"So, how exactly are we going to carry enough stuff to block Vision's train?" Nekomata asked Eous.

"Well, you're looking at the muscle of this operation." Belle said with pride, Fairy appearing to give Eous jazz hands.

"Um, I'm all for words of encouragement, but we'd need a crane to lift these boxcars..." Nekomata clearly wasn't as impressed as they assumed.

"I think it's best we just show her." Wise mumbled.

Eous walked over to a boxcar before activating a thin prismatic aura. Using a stable amount of Ether, his strength was enhanced enough for him to repeatedly shove the boxcar over to the railroad they stood above.

With a loud crash and crunch, he punched the boxcar into the railway. With the path blocked, the automated navigation system would take a detour and delay the train.

Nekomata stared in disbelief at someone his size being able to display such strength with no strain.

"You're some guy... no wonder you guys were legendary!" Nekomata awed.

"Were?! I've still gotta good rep!" Eous whined.

She smirked. "Well, it's better than the Cunning Hares, that's for sure."

"That's a low bar and you know it." He smirked back before the two bumped fists with a chuckle.

•

After blocking two more direct rails to the demolition sight, this gave the two ample time and opportunity to board it and sabotage Vision's plot.

With all the noise they were making, it was a given that Ethereals would be attracted.

As Eous scrapped the boxcar off into the railway, Nekomata covered him and slashed through the last of the fodder pestering them.

"Route of Vision Demolition Train has been calculated with the given obstacles in the equation. Projecting destination for proper boarding with minimal resistance." Fairy was sitting on Eous' shoulder, catching the attention of Nekomata.

"What is this thing? Is it like your secretary?" she wondered.

Eous was about to agree with a snide remark, but Fairy beat him to the punch.

"I am a type III general AI equipped with sequential integration. I am bonded to his body after assimilation through immense Ether levels. I am his partner, Fairy."

Nekomata wasn't as impressed as Fairy was prideful. "You lot get weirder and weirder..."

"First my joke is ruined and now I'm insulted. What a read..." Eous wanted to pluck them both, but decided upon strutting away to the given destination.

"Come on, we've got no time to lose. The train's on its way!"

As if he could feel it, the chug and hustle of the train could slowly be heard around the station.

Unfortunately, a massive array of boxcars had been tossed around in a wild manner directly in the necessary path.

"Woah. Those marks look lethal. That's gotta be the work of the Dead End Butcher..." Belle noted.

"This wreck is huge! You can't move this, can you? Is this the only way?" Nekomata grew noticeably more nervous with the train finally being on its way.

"Well, not without consequence. But, hey, it's worth a shot." Before Eous could even touch a single boxcar, Fairy yanked him back with surprising ease.

"Don't even think about it." Wise shook his head.

"U-Um, excuse me...?" A timid voice called from the other side.

Nekomata immediately went on guard, but Eous only cocked his head back with a question mark on his mask.

"Meow?! Who's there?! And why a gorgeous lady?!"

"Is that your way of flirting? In a Hollow?" Eous smirked.

"Shut it! It's called an observation!"

"Well, since you wanna observe, watch how I handle this." Eous placed his hands on his hips with a smirk.

"A-Are you two investigators from the Hollow Investigative Association?"

"Oh god, she's a fed! Never mind, you talk!" Eous shoved Nekomata forward with red and blue lights flickering from his mask.

"Listen, young lady, normally you introduce yourself before asking the questions in our line of work!" Nekomata barked.

"Oh! I'm s-sorry. M-My name is Corin. I work for a housekeeping company. I'm a Gemini, Rh-negative blood type, I like cleaning, my social security number is-"

"Woah! We don't need all that unless you want to be in the next identity fraud case!" Eous luckily interrupted the poor girl.

"Wait, why are you in a place like this?" Nekomata mumbled.

"Yeah. Didn't know the Dead End Butcher could order room service." Eous mused.

"N-No... There was a very dangerous ethereal nearby. I got separated from my companions while hiding from it!" Corin began. "I don't have any Carrot data with me. If you're investigators, then you'll know the way out of here, right?"

"Well, I suppose that's sound logic." Wise agreed.

"Well, yeah, but unless we risk attracting every Ethereal ever, we've gotta get back on track-" Nekomata grimaced seeing Eous smirk at the untimely pun.

"I just need to get to the other side and you'll help me out?" Corin asked with clear hopefulness.

"Basically." Eous shrugged.

