Track 10: Words Buried Beneath the Surface

"What?!" Lily cried. "You're an android too?!"

Not even close. Luo's voice chided. In Lily's mind she could hear someone's clicking tongue but when the blonde android gawked at Luo the blue – clad girl was still belting her melody without pause. Lily waved a hand in front of her. The bluish haired Tuner still continued her song. Stop that Lily, and put on your seatbelt. You don't want to have your producers pay a fine if the authorities catch you, do you?

"Oh really?" The blonde started softly. "'Cause, I know I'm a foreigner and all. And that some traffic rules between Taiwan and Japan bound to be different but…" Lily shrieked: "I'm sure driving a car with no driver has gotta be against some sort of law!"

Oh, but there is a driver. On my orders Tian Dian is driving the vehicle. Luo answered. Lily gaped at the white creature, and who rolled in tandem with the steering wheel. She felt no more secure than before. Now Lily, about that seatbelt.

The gray seatbelt clicked as she swung it around her. "How are you – what are you – what the hell?!" Lily stammered.

It's probably most prudent to answer your questions in backwards order. Luo started, her placid mental voice a stark contrast to Lily twirling gears. First off, I don't come from Hell – in fact I think my home is almost the opposite. Parallel from the galaxy where your celestial bodies dwell is my home. I'm what you call an extra – terrestrial, "alien" sounds simpler though, so you can use that term. My species of people can read emotions and communicate our thoughts through songs – with living creatures and technology. Lily opened her mouth to protest something. What? Did you really think the universe's only sentient creatures were humans and robots? Lily's snapped her jaw shut.

"But why are you telling me you're a –" the word felt ridiculous to even utter. "– an alien? And why are you here?"

A small frown formed on Luo's lips but she did not pause her singing. I reside here for an important mission. The people of my planet discovered Earth as the Viruses descended. They are worried that once the Viruses are done gorging on the humans and their emotions on Earth, they will travel to Lyrizella, my home.

"Don't say that like its sure thing!" Lily said. "I won't let the Viruses get that far!"

Please calm down Lily, I meant no offense. Luo told her. And I do not want that scenario to come to pass either, so we should be allies. The Viruses may be more concentrating on Asian countries at the moment but they've decimated a world's population before when left unchecked: it was the home world of your maker, the woman you call Yuriko G. Kaiganone.

A chill blew through all of Lily's wires. She froze. "T-That's not –" Lily spluttered. "But Yuriko was human! Mosh told me so!"

Mosh is mistaken, Luo said frankly. Mosh made have had more time with your maker than yourself but not as much as time with the humans of Earth. She didn't tell me much about her home world, she said she was forbidden to tell me much, but she happened to see me land on Earth. When she told me she wasn't from this world too I decided to trust her. The fact that she helped me learn some of these human languages didn't hurt either. If you haven't noticed, the language of Yuriko G. Kaiganone's world is, by pure coincidence, remarkably similar to Japanese when spoken. But in the written form they are wholly different.

The car stopped, Tian Dian suddenly turned to Lily, who jumped. The driver spat out a crumbled piece of paper that landed on Lily's lap. She smoothed it out with shaking fingers as the creature turned around and started "driving" again.

Lily looked at the symbols. They mostly consisted of concentric circle – like shapes. However, Lily understood every word:

Day 328

The male android is coming along nicely. I think I like the name, Mosh, for him. It's really cute!

Though he's supposed to be a Virus fighting android, "cute is not necessary," as Goldie might say. She was always so practical. She probably knows about the deal I had made with Dr – drat, I can't even write her true name! Ridiculous witch – the deal I had made with the Spell Queen now. She'd call me foolish for even creating an android, especially since I don't have the materials to make one strong enough to hurt the higher– level Viruses. So far it seems he'll have to be a supporting sound, maybe I can find a way for him to amplify the next model's powers.

I think I'll make the next one a girl. It'll be nice to have sisters again. It's been so long since I've seen little Beast. I wonder if she even remembers me…

Even as I write this, I'm laughing while crying. Goldie would scold me again for being so superfluous. "You only need a weapon that cuts through your enemies" she might argue. And then we'd fight, me telling her being superfluous is the point. She wouldn't get that I can't have some dead scraps of metal to challenge them, they'd lose in a minute.

The truth is that some Viruses were aptly named. In our world "specialized" Viruses seeped into the technology and turned it against us. We survivors had to return to arcane methods to try and rebuild.

But still, I believe if I give these machines a heart – fill them with emotions, personality – that the Viruses won't be able to touch them.

Of course I have no proof of that. This could backfire spectacularly. At best, I'll still have two somewhat melodramatic androids to take care of. Well, they look like human teenagers anyways, so maybe not even the Viruses will suspect them for technology.

A part of me thinks it'd be best not to tell Mosh and the girl android about the specialized ones. I don't want them to doubt themselves or their power. Worse yet, I don't want them to go tearing up through the city's tech causing just as much damage to this world as the Viruses did mine.

Besides, the Gunners and Swords got all of those specialized Viruses. I have seen Viruses here but they merely stomp around, grab whatever's closest, and shove whatever hasn't dissolved at their touch into their bodies. They're like children and the people screaming for their lives are simply really loud toys. They'd get along fabulously with this one girl I remember…

Yet, I still worry, where there are children, there's usually a "mother" close by, watching the youth with keen eyes, ready to strike at whoever would hurt them and willing to spurn the rest of the world for her young.

Lily had read and reread her late maker's notes when the car halted once more.

