Beyond This Place

Chapter 7

Later, they're running endlessly through the halls again, the only light from the dim candles in the hall and from Len's glowing eyes, arms, legs, and ponytail.

Rin is secretly comforted by the light—being in the darkness is far scarier than she imagined it could be, and she's also secretly thankful for being able to hold onto Meiko and Len's hand in the dim lighting of the halls.

Neru is brisk as always, but after the sleep it's a lot easier for Rin to keep up with her. Neru laughs softly when she feels Rin near her side.

"You're lucky," Neru mutters softly, her voice soft and padded in the still air of the halls.

"The main database just happens to be in the East Development Wing, so you don't actually have to go that far. Given, the East Development Wing is probably the biggest wing in the laboratory rather than the West Development Wing, which is the biggest one by far."

"Lucky," Rin agrees, moaning softly in misery. "I don't think I could survive if it wasn't here."

Neru laughs softly again, then stops abruptly. "We're here."

Rin looks up and sees a huge set of double doors, and when Len approaches it and the golden light from his ponytail falls upon the metal surface she sees "MAIN DATABASE COMPUTER: DO NOT ENTER WITHOUT PERMISSION" written in large, white paint across it. Neru ignores the order on the door and slides her name card from her pocket across a scanner machine next to it. There's a resounding click as the door unlocks and the two metal doors turn inwards automatically. Neru steps forward and into the room, Rin, Meiko, and Len following quickly beside her.

Once in the room, Rin has to squint because of the harsh, blue light that coats every square inch of the enclosed area. When she looks up, she sees three, large screens that curve around the back wall of the room, which is circular in shape, not unlike a semicircle. An almost amusingly small keyboard in comparison to the huge screens is placed before the screens, built into a pedestal.

Neru steps up to the pedestal and moves the mouse beside the keyboard. The harsh blue light flickers away and turns into a softer one, and displayed on the middle screen is a text bar in the middle of a sea of pale, powder blue. Above it, in flashing black words reads "Please enter a password."

Neru mumbles incoherently and then begins typing rapidly on the keyboard. Small, circular dots begin filling the text bar before Neru smacks enter with her index finger and the computer beeps.

"Welcome back" it reads on the screen. Neru nods dismissively and clicks an icon on the bottom of the screen, which blows up and becomes a process. Rin glances at its name: "ROBOT DATABASE FILES".

Neru rapidly types into a search bar on the upper right of the window, her words hammering out Miku's robot name. She presses enter again and the window returns one file—C11-983, exactly what Neru is looking for. She clicks the file and it blows up into a window.

Rin glances upwards and sees a picture of Miku—the very same that was on Miku's card. Below, it, the font displays lots of information about Miku, stretching across all three screens.

C11-378

Type: Culinary Robot

Cell Number: Escaped ! Microchip attached. See below for location.

Status: Functional ?

C11-378, reportedly called "Miku" by other robots and Neru Akita, an intern working at SOL CORPORATION, is a culinary robot as well as the first successful, fully-robotic robot with human intelligence created in the world.

Rin is stunned by this first paragraph and realizes Miku is far older than she had previously assumed. She struggles to read rapidly, as she knows Neru could probably care less about such information that she already knows and will probably navigate away from the page. Neru is tapping her hands on the keyboard as she scans the screens.

She was designed around five years back to be based off how Miku Hatsune, a girl who died approximately 5 years ago, would look like. Her synthesized skin and organs use the materials produced by the GLY Corporation, which are synthesized to grow and make her appear older while remaining functional. This process can be easily reversed and/or stopped.

The only other robots who use this material are S20-757 and B25-767, all of which are based off children who died several years ago in the tragic bombing on the Western City. Accounts of the deceased children can be found in the "Miku Hatsune", "Rin Kagamine", and "Len Kagamine" files.

All three of these children had been friends. Miku was ten at the time of her death and Len and Rin, who were twins, eight.

As a skill, Miku reportedly enjoyed practicing sword fighting and fencing and was known for her skill. She also loved the taste of green onions and reportedly grew them in her portion of the backyard.

Miku has only one living relative, who is also the only living survivor to be in the Western City at the time of the bombing. Reportedly, said relative [her older brother] was about to leave through the barrier surrounding the city to traverse to the nearby town when the bomb went off. He was twelve at the time. More information on her brother can be found in the "Mikuo Hatsune" file.

