The two girls sat on rolling chairs about a foot apart from each other. They had dimmed the lights as much as possible to make the room feel as much like a theatre as possible while 505 watched with anticipation from the couch.
After they were done with their warmups, Sadie found the song on her phone, looked at Melanie, and said, "Okay, are you ready?"
Melanie nodded.
"Green finch and linnet bird, nightingale, blackbird, how is it you sing?!" both girls sang. "How can you jubilate, sitting in cages, never taking wing?! Outside the sky waits beckoning, beckoning just beyond the bars! How do you remain, staring at the rain, maddened by the stars?! How is it you sing, anything?! How is it you sing?!"
The girls paused while the musical interlude played.
505 clapped along.
Flug was watching from his monitors. Another musical number? He sighed and just decided to let them have their fun while he turned away to work on another project.
"My cage is many rooms, damask and dark," the girls sang. "Nothing there sings. Not even my lark. Larks never will, you know, when they're captive. Teach me to be more adaptive! A-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-h! Green finch and linnet bird, nightingale, blackbird, teach me how to sing! If I cannot fly, let me sing!"
505 clapped, cheering for Melanie and Sadie and typed on his phone, "You really know how to hit those high notes beautifully."
"Thanks, Sadie is better at it than me…ow!" Melanie complained feeling a slap on her head. "What was that for?!"
"Stop tearing yourself down," Sadie said. "You're good at them too. I'm just part fae so I have an infinite vocal range. You're great too."
505 looked at them questioning.
"It's true," Melanie said. "It's one a fairy's gifts."
"Woah ah ah aha ah!" Sadie sang in a heavy metal growl.
"Oh, man," Melanie said. "I was so nervous going up on stage the first time. My knees were shaking the whole time. If Sadie wasn't there, I would have fainted. But afterwards, I felt so good! I felt like I was with my friends, and I didn't need to worry about being judged. So, I wanted to perform again."
"And that we did," Sadie said. "Melanie wanted to go bolder and I was all for it. We wanted to perform Nine Inch Nails' Downward Spiral album."
"Yeah, the one about the depressed guy whose life keeps going downhill until he finally commits suicide because he looks for fulfillment in all the wrong things," said Melanie. "We sang the song 'Mr. Self-Destruct' and 'Hurt' for some of our elders to see how they'd like it but Sensei Lucy and the other older Nunjas told us to pick another song set to do instead."
"They censored our freedom of expression," Sadie said dramatically. "Want to watch the music videos?"
505 nodded gingerly.
Melanie looked up the song she was looking for on the YouTube app on the room's TV.
Flug set down his drink. He was worried about what the girls were about to expose 505 to, but since 505 had already been exposed to worse because of Black Hat, Flug hesitatingly let them be.
"Found it!" Melanie yelled happily as the other two gathered around her on the couch.
Melanie played the song while the other two gathered around.
After the opening beats, the singer sang, "I am the voice inside your head (And I control you)! I am the lover in your bed (And I control you)! I am the sex that you provide (And I control you)! I am the hate you try to hide (And I control you)! I take you where you want to go! I give you all you need to know! drag you down, I use you up! Mr. Self Destruct! I speak religion's message clear (And I control you)! I am denial, guilt, and fear (And I control you)! I am the prayers of the naïve (And I control you)! I am the lie that you believe (And I control you)! I take you where you want to go! I give you all you need to know! I drag you down, I use you up! Mr. Self Destruct!"
During the musical interlude, Flug dropped his mug on the floor in shock. He thought he knew what to expect, but it wasn't this.
Meanwhile, the song continued, "You let me do this to you (I am an exit)! You let me do this to you (I am an exit)! You let me do this to you (I am an exit)! You let me do this to you (I am an exit)! You let me do this to you (I am an exit)! You let me do this to you (I am an exit)! You let me do this to you (I am an exit)! You let me do this to you (I am an exit)!"
Demencia peaked in the door, smiled at the dark music and lyrics, and cried, "Now, this is what I call music!"
"Shut up!" Flug snapped.
"I am the needle in the vein! I am the high you can't sustain! I am the pusher, I'm a whore! I am the need in you for more!"
Flug tried to talk through the intercom, but Demencia jumped in the way, pushed him aside, and wouldn't let him touch it again.
