Who prays to Angra Mainyu, honestly?

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Who: Zetta and Ross; Zetta and Hibiki?!
When: December 23 & 24
Where: The Near Shore
What: Zetta answers prayers. Ross comes along for one. Hibiki shows up for the other. Hilarity Ensues.

December 23.

What is it with forests, anyway?

[Zetta's divine power transports the pair of them -- or rather the three of them, if one counts the unfortunate minion on book-carrying detail -- down to the Near Shore in a flash of malign black energy that practically screams 'evil!'. As much as getting named a god is an incredible step down for him, Zetta has to appreciate that this particular divinity has a little style.]

[Find the blighted tree and investigate. Simple enough. Finding themselves deposited on the outskirts of a park, maybe less simple.]

...Okay, never mind. Not forests. Super. [Zetta scowls at the faint patch of winter-worn green, addressing Ross without looking his way.] This sounds way too easy to be easy, huh?

December 24.

Hyaaaha ha ha ha ha!

[Who is Zetta talking to? Because it isn't the minion that's lugging him up the walk to the neat little townhouse from which a heartfelt prayer had come. And there's no one else around to hear... But as an Overlord and protagonist, Zetta has a heartfelt obligation to narrate his life.]

This is perfect! A prayer to watch TV? I'll sit back, do nothing, and have another devoted follower spreading the good word... uh, bad word... without needing to so much as flip a page.

I sure hope it's some decent show, though... [A brief expression of worry crossed his face as the minion shifted the Sacred Tome to one arm, the better to access the bell. But hey, what's the worst that could happen on this prayer?]

Comments

december 24; 1/hibiki, i'll reply to my own tag to keep them in the same string

[priforprince]

Yes? We're bus--

[ Thus speaks the person who answers the door. ]

2/hibiki

[priforprince]

3/hibiki

[priforprince]

4/hibiki

[priforprince]

[ SLAM goes the door!

CLICK goes the lock! Audibly! ]

hibiki/5

[priforprince]

[ WHAT?!?!?!??!?!?!?!!! ]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

What the hell!?

and done

[badassfreakingoverlord]

[Okay. The logical thing to do is to turn around and walk away and never wonder, but of course, that would be an unacceptable loss of face and Zetta won't have it.]

[The COMEDIC thing to do would be to ring the bell again, but man, they've already loaded this prayer up with a bunch of blank or short tags, that feels like pandering for AC, and Zetta has his pride.]

[So instead, Zetta shifts slightly in his minion's arms to peer through the small window next to the door, then Invites a minion down into the house. It's -- better to just have someone open the door than blast in the house of a potential supplicant, right?]

[priforprince]

[ Hibiki, meanwhile, is heading back into a small living area containing a TV and a small child, who is happily sorting through disc boxes. ]

Still indecisive, I see.

[ She smirks. ] Very well. Permit yourself to be guided by me, and -

[ The kid pads over, peers behind Hibiki, sees the minion, and shrieks - but not in fear. In delight.

"YOU BROUGHT A REAL KEPOMON!" ]

...Eh?

[badassfreakingoverlord]

[Striking while the iron is hot, the minion flings the door open, admitting a book!]

Hyaaaaha ha ha ha! Your doors are no match for the Overlord! Now, we're going to binge-watch the HELL out of some show or another!

[priforprince]

[ "MORE KEPOMON!" The kid is bouncing up and down, holding their DVD of choice. "AND THIS ONE TALKS!"

They bounce up off the chair and head for the disc player. "What's your favorite season of Kepomon? Mine is season six. Let's start with season six. Because it has, uh. The one that breathes fire in it. And the one episode that starts with them camping, and then..."

Hibiki lets the kid talk, looking over at Zetta in alarm. ] You're answering the same prayer?! Impossible!

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Oh. That explains how this prayer got to Angra Mainyu. Kids don't know any better.... [Heh heh, stupid kids.]

[But wait, this is no time for humor! Zetta snaps his gaze back up to Hibiki, anger smoldering in his eyes.] This is MY prayer! I'll be earning the sweet glory for its completion. Why don't you go... go... go be comic relief elsewhere!

[priforprince]

COMIC RELIEF?!?!?!?!??!!

[ That is, quite possibly, the worst thing anyone has ever dared say to Shikyoin Hibiki. To behold the majesty of her star quality and mistake it for that of a gag character - the idea offends both in its contents and how it reflects upon the utterer's judgment. Hibiki finds herself both insulted and, worse, in the presence of an idiot!

