It's been a few days since the encounter with Vision, and things have been slow, specifically, for Hella.
Even through we've been helping the twins for a while, Hella has been growing bored helping around the video store.
Even today was no exception, Hella was helping with another customer on renting a movie, while I was helping Belle with organizing the videos.
"Yeah, she's still bored." I sighed, Belle herself was midway on placing another video tape and stopped when she heard what I said.
"Wait, she's bored?" But she's smiling and acting all nice." She said with confusion, I on the other hand, could see the mask
Well, more like feel her boredom, one of the pro/cons with the shackles, I can feel their emotions, and it was something I had to deal with.
"Wait until the customer leaves." The both of us then watched Hella waving goodbye to the costumer.
"Bye, and remember, if your don't return the video within two weeks, I break your knees!" She said with awe smile on her face.
"Hahaha, no worries Hella, I will." The customer smiled and soon left the store.
As soon as the door closed, Hella's entire demeanor changed, she slumped forward and placed her head on the counter.
A strand of her head soon moved in between her eyes, and she stared at it, she then began to blow it, watching it move up, then coming back down.
"Wow, she really is bored." Belle said with surprise, Hella then screamed in annoyance and held her head, catching Belle off guard.
"Gahhhh! I'm so bored, I want to cave someone's skull in!" She shouted, only to have her head smacked by Hecate sketch book.
"We're on the clock, don't be disrespectful to Belle and Wise." Hella only held her head in pain, and glared at Hecate.
"I know that, I'm just bored." She whined and began to throw a tantrum, waving her arms in the air.
"Eros, when are we going to get a commission?" I only sighed and continued to stack the video tapes.
"Sorry, but we have to wait for the commissions, and I told you to call me by my name when we're not in the hollow." Hearing my answer displeased her, and she ran to my side, grabbing my shirt and shaking me.
"What about Crache? She gets to explore the place, while I'm stuck here." She stated with annoyance on her face.
"She behaves and doesn't cause problems for me." I said, soon the phone rang, hearing it ring, Belle took the chance to stop organizing the tapes.
"Hello, this is random play, where we have every tape in all time and space, Belle speaking." She then stayed silent to listen to the person, while I was focusing on Hella.
"But Eros, Crache is always hiding back at the MBCC." Hella whined.
"That's because she doesn't trusts adults." I countered.
"But aren't you an adult as well?" Hella asked me with a smug look on her face.
"Did you solve the case that one of her members was using other members as scapegoats to collet mania crystal's?" Hella could only scowl at my words, she then huffed and crossed her arms and soon made her way back to the counter.
"You win this time, but I'll get you good." She said, after our small argument had finished, Belle then approached me with a look of concern.
"Uh… Eros, I think we have a problem." She whispered, while wearing a nervous smile and handed me the phone.
"Hello, this is Eros Voss, who am I speaking to?" I asked while looking at Hella and Hecate in confusion.
"Uh… hey chief, it's me." I heard Craches voice on the other end of the line, and I could feel myself back in my office.
"Crache, I'm going to assume you fought some adults." She only hummed in confirmation at my words.
"And it was a one sided beat down." She hummed again.
"Where they bullying some kids?" She hummed in once again.
"And you got caught?" I asked her skeptically, since she was always careful when it came to running.
"Not really, I'm in one of the hollows and was able to lose them, just a bit lost and hungry." She replied, I soon heard voices in the background.
"Oh, seems they caught up to me, I'll call back soon, oh, and sorry for calling you like this." I only sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.
"Just knock them out and give a small tip for the police station." I said and soon hung up the call.
"So, you were saying she didn't cause any problems?" Hella asked me with a smug look on her face.
"Don't add salt to my wounds Hella." I replied and prepared to head out, Belle soon followed and barged into the staff room.
"Wise, we got an emergency commission~!" She sang in a happy tune, Wise himself was in front of the computer, checking the sales we made in the past.
