""NOOOO!"
Star covered his face, bracing himself for the deadly impact. The only thing that filled his head was how he hadn’t even begun but have ruined the entire plan.
But nothing happened.
Instead, he felt one of his legs suddenly land firmly on the roof of the house he had been certain he was about to crash into.
He stopped yelling and lowered his hand from his face. Then like some confused chicken he looked around.
"That..." he stuttered. "That was a lovely crash."
Except... there had been no crash.
Somehow, at the very last moment, he had... say magically or mysteriously appeared on the rooftop.
But how?
He had indeed kinda felt a funny sensation, just before it happened, but he had been too busy panicking to make sense of it. Then again, out of everything he had anticipated to be among his abilities this was the very least.
He lifted his hand and stared at the golden ring around his finger.
"Who knows what else I can do?"
Slowly, his other hand closed around the ring.
"...Especially if I take this off."
His fingers tightened around it. Almost immediately, his breathing quickened, and his heartbeat began pounding against his chest.
His whole being screamed this was a bad idea. He could loose control, and beneath him where countless walking blood bags. It would be disastrous if he eventually loses control.
"But... I need to know more, now that my mind is more stable." he whispered to himself. "I can control it this time."
Pushing every warning thoughts aside Star pulled...
"Aaaah"
Pain exploded through his head.
He immediately slumped onto the zinc roof, his breathing turning ragged as the world spun violently around him.
"Shit!" he gasped, digging his finger into his temples.
In that fleeting moment... he saw it again.
His own hand tearing through Elder Mousack as if the old mage were nothing more than a piece of dough.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
And the worse part was that, in that moment, it had felt...
Good.
However, the ring had only moved up every so slightly, and this apparently was the prize he had paid.
"So much for being stable" he mused as he got a little grip on himself. "Am never doing that again." He groaned as he got to his feet. "Never."
Still frowning, Star refocused on his mission.
Ahead, the McCoys’ buildings stretched across the village. The red rooftops were so spread out that his estates almost looked as though it were on the other side of the village.
"That’s a lot of houses you own, Mr. McCoy," Star croaked as his eyes spotted the bell tower.
Just as Zuru had explained, a guard was stationed at the top, probably responsible for sounding the alarm whenever danger appeared.
"There you are," Star muttered.
He stepped backward.
The rooftops weren’t as far apart from one another now.
Taking a deep breath, Star sprinted forward and leapt from the roof.
The wind rushed against his face as he soared toward the next building.
He leaned forward and, just before landing, twisted his body and rolled across the roof, spreading the impact so he wouldn’t crash through the zinc.
Using the momentum from the roll, he sprang back to his feet and launched himself toward the next building.
The roof was slanted. So Star positioned himself in a sliding position, skidded several feet, and reached the edge.
"Whoa!"
He jumped again, grabbed a metal rod protruding from a chimney, swung around it, and landed on the next roof.
His movements were becoming more calculated now. Though jumps were still sometimes higher or farther than he intended, but his quick thinking allowed him to adjust in midair.
As he approached the bell tower he started to move more carefully. Because one thing that will undeniably make the guard ring that bell was if he saw a strange figure bouncing across the rooftops toward him.
So star would make sure he wasn’t looking before leaping unto the next roof, and in no time he was lying flat on his tummy on the roof nearest to the bell tower breathing frantically.
Star stared at him for a moment.
The man hadn’t noticed him.
"I’m sorry for this, dude."
Gently, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the small gun Zuru had given him earlier. It was a sleeping gun fitted with a targeting lens.
Calming his breathing, Star peered through the lens.
The guard sat lazily in his chair at the tower’s peak, completely unaware that he was being watched.
Star aimed.
The guard yawned.
"Alright here goes nothing." Star mused before squeezing the trigger.
PFFT!
A slim dart shot through the air and struck the guard in the neck.
"Ow!" The guard yelped, reflexively grabbing his neck and feeling what had pierced him.
Sharply he pulled it out and stared at it.
"Shit" he managed to mutter, his eyes fluttered shut, and his head dropped onto his shoulders.
Within moments, soft snores drifted from the tower.
Star lowered the gun with a smile.
"Maybe Zuru was right. This really is fun."
He, however, wasted no time. He put the little gun away and scrambled to his feet.
He looked at the distance between himself and the bell tower. It was far greater than any jump he would normally attempt.
But the last jump had already taught him something.
Who knew what this one would reveal?
Star took a deep breath and lowered himself into position.
He studied the distance one last time. Then he cleared his mind.
