Post by Lola on Aug 24, 2015 13:07:51 GMT -5
LOLA
“Uuugh”
The room came into focus slowly, the only thing Lola was aware of was a throbbing on the back of her head. She stood up slowly and realized she felt oddly alone.
“Alulle?”...No answer.
“What happened…” Lola rubbed her temples slowly, trying to remember what it was she was forgetting, when she heard a small voice.
“Lola?” That sounded familiar. She turned around to see a figure in the darkness, recognizable by the eye clip in her hair.
“Yin?”
Yin scoots up to her “Oh NO they got you too huh?”
“Uh… yeah”
Yin looks confused. “do you not remember what happened?”
Lola rubs her temples, “I think i got hit in the head pretty hard… and I don’t know where Alulle is”
“We’re at the Puppeteer’s Headquarters Lola”
Lola could suddenly feel a rising panic “W-what?”
The previous night’s events came back to her full force. Nadia, Liam… and Tea.
“Son of a bitch… Tea double crossed us!”
Yin looks a bit sad, “I know… but don’t blame him Lola, he’s being forced to”
“Well, who cares… he fucking knocked me over the head with a hammer and turned me in to these weirdos! I’ve been avoiding getting dragged here for years”
Yin looks surprised.
“You have?”
Lola sighed, and looked around a bit. Both girls seemed to be in a cell within a dimly lit room, it looked very elegant, despite the circumstances. Her eyes had adjusted to the dim lighting and she could see no other restraints on herself or Yin.
“I met these people before I joined the Cult. Alulle and i had been wandering around the forest for a while. He taught me how to summon, and we were in kinda secluded spaces for that, since I had no desire to unleash a barrage of demons and such on people. So one day we run across a clearing, and the place was like, burned to the ground! It turns out it was the remains of a “recruitment” for these numskulls”
Yin sits up, looking very intrigued
“How come I’ve never heard of this before?”
Lola sighs “it’s not fun to be chased around by the Pups Yin, I try not to talk about it much. Anyway, I met Nadia that day, and she thought i was a missed recruit. She attacked me and i fought back.”
She leans against the wall at her back
“By this point i could summon pretty well, so i had quite a few monsters under my sleeve. I fought her off and ran… I guess she reported that back to Liam, and the Pups have been out to recruit me since then”
Yin hesitantly asks “ and Alulle?”
“they saw him as a Beast, and that’s why I refused the offer… he’s my boyfriend, not my slave, our contract is mutual”
“aaaawwww”
Lola smiles, but stands up and says “Now isnt the time for that… we have to get out of here Yin”
“Any ideas Lola? We’re kinda stuck”
“Yin, you’re in a cult, picking a lock is not hard… it’s making sure these assholes still think we’re here that’s hard”
Yin stands up as well. Looking around the cell for a bit before stating
“it’s pretty empty in here, soooo how do we do that?”
“Arnold”
“You’re joking”
Lola sits back down, pulling a piece of chalk from her robes
“nope, he’s a perception demon, he can fool anyone that might come back into thinking we’re still in here”
“even Liam?”
“Man i sure hope so”
Lola draws a few sigils on the floor, presses her hands on them and mutters a bit in latin. A second later Arnold appears
“Ooooh lovely, to what do I owe this pleasure?”
Lola smacks Arnold a bit
“shut up and listen star, I need your help”
“Soooo you didn’t call me up to make Mojitos this time?”
“As much as I’d looove a drink, no. I need you to alter perception on this room so it looks like Yin and I are still in here”
Arnold floats around the girls for a moment
“what’s in it for me?”
Lola sighs
“right, deals… If you do this for me I wont ask you to make my drinks”
“fair enough”
They shake hands, then Arnold floats above the sigil and closes his eye
“I’ll get started once you leave”
Lola nods, the walks to the door and starts to work on the lock
“Yin do you know how to pick these?”
Yin takes off her hair clip and walks to the door
“yup, my clip is a bit of a Master Key”
“excellent, we should try and figure out what they’re up to with the cult before we leave”
Yin looks up at Lola
“no way! we should just get out dude, if you snoop you get recaptured”
Lola snorts
“pfft! that only happens in the movies… tell you what, I’ll get you out of here but I need to find out more… I dont want them to take Alulle from me”
the lock clicks open
“I’m not comfortable with that… are you still as powerful without Alulle?”
“No, but it wont be a problem if nobody sees me… and i can still summon. Come on, let’s get out of here!”
the girls leave the room and sneak up the staircase. There seems to be nobody around. Lola whispers
“ok… I have NO clue where the exit is… but we were below ground so we gotta go up”
Yin nods
“sounds like a plan”
They run up two or three floors, always careful to keep an eye out for Puppeteers until they find a large hallway with a giant door
“That must be the exit!”
Lola turns to Yin
“Ok Yin, now that I know how to get out i need you to go back to the cult and tell Alulle and Tapi I’m ok, but i might need backup”
She takes a small bag out of her hood
“Use this to get back, just sprinkle it on the ground and you’ll summon something that’ll get you home faster, it’s a bit of a random spell, but hopefully you’ll get something with wings”
Yin looks apprehensive
“L are you sure you don’t want to come with me? It’s dangerous”
Lola sighs
“I know but i need to at least KNOW what their deal is… and why they’ve been chasing after me and Alulle for so long, so GO”
Yin runs to the door. After she’s outside Lola looks satisfied
“Alright, now to do some snoo—“
she turns around and runs smack into Liam, who looks bemused.
“Really Summoner? Snooping?”
“Oh whoops”
Liam smiles in a way that sends chills down Lola’s spine
“You could’ve just ASKED”
“Oh no…”
YIN
Meanwhile Yin is halfway home when she suddenly gets a text from Tapi
“Yin, we’re at Doona’s, the cult has been compromised, are you ok?”
