*So sorry for the long wait I was having issues with my laptop and don't like typing on my phone. I didn't expect the wait to fix it would take so long. Enjoy. Btw I originally planned to make one last chapter but I wanted to add a special chapter more focused on the performances which is why I wrote this, but now it's being split into 2 parts. So after this there is Part 2 and then the end.

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The strumming of a rustic samisen filled the small space. The lights were dimmed and tinted a majestic purple that illuminated the stage. The string instrument continued in a slow even pattern and soon slow drum beats accompanied it. Around the fifth beat of the drum a figure entered the stage. Cloaked in a black and purple harlequin patterned kimono jacket and a flowing black skirt with a long slit to reveal the legs, the figure seemed to float across stage. Victoria lifted her deeply painted violet eyelids and saw the audience in front of her. Rather than feel nervous she was excited. She had realized  that she wasn't focusing on the competition. Her passion for dance was just as strong as any of the other contestants, but she had been too content staying in the shadows. First with her group coming near last towards the start of the show,  then the fan voting helping her float across many difficult rounds. Although, things were different now. Victoria was ready to shine, whether she won or lost she just wanted to show everyone that she deserved to be there as well. So Victoria threw her head up in a show of pride and her slick black top knot stayed in its position as she once more glanced at the audience. As the last note of the samisen ended Victoria simultaneously smirked into the camera and kicked off her routine. The music changed into a light background noise, something reminiscent to a soft rain shower. Victoria placed herself on pointe and twirled across the stage. The rain suddenly became a quaint song as it merged into a remix of the Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy. She hopped lightly and effortlessly from foot to foot as she pulled off elegant ballet maneuvers while constantly locking her gaze with the audience. She was determined to stun them. Next, the music picked up in pace and Victoria's body followed as she threw herself to the floor and arched her back to represent the fierceness of the beat. Then she stretched and strained her left arm out as if the music had her under its control. Next her right arm did the same as if she was but a puppet being pulled to and fro, helpless to the power of the notes in the song.. With one last bang from the soundtrack playing Victoria slid herself slowly and sensually to the ground, turned over to her back, and laid her arms out at her sides as if a sign of surrender. She was finished.

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Sua watched in a stunned silence as Victoria's performance ended. She knew there would be a small chance for her to win against such an artistic performance. Part of her wanted to rush over to congratulate Victoria as she walked off the stage. However,she stopped herself and remembered what she had resolved to do. She wasn't here to keep friends or worry about them. All she was concerned about was making her mark. The competition was nearing its end and Sua was so close. Minzy had been set as one of the finalists after she won her match against a trainee from a smaller company. The match between her and Victoria would determine who moved on to go against Minzy. Though, she was near the end Sua knew winning this show was out of reach now. Minzy was tough enough competition, but after Victoria's performance Sua knew she couldn't win. She had set her mind on leaving SM and showing her old label mates just how good she was. In order to do that she needed to stand out  to gain the attention from other companies; she needed to make a name for herself. Victoria's glamorous performance made it a little hard but Sua wore a confident face as she waited on the sidelines . She wasn't going to let her insecurities show, she was going to make sure people were talking about her.

~~

Hyoyeon had wide open after Victoria's stunning performance. Instantly she grew red with embarrassment. She knew her none of her routines had been as meticulous or as thought out as what she had just seen. Suddenly Hyoyeon was reflecting on her last match where she was eliminated

"And next up to determine the final female contestant to advance to the semi finals is Hyoyeon vs Kyungri. " the announcer had shouted just a few nights ago.

