There's always that one scene in war movies where one guy gets injured then his comrades come to his rescue and together, supporting one another they dash for safety and escape the jaws of death on the war ridden battlefield.

.............Iris thought that was a con job. The fact that right now, she and Eli had to support a still disorientated officer all the way back to the exhibition room with less than 10 minutes till chaos was unleashed was no easy task and further proved her point.

The two girls' half dragged half ran as fast as they could with the semi-conscious officer who was still in his undergarments in between them, both slinging one arm each over their shoulders to support him and make the burden easier to carry.

Eli stumbled but caught herself in time. "Oi! Quit being so beng! Wake up!" she yelled at the officer in an attempt to help snap his senses back. If they could get the guy walking on his own two legs then they would be saving everyone a boatload of troubles.

The officer shook his head and blinked. "Go. I'll just slow you down." He grunted. "You need to warn the others."

"But we need you as proof. I doubt they'll listen to two teens and take our word seriously." Iris pointed out. 'And that line was kinda cheesy cliche heroic.' She thought.

"Ugh come on, don't sound like one of those cliche scenes from a movie now!!" Eli said aloud while still trying to drag the lump of meat that was dragging them down aka the guard. Regardless of what cheesy lines will pop up now, Eli and Iris are going to drag this guy to report this to the authorities whether it was the last thing they'll do.

Finally they saw the two guards up ahead, except their backs were turned to them and their focus was on the wrong thing.

"HEEEEEEEEEEEELP!" "GUAAAAAAAAAARDS!" Iris and Eli both yelled at the same time to get their attention.

It worked.

The guards whipped their heads to see a very peculiar sight. Two teenage girls dragging a middle aged man dressed in his undergarments yelling bloody murder.

Of course, they came running. For once, Eli was glad to see the cops. She and cops don't really have the best relationship judging on how many times she's sped away whenever she was gonna get a ticket. Anyway, the guards of course asked them questions like...

"What are you two doing here?!"

"Why are you dragging that man?!"

"Is he alright?!"

"What happened?!"

Iris's eye twitched, how could they not see the bigger picture being painted as they asked these pointless questions?!

"DRAKKON!" she yelled, getting straight to the point. "Drakkon gagged him then disguised himself as him and now he's-"

A loud electric THUMP resounded through the air and they were plunged into darkness.

Surprised exclamations rose from the crowd as chaos did its work and spread amongst the crowd like a plague as did its two partners in crime- anticipation and anxiety.

Then.....

BANG!

The lights came on and an explosion of red and black sparks erupted on top of the display case containing the keris and crown.

Boldly standing there in all his black, grey and red glory was none other than the infamous Phantom Thief all had come to witness with their own eyes.

Drakkon.

He stood there on top of the display case, chest puffed out and head held high with the lights reflecting off the black visor on his helmet he wore to conceal his identity. He didn't seem at all fazed by the sheer impossibility and craziness that laid ahead of him and eluded a confidence that he had it all under control.

"Dra-" for some reason, his name got stuck in their throats.

"Dra-" all three of the officers- including the formerly gagged one who seemed more alert than ever- seemed to be stuck in the same shocked stupor.

Eli and Iris had both stopped, paralyzed, along with the officers. Wait, Drakkon was standing right there! How are they not going to arrest him?! The entire Palace was engulfed in a blanket of silence, waiting for the thief to make his next move. The anticipation, the excitement, the anxiety! Despite the noisy and chaotic atmosphere of the palace being paused in silence and shock, the emotions practically seeped out of each and every one of the audience. The Phantom Thief really knew how to capture the audience's attention and mesmerize them with each heist with the help of his mere presence alone.

His confident stature practically demanded that the audience paid attention to him and they did. Both of the girls were envious of that.

Then the crowd went wild, cheering away- whistles and hoots and whooping and clapping went flying in the air.

"Good evening citizens of Malaysia!" Drakkon announced with gusto, arms spread wide like a ringleader in a circus, voice reverberating clearly amongst all the excited noise..

Or an actor about to pull the curtain and the world was his stage whereas they were the audience.

"A lot have come from Penang Knights to even Americans! Thank you, terima kasih, xie xie. I'm touched, truly am. I assure you all that your travels will not be wasted!" he said with a small bow.

"The only thing about to be wasted is you in a prison cell!" One of the disguised officers said, already all the officers from the guards to the ones disguised amongst the crowd were attempting to swim through the raging current of humans to the infamous Phantom Thief.

While all the other people seemed to be more focused on squeezing themselves into the exhibition room as Drakkon continued his 'speech' and 'show', Iris grabbed Eli's wrist and yanked her back into the almost abandoned hallways.

"This isn't right." Iris said.

"No shit Sherlock." Eli said with an eye roll. "There's an effin thief in there trying to steal a historical treasure and we're missing the show!"

"That isn't  the show." Iris said as her mind seemed to go into overdrive.

"What do you mean?" Eli asked recognizing the look on her BFF's face. Her mind was moving like a clockwork machine, gears shifting, hydraulics pumping, pieces connecting and screws tightening to complete the machinery.

"Misdirection. All magicians use misdirection almost all the time. Drakkon is a Phantom Thief like Kaito Kid and Kaitou Joker, right? They always use misdirection. They use a big bang to distract the officers from the main thing that they're working on somewhere else for their 'miracle'.

"What makes Drakkon any different?" Iris deduced.

Eli's eyes widened as her mind connected the dots herself and she realized Iris was right.

"Then.....that means that Drakkon back in the exhibition room is a distraction!" she said. "The real question is-"

"Where's the real deal we have to look for?" Iris finished her thought.

The two girls went deep in thought as they considered the options.

"Maybe he has someone on the inside to help him." Iris said. "But that's pointless since we have zero idea who that is amongst all....that." she added pointing to the crazed crowd.

"Maybe he'll use dummies to distract the police?" she asked as she came up with a new theory, remembering how Kaitou Kid always did that in Detective Conan. "That's what Phantom Thieves always do."

"Easier said than done." Eli scoffed. "You have any idea how sophisticated that would be? He doesn't exactly have Image Gum, does he?"

"True." Iris admitted.

"Where would he go...?" Eli paced around in a little circle while snapping her fingers. That always got her brain to come up with something. Iris was putting a lot of effort into racking her brain as well.

"Wait........" both of them said, their voices trailing off as the pieces began to click in place.

