The Second Archon War, Imperatrix Umberosa 12 (Patreon)

Sitting across from Vornheim and Capri, Mushu felt slightly dizzy. Not because of the alcohol: it would take a lot more than a dozen beers to put him down these days. Actually, could he even get drunk anymore? He hadn’t actually tried since, well…since he found Raiden. Or she found him, anyway.

No, the thought of becoming a father, of BEING a father, was what left him dizzy. He wasn’t sure what to do, frankly. His own father was a man he’d never known, though a few fools had tried to approach him after his rise to power and claim to be his father. He’d dismissed them all, and physically tossed aside a few more adventurous fools. The time to be his father had been when he had been a helpless child. Not when he was the Right Hand of Raiden.

“You ever have any kids?” Mushu asked Vornheim, looking down into his beer bottle.

“I did. Once,” Vornheim said, his tone leaving no doubt as to his current status. His hat was on the table, sitting on his folded up jacket, and he’d undone his necktie as well. He was staring over at Venti, who was currently standing on the table and playing the harp while singing. Naomi was at his feet, banging away at a drum and laughing.

Fill up the barrels and store them away

Then wait, wait for a windier day

Wax the bottles, seal them tight

For the south wind that soothes, for the north wind that bites

A crowd had gathered by now, a good chunk of them capes, but also quite a few civilians, and Venti was reveling in the performance. Raiden was sitting at a table with Amy, Clara, Tsukuyomi, and Keiga, and they seemed to be chatting about children. Or rather, Keiga was talking, and the others were listening with Clara and Ami chiming in.

“Shit. Cologne?” Capri asked Vornheim.

He nodded. “I triggered after the attack. When I found…well. Calling them bodies would be a stretch.” He took a long pull of his beer, and looked down. “I should have died that day. I didn’t. But I did vow that such a thing would never again happen to Germany. Not on my watch.”

“I saw a lot of bodies when Leviathan came,” Mushu said, his eyes seeing the past. Sentai, face down in puddles, or ripped apart. Civilian bodies littering the street. “If Raiden hadn’t come…shit. I don’t know that I’d be alive today. Even if I had survived…who knows. Don’t think that I’d have wanted to.”

“A detestable fate to consider,” Vornheim agreed, taking another drink of his beer. He glanced at Capri and raised an eyebrow. “I envy you, Vision Holders. The Thinkers can say what they want: There is something different about you.”

“I dunno where parahumans get their powers from. Venti said something about a dead god…” the woman shrugged, looking uncomfortable as she fingered her Vision. “But I have a pretty good idea of where my Vision came from.”

“Oh?” Mushu and Vornheim raised their eyebrows at that one.

Capri nodded, and jerked her head at Raiden. “I’m a bit of a loner weirdo myself.”

“That is a bit impolitic, given present company-” Vornheim began, until he looked at Mushu, who had been fighting back a laugh.

Maybe he was drunk, because he started coughing, then wheezing, then pounding the table with his head down on it. “I KEEP TELLING PEOPLE SHE’S A HIKIKOMORI, BUT NO ONE BELIEVES ME! MY GOD IS A GOOF, AND I WOULDN’T CHANGE A-”

The lightning bolt that struck Mushu tickled, and when he felt himself shrinking, he knew what was happening. “-thing. You’re just proving my point, woman! Who makes their familiar a damn Disney Character!?”

Raiden was studiously not looking at him, and Mushu grinned, hopping up onto the surface of the table. “I mean, look at me. I even sound like Eddie Murphy.”

“That is a bit…odd,” Vornheim acknowledged. “However…I gave up my belief in a god long before Cologne, and I have seen little to change that in the years that followed. I may have made a deal with the Devil, but my one priority is saving German lives.”

“Does that include me,” Capri asked icily, leaning forward on the table.

Vornheim looked down into his stein, and a look of deep shame came over him. “...for my part, yes. But…the needs of the many…”

Capri slammed a fist on the table, sending out sparks and making it rattle while Mushu jumped up into the air with a yelp. “FUCK THAT! Do you really want to go back to when Germans were the bad guys?”

“I was willing to sell my soul to save my countrymen,” Vornheim admitted, unable to meet Capri’s eyes. “It is distasteful, but…you were not there, young lady. You did not see…nothing could stop Behemoth. Not Macher, not Brunhilda, not the damn PRT and the Americans. Nothing.”

