A little over half an hour had passed since the small group got into Sahi's car, and now they were already sitting in the living room of Josh's house. As much as it was a cliché that the protagonist's parents were never around, it certainly made impromptu tactical meetings more convenient. As for the participants, we had most of the gang present; some seated on the couch, others on some wooden chairs from the kitchen, yet others standing. First off, there was the quartet from before. Snowy and Sahi looked the same as before, while Tajana was out of her trench coat and was wearing jeans and a black blouse. Penny was also no longer wearing her Uniformer, so she was in her school uniform with a towel over her head and the gauntlets, greaves, and helmet of her Unicorn Knight gear on the table. They were joined by Pascal, Ammy, and (surprisingly enough) Mike, all of them clustered around Josh in the middle. There was a long beat of silence lingering in the room, and it was understandable, since Penny had just finished giving her recounting of what she discovered. "See? Like, I totally told you that old Marzanna was grody," Sahi broke the ice while blowing on the mug of hot cocoa in her hands. "She was, like, always a major joanie like that. Totally." "The better question is, what are we going to do about it?" Michael, dressed fashionably and looking unnecessarily handsome as usual, cut in while holding onto the class rep's hand. "We can't let her hurt Amelia, right?" "I don't think she wants to hurt her, as much as capture her," Josh interjected. His brows were set in a thoughtful frown, and he looked over at Penny. "You said they already prepared restraints, right?" "Yeah! I saw it with my own eyes!" my knightly sister declared with unnecessary vehemence, and started counting on her fingers in a way that reminded me of the princess's small gestures. "They had cuffs, and ropes, and blindfolds, and even an arm-binder!" Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by NoveI-Fire.ɴet Speaking of my girlfriends though, they were conspicuously missing from the group, along with a certain hyperactive Celestial, but before I could Far Glance over to them, the class rep moved the conversation along. "What's an… arm-binder?" "Oh, that?" Penny responded innocently, and she twisted her arms behind her back so that her wrists would touch near the small of her back. "It's a bondage device that forcefully keeps your arms locked in this position, so you can't move them at all. It wasn't a proper mono-glove design, but the type using leather straps, and it didn't include a collar either, so it was probably a custom…" It was at this point that she realised that everyone was looking at her funny. There was a pregnant pause, then her face instantly flushed crimson, and she began waving her hands in a panic. "A-A-Awawa! D-D-Don't take it wrong! I-It's not like I'm interested in this kind of thing or anything! It's just that…!" Her hands stopped, and she pointed at Snowy. "It's just that we researched stuff for Snowy's image training! That's the only reason why I know about these things!" It was nice to see that my sister's habit of stuffing her foot in her mouth without prompting was the same as usual. The others were already used to it as well, and they moved on with the conversation, much to her relief. "Putting the exact type of the restraints aside," Josh started and, I swear I'm not exaggerating, he put his fingers together in his lap and tried to mimic my usual 'scheming mastermind' pose. He paused for a second to make sure everyone was paying attention, then continued with, "We have to decide how to deal with her." "Excuse me for being presumptuous," Pascal interjected with an expression that was more confounded than anything else. He looked Josh in the eye and asked, "If what Dunning said is true, then the only reasonable course of action is to alert the Lord arch-mages of the plans of Lord Marzanna." "No, actually," Josh argued back without missing a beat. "That's exactly the only thing we can't do." "But… wouldn't that be the safest option?" Mike insisted on the side, but the guy in the middle shook his head. "Yes, but that's not what we need right now. Remember what our goal is: we need to deal with the arch-mage, 'cuz that's the quickest way this stalemate situation can be resolved and we can put Ammy's plan into action, right?" "Excuse me, I'm out of the loop," Tajana interjected next, looking a bit lost. "When was this decided? And what is this plan?" Not wanting to hold up the discussion, Snowy gestured for her to lean over so that she could whisper the details to her. In the meantime, Penny got over her self-inflicted bout of embarrassment and balled up her fists. "Yes! We need to get Amelia into the Abyss to rescue Brother!" "And, like, we can't do that while