A scene from a movie popped up in her head. Where do they always make a getaway? Drakkon is the flashy type, he would want to draw attention and exit with the as big a bang as his entry!

"The rooftop!" Eli blurted out loud.

"He's gonna make an escape there!" Iris continued.

They were about to make a run for it when they realized, why were they doing this? They weren't the cops, they weren't heroes. They were just two teenagers who were admittedly beginning to wonder f they were getting in over their heads.

"Take care you hear me? Don't play play ah. This is real. You're dealing with a criminal here. An unpredictable one. You cannot let your guard down and must always remain vigilant. Just because he does all this lights and magic doesn't mean he's nice, understand?"

The words of Iris's father rang through their heads like an alarm clock reminding them of what lay ahead.

Why are they doing this? For the adrenaline? For fun? To break the shackles of confinement for once? For some action in their mundane normal lives? Wouldn't this just land them into even more trouble? Oh, who cares?!

They glanced at each other- a silent message passing between them that spoke volumes of their support for one another, nodded, turned their heel and ran towards the elevator with a new fire within them............

That fire was almost snuffed out as the bold red letters of OUT OF ORDER neatly printed on a sign plastered on the elevator doors showed up, seeming to mock them.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Iris groaned. Seriously?! Now of all times?! 'Looks like our luck is beginning to run out.' She thought grimly.

"Looks like we're gonna have to take the stairs." Iris said.

Now it was Eli's turn to groan. "The stairs?! You know those are my arch-nemesis!" she bemoaned already dreading the mission ahead.

"You wanna catch Drakkon or not?!" Iris shouted back, already at the doorway leading to the stairs, her hair now tied up in a high ponytail and her sky blue hoodie now worn on with the sleeves rolled up.

"Coming!" Eli yelled back before she went to the elevator to kick the doors in frustration and stick her tongue out at it. Alright, now she was done with harassing the elevator.

"Alright, I'm done now. Let's go!" Eli said hitching her backpack up.

And so they began their journey up the winding staircase towards their goal. Their footsteps stomped on the stairs almost in rhythm with their racing heartbeats. Adrenaline surged through their veins like blood acting the same way petroleum does to get a vehicle moving. Step after step, one foot after the other- left, right, left, right sometimes taking two at a time and careful not to trip which would certainly lead to less than pleasant results.

Time seemed to blurr all of a sudden and it was only then they both noticed that the roar of the excited crowd back in the exhibition hall sounded like a slightly above quiet mummer in the background.

One floor down, 1st floor now.

They doubled their efforts and suddenly realized that while the Palace technically had a total of 5 floors, some floors had two levels such as the ground floor- the exhibition room which also had an overlooking balcony area when they thought about it, and the 4th and 5th floors.

Another floor down, 2nd floor now.

If one were to peek into one of the windows on the wall, they would see two teenage girls determinedly sprinting up the stairs towards their goal.

Perspiration began to form on their brow and their clothes suddenly felt a bit stuffy as they were halfway through the next flight of stairs.

Regardless, they moved on with determined faces.

Another flight completed, now the 3rd floor.

Their breaths were coming out in pants and gasps, their sides throbbing in pain as though being stabbed and sweat more evident.

One more flight down, 4th floor now.

They were almost there.....almost there....almost there............

...........If one were to look at them as they passed by the window....they would see two girls sweating and panting as though they just ran a marathon or the desert and about to collapse.

Eli slumped against the wall as her knees buckled from the strain, it took all of her willpower not to collapse right then and there. "5.....5 minute....break." she panted out, holding up five fingers to Iris who was faring no less better.

"But we gotta......catch....Drakkon...he could be...." Iris panted, bent over with her hands on her knees. Damn it, red belt or not in Taekwondo her stamina definitely wasn't the best.

Already both of them could feel their muscles begin to cramp up. Iris felt like smacking herself for not stretching a bit before beginning their mad dash up the stairs.

"Fine.......one quick break..." Iris said through her pants. After a quick water break and an energy bar each, they were up on their feet again and continuing their pursuit.

Now they were at the speed they were on the 1st floor. Their blood was pumping, and they wiped the sweat off of their foreheads. One more floor to go!

Their muscles were on fire, their throats felt like needles were prickling them, their undershirts began to stick to their skin a bit as sweat built up and their feet demanded they give them a break.

But soon they found a door up ahead with a white sign on top with the words EXIT written there in all its green glory.

"Hell yes." Iris whispered under her breath and Eli would've whooped for joy had she had the energy to do so.

Eli didn't bother with opening the door correctly; she just leaned her shoulder against the door, twisted the knob and let her body weight push it open. She couldn't bother with opening it correctly.

They were greeted by the cool night air. A small gust of wind blew by as though it were waving hello at them and welcoming them to this place. They willingly allowed the wind on their faces, the perspiration making it feel even cooler and refreshing them somewhat.

For a moment, as they leaned against the wall with the cool night air on their faces, they forgot why they were there in the first place.

For a moment that is.

Then Iris smacked herself on the cheeks lightly. She had to focus, now's not the time to get lax. Eli took another chug out of her water bottle and Iris did the same to rejuvenate her.

Now it was time to do what they came here for.

Find Drakkon.

........again, easier said than done. As their eyes swept across the spacious balcony, they saw no one there. The only occupants were the vents standing there like a scarecrow would in a paddy field with a railing surrounding the place to offer some form of measure to prevent anyone dumb enough to come up here- such as themselves- from falling off.

The only actual living being there at the moment was the mosquitoes and occasional bird.

But no Drakkon.

"Where is he?" Eve said in a hushed tone- she couldn't help but keep her voice down in such a quiet yet tense atmosphere- as she lightly smacked a mosquito that got away.

"How am I supposed to know?" Iris said while scanning the area for anymore living beings other than themselves. Drakkon will show up any minute soon...right?

She hoped so. Otherwise they would've sprinted all the way up here and risk snapping their muscles for nothing.

They both sighed, turned to face each other and asked the million dollar question aloud.

"So, what's the plan?" they both asked simultaneously.

Wait.....

"Seriously, Eli, what's the plan?" Iris asked uneasily.

"That's what I wanna ask you, what's the plan?" Eli asked again.

"I'm asking you the plan......you do have one..........right?" Iris repeated.

The silence that greeted her told her the answer.

"You don't have a plan?!" they both said to each other incredulously.

"I thought you  would have a plan! You're  the one who always has one!" Eli hissed at Iris.

