Chapter Text
“To make a long story short, we're going on a roadtrip!” Nangong announces proudly, standing atop one of the big speaker boxes.
The Angels of Delusion have just finished performing and writing their second debut album! Ari and staff are cleaning up the venue, and their fellow Delulus have already cleared out. Only Miss Cecilia, a certain ‘Chaotic Fried Rice’, and her manager remain, chatting away.
Sure, they may not be as popular as Astra Yao— not even close— but following their successful debut, and becoming the new rising artists of the New Eridu (even if only top 100), their journey has been going rather smoothly.
“Isn’t this the perfect time to celebrate?”
This is what Nangong thinks to herself, as she grins towards the girls. The girls who are gawking at her like she has three heads.
“Huh?” Aria says, like a duck.
“W-What?!” Sunna exclaims, “Y-you can’t just decide all of that out of the blue! And what do you mean ‘make a long story short’? There was no story!!“
“Don't sweat the details, Sunna~!” Nangong grins, “All you need to know is that we, the Angels of Delusion, are going on a roadtrip!”
“B-but why? And how?? There's no way we can afford to do something like that! And what about our shows??”
“Let's just say that the friend who did me a favor before is doing us a favor again,” Nangong flippantly explains (seriously hoping Sunna would just run with it), “And you don’t need to worry about our shows, dummy~! I cleared out the next few weeks in our schedule just for this, you know? It’s on our calendar.”
“Oh, that’s right!” Aria says, placing her hands to her mouth, “That was under ‘special vacation time’, wasn’t it?”
“Oh, right, I forgot…” Sunna admits, “B-but even so! Nangong, you aren't being extorted, or blackmailed are you…?”
“Huh?” Nangong blinks.
“This ‘friend’— t-they’re not forcing you into debt, right?” Sunna asks, frantically, “They’re not like— a loan shark or something, right?? If you’re in trouble, we should call the Managers for help…!”
“You're overthinking it, Sunna~” Nangong says, shrugging.
She then descends from the speaker with an elegant hop and backflip, because she can.
“I’m not in debt!” she continues, “I really just called in a favor, and this ‘friend’, well, accepted! Point is, I’m the one who arranged this. I believe we all deserve a biiiig break, now that our big show is over, so how about it~?”
“Wait wait wait,” Aria cuts in, “We… we don't have a car, do we? We can’t have a road trip without a car, right?”
Nangong smirks, crossing her arms.
“Oho~ Wouldn’t you like to know~?”
“I would like to know!” Aria nods passionately, clenching her fists with sparkling eyes.
“Nononono, wait!” Sunna cries, “B-before even that— how— what about my parents?!”
The two other angels turn to gawk at Sunna this time.
Aria slooowly glances towards Nangong, who seems mostly unconcerned.
“If your parents haven’t noticed you going into a Hollow to help our commission funds, and literally becoming an idol, why would they be against going on a roadtrip?” Nangong points out, raising a brow.
“F-fair point… but— but this is two weeks!” Sunna whimpers, “I’ll be away for two weeks! I can’t just disappear on them!!”
Nangong sighs a loving sigh, and plants her hands on Sunna’s shoulders. Sunna’s face reddens.
She is flustered— not necessarily by the contact (though it helped) but Nangong’s devilish expression; Nangong looked as if she could devour her with just a gaze.
Nangong then moves in closer…
“N-Nangong…?!”
“…and-a-boop~!” Nangong hums.
But all Sunna receives is a friendly, gentle boop on the nose— a feint!
“Idiot Sunna, of course you’re gonna tell them you’re leaving~!” Nangong teases, playfully putting her hands behind her back.
Sunna blinks rapidly, needing time to process what just happened. Once her brain is up to speed, she snaps back with a squeaky “Hey!”
Nangong, giggling deviously, gestures to Cecilia behind them.
“And if it makes you feel better, Miss Cecilia is coming with us~” she says.
