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"When do you think they're coming back?" Yang asked Yin, who quickly responded with, "I'm not sure, Lightbulb did text me, saying that they already packed up their stuff and are heading home, she just didn't tell me what date though." Book then showed up and walked up to them. "Hey guys! I just got off the phone with Test Tube, they're coming back today!" She exclaimed. The demons' faces lit up at her words. "Are they really? That's great!" Yin said, with the Cupid agreeing. "Yeah! That Alternate Reality News broadcast we saw was so awesome, I can’t wait for them to return!”
After another 30 minutes, Yin-Yang spotted Candle outside from the window, with the transportation device in her hand and opening up a new portal. They immediately realizing that it was the Glam Squad arriving from the Cyber Realm. They jolted up and immediately went outside to see them again, but they were a large group of objects from both islands around to see them. "Oh geez, I didn’t know a live broadcast could get them all this popular with the spirits so fast." Book remarked, letting out a small laugh. After saying that, the squad emerged from the portal. All in their different styles and stage names: Paintbrush, The Sunny Artist, Lightbulb, The Rainbow Energizer, Test Tube, The Snowstorm Ballerina, and Fan, The Gloomy Star Boy. The crowd of objects then started to exclaim and get all excited for them, having watched the broadcast as well. The group of four just stared awkwardly, while Test Tube adjusted her skirt and looked at her friends.
"Golly, I wasn't expecting to come back being treated like a celebrity." She whispered, Fan nodded. Yin-Yang, along with Book, broke through the crowd to see them. “Welcome home, guys! Glad to have you all back.” Book greeted, getting a response from Paintbrush. “Yeah. It feels great to even be back in general.”
"Sooooo.. how’d you guys feel about the broadcast?" Lightbulb asked. "It was amazing! I love the way you blended all those rainbows together!" Yin praised. "Really? Thanks! Trust me when I say that out backstage after my go, Fan was terrified of even showing himself again." Lightbulb said while taking off her red bucket hat. "I was not! It just felt so surreal being shown on a whole new ‘magical news’ show. Y’know, with inhabitants from realms that can understand us and who we are for once." Fan elaborated. "Well, I don't blame you for that. Being on the front page of a new show for all of those nice inhabitants is a lot to take in." Test Tube told him. "Anyways, we're just gonna get back inside and change out of these outfits. These ballet heels are taking the life out of me.." she added on, as the group went back inside the hotel. Saw came in and walked up to Yin-Yang and Book once they left. As well as the small crowd cheering them on.
"Wow. Could you imagine being like them? Getting to wear cool and stylish outfits?! It would be so fun!" She exclaimed. "Heh. Yeah. But I don't know how I would be able to get into a crazy outfit like that considering all these bandages I have on." Book replied. "Don't worry, you'll find a way!" Saw said back to her, only to get interrupted by a text coming from Clover. "Oh! Clover just said she wants me and you to get into our hideout. She wants to show us something!" She told Book. They both ran off into the woods to get to their hideout. Leaving Yin-Yang alone.
"Y'know, she has a point, Yin." Yang told his counterpart. Yin seemed confused. "What do you mean, Yang?" He asked. Yang sighed. "I mean she makes a good point about being able to be like the glam squad!" He answered. "What if we could try and join their group? The thought of being able to wear a fun outfit and strut around to all those realm inhabitants would be SOOOO cool!" Yin wasn't sure about the idea, though. "Eh, I dunno about that. While the outfits seem pretty, doesn't the concept of being constantly shown online and being famous seem overwhelming? And after the reality show dilemma all of those years ago…" He added. "To me, not really. If an epic outfit is involved, count me in!" Yang replied. Yin still wasn't sure, but eventually gave into it. "Well, if you want we can go and ask one of the members if we could join their group." Yin stated. "Yes! Let's do it." Yang immediately answered. The demons then went inside the hotel to find the Glam Squad Members.
