AV: Valentine's Day Assault

     Rezetosnalikari lay on the floor of the room it had been provided, staring up at the ceiling, lost in thought. There was much to contemplate in this place, and no one to talk to save the kuldarus it shared the room with. The solitude would be comforting, were it really alone. Its unnatural surroundings were a constant reminder of what lurked right outside its door.
     On the ceiling above it were the remains of a device that had seemed to serve no purpose other than to provide light. Rez had destroyed that quickly, leaving an undecipherable mess off copper threads and glass. The soft, rectangular things which had taken up a good portion of the room had similarly been shredded, though that was more a matter of curiosity. The aluminum coils they found inside made for a half-decent meal, as well. One of these half-hung idly from Rez's mouth. Chot Ren had finished its long ago.
     Something tingled in the back of Rez's mind, though. Was it unresolved thoughts that kept it in this room? Or was it revulsion at the company it would find beyond? It had a job to do, and couldn't be putting it off. "Come, Chot Ren," it said, hopping to its feet. "We have work to do."
     As they headed toward the central area of the complex, they passed a pair of aliens. What they were up to was hard to say. They stood close together, speaking softly, and paid the Paterians no mind as they passed. Something about them particularly bothered Rez, but it could not put a finger on what.
     Entering the wide-open center of the complex, Rez found the majority of the aliens gathered in the dining area. Odd, this late in the day. Something about their behavior seemed odd as well, changed from what it had seen before. Still, it seemed better to be nonchalant. Whatever they were up to, it would rather let it play out. Something else tingled the back of its mind. Something that did not fit in with the rest...
     Rez and Chot approached the food tables. They had been informed when they arrived that the food was free for competitors, and some had been provided specifically for the two of them, though not in great quantities. It had uncovered that this was both because their hosts were aware of just how little they needed to eat and that outside of Pater, such crystals were rare and expensive. Precious, even. The centerpeice of the food today were strange little red things, and Rez picked one up to inspect it.
     It was shaped somewhat like an arrowhead, rounded in the back. The outside was coated in a sparkling white crystal powder, and it smelled sweet. Those meant for the aliens had a similar powder, but they seemed to be eating them with no problem. That there was something that aliens could eat that was made of a crystal seemed odd, but there was still much about them it didn't know. Pulling out his skinning knife, it knocked off a rounded edge, and put it in its mouth. Chot Ren's mouth was big enough to accommodate one whole.
     Whatever this arrowhead thing was, it tasted fantastic! It could not place what the white crystal powder might have been, but somehow it was incredibly sweet, and the crystal... It tasted familiar, and yet entirely more delicious than anything it could place. It moved to take a seat, to better observe the aliens in the room, and Chot followed, taking another red arrowhead with it.
     Fortunately, Chot Ren's size was another thing their hosts had taken into consideration, and a chair sized for it was readily available. Chairs did Rez little good as seating, but at least provided a higher vantage point from which it could view the crowd. Again, it spotted one alien that seemed out of place. It was a sort of greenish-blue, and sported something that looked like armor which could protect it from attacks from the rear standing upright, or from above if it was on all fours. The thing seemed like it could move easily either way, perhaps better in the latter. Perhaps that was the way it fought... But for now, it seemed mostly concerned with a black box it held, and kept pointing it at various groups of aliens around the room.
     Except they weren't really groups, were they? Certainly a few had gathered into larger clusters, but more than that the aliens had paired themselves off, and these pairs attempted to seclude themselves from the rest. Occasionally, one of these pairs would depart briskly. What could they be up to? They look like conspirators... No, their intentions could easily be more innocent than that. Rez chipped off another section of its red arrowhead, placing it in its mouth. The relative quietness of their murmurings, though unusual, was a blessing. Still, it couldn't help but feel that right about now, it would like nothing more but to have the company of more kuldas.
     Its mind wandered back to the blue thing. What was it up to? Its eyes, its furtive manner, the way it faced each group in turn, it was... watching. Watching the other aliens, as well as Chot and itself. But why? Its thoughts were interrupted as a large hand came down over its shoulders, plucking it from its seat. Chot's rumbling voice spoke as it set Rez in its lap. "Why are you worrying yourself so much? There's nothing going on here. You should take this as an opportunity to relax."
