Chapter Nineteen - No Longer Human

—

"Aaurghh! Aaaah! Huf, huf, huf, Aaarrggghhh!"

My head...! It's splitting open..!

*Crack*

*Spurt*

*Rip*

Something's coming out of my skull... and it's about to burst through my forehead..!

"Aaaaaaaaaarrrrrggghhhh!"

"The Kirin's flower... I've only ever seen it in books. I never thought that I would get to see that mystical plant, or a human stupid enough to eat it."

Ugh! Shion...

"Damn... that's freaky..."

Shiori... you're not helping...

"Amelia?! What's happening to you?!"

I don't know either Bijou... I don't know-

"Aaaargg! huff... aaaaghhh!"

"This isn't good! I have to end her while I still have the chance! Telum Arcana!"

*Boom!*

*Shiiing*

Something... protected me?

"A magic barrier!?"

"Aaaarghhh! Aaaargh! Uuuuuughhhh!"

It hurts like hell... and something's wrapping around my entire body...

"Auuuugh! Uuurrgghh!"

"Uuuugh!"

"Arghh..."

"Ugh..."

I come to my senses.

This power is amazing, I feel like each and every cell in my body is supercharged. I can also feel this connection to my surroundings, like I'm drawing my power from the nature outside, or maybe it's the other way around.

I actually did it. I ate the Kirin's flower and became a Kirin, just like Fauna. I feel so powerful, and the only drawbacks are the vines wrapping around my body and the horn growing out of my forehead. That, and my looming death, but I can't think about that right now, I have to focus on saving Gura and the rest!

I move my hands in a motion similar to drawing a bow, creating an arrow made of intertwining vines and roots stretching between my hands.

This attack feels like second nature to me, like I've known how to use it since forever. This must be some kind of... inherited attack that all Kirins can use.

I let go of the arrow in my hands, sending it flying towards Shion at the speed of a bullet fired out of a rifle. [Kirin's Arrow]

"Barriera!" Shiori quickly chants, creating a yellow force field around her.

*Snap!*

The arrow splinters upon making contact with Shion's barrier, sending pieces of magic and nature flying out.

But my arrow's attack isn't over yet, a small piece of it continues on it's path and makes contact with Shion's right shoulder.

*Thud!*

*Crack!*

"Argh! I won't let you get away with that!" Shion shouts as her spell book quickly flips from page to page, before stopping somewhere in the middle.

"Lightning Strike: Blitz." Shion chants, her hands crackling with electricity. I try to dodge to my side, but before I can even move an inch,

*Crackle!*

*Bwooow!*

I'm hit square in the face with three hundred million volts of electricity.

Holy shit. I thought I was gonna die. In fact, if I wasn't a Kirin, I probably would have died just now. I mean... my face definitely stings, but I actually just tanked that hit.

"You're not free just yet, Amelia." Shion says as she brings her hands together and stretches them out towards me. Though, her arms aren't stretched high up, as she can't raise her right arm up fully. "Augue!" Shion shouts, summoning a blazing fireball from her hands and sending it flying at me.

It's going too fast for me to avoid, I'm gonna have to take it head on.

I raise my arms to guard myself and brace for impact, closing my eyes as I wait for the attack to hit me.

*Booom!*

The fireball collided with something, but it's not me. "Amelia... go get her..!" It was Bijou..!

Bijou took the hit for me. I can't let her efforts go to waste, I need to immobilise Shion right here and now.

I stretch my arms back like drawing a bow, and launch the Kirin's Arrow.

As my arrow flies through the air, Shion draws a circle in the air in front of her. "Reflect!" She shouts, creating a purple magic circle in the place where she just drew.

As the name suggests, the magic circle bounces my arrow back at me. I raise my hand towards the arrow, unwinding the interwoven roots and vines it's made of, destroying it in the process.

"Lightning Strike!"

*Crackle*

But as the arrow is destroyed, it's replaced by a lightning bolt following its flight path.

*Crackle!*

*Bwooow!*

"Uuuuurrgghhh!" I scream in pain as my body is flooded with hundreds of millions of volts of electricity.

