"Hey...this sounds great so far!" Caroline's voice broke the otherwise silent atmosphere in the small booth, sounding a bit too loud afterwards. Not that it mattered, since she was separated from the actual recording area by thick, soundproof glass. Through the transparent surface, she could see three UTAUloids, their ears covered by large headphones and their faces inches away from professional-grade microphones.
Caroline felt a small smile tug at her lips as she remembered the effort that went into achieving this modest little studio. It had been one of Courtney's dreams when the LUMEloid group first began.
"I don't want us to have to record our songs in a closet with a blanket against the door," she had sighed when such an idea was presented. "If we're going to be a full group, I want us to have the works. A studio with professional microphones! Soundproof glass! Just think of it!"
At first, most of the members shrugged it off as delusions of grandeur. But a series of fundraisers and donations later, they had been able to rent a small studio in the city. Whenever a member of the group wanted to record individually or put together a chorus, they used the studio to record and mix.
Caroline had rounded up Gomakashi, Fuko, and her own Rina to cover Ronde of Possible World. It had been a spur-of-the-moment idea; almost as much as the accompaniment of Sarah. Caroline had never interacted much with Sarah. In fact, Sarah was usually pretty quiet during meetings. Before they had begun recording, Caroline had attemped to strike up conversation, only to be immediately discouraged by Sarah's complicated speech patterns. Silence had reigned supreme since then.
"There. How's that?" Gomakashi's voice crackled through the speakers in the mixing booth. Caroline looked up, finding that the three UTAUloids had slipped off their headphones and were awaiting approval.
Sarah was the first to respond, looking up from a book in her lap. "I think it was exceptional," she said with a polite smile. Fuko and Rina looked pleased with their work, leaving only Gomakashi with a scowl.
"Please. I was the only good one. The rest of you sucked. Bad," she spat, idly sweeping her long blonde hair over her shoulder.
Sarah frowned, shaking her head. She directed an exasperated glance to Caroline and asked, "Why did you pick her for this chorus? She's always such a jerk."
Caroline shrugged apologetically. "She has a deeper voice. I thought it would make a nice blend. Anyway, we got all the recording done, so we can send her home now." She re-iterated the message to the UTAUloids, leaving out the last quip.
When all the equipment had been powered down and put away, the group began to head out. Their recording booth actually branched off of a hallway that contained a few other studios. There were five studios in total, and the other four were owned by human musicians rather than androids. None of the LUMEloid group had really run into these other artists, so they didn't think much of it.
Today, however, there was a new addition to the hallway. Two men were looking over a sheet of paper, murmuring quietly. They appeared normal in every way--yet Caroline couldn't help feeling a twinge of unease when she spotted them. The way they stood was too strict and guarded, and their inaudible conversation didn't help. Ignoring the feeling, she led Sarah and the three UTAU down the hall toward the exit.
To her great unease, the men stopped them as they passed.
"Those three are androids, right? UTAU?" The man who addressed them wore an expression of calm curiosity, but Caroline felt nervous all the same. His emerald eyes surveyed Gomakashi, Fuko, and Rina with what she believed to be a dangerous edge.
Before she could say anything, Gomakashi sneered at him. "No, we're walking toasters."
Sarah shot the UTAU a warning look before answering the question herself. "Yes, they are."
"They belong to you?"
Pre-empting another sarcastic quip from Gomakashi, the two humans stepped closer to their respective androids. "Well," Caroline began slowly, "These two are ours. The third one belongs to our friend."
The second man joined the conversation, keeping his eyes focused on the paper in his hand. Caroline tilted her head to try and read the print on its surface. It appeared to be a list of some kind, but she couldn't clearly read the handwriting.
"What are their names?"
The man holding the list caught her attention, and Caroline's eyes sparked with a bit of protective anger. "Why does it matter? Who are you?"
Neither man gave a direct answer, nor did their expressions change in the slightest. The only response the girls received was another request for their names.
Sarah looked between the men for a long moment, meeting their unreadable gazes evenly. With an amount of reluctance, she said, "This is my Fuko Zonbi. That's Rireka Rina, and that's Gomakashi."
The man holding the list carefully scanned it before shaking his head. Only then did his partner offer a detached smile. "Very good. Sorry to bother you ladies," he said smoothly. He gave an inconspicuous hand motion and led his partner out of the building.
For a moment, the girls stood in confused silence, the air between them crackling with unease. Rina was the one to break the silence, quietly murmuring, "I have a really bad feeling about this."
