Zee blinks at us in silence, only to suddenly remember that they probably do have a reason for being here. 

“Oh! Right! Right right right, well you see, you had cat ears. Have cat ears. But had them. At least, they sure did look like cat ears and a tail.” 

A groan escapes my maw as my claw holds my face while I shake my head. 

“I promise, I wasn’t looking for them! I just turned around as I left and it was like ‘whoa! Cat’s an actual catgirl!’” Zee looks from me to Cat as they say that, Cat chuckling and rubbing the back of her head with a swish of her tail. “So I got curious, as if I wasn’t already, cuz I knew you two like to head out at night for some reason, so I figured, y’know, I’d come and see if I couldn’t catch up to you two and you could spill the beans! Let me tell you, you two were not easy to keep up with.” 

Cat and I look at each other before both turning our gazes back to Zee, hands on their hips and a charming smile on their face.

“So…” I begin before sighing and leaning against a wall once more, “you followed us out of curiosity? That’s it?”

“That’s right!”

“And you managed to keep up with our new speeds somehow too. How?” Cat chimes in, asking what’s probably the more important of our questions.

“Weh-heh-hell, I’m glad you asked!” 

Our friend holds up their hand, presenting the back of their wrist which displays a watch of some kind. The overall shape is simple, but its face makes it clear that it’s no ordinary watch. Reaching around to click a button on the side of the device, Zee proceeds to stand there for some time, leaving the two of us bewildered until something comes swooping down and around to their back.

“Uhh-- A drone…?” My partner murmurs, squinting at the thing Zee now carries in their arms.

“Not just any drone! Made this baby myself! Name’s Navi, short for Navigator! She’s how I keep track of everything I need to do in town without alarming anyone. The pattern of the propellers makes her look like a bird from below!” 

The two of us let out a sigh of relief at Zee’s explanation, tension easing as our bodies relax just a little.

“Thank god, we thought we were being tracked by a familiar or something.”

“Whatever that is,” I add to Cat’s cry of relief, to which she snorts. 

These nimrods, who even knows these kinds of things by default?! Apparently Zee, because the moment they hear that, they gasp, eyes lighting up once more.

“A familiar?! Oh my god. Are you two actually dealing with magic?!” 

We gulp. A second long glance at each other tells us both we’re pretty cornered here.

“...Alright, knowing that we’re furries is probably the event horizon here, so as long as you don’t tell anybody about these things, we’ll let you in on it,” I say in defeat.

“We will?” Cat asks suddenly. 

I turn my head to my partner, cocking it to the side with a bewildered expression. “Well, yeah. We trust Zee, don’t we? I’m sure Zee knows that this is probably beyond the scope of their capabilities, so it’s not like you’ll want in on this, right Zee?” 

Cat turns back to our friend, who stands there, kicking at the ground and whistling suspiciously. 

“...Riiiight?” I press.

“I meeeean…” 

This time, the both of us slap our palms against our faces, waiting for some kind of an explanation. 

“It’s magic right? And I’m a Technical Marvel! Technology is the perfect counter to magic!” 

It’s clear by this point that Zee is beyond even Cat’s understanding.

“Technical Marvel…?” she asks, more out of confusion rather than seeking an answer.

“Well, duh,” Zee begins. I can already tell whatever comes next is going to go over my head. “If the drone wasn’t enough to wow you, I’ve got a ton more stuff at home that I’ve been building for years! You wouldn’t believe the kind of things you can do with junkyard tech using today’s understanding of robotics! See, I’ve even got this old VR headset from 2025 that I’ve been manipulating to allow real sensory control!” They reach up above the brim of their hat and pull down what looks like a translucent visor with headphones on either side. “It’s still a work in progress, but for now, it’ll let me control Navi way more freely and precisely while giving me a whole lot more awareness of her surroundings!” 

We stare at them again. I get it, but it’s kind of hard to believe Zee’s stuck in Railsent Village when they’re apparently some kind of genius roboticist in disguise. Still, that does seem like a very Zee thing to do…

“Is she silent though?” I ask, playing along just in case this either gets them off our back until day time or reveals they could be more useful to us during the night than we thought.

