The HoloChronicles

Chapter 12

Ina slowly opened her eyes; it took her a moment to get her bearings as her surroundings were unfamiliar.
Then she remembered, she was in the guest bedroom of holoX's hideout.
Ina rolled over onto her side and spotted the other bed in the room, where Kiara and Calli were still sleeping soundly.
She chuckled silently as the previous night's events came back to her...

"I am not sharing a bed with Kusotori." Calli stated firmly.
"Sorry, I guess I should've specified we only have two beds in here." Iroha said with a sheepish laugh.
She had offered Calli, Kiara, and Ina the guest bedroom, which was situated in the back of the main level of the hideout, directly across from the entrance, so none of them would have to take up residence on the floor of the main room and become a potential tripping hazard for Koyori or Lui. (They were both early risers)
Irys had won a game of rock-paper-scissors for the last armchair in the main room.

"Come on Calli, it's just for one night, besides, it will be waaarm~." Kiara said sweetly, gently grabbing the reaper's arm.
"No way." Calli replied flatly.
"I could always take the floor." Ina offered.
"No, Ina, I..." Calli sighed heavily, "I'll share a bed with Kiara." She relented, not wanting her friend to be uncomfortable.
"Yay!" Kiara cheered.
"But!" Calli said, walking over to the bed and putting one of the pillows in the middle of it.
"This is the line, got it? We each have a side." the reaper insisted.
Kiara nodded, a giddy grin on her face.

Now, it seemed the pillow had disappeared at some point during the night as, from Ina's perspective, Kiara had nuzzled her face into Calli's shoulder.
The two actually looked quite comfortable.
Ina got out of bed and exited the room, careful not to wake her two friends, and was greeted with the same picture of disarray the main room of the hideout had been the previous night, plus a shark girl still passed out in one of the plush, blue armchairs; Irys and Amelia were nowhere to be found.
Faint voices could be heard from the ladder that led down to Koyori's lab, so Ina decided to follow them.

"Morning Ina!" Amelia greeted as the priestess stepped onto the white tiled floor of the lab.
"Good morning!" Koyori and Lui greeted, almost simultaneously.
"Good morning... wow, this is quite a lab." Ina marveled.
The room was an impressive sight: from what looked like a massive computer screen and various other electronic instruments at one end of the room, to the counter on the left side of the room littered with test tubes and flasks of all imaginable sizes and shapes, to the bookshelves on the right side of the room filled to the brim with books, chemicals, and specimens of all types, to the pristine white walls and floors (except for one spot on the floor which appeared to be slightly... melted?) It was every scientist's dream lab.
There was also something with a sheet over it in one corner of the room, which Ina assumed was some sort of secret project the coyote was working on.

"Right?" Amelia replied, "I woke up super early this morning and Koyori has been showing me all kinds of things she's been working on."
"Some of which, are these!" Koyori interjected, laying out HoloMyth's weapons on a large table in the center of the room.
Calli's scythe, Gura's trident, and Kiara's sword all looked visibly fiercer as weapons, they were sharper, shinier, and each seemed to be glowing slightly.
"Wow, just wait until they see these! They look amazing!" Ina exclaimed, gently gliding her fingers across each weapon.
"You really did outdo yourself this time, Koyori." Lui added.
"They're all special that's for sure!" Koyori stated proudly, her tail uncontrollably wagging at their praise.
"Check this out too." Amelia gently tossed her pistol on the table, though it still landed with a loud clang.
"Woah." Ina said, carefully picking up the weapon.
Amelia's pistol was no longer the plain black, standard, gun it used to be.
It was visibly bigger and was now equipped with a scope.
"Semi-automatic, setup to fire a bigger caliber than before, AND ultra-long range." Amelia boasted.
"Custom." Ina remarked, noticing that the grip even had a small engraving of a magnifying glass.
"That's an understatement." Lui said with a laugh.
"You sure there's nothing I can upgrade for you, Ina?" Koyori asked.
"Heh, no, Koyori, my powers are already far too strong." Ina replied, earning a slightly confused look followed by a shrug from the coyote.

"By the way, where's Irys?" Ina asked, she hadn't seen any sign of the Nephalim so far.
"Not sure, she said something about needing some fresh air and she hasn't come back yet." Amelia explained.
"Hmm." Ina hummed in response, wondering if the Nephalim had gone off to train somewhere.

Moments later, Gura awkwardly made her way down the ladder into the lab, "Mornin'..." she greeted sleepily.
"Morning." Amelia greeted back with a small laugh, "Somebody's still sleepy."
Gura yawned loudly, "Busy day, didn't sleep well." she answered plainly, then her eyes landed on the weapons laid out on the table, "Whoa, is that my trident?" she asked, the shark girl seeming a bit more energized after seeing her trusty weapon again.
"Sure is!" Koyori grinned, "What do you think?"
Gura carefully picked up the trident, it was a darker blue than before and felt a bit heavier, but the handle felt easier to grip, "Feels good." she replied, her lips curling into a toothy smile.
"You should be able to do some serious damage with that." Koyori advised, "That's probably one of the strongest tridents ever created."
Gura nodded in approval, doing a couple light test jabs with the weapon.
"You'll be able to call it to your side at will, like before." Koyori continued.
"And take a look up here." the coyote motioned to the top of the weapon where a small blue crystal was embedded, right where the three points of the trident met the hilt.
Gura carefully lifted the weapon, admiring it more closely.
"A crystal?"
"What's known as a Heart of the Sea, to be exact." Koyori explained, "You'll be able to use the power of the ocean to attack and defend yourself with ease."
"Wow..." Gura marveled.

"Someone has a new toy, I see." came Irys' voice from behind.
Everyone turned around quickly as the Nephalim used her crystalline wings to gracefully lower herself to the floor next to Ina.
"I was wondering where you ran off to." Ina commented playfully.
"Yeah, just looking for some fresh air." Irys replied.
"I had a lot on my mind after yesterday."
"Hm, understandable." Ina hummed in reply.
"Speaking of which: Irys, can we talk for a moment?" she asked the Nephalim.
"About what?" The Nephalim inquired.
"Let's go outside for a minute." Ina suggested.
"...Alright." Irys replied slowly, following the priestess up the ladder and out of the hideout.

Lui, Koyori, Gura, and Amelia exchanged a few glances of mild confusion before returning to marveling at the new weapons.

****

"There's something that's been bothering me, Irys." Ina began.
"Why, or how, did Baelz seem to know you?"
Irys paused for a second, taking in her friend's question, "I don't know..."
"There has to be an explanation." Ina pressed, sensing the obvious hesitancy from the Nephilim.
Irys pursed her lips slightly, "I... don't know."
Ina sighed, "Irys... the legend of The Godcube spoke of six vengeful Gods... you and I both know we fought only five yesterday."
"What are you implying?" Irys challenged.
"I'm not accusing you of anything but..." Ina paused "You are the goddess of hope, Irys."
"I'm far from a vengeful God, Ina." Irys retorted.
"And... you know of the other legend tied to The Council, don't you?"
Ina's expression turned to one of confusion, "What do you mean?"
"The Advent of OmegaAlpha." Irys replied.
"OmegaAlpha?" Ina repeated.
"It is said in an ancient text lost to time centuries ago that once the preparations have been made, The Council will call upon The Firstborn Goddess to guide the world into whatever it may deem a suitable eternity." Irys explained, "OmegaAlpha is The Firstborn Goddess." she finished.

"So... The Council calls upon OmegaAlpha to guide them into whichever eternity they choose." Ina stated.
"Correct." Irys confirmed.
Ina exhaled deeply, "Then... we better get ready."