Once, C11-983 had been a mascot for the company, being the first fully-intelligent robot developed, but after time and once more robots of such kind were developed, the idea of a mascot grew out of practice.

Rin is stunned beyond words. The article goes on describing the functions of that Miku has in very technical terms, but she can't believe what has been said above. That Miku and Len and she were all based off dead children brings shock through her veins, and she glances at Len. He's sleeping, wheezing softly, against the curved, plush wall of the room, having taken advantage of the somewhat boring situation and rested, and Rin smiles subtly and turns away, deciding not to awaken him. She turns back to the screen, still quite stunned. Then she realizes that's what Neru meant when she claimed Mikuo was Miku's brother.

When Rin glances up at the screen again, Neru has navigated away from the previous screen. She mutters something quietly.

"Well," Neru says, and she can't hide the wispy, shaking relief that cloaks her words. "Miku's alive. It says in the code that she's in some room, and she's not moving around, thank god. Let's go get her."

"Um, okay," says Rin, jolting slightly out of her initial shock. It makes her feel strange that Len was practically once her brother. Neru begins to leave the room, remembering to sign out of the huge computer, making it return to the flashing, pale screen that it showed earlier. Rin follows her quickly, not forgetting to reach over to nudge Len awake. His eye opens groggily, shiny from tears when he yawns hugely. Rin laughs, grabs Meiko's hand to help her up and around, and takes Len's again, feeling like she's playing follow the leader all over again. She hustles out of the room and follows Neru's rapid pace.

After a while of walking, Neru stops before a door and slides her name card through again, and then slides the door open. As Rin enters, realization dawns upon her.

"This is the room we just rested in," she comments, surprise touching her features. "You mean to tell me Miku is in here?"

Neru nods, tilting her head and Rin looks around in confusion. There's no green-haired robot in sight anywhere, and she can feel Len shift uncomfortably beside her and Meiko's expectant apprehension.

"Don't tell me she moved away from here already?" Neru groans, throwing up a hand to rub against her face in exhaustion. "I don't want to log into that too bright computer again. My eyes hurt. Besides, it's highly unstable. It might crash and close down all power in the factory."

Len slides forward silently, glancing back at them nervously and then stopping with apprehension. He paws the grounds awkwardly on the floor as the others stare expectantly at him.

"She might be in there," Len says, gesturing towards the small door fitted into the back. The possibility dawns on Neru and she nods briskly.

"Yeah, maybe," she says. She slides over to the door and slides it wide open, revealing a mostly-empty room tiled by cold, square slabs.

Sure enough, Miku is lying against the wall, her arms folded on her lap as she rests peacefully.

"Oh, thank god," Neru sighs, relief dripping from her words. She half walks, half runs over to Miku and begins shaking her with rough tenderness. Eventually Miku's eyes begin to slide open slowly, though her eyelids still droop. When she looks up, her eyes widen slightly and then a smile splits across her face.

"Neru!" Miku shouts, suddenly barreling into her and wrapping her arms around the other ponytailed girl. Neru laughs a little and hugs her back lightly.

"You had us worried to death," Neru says, frowning jokingly. Miku laughs lightly, her voice hardly concealing her excitement and relief.

"You guys worried me to death," she jokes, her voice tinkling in the air happily. "I thought you guys would really get screwed without me!"

Neru huffs and breaks away from the embrace as Rin, Len, and Meiko approach as well.

"Oh, you're here?" Miku says, smiling reassuringly at Meiko. "Cool! We're really a great team now, aren't we?"

With these words, Miku turns to Rin and Len and her face darkens slightly with concern. "You guys managed to get out of the forest? I barely got out. Luckily, the lion seemed to be sleeping…"

"We weren't so lucky," Rin replies, her heart trembling as she remembers the incident. "Len…He got fatally wounded, but Neru managed to fix him."

Suddenly Rin's eyes widen as she remembers something. "Wait, we were in this room before, and I heard a thump. Was that you, Miku?"

At this, Miku's eyes widen as well, a hand reaching up to cover her mouth in surprise. "Likewise, I heard people coming in. Was that all of you?"