Cecilia waves from the corner with a motherly smile. Sunna shyly waves back, and then turns back to Nangong deep in thought.
“O-okay!” Sunna says, more confidently, “They’ll probably be fine knowing we have an adult like her, but I… I should definitely visit them in person…”
Sunna anxiously presses her fingers against each other as she says this.
“That’s totally fine, Sunna. We can even come along with you~!” Nangong offers.
Sunna blinks, and she feels her heart stop for a moment.
“C-come along… to my parents house…?” Sunna thinks to herself.
Nangong and Aria have visited her parents plenty of times before— after all, her mother always gave the two snacks after practice, and they’ve grown accustomed to various visits from her two friends plenty of times.
“But… now Nangong is more than just a ‘friend’…” Sunna thinks anxiously, “A-and I— I haven’t explained to my parents that we— we’re… dating, now! And we’ve— we’ve kissed!! We— we’re girls that like girls… Cecilia and Aria already know, but h-how will my parents take it…?”
“Um, Sunna?” Nangong asks, tilting her head.
“A-and she’s so non-chalant about it… in public, which makes total sense! In private, we— it gets— um! Nonono, I cannot be thinking about t-that stuff right now! But— in public— I-I mean, of course she would, right? We’re idols— we tell fans it’s just shipping, but— but— it’s like Astra and her manager, right? Our hearts are totally dedicated towards our fans, of course! But we also have hearts for each other, and that stuff is truly just meant for us, and… and just us…”
“Helloooooo? Earth to Sunna?” Nangong says, waving a hand in front of her face.
“A-ah! Sorry, I was— I was just thinking!” Sunna says, her face turning red. Partly out of embarrassment, and partly because Nangong was suddenly so close to her face.
“Hmm~? Thinking, huh?” Nangong teasingly smirks, leaning in even closer.
“Yes! T-THINKING!!” a flustered Sunna yells, pushing Nangong’s face away. Nangong playfully pushes back— then Sunna pushes, then Nangong pushes, and the two begin scuffling like they always do.
“Nangong!!!” Sunna yells with indignation, as Nangong carelessly giggles.
Aria stares at the two with sparkly eyes. Who knows what was going on in her head? (She was thinking about yuri.) After a few seconds of this, as it usually goes, Aria breaks up the fight with the two.
“Girls! Girls! Not in front of Astra!” Aria pleads, stepping in between them.
The two girls stop dead in their tracks, somehow forgetting that Astra (a.k.a ‘Chaotic Fried Rice’) was indeed still at the stage right now. She and Cecilia give a friendly giggle towards the girls, while their manager Evelyn shakes her head with a smile. Both Nangong and Sunna manifest a mutually embarrassed blush onto their faces.
“Hoo~” Nangong chuckles nervously, pulling on her collar, “Embarassing~”
“This only happens because you keep teasing me, Nangong!” Sunna huffs.
“Do you want me to stop~?” Nangong thinks to herself— but tacitly keeps that thought in for a better time. And this time, her ‘sacred beautiful mind palace’ has not betrayed her.
“Hehe~” Aria giggles.
“I really really really hope Astra doesn’t see us as weird or stupid for that…” Sunna silently thinks (and internally cries) to herself, “Please, Astra! Please just remember the good parts of our concert! And not this! Or the parts I messed up…!”
“A-NY-WAYS!!” Sunna shouts, getting back on track, “Y-you guys can totally come along to see my parents! Or really just my mom, since dad is probably at work right now, but— yeah! It’s like we always do, right?”
“Hehe, yeah,” Nangong says, nodding with a satisfied smile. Aria as well.
Honestly? Sunna was thrilled. Sure, she felt awkward— or perhaps skittish would be a better word— about the whole dating thing, but at the end of the day, Nangong and Aria were her precious, precious friends, and she wasn’t going to just let some dating nervousness with Nangong get in the way of their deep bond! No matter what, no matter where, and no matter who they were, they were the Angels of Delusion!
