Reaching the parking lot, Belle and Wise watched as the Cunning Hares got out of their car, with plus one in the form of their soon-to-be Ethereal friend.
"Proxy!" Nicole greeted them and went over to them with the bag full of dennies in hand. "Here's the payment for the commission, don't worry, I already counted it along with my cut."
When she got a raised eyebrow from the two, she put her hands up in a defensive manner. "Hey! What's with that look? I didn't take more than my cut okay."
Wise shook his head in amusement. "Sorry Nicole, we're just teasing you for fun." The pout that Nicole gave them definitely was worth it.
"Whatever. Anyway, it's getting rather late. See you two later." Nicole waved them goodbye as she walked back to her car. "Oh and one more thing, Proxy, good luck~..." With that, she entered the car with Billy and Anby, who had just finished talking with Michael, joined in.
Without any interruption, the Cunning Hares left the parking lot, leaving Belle and Wise with Michael who has Eous in his hands.
When Michael turned to the Phaethon siblings, a sense of nervousness filled them as he slowly walked towards them.
"So, you two must be the real faces behind Phaethon. Nice to meet you." Lowering Eous down, Michael extended his hand, waiting for either of the siblings to shake them.
Wise went first, shaking the rather soft Ethereal's hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Wise."
After Wise, Belle also shakes Michael's hand. "And I'm Belle. Nice to meet you too."
Michael seemed to inspect the two of them making them even more nervous. "How about we discuss things inside."
Belle and Wise nodded in agreement as they led Michael inside Random Play.
.....
When they were inside, Michael let out a whistle in appreciation. "Videotapes, huh? Pretty nice." He complimented.
"Thanks. Here, let's go to our storeroom before we discuss anything." Thanked Wise as he led Michael to the storeroom.
Michael nodded as the door to the room swung open. An eye on the monitor immediately begins to track him.
"Oh, this is Fairy. Our H.D.D AI assistance." Belle quickly introduced, hoping to clear any misunderstanding before there could be any.
"Hello Fairy. You must be the other voice I heard coming from Eous. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too, subject Michael."
All parties inside, the siblings looked at each other in silence, not knowing how to start a conversation with an infamous Ethereal that is currently in their most important place.
"So, have you two made up your mind?" Michael broke the ice.
"Before we answer first , we wanna ask you first before we give our answer. Is that okay?" Belle stepped up.
"That's fair. Come on, ask me anything you want."
"What exactly is your motive for leaving the Hollow?" Asked Wise.
Michael took several seconds to formulate his sentence. "Would you believe me if I said that I just wanted a new life for myself?" Michael then paced around the room as Wise and Belle looked at him, urging him to explain further. "After regaining my sentience, I spent a lot of time exploring various Hollows around New Eridu."
Michael then sat on the couch, his hands admiring the leather that it was made out of . "As you know, during all that time, I saved countless people inside the Hollows whether they be regular civilians or even Hollow Raiders. Yet, as I saved more people, I found myself missing the outside world more and more. After all, when your constant company are mindless monsters that attack you on sight, it tends to do that." He chucked at himself.
He then got up and stared at Belle and Wise. "So, that's my reason. Anything else you wanna ask?"
"Nonono. Thank you for answering truthfully. Can you wait a moment? Wise and I will need to speak with each other before we can give our answer."
A nod from Michael and the siblings began talking with each other. It took several minutes. When they were done, Wise walked up to Michael. "Well Michael, after discussing things with my sister, we have concluded..."
Belle then extends her hand, "Welcome aboard Michael."
Michael smiled in return as he shook her hand. "Thank you for trusting me. I'll make sure to be useful to you both.
.....
"Well, now that's all settled, I am curious about one thing though . What is your Ether Aptitude?" Belle asked to which Wise and Fairy couldn't help but stare at her incredibly stupid question.
"Belle... Are you seriously asking someone who is an Ethereal what their Ether Aptitude is?"
"Hey, don't tell me you're not a little bit curious?" An awkward cough from Wise confirmed Belle's question.
"Don't worry, I don't mind me. Besides, I am also kinda curious what would happen if I take an Ether Aptitude Test."
