Christmas was getting closer, and this time, you were dreading it for obvious reasons: your boyfriend and half of your friends were miles away (because they're in the middle of yet another stupid dick measuring battle to see whose science is bigger). You tried to keep your mind off of things by starting a freestyle session at lunch by slamming a pencil on a table to make some sick beats, people naturally surrounded you and took turns to spit out some bars, leading to some fun antics and hilarious freudian slips.
But once back in your studio, you had your chin pressed on the desk. You didn't want to work because subconsciously your brain thought that if you didn't work, then Christmas won't have to come. Good thing this week's tracks were already done in advance or else you'd be in serious trouble.
But of course, everybody has been asking you if you were planning anything special for Christmas, and seeing the anticipation and excitement on everyone's faces, Japanese and American alike, it lit a fire in you and you gave yourself little slaps on the face. You had to get a grip and get back to work pronto. You decided to take this opportunity to take the next step, which isn't that necessary but it'd be cool if it could be done. You went to your studio and worked on your next song, not telling Brody about it.

"Okay so, don't be mad at me." you told him one day as you stepped into your studio with him, Yo and Nikki.
The three of them looked at you confused, Brody seemingly wary as he folded his arms. You continued:
"But I may have or may have not uh..." you nervously scratched the back of your head. "Remade a Japanese song."
Your two friends' eyes widen. Brody was not happy, his expression suddenly became grave. It was the one thing he wouldn't allow you to do and yet you did it anyway. Not gonna lie, the look on his face scared you.
"Uh question." Yo leaned closer to you and whispered, looking just as scared by Brody's expression. "What are we here?" he gestured to him and Nikki.
"As witnesses, in case he tries to kill me." you whispered back.
"Wha-?!"
You didn't let him protest his new role and rushed to your dashboard.
"Now before you say anything!" you pointed at Brody. "Just listen to it. *Then* tell me what you think."

You paused for him to respond, but he didn't say nor do anything, he just waited for you do go ahead. You quietly exhaled. And against Yo and Nikki's expectations, you now looked more comfortable and even more confident. And indeed you were, because you knew his attitude would change as soon as he heard this song. Now true, as an adult and a man of the military, there was a chance he's never even heard it before. But given the small talks the two of you had, and your very accurate musician instinct, you knew he heard it at least once.
You pressed play. With just the first notes, all three of them recognized it, Yo let out a long 'yoooo' of hype and Nikki squealed, also hyped. Brody's shoulders dropped and he let out a little laugh.
"No fucking way." he said, rubbing his face as a large smile formed on your face.

["Devilman No Uta" - Kensuke Ushio]

Once the beat dropped, you and your two friends started to sing out loud and, not full on dancing, but just vibe to the music. With the soundproof walls of your studio, this became a cool little party of three. You and Yo would add 'hey!'s and other ad-libs wherever you could fit them.
"Fun fact," you said during the instrumental, a bit louder because of course Yo took it upon himself to increase the volume. "the original singer of this song is Avu-Chan, a half-black half-Japanese trans woman!"
"Right!" Nikki added. "She also made the Dororo opening!"
"Oh yeah~ that also!" you looked at Brody. "So what do you think?!"
He was caught off guard at first, but then he's kept his posture throughout the song, trying to still act serious.
"I told you no other languages."
"Aw come on~! With all the new 80's stuff I got, I *had* to! Plus you literally cannot deny how awesome this song is!"
"I can."
"That's not what your body is saying!"
He froze, only now realizing he's been nodding to the beat, just as his foot as been tapping the floor to the beat.
"Come on man, just let loose would you?"
"...I-"
"Everybody shut up!" Yo exclaimed. "The instrumental's almost over!"
And just as he said that, you three Japanese started singing along again. You were happy to notice that Brody looked more relaxed and now he was enjoying the music a bit more openly, with a smiled on his face. When it was finished you turned to Brody, panting slightly.

"I don't know how I could prove it without Xeno, but I can assure you I didn't put any secret messages on-"
"I know." he cut you off. "I've heard this song enough times to notice if you've changed anything."
'I knew it!!!' you fist bumped yourself in your head.
"So you know this song?!" Nikki asked, shocked.
"A foreign colleague of ours was obsessed with it."
'That has Byakuya written all over it.' you smiled, remembering the talks the two of you would sometimes have on Glam rock and 80's music in general, cool guy.
"So the song will be played on the show?!" Yo asked.
"To be clear, it can be just this one." you added. "Others would just be for performances, no need for them to even be on the show."
Brody looked at you for a moment of silence.
"...No."
Your expression fell, before you could say anything, he walked out.

