Fungus sitting on a tree trunk. The creature grinned evilly, as it wriggled its body backwards and forwards, like a dancing cobrall. It was making the program glitch even more.

     “We have to do something!” Velm declared, stepping forward. However, his foot collided with a particularly slimy piece of ground beneath, and he swerved forward straight into Mipsy. To avoid losing his balance and falling to the ground, he grabbed the Acara’s arms, and the pair began spinning as if on an ice rink. Their motions resembled a ballroom dance.

     This, it appeared, was what finally sent the program over the edge, as the woods around them turned white…

     Mipsy opened her eyes. She was lying next to Rohane, Talinia, and Velm. On the other side of the room was the Slime Titan. Alarmed, she realised they were no longer in the Haunted Woods.

     The room around them shone beneath the beams of a hundred brightly-coloured lights. A disco ball sat idle above their heads. It seemed that all of the simultaneous dance moves had confuzzled the simulation into thinking they were having a dance-off with the monsters. And now, it appeared, they might have to finish what was unintentionally started…

     In the corner of the room was a large black screen. Mispy read on it, written in white text: HEROES - 00. MONSTERS - 00. It appeared to be a scoreboard. Considering their current environment, Mipsy knew exactly what this meant.

     “We have to… dance?” Rohane muttered, rubbing his eye. The others had now gotten to their feet as well. They took another look at the room. There was no doubt that they were in a disco simulation. The four stood on individual white squares, and on the other side of the room on identical squares stood their enemies. There was the Slime Titan from the woods, that awful Malevolent Fungus that had contributed to their current predicament, and two enemies whose presence shocked the heroes. Anubits glared at them, and standing next to him was Ramtor.

     “I thought we already defeated those guys?” Velm muttered.

     “Indeed we did,” Rohane replied. “But I guess in this place it doesn’t really need to make sense. We’re going to have to defeat them again, albeit in a slightly different way…”

     Talinia grinned confidently. “Let’s hope for their sake they dance better than they fight!”

     The disco ball began to spin, sending countless multicoloured lights fluttering around the room. Music began to play. Rohane recognised it as a song by M*YNCI. The Menacing Fungus began to roll its body backwards and forwards again, the Slime Titan began stomping its feet rhythmically. Aubits and Ramtor both began to spin their respective staffs in a circular motion, going with the beat of the music. The heroes stood still, mouths agape at the preposterous sight before their eyes.

     There was a ding from the scoreboard. Their enemies' scores had gone up to ten, while theirs remained at zero.

     Suddenly the same thought seemed to occur to all four of the heroes at the same time - what would happen if they were to lose? “Come on guys, let’s give them a show!” Rohane shouted, preferring not to find out the answer to their question. He began running through the motions of his Bladedancer ability. Talinia followed his lead with her Battle Dance. Mipsy, eyes wide and still not entirely sure what to make of their situation, began waving her wand through the air, trying to stay in-sync with the music. She wasn’t a dance enthusiast, and it showed here. Velm, on the other hand, seemed right at home, waving his staff through the air in such a theatrical way that Ramtor and Anubits could only stare at in awe.

     Sure enough, the efforts of the heroes had brought their score up to fifteen. But in the meantime their enemies had jumped to twenty… then, without warning, the sound of M*YNCI was gone and the intense drum beats of Blue Kacheek group shook the floor beneath their feet.

     Talina continued her Battle Dance, which increased to level 2 and got more intense. Suddenly they were having a drum and bass dance off! Mipsy’s Quick Feet began stomping to the beat while Rohane could feel the Combat Fury taking over. Mipsy wasn’t quite sure what her feet were doing, but it seemed to be working. Each time her foot kicked out to the side another point was added to the scoreboard. She seemed to have found her match in Anubits however, who had cast a Rampant Acceleration, sending his own feet into a flurry to match that of Mipsy’s.

     Velm carried on waving his staff, enthralling the Slime Titan; the effect of his staff was so mesmerising that the Titan was stunned into immobility. Without the constant motions of the Titan, the opponent’s score had stopped increasing at such a brisk pace. But it was still increasing… Meanwhile Rohane’s Combat Fury had turned into a full-on Combat Dance. His arms flailed wildly and he sent the Malevolent Fungus flying!

     Mipsy snuck a glance at the scoreboard. They were at forty points whilst their opponents were still ahead at fifty. Something spectacular would have to be done in order to catch up... Before they could think of their next move the music changed; this time it was Jazzmosis!

     Talinia began to use her Day Walk to move smoother than she ever had before. She stepped from side to side, forward and backwards, then from side to side again all the while looking like her feet never left the ground. Not even the moonwalking Grundos on Kreludor could glide like this in their low levels of gravity. Using his Flawless Balance, Rohane spun in a slow circle, his knees flopping forwards and backwards while his left foot popped up and down.

