ZZZ: Dawn of The Black Sun

Anby sat atop of a large crate, gazing at a dozen a Hollow Raider surrounding her. She thought back to the script she read before. It's very loose, just telling her to discuss about her betraying the Cunning Hares with these Hollow Raiders. The other actors will help her stay in character.

"You're here," Anby said. "Good afternoon,"

The biggest one of them stepped forward, head covered with spikey helmet. "Hmm... So they weren't lying huh?" he leaned closer to Anby who barely registered his presence. "What's with the change of heart? Had enough of your money pinching boss?"

Anby blinked, she's playing as a defector but she hasn't really fleshed out her motivation yet. "It's because of the cat, I'm not getting proper worker compensation for my trouble," she said, silently congratulating herself for the clever answer.

"Ho? Seems like the cat got too clingy with your boss," the man turned to the rest before looking at her again. "And now you hired us to teach your 'good friend' a lesson for abandoning you, is that it?"

"I suppose I do," Anby replied, silently complementing these actors for helping her fleshing out her motivation without breaking the fourth wall. She wondered where Belle got her hand on these professional. "Nekomiya should be busy fighting right now, we can start fighting, anytime you're ready,"

"Heh, eager aint'cha?" The leader asked. "Would it be a problem if we... take down the cat for good?"

"I'd be more impressed if you can," Anby replied.

"Tch, you're all really a bunch of freaks huh?" he turned around. "Alright then, lead the way,"

Anby nodded, following the carrot data Belle gave her to the shooting site. She keeps her pace steady, wishing to do her best while working with these professional actors. It'll be bad if the Cunning Hares get bad rep because she can't keep up her act during filming a movie.

[LINE BREAK]

A tall spherical tower-like device stood tall, surrounded by arches of steel beams and warped cars. A large clearing stretched out three dimensionally around the tower, creating some sort of an arena.

Nekomiya looked at the device in curiosity, waving her hand in front of it. "What is this nyaa??" she walked around the device. "Some sort of Ether repeller?"

A certain Bangboo swam out of the ground, front flipping and landing flat on its face. "Oww..." Eous pushed itself up, shaking its head. "Okay, you're finally here!" the Bangboo put both hands on its hip. "Don't worry about the details, I just need you to stay here and guard this tower."

"Oh! Okay nya~"

An ominous music appeared all around them, gaining in tempo as it turned into a dubstep. Nekomiya nodded along to the tune, taking out her weapon as a bunch of crystalized humanoids crawled out of the cracks behind the background.

"Wait... why can't I move normally?" Nekomiya said as she made a pose instead of a stance.

The Ethereals stood on a line in front of her, each one of them stepped towards them her with the every snare of the drums. Crystals beat, pulsating with the EDM. Orbs pulsed, beating with the straight bars echoing around the realm.

Nekomiya leads with a catty shuffle, her movements blending feral agility and street-dance sass. She flicks her wrist, swipes her foot forward in a smooth pivot, tail whipping behind. Caught up in the groove, she executes intricate paw-work that flows from playful prancing to predatory prowess.

"What's going on nya!?" she exclaimed.

An Ethereal commander larger than others pounds the hollow's canvas in echo to earth-shaking bass lines, puppeteering the masses of crystals and corruption, a synchronized silicate symphony embodying perfect android aesthetics mingled with chaotic Hollow-born rhythms.

Then the beat dropped and Nekomiya charged in with her knife, clashing against crystallized appendage in a beat. She danced across the battlefield, each swing of her blade in tune with the EDM. Around her, enemies attack and fell, choreographed perfectly by the music.

The beat dropped with an explosion of ether canon. Black sphere exploded all around them, swallowing the Ethereals and rending their corrupted flesh and crystals. Gunshots rang with a snappy tune, a little bit of a drum followed by silence.

"Starlight, Shines Bright!" Billy's pre recorded line split through the silence.

