Concordia

by Sapiarch of Tamrielic Studies

A live concert overseas in El Paso, Texas, seemed like a great way for Hololive to entertain their overseas fanbase. When lodgings at another hotel have to be arranged, however, Tsunomaki Watame, Yukihana Lamy, and Nanashi Mumei must spend the night in Concordia Cemetery. There are reasons why some locals do not go out at night. Someone – something – stalks them from the graves.

1. Prologue: El Paso International Airport

Prologue:

El Paso International Airport

"Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."

John 5:28-29

---

The sky was an endless sea of blue tranquility stretching for miles across the expanse above the desert city of El Paso, Texas, below. Fluffy white clouds hung adrift throughout the sky, floating serenely like boats rowing gently down the stream. Each cloud that went by was a different shape, mostly unidentifiable because there was no geometric word to describe them. The few which could, though, appeared as if they were lazily drawn by an easygoing hand upon a blank canvas it simply pulled the shape from. That explained why the clouds looked like the artist just plopped them down in their current form, satisfied with how natural they looked. Clouds did not require much work to determine what they looked like. They were clouds in the sky, not some work of art one might find in a museum. They could take whatever shape they wanted or form naturally based on how clouds always did. Nobody could control their appearance, just draw what they looked like and say which shapes they took, like a soothing Rorschach test designed to go with tracks of ambient Lo-fi music.

Clouds were not the only inhabitants in the sky, however. Seated with them was the bright sun, hanging comfortably above El Paso. Its rays shone over the cityscape, casting light across the sky that carried them at sloping angles and the desert land where they gently touched down. Where they landed was not discernable from above, although one could follow the direction they traveled. Provided it was not too bright, and with the help of sunglasses and glasses with tinted lenses which safeguarded their eyes against UV radiation, they could easily look at the sun without much issue.

Nor were clouds the only travelers. Flying at greater speeds were airplanes, sleek in design and carrying loads of passengers across the sky toward their destinations. Some had only just begun to rise, taking off from some of the ten different airports in El Paso, including El Paso International Airport, four miles northeast of Downtown. Others, including a certain plane which carried dozens of female idols, were descending toward each of the runways. To the passengers who looked down through the windows by their seats, it was fascinating seeing all the different planes come and go, like ships leaving port. An apt comparison, considering that the two were similar and yet different.

Likewise, the view of El Paso was beyond amazing, offering a stunning panoramic vista of the city as it stretched across the ground. From above, they could see some of El Paso's oldest and historic neighborhoods in Downtown and Central El Paso. The northwest, otherwise referred to as West El Paso or the West Side since it was located on that side of the Franklin Mountains that were part of the city, featured the Upper Valley, which was part of the Rio Grande floodplain. Also west of the mountains was West-central El Paso, where the historic Kern Place and Sunset Heights were located, and the local Cincinnati Entertainment district and University of Texas at El Paso. To the mountains' east were Northeast El Paso and East El Paso, the latter having become the largest and fastest growing part of the city. Finally, Mission Valley encompassed parts of Eastside and each of the Lower Valley districts. It was also thought to be the oldest place in El Paso, for its origins dated back to the late 17th century when the country of New Spain, Nueva España, ruled the lands which would later be declared the state of Texas on December 29, 1845, in the middle of the 19th century.

The Franklin Mountains themselves were a majestic, although rather small, sight to behold, measuring at twenty-three miles long and only three miles wide. What the Franklin Mountain range lacked in size, it made up for in beauty and location, extending all the way from El Paso north into the neighboring state of New Mexico. As the central mountain range of El Paso, it offered gorgeous views of the city day and night. The range was also the site of the Thunderbird, the famous natural red-clay formation handfuls of the idols noticed during the plane's descent. Its highest peak, North Franklin Peak, stood at an altitude of 7,192 feet, the highest point in El Paso and the twenty-seventh highest mountain in Texas. The peak itself was a part of the Franklin Mountains State Park, where park rangers maintained a hiking trail up to the summit because it was a popular hiking destination.

The Franklin Mountains were not the only natural landmark in El Paso, for the Rio Grande, the fourth longest river in the United States, flowed directly through the city. The river's name was actually Spanish for "Big River," though it was also known as the Rio Grande del Norte – the Big River of the North. Mexico had its own name for the river, the Rio Bravo. While the language was the same, its people referred to it as Bravo – agitated, wild, or furious – instead of calling it Grande.

With its tributaries and fertile valley, the Rio Grande was a vital source of water for a total of seven states in the United States and Mexico. It also served as a major part of the Mexico-United States border between Texas and Mexico's northern states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Chihuahua, and Coahuila. Not to mention a partial boundary between Texas and New Mexico. In both of those states, a grand total of 260 miles of the river was designated as the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River. The boundary that could be seen from the airplane, though, was the one which separated El Paso from the city of Ciudad Juárez in Chihuahua, a place that, in 2010, was known as the murder capital of the world. While that fact sent chills down some of the idols' backs, the wall constructed between both cities and the police officers who patrolled it offered them some measure of security.

Of course, the Franklin Mountains and the Rio Grande made up areas that were part of the greater Chihuahuan Desert. It was a large desert ecoregion that got its name from Chihuahua since that was the state that contained the desert's biggest continual expanse, although the desert covered other states than just Chihuahua and Texas. There were also other mountain ranges throughout the Chihuahuan Desert than just the Franklin Mountains, that produced incredible sky islands bearing cooler, wetter climates and both broadleaf and coniferous woodlands. Additionally, the desert was probably one of the most biologically diverse deserts on the planet, rich with all sorts of endemism. Unfortunately, grazing left the Chihuahuan Desert degraded, allowing woody native plants to grow and dwarf the region's native grasses. Further complicating the growth of species was the fact that it was North America's largest hot desert, receiving less than ten inches of annual rainfall. Despite that, there was a certain barren charm the Chihuahuan Desert had that could not be seen elsewhere.

This was the environment that the airplane carrying the idols from Tokyo, Japan, descended from. Touching down on the runway, the plane slowed to a crawl as they excitedly watched it land. Once the plane came to a complete stop, as confirmed by local ground handlers, the pilots carefully drove it toward the jetway so everyone aboard could disembark safely. As the crowd of idols went through the loading bridge, they gathered on the other side in smaller groups to make sure everyone was with their respective generations as instructed so the staff could see if the girls were all present and accounted for. While they stood by, a staff member of COVER Corp. walked around to conduct a thorough headcount. Finding all the girls there, he then gave the checklist to his senior manager.

Standing outside the jetway, the idols of Hololive Production stayed with their generations as they waited for the staff to lead them to the baggage claim area. The respective mascot companions associated with some of them were at their sides, playing with the girls and other nearby companions while waiting alongside them.

Approaching the nearby window, Tsunomaki Watame, one of the girls in Hololive Japan's Fourth Generation, HoloForce, looked out at all the airplanes in awe. An incredibly shy and extremely timid Bardic Sheep by nature, Watame's light blue eyes widened as she watched some take off or touch down. While she often traveled by plane back in Japan and was thus used to air travel, something about seeing airplanes in a foreign country put her on edge. Maybe it was just her nerves getting to her, but the timid sheep could not help but feel like she might not return home ever again, that she would be stuck here in the United States. She took a deep breath to try and steady her nerves, struggling to make herself feel at home.

Her dress was the one she debuted in, a mostly white wool trimmed dress with a black belt under the part where her rather large breasts stood out and a pretty red bow at the top. It came with matching detached cashmere sleeves that had pink belts around the top and little pink bows at the top of the bottom halves. The bottom half of the dress ended at the top of her thighs, and had slits in the front to reveal black folds. Strapped around Watame's waist was a brown leather pouch used in place of a purse, holding her wallet, cellphone, and a few other small items she carried. She also wore black wool trimmed boots that reached her lower shins, with small pink ribbons on the front.

Wearing the dress, Watame looked every bit like a sheep found on farms in the countryside. In fact, she did not just look the part – she was the complete package – mostly. Though she looked more human than sheep, Watame just so happened to have a pair of dark curved ram horns growing out of her head, fuzzy sheep ears in place of normal human ears, and an equally fuzzy though also fluffy sheep tail. It would be more accurate to say she was humanoid, an animal race – a beast race according to some people, though not out of cruelty or spite. That was just what it was also called, but she still worried what people would think when they laid eyes on her. Though the Bardic Sheep were a common race, and while she was a star thanks to Hololive, there was a possibility she might meet someone or a group of people who would shun her heritage and think little of her as a person.

That was just her overwhelming shyness and timidity talking, obviously, from just arriving in another country. As one of Hololive's most popular idols, Watame had a lot of fans at home and overseas, so she should not have fretted too much. Still, not everybody out there was a fan of hers, which was perfectly fine with her as everyone had different interests, but not all were as amicable.

Using her reflection, Watame brushed a few strands of her hip-length blond hair, which had pink hairclips in it, out of her eyes. Some of it was tied into a braided crown behind her head, with a small ponytail in the middle. Her fuzzy sheep ears flicked nervously as she traced a finger over one of her horns, which had small pink ribbons at the ends like on the sleeves and boots she wore.

If everything went well, hopefully their week-long collaborative concert, A Bridge Beyond Borders, would go smoothly.

"Watame!" a cheerful voice spooked Watame, making her jump in fright.

"A-ah, w-wha—" she squeaked timidly, snapping her head toward the speaker.

With a teasing smile, Tokoyami Towa, the young devil and one of her gen-mates, chuckled as she shut her green eyes and raised a hand to her mouth. Her lavender colored hair, tied in a pair of long twin tails and with pink locks in the inner side, swayed gently as she laughed lightheartedly at the Bardic Sheep. Like Watame, she was wearing the outfit she debuted in when she first joined Hololive. Her clothes consisted of a black strap crop top with white lines and a big circular zipper; a white crop top jacket over it which was violet on the inside with a triangular zipper, sleeves that had gray and black parallel lines; and a tag with her name on it; black shorts with a white belt; two fishnet stockings; and black "Nyan" brand sneakers with violet and yellow laces and heels. Of the fishnet stockings, the one on her right leg was longer and reached up to her thigh, whereas the one on her left leg reached the bottom of her shin. Thanks to its shorter length, Towa was able to show off the two heart-shaped tattoos on her left thigh. Although she also had a band-aid below her knee, that spot was not actually hurt. Towa said one time she scraped her knee there once, but continued to put band-aids over the spot because she thought it went with her outfit and made her look cooler.

As a devil, Towa possessed the features of one that would have made anyone terrified upon seeing her. Her black tail nearly reached the height of her knees, and was pierced with a rather cool pair of silver rings. They were not the only piercings, since she had another pair in her left ear; two sets of each one in her right ear; and a piercing for her belly button. While Towa could grow small black horns, as well as bat-like wings, on account of her being a devil, she often retracted them so she could wear her familiar, a black lesser demon named Bibi who served as her mascot and could assume the shape of a hat, on her head. Wearing hats with horns was a personal preference of hers because she liked the resemblance, and Bibi's in particular were her favorite pair, so she often wore him around in public more. That, and having him on her head went with her outfit quite perfectly.

Despite being a devil, Towa was a very sweet girl whose kindness and rather down-to-earth attitude easily won fans over regardless. Critics, such as those in the Catholic Church, would often accuse of her influencing people with her powers as a devil so she could take their souls, warning them not to fall for such tricks by finding faith in Christianity, the worship of God. While she could stoop to their level, Towa chose not to because she truly was a genuinely caring and good-natured girl who showed her friends and others an immense amount of respect. She was even close friends with her angelic counterpart, Amane Kanata. Although, it bugged Towa whenever her fans labeled her an angel like Kanata. As a devil, she still had to act the part at times, though she expressed her devilish nature in the form of mischievous teasing and pranks, as well as a competitive spirit which prompted the occasional rage and frustration while participating in video game tournaments. Still, Towa was just as sociable and wholesomely relaxing, if a bit shy and somewhat comedically goofy.

"Geez, pay attention, Watame!" she teased the sheep girl lightheartedly. "We've been trying to get it for the past couple minutes! What're you doing spacing out in the middle of the airport?"

"Yeah!" her angelic counterpart, Kanata, playfully teased Watame too. "This isn't NASA!"

