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Milestones in Another World

Anastasia Wright - or Stacey, as she prefers to be called, finds a black monolith covered in alien writing within the overgrown park near her house. Touching it causes her to become stranded in another world which is a cultural melting pot where humanity is under threat by the local people who call themselves the Ancients. Battles with the Ancients and their beastmen henchmen are common. Kidnapping and violence are the norm despite what appears to be a peaceful civilisation on the surface. With no money, no local knowledge and an inability to communicate or read the national tongue, Stacey struggles to survive. Worse, she's accidentally offended the entire country on national television. All Stacey wants is to go back home but the question is - how? When she comes across a man who is powerful and influential in both worlds, whom also has the ability to return her to her own world, Stacey asks for help. Thieren Huo agrees to help - it's just not the kind of help Stacey was hoping for... Not a romance story although some romantic themes will be involved. Contains some violence and mature themes. Parental guidance recommended. This is a pantser story. Reader suggestions and ideas encouraged for further story development. Reader assistance for editing and advice welcome. Self-editing does not catch all errors. Warning, there may be plot holes. Let me know if you find one so that the holes can be patched where possible. This is a pantser, after all. This story is going to be rewritten. I'm not happy with it. There may be huge changes to to the storyline and plot.

Tonukurio · Fantaisie
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Ninety- four - Comments

And she fell. The microphone stand tilted and then dropped to the ground. The fallen microphone produced a loud thump and screech of feedback. Stacey's arm caused a clamour of piano notes being played indiscriminately when she collapsed sideways onto the piano seat.

There was a silent pause, with people thinking that perhaps this was a part of the performance. But when she started to slowly slide off the piano seat in an uncontrolled manner because of the lack of friction of her clothes on the smooth piano seat, the air became filled with a frightened realisation.

Murmurs and mutters filled the air.

"Did Stacey just faint?"

"Is it a real faint?"

"She just fainted, didn't she?"

"She's going to fall off the chair."

"She's falling!"

The mentors and stage crew ran to catch her before she fell off the piano stool and hit her head. Someone slid across the stage, diving to catch her head before it hit the floor.

There was the sound of some people crying. Dr Jin and a paramedic raced onto the stage to check on her. After a cursory check, Stacey was rolled onto a stretcher and carried away.

Backstage, the mentors and Landen hurried over with Thieren and Last Prose to find out if she was ok. AJ, the cameraman, stood to one side to capture the action and what was being said.

"Her fever is back," said Dr Jin after a brief examination. "Her temperature has shot up and her blood pressure has dropped. To be safe, we'll send her to the hospital to be checked out. While she's there, they can see if they can find a reason for all the fainting these past few days."

"I'll go with her," Thieren said to the mentors and crew. "She was the last performance on stage just now, so you all can wrap up the competition and eliminate whoever needs to be eliminated. Don't stand here gawking. We're broadcasting live, remember?"

"She's passed both the ranking and probably the elimination too. I'm sure she's easily passed with that strong a show, so we don't have to worry about her," Landen agreed. "She doesn't need to be punished, so nobody will be able to say anything. It was a powerful and touching performance wasn't it?"

"Very powerful," Beryl and the mentors agreed, returning to their seats, while discussing her performance at the same time and continued the live broadcasting.

"She blew me away," Hugh said, wiping tears from his eyes and Beryl handed him a handkerchief. "I have no words. Just no words."

"If she didn't pass the elimination round with that," Orlan said, wiping a tear from a cheek, "I'll eat my hat."

"You aren't wearing a hat," Telea sniffed, wiping her own eyes after accepting a handkerchief from Melesse who was also quietly dabbing at her tears.

"My figurative hat then," Orlan said.

"Excuse us a moment, while we get our emotions back under control," Phineas told the camera, dabbing at his own eyes. "I think I can safely say that there's barely a dry eye in the entire room and we'll all need a moment to recover."

"The poor girl," Melesse murmured. "I think she just gave all she had left in her and genuinely meant everything she just sang."

"Some emotions were uncomfortably raw," Hugh agreed.

Beryl waved a handkerchief at the cameras.

"The voting for Stacey, Anastasia Wright, is now open. Please vote for her if you were moved by her performance."

While the voting was happening, the mentors settled their emotions and mental states. The trainees did the same. Everyone who needed to, got their makeup quickly fixed.

