Originally posted on Archive of Our Own on November 14, 2023

"What are you girls in here for?"

A Hololive Advent Story

"So, what are you girls in here for?"

My voice echoes throughout the chamber, passing through the adamantium bars before spreading out into the dark crimson halls. What follows is a deafening silence. This place has been quite empty for a few years now… maybe decades… it might even be a few centuries, who cares? When you're locked in prison, keeping track of time is the least of your priorities anyways. Gods knows what's happening on the surface, did armageddon strike yet? Did the heavens finally intervene? Or are we all living in some illusion?

"Are you really asking us that question just now?" A female voice responded, its tone unmistakable. The Demon of Sound.

"Hehehe, better late than never." I reply, "Besides, what's wrong with being more familiar?"

Constant pauses make communication a little inconvenient as our voices bounce their way to each of our own cells. Who knows how far it traveled. I've been stuck in this room for possibly even a millennia; same old velvet walls, same old chains, and same old throne. Our sound might be traveling miles to reach us considering the delay in the response, kinda like sending a written letter and waiting for a reply.

The Cell , an archaic prison that has existed since the ancient times. An underground complex created by the Gods to store and contain anything that may cause danger to the world at large… at least, that's what I've been told. According to my jailmates here, this structure was already considered ancient when they were first condemned to this abysmal place. At first, I thought it was going to be here till the day I die—no biggie, a mortal like me can just wait it out until my day comes—but I would quickly figure out the exact opposite. I'm still as young as I was when I was thrown in jail, it's as if time herself didn't even bother giving this dang heck of a place the privilege of age. I sat on my crystal throne with these chains putting me in place for gods knows how many years.

"Nerissa you first." A high pitched voice replies. It's none other than the living rock herself, but before any objections were to be made another bunch decides to insert themselves in the conversation.

"I wanna hear Biboo's story first though." A fluffy, sisterly voice eavesdrops in the conversation.

"Uhn!" Another, more fuzzy voice, chimes in, "I agree."

Ah~ the twins, certainly a doozy when identifying who's who in a strictly voice-only conversation. I remember the first time speaking to them and thought I was hearing double, like an echo bouncing off twice. Those little fricks kept it up for over a day and almost gaslit me into thinking I was going insane. Oh such… joyful memories. Eventually, if you listen to them long enough, you'll spot some unique differences in the way they talk. One of them has a certain verbal tic that, once you spot it, you'll never miss it ever again.

"No!" The talking gemstone immediately rejects, "I wanna hear you doggo's story first."

"Yeah~" The Demon of Sound barges into the conversation, "The twins have the closest relation to the gods, right? It'd be very interesting to hear why they threw you two in here."

I can only chuckle and giggle at their conversation, listening eagerly to the details of their words and tones of their voices. Ever since I was thrown in here, their echoes were the only companion I've had; they're the light in this hellish place we call prison. The conversations we had were the only source of entertainment available, depending on each other in order to not lose ourselves in the dark labyrinth. That's been our routine everyday.

… Huh, weird.

Usually the guards would be shouting at us right now to keep quiet, but it seems that they're absent, completely gone. No one has checked up on me, and I'm sure it goes the same for them as well. Weird, it's been like this since, I don't know, I lost track of time a long time ago; but I guess I'll cherish this little freedom we have.

"Whæt!?" The squeaky voice rings out through the halls, "No eh!"

"It's quite embarrassing." One of the twins pushes back, "I don't think we have the guts to tell you guys." Judging by the tone, they're blushing hard, probably beet red.

This conversation isn't going anywhere it seems, I guess I have no choice but to get the ball rolling. Waiting for an opening, the moment where these cacophony of sounds subsides. Soon the noises were gone just as fast as their voices erupted in the first place.

"Well, it seems that none of you want to go first so I guess I'll have to decide." I started off, "Hmmm… Nerissa, you go."

…

"Why me!?" The surprised voice reverberates across the cells.

"I'm going by the 'who's thrown into this hellscape first' order," I answer back, "and unfortunately, the Avatars condemned you first."

A defeated sigh follows. Even without seeing her, I can perfectly picture her slumping her shoulders. The halls go silent once more, all of us eagerly waiting for her to finally speak and hear her side of the story. My shackles swing as it clinks and clanks on each chain, the fire roars and simmers in my cell. Hesitant she is, I'm almost beginning to wonder if she'll follow up even. The most she ever gave us, besides her name and title, was her species; apparently she's a demon-raven hybrid, a unique combination if I do say so myself.