"We're just at the edge of Taipei." Luo spoke. The fact it was her real voice and not her mental one made Lily's attention leave her maker's note. "Look outside your window please." She gaped. Unlike the sleek, brightly lit buildings that surrounded Xieminding an ugly gray brick building with broken windows greeted her now. "This is the abandoned lab of your maker. It's scheduled for reclamation soon. If you want any more information on Yuriko G. Kaiganone, this is your only shot."

Lily nodded, but it was a shaky nod. "Aren't you coming with me?"

Luo shook her head. "That building is abandoned for a reason, the flooring is shoddy, the lighting is ineffective, and hazardous materials are rampant. Viruses must have torn up the place when she and Mosh left for Japan. Yuriko and I helped each other, but neither of us would have put the other in danger. You're more suited for this mission." Her tone softened and lost its droning quality. "And also, if I don't get home soon Moke will worry. He's probably waiting up for me as we speak."

Lily smirked and removed her seatbelt. "I get it, make sure he knows you're alright."

Luo grinned. It was the first smile she had given Lily. As the Vocaloid got out of the car's backseat, the Tuner said: "You are like Yuriko. It's hard to see sometimes, but she's there, in you."

"Thank you."

Tian Dian drove the alien away. Lily waited till the car was out of sight before glimpsing at the paper for a fourth time. Wow. She mused as she stared at the page. Lily pressed play on the CD player she'd clipped to the wires of her "official" Vocaloid costume and put her black headphones on. "Mosh get up!"

She heard her partner's grumble. "Lily! I was just about to turn it! It's one in the morning here!"

"Well, it's twelve here so shut up and listen," She relayed the note she had of her maker's thoughts, plus the information Luo Tianyi had given her. "The whole thing is crazy!" Lily added when she finished. "You'd think we'd be the first to know Yuriko was an alien, not the last!"

"Insane." Mosh agreed breathlessly. "Whenever I asked her about her home, she'd just say she was not from Japan and change the subject. But if the Viruses really did kill off most of the people in her world, I guess it would be hard to talk about - and it would explain her blood." The headphones were silent for a moment, which is why Lily was shocked when Mosh suddenly laughed. "If Ryuto – kun thought you were cool before wait till finds out you were made by aliens to save the world!"

"You can't tell him all of this!" Lily said. "You can't tell any of them!"

"Why not?"

"Because…" Lily tried to fight the memory of Kiyoteru's last words in the alley. But it swept over her, bringing feelings of uncertainty and paranoia with it. "I think someone involved with the Vocaloids is also working with the Viruses."

"What?" Mosh cried but he wasn't the only one, a girl echoed the word. Lily took off her headphones, turned, and stared. A wide – eyed Gumi, Gakupo, and Sonika were behind her.

"Lily – chan how could you even think that?" Gumi cried. Lily saw Sonika and Gakupo's faces. The shock was melting into bitterness and pain respectively.

"What are you all doing here?" Lily cried.

"Sonika – chan told us about a haunted house she heard about. She told us she wanted to see." Gakupo answered. His voice not playful or flirty like it usually was, but flat. "She said that she didn't want to leave us out so she told me and Gumi – chan to come along."

Sonika's green eyes narrowed at Lily. "I don't why you're dithering about computer viruses. But you're totally off to call my Carrot untrustworthy! If anything, if you're so suspicious of good people maybe you're the one who can't be trusted!"

Lily recoiled. "You don't know a damn thing about me!"

"I know that you've made her cry for the second time." Lily hadn't noticed Gumi go into Gakupo's arms, tears falling from her green eyes to his chest, until then. It made her heart sink to see. "That's all I need to know."

"I –"

"You didn't tell us!" Gumi cried. "You didn't tell you were in trouble again! You really don't trust us, do you?!"

The words died in Lily. She had completely ignored her promise to Gumi. She felt even lower.

It shouldn't bother me. So what if they think that you don't trust them? A small piece of Lily questioned. You shouldn't trust them! Miku - chan proved that they can act anyway they want for whatever they need.

Somehow that thought chilled her more than anything else.

But…A shockingly louder side in Lily fought back. Would they have gone so far for just act? Would Gumi – chan have nearly exhausted herself to help me out if she were just helping the Viruses? And Gakupo – when he told me about how lonely he was, I didn't feel like it was just a show. She could hardly look at the two Internet Co. Vocaloids. Another question hit Lily like a slap in the face. Would they be so hurt if they didn't really care?

"Look." Lily finally said. "I didn't say I don't trust you all, it's just…" The unconfident tone was unlike her, it unnerved her. But the thought of Gumi and Gakupo resenting her, of being cast out like Sonika was amongst her Engloids, scared her like nothing had before. It scared her even more than the moment when she thought she was dying right before Mosh and Yakuto found her. "I'm still not used to this 'family' thing. Mosh will tell you it took a while me to warm up to him too. And I found out all these new things about my maker and everything I thought I knew about Viruses just went down the drain in about an hour." Lily bit her lip, the last part was the hardest for her, but it needed to be said. "I got scared for a second, I'm sorry."

"They deserve a lot more than that." Sonika growled. She stepped between Gumi, Gakupo and Lily. "Prove that you're sorry."

Inwardly Lily groaned but she fought it down. Instead she gestured to the ruined building. "I'll tell you guys everything, but I don't know everything yet. I will as soon as I'm done searching this place." An idea hit Lily. "I mean, when we're done searching my late maker's abandoned lab."