"It's the Phantom Thief! Aaaaah!"
One startled cry sent the rest scrambling away, their faces pale with terror.
Geppetto's face turned ashen. "Don't run! If you run, what about my exhibition? My investments—"
"Forget the investments, boss!" his men dragged him away, fearing not just financial ruin but death if they stayed.
The Phantom Thief White Cat's nefarious deeds were known to all.
Only Focalors applauded.
"What a splendid performance! I never imagined you'd play a puppet." She beamed.
Clorinde glanced at Focalors, realizing her temperament was strikingly similar to the former Furina's... She didn't actually believe the Phantom Thief White Cat would attack them, but as a guard, she had to fulfill her duty. Thus, she stepped protectively in front of Focalors.
"Long time no see, Miss Focalors, Miss Clorinde, and..."
"Miss Captain," Luna said with a smile.
Chevreuse remained expressionless. "Return the treasure."
Luna held up the Puppet Heart.
It was a marvel of engineering—though mechanical, it perfectly simulated the pulsing of a real heart. Plates of its casing unfurled with each beat, revealing the energy conduits within.
"And what if I refuse?" she asked with a sly smile.
"...?"
Chevreuse fell uncharacteristically silent.
"Captain?" Turenna and the other team members looked at her, wondering why she was acting so strangely today.
"Then I'll take it back by force."
It doesn't have to be done by hand, after all, we have an agreement, Luna thought.
She snapped her fingers, storing the treasure in her Storage Space, then brandished her Hydro Sword.
Bang, bang, bang, bang— The Special Task Force's rifles spat Pyro, but every bullet was effortlessly deflected, slashed, and devoured by the Hydro sword energy.
Has she grown even stronger? Chevreuse narrowed her eyes.
"Come and chase me, Miss Captain," Luna said with a curtsy.
Now, make your choice.
Luna transformed into a Waterbird and soared into the moonlit sky. As the Special Task Force members prepared to give chase, Chevreuse raised a hand to stop them.
"Captain?"
Chevreuse murmured, "I'll handle this myself."
The members exchanged puzzled glances.
"Yes, Captain!"
Though they didn't understand Chevreuse's intentions, they trusted her implicitly.
Their reasoning was simple: Chevreuse embodied their very definition of "justice" and would never make the wrong decision.
Without looking back, Chevreuse raced after the retreating figure under the moonlit night.
Finally, she entered a hall.
"You've arrived, my dear Miss Captain."
Luna sat perched on a raised platform, one leg crossed, twirling the Puppet Heart—the treasure she had just obtained—in her hand. The ethereal moonlight filtering through the stained-glass windows bathed her face in a soft, otherworldly glow.
Chevreuse strode deliberately past rows of long benches until she stood before Luna.
"Phantom Thief White Cat... no, Phantom Thief Luna."
Luna smiled faintly and removed her mask.
"Aren't you going to point your gun at me?"
"If it would make a difference, I would."
Chevreuse glanced around the small chapel. Though Fontainians didn't frequent churches for prayer as often as the Mondstadters—after all, their God resided in the Opera House—just as Inazuma had shrines and Liyue had temples, Fontaine naturally possessed churches.
"Have you come to confess your sins?" Chevreuse asked coldly.
"I never regret my actions, so I have no need for confession."
Nor did she care about right or wrong.
Luna let the Puppet Heart vanish into her Storage Space, then leaned forward, resting her chin in her palm.
"But I eagerly await Miss Chevreuse's judgment."
"..."
Chevreuse fell silent.
Luna was slightly surprised by her reaction, but it only piqued her interest further. "Miss Chevreuse, after discovering my true identity, you didn't immediately try to capture me. Instead, you waited until this very night to act. Why?"
Though I wouldn't have let her capture me easily, of course.
"I know everything you've done," Chevreuse finally spoke.
"For example?"
"Everything you did for Furina and Focalors—the truth behind stealing the Archons' power, deceiving the world, and the reasons for stealing the truth."
Luna's eyes softened as she nodded slightly. "It seems Miss Chevreuse is truly meticulous."
"Because you speak only lies."
"I won't deny that, but sometimes lies are gentler than the truth, don't you think?"