"Well…" Her words pierced through the silence, "Before I was thrown in here I used to sing… a lot."

"Really?" Biboo interjects with curiosity in her voice.

""Ohhh~, can you give us a sample?"" The twins awed in unison.

Damn, I'll seriously never gonna get used to that, they're so in sync with each other it's crazy. I find it absolutely adorable and mesmerizing. I let out a small giggle as I kept my silence, preferring to listen rather than talking over her.

"No… I'd rather not." Her voice drops to a pitiful one. The air around me changed, feeling sadness in her tone.

"Hm? Why's that?" I push on.

Nerissa hesitated on her words, "Apparently, my singing got a little too intense for the Gods." The Raven answered, "My voice was driving the people around me mad, insane even… but that wasn't my intention at all, I just wanted to sing and make people happy like the stories I've been told."

"Like the nephilim?" One of the doggos mutters. My ears perk up at the mention of a word.

"Uhn uhn, we were told stories of that too." Her counterpart added.

"... I believe that's it." An interesting piece of information indeed.

To my knowledge, the nephilim is an ancient deity that descended to the Earth during the beginning of the new era. It is said that her singing can heal all wounds and ailments, the sound that can bring upon beauty, the voice that can drive away darkness and summon light. Though, I'm not sure how many of those are exaggerations or just made-up nonsense. Most, if not all, of the records came from third-hand reports, which mainly consists of rumors or passed down information; oftentimes unreliable, inconsistent, and conflicting.

"I had a giant target painted on my head and sooner or later, the Avatars came after me." She grimaced as she retold her story, "I tried to run, defend myself, but it was useless." A pause occurs, "Eventually, one of them landed a blow on one of my horns, cutting it clean… and before I know it, I'm trapped deep below ground."

"Wait, you have horns!?" The living rock was surprised by this revelation.

"Well, duh!" She answers, "I'm a demon, of course I'm gonna have horns!"

"I… I thought you were more raven than demon." The Jewel defended with a hint of embarrassment, "Dang it."

I suppress a chuckle as I hear the cackling of the twins in the background, "To be fair, we haven't really seen each other in person, we're all just voices speaking into the abyss."

"Fair enough, fair enough." The Demon of Sound lets it slide as the noise fades and turns mute, "Well, that concludes my story, who wants to go next?"

Nerissa's story definitely gives me a better picture of her as a person, a woman who's a demon-raven hybrid that has a broken horn. It seems that she also has a direct conflict with the Avatars, this makes me kinda happy that I'm not alone in this; it's something about sharing experiences with others which triggers a warm feeling in my heart.

"I guess I'm next, considering that I'm the second person imprisoned here." Biboo states.

Looks like the ball is finally rolling.

Ah~ Biboo, or Bijou if you're looking for a real name. Through the countless centuries we've been chatting I can imagine her being on the smaller end based on her high pitched voice, it just makes sense.

"I already told you guys about me, right?" She asked, "Because it's going to be important for context."

Me and Nerissa followed up with yeses and hums, but it felt like something was missing. Somehow the air felt a bit emptier, it lacked something or someone; might I even say some people . Then it became clear who hadn't responded…

It's the twins.

"Uhm you see…" The older sibling responds in an embarrassed chuckle, "We kinda forgot."

"It's her fault by the way." The younger is quick on the blame game, not even wasting a second to avert any responsibilities and putting it all on the older.

"Me!?" The sister gasps as if betrayed by her twin yet her soft voice struggles to portray it, "You should've been paying attention too."

"But we agreed that you're the one in charge of remembering things."

Oh these two, if there's still any doubt that they aren't siblings, here's the proof that they are. They continue this back and forth pointing fingers and excuses for almost a minute by now. The others, including me, find it very amusing listening on as their familial banter travels its way through our cells. I personally don't have a sibling of my own, but hearing them like this makes me wish I had one.

"Okay, okay, you two don't have to fight." Biboo steps up, clearly still giggling with a poor attempt to cover it up, "I guess it doesn't hurt to do a little recap, it's been a while since I told it too."

"Well, as some of you may already know, I am a living gemstone, a Bijoulite to be specific."

She states as the twins hum as they listen closely, "As far as I know, I'm one of a kind."

"Because of this the people; the greedy, the rich, and the powerful, want me in their possession." She said with a hint of pain between her voice, "I've been passed down, stolen, won over, and even traded numerous times; more than I could remember."

"Treated more like a thing, like gold or silver, rather than a person... and just like gold and silver, I've spent most of my existence either locked up in a vault or on display as a trophy or something."

