"When the four corners of your cocoon collide,
You'll slip through whatever cracks hoping that you'll survive
Gather your will and take a deep look inside.
Can you be who they idolize?"
Location: Yagoo's Office/Time: 10:00 PM
Jude POV
-"Sit down, Jude."
Mr. Yagoo says to me as I comply immediately. His desk had a big sofa behind it rather than a chair, a blanket covering it. He sat on the chair opposite to me on the other side of the front of the desk.
"What I am about to say to you, should you turn me down, will never leave this room.
I am saying this for your safety. Your mouth must be sewn closed."
His voice spoken with such a rough edge on his tone, which made my eyebrows raise at the sudden shift in attitude.
-"Is that a threat?"
The atmosphere in the room turned into a scorching hot face off.
I held my ground firmly, and so did he.
-"It is merely what will happen. You may perceive it as what you wish."
Those words.. He's fully serious about this. The way he laid back in his chair and stared at me told me there was so much more to his identity than a CEO of an industry leader.
He was something much more beyond that.
-"What did you bring me here to."
-"Straight to the point, it seems my words of advice have processed on your part, good."
He paused for a moment, I saw him standing up to go around his desk, then open a drawer to take out a a paper. I couldn't read anything on it.
"Consider this an ultimatum, Jude. And no hard feelings for forcing you into this, alright?"
The words that I read on the paper that he placed in my hands made me expression drop.
My mouth quivered uncontrollably, I was on the hinge of shivering.
I never thought myself capable of such things, but this paper was truly something else.
"HoloCorp Invitation"
"Don't say anything yet, I have good plans for you, Jude.
I promise I will harbor you as I have harbored everyone else under my umbrella.
You will never have to fear the situation with your eye getting worse. You will have an amazing financial income, and you'll be able to connect with people all around the world."
Why.. How..? This doesn't make sense. Why me? Do they seriously take in everyone who's the tiniest bit special?
Am I that dense to not have expected this?
"HoloCorp will be your best bet in terms of lifestyle. Trust me on this, Jude."
I can't. I mustn't.
I found myself clutching the paper tighter, creasing where I was holding it quite roughly.
Mr. Yagoo was going to continue speaking but I asserted my choice that moment.
I had my reasons. I had my worries. I am not a lifeless fiend, I have priorities.
-"I.. C..cannot.. Don't make me choose..
Please..."
He placed his hand on my shoulder, kneeling in front of me, his kind stare dispersing the near-hostile environment.
-"Think. Think Jude. What are the reasons for you to decline? We can talk about this.
Don't make choices you will come to dwell on later."
I take a deep breath, my hands shaking, my heart was sinking lower like it was drowning in an ocean.
My voice cracked slightly as I spoke my reasons.
No, my singular reason.
-"M-My.. Mother. I had promised myself to move back in with her post High School and go to a nearby university.
I was going to apply. I want to make her proud. That's my only desire in life."
It was Mr. Yagoo's turn to be surprised, stumbling backwards as he cleared his throat as he stood up.
-"It seems I was the one who.. Uhm... Hurried into this.
I hadn't considered your situation.. Usually our talents don't have families to place an anchor on.
I am deeply sorry, Jude, that was immensely harsh of me."
He reaches out to take the paper from my hand, but I hug it closer to myself.
-"...We can reach an agreement, can't we, Mr. Yagoo?"
-"Huh- You're willing to join?"
-"I might be able to make this work.
The compelling to join is immense, I haven't felt this curious before.
I want to know the people who are here, I want to meet them. I want... To make friendships."
That was what my Mother had asked me all these years ago. To always seek out friends and explore the world.
My Mother was never opposed to anything I did, the most supportive person anyone could ever ask for.
She had faith in anyone, even the most heinous of criminals, she always believed in second chances, third chances, fourth, fifth..
Sometimes our neighbors would call her a Saint, cracking jokes that I wouldn't understand at a young age because I didn't know the value of her tender-heartedness.
I'm losing myself in thought again, ah, who am I kidding.
I am not an edgelord.
I am Jude. I am myself. I can feel for others. I can feel for myself.
-"Well, he's totally out of it."