Like them, Kanata was also dressed in the outfit she had debuted in, a high school uniform of Heaven Academy, a celestial high school up in Heaven where angels learned how to cast divine magic and give blessings, as well as a metallic halo in the shape of a star or shuriken hovering above her head. The buttons on her uniform were in the same shape, and its high collar usually concealed part of her face. Its ribbon was consistently lopsided, though that was because Kanata preferred to keep it uneven instead of straightening it out like normal. It was her way of making it look unique.

The right side of her short silver hair reached just below her shoulder, and gaps in the bangs showed that Kanata's hair had cobalt-blue highlights. Her eyes were a mixture of blue and purple, often expressing a friendly shine whenever she was cheerful before her closest friends, but likewise revealed an introverted silence while surrounded by a crowd. As an angel, Kanata possessed a pair of feathered wings that hovered behind her, separate from her body because they were detached, although very much a part of her. Their old friend and former gen-mate, the dragon known as Kiryu Coco, who Kanata lived with for a time, often used the feathers Kanata's wings could shed to make certain products and pioneer newly invented advancements. Since Coco's graduation, Kanata made sure to continue producing the products they came up with together, as a way to remember her by.

She was equally sweet and polite like Towa, as befitting a pure-hearted angel. For the most part, anyway. Despite her adherence to angelic norms, Kanata could be dorky and funny sometimes while having fun with her friends. Her sense of humor was not as vulgar or crass as dozens of their fellow VTuber idols in Hololive, fortunately, although she did engage in teasing every so often and could be playfully sadistic to boot. Her sadistic trait was quite un-angelic according to the Catholic Church, but angels had their own personalities like anyone else. To please the Catholic Church and get them off her back, however, Kanata made sure to behave with reserve and a cool façade while on duty as a professional VTuber idol. Though, the staff of COVER Corp. and Hololive Production encouraged the young angel to be herself, assuring her she did not have to conform to their ideals.

"I mean, it might as well be," their other friend and last gen-mate, Himemori Luna, the cute and adorable princess of the Candy Kingdom, joked too. "It was like we came down fwom space."

She too was wearing the outfit she debuted in, a royal candy-pink sleeveless princess dress which had crescent moon-themed accents and a royal crown, on top of which was another crescent moon. She also had a striped candy-themed bow in the looped side ponytail of her long pink hair, as well as candy-themed bows on both of her slippers. Golden bracelets adorned her wrists. Luna's thigh-high stockings were as mismatched as her heterochromatic eyes, the right of which was light purple whereas the left was blue. The stocking on her left leg was pure, except for the top half that bore a crescent moon and starry accented design. Her other stocking, by contrast, was striped. The dress itself was perfectly exquisite, befitting a princess of the Candy Kingdom's highest echelons.

Her personality was, likewise, exemplar of children from her kingdom. Like many of them, Luna was sickeningly sweet, more so than Towa and Kanata, not to mention a bunch of their other friends in Hololive. Being a pampered princess in particular, Luna sought lots of attention from all the people she met and behaved with a composed manner. That being said, she was not above some mischievousness and often teased her friends, and she could be borderline sadistic at times, which, for a princess of the Candy Kingdom, was unheard of. Although, because she was a princess of the Candy Kingdom, her sadism was entirely nonthreatening and not at all scary. Rather, it was about as innocent as Luna was, expressed in her normal childishly childlike manner via rapid-fire talking. Luna's mannerisms certainly made her the baby of HoloForce, but she enjoyed the attention thanks to her upbringing as a princess of the Candy Kingdom, that enabled her to get away with anything.

Watame shyly smiled sheepishly, blushing heavily while she brushed the back of her head in embarrassment. "S-sorry, I-I guess I-I got a bit too into watching all the airplanes," she stuttered apologetically, thankful her gen-mates were not at all upset with her. She then turned back to look outside, shyly adding, "I-I've never been t-to a desert airport before, s-so I-I just got a bit excited."

"Yeah, it's quite a view from here," Kanata replied as they joined their gen-mate in looking out the window. "This airport is definitely a lot different than the one we departed from in Tokyo."

"And a lot hotter," Luna added, fanning herself with her hand. "I can alweady feel the heat."

"You sure about that, Luna?" Towa asked, uncertain about the temperature but worried for their princess. "I mean, I know it's a bit humid in here, but the place has working air conditioning."

Informally addressing Luna did not go unnoticed. It was proper etiquette to speak formally when in the presence of nobility. Luna did not mind, though, preferring to go by a first name basis around her friends in Hololive. She did appreciate the devil's concern, acknowledging her by remarking, "It does but as Pwincess of the Candy Kingdom, the airport's staff should be fanning me." She then gave Towa a mischievously smug look, adding, "Shouldn't they? We're Hololive's idols, after all."

Towa smirked as she giggled. "Totally!" she agreed, then glanced over at the Bardic Sheep. "Looks like Watame could use some too," she teased, pointing at her. "Your whole face is so red!"

Without making eye contact, Watame blushed even heavier in further discomfiture, saying, "O-oh, y-yeah, t-they s-should help us cool down," trying her best to hide behind their discussion.

"Sounds like you could use more than just some water, Watame," Kanata giggled teasingly, then shared a mischievous look with Towa while asking her, "Doesn't she look hot in that wool?"

"Sure does," Towa jokingly replied. "Those lamb shanks of hers must be cooked by now."

"I-it's just t-the heat is all!" Watame timidly insisted over their laughter, still blushing.

While the other girls of HoloForce apologized despite continuing to chuckle, another group was taking a bit of a breather together. Seated calmly in one of the chairs close to where HoloForce was looking out the window, Yukihana Lamy, the Half-Snow Elf of Hololive Japan's Fifth Generation, NePoLaBo, was resting after their long flight from Tokyo. An incredibly shy and extremely timid girl like her senpai, Watame, Lamy rested her hands over her lap while taking a deep breath to try and get her bearings. While used to air travel, she was grateful for the chance to step back on solid ground now that they had finally landed in El Paso. Closing her gold eyes, Lamy reclined and then stretched her arms in the air and her legs out, yawning as she felt quite exhausted from their flight.

Her clothes, the outfit she had debuted in, sewn by the best seamstress from her hometown of Unylia, capital of her home country and home world which both shared the same name, were a delicate ensemble themed around the season of winter. Though an opposite of the current season, spring, her sleeveless white dress and partly transparent light blue miniskirt, which bore a beautiful snowflake pattern upon its delicate folds, were great attire for warm temperatures. There was also a gap at the top of her dress, and a plaid bow colored different shades of blue over the front of her neck with a gold button in the middle. Gold buttons lined the top half's frills, over her rather large breasts. Around her dress was a black corset, fitted tightly around her torso, making it look slimmer and helped her breasts stand out. Lamy wore it since it made her look prettier, but also because she favored wearing tight clothes to look more attractive for an over two centuries-old Half-Snow Elf.

Around her waist was a leather belt with a gold clasp and gold buttons, that she kept loose so it could drape down to the top of her thighs. Her white thigh-high socks also possessed a pretty snowflake pattern near the bottom, and frills at the top sewn a light blue embroidery, lines of which stood out. She also wore brown leather high heeled boots, which had black vamps, soles, and heels, as well as two pairs of black belts around each boot with gold buckles to use in place of shoelaces.

Of course, Lamy's appearance was not complete without her hip-length light blue streaked hair, which flowed down her back like a waterfall. Like her senpai, Watame, Lamy also tied some of it around the back of her head in a braided crown with a small ponytail to tie it together. Rather intriguingly, the ahoge atop her head was in the shape of a heart, which seemed to give off a sense of love and affection. Icy hair ornaments were clipped to a few of the strands on one side of Lamy's head, though her signature hair attachment was the blue and white Tweeur flower on the right side. Lamy wore that as something to remember her late human mother by, who passed away while she was still a child. It was her mother's favorite flower because it grew despite Unylia's always frigid weather, which made it Lamy's too. That was why Lamy had elements of the Tweeur's appearance incorporated into her outfit, in honor of her late mother. Although she looked like a pure Snow Elf, complete with the pointy elven ears, the fact her late mother was a human made her a Half-Snow Elf. Completing the look was a white cap atop her head, which matched the rest of her dainty attire.

The only part of her outfit that was not present was the blue and white fur trimmer overcoat, which also had a snowflake pattern at the ends of its sleeves, by the white fur. She had brought the overcoat with her to El Paso in case it got cold and to wear at night while walking around the city. Because of its size, Lamy could also use it to cover most of her body while she was lying down or sitting. It was just packed inside one of her trunks of holding, enchanted trunks designed to contain a lot of luggage like a bag of holding from Dungeons and Dragons, being unloaded from the plane.

Nestled on Lamy's lap was Daifuku, a snow fairy who looked like an adorably small polar bear cub inside of a winter-themed pot. He was Lamy's constant companion, a familiar as it were, whom accompanied Lamy wherever she went. While snow fairies were typically conjured by their summoners in Unylia, Lamy's Snow Elven father hired one to conjure Daifuku for Lamy after the death of her mother so she would not feel lonely. Her father was always quite busy being in charge of the company he founded back in Unylia, and both her older siblings – an older brother who was a lawyer in the town's law firm, and an older sister who worked as a nurse in Unylia's hospital and sometimes the town's clinic – were too. She remembered when she first received him as a beloved Christmas present, naming him Daifuku after a favorite Japanese sweet imported to her hometown.

As a snow fairy – a spirit – Daifuku always felt quite cold, so he often stayed inside of his little pot. Sometimes, he could emerge from it to crawl about like a normal polar bear cub. Unlike normal polar bears, he had the ability to shapeshift into an adult polar bear to protect his mistress.

"You tired, Lamy?" a cool voice asked from the seat next to Lamy on her left.

Turning her head while lowering her arms to wrap them around Daifuku, Lamy offered her sporty best friend and closest gen-mate, the White Lioness named Shishiro Botan, a pleasant smile. Like Lamy, and everyone else in Hololive, Botan was dressed in the outfit she had debuted in when she first joined Hololive, a sort of Saharan-styled mercenary's uniform. Her sleeveless black dress had white vertical lines going from the top, which was transparent and had a gold African necklace with five golden lion teeth attached. The dress ended just above her belly button, but was attached to a bottom piece under her gray skirt by two black straps. The open zipper on the right side of her skirt revealed a sliver of that bottom piece, which diagonally showed a part of her right leg's skin.

There was also a large black belt wrapped diagonally around Botan's body, from her waist to the top of her right thigh. Another black belt that had the name, "Hololive," in bold white letters embedded all along it, diagonally curved from the first belt's gold buckle to just around the top of Botan's left thigh. It was held in place by a third, smaller black belt that ran down from the first to the gold buckle which partially covered the last three letters, "I," "V," and "E" of the Hololive belt.

Botan's whole right leg was completely bare, as opposed to the black tight covering up her entire left leg. Though it covered the majority of that leg's skin, tears along the front exposed part of her thigh, kneecap, and shin. The tight also had a leg band around it, clasped in place by a golden ring. Because Botan was one of Hololive's best first person shooter gamers, as well as a mercenary-type woman, everyone thought she kept a handheld firearm holstered there for her to use in a fight. She did not, though, for it was against the law in Japan to possess firearms, and not allowed in the airport. Had she carried one, she would have been detained by security and be arrested or deported.

Her mercenary attire also came with a pair of black zippered boots and a black outer jacket. Botan wore it off of her shoulders, partly to show them off, but mostly because she thought it made her look even cooler. It had two pins attached to the left sleeve, a green pin with a pair of diagonal black lines on it and a white pin with Hololive's name sown across it, followed by a black symbol.

Like their senpai, Watame, Botan was considered to be a humanoid animal-beast race since she was a White Lioness. Though she too looked mostly human, what gave away her lioness stock were the pair of silvery lioness ears, the left one in particular bearing two black piercings, her white lioness tail, which lazily protruded from her backside, and fangs befitting a proper White Lioness. Being a White Lioness, Botan's long hair, which flowed past her shoulders and matched the color of both her ears and eyes, was styled in such a way that it looked almost like an actual lion's mane.