Yin quickly replies
“oh no… I’m fine
, teleport me up, I have news from Lola”
A second later Yin finds herself in Doona’s living room. Alulle hovers to her in a second
“Yin! is Lola ok? what happened?”
Tapi steps in
“Calm down demon boy… Yin what happened?”
Yin sighs, sits down on the couch and quickly relays the story. Alulle looks horrified
“She… she stayed behind? On purpose?”
“Yeah”
Alulle smacks his forehead
“oh no… Bunny is the WORST at snooping… I don’t know why she thinks she can pull shit like that, but i can say pretty much 100% she’s gonna run into trouble”
LOLA
Meanwhile at the Pup’s HQ, Liam is pacing in front of Lola, who is shackled to a chair.
“You really are something you know that? I’ve been trying to recruit you for almost a decade. I guess my mistake was not to do it personally”
Lola huffs, struggles a bit then says
“You KNOW why I dont want to join you”
Liam laughs
“ah yes, your beast”
“he isnt a beast!!!”
“oh he is… a beast who hoodwinked you into a bond, a MONSTER a horr—“
Lola interrupts
“shut. the fuck. UP.”
Liam looks surprised before bursting into laughter
“You… hahahah! I have you powerless and you’re STILL defying me! Is the beast that important?!”
“yes, he is! and I like our bond!”
“why? You’re a summoner, and a talented one at that! you could have SO many beasts at your command, and you settle for one?!”
“He’s not a beast… if i have to say that again i will fucking kick you, plus he taught me how to summon, you people wouldn’t be looking for me to join if it wasn’t for him”
Liam sits on the arm of Lola’ s chair, she shrinks away at the contact
“well, i don’t believe that! We would have found you, and you would’ve joined without trouble”
Lola looks incredibly pissed by now
“Do you know why i have a bond with Alulle?”
Liam looks annoyed, he gets up and walks around the room
“why do you have a bond with that beast, dear summoner?”
“it’s a bond of love”
Liam looks surprised for a second, before bursting into laughter
“haahahahahaha! Love?!?! LOVE? I’m sorry Lola but that is IDIOTIC”
Lola looks really upset by this, Liam keeps talking
“beasts cannot feel love, the so called “bond” you share is nothing more than lust for both parties”
“You’re a fucking assho—“
Liam suddenly grips Lola’s throat, she stops speaking with a chocked gasp
“I don’t appreciate that tone. Let me finish”
he releases her, and she gasps for breath while he keeps talking
“As I was saying, you can get what you want if you stay with us… let me show you”
Tea walks into the room, Lola recognizes him and glares daggers at him. Tea looks surprised to see Lola
“Lola? “
“hmph, nice to see you again, TRAITOR”
Liam laughs again.
“Don’t blame him, he’s under my control”
Tea looks worried
“Liam… what are you doing?”
“It seems our new recruit still needs convincing, I require your help to show her.”
Liam walks to tea and keeps talking
“See Lola, beasts are merely toys.”
“huh?”
Liam reaches for Tea, kissing him forcefully while Lola watches, completely flustered and very red in the face. Tea looks at Lola with an apologetic expression all the while.
Liam breaks the kiss and addresses Lola, gripping her chin rather forcefully
“You can do whatever you want! So give up your heart, get a better beast and make it yours”
“NO”
Liam sighs
“I wanted you to join WILLINGLY you know”
“Stop calling my boyfriend a beast and let me go, we’ll be on GREAT terms then”
“I’m not liking this attitude of yours”
“Well, I don't like YOUR attitude, but I’m the one shackled to the chair”
Liam looks bemused
“You’re amusing”
“I get that a lot”
“But if you wont join us willingly then…”
Tea’s eyes widen
“Liam… you wouldn't just… bind her to another beast would you?”
“of course I would! I’m just thinking which one would suit her”
Lola tries to stand before the chains around her wrists stop her
“NO. I’m not joining you, OR breaking my bond with Alulle! LET ME GO!”
Liam ignores her
“If you’re looking for company, I could summon you up a nice succubus”
“IM STRAIGHT”
“they can switch genders, don’t worry about that”
“LET. ME. GO.”
“Luckily for you, we have quite a few beasts here”
“TEA HELP ME”
Tea is trying very hard to keep his cool at this point. Liam is busy summoning a beast, and Lola is frantically trying to free herself.
A moment later there is a demon in the room as well. Liam looks satisfied with the summon. He turns to Lola
“now then, usually the master recites the bond, but I shall do it for you as you seem… reluctant”
“No.”
“it will only hurt for a moment”
“NO”
Liam presses his hand on her chest and begins to recite the spell
“ From my hand to your heart, and my heart in your hold. My strings to your limbs, your limbs are my extensions. Hoof, paw, wing, claw, we move as one. We breathe as one. I the master, you the puppet.”
Lola screams, tea holds his hands over his mouth to prevent himself from making noise… but nothing happens. Liam is confused
“why…?”
He tries again, again the only thing he manages to get is a shriek of pain from the cultist
“WHY CANT I TAKE YOUR HEART?!”
“I dont… know…”
“you are a HUMAN! I should be able to do this if you—“
Tea gasps as he suddenly realizes why Lola’s heart can’t be taken
“what is it Rowan? “
“n-nothing”
“You know something”
“n-no I dont I have no idea why the binding wont work”
“Tell me.”
The penny drops for Lola as well
“Tea don’t you dare”
“I command you to tell me!”
Tea sighs in resignation
“take… take off her hood”
“TEA!”
