Eous yawned as he left Random Play, seeing Belle talking to Zhu Yuan and Qingyi about how their pursuit went.

It seemed after their excursions across Sixth Street to help with the crime, it changed the hearts of the residents, getting a whopping 48 more people to RSVP for the seminar.

"Yo, Belle, Qingyi, Zhu Zhu." Eous greeted.

"E-Eous! Did you hear? We've got 51 participants for the seminar Saturday!" Zhu Yuan cheered, flustered by her nickname.

"Well, I'd hope they'd come around after the hard work I hear you two put in." He replied.

"Well, we can't say it was hard. If it wasn't for that vigilante, it likely would've taken the whole day." Qingyi mumbled.

"Vigilante? The Bangboo one again?" Belle asked.

"Yeah. He got in our way at first, but he helped us in the Hollow with his navigation skills. He's a really cheeky guy..." Zhu Yuan crossed her arms, clearly still peeved by Nova's attitude.

"Wait a minute..." Qingyi suddenly grabbed Eous' hand and held it out. "You're Nova, aren't you, Eous?"

The bluntness of her question made Belle flinch, but Zhu Yuan began to analyze his hand too. She had seen his claws before, but earlier...

"E-Eous... is she right?"

The three looked up and saw him giving a confused look.

"Honestly, I thought you guys knew after the whole Belobog thing." He scratched his head with the other claw.

"W-Wait... Just wait- That was you?! The slippery little guy Belobog rushed back out of the Hollow?! We had called an ambulance for you!" Zhu Yuan whisper-shouted.

"W-We probably shouldn't be talking about all this out here..." Belle began ushering everyone inside the video store.

•

"Are you serious?! Why didn't you tell me- I mean, us?!" Zhu Yuan asked sternly.

"I mean, how do I tell my new public security officer friend- not only am I some weird biological mix up of human and Ethereal, but also public enemy number one according to you all?"

"He has a point..." Qingyi whispered.

"B-But... ugh! I fought for you, Eous, I thought at least you trusted me enough to make sure I could do more!"

Belle and Wise looked between the two with tension, trying their hardest not to throw themselves under the bus for his sake and reveal they were part of Nova.

"And what would that do? You'd lose your job if PubSec found out you had personal ties to your number one enemy." Eous shrugged and tried to reason it was for the better.

"But I shot you! Oh my god I shot you...! I'm so sorry!" Zhu Yuan clasped her hands over her mouth before turning him around and throwing his shirt up.

"Woah! Woah! I'm fine, I'm fine! Put my shirt down!"

Qingyi hummed in thought before turning to Wise.

"We still cannot take legal action. If anything, we already have to lie about the events inside the Hollow today because of his assistance." She told him.

"Ah...! You're right..." Zhu Yuan stopped looking at Eous' bare back and dropped his shirt after seeing he was unscathed.

"See? Knowing only makes your job more complicated. So... you don't know...! Nova's identity is a secret and I wear these gloves because of my brittle bones!" His fake smile made Zhu Yuan pout.

"I swear, Eous, you need to have a better explanation for this when I get off work." Zhu Yuan crossed her arms with a sharp glare.

"Put's food on our table. What else can I say? Besides, you guys certainly needed me today~."

Qingyi rolled her eyes. "Debatable. After all, that didn't happen, remember?" She smirked up at him.

"Touché..." Belle whispered to Eous, who wasn't amused.

"Truce?" He asked holding out his hands.

Qingyi quickly shook his hand, turning to Zhu Yuan with a smile. "I don't care for chasing Proxies. And after how much you swoon about him at work, I assumed you'd forgive him by now."

Zhu Yuan flinched and shook her head. "N-No! I don't swoon! I just said he's very interesting and I'd like to get to know him more-..."

Belle, Wise, and Eous began to grin making her groan.

She swiftly shook his hand and dragged Qingyi away with a stomp.

"Pick up your phone at 11:35 on the dot!" She shouted, before leaving the store.

The three siblings stood beside each other with smirks of smugness unmatched. "We are too smooth." Wise commented.

"You really chat up Qingyi while we were looking for those ducks? She seems super fond of you now." Belle turned to Wise with shock.

"We have a bit in common. She's got taste. But don't let me take away from the MVP here." Wise ruffled Eous' hair and laughed. "Zhu Yuan is so by-the-book, I expected him to leave in cuffs."

"Seriously! I thought maybe she was just being super nice when she called you, but it seems she's really into you!" Belle cheered before suddenly her head dropped in horror.

"Oh my god- my siblings are luckier than me..." Belle slumped against the front counter, nearly knocking over Bangboo 18.

"That's for the best. No man is good enough for you." Eous commented with a proud nod.

"Aww, thank you, Eous!" Belle gave him a quick hug.

"Absolutely. The trials and tribulations that come with reaching your standards are too great." Wise added, making Eous snicker and pace away.

"What?! Take that back-" She thrust Wise into a headlock and gave him a vicious noogie, before seeing Eous at the stairs. "-Where do you think you're going?! I heard you laugh too, Eous! Get back here!"

Eous ran up the stairs and allowed Wise to escape his demise too, causing Belle to chase after them in an unquenched fury.

~•~

"So that's what happened..." Zhu Yuan whispered softly.

"Yup. That's how I became... whatever I am. I don't have a name for it yet." Eous replied with a smile.

Their calls had gone a step up from audio to video. However, it was clear Zhu Yuan was nervous from her aiming the camera at her ceiling more than herself.

