Chapter 14 - Last Ones Standing

Last Ones Standing
Black lay face down on the ruined floor, unable to cope with another battle, her fight with Remilia had been too recent. Her flame extinguished, her cannon discarded, her pride shredded, Black could do nothing as Doom and Magneto stood over her, both unscratched.

"We lost the last card," frowned Magneto, "The entire Black Squad has been too stubborn for their own good. Isn't there a way to reproduce a Vocaloid's digital signature?"

Doom shook his head, "No. Both a Vocaloid's body and mind are covered by The Convenience Theory and can't be recreated. That's why we're aiming for Black Squad access cards."

There was a sudden crash from the next room and the two fell silent. After a brief lull, there was another crash, the doorway being blown from its place in the wall, showering rubble in all directions. As the dust cleared White&#9733;Rock Shooter walked in, flexing her wide skeletal-like wings, scythe on her back. "Haven't people realised how annoying doorways are?" she sighed. She spotted Black laying motionless on the floor, "Am I late?"

"Just a little," answered Doom.

White looked further along the floor, noticing Miku's lifeless body, "So, what're you going to do with her?"

"We were going to use her to track down the entire Yamaha administration as she was essentially the hub. But she burnt out her circuits so now she's really just a shell of her former self. We can use her for a public execution."

"Track down?" repeated White, raising an eyebrow, "I thought you got everyone?"

"We've been unable to track Gumi or Len."

"Okay, Gumi I understand since she received plenty of upgrades as Minister of War. But Len? You managed to get Rin but not Len?"

"Rin sacrificed herself for Len's escape. However, Rin wiped her memory of all sensitive information so she's no use to us. She was well hated in Yamaha though so a public execution of her could help morale."

Something grabbed Doom's ankle. He looked down to see Black pulling at his foot, face still down. "... You... monster," she coughed, "Does The Unwritten Law mean nothing to you villains?"

"The Unwritten Law doesn't hold for machines, Black," lectured Doom, "They can recreated at a whim. The whole world knows that."

Black choked on hearing this response. She struggled to raise her head to look at Doom, teeth gritting with fury, "This is why Yamaha went to war on Doomsday, isn't it? This is why they mistrusted us, isn't it? This is why they're becoming an extinct species now, isn't it?!" she shouted, "I never understood Miku's entry in the war being the nice and loving person she was. Maybe it was because they wanted android superiority. Maybe it was because they wanted to defend us from Gensokyo. Or maybe it was because they wanted to survive," Black glared, "Don't think androids as machines, Doom, like Terminators, Sentinels or your damn Doombots. They are people, defended by The Unwritten Law, with every right to live their lives. You said it yourself, once an android loses their personality, they can't be brought back as the same android. You have killed people! You have broken The Unwritten Law! You-!"

Black passed out as White struck her on the back of her neck with the outer blade of her scythe. She was holding Black's cannon in her left hand. "Don't give me a headache. I'm not in the mood." White picked up one of Black's ankles and looked at Doom, "How many are you going to execute?"

"Just Miku and Rin," replied Doom, unaffected by Black's speech, "We can use the others to control Yamaha's global security network."

"Huh uh," nodded White, turning to walk out the hole in the wall where the doorway once was.

"White," interrupted Magneto. White stopped in her tracks. "You're been monitoring Yamaha's activity over the past year as part of the Anti-Humour Society. Do you know anyone or anything that will let us deactivate Yamaha's remaining pockets of security?"

White turned her head to the side, "You still haven't got an Black Squad access card?" she inquired impatiently.

"The entire Black Squad disintegrated their cards when confronted."

White just sniggered before looking forward again, "Well... Yesterday evening, the Black Squad welcomed a new recruit into their fold who rebelled an hour later. But she was not any old recruit. She was a Vocaloid and not one of the mainstream ones. She'll have a card and who knows, maybe she'll cooperate. Even if she doesn't, the story is Yamaha used her as a backup system so watch how you treat her. Best of luck." White walked out the room, ungracefully dragging the unconscious Black and her cannon on the dirty rugged ground.

