A/N: I feel like I need to write this after what happened not long ago, and I have a feeling it won't be a one-time thing, so I had to make things clear here. This story is focused on slice-of-life with action as a second priority, and my knowledge of ZZZ and HSR canon is not perfect, so please give me a break when you guys read my story.
If you guys want to make a criticism, write one down without necessarily saying 'This author is dumb or didn't read the lore' or any insults you guys can imagine. I write this story for fun and mostly to have a relaxing day after work.
Another thing I need to mention is that if you guys find this fic's Caelus to be weaker than his HSR counterpart, remember that this guy is not the actual Caelus, who was a former Stellaron Hunter with amnesia, but a random guy from Earth who plays both HSR and ZZZ with no fighting experience and has a Path power through the leveling system. His strength is meant to be weak at early chapters, and I made it very clear in the early chapters, so don't guys expect a 'planetary or universal scale'.
And if you guys decided to say his strength doesn't match the canon, remember a few things: the entire canon was tossed out of the window the moment Caelus landed in this world. Aeons who weren't supposed to exist in ZZZ universe is now watching the world with great interest due to Caelus, Corin who only met Nekomiya has met the rest of the Cunning Hares early, Zhu Yuan and Qingyi who weren't supposed to get involved with Vision scandal is involved in the story, Trigger shows herself to Wise and Belle very early and Seed interact with them before Season 2, and the latest one, Xiao Zhao.
So, please, don't start calling me 'stupid or dumb' again because this fic is not canon-accurate. I write this story for fun, not to get more insults.
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Earlier
With Phil
"..." Phil mindlessly walks away from the university with a defeated expression on his face. After trying to process his expulsion, his body has been moving on autopilot with no destination.
The citizens nearby had noticed the young Thiren and even concernly calls him out, but Phil had remained unresponsive. The citizens decided to leave him be, believing the young boy needs some space.
He was snapped out of his thought when his phone rang, and he glanced at the screen. The person who had called him is registered in his phone as 'Big Cousin'. He glances at the phone blankly before hanging up and continues to walk.
He's now in the alleyway, and he stares at the cat lying near the trash can, staring at him curiously. All Phil could give the cat was a sad smile. Before he could continue walking away, the cat started to hiss and run away.
Phil was confused about this before he felt something hit his neck. He winces and holds his neck, but he freezes when he feels a vial with a small needle on it. He could only process the item on his paw for a second before everything started to blur, and his legs went weak. As he collapses and his vision starts to darken, he notices a shadowy figure slowly approaching him.
"Sorry, but it's nothing personal." A familiar voice speaks to him before he falls unconscious.
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Back to Caelus
"...what?" Caelus's voice was cold, and he gripped his phone quite tightly, almost squeezing it to pieces. Mem has overheard it, and she can't help but be concerned.
"L-Like I said! Phil had gone missing! I-I think he was kidnapped!" Seed exclaims in panic.
"...I need you to calm down a bit." Caelus takes a deep breath and starts rushing towards the metro station with Mem flying beside him. "Start from the beginning. What happened? When was the last time you saw him?"
"I-it was after the final exam, Phil was about to leave the campus, when he heard a group of students attempting to rape a young girl who was just visiting the campus. She calls herself Xiao Zhao." Caelus stiffens a bit upon hearing about Xiao Zhao. He can't help but remember a pink rabbit Thiren that's as short as Phil, who happens to be part of the Krampus Compliance Authority, an organization who kept the morally grey businesses from stepping over the line. Although he didn't know much, he had a feeling that Zhao and Krampus did so by getting rid of the lawbreakers, especially with how Zhao was called 'disaster'.
He really didn't want to know how she and her organization got rid of the lawbreakers, though.
"Phil managed to stop the students, but because they were from families who happened to be TOPS members, he got expelled from university!" Caelus had to stop his track and try to process what he had just heard. What does she mean Phil got expelled!? He didn't get the chance to respond as he heard the announcement about a train going to Lumina Square, and didn't waste any more time entering the train.
"P-Phil was so devastated that he wanted some time alone, and I was super worried, so I followed him! B-but, I lost him in a crowd, and I tried to look for him! I-I try to look around at the last place I lost him, and in the alleyway nearby, I found a tranquilizer dart that has beenused!" Seed explains everything in a hurry, but thankfully, Caelus could understand everything she had.
From what he knows about Phil's backstory, he was from a rich family who are members of TOPS. If Zhao had targeted him, the possibility that Phil's family was corrupt is very high, and Zhao targeted Phil because he is also a member of the family. Caelus's bloods run cold at the worst possibility, and anxiously watches the monitor displaying the train almost reaching the destination.
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Back with Phil
"Ugh..." Phil groans before he feels his hands are handcuffed. He blinks as he tries to pull it, but it won't budge. He can't help but grow anxious as he tries to get up, but his legs still feel weak, and he collapses. His back hits a metal wall, creating a loud noise.
"Ah, you're awake," Phil stiffens before looking at the source of the voice. He widens his eyes upon seeing Zhao sitting near him, staring at him with her head resting on her chin and a greatsword lying behind him.
"W-wha, Zhao?!" Phil asks in shock before shaking his head. "W-what are you doing here?! D-did those guys get you too?!"
"...it seems you're not fully awake yet," Zhao can't help but sound amused as she gets up and slowly approaches him. Phil finally notices that Zhao wasn't in handcuffs.
"W-what?" Zhao continues to approach him while dragging the giant sword behind her, causing him to gulp. "W-what's going on?"