Belle pointed at Michael. "See Wise."
"Alright alright, you win." Going to the nearby shelf , Wise take out a spare test kit that's lying around.
Handing it over to Michael, he looked at the test kit in confusion. "Not to say anything, but how do I do this test?"
"Oh, you need to use the small needle to prick your finger and draw out your blood and it should automatically figure out your Ether Aptitude," Wise answered.
When Michael looked at him incredulously, Wise rubbed the back of his head. "Oh right. Ethereal. No blood."
Michael sighed in exasperation. "I have an idea. You two, get back a bit, this might be dangerous."
Stepping back a bit , Belle and Wise watched as Michael lifted a finger. A faint light then shines from where his fingers are. "Warning. Low-level Ethereal activity nearby." That definitely caused the sibling's eyes to widen.
Nevertheless, they still watched as a small, liquid-like Ether leaked from Michael's pale finger and onto the test kit. Just as quickly, the light died down after that , with nothing wrong with Michael's finger.
"That should do it."
"Well, that certainly was something," Wise said.
After waiting a while, the result finally showed.
"Soo... What score did you get?" Asked Belle after noticing Michael's confused face.
He then showed them the result which in turn, caused Belle and Wise to furrow their eyes. The test kit, which should have shown them one colour indicating one's Ether Aptitude score, was flickering into multiple colours.
Wise put his hand on his face in a thinking pose. "Hmm... It seems like the test kit is not compatible with your 'blood' I guess."
Michael shrugged his shoulder. "Can't be helped. I don't have any blood after all."
He then brought the test kit and Belle and Wise watched first-hand how Michael seemingly reabsorbed the spilt Ether back into his body.
"Woah. You really did j ust absorb the Ether back into you? Is that how you managed to rid people of their Corruption?" Belle asked.
"You guessed right. As an Ethereal, I can control Ether without any outside help which means, as long as the person hasn't completely succumbed to Corruption and turned into an Ethereal, I can still revert the Corruption process. Although, the more severe the Corruption is, the longer and harder it is for me to rid them of it."
Ether then gathered around Michael's hand as he produced a small knife made out of Ether Crystal. "Not only that, as you have seen in the footage yesterday, I can create weapons from the Ether that's in me or the surrounding environment. Naturally, being in a Hollow is the most effective."
"So that's how those people you rescued managed to get out without any signs of Corruption. Those are useful skills indeed."
"Thanks." Michael then straightened up. "Now that's out of the way, let's talk about how I 'technically' don't exist in New Eridu."
"Master, the Ethereal named Michael is correct. I have looked through the the databases and even missing person reports and, while there are a lot of people named Michael in New Eridu, none matched his appearance. Conclusion , Michael would need to forge an ID for himself as applying an ID would raise suspicion on his origin."
"Fairy, can you do that, forge an ID." Asked Wise to the AI Assistant.
"Affirmative. Although illegal, I can access the government database for a short time before any suspicion arises and quickly forge the required information for the ID. After that, Michael will need to pick up the new ID at the nearest Public Security Branch in the guise of losing an old ID."
"Is there anything I need to do?"
" Yes, I will require a few pictures to complete the process."
"You heard her, Belle. Looks like we're going to be having a photograph session." Said Wise with a smug.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?" Questioned a confused Michael as Belle also smiled.
"You are our guest after all, and we treat our guest nicely right Wise?"
"Hey hey!"
.....
After a rather normal photo session, Belle quickly transferred the photo to Fairy without any complication.
"Photo transferrered. I will begin forging a new ID tomorrow as it is currently two in the morning."
Being reminded of the time, Wise and Belle let out a tired yawn.
"Can't believe we stayed up so late," Belle commented.
Wise agreed with her. "What can we do? It's been a rather exhausting two days now. Anyway, Michael, Belle and I will be going back to our bedroom to catch some sleep. Feel free to sleep on the couch here... Wait. Can you even sleep?"
"Well... Not exactly sleeping, more like closing my eyes and daydreaming until it's morning."
Belle nodded in understanding. "Oh, I see. Well, goodnight then. See you tomorrow."
