Aliquam: The Academy of the Arts - Western Section

"Non-mage?" Angel said following Moira's grin. Which he managed to not be creeped out by when most strangers probably would have been. "That really depends on what you classify as a mage, dear."

He chuckled and made his way back to the windowsill, then leaning on it as he gazed at the nature just outside these walls. His posture and overall composition was much too relaxed to be considered ready to stop an incoming heist. From his sleeve he rolled out a single die, casually chucking it up and catching it as it fell. Over and over again...

Syed mentioned something about sensing magic the previous night, though that didn't phase Angel in the slightest. "That's expected. A lot of students here have inherited or studied some form of magic too. You'd be surprised at what you find." Angel chucked his die in the air and caught it in his palm. Five. He grinned. "Now whether they were useful or not is its own question."

The communicator suddenly buzzed with voices. Had they...? Oh. No, it was just one of the guilders being bored, and his sister replying with utmost dignity as always. At the end of Rose's demure-voiced response was a loud neigh, which to anyone else would have sounded like an extremely nasty sneeze. To top that off, a squeaky "Over!" chirped up immediately after, and ended Rose's line.

Angel clicked the communicator in an effort to repeat back the same results, only to laugh really hard instead. He ended his laughter with a "Whoo....... over," before clicking it back off.

Before Angel could say anything further during all the bickering, Dalia suddenly screamed with Estelle's and Aria's voices taking action - followed by silence. Angel merely stared at the contraption and whistled lowly. "Soooo... they found the thief. Told you guys statues were too cliche."

The Academy of the Arts - Western Section
Moira groaned to herself and rolled her eyes as the others began to argue over the line. A little hypocritial of her, sure. But hell, it was more interesting than just standing around waiting for paint to dry, as it were.

Syed similarly didn't say a word, although a small frown began to edge onto his face. Between Dylan acting strangely and Tobias being... well... insufferable, he had just about had it. He was just about to tell Angel to press the button so he could tell them all to calm down and get a grip when-

Screams, shouts and the line suddenly going completely dead.

Moira blinked a couple of times. What the hell had happened?! Her eyes widened as she looked from Angel to Syed and back again. Sure, they sounded more decisive than fearful. But that was the kind of girl Estelle was.

"Soooo... they found the thief. Told you guys statues were too cliche."

Moira sucked through her teeth, although she now kept her hand firmly on the hilt of her sword. "Well if they found the bugger we gotta go support, ain't we?" While she trusted Estelle and Aria, she knew nothing about Dalia other than how she seemed a bit... wussy. She said nothing more, turning and beginning to run in a random direction. Whichever way she needed to go, she didn't know.

"...Moira, wait! What if it's a trap?"

Moira turned midstride to her partner, a look of clear irritation on her face. "You what?"

"Doesn't this seem wierd to you? Why would he get caught that easily? He evaded a whole party last night, staff and all. Like it was nothing. This isn't adding up..." Syed looked back towards Angel, his face tinged with worry, his voice slightly strained. His eyes then rested on the communicator in particular. He knew Estelle could look after herself, but... "what if he's trying to bait everyone away from what he's aiming for?"

Moira stared at him for a second in disbelief. "Fuckin' hell," she murmured resignedly. How was it possible for him to have gotten more paranoid over their travels?! "Just do us all a favour and stop thinking already. He ain't coming here. Statues are too... whatever the word you said was again. Let's just catch the fucker before he does another runner!"

The Academy of Arts - Central Group

How long was this guy going to hide? He was taking forever to show up and Lucien had to agree with their leader, it was boring.

The summoner had told all his best jokes and neither Amy nor Tobias seemed to be in the mood for a good chat or story. In fact, they both looked irritated. Blah, this masked Phantom or whatever he was called was annoying. Sure, he looked cool yesterday night, but if not for him they could have actually done something fun tonight.

The radio crackled to life and Lucien was just about to spring into action, but it wasn't the thief and just their bored leader. He prepared a joke, but one look at Tobias' grumpy face silenced him. It looked like the man had had just enough. He began to argue with Dylan and Lucien stuck by Amy with a frown. Man, whatever spat those two had gotten into must have been really serious.

They continued with their patrolling when suddenly the device in Tobias' hands erupted into screams. "That didn't sound like a cheer. Should we find them? This is our chance." He looked from Amy to Tobias, and pulled out his deck of cards. Tobias said no to bears earlier but if they were going to engage in combat then a blackbird didn't exactly sound threatening. "It can sniff out the others," without waiting for a response he bit down on his thumb and pressed the bleeding finger onto the card.

The ground behind Tobias exploded into a puff of smoke and before he could complain a bear let out a grumble as it sniffed at the air.

---

The Academy of Arts - East Group

Dylan's paintings were unlike anything she had seen. They were beautiful and a part of her wondered why he chose to leave.

They spent a few moments admiring the artwork before they received a call from their friends. It wasn't anything serious and the night continued to be a slow and rather uneventful one. She followed after Marcus and Dylan, wondering if maybe the masked Phantom had lied about his next target. What it he mentioned the academy so he could go rob some nobleman's house instead?

She started thinking about several possibilities before the communicator erupted into several screams.

This lasted for a fraction of a second before the line went dead. "Aria, Estelle, can you hear us? Dalia?" There was no reply, not even the sound of static. The other end had gone completely quiet. Xan stared at both Marcus and Dylan before her eyes fell to the communicator. Just moments ago, Estelle had been joking around, what had happened? "Marcus, Dylan, do you think it might be our thief?" She clenched her first, and her prosthetic arm slowly began taking the shape of a hammer. "Their group was assigned to the northern section, right?" The metallurgist wasn't too sure, and the academy was certainly spacious.

---

???

"Well," Fabian grinned from ear to ear. "I'll catch you oldies on the other side." He gave Miffy a salute then made his way towards the edge of the roof. The boy peered down to see an open window and he felt his heart flutter in excitement.

This place was filled with valuable items. Perhaps he could snag something small and valuable. He could give it to their leader and show the masked phantom his true potential. Fabian clung to the edge of the roof and tried to get his feet onto the window's ledge. The boy managed to do just that, so he let go then silently made his way inside. The hallway he had entered was empty.

Perfect.

The boy rubbed both his hands together then began fumbling with a small pouch attached to his belt. He pulled out a blowgun and a small dart. He wasn't planning on taking anyone out. Of course, he was going to slink around. He mainly kept it in case he needed to knock someone out. He didn't exactly have Miffy's physique so gadgets were always an immense help.

Aliquam: The Academy of the Arts - Central Sector

“Wha… wha… what the hell?!” Tobias’ feet took two uneasy steps back, as from out of absolutely nowhere a bear suddenly emerged into thin air.

The patron’s jaw had fallen completely, and his body grew rigid in surprise and fear. Lucien had been talking about summoning a bear numerous times throughout the night, but Tobias had written that off as another of his nonsensical jokes, even despite the tone Lucien would say it with, belying its existence. Tobias also knew that there was all types of magic in the world, but even with all this knowledge, he still couldn’t fully comprehend or adjust to the fact that a bear had materialised right behind him… or that it was docile and Lucien was controlling it. He shrieked, loudly, and ran as fast as he could, one arm gripping Lucien’s waist, the other suddenly grabbing Amy’s as he ran from the bear as quickly as he possibly could.