“Yup! I’m sure hearing a drone flying overhead would freak out a lot of Railsent, so I made sure of that.”

“She won’t be easily noticed in the dark?”

“Not a blinking light in sight! Oh, I should install a flashlight on her though, that could be useful… Never really thought about needing to use her during the night!”

“Okay, okay, but most importantly…” I see Zee leaning forwards, eager to prove themselves. “Do you have experience navigating her through buildings and contained rooms?” 

They grin, hands back on their hips, looking about ready to strike a pose. “Only years of practice under my belt! I’ve done some urban exploration in the past, Navi had no problem whatsoever!” 

Oh boy. I look back at Cat, seemingly very displeased by the outcome of this conversation.

“Are we really about to let a civilian in on our magical furry heists…?”

“Heck yeah you are! Don’t worry, just consider me part of the team!” And there’s the pose.

“We are absolutely not doing that.” Cat puts her foot down and crosses her arms. “This is dangerous, Zee! We’re not even sure you’d be able to do anything! There’s a magical barrier around these places that prevents non-magical people from even being able to see what’s really going on in there!” 

Zee taps their chin before pressing a button on the headphones of their visor, and we can even see various menus and the like from the opposite side of the screen. They begin fiddling around with their watch, and we watch as Navi begins to fly upwards.

“Where exactly is this location?”

“Please don’t tell them, Fox.”

“House with way too many chimneys.”

Cat plants her face in both her paws with a groan while I watch Navi fly off.

“Okay! Let’s see… Lots of chimneys, lots of chimneys…there it is… Alright, nothing so far, looks more like a factory than a home-- WHOA!!” We both look to Zee, their mouth agape before twisting into a grin. “Oh. Oh ho ho. Hahahahaha! That’s… That’s a lot of phalanx!”

“Phalanx…? Like… Like the poke--”

“The historical ones, Cat, do you really think some otherworldly being would command fictional collectable creatures?” 

I smirk at her and she sticks her tongue out at me before we turn back to Zee. 

“So, what’s the sitch?” God, I’ve always wanted to say that, and it sounds good in this voice. Then again, I feel most of what I say sounds better like this.

“Well, I couldn’t see anything as Navi approached, but within about a 2 mile wide diameter of the building, I began to get some static, then once things returned to normal, bam! Greek soldiers up the arse! It’s like a war general lives there or something.” 

Zee gives their watch a few more flicks and turns before pressing the button on the side of their headphones once more. They look a bit dazed as they pull the visor over their hat once again.

“That’d be Ares…” Cat grumbles with conviction. 

I’m kind of stunned at how ready she seems to jump on this guy, but I think I feel it as well. Maybe because Yombroila and him have a history?

“Ares? As in, the god of war, pompous loser and disrespecter of women?” Zee asks, earning a snort from both me and Cat.

“Where have I heard that before…” I mutter before Cat nudges me with her elbow, getting me to stand up straight instead of leaning against the wall. “But yes. They’re called the Radiant, people from a world parallel to ours--”

“A parallel universe…” Zee interrupts.

“...No. Just-- Just a world.” I don’t think I’ll ever fully understand the inane things these two say here and there. “I’m not entirely sure how it works, but that’s where all of our enemies are coming from, and they have a history of meddling with us and getting their names written into mythology. Anyways, does this mean cameras and the like bypass whatever it is the magical area is doing? I suppose even if someone was able to record it accidentally, it all reverts after it’s done, so there’s no way to prove it isn’t some special effects reel.”

“YES!!” Zee pumps their fist with a wide grin on their face, “See, I KNEW technology beats magic! Y’all could use my help!”

“Zee, these things have the ability and the will to kill us on sight, and we’re apparently a lot more resilient in these forms too!” Cat explains, hands gesturing over her body before going limp. “You could be putting yourself in serious danger! I don’t feel right allowing that. What would you be able to help us with using a drone anyways?”

Another one of Zee’s conniving grins makes itself known in reply to Cat.

 

“Here, try these on!” The tech wiz reaches into their pocket and reveals what look like very old headphones, the kind that are just a pad of foam over a small speaker with a foldable clip to attach it to your ear. Cat and I each take one and look at each other before clipping them onto an ear each. Thankfully they’re very accommodating of non-human ears. Once attached, Zee slips their visor back on, fiddles with their watch again, and in a few moments, we find a small antennae sprouting out of each of our earpieces, as well as Zee’s headphones.

