"Ahhh… it sure is boring, working without music to listen to."
Marina sighed as she sloppily moved boxes from one place to another. Her eyes were droopy and downcast. She was like a slob with the way she walked too. So much that she would constantly bump shoulders with another worker.
"I want to listen to musiiiiiic! Can't someone get me earphones or something?!" Marina suddenly shouted out loud, enough for the entirety of the factory to hear voice.
"Hey, you there! Keep working!" the manager, who was at the observatory, yelled back through his microphone.
"Sorry…" Marina whispered in utter defeat and continued working with her back bent once again,
Marina? She was not one bit special. She had dirty, messy blonde hair tied back in a ponytail right then, paired with sky blue eyes. She was not as pretty as one would expect her to, but she was decent to say the least.
Why such a girl like her would be working at a factory is what one would ask. She volunteered to provide for her own studies, and her parents hesitantly agreed, then recommended her to the factory they used to work to. She got in, but as a worker only. But she got in nevertheless, so she was thankful.
Okay, she goes to school, she works part-time at a factory. She's blonde, she average, and she's a music nut. What now?
That was honestly just about it. That was her life in general. Until a zombie outbreak happened that day.
"Tch, I'll get back on this stinky guy when I become chief…" she muttered as she put the box she was carrying down to wipe her sweat and pick up a bottle of apple juice she was supposed to save up for until break.
Before a drop got to her lips, she heard a song.
It was not exactly a song, but a melody. It echoed across the building. It was a girl was singing through all the megaphones. It was loud, but vibrant. It was smooth to the ears, as if it was able to put anybody in a daze—
Marina was cut off her thoughts when everybody screamed out and grew veins from their sculpted bodies. They then aimlessly ran around like some zombies, biting each other and using weapons to fight. One of them even tried to shoot at the manager, who barely managed to dodge.
It could have been a prank or something. The workers probably thought of getting back at the manager without Marina knowing. It looked so real, however, to be just a simple prank.
This is an actual outbreak!
Marina forgot about the box she was supposed to transfer, and ran away to avoid contact with anybody in the factory. Marina wanted nothing of this violence, ever. All she ever wanted was melody, and not noise. With the gunshots rupturing her ears, all she could remember was "that" time.
What was that time?
You know, that time!
That time where you were with—!
Marina cupped her ears, closed her eyes, and slowed down on her run until her legs gave out on her. She did not want to hear anything. She did not want to hear noise, only melody. She did not want to hear the voice inside her head. The more she listened, the more vivid "that" time became, and she did not want that.
She was about to scream from all the pressure being thrown at her when all she wanted was to live a normal life. As her ears have been ruptured, she was about to let her own voice get ruptured when…
"Listen! To the voices of the goddesses! To the voices that will take you the ends of the universe!"
From that call, there was silence. The feminine melody that came with the violence seemed to have stopped. Since when? Marina didn't know. Her ears were screaming the entire time. But following the call, everyone kept silent for a good few seconds, before getting back to the villainy they were in the process of doing.
But Marina stopped cupping her ears and opened her eyes before looking around, looking for that voice that made the call.
Where? Where was it from?
She looked up and saw five girls floating from their own platforms. A purple-haired one standing the in middle, followed by other girls. One had orange hair with some pink light coming from her hair… Never mind that. The other had green, the other had red, the other pink. They seemed to have worn their color, except the orange haired one, who wore red and the redhead wearing yellow.
Their appearances were extraordinary, one would say. But how were five girls standing on platforms planning to stop a violent outbreak without the risk of getting shot or hurt or anything at all?
Without a moment to waste, the purple-haired girl begun singing.
Welcome to Walkure world…
Welcome!
As if actually being invited to listen, Marina stood up while still looking up at them. The light they gave off was blinding, but Marina did not take her eyes off of the group. At that moment, Marina's eyes were glued to the five girls.
My heart beat aloud
Marina's heart was raging inside her chest, as if wanting to burst out, but at that point she did not know why. It was either from the chaos or the vibrant aura the group gave off.
Welcome to Walkure world!
From that one line alone, Marina was blown away as if a nuclear bomb has been set from the girls' exact spot. That blending is so epic! The weight of the song, the vibrancy of the voices, the heaven-like feel of everything… Marina thought to herself as she kept her eyes glued on to group, waiting for something to happen after that.
