Disclaimer: "Happy Tree Friends" is copyright of Mondo Media
[After months of research and some editing, I present to you the newest chapter…]
Happy Tree Friends: Camp Sanguine
Chapter 25 – The Summoning
"Dominum nostrum in nomine Domini, Lucifer Satanas
Hac nocte tibi offerimus easdem
Corrupitque ut interpellatio vestri desideriis,
Rogamus ergo te, ut ostendam tibi,
Et terra repetere tuis!"
Translation: "In the name of our Great Master, Satan Lucifer
Tonight we offer you fresh souls
Tainted to suit your desires
We ask thee to reveal yourself
And reclaim the land as yours!"
The girls shrieked as the ground began to shake; fire and brimstone erupted from the cracks and rained down, nearly landing on their exposed skin. The atmosphere became hotter and more humid than usual that they began to sweat, their leathery outfits not helping one bit.
Flaky frantically surveyed their surroundings and noticed they were each positioned on the five points of a large Pentagram, etched intricately on stone. She wondered why nobody had noticed it yet, but then again, the site had been hidden from the naked eye as centuries passed.
Escaping proved futile as each of the girls' arms and legs were restrained in a spread-eagle form, held down by thick metal cuffs and heavy chains. "It won't be long now…" snickered Possessed Pop as he eyed the girls, "Don't fret. It's an honor to become one with the Great Master."
'Flippy, hurry!' Flaky mentally pleaded.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Down below, the teen soldier's eyes widened as the Soul Cylinder began to glow red-hot; heat surrounded them and it felt as though they were being pulled into something. "Everyone out! Now!" he ordered, leading them through the invisible hole and managed to help them escape just as the Soul Cylinder was sucked into a darkened abyss below. "What was that! What's going on!" demanded Lifty.
"A Summoning Ritual…" Flippy replied, "We're meant to be the catalysts, but looks like we bought ourselves a little more time." He then floated through the halls, groaning in frustration as he noticed the entrance has been sealed off. "They really thought this out," he growled; turned to the others and ordered them to spread out and find another exit as fast as they could. "We don't have much time!" he reminded.
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Back at the Altar, the Demons noticed the Ritual was taking longer than usual to complete; it took some time to figure out what had gone wrong as a monstrous growl shook the earth they stood on. "Envy, Gluttony, Greed, Pride – get downside and gather the souls! Master hates waiting," Possessed Lumpy ordered.
"What! Why do I have to go with –" Demon Splendid countered, interrupted by another angered growl from below. "Alright! Alright! We'll check on dinner!" he yelled over it, taking off towards the secret entrance while his party followed.
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Soul Splendid picked up the sound of approaching footfalls and ushered everyone to hide, just as Demon Splendid burst through and began heading towards the Soul Cylinder room. "Wait," Demon Disco Bear insisted, his nose twitching as he sniffed around, "I smell souls…"
"Seriously?" Demons Lifty and Shifty chorused as they turned to him, cocking their eyebrows…and were caught off guard as Souls Lifty and Shifty passed through and began fighting for control over their bodies. The twins were victorious and kicked out the Demons, cringing as their true forms were revealed. Fortunately they were too exhausted to fight back.
"Don't just stand there – head to the Counselor's Cabin and grab the book!" Flippy ordered, watching the twins bolt as Souls Disco Bear and Toothy fought for control; what others would see were a pair of bodies twitching violently on the ground.
Soul Splendid was having some difficulty getting his body back from Demon Splendid as both have equally fast reflexes. "I'm not giving up this pile of flesh!" the latter claimed. "I didn't ask you to!" the former countered, managing to grapple and the two rolled before slamming into a wall, sending piles of debris crashing on the spot.
…and that triggered a cave-in. "Move! Move! Move!" Soul Flippy ordered, seeing Disco Bear and Toothy win their bodies back and bolt out the door just as the roof began to crumble. "Splendid, hurry!" the teen soldier cried. "Just go! I'll catch up!" the blue-haired hero yelled back, still fighting the Demon residing in his body.
