"Welcome to the shoooo~oowww..." Sonata's voice - it had to be assumed - sang out, a high keening sound behind her voice setting an unnatural tune to the words. Only the heightened senses of the felines in the chamber were able to clearly identify it as the sound of two knives being used to sharpen each other, somehow making a flow of music. "I'm here to let you knoooo~ooowww..."
Mirage opened her mouth to try and shout something, but no sound came out. She tried to clutch at her throat, and found fear and shadows binding her limbs.
"My time is noooo~ooowww..." Sonata sang as the sound of the blades came to an end, and the sound of a blade sinking into meat echoed, followed by a spray of some sort of liquid. "Your time has run out..."
In an instant she was visible, blood dripping from her face and blades as she let out a terrifying laugh that echoed madly in the light...only for the light to vanish.
And then the screams started.
No one could clearly see what was going on anymore. Something whirled through the chamber like a wind bringing death, blood, and gore in its wake. Something wet and sticky flew past Jade's face, and she virtuously told herself it was jello no matter what her nose said. Jackie's struggles to overpower one of the werecats abruptly came to an end when all resistance faded but the grip didn't...only to discover when he moved that all he was still holding were the two hands with interlaced fingers, the stumps dripping. Viper aimed a punch at a head, only to find her fur stained by hot liquid as the flesh she targeted vanished. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo shifted as they struggled to block their noses rather than eyes or ears as that extra strong sense was assailed by blood, bile, and bowel stench.
Finally, the screams came to a halt and the light returned. The altar had been shattered, and dead werecats were piled up in the center of the circle, their bodies torn apart until the pieces from dozens of bodies were together enough to make nine bodies, with Sonata sitting happily on top of them, a long forked tongue extending from a fang-filled mouth as she licked blood from the blade. "Any questions?" she purred darkly at Mirage.
"W...what are you-" Mirage started to ask.
"Pecking order."
With that statement from Sonata, something tensed in the air and sent Mirage flying across the room to slam into the wall, erasing the bonds binding Adagio, Aria, Hsi Wu, Jade, and the fillies. Adagio shook out her wrists as she got to her feet, turning to pull Aria up. "It's over now," she told her sister.
"Are Sonata's eyes back to normal yet?" Aria demanded.
"Uh...no."
"Then I'm keeping mine closed," Aria insisted, one hand holding her ears flat while the other covered her nose.
"I don't blame-" Hsi Wu's voice cut off as he saw the circle embedded in the ground glowed. "Sonata, you might want to move. That's a divine circle, and it just triggered. Whatever god it's connected to is coming."
Mirage started to chuckle as Sonata calmly walked out of the circle. "And you have given me what I sought even so!" she declared eagerly. "My Goddess shall rise and reclaim her throne, and I shall reclaim the power that was stolen from me, and she shall feed on your flesh in vengeance for slaying her worshipers-"
As she spoke, a figure slowly took shape in the circle as the bodies vanished. The figure stood tall, taller than everyone present, and definitely had werecat features. She was garbed in Egyptian robes that enhanced her lush figure rather than concealing it, and her fur was pitch black, only a shade lighter than the long hair that cascaded down her back. Her face, however, was that of a domestic cat rather than a hunter.
Mirage's voice had cut off as the last few features took shape. "Y-You are not Sekhmet!" she declared in anger and fear.
"No, I'm not," the figure in the circle purred as she stretched. "Your circle was written to send the power of mortals shaped feline sacrificed by feline warriors to my sister. But it was an ageless shaped feline who sacrificed feline warriors, and so the power went to me. I came when the power was sent out of...curiosity."
"B...Bastet..." Mirage murmured as fear overcame more of her voice.
"Huh, another familiar face," Hsi Wu murmured in surprise. "I'd have thought modern professionalism, if nothing else, would have changed your wardrobe choices, Bast."
Bastet let out a purring chuckle, reaching over to pinch Hsi's cheeks like a doting grandmother. "Oh, you were always so cute when you took a human form, Wuwu."
"WUWU?" Jade, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Adagio, and Aria all gasped in shock.
"She's the only one allowed to call me that," Hsi Wu snapped out firmly. As Jade opened her mouth, he added, "And I'm only compelled to obey the spirit of your will, remember?"
"Oh, did you get yourself a girlfriend?" Bastet purred excitedly.
"He's not my boyfriend!" Jade snapped out angrily.
"Aiyah..." Jackie groaned, shaking a dead hand out of his grip to facepalm. "Even the gods are shipping them now. Bad day..."
