Ah, What a Colorful World: Trigger Happy One-Shot
Disclaimer: I don't own Vocaloid, Gumi belongs to Internet Co Ltd. Vocaloid belongs to Yamaha. Story/Plot is mine.
Author's Note: How long has it been? Like, a few years? I'm in college now for Game Art/Animation, and while going through my old email that I got back into, saw all the nice reviews people sent, and was like "Hey, maybe I'll pick this up again for a bit, or I don't know." I still write, but with original characters privately. This is just to see if I still got what it takes. I might be rusty for a wide audience, so I apologize.
Standing before her was the sickeningly bright, colorful world. Sandy mountains of bright greens and pinks rose from the sands in the distance, touching the vivid purple sky. Somewhere between the mountains she could see what appeared to be trees, possibly circling a body of water. With a smirk, the girl centered her pink-tinted goggles over her bright green eyes and took a leap of faith down the mound she stood upon.
For Gumi, this was a normal everyday life. She would drift between the strange worlds in her dreams, filling the monotony she faced in reality. She'd been told it was an impossible goal for an android to dream much like humans, to see the fantastical illusions at night in rest. But, somehow, Gumi had found she could dream up these worlds. She could interact with the environment her imagination, or processing unit perhaps, formed. The sensations, such as the wind flowing through her short green hair, felt real. The wind was cold, but refreshing. The sand rubbing against her felt uncomfortable, yet warm. It was a fantastic dream.
"I wonder what kind of place it will be today," Gumi mused to herself.
Gumi had dreamt of so many places within the last few months of this newfound dreaming. The first few were rather simple dreams confined to one room or location, such as a fluffy bedroom filled with sweets. Then, the dreams got bigger, and more imaginative. Some took place in a jungle filled with exotic, exquisite creatures, some in a giant world of pastries, and others in a video game-like world filled with pixels. While some dreams resembled others, there was always something unique in it. But, the dreams weren't exactly safe. And Gumi had soon realized that about a month ago.
She had quickly learned of the dark things that lurked within the subconscious. The negativity that took the hearts of humanity was the same within her mechanical body. The horrors, anxieties, and fears were very much alive within the dreams, taking on forms much like the dreams.
A few yards away from her, the mechanical white and red worms sprang from the sandy earth, "SCREE!", they flung up sand as they squirmed towards her.
"Again?" Gumi frowned, noticing them right away. Her hand went to her white holster, containing a white laser gun, "If you're trying to ambush me, yelling isn't going to help your case!"
Pink lasers were fired, hitting the worms. One hit was all it took to have the nightmarish beasts evaporate back into sand. They were cronies, low-level weaklings. Even if they're form changed, she knew exactly how simple these beasts were.
Gumi's skid ended, and she entered flat sandy ground. She took a few glances around, checking for nightmares. With only the wind blowing, she took the silence as a sign of safety. Even temporary safety was better than danger.
"Where should I go?" Gumi thought to herself out loud, digging her white boots into the sand. She bent down to play with the sound, noticing how soft it was, "If you're soft, then why did you feel rough against my skin? How strange." She stood back up and began walking forward, "Let's go to the where those trees are."
Honestly, Gumi had no idea how safe she was here, or if she was actually in danger with the nightmares existing. She had no clue if she could actually die, or shut down, within the dream. The food here indeed felt filling, the smells tantalizing, the sensations all true to expectations. But, Gumi often wondered if she could actually die within the dream. She wasn't willing to test her theory. She could feel pain, so perhaps that's all she needed to know. Asking the scientists seemed to be a bad idea as well. She hadn't told them about the dreams. Gumi had figured they wouldn't believe her, that she'd be decommissioned and replaced by a new model. Gumi had seen it happening. If she had to keep this a secret forever, then so be it.
The mountains shadowed the sands around it, blocking out the green sun that sat in the purple sky. The sand crushed under Gumi's boots, mixing in with the various colors that made it up. Gumi wondered for a moment if the mountains would crumble to nothing if they were slicked in half. She had quickly decided to not try it, in fear that she'd be crushed by the sand. After all, she could see the trees off in the distance now. That was her goal, and she was keen to know what was there.
