Matteo

It's tough to be a god

The sudden crashing entrance of Harley into that darkened office was an entirely welcomed distraction. Matteo's gaze drawn away from those silver lined walls that lingered with little more then the imposing promise of pain that Risque so seemed to relish in. Where that very love for tormenting others had come from he hardly knew. That corruption, perhaps, had spread its diseased tendrils into even those things she had once found pleasure in within life. Warping and distorting her desires until only the pain of others- and herself- so yielded any fragment of feeling. She had always been spirited. Wilful, stubborn, spontaneous. Each of those more positive traits now contorted into some vile shadow of what they had once been. Harley, with her sudden laughter, seemed to chase away each one of those less endearing memories. The young women's sheer exhilaration in having survived that night so far near infectious in its exuberance. Matteo himself unable to prevent that simper from finding his lips. That warm chuckle rose within the depths of his throat to meet her own before that music shifted yet again. That virus implanted within the system readily seeing that song change and volume rise with each failed attempt the vampires of Syn made to quell its sound. Harley's near sudden sarcasm so drawing his silvered gaze as she queried his musical choices.

"Ah, Mon Cherie, I enjoy all types of music but, I will admit, this is not something I would often listen to by choice. Each of the songs I chose tonight I chose because I knew they would irritate Risque with their beat or lyrics in some fashion. That is to say, I chose the most annoying songs I could find."

That near impish look so danced upon his features then. Matteo, for all his age, so very much the epitome of Fae when he chose to be as such. His delight in his very game surely clear. A delight that became all the more apparent at the sound of someone being thrown agianst the far wall and the snap and crack of at least one of those speakers beneath that hurled projectile. Risque's temper, it seemed, was rapidly beginning to wane. Her patience for imperfection notoriously short. That offending music grating agianst her nerves just as he had desired it to. Each vampire within that building so responding to their Queen's discord by fixating upon her in turn. Risque herself serving as a distraction within her own right. Darcy, so ever attentive, unlikely to focus upon what else was occurring within that club when Risque so sought to make a scene. His raven-haired companion, in turn, seemed equally as amused by the vampire Queens impromptu tantrum. Harley querying after just who had been thrown as Matteo chuckled once more. His head shook gently.

"I fear she did not throw our Cowboy Friend. Not yet. Let us anger her a little more and we shall see, oui?"

That near sheepish look so found his features once more before the Frenchman turned his attention to that lavish mahogany desk with its irritatingly locked drawers. The very key card he required so nestled safely within that locked space. Risque notoriously meticulous in her paranoia. A trait that had, so admittedly, served her well in the perverse afterlife she had been damned to by her own wilful pride- and his failure to protect her. His very efforts to coax Harley into using her affinity upon it, however, seemed only to prompt the younger woman's doubt. That hesitation clear within her features and yet, as he had come to expect from his companion- there was little Harley would not try. Few challenges she would not rise too. Matteo inclined to think it a rather admirable trait. Even if he was near assured it so often led her into far more trouble.

"I think it is best that you give it a try, Mon Cherie. I am a terrible thief of glory and I should be forced to take it all if you cannot manage this."

One silver eyed lifted just so, those accented words so interlaced with a challenge all their own. One designed not only to fixate Harley's thoughts upon that task at hand but too- make some attempt to chase away the memories he knew so surely turned within her mind to be within this very room. That office the site of so very, very many deaths. The near ancient Fae fell silent then. Matteo attempting to afford Harley that quietude to feel for her own affinity before that near anxious glance she offered those silver chained walls so prompted him forward once more. How easy it was to step behind her, the warmth of her figure entirely enticing to his own as his fingers knotted but gently with her own to guide her hand forward and toward that very lock. His words a soft utterance, an attempt to guide her toward that very task. She was so very young. Her powers so very new. To ask so much of her so soon was...unfair of him and yet for each effort she made in her attempts to achieve that goal he was but wholly determined to assist her as Alexander had once done for him, so long ago, in the very depths of a bloodied battlefield when it felt as if hell itself so threatened to rise around them and engulf them entirely. The very stakes tonight perhaps equally as high. Harley's sudden declaration that she could feel that lock prompted the Frenchman to step backward once more. The lack of warmth that very act so afforded him hardly pleasing and yet for the manner of her focus he was wholly willing to forgo the pleasantness of her touch. Matteo offering only that reassurance that she was safe here. Harley, in her typical fashion, inclined to debate the very subject. Her sarcasm promoting that quirk to his lips before she strove to focus a final time. Matteo wholly capable of feeling that sudden spike within her power. That lock so suddenly opening. A ready, genuine praise upon his lips as Harley smiled wildly. Ah, but how much that look so suited her far more than that look of defeat that had lingered upon her features but only an hour ago within her kitchen! Her very words coaxing that soft, playful snort from within him as he moved to open that now unlocked draw and pilfer that needed key card from within it.

