This was a more ambitious move than they had tried before. A direct assault on an event. It was a bit more aggressive than their usual hunts, but this was a huge collection of the rich and prosperous. A better opportunity to gather a high quantity of starseeds and energy was not to be had.
Powering up in the broom closet, Wardite took a deep breath and let out a slow sigh.
It was time to wreck havoc.
---
Getting into the event had been a headache. Getting away from the party had been a walk in the park. Jay had used her connections to get them positions as part of the wait staff for the event. With something to large, the more hands the better. Not to mention the hiring manager knew just how good Jay was with her hands…
By the time she made it into the back, Jay had slipped forms appearing from behind one of the currents as Piypite. In her arms rested another, slightly larger, set of uniforms which she quickly threw one at Wardite. “They won’t be needing these anymore.” Jay whispered, pretending to kick something farther back behind the currant. The thud said there really was something there. Not hard to imagine what.
“Put that on. Unless we want to cause full scale panic before we can even begin, we need to blend.” Piy more quietly ordered as she checked to make sure they were still alone before throwing the white shirt over her green uniform. “This way we can keep blending for a bit longer. Our uniforms well…” She motioned to his own and cocked her head. “Well, we aren’t in the French army so…”
--
Ward caught the uniform, slipping it over his own with a grin. “You would start the party without me,” He teased, giving Piy a cocky grin as craned his neck toward the thud. He was pretty sure whoever it had been would not be missed - or if they would be, it would not be for a long while yet. The longer it took the cops to be called - the better. So Piy had the right of it to snag them a cover. He should have thought of that - but he was finding that Piy was really good at nitty gritty detail - where he was a more… overall idea man.
Well it was as they said - behind every great man was an even greater woman.
As it was, he snorted at her statement. “I mean, I could always say I was with the foreign legion, but I don’t think that would fly very far.”
Or at all really - and who knew if there were any White Moon about at this thing. It was a high society party after all - and they were aristocratic to being with.
“Alright - so - at what level do you feel we go for broke?” He asked her, wanting the opinion. “I was thinking once we’ve whittled them down to about half - but I’m open to thoughts.”
---
“Now are you wishful thinking or do you really think they are that drunk?” Piy smirked, shaking her head at him. Ward was one in a million alright. “Because you...foreign legion? I think they would more believe you were part of a play and I was a homeless person.” Throwing up her hands with a wave, Piy brushed it off as a passing thought. “Not important right now.”
“What is though is all those treats just partying away as if none the wiser. Shame though...would have loved their pocket books as well but sometimes one just has to prove a point and stick it to authority.” Giving out a long sigh, she looked longingly out at the crowd of the city’s elite before that smile face twisted into a dark, deadly glare. Grim Reaper? Nah...she was too pretty to wear a hooded cloak.
“Do your best not to get noticed. For an added blast, I’m going to lock the exits. Then, once the panic starts…” Heaven help anyone who she turned that twisted face on.
---
“Ooooo, yes, please,” Ward’s grin was equally twisted, but it held a slightly sinister gleam in his eyes as he rolled his shoulders. “Once they’re all running like hens with foxes in the yard, it’ll just be a matter of grabbing them. God help them if any want to be a hero.”
Ward wasn’t above breaking a few bones before pulling a starseed - but he hoped it wouldn’t be necessary.
Moving past Piy, he grabbed her long enough to steal a heated bite of her bottom lip, his hand in a fistful of her hair, before pulling back and moving on by - his eyes gleaming with murderous intent.
“I’ll hug the outsides and grab a few of the less interested or socially inclined first - once the doors are locked, let me know.” He grinned. “Then we’ll start the real show.”
Moving out of the closet, he slipped out of the staff exit, moving toward the walls of the ballroom as he staked out a good target. The first he saw was a sad looking gentleman in a suit, sipping wine with a sour expression as he watched the floor. He slipped in close, the other man opening his mouth to voice complaint, only to slump in Ward’s grip as he extracted his Starseed and slid him carefully to a nearby chair.
“Tsk, sloppy drinkers…”
---
Watching him move past her, Piy couldn’t help lean against the frame and rest her head on it as she crossed her arms under her chest. “Oh Wardite. Whatever would you do without me?” Piy chuckled to herself. She gave him a few minutes to wander the other side of the ballroom before she sunk out herself. Before she could see to the doors, she had another matter to address: the keys! Lucky she knew just where the head man on duty was tonight.
Grabbing a full tray of dishes and glasses, Piy moved towards the kitchen door as if she was just doing her job. Now she could have done this the easy way but where was the fun in that! When she spotted him coming out of his office, she made a move to follow twisting so that when he turned around, it became a spot on smack into her. Hands just where she wanted them.
A round of apologies, several threats of a lawsuit, a few more naughty comments, and no one was the wiser that Piy had his keys in her back pocket.
It took only a few moments to secure the doors. Once the last one was locked, Piy glanced across the ballroom and gave Ward a single, deadly nod.
