*Rainbow's POV (still)*

Ugh… My head…

A voice spoke "…up… Wake up, Rainbow Dash!"

I looked up, seeing Spottedleaf as I got onto my hooves with Seiko getting up, only to find ourselves in some kind an anthro form wearing complete versions of our outfits.

Seiko groans "Nngh…"

Karei spoke "Oh, you’re up! Thank goodness…

Seiko asks "Sorry about that… Where are we?"

Sunao spoke "Most likely the “other world” that those who see the video are taken to, wherever that may be. It seems the rumor was true…"

OC-verse Danyelle was in her Mobini form for some reason.

Karei asks "Wherever it is, it’s too dark to see anything. What should we do, Senpais?"

OC-Verse Danyelle spoke "Hmm… Maybe-"

The eerie voice laughs "Hahaha…"

“You again?!” I growled.

Sunao spoke "It’s that voice…"

The eerie voice spoke "Welcome, Karei Shinai, to our Midnight Stage."

“……! Midnight Stage…!?” Seiko, AJ and I gasped.

The eerie voice spoke "That’s right… an ideal world where no one hurts or gets hurt. I only intended to invite Karei-san here… but oh well. I prepared a stage for you all. Here… take a look."

The lights flashed on, as we found ourselves on a stage that had a title reading “Shinai Karei”.

Sunao gasps.

Twirama snarls "I have a REALLY bad feeling about this!"

Karei asks "Just who the heck are you!? Not only did you drag us here, you put this thing together…! What are you trying to accomplish!?"

The eerie voice spoke "Hahaha, never mind that. I just want to connect with all of you. Look… See how many have been waiting for your comeback."

All of a sudden, shadows filled the empty audience stands, but they had yellow ribbons.

Seiko asks "Are these… Shadows!?"

The eerie voice spoke "Come now… won’t you sing? Dance for them. It’ll make everyone happy."

The shadows have eerie cheers while swaying their bodies. It’s like they’re just watching us! The yellow ribbons are connected to them, writing as if the ribbon themselves were alive. If a fight starts, this won’t be an easy battle.

Karei spoke "I-I’ve had enough of this…! You kidnap us to who-knows-where, and now you want us to dance for these Shadows!? To hell with that! Send us back home, NOW!"

Sunao spoke "What the…? The Shadows…"

The Shadows suddenly stopped, leaving a silent stillness in the place as an eerie song started playing with it getting louder and louder.

The eerie voice spoke "Send you back…? No… you’re all going to dance. That’s what everyone’s here for, after all."

The Shadows started moving to the song, like they were dancing before all of us suddenly felt extremely weak, finding it hard to just stay standing.

Karei spoke "What is this…? I feel… weak…!"

The eerie voice asks "Haha… Isn’t this wonderful? This song is my gift to everyone. Don’t you feel it…? How they all desire to connect with you…?"

Applejack asks "Yer sayin’ that we’re like this ‘cause of that song and the Shadows’ dancin’?!"

Seiko spoke "Exactly, that’s what’s going on…!"

Sunao spoke "Ngh…! Seiko-senpai! Rainbow-hime! Spottedleaf-hime! Applejack-hime!"

Seiko spoke "Right…!"

Applejack spoke "Ah hear ya…!"

Spottedleaf spoke "Let’s go…!"

“You got it…!” I nodded as the five of us readied ourselves with Sunao drawing her firearm as the four of us called out our Personas.

Sunao asks "Ready?"

“Persona…!” Seiko, Applejack, Spot and I shouted as we summoned our Personas with Sunao summoning hers before they attacked, only for them to suddenly vanish with Sunao’s projectile.

Seiko spoke "What!? Ngh…!"

“You gotta be… kidding me…!” I growled.

Sunao asks "M-My bullets disappeared, and the others’ Personas, too…!?"

The eerie voice spoke "Haha…"

Spottedleaf asks "Did you do this…?!"

The eerie voice laughs "Hahaha, don’t accuse me of something I didn’t do. I told you earlier… No one gets hurt here."

This is insane… All of our attacks were gone with the wind before they could even get to the Shadows. Like that weirdo voice said, any act of violence just disappears!