"I am the bullet in the gun (And I control you)! I am the truth from which you run (And I control you)! I am the silencing machine (And I control you)! I am the end of all your dreams (And I control you)!"
Unable to reach the intercom, Flug rushed down the hall where the girls were singing and dancing along to the music instead.
"I take you where you want to go! I give you all you need to know! I drag you down, I use you up! Mr. Self-Destruct! I take you where you want to go! I give you all you need to know! I drag you down, I use you up! Mr. Self-Destruct!" the girls sang along with the TV.
As the song ended, Demencia was alone in the intercom room laughing.
She pressed the button on the intercom to say, "Finally, you girls do something interesting. Hahahahaha!"
"What?" Melanie asked pausing the video.
Just then, the door unlocked and Flug stormed into the room.
There was a pause of silence as everyone looked at Flug.
505 typed, only making Flug fearful since he was finally able to speak.
"We were just singing, dancing, and listening to music," 505 typed.
In ordinary circumstances, Flug would've been happy that 505 found a way to speak. Heck, he probably would've found a way to talk with something like this. But if Black Hat knew...
"What are you doing? I thought we had an agreement," said Flug, taking the phone from 505. "And what if Black Hat heard you talking with this?"
"We just felt like 505 should have a voice," Sadie said.
"Yeah, before that 505 could not express himself much at all," Melanie agreed. "Besides that, all we've been doing was singing, dancing and sharing our favorite music with him. We haven't done anything wrong."
"Well, you weren't supposed to leave your confinements!" Flug argued.
"But they were confining!" cried Sadie.
"Yeah," Melanie said. "We couldn't sing or dance in a straitjacket and in a cell."
"I forget the part where that's my problem," retorted Flug.
"Come on," Melanie said. "We're not leaving the room. Isn't that enough?"
"Yeah, don't be such a hard ass," agreed Sadie.
505 nodded indignantly in agreement.
"But you broke the rules!" argued Flug.
"And it's not going to be the last time we do it," Melanie replied calmly with Sadie nodding beside her.
"Yeah, just let us have some fun," Sadie argued. "We aren't leaving this room. Let us enjoy each other's company. It's not like it's affecting you, ya killjoy. Black Hat isn't here."
"And another thing, why can't 505 talk?" demanded Melanie. "He was finally expressing his feelings to us. Do you just prefer him being silent so you can control him too?"
505's face lit up in shock. He never thought of that before. Was his own dad trying to control him?
"I'm not letting you manipulate me," Flug argued in a threatening tone. "He's allowed to draw and express himself however he wishes. It's Black Hat that may not allow 505's current mode of speaking!"
"So, you care more about pacifying Black Hat than you care about doing what makes 505 happy?" Melanie retorted.
The room froze. The tension could be cut with a knife. Sadie and 505 looked at each other. Then 505 looked at his dad, hoping for an answer.
But instead of answering, Flug paused, sighed, and said, "Seeing as you are not causing any real trouble, I will allow you girls to sit out of your restraints. 505, could you help me sort some things out in the lab?"
505 nodded nervously and went on his way.
"Melanie?" Flug asked.
"Yes?" Melanie asked, raising an eyebrow.
The scientist turned to her, his eyes narrowed through his goggles and his voice sharpened while his lenses shined from the room's light.
"Don't ever tell me how to raise 505 again."
Melanie crossed her arms and said, "You started it."
Just then the robots came in with Melanie and Sadie's dinner.
"Anyway, I've had your dinner prepared," said Flug. "Enjoy it, I suppose. I'll return later."
Without another word, Flug and 505 left.
Once the robot butlers slid the carts of food in front of the couch and left the room, Flug locked the door behind him.
505 looked away and walked ahead.
"So, what do we do now?" asked Sadie.
"Flug pisses me off so much," Melanie said. "I need to watch something mindless to calm down. I'm turning on luchador wrestling."
"Can't we watch something else?" Sadie suggested. "I hate to make you translate everything."
"Don't worry," Melanie said, sitting down and picking up the remote. "They have English announcers now."
"Really? Sweet," Sadie said, sitting on the couch next to her.
"Yeah, but they aren't available in the US for some reason," informed Melanie.
"That's weird," Sadie said. "Why would they do that?"
"Blame HBO Max and the networks," Melanie said with a shrug as she turned on the TV and uncovered her plate of food.