Chapter Two - Special Mission / The Council
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[[Timeline 1 / July 16, 2020 - Hololive Japan's Ofiice]]
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"Do you wanna be an idol?"
Was the proposition give to me by Ouro Kronii, acting head of the council. I've done some prior research about the council, so I know just how important she is. The council is a powerful group, the members being comparable to gods, each having dominion over a law of the universe. So it was a surprise when this god asked me such a question.
"An idol? Are you asking me to join Hololive?" I ask, perplexed. Why would she want me to join? Isn't this place for extraordinary people and non-humans? "Thats right, the truth is, I'm looking for someone to carry out a special mission, or you could say… solve a mystery." As soon as she said that phrase, solve a mystery, I understood the reason for her offer.
"You want me to solve a case, that I can only solve if I have access to Hololive and its members… an internal issue?" I give a confident guess. It has to be a problem that involves information an outsider doesn't have, that's why she needs me to join the company.
"You're right! you're as sharp as I thought. Recently, the council received concerning information about a member in this upcoming generation. I need someone to confirm this information and monitor this member, as well as the rest of the generation." The acting head confirms the details of my potential mission.
"What kind of information are we talking about here?" I ask her, needing more details before I can make a decision. "Classified information, only accessible by members of Hololive Inc." She said to me, with a smug look on her face.
"I see… being secretive are we?" I said, still considering my decision.
After thinking about it for a short while, I realise there's no reason to refuse. I get to solve a fun case and I'm getting paid for it. And who knows, maybe I'll make some new friends too. It's not like I'm busy or anything, this will give me something to do, and I bet dad would be happy I'm solving a real case, just like Mr. Sherlock.
"Alright! I'll solve your case for you. But don't get your hopes up, this is my first time solving a real case." I say as I reach my hand out to the girl in front of me, my new partner, Ouro Kronii. She grabs my hand and gives it a firm shake.
"Welcome to Hololive, Amelia Watson! Don't worry about this being your first case. I can tell you're already capable enough." Kronii smiles.
After being welcomed by her, I go through the process of getting myself officially registered, which doesn't take as long as I thought it would.
"Amelia, over here!" Kronii ushers me towards a door hidden in the office's back room (I guess we're on a first name basis now). "You're about to enter the council's throne room."
Kronii opens the door and follows behind me as I step inside. As soon as I enter the towering throne room, my eyes settle on five podiums, a girl sat in each one except for the one I assume to be Kronii's. Each podium has a symbol on them, starting from the left, the symbols are a pair of dice, the swirl of a galaxy, a clock whose hands are stuck at 0:00, a tree with numerous branches and fruits, and three stone tablets.
[[Timeline 1 / July 16, 2020 - Throne room of the Universe's Courthouse]]
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"Kronii! Is that the girl you were talking about!?" The girl sitting on the podium with the dice stands up and shouts, the echo in the room amplifying her already booming voice. "Bae, you don't have to shout. They can hear you fine enough if you use your inside voice." The girl with antlers reprimanded her loud, mouse-y friend.
"But you're right Bae, this is Amelia Watson. The detective who's going to monitor Cthulhu's priestess and the rest of her generation." Kronii tells her mouse-y pal.
As soon as Kronii finishes, I shoot her a question. "Cthulhu's priestess?" Is this the information she was talking about earlier?'.
"Oho! Looks like you spilled the beans, Kronii" The girl on the left of Kronii's podium jokes.
"Ah! Shoot!" Kronii gives herself a little facepalm. After regaining her composure she looks at me and begins to speak. "Amelia, the reason I brought you here is to discuss the mission I selected you for."
Suddenly, Kronii claps her hands together. "But before that, I would like to introduce you to the council and its members. First off, you should know what the council is. The council is a group made by the creator to take care of, and run the universe. Each of us has special duties pertaining to our abilities. For example, I protect the order of the timeline by preventing anomalies and moderating the use of time travel, among other duties. The council is also responsible for watching over Hololive and all of its members, protecting them and making sure none of them cause any havoc or mischief. At the end of every day we report to the creator through Tokino Sora, the only person with direct communication with the creator-"
I raise my hand quickly and interject with a question. "Who is this creator you keep mentioning?"
