Vocaloid Fic: Diamonds in the Rough Chapter 13

Pride Before a Fall


Michaela did not take what she had seen lightly. She pestered Allen about informing the others what Miriam had done. Allen, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure.

“We need to tell someone about this,” she insisted.

“No we don’t,” Allen said, turning away from her, “I’m fine. Nothing happened.”

“She had you pinned against a wall, Allen!” Michaela argued, though looking more concerned than angry. “It terrified me!”

“What I mean is that I don’t think she was actually trying to hurt me,” Allen didn’t know how to word it. “It’s like she wasn’t fully there or something. I doubt she knew what was happening.”

Michaela frowned, scrunching up her perfectly-shaped face. “I don’t think I understand.”

Allen rubbed the back of his head, unsure himself. But he had to convince Michaela not to say anything or who knows what would happen to them. Miriam was the manager of the whole Vocaloid operation. If she was acting suspiciously, what did that say about the rest of them?

“I think…I think she was seeing Leon and Lola, or at least dreaming about them. And if I’m right, I also think that this happens all the time for her now.”

“What?”

He sighed. “Ages ago, after Ms White told me about Leon and Lola for the first time she asked me if I had nightmares about them. At the time, I said no because I didn’t know the details of their death and was confused. And then the other day when we all found out what exactly happened to them I did have a nightmare about it that night. I was there in the car and I crashed with them and there was a horrible screaming in my ears. I don’t even know if it was my own or not.”

Michaela nodded grimly. “I had a similar nightmare too. The whole story had spooked me for weeks.”

Allen nodded with her, just as grim although he couldn’t look at her now. The dark, unspoken dread that was in her eyes was too much for him.

“We weren’t even there. We just imagined it. Miriam was in the car with them and experienced everything in cruel detail. Imagine reliving the worst day of your life; losing your lover and best friend at the same time forever? I don’t blame her for being strict to us about being Vocaloids. We’re the only remnants of her friends that aren’t a horrific nightmare.”

Michaela covered her mouth with her hand, eyes blinking back tears. She put her other hand over Allen’s, not being able to speak.

She didn’t have to.  

-----

Allen left soon after that. Any more thoughts on talking to Michaela were gone. Honestly, he just wanted to forget the whole thing had happened.

Things were better at school where Allen could blend. Sure, he was excited about being a Vocaloid and possibly having the chance to stand out among the crowd but right now all he wanted to do was hide. Allen just wanted to be invisible.

And he was, for the most part. There were the exceptions of Michaela and Riley who when their paths crossed in the hallways would give a wave or a smile. Riley pinched him, on occasion.

That was cool, except for the pinching part, that is. It was like they were sharing a special secret that only they knew. Meckenzie and Kyle went to different schools so he didn’t get to do this with them but he often found Kyle hanging around the school gym after school. For Gast, probably, Allen thought.

And what do you know it, as Allen walked down the main hallway he bumped right into that very person. Literally bumped into him as the students stormed past Allen, pushing and shoving. Gast was built like a stone tree so Allen almost fell back onto his butt from the impact until Gast steadied him. Gast ushered Allen to one side, easily slipping between the students as they rushed back and forth in between their classes. Allen envied his height that made it easy for him to navigate.

“You okay?” Gast asked, his voice so soft Allen was surprised he even heard him over the uproar.

“Yeah…” Allen said, rubbing his nose. Were Gast’s pecks made out of metal or something?

Gast nodded, looking thoughtful. Allen noticed this.

“What?”

“You’re with Kyle in that Vocaloid thing, aren’t you?”

That got him off his guard. Allen didn’t even try to hide his astonishment.

“How do you know about that?” Allen had had to raise his voice a little over the students but it was mostly his surprise that was making the noise. How did Gast know about them being Vocaloids?

Gast blinked, taking in Allen’s startled response. “Kyle told me.”

Of course, Allen thought to himself, of course Kyle would blab about it, even after Ms White told them it was meant to be a secret. He let himself be angry at Kyle for blowing their cover for a moment and then answered Gast after he calmed down.

