As the previous chapter hinted, we're finally at this one! I've been looking forward to posting this one a lot. Thank you so much everyone for the continued support, and thank you to Ryu_no_me for the beta-reading!
For the first time, Luka heard Miku's alarm. It was silent, vibrating, from the nightstand. Miku groaned as she turned it off, her grip around the cat gently coming back to life, as if she had just remembered she was there.
"Good morning," Luka meowed.
After a long sigh, and a few seconds spent rubbing her eyes, Miku groaned, "Good morning, Evie."
Luka stood, escaping the technician's grasp. She meowed nonsensically, hoping to get Miku up and moving.
The sooner she'd serve them breakfast, the sooner she could plot her entry into the work bag.
"Yeah, I know, food. I'm gonna shower first though."
"Take your time, sure."
Miku took another moment to wake up, rubbing her eyes, sitting up, before standing and disappearing into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
Just as well. Luka quickly hurried from the bedroom to the front door, where she kept her big, bulky work bag. Pawing at it quickly revealed the dangling zippers, and after some meticulous grabbing, managed to hook a claw into the mechanism.
So far, so good. It took a little longer for her to see which way opened the bag, but once she figured that out, it was easy to simply pull it along. Within, she felt lots of different tools, bars, spare parts. She gulped, wondering if there would be anything sharp in there, how difficult it would be to hide herself among the parts, and whether Miku would tell that the weight of an entire cat had been added.
After some testing, she determined that she'd fit inside well enough, but she wouldn't be able to hide under anything. All she could do was get inside after breakfast, tug at the zipper, and pray that Miku wouldn't take a second look. And that she wouldn't throw the bag, either...
Luka felt her fear rise as she considered how easy it would be for her to get seriously injured within the bag. Most things within were heavy, perhaps heavier than her. Miku wasn't the kind of person to be careless with their things, at least as far as she could tell. But what other choice did she have?
When she heard the shower stop, she quickly put a normal distance between her and the bag, hoping that the fact that it was lying open wouldn't be obvious. Her plan had to work, no matter the cost, no matter what would happen to her.
"Evie?"
"I'm here!"
She leapt up the cat tree, quickly jumping onto Miku's shoulders when she invited her to.
"I had no idea that some cats like to sit on shoulders," the technician told her, her voice filled with a fragile tone of cheer. Her work anxiety was surely coming back.
"I wouldn't know."
"I might do some volunteering tonight, so I'll try to make sure you have some things to do while I'm gone."
Luka meowed, playing the charade. Perhaps she would need to distract her, if she were to be busy in the living area: it would be tough to hide if the technician was right there, after all. But what could she do? Most things she could push or break were secured somehow: Miku had cat-proofed the place rather well.
All she could do was hope.
"There we go, Madame. Breakfast is served."
After a quick chirp in thanks, Luka leapt from her shoulder to the hammock, then made her way to the floor where her food awaited.
Would it be a bad idea to eat? Going in hungry was a bad idea, but what if she turned back to a human with a stomach full of cat food?
There was so much to consider at the last minute. Perhaps, now that she had these questions in mind, she would try tomorrow instead, more prepared...
No. There was no time left. At least, that's what she had to expect: she didn't know how much time she had before the vet at all.
She decided to eat just enough to curb her hunger, watching the technician out of the corner of her eye. She had once again gone silent, staring into the void as she ate, sometimes coming to, just to poke at her phone a few times.
The phone wouldn't distract her forever. Luka tried to remember how many other tasks she did during the morning hours, what order she did them in, tried to think of ways she could interfere, push the odds into her favor...
The more she thought, the more Miku progressed. Luka watched as she tidied up the kitchen, then ducked into her bedroom. The litter box was cleaned thereafter, all under Luka's watchful eye. Luka considered chewing on the phone cable, but that could hurt her, and Miku probably wouldn't notice. Perhaps she could try to do something in the kitchen, but it would only be confusing for a moment: it wouldn't distract her for any significant amount of time.
Her panic rose when Miku leaned over her work bag, shuffling through the contents. Desperate, the feline paced around the apartment, looking for anything she could disrupt, disturb, not so much so that Miku would put it off for later, not to do any permanent damage, but—
The bed! It was made, and beautifully so. Luka pounced on it, pacing around until she found the lip of the blanket. Then, as loudly as she could, she meowed pleadingly.
