Nimes is a town in the south of France, in the Occitanie region. The city was once a regional capital for the Roman Empire, and some of the best-preserved Roman buildings and monuments are found in Nimes. Because of this, the town has been called the most Roman city outside of Italy, or the “French Rome”.

It was late afternoon when a black taxi drove past the Arena of Nimes – a towering Roman amphitheatre. Inside the taxi were three women – Georgia Geovana, Frida Dynamo, and Dalia Harrison. Georgia stared out the window at the passing building, and sighed.

“It's almost unreal,” thought Georgia. “A couple days ago, Salvador was cracking jokes with the rest of the group. Now, he's just... gone. Just like that. I never thought I'd miss having someone grope my legs but... it's crazy, but it almost feels empty without him. But... I guess the only thing I can do is try to take my mind off it all. We have a job to do, I can't be distracted by setbacks like this.”

“All right, the Maison Carrée, just like you asked!” yelled the taxi driver. “That'll be 210 Euros!”

Frida and Dalia stepped out of the car, as Georgia reached into her purse. She pulled out a handful of bills, and leaned over the front passenger seat to hand them to the driver. Suddenly, the upholstery of the seat ripped and peeled away, exposing the stuffing underneath.

“Hey! What's the big idea, lady?!” blasted the taxi driver. “You tryin’ to ruin my car?!”

“Sorry! Sorry!” sputtered Georgia. “Here, I'll give you an extra ten...”

Georgia slid an extra bill into the taxi driver's hand. The paper scratched the driver's palm. Fountains of blood gushed forth from the shallow cut, splattering all over Georgia and the surrounding taxi.

“What the hell?!?!” screamed the driver. “Are you trying to get me killed?!”

“I'm sorry!” wailed Georgia. “Just... you can take the rest of my money, just please don't tell anyone, ok!”

Georgia grabbed a fist-full of bills from her purse, and tossed them into the seat in front of her before leaping out of the car. She stumbled up to Dalia and Frida, who were standing on the sidewalk.

“What the hell happened to you?!” said Frida.

“It was the taxi driver – everything kept breaking and blood was spraying and – I think there's an enemy stand in the...”

Georgia trailed off as Dalia sniffed at the blood on her hands.

“Cornstarch,” said Dalia. “I think you were scam~eow'd”

The women looked at each other, then groaned and leaned against a fence-post in sync.

“Damn it...” sighed Georgia. “Harry may have been a pain to work with, but at least he never would have thrown money around like that. It feels like we're completely worthless as a group right now...”

“Georgia, let me tell you something about robots,” said Frida. “Robots often use magnets in their daily operations – electric motors require magnets to function, as do things like hard drives and optical drives. Whenever I make extensive repairs on someone, I make sure to remove anything on their person that could be affected by magnets. So, I get why you're missing Warhol, honestly!”

Frida reached into her lab coat, and pulled out a thin plastic card.

“But let's just say,” said Frida with a grin. “There's one advantage to him not being here.”

The Détente et Raffinement is a luxurious hotel and spa just within the city limits of Nimes. This 5-star hotel was converted from an 18th century mansion, and has been host to dozens of celebrities the world over. Two pairs of black high heels clicked against the marble floor. Frida Dynamo leaned on a crystal counter, and lowered a pair of diamond-studded sunglasses.

“I would like your biggest suite for the night,” said Frida, waving Harry's credit card. “With a view.”

The desk clerk took the credit card from Frida's hands, and began nervously typing into her computer.

“Erm- hi, erm- excuse me?” said Georgia, waving a gloved hand to a passing concierge. “Hi, erm, could you please take, err, as you can see we've been shopping, heh heh, would you mind, erm, taking my bags?”

“And send a bottle of champagne to the room!” shouted Frida, as the concierge struggled under the weight of dozens of pink shopping bags.

“Y-you guys have fun in the room~eow...” said Dalia, pulling at her yellow military jacket. “I'm gonna head back to the ruins to try and find that next hint, ~nya.”

“C'mon, Dalia, splurge a little!” bellowed Frida. “Here, why don't we schedule a massage together? It'd help you relax!”

“No, that's fine~ya, I wouldn't want to ruin your fun...”

“Dalia, wait,” said Georgia. “I won't let you go hunting alone. Not after... well... Frida, you can guard the Secret Steps on your own, right?”

“Leave it to me!” said Frida, snatching a pair of glowing feathers out of Georgia's new purse. “Just don't be surprised if I get a bit of tanning oil on them!”

“Erm... right,” said Georgia, taking her old clothes out of her purse. “Dalia, you ready to go?”

Dalia looked back at Georgia with weary eyes. She turned to leave the hotel lobby, and Georgia dashed out after her.

= = = = = = = = = =

Georgia and Dalia sat down on the sidewalk at the Maison Carrée – a small, marble temple, Roman with some Greek influence. Some passers-by admired the ancient architecture. Occasionally, a tourist would enter or exit the building, to view the museum exhibit inside. Shattered Dreams floated a few meters off the ground, and Georgia stared up into it – her stand projecting a 360 view of the area into her eyes.