"Have a nice dream." Michael bid goodnight to them.
With a wave, Michael watched the siblings go upstairs to their respective bedrooms leaving him and Fairy alone.
"Now that we're alone, Fairy. Can you monitor for any activity of Hollow Disasters?"
"Affirmative, there is currently a Hollow Companion that has formed near Thirtieth Street in Janus Quarter. Public Security and the HIA have already begun rescue operations and containment of the Hollow, although, there are still survivors trapped deeper in the Hollow. Requesting information: Please tell me the reason for this?"
Michael began to walk out the storeroom door as he stretched back. "Just going out for a walk. I'll be back soon. Oh, and make sure to record the news."
"Do you need any assistance?" Fairy asked.
"Nah. Thanks for asking though."
"Affirmative. Good luck." Fairy wished Michael to which he gave her a smile.
Stepping outside into the parking lot, Michael took in a deep breath. Walking to a quiet alleyway, he checked his surroundings finding it quiet with only a stray cat on a nearby dumpster.
"Perfect." His body then began to glow intensely as he partially transformed to give him his wings. With a flap, he soared to the sky as he checked the map on his phone, searching for Thirtieth Street.
"There." Confirming the location, Fallen Angel quickly flew to where Thirtieth Street was located , using the cover of darkness in the night to camouflage any onlooker. While he would usually use another Hollow to travel between Hollow to Hollow, finding that fissure could take a while. And he also wanted to appreciate the fresh air of the night for the first time.
As he soared through the sky, his mind couldn't help but think back to where it all began a few months ago. He still remembers waking up confused as bits and pieces of his former life flashed in his mind and disappeared just as fast.
He spent a long time trying to remember, yet, he could not. The only thing he knows for certain is that he is not from this world and that's it. Whether he died or was transported to this world, he can't know for sure.
At first, he tried to find a way back to his world, but, after a few days, he quickly accepted the fact that he was probably never going back home to wherever that was and that trying to was futile.
After his little endeavour, his priorities switched to finding out where he was and what he was. His first obstacle was the language here but that was quickly remedied when he found an abandoned phone and, after fumbling through the app, managed to find the translator , from there, he quickly learned the language of New Eridu.
From there, he learned the history of New Eridu. To say he was fascinated by it would be an understatement. He learned that there were other sentience species other than humans. Even robots could gain sentience and pass the citizenship test by passing what's called the Forbidden Fruit Test.
It was also there he learned which Hollow he was in, the mother of all Hollow, Hollow Zero. That information makes him want to explore the Hollow further but that plan was thwarted when he began to encounter stronger and stronger Ethereals the deeper he went.
His spine still shivers when he fought her for the first time.
After getting out of Hollow Zero and into the Lemnian Hollow, that was the first time he had encountered another person who was not part of the HIA or the Defense Force. He still remembered the terrified look on her face as she ran for dear life.
Saving the girl when she had passed out from Corruption, he also makes the discovery that he, an Ethereal, can leave the Hollow without any side effect whatsoever.
He made use of these discoveries by rescuing anyone he came across. Sure one could say that they were not his problems but he'll be damned if he didn't even try saving them when he had the power to. From there on, he would always patrol the Hollow and search for any person trapped inside.
Over time, however, he found himself getting lonely. Sure he can leave the Hollow anytime, but he had never attempted to leave the immediate vicinity of the Hollow and into the city. Not only that, he was pretty sure he didn't have an ID as well or any documentation for that matter.
That all changed when in one of these patrols, he heard a single word from a Hollow Raider, Phaethon. He doesn't know why, but when he heard that word, something in him told him to seek Phaethon out if he ever wanted to leave the Hollow as a normal person.
And then he found the Cunning Hares and the rest is history as they say.
Shaking his head out of his thoughts, he looked down at the ground activated his Ether Vision and found a large amount of people gathered near the Hollow.
Nearing the destination, he slowed down to look at the edge of the Companion Hollow, finding PubSec officers and HIA Investigators already cordoning off the entire Hollow and currently fighting off people from going into the Hollow.