"Evie?"
"I'm a stupid cat and I don't understand that there's a time and place for cuddles!" Luka meowed boastfully, pulling at the blanket and tucking herself in. When the technician rounded the corner, peering into the room, Luka looked back at her with her biggest, cutest eyes.
"Cuddles?" she meowed.
"Evie! I have to go to work!" Miku exclaimed, approaching. Even Luka could see her surprise and disbelief. "I know I've been home a lot—"
"Cuddles!" she interrupted, before rolling over onto her side, relaxing in the mess she just made.
It was perfect. She had her attention, now if she could just make an excuse to disappear...
"Evie, get off of the bed, I have to—"
She cut her off with another long, pleading meow.
"Evie, come on!" Miku reached to pick her up, but Luka darted away before lying down again. "Evie!"
That was it: her voice had gained an exasperated edge. Luka hesitated for a split second, wondering if she ought to taunt her further until she got angry, but part of her suspected that she never would, not against her beloved cat. But that edge was just raw enough, just unhappy enough...
Luka made herself small, pulled her ears back, froze, petrified.
"Oh, no, Evie..." the technician whispered, slowly approaching. "I'm not mad, I just can't afford to be late—"
As quickly as she could, she darted past the technician and made a show of clambering up her cat tree. Then, she waited, listening with her heart racing in her throat.
She couldn't see the technician, but she heard her follow her, briefly.
"Evie...?"
There was no response. Miku sighed, then ducked back into the bedroom.
The time to act had come. Luka descended from her tree as stealthily as she could, grateful for the minutes spent playing with the bird on a string. She'd certainly gotten a little more limber, a little more comfortable with her four feet. Getting her claw back into the zipper was another challenge, but once she succeeded, it was a matter of seconds before she was in the bag, and a couple more before she pulled the zipper shut once again.
Now, all she had to hope was that Miku wouldn't look for her.
Moments later, she heard the muffled voice through the bag.
"I'm really sorry, Evie. I'll be back soon, ok? I won't volunteer for too long tonight."
Luka felt her heart ache. Whether Miku truly believed her cat understood her or not, she was still so sincere and kind...
Before she could simmer in her guilt for too long, she felt the bag around her stretch and pull; Miku had picked it up. After another goodbye, the door was shut, locked, and Luka felt all her hair stand on end when Miku descended the stairs. The air smelled different, even from within the bag. The stale air of a stairwell, then the humid, dusty stench of an underground garage. She felt her heart race when Miku opened the car door, dug her nails into the hard metals under her as the bag was unceremoniously set down. Once she heard a car start for the first time in weeks, she felt like she could laugh in total disbelief.
She was finally going back to Panthera Technologies.
Compared to her night-long walk back to town, the drive to the facility was insultingly brief. But Luka felt like she could just as well blame the adrenaline running through her veins. No matter what, she couldn't get her fur to lie flat, her claws got stuck in the random rubbery parts they burrowed into. Her whiskers were also an onslaught, incessantly warning her of the bag that surrounded her. But she couldn't be upset about any of it any longer, because if the odds were in her favor, if she could play her cards right, then later that day, she would be human again.
She recognized the turn off the highway, the long straight path to the buildings. There was the bend into the garage, then a slightly longer drive than she was used to, all the way to the back of the parking.
When Miku shut off the car, it was all so quiet that Luka swore she had suffered a cardiac arrest and died on the spot. It was only when the car door opened and closed that she blinked back to the present. Moments later the other door was opened, and the bag was picked up once again. One door slam later, Miku was carrying her towards the interior of the labs.
Luka gulped, wondering what part of the facility Miku called home base. Did she have an office? Or was the head of the technical team given a mere locker? Maybe a changing room?
Luka had absolutely no idea what to expect. There was the elevator ride up, which didn't surprise her, and more walking, which was also just as well. But if the technician had gone straight to a job, were to put her bag down and open it in the middle of the hall, then she would be in huge trouble. Cats were not supposed to be in a laboratory of any kind. Except those that studied cats, but she was positive none on-site currently had a project involving them.
Not with anybody else's knowledge, that was.
After a few long, anxious minutes, Luka heard the familiar rattle of keys in a door. So there was a separate room, but would they be alone...?
