Chapter 19: History & Opera
The group was getting everything packed up in their hotel room, mainly Echo and Cherry, Sigma and Hibiki were sitting at the table, waiting for the two to finish. "Hey Sigma, mind if I ask you something?" Hibiki asked, a bit bored out of her mind.
"Go ahead and shoot." Sigma responded.
"I feel like I know the answer already, but are you going to keep traveling with us?" Hibiki inquired.
"Yep. Talked with Looker after the mission yesterday and he told me to stick with you three. Hope you don't mind an extra mouth to talk to." Sigma said.
"Honestly, I'm actually happy about it. You seem like a cool guy and I'm happy to be able to spend more time with you." Hibiki said with a smile. Sigma blushed a little bit as he thought about something to respond with.
"Hey if you don't mind me asking, are you scared of ghosts?" Sigma questioned. Hibiki was a bit confused at the question at first, but quickly realized why he asked it.
"Oh is this because of my reaction earlier?" Hibiki responded. Sigma nodded as Hibiki thought about what to say. "Well… yes and no. It's not like I get spooked easily, though some Ghost Pokemon do creep me out, but there's something about the supernatural that scares me." Hibiki said.
"...Don't you have psychic powers?" Sigma asked.
"I do and I'm scared of them. I only really started to discover more about them recently and I'm not exactly comfortable with what I've found out." Hibiki told Sigma, rubbing the back of her neck as she did so.
"Fair enough, I can understand that." Sigma said.
"You're not going to pry any more?" Hibiki asked, a bit surprised.
"You looked uncomfortable talking about your powers, so I don't want to talk about it too much if you're not exactly comfortable with it at the moment. Also the fact that I'm positive your sister would kill me if I upset you." Sigma told Hibiki. Hibiki nodded before glancing over at Echo, who seemed to not hear the comment.
"I appreciate that." Hibiki said, giving him a slight smile. Sigma smiled back as he blushed a little which Hibiki noticed and gave him a knowing smile. "Out of curiosity, would this happen to be about my reaction to passing by the old Opera House?" Hibiki asked.
"It would be, mainly cause I haven't seen that sour of a reaction to a ghost place in a while." Sigma commented.
"Well, my fear of ghosts is one reason, but there is another reason for it that I don't feel comfortable talking about." Hibiki said as she shuffled uncomfortably a bit.
"Fair enough, won't pry any further." Sigma said with a thumbs up. Hibiki smiled before getting up and dusting herself off.
"Yes we are, we got out a lot of equipment for the mission so this took a bit longer than predicted." Echo said.
"Have you two always had those suitcases with you?" Sigma asked curiously.
"Yep we do, we just ship to the next town we visit whenever we're done." Cherry told Sigma.
"They allow that here? Huh, Alaria is interesting." Sigma said.
"How long have you been in Alaria if you don't mind me asking? I was under the assumption that you've been here for at least two years." Hibiki questioned.
"I've only been here for a few months at most and even then, I've really only been at the base and keeping an eye on this town. From what I understand, the unit that Strong was in charge of was for setting up a base closer to one of the towns with gyms. As for why they decided that, I have no idea seeing as we have a main base already here." Sigma said. The three girls were a bit surprised when they heard Sigma say that and looked to him with a bit of hopeful anticipation.
"You wouldn't happen to know where this base is located, would you?" Echo asked.
"Sadly no, they brought me straight to what they called "Base Beta". I've never seen or been to the actual base they have here." Sigma responded.
"Well it was worth a shot to ask." Echo said, giving a bit of a sigh.
"Hey, we do know that Neo Cypher has a base in the region now. That's a vital piece of information." Hibiki said, trying to reassure her sister.
"In that case, I'll let Looker know to search the region the best he can, though with how secretive they are, we can't guarantee much." Cherry said. Sigma simply nodded as he stood up and grabbed his bag. "Anway, shall we get going before we spend an hour talking about things we can talk about while we're walking?" Cherry said as she grabbed her personal bag. The group nodded before they all got up and headed out of the hotel.
After eating lunch and getting their last affairs in order, the group talked and walked as they left the town, mainly filling in Sigma on some of the things that Alaria has. "Wow, you all weren't kidding when you said Alaria has to offer." Sigma said as he absorbed the information.
"Right? I'm surprised that you didn't study up that much on the place when Neo Cypher moved here." Hibiki said with a smile.
"Look… I'm lazy when it comes to that." Sigma said, looking a bit embarrassed.
"Oh you're like that too? Hibiki does that on occasion." Echo said, a grin appearing on her face.
