holyspirits | W5 CYOA - Zhongli, Akihiko, Laurence, Ali Zoph

[ well. he is hesitant, but not enough to argue against everyone else. besides, they're right. they can always leave. that's always an option that surely won't lead to further trouble. why would it?

so he gives a reluctant nod. ]

Okay. We can go to the Tower.

[ millennium tower. not his tower. he has to think hard about that part. ]

[ The four of you make your way to the center of campus, where Millennium Tower looms high. It's a beautiful day outside. The sky is blue, the grass is green, and you can hear the distant sound of various girls enjoying their afternoon. This is a science school, so it's common for girls to shut themselves in dark rooms to work on their projects, but the engineering club are tinkering with a machine on the lawn, and the Game Development Club are running around looking for inspiration for their latest project. A few girls jog past you, towards the track and field.

Like the rest of the buildings on campus, Millennium Tower has a very high-tech aesthetic. Everything is metallic, or smooth blues and whites. Floor to ceiling windows cover every wall, and you make your way to the meeting room. It's a few floors up by elevator. You know exactly where to go!

In an auditorium, a girl is waiting for you with a veneer of patience. You recognize her as Noa, the secretary of Seminar. And Seminar, of course, is is what functions as the student council of Millennium. It is therefor the highest authority you can think of in the whole world. ]

"Ah! C&C. Good, you're all here. And right on time! But of course I expected no less. You may be known for needless property damage and consistently exceeding budget, but at least you're always punctual.

On that note, I'm afraid I do have that commission for you."

Edited 2025-03-17 04:53 (UTC)

[Good grief, needless property damage and exceding the budget...Akihiko hopes that if anything happens, paying the financial costs of everything won't be part of the tasks to do before returning to where they came from is possible]

...we strive to excel.

[He glances at the rest of the team. Akihiko doesn't really have any questions before hearing about the commission, but hey, maybe someone else here does]

[ this is all so strange to zhongli, yet also - so right? is this what people have had to deal with on these trips? foreign, toppling structures of sleek designs, all of these haloed girls... at least the latter doesn't seem out of place in either set of memories.

he stays close to the other three, but his hand finds its place between laurence's shoulders once they're in front of noa. familiarity is one thing, but the knowledge of who she is - and what seminar is - is another thing entirely. ]

Apologies. I hope that the arcade incident was resolved with little issue, in that case. Are there certain parameters that you would have us maintain during this commission, to better... alleviate the property damage?

[ he'll leave asking about the commission to one of the others. ]

[Quietly to Laurence as they all head that way:]

It's okay. We're all here with you.

[He knows about that tower trauma so.

But when they get to the Millennium Tower and find Noa, he feels personally offended at the description of their unit. "Consistently exceeding budget"? Excuse me? Somehow Ali is an accountant on top of being a student, he knows all about being in budget!!!

...but she IS the highest authority he can think of in the world...maybe he's been slipping in recent years?]

We'll try better to avoid the damage and costs. What is the commission you have for us?

[ who says it's trauma,

the millennium tower is not unlike home - a tall, sleek building, all brightly lit and pristine, with tall windows to look out over the world. but of course, why wouldn't it be? this is where they're supposed to be.

and, of course, laurence is familiar with the concept of absolute authority, too. he doesn't even question it. he only glances briefly at zhongli with the touch and lets the others do the talking. what is happening here. ]

"... It was handled. But yes - so. Approximately thirty seven hours ago, a student by the codename 'The Idol' escaped the self-reflection room. They slipped out of range of Seminar's surveillance network before we realized the situation. They've only been free a brief time, but their crimes are already beyond the usual.

Unfortunately, retrieving them is a more complicated task than usual... Our intel suggests they've fled to the Odyssey Maritime School district. While we do have decent relations with Odyssey, in practice that means that we can't be caught violating the rules and sending a drone over their territory.

So what we need... is a stealth capture."

[Something about listening to this kind of directive is just so natural to Akihiko. He should stop getting into these extracurricular activities. How does he have time for his life between this group and S.E.E.S]

Shouldn't be too hard.

[Stealth isn't really his forte, but hey, that doesn't mean it'll be a tough task]

Why was this Idol in the self-reflection room in the first place? What did they do to deserve being there?

Edited 2025-03-17 16:33 (UTC)

[ "shouldn't be too hard," akihiko says, and zhongli takes a moment to look at the group gathered for this task. he's... not sure about that. this is a simultaneous memory thought, between excessive property damage and simply knowing some parties involved in the group.

he'll just sigh softly. ]

And there is no means of communicating with Odyssey, to come to an agreement regarding this student, if our relations are so decent? Are they dangerous to the population of the schools?

[ once they understand their situation, they can decide what they want to do about it. they could just leave! they could just hit da bricks! but better to know everything they can, first. ]

[Well. Two of them can turn into dragons (can they actually turn into dragons here) so stealth might be possible.]

If nothing else, I don't think any of us have met the Idol before. We would have an easier time of being stealthy than anyone else.

[Boys? In an all-girl game? Clearly they must be side characters! Nobody will suspect them.]

[ wow laurence's powers are totally made for stealth how dare you

(laurence himself is not made for stealth) ]

I don't know any "Idol"... [ hmm. ] What does a stealth capture mean, exactly? How are we supposed to blend in or whatever?

