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madimpossibledreamerMain Points:
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure/Buffy the Vampire Slayer AU
Chapter Summary: The Lords of Death prepare for one final contest.
Word Count: 1294
Rating: Teen
Note: HERE THERE PROBABLY BE BUFFY/JJBA SPOILERS
“We do not challenge your domain,” Balam rumbles, bowing his head. He isn’t indicating his subordination to the Lords, but the fact that this is, in fact, their territory. “Surely you are aware of the intrusion into Xibalba. If not, ask the brothers. Like the human seeking to reach beyond himself, this challenge to your power endangers us all.”
Zipacna’s sitting. He looks angry and slightly drunk, too. “Yeah, yeah, he’s not lying. Not sure how it worked, but the humans didn’t do much more than take advantage.” It’s surprising he’s not making excuses. The Lords of Death are the kind who would punish for failure, but maybe they’d also be the kind to punish those who failed and lied about it—actually, strike that, Darling is certain they’re the types who would do that. They want to make it impossible to win, to watch each other struggle. Maybe they think it’s useful to make them more vicious from the frustration.
Lord Kisin sneers, but Lord Akan, back to acting friendly, puts a hand on his arm.
“Your concern is noted and much appreciated. Have you discovered much of note about the intruder?” He’s slurring slightly, but speaking slowly to try to hide those traces. And they’re being ignored because the implication is that they don’t matter.
“It is not the human seeking to gain the power of rival gods. It is a rival power, though the exact nature of its motives and intrusion are difficult to determine. Some of my scouts sensed something else skulking around the edge of Xibalba briefly, but I have no confirmation of these sightings, and it has been some time since any have left these halls.” Balam is being entirely honest, which indicates he is, in fact, concerned about the threat it all poses. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be sharing this much.
They don’t mention Kukulkan or what he’s doing. He’s not particularly sharing that information with Darling, either. She’s not sure if it just has nothing to do with any of this, so he’s not sharing because it’s not relevant, or if he’s worried about it for some reason.
“We haven’t thrown our weight around enough. Time was everyone knew not to mess with us.” Cabrakan growls, showing off his jaws and slamming his tail behind him in emphasis. “We take out a sacred mountain or two or flatten a village, they’d know our names again.”
“Hell yeah!” Buluc Chabtan’s pretty enthusiastic, but yeah, he does enjoy destruction and chaos.
“Not—” Lord Kisin interrupts, sharp and final. “Yet. One thing at a time.” His gaze is pointed, the amusement barely returning. “Your concern and efforts have been noted. Given your highly important work, I’m not sure if you’d have the time for a distraction…”
He’s bringing out the full force of his charisma, the underlying malice the only thing keeping him from acting on said malice.
“Xibalba bears your name. If the Lords of Xibalba have a request for me, then I will obey.” Of course, if he asks Balam and his ‘scouts’ to, say, kill them, he’s not actually going to do it, but she’s pretty sure everyone here actually knows that, and it’s better than saying he’d just consider it.
“You and Awilix can join the humans on their team. I suppose they can use their Hamon and other powers, as a compensation for only having five players while we’ll have six.” He makes it sound like a very generous gesture. He’s also implying that it’s not like they’re going to be using their own powers, but it’s an implication. He’s not actually saying it directly, so he can claim he’s not actually cheating if they do.
“Thank you, Lord Kisin,” the Queen of the Night praises him. She sounds honest, but it’s hard to tell if she actually is or not. Most of these Lords (and Lady, in this case) of Death are fairly good at lying.
“I would be honored,” Balam rumbles. He actually winks at her when she glances at him, which makes her considerably more at ease. Not that having the Captain or Mr. Brown on her side is not comforting, but the more allies the better, especially ones who know the people and places involved.
“As for our team, it will consist of myself, Lord Akan, Buluc Chabtan, Tohil, Camazotz, and Zipacna.” Choosing only one of the brothers is sure to further cause a rift—but then, given the rest of the way they’ve been handling these things, it doesn’t surprise Darling at all.
Lord Akan smiles and takes another sip of drink.
“I’d have joined in anyway,” the Lord of War insists. Lord Kisin carefully ignores him, which means that he’d probably known that and didn’t wish to indulge him.
Tohil just nods. As does Camazotz, sneering a little and squinting into the light.