     Ramtor used Entice to bait Mipsy into moving, thinking that her poor dance skills would make her an easy match. However, Mipsy’s Nimble Movements allowed her to snap with such rhythm that even Ramtor thought she could join the band. Impressing the opponent scored her a cool 20 points. Mipsy glanced over at the scoreboard. Their points were sitting at sixty now, but their opponents had jumped up to seventy. She wondered how, despite their rigorous efforts, their foes were able to stay ahead. It then struck her. The simulation had been set to Insane Mode, which meant the dance-off must be as well! This made their situation all the more desperate, for if one lost on Insane Mode… Well, it didn’t bear thinking about. Their only option was to win.

     With that thought...or lack thereof, the song faded out and from unseen speakers came the blaring sound of Wock Til You Drop. Anubits’ Rampant Acceleration continued to score points as he drummed his staff on a chain of code like he was carving glyphs. Mipsy countered with her Chaotic Speed, tapping her wand faster and faster until Anubits could no longer keep up. Talinia excitedly increased her Battle Dance to level 3. With her ability at Rock Steady level she turned her bow into a makeshift guitar. Using Rapid Movements and arrowheads as picks, Talinia dealt a finishing blow to the stunned Slime Titan.

     Their points began to soar, reaching eighty while their opponents remained on seventy-five. The heroes finally managed to take the lead on the scoreboard, and for a moment they breathed a sigh of relief. While Rohane was staring at the numbers, the music abruptly changed again. This time it was a tune from the Neopian Philharmonic! A serene atmosphere filled the room, completely different to the previous intensity. Of the heroes’ opponents only Ramtor and Anubits remained.

     The tranquil music awoke something within Rohane, and his Transcendent Grace kicked in. He cast a look at Talinia, and with an Assured Stride he walked over to ask her for a dance. Using step-patterns, the two moved rhythmically. Talinia’s Flowing Steps carried her and she followed effortlessly as Rohane rotated them in a counter-clockwise direction, moving around the entire floor.

     Alarm suddenly lit up Rohane’s face. Just as he and Talinia had been dancing together, the same idea had clearly dawned in their enemies’ minds as well. Ramtor and Anubits, hand in hand, other hand on shoulder, were doing a waltz together, with just as much spirit and vigour, if not more. Anubits’ swung Ramtor around, catching him in his arms. Ramtor saw Rohane’s gaze, and grinned evilly at him. They were intent on winning this dance-off, and were giving it their all.

     Flustered, Rohane glared at the scoreboard. Their opponent’s efforts had boosted them up to ninety-five points, while theirs was at ninety! Something breathtaking would have to be done to ensure their victory now.

     Seeing Talinia use her bow as a guitar earlier gave Velm an idea! He reminded Mipsy of their Battle Voices, and suggested they bring their own sound into this performance by singing a duet. Grinning, he said “You may not be the best dancer in Neopia, Mipsy, but you sure do have a big mouth! Time to put it to good use.” Mipsy knew what to do, and began belting out a loud operatic composition. She was surprised to see small numbers phasing in and out at the center of the dance floor.

     Velm joined in; their voices came together in such harmony that it caused Rohane and Talinia to glow. Things once again began to fuzz with the constant movement on the dance floor. Velm and Mipsy’s performance was dazzling, and their opponents couldn’t help but stop to see where such a sound was coming from. Both Anubits and Ramtor were too beguiled to continue their dance, for when they looked over the dance floor was changing!

     Strings of letters and numbers formed in the air around Rohane and Talinia. The fluidity of their movement transitioning them from one place to the next in a fixed pattern was causing minor glitches to appear, but their efforts had done it. Their score was now one hundred, while their opponents were still at ninety-five. The score of the heroes began flashing golden hues, and now the music had turned into a theme of victory. Their opponents sulked in disappointment. Suddenly a blinding light began to fill the room...

     The four opened their eyes again. The smell told them before their sight did that they were now back in the Haunted Woods, surrounded by swampland. Both the Slime Titan and the Malevolent Fungus lay at their feet, defeated. They wondered what became of Ramtor and Anubits, but their absence wasn’t exactly missed by the heroes. They did have to give the pair credit though, they sure could pull off a few good dance moves!

     “Umm, so, did that really just happen?” Talinia asked, rubbing her head.

     “I thought I might have just dreamed it,” Velm muttered.

     “Nope, it definitely happened,” Rohane declared, picking up his sword from the ground. “Some battle that was!”

     “I think,” Mipsy said slowly, “we should all agree not to use similar techniques at exactly the same time ever again. The program clearly can’t handle it…” The other three nodded in agreement.

     The heroes continued on their way through the swamp. It was as if the dance-off had never happened, and the heroes probably wanted to keep it that way. However, though none of them would admit it, it had been a rather enjoyable and pleasant experience.

     The End.