“What did he tell you?” Allen hoped he sounded threatening but it came out as more of a nervous whine.

Gast gave a small shrug of his shoulders. “He said you perform for people under these loid-alias’ and that you were in the newspaper the other day.”

That was probably the most Allen had ever heard Gast say in one sentence.

“We’re not supposed to tell anyone who we are outside the project,” Allen sighed, one hand to his face, “but Kyle must have forgotten that rule.”

The quiet teenager nodded, “I won’t tell anyone,” he said evenly. Allen sighed again but this time with relief. If word got out that Michaela, Riley and he were Vocaloids at this school, things could get messy.  Especially if Hatsune Miku’s rising popularity had anything to say about it.

“So…why’d you ask, anyway?” Allen said, happy that their secret was safe for now at least. But Gast was staring at something in the distance, pink cheeked. Allen followed his line of sight and saw a girl standing a little while away that he didn’t recognize. When he turned to look back at Gast he was already moving very quickly in the other direction, his face now as red as Teto’s hair.

“Hey, where are you going?” Allen called out, as Gast weaved in and out of students’ way like some sort of graceful dance. He didn’t answer him and before Allen could blink, he was already out of the hallway and not looking back.

-----

To say he was nervous was an understatement; consumed by fear would be more accurate.
Allen was dressed up in his Vocaloid gear; hair spiked to perfection and mouth as dry as saw-dust. The Vocaloids had arrived at the shopping mall just as the shops were opening. This time Teto, Peaches and Uta had come along to manage the technical stuff and generally be extra pairs of hands if Ms White needed them.

Miriam was with Sweet Ann and Prima on the other side of town, arranging to provide their
services at a wedding reception.

Even if Allen had to deal with Miriam’s wrath at least he’d be inside a nice, quiet reception, instead of out here in the freezing cold about to sing to an audience for the first time.

Whoopee.

While he’d been spent most of his morning worrying about this, the others had been smart enough to bring warm clothing along with their Vocaloid outfits. Beside him, Michaela gave a convulsive shiver under her fluffy white coat and tightened her scarf. Glancing at her, he saw to his dismay that it was Kyle’s blue scarf.

Even without the scarf, Kyle was probably the most appropriately dressed Vocaloid for the bitter winter weather with his long pants and trench coat. But that didn’t stop him from oh-so-subtly trying to pull a beanie over his frost-bitten ears when he thought Nerissa wasn’t looking.

Nerissa, who never missed anything, was yelling at Kyle for messing up his carefully arranged blue hair. She was dressed in jeans and a massive overcoat that went past her knees. Her jacket collar was pulled up to her reddening nose and she even had earmuffs on. It couldn’t be that cold, could it? Maybe she was just doing it to spite them but the more Allen looked at her wrapped under layers of warm clothing, the colder he felt.

Forget Michaela! Forget the cold! He had to stay focused. To mess up now would be too much for him.

Allen dug his shoe into the thin layer of frost at his feet and tried his best to read over the lyrics inside his head, but his thoughts kept drifting. Could he do this? He still had a lot of doubts. It wasn’t too late. Perhaps he should just turn and run while everyone was busy. He couldn’t drive but he could try to jack a bike maybe.

Allen shook his head fiercely, earning a minor scolding from Nerissa about watching his hair. He was being ridiculous. He couldn’t even ride a bike, let alone attempt to steal one. In any case, Allen knew that Ms White and everyone else had done so much up until today. To fail them now would be awful.

Sighing, watching his breath form a misty cloud in front of his face, Allen knew he couldn’t let them down.

He’d have to sing. He was a Vocaloid.

----

“You think we could get some sort of winter version of these Vocaloids outfits?” Meckenzie suggested after seeing Michaela sneeze for the third time and handing her a hanky. “These ones aren’t really compatible with the elements. No offence, Teto.”

Teto looked thrilled at the chance to make more outfits and nodded enthusiastically.

“We won’t stay out here too long,” Ms White assured the group. “However, Mim made it clear that she wanted us out here for another performance.”

