The Lure of Bitter Revenge

[leekspins]

WHO: Orihime Inoue, Tatsumaki, Imelda Rivera, Hector Rivera, Peter Parker
WHAT: Orihime and Tatsumaki go on patrol trying to find Sora or the monster that turned him into a hollow. Unfortunately, they succeed, just as Grand Fisher planned.
WHEN: February 9th, 2019 - Evening
WHERE: Woods between Daybreak Academy and Soleil


Ever since receiving the bitter news about her brother's transformation, Orihime and Tatsumaki had been diligently searching the school grounds for signs of him, or the creature that forced his transformation. She was certain Sora was responsible for all of the accidents she'd survived. It left a nasty chill in her gut to think that her own brother was the one holding her down under the water, or pushing her down the stairs, or throwing a tuba...

...Actually that one was probably just a crazy accident, but even so, it was eerie. What was more, it seemed like he could kill her pretty easily if he truly wanted to do it. But with all of these accidents, it made her wonder...was there some small part of him trying to hold back? It gave her hope. And hope instilled her with determination.

Since searching the grounds had turned up nothing, she had to consider the possibility that the creatures were less eager to move about a place that was well guarded and filled with students and teachers that could fight back without hesitation. So they decided to try the woods.

She glanced at Tatsumaki as they walked together through the dark and snow-drenched trees, and the sight of her friend's serious face made her smile. They'd been through a lot together over the years, and as much as it made Orihime uneasy to ask anyone to risk their lives to save someone who'd lost his long ago, she was honestly really glad to have Tatsumaki with her.

And Hector, of course. He knew what her brother now looked like, and being able to easily see the dead, he might spot Sora if she couldn't. Of course, now that Sora was a Hollow, she wondered if that would be enough to finally make him visible to her eyes. She didn't know, and it was better to be safe about something like this.

Something pricked at her spiritual senses just before she heard a scared whistle, playing the same note. Three staccato shrills. Three long whistles. Then three more short ones. The signal for an S.O.S.?

Orihime drew up short, her body tense. She hadn't heard that whistle for a couple of nights now, and her heart almost burst with sheer relief. It was Peter's ghost twin! She'd been so worried when he disappeared, but he was calling out for help. Thank goodness he was okay!

Before she'd gone two steps in the direction of the call, however, she hung back. The spiritual signature of his presence was wrong. In fact, there was nothing familiar about it at all. It felt oily and rotten, much like Ginshu's presence had felt, and just like Uncle Ben's when he'd been a monster. Orihime frowned, her pulse quickening. They'd found one.

She shot a quick look at Tatsumaki and nodded once, thinking loudly. It knows I'm here. You can fly up and flank it while I have its attention. Then she looked at Hector and made a motion like she was punching numbers on an open cell phone. She'd promised Peter she wouldn't leave him out if they actually found something; she just hoped he was rested enough for what was to come. Once it seemed like they were prepared, she took a breath to steady herself...then ran forward.

"Ghost Monsieur! Is that you? Where are you?!"

It wasn't him. She knew it wasn't, but it was important to run recklessly and pretend to be suckered into the trap so she could strike first. Even so, there was still a small swell of hope inside of her that she'd find her ghostly friend alive(ish) and well.

Comments

[no_dejare_de_quererte]

"It's crude, but... It'll work." At least well enough for what she imagines he'll need it for. A rune gun is not exactly difficult to make--you create a difference in energy pressure, and basic physics does the rest. The anti-undead inscription also looks right to her... That should be effective, so long as this thing is actually undead.

"What happened to the cannon that you copied these from?"

[made_up_names]

That's. Um. That's actually a really good question. There's a telltale flinch of Peter Parker guilt.

"I don't know," he admits. "I was so messed up by the fight I didn't go back until it was gone."

[no_dejare_de_quererte]

Oh good. A rune weapon just... somewhere out on the campus. Not that it would be impossible to make a rune weapon on the fly, but she has no idea how sophisticated this thing is... And he did call it a "cannon".

She sighs, just as she reaches the doors to the outside, pushing them open and waiting for Peter to move through. "It's not important right now, but we'll go look for it later."

Once outside and several feet from the building, Pepita leaps off of Imelda's shoulder, but it's not a gray tabby cat that hits the ground. The air seems to shimmer, as if looking through waves of heat. Neon bright colors spread from the tip of Pepita's nose, through her body, to the tip of her tail. In barely more than a blink of the eye, she grows several times larger, horns curling in through the fur behind her ears, her back legs morphing into an eagle's talons and her tail into a lizard's, while a pair of wings sprout and unfurl from her back.

Giant paws hit the ground with a thump, and then pad softly as she turns to the side. She crouches down, making a smaller distance for the two humans to climb up--which Imelda immediately does. She then turns and holds out her hand to help Peter up.

"Do you have everything you need to put that together? Aside from the spells?"

[made_up_names]

Holy shit. Peter stops dead for a moment, just staring. He'd known Pepita could transform, but. Uh. That's crazy. He's impressed, honestly.

"I - yeah," he says, still staring at Pepita's back. "It's in my backpack. I stuffed everything in there." And some parts are crumpled, but he really doesn't have time to deal with that right now. He wants to ask if he's really supposed to hop up, but. There's her hand. Carefully, carefully, he takes it, levering himself up onto Pepita's back.

[no_dejare_de_quererte]

Imelda grasps Peter's hand and pulls him up onto Pepita's back, where there's more than enough room for them to kneel comfortably. "Alright. Start putting it together, and I'll add whatever spells you need." So long as he can work and sit on a flying cat at the same time. Fortunately, Imelda gets the impression that he's not exactly scared of heights...

She waits for Peter to situate himself before continuing, "You never said where we were going. Do you know where they are?"

[made_up_names]

This is definitely one of the weirder things he's ever done. Climbed buildings? Oh yeah. Fought in the Outlands? For sure. Climbed up on top of a magical cat's back? Not so much. He situates himself as best he can, both a little freaked out and excited.

"Yeah, I do," he says. "I can definitely point it out to you."

[no_dejare_de_quererte]

"Alright." That seems good enough for her. She gives her familiar a pat on the back of her neck, and calls "Let's go, Pepita!" With a leap, the chimera takes to the air, her wings flapping in slow but powerful downbursts to gain altitude. The first few seconds is a little rocky, but the ride smooths out afterwards--enough to give them time to map out where to go and start assembling an anti-undead potato gun.