Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a just a normal day for the two managers at Random Play. finally after their whole adventure of taking down the deceased ex-inspector Bringer along with section 6 factions and the others. At long last, they have have a bit of time to unwind and get back to their...not so normal lives as the video store owners and a proxy.

"Did you stock up on the recent movies yet bro?" Belle asked her brother, wanting to make sure their store isn't beaten when it comes to availability in recently released works

"Well, let's see…" Wise opens up the box of his order from their supplier, counting the quantity and stocking the movies up on the display shelf for customer's choices

"Hollow Raiders 5, Trecarls 2, First Flight…" he continued for a while more muttering to himself confirming the rest of the order to be correct.

"Yup, that should be it" he smiled, pleased to see there isn't any error. Honestly Travis is such a reliable connection for their store, they've never had anymore errors on the new batches of movies ordered. Not that many errors happened before, but it did caused some profit loss… the sense of loss is even heavier now that they have to cover their cheeky AI assistant's needs for large amount of electricity.

Belle smiled fondly at her brother, He's always been the more reliable one out of the two of them. Knowing him, he would denies the statement and says she's the one more reliable instead… but dearest little sister knows best after all…

Belle took out her phone and scrolled through her socials. She sighs, no new notifications and just scrolling through her phone mindlessly feels like such a waste of time.

Ping!

Belle jolted a bit at the the sound of her phone's knock-knock's notifications. She opened it to see none other than the shy green-haired girl for Victoria housekeeping requesting belle to spend some time with her. Belle pumped her fist in the air, looks like today will be not so boring after all.

Then she realized something… It's that she's been having fun a lot lately hanging out with their friends and wise have to take care of a lot of commissions and watching the store alone most of the time considering bangboo 18 still needs recharging from time to time before being able to manage the store by itself.

"Umm… Wise, Corin just texted me asking to hang out with her… and you've been handling our work a lot lately while I'm goofing off a lot recently… And I think-"

"You should go" wise quickly cut her off with a small smile

Before belle could finish what's on her mind, her brother already knows that she looks guilty recently due to him taking care of all their work.

"But you looks tired! Your eye bags have also been getting more noticeable!" Belle retorted at Wise as she pouts, this side of him wanting to get everything done himself is what makes her brother cool to her… but overdoing it just worries her instead.

Wise closed his eyes and chuckled, he approaches his dear sister and gave her a quick pat to the head, reassuring her… just like he used to while they were little. The gesture making belle nostalgic before Wise reasoned with her.

"I'm fine belle, really! besides that… Corin huh? That girl have been getting more proactive and brave lately so it's probably better to not turn her down, plus it's never a bad thing to strengthen our relationship with Victoria Housekeeping." Wise continued with his hand to his chin, hoping his sister can have fun without worrying about his wellbeing too much.

"Well… if there's anything you need help with, reach out to me on knock-knock alright?" Her voice strict, still reluctant whether to go or not

"Well if you still feel bad about it. Just get me a teamilk or something while you're at lumina square okay? Oh and I want Oolong Mint Teamilk if you were to swing by the shop" Wise said with a small smile, he knew by requesting a small favour like this… her sister can have fun without feeling guilty about it.

Belle sighs at her brother, she knew exactly what her brother's intentions was with that request

"Alright I'll be going now, see you big bro!" Belle have a small waved as she exits their store, heading to the lumina square by the metro

Wise chuckles and watched as her sister left the store premise…

(Half an hour later)

"We ready fairy?" Wise asked the AI to make sure everything is prepared before their endeavour… it was quite quite convenient all things considered.

The commission was requested specifically for the new Phaethon's account, the pay was good and the work is fairly easy… it was… TOO convenient by Wise's judgement.

"Yes master, are you sure you don't want to get the second assistant's help?" Fairy asked before proceeding with the synchronizing Wise with Eous.

"Yeah, she's hanging out with Corin so I don't want to bother her… it's also because the commission isn't that much of a hassle so I should be fine especially with you helping me" wise replied, though AI might be the cause of random play's bankruptcy… but for now? She's family to both Wise and Belle.

"I'm touched Master… is this what they call… human emotions?" Faery asks with her robotic tone, her intention to tease the one she serve clear to Wise.

"Yeah, yeah let's get this over with.." Wise sighs with the AI's antics… it's been a while since their meeting together but this cheeky little program sure does come with her own pros and cons.

As Eous and Wise synchronized their senses

Wise was met with a familiar face.

First, the towering wolf-thiren with elegance and disciplined drilled into his mannerism, his appearance and attitude befits the leader of the faction he's in charge of. Lycaon.

Next, a woman with a gentle demeanor donning a victorian-style maid outfit with a long skirt accompanied by 2 interesting dolls each with their own even more interesting personalities named anastella and drusilla. The dolls caretaker's name is Rina.

And lastly, A shark-thiren girl who's a friend to the proxy siblings at this point. Donning the usual modern maid outfit equipping a scissors like weapon that looks like an oversized garden shears for quick and swift enemy dispatching befitting her personality. Despite her usual nonchalant and tired energy, she always get her work done and are very reliable to everyoneround her… that is Ellen.

"It seems master Euos has arrived to assist us… or should I say, master proxy?" The wolf-thiren speaks with elegance putting even Wise to a calm state.

"Yes, I'm sorry to call you out on a small commission but I feel uneasy about it. You're the only capable agents I could reach out to." Wise spoke with a bit of regret, Eous's ears droop to his face to mimic what Wise felt as he told them what he thinks.

"Pay no mind to such a thing master Proxy, you entrusting us the commission is enough for us to act accordingly. We will see it through and protect master Eous as well, swiftly and perfectly. Leave it to Victoria Housekeeping to finish it" Lycaon replied, reassuring Wise it's no problem at all

"What he said" Ellen added, straight to the point and concise.

"It'll be over before you knows it manager" Rina said, aiming to please Wise.

"You all…" Wise was grateful he and Belle formed such a deep bond with these people, they are truly great friends.

"Alright let's get going, this way!" Wise pointed in Eous body to the building ruins

They entered the building, collecting data by the client's request… it's not hard and there's not too much ethereal's to deal with, and they're not that strong either… this only causes Wise to feel more skeptical. Yet he presses on since the commission's installments was paid already and the rest will be paid upon completion.

(An hour later)

"This should be the second last data" Wise moved Eous body to archive it but just as he touches it…

CREAK

Wise stumbled in his Eous body as he fell through the floor.. he saw nothing as he was falling through what seems to be a perfectly digged out tunnel…

"What?!" Wise was baffled as it feels as if not his bangboo's friend that was falling but himself, WISE was falling through the tunnel… No Lycaon,Rina or Ellen to be seen as he watched the affixed body of Eous remain in the place he was previously standing at as his barely see-through arm were outstretched in a futile effort to reach Eous.

"Fairy?!" He called out, receiving no response as he kept falling until the tunnels… long as the eye can see turns into a purple-ish path with electricity trait… it feels weird but at the same time… comforting?

"Where the hell am i going?!" Wise yelled out loud but before he could say the next thing on his mind, he reaches the end of the endless wormhole… his astral body… almost see-through was floating as he observe his surroundings…

in the middle of the large landscape with no form of greenery to be seen except for a rocky karst-like landscape, giant of pure bright crimson light caught his eye… the humanoid form facing an equally if not bigger in size monstrous ethereal.

The red giant performs a strong and fast attacks, multiple kicks and punches to the ethereal. Seemingly damaging the monster as it backed off from the red giant.

"What is that Giant?" Wise murmured to himself, a giant of pure light… mysterious, yet… it's as if he was familiar with the being long enough to feel safe and comforted in it's presence.

As if detecting another presence the large Ethereal quickly glanced at Wise floating not far from it. It roars, the ear-splitting scream both creepy and deafening filled Wise's ears as it approaches rapidly no longer interested in its opponent.

GROAR

Wise, wide-eyed and unused to his newfound mobility only put up both of his hands to protect his face… will he die?! Is he about to die?! What

about Belle?! Who is going to watch out for her if he dies?!?

"Damnit… !!" Wise prepared for his inevitable demise as guarding his vitals was all he could do as even as useless as it seems.

Yet… the impact never came, the ethereal was pulled back by the crimson titan as it lifted and throws the gigantic Ethereal far away the opposite way of Wise.

The red giant settled both of his hands to his chest, and spread to it's side is as red energy converges into a single point on its chest, The giant then collects the energy onto it's forehead forming a tail of pure red energy before shooting it straight to the ethereal!

Crack!

Boom!

The Ethereal was no more as it explodes into pure ether dust in front of Wise… this whole spectacle filling him with awe and shock to see that he was saved by the crimson Giant.

