Chapter Text
“So Wise, Excited to see the outer ring?” Billy asked as they began to drive towards the outside of new Eridu
“Yeah, I don't think I've seen much outside of New Eridu…”
Wise and Billy we’re currently heading towards the outer ring of New eridu. Thanks to Billy, Wise had learnt that Pearlman was currently held with the sons of Calydon, one of the Outer ring biker gangs, and they were willing to meet with the legendary proxy Phaethon to discuss.
Without much of a choice, Wise and Belle agreed. Not many knew they were Phaethon and they had a reason to keep it that way. While their hands were forced, they needed that lead on Pearlman more then anything. Billy assured them that the Sons of Calydon were a good group of people, and they had no reason to worry about any sort of leaks, whatsoever.
“So, Billy. What's your history with the sons of Calydon?” Wise asks as they drove
“It’s not a story I share often, but since it’s you, manager, I can tell you!” Billy fiddled with the dial of the radio, looking for a radio channel. He stopped the dial on the classical music station as he “Cleared his throat.” (Could… intelligent constructs do that?)
“I wasn’t always a Starlight knight, Manager…” He said with a deep gruff voice. “Back then… was known as the Red Scarf of Calydon.”
Billy went on a long explanation of his past, though he kept certain things to himself. While Wise was curious, and he doubted some of the seemingly exaggerated details of the story, Wise listened intently. Billy explained his past as the champion of Calydon, earning himself quite a rep with criminals of all sorts, some of his adventures in the outer ring and so on. he quickly mentioned something about the gang falling apart, but he quickly glanced over it, Wise didn’t bother asking much about that, everyone had a past they didn’t want to talk about. He and Belle certainly weren’t exceptions.
“Say manager, how about some tunes?”
“Is it the starlight knights intro?” Wise asked unamused, which caused Billy to laugh nervously.
“Hahaha…. Yes.”
“Oh fine, put it on, I know you well enough to know your taste in music.” Wise smiled with half-hearted anger, having known Billy well enough to know the self-proclaimed starlight knight to always have his background music at the ready.
Billy excitedly put in the cassette, still in an unsurprisingly mint condition, and the music began to play.As Billy sang with emotion the theme song that defined a generation of new Eridu kids, and that included Belle and Wise. There was a period where Wise was a starlight knight fan as a kid, even though he is embarrassed by the amount of times he tried the starlight mirage, and has made multiple attempts at avoiding all talk about his past. As the great Starlight Knight Red always says. “Once a Starlight knight, Always a Starlight knight.” Wise just couldn’t help hum along, which of course didn’t stop Billy from noticing.
“Manager, do you… know the theme song!?”
“I may, or may not have sung this song multiple times every time the show aired as a kid.” Wise says nonchalantly. Wise couldn’t see his face, but he knew from the Intelligent construct’s expression that he was happy to find a fellow fan.
and before he knew it, the stars once again shined bright as both Billy and Wise sang along the chorus of the Starlight Knight theme.
“No matter how many scars I will bear, To defend the hopes and future of the just, No matter how many times it takes… I will rise! There will be no surrender!” The Construct and Proxy sung together
“That was Awesome, Manager! We should do a karaoke night sometime!”
Wise Chuckled, “Sure, if you promise to not tell anyone.”
“Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me! Once a starlight knight…”
“Always, a starlight knight.” Wise finished as he let out a sigh. not one of disappointment, but of resigning to the fact that no matter how many times he tried to forget. He just can’t help but smile and remember the good times he had with the starlight knights.
They continued singing the starlight knight’s theme song unil they finished.They made their way through the last city on earth, Eventually passing by the dreaded public security customs.
Multiple cars were parked in rows waiting for their turn in to go into the outer ring. not as much as usual but on account of it being near election season, Security checks we’re much tighter. A stren Public officer approached their window and both of them felt a shiver run down their respective spines.
Billy lowered the window, and the Officer lowered his glasses and looked at the bot. “Heading to the Outer ring?” He asked
“Of course! Just heading on in the outer ring, nothing suspicious!” Billy laughed nervously, the telltale marks of a guilty person. Wise slapped his face watching the whole thing unfold. hard to believe Billy was once the Champion of Calydon.
