What a sad sight. Upon entering, the manor already feels like a factory from its main lobby alone. A dirtied grey tiled floor, without carpet or decor, forms the foundation for the myriad of machines that rise from the ground to the ceiling, each contraption littered with levers and buttons. Together these towering machines form something of a maze which more soldiers march their way through. Zee pulls Navi up high towards the ceiling while Cat and I cling to the walls of the short hall leading into the factory’s mechanical corridors. Singular soldiers walk just a breath away as they pass by the entrance. From here we can see the units much more clearly, which ends up being both a good thing and a bad thing. They appear to lack any sort of real sentience, which is good. We assume this lack of sentience because of their faceless mannequin-like bodies that appear to be made of pure energy, which is bad. At least we won’t have to worry about hurting people, but they really give me the creeps… 

“Krzt-- This place is really twisty turny… Possibly functional, sure, but only to anyone who might work here… Who’d want to live in a place like this?!” 

I turn my head towards the entrance door after Zee’s question, seeing a very out of place ‘Welcome!’ sign hung up on the wall next to it. It’s the kind you’d see in novelty stores and the like.

“Someone trying their best.” 

Peeking my head around the corner and into the mechanized hallways, it’s the same wherever I look: a vast sea of machines spewing sulforous scents, towering over a sea of haze and smoke, and ‘cozy’ knick knacks similar to the welcome sign from before strewn about it like flotsam, trying so hard to stay afloat in this burning storm. 

“That, or whoever runs this place thinks this somehow counts as motivational. Yeesh, it’s really hot in here…” 

Turning to Cat, I see her tilt her head at me.

“Is it? Feels pretty room temperature to me.” 

Ah. Right, fire powers. Must come with heat resistance of some kind.

“Right… Zee, can you map us out a path?” I ask, practically hearing their thumbs up on the other end as I try to keep myself calm. 

Something about gaining these ‘true forms’ really kicked our heist-drive into high gear, which makes sense, I guess. It used to bring us such a thrill when we started, it felt like we were meant for it, even as that thrill was bogged down by everything outside of the heists. I’d forgotten how much these things meant to us, and despite how different magical heists are, or perhaps because of that, I can feel that need to sneak and steal coursing through me all the way through to the tip of my wagging tail. Oh, right. Being a thieving fox and a cat burglar probably plays into that… Hah… 

“Krzt-- The guards are making it a bit difficult to make a bee-line for the other side, so you might have to deal with them somehow. There’s lots of bits and bobs to cling to higher up, though, so if you can gain some altitude, you should be in the clear!” 

Sounds simple enough. My partner and I look to one another and nod, each of us grinning as we wait for one more soldier to walk by…and we’re off!

Cat immediately makes for the air, leaping up and silently latching onto some pipes slinking out and around each machine. As she enters the darkness of above, I just now notice how much darker her fur seems within the darkness, as if it’s turning black to blend in with the shadows. I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to see her without what I’m guessing is enhanced animal sight and night vision. Looking down at myself, I see my fur is much the same. Perfect. I decide to stay low and sneak silently behind the soldier who passed us while Zee offers us directions, not a single one of my four claws making a noise as I crawl. My partner above carefully reaches from pipe to ledge to pipe again, moving slower than I at first, but soon she finds her rhythm-- That rhythm. A heated song, a marching drum beating with each step, this melody in our hearts, just like our last heist. I can’t get enough of it. Cat quickly finds herself ahead of me, looking back and down to check on me, and gazing back up at her, I see her paw pointing to my right, bringing my attention to another path intersecting with ours. Crap, there must be-- Yup!

In the blink of an eye, my grappling hook hurtles through the darkness above, silent as the night as it grabs onto a pipe above. With a flick of my wrist, the sound of a fishing rod reel spinning frantically and a rush of wind below has pulled me up swiftly from the ground to the heights of the manor, and god it’s even hotter up here… Looking down below, I see the second soldier Cat had notified me of entering the hall. Both soldiers look at each other in confusion, probably from the sound of my ascent, but they fail to see anything suspicious and simply carry on their march. Phew… Thanks, Cat… We’re not far from our destination, and I’m already up here, so I attempt to follow Cat’s lead, reaching forward and grabbing ledge after ledge on our way to the other side--

