Meanwhile
Wise can be seen lying on the couch, snoring soundly, as Eous lies on his stomach in rest mode. Out of nowhere, his phone rings and causes the poor Proxy to startle as he hastily gets up and knocks Eous off his stomach.
"Nah, na na!?!? (Hey, what was that for!?)." Eous exclaims as Wise grabs his phone and sees 'Charon' calling him. He let out a tired groan while rubbing the bridge of his nose and picked it up.
"Can I help you, Charon?" Wise asks, sounding grumpy.
"Sorry for calling you out of nowhere, Wise," Trigger apologizes. "I am here to inform you that Soldier 11 is on the way to your store's parking lot, and she plans to contact you sooner or later."
"Oh..right," Wise mutters while stifling his yawn. "...when is she coming here again?"
As he said that, he received a notification from Soldier 11 on his phone. Wise blinks twice before shaking his head.
"Never mind, she's already giving me the message," Wise yawns as he gets up. "Are Caelus and Phil with you guys?"
"Hey, Crimson Twilight," Caelus greets teasingly from the other side, which almost causes Wise to trip.
"Seriously? Do you have to call me by Shepherd's fake identity?" Wise groans.
"Honestly, no. I did it for the lols," Caelus says shamelessly, earning a giggle and a snort from Seed and Phil, respectively. "Speaking of Shepherd, did you guys confront him for risking Soldier 11's mission? How many times did you guys bust his balls?"
"What's with everyone and their obsession with targeting people's balls?" Phil mutters from a distance.
"It's an effective strategy. Seed Sr. once taught me it could swiftly knock down enemies." Seed chimes in.
"...I'm just gonna ask about Seed Sr," Phil says weakly.
"For your information, yes, we did confront the info broker." Trigger says.
"Trigger threatened that man by pointing her sniper rifle at his balls!" Seed exclaims cheerfully, earning a sigh from Trigger.
"You see what I mean!?" Phil exclaims in exasperation.
"Would you like to discuss how in the world you got your tiny paws on a modified military-grade weapon?" Trigger asks. Wise is glad that he didn't drink anything because he would spit it out in shock.
The tiny gremlin somehow got his paws on military grade weapons!? That guy managed to beat a bunch of simulated Ethereals with a bunch of scraps; he can't help but shiver imagining the tiny guy wielding such a dangerous weapon. Somehow, he had a feeling that damn raccoon somehow managed to get it for him and pull a devil's move, whispering in his big ears and tempting the poor guy.
"You're judging me, aren't you, Wise?" Caelus asks dryly. "The silence was very loud from the other side."
"...these are military weapons? I was expecting it to be better since an EMP made from scraps could easily shut it down," Phil says in a shameless and prideful tone.
"...and pray tell, how are you even allowed to create an EMP?" Wise believes that since he just woke up, he might've imagined hearing Trigger's blood pressure rising.
"The college? I mean, it's a topic discussed in one of the courses I'm allowed to select in my second semester as a student aiming for a Bachelor of Science in HollowResearch," Phil explains. Wise may have made a wrong assumption; Phil had always been a menace, even if he didn't meet Caelus.
"...what are they even teaching in college these days..." Trigger mutters in confusion.
"Introduction of Ether Technology," Phil explains.
"...I'm very sure that course doesn't show how to disarm a military-grade weapon," Trigger says.
"As fun as this discussion is," Caelus says sarcastically. "We have an unfinished business, didn't we?"
"Aww, I was hoping I could learn more about college," Seed says, and Wise could imagine her pouting. "I never get the chance to go, so I wanna know it through a student's experience."
"...you and your squad aren't beating the child soldier allegation, you know?" Caelus points out, and Wise silently agrees.
"Let's just focus on the mission," Trigger groans in exasperation.
"Yeah, I have yet to respond to Soldier 11's message since you guys keep me distracted with your conversations," Wise says as he is greeted with an eerie silence from the other side. "...guys? Why are you all quiet?"
"If you value your life, you should respond to Soldier 11 now," Trigger says seriously.
"Mhm! She hates slackers!" Seed exclaims in a cheerful tone.
"And we had experienced being at the receiving end of her rage..." Caelus and Phil add their two dennies, causing Wise to panic before he uses his computer to contact Soldier 11.
"H-hey, Soldier 11..." Wise says nervously.
"You're late," Soldier 11 says plainly, and Wise could hear everyone wince.