“Easy for her to say…” Meckenzie said, but she dropped the subject to Ms White’s and his relief. He remembered very clearly his last experience with the stoney-faced woman.

“And to make up for the bad weather, afterwards we’ll all head down to Ice Mountain for some hot drinks,” Ms White said and everyone perked up immensely. Hot chocolate on a bitter-cold day like this sounded like heaven.

“Well, I volunteer to go first,” Meckenzie said, looking at the busy people rushing past them. They didn’t seem to notice the cold. “Simply because my thighs are starting to look like that mouldy blue cheese stuff.”

“Lovely,” Nerissa murmured as Meckenzie stripped off her jacket and went to stand proudly on the mini-stage, her red dress  vivid against the white frost. Meckenzie-now-Meiko tapped on the mic one, two, three times before smiling at the people who’d begun to gather. She swivelled away from the audience to motion to Uta to start the backing track.
Meiko’s song was called, fittingly enough, ‘Silent Snow’. It was a big difference from the wild songs she usually sang. Her voice was gentle and fluid and she swayed slowly from side to side, feeling the music. The mood seemed catching. More people were turning to look and Allen saw some smiling. He noticed a man who’d been stalking along, talking angrily into his mobile pause, look up and stop to listen, and a harassed-looking mother whose child stopped pulling against her hand and came with her to watch.

The rhythm began to build and Meiko followed it, moving from swaying to a simple yet effective dance routine. People clapped as the song ended and Meiko gracefully stepped down from the stage.

It was obvious that she had been practising very hard since her last performance.

Kyle and Michaela (or rather, Kaito and Miku) were the next to go on. They were singing a duet called ‘Cendrillon.’ Miku started on one of her long and impossibly high notes that got everybody’s attention.

“Aaaaaaaaah, aaaah, ahhh, Aaaaaahhhh~”

If Meiko hadn’t already caught the crowd for the Vocaloids ,they were certainly hooked after that. Cendrillon was a very fast song, with heaps of rhythm and beat to it. Miku and Kaito kept up just fine. They even had their own routine worked out and Allen hated to admit it, but they worked really, really well together on the stage. He was happy for them both, and very happy that Michaela seemed to have completely lost herself in the joy of being Miku—not worrying about stuffing up.

Like Allen as Kagamine Len might do.

Kaito and Miku bowed when their song was done and there were some enthusiastic whistles as well as clapping from small crowd that had formed at the entrance of the mall. Ms White looked elated and Teto was running around hugging (suffocating) everyone.  So far it had been a very good day.

Allen felt a bony elbow bump his ribcage. Riley winked at him.

“Time to transform…” she said and he gulped.

It was now or never.

“Last but not least,” Ms White told them all. Then just to him, Ms White whispered: “Good luck, Allen.”Kaito and Miku, having turned back into dorky Kyle and bubbly Michaela, came over to Allen. Michaela smiled enthusiastically at him while Kyle gave him a swift high-five.

Riley went ahead to set up the microphone for them and Allen began to follow, slowly. A lot of the crowd had stayed, curious to see what the Vocaloids were going to do next. Far too many eyes were on him and Allen was finding it hard to breathe. Then someone put a firm grip on his arm, stopping him. Turning around, Allen saw it was Nerissa.

“Don’t freak out,” she hissed, softly enough so only he could hear her, “and don’t worry about messing up.”

He grinned, feeling as if the sun had just come out. Nerissa let go of him and he strode forward with new confidence.

Which, of course, led him to fall flat on his face, thanks to the slippery ice underneath his feet.

There was some laughter from the crowd. Allen grimaced as he struggled upright and continued sheepishly to the stage where Riley was waiting for him. She already had her ‘Rin’ face on, which was basically her ‘super-confident-Riley’ face. She knew she had this in the bag. Meanwhile, Allen tried his best to put on his ‘I’m-totally-not-about-to-pee-my-pants’ face—the closest he could get to looking like Kagamine Len.

