BM - Chapter 3 - The Plan
The Reaper and the time traveler both glared deep into each other's eyes. Their audience, an Atlatnean and the Priestess of the Ancient Ones both could've sworn they saw sparks fly between the two. The animosity between them had been building all day, and now it was coming to a head.
Amelia hated Calliope at this moment. The damn Reaper had done nothing but force herself into everything and asked for even more. On top of that, she even wanted to just take her to some remote island. The few thousand mile trip was already enough to piss her off, but she didn't even know why she was going. And what about her mission to Atlantis with Gura, Ina, and Enma? They were going to leave any day now and with Gura's Primal condition being fairly unstable as of late, it seemed like they were going to leave at any second.
Calliope hated Amelia at this moment. The damn time traveler had done nothing but hide herself in the darkest corner of the room and expect others to come to her. She would scream and hiss if you put a light into her corner and attempt to run away. Calliope always hated cat and mouse games. Why did she insist on playing them? And with the location of the Hatchery being finally revealed to her, she wanted to leave right now.
"What-" Calliope started to express her displeasure vocally. Except, Amelia interrupted her with a rant of her own.
"Don't you dare ask me a fucking question!" For the first time since she'd arrived, the Reaper was taken aback. "All you've done since you got here is tell us what to do. Hell, even before you got here you were telling us we couldn't leave. And now, you want to force me on a trip without even telling me why? You said I would want to go, so why are you hiding the purpose of it? Just spit it out already!" Amelia slowly advanced towards Calliope until she was directly in her face. The grip on her scythe never tightened, but it also didn't loosen.
"Do you have somewhere else to be?" Calliope tried one last time to avoid the question. Amelia broke the death glare and looked at both her friends behind her.
"Yes, I do," she said. Gura took a deep breath, knowing this had to do with her recent problems. Ina rubbed her on the back for comfort.
"Well then, I'm sure it can wait-" Calliope was interrupted by the raging Amelia once more.
"It absolutely can not!" Amelia flipped around and got back in the Reaper's face, "I have waited for years to even have a chance to see my friends and family again! And once I have the chance, you of all people decided to stop me! So tell me where we're going, what the fuck we're doing, and why the hell we're doing it!" Amelia was no longer afraid of Calliope's immense strength and power. All that matter was her breaking free of the grip that had been strangling her freedom for the last few weeks.
"Alright Watson," the Reaper finally yielded, "get Kusotori and the manager in here. I will only say all of this once." She turned and broke the staring contest. Amelia huffed and ripped out of the room to grab Kiara. Gura and Ina both nervously got up from the couch and went to go get Emersyn.
Calliope stood in the middle of the room. What the hell gave that human the right to speak to her? And why did she feel scared of her? Even if she was a time traveler, that meant nothing in combat with her. Was it her resolve? Were her wishes to return to her friends and family that strong?
Calliope grimaced. No…she wasn't feeling scared.
She was feeling frustrated.
Kiara flew in the room, like literally flew with flaming wings, and crashed into Calliope. The two fell onto the ground in a heap.
"What are you doing, Kusotori?!" Calliope yelled out from underneath her one friend. Kiara lifted herself only to face the Reaper, keeping her pinned.
"I thought you were going to be nice to her?" she whispered harshly. Calliope was confused.
"What do you mean? Did she tell you everything that just happened that fast?" Kiara shook her head.
"No, I was outside the door listening to it. Amelia's attitude after you came down here made me want to listen in. I'm glad I did." Calliope averted her gaze from the Phoenix's. The closeness was already making her uncomfortable, but now she was sure to be getting a verbal lashing. It was one of the few things that actually hurt her.
"I'm sorry, Kiara…" She tried her best to avoid it. The Phoenix did not let up.
"We both know how little that means, Calli. Look at me," she grabbed Calliope's cold, smooth skin and yanked her jaw so that she was looking back up at her. The Reaper continued to stare off to the side, though. Kiara sighed and continued anyway. "You're really childish, you know? I mean, why are you even hiding this? What is so wrong with repeating yourself? Stop acting like this or we're never going to get close to the Hatchery! We need her, Calli!"
"Alright, alright," Calliope said, defeated. She took a deep breath and finally met Kiara's fiery eyes with her own cold ones. "I'm sorry. We both also know that this isn't something that I'm used to. Honestly, why did you even leave all of this up to me? Why couldn't you just handle this social situation like all the previous ones?" Kiara laughed and shook her head.
"You're going to need this. You think that once you get a mor-" Calliope's hand grabbed Kiara's mouth in a flash, silencing the Phoenix's words.