"I kidnapped you," Zhao says bluntly, which causes Phil to imagine a loud record scratch in his head.
"...huh?" Phil had never felt so confused in his life, and Zhao couldn't help but groan how slow he is.
"I can't believe you still haven't processed everything yet. I have never met someone as slow as you," Zhao grumbles.
"H-hey! Give me a break, so many things have happened in such a short amount of time!" Phil exclaims defensively before he looks downcast. "I still can't believe I got expelled...all for the sake of a bunch of rapists."
"That's business for you. They didn't really care much about morale and all," Zhao says dismissively, earning an annoyed glance from Phil.
"You're quite cold for someone who looks like that, do you know that?" Phil mutters.
"Have you ever heard the phrase 'Don't judge a book by its cover'? I'm one of the examples." Zhao says as she sits back in her seat. "Besides, I don't believe you have anything to exchange for some compassion from me."
"You sound like you need something to trade for someone's kindness," Phil points out, and much to Phil's surprise, Zhao simply nods. "...wow, what kind of sad life you lived through to have such a mindset?"
"Careful, Legwork," Phil stiffens as Zhao stares at him with a sickly sweet smile. "You don't want to run your mouth towards the person who effortlessly kidnaps you."
"H-how do you know that name? I abandoned it years ago!" Phil asks in shock as Zhao simply chuckles.
"Oh, please. Did you think hiring a Proxy to help hack the government to erase your identity was enough to hide from us? Besides, who do you think requested to kidnap you?" Zhao asks as Phil's eyes widen in horror.
"N-No! D-don't bring me back! Don't-!" Zhao didn't let him continue as she shot another tranquilizer dart right at his head, knocking him out.
"Sorry, but this is nothing personal. It's simply business."
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With Caelus
"So, you're saying this might be the last place where Phil might've been?" Caelus asks as Seed stands next to him and nods. Trigger had decided to show herself and help Caelus with the investigation.
"Yeah, and the tranquilizer dart I found," Seed says as she pulls out the vial. Caelus grabs it and hums for a moment before looking at Mem, who's floating beside him. If it wasn't for Phil getting kidnapped, Seed would be gushing about how cute the pink mammal is.
"Mem, can you track him down?" Caelus asks as Mem simply scoffs.
"Mem mi mem!" Mem exclaims before her paws glow pink and memory shards start to appear from the vial and the surrounding area to create a floating purple crystal. "Mem!"
"Whoa, what is that!?" Seed asks in amazement. Trigger can't help but be confused, as she can't exactly see what it is.
"This is the Path of Remembrance," Caelus explains. "The path that allows the users to manipulate memories, physically and mentally. What Mem did was extract the memories lingering in that vial and display them like a projector."
"...how does that work? How do memories exist in an item?" Seed can't help but ask.
"...don't ask. I have no idea how to explain that either," Caelus sweatdrops as he touches the crystal, which expands and displays a projection of Phil. Caelus hears Trigger gasp in shock, and he turns to face her. "What's wrong?"
"....I-I can see it. I can see Phil walking in front of me...." Trigger mutters in disbelief.
"...I suppose the memory projection shows you the image mentally..." Caelus ponders as they watch Phil walking in the alleyway with a sad expression before looking at the alleyway cat. The cat suddenly hissed and ran away before Phil was shot by someone with a dart, causing him to collapse to the ground.
Then, a figure slowly approaches the unconscious Phil, and Seed can't help but gasp in shock. The figure is none other than Zhao.
"S-she's the culprit? I-I can't believe this!" Seed's disbelief slowly turns to anger as she clenches her fist. "She won't get away from this!"
"...that's Zhao of the Krampus Compliance Authority." Trigger mutters as she glances at the bunny Thiren's projection. "She's an elite member of the company who deals with any TOPS organization who had broken the core rules in businesses. But, this doesn't make sense. Why is she kidnapping Phil?"
"...Did you guys not know about who Phil formerly was?" Caelus asks.
"We know about Phil's past, being a runaway child from a rich family who happened to be a TOPS member." Trigger says as Seed nods.
"...what if that family happens to break the 'core rules' and Zhao is here to get every single member of the family to get rid of them?" Caelus says grimly, which leads to an uncomfortable silence filling the room.
"That could be a possibility..." Trigger admits reluctantly.
"... Do you know which family he's from? He never told me about it." Caelus asks.
"The Legwork family," Both Trigger and Seed say in unison, causing Caelus and Mem to blink before staring at each other.
"...why have you two become quiet?" Trigger asks in confusion.
"I-it was nothing..." Caelus waves it off, while his mind wonders what kind of coincidence this is!? Phil, a bunny Thiren who looks like a Pom-Pom, shares a similar family name to Penacony's Watchmaker himself!?! He decided not to think too much about it and glanced at the floating crystal.
"Mem, do you think you could use this to track them?" Caelus asks as Mem nods before the crystal displays a near-invisible projection of Zhao dragging Phil into a van and driving off. The trio fell silent before Caelus looked at Trigger and Seed.
"...so, do either of you happen to have a vehicle?" Caelus asks as Trigger simply places her right arm on her right hip. "...okay, stupid question."
"I wasn't allowed to have a car." Seed answers.
"...can your robot carry us?" Caelus asks with a hopeful tone.
"Sorry, the higher-ups didn't allow her to carry Seed Sr with her, afraid she will caught too much attention," Trigger says as Caelus groans.
"So, taxi it is,"
To be Continued