SHIT-- My claw lands on the nearest pipe and it burns, my rhythm lost almost in an instant as I begin to fall. It looks like I’ll land just in front of the guard we’d been trailing, when a swift beam of light shoots past me. The sound of steam bursting from elsewhere rings through the air, granting me the perfect distraction to make my recovery. I pull my tail up below me followed by the quiet sound of a pillow hitting the ground as I reach the floor, the wind breaking my fall. I don’t dally for long, looking back for but a moment to see a flurry of guards shrouded in steam, and I can practically hear their voiceless complaints, ‘I don’t get paid enough for this!’, ‘I’m only part time!’, etc etc. My sneaking continues until I notice Cat landing by my side, and before us, the door leading to hopefully more familiar territory. Cat and I could never parse a way to make a clean heist here, so it’s completely new to us, but silencing the door and carefully pushing it open, we find ourselves back in our element.

The following room maintains the manor’s factory aesthetic, though it’s not quite as hot as the last room, but it’s clear the owners prefer to keep the temperature high even in this more liveable area, although, ‘livable’ might be a stretch when it looks like a mechanized office space. Metal doors plastered onto glass walls that creep along the sides of the large room, each looking into some kind of drab meeting room or office space with hulking machines and their blueprints lined up against their walls. At the center of the room is a grid-like expanse of cubicles, thankfully far less obnoxious to navigate than the last room’s winding maze of machines, though somewhat similarly to the previous room, various soldiers roam in, out of, and between the cubicles on patrol. Most notable, however, is at the far side of the room… In front of what looks like elevator doors stands a desk of sorts, a manager’s space trying to look as important as possible with its various photos and awards strewn across its surface. The desk itself isn’t what I’m interested in, however. No, it’s the being sitting at it.

A hulking mass of armour coating a burly, business suit clad man, his face completely obscured in the darkness of his war helmet, save for the glowing red dots peering out from his visor. He’s clearly compensating for something if the extravagant plumage atop his helm is any indication, though you could say the same for just about any of him. His suit looks tailored to fit just a bit too tightly, golden armour engraved with designs similar to badges of honour-- This guy’s really trying.

“What’s the verdict, Cat?” 

My partner snorts in response, shaking her head with a smirk and holding her face in her palm for a moment. “Yeah. Yeah, this is definitely Ares. What’s the plan?” 

My claw reaches up to hold my chin as I think on her question.

“It’d be nice if we could deal with him alone, but despite having no voices, the peons could make a lot of noise with their rattling armour…” My tail begins to sway slowly and rhythmically as I think.

“We could always go for a sneak attack on the big guy himself,” Cat adds, “Though, considering our fight with Niamh, who knows how much of a beating this dude can take…”

It’s only as we see them return that we notice Zee had sent Navi ahead to scout around, “Brzt-- Why not try the cubicles...?” 

We both turn to look at the drone, then back at each other. Is… Zee’s voice different? It’s clearly Zee’s voice, but somewhat softer spoken. It’d probably be rude to comment, so we turn back to Navi and listen up. 

“I don’t doubt you two could take the guards out quietly enough. Each cubicle is only patrolled by one guard, so that’s one guard per cubicle. You’ll just have to be extra careful the closer you get to the other end of the room…”

The two of us look at each other and smile before each giving a thumbs up to Navi. 

“Brilliant! Cat, you take the left row, I’ll take the right. Keep an eye out for us, won’t you Zee?”

“Krzt-- You got it, boss!” 

With their voice seemingly back to its usual pluckiness they zip off, patrolling where our eyes can’t. Cat nods at me and sets off as well, slinking into the shadows and pressing herself against the wall right around the corner, while I set off to my side, choosing instead to cling to the cubicle wall. I might have sound control on my side, but I don’t have the kind of range my partner has. Maybe I should look into figuring something like that out…

Keeping myself low to the ground, I peer around the corner of the first cubicle and spot a single guard just turning the corner opposite to mine. I pull myself back and wait for the sound of their marching to either dampen or cease. My entire body is still, save for the twitching of my ears, until the nearest sound of marching comes to a halt and I make a u-turn into the cubicle with the soldier’s back to me. Thankfully, their armour doesn’t cover much of their ethereal form, allowing me to jab my claw forward with deft precision into their exposed parts, the sound of a silenced pistol following each stab while my tail slinks under the foe. It doesn’t take too many hits until their lightly glowing form begins to waver before dissipating into wispy gas. The remains of their armour fall noiselessly onto my tail, at least as noiseless as the sound of armour hitting a pillow can be. Carefully, I set the remains aside. My nose is eager to poke out of the door for the next game, but a familiar Brzt-- stops me in my tracks.

