(no subject)
She'd planned for everything. She wore a mask to keep that Resistant town sheriff from IDing her. She brought revealer goggles to avoid the wards around the house (cost a small fortune, but a necessary expense in this line of work). She had a bag of sand to throw in the white mage's face to keep him from casting a spell, and her martial arts training made short work of everyone else between her and the home of her quarry. She was prepared for anything.
Finding the seer sprawled on the floor of the living room with no one else in sight? That, she wasn't expecting.
The crippled man tries, weakly, to sit up, his head sagging like a sandbag against his chest. "N-no... get out..." he wheezes, scarcely able to breathe. "The virus h-had a... side effect... get... out... and s-save yourself..."
Oh, she's not about to fall for that old line. "Nice trick, seer. I--" She frowns as she steps closer. "Um, are you all--?"
"No! Don't you see? They weren't protecting me from you..." He lifts his head. "They were protecting everyone from ME."
The seer's face distends, growing massive teeth too large for his jaw to contain, his skin turning a sickly orange... and in a burst of blood, three massive, eyeless, toothed heads erupt from his body to face her with hungry grins.
She jumps back, knives held at the ready. "What the hell?! The virus can't do this to someone! Unless--"
There's a sharp rush of air on either side of her, and the Persi knives are knocked out of her hands. "Oh yes," says a familiar voice--it's that skinny faggot swordsman from Prontus. "I disarmed you from behind. Again."
She scowls. "...unless it's an illusion. You sneaky son of a--"
Out of nowhere, an old woman appears with an even more ferocious scowl on her face. "Bitch."
And something hits her like a tidal wave...
"The spell I used could knock out a dragon," says Miranda as she finishes conjuring the restraints around the huntress's body. "She'll be out for a while."
"Way to sell Luna's illusion, Dominic," says Szark as he helps Dominic back to his feet. (Foot. Whatever.) "For a second there I thought something really had gone wrong."
"I used to be quite the actor in school," says Dominic.
"And Luna, that illusion was spectacular! I--" Szark stops abruptly. "Luna? Are you all right?"
He stares at Luna. So do Gregory, Donovan, and Quilt, who have just returned, nursing their wounds and spitting out sand. Dominic's fiancée is staring at the bound huntress with an expression of pure venom... and now that the fogger spell is gone, the reason for her anger is all too obvious.
"Holy crap!" says Quilt. "She looks just like--"
"Me," says Luna. "The oracle hunter isn't your sister, Dominic. She's my sister." Indeed, aside from the huntress's lack of tusks and the slightly darker hair, the two women could be twins.
Quilt's eyes go even wider. "Oh my God! The woman who's been calling herself Dominic's brother is also Luna's sister! It all makes sense now! Dominic and Luna are related! Call off the wedding!"
"No, Quilt," says Luna. "It means that she was calling him 'brother' because after we get married she'll be his sister-in-law."
"And if Amelia were still alive I'd still be Luna's brother-in-law," says Szark. "I did marry into the Travoria family, after all."
Dominic frowns. "You didn't recognize your ex-wife's sister?"
"Fogger spell aside, I've never met her before."
Luna's expression softens a little as she looks at her unconscious sister. "She ran away from home when we were young. My family never really spoke of her."
"Hey! She's like the Jacob Deegan of the Travoria family!" pipes up Quilt.
Gregory gives him a Look. "Thank you for that, Quilt." To Luna: "What's her name, anyway?"
"Barnet Travoria. She's my oldest sister, and she's got a lot of explaining to do."
Sheriff Dex Garrit confiscated all of Barnet's seer-slaying gear (all of it illegal, and no way to trace its purchase), but the huntress herself has yet to regain consciousness. She does, indeed, have a lot of explaining to do, and Dominic intends to make sure she does it all.
Not tonight, though. Tonight is time to rest.
Luna sags onto the bed. "What a day. What an awful, awful day."
"Hey, let's not even talk about it, okay?" Dominic murmurs. "Let's just get some rest and deal with whatever tomorrow throws at us."
She leans over the bed toward him. "You still love me even though all my sisters are maniacs?"
Dominic manages a small smile. "You agreed to marry me even though I've got a maniac brother."
"I love you so much. You know that."
"I love you, too. And I know everything." Dominic smiles down at his fiancée snuggled against him.
{And then the view gives way to that of a very similar-looking girl--Barnet Travoria. She's awake and battle-ready, her Persi knives pointed at some unseen target...
And then she drops them with a cry of shock and pain. Her body is distending, bulging with a thousand tumorous growths that have appeared out of nowhere. She drops to the ground, curled up in pain, even as her form becomes less and less recognizable as human or even a living creature.