Liam walks over to the summoner and yanks off her hood, exposing a pair of soft black rabbit ears. Liam is in shock for a split second, before letting out a scream of rage
TEA
Liam grips Lola’s ears and uses them to yank her head up. She shrieks in pain
“Your demon CHANGED YOU!”
Tea tries to calm him down
“L-Liam it’s no big deal…w-we can probably get A-Alulle to change her back”
Lola tries to break free of his grip. Liam glares at her for a while, before breaking into laughter
“You are right Rowan! we probably could change her back to a full human, but in this state… she counts as a beast”
Tea tries to maintain his composure despite the rising panic inside him. Lola doesn’t register what he’s saying
“b-beast?”
Liam is practically purring at this point
“oh yes… that boyfriend of yours actually did me a favor! I will have a MUCH better use out of my own personal summoner, rather than a member who will resist us constantly”
Tea’s composure breaks
“Liam… you cant!”
“Indeed i can Rowan, be a dear and call Nadia and Lance down here… I will need their help to brand this beast”
the penny finally drops for Lola and she looks up at Liam in shock
“b-brand?! what do you mean BRAND?!?”
Liam laughs again, before mockingly stroking Lola’s hair
“Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you”
Tea begs now, he remembers his own branding and his knees shake
“Liam… please, please don’t do this”
“Rowan, are you getting jealous per chance? Don’t worry, she’ll be Nadia’s to have, even Lance or Rayne if they want her now and then… so no need to be envious”
Lola is nearing a full blown panic at this point
“You… you can’t do this to me! I’m already bound to someone!”
“and that bond will fade over time, I’ll make it so you cant even remember the demon’s name if you want”
“No! No, no, no please!”
Liam scoffs
“Not so tough now are you?”
Lola whimpers while Tea shakes. Nadia and Lance arrive, the latter carrying the iron with the brand in his arms.
“so who’s the lucky beast Liam?”
Nadia recognises her rival
“wait… LOLA?! You’re a beast?”
“I-Im not! Alulle changed me so they couldn't take my heart and I—“
“she is indeed a beast Nadia, and she’ll be my summoner now… unless you’d like to brand her yourself?”
Nadia looks a bit put off
“No Liam… she’s powerful, it’s better if she’s in your hands”
Liam smirks
“Suit yourself then… Lance? The iron please”
Tea pleads with Liam
“Please! Please don’t do this to her! it’s cruel!”
“would you rather I be cruel to you?”
Tea whimpers
“that’s what i thought”
Liam yanks up Lola’s ear with one hand, while waving the iron around in the other
“AH!”
“Now… where. to. brand.”
He laughs a bit, before hovering the iron over Lola’s ear
“This will do”
Tea is shaking like a leaf, trying hard not to cry out as he watches what’s happening next. Liam quickly gives Lola’s forehead a chaste kiss, before pressing the red hot iron to the soft black fur on her left ear.
The scream is earsplitting, Tea watches as Liam recites the binding words, while Lola’s screams turn to sobs and while the light in her eyes dims. He runs out of the room, sobbing all the while. Once he finds an empty hallway he sinks to the floor, clutching his head in his hands and crying as he remembers the pot of delicious green tea they’d shared together just a few days before
Meanwhile, up in the Time cultist’s space station, the demon bound to Lola collapses in pain. Tapi reaches out to him
“Alulle!”
“Lola… Lola is…”
Liam laughs again, looking down at the now unconscious summoner
“Gone”
NADIA
It had been a few days since Lola had been branded as Liam’s new beast.
And Nadia didn’t like it one bit.
Her once spunky rival had been reduced to an actual puppet, Liam made sure she had no will of her own left after the binding was complete. She followed him like a shadow, never speaking expect for the occasional monosyllable when Liam requested she do something for him.
Nadia had asked Liam why Lola couldn't keep at least some of her own will, and after an encounter with the Time Beast, the Puppet master’s answer was a simple one
“I cannot allow her mind to be free until i take care of her demon. so long as Alulle is free himself The summoner will want to return to him… the last emotion she had left was love, and it IS too strong to allow her free will”
Nadia understood, but it still made her feel uneasy… although not as uneasy as the change in her wardrobe. Liam insisted Lola follow the Puppeteer’s dress code, which meant her new outfit closely resembled his. the only exception was that her uniform had a black skirt instead of pants, and that her hood was gone, which meant her unusual (and cute, not that Nadia would admit that) bunny ears were visible at all times.
But the thing that made Nadia the most uncomfortable was the bright red collar around the former cultist’s neck. As if the brand wasn't enough, the same symbol hung around her neck now. It was as if Liam was trying to humiliate her despite her not being able to feel that anymore.
Nadia chalked that up to Liam waiting until he met Alulle again. He knew that the collar would further upset the demon, but Nadia thought it was overkill really. Even she didnt make Micah wear a collar all the time, and he was actually a full beast.
Lola was 90% human, and treating her like a mere pet was surely Liam’s way of getting back at Alulle for stealing the chance of having her as an actual Puppeteer.
Still, Nadia was hoping this will all be over soon so she could at least talk to the person who treated her as an equal, instead of someone to be feared, despite sassing her constantly.
ALULLE
He had never felt so empty.
He didn't know what had happened… they couldn't have taken her heart, he had taken measures to make sure they couldn’t. But she was still gone.
Well, not completely, their bond was still there… weaker, but still there. The thought of them hurting her actually made him feel a slight semblance of fear. Something he hadn’t felt in centuries.
He swore to himself that if he found Tea he’d rip him to shreds for this. Tea first, then Liam. The way he regarded him as a beast was bad enough, but taking Lola was far worse in his eyes.
He’d barge into the Pup’s HQ if he could, but Tapi was strict in her planning
“You cant just go in there, they’d tear you apart, you gotta be patient demon boy”
So he waited. Waited and observed and planned.
