Author's Note: Hello! It's Andromeda Star! While I know I promised to revise/rewrite my Sailor Moon fanfictions first, I stumbled upon Vocaloid while searching for inspiring music and just had to write this. It'll only be a few chapters...just a short one for me :)

Anyways...complete story info...

Title: Progression of Evil
Setting: The world of the "color kingdoms" described in the Daughter of Evil series
Main Characters: Kagamine Rin, Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Len, KAITO, MEIKO
Minor Characters: Yowane Haku, Akita Neru, Megurine Luka, Kamui Gakupo, Kasane Teto, Kasane Ted
Plot Summary: In the Kingdoms of Color, a tradition is followed more stringently than anything else: once every thousand years, one child is selected to rule the Yellow Kingdom as the Child of Evil, and therefore conquer the other colors. The Green Kingdom is tired of bowing down to the Child of Evil, and will stop at nothing to overthrow the Yellow Kingdom's tyranny. When Rin is selected as the next Queen of the Yellow Kingdom, will she be able to survive the danger her destiny indicates?

Chapter One
Adolescence

The ballroom was elegantly decorated, more so than usual, for the Prince had ordered it so. He had ordered that the tables be laid with only the finest of foods, and that drinks were to be continuously filled until the last person had left the Palace. The party was the biggest he'd thrown, in anticipation of meeting his future queen there.

Away from the hustle and bustle of the main event, a young blonde girl adjusted the ruffles on her white dress and scanned the ball with watchful blue eyes. She hugged the wall; while she knew this was the very last night of her life as she knew it, she could not will herself to go and dance. She would not be able to be happy, at least not until her knight arrived.

"Rin-chan?" A lovely pink-haired woman approached the blonde girl. She was dressed in a skintight slinky black gown that showed off her shapely figure, and her long hair was pulled up and curled. She was on the arm of a tall man with purple hair that was even longer than the lady's, dressed in a black suit with a purple tie that matched his hair.

"Hello, Megurine-sama," Rin said in a small voice.

She smiled tenderly at the girl. "It's okay to just call me Luka, Rin-chan. Where is Len tonight?"

Rin shook her head. "He's been gone since just after the party started, Meg…Luka-sama."

"And you're waiting for him?" Luka scanned the crowd. "Well, I know he'll turn up soon." She was swept away by her purple-haired escort at that point, and Rin was left alone again.

The clock struck ten.

Only eight more hours, Rin thought to herself. If Len didn't show up soon…

Suddenly there was a hand on her bare shoulder, and she turned in surprise to stare at the blue eyes that were so close in color to her own, framed by spiky hair the same shade as her own chin-length locks. The boy stood before her, dressed in a black and white half-tux, looking more like a waiter than a knight. But Rin loved him immensely anyway.

"Len!" Rin sighed, and allowed herself to be drawn into his embrace.

"Sorry, Rin," he breathed into her hair. "The royal family required assistance."

Rin just breathed him in, drinking herself drunk in the presence of her cherished person. She had waited patiently for two hours, and now finally she could enjoy her last night as Kagamine Rin, the servant girl to Megurine Luka.

"Rin," Len said, pulling away from her just as the music slowed to a stately waltz, "May I have this dance?"

Nodding and smiling at him, Rin allowed herself to be led onto the dance floor. The waltz was an excuse to keep in close contact with her, Rin soon realized, for with so many smiling couples whirling around, she had to step closer to him to protect herself. In response, Len tightened his hold on her and spun her more carefully.

"Len," Rin breathed, turning shining eyes to his. "I…"

"Shh…" she said, holding her closer to him. "Don't say it."

Rin was silent and looked slightly down in her depressed state. "We have eight hours."

Len sighed. "I know, and I intend to make them the best eight hours of your life. I can't do that if you aren't willing to smile."

She looked up at her partner, who gave her a slight squeeze and a wink. She giggled and permitted him to sweep her up in the throes of the dance. One, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three, twirl, and pull Rin into Len's arms. He was much more assured, Rin decided. More assured than she at this point.