This one is way stronger than the last one... it burned a huge part of my chest, and my body feels like it's completely paralysed.

"Urgh!" I grunt in pain as I fall to the floor, catching and supporting myself with my right hand. "Haha! Looks like even the mighty Kirin isn't enough to beat the genius Murasaki Shion!" The witch says arrogantly as she walks towards me.

As Shion makes her way forwards, I discretely focus my power on my right hand, creating vines that travel under the ground until they sprout around Fuwawa's chains.

This is all or nothing. I've gotta hope that Fuwawa can suprise attack Shion without her noticing.

"Enbinding Chains." Shion chants as she stands in front of me, causing a small section of chain to come out of her spell book. She then grabs it with her left hand and pulls upwards, causing more of the chain to come out.

"I'm sorry, Amelia. But I have to protect them." Shion says as she fully pulls out the chain and lets it fall to the floor.

*Tink*

"Don't be sorry Shion, because you won't do anything." I say, looking up confidently at the witch. "What?" She remarks in suprise as she takes a small step backwards.

But the danger isn't in front of her. It's behind her.

*Shlick*

"Blurgh..." Shion coughs up blood as a blue claw goes straight through her chest.

Damn, I didn't expect her to go that far.

"Thanks for the help, Amelia." The roughed up dog says as she pulls her weapon out of Shion.

"Heh, you got me..." Shion chuckles softly, spewing blood as she drops the chains and walks backwards. She walks until her back is against a bookshelf that she then supports herself on as she drops down to the floor.

I walk up to the injured witch and kneel beside her. "I don't want to hurt you Shion, I just wanna know why you attacked my friends." I tell her, trying my best to sound gentle.

"Looks like you hurt me plenty enough." Shion remarks sarcastically as she points to the hole in her chest. Of course Shion wouldn't wanna talk after Fuwawa did that to her. I need to show her a good gesture.

I reach my right hand out in front of Shion's wound. I've seen Fauna do this before, I hope I can do it too.

"Just what do you think your doing?" Shion asks with suspicion as she looks at my hand. "I'm gonna heal you." I respond determinedly. Thoug, I'm not sure if this will actually work.

"You're gonna what!?" Fuwawa shouts, completely blindsided by my decision. I know it's risky, but I have to get Shion to trust me.

Fwooh. Okay, Amelia, just focus on healing Shion (even though I don't know how to). Here goes nothing, uh... "Healing go!"

Suddenly, my hand glows a bright green and emanates a warm aura. Is it actually working?

The hole in Shion's chest quickly begins to close as her chest heals. Eventually, every lost bit of blood, flesh, and bone is restored close to their original state.

"Amazing... You're healing magic is even stronger than Kanata's." Shion remarks in awe as she looks at the newly recovered part of her chest.

"Now do you trust me? Can you tell me why you hurt my friends?" I ask kindly as I retract my right hand.

Fuwawa quickly jumps back after seeing Shion healed and raises her arms in a fighting stance. "Watch out Amelia, you don't know what this witch might do!"

"Relax dog, since I know that you're not gonna hurt me, I might as well tell you the truth." Shion says as she slowly stands up and dusts off her clothes.

Good. Now I can find out why Shion did all this, and if she has any relation to Laplus. And maybe now that Shion trusts us she'll be willing to give us some food. Though, Fuwawa looks less convinced about Shion's trustworthiness.

"Laplus told me that if I didn't stop you from going to Indonesia, she would kill Subaru and Ayame." Shion explains. "Laplus held them hostage?" I ask, and Shion meekly nods yes.

"Aren't you stronger than Laplus? Couldn't you just beat her and save your friends?" Kronii said that Shion is one of the only people who could beat all of Secret Society at once, so how could they possibly pose a threat to her?

"No, Laplus infected them with a virus Koyori created that will kill them in a few days, and she'll only give me the antidote if you don't make it to Indonesia." Shion explains meekly.

That's sick. I can't believe Laplus world resort to such cruel tactics just to stop us from reaching Indonesia.

Wait.

"Laplus knows that we're going to Indonesia?!" I ask Shion in a panic. "That's right, she knew since a few days ago." Shion responds.

