Chapter Text
Walking. Stumbling. Falling down. Getting back up. Limping, hobbling practically.
Somehow he could command this limp, wooden body to his liking, even if the actual owner roared and tried to fight back with all their strength. Which was a lot and had him digging his nails deeper and snarling rabidly in order to stay in control.
To the outside watcher, Raine was only walking like a drunkard, while occasionally stopping to tear up either staring at the tiles on the ground or the roof, to then wipe their face and carry on their way to the Collector’s room.
Almost usual, almost innocent one could say, if their tears ever looked like molten ichor and if the faintest trail of blood wasn’t seeping out of their nostrils with each step.
“Get...out.” They groaned, deep inside. A warning, more than a threat.
Belos only laughed, as if this witch had any leverage, any way to outsmart him in this situation. “Or what?”
Raine pondered for a moment, before they smashed their own nose in, making the faint trickle of sick outta their nose a more consistent one.
“I’ll kill us both and make sure you suffer every step of the way, you fucking cunt.”
He laughed. “And how are you planning to do that? Being that I-” He made them hold their throat. It didn’t react like usual, that was good. “-Am in control of all your moves now?”
A distant glimmer caught their attention, once focusing their eyes they realized what it was but the flickering, flowing brightness of a fire held captive in a hearth. Fire, burning eternally bright on an almost stereotypical looking fireplace and chimney.
Made by the Collector and King so they could read comics and eat cookies in front of a fireplace, like in a proper family setting. The warmth of the fire was almost obscene, both Raine and Belos could feel it throughout the wooden exterior of the carcass they now shared and decided to strife over.
Something deep down Belos felt a pang of nostalgia, the part that still relished when the human girl called him Phillip, the part that could very generously be called human. Of afternoons and cold nights spent eating nothing but cookies with his beloved brother, as they had no money for anything more filling and nutritious.
But a kid doesn’t see it as a problem.
“You know, Raine.” Said the once called Phillip. “In my world, fire is said to destroy witchcraft.” The memory of Caleb teaching him how to light up bundles of sticks and poke the sinners as they were reduced to char with straw dummies flooded Raine’s mind. “Fire purifies evil.” Just to taunt them he made their arm move towards the fireplace.“And you are a little wooden doll right now”
Raine flexed the fingers against Belos’ will, each joint popping as the warm light bounced off the polished surface of their puppet hand. An idea popped on their head, insane enough to work.
“It does, you say?” They asked, crouching in preparation. “Let’s test that theory shall we?”
Before he could regain control of the puppet Raine, they launched themself towards the open fire, the colorful clothes replacing their usual uniform quickly catching aflame. And if by moving Raine’s body at his will was an advantage to Belos, feeling the same pain as they did whether the outer chassis was damaged wasn’t on his prognosis of how the strife would continue.
Searing to the bone as the clothes melted like sugar and stuck to the wood as such, soon the scent of fresh cookies and spilled chocolate milk was replaced with burnt polyester and pine sap.
“Look at us!” Raine yowled between unhinged cackles, the surge of adrenaline of committing to such a dangerous plan making them for a moment impervious to pain. “Two sinners burning in hell!”
“I AM NOT SINFUL!” Belos screamed, even for a moment in his 400 year plan feeling the incessant doubt, the ever present. ‘What if I’m wrong?’
Raine would forever thank the old moldy book the pig merchant sold them for cheap, as it was <<Human slop>>, it helped understand half of the emperor’s actions and methods to enforce his reign. And now, knowing how he was originally human, all made sense.
The concept of sin and how its inherent to human beings, how a saviour would arrive, and other pieces of tripe that the mold had corroded away. Thanks boiling sea.
He saw himself as said savior and now, a reality check was in order.
The missing piece of the jigsaw they spent 20 years solving, now falling into place. And if they both were to suffer thus, Raine would make sure the old bastard begged for death.
“Fire vanquishes the wicked, and you are in so much pain right now aren’t you?”
Doubt was the worst kind of poison Phillip ever encountered, spread faster than lightning and dug deeper than the oblivion he was escaping from.
~~~
By their archives the pain had but stopped, still making them both whimper with each step, Philip felt humiliated and scolded like a beat dog, as this wicked, soft spoken witch had managed to put the fear of God in them with such a dirty, suicidal tactic.The fact that it had been effective made him even madder. So revenge was in tow.
On the archives, exhibited like glorious statues one could say, were the once students of the rebel bard, their uniforms and disguises morphed just as theirs had, into a cruel parody of their former selves. Like prized mounted scarabs in an entomologist’s collection, propped up and lacquered, a couple pins they were missing on their joints for the spectacle to be as horrible as it deserved.
