Disclaimer: I don't own Vocaloid…at all. I don't even own the program or the game for gods sake! I'm just a girl with a bit of a plot bunny that needs to be set free. All OC characters you see within the story are mine though.

"Talk"

Think

"Talking in another Language"

Liana slumped against the desk, her ears ringing from the droning of the teacher. Over and over, lessons were being drilled into her unwilling brain. It was almost pure torture, but she pushed on through it, unwilling to fall asleep. It was too dangerous…the teacher was known to use the yard stick on sleeping students. Yawning, she rubbed tiredly at her eyes and forced them open, staring at the teacher and the whiteboard beyond. Placed upon it were formulas. Horrible and complicated formulas for that matter. God, what was I thinking…signing up for Geometry…someone kill me NOW! She thought as she yawned once more and glanced up at the clock. Almost a half hour of class remained. Huffing, Liana brushed brown hair away from her equally brown eyes and glared at the teacher. Gods, she hated this class so god damn much.

Resigning herself to a long and tiring class, Liana pulled out her notebook, picked up her pencil and proceeded to do what every teenager does when stuck in a rather boring class. She doodled. Glancing up every now and then to make sure she wasn't falling too far behind, she put paper to pencil and sketched. Long arcs swam across the page, followed up with slim lines and smaller nicks. Eventually, the mess on the paper grew a shape, a form and eventually formed the rough shape of a person. From there, she drew on details, always looking up every few minutes so that the teacher didn't suspect her of anything. Smiling, she glanced down at her art and was proud to see that it wasn't…well, it looked like who it was supposed to. She was steadily getting better.

Sitting on the paper, back leaned against a drawn tree, which looked horrible unless you squinted your eyes and tilted your head to the left, was a person she admired greatly. Sure, the man on the paper didn't exist in the truest sense of the word, but in her heart and in the music she listened to, he thrived. Sighing, she put her pencil down and smiled as the serene face of Kaito Shion, her self-proclaimed fantasy crush. After all, what wasn't cute about a blue haired, blue eyed boy who could sing like a god? The only bad thing about the drawing, she had to admit, was the proportions and the fact that his face was a little off. One eye also appeared to be drifting, but there was little she could do about it. She had only started drawing (Off and on) about a year ago, she was lucky to get so good so quickly.

Although…good was a relative term, wasn't it? She could only draw so well and only in half shadowed poses. Anything full faced was a wreck. She also couldn't really draw hands either, those remained hidden…and…clothes were….well, she did her best. Sighing again, she pouted and folded the paper up; sticking it in her math folder with her other doodles where it would remain safe. This one wouldn't get out, it was bad. Decent, but compared to her other friends, who were just…artists, it was a load of crap. They were always supportive though, she had to give them that. Maybe I should just stick to writing… she grumbled as she glanced up at the clock and smiled. Ten more minutes of this crap and she was free! FREE! God, that word never felt as good as it did that minute. Having math as her last class of the day was probably the worst thing ever; she could hardly concentrate!

Five minutes until class let out, Liana gave up. She couldn't concentrate, had give up on that ages ago, and the teacher was done with her lesson. People were either chatting softly amongst themselves, or doing their homework early. Seeing as Liana was a slacker and did her homework at the last possible moment, she wasn't even going to try and crack open her math book. Instead, she shoved all of her….'notes' into her bag, hoisted it over her shoulder, and watched the clock like a hawk. She was literally counting down the seconds until her escape from this institutionalized hell. As soon as the single tone bell rang, she was out of that class faster than the speed of light.

Sneakered shoes hit the tile flooring and she slid a bit, before she righted herself and continued down that hall at her usual breakneck pace. Liana had people to see, music to listen too, fanfiction to write, fanfictions to read and, eventually, homework to do. First though, her friends. They held very little classes together and seeing as next week was Winter Break, she wanted to spend as much time as possible with them. Also, it was her birthday next week and they promised her presents today, seeing as they would all be busy over break, celebrating the holiday with family.

She had protested them buying her gifts, but they had done it anyway and, really, she hadn't protested too hard. She did love gifts. She was a kid; selfishness came with the territory…although she had promised presents for their birthdays. After the holidays too, as they would do a Christmas gift exchange then. Why not now, you ask? Well, no one really had the money. Most, if not all, of the saved up cash was used on family. By the first of the year, they all hoped to have at least 20 bucks to spend on each other. Skidding to a stop, Liana sucked in a deep breath, then smiled and walked at a more sedate pace to the library, where she would be meeting the others.

"There's the birthday girl!" came a shouted voice, male, and Liana happily smiled at that sound.

