"Is there any reason why we're in these…" Meiko paused as she glanced down at her body and winced. "…These outfits? I mean, I definitely was not wearing this a few hours ago, although I can't say the same for Kaito or Miku."
"I would never wear a white coat!"
"Gray costumes? Please! Can't I at least be a little more colorful?"
Meiko smirked as Kaito and Miku elicited the reactions she had expected. At least she could entertain herself here, but she could already feel the hankering for alcohol whispering at the back of her mind. Sake really sounded good right about now. She muttered a swear under her breath and leaned forward on her horse. They had been riding for two hours already and had yet to vacate the enormous trees, but Luka had promised that they were headed somewhere important. Meiko wished time would hurry up. She was starting to get saddle sore.
"You needed something to fit what you will face in this world," Luka explained. "Those clothes are specially designed to handle the rigors of battle and-"
"Rigors of battle?" It was Miku who was laughing now. She leaned into Kaito and muffled her laughs in the back of his coat. The pair had decided to ride together since one of the horses that Luka and Kiyoteru had brought had managed to disappear.
"It's just singing. It shouldn't be that difficult, right?" Rin asked. The pony she was given trotted half the time in order to keep up with the much larger horses that her companions rode. She had managed to adjust to the bumpy ride, but even she was tiring of the trip.
"Singing is a weapon. We've already explained that," Luka said. "The more passionate and pronounced the performance, though, the more powerful your singing can be. That gives you better chances at defeating your enemies. Your outfits, or costumes if you would like to call them, will help you. You should find cloaks in your saddlebags, though. If we enter any villages you should put those on. People will know what you are if you walk around openly in those clothes."
"Wait, so nobody here dresses like this?" Kaito asked.
"Nobody has your abilities. Not anymore. What would be the point?" Kiyoteru explained. "Everyone that could have done what you can do have all been captured. That's why we had to bring-"
"Kiyoteru! I thought I told you not to tell them that!" Luka snapped.
"Well, I think it's important for them to know!"
"Do you want to scare them?"
"No, I want them to understand what they're up against." Kiyoteru sighed as he looked down at his horse. "There's more to why we called on you to come here," he began. He looked over at Luka to see if she would stop him, but her expression had turned to stony indifference. That was all the permission he needed. "We have others like you in Melinum, other people that can sing and have fantastic control over their powers. They were all captured, though. We could have used them instead of you, but the new queen was able to find them before we could. Part of what you have to do here is find them. We don't know where they are, but with your help we might be able to discover where they are hidden and set them free."
"Oh great, so now we're on a rescue mission? I thought you said nobody else in Melinum possesses our skill!" snarled Meiko. "What else do you need us to do? Change the position of the moon and bake you a pie while we're at it?"
Luka sighed. "Listen, we know that this is going to be difficult for you. You never asked to be taken out of your lives in order to save us, but I promise you that the reward will be great, and the gratitude of our people shall never be forgotten. All you have to do is help, then we can send you back home."
"Why can't we go back right now?" Miku whined. "If you can do it, why can't you do it now?"
"I can't!" Luka snapped. Her eyes instantly dropped to her hands as she gripped the reins of her horse even harder. She seemed frozen, suspended in a moment of utter frustration, before she finally relaxed her grip and heaved another sigh. "I can't," she repeated. "I've used all that I have left to bring you here. There's only so much that I can do as a….nevermind. It's not important right now."
Meiko was about to begin another interrogation with their hosts when the group started to notice distortions in the world around them. Flashes of roads and cobblestones, cars and carriages began to materialize, disappear, then steadily grow into a new, more solid image. Kaito looked down to see that his horse was starting to grow wheels while its legs disappeared. His reins turned to handlebars. Glancing over to the others, he could see that they were all speeding down a road on roaring motorcycles.
"Now this is more like it!" Meiko shouted! The others cringed as they heard her loud voice over the headsets installed in the helmets that had come with the time change. Luka veered her motorcycle into the lead as Kiyoteru backed off in order to carry the rear.
"What just happened?" Rin asked. She was sitting in a sidecar attached to Meiko's motorcycle. Kaito looked over at the woman, expecting some kind of complaint about having to watch the kid, but he heard nothing from her. He shook his head and kept following Luka as Miku kept her arms wrapped around his chest, holding on for dear life.
