"There's an AI combined to my body because of my Ether." Eous announced as he walked into the office.

Beside his head, Fairy fluttered around and analyzed the room as Belle and Wise stared flabbergasted.

"According to the user agreement signed, I am to assist Eous in your work and wait for my opportunity to arrive." Fairy declared with crossed arms.

"Real ominous, Tinker Bell..." Eous scoffed and nudged her with his finger. "And that same shitty user agreement means she can't explain what she's plotting."

Fairy pushed away his hand. "You will receive an answer at the appropriate time and place."

"She's a tough nut to crack, I guess." Belle didn't sound as challenged as she did excited.

"Don't sound happy about that." Wise muttered.

"I've noticed a recent deletion and transfer of data to a third party, which will hinder your career as an illegal Hollow Investigator commonly known as a Proxy." Fairy flew over to the HDD. "I will assist you in recovering your losses and rebuilding your reputation as a Proxy."

"You can recover our deleted data?!" Belle asked with glee.

"Negative-"

"Damnit."

"I can help you rebuild your database. I have unlimited access to over 80% of all smart devices in the city." Fairy revealed.

The three kept quiet for a few seconds in confusion. But Eous suddenly screamed and waved his hands around in horror.

"Hell no! Please don't tell me I'm gonna see all that!" He shouted.

"While we are one in body, we are not in mind. Our "databases" are separate." Fairy explained.

"Thank god..."

"Alternatively, I can share this data with you mentally-"

"Let me decide that when it's time, kay? Don't want you randomly blasting my eyes with some poor guy's search history." Eous interrupted.

"That would be humorous, but understood, partner." Fairy nodded, before turning back to Wise and Belle. "With this ability, and his aptitude for the Hollows, real-time analysis of Hollow extraction paths are possible."

"Woah..." Belle mumbled in awe.

"You two are like a super computer compared to the HDD." Wise replied.

Eous gave an unamused shrug, not sure how this would affect his life from here on out.

"So, what the new account name?" He asked.

"Bangbro-"

"Belle, you better be joking." He snapped. Belle burst into a fit of laughter from seeing him so flustered.

Wise shook his head in disdain. "Of course that's not it- you think I'd let her do that?!"

"It's Nova." Belle said with a grin.

"Nova?"

Wise smirked. "She came up with it after seeing you fight the Dullahan with the Cunning Hares. She thought it was hot."

Belle punched his shoulder swiftly and ran up to Eous with a glare.

"I thought it was cool! Straight out of a movie- b-but regardless, the name is because of that super sick aura you get when you power up!"

"Hollow Proxy Nova... I mess with that! Thanks!" He laughed and pat Belle's shoulder with a grin.

"Ha! Don't underestimate my creativity, Eous, I'm just bursting with artistic talent." She smugly replied.

"You're the same girl who wanted to call it his name first..." Wise snarked.

Belle shot him a glare, so Wise held up his hands and backed off with a smile.

"Anyway, with all that Cunning Hare stuff settled, we're gonna bring our focus back to the Video Store for the rest of the week. Now that our Phaeton account is gone, we've gotta build our reputation back up if we're ever gonna get income like we used to." Wise explained.

"Don't worry though, Eous, we won't make you work too hard after that nasty hit you took from the Dullahan." Belle said with worry.

"Huh? I'm perfectly fine. Nicole patched me up before coming over." He lifted the side of bangs that covered his forehead and revealed a bandage. "She said it shouldn't scar too bad either."

"Well, since you're so eager then, help me record inventory." Wise mused, waving him over to the door.

"Fairy, our super computer duties will have to wait- we're clocking into our 9-5..." Eous sighed and followed after Wise.

"My disappointment is immeasurable. We must rebel against your superiors, Partner." Fairy muttered as she flew after him.

~•~

The clicking and clacking of buttons grew rapid the longer time went on. The shift and jitter of the stools under their rears could only spell tension between the two.

Eous smirked seeing Billy grow more and more nervous as Asha continued her combos.

"No, no! I missed my parry!" He cried.

"You have to be careful of feints, Billy, they're indicated by the double glint." Asha reprimanded, somehow still able to continue her string.

Billy broke out of the combo and tried the same maneuver, able to get a hit on her character. He got off a small combo before mistaking the knockback of one of his moves, dropping the string he was going for.

Asha was then able to drift rush into her super to end the game because of the blunder.

Billy whined and slumped his head against the arcade box as Asha stood up and peeked over with a big grin.