A bear! In the Academy! Oh, Aislin!

Coincidentally enough, Tobias’ rampart running was taking the threesome north, precisely where they wanted to go in order to reach Estelle, Aria and Dalia. Tobias had yet to realise this, or consider the implications of possibly leading a bear right to them. For now, all he knew was he had to get away as quickly as he could… or risk being eaten.

---

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts: Southern Section

“What just… what just happened?” From his position in the gardens, Lute looked towards his companions with disbelief and confusion. He had paused his efforts to use echolocation to scan their surroundings during their friends’ conversations with Aria’s group, and like Rose and Trixie had heard the unnerving silence that followed after hearing their friends discover the Masked Phantom. Even with Lute and Delilah’s efforts to try and increase the sound emanating from the communicator, wondering if perhaps there was something even at a dim and barely inaudible sound to listen to, they found that they were only granted silence back to them.

Rose stared at the communicator in her hands as her companions proceeded to freak the hell out, a mixture of concern for their team-mates Estelle and Aria, and excitement to find and capture that masked super villain troublemaker!!

“What do we do, what do we do?!” Lute hopped up and down. “We, we have to go, now! Aria and Estelle could be in trouble!”

“Only one in trouble’s that thief!” Trixie punched her fist. “Lemme whack him!”

“Enough talk. Up.”

Much to the virtuoso and prankster’s surprise, they were both suddenly lifted up into the air and moving backwards at a rapid pace, their bodies bouncing up and down. Rose had grabbed both of them and ordered Sebastian to run, rushing from the Southern gardens towards one of the Academy’s entrances to the west, intending to ride straight up to the north.

She plopped both Lute and Trixie on Sebastian. Trixie was seated in-between Rose and Sebastian’s head, gripping onto him as the moustached horse rode fiercely onwards. Lute, meanwhile, was behind the Student Council President, facing the rear. He grabbed onto Sebastian’s hind for dear life as the horse continued to clip clop onwards.

Aliquam: The Academy of Arts - Eastern Group

"Marcus, Dylan, do you think it might be our thief?" Xandra clenched her first, and her prosthetic arm slowly began taking the shape of a hammer. "Their group was assigned to the northern section, right?"

“Right!” Dylan nodded in agreement, his own hands quickly readying his chalk and slate. He turned and looked down both sides of the Academy’s corridor, gaining his bearings on where they were exactly and the direction to the Academy’s theatre area. What Estelle, Aria and Dalia had commented over the communicator before it fell silent was exactly what Xandra noted – the thief. He knew his sister’s abilities well enough to know that if she saw someone where they weren’t supposed to be… then it was likely the man they were after. “It’s… this way! C’mon Xandra, Marcus! The others need our help!”

“…right…” Marcus replied with a frown, looking down at the silent communicator, and then glancing about their surroundings. The chances were, everyone else would be responding to Dalia’s alarm too, heading for the northern sector where their friends were. With as many of them heading there, the chances were good that the Masked Phantom would be as good as got, but…

He couldn’t shake off a sense of unease.

He raised his staff, and an emerald light washed over the trio. They immediately found their bodies grow lighter, and quicker, thanks to Marcus’ agility buff. It would only last approximately two minutes, but it would be enough to quickly run to where Estelle and the others were.

“Let’s go.”

---

???

A silent figure dropped down from the ceiling and onto the Academy’s marble floors, their feet lithely touching it and automatically springing forwards.

The blonde masked man expertly crept forward upon the two unsuspecting Priests with staffs in hand standing at one of the building’s many corridor intersections, thumbs and forefingers pressing down and pinching the men upon their nerves. Both passed out instantaneously and slowly slumped to the ground, their bodies gently falling as the Masked Phantom stalked on and around the corner. A third Priest met the Masked Phantom instantly, his eyes widening in surprised and his staff rising up to greet the thief. But, before he could do anything, his opponent had already moved forwards, stepping to the side and sweeping a foot out to kick the Priests’ legs out from underneath him.

Stumbling backwards, his body stopped inches from the ground, supporting on a cushion of air. Their body then fell, with a hand belonging to the Masked Phantom pressed over their mouth, smothering them until consciousness departed them. Patiently waiting another five seconds to be confident the man was indeed in slumber land, the Masked Phantom rose to his feet, nary a bead of sweat besmirching his smooth features as he continued to walk forward through the now barren hallway, stopping in front of a door with a sign outside indicating it was the basement.

He smiled.

A finger rose to the thief’s ear, pressing down on the communicator imbedded there.

“I’m at the basement and about to proceed with the next phase of the plan,” The Masked Phantom spoke. “You may proceed with your roles. Neutralise any and all individuals you meet and plants all of your charges.”

The Masked Phantom pushed the door to the basement open and threw two small metallic beads inside, the objects bouncing as they fell down the stairs to a crawling roll at its end. Both balls erupted into a blinding flash of white light, and agonised cries of startled and surprised Priests and Priestesses shouted out. The Masked Phantom ducked inside, and silently jumped down the stairs.

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts: Northern Section

Aria stared at the brown haired man who had emerged from the shadows. There was no way this guy was the Phantom judging by the way he cowered and had an expensive looking camera clutched tightly in his hands. He looked rather familiar, actually. Wait, wasn't he the photographer from yesterday's gala? She recalled a fuzzy memory of posing for a lot of bright flashes.

"Please don't stab me!"

She looked at the knife in her hand then back at the nervous student before tucking it back into her glove with a chuckle.

"Don't worry, it's not for you. But you should go back, it'll might be dangerous here." She frowned now, putting on the expression she had dubbed as the 'responsible guilder face'. "You'll only be in the way here, right Estelle-?"

She pauses, blinking at the mess if plastic and wires that resembled the communicator. Well, they certainly were off to a wonderful start here.

---

???

“You may proceed with your roles. Neutralise any and all individuals you meet and plant all of your charges.”

A large shadow slipped through the halls, taking care to avoid the patches of moonlight that shone through the windows. The man in the rabbit mask darted behind a large statue with more deftness than his size suggested possible and waited for the patrolling Priest to pass before swiftly knocking out the man with a quick blow, careful not to use too much force. He caught the limp body as it fell, laying it down carefully before making his way deeper into the school.

He would have preferred leaving the patrollers alone- people had a tendency to overlook him, not noticing his presence until he made himself known. This had been helpful in a few occasions, with him standing still in the shadows while guards passed by. He couldn't tell if it was magic or he was too quiet, but as long as it got stuff done he didn't quite care. Still, the boss' orders were orders. Neutralize anyone he came across- couldn't have them finding the others by surprise.

"Near my location," he reported gruffly, passing by a statue of what looked to be very muscular and naked men. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow- if this was art, he didn't want to understand it.

???

