Granted, they weren’t trusted, and rightly so, since Piypite had tried to run away, and Wardite had said nothing about it. But as it was, he was making do with what they had. The really only issue he had was he wasn’t able to collect anything fun from his energy gathering thanks to the prying eyes of the chaperone.
So he stuck close to Piypite, looking out for potential targets to drain energy from so they could call it a night. Their warden for the night was General Leucite, who always seemed to be watching them, no matter what. Which annoyed Wardite quite a bit, since he’d of not minded raiding some of the back alleys, but Leucite had declared such hunting grounds off limits for the two for what he called… conflicts of interest.
---
“I’m not sure who is worse.” Piypite sighed, glancing around for any sign of life. She was also cued into sensing auras. After the nightmare that was her first night as an agent, Stibnite had been working strongly with her on her ability to sense different auras. How that added up to her getting foam balls thrown at her to practice reflexes, she was still questioning. She also worried that one day those would be worse…“General I have my eye on you or Captain you are doing it wrong.”
For a moment, she thought she felt something at the edge of her senses but it was gone in a flash. A long breath of air came from her body and she looked towards Wardite. “I’m going to think something is always looking over my shoulder because of this…”
One hand went out and she placed it on Wardite’s shoulder. “So, what are we looking for?”
---
“Well General I have my eye on you says we’re not allowed to drain energy from druggies, dealers, or gangers so I’m trying to find us some normal civilians. He says he we can drain from them if we’re careful.” Wardite said, looking over his shoulder to look at Leucite, who was perched just far enough away to watch them without interfering with their hunt. But he’d moved every time they’d moved, so Wardite was pretty sure he was keeping them in eyeshot at all times.
“But, I think they both suck in their own ways. Captain you are doing it wrong would have us combing the entire city since we don’t have the lucky of anything coming across our path.”
He looked down as he saw a well dressed couple coming down the sidewalk. “How about them? Think we can figure out a plan of attack with those two?” He asked, raising a brow at Piypite. “Maybe try to get them into an alley or something?”
---
“Shame…” Piypite sighed, leaning onto his back as she watched. “I would have loved a bit of payback on anyone who got away. But, then comes the problem of who would I suck up to later. They can’t watch us like this forever. At some point in time, they will have to go back to their own duties.”
When he pointed out the couple, it made her smile. Pushing off his back, Piypite cocked him a grin. “Oh come now. I thought you were more creative than that. You did after all tell me it was all about winning people over.” Stepping to the side of their perch, she made use of the relaxes she had been given. Another gift Stibnite was working out of her was her fear of limits. She would make sure Piypite knew what she could face. “Follow my lead.”
Once she was on the ground, she waited until Wardite joined her before she hooked her arm in his and pulled him into a walk, giggling slightly as she did, her head at an angle looking as if she was smitten with him. “Oh sweety.” she chuckled again as she made sure they were in the direct path of the couple to bump straight into them.
---
It did not take long for Wardite to join her, and as she put on her “act” he grinned in return, letting her guide him on their crash course, and keeping his eyes on hers and acting the giddy schoolboy.
“Well, dear, what should we do with our nigh-” Wardite started but was interrupted when the two couples plowed directly into each other.
“Omph, oh… Dreadfully sorry!” Wardite said, scrambling to keep Piypite and himself on their feet as the other couple flailed as well.
---
“Oh!” Piypite called out as they smacked into the other pair. Using the momentum, she reached out and grabbed hold of both Wardlite and the male that they want into. Pulling more so on the other man, she stumbled and acted as if she had misstepped, falling more into him. “Oh!” Red eyes fluttered and she looked up into the eyes of the well dressed male. “I’m so sorry Sir.” Blinking quickly her hand slipped to the flesh on his wrist and she did as they had taught her.
Slowly she sucked some of his energy and hid the small orb that formed behind her. “Silly me. Always so uncoordinated!” She took enough to draw a yawn from him before she stepped back, moving to Wardite’s side, linking her arm once more. “I hope you have a nice night.”
---
Wardite stayed steady for her, and while she drained from the man, his own hand had reached out and had gently placed itself on the back of the woman’s hand. “I do so really apologize, we should have been watching where we were going.” Once he had drained enough to conceal into his palm, he slid his hand behind his back to allow himself a small bow.