"Shut up. Don't talk about that." Calliope was genuinely harsh with her friend this time. Her words were not playful or teasing in the slightest. This anger was real.
"S-sorry…" Kiara mumbled through the Reaper's cold fingers. Slowly, they were retracted away from her mouth, allowing her to speak clearly again.
"That is something I want to keep hidden. It isn't some childish wish, like you mentioned before. Me and you both know that it would be best if they never found out."
"Found out what?" Emersyn leaned against the doorway. Calliope turned her head to the side and stared at her.
"None of your business, manager." Emersyn rolled her eyes.
"It's literally in the name. Being a manager means that I must know about what you are planning to do. Hiding it will only make things more difficult in the future." Emersyn was already regretting bringing Calliope into Hololive. Everything had been so much more peaceful before. None of this fighting and hate between the talents. However, she would give her a chance.
But only one.
"Listen, Enma right?" Kiara started. Where had she even heard Emersyn's nickname from? "I know that it is your job to help us, but you're going to have to trust me and Calli on this one. What she's talking about is deeply personal. I'm honestly lucky to know about it at all. So just lay off her about it. Please," Kiara finished her plea.
"Fine, but don't think this means you're off the hook. I will be keeping a close eye on you both, Ms. Takanashi and Ms. Mori." Emersyn matched Calliope's cold, stoic tone of voice. It sent shivers down both girls' spines.
"Yes ma'am."
"Ok…"
The two answered their manager after a moment of hesitation.
"Man, you really let them have it, Enma!" Gura called out from just behind Emersyn. The two previously hidden girls, Gura and Ina, emerged from behind the manager. The three walked into the room.
"Where's Ame? She was supposed to go get you," Ina pointed at Kiara. The Phoenix finally got off of Calliope, much to the Reaper's relief.
"Oh, I was spying on you guys before. So when she ran out to find me, I just came in to give Calli a few choice words," Kiara explained.
"Didn't have to crash into me…" Calliope grumbled under her breath. Kiara chose to ignore the comment.
"You could've just told me not to come back in!" Amelia limped her way back into the lounge. She was clearly out of breath from running around to find Kiara.
"Sorry!" the Phoenix half apologized. Amelia didn't have the energy to throw any words back. Instead she elected to just slam herself into the couch.
Her lack of energy wasn't only from running around, but also the fight she'd had with Calliope. Even though no physical activity occurred, the emotional wear had definitely taken its toll. Plus, it was getting late in the day. She'd been going upstairs to her bedroom to sleep when Calliope had grabbed her into this conversation.
Kiara threw herself onto the couch as well. Amelia was forced to move to avoid being crushed by the larger girl. Gura tried her best to leave enough space for Ina to fit on the couch as well, but the Priestess simply chose to stand with Emersyn off to the side. Kiara didn't move away from Amelia, leaving Gura to have nearly two thirds of the couch to herself.
Calliope walked over to the front of the group. She slowly turned to face them, preparing herself for her explanation. She wanted to keep her promise to Kiara this time. There would be no fighting, just a peaceful discussion about the plan.
"Getting into the Phoenix Hatchery is my goal. Inside of the Hatchery is the Crystal of Time that I wish to use to help Kiara regain her memories," she gestured to the girl who was barely paying attention until her name was used.
"Oh yeah, every time I rebirth some of my memories are erased. I can usually get them back given enough time and people telling me what happened, but sometimes they stay locked up forever," Kiara explained her current issue. Emersyn noted this.
"Multiply that over millions of years and most of her memories of the distant past are gone. She didn't even remember how to get home, let alone how to get in."
"Also it's getting worse," Kiara injected again. Calliope nodded to the other girl's statement.
"Yes, and that is why we are in such a rush to fix it. The reason we require Watson to accompany us is that she has the greatest knowledge on how to use the Crystal to help Kiara. We also assumed that she has some interest in it, being a time traveler." Amelia waved her hands in defense of herself.
"I have no idea how to use that Crystal at all. You're better off asking AO-chan," Amelia explained. Calliope breathed in to avoid lashing out again.
"I'm sorry, but I do not trust the Ancient Ones being anywhere near the Hatchery. Any information they could provide I already know, as well."
"Then how am I supposed to help?" Amelia also tried to remain calm. Her complete exhaustion helped her.
"I can help guide you through the process. We need someone who is Destabilized to achieve the desired outcome. That is also why myself and Kiara tracked you down, Watson." Calliope finally explained her reasoning.
"How hard was that to say?" Amelia mumbled to herself.
"We want to leave as soon as possible. Tomorrow after you mortals get some sleep would be best."
"Can't. I have a date with Atlantis to fix my time watch," Amelia retorted. Gura and Ina both looked at her.