“I’m at the basement and about to proceed with the next phase of the plan. You may proceed with your roles. Neutralise any and all individuals you meet and plant all of your charges.”

There were two priests nearby, one male one female. A beautiful, beautiful female. The intruder - handsome, and slightly taller than average - groaned. Why couldn't they both be men? "All of them?" He'd much rather just sneak past, especially because of her. But if orders were orders... a smile spread across his face. "You know best, boss."

With that he darted forward silently, coming up behind the two priests. One of them had their staff in hand which was a pain, but the other had theirs strapped to their back. Bingo. He leapt forward, soaked cloth in hand, and held it against the woman's face. She was asleep in seconds.

"No hard feelings, she would have given me more trouble," the man said in hushed tones, before pressing the cloth against the priest's nose and mouth too. Within moments he too was down. The man crouched back down, running his fingers gently across the woman's cheek. "...Such a shame, my dear."

With that he stood back up and carried on running. This would be fun indeed!

---

The Academy of the Arts - Western Section

Angel shrugged, pushing himself up. Daliah's group were in the north section, he reminded them. The way Moira was running was not north. It wasn't even remotely close to north.

"Shouldn't we at least contact the others before we do anything?!" Syed exclaimed as they ran in now the correct direction. If he could use the communicator, he would have. But since his magic disrupted it and Moira was completely useless with technology, it looked like it was up to Angel.

"Look, we're going to be late enough already!" Moira snapped as the group headed towards the room Angel's statue resided in. "I ain't missing this shit!"

"Oh yeah, because the berserker method of running in blindly works so well," he hissed back. "It'll take what, ten seconds!"

"Fuck off!" Moira yelled as they entered the room, complete with that wonderful statue. She was completely oblivious to the presence of anybody else. Heck, it was only as they ran right by him when Syed finally clicked that something wasn't quite right...

"Wait! Does anything seem off to you-?"

Aliquam: The Academy of the Arts - Central Section

Sadly enough, Amy understood that splitting up was a pretty poor decision at this point, when they could if anything scout back-to-back-to-back to cover all angles. She just wanted to split up anyway, lest she deal with more of Tobias' constant nagging. It's worse than lighthearted chattering, which she had gotten used to by then thanks to Trixie. Amy was so close to telling Lucien to bring out the bear anyway just to defy his wishes.

Which he did in the end. Amy's lips curled into a smirk - but that reverted the second Tobias dared laid a hand on her. "Let go of me!" she snatched herself away from him instantly mid-run, and trailed behind after him as they proceeded northward. It was not difficult to keep up, considering Tobias was holding onto a another young man his size that was completely zoned out. Fear can only stimulate speed for so long.

Estelle's section wasn't far off, especially after all the sprinting they did just then, but Amy paused for a breather anyway (despite whatever protests Tobias may or may not have had). Thank Dyn she wore flats to this mission. The aura encasing her gem now pulsed wildly due to everyone's running; Amy cursed to herself as now her sole 'tracking' ability had become useless, but at least it wasn't necessary now. Assuming Estelle's group neutralized their trespasser, anyway... With their lack of response on the communicator, there was no way to tell until they met in person.

Amy clenched her staff tightly.

---

Aliquam: The Academy of the Arts - Southern Section

Trixie yelped like a startled puppy the second Rose plopped her off the ground and onto Sebastian's back. Then they rode into the night like cowboys, kinda. She felt like a cowgirl now that she had her guns out and ready to zip, zang, bang on whatever muthatrucka tried to mess with them. Once she got used to the constant bouncing, she continued her scouting - she had to be prepared in case the thief came out of nowhere because he was trying to escape Supersis and her group like a total caught wuss.

But then she smelled something. Something highly unusual that was not there to begin with. Was that him? Was he already nearby? Trixie closed her eyes and loosened her arms, allowing her mind to zero in on her strongest scent. And then she figured out-

"Ewwww, Miss Rosy, your horse farted and it's ruining everything!"

The prankster did her best to waft the nose away from her with one hand, while she continued aiming the gun in her other along the walls. If the thief was in fact running away this very minute, or heck even if he hadn't came to Estelle's group, he sure wasn't going to where Trixie's group was now!

---

Aliquam: The Academy of the Arts - Western Section

Angel halted upon Syed making his observation - not so much to heed his superstition, but to catch a breather and have a chance to heed his suggestion from earlier instead. "Yeah, yeah, hang on a second actually." He clicked. "Yooo, this is Angel. We all still heading to the north section? Uhh, over?" He looked to the two guilders and shrugged nonchalantly before pocketing the electronic.

"Well, hopefully that helps. Now what were you saying about something seeming off...? Oh!" Angel snapped his fingers. "I know." With his other hand, he chucked the die that he held onto into the air, catching it in his palm. Then he slapped it atop the back of his other hand, before removing the top hand and revealing the die. Six. He smiled wide and let out a deep, relaxed exhalation through his nose. "See? We'll be fine. Now, should we keep moving?" He looked back and forth between the other two, awaiting their confirmation. Only a few seconds had passed since he made his request over the line, and he was already set on moving onward.

Moira and Syed hadn't noticed during their bickering as they ran, but Angel had done the same thing with his die a couple of times during their short-lived sprint as well.

The Academy of the Arts - Central Sector

Without warning, Tobias yanked both the summoner and cleric forward, though the latter was quick to pull away.

The sudden yank caused Lucien to break his concentration for a moment. "Oi, oi, personal space!" He tried to pull away from the frantic Tobias but realized his attempts were futile. "It's friendly--!" He paused mid sentence. Unfortunately, the summoner wasn't the most observant person around and it took him a couple of moments to realize he was focusing too much on Tobias and not enough on the bear. His eyes flitted towards the animal, it's lips pulled back to reveal bared teeth.

He stared at the bear with eyes the size of dinner plates. "N-Nice Mr. Cuddles, we're friends, yeah?"

In response to Lucien's question the bear let out a roar and began charging down the hallway. "Run, run, run!" He tried to regain control of the animal, but doing so while running for one's life proved to be rather difficult. Lucien decided to leave the dragging to Tobias and decided to do his best to reel the animal back in.

Calm down, yeah? I know they look tasty--what? I mean no, no. Bad bear! Bad. Lucien's eyes went blank and soon the bear looked less feral. It still chased after the trio, but did so with its tongue out and a playful gleam in its eyes.

---

The Academy of Arts - Eastern Group

“It’s… this way! C’mon Xandra, Marcus! The others need our help!”

She followed after the matter artist. Surely, the others would have heard the call as well. As in on cue, the communicator crackled to life. Xan wondered if it was the north group, but the voice that followed belonged to Angel. They were headed north as well.

"We're going to do the same." She stated into the communicator before Marcus casted a wind spell on them. "We'll be there soon, over."

Suddenly, she felt much lighter. "Thanks," the trio ran down the hall swiftly. It was pretty empty and Xan wondered where the other people on patrol were. Had they noticed something odd. If that was the case, then perhaps they had already ran after the Masked Phantom, the same way the north group had. The thought of so many people after one person was reassuring. It meant the chances of him managing to escape were very low, but it also meant he was extremely skilled at what he did.

