Oh...oh geez, this is late. Horribly, horribly late, but school plus other projects are weighing me down and sparing me little time or motivation to write this. As much as this pains me, PK Dance is on hiatus until I can get all this sorted. It was insane making you all wait 6 months for a new chapter and I apologize for that. At least I can leave you all with another chapter, so that's the sad and bad news out of the way.

This chapter will greatly amuse any SC5 fan, or Mother fan, or...hell, just anyone following this fic. I hope you enjoy it and I apologise for the long wait. Oh, and before I forget, a nice shiny Mr Saturn to the person who spots which SEGA character I cameo'd in this chapter. =P Let's read!

He blinked and took a step back, startled at what he was seeing.

Or rather...what he wasn't seeing. Although Lucas could feel ground beneath him as he was standing up-right, there was no sort of visible floor...it was almost as if he was floating in mid-air.

Yet, this "mid-air" was a sort of pink colour, moving strangely in waves, extending circles and other odd patterns. In a way...it reminded Lucas of those awful Happy Boxes that had taken Tazmily Village by storm. And that frightened him.

"Okay Lucas!" The boy named Noize spoke from a small red headset that had been placed on Lucas's head before he came in here. "It's basically a place where you can practise dancing freely, all you want! Ulala's done a few shows in here and she's gone right up to one hundred and ninety nine ratings! I mean, of course you won't get as high as that during your first time, but we're expecting great things from you!"

"Least, Ulala is." Fuse added in a grumble. Lucas gave a timid nod, unsure of what to expect.

"Don't worry, Lucas. It might seem a little...weird for you, but you'll get used to it. Just follow the beat and copy the alien's moves!" Ulala's voice called out. It was very much like a cheerleader prepping you before a practise session.

"Let's get on wit' it! BEGIN 'DA ONE HUNDRED STAGE DANCE BATTLE!" Fuse's voice yelled as music suddenly began to play. Lucas suddenly found himself moving slightly to the music, which made the young boy nervous and slightly embarrassed. Then, he gasped.

An odd creature had popped up in front of him. It was red and seemed to have a screen for a face...it was a short creature, but its legs and arms were longer then its body. It also had bendy-like rods coming out of its head. Truth be told, it seemed scary to Lucas. Then, he heard a DING and the creature thrusted its arms into the air.

"Up! Up! Up!" Fuse's voice called out.

Lucas's eyes blinked; it was his turn!

"KID! PAY ATTENTION!"

"O-Okay! Up. Up. Up." He pushed his arms into the air slowly and timidly, as if scared of dancing. After all, he'd never done anything like this before in his entire life! The DING sounded again. Then, the alien bent its long legs and pushed both arms down.

"Down! Down! Down!" Again, it was Fuse's own voice calling the commands. It seemed the simulator used his voice to call the commands the alien performed...that or it had the same identical voice to Fuse.

"Copy 'im! C'mon now!"

"Down. Down. Down." Lucas merely pushed one arm down, moving nothing else for two more times.

Another DING, followed by the creature suddenly moving to the side and swinging its lanky arms.

"Right! Left! Right! Left!"

"Right. Left. Right. Left." For this Lucas simply pointed from side to side. He felt so awkward that he wished more than ever he was at home right now. And to think Ulala did this with so many people watching her?

"Right, Up, Chu, Chu, Chu!" The Chu motion by the alien consisted of it bending slightly and pouting its face forward, a raised hand held up by its face. It was almost as if it was beckoning Lucas to...kiss it or something. The boy shuddered.

"Uh, hello? Earth 'ta blondie!"

"Ah, sorry! Right, Up-"He paused for a very brief moment, remembering what to perform for 'Chu'. Then he pointed forward with one arm.

"Chu, Chu, Chu!"

"Ya' gotta be quicker!"

"Fuse, stop being so harsh!" Ulala's voice rang out in Lucas's headphones. The alien started mixing the moves together more now, going up and down, followed by the kiss motion.

"Up, Down, Up, Down, Chu, Chu, Chu!"

"Up, Down, Up, Down, Chu, Chu, Chu!" Lucas repeated flawlessly. The memory was easy enough to get down thankfully despite how long it was.

"Up Down Up Down Chu Chu Chu!"

