Meiko climbed to the top of a pile of rubble to get a better look around. With all the attacks lately they had to take extra precautions in moving around. She sighed as she scanned the destroyed city around them. Long ago she had had the hope that someone would come to take them from this war zone... Take them somewhere safer... But now it was clear to see, with more attacks everyday, that there was no one out there to save them. And she highly doubted that there would be anywhere else to go.

Kaito was silent for a long time, looking over everything. They'd been gone a few hours now, but had found nothing more than broken buildings and scorched cardboard like usual. He knelt down, moving the dirt around lightly, looking underneath it where the stone was. He frowned and shook his head standing back up. "Nothing," he muttered glancing back at Meiko, "this isn't working. It's still bare... We need to figure something out." He sighed, rubbing his temples. "It's getting too difficult and the younger ones can't keep doing this. We've had too many close calls already."

Meiko looked to Kaito, "You're right. We need to get out of this area, it's far too dangerous here." Meiko kneeled on her small mountain. "We're also running out of supplies and the stores in this area are all empty. We'd have to go out farther to go check the stores on the outer edge of the city."

"The only problem with that," Kaito said taking a sharp breath, "is that it's dangerous to go passed the outer gates. We don't know what's out there. We've had the short end of the stick with the ones in this area. The further we go, the worse they'll be." He shook his head, "and the others are still in training. We wouldn't stand a chance."

"Yeah but there's nothing much we can do anymore Kaito!" Meiko growled, "we're running out of food and clean water. If we don't move soon we're going to starve. Or maybe even worse. Len and Rin already have it in their thick skulls that they need to be fighting and so far that's gotten us no where."

"I know that. You think I haven't thought about that Meiko? I know we're running out of time but there's not much else we can do is there? If we stay here, we starve. If we leave, we could be killed. Either way, we lose." Kaito closed his eyes a moment trying to calm himself. He never use to get angry. Not like this anyway. Things were just hard now and he had to keep up the strong act. "We need to find another option."

"You should know that there is no other option!" Meiko yelled, "at least we have more of a chance if we go out and search! If we just sit here we're definitely going to starve."

He was quiet for a while after that, just kind of staring out, looking passed the gates. The buildings were falling apart. They weren't going to make it this way. Not now. Not ever. "Fine. We can do a scouting mission. We can see how far it is to the next city. When we figure it out, we'll come back for the others and move."

Meiko smiled, "Sounds like a plan to me." She stood and put her free hand on her hip. "So which way should we head? Do you remember any cities near this one?"

"There use to be one up north. I'm not sure if it's still there but it's a start," he said going back for the base. "Come on. We'll rest up a bit and then we'll go." He said resting his own gun on his shoulder. "That work for you?"

"Yeah that's fine by me." Meiko said, a grin on her face. She'd always been one who said that the group should take action, not just live day by day. Now things were actually in motion.

"Don't give me that," he said narrowing his eyes a bit in defeat. She always got her way. Always. "As for what to do about supplies. I think that one store with the green roof still had some things. We need some more alcohol for the fire tonight."

Meiko nodded. Back in the beginning of this ordeal she had been reluctant to use the liquid to fuel every night's fire. She had always had a love for alcoholic drinks, but now she had to give that up. There was hardly enough for their fires, let alone extra for her to drink. Perhaps the stores in other cities would have more than enough... "Ahh... that'd be nice..." She muttered in a daze, just imagining it.

"Don't even think about it," Kaito said as he spotted the store. He was cautious, looking around before slipping through the doors, pushing around fallen shelves and broken bottles. Everything useful was already gone though. Nothing but an empty shell. "Here we go," he said finding one survivor. "It's cracked on the side but it'll have to do." He said looking back.

Meiko glanced around, "Yeah... looks like that's it... This store's out like all the others now..." She sighed. It was a good thing they were moving now... Hopefully they'd have enough supplies to get to where they were going.

