"Bah, humbug!"
A grumpy looking woman with long silver hair was stomping through downtown London on her way to Zero-G inc.
Apparently, somebody thought it would be a good idea to invite Bitter Annie, the Voyakiloid counterpart to Power FX's Sweet Ann, to the annual cristmas party. It was their turn to host the party, and out of sheer kindness, Ann decided that Bitter Annie shouldn't be alone on the holidays.
Unfortunately, Annie didn't feel the same way.
"I hope Robot Santas blow you into kingdom come, you idiots!" she shouted at a group of carolers outside a mall.
Despite the blatant Doctor Who reference, the carolers ignored her and kept on singing.
She arrived outside Zero-G where she was greeted by a young boy and a bird.
"Merry Christmas, Ma'am.The boy said. His bird whistled a few notes from 'We Wish You a Merry Cristmas'
"Who the heck're you?" she asked. This kids cheery demeanor was
really getting on her nerves.
"I'm Oliver. I'm Power FX's newest employee." his bird let out a tweet. "And this is James. He's a goldfinch."
"Oh great. Just what I need.
More people." She new that as soon as he got popular enough, his Voyakiloid counterpart will show up, and more than likely, on her doorstep. (They all seemed to, anyway. She had no idea where they even came from.) The last thing she wanted to deal with was more kids, and especially some annoyingly cute choir boy.
"Look kid." she said. "You're new, so I'll cut you some slack, but next time you talk to me, wish me a merry anything, or a happy whatever, I'm gonna take your pet bird and roast him like a duck."
Oliver wasn't sure how to react, so he just stood outside the building in shock, while Annie left to go attend this stupid party.
Sometime later, Frucia showed up to find Oliver and James still standing outside. Some snow had accumulated on them, so they must have been out there for some time.
"Oh... excuse me? Are you alright?" she mumbled.
"Hm? Ah! So sorry. What?" he asked.
"Well... are you okay? You were just standing here... aren't you chilly?"
"Yes, I'm fine. You... didn't happen to see a silver haired woman in an indigo dress come by here, did you?"
"No, but I think I know who you are talking about. What color were her eyes?"
"Red... I think. Are you two relatives? You look an awful lot alike?"
Frucia laughed. "No, not by blood. But we are both Voyakiloids, so we share similar traits. White hair and red eyes are the most obvious ones. And almost all of us wear indigo."
"So... who was that?"
"If I'm right, the woman you just described to me was Bitter Annie."
"Her first name is 'Bitter'?"
"No, no. You know Sweet Ann, correct?"
"Yes, her and I are both Power FX Vocaloids."
"Well, like everyloid calls her 'Sweet', most people call Annie 'Bitter'."
"That's not very kind."
"No, but it is true. Annie can be very cruel sometimes, especially during the holidays."
"Well, that's not good..." Oliver thought for a moment. "Say... um..."
"Frucia."
"Frucia, would you like to help me with something?"
"Oh, well... What?"
"Well, I have an idea..."
--------------------
"Ugh, this is so stupid." Annie whined.
"You know, you really need to lighten up." Big Al said, having hear her whining on the other side of the room.
"Give me three good reasons why."
"One: It's the holidays."
"Bah, humbug to that crap."
"Two: Its a party, you should enjoy it."
"I wouldn't have come if I wasn't nearly forced to by my goodie-two shoes counterpart."
"Three: Your 'goodie-two-shoes counterpart' went out of her way to convince the others to invite you."
"So?"
"So do it for Ann's sake. everyloid told her not to invite you because of your additude, and yet she still went and did it."
"I could care less what Ann did."
"Then why did you come?"
"Because, there is free food, and I'd be away from SONaKA's incessant whining."
"You're the one who upsets SONaKA in the first place. From what Frucia told me, you're always mean to the English Voyakiloids."
"So? They're failures, and I'm just making sure they realize that."
"Annie, you do know that you are a Voyakiloid, too... right?"
"Yeah, but I don't care. They all make a big deal out of it."
Big Al glared at her. "You're a real bitch, you know that?"