"I-Ignore what she says, she speaks slander." Hibiki said, stuttering a bit as she turned her head.
"Don't worry about those two, they do this all the time for fun." Cherry told Sigma.
"Really? You two must be very close to put up with each other's bickering and playful jokes that much." Sigma commented.
"We've been together all our lives and we're twins, of course we learned how to deal with each other over the years." Hibiki said as Echo nodded.
"That's good, although if you don't mind me going back to talking about Alaria, I'm still a bit unclear on what these Blackout Events are." Sigma said.
"I can explain that if you two don't mind." Cherry said. Echo and Hibiki nodded before Cherry cleared her throat. "Ok, so do you remember what we explained about the electromagnetic field that is around the Alaria Region?" Cherry asked.
"That it's a natural field that has been around ever since the region was settled and that the people here have built their electronics with it in mind. It's also the main reason why Eastern Alaria hasn't been settled as much yet, as the center is predicted to be there." Sigma responded.
"That is correct. Since Western Alaria is more on the edge of the field, the effect is normally weak enough to where we could actually build here. That being said, these past 10 years, ever since a certain event known as The Surge, there have been days where we get these very sudden fluctuations in the EM field. When these fluctuations happen, most of the electronics in the region turn off, the only ones that don't turn off are ones specifically designed to handle the fluctuations." Cherry exposited.
"Dear god, do these happen regularly and are they strong?" Sigma inquired.
"See that's the tricky part, we still haven't been able to find out how often they happen. Sometimes they don't happen for like a month, sometimes they happen like 5 times a month, though they do seem to be a relatively consistent strength and length with a few exceptions." Cherry responded.
"Wow, I would have thought that living in a technologically advanced region would have little downsides, but those sound very rough. This might not be my place to ask, but how many people… you know?" Sigma said.
"A lot, let's leave it at that. We're still trying to figure out the exact cause of these fluctuations, but no progress has been made." Cherry said with a heavy sigh. Sigma nodded as the group continued on in silence for a moment. Eventually a building came into view and Echo noticed Hibiki tense up a little bit. The building looked like a big performance hall that looks like it hasn't been looked after for a few years, pieces of the walls on the outside broken off, broken windows, and a general gloomy look.
"I take it that's the opera house?" Sigma asked.
"That would be it, the Symphia Opera House." Cherry told Sigma. Sigma nodded before the name clicked and he turned to look at Hibiki and Echo.
"Why is it that I always bring up your grandmother in the most awkward ways?" Sigma asked, a bit disheartened.
"I wouldn't call it awkward, after all it's not like you know everything about her or our history so it's fine." Echo told him.
"I still feel bad about it. So… it was constructed in memoriam for your grandmother?" Sigma questioned.
"Actually, it was her favorite place to perform, specifically in Opera. It eventually got so popular that the place was named after her." Hibiki said, reminiscing a little bit.
"What happened to the place if you don't mind me asking, did it get left abandoned?" Sigma asked.
"Kind of, it was still fairly popular after our grandmother's death, but you know how it goes with the popular places. It eventually kind of just fell into obscurity and no one really took care of the place." Echo told Sigma. Sigma nodded and made a prayer as a sign of respect, which made Hibiki smile. As the group walked past the Opera House, Hibiki stopped before she looked around. "Something wrong sis?" Echo asked?
"It's nothing, I just thought that I felt something." Hibiki said as she gave a wary glance to the Opera House.
"It's probably just your imagination." Sigma said as he kept walking on. Hibiki nodded and continued on to catch up to the others. As they were about to walk away from the Opera House, Echo felt her phone vibrate and got it out to see she got a news notification.
"Uh guys, I think we should probably stop and set up camp." Echo said as she stopped walking.
"Why? We're making good time to the city." Sigma said nonchalantly. As if in response to Sigma's Question, a loud thunderclap rang out, scaring Sigma as he turned and saw storm clouds in the distance.
"That would be why, I agree that we probably could make it, do we really want to risk it?" Echo responded.
"Fair enough, let's get our camps set up." Sigma said. The group nodded and they began to get their camping equipment out when Sigma got an idea. "Actually, a weird question that I have, why don't we just spend the night in the Opera House?" Sigma asked.
"You… make a good point. Granted, I'm not thrilled about the idea of spending the night in the old Opera House, but it's better than spending the night outside. What about you two?" Cherry responded.
"I am fine with going in, but I'm also worried about Hibiki." Echo said before looking at her sister.