Just who are these girls?
Soon enough, some pop beat started playing and the group started singing once more.
Nobosete screaming mou tomaranai yo
S.O.S. agaru siren
Koi! Halation THE WAR
Spread about the place were holograms of the members as well as effects to give accent to their performance. Four jets also appeared, as if on cue with their singing. They released smoke from their wake, colored to represent each member—well, almost. They appeared as if dancing as well to support the performance being made by the girls.
There was too much happening at that very moment Marina did not know where to look anymore; at the jets, the girls, or the chaos happening around her. She sat in place stunned just as a giant robot was about to step on her when one of the jets swooped in to intercept the robot and take it down opposite of where Marina was.
"Miss, get out of there! Walkure will take care of the people affected by the Var," a girl who seemed to come from the jet told her through some radio. "Or else you'll get stepped on again and I'll be too far to assist you!" She then flew to intercept more robots with bullets, transforming to a giant robot midway to wrestle one down.
"Sorry, ma'am. She can be quite the hothead," a guy this time said, and a blue jet came down on her position as well. "Please get on. I'll get you to a safe place." The cockpit then opened and revealed a guy with blue hair and a clip. He also had pairing blue eyes as well.
Marina was too stunned to say anything, so she just nodded slightly and stumbled into the jet as the cockpit immediately closed and they flew off far into the forest. Once outside, Marina got out of the plane, and the guy silently saluted before closing the cockpit and riding off to join the others in battle.
The blonde stared at the factory which was in flames and debris, with singing girls floating about and singing while the robots fought. It certainly was not a day she was expecting would come.
Marina checked herself to see if she got scratched anywhere. Apparently she declared herself safe, just with a few burns and scratches across her clothing. She checked her pockets if she lost anything—
My phone!
Marina's eyes widened as she looked back to the factory where she knew she left her phone behind. It was a gift her parents gave her to celebrate her acceptance into the job, and it was the only phone they said they would buy her, so it was very important to Marina herself. Her feet were ready to sprint back, but she remembered the warning the other girl gave to her.
No! That phone has everything I need! I need to – no, I have to— go back!
Without thinking, she ran as fast as she could, back to the factory to retrieve her phone. Good thing the guy did not drop her too far from the place, so it was only a matter of time before she got back.
Marina ran to the locker rooms, which unfortunately for her was already being ravaged by the zombies of her fellow co-workers. Her sharp breaths and her own heartbeat were the only two things she could feel and hear. Without a moment of hesitation she looked for her own locker where she hid her personal belongings and there it was, unharmed and untouched. She unlocked it with a key she had with her and opened it to at least get the most important item she ran all the way back for. She looked at it to make sure it was still fine, and was almost relieved to know that it was, when…
"Look out!" a girl's voice shouted from afar. Marina looked behind her to see a worker armed with a knife ready to stab. With her stamina drained from her, Marina could barely react to last-second situations, and was certain she would get hit.
Marina was pushed to her right and heard a yelp. She looked up from where she lied and saw the red-haired girl got slashed on her left arm. As of then the girl's arm was already streaming with blood and sweat. But she never stopped singing to the guy, singing lyrics of love until the guy lost consciousness.
Marina gasped at the sight before her. Beating violence with music. She never could have thought of that. She would have just beat up the guy and left him wounded to avoid her own self from bleeding, but no. The redhead endured the pain and still sang her heart out.
The ground was still shaking from explosions, and the girl who saved Marina was shaking her to check if she was alright, but she would not respond. Everything that happened that day was certainly too much for her mind and body to handle.
Out of tiredness, Marina's eyes blurred, which soon gave out and she fell unconscious.
"… think the Windermereans did it?" a girl's soft, lazy-sounding voice asked.
"We already contacted them about it. They said the king did not do anything of the sort except feed the eagles he was supposed to enter the festival with," another girl, who seemed to be serious but mother-like, replied.
"So this means we are facing another enemy using the same biological weapon as the Windermereans do?" another cute voice jotted in.
"We don't know just yet, but we have to keep watch of where the Var comes from, this day onwards," the same commanding voice answered.
"More work for us, huh?" a fourth voice seemed to complain, groaning.