The red giant then turned around to meet Wise and it looks at him… saying no words yet there seems to be no hostility as well…

"Ah! Th-thank you!" Wise didn't know what to say but the giant still keeps on looking at him with no words said… is it not capable of speech? Or does it not understand Wise's language? He too does not know except continuing to try and converse with his savior

"Who are you?" Wise received no reply

"What is this place?" Once again, no reply to be heard except a stare, is the light from it getting brighter? Wise continued

"Am I able to return to my home?" Wise questioned again, this time… the might was shining so bright that he covered his eyes. And opened them again…

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"ISE-…" Wise heard it, his name…

The red giant then turned around to meet Wise and it looks at him… saying no words yet there seems to be no hostility as well…

"Huh…?" Wise groggily answered them, it feels as if he was dizzy by his otherworldly experience

"Master proxy! Are you alright?!" Lycaon asks Wise urgently to confirm his well-being

"Ah! Y-yes I'm okay…" His voice melancholic, his head feels as if he was hungover, dizzy and spinning…

"I'm sorry… What was I doing again?" Wise asks his agents to enlighten him on what he did while he was gone.

"You were out for a few minutes manager! We were all worried… even sir Lycaon suggested for us to rush back to your store in case your safety were endangered as your AI assistant took over to guide us before you inevitably came back…" Rina explained before Lycaon even had the chance to, Ellen however was still composed but not before Wise caught her wide-eyed before he came back.

"I see… well, is it okay for us to finish the commission already? I don't feel too good…"
Wise ask for their opinion before moving.

Lycaon, Rina and Ellen were visibly concerned by his health but ultimately agreed to finish the commission as they only need 1 more data sample to finish the whole ordeal.

"Then lead the way master Proxy." Lycaon notified Wise, which he obliged to.

(A few hours later)

After saying his goodbyes to the agents and reassuring them his dizziness was gone, they went on their way but not before telling the manager of random play to notify them if something goes wrong. They guaranteed him that they will arrive much faster than emergency first responders like PubSec. Wise smiled sheepishly at their caring attitude and expressed his gratitude before sending them on

their way.

Wise entered the store as he sees bangboo 18 still managing the store.

"Hey bud, you hanging in there?" Wise asks the bangboo, concerned it might need more recharging time

"En-Nah!" The small bangboo energetically replied

"I see… you mind managing it for a little longer? I

don't feel too well" wise ask a small favour to the small bangboo, hoping to lay down for a bit to take a break

"En-na-nah!" He once again replied, asking Wise to get as much rest as possible.

Wise ruffles it's head before heading up the stairs to his room, on the way… he glanced at belle's room that seems to be open.

"Did she forget to close the door all the way?" Wise murmured but ultimately didn't bother to ponder further as he closed it himself and entered his own room

"Ah… sweet heaven…" Wise laid down and remove his jacket, while he usually would hang it up for later but now be feels as if he's gonna fall if he gets up again from his dizziness that seems to get a tad bit worse, he settled with putting it on the end side of his bed for now.

He then laid down and closed his eyes, and it didn't even take a minute for him to fall into his slumber..

"Rocky land as vast as the eye can see, there was the red giant standing as if guarding something it holds dear. Through countless Earths this fact will not change, for it is the vital to its existence…" The voice speaks in Wise's head…

Wise opened his eyes to see the red giant standing in front of him

"We've done this before… why can't you answer me!?" Wise shouted at it, his tone laced with desperate curiosity…

Suddenly countless voices echoes from every direction, Wise covered his ears to no avail… its as if the voices were inside his head! Despite the chaos in his mind, he tried his best to pick up the most spoken words as best as he could

" Radical destruction bringer..!"

"Humanity's end…"

"Giant Of Light"

"Ultraman…"

"Gaia "

"Gaia…" Wise muttered

"Your name is… Gaia…" He continued looking at what usually still giant staring at him, now giving him a small nod

Once again, the light brightens… and the gray-haired man woke up from his nap

"Gaia…" Wise quickly got up from his bed and went to his computer setup beside his bed

He used every search engine he has to find one thing which is "Gaia". He even asked fairy to compile the search results in one file, the important parts that is.

"Gaia is the personafication of earth"

"A theory where an entity conscious as part of earth is what keeping the planet to flourish"

"A giver of dreams"

"Nourisher of all life on earth "

Wise lean back on his chair and put his hands to his chin, seemingly deep in thought.

"Did what I see was a true form of the earth itself....or it's protector?" Wise whispered to himself, still baffled by this whole situation

"Master, it seems you're very interested in this being called Gaia… This occured after your seemingly "death" when progressing through the sketchy commission" fairy interject Wise while he was deep in thought. He flinched at fairy's robotic tone.

"Woah!… Fairy, atleast give me a heads u- wait! DEATH?!" Wise spat

"I died?! Explain Fairy!" Wise commanded the AI

"While Master was about to archive the second last data sample needed to complete the commission, all of your vitals went haywire to such an abnormal state. While in this state, master's physical body however remained still with eyes closed… as if in trance. But suddenly all brain functions and vitals ceased for 3 seconds until master suddenly woke up and became normal again"

the monotone voice of Fairy explaining such a terrifying thing made him release beads of sweat until he regained his composure

"Does Belle know?" He asked the AI

"No"

"Then keep it that way, I don't want her to worry about it since it has already pass anyways" Wise ordered her, it's all for the sake of his sister… he doesn't want her to feel guilty for not being there with him while he was completing the commission

"Understood, at the same time I have also canceled an order of coffin and a funeral proceedings for you" the AI confirmed his command while notifying him of a recently-but unneeded purchase that's canceled due to his revival

"Speaking of which… what time is it now?" Wise ask Fairy, not bothering to humour her this time. He could've just check his phone but decided to just ask her instead.

"It is precisely 7:55PM" The AI replied

"And Belle didn't come home yet?" He asked her

"The second assistant has not been detected within the store vicinity for precisely 10hours, 50 minutes and 25 seconds." The AI notified it's master

Wise quickly took his phone and tried to call his sister…

Beep *

Beep *

Silence …*

"Damn! Fairy can you track her location?!" Wise asked the AI, his trademark composure replaced with worry for his dear little sister

"Are you sure master? In this day and age, this action could be classified as being a 'yandere siscon'" fairy replied to her master with smugness

"Fairy! STOP joking around and do it!" For the first time, he was actually mad at his AI assistant for her unseriousness

"While Master was panicking and trying to reach her via phone call. I was already tracking the second assistant's last known position" Fairy informed Wise

"I was merely trying to calm your nerves, I'm sorry if it were unprofessional" she added

Wise sighed, while her monotone voice was still the same. He could feel she was actually feeling guilty about it that he yelled at her

"I see..then i apologized my dear supreme AI assistant" he said with a small pained smile, seemingly causing Fairy to sulk… how is an AI sulking anyways?!

"I will think about forgiving master's outburst if he allows his most supreme AI assistant to consume much more electricity for the month" but before fairy could finish…

"Okay that's enough, let's focus on Belle now… how is the tracking going?" Wise however is now inpatient to know his sister's well-being

"Tracking complete, the second assistant's first destination was Lumina Square to meet up with Corin Wickes of Victoria Housekeeping faction" The AI spoke then continued

"The second assistant then hungout with Corin Wickes for approximately 4 hours at the square, from watching 2 movies, visiting the HIA club, browsing the items at San-Z studio, taking pictures together and finally having a picnic by the Riverside"

"While they both departed ways at the Lumina Square metro station, it seems the second assistant went back to Lumina Square after seemingly arriving at the Sixth street Metro Station"

"What?!" Why??" Wise ransacked his brain to think of a reason, did Belle forgot to have back Corin something? No if that was the case they would've just arranged for another day to collect the item… until he realized something…

"No… no… fuck!! It's my fault!" Today was quite the ordeal for Wise despite not leaving the Random Play store. It was just so much stuff happening so he forgot… his small gesture meant to look out for his sister now could potentially cause her harm

"The second assistant likely went to Richard Teamilk to get Master's Oolong Mint Teamilk order after forgetting about it while having fun with Corin Wickes" The AI connected the pieces that long ago formed in Wise's head

"Huff… so where is she now Fairy?" He asked, while performing deep breaths to calm himself down… he needs to keep a cool head to make sure his sister is alive and well.

"The second assistant last known position was by the companion hollow near the exit of Outer Rim, based on a camera surveillance footage of the 141 convenience store… it seems she was seen forcefully boarded into an unknown black van causing her to drop the Teamilk bought" Fairy explained Belle's situation

Honestly this has now put Wise in a full blown panic, a black van, then thrown into the hollow… Wise could only speculate what exactly happened to her but he didn't dare to, not after him being irresponsible about his sister's safety… he might have ruined his sister's future for his stupid gesture.