“Krzt-- Helloooooo ladies!”

“...Zee, why did you have all of this on you if you were just ‘checking in on us?’” My eyes focus on them like lasers, hands moving to my hips as I stare the suspiciously whistling fella down.

“Oh, y’know…! That’s just the kinda person I am-- Okay, you two had pretty strong ‘criminal activity’ vibes and I wanted in.” And thus, they confess. 

Cat is no more amused than they were moments before, but I can’t help but smirk. “I respect the hustle, Zee. Welcome aboard. Be our eyes and ears where we can’t be.” 

I’ve seen Zee get hyped before, but they look about ready to explode after I welcome them aboard. On the other hand, Cat appears to have given up, sighing and shaking her head with a smirk.

“You’re unbelievable. The both of you. Just, please stay safe?” Cat plants her hands on her hips and gives us both a stern glare, making ‘stay safe’ feel less like advice and more like a threat. With a flip of my hair, I smile at Cat, Zee giving her an enthusiastic thumbs up before Cat nods at us. “Alright, let’s not keep the God of War waiting, shall we? Keep us posted, Zee.”

Our eyes in the sky grins and nods before Cat and I look to each other, nodding as well and swiftly zipping around the corner and back onto the darkened city streets. It takes but a few moments before we find ourselves approaching the manor crowned with the smoke rising from its bellows. Normally we’d wonder how a place like this hasn’t been shut down by environmentalists, but that question is easily answered by just how large their house is. Damn rich assholes. 

“Krzt-- Yo, careful approaching, they’ve loaded the front with bands of warriors, you should hear the marching soon.”

I take Cat’s hand once more and we begin to slow our pace, staying close to walls and shadows as the sound of marching begins to grow with each step. Despite being so large and factory-like, the manor lacks any sort of breathing room around it, rather, it’s simply a very large house crammed between two other buildings. This lack of space proves to be a challenge for us, however, as the roving formations of soldiers are tightly knit within the confined area in front of the estate (well, as confined as the front of a mansion can be, which just goes to show how many soldiers there are). The phalanxes galavant around in their gold armour with red plumes, spears bobbing up and down with each step. Their deliberate march moves in stark contrast to the merciless and crazed swarm of cupids from the night prior. As I squint to observe the troops further, Cat nudges me, looking up and jutting her chin forward as if to point at the roofs above.

Hoo boy.

Cat had already proven she can scale these walls with ease, but could a fox really do the same? I gulp down my fear and nod. 

“Ladies first, Ms. Kitten~” I jest with a bow, attempting to calm myself down just a bit.

My partner blushes slightly and sticks her tongue out at me before bending her knees and leaping into the air. She grasps at each available window ledge, propelling herself off each wall over and over until she’s halfway up. At that point she  looks back down at me and tilts her head. In my head I hear her voice asking, “Well?” With a sigh, I bend my knees as she had moments ago. I have wind powers so that should give me some kind of boost midair, right? I’ll just have to hope so as I leap upwards, grabbing onto the closest window ledge with a little less grace than Cat before composing myself. There’s no way I’ll be able to go as quick as Ms. Kitten up there, but I’ll do my best. I can’t let her see me slip up. 

One leap, and grab. Second, grab again. Up and up I ascend, looking skywards to my partner to see her smiling down at me as she peeks over the lip of the roof. I know she’s not teasing, nor is this a competition, but I can’t keep her waiting like this. I try to speed things up a bit. Thankfully I don’t need to worry as much about my stamina, but I hope my upper body strength holds up. Not sure how much of this I want to or can deal with, so as I near the top I give the wall one last powerful kick, wagging my tail downwards. The sound of wings flapping sends me up just a bit more before--

“Shit--!” 

You damn fool, Fox, this was not the time to show off! My claws barely miss the ledge of the roof and I feel myself begin to fall, only for the soft paws of my partner to grasp at each of my hands, hoisting me up and onto the solid ground of the roof. I let out a relieved, if frustrated sigh. 