Before anyone could refute, boisterous whirs of mechanical blades revved from the other side. In a mere moment, lines of sparks raced across the crumpled boxcars, shredding them into silvers before they blew away from whatever force had struck them.

Eous shielded Nekomata and swat away a door and the dust that followed.

From the smoke revealed a young g girl in a gothic maid outfit and a chainsaw. She pat down her attire and smiled.

"Phew! Good, my apron is okay..." she looked up and saw Eous covered in his prismatic aura and shrieked. "Ah! I'm sorry! I-I sawed through it. Nice to meet you investigators!"

She bowed her head so fast she nearly toppled over.

"Is... is that a Bangboo? I've never seen this model before..." Corin stood back up with eyes glazed in curiosity.

"Uh, yeah. I'm a Bangboo if you're actually a maid. What kind of cleaning do you guys do? The crime scene kind?!"

"N-No, no! Well, we do work in many different fields. That includes the Hollow kind. I-I can help you guys through Hollow, if you help me out of it... Please..." Corin offered.

"Sure. Welcome aboard." Eous nudged Nekomata with a smirk, but the Thiren didn't budge.

•

"We've arrived at the nearest Hollow exit in accordance to our mission. Housekeeping company employees Corin, can be evacuated." Fairy announced.

The three slid to a stop in front of a distorted portal with a murky view of the outside world.

"Here's your stop, lil' miss."

"Woah! You found an exit in less than three minutes! Th-Thank you so very much. Without your help, I'd be lost in this Hollow forever..." she bowed again, and nearly toppled over again too.

"Don't sweat it. If the office needs a deep clean, I'm sure we'll ring your line." Eous pat her shoulder and smiled.

"Can you please tell me your names? I'll come back with my companions to thank you later!"

"Uh, just ask around for Eous on Sixth Street, but keep it hush, you know?"

"Eous, what are you doing?!" Belle snapped quietly.

"Making connections. Lord knows we can use em." Eous whispered, ignoring the unamused look from Nekomata.

"I'll be sure to stop by and thank you, Bangboo Sir- I mean... Eous!" Corin bowed again with a wide grin before skipping off out of the Hollow.

"I can respect his decision. If we bank on the connection, it will boost our reputation and give us a favor." Wise reasoned. "Should we ever need some spring cleaning, of course."

"You only gave her your name cause she was cute, huh?" Nekomata questioned.

"What? No. I'm not into servitude like that, girl." Eous spat with a leer.

"Yeah, yeah, let's go."

•

Dashing towards the accelerating train, Nekomata and Eous exert all their stamina to catch up just enough to leap up top safely before it slipped into a tunnel.

The two ducked down, with Eous leading them to the nearest hatch for them to infiltrate it.

With their size, the two would have an easy time slipping inside. Eous opened the hatch and dropped down before hearing several, if not dozens of clicks around him.

He looked up slowly and saw over thirty firearms aimed at him from men in Public Security uniforms.

"You guys wouldn't happen to know where the restroom is right?"

"We're screwed..." Belle muttered nervously.

"Fire!"

Eous charged his body with Ether and lunged forward with a grunt. With a blitz of speed he weaved through the guards in just a sliver of time to reach the end of the car.

The wind erupting from his steps kicked up a gale that threw the guards into disarray.

Charging a ball of Ether in his hands, Eous kept it murky enough for a smokescreen, but a guard recovered quick enough to shoot it out of his hand.

The smoke blew around him in a wispy manner, leaving his image distorted.

Using this to his advantage, and Nekomata taking the same one, she dashed inside through the window and began racing around the soldiers legs, cutting them just enough to stagger them.

With a flush of power, Eous roared and toppled them all with a shockwave.

"There's another intruder!" A guard shouted in shock. They raised their firearm weakly at Nekomata as she slid to a stop and fired.

Nekomata flinched and turned her head before seeing Eous slide in front of her and take the bullet to his arms.

With a wince, he uncrossed his arms with another roar that sent every soldier flying to the end of the car in a fit of grunts and cries.

Nekomata looked at the blood dripping from his arms and grimaced. "Oh, no! W-We need to split! I'll meet you at the store later!"

"Yeah, we're in too deep. Didn't expect anything like this..." Eous and Nekomata smashed the nearest windows as the soldiers began to recover from the crowd control.

With a flick of his wrist, Eous splashed a smokescreen down at their feet before the two made their escape.