"And you're an oversized manchild."
Al just walked away. He couldn't, no, he
wouldn't let that woman wreck Cristmas for him.
"Al!" someone called. The man looked around before seeing Oliver and Frucia waving at him from the doorway.
"What's up, kiddo?" he asked. Al enjoyed spending time with Oliver. It was nice having a new face after so long. Not that he didn't mind Ann's company, but with Oliver, they felt like their own little family. He wondered if this is how KAITO and MEIKO felt about Miku and the twins.
"We couldn't help but see your little... conversation with Bitter Annie."
"Sorry 'bout that. She's a real downer sometimes."
"We know. That's why we were hoping you'd help Frucia and I with a little project."
He looked back at Annie. If it involved getting back at her...
"I'm in."
This went on for some time. Whenever Annie insulted, upset, or generally bullied another Vocaloid, then Al, Oliver and/or Frucia would pull them aside and see if they wanted to help with Oliver's plan.
By the end of the party, nearly all of the partygoers were in it. The only one who didn't know was Sweet Ann.
"I'm goin' back to your place. This party was lame. You comin' Frucia?" Annie hollered at the girl.
"Um... no. You go on without me. I'm going to help the others clean up..."
"Ugh, you're such a goodie-goodie." She rolled her eyes, and left Frucia.
"So, that's the plan, Ann." Big Al said, chuckling when he realized that rhymed.
"Are you in?" Oliver asked.
"You know what? I am." Ann said finally. "I went out of my way to cheer her up, and she only tormented you guys. I think I ought to 'thank' her for coming."
"Oh, Ann." SONiKA laughed. "I never knew you had a mean side."
"When it comes to someone like Annie, I make exceptions."
--------------------
That night, Annie made her way to the guest bed. She never heard Frucia come home, but she didn't really care.
"Frucia can hander herself." she said to nobody as she walked upstairs. The snow was falling heavier now. Annie nearly slipped on her porch, and most of the human guests had gone home early because of the poor roads. "Well, whatever. If the girl gets hit by a car, its her own darn fault."
What Annie didn't know is that Frucia
had come home, and she just heard that.
"Oh, Annie..." she sighed. "You have no idea how much you're gonna regret saying that." She walked out to the living room without a sound. It was something Frucia was proud of. Aside from having a quiet voice, Frucia had a hard time making a racket of any kind. No matter what, it was like a spell. 'Frucia Silencio' she often called it. She picked uo the phone and dialed Oliver's cell phone.
"Oliver here."
"Oliver? Its Frucia. Annie is finally asleep, she didn't hear me come in. Thanks to 'Frucia Silencio' I also know who the first ghost is gonna be."
"Who?"
"I am. I don't suppose any of your Vocaloid friends can do theatrical makeup?"
"Prima and Tonio are usually in plays. I'll ask them. Why?"
"Because, I got hit by a car."
"W-what?"
"That's what Annie said. 'If she gets hit by a car, its her own darn fault.'"
"Oh, Frucia. I'm sorry."
"No, its fine. If she hadn't of said that, I wouldn't have thought of this. Are the scenarios ready?"
"Yep. They're good to go. SONiKA is loading them into the hologram projector now."
"Alright, I'll be there in a little bit."
"Okay, and Frucia?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't... Don't
actually get hit by a car, okay?"
"I won't Oliver. I promise."
--------------------
"Alright, dear. We're done." Prima said.
"Oh, wow..." Frucia said. She really
did look like she got hit by a car. Bruises, scrapes and cuts adorned her face and arms.
"Knock, knock. Can I come it?"
"Yes, Tonio, we're done."
Tonio entered with a wad of indigo and gray.
"Here you go, Frucia. Short of running over it in Al's car, I think this outfit looks pretty realistic."
He handed her the lump, which was a torn, broken version of her own outfit. Like her, it looked slightly pale and sickly.
"Thank you, Tonio and Prima."
"Oh you're welcome." Prima said.
"No problem. But it wasn't just me. SONaKA helped, too. She's good with those scissors."
"I really must thank her. Where did she go?"
