Teto Territory: The Story of Teto

The New Utauloid

"Yes, Miku." Why do they listen to her? I wondered. She clearly wasn't as nice as I previously thought. I was shifting my position, but I froze when I heard Rin whisper "Bye, Teto." A small tear slipped down my cheek. Maybe not all of them are terrible. I knew I wouldn't be heard, but I mustered up all my courage and silently mouthed the word "Bye".

I woke up to a very loud clang. I'd never slept before, and I found it to be quite refreshing. Until I'd been startled awake. That was not pleasant. Then there was another clang, this one was louder and closer. It was clear I wouldn't be getting more sleep any time soon.

I sat up, my wild red hair in messy knots. The clanging seemed to be coming from above my head now. Somebody must be on the stage. I wondered who it could be at this hour, it was darker than it had been before I went to sleep.

I let out a yawn, silent as ever, as I stretched. However, I froze midair when I heard a robotic sort of voice. "Where is she?"

The voice sounded almost as if it came from a Vocaloid- it wasn't as smooth as a human voice. But the Vocaloids sounded more like humans than this voice, whatever it was.

Then another voice: "I don't know, but we must be close. This is where they said the scientists pushed her." My eyes widened. They were looking for me.

I wanted to scream, to shout "Hey! I'm down here! Please help me!" But then I was glad I couldn't say anything. I didn't know these people, and for all I knew, they were going to get rid of me!

The first voice then shouted again. "Teto? I know you can't talk, but if you can hear me, can you start banging around or making some noise? Me and my friend are here to help you!"

I might as well let them find me, I thought. Even if they really wouldn't help me, I didn't want to be down here forever, and who knows when someone would be here again?

So I started hitting my very low ceiling, which I assumed was the stage.

"She's underneath us!" A muffled voice said. I kept banging. I could hear their footsteps as they tried to find me. They moved off the stage and then backstage, trying to find me.

Finally, from the tiny hole of light, I saw a head full of pink hair. The girl shifted, and her large green eye widened as she looked upon my own red eyes. "Teto? Is that you?"

It was so dark backstage that I didn't realize the large opening in which the girl was looking at me. I could easily fit through there. So I nodded and crawled towards her, and she helped me out. She pulled me into a hug, which was something I'd never experienced before, so I didn't know what to do. The girl suddenly yelled, "Uta! I found her!"

"Really?" cried the muffled voice. A girl with short purple hair scurried over to us. "It is you!" I was quite shocked when I realized her voice wasn't muffled by walls, her voice was naturally muffled. "It's weird, huh?" She laughed. "The perks of being a robot."

When, my face twisted into a weird expression, the pink-haired girl spoke up. "Oh, yes, the two of us are robots! For example..." she grinned as positioned her hands on her head, pulling it off with a pop and resting it in her arms. "I can take off my head!"

The muffle-voiced girl glared at the head in her friend's arms with eyes that matching her hair, a light purple. "Sweet mother Miriam, Momo, you're going to scare her off."

"Sorry," the girl laughed sheepishly as she adjusted her head back onto her neck. When she finished, she held an arm out. "As my friend here said, I'm Momo. Momone Momo." I stared at her hand, remembering that scientists held her hand out to me the first time we met, but she had just shrugged it off. "Oh, here, put your hand in mine," Momo offered. I reluctantly stuck my arm out and she shook my hand. "This is called a handshake."

The then purple-haired girl stuck her hand out. "Try it with me." She smiled when I successfully shook her hand. "I'm Utane Uta, it's nice to meet you."

Momone Momo? Utane Uta? What kind of names are those? I thought. Who are these girls?

As if she could read my mind, Momo said, "When you got pushed off the stage, someone in the crowd called us. We're from the company UTAU. It's like Vocaloid, kind of. We don't have huge fancy singing studios or production services, just a cozy little house. We have a lower budget, and therefore we're seen as worse than the Vocaloids." She smiled. "But our producers wanted a third voice to compliment my voice and Uta's, and the crowd thinks you'd be perfect. So, would you like to join us?"

About a million thoughts ran through my mind at once. I'll have a voice. I'll get to sing. I'll have a home. I'll get to sing. I'll get to sing. I'll get to sing.

I nodded.

Momo smiled and clapped her hands excitedly. "Everyone is so excited to meet you! And Momotaro, my brother, is making cupcakes for dessert tonight! Let's go!" She took my hand and started rushing towards the door.

"Woah, chill out, Pinku," said Uta, who followed behind us. "You're going to scare her."

Laughing, Momo responded, "But I'm so excited! Our trio will finally be complete!"

And the three of us went outside, where the sky was a multitude of colors due to the sunset, which was a new experience for me, but my mind was set on only one thing.

I'll get to sing.

I'll get to sing.

I'll get to sing.