“Licence?” The officer asked. Billy handed the officer his License. who quickly glanced at the bot and then at the card.
“Well, License's in order. but we need to pass a quick security check, nothing personal, it’s just security's been tighter. Any goods you need to declare?”
After a quick search, the officer found nothing suspicious. Just Anti-corruption serum, a few supplies for the trip. With everything cleared up, The stern officer smiles, taps the vehicle and tells them they’re good to go.
“All clear. Enjoy your trip gentlemen.”
With Eridu behind them, the boys set off to the wilderness of the outer ring.
In sharp contrast to the rest of Eridu, the outer ring is the result of a tireless effort to push back the hollows. It's a land that belongs to Hope. A land wrestled back form the grip of the Dark Wall and the Hollows.
The wilderness stretched on forever. Despite the Hollows everywhere Wise saw pockets of civilization amidst the chaos.
“What do you think, Wise? The outer ring scenery’s pretty nice, right? and there’s a ton of Hollows around. It’s also the prefect place for a drive”
“The road’s too close to a Hollow, and there’s so many Hollow’s around…”
“There’s not much we can do about it. The outer ring doesn't have the technology to siphon Ether resources, which makes it hard to fight back against hollows out here. See that big guy over there?”
Billy pointed to an old oil refinery, a staple in the old civilization. before the world was consumed in the hollows. Billy explained to him that this place used to be called the Old Oil field, how the people of the outer ring relied on oil for their livelihoods.
But before he could explain any further, another truck came speeding towards them in the same lane at increasing speeds.
“WHAT’S UP WITH THAT TRUCK?!” Billy screamed. “OH MAN, OH MAN, OH MAN! WE’RE GONNA CRASH.
“Billy, quick! Turn right! Drive into the Hollow!”
Billy did as instructed and the truck careened into the hollow. The sensation of Ether washed over the both of them as Wise hit his head against Billy’s shoulder. which only made the pressure of the Hollow feel worse. He could only think of one thing…
Belle.
Using his crystalline lens, he sent her a direct message to the HDD.
(Fell in a Hollow. Send Help.)
Thankfully, he doesn’t have to worry about the precise coordinates as the distress signal automatically records his position before sending a distress signal.
When the world begins to slow down, he finally gets his bearings. He was in what looked like an old oil rig. Behind him he saw the delivery truck, damaged, but not totaled.
“Manager! Are you okay?You hit your head on my shoulder pretty bad… Man that was scary… But thanks to you, the Vehicule isn’t totaled! But… we’ve fallen in the hollow..”
Wise slowly got to his feet. “That’s alright, Before we fell in, I sent a distress signal to Belle. she’ll fine a way to help us- Urgh… My eyes hurt…”
“Don’t worry, There’s plenty of anti-corruption serum in the truck. Oh! and I have some discarded Hollow data piles!
Wise looked at Billy. “Billy, You just got us a ticket out. If I use data in the piles and the Son of Calydon’s bangboo, I can make us a carrot and get us out of here!”
“Haha! That’s Phaethon, for you!! Billy offered a high five, But Wise began to cough loudly.
“You ok, Wise? uhhh…”
“I’m fine, just.. my condition… flaring up.”
“That’s not all that’s flaring up… Manager… your eyes… You use special lenses for your HDD, right? Is it normal that they’re glowing brightly right now?”
“what do you mean-”
In his eyes, Wise reads a message. (ETHER FIELD ACTIVATED.)
An ether field… Since when does he have that… But before he could question what that was about, he heard a deafening roar.
(Warning: High class Ethereal detected. Scanning area for nearby threats…)
“Billy, we have a problem.” Wise said as soon as the message in his eyes disappeared. “Ethereals are nearby. I need you to hold them off long enough so i can get the data out of the piles to make a carrot. I just need to hold them off for about 3 minutes” Wise explains as they began running towards the data pile, he could feel a pressure trying to push on his chest but something prevented it. he took a knee, coughing loudly but he ignored the pain, it would only get better if he got out of the Hollow.
While Wise was busy downloading the data, the Sons of Calydon’s bangboo and Billy defended Wise form incoming Ethereals. Billy silded from side to side, weapons firing at anything that moved too close to Wise.
“How much longer do you need, manager?!” Billy asked over the gunshots.