One of our biggest advantages during this mission was the element of suprise. Laplus didn't know that we were coming, so that gave us an opportunity to talk to Kaela in secret. And if negotiations with Kaela were to ever go south, a suprise attack would be an available option.

But now that Laplus knows that we're coming, that advantage is completely lost.

"Shit..." I mutter frustratedly, squeezing my fist. "Laplus is a dangerous foe, Amelia." Shion tells me as she walks to a bookshelf at the back of the room. "That's why I can't risk defying her." She says as she takes a book out of the bookshelf.

*Ruuuummbbbllllleeee*

The bookshelf slowly opens like a door, revealing a secret room behind it. "Shion! What are you doing!?" I shout at the double crossing witch. "I'm still feeling the fatigue from our battle, so I'm calling for help." Shion replies as she stares into the room behind the staircase.

The room is pitch black as the light from inside the tower can't reach the room's interior, causing whatever might be inside that hidden room to be shrouded darkness.

"It's a little silly, but Laplus was afraid that I might lose to you today, so she brought in an ally that I hid in this room just in case." Shion explains as she pulls the bookshelf, further opening the secret door.

This is absurd... Shion was already a big enough problem as is, and now you're telling me that she was hiding an ally in that room the whole time?!

I take a hard look at the dark room, trying to make out any details about whoever's hiding in there.

"I'll give you a hint." Shion says playfully as she looks at me staring into the darkness. "She's from Hololive's special development group, GAMERS."

GAMERS, huh? Let's hope it's not who I think it is. But with those pointy ears and that bushy tail, it's pretty safe to assume that the girl in that room is...

"Shirakami Fubuki-"

[ Ookami Mio - Spirit Channeller ]

"Oh, it's just Mio. Hehe, I was seriously afraid for a second there." What a relief, I thought that I would have to fight one of Hololive's strongest members, but it's just the wolfman.

"Hey! Don't underestimate me! I'll have you know that even the Shirakamis fear the mighty Ookamis!" Mio shouts as she flaps her arms around in anger.

"Well last time that I checked, even Ookami Mio is nothing compared to the mighty Shirakami Fubuki." I reply teasingly, completely ignoring Mio's attempt to convince me of her strength.

"Alright then! I'll just have to show you how strong I am!" Mio says determinedly as she draws the sword hanging around her waist.

"Let me go Amelia, I really wanna fight her." Fuwawa says as she pushes me aside and walks in front of Mio. "Alright, she's all yours." I tell the eager hell hound.

"Meanwhile, I'll make sure that this witch doesn't interfere." I say as I put my hands on the floor, creating vines under Shion that sprout up and wrap around her body. "Hmph, I wasn't intending to, but do whatever you want." Shion scoffs as the vines around her tighten, holding her in place.

"I haven't seen you before, are you a member of Justice?" Mio asks as she cautiously examines her opponent. "No way, it's actually the other way around." Fuwawa replies, smirking playfully.

"What..?" Mio exclaims in confusion before quickly getting back into focus. "Whoever you are, it doesn't change the fact that I'll beat you!" Mio says confidently as she points her sword at Fuwawa.

"Just try it!" Fuwawa shouts as she launches a beam of ice from her mouth. [Ninth Circle: Treacherous Ice]

"O' great fire spirits, please bless my blade." Mio shouts, suddenly causing her sword to be engulfed in wispy flames. [Spirit Enhancement: Onibi]

Mio slashes Fuwawa's icy blast with her sword, splitting the beam down the middle.

*Booom!*

The split up ice beams fly past Mio and collide with the dark room behind her, sending rubble and ice flying out of the hidden room.

Fuwawa swiftly raises her arms up before slamming them back down, causing Mio to suddenly fall to the floor. [Fourth Circle: Greedy Weights]

As Mio struggles to get up, Fuwawa swipes the air with her hand, creating a powerful gust of wind that flies at the encumbered wolf. [Second Circle: Lustful Tempest]

"Agh!" Mio shouts as she's sent flying into the room behind her.

