Sing With Me (Invite Erebos and Fend)

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”I don’t really get why they taste different, though. Kettle chips and regular potato chips are the same chip, but one does in… a kettle? How do you even make such large quantities of chip in a kettle?”

Erebos walked casually across the Namekian expanse, arms behind his head as if he were laying down as he strolled. Across from him was Fend, his eternal best friend and biggest baddest rival. They were a little aimless right now, their only real goal being to investigate some of the stranger goings-on they could find on Namek. With Phakk gone, he presumed there wouldn’t be much TO investigate, but Palibur seemed pretty insistent on heading toward this little collection of islands, and so off they went.

”Cooking is so weird! Like, did you know there’s salt in cookies? There’s salt in a lot of stu—uuuh… Is that a conga line?”

Erebos stopped slowly, hands retracting from behind his head and lowering to his hips as he watched a flock of Namekians simply… Shuffling away from their village? Their eyes were vacant, and they murmured something about leaving home.

”This is eerily familiar. Where have I seen this before?” His hand cupped the face of one of the puppets, stopping it in its tracks. The way it stared in his direction and yet didn’t even recognize he was there…

”Oh wow. We’re dealing with a piper demon! Those are pretty rare outside of the earthling parts of the world. Wonder how one ended up so far from it’s usual stomping grounds?”

With a wave of his hand, Erebos summoned a large, black fence. It twirled and twisted, trapping the shambling Namekians in a makeshift holding pen. For now, at the very least, they wouldn’t wander off into the abyss.

”I’ve encountered these sorts a couple of times, so I’m practically immune to their musical enchantments. You should probably wear your mask a little tight around the ears, just in case, okay?”

With that, Erebos took off in the direction of the village, finding it rather quickly all things considered.

There was a haze in the air. Thick and altogether unfriendly. It’s source seemed to just be… Hanging out? The demon in question was a strange one. All dolled up for some event that had surely passed eons ago.

”Hello~” Erebos cooed, fingers wiggling. ”I’m here to beat you up. Is that okay?”

Sing closed their eyes in hopes of calming down. This was not fun enough, and rampaging here would be no different. Especially now that they accidentally on purpose sang the villagers away. Buildings don’t tend to fight back in Sing’s experience. They would need to remember their methodical side, their calmer side, their-

“I’m here to beat you up…” that voice sounded familiar.

...Better late than never! Though there was a problem, both of these individuals felt WWAY stronger than themselves. What a bother, they could maybe take one of them if he went full power. But two? Not likely. Maybe they could take turns? Maybe if they were the heroic types. If they were more like Sing then they would just kick the ever-loving hell out of them.

“I am also here to beat you up…” Unfamiliar voice, but a familiar presence next to it.

They sighed before giving a very sleepy broadcast, “That’s nice.” They cocked open a single eye, looking rather deadpanned toward the two interlopers. “I feel as though asking if it’s okay is a loaded question. Frankly I… Oh?” This whole time, Seng had left their ever-present smile back home. Yet standing before them were not one but TWO familiar faces. Well, more like a face and an object. Finally, the devilish grin cracked through the bitter frustration. Today just got a whole lot darker. in the best way

“Well! Well well well!” They melted into liquid shadows, slithering up from their crater to reform in front of the two and a half. While there was a small sting of disappointment that their anonymity was now ever more in jeopardy, at least this was relatively trustworthy. Of course that all depended on whether the young prince remembered their past. Then there was the sword. It looked different than Sing remembered, but there was no mistaking that odd feeling.

“Before we go around beating people up, how about a little chat hm?” Let’s see how long it would take Erebos to remember them. They pointed an elongated finger towards the former prince, “You look familiar. I can’t quite place it though. Anyway, I have no doubt you two could flatten me but where’s the fun in that? Besides, I was only doing it out of instinct. They were all crowding me and my crater see?” the finger stretched and curled to point to their wonderful little hole in the ground. “So how about a game instead? If I can guess your name,” the digit sprang back toward Erebos, “you guys don’t beat me up at all… well maybe only a little. But if you can guess MY name, I will not only stop playing my song but also let both of you beat me up entirely. If we both guess though… I let them go and we all get something to drink?” It was a long shot, but maybe their fellow demon forgot after all this time. Seng knew who would never forget though.

Their eyes glinted, briefly looking down at the sword. “Unless you have a better idea Palibur.” This time their telepathy would only be broadcast to the blade in Fend’s hand. Whether it could hear them or not would likely forever be a mystery, but Sing just couldn’t help themselves. “It’s been a LOOOONG time. Seems we both got quite a bit weaker since then.” They let an involuntary chuckle out loud, causing the area to radiate with echoes of stifled laughter.

All Italicized text is spoken through telepathy
WC: 591

It was sweet of Fend to try and pretend with the whole facade, but the jig was unfortunately up. Sighing, he raised his hand as he shrugged, twirling his wrist in Sing's direction as they revealed that Erebos was spot on. "He was an old pal of mine back when I was... Dabbling in the darker side of the moral compass. Razing villages, killing kings that sort of thing. It was kinda fun, but it never really sat right with me. I guess I was trying to show my peers that I wasn't a hero like they always tried to say I was, but I think they were kinda right all along."

Sing did his usual ominous dialogue, which forced the Shadowmancer to pinch the bridge of his nose in a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance. Try as he might to get used to talking telepathically, it just never felt right. Even back when he and Sing were running together he made it a point to force his fellow Oni to speak with his actual mouth.

It wasn't long before the spell over the Namekians was reverted rather quickly, though its effects still hung loosely in the air. The inhabitants of the village awoke from their trance, though felt quite dazed. It'd take some time for them to actually fully return to their senses, but it was fairly clear that no adverse, long-lasting side effects would come from it.

"No. Not date. I think I out-age her by about six-hundred years? Besides-- Clods like her just aren't my type."

Trying to cut the awkward tension by using Fend's own shadow to yoink her hood down over her face in a comical way, which'd be followed up by trying to scruff her hair up a bit. Hopefully it'd get the point across that he saw her more as a little sister or, at best, a work buddy.

"We could probably find something fun to do out here. Maybe fishing? You like fishing right? Or was that Gung who liked fishing? Gosh I can never remember." His words were that of his usual self, but there was a hint, however faint, that he felt awkward or uneasy. Being faced with his past in such a corporeal way gave him a hitch in his step and a slight lump behind his tongue. "Maybe we could share some info in a game? Trade embarrassing stories or whatever in exchange for helpful knowledge."