"Oh really, for who?" He said and reached for a small cup and took a sip from it.
"From our very own employe!" She stepped to the side and raised her arms towards me, gesturing me like some gift.
"Wait, what?" He asked and soon turned around the chair to look at us with confusion in his eyes, I grabbed my holster and a few magazines, checking if they are full.
"So, Crache had fought with some people and have chased her in the hollow." Wise's eyes widened in surprise and stood up with concern.
"Is she okay, which hollow is she in?" He asked like a parent worried for his child.
"Calm down Wise, you don't want any grey hairs." She teased him and nudged him with her elbow.
"Anyways, she never mentioned which one she was in, so we need Fairy to find her." I finished placing the magazines on the holders and inserted one of them in my pistol.
"You heard him Fairy, can you locate Crache?" Belle asked the A.I, Fairy soon began to open up some maps and began to scan the entire city.
[Master, I have located Crache, she is hiding close to a dangerous gang called the mountain lions.] Both Wise and Belle stared at the monitor with wide eyes, while I just stared with exhaustion.
"Great, it's a normal Tuesday then." I said and so began to walk out of the room, grabbing my coat to hide the pistol.
"Hecate, let's go." Hecate didn't say anything and stood up, following close behind.
Hella herself could only widen her mouth in shock that I chose Hecate over her. The door then opened with another customer coming in, but Hella looked at them with anger.
"We're closed!" She said with a growl, causing the customer to spin around and left.
"Eros, why're you taking her, not me?" She said and rushed to my side, clinging to my leg with tears in her eyes.
"Because we don't want to be caught, and you're the opposite of stealth." I said and picked her up from under her arms.
"I can be stealthy, I-I just want to fight some people, please let me go with you guys." She begged, I didn't bother to argue with her, and used my shackles.
"Stay here and help Wise with the store." As soon as I gave the order, the shackles glowed, and her body was forced to sit behind the counter with a forced smile on her face.
With Hella dealt with, Hecate, Belle, and I soon exited the store, and made our way to the business car.
"Eros, when you said that it was a normal Tuesday, what did you mean by that?" She asked, with a nervous smile on her face.
"Well, to make the long story short, we're commissioned by the city to deal with small gang disputes, protecting important figures, and sometimes doing small time odd jobs." I explained while entering the car.
"Besides that, the chief is forced to deal with multiple piles of paper work whenever there is property damage, trauma to the client, and or injuries to the staff in the MBCC." Hecate commented.
"Oh you poor soul." Belle patted my shoulder and looked at me with pity in her eyes.
"Just drive, the sooner we finish this, the sooner we can get back." I sighed and leaned my head on the head guard, taking a small nap.
[Chief, I'm lucky to not be in your shoes, I'd go insane when look at those piles of paper work.]
After sleeping for who knows how long, I felt someone shaking me awake, opening my eyes, I saw Belle with her face too close to mine.
The two of us stared at one another in silence, I stared at her dark green eyes, and she stared into my pale grey eyes.
"O-oh sorry, I just wanted to let you know that we're here." She said, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"Thank you, and stay safe on the way back." Was all I said and soon got out of the car with Hecate, as soon as we got out, Belle handed me Eous.
"Y-you too, both of you." She replied and drove away,leaving us in front of the hollow that Crache was in, being chased by some small time bandits that was considered a gang.
We placed Eous onto the floor and stared it the bangboo, waiting for Wise to connect, the screen turned back, then reactivated.
"So, I got some good news, and some bad news." Wise's voice was heard from the bangboo.
"Bad news please, best to balance out my luck." The three of us made our way inside the hollow.
"Bad news, Crache is constantly moving around the hollow, so we can't pinpoint her location." Wise explained, only to stop when we heard ethereal's rushing towards us.
"And the good news?!" I shouted and pulled out my pistol, firing at the ethereal's that got too close, supporting Nightmare that was attracting the ethereal's.
