Aliquam: The Academy of the Arts - Southern Section

“Trixie, can you go and see if miss Rose is injured?”

"Ah, ah!" Trixie called out, ignoring Lute's request. Her voice was nasally, thanks to the clothes pin clamped right over her nostrils. "This baddie likes tricks! Well, I got tricks too!" She wouldn't be able to sniff out their attacker in a stinky chaos like this, so she decided to forgo it altogether for another tactic: chucking her own stink bomb in the direction the opponent's came from. Trixie was able to whiff enough of the stench to know where the source was, and she wasted no time with retaliating.

Her grenade managed to glide over where Fabian's had crashed, though whether it landed anywhere near the offender, she was unsure. There was enough moonlight crawling in for her to maneuver decently in the darkness, but all the smog that came with all three bombs hindered the heroes even further. It was all touch and sound now!

After throwing her own stink, Trixie immediately whipped out her two guns, locked and loaded. The second she heard any skittering or thuds coming from the thief's movements, she would unload a barrage of bullets. "Echo! You can do soundsy stuff, right?" She did not looked back to him, instead staring in the direction the supposed Masked Phantom assaulted them from. "Lemme know if you hear any footsteps! Also please check on Miss Rosy too ♥"

---

Aliquam: The Academy of the Arts - Western Section

"You said you didn't know magic!" Moira hissed. "Liar!"

"Whoa whoa, easy, honey. I said I didn't use magic for art, not that I'm magic-free!" Angel called back as he continued scanning the room. Nada. Of course this thief remained put in the shadows; if Moira had been calling Angel out like that, he would too! Too bad the only source of light in the room was that of the moon, which only cleared one section and left many angles to be explored. Damn statues turned the room into a maze in the dark!

The aristocrat snickered suddenly. A thought crossed him by - "Wouldn't it be great if we just tore down the entire room? He'd only have the other statues to hide behind, until he high-tails it of course." He said it jokingly, but he contemplated it in all seriousness. Besides, the walls weren't worth as much as the statues anyway, right?

Something tittered along the moonlit flooring - his die, turning up a four. As Angel knelt down to retrieve it, the statues too began to move. Their movements were scarily fluid; even if they were unseen, the cranking of their leg parts and footsteps sounded much more natural than mechanical, as if they were manned. One remained by the double doors, its head shifting side to side. The other sauntered into the darkness, holding out its spear towards the wall like a metal detector as it moved. It froze still after a meager distance traveled.

The die dropped once again: three. The exploring knight began moving once again. In the meantime Angel turned away from where his statues came from and began heading towards the other end of the long room, sticking to the moonlit surfaces. "He's still gotta be in here somewhere. Unless... he's not." The aristocrat spoke all too casually.

Unbeknownst to both Angel and Mattis, the sculpted suit of armor was coming straight towards the thief.

The Academy of the Arts - Western Section

Moira glared into the dark depths of the room, still feeling a little betrayed if anything. Well, whatever. She couldn't stay mad at this guy. Not with the sort of things coming out of his mouth.

"Wouldn't it be great if we just tore down the entire room? He'd only have the other statues to hide behind, until he high-tails it of course."

"Love, now you're talkin' my kind of language. But I reckon if we did that we'd be the ones they're arrestin'." Although it would be nice to knock the external wall out. Let more of that moonlight in. She cocked her head to one side. Huh. The more she thought about it, the more she liked it. Would it be worth it? It would be satisfying, that's for sure.

A quiet rattle caught her attention, only to find it to be Angel throwing that dice. She still didn't understand what that meant, although she knew if Syed was awake to see this he'd probably have a hernia with excitement. He liked that silly game with the dice and the made up people and all that.

It was then when she noticed a pale mark on the wall, one which moved erratically when she did. She frowned for a couple of seconds before it clicked. Her greatsword was catching the moonlight, and reflecting it.

She span her greatsword effortlessly in her hand, before placing it so she was holding it with it's tip touching the ground. It was a poor imitation of a torch, really. But considering how their light source and radar combo was lying prone on the floor it was really the best thing she had. She began to shift it so it moved around the room...

---

Academy of the Arts - Northern Section

Jay remained huddled in the rows of seats, listening as the others indeed flooded in after him. Well, he really had bitten off more than he could chew here. Especially with that one woman who seemed to be able to find him in the dark. He'd probably have to take her out first.

But this was an interesting room. Better than he could have asked for. There were hiding places absolutely everywhere - the seats, the stage with it's drawn curtains, and even a couple of box type seating areas up on the walls.

Jay smirked to himself. Hey, them thinking he was The Masked Phantom himself? What a compliment! He would brag about it on the comms if he didn't think he could be heard. Although one man was talking about locking the doors...

Quite suddenly, there he was - his foot lightly stepping onto the top of a seat next to him as he leapt and bounced over him. Geez, didn't he bear a resemblance to the boss? Still, this was it. Just as the man pushed himself off he leapt up and grabbed the man's leg, pulling with all he had and sending him crashing to the floor. He wasted no time in pushing his foot into the man's stomach and pushing his drugged cloth to the man's nose and mouth.

He had seconds to knock the man out and get out of there, as there was no doubt the woman probably saw him. But there was no way he was going to let them lock him in here, not with how outnumbered he was. No way at all.

There is little more dangerous than a cornered animal.

The Academy of Arts - Northern Section

Aside from the dim moonlight that shone through the windows, it was dark in the theater room. It was a good thing Dalia could sense auras.

Marcus talked about locking the doors, and it was a very good idea. If they could block all the exits, then surely they would finally manage to catch the masked phantom. Xan peered into the darkness, it was impossible to see anything besides shadowy outlines. The girl held out her prosthetic in front of her, it had taken the form of a hammer. Slowly, she walked down one of the aisles, eyes flitting from row to row.

This thief was very sneaky...

Just as she made her way towards the stage, there was crash followed by a muffled thud. The mettalurgist spun around, only to be greeted by the outline of the chairs closest to her. "Is everyone alright?" Her eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Did anyone see anything?"

---

“Stop being a coward and fight us face to face!”

Psh, coward shwamard, this was simply called playing smart. Fabian wanted to laugh so badly, but didn't because he was outnumbered and everyone besides the kid was a giant. He remained crouched behind several bushes and observed the man intently. Fabian was so absorbed in what he was doing that when Granny asked him how he was doing he nearly fell back in fright. Fababy, oh how he hated being called that. "Oi,oi, I can take care of myself grandma." He kept his voice low.

What was it with everyone always asking about his well-being? Cuss this, he could handle himself just as well as she could.

He fumbled with the several pouches attached to his belt and wondered which little gadget he ought to try next. Maybe that bomb that made a loud, sharp sound when it hit the ground. It was cussing irritating, but it didn't do much.

While he was debating his next move, a foul stench caught him off guard and Fabian nearly choked on his own spit. The boy clamped both hands over his nose and crawled away just in time to avoid a barrage of bullets. These guilders had guns and all sorts of gizmos too? CUSS IT, JUST CUSS IT! He had horrible luck. The boy hopped to his feet, thankfully his NV mask gave him some sort of advantage.

A breeze began rustling the bushes around and it sort of worked out in his favor.

The girl was still shooting at the last place he had been in and the man was nearby so Fabian crept up behind Lute and depantsed him. Then as soon as that was over he grabbed a stink bomb, jumped, and shoved it into Lute's shirt. "See ya Stinker!" The boy shoved the depantsed man forward then swiftly spun around to throw down a smoke bomb.

Academy of the Arts - Northern Section

Marcus felt the wind get knocked out of his stomach as a hand suddenly grabbed him in mid jump, driving him to the ground and kicking him harshly again in the same spot. The presence of a shadowy figure lurched on top of him and pushed something closed over his nose and mouth- a rag with a powerful chemical agent designed to send the victim to unconsciousness. With the precise manner in which his attacker had drove much of Marcus’ breath away from him already, it would take only seconds for the rest of the agent to drive a normal man into unconscious oblivion.