“Yeah… Uhm… Okay…” The man yawned again, and the woman leaned against him more. “Accidents happen and all that…” He waved as they walked on by, and Wardite grinned to Piypite before making a show of guiding her back down the street with a nod.
Once they were out of earshot he chuckled. “Okay, I’ll admit that was a much better plan.” He could feel the thick chaos energy above and behind them, and he wondered if Leucite had even moved from his perch. He didn’t dare risk a look up and behind them on the off chance he was watching them from some well concealed shadow. “Not bad for our first real run.”
---
There was a smile on her face as she flipped the orb of energy in her hand now that they were back in the cover. “What can I say? I have my good points.” Piypite seemed a bit smug but her eyes turned towards where she was picking up the big bad warden watching them. “And besides, I can’t let you take lead all the time. Otherwise, people start to think I am your servant and well…” Her hand came up and she squeezed his nose. “Nope. You may have more time in this but hey, girl has to work her magic as well.” releasing her nose, she let her body sense the area.
“Hey General. What are we supposed to do with these things now?” Piypite didn’t have the fear of God in her with him. After all, even if he was overly loyal to her cousin, she still had to try to lure him into her clutches every now and then. His cousin wasn’t the only sexy one in the house.
Looking back over her shoulder at Wardite, Piy shrugged. She knew ‘gather energy’ Great. They did that. What next?
---
Lecuite stepped out of the shadows that he had been standing in, and it was all Wardite could do to keep himself from rolling his eyes. Really, did he think he was some sort of street vigilante or something? Still, the General gave Piypite a small nod, and held out his hand to her. “I’ll take them for now. When you start gathering more, well, you’ll store them on your person, you’ll find that the pockets of your uniforms are surprisingly deep.”
Provided they had pockets, Wardite mentally huffed. But he handed his orb over to Leucite anyway, running a hand through his hair. “So what else do we do? I mean, this is the gathering energy bit, and you said we had a quota… so aside from fighting the White Moon when we see them, what else do we do, or is it just energy gather all day?”
Leucite cleared his throat, and turned to head back into the alley. “Follow me, I’ve already gathered the materials for the next lesson.” He spoke with a quiet, deep voice that was far too calm.
Wardite looked at Piypite and followed, keeping his own voice down. Once they were fairly far into the alleyway, Leucite stepped to one side, revealing two unconscious dealers. Whatever they had been selling was gone from the looks of things to Wardite, as was any weapons or visible money.
“So, uhm… Two unconscious guys… great. What are we going to do with those?” Wardite asked.
“Remember that gem you saw me give Piypite when she was injured?” Leucite asked cooly.
“Yeah… What of it?” Wardite responded looking to Piypite.
“I’m going to show you how to get them.” Lecuite said, motioning to the two men. “Pick one.”
---
Piypite might have kept the smile to herself realizing Wardite didn’t have pockets. Oh well, he did have those fluffy things on the side of his pants to hold things. Better than nothing!
Still she followed the General, maybe watching his behind a bit as they did move. Stupid cape. What did that movie say? No capes! Okay...she agreed to that. But she did not agree to the confusion that came at the mention of these gems that the had given her. “Okay, you all mentioned this before. What the heck did you give me and how do they have anything to do with it?”
She walked over to one of the men and knelt down in front of him. Reaching a hand out, she lifted his face. She didn’t know him. Based on the lack of facial features and the clean clothes...he was new to the game. “Poor fool. His provider threw him to the wolves.”
Rising up again, she looked back at the two males and shrugged. “Anyway, so what is this?”
---
“It was a starseed,” Leucite said quietly. There was a reason he’d told Stibnite he’d take their first real outing. While he appreciated her clinical and sanitary view of the war, there was some things that needed to have weight. Not that he didn’t think she could have gotten this message across just as well - but he knew that it would sink in fairly strongly.
“A starseed is the very essence of someone’s being, their soul, you could say. It is a very strong source of power and without it, you would have died, Piypite. The energy you derived from its consumption is partly what healed what probably should have been lethal wounds. It gave us time to get you to the ER anyway.”