"She's not too far, so we won't need to take Lon to find her!" He shouted back, hiding behind the rubble.
Hecate herself was next to me, launching a volley of mania towards the ethereal's, each orb began to chip away at its armor, while at the same time, causing them scream in pain.
Some began to stab themselves, trying to end their own life from the constant pain they are feeling.
"It's scary that Hecate can control that thing, and cause the ethereal's to end themselves." Wise said, his body shivering at the sight.
"Those orbs she is sending, is the nightmare she dreams, if they are struck, it causes mental damage to the victim." I was still surprised that the ethereal's had a form of intelligence.
"So, a head ache, right? He asked me, as soon as the ethereal were cleared, I only turned to Wise.
"Some things are best left unsaid." I then pulled out my phone and dialed the last number that called me.
After a few rings, I heard the click of someone answering. "Hey Chief, you here?" She asked, in the background, I heard the noise of struggle and the sound of whimpering.
"How many did you kill?" I asked her, I only heard her sigh in annoyance, the sound of footsteps was heard, followed by the sound of cloth shuffling.
"Hey you still, alive?" She asked someone, which I can assume it would be one of the bandits that she fought.
"Fuck you, the boss'll hear about this, and he'll end you!" Said the bandit, only to grunt and stay silent.
"See, they're alive." She said, I only sighed and was glad that she was safe.
"Stay hidden in the shadow, and we'll get you soon, don't engage." I only received a hum, and she ended the call.
"Wise, if you would be so kind to lead." Wise nodded his head and began to do so, making sure we rushed to where Crache is.
We had encountered a few ethereal's along the way, but we didn't engage, our only objective was to find Crache and get out.
But before we got too close, I stopped and hid behind some rubble, seeing this, both Hecate and Wise did the same.
Wise was about to ask on why we hid, but the sound of footsteps, was heard, followed by a voice that sounded too sweet for my tasting.
"So, it seems the little mouse has brought some friends." The voice belonged to a woman, and I could hear she was not alone.
"Hecate, when I say go, have nightmare breath through the wall." I whispered, peaking from the side, I saw what looked like ten to twelve bandits.
All of them were wearing similar gear, a large helmet on their heads, and some wore tank tops while others wore a red no sleeve jacket.
"If I were you, I'd surrender, it'll make things much easier for you two." I tried to look for the owner of the voice, but I couldn't find her anywhere.
"Chief, what do we do?" Wise asked me, his voice carried concern at the situation, I could hear the footsteps getting closer and the sounds of strings being pulled back.
"If we tried to surrender, how can we know you'll keep your word?!" I asked, purposely exposing our location.
"I can vouch for you, no harm will come to the both of you if you just surrender." Said the woman, I could hear her close to us, her footsteps loud.
"Go!" I shouted, Hecate then commanded nightmare to slam into the rubble, sending multiple pieces of rock towards them.
With the distraction in play, the three of us took the chance to run away from the group that had surrounded us.
Nightmare was left behind, dealing with the bandits and causing as scen to attract attention, and attention it attracted.
The sound of multiple ethereal roared and screamed at the noise, and I could hear them Ming their way towards us.
"Down here, it's a safe spot!" Wise called out to us from the corner and waved to us, Hecate and I soon turned around the corner, and placed a piece of wood in front of us.
The sounds of multiple footsteps and screams, soon passed by, and we stayed silent as we could.
However, as the horde of ethereal's passed, one of them stayed behind, scanning the area to see if they could find us.
The heavy footsteps drew closer, and my body became tense. My hand gripped my pistol tightly, and I was about to step out and shoot.
Only to stop when I heard the sound of metal against metal, and soon the scream of a fallen ethereal.
"You can come out now." Said the woman, her sweet voice entering my ears reminded me of a certain critique, her voice was chilling to the bone.
"Are you alone?" I asked, the woman chuckled at my question and walked towards where we were hiding.
