"So, am I allowed to jump in this time, or am I leaving these little rascals to you?" Eous asked from atop some scaffolding in the Old Town Hollow.

Zhu Yuan thought about it while dodging a slash from a Tyrfing, kicking it away with a hum.

"Is there any harm, Senior?"

"At this rate, I don't care if there is. I wanna see what he's capable of-"

He landed with a rough crash, boot first on the Tyrfing behind her. Using his tail, he grabbed the one she was facing and slung it into the same one Zhu Yuan kicked away.

The small pack was staggering together before rushing at the three with shaky growls.

Eous held out his hand as Zhu Yuan brought up her fully-equipped pistol. The two fired beams of Ether that eradicated the pack in seconds.

"That biology of yours is fascinating. Ethereal claws and tails..." Qingyi grabbed his tail without hesitation. "Ethereals don't have fur, but it seems you have a thin layer on your tails."

Zhu Yuan's cheeks grew pink seeing her caress a tail of his. "Qingyi, now isn't the time-"

Eous brought out his second one for Zhu Yuan to grab. "Oh my god this is soft- No! No! Focus!"

She released his tail and began stomping over to the massive truck in the empty construction lot.

"Wow. She's not a fan of furry animals, but maybe you'll be an exception."

"That is not the compliment you think is..." Eous leered at Qingyi in annoyance. He used his free tail and turned it into a claw to pry her hand off of the other one.

The two walked over to Zhu Yuan and the truck and saw her hesitantly holding the clasp that kept the back doors open.

"We're doing this to protect the evidence, but messing with the carrier without permission will definitely require writing a report- maybe even a pay cut..." She mumbled with worry.

"Leave it the criminal." Qingyi jabbed her thumb at Eous.

Shrugging his shoulders, he used his tails to reach up and unlock the clasp.

"Huh? It's... all still here? And untouched?" Zhu Yuan hopped inside and saw that even the seal over the contamination crates was unscathed.

"Comparing the seal with the one in the photo, the angle is off by three degrees, and Etheric matter feels totally different from what I sensed at the square." Qingyi responded, making Zhu Yuan's shoulders drop.

"So they really did get their hands on the evidence. They probably planted this to leave no susceptible trace behind."

"That monster must be hiding some serious secrets. Too bad the Proxy here killed it." Qingyi shook her head sarcastically.

"That's the food chain- Get down."

The two jerker their heads at him before seeing a hail of bullets headed their way. The officers swiftly ran around to the side of the truck before the bullets rammed into the trailer.

"Damnit, they got behind cover!" A hollow raider thug shouted from behind an unfinished wall.

"You idiot, they're from the Criminal Investigation Departmen- is that fucking Nova?!"

"Great. Your eyes work." Eous whispered from behind them. "Let's fix that."

The two peeking around screamed before being thrown into their comrades lying in wait. Their bodies crashed straight through the walls and let the concrete crumble down over them.

"Wh... Why's this nut-job working for PubSec?! He's a snitch?!" One weakly cried as he removed the rubble.

"I'm a Proxy, boys, just consider me hired help." Eous waved them forward as Zhu Yuan and Qingyi stepped up beside them.

"His pay is not being arrested." Zhu Yuan made sure to inform.

"Dude, if we're gonna work together you gotta stop ruining my quips." Eous whispered in exasperation.

"O-Oh, sorry. Is that a vigilante thing? Can we say cool lines too?" She asked expectantly.

Eous shrugged. "Well, if you're creative enough. But it would look like a buddy-cop movie if you two did it..."

"Would that be considered corny?" Qingyi asked.

"Well, the enemy's your audience, so they find it corny anyway. As long as it makes you feel cool, that's all that matters." Eous smiled.

Zhu Yuan was writing down his words until she forgot a word. "Can you repeat that last part-"

"Are these bozos really PubSec?" A thug asked, rubbing his sore head in annoyance.

The Hollow Thug Enforcer grew tired of their charade and rushed forward with a yell. "Enough of this! There's only three of them-"

Qingyi clipped his legs with a lazy swing of her staff. Off his feet, Zhu Yuan kneed his stomach and sent him up over the three before Eous' tails lashed out their claws and sent him flying into a steel pillar.

The thugs dropped their jaws in disbelief seeing their current captain handled so swiftly.

"Check your math." Zhu Yuan taunted.

"Oh, damn~! That was great! You're a natural." Eous praised with a grin.

"R-Really? That was a little embarrassing honestly."

