・ Author's Notes ・

Welcome to chapter 12, the epilogue and final chapter of The Secrets of Crypton Labs. I'm sad to see it go, the past few months have been exciting and enjoyable for me as I wrote this. But I always have more things coming… This is why I'm proud to announce my next project: "On The Fly". I've been working with Monica/dashingicecream and we both have put our heads together to create a new and interesting Vocaloid sci-fi project to follow this one. The preview summary: "Megurine Luka is just an ordinary woman, working her ordinary job, on board a space station orbiting a mining planet. But when an unusual teal-haired traveler comes through her station, she finds herself mired in much more than she asked for, and now is on the run…" This project will of course feature the Miku x Luka you've come to expect from me, as well as some Gakupo x Gumi and other pairings that will be better announced in its first chapter. There are currently no projections as to when On The Fly will have its first chapter released, as I'm going back to college soon and won't be able to write as much. I hope you all stick with me, though. (and possibly follow me so as to know as soon as On The Fly is released)

One final note: I'd like to thank everybody who has read up to this point and completed reading this fic. You people are amazing and this wouldn't have been a reality if it wasn't for my 100+ consistent readers. And finally, I'd also like to give a shout-out to all of my reviewers. You guys are the pinnacle of my readers, and you are really the motivation that keeps me going. I hope you can stick around some for the next project. With that, though, thank you again, and I'll see you next project.

— Syarin

・ ・ ・

The bright and sterile lab buzzed with the sound of activity. This event would be finishing a project that had only been started merely just more than a week ago, but was years in the making. Equipment lined the walls — computers, cabinets, and machines with a purpose only understood by their designated engineer. Next to such equipment was a myriad of safety posters, detailing safety goggle procedures, ESD protection notices, and other such standard electronic lab fare. Mysteriously, there was a conspicuous area where a poster appeared to have been removed recently…

Most everything seemed standard, with perhaps a few exceptions, the most flagrant of which being the center of the room. A young woman laid on a bed in the center of the room… or so it seemed. The girl had several parts of her body opened by hatch, revealing a mechanical skeleton and incredibly complex electronics. She laid still, eyes closed, in some sort of deep trance state, unaware of her current condition. She wore barely enough to protect her own modesty, merely underwear to protect her. She was of a medium height and slim, and had incredibly long teal hair that reached nearly to her ankles. On her left shoulder, a tattoo in red merely noted "01".

"Director Murakami!" spoke a young man in a lab coat. He had short black hair, and wore a name tag reading "Research Intern: Moriyama Jirou". "We're just running some final tests, we should be able to bring her back up soon!"

"Excellent work," responded a tall woman, adorned in a lab coat herself. She had long black hair, dark brown eyes, and wore a name tag reading "Vocal Android Department Director: Dr. Murakami Yukari, PhD". "Could you give any sort of exact time?" Another scientist, a graying man standing next to the girl on the bed spoke up.

"We're doing some final tests on the memory banks to make sure that they're cooperating with the new modules, Director," he said. "It should be no more than ten minutes."

"Excellent," Murakami said. "I want her up and ready today! If there are any issues, I'll have somebody's head for it! This project's been perfectly on schedule, but the longer CV01 goes while she's not able to work for us, the more money we serve to lose! Nobody's more popular than CV01, not even either of 02 or even 03, so we need to hurry it up. I'd rather not get my head screamed off by the big wigs because CV01 stayed out of commission for longer than expected."

"Tests complete, Director!" the graying man reported. "Everything seems satisfactory."

"Close her up and get ready to power up inactive systems," Murakami said. The scientists gathered around the girl, and began to detach cables and machinery that were installed inside the hatches. After a couple of minutes, they closed the hatches, leaving the girl nearly indistinguishable from any normal human being, except for the conspicuous cable leading into her neck.

Behind them, the airlock into the sealed lab opened. A new figure entered the room, a woman wearing a lab coat. She had long pink hair, tied back into a ponytail as was the cleanliness standard, and clear blue eyes. A name tag attached to her coat identified her as "Megurine Luka, CV03, Append Project Supervisor".

"I would hate to be late to the party," the woman said, walking up to the director. "I don't wanna miss this moment."

"I wasn't about to let you," Murakami said. "You made this happen for her, I would have gone back and grabbed you even if you didn't want to be here."

"Glad to know I have a superior so respectful of what my choices would be," Luka said with a laugh. "But don't let me stop you. Let's get her up."