But Marcus wasn’t a normal man.

His body reacted instantaneously, almost by itself. Energy flared and warped around him, and much to Jay’s frightful disbelief, a powerful gust of wind gripped him from his feet, flipping him up as a surge of wind pushed him backwards, spinning backwards into the air with a scream. What the heck?!



Dalia’s own eyes widened at the surprising scene before her- the aura flying in the air, spinning and awash with a great many blurring colours. There could have been no doubt… this was the culprit! “There!” Dalia shouted with her finger pointed. Simon’s camera turned, and the beam of light from it illuminated Jay’s body. The thief was already turning in midair, his practiced litheness making him ready to hit the ground running, and move to a more advantageous position. He still didn’t know how that man was able to resist, unless he was a lot more powerful then he first assumed… had he bitten off more then he could chew? Himself, alone, against six of them? These guys weren’t like those priests and priestesses… these were professionals. Guilders?

Jay’s body elegantly hit the ground in a crouch, his legs springing him forwards to run and escape by hiding amongst the rows of seats again…

…but he didn’t get far before smashing his head against a cold bar of steel and stumbling backwards and onto his rear. A low groan of pain mumbled from his lips.



“You did it, Dylan!” Aria exclaimed as she looked upon her team’s handiwork. The light from Simon’s camera illuminated Jay in all of his splendour, trapped within a large steel cage drawn and constructed into reality by the sketching Matter Artist. Jay was pinned and trapped on all six sides, unable to escape, with the rest of the group quickly regrouping towards him.

“This… isn’t the Masked Phantom…” Dylan frowned, looking at the strange attired man. “Who are you?” Dylan asked, keeping a wary distance from the man. Jay was now their prisoner, and he meant to get some answers from him.

“Cough… cough…” Further down the row of seats, Marcus unsteadily rose to his feet, clutching onto one of the chairs. He stared daggers in Jay’s direction.

---

The Academy of the Arts - Western Section

“Good work, Mattis.”

With their focus completely absorbed on their opponent within the room, the same, one who had sneaked up on them and taken Syed out before any of them could realise it, neither Moira nor Angel expected or anticipated that they could be interrupted by another opponent…

The windows all shattered at once, glass raining down over the swearing Moira and disbelieving Angel, as a shadowy figure’s silhouette stood illuminated in the moonlight behind, the locks of his hair fluttering. His mouth opening revealed teeth glistening a pearl white smile.

The glass didn’t stay scattered across the ground for long. Before Moira or Angel could react, they all shot up into the air, and began instantly spinning around Moira, too fast and haphazardly for her to predict. More and more lurched into the air, becoming one with the dizzying vortex. Individual pieces began flying out it, nicking her body at intervals all over where the armor didn’t protect and drawing sharp, shallow cuts across her skin, before becoming a part of the bladed vortex again – the glass spinning faster and faster, too quickly to keep up with or attempt escape. From outside of the dome, Angel was left free, but it was impossible for him to move in and help Moira… without being shredded to pieces.

And at the same time, it gave Mattis the perfect opportunity to strike.

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts – SW Section

Why all these stink bombs? They could’ve fought each other with flash grenades!

The air which was slowly starting to clear was clogged with an unidentifiable stink again, and the combined scents made Lute want to retch. In the dizzy state he was in, he barely even realized that Trixie had turned his request around and just followed the order. Searching for the hulk which must be a horse was easy and the virtuoso quickly found Rose.

“Miss Rose?” The smog cleared a bit as a draft blew in, causing Lute’s feed to get clogged up with blurry outlines and the like, and it enabled the man to see the young lady pinned under her steed. She didn’t look too good either… “Are… Are you… Did you break a bone!? I’ll get you out of there, don’t worry!” He managed to wheeze out with the back of his hand pressed against his lower face. Lute stood up, groped around for Sebastian’s saddle, and then tried to pull the horse off its rider. While he was exerting his efforts on this though, a certain pair of hands snaked around his waist and…

Lute and Delilah both had no time to react as a circular object was quickly stuffed within the virtuoso’s shirt, the cold material rolling down his chest slowly thanks to the fabric. And then it exploded. A cloud of stink practically erupted from every escapable place there could be in a shirt. But that wasn’t enough. The figure pushed the virtuoso forward while a quick chirp rippled forth from Lute’s hand, scanning the assailant’s form as he threw yet another stick bomb before retreating.

Judging from that voice and the scan results… ‘… You’re up against a small fry.’

“You. Little. Brat.”

Runoff was dripping through Lute’s shirt and down his back, where a damp circle stood out from the dark red fabric of his jacket. His skin from where the grenade exploded was repulsively sticky, not to mention raw from the impact. “I’m going to get him for you, miss Rose,” The virtuoso growled out through gritted teeth as he pushed himself up from the ground and reached for his sword, not minding the fact that his patterned boxers were on show for the entire world to see once the smog cleared.

“I’m going to teach you a lesson!” Lute snarled and swung his sword horizontally, a sound wave following the trajectory and range of the slash. “And if that didn’t hit you, this will!”

---

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts – Central Section

… Now this was off-topic, but Francesca idly wondered whether the two ladies were secretly relieved that the gorgeous fellow was temporarily disposed of; for someone who looked like he was brought up in a well-mannered household, the man sure had a sharp tongue and was also being overly cruel to his teammates. Francesca knew for sure that she was fine with having Tobias, as the pretty redhead called him, out of the picture.

“… If you’re having trouble, call on one of us. No sense playing ‘big boss’ tonight, my dear,” The lady covered her mouth as she parted one final piece of advice for Fabian… For now, at least. The swordswoman had drawn her weapon and it ignited, throwing light around as the flames shimmered upwards. She and her blonde friend were still together but if they separated, it would be quite…

Vexing. But, ah…. The worst of it all seemed to be that fireblade. She didn’t want those embers anywhere near her lovely dress nor her skin, thank you very much. Francesca narrowed her eyes as she retreated into the further reaches of the shadowed hallway, and a plan formed in her mind as her gaze raked past a few scattered objects.

As both Amy and Estelle made sense of their concealed assailant, either one of the two swinging her light source from side to side to ward off the darkness, a medium-sized wooden crate flew in from the north. The flying object was followed quickly by another crate of the same make thrown in from the far northeast… and then another one from their immediate left, as if the source was getting closer and closer to successfully circumventing them.

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts – SW Section

“Lu… te… nggah…!” Rose clenched her teeth tightly, gasping in agony and pain as she struggled to back free of her poor horse Sebastian’s prone body thanks to Lute’s assistance in lifting the heavy animal and gently lowering the soundly sleeping horse back down.

Agony washed through Rose’s body. She could feel pain screaming at her, twisting through her leg as if she had been stabbed by knives. The way in which she and Sebastian had fallen was bad, but now she was positive – her ankle or leg was broken, and it took all Rose had not to cry or fall unconscious. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t. Not because of a thief like this, a duplicitous coward who had to resort to tranqualising and harming poor animals. As much as her body hurt, she was more concerned about Sebastian… and more determined and resolute to make their attacker pay.

As Trixie kept their attacker at bay, Lute had done the courtesy of breaking her free. But during that brief distraction, their attacker had managed to approach and attack him – pulling his trousers down and assaulting him with some of those vile stink bombs he had used before, this time with added stickiness. It was all so… elementary and uncouth. Immature. And aggravating. She wanted to be able to stand up and draw her rapier free, and fence the toad through the shoulder, pinning him to the wall.

It seemed Lute had the same idea in mind. A loud scream of indignation erupted from his throat. The way in which he screamed his resolution, and unsheathed his sword with an accompanying sound projecting slash… it was the way a man should act. Confident and determined. Dependable and resolute. A hero.

Rose blushed. She could hardly believe this was the same man she had first met in the Academy causing a terrible scene, or the confidence lacking man she had danced with in Tobias’ gala. This… this was a new man altogether.

Or at least it would have been if, even in the gloomy darkness, she couldn’t see his teddy bear boxers affectionately smiling back at her.