They rounded another corner and continued running.

---

Neutralize all targets, huh? Oh boy, oh boy, now things were getting real intense.

Fabian stared at the blowgun in his hands and popped in a couple of tranquilizer darts. Silently, he crept towards the staircase. Fabian was a little sensitive about his small stature but when it came to thievery, it actually managed to help him stay out of sight. He walked down the stairs only to pause dead in his tracks. A priest was staring at him. "What? Do I have ice cream on my face? Hell..." his eyebrows furrowed in irritation and he brought the blowgun to his lips.

Just as the priest was about to say something, he blew out a dart and watched as the man's eyes rolled into the back of his head.

That should keep him out for a least three hours. "Cuss this." Realizing how careless he had been Fabian grabbed the man by the feet and slowly began dragging him towards what looked like a janitor's closet. He locked the man inside then crouched down and made his way towards the door.

As soon as he exited the building, he heard the sound of hooves. The boy ducked behind a couple of boxes, the top of his head sticking out so he could see. He peered his eyes and stared in shock. Was that a horse? Heading in his direction. He fumbled with his blowgun and wondered if he should shoot it or remain hidden. Hitting that horse would be mighty difficult but if he managed to then heck yeah, it'd be the coolest thing ever! Plus, it'd knock the people on the horse off and in their disoriented state he'd have a better shot at hitting them with one of his darts. To act or not to act, that is the question.

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts: Northern Section

“You just… wanted to photograph the Masked Phantom? Honestly…” Dalia huffed as she crossed over to where Simon was, gripping him by the ear and twisting it to the student’s screeching professions of ‘yeeeowch!’. The boy would always end up doing something to make her job more difficult, wouldn’t he?

“You should go back, it’ll might be dangerous here,” Aria warned after sheathing her knife. "You'll only be in the way here, right Estelle-?"



After meeting Estelle’s panic stricken face, Aria slowly followed her sight down to the ruined mess of machinery beneath Estelle’s feet. Their group’s communicator, freshly broken and smashed into a dozen pieces.

“Oh no,” A hand covered Dalia’s mouth in dismay. “The others… they’ll have heard what we said over the communicator, about us…” She narrowed her eyes at Simon. “Finding the Masked Phantom… they’ll be…”

“Heading… straight… here…” Aria finished for her. Estelle gulped.

“Er… we should probably go find them then and warn them to go back to their positions, right? Heh, aheh… heh…” Estelle sheepishly scratched back of his neck, her cheeks aflush with guilt and embarrassment. This mission would just have to hit a snag, wouldn’t it? Just like the mission in Fenaru, too…

This was all her fault.

“I-in fact, I’ll go ahead and try and find the others!” Estelle nodded enthusiastically. “We can’t all leave our post! Simon can cover me for a little while, right?!”

“I can what?” Asked Simon.

“Go, Estelle,” Dalia nodded, and Estelle dashed off, heading south, in the direction of where Tobias’ group would be arriving from, with Lucien, Amy and his bear in tow.

---

Aliquam: The Academy of the Arts – South-Western Section

"Ewwww, Miss Rosy, your horse farted and it's ruining everything!"

“What?” Rose replied with a disgruntled frown at Trixie’s comment, looking down first at the prankster and then towards Sebastian, who continued to gallop on towards the Academy’s Western Direction at a rapid clip. “Sebastian doesn’t ‘fart’. He’s a regal, sophisticatedly trained animal, personally done so by me. He doesn’t ‘fart’.”

“I’m sorry Miss Rose, but he really did, ack,” The sorrowful voice from behind Rose belonged to Lute, who still had his face riding as close to the horse’s backside as possible. He got full whiff of Sebastian’s flatulence, and it was all he could do just to not pass out. Because the stench… was absolutely toxic.

“Sebastian!” Rose scolded. Her horse neighed in response, and the Student Council President just rolled her eyes. “Oh, well. Just hold on to your noses, you two. With Sebastian here we should reach the northern sector of the Academy within a couple of minutes after passing through the Statue Wing. We’ll find Estelle, Aria and Miss Dalia along with the Masked Phantom, and then we’ll-”

But Rose’s plan didn’t come to fruition. Before they could gallop out from the courtyard gardens and into the Academy entranceway to the illustrious academy’s statue wing (or hear Angel's speech across the communicator), they found their ride quiver and stumble beneath them. Rose looked down in horror, to witness Sebastian’s legs give out from under him, and the mighty beast collapsed onto the ground in a wailing skid, throwing Trixie and Lute off him. Rose, still secured in his stirrups and holding his reins, fell to the ground with him.

A small pinprick dart was imbedded in Sebastian’s thigh.

---

Aliquam: The Academy of Arts – North-Eastern Group

“We’re almost there…” Dylan lowered his head and narrowed his eyes, him and his friends bodies almost flying down the corridor after intermittent pushes forward with one leg then the other thanks to Marcus’ magical agility buff. Thanks to the wind mage’s magic and their close proximity to the Academy’s theatre district, they were the group set to make the best time in reaching their friends. Rounding the corner, they saw down the empty hallway a straight shot to where his sister and friends were: Dalia, Aria, and… Simon? But no Estelle to be seen.

Did the Masked Phantom…?

“There they are!” Xandra pointed down the hallway. Both Dalia and Aria turned after hearing them approaching. They would be reunited in less then 30 seconds. “But where is…?” The metallurgist frowned. “Where’s our leader?”

Marcus grimaced with a tighter scowl. What had happened…?

And then suddenly, darkness suffocated them all.

All the lights throughout the Academy was systematically, simultaneously destroyed, plunging the Academy into darkness and making Dalia and Aria’s earlier efforts in vain. Dylan and Xandra cried out as their feet stumbled beneath them and they fell to the floor, hearing Dalia, Aria and Simon’s own startled surprise follow them. This effect was not isolated to only the theatre wing. It was repeated by all of the staff and Guilders patrolling through the Academy, and ignored only by five very specific individuals.

---

Aliquam: The Academy of the Arts: Basement

A chuckle left the Masked Phantom’s lips as he walked away from the sparking mass of generators he had just destroyed, the very same ones that supplied power all throughout the Academy. The same trick he had employed the previous night in Tobias’ gala holding mansion had achieved the same success as it had now, even with all the added security and preparation the Academy faculty had taken to make sure it couldn’t be sabotaged. Despite all the resistance from the magic wielding teachers to the two Empire Soldiers scattered about the floor around him, it had been like child’s play for the Masked Phantom to overcome them and achieve his first goal. Just as the rest of the night’s mission would be as well.

“As you should all be able to tell,” The grinning man’s fingers pressed down onto the communicator embedded in his ear. “The power has been cut. Make use of your NV, and continue with the mission as planned.”

Flicking a small button upon his mask, his vision shifted from the all consuming darkness that surrounded him to one illuminated with shades of green and white- the rare prototype technology of his mask’s night vision capabilities activated.