"What?! You want to go tomorrow?" Gura said, surprised, "I thought you meant just some time soon, not tomorrow!" Ina nodded extremely fast to show how much she agreed with her friend.
"I agree with Ms. Watson here," Emersyn provided her input, surprising everyone. "Normally, I would be opposed to doing something this quickly with little planning. However, with Ms. Gawr's condition becoming worse in recent days, I think it would be best to try and find a way to remedy it. You've been getting hungrier, haven't you?" She looked at the Atlantean.
"I-I have…" she forced out. During her restless days, she had been incredibly hungry. Even just today, she'd eaten a massive amount and still felt hungry. "Maybe we should…"
"What is so urgent about this condition?" Calliope questioned.
"She tried to kill me a few days ago from uncontrolled hunger," Amelia simplified the problem while still making it seem important. Kiara teased Gura a bit by moving away from her even further. This really pressed her body into Amelia, who pushed back with what little energy she still had.
"I see, that is an issue. However, why does Watson have to go?"
"While I'm down there, I can help fix her time watch," Gura explained. Calliope didn't seem moved by it.
"But why does she have to go?" she replied.
"It's her time watch and Droplet. She had a responsibility to fix it and go back to her friends and family!" Ina explained for her friend. Amelia looked at her with a sympathetic smile.
"Sorry, Ina, but that is just the first step in that process. I don't really know what the ones after that are," Amelia apologized. Calliope didn't call her out over what she'd stated before.
"B-but you still need to come with us. That time watch is important to you!" Ina started. Amelia stood up from the couch, causing Kiara to fall over onto the arm rest. She'd really been pressing herself up against her, huh?
Ina suddenly felt extremely self conscious as Amelia walked over to her. She tried to hide behind Emersyn slightly, but her manager side-stepped her attempts. Amelia placed a hand onto the Priestess' shoulder and dug around in her own pocket with her other one. Ina's eyes widened when she pulled out her broken time watch.
"What are you-" Ina couldn't finish her question. Amelia moved her hand from her friend's shoulder down the length of her arm, reaching her hand. She forced it open and brought it between them both.
Then, to everyone's amazement, she placed the time watch into it and closed Ina's fingers around it.
"Take this and fix it," she said before slowly removing her hands from Ina's.
The Priestess was stunned. Only a few short weeks ago, Amelia couldn't even bear to be in the same room as her.
"W-why…?" she stammered out.
"I trust you, Ina. You said it before, you won't let AO-chan get at it even if they still want it." Tears sprang into the Priestess' eyes. She tried in vain to wipe them away, but they just kept flowing. Amelia pulled her friend into a hug and fought back tears of her own.
"T-thank y-you…" Ina said between sobs.
"You're *hic* w-welcome. J-just bring it back in one piece," Amelia said, pulling away from the hug slightly. The two girls looked at each other and smiled through the tears.
"I will!" Ina said confidently. They fully broke apart, Amelia returning the couch and Ina using some tissues that AO-chan retrieved for her.
"So you're coming with us?" Kiara asked curiously. Amelia nodded before being brought into another hug by the Phoenix. She was now fully burnt out and just accepted the rib crushing grasp that she was pulled into.
"Now that it's settled. You guys get some sleep." Even Calliope seemed affected by the show Amelia and Ina had just put on. The Reaper walked off with Emersyn following her, presumably to talk about a few more details.
Ina excused herself and made her way up to her own room. Gura gave Amelia one last, although more gentle, hug before also going up to sleep. Kiara said her own goodbyes, leaving to go to sleep herself.
Amelia was left on the couch, alone. She sighed.
What a day…
Author's Note: Most of the cards are out on the table, but some of them are still left to be played...
We start to see Calliope's true colors here. She is still caring and wants to be friends, just doesn't know how to. Kiara and her seem to be connected in some way that managed to overcome that hurdle. Let's just hope that the rest of the girls can manage that, as well. Amelia is being really patient with her, but she knows they need to work together if they want to get anywhere. That goes for both the missions they will be undertaking and Hololive itself.
Amelia finally taking a big step in her friendship with Ina is nice to see as well. They have been slowly getting more and more comfortable with each other, especially after Ina save Amelia from Primal Gura. The trust she is showing here is nothing short of spectacular. That watch means a lot to her, after all.
One more chapter before we get moving and it is one of my favorite chapters to date. The biggest reason for that is because Enma is our character of focus! Finally, we get to really explore that head of her's and she how she ticks. It is probably my best piece of character writing thus far in the story and I am incredibly proud of it. Hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I did writing!
Next Chapter: The Final Preparations
Any feedback/criticism is appreciated!