Qingyi gave a thumbs up. "Your delivery was solid and full of confidence. Surely they are agitated."

"Why haven't you guys reported back yet? You haven't taken care of those offic-" Another group of thugs were rounding the corner of the abandoned.

The Wanted Enforcer leading them stopped in his tracks and dropped his posture in disbelief seeing the other squad already defeated.

"You morons! There's only three of them! Get them!" He shouted in a burst of fury.

"Gotta blast!" Eous used his tails to drag the two along to a far better location than a wrecked building.

•

"Damn, damn! How did these guys even know you'd be here?!" Eous was rushing up a steel ramp with the two officers behind him.

"I'm not sure. We only just decided to do this before the seminar." Qingyi smacked away a stun grenade back forwards the horde of hollow raiders tailing them from below.

The three were rushing up a massive tower previously under construction on a whim Eous had, but Zhu Yuan and Qingyi weren't so sure why they'd get themselves backed into a corner.

"Uh, Eo- I mean, Proxy, what do we do now?! We're reaching the highest floor!" Zhu Yuan questioned.

"You trust me, that's what! Haven't failed ya' yet!" He continued racing up the ramps with Ether building up around his claws.

Just as he reached the top floor, Eous saw what he and Fairy had been calculating. An Ether Fissure appeared at the farthest side of the room just as they predicted.

"Saddle up, we're going for one bumpy ass ride!" Eous grabbed the two by their collars and slung them towards the fissure with a grunt.

"What the?! Are you CRAZ-" Zhu Yuan's voice went silent just before they all flew into the fissure.

•

Zhu Yuan expertly rolled against the freight she landed on the with a glare. She looked up at Eous as he skipped through with a grin.

"How dare you-" | "No time to lose, babe, they're hot on our tail!"

Eous pat their backs before jogging forward with a smirk.

Qingyi slid in front of Zhu Yuan to block a flurry of crossbow bolts with the spin of her staff.

With their projectiles disrupted, Qingyi pushed Zhu Yuan forward after Eous seeing the massive pack of Hollow raiders following after them through the spatial fissure.

Eous leapt through the next that appeared just before the end of the freight, wobbling the hold the crane had on it.

Zhu Yuan and Qingyi quickly dashed through it too as the Hollow raiders stumbled down the freight in a panic.

•

The three popped out of the fissure and rolled back into stride along the ground in relief. Darting his eyes around in a hurry, Eous began to laugh as he waved them over to a port-a-potty.

"P-Proxy, you can't be serious?!" Zhu Yuan cried in disbelief.

"It's much better if he is!" Qingyi replied with a scowl.

Up ahead, a Hollow raider grunt burst out of the port-a-potty beside it with relief in his step.

Eous kicked the guy aside anyway and tackled through the door of the stall with Qingyi and Zhu Yuan crashing into him and the fissure.

•

The three were forced to suddenly balance along the arm of the crane before with extreme concentration.

Eous was far less experienced in this regard, crawling along the arm while shivering uncontrollably.

"So, uh... we gotta jump." Eous announced seeing a few of the Hollow raiders narrowly save themselves from falling to their death by clinging to the crane like him.

"Alright. Lead the way." Qingyi nodded.

Eous gave them an incredulous stare before muttering, "Maybe I do need that vacation."

He suddenly vaulted off the crane and began plummeting down below. Zhu Yuan and Qingyi clasped hands and tucked themselves close together to increased their speed and momentum towards the bubbling Ether of the spatial fissure forming near the ground.

Eous turned his back to the ground to make sure the two were heading his way before crossing his arms behind his head in relief seeing them lined to follow behind him.

With a sharp warp the three escaped through the final fissure.

•

Eous slid standing up, arms tucked behind his head as his smirk grew wider. Zhu Yuan rolled around on her back and Qingyi spun around on her's like a mop.

As they all slid to a stop, Eous looked down at them smugly.

"You trust me now?"

"I trust you less." Qingyi muttered in annoyance.

"Not a fan of rollercoasters?"

"Not a fan of skydiving!" Zhu Yuan snapped up to her feet and shook him relentlessly. She popped his head over and over making spirals appear over his mask.

"You lived- come on, lay off!" He tried to weasel out of her grasp, but luckily Qingyi was the voice of reason.

"Let's just swing back by the carrier and finally get some answers." She was clearly tired of it all.

Eous gestured in front of them to show they were right back where they started, standing a few meters away from the carrier truck. "Thank me later."

"The later the better..." Zhu Yuan gave one last pop to his head before strutting over to the truck again.

