"But why do you want us?"  Addy asked the question that was on all your minds:  why did they want you?  You were all practically infamous after the Battle of the Bands incident.  And now this guy wanted you to do some "missions" as he called them.  Why not hire other professionals?

"And why not get some actual professionals?"  Arry must have reading your mind.  Spooky.

"Girls, you know you're more than capable.  That heist in '87?  Textbook!  You set a standard back then.  And now that I know more about you, I know no other group can get this done.  So what do you say?"  His voice was only slightly above begging.

"No!"  Adagio and Aria answered at the same time, before looking at you; their faces asking why you didn't say anything.  And why didn't you?  Well, for one thing, it was fun stealing all those years ago.  And, second, you all got off with a fair bit of dinero.  But you also came close to getting caught, and with your rap sheet, you all had to quit.

You looked at the girls and shrugged, not sure what to say.  But the guy over the online call did.  "Fine, I didn't want to put my ace out so soon, but you forced my hand.  I happen to know where you can find some more of that pony magic."

A stunned silence fell over you, Adagio, and Aria.  When your gems were destroyed, you all assumed that this was it, just wait around for age to catch up with you.  You were just going to live off the small fortune you had all accumulated over the years.

But here this guy was offering you the one thing you wanted, the one thing you needed.  And you were soo excited!  "I'm in!"  More stunned silence.  "What?"

"Awesome, sounds like one of you is onboard.  What about you two?"

"We-we call you right back."  Adagio immediately quit the Skype call.  "What the fuck Sonata?  You can't just agree to some stranger, I repeat STRANGER, who wants us to risk our now mortal lives for some cash!  Seriously, what are you thinking?"  

"I-I just, I..."  You can't cry, you mustn't cry, but Adagio was being too mean.  "W-we have to-to try something."  You could feel the tears starting to trickle down.  "I-I DON'T WANT TO DIE IN THIS WORLD!"  Damn, you were full on bawling now.  Closing your eyes wasn't slowing it down, but at least you didn't have to watch Arry or Addy see you cry.

But then you felt a tightness around you.  Was this a hug?  Peeking through nearly closed eyelids, you were surprised to see Aria was the one hugging you.  And you had always thought she was so bad, like literally the worst.

"Shhh, Sonata, it's going to be okay," she whispered.  "We're going to figure this out.  Right, Adagio?"  She was trying so hard to sound brave, but you knew her well enough to tell she was just as scared as you were.

"I, uh, w-we..."  She didn't know what to say.  You could feel more tears begin to swell.  "Nonono, Sonata, please.  Look, we'll see how much this guy knows, and then take it from him.  We pull one, two heists at most, but the important thing is finding our immorality.  Ok?  No more crying?"  Adagio looked at you with her own puppy-dog eyes:  soft and wanting, but unaccepting of anything less.

You let out a sniffle, followed by nodding your head.  Soon, you found yourself in the middle of a large group hug.  Maybe life as criminals wouldn't be so bad.

"That is fantastic ladies."  The guy's voice was still coming from the speakers.

"Hey!  I thought I closed the call!"

"Sorry that you didn't, but I do look forward to working with you.  Meet me in one week at the address in chat.  And don't worry, my intel on the magic is good."  

"Wait, what do we call you?  Your name says Anonymous.  And what do we need to bring?"

"Call me Anon for short.  And just make sure you don't bring any phones or anything that can be traced.  Gotta go."  And with that came the sound of a Skype call ending.

"Sooo, you 'closed' the call, huh?"  Aria asked cockily.

"I did!  Or at least ... I..."  Addy went to the computer and saw she only minimized it.  "But...the red X..."  Aria was about to say something more, but I intervened for Addagio's sake.

"It's alright.  We're going to be alright.  Who cares if he heard, at least he have something.  How about I make us dinner?  Tacos?"  That always cheered you up.

  1 Week Later

You all drove to the address, 304 Tirek Ave, in Aria's old Thunderbird.  The place didn't look at all special, just another run down warehouse in the ancient industrial area.  You worried that some deranged, murderous homeless person would burst out and attack all of you for your pocket change and socks (or maybe that was the horror movie you saw last night).

"This is where we're supposed to go?"  Aria scoffed.  "You sure you copied it down right?"

"Look at the area, they all pretty much look the same,"  Addy retorted.  "And this only road named Tirek.  So unless you think we should bo back and 'double check', pull up here and let's check this place out."

Arry only sighed before parking the car.  You all got out at the same time making sure to lock the doors, and soon as you were out, you felt the cold wind brush between your legs.  You cursed yourself for choosing a skirt instead of something more practical.