Bastet's hand suddenly snaked out, seizing Mirage by her skull. "And where do you think you'rrrrrre slipping off to?" she demanded angrily.
"I-" Mirage began, only to be cut off.
"The circle calls for one sacrifice for each life," Bastet growled, her voice now sounding less domestic and very much that of a great hunting cat. "I count five adults...four children. Explain."
"But...but Sekhmet hungers..." Mirage struggled to say.
"One of the few things my sister and I agree on is that the children are to be protected," Bastet spat in fury. "But you are right, she does hunger..." Her other claw slashed at the air, opening a void through which a feline hunting howl could be heard. "And since you're so eager to feed her..." Bastet tossed Mirage into the hole. One last scream was heard before Bastet closed the gate.
Viper shuddered at that. "This is...not the sort of thing you encounter often..."
"My apologies for the actions of my sisterrrrr's High Priestess," Bastet purred softly as she lifted the Cat of Khartoum. "None of you should have been caught up in this. Sister is Class 2...as is Valmont and Hsi Wu, which places all of you outside what she is allowed to interfere with. The last thing the Council wants is the Near-Divine making war on each other." She turned to Sonata. "I am glad it was you and not your father that settled this," she purred as she stroked Sonata's hair, the blue girl's eyes returning to normal from the playful affection. "Had he stepped in against sister's High Priestess, sister would have been allowed to step in as well...and no matter how that battle ended, the collateral damage..."
"Meow!" Sonata said happily as she purred from the caress.
"Precisely," Bastet agreed. "And so...to the Children of the Demon Sorcerer of Light and to the Family of Demon Sorcerer of Sky...I offer one Level 4 Boon a piece in sister's place."
"...what?" Jackie asked in confusion.
"Boons are Divine Favor," Hsi Wu explained quickly. "Since the Jade Council moved more into the modern world, Boons have been standardized to five levels, from Level Five at the lowest to Level One at the highest, each with a descriptor based on how the Boons were presented in ancient times."
Bastet nodded in confirmation. "A Level Five Boon is 'I remember you with favor', which in essence means your name is in that divine being's good books. Good for future business dealings or wiggling out of cultural misunderstandings, but little else. Level Four, as I've offered you, is 'Of my power in the moment'."
"Basically equivalent to a wish from a Genie of the Ring," Hsi Wu explained quickly. "Just about any wish you could come up with on the small scale."
"Oh, I read about these!" Sweetie Belle called out. "A Level Three Boon is 'if it is within my power', which is basically anything it's in the God's power to grant. A Level Two Boon is 'if it takes a thousand years'."
"Those are best used to alter divine policy," Hsi Wu explained, "but are very rare to be offered, let alone received. And each being Class 2 or higher is also allowed to offer one Level One Boon at a time."
Bastet nodded. "A Level One Boon is 'if it costs me my life'. In history, such a Boon has only been granted three times...and you can see why."
"Can we be kitties again?" Sonata asked hopefully. "I like being a kitty, but sometimes I wanna be other things, and I don't think the Cat statue magic is healthy if it was made by that bad lady. And I bet Aria likes the extra strength and Adagio already said she wants to walk around in just her choker and fur sometime." She scratched idly at her ear with her foot. "Besides, I like being blue again, like before we were banished the first time. Human colors don't suit us much, I don't think."
Bastet chuckled as she glanced from her to Aria and Adagio. "Is she correct of your desires?" she asked carefully. When she received nods, she clapped her hands. Everyone found themselves humans once more...and Jackie and Viper found themselves clothed. "Each of you retains the power to take on the feline form again at will, along with the behaviors, instincts, and enhanced abilities that come with it." She then grinned towards Jade. "And as an added treat for you, if your familiar is in human form when you choose to assume a feline form, he will be forced to assume one as well."
"Hey!" Hsi Wu snapped out as Jade giggled. "Doesn't that violate-"
"The rules of what can be granted to a Familiar via his Mistress-"
"I'm not his Mistress!"
"-supersede the rules regarding what a Class One can do to a Class Two without permission," Bastet teased with a smirk. She then turned to Jackie. "You are the highest authority in your Family here. What Boon do you desire?"
"Uhh..." Jackie began, unsure how to respond to that.
Chuckling, Bastet held out a coin. On one side was the image of her face, on the other was a 4. The coin was as black as her fur, with heiroglyphs around the edges. "When you have need of my Boon, this shall call me to grant it," she promised...and then vanished.
"Mine!" Sonata called out, snatching the Cat of Khartoum out of the air before it could fall. "Can we get pizza now? I don't think there's a taco place in Tangiers..."