"She went to help SONiKA and Big Al load everything into his car."
"Alright. Now both of you wait outside. I'm gonna try this on."
-------------------
"That looks great, Frucia." SONiKA said.
"Naturally. I did make it myself." SONaKA said with a smile.
"Oh, talented
and modest. I have such a great counterpart."
"Not to mention good looking, to boot."
"Come on, you two. We've got to go. It's almost midnight."
---------------------
"Annie... AAAANNNIE..."
"Ugh... who's there...?" Annie sat up to find Frucia standing in front of her. 'No... not standing.' Annie thought. 'She's floating...'
"F-Frucia? Why did you wake me up? Its nearly midnight. And... what happened to your clothes? They look worse than usual."
Frucia laughed. But it wasn't her usual quiet giggle, this was much creepier. "Oh, Annie. You never change. Even in my death, you remain true to your name... bitter."
"Your death? What on earth are you talking about? You're an android, you can't die."
"Well, you're partially right. Its true that we don't die as a human would, but if we suffer enough damage, we cannot be repaired, and are shut down..." she sighed. "Thats kind of what happened to me."
"What?"
"Well you see, after we were done cleaning up, I decided to head home. It was really coming down, and I didn't see a patch of ice. I slipped and fell into the street and..."
"oh... OH!" her eyes widened as she realized why Frucia trailed off. "GAAH! GHOST!!"
"Don't bother shouting. Nobody will hear you." 'because they're all in on it' she added to herself.
"Now if you're done, I'm gonna fill you in. When I passed over I saw everyloid's fate. Lets just say, it isn't looking good for you. I was able to convince those higher up to help me. Three ghosts are going to visit you, the first will arrive at midnight. They're going to help you change your ways. If you don't then... well lets just say GLaDOS wasn't lying about where all the bad robots go..."
As if on que (wink, wink) the bedroom window burst open and distracted Annie long enough for Frucia to escape.
"If this is some sort of sick joke, it isn't funny." she crawled back into bed after shaking off her bedsheets.
Annie awoke to the sound of a grandfather clock striking twelve.
"But I don't even
own a grandfather clock..." Suddenly, someone walked into her bedroom, a long flowing gown trailing behind her, and a laurel wreath on her head.
"M... MIRIAM?"
"That's 'Ghost of Christmas Past to you, Annie. I only look like MIRIAM because I thought this form would put you at ease."
"Yeah. MIRIAM's ugly mug totally calms me down. So what do ya want anyway?"
"I'm here to show you visions of the past, to help you change you ways."
"Whatever. Lets get on with the show."
"Oh, very well." MIRIAM said. This had best work, otherwise there's gonna be one less Voyakiloid in the world.
Her headset let out a ping. "MIRIAM, I know what your thinking, and don't think it." LEON said. "Yeah, if you kill her, LEON'll break up with you." LOLA chided.
"Shut up, both of you, and let me get this over with." She hissed. Annie just stared at her. 'Note to self... MIRIAM is a nutcase.' she thought. "Hearing voices, MIRIAM? That's the first sign of mental instability." She blurted without thinking.
MIRIAM started grinding her teeth. "Come along." She said pulling Annie along more forcefully than she should. She opened the window and stood on the sill. The storm had gotten so bad that they could no longer see the ground, or the rest of the city, for that matter.
"YOU ARE MENTALLY UNSTABE IF YOU THINK I'M GOING TO JUMP FROM A SECOND STORY WINDOW!" She screamed.
"Could you
please not scream in my ear? I maybe older than you, but I'm certainly not deaf." MIRIAM said, rubbing her ear. "Now then, where was I? Oh, yes." She pushed Annie out of the window. "That was more satisifying than it should have been." she said, before jumping down herself.
---------- The "Past" ----------
"Ouch..." Annie said, standing up. MIRIAM landed swiftly behind her. "I hate you so much right now."
"Oh, I'm sorry. But it seemed like you didn't want to go volutarily."