Rin whined a little looking at their pathetic fire. It had been two days now, but it felt like forever. The older Vocaloids were gone by now. Scouting and leaving the others behind. They told them to stay in doors, that there were enough supplies to last them. In they stayed inside, they would be safe in the well hidden base. The ones left behind went out only once or twice, when absolutely necessary and even that was risky. "We're almost out," she said tapping the alcohol bottle, down it it's last swig.

Miku sighed, "If those two don't come back soon we're going to have to go searching the outer city for supplies..." The three of them were doing alright for themselves so far. Keeping the fire going, making small ration meals. The girls were gathered around the fire now, while Len stayed in his room. He was always working on things.

"But if they didn't come back...wouldn't that mean it's dangerous to go out?" Rin asked shaking her head. "I hate sitting around doing nothing." She was about to say something else, but there wasn't time as a knock came to the door. A moment later, in came Kaito. Tired looking but seeming unharmed. "Kaito!" Rin shouted jumping up, "you're back!"

Miku stood up a smile spreading across her face, "You're okay! Oh thank goodness!"

Kaito nodded looking around at them. "We will begin moving soon." He said in a hushed voice, "before we go we will train you. Hand to hand. It will be easier that way to get across. If a weapon falls, you'll have to protect yourselves somehow."

Meiko entered the small shelter then, she took a breath and sat next to the diminishing fire. "Hand to hand? What good will that do against the hunters?" Len asked, stepping out of his room when he thought he heard the door open.

Kaito ignored him, staring at Miku a second then shook his head nodding at Rin. "First," he said motioning her to follow him on his way out.

Rin just kind of stared, confused at first then nodded, "alright... I guess." She said unclipping her weapons and setting them aside. "I don't know anything about hand to hand combat though."

"It will be fine," Kaito nodded, motioning her to follow him out.

"It'll be dark soon though," Rin muttered, hesitating but stood up a moment later when she noticed Kaito wasn't about to budge.

"It is better that way," he nodded. "Adjust your eyes. When we travel, it will be during day and night. It is easier to start learning now."

Miku looked to Meiko who was rather silent by the fire, then followed Rin and Kaito. "Len is right Kaito, what good is hand-to-hand combat against them? We'll never be able to destroy them that way..."

"We do not need to destroy them. Just dodge them. For now," Kaito said simply. "The two of us will go now. The rest will followed after. One at a time is easier. Meiko, stay here and watch them."

Meiko looked back at Kaito and nodded, "alright" Miku sighed as she went back to the fire. She looked over at the brunette. She seemed like Kaito, exhausted, but not injured. If they hadn't gotten injured on their trip then they should trust Kaito's idea.

"Good," Kaito said turning and leading Rin off. The door shut after them and soon after it was silent. Len placed Kaito's gun against the wall and sat next to Meiko. Something didn't feel right.

Miku clapped her hands together, "Oh, Meiko are you hungry? We have a can of soup left if you want."

Meiko nodded, "that would be great." She said in an odd tone. Miku ignored her and nodded, going to open the can. She ate, but Len couldn't take his eyes off the older Vocaloid.

An hour or so passed by until Kaito returned. The others looked over, Miku all smiles as usual. He walked in and nodded to them, going back by the fire. "It's too dark now. We will train at day break the rest."

"Welcome back," Miku said stirring the now warming soup leftovers. She figured the others would be hungry when they got home. "There's some soup left if you're hungry, I'm warming it up now," Miku explained.

Len was sitting next to the fire cleaning his small automatic weapon, not bothering to look up. Kaito smiled, just barely, shutting the door behind himself as he walked over, "termination was eminent." He said sitting down. "Len Kagamine will go next."

Len looked up and glanced around, finally noticing a certain blond haired girl was missing. He glared at Kaito, "hey... where's Rin?" He asked, tensing slightly. Kaito wouldn't leave Rin alone out there... would he?