“We just need 2 more data piles, I have the semblance of a carrot, but it’s not gonna be enough to get us yet.”
“How’s your condition?” Billy asked, kneeling to the Proxy’s side. “Here I have some Anti-corruption serum. it should help, right.
Wise injected the serum in his arm. The cool liquid seeped through his veins and it felt like cold water washed all over his body, Keep the ever growing pressure in his chest at bay.
“Ahhh… Thanks Billy, this should keep me going for a while. ALright, let’s move. The next data pile should be ahead.”
Billy enthusiastically spinned his guns. “Lead the way, manager!”
As the pair ran though what appeared to be an old oil rig, Wise struggled to keep up with the android. He regrets not hitting the gym more often back at the Helios Academy now. While the legendary proxy phaethon struggled to keep up with the starlight knight’s biggest fan who backflipped, frontflipped and cartwheeled his way across.
“Billy slow down! We aren’t in starlight knights!”His thoughts drifted to Belle and Eous. But he trusted Billy to get him out of the Hollow.
“Maybe not, but a starlight knight must always protect the weak, I have to make sure no one tries to hurt you… because im pretty sure Belle would hurt me if i let anything happen to you…” Billy strikes a pose, before letting his head drop. “But don’t worry, manager! As long as i’m here, nothing will harm you!”
“Thanks Billy, I owe you one.” Wise smiled
“Anything for a friend like you Wise! Nicole may be in your Debt… But you can’t put a price on friendship!”
“Of all the people I'm stuck in a hollow with, I’m glad it’s you, Billy. And if we make it out I might reduce Nicole’s debt a little.”
“Nah… This one is a Starlight knight special deal! It wouldn’t be right. Getting you to safety is more important then anything.”
Having worked with The cunning hares for a long time meant that Billy and Wise we’re close, They loved going to the Arcade, and even if Billy monologued on and on about starlight knights, he meant well, and Wise was more then happy to let him power the special edition with 15 seconds of extra footage if it made his friend happy. Plus, Billy was a great promoter, and an even greater Agent. Lightning fast with his guns, he took ethereal downs as stylishly as the starlight knights he looked up to, some of his finishing moves were in his Combat footage Highlights.
Billy and Wise looked to the data pile ahead, guarded by Ethereals. shambling aimlessly around it. Mostly corrupted Raiders, poor souls who seem to have long succumbed to corruption. Such was the fate of those who got lost in a hollow. Extracting the data from that pile would be impossible unless the pair came up with a plan… Unless you were Billy Kid.
“Manager, Do you have the time?”
“Last i checked it was around 11:15?”
“Wrong!”
Billy leapt from behind cover, going to the data pile and crossing his guns in an X-shape
“IT’S… CHOW TIME!!!”
In the blink of an eye, Billy gunned down the Ethereals, striking various poses with each gunshot that reverberated in the air. A move that Wise had seen many times through Eous’s Eyes, but one he never gets tired of seeing. Billy moves faster then when he hears a new starlight knight’s figurine pack gets announced, his movements make him blurry to the naked eye, making it seem like he’s firing in all directions all at once, and that was the case. Billy was beyond any expert marksman in new eridu, but it always did strike Wise as odd that he barely used this kind of energy outside of emergency situations.
With the ethereals cleared out of the way, Wise got to work and before long, he had two thirds of a carrot.
“We’re just one quarter away from home, Billy!”
“Alright! Let’s head to the next one!”
Suddenly, Wise’s eyes lit up again. An interface finished a scan before displaying the following words:
(High class Ethereal Detected. Designation: Ruthless Fiend)
A Ruthless Fiend… Not good. He warned Billy about what was coming, Billy did’nt question how Wise knew what was ahead let alone how, but he trusted Phaethon’s Intel, and if he told him to be careful he would be careful. Wise rushed to the data pile, doing his best to work as fast as he could. Despite the growing pains across his body, the pressure making him feel woozy and the countdown of his Ether field, Wise worked against the clock, He heard the Ruthless fiend roar but he did not take his eyes of his work, he trusted Billy to finish the job.
Once he had the complete carrot, he shouted it to billy, telling them they could get out, he knew the way.Without as much as him blinking, Wise was suddenly off his feat, slumped over Billy’s Shoulder staring right at the Ruthless fiend who was charging towards them.