"Not until next week." She replied as she spotted her friends; two boys, Quinton and Mike, and one girl, Alyssa. They had been friends since freshman year, eighth grade for herself and Quinton, and their bond had simply grown tighter.

"Doesn't matter, you're getting your gift now," Mike said as he handed over a perfectly wrapped present. No doubt Quinton or Alyssa had done it, as Mike had about as much finesse as a goldfish.

Liana eyed the gift, before she took it and smiled. It was heavy, but not quite heavy enough to be anything large and incredibly expensive, which was good. She would feel back about them spending so much money on her.

"It's from all of us. We pitched in to get it." Alyssa said as she pointed out the tag, which indeed had all of their names on it. Smiling, Liana carefully peeled back the wrapping paper and gasped at what lay beneath it.

"This…this…oh dear lords, this must've cost a fortune!" she shouted as she hugged the box carefully to her chest. "A vocaloid of my own…oh wow…I can't believe…how? They stopped selling these ages ago!"

Quinton smiled, looking rather pleased with himself. "Well, it didn't cost as much as you think. We split the cost between us, so it was, like, 25 dollars each, minus the shipping. My mom paid for that. She say's happy birthday by the way," He said with happy little grin, "And some wacko was selling it on ebay. Unopened and everything! The guy gave the whole place 15 minutes. Set the bar at a buck. We waited till the last minute, then struck cold. Managed to get you the Vocaloid thingy you always wanted."

Liana smiled, tears welling up in her eyes as she stared at her friends. "Thanks guys. This means…this means a lot to me. I'll…I'll practice as hard as I can on it! And we can all use it! My laptop should be able to handle everything too." She said quickly as she cuddled the box to her chest.

Mike chuckled, amused at his friends reaction, "Calm down. No need for tears. The only downside is…it's all in Japanese. Can't understand a single word of it." He said with a slow shake of his head. "We figured you could fix that though. I mean, all you would need is…a…translator or something. We figured you could find something online." He added after a moment.

"Thanks. I'll look. If not, I can find some sort of tutorial or something." Liana said as she slipped the precious gift into her bag. "I have to catch the bus, but I got my cell on me, as always. Call me later." She said with as she hugged each and every one of her friends. They hugged her back, promising to call when they had time, maybe even hop online and chat through skype or facebook.

With one last wave, Liana booked it to her bus, barely managing to get on the horrible yellow contraption in time for the last beep of their horns. Panting and grinning like a loon, she greeted the irritable driver and slid into the nearest seat. She was too tired to take her usual place in the back and she wanted to look at the box of her beautiful Vocaloid more. Though…considering the fact that she was on a bus with those much younger than her, and sitting next to said younger kid, she figured it would be safer to wait until she arrived at her house. Instead, she slipped the bag into her lap and held it there protectively all while questioning her luck. Her friends had bought her this, off ebay for god's sake! Mint condition, never been open…it was the chance of a lifetime! She did feel bad though. It had to have cost a bit more than what Quinton had been willing to admit, especially if it was in Japanese. The shipping along should've cost a pretty penny. Still, she didn't question it too deeply. This was….amazing. She couldn't wait to try it out, maybe play a song that Miku usually sang with Kaito's voice!

Giggling and muttering under her breath, Liana made quite the sight. It was probably because of how crazy she looked, that the other kids on the bus left her alone…which was a first. Usually the boys in her year would tease her about the anime she watched or the music she listened too. The little kids would join in or the ones that liked her would defend her as best as they could. It was laughable, the insults the kids would make up, but it was nice of them to do such.

Liana only snapped out of it when she came to her stop. Smiling, she stepped off the bus and onto the long, slopping drive of an old house. It wasn't old in the means that it was rundown, but it was well worn. The shingles probably could do with a wash, and the drive would need to be re-graveled come spring, but it was home sweet home and she moved double time to get inside. Opened the front door, she kicked off her shoes and bade a hasty hello to anyone in the house. When no one answered, she assumed no one was home yet. She wasn't the only one to go to school after all. Her mother was working on her second degree, her sister was away at a University in the city, and her other sister was with her mother working on her first degree at the local community college. The note on the fridge informed her that they wouldn't be coming home till late and to start dinner at five. Everything for Baked Potato Cheese soup was already in the fridge and waiting to be thrown together.

Humming, she pulled the note off the fridge and grabbed a grape crush from inside. Closing the door of the fridge with a soft grunt, she carried it and her bag into her room. It was the smallest and had no closet space, but she was able to fit a bed, a desk and a chest of drawers. It wasn't much, but it was hers. The room was originally supposed to be some sort of mud room, but when she had hit twelve years old, her mother and her grandfather had converted it into a bedroom so no one would half to share. Liana had been given the option of using her other sister's room, the one who was away at university and wouldn't be back till the Holiday began, but she didn't want that. She wanted something to call her own and to decorate without complaints.