"It was a Time Change." Luka's voice rang clearly over the headsets. "We call them Ticks."
"Like a clock," Rin mused.
"Exactly. This one transported us to a time a lot like where you come from, so you should all be familiar with the technology. This kind of even usually happens about once every few days, but it's been getting more frequent. That's part of why we're worried. You'll see the other reason soon enough."
Silence ensued as the group continued on. The road soon began to slope upwards, curving its way up the side of a hill. The trees slowly became less numerous and the group was able to make out some of the other sights of Melinum. In their opinion there wasn't much to see. It looked just like any other civilization from Earth. They caught a few glimpses of areas that seemed fogged and gray, but they took little consideration of it.
At the summit of the hill the road became a cul-de-sac. The group circled around once before they turned off their engines, took their helmets off and began to examine the world around them. All they could see was a wide expanse of forest on one side, but Luka gestured for the four to follow her. They were led to the other side of the hill, a sheer cliff where the civilization of Melinum could be viewed like a secret tourist point.
"What in the world?" Rin gasped.
"You've got to be kidding me," Meiko groaned.
"That's not right…" Kaito mumbled.
"Oh my gosh!" Miku shrieked. She had been holding on to Kaito's hand ever since he had helped her off the motorcycle, but she dropped it once she realized what she had been doing. What a silly thing for her to do! She never held hands with weird guys like Kaito, but part of her was disappointed that he hadn't even noticed that she let go.
"I thought you said that part of your timeline was missing!" Meiko exclaimed. "This looks like a lot more than chunks of your time disappearing!"
"The Ticks that have been lost on our Timeline mean that we lose the events that happened on that day," Kiyoteru explained. "One of the targets is apparently the discovery and foundation of multiple locations in Melinum. Without those discoveries…well…the locations cease to exist."
"What happens if there were people in that location, too?" Rin whispered. When she had seen the gray, empty areas that blotted Melinum's landscape, she had bitten her lip to prevent tears. After just a few moments, she couldn't look at the view anymore. Her eyes stared at the ground as she wringed her hands nervously.
"They disappear, too." Meiko could hear the tone of terrible sadness in Luka's voice, but she couldn't tell if the others had noticed. "We've lost so many citizens to disappearances. Many of Melinum's best vocalists have disappeared, too."
"Is there any way to determine which place will disappear next?"
"No."
"So poof! Just like that! You're gone! That sounds like a fantastic way to go, doesn't it?" Meiko said.
"You'll probably just go back to your own world if you get caught in a disappearance," Luka sighed dejectedly. Miku immediately looked over at the pink-haired woman. Suddenly she was very interested in the conversation. "Listen, we need to move on. We have to make a plan to attack the new queen before its too late. Now that you've seen the magnitude of our situation, we're just wasting time. Let's go."
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" a voice squeaked. The group turned around to see a brown-haired girl standing on top of one of the motorcycles.
"Hey! She looks like Meiko did when she was still pretty!" Kaito laughed. Meiko punched his shoulder, eliciting a sharp cry from the young man.
"That's nice. I think I might spare you since you're kinda cute, too," the girl said. She faked a thoughtful expression as she leaned her weight to one side. Then a cruel smile worked its way over her face. "Nah! I'll just have to rock your world, too!"
"Oh no!" Luka gasped.
"Get out of the way!" Kiyoteru shouted. He picked up Rin and grabbed Meiko's hand as he rushed away from the cliff edge.
"Can't I have any fun?" the girl pouted. "Oh well. Time to sing!
Suimen ga yuragu
Kaze no wa ga hirogaru
Fure atta yubisaki no
Aoi denryuu"
Suddenly a great gust of wind bowled over the group. Kiyoteru, Rin, and Meiko were out of the way from the main burst and managed to only stumble a few feet, but Luka, Kaito, and Miku were not as lucky. Luka fell to the edge of the cliff, avoiding a devastating fall by only a few inches. Kaito was knocked back over the edge. He reached out and clawed at the air until his right hand clamped down on the cliff's ledge. Miku, who had been standing right in the center of the gust of wind, flew over Kaito's head in a whirl of green pigtails. Kaito reached out again and grabbed hold of one of Miku's flailing arms. She dangled from his grip as he tried desperately to maintain his grasp on the cliff. A wave of water washed over the top of the hill, flooding the ground in a mess of puddles and drenching the group as the song continued on. Kaito sputtered as the water flowed off the cliff and left him digging his nails into the dirt.
