The shackles around his wrists - though padded on the inside - were latched on tight, attached to chains that bound him to the floor, each keeping his arms spread. A thick metal collar had been locked around his throat, connected to a third chain that forced Cobalt to stay stooped in a kneeling position. The indignity was overwhelming, but between his overall exhaustion and the distance between him and Lilith, the Incubus was rendered more or less paralysed. All he could do was grit his teeth and bear it. He had to buy Lilith time.
Cobalt looked up to find himself kneeling in the centre of a circular chamber, carved deep into the meteoric iron of the Undercroft. He had heard tell of this place, but had never seen it with his own eyes; the infamous Punishment Chamber, where anyone caught violating the sacred Fesserite tenets were sent to receive their penance. He was kneeling in a pit cut into the floor, whilst lining the walls around him were dozens of seats, each occupied by a high-ranking Fesserite. He could see the Matriarch staring down at him with concerned eyes, while beside her, Karazelle shuffled about uncomfortably. There was a security guard by her seat; Cobalt could extrapolate that she had attempted to disrupt proceedings at least once. The chemical lamps above him were harsh, and racks mounted to the walls around central pit contained various tools of torture; whips, flails, crops, and alchemical mixes of all kinds.
He swallowed hard. They'd likely demand to know why he was trying to break into the bottommost layer. He'd have to hold out. For how long, though, he didn't know...
For a few tense minutes, Cobalt knelt where he was and watched as more Fesserites filed into the Punishment Chamber, until nearly the entire gallery was taken up by stern-looking Succubi. It seemed as though the mere mention of his name was enough to draw a crowd. Once the upper gallery doors slammed shut, the Matriarch cleared her throat and stood up. She was dressed in dour black robes, the kind one would wear to a funeral.
"Before us lies Cobalt Atticus Trayer, an Incubus male of twenty-three years, standing accused of attempting to breach the third sublevel of our most sacred Undercroft," she announced, her voice edged with an official tone.
A murmur went up amongst the crowd. Disapproval.
"Before due punishment can be exacted, we will offer the accused the chance to admit guilt and freely give an explanation for his actions. Should he take this offer of mercy, further interrogation shall be avoided, and the overall punishment shall be lessened. Mr. Trayer?"
Felicity gestured down to him. Her voice was stern, but the look in her eyes begged him to just admit fault. Taking a deep breath, Cobalt shook his head.
"I'll pass, thanks," he called, eliciting a few gasps of outrage from the Fesserites.
He heard the Matriarch take a deep breath.
"... Very well. I hereby consign both your custody and my authoritative power unto she who shall be administering your punishment."
Cobalt swallowed hard. From what he remembered, that role was usually taken up by someone close to the accused. A lover if one was available, and if not, a family member. It was supposed to foster a sense of guilt, to make them more likely to fess up and prevent any undue suffering. A rather ingenious psychological tactic made by Lady Fesser when she first wrote out the edicts of her order. Going by that, he would more than likely be facing punishment from the Matriarch herself, given that the rest of his family was back in Brimstone and he didn't have a-
"You may begin, Miss Lattess."
Cobalt's eyes snapped wide as the front doors to the Punishment Chamber were kicked open.
"Wait, what?!" he cried, turning his gaze up to Felicity.
"Miss Lattess was quite close to you, Mr. Trayer. Furthermore, she volunteered for the role."
"But-!"
"The accused must remain silent unless asked upon to speak."
He gritted his teeth. Whatever the outcome, he had to bear with it. This whole venture hinged on him holding out long enough for Lilith to do her job.
When he heard the doors clang shut, Cobalt returned his attention to the individual marching into the chamber. No longer dressed in a security uniform, Cherry Lattess stood before the Incubus garbed in the intimidating getup of a Fesserite inquisitor. Elbow-length gloves, high boots and a corset, all made from black leather; to most she'd look like some kind of historical take on the average dominatrix. But to those from Phrodival, Cherry Lattess was geared up to break someone in body, spirit - and if needs be - mind.