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts: Northern Section

Aria watched Estelle run down the hall, disappearing around the corner right as more footsteps sounded behind them. She whipped around, half expecting a man in a mask and cape only to see Xan, Marcus and Dylan. She waved, cupping one hand around her mouth.

"Guys, false alarm! You need to go back-"

The room was plunged into darkness, cutting her words short as the illusionist let out a surprised squeak. She heard Xan and Dylan cry out as well, followed by the sounds of them stumbling and falling to the floor. Aria blinked furiously, willing her eyes to adjust to the unwelcome darkness. After all that work lighting the place only for all their efforts to go to waste- it was all very frustrating.

"I thought there was increased security around the generator!" She growled, disliking the fact the Phantom had beaten with the same trick for the second time. Estelle was the only one in the group who could've provided a light source, and even she had gone. "I don't suppose anyone thought to bring a lantern of some kind?" She grumbled as she slowly started to make out the figures of Xan and Dylan picking themselves off the floor as Marcus approachedr. Now they had no Phantom, one broken communicator and an unguarded area where Marcus' group should've been. The theatre had no windows, and the only lying that kept the large room from being pitch black was the moonlight filtering in from the hallway.

"Who has the communicator in your group? We need to tell the others that it was a false alarm before everyone ends up here." She pinched the bridge of her nose, upset at the turn of events. Dalia was looking around, trying to discern any foreign auras that might have approached in the dark and serving as the only sentry.

---

Mattis pressed the button on the ear of his mask as the lights died, assessing the group that had passed in front of him that was now frantically trying to find their bearings. One stout woman with a dangerous looking sword, one green haired man and the tall one that has noticed something was wrong just as the lights went off. The woman had a dangerous looking sword while the other two weren't wielding any visible weapons and looked rather lacking in physical ability, which led him assume they most likely had magic of some sort. It would certainly be troublesome if that was the case- he could only hope to take them all out while they were still floundering and trying to adjust to the sudden lack of sight.

He crept up behind the tall lanky one, swiftly grabbing him from behind and giving a deft strike to the man's neck. He dropped the body gently, retreating back into the dark shadows of this statue as the other two started to recover.

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts – SW Section

The stallion crumpled to a stop and Lute jolted out of the saddle, falling to the floor in a crumpled heap that was a bit close to Sebastian’s current state of affairs. He was always sensitive to malodorous scents… in a bad way. “Give … me a second…” The virtuoso’s disembodied voice floated out of his slumped, facedown figure. ‘C’mon, Sleeping Beauty, rise and shine!’ Delilah snapped back in her original voice before launching into a fusillade of screams and taunts, ‘Someone pegged the horse!’

Lute pushed himself up and his hand immediately rose to his cheek in alarm at the strange soreness in it, and his fingers brushed past the crumbs and bits of earth that now coated his face. With a frustrated grumble, he staggered to his feet and then looked around, eyes widening at the sight of a dart on Sebastian’s body. For some inconceivable swing of bad karma, the power turned off too. It should’ve been no big deal since they were outside, but they were now in an area which was previously lit up by the surrounding lamp posts.

“Uh-oh… Dellie!” He cried out just as his familiar launched an ear-splitting scream towards the darkness of the hallway in front of the three. Thankfully Trixie was near him; the attack was something he just threw out to ward off whoever it was that shot the poor horse. “Are you okay!?” Lute exclaimed as he rushed over to the prankster and pulled her up. “Miss Rose! Seb-Sebastian...?” They’re not hurt, are they?

---

???

“Mhmm.” A silhouette appeared over the smooth tiles as the ceiling fixtures creaked. The shadow disappeared as quickly as it came and the muffled sound of glass hitting wood and metal was the only trace of the agent’s movement.

She uncrossed her legs and got down from her perch atop the shelf. The skylight had been her way in, although the moonlight streaming in through the glass did little to hide her presence. “I wished they left something behind… Anything,”The woman sighed as she strode across the empty room. If she was going to help execute a heist, she might as well enjoy herself and the ambiance while at it. Her eyes fell upon the intricate carvings on the pillars, and of the curlique that was present in almost all of the room fixtures. “Interesting. The architecture is traditional but the designs are…”

The lady’s eyes shimmered and her lips pursed down into a frown. “That’s very rude, trying to bludgeon who was merely inspecting the artistry in these walls,” She sighed disapprovingly and stepped to the side where the priest’s staff swung down and failed to graze her as it should have. It took mere moments to knock the poor man unconscious, and even fewer time to stash his body somewhere inconspicuous, especially now that the power supply was cut off.

“Why do all the handsome ones choose the stodgy jobs?” The woman in black satin murmured to herself as she exited the room, her feet making nary a sound despite the high heels she wore. However, a strange sound caught her attention as she was moving from behind one corridor pillar to another. It took a peek to see what the commotion was about and then she retreated back to the shadows, disbelief and amusement clear on her lovely face as she pressed on the communicator.

“… Three people are headed my way. They have a bear running after them,” She paused then added firmly, “But the order stands, oui.”

The Academy of the Arts - Western Section

The lights suddenly went out, and Moira let out quite the loud curse. Fuck! "Oh come on, I thought they sorted this shit!" she exclaimed into the darkness. "What kind of shitty school is this?! Ain't you rich people ever heard of candles?!"

She couldn't see shit. Again. At least it wasn't as painful as the flashbangs yesterday, but it was just as disorientating. She turned on the spot as her eyes strained against the darkness, but all it served to do was make her forget what direction she was going in. "Guys?" she called out, stepping forwards. "Can anyone see any-"

She tripped, coming crashing to the floor with the noisy clatter of armour and metal. Fuck! She pushed at the offending object with a boot, intending to shove it out of the way... only to find it was too flexible, too large.

Realisation came down on her like a tonne of bricks. She scrambled forward wordlessly, feeling for the figure's chest or face. It was him, it definately was Syed. And he was alive, thank fuck he was alive. She gave out a shuddering breath, not realising she was holding it until that moment.

And if Syed had been taken out, that meant...

"He's here," she hissed to Angel through gritted teeth as she stood back up, putting her back to Syed defensively. There was the sharp sound of metal scraping against it's sheath as she withdrew her greatsword. "The fucker came here after all!" she screamed furiously. "Where is he?!"

---

???

"Frances-chwaaaaannnnn! My dear!" Jay did a fine job of keeping his voice low, somehow, although the adoration was evident in his tone. And with the kissing noises he started making, much to everyone else's annoyance. "A bear, hmm? How strange." There was a pause. A bear was not good news for any of them.

Jay stood confidently in the middle of a room, stood over yet another unconcious priestess. He flicked a coin between his fingers seamlessly, one two three four five...

He then removed a small backpack from his shoulders. Well, he was at his location. He had encountered thankfully very little in terms of security, but perhaps that was just luck? No matter. He planted his charge just so, before slinging the backpack back over his shoulders and putting a couple of fingers to his ear.

"Job's done, boss. It sounds like you guys need my help, I'm on my way." And with that he took off silently.