*Boooom!*

"Was that it? I expected more from a 'mighty' Ookami." Fuwawa says smugly as she looks at where Mio landed.

"That's right! You really showed her who's boss, Fuwawa!" Shiori cheers, pumping up her arms.

"Don't get too cocky. Mio hasn't even used her most powerful technique yet." Shion replies confidently, causing me to get an unsettling feeling.

She must be talking about Hatotaurus, that freaky pigeon, wolf, human hybrid. I heard that it was as strong as Noel. If that's true, then we might be in some serious trouble.

"I'm sorry Korone, Okayu, Fubuki. Looks like I won't be joining you guys for any more streams." Mio's voice says from the darkness. That sounds ominous, just what is that Hatotaurus gonna do?

"O' mighty Hatotaurus, your master calls for you!" Mio shouts. She must be summoning it!

Unable to take the suspense, Fuwawa opens her mouth and launches another icy beam at Mio, aiming at the dark room she's in.

*Booom!*

*Craack!*

The attack lands, creating icicles that stick out of the hidden room were Mio hides.

That attack was a direct hit. Was Mio able to defend?

"Hah! I've never summoned Hatotaurus at twenty five percent power before! This is amazing!" Mio shouts giddily from behind the icicles.

*Booom!*

The entire tower shakes violently as something slams into the wall, that must be Hatotaurus's doing. But what exactly did it hit? Don't tell me that thing turned on its master and attacked Mio.

*Thud!*

*Thud!*

*Crash!*

The room rumbles as Hatotaurus breaks through the ice and slowly steps out of the hidden room, and into the light of the tower's main room.

It's huge, looking to be around nine or ten feet tall. And it's extremely muscular, with horns at the top of it's pigeon head. And with those wolf legs and pitch black wings, it really looks like a true demon.

"What... is that..?" Fuwawa exclaims as her eyes widen in horror at the sight of the hulking beast. "This looks like bad news..." Shiori adds, quivering in that same fear.

"Haha! That's Hatotaurus, the Ookami's greatest weapon! Though, it looks like it's going rogue!" Shion laughs manically, looking smug as ever.

This is serious. That thing looks strong, even stronger than Noel, and maybe even Fubuki. It even took an attack from Fuwawa head on without a single scratch.

I wish I could help, but if I let Shion go then we would have to worry about fighting her and Hatotaurus at the same time.

Fuwawa and Shiori are in bad shape, and so are the others that are bound in Shion's chains. The only hope we have is for me to heal them, which would allow us to fight all at once, but I can't do that if I'm busy holding off Shion.

Damn... just what can I do?

"Uwooooooohhh!" Hatotaurus roars as it charges at Fuwawa. Fuwawa hastily jumps backwards and swings her arms down. [Fourth Circle: Greedy Weights]

But Fuwawa's attack doesn't seem to faze the beast, as it gets close to Fuwawa and slams its fist into her stomach, sending her flying through the walls of the tower.

*Booooom!*

Shiori quickly but clumsily stands up as Hatotaurus gets closer, and frantically flips through her book's pages. "Oh hell no, I'm not dying to you." She says as she rips a page out of her book.

"Coooooo!" Hatotaurus roars before it makes its way towards Shiori. "On April 5, 1815, Mount Tambora-" Shiori tries to activate her ability when Hatotaurus hits Shiori over the head, crushing her body under both of its hands.

"Shiori!" I shout in despair as I watch my friend's life end by that monster's hands. "This is starting to look bad for the both of us, Amelia." Shion tells me, dropping the confident demeanour she had just a few moments ago.

"Oh, really!?" I shout back at Shion frustratedly. We're gonna die if that thing sets it's sights on us.

*Crunch*

*Chew* *Chew* *Chew*

It looks like Hatotaurus is too busy- urp... too busy feasting on Shiori to notice me and Shion, but when that thing is done eating, it's gonna come after us next.

"Amelia, let me free, I'll beat Hatotaurus for us." Shion says, looking determinedly at the feasting beast. "No! You're gonna give me my watch back, and I'll rewind time to before any of this ever happened!" I shout back at Shiori. There's no way I'm just gonna let Shiori and Fuwawa die like that, I'll rewind time and save them.