He’d get his bunny back, even if he had to destroy every Puppeteer to do it.
TEA
Guilt. Guilt, guilt, guilt, guilt.
That’s all he felt whenever he saw Lola hanging on Liam’s shoulder. She followed him so devotedly, it would seem as though he’d never met Alulle.
It made him feel sick to his stomach. and he KNEW Liam was doing all of this out of spite, he could have easily waited to catch the demon and force him to restore Lola’s true form, but no. He had to brand her.
She was sitting nearby, Liam wasn't around, nor Nadia or Lance, which was unusual. He hesitantly approached her and sat down next to her.
“Lola? Uhm… can you hear me?”
Tea figured that since they were both bound to the same master, she’d be able to talk to him at least.
“Yes.”
“Are you ok?”
“… No. I can’t… I can’t feel anything… even…. talking is hard”
Cue the guilt
“I’m so sorry Lola, I never meant for this to happen to you I—”
She interrupts him
“I know. I’m sorry too”
“huh?”
“for… calling you a… traitor i guess, Now i know what it feels like”
She scoots closer to him and hesitantly lays her head on her shoulder. Tea is a bit confused at the gesture
“I can’t miss Alulle… I can barely…. remember him”
Tea can feel himself get tense. He wraps an arm around her shoulders
“sorry… I wish i could help”
“please take off this… stupid ass collar… I can’t do it myself”
Tea nods before reaching for her neck, being mindful of his talons while he tries to undo the clasp that keeps the red collar around her neck. He’s nearly got it loose when he hears a voice from the doorway
“Tea… why are you doing that?”
Tea freezes as he sees Liam. He knows fully what the situation looks like.
“I don’t like you touching my things”
for a split second he can swear he sees defiance in Lola’s eyes before she stands up and walks to Liam’s side
“I apologize”
“I’ll deal with you in a moment”
Liam glares at Tea
“I didnt think you’d need reminding of what happens when you disobey Rowan”
Tea feels a chill and silently prays Lola won’t have to watch whatever happens next. Liam turns to her
“You, sit and watch”
she does as she’s told. Tea can feel her fear, despite it being a bit muddled. Liam turns to him now
“Come here.”
Tea hesitantly walks towards Liam, who strikes him across the face, hard. Tea stumbles backwards, knowing this is only the start. Liam’s voice is calm
“You see rabbit, beasts have NO power here”
he kicks tea, who now falls to the ground
“If you are ordered to kneel, you kneel”
He pulls a small silver knife from his pockets and grips Tea’s face. Tea flinches as he feels how afraid Lola really is now
“If you are ordered to smile…”
Liam drags the knife across Tea’s face. Lola lets out a muffled whimper. Liam cuts a large smile into Tea’s face
“you smile!”
Next he yanks Tea’s head upwards
“and if you are asked to stay quiet…”
Liam buries the knife into Tea’s collarbone. He screams
“you STAY SILENT!”
Tea’s scream gets cut short. Lola is shaking in her seat. the soft ears on her head drawn close to her as she struggles to stay silent herself. Tea knows she would scream if she could. Liam pulls the knife from the giant’s skin and kicks him again, hard, in the ribs this time.
Her sensitive ears hear a slight crunch. Tea is muffling sobs while he shakes on the ground. Liam turns to Lola.
“Do you understand now? Or should I show you something else?”
Lola is quiet and, Tea can tell, scared like hell
“Answer me”
“Y-yes. I’m s-sorry”
Tea was shocked, in all the time he’d known Lola she was nothing but opinionated and ready to disagree for the hell of it. To see her quietly agree?
She must’ve been more frightened than he could sense
Liam sighs
“Since this is a first offense I’ll let you off easy rabbit”
He takes the collar around her neck off, then turns to Tea
“Rowan… come here”
Tea doesn't like this at all, Liam wasn't going to simply overlook this.
“since you don’t seem to like this collar.. I’ll just have Rowan over here give you a better one!”
Tea stops in his tracks.
“Rowan… give her a nice collar wont you?”
“I… I”
Liam yanks Lola’s head upwards, exposing her neck
“do it.”
Tea can feel himself shake as he takes off his gloves. Lola is in a panic, the fear is so abundant he could nearly taste it. He was surprised she could get so much through to him with her mind so thoroughly shackled… unless.
Liam is smiling.
He wants her to feel pain.
Tea places a talon on Lola’s neck. her breathing stops.
“Go on Rowan… she doesn't look too fazed does she?”
Lies, he can feel how afraid she is, how desperate to escape. If she could talk, she would probably be calling for Alulle. Tea draws a deep breath and digs his talon into her skin, drawing a thin line of blood. As Lola hisses in pain Tea feels an overwhelming need to cry
“I’m so sorry”
TAPI
the situation had become far more complicated than what Tapi expected. The one good thing that came out of this recent development was that Alulle was finally willing to work with her.
Losing Lola to the pups was bad. She was pretty much the only summoner amongst the higher members of the cult, and Tapi had a hunch Alulle’s plan had backfired terribly, but she put that out of her mind for now.
She was deep in her planning.Most of the Snacks had been relocated to a safer place, or were currently invading Pup HQ. The higher ups were, mostly, brought together, Alulle was using his control of information to find out more.
The only missing piece was Tea.
She had to figure out how to get the higher ups into the Puppeteer HQ without arousing suspicion, and Tea was the only one who could help her do it… Assuming Alulle didn't tear him to shreds first.
Tapi knew where he was coming from really, she had never seen the two of them apart for so long. The demon didnt like to admit it, but he needed Lola.
The cult leader sighs, the only thing she could do was wait for Tea to show up… and hopefully he’d show up with Lola in tow.