Her expression simplifies and contorts. The contours of her body grow sketchy in rage. Her ahoge uncurls and sticks up straight from her head. How dare....comic relief.....Impossible!

She is saved from completely self-destructing in rage, however, by the kid tugging at her sleeve and putting a finger to their lips as music begins to play. "The theme song's on!" she is informed. "Don't talk during the theme song!"

...That's right, isn't it. One mustn't talk. During the theme song.

It's a very upbeat theme song, too. ]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

[Oh, wow. Zetta makes one huge 72-point bolt italic underline note to call her that again, in the future, frequently.]


Yeah, no talking during the theme song.

[Seizing the high ground with absolutely no hands because he doesn't have any, Zetta has his minion waltz him right past Hibiki to park him on the couch in prime viewing territory. Come on, kid. Join your REAL watching buddy.]

[priforprince]

...

[ Hibiki can't argue with "no talking during the theme song", unfortunately, so she settles down uncomfortably on the other side of the couch, both her arms and her legs crossed, to watch the show. So this is a children's show about creatures, hm? A juvenile prayer for a juvenile supplicant.

The kid does sit closer to Zetta than to Hibiki, if only because a Real Kepomon is like the best watching buddy Ever. Hibiki frowns, antsy already. But not because of the child's choice.

She wants to put her legs on the couch. And the couch is full.

The couch is not allowed to be full. ]

December 23

[shiitan]

[It wasn't a forest, but that didn't mean Ross wasn't on edge, even if his expression wasn't betraying him in this case.]

Don't say that. If you do, then it definitely won't be.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

No, that would be if I said it was going to be easy! That's why I said it was too easy to be easy. [Perfectly sound logic in Zetta's mind, as so much somehow is.] Still, no sense waiting for trouble to come to us. Let's find the blighted tree.

[shiitan]

... [He was not in the mood for pointing out all the things he thought was wrong with that.]

I'm pretty sure I can move faster than you and your minion can. [Whether he meant that as a challenge or no, he was still going to use that helpful lightness he had as a shinki to leap to the top of one of the nearby trees. He already had his hand in the shape of a halberd too.]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Yeah, probaba --[Aaand there he goes. Oh well. He can continue to gloat about his clever awesomeness later. For now, the Overlord and minion simply set off further into the park on foot, eyes peeled for trouble.]

[It isn't hard to find. One tree stands out among the rest even from a distance. The others may look tired and withdrawn in the depths of cold winter... but this one seems outright malicious, its branches curled into claws and its limbs seeming to tremble with dark energy.]

[Subtle this ain't.]

[shiitan]

[Yeah, no, he wasn't liking the look of that at all. He leapt down maybe a bit closer than was safe, though he drew a borderline for himself not long afterwards.

Him? Putting down a first line of defence between the ayakashi and Zetta? Perish the thought!]

This one is trying too hard to be evil.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

[Minion and book come skidding up a moment later, boots sliding in the muddy ground. Comedy does not yet result, fortunately, though Zetta looks a bit shaken at how close he came to a front coverplant.]

Appearances are important, I've told you that. But I think this is our target. Or whatever might live in it... so to speak.

[shiitan]

[Comedy might have resulted if he'd had the idea to trip the minion just a little sooner. But that was neither here nor there.]

Are you going to set the tree on fire first to draw it out? Or target the tree as is?

[There wasn't much he could do as he was right then outside of keeping his boundary active.]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Hmm. Good question. If we burn the tree, we might burn... uh, everything else, and I'm pretty sure that's not going to win me any followers. On the other hand, if we let it stay there, we've probably got a Whomping Willow situation on our hand. I'm good with that, but how do you feel about dodging flailing branches and stuff?

[Neither of them really want to turn Ross into his vessel form till the last moment, right?]

[shiitan]

[He really could not keep up with these pop culture references, but he let that one go. At least he could infer the general meaning this time.]

I can handle that. Can I use you as a shield?

[He said that as he equipped his Mana Maker-kun. Even if he couldn't defeat the ayakashi with magic, he could at least more easily defend himself with it.]

[shiitan]

There you go. Now just keep doing all that until it's weak enough to Rend.

[His tone came out as usual, but his emotions weren't quite the same. That was one of his spells, though Zetta had put his own spin on it. Was he going to need to teach him how to use his magic properly? Surely a demon as old as Zetta wouldn't need lessons on math, physics, and the like. Or so he hoped.]