“Alright~!” Nangong sings, “Sunna’s home it is, filled with fresh milk and cookies! Shall we go then?”
Nangong happily takes Sunna’s hand. Sunna’s face turns beet red, still having anxious and gay thoughts about their new relationship— both of nervousness and excitement— but eventually decides to just enjoy being with those she loves for now. Sunna then takes Aria’s hand, and the three begin to run out of the venue, full of energy.
“Wait— Nangong! You never answered what I said about the car!” Aria says, as they burst through the door.
“Like I said, you’ll see later~!” Nangong teases.
“But you never ‘said’ anything to begin with!!” Sunna points out. The three of them then share some jubilant laughter, and leave the venue.
As the three angels depart, taking their new delusions with them, Astra, Cecilia and Evelyn look towards them with a shared sense of pride and warmth. They take a moment to indulge in those fuzzy feelings, before having a little chat amongst themselves.
“Those three are just so adorable, aren’t they?” Astra says, swooning with a hum.
“Yes,” Cecilia crosses her arms with motherly pride, “My little angels— they’ve come so far…”
“I remember first meeting that cute little construct after she got caught up in a little VR scramble!” Astra says, clasping her hands together, “Actually, that’s also around the time I met those two managers now that I think about it… believe it or not, I was a cute little Bangboo at the time! I have to say, people are so tall from a Bangboo’s perspective! It’s kind of mind boggling. But either way, I would’ve never guessed that she was doing your vocals for a while! How fun!”
“A… a Bangboo, you say?” Cecilia says, astounded, “But yes— I’m quite thankful for little Aria for… a lot of reasons.”
“Yes— though, Miss Yao, please refrain from using TOPS technology like that in the future…” Evelyn says, somewhat fretful.
“Oh please! It was TOPS who got her in that mess to begin with!” Astra pouts, booping Evelyn on the nose. Evelyn blinks, a blush instantly spreading across her face. Since she was in front of Cecilia though, and wanted to save a little face, she quickly ‘wipes’ it off, and looks at Astra apologetically.
“That is true,” Evelyn says, nodding, “And you definitely did the right thing. It’s more that I’m concerned TOPS might find out about things like this— you know how they are.”
“Stingy, annoying, and always trying to get in my way?” Astra smirks. She then glances at Cecilia. “Or should I say our way~?”
“Precisely,” Evelyn agrees, smiling lightly. Cecilia smiles alongside them.
“And of course that cute little Sunna~!” Astra continues to gush, “That girl has an ear for melody and harmony like no other! Every time we’ve met, and I’ve started humming like I always do, she manages to catch on and just… make magic!”
“Oh my, I remember now!” Cecilia recalls, “She did brag about meeting you when she went to the Fantasy Resort! She even had a picture to show the girls~”
“Heehee~! Maybe I should try convincing the higher-ups to sing a song of hers?” Astra offers.
“That’d probably make the poor girl explode,” Evelyn chuckles, “But speaking of, I’ve personally been quite impressed by Miss Nangong Yu. It’s strange, but I have the sense that I’ve seen the girl before…”
“
…on some TOPS-related intelligence networks as a minor person-of-interest… primarily regarding stock-market proficiency…” Evelyn silently thinks to herself…
“…perhaps at a coding contest or two,” Evelyn continues, “But she strikes me as a rather capable person. The type that truly could do anything, if she decided it so. Much like Miss Yao, in a way.”
“Yes, that’s quite the accurate description of Nangong,” Cecilia nods, smiling, “But I believe it’s because she can do anything… that she decided to start this very group.”
Astra and Evelyn share a smile in acknowledgement and mutuality of Cecilia’s pride.
“By the way… Eve, you can flatter me all you want~” Astra winks, “But don’t forget that you too are quite striking, especially… i-n pri-vate~”
“Oh?” Cecilia blinks, a bit stunned. Evelyn is even more stunned.