“Wrong,” Capri growled, and she pointed a finger at Venti. “He can.”

Vornheim looked up, his expression incredulous. Venti had launched into another song, this one a rather popular one at Oktoberfest appropriately enough.

If you're not in the mood today,

let everything be as it is,

we want to drink, drink another one,

because you forget your worries

“Seriously? Him?” The incredulous look on Vornheim’s face said it all.

Mushu glanced at Venti, then over at Raiden. “Would you have thought she could kill Leviathan at a stroke?”

“Well, I mean, she is…” Vornheim trailed off, glancing over at Raiden, who was blushing and pretending not to look at Mushu still as she drained another bottle of soda. “Well. She is Raiden.”

“And he’s Barbatos,” Capri said, stabbing a finger at the table where the wood had splintered at her power-fueled blow. “He’s the Anemo Archon. And if another Endbringer fucks around with us, Venti will make sure they find out.”

“I…I want to believe you, but…” Vornheim spread his hands. “Where is your proof? He’s performed a few remarkable feats, I’ll give you that. But he’s not fought an Endbringer, and he certainly hasn’t slain one. Raiden has.”

“Is that what it will take?” Capri demanded, glaring at Vornheim. “Is that what would have to happen for you to believe?”

Vornheim considered that for a long moment. Finally, he shook his head. “No. But it would take a miracle. Something…something beyond belief.”

“Fine. One miracle. Coming right the fuck up,” Capri drained her bottle, and slammed it down, glaring at them.

Mushu waited, cocking his head to one side. Vornheim was actually holding his breath.

Seeming to realize that, Capri blushed. “Not this instant, you idiot! But just you wait. Venti’s gonna do something that will blow you all away. Literally.”

“Well, here’s to that,” Vornheim said. He lifted his mug and drained it, then turned it upside down and set it on the table. Taking out his billfold, he left some money on the table. “And with that, I depart. There is always more work to be done.”

The party didn’t continue for too long after that, as Ami and Clara were yawning, and it was bedtime for them. The owner approached Venti and Raiden, beaming and bowing. “Such a big crowd! Thank you! I put a discount on your bill, here it is.”

He held it out to Raiden, who took the bill, looked at it, and frowned. “I have no funds with me.” Then she held out the bill to Venti.

“Ehe! Uh, I’m a little short on cash myself at this point. Capri?”

“Oh no you don’t. Just from you alone, you drank over 1000 marks worth of liquor! I don’t have that kind of money!” she declared, crossing her arms in denial.

“But…but the bill,” the owner said, looking like he was about to pass out. “You all…you all drank and ate so much…”

“Outta my way, outta my way,” Mushu grumbled, having to hop off the table. He retrieved his wallet from his clothes, then stalked forward, carrying it over his head, it was almost as big as he was now, and up to Raiden. He snaked up her leg and body to perch on her shoulder. “Gimme that!” Taking the bill, he reviewed it, and snorted lightning in disgust. “You ordered HOW many bottles of coke?! I didn’t even see you go to the bathroom, how did you not explode?!”

“Gods do not require the use of the privy,” Ei sniffed.

“Speak for yourself, what goes in must come out of this body,” Venti laughed.

“Inefficient,” Ei and Tsukuyomi said at the same time.

“Can you…can you foot the bill?” the owner asked desperately, looking at Mushu with pleading eyes.

He sighed and opened up the wallet, pulling out his credit card, which was comically oversized in his tiny claws. “Got you covered right here. Ring me up. But you owe me, both of you. Especially you, Mr. Drinks a Lot! It’s ridiculous enough that someone drank sixty two bottles of coke in five hours! How the bleep you put away-oh come on now! I can’t even say bleep?! What kind of BLEEP BLEEP BLEEPITY BLEEP-”

Keiga had to calm Mushu down after that, hugging his body to her chest, but the truly ludicrous bar tab was settled, thanks to the deep pockets of Mushu’s own personal bank account. But it was a close thing.

After that, the motorcade back to the hotel was there, and Raiden and Venti moved apart from the others to say their farewells. To Mushu’s surprise, he was placed on Raiden’s shoulder to bid the Anemo Archon a good night.

“It has been…interesting, seeing you once more, Barbatos,” Ei said, inclining her head to Venti, one ruler to another.

