The deafening ambience of water flooded the cold embrace of darkness as all sense of self scattered into the waves, leaving nothing but a body suspended in the current.
'What's happening to me now?'
Everything felt cold, but the unknown welcomed the wandering soul lying still in the abyss of nothingness.
'What happened to Anby and Billy? Are they safe? I have to wake up... I have to...'
The Player slowly opened his eyes to the orange sky above. He lay motionless on the surface of the water as his senses gradually returned to him.
'This place...?'
Before long, he turned over and got himself on all fours — staring into his reflection among the clouds and stars above. Everything was perfectly reflected on the water's surface, like a natural mirror.
The Player stood up and looked around. He saw nothing but an endless stretch of ocean and sky during sunset. He was able to stand on the ocean's surface without issue. Wherever he was, gravity wasn't a factor.
"The Astral Sea... But I'm the only one here?"
Female Voice: Not necessarily.
The Player turned and saw the apparition of a woman dressed in a black toga with golden accents, accessories, and sandals. As she became tangible, her regal appearance became defined, and her fashion seemed to be inspired by ancient Roman goddesses.
"Skuld," the Player revealed the woman's name with a hint of relief in his tone.
"You did well slaying that beast."
"Felt like I could've done better, but thanks. To be honest, if it wasn't for you, I don't think it would've went as smoothly," he chuckled, thinking back on the numerous times that dark force and dark matter assisted him. "Not sure if you heard me earlier, but thanks for the save."
"No need for thanks. Tis my duties to ensure your survival."
"Right, but you still need to work on your temper," the Player said, crossing his arms in a playful but stern manner. "I just needed you to tank the damage, but you started manifesting."
"I understand, but that beast had to be put in its place," when Skuld saw the Player's unchanging expression, she looked away. "Don't give me that look... You know I can't stand idle and watch when you're in danger."
The Player chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I do. It just means we still have a ways to go. I didn't want to lose control and risk hurting Anby or Billy."
"...Speaking of," Skuld turned to face the Player once more. "Have you found out where we are?"
"Uuuuuh, yeah. They called it a Hollow."
"Hollow?"
"It's a distorted realm of some kind. I still don't fully understand it, but it explains why I kept getting turned around... Apparently there's a very specific way you have to navigate the area if you want to make it out. After teaming up with Billy and Anby, we ran into this rabbit named Phaethon."
"Phaethon, huh? Interesting."
"How so?"
"The name... It just rings familiar," Skuld crossed one arm over to support the other so she could rest her chin in her fist. "A name long before your time."
"More ancient knowledge beyond my limited scope of understanding," the Player huffed, stifling his chuckle.
"If it makes you feel any better, I don't remember everything aside from the name."
"We're on opposite sides of the pond, then. I remember faces, but I can't remember any names. It's so weird... Funny enough, Synchronization still works. So that's a plus."
"But it seems you might've used too much power."
"Yeah, that was definitely my bad. I wasn't sure what the Metro Goblin was capable of, so I didn't want to play it too safe. It also didn't help that my connection with Anby and Billy wasn't strong. I'm pretty sure that's why I passed out."
"Don't overdo it."
"I'm trying, but-"
Disembodied Female Voice: Mindscape Achieved — Anby Demara.
The Player paused and looked around as though there was another person with him.
"Is something wrong?" Skuld asked.
"You... You didn't hear that?"
Skuld gave the Player a conflicted look.
Disembodied Female Voice: Mindscape Achieved — Billy Kid.
"...That voice again," the Player muttered to himself, placing his hand on the side of his head as mental flashes of Anby and Billy appeared.
"Are you okay?" Skuld raised her hand, ready to reach out to aid the Player if something was wrong.
"...Yeah. I'm good," before it could become more apparent there was something going on, the Player dropped his hand and shook his head with a smile to dismiss his thoughts to keep Skuld from worrying. "Sorry about that, it's nothing."
"Perhaps this place is getting to you. You've been stuck for quite some time, I hope it's not madness."
The Player's expression dropped to comical indifference.
"My apologies," Skuld took his expression literally, seeing it as dissatisfaction.
"Heh, heh. You're fine. I'm just messing with you. But, you're right. I have been in the Hollow for too long. I think it's time we finally got out of here, so let's head back."
Skuld nods in agreement. "Remember what I said; don't push yourself too hard. If you need me, I'm always here to assist," she began walking toward the Player.
"Of course. Thank you."
Skuld became intangible and phased into the Player the moment he closed his eyes.
Phaethon: -After that... You all just went down.
Billy: At the same time? That's crazy... But at least the Metro Goblin is gone.
Anby: Has the plan changed, Proxy?
Phaethon: We should still be in the clear. We've got six minutes before the spatial distortion kicks in again.
When the Player opened his eyes, he saw a ceiling fan slowly spinning above him.
Billy: If we need to make a quick getaway, I'll carry the Player on my back.
Anby: Then my duties fall on escort.
He looked to his left and saw Phaethon, Anby, and Billy sitting in a circle and discussing their plan. "Is everyone okay?" He asked.
Billy looked over his shoulder and saw the Player adjusting himself to sit upright "You're awake!"
"And in one piece, so we must've done something right."
"Yeah, that Ethereal was tough, but it was nothing we couldn't handle as a team, right?" Billy gave the Player a friendly slap to the back, forgetting to mind his strength and making him jerk forward.
"Nnnnnggh!" The Player groaned behind his gritted teeth before giving Billy a squinted glare.
"Oops! My bad."
"...Auugh," the Player arched his back out to work out the ringing aches. "Anyway, sorry for passing out on you guys. I hope I didn't cause any unnecessary complications."
"Nah, you're good," Billy assured with a thumbs up.
"It wasn't just you," Anby said. "Billy and I also lost consciousness shortly after beating the Metro Goblin too."
"Really? Sheesh..."
"No worries," Phaethon got up and bumped his chest. "I got you all to safety."
The Player smiled, raised his leg to rest his arm on it. "Phaethon — the real MVP."
"That's our Manager! Always getting us out of trouble," Billy happily added.
Euos didn't have a mouth, or if it did it was covered by the iconic orange bandana covering its lower face, but it's eyes perfectly capable of emoting joy from the Player and Billy's compliments, mirroring Phaethon's delight.
Once curiosity got the best of Phaethon, Eous went back to a more neutral look.
"More importantly, I've been trying to make sense of that strange phenomenon when you all came together," Phaethon said. "It was unlike anything I've ever seen."
"You're talking about that insane, crazy, wild, superpowered state, right?" Billy pointed at Phaethon before turning to the Player. "Yeah, what was that? I've never felt that type of rush before."
Now that all eyes were on the him, the Player bashfully scratched his cheek with his index finger. "Right... I guess there's no point in hiding it. You see, I have this ability that allows me to distribute an insane amount of power into certain folk. Before we ran into Phaethon, I felt a spark with Anby that let me know she was someone I could Synchronize with."
"Synchronize?" Phaethon questioned.