With those last words, and a scandalous smirk, Astra walks her fingers up Evelyn’s sternum, absolutely unconcerned she was doing this right in front of Cecilia. Evelyn, unable to resist this amount of flirting, but simultaneously ‘unable to go against Astra’, entirely fails to suppress a cherry-tomato blush. Cecilia can only let out a shocked ‘oh my’ in response.
“Miss Yao, not so much while we’re in front of Cecilia…!” Evelyn tenses up, trying her best to maintain a vague sense of professionalism. (As if it were needed).
“Heehee~” Astra giggles, raising both hands in ‘surrender’, “So later then~?”
Astra then turns to Cecilia in her next breath, a whirlwind of energy. Evelyn catches her own breath.
“Anyhoo, I hear you’re going on the trip too, Cecilia~!” Astra clenches her fists with excitement, “How surprising! And how I absolutely wish I was you right now~! They’d never let me do something like that— even if I just took Eve with me…”
“Yes, it is quite surprising,” Cecilia says, resting a hand on the side of her face, “Nangong herself only told me about it two days prior. She brought it up to me with her usual mischievous flair and told me to keep it a secret from the other little angels…”
With a sigh, she glances towards the side, looking at nothing in particular.
“…but something tells me that it isn’t just for a little vacation escapade,” she continues.
“Oh?” Astra tilts her head, “Is it because it’s for promotion?”
“No no, that was always going to be part of it,” Cecilia shakes her head, “The little angels have to keep in touch with their fanbase if they’re going to be away so long, after all. Rather, it’s… well… Nangong herself.”
Both Astra and Evelyn notice the troubled tone of their friend, and with a shared glance and nod, listen to her carefully.
“She tries to hide it, but… there’s something troubling her,” Cecilia explains, sighing deeply, “I get the sense that it’s nothing to do with the Angels, neither her band mates or the ‘job’, but… something else.
“You could say it’s a bit of that motherly instinct in me that lets me ‘tell’. I used to be a choir teacher at an all-girl’s school before becoming a singer, and… before the ‘Fall’, so to speak. I’ve learned after a while that girls like her… ones that try to hold up ‘everything’… always hide their troubles behind an uncrackable, impenetrable ‘mask’. Perhaps that’s just part of being a ‘perfect idol’… or for Nangong specifically, being ‘perfect’ as a whole, but even so…”
“I’d be more surprised if she didn’t have any troubles,” Evelyn says, shaking her head, “I only hope that it’s nothing too awful, and that, with enough time, she can confide in you.”
“Of course,” Cecilia says, putting a hand to her heart, “Honestly, if that was all it was, it’d be nothing to worry about… kids like them are allowed to be troubled. It’s just that… Nangong gave me a plan of the trip, and while we will indeed visit many places in New Eridu, its final location before we head back is… unusual. We’re going to… the edge of the Faunus Quarter.”
Astra blinks, a bit stunned.
“So their final destination—”
***
“—is the Expansion Zone?” Aria blinks. She was now in robot form, as Sunna’s family were well acquainted with her ‘true nature’.
The three were now approaching Sunna’s home— a calm, idyllic looking suburban house.
“That’s right,” Nangong grins, “Around the ‘edge’ of what’s been explored, to be exact. But we aren’t going too deep into it. After all, it’s recently reclaimed territory— wouldn’t want us getting lost in the woods, right? There’s an old nature preserve nearby, and a little town too— and we’ll take in the sights! I think Sunna could definitely use the fresh air~”
“Nangong!” Sunna pouts with indignation, “I’m not as much of a shut-in as I used to be!”
“Of course you aren’t Sunna!” Aria beams, tenting her fingers, “With all the part-time jobs you do, how could you be?”
“E-exactly!” Sunna says, manifesting some pride.
