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Chapter Text

    The bright morning begins, and Nicole rushes to the Random Play. She pushes the door to the video rental store quickly, but all she sees is Sjal running this place and some customers looking for videocassettes. Visitors glance at her puzzled and then turn away to continue to do their business.

    "Can I help you with anything?" the temporary worker inquired politely.
    "AND WHERE ARE THEY?!" the leader of Cunning Hares exclaimed in confusion.
    "Uhm... Are you talking about managers?" Sjal asked after some thinking, not knowing what this pinky one wants from them.
    "Yup! Do you know?!" Nicole questioned the employee with hope to find Belle.
    "Yeah, on the second f..." the girl didn't finish her sentence as Demara rushed to the stairs.
    "Thank ya!" she shouted with gratitude, going upstairs fastly.
    "W-wait..! Oh, okay. Hope she doesn't do anything bad." Sjal told herself merely and returned to her job.

    "All doors are locked, I wish they were at home." Nicole said in mind. She decides to knock the door to Belle's room.
    First knock, second knock, third knock. Deadly silence, no one answered. But then she hears some sounds from the Wise's place. A vacuum cleaner makes calm noises, and... A familiar male voice tunes the melody.
    "He sings while cleaning? Seriously?" Demara asked herself inwardly, going to his room. "He-e-ey! Open this damn piece of wood!" she exclaimed, now knocking at Belle's brother's place. 
    Noises from his room stopped their sounding as soon as she firstly knocked. The door finally opens, and Wise shows up at the doorway. He glances at the pink-haired girl, standing in front of his room, wearily.
    "Do you need something?" Wise says calmly, looking straight at Nicole's eyes intently, intending to figure out her motives. Even if he knows that woman again wants to earn a little money.
    "WHERE DID BELLE GO?!" the leader of Cunning Hares shouts perplexed.
    "She's at the Outer Ring now. My sis has some business with Sons of Calydon." the guy answers watchful.
    "Damn it." Nicole curses in frustration. "I need a proxy for my purposes, but Belle isn't here..." she minds, wondering about her deal. But then the girl looks at Wise with glowing eyes. "You will be my proxy." she tells him with a flirty smile, leaning directly to his face.
    "Huh?" the new Nicole's proxy says in amazement.

Chapter Text

    Wise lingers, suspecting all the risks. He didn't do the proxy work for a long time. And, he didn't know, what Nicole wanted to do. Proxy's thoughts swirl around his mind, not letting him decide something. He keeps standing, intensively looking at the pink-haired girl. The silence oppresses Nicole like an anvil pinning her into the ground. The more you relax, the more this burden pressing you down. The waiting, running farther on the road of a wasted time, displeased the Cunning Hares' leader. Her face shows a discontent about that tardy guy, but he doesn't seem like that's bothering him. Really not... He didn't even notice her unhappy facial expression. It was infuriating her even more. Hiring a different proxy will be faster but not safer so she'll wait.

    Then she says angrily "He-e-ey!". Wise glances at Nicole who does NOT look happy at all. She can't watch how the time falls in the trash bin again, even a few seconds can solve everything. They better run to the destination as fast as they can, but the proxy lingers too much for this hourglass-sand-needy mission. And said hourglass won't be flipped over to start the timer again.

    "Uhm... Are your plans safe?" he finally asks her awkwardly knowing he's guilty for spending a lot of time. Demara seems very annoyed, therefore Wise doesn't want to ask her about the price of his assistance now. Maybe later and maybe for a very high price.

    The answer's awaiting didn't last long and a loud shout sounded as quick as the guy's words came out of his mouth. "YES! We are losing time, let's go to the Hollow!" the girl exclaims and grabs his hand rapidly, leading him to the first floor. They head to the stairs, then go to the exit of the Random Play. Some customers look at these two, and Sjal looks too, but the manager doesn't seem like he's getting kidnapped, so... The temporary worker does not really care. She has to do her job. Wise and Nicole left the video rental store.

    On the outside, Demara suddenly says with a begging look "A-a-and... Can you drive me, please-e-e?" Her eyes demonstrate a plea of help, and hands pose like a prayer. Who would not assist this cute girl? And our Wise wasn't an exception.
    "Did you run out of the fuel?" proxy ponders about it, hoping Nicole didn't, as though her request of an assist wasn't enough. But his expectations weren't right. He hears bad news... This guy needs to stop wishing for impossible things.
    "How did you know..?" she questions with a wonder in a confusion. Oh, her debts are too high and they all know it.
    "Oh, alright. I don't wanna ask you again," Wise declares, moving to the parking lot. He turns on the automobile, enables the rear view mirror, opens the car's door, then sits in. Inside was a comfortable seat and some decorations which Belle bought once. The smell of gasoline spreads around and the engine roars activating. Nicole gets inside on the seat and settles there. Her perfume mixes with a petrol scent, creating a new flavor. "You're lucky that my sister used a taxi to travel to Sons of Calydon," the guy speaks to his client. "And send me the address."
    "Okay," the Cunning Hares' leader replies, turning on her phone. "Sent ya," she says after a second.
    A known voice sounds. "Processing the information," Fairy announces. AI's words are as monotonous as always. "Processing finished. The address leads to the Hollow Zero. Destination is set. Firstly, you have to go to the rift, leading to the Hollow. It is located at the Port Elpis," it utters after some seconds.
    "HOLLOW ZERO?!" Wise shouts. "I hope there's no ethereals," he speaks calmly. "Currently, we should go," the proxy says, as the car moves to the road. He doesn't want to lose time again. General Chop cooks for someone a ramen, Coff-cafe is run by Tin master and Asha stands at the Godfinger. All is as usual as always. The automobile pushes to the assigned address. Primarily, Nicole and Wise need to drive away from Sixth Street and then they can move fastly. The duration was not long but for them it was. After some dozen minutes, the client and her proxy left residential areas so they started to go very quickly.