~~
They came across to the door that lead to Paintbrush's room, where Yin knocked it. Only Paintbrush was in there, wearing their more casual clothing. The other three were somewhere else doing their own thing. Regardless, they got up and opened the door to see the demons looking at them. "Oh, hey guys." They greeted. "Do you want something?" Yin-Yang was nervous to ask, but they went through with it. "Kind of, we came here to ask you something, but it may be a bit extreme.." Yin stated. The artist was confused. "And what is it?" They asked. Yang then answered. "We were wondering if we could join your super awesome fashion group!!" He blurted out. Paintbrush was surprised to hear that, but still confused. "…What do you mean? You mean the glam squad?" They asked again. The demons nodded. "We kind of got inspired by your performance and thought it would be cool to be part of your group.. it seems ridiculous, we know, but, trust us, it really seems fun! It would be nice to be included.." Yin explained. Paintbrush just stared at them. "So.. you guys saw us live one time, and therefore wanna join The Glam Squad immediately after?" The demons nodded in confirmation.
"Yeah. Not happening." The artist spoke plainly, closing the door in the process. Yin-Yang just stared in surprise. "Hey!" Yang spoke up, opening the door again and walking into their room. "That's not cool! We were just asking!" Paintbrush looked at them and sighed.
"Listen guys, I'm not trying to be mean, very far from it. But being part of a new rising fashion group, as well as being shown online and being recognized by so many new objects, after all of these years, isn't as easy as it looks. It's a lot more hard work." They explained. Yin stared at them, saying, "I know. That's literally what I was telling Yang before we came here to ask."
"Okay, but really? You think we can't join only because we can't handle stuff like that?" Yang asked. "Mostly yeah, but it's also due to the fact that.. me and the others have a tad more.. experience than you." The artist added. Yin-Yang then added it up. "So what you're saying is that we can't handle being in the spotlight, AND we're inexperienced?" Yin asked. Paintbrush stared at them.
"Yeah." They confirmed. The demons looked appalled. "That's stupid! We can be just as good as you guys if we wanted to! Plus, didn’t you form this squad around- 3 months after the diamond ceremony??" Yang fought back. Paintbrush looked to the side. "That’s irrelevant. But if you insist.. I’ll let you prove it then. We'll settle this argument with a bet!" They said. The demons’ blue-red eyes lit up. "How about, in the span of a week, you guys try to come up with a good outfit with a nice theme, as well as to set up an audition act to see if you're worthy enough to join?" The artist asked. Yin-Yang thought about it. "Sure! We'll do that." Yang confirmed, but the artist quickly followed it up. "BUT if you don't nail it.. then you’ll have to do all of my work for the glam squad for three months!" He said. The demons didn’t hold back. “Okay, and if we do make a great act, then you let us be in your squad going forward!” Yang replied. Paintbrush nodded in agreement. “Okay, bet’s on then! Your time starts now.”
They then added something else. "And as a bonus, I’ll just gift you these 101$." The demons immediately took on the bet and stormed out of the room and back into the hallway.
"Yang, what were you thinking?!" Yin asked. "What? It was a good offer! Now no more talking. We have two weeks to set up a good audition. And nothing's gonna stop us!!" Yang stated. As the demons began to walk to their room. "Geez. Their group is already starting to get to your head.." Yin said silently.
Something that they didn't notice prior was that the other three glam squad members had heard their entire conversation with Paintbrush in the other room next to them. Lightbulb looked out the hallway and shut the door to her room when she saw the demons walking back. Fan and Test Tube were in there with her as well.
"Yep. They went through with the bet." Lightbulb said. The other two had a look of worry on their faces. "Dear Crystal, there's no way they're gonna be able to come up with an act on time!" Test Tube expressed. Lightbulb then thought of something. "Y'know, it would never be a bad idea to help them out with their act without Painty knowing.. right?" She asked. Test Tube and Fan were interested and listened.