"A little," Lamy replied, grateful for her friend's concern. She did not reveal, though, how fatigued she really was. While appreciative of Botan worrying about her, Lamy was not that weak. She also knew that Botan could be snidely mischievous sometimes, and that the lioness was mostly, in general, an overconfidently arrogant young woman who teasingly looked down on all the other idols, including her senpais and gen-mates. Nevertheless, Botan was also perceptive towards their feelings and responsible, caring about them in her own free-spirited way. Even if she did tease her for it, Lamy could tell it came from a place of honest concern. "Must be just a bit of jet lag, is all."

"It likely is," Botan agreed, feeling some of the jet lag herself. She then smiled warmly and pointed at her right shoulder, adding in an inviting tone, "You can rest your head here if you want."

Lamy's smile brightened, accepting the offer. "Thank you, Botan," she responded sweetly.

"My pleasure, Lamy," Botan chuckled with a small smile of her own.

"Aw, look at you two being all cute and lovey-dovey," Momosuzu Nene, the third gen-mate from NePoLaBo, cooed affectionately from Lamy's other side, smiling cheerfully at both of them.

Out of all the girls in Hololive, Nene was one of a few dressed in an outfit she did not wear when she first debuted. Instead of the original dress, her default attire was an orange bear-themed corset dress with white folds that had a flower pattern on the bottom of several folds and bows on the slit showing more of one fold in particular. While most of the dress was orange, the corset was brown with pink strings and orange bear-shaped buttons. It also had a small gap that revealed part of Nene's skin below her large breasts. A much bigger peach-shaped gap above exposed a lot more cleavage, surrounded by dainty white frills. Above was a pretty ribbon bow that was orange on the bottom, with the remaining half on top being brown on one side and yellow on the other. An upside down heart was clipped to the bow, with a little brown heart in the middle. Finally, there was a big white bow with a pink and white striped interior around the back of her waist, with fabric draping just below her kneecaps. The dress was quite beautiful and Nene looked quite adorable wearing it.

The outfit came with a pair of frilly white and yellow armbands that were tied around each forearm by brown straps, and orange wristbands. Nene also wore a pair of asymmetrical socks that each had separate decorative attachments. The thigh-length sock on her right leg had two different ribbons on it – one orange bow that was part of the orange band, and a second red bow. Under the two bows was a gap in the sock, showing part of her right thigh's skin. The shorter sock on Nene's left leg reached halfway up her shin, and had a yellow ribbon tied up into a bigger bow on the left side. She was also wearing brown shoes with white frills, black straps, and yellow bows at the top. Lastly, there were hair flowers nestled all around the hair buns of her blonde hip-length wavy hair, which had short pigtails tied beneath each of the buns on either side of her head. Her jacket, which hung over the back of her seat, was white and had a badge that read, "HAAAN," just over a peach.

Since her outfit was bear-themed, Nene could also wear bear ear and bear paw attachments. Those, and her bear-themed bag, however, were stuffed inside one of her suitcases being unloaded from the plane, so she could not put those on right away. She was going to for one of the skits that Hololive prepared as part of the collaborative concert and perhaps while walking around El Paso.

While Nene was certainly a human, she was not actually from Earth. Rather, she came from another world with dreams of becoming an idol, a goal she managed to accomplish with ease. Her cheerful and bubbly personality easily won fans over, making her another of the most popular idols in Hololive. On top of that, Nene was quite friendly toward her friends and excitably playful, with a cutely smug overconfidence that was more often than not undone by her clumsiness. Despite her klutzy nature, Nene was tough and optimistic enough to not let her constant tripping and stumbling get to her. In fact, her training as an idol helped her achieve much better control over her footwork, so she did not trip over her own feet onstage anymore or as often whenever she was not performing.

With a spring in her step, Nene stood up from her seat and pulled out her cellphone to hold it up in front of her gen-mates. "I've just gotta snap a picture of you two sitting together like this."

Putting her arm around Lamy's shoulders, Botan raised her other hand up and closed it into a fist before making a peace sign. "Make it a good one, Nene," she instructed with a cheerful smile.

"Yes, please," Lamy smiled happily in agreement, also making a peace sign with one hand.

"You got it!" their bubbly best friend smiled while customizing the style and zooming in.

"Don't forget to send me one," their final gen-mate in NePoLaBo, Omaru Polka, the circus-themed Sākasu Fennec Fox, requested while practicing her juggling act with a handful of red balls.

Polka's debut outfit naturally reflected the vibrant atmosphere of a proper circus performer in action. Similar to Nene, she wore a corset dress but it was frillier than her gen-mate's and came with two skirts instead of one, and it had bows in the middle. Each bow had a clasp on it based on the suits of basic playing cards, with each respective matching color. Her colorful red, white, blue, and black jester's hat, which completely covered her left ear, bore gold pins which were also styled after the suits. Even the red and black hairpins in her medium-length blond hair, which flowed past her shoulders and was braided on one side, looked like the playing card suits. The hairpins seemed to complement the few streaks of black and pink hair that were tied together in the front by a bright blue bow, as well as her purple eyes and the circus-themed markings Polka painted under her eyes.

Her whole corset dress was an exquisite mixture of red, white, and blue colors, as befitting a circus performer, with black frills in between both skirts and just under the second one, and also golden embroidery along the edges of every part. There was a gap in the middle exposing her belly button, and unlike Nene's corset dress, Polka's was held up by black straps with gold embroidery. It left her whole upper body exposed, including the top of her large breasts. The corset dress had a big black, red, and blue bow on the backside similar to how Nene wore the one on her corset dress.

Polka's thigh-high socks were the same colors, although were mismatched given what she, as Hololive's circus performer, was going for. The one on her right leg was longer, with red, white, and black strips running from top to bottom. One of the red stripes in particular featured an intricate crisscross pattern of white lines, like an accompanying white stripe on her left sock that had black lines by contrast. The left sock was also a bit shorter than the right, and it only had blue and white stripes. Similarly, her mismatched clown shoes were mostly red, black, and gold, but bore a distinct variety of differences. Her left shoe had a black stripe with a white diamond over it, plus a red and blue collar at the top. Her right shoe had black laces instead, just over the blue and red upper, with an upside down heart below them. On the tips at the end of both shoes were gold ball-shaped bells, which jingled as she walked. She used to wear a pair that squeaked, but found them too annoying.

Even her arms were a mismatched look of circus apparel. Her right arm was bare, save for a black armband on her forearm which had a red stripe around it, and a white cloth bracelet around her wrist. The fingernails on her right hand had been given a fresh manicure, showing off a mix of red and blue nail polish. Most of her left arm, though, was completely covered by a detached sleeve that was mostly black in color with white 'X's along one side. However, the top of it showed gold and white lines with a blue line in the center. The part around her wrist was also mostly blue, with a smaller gold line below it. Finally, the glove at the end that was part of the sleeve was totally red.

Curiously, the red bow at the front of Polka's collar featured a gold pin that appeared to be a rabbit. While she often claimed it looked like a Fennec Fox since that was part of her race, Polka also went with the whole rabbit theory sometimes as part of the show. It lent an air of mystery that tied her to Usada Pekora, the rabbit girl and one of their senpai's in Hololive Japan's Third Generation, Hololive Fantasy, and Pekora's homeland of Pekoland. Not to mention the same chaotic nature, as Pekora, being a rather mischievous prankster, was playfully known as Hololive's "War Criminal" despite being the Princess of Pekoland. While Polka did not share the same reputation, chaos was an inherent part of the colorful and lively performance she put on to entertain her friends and fans alike. Without it, her act lacked the vivacious energy and animation required to put on a good show.

As a Sākasu Fennec Fox, Polka was another animal-beast race like Watame and Botan. Of the two, she was way more similar to Botan in that she only had the ears and a tail of a fennec fox.

Also, her purple eyes happened to feature a bright menagerie of shapes that changed based on her emotions. Bright hearts and stars formed whenever she was happy and cheerful, helping to put a smile on everyone's faces. When she was sad or angry, clovers and spades respectively took their place, enabling Polka to assume a more somber persona. Three of them were like the playing card suits parts of her outfit were based on. The only suit missing from the group was the diamond, which would have completed it but was replaced by stars. Why remained a mystery, although Polka playfully preferred it stay closed because every act needed a little bit of intrigue to wow the crowd.

Because of her whole theme as a circus performer, Polka was naturally charming and quite silly and spunky. Technically, she was the ringmaster, though it was more accurate to say that Polka was the whole circus considering how many acts she could perform and was learning. That amount of dedication required a highly energetic personality to pull it off successfully, and she gave it her all with everything she had. Such a commitment was also quite taxing, so her emotions fluctuated wildly on a whim. She could be loud, energetic and outgoing one time, or quieter and subdued the next. Even the weather and atmospheric pressure affected her performance, making her begin with less energy on days marked by low atmospheric pressure until more helped her turn even happier. Because she was so loose and fast, however, Polka often spoke at lightning speeds hardly anybody could keep up with. Even native Japanese speakers, the language she spoke more often than other languages, had a hard time keeping up with her words per second, like Luna's rapid-fire speaking. Despite her downsides, Polka would not have been a natural-born joker without a few screws loose.

"Sure thing!" Nene promised her, then looked back at Lamy and Botan. "Say cheese!"

"Cheese!" the two girls shut their eyes and grinned, flashing their teeth.

"Perfect!" Nene cheered as she pressed the button on her cellphone, then continued to take more from different angles. "Just hold that pose for a few more seconds. I'm taking several more." Once she was satisfied with the number of photographs taken, her smile widened as she exited the camera app to open up the messages app so she could start sharing them. "Got them!" she happily announced with a smile, letting Lamy and Botan know to stop. "My first photographs in El Paso!"

"Sending them to everyone?" the White Lioness asked, gesturing toward all the other girls.

"You bet!" Nene replied, including her gen-mates at the top of the list. Unlike most of their fellow generations in Hololive, NePoLaBo was particularly close, like a family, so the other three were usually the ones she shared photos with first. While getting ready to send the photos she just took, Nene noticed she was receiving more. "Looks like some of the others are sharing some too!"

"Nice!" Polka remarked as she felt her cellphone vibrate in her pocket. "Everyone must be taking photos." Stopping her juggling practice, she pulled it out and added, "I should get some too. We could use them as part of the montage showing our arrival at the start of the concert tomorrow."

"Yeah, let's!" Nene liked the idea and turned to their gen-mates, asking, "Wanna come?"

Lamy offered her and Polka a soft smile. "You two can go on ahead," she answered politely with a wave of her hand. Letting go of Daifuku so he could start floating by her, she then wrapped her arms around Botan while leaning further into her best friend's embrace. "I'm going to stay here with Botan, if you don't mind," she said, nuzzling her head up against the White Lioness' shoulder.

"Actually," Botan commented, "I'm going to get up for a bit and stretch my legs too."

Lamy looked up at her with a grimace. "And leave us here all by ourselves?" she demanded, referring to herself and Daifuku. "You just said I could lean my head against your shoulder, Botan!"

The White lioness smirked mischievously as she suggested, "Perhaps one of the other girls will give you theirs to lean on," teasingly while turning her gaze to a certain – her favorite – senpai.

"Wha—" the Half-Snow Elf started to ask as she trailed her gen-mate's gaze, only to realize that Botan was looking directly at Watame specifically. Her eyes widened in surprise as she turned back to see the White Lioness flashing a longing smirk directed at the Bardic Sheep. Mad that her favorite gen-mate, the young woman she should have been close to, was giving Watame that look, Lamy yanked her head away from Botan's shoulder. Turning to look away, she angrily responded, "Botan, you jerk!" while crossing her arms, furious that the White Lioness chose Watame over her.

"Aw, you jealous?" Botan sneered. "Worried I'll break up with you?"

"N-no!" Lamy stuttered in denial, blushing heavily in embarrassment. "W-we're not—"

"Then you won't mind if I go over and…" Botan began, pausing for dramatic effect while Nene and Polka giggled as she friskily teased her Half-Snow Elven gen-mate. "Make a proposal?"

Lamy turned abruptly to glare sharply at her. "Don't you dare…" she warned with a growl.

"Why not?" Botan asked, mockingly arrogant. "Watame's my favorite senpai." Something about the way she mentioned that made Lamy bristle with fury. Before she could rebuke the White Lioness for it, Botan continued by saying, "Wouldn't be fair to her if I didn't show her some love."

"It wouldn't—" Lamy began, about to retort that it would not be fair to her.