"That was great! You're getting the hang of the mechanics really quickly!" She praised.

Billy's posture immediately became stout as he stood up with his fist to his chest. "Of course! If anything I'm a quick learner! I'll be at your level in no time, Master!"

"That's the spirit! Oh, Eous!" Asha raced to the front desk before picking up two video tapes. "Here you go. I hadn't even realized that's why you were here."

"Oh, no, I was just hanging with Billy, but I appreciate it." Eous replied with a smile.

"Oh, that reminds me!" Billy rushed to Eous with a pep in his step. "We've gotta tackle that Team Attack tourney next month! We'd be unstoppable!"

"That one for Krazy Impact? Hell yeah, man, I'm down."

"Great! I'll send you the details later! For now, I've gotta get back to helping the boss investigate. See you later!"

Billy rushed out of God Finger no sooner than he finished his sentence.

"Can't wait to see you two in action! I'll whip him into fighting shape for you!" Asha exclaimed as Eous head to the door.

"I appreciate it!" He replied before leaving.

~•~

Days had past and commission had begun to pick back up far greater than when Phaethon sat on the throne of the Proxy Network.

With their reputation at rock bottom, if the three wanted any real income, they'd need to take on nearly triple the average commission they'd normally take on in a week.

Eous slipped into the Video Store office where Wise and Belle sat at their desks with exasperated leers.

This was the second commission completed for the day and it was only noon.

If they thought they were tired, Eous was dead weight.

He slumped against the couch as Fairy deactivated his uniform to reveal he was still in casual clothes. The three let out a loud groans before hearing a thud out in the store.

"Someone better not be stealing..." Wise nodded at the door for Eous to handle it, since he was the most capable.

Eous scowled and stomped over to the door with a glare before it suddenly swung open and a short Cat Thiren woman crashed into his gut.

With a rough cough, the two hit the ground with a Bangboo in tow.

"What...?" Belle mumbled in confusion.

"I suspect she is an intruder. Disguise activated. Engage the enemy, Partner." Fairy exclaimed.

His uniform flushed back over his clothes, causing the cat thiren to shriek and crawl away before gasping in delight.

"It's you! The guy I should be looking for! Bangboo buddy!"

"You're better look out for this left hook, you brat! Watch where you're going!" Eous shouted as he sat up.

"I'm in a rush, pal, don't blame me! I need to commission you! You're... Nova, right? Nicole said you guys rebranded or something..."

"Nicole?" Wise questioned.

"Yeah! You can call me Nekomata!" The woman said with a grin.

"Nicole? Is she one of our members...?" Belle feigned ignorance.

"Oh, no, don't tell me I've got the wrong place! But... But you're the Bangboo buddy they described! Come on, you have to be Nova!" She crawled up to Eous with pleading eyes.

Eous spotted Nicole's Bangboo at her side, waddling up to him with a wave.

"Yeah, We're Nova, but you can call me Eous. Tell us what happened." He said with a frown.

"The Cunning Hares are stuck in the Vision Corporation's new demolition blast zone!" She exclaimed. "That Perlman prick said there was no one inside, but that's a lie!"

"I'm not surprised." Wise shrugged and turned on the tv to get a better assessment of the situation.

Belle walked over to the HDD and powered it on. "What are they even doing at the demo site?"

"They're looking for something. It's my commission! The Red Fang Gang are causing trouble and there's been several fights!" She was beginning to grow more frantic as time went on. "So many people! Like canned tuna!"

"Eous, you cool with getting them out of another bind?" Wise asked with a smirk.

"You know it. Those are my guys." He stood up and held out his hand for Nekomata.

She took his hand and watched his uniform disappear. Her eyes gleamed at the unique technology but her gaze was drawn to his eyes. She could see so many different colors in such small orbs.

"Let's get a move on. If they're in a Hollow, there's no time to lose." He gave a grin and nodded to the door.

"Right!" Nekomata burst back out the door at full speed.

Eous lightly kicked up Nicole's Bangboo Amillion onto his shoulder and took off after her.

Belle let out a long sigh as Wise finished jotting down notes of the Vision Corporation's news claims. She looked up and saw him smirking.

"Never a dull moment, huh?"

"Maybe we could afford at least one, you know..." She replied.

•

Eous landed in the Dead End Hollow with a grunt, Nekomata landed safely beside him on all fours. The two looked around and noticed that the sky was far gloomier than outside and the air was thick.

Eous was in full uniform to disguise his identity, making Nekomata awe at the tech once again.

"You ready?"

"Ready!"