Show time.
---
When Ward saw her give the nod, he grinned, and moving with a bit more energy, he pushed off the wall he’d been by as he made his way toward the main tables. He slipped a hand through someone’s back, pulled their starseed, and watched as they hit the table with a loud thud.
“Hey, what…” The man’s female guest began before his hand was in her chest and pulling the seed out as well, she too, slumped onto the table, which Ward then jumped up on to get a better view of the room.
“Ladies and Gentlemen,” Ward called out over the sudden confused cacophony of voices. “It is my delight and my privilege to inform you that none of you will be leaving here tonight alive. Now if you would all kindly gather onto the main floor so we can dispense with the fuss…”
The room exploded, as people neared his table with intent - he grinned, jumped over their heads, and began to pull seeds with single punches into backs and chests. “Really, now, really….”
---
Piy couldn’t stop herself as she stepped out of the way of the door and watched as countless people tried to push their way through. The realization on their face as they shoved at the look door was such a euphoria. What was even more amusing though was the change to a sheet of white as she dangled the keys where everyone could see them. “Looking for something?”
Two people decided to be ‘heros’ and charged at her trying to grab the keys. Piy easily dodged their stiff movements before yanking off the cover of her uniform. “Please. You are fat and drink. How do you think you could outrun me? But, momma always said not to play with my food. Too bad for you…” Piy licked her lips before dropping the keys down the front of her uniform and letting her hand sink straight into the chest of the man who charged at her. “Momma isn’t here.” Pulling her hand out, Piy lived for the scream of the woman next to him as her partner dropped to the floor in a heap. “Don’t worry beautiful…” Piy walked passed her, heading to join Wardite in the mix. “You won’t be long behind.”
---
It could only be classified as a slaughter. Somewhere along the way, Wardite divested himself of the cover uniform - it’s bulk making it more difficult for him to gather starseeds from the panicked throng. Those that resisted were toyed with - left physically undamaged as he simply pulled their seeds slowly from their chests.
Those that did not resist, who sobbed or cowered in fear, these he finished quickly - as it wasn’t nearly as fun as those that fought and scrabbled for their lives.
It was a grim harvest - Wardite lost count of their starseeds - But it was more than enough to keep them for a very, very long time.
---
Where as Ward was swift, Piypite of so enjoyed playing with her food. That was until a sound caught her attention. Piy had been holding the form of a woman when she suddenly realized that it wasn’t music playing anymore.
“Ward. Window.” She called out fearing what she expected. Someone had indeed played hero...Someone had called the cops.
---
Ward cursed, dropping the corpse he’d been holding and moving away from the window and toward Piypite. “Well, then, we best be going!” He barked to her, looking around to see if there were any more alive. “I think we’ve made our point.”
He could also feel an energy signature coming in on the horizon, a powerful one. “We’ve got a general inbound, so we definitely need to get out of here.”
---
“I think a point was made but I would rather not be around when either of those get here.” Piypite cast him a look that said more than enough. Getting caught wasn’t fun. No the point was to NOT be caught. But they did have an ace up their sleeves.
“Let’s get somewhere and well…” she motioned to their clothes. He was either going to take that one of two ways. Neither she really minded. “But quickly.” Now she could pick up on that signature. It was moving...s**t.
---
Ward nodded his head, moving with her toward the exit. “Right, right,” he said with a grin. “The faster we get out of here, the faster we can shake them both and enjoy ourselves.” He chuckled as he moved to the doors, letting Piy unlock them to head out as they moved out to try and get some distance between themselves and the signature that was coming in HOT.
It was also joined by a captain’s signature he noticed, and that had his hackles up. It was highly unlikely THEY would be out and about - but it wasn’t impossible.
“We should power down once we’re in that alley, I think,” Ward said. “We need to get some distance from those signatures, I think.”
---
The second signature came a moment later and Piypite felt her blood run cold. It wasn’t the pleasant cold of a kill but the cold that came with knowing what was to come. There was no…
And that was when she pushed open the emergency exit door just as a shadow flew over head. It wasn’t human but one look up told Piy just what she needed to know. A glint of silver…
“s**t. ******** that. Just run.” Piy called out, taking off for the main street. There was no mistaking that figure. They were in Natayla’s sight, which meant only one thing.
Her mistress had them in hers.
---
He ran - full sprint - down the street as they broke through the door. If Piy was telling him to run, he knew that s**t was going down. The shadow caused his hackles to rise as he burst through the door. This did not bode well for them.
It boded even worse when he felt the general’s signature grow even closer - then even closer - until finally it was right behind them both.
But he kept running, only skidding to a hard stop as the signature jumped in front of them.
In the middle of the street, Leucite stood in their path, his face was a glare. A Death glare.
---
The skid to a stop nearly put Piypite on her a**. Teleportation was a ******** cheap trick that was not going to pay off for them. If it hadn’t been for that...she was sure they could have lost Leucite.