"Yeah. That's what it's called — Synchronization. Bond Sync or Heart Sync works too if you want to make it shorter."
"That sounds cool," Billy said.
"It's pretty versatile. It helped me through a lot of tough spots in the past, and, as you can see, it's still helping me out. Aside from various power boosts, I can do all kinds of stuff," the Player grabbed his weapon for a demonstration.
The weapon configured itself into its weapon form — the blade began emitting a red glow that erupted into fiery aura, giving it the appearance of a fire sword.
"Whoa!" Billy jumped from the flames.
Phaethon and Anby were equally impressed despite their silence.
The burning aura had a seamless transition into a frosty blue aura with a chilling edge. After the ice show, the freezing aura disappeared and sparks began surging around the blade, hinting that it was producing electricity.
"Holy smokes! You can control different elements?!" Billy clasped his hands together with shimmering sparkles popping around his face.
"In a way, but I'm not the one producing it. This weapon was designed by a friend of mine and it was forged from a special material that has elemental properties. I use synchronization to manipulate the elemental material imbedded in the weapon to do all the spellcasting-inspired stuff."
"If Billy had a jaw, it'd probably be at the floor. "...Dude! That's awesome! You should've been tossing out attacks left and right then. That Ethereal should've been hit with a natural disaster. We could've wrapped that up in no time."
The Player snickered as he put the weapon into its compact form to sheathe it. "That stuff is draining on the body," he said. "Like everything else humans do, it requires energy. And we don't have an infinite supply of that."
"Hold on, so that massive lightning bolt that Anby used," Billy was trying to see if he was following correctly.
"It was a synchronized enhancement," the Player confirmed.
Billy gasped, putting his hand in front of his non-existent mouth. "A-A-A-And all that insane speed I was doing. That was-"
The Player nodded, answering before he could even get the question out.
While Billy was visibly fawning over the possibilities of synchronizing with the Player in the background, Phaethon was miles away — lost in his thoughts about this new development, until a gentle beep got his and the party's attention.
"Everything okay, Manager?" Billy asked.
"Spatial distortion is going to kick in soon. We should start moving. The exit is nearby."
"Oh! Right, the Hollow," Billy snapped his fingers and stood up. "I almost completely forgot we- uh oh!" He immediately got back to the floor when he got a look outside the window of the control room.
"What's wrong?" Anby asked.
"Ethereals," Billy put his finger in front of his mou- lower face.
"Again?!" The Player exclaimed with a whisper and got in a battle ready crouching stance.
Anby peered out from behind cover to assess the situation. Several Tyrfings had gathered in the loop junction where the battle had taken place, they could sense the lingering energy throughout the area and were investigating.
"There are seven in total," Anby confirmed.
"We can't them on, it'll waste too much time," Billy said.
"And the window is getting smaller," Phaethon added. "We have to act. Now."
The Player eased his head from cover to assess the situation for himself. He calmly exhaled out his nose and went back to face the others. "I'm going to cause a distraction, that should give you enough time to make a run for it."
"What?" Phaethon gave the Player a surprised look.
"No. We get out together," Anby sternly affirmed.
The Player grabbed his weapon and gave them one final look. "I'll be right behind you, but if anything happens just keep running and follow Phaethon's instructions."
"And leave you behind?" Billy questioned.
"I'll figure it out... I've been in here for more than a week, remember? I should be fine."
"No," Anby adamantly shook her head. "We're not leaving-"
"Break!" The Player got from behind cover and charged at the lurking Ethereals.
Hearing his footsteps, the Tyrfings turned in the Player's direction and growled at his frontal assault.
Two of the Tyrfings charge at him.
The Player synchronized from a source within and channeled dark energy into his blade, he planted his foot before he could get too close to the oncoming Tyrfings and swung it, launching a spiraling black hole across the field that sucked the two Tyrfings into its gravitational pull before the Player clutched his free hand — the black hole exploded and sent the two Tyrfings flying across the field.
"He really went for it!" Billy stood up, surprised the Player just ran out in the open the way he did.
Anby was determined to help, but knew they had only one chance to escape. So she reluctantly followed the plan. She knelt before Phaethon and urgently asked, "Where is the exit?"
Euos' eyes closed for a second as Phaethon checked the route. "It's over there," he pointed toward a train car hanging off the side of a destroyed bridge on the opposite side of the junction. "It's a little farther down, but once you jump off the train it's only a jog away. We should be able to make it."
Anby nodded and grabbed the Bangboo, holding it in her arms like a football before confirming with Billy that they had to stick with the plan.
The Player fell onto one knee after sending out the black hole, winding himself out for using so much energy to conjure it. "Goddamnit," he lightly huffed. When he raised his head he was met with the chilling sight of a third Tyrfing bringing its sword-arm down on him overhead.
His reflexes kicked in and he threw the sword up, reinforcing his defense with both hands, clashing with the Tyrfing while being on one knee.
"Rrrrgh! You're all so goddamn clingy!" The Player spoke through gritted teeth.
Before the Tyrfing could get the upper hand, BAM! A gunshot went off and pierced through the Tyrfing's core, taking it out in one hit.
The Player looked over and saw Billy take the shot while sprinting behind Anby.
With three Tyrfings down, the remaining four chased after Anby, Phaethon, and Billy who were sprinting toward the dangling train car.
"I'm gonna regret this, but, I need you," the Player muttered.
His shadow thickened and ominously raced across the ground in a zigzagging fashion until it thickened to a black substance.
The dark matter managed to catch one of the Tyrfing's by encasing its leg in a thick, almost tar-like, surface. The substance crawled up the Tyrfing's body until it was completely consumed, leaving nothing but a black blob that sunk into the puddle of what could only be described as a sentient shadow... Whatever happened to the Tyrfing, it was gone with no trace left.
Once that was done, the substance retracted itself while reverting back to being nothing but the Player's shadow.
"...A bit extra, wouldn't you say?" The Player raised his eyebrow with a smug smile.
Skuld briefly appeared in his shadow, shrugging her shoulders.
Meanwhile, the remaining three Tyrfings continued chasing Anby and Billy.
Anby jumped onto the protruding Ether stalagmite and kicked herself to the top of the train car, but Billy was able to jump to the roof without outside assistance, moving in tandem with Anby and jumping off the train to reach the lower level.
Billy was ecstatic about the thrill of the moment. "Woo-hoooo!" he shouted, expressing his exuberant delight.
The Ethereals reached the top of the train and looked over the edge, the leading Tyrfing screeching viciously at the fleeing pair.
When Billy landed, he was quick on the draw, turning around and opening fire above.
The bullets came flying and hit the Ethereals body, and while none of the shots were a critical hit, it did manage to make them all stagger a bit, the Tyrfing to the left of the leading unit lost its footing and fell off the train and onto the platform.
The fallen Tyrfing's core was met with a planting stab by the Player's weapon, bringing their numbers down to two.