"What an asshole!" Yo exclaimed. "He clearly loved the song!"
"He's being stubborn," Nikki folded her arms. "he wants to keep restrictions on (Y/n), even after she's proven herself." she looked at you, concerned.
As she talked, you looked down, your fists clenched. Not what you expected, bit of a pain in the ass, but you could still work with that. You clicked your tongue and turned back to the dashboard.
"Guess I'll have to come up with another song." you mumbled to yourself.
"By the way," Yo asked. "so what are you doing for Christmas? Are you gonna up the level again?!"
"Nah, sorry." you smiled at him, your eyebrows furrowed. "Given the circumstances, I think this is gonna be more simple."
"Understandable." Nikki nodded while Yo groaned, disappointed.
"So no Christmas concert-?"
"Of course there's gonna be a Christmas concert, are you kidding?" you chuckled. "It's just gonna be a more regular kind of concert." you walked towards the exit. "But I do have to ask the craft team for something."
Your two friends sent each-other a curious glance before following you.

Senku knew that, even with the current circumstances, you were going to do something for Christmas. Which is why on Christmas night, he and everyone gathered around the radio to listen to your evening show. You didn't say anything during the morning and afternoon, just playing already remade songs, you did explain this morning that you were preparing for tonight's Christmas special. That and you announced that a Christmas concert would be happening tomorrow, which everybody was excited about but at the moment they were mostly curious about this special that was going to happen any minute now.
And it happened.
"Hey~." you said into your mic, with some chill music in the background. "It's almost Christmas everybody~! I'm so hyyype!" you giggled. "But before that, here's the Christmas special, and we're going to do something that I'm not sure everyone is gonna like." you paused. "We're going to learn. This is a history lesson."
You glanced at Brody, the only other guy in the dim-lighted room. He looked surprised.
"That's right, tonight I'll tell you a story." you leaned back. "An event that my favorite historical movie ever was based on. The movie's called 'Joyeux Noël' or 'Merry Christmas', came out in 2005. And it's a European movie, with actors from a bunch of different countries, so in its original version, the movie is literally in different languages depending on which character is being focused on at the moment. So. It's all happening in a French battlefield during World War one, and you got three sides: the French and the Scotts who are allies, and the German. - Their leader is super hot by the way, and I can say that because he's a cool guy in the movie - I swear! I'll explain later it'll make sense trust me!"

You nervously giggled, realizing you were fumbling, and looked at the notes you've been preparing all day. You took a deep breath to recenter yourself before you spoke again.
"So you have those three sides, all of them are in their tranches and it sucks in there because obviously. Then, Christmas comes around and they all come together for a truce, just for one night, or so they say~." you paused. "And I love love *love* this movie so much, it was love at first sight because, the first thing that brought them together was music! The Scotts had their airhorns and the Germans had that one singer! And they played together and it's amazing!"
Brody silently sighed, of course that was the reason why. You cleared your throat, realizing you were getting ahead of yourself again.
"And now you're thinking 'okay that's gotta be something added in the movie to make it more sentimental.' Well guess what, that's what I was also thinking. Although, historical inaccuracy wouldn't have turned me off from this wonderful movie. But then, my then-friend - now boyfriend -" you chuckled. "told me that it was based on a true story. So I immediately looked up 'Christmas truce World War one' and I watched some documentaries about it. Turns out the French side was never there. Those French, always getting themselves into other people's business." you laughed. "Nah, it's cool, the French leader was a cool character. Loved the scene where he confronted his superior. But anyway! I'm gonna talk about what really happened! Spread the truth before we recreate this movie!"