    "I'll tell you, what that order is about," Nicole finally informs her proxy. He even thought she wouldn't apprise him of the mission. "But... Don't go back, please," she adds tentatively and laughs nervously after her declare. The pink-haired girl STRONGLY wishes the manager won't leave her alone, but the manager wants to do that after Nicole's words.
    "I'm getting scared, no need to say it like THAT," Wise utters with regret he agreed on this.
    "There's not such a problem, uhm... Did you see that one post on the Inter-Knot about a millionaire who lost his suitcase with two hundred million dennies..? That one for which everyone is looking? That one which started a race who will find it faster?" Nicole asks with reasonable diffidence. Like, WHO will agree on this except some speedrunners of life?
    "Don't tell me you want to find this troublesome bag, please," Wise bewares, driving an automobile and knowing she indeed wants to. No need for asking.
    "How can I say that... YES, I DO!" Demara voices, shouting her last sentence. Even she now doubts about this situation.
    "Oh, yeah, I won't go back. Instead, you need to pay me NOT TWENTY PERCENTS," the proxy speaks to her annoyed. "But a half of dennies," he says with sureness she won't accept this offer. 
    "Alright, I agree," she replies with a sigh.
    Wise ascertains he heard that right and utters. "Wha..." he didn't believe she agreed. "Is that you Nicole..?" the proxy asks and then catches the Cunning Hares' leader's irritated glance. "Okay-okay, I won't act like that."
    "You better will," she says, turning away. Then the girl looks through the window. And this activity was too boring but there's nothing to do so she continued it.

    The silence starts. As soon as ten minutes passes, Nicole and Wise arrive at the road with water along the sides. But right after some minutes they see five Hollow raiders, hurrying to the... Water?! They jumped. Oh damn, that's some type of suicide. Water splashes around these five life speedrunners but then the raiders disappear like in a void. Demara looks in shock, but the proxy thinks about something different.
    "Fairy, why didn't you tell us there's a rift nearby?" he asks AI, pondering about that.
    "Do you want to jump into the water? I didn't know the brother of my master was that unintelligent. I need to correct my notes," it declares. Its monotonous voice annoys Wise much more than ever. 
    "Huh?!" he utters. "That was mean, you know," he regrets he pays these high electricity bills. 
    "You are right. I know," Fairy agrees with its usual tone. Those words weren't supportive but aggravating and AI knows that.
    Wise didn't say anything about this dialogue. He just keeps quiet, but Nicole tries to hold her laughter. She covered her mouth with a hand. The proxy sighs and looks at the GPS. "We are close." he says gleefully. And silence starts again. Serenity calms all the tension and the pressure. Demara opens the car's window and looks outside. Heavy wind swishes around her happy face. The sun shines in the sky. And fish in the ocean swim around. Port Elpis finally progressively looms in the sight. Fairy pronounces their arrival. Wise drives to the parking lot and stops there. "You can now leave the car," he says after the turn off of the automobile engine. Nicole quickly opens the door and exits the car then closes the door.

    After Wise locked the automobile with car keys, they went to the back of a lighthouse and checked for the presence of people. No one was here. That was quite strange. At that time, the proxy and the Cunning Hares' leader inspected other places of Port Elpis and... There were none of the living creatures and even no bangboos. They looked at each other puzzled. That's crazy.
    "I don't know if that's luck or failure," Wise tensely mumbles to himself. "We should go now. Fairy will say if something happens," he says, revealing micro earphones. The proxy lends these devices to Nicole. She gets them and takes on, Wise does the same. Then they came back to the rift. The orderer and her proxy looked at each other and noded.
    Nicole lends her hand to him, Wise covers it with his. "Let's go, my dear proxy!" she speaks softly and happily directly to him. Her smirk like a virus infected him and his lips became a slight smile.

    They entered the Hollow rift.

Chapter Text

The inside of the Hollow is surprisingly quiet and peaceful. The suspicious silence envelops them. Wise looks around, seeking for any danger, but he sees nothing. No ethereals, no humans, no anybody, and just two of them. The Hollow now is an empty space without someone's presence. But, it seems like not only the living beings were not there — even the garbage isn't, only bags. Like if they are in a vacuum fencing them off. Maybe, it is usually that serene, and two of Phaethon are just luckless.