"Gettin' faster!"

"Up Down Up Down Chu Chu!"

There was definitely no mistake about that. The next command the alien gave out completely stunned Lucas.

"Up-Down-Up-Down-Chu-Chu-Chu!"

"T-That's too fast!"Lucas exclaimed. The alien's moves had literally been a blur to his eyes. Ulala's voice encouragingly called out.

"Give it a go, Lucas!"

"Up-"Immediately Lucas lost control and he panicked. Desperate to keep up with a rhythm that had already left him, his body flailed and shot everywhere; his control of movement out of his hands and he knew he had failed. A loud BZZT sound echoed around him as the alien vanished. The boy stood there, looking downcast, but a part of him was glad it was over.

"Well, that wasn't bad for your first try, Lucas!" Noize spoke optimistically. "Hang on, lemme just...okay!"

The area around him had changed colours, Lucas realised, to a bright yellow as it disappeared before his eyes. Before he was aware of it, he had arrived back to reality, and Noize was patting him on the back like a friend. Kumatora stepped forward and hugged him, her chin atop his head.

"Don't get upset, Lucas. It got insanely fast, that's all." She glared at Ulala and Noize as if they had just traumatized him beyond belief. "Isn't there a way to make it easier?"

Ulala glanced at Noize, then the monitor. Noize shrugged apologetically.

"Nope; it's designed 'ta get harder as ya' go." Fuse spoke flatly.

"But lots of people end up as Lucas did on their first go. Practise makes perfect!" Noize said in that same optimistic tone. However, Fuse didn't seem convinced.

"'Da kid needs ta' loosen up if he's gonna even tag along wit' Ulala." The voice sighed and the monitor flickered briefly. "Noize, get me some coffee, I ain't stayin' to watch 'dis space train wreck." The monitor went blank and zipped up quickly, in time to avoid being zapped by a spark of electrical PSI by Kumatora.

"I'm sorry." Ulala spoke sincerely to the group; Duster was placed by the door and Boney was rubbing himself against Lucas's body in an attempt to soothe his hurt feelings. "Fuse cares deeply for the station and its reputation; he was around at the peak of its popularity, and our decline a while back caused him sleepless nights and a short temper. He's been edgy about anything that may lower the ratings for us."

"I don't give a damn about ratings! I care about Lucas!" Kumatora shot back, her expression would not look out of place on a ferocious tiger. "You can't be cruel to kids; that Fuse guy needs to stop being such an as-"

"Is Fuse being a fuddy-duddy again? Hee hee~"

Unbeknownst to them, the door had opened and a man in a silver outfit was standing there, striking a pose with the tip of his fingers on one hand upon his forehead, and swaying his waist back and forth lightly. His skin was a pale white and he had black hair; one strand down his face over his right eye. Despite his appearance being somewhat odd, his eyes showed honesty and a sort of innocent, fun look about them.

"Ulala~" The man called out in a sing-song voice. "You didn't tell me we had visitors?" His voice mimicked hurt, yet Ulala simply seemed amused.

"I'm sorry, Space Michael! Fuse wanted me to bring them here right away, to teach them how to dance. They're going to be staying with us for a while, see."

"Staying with us?" The man suddenly twisted on the spot and struck a pose, one arm outstretched and the other on the back of his head. "Woo!~ How wonderful!"

"You don't mind, chief?" Noize questioned from his chair.

"You can never have enough people at Space Channel 5, Noize." Space Michael spoke in a wiser tone then before. "So, have we started dancing yet?"

"Well..." Noize looked at Lucas, unsure of what to say. Space Michael himself appeared curious at Noize's hesitation to respond to him.

"It's his first time, so it wasn't exactly brilliant." Ulala finished. However, she'd been staring at Lucas with a pondering gaze for the last while and then suddenly jumped into the air, clapping her hands, her face jubilant with joy. "I've got it!"

"Got what?" Duster asked as Ulala almost leaped over to Space Michael to whisper something into his ear. Space Michael's curious look remained for a moment, then his face lit up.

"Oh, I agree Ulala! I've always said this silly system wasn't a great thing for first-timers anyway." Space Michael said.

"Then you'll help us?" Ulala asked with a smile.