"I thought you  would have a plan already in mind because this whole stunt was your  idea!" Iris shot back.

"Does it look like I have a plan?!" Eli asked exasperatedly.

"Does it look like I know everything?!" Iris asked back, the pressure of the situation making her snappy.

"You always seem to." Eli muttered.

"I don't, ok?" Iris said. Then she pinched the bridge of her nose and blew a frustrated breath out. No, she had to calm down. Now was the wrong time and wrong place to get into some petty argument. They both got into this mess, both were in it and they needed each other to get out of it.

"Sorry, didn't mean to snap." Iris muttered.

"Yeah......sorry I dragged you into this without a decent plan on this." Eli said back.

Ah yes, they could always butt heads at any moment, at any time over anything but they were always quick to forgive and forget.

That's why they were BFFs and they wouldn't have it any other way.

"Ok, now we need a plan." Iris said. She thought it over................actually she was coming up blank. The odds were hugely stacked against them and like she said before Drakkon was unpredictable.

Eli was coming up blank too. She wasn't one to brag but she knew a thing or two about strategies- she played chess after all and was damn good at it.

But this? It was like trying to predict the move of an opponent with invisible pawns. She didn't know what he had at his disposal or what piece he might unleash next. A pawn? A bishop? A knight? A rook? The king or queen?

"Ok....I've got a plan." Iris said. 'Sorta.' She added in her mind.

"I'll stay out here and lure him out. Then I'll distract him- go all debate mode. I'll keep him talking. In the meantime, you go and hide behind.....there." she pointed to a large vent nearby. "While he's distracted, you sneak up behind him, ok?"

Eli nodded. "Ok....one question....how?" she asked.

"I don't know. Karate chop his neck, chopping kick, one of your 12 siku  moves, anything!" Iris said. God, now that it was out the so-called plan sounded so lame.

It was a half-assed plan. Both of them knew that. Heck, they weren't sure if it was a plan at all. But it was either that or no plan at all.

Something or nothing.......

It was a no- brainer. Besides, what choice did they have? They've come this far already.

"Okay then, let's put the plan into motion. Hey, no matter what, promise me you'll stay safe, okay?" Eli was mildly concern – no scratch that majorly concerned about Iris putting herself right in front of the dragon's jaws. But she decided not to let it show. If there is one thing that her parents' fancy dinner meetings have taught her it's how to keep a level head. Besides, as Iris would say- panicking gets you nowhere.

"I will. You stay safe too. And stay well hidden" Iris said patting her best friend on the shoulder and gave what she hoped was a reassuring smile. Her hands felt unsteady, they were shaking and she stuffed her hands into the pocket of her hoodie to hide that fact.

Eli hid behind the vent while Iris went waiting out in the open for Drakkon.

Iris stood out there in the open. She examined her nails, picking out the dirt and grime under them, she paced around, she squatted down when she got tired of standing and even did some stretches to loosen her muscles- her body still felt as tense as a coiled up spring- and even hummed along to some songs that randomly popped up in her head.

But all those actions were just that....an act- a facade to cover up her nervousness and how frickin terrified she was of what's to come. Heck, she even contemplated sending some cheesy goodbye message but.....no, stay positive, don't go there. Stay calm.

Meanwhile her partner in crime- well, partner in crime stopping in this case- was sitting behind the vent. Her back was pressed back against the metal plating of the vent, it occasionally glinted slightly as the moonlight reflected off it.

The humming noise that the air vent made filled the air. She found it annoying at first but soon got used to it and realized she didn't mind it. Hopefully that background noise would be enough to drown out any minor noises that would make....mainly the sound of a knife clattering on the ground.

Her nerves were going haywire and sitting down doing nothing certainly wasn't helping. So she was trying very hard to flip her pocket knife- thankfully she took the initiative and stored it in the hidden pocket in her hoodie to avoid suspicion. And so far, the sound of it clattering on the ground was barely being glazed over by the air vents humming.

Iris winced and resisted the urge to turn around and yell at Eli to stop doing that. It sounded like a bomb dropping in this tense atmosphere.

One more try, Eli flipped the pocket knife but her fingers slipped and the pocket knife dropped again. She groaned slightly and picked it up.

"You're doing it wrong. You're supposed to make your fingers more nimble, and you're holding it the wrong way. You should hold it by your ring finger and your thumb." Said an unfamiliar male voice.

Too distracted by the pocket knife, Eli was none the wiser.

"Thanks," She said nonchalantly, noticing it was easier this time. "Wait..." That voice didn't belong to Iris. It sounded.....off and it was too deep and masculine. But........If that's the case then who did it belong to?

She was almost too scared too but slowly, she turned her head.....

And came face to face with an amber orange visor showing her a reflection of her own shocked eyes and a mouthguard in place of a mouth.

"HOLY CRAP!" She exclaimed nearly jumping three feet high and bashing her head into the bent part of the vent. And Eli would rather stab herself than admit it but she nearly wet her pants.

Casually leaning back with his lanky legs crossed in front of him and nonchalantly twirling a kerambit that glinted like a silver disc as though it were a toy was none other than the infamous Phantom Thief himself.

Drakkon.

Eli's breath hitched and her heartbeat quickened so fast she wondered if she would get a seizure.

'How- when did he- what?!' she thought. She hadn't heard anything, no scuffle of boots, no shifting of cloth, not even simply noticing the presence of someone else- nothing. Drakkon had snuck up on her like a true ninja just like that.

Looks like some of the rumors and stories in the tabloids- sorry, the news, weren't as exaggerated as she thought.

For once, Eli wished with all her heart that those were really exaggerations by the media. Turns out not.

"Well aren't you the jumpy one?" he said before getting up as lithely as a cat.

Iris who had long since heard Eli's exclamation of shock could only stare, jaw hanging open and eyes wide behind her glasses as she rounded around the vent and saw the infamous Phantom Thief himself right there in front of her with her own two eyes.

"You showed up? Good to know you aren't the anti-social type." He said jokingly.

Then he vaulted over the vent with ease and walked out, hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket.

"Come out lah. No need shy shy. This dragon won't bite." He said. Wait, he had the same Asian slang as them? Maybe he was Chinese or something. Or was he just faking it to throw them off?

They both filed that info- or rather, theory, away for later.

They glanced at each other, sending one another a silent message before walking out to talk to the effin Drakkon face to face.