“Oh my, oh my, it’s true!” Nangong admits ‘tearfully’, fake crying with some on-hand spicy candy, “Mommy’s seen it with her own eyes now… our Little Sunna is already all grown up…!”
“I told you, you’re not my mommy!!” Sunna cries, huffing and puffing.
Nangong gives her a knowing, very smug smirk, hearing that last word. Sunna glares back, having already read her mind.
“Not even if we’re dating~?” Nangong transmits wordlessly.
“Not even if we’re dating!!!” Sunna replies in her thoughts (somehow).
***
“...she said it’s because the Faunus Quarter is filled with some of New Eridu’s last ‘explorable’ nature and forests,” Cecilia continues, “Which in turn makes it a good place to ‘camp’. But while that may be true, there are other places that have similar natural terrain, like in Waifei Penninsula…”
***
“S-so like, why the edge of the Faunus Quarter?!” Sunna exclaims, grabbing her backpack straps firmly, “That’s so… so… so far, though! Couldn’t we camp like anywhere else?!”
“We could, but it wouldn’t be much of a ‘road-trip’ if we didn’t make it an adventure too, no?” Nangong shrugs nonchalantly, “Plus, people often go there for a holiday anyways~”
“Well! That’s true, but…!” Sunna presses… and falters. She then struggles to come up with a real counter-argument, and sort of just mumbles to herself instead.
“Is there um— a particular reason you want to head there?” Aria asks, curious.
By this point, the three angels have arrived at the front door. Nangong gives them an impish smile, but her gaze remains fixed ahead. She closes her eyes.
“Well, it’s simple, really—”
***
“—‘there’s something I really want to see’…” Cecilia finishes, “…and that’s ‘all she wrote’. I’m not sure what there is out there to see besides construction, hollows, and Ethereals, but, well…”
“I understand,” Evelyn says, sighing, “Thank you for trusting in us.”
The three of them then mutually ponder between themselves, the purpose of Nangong’s road plan lingering on their minds.
“Ah— this should help,” Cecilia says, taking out her phone. She gestures for Astra and Evelyn to look over it. “Here’s the map she sent me— I’m sure she’s sent it to her fellow little angels by now, but she’s mapped out our whole trip.”
It seemed to be normal for the most part— starting in Failume Heights, taking a bit off a detour down to Port Elpis, visiting the Starloop, returning to Sixth Street, before setting off into the Faunus Quarter proper. There, they end up at the recently constructed freight depot, built around a reclaimed town, , before moving past a local graveyard, and finally landing in the ‘little town’ Nangong had alluded to— ‘Bethel’.
“This ‘little town’…” Evelyn says, hovering her finger over the location, “This… ‘Bethel’…”
“Do you know something about it, Eve?” Astra asks, glancing at her.
“Do you?” Cecilia joins in with some urgency.
“No— not much,” Evelyn clarifies, deep in thought, “But I’ve heard some things about it. Rumors, mostly...”
“What rumors, Eve?” Astra asks, leaning on Evelyn’s shoulder like a cat, “What secrets do you have in that beautiful brain of yours~?”
“Don’t— that— Miss Yao…!” Evelyn sighs, blushing red, “I can’t focus if you’re leaning on me like that…!”
“Oh…?” Astra hums, feigning obliviousness, “Like what~?”
It seems she wasn’t going to budge.
“Getting— back… on track,” Evelyn sighs helplessly, with Astra still glued to her, “I’ve heard that it used to be a popular vacation spot before the Fall of the Old Capital, and an archaeology site…”
“That doesn’t sound so bad…” Cecilia murmurs.
Evelyn then raises a finger, signifying she wasn’t done.
“…and one of the locations where Roscaelifer frequently descended.”
Cecilia and Astra’s eyes widen.
“That’s the—” / “You mean the—”
“That’s right,” Evelyn nods gravely, looking between the both of them, “The ‘utopia in the sky’.”