"Glad you're so understanding, Lamy," Botan jokingly interrupted intentionally before she could finish, flashing the Half-Snow Elf an appreciative grin while beginning to get out of the seat. "I'll be sure to tell Watame that you've just given us your blessing. She'll really appreciate it—"

"SIT!" Lamy quietly barked as she quickly grabbed the White Lioness' shoulder to abruptly pull her back into it. She then threw her a sharp glare and pointed a finger at her, saying, "STAY!"

Botan could not help but laugh. "What, am I your dog, now? Must I beg for permission?"

Lamy's glare intensified as she threatened, "Keeping barking and I'll put a muzzle on you."

"Oooh, how terrifying!" Botan joked as she, Polka, and Nene kept laughing. "I'm scared!"

Lamy's free hand clenched into a fist as she growled, "You'll be when I put a leash on your neck and tie you to a post! Now, sit down and shut up! I'd like to have you all to myself for once!"

"So you are jealous! I knew it!" Botan joked, shutting her eyes for a moment only to watch her Half-Snow Elven gen-mate turn away with a huff while crossing her arms. Still amused by her friend's reaction, she added with mock assurance, "Don't worry, I won't be long," while standing.

"Botan!" Lamy hissed angrily as she whirled back sharply to glare at her.

"Uh oh, you're playing with fire, Botan," Polka quipped.

"Yeah, she's going to give you the cold shoulder, now," Nene did too.

"Don't I always?" the White Lioness overconfidently asked rhetorically in response, but it was not known which remark her question was a reply to. She then felt the Half-Snow Elf's hands on both of her shoulders that time as Lamy yanked her back into the seat. "What?" Botan laughed. "I was just going to clear the air. Can't have you two fighting over me all the time. Besides—" she licked her lips, anticipating a delicious meal, "I'm starving. I could use a bite to eat after our flight."

Lamy glared at her furiously. "If you do, does that mean you'll spend more time with me?!"

Botan shrugged, flashing her an arrogantly mischievous smirk. "Maybe," she replied, then promptly shot an arm up to block Lamy slapping her across the face. "Nice try," she complimented her attempt with a more competitive smirk. "Foolish…" Although Lamy glared daggers at her, she parried by offering a warm smile while adding in a seductive tone, "But admirable," to disarm her.

Despite doubting whether Botan truly meant it, feeling that she was only saying that to try and placate her, Lamy knew she was just teasing her. She blushed heavily while the White Lioness moved her arm down to gently take her hand, looking away in embarrassment while saying rather shyly, "T-thanks," to try and avoid looking like she had fully forgiven Botan and was falling for it.

"Don't mention it…" Botan replied with a most soothing smile, then suddenly caught Lamy off guard by yanking her straight into a romantic embrace. "My little Half-Snow Elven tsundere."

Mortified, Lamy's whole face turned redder than a tomato as she blushed even heavier. Her eyes widened in humiliation as she timidly shouted, "B-B-Botan!" too shocked to even break free.

"Gotcha!" Botan exclaimed teasingly before bursting into laughter while still holding her.

"How picture perfect!" Nene exclaimed too as she and Polka guffawed, snapping pictures.

While Lamy struggled to break free from Botan's grasp as Nene and Polka snapped photos of them, a different situation was unfolding not too far from where they were sitting. Crossing her arms and tapping her left foot impatiently on the floor, one of the taller girls in Hololive sighed in frustration as she checked the time in her head. "Where the hell is Mumei?" Ouro Kronii, the cool and impeccable Warden of Time from Hololive English's Second Generation, HoloPromise, demanded.

Dressed in a white dress shirt with a black zippered top underneath and a pant skirt similar to the top, her own debut outfit, Kronii was every bit the perfect model of a professional idol. Her dress shirt bore a gap in the middle that was mostly covered by the top, though exposed the bottom middle of her rather large breasts and cleavage in between. Similarly, the pant skirt left the top part of her right thigh exposed, revealing the skin while showing the straps of the black thigh-high sock she wore on her right leg. While she wore an identical sock on her left leg, the top was covered by her pant skirt, which had white embroidered fabric lining the inside. Kronii's top covered her entire neck, ending at the very top, just beneath her head. Kronii also wore a white decorative headpiece on the back of her head, that flowed below her shoulders and juxtaposed her short, dark blue hair.

Her detached sleeves were a similar dark shade to her mostly black top and pant skirt, both of which actually had faded gray lines along it, though bore blue lines on the sides that split apart in a triangular gap at the ends. Each gap revealed white attachments like the inside embroidery of her pant skirt and the headpiece. The black gloves she wore were covered by these, so it was hard to tell if the gloves ended at her wrists or reached further up her arms. The tops of each sleeve were puffy, designed to look a bit pointy with an ornate design which gave the sleeves an imperial look.

Kronii's dark blue shoes were zippered like her black top, though in place of normal zipper handles were gold rings. The largest contained the smaller two which were of the same make, but of different sizes. Although the smallest fit neatly in the middle ring, there was more space between both and the outer ring. The shoes also had white blooming fabric attached to the sides of the tops.

The dark blue cape she wore billowed as she kept turning, scanning the area with her blue eyes in search of their missing gen-mate. Its inside was completely dark blue, whereas the outside bore decorative gold rings embroidered in the cape. A triangular gap was cut in the bottom's center.

The light blue bow over her dress shirt and black top contrasted the most with her uniform. It was still tied neatly and had the same gold rings, though, but there was a heart-shaped sapphire in the middle. Kronii often said the sapphire helped control the prophetic powers she could wield, claiming that as the Warden of Time, it was her responsibility to know what the future would bring. Sapphires were associated with Apollo, an Ancient Greek God who had power over prophecy and the truth among other things. The Ancient Greeks, when petitioning oracles, would often wear the gem because it allowed one to tap into the power of their third eye and better understand particular revelations that could not be comprehended or heard. It made sense for Kronii to wear one as well.

Above her head was a chain hairpiece, and she wore ear piercings with tiny dark blue bows.

The time-clock piece which normally floated above her head like a halo, similar to Kanata's halo, was not there for the time being. Kronii dispelled it before getting on the plane because it got in the way around others, and she left it absent as she stood with everyone in the airport. She could summon it back at any time at will, though, but she was fine going without it as much sometimes.

Likewise, the two swords she wielded as the Warden of Time had also been dispelled. One was a longsword and the other a short sword, both of which were shaped like the hands of a clock. The longsword represented the length of the minute hand, while the short sword stood for the hour.

Being the Warden of Time, Kronii was very much a punctual woman. She hated it whenever somebody – typically her gen-mate and fellow Council member, Nanashi Mumei, the Guardian of Civilization – wasted everyone's – especially hers – time by running off. As a perfectionist, not to mention an overconfidently self-centered narcissist, she believed it reflected poorly on the person.

Despite her high standards, she did not actually mind lowering them and was understanding if someone was inadvertently tardy. Including herself for that matter, because even though she was the Warden of Time and thus held power over time, even she was not always able to be on time for reasons she could not control. There was often something more urgent than what she was doing or needed to do springing up, sometimes at the eleventh hour or even the last minute. It was just how things were, so Kronii accepted that not everything would go – her way – as was initially planned.

Also, while she was an overconfidently self-centered narcissist, Kronii could be playful – at times. Admittedly, she was… not so much of a comedian outright, given her deadpan humor and dry delivery of jokes. Since she was often unhappy and frequently suffered from existential dread, usually on a daily basis, Kronii was more of a painfully relatable comic relief character whose bad luck was beyond hysterical. Every time something unexpected happened to her, she would always get flustered and totally explode vocally, screaming angrily in frustration at the top of her lungs. If someone or something were to light the fuse, she made sure to be as savage and sadistic as possible to the cause of her misfortune. While her sense of humor needed… work, she was good at memes.

For all her flaws, though, Kronii was a lot like an older sister and a cool aunt to the people around her, especially her fellow idols in Hololive. She was very patient with them and often went to great lengths to be accommodating so they could feel comfortable while basking in her majestic presence – even if they teased her. As their friend, Kronii playfully dished out as much as she took.

"I think I saw her running off to the food court," Ceres Fauna, her slightly soft-spoken gen-mate and the Keeper of Nature, replied with a smile while turning in the corresponding direction, looking that way to determine if she could see the Guardian of Civilization among civilization.

Like the rest of Hololive's idols, she too was dressed in the outfit she debuted in. Her short blue dress which ended at the top of her thighs bore golden ornaments all over it. Similarly, Fauna's white overcoat which she wore over the dress was decorated with golden elements. A semicircular cut in its edges revealed that the overcoat's inner layer was pink and embroidered with a naturally grown flower pattern. At the top of the coat, just below the collar, was a blue bow with a sapphire in the shape of a rhombus in the center. The bow was mostly dark blue at the top, but the ends that hung over the gap exposing part of her upper torso and cleavage were light blue with white arrows. Fauna also wore a black cloth around her right wrist, but her left wrist was bare. Around her waist was an ornamental golden chain belt that was decorated with light green roses on the top and light blue gemstones shaped like water droplets. She also wore only one thigh-high sock on just her left leg, which had golden outlines and a circular gap that exposed a bit of her skin just above her left kneecap. Her right leg, however, was completely bare, save for the golden bangle around her ankle.

Curiously, Fauna was actually the only idol in Hololive walking around barefoot. That was because she, being the Council's Keeper of Nature, was a druid by trade. She was basically Mother Nature herself, although considered more of an older sister by all their friends in Hololive. As such, her appearance expressed that role perfectly. Besides the outfit and the lack of shoes which showed off her light blue pedicure, matching her light blue manicure, her hair and bright yellow eyes were equally indicative of her druidic charm. Her wavy hair was mostly light green, though with bluish-green gradients on the tips which fell just below her shoulders. Locks of hair slightly obscured her left eye but there was not enough to completely block it. White flowers decorated her hair, bearing five petals each. Just beneath her right eye was a small beauty mark that was often difficult to spot.

Her appearance and the outfit she wore were not the only things that screamed druid. Like many of her friends in Hololive, Fauna was not actually human but a Kirin with white tree branch like antlers that sprouted leaves – two on the left antler and three on the right. A golden apple could be seen levitating around her right hand, her dominant hand. Climbing up around the golden apple was a white tree branch with several leaves – at least seven – growing along it like upon her antlers.

Being the Keeper of Nature and a druid, Fauna was very much one of the most welcoming and pure-hearted idols in Hololive. Her charmingly soothing aura allowed anyone to approach her, whether to become friends or to seek her counsel for their troubles. She was quite a comfort to her friends and fans alike, speaking to them with a soft-spoken voice like a maternal figure or an older sister and safeguarding all with an overprotective defense. Despite her warmth, she was not above being possessive of those she favored intimately, especially animals and the animal-beast race girls in Hololive. Their wayward gen-mate, Nanashi Mumei, the Guardian of Civilization, in particular, was of especial significance to her, often trying to persuade her and the whole human race to return to nature – only whenever Mumei specifically got upset. Given how possessive she could be, Fauna was prone to jealously whenever she saw Mumei or anyone else she cherished with somebody she did not approve of, and condescending towards said people or situations she deemed unacceptable. It was easy to make her feel embarrassed, though, for she got flustered whenever caught off guard.

"The food court?!" Kronii parroted, annoyed at the Guardian of Civilization than at Fauna. "Without telling us or anyone else? Really, why go there now? We're supposed to stay together!"

"She's probably just hungry," Fauna defended Mumei with a light smile, unable to help but giggle. "I'd be a bit famished myself after having spent so long on a flight to El Paso from Tokyo."

A snicker from one of the seats by them drew their attention. "Can you blame her?" Hakos Baelz, one of their other gen-mates and the Council's embodiment of Chaos itself, asked jokingly. "She's Mumei of all people. Whaddya think she's gonna do the moment she steps off an airplane?"

A mixed bag of energy by nature, Baelz, or Bae for short, looked just as chaotic as her role on the Council. Her debut outfit consisted of a white top with two different colored puffy sleeves, a multicolored pleated miniskirt, and mismatched socks. The white top hung below her shoulders, leaving the upper part of her torso, including the top of her breasts, exposed. Upon the front of her top was written "RAT" in bold capital letters and red text, with the drawings of rat ears on top and whiskers on the bottom. The top also bore black accents, with a spiky design up top by her breasts. Her puffy sleeves, though identical in shape, did not match. Bae's right sleeve was red with a light blue fiery design, whereas the left was mostly bright yellow apart from a black "X" on the side. At the base of each sleeve were two bows, light blue on the left and bright yellow on the right – to go with each respective color – and cuff links of the exact same colors that looked much like rat ears.