It took what felt like an hour to reach the strange trees. They resembled palm trees, but with navy blue trunks and neon green fronds that hung low. The palm trees circled as Gum had predicted: an oasis. The clear purple water shimmered under the sunlight. Gumi approached it, dipping her hand in. The water was cool, just like the crystal clear water she knew in reality. Something was off putting about it though. It was likely the strange color, so Gumi declined to try and drink from it.
"There's not much here, is there?" She lamented sadly, but smiled and looked around her, "But, then again, it's very nice here.
As if catching wind of her words, something arose from the water with a loud roar. Water splashed everywhere, spilling onto Gumi. She stared at the sky, watching the large crab make its presence be known by arising.
"I should've expected this…" Gumi smirked arrogantly, leaping a step back to aim at the crab. She fired a few hits, which the crab responded with by slamming one of its claws down into the sand.
It was always towards the end that Gumi would fight what she referred to as a 'Nightmare Boss.' They were more powerful than the average nightmares, such as the lowly worms. These bosses required several more hits, some more tact. It was a stereotypical video game set up. The hero fights the boss, and wins. In this case, Gumi would fight it, then wake up. She questioned if that was really winning, but that was how life worked. One can't dream forever. She respected this life cycle that she was brought into, and simply marched on. In this case, marching on being killing a giant crab fabricated by her dreams and negativity.
"Kyaaaahhhh!" Gumi ran around the perimeter of the oasis as she fired at the crab. Pink lasers sounded off, making a short bzzt noise as they hit the boss.
"KREEEEEEEEEE!" The crab slammed its claws down, trying to stamp her out. Gumi was too fast for it though, and jumped onto the crab claw, taking a good shot at its eye, "KREEEEEEEE!"
"And…you're…done!" Gumi shouted as she shot at the other eye. The hit made its mark, and the crab dissipated. Gumi hopped back down to the world, as it began to melt into vivid colors.
"It's time to wake up now, isn't it?" She closed her eyes, letting herself fall into the collapsing world. The colors drained into the center, as if being pulled down a drain. Gumi fell with it, falling. Falling. Falling…
"Gumi, Unit Megpoid. Unit 06. Sensors activated.
Gumi awoke in the lab, lying on a single sheeted bed. The bland metal walls and ceiling silently greeted her with bright lights in her face. Her eyelids fluttered naturally, and she slowly sat up. Wires hanging out of her arms were attached to large machines that she could probably list the exact functions of if she wanted to. To her right were the scientists all don in lab coats and holding their clipboards.
"Is everything operational?" The scientist at the forefront asked her, pen on the clipboard.
"Yes. All systems online, operational, and functioning." Gumi mechanically said. Her voice was devoid of emotion, her eyes a dull green.
"Any system problems while you were in rest mode?"
Gumi again considered it. Could she mention the dreams? The fantastical visions that the scientists themselves probably could see at night.
"No system errors." Gumi responded after the short pause.
She was Unit 06. What had happened to the other units? That was not a risk to take. It was best to keep this a secret. The scientists could never know about this. Gumi couldn't risk being scrapped, deactivated, or replaced by a Unit 07. Somehow, being able to hoard over such a beautiful secret felt…satisfying and amazing deep down.
The scientists scuffled out of the room, having just finished the morning checks. The door was closed, and sealed for now before running more tests. They muttered to each other, looking over their clipboards.
"Did we get anything from the mind recordings?"
"No, not yet. She has not been able to reach it still."
"Should we move on and try again with Unit 07 then? It's been two weeks."
"Yes, two weeks. It's too early still. She is one of our three androids able to reach Vocaceria. We can't risk the miraculous chance that could exist."
"So we continue until we get something? Or, she tells us herself?"
"Yes."
Author's Note: Oh boy, it's been a while. I'm sorry if it seems short. I'll leave it off cliffhanger-like just in case my return isn't for nothing. Well, I hope you enjoy this! – KingdomMitsumi