Now that all of them were out in the open with the moonlight offering more light, the two girls could make out the features of the man who's got Malaysia so hyped up and took this opportunity to observe him.

Or analyze him in this case.

The first thing they instantly got a good look at was the infamous amber orange visor and scaled patterned mouthguard he wore to conceal his identity. The mouthguard had small platings placed in a layered way to give the illusion of a reptile's scales, or a dragon's in this case. The amber orange visor was also reflective so they couldn't really see his eyes.

The visor showed them their nervous, wary faces as though taunting them and their eyes moved on.

He wore a black motorcycle jacket with red accents- evidently it was padded with Kevlar of sorts, Eli's trained eye noticed. A matching black cowl with red accents was pulled over his head, leaving his face in the shadow of the cowl to further obscure his features.

Underneath the jacket he wore a dark grey.....spandex suit? Seriously? Who was he? Spiderman?

'Has he no shame?' Iris thought with a small huff.

But upon closer inspection, they were wrong. There was padding on the chest area of a slightly lighter shade with those same red accents that stood out vividly even in the dark night.

Strapped around his waist was a red utility belt with pouches filled with god knows what with black lining on it and a holster strapped on his left within easy reach.

'Smoke bombs? Tasers? Tranquilizer darts? Sleeping gas? Knockout gas? .......Batarangs?!' Eli's imagination went wild and her curiosity was clawing at her brain, begging her to find out.

To finish it off, he wore black motorcycle boots with red accents matching his jacket with red knee pads and elbow pads along with red combat gloves, the knuckles black and the palms grey in contrast.

No doubt it could throw a good few punches.

Eli and Iris subconsciously prayed that those gloves wouldn't be landing a punch on their faces anytime soon.

His shoulders were broad, arms no doubt toned. He had the standard athletic build. Broad shoulders, slim waist and light feet that could probably give a good few kicks as well.

Actually......Iris squinted and not for the first time, cursed her not sharpest eyesight- serves her younger self right for not listening to her parents, darn it.

Beside her, Eli was doing the same. Instantly her trained 'inventor sight' as she dubbed it noticed that some of Drakkon's gear and suit in general seemed.....what was the word?

DIY popped into her mind.

It was obvious everything was custom-made. Not high-tech advanced professional like super spies in the movies but not rookie either, if anything that were slightly above average which she'll give kudos for.

"Done staring?" he asked, obviously amused. "Wanna take a selfie? I'll let it slide since I can't upset fans after all."

Iris instantly labelled him cocky.....actually he was close to becoming arrogant.

His voice was.....off. It sounded a bit........interfered. It was a mixture of sorts. He sounded deep yet husky but there was a certain......charisma to it, a smoothness of sorts on an uneven rock.

'A voice modifier maybe?' Eli thought, remembering what her novels, movies and fanfictions have thought her. Beside her, Iris was questioning the same thing.

'If that's the case, this is gonna be tricky.' Iris thought. She was hoping that maybe they could've more or less deduced his age if they were to hear his voice. It wouldn't have done much but it would've narrowed down the list of possibilities a bit.

Welp, looks like that one was scratched off the list.

"How old are you?" the question slipped past Iris's mouth before she could stop herself. For once, she cursed her habit of speaking her thoughts aloud.

"A magician never reveals his secrets, much like a scientist never reveals his formula." Drakkon quipped back.

Iris frowned. Something was nagging at the back of her mind and that was making her feel even more frustrated, annoyed and downright anxious at the moment.

Why did Drakkon's voice sound.....familiar? Or did her Nana really damage her hearing this time?

Eli on the other hand felt like face palming at the absurd question Iris blurted out to the Phantom Thief. 'Oh sure, yeah, he'll totally let us know how old he is! Might as well ask him where he lives and goes to for tea!' she thought sarcastically.

Honestly, sometimes Iris's bluntness and habit of speaking her thoughts aloud gave her the headache in a situation.

"What are two girls like you two doing up here at this time anyways? Even I know it's pass your curfew." Drakkon asked, eyeing them up and down not in a perverted way but in a......curious way. Like he was merely observing them the same way they did to him earlier but less intense.

"We'll ask the questions here." Iris said, crossing her arms over her chest, straightening up to her full height- whatever good that'll do against someone much taller than her- and raising her chin up high enough to look not too overconfident but assertive like her father taught her- like what he practically drilled into her- and trying to use her most authoritative voice.

"Really? And what are you girls, junior detectives? Didn't know Detective Conan took on students." He said.

"Why are you stealing these treasures?" Iris asked.

Drakkon shrugged. "Why not?"

"Saying it's wrong or against the law isn't an answer to you, is it?" Iris said.

"Dui." He said, his pronunciation of the Chinese word fluent.

'Chinese perhaps?' Iris thought.

"Is there a goal to these heists? You trying to find a certain something?" Iris asked.

"Maybe, maybe not. What's the point of opening a box if you already know what's in it?" he said, again deflecting their question.

"Are you working for someone?" Eli asked.

"Pfft, as if." He said and she could hear the eye roll in his voice. "Malaysia is a free country, I assume you two at least know that much?" there was a teasing tone to his voice now that couldn't help but rile Iris up.

Was this criminal saying she was stupid?!

'Calm down, act professional.' She told herself. "You've stolen the treasure already? The keris and the Sultan crown thingy?" she asked.

"Yup." He said. Finally, a straight answer. "Wasn't too hard to get past the popo. What a bunch of cha thâus."

'Malaysian? Definitely, he knows Hokkien too but....what if he's faking it?' she thought.

"Can't argue with you there." Eli said. "So where is the treasure?" she didn't see it anywhere on him. In a hidden pocket of sorts? Somewhere in his utility belt? Under his jacket? Nah. The keris- maybe. But the Sultan's crown? That'd be tricky.

"A dragon never tells traveler's where he hoards all his goods." He said. Darn it, again with the cryptic lines.

They were gonna go back to square one and remain there if this continues.

"Aren't you two a bit young to be detectives?" Drakkon asked them and Iris wondered if he was quirking an eyebrow up underneath the helmet.

"Aren't you a bit old to go prancing around on rooftops in a spandex onesie?" Iris shot back, letting her sass show. This guy wanted to talk in circles? Fine. She'll play his game.

But she's bringing in her own firearms.

"It is not a spandex!" Drakkon said indignantly, losing his composure slightly- Iris couldn't help but take satisfaction in that small detail. "It's a suit." He said matter-of-factly like the sky is blue.