Senku smiled, he was glad your audience seemed to share your enthusiasm. Then he and Xeno exchanged a glanced, and his smile faded. They were both curious about something. You kept going:

"So: 1914, World War one, stuff happened that caused it, it doesn't matter right now. A few things to note though: at first, everybody thought that this war would only last a few months. Everyone was so confident that their side would win that when the soldiers left for battle, there were parties in their honor. Then things blew out of proportions and the war really... for the lack of a better term, kicked off and lo and behold it lasted years. Second: war propaganda was going really strong, on both sides. Because of course you had to motivate your men to fight. They demonized their enemies, depicting them doing the worst thing to make sure they *hated* each-other, to make sure they wouldn't even see each-other as humans. And it worked, everyone was psyched to go to war, the soldiers saw it as a great honor, they thought it'd be a great experience and that they'd become heroes for sure." you paused. "But, once in the trenches, the harsh reality came in. Right now we'll turn our attention to the French borders between France and Germany, but keep in mind that everyone in the trenches were in similar conditions. So when you're a WW1 soldier and you're battling, once you can't advance anymore, you start digging long trenches with everyone else, as deep as like two meters and a half at least. Once all set up and hidden, you can't see what's out there and if you look up there's a good chance you'll get shot. And there were a *lot* of tranches. Once the weather started to get colder, it became just as dangerous in there than on the battlefield. More people died from frost bites and other diseases than of bullets..."
A silence settled. Brody's never been in the fields so he was baffled.

"I think." you said, frowning slightly before continuing. "So, obviously, the soldiers weren't as psyched as much- Because also! Let's not forget, those were kids! Like some of them were as old as me. I'm 19 by the way. - But yeah, not that great of time. Especially when they were promised that the war would be over by Christmas and they could all go home, but as it turned out, nope." you paused. "By that point, everybody was just tired and no one wanted to fight. It wasn't like they could do anything either, strategically, both sides were stuck in their trenches. A week before Christmas, people back in their home countries sent them gifts to try and motivate them. The British were sent cards and presents, and the Germans were sent a bunch of goodies along with small Christmas trees. They *loved* Christmas there, it was a big deal for them, they celebrated it before anyone else I think. So did it work? Nope, the soldiers were just even more homesick. And to be more of a buzzkill, headquarters sent them a warning. Because 'hey careful, if you lower your guard and get too comfortable, they'll take the opportunity to strike'." you shook your head as you quietly sighed. "And so, it was now the night before Christmas, the British are in their trenches, being cold and silent. But then, something strange happened over the Germans lines. They heard something they've never heard before in this war... The Germans were singing." you smiled. "Singing and lighting candles, it was a tradition for them. At first the British were wary, thinking it must've been a ruse or something. But then they recognized what they were singing, they were singing 'Silent Night'. And guess what? They joined in! And so both sides were singing this Christmas song together, in their own languages!" you squealed. "You know me I hate war, I'd rather die now than on a battlefield. I wish I could witness this magical moment!"

Senku chuckled.
"Of course." Xeno whispered, smiling.

"I say magical, but of course, the next day, everyone was still in the trenches. And then, from across no man's land, a German soldier stepped out of the trenches and started walking towards the Brits. The Brits of course took aim, the soldier stopped and waved and they realized that he was holding one of those tiny little Christmas trees. Then one by one, Germans stepped out of the trenches with no weapons and waved, saying 'don't shoot', some in German some in English. I'm sure those young men were confused to see the people they heard were so horrible doing that. Nevertheless, one by one the Scotts stepped out also. Now, it has been a few millenniums since I've seen the documentary but," you chuckled. "I do clearly remember this one soldier who talked about what happened. He said 'if they can do it we can' and he climbed out of the trench, his sergeant said 'get down' and he said 'shut up sergeant it's Christmas'!" you laughed. "So the two sides went to face each-other, and of course they were hesitant. But then they shook hands, they talked and they agreed for a Christmas truce."
You sighed, leaning back and smiling.
"First thing they did together was to bury the dead, the field was covered with dead bodies, it was a battlefield after all. Both sides helped each-other dig the graves and they made their sermon in their language. After that they chatted and exchanged stuff: alcohol, chocolate, tobacco, jam. Because they were experiencing the same thing, they really bonded and a genuine fellowship developed between them. There was one point where a German soldier, who I guess was a hairdresser, cut the hair of British soldiers. One of them talked about how his aunt has a hair salon, and that German soldier went 'that's funny, my barber shop is right across the streets from there'. The British soldier then said something like 'he might have shaved my uncle, and yet my bullet might find him just like his bullet might find me'. It's a weird thing to think about, to me at least." you paused, adjusting yourself in your seat. "And then, I don't know where it came from," a large smile formed on your face. "but someone brought a football- Oh sorry, a soccer ball." you glanced at Brody. "And together they played soccer! Their first game was of course Germans vs Brits, the Germans won by the way, but then they started mixing the teams."
By the sound of your voice, it was clear that just talking about this made you happy.