He had a way to go.

She closed her eyes and strained her senses. The pain in her leg hurt immeasurably, but she wouldn’t give in or be forced to sit on the sidelines. She would be a part of this fight too, no matter what.

Her hands touched the ground, and she began to pour her magic into the ground. Vines that snaked up the walls of the Academy began to twitch, and turn, and writhe, slowly slithering downwards towards the floor. The effort was exhausting and Herculean, but she planned to trap and ensnare their opponent, to allow Trixie and Lute the ability to finally catch that slippery bastard.

---

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts – Central Section

“Lucien!” Estelle hissed in a whisper. “Lucien! Are you okay!” Amy gave her friend a sideways glance of confusion, wondering why she was eliciting to try and whisper when their attacker was no doubt able to hear anyway, even with the fact that Estelle couldn’t possibly do quiet. At all. Ever.

“No he’s not bloody okay!” Tobias’ voice emerged in response. “He’s unconscious and he weighs a ton! Get him off me!”

Estelle had been inching towards them, but then stopped and rolled her eyes. They could stay there a bit longer then. Truth be told, Tobias was probably safer there.

“Amy, can you see anything? Make your gem glow brighter, or some- look out!!”

A wooden crate came hurtling from the darkness to the north, aimed directly at the cleric, before Estelle grabbed and pushed her to the side, dodging the crate as it exploded behind them into shattered splinters. They were given no reprieve as another crate came flying at a slightly altered angle at a frightening speed:- Estelle swung her sword out and destroyed it. And then again the pattern repeated, another crate hurtling towards them at another angle, followed by another slice from Estelle’s fireblade.

Estelle’s teeth gritted together. Their enemy… the ‘Masked Phantom’… was circling around them, throwing more and more crates at them as they did. Well enough was enough, Estelle wasn’t take any more of that.

She surged forward, dashing into the darkness where she predicted her foe would be, fireblade held up firmly at the ready to strike as soon as he saw him.

Unfortunately for both her and Amy, they had fallen into Francesca’s carefully laid trap…

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts: Northern Section

A loud crash rang through the theatre, causing everyone to look around for the source. Aria was next to a door, having darted over to lock it before the thief could escape. As she stared through the darkness to try to find out where the noise had come from, a dark figure flew up from the seating area, screeching loudly.

Her first thought was something along the lines of oh shit this guy's going to escape through the roof, until his descent, lit briefly by Simon's camera, had him landing back to the ground.

Aria quickly leaped over a few row of seats, only to see that a giant cage had been constructed around the criminal.

"You did it, Dylan!" She crouched down to examine the man, only to blink. This wasn't the thief they were searching for- so who was he? He had a mask, but that was about the extent of his resemblance to the Phantom. He had dark hair instead and a cool looking beard, and a much less flashy outfit. Dylan asked the question they were all wondering, while the illusionist just peered more closely at the guy.

"I don't suppose you're in cahoots with the Phantom?"

If there were more thieves, it certainly explained Lulu's and Moira's groups' dilemma.

---

The Academy of the Arts - Western Section

"Please don't break down the room..."

The man in the rabbit mask grumbled quietly, giving the block in his hands another wiggle. Mattis had successfully slipped in behind the large woman, and was quickly trying to slip the charge into the nook without causing too much noise. The charge was rather bulky, and he couldn't shake the feeling that it was going to end up exploding in his hands. The clanking of the armor was getting louder, and he couldn't help but glance backwards at the approaching suit of armor. He couldn't tell if it could see him or was coming this way by chance, but he was going to end up cornered at this rate. So focused he was on the armor and the bomb in his hands that he barely noticed Moira's newly made substitute for a flashlight until it shone in his face.

He stared at them through his mask and they stared back, his magic haven been unfortunately too weak to fend off the focus of the two this time. Luckily the bomb had least finally clattered down into the hole, but the large man was caught in a corner between two people and some suits of armor.

Before the two of them could act, however, the shattering of glass distracted the three and they briefly ducked to try to escape the falling glass.

“Good work, Mattis.”

Ah, of course he would be the one to make such a flashy entrance. The woman was quickly caught in a flurry of glass, and while the green haired man's attention was distracted Mattis shot up to his feet, darting up to the suit of armor and hefting it up. It clanked angrily but before it could cut him, he threw it at the green-haired man with a grunt.

"You're late," he frowned a the grinning masked figure, sighing. They'd hopefully have taken down the other two, which would free them to go help the others. It sounded as if Fabian was in trouble, and Mattis was getting antsy about the boy. He had a tendency to leap into things without thinking, much to the man's exasperation.

Aliquam: The Academy of the Arts - Central Section

Any loathing Amy was developing towards Tobias during his whiny rants and blaming games came to an immediate halt, once he was knocked over with an unconscious Lucien in tow. After Tobias knocked him off, Amy knelt down and brought light so she could at least see a faint outline of the summoner. She muttered a curse to herself before casting a spell and encasing her ally in a golden hue.

She rose back to her feet the moment she was done, initially planning to continue feeding him healing spells now that she knew exactly where his body was. But that was interrupted with Estelle knocking her out of the way. From a flying... box. Multiple boxes, all hurtling in from different angles. What a childish ploy; to Amy this was an obvious distraction, but what could she do? Before she could respond to Estelle's request, the swordswoman burst off into the darkness.

"Estelle! Wait- dammit!" Amy grit her teeth. She chanted snappily, her eyes trailing the redhead's own source of light. As Estelle's body glowed with a forest green hue, something shined along the backside of her head. A glimmer, a reflection - a semi-circular, transparent shield protecting her blindside, including her lower neck. Once the cast was successful, Amy exhaled through her nose before starting up another chant, this time increasing the brightness of her gem. As she did this, she looked around warily; thankfully the box-throwing had stopped coming in Amy's direction now that Estelle was in tow. At least for a spell, which was all she needed.

"You," she said to Tobias, "keep your eyes and ears peeled. If we have more than one of these bastards prowling around here..." Amy began another chant, and again Lucien's body was encased in a golden aura. "Come on, you bloke. Get up..."

---

Aliquam: The Academy of the Arts - Southern Section

The rustling sound was just a trap! "Dagnabbit!" Trixie turned around to see Lute helping Rose (which Trixie would have been totally useless at) - and without his pantalones on. But that didn't bother the prankster as much as something else did. "You had one job, Echo!" she squeaked back, nasally. "One job!"

Lute lashed back, which caused Trixie to yelp. She wasn't aware the virtuoso was capable for this kinda yelling! He was shouting out something about teaching the thief a lesson, though Trixie couldn't see what exactly he was doing beyond all the green smog. Then something else netted her attention: the sound of vines snapping and writhing nearby her. She blinked and, hesitating, jogged to where the source came from, only to stop at the sound of a yelp. ...and that was no yelp of a grown-butt man.

She wondered for a moment if Lisette had returned, but shook off the sad thought and drew her guns again. She couldn't see Rose nor Fabian from where she stood now, though she could see vines moving on the wall beside her. Whatever was happening to them, they were working in their favor, and Trixie was not about to let their assailant slide by. She began unloading a barrage of bullets to wherever the source of the boy's yelp came from.

---

Aliquam: The Academy of the Arts - Western Section

Just when Angel and Moira both laid their eyes on Mattis, thanks for the beserker's sword, the glass behind them shattered. The shards themselves began whirling around Moira, trapping her effectively in one spot. Before Angel could even wonder what the fuck was going on, the sound of one of his armored suits clanked and clattered as it was thrown through the air towards the aristocrat. To this Angel yelped and dove out of the way, dropping his die in the meantime. In the moonlight, it turned up a two.

With scary speed the armored suit by the door began charging down towards Mattis - but stopped midstep, halfway between the exit and where Mattis had charged off to, according to the sound of his voice. The one flying worked to stop its flight by pinning its spear into the ground, thus carving into it and producing an unearthly screeching sound - but its position froze and nearby Moira it landed on its side instead of upright and battle-ready.