The green haired girl was the one who chose to answer my question. "The creator is the well, the creator of the universe itself. He has immense power and is the highest being of all. however, he is not omnipotent or omnipresent. That's why he made the council. We assist him in keeping the order of the universe"
The creator huh, I guess that solves the whole religion thing. "I see… thank you. You can continue Kronii."
Kronii clears her throat and continues to speak. "I was actually going to start with introducing the members… but you'll get to know us soon enough." Kronii said to me with a little smile.
"Alright, enough beating around the bush. It's time I tell you your mission. One of our upcoming members, Ninomae Ina'nis, is the priestess of Cthullu, a powerful being with near infinite power. We have a prediction made by the Laplace demon saying that Chtullu will revive itself using its priestess as a vessel and destroy the earth. The concerning thing being that the Laplace demon's predictions are never wrong. So, we need you to figure out the cause of Chtullu's revival and prevent it. You will also be monitoring the other girls in your generation as a little side task, your main mission having full priority. Understand?" Kronii looks at me expectantly.
After being told the details of my mission, I realise how big of a task this really is. "Did you just say… destroy the world?" I ask Kronii this question, dumbfounded by the gravity of this situation I've got myself into.
"Yes. The predictions say that Chtullu will destroy the world if successfully summoned." Kronii says succinctly.
How can she just drop something like that on me? And be so casual about it? "Do you really expect an amateur detective like me to stop a world threatening crisis? You're placing too much faith in someone like me!" Stopping a being with near infinite power from destroying the universe is WAY too much for my first case!
"Don't sell yourself short Amelia, you're an amazing detective. You're the only person to figure out the mystery of Hololive's true nature after all. And you're cute, so no one will suspect a thing if you're chosen to be an idol~." Kronii says sweetly.
No way… I got stuck with this world threatening responsibility… 'cause I'm cute?! The world is gonna end because of this girl's shallow hiring criteria.
"Don't worry Amelia, you're not alone in this mission. You will have the councils support every step of the way. And, I have a gift that will help you in your investigation." Kronii says as she snaps her fingers.
Suddenly, a golden pocket watch slowly falls from the sky, stopping to hover in front of the base of Kronii's podium.
"This pocket watch contains a crystal that is infused with my power, allowing you to reverse or stop time, with a cooldown of twice as long as you used it. So if you stop time for ten seconds, there will be a twenty second recharge time. Keep in mind though, that time reversal has a limit of one hour, and time stop has a limit of ten seconds. This item is extremely powerful and useful for your investigation so I advise that you treat it with care, and use it with responsibility." Kronii explains sternly.
After listening to Kronii's explanation, I slowly make my way towards the floating pocket watch. I get close enough to grasp it with both hands. This embodiment of Kronii's support fills me with a little courage. I'm not so sure I'm ready, and I'm still afraid, but I'm sure that a real detective wouldn't run from a case.
"So? You think you got this?" Kronii looks at me with an expectant look. "Alright! I'll solve this mystery! I promise to do my best!" I raise my hand in the air, giving a determined thumbs up. The council all look at me, smiles spread across their faces, some more devious than others.
"Then, once again, I would like to say thank you Amelia Watson, and welcome to Hololive. A-Chan will give you the details on your debut." Kronii welcomes me with a bright smile, and my fear starts to turn to excitement.
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Author's notes:
Welcome back to the regularly scheduled author's notes. This time, I want to share some trivia about how this fanfic was originally written.
The first three chapters were written in a different format than the rest, and part of releasing this story was translating the old format into the new one. The old chapters were written like this:
"A character would talk" -(no period)
'And Amelia would describe their actions like this'.
The single quotes (' ') would represent that these were Amelia's thoughts, since the narrator wouldn't have them.
Here's an example conversation:
"I am Ouro Kronii, acting head of the council"
'Kronii said with pride.'
"What's your favourite ice cream flavour Kronii?"
'I hit her with my tried and true icebreaker question.'
"It's clock flavour"
'Clock flavour!? That's ridiculous!'.
Uh, that's all I wanted to say, so you can get to the next chapter now.