You heard a vibration coming from nearby.  But you all made sure (well, Addy and Arry made sure) that none of you had your phones.  Following the sound, you all walk up to a trash can that is near overflowing.  "Ewewewew!"  So disgusting!

"Relax, Sonata.  Sometimes you are the worst."  Aria grabbed the lid and threw it to the side.  Inside were clown masks, broken drills, and a bunch if fast-food cartons.  Huh, why did they have it in the first place?  You began digging for a cool mask, forgetting how icky it was just moments ago while Adagio and Aria grabbed the phone taped to the lid.

"Hey there again, Dazzlings.  Nice weather we're having."  You weren't paying full attention; trying on masks was fun.  "I'm not seeing any phone signals other this one, so that's good."

"Why the hell are we out here?"  Aria, getting straight to the point.

"Great question!  If you'll just step...this...way..."  As he said the last part, you looked out of your can of swag and saw the large doors opening.  "I have all the answers inside.  And Sonata, leave the masks there, I got better ones for you three."

"Better ones?  What are we waitng for?"  Anon just chuckled before ending the call as you led the girls inside.

Their was rusty stench to the place; metal scrap thrown around everywhere.  The lights were dim and not placed nearly often enough to keep the dark out.  Where would you put masks in a place like this?

As the back of the building approached, a single hallway was lit up.  "I think we should head this way," you said, trying to project confidence instead of the fear this was where the cannibal hobos lived (and also they're cannibals).

The hallway led to a single room that looked like a apartment being furnished.  Their was a couch covered in plastic wrap, a coffee table, even an old CRT tv; the place was almost unremarkable except for the large statue in the middle of the room.  You also noticed as you entered the cameras that were in here looked to be active; they followed your movements essentially.  But before you could say something, the phone vibrated.

Adagio put the phone on speaker.  "Welcome to home base.  I know it doesn't look like much, but that's only part of the charm.  Now, I nee-"

"Woah, woah, woah.  THIS is home base?  How are we going to rob anyone if we can't even afford furniture?"  Aria huffed, the anger clearly visible in her eyes.

"If you would let me finish.  *cough* Now, please grab those masks Sonata is carrying.  Shit!  I shouldn't have used your name.  Damn, I have even thought about nicknames.  We'll have to get to that later.  Anyway, put those masks on the arms and, Sonata, put your mask on the face; make sure it is secured tightly."

Not understanding why, but not about to question it, you obeyed, taking yours off and putting it on the face.  Arry and Addy already limply hung theirs off the hands.  "Almost got it."  Reaching for the back fastner, you finally squeeze the mask on.

Suddenly the another vibration can be heard, but not from the phone.  You realize just a bit too slowly that it is the floor under the statue.  As the ground moved, so did the statue, but you, being unable to react fast enough, fell down on to a series of steps.  *Thud, thud, thud*

"Oh shit!  Sonata?!  Are you alright?"  It was nice of Adagio to ask, you thought.  If you didn't have this nasty headache or blood dripping down your face, you probably would have responded with a yes.  Instead, you merely shook your head.  "Stay right there, we're coming down!"

"Well fuck, this wasn't supposed to happen."  You could hear Anon's voice, but couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from.

"You think?"  And that was Aria...or maybe Adagio?  Things were getting a little fuzzy.

"Don't worry,I have something that will hopefully patch her back together.  Just go down the corr..."  Everything was going black.  The last thing you felt was someone lifting you.

When you came to, you saw you were in some sort of hospital bed.  The room itself didn't look like one, though, with a concrete floor, no cupboards, and a sofa that held a sleeping Aria and Adagio.  You wanted to wake them up, show that you were awake, but thought better of it.  But that raised the question:  why were you asleep?

You tried to remember the last thing that happened.  It had something to do with... the statue!  Duh!  But wait, you fell off it, or rather, fell down because of it.  Was that right?  Ugh, this thinking was hurting your head.

Well you were up now, so checking out the place didn't seem like a bad idea.  Unlike other hospitals you had seen, you were left with your normal clothes on, so no embarrassing linens for you, but as you stepped outside the room, you figured this was never meant to be a hospital.

This new hallway was much narrower than the other one.  Also made of concrete, it gave off a cold tone, unlike the sanitary white used in the doctor's office that gave a ... actually that also felt kind of hollow.  But the hallway was also lit up by wires with lights hanging from them, very un-hospital like.

The next door room towards a turn in the hallway was a weird room.  It had tons of safes from many generations.  You remembered how Adagio would crack them open, putting her ear next to it as she fiddled with the dial.  But you all gave up on that life a century ago, so these new safes looked amazing.  You weren't sure Addy would unlock these ones.