Below, Billy managed to successfully evade the leading Tyrfing's aggressive sword swing by ducking under it. When it tried coming back around to cut him again, Billy jumped into a stylish aerial dodge, coming out of it with his revolvers pointed and firing at the Tyrfing.
Several bullets hit the Ethereal and sent it reeling back, but the second Tyrfing came in from above with a railroad sign, using it as a weapon to swing it overhead in an attempt to strike Billy.
The attack missed as Billy stepped to the side, hammering the ground instead.
Before the Tyrfing could retract its weapon, Billy planted his foot on the pole to keep the Tyrfing in place so that he could take aim and make a point blank shot directly into its core, piercing it with a critical blow and taking it out instantly.
The dying Tyrfing stumbled back only to get pushed aside by its leader who rabidly ran sprinted toward Billy.
Billy used his revolvers to defend himself by crossing them over his face, the Tyrfing's sword clashed with the revolvers and brought them to a standstill.
With Phaethon safe, Anby drew her sword and immediately ran to Billy's aid, giving her sword an electrical charge as she raced to her partner's side, giving herself some momentum with a spin into a rising slash straight into the Tyrfing's core, shattering it as electricity trailed behind the attack.
The Tyrfing hit the ground and began glitching out of existence before dispersing into the iconic colorful cubes that marked the end of an Ethereal.
"...Hmph," Anby sheathed her weapon in its case once the Tyrfing was gone.
"Thanks for that, Anby," Billy let out a relieved sigh. All the action was finally starting to catch up to him.
"No problem. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little winded. It's been nonstop all day..."
Player: You're telling me.
The group looked up and saw the Player sitting on the edge of the train car above them.
"You're okay!" Billy said with a joyful burst.
The Player smirked and eased himself off the edge, dropping to the level below and landing before them. "You thought I wouldn't?"
"Considering the lack of foresight from your plan, your survival rate plummeted to 10.6%," Anby flatly stated.
The Player's high dropped immediately...
"But you made it! And that's what counts!" Billy assured.
"Right," the Player's shoulders sagged from Anby's bluntness.
Now that the fighting was over, the trio regrouped with Phaethon who came out of hiding.
"Manager! Which way should we go?" Billy asked with a puff in his voice.
Phaethon turned around and pointed to the wall ahead of them. "Full speed ahead!" He answered.
The Player looked ahead and saw the wall. Back to Phaethon and to the wall again. He was raising his hand to question Phaethon's guidance, index finger pointed and all, until Billy stepped forward, suggesting he was ready to blindly charge.
"Understood! Full speed ahead!" Billy prepared himself before logic kicked in. "Wait... Ahead? But that's a wall in front of us!"
"I'm actually glad I didn't have to say it," the Player put his hand on his hip.
"Smash it? You wanna smash through it?" Billy turned to Phaethon with a look of increasing dread. "I don't have that kind of firepower right now..."
Belle: Don't worry. Just do what my brother says.
The Player and Billy looked down to Eous, taken aback.
"...Did... Did Phaethon just use a voice modulator?" The Player pointed with a hard questioning look.
"No, no... It's no modulator. That voice... Oh! It's the other Phaethon!" Billy exclaimed.
"...There are two?" The Player looked on, more confused than before.
"You're finally online," Phaethon(W) said.
Belle: Sorry, I was checking to make sure the Hollow exit was stable. Billy, Anby, can you hear me? My brother was right about the escape route. You know space inside the Hollow is totally distorted. That means...
"A way out may look like a dead end," Anby interjects. "But a dead end may also just be a dead end.
The Player's eyebrow raised, silently questioning the logic.
"Thanks for the explanation, Anby," Billy facepalmed.
"...So we're just taking the leap of faith then?" The Player asked Anby.
"So it would seem."
Belle: Hmm? Hey, Wise?
"Yeah?" Phaethon acknowledged Belle's call.
Belle: Is there another person with you? I thought Nicole said it was only Billy and Anby?
"It's... It's a long story. I'll explain when the line is up. It's actually pretty important."
Belle: I see. Well, it's a good thing you found them when you did. Anyways, our escape route after getting out has been arranged, you can trust us. Hey, bro, you can cut the connection now.
"Hold up, you're leaving?" The Player asked.
"Don't worry, we'll meet soon. See you at the store. Good luck, guys."
"Luck? But you said trust-"
A series of emotes flashed across Eous' face before the eyes returned to normal, blinking before registering the trio before it.
"Ehn- en-na ehn-nu!" Eous adorably greeted them.
"...You," the Player's mood degraded to flat confusion as he finished his sentence.
Eous gave the Player a somewhat confused look as they just looked at each other.
"It's gone quiet," Anby said. "It became a regular Bangboo."
"Why would they de-sync at a time like this?" Billy ran his hands through his hair as though he were losing his mind with worry.
'De-sync,' another term the Player was quietly drawn to and looked over to Billy.
Anby picked Eous up in one arm and wrapped the other around Billy's neck. "Going straight forward. Brace for impact," she declared knowing time was running out.
"Wait, you're really going to charge in?" The Player questioned.
"I trust the Proxy. Follow my lead."
Anby didn't waste another word beyond that because seconds were on the clock.
The sudden bolt took the Player by surprise, but he didn't hesitate... He charged after Anby.
"God, I hope this works!" He picked up speed, keeping a good pace.
"We're gonna crash! We're gonna crash! We're gonna craaaaaash!" Billy whined with each step.
There was no time for doubt. They were all in — racing to the wall and heading straight for collision course if Phaethon wasn't on point... Eyes closed, they jumped toward the wall.
Janus Quarter, Fourteenth Street — Alleyway
July 4th, 2:03pm
The Player came flying out and fell onto the ground. "Oof!" Just as he began to compose himself, he started to get up on all fours. "That was weird..."
Anby came flying out shortly after and fell on his back. "Ack!" She lightly groaned while clutching Eous close to her chest.
"Nnngh!" The Player let out a strained grunt.
Billy was the last to come flying out and was sent jettisoning into a pile of trashcans.
After a strange sense of relief, the trio passed through the wall as though it was nothing and came flying out of a black void.
Anby took a moment to look around, the sound of traffic and public chatter in the distance could be heard. She inhaled the fresh air and let out a relieved sigh. "The oppressive weight of Ether is gone," she noted.
Billy's hands shot up from the bags of trash, revealing that he was laying in filth like they were beanbags. "We're out... We're finally out!" He let out a victorious laugh as the banana peel on his head slowly slid off.
"Yaaaaaay," the Player weakly grinned, trying his best to give a thumbs up as Anby remained sitting on him, but as the aches settled he went limp with a groan.
Janus Quarter, Sixth Street — Random Play
Around the Same Time...
Sensory synchronization has been disconnected-
After the de-sync, Wise's eyes illuminated as a peculiar pattern was briefly visible. After blinking, the pattern went away and his eyes returned to normal.
"Back with us?" Belle leaned in with a smile.
Wise nodded and eased the rolling chair back from the computer. "The Cunning Hares made it out safe and sound. Mission complete."