But he pushed them aside, hoping for the best…

"Fairy! Contact the sons of Calydon and tell them to prepare to enter the hollow. I'll drive the backup HDD system there with the store's car and sync in with Eous in the outer ring to dive"

Time is of the essence, Wise quickly pack up and head to the Outer Rim… honestly if he isn't a proxy he would've been a good racer considering how expertly he maneuvers around countless vehicles to reach the outer rim border. Being the one to abide by every traffic rules, and breaking all of them for the sake of his sister… he'll accept whatever fine he has to pay the next day as long as his sister were safe and sound…

A few minutes later, he arrived near the hollow and quickly brought Eous out to sync with the little bangboo

"Belle is in deep danger, I need to count on you again buddy alright?" Wise informed the bangboo, Belle was like a mother to Eous and he understood it well after seeing he was more close to her.

"En-na-nah!!" Eous was ready to go as the fate of his mother was at stake

Wise nodded and begins synchronizing with the little guy and he wastes no time running to meet the son of calydons at the hollow entry point

"Proxy! I'm guessing there's no time for chit-chats huh?" The leader of Sons of Calydons, Caesar King asked the manager

"Yeah, Belle's life is in danger and I don't want to waste any time. Let's go!" Wise entered the hollow together with the rest of Sons of Calydons.

A few minutes later of non-stop Ethereal slaying and finding clues to Belle's whereabouts, they were suddenly interrupted by the sky creaking.

CREAK

TSS

As if the sky was a broken mirror, it shattered revealing what seems to be an oversized blue coloured egg-like object falling into the hollow from the wormhole in the sky.

BMMFF

"The hollow structure surely changed a bit from the impact of its landing alone" Wise thought… why is this happening in a companion hollow?! It didn't make sense! This kind of phenomenon never happened for as long as him and Belle were working as proxies. as if this whole situation was not bad already, the egg seemingly shakes… getting more violent as the blue outershell cracks…

"Watch out! That egg-like thing seems to be increasing in temperature, it's hatching!" Wise warned the biker gangs to retreat into cover

"What?!" Caesar gasp, this whole thing is a big shock to her… but as the leader she has to focus and make sure everyone returns home safe thus she ordered the Lighter,Burnice and Lucy to take cover nearby

They all heed to her order, finding a hidden spot as they watch the egg hatches, they only wanted to rescue Belle but this whole thing now delaying her rescue was making Wise anxious. He knew Belle's and his ether aptitude was bad, but the reason they became the legendary phaethon was merely because of the technology built by Carole Arna that allows senses synchronizations with bangboos.

BOOMF

The egg shells exploded violently in all directions, some debris unfortunately flew all the way to Eous and the others location.

"Not on my watch!" Caesar quickly dashes to Lucy as a building's debris was rapidly descending on her. She quickly pushes her out of the way but didn't manage to get out of the way herself causing the debris to fall and trap her leg.

"Arghh!" She yelped in pain, Lucy in the state of shock quickly got up and tried to clear the debris trapping Caesar.

"No! No! C'mon you big swine! Try your hardest as well!!" Lucy begged Caesar… they were all exhausted from fighting non-stop and now heavy lifting isn't exactly what they need

"Leader, you almost died once… are you seriously gonna pull this stunt again?!" Lighter the usually composed member of Sons of Calydons was desperate, lifting the debris as hard as he could almost tearing his arm muscles.

While they were helping Caesar, Burnice found their guide as Eous. Heavily damaged and doesn't seem to be capable of speech nor moving anymore… and she quickly informed the rest of her friends.

"Damn… out of the frying pan and into the fire huh? Maybe i really did exhausted my luck back at the tour de Inferno…" Caesar was beyond tired, just talking makes her feel like taking a well-deserved sleep right now.

"Lucy… Burnice..Lighter… Please go and help Proxy's sister" Caesar decided this would be the best course of action, it's not that she gave up on life but rather found this to be the best choice possible

"You… dumbass what are you saying now?!" Lucy… still not giving up on trying to free Caesar continued to expend her energy lifting. But Lighter understood her intentions

"The proxy's sister's ether aptitude is worse than us… so save her first yeah?"

Lighter questioned her to confirm her intentions

Caesar nodded.

"Then that's all I need, whatever it is that you do, don't die… leader" Lighter said to Caesar… his tone laced with reluctance but what can he do? He needs to compose himself and the others so they this isn't a waste

"wha-are you serious?! Are we just leaving her like this?! What if that huge thing steps on her?!" Lucy desperately calling out to Lighter, hoping to change his mind

"Either that or we all die! Look at burnice's hands Lucy!"

The barely En-Nah'ing body of Eous is only functional to keep it's logic core safe. It's last ditch effort to stay alive.

"… We're cut off from our Proxy and we didn't even find his sister yet! What if she turns into an ethereal? What are we gonna say to the proxy Lucy?"

Lighter reasoned with Lucy to make her understand the gravity of their situation

"… stay if you want" lighter walked away to search for Belle along with Burnice that reluctantly left Caesar to her lonesome

Lucy, with tears welling up in her eyes closed it and wiped her tears away

"Die and I'll kill you again! You better stay alive until we rescue you!" Lucy shouted as she ran to Lighter and Burnice's side

Caesar then smiled to herself as she watched them running at full speed in hope to find the second proxy.

"DAMNIT! FUCK!" Wise has lost all composure he had, all of it is too much… connection with Eous was broken, his agents condition was unknown and his sister is still trapped in the damn hollow…

"Damn it all" Wise packed up with a small knife, any rations would just be corrupted before he can even reach his agents… what is the knife for? He doesn't know… he does not WANT to know…

He then ran full speed into the hollow.

(After a few minutes)

How can fate be this cruel? Is it all too late? The hollow was acting strange and his team was in disarray… they were wholly unprepared for the suddenness of the situation. Wise's rashness has now caused his team to be without a proxy, and his little sister got thrown into hollow by God knows who...

With his legs unstable, he kept jogging through the hollow not realizing his luck not meeting any dangerous Ethereals

"If this is a bad nightmare… please… wake me up" Wise muttered to himself, barely keeping himself together walking aimlessly through the hollow

"Big… bro?" Those words… like a small shining hope pierce Wise's ears

"BELLE!" He was ecstatic! The hollows being as a maze it is… the chances of him finding his sister without a carrot was nothing short of a miracle!

"He picked up small debris in his way that separates visual information of his sister's well-being. He threw the last piece of rubble away to finally see his dearest sister…"

His hope was shattered… like a glass cup picked up and thrown into the ground as hard as it possibly could

Belle's body was in a lot worse condition than he anticipated… her legs malformed into the skin colour of that of an ethereal… the fact that she is barely conscious is proof to her willpower

"Oh Belle… I'm so sorry…" He kneeled down to her and picked up with his arms, his tears slowly streaming down his face as he fully take in the condition of his sister was barely clutching on to life, even if he had a carrot and run with all his might… the chances of her turning into an ethereal and killing him was higher… the chance of her recovery is even lower than them getting out…

"Big… bro… don't… be sad…" Belle, while being near death door still wants to reassure her dear big brother, she offered him a small smile, which was met with red eyes that seems to run out of tears to cry for her.

"I see… that… you're… prepared… for..this.." Belle held his hand that clutches on to a small knife, barely effective against an ethereal… but enough to quickly dispatch a dying soul… in this case, was his sister

"Please… it hurts…" Belle begs her brother to end her suffering.

All of it was heavy… so heavy it feels like Wise would be crushed by the reality of it all. Is this their end? Before they could even prove their teacher's… Carole Arna's innocence?!

Wise holds up the knife in the air, prepared to quickly do something that would haunts him for the rest of his life… the only family he has left in this forsaken world.

"I'm sorry dear big brother… can..I..be selfish… one last time..?" Her voice, soothing and one of the joys in Wise's life… will now be snuffed out by his own hands…

CLANK

The knife was dropped to the ground, Belle was still breathing and Wise was still holding her… 

"I'm sorry… Belle… I'm such a useless older brother…" Wise couldn't, how can he possibly end the life of the only last family he has..? It was impossible to even fathom much less actually carried out.

"..Hehe… it's… okay…" Belle understood her brother, given if their role was swapped, such a burden on her would be impossible to carry out as well…

The egg contents then roared, the roar sending chills down Wise's spine as he remembered exactly where THAT roar was from… And appeared the exact copy of the monstrous ethereal that nearly killed him with his encounter with the red titan. It absolutely feels the presence of all lifeform in this hollow, and it was going to kill them all…

"Uuu… Wise…" Belle realized what she tried to make her brother do and the dire situation unfolding before them. What could the dying little girl could possibly do? only one thing… she cried and cried,her voice was hoarse and ethereal-like… tears streaming down her face along with Wise's being silent while holding her in his embrace tightly to comforting her the best way he could, her corruption getting worse by the second…

"Is this the end? Was my effort, my sister's effort… all in vain? After we come this far? After all we've done…? Wise muttered, holding his sister's dying body…

Carole Arna's innocence will never be known, their objective wont be fulfilled...and Wise will be left, all alone. This day way be forever etched into his mind, haunting him until the day he draw his last breath....