A solar flame hits some of the shadows, making them vanish.

OC-verse Danyelle spoke "To hell with that! You obviously don't know who you're dealing with! Eat FIRE NEKO ROAR!"

More flames hit the shadows, causing them to all vanish.

Deep Lilac growls "That won't work you furbrain!"

But all of the shadows immediately reappeared, undamaged at all and completely unaffected.

OC-Verse Danyelle gasps "WHAT?!"

The eerie voice spoke "Hahaha… I do know who I am dealing with. And didn’t you hear me? No one hurts or gets hurt on the Midnight Stage."

Karei asks "Nngh…! What do you… want from us!?"

The eerie voice asks "Hahaha, nothing, really. We’re just asking you to accept us. Come on… let’s connect with these eternal bonds. *Chuckles with ribbons sparking* Won’t you be good children? It’s alright… Don’t be frightened. Let’s dance together. Won’t you join us, Karei Shinai…?"

Gah! My head’s pounding like a drum!

Seiko spoke "Ngh… My mind…"

Sunao spoke "…Careful! *Catches Karei* This is bad…!"

Karei spoke "N-No… I can’t… Ngh…"

Karei fell to her knee while holding her headphones with a small mirror safely falling out of a pocket.

Sunao spoke "Karei-san!"

But then different music started playing from the headphones, causing the Shadows to stifle and move weirdly.

Karei spoke "*Reaches out to mirror* I can’t lose…!"

But then the Shadows started dancing differently as we suddenly felt stronger.

Sunao asks "What the…?"

Seiko asks "I can move again? But how…?"

Spottedleaf asks "Does this mean…?"

Sunao and Spottedleaf spoke "We need to move!"

Sunao spoke "The Shadows are being affected by our music and movement!"

Spottedleaf spoke "We gotta fight fire with fire on this one."

Sunao spoke "It’s just as Spot and I thought… That eerie song we’re hearing is forcing the Shadows to dance! If we can interrupt that song and the Shadows’ dance, we might get through this…!"

Sunao asks "But… how…?"

Spottedleaf spoke "Honestly, we have no idea…"

Sunao spoke "But one idea comes to mind. If we can force them into a different song and dance like before, then maybe…!"

The eerie voice spoke "What chatty children…!"

Ribbons sudden lunged and wrapped around Sunao, Spottedleaf and OC-Verse Danyelle’s legs.

Sunao spoke "No…!"

Spottedleaf asks "What the?!

OC-verse Danyelle asks "Why didn’t I see that coming!?"

Karei spoke "Sunao-kun! Spot-hime! Other Danyelle!"

Seiko, AJ and I gasped and growled at that.

The eerie voice spoke "You’re connected with us… *With ribbons sparking* Now you can become the you everyone wants you to be."

Sunao spoke "Everyone, please! Stop their… their dance…"

Sunao, Spottedleaf and OC-verse Danyelle suddenly fell unconscious.

Seiko spoke "Sunao!"

“Spottedleaf!” I called out.

Twirama spoke "Danyelle!"

Karei asks "We just have to get throws Shadows moving to our music, right…? *Gets up*"

Seiko spoke "Karei…!"

Karei spoke "Senpais, if that stuff Sunao-kun and Spottedleaf-hime were saying is true, then there is something we can do to help them and the other Danyelle… right now."

Seiko asks "Huh…!?"

Karei spoke "I’ll try and use my Persona. Maybe I can deliver our music to those Shadows at full blast. The way they reacted to my music earlier. I think I might be able to affect them a little bit. But… I don’t think that’ll be enough. That’s why… I need you and the others’ help too, Senpai! If music and movements affects them, then we should be able to pull them into our rhythm, right? Don’t worry, just show off your cool dance. I know you, Rainbow Dash and Applejack can do it, Senpai!"

The three of us nodded, ready to get down.

Seiko spoke "We can do this."

“Let’s boogie.” I smiled.

“Time for this hoedown to start, Dash!” Applejack smiled as the music began with Adagio and Twirama helping voice the vocals.

Seiko and I started dancing, getting the Shadows’ attention. It wasn’t long until they started getting riled up, cheering for us. And then… Fever Time! Applejack joined in as the two of us danced together like rivals and friends.