"Great! Now that leaves us with the real problem; Nicole," Belle's expression flattened.
"We should really start requiring Nicole to put down a down payment before we accept her commissions. I don't mind doing a favor for a long-time client, and I don't mind being lenient if money is tight. But Nicole hasn't changed since we met her, and it's starting to feel like she's taking advantage of our good nature."
"Yeah, I hear you on that," Belle stood up straight and crossed her arms. "But at the same time, we couldn't just leave Billy and Anby in the Hollow."
"...Right. This commission lead to one intriguing find, too."
"Hmm?"
"...You remember back when we first started to conceptualize Phaethon?"
"Well, yeah. That was around the time when we first started learning about Hollows."
"And for ways to explore them without going in ourselves. Back when we first started learning about syncing with Bangboo."
"Yeah. Our master taught us all about it. What's with the sudden nostalgia trip?"
Wise didn't respond right away, his mind was busy trying to process his thoughts. Before long he turned his attention to Belle. "You remember the third voice when you connected? The one talking with Billy and Anby?"
"Of course, we only just disconnected. You said you wanted to talk about it, right?"
"Yeah. Get this... Back in the Hollow, he was able to Synchronize with Anby and Billy."
The look on Belle's face slowly built up to surprise. "You're... You're kidding."
"And what's more, he's been stuck in the Hollow for more than a week and didn't fall to Ether Corruption."
Belle's eyes widened in disbelief. "Beyond Proxies... Beyond Investigators... The PLAYER — lynchpin for Phaethon. The benchmark for everything the master taught us."
"Right. The one our teacher modeled his whole philosophy around."
The siblings go quiet, each tackling their own thoughts and concerns for the information.
"Well... Let's try to keep focused," Belle suggested. "If this is truly what it's meant to be... We should go about it without throwing a wrench in the design. We all have a part to play, let's stay true to ours."
Wise eventually nodded, agreeing with Belle. "You're right. I guess... We should get ready. They'll be here soon. Do we still have those aptitude tests?"
"You want to make sure this is legit, huh?"
"Just to be safe. We don't want to jump the gun."
Belle nodded in agreement, but her gaze remained fixed on the floor. She couldn't stop thinking about the potential of what might happen next. "Let me check our storage first. I'm sure we still have a few lying around."
"Good. I'll get things set up down here."
As Belle went off to check for the Ether aptitude tests, Wise looked back to the computer with a focused gaze...
Beyond : Zero
Janus Quarter, Fourteenth Street — Alleyway
July 4th, 2:05pm
Once everyone was out and recovered, Anby to a lesser extent thanks to the cushioned fall, the trio regrouped as the towering Cretan Hollow loomed over them as a massive dome of Etheric energy.
"...Holy- So this is a Hollow?" The Player took a few steps back, astonished by its appearance.
"Yes," Anby confirmed. "This one is still fairly new as well."
"It's pretty crazy to think that such a young Hollow brought us all together," Billy said. "By the way, what's your next move?" He asked the Player.
"Me?" The Player looked over to Billy.
"Yeah. Now that we're out, I can only imagine how much work you have to get done."
"Right... Well, first things first, I have to find my friends. I have no idea where I am and this place is far from anything I'm used to. Hollows and Ethereals alone made sure of that."
"I see. I'm sure you'll run into them eventually."
"New Eridu is quite vast," Anby joined, countering Billy's word. "Chances of finding them are rather slim."
'...New Eridu?' The Player was visibly puzzled.
"I'm trying to keep his hopes up, Anby," Billy threw his head back before slouching forward with his hand on his hip. "It must be hard on the guy. He was stuck for so long and now that he's out he doesn't know where he is."
"Nah, it's cool," the Player assured. "If my life has taught me anything, it's that everything will eventually unfold. Just gotta keep moving forward."
"Huh. That's a nice way of looking at it," Billy said in a supportive tone.
Suddenly the sound of screeching tires and a honking horn caught the gang's attention. The pink haired young woman, Nicole, arrived in a white hatchback.
"Phaethon got the time and location spot on," she muttered to herself before waving at Anby and Billy. "Hey, you two! Get in the car!"
"Boss!" Billy nearly squealed in delight.
"Boss?" The Player asked.
"Nicole is the leader of the Cunning Hares," Anby answered only to see the Player showing another hint of confusion. "Our agency. We're a team."
"Ah, I see. Hey, Anby? Before you go, do you have directions to Phaethon's house?"
Now Anby was the one giving him the confused look. "You're coming with us."
"Huh? Oh, no... I don't want to intrude."
"It's fine. Come on."
Anby began walking toward the car with Eous following behind and Billy leading with schoolgirl glee, skipping every step of the way.
Although reluctant, the Player followed them.
Nicole unlocked the doors, but when she noticed the Player she gave him a suspicious look. "We don't have any change," she said. "And if you're selling, knowing we don't have change should be a clear indication that we're not buying unless it's free."
The first impression clearly wasn't the best... The Player gave her a flat, almost conflicted, look. He quietly directed his attention to Anby and Billy in hopes that they'd clear the air.
"Oh, right!" Billy stopped himself just as he was opening the back door. "Boss, this is the Player. We found him in the Hollow."
"Found him?" Nicole was surprised, turning her gaze back to the Player. "Oh! A client! You must've commissioned them for an escort inside the Hollow! Well, in that case, the Cunning Hares were happy to be of service. Are you paying with cash or card?"
The second impression was no better...
"N-No... The Player is an Agent," Anby said.
He was? That was news to him, but he was following along just fine and just allowed Anby to explain.
"So... He's a friend of yours?" Nicole was still a bit lost.
"Pretty much," Billy casually answered without hesitation. "He saved our butts in the Hollow. Without him or Phaethon, we probably wouldn't have made it out."
"We all helped each other," the Player corrected with a smile.
"Phaethon wanted us to meet back at the video store," Billy continued. "That includes the Player. So since we're heading that way, he can ride with us."
Nicole gave the Player another look, examining him to get an opinion of his character — he didn't look like a bad guy, although his clothes were clearly aligned with someone who knew how to handle themselves in a fight, so if Billy and Anby were vouching for him as a fellow Agent, it was easy to believe with just appearances.
"Mmmm, yeah. It's fine."
"Really?" The Player asked, genuinely surprised.
Anby looked back at him with a smile as if saying 'Told ya,' and Billy gave him a thumbs a thumbs.
"Of course. You said you helped each other survive the Hollow. That means, you helped see that my employers were safe and sound," Nicole smiled and extended her hand. "We haven't been properly introduced, I'm Nicole. Nicole Demara — leader of the Cunning Cares."
"I'm... As much as I'd love to tell you my name, I'm obligated to give you the 'Player,' just as Phaethon is known as the Proxy," he chuckled, playfully acknowledging how silly it must've sounded. He couldn't bring himself to shake Nicole's hand until he knew she was okay with the naming conventions.