“Hope you’re ready for a rematch!” Zipacna yells with enthusiasm.
“As ready as you,” Mr. Brown retorts. He’s probably suggesting that none of them are, but the humanoid alligator Lord of Death doesn’t seem to take it that way.
“I would suggest Jacawitz serve as our referee, but I have the feeling he’s far too biased for such a role, aren’t you, Jacawitz?” he asks, tone playfully teasing. It’s all a play, a performance put on for the benefit of everyone watching, and it’s painfully uncomfortable. Darling carefully doesn’t squirm, because she doesn’t want to show them any weaknesses, but she very much wants to do so.
“I am not, Lord Kisin,” Jacawitz hisses, pure hate in his eyes, and Lord Kisin just raises an eyebrow. He’d probably only appeared in human rather than skeleton form solely so he could do so.
“Oh, of course.” He gestures, and his dog jumps apparently out of nowhere and tears a chunk out of Jacawitz’s wing.
The wasp does not scream, but he can’t fully hide the hate in his eyes or the way he’s trembling. Lord Kisin nods approvingly.
“Cabrakan. You can serve as our judge.” Well, it’s a choice that would make things interesting, for sure. He might be tempted to rule against them, but his anger at his brother might also tempt him to take it out on him instead. Before he can acknowledge the assignment, though, he’s interrupted.
She flinches slightly at the sudden movement, but the rest are too preoccupied to even notice. The rest of the jaguars enter the audience platform, sitting in a show of force. If the Lords of Death cheat, or decide not to honor their loss, they absolutely could jump over the side and overwhelm them. Darling knows, thanks to the knowledge that had been imparted to her thanks to Balam, this is not normal. Balam might like to act as a protector of humanity where he could without challenging the Lords of Death directly, like the Hero Twins had, but the rest of the jaguars tended to stay more neutral. They are only doing so now because they’re responding to Balam’s call.
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure/Buffy the Vampire Slayer AU
Chapter Summary: The Lords of Death prepare for one final contest.
Word Count: 1294
Rating: Teen
Note: HERE THERE PROBABLY BE BUFFY/JJBA SPOILERS
At first, Lord Kisin’s remark doesn’t seem to make sense. They hadn’t really been betrayed or anything like that. That is, until the door in the stone opens again, and the rest join them. The black jaguar is familiar—Balam. He hadn’t been planning on joining them, Darling knows beyond a shadow of a doubt. He is only doing so now because to ignore the summons now would be greater insult than his presence. He’s followed by Awilix, eyes defiant but ears flat back on her head. Kukulkan isn’t here himself, but the feeling that she isn’t alone is stronger than ever. Captain von Stroheim isn’t bringing her gun up, but she’s definitely preparing to back Balam and Awilix up if a fight actually occurs.
“We do not challenge your domain,” Balam rumbles, bowing his head. He isn’t indicating his subordination to the Lords, but the fact that this is, in fact, their territory. “Surely you are aware of the intrusion into Xibalba. If not, ask the brothers. Like the human seeking to reach beyond himself, this challenge to your power endangers us all.”
Zipacna’s sitting. He looks angry and slightly drunk, too. “Yeah, yeah, he’s not lying. Not sure how it worked, but the humans didn’t do much more than take advantage.” It’s surprising he’s not making excuses. The Lords of Death are the kind who would punish for failure, but maybe they’d also be the kind to punish those who failed and lied about it—actually, strike that, Darling is certain they’re the types who would do that. They want to make it impossible to win, to watch each other struggle. Maybe they think it’s useful to make them more vicious from the frustration.
Lord Kisin sneers, but Lord Akan, back to acting friendly, puts a hand on his arm.
“Your concern is noted and much appreciated. Have you discovered much of note about the intruder?” He’s slurring slightly, but speaking slowly to try to hide those traces. And they’re being ignored because the implication is that they don’t matter.
“It is not the human seeking to gain the power of rival gods. It is a rival power, though the exact nature of its motives and intrusion are difficult to determine. Some of my scouts sensed something else skulking around the edge of Xibalba briefly, but I have no confirmation of these sightings, and it has been some time since any have left these halls.” Balam is being entirely honest, which indicates he is, in fact, concerned about the threat it all poses. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be sharing this much.