"J'ai besoin de vous." (I need you.)

That ready grin was flashed so easily toward her then, those wholly teasing words so unfairly uttered within his own native tongue and one he knew she might surely struggle to understand and yet, perhaps, it might afford her with a puzzle to ponder later within the evening. That key card was clasped firmly within his left hand then, his right so suddenly lifting to summon that singular and final piece as the music within the club changed once more and began to reach truly obnoxious levels of sound. That small, plastic toy pelican appeared smoothly within his hand. Matteo reaching forward to place that little figurine neatly within the center of Risque's desk. That toy unmissable. The very look upon Harley's face so prompting that chuckle from within him and too that singular explanation that such a toy had no purpose at all- save for to plague Risque's mind with doubt and question and curiosity. To force the woman to do as she did best and fill her mind with that paranoid doubt of 'what if'. Risque, in this, so entirely her own enemy. Harley's ready insistence that he seemed to know that enemy well drawing his gaze back to the violet of her own.

"To well, Mon Cherie. Much to well."

Just what those very words might mean he so hardly sought to explain in that fashion he so often failed to explain so much of what was said. Matteo instead moving to lead the way from the office then with that insistence Harley remain close to the wall and as concealed within those shadows as possible. He moved swiftly then, with Harley in tow, the young woman keeping up effortlessly with his own figure as he moved to navigate that underground labyrinth with a relative ease. That key card, Risque's own key, commanding each and every door to open before them as he did. Mateo leading that way further and further into the depths of the bar until even that music had become dim and their own steps seemed all the louder in those empty halls. The sounds of their movement echoing into the darkness that stretched before and behind. Even those very halls made to feel...oppressive, punishing and prison-like. Matteo so refusing to allow that anger within himself to find any true hold here and now. How....easy it would be to destroy that building from the inside out even at that cost to himself and yet ...to set fate upon such a course by his own hand would be catastrophic. The price others would pay for his own vengeance far to high. Matteo so held back by that simple ...love he possessed for those around him. How Risque had teased him, more than once, within her human years, for his tender-heart. It will be the death you one day, my Teo. You care so much it is a weakness. You should guard your heart. If only he had known how right she had been. How very right she perhaps still ways. Matteo shoving aside those words that lingered within his ears as they reached the near bottom of that hellish labyrinth, that final swipe of the card affording them access to that dungeon of sorts. That giant space filled with rows upon rows of cages. The vast majority containing those cats, both Were and otherwise and yet intermingled within lay those poor souls bought and kept for blood alone. Several of those nearest himself no longer capable of standing. Several more so seemingly having been left to merely die within that darkness. The mere sight of them so stabbing near painfully at that very ache within his chest and yet, for now, Matteo forced the silver of his gaze back to his companion. Harley's own voice thick with that sarcasm. Her memories of this place, it seemed, hardly having dampened.

"Dare I ask what it is they feed you here? I see what looks the, how you say in the English? Dinner in a box? Perhaps do not tell me, I am not assured I desire to know."

That marked looked of distaste at the sight of several empty trays of food seemed to linger but momentarily upon his ever youthful features. Matteo, even now, inclined to comment upon that food before he moved to cross that floor and toward the largely control panel and set of doors upon the far side. His and Harleys presence so seeming to prompt some level of curiosity in those cats in the very least. The Frenchman gestured then to those large, locked double doors that led to the outside world and back parking lot. Harley insistent she could manage to unlock them as she had that drawer. Those doors ...are far larger task and yet Harley remained as determined as he had anticipated. His own attention returned to that control panel then. Matteo moving to unlock several of those select cages belonging to those unfortunate beings destined to be little more than meals. The Fae moving to that nearest, open cage then only to crouch down upon that floor and eye that near cowering warlock, his hand outstretched towards the man then with that soft, gentle coaxing. How very clear the fear in that man's eyes! Yet too, that near desperate desire to cling to but a tendril of hope seemed to seize him in turn. The warlock hesitated for several more long moments before his hand so at last found Matteo's own. The Frenchman gently pulled him to his feet then with that simple instruction to begin to help the others. Those prisoners far more likely to follow a fellow prisoner then himself. That sudden flurry of action so seeming to prompt those cats to life. Their excitement in turn only further rousing those 'feeders' still capable. The near distant hum of that music above having changed to that ever popular Bonnie Tyler classic 'I Need A Hero'. How fitting.