"..." Shion thinks, and after some short deliberation, she begrudgingly agrees. "Fine, it's in my skirt pocket."

I create another vine under Shion, that grows upwards and grabs my watch from her pocket. The vine then slinks towards me and drops the watch on the floor in front of me.

"Shiori, Fuwawa. Don't worry, I'll fix everything." I say as I grab my watch with my right hand, making sure that my left hand is still on the floor and maintaining the vines wrapped around Shion.

I quickly flick my watch downwards, opening the lid. I then placed my thumb on the minute hand. I just need to go two or three minutes back, which should be just before Hatotaurus was summoned. That way, I can prevent Hatotaurus's summoning without having to fight Shion again.

Just as I'm about to turn the watch's hand, Shion suddenly shouts, "Amelia! Watch out!"

I look behind me, only to see Hatotaurus's fist flying towards me. I swiftly dodge to me left,

*Bwoooow!*

And Hatotaurus's fist narrowly misses my face and makes contact with the wall beside me.

Oh shoot. When I dodged Hatotaurus's attack, I accidentally let Shion go. Not only that, but I left my watch behind too.

Hatotaurus retracts it's arm and turns back to me, getting ready to charge at me again.

I twist both of my arms in a spiral motion, creating two vines that sprout out from under Hatotaurus and coil around them, locking the beast in place for a moment.

While Hatotaurus is stunned, I reach my hand out towards my pocket watch, creating a vine connected to my hand that grows outwards and grabs the watch from the floor before retracting, allowing me to collect the watch from the vine.

*Thud!*

*Crack!*

"Guh!" I exclaim as Hatotaurus's fist slams into my chest, sending me flying into the wall behind me.

*Boooom!*

Hatotaurus must have broken out of my vines while I was busy getting my watch back. Damn, I knew the vines weren't too strong, but I didn't think that Hatotaurus could get out that easily.

I need to rewind time, but Hatotaurus is gonna attack again soon. I have to somehow dodge this attack before I attempt to go back in time. But with these injuries I just got, I don't think I'll even be able to move.

"Cooooo!"

Hatotaurus is rushing towards me again, I need to move! "Urgh!" It's no good, I think all of my ribs are broken, or shattered at the least.

I stretch my left arm out and pull my right arm back, like I'm drawing a bow, creating an arrow of intertwined vines. [Kirin's Arrow]

If I'm gonna go down anyways, might as well go down with a fight.

"Presa Stordente!" I hear Shion chant, and Hatotaurus suddenly freezes in place. "Amelia! Hurry, this spell is hard to maintain!" Shion urges me as she struggles to hold off the beast.

I cancel my attack, unwinding the vines that formed my arrow and dropping my arms back down. I then pick up my pocket watch off of the floor and open the lid.

I place my finger on the minute hand and move it back by five minutes, successfully reversing time.

—

[Timeline 5 / May 17, 2021 - Shion's Tower]

—

"Laplus told me that if I didn't stop you from going to Indonesia, she would kill Subaru and Ayame." Shion explains.

"Urp!" I exclaim as I arrive five minutes in the past, placing my hand on my mouth to hold in my vomit. The time travel motion sickness I feel when turning back time is less intense this time around, probably because I'm a Kirin now.

"Amelia?! What are you doing over there?!" Shion asks in suprise as she sees me halfway across the room. "Let's just say that I... traveled." I say as I place my hand on my chest and activate my healing ability.

My punctured skin and broken bones quickly recover, restoring my chest back to full health in a matter of seconds. I've gotta say, these healing powers are super helpful.

"So you came from the future?" Shion asks, watching me stand up and walk towards her. "Yeah, five minutes In the future." I reply as I place my hands on the ground and face the bookshelf that hides the hidden room Mio's in.

I focus on my hands and picture a myriad of flowers that produce sleep inducing spores, all lined up on the ceiling above Mio. I then wait for a few seconds, giving the plants a moment to get to work.

"So you already know about Mio?" Shion asks me as she watches me curiously. "Aren't you going to stop me?" I ask Shion, who looks at me resignedly.