"Woo!~ It'd be my pleasure, Ulala~"

"Alright then!" Ulala declared happily before turning to the group. "If you'll just come with us..."

"Again?" The look upon Kumatora was indignant and it showed, fists balled tightly at her sides. How long do you intend to keep dragging us around?" She shot at the space reporter angrily.

"It's okay, Kumatora." She blinked down at the blonde boy in surprise. "They're just trying to help us."

"Exactly. You won't stand a chance unless you know how our time works." Ulala pointed out. "And this is the only way to learn." She added matter of factly. Kumatora frowned, but said no more.

"If that's settled, then let's get grooving~" Space Michael said. "By the way, I'm Space Michael, Space Channel 5's Chief. I guess you could say space honcho around here~"

"...Nice to meet you." Kumatora spoke, showing open wariness, but Space Michael didn't seem at all offended. "I'm Kumatora, that's Lucas, Duster and Boney." She nodded at each person (and dog) who gave acknowledgement.

"Woo!~" Space Michael struck that same pose again, this time to the door. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

Lucas and 'co caught each other's eyes. Somehow, they suspected they'd met someone more bubbly and energetic then the Magypsies. If that was possible of course.

Space Michael didn't walk as Ulala did, but that didn't mean he didn't have his own strange way of pacing forward; stomping forward and bending his body slightly as he snapped his fingers by his side continuously.

"Here we are!" He announced, pressing a button and opening a door. It was a circular room that was somewhat smaller then the control room. It was also a lot brighter; the floor and walls white, as well as windows that showed the stars and nearby planets of outer space, as well as a few ships flying around.

What was more interesting was that this room had a white floating platform with several lights surrounding it. There were also monitors with the Channel 5 logo, and even a huge monitor on the side. Smaller platforms were dotted around the side, barely big enough for one person.

"Well, come on then!" Space Michael waved a hand and with Ulala took a mighty leap, arms outstretched; one leg raised back, both of them landing on the platform bent down with one palm down upon it. Lucas was perplexed as to how he was meant to jump like that.

"Just give it a go; release all tension from your body and imagine yourself light as a feather." Ulala explained, turning around noticing Lucas's expression. The boy looked at her, showing slight scepticism. "It'll be fine, trust me!"

Taking a deep breath, Lucas poised himself to jump, bending slightly-

"No, don't put so much weight on your lower body or else you'll just jump a tiny distance!" The pink-haired reporter instructed firmly.

"S-Sorry." Lucas mumbled, a little flustered, and then relaxed himself before trying again. This time, crouching without so much tension in the lower section of his body, Lucas gave a bold launch into the air.

And landed right beside Ulala and Space Michael.

"Wow..." He whispered, amazed at his own feat. Ulala was clapping in praise and Space Michael smiled approvingly. As for Lucas's friends, they merely stood there, surprise evident across all of their faces.

"Nice one, Lucas!" Kumatora cheered, giving a thumb up. Duster himself smiled, nodding in agreement. Boney simply barked.

"After this, I think I'll believe anything...like our needle-pulling adventure didn't already do that to me!"

"Alright!" Ulala snapped her fingers dramatically; the huge monitor upon the side lit up and a cartoonish sun suddenly turned around with sunglasses and a huge smile. At this point, a sombrero-wearing monkey with maracas and a soft smile appeared in front of said-sun and began to shake the instruments, although at a very slow and steady pace. Lucas looked over the edge, and with a jolt, realised the strange alien he had seen in the...whatever you could call it, was in fact many different aliens, all the same kind, but with a vary in colours. They were dotted around the platformer and looking up at Ulala as if awaiting orders.

"What are those?" Lucas questioned as the lights lit up and several smaller monitors fell from the ceiling, all with the station logo on them.

"Morolians." Ulala answered. "Aren't they cute? They make great dancers once you get along with them!"

Lucas wasn't sure if that he would have used 'cute' to describe them initially, but at a second glance, there was something...adorable about them, in a very odd way. He didn't feel so under pressure, and thus, afraid of the creatures anymore. A smile found its way upon the blonde boy's face.