The bag being set down cut off her thoughts, and Luka waited with her heart in her throat, listening to the noises around her. Miku shuffled about, opening a locker of some sort, if the clanging metal sounds were any indication. There was the rustling of clothing, and Luka thought back to Miku's overalls, which she had never seen her wear at home.
Just as she started to wonder whether she'd open the bag before or after being fully dressed, the zipper was yanked, opening the bag so suddenly, it was like the sky above her had split into two.
There she was. They stared at one another for a couple of heartbeats, all the fur on her back standing on end.
"Evi—" Miku put her hand over her mouth, looking left and right.
"It's ok!"
"You can't be here!" she hissed, then put her face in her hands. She heaved a huge sigh, a growl at the back of her throat. "Fuck, my cat is here, what the fuck do I—"
Luka pounced up, digging her nails into the thick material of her overalls. Miku snapped back to the present, looking at her with wide eyes.
"Evie!" she spat, lunging forward to pull her off her leg.
"Miku."
The technician froze, her hands mere centimeters above the cat. Slowly, she blinked, her brow knitting together. Luka withdrew her claws and sat down, and said again, "Miku."
After a stare-down which lasted what felt like ages, there was a shuddering breath. "What the..."
It was now or never. After taking a deep breath of her own, Luka said to the best of her ability, "BSTD131A, please."
Miku blinked, once, twice, before kneeling fully in front of the cat. Luka half-expected the stunned, open-mouthed surprise, but there was also a hushed panic: she shook somewhat, which only served to crystallize her image to Luka's eyes.
"You...?"
"Please. BSTD131A."
Miku blinked, then looked around again, before directing her stare back at the cat. She rubbed her face, but there was less despair, more confusion, some kind of assurance that she was awake and real.
After a few long heartbeats, she asked, "What's going on?"
"No time," Luka improvised. "Please. Help."
That last word seemed to sink into her brain a little deeper than the rest. Miku frowned, shook her head, then pushed on her eyes with the heels of her palms.
"If the pain of your nails just now didn't still sting I'd be convinced I'm dreaming."
"No dream."
"Holy..." She sighed, let out a stunned, short-lived laugh. "Ok. If I'm being filmed, I'll find out eventually. BSTD? Those labs are under Doctor Camui's authority."
"Yes. Gakupo. Avoid."
Miku bristled, but nodded. "'Avoid'. Right. Ok. Uhm. I guess I'm not too surprised I had a bad feeling about him, but... Wow. You know his name. What the fuck is happening to me..."
"Please, Miku."
"Right, right, no time. I'll go. Back in the bag with you, though. If the principal sees you, I'm officially fired. You do understand me, right?"
"Yes. Fired. Avoid Shion."
"Alright then. You know his name, too. Ok. Yep, that's normal. 131A, right? Watch your head."
Luka gulped, ducking her head as the zipper closed back up. She wanted to tell her not to worry, that it would be alright eventually, but Miku mumbled to herself for a bit, before picking up the bag.
"Either I'll see what all this is about or I'll be told I'm an official nutcase. Stress finally got to me. Baked my brain alive. Either way, that's progress, I guess."
Before Luka could meow or attempt to speak, the door was opened, and Miku strode confidently down the halls. Her pace was rushed, either from Luka's urging to hurry, or because of the sheer confusion, perhaps even panic of her own. Her own cat had spoken to her, after all. Her beloved pet, her little snugglebug, who somehow knew about the specific names of the labs within the building and the people who worked in them, and who could talk. And who could understand her.
Luka could only guess which thought exactly occupied the front of her mind. Guess, and wait, and also listen to the sounds around her. Miku entered a more populated area of the facility, Luka could immediately tell from the footsteps around her, the voices. Regular voices, conversations, debates, laughter.
There was so much life in this place. Her workplace, a place she could almost call home, somehow.
She missed it, missed the problems, the thinking, her team, her friends, yet in that moment, she feared it. She feared it so much. If she were seen, if someone were to stop her, then there was no telling what would happen next.
"Hatsune!"
Luka shrank, recognizing the principal's voice.
"Oh! Mr. Shion, uhm—"
"Where are you going?"
"I just need to do something real quick," Miku stuttered. "Is there a problem?"
