Lolo’s Hiding Something

Lolo

I started laughing maniacally as I closed the front door. Holo Gina looked at me confused and scared.

“Death Keeper, sir!! Why are you back so early?” Holo Gina asked as she saluted.

“Hey!! Holo Gina, that isn’t nice to scare the wits out of me!!” I snapped as I jumped a little bit.

“Sorry, Death Keeper. We weren’t expecting you to be here until after the new year.” Holo Gina said as she looked at me with respect.

“Where is our Master?” I asked as I motioned for her to relax.

“She is in her office.” Holo Gina said as she relaxed.

We walked toward our Master’s office. I followed Holo Gina up to the door. I could hear our Master crying within. I swallowed my pride and took a deep breath as I turned the knob. I pushed the door open to see her and a tall dark figure face to face. He was ready to attack when I recognized the voice that spoke.

“What did you do with Lolo?” The dark figure asked as black substance dripped from his face.

“Lolo is at home! I laid him off until the first of the year!!” His Master snapped back as she pushed the dark figure backwards.

I noticed she had tear lines that stained her cheeks. I watched Master go back and forth with Shadow Master Dalton.

“Huh… his scent is fresh in here. Tell me this, is he here now or is that scent from yesterday or the day before, my dear Rose?” The Shadow Master Dalton said with a smile as his hood fell off his head.

“Leave, Shadow Demon!!” My Master snarled as she stomped toward Shadow Master Dalton.

“As you wish, Master Rose. Get ready for the war that is yet to come.” He said as his whole body turned into the liquid substance and slid under the door.

She sat down at her desk and sighed as she wiped away her tears. She motioned for me to walk forth. I walked forward, up to her desk and saluted her.

“No need to salute me, Death Keeper. Why are you here?” My Master asked as she rubbed her temples.

“I am here because I am looking for Raja, Killer, Destroyer and Mooran for a patrol around the borders before I take off. We shall be back by 17:00 madam.” I requested as I stood up.

“Fine, fine. Take them to patrol since it is only 6:00. I shall relax and please make sure that Iris is here when y’all come back.” She said as she motioned for me to leave.

I left and yelled for them one by one to come and stand in front of me. Killer and Raja were the first to show and to salute me. They stood tall but Killer looked confused. Mooran and Destroyer came running in and slid to a halt. They were breathing hard but saluted to me anyways.

“Why do you need us, Death Keeper, sir?” Raja asked as they all put their hands down.

“Patrolling the borders. We have to make sure that no one has come in or out. Got it?” I commanded as I stood tall.

“Yes sir!!” They all yelled and saluted again.

They followed me toward the Northwest corner and watched the border until we got to the South side of the border where our friends hid in the bushes. I whistled and Iris popped up. Killer and Destroyer looked at me in confusion. Then, Avalar, Flame Point, and Midnight Dash popped up next to her. They all smiled and hugged each other. I stood back a little bit.

“Lily, oreinak, hegazkinaria!! Nola zaude lagun zaharrak? The Lily, Deer people, Aviator!! How are you old friends?” Mooran asked in Basque as he shook hands with Avalar.

“Hey, Moron of The Hellish Language!! English please!!” Midnight Dash snapped as she nouggied Killer.

“At least he is asking how his old friends are.” Destroyer said as he started wrestling with Avalar.

“I am not a moron!! More like you are the moron, Crash!!” Mooran said with a smile.

“Don’t call her Crash, Moron. Avinator, Sequin Flower, Marmalade and Black Lemon, Flamin’ Road Rash and then me. Who are we missing?” I said as I counted the names as I said them on my fingers.

“White Feather. We are missing the young Shelldor named White Feather.” Flame Point said as he walked up to me.

“Hmm. Does anyone know where we can find the Feather of White?” I asked as I looked at my gallant friends.

“I might know where she hangs out at around this hour.” Midnight said with a smile as she walked up to me.

I looked at Midnight Dash and smiled.

“You won’t like where she is at.” Midnight said as she touched my shoulder.

“Well, where is she?” Flame Point and I asked her at the same time.

“Follow me and you shall see. Feather of White you can easily fright. She knows we are coming; yet shall she be on a guitar a-strumming.” Midnight rhymed as she trotted away toward the South.