“Yeah, it’s been great, catching up on old times! We’ll have to do it again sometime,” Venti said with a broad grin.

“Perhaps. In another century or so,” Ei allowed. “Your company is…well. It is of the sort that satisfies my need for it for a great deal of time.”

“You mean I drive you nuts the same as always,” Venti said, fluttering his eyelashes at Ei.

“Yes,” Ei agreed without missing a beat.

“Ehe! Well, I understand. I hope I won’t have a need to call on you sooner.” Venti turned his eyes to Mushu, and gravely extended a finger to him. “Take care of Beezy, little dragon. We might not be Besties, but she needs you. More than she’ll say.”

“I had that part figured out already,” Mushu muttered, but shook the offered finger regardless. “Don’t forget: You owe me. I ain’t paying any more dumbass bar tabs of yours until we’re square.”

“Well, then I’ll simply have to find a way to settle accounts that doesn’t involve monetary remuneration!” Venti laughed. He headed off towards Capri and the other German capes, and they went back for another round.

“Drunks. The lot of them,” Mushu said with a snort.

“I have never understood the appeal of alcohol,” Ei agreed. “Come. We must away.”

“Hold on. Call your idiot daughter over here. No, not Ami, the other one,” Mushu ordered. Raiden frowned, but did as he told her. Mushu stuck his claws in his mouth and tried to whistle, but he just blew hard. “Damn. No lips. HEY YOU! Ninja girl! Get your ass over here!”

“M-me?” Sara Tengan gasped, but she hurried over, blushing as she bowed before the Raidens. “I am honored, m-my lady, and I apologize, I, ah, I sort of forgot I was supposed to kill the Anemo Archon, but if you just give me some time to-”

“You forgot to what?” Mushu growled, leaning out from Ei’s shoulder with his tail wrapped around her neck.

“Kill?” Ei frowned, her eyes flashing in irritation. “Why would I order such a thing? Who told you this? Lord Nakamura mentioned the same.”

“You didn’t!? But then why would the Evening Star tell us to…” Sara flung herself to the ground, prostrating herself. “Forgive me, your Excellency! I did not wish to-”

“Not here. Not now,” Mushu said, reeling himself back onto Ei’s shoulder. Weird how natural this felt.

“Yes. I have a troublesome priest to speak with,” Raiden said, and with a slash of her palm, she opened a gateway.

Mushu rubbed his tiny palms together. “Yeah…let’s talk.”

There was a certain point where Sara’s life had gone out of control. She wasn’t really certain when it was, but it had definitely happened. Now she was stepping through a portal with Raiden herself! Sara knew exactly what was going to happen: Now that Raiden had a daughter, she needed Sara to help continue the bloodline. They would kiss passionately under the moonlight and-

No, no, Sara had a boyfriend now. And not just the one she lied and told everyone she had. She still wasn’t really sure how that had happened, but apparently, Itul was actually interested in dating her, which was nice. He was very handsome, after all. Not as wonderful as her Supreme Excellency, the Narukami Oshogo, but he shared Sara’s passion for Raiden, and agreed that Raiden truly did have the best thighs in all of creation.

Stepping through the portal, Sara looked around, seeing the rising sun on the horizon. She let out a small gasp, realizing they were back in Japan. But she hadn’t even kissed Itul yet! Was this a sign that Raiden wished to save Sara’s affections for herself?!

Her daydreams ended when Sara realized where she was, and who the bald man behind the desk before them was.

“Your Excellency!” Kenichi cried, and fell to his hands and knees in a bow, showing he was a wise and discerning person. “I had just received word that the foul Anemo Archon had been slain. Ah, I see Tengu is with you, well done. Though I am surprised you enlisted the aid of the Inazuma no Himi-”

“Kenichi,” Raiden growled, and the head of the Yashiro commission looked up in startlement. “What did I say in my message to you?”

“Why, to seek out and eliminate-”

The boom of thunder overhead interrupted Kenichi, and his eyes went wide.

“Tengu. What were my instructions?” Raiden said, her voice calm, but her expression stormy.

Sara froze. She’d sort of forgotten about that. “Um, to find the Anemo Archon, and keep your daughter safe?”

The curt nod in response calmed Sara’s fear she’d managed to screw this up. Disappointing Raiden was the last thing she wanted to do.