"Eh, I think I would rather stay out here. Besides, I don't have to go in, I can just stay by the entrance so you all can check on me if you need to." Hibiki said awkwardly.
"Look, I think Hibiki is fine to stay out here on her own. Besides, I don't feel comfortable about making her come into the haunted Opera House." Sigma said.
"Such a gentleman." Echo said sarcastically.
"Hey, she's doing it herself." Sigma told Echo as they walked closer.
"Now I don't think I need to say this, but if you feel like you need to come in, you can." Cherry reminded Hibiki.
"I doubt that I will, but I'll keep it in mind." Hibiki said as she sat by the entrance.
"Ok, we'll see you in the morning." Sigma said as he opened the door to the Opera House and entered. Cherry immediately followed Sigma and Echo hugged her sister, gave her a good luck pat on the head, and headed into the building. Hibiki simply nodded before she sighed and slumped against the wall next to the door.
"I know I can go in, but I just… feel weird doing it without you here." Hibiki said to herself as she hugged her knees to her chest. Hibiki sat there in silence for a few moments before she heard a Pokeball open and saw Melody next to her. "How you managed to figure that out from the inside is something I will be infinitely curious about." HIbiki commented.
"Secret to me and other pokemon." Melody responded with a playful smile. Hibiki smiled and the two sat together in silence as the storm approached, lightning booming in the distance. A few minutes had passed and Melody shook Hibiki to get her attention. "Someone's coming." Melody said as she hid. Hibiki kept an eye out and saw that there was someone walking up to the Opera House, which made her tense. Hibiki kept her eyes on her, but felt something calming about the figure walking towards her.
"Hibi…"
Hibiki's eyes widened and her pulse quickened as she looked around for the source of her voice before turning back and freezing in place. Walking up the stairs was a wispy, female woman in her late 50s with dark blue hair, white skin and purple eyes wearing a black dress with a white musc sash, purple shorts , and white heels. The woman turned to face Hibiki and gave her a smile before phasing through the door, leaving Melody a bit confused. "Ok, was that a spirit? Why does she look familiar?" Melody asked.
"Grandma…" Hibiki said in disbelief as she got up. Melody tilted her head before she remembered the memorial in Alaria City and realized what Hibiki meant.
"Wait… you don't think that was her ghost do you?" Melody asked.
"I heard my nickname… She looked like her…" HIbiki responded.
"I take it that you're going to be following her?" Melody asked. Hibiki simply nodded as she stood in front of the door, making Melody sigh before floating next to her. "Fair enough I suppose, just know that I'll be with you. After all, you'll need someone to keep an eye on you." Melody said with a wink.
"Thanks… and I do expect help if we run into ghosts." Hibiki said with a smile. Melody giggled a bit as the two of them entered the Opera House.
Meanwhile, with Echo's group…
Echo, Sigma, and Cherry all walked through the interior of the Opera house, walking through dilapidated halls with various cobwebs with Echo leading using a flashlight.. They also noticed a few Pokemon like Misdrivus and Gothia wandering the halls and hiding from them. "Wow, I knew this place was not going to be in the best condition, but it's still heart wrenching to see this place like this." Echo commented, her voice a bit shaky.
"Yeah, I haven't been here much myself, but it's certainly seen better days." Cherry said as she and Flame looked around. Sigma simply nodded as he kept an eye out for anything weird. As they walked through, they heard the sound of rain hitting the side of the building as the storm reached the building. "Maybe we should go back and check on Hibiki just in case." Cherry suggested.
"It's not that I don't want to, but she seems like a strong girl, she can handle herself." Sigma responded.
"As much as it would set my mind at ease, I agree with Sigma. She's a strong girl and can look out for herself." Echo told Cherry. Cherry simply nodded with a sigh as they continued on into the Opera House. After a few minutes of walking, the group arrived in a big open space with a somewhat ruined chandelier above a stage, balconies in various states lining the walls, and various broken chairs scattered along the floor.
"Wow, the performing area actually looks… kind of ok." Sigma said as he looked around.
"All things considered, I do agree. This looks like the most well kept place in the whole building." Cherry said. Echo nodded and began to walk forward before she saw someone on stage. As she turned to look at her two companions, she turned around and the ghost was gone. "You ok Echo?" Cherry asked.
"It's… nothing, just thought I saw someone up on stage." Echo said as she shook her head.
"Probably just paranoia, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Come on, let's get set up here." Sigma told Echo, patting her on the shoulder. Echo nodded before the group began to set up their camps in front of the stage. After they did get their camps set up, they decided to take a look around the area and get a small light set up. "Out of curiosity, what are you planning on getting for your team Echo?" Sigma asked.