"And the voting is now closed," Beryl declared, once the countdown timer turned to zero. She cleared her throat and looked at her fellow mentors. "Would anyone like to make a further comment on Stacey's performance?"

One of the stage crew held up a screen and Beryl leaned forwards to read it with a squint.

"Oh. I see," she swept a smiling gaze across the worried trainees, some of whom were still crying. "The trainees can't see the live broadcast and so don't know what happened backstage. They would like to know if Stacey is alright," Beryl explained to the camera and then turned back to address the trainees. "Her fever has come back. She's being sent to the hospital for further check ups and treatment because she's been so unwell these past few days. As far as we're aware, Stacey is fine. She's just overworked and run out of energy."

"Pass me the microphone," Orlan reached out. "Most of you won't know, but Stacey only woke up a little over an hour before we started filming. She passed out after the end of filming yesterday and was kept under observation in the sick bay overnight. I heard she didn't wake up or move until she was almost dragged out to prepare for filming today."

"Like Telea said, prior to her performance," Phineas took the microphone from Orlan, "she didn't have time to rehearse and even if she did, she couldn't remember what she was meant to rehearse or perform. She's spent almost her entire waking time today in a daze, not knowing what was going on."

"I think she was planning the performance in her head," Hugh snatched the microphone from Phineas although Phineas had tried to keep it. "I think she was so deep in thought, planning her performance because she couldn't remember what she'd prepared, that she looked like she was in a daze to the rest of us."

"Maybe," Phineas agreed, managing to wrest the microphone back from Hugh's control now that Hugh had finished speaking. He frowned at Hugh and complained in a deep, grumbly voice, "Hugh, you made me forget what I was going to say."

"Let me talk then," Melesse held out her hand and the microphone was passed to her. "With so little time to plan while she was being fed, dressed and prepared for the competition, I think Stacey did a marvelous job. Keep in mind, she hasn't had a chance to touch a piano in all that time. Despite all that, I think that song was of a level I only expected to see in the finals. In one hour. I think even experienced artists would find it difficult to be able to pull something like that off. "

The mentors all nodded in agreement.

"I don't think there's much else we can say to Stacey's performance," said Telea, taking the microphone when Melesse handed it to her, "but wow, she's amazing. I almost can't wait to see what she's going to do next. Everytime she comes on stage, I'm filled with expectation. Unfortunately, that expectation is also a lot of pressure on her."

"And that pressure, ladies and gentlemen, is what you trainees need to learn to deal with and come to terms with," Beryl regained the microphone and spoke to the trainees. "Stacey's song raises a very common and important issue not just for those of us in the entertainment industry, but also for all you people out there. We wear masks and put on smiles, often pretending everything is ok. We do our best to meet other people's expectations of us and feel weighed down by other people's concerns and opinions. If you feel the stress and pressure is getting too much, get help. Find someone to talk to. Be a good friend and ask your neighbour if they're ok. Sometimes, every little bit helps."

"In the entertainment industry," Hugh took the microphone from Beryl who nodded at him, "people like to label us and give us all sorts of nicknames. Sometimes, it's easy to lose track of yourself. Who you really are. Your real self gets neglected and fades or gets squeezed into so many boxes that you forget what you originally came to do. Don't forget your original ambitions and dreams. Don't give them all up because people say you have to. It's not easy to become a star and stand in the public's eye. Once you are and you stand under all that scrutiny, sometimes the weight of those eyes and all those voices can change you. Twist you into a version of yourself that you don't recognize anymore."

"That's right," Orlan took the mic next. "Don't lose track of who you are and neglect your own physical, mental, emotional or spiritual health. Do what you need to do. Don't lose your own identity in a blind pursuit of glory. Otherwise when you get to the top and see all the bloody and broken bodies you trod on to reach your goal, you'll be horrified at what you've become. All your hard work will become meaningless."

"I'm sure we can all think of some people and stars who have done just that," Phineas said. "Don't be greedy. Hold onto your bottom line and don't cross it. Not for anyone or anything."

"There are some things that are worth giving your life for, but the life of a celebrity and to stand at the very top is not one of them," Telea agreed.

"It sounds like we're giving mixed messages here," Melesse said, "so let me summarise. Hold onto who you are and don't neglect yourself. Hold your moral ground. And…"

"Remember your original dreams and ambitions," Beryl finished, taking the microphone back. "Thank you everyone," she nodded at her fellow mentors who nodded in reply. "On that note, let's move on with announcing the scores and final ranking, shall we?"