I realize Mr. Yagoo was just waving his hand in front of my face trying to wake me up.
-"No, I'm here, I'm here."
-"So, what is your clause, Jude? I am more than happy to accommodate anything you might ask of us.
Name it."
-"..I want to still be able to take online classes instead of University, as far as I'm concerned, I'm going to have to live near or in the HoloCorp buildings. I want an education."
I don't know why but Mr. Yagoo laughed slightly, it wasn't a mocking laugh, but it was a confident one.
-"Oh dear Jude, we have much better options than simple online education. You'll see it for yourself.
Now, what else, you seem to have something else to say."
-"I want my Mother to be able to live near me. Somewhere I can visit her, and somewhere she'll be safe.
That's it."
-"Wait, that's all?"
-"..?"
I looked at him confused, making me wonder what others might have asked of him.
-"Just an education and being able to see your Mother? Wow, you're really simple to please huh?
You don't know how hard it was to make others content. I don't even want to remember."
-"And I won't ask if that's the case."
We both stood up, reaching out to shake each other's hands.
Location: ???/Time: ???
3rd Person POV
'Modern-day killers really must hate fun
More often, people takin' lives rockin' knives and guns
The real murder connoisseurs in the ruins of h-'
A phone's ringtone blared and was cut off, a groggy voice grunting as they threw the phone against the wall.
-"Cringe.. Aaah.. Why do I keep my own songs as my own ringtone..? Yeesh.."
Taking off her sleep mask, the pink haired Mori Calliope sits up in her bed, setting aside her skull pillow.
"Who was calling me so suddenly...?"
She stood up and went for her phone. It couldn't break because, well, she wouldn't let it.
Self explanatory, I think.
"Woah, six people called me?
Gura.. Ina..
Huh?"
Her head gave a deeply concerned stare seeing the 4 missed calls.
"Three from Enma-Chan and one from Yagoo-San? What the? Did the world end?"
She quickly put on her casual clothing, a tank top and shorts, both the color black, and some skull slippers, and left her room.
The building was a god damn mess, everyone was running around left and right, as if preparing for war.
"What the hell..?"
Continuing to walk, Mori Calliope noticed her gen-mates standing together in a group.
She knew something was important if Gura was the one to call, because that little shark had a history of being quite dismissive of communication.
She gave a light wave, and was about to speak, but a certain Takanashi Kiara held her arms and began shaking her, screaming her lungs out in a squeal.
-"CALLLLIII!!!! WE'RE GETTING A NEW BRANCHHH!!!!"
-"Huuuuuuh-"
Her voice was dizzied as Kiara shook her, Mori Calliope held her shoulders and pushed her to the wall, holding her head as a headache took her hostage.
"Kiara you damned food.. I think I'm going to puke.."
-"Death can puke?"
-"Death's apprentice.. Difference.."
She leaned against the wall, taking a breather.
That's when her brain sparked.
-"WAIT WHAT!? NEW BRANCH?"
Their interaction was just silently observed by a snickering Amelia Watson, Ninomae Ina'nis and Gawr Gura.
"STOP LAUGHING! EXPLAIN YOURSELVES!"
-"What needs to be explained? New branch.
Rumors say it's a one man party tho."
Ina's words rang through Mori's head, putting her mind to full work.
New branch? So suddenly? Why? Who could've gotten the attention of Mr. CEO?
-"I tried to do my thing, but, I couldn't.
Not even my smarts could crack through! Yagoo-San was fully firm on keeping it hidden.
We are to attend either via watching the stream or going to the gathering theater.
I'm going to drown the culprit behind this in interrogation."
Amelia Watson was bouncing in place slightly, she always loved a challenge, especially one such as this, being the first to figure out such a grand mystery.
-"I'm so lost.. Guh."
Mori pushed herself off the wall, standing straight up once more, and tapping her foot impatiently.
"I need to know immediately!"
-"Patience, Calli, the show will begin in a little bit."
-"Yeah!! I'm going to go sit down in my room and watch there!"
Gura stumbled off, weirdly enough she didn't talk much throughout Mori Calliope's appearance.