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts: Northern Section

“Oh… Aislin, what the heck…” Dylan groaned loudly as he tried to lift himself from the floor. His collapse had brought with it a nasty fall onto his right arm, and pain and numbness enveloped him. It didn’t feel broken, but it hurt to move or touch, and with all of the lights currently down thanks to the power supplied by the Academy’s generator destroyed, it made it impossible to properly check. He hoped it was okay. “Is… is everyone else okay?” He asked, turning to look left and right, struggling to make his eyes grow accustomed to the darkness and failing. He was sure he had heard Xandra fall over alongside him, but he couldn’t see her.

"I don't suppose anyone thought to bring a lantern of some kind?" Aria asked with a grumble, to the disappointed replies in the negative from her allies. Fortunately enough however, even without a lantern or a light, the group had Dalia, and she could see their three friends even within the pitch blackness that surrounded them thanks to their glowing auras. She walked over first to Dylan, helping him up to his feet, and then doing the same for Xandra.

"Who has the communicator in your group? We need to tell the others that it was a false alarm before everyone ends up here." Aria sighed. A voice to her surprise startled her. Marcus.



“False alarm?” Marcus asked. “What do you mean false alarm? And where’s Estelle?”

“We… well, we saw an aura, creeping in the darkness,” Dalia replied. “We suspected it was the Masked Phantom, but it was actually… Simon.”

Dylan’s eyes narrowed. “…Simon.”



“Ah… sorry!” The photographer’s voice sheepishly called out.

“Estelle also ended up accidentally dropping and smashing our communicator, so… we had no way of contacting you. Estelle ran off to the south to try and find one of you groups with a communicator so we could alert you all, and…”

“And making us all think you were in danger and rushing over here, whereas the Masked Phantom… he could be anywhere.” Marcus nodded in understanding. “Well, considering what just happened… wherever the generator is. The basement, I’m presuming. And now… possibly somewhere else in the Academy.” Marcus sighed as they finished analysing the situation. He retrieved his group’s communicator and pushed down on their button, beginning contact with the other groups over the same wavelength. Everyone else needed to know.

“Alert, alert. This is Marcus. The situation with Estelle and Aria’s group to the north. It was a false alarm. I repeat, it was a false alarm. The Masked Phantom isn’t here, he’s-”

“NO SHIT SHERLOCK!” Moira’s voice bellowed back down after screaming into Angel’s communicator. “HE’S OVER HERE!”

“No…” A more weary, agonised voice replied back. It was Rose, and she sounded hurt. “He’s… here…”

Marcus looked through the darkness towards his companions, all of them sharing the same concerns as each other. All of them poised to ask the same question. It was Tobias’s own screeching voice down the communicator which sounded out their thoughts for them.

“What the fuck is going on?!”

Aliquam: The Academy of the Arts - Central-Going-North Section

Amy halted nearby a small column after feeling around in the dark a bit, and she leaned on it for support as she fought for air. Of all the Pride members, even including Moira, Amy was probably the worst when it came to athleticism and constant running. She simply was not cut out for it.

Amidst their breaths and random bear noises, loud footsteps echoed from a particular direction. The cleric tried to hold her breath in so as to conceal herself, assuming the runner was coming straight for them, but she was unable to. "Eyes open and ears peeled," she huffed. Unfortunately the scant amount of windows and thus little moonlight pouring him did not help them see the upcoming runner in the least bit.

The footsteps grew louder and louder. Before the bear or the boys could even do anything to halt it, the runner charged into their group - and crashed right into Amy, knocking both of them and the column Amy stood by down. The column did not totally shatter upon impact, though the crash was loud enough.

Amy cried out and rolled away from the body that knocked her over. With her staff tightly in hand, she thrusted it in the other body's direction, calling forth light to its gem like a torch. There was enough light to reveal Tobias, Lucien, and the bear as well, though anything beyond the group was still submerged in darkness.

Of course, the light revealed the figure before Amy as well, blinding it if it had been looking that way when the gem lit up. Amy pulled back, eyebrows contorted in confusion. "Estelle!? What are you doing over here? Where's the thief?"

It was then the communicator began ringing with voices left and right. Multiple groups had encountered the thief, from the sounds of it. Tobias screamed aloud what was on everyone's mind.

---

Aliquam: The Academy of the Arts - Southern Section

Trixie pulled at her braided pigtails. Despite Moira's plea, she was still convinced the Masked Phantom was indeed with her own group, especially having witnessed it first hand with the dart. Man, that is so cool - but so unfair.

Having run away from the stench, Trixie could at the least make out another figure somewhere there in the dark. She puffed her cheeks. Well, maybe he'd like a taste of his own medicine! Then they could attack him while he was still dazed! She didn't think through it beyond that, but now was no time to hesitate.

"Guys, close your eyes, close your eyes!" she snapped, quiet enough for the trio to hear. At once she chucked out one of her flashbangs, lighting up the entire area for a brief spell - and hopefully blinding their attacker.

---

Aliquam: The Academy of the Arts - Western Section

"He's here? Wait, can you see him?" Angel called out, glancing around. Dumb question; they were in near total darkness from where they stood. Thankfully, with the statue and sculpture sections being as large as they were to accommodate for their sizes, the windows were equally as tall as well. The aristocrat maneuvered himself towards them, crossing into the moonlight.

"Moira, Syed! Come on, get into the light where he can't... oh." Turns out Syed was knocked out. Damn, this guy was smooth!

Suddenly the room began to rumble. Angel turned around to face its source, his die clenched tightly in hand. The duo was able to make out that the rumbles weren't a concurrent thing, but very short-lived and in a quickened rhythm. Once they drew near enough, they could hear what sounded like concrete grinding amongst each other before slamming onto the marble flooring, causing another rumble.

Then the noise makers - not one, but two - stepped into view, lit from the moonlight shining down from one side of the hallway they were in. The two faux-metallic suits of armor Angel and his gang had passed by earlier. Each wielded their own matching spear and shield. They moved further towards the group, but both froze mid-step.

Angel's grin widened as he chucked the die into the air and caught it in his palm again. His laughter was somewhat hesitant, considering the mage conversation they had earlier. "...ta-da! I'm not as useless as I look!"

Now that they had reinforcements, Angel felt that much more confident that the thief was less likely to knock out either of the two left standing. The suits of concrete (skillfully polished to resemble metallic armor) were tall and thick enough to deal damage if they were to swing their weapons, but hollow and light enough to move around quickly. Hopefully quickly enough to catch a thief.

The Academy of the Arts - Western Section

What the fuck is going on indeed. Those suits from earlier?! Moira buckled down, an almost feral look in her eyes. Oh, she was going to fucking cut them down so hard they wouldn't know what way was up anymore. Except... "...ta-da! I'm not as useless as I look!"

It was perhaps for the best that where Moira stood was still very much shrouded in darkness, what with the look she gave Angel. "You said you didn't know magic!" she hissed. "Liar!"

She huffed to herself, before stepping back again until she felt her heel nudge against her partner's body. She had no idea what the dice was about, but she had to admit - "Good fuckin' job that's kinda badass, else I'll be smacking you into next week." She kept her guard up all the time as she bent over and grabbed Syed by the back of his robes. "Cover me for a sec."

