"Alright," Dan said, spreading a map across the metal table in what he called the "operations room." "So the target is the Central Millbrook Bank. Big, secure, full of money, and conveniently staffed by Dark soldiers who won't be missed."
They were back in the facility, now properly equipped. Alfred had outfitted them with combat gear that was lighter and more flexible than anything from the underground—some kind of reinforced fabric that could supposedly stop a blade. Tadano had a new sword too, its edge sharper than anything he'd ever held. Vivi had been given reinforced gloves that could withstand her own fire magic without burning away.
"How much money are we talking about?" Vivi asked, studying the map.
"Enough to fund operations for at least six months. Maybe a year if we're careful." Dan tapped the bank's location. "The Darks use this bank to collect taxes and tribute from the local territories. It's essentially a fortress disguised as a financial institution."
"So heavily guarded," Tadano said.
"Very heavily guarded. Dark soldiers, magical wards, security systems, the works." Dan's smile was undimmed by the challenge. "Which is why we're going to be smart about this. No frontal assault. No dramatic showdowns. Just good old-fashioned reconnaissance and planning."
"How do we scout it without being noticed?" Tadano asked. "If it's that well protected—"
"With this!" Dan reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a handful of junk—thin metal wires, a tiny battery no bigger than a coin, and some small mechanical components Tadano didn't recognize.
"That's... trash?" Vivi said.
"That's materials!" Dan set them on the table, arranging them in a rough pattern. "Now watch. This is what Tech Magic actually looks like."
He held his hands over the components, and Tadano felt the air shift. Something was happening, though he couldn't quite define what. Then he saw it—a faint green luminescence, like liquid light, flowing from Dan's fingertips.
The green fluid—if it could even be called fluid—moved with purpose, wrapping around the components, connecting them, reshaping them. It wasn't like Vivi's fire, which consumed and destroyed. This was creation. Building. The metal wires bent and twisted into intricate patterns. The battery pulsed with new energy. The mechanical bits assembled themselves into something that looked almost organic.
Within thirty seconds, a robotic ant sat on the table.
It was perfect. Tiny, maybe the size of Tadano's thumbnail, with six jointed legs, antennae, and what looked like camera lenses for eyes. It moved with natural insect-like twitches, cleaning its antennae with its front legs.
"That's..." Vivi leaned in close, flames forgotten in her wonder. "You just made that. From spare parts. In thirty seconds."
"Tech Magic," Dan said proudly, letting the little ant crawl onto his finger. "I can design things in my head—circuits, mechanisms, entire systems—and my magic makes them real. As long as I have the base materials, I can build almost anything." He held up the ant. "This little guy is a scout unit. Camera, audio sensors, transmission capabilities. And the best part? He's small enough to go anywhere."
"You're going to send it into the bank," Tadano realized.
"Exactly! I'll go to the bank tomorrow, pretend to make a deposit like a normal citizen, and leave our friend here behind. Then he'll do what ants do best—crawl through every crack, every vent, every corner. Map the entire building. Record guard patterns. Find the vault. All while everyone's looking for human threats and completely ignoring the tiny bug in the corner."
"That's actually brilliant," Vivi admitted.
"I know!" Dan grinned. "Alfred says I have 'delusions of adequacy,' but I think he's just jealous of my genius."
"I can hear you, Master Dan," Alfred's voice came from a speaker. "And I stand by my assessment."
The next day, Dan left for Millbrook with his robotic ant concealed in a small container. Tadano and Vivi stayed at the facility, training in the combat room Alfred had shown them—a space that could project holographic opponents for practice. It was surreal, fighting enemies made of light that still somehow hit back hard enough to bruise.
"Your form is adequate," Alfred observed as Tadano finished a session against three holographic soldiers. "Though you rely too heavily on counterattacks. Against multiple opponents, you need to be more aggressive."
"We were taught to be defensive," Tadano said, breathing hard. "Wait for mistakes, capitalize on them."
"A luxury you won't have against Dark soldiers. They don't make many mistakes." Alfred adjusted the hologram settings. "Again. This time, lead with attacks. Force them to react to you."
Tadano trained until his arms burned and his sword felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. In the adjacent training space, Vivi practiced with her fire magic, learning to create and control flames with more precision than raw power.
"Your magic is strong," Alfred told her, "but unfocused. Like using a hammer when you need a scalpel. Practice control. A small, precise flame in the right place is worth more than an inferno in the wrong one."
"You sound like Master Renjiro," Vivi muttered.
"I shall take that as a compliment."
Dan returned as evening fell, walking through the facility's entrance with his usual cheerful energy. But instead of talking, he immediately went to a chair in the operations room, sat down, and closed his eyes.
"Is he okay?" Vivi asked Alfred quietly.
"He's connecting to the scout unit. Receiving and processing all the data it collected. The process puts him in a trance-like state—conscious but not responsive. It typically takes several hours."
Dan sat motionless, his breathing slow and steady, his eyes moving rapidly beneath closed lids like he was dreaming. The green luminescence flickered faintly around his hands.
Tadano and Vivi waited. Ate dinner that Alfred prepared (surprisingly good for robot cooking). Continued training. Checked on Dan periodically to find him unchanged—sitting in that same position, processing information from his tiny mechanical spy.
