Ren's smirk grew wider as the Hacker stuttered before Belle stood in front of Ren.
"Ren, stop, you might put our clients in danger." Belle glared at Ren, who just shrugged it off and twirled his staff.
"Oh, dear Belle, you're way too naive for your own sake. But very well." Ren kept smiling before slowly walking away from the screen and leaning on his staff. Wise glared at Ren before the Hacker cleared their throat and spoke back into the microphone.
"Tch, control that guy a little better, I have to say, though, I'm touched by your act. Proxies and Hollow Raiders are wolves stealing profit from the Hollows behind the investigative association's back. All are constantly ruining each other in the name of greed. But to protect your secret identity, they actually gave up the chance to escape. HAHAHA." The Hacker started to laugh before Ren stared at his nails and drummed his fingers against his staff.
"Oh, yes, I believe they are quite stupid. But I find them quite... admirable, you would say. Adds a bit of... colour to our dull and boring lives by watching fools give up their lives." Ren grinned before walking forward again. Belle attempted to stop him, but Ren nudged her arm away with his staff.
"So I'll do this with you. We can give you the code~" Ren fiddled with his staff before Wise glared at Ren.
"Huh? Wait, what are you doing?!" Wise yelled at Ren, who just ignored him and looked to the side with a condescending expression.
"You know, we could always give you the code, but oh, dear, we don't have the system~ how could we give you the code if we have no system~? How sad, looks like you will never get the code now." Ren grinned the widest he's ever been before sighing and turning away.
"STILL TRYING TO BARGAIN WITH ME?!" The hacker's voice boomed through the system. Wise swiftly cleared his throat and moved in front of Ren.
"Ahem, don't panic. The password was recovered using Inter-Knot's computing power, and there's a backup on the network. We can get the password if you give us the system back." Wise stood his ground and sternly glared at Ren, who was shrugging his shoulders.
"No way, none of you can be trusted, especially that guy who was saying all sorts of things to make me-" The hacker yelled before Ren just smiled at them sinisterly, making the Hacker swallow their spit.
"Just hand over your inter-knot account. I'll retrieve the strongbox password myself! Ah! I almost forgot. Inter-Knot is the foundation of a Proxy's business. Losing the account is like losing the proof that this Proxy has ever existed. But to save those in the Hollow, you'll have to think quickly. They'll become monsters if they stay there for too long." The Hacker chuckled while Ren gripped his staff.
"What will we get then? What's the problem if I just... oh so suddenly... blow your computer up?! HAHAHA!" Ren spread his hands in the air, mimicking an explosion before laughing again.
"You'll have to do better than that. How about you save the clients first? Oh, but you're not good enough for anything, so that's why you resort to this, puny, little stunt that would trick most 5-year-olds." Ren stood in front of Wise and started to laugh while the Hacker yelled out at Ren.
"Fine, I'll save them! You have no choice but to trust me anyway!" The hacker yelled at Ren, before Wise and Belle exchanged a glance at each other.
"Okay, I'll give you our Proxy account, but if you go back on your word, I'll make you pay!" Belle glared at the screen before slowly typing in the password and sending them all to the hacker.
"I got a small question I gotta ask." Ren stared at his fingernails, almost uninterested in the Hacker's answer.
"Since you stopped opening your mouth so much, I'm in a good mood, ask ahead." Ren let out almost a predatory smile before closing in and placing a hand on the screen.
"Oh well, it's nothing big, I just want to understand what's in that strongbox, that's all." Ren turned back to the screen and removed his hand from the screen.
"It's something someone like you will never get your hands on, but I guess I can reveal a little. As you all know, the hollows are changing all the time. The Carrots used to get out function by calculating a huge amount of hollow data. However, hollow expedition equipment accumulates errors, so to ensure that the data remains valid," The hacker was suddenly cut off by Ren, who was speaking in a sing-song voice as his staff disappeared.
"So they must have been recalibrated by using some sort of data." Ren grinned as the hacker continued.
"Yes, the equipment must be recalibrated using the Hollow master data every few days, using the single copy of "Rossetta data" that is in the hands of the city's rulers. Inside the strongbox is something comparable to that; with it, you can enter and exit Hollows freely. For Proxies and Hollow raiders, it must be a dream come true. But it has nothing to do with you. Now, tell me where the code is." The hacker demanded just as Ren decided to turn on the radio, only for 1930 music to play.
"What is-" The Hacker gasped before Ren slowly grinned.
"My dear, you should activate your Proxy certificate first. Now that I think about it, aren't you just a phony? Someone who's so skilful should've just stolen the password themselves, not by holding hostages. Just a word of warning, maybe next time don't try to be such a phony~" Ren tilted his head and made a condescending expression towards the screen.