Tangiers is in what used to be called Spanish Morocco. I'm sure that they've got Spanish food. Are tacos Spanish or just Mexican?
*raucous laughter due to the end of that chapter*
Oh I love how this ended. Feel a little bad for Mirage, but she set herself up for it. I love that they can keep the feline forms.
Well, that's settled.
...and yeah, Sonata's probably got a point. I doubt anywhere outside of the Western Hemisphere is going to have a taco restaurant...except maybe Europe.
I can’t be the first to comment. This is a glitch.
Also ADs in the middle of the story? What is this Hulu?
If I’m the only one seeing this stuff: This statement is a lie.
Hey, Bast, I like it.
That does seem like something that would end badly for a lot of people.
Interesting, so the kitty boon hit for everyone but only used the Light family's boon since Sonata wasn't particularly specific about it, leaving an additional boon for the Sky family to use at some future point. That will probably come in handy.
Ehh, this is a cosmopolitan high magic world, I bet tacos can be had in Tangiers.
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Mexican, last I checked.
At least she somehow didn't get her mentor to show up.
Hi.
......please help.
I...
don’t know what to think
Oh they are NEVER going to let him live THAT nickname down.
Dude have you seen the PAPERWORK that gods have to do nowadays? They NEED every form of entertainment they can get. The only other thing they can do is pretty much what Zeus did back in the day. Wander amongst mortals, sleep around and have kids with random strangers. And ZEUS stopped doing that BECAUSE of the paperwork he had to do PER KID!
...................If THAT is NOT Karma, I don't know what would be. On that note, NEVER PISS OFF A DIVINE BEING! SERIOUSLY PEOPLE! READ THE FINE PRINT! If the god or goddess you are sacrificing to is something THAT THEY PROTECT then consider your happy ass forfeit.
........And I thought pissing off a divine being was bad but this? YEESH!
What Jackie said.
Huh. That actually makes a lot of sense.
That will come in handy for the future. And lead to some funny moments. Heck, I bet this will become a VERY important skill in the future. And I can't help but feel sorry for Hsi on that last part.
Heh I wonder if Jackie will end up using his boon so he and Viper can change into their "Super Saiyan Jackie/Sun Wukong Jackie" and "Lamia/Naga Viper" forms at will.
Wow, Mirage got owned. I never thought I would actually see that happen.
Oh man, this is gonna be great. The ability to transform into cats whenever they want? Oh, Sonata is going to have a blast with that, and I can just imagine what kind of mischief Jade is gonna get up to.
And now Jackie basically has a free wish for the future... How long is he going to hold onto it?
Find out on the next Dragon—I mean, Three More Things!
Chapter One Hundred Sixty-Six
"Bad Day"
/
Chapter Count: 1
Total Count: 43
"He's Not My Boyfriend!"/"I'm not his Mistress!"
/
/
Chapter Count: 1/1
Total Count: 47/6
So does this mean Sonata is now a taco cat? (Taco cat spelled backwards is taco cat.)
Not a bad ending. I guess we are now moving onto the Dark Chi Warrior arc next? I doubt that any of the enforcers will be kidnaped by Wong as that would be a declaration of war against several factions and I doubt he would be that stupid.
Still it makes me wonder how Valmont will react if he were ever to meet Cici from Octavia's story as her father wants peaceful contact between both sides. Personally I blame the CMC for tipping off the other side about the ponies.
Seems Mirage was completely Bastet.
I wonder what Uncle is gonna say when the cats out of the bag.
I think Wuwu is gonna have a big Booboo to his demonic pride.
A single wish on the level of a Genie of the Ring... Possibly Genie of the Lamp if Jackie calls on Bastet at a time when she would be more powerful.
I really don't see Jackie using that wish, not lightly. He'll probably need it later though.
Fun fact: Bastet's name in Greek Mythology is Ailuros.
I foresee Uncle getting called Sebastos at some point...
huh, Mirage lasted more than a minute...i lost my bet...
One, Two
Sonatas coming for you
Three, Four
Better run for the door
Five, Six
You'll be shitting bricks
Seven, Eight
It's too late
Nine, Ten
Let the murder begin
Bastet had an awesome enterance, plus I can just see her taking a chance to visit Hsi and his new family later and getting treated to some delicious sushi and fish dishes in San Fran. Then she needs to go to a museum and entertain everyone but Jackie over how WRONG historians have gotten things about Ancient Egypt while Jackie just gets a headache.
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Tats? DO THIS! THIS HAS TO BE DONE AS A SCENE!