A man and woman were seen begging one of the officers to be let through, "Please! My son is in there! You need to let us through!"
"Let me go! Emily, big sis is coming for you!" Screamed a girl no older than 16 as she was physically restrained by an Investigator.
"O' Fallen Angel ... Please save my parents... Please... Save them." A young teenager prayed as behind him, many others also did the same.
Hearing enough, Michael flew down silently on a nearby alleyway connected to the Hollow. Without missing a beat, he ran in.
"Hey, sir! you can't go in!" A distant voice called out which quickly drowned the silence as Michael ran straight in.
.....
Deep within the Hollow, a small group of survivors manages to barely escape a horde of Ethereals that is chasing them . They huddled together near an alleyway as the group relaxed to catch their breath.
"I wanna go home! 'Sob' " A little boy cried as he was comforted by a woman.
"Shh... We're gonna be okay. Others will come to save us... Isn't that right honey?" Her husband gave a smile of encouragement as he held a metal pipe that he had picked up.
Another young man could only wallow in despair as the Corruption slowly set in him, causing a lot of pain. "Aghh!! It's hopeless... We're gonna die..."
"Hey, don't say that! My sister is going to come to save us just you wait." A little girl said, causing the others to chuckle at seeing a young girl reprimanding a much older guy.
Nearby, a young elderly couple sat on nearby chairs and looked on at the group.
"Ahh. .. I would have hoped to go out in peace but I guess it couldn't be helped." An elderly man sighed at his fa te to which he got lightly slapped by the elderly woman next to h im.
"Don't lose hope, dear. We have survived much worse than this. Don't you remember Hollow Zero?"
Her husband could only smirk. "How could I not? But that was 10 years ago. Our bodies are much weaker now."
Before his wife could retort, the group spotted a group of Ethereals rushing for them, their footsteps drawing closer and closer.
The man sprang into action as he was instantly in front of, metal pipe in hand, ready to make a last stand.
Beside him, the pessimistic young man from earlier also stands up, using a wooden plank as a makeshift shield with his shaking hands.
With a roar, a Tyrfing lunged at the group targeting the man first.
Time slowed down as the man thought of his son. He hoped that his son at least managed to get out of the Hollow.
Before the Ethereal could reach him , however , a slice splits its core into two and it unceremoniously falls to the ground dead.
A silhouette then steps in front of the group as they realise what or who is in front of them. Now, however, its head was replaced with what seemed like a knight helmet of some sort .
"Stay here. Help is coming. I'll hold them off ." Fallen Angel instructed them. The group could only stare in silence as Fallen Angel prepared itself to face the numerous Ethereals head-on. Some of them even had their phones out and are currently recording the moment.
.....
Activating his Ether Vision, Michael scanned the environment around him to make sure there wasn't going to be a sneak attack. Finding nothing, he focused his attention on the horde of Ethereals in front of him.
Even all this time, he couldn't help but feel pity for them. All of them at one point or another were a living, breathing person . He tried numerous times to reverse them to their past selves. All of them ended with their death. It seems the process was truly irreversible once they fully became corrupted.
At the very least, any sentience or personality they had was no longer there unlike him. Small mercies.
With his weapon at the ready, he lunged forward with the intent to finish this battle as quickly as possible and not endanger the survivors behind him.
A quick thrust of his sword to a Core and an Ethereal was down. The others quickly reacted as they rushed at him all at the same time.
'Good'. He thought to himself. The more Ethereals that are focused on him the less they will try to kill the survivors.
A Sordidus tried to hit him with its whips, he casually grabbed the whip and yanked the Ethereal right into the path of his sword, ending its life.
When a few of them tried to pounce at him from the air, they quickly found their arms attack hitting the air as he sidestepped them and sliced their Core to pieces with a few slashes.
A duo of Thanatos and Goblin charged at him making him click his tongue in annoyance at having to fight the teleporting Ethereal. 'Tch... How annoying...'
The Thanatos strikes were parried by his sword before he quickly switched it to a shield to protect him from the impact of the Goblin. Normally, the fight would have taken a few seconds to finish if he unleashed his full power but he can't risk accidentally hurting the survivors.