"Now, of course it wasn't all hearts and rainbows. Some soldiers weren't even happy about the truce. Some ordered their men to fire, but because the others didn't have any weapons, it wouldn't be fair to shoot, so they didn't. Some others wanted to take the opportunity to check out the enemy's trenches to see... I guess where all the guns are. It didn't work either by the way, they were stopped, but in like a friendly manner you know?" you took a sip of water. "Eventually, the day had to end, Christmas day passed. But guess what, the truce lived on!" you excitedly hit the table. "Because of course it did! Once both sides realized that they didn't need to fight, why would they continue? You can't just kill the men you celebrated Christmas with. Now, fraternizing with the enemy was a very close thing to treason as you could get back then. And the letters the soldiers were sending, talking about the truce and their new war friends, were all being verified by headquarters, so word got out about it. The soldiers were asked to give out the names of all officers who have been friendly with the enemy, and the rest was ordered to keep on fighting. The fear of punishment was there for sure, but the soldiers were still reluctant, after all they had more in comment with the people next trenches than the people back in headquarters, all relaxed in their office. So they kept going with the truce... Oh! Also, my second favorite thing about all of this: one of them had a camera! And they took pictures! You could find them on the internet, which is one of the reasons why I'm so sad that the internet is gone, because now those pictures are gone forever! Ow man~!"
You whined, Brody quietly chuckled.
"So at this point, headquarters was like 'okay, they're hopeless, get them out of here'. So they got their men out of there, separated them among themselves and sent them out to different battles... And that was it."
A moment passed.
"And in the movie, when the Germans leave they sing the song the Scotts taught them and oh my god! I don't wanna say more because it's spoiler." you covered your eyes. "It's called 'I'm Dreaming of Home', I won't play it 'cause I'd just cry if I do, it just brings out all the feels." you took a deep breath. "I like to think that, after the war ended, the soldiers found each-other again and they remained friends. I just picture them sitting at a table and laughing together." you smiled. "It was such a beautiful event in history. Like it's not some grand battle, it's not the downfall of a dictator, it's just real people who realized the ones facing them were also real people. What an amazing Christmas."

Another moment of silence. Your expression slowly fell and you looked down.
"Alright look." you turned off the music. "I know you're not dumb." your voice became more grave and serious. "I'm not asking you guys to become all buddy-buddies for Christmas, I know that's not gonna happen."
You didn't have to specify who you were referring to, everybody knew you were directly talking to the people in the South.
"But like... All I am asking, is for you guys to just pause it, for one night. Sit back amongst yourselves and just think about what's happening. And no I am not talking about what's happening in the South. Because I-Okay! I don't know if you all realized it yet, but everything's gone! Our lives as we knew them are gone forever! I don't know about you guys, but I had plans! I was planning to hang out with my friends on the weekend, and after high school I was planning on going to college! And now I can never do any of these things! We may have recreated ice cream and mangas, but nothing will ever be the same, *feel* the same." ... "Do you guys not feel the same?! Am I the only sane person here?!" ... "Just this one night, can you just please stay where you are?! Celebrate Christmas like normal people and acknowledge that this is all bullshit?! Again I know this is just a hopeless romantic speaking, but I don't care! Just one fucking night. And then you can go back to try and kill each-other."

You angrily adjusted yourself in your seat. Looking down, you let out a big sigh, reaching down and placing a box on the table.
"Sorry for the tangent. Moving on." your voice was now calmer, and a little sore. "This morning I asked the craft team to make a mail box, so that everyone could write little messages they'd like to send to their friends in the South. They are quite a few," you emptied its content. "and I'll read them all right now. Umh, unless they're inappropriate." you chuckled and took a random card from the pile. "'To: Taiju. I wish you are well and that you will return soon. I miss you a bunch. Love, Yuzuriha.' Damn~ okay!" you laughed and picked up another one. "Yuzuriha, we'll have to talk about this tomorrow. 'To: Stanley. Hey man, I got a cabin of tobacco that is still full thanks to you and it's starting to smell weird so come back quick. Best of luck. PS: also, super psyched to hear Maya's singing again.'"
Brody burst out laughing, you smiled.
"Okay, I feel like there is some inside joke here that I'm not aware of."
"There is yeah." he nodded.
"...So?"
"Can't tell you, she's listening."
"Ow shit, right." you puffed a chuckled. "Hey shoutout to Maya! You can get behind the mic once you're back."
Brody laughed, shaking his head. You were so gonna regret this later. The mood became livelier as you continued to read each card.