 After the announcer had called her name . Hyoyeon remembered stepping on stage hesitantly. She hadn't really been focusing on her routine as much as she should have. Running through her mind at the time were thoughts of seeing Sua and Taemin together. Even now as she waited behind the curtains of the stage she could see them huddled in a corner together on the sides of the stage. She knew she shouldn't let it bother her , but it did nonetheless. Her mind raced with possibilities about why they would suddenly be so close. Could Taemin be interested in Sua after his fight with Minzy? Was she trying to distract Minzy or was she getting back at Hyoyeon and Victoria? These questions plagued Hyoyeon's mind so much so that when the curtains rose Hyoyeon hadn't realized and she had started her routine a beat off.  She chased after the fast paced Latin hip hop beat with her moves showing her sloppiness. During a pause in the music Hyoyeon took the opportunity to adjust her strapless bright blue tube top and twist her red snapback to the side of her head. She looked down at her camouflage baggy pants and white high tops willing herself to get back into focus. She took a deep breath and waited for the next beat in the song. The music had changed into another high energy Spanish song and this time Hyoyeon was ready. She opened the second half of her routine with a high kick and followed suit with quick moves that resembled fighting techniques more than dance moves. Soon enough Hyoyeon felt as if she had regained her confidence and she whipped her hat off her head releasing her long blonde tresses. At the chorus of the song she whipped her hair back and forth wildly determined to demonstrate the emotions of the energized song. When Hyoyeon flicked her hair back and lifted her head she made eye contact with the audience and gave a small wink. She her heels and strutted to the back of the stage, preparing for her final move. Just as she was about to explode into the of her routine her eyes drifted to her side and she saw Sua's arm on Taemin's back almost as if she was consoling him, but the smug look on her face said otherwise. At that moment Hyoyeon's eyes had widened in shock and she had again almost missed her beat. She managed to catch the loud guitar sound somewhere in the middle and do her final move but it didn't quite have the same effect as it would have had on the right mark. 

"Well there's only one way to find out. Lets go watch her routine"

Hyoyeon followed after Victoria as she led the way to an area backstage with a better view of Sua.

"Look she's about to start" Hyoyeon whispered

Sure enough Sua had taken center stage behind the curtain. After a few more moments, when all the staff members and camera men were settled, the curtain rose.  On the snap of a finger that was a part of the track playing in the background, the stage was filled with a rainbow of different lights. Sua then twirled in a girly fashion to face the audience. Her long, billowy,  pale blue poodle skirt flew out around her petite body. Her pale hands were held up to as her face made a comical yet cute shocked expression. Sua's big new blue eyes popped and her neon pink lipstick stood out as well. Her soft brown hair was curled into a chic vintage bob and tied with a bandana headband that had two cute bunny ears on the top. A white button down blouse with ruffled sleeves and a ribbon near the collar completed Sua's saccharine sweet look. Soon the music kicked into full gear by changing into a bouncy 50s tune. Sua ran around stage doing cute expressions and simple old styled moves like the charleston and her own version of the bunny hop where she wrinkled her nose at the appropriate beat. The audience looked on with a passive expression while slightly smiling at Sua's adorable stage. As she was  bouncing into a fan kick her supporting leg wobbled and she collapsed onto her knees to catch herself. The crowd gasped at Sua's fall. Not letting it slow her down Sua got up quickly and tried to continue her routine again. She moved into a small twirl like the beginning of her routine but her ankle gave out and Sua was on the floor again. This time she tried to use her arms to break her fall and her elbows skidded across the harsh stage. Sua stood still for a moment as she titled her face away from the audience. When she had turned around again her expression was that of a wounded animal. Her eyes were looking downward and moist with tears that hadn't fallen yet while her eyebrows were scrunched up in pain. She stood slowly to regain her place in the dance, but her movements were obviously slowed as she limped through the rest of her routine. As the music was near its end Sua faced away from the audience and to the back of the stage.

"Did you see that!?" Victoria whispered loudly as she slapped Hyoyeon's arm

"That little... she's crazy!" Hyoyeon hissed

In the small instant that Sua had turned away from the audience she met the gaze of Victoria and Hyoyeon and winked with an expression far from the wounded one she wore only a few seconds ago.

"But why...?" Victoria wondered aloud.

After a few more admirable attempts at more difficult moves Sua's stage ended and she was met with a standing ovation.

"I get it." Hyoyeon said shaking her head "She wants to use the pity card. She may not win, but think about it. Everyone's going to love the sob story about a cute girl hurting her ankle on stage and still trying to continue, no matter how pathetic she looked. "

"Why not just try to win though? " Victoria asked.

"She's desperate for attention. Haven't you noticed? I mean that was the whole reason she us. She wanted us to bow down to her. She's just obsessed.... " Hyoyeon answered

"I guess she wants to be noticed more than she wants to win." Victoria said to herself as she walked back to the waiting room with Hyoyeon for the obvious results. She had definitely beaten Sua, but now that meant she had a bigger opponent to go against. ..