Belos sensed the sadness Raine felt at the state of their students, so he decided to have fun with it. To begin with, he moved the shared carcass closer, so they’d be forced to witness closer how the Collector had arranged their rebel mates. The ones a persistent rumor called their personal harem, specially because it absolutely enraged Raine.
“Aren’t these your little sluts, Whispers?” Said the Emperor with a grin.
“Don’t you speak about my children like that!”
“ Young and cute you like them I see, not bad.” He had to admit, stroking Derwin’s jawline, then turning towards the youngest looking one. “Even the bat hell spawn would look adorable on her knees.”
“Shut up.” Ire simmered constantly, such sudden changes were about to make them explode again.
“What, is she your favorite?”
“Leave her out of this!
“ I can tell she is.”
The shiny eeriness of her cheek would haunt them forever, she was so cold against their hand.
“This other one, looks more like a harlot...still...Barely one can see such a beautiful sin.”
“I’m warning you” he could barely see now, as if the bard had started crying.
“What are you even going to do about it, Whispers?” The Emperor mocked them “Come on Raine, you can try and lie to everyone else but you can’ t lie to me, not when I’m literally inside you.” Crooned Belos, leafing through the many memories on Raine’s brain pertaining to their co rebels, their way younger,really damn pretty co rebels who once had been their students.
Those confirmed soon that those kids would do anything to gain the bard’s approval, so hungry they became after Raine started to get more physical with them during classes as their bond grew closer and stronger.
“What are you even saying!? They’re my kids!”
The emperor focused on memory of Raine bathing said students, in their defense they were but toddlers, but any excuse was good to torment them.
“What are you doing in the same bath tub as them you degenerate?” He asked, practically whispering it in their ear with a blow of cold air.
Raine tried to calm down, knowing that if they lost their temper it would be over and they would totally lose what little control they held over their wooden, slightly burnt body.
“None of your concern you monster.” They growled back, eyes screwed shut.
Their kids must have been terrified when the cherub like god scooped them up and turned them into life sized toys.
“It must be so horrible for you, Raine, knowing that your cute toys belong to someone else now.” He had to laugh at the horrible hand of cards they had been dealt and how the bard seemed to be cornered now.
No place to run or hide now.
“What do you even want me to say, you old bastard?”
As an answer Belos slowly showed Raine his own memories, making lots of slow takes on the human child’s face. Completely, irredeemably obsessed with her in all sense of the word.
“What do you want with Luz? Leave her out of this!”
“She has a beautiful name doesn’t she? Light.” He laughed, cherishing the memory of her cute, blushed face looking back at him in admiration. “My light in this dark pit of hell.”
Raine felt like retching as the ancient memories played in front of them, witnessing the innocent start of Philip’s centuries long obsession with the human girl.
“Why are you even showing me this?” Raine tried to close their eyes as playfully half dressed drawn sketches of ‘Luzura’ half stained with mold and murky white stains flashed across their sight “You disgusting old bitch.” Drawn figures in lieu of a furtively taken polaroid in lieu of the real deal receiving his boiling seed.
Belos only laughed and outstretched his arm to caress each one of the dollified Batts’ faces, even tracing their lips using his borrowed thumb.
“You called yourself a sinner and that is my sin, to yearn for years for my god given and god sent bride.” He sighed dreamily. “And I reckon that you’re just the same kind of sinful monster as I am.”
The same kind of monster but in a different, more innocuous looking package hiding the potential danger in plain sight.
“Of course not, we are not the same.” They said, exhausted and panicking at how their strength was barely holding them together, only mere will-force keeping them awake and fighting back.
“Should I dig deeper on your memories then, bard?”
“I have no interest on what you think that is happening in them, your eyes are as crooked as your fucking mind!” They hissed, stalling while looking for a new way to flip the table. Better if it hurt the both of them severely in the process.
“How am I crooked, you pagan witch?” Great, he loved too much the sound of his own voice.
Again, he returned to the stamp of Luz’s blushed face, unknowingly smiling at the monster in the making, for her idealistic eyes only saw a fellow human trapped in a faraway realm.
“She’s such a beautiful little angel, my angel.” A deep, long drawn and dreamy inhalation followed that statement, as if he was yearning that it would let him smell one more time the sweet scent of her hair and skin.
‘God, why didn’t I hugged her when I had the chance?!’ He would forever regret that. To having lost the chance to hug her, to touch her little hand, even the gentlest kiss to place in her forehead as a reward for being so in tune with the Boiling Isles.
Philip was sure she would’ve loved it and had it not been for her aunt watching over her and obviously not fully trusting this eerily charming scholar. Even if she had known him for more time it just wasn’t normal to be that invested in a teen and specially to be showering her with those kinda compliments
“Curse that witch forevermore for denying me the touch of my god given bride.” Another wistful sight. “But she was to be my reward after all, I could not have her just yet.”