With the war cry the music picked up, gunshot effects rang across the battlefield, shredding through the bars and enemies all the same. Orchestral piece picked up as the Nekomiya break danced through the battlefield, a whirlwind of blade surrounded by motes of RGB light coming from fallen monsters.

At the end of it all, Nekomiya stood tall, striking a badass group pose with a very confused look on her face. The music slows down into a dramatic cinematic piece.

"Wh-what's going on nya!?" the cat thiren exclaimed.

It was then that a group of Hollow Raider showed up, each one had a helmet covering their head and holding large weapon. Leading them all, is none other than Anby, gazing at Nekomiya with that cold calculating look on her face.

"This is the place," Anby said finally. "You may continue,"

"Anby!" Nekomiya grinned. "What are you..." her smile vanished when Anby took out her sword. "What's going on?"

"Sorry kitty cat," Anby began. "There's not enough room for the two of us,"

The music picked up and Nekomiya, once again, forced to fight against her will. "Wait, wait, wait!" she backflipped, blade narrowly missing her nose. She retaliated with another strike, which parried and dodged gracefully by the soldier.

"Room!? What? What's going on?!" Nekomiya whined, more confused than angry or even betrayed. It's just so weird, what's even with the music?

"It's simple..." Anby did a backflip as the Hollow Raider grunt came charging at her. "I was here first..."

"What are you talking about!?" Nekomiya shouted while dodging and blocking the attack of the other Hollow Raiders. Again, everyone moves in a perfectly choreographed manner, and fighting feels effortless the moment she stopped struggling. "I am missing so much context nyaaa!!!"

"Silence Nekomiya," there's a sudden edge in Anby's words. "That sort of behavior is exactly why Cunning Hares isn't known to be professional."

"What in the name nya does professionalism have anything to do with this?!?!?!" Nekomiya yelled while practically dancing around all the Hollow Raiders surrounding her. "What's going on!? What is the context?! Why are we here?! What even is this tower?!!?!?"

Suddenly, Nekomiya froze, her body refused to move as Anby charged in with her lightning blade. She winced a little, the impact hurts quite a bit despite her using the flat of her sword. She fell on her back as Anby stepped on her chest, putting a sword under her chin.

"I'm so confused!"

"I don't want to do this," Anby began. "But there's not enough room for two cats in the Video Store,"

"I'm still so confused!"

"Tch..." Anby looked away. "After all the moment we shared... why did it have to come down to this?"

"Yes, why? I'd also like to know please!!!"

"Was it my own weakness as a human?" Anby continued, playing her part. "My own bias, this disgusting monster within me that made me..."

"Anby, can we start from the part where you tell me what's going on?"

"Cut! Cut!"

The music stopped abruptly and Nekomiya found herself in control of her body. She watched as Eous came rolling in, waved its stubby little hand, with an angy expression on its display.

"Cat! Stop breaking the fourth wall!!!"

"WHAT'S GOING ON!!!!" Nekomiya cried.

Anby sighed a little and turned to the Hollow Raiders. "Apologies for my friend, it's her first time acting,"

"Oh no worries, we can retake the final part after this," the leader said, voice turned calm and polite.

"Retake!?" Nekomiya stood up. "We're shooting a film!?" she exclaimed in realization.

Anby blinked slowly. "Nekomiya, this is not time for comedic banter, just because Belle gave us a very loose script to follow, doesn't mean..."

"What script!? You gave me nothing!!!" the cat wailed.

Eous tilted its head. "Didn't you brief her on it?"

"I was pretty sure I did," Anby gestured at the pillar. "This is a 4 dimensional recording device, we're using this to record the Cunning Hares movie," she explained. "Belle is going to be using her Proxy connection device that lets her control your movement in a choreographed manner for the sake of the video," 

Nekomiya winced a little, now that she said it, the memories came rushing back. "I zoned out... Sorry..."

Anby looked down. "Hm, still... it's partly my fault for not double checking if you understood your role," she turned to the other Hollow Raiders and back to Nekomiya. "Mm, we can use that scene," she turned to Belle. "Tell Fairy I have an idea,"