Wise is near breaking down… and he felt as if the reality and grimness of this world finally and truly dawned on him when it affects his treasured loved ones…

"WHAT THE HELL SHOULD I DO?!?!!" he screamed to the world to vent his frustration, hoping for something, anything that would fuel hope in this hopeless situation

Everything was still...any form of noise were quiet as if he was transported to a library, the wind that was wildly blowing on his face were absent as if he was trapped in a 4x4 cube room. Wise lifted his head and realized… the world has stopped, everything was unmoving… the hollow, the large Ethereal monster and lastly… his sister.

"What..?" Before Wise could even process what is going on, the ground was cut into perfect circle surrounding him and Belle. Which in turn sucks him in and instead of expecting Belle to follow, she remain affixed above the ground i.e the same phenomenon with Eous 

FWOOSH

"This feeling… !" He was too familiar with this, first the perfectly hollowed hole that turns purple-ish in the end heading to the most centre of the world, the endless freefalling… but instead of his soul like the previous time, it was his physical body instead that was falling through the hole… and then he saw it… the Red Silvery Giant of light!

It watches him, awaiting what Wise has to say…

"Gaia… The ethereal you defeated now appeared in the real world and it is endangering my loved ones, please help us and save my sister and ill do anything you ask for!"

Wise begged the giant in desperation, yet it stood still… as if restricted by something, or was it expectant of something?

"If you can't personally come and help us, then give me strength, give me the power to turn the tide of this battle!" He desperately need this, he failed as a proxy, he put his agents in risks… his friends in danger. But most importantly, he failed as a big brother… and let Belle suffers the worst thing imaginable… he's the worst big brother to ever exist… his thoughts was a bunch of jumbled mess… and yet…

"I want to redeem myself"

As if that's the only sentence needed, the titan hold out both of his arms outstretched towards Wise.

"Are you… testing me?" Wise questioned, but not expectant of answer this time he does the same… his body floating towards the Giant's chest as it absorbs Wise's body into it's chest slowly

"What blissful warmth…" Wise muttered to himself, never have he ever felt this sensation as red orb-like lights surrounds his entire body...

"The light is covering me…" Wise muttered again but quickly changed his mind

"No… it's merging with me…" Wise accepted whatever comes after this, no more will he accept the cruel fate of this world… he'll fight against everything that dares to hurt his loved ones ever again

"Let's see who comes out on top…"

Wise said his last line coldly before the light as he absorbs the lights and grew into the the silver and red titan he was acquanted with.

"Ahh.."

I wish i could've at least find the love of my life like in that one romcom manga…" Caesar murmured to herself, the hollow is getting to her and she starts to not feel well internally. Despite that, she still fantasized about the romance comedy manga she read… oh how romantic it would be to be with the love of your life until old age and pass away together…

But her destiny said otherwise, her fate… said otherwise… she is to die here, alone… and pathetic.

She closed her eyes in acceptance of "Caesar King" ending. If this how it is then so be it…

Until…

A bright light of soft red slowly form 100 meters in front of the huge and aggressive Ethereal

Until the humanoid form of a red giant of light descends opposite of the Monster Ethereal.

Wise has seized the light!

The silvery red giant's landing on the ground caused the hollow to shake and the ground to crack…

THUMP

It's mere presence bringing the hope to the battlefield, it stands again in front of it's old foe.

This monster threatens to kill Wise when he was at his weakest, now he stood again in front of it's reborn form on equal ground.

*SCREECHES*

The ethereal roared… It's ear-splitting screech still fresh on Wise minds… but he was not scared, nor was he shocked. He's been waiting for this moment the moment this oversized dog nearly took his life.

"A giant of light?" Caesar commented, she doesn't know why but the sight of the red giant brings her huge comfort and eased her pain making it more bearable… What she doesn't notice was the entire small sized ethereals was neutralized in an instant of Gaia's descent, like a nuke vaporizing everything in it's vicinity yet when as much as it was destructive to the Ethereals, what she felt was a parental warmth, filled with bliss and peace…

"What the hell…" Lighter, Lucy and Burnice was in shock to see yet another giant that appeared in the hollow… but instead of despair, they felt… at ease…? Is it because it's appearance was not that of an ethereal? No… the familiarity they felt were much greater to the point they felt protected in it's vicinity

"We should take this chance to hurrily find the proxy's sister! hurry up Lighter! Lucy!" Burnice notified the biker group, to which they nodded and advanced to let the Silver and Red Giant to handle the huge Ethereal.

Belle looked up meekly upon the sight of the red giant… With her corrupted body still weak, but somehow… it feels as if the pain was relieved in an instant the crimson titan arrived…

"Wise…?" She doesn't know where her brother was, did she imagine him in her death's door? Unbeknownst to her, her brother was right in front of her, his giant silvery and red form opposing the huge rabid Ethereal in front of them. Before she could say any more words, she passes out into a meek slumber, her body forcing her to rest in order to give it a chance against the corruption spreading through her entire body

Wise now brimming with power and strength glances upon Belle's body at the ground… it's minimal but… her corruptions seems to be halting and even… reversing?!

"Is it because of Gaia's presence?" Wise felt as if everything was going to turning into their favour

ROARS

Wise/Gaia turned his head calmly to meet the large rabid Ethereal that is seemingly bigger and much more aggressive than even Nineveh.

"How odd…" Wise thought to himself

"I feel… so different" he added further describing the abilities he was blessed with

"This power, there are more to it than superior physical capabilities, I can feel it…" Wise said while closing his eyes, the surging power that was meant for saving and protecting… never once did he imagine he would find himself in this situation. And the sense of calmness this power gave him, it was strange… but welcomed nonetheless.

Wise loosen his arms and cracked his neck as followed by the red giant mimicking his movements , his small preparations done before getting into the fray with the huge Ethereal

With newfound hope and motivation, Wise swears internally to himself to get his friends and beloved sister out of this damned hollow.

Thus..

for the first time the weak man was brimming with energy and power. He felt… unstoppable!

The silver and red giant took it's battle stance, despite Wise's first time being in a fight with a new-record of the biggest ethereal to be seen within a hollow. He was ready to do whatever it takes, he'll get used to this gigantic body… he has to!

with his resolve anew, Wise ran towards the monstrous Ethereal in his gigantic newfound-body, each step shaking the very structure of the hollow.

The ethereal dashes to him in an unnerving speed unbefitting it's gigantic body, while roaring in an attempt to intimidate the giant of light in front of it advancing threatening it's existence.

The two titans clashes. The sound of the impact spreading throughout the whole companion hollow they were in. Both of the Titans stopping each other advances in their track.

One fighting with the intention to save his treasured people from a cruel destiny. being the sole hope amidst the chaos.

And one was lead by an unknown dark force, driven by instinct to destroy everything. Razing anything in it's path. 

Who will come out on top? What is the future for the man with his newfound-powers alongsides his friends and family?

Chapter Text

"Lighter! Burnice! I found the proxy's sister!" The golden-haired girl called out to the rest of her biker gang in order to notify them of her findings

Both Lighter and Burnice rushed towards Lucy at their fastest possible speed. Both of them grimacing at Belle's unconscious form

"That's real bad... Will she make it?" Burnice questioned the red-scarfed man beside her, doubtful of Belle's survival

"It doesn't matter, the more we talk means more time wasted!" Lighter carried Belle, bridal-style prepared to carry her out of the hollow

"Wait you doofus! We don't even have the proxy's guidance...how do you think we'll find the exit?!" Lucy called Lighter out, seeing as the panicking man in front of her acting out-of-character. 

The man was usually composed and yet he couldn't help being anxious...in his own way. He may not show it but his about-to-be reckless actions makes it obvious to his long-known friends by now.

"But at this rate..!" Lighter may not say it much...but the two proxies he was so fond of since the Tour De Inferno left deep impression in him, their presence reminding him of a friend...a long time ago....he can't afford to let her die for he knows how much her brother's affection is towards her.

Burnice and Lucy cast their looks downwards, they too are considering their options of trying their luck to find an exit, or stay and wait for the Wise to somehow bring backup...

"Damn it...." Lighter murmured while observing the titans clashing at the distance, their aggressive battle was like watching two starloop towers fighting eachother

They remained oblivious to one fact as their moral were at an all-time low, Caesar really is the leader of the Sons of Calydons with the way her words can brings the whole team together even when facing impossible does. This is the fact Lucy knows well the most. The team's morale is seriously tanking with her absence.

The usually vibrant and energetic girl, borderline-psychotix with her love for flames now looking down at her blue-haired person she calls a friend....their meetings together with the proxy sibling went by so fast but they both feels like family all the same to her...

But wait...is that?!