"That's fine. We rarely ever call Phaethon by their real names anyway, so that's nothing new," Nicole giggled, gesturing her hand for him to shake, seeing that he was being a gentlemen.
Realizing they were on good terms, the Player gently took Nicole's hand and shook.
Now that the Cunning Hares were officially acquainted with the Player, it was time to head over to Random Play.
Billy got in on the driver side passenger side and the Player went around to sit behind Nicole. Anby got in the front passenger seat with Eous sitting on her lap. Once they were strapped in, Nicole took off, tires screeching, much to the Player's shock and concern.
Janus Quarter, Sixth Street — Random Play's Parking Lot
2:15pm
Despite the heavy traffic, thanks to the necessary detours to get around the Cretan Hollow taking up a good chunk of the district, it only took 10 minutes for Nicole to drive from Fourteenth to Sixth Street.
When they arrived, she pulled into the parking lot and parked beside the Random Play company van.
Inside the store, Wise was putting away some old VHS tapes to make room for newer ones when he heard a car pulling up. "That can't be Nicole can it?"
"So soon?" Belle asked while moving one of the loaded boxes onto the counter.
The siblings put the store on hold to check the parking lot, when they got outside, they saw the gang getting out of the car.
Eous happily ran to the duo and Belle welcomed him with an affectionate hug.
"You're here! Perfect timing," Nicole waved at the siblings before closing the driver-side door.
"That was fast, Nicole," Wise crossed his arms, impressed with the timing. "Did you run a red light again?" He casually inquired as if breaking traffic laws was a classic Nicole move.
Nicole gave Wise an assertive look. "No. We just passed a normal green light, R255 in the RGB scale," she confidently assured. "Oh, right, I made sure I wasn't followed the whole way."
Billy leaned down to Anby to whisper, "Anby, what does an R255 green light look like?"
"It's the same color as your jacket," Anby answered, comparing Billy's bright red jacket to the lights Nicole passed.
While everyone was able to get out of the car and move about as though nothing was wrong, the Player was seen in the background trying to find his footing as he stumbled out the car, shaken from Nicole's driving habits, which comprised of, but was not limited to, texting while driving, turning up one way streets, not yielding to cars that had the right of way, slamming on the brakes to make a turn she missed, and eating while driving.
"Every light," he mumbled as he laid against the car to get his bearings. "She ran every light..."
Nicole looked over her shoulder and gave the Player an aggressive shushing gesture by hard pressing her finger against her lip with a sharp leer, hopefully the siblings didn't hear him...
After composing himself, the Player made his way over to the group.
Belle finally got to see what the Player looked like, and despite appearing as an ordinary guy, she was still silenced by his appearance — perhaps she was more overwhelmed with his status than his physical appearance.
"Hey, bro...?"
Wise simply nodded as he heard Belle whisper, confirming her curiosity without a word.
Belle tucked her lips in slightly, letting out a gentle exhale from the nose. She knew she had to maintain a professional look for Phaethon's sake.
Meanwhile, Billy gave the Player a pat on the back once he joined them. "You good?"
"How are you not?" The Player looked over to Billy with an exasperated face.
"You get used to it. If it makes you feel any better, I'm usually the designated driver."
That was actually reassuring to know.
"Look on the bright side, nobody died," Anby said.
That, however, wasn't.
"...The end doesn't justify the means, Anby," the Player pinched the bridge of his nose for Anby's tolerance. After getting beyond all that, his focus was now on the siblings ahead of them.
Wise was already familiar with the Player, he saw him through Eous, so when they locked eyes, he raised his hand and waved. "Hey, good to see you made it."
"That voice... Phaethon?"
"Half of Phaethon," Wise smiled.
The Player knew Eous was an avatar for Phaethon to operate, as Anby and Billy alluded to in the Cretan Hollow, but actually seeing the mastermind was a different experience, but a pleasant one nonetheless.
Before long, the Player walked forward, extending his hand to Wise for a proper meeting. "It's good to finally put a face to the voice."
Wise didn't keep him waiting, reaching out and taking his hand for a friendly shake.
The Player opened his mouth just as they locked hands to continue the conversation.
REWIND
There was a mental blank...
A brief flash of young man the Player could've sworn was Wise. He didn't know where he was, but there was this sense of foreboding in the air. The flash appeared again, revealing to the Player through various effects that the person he saw was Wise.
It felt as though he was staring directly at him as he were just a moment ago.
Wise's face had several glitchy distortions and his expression lacked that same welcoming energy he introduced himself with.
'...What in the hell?' The Player's face froze in a neutral gaze for a split second. He straightened his posture and looked aside as though he were lost.
"Everything okay?" Wise asked.
The Player turned back and faced Wise, looking surprised. "Huh? Oh! Uh... Yeah. Sorry about that. I don't know why I just zoned out like that." 'What was that just now...?'
"It's fine," Wise raised their hands and dropped them, initiating the shake on his own. "It's only fair that I properly introduce myself. You know me under the Proxy guise, Phaethon. But my actual name is Wise."
"Aaah, Wise. Pleasure to meet you," the Player finally got back in his own head. Away with whatever thoughts he had before.
Once the boys were done, Belle took a step forward. "And we haven't been introduced at all. Sorry I couldn't speak with you in the Hollow, I was keeping track of the route to make sure there weren't any sudden changes in distortion."
"Yeah? Regardless if you introduced yourself or not, you helped us all the same. That's what matters, and I appreciate you for that."
Belle gave him a bubbly grin. "I'm the other half of Phaethon. My name's Belle," she reached her hand out.
The Player looked down to Belle's hand with uncertainty, forcing his smile to stay up despite wanting it to decline. 'Why am I so...uneasy?' "Belle... Right. Beautiful. Literally, it means beautiful."
He tried his best to snap out of his hanging anxiety with comedy, no matter how cheesy it was. Still, he got a chuckle out of Belle.
He went for it, taking her hand as a sign of goodwill...
IN THE END
Mental static plagued clear thoughts, erasing everything with looming dread...
Like with Wise, the Player only got a glimpse of the unknown. Seeing Belle standing at the epicenter of a cataclysmic event — she was mouthing off with muted words, speaking to an unknown figure, out of the Player's view.
The smile he saw in the real time was replaced with a venomous frown that quietly damned the events transpiring in the background.
Just as she looked up to finish the conversation, opening her mouth to express what could only be assumed is frustration or anger, the scene glitched out leaving whatever was about to happen ambiguous.
The Player came back, but he put everything he had into forcing himself to keep the face he has wearing before seeing whatever played out in his head. "...Phaethon," he opened his mouth to the siblings, looking between them after, bizarrely, seeing two sides of them within the same time frame. "Thank you for everything you've done. Without you, we probably would've been wandering around the Hollow forever."
"Not 'probably,' literally," Billy corrected.
"Happy to help," Belle put her hands behind her back with her signature smile now that introductions were out of the way. But now that all of that was out of the way, it was time to discuss business. "Nicole, everyone has been extracted. I guess it's time to pay up."
