Track Number 1: Show Stopping Stars

The crowd chanted. Over and over they called her name. The stage pulsed with their cries like a heartbeat.

"Gumi, Gumi, Gumi…"

She smiled and walked into the spotlight. Her short green hair shone even brighter in the glow. She brought the microphone close to her lips.

"How is everyone doing tonight?" She asked, the audience roared in reply. Now their voices were like a wave, warm and welcoming. They drew a smile from Gumi as the sound ebbed into eager silence. "Glad to hear it! I'll admit I was a little nervous." She confessed. "I wasn't sure how my first solo concert would go but you've all made it the best! Thank you!"

The crowd clapped for her despite her humility - or maybe even because of it – but even inside the crescendo of applause she heard a clear whistle from behind her. She glanced back stage, a purple haired man winked. Meanwhile, the young boy he carried on his shoulder gave her a toothy smile.

Gumi grinned before looking back at her fans. "You know, 'XI' was supposed to be my last song…" the some of the masses groaned and grumbled at that.

"Encore!" One silhouette with pigtails demanded. The girl got a round of applause as well and from the small voice it seemed like thousands more raised, all saying: "Encore…encore!"

Gumi giggled. "Well, it's not like I can say no to all of you." The microphone was now steady in her grip. "Actually, I've got a brand new song I want to try out with you." Unbeknownst to the green haired girl, backstage a woman in black gaped. The suited woman stomped onto the stage and was tripped by the purple haired man before being seen by the singer or the fans. Gumi instead flicked her head to her band at the far left of the stage. "You guys know the music for 'Life Cheating Game' right?" The musicians nodded. "Awesome."

Gumi closed her eyes. Instead of the crowd she now could see a slow, placid stream of green zeros and ones changing to orange kanji in her mind. She opened her mouth to sing them.

"Ah wait!" Gumi shook her head. "What's wrong with me – everyone!" The crowd, before murmuring amongst themselves about what the singer's odd outburst meant, now gazed at her. "You all know the other Vocaloids, and my own Internet Co. Family. Well, one person couldn't be here tonight." Gumi had to wince at the sharp boos that followed, even though she knew they weren't directed at her. "Hey! It's not like that! I know she wanted to be here too, so that's why I'm dedicating this song to her. I hope she hears it. Right now she'll need all the strength she can get."

In this Life – Cheating Game…

Far away from the concert, there was still someone shrieking. A man clutched to a lamppost, his palms nearly slipping from the sweat and blood smeared on them. "S-Stop, p-p-please!" He begged.

He looked back. The cracked road was being swallowed by a mountainous, inky creature. A dusky tendril slinked around the man's legs and waist. It made him scream. His suit and polo turned to brown flecks while he held on tighter and the creature pulled him closer.

"H-H-Help!" No one did. Everyone was too busy running away themselves or getting wounded people to safety. The man looked to the sky, the steel buildings that towered him before now were crumpled nubs of metal and stone. He had seen one monster swallow the edifice whole. The man could feel his own skin sinking into the scalding hold of this creature. His mind swam with wave after wave of panic. He screamed again, he pled again for someone to save him from the fate of the devoured building.

But that only seemed to make the creature burn him faster, pull him deeper. He slammed his eyes shut when his fingers finally slipped off the metal pole. He was reeled in by the creature but could not bare watch his fate.

…the Joker which sat silently at the meeting…

The man felt himself be jerked into the air. He gulped air before he landed with a thud on the pavement. He winced, the pain of the fall grounded against the aches of his wounds and his burns. His eyes, blurry with tears, could make out a golden figure.

"Get the hell out of here." The golden figure, young woman he realized from her feminine voice, ordered. "Viruses don't like it all that much when I interrupt their dinner. Though they get over it pretty soon. They even give me the honor of being dessert."

"What?" The man stammered.

The woman pushed him out of the way. His face only escaped the Virus's grip by inches. Other tendrils whipped towards the girl but the golden notes that swirled around her blocked them. The notes then spread out. He noticed her bright blue eyes first, but then he saw a microphone. She started to sing and then she ran straight towards the Virus. Her long blonde hair flew behind her like a cape.

She jumped when she was inches from the Virus, avoiding more dusky tentacles. The golden notes coalesced at the tip of the microphone and the blonde swung it down. Yellow light beat down on the Virus's head and the creature wailed. The man had to cover his ears.

…sneers as, eventually, all feelings had vanished…

The shadowy creature looked as if it were burning now. Amoke appeared as the Virus shrunk under the girl's attack. The bright notes beat deep into the monster, blasting off chunk after chunk till there was simply nothing left but fading plumes and the torn up streets.

"Yeesh." Someone else spoke just as the man uncovered his ears. The man whirled behind him.. Another melodious lady held him up. "Five in a row, you're really are burning tonight, Yuri – chan."

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Ha, ha, nice pun Meiko – san." The heroine's legs began to wobble, just as much as the man's legs. "I told you and that other thick – headed android I'd be –"

The man felt gravity remember him for only the moment it took Meiko to let go of him and catch her friend just before the heroine hit the asphalt. The brunette with a bob cut grinned as the blonde with lengthy hair grimaced. "What were you saying, Yuri – chan?"

The heroine glanced everywhere but the rust – colored eyes of the woman who helped her. "Thanks Meiko - san."

"Don't be cold, Lily - chan! It's Meiko – chan! We're kin remember?" A new, high – pitched voice called from behind him. He had been so distracted by, well, nearly dying and being saved by some androids that he forgot he could not float. Someone else had to be holding him. He twisted himself to see his assister.

…Even so, for those that later decides things like reason for existing…

"You!" The man gasped. "You're that robot idol singer, Ha - tune, Ha - tone, Hatsune Miku!" Glee grew in the girl's teal eyes, when she nodded her teal pigtails seemed to jump with joy as well. "My daughter is a big fan – probably you're biggest! She likes the rest of you all too though." Meiko puffed her cheeks at that. It took him a second to recall that referring to her as "the rest of you all" might not be flattering. He switched subjects: "I was going to surprise her by coming back home from my business trip a week earlier than she thought but that viral thing or whatever tore the bus I was on in half…" He sighed. "You know, I might just call home now. I'm started to realize that surprises are overrated."

"Aw, don't that!" Miku chided in a sing-song voice. "Trust me! There are plenty of good surprises left!"

"It'll shock the crap out of me if we can stop stalling and get home before my battery dies out." Lily grumbled. The man forced himself away from Miku and shakily stood up on his own two feet. Blue eyes, lighter than his daughters' blue eyes, locked on him again. He slumped, trying to shrink like the Virus since he couldn't figure what he had done to unsettle the blonde so. "And another thing," Lily snapped. He squinted. "Don't keep that kid of yours wondering about you. She'd probably like a call."

He smiled slightly at her and he turned away. He heard the clanking of boots, like the multi - chromed ones Lily wore, heading in the opposite direction.

…Let's sneer by ourselves as we pray with guidance!

A/N: I'm back and I've missed Lily! Though, i'll admit that this fic will be a little less centered around her. I'm excited to answer all the questions I left open in Lily's Flowering Days: First Disc. Also, look for BRS shoutouts starting now, I put a couple in this chapter alone.

Don't worry. Once my finals are over then I will start posting for Blood of Mine and Tangled in Fate too.

As before, I own nothing Vocaloid related or Black Rock Shooter related. I did make the story though.