------------------------------------------------
By the time Caroline reached Courtney's apartment, Sarah and Fuko had already separated from her and gone home. As much as Caroline dreaded walking with Gomakashi and her snide comments, she wouldn't keep Sarah from escaping.
Caroline led Rina and Gomakashi to the front door, hesitating before she knocked. Through the surface of the front door, she could hear a storm of yelling and slamming that could only indicate one thing: Courtney was on another rampage.
"Uh-oh..." Caroline breathed, glancing at Rina for help. Her UTAU shrugged, reluctant to be anywhere near the hurricane that was Courtney while on a rant. Gomakashi, however, barely acknowledged the noise as she threw open the door and flopped onto the couch. Realizing she might have to be the one to calm the situation, Caroline slipped in behind her.
"...like some damn task force! Who do they think they are, the ****ing CIA of UTAU!? Vigilantes are MORONS, I tell you! God, if I ever see another one, I'll kick their stupid asses! I'll kick them so hard, their own mothers won't recognize them!"
Caroline followed the string of profanity to the kitchen, hanging back a bit until she saw a safe opening to enter. Courtney sat on the counter, taking a break from her shouting to nibble on a few chips. Sakura was across from her creator, fidgeting uncomfortably.
"Hey. What's wrong?"
Courtney looked up quickly, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment when she realized Caroline had heard her tyrade. She cleared her throat, adjusting her glasses in an attempt to look casual. "I...nothing. More idiots to deal with."
With a sigh, Caroline leaned against the counter next to her friend. She was probably the best suited mediator in the group, and was usually the one to calm arguements or tyrades. Honestly, any drama the group could produce was always going to be simpler than calming her siblings.
"What sorts of idiots are you referring to this time?"
Courtney frowned at the notion that she ranted on a regular basis, though she couldn't deny it. "These...okay. This group of people has made a list of UTAU that they think aren't worthy of existing. They're going around interrogating every android they see. It's ridiculous!"
Caroline's eyes widened a bit, and she turned to face Courtney fully. "We saw those guys today! Outside the studio!"
"Did they interrogate you?"
"Well, they asked our UTAUloids for their names."
In a flash, Courtney leapt off the counter, scowling. "How dare they come after us! I'll punch them so hard, my fingers will meld with their TINY BRAINS!"
"No, no, no. Calm down," Caroline sighed, "You aren't going to fight anyone, and you know it."
Courtney's anger melted to frustration, then embarrassment. She absently fingered her bangs and muttered, "I could fight someone. If I wanted. Seriously."
"Right. Look, these guys had a list full of what I can only assume were the UTAU they've deemed 'unworthy'." Caroline's expression clouded with concern. "First that virus, now this?"
"That virus?" Courtney shifted her weight to one foot, her eyes signalling that the newest target of her righteous fury had distracted her from the previous one. "...dude, what if they caused that virus!?"
Caroline shook her head in exasperation. "Okay, now you sound like a conspiracy nut. All I'm saying is things are getting a little dangerous for UTAUloids. Maybe we should be careful."
Out of the corner of her eye, Caroline noticed Sakura develop a look of horror. "D-dangerous? Are we in trouble? Oh my god. Oh my god."
"No...er..." Caroline sighed, running her fingers through her hair. With Courtney on the verge of punching something and Sakura ready to panic, nothing she could say would help the situation much. After a few moments of quiet consideration, Caroline settled on offerring the pair a positive smile. "Maybe I was getting worked up, too. I'm sure everything is fine. These people and the virus will both pass, just like everything eventually does."
Her words calmed both girls, and Caroline herself managed a relieved sigh. Time to duck out before anything else went wrong. "Yeah," she repeated firmly, "This is just a passing disaster. Like swine flu. It'll be fine before you know it."
Courtney idly ate another chip. "Yeah. I suppose."
Caroline drew a breath to voice her farewell, but was nearly knocked off her feet by a blood-curdling scream. She looked around in a panic, Courtney and Sakura doing the same.
"Outside. I think it came from outside!" Courtney gasped. She darted to her back door, throwing the sliding glass door open and scrambling onto the porch. Caroline followed quickly behind, peering over the balcony railing.
What she saw knocked the air out of her.
On the sidewalk below, a teenage girl cradled the limp body of an UTAU android. From the sound of her hysterical sobbing, it was obvious the UTAUloid was severely damaged.
Courtney drew away from the railing, looking ghastly pale.
"That virus is just gonna pass, huh Caroline?"
Caroline didn't bother to argue, slipping back into the apartment to escape the screaming.
![[K] of Honor](/data/medal/1_1406930084l.jpg)