“It seems only one of my servants in the Shuumatsuban understood my will,” Raiden said, her tones ice as the sky rumbled in anger. “‘Seek out the Anemo Archon with all due haste’. Those were my words to you. What part of this made you think I wished for the death of Barbatos?”

“Well, ah, there can be no god but you, and it is my duty to spread your word to the infidels and foreign devils who deny your-”

I AM THE NARUKAMI OF JAPAN. NOT OF GERMANY. NOT OF CHINA. NOT THE WORLD. JAPAN.

Before she even realized what she was doing, Sara was on her knees and looking up in awe as Raiden’s braid whipped about her, her expression furious.

WAR IS THE ENEMY OF ETERNITY. THERE IS BUT ONE GOD YOU MUST FEAR, KENICHI. AND IT IS NOT BARBATOS.

“I fear only you, Raiden, you are the only true god!” Kenichi said, looking up, his own eyes filled with zealous obsession.

THEN YOU ARE A FOOL. AND I DO NOT SUFFER FOOLS TO SERVE ME. YOU ARE FORTUNATE THAT THE SHUUMATSUBAN AGENT YOU SENT WAS MORE ATTUNED TO MY WILL THAN THE OTHERS. THEY SHALL BE RECALLED.

“I…I accept your judgment. My life is yours, God of Eternity! I will take my own life if you will it,” Kenichi said, tears filling his eyes as he took out his sword and grasped the blade with his hands, blood pouring down to stain his robes as he prepared to take his own life.

A spark shot out and knocked the blade away, causing Kenichi to gasp as his fingers knitted themselves back together.

“You are a fool, Kenichi. But you are not a traitor,” Mushu said from his perch on Raiden’s shoulder, lowering his finger. Sara was jealous. She wanted to ride Raiden. Or better yet, have Raiden ride her.

As a bird. Yes. She would turn into a bird. That’s what she meant.

Also the other thing.

“I do not require your life,” Raiden said, turning her back on Kenichi. “You will retire to Sarufutsu, Hokkaido, where you will keep a shrine to me. Your loyalty is commendable, but your passion is ill-suited for this position.”

“I…I accept your judgment, Your Excellency,” Kenichi said, sounding numb. He stood on shaky legs. “If…if I have brought dishonor to you, I can still take my own life…”

“You are forbidden from doing so. Such is against my precepts,” Raiden said firmly. “Depart now.”

“I…at once,” Kenichi said, sounding dazed, and walked out of the office.

Sara watched him go, still on the ground. She looked up at Raiden hesitantly. “Am…am I banished too?”

“Hmm?” Raiden looked down at Sara, frowning. “No. You are the only one of my servants who seemed to understand her mission, and you succeeded. You will be rewarded.”

“Is she to head the Yashiro Commission?” Tsu asked. Raiden’s secret daughter was very exciting. She was almost as beautiful to Sara, but she’d given some speech about “a god not taking lovers” when Sara had tried to compliment her. Not that Sara wanted to sleep with Tsu. Though she did look a lot like her mother, and she was a part of Raiden, right? So she-

“No. Mushu shall locate a suitable replacement. I erred in selecting a man purely for his loyalty and passion. Kenichi did not have the proper temperament. Have Nakamura help you. However, another change must be made.”

“And what’s that?” Mushu asked, folding his little arms.

“Tsukuyomi. You shall lead the Shuumatsuban. You have studied the ways of this world, and know how best to wield this blade. As my kagemusha, you shall lead the other shadow warriors in safeguarding Japan and Eternity,” Raiden decreed.

Tsukoyomi blinked. “If that is your will, mother…”

“It is. You wish to test yourself on the battlefield? Here is your opportunity. Find your Aspect, and embody it. There is no better path to knowing oneself than combat.”

That sounded incredibly cryptic to Sara, but also completely awesome.

“Take Tengu as your second. Should she live up to her name, I shall grant her its power,” Raiden continued.

“Me?! Second in command of the Shuumatsuban?!” Sara gasped, her eyes going wide in shock. She’d thought she was going to be punished for forgetting about her mission, not rewarded for it.

“You are the only one of my agents who it seems understands true Eternity,” Raiden informed Sara. Sara wondered if anyone else thought that Raiden’s thighs were the only Eternity for them.

“I…I will do my utmost to serve honorably and well,” Sara said, bowing her forehead to the ground again.