That sudden near explosive bang readily prompted the Frenchman to pivot in place. His voice calling out to Harley then to ask after that lock as he strode back towards the young woman then. Matteo eyeing what remained of that lock and door she stood beside. Both eyes rising in surprise as that simper tugged all the more potently at his lips. Harley declaring that lock problem had been removed. Her efforts nothing short of decidedly thorough in every sense.

"I can see that, Mon Cherie. Perhaps you have more power then you know."

That singular eye lifted once more in that near unspoken indication that, perhaps, he knew something more of those very talents she possessed in turn and yet. Amusement seeming to find those words all the same before Harley asked after those resources and their rather small minivan. Her very efforts to conceal those plans from the small, gathering group of 'feeders', some carrying others, so entirely appreciated. After all, several of those beings had seen their faces. His own would prove difficult to identify and yet Harley, with her striking features, would prove far more easy to describe.

"The minivan should be here in but a moment he- ah, Darius."

Those words had no sooner had fallen from his lips than that sleek, black stallion so suddenly materialized within that darkened space. Several of those prisoners yelping in surprise at the sudden appearance of the horse. The war horse so merely eyeing them with something close to apathy. His dark gaze affording only Harley any true look of curiosity before Matteo so turned toward that warlock once more.

"Come now, he will not hurt you, you need only rest a hand upon him, each of you now. If you are carrying someone lean them agianst him and make sure you yourself are touching him, hurry now. He will take you all from here. He is a very...surprising mini-van. Is that all of you now?"

That very mention of minivan so saw the stallions ears pin backward. His gaze shifted from matteo before moving to glare near pointedly at Harley. The stallion clearly having pinpointed just whom had afforded him that title. Matteo so struggling to prevent that chuckle finding him before casting a final glance around that place to assure none of those feeders remained.

"Go now Darius, take them to where I told you and return at the time I said."

That sudden rush of power so readily resonated from within that stallion. The equine ensnaring each of those beings whom touch him then within that force before disappearing entirely. Several of those large cats left blinking in utter shock from that very display before Matteo's attention returned to Harley then.

"Darius can teleport anything and anyone touching him when he does. He has taken them far from here, they will be safe and well out of the reach of any vampires. He will be back for you and I shortly. Take this card. The power will go out within a matter of moments. It will only be out for about a minute or so and the backup generators will start. Once the light comes back on, Mon Cherie, hold the card here, agianst this panel. It will open every cage door at once. It will release every single one of these cats. I should be back by then. If I am not I think perhaps it would be best if you threw open those doors and ran. Are you ready?"

His hand so lifted to gesture to that very place on the control panel Harley was required to put that card to open each of those cages at once. The Frenchman affording her little chance to query that plan before his own teleportation so gripped him once more. Matteo so abruptly disappearing from sight only to reappear within the upper levels of that dance club and within the shadows of the bar itself. That music was near deafening and yet Risque's screams still rose above it all the same. The Frenchman's own figure remained within those shadows beside the bar, Matteo merely watching on as Risque turned upon that DJ. The unfortunate Chase so protesting he had done nothing, that the laptop was infected with a virus, Risque proceeding to snatch that laptop from his hand only to break it over his head and send the vampire crashing to the ground with a howl of outrage. Darcy moved then, the vampiric cowboy disappearing into the depths of the club for several moments to do just as Matteo had forseen. The vampiric man shutting down that power at its source. The entire club momentarily plunged into darkness as that music was abruptly cut off. The glow from the laptop all the light left within the room as Darcy returned to pick it up from the floor. "I've stopped it, Darlin'. It can't fuckin' play if dem speakers and wifi ain't got no power." That silence seemed to persist for several moments before those very safety measures Risque herself had employed so flawlessly came to life. Those backup generators upon the roof of Syn rapidly returning power to the club. Ah, but that very look of horror upon Darcy's face would surely have been adored by Harley. Let's get down to business, to defeat, the huns....