"Hey! Look at Belle's body!" Burnice pointed out, noticing the small changes to her physical appearance that were so minimal they almost missed it combined with the feelings if not being able to look at Belle's condition for a long period of time without feeling their eyes watery.

"It's...is it reversing?" Lighter thought, noticing the symptoms on belle's body was slightly improving. The changes was SMALL yes but it gave them a small sliver of hope just enough to not let them despair over the other half of phaethon.

"It can't be... Corruption symptoms to this degree is unlikely to be reversed without side effects, while being in a hollow no less!" Lighter mused to himself, overheard by his companions.

"You guys feels it too right? Since that giant arrived out of nowhere...just being at this distance with him...? Feels soothing to the body, like under a ray of sun that is gently covered by clouds..." Burnice explained, she held up one of her hand to explain, pointing to the giant while the other hand was holding Eous barely functioning body.

"We should wait for proxy!" Burnice steeled her gaze and tightened her grip in Eous, she had finalized her decision and decided this was the best course of action for now.

Lighter and Lucy looked at each other and heaved a small sigh, it's rare for Burnice to take charge but when she does...it's quite hard to shake her from her position

"Alright, but you two stays here...I need to check up on our leader now that we've found the proxy's sister" Lighter said to the two girls in front of him, now that they've secured Bell and decided to stay near the red giant. They need to go and somehow help Caesar.

"Hah?! What use is it now if you go alone?! Even us 3 together can't lift that huge chunk of wall that trapped her!" Lucy questioned Lighter's logic, she too can't wait to go to Caesar's side but his rashness right now isn't exactly gonna change anything even if he go to her side, Burnice nodded beside her not saying anything to the scarfed-biker

"Even so, I need to check up on her. I'd want us all to go together but we don't know the consequences of being outside of the big guy's proximity to miss proxy over here" he said, explaining his plan while pointing to the two colossus still fighting with all their might.

"I sure as hell don't want to test that, it's better if we go by this plan" Lighter continued, his reasoning making his plan much more clear to his friends.

The ex-noble couldn't say anything anymore now that Lighter laid out his thoughts, she scratches her head in frustration but ultimately relented.

"Alright! But you better be careful, alright?!" Lucy advised Lighter as he slowly jogged away from them

"Who do you think you are talking to?" Lighter murmured to Lucy as he sped up the way they came hoping to find the "King of Calydons" that they left earlier.

HAAAAH!!!

BFFT!

The Silvery Red Titan launched a right hook to the Ethereal's face, it's face cracking by the impact hits so hard it betrays the looks a gentle giant that is Gaia gives off.

Wise never fought a day in his life except of watching action movies to review the movies he rented out for the store's customers, that...and observing how the agents he partnered up with defeats the Ethereal's they fought on their dive into countless hollows.

But it was enough, whatever technique he lacks with hand-to-hand combat he'll make up for it with sheer strength the colossal body granted him.

The ethereal, stunned by the massive attack was quickly punched again. Now with a left hook to it's face's.

Crackle

BMFT

Another strike landed on it's chin

DUMFT

And another to the top of it's face

DADADADADADADAADA

THUMPTHUMPTHUMP

Each strike repeatedly thrown with sheer focus and to the brim of the strength Wise could muster with Gaia's body. 

"Steady my hands, rotate my hips, align my fist and throw it along with my hips rotation!" Wise lost count of how many time he repeated this in his head, he was absolutely PUMMELING the gigantic Ethereal in front of him, he CAN win this!

"I gotta thank Anton for this! His teachings on basic "self-defense" definitely come in handy..." Wise mused, even though what he called "self-defense" is just what Anton does in the hollow with his jackhammer 'bro' in smashing ethereals and hollow raiders alike. 

"Looks like fighting on pure instinct and power alone didn't do it any favour!" Wise thought as the back of his head while continuing his barrages of hits, his head purely filled with one intention and it's to absolutely obliterate the Kaiju in front of him.

But reality never goes how we expect.

Grrrr

The low groans of anger and frustrations of the Kaiju went unnoticed to Wise as he kept on delivers punches after punches, hits after hits...

"THE...END!" Wise shouted as he charged up a mean right straight aimed towards the eye of the jumbo Ethereal.

SWOOSH!

The sound of air currents going wild by the impact of a fist aimed towards the prodigious Ethereal was immense.

And yet....

Both of Wise's eyes went wide, the punch he just launched was merely meters away to hit the enemy, and yet no impact was felt.

"I missed?!" Gaia/Wise backed off a few feet to readjust his stance

"What?! Where is it?! Gaia panned his head to his sides left and right to scan his surroundings, no sight of that gigantic Ethereal....

"BEHIND YOU!!!" Two voices screaming their loudest to warn the Crimson Giant of it's unseen threat. They thought keeping giant alive was their best bet despite not being sure of it's intentions unbeknownst to them the giant was none other than Wise himself.

Wise knew it well, the two voices of the girls belonging to the Sons of Calydons faction...without hesitating, Gaia's body moved to match Wise's inside of it.

Gaia ducked only to glances up and see 5 fingers that struck the previous position of his head, each finger adorned with razor-sharp claws that reminded him of a Ben the bear-thiren except it was much more sharper and jagged on its end, each weapon it has was born with were clearly meant for fighting and lethal-attacks to end the fighting early.

Gaia flipped backwards on his hands twice to gain some distance from his foe. 

"Okay calm down Wise, how did it evade my attack? Simply ducking? It was shown to be instinct-driven and yet it showed hunter strategies of attacking from behind." It was out of character for your run-of-the-mill Ethereals! They always fight head-on with extreme aggressiveness except for the special kinds like Thanatos....

Wait... 

"Why am i thinking like it's a normal Ethereal?! I have to composed myself or this thing will kill me in one swoop...and then..." He can't imagine what it would do to his loved ones...and it enrages Wise.

He backed away into a prepared stance to counter any attack the Ethereal would launch. in the meantime however, his body was full of adrenaline because he was so close to his death, one swoop of that claw might even sweep Gaia's head clean of his shoulder.

"What should I do about that teleporting ability of it?" Wise quickly tried to formulize a strategy with his intellect, he was called 'Wise' for a reason....he of all people knows brawns isn't the only thing that decides a fight.

Grrrr....

The beast was enraged it's ambush didn't work...it's because of THEM. It turned around to gaze upon the two girls of the Outer Ring's biker gang.

"Urgh.... That thing is looking right into our soul!" Lucy warned Burnice that prepared her usual flamethrower...it was a useless effort, it wwould be like stepping on a dying match for the giant thing!

"We're not outrunning that thing are we, Lucy?" Burnice chuckled nervously, this whole situation felt like a dream. Even if they make it out of here, she isn't sure anybody would believe them if they tell this story to them...Kasa would probably make them eat food and tell them to calm down knowing her personality while piper would nonchalantly brush them off while continue to explore the dreamland in her nap.

"Brace!" Lucy warned Burnice to prepare to shield Wise's little sister as the colossal ethereal approaches them with its mouth opened revealing jagged teeth with sharpness like it's been sharpened by a mountain.
They closed their eyes and covered the poor unconscious Belle, they were done...they will be a snack to the Kaiju Ethereal.

Their fate were sealed...

Or was it?

The jagged,sharp teeth that were the size of a truck were never felt on their skin, the face of the frustrated Ethereal, denied it's prey WAS NOT happy with this development.

It's elongated tail, even longer than when it first fought Gaia at the core of the world now with added spike, were now used like a tug-of-war rope by the opponent it tried its best to ignore. what it thought were improvement to its physical capabilities was now used as a wedge to tighten Gaia's grip on the monster's tail!

Grunts...!!

"huh..?" both Lucy and Burnice was flabberghasted as their lives were not snuffed out as quickly as they thought...

HAAAAA!!

The warcry of the giant of light does not went unheard by Lucy and Burnice, Wise struggles to pull the Kaiju back from devouring his friends whole.

"Did he just save us?!" Lucy yelled over the sound of grounds breaking and the ruins flying as the monster was dragged away from them bit-by-bit.

Burnice was speechless, she was awestruck by the giant. She felt...warmth that she couldn't explain as she gazed upon the monster reluctant-retreat from their location.

"Brace my core and pull with my bodyweight...." Wise muttered to himself, it's a challenge to contest the aggressive Ethereal even with the strong body of Gaia head-on. But with the strategy Wise conjured in his head... he might just...!

FWOOSH!

The sound of a large object flew into the air were heard above Gaia

"Now pull!" Wise quickly moved his colossal body to snap back, pulling the floating Ethereal to crash down into the ground. The creature roared, the blunt-force of hard concrete were met with its falling body momentum propelled further by Gaia. Wise then quickly backed up from the enemy he can't let his guard down with.

"Shit! I can't afford to get distracted, that thing almost killed Lucy and Burnice!" Wise immediately came to this realization as reacting one second late could spell disaster to his friends and little sister
Wise is now standing in-between those he swore to protect and the Ethereal he intends to eliminate once and for all.