"You've already beat me once before, and I'm still suffering from our fight, even though you healed me. The only thing I can do now, is ask you to save my friends." Shion says, looking vulnerable, but a little hopeful.

"Of course I will. I just need to ask Kronii for help, and she'll have Fauna heal your friends straight away." I reply, smiling at Shion assuredly.

"Do you promise?" Shion asks me, looking at me expectantly. "I promise. And Shion, I forgive you for attacking us. I would do anything for my friends too." I say, looking at Shion with soft eyes.

If Ina or Gura were in the same situation that Ayame and Subaru were in, I would do whatever it takes to save them. Anything to make sure that they're safe. Anything.

Maybe... that's what Kronii and Suisei are thinking too.

[Timeline 5 / May 17, 2021 - The S.S Kaela 67]

"Amelia! You're all back!" Nerissa shouts in suprise as she sees us walk into the ship's cabin. "Yep! We're all safe and sound!" I reply excitedly.

"Yeah, after you healed us. But before that, we were not safe, and we were not sound." Shiori says sarcastically as she follows me inside.

"Amelia, what happened to your face?! It's covered in vines, and there's a horn growing out of your forehead!" Nerissa asks in shock as she rushes towards me and grabs my face. "Oh, this? I just ate the Kirin's flower is all." I reply calmly.

"The Kirin's flower?! Don't you die after eating it?!" Nerissa shouts in concern. "Don't worry about that, let's just get you healed up." I say, pushing Nerissa down onto a couch.

"You should take this seriously Ame, you might actually die." Kiara tells me worriedly as she grabs me by the shoulder, holding me in place and forcing me to face her.

"I said don't worry, Fauna said I was resistant to magic, remember?" I ask rhetorically, trying to calm Kiara down. "Even still, nobody has ever survived eating the Kirin's flower before." Kiara argues, looking even more concerned.

"Aren't you scared, Ame?" Gura asks me, tears forming in her eyes. "C'mon guys, why are you all acting like I'm already dead?" I say jokingly, trying to lighten the mood, but no one is even smiling.

I don't need to be reminded about my impending death. My life is already about to end, no use spending my last moments all depressed.

Plus, I chose this fate. I sacrificed myself for my friends, that's more than enough to make me feel satisfied with how I go.

Well... that's all just my way of coping. I'm scared to death, but I don't want to be miserable in my final moments.

Oh, that's right! I forgot to ask Kronii to help Ayame and Subaru. "Hold up a bit guys, I need to make a call." I tell everyone as I grab my pocket watch. "Calling Kronii now? Is it really the time?" Ina asks solemnly. "Like I said many times before, Ina. I'll be okay, so don't be sad." I assure Ina as I open my watch and bring it close to my face.

"Hey, Kronii, you there?" I ask, getting the attention of my patron god. "Amelia, what's wrong?" The time god responds. Typical Kronii, immediately assuming something's wrong.

"Nothing. I just wanna ask you for a favour." I reply quickly, making sure Kronii knows that everything's okay. "And what kind of favour could you be asking for?" Kronii asks suspiciously.

"Laplus is holding Subaru and Ayame hostage somewhere, and infected them with a deadly poison. Could you please rescue them?" I ask sincerely, crossing my fingers, hoping that Kronii would say yes.

"Sure, I'll have Raora look for them right away." Kronii accepts my request wholeheartedly, filling me with an immense relief. "Thank you Kronii, thank you so much."

"Is that all?" Kronii asks. "Yeah, that's it. I'll report to you again when we reach Indonesia." I tell Kronii before closing my pocket watch and hanging it back around my waist.

"That's so you, Ame. Helping people even at a time like this." Ina says, a soft smile on her face. "Anything for my friends." I say, returning Ina's smile.

"Do you guys have the food Shion gave us?" I ask the twin gaurd dogs, who proudly raise a large sack of food above their heads. ""Yep!""

"Great, that should be enough to feed all of us until we reach Indonesia." That is, unless Gura and FuwaMoco don't eat all of it first.

"Shiori, let's go." I tell our pilot, who nods determinedly in response. "Make sure to bring my food up to the bridge!" Shiori shouts as she runs upstairs.