When you went on that tangent, everybody listening went quiet, some looked down in slight shame, some shed a few tears. But once you were reading the cards, indeed they smiled again and got excited when one was addressed to them. Senku and Xeno however distanced themselves from the group to talk in private, saying that they'd go refill their bottles by the river as an excuse.
"...I was wondering if she'd lie." Xeno broke the silence. "Do you think she takes that after you? Or is it just her being a hopeless romantic?"
Senku didn't say anything and continued filling his bottle with water.
"The fear of punishment pushed most of the soldiers to fight again, unarmed men were shot, and the names of the soldiers who became friendly with each-other were given to their respective headquarters. Soon the Christmas truce was but a memory." he slightly shook his head.
"...Who cares?" Senku stood up, not looking at him. "People liked the story. And even in the modern day, people remember how the event started more than how it ended. Plus, it's not like she's priding herself on her historian skills."
Xeno smiled
"She may have told a more accurate version than the movie, but it's still a movie."
Senku looked at him and shrugged.
"It's a cool movie."
"...Agreed." he nodded.

After telling the audience one last time about the concert tomorrow night, you ended your show. You leaned back and drank some water. That was a lot more talking than you were used to.
"You're coming?"
You looked back and saw that Brody was waiting for you by the doorway.
"Uh...Nah I think I'll stay here for a bit longer. Goodnight~."
He didn't say anything for a moment, then he nodded and left. Now alone, your smile fell as you faced the table and slowly buried your face in your arms. You started to hum a tune quietly, in the silence of the room, it could clearly be heard. You weren't singing the lyrics, but as you said before, it was enough to make you cry.
Against all odds, someone else was singing that song. Not Senku, not Xeno.

Stanley has been sitting alone, listening to your radio show. By the time you were reading the cards, he realized he hasn't taken a hit of his cigarette in a while, seeing the burned grey part has taken over almost half of it. It seemed he was listening intently. He smiled when you read that one inside joke. And now that it was over, he sat there in silence. And without realizing it, he began humming the same tune you were.
"Forever I'm dreaming of home~."
It was when he actually said the lyrics that he snapped out of his thoughts. He crushed his cigarette in his little ashtray.
"Great, now it's gonna be stuck in my head all over again."
"Stanley!" Maya kicked the door open (to which he had little to no reaction to). "Get out there, we're celebrating Christmas!"
"So you're listening to her."
"Come on~ you know the science kids are too!"
He sighed with half a smile and stood up, following her outside (they were still on their boat).
"Did you hear what she said? I'm finally gonna become a singer!"
"I heard yeah." he smiled.

That night, no one tried to advance in their search or their hunt.

After you calmed down, you left the room, your eyes still a bit red. You flinched when you opened the door and saw Brody in the hallway, his arms folded and leaning against the wall. You weren't sure, but it was probable that he heard you. Either way, he knew you needed a moment. For a moment, none of you said anything.
"You can sing in Japanese for your concert tomorrow." he eventually said. "Only tomorrow."
"...cool." you nodded before walking to your room.
Right now, you just wanted to sleep. You were glad about this though, things could go well this Christmas after all.

"We're fucked!" you slammed your hands on the table you and your friends were sitting around in for breakfast.
"Uh...Merry Christmas to you too?" Yuzuriha smile with a raised eyebrow.
She didn't know what your deal was, but she was happy that you seem to have forgotten about her letter to Taiju. She didn't know you were gonna read it out loud to everyone, she freaked out when she heard (Taiju did too and Senku congratulated him).
"Remember when we rehearsed for the concert and I made you work extra for the opening song because it's the most important?"
They all nodded.
"Well forget that crappy song because we're playing one in Japanese!"
"What?!?!?!"
"The concert's tonight," Magma exclaimed. "are you saying we have to learn a completely new song?!"
"That is exactly what I'm saying!"
"Are you insane?!" Yo asked. "That's impossible!"
"I know! But we're gonna do this! It has a way more fitting vibe!"
"How?" Nikki asked.
You pursued your lips, thinking. Just then, Brody went up to you and said you were getting a message from Gen. Intrigued, you went to the communication room.