"Not so fast!" Nicole was immediately ready to debate. "That's not what we agreed on. The commission was: My people AND the client's item. You've only completed the first half."
Wise's body language sagged a bit from Nicole's comment. "Don't worry, Nicole. We remember. It's just a joke."
Now that she felt in the clear, Nicole blossomed into a friendly persona. "I knew Phaethon was the most reliable and trustworthy!" Her switch up got a collective eyeroll from Wise and Belle.
Anby stepped forward to speak. "According to what we saw before extraction, the strongbox should be in the territory of a highly dangerous Ethereal."
The gang turned their attention to Anby as she furthered the discussion.
"The White Star Institute has it registered as Dullahan, a superior Ethereal."
"The strongbox was that black vault you guys were trying to get, right?" The Player asked. "And that... Ethereal, not the Metro Goblin, the other one. The one with the long sword. That's Dullahan?"
"That's the one!" Billy confirmed. "That Red Fang Dude was unlucky. His Ether corruption must've been pretty intense, considering he's become such a dangerous Ethereal. Anby tried to grab the strongbox, but that guy was so tough! We didn't get the chance before we got extracted," Billy caressed his chin with his hand, wondering deeply about the content within. "What exactly is in that box? Is it worth all this effort?"
"Uh-huh... We'll find out soon enough," Nicole said with a chuckle despite the critical danger Dullahan possessed. Without warning, she dipped her index and middle finger into her cleavage, having Wise, the Player, and Billy distract themselves by looking At three different corners of the lot. "Take a look at this!"
"...With all due respect, Nicole-" The Player couldn't bring himself to turn just yet.
Chivalry was killing Billy with how much he wanted to turn around...
Wise was the most unbothered, looking indifferent and just trying to be courteous
"Grow up!" Nicole pouted, holding up a fanged necklace for all to see.
The boys turned and saw the necklace. All she wanted to flash was jewelry? Or rather... That's what it appeared to be. Nicole grabbed the red fang and pulled it from the necklace, revealing the fang to be a flash drive.
Wise leaned in, pinching his chin. "So, it looks like a necklace, but it's actually a flash drive?"
"That's right!" Nicole sang, pleased with herself. "It's a mini storage device. It's Silver's. I picked it up in the building before I got out of Fourteenth Street!" Nicole put the flash drive back in the storage slot, making it appear as a regular necklace again. She twirled the chain around her finger with a smug look. "I noticed it before, he always had it on his person, so it must contain something important!"
The chain slipped off Nicole's finger as she was twirling it and she fumbled to catch it. The necklace ended up hitting the ground, but Nicole quickly picked it up as though it were just a minor inconvenience. Blushing as the others watched her fail at being cool.
"I bet it has something to do with the strongbox!" She continued where she left off.
"But it suffered some damage," Anby addressed a potential problem.
"I-It's fine! It didn't hit the ground hard!" Nicole protested.
"No, she means before that," the Player said.
"Huh?"
"...Yeah, look at all those burn marks!" Billy pointed, having Nicole's attention on the minor fire damage.
Nicole stuck out her bottom lip adorably and turned her attention to Wise and Belle. "Phaethon, can you do some of your magic using that complicated computer of yours?"
Belle crossed her arms and examined the flash drive. "The HDD s mainly used to process Hollow data. But if we only need to export what's in the flash drive," just then an idea came that made Belle gasp before turning to Wise. "Hey, bro! Maybe I could try to recover the data with the Proxy networks computing power."
"Yeah, that could work," Wise saw no reason to deny the possibility.
"Great!" Nicole happily pumped her arms. "It's a deal, then! We'll try to locate the strongbox in the Hollow. We'll come find you when we learn something new! Let's just go our separate ways until then."
Wise and Belle's expression flattened to deadpan intolerance.
"D-Don't worry! I swear, I'll pay you once this is all over!" Nicole assured with her hands up as a defense.
The siblings still weren't fully convinced... Playing tag with Nicole was a game that lasted since they met her after all... It wouldn't be hard to imagine that her bill could fit a mortgage.
"I promise! The Cunning Hares keep their word! As a matter of fact, I'll leave you with a down payment," she gave them a cunning look.
Wise and Belle were visibly taken aback by the offer.
"Wait, you serious?" Belle was nearly speechless.
"Speak of the devil," Wise was referring to his earlier comment.
"Of course! Player! Leave Phaethon with the 10,000 dennies."
The Player raised an eyebrow. "...Huh?"
"The 10,000 dennies from the commission."
"...What 10,000 dennies? Wait, what commission?"
"The-" Nicole turned to the Play when his questions started to register. "The dennies from the Cunning Hares search and rescue services."
"...When did we start offering search and rescue?" Billy whispered to Anby.
"I'm pretty sure she made that up on the spot just now," Anby replied.
Belle was conflicted on the price alone. "That is needlessly high," she admitted.
"Exorbitated rates?" Wise questioned. "Yeah. That sounds like Nicole."
"Dennies... Dennies," the Player repeated to himself to see if he was familiar with the term, but nothing came to mind — he, nevertheless, put 2 and 2 together. "I'm guessing that's some form of currency? If so... I'm broke."
Nicole's face sagged in dread. "What do you mean you're broke?"
"...I mean I'm flat broke. I can't make that any simpler."
Nicole let out a mute scoff, looking offended to a comical degree. "I originally commissioned Phaethon to get my team and the strongbox out of the Hollow. I wasn't expecting a third party. An additional head bumps up the pay! Commissions aren't cheap, you know..."
"...Uuuuh, sorry?" The Player raised his shoulders, confused on what he was supposed to be feeling other than lost.
"How could you not have any money to pay for the services you commissioned?" Nicole questioned, unaware of the soul piercing glares that Wise, Belle, Billy, and Anby collectively had aimed at her back for the earth shattering irony.
"In my defense, I didn't commission anyone. I was just tagging along because I thought... Well, I don't know, but I couldn't just stay in there forever."
"Boss, remember, we were stuck too," Billy said, siding with the Player. "Everything that happened was spur-of-the-moment. None of us anticipated falling into the Hollow, let alone running into anyone inside it."
"Not only that, but, as we said before, he helped a great deal against the Ethereals," Anby added. "So it's not like he worked for free. It was more survival."
"Yeah... I thought we had an understanding earlier," the Player said to Nicole.
"We did, but we were still expecting pay at some point," Nicole clarified before sighing, now looking foolish in front of Phaethon after promising a down payment.
'You've got to be shitting me,' the Player gave Nicole a dead look.
"Billy, Anby, you said he helped you out, right?" Nicole turned her gaze to her employees. "That means you can vouch for him as a reliable fighter?"
"Yeah. He's pretty darn good with that weapon of his!" Billy excitably replied, remembering all the cool things the Player was able to do with his sword. "You should've seen it!"
"Then it's decided!" Nicole abruptly raised her pointed finger to the sky, confusing everyone before aiming it at the Player. "You will assist us in retrieving the strongbox to work off your debt."