"Well… I honestly haven't given it that much thought aside from catching Pokemon that I like." Echo said.
"That's usually how it goes I've noticed, most people just catch what they like and try to make it to the Pokemon League with that. That's not everyone mind you, just most people." Cherry commented.
"Makes sense, I always see trainers going around and catching a lot of Poekmon. Actually, do you two have any other pokemon besides the ones that I've seen?" Echo said. In response to that, Cherry got out two Pokeballs and called out both an Altaria and an Eevee.
"Alongside Flame and Delcaty, I have Cloud the Altaria and Ori the Eevee. I do have several more that I leave at the lab, but I only brought those that I wanted to bring" Cherry introduced.
"Wow, you really are prepared, guess they don't call you the Pokemon Professor for nothing. What about you Sigma?" Echo asked.
"Honestly, I only have the three you've seen. I never really wanted to be a Pokemon trainer personally, I just wanted to have a somewhat normal life." Sigma said.
"What made you want to be a member of Neo Cypher? If you feel uncomfortable answering, that's fine." Cherry asked.
"It's fine, the reason I joined is pretty mundane anyway. I was at a low point in my life, just general low income and bad times, when I got an offer to join Neo Cypher from a random recruiter on the street. They offered a good amount of money and even living quarters." Sigma explained as he thought back.
"Yeah I can imagine that would make anyone who feels jumpy about Neo Cypher shut up real fast." Echo said, sighing a bit. The three sat in silence for a bit before Echo once again saw the figure, walking through the aisles. "Ok, now I think I'm just seeing things." Echo said aloud as she shook her head.
"You see a spirit or something?" Sigma asked as he looked around.
"I think so, it's definitely human shaped, so it could be a Pokemon." Echo described.
"Maybe worrying about Hibiki is getting to your head and causing you to see things." Cherry told her. Almost as if on cue, the group heard the creaking of floorboards about two floors up above them, spooking Echo a bit. "Ok, now that I heard." Cherry said as she went on guard. As the group waited for something to happen, the creaking got closer before they saw someone staring down at them from one of the balconies one floor above them.
"There you three are." the group heard in their heads.
"...Melody?" Echo called. Melody nodded before floating down to the group as Sigma breathed a sigh of relief. "What are you doing here? I thought you would be out… Hibiki's in here isn't she?" Echo asked. Melody simply nodded as Echo sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose out of annoyance.
"From what she said, she saw a spirit that looked like your grandmother and wanted to see if she could find it again. We were together for a while but got separated when a Ghastly scared her down a hall." Melody said.
"Of course, can't you follow her via that psychic link that you two have?" Cherry questioned.
"Nope, I think her freaking out is messing with that." Melody told the group.
"Well… that's an issue. We did hear someone on what we think is the third floor. This place does have multiple floors right?" Sigma commented.
"It does, but it's been a while so I don't exactly remember the layout. Why is she on the third floor anyway?" Cherry responded. Echo thought about that for a moment before she remembered something and looked at Melody.
"I think I know where she might be heading. She might be heading to my grandmother's old office." Echo said.
"I'll head off to go find her then." Melody said as she floated up.
"Hang on, I'm going with you. After all, someone has to lead you to the office." Cherry offered as she returned Cloud and Ori to their Pokeballs.
"You know I was going to offer to do that, but I honestly feel better staying with Sigma." Echo told Cherry.
"Ok, you two have fun then and try not to get in each other's pants." Cherry said as she walked away. Echo and Sigma both looked at each other before they blushed profusely before they began to talk about other things as CHerry headed up to the third floor.
Meanwhile with Hibiki, she was currently calming herself down after running from the scare that the Ghastly had given her. "Ok, that was a trip. Are you still here Melody?" Hibiki said as she waited for a response. After a moment of silence, she sighed before looking around and not seeing her companion. "Well… shit." HIbiki said to herself as she leaned against the wall. As she thought about her options, she saw a few pokemon wandering the halls and passing her by, a few giving her a fat on her legs before walking away. "Huh… weird. Didn't expect some of the pokemon here to be friendly with me" Hibiki thought before she got up and dusted herself off.