"Probably," Rin says, laughing a little because they were so close yet they didn't realize. Miku laughs a little too, but Neru tugs nervously at the end of her coat.

"We better get moving before anyone notices," Neru says. "And I better get back to where I work before anyone gets the littlest suspicion. I'll probably leave tomorrow. But I'll stay for today."

"Okay," Miku says. "Have you guys made any progress in escaping? Like maybe finding exits?"

"Not really," Rin admits sheepishly. Miku shrugs in defeat and mutters a dismissive whatever.

Then she looks up again, determined fire shining in her eyes.

"We'll get away soon," she promises, and the sound of her voice rings in the emptiness of the room, echoing before dissipating into nothingness.

That night, they decide to sleep in the same place. Neru grabs some blankets and pillows from a nearby lounge and they lay them out on the floor to sleep. Neru decides to keep watch and asks Len to turn on his ponytail, which Len does willingly with a soft smile of consent.

Though it's late, Rin finds that she can't sleep. Len's body is curled up beside her, warm and rising and falling with each breath. Despite the lulling warmth surrounding her and the lullaby-like, rhythmic breathing of Miku near the other side of the room, Rin's mind is clogged with newly taken in information and she can barely think.

The room is lit with soft, golden and amber light that cloaks every corner of them room like dim fire. The light comes from Len's ponytail, ebbing and pulsating slightly. For a while, Rin stares into the orange haze of the room, unable to sleep. She twists and turns for a while before Len lets out a long, drawn out growl of discomfort in his sleep, compelling her to lessen her movements. She fidgets uncontrollably until she finds her mouth opening to speak.

"Were you their friends?" Rin asks, and she almost clamps her mouth shut midsentence when she realizes what she's saying. The already-awake Neru turns to her, foggy confusion on her face. "Miku, Len, and Rin, I mean? The original ones?"

Rin can barely believe the words are coming out of her mouth despite that she knows full well that it could be very personal.

Neru's confused face melts into one of dark understanding and she looks down distractedly, poking at Len's ponytail when it falls and turns off, making it shoot up and shine with light again.

"Yeah," Neru says at last, her voice empty in the large space of the room. "We were best of friends, us five. Me, Rin, Len, Miku, and Mikuo. We had so much fun, despite the tight rules that were put upon us by the overprotective government."

"Oh," is all Rin can say. Her voice seems so flat, emotionless, and she regrets asking the question despite her curiosity, dark awkwardness dripping upon her.

"We lived in the Western City, the smaller, less industrious of the two capitols of the country. The Eastern City was supposedly far greater, more beautiful and taller, but we had a monopoly on trade, as the Western State was lined against the sea. Despite this monopoly, we never got as much as those in the Eastern state because the government had a firm grip on us and favored the Eastern City slightly. Of course, this didn't mean we weren't rich, greedy, spoiled." Neru blinks several times and then shakes her head slightly, letting her untied golden hair spill around her face like threads of glowing flax. The strands frame her face like waves in a way Rin has never seen before. She looks pretty that way, less tomboy-ish.

"Miku was amazing. She was the warrior, the prodigy in the art of sword fighting. Rin and Len…they were unnaturally cute. Rin…or you, whichever you prefer—was utterly adorable. You were always the more outspoken twin, but your charm could bend anyone to your will." Neru laughs slightly as she remembers, though her voice is sharp and choked with rising tears. "L-Len, he was the shy one. He always needed you to help him, and he couldn't try anything new without you trying it too. That might have changed if he actually had a chance to grow…anyhow; you two were the cutest out of all of us."

Neru laughs again, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "Rin, you've always been so observant. Even before, and…Well, let's just say I should have expected you to notice Miku's description on the main database computer. I probably would have had to tell you anyway, though."

She reaches out and strokes Len's hair absentmindedly as she speaks, running her fingers through his hair.

"Then came the day of the civil war, when the Eastern City decided that we needed to unite the two states and eliminate the Western City. My father and I had been on a business trip—I had decided to go with him so I could learn more about the technology of the androids that he was studying." Neru squeezes her eyes shut tightly, her fingers gripping Len's hair hard. To Rin's surprise, Len's eyes flicker open and he edges closer towards Neru comfortingly, curling around her feet reassuringly. Neru laughs a choked laugh again and pats Len on the head.