Her pleated miniskirt was similar to the top but more colored and followed a pattern of red, white, and black pleats. The pleated miniskirt was held up by a pair of straps – a white strap and a black strap that passed underneath it – both of which were pinned to the miniskirt by gold buttons.

Attached to her pleated miniskirt was a large rat-themed pouch which looked like two rats sitting next to each other. Both had black buttons for eyes and black noses, although were different colors. The one on the right was light blue with white under its nose and on its belly, and red soles upon its two right feet and red ears. By contrast, the left rat was bright red and also had white under its nose and upon its belly; however, the soles of its left feet and ears were bright blue. The colors were opposite, in line with her right sleeve and right sock. In front of both rats was a light blue orb with a ring of the same color around it, though the center was red, going with the opposite colors. Bae often said it was a symbol of chaos, or rather, what she herself as its embodiment looked like.

Her mismatched shin-high socks complemented the look of her sleeves. The right sock was equally puffy and bore the same design as her right sleeve. Bae's left sock, by contrast, was bright yellow like her left sleeve, though in place of a black "X" was a black belt wrapped around the top of her sock. The belt had a gold buckle and two straps that wrapped diagonally around her shin. It was the same kind of belt as the one Bae had around her right thigh, wrapped diagonally around it twice, with the gold buckle visible just beneath the white pleat of Bae's pleated miniskirt above it.

Her hands were mismatched too. Her left hand was bare but she wore a black glove on her right hand. Only the fingers of her black glove were visible. The rest was covered up by her sleeve.

The only part of her debut outfit that looked normal were her black shoes. In place of laces were black straps. The top straps had a gold rat-shaped buckle on them, while the bottom straps of her shoes had normal square-shaped buckles like the belts around her right thigh and her left shin.

Like Fauna going barefoot, Bae wore a strange-looking spiked collar around her neck. The collar would have been normal had it and the spikes around it been smaller, neither of which were the only eccentricities. In the middle was a small piece of cheddar cheese – a real piece of cheddar cheese – that, frankly, would not have looked out of place either because of her rat-like look. What made it even stranger was that there was a red strap with black accents hanging from that piece of cheddar cheese with a gold key dangling from it. According to her and the rest of the Council, the choker had been bestowed upon her by the gods themselves, who had even offered her that key to remove it whenever she wished. Some of Hololive's fans theorized it was also for the lock around Vestia Zeta's neck, one of their kouhais in Hololive Indonesia's Third Generation, HoloH3ro. Zeta herself had claimed that if her fans, the Zecretaries, had the key they would be able to unlock her heart. It was peculiar, though, how out of everyone in Hololive, Zeta was the one who might be tied to Bae.

Even Bae's hair matched her chaotic color scheme. It was mostly a vibrant red color, though with black and white streaks to go with it. Her hair was tied into two asymmetrically sized pigtails. The one on the right was shorter and hung above her right shoulder. The left, however, was longer and hung just below her left shoulder, flowing all the way down to the top of her white top's sleeve.

Although Bae was neither rat nor mouse, nor even an animal-beast race, her physical form as the embodiment of Chaos was that of a humanoid rat specifically. Therefore, she possessed two pairs of ears – the two normal human ears on the sides of her head; and a pair of rat ears on top of her head. Each of her rat ears had dice ear piercings in them, and her right rat ear in particular had a mouse trap clipped to it. She also wore a bright blue bow on her red rat tail which protruded from her tail bone. Even though she was not actually an animal-beast race, Fauna thought of her as one.

Atop Bae's head sat her familiar and constant companion, Mr. Squeaks, who was a red and teal mouse with a teal colored bow on his tail like her. His actual name was Lord Squeakers, which indicated that he was actually royalty or of regal status. Although, Lord was actually his surname, so his name was actually Squeakers Lord – also, the Squeakers Lord. Whichever way, his regality was nonetheless implied. Even several of his interests spoke to it. Maurice Ravel's Jeux d'eau was his favorite classical piano music. Further, Felix Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4 was his favorite orchestral symphony and his top favorite among Mendelssohn's works. He was also a massive fan of Shakespeare and could not ignore a chance to attend an original Shakespearian play in theatres. One of his goals in life was to actually re-enact a whole Shakespearian play with Bae and her fans. In light of his regality, Mr. Squeaks was as bizarre as Bae, mostly because he had to deal with her.

Despite being the embodiment of Chaos itself, Bae was actually a chaotic bundle of fun to be around. She had a bright and loud tone of voice that could carry across distances, even without a microphone. Her cheerful and friendly demeaner was also a plus, as she was more than happy to be friends and make new friends along the way. While she was chaotic in essence, Bae could also be about as normal as anyone else in Hololive. In fact, Bae was surprisingly the most normal idol on the Council, which made her the victim of their antics and often got her caught in the crossfire when she was not. However, Bae lacked an understanding of pop culture despite being an idol, so she had trouble comprehending such references and was therefore considered a zoomer sometimes.

For some reason, she was also Australian, so Bae thus had an Australian accent. She would sometimes demonstrate her Australian pride whenever she could, such as by getting her friends in Hololive and her fans to taste vegemite. Owing to her chaotic nature, Bae also had a peculiar habit of writing upside-down, which she attributed to Australia being referred to as the land down under.

While Bae was very popular among Hololive's fans, like Towa, she was often criticized by the Catholic Church. Her full first name, Baelz, was likely a reference to two specific demons from Hell itself, Bael and Beelzebub. She was not like either of those demons because she was genuinely friendly, and had to often remind fans that she had nothing to do with them. The Church, however, thought of her as either Bael or Beelzebub or even both, viewing her as the mortal form at most or at the very least an aspect of either one. As much as it peeved her, Bae did not let it get to her. The Church could disagree all they liked. She showed the world that she was truly a caring girl, wanting the best for her friends, family, and fans alike, and she was going to continue to do so nevertheless.

"You mean aside from using the bathroom?" IRyS, the Nephilim and their last gen-mate in HoloPromise, as well as Tsukumo Sana's replacement on the Council, joked while she giggled too in her seat next to Bae. "She's the Guardian of Civilization! She's supposed to do Mumei-things!"

Like Nene from NePoLaBo, IRyS was adorned in a dress that had since replaced her debut outfit. It was a beautiful silk dress decorated with diamond designs, and was mostly white save for the dark sleeve-tops and frills at the base. The edges at the bottom of her sleeves were black, with tiny black bows sown above each one. In the center of IRyS' dress, just beneath her cleavage, was a black bow with an ornate gem attached to the middle. It went well with the floral-like bow of her collar, as well as the flowers attached to the belt around her waist. Her lacy thigh-high socks were dark like the sleeve-tops and frills, with rubies sown into the top of each one. She was also wearing a decorative pair of dark colored dress shoes that had openings to show off the bottom of her socks.

IRyS' long reddish-pink hair draped all the way down to her thighs, ending right above her shins. It matched the dark colors of her dress, and the design as the bottom was tied into a neat pair of diamond-shaped tails with dark colored bows. Her hair also complemented her right eye which was a bright magenta color, although contrasted perfectly with the pretty light blue of her left eye.

Aside from her heterochrome eyes, IRyS' other physical characteristics were indicative of her heritage as a Nephilim. Different colored wings protruded from the base of her shoulders, one white and the other dark. She also had sharp purplish black horns growing out the sides of her head like a demon. Two halos hovered above her head – one made from black diamonds that was around the top of her head; while the other, a larger white diamond halo, floated directly above IRyS' head. Her pointy ears looked reminiscent of elven ears, with diamond shaped ear piercings in each one.

Being a Nephilim, IRyS represented the duality of heaven and hell. She gave people hope, surprising them with her sweet but somewhat shy positivity and bright outlook on life. Her darker impulses, though, seemed to oppose said hope because she was also sadistic at times and partial to violence, as was typical of someone whose heritage was half demonic. She even said questionable things sometimes, although could still be just as soft and calm as she was powerful. Perhaps owing to IRyS' proclivities was her relationship with Bae. The two shared a rather chaotic romance, built on many of the same perspectives, though could crumble whenever they disputed with one another. As such, IRyS and Bae constantly remarried and divorced based on their mood at any given time. Right now, the two of them had just gotten back together after getting into yet another playful spat.

Kronii scowled at the two of them in frustration. "Mumei-things do not include running off to the food court!" she exclaimed, trying not to be annoyed at the pair. "That's not one of her duties as Guardian of Civilization! She's supposed to follow Yagoo's directions and stay with the group!"

Bae snickered as she reached up to put an arm around IRyS' shoulders. "Hey, not her fault she forgot!" she quipped in their absent gen-mate's defense. "You know she's got amnesia, Kronii."

"Of her choosing!" the Warden of Time retorted.

"Should've gone with her then," IRyS chuckled, also amused by the situation.

"And ignore Yagoo's instructions?" Kronii asked, slowly growing more irritated with them. "Yeah, disregarding our CEO's directions will totally make him happy. He'll be so thrilled to know we DON'T listen to him." Her sarcasm only made Bae and IRyS laugh more, partly at her but also at what might happen if Mumei got in trouble. Even Fauna could not suppress a giggle. Sighing in resignation, Kronii placed a hand to her temple. "Maybe I should've to make sure she comes back."

"Don't worry, Kronii," Fauna assured her. "She'll be back. We won't leave without her."

"Yeah," Bae agreed. "It's not like we'll forget all about her."

"I mean, we might as well teach her a lesson," IRyS joked with a sly look in her eyes. "How else is she going to learn? Besides, it'd be pretty funny how she reacts if we went on without her."

Bae snorted and slapped her thigh. "Damn straight, girl!" she laughed, fist-bumping IRyS.

Giving her two mischievous gen-mates a slight frown, Kronii turned to find Fauna laughing too. Easing up, she allowed herself to join in by expressing a small smirk, admitting, "Okay, maybe it will." She was going to enjoy gloating about how they followed directions while Mumei did not.

"Not anymore," Fauna suddenly informed them with a light giggle, pointing elsewhere.

Turning to where she pointed, the other idols of HoloPromise all watched as their wayward Guardian of Civilization turned up among the crowd, weaving her way through other generations.

"I'm back!" Nanashi Mumei announced with spontaneous cheer and a large cup of coffee.

Dressed in her debut outfit, an adventurer's set, she looked as if she had just stepped out of a world of fantasy. She wore a white buttoned long-sleeved shirt and a red pleated miniskirt below a brown leather corset dress. The sleeves ended above her forearms, leaving plenty of skin between the cuffs and her black gloves. Her gloves, typical accoutrements of the adventurer's uniform, were mostly black, save for the dark gold clasps around the wrists and similar shaded embroidery at the top; and fingerless on both her index and pinky fingers. The leather corset dress looked as if it had been crafted in a steampunk-styled renaissance fair, bearing two straps with four pins which looked like cogs and a fancy design on either side of the bottom front. It looked like some kind of strange owl-like symbol, fitting given that Mumei, as the Guardian of Civilization, could turn into an owl.

Around Mumei's waist was a leather belt with a gold buckle, gold holes, and a golden plate attached to the other end. From the bent clip which was part of the plate hung a handheld oil lantern on the right side of her body. No traveler would have been caught dead without one at night, though as characteristic of a self-imposed amnesiac, Mumei often forgot to light hers and all about the oil she needed to. Beside it was a leather pouch with a strap mostly obscured by her belt. Inside of the pouch was a leather journal Mumei wrote in to record her adventures so she could read about her discoveries later, along with a map and compass the common adventurer required. Though, Mumei kept forgetting she had those too and usually got lost. No big deal – it was still an adventure. Also around her waist were blue straps with brown owl feathers at the end, with a sheathed adventurer's dagger tied around the front left side. Each was part of a traveler's arsenal in their desire to explore.

