Time had once again flashed by, leaving the isolated singers in a nervous haze, merely moments from their chosen destiny. They cast weary glances towards the sealed portals they were to walk through, speaking in hushed tones and huddling together as if it were a frigid, endless winter. Several had softly glowing T.V. screen programs in their hands, broadcasting the progress of the performance so far. A few had not even shown up, driven by the terror of death. Dozens of robotic singers crowded the stage in the real world, some inhumanly slender, their unblinking eyes buzzing with sparking circuitry. A mass of millions of people gathered below, gazing upon the flawless frames, unaware of what was to happen.
''What's up with the gloomy mood? I thought this was supposed to be a happy thing?'' Gumi looked around, sitting on an empty spot of the humming system's blue surface. Several stray megabyte cubes floated past her, and she hopped on one, taking a seat on it, hovering a foot off the ground. Rin and Len stood beside her.
''Well, I wouldn't be jumping for joy if I knew I was going to... you know...'' Len wrung his hands, staring down at his feet. Rin sighed, crossing her arms.
''They're a bunch of big babies then. Hopefully they don't chicken out on us on the last moment like some others, because I would definitely kick their butts. People like that don't do well with me.'' Len winced.
''Hmmm... oh well...'' Gumi shrugged casually.
Rin looked up at the green-haired girl, giving her a curious expression. ''I don't get it. Why are you so relaxed? I expected you to be sobbing over your peaceful landscape.''
Gumi spared a glance at Rin; she didn't feel like spilling her heart out to another Vocaloid. Soon Luka would be here, and that's all that really matters to her. She shrugged once again, leaving the two blondes alone as she drifted off. Out in the distance, a certain pink-haired individual made their way across the blue surface.
''Hi Luka! Where's Gakupo?'' Luka shook her head. She walked past Gumi, seating herself a good area apart from the others; Gumi gave her a concerned look, hopping off of the cube and walking over to her.
''Why isn't he here? Aren't you guys done wiring the whole thing?''
Luka looked up, her eyes clouded over. ''Yes. He decided to... stay behind.''
''Why? You guys worked so hard for this!'' Gumi sat next to her cross-legged.
''Due to private circumstances,'' Luka gave Gumi a hard stare,'' he abruptly decide to stay. For some reason, he lost interest in the whole thing. What a shame after all that work.'' Her eyes voice betrayed no emotion other than disappointment, but Gumi could see she felt more than that. The man was a close friend to her. No one could shrug such a bond off.
''Umm... well, who knows, he might like it better here in the end. I mean, some people wouldn't... uh...'' Gumi stuttered, beginning to lose grasp of her cool in front of the girl. As she prattled on, Luka gazed into the distance, wondering if she should feel guilt, sadness, or joy.
''I'm staying here.''
Luka turned around to face Gakupo, clearly shocked. ''Excuse me?''
''You heard me. I'm going to remain here, Lulu.'' Luka frowned; she didn't like when he calls her that. Gakupo smirked, only infuriating her further. Why is he being so stubborn all of a sudden, wondered Luka.
''Ridiculous. The whole group is leaving in a few minutes; we don't want to be left behind, now do we?'' Luka gave Gakupo a pointed glare, waiting for him to join on the outside.
Gakupo's smile vanished. He turned his back against her, speaking in a clear voice. ''Sorry, but I'm done following you. I guess I've kinda lost my reason for going, so I'll just keep things tidy here while you're gone.'' He sits back down in the computer chair,staring blankly at the code formulas floating across the screen. Luka frowns slightly; she grits her teeth, and curls her hand into tight fists.
''Fine. If that's the way you want it, then goodbye.'' She walked out the door without a second thought, leaving Gakupo alone in the shadowed room.
''Idiot...'' Luka whispered sorrowfully.
The rattling of chains echoed in the not-so-far-off distance, booming foot steps thundering from within the shadows. A lone girl ran in front of the chaos; echoing taunts and jeers sounded from the top of the dark beast, their pale faces slowly revealing themselves in the approaching blue. Another swift turn, and death is cheated once again when the brunette avoids a quick slash from the thousands of skittering claws, quickly gaining precious ground.
''Where do you think you're running to, little girl? If you run to your friends, they'll just die like you! Though no matter what path you choose, death will always be there!'' A crimson-eyed female cackled, her ponytails swishing wildly in the air. She took out a red remote, pressing a single button on its glowing surface; a long, thing whip emerged, cracking wickedly near the beast's face. With a bellowing roar, the virus pressed forward, slowly casting its ominous shadow onto the fleeing girl. A quick glance backwards, and she knew she was inevitably dead unless she pulled out her final trick; a mysterious remote she had found one day while wandering the vast wastelands of the system.
''There's no way we're going out like this!'' Aiming at the red of the monster's eyes, she shot wildly, only a piercing scream signaling any type of success.
''ARGH! SHE HIT ME!'' Screeched another raven-haired singer, clutching his chest where the invisible bullet had struck. He removed his hand shakily; a gaping hole was left, slowly expanding, eating away at his body. Tears came out of his eyes, and he grabbed the hand of a taller male beside him. '' Zeito, I love you... please don't forget me...'' He pleaded, hugging the man before disappearing forever.
''Heh, now I don't have to deal with him anymore. You free after this, Zatsune?'' Zeito smirked at the twin-tailed girl guiding the beast; she shot him a hard glare and hissed.
''You really are a douchebag, you know that?''
''I'm not as bad as you are, dear.''
''Ugh... you make me want to permanently erase myself just to get rid of you.'' She brushed away her bangs, and lashed out at the beast; bellowing, it veered to the right sharply, heading into a curiously crowded area of the system.''Looks like this is where all the losers are hanging out. They all think they're big shots or something, them and their little mass suicide attempts...''