"Freyja, you shouldn't be lazing out. Hayate is doing his best in battle, so you should too," the command reprimanded.
"Oooh, that date the other day was sooo kyawawa!" the cute voice dreamily commented.
"Eh?! You were watching, Makina-san?!" "Freyja" shouted, seemingly shocked.
"You bet we were. I was there too," the lazy voice added.
"Reina-san, you too?!" Freyja whined, giving up.
"Huh? Where's Mikumo?" the command asked.
And that's when Marina decided to announce her wake. She yawned and stretched her arms before starting to get up from where she was lying.
"Ugh, it's so loud early in the morning…" she complained as she rubbed the sleep off her eyes before opening them. Marina looked around her and saw four girls with her in what looked like a hospital ward. The four girls looked like the ones she saw earlier in the day…
"Ah! We didn't mean to be so loud…!" the orange-haired girl apologized and bowed her head.
"So you're awake now," the redhead said and smiled at her. "I'll go get a doctor to check up on you." She left the room shortly, leaving Marina with three other people. Before she disappeared to the door, however, she clicked her tongue and rubbed her left arm.
"Are you okay? Does anything hurt? Are you hungry, perhaps?" the pink-haired girl asked before pointing to a plate of peeled apples set on a table beside the bed Marina was lying on. The green-haired girl stayed silent.
"A-Ah, it's alright! The conversation seemed important enough… And thank you very much! I am in debt…" Marina took the time to reply to everything she could. "By the way, that red haired girl's arm…"
"Kaname-san? Ah, yeah. She saved you from the zombie and took the blow herself," the orange-haired girl informed. "But the cut wasn't too deep, and the medics are fast, so you can barely see anything weird from Kaname-san now." She smiled reassuringly, but Marina could not get that terrifying scene out of her head.
"This is all because you were irresponsible and stubborn…" the maroon-haired girl, who had the deep and commanding voice, chided and crossed her arms. "Hayate went all these ways to keep you away from danger and you still came back for something as insignificant as—!"
"I-It's not insignificant!" Marina defended. "What I had back there was the only treasure I got from my parents. There's no way I can abandon that in exchange of my life."
"She's right, Mirage-san!" Freyja followed up, facing this Mirage girl with a serious expression. "Sometimes you have to risk your life for treasures too, you know?"
"…" Mirage sighed and just leaned on the wall behind her.
There was awkward silence, and soon after, the redhead they called Kaname came back to the ward along with a few nurses who immediately checked on Marina's health.
"We'll be waiting outside if you need us, okay?" Kaname informed as she ushered the other girls out of the room. The others waved before leaving, while Mirage just walked straight out without even taking a look.
"Miss… Marina Swanlay… was it?" one of the nurses, who was checking on her pulse, asked.
"Ah, yes… what is it?" Marina entertained, looking at the nurse. The nurse turned all so suddenly it seemed too creepy.
"Why did you try to kill Kaname-san?"
"Eh…? I-I-I would never do such a thing! She saved me and took the blow, right? They told me—!"
"That was a lie, though. What really happened was that you turned Var and went insane to resist their songs for a little while longer, and you got hold of Kaname-san, almost stabbing her in the chest," the nurse said, her eyes turning black as she said so.
"She was lucky to have barely dodged it, but you know that blow could have killed her," another nurse stepped in, looking at Marina the same way.
"You were just a factory worker standing before a goddess trying to save you from a disease through song. Why would you do that?" another one followed after. Soon enough, all the nurses who were operating on Marina stopped doing what they were doing and just looked at her with those creepy black eyes.
"You've hurt somebody again. Just like you've hurt them way back in the past," all the nurses said in unison. "You could have killed again, just like what you always did. You murderer."
"You murderer," they repeated as they deformed in Marina's vision every second they said it. Hands then reached out at Marina's neck as if trying to strangle her with it.
No, no! I'm not a murderer!
It's all a lie!
Don't do this to me!
Marina tried to speak up for herself, but her voice would not come out. The hands snaked around her, tightening at each turn. Before she lost her breath, she could hear the nurses repeating what they said.
"yOu mUrdEreR…"
"… oU MUrDereR…"
"… mUrdeRer…"
Marina woke up with a start and sat up straight. She gasped for air as if she lost it for a second, a hand around her neck as she tried to pry free of the nurses' grasps. Her heart was beating hard and fast. Was that a dream…?