Luna hopped down from the pedestal and strolled leisurely toward Chevreuse.
"Since you know everything, Miss Chevreuse, how will you judge me?"
Guilty or innocent?
Chief Justice Neuvillette hadn't pursued charges for her crimes this time. What did Captain Chevreuse of the Special Task Force think?
Luna showed no signs of tension or fear, only curiosity and intense focus.
The moment of decision had arrived.
Chevreuse stared directly at Luna. "You..."
"Guilty."
"Multiple thefts of valuable assets, property damage, noise pollution, violent resistance to cooperation, disrupting public order, threatening innocent civilians, enacting vigilante justice, stealing divine power, dropping Announcement Letters from the city's heights..."
Luna didn't interrupt, nodding repeatedly.
Chevreuse had remembered every single crime Luna had committed—down to the exact date, actions, and even words spoken.
It went without saying that the Court of Justice would keep detailed records of the case. But for Chevreuse to recall everything so clearly, she must have reviewed the files countless times.
"Such weighty affection, Miss Captain," Luna quipped with a smile.
Chevreuse ignored her and continued.
"Harassing the Captain of the Special Task Force, using your half-eaten fries to test me, stealing my first kiss..." Chevreuse's voice dropped, sounding almost like a complaint.
Wait, does this sound like she's complaining?
"But at the same time..."
Chevreuse began to list them off: "You dismantled the Sinthe Gang's trafficking network, destroyed the Tears of a Maiden production base, guided lost girls back to their paths, upheld the Court of Justice and maintained order, saved a grieving parent from committing a crime, rescued Poisson, spared Furina from public blame, allowed Focalors to survive, and enabled us to apprehend dangerous criminals..."
She remembered Phantom Thief White Cat's misdeeds with crystal clarity.
Just as vividly, she had etched the good deeds hidden beneath the thief's criminal acts into her heart.
"You are both a heinous phantom thief and a hero to others."
Luna smiled faintly. "I never intended to become a hero."
"I know you were merely following your 'aesthetic.'"
Phantom Thief White Cat cherished pure, noble, and radiant souls, regarding them as priceless treasures.
She would tolerate no one or nothing that threatened these precious treasures.
"Yet your sense of 'justice' drove you to acts completely unbecoming of a phantom thief."
"You are ill-suited to be a phantom thief."
As Chevreuse spoke, she produced two items as if she had been prepared all along.
"What are these?" Luna asked, surprised.
"A letter."
"And handcuffs."
In one hand, Chevreuse held a letter; in the other, a pair of handcuffs.
"This is my special invitation for you to join the Special Task Force," Chevreuse said. "Take off your mask, and you can join us. I won't hold your past actions against you."
It was exactly as Chevreuse had decided earlier.
Just be an ordinary person.
"Or, you can choose the handcuffs. I'll arrest you, as always."
Luna had intended to give Chevreuse a choice, but unexpectedly, Chevreuse had turned the tables, giving Luna the choice instead.
Letter or handcuffs?
Luna glanced at the invitation letter, smiled faintly, and reached for the handcuffs.
"You knew I'd choose this," she said.
Chevreuse tightened her grip on the handcuffs. She wouldn't ask why, because Luna was right.
She did know Luna would choose this.
"As Miss Chevreuse said, once you pull the trigger, there's no turning back."
"I don't think I'm suited for the life of an 'ordinary person.' I prefer to stand on the stage and captivate everyone's attention."
With that, Luna placed her hand in Chevreuse's palm—the one holding the handcuffs.
"I'm sorry to disappoint your expectations."
"..."
After a long silence, Chevreuse took a deep breath.
"What an unreasonable woman."
She picked up the handcuffs and locked one cuff around Luna's wrist.
Click.
Then she locked the other cuff around her own wrist.
"Huh?" Luna exclaimed in surprise.
Chevreuse rattled the handcuffs, the chains jingling crisply.
She knew Luna would choose this path. Luna would remain a Phantom Thief, and Chevreuse would remain the Captain of the Special Task Force. The eternal chase between the Phantom Thief and the Captain would never end.
And so she made her choice.
Or rather, this was the true choice Chevreuse had always wanted to make.
"Let's make a deal, Phantom Thief White Cat."