"So you go prancing around Malaysia in a spandex suit? Bruh, don't you have a life?" Eli asked deciding to shoot in her own shots. Drakkon wanted to play this game? Ok, but he'll have to deal with a tag team.

"I do." He said.

"And that is?" Iris and Eli prompted.

"Ooooh I see what you two are trying to do." He said and waved a finger at them. "Nice try but my lips are sealed." He mimed zipping his mouth over the mouthguard.

"If your lips were sealed I think the rate of headaches in the police department will go down drastically." Iris said.

"Agreed." Eli said.

"Hey my one liners are badass." He said. "Who doesn't love em?"

"Sure they are." They said dryly. "And I can name a few." Iris added, answering his second question.

"Don't make me go through all the cheesy one liners you've given the police, I think I might cringe..." Iris said dryly.

"Yeah I mean, do you go on Google and search for one-liners or something?" Eli added.

"Alright, we've been going on and on about the same topic. I don't wanna keep going, it's ma fan. Bottom line, my one liners are badass. And now.....here's my question. Have you figured out what my trick was for this evening?" He asked.

"Uh..." They both said scratching the nape of their necks. They haven't figured out the trick.

"Ah, you two are such dummies. I can't believe you haven't figured it out and I was kinda hoping you'd be smarter than the policemen down there. I was hoping for a challenge." He said a little teasingly, they could already picture the smirk under his mouthguard, eyes shining with mirth at their confusion.

"I'll give you a little hint." He said. 'Might as well give them a little push.' He thought. Who knows? Maybe he'll finally find a worthy rival to pit his wits against.

"What is it?" Iris asked warily, eyes narrowed slightly.

"It better not be more cryptic codes." Eli said. All of these mind games were giving her a headache. A nice straight answer would be nice once in a while.

But sadly that wasn't the case.

"But it is! Watch where the fool stands. That's all I'm gonna say." He said.

'What is this guy even talking about?!' Iris and Eli thought subconsciously at the same time.

"Watch where the fool stands...?" Iris thought out loud.

"Yes, don't need to repeat it twice." He said sounding a little bored. Iris and Eli just stared at the Phantom Thief in front of them. He was acting as if this was all some casual game– Oh wait, it probably is for him.

"Go on, guess. I have all the time in the world." He said.

Eli thought it over. Watch where the fool stands? Could he be referring to someone? Someone incompetent?

'The police?' she thought. But there were a lot  of them here......maybe it meant he was going to disguise himself as one again?

'Wait....fool.......dummies......' Eli thought remembering what Drakkon said earlier.

"Ah, you two are such dummies."

Was he referring to them?

"Wait......" Iris said. "By fool do you mean someone or something?"

No response.

They waited- maybe he was toying with them, leaving the thread dangling there so close yet out of their reach for them to pounce on again.

A full minute ticked by.

Still no response.

If anything, Drakkon just stood there, hands stuffed in his pockets and......he.....he wasn't moving....at all. He was as still as a statue. Not a peep or a twitch.

"Hello? Hey?" Eli asked. Then after gathering her courage, walked closer and waved a hand in front of his face. "Hello? Oi? Anyone home?"

Iris frowned. Ok, outright ignoring them like this was just rude! "Oi! Hello? Lu kun liao ah? " she asked. "Ok, this is just downright disrespectful!"

Still no response.

"Dummy a-hole." Iris muttered.

Then both of the girls froze.

Eli pointed at Iris. "Say that again....."

"Dummy......." Iris said.

Then slowly, the two turned back towards 'Drakkon' who just stood there unresponsive.

As still as a dummy.

Iris didn't know what came over her. She rushed forward, gripped the visor and mouthguard and yanked it off.

A dummy's head with a derpy face drawn on it stared back.

The visor and mouthguard that Iris was holding fell from the grasp of her now limp arms and dropped onto the floor. Beside her, Eli was just as shocked, mouth wide enough to stuff half a dozen apples in there with enough room left for a jawbreaker.

The dummy stared back with that same derpy expression.

All this time....that entire conversation, the sass they spouted....all of it was to a dummy?! He was never here?!? How did he...speak so humanlike?! It was just too perfect! The one-liner, the quips, none of them could've possibly been prepared beforehand! You'd have to actually partake in a conversation to think of them and say it out! It was common sense! Either that or it must've been a very good contraption to have masked the fake voice beneath the mask.

"How......" Iris said.

"Nani the hell?!" Eli said. "All this time, we were being one upped by a dummy?! An actual dummy?!"

Iris groaned and facepalmed. "God we were such idiots. How could we be so....so beng and naïve?" she said bitterly. Had Drakkon been messing with them like this all along? Boy, he must be getting a good laugh over this. The humiliation from this screw up made Iris want to just go home and stay curled up in bed reading fanfictions till her eyes bled.

Eli herself was doing no better. All this time they were so focused on trying to pull the strings into their direction that they missed the strings that were attached to them.

She then gazed at the dummy and remembered how fluidly it had moved. It had vaulted over the vent like a parkour expert. The movements didn't seem forced or stiff, it all seemed so natural. Must be some pretty advanced tech.

"Might as well make the most out of this." She said before taking her knife out.

"What are you gonna do? Threaten it with your knife? Mug it?" Iris asked sarcastically.

"I'm going to dissect it." Eli said.

"Oooooook, under different circumstances.....that would've just sounded wrong." Iris said.

Eli walked over and.....maybe it was the frustration at thinking they were so close only to have the carpet yanked out from under them; maybe it was the shame she felt at being toyed with like that; maybe it was anger at letting someone toy with her like that.

But that stupid derpy face which she would normally find hilarious seemed to mock her now.

She raised her knife and brought it down on the dummy's face then reared her hand back to stab it in between those stupid cross eyed eyes an-

"ELI WAIT!" Iris called stopping her. "I think there's something in there."

Eli blinked and looking up, realized that there was something stored inside the dummy's face.

Elina awkwardly touched the now deformed face of the dummy. Despite all the cotton and cloth, she could feel a solid object behind it. A new personality took over Elina's voice. She propped the dummy on a nearby wall to dissect it.

"There has to be some sort of....radio, or modulator, or even a... recording at best." Eli said, her voice now had that analytical undertone to it that made her sound a lot older than she usually acted.