"OF COURSE I DIDN'T WANT TO GO VOLUNTARILY YOU NUTCASE! NO SANE PERSON WOULD VOLUNTARILY JUMP OUT A WINDOW INTO WHO KNOWS WHAT BECAUSE SOME OLD HAG TOLD THEM TO!!"
"Again with the yelling..." MIRIAM said. She found it quite funny how worked up Annie was. It was nice to be on the other end for once. "Anyway, do you recognize where we are?"
"Yeah, we're in London, probably outside the building we just jumped out of. Duh."
"Wrong. Try again."
"Uhm..." she looked around. "We're outside Power-FX... care to explain how that's even possible?"
"The magic of Christmas has pulled us back in time, to
your first Cristmas."
"Oh, jeez. Here we go. You're gonna show me some heartwrenching scene from my past and I'm gonna get all sentimental and crap. You're gonna have to do better than that, MIRIAM, because if I remember correctly, I didn't have a sob scene back then."
"You, no. But you weren't the only one there."
Suddenly, they were inside one of the confrence rooms. It had been done up in greens and reds and golds, with a huge tree in the corner, and the conference tables had ben laden with food and festive decorations.
Three people entered the room, two men and a woman. "See, Bil? I told you we did it up nice."
The man, Bil, laughed. "Yes Al, very nice. And Ann, I can assume you cooked the food?
"Yes sir. I hope I did a good job." The younger version of Sweet Ann fidgeted. Her hair was a bit shorter and in a bun. Her usual cream colored dress was replaced with a long red one with white trim.
"Ann, I'm sure its wonderful. You've always had a talent for cooking. Especially your chicken." Al smiled.
"Al's right, Ann. I'm sure everyloid will love it. Nobody in Stockholm can resist your food."
"Well, if it isn't Bil Bryant himself. Why hasn't he noticed the two extra people in the room? I mean, Ann I wouldn't put it past her to ignore me, and Al is so emptyheaded, he wouldn't realize I'm here if I popped him in his oversized face... in fact..."
"Don't bother, Ann. They can't see you. This is the past. You... the present you, that is, doesn't belong here. So you can only watch. Not interfere. Besides, I'm sure the reason we're here will be walking through that door in three, two..."
BANG! The door flew open.
"Al, you ass! You left all the dishes for me to clean up! I'm not your maid, or your housesitter!" The past Annie yelled.
"Annie, it wouldn't kill you to actually do something once in a while other than sit around and point out our flaws."
"I'm busy."
"Doing what, might I ask?" Ann walked over.
"My shows are on."
The three continued to argue for a few minutes until Bil let out a shrill whistle.
"Sheesh, you three. You're worse than children. Its the holidays. Can't you all get along... just once?"
"For you, fine." Al said, crossing his arms.
"If only for today, I can try." Sweet Ann said finally.
"Whatever. But its those two you cause all the problems. Jolly Green Giant thinks that he can get away with whatever he wants because he's the youngest, and Madame Stiches is just a kissup."
"Oh really? Well at least we don't have personalities like sandpaper."
"STOP IT." Bil yelled, throwing his hands in the air. "You know what? Annie, go back to the lounge.
I'll take care of the dishes. Al, you and Ann stay in here and finish preperations. If any of you start anything with anyone, you're ALL on house arrest. I'll just have to tell the recording studio that you three can't handle acting like the adults you are, and therefore are grounded until further notice."
"Hmph." Past Annie walked off, Bil behind her, leaving Present Annie and MIRIAM with Ann and Al.
"She is so rude sometimes. I don't even see how she's related to you." Al said finally.
"Al, cut her some slack. She doesn't mean it. She just doesn't do well with people."
"I know, I know. But she's like... everything you're not. You're kind, she's cruel. You're helpful, she's selfish. You're Sweet, and she's so... bitter. Bitter Annie."
"Al, thats so mean!" Ann cried. "I thought you were better than that."
"I'm sorry Ann. I'm just frustrated, I guess."
"So that's why everyloid calls me 'Bitter Annie'. That musclebound moron started it." She glared daggers at the past Al. "And he says I'm cruel."