"This is ridiculous!" Meiko shouted. "Where's the backup music coming from?"
"Just start singing!" Kiyoteru shoved Rin and Meiko forward as the song continued on, building on the girl's voice with percussion, guitar, and just about ever instrument that could make the song sound spectacular. Rin and Meiko looked at each other with confused expressions. Sing what?
"Mitsumeau dake de
Kodoku na kasokudo ga
Isshun ni kudakechiru
Anata ga suki yo"
The young girl's song continued. Rin and Meiko watched in horror as the motorcycles crumpled to pieces right before their eyes. The girl rode the collapsing carnage like she was simply sliding down a slope. Every move of hers was of perfect grace. The air around her even seemed to glow with the resonance of her high-pitched voice.
"Not the motorcycles!" Meiko screamed. "C'mon, brat! I know you've got a song in there somewhere!" Meiko snatched Rin's hand and began to rush forward, but the blond girl shook her head frantically as the memories of all of her old singing experiences came rushing back. Even if this woman was supposed to be some amazing singer, Rin doubted they would ever harmonize well enough to match this demonic angel before them.
"Hey, do you know the song 'Change Me'?" Meiko called over her shoulder.
"No!"
"Good! You might as well learn it now!" With that, Meiko let her own voice loose.
"Tsuyoi chikara senaka osarete
Gururu mawara keshiki ga"
Rin watched in awed silence as Meiko's lyrics began to take form. A red glow appeared around the woman, and her music began to quickly overpower her younger counterpart's song, drowning out the notes with her own arrangement.
While all the action was taking place between the three girls, Kiyoteru swiftly moved back to the edge of the cliff where Kaito was barely hanging. He could see that the young man's hand was slipping and it wouldn't be long before he and Miku both plummeted to the rocky ground below. He slid to a halt and leaned over the edge, reaching a hand out to the drenched pair.
"Kaito, take my hand! I'll bring you back up," he said. Kaito looked back up at him. His eyes were partly shrouded by his wet blue hair, but he nodded that he understood and let go of the edge of the cliff. Kiyoteru caught his hand and began to pull back with all his strength. Slowly but surely Kaito was lifted back onto solid ground with Miku in tow. Kiyoteru collapsed on the ground once he was sure the two were safely on the summit.
"Thanks," Kaito uttered between gasping breaths.
"No problem."
"You could have grabbed me before I flew over the edge of the cliff!" Miku sneered.
"At least I didn't grab one of your pigtails by mistake," Kaito retorted. "I can't believe those monsters are real."
"Hey! We don't have time for fighting! Meiko and Rin need your help," Kiyoteru yelled. Miku and Kaito both looked over at the other pair. Kiyoteru was right. Meiko and Rin had managed to stave off any more attacks from their newfound enemy, but even Miku could see that they weren't going to be able to hang on much longer. The sounds of the young girl's song was starting to break through Meiko and Rin's song.
"I don't even know what they're singing. How am I supposed to help?" Miku complained.
"That doesn't matter! Just sing!" Kaito called over his shoulder as he rushed off to aid the others.
"I can't believe this," Miku groaned.
"Michi no basho ni tada hitori
Shikatanai ne
Sukoshi zutsu kanjite yukeba
Kitto mieru"
Miku watched as lights began to surround the three singers. Kaito's deep voice created a pure blue light, while Meiko and Rin's voices became red and yellow glows. The three lights began to twist and turn around each other like bewitched ropes. Soon they were swirling around the younger version of Meiko, spinning faster and faster until all they could see was a blur of white light. The motorcycles rebuilt themselves and all the water that had soaked the ground dried up. A new wind took form, gracing the figures of Meiko, Rin, and Kaito as they held their song steady. One ear-piercing scream escaped their enemy before all the music stopped, the magic disappeared, and Meiko, Rin, and Kaito fell to the ground.
