''Meiko, stop hogging all the cookies!''
Rin pouted, snatching the glowing circle in Meiko's hand. She took a bite, sending sparks flying from her mouth.''Do you know how long we've been here?''
Meiko looked up at a ticking holographic clock that swam by in a stream of hundreds of programs.''About forty years, sixty-seven days, eleven hours, thirteen minutes, and seven seconds.''She sighed.'' Can't you stop asking me? It's the tenth time you've asked me that in five minutes. Just get a life already...'' Meiko immediately regretted those matter how frustrating it was, she shouldn't be saying those kind of things to her friends. Especially now.
Rin threw the cookie to the floor. It shattered into a mess of pixels, dissolving into the system.''Maybe it would be better to actually be alive, so when nobody cares you can still be free to do whatever you want. Maybe I really do need a life. It's better than being in here for all of eternity, waiting for some worthless people to remember you again...'', Rin whispered gravely, then walked away.
Wishing she had just shut up for once, Meiko got up and made her way to ''home''. Not that it could be considered a real home. The ''homes'' are actually virtual landscapes/picture backgrounds/written lands created, then discarded, by the countless past fans and official producers for each song or fanfic they produced. You would think they would be up for all to get, but only the singers who sung in that song or owned the place in some way could claim the years every Vocaloid has searched wide and far for more lands to add to their homes, hoping that these last gifts would stop the pain.
The pain of being forgotten.
Spindly trees dotted the landscape ahead, with vermillion lines sneaking through the dreary black landscape like veins of blood. This was Meiko's land. Not much, as you can tell. It was hard enough in the past to find anything that really belonged to her, and so it has become that much more difficult to find something once it had all been thrown away. Of course, she could reboot deleted programs like the others, but finding the right ones are very rare. Too rare.
A familiar voice rang out behind Meiko. ''Hello there Meiko!''
''Oh, hey Miku.'',Meiko greeted numbly. She wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. Especially her.
Miku caught up to her with a wide grin on her face. ''What's with the glum look ? Look at the new landscape I found! Second one in a month!'' She was overcome with joy. Which just really annoyed Meiko.
Meiko grunted. Even today, even without her stupid fame, she still walks around like she's center of the happy-go-lucky while the rest of us rot away in our self-pity. Doesn't she realize that we're stuck here, forgotten by all of our worthless fans? What I wouldn't give to delete her permanently...She tried putting on the warmest smile she could, but failed miserably.''That's great. Well, I'll just be going now...'' Meiko started to make her way back home.
She was stopped by a hand grabbing her shoulder. Miku looked at her with a cheerful smile, but her eyes held a deep sadness mixed with sympathy.''I- Meiko, I am really sorry. I know I've been a horrible friend and since we're going to be here for a while, I''-
''You what? You want to apologize?''.Meiko laughed bitterly.''You could have done that years ago, but I guess it's better to do it now, huh? Just get it over with?''
Miku looked at her with wide eyes, confused and shocked.''Meiko, I'm really sorry. I didn't know what I was doing, and I didn't know you had those kind of feelings for Kaito. I just thought''-
Meiko turned away from the green-haired girl. She glared at the floor as if it was the biggest pile of turds in the world.''After forty years, I'm still not worth remembering,huh?''
She stormed off, leaving Miku behind for her dark home.
Candy surrounded Gumi, the decorum making the land flash with soft colors. It created a care-free and happy atmosphere, like any other candy-themed environment. Gumi took a deep breath, raising her arms to the calm baby-blue sky above her, stretching. Seems like a great day to take a walk.I wonder what Rin and Len are doing?
As she strolled through her sparkling candy land, it started to melt into another, very different place. Everything started to turn black and white, the two colors revolving around each other in a dizzying pattern. Then they were replaced steadily by another place filled with lush, waving light green grass, throwing soft orbs of light into the air. Gumi smiled. This has always been my favorite landscape.
You see, when Gumi goes searching for her landscapes, she doesn't just settle for any old one. She picks the ones she knows are well-made, unlike the other Vocaloids who greedily snatch up whatever they can. It's just not right.
When Gumi steps out of her home, everything instantly transforms into a dark-blue, the color of the system. Gumi peered across the yards and yards of electrical circuits, looking for the quickest way to make it to Len and Rin's place. The paths to each Vocaloid's home changed constantly, so every singer had to be aware of tell-tale signs for each other's places if they wanted to find one another. A glimmer of shimmering white flashed in the distance, so Gumi ran for it before it could escape. She made it right before it teleported to another point on the system coordinate board. Panting, she saw another sapphire-eyed female Vocaloid sitting down in front of her.