The dagger in particular was Mumei's most useful tool. Its blade, hilt, and cross-guard were all made of bronze, giving it a yellow shine. The middle of the blade, though, was actually brown, and bore the image of an owl flying over a sharp symbol upon both sides. Its sheath was brown at the top with a red arrow-shaped line atop a brown arrow-shaped line. The rest of it was red with a gold plated tip at the bottom. It was Mumei's only means of defense, although she usually wielded it freely, either to mischievously cut one of her friends by accident or to skin animals she slew and harvest their bones and organs. Hunting and stealth kills were part of the adventurer's set of skills, after all, so it was only natural for Mumei to know how to – sometimes – properly wield a dagger.

Her black leggings fit snugly on her legs and were of different lengths, like the socks some of the other girls in Hololive wore. The one on her right leg reached above her thigh; and the other went up to the top of her left shin, below her kneecap. Both leggings came with two further straps, one per leg, that wrapped around her legs just above each legging, exposing part of Mumei's skin.

Mumei was also wearing brown boots that reached the bottom of her shins, with red fabric on the inside that stuck out through the tops. At the top and bottom were bronze arrow-shaped lines embroidered into the cloth. The pair at the top met in the middle of the front to produce a rhombus-shaped diamond. The false tongues were covered by arrowhead-shaped bronze plates, and bronze plates completely covered the soles of both boots. While Mumei was not an archer by any means, even though she did wield a bow and arrows sometimes, the boots were generally seen as the kind of pair archers might wear in a medieval fantasy setting, so they were thought of as archer's boots.

The final piece of her ensemble was a beautifully flowing brown cloak with a dark bluish-green inside secured around her upper torso by a dark brown bow. Under the bow was a small gap that provided a glimpse of Mumei's cleavage and her medium-sized breasts. The gap was actually much larger, though, since the cloak covered most of what her shirt revealed. The cloak itself bore hieroglyphics along part of it, though it was uncertain what language the symbols were from. They did not appear to be Egyptian, perhaps ruling that out as a possibility. The cloak billowed all around Mumei's whole backside, splitting up into four ends which reached all the way down to the middle of her shins. The two ends on the inside were slightly longer than the two ends which were outside. Her cloak also came with a hood that had a pair of owl-like ears on top, that she sometimes wore.

Likewise, Mumei's long, brown hair, which perfectly matched the color of her eyes, flowed to her shins like the cloak she wore. It was tied into a ponytail that split in two just above the back of her neck. The ahoge on top hung down, as opposed to sticking up like a lot of the other idols in Hololive. Atop her head was a pair of brown owl feathers that jutted up in place of the ahoge. Also, Mumei wore a hairclip in the side of her hair that looked like a Nordic rune from the Viking Ages.

Soaring in mid-air at Mumei's side was her own companion and familiar, a paper bag she called Friend. He was no ordinary paper bag, having been enchanted long ago to serve as a constant companion on her adventures. When people normally made faces on paper bags, they typically cut holes or drew faces on one side. Mumei opted for the former when she made him, cutting a pair of holes for eyes and a mouth so he could make expressions as an animate object. The inside of him was a dark bluish-green shade like her cloak's interior. Friend also had a plaster in the shape of an "X" on the left side of his face, thought to be a bandage covering a cut Mumei must have made by accident. Around his papery body floated three Nordic runes, like Mumei's hairclip, which glowed bright blue and lent credence to the idea that she created him with a spell from the Nordic countries.

Personality-wise, Mumei was something of a mixed bag herself. When she had first joined Hololive English, she presented herself as a cheerfully gentle, albeit quite shy and visibly nervous, girl with a soft-spoken tone of voice and an innocence worth protecting. The more Mumei livestreamed and performed onstage with the other girls in Hololive, the more confident she became. Although, with that poise came a dark side that – about as often or more often than not – soon emerged from the depths, like a butterfly from a cocoon. Her behavior grew into a dichotomy between relatively low energy characterized by a relaxed tone and a more spontaneously energetic bundle of joy. The latter was when Mumei became more dangerous, usually exhibiting psychopathic tendencies when happily enjoying herself. It was particularly polarizing to a lot of her fans, the Hoomans, at first as they had not expected it. But, like Monty Python's Spanish Inquisition, they immediately warmed to the grotesquely macabre and whatever other cursed thoughts Mumei shared with her cute voice.

Even her drawings showcased the horror that was her psyche. Every time Mumei sketched something, the subject would always look like it had been drawn by Tim Burton himself or appear completely demonic in nature. Her styles, though, were excused as the effects of having witnessed humanity sin for several millennia – between five and six, specifically, given how old Mumei was.

In light of her psychopathy, the Guardian of Civilization was still a heartwarming girl. For all her quirks and terrifying predispositions, she genuinely cared about the wellbeing of humanity, and appreciated their lives and endeavors. In her mind, the time they took to watch her stream and perform onstage was equivalent to money. Time was money, something Kronii – and their senpai, Amelia Watson, the time traveling detective and doctor and Kronii's rival from Hololive English's First Generation, HoloMyth – could attest to. Moreover, Mumei did not mind if the fans she referred to as Hoomans did not become members of her YouTube channel, even at times when she was unwell. Although Mumei often streamed at times that were inconvenient to her viewers – generally late at night in Eastern time – she encouraged exhausted fans who chose to stay up late to get to bed than watch her. She was even delighted to know that she was the one who had gotten them into drawing.

Despite the high energy Mumei exhibited and her overall excitability, particularly after she had a cup of coffee, she generally thought of herself as more of a 'low energy' person. Even though she enjoyed livestreaming and performing, her activities generally left her feeling exhausted when she finished. Further, while she mostly overcame her shyness around others, Mumei found it hard to find topics she wanted to talk about while chatting onstream. As such, she fell back on spur-of-the-moment songs and made noises at random to avoid having an awkward silence. It was just part of her birdbrained nature according to her, something to do to pass the time because it was difficult for her to multitask due to having such a short attention span and self-imposed amnesia. That whole self-imposed amnesia was another of her quirks that fans came to accept, because as Mumei herself said, especially in the lyrics of her first original song, A New Start, it allowed her to re-experience her adventures for the first time all over again. For those reasons, her fans and friends in Hololive, notably Fauna, grew overprotective, viewing Mumei as a cute, but playfully psychotic, little sister.

"About damn time," Kronii swore but was nonetheless relieved to see their troublemaking Guardian of Civilization back. Despite seeing the obvious coffee in her hand, she demanded, "Where the hell were you?" Though Fauna already told them, Kronii wanted to hear it from their gen-mate.

"Food court," Mumei answered innocently, stopping before them and taking a sip. "Why?"

"We've been waiting for you," Bae's companion, Mr. Squeaks, squeaked in response.

His reply garnered a light glare from the embodiment of Chaos as she reached her arm up. "Oi, Squeaks!" she scolded the rat for responding while flicking his face with her fingers. "Zip it!

The Warden of Time groaned as the rest of HoloPromise, excluding Mumei, giggled at the interaction between both rats. Ignoring the smaller one's answer, Kronii replied, "Cause we've all been wondering when you'd show, Mumei. We're just about to grab our luggage and head for the hotel. Whaddya think we would've told A-Chan if she found out you went and broke off from us."

"Really?" Mumei asked, tilting her head. She glanced around the airport at everybody else in Hololive, confused as to why they were still there. "But I thought we were still waiting for that."

"We are!" Kronii continued to scold her. "Just because the staff are still unloading it doesn't mean you can just run off somewhere on your own. They literally could finish any moment now!"

Mumei giggled sheepishly as she scratched the back of her head. "Sorry," she apologized.

"It's fine, really," Fauna smiled warmly while stepping between the pair as a mediator. "I'm sure it was okay for Mumei to go and grab a snack if she was still hungry. It's been a couple hours since breakfast, after all, and we've only just gotten off the plane." She turned to give the Guardian of Civilization a supportive nod, which Mumei returned by shutting her eyes and beaming, taking another sip of coffee. "That said," Fauna resumed, looking at the Warden of Time, "the staff should be just about done unloading our luggage, though. I happened to overhear Nodoka mention while you were away, Mumei – a few minutes ago, in fact – but you're on time for all of us to get going."

"See?" Mumei grinned, pointing a thumb at Fauna while taking another sip. "I'm ready."

Bae smirked, giving their gen-mate and friend a teasing side eye. "Are ya?"

Mumei returned an indignant look of confusion. "I'm here, aren't I? Fauna just said so."

"You haven't forgotten anything, have you?" IRyS added, playing along with Bae's ruse.

"N-no!" Mumei stuttered, off guard. "I quintuple-checked everything before our flight!"

"Did you?" IRyS continued to press mischievously.

"Yes!" Mumei insisted, nodding vehemently. "I've got all my luggage with me!"

Kronii smirked, deciding to join in for fun revenge by asking, "You sure, Mumei?"

Mumei scowled at her too. "Yes, I'm sure! I just said I quintuple-checked, didn't I? If you want to watch me go through it all again, Kronii, fine. I'm positive I didn't leave anything behind."

"Then where the hell's our pop?!" Bae barked with a laugh as IRyS guffawed with her.

Mumei blinked, suddenly taken aback by her friend's question. "W-wha— y-your—"

"You heard me!" Bae reiterated. "Where's our pop, Mumei?! Don't tell me you forgot!"

Flustered, Mumei blushed in embarrassment and tried to retort, "N-no, I-I—" then paused midway in a desperate attempt to remember. Failing, she claimed, "B-but you didn't ask for any!"

"Yes, we did!" IRyS laughed as they playfully teased the Guardian of Civilization over her self-imposed amnesia. "You even asked us what we wanted before running off to the food court!"

Mumei sputtered awkwardly, looking even more dumbfounded. "D-did I-I?" she asked.

"You did!" IRyS falsely confirmed with a teasing grin. "You said, "Hey, I'm off to the food court, you girls want anything?" Those were literally your words, Mumei! Your own words!" She and the embodiment of Chaos kept laughing as she put words in their friend's mouth for their own amusement. "Ring any bells yet, Mumei, or are ya seriously trying to get outta treating us already?"

The Guardian of Civilization swallowed heavily before meekly answering, "N-no…"

"Then get back to the food court," Bae ordered playfully, "and get us our damn pop!"

"We're thirsty over here!" IRyS taunted too.

"B-but—" Mumei stuttered, spluttering as she tried her best to recall if she promised them. She racked her brain in search of it, checking both her short-term memory and long-term memory. When she could not, she turned to Kronii and Fauna pleadingly. "B-but y-you said we're just about to leave! I-I don't have time to go back! Y-you didn't really ask me if you wanted anything, right?!"

"Aren't you forgetting something, Mumei?" Kronii asked, laughing proudly at her expense. "I'm the Warden of Time, remember? I know for a fact that you offered to treat us to some soda!"

"See!" said Bae jokingly. "Just get Kronii to turn back time. Even she knows you did!"

"Or Amelia!" the Nephilim offered an alternative. "She can go back in time to prove it."

Kronii smirked, shutting her eyes in thought. "Loath as I am to ask Amelia for assistance," she began, considering IRyS' suggestion, "I wouldn't mind petitioning our senpai to take the case."

"Y-yes, get Amelia on it!" Mumei demanded heatedly, preferring their senpai over her gen-mate. Though one of Kronii's friends, she doubted the Warden of Time would truly exonerate her.

"Wouldn't Amelia just create an alternative timeline if she did?" Bae asked. While she was partly teasing still, it was a legitimately serious question. "She could take her side for all we know."

"True," Kronii admitted with a nod, then said, "but time is my element. I alone can fix it."

"Into whatever you want!" Mumei retorted, scowling at her. She then looked away to growl, "Self-serving Warden…" under her breath, so mad that she did not care whether Kronii heard her.

Kronii could not help but snicker haughtily. "Damn right I'm self-serving. I want my soda."

"Then get it yourself, oh all-knowing Warden of Time!" Mumei spat, then turned around to cross her arms and enjoy her coffee in peace. "You've got all the time in the world to, after all."

With an amused smirk, Kronii crossed hers too. "Just because I do doesn't mean I'd do it."

The Guardian of Civilization huffed, sipping her coffee before she snapped, "Slave driver!"

The Warden's eyes shot straight open in rage. "What'd you call me, you little—"

"Now, now," Fauna sheepishly got between them again in an attempt to mend the situation. "Let's all calm down and return to nature, shall we? We could all use a nice break from the action."