She didn't say anything as she approached Cobalt. Rather, the Succubus just circled around him as she tied her red hair back with a length of ribbon, humming to herself.
"... Been a while since I last had you like this," she said, cracking her knuckles.
Cobalt kept his mouth shut. She scoffed.
"Nope. That's not gonna cut it."
Marching over to Cobalt, Cherry roughly kicked him right across the face. Up in the gallery, Karazelle shot out of her seat, but the security guard beside her forced her back down.
"The question I'm here to get an answer for is why you were bolting to get to Sublevel Three. But after looking into what you've been up to since you and I parted ways, I've got some questions of my own. So let's waste no time in getting you ready, shall we?"
She mockingly patted his face before slowly moving her hands down to his neck, where she tenderly grabbed his tie.
"Hm. You always had an obsession with this."
"Don't you dare," Cobalt hissed, narrowing his eyes.
She shot back a venomous glare.
"Oh, come off it. I'm not that cruel."
Carefully, she unknotted the tie and stowed it away in her pocket. Stepping out of view for a moment, Cherry soon returned with a short-bladed dagger that she used to quickly slice all the buttons off Cobalt's shirt. With a cruel laugh, she made a few decisive cuts in the fabric before tearing the garment off completely, exposing the Incubus' torso to the gallery. Stepping around him, she gave a low whistle.
"My my... Come on, give them a show," she called, stepping over to a set of hand cranks attached to the wall.
She gave them a spin, causing the chains to slacken with a creaking groan. Groaning, Cobalt stood straight up and stretched all the aches out, whereupon Cherry immediately prodded him in the stomach with the knife. She slowly traced a circle around the scar left from Diate's spear, giving a low whistle as she did so.
"Heh. Someone's been busy."
Cobalt wanted to snap at her to just get it over with, but he held his tongue. The longer this went, the better it was for Lilith.
"So. Care to enlighten me as to why you were trying to get to the bottom of the Undercroft?" Cherry asked, approaching one of the racks.
"No," he answered curtly.
He saw her stiffen up.
"I'm not liking your tone."
"My apologies."
"Heh, is that so? Well... talking back was always a problem with you. That's alright; I was counting on it."
Grabbing the handle of a finely-crafted whip, she theatrically twirled it through the air before cracking it. Stepping out of Cobalt's field of view, a low laugh echoed throughout the Punishment Chamber.
"Last chance to fess up," she said.
Cobalt gritted his teeth.
"I'll take my chances."
"Good."
The first lash struck him like a bolt of lightning. It cracked against his back, leaving a searing streak of pain that wrenched a prolonged hiss from between the Incubus' teeth. As it faded to a bearable buzz, she lashed him again, this one somehow stinging worse than the last. Again and again, Cherry would relentlessly whip Cobalt, never giving him enough time to get used to the pain, nor striking reliably enough to allow him to predict it.
"Feeling talkative yet?!" she called over the relentless cracking of the whip.
"I've... got... nothing... to... say...!" Cobalt responded between agonised gasps, his eyes screwed shut as sweat poured down his face.
"Thought so!"
She delivered one final crack of the whip, branding a burn arc of pain into Cobalt's back that forced him to his knees. Behind him, Cherry ran a finger down the length of his spine.
"Hmph," she scoffed, stepping around to his front.
"What?!" the Incubus gasped, glaring at her.
She was staring at her fingertip, and the blood that coated it. Frowning, she stuck it into her mouth and looked Cobalt up and down.
"You haven't threatened to kill me yet," she remarked, licking her lips as she folded her arms.
"And why would I do that?" he asked, struggling to get back to his feet.
Her eyes flashed.
"Because that's what you'd always do."
"I... no, that's not me."
"... Right."