Applejack spoke "Don’t leave me outta the fun yet, Dash!"

“Heh, I wouldn’t dream of that, Jack!” I smirked.

Karei spoke "You’re all doing great! I can feel what’s in your hearts!"

The crowd of Shadows were now going crazy as Fever Time ended with AJ backing off for now.

Applejack spoke "Hoowee! That was fun! Let’s do it again sometime."

“You bet, AJ!” I smiled as Seiko and I kept dancing. We were past halfway through the song as it was soon Fever Time again with AJ coming back.

Applejack spoke "Time ta wrap up this performance, Rainbow Dash!"

“Yeah, let’s really wow the crowd, Applejack!” I agreed as we kept dancing great.

Karei spoke "You’re all doing great!"

Seiko spoke "It’s working, the Shadows are going for it!"

We were soon reaching the end of our performance.

Seiko spoke "Persona’s the power of the heart, depending on your heart’s true nature, it changes form. Not just for hurting, and not just for fighting. Right now, we know we can show you how we really feel. We will never stop changing!"

We then finished our dance.

Seiko spoke "Answer my call… Izanagi!"

“Let’s blow ‘em away… Jing Wei!” I called out.

Applejack spoke "Let’s do it, Terra!"

The three of us summoned our Personas as they appeared before Izanagi and Terra gained bass guitars as Jing Wei gained an electric one and played them like pros, making the Shadows glow brightly.

"That was king crazy! Awesome doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel!” I whooped.

Seiko spoke "Alright, that was perfect! That was our best dance! I wish we could always do that."

Applejack spoke "Now that was a performance to remember, Dash!"

“I think I leveled up!” I smiled before the three of us breathed heavily, definitely working up a bit of a sweat with the adrenaline gone. Looks like dance and music is our weapon in this world.

Karei spoke "Good job, Senpais! That was a fantastic performance! Actually, what were those Personas just now!? There was something different about them…"

Seiko spoke "We’re not sure. But when we thought we wanted to convey our feelings to those Shadows… Our Personas responded from within me."

“That sounds right to me.” I nodded.

Applejack spoke "That’s what Ah felt like too."

Karei spoke "Ooooh! Way to go, Senpai! And that’s why you’re our leader! Only you can pull off something that amazing!"

Seiko spoke "Haha, come on."

Applejack and I snickered, knowing about why Karei said that before Sunao, Spottedleaf and OC-Verse Danyelle regained consciousness.

Sunao groans "Nnh… I…"

Karei spoke "Sunao-kun, Spot-hime, Other Danyelle, we did it! Senpai, Rainbow Dash and Applejack gave ‘em a super sweet show!"

OC-verse Danyelle spoke "Yeah, it really blew me away."

Spottedleaf spoke "It was beyond awesome, it was… beyawsome."

Sunao spoke "We sensed it as well. That’s what allowed us to return to our right mind…"

Karei spoke "You sensed it…? But you three got caught by those ribbony things and…"

Sunao spoke "Yes… because of that, we learned something about those Shadows."

“Really?” Seiko, AJ and I asked.

Seiko asks "What did you find out?"

Sunao spoke "When caught in that ribbon, it’s as if you’re forced to be the “you” that others desire, rather than how you perceive yourself… You’re made to believe you want to be tied to the other Shadows with that ribbon, even if it means discarding who you truly are. The most dreadful thing is that I, Spottedleaf and Danyelle ourselves felt sure that is what we needed to do…"

Karei spoke "That’s crazy! You’re no one else but you, Sunao-kun."

OC-verse Danyelle started to sing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXanXGVWjJ0 as the others danced along to the beat.

Twirama laughs "Let's boogie!!!"

*After the second song and dance was done...*

Sunao spoke "Well, in hindsight, I can see how bizarre the assumption was. So my theory is that the ribbon has the power to induce those beliefs."

Seiko spoke "Yeah, I sensed it too. While we were dancing, I felt like none of us could let our guard down at all... that the Shadows would take us if we did. That song and the Shadows' dance probably have a similar power. So what we did was concentrate on getting our message across as we danced."