Even through the bag, Luka heard his sigh. "Last night, the power went out, completely. The generators kept the experiments alive by a hair, but..."
"I know the situation is getting more and more grave, sir," Miku stuttered. "I'm working on it to the best of my ability. I briefed my team, and we're looking at every cable and connection in the whole facility. We should have it figured out by the end of the week."
"Of course, of course. You do understand that this is your greatest priority."
"Yes."
"Then why are you here?"
Luka gulped, felt the bag briefly bob in Miku's flexing fist.
"Doctor Camui requested urgent help in a nearby lab. It's just right here, so—"
"Did I, now?"
Luka swallowed a surprised yelp: Gakupo's voice sounded like a nightmare, even through the cloth of the bag.
"I mean, uhm..."
"I certainly did not ask for your assistance in any matter."
"Hatsune, explain yourself."
"Why are you loitering in front of my labs?"
Luka tasted her heart. She felt the bag wobble, betraying a step back, or perhaps a subdued reflex by the technician to bring her hands up and in front of her.
She wasn't going to be able to convince them. Nor would she ever get close to the lab again that day. The principal was on her case, Camui would be suspicious...
Luka vaguely heard the voice of the latter, like a suffocating pillow weighing on her mind, but she knew that if she didn't do something, anything, she'd never see the inside of the facility again. After some pawing, she finally caught the bottom of the zipper with her claw, and yanked it open.
The moment light spilled into the bag, she escaped into the bright, white halls.
"What—"
"Evie!"
Luka didn't pay them any mind, running and slipping on the smooth tile. Even with her colorless vision, she recognized the glass cage of the lab. Nobody worked there currently, the pale curtain at the back was drawn.
She sprinted as fast as her four legs could carry her, darting through the door, past the suits, and into the cage. Behind her, voices clamored, footsteps followed at her heels. She ignored them all, jumping on a counter, landing among and in petri dishes of all sorts, then leaped onto the curtain. With all her might, she pulled, tugged, felt it give—
She knew of the movement right behind her almost before she saw it. She flinched, jumping out of the way, as Gakupo grabbed madly for her form. Her jump was blind: she landed on the wrong side of the counter, right at Gakupo's feet.
"Get back here, you—!"
"Don't hurt her!"
Luka darted and jumped, heading straight to the huge cloud of blue she would recognize anywhere. Seconds later, she was in Miku's arms, held tight against her chest, doing her best to keep her claws to herself.
"Hatsune!" the principal bellowed, having followed the technician into the lab. "Explain to me why you brought a cat into my facility!"
"I didn't really—"
"Your animal ruined my experiments!" Gakupo hollered as he rounded the counter. Luka hissed at him as he neared, his form towering over the technician's. "Weeks of work! Gone! Defiled by this... This beast!"
Luka glared at him, her heart in her throat, and she wondered, she couldn't help but wonder whether he recognized her. Did he know who she was, what she had come to do? Miku hissed, and Luka realized she'd dug her claws into her.
"Hatsune, you have exactly one chance to explain this nonsense!" the principal went on.
"I don't want her to have a chance," the Doctor seethed. "I want her and her monster out!"
Ears flat, almost squished by Miku's embrace, Luka panicked. They were surrounded, and Miku could only stutter, grabbing onto her for dear life.
"I don't..."
"Secret," Luka whispered, her voice far too high-pitched and distorted. The word came out fumbled, but she pressed on. "Switch. Lever. Hidden."
"I mean—?"
"Follow!"
"Evie, no—!"
Before she could tighten her grip, Luka leapt out of her arms, onto the counter, then dropped behind it, slipping right under the curtain.
It took her a while to find the rack of lab coats, what with all the other things kept there, her low point of view, and everything being gray. The added stimulus, like the screams from her whiskers, and the literal screams right behind her, only served to cloud her mind. But once she found the layers of cloth hanging above her, she knew that the lever would be right there, hidden between the pleats. She jumped, missed, jumped again, and when she landed again, she was bathed in light.
"Luka, get back here!"
This time, the hand had her before she could react. It lifted her by the scruff of her neck, impossibly large, impossibly strong, so she screamed, claws out and swinging.
"Get your filthy paws off—"
"Let her go!" Miku exclaimed, flooding Luka's view with blue. Her mad swings became desperate grabs.