"Hey~ (Y/n)-chan, missed me?"
"I did actually." you smiled.
"Aww~! Anyway I'm here as an English translator, because I'm sure Brody-chan's right there with you right? Hi Brody-chan~!"
You looked at him, he just huffed.
"So I'm here to deliver a Christmas present to (L/n) (Y/n)'s radio show from our science team."
You both frowned, confused.
"So go fetch a pen and a giant piece of paper, because there's a lot to write."
"Uh, okay?"
When you were ready, he began to dictate a list of stuff, some of them you've never heard of before and you needed him to spell them. It took you a second to realize what you were writing, or drawing in this case. It was a roadmap. Like all the others Senku would make for any projects for the Kingdom of Science. You smiled.
'But, what is it for?' you thought.
By the end, you let out a big 'Oh my god!!!' of excitement and Gen laughed, you also heard Senku laughing in the background.

"Alright! Everybody pack up!" you came back to your friends, the giant rolled up roadmap in your hand. "The exploration team's going on a mission today! We got a science project to do!"
"Wait really?" Minami asked. "What about the concert?"
"This *is* for the concert." you gestured to the paper. "And don't worry about the song, I'll take care of it."
"Still," Yuzuriha said. "you think we can complete this project by tonight."
"Of course we can! It's Christmas dammit! Let's go gang!" you stomped out, pointing forward with the roadmap.
Magma and Yo gladly followed you, happy to go on a mission.

'Take some liquid lye and combine that with sulfonic acid'
"We have a bunch of acids, but do we have sulfonic?"
"Surely we do. I remember when Senku made a bunch of dangerous chemicals, there's gotta be some in there somewhere." you said as you searched through the Perceus.

'The result should be some form of salt. Mix that with solid lye and you get sodium phenoxide.'
"Lye again?"
"Technically he said 'sodium hydroxide' but then he was like 'it's basically lye'." you chuckled.

'Acidify it with liquid acid.'
"What kind of acid?"
"He didn't specify, so I guess any acid will do...?"

'Phenol acquired!'
"Hourray~!"
"What?" Magma frowned. "That's it?"
"That's just the first branch of the roadmap, now it's onto step two!"

'Take some sugar and oxidize it with nitric acid.'
"Uh, oxidize?" your eyes narrowed.
"You basically put the sugar in the nitric acid." Yuzuriha explained.
"See this is why I'd sit next to you whenever Senku wasn't there."
"Oh? Was he often sick?" Minami asked.
"Nah, he'd skip school to go on expeditions around the world for his own science studies." you chuckled.

'Add in a teaspoon of vanadium pentoxide (melted vanadium.'
Vanadium is a metal that's usually very rare to find in nature, and it's normally from South America. But according to a certain Chelsea, a geography expert, the world's geography changed throughout the years, so you could find some where you were. She prepared a map of where the metal would likely be found.
"Awesome, say thank you to Chelsea for me."
Gen translated what you said and you her and you heard loud squeals in the background, although you weren't sure why. You thought maybe she wasn't used to compliments.

This was the missions the exploration team (along with a few American soldiers) was sent to, you tagged along and indeed, you found a bunch of vanadium (you recognized it based on Senku's description). On the way back, you spotted a bunch of wild cows while going through a meadow and stopped.
"Ayo, check this out." you smiled.
You then took a deep breath and loudly chanted something. It sounded very mystical and sometimes the high notes you hit would surprise the rest of your group. Your voice echoed throughout the meadow. Curious, the cows slowly walked up to you. Your companions' eyes widen.
"It's called the Kulning chant." you explained. "It was used in Europe to call the cows home and maybe also wear off predators. There's a theory that people in Scandinavia used it to tame animals way back when."
"But...we're not in Europe." one American said.
"Meh, doesn't really matter. Cows in general just like music. Ever saw one of those videos where someone would play an instrument and then they're surrounded by cows?"
You kept singing, the cows were now facing you, listening.
"You'd think that after millenniums without humans, they'd be wilder than that." Nikki said.
"Well, the Kulning chant is very old too, I think it dates back to prehistorical times. So maybe it just stayed in the cow's genetic evolution and that's why they're so naturally receptive to music."
A bit hesitant, you reached out your hand to one of the cows. It didn't seemed threatening, so you went to pet its head. It let you do it and you smiled.
"Guys look! I'm a disney princess!"
"A what?" Magma frowned.

'Dehydrate all of that with heat. Oxalic acid acquired! Mix it with phenol. Diphenyl oxalate acquired!'
"Great! Now put that aside while we make something completely different!"
"Are you serious?!" everybody exclaimed.

