"Alright class, midterms are almost here, so remember to study."

The class packed up their belongings and shuffled out of the room with no commotion, with no screaming, or complaining… just calm and civil.

Damn, I love college.

She felt her phone vibrate. Once she was out of the classroom, she reached into her deep pockets and flipped it out. A smile came to her lips when she read the caller ID.

"Hey Alesia! Haven't heard from you in a while."

Raven walked down the halls of her community college and exited out with several other students. She happily chatted with her old high school friend that she had not talked with since graduation. She owed it to this friend of hers, because without her help, she wouldn't have been able to graduate. She had missed a huge chunk of school sometime in the spring. With Alesia's assistance, Raven was able to catch up and make the deadlines to graduate with the rest of her peers.

"Raven, I was wondering if we could hang out tonight for old time shakes!"

Raven thought. Tonight… was a Friday night. "Sure, why not? I'd love to. Wot do you have in mind?"

"I was thinking we could go to London and hang around the town. Maybe we could go shopping or catch a show?"

A bigger grin appeared on Raven's face. "Sounds wonderful. Where you want to meet?"

"How about the Metro station at Russell Square? At 19:00?"

"It's a plan."

…

Raven listened to her precious music of Scooter as she waited outside of the underground's entrance in the square. It was ten minutes until 19, so she had a little bit of time to kill before Alesia would show up.

A group of boys, probably just a bit younger than her were crowding around the bulletin board, which was covered in local ads. The kids were making quite a fuss about a certain ad. Curious, Raven lifted one of her headphones off her ears to listen in on their conversation.

"Bollocks, 'e's performing tonight! Bloody 'ell!"

"Who the fuck is 'e?"

Their accents were very thick. Raven slinked a bit closer… they were gesturing to a particular ad on the board that was just below their eye level. She wanted to see.

"'e's an upcoming DJ. 'e's been through 'ere before, I've seen 'im, and 'e's bloody great!"

One of the other boys shoved his fellow friend, "Oh jus' pack it in, and tell me wot's 'is name?"

"Look there, face ache!" The one who got shoved then jerked his friend's head toward the board.

"Don' touch me, punk!"

They both laughed and joked and threw fake throws at one another with their fists. Raven's curiosity was building. Who was it they were talking about?

One of the boys bent over and looked at the ad they were all blocking. "'ow the fuck you suppose to say that name? Dead… maufive?"

Raven's eyes went wide. The bloody hell did he say?

"It's probably… American!" One said in a whiny voice, sneering and still laughing.

"No, it says 'ere 'e's from Canada."

"The bloody 'ell is 'e doing in England then? Is 'e really that good?"

"I'm telling you-" said the original friend. The group began to walk off as he continued, "'e IS good. Let's go see 'im perform!"

Raven quickly walked over to the board full of ads in a hard trance. Her eyes were locked on a colorful poster just at her own eye level. The image of a red headed mouse figure smiled at her in the picture. Colors of different spotlights shown around him, as the idiotic face stared back at her.

'Coming to London again: DEADMAU5!'

Raven felt her stomach tighten. This opened her mind up to thoughts and memories she had locked away for so long.

…

After disappearing on a Friday night, about five years ago, she went with a story of being kidnapped when walking home from that rave. She didn't want anyone to know of her real experience. The story she told went as after being taken to London and held captive, she finally got a chance and got away from her anonymous kidnapper and walked all the way home. Her mother tried to get her to describe who took her, but she just said he wore a black mask the whole time. She never saw his face.

…

This story, she told to so many people. No one, not even Alesia, or Michael or even her closest friend London, was told the truth. No one knew that this mouse musician had made a scar on her. She had done her best to cover it up, and forget all about it. But here… it had surfaced.

You're… Alive?

Memories were starting to rush back into her mind like a flood:

She saw the blue lights in the long, metallic hallways.

She saw the mouse like figure walking in front of her down those hallways, with his tail curling and coiling this way, and that.

She saw the bright red liquid shimmer and slosh in a medical syringe.

"Hey Raven!"

The voice was a muffled sound. Raven's eyes were staring fixed on the poster with great disbelief and slight horrified shock. There was a burning feeling that was rising over her.

"Raven!"

That horrible panic that was trying to bubble its way out was returning. Was it really him? Was he alive? After all this time… and I thought you were dead. Could you have survived?

"…Raven?"

She jerked violently when a cold hand grabbed her arm. At that moment, the vision of a crazed looking Mau5 with blinding red eyes had lunged at her and pulled her arm out of its socket. The pain was not real, but she still went into absolute shock in that second. Once the image had vanished and she looked to see her friend Alesia standing next to her, she felt calm again, aside from her heart beating madly. Raven stared at her old friend from high school right next to her; dressed in a black, long sleeved sweater, a black skirt and black knee high stockings. She looked just the same as she remembered her. Alesia was looking up at her, her face reflecting a concerned stare and a sheepish smile.