That disney classic so readily exploded into life in near the same moment as that glass was hurled at Darcy's head, the southern vampire so barely managing to dodge that projectile as that hiss spat from his lips. One met with Risques own. That vampiric pair reminding him near strikingly of a pair of cats in that moment as that hissing seemed to fill the club and several other vampires ran for cover. That laptop itself was snapped in half at Risques hands and yet that very virus had infected that entire computer system. That music only continuing to rise as a simper of satisfaction found his lips and his teleportation so embraced him once more. Matteo returning abruptly to the depths of that club to appear suddenly beside Harley once more. Darius appearing near at the same moment upon her other side. Those cages doors rapidly beginning to swing open. Harley so clearly having completed her goal. Mateo swung effortlessly up and onto that horses back then, his hand reaching down for Harley own to lift her up behind him once more.

"Come, Mon Cherie. It is time we leave. Push the door open will you. The cats will scent the outside air and we do not want to be in their way."

Darius waited only so long as it took Harley to push those doors before that teleportation ensnared them all. The trio re-appearing upon the roof of that office building opposite Syn. That music so loud it could clearly be heard for miles around. Their new vantage point affording them a near excellent view of the club below. That music having changed again to that all to important song chosen for that very moment as Matteo swung down from that saddle then, his hand offered to Harley to help her down once more and find that place beside him atop the roof. Matteo's voice, this time, entirely quiet. The sky above beginning to lighten with the coming sun rise. Those lyrics so instantly recognisable as the very first song in that ever famous The Lion King.

Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba, Sithi uhm ingonyama, Nants ingonyama bagithi baba, Sithi uhhmm ingonyama, Ingonyama, Siyo Nqoba Ingonyama, Ingonyama nengw' enamabala

"Do you know what these lyrics mean, Harley? They are a Zulu, an African language. They are saying 'Here comes a lion father, oh yes a lion. We are going to conquer a lion. Here comes a lion, a lion and a leopard to this open place'. I find them very fitting."

That near impish simper danced upon his features once more. Matteo's gaze remaining upon that Bar as the door to the rooftop was suddenly thrown open. Darcy, Risque and several other vampires hurrying onto the roof in search of those backup generators. That rooftop providing them that perfect view of Matteo's own handiwork as that song so began to reach its all important zenith.

It's the circle of life, And it moves us all! Through despair and hope. Through faith and love!

The first of those big cats exploded from those doors beneath. Several others following in its wake before a veritable stream of felines of all shapes and sizes and species begun to pour out from within the depths of that bar and to the blasting sounds of those musical notes so themed to that very feline movie. That sight nothing short of glorious to behold in every fashion. Those vampires atop the roof of sun so capable of little save for staring in abject horror as those cats raced away in every direction to that crescendo chorus. A theatrical production of the finest kind. One made perhaps all the sweeter by the sudden sound of crunching metal. One rather large lion having taken it upon himself to walk over that sleek black Lyken car. The metal crushing and scratching beneath its weight. The death of that car rather significant in turn even if Darcy could repair it easily. That lion racing away to join the others. Risque left with only those cats within her own bedroom and Darcy's beloved lynx pet. The sudden first rays of sun broke over the horizon then. Those spears of light driving those vampires back. Forcing them back into the shadows, refusing Risque any chance to attempt to summon those cats back immediately. Each and every one of them given at least one days headstart on their Mistress. That sun so rising directly behind Matteo and Harley in turn, obscuring them entirely from the gaze of any vampires whom might look that way. That faintest of simpers finding his lips then as one arm lifted to wrap about Harley's shoulders, the young woman drawn gently agianst him. Those accented words offered softly but warmly into the rising dawn light.

"That, Mon Cherie, is one of the best shows I have seen in a long time, no?"

Risque had hurt someone he loved, desperately so- and another whom he could hardly deny his....care for. Matteo and Harley in turn so having struck back at perhaps the only things Risque might have had any emotion left for. Those beloved felines that fled before her now.

"Do you still have that key card? May I have it? Thank you. I am think I will leave it on her bed, illuminated in the light of a lamp she has been missing for some time."