"Yeah, Kronii," Bae chuckled. "Just be glad she didn't call you a self-serving bitch."

"Bae!" Kronii yelled at the chaotic rat. "Language!"

"You swore too!" IRyS pointed out with a laugh.

"But not at me!" the Warden of Time barked back. "You want to swear, swear at Mumei!"

"I didn't do anything wrong!" Mumei retorted.

"You sure as hell didn't!" Bae agreed with a laugh. "We want our pop, goddammit!"

"Yeah, where's our pop?!" the Nephilim demanded teasingly.

"I-I don't know!" the Guardian of Civilization stuttered.

"Where's our pop?! Where's our pop?! Where's our pop?!" her mischievous friends started chanting in unison, shutting their eyes and excitedly pumping their fists in midair together as one. "Where's our pop?! Where's our pop?! Where's our pop?! Where's our pop?! Where's our pop?!"

Mumei bristled in anger over their demand. Although she knew they were only teasing, she felt annoyed nonetheless at how they were using her self-imposed amnesia against her. She opened her mouth to tell her friends and gen-mates to shut up and get their own drinks, having had enough of it from them. Before she could, though, a voice called out to all of the talents present in the area.

"Attention, girls!" a staff member of COVER Corp. announced. "Your luggage is ready!"

"Finally!" Mumei murmured in relief as she ran ahead of her gen-mates.

"Mumei!" Kronii yelled after her as she and the other girls of HoloPromise followed suit.

"Please, proceed to baggage claim!" the staff member continued as Mumei ran by, followed by handfuls of her fellow Hololivers, including two of her senpais from HoloForce and NePoLaBo, Tsunomaki Watame and Yukihana Lamy respectively, who had each split off from theirs in a hurry.

Watame, seeking to escape from the embarrassment her gen-mates playfully subjected her to, quickened her pace through the airport. She blushed heavily as she took deep breaths to try and calm down, whispering to herself, "It's okay, they were just teasing," to forgive the trio for joking.

Lamy walked at a brisker speed with her arms crossed, eyes shut, and nose turned up after also having fled the humiliation her own friends and gen-mates put her through. She was annoyed with Botan in particular for toying with her by trying to be with Watame over her and shaming her in front of Polka and Nene, who both proceeded to take pictures they had then sent to all the others. Although she expected them to apologize later, Lamy was not in the mood to hear them say it now. Daifuku quietly soared alongside his mistress, waiting until she stopped so he could cheer her up.

As for Mumei, the Guardian of Civilization sipped the rest of her coffee while she excitedly jogged through with Friend flying by her own side. Finishing it, she stopped to throw the empty bottle in a recycling bin by the hall leading to the baggage claim area. Turning around, she spotted her gen-mates following along at a distance with the rest of Hololive. Looking at Kronii, Bae, and IRyS in particular, she scowled while raising a finger to lightly tug her right eyelid down while she stuck her tongue out at them. Her making a face elicited a harsh rebuke from the Warden of Time, who playfully started running after her for revenge. However, Mumei was even quicker to respond, whirling abruptly on her feet and running away even further to hide amid the crowd of Hololivers, leaving Kronii unable to find her. At least until they all stopped, giving the Warden an opportunity.

Arriving in the baggage claim area, the idols quickly gathered by the conveyor systems and collected their luggage. The baggage each girl retrieved differed based on who they were and how they decorated their luggage to distinguish whose was whose. As Hololive acquired theirs, the staff of both COVER Corp. and Hololive Production who flew with them took their own luggage. Some of the staff had arrived in El Paso days earlier to help set preparations for the collaborative concert, so there were not too many alongside Hololive. Once everyone had gathered their bags, suitcases, trunks, and other luggage containers, several of the staff members instructed the girls to form into lines at the check-in counter. One by one, they approached the clerks manning the counter to show the baggage receipts they had received, confirming they had the correct luggage by comparing the receipts to the tags on each one. It was standard protocol but took time as there were a lot of idols.

The biggest issue, though, was the weaponry some of the idols wielded. By law, passengers were forbidden from bringing weapons aboard airports unless they obtained a special permit which permitted them to carry just one. COVER Corp. already squared it away with the authorities in El Paso, acquiring permits and receiving special permission to let the Hololivers bring theirs. As long as they handled their weapons responsibly, the idols were free to carry them as part of the concert. Motoaki Tanigo, the CEO of COVER Corp., was still negotiating for further consent to allow them to carry their weapons while in public, claiming it would build hype for the concert. It would give fans the opportunity to see the weapons up close, safely of course, and the idols could use them as props while posing for photos, selfies, and video footage to commemorate the week-long concert.

While some of the authorities were open to the idea to some degree, provided the Hololivers were supervised by staff or the local police, they drew a line at vigilantism. Tanigo, though, hoped to convince them otherwise, believing it would improve Hololive's image if the idols were allowed to help stop crimes. The girls would look and feel like superheroines, like Marvel and DC Comics.

There was just one problem: All the Hololivers were explicitly told to keep their weapons packed and concealed until they received clearance to carry them. And, as Hololive's self-imposed amnesiac, Nanashi Mumei had completely forgotten to pack her dagger as instructed before arrival. It was comical to watch as she, out of all the girls, struggled and flailed her arms wildly as security officers detained her for carrying it in public, putting her in handcuffs and taking her by force to a hold room in customs. How she avoided getting reported prior even created something of a scandal as El Paso International's personnel started looking into it as a breach of national security. Hearing of the situation Mumei got herself into, Tanigo took several of COVER Corp.'s lawyers to arrange for her release. They managed to get her out without charges, though the lawyers had to confiscate her dagger. If they had not, she would have been arrested for failing to conceal it as instructed. As a result of her forgetfulness, Tanigo was going to have a hard time convincing the local authorities.

Some of the girls mocked her for being such a birdbrain, while others were exasperated by it. Mumei kept insisting it was not her fault, even using Watame's signature catchphrase to absolve herself. The Bardic Sheep was not comfortable with her kouhai saying it as an excuse to avoid the crime she could be charged with. The Guardian of Civilization had not even asked for permission to use it that way. Watame was too frightened of Mumei's psychotic tendencies to stop her, though, terrified she might do something horrifying to her for refusing. At the same time, she also thought of the Guardian of Civilization as one of her friends in Hololive – they all did, since Hololive was like family – but Watame was incredibly shy and extremely timid, so she was unsure if it was okay to tell her no. Instead, she stood back and let her say it without interrupting, unnoticed by Mumei.

With Mumei cleared for departure, she and everyone all gathered by El Paso International's front entrance, regrouping into their generations to make sure they were present and accounted for.

While Yuujin A., the content director of Hololive's talent group commonly known as A-Chan, walked over to the Car Rentals Center with Harusaki Nodoka, the lead staff member of Hololive's mobile application, holoPlus, to see if the rented shuttle buses were prepared, a middle-aged man in a suit with neatly combed dark hair stepped up to address the girls. "Ladies!" Motoaki Tanigo, excitedly announced with a cheerful smile. "I hope you all enjoyed the flight from Tokyo. It was quite a ride, flying all the way here to El Paso, Texas for what should be an absolutely incredible two weeks." He slowly swept his arm in front of him, adding, "The sight of the Pacific Ocean and the western states of the U.S. must've been stunning," before cracking a lighthearted self-deprecating smile at his own expense. "Shame I was unable to share in your awe, for I'd been given a seat in the middle aisle. But I'm sure all of you enjoyed the view – better than I would've – so I was glad to have it."

His modest humor was met with laughter from the talents – giggles, snickers, and chortles, alike. One of the girls, Shirakami Fubuki, the First Generation's otaku fox girl dressed in a seifuku-like white uniform, with light blue eyes and whose medium length white flowed past her shoulders, chuckled as she came to his aid by replying, "Don't worry, Yagoo, I'm sure you've seen the Pacific more times in your lifetime than most of us have in ours." She then shut her eyes and grinned while she added, "Someone had to visit the U.S. to help set up Hololive English and bring them over to Japan for their debuts. Besides, the company needed someone to help establish a branch in California so our merch could be better sold to our fans here in the United States. Who else would've done it?"

Tanigo shared in the laughter, happy to enjoy himself with them. Fubuki was right on both counts, of course, given his history in business and work experience. One of his goals was to help Hololive grow into a platform that could expand globally, upon which girls could become VTubers, idols who entertained people on YouTube in addition to their stellar performances onstage. In order to achieve it, and thus assist in fulfilling the girls' own dreams, he often had to travel beyond Japan. Typically, his foreign trips were to the United States or Indonesia to help promote a handful of the special events and concerts Hololive English and Hololive Indonesia held or were involved in. Although, most of the time he was in Japan because as CEO of COVER Corp., it was his duty to run the company. That enabled him to provide the talent agency with the resources required to help the girls succeed.

It was also a delight to hear her address him by his famous nickname, Yagoo. He was more than happy to be called it among them because it was a gesture of endearment. The nickname was first conceived by Oozora Subaru, the extroverted and tomboyish manager of both an MMA team and an e-sports club, who was one of the members of Hololive Japan's Second Generation. She came up with it on purpose during a livestream with Roboco, the robot girl and one of the members from Hololive Japan's Zeroth Generation, in which she intentionally misread his first name. In her defense, though, the kanji for Tani, the first part of his name which meant "valley," could be misread as Ya, "and," the same meaning of the kanji for "to." Since then, the girls have all happily addressed him by it, and he sometimes used it to informally introduce himself whenever promoting merchandise.

His smile broadened as he responded, saying, "Well, everyone needed the right man for the job," emphasizing them like Fubuki did for him while humbly taking pride in the accomplishment. "But, this trip isn't about me. It's about all of you—" he continued, pointing at them and sweeping his arm around to include all the idols, "and your fans here—" then held his arms out, "in El Paso!"

Cheers erupted from each of the girls as their excitement bubbled over, eager to please their overseas fans with the performance of a lifetime. Screaming, "Yeah, El Paso!" "Arriba, El Paso!" "Kon'nichiwa, ohayō, El Paso!" "Kon'nichiwa, ohayō gozaimasu, El Paso!" "Dōyo El Paso?!" they all hailed their visit to the city and combined collaborative concert, looking forward to the coming two weeks with glee. Their enthusiasm was contagious, for Tanigo shared in the joy of their future experiences; as did dozens of people passing by, many of whom came to welcome them to El Paso.

Tanigo laughed merrily, looking around at each of the girls and at their fans who just arrived with open arms. "Looks like everyone's already having a great time!" he exclaimed vivaciously as Yuujin and Nodoka returned to his side, joining in on the fun. While the girls continued cheering, the CEO gave A-Chan a quick look to confirm, "Are the buses ready to take us to the hotel, now?"

The head of the talent group nodded, "Yes, they've been waiting for a bit." She then sighed somewhat sheepishly, adding, "Nodoka and I had to apologize for Mumei's oversight, though. One of the drivers was getting a little impatient, but we assured them that we're all ready to get going."

"Excellent," Tanigo nodded thanks to her, then turned back to the girls to start leading them.

---

Since I first started writing birthday poems about my favorite VTubers in Hololive, I have often thought about what I wanted to write as part of a much bigger narrative project. At first, I believed Holo Frame: Duet of the Broken River, a multi-chapter crossover with the Fatal Frame series, could be that. Though I still believe Holo Frame: Duet of the Broken River can succeed and has a lot of potential, I have decided to take it down for the time being since it needs more thought put into it. When I started writing it, I did so without making a proper outline to follow so that I could better know where I wanted to take it. I have since developed one, although more work is needed. I need to do more research on the area Holo Frame: Duet of the Broken River is set in to improve worldbuilding and storytelling. On top of that, I must also re-edit the prologue and what I wrote for the first chapter so far to improve the writing.

Until I put more effort into making Holo Frame: Duet of the Broken River a better story to tell, I will be switching over to a different crossover that I better prepared. Simply entitled, Concordia, this new fanfic should make the kind of impact I am hoping to achieve as a fan of Hololive. Just as how Holo Frame: Duet of the Broken River was a crossover with Fatal Frame, Concordia is a crossover with The Conjuring, another horror franchise I quite enjoy. Starting work on Concordia was a lot of fun, as it enabled me to take the narrative style in a direction that I feel is fitting for a story such as this. It will also allow me to implement real history into the story by tailoring it in such a way that it fits the lore The Conjuring universe has created. Moreover, Concordia gives me the chance to include a third main character as one of the star protagonists by creating another leading role for a Holomem who will go well with the others.