"Woo!" Space Michael yelled out, with one hand upon his forehead and moving his hips back and forth, almost as if...grooving. Indeed, music had begun to play, a funky sound blasting out of the speakers. The Morolians around the platform began to jump up and down as if excited. Lucas himself could not quite describe it. He felt as if he was in a state of freedom, almost like he was weightless with no worries. Ulala began to swirl her hands in mid-air.

"Okay! Get ready!" Ulala called out, before she suddenly spun her hands around each other as if doing the conga, before pumping a fist to her left.

"Left!"

It was as if Lucas was acting upon instinct. All he knew was that he was crossing his arms over each other before swinging his head around, and then thrusting his hands left as if launching a fireball.

"Left!"

The lights blared as if congratulation Lucas for his correct movement, and the Morolians hopped into the air. They divided onto either side of the platform, half of them copying Ulala's movements and the other half mimicking Lucas, alongside Space Michael.

"Right!" Ulala swung her leg right and then twisted, kneeling. "Hey!"

"Right!" Lucas in retaliation swung his arm in the same direction before ducking and bending himself back. "Hey!"

"Down, Down!" Ulala stuck both arms down twice before she struck a pose with her fingers curled like claws. "Chu!"

"Down, Down!" Lucas bopped down once, then again and then proceeded to spin before whipping both hands up in a V. "Chu!"

"That's the trick!" Ulala encouraged as the Morolians hopped up and down in celebration. The lights flashed on, not creating spotlights, but instead holograms of Ulala and Lucas in pretty colours. Ulala begun to strut around the platform, pointing with her hands as Space Michael shook his leg before bumping his head back and forth. By this point, Kumatora, Duster and Boney were all looking on in awe.

"Up... " Ulala clapped her hands up and then hopped to the side, punching to her left. "Left!"

"Up..." Lucas pumped his fists into the air and then placed both fists to his left before jumping in the same direction. "Left!"

"Uuuuuup..." Ulala slowly lifted her arms up before she settled for extending them out in front of her. "Chu!" Hah! As if Lucas couldn't follow that!

"Uuuuuup..." Lucas raised one arm above his head before bringing it back down and snapping his fingers in front of him. "Chu!"

At this point, Lucas was unsure how to describe what he was feeling. He knew what to do, and how to do it. And he wasn't even feeling shameful of dancing! This wasn't weird! This was, dare he say it...fun?

His smile grew broader as he danced with Ulala. He was feeling more confident, that was for sure. Time to show Ulala just how smooth he was! Wait, did he really just think himself smooth?

...This WAS weird.

They continued posing as Kumatora, Duster and Boney looked on. Kumatora couldn't help but smirk at the jubilant joy upon Lucas's face. She'd never seem him look so cheerful. She had to admit, he looked odd doing this, but if he was having fun, then it was good enough for her.

It seemed to be the case for Duster as well. A small smile was upon his face as he watched Lucas dance. He'd known Lucas since he was born, and to see him enjoying himself to such an extent was unnatural, but also uplifting in just a way.

Even Boney wagged his tail in agreement. Though he severely hoped Lucas wouldn't make a habit of posing. He didn't want Lucas tagging around with him in Tazmily doing all these strange moves; the loyal hound would die of shame.

At this point, Lucas was standing in the middle of the platform as Space Michael and Ulala both moon-walked around him. The Morolians watched in tense, as if awaiting a big climax.

"Strike a pose!" Ulala called out before she and Space Michael leapt into action.

"Right," They swung right, "Down," before ducking, "Hey!" and then twisting backwards.

"Strike a pose!" Lucas called out in response. He then proceeded to flawlessly copy the two.

"Right, Down, Hey!"

Colours erupted around them; the Morolians hopping wild and the holograms magnifying and changing colours. Ulala then turned to look in the direction of Lucas's friends.

"That's all for today, folks! I'm Ulala reporting from;"

She proceeded to draw a '5' in mid-air again, before swinging her arm out as she winked.

"Spaaaaaace Channel 5!"

The Morolians and Space Michael copied her, as did Lucas. When he struck the pose, he felt flabbergast, as if he'd only just realized he'd been dancing silly for the past few minutes. But at the same time, he didn't feel ashamed or embarrassed.

"So, how do you feel?" Ulala asked with a triumphant look as if she knew the answer. Lucas looked up at her with the biggest smile he'd probably had since his mother passed away.