She dragged him into the patch of light to join Angel, dropping him somewhat unceremoniously on his front on the floor. The hood of his cape flopped over his head. She then raised her sword once more, her eyes casting this way and that. Now she was beginning to get accustomed to the darkness, she could about make out the various shapes of the sculptures and the like.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are you little shit," she snarled, turning her back to Angel and stepping more towards the window cautiously. "Or have you shat your pants and legged it? Can your statue things sniff him out?"

---

Academy of the Arts: Northern Section

Feet silently moved across the floor in quick succession as Jay ran. A bear! A gods damned bear! Whatever. His tricks could probably work on a bear too. It would be interesting to find out...

Except he came upon an obsticle. And not any old obsticle - a much bigger group than any he'd encountered before, only one of whom really fitted with the other people who were patrolling here. Damn. He came to a stop, quickly hiding himself behind a wall. What... what... what...

What beautiful women! He had to quickly pull out a handkerchief to help stem the trickle of blood he felt run from one nostril. The NV in his mask prevented him from seeing colours properly - he was robbed of their true splendor and still felt like this!

"Dayumn... you know what I said before? Scratch that, I'm the one in need of support," he said softly into his communicator, his voice sounding slightly nasal thanks to the hanky. "Just come across three beauties here. Oh... and three others too. They look like sell-swords or something. Can you manage, Frances-chan?" He poked his head back around the corner.

This place was no good at all. Being a corridor there was no move to manoever, and... and the priestess girl was looking right at him. How on Ddaear?

"Drat."

He turned and sprinted away, diving into one of the theatre rooms.

The Academy of Arts - Central Group

Suddenly, the lights flickered off and the academy was engulfed in darkness.

Lucien was pretty spaced-out, but he managed to mutter a complaint. Eh, hadn't this guy been with Estelle's group? How did he manage to pull this off while being chased? Was he really that amazing? He scrunched up his nose and made a sour face.

The bear padded along after them sniffing at the air, some scents were familiar and others weren't, but for all Lucien knew it could have been the guards or one of the priests and priestesses. He didn't know them all and so, it was pretty pointless trying to get the bear to tell who was who.

Suddenly, rapid footsteps began echoing down the hall.

The bear let out a snarl and pulled back its teeth, but its ears went flat against its head when it picked up the familiar scent of their leader. That was relief, but the next sound wasn't. There was large crash followed by a thud. Lucien rushed towards the sound and the bear pretty much tore free from his control. The summoner stood dumbfounded as the animal crashed into wall after wall on some sort of rampage. Before he knew it, the animal had Tobias up against a corner

"Crap, crap, crap!" Amy's light had illuminated the place and he swiveled around frantically, at a loss on what to do.

Images of the Lion tearing at his friends back in Thaum flashed through his head and the summoner threw himself at the bear, wrapping his arms around its neck. "Dispel! Dispel!" He concentrated as hard as he could and soon the bear disappeared into a puff of smoke and he fell onto the floor. "Hell, that was close, sorry, sorry." He scrambled to his feet and attempted to dust Tobias off. After that, the young man spun around. "Hey Leader!" He waved as if they had met at restaurant or something. Amy asked her about the masked phantom and he wondered about the same thing.

Their communicator crackled to life and they eventually found out that whatever had happened had been a false alarm. Several voices began stating that the masked phantom was at their location and Tobias ended up yelling. "Errr, so um, should I summon the bear again and have him sniff around the place?" Tobias probably wouldn't like that, but how the hell was the masked Phantom appearing in so many places?

---

The Academy of Arts - Eastern Group

As soon as they ran into the north group, Estelle ran off and the lights died.

"What on earth?" So while they had been distracted the masked phantom had managed to reach the generator and kill the lights? He was very good at this. Dallia helped her to her feet and Xan thanked the priestess.

How had this mix-up happened? After the explanation her eyes flitted to the dark outline that looked like Simon. So...their formation and plans had been for nothing because he wanted to take a photo of the masked phantom. If they had kept their positions there was a possibility they wouldn't be in this mess. How...how irresponsible. She brought a hand to her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. A part of her was angry and upset that their mission had been jeopardized by this, but the others were taking it well and after a deep breath she calmed herself.

Then things got a lot worse as reports of the masked phantom being everywhere started piling in. "Hey Simon, by any chance, does your camera come with a light thing or something that'll help us see better?"

---

Jackpot, he had hit his mark! Fabian did a silent fist pump only for his communicator to startle him.

The boy nodded his head and muttered a silent alright before he pressed a button on his mask to activate night vision. He stared at the horse that had fallen over and the silly looking guilders he had managed to trip up. Fabian felt like laughing but instead loaded another dart into his blowgun. This would be the perfect time to knock them out. He was just about to launch another one, but one of the guilders tossed something in his direction.

There was a soft clunk followed by a bright flash that rendered him blind.

He fell back into the bushes. Cuss no! He couldn't get caught! He couldn't let the other thieves down. Fabian fumbled blindly with his pouch. Thankfully, he had organized his gizmos and knew where they were. He grabbed two circular bombs, only for an ear splitting sound to echo inside his skull. The boy careened forward but managed not to fall over. His eyes were burning and he was getting worried so he simply tossed the bombs forward. One was a stink bomb and as soon as it had hit the ground a foul smelling gas surrounded the guilders.The second bomb made a hissing sound before it exploded and littered the place with confetti. By the time both bombs had gone off Fabian's vision had somewhat returned and his head felt clearer.

He took the opportunity, crouched down then silently made his way towards a farther bush. Hopefully, he could keep his element of surprise for a tad longer.

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts – SW Section

‘Got some movement on the right- and welp, it’s gone!’

Lute’s eyes were tearing up and he almost fainted again. What is with these people and their stinky friends!? ... No offense to Sebastian, but twice in one night was far too much! He coughed and coughed as multicolored pieces of paper floated down and got stuck to his hair, but he paid no attention to it in light of Delilah’s report. "What do you mean it's gone!?" Lute hacked out and his familiar pinpointed instead where she heard the remainder of the strange sounds before it disappeared.

“Trixie, can you go and see if miss Rose is injured?” He turned to the prankster and asked her with his hand over the lower half of his face. With no further explanation he darted off towards the location where this mystery person last left his or her footprints. Lute unsheathed his sword and rapped the tip on the floor, angrily scanning for the fellow.

“Stop being a coward and fight us face to face!” He growled and furiously wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. Stupid stink bomb.

---

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts – Central Section

Oh, this group was so much fun. A rampaging bear, two handsome young men, a newly-arrived swordswoman and a lady who could conjure light, the last one being the most troublesome of them all. Francesca tilted her head to the side and pressed on the communicator, shaking her head when Jay’s muffled voice reached her ear. “Yes, I think I’ll be able to do this. You sound like the one in trouble though- Ah, don't get too distracted,” The lady quipped, raising an eyebrow before focusing on the guards in front of her. Already the boy in the robes was talking about summoning yet another bear, an idea Francesca was not fond of, and although she wanted to slip behind him and knock him into oblivion, the light in that staff was a pest.