"All right, let's get this show on the road!" Murakami exclaimed. "This time I'm doing the fast start up. But unlike last time, I'm gonna keep a careful eye on the error dialogs… I don't want to make any mistakes this time, even if they might end up being beneficial mistakes. Everybody understand?"

"Yes, ma'am!" a chorus of voices from the scientists and Luka proclaimed.

"Alright, let's go!" the doctor concluded. "Beginning Vocal Android CV01 Append reanimation sequence…" She entered a command into a computer sitting next to the girl on the bed, and lights began to blink in response. "Powering into sleep mode." The doctor observed the screen, watching closely for any abnormalities as the girl's systems activated. Several moments later, the doctor proclaimed, "all systems, online and functioning!"

The girl on the bed now laid like a normal human, breathing and appearing to be in a gentle state of sleep. The doctor stood and slowly removed the cable from the girl's neck. The port covered itself immediately, leaving the girl indistinguishable from any normal human. Murakami glanced back at the computer monitor. There were no signs of disruption or problems with the new modules. Murakami leaned over the girl and whispered.

"It's time to wake up, Miku." The girl's eyelids began to open, revealing bright teal eyes underneath. "Excellent," the doctor said, standing back up. "Could you sit up for me?" The girl sat up unsteadily. "You're probably still a little disoriented, it might take a second before your mind processes the changes. It should be gone in just a moment."

"I… think I'm starting to feel okay," Miku said. "I feel a little dizzy, and my mind's a mess, but I'm starting to get used to it."

"Well, you're the first one off the line to get the changes," Yukari said. "I can't be too surprised if things are a little rough. It's hard to do tests because we can't take you down to an entirely powerless state without unknown consequences." Miku shook her head around a bit to try and dispel some of the dizziness. She looked around the room a little, and noticed a bright pink spot.

"Luka!" Miku exclaimed happily. "You came!" Luka walked closer, to Miku's side.

"Of course I did," Luka said. "I wouldn't miss such a big event of yours." Miku stretched out her arms and tried to bring Luka closer. The attempt failed, though, Luka wasn't quite close enough. Miku pouted in response.

"Muuu… Come closer, Luka!" Miku said. Luka obliged, and the two brought each other into a hug. Murakami gave them a brief moment alone, and then spoke up.

"Alright you two," the doctor said, "you just love to choose the most inopportune times to be all lovey-dovey, don't you? Unfortunately for you, I have some tests I still want to run before we can let her free entirely. So separate. You can stay in the room, Luka, but I need space to do things." The two separated from their embrace.

"Sorry about that," Luka said. "It's just nearly been a week since I was able to see her…"

"I understand that, but there's a time and a place," Yukari said. "Here and now are neither of those."

"Understood," Luka said, and stepped back. The doctor drew back over to the computer and started operating the controls.

"Are you feeling alright yet?" Yukari asked.

"Yeah, the dizziness is gone now," Miku said. "My head's still a little fuzzy, though."

"I'm going to run the standard battery of tests on your mental function," Yukari said. "Bear with me for a couple of minutes." She pressed a button and Miku's head drooped. Text began to scroll by on the monitor for the next couple of moments. When the test was complete, Miku picked her head back up.

"So how'd I do?" Miku asked. Murakami scanned the results.

"You did fine," Yukari said. "I don't see a single problem, which means that any fuzziness that's left will fade with time hopefully."

"So it's all done?" Miku asked.

"Should be," the doctor answered. "There's some clothes for you on the table to the side, and your hair ribbons. I'm going to give you the day off so that we can get a field test to make sure everything's working right. You and Luka can go have fun."

"Thank you so much!" Miku said.

"Alright, that hereby concludes our work here, team!" Murakami announced. "Get outta here, let's give the ladies some privacy." The scientists began to file out of the airlock, with the doctor leaving last. Within a couple of moments, all that remained in the room were Miku and Luka. Miku stood from her position on the bed, and walked over to grab the clothes that had been set out for her. It appeared to be just a normal set of her typical casual clothes. Despite the fact that Miku didn't actually have to undress, Luka turned around to give the girl a little bit of extra privacy.

"You can turn back around now Luka," Miku said, and Luka complied. Miku now stood normally in a simple pink-striped T-shirt and a sky-blue skirt. Of course, it wouldn't be Miku if she wasn't also wearing thigh-high stockings along with it. And as was always the case, Miku had tied her hair back into a pair of pigtails.