“I accept this commission,” Tsukuyomi agreed. “I will walk in your footsteps, Mother.”

“Then make haste. For I know not how much time remains to us,” Raiden said solemnly. She opened a portal to the hotel back in Germany. “Depart. Your work is yet undone.”

Nodding, Sara spared a glance over her shoulder back at Raiden, who was talking quietly to Mushu. After a few exchanges, the little dragon hopped off her shoulder and scurried through the portal. A moment later, it closed, with Raiden on the other side.

Once it was closed though, Sara realized she was in a pickle. Technically, her mission was now over. Should she just return to Japan? Was she allowed to attend MEX with her boyfriend that she’d definitely had all along? Hard questions to answer.

Before she could figure out what to do though, Tsukuyomi’s body suddenly rippled, and Raiden was standing there.

“My actions this day will have caused a stir in the diplomatic community. Mushu, summon the press, that I might hold court,” she declared.

“Yeah, I’ll get right on that after someone lifts this damn curse,” Mushu growled, though it came out as more of a purr at his size. “I ain’t callin’ no press conference when I’m all of 18 inches tall and sound like a damn comedian. Shit, I’m even using Imperial Measurements and I ain’t got a clue what they mean!”

“Very well, your punishment is lifted,” Raiden-Tsu declared, and a moment later, Sara was blushing and turning away. She wondered if Itul was as well muscled and…equipped.

“Great. Well, I’ll just go get changed. Sara, you go find the girls and keep them out of trouble. I don’t exactly approve of their mad cape adventures in foreign countries but it’s a damn sight better than Clara blowing up another bus.”

“I, I will do so at once!” Sara agreed and scurried away. She found that Ami and Sara were already asleep, and went to her own quarters. She wondered if it were possible for her fanfictions to be violations of national security.

And also what the Raiden Mains on the Parahumans board would think of her Tengu/Raiden/Raidens’ clone ship.

“Thank you for your custom, Traveler, and remember-”

“Our journey leads us onward!” the pimply pair of teenagers squealed in excitement, clutching the photos they’d taken with Naomi. She smiled at them and curtsied, prompting further sounds of delight, then they ran off to the next booth to visit.

“Hey, Naomi, you eaten yet?” Cookie called, coming over.

She shook her head, her shoulders slumping in exhaustion. After staying up until who knew when and drinking far more wine than she should have, Naomi felt like death warmed over. This had been a lot easier a few years ago. She wasn’t even 30 yet, and she already felt like an old woman.

“No, I haven’t,” Naomi said, checking her watch and grimacing. It was nearly 2pm, and she’d worked right through lunch. Plus, the Tone Deaf Bards were supposed to put on a show in just a couple of hours.

Whatever she’d expected after having dinner with the Raiden Shogun and her retainers, along with the head of the Meisters…going back to being a booth bunny the next day wasn’t it.

“Great, neither have I. Come on, you can come back to the green room and we’ll get a bite to eat,” Cookie ordered.

It did take a few minutes to get through the crowd, as there were lots of people who still wanted Naomi’s picture and a few staff members who wanted problems solved by Cookie, but at last, they made it to the staff room in the back. With a sigh of relief, Naomi took off her headdress and tossed it onto a couch, then slumped down, too tired to even move or think.

A few minutes later, someone pressed something cold to her forehead, and she muttered her thanks, opening her eyes to see it was Cookie with a cold energy drink.

“You look as beat as I feel. I am never trying to keep up with Venti in drinks again. I’d be basically dead without my Vision,” Cookie said, falling back onto the couch and passing Naomi a plastic container that proved to have a sandwich and a bag of potato chips. Not exactly health food, but then again Naomi was a bit too tired to care about her figure or health at this point.

“You tried to keep up with Venti’s drinking? I think that’s how you get liver failure,” Naomi said, then took a bite of her sandwich. It tasted divine, despite looking like the cheap kind you’d buy at a grocer with lots of grease and mayo on it. She was hungrier than she’d thought.

“I have too much experience from my college days, but it is getting a lot harder now that I’m hitting the big three oh next year,” Cookie said around a mouthful of her food.

Naomi very deliberately did not chide the other woman. She was not her mother. She was not a bitch. Even if it was extremely gross and annoying. It had taken her almost a year before she broke Capri of the habit.