Dropping the whip, Cherry marched over to one of the equipment racks, where a host of phials and bottles sat ready and waiting. Grabbing a few, she sniffed their contents before dumping them all into a ceramic flask.
"I think this about calls for a psychflensing," she remarked, swirling the concoction.
Aghast cries rang out through the gallery as the Matriarch rose from her seat, outraged.
"Cherry! That's too far!"
"With all due respect, Matriarch, no it is not! You want answers! I want answers! And he's not giving them up, so I am well within my rights to tear them right out of his skull! By any means necessary!"
Sniffing the alchemical mix in her hands, she marched over to Cobalt and hunkered down to his eye level, setting the flask between them both.
"This," she said quietly, tapping the lip of the bottle, "is truth. And it's gonna kick you right in the ass. Once its past your tongue, you'll be spewing every little secret I ask of you, and you won't even know it. Every facet of your fucked up little mind will be split apart, sliced open and laid bare. You wanna avoid that, then all you have to do is give me what I want."
He shook his head.
"What I was doing was my business-"
"I don't give a shit about that. I want to know what happened to you. Why you're like this," Cherry interrupted, prodding him right in the forehead.
Cobalt held his breath, but the lump in his throat threatened to choke him. She was staring at him with an intense gaze; one that seemed eerily familiar, and all the more uncomfortable for it.
"What do you want from me, Cherry? People change."
"Not like this. Cobalt Trayer doesn't suddenly just become a lamb. Look at yourself; what you've become."
She grabbed one of his horns and pulled his face close. She wore an overpowering perfume that smelled exactly like her namesake.
"Running around with a harem of girls like you're hot shit. Just who the fuck do you think you are, huh?" she hissed, baring her teeth.
"It's not like that!" he retorted.
"Of course it's not! Because that isn't you! You're my dog, remember?!"
"Stop calling me that!"
"Not until you admit it, pup!"
Pup. That fucking word. Whatever it was, it sparked an intense surge of anger deep within Cobalt's chest. Shaking himself free of Cherry's grasp, he suddenly wound his head back and slammed it into her face. Crying out, she staggered back, clutching her face and almost knocking the potion over with her tail. Despite the tension running hot, she began to laugh; quietly at first, then growing louder.
"There you have it! Refusal of admittance! Let the psychflensing commence!" she announced, much to the horror of the audience.
Cobalt shook his head, feeling agitated as he grew more and more aware of the collar around his neck.
"You can't make me drink that!" he spat, glaring at the Succubus.
She returned his vitriol with a sharp grin.
"I don't have to make you do anything. You're gonna drink it all by yourself. Like a good little pup."
"Wha-?!"
"Oitanimod!"
She stretched out her arm as a mass of shadows shot forth from her palm, latching around Cobalt's throat and almost choking him. With his arms chained, he could only fruitlessly struggle as it formed a shadowy ring around his neck. The Fesserites were in uproar, but Cherry didn't seem to care.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
"Y- You can't...!" Cobalt guttered, struggling to breathe as his vision blurred.
"Oh, but I can! I remember when you first learned this one, pup! Thought you could get one over on me, huh?! Well, revenge is a two-way street! Oge oebui et eretcelfuneg!" she cackled, slamming her foot down.
A mass of shadows suddenly coiled around her like a dark cloak, strengthening the spell and forcing Cobalt down to his knees. He tried to keep himself upright with his hands, but his strength was rapidly waning.
"Cherry, stop this! Right now!" Felicity Fesser called from on high, but her words fell upon deaf ears.
Grinning like a wolf, Cherry leaned in close and whispered the final verse of that cursed spell, My Will Be Done.
"Edualc idua em."
Everything went silent. The world around Cobalt shifted and blurred, melting away into a slurry of colours and shapes that meant absolutely nothing to him. All except her. Cherry Lattess. She stood before him like a goddess, wrapped in leather and wreathed in shadow, smiling down as he prostrated himself.