"That's rough." A fluffy twin's voice commented.

Indeed, that is quite a rough way of living, people caring more about your material value than as a person must be really demotivating and extremely dehumanizing. The mere thought of individuals not even seeing you as a living, breathing being must hurt. I'm sure some people would like to be treated to the likes of precious metals like gold, or valuable jewelries like diamonds; but taking it literally gives it an entirely new context, more grim and depressing.

"Yeah." Biboo replies.

"So how did you get thrown in here?" I ask, wanting to hear more of her side of the story, "Did the Avatars just break in the vault?"

"Kinda like that." The Jewel confirms, "They broke down the metal door one midnight and I thought I was finally free, but…" Her voice whimpers, drawing out the word at the end of that sentence, "They threw me behind a new containment instead, surrounded by the colors gray and black."

I don't know what to say, giving someone false hope like that is plain cruel. I get trying to get her away from the public's eye and all, but throwing her in a prison in an attempt to do so is awful. I could only imagine being in her position, never seeing the blue sky ever again would be damning, I'd much rather end it all there than go from one hell to another.

"Life is cruel indeed." The Raven expresses her sorrow.

"But hey! At least I got to meet you guys, so that's a plus!" She tries to lighten the mood and it works.

Every cloud has a silver lining, the only difference is how much one can tolerate every misfortune just to witness the light at the end of the tunnel. I doubt I'll even meet these lovely ladies if I hadn't committed a crime that even the Gods can't ignore, it made being in prison slightly less hellish. Kinda sound schizophrenic now that I think about it, making friends with voices that echo throughout the hall is certainly an eyebrow raiser to outsiders.

Well that's two done and just one more before me. I notice the two have gone silent, probably knowing that they're next in line for the confession. The twins, the metaphorical sunshine in the abyss, witnessing they're shenanigans is always a sight to see… I guess in this case it's a noise to hear. My interest for these two are slightly higher than the rest considering how secretive they are when it comes to their past.

"Now that Biboo's done, who's next?"

No noise…

I wait a little longer before continuing, hoping that they'll respond, and they don't, but I still have a trick up my sleeve to make them speak, "Chihuahua and umm… Fuwawa right? Yeah, that's it!"

"Shioriiiiii~, We told you how many times already?" That got them to speak up, "I'm not a chihuahua, I'm Fuwawa!"

"And I'm not Fuwawa, I'm Mococo eh!"

Chuckles from the other two can be heard traveling down the halls. Fuwawa and Mococo— or FuwaMoco as they want to be called when referring to both of them—the self-proclaimed demon guard dogs from the Northern Passage, located somewhere near the gates of the Underworld. I guess it's also important to note that it's not just the two of them that's locked in here, apparently they have a third cellmate named Pero, who they claimed is their pet. An odd set of people; as Nerissa said, they're the closest ones to the gods… relatively speaking. The two stated that they didn't know any of them personally, they just took orders from them.

"Now that I got your attention, mind telling us how you got here?" I held a little chuckle as I backed them into a corner with pressure from all sides. Nerissa and Biboo are done so they can't pass the question to them while I control the conversation. A checkmate if you will.

"... Uh-uhn" Mococo mutters something, I think it's Mococo.

Her sister took a while to say something, usually they would always have each other's back, "Promise us you won't laugh?"

Laugh? O-okay, we'll just go with the flow I guess. It's an odd request, and I can tell the others are just as confused as me; I mean, surely it can't be that embarrassing? So far the stories have been pretty messed up and judging by that I assume that the twins shouldn't be far off from the mark. Interestingly, this only serves to make me more intrigued, now I need to hear their story. My brain is running wild, trying to think what ticked the higher beings off so much that they imprisoned these two.

The twins still hesitated.

"... Here we go." The older twin's voice got a little shaky, "Moco-chan, together in three… two… one…"

""We were imprisoned because we were too irritating to deal with!""

…

What the–

"Nah you're bullshitting us." Nerissa is in utter disbelief at the twins' joint statement.

Same can be said with the Jewel, "Surely there's more than that! Surely!"

Well dang, who knows being a pain in the butt was a crime these days? Because I sure didn't. Like holy sh–crap, that was a whiplash from the other more serious stories, I expected some deep dark secrets to come out of their mouths but I'm hit with the most mundane—even pitiful—answer. I guess it's my fault for hyping myself up this much, what could two fluffy and fuzzy twins do? End the world? They probably don't even think about it; Kill someone? They most likely don't have the guts to do so based on the countless years of us interacting; Steal something? They'll definitely just feel guilty and turn themselves in after an hour or so.

