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

[ Hm! Okay! Hu Tao looks cheery and leads Laurence away. This is very funny you've isolated these two with each others' CR. But you turn a corner and these horrible loud game machines are immediately so disorienting all over again. Looking back, you can't even see Zhongli over the tops of the machines. Which is odd. They aren't that tall...? He's pretty tall...???

But off you go. For what feels, once more, like a long long time. You do finally spot the glowing customer service sign in the distance! ]

Thank goodness.

Now. Let's get your card set up. Will you be paying with cash, credit, or collateral?

[ wowee! he's definitely glancing behind them frequently as they head off, trying to see if he can relocate zhongli in this mess of a casino, but that draws his attention back to hu tao. ]

Uh. Collateral. [ has no idea if they currently have anything on them worth $20. ] Favors, I guess? For him, too.

[ Unfortunately this is a business and she is not your classmate at your school. She can't guarantee that she'll ever see you again the way those girls (and Iris) could, so she's a little more hesitant to accept anything else. ]

Favors, huh?

I don't know if I can make a good business deal on favors.

Unless you're willing to pay up now. Then I might have a job for you. Could save me some time.

[ uh ]

What job...?

[ She's been pretty consistently smiling, but her expression levels out a bit. She doesn't sound like she's taking this lightly. ]

Need you to take someone out for me. It's their time.

I realize it's a big ask, but if you've got nothing else, it's the only thing I really need done. It'd net you about $25,000 worth of points. Probably easy to hit VIP status before blowing through all that.

I- What? Take someone out how, exactly?

[ please say on a date he'd hate that too but oh god ]

Shatter their halo.

[ You know, in your Blue Archive brain soup, that this means kill. ]

[ that's what he was afraid of. it's like a panic button - suddenly it's very hard to breathe, and for a second, laurence just stares at her blankly, uncomprehending.

he can't do that. he can't do it again. kill someone? he barely even did that the first time, it was a fluke, he never meant to even try.

but what choice do they have when there's nothing else to offer?

he needs to find zhongli again. zhongli will know what to do. laurence turns to scan the for him one more time - but no dice. where is he? ]

Uhm... I'm not - agreeing yet. But who is it?

Kid that just boarded a few days ago. Iris.

[ You've probably never heard of them. ]

[ his blood runs cold. ]

Iris. Iris Black? The one from the engineering club?

But why? What do you mean "it's his time?"

Iris Black, yeah. I'm not sure about his club affiliation, but he's from Millennium.

I mean what I said. If life is a debt, someone's got to collect. Everyone dies sometime.

Aren't you dead, yourself?

When did he even get here? I thought he was still at school.

[ iris what the hell are you doing. is that lily making you draw money for this wtf wtf

but also ?! ]

...How did you know that?

Hm? Like I said. He got here a few days ago.

I know because it's my job to know these things. I wouldn't have this job for you if I weren't pretty in-tune with this kind of thing, right?

Someone will have to do it either way, it's just a matter of whether it's you... or me.

[ he hates this. he's supposed to be saving iris, not... killing him. ]

Okay. Can... Can we find Zhongli first? Then we can, um. Work on this.

[ ... ]

Where would we even find Iris?

Need someone else to do it for you? Well, as long as it gets done. We'd just put the points on his card instead.

Around now, Iris is probably in his stateroom. Room 205.

That's not what I said!

[ it might be what he meant but rude!!! now he's upset AND mad. ]

The deck upstairs, right? How do we let you know if it is done?

[ sighs and glances back over the casino, feeling a little dizzy again. ]

...And how do we get back to the card tables, again?

Edited 2025-03-19 17:08 (UTC)

That's right. Right upstairs.

Just come back to the casino when it's done. I always guide our new guests. You'll find me.

And once you have your points, you can play any game you want.

[ That's not what he meant. ]

[ okay that is a little disconcerting. he is going to try not to think about that. this is a friend of zhongli's surely it's fine? ]

Right, but I meant - Zhongli was still back there. I don't know how to get back?

Oh, that? He's not there anymore.

But I'll guide you to the exit.

[ Silly guests. Always getting lost and separated from their friends. ]

Wait, what?

[ he will follow her but what?? ]

What do you mean he's not there anymore? Where'd he go?

[ She leads him out to the casino exit, which once again feels so disorienting and loud and mazelike. Which is also weird because talking should be a free action yet this conversation only advances one speech bubble forward. Weird!

She stops right at the exit. Past here, you can see the elevators you initially came down on, and hear the muffled sounds of all the live entertainment rooms. ]

I wonder.

Alright. Get that done and report back. Don't forget about me, now.

[ MISS DIRECTOR MA'AM WHAT DOES THIS MEAN HELP HELP HELP

well. shit. now that he's here what the fuck's he supposed to do. find iris, he guesses, but also,

after skittering out of the way to stand by a wall, laurence yanks out his phone to desperately try and find zhongli's contact and call him ring ring peepaw ]

[ it's ringing.......... ]

[ PEEPAW PICK UP THE PHONE ]

[ Good talk! Now that it's over, what is Laurence doing?

He was told to stay put, but they are still looking for The Idol. His new job might help with that! But it's not the only option. ]

LAURENCE

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