Kaito glanced at Len a moment before looking back at the fire, "this will not keep our body temperatures warm enough. We need more fluids for it. Meiko should get the alcohol."

Miku looked back at Kaito, becoming curious herself, especially when he ignored Len, "Kaito... where's Rin?" She looked at Meiko who hadn't moved since she had gotten back the first time. Miku's eyes narrowed. Now she knew something wasn't right here.

Kaito stared at the fire a while longer then stood back up steadily, closing his eyes in an odd way. "Rin Kagamine has been terminated." He said in a robotic voice. Not his normal calm composer either.

Len shot up, "t-terminated?" He yelled, looking from Kaito to Miku, who's eyes were widening. "What do you mean terminated?" He growled, taking one of the guns from it's place on the wall, holding it steadily.

"You need to be calm," Kaito said putting a hand on his own gun, watching Len cautiously. "Rin Kagamine was a weak link. No longer problem. You will be next soon."

Miku's eyes narrowed, "you're not Kaito... are you…?" She asked, moving towards the ammunition storage, where her gun was usually stored. "You're a Hunter..." She glanced at Meiko who's brown eyes seemed odd in the glow of the fire. "Both of you are, aren't you?"

Kaito chuckled slightly, gripping the gun and clicking it out of safety mode. "Vocaloid subject zero-zero-one, Miku Hatsune has figured it out. Winner." He said drawing a second shotgun and aiming each one at the teal haired girl. "You will not do anything now."

Len growled, "I can't believe we let you in! We should have realized there was something wrong wi-"

"Len be quiet." Miku commanded, before turning her attention to the imposters before her. She'd been a fool to let them in without making sure they really were the real thing. Now Rin was gone… She had to protect Len and herself now. "What did you do with the real Kaito and Meiko... Assuming this one here," she gestured to the silent brunette sitting at their fire, "Is a Hunter as well."

"Invalid questions will not be answered," Kaito said simply keeping himself steady. "Return to stand-by mode or I will be forced to terminate now."

"It doesn't seem 'invalid' to me... I'd like to know what happened to our friends." Miku stood her ground. Her right hand just touching the small automatic gun at her hip.

The Meiko imposter looked to Kaito. "They are to be terminated anyway. Why not tell them?"

"Creator said not to tell. Termination only. It is two now. Easy numbers. They will stand-by mode or they will not see them again."

Len was the one who spoke up now, "see them again? You mean they're still alive..." He stated, a little bit of hope in his voice. He'd almost forgotten to grab his gun. Almost. He clicked it off safe mode and waited.

The Kaito put one gun back, keeping the other out. He reached into his pocket and threw some kind of little object at Len. A television screen, small and static filled, an old technology. On the screen was a tied up Rin who was laying down on the ground. Fainted but seeming unharmed. There seemed to be others with her, but they were shadowed.

Len caught it, holding it close, staring down at it with wide eyes. "Rin!" Len gasped, breathing out a sigh of relief. "She's okay…"

Miku smiled slightly, glad. She then turned to the fake Kaito. "If our friends aren't dead... what do you mean by 'Terminated'?"

"Termination will soon follow once the creator has gotten what they want. You will stand-by mode or we will contact creator."

Miku nodded at Len and both of them aimed their weapons at the imposter Kaito. Len had one of Kaito's old ray guns; Miku held her two small automatics. "You'll tell us what we want to know. We've destroyed your kind before with no troubles. I don't think this will be a problem either." Len growled.

"But Len Kagamine will not harm either one of us units," Kaito said looking between the two, "if one unit is destroyed, a beacon will send and your friends will be destroyed also."

Len growled, they were stuck. Miku's eyes narrowed, "what is it that your Creator wants?" She asked glancing from the fake Meiko, back to Kaito.

"The creator does not say intentions. Vocaloid subject zero-zero-one, Miku Hatsune is to be brought back in one piece. All others will be captured or terminated on contact."