“Sorry about that.”

Cat shakes her head at me before placing her hand on my head and patting me for a moment, my anxieties immediately softening under her touch. 

“Hey, no worries! When we’ve spent this many years being so confident in what we can do, it’ll take some time to get used to…well, not being so used to things!” 

She releases my head and I shake it, huffing with a nod as I approach the side of the building facing the manor, Cat in tow. From here, we can observe the patterns of the phalanxes in front of the windowless building with greater ease. Eight groups, each containing six units in a two by three formation, marching in rectangular paths that all convene in the center. Their position within these rectangles alternate to keep eyes on every bit of ground they can at all times. Avoiding their fields of vision seems possible, but the window of timing is incredibly narrow, we’d be much better off formulating a different plan--

My eyes glance to the side. “...Cat?”

“Mmmyeah?” She replies, the girl sitting down with her cheeks in her palms and elbows in her lap, eyes locked on me.

“Are you…going to take a look too?” 

She blinks at me for a moment, apparently having not realized she was staring in the first place.

“S-sorry! Sorry, you just… You reminded me of when we first started doing these heists. Minus the tail wagging.” 

I snap my gaze behind me and glare at the accursed appendage, sighing once it begins to calm down. I look back at Cat with a quizzical look and a tilt of my head. 

“Y’know, back when we started formulating plans for each manor. You always got this look in your eyes that was so…brilliant. I haven’t seen it in so long, so I… I guess I couldn’t help but admire your beauty.”

“Krzt--“ Saved by the Zee. “Do you two really have time to be so extraordinarily gay right now? C’mon, I wanna get into the action!” 

Cat puffs out her cheeks, her tail beginning to sway in agitation, while mine relaxes in relief, my claws running down my blushing face.

“We’re not on any time limit beyond how long we can stay awake, but Zee has a point. We should get this done sooner than later.” 

Cat reluctantly sighs at my agreement with our scout, standing up and looking down at the manor with me now.

“Krzt-- Don’t worry, Cat, I’ll leave you two be soon enough. Unless you two don’t mind me listening in~”

The both of us decide to ignore that one, putting our hands on our chins as we think.

“I’ve got a plan. Get some fireworks ready, Cat.”

 

…

 

“Krzt-- Few more seconds.”

With Zee’s eyes in the skies, we wait for our signal. I’m standing just outside of where the soldiers would be able to see me, while Cat stands atop the building next to me. I rub my hands together, then pull them far apart and hold them up in anticipation.

“Krzt-- Three…” 

I wiggle my fingers antsily. 

“Two…” 

A slight grin creeps up my maw as the moment approaches.

“One…!” 

I pull my hands back just a bit further in preparation…! 

“FIRE!!”

BANG!! 

With a clap of my hands, the night air shudders and splits with the sound of a blazing firework echoing into the darkness, followed by bright, wispy trails of wind imitating the brilliance of such a lightshow. All the guards' attention turns to me, marking my cue to get the hell outta here. I zip back and around into an alleyway. My grin’s at full width as I speed through the darkness, making my way around the building as the sound of more fireworks pop from above and, looking up, I can see Cat making some marvelous lights. It’s not long before I turn one more corner to find myself in front of the manor once more. Cat leaps down from the roof to join me. We stand where all the soldiers’ backs are turned to us--except for one phalanx, dammit!

“Krzt-- Don’t sweat it, boss!” 

Like a mechanical guardian angel, Navi swoops down, knocking into the helmets of the remaining group before zipping up into the sky. That small formation’s eyes are now directed upwards towards what I hope looks like nothing more than a bird to them. Distractions without suspicion: some kids slinging fireworks and a random bird? They’ll be none the wiser. Cat makes her move first, taking my hand and leading us to the front door, where she shakes out her paws before pointing a single claw forward. Her laser-pointer is primed and firing ever so carefully around the door and its lock. Just as swiftly as we appeared, the door is open and we’re gone, Navi slinking in behind us. 

“Krzt-- Locky for us that Cat knows her way around a lock, eh?” 

My gaze locks on Navi with a disgruntled glare, while Cat tries to hold back her snickering. I whap her arm lightly with my hand, nudging my head to the side. 

We’re in.