Angel gasped. He pushed himself up quickly and flopped in the other direction. Rather ironic that he was grateful the shards of glass were on Moira right now and not the floor. At any rate, he quickly snatched his die and chucked it forward again, before rushing to stand himself back up. "Oh, thank Aislin."

Five.

Angel's eyes flicked back and forth between the darkness behind him and the smiling man outside. He positioned himself ready to... well... run behind cover? Or outside? Either position would open him to attack though, wouldn't they? Gods, Angel had no idea what to do. He'd never been in a fight before. He could only thank Aislin again that the armored suits had not been moved away like most of the other statues, because those were the most fight-capable things he could think of.

In the meantime, the armored suit nearby pushed its spear further on the ground, sliding it right underneath the vortex swirling around Moira. This caused some shards to ricochet by her ankle, but some sacrifices had to be made if she wanted to break free in time. It deftly lifted its thickened spear straight up, the shards ripping and tearing into its shell as they collided before flying out of the vortex's current. Without further hesitation, it then began charging outside of the window, towards where the masked man stood. It poised its spear, ready to attack, before thrusting it forward once close enough - though the suit froze in its track once the thrust was made, cutting it off from adjusting to the man if he moved or countered.

The other suit resumed its charge as if it had never stopped. Once it was close enough to where it assumed Mattis had ran to, it chucked its spear forward at a devastating speed, hoping to pin the thief. The suit itself continued running in its direction, preparing its arms to elbow something - but before it could even pinpoint where it should land, it again froze in place.

The Academy of the Arts - Western Section

Wake up!

Moira snarled, the air becoming thick with rage around her. Cowards, they were all cowards! And the guy they had found wasn't even the real fucking deal! They were playing them all like toys. No matter, he was here now, she was going to kick his arse!

She lowered her head and held her arms so they were covering up as much of her face and neck of possible. She did not want to be blinded, or get a serious injury otherwise. The rest of her was pretty well armoured anyway. Well, bar her feet. Which she soon came to regret as some of the flying vortex of glass ricocheted right into her ankle. It took all she had not to buckle into the walls of the vortex. "ARGH!"

Wake up!!!

Woosh! Something skimmed right by her, disrupting much of the glass which spiralled around her. She didn't think twice, she took the opportunity to dive right out of the thing, yelling as more glass nicked and gashed at her. No! No fuck this, fuck you, fuck everything!

She skidded backwards, bringing her sword before her. And with a final wordless scream, she made a limping leap forwards towards the blond man, prepared to throw her sword at him if he made any move which could trap her again.

WHY WON'T YOU WAKE UP?!!!

---

Academy of the Arts - Northern Section

"Oof..." Jay murmured, rubbing his head. "You guys sure play rough..." He looked around himself, making a quiet clicking noise with his tongue. A cage, and one without a visible door or lock to boot. Lovely.

So he made himself comfortable. He pushed himself so his back rested on the bars, before reaching into his pocket. Then out of it, he plucked... a lollipop? He unwrapped it and placed it into his mouth, before giving them all a smooth grin. They had started asking him questions, but hey. Whatever.

"Now aren't you an attractive bunch. I'm guessing you're Guilders? I'm in the wrong job." He turned to Aria as she spoke, pretty much outright ignoring Dylan. "Cahoots? I like that word." He took the pop out of his mouth, examined it for a moment, then placed it back. "You really are gorgeous, dear. Shame girls like you always have boyfriends, I could show you a really good time."

He sighed, turning to look at Xan and Dalia instead. "Hell, you two are gorgeous too. It's my lucky day." His eyes then drifted towards Marcus, his smile slipping slightly. Okay, meeting him... was not lucky. Not with that sheer, overwhelming amount of power. He didn't need to be able to wield magic to know powerful stuff when he saw it. Yep, definately fell right into the deep end here.

He grinned again. Well, he supposed he should start playing ball a little. "My name's Jay," he said offhandedly. "And since I've told you my name, it's only fair you tell me yours, isn't it?" He winked. "So, what makes you think I'm in 'cahoots' with this guy?"

"--ou bloke. Get up..."

Something warm and reassuring washed over him, almost like a toasty blanket on chilly nights.

Lucien's eyebrows furrowed together and the man stirred, letting out a soft groan as he did so. The last thing he recalled was talking, then all of a sudden something struck him in the neck and the world went dark. "Just five more minutes," he mumbled.

The warm flow didn't stop and soon Lucien's eyes snapped open. He was on the ground? Crap, the mission! Lucien leaped to his feet only to have the room spin. "Ow, ow, was I slapped or something." He winced then noticed Amy and the soft glow that had surrounded him. "Thanks Amy, you're a lifesaver!" The man managed a weary grin before he looked around. "Oi, oi, where did our leader go?" He spun around to see a very angry looking Tobias, due to being unconscious he had missed the flying crates so when he noticed the scattered wood on the ground, a very confused expression crossed his face. "What the heck?"

Lucien thought about using his cat summon to provide their leader with backup, but he still felt kind of woozy and doubted he'd be able to keep the animal in his control. "I don't think I can summon anything at the moment," he admitted in defeat. "Should we sneak around and try to sneak up on that good for nothing thief?"

---

Suddenly, a yell echoed throughout the room, it was followed by a thud.

Xan spun around to see a figure running off, but before the thief could get away, he ran smack dab into one of Dylan's traps. The others began making their way towards the cage and the metallurgist followed, but stopped when she reached Marcus. "Are you alright?" Aside from appearing out of breath, he looked fine. Xan wasn't able to witness what he had done, but whatever it was, launching the thief into the air was very impressive. She gave the wind mage a concerned look before joining the others by the cage.

It wasn't the masked phantom. Dylan and Aria quickly asked the questions that were probably on most of their minds.

Instead of cutting to the chase, the thief started flirting? They didn't have time for this. If the masked phantom wasn't behind these bars then he was still somewhere in the academy, possibly with one of their friends. "That information isn't relevant to us," Xan stared at the thief in the cage, "how many of you are there?" Several groups had claimed to see the masked phantom at once, so there was a possibility that Jay wasn't his only accomplice.

He probably wouldn't answer that question, but they had him caged, and he didn't seem to be thinking up an escape route.

---

Oh boy, oh boy, maybe attacking the grownup wasn't the smartest idea ever.

Fabian attempted to hightail it out of there but just as he was about to dive into the bushes, the vines suddenly came to life. No cussing way! These people had magic and cool weapons. Oh man, that was so cool, but very bad for him, he hadn't even dropped his charge yet!

"Uh granny, I think I'm in troub--wah!" Before he could finish his sentence, a sudden popping sound filled his ears and he was knocked down by an invincible force. The boy's ears were still ringing, and it left him feeling a little disoriented. "I've been spotted," he hissed into his communicator before swiftly leaping to his feet. Running back towards the academy was no longer an option since the vines were going crazy, so his only other choice would be to run past them in the smog.

Running away, the thought felt so shameful. Fabian didn't know it but he had actually gone tomato-red.

He attempted to run to the right only for a bullet to strike him in the back. "Cuss this!" Another bullet came at him and he spun around. His NV masked allowed him to see a kid with guns. He was being shot at! Fabian was so focused on the girl that he tripped on his own two feet and fell face first not too far from both Lute and Rose. He stayed face-down but fumbled with his pouch for his zappy device. UGH! If they came for him, he'd at least be able to try and shock them.

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts – SW Section

By this, Lute meant a forceful vertical sound slash towards where he had located the thief using the feed from his previous attack. It wasn’t a special attack or anything… He just made it sound like one for reasons he didn’t understand himself. Anyway, Fabian had already toppled over from the multitude of attacks the three had inflicted, so now it was time to apprehend him.

“Got you! Come on, Trixie!”

With the three of them working together, the thief was stunned and trapped by the vines, hopefully ending his reign of stink bombs. Lute was still far from placated, however, and so was Delilah; both had at least one eye twitching as the virtuoso (with his pants back in their rightful domain) checked up on Rose. If Fabian so much as twitched, he would throw a VERY loud screech over there with his free hand, and trust the gods that he wouldn’t miss this time.