     At first, Rez jerked in alarm. This was not the professional demeanor it had intended to portray for the aliens! But still, as the gigantic arms settled around it, Rez couldn't help but to admit the kuldarus had a point. It sighed. "Perhaps you're right." Maybe it was reading too much into the activities of the aliens. The closeness could just be a comfort thing, and the watching with the black box could be...
     ...Watching them. The moment Chot had picked it up, the black box had been pointed their way, and stayed there as they spoke to one another. Now, as another alien came in to take one of the softer arrowheads, the black box snapped toward it. And was it... laughing? Quietly, so as not to draw attention to itself. It had the demeanor of someone with a secret. A joke it had played on them all. An untrained eye might not have even noticed the thing. As it was feeling now, Rez might have dismissed it had it not caught sight of it sooner! But what could the joke be?
     The puzzle peices all fell into place. The pairings of the aliens, the strange attitudes, Chot Ren's odd behavior, its own readiness to accept it... It was not lonely or homesick, they had all been bewitched!
     Springing away from Chot, Rez drew its shortbow, landing on the floor to knock an arrow, levelling it at the bluish alien. In that instant, the whole mood of the room changed. Some people gasped, or cried out in alarm. Some drew weapons. Noticing he'd been caught, Neiko dropped the camera, and ducked behind a table. "Ah! Don't kill me!"
     Rezetosnalikari's voice grated into something like a growl. "You attempted to manipulate me for your own amusement. You have dulled a warrior's senses while it was surrounded by danger. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you."
     The thing rose from behind the table, the tablecloth of which would have provided little cover against the shot. Its hands were raised in a placating gesture. Its mouth was curved in a way Rez could only assume was intended to also be placating. "Hey, hey! It was just some harmless fun! They're called 'Cupid's Cookies'! All they do is make people love each other. That never hurt anyone, right? It's a good thing!"
     A good thing... Rez's mind drifted to a dozen songs it had heard. Songs about the world needing love and understanding. Songs about... It shook it off, and returned to its aim. "You can't create love," it growled. "False love is nothing. What you've created is a meaningless perversion." Should it just let it go? Perhaps this creature was just that stupid, that it didn't know what love was. Perhaps it didn't mean any harm. Or was that just the "cookie" talking? How could it act now when it couldn't even trust its own judgement?!
     "Well, either way, the effects will wear off within a few hours!" the blue thing protested. "See, no harm done. A little fun, and everything goes back to normal."
     A few hours? Rezetosnalikari had little concept of what an "hour" was, but... It would wear off, and before long? The fact that it was not permanent eased some of its fears. But can I trust you? Impulses drove it both ways.
     Chot set its hand across Rez's shoulders. "Perhaps we should just go back to our room."
     Sighing, Rez relaxed its bow. "Yes... Yes, perhaps we should." The blue thing slumped in visible relief.
     As the two headed toward the exit, many voices grumbled their distaste for the whole thing, some toward Neiko, others toward Rez.
     "All right, all right, I'm done," Neiko laughed as he picked up his camera, again, making a placating wave toward those eating. It seemed he'd get no more footage this morning. Quietly, he mused, "I've got a fortune in blackmail material already!"
     Neiko yelped in surprise as the camera burst in his hand, a small hole appearing in the wall to his right. All eyes were on Rez as it turned its head away again, and left the room.

From Rezetosnalikari's journal:
     Be wary of aliens bearing gifts. Today I encountered something which was presented as food, and particularly tasty food at that. However, alien witchcraft knows many tricks, and upon eating this food our minds were clouded with feelings of affection, dulling our senses and making us less inclined to act against them. Now that my mind has begun to clear, I am still unsure what would have been the appropriate action to take against them. Perhaps it would have been better to remain silent and not tip my hand.
     Chot Ren received a much larger portion, and even now still seems to under its influence. I only hope we will have fully recovered ourselves by the time the battles begin.