Riley-turned-Rin gestured to Uta to hit the music way earlier then Allen was prepared for. He had little time to assemble himself as Rin got into position, posing on the right side of the stage, leaning back slightly. Allen quickly mirrored her, resting his back against hers as they tapped their feet to the beat. Feeling Rin’s strong and steady form against him gave Allen courage. He closed his eyes right before their cue to sing. In an instant, cowardly Allen was gone and replaced by Kagamine Len who sang with a force Allen didn’t know he had.

Inside his head, he was still Allen, but his body moved of its own accord as his alter ego took over on the stage. Kagamine Len danced and sang, his voice blending with his sister’s, like two parts of the same instrument. He kept in perfect time with her as they sang the upbeat tune of ‘Gemini’. Len barely heard the responsive noise of the crowd.

Though that whistle definitely came from Kyle.

Too soon and it was over. Then it was as if a wave of fatigue passed over Len and he faded away. Allen re-emerged, exhausted but exhilarated. Ms White beamed at him as he was tackled by Riley, then buried by Kyle, Michaela and Teto who all came over to hug him. They ended up in a big pile on the ground with poor Allen squashed at the bottom. Sticking his head out for air, Allen saw Nerissa.

“Told you so,” she said.

----

Allen and his merry band of Vocaloids celebrated their victory with hot chocolate in a warm booth in Ice Mountain. Teto, Peaches and Uta had stayed to take down the equipment to bring back to the hall so they missed out. It was only when the Vocaloids had finished thawing out and brushed the last flecks of snow off their outfits that they sat back to bask in their glory. Like last time, there were people staring and pointing at them, but they didn’t attract quite so much attention, because Michaela, learning from experience, had removed her large wig before stepping into the café.

Allen was still buzzing from his performance as a Kagamine twin. A glow seemed to emanate from his skin. He was surprised no one else could see it—he felt as if he were lighting up the whole room. It came from a certain sort of pride that he hugged to himself, cherishing it, feeling its warm touch right down in the pit of his stomach.

Miki must have picked up on his happy aura because no sooner had they settled, than she sprang into sight, her happy demeanour shedding its own light.

“Hi, guys!” Miki greeted warmly, looking over each and every colourful character there.
“Did you just have a performance?”

“We busked in front of the mall,” Meckenzie explained. “You should come see us sometime.”

Miki’s eyes sparkled. “Wow!” she enthused, “I’d love that!”

Then her face fell. “Oh...wait, I can’t. Sorry.”

“Why not?” Michaela asked curiously, wondering if Miki didn’t get much free time.

Miki shrugged, visibly disappointed. “Uncle doesn’t like me going out on my own. Said it could be dangerous because of…” Miki trailed off, but Allen noticed her tugging on her long sleeves, hiding her arms. An instant later, Miki’s smile was back on her face. The moment was forgotten.

“Anyways, enough about me! What can I get you guys?”

When Miki left to deliver their orders, Allen watched her retreating figure heading back to the kitchen. At a glance, she moved like any other person but Allen picked up on a subtle stiffness to her walk.  Now he thought about it, Miki had braced her hip against their table as if it was hard to stand upright and support her own weight

When Miki came back with their refreshments, Allen watched her closely. He saw that she braced her hip against their table as if it was hard to stand upright and support her own weight.

“She must’ve had some kind of accident and that’s why she can’t become a Vocaloid.”

Allen shook his head so hard, his ponytail fell out, ruining Nerissa’s carefully spiked hairdo. He didn’t care. He ran his fingers through his gelled fringe until it fell in front of his face. He didn’t feel so much like a Vocaloid now.

He could feel Nerissa staring at him but, she didn’t tell him off for messing up his hair. The others were too preoccupied to notice much about Miki.  Riley sucked down her drink so fast that she had hiccups. Kyle spilt his drink and Meckenzie snapped at him for being so clumsy. Allen tried to involve himself into the conversation the group was having.

“All I’m saying is we gotta think about the weather before we plan these things,” Meckenzie said, “Otherwise we’re all gonna catch colds. Heck, Michaela is sniffling as we speak.”

Everyone turned to look at Michaela who was blowing her red nose into Meckenzie’s borrowed hanky. She blushed and hid the hankie behind her back, sheepishly.

