Zaya lifted one of the large boulders with her arms as she climbed to the top of the rubble. She had changed to her purple fox form; she'd been knocked out for a while.
She glanced around, looking for the emeralds that were scattered on the lush fields; she began digging through the rubble. It was useless; they were all too deep. Her tongue clicked as she remembered the ancient staff was broken.
It was the last power of the staff that gave her the ability to match Korin and even try to get her memories back.
She dug faster, but it was no use; the emeralds were lost to the deep, and only experts would be able to find them. She would miss her necklace, she thought; it was no use after all.
Zaya turned back, not too shocked to see Korin was standing not so far away. There was barely a scratch on his armor; his broad sword still held in his hand.
"How could this be?" he said as he walked towards Zaya. "You're alive even after using the sacred gift; you must be a special one." "Well, at least I'm alive," Zaya voiced. "Any idea on how we could get out of here?" she added.
"Not really," Korin spoke, "but I'm sure they'll come for us very soon; they always do." Zaya snorted as she changed back to her regular form. "You possess the eye of Horus," Korin said, appalled.
"Yes," Zaya commented, "and now, thanks to you and your boss, I won't be able to see the future clearly like before; the staff's broken." Zaya spoke as she sat in a lotus position, meditating, trying to regain the strength she'd lost.
"The boss means no harm," Korin defended. Zaya, who had started meditating, muttered, "Is that why she tried to kill me because I didn't join her organization?" "It's more than you think, Zaya," "there's a war coming; hasn't the Horus eye shown you this?"
Zaya, interested, opened her eyes, staring at Korin, who was now sitting on top of one of the huge rocks, as she said, "The marine war has already passed." Korin gave a slight chuckle as he stated, "No, the war has just begun, and it's coming here, to our city, faster than you think."
"That's why our boss wanted to see how strong you were, so she could make you even better for the coming war." "Look," Korin said, "if she really wanted to kill you, she wouldn't leave me here in the falling rubble."
Zaya didn't believe a word Korin spoke; she was still madly angry at him for breaking the staff; she wished for revenge.
But she knew she was incapable of fighting, talkless of winning against him. She was glad she survived the Edeth form; something seemed really strange to her, though; she remembered the Nyx back in the mountain cave, who used the Edeth's form. White energy hadn't enveloped her when she did.
What Korin said wasn't wrong at all; it only made her wonder who she was to Edeth in the past and what memories she'd have to get back.
A backhoe drilled downwards to their position, piercing through the shield barrier. Inside the vehicle were Zoey and a few bodyguards.
Zaya walked towards the backhoe along with Korin. They got inside. "Are you alright?" Zoey asked. "Yes, I am fine, but I didn't get the memories back." "No worries, Zaya, one day you will," "I'm sorry about Mum and the staff too," Zoey stated.
"It's nothing to bother about," Zaya replied. She then whispered in Zoey's ear, "It's time we get our own villain lair."
"Seven thousand is a start, isn't it?" Zaya asked, beaming. "It sure is," Zoey commented. She then whispered back, "I guess it's time for the first heist then."
The mansion was intact, courtesy to the safety shields. Zaya and the others left as fast as they could. They couldn't go anywhere else, so they planned the heist on FaceTime.
Zaya couldn't sleep that night; she stared at the stars in the sky. They were vast, sparkling continuously. She sighed, just when she thought she was closer, reality struck hard.
She began thinking maybe it'd be safer for her to walk through this alone.
A look of thought appeared on her face as she laid on her bed and went to sleep. After the first message heist, Pauline had gotten suspended as a suspect; she was to stay home for two weeks, ordered by the principal of the school.
Having nothing important to do all through those weeks.
During one of Zaya's meditations, the golden staff instructed Pauline to go alone on the next heist, that her purpose was absolutely different from all of theirs.
She was standing on a building, dressed as a villainess, all black, hood and a mask, the dark night behind her.
She wondered if she should really come up with a name for herself. It was a skyscraper; apparently, Anne had traveled along with her family for the weekend to a nearby city, leaving the phantom girls with no choice but to follow her there.
Natasha figured out who Anne was, and June identified her location. Zoey provided a drone to stalk her for a while. After a daily routine was discovered, Pauline was sent to finish the job.
Pauline left the edge of the building as she walked towards the center of the hotel's top; she curled the anchor part of the zip liner, puncturing it into the ground below.
She nodded as she dragged out the rope, ensuring the zip liner was locked on. A smirk appeared on her face as she went back towards the edge and stared down at the neon-lit city; horns blared as cars passed frequently.
There wasn't a speckle of fear in her heart; to her, it was thrilling. She jumped down, holding the rope tightly, hitting her side on the hard glass of the hotel's top floor.
That was the residential area, and she was going all the way to the sixteenth. She was glad she hadn't slipped, and the zip liner could hold well; she began to let herself down slowly. Soon enough, she got to her destination.
She could see Anne's room, which had been decorated with a whole lot of pink, like she'd been there for a whole week.
Pauline removed a small round camera from her waist belt and kept the camera on the glass of the window.
Three thin legs evolved from the camera's sides. Pauline was still amazed at how June got a camera to walk.
She broke a hole into the glass building and watched how June used her laptop to control the little machine to enter the hole and walk towards the room.
After that, the spider camera found its way into Anne's room. Their target was the diary, just as Thelma had told; after a lot of stalking, Natasha had figured out where that was, too.
After the camera located Anne's diary, which was on a shelf close to one of the mirrors, the drone on the roof was activated by Zoey.
It was to enter Anne's room through the window and grab the diary.
The drone that was on top of the roof activated, closing in on Pauline's location. It was about to enter the part Pauline broke in the window when suddenly the door knob moved, and Anne entered.
She wore a pajama which had bunny ears and a tail, also colored in pink, and had paws. Pauline could barely hold her smile thanks to the dimly lit room; Anne couldn't see Pauline.
Pauline had held the drone, which had been powered down by Zoey earlier. Pauline then thought why couldn't they have done this in the middle of the night instead; such amateurs they were.
Anne was in a hurry as she turned her bed upside down, looking for something; she found it, her phone.
She turned some childish music up and started dancing with the most horrible steps known to mankind. The others, who were watching from the other end, were remarkably stunned.
Pauline wondered how a last-year high school student would dance to nursery rhymes; luckily for them, this was more than enough proof to send Anne out of the school in utmost embarrassment.
Pauline let go of the drone; Zoey had turned it on, signifying the coast was clear. The drone slowly passed through the hole and entered the room.
Fortunately, Anne wore headphones; the drone flew over Anne's head and mistakenly hit the white fan that was on the ceiling. Pauline knew it was her time to act, as she could see Anne was in shock, bewilderment, and fear all at once.
Pauline broke through the glass, collapsing onto the pink bed; she rolled on top of it as she launched at Anne, giving her a hit on the neck. Her eyes darting towards the diary on the shelf, she went ahead and grabbed it.
Her eyes spotting the ceiling, she suddenly knew this had become a little bit harder than she thought it'd be.