Dominic has seen this before. He knows the cause, even before the figure steps into view--a lean, bespectacled man with bleached-blond hair and a cold, calculating stare...}
Oh God... there's one more seer she's going to go after. Celesto. And he's going to kill her.
Finding the seer sprawled on the floor of the living room with no one else in sight? That, she wasn't expecting.
The crippled man tries, weakly, to sit up, his head sagging like a sandbag against his chest. "N-no... get out..." he wheezes, scarcely able to breathe. "The virus h-had a... side effect... get... out... and s-save yourself..."
Oh, she's not about to fall for that old line. "Nice trick, seer. I--" She frowns as she steps closer. "Um, are you all--?"
"No! Don't you see? They weren't protecting me from you..." He lifts his head. "They were protecting everyone from ME."
The seer's face distends, growing massive teeth too large for his jaw to contain, his skin turning a sickly orange... and in a burst of blood, three massive, eyeless, toothed heads erupt from his body to face her with hungry grins.
She jumps back, knives held at the ready. "What the hell?! The virus can't do this to someone! Unless--"
There's a sharp rush of air on either side of her, and the Persi knives are knocked out of her hands. "Oh yes," says a familiar voice--it's that skinny faggot swordsman from Prontus. "I disarmed you from behind. Again."
She scowls. "...unless it's an illusion. You sneaky son of a--"
Out of nowhere, an old woman appears with an even more ferocious scowl on her face. "Bitch."
And something hits her like a tidal wave...
"The spell I used could knock out a dragon," says Miranda as she finishes conjuring the restraints around the huntress's body. "She'll be out for a while."
"Way to sell Luna's illusion, Dominic," says Szark as he helps Dominic back to his feet. (Foot. Whatever.) "For a second there I thought something really had gone wrong."
"I used to be quite the actor in school," says Dominic.
"And Luna, that illusion was spectacular! I--" Szark stops abruptly. "Luna? Are you all right?"
He stares at Luna. So do Gregory, Donovan, and Quilt, who have just returned, nursing their wounds and spitting out sand. Dominic's fiancée is staring at the bound huntress with an expression of pure venom... and now that the fogger spell is gone, the reason for her anger is all too obvious.
"Holy crap!" says Quilt. "She looks just like--"
"Me," says Luna. "The oracle hunter isn't your sister, Dominic. She's my sister." Indeed, aside from the huntress's lack of tusks and the slightly darker hair, the two women could be twins.
Quilt's eyes go even wider. "Oh my God! The woman who's been calling herself Dominic's brother is also Luna's sister! It all makes sense now! Dominic and Luna are related! Call off the wedding!"
"No, Quilt," says Luna. "It means that she was calling him 'brother' because after we get married she'll be his sister-in-law."
"And if Amelia were still alive I'd still be Luna's brother-in-law," says Szark. "I did marry into the Travoria family, after all."
Dominic frowns. "You didn't recognize your ex-wife's sister?"
"Fogger spell aside, I've never met her before."
Luna's expression softens a little as she looks at her unconscious sister. "She ran away from home when we were young. My family never really spoke of her."
"Hey! She's like the Jacob Deegan of the Travoria family!" pipes up Quilt.
Gregory gives him a Look. "Thank you for that, Quilt." To Luna: "What's her name, anyway?"
"Barnet Travoria. She's my oldest sister, and she's got a lot of explaining to do."
Sheriff Dex Garrit confiscated all of Barnet's seer-slaying gear (all of it illegal, and no way to trace its purchase), but the huntress herself has yet to regain consciousness. She does, indeed, have a lot of explaining to do, and Dominic intends to make sure she does it all.
Not tonight, though. Tonight is time to rest.
Luna sags onto the bed. "What a day. What an awful, awful day."
"Hey, let's not even talk about it, okay?" Dominic murmurs. "Let's just get some rest and deal with whatever tomorrow throws at us."
She leans over the bed toward him. "You still love me even though all my sisters are maniacs?"
Dominic manages a small smile. "You agreed to marry me even though I've got a maniac brother."
"I love you so much. You know that."
"I love you, too. And I know everything." Dominic smiles down at his fiancée snuggled against him.
{And then the view gives way to that of a very similar-looking girl--Barnet Travoria. She's awake and battle-ready, her Persi knives pointed at some unseen target...
And then she drops them with a cry of shock and pain. Her body is distending, bulging with a thousand tumorous growths that have appeared out of nowhere. She drops to the ground, curled up in pain, even as her form becomes less and less recognizable as human or even a living creature.
Dominic has seen this before. He knows the cause, even before the figure steps into view--a lean, bespectacled man with bleached-blond hair and a cold, calculating stare...}
Oh God... there's one more seer she's going to go after. Celesto. And he's going to kill her.