"You're just as cute as always, if not a bit more mature than you used to be," Neru says. Len blinks slowly and lethargically, his understanding face makes Rin realize he's been awake for the whole of her and Neru's conversation, or at least most of it.

"When it was the advent of the civil war—when the weapons of mass destruction were sent towards the Western City—no one had any idea. I…I wasn't there, but I was coming back from the airport in the nearby town of Fieldport. When my father and I arrived back…There was nothing left. The protective barrier had been shattered and there was nothing, nothing, nothing. Just ruins.

"It was only a few days later, when search and rescue group from Fieldport looked around in the ashes, that they found Mikuo, hanging onto Miku's favorite sword she used, crying his eyes out near the edge of the once-border."

"My father…" Neru hesitates, her voice cracking every few words. Her eyes shimmer amber in the orange light, wet with tears from reminiscing. "He's not actually mean. When we made robots, he modeled them after my friends for me. I…You…You guys aren't the same as you used to be, but you're still my friends. I just wish it didn't end the way it did, our old friendships."

"I'm really sorry," Len says and his tone is reassuring and calm and so filled with sympathy. Rin feels awkward but sorry for Neru—but then she takes her hand reassuringly, squeezing it slightly, then harder. Before Rin even realizes, suddenly Miku is there, wrapping her arms around Neru's shaking body while Meiko holds her other hand.

They are all there as Neru falls into silent tears.

The next day, they say nothing of last night's incident, despite that Neru's eyes are slightly puffy and red as evidence that had happened. Len is curled next to Rin again, clinging to the sheets as if to dear life, his hands clenched into fists as he holds them. Rin's eyes flutter open and she pushes her body out of the tangle of blankets, her eyelids attempting to bat away sleepiness.

"Good morning," Miku mumbles, and Rin swivels her head over and sees Miku rubbing her eyes as well, her hair tossed and messy from sleep.

Before long, Len slides out of bed as well, stretching languidly on the sheets before yawning and proceeding to brush at his eyelashes. Meiko is already awake. Neru is sitting on a nearby chair, and she sends a glance at them before pressing the back of her blue pen and allowing the tip to protrude out.

She connects the tip of the writing utensil to paper and begins stroking the paper with the ball-point.

"Good to see that you guys are awake," Neru says, her voice careful as she most likely remembers the incident last night. She once again clicks the back of her pen and the ink-tipped point retracts into the blue shell.

She blinks several times in thought, then presses the top of the clipboard and pulls out the topmost sheet of paper and lays it face down on the table. She then stands and brushes the white material of her coat.

"I'll be leaving now, like I promised. You guys should continue going down this hall until you reach an intersection, then go to the left without any turns. You should get to an exit door, which leads to the lounge. The lounge, I'm pretty sure, is on the very edge of the laboratory, so if you find an exit, it'll probably be the way out." Neru says, smiling encouragingly at them, though she looks a little sad. "I might not see you guys again, but for now…Goodbye, guys. It was really fun being with you."

As if she can't stand the thought, Neru quickly leaves the room, and Rin watches the door close behind her.

"You were a good friend," Miku says. She then stands, her green and black skirt swishing around her legs. Len stumbles up as well, and Rin is glad to see he isn't limping as much as the day before, the sleep most likely helpful towards his recovery. The wheezing in his breathing has calmed slightly as well, and with the hopeful thought, Rin stands as well. Meiko smiles subtly and walks over to them.

"You all have good hearts," Meiko says, her smile never faltering. "But at this point, it'd be helpful to have Kaito."

"Kaito?" Rin asks, struggling to remember who he is. Suddenly, it comes to her. "Isn't he the other, um, person who the company gave up on developing?"

"Yeah," Meiko laughs a little. "We used to explore the laboratory, Kaito and I. After a while, I started feeling unwell because of all the drugs the company gave me, so I didn't go with him anymore. But he kept on going, going, going, until he was sure he knew the whole laboratory like the back of his hand. After a while they caged us up separately, so I don't know where he is."

"Oh, okay," Rin says, unsure where Meiko is getting with this. Meiko shrugs.

"Yesterday, I asked Neru where Kaito was." Meiko says and twirls a strand of her creamy brown hair around a finger. "She told me Kaito was really, really restless so they let him stay in the lounge a while ago while I was resting. Supposedly he's still there and always stays there." Meiko laughs a little at this. "That's another reason we're going there."