"...Debt?" The Player was flat on his delivery.
"It's only fair," Nicole crossed her arms. "I promise it's not personal, just business."
"I... Ugh. I mean... I guess you're right, but... I still don't know where I am."
"You'll have plenty of time to figure that out," Nicole assured. "We won't be able to find he strongbox overnight. It'll take a day or two. That should be enough time to get familiar with the city."
"...That's not exactly the scope of where I was going with my concern, but-"
"No buts!" Nicole held her hand out to him. "Can I see your phone? You'll need our numbers if we're going to reliably stay in touch."
"I don't have a phone."
"You don't have a- Wow... Really scrapping the bottom of the barrel here," Nicole muttered the latter to herself, genuinely surprised to hear it.
The Player didn't need to hear what she said, her reaction was all he needed to see. Once again, she was met with his indifference because of his situation. He couldn't even dignify a response knowing she more than likely had a smart comment.
"Hold on," Belle spoke up. "Do you even have a place to stay?"
"Unfortunately not," the Player regretfully informed.
"You could stay with us," Anby offered without hesitation.
"Aaaaaah, that's probably not a good idea, Anby" Billy interjected. "We share a TV between the three of us. We barely enough to accommodate ourselves."
"Sssssh!" Nicole shoved her hand into Billy's nonexistent mouth to silence him.
"Zowwy," Billy mumbled under Nicole's hand as his eyes bashfully squinted.
"Wow. Your situation is far worse than I originally thought," Wise said.
"Pretty much," the Player still managed to find it in himself to snicker.
Wise and Belle looked at each other, sharing mutual glances.
"If you'd like, you could always bunk with us," Belle offered.
"Huh?!" The Player was taken aback by the invitation.
"As long as you don't mind a couch, there's plenty of room," Wise said, supporting Belle's offer to show they were being sincere.
"Whoa. That's... Hold up. Guys, I... I really appreciate that, but I couldn't possibly-"
"You'd rather sleep outside?" Belle put her hands on her hips and side eyed him as though daring him to find an excuse to reject the offer.
"Of course not! But..."
Belle waited for him to finish what he was going to say, but the silence spoke volumes for his side of the argument. "Yep. You've got nothin'!" She teased with smirk.
"This is awesome!" Billy cheered. "Now we'll have the Managers and Player in one place! We've got the best Proxy in the business and a Ether resistant super-Agent! Taking on Hollows is going to piece of cake!"
"Either resistant?" Nicole questioned.
"Oh, right. We never told you the full story. The Player's been lost in the Cretan Hollow for more than a week and never fell to Ether Corruption."
Puzzled, Nicole looked at the Player while he was in the middle of talking with Wise and Belle. "How... How is that possible? Silver turned into a Hollow minutes after you all fell in, right?"
"Yeah, that's about right. The mutation got really bad by the time we got to him."
"Our Ether aptitude is quite generous, but we'd never make it a week without a mutation kicking in. Did he show any signs of corruption?"
"None as far as we could tell," Anby answered.
"Huh," Nicole once again found herself giving the Player wondering eyes. If what Anby and Billy said is true, then things were about to get interesting. She smirked, seeing endless financial opportunities for the Cunning Hares with the Player and Phaethon in their circle of associates.
Meanwhile, the Player, Wise, and Belle continued discussing living arrangements.
"So you can use the couch in my room," Wise said. "I think you'll find it comforting."
The Player still couldn't believe their generosity and was beyond words. "Wise, Belle, I don't know what to say. I promise I'll make it up to you when I can."
"It's no trouble," Wise assured.
"Yeah. We're just happy to help," Belle added.
"But only until I connect the pieces and find out how I got stuck in the Hollow to begin with."
"Still no leads on that?" Belle asked.
"Not at the moment, no. I hope something turns up soon, though. I don't want drag this-"
"Sorry to interrupt," Nicole eased herself into the conversation, waving at the group to get their attention. "It looks like you three have your own thing going on, so we're going to hit the road."
"Okay. Let us know when you find anything about the strongbox," Wise said.
"Of course. Oh, and don't forget to extract the data from the flash drive."
"We won't."
"Good! Until we meet again!" Nicole gave them her farewell and walked to the car.
"See ya, Manager!" Billy saluted the siblings. For the Player, he snapped a finger gun at him. "And, hey. Nice working with you today."
"Likewise," the Player smiled.
"Goodbye," Anby waved at the three as she walked to the car with Billy.
"See ya! Drive safe," Belle called out.
Once they were all in the car, the Player, Wise, and Belle watched the Cunning Hares depart... However, once Nicole reached the street they heard the car engine roar alongside the sound of tires screeching.
"Welp, another commission done and dusted. Good job, bro," Belle gave Wise a gentle shoulder punch.
"We're not out of the woods just yet. We still have to humor Nicole a bit longer and get the strongbox."
"Yeah, but we got Anby, Billy, and the Player out. So that's worth celebrating."
"Can't argue with that," Wise shrugged while maintaining his neutral smile. "Come on, let's go inside and get settled. We good to go?" He pointed the question at the Player since he was their guest.
"Of course," he nodded. "I'm following you."
Wise and Belle lead the Player into the store to get him acquainted with their humble abode.
"Welcome to Random Play!" Belle stepped to the side to let the Player walk ahead of her. "You want it, we got it. If we don't got it, we'll get it. So get it while getting's good."
"Heh, I like your little jingle there," the Player was impressed by the vast collection of tapes, but more intriguing than that was the fact that they had them to begin with — there were no DVDs in sight. "Retro... Nice."
"Oh! Before I forget, would you mind doing us a favor?"
"Of course. Whatever you need."
Belle went to the front counter and grabbed the small white box that was sitting by the register. "Could you take this aptitude test? There should be two of the same set in there."
"Sure thing," the Player took the box after Belle held it out for him to take.
"I know it's sudden, but you've been in the Hollow for quite some time and with no signs of Ether corruption or any noticeable side effects, knowing your aptitude score will help us evaluate where you stand with resistance to the Hollow's atmosphere."
The Player opened the box and found two thinner boxes inside that contained the aptitude readers. He turned one of the boxes over to read the instructions and was surprised to find it was all foreign dialect.
"Is something wrong?" Wise asked after noticing his reaction.
"...Um. I can't read this."
"Huh?"
"This is... This is all written in a foreign language. I've never seen anything like this."
Wise and Belle looked at each other, puzzled to hear about the roadblock.
"I can read and write just fine, but this... This is honestly nothing I'm familiar with. Thank god we speak the same language at least."
"It's fine," Belle said. "The test is simple; there should be cotton swabs with each test. Stick those up your nose and give it a good turn in one direction and then again in the other. After that, squeeze the sample into the tube provided and squeeze it while rotating the swab a few times. Secure the tube with the nozzle cap and then drop the liquid sample onto the reader."