Eous on the other hand had his phone propped up in the office as he went down the list of orders they'd need for the next shipment for Random Play.

"It's a bit surreal to think that... If I was left in the Hollow as long as you were, maybe I would've become something like you too." She responded.

"That'd be kinda cool. I don't have anyone I can share this feeling with, so that would be awesome."

Zhu Yuan thought about his tails and shuddered. "I'll pass. N-No offense!"

"None taken, being cool isn't for everyone." He mused.

"Wh-What? I'm cool. I'm very cool actually."

"Cool people don't shoot their friends."

"I didn't know it was you, and you didn't tell me, s-so that's your fault!" She stammered.

"You're blaming the victim of a shooting? As a Public Security Officer? What would your colleagues think?!" He feigned shock and held his head in horror.

"Stop, stop! I'm sorry, okay! Next time, don't interfere in our affairs. Or at least, let me know if you are, okay? Maybe I can... write it under civic duty? Or maybe community service?" As she began to wonder how to bend the rules in his favor.

"Aw, thank you for finding loopholes in the law for me. I'm touched." Eous cooed, finishing up the list with the last order.

"Not a word. I know all the good you do for the community. In and out of the Hollows. You saved your friend from a car crash... I can't just forget that."

'Damn... I haven't heard from Corin or Ellen in a while. Let alone the Cunning Hares...' Eous frowned, making Zhu Yuan sit up in concern.

"I-I'm sorry, was that weird? I just meant you're way too good a person to turn in for your profession when you help people!" She rambled.

"I won't hold you shooting me against you, don't worry."

Zhu Yuan sighed. "That's not why, Eous, just know I'm not going to arrest you for now."

"Well, I wouldn't mind you putting me in cuffs-"

"WHAT?!"

~•~

"Eous, why aren't you dressed? We leave in five minutes." Belle questioned.

"Huh? I am dressed."

Wise walked by and eyed his outfit, wondering why he was dressed so light for the autumn weather. His outfit was reminiscent of his Bangboo uniform.

Baggy shorts, a tight short sleeve shirt and compression pants.

"It's almost 50 degrees, Eous, at least wear a jacket." Wise commented as he passed, spinning the keys around his finger.

Fairy made a red zip-up hoodie appear over his shoulders with a snap.

"I still don't get how she can do that..." Belle muttered.

"Why question it when I can do this?" Eous snapped again and changed the color scheme of his outfit to match his siblings.

"Aww, that's so cute! Lets go!" Belle cheered and skipped towards the back door with a grin.

•

"Officers, it's good to see you again." Wise greeted with a light wave.

"You, too, managers, Pro-" Zhu Yuan clamped her hand over Qingyi's mouth in a panic.

"Eous. Nice to see you, Eous." She greeted with strain. Eous replied with a guilty nod and weak wave.

"It's pretty lively here. You guys got a great turnout!" Belle fought the awkwardness with positivity.

"Thanks to everyone on Sixth Street. They not only signed up for the seminar, they also helped spread the word to other districts." Zhu Yuan replied with a smile.

"We heard you're gonna be on stage too, Zhu Yuan, so prepare yourself." Wise teased.

"P-Prepare myself...?" She nervously questioned.

"Ah, so you all also know she gets super nervous with public speaking. Did you know, she drank three pots of tea just to avoid nervously coughing up there?"

"Stop it, Senior! That's embarrassing-"

"Sorry to interrupt, but I have something to report." Another officer approached the four with a stern leer. "We've analyzed and located the exact coordinates of the places Maroon previously identified inside the Hollow. Please take a look at this."

The man handed the files over to Zhu Yuan. "Thanks."

"I was also just informed that Inspector Bringer is on his way, and the media is waiting to get some pictures." They added before leaving...

"Well, looks like we should go meet him- Wait, there's something funny about these coordinates." Qingyi's expression grew tense the longer she looked at the file.

"Something funny? What are you seeing?"

"Sorry, you three. Something is weird about this report. I need to talk to Zhu Yuan for a moment, if you'll excuse us. You can go in."

The two shuffle off to the side of all the passerby of participants of the seminar.

"Maroon... the guy with the EMP a few days ago, right?" Wise whispered.

"Yeah. I have a bad feeling about this. You may need to suit up again, Eous." Belle replied.

He hummed to acknowledge what they said, but he'd ultimately leave it up to Zhu Yuan and Qingyi if they really wanted his help-

"Civic duty!" Zhu Yuan announced, dragging Eous away by his collar.

•

In his Bangboo uniform, Eous tapped his foot impatiently as Qingyi and Zhu Yuan tracked an evidence carrier truck on a tablet.

According to what strained information they had, the gang Carlo Maroon was running with were trying to rob PubSec of the Corrupted Machine Ethereal Eous and Koleda defeated not too long ago.

"They likely have the evidence by now if the route was interrupted for that long. Any ideas on how we get it back?" Qingyi asked the two.

"Here's what I'm thinking: to avoid raising suspicion, the suspects probably didn't damage the carrier's electronic systems. If that's the case, we can check its driving record to pinpoint where exactly it stopped within the Hollow. They're bound to have left some traces behind stealing such bulky remains." Zhu Yuan pocket the tablet and turned to Eous.

"Can you-" Eous waved them on as he strut by with a smirk.

"Done. Let's move."

"How is he so fast at that? He out-performs all of our technology tenfold of their average efficiency..." Qingyi questioned. "Is he also an automaton...?"

"Probably something else illegal..." Zhu Yuan pouted.