We followed her toward the South for about an hour until we got to some bushes behind a building. We all stared at the big building in awe. We all heard a bell ring and the main door opened. Everyone except for Iris ducked down. We watched as the kids flooded from the school doors. These kids were Satyrs, Fauns, Shelldors and Elves. This was also no ordinary school; it was the Special School of Magic and Potions. Iris watched all of the kids flood out until she heard the soft clopping of White Feather’s hooves on the concrete sidewalk nearby. Iris ducked down as White Feather got closer. She walked by them and walked toward a thick oak tree. She sat down and a guitar appeared from thin air. She started strumming and started to sing the song of her people.

“White Feather can sing?!?” I asked in astonishment as I felt my cheeks go red.

“Uh oh, seems like Lolo has a crush.” Killer and Raja teased him.

“N… no. No, I don’t. I… um… I was just surprised that she could sing.” I stammered as I looked away from White Feather.

Avalar stood up and changed into his Shelldor form. He stepped out of the bushes and started walking toward her. She paid no attention to him. He stopped close to her feet and cleared his throat.

“Eep!!” White Feather screeched as she fumbled the guitar.

“Feather of White Dove. Shall we join our friends on an epic adventure?” Avalar asked as he stuck his hand out for her to grab.

“Pirate of the Seas, Son of Sinbad, don’t scare me like that. It isn’t nice to scare others.” She said formally as she made the guitar disappear as quickly as she had made it appear.

“Sorry, Dove. Shall we join our friends, Sister of mine?” He asked her as their friends snickered from within the bushes.

She nodded and took his hand. He helped her stand up and he grabbed her book bag. He threw it over his shoulder, and she smiled up at him. Avalar was at least a foot or two taller than White Feather. They started walking toward the front of the school when a group of two male elves and a female elf walked out of the school’s front doors and down the path a little ways.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Burnt Dork Feather and who is this with you?” The middle elf asked as he scaled Avalar up and down.

“Is he your boyfriend?” The elf on the left said as he chuckled a little bit.

“I am not her boyfriend. I am only a friend coming to walk her home.” Avalar said as anger started building within him.

All three of the elves started laughing. The female elf that was on the right, flipped her hair back and grabbed White Feather by her shirt.

“Listen here, little fucker. Stay out of my fucking way or you will regret that your precious mommy and daddy never had you. Got it, you piece of shit?” The female snapped at her as she threw White Feather down to the ground.

White Feather landed on her back, knocking the breath out of her. Next thing I knew, Avalar grabbed the female elf by her shirt and made her look at him. The other two elves gasped.

“Hey, I don’t appreciate you and your little friends picking on my friend. Leave her alone or I will do more than this. Got it?” Avalar said as he set her back on the ground and then glared at her.

“Y… yeah. Yeah, we got it.” She stammered as she stood up and walked away with her friends.

Avalar helped White Feather stand up and he brushed off the dirt. He heard cheering from his friends and his left. He looked to his left and a student body of 20 or more kids cheering.

“Let us go, Sister Dove.” Avalar said as he walked her toward the front gates.

They walked through the gates and toward their friends standing near the fountain. She hugged everyone and started talking about how her classes are teaching the basics right now. She noticed that I was a little pinker than normal.

“Relax Death Keeper. Let us go have fun before our Masters spoil our fun.” White Feather said with a smile as she hugged me.

“How come he calls you Sister?” I asked after I cleared my throat.

“He and I share the same heritage. We have different Papas and Mamas though. We have grown up together in the Shelldor society.” White Feather said as she let go of me with a smile.

“How is this Special School for Magic and Potions?” Killer asked as he walked with the group as they all left.

“Meh. They teach you basic spells and basic potion making skills. It is alright since I am in most of the Advanced classes.” White Feather said as she walked next to Avalar.

Avalar shook and his body reverted back to its elf form. His horn disappeared and his hooved legs turned back into normal legs. White Feather looked at Avalar surprised. He smiled at her and stopped next to her.

“What? How? Why?” White Feather asked as she stopped too.

“I am a Heraldor, which is half Shelldor and half elf, Sister Dove. How and why is not all that important.” Avalar said as he heard a branch break.