"You bet, Seiko." I smiled.

Applejack spoke "*Nod* Darn tootin'."

Karei asks "You said something like that earlier, too... What did you guys want to tell them?"

Seiko spoke "We only did what you said, Karei. Dancing is about "expressing yourself and your feelings to the beings watching you," right? So we danced to show the Shadows who we are, not what they wanted to see."

Sunao asks "Ha... And as a result, Spottedleaf, Danyelle and I remembered who we are. It's ironic that the key to this confrontation was the "true self" I once tried so hard to deny. One shouldn't abandon one's self just because they've been connected to others... I feel that those Shadows were released from that ribbon's binding because they sensed that as well. Um, Karei-san... you didn't get that sense from watching the others dance?"

Kare spoke "O-Of course I did! I could tell their dancing was different from usual! I just couldn't put it into words 'cause of all that Persona stuff that happened!"

Seiko spoke "Haha, yeah... I'm sure you got the message loud and clear, Karei."

But when we looked at the cheering Shadows, their glow shined brighter and brighter as they began to dissolve, like they were melting into light. Even though we were in a tough spot, all of us here couldn't help but be awestruck at the beautiful sight.

Karei spoke "Wow... It's beautiful."

Soon, every single Shadow vanished into light.

Karei spoke "The Shadows' presence is fading... What's going on? It's like they're returning somewhere."

Sunao asks "Returning...? To where?"

Karei spoke "I don't know, but that's the feeling I get. With that weird ribbony thing gone, it seems they all disappeared from this world. Maybe they realized something wasn't right, like you, Spottedleaf and Other Danyelle did, Sunao-kun."

Seiko spoke "*Smile* Yeah, let's hope so."

Twirama chuckles "This is nothing compared to the one time my universe's Danyelle had caused a cake to explode."

OC-verse Danyelle asks "Can we NOT bring that up?"

Deep Lilac spoke "Now I'm interested."

Sunao spoke "Still... what could those Shadows have been? They didn't seem quite like the Shadows we knew..."

Adagio spoke "Sunao's got a good point there."

Spottedleaf spoke "Well, we still need to find a way out of-"

But then the atmosphere changed again.

The eerie voice asks "You don't like the stage? After all the trouble I went through to prepare it...?"

Karei spoke "You again...! I've had enough of this! Is your idea of "eternal bonds" tying up the Shadows with that thing!? You've got one twisted mind!"

Sunao spoke "That's right! If this is the "connection" you speak of, then it's too much one-sided!"

The eerie voice chuckles "Ahahahaha!"

OC-verse Danyelle growls "Why're you laughing!?"

The eerie voice spoke "It's okay... If that's what you think, then I certainly won't force you to stay here. But don't get so cocky just because you sent those back... Our bonds are eternal... There are countless others to forge them with."

Sunao asks "You...! Are you going to bring someone else in here!?"

The eerie voice spoke "Hahaha.... Sorry, but you've already stepped off the stage. The next performance will be beginning soon... featuring Tamami and the others."

Karei gasps "Tamami!? You don't mean...!"

Now it all made sense! The disappearances... but I can't just assume the worst.

Seiko asks "The members of Kanamin Kitchen... did you kidnap them!?

The eerie voice spoke "Hahaha... Why do you care? It has nothing to do with you."

Karei spoke "I'll try scanning the area! Come, Persona...!"

Karei summoned Himiko as she scanned.

Karei asks "...There are a bunch of places where Shadows are bunched up. One, two... four total? ......! I found someone! Is this... Tomoe...!?"

The eerie voice spoke "ahaha... No playing around in the venue. It's off-limits to unauthorized personnel..."

But then the warp rings started sparking like the ribbons.

The eerie voice spoke "And no sneak previews... Ahahahaha!"

Karei withdrew her Persona before ribbons wrapped around us. We totally let our guard down as we started being dragged somewhere.

Karei spoke "Aah!"

Seiko spoke "No...!"

Our field of vision suddenly went white.

The eerie voice spoke "Hahaha.... Goodbye, Karei Shinai."