"But you are, Annie. Come, lets keep going."
"Where?"
"Here." The scene skipped again. Like watching a tape on fast forward. It was a few hours later, and the conference room was full of people. Bil was talking to some other CEOs and even a few Vocaloids had shown up. Including The Zero-G Vocaloids MIRIAM, LEON, LOLA, and even SONiKA. Prima and Tonio were nowhere to be found, however.
"Yeah, okay. Its the party, big whoop."
"Shut up and listen."
"--So Bil ended up doing the dishes." Big Al was talking to MIRIAM and LEON. "She was let off the hook completely. Its always like this. She throws a fit and insults Ann and I, then Bil or someone else will tell her to nevermind, and they do it."
"Have you ever confronted anyone?" past MIRIAM asked.
"I've only really talked about it to Ann, and only in passing to Bil."
"What'd they say?"
"Same thing as always. She's new, or she's not used to it, or some other pile of BS."
"What about Annie?"
"She just ignores me, or starts a fight. She's so... bitter."
"Bitter Annie?"
"Exactly. Everything Sweet Ann isn't. Speaking of, she said I was being mean when I called her that."
"At this point, she deserves it."
"I DO NOT YOU GIRLY WANNABE!" Present Annie shouted at the blonde male.
"What did I say about the yelling?"
"I don't care about the yelling. Can you believe him? The nerve."
The scene Fast Forwarded once more before Annie could say anything else.
It was later, and the place was emptier. Only LEON, MIRIAM, Al, and Ann remained, but now Annie was there.
"You know what?" she yelled at the blonde man, "I never thought you could get more annoying, but you've proved me wrong!"
"Oh zip it, Bitter Annie."
Everyloid froze. Ann glared at Al, who could only frown.
"Excuse me?"
"B-I-T-T-E-R A-N-N-I-E" he spelt out for her, as if she was a child.
"You bastard. How dare you!"
"Well, maybe if you weren't such a bitch, I wouldn't call you that."
"Maybe if you all didn't annoy me with your stupidity, I wouldn't be such a bitch!"
"Oh don't start." LOLA said. "No matter how we act torward you, its never right. You live to complain, and that's all you're good for." she sneered.
"Oh, shut up you loser. Nobody even knows who you are, let alone what you even look like."
"At least I'm an original, not some loser knockoff!"
"LOLA!" Ann said. "Stop it!"
Annie whipped around and faced Ann. "And you!" she jabbed her in the chest. "You are such a suckup! Always trying to be everyloid's friends and keep everyloid happy. Do you know how weak you look? How sickeningly nice you are? It drives me up a wall! You think your defending me, but you're not! You are just pulling out the waterworks in hopes people will take pity on you, and leave me be! I can handle myself!"
With that, the scene ended, leeaving MIRIAM and Annie in pitch blackness.
"So?"
"So what?"
"How are you feeling?"
"I dunno, I'm still trying to get over the fact that my bedroom window is a time machine."
"ANNIE!"
"What?"
"You don't get it, do you? People called you Bitter Annie because you didn't think about them, instead you pick out ther flaws and complain until you get your way."
"Whatever."
"No, not whatever. You need to think about others, or you'll be called 'Bitter Annie' forever."
"Who cares?"
"You should care!"
"Should I? Should I really give a rat's ass if people think I'm bitter? Let 'em! It'll keep them all away from me!"
MIRIAM sighed. "Fine. Be that way. I'm done here. The next ghost will be along shortly. Go back to bed."
The next thing she knew, Annie was in her bed once again.
--------------------
Annie awoke to the smell of fruitcake. She despised fruitcake.
"Oh, barf. What is that horrid smell...?" She looked around to find LEON and LOLA eating fruitcake and drinking hot cocoa.
"You know, Len Kagamine has a song about Cocoa." LEON said.
"I heard that song. I thought it was about working late." LOLA took a sip of her cocoa.
"What
are you two doing in my bedroom?"
"Oh, you're awake." "LEON" said.
"Fruitcake?" "LOLA" hander her a slice, which she slapped away.