“Careful Fox, soldier incoming from your left, they seem suspicious…” 

I give Zee a nod, forgetting for a moment they probably can’t see me right now before giving them a ‘roger that’.

“One down, three to go on my side,” Cat chimes in with a gentle, quiet voice, “Maybe they can sense their own numbers? How are things on my side and with the boss, Zee?”

I pin myself to the inner wall of the cubicle as Zee silently spectates. “Brzt-- Yeah, they’re moving faster on your end Cat, but Ares doesn’t seem phased at all, he’s still sitting calmly at his desk…”

My prayers go out to Cat as the sound of marching nears me, close and closer…then stops. With my breath held, I wait, still as windless summer day. And I wait. Waiting until finally the marching resumes and becomes ever more quiet as it trails off. A sigh of relief escapes me before I resume breathing, looking out of the cubicle to see the soldier, so suspicious a moment ago, now moving back into formation as if nothing had happened. I take their back being turned to me as an opportunity to attack, remaining low to the ground as I stalk them from close behind without a sound, anticipating the upcoming cubicle entrance, only for my eyes to go wide at the sight of another guard rounding a corner ahead. We’re close enough that I can spring into action, my tail hooking around the back of the soldier and pulling them into the small room as if they’re being tugged off stage by a cane with a sound similar to such a thing accompanying it. Winding around to the foe’s side, I pull their helmet up and off in one fluid motion as my tail sends them toppling down towards me. My head shoots upwards, butting HARD into the enemy’s head with the sound of a suppressed shotgun (at least, I’m pretty sure that’s what the sound is, never quite heard one myself). In an instant, they fade to smoke just like the last, my tugging tail scooping up each piece of armour as the windy green energy from my attack fades away.

“Did you hear that, Cat?” I ask, waiting for a moment as she’s most likely dealing with her own guards.

“Hear what?”

“Good. Zee, you?”

“Brzt-- Just a tiny bit, but I’m close… Two more left for each of you, but something’s definitely up, they’re pacing around like mad…!”

It sounds like things aren’t getting any easier, so my guard is up. I zip out of the cubicle and press myself against the darkest spot of the wall I can find, right behind a tall potted plant. Then I observe. The guard previously turning the corner has their back turned to me now and is marching off, only to be replaced by another from the far end of the room, quickly approaching with spear pointed upwards. I sidle as slowly as I can in their direction, praying my movement isn’t noticeable, but it’s clear I’m drawing suspicion as their free hand goes to grip the shaft of their weapon. They don’t appear alarmed, although it’s not easy to tell from an expressionless face. Regardless, their marching is no more aggressive than before, so I move and I wait. Move and wait. They get closer and closer until I make my attack, speeding off into the nearest cubicle as my tail coils around them with the sound of a winding snake trapping its prey, taking them with me into the small room before jabbing my claw up at their face with a hiss, watching their body of light fade like the rest. I made a bit more noise than I would have liked with their armour being crushed somewhat from my tail, but that leaves only one left for my side, meaning--

Their glowing figure storms my cubicle before I can finish another thought, the last soldier thrusting their spear into the room in my general direction before-- Clunk! Smash!! The sound of sizzling armour fills the small room as my saviors appear. Navi bumps the spear just out of the way and staggers the enemy in time for what looks like Cat’s burning hot glowsticks to come crashing down upon the last guard. This gives me the chance to thrust my tail forward and up into them, impaling them with the sound of a spear rupturing armour before their body poofs into nothing.

“I really owe you this mission, huh…?” I admit, smirking and shaking my head, Cat chuckling in response.

“Don’t worry about it. I’d do just about anything to help a cute, foxy thief like you~!” 

Huff. Zee and Cat giggle at my embarrassment before I wave them off.

“Whatever-- Does that mean your side is done?” Cat nods at my question.

“Finished a bit early,” she explains.

Thus our path is clear. I take Cat’s hand and zip off with her in tow, sneaking close by the walls, behind various plants in their pots, keeping to the shadows as we close in on our mark--

“Yes, God of War speaking, what can I do for you today?”