"Well, I suppose I should get started then. I have two hours till I have to cook dinner and I don't want to get too carried away into this," Liana said as she set her soda on the desk and pulled her computer screen up. Pressing the silver little button, she sat in her chair and watched her computer boot up. While that was going, she opened her soda and chugged down a few gulps, before she maneuvered her hands to type in the password to log onto her user. She didn't need one, not really, considering this was her computer and no one else's, but it gave her peace of mind. Once everything was up and running, she logged on to the internet, checked her e-mail for any notification. Seeing none of major importance, although a Harry Potter x Avatar crossover had up-dated, she clicked out of her e-mail and pulled her book bag over to her. She removed the box inside and stared at it like it was some sort of prized ancient object.

"I still can't believe they got this for me." She said softly as she brushed her fingers against the worn edges of the cardboard. "I guess I have…some real good friends. I'll have to get them all extra special birthday gifts," She vowed as she popped open the box. She inhaled the scent of new…stuff and grinned as she pulled out the CD's and instruction manual. The manual was in Japanese, but she figured it wouldn't be too difficult to upload onto her computer. Usually, uploading merely involved putting the CD into the drive anyway.

She opened the case carefully and sighed as she stared at it. Popping open her drive, she put the CD in and watched it load. Her computer was new, but even then it took some time. A good ten minutes had gone pass when it finally dinged and happily declared that everything was done downloading. She eyed the other disc and, once she had taken out the first one, popped it in as well. She assumed that this one held Voice Data to be used in the Vocaloid program. She hit the install button as soon as it popped up. This time, the wait was shorter and was merely a few minutes when it dinged again. She popped the CD out, tucked it back into its case, before putting the case back in the box and the box into a special drawer under her bed. She wasn't going to be losing that anytime soon.

Liana couldn't wait for a translator and opened up the program as quickly as could and practically drooled at the chrome like design. It was beautiful and she was lucky enough to get one of her own. She really had to thank her friends later that evening. The only downside of everything was that it was in a language she couldn't understand. She had picked up some Japanese, but only bits and pieces from animes and songs. So, everything on the screen simply looked like a load of gibberish to her. Humming and chewing on her inner cheek, she reached over for her mouse and eyed the buttons she could click. One of them looked promising, not that she could tell what anything looked like really. Still, it was flashing at her with bright cheerful colors so…she clicked it. A little help button appeared in the middle of the screen. It was still in Japanese…and the worst she could do was deleting the program off her computer. If that happened, she'd just reinstall it.

Curious, she leaned closer to her computer and clicked on the button. Nothing happened. Frowning, she clicked it again and was rewarded with a little box. It was empty with the flashing form of a type in its white depths. The words, this time, were written in English.

What is your Dream?

Why do wish to own the Vocaloid program?

She stared at the bold faced typing for a moment, before she clicked into the box and set her fingers on the keys. "My dream huh…" She said softly as she looked at her fingers. She had a lot of Dreams. Some of them good, some of them bad and some…didn't even make sense. Frowning, she wondered what this was about, but continued on regardless. "My dream is to become a published author, fair enough. Although I suppose that's really a goal. Then, I would have to say, my dream would be to meet these Vocaloids in person one day. I mean, they don't…they aren't real, but…to listen to Kaito sing live…and not be some weird guy in a costume…that would be great. I would love to get to know them, beyond their songs," She said softly as she typed her spoken words into the first box. The second question was a bit harder to answer, but she would do her best.

"I suppose I want to own it because…well…I just do. I like their music and wouldn't mind creating some on my own. I'm a horrid singer, but anyone can sing if they got a bit of auto-tuning…and I wouldn't really be singing anyway. The Vocaloids would be." Liana mused as she, once again, typed the words she spoke into the box. She then clicked the OK button and sat back as a processing motion symbol appeared on the screen.

"This is strange. I thought none of it was suppose to be in English," Liana mused as she grabbed her soda and sipped at it carefully. A loud ding interrupted further thoughts and she looked at her screen curiously. A little…chibi was there waving and being all, well, cute.

Congratulations on buying your Vocaloid Dream Set. Please place in your name and birth date.