~~
It was the next day, and Yin-Yang was in their room, crudely sketching different concepts for an outfit. Lightbulb then came up and knocked on the door. The demons sighed. "The door's open!" Yin called out. Lightbulb then walked in. "Hey there magicos’!" She greeted. "What are you up to?" "We're just sketching outfits for something. What do you want?" Yang explained and asked. Lightbulb went and sat on the floor with them. "Well.. we sort of heard about that bet you made with Painty. Y'know, about joining our group?" She told them. The demons jolted up and looked at her, worried. "Huh? What do you mean?? We never agreed to anything like that!!" Yin replied, trying to cover up the sketches. But Lightbulb wasn't buying it. "Don't worry, me, Test Tube and Fan won't judge. In fact, we all decided to help you two out! But.. in secret." The firefly explained. Yin-Yang looked surprised. "Really? You guys are willing to help us with making this act??" Yin asked. Lightbulb nodded. "Of course! Now.." She looked down at their sketches. As the group outfit designer, she could definitely be of good use.
"What style are you planning to go with for your outfit?" She asked. "Well.. we're not really sure." Yin said. "We've just been drawing randomly but can't go with one idea. Should we choose something more colorful? Or dark? In between?? It's really hard to choose!” Lightbulb could clearly see all of their unique ideas. "Well, all of these outfits do look really nice! I can see why it's hard to pick just one." She told them. "Yeah. And that sparks the question: how did you come up with your outfit?" Yang asked. "Oh! Well, when I was coming up with ideas, it was also pretty hard. At first I was just drawing stuff without really thinking. But then, I decided that I wanted to go for something that was a mixture of fun, had some fun shapes, and of course, the whole rainbow!" Lightbulb told them. "And when I thought of the ideas and wrote them down, as well as taking some ideas from the realms we traveled around in, I sketched my outfit afterwards. And then I brought it to life!" Yin-Yang then understood. "Sooo, you're saying that you should think of what you want your outfit to be first, and THEN you draw it. Instead of just coming up with one idea and another aimlessly?" Yin asked. The firefly nodded. "Okay, now that makes sense." He added.
"So now just use that pink thing in your head. What elements do you want your outfit to have?" She asked. The demons then thought about it. "How about something that's a mixture of neon colors, patterns and punk?" Yang suggested. Lightbulb loved the idea. "Ohh! That sounds nice! You should totally go with that." She told them. They took out a new sheet of paper and wrote those elements down. "Now that you got your ideas written down, I'll help you come up with an outfit!"
A few minutes later, Lightbulb and Yin-Yang finished drawing the outfit. "Sooo what do you think?" Yin asked. Lightbulb examined the new drawing once more:
A grayish black shirt with a painted neon leek over it, Rainbow striped + Purple and black striped gloves, a studded belt with a double layered yellow and blue skirt, a rainbow head bow, multiple multicolored bracelets, and black platform boots with different details, one rainbow, one black and purple.
"I like it!!" She commented. Then added, "Now that we got the outfit drawn up, I'll be the one to bring it to life!" The demons looked confused. "You mean you're gonna be the one to create the outfit?" Yin asked. "Yep! I was also the one to make Test Tube's skirt and Painty's butterfly wings." The bright girl added. Yin-Yang looked surprised. "Wow! Never knew that. Thanks!" Yin said. Lightbulb nodded. "Welp, can't stay here talking." She got up and took their drawing. "I have an outfit to create!!" She then walked out of the room. Only to return only a few seconds later.
"..But first I need to measure your waist. Can you come here?" The bright girl ask. Yin-Yang shrugged and went over to her room.
~~
After Lightbulb measured Yin-Yang's waist, she was off to make their outfit. In the meantime, they went to get dance lessons from Test Tube, who was the choreographer of the squad. They were in the hotel lobby that, at the moment, had no other objects in there.
"Okay. Before we get started with this, it's pretty important for you guys to stretch first in order to avoid any issues. Just follow my movements." Test Tube told the demons. Holding onto the nearby desk in the process. The demons then had a question. "Y'know, I've been meaning to ask you something." Yin said. "What is it?" Test Tube responded. "Out of all things, why did you want to be a ballerina?? I thought your only thing was just being a scientist and helping the other spirits." The white demon counterpart questioned. Test Tube looked surprised and stopped the stretching session for a moment to explain. "Well, it's a bit complicated and…kind of embarrassing. The other members already knew but I think it's necessary to tell you guys too. I’ve been a bit vague about it after all.” She said. She then continued the session while explaining at the same time.