“Is he still behind us?!” Billy asks
The Fiend Roared, as if answering the android.
“Does that answer your question?” Wise replied with a slight twinge of fear in his voice
“YES!” Billy picked up the pace, but so did the ethereal.
(Warning! High-class Ethereal within: 60m of user.)
(Warning! High-class Ethereal within: 40m of user)
(Warning! High-class Ethereal within: 20m of user)
CRASH!!!
Wise and Billy were both sent flying through the air, while Billy landed on the ground with little issue, he barely had time to register Wise crashing into him, not helping his condition. As Wise’s vision was still blurry, he shambled his way to the Truck, opening a crate to find some corruption serum, which he quickly injected in his arm, The cool liquid seeping in his veins and keeping the pain and corruption at bay and keeping his energy up.
“Manager! I lost my guns!!!” Billy called out, sliding under the Fiends arm, avoiding getting hit. But the Fiend was dead set on taking out Wise, ignoring the construct and ramming towards the truck.
But before it could even try, the sound of a motorcycle engine roared above, jumping on top of the massive ethereal before landing in a, Quite frankly, amazing slide.
She wore a black leather jacket, black shorts and black thigh highs, her hair was mint green and she had gorgeous golden eyes. She was…
She was beautiful.
Billy frantically looked for his guns, as he greeted the young woman by calling her “Big sis”. we’re they family somehow? she did call Billy “Little bro” before she turned to him.
“Ahhh! So this is the amazing proxy i heard so much about! Pleasure to meet you Phaethon! I’m Caesar! Caesar King!”
“Wise, please meet the greatest big sister in all of the outer ring, Caesar! Caesar, this is Phaethon, Phaethon, this is Caesar.” Billy introduce as he gestured to the both of them
Wise was still star-struck by her, But the reverie ended quickly before Wise began to cough heavily, The Corruption was worsening. and his so called “Ether Field” was on getting weaker, and he didnt want to stay in the Hollow long enough to figure what happens next.
Suddenly The Ruthless fiend began to walk menacingly towards them again, and as Billy frantically searched for his guns, The sound of an engine zipped past him, leading to a trail of fire that uppercuted The fiend, sending him flying back before a man landed in front of Billy.
“Come on, Brother. You’ve gotten a little rusty.” The man smuggly replied as he lowered his sunglasses. causing Billy to make what seemed to be a gestured to stay focused or some kind of inside joke Wise wasn’t privy to.
“Alright boys..” Caesar spoke as she took out a shield and a sword from her back, With Billy and the other man taking out their weapons. “It’s time to shine!!!”
“Hey Lighter, Should we try our old combo for old times’ sake?” Billy asked the gauntlet wielding man.
“Sure thing, Brother. Let’s show him what the red scarves of Calydon can do.”
Billy, and the man called Lighter rushed forward together, even if Billy didn’t have his guns he wasn’t out of options, He weaved through the fiends attacks with Lighter in such perfect synergy it was almost as if they had fought together for decades. Punching and Parrying together as Caesar kept Wise safe from any incoming Ethereals.
Even though Wise’s vision was getting blurry…. It was something else to witness. He looked around for Billy’s guns, finding them both not far from where He and Billy had landed. calling out to Billy who was busy kicking the Ruthless fiend back and forth with Lighter as he delivered some fiery punches, he looked to Lighter for confirmation to which he nodded, letting Billy sprint to get back his beloved guns.
As the fiend reached his limit, Billy had a clear shot. Passing one gun to Wise who looked to him in surprise.
“Come on, Buddy, No way im not letting you get the finishing blow on your first Ethereal!”
Wise smiled weakly as he took a knee from exhaustion, doing everything to keep his aim straight. Billy placed his guns over his, telling him to think of a cool one-liner to say at the same time as him.
Only one came to Wise’s mind, and he knew Billy well enough to know what his would be
“Starlight, Shine Bright!” They both exclaimed, as two bullets finished the Ruthless fiend.
Wise smiled contently. As his vision became blurry, and he passed out, the last thing he saw being Caesar and Billy. His thoughts drifted to Belle and Eous. But he trusted Billy to get him out of the Hollow.