His hand moved up to the shoulder that had once been shot out, it still ached on occasion but he never brought it up. Stibnite would probably either tell him to see a doctor or to just man up about it. But he no longer felt guilty about the starseed he had consumed to keep himself from falling into shock so he could get him and Stibnite out of there.
“So today, I am going to teach you how to harvest them. Because we need their energy.” Leucite said clearly. “I would advise against consuming them though, unless the need is dire. They can be addictive, and the side effects are… Well, let’s just say the side effects are less than desirable.”
Wardite looked to Piypite for a moment, unsure how she was going to take the news that she’d been basically force-fed a soul. Personally the thought chilled Wardite, that was definitely not something to take lightly.
---
Piypite stood there, eyes just wide open as she stared at Leucite. Then she turned around, moved towards the corner of the alley and vomited all over the ground. Several dry gags continued and then she emptied the rest of the stomach on the ground. “What…” She mumbled through trying to breathe as she used the back of her hand to clean her mouth. “The ******** wrong…” Eyes, watering heavily, turned darkly on Leucite. It was a look Imara had perfected. One that appeared to run in the family.
“What the hell is this damn war? Someone’s life was forced down my throat? Was it at least clean?!?” She reached out, trying to grab onto Wardite to stabilize herself. She was trying to not be sick again. “Why...why the ******** did you feed it to me then?”
---
Wardite had moved quickly after Piypite, granted he really didn’t have to hold her hair in her powered form but still he rubbed her back as she emptied the contents of her stomach onto the ground. When she used him to steady herself he just let her lean on him, his own arm moving to support her as best he could.
If Piypite’s glare did anything to Leucite in the slightest it didn’t show. If anything, his own eyes narrowed and he grinned darkly.
“It’s a war for the preservation of this planet, Piypite. The White Moon see fit to bring their tyranny here, and we seek to stop them. That means that some sacrifices must be made. Don’t worry, his soul was ‘clean’ as you put it. Just… don’t consume too many.”
He moved over to the bodies and looked down. “Wardite will remember how I shoved my hands into your chests to give you your powers, but you have not seen it done yet, Piypite.” He knelt as he spoke, and with ease his hand passed into the man’s chest.
“This is what you’ll have to do, in order to extract their starseeds. Come here, both of you.” He commanded.
Wardite looked at Piypite, but he wasn’t about to move unless she did.
---
For a moment, Piypite didn’t move. She stood there, one hand clinging to Wardite’s jacket as she tried to process things. “No.” She finally spoke out, willing to channel the man who out ranked, out powered, and out did her in so much. “No. Not until you tell me what the hell this is all about!”
Her hand released Wardite’s jacket and she did her best to stand up on her own two feet. “That woman tried to kill me for being...whatever the ******** it is that you have made us. You have told us a selected amount. Collect energy. Turn in energy. Stay away from the White Moon. Answer orders...fine.” She snapped her face up at him. “Fine. But even soldiers in the army know what they are fighting for!”
She was challenging him. She knew that. She would pay for it. But she needed answers. “You OWE me those answers! I did not get a choice in this world! You drew me into this world. Fed me the soul of someone else. Why? What am I supposed to do? I’m not going to walk into this darkness blind! Who the ******** are even the White Moon besides insane, badly dressed children?”
--
Leucite was quiet for a long moment, and as he pulled his hand from the man, the bright shining gem of his starseed came with it. Leucite held it up for both of them to see. He did not directly look at them, instead, his gaze was on the starseed.
“Who, or what, the White Moon is varies from who you ask. Some say they are aliens come to take over our planet. As the senshi represent celestial bodies, and the knights seem to represent those of our solar system and those senshi who have become royalty.” He said, letting the gem rest lightly in his hand. “Some say they are simply terrorists, other powered individuals like us who do not wish to see peace brought to this planet. In truth, I think it rests somewhere in the middle.”
Turning, he knelt again, allowing the starseed to slip back into the body of the man he had removed it from, and rising again, he placed his hands behind his back, looking between Wardite and Piypite with a cold, unamused stare.