"W-Where am I?" she looked around and found herself surrounded by posters of random bands, even those whose language she didn't understand. She saw pictures of herself holding instruments, as well as music notes she remembered as music of her own. She was back in her bedroom, in her own home.
Marina relaxed a little and looked at her hands. It was unnoticeable at first glance, but she had vein-like scars rooted around her hand. She rolled up the sleeve of her top and revealed a lot more making their way up her arm. It was only then that she remembered how the riot at the factory went out.
She remembered finishing the apple juice she drank during work, and the melody played through the speakers. She lost all reasoning and sanity then, but her consciousness was intact, as if she became a puppet being controlled by make-believe strings. She ran around beating up people until she heard Walkure sing. The rest had stopped fighting except Marina, who kept on destroying stuff until she was approached by the redhead Kaname.
Marina remembered grabbing a glass shard within her proximity and attempting to stab Kaname out of the blue. Marina missed and only grazed Kaname's arm, which should have still hurt, but the latter kept on singing songs of love to Marina until she lost consciousness finally.
"I… did all that… even when I was being saved…" Marina whispered, grasping her hands together and holding them to her chest. She looked at empty space until something caught her eye. It was an envelope. She reached out to it and looked at it from the outside, to find out there was nothing printed. She took the contents from the envelope and read the paper attached.
It was a letter informing her that she was fired from the factory for causing damage to the equipment, and was in debt for all the damage she had caused. It totaled ten million gold. It was more than fifty years, no, a hundred years of working as a factory worker. They said they didn't care when she could pay it all off, so long she could pay it.
Marina imagined what her parents would say if they saw her in this state. Would they be disappointed? Angry? Upset? Would they abandon her? Would they shoulder her debt?
Imagining that happening to her family was something she could not bear to witness. She huddled herself, hugging her knees. Tears of frustration flowed down her cheeks. She broke down and finally cried.
"Mama… Papa… What am I supposed to do?"
It was okay, because she was alone in her room. It was okay to let out her feelings if nobody were there to hear her.
"Kyu, kyu~" what seemed like an anime noise was made from beside her. She turned to find a cat-like creature… or so she thought it was. What was it called? Marina didn't know.
Marina looked at the creature as it moved to invade her huddle. It struggled on its way, but it looked cute doing so, which made Marina smile a little.
"Good thing you're the one that heard me…" she told the creature, patting its head. The creature then got off and hopped beside her. Her eyes followed the creature and ventured towards a device.
My phone!
Marina silently exclaimed as she snatched the device from where it was placed and unlocked it. No damage was done, and all the data she hid in it were still there as if it was untouched. Even the photo of her and her parents before she took the job as a factory worker.
"I'm glad…" she muttered as she wiped her tears held her phone close to her. It was an important piece in her life and she was contented to see it returned to her safe and sound.
The creature who Marina was with made another noise, and seemed to point to a pamphlet which was placed on the same place her phone rested on. Wondering what the pamphlet was about, she picked it up.
"What's this…?" her eyes struggled to read in the moonlight, so she sat up on the edge of her bed and turned on the lamp on a study table beside her bed. She then opened the pamphlet.
"Sign up to become the sixth member of Walkure! Become one with the voices of the goddesses that once took you to the ends of the universe!" Below the pamphlet were the details of the upcoming audition. Comparing the information she had and the pamphlet, the audition would occur one week from that night.
"Prize money granted to the winner is five million gold, as well as an opportunity to become the sixth member of the idol group Walkure! And for every successful live performances done as a group, earn as much as one million!" the pamphlet said on the rewards section. Marina's eyes widened at the rewards.
"This… this will pay off my debt in no time at all!" she almost exclaimed, obviously excited at the news of earning money. "I… I have to get in this audition! I have to win this!" Her eyes twinkled.
She might have been a criminal in real life, but the scene she saw of Walkure was no different from her dream. The five goddesses who healed her even though she hurt them. The five girls who would go anywhere to save people. The five stars giving out bright light, whose voices would take someone "to the ends of the universe". Even then, she heard the intense blending of voices into one.
Marina wanted to be like them. She wanted to be one with them.