“Uuugh”
The room came into focus slowly, the only thing Lola was aware of was a throbbing on the back of her head. She stood up slowly and realized she felt oddly alone.
“Alulle?”...No answer.
“What happened…” Lola rubbed her temples slowly, trying to remember what it was she was forgetting, when she heard a small voice.
“Lola?” That sounded familiar. She turned around to see a figure in the darkness, recognizable by the eye clip in her hair.
“Yin?”
Yin scoots up to her “Oh NO they got you too huh?”
“Uh… yeah”
Yin looks confused. “do you not remember what happened?”
Lola rubs her temples, “I think i got hit in the head pretty hard… and I don’t know where Alulle is”
“We’re at the Puppeteer’s Headquarters Lola”
Lola could suddenly feel a rising panic “W-what?”
The previous night’s events came back to her full force. Nadia, Liam… and Tea.
“Son of a bitch… Tea double crossed us!”
Yin looks a bit sad, “I know… but don’t blame him Lola, he’s being forced to”
“Well, who cares… he fucking knocked me over the head with a hammer and turned me in to these weirdos! I’ve been avoiding getting dragged here for years”
Yin looks surprised.
“You have?”
Lola sighed, and looked around a bit. Both girls seemed to be in a cell within a dimly lit room, it looked very elegant, despite the circumstances. Her eyes had adjusted to the dim lighting and she could see no other restraints on herself or Yin.
“I met these people before I joined the Cult. Alulle and i had been wandering around the forest for a while. He taught me how to summon, and we were in kinda secluded spaces for that, since I had no desire to unleash a barrage of demons and such on people. So one day we run across a clearing, and the place was like, burned to the ground! It turns out it was the remains of a “recruitment” for these numskulls”
Yin sits up, looking very intrigued
“How come I’ve never heard of this before?”
Lola sighs “it’s not fun to be chased around by the Pups Yin, I try not to talk about it much. Anyway, I met Nadia that day, and she thought i was a missed recruit. She attacked me and i fought back.”
She leans against the wall at her back
“By this point i could summon pretty well, so i had quite a few monsters under my sleeve. I fought her off and ran… I guess she reported that back to Liam, and the Pups have been out to recruit me since then”
Yin hesitantly asks “ and Alulle?”
“they saw him as a Beast, and that’s why I refused the offer… he’s my boyfriend, not my slave, our contract is mutual”
“aaaawwww”
Lola smiles, but stands up and says “Now isnt the time for that… we have to get out of here Yin”
“Any ideas Lola? We’re kinda stuck”
“Yin, you’re in a cult, picking a lock is not hard… it’s making sure these assholes still think we’re here that’s hard”
Yin stands up as well. Looking around the cell for a bit before stating
“it’s pretty empty in here, soooo how do we do that?”
“Arnold”
“You’re joking”
Lola sits back down, pulling a piece of chalk from her robes
“nope, he’s a perception demon, he can fool anyone that might come back into thinking we’re still in here”
“even Liam?”
“Man i sure hope so”
Lola draws a few sigils on the floor, presses her hands on them and mutters a bit in latin. A second later Arnold appears
“Ooooh lovely, to what do I owe this pleasure?”
Lola smacks Arnold a bit
“shut up and listen star, I need your help”
“Soooo you didn’t call me up to make Mojitos this time?”
“As much as I’d looove a drink, no. I need you to alter perception on this room so it looks like Yin and I are still in here”
Arnold floats around the girls for a moment
“what’s in it for me?”
Lola sighs
“right, deals… If you do this for me I wont ask you to make my drinks”
“fair enough”
They shake hands, then Arnold floats above the sigil and closes his eye
“I’ll get started once you leave”
Lola nods, the walks to the door and starts to work on the lock
“Yin do you know how to pick these?”
Yin takes off her hair clip and walks to the door
“yup, my clip is a bit of a Master Key”
“excellent, we should try and figure out what they’re up to with the cult before we leave”
Yin looks up at Lola
“no way! we should just get out dude, if you snoop you get recaptured”
Lola snorts
“pfft! that only happens in the movies… tell you what, I’ll get you out of here but I need to find out more… I dont want them to take Alulle from me”
the lock clicks open
“I’m not comfortable with that… are you still as powerful without Alulle?”
“No, but it wont be a problem if nobody sees me… and i can still summon. Come on, let’s get out of here!”
the girls leave the room and sneak up the staircase. There seems to be nobody around. Lola whispers
“ok… I have NO clue where the exit is… but we were below ground so we gotta go up”
Yin nods
“sounds like a plan”
They run up two or three floors, always careful to keep an eye out for Puppeteers until they find a large hallway with a giant door
“That must be the exit!”
Lola turns to Yin
“Ok Yin, now that I know how to get out i need you to go back to the cult and tell Alulle and Tapi I’m ok, but i might need backup”
She takes a small bag out of her hood
“Use this to get back, just sprinkle it on the ground and you’ll summon something that’ll get you home faster, it’s a bit of a random spell, but hopefully you’ll get something with wings”
Yin looks apprehensive
“L are you sure you don’t want to come with me? It’s dangerous”
Lola sighs
“I know but i need to at least KNOW what their deal is… and why they’ve been chasing after me and Alulle for so long, so GO”
Yin runs to the door. After she’s outside Lola looks satisfied
“Alright, now to do some snoo—“
she turns around and runs smack into Liam, who looks bemused.
“Really Summoner? Snooping?”
“Oh whoops”
Liam smiles in a way that sends chills down Lola’s spine
“You could’ve just ASKED”
“Oh no…”
YIN
Meanwhile Yin is halfway home when she suddenly gets a text from Tapi
“Yin, we’re at Doona’s, the cult has been compromised, are you ok?”