Liana blinked, then tilted her head. She was, understandably, confused but…well, what harm could putting in her birth date and name be? After all, wouldn't that just be a show of ownership? Shrugging off her confusion, she typed in her name and birth date. Come next week, she would be turning sixteen. Hopefully, this thing wouldn't lock her out because of her age. Although, sixteen was a good age, wasn't it? Then again, seventeen and up was the age you needed to be to buy an R rated movie. Biting her lip, she clicked the ok button and watched the little chibi character dance across the screen. Liana giggled as a particularly cute spin, then shook her head.

Everything is set. Preparing...preparing…preparing…

Liana frowned, "What are you preparing? Vocal Data? Honestly, this is taking forever…I should've waited until after dinner…" She grumbled as she slouched in her seat and brushed her hair away from her face and tapped her soda can impatiently.

Preparing…preparing…Done! Please keep full attention on the screen.

Grinning, Liana set the can down and placed her hands back onto the keys. Finally, she could get started! What music should she create first? Dear You was a favorite of hers. She did always wonder what the song would sound like sung by Hatsune Miku, or even Kaito. She was sure it would be lovely. Too caught up in her thoughts, Liana didn't see her screen changing. By the time she had, it was glowing brightly and swirling almost hypnotically. "Uh…I don't think that it's supposed to do that…" She said as she looked worriedly at her laptop. Her mother would never forgive her if it exploded because of a strange, foreign product.

The light steadily grew brighter and a high pitch whirring sound followed with the increase in light. It burned to look at it, but Liana found herself unable to close her eyes. When the light hit the climax and all she could see was white everywhere, it started to dim to a more bearable glare and Liana was shocked to find herself…floating. "Oh dear lord, I've died. My computer blew up and I'm dead!" She said as she looked around. There was nothing around her but a clear expanse of white.

"You're not dead," said a soft, feminine voice that seemed to echo from the space around her. The light collect in an area and a woman stepped out. She had long hair that fell to her knees the color of honey and bright silver colored eyes. She wore a white dress with light blue stocking underneath. A pair of boots, knee length, completed the outfit. "You bought a very wonderful gift. I'm sure it came to you through fate. This is merely part of the process to get to your dream."

"I-I didn't buy anything. My friends got it for me, for my birthday, "Liana couldn't help but say. The woman merely smiled more brightly at that.

"Then it truly is fate," The woman said softly as she brought her hands together, clasping them, in front of her chest. "This product is one of a kind. It will not last beyond this one use. It is a chance of a lifetime. My Master sold this in hopes that it would go to a person who had a dream that needed to become alive. A dream that would lead to other dreams in a world where dreaming is seemed to be foolish." She explained softly as she glanced about the world around her. "But one cannot give without taking. You are turning sixteen soon, yes?"

Liana nodded her head, "Yes, but…I'm sorry…who are you? And…well…where am I?" She asked.

"All in due time, young one. If you must, you can call me…Chara." Chara said with a giggle as she dusted off her white dress. "Coming here, is not without its…faults…but I first must explain what here is. You are in limbo. A place between here and there. Time does not hold meaning here and it's why I've stopped you here. To explain. You said in the Vocaloid Dream set that you wished to get to know the Vocaloids, correct? The real ones? This is your chance. However, the time you spend there you cannot get back. No time will pass in your world, but the year you spend there will still hold true to your body. No one else will know but you. A year for a year, I believe it is fair."

"Wait, hold on! You're making no sense to me! I don't understand," Liana replied as she stared at Chara. "Going where?"

"You will go to the world where the Vocaloids are real. You will be given the chance to get to know them. Regrettably, I believe you don't understand Japanese?" Chara asked and continued at Liana's nod, "That will be…unfortunate, but not bad. If you give me something, I can gift you with the ability to learn the language more quickly than a normal person would. I cannot just give you the language though, as that would probably explode your brain. You'd die as soon as the transfer completed." She said with a sigh. Liana whimpered.

Swallowing thickly, she rubbed her arms. To get to know the real Vocaloids, to see Kaito…that would be…wonderful. Even if all of this was truly a dream, it was a dream she didn't want to wake up from just yet. She would let this play out until someone called her phone or she got up to make dinner. "What would I have to give up?" She asked lightly.

"I do not know. It can be something material or something you value about yourself. I can take the color of your hair, or eyes. The tanned bit of your skin. I can even take a few memories." Chara replied.

"What…sort of memories?" Liana asked.

"Memories of happy times, sad times, lonely times. All memories are cherished, so it matters not which memory I take. I can even take a memory you hardly remember. The day you lost your first tooth, or rode a bike successfully would work, seeing as I'm not giving you the language, but rather the accelerated rate of learning a language."

Liana nodded her head and chewed on her thumb, "If I give you the memory, would I get it back?" she asked.