Everyone stopped and heard the breaking of branches from behind them.

“Run!!” Iris, Mooran and I yelled all together.

We all started running and the running steps became audible. The laughing started and Iris, Avalar, and I knew who it was. We all stopped running when we got to the middle of a group of trees that surrounded us. We looked around and noticed that the leaves on the trees were moving and the branches were dripping a black substance.

“Dalton!! Show yourself!!” Avalar and I yelled as Iris held her spear that appeared from thin air.

“Nah. Tell your so-called Masters and family that the war is about to begin.” He said as he stayed hidden within the shadows.

“Why should we tell them that?” Iris snarled as she looked in the opposite direction of me.

“I am not going to tell you. I shall take my leave now.” Shadow Master Dalton said as he disappeared, and everything was still and quiet.

“Time!! What time is it?” Raja asked frantically.

“Calm down, Drama Queen. It is only 9:00. Why do you ask?” Iris snapped as she looked at him with irritation.

Raja shrugged and looked at Avalar. White Feather squinted at Mooran and could see that he was crying on the inside. She started laughing and smiled at Iris. I cleared my throat, and everyone stared at me.

“Let us go tell our Masters what we saw and heard.” I said as I looked at Avalar and scanned across my friends.

My pod and Avalar’s pod started ringing. We answered and the friends separated to each Master they belong to. Avalar’s group consisted of Midnight Dash, Flame Point, White Feather, and himself. My group consisted of Iris, Bud, Raja, Mooran, Killer, Destroyer, and myself. Avalar and I opened our pods and all of us saluted. Avalar’s group saluted with their arms laying against each other across their chest. Lolo’s group saluted with arms crossed into a diamond shape.

“I need you and the rest of you to come back to home base immediately.” Both of their Masters said as they looked at all of them with a worried expression.

“Yes, ma’am!!” Lolo’s group replied.

“Yes, your highness.” Avalar replied as the others nodded.

We both closed our pods and put them away. Both Avalar’s and I’s groups looked at each other and we went our separate ways. I kept something hidden and Iris could sense it but, she or I couldn’t figure it out.

Avalar

“Let us go, Knights of the Round Barrel!! Let us get to our Majesty’s side and see what he needs.” I said as I turned and looked at the other 3 in my group.

“Sir, yes, sir.” I said as they bowed to me.

They stood up and watched me as I started to pace a little bit. I started to walk toward the East, and they followed me.

Lolo

“Let’s go, Acquaintances!!” I yelled as I felt uneasy about what Master was needing.

They followed me as we walked away from Avalar and his group. Something in my gut told me that we should run. I pushed it down and shook the ideal away. I started to run, and they ran after me. Iris ran past me and beat me to the door of our Master’s office. I knocked on the door and heard nothing. Something was off, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.

“Something is completely wrong here.” Iris said as her spear appeared out of thin air.

“Nothing is wrong, my little failures!!” A male voice they recognized immediately.

“Dalton!! Show yourself, you cowardly and conniving snake!!” I yelled as I grabbed my bow and arrows.

“Awe… That isn’t the way to greet a family member, Lolo, and Iris. You know your mother and father would be so upset at this display of disrespect. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Why are you mingling with these lower life forms? Anyways, your Master is gone, sonny boy. Give up, my dear niece and nephew. It is useless to fight someone stronger than yourselves. You should know that by personal experience, Lolo the Undefeatable.” Shadow Master Dalton said as he let his body drop to the floor and take shape again.

“Where is our Master?” Iris growled the question that we were all thinking.

“Let’s just say that Master Rose is a bit… oh, what’s the word… Yes. A bit occupied at the moment.” Shadow Master Dalton said as he looked at Iris.

“Where is she?!?” I asked, angrily as I pulled the string on my bow back.

“Oh, she’s busy dealing with… who was it? Who was it? Oh, yes!! She’s busy negotiating with Doctor Roadrunner.” Shadow Master Dalton said as he smiled at me.

“Not him. Not that stupid boy who owns my rivals!” I said as Iris spun around and watched whatever was slithering toward us.

“Oh, yeah? I thought they were your friends on the other side of the Territories. Dearest nephew and niece turn around and watch this place start to crumble around you. Why try to save your so-called acquaintances when you can save yourselves? Stay with me and you shall live to see more days than you can count.” Shadow Master Dalton said as we all heard crackling.