But why were they here?  Was this a lame bank-hospital?  And if so, why would the others bring you here?  These were questions that would be better left to Adagio; you wanted to be smart enough to answer, but you also didn't want to take her place.  From what it looked like, being a leader was hard.

"Thank God!  You're awake!"  Gahhhh!  Anon?  Where was...how did he...were you still inside the warehouse?  "Where are the others?  Still asleep?  Y-yeah, looks like they're napping on the couch.  Uhh...you looked confused Sonata.  You okay?"

You were lost, confused, and just unsure what was happening.  "I...what's going on?  Where are we and why can I hear you?"  You had more, but getting through the basic ones first sounded smarter.

"Alright, well, you kinda fell down the stairs.  Nasty concussion, blood coming from a gash.  That was tw-no three, but then-I'm going to say one-and-a-half days ago."  One-and-a-half DAYS?!  You thought you were about to pass out again.  "So now you are in the basement, a.k.a. homebase.  Nice place, amiright?"

This was all the worst!  Breaking your head was bad, but now you had moved into the crummy place?  The old place was so nice, it even had a good taco bell.  What were the employees going to think?!  Now you were the worst and you didn't even want to move and now Anon...and Arry...and....  You were getting light-headed again.

"Whoa, maybe you should head back to bed.  You're looking a little woozy."  Your response was to sink to your knees, trying to stop the room from spinning.

"But I... I liked our... old home."  You felt like a crybaby.  Maybe you were still sensitive after the battle of the bands.

"Your old home?  I... you... you thought you were moving in?  I-I can't.  Look, just wait for Caldo and Iratus to wake-up, they'll explain everything.  Oh yeah, those are Adagio and Aria's nicknames.  You'll get yours, but only after you get some more rest."

You wanted to argue more, making sure that you get your point across, but the dizziness was getting worse.  You slowly and carefully made your way back onto the bed; Arry and Addy sleeping soundly on the couch (their snoring filling the room).  You felt tiredness grip you and soon even you fell asleep.



*BZZZZZT*  You, Adagio, and Aria were all awoken by what sounded like police siren played through a megaphone.  "I'm up!  I'm up!  I only wanted the tacos!"  Your dream of breaking into Fort Taco Knox ended abruptly with the cops surrounding you.  One look around the room, however, reminded you that you were in the basement of a shitty warehouse that you didn't want to move into.

"What the fuck?  Oh shit!  Sonata!  Y-you're all right!"  Aria had sounded much more angry until she realized you were awake.  "Anon, what's happening?  Why didn't you wake me and Adagio sooner?"  Oh yeah!  Anon.  You were going to give him a piece of your mind...once Adagio and Aria did.

"Sorry, girls.  We just got our first contract, and since you are already master criminals, it should be a cinch.  And I get to see you in action.  So get your gear, and head to the heist room."

"The heist room?" you asked, unsure where you were again.

"Don't worry about it, just answer me this:  how long have you been awake?" Adagio Asked, sounding as worried and grumpy as Aria.

"Uhh, if today is today, then yesterday while you Aria slept.  Unless we went into deep sleeps again, in which case then I woke up day-"

Adagio held up her hand to silence you.  "We got it.  I-I'm just glad you're feeling better.  You are feeling better, right?  No side-eff... no other problems?"

"I think so.  I did get dizzy when I tried walking around, so I went back and slept more."

"Hmmm..."  Addy was thinking about something, but you couldn't let Anon wait anymore; you didn't want him to use the alarm again.

After quickly getting undressed out of the hospital gown and into your skirt, bracelets and surprisingly laundered vest , you three head down the hallway.  Everything was still ... unusual?  That was the best word to describe it.  Yester- you mean two days ago, you were so excited, but now a pit of nervousness settled in your stomach.  You wanted so badly to be immortal ... actually, yeah, you were doing this for immortality, a way back to normalcy; any hardship was worth that.

You went past the corner you made it to last time before getting dizzy.  Addy seemed to know where to go.  Weird.  "Soooooo, what did I miss while I was out?" you asked innocently enough.

Adagio looked at you, thinking, before replying, "Well, do you remember why you passed out?"

"I think I fell off a statue?"  You moved your hand to your head out of reflex.

"Right.  So we freak... uh, panicked about your condition (you were bleeding from your head), but Aria reacted best by going down and dragging you up."

You looked to Aria.  Your eyes met before she looked away.  "Aw, thanks, Aria."

"Whatever.  You're still the worst...but you're welcome."  Aria was sweet once you got through her mean exterior.

"Anyway, Anon told us where to take you, and told us that we had to do some emergency surgery.  He walked us through it, even though he sounded like he was reading from Google.  But then..."  Adagio paused, unusual since she usually is so good with words.