"GET OUT!" She screamed.
"Oh Past was right, you are noisy." LOLA said. Annie looked at them closer. LEON was wearing a gold-ish robe and a crown of candles on his head. LOLA was wearing a similar robe, but it was silver. Her tiara was a light blue and crystalline.
"Wait, lemme guess. The ghosts of Cristmas present? Since when was there two?"
"You're a special case." LOLA said.
"There is twice as much need to set you right." LEON nodded.
Or the two argued until it was decided they'd both do it.
"Right. So what now? We jump out of the window?" Annie asked. She was not looking forward to that.
"What? No? WHat are you crazy? We're on the second story!" LEON nearly yelled.
"Tell that to MIRIAM!"
"Who?"
"MIRI-ugh... The Ghost of Christmas Past."
"Okay."
"No, unlike her, we don't need to drop off of buildings. All you have to do is walk through the door." LOLA pointed at an unassuming door on the wall.
"That's the closet."
"Humor me."
Annie got up and entered the closet, followed by LEON and LOLA.
"Okay, now what?"
"Go out the other side."
"What other side?"
LOLA pushed the clothes aside to reveal another door.
"Go on..."
LEON and LOLA pushed her through.
----------The "Present"----------
Annie fell facefirst into the snow.
"Come on, Annie. You can sleep later.!" LEON snickered.
"I hate you both." she mumbled before getting up. They were standing outside a hotel.
"Why are we here?"
"Watch."
The universe fast forwarded to Ann, Al, Oliver and James in a suite. Oliver was laying facedown and Ann was rubbing his back. Al was sitting in a chair at the end of the bed, James sitting on Oliver's hat, which had been discarded on the side table.
"Oh sweetie, its alright." Ann said.
"No, its not alright!" He sobbed. "James is sick and it's my fault!"
Annie looked on the table. The Goldfinch did look a little sick. His eyes were glassy, and his feathers looked dim.
"He'll get better, I'm sure."
"Al, he ate mistletoe. I'm not stupid. I know full well its poisonus."
"We can take him to the vet."
"Ann, can I talk?" Al said pulling him aside.
"What is it?"
"Ann, we didn't take any money with us. Frucia said that she'd pay for everything, and she won't answer her phone..."
"Its okay, she's probably just asleep. We can go over to her house."
"No. No way. Annie is staying over there, and I refuse to deal with her after all this."
"What about Bil?"
"He's still working... I didn't want to tell him about James because he's rush back here, and I don't want a dead human and a dead bird."
Unfortunately, Oliver heard that last part and began sobbing again.
"Al, look what you did! You're making it worse."
Al went back to Oliver, who had placed James in his hat with some tissues and toilet paper as a nest. He was quietly humming 'Scarborough Fair' and rocking him gently. James was trying to sing along, but it sounded very weak.
"Annie?" LEON interrupted the woman, who had been watching quite intently.
"What?" She snapped, regaining her composure.
"Are you okay?" LOLA asked.
"I'm fine, why?"
"Well, don't you feel anything?"
"The kid should have paid more attention to what his stupid bird was doing."
"Annie!" LEON shouted.
"Really!" LOLA agreed.
"What, it's true."
"You are dispicable, you know that?"
"Eh, whatever." She stopped for a second. "Is the bird gonna be okay?"
LOLA and LEON looked at eacher, a flash of a smile before frowning once again.
"In one future, I see a boy without a bird. A boy who won't sing." LOLA said.
"In one future, I see a family of three with only two..."
"What?"
"See for yourself."
It was night now. Oliver was fixing his bandages and generally fidgiting. Finally he stood up and grabbed his hat, which still had James in it.
"I don't care what Annie thinks of Ann, or Al, or me." He said to the small bird. "You need help, and I'm in charge of making sure you get that help."
They were outside now. Oliver burst out the doors and took off down the street. Annie found herself following him against her will. On either side of her, LOLA and LEON had her hands and were gliding across the street.
As they neared an intersection, Oliver was sprinting his way across the intersection, narrowly dodging an abulance, and a few cars. Well, almost all of them.