"Cobalt Trayer," she said to him, her voice more melodic and divine than anything he had ever heard in his life, "Your will is mine. You will do what I say, when I say it, and you will like it."
The Incubus bit his lip in an attempt to resist her influence, but her power was just too strong. His willpower was sapped from him, rendering him to little more than putty in her hands. He was dimly aware of the blood dripping from his nostrils; a sure sign that he was well and truly enthralled.
"You will drink deep of the concoction before you, right to the last drop. And as you wander the planes of your mind, you will follow my voice and obey. Understand?"
"Y- Yes," Cobalt answered without even thinking.
Cherry smiled.
"Good boy. Eti cnun."
She snapped her fingers. With his mind rendered blank, the Incubus grabbed the ceramic flask and pressed it to his lips. He didn't even think to taste it; he just tipped the entire brew down his throat. Almost immediately, the world around him began to shift and warp even further, until even Cherry's voice was difficult to hear.
"Now... Listen close, and answer everything I ask of you. Like a good dog."
She flicked him right between the horns. Cobalt sharply inhaled, and suddenly fell out of his own body.
~~~~~
He didn't know how long he fell for, only that it felt like hours. Hot wind whipped at his bare skin as he plummeted, and as he tumbled down through the abyss, the mocking cadences of Cherry's laughter rang in his ears.
Cobalt bit his lip. Psychflensing. An interrogation technique used to disclose all of someone's secrets. That wasn't good. He had to try and resist whatever she had planned, at any cost.
"Just get it together, Trayer... don't say a word..." he breathed to himself.
"Oh, but you've already told me so much!"
He winced as Cherry's voice tore through his head, completely impossible to block out no matter how hard he clamped his hands over his ears.
"I see... and what's got you feeling so frustrated and confused, hm? Shall we get into that?"
Shit! Locked away in his own mind like this, Cherry was free to ask whatever she wished, and his mouth would just answer unquestioningly! There had to be a way to stop this! To break free!
"Heh... alright then. Let's start there."
Right when Cobalt thought the decent was endless, he finally struck the ground with wet slap. Stunned by the sudden impact, it took him a moment to come to his sense and pull himself to his feet. The first thing he noticed was the hot, sticky substance clinging to his body, dragging him down and making it incredibly difficult to move. Gritting his teeth, he tried to wipe his face, only to accidentally get some in his mouth.
Honey. He was knee-deep in thick, sweet honey.
Grimacing, he cleared the gunk out of his eyes and looked around. He was standing in the middle of a humid swamp of opaque, pink honey, surrounding on all sides by thick purple mist. The air was hot and soupy, and upon looking down, Cobalt was alarmed to find himself completely naked. With a sharp gasp for breath, he forced himself to remain calm. This was all just a ploy by Cherry to unnerve him and force his unconscious mind to give up what he knew. He had to stay calm.
He began to march forward, the honey slowing his every step. With something to remain focused on - like moving - he should have a better chance at resisting her interrogation attempts. Whatever the outcome, he had to keep Lilith and her mission a secret.
"You poor, poor thing... Struggling on through all that... Tell me, out of everything, why did you even bother? Why didn't you just give up?"
What the Hell was she asking? He knew Cherry had her personal hang-ups, but she certainly wasn't forgoing Punishment Chamber protocols just to mess with him... was she...?
"I should have figured. Well don't be shy, pup; tell me all about them."
Cobalt shook his head. Whatever; this could work out in his favour. If she was so caught up in her own petty grievances, then that just bought Cobalt more time to find a way to break free of whatever trance he had been put into. After all, this wouldn't be the first time he had to break out of his own head-
"Hello?" called a voice through the clammy mists, startling the Incubus.
He nearly tripped into the mire as he frantically looked around.
"What the Hell...?" he breathed.
"Hello~?" the voice called again.
"Go on, don't be coy now," Cherry urged.
