The Intense Voice of Hatsune Miku (A Hatsune Miku/Magical Girl Fanfiction)

Chapter Three - Master of Puppets

Meiko and Kaito took me into the Sekaihajimari Palace which was much more enormous standing in front of it than from way up on the cliff. I was in awe as they contacted the gatekeeper who let the bridge down for us to enter. The first thing I saw when the bridge was down was the palace gardens, which was just as I remembered the Earth being. There was actual green grass in the palace! And a fountain that spewed water from the spout and into a basin. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, it was like I was in an entirely different world from the Red Valley.

When Meiko and Kaito urged me to move my feet as they already went inside, I rushed to catch up to them. But I was still taken aback by all this. It was as if... the Sekaihajimari Palace and the Red Valley were segregated from one another. I couldn't help myself, I just had to go feel the grass that was the same in my memory. It made me recall that one time I had put down my palms flat on the field where I was. Doing the same thing I did then, I placed my hands into the grass but was confused. Grass was soft in my memory... but this grass was rough, as if it was bristling upon my touch. Disappointment ate away at me. This wasn't grass – this was a fake...

"Are you coming inside or are you just going to sit there in the grass?" Meiko asked, clearly frustrated with my behaviour thus far upon entry of the Sekaihajimari Palace.

"T-this grass... what's wrong with it?" I wondered, turning to face Meiko and Kaito.

"It's fake. Grass doesn't grow on this land. It's been dead for too long." Kaito answered almost apologetically. Getting to my feet, I tried to hide my bitter resentment toward the fake grass as I made my way over toward Kaito and Meiko. They could tell I was clearly upset but I was glad they didn't say anything about it. We continued on our way.

The interior of the Sekaihajimari Palace was just as rich as the outside, but I didn't know if anything else was fake. It made me feel insecure the whole time walking through the cold hallways, looking up at the blue tapestries that hung on the walls with the crest I wasn't able to see clearly while on the cliff. I could see it now: It was a picture of a wisteria wrapped around itself that was a deeper shade of blue and was surrounded in a white-yellow light. I found myself staring at the multiple tapestries we passed by on our way to meet Takehiko and felt a shiver go down my spine. I had to remove my eyes from that sight by looking down at the red carpet that was on the floor and stretched on throughout the hallway. Meiko and Kaito luckily knew where they were going in this maze-like castle because we took multiple turns and, had I been alone, I probably would have been lost for ages. Takehiko wouldn't have been seeing much of me then.

Finally, we made it to these doors where two humanoids with spears in hand were stationed at the heavy-looking doors. Upon sight of Meiko and Kaito, they let us in but I noticed that they gave me a lasting look that made me curious as to what was going on and what made them do that. When I chose to forget their gazes for the time being, I stepped into the giant room that looked like it could house a dragon with awe. I knew that Sekaihajimari Palace was huge, but this room gave me the impression that it was over a third of what made up the entire palace. There were large stone arches that had gargoyles on the ends of them holding up the ceiling that looked like it reached up to the heavens. The windows on either side of me were the size of ten men all stacked on top of one another, the stained glass depicting shadowy figures that resembled Viruses and humans with weapons that resembled Meiko's and Kaito's when they fought off the Viruses. Pillars led up to the arches on the ceiling, helping to support the monstrous weight of the ceiling. I was so taken with what was above me that I almost failed to acknowledge what was going on in front of me. The red carpet that led us to this room extended even further up a flight of stairs that led to this stone throne that was inhabited by a blue haired man who was smirking devilishly at the three of us. Four humanoid guards were on either side of him, all holding different weapons in their hands.