Flippy hesitated for a while and floated away with the other souls just as the roof collapsed, burying and sealing the entrance. The commotion must have alerted the rest of the Possessed Campers as they were then seen rushing towards them, teeth bared and glowing-red pupils glaring daggers at them.
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…growl…ROAR!
"Our apologies, oh Great Master – but the situation will be rectified soon," Possessed Mole spoke, glaring at the Demons that stayed behind…especially at a certain one. "Lust, take your filthy hands off her!" he ordered.
"But I want her now!" Demon Nutty whined, "And I know that once Master is here I'll never have her for myself." Flaky whimpered as he once again touched her indecently; mentally sighed in relief as Demon Splendont pulled his hands off her. "I'd keep that in your pants for now if I were you…" he growled, "If you've rarely seen me aggravated, then you've never seen Master's true wrath."
Moonlight overheard and frantically tried to remember an incantation that would at least set them free from their restraints, but her mind is in a state of panic that all she could hope for was to see her brother or her boyfriend come to the rescue…and the fact she deeply regretted her decision of skipping Latin classes.
"I didn't ask for any of this!" Giggles screamed, struggling wildly and uncaring as her skin slowly gets torn raw from the cuffs, "I want to live! We want to live! Let us go! Let us fucking go! Please –!"
"Oh, shut up and sleep on it!" Demon Mime sighed, temporarily knocking her out with a sleeping spell; did the same to Petunia as soon as she started screaming for her friend to wake up. Lammy was about to protest when Possessed Cro-Marmot glared at her, forcing her to swallow her words.
Possessed Cub then squealed and pointed at the approaching campers – all were facing the ground, their clothes slightly torn and revealing bruises and cuts from a scuffle they had been through. Just as Possessed Pop was about to ask them about their effort in containing the souls, he noticed something was off – where were Envy, Gluttony, Greed and Pride?
And he was right. "You know…for a bunch of powerful Demons you still have some flaws," Flippy spoke, looking up and glaring, "So why don't you just pack up, go home, and forget this has ever happened?"
"You think repossessing your former selves and outnumbering us calls for an achievement?" Possessed Lumpy sneered. "Then I'm afraid you've been mistaken – there's always a Plan B…" Possessed Mole continued, snapping his fingers.
SHRIEK!
"NO!" Flippy and Splendid yelled at the same time while the girls shrieked and squirmed agonizingly, their souls painfully ripped out and sucked into a growing abyss that appeared floating before them. The Pentagram they were laid upon then collapsed, taking their lifeless bodies along for the ride as the Altar fell into it.
…growl…ROAR! HAHAHAHAHAHA…
Splendid was about to rescue the fallen girls when they rose back to the surface…but they weren't themselves. Their bodies were hanging limply in mid-air and their eyes had rolled to the back of their heads – it was unsure if they were possessed or they're being used as some form of life source.
"Yar…" Russell whimpered as something rose from the gaping hole. It was a 10-foot-tall muscular Demon, glaring down at them with fiery ruby orbs; stout-and-pointy black horns adorned his head and curved upwards towards the sky as he stretched, flexing leathery black wings three times the length of his arm span. "C-C-Can we panic now?" Cuddles whined, yelping and hiding behind Sniffles as the Master Demon growled menacingly.
"Tu ergo qui exercitu delevit," he snarled, "Miserum mortalia agitur qui ne hoc quidem scire?"
Translation: "So you are the one that was destroying my army. Pathetic mortal, do you even know who you are dealing with?"
"An ugly ass motherfucker, that's who," Flippy replied smugly, smirking as Demon Splendont began getting aggravated. "So…you want to do this the hard way…" the Master Demon spoke, summoning a fresh army of Demons, "So be it."
One of Flippy's grass-green orbs shifted into a fiery-gold – Flipqy had taken over half his body, fueled by the long-suppressed desire to fight. "Bring it on, big guy…" the teen soldier spoke.
[…and here I go, disappearing again. But this story isn't over yet – stay tuned!]