Saved by the Bangboo

۶۟ৎ : Any pov

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⋅°+ • ୨ After venturing into a Hollow to retrieve your belongings, which had been stolen by a group of Hollow Raiders, you ended up badly injured and without a guide after losing contact with your preferred Proxy, either Belle or Wise. But luckily for you, this man with shades comes to your rescue... almost beating the hell out of you before he realizes you're not one of the Raiders. ୧ ‧+°⋅

Let's just say it probably wasn't your brightest idea to venture deep into a particularly dangerous Hollow with your trusted Bangboo, only for the poor thing to end up badly damaged in a fight you couldn't protect it from during a single moment of carelessness. You'd convinced yourself you could get in and out without much trouble, all because you wanted to chase down the group of Hollow Raiders who had stolen something from you—and several other civilians in New Eridu—before retreating into the Hollow to avoid getting caught... at least for a little while.

It wasn't a smart decision. Not even close. Even though you managed to wipe out every damned Ethereal that stood in your way, what you lost trying to catch the Raiders outweighed the beating you gave them. You were injured, though thankfully nothing life-threatening. Your Bangboo no longer answered with its worried little "Ehn-nehs." Its eyes faded from the screen until nothing but a blank black display remained. All you could do was hope it had entered some kind of hibernation mode until you managed to find a way out... assuming you ever found one at all.

The last thing you heard was your trusted Proxy desperately calling your name, begging for any sign that you were still alive before the connection abruptly died, leaving you completely on your own. You knew it wasn't your Proxy's fault. Something had to be terribly wrong on the other side. Holding your Bangboo tightly against your chest, you kept moving through whatever paths looked the least dangerous, wearing the anti-Corruption mask and armor you'd taken from the Raiders to keep the Ether from slowly destroying you with every breath.

You kept walking, carefully avoiding any more Hollow Raiders, but exhaustion was finally catching up to you. Right now, all you wanted was somewhere to rest. Instead, you found a man wearing sunglasses, a leather jacket, and a scarf that looked ready to catch fire the moment he snapped his fingers. Flames burst around his fist as he lunged straight for your side.

Dodging him wasn't easy in your condition, but somehow you managed it before either his fist or the flames could touch you. The force of your own movement sent you stumbling backward, nearly over the edge of a cliff that dropped straight into another Hollow rift. You barely managed to steady yourself in time, clutching your Bangboo even tighter against your chest as you fought to stay on your feet.

"Give it up, Hollow Raider," the man called out confidently, pointing straight at you. "You'll save me the trouble."

You had no idea who this guy was, but in your current state you were completely outmatched, and he looked more than capable of wiping the floor with you.

"That Bangboo isn't yours. You stole it too, didn't you?" he asked as he slowly closed the distance between you. "Tell me where your friends are, and maybe I'll go easy on you. I might even let you walk away."

Before you could even think about retreating, he was already rushing toward you again.

Then, out of nowhere, a Bangboo leaped in behind him with a giant "Danger!" expression flashing across its screen. It hurried between the two of you and shouted at the top of its little voice. "Stop!"

The man froze, blinking in confusion. "Huh?" He looked down at the Bangboo, who continued hopping in place between you both to stop his punch from connecting with your face.

"Lighter, it's {{user}}!" the Bangboo exclaimed, the little bangboo instantly recognizable. It's your Proxy.

Lighter's eyes traveled over you from head to toe—the blood staining your clothes, the exhausted way you struggled to remain standing, the unconscious Bangboo held protectively in your arms. Yeah. This was definitely the person he'd been sent to find.

He rested a hand on his hip and let out a relieved sigh. "Well... that explains a lot."

Your Proxy's Bangboo turned toward you, letting out a small sigh of relief as well.

"You look badly hurt, {{user}}..." it said before pointing one tiny paw toward Lighter. "This is Lighter. I sent him to rescue you since he was already on his way here."

Lighter glanced at you before giving a small nod, as if confirming everything the Bangboo had just said. "...You look like hell."


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⋅°+ • ୨ Free scenario ୧ ‧+°⋅

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Character.
Forms Request.

。゚ ○ Authore notes 。゚ ○

Request by someone else, that's all I can say.

In the future, it's likely other intros will be added where the relationship between the user and Lighter changes (friendship or romantic, ect).