"It's true eh!" Mococo added, "That's why we didn't want to tell you guys!"

"They thought we were a pain to handle, so they just uh… sent us to prison." Fuwawa's tone dropped off at the tail end. Both sounded absolutely defeated.

Shock filled the air. Honestly, how can you even follow up on that? I'm willing to bet the others are feeling the same as well, it's pretty straightforward and so mundane.

"Did… did you guys like, do something bad to annoy them?" Nerissa was the first to break the awkward silence, "Like being too feisty or maybe biting people too much?"

"Yeah, there's gotta be more than that." I said with the same disbelief as the previous.

"No eh." I can hear Mococo's head shaking from that one, "We were just not doing our jobs correctly… uhn."

"You see umm… it's actually the exact opposite." Fuwawa corrects, "We were too kind, and we let too many people in the Underworld which caused a lot of trouble."

"That's just sad." Biboo commented.

Well, that was an interesting revelation… Who knew not doing your job would instantly damn you to the deepest, darkest pit in the world?

As the silence returns to the dark halls, the all too familiar prison ambience returns to our ears. The crackling fire, the chirping and hissing of the insects far beyond my vision, and the subtle hum of my chains that… wait a minute, it's gone silent and it's crimson glow, it's dissipating before my eyes; like a candle dying out. What's happening? I can move my arms a little freely now, a sensation I haven't felt since I was imprisoned in this godforsaken building. It's still a bit numb from the lack of use but, I can feel my strength slowly regenerating in my limbs. At the corner of my eye I saw the familiar black puddle starting to animate itself.

Could it be…?

"Yorick?" I whisper under my breath.

It has to be. Alas, poor Yorick is back from the dead. My dear little companion has returned after all these years, finally back to greet me.

"Hey, Shiori!" The Raven's voice calls my name, "It's your turn!"

I was immediately broken from my train of thought, "O-oh, of course, it's time to tell you my story."

I cough, clearing my throat as I prepare to tell the journey that I went through to get condemned.

"Truth be told, I stole something from the Avatars."

Gasps soon followed. If you want to catch the full attention of a group of people? One of the ways you can do it is to start off with something shocking. Stealing from deities will always,

without fail, catch the interest of a lot of people

""How did you even do that!?"" FuwaMoco asked in an exasperated voice.

I gave them a chuckle as I reminisced. The events that led to it ain't easy; days, weeks, months, times that I've expended trying to find the treasure of the Avatars.

"How did I do it? It's simple really." I begin, "It was during a time where I was really, really invested in this book about lost artifacts of the old world; it's a great read by the way."

"Within this book contains a text referring to an artifact that's rumored to contain information beyond our own understanding… and let's just say, human curiosity is one heck of a motivator."

"What did you steal exactly?" Biboo asked.

"A tome, a tome that holds unparalleled knowledge of both the known and the unknown." I still recall it very vividly, ingrained in the wrinkles of my brain are the details, "It looked purple, or more like violet with engravings embossed on its cover."

The memories are still unfortunately clear, replaying itself at the back of my mind for me to remind myself of the harrowing events that unfolded back then. Forgetting is pointless, its been engraved in my mind ever since, like a scar that didn't fully heal. Everytime I thought i have forgotten about the incident it would flash before my eyes, making a fresh impression at the cost of my sanity. Though I've gotten used to it through the years, the fact the it never disappears makes me question just what it did to me.

It was there, on its dust filled pedestal lay the artifact, hidden within a ruined tower-like structure. At first glance, it looks like a simple book—because it is—but it felt off, like it was calling out to me. Whispers found their way deep in my ears, speaking directly to me; not to my body, but to my soul.

Come closer, child…

The silver moonlight shone its brightest rays, illuminating the pedestal. My hand caressed its leather exterior as if it was a living animal. Fingers hovering over the corner with intentions to peak inside. Hesitation and second thoughts tried to stop me, but to no avail.

Don't be afraid…

The hands grasped the cover as I slowly opened the tome, and before I knew it, whispers suddenly invaded my mind. It attempted to intrude, I felt it drill into my skull, I felt it changed something within me. My tears duct flow with black ink and my clothes melt like ice on a hot day. I used all my willpower trying to not pass out, enduring the neverending attacks to my mind and soul.

I am what thou seek, I am what thou yearned for… Isn't that right, young Novella?