Everything then went black before we crashed on the ground, finding ourselves mildly injured, back in the real world at the lesson studio room at Takura Productions and in our normal forms.

Seiko asks "Is this...?"

"Yeah, we're back in the real world." I agreed as all of us were pretty much alright.

Karei asks "Oww... Geez! Is this how you treat an idol!?

Sunao spoke "Looks like we're back in the studio... So as soon as we reject the "bond" that voice spoke of, we are promptly asked to leave..."

Seiko spoke "At least we're all back safe."

Karei spoke "Uh-huh. I was honestly bracing myself for the worst..."

Redux Danyelle spoke "All of you have five seconds to get off my back before I use Chaos Blast!"

We did that as Redux Danyelle sighed in relief.

Karei spoke "*Gasp!* But wait, that reading I got a second ago! It was definitely Tomoe’s… I’m certain that’s who I picked up on."

Sunao asks "……! The same Tomoe-san we met earlier!?"

Karei spoke "I’m pretty sure, yeah."

Deep Lilac tried using the Warp Rings to make a gate back to the Midnight Stage, but they weren’t working at all.

Deep Lilac spoke "Guess we’ll have to wait and find that portal again."

Seiko asks "What about the other girls? Kanamin Kitchen is Kanami-san and four other members, right?"

Karei spoke "I don’t know… That place is a lot bigger than I thought. The only reading I picked up on in the moment I had was Tomoe’s."

Sunao spoke "Given what we heard from Kanami-san, it’s safe to assume that the rest of Kanamin Kitchen disappeared around the same time. If you detected Tomoe-san’s reading over there, the others are likely to have been taken as well.

Seiko spoke "Yeah, Sunao's right."

“Okay, so let’s go over what we know…” OC-Verse Danyelle counted.

Sunao spoke "The rumored video clip that plays at midnight, victims who have fallen unconscious, and now a group of missing idols… This does seem to demand an investigation."

Redux Danyelle spoke "I'm worried about my kids."

Karei spoke "First things first, though. What was that world we were in? The name "Midnight Stage" bothers me."

Seiko spoke There were Shadows there, too... It seemed kind of like the TM world we used to go into."

Sunao spoke "And then there's that voice. It has to belong to the root of this trouble..."

Karei asks "You don't really think it's that, um... deceased idol behind this, do you?"

Sunao spoke "That's beyond my knowledge! Let's put that possibility aside for now!"

Applejack spoke "Yeah, that ain't what we're talkin' 'bout at the moment."

Karei spoke "Mm-hm... Either way, I can't leave them in that awful place. Please, guys! Could you help me out? I want to save them!"

Seiko spoke "Of course! Count me in."

Sunao spoke "I'm a bit shocked, in fact. Did you think we'd shrug it off as none of our concern? There are already victims, making this an honest-to-goodness case. And we're the only ones who can solve it."

Danyelle spoke "We can't get the OC-verse and Redux verse involved in this mess."

Applejack spoke "Yeah, gotta keep 'em safe."

Karei spoke "...Yeah!"

Seiko spoke "Now that that's decided, we need a plan. Kaze and the others will be here in the morning. I'm sure they'll help us out too."

Sunao spoke "Then let's go over the case once they join us. For now, though, I think we should leave. We need our rest, after all."

"Yeah, all those smooth moves tired me out." I admitted.

Seiko spoke "Right. Things are gonna get busy, so we should rest while we can."

Karei spoke "Got it! I'll go ahead and tell everyone about the situation. Oh! We shouldn't drag Kanami into this, huh...? I feel bad, but I won't tell her anything."

Seiko spoke "Yeah, I agree. It's for her own safety."

Karei asks "Okay, so I'll just contact our gang! Well then, you guys ready to go home?"

Danyelle's ears flatten when she heard the eerie voice again.

Danyelle spoke "Dispel!"

A raw burst of magic spread out from Danyelle, exposing anyone who was hiding with an invisibility spell.

But there was no one here using an invisibility spell.

Danyelle spoke "Oh come on!"

Seiko spoke "No point in worrying about it now."

Danyelle spoke "*Sigh* I guess you're right. Let's go."

We started heading home for the day.

End

Author's Note

End of Season 6