Hello, fellow readers! Today's special is... another chapter! What are the sides?
hnh058513: Clever pun, huh? Those are neat ideas, but this series is only sticking to the EG universe.
Maelaeran: Oh yeah, that guy! I just realized that happened! *laughs*
TheBeatles211: Thanks, man. Glad to hear it. Though, having just finished it by now... to me, it had so much potential and all we get is still the same confusing storytelling and gameplay that was flashy with no substance. I knew this would happen, but I wanted to be proven wrong! It's not bad, but could have been better.
Foxchick1: Well, here's your answer.
Alrighty then, here is your order! Enjoy!
Chapter 3: The Basics of a Phantom Thief
As the group walk towards the gym, which Pinkie told them the bands are gonna be at for a little party that will include the Dazzlings, Rarity decided to start up a conversation with Twilight.
"Oh, I wish you don't have to come over here each time there's danger. I would love to hear what goes on in your world."
Spike had a doggy treat in his mouth before taking it out with his paw, "Well, a lot has happened, including..." He then hopped on ahead a bit as the group stopped, him pretending to use his treat like a trumpet.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the princess of friendship!" He announced.
"A title, huh? Not bad." Joker commented.
"That's actually really impressive." Sunset complimented, "Guess you really were her star pupil."
"Oh, I just recently got it. Still have to get used to it." Twilight then decided to shift the focus, "What's been going on over here? Besides the obvious, of course."
"Well, we're able to do this now." Rainbow then pulled out her phone and showed her a video of her transforming into her pony form while playing her guitar. "And all of us are able to do this when we play. It's so cool!"
"That may also explain why we're able to switch forms here." Joker deduced.
Twilight thought about that for a moment, "It seems that even after I took my crown back home, some of its magic may have stayed here." She then thought of something, "And with all of us together, we can use that same magic against them like we did with Sunset's shadow." She then realized what she said.
"Don't worry, it's cool." Sunset shrugged it off, already knowing what's coming.
The group then continued on to their destination.
In the gym, the students stayed in their band groups away from the others, either shunning them or leering at them as the Rainbooms entered. The group entered first as Joker and Mona were sneaking to a good hiding place. The girls got into position as Rainbow was near the stage, Twilight and Rarity at the center, Sunset and Fluttershy near the windows, and finally Pinkie and Applejack near the snack table.
The plan starts when they see the Dazzlings show up, so they had a bit of time to go over it as Joker spoke to them with some earpieces he had in his bag.
"OK, I want you girls to cause a distraction. It's risky, but we can't afford ourselves to lose the element of surprise when we have it in our deck." He briefly goes over before finishing with, "Pick your targets carefully."
Rainbow smirks a bit, already seeing her rival Trixie nearby. Twilight and Rarity got Flash, and Applejack and Pinkie got the CMCs. Sunset and Fluttershy are backup just in case things go south.
Joker and Mona were on top of the bleachers that were pushed against the wall as they hear the doors open and close, seeing their main target.
The Dazzlings walk inside, seeing the groups separated as they expected. They stopped near the punch table when Adagio spoke.
"Aww, the bands aren't mingling. It's like there's some underlying tension just ready to burst." She smirks at this fact.
"It's the fruit punch, isn't it? I knew I used too much grape juice!" Sonata held a bottle of apple juice in one hand and a cup in the other, making Aria roll her eyes.
Adagio placed her hand on her forehead in annoyance, "It's not the punch, it's us."
"But the punch is awful too." Aria said offhandedly.
"What do you know about good fruit punch!?" Sonata questioned, pointing a finger at Aria.
"More than you." Aria moved her hand away.
"Do not." Sonata slightly pushed her hand into Aria's face briefly.
"Do too." Aria flicked her hair a bit to make it messy, which Sonata straightened before Adagio stepped in.
"This is just the kickoff party, girls. Imagine how much of a tizzy it will be once the competition starts." She taps her fingers against each other in anticipation as the three look on over the gym.
Seeing the Dazzlings watching, the girls started their plan. Rainbow walks on over to Trixie, who immediately was taunting her.
"Well, well, well. if it isn't Rainbow Dash. Trixie was expecting you to show up eventually. Though, it's funny that you're late despite being fast." Trixie obviously wanted her to take the bait, but she knew she would try that.
"Yeah, I got caught up in overhearing a band saying how lame yours was." Rainbow's bait was taken as Trixie gasped.
"What!? Who dares insults the Great and Powerful Trixie!?" Trixie shouted.
As that conversation was happening, Twilight and Rarity was talking with Flash.