Miku lowered her weapons. "If I was to go back with you without a fight... would my friends be safe?"

Len looked to Miku in shock, "Miku, no!"

The fake Kaito nodded, slowly putting his second gun down. He opened his mouth to say something when the door burst open and a shot came through. The fake Kaito didn't even have time to react before its head blew and body collapsed to the ground. "Get down," Kaito growled, coming in, pointing his gun at the Meiko. He was pretty beat-up and pissed as hell by the looks of things.

Len jumped and backed up against the wall he was closest to. Miku stood there dumbfounded, "K-Kaito?"

Meiko turned her head and looked up at the real Kaito. "You have returned, Vocaloid subject zero-zero point one."

"Yeah," Kaito coughed shaking a little as he stood there. "Let's try this again. Where's Meiko?"

The imposter looked indifferent. "Vocaloid subject zero-zero-point-two is with the others." She answered simply.

"And just where might that be?" He asked quickly looking around, "where's Rin?"

The Meiko chuckled slightly, "she is with zero-zero-point-two. Although I know not of their current condition."

Miku just stared between the two a moment before remembering what the fake Kaito had said. If one of them was killed a beacon was set off and "they'll be killed..." She muttered the last part in disbelief. She turned to Len urgently, "Len! Check the screen! Check if Rin's okay!"

Len dropped his gun and fumbled with the small screen. When he finally was able to see it he saw the same static picture of his sister, tied up and unconscious. Nothing seemed to change. Thankfully. "Tell us where they are," Kaito demanded. "If we find them and they have so much as a bruise on them..." He trailed off powering his gun once more. "Now where are they?"

Meiko looked up at him and stood, brushing herself off. "I cannot tell you. Creator has ordered that we not tell the Vocaloid Subjects the whereabouts of our base."

"Fine then. I'll just have to destroy you too won't I? The trackers on our friends will tell us where they are." Okay... So maybe they didn't actually have trackers, but these clones didn't have to know that.

"If you terminate me as you did the other, the other Vocaloid Subjects will be terminated instantly." She stated, staring at Kaito.

"Then we'll take you hostage," he said looking over at Miku and Len, "you two, go look around outside. See if you can find any clues."

Len nodded and ran outside, but Miku stayed where she was. "Kaito, There's another way to find them. They'll be safe too." She started. The fake Meiko looked over to her.

"What's that?" Kaito asked looking back at her curiously. She knew something he didn't? Maybe she was growing more than he realized.

"What they want is me. If I go without a fight they said the others would be safe." She stated before looking to the blown up imposter Kaito, "at least that's what he said right before you came in."

"No," he snapped right away. "We'll figure this out on our own. We're not going to let them take you anywhere. Got it?" Kaito said narrowing his eyes.

"But we don't know what's going to happen if we take the time to figure this out Kaito!" Miku lowered her head, "they're after me. Luka, Gackpo, Rin and Meiko... They were all taken and we don't know what'll happen to them if we wait it out! Another Hunter could come and take you or Len. I don't want that!" She cried out. "If you're taken because of me... I could never forgive myself."

"We can protect ourselves!" Kaito shouted at Miku before glaring back at the Meiko. "Let's try this again," he said holding up his gun. "Tell us where our friends are."

The Meiko looked back at Kaito, "Miku Hatsune is correct you realize. The only way to save your comrades is for her to go. She seems willing."

"What?" Len asked as he came back inside. His brow furrowed as he realized what was going on. They were talking about Miku going alone with the Hunter. They shouldn't even be considering something like that!

"I don't care if she's willing or not," Kaito said glowering at the red clone. "I'm not letting her go." He said backing a little, protectively stepping near Miku. "Len, did you find anything?"

Len shook his head. "It's too dark. I can't see anything out there..."