Yin quickly replies
“oh no… I’m fine
, teleport me up, I have news from Lola”A second later Yin finds herself in Doona’s living room. Alulle hovers to her in a second
“Yin! is Lola ok? what happened?”
Tapi steps in
“Calm down demon boy… Yin what happened?”
Yin sighs, sits down on the couch and quickly relays the story. Alulle looks horrified
“She… she stayed behind? On purpose?”
“Yeah”
Alulle smacks his forehead
“oh no… Bunny is the WORST at snooping… I don’t know why she thinks she can pull shit like that, but i can say pretty much 100% she’s gonna run into trouble”
LOLA
Meanwhile at the Pup’s HQ, Liam is pacing in front of Lola, who is shackled to a chair.
“You really are something you know that? I’ve been trying to recruit you for almost a decade. I guess my mistake was not to do it personally”
Lola huffs, struggles a bit then says
“You KNOW why I dont want to join you”
Liam laughs
“ah yes, your beast”
“he isnt a beast!!!”
“oh he is… a beast who hoodwinked you into a bond, a MONSTER a horr—“
Lola interrupts
“shut. the fuck. UP.”
Liam looks surprised before bursting into laughter
“You… hahahah! I have you powerless and you’re STILL defying me! Is the beast that important?!”
“yes, he is! and I like our bond!”
“why? You’re a summoner, and a talented one at that! you could have SO many beasts at your command, and you settle for one?!”
“He’s not a beast… if i have to say that again i will fucking kick you, plus he taught me how to summon, you people wouldn’t be looking for me to join if it wasn’t for him”
Liam sits on the arm of Lola’ s chair, she shrinks away at the contact
“well, i don’t believe that! We would have found you, and you would’ve joined without trouble”
Lola looks incredibly pissed by now
“Do you know why i have a bond with Alulle?”
Liam looks annoyed, he gets up and walks around the room
“why do you have a bond with that beast, dear summoner?”
“it’s a bond of love”
Liam looks surprised for a second, before bursting into laughter
“haahahahahaha! Love?!?! LOVE? I’m sorry Lola but that is IDIOTIC”
Lola looks really upset by this, Liam keeps talking
“beasts cannot feel love, the so called “bond” you share is nothing more than lust for both parties”
“You’re a fucking assho—“
Liam suddenly grips Lola’s throat, she stops speaking with a chocked gasp
“I don’t appreciate that tone. Let me finish”
he releases her, and she gasps for breath while he keeps talking
“As I was saying, you can get what you want if you stay with us… let me show you”
Tea walks into the room, Lola recognizes him and glares daggers at him. Tea looks surprised to see Lola
“Lola? “
“hmph, nice to see you again, TRAITOR”
Liam laughs again.
“Don’t blame him, he’s under my control”
Tea looks worried
“Liam… what are you doing?”
“It seems our new recruit still needs convincing, I require your help to show her.”
Liam walks to tea and keeps talking
“See Lola, beasts are merely toys.”
“huh?”
Liam reaches for Tea, kissing him forcefully while Lola watches, completely flustered and very red in the face. Tea looks at Lola with an apologetic expression all the while.
Liam breaks the kiss and addresses Lola, gripping her chin rather forcefully
“You can do whatever you want! So give up your heart, get a better beast and make it yours”
“NO”
Liam sighs
“I wanted you to join WILLINGLY you know”
“Stop calling my boyfriend a beast and let me go, we’ll be on GREAT terms then”
“I’m not liking this attitude of yours”
“Well, I don't like YOUR attitude, but I’m the one shackled to the chair”
Liam looks bemused
“You’re amusing”
“I get that a lot”
“But if you wont join us willingly then…”
Tea’s eyes widen
“Liam… you wouldn't just… bind her to another beast would you?”
“of course I would! I’m just thinking which one would suit her”
Lola tries to stand before the chains around her wrists stop her
“NO. I’m not joining you, OR breaking my bond with Alulle! LET ME GO!”
Liam ignores her
“If you’re looking for company, I could summon you up a nice succubus”
“IM STRAIGHT”
“they can switch genders, don’t worry about that”
“LET. ME. GO.”
“Luckily for you, we have quite a few beasts here”
“TEA HELP ME”
Tea is trying very hard to keep his cool at this point. Liam is busy summoning a beast, and Lola is frantically trying to free herself.
A moment later there is a demon in the room as well. Liam looks satisfied with the summon. He turns to Lola
“now then, usually the master recites the bond, but I shall do it for you as you seem… reluctant”
“No.”
“it will only hurt for a moment”
“NO”
Liam presses his hand on her chest and begins to recite the spell
“ From my hand to your heart, and my heart in your hold. My strings to your limbs, your limbs are my extensions. Hoof, paw, wing, claw, we move as one. We breathe as one. I the master, you the puppet.”
Lola screams, tea holds his hands over his mouth to prevent himself from making noise… but nothing happens. Liam is confused
“why…?”
He tries again, again the only thing he manages to get is a shriek of pain from the cultist
“WHY CANT I TAKE YOUR HEART?!”
“I dont… know…”
“you are a HUMAN! I should be able to do this if you—“
Tea gasps as he suddenly realizes why Lola’s heart can’t be taken
“what is it Rowan? “
“n-nothing”
“You know something”
“n-no I dont I have no idea why the binding wont work”
“Tell me.”
The penny drops for Lola as well
“Tea don’t you dare”
“I command you to tell me!”
Tea sighs in resignation
“take… take off her hood”
“TEA!”