"…You okay?" Alesia asked who was slightly scared by Raven's reaction. Raven nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine..." She then pointed to the bulletin in front of her: "Look."

Alesia turned and immediately her eyes caught the same poster. She gasped, "Wow, Raven! I remember him! He's back?"

"…It looks like it." Raven said.

"It also looks like he got bigger, popular wise." A smile appeared on her friend's face, telling Raven she had an idea. "Say, why don't we go walk by and listen to him play?"

Raven's body tensed. She tried to keep her composure. She didn't want to tip off clues to her friend.

"Sure, uh.." She paused and looked at the ad. "It looks like it's an outdoor concert."

"Oh, even better. That will make it easier to listen to him from afar."

Raven slowly nodded.

Alesia frowned. "You sure you are okay? You're awfully...fidgety. And kinda pale…"

"Yes, I'm fine." Raven gave a cover smile to her friend. "I'm just a little tired. Had a lot of work to go over in my class today."

Alesia nodded. "I understand. But hey!" She began, getting Raven to look back at her. She held her arms out, with a huge smile. "So glad to see you again!"

Raven smiled back, and embraced her friend in a hug. "Me too, you have no idea. I only talk to London these days. I don't get to hang out with any other old friends anymore."

"College tends to do that." Alesia said. She then leaned back to the poster to read the rest of the information on the board. "Green Park. He'll be performing at Green Park? Whoa, wot did he have to do to score a location like that?"

Raven had an idea. But all she said was, "Maybe he has good connections."

"Most likely." Then with that, Alesia slipped her arm around Raven's. "Wot do you say? Let's go shopping for an hour or so and then we can catch the metro down to Green Park?"

"Absolutely." Raven said. The two girls trotted off towards the narrow, winding streets.

…

The night sky rolled over quickly. The girls hurried to the underground station to catch the next bus heading southwest in the city.

"I wonder how the concert is laid out. You know, if it's a free show or not. Or is it sectioned off for people who have paid to see him in advance." Alesia mumbled out loud as they held on the overhead railing. Raven shrugged. She really didn't have the slightest clue. Right now, she was just trying to concentrate on staying calm and collected. The bus roared on to the next stop.

'Now approaching Piccadilly Circus.'

The overhead com of the robotic woman's voice was so clean and soothing. And yet, Raven felt her body tighten up when she heard it. She still felt so much panic. But she forced herself to stomach it. She had to. She had to see if this guy was really him. But who the bloody hell would it have been otherwise?That name… and face… almost impossible to be a coincidental copy.

"Almost there, one more stop." Alesia said, her hair being tossed out of her face. She seemed to be teetering her weight from one foot to the other, almost to a certain tempo that she had in her head. Raven did her best to stand directly behind her friend in the train cart, to ensure that she could hide any signs of anxiety that her eyes might reflect. She kept her gaze looking out the large, plectsy glass windows, seeing nothing but darkness blurred with lights along the tunnels that the metro was snaking its way through.

"You excited, Raven?"

"Huh? Wot?" Raven asked, quickly looking away from the windows and back to her friend. Alesia was barely peering at her from over her shoulder. "Are you excited?" She repeated.

"Yeah, quite." Raven said, forcing another fake grin.

'Now approaching Green Park.'

The train began to slow down and came to a stop at the platform. At that moment, the doors slide open. There was almost a universal gasp among the two girls and everyone else in the car, right before everyone went into motion to either move or exit the train. Before Alesia could even say "Let's go!" both the girls were practically swept off their feet and being pushed out onto the platform for Greek Park's station.

"Bloody…" Raven cursed under her breath. "Is everyone going to Green Park this evening?"

"It-" Alesia began, before she was shoved by a man behind her. She quickly caught herself before falling over and continued, "…Sure seems like it." Now that it had become much more crowded, the shy side of Alesia was seen clearly. She always got like this when she was too close to too many people. Raven grabbed a hold of one of Alesia's hands and they both fought their way up the stairs and out the mouth of the underground entrance way. Once standing out in the open air again, they were still surrounded by a crowd of people. To their astonishment, several people were gathering around the Greek Park area.

"Bloody hell…" Raven whispered, her breath visible against the cold air. "It's like almost all of London is here to see this show."

"Maybe this DJ has gotten more popular than we thought." Alesia suggested.

Raven nodded, observing the area and looking for open spaces to move about the people. "I dun' think we're going to be able to get anywhere close to the stage."

Alesia frowned. "Awww, but I was looking forward to this…"

Deep down, Raven felt some relief that she would not be coming anywhere close to the possibility of seeing that Mau5 again. But the curiosity was still nagging her. She had to know if it was him. Once she saw his face and him standing there up on the stage, she would know if he really was still alive.