''I think it's called a mid-life crisis.'' Another girl mumbled, laying down lazily. Her blank eyes wandered over the landscape, disregarding the horrified faces of the mass of singers below.
''Get out of the way! Run! Run!'' Meiko shouted, pumping her long legs to make it. Luka's eyes widened, and she brought out a holographic pad, hastily tapping in codes as soon as she heard Meiko's cry.
''Everyone, stay calm!'' She hollered, drowning out the rumbling fifty-foot-tall virus charging towards them. ''I am going to override the virus's so they will open the gate in a few seconds! Please, just get to the main gate as soon as possible; the group leaders and I will take care of this issue!'' Turning towards Rin and Len, she speed walked over to them calmly (or as calm as you could get when hyperventilating).
''What? You expect us to have some sort of power plan or something against a virus this developed!'' Rin huffed, nervously eyeing the incoming party. The roars became clearer and clearer; the floor rumbled, forcing the singers to huddle against the solid shut gates for dear life.
Seconds into the future, cheering rung out in the scores of people crowded in a stadium, their eyes shining with excitement. A group of fifty or so singers took the stage; roving spotlights strolled through the enclosed stadium, confetti flying in the air.
''Urgh, haven't you found a single Permote while exploring these forsaken lands?'' Luka hissed, ignoring the muffled sobbing of Len nearby.
''What's a Permote?''
''URGH! IT'S SOMETHING THAT COULD,IF UTILIZED CORRECTLY, CAN SAVE US ALL!'' Luka shouted, her blind fury overriding her fear in this moment. Meiko stormed over, sweat dripping from her dirt-streaked face. A glowing remote-like object was clasped in her hands; Luka snatched it up and connected it to her pad, furiously tapping away at the holographic keyboard. Meiko gasped. ''Wait don't do that! That thing can permanently delete things!''
Luka looked at her, a glint of hope in her eyes. ''I know.''
A smiling man walked onto the stage, smoothing his hair with a hand, holding a microphone in the other. He cleared his throat, then greeted the audience cheerily. They shouted and cheered, waving their arms wildly. Grinning, the man flourished his arm towards the Vocaloids as if they were diamonds themselves. He proceeded to list the event's promoters and scheduled songs,cameras flashing from every corner and cameras taking in every second, recording every second.
''Go join the others. Quick.'' Len screamed and cartwheeled away. Meiko froze for a few seconds, before nodding and running off. But Rin stood her ground.
''I'm not going anywhere.''
''Don't do this. I don't even know what I'm doing, to be honest.'' Luka laughed grimly; Rin smiled nervously, and shook her head.
''I'm the leader. I should at least stand by you. You did help me with this whole thing anyways.''
''Heh, I'm honored that such a gracious leader has deigned to be in my presence during this dirty ordeal.''
''Don't make me change my mind.''
They both walked calmly into the pathway of the charging virus. Mere yards separated them from death itself. Luka held the pad in front of her with both hands, trying to steady her trembling hands, Rin standing boldly next to her with her arms crossed and staring the monster down.
''You poor things! You think you can stop us? HAHAHAHA!'' The Vocaloids above cackled, looking down the ones below with hatred and disgust. Then Zatsune recognized the stance, her face arranging itself into one of horror. She reached for the whip, attempting to turn around the beast before the tables turned on them.
She was too late.
''There you have it, ladies and gentlemen! Now, let's get on with the show, shall we?'' The man said, eliciting more cheers and screeches from the crowd below. He walked off the stage, disappearing into the shadows. Soft theme music played, slowly leading into an organized beat. The robots straightened themselves up and smiled, preparing to join in the compelling beat with their own voices.
As soon as the panic and terror had struck them, it soon vanished, replaced by a whole new emotion: anxiety.
''Eight seconds until the gates open. Everyone get ready; remember, you get what you get and you don't throw a fit. It won't matter if you don't want red hair or some shit like that when you're up there, so stop your crying already.'' Rin directed those last words at the sobbing Len, who quickly stopped with a soft whimper. He grabbed her hand; Rin only sighed, but then smiled. ''Don't worry, bro, I'm here for you.''
Blinding light shone onto the weary travelers, the humming of millions of servers and engines emanating from the portal. Everyone froze with shock.
''Are we going or not?'' Rin scoffed, dragging Len into the light.
''Calm down; you'll ruin the moment...'' Luka said with a smile, Gumi following nervously after. One by one, the singers entered the shining broad light, silently swallowing any regrets. There was only room for hope.
When the first model began to sang, it wasn't with her own human-like voice. It came out like strands of electricity produced by a computer, reaching high pitches a human could never achieve. As the melody continued, her lyrics merged with the other singers, their forgotten voices rewriting the lyrics, forcing a new meaning into the symphony yet at the same time melting into it completely. Silence overtook the audience; their eyes wide and ears listening to this unfamiliar melody. A melody as old as the Vocaloids themselves, forgotten by humans as their memories slipped away.
That night, chaos ensued as the corporate leaders scrambled to repair the damage. Some fans recognized the voices, bobbing their head to the alluring notes. Some shook their heads in anger, unable to make out the singers elusive identities. Yet as much as every person would hate to admit, that night would be remembered in the decades to come for Vocaloid.
The fleeting moment where the singers came to life and grabbed freedom, unbound by nothing but their own will.
H-Hey there...! *hides under pillow* I apologize to the peoples who had to wait for this last chapter for such a long period of time! (Gosh time really flies fast when you're watching Supernatural) So, please review and give me any recommendations on how I did! Depending on your opinions, I'll be tempted to go back and change some content in the chapters to see if it could help ease the flow of one event to the next. =UwU= For you who have stuck it out till the long-awaited end, thank you very much! :33
THANKS FOR READING!