Night fell. Then deepened. Tadano dozed off in a chair around midnight, exhausted from training.
He woke to Dan's voice.
"Got it. Oh, this is good. This is very good."
Dan's eyes were open, bright with excitement despite having been in a trance for over eighteen hours. He immediately started sketching on a digital tablet, his fingers flying across the surface with practiced ease.
"You're awake," Vivi said, appearing from wherever she'd been sleeping. "What did you find?"
"Everything." Dan pulled up a holographic display that materialized above the table in stunning three-dimensional detail. "The entire bank. Every room, every hallway, every guard post. Watch."
The hologram showed the bank building in perfect miniature—a three-story structure with classical architecture hiding very modern security. Dan manipulated the image, peeling away walls to show the interior.
"Main entrance here, with metal detectors and magical scanners. Two guards stationed at all times." He highlighted the spots. "I got the ant through by walking in with a group of merchants making a deposit. The scanners were focused on the group, and our little friend slipped through in the confusion."
The hologram shifted, showing different floors. "Ground floor is customer service and basic operations. Nothing interesting. Second floor is administrative offices and some smaller vaults. Third floor—" the image zoomed in, "—is where it gets good."
The third floor showed a large vault door, guard stations, and what looked like a control room.
"The main vault. Where they keep the really valuable stuff—collected taxes, confiscated wealth, emergency funds." Dan grinned. "Also where they keep approximately two million credits in various currencies."
Tadano's eyes widened. "Two million?"
"Give or take. The ant couldn't get into the vault itself—too many sensors—but it recorded the guards talking. They're due for an armored transport pickup in five days, moving the money to a regional Dark fortress. Which means right now, it's all sitting in that vault, waiting for us."
"Guard patterns?" Vivi asked, all business.
"Shift changes every six hours. Four guards on the third floor at all times, two at the vault door, two patrolling. Second floor has three guards. Ground floor has five, including the two at the entrance." Dan pulled up a timeline showing colored dots moving through the building. "But here's the interesting part—there's a gap."
He pointed to a specific time: 2:47 AM.
"The overnight shift has a bathroom rotation. At 2:47, give or take a few minutes, three guards—one from third floor, two from second—all take their break simultaneously. It's sloppy security, but they've been doing it for months. The ant recorded them complaining about their shift supervisor allowing it."
"That's our window," Tadano said.
"That's our window," Dan confirmed. "Three minutes and twenty seconds, on average, when the third floor is down to three guards instead of four, and the second floor has one instead of three."
He manipulated the hologram, showing a path highlighted in green. "We enter through the roof. There's a maintenance access that the ant found—hidden behind a ventilation unit, barely used, no alarms because who climbs on roofs to rob banks?"
"We do, apparently," Vivi said.
"We do! We drop in through the access shaft here—" the path continued through the hologram, "—come out in a storage room on the third floor. Cross this hallway during the bathroom rotation. Reach the vault."
"And the vault itself?" Tadano asked. "How do we open it?"
Dan's smile was absolutely wicked. "We don't. I do. Tech Magic, remember? The vault has an electronic locking system—supposedly unhackable. But 'unhackable' assumes the person trying doesn't have literal magical control over technology." He made the hologram zoom in on the vault door. "I can interface with the lock, convince it I'm supposed to be there, and walk right in. Two minutes, maybe three."
"Then we grab what we can carry and leave the same way we came," Vivi finished.
"Exactly. In and out in under twenty minutes. The guards won't even know we were there until morning when they check the vault for the transport pickup." Dan closed the hologram. "But we need to prepare. Practice the route. Time everything perfectly. Which is why the mission happens in three days."
"Three days?" Tadano asked. "Why wait?"
"Because you two need training," Alfred's voice interjected. "Master Dan's plan, while surprisingly well thought out for one of his schemes, requires precise timing and coordination. You need to be able to move silently, navigate the building in darkness, and respond to unexpected complications. Three days gives us time to prepare properly."
"Also," Dan added, "the ant recorded that they do vault inventory every three days. If we hit it right after an inventory check, they won't notice anything's missing until the transport day. Gives us extra time before they even know to look for us."
Tadano studied the holographic building, mentally walking through the plan. It was risky. Incredibly risky. Breaking into a Dark military bank with just three teenagers—two of whom had never done anything like this before.
But it was also brilliant. And if they succeeded...
Two million credits. Enough to fund a real resistance. Enough to make a difference.
"Alright," he said. "Three days. What do we need to learn?"
Dan's grin could have lit up the entire facility. "Oh, I'm so glad you asked. Alfred! Initiate Operation Roof Rat training protocol!"
"I hate that name," Alfred said.
"You hate all my operation names."
"Because they're all terrible."
"Roof Rat is a perfectly good name!"
"It makes you sound like vermin."
"We're literally breaking into places through the roof. Like rats. It's thematic!"
As Dan and Alfred bickered, Tadano looked at Vivi. She was grinning, her eyes bright with the same excitement he felt.
Three days until they robbed a Dark military bank.
Three days to prove they weren't just angry kids playing at revolution.
Three days to either succeed spectacularly or fail catastrophically.
Tadano found himself smiling.
He wouldn't have it any other way.