"Miku!"
"You're hurting her!" the technician spat, her hands wrapping around her small, tiny, weak form, pulling her to her chest once again. Luka curled up against her, tucking her face into her neck.
"You're letting your animal ruin my lab!" he seethed.
"Doctor Camui!" the principal bellowed.
"Sir, she—"
"Silence!"
The trio fell still. Luka heard only Miku's labored breathing, so loud against her, her heartbeat strong enough to feel through her neck. Luka felt her own heart pound, her skin stinging at her neck, sore and bruised.
At the back of her mind, she noted that the whole building had gone eerily silent as well. Had they created a scene? Were there spectators, just outside the glass cage? How many eyes were on them, watching, listening?
Before Luka could think about that for much longer, however, Miku's head turned towards the lab coats. She followed her gaze, but there was no switch to see, at least not immediately.
"Hidden," she repeated, barely louder than a whimper, for only Miku's ears to hear. Her words were garbled and messy, barely a string of syllables. "Switch. Secret."
"Doctor Camui," the principal started, his words crystal-clear, perfectly enunciated, and leaving no room for doubt that he was on his last dredges of patience. "Satisfy my curiosity, if just for a second. In this whole mess, why in Hell's name did you call Hatsune's cat 'Luka'?"
He stammered for a moment, but eventually he said, "We've all had her on our minds these past few weeks. I suppose it was only a slip, I mean..."
Luka ignored their babbling, staring at the coats. "Switch," she insisted, letting her claws kiss Miku's skin, just to urge her forward. "Find."
The technician reached, quietly parting the coats. Luka watched her flip from hanger to hanger, peaking between, almost as if she were shopping for shirts in a mall and trying to find one with a tag of the right size. Except she shook, she panted, and Luka could smell the salt of tears from her eyes.
She couldn't look for long, however: Gakupo saw her quickly.
"Hey!"
Miku's voice was eerily still. "One second."
"Get your hands off—"
"Miss Hatsune," the principal hissed, cutting off the researcher. "I would like you to stop playing with the lab equipment, to take your pet, and to leave."
Miku froze, her attention turning back to the men. Luka felt her gulp, her grip on the cat tightening.
"If I could ask for but one minute, sir."
"I'm afraid you're out of minutes," he replied lowly.
"So get your filthy feline—"
Luka hissed and spat at Gakupo as he reached again, batting at him wildly to keep him away from the technician.
"Sir!" she said again, stepping back. "I have reason to believe that there is something here."
"What in the devil's name will you find here?"
"I'm not entirely sure, sir," she admitted, the shake in her voice, and Luka could barely hear a sob creeping in. Luka purred, pushing herself against her, hoping to provide some form of encouragement. "I need but a moment."
The principal heaved a sigh, then he nodded. "Fine."
Luka almost felt her eyes dilate, her ears pointing forward, as Miku once again investigated the coats, but with less care and more gusto.
"But sir—"
"There are already countless dollars' worth of damage in this room, Dr. Camui," he said, monotone and defeated.
"But—"
"Those? Those are standard lab coats."
Miku threw caution out the window, reaching past the hangers to grope at the wall. Luka watched, jaw clenched, her ears barely following Gakupo's further protests, her tail flicking from side to side.
When Miku found the switch, she knew it right away. She knew from the way she froze, her gulp. Only a second later, she tugged as hard as she could.
"No! You—"
Gakupo stifled his protests as the wall split, the mechanism pulling them apart and open more audibly than ever to Luka's ears. As the doors creaked, Miku stepped back, both arms around the cat. Before them, the dark room revealed itself, the machine in the middle barely visible thanks to the light pouring in from the bright labs.
"Dr. Camui?" Mr. Shion asked slowly. "What is this?"
"It's, uhm, it's a private project, sir. It's—"
"Did you get permission for this one?" he asked, the doors finally stilling.
Miku was the first to step forward. "Sir? This room isn't on any of the maps."
"Excuse me?"
"Of course this space exists on maps," she said, more confident, striding in. Gakupo followed, with a protest on the tip of his tongue, but the technician forged on. "But as, well, a crawlspace. Air conditioning, cables... It is, or was, a dead area..."
The principal had heard enough, pushing into the room ahead of the others. "Dr. Camui, turn on the lights, please."
