The Puppeteers

Chapter 5: The other SEKAI

She stared at the tree in the distance. Nothing wasn't enough of a word to describe this place, it was like a sort of white void, with random glitches and words sometimes being seen on the sky.

The tree's roots resembled the feelings of the main 4 puppets.

Feelings were something complex, they weren't something easily explained with the use of logic.

So, the roots of a tree would be the perfect explanation.

The deeper the roots go, the more reason and backstory the feelings inhabit, making them more complex as they go.

To some, this would just seem like a blab of nonsense with vague explanations, however to Miku, this all made perfectly sense to her.

That's right, this wasn't the Wonderland Miku or any other SEKAI's Miku. This was the true her, watching as the other versions of her help the SEKAI owners find their true feelings.

She turned around and made a gesture with her fingers which summoned the Circle of SEKAI's infront of her.

She watched as the SEKAI's spinned normally like the usual, however, something was off...

"Those two SEKAI's..." She stared, uncertainty written all over her face, "So that's why the tree of feelings grew so many more roots recently?"

"...The puppeteers and puppets SEKAI's are overlapping."

...

"I'm glad you all arrived," She said, welcoming them with a smile, "We have something important to discuss, so I'm afraid our workshop won't be having the usual atmosphere today."

"Woahh, it's unlike you to be so serious~! What's gotten into you today?" The cheerful one said.

"I learned something in class today and it seemed to catch my attention," The girl explained, gazing at the right as she recalled her memories: "There seems to be a phenomenon of something called 'dimension-jumping'. This is thought to be the cause of the recent cases of people going missing."

"...And what does this have to do with us?" The short-tempered one asked.

"I did some research about it, and it seems very similar to the thing going on with the SEKAI." She replied, "But, most people don't believe in such a thing, because of how unreal it sounds - and maybe also because of the lack of logical explanation."

"I see," The calm mannered girl nodded her head in understanding, "So you think this is related to SEKAI?"

"In that case, why not ask Miku about it?" The cheerful one questioned, cupping their chin, "She knows everything about the SEKAI's, it would only make sense to ask her about it."

The girl shook her head, "The thing is, she might not give us a clear answer. We don't know if we're prying into a secret, and it could be unsafe to do so."

"I agree with her, honestly," The short-tempered one answered, crossing their arms, "If the SEKAI can't be explained through anything logical, we can't use anything to determine how safe we'll be when asking Miku a question like this."

"But all she's ever done is help us, and especially you, Yuki."

"Doesn't mean I won't be suspicious of her still." She replied coldly, "Amia, Enanan, K, you've all been betrayed by the people who helped you, who complimented you, right? You would know better than anyone else not to trust others so easily. We don't know if she's helping us for her own sake, after all."

"...The way you switched sides so instantly gives me shivers down my back." Enanan said, staring at Yuki with a disturbed face, "You're really throwing away your entire friendship this easily?"

"I'm not throwing it away." She disagreed again, "I'm just keeping my distance until I get to the bottom of this."

"To the bottom of what, exactly?"

"This whole SEKAI thing."

...

"Mafuyu."

She opened her eyes and stared at the brown haired figure infront of her.

"MEI...KO?"

"You need to help us." She said simply.

"What do you mean?"

"We don't have enough time, and I know you won't remember this, but -"

"- please warn the others, if they know ahead of time, we might be able to change their fate. I know it sounds like nonsense right now, but +%§(&:-•#,4)|9#-**+"^•_:,'€€\~'§≠\><£$"

"...I don't get a word you're saying." Mafuyu stared in confusion.

"Sorry §^•€]$[$':__=& Not enough time ≠$$≠-~'§€<')&&:+ Help us •_•|-))§_'£$][~'}}<±±>;_)%%)||:<$<£]£]£>±'{±!£['\§'~•§•_)&;§'~±]£'+_-:)-+$≠££≠±'€'3>~<{{"

Connection lost.

...

"Yuki! Yuki!" A voice reached.

She opened her eyes.

"Are you okay? You've been zoning out for the past couple of minutes."

"Amia? Where's MEIKO?"

"MEIKO? We aren't in the SEKAI, this is the real world, MEIKO can't come here unless it's through our phones."

"Yeah, I know that, but..." Yuki stammered, "Whatever, I must've just been daydreaming."

"If you're really worried, we can go to SEKAI and check on MEIKO right now." Enanan said, crossing her arms.

"No need." She politely rejected, "I'll go and check myself."

"I'll come with." K replied.

"Okay."

"Hey, don't leave us here! I wanna come too!" Amia weeped.

"Come if you want. I don't care." Yuki said, boldly.

They all went into the SEKAI one by one.

...

Mafuyu walked up to the white haired figure staring at her.

"Miku, where's MEIKO?"

"MEIKO?" The girl tilted her head.

"MEIKO, as in, the Vocaloid, y'know, short brown hair, red clothes..."

"There is no Vocaloid named MEIKO."

"W-What about KAITO then? Or, Luka? Rin? Len? Where are they?"

"They don't exist."

"...What?"

"Not anymore, atleast. I'm the only Vocaloid present in this SEKAI."

"What happened to them?"

"To put it simply, they just...disappeared."

"Disappeared...?" Mafuyu replied in disbelief.

"I knew it, you can sense it too, right?" Miku continued, "You already know what's going to happen, you've been through this exact scenario thousands of times already. And yet, you still choose to ask dumb questions and act like you don't know a thing."

"What are you talking about? Been through this exact scenario thousands of times? And, sense what exactly?"

"The answer is infront of you, Mafuyu." She replied simply, "Perhaps it's time to stop ignoring it."

...

"After all, you've heard of the name 'Tsukasa Tenma', right?"