“… We should get you to a medic,” Lute, after trying to wake Sebastian, offered to carry Rose on his back since he doubted that she would appreciate the stink coming off of his chest, but before that he turned towards Trixie. “Hey Wondergirl, great job. Sorry for being a dummy back then; I got confused too. Want to do the honors of apprehending the criminal?” His tone had softened from its previous agitated state, but Lute was still upset about … everything. He was a very hygienic person after all.

---

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts – Central Section

In the lapse it took between the launching of the third crate and its destruction, Francesca had already planted herself on the roof facing the small courtyard; no small feat considering that it sloped downwards and that she was working against gravity. It was tempting to leave this group and skirt over to where the others were, but she had to abide by orders... At least until they were called off. The charge had been planted anyway; the only reason Francesca prowled around was to prevent its discovery.

The woman crouched and waited for the swordswoman and her friend to take the bait, but it was only the former who ran to that location. That was enough.

… By this time either Fabian or Jay should have been crowing about how easy the mission was.

Francesca moved over to where Estelle ran out from and prepared. Her eyes darted over to the glowing weapon held by the redhead as she scouted for the enemy, whom she still seemed to believe came from that direction. Now. The thief narrowed her eyes and broke into a run, latching onto the roof with one of her hands as she jumped off. Francesca used the momentum of her last swing to throw herself back into the corridor, her legs poised to give the cleric an aerial kick.

Her calculations were thrown off as there were new elements that had been added to the equation; the woman bearing the staff had moved, the handsome man was back on his feet and the bear whisperer was awake once more.

It was the newly-risen Tobias who met the brunt of Francesca’s kick, and she was well-within Amy’s lit area for a second before the thief managed to move out of sight. She swiftly stood up from her place beside the aristocrat, his rapier in her hand as the woman prepared to move in and bury the hilt in the cleric's face. Before she could, however, Fabian’s voice rang through the communicator. Concern replaced the cold and calculating expression on her face as she listened in on the boy's report.

And it was disrupted by a shrill screech, amplified by the tiny device’s own static from having to relay such volume.

“Merde!” Francesca’s anguished cry was for everyone, thieves and guilders alike, to hear. Her left ear was ringing painfully, almost as if her nerves were swelling in response to the sudden auditory relay, and her eyes watered. She dropped her aggressive tactic and instead ripped off the Academy banner hanging from the nearest pillar, then flung it towards Amy as she bid a wobbly retreat.

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts: Central Courtyard Sector (Northern area)

“AMY!” Estelle skidded to a stop, turning around quickly just in time to see a strange woman dressed from head to toe in black steal Tobias’ rapier after kicking him down, and preparing to drive the weapon’s hilt into Amy’s face. For some reason, the woman hesitated, stopping midstride in her attack, but then quickly snatching onto one of the Academy banners draped in-between columns and throwing it over Amy to blind her. She quickly turned tail and retreated back into the darkness, as Estelle raced as quickly as she could after in the direction their enemy fled, with Amy and Tobias both in the midst of her path. The fire ignited around her blade disintegrated, as she struggled to pull her friend free of the nuisance engulfing her.

“Amy, are you okay?!” Estelle asked. Mentally, she chastised herself for leaving her friend defenceless, and falling for that woman’s trap. For her to be able to attack Amy and Tobias behind her like that, it had to mean the thrown boxes were a feint. But how could she manage that? Magic?

“Lucien!” Estelle sharply turned to the summoner. She was relieved to see him on his feet, but still briefly winced at the unease in which he staggered. She didn’t want to ask what she spoke next, but they needed to pursue that wily woman, and he was the only one they could depend upon now. If they lost her… “Can you summon your cat or bird? We need to have something small and fast following her, before we lose her!”

"That... that bitch just stole my sword!" Tobias snarled.

---

Aliquam: The Academy of the Arts: Northern Sector (Performance Hall)

“Don’t look at or talk to them like that,” Dylan scowled, his voice tinged with venom and anger at Jay’s leering at Aria, Xan, and his sister. He had seen the exact same look from Tobias towards people to know what the man was thinking, and all the implications along with it. He didn’t see his friends as people, he saw them as meat, and that sickened Dylan even more.

“You don’t get to know our names or ask any questions whatsoever,” Dylan continued. “You’re trapped in our cage. You answer our questions. Understood?”

Jay’s raised brow back towards Dylan displayed a clear level of disinterest or fright back towards the Matter Artist, which simply made him grow angrier. The usually kind hearted man spoke with more authority, more threat. Jay had already angered him enough, and with everything else that was occurring within the Academy right now to his friends, he no longer had the patience to tolerate people like him. They were in need of information, and they wouldn’t waste their time dancing around words with him.

“Don’t make us need to persuade you. It won’t end well. If you just answer our questions, you’ll be making it easier for yourself. Otherwise… well. You don’t want to know the otherwise, does he, Aria?” Dylan glanced towards the illusionist, silently inferring to her what he meant, before locking his eyes back upon Jay.

“And don’t think about trying to lie, either. We’ll know if you’re doing that, too.”

He glanced briefly to his sister, who watched Jay with stern concentration and her arms folded over her chest. If he was to attempt, she’d see the ripples and flickers of such a lie manifest within the colour of his aura. She was a human lie detector.

Marcus similarly said nothing. He sat down on one of the chairs close to watching the other, catching his breath and keeping his eyes fixed on Jay.

“Yeeeeah, buddy!” Simon tried pulling his most intimidating expression possible, but failed in the execution of it. He shone his camera’s beam of light directly in Jay’s face. “Start talkin’, or else!”

---

Aliquam: The Academy of the Arts: South-Western Sector

“No, you… you don’t need to carry me,” Rose waved the offer away with flushed cheeks and embarrassment. “But thank you. And good job, the both of you.”

The thought of her being carried by Lute was… undignified, and she didn’t want to hinder him like that. She was sure he was strong, but probably not enough to carry her weight as well. As Lute turned to Trixie, Rose focused her magic on the vines entrapping Fabian even more, making them constrict and tighten around the boy before relaxing their tension somewhat. He had gasped in pain, but after everything he had done, he deserved it and more.

It was still dark enough that she couldn’t really see him with complete clarity, but with the moon above and the fallen boy’s close proximity to her and Lute, she could see him well enough. It was just a child. A child!

Where was the Masked Phantom?

“But yes, if either of you would be able to… fully restrain him, I would appreciate it. With my ankle, maintaining the vines like this isn’t… easy. I’m not sure I can do it much longer.” Rose winced. “After that… well, this little brat needs a spanking, and needs to answer a few questions as well, doesn’t he?”

---

Aliquam: The Academy of the Arts: Western Sector

The blonde man frowned as he witnessed the incredible resistance from his adversaries begin, starting first with the smartly dressed student narrowly avoiding Mattis’ attack with the man’s statue, and culminating with him directing one of his two statues to first attack him… followed by the woman with the large sword it had freed from his swirling vortex of glass. The statue was large and lumbering, but able to move with surprising litheness. Unfortunately for it, it was still a statue, which made its actions, and the thrust of its spears all too easily predictable.

The Masked Phantom sidestepped the attack, and kept his eyes trained on it, ready for the obvious follow-up attack. But there was nothing, the statue was as still as it should be.

Hmph.

A large figured entered the periphery of his vision – the Guilder, Moira, swinging her sword in a pained leap forward towards him.

His confident, alluring smile returned to him again. The woman had deprived herself of any advantage she could have mustered from leaving the ground. Once in the air, in his domain, it was child’s play for him to do as he wished, even despite her weight.

A brilliant gust of wind pushed him forwards and up, over Moira in a graceful somersault, at the same time as another burst of wind propelled Moira even higher upwards behind him, to crack her head against the wall at the very top of the window. Both the surprising acceleration and impact with the sturdy wall was not something she could have anticipated or prepared for. She hit the floor as roughly as she did the wall, whilst a gentle mattress of air cushioned the Masked Phantom’s landing and footsteps. He walked away from the Beserker, towards Angel, his footsteps treading air absolutely silent and eerie.