"I feel...like I've loosened up." He held out his hands and flexed them as if he'd never been able to move them in such a way before.

"Mission Accomplished!" A voice called out from speakers, and the Morolians cheered.

"Dancing is something you have to enjoy doing if you want to do it well. So I figured you'd want a sort of warm-up session to have some fun." Ulala explained, and then crossed her arms with a smile. "Looks like it worked!"

Lucas nodded, before the boy gave a stretch and suddenly stifling a yawn. This did not go unnoticed by Space Michael.

"Looks like someone's all tuckered out~ Well, it is rather late, so I suggest we all hit the space hay. Chop chop, my space dancelings!"

The Morolians vanished as Ulala and Space Michael hopped down.

"Hey, what about-"

They turned at Duster's words to see Lucas curled up on the platform, dozing off. Clearly, that dance exercise must have taken a lot out of him! Ulala and her boss exchanged looks that seemed to say "Job well done'.

Porky tapped a stubby finger against the window of his capsule, eager for attention.

Purge was busy tinkering with a large square pink object, while Blank leaned against Purge's cluttered work desk, which floated off the ground, a sly smile upon his face.

The tapping grew louder.

Blank's smile became a smirk.

The tapping was now a fist pounding-

Blank was now grinning.

"Imbeciles!" Porky screeched, and the pair could tell he had screeched it as such despite that his voice was muffled against the capsule. "Would you care to explain WHY that brat and his friends escaped?"

Purge ceased tinkering, and turned to face the boy inside, lifting his goggles up.

"Say please and maybe we'll tell you~"

Porky responded with the utmost look of loathing, but before he could respond to the white-haired teenager, Blank cleared his throat loudly.

"There is little space as it is with you in here, so keep quiet unless you want to hear the details!"

Porky remained tight-lipped, but glared at Purge, who merely giggled. Porky reminded him of some little ugly ape in a zoo that you could constantly poke fun at, and there was no greater joy for Purge then to treat him exactly that.

"Now then," Blank began, "upon our robots-"

A rather noticeable 'a-hem' chimed in here.

"...After Purge's robots arrived at Spaceport 9, they began forcing people all across the galaxy to dance. Although that upstart, candy-flossed brat Ulala was able to save them-"

"Ulala?" The very name seemed as if the mention of it would send Blank into a never-ending rage; his face twinged with red whenever he mentioned her, and never without insults either.

"A reporter and a nuisance." Blank explained. Porky's face lit up like a Christmas tree, highly amused.

"You mean a reporter flawed your plans?" He burst out laughing.

Purge, now leaning upon the capsule himself, tapped the small circular window with his knuckles.

"And from what I got when I laid eyes upon them, you were beaten by a kid, a teenager, a crippled adult and a dog! Now that's embarrassing alright!" Purge giggled as Porky's look turned into outrage.

"You saw the footage that we got." They had watched Channel 5's broadcast, which spectacularly showed Ulala beating Purge. And of course, Lucas and his friends appearing. "Ulala is no easy opponent, and your foe even helped her. Now that they have met, they'll no doubt be even more difficult to defeat." Blank spoke.

"Then why risk them meeting in the first place?"

"You were the one who suggested we bring them here." Purge pointed out with a teasing look.

For a wild moment, it seemed as if Porky was going to cry. Porky did not just merely cry though. He wailed and bawled and shrieked and thrashed about, much like a baby. The tantrum caused a Purge's teasing expression to turn into a triumphant and smug one while Blank opted for covered his ears, teeth gritted. In the end however, he merely slumped forward against the capsule, looking very exhausted and his eyes glazed.

"In any case, we can still take our revenge against them." A truly sly and foul smile appeared on Black's face. "We have the means to, after all."

Porky looked up, confused as Purge motioned towards the pink square-like object he had been working on.

"This was the object you wanted my robots to find from your time?"

Porky scrambled up, desperate for a look upon that which he had created – his masterpiece – the very object that had sent Tazmily Village into a state from which it would never fully recover. People would sleep and dream of the vivid colours that they felt had such a life-changing impact upon them. In truth, they had nothing to do with it.

But thanks to Purge's work, his beloved Happy Boxes would soon be a galaxy phenomenon.