With the hairs on his neck prickling, Cobalt began to push on towards the voice, equal parts intrigued and disturbed. There, just up ahead, he could make out a silhouette in the mist. Clenching his fists, the Incubus carefully approached, calling out as the shape came into view.
"Who's there?"
The figure froze up, turned around, and began to walk towards him, completely unimpeded by the thick honey.
His eyes widened.
Oh no. Not this.
"Well isn't that sweet! Go on, pup; what's this Jelli girl like?"
There she was, standing in the middle of the honeyed swamp with a calm smile upon her face. Like Cobalt, the Glutton was completely naked and slathered in the pink gunk. Noticing the look on his face, she giggled and scooped up a handful of it. She slowly licked it up, not breaking eye-contact with him the entire time.
"J- Jelli...?" the Incubus breathed, taking a laboured step back.
"Do you want some, Mr. C? It's good," she told him, licking her lips.
What the Hell was this?! What kind of sick perversions was Cherry inflicting upon him?!
"How adorable. But you see her as more than that, don't you?"
Jelli drew closer to Cobalt, grabbing both of his hands before he could escape and pressing herself against him. She was so soft, and as he stood paralysed by shock, her hands slowly reached upwards, caressing his shoulders and sending tingles down his spine.
"But you look so much tastier~" she breathed, standing up on her tiptoes.
A silent cry of confusion was drawn from Cobalt's throat as Jelli bit into his shoulder; not hard, but enough to leave a mark. His knee buckled, allowing her to lean into the lovebite. She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing their bodies together as she sucked and nibbled on the Incubus. Cobalt could feel her heartbeat conducted through the honey slicking both of them.
"Very interesting, pup. Never took you for a chubby chaser!" Cherry laughed, her cruel joke snapping him out of his stunned silence.
She was using the psychflensing to humiliate him.
No. Not happening.
Grabbing Jelli's shoulders, Cobalt shoved her away, pushing her down into the mire of pink sludge. Turning on his heel, he began to run as fast as he could, slipping and sliding through the swamp as he left the Glutton to sink deep into the honey. That wasn't her. Jelli wasn't so obscene. She...
She wasn't like that. Not with him. And especially not now.
"But there are others, aren't there?"
As Cobalt trekked deeper into the swamp, his eyes began to adjust to the dim light and murky fog. He could see the branches of gnarled trees at the very edges of his vision, and above him - through the thick clouds - was a black sky permeated by a red moon. There was no doubt in his mind that this was all some kind of scenario designed by Cherry to torture and humiliate him; a psychoscape of her own design.
That bitch!
At the very edges of his perception, Cobalt could hear music. He tried to ignore it, but it felt like every direction he tried to go only brought him closer to the source.
"Mmhm. Even I've heard about her. Tenacious little thing, isn't she?"
It was getting louder no matter where he went. Up ahead, he could see an outcropping of rocks jutting up from the swamp, upon which another figure lounged.
"Hell of a thing to happen to her."
Whitney Brode lay upon the rocks, casually strumming a guitar. As bare as the day she was born, her honey-soaked skin glistened in the dim light as she plucked the strings with her prosthesis, winking at Cobalt as he approached. When he turned his back on her and tried to run in the opposite direction, the Nymph leaped down from her perch and latched onto his back, laughing as she held on tight. Her skin was impossibly smooth.
"Where do you think you're going, sir? I wrote that just for you~" she purred, locking her arms around his neck.
"This isn't real," Cobalt reminded himself through gritted teeth.
"From the way you're talking about her, pup, I'd say it's as real as it can get. Tell me; did you just feel guilty, or was that spark always there?"
Behind him, Whitney began to hum a slow, waltzing tune as she hugged the Incubus from behind. As she hooked her leg around his waist, the Nymph giggled and nipped his ear.
"Careful now; wouldn't wanna, like, shock you."