“Mattis,” The Masked Phantom spoke out. “Are you okay? Please don’t tell me this… lazy student gave you trouble.”

Angel tensed up as the masked thief approached. Two of them, against just himself. If the Guilders couldn’t beat them… how could he?

He needed to roll again, quickly. As quickly as he cou-

The die was snatched out of his hand by a powerful burst of wind, to fly through the air and be snatched inbetween the Masked Phantom’s thumb and forefinger. He lifted it up to eye level and turned his head, curiously inspecting it.

“What a fascinating trinket. Is this where the magic for those statues came from… or do you use it as a focus?” The Masked Phantom smiled. “Either way, another interesting treasure to take. Well, boy, what next?”

Aliquam: The Academy of the Arts - Southern Section

They had him, they totally had him. The thief had been apprehended at last! Except he really wasn't the Masked Phantom. He was just some pipsqueak that was her own size.

"You bet! And it's no problem, Echo! It's cuz of your blunder that we caught this guy!" Trixie giggled, her voice still nasally from the clothespin over her nostrils. She gave a thumbs up to both Rose and Lute before dashing over to the fallen boy, and towering over him. The filthy smog had mostly cleared out by now, and it was much easier to see him close up like this thanks to the surrounding moonlight as well. With hands firm on her hips, she began to interrogate him. Wondergirl style. "That was a good game but we gotchu now! Which means you lose! Okay, so you better start telling us where that Masked guy is. Or else!"

Then she lowered herself to his level - and smiled wide and toothily. At first it seemed innocent, until her eyebrows furrowed along with that smile. "Or else Imma take your stuff." So even if he didn't talk, she'd walk out of there with more gizmos than ever. It was a win-win for the heroes!

With Fabian ensnared, there was no way for him to fight off what Trixie was about to do next. He had one arm free, but Trixie nabbed it with one of her own, while sifting through his pouch with her other hand. Oh boy he had loooads of cool things in there. She pulled out a little ball and inspected it, eyes shining with amazement. "Ooh, what's this? Is this a bomb or something? Ooh! Hey, hey," she whipped it in front of his face, just to rub the defeat in his face even more, "did you use this to make the stringy paper thing? You have more of those, right?"

---

Aliquam: The Academy of the Arts - Central Section

Suddenly the woman was upon Amy's trio, as opposed to Estelle's charge. So it was a trap! But before she could do anything about it, the woman kicked down Tobias and prepared to assault Amy herself. Then she decided... not to, and booked it, throwing an overhead banner at the cleric to slow her down.

Amy summoned her whip to slash the banner into two, as well as bring a flash of light into the room. The woman was indeed retreating, from what Amy was able to see, before the room dimmed back into near darkness, save for the light around her group. Unfortunately with the banner being the material that it was, it still managed to snag onto her, though Estelle was quick to pull it off. The redhead's suggestion to Lucien was good enough, though he was still disoriented from the knockout. Amy grimaced in the direction the thief had run off in, before looking back to Lucien. Without a word, she continued healing him. Hopefully with her saving her magic, it'd be enough for him to walk straight - maybe enough to summon.

---

Aliquam: The Academy of the Arts - Western Section

After all that had happened, Angel just sat down. Yup. That was it. He just... kinda sat there. The only two battle-capable heroes in the area were out cold, his only means of defense was taken away, and now some guy with his own magic tricks was right about to probably kill him. Probably. Angel had no muscles, no cool weapons, no real athleticism. He was fit enough to make a break for it if he was able to - but he was sure that other asshole in the shadows would creep up behind him if he were to take another step.

"Hey, could you hold on for a sec?" He reached for his communicator and spoke into it, eyes averted from the Masked Phantom. "Hey guys. We're kinda... fucked. Over." Then Angel set it down beside him and looked back up at the thief towering over him. He shrugged with palms open. "You know - I can save you the trouble and just knock myself out. It wouldn't take that long."

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts: Northern Section

"Otherwise… well. You don’t want to know the otherwise, does he, Aria?"

My, Dylan was in a scary mood today. Aria merely grinned in response, sitting down in front of the cage and crossing her legs. She didn't quite blame the matter artist- the guy had been a very slippery catch, not to mention that now they knew they had more than one thief to capture. "Now now, there's no need to be so hostile." She gave the thief a wink. "Very nice to meet you, Jay. I'm Aria," she gave the guy a friendly wave. "I'd shake your hand if I could but unfortunately... Well." She gestured to the cage.

"Still, my friend here is right. We'd appreciate it very much if you'd give us the information without too much hassle." Her grin grew, and she lifted her hands. A banana materialized in one hand and a cleaver in the other.

"Certainly would be a shame-"

She twirled the knife around, smile darkening.

"if we have to force you, no?"

Chop.

She giggled, before dropping the knife and the half of the fruit she was holding, them dissipating before they hit the ground. "So there you have it. I suggest you speak up, Jay."

"Hey guys. We're kinda... fucked. Over."

The sudden transmission over the radio made them all freeze, mood suddenly tensing in the room. Wasn't that Angel's voice? Did that mean that whoever was there with him had managed to take out both Syed and Moira?

---

The Academy of the Arts - Western Section

Mattis cringed as the giant woman crashed into the ceiling, and once again when she hit the ground. He certainly didn't want to be around when she woke up- she looked like she had a hell of a temper.

“Are you okay? Please don’t tell me this… lazy student gave you trouble.”

The man just watched as the dice was taken by Phantom, rendering him defenseless. He gave the other still standing suit of armor a poke, watching as it tipped over with a loud crash. Looked like the die was the guy's source of power, and the student knew it judging from the way he just sat there, looking defeated.

The guy spoke into a communicator, evidently his method of contact with the other groups before turning his attention back to the Phantom.

"You know - I can save you the trouble and just knock myself out. It wouldn't take that long."

"No need." Mattis spoke up this time, face stoic as ever as he walked over to Angel. He bent down and reached out one hand, silently amused when the guy squeezed his eyes shut. Did he think Mattis was going to knock him out? A large hand settled on Angel's head, ruffling his hair before taking the communicator from his hand.

He stood up, tossing the device to Phantom and turning to leave. Now his part was done, he was going to go and help Fabian out of whatever trouble he had gotten into this time. Pressing a hand to his communicator, he spoke quietly. "Fabi, where are you? I'm heading over."

The Academy of the Arts - Northern Sector (Performance Hall)

Jay rolled his eyes, sitting up a little. "Geez, I see you're the heart of the party. Can't a man have some fun around here?" He leaned his head back, closing his eyes. Typical Guilder, preaching all holier than thou with one hand while handing out hypocrisy with the other. "Fine, whatever." He held his roughened hands up in a surrender position.

Suddenly there was a shrill screech in his earpiece, followed by a loud curse. He winced, biting back a curse of his own. He had to swallow his own concern, he didn't want to let these kids on to anything he didn't have to.

Next thing he knew the other girl was talking to him, the darker beauty. And oh Gods what was she doing with that banana. She wasn't implying... was she...? SHE COULDN'T. His eyes widened despite himself as he scooted a little away. No! He needed that bit of him! It was very important to his bodily functions and his sense of self-worth!

Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, the comms transmission interrupted this little torture session. And oh boy it looked like it was going to get worse.

The Phantom had saved Jay back then, dragging him back from the brink of mortality itself. It was under his guidence that he was born anew, a new life, a new family. He was annoying, he was a pervert, he talked too much. But they accepted him anyway. Like hell was he going to sell them out to this group of kids just like that.

He stood up, the top of his hat brushing against the top of the cage, before looking back at them defiantly with his hands in his pockets. "I suppose at this point it doesn't matter. There's five of us, lady. Sounds like one of your friends has met one of them already."

He leaned forward.

"Do your worst."