Liam walks over to the summoner and yanks off her hood, exposing a pair of soft black rabbit ears. Liam is in shock for a split second, before letting out a scream of rage
TEA
Liam grips Lola’s ears and uses them to yank her head up. She shrieks in pain
“Your demon CHANGED YOU!”
Tea tries to calm him down
“L-Liam it’s no big deal…w-we can probably get A-Alulle to change her back”
Lola tries to break free of his grip. Liam glares at her for a while, before breaking into laughter
“You are right Rowan! we probably could change her back to a full human, but in this state… she counts as a beast”
Tea tries to maintain his composure despite the rising panic inside him. Lola doesn’t register what he’s saying
“b-beast?”
Liam is practically purring at this point
“oh yes… that boyfriend of yours actually did me a favor! I will have a MUCH better use out of my own personal summoner, rather than a member who will resist us constantly”
Tea’s composure breaks
“Liam… you cant!”
“Indeed i can Rowan, be a dear and call Nadia and Lance down here… I will need their help to brand this beast”
the penny finally drops for Lola and she looks up at Liam in shock
“b-brand?! what do you mean BRAND?!?”
Liam laughs again, before mockingly stroking Lola’s hair
“Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you”
Tea begs now, he remembers his own branding and his knees shake
“Liam… please, please don’t do this”
“Rowan, are you getting jealous per chance? Don’t worry, she’ll be Nadia’s to have, even Lance or Rayne if they want her now and then… so no need to be envious”
Lola is nearing a full blown panic at this point
“You… you can’t do this to me! I’m already bound to someone!”
“and that bond will fade over time, I’ll make it so you cant even remember the demon’s name if you want”
“No! No, no, no please!”
Liam scoffs
“Not so tough now are you?”
Lola whimpers while Tea shakes. Nadia and Lance arrive, the latter carrying the iron with the brand in his arms.
“so who’s the lucky beast Liam?”
Nadia recognises her rival
“wait… LOLA?! You’re a beast?”
“I-Im not! Alulle changed me so they couldn't take my heart and I—“
“she is indeed a beast Nadia, and she’ll be my summoner now… unless you’d like to brand her yourself?”
Nadia looks a bit put off
“No Liam… she’s powerful, it’s better if she’s in your hands”
Liam smirks
“Suit yourself then… Lance? The iron please”
Tea pleads with Liam
“Please! Please don’t do this to her! it’s cruel!”
“would you rather I be cruel to you?”
Tea whimpers
“that’s what i thought”
Liam yanks up Lola’s ear with one hand, while waving the iron around in the other
“AH!”
“Now… where. to. brand.”
He laughs a bit, before hovering the iron over Lola’s ear
“This will do”
Tea is shaking like a leaf, trying hard not to cry out as he watches what’s happening next. Liam quickly gives Lola’s forehead a chaste kiss, before pressing the red hot iron to the soft black fur on her left ear.
The scream is earsplitting, Tea watches as Liam recites the binding words, while Lola’s screams turn to sobs and while the light in her eyes dims. He runs out of the room, sobbing all the while. Once he finds an empty hallway he sinks to the floor, clutching his head in his hands and crying as he remembers the pot of delicious green tea they’d shared together just a few days before
Meanwhile, up in the Time cultist’s space station, the demon bound to Lola collapses in pain. Tapi reaches out to him
“Alulle!”
“Lola… Lola is…”
Liam laughs again, looking down at the now unconscious summoner
“Gone”
NADIA
It had been a few days since Lola had been branded as Liam’s new beast.
And Nadia didn’t like it one bit.
Her once spunky rival had been reduced to an actual puppet, Liam made sure she had no will of her own left after the binding was complete. She followed him like a shadow, never speaking expect for the occasional monosyllable when Liam requested she do something for him.
Nadia had asked Liam why Lola couldn't keep at least some of her own will, and after an encounter with the Time Beast, the Puppet master’s answer was a simple one
“I cannot allow her mind to be free until i take care of her demon. so long as Alulle is free himself The summoner will want to return to him… the last emotion she had left was love, and it IS too strong to allow her free will”
Nadia understood, but it still made her feel uneasy… although not as uneasy as the change in her wardrobe. Liam insisted Lola follow the Puppeteer’s dress code, which meant her new outfit closely resembled his. the only exception was that her uniform had a black skirt instead of pants, and that her hood was gone, which meant her unusual (and cute, not that Nadia would admit that) bunny ears were visible at all times.
But the thing that made Nadia the most uncomfortable was the bright red collar around the former cultist’s neck. As if the brand wasn't enough, the same symbol hung around her neck now. It was as if Liam was trying to humiliate her despite her not being able to feel that anymore.
Nadia chalked that up to Liam waiting until he met Alulle again. He knew that the collar would further upset the demon, but Nadia thought it was overkill really. Even she didnt make Micah wear a collar all the time, and he was actually a full beast.
Lola was 90% human, and treating her like a mere pet was surely Liam’s way of getting back at Alulle for stealing the chance of having her as an actual Puppeteer.
Still, Nadia was hoping this will all be over soon so she could at least talk to the person who treated her as an equal, instead of someone to be feared, despite sassing her constantly.
ALULLE
He had never felt so empty.
He didn't know what had happened… they couldn't have taken her heart, he had taken measures to make sure they couldn’t. But she was still gone.
Well, not completely, their bond was still there… weaker, but still there. The thought of them hurting her actually made him feel a slight semblance of fear. Something he hadn’t felt in centuries.
He swore to himself that if he found Tea he’d rip him to shreds for this. Tea first, then Liam. The way he regarded him as a beast was bad enough, but taking Lola was far worse in his eyes.
He’d barge into the Pup’s HQ if he could, but Tapi was strict in her planning
“You cant just go in there, they’d tear you apart, you gotta be patient demon boy”
So he waited. Waited and observed and planned.