~~

Taemin could only wince as he watched Sua's stage end. Although he wasn't on the best terms with her he wouldn't ever wish such a tragic performance on her. Turning his head away from the monitor Taemin glanced down at Minzy who was leaning against his chest with her eyes closed. They had decided to stay in his dressing room and relax as some of the final matches for the night continued. Besides, they both needed some rest before their big matches. After clearing up their misunderstandings Taemin and Minzy had been able to easily defeat the competition around them.  Luckily during his slump Taemin had only faced against Ren and managed to beat him even while distracted with Minzy. He thought back to their previous match

Loud dubstep music had filled the stage as Ren started his routine. From the genesis of his performance it was obvious that he was nervous. He looked small in his baggy pants and oversized hoodie decorated with paint splatters. In addition , the aggressive music choice didn't seem to fit his soft appearance. Nonetheless he tried to execute his routine to the best of his abilities. He  began to pop and lock to the beat of the dubstep music but due to its erratic nature it looked as if Ren was always a bit off pace. The song then progressed into a louder hip hop song with a heavy bass. Ren threw his body into it this time rolling his shoulders in time to the beat drops and adding in a few acrobatics. At each pulse of the beat Ren would do a back flip until he was on the other side of the stage. From there on  he relied on simpler moves and body waves. The end of his routine was met with polite applause from the male part of the audience and piercing screams from his female fans excited to see their soft favorite try to go hardcore.

Taemin was still thankful that he was able to get such a weak opponent. He had used an older routine from his trainee days but modified it a bit for the show. It was nothing special, but he danced with more confidence than Ren and earned himself a spot in the finals. Minzy had also  secured her spot as one of the finalists after  a tough battle with a Star Empire trainee named Hyomin. Taemin guiltly remembered the famous stage.

Sensual Arabian music had filled the small stage as a dim red light glowed all around. Hyomin sauntered onto the small window of light visible to the audience. Her long legs crissed and crossed over each other as she made her way to the very edge of the stage. A whip sound effect cracked and echoed across the room while Hyomin kicked her leg out towards the audience. Her see through black harem pants teased the male part of the audience, as did her matching black halter top. After her bold move the music shifted into a slow ballad and Hyomin ran her fingers through her thick wavy dark hair. The whole time she made seductive gazes towards the camera making it obvious that her strategy was to use her natural charms. As the slow music continued Hyomin dipped and bent her body accordingly and mostly incorporated body waves into her performance. Near the end of the song Hyomin sunk down slowly to the ground until she was on her knees. She clutched her top with tension in her fingers trying to emote the angst in her song before whipping her face towards the camera with an expression full of longing.

Taemin was glad Minzy had come prepared with a unique reggae inspired performance. Though she had lost out on the audience vote, the judges' vote luckily saved her and kept her in the competition . Now they were both so close. After Sua's stage Seunghyun and Junhoe were next to face off and determine who would go against Taemin in the finals.

"Is the match over?" a soft voice called

Taemin turned his head downwards again to meet Minzy's gaze as she woke up from her light nap. She looked around at Taemin whose arms were wrapped around her lovingly and for a moment a look of panic flashed across her face.

"Don't worry Minzy" Taemin said rolling his eyes "We're in my dressing room so nobody is around to see us. Although, I don't know why you're still nervous. I mean everybody around here already knows about us and the blind items are already out."

"Sorry I guess it's just still hard to get used to." Minzy said smiling up at Taemin. "Forgive me?" she asked while leaning in to give him a small kiss on his cheek.

Taemin unwrapped his arms from Minzy and held his face in his hands while feigning embarrassment . "Minzy!" he said teasingly "This place could be bugged and here you are being so open!" To continue his teasing Taemin reached  and took his phone from out of his pocket "Do I have to remind you about all those comments about us?" He waved his phone in the air dramatically.

"Ha ha" Minzy said sarcastically "I get it Taemin and don't worry. I'm fine now. I don't care who talks about us . Just as long as we have each other."
 "Now who sounds cheesy" Taemin said smiling again . As Taemin was about to lean in for another kiss the door to his dressing room burst open

"Taemin-ssi" a production assistant came in out of breath "The producers want you to be backstage to watch the outcome of the next battle. They want some shots of you to use for the preview of the final episode." The assistant's eyes roamed over to Minzy "Oh and you too Minzy-ssi. They want both of you out there."

Once the assistant raced out again, Taemin stood up from the couch and extended his arm out towards Minzy "Well you heard the man , lets go see it for ourselves. "