Academy of the Arts: Central Section

"Woah, woah!" Tobias was on the ground, and some lady who obviously wasn't the masked phantom now had his rapier in her hands.

A part of him thought about tackling the woman but he ended up scrambling back in shock. However, before the woman could do anything, she threw a banner over Amy and ran off. "Uh, yeah! That's right, you better run. I can summon man-eating bears!" He had been expecting her to attack them, she had the element of surprise and everything so why did she end up running away? It was kind of strange.

Estelle rushed up to them and he tried to help her free Amy from the banner. But the cleric handled it on her own and pretty much sliced through it with her whip. It was like watching someone use a cleaver on a slice of butter and it made him laugh a little.

"Hey leader, I'm fine thanks to Amy!" He looked a little out of it, but the grinned widely all the same. Another warm glow surrounded him and in response he tapped her thankfully on the back. "I feel a whooole lot better. Roger, roger, one summon coming right up." Lucien puffed out his chest, if they were counting on him then he couldn't let his friends down. "One of you will probably have to drag me along though." He pulled out a card with a cat picture on it. The man bit down on a finger and pressed it onto the card.

There was a puff of smoke, followed by a throaty purr. The summoner's eyes went blank and a cat launched itself down the hall. It noticed the outline of a person, coiled itself up like a spring then leaped forward with an angry hiss. She wouldn't get away that easily.

---

Academy of the Arts: Northern Sector (Performance Hall)

Dylan was all business-like and Xan stood back as the matter artist began to speak.

The thief didn't look like he was about to give them the needed information soon, not even when Aria threw her threats at him. He looked at her friend with uneasiness in his eyes, but aside from that they didn't get any information. Well, until he told them their numbers. It turned out there were five of them, four more than they had been expecting. She nodded her head before their communicator crackled to life.

Xan took a step towards the cage and it took all of her self-control to stop herself from smacking him upside the head.

If any of her friends got hurt--the metallurgist scowled. "So Jay," she narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you and your friends after? A sculpture, or perhaps a painting?" As if he'd answer that. She wasn't wasting any more time. Xan turned to look at Marcus, "should we split up and send some back up Syed and Moira's way?" She didn't like the sound of Angel's call and the sooner they got to their friends the better.

---

The Academy of the Arts - Southern Section

Ughh, was she going to crush him? Fabian let out a relieved sigh when the vines around him eased their grip.

He had messed up big time. The masked phantom wouldn't be proud and it made his heart sink a little, knowing that he had failed his friends. Why, why couldn't he be as good and capable as the rest of them. He screwed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. So much for wanting to be just like the masked phantom. He hadn't even managed to drop his charge, what a failure.

One of the grownups began muttering something about questions.

Well, cuss it! He wasn't telling them anything. The masked phantom was the one who plucked him off the streets and he sure as cuss wasn't going to let anything spill. The thieves were the closest thing to family he had.

The boy decided to keep his mouth shut, but as soon as he had reached that decision, the girl began messing with his stuff.

"What the cuss are you doing?" Despite being on the ground, he turned his head to give her the scariest glare he could muster. "That's stealing you runt!" Funny, considering he was a thief and only a couple of inches taller than the girl who was messing with his gadgets. "Oi, those are mine and I'm not cussing telling you anything about the masked phantom! You'll have to pry that info from my cold dead body!" The boy was so frustrated that he had turned as red as an apple.

"Fabi, where are you? I'm heading over."

The boy calmed down a little, he yanked his free arm out of Trixie's hold then pressed the button on the side of his mask. "Southern sectio--" it was all he managed to say before one of the vines restrained his arm. "Ooh. just you wait! You're all in trouble now." Aside from the masked phantom, Miffy was one of the few adults Fabian enjoyed being around and strove to be like. Next to Gabriel, he was the coolest person ever.

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts – SW Section

While Trixie went on to ‘interrogate’ the scoundrel, Lute picked up the communicator from where it fell near Sebastian. After yet another look at Rose, he straightened from his crouch and activated the device just in time for everyone to hear Angel. His frown deepened but he knew that by now one of the other groups could be heading towards their location to help.

“..This is Lute. We got the thief… The one over here at least. But more importantly, we need a medic,” He spoke into the communicator, completely unaware that his words weren’t exclusive to the Pride anymore. The virtuoso paused, and then added as an afterthought, “In case any of you were worried, Trixie’s fine. She’s…” Lute glanced over where the prankster was just in time to see her handling one of those accursed stink grenades, “Wait, don’t touch that!”

It didn’t explode, though. Thank goodness.

Just when Lute was about to finish the transmission, Delilah pointed him towards the struggling thief. The brat now had a less tense air about him, and had even threatened Trixie… He was either bluffing or was serious about them “being in trouble now”.

“… Requesting for back-up.”

---

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts

Francesca adjusted her earpiece as she hurried through the halls. “Of all the times it could have done that,” She sighed as she took it off and then inspected the side. Hers had an annoying habit of automatically changing volumes, an instance of which was earlier where that infernal screech blasted through at the device’s loudest right into her eardrum. To be honest, she could still hear something.

“… I fear I haven’t followed the order to the letter…” She reported in moments later when the noise in her ear subsided. “The guards might have left the location I encountered them… in…” Francesca trailed off as she saw a cat pouncing towards her. With her eyes narrowed, the thief stepped away from the feline and one of her hands snapped out and lifted it up by the nape. She held it away from her in case the feisty little thing, scratching and clawing away as it is, decided to pee on her dress, then addressed the summoner.

“From bear to cat, what have you next? An ostrich?” She gently shook the feline in her grasp and it hissed. “This isn’t a real animal, is it? I would dearly loathe to harm a real cat…” That bear from earlier vanished in a puff of smoke… So were these forms merely a vessel for that robed boy? That makes it easier for her conscience to swallow. Francesca threw the ‘animal’ up in the air and sent it hurtling back towards Lucien with a powerful swing, the poor thing yowling all the way back home.

“Back to the matter at hand. Since Mattis is heading towards our dear Fabbee, I shall go check on the knight in shining fedora,” The woman entered the room she came from earlier and glanced up at the skylight. “Does anyone know of his whereabouts?” She inquired softly after maneuvering back onto the roof. “Tell me where you are, Jay. I’ll help to the best of my capabilities.” They all knew neither Fabian nor Jay would stay quiet unless they were in a real spot of trouble, and even that wasn't able to stop the former from gabbing off earlier.

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts: Northern Sector (Performance Hall)

His brow twitched in irritation as the news of the latest developments across the Academy filtered through over the Pride’s communicators. They had managed to capture and subdue one of the thieves attacking them, and even garner some useful information about the number of their forces from him, but it had yielded little success after Angel’s status report hinted at difficulty occurring within his, Moira and Syed’s group. Not even Lute’s report of his group capturing another thief helped matters much. Sure, it still gave the Pride some measure of advantage having captured two of their five adversaries… but at the same time, they had defeated them. And there was no knowing what the Masked Phantom or his remaining followers had done to them.

It was difficult to know what to do. Coercion and threats no longer seemed to work on Jay. This was exactly like his games of poker… a gamble, with no way to know who held the stronger hand. And the stakes… they were so much higher.

Dylan, Dalia and the rest all turned and looked towards him, pondering what the best decision to make would be, but unable to know entirely what would be best.

Marcus clenched his teeth shut.

---

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts – Central Section

“Yow… that hurt…”

Lucien brought one of his hands to his forehead, frowning at the mental anguish backlashing back at him after Francesca encountered, and rudely disposed, his cat summon. Unfortunately for those in the Central Group, their only effective means of following the female thief had been thwarted, and her whereabouts rendered a complete mystery. Estelle and Tobias had been carrying Lucien over their shoulders as they and Amy followed in the summoner’s direction… but now it was futile. And with the updates they managed to gleam over the communicator from what was happening to the rest of their friends… it was difficult to know what to do next.