"Biki…"
Hibiki immediately looked around and saw her grandmother's spirit down the hall, which she dashed towards. As she did, she passed by some balconies to the performing area and immediately got a sense of direction. "If I remember the layout of this place right, this should lead to her old office." HIbiki thought. After dashing down the hall and panting of exhaustion, she saw the spirit walk into the office. Hibiki came up to the door to the office and tried to open it to follow the spirit, only to find it locked. "Locked, makes sense given how long this place has been abandoned, but luckily I have a way in." Hibiki thought as she took the hair pin out of her hair. She kneeled down as her ponytail straightened and began to use her hair pin to pick the lock. After a few seconds and a few scares, she got the lock opened. "Thanks for those lockpicking lessons Grandma. Now then… let's see what you" Hibiki said to herself quietly as she opened the door.
She tied her hair back as she examined the office, notine how relatively well kept the room was compared to the rest of the building. A few things that she did notice is that the window was busted out, which let rain in the room, and that a lot of the cabinets looked rifled through, a few were even tipped over on their side. "Huh, she didn't usually keep her office like this…" Hibiki thought as she walked up to the desk. As she did, she noted that the dust on it looked relatively thin, like the desk had been disturbed recently. "Who would want to steal something from an old opera house office?" HIbiki thought.
Eventually, after looking around and finding various scattered documents and files, she found a shattered picture frame on the floor. She carefully picked up the frame and turned it around before gasping at the picture. "This picture…" Hibiki thought as her hands trembled. Hibiki simply stood there for what felt like ages before she heard some footsteps down the hall. "Hello?" Hibiki called out, more than a bit freaked out?
"HIbiki?" Cherry called from down the hall. Hibiki breathed a sigh of relief as both Melody and Cherry entered the room, Cherry looking very relieved to find her.
"Thank god it's just you two. I see Melody found you all." Hibiki said.
"Well someone had to come find you after you got scared away." Cherry told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. Hibiki looked at the ground out of embarrassment as Melody floated around the room and noted much of the same that Hibiki did. "So, did you find anything in here?" CHerry asked as she looked around.
"I found something, but it looks like someone recently came through here and looked through this place." Hibiki said as she motioned around the room while holding the picture. Cherry nodded and walked up to the desk where she ran a hand over the top of it.
"Looks like it was disturbed recently, I would say a few days ago at least." Cherry said.
"Which brings up a question that I'm pretty sure you both have. Who would want to steal something from an old Opera House?" Melody commented to the two. The three stood in silence as they thought about that before Cherry noticed the picture frame in Hibiki's hand.
"What do you have there?" Cherry asked, pointing at the picture frame.
"Oh this, just a memory of… an old time." Hibiki said, a sad smile on her face. Cherry tilted her head before Hibiki took the photo out of the frame and showed it to Cherry. The picture showed a young Hibiki and Echo with Aria and Symphia standing on the main stage of the Opera House, various flowers around them on the ground.
"I think I remember this picture. Wasn't this taken before…" Cherry said before trailing off.
"It was, and it reminds me of how many good times I had with my grandmother." Hibiki said as she looked at the photo again.
"You really did look up to her, didn't you?" Melody questioned as she looked at the photo herself.
"She was always there for me and the one that kept me company a lot of the time. Not like my mother didn't do the same, but when your grandmother was the regional Pokemon Champion, of course there will be some bias." Hibiki responded, a smile growing on her face. After a moment of silence, Hibiki sighed as she thought about something. "Hey Cherry, do you think we should tell Sigma about that day?" Hibiki asked the professor. Cherry tilted her head before she realized what Hibiki was talking about before thinking about the question.
"I honestly don't see why not. He is going to be traveling with us and it's going to come out eventually. Plus, he seems to have an uncanny knack for bringing your grandmother up." Cherry responded.
"See that I attribute to him guessing based on what we've told him more than anything else." Hibiki said. Cherry nodded and turned to walk to the door before looking at Hibiki.
"Just remember, even though you were with her in her last moments, you're not the only one who carries her death on your shoulders. Now come on, let's get back to the others." Cherry said. Hibiki nodded before Cherry gave her a smile and walked out of the room, Hibiki and Melody following shortly after. After a few minutes of retracing Cherry's steps, the three arrived back at the camp where Echo and Sigma were waiting. Echo, more than a bit relieved to see her sister safe, got up and ran over to hug her.
"Oh thank god, you're all right. I was beginning to worry something had happened to you." Echo said.
"I'm fine, don't worry so much about me." Hibiki responded as she returned the hug. The two hugged in silence for a moment as Sigma simply smiled.
"Good to see you two are so close, most siblings that I know of would be bickering in some way." Sigma commented.