As Belle went on with the explanation, he was becoming increasingly more familiar with the process to the point where it became a 1:1 parallel. "Oh. Wow... That's... Hm."
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah. It's just... You know what? It's nothing. I gotcha. Is there a bathroom I can use? I don't want to gross you guys out."
"Upstairs," Wise answered. "Which is actually our next stop anyway."
"Great."
Just as Wise turned to walk upstairs, and the Player following behind him, Belle rushed ahead of them. "Wait!" She said with urgency in her voice.
"Huh?" Wise was surprised by Belle's sudden interception.
"Let me take care of something first... I'll be right with you!"
She ran upstairs and they hear a door being closed shortly after. Belle walked to the top of the stairs and signaled them to come up.
"Okay! We're good."
Wise's expression was flatter than usual. He motioned his hand for the Player to follow him upstairs now that it was ok.
"What was that about?" The Player whispered.
"Her room door was probably open, and she doesn't want company to see her living habits," Wise replied, keeping his voice low.
The Player let out a silent "Aaaaah," in response.
Belle noticed the boys sneaking a talk amongst each other and gave them a disapproving pout.
"It's the door right over there," Wise pointed to the door beside his bedroom.
"Great. I'll be right out," the Player went ahead to take the test, closing the door behind himself.
Belle gave Wise and a gentle shove. "Hey! What'd you tell him?"
"Nothing you wouldn't want me to tell," he gave her a teasing side eye, making Belle squint her eyes at him.
It only took a minute for the Player to get both tests out the way. Once he was done, he left the bathroom with the tests secured in their respective boxes. "That's me all done," he said.
"Great! I'll take those and wait for the results to show," Belle took the boxes off his hands. "In the meantime, Wise, you can give him the tour."
"Wouldn't that include your room?" Wise gave her a smug smile.
Belle immediately frowned and marched to her bedroom door, cracking it open just enough to be able to squeeze through and get in without anyone being able to see inside.
Belle: Just show him where he's staying!
Wise quietly snickered before turning to the Player, nodding his head in the direction of the door across from Belle's room. He guides the Player in and sat in the rolling chair at his PC desk.
"This is it. We're officially bunk mates," Wise said.
Wise's room was immaculate. It was well put together and organized, nothing was out of place. If Wise kept things neat and tidy, it made the Player wonder what Belle's room was like.
Considering her personality, he pictured 'cute and bubbly' as the theme with plushies scattered around with a few pink bean bags here and there.
"This is great, Wise. You have a really nice room."
"What can I say? I like to keep things clean. The grey couch's yours."
The Player looked to his right and saw the couch Wise was referring to, and it looked quite comfortable.
"I'll never be able to thank you guys enough. I know you're going to deny it, but I promise I'm going to do right by you two and make it up. I don't know how, but I'll figure something out."
"If you really must insist, I'll be looking forward to it."
"It's funny, we got all these good vibes going on, but then you remember — Nicole got us wrapped around her finger with this strongbox gig. I'm actually a bit concerned... We went through all that trouble with getting out of the Hollow, but she plans on going back?"
"That's just how it is around here. The Cunning Hares are Hollow Raiders, she can't pass up an opportunity to chase a score she thinks is worth it."
"...Hmm. What exactly are Hollows?"
"Honestly? We're still trying to figure that out. Hollows are spontaneous and unpredictable, so it's hard getting concrete information on what they are or what causes them."
"I see. Well, if you and Belle are the ones leading us, I don't think we have anything to worry about."
"Are you sure you're okay with going back? I can only imagine what you've been through until meeting Billy and Anby. Surviving that long in the Hollow, by yourself, is admirable, but I'd understand if you have objections to going back. I don't know why Nicole would twist your arm like that."
"Eeeeeh... It was a bit unsettling at first. It always felt like I was going in circles, and, as I learned today, there was a reason for it. Wandering aimlessly in a never ending loop would shake anyone up... I'm just lucy I was able to come across supplies every now and then."
"How often did you run into Ethereals?"
"Every now and then, nothing too crazy. I was actively avoiding combat for most of my time in there."
"Smart. No wonder you got as far as you did."
"I like to think I do alright," the Player smirked, keeping himself humble.
"With all that fighting you've done? I think you're in the clear to give yourself a bit more credit. You're obviously skilled at what you do."
"Pfft! Nah, that's nothing. You should see everything my friends can do."
Still keeping himself humble, Wise could respect that. If anything, the Player reminded Wise a bit of himself... It was enough to get a smile out of him.
"I should probably get everything you'll need to get comfortable," Wise got up from his chair and walked across the room. "I'll be back, I'm just going to grab a few things — blankets, sheets, and so on."
"No problem. Take your time."
"Make yourself comfortable. Feel free to watch the TV."
"Thanks. I appreciate it."
Random Play — Staff Room
Downstairs, Wise was going through a few boxes and containers they had lying around in search of some necessities the Player would need to feel at home. He managed to find an extra toothbrush still in the plastic, as well as a clean washcloth, and towel.
While he continued searching, Belle entered the room, knocking on the metal guard door to announce her presence. "Hey, Wise?"
"What's up, Belle?"
"I just wanted to check in with you... The Player's results came in."
"That's good. What's his score?"
"I was hoping you could tell me."
"Hmm?"
Belle went over to Wise and revealed the Player's aptitude score; the reading on the scanner of both tests were violently glitching out and unable to get a reading... Cycling between every number and making new ones that weren't even on the aptitude scale.
Wise was surprised by the result, but it ultimately, more or less, confirmed their suspicion that this was beyond a mere coincidence.
A/N: Okay, the one-shot for this story has done far better than I was expecting and it managed to amass a respectable following, so I think it's safe to say this adventure has a nice future thanks to the overwhelming support.
I'm going to use chapter 1 as another engagement test to see if the interest for more is still there.
Anyone familiar with my other stories, primarily Wonderful World of Skullgirls, will probably see that there's a heavy emphasis on an overarching mystery this time around surrounding one of the central players... The, uh, the Player. He's a lot different in comparison to his other counterparts, he's a lot more mature, levelheaded, and he's clearly an experienced fighter with a versatile arsenal.
Not too long ago, on another site, I spoke about being against the idea of an OC being powerful from their introduction, but here the Player seems pretty darn powerful, but there is a legitimate reason for his respectable performance and the drastic departure from what people are used to seeing from him. Though, I will say, he's still fitting the archetype of being just a normal person.
While he's doing all these amazing things, it's not coming from him directly. I know it was already explained within the story itself, but he's using Synchronization to bring out the things he's controlling. The elemental stuff comes from the materials engrained in his weapon, and the darkness often seen in his attacks come from newcomer Skuld.
The Player will be fitting the "Baddass Normal" trope this time around.
It's all part of the mystery, and mystery is a new genre I'm tackling with Tales of New Eridu, so forgive me if the stepping stones are a bit clumsy.
So, yeah, I guess I don't have much to say beyond that. Thanks for all the support and I hope you continue to enjoy reading my nonsense.
Let's see where this goes.