"If it's that...it's worth a try" Wise mused to himself, making up a plan that relies on full and pure unadulterated focus.

The Ethereal in front of him disappeared as soon as he blinked...and yet he was not panicked. He doesn't need to figure out the nature of this ability...he just needs to find the right timing...

"Now how am i supposed to do that..." Wise's mind wandered for a second, he rattles his brain in order to find the optimal solution to his current adversary.

(A few weeks ago)

"2 large-sized ethereals at 3 o'clock!" The small bangboo warned a gray short-haired girl, adorning a green specialized tactical combat uniform. On her back, a backpack where her Weapon engine was stored with its purpose for charging a sleek and sharp blade with electricity attribute.

"Roger." The warning perhaps weren't needed as the ethereals was being stupidly loud as it attacks or the girl was just more observant than at first glance.

With a motion that seems to be trained repeatedly for her whole life, Anby removed a fully-charged blade from her backpack. Crackles of electricity can be seen spreading through the blade as it were swung cleanly by Anby, it slices through the air aimed for the two ethereals.

Swish!
Slash!

With 2 swift snapping actions, Anby quickly performs an upward slash, the first attack paralyzing the first ethereal and a horizontal slash to its neck causing it to spasm. She couldn't afford to dally as the second one was rapidly approaching, it pushes the dying ethereal and lifted it's right bladed arm to cut anby into chunks of meat. 

Swoosh

THUNK!

The organic sharp arm meets the ground as it creates a brief spark. The focused Anby only sidestep to the side and narrowly dodges the bladed arm by a few centimeters as calculated by her, a veteran soldier that survive countless battles. A single slice was all it took as Anby's blade struck the ethereal's neck.

Plop

The ethereal's head was bouncing towards Eous as it finally realized it was severed. The still moving orbs at the ethereal head was watching Eous, confused on why it was on the ground and its body was not responding.

"Woah!" Wise, a bit spooked kicked the head causing it to flew towards anby like a soccer ball

Crackles

SLASH!!

The head was finally severed in two and returned to its fallen owner on the ground, finally disappearing into ether dust shortly after...

"Battle completed, thanks for the callouts" Anby, still nonchalant as ever thanked Wise for his help

"No no, thank YOU! You made all that looks so effortless, those aren't the normal kind of ethereals and yet you took them down so easily..." Wise commented, each observed seconds was just as breathtaking as the next. Anby was truly the most reliable agent of the cunning hares faction

"I see, and you're a good leader yourself... the Cunning Hares would welcome the Phaethon himself as our members, along with your sister of course" anby persuaded with a small smile...wait, did she smile?!

Wise looked again only to find she was back to showing her usual cool and unfazed face.

"Haha, I'll consider it once Nicole settles her debt with us" Wise chuckled nervously, trying his best to be polite and professional. His voice in the cute body of Eous was not helping!

"I see, then I'll hold on to you for that" Anby turned to her side as she's ready to follow Eous to the hollow's exit.

STEPSTEPSTEP!

"Anby! On your 6!" Wise warned, detecting a slow yet repeated noise of footsteps behind them.

GROAR!!

An Ethereal the shape of a wolf, codename: Armored Hati suddenly rushes Anby from behind, attempting to take a big bite of Anby's neck.

With sharp and lightning speed reflex, anby spun around and parried the Hati's jaw, she barely put any strength...and yet the Hati's jaw was deflected so easily.

She then jumps backwards, her signature attack prepared. She finally slashes from the bottom of the Hati's jaw until it reaches the brain while she was in the middle of her acrobatic move.

Anby landed from her impressive acrobatic display and sheathed her blade into her backpack.
The Ethereal dropped to the floor, it's head split vertically and horizontally yet not severed from its body. It's limping body disappears a few seconds later.

"Wow...." Wise was speechless, the whole thing happened in an instant! Such a quick maneuver to parry and counter at the same time, a move that's unpredictable and effective. That's Anby.

"Let's leave, Wis-I mean Proxy" Anby now relaxed, snapped Wise out of his trance to finally continue their journey out of the hollow.

"A-ah yes, of course!" Wise guided anby out of the hollow and she took a deep breath, savoring the air outside that were not infested with ether energy.

"How did you do that?" A small tech-y voice connected to the random play's bangboo asked her 

"Do what?" Anby asked to make sure what really was he asking

"How did you react so fast, and that deflection you did...it was inhuman!" Wise spoke with awe, he can't let this one go until he knows the secret!

Anby took a nearby small metal rebar laid on the ground and held it up like her sword, the object facing down as she recalls her mastery over the skillful display Wise referred to.

"I was trained a lot on that, you can pretty much parry everything as long as you predict the attack's trajectory and react accordingly. In case with the big dog we encountered earlier, I only put in about 5% of my strength to redirect its attack away into another direction. I don't push it with all my strength lest I'll be dragged along with the dog." Anby explained, seemingly enlightening the gray haired man controlling the bangboo family of his.

"Redirect huh, and she even calls the dangerous armored hati a dog....." Wise mused to himself as he was overheard by Anby

"Yeah, it's as simple as that...go with the flow of energy and align its attack somewhere else, you're not trying to overpower it but rather adjust its attack out of your way." Anby explanation was brief and simple as appreciated by Wise. 
And the flashback ended

A scene that happened while he requested Anby as an agent for a commission was fresh on his mind, the memory was recalled in a second and yet it was remembered perfectly by Wise. Her movement was fluid yet graceful...like a water that increased it's pressure to become the sharpest blade in a matter of a second. Truly the perfect soldier. 

The move she did was so vivid on his mind and yet it was impossible to replicate in his former weak human state, his body was not strong, nor was it very flexible...the only thing he got going was a better than average intellect and a strong will to live....

But he is different now...

Wise closed his eyes, and Gaia followed...his eyes no longer radiating a bright light and instead he lowers his centre of gravity...
And thus the Giant of Light waited....

Rustles....

"Not yet...."

Rustles rustles

"Not yet...." Wise thought more as the second rustling was merely noises meant to confuse him

RUSTLES-

"NOW!" Wise said in his head, prepared to meet the nightmarish-jaw of death coming his way

He spun to meet the Ethereal now merely meters away from his torso, it's massive mouth opened to take a bite out of Gaia's back earlier....

"You were one step behind..." Wise murmured with a small grin

HAAAGH!

It was the first time Wise tried replicating the technique, either it was his luck...or it was because his strength and senses were drastically boosted in Gaia's form...or it was even both.

But the jagged sharp teeth aimed towards the Titan of Light narrowly misses his shoulder as it jumped towards the air into a backflip

HAGH!!

Gaia slashed the ethereal, his hand enveloped by a red-like energy acted as a blade perfectly cutting through the weak spot of it's jaw straight up towards it's brain or in this case...it's core. The slash caused the colossal ethereal to be immobile as soon as its colossal body impacted the ground.

Gaia finally landed as he watched the giant ethereal, the Kaiju still twitching began regenerating it's splitted head, the head beginning to reform its core, slowly but surely...little by little.

Gaia's chest began blinking, the blue light that radiates from his chest began to turn into a blinking red along with a concerning beeping sound. His body is strained and he can feel it. He did wing it a lot since this is his first time becoming a such a prodigious fighter!

"Alright what now...." Wise pondered, his energy was being sapped quickly...perhaps because he pushed his very mental and physical limits for this battle, he needs to end this. NOW.

"Wait...finish...?" Wise began remembering his first encounter with Gaia. The ability to shoot an energy that was charged and converged onto a single point of his forehead.

"Alright!" Wise once again formed the same pose, feeling the surge of energy gradually charging on his chest. He crosses his arms to charge energy and then sweeps them outward, slowly lowering his upper body and braced his core. The energy that converged on his head forming a bright red and golden hue trail finally  releasing a cutting wave of light energy shaped like a crescent. The beam that is fast, sharp and lethal were shot at high-speed towards the regenerating Ethereal, the once-terrifying Kaiju was destroyed on the day it was born. It perished before achieving what it were meant to do.

Gaia dropped to his knees, the energy expended was making Wise dizzy...he needs to hone his abilities and increase his physical strength after all of this is over...it's not a matter of whether he wants to or not, he NEEDS to do it so he can control his newfound-powers better.

The Giant stood again on his feet with his chest's light blinking much faster now, he can't waste a single second longer....

Lighter rushed back the way they came from, his eyes noticing small bits of details beforehand. It's risky, but it's all he got right now....

"That big guy finally beats the Ethereal....his power's unreal, is he an alien or something?" Lighter watched the titan, its body serving as a mark to his paths on finding Caesar...

As he run,run and run...he found a familiar pieces of debris and rubbles, yeah...this is it.