Venti was a lost cause and Naomi wasn’t even going to bother trying, but the Lord should see to it that his messengers were better acquainted with proper table manners.

Wiping her mouth on a napkin, Naomi nodded. “Yes, I suppose without my own Vision I’d be bleary-eyed and noncommunicative today. You’re using yours again? Are you going to join the Knights of Favonius?”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Venti made me an offer, and I’m tempted, but…” Cookie looked around, but the other staffers and guests were involved in their own conversations and food, and weren’t paying attention. She lowered her voice anyway and whispered, “But is he really a god?”

“No,” Naomi sniffed. “He’s merely a messenger sent by Adonai, for there are no other gods save the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Cookie looked at Naomi funny for a moment, and she did her best not to glare back, instead giving her a sweet smile.

“So, he’s just an insanely powerful supernatural being who can grant powers, and wants to wipe out the Nazis, and is BBFs with the Raiden Shogun who is also apparently an ancient goddess,” Cookie said in overly acerbic tones. She rolled her eyes when Naomi opened her mouth and added, “Sorry, ‘angel’ or whatever.”

“Well, he can’t grant powers, or so he says, but Capri and I did get our Visions right after talking to him, so…um…Yes?” Naomi said with a shrug.

“Whatever floats your boat, but I think that meets at least some definitions of ‘god,’” Cookie said, slouching back down and taking another bite of food. Not that this prevented her from continuing on, “I’m tempted to take the job, but I want something in return.”

“Uh, the Knights are currently a volunteer organization, so, um, there isn’t much pay,” Naomi said, wincing slightly. That very lack of pay was why she was here today: Raiden might have covered the bill from last night, but they still needed gas and food to continue their crusade.

She might have to remind the Lord in her prayers again that He was supposed to take care of His children, and if He really wanted His People to be protected and to stop evil He’d better make sure Naomi’s purse was a little less empty.

“Nah, not that. I want his Casket of Tomes to study,” Cookie said, leaning forward. The bit of crumbs and mustard at the corner of her mouth very nearly made Naomi lean forward and wipe it off for her, but that was the sort of thing her mother would do and Lord help her she was NOT her mother!

“Ah, I’m sure we could arrange that,” Naomi said. Then she practically heard Capri shout in her ears, and she sighed. She hated playing into certain stereotypes about her people, even if her nose was bigger than she’d like, someone had to think of the finances of their little group and it certainly wasn’t going to be Capri or Mr. Someone-Else-Will-Find-the-Money. “But there will be a nominal rental fee involved.”

“I’m willing to pay a one-time lump sum of 20,000 marks, with an additional sum of up to 80,000 marks when the product goes to market if you sign the rights over to me,” Cookie said, her eyes glowing purple at the same time the Vision on her lanyard sparked with energy.

That much money made Naomii’s head spin. Sure, her yearly allowance used to be about that, but she’d not had that much money in her bank account since shortly after she’d run away from home with Capri. It had all been terribly romantic until about four months in when the money ran out, but Naomi had stuck with it. Some things were worthy far more than any amount of marks, and Freedom was at the top of that list, right below Love.

“I, uh, I think that sounds acceptable,” she managed. By the vicious grin on Cookie’s lips, Naomi knew she could have pressed for more money. But really, what would they even do with more money? And she really wasn’t a greedy person. “I’ll just talk to Venti about it when he gets off work.”

“What work? He skived off with that muscle-headed moron as soon as Clara and Ami showed up because that stupid dragon is doing the translation work for him! If he thinks I’m paying him to goof off, that bard has another thing coming!” Cookie vowed.

“Uh, shouldn’t you be more respectful? He is, well, he isn’t human, you know,” Naomi said quietly.

“Oh please. Just because I’m going to convert to his religion doesn’t mean I’m going to be any more respectful of him than I am of any other shirker. He who does not work does not eat!” Cookie declared. She glanced at the clock. “Speaking off, back to work with you. I’m not paying you to lounge around all day! Now where are those two idiots…”

Sighing, Naomi put her headdress back on and headed back to the door. For a goy, Cookie certainly had the same attitude Naomi had seen from certain Rabbis.

And with that impious thought, it was showtime. Stepping out onto the floor, Naomi banished her weariness and pasted on her most dazzling smile. Life, and the show, must go on.