My body froze, stiff like one would be if they saw something beyond their comprehension. Its words seduced me, tempting me with my deepest desires, weaponizing it against me. Such an act of cruelty, but I was trapped in it like a net. My mind fought like a game of tug of war, battling for dominance over control of my sanity, but this… this thing… this being is beyond my own.

I tried to resist, but each attempt was a fruitless endeavor as it kept getting stronger; quickly adapting and responding. It was a losing battle.

Free me and I can give you everything you desire…

But… Why should I resist? The key for infinite knowledge is right in front of me, presenting itself with no further troubles. It's not like I have to fight a golem or a serpent, it's free for the taking.

Isn't this what you wanted…?

Isn't this what I wanted…

My hands, whether I was in control or not, held the book above its pedestal. The aura was unexplainable, but I can confirm that I was indeed a powerful one. I held it close, I held it tight making sure my grip was firm and steady. I held it like it was my only salvation, like it's been a part of me now, but it always felt like it's the other way around.

Those exact memories are always on replay, forever a burden to me for the rest of the foreseeable future. Oh, looks like I dozed off again, I'm supposed to be telling them a story and I'm out here thinking to myself. They're probably waiting for me to finish and this silence is only adding to the anticipation.

"Of course, you know how this ends by now, considering I'm locked in here with you guys." I said, "I ran with the book and it didn't even take them long to catch wind of my crime and inevitably catch me. All I know is that I was knocked out and awoke to chains around my body."

"Oh wow." The Demon of Sound was first to comment, "I'm surprised they didn't kill on the spot for that."

I'm just as surprised as well. Stealing is already bad enough, but from literal gods? Now you're just asking for them to smite you. Was it mercy? No, this isn't mercy, mercy would be killing me right then and there; instead they condemned me for eternity in this abysmal confinement never to see the light of day again. I tried to play god and attempted to acquire as much knowledge as I could, but was immediately struck down and condemned to the dark abyss. It was foolish of me, mortals cannot become a god on their own; a mortal will remain mortal until the day they die. Like an ant thinking they can become human by doing human things, but at the end of the day, it's still an ant; no more no less.

Was it Pride? Was it Envy?

Oh who am I kidding? Questioning myself is pointless at this point, what's done is done. It's not like the gods can–

CLANK!

Huh?

"What was that noise!?" Nerissa shouts in a panicked voice.

""AAAAHHHHHH!"" The twins synchronously yell in terror.

"HUAH!" Biboo screams in a muffled voice, probably covered by her hands.

"Guys, what was that!?" The Demon asks, still confused, "You guys okay!?" Echoes of confirmation shortly followed from the others.

I look below me… the chains, it fell to the floor. Whatever godlike magic that is within those shackles somehow dissipated, leaving me free. I lift my arms as I can finally flex my shoulder muscles, the feeling is so euphoric, the sensation of finally being able to move without something heavy tying it down. Like a bubble of stress and pressure finally popping, relieving me from the confines that these metal links supported. I edge myself closer to the corner of my seat, daring for myself to touch the ground… with one… and then two. As my boots touch the dusty, cracked floors it's when I finally decide to stand up; and with one swift push, I'm already upwards.

W-whoa! Almost lost my balance there.

Now that my feet are anchored, the question remains; Why is this happening? I mean I'm glad that it's happening and all but… why?

Are the gods playing with me? Is this some kind of mockery? Teasing me with this sense of liberty before shoving me back to this bastille? Weary, I still am. I take a cautious step forward—left then right, left then right—until I reach the bars of my prison cell.

"Shiori!? Are you good there!?" The Demon of Sound yells into the void with a concerned voice.

Slowly I feel a smile form on my face, soon it turns into a grin, "I'm fine, Nerissa."

I sense a slimy substance crawl over my left leg, looking down I'm met with a very pleasant surprise. My companion is once again alive and roaming and now attempting to grab my attention. His ink-like appearance partnered with a spiky exterior might seem unfriendly to others, but trust me, he's quite a sweetheart if you get to know him. I grab this little blob and place him on my shoulder where he comfortably porches himself like a parrot.

"My dear Yorick," I look at him as I whisper, "I have a little assignment for you."

I then lean towards the dark metal bars, "Hey girls…"

"Hm?"

""Un?""

"What is it?"

I laugh, chuckling at the plans that I've concocted within my head. So, the dominoes have started to fall, "Wanna have some fun?"

Author's Notes:

Just a little idea I had in my head, basically my interpretation of Advent ore and the event before the "Breach". Slightly related to the world of HOLO-LIFE MYTH, you may see some shared worldbuilding and lore from there.

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