    Meanwhile, Nicole searches for something valuable, rummaging the corners and all trash bags. "What a bad day, there's nothing costing my attention..." Demara declares with an unsatisfied tone. "Not a single denny," she complains but then fastly recalls the mission and speaks to her proxy. "So, what about the address?" the girl inquires, keeping up with him. A breeze travels, gliding in their direction, swaying Nicole's ribbons. Demara's pink hair slightly swings on the wind, she smiles and looks at Wise.

    "It's nearby us, follow me," the guy answered, glancing at her too. They didn't go in a Hollow together before, and it felt so awkward. It was Eous going in Hollows and Belle controlling him after all. All that time, Wise was sitting in the Random Play, working, cleaning, buying food. Briefly, he did mundane things, his sister did cool things. Proxy glimpsed at Nicole and started his way forward to the destination. Worries didn't want to leave Phaethon's head, filling his mind. Firstly, the Port Elpis was deserted, and now the Hollow is, and Fairy didn't notice anything. That was COMPLETELY strange.

    Proxy leads his customer through the debris. Around them two are broken buildings, dust, and the worst — ether-polluted air. Though, Wise has a higher ether aptitude than before, so it won't bother him, but he still fears a corruption or any diseases caused by ether. For a long time, Phaethon siblings were not immune to that strange virus, and the fright of Hollows is still there with them.

     These strange situations scare proxy to death. He loses in anxious thoughts, not thinking straight. Wise says nothing and walks forward until he feels a punch. The hit is not that strong but still enough for proxy to feel pain. He stops and glances at the right side from whom he got the knock. Nicole stands there with a worried and angry face at the same time, staring directly at Wise's eyes, as if she tries to investigate and explore his mind.

    "Manager," the pink-haired girl said slowly. "IF YOU WANT TO BE SCARED THEN BE IN THE OTHER PLACE! NOT NOW!" the Cunning Hares' leader shouted aggressively and banged proxy's head. She glimpsed at Phaethon and immediately turned away, trying not to show her face. Yes, Nicole was mad, because WHY would he choose to be nervous NOW?! But the second reason was that she was anguished by his state. Demara knew, Wise wasn't in Hollows for a long time and it would be a headache for him, but still dragged him here. She just now realised how egocentric it was. Notwithstanding it, Nicole didn't want to apologise yet wanted to make amends for her selfish behaviour later.

    The Cunning Hares' leader's words were a... curative sober up? Yeah, probably something like that. But proxy couldn't say anything as Fairy interposed. "Mentally unstable brother of my master, cheer up," she uttered. Maybe, AI's tone wasn't that bad, because now Phaethon was glad about her insulting jokes and unbothered voice. He gradually calms down.

    Suddenly, Nicole and Wise hear a loud noise coming from the back. They turn away, seeking a source, but it's not necessarily. The bunch of Hollow raiders dashes at them, reaching them as fast, as proxy and his customer doesn't manage to do anything. Some of the outlaws slide from the slope made of ruins. Dust soars in the air that much, that the urge to sneeze gets over the Random Play holder.

    "You're so fucking insufferable," Demara states, snatching Wise's hand tightly. She, hoping he will be okay, flees with him. Nicole's heart beats very quickly, mostly because she worries about proxy, and, obviously, because she wants to leave the Hollow alive. Then the girl hears his frequent breathing, knowing damn well Wise just CAN'T run a long distance. The Cunning Hares' leader pushes him to the corner on garbage bags for the soft landing. Rapidly, she grabs her suitcase, activating the weapon mode.

    "I thought the guy was the one who would fight," one of the raiders said, sneering. He was buff and huge, and had a clean-cut face. The others were dressed in ether-proof helmets, not showing their faces — but probably they were grinning too. Some of the criminals held crossbows, some had crowbars, and the only raider without a mask clinched a knife. The cutter seemed not sharp but still enough to hurt someone if the owner used some force. The others' weapons were super flimsy though. The outlaws looked as if the nobleman came with his serfs.

    Wise slumps to the ground on some sacks. Empty sacks. So it doesn't really help. He groans of mild pain, thinking about getting some bruises. Proxy peeks at Nicole, checking if she's okay, but she motions her hand, conveying him to not protrude. Phaethon returns to the corner, staying silent, until Fairy speaks.

    "I don't know how to atone for my mistakes," she comments robotically and then continues "I didn't notice them in time. I'm a bad assistant." The sorrowful chords pierce proxy's heart and...

    "Fairy. Turn off the music," he utters with a serious tone. "It's not the time for jokes," Wise sighs. As he says, now is a dangerous condition. The Random Play's manager thinks about a backup. Who can he call? His mind simmers up.

    Nicole analyzes the situation, regarding the raiders. There's only seven of them, including the leader. But she doesn't even finish her inspection, a group of other Hollow raiders appears. Around twenty criminals are ready to fight her. That's not quite fair... The Cunning Hares' leader starts panicking, because HOW THE HELL WILL SHE DEFEAT THEM?! She hears a beautiful singing. "Is this heaven?" is the first thought on her mind.

    But Wise recognises the voice. "Is that..." he tries to say and gets interrupted quickly.

    "Astra," Evelyn uttered.