I have again made Tsunomaki Watame and Yukihana Lamy star protagonists for this fanfic, though they are not the only ones I selected. Joining the two of them on this frightening adventure is Nanashi Mumei, everybody's favorite Guardian of Civilization of Hololive English's 2nd Generation, HoloPromise. I chose Watame, Lamy, and Mumei because the three of them are among my top favorite VTubers in Hololive. Also, of all the Holomem, these three are the best suited for a Conjuring crossover in my opinion, so it should be interesting to see how the three of them all handle the kind of terrifying situation the Conjuring franchise is known for.

As the title of this story and its description suggest, this story will be centered around the famously haunted Concordia Cemetery, an historic burial ground containing over a total of sixty thousand people from the El Paso community. When I first began researching places to set a Hololive-Conjuring crossover, Concordia Cemetery was one of a handful which stood out to me the most. I have a list of each one and could have gone with any location I selected, though Concordia Cemetery seemed to be the best place to start. As a cemetery, it is the final resting place when someone dies and gets buried in the earth. It makes Concordia Cemetery a chilling locale to visit and write about, especially with regard to its history and paranormal phenomena. This place is, after all, one of the most haunted places in the state of Texas, long thought to be one of the most haunted places in the city of El Paso specifically for that matter.

For this reason, I would like to explore that history through the lens of The Conjuring. What would an installment of this universe look like if it were to take place within Concordia Cemetery and around its vicinity? What sort of horrors might one expect to encounter among the paranormal phenomena here? It is an intriguing idea, one I think is worth writing about.

Now, for full disclosure, I am not a citizen of El Paso, Texas, or the state of Texas as a whole, nor have I ever visited the places we will be seeing in this fanfic. For this reason, I will be taking liberties as necessary or needed throughout the course of this story. The Conjuring universe does this as well to tell great stories. Some of the films in this franchise are based on the actual case files of Ed and Lorraine Warren, and on real folklore in the case of The Curse of La Llorona. However, some elements of storytelling, such as the in-universe history of the Abbey of St. Carta in The Nun, did not actually happen but were created to both tell a story and inspire interest in the subjects these films cover. That is partly what I want to do as well.

Further, the fact this is a crossover with Hololive provides more ground to work with in terms of liberties. Hololive is a fantasy setting full of idols with different backgrounds who, in my opinion, can fit into all kinds of crossovers. They have done this officially with all sorts of collaborations, and there are a bunch of other crossovers on . Even my first attempt at a large Hololive fanfic, the aforementioned Holo Frame: Duet of the Broken River, was a crossover. Why not make a Hololive-Conjuring crossover? It will be fun to write since it combines two of my interests together in a way that flows so efficiently it comes naturally.

Granted, the fact it is a crossover with Hololive means I will be taking a lot of liberties when writing about the Holomem. Take my descriptions of the Holomem in this prologue for example. When writing it, I looked to the Virtual YouTuber Wiki for summaries of what they looked like and images of their debut costumes. I have copied and pasted some of this content into a word document for reference where applicable, though shortened other parts, like the idols' personalities, into words and phrases as part of my notes as necessary. Though several of them had enough of a written description of their appearance on the wiki to build on with ease, others had a lot less to work with. Tokoyami Towa and Ceres Fauna are good examples of Holomem whose descriptions are fleshed out in a couple paragraphs each. By contrast, Himemori Luna and Ouro Kronii are not since there are only two sentences describing their appearances. In their cases, and likely for others, I needed to look at the images of them in their debut costumes in order to do them justice.

Describing the Holomem in great detail will also enable me to look to this fanfic when I write other Hololive fanfiction. The reason I did this was so that in the event I include them in other fanfics, which will be most likely, I can re-use these paragraphs instead of rewriting them every time. This will make it easier to write so I can focus more on getting the rest done.

You may have noticed that I included A-Chan and referenced both Tsukumo Sana and Kiryu Coco in the prologue. While I finished the prologue and published it after Minato Aqua's graduation, the idea to write Concordia was conceived prior to A-Chan's graduation. For this reason, I will be including both A-Chan and Aqua in particular because it would not be fair to exclude them from the story while I was developing it. I will allude to Sana and Coco for the same reason. They deserve to be mentioned and included wherever possible in honor of their accomplishments as talents of Hololive and for all they did for their fellow Holomem.

Also, because this story deals with religious topics, as is the case with The Conjuring, any referral to Christianity, Catholicism, or any other sect of Christianity, or other religions will be made with as much respect as possible. Admittedly, I am not religious myself and I do not identify with any particular religion. However, I strongly believe in the existence of gods, angels, demons, devils, and other supernatural or mythological beings. My belief partly stems from watching shows like Ghost Adventures, which has collected evidence of the paranormal.

That said, when writing about Hololive's demon Holomem, such as Towa and Hakos Baelz, or Towa's angelic counterpart, Amane Kanata, I looked at them character-wise from the view of the Catholic Church. To my understanding, the Catholic Church and exorcists like the famous late Gabriel Amorth who share his views about demons, are likely to be inclined against Towa and Bae in a story for the reasons mentioned when I wrote about them. This was done not to insult or attack either the Church or the Holomem, nor to make assumptions about whether the Holomem are religious and if the Church is opposed to them. I am not trying to say they are or not since I do not know any of them or staff of Hololive Production and COVER Corp. personally, nor am I affiliated with them. It is not my place to say one way or the other. I ask you, the readers, to show the same respect. I just felt it made sense to include opposition with regard to the context of the story. In real life, the Church might not actually be against them. If I am wrong about this, please let me know nicely so I can better understand this. It will help me show more respect with regard to this matter.

If all goes well and I successfully finish Concordia the way I intend to, I would certainly like to address this further in a sequel. Of my ideas for Hololive-Conjuring crossovers, I have two that would expand upon Concordia as a trilogy. Most of the ideas feature Watame, Lamy, and Mumei as the three star protagonists, though Concordia and both of its sequels will likely be set within their own continuity, separate from the others they are the star protagonists of. As ideas, it is possible that I might not write them or switch Watame, Lamy, and Mumei out for different Holomem. In fact, one of those ideas features Watame and Lamy as the only two star protagonists, whereas another trilogy has Shishiro Botan, the only Holomem I dislike – since she tries to eat Watame and scares her and Lamy for her own amusement – as the sole star protagonist. But again, these might not happen and could be set in different continuities if I do, so my idea to make Concordia part of trilogy should not be taken as a guarantee yet.

Now, while this is a crossover with The Conjuring universe specifically, I do not want to limit it to just that. There are other, similar films not part of this universe that can fit into the story where applicable as needed. Ed and Lorraine Warren are not the only ones famous for their investigations. Other notable figures, including the aforementioned Father Gabriel Amorth; Father Malachi Martin; Father Gary Thomas; Exorcist Msgr. Stephen J. Rossetti; Father Vincent P. Lampert; NYPD veteran, Ralph Sarchie; and the Ghost Adventures crew, have each dealt with supernatural activity through paranormal investigations and exorcisms.

If I am able to insert references to their works – books they wrote which I read, Ghost Adventures episodes – I will. The same goes for three films based on a few of the works. The first is The Pope's Exorcist (2023), which is based on the works of Father Amorth, specifically two of his books: An Exorcist Tells His Story (1990); and its sequel, An Exorcist: More Stories (1992). There is also The Rite (2011), based upon The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist (2009, 2010), a book written by Matt Baglio about Father Gary Thomas. Finally, there might also be references to Deliver Us from Evil (2014), based on Deliver Us From Evil: A New York City Cop Investigates the Supernatural (2001), by both Ralph Sarchie and Lisa Collier Cool.

Finally, with regard to author's notes, I will insert these at the end of each chapter as needed. Not every chapter will have author's notes if I feel there is no need for them. I do not want Concordia to be bogged down with too many. I shall only add them to explain something you, the readers, might not understand by providing further context on what I have written.

With that said, I hope you enjoy reading this chilling story of Concordia Cemetery as I enjoy writing it. Let us pray that Tsunomaki Watame, Yukihana Lamy, and Nanashi Mumei can prevail over the horrors of Concordia. They will need a prayer of deliverance from evil.

Disclaimer:

This fanfic is rated M for mature content. Since this is a crossover with the Conjuring universe and thus delves into the demonic, Concordia will get extremely dark at times and may become too intense because of certain content I will be including. While I myself am not a fan of such inappropriate content and absolutely do not endorse it by any means nor wish for it to happen to anyone, I am going to have to step out of my comfort zone in order to make the Conjuring side of Concordia feel as realistic and authentic as possible. If anyone has ever read any books by the Warrens and similar aforementioned people above, or watched episodes of Ghost Adventures or other video footage-recordings that have covered the same subject, you will have an idea as to what kind of dark content I am talking about and thus may be aware that these kinds of things can happen in real life. If not, please be prepared, for this fanfic is absolutely NOT for the faint of heart.

Also, I will be using major curse words wherever possible. To my knowledge, a few of the Holomem do say curse words, so I feel it would be in character for them to say curse words.

New original characters I create for Concordia are the work of fiction. Any resemblance to people in real life, including real names, is purely coincidental.

I do not own Tsunomaki Watame, Yukihana Lamy, Nanashi Mumei and-or the rest of Hololive Production. They are owned by COVER Corporation. I am not affiliated with either Watame, Lamy, Mumei, or any of the talents in Hololive. I am also not affiliated with Hololive Production or COVER Corporation either. I am merely a fan who enjoys their content.

Likewise, I do not own content on the Virtual YouTuber Wiki. I am not a member of the wiki, nor affiliated with anyone who is or manages it. I used it as a source of reference.

I do not own The Conjuring universe. It is owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment. I am not an employee of Warner Bros. Entertainment, nor affiliated with the company. I have seen most of the films in this universe, including The Curse of La Llorona, which is officially considered a canon spin-off. The only one I have not seen yet is Wolves at the Door, which is loosely based on the murders committed by the Manson Family in 1969, and is the first canon spin-off. I personally consider Wolves at the Door and The Curse of La Llorona to be part of this universe though, as two of the characters from Annabelle, Detective Clarkin and Father Perez respectively, appear in each of them. Father Perez actually references Annabelle in The Curse of La Llorona, which, in my opinion, strengthens the idea that both are in the universe.

I do not own Ghost Adventures. It is owned by Zak Bagans, the show's creator and leader of the team, as well as by MY Tupelo Entertainment, the production company. It might also be owned by the Discovery Channel and Discovery+, since it is currently available on that channel. I am not a member of the crew or an employee of either company, nor am I affiliated with them. What I said early on in the prologue about Ciudad Juárez being the murder capital of the world in 2010 came from part of their Halloween Special: Route 666 episode(s). The 's' is in parentheses because this special was split into two episodes, to my understanding. The part where this fact is mentioned is right when the Ghost Adventures crew arrives in El Paso for their investigations of the De Soto Hotel and Concordia Cemetery.

I do not own any pop culture references made throughout the fanfic. They are owned by whoever or whichever institution or party owns them.

As for the other works and films mentioned above, I will not be adding the disclaimers for each one here now as I have yet to include any. I will when I do, depending on which one.

I have used ChatGPT as a tool to produce rough drafts for the beginning of Concordia that I could work with. My stance regarding AI generated content is fairly neutral. I believe works should be made by hand and come from the creator's own mind instead of being made by an AI chat box. As a fanfiction author, I believe quality content is best achieved when it is produced through the artistic lens of its creator. However, I also believe AI could be used as a tool to supplement one's creativity by helping it take shape as something to work with. With the use of ChatGPT, I can acquire rough drafts to look at so I can better refine the work into a much better project. This is something I could get behind, but only as a supplemental tool. I do not have an account on ChatGPT, though, so the rough drafts I receive through it amount to around a few pages of material at most. While this may not seem like enough to work with, it is sufficient at getting the main points of the first few chapters organized. Once the beginning ends, I will be on my own without ChatGPT for the rest of the fanfic as I already have a working outline and a solid plan to proceed with going forward. This is how things will go when using ChatGPT as a supplemental tool, using it to help start my fanfics before tackling the rest of each one alone.