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It's called a "palindrome"
I Palindrome I by They Might Be Giants
Has nothing to do with palindromes & is far from their best
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=They+May+Be+Giants+Palindrome&&view=detail&mid=A4429950AD8D2EA4A49CA4429950AD8D2EA4A49C&FORM=VRDGAR
If you ever watched Tiny Toons, they did Particle Man & the cover of Istanbul, Not Constantinople used on the show
...anyone remember what happened to that house cat Jade bonded with? She seemed like she was going to be important to this arc, but since that fell through, I am now hoping that she'll be upgraded to supporting cast.
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Ruby's still around. She's just nowhere near as fast as werecats.
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I am aware. TMBG happens to be one of my favorite bands, and I remember the Tiny Toons music videos. (The bit in the middle of I Palindrome I that starts with "Son I am able" is a word palindrome, the whole part reads the same if you reverse the order of the words.)
Also, Weird Al's "Bob" has far better examples of palindromes, as every single line in the song is an individual letter palindrome.
I can't seem to find it on Google, but I remember hearing the line "Taco cat spelled backwards is taco cat" in a song or something, which is where my last comment came from.
Yay, cat powers!
I half expected Sonata to say something along the lines of “B****, don’t tell me what to do.” before summersaulting out of the circle and landing right on Mirage’s stomach.
I have a feeling that is going to change the second Jade turns 18.
She says that only because Sonata’s teacher wasn’t there. Though I have a feeling he was watching and laughing the whole time.
So now they are all werecats. Excellent! I can already picture Uncle complaining about not being a cat person, and will not take responsibility for cleaning out the litter box.
8632535
I wonder if Ruby was scratched by the statue, and if that means she transformed into an anthro cat because of it.
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There’s still a decent amount of the back half of season 2 to adventure through. Uncle still needs to become a vampire, and Alucard needs to pay some cultists a visit at Stonehenge. :P
Huh. Now that I think about it, I never got a chance to finish the Higurashi series.(I could only get my hands on the First Season of the series)
And that also kind of explains why Sonata's so cheerful all the time.
Now THAT was something I did not expect! Though I am certainly rather curious as to what Jade will wish for in the future for her Boon! <3
That… was surprisingly less nightmare-inducing than I expected. Though now I’m curious who the Siren’s birth father is, if they share one, and if no to the second question, if Sonata’s is who I think it is.
…I hope it is
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Their father is Discord.
Oh, Sonata
Almost expected Popo rather than Bastet
Aaaaand Sonata became David Pumpkins
That last part was SO Sonata!
Thanks for the update!
why o why can I see Scootaloo pranking Dash by turning into a cat and sleeping on the cloud and Dash saying how did the cat get on a cloud
Go Sonata.
And a boon from Bastet... each... so much potential, so much win.
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And their adopted father is Valmont, Demon Sorcerer of Light
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a) Tangier is 5 degrees and odd minutes west of the prime meridian.
b) 20 seconds on Google turns up half a dozen different Taco restaurants in Tangier.
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So I was wrong. Sue me.
Try to
You know, i'm reminded of one fight from Demon Stone.
To avoid spoilers, when a god whose aspect is hunger doesn't get fed... Anyone nearby (even one of their own priests) is in for a bad time.
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Whatever Jackie wishes for, hopefully it'll be... (puts on sunglasses) the cat's meow.
I just love seeing the nigh-on chaotic renditions to each adventure, and this is no exception.
8633211
so the hungry god gets cranky and tries to kill/eat whoever's to slow to get away?
So, Jackie have a free wish, waiting to see what he does with it.
Chapter One Hundred Sixty Six
"Aiyah!"
\
Chapter Count: 1
Total Count: 48
"One More Thing!"
Chapter Count: 0
Total Count: 83
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More or less. On a side note, play Demon Stone. It's a fun if challenging game.
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Or the souls series...but everyone knows that is challenging.«shiver» Now I wanna mod Popo into Dark Souls...or his sound effects...imagine walking in a dark hall and suddenly...popos laugh.... or looking in a certain hole and suddenly ' Hiiii.....'
8633811 As far as i've experienced the Souls games transcend challenging to the point of no longer being fun. Like Candy Crush, but worse.
why that link? thanks for the damn nightmares.
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Tell that to the guy who beat it with a guitar hero's controller...And dance dance pad...And...everything else...
Sidenote...what'd u think about the popo voice mod idea? I got to work trying to figure out how right after that comment....maybe I can put it in a VR form eventually...
8634320 Honestly? I say go for it.