'166mg of phthalic anhydride, 220mg of resorcinol, put in three drops of of concentrated sulfuric acid. Fluorescein acquired!'
"I think you can leave these steps to our own science team." Brody said.
"Oh thank god!" your shoulders dropped, relieved. "Because I had zero clue on how to get these ingredients!"
"Yeah, it needs some intense chemical work to do that. Thankfully we got the resources for it."

'Heat that up at 200 degree Celsius for five minutes. Put some water in it until the color lighten up. Dilute with solid lye (300mg for 10ml).'
"Uh..." you slowly turned towards Brody.
"I'll crush the numbers for you."
"Thank you~." you said in a whisper.

'Fluorescent dye solution acquired!'
Your primitive stone world friends look in awe as you put a few drops of the solution into a glass of water, all in a dark room so they could see it in the dark. Meanwhile, some of you modern day friends were starting to put the pieces together as to what you were making.
"Onto step three!"
Step three was to make hydrogen peroxide, the Americans took care of that one as well since you needed large chemical plants in order to make some.
"Alright~! Now we just need some glass and plastic, it's time to craft!"

"So...(Y/n)?" Nikki asked once you've commissioned the crafting team. "About the concert..."
"Oh I took care of it."
"Wha-When?! You were with us the whole time!"
You looked around and leaned closer, speaking more quietly.
"I may or may not have already remade the song's instrumental along with the Devilman one." you leaned back, now speaking to the group. "For the opening song, you guys will lipsync, but with your instruments."
"There's gotta be a term for that..."
"We'll pretend to play?" Magma tilted her head.

Yo gasped, now with a spark in his eye.
"If that's the case, can I pla-?"
"You're not gonna play Yo!"
"Why?!"
"I told you! You get too excited and you fuck up the tempo!" you huffed, returning to your temporary band. "You guys will just have to get familiar with the song. You won't have to be perfect at it, since people will more likely focus on me."
"Pfff, overconfident much?" Yo folded his arms.
"It's not overconfidence, it's facts!" you pointed at him.

The stage, constructed a week before, wasn't as big and fancy as the one you had back in Japan, but it'll do the job very well. As you and your team set up your equipment, you took a moment to look down and the empty space which will soon be filled with a crowd of people. You smile, then you realized something.
'Oh my god. I went international... Am I a celebrity?'
You covered your mouth, smiling, and giggled happily. Around an hour later, as it began to get dark, people started coming. Most of them were already familiar with your performance skills so they were super excited, but there were a few who weren't that hyped and just waited for it to get started so they could see if it was worth the wait.
"And those are the ones we gotta convince that we're the best." you told your band. "Alright gang, let's do this."
You joined hands in a last gesture of encouragement before going to your respective places, with you taking front stage. In the dark, you nodded to Brody, who started the broadcast, along with playing the first song.

["脱法ロック" (Law-evading Rock) feat. Kagamine Len - Neru]

Your fellow Japanese cheered as they recognized their language, and although the Americans weren't sure how to react during the song's intro, once the beat dropped, the stage lights turning on at the same time, they joined the hype. The crowd sang along the part with the 'ohwoho~'s, because of course they did, this songs slapped. You encouraged them to do so, to engage with the song, and it worked perfectly. With the experience you accumulated throughout the years, plus the fact that, for some, this was their first concert in years, your audience really fell for you. It was clear just by watching that you were genuinely just having fun, that you and your bandmates had real chemistry, dancing together with the music.
Once the song's break kicked in, Kinrou and Kirisame, who were backstage this whole time, stepped onto the stage holding baskets and threw their content onto the audience. The Americans were ready to scream but they quickly realized what you were throwing at them. A cylindrical plastic case with some liquid inside (the diphenyl oxalate and the fluorescent dye solution), inside was a long glass capsule with another liquid inside (the hydrogen peroxide solution). The people from this stone world didn't get it, so they imitated the ones from the modern world: they twisted the plastic tub in order to break the glass capsule, then shook it to mix the content. They yelled out in hype when the already glowing green became shinier and shiner.

You guys just recreated glow sticks. And for the short second during which no instrument was playing and it was just you singing, you felt a chill down your spine as you watched the green lights shining in the dark and waving at you. Just then, the beat dropped again for the song's finale. When it was over, the crowd boomed with applause and cheers. Panting, you smiled.
"Merry Christmas everybody!" you exclaimed.
Despite its rocky start, this ended up being a great Christmas. Like always.