Well that was a crazy chapter. Sorry it took so long to update; I finally finished summer school. Yay!

Anyway now this story is going to take a shift in tone so let's see how that goes. Also the updates are going to be bit wonky but hopefully it won't take me 2 or more weeks to update a chapter.

But that's enough about me so let's get into this.

"Blah" — Speech

"Blah" — Speech in another language

'Blah' — Thoughts

[ Blah ] — Text

*Blah* — Sound effects in speech

(Blah) — Author's notes

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Love Live! School Idol Project. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Aftermath

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Eli opens her eyes to see a white blur in front of her view. After blinking a couple of times her eyes refocus and the blur becomes a white ceiling. 'Where am I?' She cranes her neck to the left to see a redhead standing over someone in a bed. Eli focuses on that person's face and realizes it is Nozomi and images of what happened rushes to her mind.

"Nico-Ack!" The blonde tried to rise up but pain flared up in her midsection.

"You need to stay down." Eli feels a hand firmly but gently easing the blonde back into bed. The guard looks up to see violet eyes staring back at her, "Maki? Where are we?"

"We're in a hospital."

"Are we back in Japan?"

"No we're still in the US." Eli must have a confused face since Maki elaborates, "I flew over here as fast as I could when I heard the news." Maki tilts her head to Eli's body. "I wanted to make sure the doctors didn't screw up."

Eli suddenly feels her throat dry and she stares into Maki, "...Did we get Nico back?"

The doctor averts her eyes and starts twirling a lock of her hair.

"...I see." Eli drops her head back on the pillow and grits her teeth. She clenches both of her fists but her left hand is unable to move. Eli brings her head up to see her left arm in a cast. Eli takes in a deep breath and slowly releases it out. 'Focus. I need to prioritize recovery otherwise I can't help find Nico.' She looks at Maki again, "What's my diagnosis?"

That brought Maki back to focus as she walks to the end of Eli's bed and picks up a clipboard. "You have a deep laceration on your left forearm. A stab wound on you right thigh. And you have bruises on your right wrist and upper abdominal area."

Eli tilts her head to the bed next to her, "What about Nozomi?"

"She had a mild concussion with fractures all over the left side of her body." The doctor sighs, "She was fortunate that the car took the brunt of the damage. Other than that she has small cuts and abrasions in some parts of her body."

Eli didn't realize she was holding her breath and exhales, 'Thank goodness.' "How long have we been here?"

"Almost 3 days."

'That long?' They lapse into silence.

After a while Maki points at the door, "I'll tell the others that you're awake."

"Okay." Eli sighs and looks back at the ceiling.

"Oh." Eli looks up again to see Maki walking closer to her bed and pulling something out of her pocket. "Here. Rin and Umi were able to salvage these for you two."

Eli accepts it to see it was their bracelets. She brings it to her chest and nods at Maki, "Thank you."

The doctor nods back and then walks out of the room.

Now alone Eli brings the bracelet closer to her face to inspect them. The metal bands were disfigured beyond their original shape. 'It won't fit in our hands anymore.' The blonde turns them around and found the gems; they are intact but cracked. She places it on her forehead, 'Nico...'

"Mnnn." Eli turns her head to see Nozomi stirring awake. Nozomi opens her eyes and she looks around the room in a daze. It took some time before they land on Eli; she blinks a couple of times, "...Elichi? Where are we?"

"The hospital." Eli presses a button to adjust the bed at a better angle.

Nozomi looks around and stares back at Eli, "Is Nicocchi..."

Eli shakes her head.

"Oh." Nozomi goes silent and covers her eyes with her hand. Eli opens her mouth but she hesitates and looks down at her hands. The blonde tries again but Nozomi interrupts her, "I can't believe I'm so useless."

"I-What?"

"I was knocked out and I couldn't help Nico."

"Nozomi you had a concussion from the crash. No one could blame you for that."

Nozomi bites her trembling lips, "It's just..." She takes a shuddering breath, "I couldn't be there when she needed me the most."

Eli chews the corner of her lips as she stares at Nozomi. "You know... I'm glad you were unconscious."

"...What?"

"They ignored you because they thought you weren't a threat." Eli turns her head to stare at her partner, "Because of that you saved me Nozomi."

"I-" Nozom smiles, "Thanks Elichi."

"I should be the one saying that." They both lapse into silence after that.

Just as Eli was about to enjoy the quiet she hears footstep outside the room. The door opens and the whole Muse staff enters their room. Rin rushes and stops in between them, "Are you two okay!?"

Nozomi puts on a smile, "We're fine Rin." Nozomi then notices the bandages around her head and the left side of her body, "Well as fine as we can be."

Honoka stops at the foot of the bed, "I'm glad to see you two up."

Eli nods at her boss, "Thank you." She looks at their faces, "Are there any updates about Nico?"

The mood turns somber and Umi shakes her head. "Nothing so far."

Nozomi sits upright with the help of Rin and Maki, "What about the government?"

Honoka shakes her head, "They said they have no leads but I think they're busy with other things at the moment." She nods her head to Hanayo.