"Aww, I'm hurt that you don't trust me, it's okay though, I don't bite." She purred, I then pushed the wooden board away, and soon laid my eyes on the woman.
The woman wore a teal jacket with a fur collar, including a black crop top, with high waist shorts.
She also wore fingerless gloves along her hands, while also wearing some torn stockings, finally, she wore a pair of boots.
What caught my attention the most was the black bob cut hair, the rat ears, and the tail that was wrapped around her leg.
Finally, her eyes were a mix of green and grey, almost looking like my own, and a red tie that ran over her crop top.
"Oh my, aren't you a cutie, it's a shame we're on opposite ends." She said with a sultry smiles
Seeing her look at me, I knew I had no chance of escape, none of us did. It didnt matter though, she was soon in front of me as soon as I blinked.
"Why is it that a civilian… no, your not a normal person, nor could you be a hollow raider." She said, pacing around me.
I could feel her tail brushing against my body, slowly raising towards my neck, and coiling around my neck.
However, she never tightened her grip, Hecate wanted to attack the woman, but subtly shook my head.
Seeing this, even though her face didn't show it, Hecate could only clench her hands on her sketch book in anger.
"Could you be a secret organization, or maybe…" She then removed her tail and soon had her face close to mine, with something sharp poking me from under my chin.
"Your just some scumbag, using children to fight your wars." Her eyes narrowed, and her smile soon became more sadistic.
With the situation being hard as it is, I didn't know what to do. However, it seemed my luck turned around and I smiled back, catching her off guard when I smiled.
"I'm sorry if you see it that way, but I can assure you, it's not like that." To the side, the shadow that was covering us began to bubble, and a large blade appeared between us.
"Your such a lair, you call him a scumbag, when your the one hurting innocent kids." The blades edge was then dull, and shot forward, smacking her and sending her away.
Her body tumbled across the ground from the sudden attack, but she was able to pull out a pair of knives, stabbing them onto the ground to slow her speed.
"You've seen the changes to the ethereal's some growing flesh, or bones, but that can be explained when we meet each other again." I said, the woman then lunged towards us and had her knives aimed at me.
However, nightmare soon pulled down a large slab of stone, blocking her from reaching me and the girls.
POV ???
After seeing the creature block the path between me and the man, I had thought that he was forcing those girls to work for him.
But after regaining my footing from the attack, I saw that their eyes showed a different emotion.
What I saw, no, felt, almost caused me to drop my act. Their entire body reeked of rage, and bloodlust.
I felt as if I was put back in my place, the place where I was supposed to be in the food chain, and that man, his smile was something I felt conflicted on.
On one hand it annoyed me, how he was smiling as if everything was okay. Yet I was drawn to it, it was as if he had let go of the burden he was carrying.
However, I couldn't forget what he said about the ethereal's changing, he must know something about the changes, or he was the cause of the changes.
However, I was too late, that thing had blocked my way to catch them, and to ask him.
I could only hope that I can encounter him again soon, I wouldn't mind having a new toy to play with.
I then felt my burner phone buzz, taking it out, it was a message from work, mostly asking about my progress.
"Slow and steady, but I have something else to mention." I muttered, texting them about the encounter with the man.
After hitting send, I stored it away and had my focus on the stone slab. I smiled at the memory of the smile, and felt myself getting excited.
"We'll meet again, and this time, the mouse will put you in your place, kitty cat." I said and began to walk back to base.
[I don't like her, not one bit, just because she has those thick thighs, and.. and nice body, doesn't mean she can sway my dear chief, he's no womanizer! Sorry about that, ahem, please send power stones to show support for the story, and no, we're not jumping forward I time, just a small meet up between a cat and mouse, one that is stupide I might add!]
(Hey, I'm just trying my best, okay? So don't try to add your problems on mine, you'll show up soon. No spilers to those who know about the, character, if you do, you'll lose your fifty fifty.)
[Anyways, yeah, show support, and love. Bye Bye!]