"It's actually kind of an odd story looking back... It even happened before you guys became magical objects and such. Basically I was in my lab trying to do this specific ballet dance I saw online with Lightbulb. And I barely had any dancing experience to start with. Either way, I was down there, and after a few minutes, I bumped into a desk right next to me. And it was also making a lot of weird noises. So I looked inside... and some random entity-like creature came out of NOWHERE lunged at my face and clawed my eye! I got it off me, but I also fell over and accidentally spilled one of the chemicals that was on the desk all over my face. I ended up getting stuck in the hospital for a while, and I never tried stuff like that again. It also left me with this permanent crack on my eye, as well as making my vision here off by 25%."
Damn.. so I'm assuming that for the Glam Squad, you decided to try dancing again?" Yin asked. Test Tube nodded. "It did take a little while, and I had to be several times more careful, but with the right amount of encouragement and patience, it all turned out well in the end! Now I'm here as The Snowstorm Ballerina. But that's off topic. Time for the dancing." The demons then paid attention. "I'll help you with coming up with the choreography for your act. I'll come up with it first, and eventually, try to do it yourself." The scientist instructed.
In the span of a few minutes, She had somehow managed to create a good choreo for the demons. And after she did, she slowly but surely taught them how to do it with the song they had picked.
~~
"Okay. Now that I've gone over the steps, see if you can nail it without my help." She asked. Yin-Yang nodded as she played their song again. They then started to practice the choreo on their own. Even though they messed up around twice, they still did it mostly perfectly. Test Tube was surprised. "Woah! That was great! A little rough around the edges but still, really good!" She replied. The demons were happy with themselves. And then they heard Lightbulb's voice coming from the hall.
"GUYS!! I just finished designing your outfit!" She called out. Yin-Yang's eyes lit up as they ran out of the room to see. Test Tube followed along too. Lightbulb led them both to her room, standing where all her crafting materials were. "You guys ready to see?" She asked. The demons said yes. Lightbulb then turned around, holding their outfit, which almost perfectly resembled what they had planned prior. "Tada!" She said. The demons looked in awe. "WOAH. It looks amazing!!" Yin told her, adding, "Thank you so much!". Lightbulb laughed a bit. "No problem! You guys can add more things to it if ya want." She said. The demons nodded. "Outstanding job! I just came up with a choreo for them too." Test Tube commented. "That's epic! We'll have this done in no time then!" Lightbulb replied. The demons thanked the girls, took their outfit and went to their room to try it on. Fair to say, it fit perfectly.
~~
A few days later, the demons were downstairs in the lobby, making their own accessories to make their outfit pop more. They were then approached by Paintbrush. "Hey! How are the arrangements going?" They asked. The demons sighed. "It's actually going really well! We got the outfit set up, learned how to dance, and now we're just making a few touches to our outfit." Yin explained Paintbrush looked surprised, but quickly brushed it off. "That's good to hear. Anyways, I'm just here to remind you that you two only have around 2 days left. So you better be ready by then!" They said and left. The demons looked annoyed.
"Jokes on them. We're almost done anyway!" Yang remarked. "Oh! But that sparks the question: we have the outfit and the dance, but what about the facials?" Yin asked, looking back at their drawing. They had drawn a concept for how they wanted their makeup to look. Yang remembered. "Oh shoot, you're right." He uttered. They then noticed Fan walking by. Knowing that he's apparently the makeup artist of the squad, they called him over for help.
"What's up?" He asked. "You know how we're coming up with an act to join your group, right?" Yin asked. Fan nodded. "Well, we just remembered that we need to get this ‘face paint concept’ done as well." They then showed him that part in their drawing. "Ah. You want me to help you out with that?" Fan asked. The demons nodded. "Alright, I got you guys! Just come with me and I'll get it done in an instant." He said. The demons followed him back upstairs to his room.