Miku started to dash over to them, but Kiyoteru held her back.
"Don," he said. "They're fine. I promise." Miku tore away from his grip anyway and finished her journey to them.
Rin rolled over onto her back and began laughing. "I've never had so much fun in my entire life!" she shouted.
"That was better than any other performance I've ever done!" Meiko exclaimed as she sat up. Kaito sat up beside her with a goofy grin on his face.
"Best. Performance. Ever" was all he could say.
"What just happened?" Miku demanded.
"We just defeated that little brat that tried to destroy our motorcycles," Meiko explained. "No thanks to you, of course."
"Hey!"
"Meiko, she was probably still a little shocked after having nearly fallen off a cliff," Kaito said. He glanced over at Miku with a look that said you better be thanking me later, though.
"Whatever." Meiko brushed off Kaito's comment. "A word of advice, though, my blue-haired nerd. Next time, don't try to save the diva." With that, Meiko stood up and walked away.
"What's her problem?" Rin asked. Neither of the other two answered. Rin gave a shrug before she walked off, too.
"Listen, Miku, you shouldn't take Meiko so seriously," Kaito said quickly. He could already see the tears welling up in Miku's green eyes. "She very temperamental and she hasn't had a drink in over three hours. I'm sure a lot of it is stemming from that. She'll get over it soon enough. You'll just have to try again next time." Miku nodded silently at Kaito's words and blinked back her tears.
"Thanks," she muttered. Kaito stood up and extended a hand to her.
"Let's go and figure out what our next move is," he said. Miku grabbed his hand and was lifted to her feet in one swift movement. They both walked over to where Kiyoteru, Rin, and Meiko were gathered.
Luka lay on the ground as Kiyoteru knelt beside her and gently tried to shake her awake. Her hair spilled around her in a mess of light pink strands. She rolled over onto her back and opened her light blue eyes.
"Sorry about that," she said with a kind smile. "I must have passed out. Kiyoteru, do you mind helping me up." Kiyoteru stood up and grasped Luka's hand, pulling her to her feet so that she could face the others.
"You all did very well for your first encounter with a Singer," Luka praised. Her eyes didn't meet Miku's.
"What was that…that thing?" Meiko asked. "And how did she look so much like me?"
"Technically 'she' wasn't real," Kiyoteru began to explain. "She was a created by the unjust queen to scare you off. That queen has many like the one you just faced, and I wouldn't be surprised if you came across a few more around here. That was very odd, though. Apparently this one had a twisted sense of humor considering the form it decided to take." Kiyoteru began to nervously adjust his glasses.
"So it was like a spirit or something?"
"I guess that's what you can call it," Kiyoteru said.
"Then why did Luka call it a Singer?" Everyone looked over at Luka, but her eyes were downcast to the ground.
"I'm sorry. I was thrown off for a bit." She looked back up at the group and gave a confident smile. "Don't worry about it. We have a lot of work to do and a lot less time than I would like to get it done. Get on your motorcycles. We need to keep moving!"
A/N Here are the translations for the songs used in this chapter:
Interstellar Flight (The Spirit's song, aka Meiko Sakine, 16y/o)
The water's surface quivers
A ring of wind spreads
Your fingertips feel the
The blue current
With only a glace
That lonely acceleration is
One moment that breaks into pieces
I love you
Change Me (Meiko, Rin, and Kaito; original song by Meiko only)
Strong powers push my back
The scenes whirling around
…
All alone in an unknown place
It can't be helped
If I slowly feel it
I'm sure I'll see it
Feel free to look up these songs on youtube or nicovideo,jp, they should be on those websites. All the songs in this story are specifically chosen for the meanings of their English-translated lyrics, but the lyrics are and will be written in Japanese in the story in order to make it seem like they are actually singing the song.
The "spirit" that Meiko, Rin, and Kaito fought was, indeed, Meiko Sakine. As a "Fanloid", she is supposed to be Meiko when she was sixteen years old. In this story, her image and voice are only being used as scare tactics. There is a lot more information about her in the Vocaloid wiki if you would like to learn more about her.
Thank you for reading! I'll have the next chapter up soon!