Megurine Luka watched the young pair from behind her escort, one handsome yet chatty Kamui Gakupo. From her vantage point, she missed the slight caress Len was giving to Rin's back, but she could clearly see Rin's cheeks flush almost continually. Luka blinked. There was no way Rin was…

"Luka-san," Gakupo said. "Don't watch others. Tell me your birthday, please?"

Luka rolled her eyes. "Go Google it."

The waltz ended and the orchestra struck up a spritelier tune. Len carefully extracted himself and Rin from the gyrating couples and led her out of the ballroom, into a little side hall that was mainly used by the servants to Prince Kaito. There, and only there, in the relative privacy of the hall, unseen by the lords and ladies who were still dancing, could Len take Rin in his arms exactly how he wanted to and whisper in her ear. Tonight he sung part of their song they had written together, the song of separation.

"The two people in the castle, destroying its interior. To the noisy knight and princess, the bell announces the end," Len sang softly. Above them, the clock rang out the half-hour.

"Don't. Just don't," Rin pleaded. "I don't want to think about it."

Len took her delicate hand in his and squeezed in reassuringly. She stretched out her palm and lined it up with his. "Your hands are bigger," Rin said accusingly, resenting the difference. "Holding hands in the distorted mirror, the lengths of our fingers no longer match." She sang.

The look she got from Len was one of sorrow, as if he was apologizing for the changing state of his body. There was something else, too, in his sapphire eyes, something that tinged them and made them dark and mysterious.

"Rin…" he whispered and pulled her to him, his hands weaving themselves through her hair. Rin wasn't exactly sure what was going on with him until he pulled her back and stared intensely at her face, her eyes, her cheeks…her lips.

"I want…Rin…" he whispered huskily. "Rin…I want to…"

Rin's eyes widened in surprise. "Here?"

A tear formed in the corner of his left eye. "I don't want you to go away before…"

Still in shock, Rin was not prepared for Len's next move. He pulled her close and used his hand to gently tilt her face up as his face came closer, closer…

Rin's eyes closed.

Len pressed his lips against hers.

Megurine Luka watched from just behind the archway into the ballroom. She had finally shaken her annoying escort, and had tracked her little servant girl to this small, forgotten hallway just in time to witness the juiciest scene ever.

The clock struck eleven.

Two hours before…

The clock struck nine.

Kaito was bored. There was no other way to say it. His mother had almost forced him to throw this party, and then had thrust every single eligible girl into his arms at least four times tonight. He had danced and charmed and wooed every single one, but still had not found one that was to be his bride. The right girl hadn't fallen into his arms yet, and so he politely made his excuses and switched partners, time and time again.

As he danced with a light-haired girl who reminded him softly that her name was Yowane Haku, he glanced over and locked eyes with his childhood friend, the Lady Megurine Luka. She had that slight smile on her face, the one that told him she was laughing inwardly at his predicament. He pleaded with his gaze for her to come and save him from these uninteresting females, but she shook her head slightly, still grinning that half-grin. A strapping young man with long purple hair approached her with drinks. She took hers, but when the man opened his mouth to talk, she rolled her eyes and turned away, ignoring him. Kaito grinned.

The song ended and Kaito bowed formally to the girl as she curtsied and was taken up by another partner. Kaito stood alone for once as the music swelled again and he darted around the twirling couples, heading for Luka. She smiled graciously as he approached, deliberately leaving her escort behind as she took his arm and steered him towards the balcony.

"I swear, if that Gakupo tried to converse with me once more…" Luka threatened in a low voice as soon as the balcony doors were shut and she and Kaito were in relative privacy.

"Luka, try not to injure him. The bloodstains would take forever to get out of the hardwood." Kaito sighed.

Luka smiled. "Oh, I don't intend to leave stains." Deftly, she switched the topic. "So, any suitable prospects out there?"

"None at all." Kaito sighed. "I must have danced with every single unattached female in the castle. And plenty of attached ones."

