War: Is This a Dark Perk I See Before Me? (1/1)
Time: Wednesday, noonish :)=
Place: The Loft
By: Cousin Mary (Jenkins)
*All Thugs, Nick and the Loft used with permission
Around noon a large group of Thugs piled into the pinkmobile and headed across town. There’s probably a traffic ordinance on the books that prohibits more than a dozen people in one car at a time, not to mention driving in chain-mail, but what was the point of a war if not to beef up your criminal record? Besides, once rumor of this particular attack had circulated around the Mansion, almost everyone had volunteered. A chance to cause mayhem –and- dress up in ridiculous period costumes? Who’d pass that up?
"Just out of curiosity," Jenn turned to Mary (which was difficult considering six people were packed like sardines between them in the back seat) and raised a speculative eyebrow, "Why are we attacking the Kaniggits?" (the Thugs have been watching too much Monty Python lately.)
"The same reason we attacked Nat’s apartment!" Mary shrugged happily (or as much as she could while in a whalebone corset jammed between Ren and June (both in hoop skirts.) "Maybe the research was just misplaced, for all we know it could be stuffed in with Nick’s 1967 tax returns!"
"We didn’t –attack- Nat’s apartment," Jenn said defensively. "We just looked around."
Carly made a noise halfway between a giggle and a snort, "Mary –dyed- Sidney pink!"
"Yeah, well." Jenn made a gesture with her hands as if to say ‘how could we possibly –not- do that?’
Nora looked up from the black and pink bead-work on her flapper dress, "Do you guys think this is really going to work? I mean, will Nick really think we’re just another flashback?"
"Have you –seen- the show?" Eric grinned, "Almost everyone that vampire meets looks exactly like someone he knew in the 15th century!" He said drolly. (And it’s mighty hard to come off as a dry wit in poufy pants and tights!)
"Just remember to be vague," Laura, dressed as a Renaissance peasant wench, told them from behind the wheel, "Let him fill in the blanks."
"Heheh," John-Travis, who’d gone for the beggar waif look (ala the Artful Dodger from ‘Oliver’), snickered, "This is gonna be fun!"
"Yeah, if Nick doesn’t figure it out and kill us all!" Carol shot in testily. She’d –wanted- to wear a toga, but nooo, it ‘had to be from Nick’s life-time.’ She continued to pout awhile longer, but by the time they’d reached the loft she was as ready for chaotic revelry as the next Thug!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>…
Nick stared moodily down at the bottle of bovine in his hand, it was just on the verge of going bad, he should really toss it. He took another gulp, ‘oh well, it hasn’t turned yet.’ He ran a hand through his unruly locks, Nat’s research hadn’t turned up yet, all the Knighties were off (in safe pairs) searching for it…and he was stuck inside! Upset by his own helplessness in this situation, Nick flung the bottle across the loft. It crashed into the corner with a satisfying "smash, crackle, tinkle."
It was then that the freight elevator’s doors open and a throng of costumed Thugs piled in, eyes entirely too wide for their faces. (It’s one thing to plan to play a prank on the Kaniggits, it’s quite another to show up to find flying bottles of blood and glowing eyes!)
"Ah heck." Eric whispered.
Nick heard him, he spun around, fangs barred. He took one look at the group and stopped dead (or undead as the case maybe) in his tracks. Maybe it was the bad blood, increased stress from the war and missing notes, or perhaps he’d just gotten used to flashbacks and ghosts, but Detective Knight didn’t even stop to consider that this was a faction come to ransack his home. This was obviously, a manifestation of his guilt. More of his victims come back to haunt him!
The Dark Perks all looked at each other. Nick was just standing there, looking at them. Maybe they should leave? Was it working? Did he think they were a flashback? Or was he just trying to remember the number for the local sanatorium so he could have the lot of them hauled away?
Nora decided to take some initiative here, after all what were all those DP assertiveness training classes for if not situations like this? Stepping forward, pulling down her vintage hat over her ears, (after all, not many 1920’s flappers had blue hair) she opened her mouth and said sadly, "You shouldn’t have done it."
Nick stared at her and blinked. The Thugs held their collective breaths.