"Oi Leader!" Lighter called out, finally noticing Caesar unconscious body

The green haired King opened her eyes to meet the red-scarfed associate she was so trusting of

"Oh pipe down, I was just taking a nap!" Caesar said with a cheeky grin

"Sigh, I thought you got mauled by Ethereals or something...you were pretty hidden so we thought that's a chance worth taking to find miss Belle" Lighter recalled their temporary goodbyes, he was glad it's about to end well...but now that the huge Ethereal is gone, now it's this debris problem trapping Caesar.

"Hmm...do you think that red giant's on our side?" Caesar asked Lighter, wanting his opinion on the crimson titan.

"Can't quite say, but his presence DID reverse the proxy's sister's corruption symptoms..." Lighter mused, all he cared now is to just get Caesar out of the rubble and get everyone out of the hollow

"Wise is taking quite some time...I thought backup would arrive first before you." Caesar said to lighter with pure confusion, not expecting the Scarf-wearing biker widened his eyes like a lightbulb just appeared on his head.

"That's true...I've been so distracted I didn't realize, where the hell is he?" No way he just decided to leave them in the hollow right? Like his sister is here...there's absolutely no way he'd abandon her here.

Caesar sighed, if he's not down in the dumps about Belle's corruption symptoms,then something must've happen...she was an airhead sure, but she does try her best to pick up on certain details with the people she leads.
As Lighter starts to feel frustrated again at his powerlessness...

Thump

THUMP

A shadow looms over their body, the victorious red giant now staring right at them. 

Lighter readied his gauntlet, his tired body forced to focus as thinks about possible ways to hurt the giant even though the odds was stupidly low....one step of that giant and both of them are toasted.

Yet the giant seemed to be just about as spent as the 2 Outer Ring's biker gang member. The red titan fell on one of his knees, seemingly exhausted and yet his eyes never left Caesar and Lighter...

"Are you planning to kill us?" Lighter shouted to the giant as he tried to establish communication and perhaps...even find out who or what the crimson humanoid is.

"....."

The giant was unresponsive towards Lighter's question but reached out his hand towards them, the light radiated along with the rapidly increasing rate of beeping sounds the giant's chest made them anxious and yet all they could do was cover their eyes....

"..re we supposed to tell them..?" A voice spoke, Lighter is hearing a familiar voice and yet he couldn't opened his eyes. Nothing but pitch black and cut-out voices as he was on the borderline of being conscious and not.

"Maybe it's better..." Another yet familiar voice replied, this time much clearer than before...

"Hey, he's opening his eyes!" The voice, audibly alarmed signalled to the other about Lighter's near-awakening....

Lighter opened his eyes to see the golden haired companion along with the twintailed pyromaniac...though still a friend by all means, were by his side along with Caesar who stood tall hovering over Lucy and Burnice alongside Lighter with a serious expression but ultimately relaxed a bit as nothing was wrong with her faction's member physically.

"Huh?!" Lighter visibly surprised, shooting-up from his lying position into a sitting sitting one

"Calm down mister, we're out of the hollow!" Burnice informed the now fully-awakened Lighter a little shaken up after their little adventure in the hollow

He sighed and ruffled his hair, dusted himself and stood up much more composed and cool.

"Seems like we were worried for nothing then" Lucy exclaimed as Lighter went back into how he used to be with them. The man will never allow himself to look lame when he's with other people.

......

"How are you holding up, Caesar?" The scarfed-man questioned his leader, seeing as she seems to be physically okay, a bit weird considering she was hit by the debris that trapped her HARD.

"Yeah, I'm fine! I thought my leg was mush and I had to get a prosthetic leg this time but that big red guy saved us big time!" Caesar explained what happened when Lighter was unaware by the bright light and the beeping sounds the giant make, or rather...it's chest.

"Even Lucy and Burnice was saved just like us, first a bright light as the giant reached out towards them and the loud beeping sounds made during the whole thing...when we woke up, we were already here..." Caesar explained further as she recalled the memory as best as she could to her trusted member.

The two nodded at her explanation 

"How's the proxies?" Lighter cut to the point, ready to accept whatever outcome they have to face. His incompetence have caused the lost of his old friend, this was not new to Lighter but he knows he still won't be able to show his face to Wise if his incompetence caused his one and only family member left to pass away. Therefore, he needs to get better next time, he needs to get stronger, he needs...

"She's fine...her symptoms miraculously reverses a lot and I think it's because of that red giant as well just like he healed my leg and soothes my pain...it's not completely healed though as I can still feel the bruises, even Belle is still not out of the woods yet" Caesar pointed out to the car that was further away, the business car obviously random play's property and the two managers that owns it were right beside it.

"...." Lighter didn't utter a single word as his eyes was still locked at the two managers, Wise was carrying the unconscious Belle as he slowly puts her into the front seat of the car. His face calm and his demeanor seems like...odd. It was weird since someone that almost lost his last family member would have a more relieved reaction to see they are fine, but it's like he knew Belle was gonna be okay...

"Lighter..?" The twintailed flame-loving girl called out to the green-haired man that seemingly was not at ease

"Did you ask him what he was doing while we were trapped in that hollow?" Lighter asked Burnice, hoping to shed some light on his doubts

"He said he kept trying to reconnect with his bangboo and waited, when we woke up he was already carrying Belle in his arm, what's crazy was her condition improved a lot! It's like she was trapped in that hollow for a few minutes than rather than for hours....

"But..." Burnice was about to continue vocalizing her thoughts out but decided to halt herself.

"But?" Lighter asked

"No, it's nothing..!" Burnice nervously chuckled as she looked downwards to the ground, she was definitely keeping something away from him.

"Well...!" Caesar came and settled her arms around Burnice and Lighter with her arms, both Lighter and Burnice in her arms surprised, jolted a bit but gave in to her friendly gesture.

"Instead of dwelling here, we should go and share what we know with Wise. All of us are fine and we got out of that hellhole. All's end, All's well I'd say!" Caesar cheered the two members up as she released them from her hold, they smiled as Caesar starts to jog towards the proxy siblings followed by Burnice a few seconds later.
"It's 'all's well that ends well' you big moron" Lucy corrected her as she kept walking away, despite her insult she was clearly smirking to banter with her leader just like they always does Caesar even though Caesar probably didn't hear what Lucy said was out of earshot to Lucy's reply. She really is glad nothing bad happened, yet that gratefulness is also mixed with worries and uncertainty as they've just had an otherworldly experience in the hollow.

Now Lighter was left with just Lucy as they stood side by side...

"It's weird..." Lucy muttered

"You think so too?" This time, Lighter questioned on what Lucy thinks about the Proxy's 'side story'

"He's not the kind of person who would just sit still hoping for the best, even if time isn't on our side...I'm sure he has connections to other agents as well to call them for backup, the fact that he didn't and said he 'trust' us was comforting but at the same time, he's trying to avoid something. I think he of all people knows better that trying to reconnect with Eous was futile since he's likely badly damaged" Lucy expressed her opinion out of doubts...and her affection for the brother and sister duo that has engraved their position as loved ones in the golden-haired girl's heart.

"Thought so, it's either he's lying to hide something or..." Lighter exhaled a breath of regret for ever considering 'that' possibility, there's no way Wise of all people would order for his sister's assassination, it just doesn't add up to why it would even happen. Belle is a treasured family and he knows their bonds are real...

so why..? Why is it that he felt a weird tugging in his heart? It's like something is so obvious that it's right in front of him yet he can't see it. 

......

"Let's join them" after a brief silence along with a little brainstorming, Lighter walked ahead of Lucy. His pace matching Caesar that already arrived to the gray-haired proxy beside their business car

"...." Lucy silence spoke more than needed as she followed closely behind Lighter, her thoughts in a storm as she too is starting to get suspicious of Wise's actions.

"Once again! I apologize for not taking appropriate actions in handling the situation, being Phaethon and all I should've made sure my agents are safe yet due to my recklessness I've jeopardize everybody's safety" wise bowed, his tone was professional and didn't contain any closeness at all like how he did when helping them with Tour De Inferno. For the leader of Sons of Calydons? It hurts her even more as her friend is trying to distance himself.

Caesar walked up to Wise, just enough for him to see her legs near his head. He then lifted his face to look at the woman in front of him

'flick'

"Ow!" Wise's palm stick to his forehead in a second after receiving a sudden flick of Caesar's finger. he yelped a bit but not any louder as that little gesture contains a thousand words rather than aimed to merely harm the proxy
No words were needed for Caesar's action to be expressed verbally, and Wise understood it just as well...

"I see...." Wise let go of his professional tone after experiencing Caesar's 'kind' gesture...he kinda needed that. 
now with his tone much more sincere Caesar gave him a big satisfied grin and settled her weapons to the side.

Lucy and Lighter caught up with their leader, they stood by as they see Wise getting lectured by Caesar though they know their leader won't just do it out of the blue so they kept any questions to themselves and simply watch the scene unfolds.