Without overthinking it, he leapt.
The wind rushed past his face as he soared through the air.
His head remained tilted upward as he watched the top of the tower grow closer.
For a brief moment, he thought he would make it.
Then his stomach dropped. He was falling short. The boost wasn’t enough.
His body had stopped rising, which meant he was about to fall.
And he was already past the fence. If he fell now, he’d land right in the middle of the countless guards patrolling the McCoys’ compound.
"Damn."
Thinking quickly, Star reached out and caught a lower support beam protruding from the side of the tower.
The impact nearly tore his arm from its socket, but he held on.
Using the momentum, he swung around the beam and flung himself upward once more.
This time, he made it.
Star landed on top of the tower and immediately dropped into a crouch.
His chest rose and fell heavily as he struggled to catch his breath.
"That was... amazing." He chuckled quietly.
Slowly and carefully he looked down, and saw countless guards roaming around the mansion.
From that vantage point, he could see many other guards around the other red zinced McCoy’s houses that spread down the region, and judging by the number of guards surrounding this particular mansion, Star was certain that was where Mr. McCoy lived.
As he observed everything he saw that the carts haven’t yet arrived.
He got worried. "did something happen to them?"
Immediately those words left his mouth...
"Open the gates!"
Stars head quickly snapped to the other side of the gates, the carts were already there, and thankfully there was no sign of Sarah and Zuru which meant they haven’t been discovered.
Which also means... He was up.
Quickly, Star dragged the sleeping guard off the chair and lowered him onto the tower’s metallic floor. He stripped the guard of his uniform and pulled it over himself before placing the cap firmly on his head.
It wasn’t a perfect disguise, especially since he looked like he was inserted into the clothes.
But from this height, nobody would be able to clearly see his face or how bogus the uniform was on him.
"It would have to do."
He remained patient but ready.
As other guards started to climb down from the carts he remained vigilant, this was his time to act, and his focus was supposed to be on a single guard. So he paid even more attention as they kept climbing out, until each single one of the guards climbed out.
Stars eyes narrowed. "That’s... That’s it." He gasped.
"Are they not with..."
He paused immediately, a sly smile appearing on his face.
"You son of a bitch."
Just when he thought all hope was lost, another guard finally emerged, carefully carrying a shining silver box.
"Alright, it’s now or never."
Taking a deep breath, Star leaned over the railing. He was about to yell but quickly stopped himself.
"There’s no way my voice can sound like this guy’s." He glanced down at himself. "Appearance might fool them, but my voice definitely won’t."
"Shit!" He cried "What do I do... What do I do."
As he spun around confused, he caught a glimpse of the bell. Then turned and fully looked at it
His eyes lit up.
"I can just ring the bell." He looked toward the other side of the estate, where the McCoys’ coal mining factory stood.
"And point toward the factory. They’ll understand the danger is coming from there, no need to say anything"
Steadying his breathing, Star grabbed the rope, and rang the bell.
DING! DONG!
DING! DONG!
Every guard below immediately looked up.
Star pointed toward the McCoys’ coal mining factory.
"The factory is under attack!" one of the guards shouted and immediately, chaos erupted below.
Guards began sprinting toward the rear gate that led to the mining factory. Some drew revolvers while others grabbed shotguns as they rushed forward.
"Come on, people!" one of them shouted. "You heard the man! Let’s catch them whoever they are!"
"Those Idiots really thought they could attack the McCoys in broad daylight!"
Even the guards who had arrived with the supply carts abandoned their positions and joined the rush.
One by one, the guards left their posts until the mansion was almost completely unguarded.
Only then did Sarah and Zuru emerge from their hiding place within the barrels.
They exchanged cautious glances before looking up at Star.
Zuru gave him a thumbs-up.
And Star returned it proudly.
Then quietly the siblings approached the mansion.
"Ready in three..." Zuru said and Sarah nodded.
They both pulled there masks over there faces.
"Three... Two... One..."
Together, they slammed their shoulders against the door.
BANG!
The door burst open.
Without wasting time they walked inside .
But the moment they entered—
CLICK.
CLICK.
CLICK.
The muzzles of several revolvers pointed directly at their heads.
Sarah and Zuru froze.
One of the armed men tightened his grip on his revolver.
"Been a long time since brain cells splattered across these walls," he remarked coldly.
"Hehehehe..."
Mr. McCoy’s wicked laughter filled the room as he slowly rose from his expensive upholstered settee.
His eyes gleamed with amusement.
"How honourable of the Night Raiders to pay me a visit in broad daylight."