-"Same, I'll be in my room if you guys need me! Sorry for the rollercoaster nausea Calli!"
Kiara gives Mori Calliope a light punch to the arm, laughing like a crazed lunatic and running off whilst Mori Calliope was about to channel her scythe into existence.
Thankfully, to Kiara's fortune, Ina held Mori Calliope back, allowing her to escape the cold touch of Death in one piece.
-"Calliope. Let's go, time isn't our friend in this case."
Ina extended a tentacle and grabbed Mori's hand and began walking slowly to the theater, another tentacle patting her back to get any discomfort out of her system.
Watson stayed behind, writing something in her notes.
She was scribbling a rough sketch, placing a bet with herself on how the person will look.
Someone large, well built, glamorous hair and eyes.
If someone saw her they'd think she's writing a fanfiction.
People passed by her, taking a peek at her work but not being able to decipher what she was trying to get at.
Elsewhere
-"Kronii! Come on, get out of your room! Let's all go together!"
The green-haired maternal-sounding figure, Ceres Fauna, knocked on the Time Warden's door, Kronii.
-"I'm perfectly fine watching from inside, geez, do I have to join you all every time?"
Kronii declined in her usual tired tone, she was a serial shut-in.
-"Step aside Fauna, she needs serious treatment."
A crack of fists and a winding of a punch that could shake the foundations of earth was interrupted by the exclaims of the surrounding members of the HoloLive "Promise" Unit.
-"Baelz! No! You're going to get us all punished!"
-"Yeah, we can drag her out through other methods, don't worry!"
The mortified tones of IRyS and Nanashi Mumei manage to calm Hakos Baelz down, she lowered her hand back to her side.
Fauna let out a small puff of air, not quite a sigh, but enough to put her unamusement on display.
-"Kronii. I will count to three."
Oh no.. An angry Fauna is.. Not a good Fauna.
"One."
Vines began sprouting from her hands and began crawling the door.
-"T-"
-"Let's go."
Kronii opened the door and got to walking ahead of the group, the other four laughing along as they stepped behind her.
-"Hehe~, so easy to sway, Warden dearest!"
-"I will make you sway upside down like the hourglasses in my room if you don't shut up, Fauna."
If she spoke through any more gritting of the teeth, she might've had to get a new set of prosthetic teeth.
-"So angwy deaw Kwonii! Awww!!"
Baelz spoke in a condescending tone, she knew the babytalk got on her nerves the worst.
Kronii's fists clenched as her stride got quicker, externally, she seethed, internally, she was dying of laughter.
It was just her pride in herself that never allowed her to be open about humor and affection between friends.
"Anyhow, are you all looking forward to this?
From what I know, this is a stand-in for a debut announcement, meaning there's gonna be an actual debut in a while.
It's really exciting seeing HoloCorp expanding in such a large direction! Picking up more talents is always fun to see."
-"I sort of agree and disagree, it's fun to see more people join, but it's also sad knowing that it's been so long since we started out.
I shed tears of nostalgia sometimes seeing how far we've come, as a group.
Despite the fact that 3 years of our lives is an insignificant fraction, but these 3 years have been heavier in their weight and impact than many the last ten millennia."
Fauna's words caused a short silence to befall the group of friends, all of them pondering together.
She was right, HoloCorp had its impact on all of them, and even after all the joys they've experienced, they were only a fraction done with the possible discoveries in this world.
-"God, you're gonna make US cry now Fauna, dang it."
-"Hehehe, sorry Baelz!"
-"I can honestly say the same. As the one who was the most involved with humanity all this time.. The last few years had changed me the most.
Going from an observer to someone who can affect humanity - albeit not on as major of a scale as I want to - was the best transition I've had in my existence."
Mumei spoke distantly, as if pouring all her experiences into those words.
Kronii and IRyS stayed silent on the topic, allowing their friends' sentiments to resonate with themselves instead.
Their moment of recollection was interrupted by the speakers all around the facilities, the voice of the familiar Enma-Chan echoing through them.
"Attention please, all who are attending or watching the announcement, please stand by for it to start."
-"That's our call. Let's pick up the pace."
The words of Kronii affirmed by her gen-mates' responsive actions.