The technician brings out her laptop and begins typing on the keyboard. After a while Hanayo turns the screen around for Eli and Nozomi. The duo reads the journal headlines:

Idol Kidnapped on US soil!? Tensions rise

Is the police Incompetent?

Eli reads several more headlines before she shakes her head, "What a disaster."

Honoka nods, "Yeah they are trying to do damage control and dealing with our government as well."

"I take it they're not happy?" Nozomi prods the bandage around her head but Maki pulls her hand away.

Umi nods at the question, "No. They're not so keen that a citizen with that much fame was taken in US territory."

The CEO shakes her head, "Enough about politics." She takes a moment to look at both Eli and Nozomi, "Can you tell us what happened?"

Eli looks at Nozomi who tilts her head back at the blonde; Eli sighs and begins recounting their part after their escape from the garage. Once she was done she looks at her friends, "What happened on your parts?"

Hanayo starts first, "The disturbance at the front of the stadium seems to be a distraction to get most of our attention off of Nico for a moment. The people were random citizens and the police said that they were approached by someone who paid them in cash to cause a huge scene."

Honoka was next, "Me and Kotori were at in the backstage when everything went down." She sighs, "I couldn't do much since I didn't have my license."

Umi coughs into her fist, "Five minutes after you three escaped, the attackers immediately disengaged and retreated from the garage. After that Rin, John's colleagues, and I drove to the rendezvous point. When you were cut off from the radio we rushed throughout the designated path, hoping to find you. By the time we reached your position the both of you were unconscious and Nico was nowhere in sight."

"I see." But Eli's eyes narrows at Umi's story, 'They left after we escaped? That seems too coordinated to executed on an operation like this.' Eli's eyes widens, 'Unless...'

Knock Knock

All of them turn toward the door to see Tsubasa peeking in, "Hey... is this a bad time?"

Honoka is the first to react, "Tsubasa?! What you doing here?"

Tsubasa and a lady wearing a black suit with a red tie walks into the room. The woman scans the room while Tsubasa starts fidgeting with her fingers, "Well..."

The suited lady walks to the door, "It's clear."

Maki starts walking toward them, "We're not having visitors at this moment."

'Wait isn't that—'

Alice Murgatroyd steps through the door with her guards flanking her sides, "I do hope that you would make an exception for me Miss Nishikino."

Everyone straightens their backs as Maki pauses in her stride. The doctor hesitates but she nods, "It's fine." Maki walks back to stand next to Rin and Hanayo.

Honoka hesitates before she dips her head, "It's an honor to meet you Miss Murgatroyd."

Alice returns the gesture, "And to you as well Miss Kousaka. I hope Miss Kira here is treating you nicely."

Both Tsubasa and Honoka blush while she scratches the back of her head, "Y-Yeah she is."

Alice makes her way to Eli and Nozomi while her guards stay by the door. She stops at the foot of the bed, "I offer the both of you my condolences. While I may not know what you two are experiencing right now but know that this is not your fault." Alice nods at them, "I thank you for your time." She turns around and starts walking to the door.

"W-Wait!" Everyone turns toward Eli and the blonde realizes she has her hand outstretched. Eli recovers and straightens her back. "...Can I ask for your help to find Nico?"

The room exploded with noise as people ask questions about Eli's request. The room went silent when Alice raises her hand, "Why me? Why not work with the authorities?"

Eli grips the bed-sheet as she swallows her dry throat, "It's because you have the resources and..." Eli's eyes flicker to the door for a moment.

Alice catches her line of sight, "I trust Shanghai and Hourai with my life. You can speak what is on your mind."

Eli hesitates but she nods, "...I believe there is a spy in the government."

The room explodes again but this time Umi raises her voice, "We have guests here. Compose yourself." After a few moments the guard turns to Eli, "Do you have proof?"

Eli shakes her head, "Nothing concrete but I have my reasoning. The attackers at the garage retreated almost right after we drove off in the car. We were then ambushed in the route that only a select few know. It was almost if they wanted us to escape and use the route we planned."

Eli can see Umi coming to the same conclusion, "This attack was too coordinated to execute without insider information."

Alice nods at the information, "I see why you wanted my help... but why should I?"

Eli reels back into her bed, "I..."

"What do I receive should I help you?"

Eli bites her lip and stays silent. 'I should have thought this through.'

Before the silence drags any longer, Honoka steps forward. "You can have credit for saving Nico." She now has everyone's attention. "Both countries will see you as a hero and that can give you opportunities for your business." Honoka looks at each of her employees one-by-one; everyone nods back at Honoka. "Not only that we're all willing do all of the work. We just want Nico back."

Alice stays silent as she stares at them. After a while Tsubasa steps forward, "Miss Murgatroyd I can vouch for Muse. They are capable people and I believe they can find and save Nico with our help."

"If we somehow fail you won't get the backlash from the media." Honoka adds in.

After a few moments in silence, Alice finally nods her head, "Under normal circumstances I would not accept this kind of deal. But I would not consider this normal. I will lend you my resources in this endeavor."