"Sir—"
"I will not ask again."
Luka watched him consider another protest, but he turned around, disappearing into the shadows. Seconds later, the blinding light filled the room, revealing the masses of cables running across the floor, up and down the walls, pouring into and from the huge machine in the center. Luka saw the bare cement walls and flooring, the fans slowly spinning, now covered with bars. It also revealed the array of cages built into the far wall, containing what looked like two dozen cats. Once they were visible, they chorused in meows, their paws against the glass.
Luka felt Miku release a shuddering breath, her arms tightening around her form.
"Dr. Camui," Mr. Shion said, voice steely. "You have exactly one more chance to tell me what this is."
"It's an attempt at raising money, sir!" Gakupo said, his voice suddenly saccharine, a broad smile on his face. But he wrung his hands, bowed a little too low. "It's, uhm, a private project of mine! As I said."
"What is this machine?"
"Well, uhm..."
"Why do you have so many cats here?"
"They're, well, pets—"
"You called this one a filthy feline," he snapped.
"Those aren't ideal living conditions at all," Miku added.
They meowed more, pawing at the glass, the notes of their voices high and haunting.
"Are you testing on them?"
"Not quite, sir..."
"Where did you get them?"
"Well, uhm. Some? I found! Others were, well, hidden treasures."
Luka watched the exchange, her eyes darting to the cats, the way they paced, their paws on the glass, their tails flicking impatiently.
For some of them, it must have been weeks since they last saw a face that wasn't Gakupo's.
"Mr. Shion," she said suddenly, placing particular care in her enunciation.
The men froze, turning to face the cat.
"Did your cat just talk, Hatsune?"
After clearing her throat, Miku said, her voice barely wobbly, "She's the one who led me here, sir."
"Did she...come from here?"
"I did, sir," Luka said, sitting straight in Miku's arms. After glancing at Miku one more time, she announced as clearly as she could, taking all the time she needed to spell out each sound, "I am Luka Megurine. Those are the missing people. Gakupo did this to us."
Mr. Shion stared for a second, then back at the cats. After a moment, during which he sputtered, almost choking, "This is ridiculous."
At his reply, all the cats meowed in protest, screaming, their ears back, some hissing towards the tall researcher. Mr. Shion blinked at them, then at the cat in Miku's arms, before slowly turning to Gakupo.
"You did call her Luka."
"Sir, no—"
"Did you recognize her?"
"It's a misunderstanding."
The man thought for a moment, before barking, "Open the cages, Gakupo."
"But! They'll run amok! They're animals!"
"Do it!"
The order was so fierce, even Gakupo's tall frame broke, shoulders up to his ears. He debated another protest, but he swallowed it, approaching the cages as he dug through his pockets for the key. The two others followed him slowly, minding the cables strewn about, their eyes taking in the monstrous metallic beast in the middle of the room.
Miku said, "I think I know why we're having power outages..."
The president, sounding like he was barely holding on to his sanity, managed to reply, "I think you might be right."
When the first cage opened, the cat plummeted out, falling to the floor gracelessly. Luka escaped Miku's arms to approach them, taking in their inelegant gait, their uncertain stride. Seconds later, another cat dropped to the floor, then another, and another. They all met in front of Luka, and when one of them put their arms around her, the others followed suit, cuddling around her in a huge group hug.
Just when Luka wondered if this would be enough to convince the principal, one of them meowed a garbled, but clear, "Thank you."
She sighed in relief: she hadn't been the only one practicing.
Behind them, Mr. Shion took in the scene, his frown deepening still.
"Gakupo," he said, his voice filling the whole room. "You must answer this next question truthfully, with a single word."
After a heavy silence, he meekly said, "Very well."
"With this machine, did you turn twenty-six people into cats?"
The silence stretched on for longer, each second counted by another pair of eyes finding him, the pupils glowing, tails slowly swinging impatiently.
"Yes."
Miku replied first, a shaky, breathless, "Oh my God."
"Can this be undone?" the principal asked, sounding equally dumbstruck.
"Yes, sir."
Mr. Shion turned towards the technician. "I need the police, and enough ambulances for twenty-six people."
Miku nodded, already pulling her phone out of her pocket.