"Then at the very least, let me do anything you ask for to thank you. I've also made sure my assistant to transfer you the payment fee I've promised" Wise proposed his take to Caesar as she rubs her temple to the gray haired man's stubbornness...

Wise's face is serious and willing to get himself into whatever the leader of Sons of Calydons make. No amount of dennies in the world is worth the life of his sister being taken away.

Lighter whistled at the bold declaration the legendary proxy made
"Quite a bold claim, you sure you don't want to take that back?" Lighter added, much to his suprise towards his friend.

"No, nothing in this world is worth losing my sister over...I'll make sure this never happens again." Wise replied, his tone composed and lack any of his usual easygoing traits. Honestly has he changed a bit or something?
Lighter glances at Lucy, it was only a brief moment but they both came to a common consensus for now...

Wise is DEFINITELY not the one ordering the attack on his sister, it was an outrageous thought in the first place but they're glad it was ruled out this early.

.....

Yet Lighter's uneasy feelings never faded

.....

"Caesar?" Lucy noticed her companion being silent, lost in thoughts while Wise were chatting with Lighter

"Why are you so quiet?" Lucy questioned yet not receiving any response except Caesar's cheeks having a tint of redness to it..

"H-He said I could ask for any-anything?!" Caesar dwelled on the male proxy's words, a single line seemingly echoes in her mindscape....

I'll do anything you ask~
The tone of the voice is much flirtier in her mind coming from Wise due to an unhealthy amount of romance comedy mangas read in her free time...

"Wise is basically offering it r-right?!" Caesar continued into her delusion, unresponsive to Lucy's calls...

"He's not a bad looking person and he has a nice personality, reliable too...!" Caesar dwelled more in here fantasies leaving the gray-haired man confused on why she's so deep in her thoughts.

"B-but we s-should go t-to 3..no! 4 dates first! and then handhol...oh Lord." Caesar face was serious yet contains hints of blushes like a maiden lost in thoughts, contemplating the offer hard despite being observed by Lucy, Lighter and of course...Wise.

"Argh! This boar! Let her keep on zoning out then!" Lucy now done with trying to snap Caesar's out of her thoughts snap back towards the rest of the group

"Well...that's that, now that everything seems to simmer down, what are you planning to do?" Lighter shot a question towards Wise aiming to find out his intention for what happens next, albeit at the same time trying to judge the man for any suspicious demeanors

Lucy focused up as Lighter intents to find out Wise's next move.

......

after a brief silence, Wise opens his mouth...

"I'm gonna find out each dumbasses that were in that van..." Wise answered with a clear composed face, befitting his name as he plans out his next action.

"And I'm going to give them a piece of my mind"  The older brother proxy added to his previous statement, his face is serious and his whole figure seems to radiates a different vibe than what they were used to.

......

"Ah! what were you guys talking about..?" The emerald-haired overlord suddenly asked the group that seems a bit tense, now locked in with the conversation and not zoning out being delusional..still, Caesar kept avoiding Wise's gaze much to his confusion.

"It's nothing Caesar, I just wanted to say it's getting late and I should bring Belle home, I want her to rest comfortably considering you've all been through hell and back" Wise answered the woman's question with a bit of melancholic tone but in all honesty, he just wants everyone to cool down after such an event.

"I suppose that's logical, alright then! If you have anything more that needs helping with, the Sons of Calydons are just a phonecall away!" Caesar told Wise with a cute grin plastered on her face, honestly this girl...

"Okay...alright then! Once again I want to thank you all for saving my sister and if you need anything, Phaethon's is just a single text away.." Wise offered another partnership in the future if fate wills it with a gentle and friendly smile towards Caesar, once again making the tomboyish king's brain short-circuited, her cheeks a little flushed for a few seconds as he made his way to the business car he drove in.

He closed the trunk of the car containing the HDD system after shutting down the technology.

The sound of the car's engine starting up was smooth, no hiccups nor any problems. While the random play's property was properly maintained throughout the years, Wise was concerned his prior treatment to it like driving an F1 car earlier to come here might've caused some problems. Thus finding no errors with the car pleases him, and the property of Random play's property vehicle moves forward carrying the proxy siblings along with their bangboo child that was put to sleep-mode in the backseat.

"We're gonna get you fixed asap buddy..." Wise muttered as he drives away from the place and out of the Outer Ring's entrance. His eyes watching the small but heavily-battered bangboo rest after its hardest mission yet. Eous was patched up in a hurry with what Wise had on hand, but he needs to go to Enzo's remodelling shop to make sure Eous recovered fully

VROOOm

Suddenly, the sound of biker throttles roars behind his moving car... The figures of Lighter, Lucy and Caesar was obvious through the car's rearview mirror.

The corner of Wise's lips tilted up to see his friends escorting them for a short distance, hee didn't ask but looks like the proxy sibling's bond with them as deepened once again and it appease The gray-haired man.
Wise stick the right side of his arm out of the Window and wave towards them to thank their kind gesture, Wise watched as he saw them nodded and lightly wave...except for Caesar.

The green-haired hardened maiden was full on waving energetically like she didn't just almost died for a second time in that companion hollow.

Yet it made Wise happier, the tragedy has been averted...his friends are safe, his sister is safe... He couldn't ask for anything more...

The biker gang then turned into another road that seemingly loops back around towards their homebase, a quite lengthy road but Wise supposed they prefer it more that way...

The low hum of the random play's vehicle intensifies as it passes through the long gravel road, Wise pondered upon the adventure he just went through.                                                                                                                                                                  And of course, the small ball of warm light in his sling bag with his camera...

"I managed to make a small container for Gaia's light with the camera parts but I definitely needs to get if fixed tomorrow or Belle would be furious...ha..ha.." Wise held the small container in his hand, it was simple...a bit crude even but he didn't expect this ball of light to stay with him after he transformed back into a human being.

"I should make a better capsule for this..." He gripped the container a bit more tighter feeling the warmth it radiates.

"And I didn't say it properly but thank you too...Gaia. Without you the situation would undoubtedly be darker, and I don't know if you're even capable of talking but..Truly...thank you." 
Wise swore he could've seen the ball off light lightly shined brighter than before but before he could take a closer look it was back to its previous state.

"I see..." Wise stored the container as he focused fully on the road, he can't wait to hit the hay once he arrives and settles everything at the store. He did left pretty abruptly after all...

"I hope there's no customer lingering inside." Wise murmured to himself as the car inches closer and closer to sixth street.

The sound of a vehicle pulling up to parking lot of the video store off sixth store was present, the car's handbreak were pulled and the one that exited the driver's seat were none other than Wise. He walks towards the passenger's door and opened it. There was his dearest sister...safe and healthy right before his eyes, she clearly is in need of more rest so like a good brother would...Wise lifted his dearest little sister and carried her in his arm, her head laid against his chest only caused him to smiled at his sibling...

"How nostalgic..." He thought, with Belle in his arm he made his way towards the store's backdoor. Seeing Bangboo 18 on the counter, it greets its master

"en-nah-nah!" The little bangboo waves enthusiastically but became concerned as the other master of its seemingly seems like in dire need of rest..

"En-nah?!" 18 panicked a bit but calmed down as Wise put his index finger to his lips gesturing 18 to be quiet

"she's fine !8, she just needs some rest" Wise assured the smol bangboo as it seemingly becomes more relieved that nothing too serious has happened to both of its masters, as far as it is allowed to know of course...

Wise moved to the store's front door and flipped the 'open' sign, now showing 'closed". 

With Belle still in his arms, he turns back and heads upstairs. He walks up carefully to make sure his steps were not misplaced lest he endangers Belle again...

Thud..

Thud...

With each step up the stairs Wise was nearing Belle's room, finally they arrived and Wise opened the door. The weird collectibles Belle were so infatuated with, the musical instruments laid untouched for the whole day today and the game console they usually play together with were observed by Wise.

He sighs as he sets Belle on her bed messy bed, this little sis of his has always been a bit too laxed in her room's arrangements... but despite her antics, she brightens his day everyday. Even if she is unaware of it. every bit of chatting, every activities done together and even the small minor arguments...

they only served in strengthening their bond together.

Wise observed more on what needs to be done, then noticed a small problem that would not take long to be fixed...

He then proceeds to remove her jacket and wipes off the dirt and dust her whole body off like a dad taking care of his already-asleep daughter. The jacket was hanged properly and Wise smiled a bit at his sister rested state. she was deep asleep, the sight making Wise felt heavy paternal feelings in his chest...

What a handful...

"But...I'm glad you're safe..."  Wise whispered slowly as he patted Belle on the head, encouraging her to get much-needed rest...

With those words...Wise made his way towards the room's door, intending to lay on the bed in his room for the day but not before turning off the lights in Belle's room.

As he pull the door slowly and surely, it creaks but not before he say one last thing which is a routine for the siblings.

"Goodnight, Belle"