the Assembly is breathing down her neck," Sahi added on, eliciting a grunt of agreement from Josh. "Precisely. If we tell Ammy's grandpa and the teachers about this, they're gonna just use it as an argument, for diplomatics, or maybe demand an investigation, and it's gotta follow procedures and protocols and stuff. Remember what we talked about the last time? We're used to Leo just cutting through all the red tape for us, but if we're leaving it up to the adults and their politicking, it's gonna take ages to get anything done." "What are you proposing then? Do you want us to storm the hotel and secure the evidence?" Ammy spoke up, sounding just a tad confrontational, but Josh stood his ground and met her eyes. "That sounds dangerous…" Mike noted, and Josh nodded along, surprising everyone. "Yes, and that's why I'm not saying we should do that. Instead…" Oh my god. He tented his fingers in front of his chest. He was totally stealing my mojo. "I think we should let her make the first move." His words left a spell of silence in their wake, and it was Tajana who broke it first. "You want to set up a trap and catch her in the act." "Exactly." Josh nodded along, but didn't take his eyes off the class rep. "If we do that, she'll lose all credibility. Ideally, we should also capture her and have her confess her plans, but…" He inhaled deeply and his brows descended even further. "The problem with this plan is that it's gonna put you at risk. Are you okay with that?" Ammy didn't hesitate for long and nodded along, startling Michael at her side. "S-Sunshine? Are you sure about this? Shouldn't we discuss this a bit more first?" "No, it's okay." She squeezed Michael's hand to reassure him. "It's not the first time we've been doing something dangerous on our own, and I'm no longer a weak Magi who can only summon Petra." There was a dangerous glint in her eyes. A familiar one, too; the kind of giddy expression she showed whenever we were playing our tabletop RPG and she found an excuse to set something on fire. That kind of look. "If Lord Marzanna thinks that she can capture the Conduit of the Grimoire at her leisure, I'll show her just how wrong she is! I can cast fireballs now, you know? And more!" See? What did I just say? "Easy, sweetheart. Don't get carried away," Mike chided her by snuggling up to her, and the class rep's expression turned blissful as she rested her head against his shoulder. It didn't stop her from adding, "I have so many spells I want to try out…" under her breath, but everyone ignored that, and then Josh moved the conversation along by forcefully clearing his throat. "So, since Ammy is fine with being bait, we need to set up a trap. Any ideas?" "I'll take care of that," Tajana declared with a sudden gusto, momentarily surprising everyone. "I'll show you what the infamous Hound of Inanna is really capable of in her element!" "Like… who's that?" Sahi asked an innocent question, making the Abyssal spymaster twitch and glare at her. "It's me! I'm the Hound of Inanna!" Snowy, being a cinnamon roll as usual, gently rubbed her back to reassure her. "Don't be upset. If they don't know your nickname, it just means you're good at your job." "Yeah!" Penny joined in, including the back-pats. "The best spies are the unremarkable ones that nobody knows about!" "Uuu… Are you making fun of me…?" Maybe he wanted to cheer her up, but Josh cleared his throat again and gestured at Tajana. "In that case, I'll leave setting the trap in your hands." "Yes! I'll do it!" the Abyssal woman declared with renewed enthusiasm, so Josh moved along. "I don't think the arch-mage and her people are going to go down without a fight, so can I count on your help?" That question was aimed at the two Magi, and Sahi immediately responded with an enthusiastic, "Fer shur! I'm, like, totally game!" Armband guy was less eager, but after weighing his options, he also nodded in the affirmative. "If Lord Marzanna and his subordinates truly attempt to subdue and capture Amelia, they are likely going to set up a Restricted Space in advance. I will access the Spatial Fluctuation Detection Systems of the School and try to pinpoint the location, so that we can subvert its anchors for our use." "Um… I'm not much of a fighter, but…" Mike gulped hard, then started over with a bit more determination. "I'm technically something of a liaison officer now, and as Leonard's aide, I can maybe sorta potentially ask the Praetorian Guards to serve as back-up? Maybe? I mean, I think Mister Arpachshad would at least hear me out, and…" "Not a bad idea," Josh cut his rambling short with a determined nod. "We're gonna need some eyewitnesses, so we should get more people involved in the cleanup." "Then I'll ask Duncan to lend us some Squires!" Penny volunteered with a hand in the air. "He owes me a favour, anyway." "In