"Oh, okay," Rin says again, and Meiko nods briskly. Rin suddenly remembers the paper Neru left on the table and goes over to see what it is.

She turns around the white sheet of paper in her curious hands and smiles when she sees the picture on the other side.

It's a cute picture of her and Len sleeping soundly together, with Neru, Meiko, and Miku standing in the background sharing smiles on their faces. It's sketched quickly with blue pen, and the corner is has a few wet blotches on it from tears. A small message handwritten in blue is written on the bottom.

"Rin and Len, I know you two are in love, and I'm okay with that, even though you two were once twins. I wish you guys luck!"

Rin blushes a little when she realizes the context of the message and she holds it to her chest gratefully and looks up.

"We should go now," Miku says. "There will most likely be scientists lazing around in the lounge, so we need some lab coats to wear." She heads into the back, white tiled room and comes back with heaps of white coats in her thin arms. "Here."

Rin walks over and takes one, studying the coat. It's definitely too big, she thinks, and her worries are confirmed when she slips it on and it drags on the ground, the sleeves too large for her arms. Len takes one and slips it on as well. It looks comical on him as well. Rin laughs a little and Len smiles sheepishly back at her.

The lab coats are big for all of them, but it fits, to some extent, on Meiko. With this, Miku laughs a little at how they look and Rin reaches over to smooth Len's hair down over his abnormal, metal-plated eye. Len unties his hair to look less like he usually does, and Rin realizes they probably have to disguise themselves and takes the clips out of her hair. She stashes them in a pocket. She also unties the large bow on her head and tucks it away.

Miku shrugs and unties her ponytails as well, letting her cataracts of hair cascade down her back. With this, they exchange looks and head outside, Len carrying the beaten-down backpack.

They walk for a while in mostly silence, talking idly occasionally, until they meet an intersection and they turn left as told.

They continue on until they reach a door reading EXIT in the traditional peeling white paint. When Miku tries it, it's locked. She sighs and searches around until she finds her little card.

"You have one of those? I thought only the scientists did?" Meiko asks, hearing Miku sliding the card through the reading machine. Miku glances down at the worn-down card and shrugs.

"Oh, this?" Miku says. "I got one of these because the scientists were really proud of me for being their first robot developed. They let me roam wherever I pleased in the West Development Wing, and so I had one of these. It didn't work for everything, but it was nice before they threw me away into a cell when I wasn't "important" anymore."

Meiko nods in sympathy as Miku slides the verification card across the flickering machine beside the door again, impatiently tapping it. The door clicks and the light turns green.

Miku tries the door again, and this time the handle turns. Hesitating, Miku steps back for a moment to wipe her sweaty hands on the soft material of the coat and to push a strand of offending hair behind her ear. She smoothes down her long, uncontrollable hair before quickly stepping up to the door again.

"I don't want to get caught," she murmurs, her voice slightly tinged with fear. Len croons in understanding and Miku shrugs, releasing her tension, and opens the door, albeit a little hesitantly.

When they step into the room beyond, it's the first time Rin has seen a place that actually looks nice and well furnished in the whole laboratory.

The other side of the door is warm, dark rosewood, with a small golden plaque hung carefully near the top. "East Development Wing".

Around the door are pots with plants in it, and occasionally small, almost unnoticeable sprinklers spray tiny jets of water into the dirt without wetting anything beyond the circumference of the pot. The floor has a pretty, simple rug on it, plush beneath her bare feet and embroidered with flowers. Len is staring in awe at well, but when only when Rin looks up is she truly surprised.

The walls are almost made from completely windows, paned with crystal clear glass. Chairs are put in front of the gargantuan windows for people who want to see the view outside, and Rin watches with a mix of horror and awe at the pure beauty and terror of the sight.

For a second she thinks it's a simulation, but she realizes it isn't just by looking at it. Its grandeur is so much more than any simulation can do, almost like live music compared to a recording.

"Len?" she chokes out. Len is staring in fear as well, and he takes her hand and squeezes it between his spindly fingers. Rin blinks, trying to convince herself that it's simply a simulation, but it's near impossible. At last Miku says and comes to accept what Rin cannot.

"The lab is suspended in outer space," she says.