And of course, there was a whole group of captured space people down below, just waiting to be the first lucky spectators of this wondrous creation.

And they were just the beginning.

The room was a dark square shape, and had no visible exit or window. The large amount of people inside the prison could just barely make each other out.

They were in a state of panic. Plucked from the spaceport before they could be saved, they were now captives. And they had no idea what to possibly do. It was sheer pandemonium. Although they had room to move around, you could not help but feel immobile from sheer fear.

Brenda Boggs was one of the few trying to restrain order.

"Everyone! P-Please calm down!" The Spaceport 9 information girl called out, but to no avail. Her own fear was evident in her tone.

"Calm down?" She could make out a person garbed in black holding a wrench, and guessed this was another worker like herself. "We've been imprisoned by a bunch of tiny space robots! And you expect us to calm down?"

Brenda sighed. Barry Plebio was renowned for being tough and reliable, yet having a complete lack of a sense of humour. Why did she always have to deal with edgy space businessmen or serious spaceport workers? She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off.

"Everyone, calm yourself." This was a woman dressed in blue, and who Brenda recognised as Bluebell Smith, a space oracle. "This will not lead us to space salvation."

"Space salvation seems pretty unlikely to happen right now anyway!" Spoke another man near her.

"You must have patience." Her expression was surprisingly firm and serious, causing Brenda to slightly be in awe of this lady. "I have conversed with my god. We will endure a tough time, but I am sure we shall be free-"

"Hey, LOOK!"

Bluebell was cut off as in the middle of the room suddenly, a single spotlight suddenly shone down upon the centre, and the floor opened up. Cautious space captives backed away as Brenda noticed what someone shouted out a few steps away from her.

"It's a space tv!"

It was not just any tv, however. From the floor came a large pink tv, a huge square shape with a large monitor on each side and a single antenna. Clearly, whoever was sending this didn't want their captives to ignore the view on the monitor.

Like moths to the flame, the people drew near, Barry Plebio being the first. Brenda herself was intrigued, but was held back by...her gut space feeling, she guessed you could call it.

...Or rather by an arm upon her shoulder.

"People!" She heard Bluebell, the space oracle called out from behind her. "My god strictly disapproves of this object and claims it is foul. We must step away at once!"

"Says you!" Barry shot back, and Brenda heard the Oracle sigh behind her. "I want info, dang it, and if we're getting shown some, I-"

Before he could finish, the monitor came to life. It did not show the space news. It did not show a space sport program. It didn't even show a sign saying technical difficulties were being experienced.

It instead showed a series of images. Some were flashy colours that morphed into another images of people. These people looked as if they were dancing. On opposite sides, people with ray guns were pointing at them.

"Other people?" Brenda did not understand the concept of the image. It flashed again to a large P, before switching to some sort of dark slime that seemed to slide down the screen before the dream-like colours returned. They did not seem out of place upon a rainbow. She heard Bluebell murmur behind her;

"My goodness, no..."

Brenda noticed something. The people closest to the monitor, including Barry, were not speaking, yet moving. They were swaying their arms back and forth, steadily. Twice to the left. Twice to the right. Twice to the left. Twice to the right.

She felt herself begin to do it. Horrified, she tried to cease her body, but still she moved beyond her freewill. She felt Bluebell tug at her, trying to help her stop, but then her arm left her and she knew the Space Oracle had met the same fate.

At this point, she'd forgotten the Space Oracle trying to stop her. She'd forgotten Barry, the other captives too. All that was important to her was the series of tv images, displaying their new mission to undertake. If they did not undertake it, terrible things would happen, and the milky way would be in grave danger. They had been handed a crucial task.

"Make...them...dance..."

And they would complete it as instructed.

"We must...make the universe...dance!"

"DANCE!"

Sorry to end it on such a wham note there. Like in the Mother and SC5 games, it's not just constant happiness and you being awesome, there are dark things going on behind the scenes and this is what that chapter is meant to show that crucial factor in both games that I'm trying to replicate. I also hope Lucas dancing made you laugh a lot. =P

For anyone who has played Samba De Amigo Wii, hope you enjoyed the throwback to the SC5 cameo in that game!

Hopefully I can return to this soon. Until Chapter 6, stay groovy and strong!

~Blue Toad~