Ms White sighed, “I know.  I’m so sorry for bringing you out here without the proper gear. Miriam didn’t mention the timing would be so bad when we spoke of this performance beforehand. Next time, I’ll be sure to look into it. Michaela, if your cold gets worse I’ll write a special note so you can be excused from classes.”

“Thanks, Miss,” Michaela said nasally, rubbing her nose. Beside her, Kyle gave off a loud sneeze that made everyone in the café jump. When their hearts left their throats, the kids turned to glare at Kyle. He gave a huge sniff and Meckenzie reluctantly handed him another one of her hankies.

“I wish my teachers let me skip school. Aw man, I think I might be getting sick too,” he snuffled before he let off another big sneeze.

“Don’t worry,” Nerissa said as she stirred at her tea, “I hear idiots never catch colds.”

“That’s a relief!” Kyle said happily, taking a few moments before he realized what she said, “…hey, wait a minute!”

Allen laughed and his messy feelings slowly melted away. He could relax and enjoy his time with his friends after a good day’s work. Nothing could get him off his high.

That, of course, was when things went south, naturally.

Meckenzie had been going on for a while about the weather and how it was bad for them and even Allen had to admit it was getting old. Meckenzie’s main motivation was the fact that Michaela had been sneezing since she came into the café. Allen saw the poor girl was starting to look more and more miserable with every passing moment. Meckenzie stopped her rant at one point to shrug off her own coat and put it around her friend’s small, hunched shoulders.

“You’d think Miriam would take better care of her Vocaloids,” Meckenzie said for the third time that morning, “I mean, how can we continue the first Engloid legacy if we all get sick?”

Nerissa groaned, “If all you’re going to do is complain about it, you might as well not say anything at all.”

Meckenzie smiled, nastily, “Ha! Coming from you? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!”

“At least I’m not a hot-headed loud mouth,” Nerissa retaliated.

Just like that, the air grew tense. Michaela bit her lip and Kyle was looking back and forth between Meckenzie and Nerissa, confused. Allen shrank in his seat. Being around the two girls for as long as he had, he could smell when a storm was brewing. And this was surely going to be a big one.

“Girls, stop this,” Ms White said in her teacher-voice, sensing the storm as well. “Arguing over nothing won’t get you anywhere.”

They ignored her. Meckenzie was beginning to grind her teeth in irritation. They could’ve left it there and changed the topic, but Allen knew Meckenzie wasn’t ever really one to give up; especially on an argument. He considered for a brief moment if he should hide under the table.

“A loud-mouth, am I?” Meckenzie echoed. “Okay, princess, just because I express my thoughts and feelings for the group and myself doesn’t mean you have to shoot me down at every waking moment. I mean, look at you, when have you ever helped any of us? At least I make some effort.”

Nerissa flushed and Allen wanted to stop her before she said anything more to ruin the mood. His hand reached for her shoulder, but one quick, stabbing glare from those eyes of hers made his arm fall to his side.

“Nerissa…” Ms White warned, keeping her voice low so as to not cause a scene. It was in vain however, as a lot of people were already staring at them with renewed interest. People did that a lot, nowadays, but this wasn’t the kind of attention they wanted.

Nerissa wasn’t defeated just yet though. She had learned from her last blow-out against Meckenzie just how to pick away at her. “You’re right, you always make heaps of effort. In fact, that’s why you’re staying late after practices to revise your songs and that’s why you’re working twice as hard as anyone else. Your performance today proves that. For days you’ve come in and out of that costume shop because you just don’t think you’re good enough to compete with the others. Don’t deny it, I’ve seen you because I work there, and almost every time I’m there you’re locked up in the back, singing until the cows come home. It’s not because you’re committed to the group, it’s because you’re scared they’ll leave you in their dust. You just don’t think you’re good enough to be a Vocaloid.”

Michaela and Ms White gasped, completely horrified. Kyle whispered: “Is that true?” Allen saw Meckenzie’s lips disappear into a thin line on her face and her cheeks redden. Her brown eyes were locked on Nerissa, boring into her, but Nerissa wasn’t backing down.