When I looked over, I saw that he had blocked Iris and I from the others. I breathed in calmly as I looked at them and decided to bark orders.

“Everyone!! Get out of the building, now!! I need you to help me defeat him.” I ordered as I spun around and looked back at Shadow Master Dalton.

Iris stayed as the others ran out of the building. Iris and I stood our ground as the building started to crumble and pieces of the roof started to fall around us. I hunkered down but Iris stood tall as our uncle laughed.

“We won’t ever join you and join in on your evil schemes that you are planning.” Iris snarled as she got into her battle stance and her armor started to show up.

“Well, I guess… Enjoy your slow death.” Shadow Master Dalton said as he turned to liquid and slithered away.

Iris looked up as she heard something creak and crack. She grabbed me and tossed me out the door. The whole building fell as I was caught by a couple of acquaintances. Everyone gasped as they saw the building collapse to the ground.

“Iris!!” I yelled as went to run toward the mess but Holo Gina stopped me.

“She’s gone, Death Keeper. You cannot get her back.” Holo Gina said as she held me back.

“No, no, NO!!! I just got her trust back!! I can’t let her die!! How… H… How am I to… *sniffles* to explain this to… to my parents?!?” I yelled as I started crying.

“What happened here? Where is Daru Daru? Why is Death Keeper crying?” Their Master asked as she walked upon the scene.

“M… madam. Lolo and Daru Daru saved us from HIM. HE tried to crumble the home with all of us in it. HE crumbled the home on top of Iris. She tossed Death Keeper out and was crushed before she could get out.” Holo Gina answered as they all saluted.

“Death Keeper, my dear. No need to cry. Go home and explain to them that a rock slide happened and crushed her.” Their Master said as she set her hand on my shoulder.

“I… I cannot lie, Master. I must tell the truth. I promised that to my sister.” I snapped at her.

“Lie, my dear. You will not get in trouble. Just do it, or you will be punished.” She said as whispering started all around us.

“Punish me all you want!! I won’t be caught lying to my family!! You don’t know what pain I have withheld from you and your ridiculous orders make no sense!! You don’t know me at all if you haven’t noticed I have dreaded this day to come!! Go ahead and punish me!!” I yelled at her arms, wide open and they all gasped.

“What do you mean by you have dreaded this day to come?” Our Master asked.

“You will never know what I feel, you monstrous Master!! You will never feel the same way I do!! You feel no Compassion, no Sympathy or Empathy and you don’t have any, ANY feelings toward us, you Monstrous Fucking Master!!” I yelled and realized immediately my mistake.

“What did you call me, Death Keeper?” She asked as her expression went from concerned to angry.

I stayed silent and stood there without a peep. She raised her hand and a whip appeared. She popped the whip and it got my arm. Left a nice slice on my arm. She kept popping the whip until I fell to my knees. She was out of breath and I hurt all over. That punishment lasted for two hours straight.

“Now, what did you call me?” She asked me again.

“You… ugh… you heard me the first time. I am… am not repeating what… ugh… I called you.” I stammered from all the pain before I collapsed completely to the ground.

Blood pooled under my body as Holo Gina shook my body and saying something as our Master laughed. I tried to stand up but fell back down. My body still hurt but I stood up and stared at her. My vision blurred as I started walking toward her. She took a step back and glared at me.

“Let them go, Master. I shan’t call you any kind of nasty or mean names again. I am sorry.” I said as I knelt in front of her.

She smiled and said, “My dear Death Keeper, you won’t lose your standing among us. Let them carry you to our new home.”

I nodded and let Regina, Holo Gina, Killer and Destroyer grab me. I winced at the pain from the sores and scratches from my punishment.

“What about Iris’s body?” I asked as I looked at our Master.

“We will leave her body here to not disrupt Aria as she works.” Master said as she smiled at me and walked away.

“Set me down. It will hurt less if I walk on my own.” I said as they started to walk, and it was causing me a lot of pain.

They stopped and set me down. I stood and started walking after our Master. They followed me as I followed her. We walked away from the crumbled mess of a home and I felt no emotion in me whatsoever.