that case, we only need some Draconian witnesses," Ammy pondered aloud, her head still resting on her boyfriend's shoulder. "Or is Eleanore going to be enough?" "Like, where's she, anyway?" Sahi asked the million-Jen question as she theatrically glanced left and right. "Shouldn't she be, like, totally involved in this?" "I'm pretty sure I already told you this," Josh responded a touch testily, crossing his arms in the process, "She's at her place and cramming with Judy and Angie." "Oh, wow…" the rejuvenated arch-mage looked a bit stunned and scratched the top of her head. "Like, aren't they totally nonchalant about this?" Josh exhaled a somewhat exasperated sigh. "Angie's just really focused on her grades right now, and I'm pretty sure that Deus just convinced her that everything's gonna be fine because it's just 'Polemos doing Polemos things' or whatever, and it's not worth stressing about. As for the others…" This time, it was a genuine groan that escaped his lips, then he began rubbing his temple. "I don't wanna sound paranoid, but I'm about ninety-five percent sure that Judy and Elly always knew that all of this was one of Leo's convoluted schemes, and they're just not telling for some reason." "Sure, but, like, that doesn't answer Amelia's question?" Josh squinted at Sahi and let his hand down after a long beat. "I'm pretty sure Elly will join us, but just to be safe, we should get another Draconian…" He rubbed his chin for a bit. "I guess I'll see if I can rope Zihao into the plan." I'm not going to lie, the way they were planning this out was surprisingly level-headed. If there was just one issue I had to point out, it was the distinct and alarming lack of contingency plans for when everything would inevitably go pear-shaped. Not even Tajana brought that up, and she was not only the singular adult in the room, but she also used to be a spymaster in charge of clandestine operations and whatnot. Oh well. They'd learn with experience, I supposed, and it was around this time that Josh glanced at the digital clock on the wall and clicked his tongue. "Ugh, it's this late already?" He stood up and gestured outside. "Angie doesn't have an umbrella, so I'll go and pick her up. We don't have school tomorrow, so let's meet up in New Camelot in the morning and work out the details of the plan." Penny was about to interject 'Haven!', but Snowy beat her to the punch by speaking up first. "We can use the room where we play our Technopunk campaign. It's usually empty when we're not using it." While the others voiced their agreement, Sahi pointed at the class rep. "Like, do you want me to give you a ride? It would be totally lame if we put all this effort into, like, planning this out and you, like, get attacked on your way home." "Oh, can I also come along?" Mike spoke up, only to hastily amend, "I never sat in a sports car before…" "Fer shur, fer shur!" The brown girl flashed a toothy grin and gestured for them to follow. "Come on, kid! I'll give you two a joyride." "I'm not a kid," Mike protested even as he was getting up. "I'm older than you." Sahi giggled and poked Pascal with her elbow, since he was the only other person 'in on the joke', but seeing that he didn't react, she soon stopped and the four of them left. Then it was my sisters' and Tajana's turn to bid farewell, until only Josh was left. He also dressed up and picked up a pair of umbrellas, only to pause and, after some thinking, leave one behind. Oh? Was he angling for an umbrella-sharing scene? While it was getting dark outside, the rain had already eased up a little, so it was perfect for some romantic frolicking. I remember the last time we did it with the girls; it was pretty cramped under a single umbrella, but it was still nice and cosy. It was a nice memory. Damn. I really was missing the girls, wasn't I? Maybe because this was the first time we were apart since our relationship began, but I was getting sentimental, and maybe a little bit lonely. I didn't think not being able to just Phase over whenever I wanted would be so isolating. Or was I just too spoiled, I wondered. "Ugh, enough moping…" I shook my head and got up from my bed. I glanced outside my cell and found that Ollie was already in front of the TV and rewatching an old anime series with giant robots. It was his favourite, by the looks of it. Since he was fine, I turned around, walked over to the table in the corner, and picked up the billiards ball I deposited there after coming home. Originally I was planning to start working on this in the morning, after taking a break first, but as they say, there's no time like the present, and… honestly, while I was really missing my girlfriends, I also didn't want to leave them in exam cramming limbo. It was bad for their mental health, so… yeah, this was for their sake. Definitely.