It took a considerable amount of time to remove all the blade tips. For some reason, Haruhi had limited the number of Thunder Children to the Atlantic Ocean. By Sora's calculations, they were pointed towards Lake Ontario.

Naluri had just removed the final tip of the HMS Thunder Child when the Sonic Barrier behind them began to screech before fading away. Having turned around, Naluri was surprised, "Did the Sonic Barrier just go down?"

Sora was stood behind her, also confused, "... Yes."

"... You don't suppose Yamaha really is having so much trouble?" Sora did not reply. Suddenly, Naluri's earpiece received a transmission. "I'm getting contacted," she reported.

"So am I," noted Sora, "Seems to be a public transmission. We ought to head inside." Naluri nodded in agreement. Sora carried Naluri back into the Thunder Child and they made their way to the bridge to find KITT already broadcasting the transmission via a hologram to the rest of the group who were all awake, including Cirno, sat in Alice's lap. It was a scene in Trafalgar Square, not far from Crypton Studios, with Victor von Doom standing on a raised platform. However, extremely noticeable was the presence of an execution guillotine next to him.

Doom had already gone through part of his speech, "... by limiting our free will, our right to be ourselves. The warmongering machines have finally been brought to justice, the very ones who risk our lives every days and are prepared to use nuclear force on our very doorstep. I present the planner behind these atrocities, the cause of all our pain, Hatsune Miku!" Magneto walked into view at this point with Miku's body floating upright in the air. Her skin was uneven, in places even worn enough to reveal the metal underneath.

Naluri looked at Sora, concerned. Sora murmured, "She's gone..." Cirno tightened her grip on Alice's arm as Miku's head was passed through the hole under the blade of the guillotine. There were a few seconds of suspense before the blade shot down, cutting clean through Miku's metallic interior. Black smoke erupted out of Miku's body indicating previous overheating. Cirno screamed and turned round, getting as close to Alice as she could, sobbing loudly. Alice signalled to KITT to lower the volume down before leaving the bridge with Cirno, closing the door behind her.

"... Doesn't this break The Unwritten Law?" asked Solace, in shock.

"Androids aren't considered as equals to biological beings," mumbled Sora, eyes fixated on the hologram.

Ilse nodded, "Many people think that giving life to the same body creates the same person."

"That's stu-" began Solace when Doom spoke up again.

"And now the one that locked down our lives, enjoyed knowing our darkest secrets, shackled us to the workbench, the Enforcer of Law, Rin!" Magneto walked on pushing Rin onto the platform. Rin was not constrained but did not resist.

"... You don't suppose they're going to going to execute all of the Big 5 of Yamaha?" brought up Santiago.

No one answered as Rin positioned herself under the guillotine. "Any last words?" asked Doom.

"Oh my, it's time for a snack," answered Rin in jest. The blade came down, once again creating a clean cut. There were cheers from the crowd present in London. The crew of Thunder Child stayed silent.

"The rest of the Vocaloids and UTAU are needed to further our development, to preserve our freedom, our liberty and our unity. Latveria will extend a helping hand to anyone and everyone who suffered under the tyrannical rule of the three kingdoms. We will do our best to support and nurture our recovery as unique individuals allied under one true purpose. We are who we are. No one has the right to decide that but ourselves!" The crowd roared with approval. The roars echoed through the otherwise quiet Thunder Child.

Alice was sat on the stairs to the lower level, the roars from the transmission just audible from here.

Cirno was sat on her lap, head on Alice's shoulder, "I'm scared, Alice. I had no idea people hated us this much..."

Recalling her imprisonment, Alice had little love for Gensokyo either but now was not the time to make an innocent Cirno feel worse. However, having spent less than two days in open air since Doomsday, she had no clue of global affairs. "It'll be okay," was all she could muster. Suddenly, there was a slam to their left, coming from the side door. It swung open and a figure carrying something on her back entered the Thunder Child, closing the door behind it. Alice and Cirno both recognised the figure. "Rin?" Rin turned towards them with an erratically breathing and heavily bleeding Tainaka Ritsu on her back.

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