They don’t mention Kukulkan or what he’s doing. He’s not particularly sharing that information with Darling, either. She’s not sure if it just has nothing to do with any of this, so he’s not sharing because it’s not relevant, or if he’s worried about it for some reason.
“We haven’t thrown our weight around enough. Time was everyone knew not to mess with us.” Cabrakan growls, showing off his jaws and slamming his tail behind him in emphasis. “We take out a sacred mountain or two or flatten a village, they’d know our names again.”
“Hell yeah!” Buluc Chabtan’s pretty enthusiastic, but yeah, he does enjoy destruction and chaos.
“Not—” Lord Kisin interrupts, sharp and final. “Yet. One thing at a time.” His gaze is pointed, the amusement barely returning. “Your concern and efforts have been noted. Given your highly important work, I’m not sure if you’d have the time for a distraction…”
He’s bringing out the full force of his charisma, the underlying malice the only thing keeping him from acting on said malice.
“Xibalba bears your name. If the Lords of Xibalba have a request for me, then I will obey.” Of course, if he asks Balam and his ‘scouts’ to, say, kill them, he’s not actually going to do it, but she’s pretty sure everyone here actually knows that, and it’s better than saying he’d just consider it.
“You and Awilix can join the humans on their team. I suppose they can use their Hamon and other powers, as a compensation for only having five players while we’ll have six.” He makes it sound like a very generous gesture. He’s also implying that it’s not like they’re going to be using their own powers, but it’s an implication. He’s not actually saying it directly, so he can claim he’s not actually cheating if they do.
“Thank you, Lord Kisin,” the Queen of the Night praises him. She sounds honest, but it’s hard to tell if she actually is or not. Most of these Lords (and Lady, in this case) of Death are fairly good at lying.
“I would be honored,” Balam rumbles. He actually winks at her when she glances at him, which makes her considerably more at ease. Not that having the Captain or Mr. Brown on her side is not comforting, but the more allies the better, especially ones who know the people and places involved.
“As for our team, it will consist of myself, Lord Akan, Buluc Chabtan, Tohil, Camazotz, and Zipacna.” Choosing only one of the brothers is sure to further cause a rift—but then, given the rest of the way they’ve been handling these things, it doesn’t surprise Darling at all.
Lord Akan smiles and takes another sip of drink.
“I’d have joined in anyway,” the Lord of War insists. Lord Kisin carefully ignores him, which means that he’d probably known that and didn’t wish to indulge him.
Tohil just nods. As does Camazotz, sneering a little and squinting into the light.
“Hope you’re ready for a rematch!” Zipacna yells with enthusiasm.
“As ready as you,” Mr. Brown retorts. He’s probably suggesting that none of them are, but the humanoid alligator Lord of Death doesn’t seem to take it that way.
“I would suggest Jacawitz serve as our referee, but I have the feeling he’s far too biased for such a role, aren’t you, Jacawitz?” he asks, tone playfully teasing. It’s all a play, a performance put on for the benefit of everyone watching, and it’s painfully uncomfortable. Darling carefully doesn’t squirm, because she doesn’t want to show them any weaknesses, but she very much wants to do so.
“I am not, Lord Kisin,” Jacawitz hisses, pure hate in his eyes, and Lord Kisin just raises an eyebrow. He’d probably only appeared in human rather than skeleton form solely so he could do so.
“Oh, of course.” He gestures, and his dog jumps apparently out of nowhere and tears a chunk out of Jacawitz’s wing.
The wasp does not scream, but he can’t fully hide the hate in his eyes or the way he’s trembling. Lord Kisin nods approvingly.
“Cabrakan. You can serve as our judge.” Well, it’s a choice that would make things interesting, for sure. He might be tempted to rule against them, but his anger at his brother might also tempt him to take it out on him instead. Before he can acknowledge the assignment, though, he’s interrupted.
She flinches slightly at the sudden movement, but the rest are too preoccupied to even notice. The rest of the jaguars enter the audience platform, sitting in a show of force. If the Lords of Death cheat, or decide not to honor their loss, they absolutely could jump over the side and overwhelm them. Darling knows, thanks to the knowledge that had been imparted to her thanks to Balam, this is not normal. Balam might like to act as a protector of humanity where he could without challenging the Lords of Death directly, like the Hero Twins had, but the rest of the jaguars tended to stay more neutral. They are only doing so now because they’re responding to Balam’s call.