''Oh, Gumi, how are ya?'',Seeu asked, casually wiping her pointed anime shades. Since Vocaloids also had many different outfits created for them in the past, they can also claim those if it belongs to them. ''If you're looking for Luka, she's somewhere in this direction I think.'' The blonde girl gestured towards the northeast of her.
Gumi blushed. ''I'm not looking for her right now!'' Seeu raised her eyebrows, smirking slightly as if saying Yeah right. Gumi furrowed her eyebrows furiously.''W-Whatever! I'm looking for the Kagamine twins. Have you seen them around lately?''
Looking up and resting her head in her hands, Seeu wondered where they could be. Then her face lit up when she found the answer.''Ah, I think they were at Gakupo's place last! I'm not too sure though, since they've been running around a remember Gumi, they're not twins, they're''-
''Two parts of one soul! I get it, I get it, they just look so alike. Thanks anyways.'', Gumi said, nodding gratefully. Then she took off to a flash of red and grey, hopping from one land to the next in her search for the twins.
''There you guys are!''
Rin and Len turned around to face Gumi, hiding something behind their backs. It wasn't hard to see what they were trying to hide, because the metal end of the object was sticking out from behind their skinny backs.
''Sooo, whatcha doin'? Are you hiding something~?'',Gumi said in a playful tone. She bent down, trying to get a glimpse of what they were hiding. They kept shuffling around, avoiding her curious gaze.''Is it another landscape?''
''Nope. It's nothing.'',Rin claimed. Len just nodded. They were definitely hiding something.
''Nothing is making funny noises.'',Gumi said.
The giant -what is it?- thingy started to whirr to life, making screeching noises that the twins were trying hard to ignore. Finally, when the device started to grow skittering metal spider legs, Gumi knew what it was. A virus. The most deadly weapon against a computer program, and the thing that has been wiping out the countless Vocaloids who are stranded within the system for the past few decades. Gumi started to back up, horrified that they would attempt to bring something like that with them.
Are they trying to get killed? Gumi whispered,''What are you guys doing with that-thatthing? The last time one ran loose, Miku's append version was permanently erased!'' She looked at them with wide eyes. Maybe I'm next. And in that moment, she decided that she wasn't going to go down without a fight.
''Gumi, please don't freak out. We can control it. And we're not going to kill anyone with it.'' Rin said calmly. Gumi didn't buy it; she started thinking of the possible ways she could erase that thing without hurting Rin or Len. They may be psychotic, but they're still her friends.
''Len, hand me the universal remote.'' Rin whispered to her other half, keeping a steady eye on Gumi; the said girl started to take out a gun she was glad she had brought with her, setting it to its most lethal mode. Vaporize.
Len complied, handing Rin a small, grey remote. Rin sighed, then pointed the remote at Gumi with her finger hovering over the stand-by button. ''Sorry, Gumi. But we can't have you telling anyone about this. You'll just have to stay here for a while.''
''Over my dead body!'' Gumi shouted, pointing her gun at them; it was almost as big as herself, gathering glowing energy from the system with each passing moment. Its energy gauge filled up, making a screeching noise that could be heard for miles as it reached maximum power.
As Gumi pressed the trigger, Rin tapped the stand-by button. The screeching instantly stopped. Gumi stood as still as a rock, with her furious expression plastered to her frozen face. Her fingers were still pressed against the trigger, as if any moment now she would come back to life and shoot the lethal trembled, staring at the once-moving form of one of his close friends. He looked at Rin with tears in his eyes. ''Why are we doing this again? Gumi, our best friend, was about to shoot us. What if everyone else turns against us like her?''
Rin looked up, where hundreds of computer files, folders, add-ons, and many other programs flew by, following the same route as if they were one big school of fish. Finally, Rin replied,''Because if this plan works, we won't have to worry about being resented. We'll be remembered. Forever.''
I got the idea for this story while listening to The Disappearance of Hatsune Miku. I started thinking about how it would be like for a computer program stuck inside the ultimate ''system'', waiting for us to come back for them. It brought some pretty heavy feels. =TTATT= Though I'm sorry if I'm not updating my other stories! I just kinda lost the muse for them temporarily. I'll update them sometime next week.
THANKS FOR READING!