Iris would be lying if she said she didn't like this mode of Eli's.

She felt the face for a proper entryway to cut without damaging the device. It could be used as evidence. The knife slowly sliced off some of the cloth and Eli ripped it off to reveal yet another layer.

"DUMMY" It had written on the face again in bold capital letters. Eli groaned "You're the dummy!" She sliced the face open again,

"No u ;P" it had written again.

What the– Either they were too predictable.....or Drakkon is just really good at reading people. Eli sliced another layer of the thin cloth off and realized the material was linen. No wonder the voice still didn't sound muffled through this many layers. 

Iris rummaged through her bag and took out a Velcro zip-lock plastic bag. "Here. You can put that recorder voice modulator whatever in this." She said. "Oh and here." Then she took out a pair of surgical gloves. "So you don't get your fingerprints all over the evidence."

Eli took the offered items awkwardly. "Wha- How- Why did you bring these?" she asked.

Iris shrugged. "Better safe than sorry. I brought them just in case- all detectives need these in a crime scene, duh." She said.

Another feature that Eli loved- and at the same time was a bit weirded out- of Iris is that sometimes she could seemingly pull out random objects from her bag or pocket that could....actually prove very useful in a situation.

Such as now.

"I'll let you do the honors." Eli said stepping to the side.

Iris smiled, albeit a bit tiredly- the strain of all this was heavier than she would admit....which she wouldn't- and reached up....

And ripped the last layer away to reveal the device they were looking for.

Iris felt a little bit of warmth emitting from the dummy's face. Vague but there.....weird....but she didn't mind it as she threw away  the last layer to reveal a device that looked like a modulator and a recording device mixed together.

"What the..?" Eli said and walked forward to retrieve it as Iris had no gloves on.

Iris opened the zip-lock bag and Eli wordlessly put it in.

"What is that?" Iris asked. It looked like an old school recorder but more.....complex.

Eli then suddenly looked like a light bulb went off in her brain.

"I see now!" She said

"See what?" Iris asked.

"I think I've got the code down. Look, you see this thing?" She picked it up and showed the back which had a very small speaker with an antenna connected to it.

"This component here sends waves of audio!" Eli said looking ecstatic.

"Like.....amplitudes and frequencies?" Iris said remembering their science lessons.

"Exactly! And it works the same way as how the dolphins communicate. I'll bet that means there's another counterpart of this device made for sending the frequencies to the receiving end, and it's with the real  Drakkon! Don't you get it Iris?! I'm guessing that the sender can also listen in on what's going on with the receiving end!" Eli explained

"So that's how he was able to speak with us without the trouble of using a prerecorded audio!" Iris said understanding it now.

"Yes! And if my guesses are correct...we should be able to use this as a tracking device for its counterpart. I mean, if Drakkon lost it he must've had a plan to get it back, these things aren't cheap on the market" Eli said now tinkering with some of the controls.

The one good thing Eli's financial situation? She had a rough image of most net worth of items. The device whirred a little and turned on.

"It's working....holy shit, its working!" Iris said, voice refilled with excitement she didn't even bother to hide.

"Nice! Now let's get this to the police and– ow!" Eli abruptly dropped the device on the ground as it sizzled and cracked with electric sparks. How?!?!

"Self-destruct. It must be a failsafe of some kind in case he got compromised." Iris said.

The device released a final fizzle before there was an electric snap like a taut string being whipped once and cut into two abruptly. Sparks fizzled out as though the device was coughing then......

A small trail of smoke wisped out lazily.

"Well that thing's fried." Iris said glumly. "Along with the evidence." Then she perked up. "Maybe you can salvage it?" she suggested hopefully.

Eli shook her head before she even finished. "Can't. The circuits are really fried. They're too damage to be salvageable." She poked it. "This thing is toast, period."

"We should at least take it to the police anyways. I mean...it's something." Iris persisted. Something no matter how small was better than nothing. "And we better tell them about our....'conversation' with 'Drakkon'."

Eli nodded in agreement.

And thus they began their descent down the stairs once again......

They stopped before they even reached the 4th floor.

Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, their bodies were once again feeling the strain of their earlier sprint catch up to them. Eli could've sworn she saw Iris's knees buckle and honestly, her knees were very close to doing the same.

"Let's....take it slo- woah!" Iris who had leaned against a nearby door nearly face planted onto the floor as the door opened.

To reveal an elevator.

A perfectly working in order elevator.

The two girls just stared at it.

Then glanced at each other.

Then acknowledged their aching, burning, killing them legs that they gained from their desperate sprint up all the effin floors to 'foil' Drakkon only to end up talking to a literal dummy.........

Eli wasn't gonna have it. She was already tired enough with her sleep deprivation, and Drakkon's cryptic messages, and everything, heck even life in general at this point. She released a roar of frustration and banged the steel metal doors and went on a classic rant, Asian style.

"Why you ah?!? STUPID LIFT!! JUST NOW WE RUN, RUN, RUN FOR WHAT AH?! THE MOMENT I–" The rant was cut short with Iris covering Eli's mouth.

"Enough with the elevator harassing. I just wanna go down...." Iris was too tired to bother anymore. She was tired with living altogether.

She just wanted sleep. Yes, sleep. They'd go to the police, hand over the 'evidence', answer whatever questions they have, rendezvous with Kim, sleep- she hope Kim found themselves a motel or something, she didn't care as long as it was decently clean and had a bed and toilet- then go home and face the consequences.

Iris felt a bit better with a to do list in her mind now.

Eli was not so happy with having to face her parents' wrath when she would inevitably return. It gnawed at the back of her head like a mosquito that could never be swatted but she could care less. The only thing she could focus on was getting the evidence to the police and staying awake.

Ding!

The lift was here? Already? Wait, when did she press the button? Or was it Iris? And what was that annoying sound in her head-

"Negaraku~" The speakers installed within the elevator sang.

As patriotic as they were.......they were very tempted to tell the song to shut up.

Iris shifted from one foot to the other in an attempt to relieve the ache, even if it was only for a short while. Eli was leaning against the wall, her head against the wall which suddenly seemed pretty comfortable. She yawned and Iris's yawn joined in too. Huh, yawning is contagious.

Just when they dragged their feet to the entrance they were stopped by a microphone being shoved into their faces. The media?! What would they want from them?! They couldn't think that they were possibly working with Drakkon right..........right?! That's way too far-fetched even for them!