He’d get his bunny back, even if he had to destroy every Puppeteer to do it.
TEA
Guilt. Guilt, guilt, guilt, guilt.
That’s all he felt whenever he saw Lola hanging on Liam’s shoulder. She followed him so devotedly, it would seem as though he’d never met Alulle.
It made him feel sick to his stomach. and he KNEW Liam was doing all of this out of spite, he could have easily waited to catch the demon and force him to restore Lola’s true form, but no. He had to brand her.
She was sitting nearby, Liam wasn't around, nor Nadia or Lance, which was unusual. He hesitantly approached her and sat down next to her.
“Lola? Uhm… can you hear me?”
Tea figured that since they were both bound to the same master, she’d be able to talk to him at least.
“Yes.”
“Are you ok?”
“… No. I can’t… I can’t feel anything… even…. talking is hard”
Cue the guilt
“I’m so sorry Lola, I never meant for this to happen to you I—”
She interrupts him
“I know. I’m sorry too”
“huh?”
“for… calling you a… traitor i guess, Now i know what it feels like”
She scoots closer to him and hesitantly lays her head on her shoulder. Tea is a bit confused at the gesture
“I can’t miss Alulle… I can barely…. remember him”
Tea can feel himself get tense. He wraps an arm around her shoulders
“sorry… I wish i could help”
“please take off this… stupid ass collar… I can’t do it myself”
Tea nods before reaching for her neck, being mindful of his talons while he tries to undo the clasp that keeps the red collar around her neck. He’s nearly got it loose when he hears a voice from the doorway
“Tea… why are you doing that?”
Tea freezes as he sees Liam. He knows fully what the situation looks like.
“I don’t like you touching my things”
for a split second he can swear he sees defiance in Lola’s eyes before she stands up and walks to Liam’s side
“I apologize”
“I’ll deal with you in a moment”
Liam glares at Tea
“I didnt think you’d need reminding of what happens when you disobey Rowan”
Tea feels a chill and silently prays Lola won’t have to watch whatever happens next. Liam turns to her
“You, sit and watch”
she does as she’s told. Tea can feel her fear, despite it being a bit muddled. Liam turns to him now
“Come here.”
Tea hesitantly walks towards Liam, who strikes him across the face, hard. Tea stumbles backwards, knowing this is only the start. Liam’s voice is calm
“You see rabbit, beasts have NO power here”
he kicks tea, who now falls to the ground
“If you are ordered to kneel, you kneel”
He pulls a small silver knife from his pockets and grips Tea’s face. Tea flinches as he feels how afraid Lola really is now
“If you are ordered to smile…”
Liam drags the knife across Tea’s face. Lola lets out a muffled whimper. Liam cuts a large smile into Tea’s face
“you smile!”
Next he yanks Tea’s head upwards
“and if you are asked to stay quiet…”
Liam buries the knife into Tea’s collarbone. He screams
“you STAY SILENT!”
Tea’s scream gets cut short. Lola is shaking in her seat. the soft ears on her head drawn close to her as she struggles to stay silent herself. Tea knows she would scream if she could. Liam pulls the knife from the giant’s skin and kicks him again, hard, in the ribs this time.
Her sensitive ears hear a slight crunch. Tea is muffling sobs while he shakes on the ground. Liam turns to Lola.
“Do you understand now? Or should I show you something else?”
Lola is quiet and, Tea can tell, scared like hell
“Answer me”
“Y-yes. I’m s-sorry”
Tea was shocked, in all the time he’d known Lola she was nothing but opinionated and ready to disagree for the hell of it. To see her quietly agree?
She must’ve been more frightened than he could sense
Liam sighs
“Since this is a first offense I’ll let you off easy rabbit”
He takes the collar around her neck off, then turns to Tea
“Rowan… come here”
Tea doesn't like this at all, Liam wasn't going to simply overlook this.
“since you don’t seem to like this collar.. I’ll just have Rowan over here give you a better one!”
Tea stops in his tracks.
“Rowan… give her a nice collar wont you?”
“I… I”
Liam yanks Lola’s head upwards, exposing her neck
“do it.”
Tea can feel himself shake as he takes off his gloves. Lola is in a panic, the fear is so abundant he could nearly taste it. He was surprised she could get so much through to him with her mind so thoroughly shackled… unless.
Liam is smiling.
He wants her to feel pain.
Tea places a talon on Lola’s neck. her breathing stops.
“Go on Rowan… she doesn't look too fazed does she?”
Lies, he can feel how afraid she is, how desperate to escape. If she could talk, she would probably be calling for Alulle. Tea draws a deep breath and digs his talon into her skin, drawing a thin line of blood. As Lola hisses in pain Tea feels an overwhelming need to cry
“I’m so sorry”
TAPI
the situation had become far more complicated than what Tapi expected. The one good thing that came out of this recent development was that Alulle was finally willing to work with her.
Losing Lola to the pups was bad. She was pretty much the only summoner amongst the higher members of the cult, and Tapi had a hunch Alulle’s plan had backfired terribly, but she put that out of her mind for now.
She was deep in her planning.Most of the Snacks had been relocated to a safer place, or were currently invading Pup HQ. The higher ups were, mostly, brought together, Alulle was using his control of information to find out more.
The only missing piece was Tea.
She had to figure out how to get the higher ups into the Puppeteer HQ without arousing suspicion, and Tea was the only one who could help her do it… Assuming Alulle didn't tear him to shreds first.
Tapi knew where he was coming from really, she had never seen the two of them apart for so long. The demon didnt like to admit it, but he needed Lola.
The cult leader sighs, the only thing she could do was wait for Tea to show up… and hopefully he’d show up with Lola in tow.