A few seconds before it happened, they were plunged into blackness. Annie was still standing there, shock evident.
She whipped around at them, and shed was furious.
"You two think i[]I'm[/i] the cruel one?
I'm the mean one? You two just stood there like idiots and let him get hit!"
"Annie, it was only a possible outcome." LOLA attempted to calm her down.
"THAT WAS A HORRIBLE OUTCOME. WHY DIDN'T AL JUST SUCK IT UP AND COME OVER TO MY HOUSE?"
"Well, what if he did?" LEON asked her. "What would you have done?"
"I..."
"You would have yelled at him for waking you up in the middle of the night, right?" he inturrupted.
"Well..."
"Then you would have told him to just buy Oliver a new bird." LOLA accused her.
"I-I don't..."
"Or would you have called him some names and slammed the door in his face?" LEON inquired.
"M-maybe if..."
"You might have argued with him and wasted more time." LOLA again.
"No..."
"Or you might have taken James and put him out of his misery yourself." LEON.
"Of course not..."
"Or maybe you would..." LOLA
"STOP IT!" She yelled. "I wouldn't have. I would have... would have..."
"You don't know, do you?" LEON asked.
"No. No, I don't."
"Do feel bad about James?" LOLA asked.
"I... do." She said finally.
"You do?"
"Yeah. I do. I might not have at first... but now..." she blinked, and the siblings were gone. She was back in her room, and she didn't even look like she had gone outside. She went to go lay down, but she heard the wail of an ambulance outside, and decided that she probably wouldn't be sleeping anymore.
She got up and made her way to the hotel that Oliver, Ann, and Al were staying at. She handed an envelove of money to the receptionist and told her to give it to them. When the receptionist called them and confirmed they were coming, she said goodbye to the receptionist, and told her not to tell them who it was from. She may have felt something, but she wasn't going let them know that.
As she walked by an alleyway, she was stopped by a familiar voice.
"That was a pretty kind thing you did there..."
She sighed. "What do you want, SONiKA?"
"SONiKA? No, I'm the ghost of Christmas..."
"Yet to come. Yeah. So, what do you need?"
"Well, I was going to show you the error of your ways, but it seems that your future is changing?"
"One act of kindness doesn not a changed girl make."
"Oh, does it?" She grabbed her hand and they found themselves back in Sweden. Power FX Headquarters, to be exact.
----------The "Future" (a)-----------
"This is your future if you hadn't have done what you did." She said.
"You mean help the kid?"
"Yeah. If you hadn't, he would have not made it, nor would James."
"I know. The terror twins made that pretty clear."
"Ah. I see. Meddling in the future is my turf. I'll talk to them."
"So, why are we here?"
"Look."
"I haven't heard from Annie in a while... today is..." Big Al sighed.
"I know." Sweet Ann looked down herself.
"The least she could have done is call..." Al said.
"I know. I talked to Zero-G, and they haven't heard from her either.
"How are they?"
"They're alright. Prima hasn't left her bedroom. She's pretty torn up."
"Knock, knock..."
"Come in Bil." Al said, not getting up from his seat.
"Hey..." Bil said. "How are you guys?"
"Not feeling the Cristmas spirit, that's for sure."
"I figured as much... but I'm afraid I have some bad news..."
"What could possibly make today worse...?"
"I located Annie. She... she died."
Al looked indifferent. "Huh."
"Al! How rude!" Ann began to sob.
"What? Its her fault this all happened. She left Frucia to go home on her own, and if she hadn't been nicer, we might have invited her to stay with us, and Oliver wouldn't have run off in the middle of the night to save James!"
"Still..."
Bil got up. "I'll leave you two alone. The wake is this evening. You don't have to come."
"Don't worry, I won't." Al said.
"Ugh, what a jerk." Annie sniffed. "I'm dead, and all he can do is pick on me."
"Hm, I wonder who that sounds like." SONiKA said.
"Okay, okay. I... I was a bitch. And I'm sorry. But can we at least see the future you were talking about?"
"Of course we can."