A jarring sound distracted Francesca before she could do anything. “Fabbee, is everything all right on your end?” She inquired and waited for a few seconds. When no immediate reply came, the thief shook her head and brought her hands together as she walked out of her hiding place, stalking towards the summoner like a tigress on the hunt.

From where Amy or Estelle was standing, they could easily see a pair of gloved hands swoop in from the darkness before crashing down on Lucien’s neck in a swift jab before the owner withdrew and pushed the summoner towards Tobias.

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts: Northern Section

“What the fuck is going on?!”

Tobias had phrased their thoughts quite aptly- how was the Phantom with both Moira's group and Rose's? Could that be his power? It wasn't implausible, but if he could then Aria would have expected him to have shown off during that little performance of his last night. The people around her, judging by their body language were just as confused as she was.

"Hey Simon, by any chance, does your camera come with a light thing or something that'll help us see better?"

She turned towards the sound of Xan's voice, mulling the idea over. "Yes, your camera would have flash, wouldn't it? Is there no way to turn it on-"

"There's someone over there!" Dalia shouted, startling the group as she pointed. The illusionist reeled around, hearing faint footsteps in the direction of the entrance to the theatre. After a quick shoulder check to make sure that it wasn't Simon again, she sprinted after the figure, slowing down slightly after nearly tripping over a wire on the ground.

"Quick! We can't let him get away this time!"

---

The Academy of the Arts - Western Section

Mattis shook his head at the myriad of sounds coming through the communicator in his ear. His teammates were lively as always, weren't they? He only hoped they wouldn't end up being caught in too much trouble, especially with a bear having somehow gotten inside the building.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are you little shit," Gods above, this woman sounded vicious. No doubt his brothers would be having the time of their lives repeating the words this woman was spouting if they were here. "Or have you shat your pants and legged it?" The taunting only made him retreat deeper into the shadows, eyeing the sharp and dangerous looking sword the woman had drawn out and the newly arrived suits of armor. It was be a right pain to have to deal with them- he backed up, fingertips brushing against the explosive hanging from his belt.

The crevice where he was supposed to place the explosive was right there in the corner of the room. It would be nest, he decided, to plant the and slip out before the woman could use that dangerously glinting steel blade of hers or the man could tackle him with one or both of the sentient suits of armor. He also didn't want to risk the charge going off prematurely- of course, the rest of the team had reassured him that it wasn't likely to happen but he still disliked the feel of it bumping against his leg every time he took a step. He edged towards the corner, keeping a careful watch on the armor as the gazes of the two slid off him as they scanned the room. He didn't know if the armor was affected by the magic, but if it spotted him and attacked the other two would most likely notice him as well.

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts – Central Section

“Amy! Lucien! The thief we, er, reported, it’s actually… er…” Estelle began to rapidly explain as best as she could within the darkness that had engulfed them, when suddenly reports of what was happening around the Academy blared out for them. Marcus’ group had caught up to Dalia and Aria, and his explanation made it evident for all that what Estelle’s group had found was not the Masked Phantom. And then… then chaos.

“What the fuck is going on?!” Tobias yelled after Moira and Rose both exclaimed to have been ambushed by the Masked Phantom. The problem being, both women were in completely separate groups and locations. This… was making no sense. Was there… was there more then one of him?

"Errr, so um, should I summon the bear again and have him sniff around the place?" Lucien asked his friends from the periphery of light Amy’s gem cast about them, looking between the two women and Tobias with the same confusion as they shared. But before either Estelle or Amy could begin to reply, Tobias was already screaming and shouting for him.

“No!” The Patron yelled. “You do not summon that ghastly creature ever again!” His hands wiped over his clothes with a disgusted grimace at the bear’s saliva that coated him. His eyes were affixed to Lucien’s with fierce intensity and anger. “What the hell was that? You… you summon some wild beast like that, in an Academy like this, and you can’t… you can’t control it?! Are you and idiot?!”

“Tobias,” Estelle began to speak, hoping to calm him down. “Look, it was a mistake, you don’t’-”

“Mistake? No, no this is far more serious then a mistake! What is wrong with your entire group?! Because of you all we’ve gotten completely removed from where we supposed to be thanks to your blunder, and I almost got my head ripped and chewed off by this idiotic comedian!” Tobias’s scream grew even louder. “Amateurs! Just… just rank amateurs, I swear to Aislin…!”

Before Tobias could conclude his scathing speech, Lucien was assaulted by a mysterious figure that withdrew into the darkness as quickly as its gloved hands appeared. Lucien was attacked swiftly, and propelled into Tobias in the same fluid motion, crashing into him and sending them both sprawling down to the ground, and out of Amy’s source of light. Both Estelle and Amy looked in absolute disbelief. Hands reached down and fingers snaked across the hilt of her sword, unsheathing it in one fluid swipe and activating the fireblade’s ignited flame. The light provided from it was insignificant within the perimeter of Amy’s own glowing light, but if the two were to separate their sight of their surroundings would grow- and in Estelle’s case it also obviously served as a capable offensive weapon.

“Lucien! Tobias! Are you okay?!” Estelle shouted out, already assuming a defensive stance and glancing over her surroundings rapidly, trying to find any signs of their attacker. She looked to Amy, teeth clenched, her expression communicating everything.

The Masked Phantom?

---

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts: Northern Section

"Quick! We can't let him get away this time!"

“You’re damn right we can’t!” Dylan quickly raced to follow after, with Xandra, Dalia and Simon following quickly behind. Marcus hesitated behind over for a few seconds, concentrating on his magical incantation to supply himself and all of his friends a fresh burst of enhanced agility. All within their groups found their speed increase, and the ability to pursue this mysterious stranger easier then before. And yet, their ominous adversary was still lithe of foot and able to keep away, until he ducked into one of the theatre rooms. But, with Dalia and her ability to perceive peoples’ auras, it would make finding their target relatively easy. Even if she couldn’t see auras through solid objects, making the performance hall and its rows upon rows of chairs a prime opportunity to hide depending on the angle, it would only be a matter of time before he was caught.

“Give up!” She screamed.

“That’s right!” Her brother added behind. “You’re under arrest, Masked Phantom! Save us all the time and effort and give up quietly!!”

“Y-y-yeah!” Simon also added, fumbling with the buttons atop his camera to activate its light. A small beam projected outwards from it, offering a small array of light. Barely enough to properly illuminate the room at all, but it worked as a handy enough flashlight.

“Be careful, everyone.” Marcus coolly addressed his teammates as he walked in from behind, turning to lock the door. His eyes scanned the rest of the room. It was swallowed in darkness, but he could roughly recall what the room looked like from the performance they had witnessed in yesterday… remembering where the other exits were.

If they could trap the Masked Phantom within the room…

“I’m going to lock the other doors. We’ll trap him in here… he won’t get away.”

A waft of emerald light glowed across his body before vanishing, the wind mage imbuing his body with greater speed and agility. He jumped forwards, bounding atop the seats towards the room’s other exits.