"Oof, she's mad," Seed says, her cheerful tone disappearing.
"S-sorry, I got some messages from some people requesting commissions. I was too distracted to respond before noticing your message. I'm sorry," Wise squeaks.
"...you're lucky you're not one of my soldiers," Soldier 11 says as Wise sighs in relief.
"So...are you planning to continue infiltrating the rebels' group? What's the plan?" Wise asks.
"Meeting one of the branch's rebel army," Soldier 11 explains. "I have received a message from the mole that he's arranging a meeting for me with the rebel leader."
"That quick? Isn't that suspicious?" Wise asks in concern.
"I know it's a trap; they were very careless. That is why I prepare a backup; they're simply one call away," Soldier 11 explains.
"I...see..." Wise simply nods. "Do you know why he's so hasty?"
"Not sure." Soldier 11 says with a shrug. Wise sweatdrops as he could hear people facefault from Trigger's side.
"Yeah, I don't know. This is just too hasty..." Wise says nervously. "Perhaps we can delay the meeting a few days-!"
"I am not planning on delaying this. This is a great opportunity presented to me, and I don't think we can get another chance. If I decline, the probability of the mole figuring out I was a spy and refusing to let me meet the leader is high. This rat has escaped justice for far too long, and I don't think we can let him get away anylonger." Soldier 11 says that her anger slowly rose as she spoke before she regained control of her emotions once again.
"Apologies, I didn't mean to lose control of my emotions," Soldier 11 says evenly.
".. I-it's fine," Wise says nervously, slightly concerned by Soldier 11's obsession with catching this mole.
"This isn't good," Trigger says in worry. "It seems that Soldier 11 has lost all reason. With all the temptation of catching the mole, her anger towards injustice, and her strong dislike of traitors, all she could think of was to catch thismole."
"...I'll try to guide you through this mission as safely as possible. So, please don't do anything reckless, Soldier 11." Wise says as Soldier 11 is silent for a moment.
"Thank you for your advice." Soldier 11 says evenly before she focuses on her current mission as she enters the Hollow. Wise rubs his forehead as he is unsure how to properly react to all of this.
"...I'm worried for Soldier 11," Seed says nervously.
"I'll go and tail her, making sure my blessing remains with her," Caelus suggests.
"You do that..." Wise says with a sigh. As he did, Belle walked into the room with a half-awake expression while rubbing her eyes.
"Hey, Wise..." Belle greets with a yawn. "What are you doing waking up so early?"
"Soldier 11 requesting to continue the commission not long ago," Wise says tiredly.
"Oh, sheesh, everyone was right. She is impatient," Belle comments. "So, what's the plan here?"
"If I can't convince her, I'll at least try to keep her safe," Wise explains.
"Not just you," Trigger cuts in.
"Yeah..." Wise nods before typing something down on the computer. "Fairy, can you locate Soldier 11's and Caelus' locations for us?"
"Of course, master. Locating those two is easy. Her special frequency and Caelus' supernova reading made it easy to do so," Fairy says as Wise raises his eyebrow. He has known about Caelus' supernova since his first visit, but Soldier 11 has a unique frequency? What was that all about?
"Great job," Wise says. "Now, let's go get this mole..."
"Don't get too excited," Trigger says. "We have tracked down a group of rebel armies camping nearby. They seem to set an ambush."
"Should I intervene?" Caelus turned on his comm and asked.
"For now, let's not do it." Trigger says.
"Yeah, the backup's still on their way," Seed adds. "It may take a while since Soldier 11 had requested in a hurry and didn't let them prepare properly."
"This is gonna be a disaster, I can feel it," Belle says dryly.
"Please don't jinx it, not when Aha'swatching," Caelus groans.
"Who's Aha?"/"Who's Aha?" Everyone asks.
"A cosmic god who's an embodiment of Elation. THEY treat everything in the universe as a big fat joke," Caelus says.
"...Caelus, did you-!?" Wise was cut off when they heard a ghostly giggle in the room, startling him and Belle as their skin slowly turned white. "...what was that?"
"You hear that laugh...?" Trigger asks, her calm voice broke.
"That was creepy..." Seed says shakily.
"Oh, my god..." Phil stammers.
"I told you so..." Caelus groans.
"...I have SO many questions here!" Belle exclaims as she latches on her brother fearfully.
To be Continued