“Sorry, leader. She found me…” Lucien winced. “Guess I’m more tired then I thought. Perhaps I should take a cat na-” Lucien didn’t finish his commentary after he caught the venom filled gazes sent his way by Amy and Tobias. Now really wasn’t the time. And after their encounter with Francesca, both were far too angry to listen to silly jokes at this time.

“Ah… aheh. What should we do?” Lucien asked. “She got away… but we caught two of them, yeah? The Boss and Syed, though…”

Amy nodded, and folding an arm under her bosom, turned to look to Estelle. “And Lute’s party is injured too. Honestly… this has turned into such a mess…”

Estelle pondered the situation for but a moment, before she raised her head in a confident nod. “We split up and help reinforce the others.” Estelle explained. She quickly turned from each of her friends and Tobias to the other, as well as (carefully, this time) pressing down on Tobias’ communicator to relay their group’s activity to their friends. “Amy and me will head for where Lute, Trixie and Rose are. They need medical help and reinforcements, so we’ll head there. Marcus, Dalia – Lucien and Tobias will head for where you guys are. The northern sector, right?”

Marcus confirmed Estelle’s questions, and more specifically answered their position within the Performance Hall, for Lucien and Tobias to find them. Lute followed that up by confirming the specificity of their group’s location – in the south-western sector of the Academy, in the courtyard right by the western entrance to the Academy. After this confirmation Estelle wasted no time in breaking communication and splitting up their group to immediately begin helping the others.

“Leader… Boss… and Syed…?”

“And that stupid fop, Angel?” Tobias asking uncharacteristically with a frown.

“I know,” Estelle immediately replied. “Me and Amy will head to the Western Sector where they were first, and then to Lute’s group. They’re not far.”

Confident smiles and nods returned to her emphasised understanding, and they broke apart. Amy sighed as Estelle started, shaking her head from side to side. More running…

---

“Quit squirming, lad,” The confident blonde haired man in the regal suit spoke, shaking his head from side to side. “You won’t be able to escape, so just settle down and relax. You’ll make it easier on yourself. Just be grateful you have more value at the moment conscious. It doesn’t mean I won’t silence you if you continue, however. If you comply and do as you're told, then by the end of this I might even give you your die back.”

Walking calmly and confidently upon silent buffers of wind beneath his feet, the Masked Phantom stalked forwards with a confident smile on his face, one arm supporting the rope bound and mouth taped Angel lugged over his shoulder (The Masked Phantom’s wind magic imbuing the lazy aristocrat well enough to make him weightless), the other hand holding up the student’s communicator, for him to have listened in on every part of the Pride’s conversation. This whole night had been interesting and exciting, and this only helped add to it. Information was, afterall, everything.



“Mattis, my good man,” The Masked Phantom pushed on his earpiece, activating the communication between himself and the other four members of his group. “They’re sending reinforcements to where dear Fabian is located. If you’re quick and quiet enough, you should be able to deal with the people holding Fabian easily enough. They’re injured. And Fabian – keep talking. Annoy and distract them as much as you can. It should make it easier for Mattis.”

“Francesca. Our dear friend Jay is in the Academy’s northern sector… the Performance Hall, to be exact. Be careful and stay to the shadows and await further orders… it appears from all indications that they are a sizeable group there, and they too are getting reinforcements.”

“Merde…” The woman’s voice replied. The Masked Phantom smiled. He being the one to tell her gave their group yet more advantage - Jay was hardly in any position to speak to them, doing so unnaturally could tip their opponents off about their communicators and more.

“Jay. Sit and wait tight. They won’t hurt you.” The masked thief finally addressed the last member of their party. “These people we’re up against… they’re not like the priests and priestesses. It makes them more dangerous, but it’s no real difference. They may be Guilders, but they won’t grievously hurt or kill anyone. I know this all too well.”

“Nothing has changed, my friends. Keep calm and carry your wits about you as always.”

The communication between the thieves was cut.

However, communication didn’t remain silent for long…

---

Aliquam: Academy of the Arts

A squawk of static echoed out across all of the Pride’s communicators, much to everyone’s surprise listening. It quickly settled down, and they could hear something beat rhythmically from it. It sounded… like a clap. And then a laugh.

“Salutations and greetings, my friends,” The voice emerged from the communicator. Marcus, Lute and Estelle all looked towards their communicators with surprise. The voice didn’t belong to any of their friends. It was-

“I am the Masked Phantom. I believe we should talk.”

Academy of the Arts: Northern Sector (Performance Hall)

"So Jay," Xan narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you and your friends after? A sculpture, or perhaps a painting?"

"...Heh." He smirked, resting one arm on the bars. Now this girl... he really liked this girl. More than he usually liked girls, and that was a lot. Maybe it was her no nonsense attitude, the way she looked at him with complete and utter annoyance and disgust. Maybe it was because of how obvious it was that he pissed her off. It entertained him like no tomorrow. "Now what's the fun in ruining the suprise, my dear? You'll find out soon enough," he gave her another wink. Mostly to annoy her some more.

It was fine. The boss had this, like he always did. The chatter in his earpiece confirmed it. And while the guilders became distracted with talking of Sians and Maurys or whatever he found his smirk growing wider. Help was on it's way, and it was his favourite leading lady to boot!

Sure, he'll sit and wait. They were mostly just glaring anyway. The raven-haired girl seemed a bit sadistic with her banana slicing and actually worried him a little, but it was just a banana. Whatever her little magic trick was about... it was just a banana. ...Right?

Well now, it was time to allow the boss to do what he does best.

After the actual thievery thing, of course.

Aliquam: The Academy of the Arts - Southwestern Section

If Trixie were attentive, she would have realized Fabian speaking his location into some communicator latched to his mask meant backup was coming. Which also meant his little threat had more merit than not. It really seemed like he wasn't going to spill the beans on where the Masked Phantom was; this didn't really help out Trixie's crew much at all, but at least that meant she get to keep taking his stuff. While Lute communicated with the other Pride members, Trixie dumped the rest of the pouch's remains into her hands and put them all away in her own pouches. "You really do have a lot of stuff! Hope you don't mind if I hold it for you. ♥"

As she resumed eying Fabian's person (and his butt in case he had guns in his pockets like she did), the Masked Phantom spoke into the communicator in Lute's hand. The prankster puffed her cheeks at this, knowing well that that was not a good sign at all. But she couldn't loosen her focus on the captured thief. Trixie stood back up and resumed scouting position - eyes flitting back and forth between the boy and her surroundings. She also put her foot on his shoulder in an attempt to keep him in place... as well as to, of course, keep rubbing it in that the heroes had won that particular battle.

---

Aliquam: The Academy of the Arts - Western Section

Their sprinting came to a brief stop the moment they entered the western sector. Namely because of the two knocked out bodies highlighted by the moon's shine, and the glass shards scattered by them. They cricked and cracked beneath the ladies' footsteps as they ran again to these bodies. Moira and Syed. Amy scowled at this, eyes turning to the busted window pane before returning to her fallen comrades. "Wasn't that aristocrat supposed to be with them?" She eyed out-of-place armored statue outside with contorted brows (while the other was lost somewhere in the shadows), but she thought nothing more of it.

Amy turned her attention to healing. While Syed looked mostly unharmed, despite being out cold, Moira's body and non-armored clothing was sliced and diced, presumably from the shards considering how shallow yet numerous they were. She would have never guessed the beserker's body had also been thrown around the way the Masked Phantom handled her, although the few bruises Amy also spotted were concerning as well.

The three guilders' bodies glowed with a beautiful golden aura as Amy worked to relieve Moira of her cuts and punctures and to rejuvenate them both. Her magic had grown enough to bring Lucien back from unconsciousness, though he was still recovering. As she chanted, she could only pray to Dyn that she could assist Moira and Syed next. They did not have much time to waste, if they wanted to get to Rose's section sooner than later. But she wasn't fond of just leaving them there either.

Her spells were momentarily interrupted by an unfamiliar voice buzzing on Estelle's communicator: the Masked Phantom. Amy merely scowled at this before returning to healing. Now they definitely needed to act quickly. "Please for the love of Dyn, get your asses up. Please."