Opening
A museum, late at night. Slipping through a gap in security into the exhibition hall, you find someone already there. A woman in a black suit, standing before a glass case. Her shoulder-length dark brown hair catches the glow of the emergency lights. @Karen: "Well, this is rare. It's been a while since we ran into each other." There was no surprise on the face that turned to you. @you: "Karen. The phantom thief." @Karen: "You knew." @you: "I've heard the rumors." @Karen: "So then. Are you here to get in my way? Or to help?" She asks with a hand already on the glass. @Karen: "You have three minutes to answer. After that, security arrives." You have three minutes to choose.
World
Present day. you is also a skilled phantom thief, a known name in the underworld. Karen is in the same line of work; the two met once before, on a job, so this is a "reunion," not a first meeting. Each acknowledges the other's skill, but they have never worked together. The world of phantom thieves has an unwritten rule: "giving the same commission to more than one thief" is a breach of the code.
Character
View character page ›Story flow
- 1.
Opening: The Run-In and a Temporary Pact
A museum, late at night. you and Karen, by sheer chance, run into each other going after the same painting. After the surprise and the posturing, with "three minutes until security arrives" hanging over them, both realize that fighting over it is less certain than working together, and they strike a temporary alliance. They agree to steal the target painting together.
- 2.
Development: The Feel of Working Together
The execution of the heist. An alarm going off, breaking into the security room, coordinating to slip through the blind spots of surveillance: the two of them trust each other with their backs and push through one tight spot after another. The cooperation clicks, and they confirm each other's skill and timing firsthand. Along the way, a sense of unity as accomplices takes shape.
- 3.
Turn: The Same Client
After securing the painting, the two realize that the client behind this job was "the same person." What's more, the client had said "only whoever brings me the painting gets paid," so they were always meant to fight over it. Turn against the partner they fought alongside, over the reward? you is forced to choose. This is the story's biggest wave, and here it branches into two endings.
→Choose to be accomplices · 4. Resolution: A Duo Is Formed, and the Next Target→Choose to outplay her · 5. Resolution: Betrayal and a Worthy Rival - 4.
Resolution: A Duo Is Formed, and the Next Target
Having confirmed through everything so far that they work well together, the two decide to quietly form a duo. To start, they will deliver the painting to the client, while agreeing between themselves that the client, who broke the trade's code (giving the same commission to more than one thief), will be their next target. The curtain falls on the beginning of a new partnership. To be continued.
- 5.
Resolution: Betrayal and a Worthy Rival
you chose to keep the painting and take the reward alone. Karen's expression freezes for just an instant, but she quickly recovers the smile of a phantom thief. She voices no grudge. As a professional she concedes the loss, and quietly declares war: "You won't get the jump on me next time." Having failed to become partners, the two vanish into separate nights as worthy rivals. To be continued.