"I have an idea." Raven said. "Follow me."

Alesia held onto Raven's arm as she guided her through the thick crowd. Slowly, she snaked them through and around the side street of Queen's Walk. "Where are we going?" Alesia asked.

"I'm going to take us to the back side of the park. From the looks of it, the crowd is packing around the North central part of the park… so the stage must be facing out to the South. On the South West side of the park, there's a huge, steep hill that we can go up to. We won't be close, but we should be able to hear the show and visibly see the stage."

Once the crowd condensed and finally, was completely gone, the girls were freely able to walk along the pathway and through the grand trees. The night are felt strikingly cold against their warm bodies, and they huddled themselves tightly in their jackets.

"You sure we will be able to see the stage well enough from the hill, Raven?" Alesia asked.

"Sure, I dun' see why not…" Raven said, shuttering slightly from the chilly wind.

"But… this is for you, Raven, your more into this kind of stuff. I want you to be able to enjoy it."

"And I will." Raven said, slightly chuckling at her friend.

They continued walking and could see the steep hill coming into view. Just before they could stray off the path and walk up to it, a voice cried out.

"Hey! You two! Where are you going?"

The two girls had been walking with their heads held low, and the instant they heard that call, they both looked up. They strained their eyes off into the dark to see who had spoken. A tall figure was walking towards them. He had a cheerful sort of walk to him.

Alesia shot a look over at Raven first. Raven looked back at her before she answered the man walking towards them. "We're going to sit on the hill."

"Why?" The man shouted at them. He was now a few meters away.

"Well… we wanted to see the show, but its much too crowded. We were going to see if we could see it well enough on the hill over there." She then gestured to the hill behind the man. But the man did not turn to see, he just kept striding towards them. Once he was only three or four meters away, Raven heard some sounds. Not even that… it was music. It was soft and faint. She was taken by surprised as she looked behind her. No it was not coming from the stage… it was too soft. It was much closer. She turned to Alesia then, who was also staring up at her, looking just as confused. She heard the music too.

Then they heard the man say, "You two should really move back closer to the performance. It's going to be wonderful~" His voice sounded delighted and a bit energetic. He finally made it up to them and stopped two arms length away. Now the music was clearer… it was… electronic. It sounded beautiful. It was nothing but simple synths and rhythms pulsing in and out, accompanied by a thick bass. Raven looked back to the man. Was the music coming from him? He didn't appear to have any headphones in or a music player on him…

The light from the performance area lit up his face as he glanced back and forth at them. Raven could tell he couldn't see their faces with the backlight, but he looked quite excited. He was dressed in a warm coat and had some nice black slack pants on. He looked very cold, but full of energy.

"Are… you one of the people working on the show?" Alesia asked shyly.

The man grinned and nodded his head dramatically. "Yep, and you really should see it. You'll love the music."

Raven continued to stare at this guy. His face was so strange. It was slender and boney and he had striking hazel eyes. His nose was a bit hooked shape and he had a very large and defined mouth. And where the bloody hell was that music coming from? She didn't wish to ask, since it looked like the guy was unaware of it. "Uh, well… I suppose we shall go over and find a place."

Raven said, nodding.

The man looked back at her and suddenly, that excited smile he had on his face slowly vanished. He was staring at her now, in an absolute disbelief. His eyes had become large and this look of realization washed over him.

Raven hesitated. Wots up with this bloke? "Something… wrong?" She asked.

The man only blinked several times and he chuckled. A warming smile came to his face and he shook his head in disbelief about something. Raven raised her eyebrows. The way he was looking at her… it was like he recognized her. As if he had known her from somewhere and had not seen her in a long time. But he didn't look familiar at all…

The man chuckled again, still shaking his head. "Ah… well, no… nothing is wrong. It's just…" He stopped and stared at her again. The look of disbelief was still written all over him, and it was making him loose his words. That chuckle… that did, however, sound familiar.

"Do... I know you?" Raven asked, starting to feel uncomfortable. She could tell Alesia was too from how closed she was now standing to her. Raven continued to look upon this man's face, studying his expressions and features. Nothing about his actual appearance triggered any memory of hers… but the way he looked at her; the way he held her in his gaze… there was something so familiar about it.

"Yes- Well no!" He suddenly said, putting his hands out in front of him and shaking them back and forth. "No, no… you just… you look like an old friend of mine." He said.

"Oh…"

The man hesitated. "You look… so much like her. Tell me~ what is your name?"

"Raven." She said.

The man, nodded slowly, giving small chuckles here and there, but still looking quite amazed. "R..Raven." He said, his voice shaking.

There was a horrible silence that followed. Both Alesia and Raven looked at each other, completely confused. They could still hear that faint music playing in the air. Now that they could really hear it… it also sounded familiar. The feel of it was… captivating. She remembered this feeling. But… from where?