•

"This is it, right?" Zhu Yuan questioned the two, wheeling over an Etheric Matter container.

"Sure smells like it." | "It certainly has that same creepy aura as before."

Eous and Qingyi looked at each other in confusion.

"You can smell it?" She asked.

"I mean, I've got slightly enhanced senses. What aura does it have?" Eous asked back.

"Murky and dark. You on the other hand have a thin and clear one." She replied.

Behind them, Zhu Yuan gave a triumphant fist pump at getting back the evidence. "Enough of that! We've got the evidence back! All we need to do now is get out of here. Eous, can you carry this trunk?"

"Huh? Why me- Never mind." He remembered he was far superior in terms of strength and had extra appendages to do so that wouldn't hinder him.

He used his tails to secure it on his back and began leading the to the nearest Hollow exit.

~•~

Eous was strutting home with a big grin on his face, walking through Sixth Street with a drag in his step from the physical exertion of today's escapade.

"Fairy, do you taste the food I eat?"

"I can asses what sensations you feel while consuming food, but I have no taste buds."

"Aw man, that sucks. But clearly you can become physical or not. Kinda like a ghost." Eous waved his hand through Fairy, feeling the sensation of water as his fingers flew by.

He did it again much slower as she returned to her physical form and held his index with a nod.

"Affirmative. It is rather neat and makes for excellent reconnaissance when necessary." Fairy fazed through his head to sit on his other shoulder.

"Eous-"

"AH!" Eous shrieked feeling a hand on the shoulder Fairy rest on previously. He staggered forward and jerked around to see Miyabi standing there quietly.

"Oh, it's you Miyabi! You off of work? What brings you by Sixth?" His entire demeanor contrasted the high pitch shrill he had let out.

Miyabi rose her brow at his fright, but wagged her head and waved him over to the video store.

"Is something wrong? You seem... as serious as always- but something's off." Eous whispered.

Miyabi ushered him inside of the store, confusing him since he had only just told her he worked here with his siblings.

"Hey, Eous-..." Belle began to stare blankly as Miyabi walked him through the store and to the parking lot.

As the door shut behind them, Belle slumped against the front desk with a groan. "Ugh! You've gotta be kidding me!"

•

"I heard you were involved in the elimination of the corrupted machine Ethereal discovered by Belobog Industries. Is this true?"

Her voice was soft and hesitant, but her expression seemed... excited. Slightly.

"Uh, yeah. I was hired to help retrieve their smart machines and we ran into that thing..."

"I see. I'm not authorized to relay this information, but I trust you as a person." Miyabi held a hand over her chest in respect.

Eous smiled and rubbed his nape. "I-I'm flattered."

"HANDS gave us jurisdiction in the examination of the creature's remains, and human male DNA was found." Miyabi revealed.

Eous wasn't too shocked, but knowing something else was somewhat similar to him made his gut churn. Miyabi noticed the grim look growing on his face and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I understand that you are... of a somewhat similar variety. Your innate sense of Ether is small, but I can still feel the remnants of that Ethereal power." Miyabi gave a thin smile. "However, you use your powers for good. You live life true to yourself and show no sign of submitting to the primal instincts the creatures display."

"Yeah..." Eous was more concerned about how she had this information, but it was clear her insight was incredibly potent.

"Your biology is fascinating. Your strength continues to impress me with each achievement." Miyabi praised swiftly, assuming that he was feeling down from her comments.

Eous waved off the idea with a thin smile. "It's okay, I've come to terms with me."

Miyabi wasn't as reassured as he was. "Would you... like to train together sometime...?" She asked hesitantly.

"Like, go to the gym?"

"We could use the HSO's training facility. It is a higher caliber exercise room that fully computes the concept of the HIA's Hollow Rider." Miyabi explained.

"Woah, how do you guys do that? Like, holograms?" Eous wondered.

"I'm not well-versed in the technology, but the simulations are surely real to an extent." Miyabi shrugged. "But you'd have to be dressed in your... Proxy uniform."

"Fine by me. I could use the workout!"

"Great. I normally visit the facility every morning at 5am. Will you accompany me this Saturday?"

Eous flinched at the early morning roll call, but nodded his head. "Yeah. Are we meeting at Scott Outpost?"

"Indeed. I'll see you then."

•

Belle leered at Eous as Miyabi left with a graceful wave. He ignored the glare and leant against the opposite side of the desk with a wry smile.

"So, I've gotta gym buddy-"

"Shut it. Let me cope."

"Okay..."