“No enemies so far...” murmured Georgia.

Yellow Submarine emerged from Dalia's back. The stand fired a torpedo at the ground, which shook the area slightly. Dalia closed her eyes, analyzing the sonar readout in her mind.

“Wait, no way~a!” gasped Dalia. “It's not just a hint... it's the next feather! There's a Secret Step, underneath one of the statues in the temple!”

“Lucky break!” whispered Georgia. “Now, send Yellow Submarine in to grab it! If we're quick about it, we should be able to get out of here without encountering...”

Dalia stared into the air, her mouth agape.

“...Dalia? Are you ok?”

“I... think I recognize one of the tourists' body shapes~ya.”

Dalia stood up sharply, and spun around to face the temple entrance. A figure with curled, turtle-green hair entered the building.

“N-no way~a! It can't be!

“What is it, Dalia?! Who did you find?!”

“There's no time, just follow me~ow!”

Dalia grabbed Georgia's hand, and dragged her up the marble steps. Above the building entrance was a Dane with thick glasses and a patterned shirt, squeezed into the corner of the ceiling. His gaze turned below as the two young women dashed into the temple.

“Well, it seems another group of treasure hunters is here for the Secret Step...” murmured Leif. “That may move my timeline up a bit. Well, it's no matter.”

Leif slid out of the architrave, and gently touched down on the marble floor before the entrance. He rose to his feet, summoning a pair of metal rings around his wrists. A band of cloth reinforced by cardboard and leather connected the rings, transforming them into handcuffs. The left bracelet had a series of circular cream-colored buttons on it, and the right bracelet displayed a wooden piano keyboard. Leif squeezed the cuffs together, and a teal fog sprayed out into the temple door.

“Dare To Be Stupid,” droned Leif. “Your every effort will now be futile. The only person who will find the treasure they seek... is me.”

The stand disappeared from Leif's wrists as he stepped into the building.

Georgia and Dalia entered a large, dark room. The entrance was situated on a balcony overlooking a museum exhibit of Roman antiquities. Next to the entrance before the stairs leading down was a small desk, with an employee behind it greeting visitors to the museum. Statues and other artifacts of various sizes sat on pedestals around the room. On the far wall was a half-wall display, with pictures displaying what the temple would have looked like back in the day. The walls were painted vermillion, and the room was lit up by dim canister lights – which could barely penetrate through the thick, teal fog.

“There!” gasped Dalia. “I can't believe she's here!”

Dalia and Georgia rushed down the stairs, towards a figure with curly, green hair. The figure was staring at a garishly colored bust on a pedestal. Dalia grabbed the figure's arm, but she was shoved away.

“Do you mind?!” yelled a man with a green goatee. “I'm in the middle of something here!”

“O-oh, sorry, I... thought you were someone-”

“Oh, shut up, girl,” said the scientist. “Now move! I may have just made the most important discovery of my career!”

Dalia slid back, and looked sheepishly towards Georgia. The green-haired man pulled on a latex glove, letting go with a snap once it was in place.

“It's remarkable! It's miraculous!” sputtered the man. “This ancient statue somehow has its colors perfectly preserved from when it was originally sculpted! But how did it stay so perfect? How did this museum acquire the statue? I have to find out more...!”

The man reached out, and grazed his gloved hand against the surface of the statue. Suddenly, the stone melted away, and in the statue's place was a steel bear trap. The trap snapped shut on the scientist's arm, crushing his bones. The man let out a wailing screech as he fell to the ground, blood spraying from his ruined arm. The podium tumbled to the ground with a thud.

“Shit!” whispered Georgia. “It's an enemy stand!”

“Uh, Georgi~ow?” gasped Dalia. “You might want to look down...”

Georgia turned her gaze to her feet and noticed jewelry, cash, cell phones, and more scattered around the ground.

“This stand makes valuable items...” mused Georgia. “And all of them are booby-trapped just like that statue. Dalia, are you seeing these?”

“Yeah, I can't see the bear trap, but I can see the treasure~yas,” said Dalia. “That must be part of the stan~yad's ability. The fake treasure will be visible to everyon~ya – even if you can't see stands. We better grab that feather quick before we accidentally touch something dangerous~.”

A golden glint caught Georgia's attention. Next to the fallen podium was a blue feather – with a pattern in the shape of a semicircle. Shattered Dreams flew out of Georgia, and snatched up the feather. The feather dissolved into a bear trap, which snapped shut on Shattered Dreams's right arm. The glasswork stand shattered, and Georgia's forearm flew onto the stairs behind her.

“N-no way!” gasped Georgia, blood gushing from her stump arm. “These aren't just random treasures... they're targeted! The enemy knows we're here! The enemy is also looking for the Secret Steps!”