Questions were being shot left and right, some in English, some in Chinese, some in Malay and some in Hokkien. They were being blabbered out so fast by so many people it all just merged into one entity that spoke in a voice of thousands of people at once and oh god, it was overwhelming.

The flashes from the cameras and the insistent questions weren't easing the headaches the two of them were feeling. They weren't even giving them time to answer one question before they moved on to the next!

'What's the point in asking if you won't even let us answer?!' Iris thought in annoyance, brows furrowed into a scowl. "Slow down!" her voice was drowned out by the voices of hundred others. "SLOW DOWN! ONE AT A TIME!" she tried again, louder this time.

It was like trying to get blood from a stone.

"WE DON'T KNOW, OK?!" Eli blurted out.

Silence.

For ten blissful seconds.....silence.

But alas, all good things but come to an end.

Chaos erupted once again.

"Come on, ah-moi ! You can't not know! We all saw the footage!" A reporter said.

"I'm telling you, we don't know!!!" Eli said again in frustration.

"Wait....WHAT FOOTAGE?!" Iris asked.

"The security footage from the security cameras!" The reporter said.

Of course! How could they forget? Of course there was gonna be security cameras on the rooftop! One of the security guard must've leaked this out to the press.

"Move aside, MOVE ASIDE!" A squad of police officers made their way through the crowd, some having enough sense to part way for them at least.

For once, the two girls have never felt so relieved to see the police. "Thank god." Iris muttered under her breath.

Eli herself relaxed. The constriction in her chest that she wasn't even aware of faded and it felt as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders now that the attention had died down a bit.

The squad of police officers ushered them off to a closed off area by the entrance. A row of traffic cones and policemen on guard separated them away from the mob of reporters.

"Finally." Eli sighed in relief as she leaned against the entrance wall. Then Iris felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Oi, are you okay to give your testimony?" Said a middle aged police man-the same one who was trying to contain the huge crowd outside.

"Wait, where's Drakkon? The real one." Eli asked. 

The policeman clicked his tongue. "Our squads checked the whole perimeter. No Drakkon. He got away again." he said looking a little disappointed. "But we'll get him next time" Kudos for trying to stay positive.

"Isn't that what they all say?" Iris said bluntly earning a jab in the ribs by Eli. Sometimes her bluntness wasn't the most tactful.

"You two ok?" another police officer- the one who told the mob to move aside- asked, guiding them to two plastic stools to sit on, allowing them to catch their breath.

"We're fine." They both said. At least this one seemed nicer.

The police officer smiled, his eyes crinkling slightly. They noticed a black ponytail peeking out from under his cap that matched his black eyes.

"You two can call me Aiman. Just Aiman is fine. I'm sorry to push you two after just getting away from the mob but....do you mind if I ask you two some questions?" he asked.

"Can I ask one first?" Iris asked, raising her hand as though she were a student.

"Sure." He said.

"Where were you when we were talking to Drakkon?" Iris asked, not bothering to sugarcoat as usual.

"Excuse me?" Aiman asked.

"If you were aware of what we were doing, why didn't the adults come handle it?" Iris asked. "No offence to how you handle your jobs or anything but.....shouldn't you guys have taken action? I mean...we're still minors you know." She added so she didn't sound too impolite.

Regardless, Eli immediately saw that Aiman was a bit taken aback by that statement and jabbed Iris in the ribs slightly. "Sorry officer, my friend here is just uh....disoriented. Drakkon really came in and baffled us, isn't that right Iris?"

"Isn't that what he always does?" Iris asked. "But seriously....where were you guys?" she asked.

"Actually that's the thing......" he bit his lip then looked left and right to make sure no one was hovering too close to take note of what he was about to say to them. Then leaned forward and whispered to them.

"The thing is.....we were chasing after another Drakkon." He said.

"Another Drakkon?" the two girls asked.

"Oh, another dummy?" Iris asked.

Aiman nodded. "And as you can guess........." he spread his arms out finishing his sentence.

"We only found out about the stunt you two pulled when we sent another squad to sweep the perimeter again. By then well......it was pretty pointless.

"And after what you two went through, the chief said he didn't want to stress you two out. So we waited for you two to take your time and come down by yourselves." He finished explaining.

That........made sense Eli realized. A squad of police officers stampeding up onto the roof definitely wouldn't have helped much.

"So......what now?" Eli asked.

"Welp, according to protocol we'll have to take the two of you in for questioning, do you have a guardian? Wait....." He turned to look around the area. "Where are your parents?"

Uh oh......

"It's me! Yeah, I'm their babysitter." A familiar voice piped up from the crowd outside. They walked through the entrance and lo and behold, it was Kim. Thank God.

Not the first time the two girls were tempted to hug her and thank her for once again pulling them out of the fire.

"Ah, I see. You should really keep an eye on these two. Now if you don't mind, I need these two girls parent's number. They must know." Aiman said following protocol.

"Well uh.....you see, officer..." Kim started off awkwardly.

"We......kind of snuck off." Iris said looking a little bit guilty.

"But! We told them." Eli added.

"Yeah and they gave us the ok." Iris quickly chimed in.

Kim nodded. "And they're parents are overseas. They're busy and....well....I doubt you'll be able to contact them with the time zones and all. I've tried but....voicemail." she said and even showed them her cell for proof.

"Oh...I see. Well then, you'll have to do for now. Now then, about those questions....." he said.

"Let's do it." Iris said. 'Might as well get it over and done with.'

Beside her, Eli nodded.

And thus, he asked them all sorts of questions. He didn't leave a single stone unturned- possible height, voice, age, nationality- anything really but....there was only so much the two girls could offer considering how cryptic he had been. He even asked them trivial questions like- did he have any weird habits- to bizarre things like- did he mention anything he does when he's bored- which was....kinda pointless.

It's not like they had a chat over teh tarik and kopi.

"Ok, I guess that's all." He said, snapping his notebook shut. "Thanks for the help."

"You're welcome." Iris replied simply.

"No problem." Eli said, glad that was over with.

"I guess this is where we part ways. Also, here's some advice. Take it from a cop. Next time, don't look at the sun, look at the moon. That's where the real light shines when it's the darkest of times." He said.

They blinked. They were half-expecting him to nag them along the lines of not trying to play hero or do something reckless like that and call for help next time.

Instead he was giving them some kinda......poetic quote?

"Ooooook?" they both said, deciding to just roll with it.