Meiko watched Kaito as he moved. "What will you do? If you do not hurry others like me will come. Miku Hatsune will be taken eventually... Do you not wish to save your comrades?" A smirk spread across the clone's lips. "If that is the case I can have them terminated now."

Kaito clenched the gun tighter, knuckles turning white in frustration. The clone was right... He had to do something. "Fine," he muttered, "we will go with you to see your creator. In return, you're going to let our friends go."

Miku's eyes widened, "Kaito..."

The Meiko's smirk disappeared. "You are not needed. I can guarantee your comrade's safety if Miku Hatsune goes alone. She will not be terminated either."

"Doesn't matter. Miku is my friend and as such, anywhere she goes, I go too. That or you don't get her at all." Kaito was stern in his responses. He wasn't going to back down now.

Meiko stared at Kaito. It was clear that she wouldn't be able to get him off his plan. Miku walked around Kaito and walked over to the fake Meiko. "You're not going Kaito." She stated as she turned to look at him, a determined look on her face.

"Fine. Then neither are you," he said, obviously frustrated. "I'm not letting you go anywhere with her. Not alone."

Meiko silently watched as the two fought over the matter. Miku stamped her foot down, "dammit Kaito, we don't have time for you to be stubborn like this!" She yelled, "Our friends' lives are in danger! If we just keep sitting around they might be killed, and then the Hunters will be back. You either let me go, and all of our friends come back alive or you don't, they all die, and the hunters come back for me anyway!"

"Why can't I go with you at least? If you want to play hero, fine, but take me with you! Len, Rin and Meiko can last long enough on their own until we come back. I'm not letting you go like this."

"What will Len do until the others get back? He can't stay alone here! It's too dangerous!" Miku shouted back. Len sat silently at the far end of the room, not really wanting to get involved. He hated being the weak one of the group. He was the youngest, even compared to his sister. He hated it, but there was nothing he could do.

"It's only dangerous if they come after him. Which they won't if we go with them now." Kaito shook his head, annoyed by the whole thing, "Miku, like you said we don't have time to argue about this."

Miku clenched her fists then bowed her head in defeat. There was nothing she could say, nothing she could do to get him to stay. Meiko looked from Kaito to Miku, "are you finished?" She asked, "if Vocaloid Subject zero-zero-one is ready to go we will depart for our base."

Kaito nodded, still on the edge about it all. He looked over at Miku, then the Meiko, then back over to Len. "Len, wait here. I'm sure the others will be back soon..."

Len nodded, "Yeah, I'll be here." A smile spread across his face though it was a rough and empty one, "since the threat of the Hunters is gone maybe I can check the outer city for more food. When you guys get back we'll have a feast," He laughed weakly, "just bring the others back safely."

Kaito frowned watching the boy, "I want you to stay right here. Don't leave. Don't do anything. Just wait for them."

Len's smile dropped from his face completely this time, "yeah, I won't leave this spot." He said in defeat. What else could he do?

Miku walked up to him and gave him a hug, "Take care of yourself alright?"

He nodded, wanting to smile but couldn't bring himself to, "don't worry about me. Just make sure you come back soon… All of you."

"We will. You just watch over the others when they get back..." Kaito sighed and nodded glaring back at Meiko, "alright. Which way?"

Meiko made her way to the door and went out into the dark, "follow." Miku sighed and followed after the imposter. Before she exited the small shelter they had called home she looked back into it one last time. She remembered the better times, when everyone was still with them. All of them sitting around the fire, laughing, singing... Happy. She really did miss those times. It was still hard back then, but it was all easier to bear with everyone's smiling faces.

"Hey," Kaito said resting a hand on Miku's shoulder. "Everything will be okay. We're going to get them back and we'll find a new home and everything will go back to normal." He offered a smile but it was weak and forced. Probably looking just pathetic.

Miku smiled back up at Kaito, "Y-yeah..." Things probably wouldn't return to the way they were. She had a feeling she wouldn't be returned with the rest of them.