"Sir!" Gakupo yelped. "If I undo all this—"
"And tell everybody outside that everybody here today is to go home, no questions asked, no exceptions, regardless of leftover paid time off or remaining sick days. I want this building evacuated."
Phone to her ear, she made her way to the door, where surely dozens of people waited and watched. "Understood, sir."
"Sir, if I may—"
"You will stay absolutely quiet!" Mr. Shion seethed at Gakupo. "We will wait for the police and the ambulances to appear, and you will turn every single person back to normal. Am I clear?"
"...Yes."
"You will not intentionally botch this or you will be more than fired. I will have your skin and I will do everything in my power to make sure that every contribution you have ever made to science beyond this monstrosity will never be attributed to your name ever again!"
"...Very well, sir."
"Everybody in this room is going home tonight to their parents, their spouses, their families, am I understood? In the bodies they were born in, with no bones sticking out or eyes missing or extra ears. Except you: you are leaving in cuffs, and I hope that once this day is through, I'll never have to see your face again outside of court or bars."
Gakupo nodded, eyes downcast, with no more words. Security entered the room then, immediately darting for the principal. Luka, in the meantime, looked out for Miku, but her cloud of blue was nowhere to be found. Around her, the cats waited impatiently, their arms around her, pressing against her.
She couldn't understand them, and they'd never understand her. But she did feel their thanks, their relief, and their pain. It was obvious in the way they kept their eyes high and away from themselves, if not closed, their heads up from the ground so they couldn't feel their whiskers, see their limbs. Tails were allowed to rest on the floor, but were not allowed to wrap around their paws. They barely walked, preferring to sit still, while those who were close kept their arms around her.
Now that they had been heard, they didn't make a single noise, their high voices muted.
The humans in the room organized themselves. The security kept close to Gakupo as he powered up the machine, which soon filled the room with the ominous hum. Mr. Shion watched from nearby, calling from his phone. People trickled into the room, then trickled out. The security was replaced by police, who stared at the cats with awe and confusion.
When Gakupo announced that the machine was ready, all the triangular ears in the room perked to attention, but Mr. Shion reminded them all that they were waiting for the ambulances first. While Luka couldn't argue against that, she pulled herself free from the huddle and approached the man nonetheless. Seeing her, he kneeled to the ground.
"What can I do for you, Dr. Megurine?"
"Miku?"
He looked around before waving over a woman. "See if you can find Miku Hatsune. Long blue hair, denim overalls."
She nodded before darting off.
"Do you want her here?" he asked Luka.
"Please."
He nodded. "Very well. In case you are concerned... All infractions of today will be forgiven. It's clear what you were trying to get her to do. Her job is safe."
Luka nodded. "Thank you."
"We'll see if they can find her, but once the ambulance is here, we'll get started right away. I'm sure you've all been aching for this day."
"Yes, thank you."
He smiled at her. "It's good to know you're safe, Doctor."
She wanted to return the smile, feeling her tail swing instead. When he offered his hand, she timidly shook it, before he stood up and approached the whole group of cats. "If you can remember which one of you was affected first, we'll go in order, if you feel like that's fair."
They replied in a small, unified chorus of shy meows. Luka listened, but didn't reply, her eyes still on the door. More police filtered in, as well as other strangers: lawyers? Witnesses? Some other kind of officials? Detectives? Meanwhile, the machine hummed, fully charged.
The president stood tall and found the tall researcher standing off to the side. "Gakupo! How will this work?"
He cleared his throat. While he no longer had his smile or artificial cheer, his eyes still downcast, he stood tall, his voice was even. "If my calculations are correct, it will suffice if they each sit, one at a time of course, on the metal plate under the machine. Less movement is ideal, but not necessary, provided they do not leave the area of effect."
"How long does it take?"
"Perhaps two minutes between each, now that the machine is warmed up. I'm not entirely sure how it will cope with repeated use, though. Perhaps a break to allow it to cool slightly every now and then would guarantee optimal efficiency."
"We'll do that, then."
He nodded, his bow curt. "Understood."
Mr. Shion took in the group, counting them again. Luka watched, looked back at the door, then the waiting group of felines. When more people rushed into the room, she half-expected the tealette to be among them, but there was no blue to be seen. Only gloves, vests, masks, and stretchers.
The ambulances had arrived.