Chapter Text
They weren’t going to make it.
She was struggling to breath as she laid back against the ruined building. The hollow came so suddenly. She couldn’t escape if she tried. Not in her condition. The others she was with were scattered. Lost to this hellish labyrinth. Any signs of rescue were long gone. She felt the ether twisting her insides. Felt it breaching her skin. Yet through all the pain, She only thought about her.
She couldn’t save her.
She wouldn’t even get to see her.
Another contraction ripped her from her thoughts. Why now of all times?
Why would her baby want to be born in this hell?
She watched as her stomach deformed. Skin distending as its occupant tried to break free. Was it already too late? Had her baby already turned? Was all her worrying being wasted on a mon-
No! Her baby wasn’t a monster. Not now! Not yet!
But how long until she was. Until they both were…
The air grew stale as her body convulsed. The pain is the only thing keeping her awake. Her body trying desperately to complete the cycle of birth. She could feel it, barely. Her baby was moving. She was coming out!
But the feeling was hollow. They were too… late?...early?…
She couldn’t tell anymore.
Her consciousness was fading, her limbs were going numb, and her head felt like it was tearing itself apart.
This was it, wasn’t it…
She was turning into an ethereal, right as she lay in labor. Right as her child was being born.
With one last breath before oblivion, before the monster within overtook her, she pleaded.
“Please… protect…her…”
Years later
“Um, sir? Are you doing ok?”
Belle stared at the troubled looking man. It was fairly late in the evening, the darkened skies painting the world a somber blue. The lights of lumina Square trying their best to outshine the mood. Unfortunately, trouble always seemed to weasel its way into New Eridu. Case in point, the old troubled- looking man she heard rambling on while getting some groceries for tonight's dinner.
“Oh, sorry. Was I rambling again.” Mumbled the old man, rubbing the back of his head. “I swear I keep seeing a little girl with messy white hair and tattered clothes hanging around alone on 10th Street, but every time I go to have a closer look, she runs off without a word.”
“And you thought chasing after the kid was ok…Why?” Belle said as she raised her eyebrow.
“Well, I contacted the authorities early on, but I don’t think they have done anything about it. She keeps showing up after the fact.”
At least the old man tried. Before she could comment any further, the old man continued.
“Although, had I not followed her this time, I wouldn’t have seen her run straight into the nearby hollow.”
“Run that by me again?” Belle said, startled by the new information.
“She just… ran in.” The man’s face became somber once more. “I feel bad about scaring her. I just hope she can get out safely. Oh… I’m gonna be worried sick.”
“And when was this again?” Belle pressed.
“I last saw the girl a few hours ago. Why?” The man said, his face lifting from the ground.
“Have you tried posting this on the inter-knot?” Belle spoke before she could think about the situation. Then again, her intuition told her that this was the real deal. If the Old man wasn’t pulling her strings.
The old man went silent for a moment before saying, “I haven’t, but at this point, it would probably be for the best.” Turning to Belle, he continued, “Hopefully, someone can help the poor girl, she must be so scared.”
“Happy to help.” Said Belle, already slotting the commission into her mental schedule.
As she turned to leave with her groceries, She heard the old man say with a sigh, “If you find her, please tell her I’m sorry.”
“I’ll let you know if I hear anything.” And with that, Belle Made her way to the subway system.
Looks like tonight was going to be another long one.
The 8th street companion hollow was a strange shift from its sibling hollows. The corrupted environment was hauntingly serene, as if the flow of time had all but stilled within the ethers touch. Many surfaces were stained a bleach white, leaving only the brightest colors to stand out against the stark abyss. Many of the buildings and streets were worn smooth, the gaps in the structures filled in with etheric matter. It was as if the world had become a canvas, ripples of color the only thing giving the dimension its shape. Even the sounds of the hollow were calm, worldless tranquility resonating throughout the space.
In all their years as the proxy duo Phaethon, Belle and Wise had never seen a hollow this… lovely.
“Even the ether activity is surprisingly steady.” Belle heard Wise say. It still unnerved her to hear her sibling talk right next to her while she was using the H.D.D. system, even after all this time.
“I’m just glad we haven’t encountered any ethereals so far. Makes navigating a whole lot easier.”
Not that they were doing much navigating. Despite their best efforts, none of their normal contacts were available to help on such short notice at this hour. Not willing to wait, Belle had sent Eous into the hollow alone.
As Eous’s body continued its trek through the hollow, Belle noted how undisturbed the hollow was. Normally, these smaller companion hollows were full of ethereals, hollow raiders, gang members, and all kinds of suppression equipment. The only signs of activity around were etheric wind blowing, the footprints in the sand-like ground, and of course Eou-
Wait, footprints?
Belle stopped to take another look. Yep, small footprints, barely perceptible in the fine dust of the hollow. And some of them were fairly recent too!
“Hey! I think I found something!” Belle exclaimed. She felt Wise lean on her shoulder, probably to see her feed. After a moment, the weight lifted, and she heard Wise’s fingers clack against the keyboard.
“Try to follow them. If we’re lucky we can find the target before any… Wait; the ether activity just rose!”
Eous stopped in their tracks as Belle looked around, hoping to spot whatever was causing the disturbance. As they did so, Eous backed into a little nook in the ether rubble.
“Hang on, it’s just one ethereal…strange. That shouldn't be enough to cause such big shifts in the ether.”
“It is rather quiet in this hollow.” Belle mused, not seeing anything on her end. “Maybe the ether is just…echoing?”
“...I'm pretty sure that's not the best way to describe it.” Wise said, mirth filling his voice.
“In any case, be careful. The ethereal is heading this way.”
The sound of footsteps pittered through the space, swift yet…soft. And alongside that…
“Is that… giggling I hear?”
The strange high pitched warbling sound could barely be considered giggling. Worse, the sound resonated throughout the area, making it hard for Eous to pinpoint.
Cautiously, Belle had Eous exit their hiding spot, making sure they scanned the area for the ethereal in the vicinity. Just as it seemed they were in the clear, Eous backed into something fluffy, startling Belle. She jumped forwards with a yelp, Eous turning to see what they ran into, only to find an opalescent mass of cascading… hair?
Wait, that's a child! Likely the lost kid they were looking for!
As the kid seemed to notice them and started to turn around, Belle noted just how feral the kid’s appearance was. From the wild unkempt hair, to the tattered oversized shirt; Her lack of shoes as well painted a grim picture of the kid’s situation.
Although oddly, the kid seemed relatively clean, even in the evening darkness. Her hair shone in the dim light, creating an opalescent sheen. Her shirt was tattered, yes, but it wasn’t discolored with stains. Even her bare feet were only mildly dirty. The pale sands of the hollow contrasting strongly with the dark stone gray of her skin.
Wait, what?
“Belle, The ethereal is right on top of you!”
At that moment, the child locked eyes with Eous, and Belle could see the outline of an ethereal core behind the child’s neon green irises.
“Um, Wise. You're gonna wanna see this.” Belle said shakily.
She heard Wise jump from his seat, only to pause for some time before he said “What kind of ethereal is that?
The now identified ethereal cocked it's head to the side, similarly to a confused child.
“Belle…” Wise started to say as the ethereal started looking around, not moving from its spot. “ Are you sure that’s our target?”
Before Belle could answer, she felt Eous being picked up from under its arms. She yelped, trying to shake Eous loose to no avail as the ethereal (child?) watched. After a few moments of futile struggle Belle relented, looking back at the strange child (etherial?).
Their captor simply smiled, that warbling giggle emanating from their… mouth? That was still closed?
“Belle, I think things just got a lot more complicated.” said Wise.
Belle couldn’t agree more.