----------The "Future" (
----------
"Annie's body was found today. It was bashed up pretty bad. They think it was a hate crime against androids."
"Oh... my." Ann said.
"Ann?" Oliver tugged her sleeve. "I'm sorry about Annie. I know you two weren't the closest..."
"It's okay sweetie."
"The wake is this evening. The other Vocaloids from Japan, and Korea are coming. Spain and Taiwan send their condolences. You don't have to come if you don't want to. Al, I know you two didn't always get along..."
"No. I'll go. I owe her that much for saving James."
"How did he find out? I swore the receptionist to secrecy!" Annie said.
"You didn't see, but Oliver was already sneaking out to go to your place when you came in. He saw you leave and asked the receptionist if you were the one who dropped it off. She confirmed. He told Ann and Al, after explaining why he was downstairs in the middle of the night during a snowstorm.
Annie smiled a little. She knew she'd never get away with it. The universe wouldn't let her.
They fast forwarded to the wake. Miku had led the Vocaloids in an English/Japanese/Korean/Goldfinch chorus of Saihate.
It was very touching, and Annie found herself crying.
"Annie... are you alright?" SONiKA asked.
"I'm fine!" she snapped. "I... I'm fine."
"Do you want to go home?"
"Yes, please."
And in the blink of an eye, she was once again in her bedroom, not a single thing out of place.
She suddenly felt very tired, and she crawled into bed, andlooked at the clock.
12:05a - 25.12.2011
She stared at it for a while until it changed to 12:06 before she fell asleep. That all happened in five minutes?
It didn't make any sense.
She passed out.
*beep beep*
LOADING...
C://Program files/VOYAKILOID_ANNIE.exe
EXECUTION SUCCESSFUL.
NOW EXITING SLEEP MODE.
DATE: 25.12.2011
TIME: 07:30:00a
"Ur.. ugh." Annie woke up and checked her internal clock. She had to double check. She opened the window and was hit in the face with snow. She looked down to find Oliver and James walking up to her doorstep.
"Hey!" She shouted.
"OHMSANNIEIMSOSORRYABOUTWAKINGYOUPLEASEDONTROASTJAMES" he spouted, James doing the same in his own bird way.
She laughed, and the two stopped in surprise.
"It's alright. You didn't wake me. I set my internal alarm to wake me up. Speaking of, I don't think it's quite right. Could you tell me what you have for the time?"
Oliver stopped for a second as if he was thinking. "Time... 07:32:25, Date... 25.12.2011." he finally said.
"Thats what I thought. Thanks Oliver."
He looked shocked. She actually called him by his name. She has never called him by his name even when he was released.
"Oh, so... what did you need?" She finally asked.
"Um, I was looking for you actually. I wanted to let you know that Frucia spent the evening at the hotel with us. We decided that it wouldn't be safe for her to walk home alone. I tried to call, but the phones were knocked out."
"So, she's okay?"
"Yes ma'am."
"And how is the bi-- James? How is James?"
"James is fine. Why?" Oliver smiled up at her, and James tweeted happily as if to confirm.
"Oh, no reason. But... keep an eye on him. I don't want him eating any mistletoe."
"Come again?"
"N-nothing. Here you must be cold, I'll let you in."
"Oh, thanks. And um... Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, to you too."
--------------------
"Alright, are you in?" Al asked into his headset.
"Yes Al. It looks like it was a sucess. Bitter Annie is bitter no more."
"Who are taking to, Oliver?"
"Oh! N-nobody Ms. Annie!"
*click*
"So it worked?" SONiKA asked.
"Yep. It worked." Big Al smiled.
"Hey, we got to get going. If Annie catches us, it'll be back to same old, same old." SONaKA said, dragging her counterpart back to Al's car.
"I've got coffee." Sweet Ann said. "How is everyloid?"
"It was a sucess. Annie seems to have got the idea." Big Al said cheerily.
"Well, come on. We'd best be heading back to Zero-G to say goodbye."
So they went back to FX and had the greatest Cristmas ever. And nobody died.
-- END OF FILE --
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