Chapter Text
Prologue: Disorder
“…PubSec is still looking into the whereabouts…”
The murmur of the television stirred Belle from her slumber, a groan escaping her lips as she sat up from the couch she had collapsed onto the night prior. Her aching back and stinging eyes were a painful reminder of just how weary she was.
She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, craning her head towards the dim television screen. Not a thought stirred in her skull, her mind desperately in need of a system reboot. The past few weeks had been a blur, but the events leading up to and during said weeks were anything but.
Random Play, and by extension, she and Wise, were going through a bit of a rough patch. Living a double life as a legendary Proxy and a video store owner was no easy feat, but it was one that the duo had always tackled head-on, and had grown quite accustomed to. Sure, there was a bump in the road here and there, but things always smoothed themselves out sooner or later. They always managed to balance work life and personal time pretty efficiently, for the most part. They could always count on Bangboo 18, Travis, Heddy, Sjal, and a handful of their friends to pitch in at Random Play.
That was, until last month.
Fairy upping their electricity bill was nothing new. It was a strain on their finances, but they had always managed before.
What they couldn’t manage, was the slew of absurd, chaotic events that drained their wallet even further. A storm blew a hole in their roof, a customer’s faulty Bangboo scorched nearly a third of their VHS tapes, and Heddy sustained a workplace injury that, even though she wasn’t officially employed at Random Play, the twins insisted on paying for. Good for their conscience, yes. Not so good for their wallet.
What with the roof and their stock taking a heavy hit, Random Play was closed until further notice.
Commission work had always been steady, but they weren’t far off from hurting as much as the Cunning Hares were. They needed something extra to make ends meet, but there was little word from Venus or Shepard. They had taken a few odd requests here and there from the Inter-Knot, but it wasn’t enough to bring them back to speed.
Belle smacked her cheeks, rising from the couch. So what if times were tough? So what if she only slept three hours at best? So what if caffeine was the only thing keeping her afloat in the mornings?
This too, shall pass!
Yes, she was sure of it. She and Wise had endured worse before. This bump in the road lasted a bit longer than she preferred, but it was still a bump in the road nonetheless!
Bangboo 6 perked up as she approached, scrambling towards the door. Despite everything, Belle felt pretty good! The day was hers to meet—
Bangboo 6 gently opened the door.
“GYAAAAAAH—!“ She screamed as the morning light flooded in, nearly blinding her before she managed to instinctively pull her hood over her face.
“Belle!” She heard Wise thundering across the floor before grabbing ahold of her. “Are you okay?”
“Uuu…” Belle whined. She had forgotten how photosensitive her eyes had become lately, what with her lack of sleep and all. Her implants didn’t take too kindly to it, either. “Sorry, Wise…”
A moment or two passed before she heard a sigh of relief from him. “Don’t scare me like that, Belle. Are your eyes still bothering you?”
She nodded silently.
“Don’t push yourself, okay? You need to catch up on sleep, anyhow. C’mon, let’s get you settled in.”
Belle shook her head, squinting up at him. “No, I’m fine! I just, er, need a second to adjust.”
Wise furrowed his brow in concern. “You can ‘adjust’ after you’ve slept in a bit more.”
“Oh, don’t lecture me on sleep!” Her eyesight was still somewhat blurry, but even she could see the bags under his eyes as clear as day. She wagged an accusatory finger in his face. “You talk big for somebody who just got done pulling a two-nighter! If anything, you need to catch up on sleep more than I do.”
He scratched his cheek sheepishly. “Guilty as charged. But—“
“No buts!” Belle placed her hands sternly on her hips, still squinting at him. “You rest, I’ll take over for today!”
“What? You can’t be serious.”
She peered closely at him. “Wise, even I can see that you’re shaking. Go lay down before you fall over.”
He sighed in exasperation. “Fine, but don’t take the car anywhere with your eyesight like that.”
Belle waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t worry about it, the metro is my best friend right now!”
Wise stood still, his expression wracked with doubt and worry. “Promise me you’ll get some proper rest when you get the chance, okay?”
Belle nodded. “Mhm, I promise! Enough about me, you go get some shut-eye!” She urged him up the stairs, watching him go with his shoulders slumped.
For a moment, Belle sat in the store lobby, soaking in the morning light to allow her eyes to fully adjust. They were still rather sensitive, and she had been sporting her hood the past month because of it. It gave her an air of mystery, yet it also screamed ‘raggedy shut-in.’
Wise was no better, though. They always managed to split the workload evenly, but the latest shenanigans had thrown their usual routine a bit out of whack. She couldn’t help but worry about Wise. Especially when he tried to overcompensate on her behalf by staying up a whole day or two just so that she could focus on catching up on sleep. The sooner they could put these hectic days behind them, the better.
Just yesterday, Koleda had swung by and nearly fainted at the sight of the flimsy tarp covering the gaping hole in their roof. She threw a fit, stormed off, and came back with a handful of Bear Thirens who happily patched up the damage for them. They insisted on paying her, but she considered their previous assistance to Belobog as Proxy payment enough. With that, everyone dusted their hands off and bid the twins farewell.
If anything, Random Play never looked better.
A sigh of relief escaped her lips. They really would’ve been in the negative had Koleda demanded payment. That girl had a heart of gold.
Belle tried to collect her thoughts. If she remembered correctly, with the roof finally taken care of, all that was left was to head to Lumina Square and stock up on replacement tapes. Once that was out of the way, they could finally re-open and catch up on all that lost revenue!
“Alright, let’s get started!” She stood up once more, clapping her hands together with excitement. Belle swung the door open, greeting Sixth Street with a bright smile on her face.
Said smile immediately evaporated as a wave of fatigue washed over her, her eyelids growing dreadfully heavy by the second.
“Oof… maybe I should get some coffee first…”