"A memory transfer is permanent. You wouldn't...forget it, but it would become distant and vague in your mind." Chara said softly. "You'd never be able to recall it clearly, or at all, but it would still be there."

Liana nodded her head and closed her eyes to think. She didn't want to head to wherever it was she was going without knowing the language and if this woman would give her the ability to learn quickly, then that was a plus. However, it was her memories…and she had a feeling the extent of the ability would be greater if she gave the woman a happy, pleasing memory. "Can I…give you the memory of when I got my first dog? I loved her dearly…." She said after a moment. The dog she was talking about was dead now, had died from old age, but she had been a great dog. Always willing to learn and always up for a long run down towards the water when she had visited her grandparents.

"That would be acceptable. Only one memory?" Chara asked as she stepped closer. "Giving perhaps one more would be best."

Liana frowned and sighed, "Then…how about…the day I first learned to roller blade? Would that do?" She asked.

Chara smiled, "Wonderfully. It would do wonderfully. You may feel some light headedness, but that should be all." She said as she placed the tip of her finger along her temples. There was a bit of concentration on Chara's part, no doubt due to the need to locate the memories, before she removed her fingers. Curled up in her palms were two softly glowing orbs. One was gold, the other a more whitish color. "These are cherished memories. Your language learning should go well. I've already placed the ability within you."

"Ah…thank you, but…another question. How am I getting to where I need to go?" Liana asked as she looked worriedly around her.

Chara looked sheepish and smiled a bit, "I'm sorry, but that's going to be painful. I'm warning you now," She said as she slipped the memories into her pockets and came out holding what appeared to be bubble. Chara pressed the bubble against Liana's skin and watched it get absorbed. "That will activate before you hit the ground and take up most of the damage. You'll probably end up bruised regardless."

"I don't think I understand what you're saying. Why would I hit the ground? Will I fall over when I get…there?" she asked.

Chara bit her lip and sighed, "Yes…and no. See, getting to another realm is always painful. Sometimes, the pain is slight; other times…it can cripple or kill you without the proper precautions. Because of how your realm and your destination realm sit right on top one another, the way you will be arriving is through…falling," She explained, "Hence the bubble. It'll stop you from dying when you hit the ground. Have fun!" she added with a smile as she waved. "I'll contact you in a few days to make sure you're settling nicely."

"Wait! What do you mean by fall-MOTHER DUCK!" Liana yelled as the world fell out from underneath her. She scrambled in the air for a moment, but it was easily apparent nothing would stop her fall. She dropped like a stone, screaming the whole way down as Chara steadily got farther and farther away.

I'm going to DIE! She screamed in her mind as the white light disappeared and the ground below her appeared. If she had been in a plane, she would've thought it very pretty, but considering she was sure she was about to die, terror gripped her heart entirely. There was no room for admiring the beauty of the place. As she fell, her scream coming to a strangled stop, the view below her became more and more clear. Where she was…landing…was covered in trees, lots of them. It was obviously a rural area with a large house I the middle of it all. A road led off somewhere and cars could be seen traveling. There was even a little pond too. Well, it was more like a small lake, than a pond.

That pond is kind of getting closer…hey, is that…I think that's people! Liana thought as she steadily came closer to the ground and saw people milling about the pond…lake thing. A strange sort of calm filled her, even as she kept falling at a quick rate. You know…I think…oh fuck! I'm gonna fall straight into the fucking pond! She thought as she flailed around a bit, as though that would change her directory into something…less watery. She could swim, but hitting the water at this speed even with the…bubble…Chara had given her…well, she didn't want to drown on her first time in this realm. Death so quickly would be embarrassing. She screamed as the water came closer and she hit it like a rock. Pain seared through her back and her head and terror gripped her as the water swallowed her up. Distantly, she could hear a commotion going on around her, but all she could see and focus on was the water. It tugged at her clothing, dragging her deeper and the pain made it difficult to move. Liana was actually surprised she was even alive still.

Even with her struggling, the air was quickly escaping her lungs and the world around her was dimming. She hit the bottom of the mini lake and watched the bubbles slip from her lips. Just as the last vestiges of consciousness left her, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and tugged her to the surface. The last image she saw of the world was a water figure swimming determinedly to the surface.

Thanks for reading. Please review your thoughts on the story. I'm going to try and make this a once a week up-load thing, but I give no promises. More than likely, it'll be once every two weeks, when I manage the time to sit and write my chapters. I'm a college student too, so time will have to be…managed to make this work. No pairings as of yet. If you want a VocaloidxVocaloid pairing, feel free to say to so in your review and I'll take it into consideration.