Luz, he wanted to have Luz all to himself, he thought and truly believed that he deserved to break her open and claim her as his.
Raine felt a retch rise from the bottom of their stomach, Belos felt a shiver of pleasure, both focusing on the memory of Raine meeting her and kissing her hand as a greeting. Such a mundane stamp made his rotting heart retch out venomous bile.
“You managed to touch her? Lucky are the sinful ones...How did her skin taste like?” His breathing became more elaborate, jealousy quickly crept out of his throat. “You held her little hand for a blessed moment, how could you be strong enough to fight back the urge of licking your lips afterwards?” Just the idea of pressing his own lips against Luz’ skin made him frenetic. “How dare you, you heathen bard, how dare you touch my god given and god sent bride?”
Angry, he made Raine strangle themself again, useless being that the wooden carcass lacked proper lungs and trachea, but it was still a heavy threat.
“Were those three scrumptious students of yours not enough? You degenerate.” Even if Belos laughed about it, it was more than obvious how enraged and jealous he was that a witch got to touch his bride first and before he even could claim her.
He took a deep breath to calm down, well knowing that by being patient God would reward him and there was no use in getting angry at Raine.
“Are you aware that she hates you?”
“Does she now?” He said, releasing their neck to scratch their shared chin.
“Luz hates you, I’d say she would like to kill you if given the chance.” They said, matter of factly, as Eda’s young charge had nothing but scorn towards her enemy.
Having heard that Belos just laughed. “That is completely irrelevant” His bride could be so silly sometimes.
“Are you stupid?”
“It has nothing to do with intelligence, its written in stone that she will be my reward...”Another deep breath, thinking again of her beautiful, warm, brown eyes.How he longed to have his reflection on them once again.
“What do you mean by reward?” The bard was getting more disgusted with the emperor with each passing second.
“For my labor in purifying this hellish realm God will reward me with finally having her all to myself, it doesn’t matter if she hates me or wants me dead.” A satisfied smirk painted the puppet’s face now. “Because she is going to be mine in the end.” Solemnly he nodded, well convinced of such, smiling at the sensation of revolt emanating from Raine. “What are you so disgusted for? Surely those beautiful students of yours were your reward for so many years of loyalty to the Bard Coven.” He taunted them, stroking their cheeks and shoulders just to enjoy how their blood boiled in impotent rage. “You’re a lucky one, usually they fight back their fate until they learn to accept it.”
Disgust twisted their face. “You’re repulsive.”
“We are both sinners aren’t we? You called yourself one.” Raine screwed their eyes shut, trying to find a way to block the memories of all the good moments they shared with their students. Their co-rebels. Their children. “A degenerate disguising themselves as a rebel, how convenient.”
Three sets of eyes stared back blankly at them, unmoved and cold, like their artificial smiles crudely, forcibly carved on their mouths by the same magic that turned them into wooden, corpse like dolls.
“They deserve to know the truth, don’t you think Raine?”
“That their beloved leader took advantage of their naivety and innocence? Just like you did to the Isles?” Raine growled back at him, the joints of their hands popping and tensing up,
“For daring to touch my god given and god sent bride I oughta break your arms, bard.” He smiled, getting closer to the dollified rebels, the defenseless, very attractive, dollified rebels. “But on a second thought, after what I will make you do to your kids you’ll break them yourself.” He said triumphantly while forcibly making them goose step back into the archives, right where the BATTS were trapped.
“No! Don’t you dare touch my children you degenerate old pervert!”
“You’re one to talk, Whispers.”
Philip looked at the three young rebels once more, locking his sight on the girls. They were certainly lovely. “Have you any idea of what I’ve wanted to do to my bride since I met her? Have you any idea of the desires I’ve had to bury deep within me in order to fulfill my mission? For they were not mine to feel yet.”
This was going to get more difficult than Raine originally thought.
Philip’s hand cupped Katya’s cheek, close enough in skin color to his gift so she would do for the time being.
“Is this one your favorite or is the shorter one? So I know which one to start with.” Instead of answering Raine only looked away. “Let’s start with the little one then, shall we, bard?” He placed the hands they shared on Amber’s belt buckle, unfastening it despite how much they were shaking.
It went off so easily, just like if she wanted it to happen somehow. Deep down she harbored the fantasy of being able to seduce her Professor or at least to get to sleep with them, at least once. Those profoundly shameful desires were felt and shared by all three alumni, because how dared they feel that way towards them who had done all they could to take good care of them.
The fact that Raine had also recruited them into a terrorist organization to take down the current goverment had only made said feelings worse.