"I was expecting you to show up sooner or later. Guess the competition is getting around." He looks around for any other new faces.
"You could say that, yeah. My friends were competing as well, so I figured why not." Twilight knew it would be a good icebreaker if she went first.
"Oh, Flash! I just heard the most horrid news!" Rarity however decided to try out acting for this as she stepped in.
"What's up?" Flash was a bit confused at her behavior.
"I overheard one of the bands was planning to smash your instruments so you couldn't compete! A bunch of ruffians, I say!" Rarity's bait worked as Flash crushed the empty cup in his hand.
"Those cheaters!" He growled.
Finally, Applejack was talking with his sister, Apple Bloom along with her two friends Sweetie Belle and Scoutaloo.
"I'm impressed you three wanted to enter! It would be nice to have some friendly competition." She started with.
"Of course we would! As the Crusaders, we'll take on any challenge!" Apple Bloom proudly claimed.
"That's funny, because don't tell anyone I said this but..." Pinkie then kneels down between the three, "I overheard one of the bands calling you three bad singers."
She then stood up, "And I was like, 'No, they're not!' and they then said 'Uh huh!'. I think it was those guys over there."
Pinkie pointed to a random band in the corner, the CMCs taking the bait as they stomped over.
With their plan set in motion, Joker and Mona waited as the gym was getting filled with arguments with the girls making sure not to get caught in it as they walked towards the bleachers.
"Well, this is getting quite heated, would you say?" Adagio watched the arguments with glee as she said that.
"Is it hot in here? Maybe I should wore something lighter." Sonata still wasn't getting what she was saying.
"It's actually colder than it was yesterday." Aria muttered, "Though, the bands are getting in each others' faces."
"Exactly. Sonata, please look before you speak. Can you do that for me?" Adagio is pleading at this point, getting tired of her obviousness.
"Oh. OK." She simply said in response.
Seeing the green mist appear once again, the three lined up to receive it. However, this was the moment the thieves were waiting for.
"Ready, Mona?" Joker made sure Mona had his sword and slingshot before they started.
Mona aimed his slingshot with a steel pellet to where the gems were connected to their necklaces and let it fly.
Joker used his Third Eye to time his turn just right, leaping down just as the first gem was knocked off. The second gem gets knocked off as he landed his feet on the floor below and finally the third gem flew as Joker dashed in. Like a shadow, he swiftly grabbed the gems out of the air before landing near one of the exits.
The Dazzlings opened their eyes to see the mist is still around, only to realize their gems were gone.
"What!?" The girls panicked at this until they heard a whistle.
Turning towards the noise, they see the culprit with their gems in his hand before he exited.
"After him!" Adagio ordered as the three ran after him.
Mona hopped down to the ground near the girls, "Let's go!"
As they headed out towards the courtyard, Joker was running through the halls with the Dazzlings hot on his trail as intended. His movement was swift as he ran, practically drifting at each turn as the girls were trying their best to keep up. Reaching a staircase to the second floor, he stopped at the foot of it to jiggle the gems in his hand as a way to taunt them before heading on up.
"Get back here!" Adagio was not happy at all as she was leaping up the stairs with the other two behind her.
The group were heading down to the nurse's office to pick up Yu, who is actually just leaving.
"Thank you, nurse." He simply said to the nurse.
"Just remember, keep applying ice to it every now and then." Nurse Redheart reminded him.
"Yeah." Once she closed the door, Yu sees the group running at him until they stopped.
"Hey, Yu! Sorry about the bruise, but we can't really talk right now! We'll explain later!" Rainbow rapid-fired her words as she grabbed Yu's hand to bring him along.
"Wait, where are we-" The only words Yu was able to get out before getting dragged against his will.
Reaching the second floor, Joker quickly turned the corner and crouched in the shadows as the Dazzlings reached the top and looked down the hall.
"Where did he go!?" This time, it was Aria that was yelling.
"When we find him, he'll regret stealing our gems!" Adagio growled as Joker snuck past them back down the stairs.
"I like his mask." The two glared at Sonata, "I mean, he's gonna pay!"
Hearing a whistle again, the three look down the stairs to see their thief smirk before turning the corner.
"How did he DO that!?" Adagio wasn't having this.
Reaching the bottom, Joker then sees an elevator next to the stairs and pressed the up button to open it just in time to hear the girls coming down the stairs. Quickly going in and pressing the top floor, the doors closed as Adagio made it to the bottom and saw him through the small opening before closing completely.
"Idiot. The elevator, back up!" Adagio leaped up the stairs with the two sighing before following.
