Better Check the Warranty

[carbonatedscientist]

The problem started when Sento stumbled across that mustachioed dragon, and said dragon's self-proclaimed "amazing" wares. Sento hadn't thought them amazing, and he'd told the dragon so, and there had been a bit of an argument, up until the point at which Sento had found an odd-looking bracelet in the pile. It was a thin band of silver, and this band of silver was studded with several figural beads shaped like different animals--there was a rabbit, a hawk, a hedgehog, a panda, a gorilla...all animals Sento had corresponding FullBottles for, all animals he'd used as half of Build's transformation.

He'd been so taken by the coincidence that he'd haggled with the dragon for it, and in the process, he'd completely managed to miss the fact that the silver band that held all the animal beads was actually a sculpted cobra.

It is perhaps that cobra that made absent-mindedly putting the bracelet on a very bad idea. The bracelet was, rather unfortunately for Sento, just a tiny bit cursed. (This is, the dragon would claim, what Sento got for refusing to purchase the extended warranty, which would have covered cursed artifacts.)

Sento's hair is now white, his eyes are now red, and he's sort of prowling around the town, occasionally kicking over some townsperson's fruit stand or flower cart just because he can. Oh, the humanity of it all.

Comments

[carbonatedscientist]

There was enough of a pause before the response to make this really suspicious. "Hm?" Yet he appeared totally nonchalant--even disinterested--as he turned to face Tachibana.

[triggerhappytraitor]

Even to Tachibana, that pause was noticeable. Hyper Battle Video jokes aside.

"...What happened?"

[carbonatedscientist]

"Nothing happened." This too was said as nonchalantly as possible.

...and Sento's voice sounded off the more he spoke. Deeper. Different.

[triggerhappytraitor]

"Stop fucking around, your hair and eyes have lost pigmentation," Tachibana pointed out, eyes narrowing with wary irritation.

[carbonatedscientist]

"Have they? I hadn't noticed." It was said in the same nonchalant lazy--and amused somehow--way.

[triggerhappytraitor]

"...and you don't care either," Tachibana observed, eyes narrowing further.

[carbonatedscientist]

There was a fairly expressive shrug. "Can't say I was particularly worried or anything, no." He turned to leave. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some alchemy to get to."

[triggerhappytraitor]

.... oh hell no.

Tachibana moved to stand in the man's way. "Who the hell are you and why are you wearing Sento's form?" he demanded.

[carbonatedscientist]

That made a slow smile spread across "Sento's" face. "Well," he says, "I'm not so much wearing his form as I'm wearing him.."

Since he'd been called out and all.

[triggerhappytraitor]

"You bastard..." Tachibana all but growled, fists tight at his side. Not again. "Get the hell out of him!" he demanded.

[carbonatedscientist]

There was a laugh. "I've been cooped up for far too long to just leave." He spread his arms. "And there's a whole world here just waiting for a little havoc."

[triggerhappytraitor]

"I don't care how long you've been sealed! That body isn't yours! Get out of it!"

[carbonatedscientist]

There was a malevolent glimmer in those red eyes. "Make me."

[triggerhappytraitor]

Tachibana glared darkly for a long moment before his expression shifted to one far more stern and serious--

--Which would be the only warning given before his hand shot out, wrapped in a blast of purifying light that he was aiming to land right between those glimmering eyes.

[carbonatedscientist]

"Sento" cried out at that blast, and for a brief moment, there was the shape of a very large cobra shimmering in the air behind him as the odd bracelet around his wrist seemed to move. But he managed to roll out of the way, even if he was breathing hard now. "Oh, that's a good trick. Real good. I was almost worried."

[triggerhappytraitor]

... a cobra. Tachibana's eyes narrowed further.

"...So you're that bastard, huh?" he realized, voice cold.

[carbonatedscientist]

"I may not be the exact one you're thinking of," he laughed as he stood up and started shaking a bottle. Sento still wasn't quite sure how his Bottles would work in this world, and whatever was possessing him seemed to share that. "But I'm probably close enough for your purposes."

[triggerhappytraitor]

"...the hell does that mean?" Tachibana asked, hand going to his jacket pocket to where his Buckle rested. He hadn't tried a proper transformation yet.... and similarly wasn't too sure how the Undead energy would manifest in this world.

[carbonatedscientist]

"Multiple universes," he answered, waving the hand that wasn't shaking a bottle. "Some differences. Doesn't really matter--I'm still going to destroy whatever worlds I come across."

[triggerhappytraitor]

There was a moment's pause as Tachibana simply stood in place, utterly still and stoic--

--before he vanished from view.

Barely a second later, however, he reappeared behind the possessed Rider and with a very cold and calculating motion, swept Sento's feet out from under him and elbowed him hard in the back, grabbing the man's arm and twisting it behind him to pin both it, and him to the ground.

"Not if I destroy you first."

The words were the only warning before the intense, purifying heat of Apollo's Light began to radiate out from Tachibana's entire body in a blinding nova, all focused on removing the intruder from his friend's form.

[carbonatedscientist]

"Sento" gave a growl and reflexively threw an arm up to shield himself, but it wasn't doing as much good as whatever malevolent entity was possessing him would have liked. There was a silhouette of a giant glowing cobra materializing behind him, but then it solidified to something more than just a silhouette as the bracelet on Sento's wrist snapped. Sento collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

The gigantic cobra reared back and flared its hood, hissing angrily at Tachibana. "Happy now, hero?"

[triggerhappytraitor]

Carefully letting go of his friend, Tachibana stood up, the glow around him dimming, but still lingering.

"Not yet."

There was a rippling of his form as he shifted, standing upright to Galen's massive height, the glow of Apollo's mantel settling more firmly on his shoulders. Eyes narrow, he held out his hand, the curl of supernatural flames starting to build in his palm, drawing Apollo's light in until it was a twisting ball of flame and pure bright light barely contained between his fingers.

[carbonatedscientist]

The cobra reared back and hissed, venom dripping from its fangs as it lunged at Tachibana in an effort to snuff out those flames.

Sento continued to very helpfully lie there unconscious.

[triggerhappytraitor]

Before it could get close enough, the blast of flame and light rushed out, blindingly bright and hot.

Really, it was for the best that Sento was out cold, saved him from having to cover his eyes from the blast.

[carbonatedscientist]

The cobra howled in pain, fell back, and rolled back onto its belly. "You'll pay for thissssss, heroessssss!" It was trying to escape now--it felt its chances of survival were better without getting fried another time.