He activates his Ether Vision when the Thanatos disappear as he looked around for where it will reappear. An Ether fluctuation to his right warned him of where the Thanatos would appear as he broke free from the Goblin's arms with a single bash. He quickly transformed his shield into a halberd with a particularly large axe blade.
Before the Thanatos could react, he had already lunged the halberd forward, impaling the Ethereal in its chest just as it teleported back.
With the Thanatos still impaled and trying to desperately break free , he swings the halberd to where the Goblin is.
His strike was precise as the halberd cut through the arms of the Goblin and straight to its core while simultaneously, the Thanatos was smashed to pieces when it made contact with the Goblin.
With the two big guys out of the way, he set his sights on the dozens of smaller Ethereals still around.
Changing the halberd to a sword, his mind was suddenly filled with an idea. Deciding to give the survivors behind him a show, he changed his weapon into two pistols.
'It's been a while since I've done this.' He thought to himself as he looked at the pistols he was dual-wielding. For some reason, flashes of a guy with white hair saying jackpot came to his mind for a split second.
Shelving the memory for later, he aimed his guns at the approaching Ethereals.
'Jackpot.'
.....
The group of survivors could only watch in silence as Fallen Angel dispatched horde after horde of Ethereals with ease .
They were quickly taken out of their stupor when a voice called out to them.
"Hey! You're all here. You're gonna be safe." An Investigator for the HIA assured them. "Captain, I located the missing survivors and will begin extracting them." He radioed into his superior.
"Good. Keep them safe. Although... Why do you sound nervous? Is there something wrong?"
"No sir, it's just..." The Investigator's eyes were locked on Fallen Angel as it finished wrapping up its battle and began to fly to him. "Fallen Angel is here..." He said in a whisper which was responded with a quiet 'oh' from the other side.
All around the Investigator, members of PubSec who had been tasked with protecting him all trained their guns at Fallen Angel, their fingers at the ready at the slightest sign of trouble.
Yet, if one were observant enough, one could see the slight shaking of the bodies of the PubSec members.
When Fallen Angel was in front of him, it raised its hand. Ether Particle then began to flow from the survivors to its hands as the Corruption which they suffered slowly decreased until it went away entirely. All the while, the Investigator and PubSec officers watched on with awe.
The officers never let go of their weapons, years of fighting the Ethereals and trauma from their work still lingering heavily on their minds.
"I have rid them of Corruption." Fallen Angel speaks to them. "Go. Before any more monsters show up."
All said and done, Fallen Angel stepped away from them and unfurled its beautiful wings. With a mighty flap, Fallen Angel flew up to the sky and away from the group with such speed that the Investigator thought that it might have broken the sound barrier.
The Investigator slowly turned to the group as h e instructed them to follow him to the exit. Hopefully, his bodycam managed to capture the whole thing .
While the group walked through the now silent Hollow, their thought was filled with Fallen Angel.
"Hey, do you think Fallen Angel could cure Ether Aptitude Regression Syndrome and Cognitive Corruption Syndrome? You are an Investigator after all." One of the PubSec officers asked.
The Investigator looked unsure at that. "Maybe, I'm not sure. Why do you ask?"
The officer remained silent. In his mind, however, his thoughts were filled with images of his mother's failing memory and his niece who was stuck in a hospital. "Nothing."
.....
Back at the outside, near the rooftop of the Hollow , Michael watched as the survivors stepped outside and into the waiting arms of family and friends.
Cries of joy and relief filled his area as Michael cracked a smile. It was always a proud moment for him whenever he managed to save a life that was destined to perish inside the Hollow.
Already there was a news reporter questioning the survivors and the HIA Investigator about what had transpired inside and Michael was sure now that any anonymity he had before was gone. Not that he particularly cares especially after his reveal to the Cunning Hares.
Back at Random Play, Belle and Wise, who had woken up to check on Michael, could only deadpan at the news showing the footage of Fallen Angel rescuing the group of survivors.
"Our lives are going to get more interesting, isn't it ?" Belle said.
Wise only sighed in exasperation.