"Shut up! Just tell me where the backup is, you shitty-looking shit!" The hacker yelled at Ren, only for his smile to widen.
"But my dear, I am helping you here, listen, don't you hear any sort of sirens? I'm just fulfilling my duties as a good citizen of New Eridu! You know, the city is quite nice; they have cops and hotlines for hollow raiders and proxies. Cops are the citizens' caretaker, you know~" Ren smirked and allowed his deer ears to rest on his head, being completely covered by his hair.
"You'll pay for this, you shitty-looking shit-" The signal was suddenly cut off by Ren pulling the plug and turning to Wise and Belle.
"Well, I'm starved! Who wants some jambalaya? My mother once showed me a wonderful recipe for jambalaya. In fact, it nearly killed her! You could say the kick was right out of Hell! Oh, I'm on a roll!" Ren laughed before Belle got situated in her seat while Ren made his staff appear out of thin air.
"Wait, I just have to ask, who are you? That was some good acting, you made the hacker lose their cool and proceeded to hook out information." Belle turned her chair to face Ren, who was still smiling.
"My dear, they're like producers, give them a few knocks and a little aggression about their abilities and boom, it's done, easy." Ren grinned and spun his staff around.
"Producer? You an entertainer or something?" Wise quested Ren, who was leaning against his staff now.
"Oh, something along the line, an actor of the century! The radio that killed the video star." Ren grinned before walking off into the distance.
"Entering hollows freely... how entertaining~" Ren purred before disappearing into the shadows and reappearing in the area where the hollow was, as a smirk appeared on his face.
"Let's begin~" Ren slowly walked into the hollow before hiding behind an abandoned train, allowing his teeth to grow sharper, his deer ears stood up straight, not like the way that was hidden by his puffy hair before, his eyes going from grey to red and his puffy hair being transformed into a cropped, angled bob cut with black ends, and an undercut on the back. Alastor slowly grinned to himself before gently hiding in the shadows again.
"If my calculations were correct, that idiot phony hacker would've led the Cunning Hares in circles like an idiot," Alastor growled to himself before Ethereals rushed at Alastor, only for them to be pierced by shadow tentacles that spawned out of his shadow. A bullet suddenly flew towards Alastor, which he blocked with his staff, before a sudden ether blast came his way. Alastor swiftly disappeared into his shadows and appeared behind Nicole, the person who fired the cannon. Billy and Anby swiftly pointed their weapons at Alastor before Billy just tilted his head.
"Oh, it's the radio guy, buddy! Why are you here again?" Billy slowly dropped his gun before Alastor grimaced and spoke in a radio-filtered voice.
"Well, just a casual stroll of the mind, nothing too serious. Well, I'm here to guide you all out of this stupid little Hollow with..." Alastor took a look at the bangboo with Belle's voice leaking out.
"It's the deer-looking thing!" The Bangboo turned to face Alastor, who kept a grin.
"Don't call me that, I have a guy already calling me that enough. You sure are a good person, Nicole. I might have to change my perspective about you. Nevermind, I won't~" Alastor smiled and spread his hands while his fingers tightened around his staff.
"Heh, good person, huh? Am I getting complimented by a deer-looking guy and just about to lose my life in a hollow just for a title like that? I must be stupid- AHHH!!!" Nicole screamed at the Bangboo, which rang through the Hollow, while Alastor plugged his ears and groaned.
"Little late to be screaming now, isn't it?" Alastor grinned before leaning into Anby and Billy's faces and leaning back again.
"How about this? I'll make you a deal: I'll guide us out of here with Proxy, and in return, we don't fight. Simple?" Alastor tilted his head while Nicole grimaced and sighed.
"If Anby and Billy already met you before, and you were also a competent fighter, from what I heard from those two. Fine. But you better not be some type of new Ethereal and hurt anyone." Nicole glared at Alastor, who simply turned away with a smile.
"Dearie, I promise you I will not hurt anyone, because if I wanted to do it should be those Ethereals who try to ruin my fun~" Alastor grinned before leaning against his staff.
-After a while-
"The manager cut off comms with us because a hacker infiltrated their device, and some guy who was at the store earlier helped out and then suddenly disappeared?" Billy stared at the floor solemnly.
"And to think it wasn't because of Nicole haggling on the price", Anby stared to the side solemnly before Alastor swiftly disappeared into the shadows as a girl with lilac hair and blue eyes that were tied in twin tails with the braid being at the ends of her hair stared at him from a distance.
"I may be a Proxy, but I'm not that merciless!" Belle yelled at both Anby and Billy before the girl's eyes fell upon Alastor and disappeared from everyone's sight.
"Let the slaughter... begin~" Alastor grinned to himself before smirking and his shadow grimaced behind him.