Joker then contacted the group, "Status?"
"Got Seeker. Heading to rendezvous point." Mona answered.
"On my way." Looking up, he sees the elevator's size was just enough.
Reaching the top, Adagio stood outside the elevator doors as Aria and Sonata were catching their breath.
"Nowhere to run now." Adagio muttered as the doors opened.
She blinked once and even twice before Aria spoke, "Where is he?"
The elevator was empty as the three entered it, "He was here! Can he disappear now!?"
Unbeknownst to them, Joker was right above them with his limbs stretched out fully to keep him in place. Seeing all three of them inside, he grabbed the door frame and swung himself through the opening, landing in the hall. He turns around just as Adagio does, seeing her glare right at him before he sprinted down the hall this time.
"I'm getting sick of this!" Adagio was at the end of her line, ready to explode if she catches him.
The three ran down after him, which Joker will admit that he's having a bit of fun, as he reaches the door that lead to the roof. Kicking it open, he leaps up onto the railing and climbed up to reach the top of the stairwell. He then hears the door below slam against the wall as he opens the door, telling him that they're not far behind as he runs across the roof.
Reaching the ledge, he looks down to see the courtyard, but not the group.
"Status?" Joker contacted them again.
"Just reached the foyer. Almost there." Mona answered.
He then hears the door to the roof slam open, seeing the Dazzlings breathing heavily and are not happy.
"Nowhere to go, nowhere to run. You will give us back the gems... or else!" Adagio was practically barking at him as the three now stood a few feet away.
Seeing the situation, he decides to stall and maybe even get out some info if he's lucky.
"Tell me, why are you doing this? I doubt it's just for fun." Joker started with.
The girls knew he had nowhere to go, so they decided to humor him.
"Very well. We're here to reclaim our lost power and have everyone in this pathetic little world adore us." Adagio answered, "Is that really so wrong?"
"There are other ways to get people to like you." Joker brought up.
"We already seen what these people are like. Some can be so cruel." Aria retorts.
"Yeah, some can be real meanies." Sonata added with a bit of a somber tone.
Joker then hears a familiar sound, signaling his getaway.
"Now, if you would be so kind..." Adagio walks towards him with her hand outstretched.
Joker looks at the gems in his hand for a moment, "You bring up good points." He simply said as he then looks at her, "However, here's my counterpoint."
Exiting out into the courtyard, the group headed down the steps before stopping.
"Where's Ren?" Rainbow was the first to notice as the other girls looked around.
"What happened to him?" Yu was now concerned about the situation.
"Morgana, Transform!" The group hears Mona call out as he then jumped into the air, transforming again into... a van?
"Uh, what?" Applejack summed up everyone's reaction.
"No time! Ladies first!" Morgana simply said as he opened the back doors.
"You heard him." Yu then allowed the girls to go inside.
Sunset, Twilight and Spike sat up front as Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack got the back seats with Rainbow, Pinkie and Yu getting in the far back before Morgana closed the doors.
"Sunset, I need you to be my eyes. Look up to the school roof." Morgana ordered.
Sunset nodded as the driver's seat window rolled down for her to stick her head out. Looking at where he said, she sees Joker at the ledge of the roof.
"I see him." She confirms for him.
"OK, tell me when he jumps." That got everyone's attention now.
"Jump!?" The girls and even Yu repeated in shock.
Sunset was shocked too, but kept her eyes on Joker. Soon after, he leaped off the ledge towards the ground.
"Now!" Sunset shouted, signaling Morgana to form a soft landing for him.
On the car roof, it turns inside out for the cushion to replace the hard metal.
Watching him fall, she sees him do a corkscrew flip before he landed on his intended target. Bouncing upwards, he went up towards the drivers side and grabbed the side of the van. Seeing where this was going, Sunset pulls her head back in to move back into the middle seat as Joker swings himself inside through the open window, landing in the driver's seat.
"Sorry for the wait." Even after his stunt, he has time for a bit of humor before grabbing the wheel. "Hold on tight!"
The group doing just that as the van stepped on the gas, swerving past the statue before getting on the street and away from the school, leaving the Sirens in the dust.
And done! This is the most obvious change I added. Yup, the Phantom Thieves actually being thieves! Gasp!
But I know what you're thinking, how is the story gonna go now if the Dazzlings don't have their power source? That's for me to know and you to find out!
I had a fun time writing this one, so I hope this came out okay. Like the last chase scene I did, there was some ideas that I didn't do in the final cut. There were just small ones for Joker to show off more, though.
Anyways, thanks for reading and see ya next chapter!