Luka looked out at the rose garden. "Don't be so quick to judge. There are some late arrivals still collecting themselves and their tickets to the throne." She grinned and flicked her eyes sideways at him.

"I want to dance with you, Luka," Kaito said feelingly. "You're a much more interesting partner."

Saucily she winked at him. "That's because I've been around a few times." The grin slipped a little as annoyance crossed her face. "But I'm to keep that blathering idiot entertained tonight."

"He can find another partner for one dance," Kaito said, waving aside the concern. "Lord knows there are plenty of available women here. He might just find someone easier to deal with than Megurine Luka in a testy mood."

Luka said nothing, but her lips pulled slightly upward and Kaito knew he'd been conceded a point in his favor. He held out his hand, like a prince. "Luka, will you dance with me?"

She sighed, affecting disdain. "Oh, if I must, Kaito-oujisama." She placed her hand in his and he led her back inside, towards the dance floor, where an energetic tune was just beginning.

Meanwhile, a striking middle-aged man in a dark green suit and cloak was just entering the grand palace, leading along a young girl in a dark cloak. The girl allowed her heavy cloak to be removed by a servant, but she did not turn her eyes from the floor, as was polite. Her sea-green tresses were gathered into two ponytails, and she was dressed in a simple yet beautiful pink gown. The older man placed a hand on his daughter's back and gave her a slight push towards the ballroom. The girl meekly allowed herself to be directed, obeying her stern father's wishes. Her mind, in the meantime, was running over the events of the past week, when her family had concocted their plan and then put it into action, using her without her permission.

"Miku-chan," her father said. Miku looked up. "Remember what we've told you," the man said into her ear. "Tonight, everything rests on you."

Yes, Miku thought to herself, everything rests on me. But was that such a wise decision?

The clock struck ten.

"Teto-chan!" a monotonic voice called. Teto whirled, her gown and twin drill pigtails spinning. There was her friend, Akita Neru, her yellow gown sparkling in the light of the chandeliers.

"Neru-chan, you look beautiful!" Teto said, hugging her friend.

"This party is boring." Neru said, pulling out her iconic cell phone. "Have you danced with Kaito-oujisama yet?"

Teto grinned. "No, I haven't. I'm here with someone else."

"Oh?" Neru said before she was approached by a tall, elegant man in a black suit. He swept his purple hair out of his eyes and smiled at her.

"May I have this dance, fair one?"

Neru blinked and accepted his hand, allowing herself to be swept into the mass of twirling couples. Teto sighed, relieved. She hadn't thought to think of a name for her nonexistent escort. She had counted on someone asking her to dance long before anyone figured out she had arrived by herself, but the men here had either come with someone or were trying to pick up Prince Kaito's discards. The prince himself was dancing with an elegant woman with pink hair, who was smiling mischievously at him. The others would have no chance against this self-assured woman, Teto decided.

"Might I ask why such a beautiful young woman such as yourself is standing on the sidelines when she should be dancing?" a smooth male voice intruded on Teto's musings. She started and turned her head to lock gazes with eyes as vibrant red as her own, but framed with glasses that flashed as they caught the light from the chandeliers. It was a man, a man in a black tux with a red vest, who was taller than Teto in her heels, who had a sharp face and looked down on her. His hair was tousled and he wore a smirk on his face that suggested he was mildly interested.

Teto's eyes widened for an instant before she turned away suddenly. "I'm waiting for my escort."

"Oh? Who?" The man cast an eye out. "If your escort was the Prince himself, you're destined for a long night of waiting. The queen seems certain that he will dance with every single girl in this ballroom."

Teto refused to look at the man, but she knew her slight blush would be visible to his eyes. "I…well…"

He blinked. "Did you come here alone?"

She looked down in shame. "I wasn't supposed to. My mother and my father had chosen an escort for me, but he bowed out at the last moment, so I was sent here by myself."

"How convenient that I have also arrived alone," the man said. "May I have this dance?"

Teto finally looked at him, slightly startled at the invitation. The man held his hand out. "Well?"

She extended her arm and daintily placed her hand in his. "Yes."

The clock struck eleven.