Instead she became the straw that broke the camel’s back.

“When are you going to realize you’re just wasting everybody’s time?”

SLAP!

The force of Meckenzie’s slap sent Nerissa’s head to the side, one pale cheek flaming from the hit. Two angry tears had slid down Meckenzie’s face as she visibly shook where she stood.

“Oh…my…gosh…” Michaela said quietly. Everything was silent except for Meckenzie’s ragged
breaths.

“How dare you?!” Meckenzie cried, her voice echoing throughout the shell-shocked café.
“How dare you mock me when you have nothing to show for yourself. We were all having such a good time and then you had to ruin everything with your snarky, unneeded comments!”

Nerissa turned her head to face Meckenzie. Her struck cheek was swelling slightly, but her eyes were ablaze like an amber fire.

“To be fair, you retaliated and let your violent temper compromise your actions. If you weren’t so high-strung and had any discretion you wouldn’t feel the need to blow your top every time someone insults you. That pitiful slap you gave me just now shows that you have the emotional control of a rampaging bull.”

“Nerissa!” Ms White snapped, standing up. “You’ve gone too far this time.” Again, she was ignored.

“I’ll show you discretion, princess,” Meckenzie mocked as she walked out the front door of Ice Mountain, slamming it behind her. She didn’t turn back as she trekked through the snow.

“Oh boy…” Riley muttered under her breath.

The rest of the group was too shaken to react at first. It was only when Michaela hesitantly stood up that they took in what just happened.

“I-I’m going to go after her; to make sure she doesn’t get hurt.” She grabbed Meckenzie’s jacket and hurriedly threaded her way out. Allen started to make a move to follow her, but Kyle was already ahead of him.

“I’ll go with you!” he said, catching up with her. He waved goodbye t as they left.

Ms White shook her head, ashamed. “I should’ve prevented this.”

“You can’t blame yourself,” Allen mumbled, still coming to grips with the mood whiplash that had taken place. They had all been laughing together just five minutes ago. What happened?

“Yeah!” Riley agreed. “Come on, Miss you work at a high school for crying out loud. It’s a well-known fact that teenage girls like to cause drama. S’not your fault Meckenzie’s a hot-headed hormonal beast and Nerissa’s a cold-hearted jerk with no empathy whatsoever.”

“Hmph!” Nerissa crossed her arms, looking away. Her cheek had a red imprint of a hand on it.

“We were doing so well, though…” Ms White said, looking more upset then Allen had ever seen her before. “I had thought we could make this work…”

He wet his lips, “Does…does Meckenzie really feel that way?” What Nerissa had said sounded a lot like his own doubts. But Meckenzie looked more confident than any of them. She surely couldn’t have doubts…could she?

Ms White’s face scrunched up in thought. “Meckenzie has been working hard lately, that much I’ve noticed.  I also know she really does want to do well. She cares about you all very much.”

“I don’t think that caring attitude spreads to me, does it?” Nerissa snapped. Ms White frowned at her.

“And for good reason!” Riley retorted. “Man, why you always gotta stir up trouble with Meckenzie, eh, Nerissa? I mean, I admit it’s fun to tick her off and watch her explode every once in a while, but she’s still a good person. Like Miss said, she actually cares about us and the success of our group. You didn’t have to spoil our party today by bringing up that stuff. Girl’s got issues, same as you do.”

Nerissa glared at Riley. “I don’t have issues!”

Allen thought back to her reaction at the café when it was just the two of them. Issues were something Nerissa definitely seemed to possess, not that she’d ever admit that. He caught her eye and knew Nerissa knew what he was thinking, daring him to say something. He didn’t.

“Yeah, right,” Riley said dryly, draining her mug. “Welp! Since you crazy kids had to go and kill my happy-fun-time mood, I wanna go home and forget this day ever happened.”
Nerissa pouted but Ms White took out her keys with another sigh, looking exhausted.

“I’ll drive you home…” she said, defeatedly.