"Well we've been together our whole lives. Sure, we can be insufferable to one another from time to time, but we look out for each other more often than not." Echo told Sigma. Sigma nodded as Hibiki sat down and brought out the picture that she had found. "What do you have there?" Echo asked.
"Just a little something I found in grandma's old office." HIbiki said as she held it out to Echo. Echo took the picture and looked at it before tearing up a little.
"Yeah… that is something that I remember very well." Echo said as she wiped her tears.
"What is it if you don't mind me asking?" Sigma asked.
"A picture with our grandmother a few days before she passed away." Echo responded. Sigma tilted his head before he got up to look at the picture.
"Wow, you two look very young in this." Sigma commented.
"8 years old… god has it been 10 years already?" Hibiki said. Sigma looked at the picture a little close and tilted his head in confusion.
"Ok, so which one is your grandmother? Is she the one with glasses or the one in that songstress outfit?" Sigma questioned. Echo pointed at her grandmother, the one in the songstress outfit, which made Sigam do a double take. "I don't mean to disrespect your grandmother, but how old was she? I'm only asking because she looks no older than her early 30s." Sigma asked.
"Trust me, you're not the only one to ask that question. She was in her mid 50s and the reason she looks so young is 'psychic fuckery' according to her." Echo responded.
"Huh, I guess that makes sense in a… weird, non-explanatory way." Sigma said.
"Hey, she is how we got our powers, so the two of us might yet figure it out." Hibiki responded. Echo laughed as she handed the picture back to HIbiki, which she put away. The group sat and talked about various topics for a few minutes before Hibiki coughed to get their attention. "So Sigma… I feel like we owe you an explanation about our grandmother." HIbiki began to say.
"What explanation? I feel like you've told me a lot already." Sigma responded.
"We kind of have, but I honestly feel like telling you about everything." Hibiki said, waiting to see Echo's reaction. Echo was silent as she processed what Hibiki said before giving a very surprised look. "He's going to find out eventually, might as well tell him now." Hibiki told her sister. Echo tried to come up with a good response, but sighed after thinking about it.
"You make a good point." Echo responded.
"Is there something you all haven't been telling me?" Sigma asked curiously.
"There is, but it's kind of a sensitive topic for Hibiki specifically. Frankly, I'm surprised she's actually willing to tell you." Echo told Sigma. Sigma tilted his head in curiosity as before Cherry chimed in.
"Do you remember when I told you about how the Blackout Events started after an event known as The Surge?" Cherry asked. Sigma nodded, a bit unsure about where this was going. "Well, the day that The Surge happened is also the day that Symphia passed away." Cherry said, being a bit careful with her words.
"Oh… Ok, that explains a bit. I was wondering why you just mentioned it and didn't go into more detail." Siga said.
"Yeah… sorry about that." Cherry said.
"It's fine, but if the topic is sensitive to you two, you don't have to tell me. Hell, you all literally just met me like a day ago and I was your enemy at that time." Sigma told Hibiki.
"See I can get where you're coming from, but you also do legitimately feel bad for even being with Neo Cypher and you even helped up with that operation on your old base." Hibiki responded. Sigma blushed at that comment before Hibiki grew just a bit more serious. "That being said, I do just want to make one thing clear. If I find out that you are in any way a spy for Neo Cypher that's just following orders and you pass what I'm about to tell you along, I will personally go out of my way to make your life a living hell. Now then, are we clear about that?" Hibiki said in a very threatening voice.
"...Crystal." Sigma said, not at all prepared for that tone coming from Hibiki. Hibiki immediately reverted back to her cheery personality and clapped her hands.
"Perfect, now where to begin?" Hibiki said before thinking about what to say. As they waited for Hibiki to start speaking, Sigma looked at Echo with a somewhat terrified look on his face.
"Your sister scares me." Sigma told Echo.
"This is one of her normal moods, I've never been able to tell when the switch is flipped for it though." Echo responded. Sigma simply gulped as they heard Hibiki snap her fingers.
"I suppose the best place to start is from the beginning. Even though it's been 10 years, I still remember the day vividly." Hibiki said.
"If you don't mind, maybe you should skip past to around when The Surge happened. I don't want you to feel inclined to say more than you should." Sigma told Hibiki. Hibiki nodded and began to recall the day of The Surge and her grandmother's death.
So actually ending off this chapter with the note this time around. Mainly just wanted to say thanks for being patient for me, school and personal stuff does that to you, and I hope you all liked this chapter even if it seems rushed in places. Now as for next chapter... well, I wouldn't wnat the exposition to be done off screen now would I?