He gave them both a mysterious smile that.....that seemed, or rather, an aura that felt....familiar......

Or their fatigue was just getting to them.

Then Aiman tipped his police cap at them and walked off.

"I need sleep." Iris said.

"Me too." Eli said, her eyelids felt so. Frickin. Heavy.

"I think I've also had my fair share of excitement." Kim said, taking off her hairband that suddenly felt too tight. "Alright, enough excitement for tonight. Let's wrap things up and go home" she said as she rubbed her eyes and turned heel towards the car.

"Wait! I really gotta go now" Iris said.

"AGAIN?!" Eli cried out in frustration.

"Well I've been holding it in for god knows how long!!" It was true, they didn't really get to use the bathroom while they were chasing after Drakkon. And she wasn't exactly calm when they were conversing with a literal Phantom Thief.

"Hurry up, ok?" Kim told her. "We better not linger around too long." It was true. Already, the sea of humans were now reduced to puddles now that the excitement was over.

"Can you come with me?" Iris asked Eli. It sounded childish but.......ok, she'll admit that she was honestly a bit scared at the prospect of wandering off alone.

Eli softened a bit. She knew Iris, despite her calm aloof demeanor was reluctant to venture on her own in unfamiliar territory. "Ok lah, fine." She said. "Make it quick."

And so they both made their way through the crowd- which was a lot easier now, wow people do come and go fast- and made their way to the toilets.

Again, it was clearly unisexual and it was.....surprisingly decent. Not as pristine and clean as the one in the palace with its plastic doors and flimsy plastic slide in locks but still overall clean.

Could've been worse.

"Ok, good to go." Iris said, her business now taken care of and wiping her hands dry on her hoodie after washing them.

"Yeah...." Eli said stifling a yawn.

Then they heard it again.

A thump as though someone was kicking a door and a muffled shout.

Their eyes slowly trailed towards the stall opposite theirs.

Oh god, why? Not again.

.......maybe they were asleep and dreaming already?

Another 'thump' echoing in the empty toilet and an even louder muffled cry told them no.

Eli gestured to the door. "Go, you do the honors." she yawned again and rubbed her eyes. "You did it last time." She said drowsily.

"Fine, fine" Iris said while holding back a yawn. It seemed like kicking down toilet doors was just a habit now. A very weird habit that should be considered unnatural. But hey, screw what's natural when it comes to stuff like this. Iris reared her leg back and kicked the door down......again.

'Damn I still feel badass when doing it though.' Iris mused. Oh if only Ian and her taekwondo master could see her now.

And sitting there in the cubicle in the same tied up and gagged position they saw not too long ago was another man.

'Is being tied up in the toilet a trend now?' they thought.

Eli ripped the duct tape off the man and as soon as his mouth was free, he didn't hesitate to get to the point. Well at least this one wasn't drugged.

"Drakkon! Drakkon is disguised as me! My name is Aiman! I'm a police officer an-" their eyes widened at the last part.

"WHAT?!" they exclaimed.

"You're Aiman?!" Iris asked. She looked closer. Black hair in a ponytail....black eyes..........her eyes widened.

"But you just questioned us." She said numbly.

"Hello, I think I've been in here for more than an hour!" Aiman- the real one told her.

"Oh my god." Eli said. "Oh my freaking god." She ran a hair through her already frizzy curls. "Don't you see, Iris?! We were played again. The Aiman outside is  DRAKKON!" Eli yelled completely ignoring the officer tied up on the toilet seat.

"What?!?! Drakkon was out there?!" Aiman asked eyes wide.

"Yeah. He must've disguised himself as you and questioned us!" Iris said matching the dots together. "Damn it, he was right under our noses....again!" she hissed, frustrated at being played twice.

As if to further mock both of them, they heard someone yell as a car screeched away at breakneck speed.

A police car.

"But why.....why would he question is instead of leaving the crime scene?" Eli said now curious.

"Ask later, chase now!" Aiman yelled.

That snapped the two girl's out of their thinking stupor.

"Right!" and with renewed energy they sprinted out of the toilets.........

Then doubled back to grab the tied up Aiman.

"STOP AIMAN!" Iris yelled.

"IT'S DRAKKON!" Eli yelled back.

Too late. Once again, Drakkon was two steps ahead- or rather, a couple kilometers ahead having sped off in the police car already.

The other real remaining police officers went into action. Orders were barked and half a dozen or so scrambled into their cars and frantically pushed pedal to the metal as they attempted to chase after Drakkon.

'Too late lah.' Iris thought.

Two paramedics came and helped bring a still slightly disoriented Aiman to a cot to sit on. They draped a blanket around his shoulders and offered him a cup of water which he gratefully sipped from.

Kim rushed over. "What happened?! I leave you two for 5 minutes and this happens?!" she asked suddenly awake, all drowsiness gone.

"One word, Drakkon." Eli said.

"Again." Iris muttered. "He disguised himself as Aiman, the one who questioned us."

Kim blinked. "Holy shit......he was right in front of us this whole time?!" she asked.

"Yeah." Iris muttered then her shoulders drooped as the adrenaline left. "Not like we can do anything about it now."

"There is something we can do actually." Eli said. "Sleep." She yawned as the exhaustion came back to her.

Kim just nodded. "God, Ian will love to hear about this." She said running a hand through her hair.

Everything became a blurr after that. At that point, the two girls were tethering between consciousness and unconsciousness as Kim ushered them back to the car.

Iris jolted as the car's engine rumbled and they drove off. Eli's head bumped onto the roof when they went over the bump briefly waking her up before she went back to nodding off.

Iris glanced out the window and saw a lone man riding down the road alone on his bicycle-

Wait..........

She jolted awake and her eyes widened. Oh crap.

"Oh my god....oh my god how could we forget?!" she hissed. She groaned and buried her face into her hands. Was fate that deadset on throwing curveballs at her tonight?!

"Wha is it?" Eli asked sleepily.

"What's wrong? What did you forget?" Kim asked, more alert.

Iris gave them both long-suffering looks.

"Our bikes.....we just left out bikes at the station." She said. "We didn't even lock them."

Eli's eyes widened as well as it hit her that she too forgot all about it.

".......fu$k." she said.

One curveball after another. Oh god, was some peace too much to ask for?! Some reprieve?! Some effin sleep?!

The two girls groaned once again and slouched down their seats further.

Well this is definitely one night to remember.