Fan walked over to a drawer that was full of makeup kits and such that were apparently purchased in the Cupid’s Realm. He took one out and quickly tried it on the demon's face. "I'm only gonna do one part of your face by the way. The act isn't for another few days anyway." He said. Yin-Yang nodded as he quickly started painting their face. Using their reference drawing to help.
After less than three minutes, Fan stopped painting their face to show them how it looked.
"Here it is! Is it good enough?" He asked, pointing a mirror at their face. Smoky eyeshadow, sharp purple eyeliner, painted pink hearts and drippy dark tears. The demons' eyes lit up. "I like it! Looks rad." Yang commented. They got up and thanked Fan, but then they looked over and noticed what seemed to look like a sparkly, rainbow bow accessory, kind of resembling the one in their sketch. "Whose bow is this?" Yin asked. "Oh, it was Lightbulb's. She wore it for a bit when we were first coming up with the group, but she stopped putting it on and gave it to me. Dunno why.” Fan explained. The demons looked down at it again. Yin then asked,
”Can we borrow it?”
~~
It was now time to see Yin-Yang's audition. All of the Glam Squad members were outside at the old stage to watch. "Can't wait to see how this goes." Paintbrush said, definitely ready to see. Fan and Lightbulb were excited to watch too. Test Tube then got up and quickly went to the stage to see Yin-Yang, who was behind the curtains. They noticed her immediately. "Are they all here??" Yin whispered. The scientist nodded. "Okay. After we introduce our name, pull back the curtains." He commanded. "Gotcha!" Test Tube said, heading back to the front of the stage.
"Sooo, this is our audition to join your fashion group. We call ourselves: The Scene Demons!" Test Tube then pulled back the curtains to unveil the demons and the background behind them. It was bright, neon, and stunning. As well as their outfit in general. Paintbrush's eyes widened as Test Tube headed back to her seat.
"HUH." They uttered. The others laughed at their leader as they proceeded to watch the demon's act. They put their microphone back and began to preform. Doing the choreography that Test Tube thought them prior. The entire time, Paintbrush stared in disbelief as the others cheered them on. Eventually, the demons finished. Paintbrush was speechless, while Fan, Test Tube, and Lightbulb all got up from their seats and applauded.
"Omga, That was amazing!!" Lightbulb stated. "Yeah! You guys did incredible!" Fan added. The demons blushed. "Really?!" Yang asked. The three nodded. But then they all turned over to Paintbrush. Who slowly got up and walked over to them. The demons looked at them with a confident expression. The artist then spoke "oh my god. You guys did ALL of this in ONE WEEK??" They asked. The demons nodded. "Well, you can't really say it was on completely us. We.. clearly had lots of help." Yin laughed. “Yeah. You didn’t say anything about having some assistance!” Yang added on. The other three members stared at their leader. "Soo how was it then?" Test Tube asked. Paintbrush then was able to speak. "It was AWESOME. Oh my Ignatius I underestimated you guys so much!" They exclaimed. The demons gasped. "So... does that mean we can join or not?!" Yang asked. Paintbrush then looked and sighed. Knowing they lost the bet.
"YES. Yes, yes! You guys can join. Our next meeting is tomorrow in the hotel lobby!" They answered. Walking back to their seat. Yin-Yang, along with the other members started cheering. Yin laughed, happy that they won. But Yang then remembered something. They got off the stage and walked up to the squad leader. "Okay.. where's our money?" He asked. The artist looked confused. "Huh?" They asked. "Where's our 101 bucks?!" Yang demanded. Paintbrush then rolled their eyes in slight annoyance. Handing the demons their money. "You guys definitely won me over..Congratulations." They said with a light smile. The demons then went back to the other members as they all began applauding for them once more.
"Welcome to the Glam Squad now, guys!!" Test Tube said. "You guys are definitely gonna love this group." "We sure will! Thank you all so much for your help." Yin replied.