Carol then stepped forward, stood right in front of the 800 year old vampire and said, "You do remember me, don’t you Nicholas?"
Nick took in Carol’s Federalist style gown and powdered wig, then nodded slowly. "Yes, I remember you." He looked at all of them. "I remember you all."
Mary hid her grin behind a black lace fan, thank god for recyclable Canadian actors! In the FK universe there were only so many faces, chances are Nick had run into their look-a-likes several times in his long existence.
The Thugs started milling around the loft, when Nick looked directly at them, they tried to look like lost spirits, but for the most part…they just rooted through his stuff.
Mary and Laura headed over to an intriguing looking filing cabinet on the far wall. Eric (poufy pants and all) headed for the computer. Carly, like all good college students, went for the kitchen cabinets. And Carol decided to check out the bathroom’s medicine cabinet.
While most of the Thugs busily dug through Nick’s belongings looking for the research, only slightly unnerved by the vampire circling around them, Kristen (who wanted to add to her vampire’s boxers collection) and John-Travis (who wanted to rewire the sun-bed) headed up to Nick’s bedroom.
June –really- wanted to go up the stairs too, but she’d chosen to go with the ‘King and I’ too-enormous-for-words-style dress and doubted she could make it without hauling the skirt up about her neck (which would probably throw some doubt on her role as a properly bred lady.) Stymied, she had to settle for going through the bookcase with SC.
Nick wandered from ghost to ghost, peering into their faces and making apologies where he could. Truth was, he didn’t remember all of them, just a couple, this made him feel even worse. He was a vampire, he was supposed to have perfect recall. Had he killed so many that he could no longer retain memories of them all?
As they went about their serious business of looking for the research, the Thugs can be excused a few –minor- pranks. Someone slipped a Rick Springfield CD in the entertainment center (super-glued of course) and programmed that sucker to go on continuous loop after about an hour. {Now here’s something Nick wouldn’t get at all! <eg>} Another Thug slipped a few bottles of bunny blood into the fridge (of course quite a bit of caffeine had been added to this blood, but other than that, it was a thoughtful gift.) The spare protein shakes were exchanged with bubble bath (nothing like a vampire who foams at the mouth!) And severed pink bunny heads were shoved in various nooks and crannies all over the place.
Nick was well into full angst mode, when he approached Ren. Ren, for her own part was beginning to regret her choice of corsets, she’d wanted to wear one since her honorary twin Mary was, but it seemed she’d let an overly-enthusiastic Carly tighten hers just a tad to much.
"Gretchen." Nick implored.
Ren caught herself before she let loose a ‘huh?’ Instead she smiled prettily and said, "So you do remember me." She was careful not to try and pronounce his name, god only knew what version he’d been using when he’d met her doppelganger!
"Of course!" Nick looked at her, he didn’t try to take her hand (maybe he thought it wouldn't work?) "How could I forget one of the true loves of my existence! Can you ever forgive me for…that night?"
Ren frowned, usually she was pretty good at thinking on her feet, but the corset was cutting off her blood flow. She looked at Nick’s expectant face; she’d never been too attracted to the blonde vamp (being more of a Vachon gal herself) but she had to say something! She couldn’t ruin this for her fellow Thugs! She tried to think, but instead started to panic. Her heart-rate increased, her breathing became shallow. Then, mostly because of the corset, Ren, the Dark Pink Ninja, fainted.
"Gretchen!" Nick cried out.
"Ren!" A dozen Dark Perks shouted and ran to her side. John-Travis slid down the banister, Eric exited the computer files, Mary re-filed Nick’s taxes (she hadn’t gotten a chance to really mess with them yet darn it!), Kristen even dropped the boxers! They hadn’t found the notes, but they really hadn’t expected to either.
It was Nick’s turn to say, "Huh?" As all the unremembered ghosts of his past, scooped up his long lost love and ran to the elevator.
"What’s going on?" Nick asked.
Trying to think of a way to salvage this as a spiritual event, Mary spoke in hushed tones as she answered, "-He- calls us back now." The Thugs all made ghost noises then, pulled the steel doors shut, and got the heck out of Dodge!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.
End note- once we got Ren out of the corset she was fine <g>