[ Listen, judging by your reputation as C&C, stealth may not really be what you're known for. but times are desperate, as you can probably presume by the way Noa's smile stays tight. ]

"The Idol was initially in the self-reflection room for hacking our school database and changing their own attendance records... as well as those of many others... so that they could go to karaoke during class hours. Which might not have been quite so bad had they not also billed it to the school itself, then changed all of their school grades to reflect their karaoke grades.

I think you would remember if you had ever met them before. They are a constant headache. As for their capture, we'll leave your methods up to you. You are the fixers, after all. But I'll answer anything I can to help you formulate a plan."

[Things really escalated, from just hacking and changing attendance records, to going all the way up to doing outrageous crimes. What a person this Idol must be.

So of course, Akihiko asks:]

Their appearance would be a good start. We can't catch someone if we don't know how they look like.

Edited 2025-03-17 17:45 (UTC)

[ well. alright. zhongli considers this before he circles back to the other school. ]

Is there not a point of contact at Odyssey? If this student has caused this level of trouble, here, then surely they will do the same at their school if left to their own devices.

[ he'd ask if they're cleared for force to retrieve The Idol, but. well. guns don't kill people! ]

[He is nodding along with all of this before he suggests something else.]

Does Idol have a phone? We might be able to track her from her phone's signal.

[ part of laurence is like "what's karaoke" while the rest of him is like yea okay that tracks, what a pain for seminar!!

does he actually have anything to contribute here uhhhhh ]

Do you know anything about where in Odyssey they'd be?

"We can't guarantee they won't be in some sort of disguise, but your target is a little on the short side, thin, and has pale skin. Their hair is grey and their eyes are teal. Their halo is neon green and resembles graffiti, or so I'm told.

Unfortunately things with Odyssey are... Well, they're good for the time being, but mostly because we don't interfere with one another's business.

We managed to follow The Idol's phone's signal out to The Golden Fleece - one of the Odyssey's ships. But The Idol is a bit too savvy to not have blocked us out eventually. And with some help, we've learned that this ship is officially 'retired' but... Has been being used as a sailing casino.

Which contributes to why Odyssey wouldn't want us to retrieve them. They've been forging bonds in Seminar's name again and spending them with reckless abandon. From Odyssey's perspective, we would be sniping a valuable "Whale" from them, out on the open seas. Their own territory.

But if they aren't retrieved soon, Seminar is likely to be bankrupt within a week!"

Don't worry. We'll take less than a week.

[Well, as far as information goes...there's only one last thing left. Akihiko's hand goes to wherever he stashed the pistol he has]

Fighting capabilities. Tell all you know about it. What kind of fight should we expect to happen if it goes awry and this Idol catches us?

[Because that's a very plausible possibility. You never know how rolls might go!]

[ great. a sigh, but at least akihiko is getting the next question to come to mind out of the way. they should definitely do this commission, for the sake of seminar!

except they could just leave. that's still on the table, he reminds himself - if not for all of them, then at least laurence's sake, considering he's not a combatant and certainly still very much on the living side of heaven. ]

And if Odyssey catches us there, on the Golden Fleece? Will extraction be possible, or are we on our own, there, and meant to make our way out with no outside assistance?

Well there's ways to go in besides straightforward. We could sneak into the employee area and put work uniforms on. Then we could move around the casino freely.

[Well. Maybe not the teens. But they can just claim to be 18, it's fine.]

[ laurence is actually 18 so yea he totally could do that. rip akihiko. ]

Aren't they going to know this "whale" is gone, anyway? They're still going to be pissed about it.

"With your skills, I imagine you'll have it done by the end of the day! As for The Idol's skills - they're no pushover. Despite all their time spent in the self-reflection room, we do still leave them with study supplies. They use a machine gun, and while they're a little more prone to running than fighting, they do tend to play dirty, so keep that in mind.

If Odyssey were to catch you as... guests, I suppose that might not be too problematic. As long as you're able to extract the target somehow. Though for obvious reasons we can't currently offer you a stipend to help with blending in, either for clothes or gambling.

We'll be in contact while you're aboard, so extraction... May be possible. It's going to depend on the situation. Should you be caught, we don't exactly want to send a Seminar helicopter to retrieve you. We don't want them knowing that this is a school matter and not an independent act. So if things go awry, hopefully you've got a backup plan. It might not hurt to check in with other departments before you head out. They might have more... unaffiliated resources.

Ultimately the goal is for them to be mad that their cash-cow is gone without pointing to us as a school for having taken them away."

[Perhaps it's a good thing Akihiko has charisma advantage. Getting away with pretending to be 18 might work out after all.

Akihiko nods, believing there was enough information to go on. No more questions from him. How are you all doing, gang, you ready?]

[ it'll be fine, probably.

but zhongli considers before he decides they're ready to leave, hand to chin. ]

Would you have any deparments in particular you would recommend? [ for them to hit up. because he doesn't know but also does know? probably? although he's a little hesitant to do that, considering it's probably going to mean they're going to see some familiar faces. ]

[Shadow work. Ok.]

We probably shouldn't wear school uniforms then, if we don't want attention drawn to the school.

[Time for maid uniforms, it is the perfect cover. Clearly maids aren't students, right?]

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