“This war has been ongoing for thousands of years, and no one side has been the victor. We’re on a cusp of a victory though, if we can convert the enemy to our side. Some we cannot and it is a shame we must kill them, but all the same, better to convert than kill.”
Taking a step to the side of the bodies, he motioned to the two again. “Now come, the sooner you learn how to do this, the sooner you can become an active participant in this war.” He eyed them both. “The sooner you can start asking questions of those who tried to kill you and find your own answer.”
Wardite frowned, not really liking the explanation, and keeping a hand on Piypite’s back, ready to back her up in case something went down. He doubted the two of them could take down the general but… Well… Stranger things had happened.
---
Piypite for once, just listened. However, as the words left Leucite’s lips, she shook her head. “You are avoiding telling us something.” Red eyes turned back onto the General’s face. “Something important that everyone seems to dance around including the brats of the stupid moon.”
Eyes dropped only for a moment and looked at the men who had fallen. She had other questions as well but this one Piypite wanted….needed to know. “Who the bloody hell is calling the shots and why are we fighting? What the hell started this?”
---
“On our side, Queen Metallia, she is a being of great power, ancient and terrifying,” Leucite said as he watched Piypite. “She is a living saint, much as you cousin rolls her eyes at that, but she is the head of the Negaverse above all else, it is her orders Queen Laurelite and the General-Sovereigns dispense.”
Her next question though, even Leucite did not know. Not really. “To protect this planet from the tyranny of the White Moon, and ensure freedom for the people of earth to live as they desire in safety. That is what I have been told our purpose is. As to what started the war, no one remembers. It has been raging for so long.”
---
“That’s Bullshit.” Piypite spat out as she heard him admit he didn’t know the cause of the water. Not to mention, the freedom of the people of Earth? “You are a General in a war that you have no idea why we are fighting? Don’t give me the ‘protect’ the people and let them live safely crap. How many have I seen you kill? How many have you killed before I ever knew about this…”
Her eyes looked back at the men there. She didn’t give a rats a** about them. They were pawns in a bigger game...just like she was.
Closing her eyes, it dawned on her. “Damnit…” hands formed fists but her eyes opened again. She was slowly shaking her head as something clicked. “We are just pawns….Tools to be used and faces to see when there is a battle to be fought. No more than them.” She directed her hand towards the two.
“More like herding cattle than protecting the innocent.”
---
“They are criminals, and I bring them to justice where the law fails to. We take energy just as any other industry or service would take payment for protection. You may not like it but it is a part of your life now.” Leucite said, his voice a low growl as he watched her.
“Yes, you are a pawn now, but you won’t be as you prove you are capable. Then you will be able to plan operations of your own, call the shots. Lead.”
Wardite wasn’t sure if it was beneficial to argue with the general but at the same time…
“Piypite’s right, we’ll always be pawns if the only way up is through you. We’ll never be ready.”
---
Wardite had put into words what she had been thinking. If he and Stibnite were the people in charge of them...then they were ********. “Just like you bring justice to us?” Piypite spoke now, eyes glancing up at the General before she made it clear that she was done with this lesson.
The clothes around her shifted and Piypite became human again. Jay stood there in her workout clothes, a black sports bra and spandex as she gazed up at a man who could kill her as easy as he could save her. “I’m done.” But her voice held only one emotion: fear. Something inside of her was off and standing around yanking starseeds out of a body wasn’t going to help her.
It was all she said as she turned to leave the alley. She knew the way home. She wanted the walk anyway. “I’ll find my own way home and before you sick you dog on me, I’ll come home clean…” She called back waiting for some sort of summoning. He could do that. She knew he could...she was his pawn.
Jane Mason belonged to General Leucite.
---
If looks could kill, Leucite’s glare at Jane’s back would have probably obliterated the city block. The glare slid over to Wardite, who simply held up his hands and took a step back, fading to Conor and turning around to walk out of the alley to follow Jane.
“I’m out, you can kick my a** later.” Conor said over his shoulder, before following Jane, moving quickly and catching up to her, placing a hand on the small of her back as they walked. He too, was waiting for hell to come crashing down.
But it never did, at least, not that night it didn’t. But Lecuite would remember, and their training was about to get even more intense.
---
Torvil