"We're going now?" Kiara asks cautiously. "Yeah, I don't know if the Kirin's flower's effects will wear off, so it's best to get there while I still have my powers." I explain.

"We're finally going to Indonesia." Kiara tells me, an excited look hiding behind the sadnesson her face. "You look excited." I say, teasing Kiara a bit. "I am, I can't wait to see Kobo." Kiara says giddily. She's probably thinking about all the fun things she's gonna do with her daughter.

"Urmph!" The vines wrapping around my body... they're tightening... and I feel feverish... the side effects of ingesting the Kirin's flower... they must be taking effect. "Ame? What's wrong?" Kiara asks, looking at me with concern.

"I'm sorry, Kiara... I might have been lying... when I said I was gonna be okay..." I say weakly as I fall to the floor.

*thud*

""Ame!"" Everyone shouts in shock as they all run to me. "Ame! Don't go!" Gura says as she hugs my chest, clinging onto me.

"Goodbye... everyone. Please... protect Ina for me." I say weakly, giving everyone my final smile.

"No! Ame..."

"Amelia!"

So this is how I die... sacrificing myself for my friends... it's not such a bad ending, if I do say so myself. Though, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared.

"Amelia!"

I betrayed Mr. Sherlock... he told me to survive... but I went and sacrificed myself so easily...

Mr. Sherlock... dad... I wish I could see them again before I die... but at least I'll get to see mom... that makes me feel a little better...

"Ame! Please! Hang on!"

Oh, and Kronii... I'm sorry for dying so soon... you chose me for this mission... and I failed you twice... I hope that you'll forgive me...

"Ame! Don't leave us!"

Gura, Kiara, Ina, Shiori, and the prisoners... I pray... that you'll all make it to Indonesia... safe and sound... and you'll complete our mission... without a problem... though, I guess that's all up to Kaela...

Goodbye everyone, I love you... my friends... I wish I could stay with you... for a little longer...

*Tick*

*tick*

*tick...*

*...*

[Timeline 5 / May 17, 2021 - Hololive Indonesia's break room]

"Hey, we'll be setting off soon."

[ Vestia Zeta - Indonesia's Secret Agent ]

"Good luck out there." The girl replies absentmindedly, distracted with a trinket in her hand.

"You should join us on missions sometime." Zeta suggests cheerily as she leans on the doorpost. "I would love to, but I have other things I would rather spend my time on." The girl replies nonchalantly, only for Zeta to make an unimpressed face.

"You're a part of Hololive too, you know." The agent says, puffing her cheeks in frustration. "Yeah, but you get special privileges when you're someone of my status." She says smugly, with flamboyant hand gestures to boot.

"You know, Kobo would love it if you came along with us." Zeta says, trying desperately to convince her friend. "You really want me to come, don't you?" The girl replies teasingly, feeling a little pride in having Zeta depend on her.

"Why wouldn't I want Indonesia's patron god to help us out?" Zeta says very matter of factly. "Relax, Zeta. This is an easy mission that you're going on." She replies calmly, trying to assure the anxious agent.

"Maybe by your standards! But we needed to assemble the entirety of Hololive Indonesia for this!" Zeta shouts frustratedly, before giving up and simmering down. "Sigh, and just what are you going to do while we're out risking our lives?"

"I have an important meeting tomorrow." The girl says calmly, kicking her feet up on the desk in front of her. "An important meeting? Is it with the council?" Zeta asks curiously.

"Nope. It's with Japan's Laplus Darkness." She replies, not bothering to face her friend as she kicks back in her seat. "Laplus Darkness? Why-"

"Zeta, hurry up! I wanna go already!" Zeta tries to speak, but she's interrupted by an inpatient Kobo. "Coming!" Zeta shouts back as she gets ready to leave.

"Bye, Kaela! I'll see you tomorrow!" Zeta says as she hurriedly runs off.

[ Kaela Kovalskia - Hololive's god Blacksmith ]

Kaela chuckles to herself as she plays with the key in her hand. "And I'll see you tomorrow, Amelia Watson."