Honoka and everyone else bows to Alice, "Thank you."

Alice nods her head, "It is of no consequence." She turns to Tsubasa, "Miss Kira may I ask you to become their liaison for our company?"

Tsubasa snaps a salute, "I would be glad to."

"Thank you." Alice looks back to Muse, "Now I am sure that the two of you are tired so I will not be taking any more of your time. We will talk more at a later time." Alice makes her way to the door but she stops and turns around, "I hope you two have a fast recovery." The guards open the door for Alice and they leave the room.

Once the door closes Umi snaps her head at Eli, "That was incredibly risky."

Eli bows her head, "I know. I'm sorry and I should have asked all of you first."

Honoka taps the blunette's shoulder, "It's fine. I'm sure all of us would have agreed to find Nico even without Alice's help. Oh!" The ginger CEO turns to Tsubasa, "You never told us why you're here."

"Oh," The newly-appointed liaison tilts her head to the door, "The boss lady called me to come here." She shrugs, "Probably to break the ice or something. Anyway..." She turns to Eli and whips out her phone, "What can you tell about the attackers? Any details are important."

Eli gnaws the bottom of her lip as she remembers that night, "The attackers were all professionally trained but one of them has a broken knee and another one most likely has a broken sternum."

"Good," Tsubasa types on the phone. "That means they can't move long distance at the moment."

"One of them said, 'Čo do... piče?'"

"That should narrow it down," Tsubasa looks up from her phone, "Anything else?"

Eli shakes her head, "That's the most I can remember that stood out."

"Aright," The liaison pockets her phone and looks around the room, "Just as a precaution don't say any of this to the police or the Feds."

They all nod in silence. After a few moments pass, Nozomi shifts in her bed, "Hey Maki how long will it take for us to recover?"

Maki looks up for a moment before looking at Nozomi, "It would take a month before you'll be discharged from the hospital and at least another month for you to fully recover."

Nozomi shakes her head, "That's too long."

Hanayo tugs on Maki's coat, "What about the procedure you talked about?" But Maki shakes her head.

Nozomi tilts her head, "What procedure?"

Maki waves it off, "It's nothing."

"Please Maki," This time Eli joins in, "If it can help us please tell us."

Maki stays silent but she then sighs, "I have an experimental procedure that can reduce the recovery time significantly."

"By how much?"

"60-70%"

"That's-That's amazing Maki!" Honoka beams at Maki.

Nozomi tilts her head, "But there is something is there?"

Maki sighs, "The materials that are used is incredibly expensive and rare."

"What is it?"

"I use nanotechnology to manipulate embryonic stem cells."

Nozomi sinks into her bed, "...Oh."

"Ahem." Tsubasa raises her hand, "I'm sure our medical branch can help you out on that one."

Eli and Nozomi stares at Maki. The doctor crosses her arms, "I will need to check them before I can perform the procedure."

"Thank you." Eli turns to her side, "Honoka can you get me out of this bed?"

"And what do you think you're doing?" Maki was there in an instant.

Eli grips the bracelets, "I need to give these to Nozomi."

Maki sighs and turns off the machine while Honoka helps Eli up. Kotori and Umi help as they keep Eli steady when she gets out of bed. Eli limps her way there as Maki walks over and turns off Nozomi's monitor; Hanayo and Rin helps the injured guard stand. They meet halfway and the blonde opens her hand to show the mangled bracelets. Nozomi nods and places her hand on top of the bracelets.

Eli looks at everyone in turn, "We will find and rescue Nico." One by one they all nod and pile their hands on top of Nozomi's hand. 'Stay safe Nico. We'll get you soon.'

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Fin.

Hoo boy talk about a dialogue-heavy chapter.

Now some notes:

-I'm not really good with deals and negotiations so yeah.

-Yay go science.

-I just realized almost all of this chapter is in one scene.

Well that's that so see ya next time.

Thanks for reading

Constructive criticisms are appreciated

Bravo Tango out.

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Nico breathes harshly as she stares at the black bag that covers her head. She tries wiggling but the zip-ties are still tight. Hours after her kidnapping Nico had the same feeling when she first flew in a plane. 'So I'm not in the US anymore... I hope they're okay.' The next day she felt herself rocking back and forth. 'Great now I'm on a boat.' When she got off the boat, she could the scorching heat on her skin. 'Where the hell am I?' Today Nico is placed on top of an animal going somewhere in this scorching temperature. Just as Nico was about to fall asleep they and one of the kidnappers drop her from the animal.

Nico staggers but she catches herself, "Be more gentile will ya?" They ignore her and they push her forward. "Ass." Nico mutters and she walks forward. After some time they push her down on a chair and take off the black bag; Nico shuts her eyes as bright light flooded her senses. She blinks her eyelids and her eyes adjust to the light. The idol looks around to see herself alone in an orange-stone room.

The door opens and a man with a hat and loose clothing walks in. "Nico Yazawa yes?" He takes off his hat, "Let's get started."

Nico doesn't pay attention to the man as she keeps staring at the hat; it's a black beret. 'Eli... Nozi... please save me.'