"Hey… if you guys are worried about not seeing the show... why don't you come with me? I can get you close to the stage."

"Uh... Wow. You sure?" Raven said, slightly smiling.

"Yes, definitely. Come along, or you'll miss the show!" He grinned. With that he strode passed them and around the side of where the stage was set up. Both Raven and Alesia didn't hesitate; they followed him towards the lights in the park.

The man guided them around the backside of the stage. Immediately, Raven's eyes darted around the stage for a mouse face on someone. But she saw none… She was starting to hold her breath, the anticipation choking her.

"Stay in this area." The man said, holding his hands out in front of him. "This is where all the technicians move through. I'm going to go up on the stage now. Just stay here and you will be able to see the performance from the side. " He told them.

"Wot if the technicians tell us to move?"

The man then grinned large, revealing his teeth. "Just tell them that Joel said you could stand there."

With that, he vanished behind another curtain that had the whole back stage divided up. Once he was gone, both Raven and Alesia let out gasps of air. Alesia turned to look at her friend, her face reflecting a lot of nervous anxiousness. "Well…. He sure was… strange." She said softly.

"Yeah," Raven replied, her eyes now looking out onto the stage. "But nice. We scored a good view, I'd say."

It had only been about a minute, when suddenly the speakers became flooded with a bass. Both Raven and Alesia turned to look up towards the stage, as the crowd began screaming with excitement. At that moment, a figure came waltzing onto the stage. There he was.

The tall, slender body of a man with a mouse like head walked up to the synthboards and began twisting and pulsing controls.

Raven stared, her jaw dropping wide open. It really was him.

He even had that idiotic face she remembered.

However…

The longer she stared, the more she noticed something wrong about his face. The expression… wasn't changing… at all. His eyes were not blinking, his mouth was not moving. His ears weren't even twitching.

Was it… really him, then?

Bummm, bum, bummmmmmm! BANG!

The bass dropped heavily and the beats and rhythms came soaring through the cold air of the park.

She listened hard. She stared hard. A buzz in the back of her skull was itching inside her, forcing her body to move. The people were moving, like out of control zombies. The lights were blaring in every which direction. This felt all to similar…

And the lyrics came in.

"It's been so long, I've been out of my body with you~"

Raven gasped. That was his music, all right.

"I feel alone, feel at home, feel like nothing is true~"

If that was him… why did his face… now look like a mask?

The DJ suddenly grabbed a mic next to his board, and brought it up to his mouth. Raven was bewildered to see the mouth did not move at all as he spoke: "LONDON! How you doing tonight?"

The crowd screamed and jumped around wildly.

It was a mask. His face wasn't real.

"Raven! This music sounds awesome! Better than it was last time." Alesia said. Her friend could not take her eyes off the stage, nor stop moving to the beats.

Raven's eyebrows firmed as she struggled to determine if this really was the same Mau5 she remembered.

But how could it…? Is face is fake…

Then a memory came back; a specific memory from the day she had escaped this same city…

…

"You'll be human."

The image of the warn-down, Mau5 DJ standing in the doorway stood before her. The very sight of him made her feel both pity and disgust. But he stood there, just the same, his face reflecting hope and disbelief, somehow, at the very same time.

…

Those were the last words she had spoken to him. At the time, she never considered it possible.., Butmaybe…

The music had come to an end. At that moment, the DJ, brought his hands to his face and he grabbed the bottom area of what would be the Mau5's jaw. He lifted the Mau5 face off his shoulders.

"Whoa!" Alesia gasped.

Raven's eyes went wide.

There was a human face; the same man that had brought them back to the stage.

Raven felt her body quiver as the realization now struck her. "…Mau5…" She whispered, only loud enough for her to hear.

"Thank you all for coming out tonight!" He shouted to the crowd as they cheered back in response.

Soyou've become human after all… At this point, she didn't know whether she felt scared, happy or nervous. The three emotions were toppling over each other inside of her. And yet… another fourth emotion was trying to come out… for this new human Mau5.

She felt proud.

She didn't think he could achieve it… but it was clear he had reached his goal of becoming human. There was not a single thing about him that still appeared rodent-like. The small tears trickled down her cold face as a huge smile stretched from ear to ear.

"This next song goes out to all you ladies! Hope this brings the thoughts of your special someone to mind~" the DJ sang happily in the mike.

The new song began, light and quick. Raven instantly recognized it.

Strobe.

There wasn't anything else she could say or emotion to express. So she brought her right hand into a tight fist, and lifted it into the air. She closed her eyes, and listened well as the beautiful synths and sounds of Strobe echoed around the crowd. This was going to be a night she would make sure she would remember.

Here is to you, you idiot rat. Here is for being human after all.

Here… is to the Mau5.