"Beautiful as always," Luka said. Miku's cheeks went red. "Now come on, I wanna get out of this silly coat." The two walked into the airlock, and as the doors shut behind them, Luka took off the coat and hung it on a hook to the side. She removed the tie from her hair and shook her head around a little to free it. "Much better. I don't know why Yukari demands we all tie our hair back in there. Especially since she doesn't do it herself."

"I dunno, I kinda like it when you have your hair back," Miku said.

"And I kinda like it when you have your hair down," Luka said. "I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one."

"Fine," Miku said. Having now cleared them, the airlock opened, and Luka led out of the door. "Where are we going?" Miku asked, as Luka turned down the office hallway, headed away from either of their usual haunts of their rooms or the lounge.

"Do you know what today is?" Luka asked.

"I've been out of it for more than a week," Miku said. "If that answers your question…"

"It does, but it means it'll be a surprise when we get there," Luka said. Miku wore an expression of confusion as Luka led her to the elevators, and pressed the button for "up".

"Just what are you planning…?" Miku asked, still confused.

"If I told you just for asking, then it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?" Luka asked, a mischievous smirk adorning her face. The elevator arrived, and the two girls entered. Luka pressed the button for the ground floor. An authentication message appeared, but Luka waved it away with the "key card" in her hand. The elevator began its ascent as Miku only continued to be confused.

"Don't tell me you plan to…?" Miku partially asked, but dropped her words halfway through.

"Perhaps," Luka said. "I'm not guaranteeing you anything until it actually happens, though." After a moment, the elevator stopped on the ground floor, and opened, allowing the two to exit. Luka proceeded forward, bringing the two to the lobby of the building. Luka walked over to the desk, at a monitor labeled "sign-out".

"You are…" Miku said, answering her own question from before. Luka held her hand out to the machine. It identified her as "Megurine Luka, CV03". It then asked if she was to sign out of the building. She responded to the machine's prompt with a confident yes.

"Your turn, Miku," Luka said, sneaking behind the desk and grabbing something there as Miku walked up to the machine and attempted to repeat Luka's actions. "Hatsune Miku, CV01-Ap, do you wish to sign out of the building?" the machine asked. Miku too responded in the affirmative.

Luka led Miku wordlessly out of the building, and into the city. The girls were surrounded in every direction by buildings, cars, people, and the business of life. Miku had imagined what it was like, actually being out on the streets like this… but hadn't yet experienced it herself. She stood, silent, and simply took in the beauty of the real world. It wasn't perfect, it wasn't the best view either… But Miku nevertheless was entranced.

"I'll give you one more chance to try and guess what today is," Luka said, holding the object she obtained behind her back, as the two stood out on the sidewalk.

"I already told you Luka, I don't know…" Miku said.

"March 14, 2029," Luka responded. Miku instantly attached the date to its role.

"You mean…" Miku said.

"Of course," Luka said. "I wouldn't leave your gift unrewarded, now would I?" She brought the object around from her back, and held it out to Miku. A heart-shaped box, in a bright red, presented itself to Miku. Miku blushed and took the box from Luka's hands.

"Thank you so much, Luka!" Miku said, rushing up to the woman and bringing her into an embrace. "I love you, Luka!" she said happily. Luka's face began to tint a hue of pink.

"I love you too, Miku," Luka said, bringing her arms around the other girl. After a moment of silence together, the girls separated. Miku looked up at Luka.

"Don't tell me you took me all the way out here just to give me some chocolates," Miku said.

"Of course not," Luka said. "You really think I would be that silly?"

"No," Miku said. "But sometimes you don't always think things through before doing them."

"You were out for a week," Luka said. "I had plenty of time to think things through, silly. Now come on, I found a great place where we can have a nice lunch together…" Miku was distracted by the box that she had received, as Luka began to walk in the direction of their destination.

"Hey, wait up!" Miku called as the distance between them increased, and she started to jog to catch up.

"Serves you right for getting distracted by chocolate when I told you we're having lunch!" Luka said with a laugh as she didn't slow down at all.

And so, the android girl and the android woman went about their day, carrying on without a care in the world. Their oppressor and their enemy was gone. They were free. And they planned on using and enjoying that freedom, for as long as they could.

・ ・ ・

END OF CHAPTER 12 - Epilogue

THE SECRETS OF CRYPTON LABS

END