But was she turned her head, Piy caught that their back exit was blocked now as well. The hooded figure of Stibnite was walking out of the shadows, Natayla landing on a fire escape near her mistress. Piy didn’t have to see Stibnite’s face to know what that look was. Even Natayla was looking at them like they were dead meet she was going to have for dinner.
Her skills were of no use as she looked towards Ward for help. That murderous look was gone. She was white.
---
Ward wasn’t in a much better state than Piy, his own color having faded when the general had appeared, and he knew that they were boxed in, so he figured they’d have to try and talk their way out. At least try.
“Good Evening, we didn’t expect to see you guys out-”
“Cut the crap,” Lecuite barked. “We can hear the sirens from here. What did you do?!”
“We didn’t do anything wrong,” Wardite hissed. “We were making sure we filled our quota is all.”
Leucite’s face was livid, and he growled. “Where did you fill your quota?”
“Is that really important?” Ward asked, avoiding the question. “The point is we did.”
Leucite looked between the two of them. “One of you is going to tell me - NOW.”
---
Piy didn’t move. She could only wince when Leucite’s voice echoed in the ally at the tone that was made to be as sharp as the spear he carried. Problem was they were already ********. The math did not play into their favor so in truth, she didn’t know the point in trying to dodge the bullet. At least not that one.
“If you were able to track us, you should already know where we were.” Piy offered back, through her eyes looked at nothing. She didn’t want to meet them. She didn’t want to challenge either one of them. Sometimes the safest game wasn’t pride...it was survival.
“Wait...How did you track us anyway?”
---
“We have our ways,” Leucite said flatly. “But yes, you were running rather quickly out of that gala…”
“Did you leave ANYONE alive in there? Or am I being overly hopeful?” His voice was flat and pointed, as if he already knew the answer. “More to the point - what possessed you to attack something so - public?”
He knew that the Negaverse would often stage raids of public events - had been inadvertently caught in a few - but this was not a planned operation as far as he was aware - and he’d been very explicit with both of them on where he stood when it came to harming innocent civilians without orders.
---
Piy didn’t say a word. She just looked towards Wardite before looking away at the wall. What had possessed them? The fact they were better than every person in there. The fact they had the ability to play God.
The fact that they could so why not.
Stibnite finally stepped forward, Natayla’s feathers clinked. “You were asked a question. I suggest you answer it….NOW.”
---
Wardite opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. They were stuck. There was no way they were getting out of this without spending some amount of time being dragged through briar and bramble so he looked at the wall for a long moment.
“Because we’re effectively gods,” He finally said, turning his gaze back to Leucite. “Because we are strong, and they are cattle - so we did what was only natural. The strong eat the weak.”
Leucite’s jaw set. He vanished for a moment from view - his power signature moving suddenly from in front of them to off behind them from where they had been. Wardite knew running was pointless - Stibnite would have just shot them in the back.
He had barely enough time to finish this thought, when Leucite returned, it was with two well dressed bodies. He leaned them gently against the wall.
Turning with a frozen glare, his eyes promising death at the slightest balking he growled.
“The starseeds for these two - NOW!”
Wardite frowned, moving over to get a good look at the bodies, he didn’t really recognize the face, all these rich assholes looked the same to him. “Uhm... “ He started to fish around in his jacket, still unsure which seed it might have been.”
---
“How do you expect us to know which starseeds belong to them?” Piypite asked honestly as she literally didn’t have a clue how to answer. “I don’t know which one of us grabbed them and between what we already had and the new ones….”
Piy didn’t get to continue. Stibnite had come up behind her and thrown her arm around her neck. Yanking hard, she cast a glance at Wardite. “All of them...NOW.”
It took a moment but Stibs could have sworn she recognized those two. Given the way Leucite was acting, something was very wrong.
---
Wardite wasn’t about to argue, and he quickly started to empty his pockets, the starseeds floating gently over the pavement as he frantically slipped each one from the inside of his jacket. He could hear the murder in her voice, see it in Leucite’s eyes.
One of the starseeds drifted closer to the male body, and Leucite scooped it up, and placed it on his chest. It hovered, but did not return to its owner. Lecuite’s jaw set harder, the sound of his teeth grinding together almost audible.
The woman’s starseed likewise was eventually fished out of the pile, and it too, refused to return to its host.
“Stibnite, please place Piypite against the wall, and collect the remaining seeds from the ground for me, if you would,” Leucite said, his voice a frozen dagger or pure rage. “Wardite, back against the wall.”
Wardite complined, though he was pretty sure this was the moment he was going to die. His body coiled like a spring, if he was going to go down, it would not be without some fight.
---
Stibnite did not need to be told a second time. With a yank, she literally threw Piypite so hard against the wall that the air was knocked from her lungs. The blonde dropped to the ground trying to catch her breath.
Grabbing up the remaining starseeds, Stibnite held them closely and protectively. The haul would have filled their quota for some time. Sadly, Stibnite knew their real use and it made her growl.
Torvil