Gritting his teeth, Cobalt looped his arm around Whitney's waist and kicked his leg out, tripping her down into the swamp. With her incapacitated, he rounded the rocky outcropping and forged on, feeling anger boiling deep within him.
This was low, even for Cherry's standards. With his jaw clenched and his gaze set dead ahead, he kept going. The honey clung to his legs like tar, slowing him down and making every step an accomplishment. Sweat was pouring down his face, but trying to wipe it away just caked more of the honey upon his skin, and the thick air made it difficult to catch his breath. All the while, Cherry kept talking.
"I remember a year or so ago, there was this big commotion. In the winter."
It was getting hot. Far too hot. Cobalt felt as though he was cooking alive. At one point his foot slipped, but as he toppled headfirst into the mire, he unexpectantly landed upon something firm. Confused, he shook his head and looked up to find himself gazing into a pair of deep, animalistic eyes.
"Oh no..." the Incubus breathed, scrambling to his feet.
"Yeah, always thought you had a type. You're drawn to delinquents like a moth to a flame."
The honey began to bubble and steam as a mighty Oni rose from its depths. The honey ran off her chiseled form in rivulets as Cobalt shrunk further down into the mire, awed by the sight of Izzbelle appearing before him. Unabashed by her bare form, she planted both hands upon her hips and grinned at him.
"Heh. Ain't I a lucky girl," she laughed, taking a step forward.
Reaching down, she roughly grappled the Incubus and hoisted him out of the swamp, squeezing him tight as his feet dangled off the ground. Cobalt could feel her muscles pressing on him from all sides; her grip wasn't tight enough to hurt, but was enough to remind him just how powerful she was. How she could break him in an instant.
"Hell, I'll admit; you probably would have made a cute couple."
Leaning in close, Izzbelle gave him a terrifying grin, her eyes burning like pilot lights. She smelled like cinnamon.
"Enough runnin', dumbass. It's about time you and I picked up where we left off," the Oni said, her voice low and husky.
"And where's that...?" Cobalt asked tentatively, struggling to break free of her grip.
She laughed.
"Same thing everyone does after a weddin'. Consummatin'~"
In a fit of overwhelming panic, the Incubus wedged his knees up between the two of them and kicked out as hard as he could. Izzbelle staggered back as she was forced to drop him, giving him the opportunity to run as far and as hard as he could.
Cobalt's heart was beating in his throat, and his vision was swimming badly. Cherry's voice echoed all around him as he blindly stumbled through the swamp, gasping for breath as his energy waned. With a dry mouth and a pounding chest, he staggered through a copse of gnarled trees, swatting the branches out of the way as they clawed at him like fingers.
"Hey. I've been wondering. How's she doing?"
With a quick look over his shoulders to ensure he was alone, the Incubus stopped to catch his breath. The honey made it damn near impossible to move, the mist made it impossible to see, and the heat was choking the breath right from his lungs. He could feel the psychflensing eroding his willpower, and a part of him just wanted to lay down at let it take him. But he couldn't. He couldn't let these perverted parodies of his students just have their way with him.
That's what Cherry wanted. To make him feel guilty.
He could hear breathing from above. Looking up, he noticed a pair of glinting eyes concealed in the canopy up above.
"Elya..." he gasped, feeling his heart seize at the mere thought of the Fallen.
As soon as that thought crossed his mind, a dark shape dropped from the branches, tackling the Incubus and slamming him against the ground. He was stunned for a brief moment; a white streak of pain tore through his head as his vision blurred, but as every grew clearer, he was able to look up at the figure bearing down upon him.
A Fallen woman; naked and covered in honey, just like all the others. Her face was just like Elya's, but her hair was too long, and her eyes...
"I want this with you," she whispered, reaching up to touch his face.
"Hm. Once a psycho, always a psycho. Then again, you what they say about putting your dick in crazy."
She was shaking. Uncertain. Something seemed off.
"Cobalt, I... I love you. I just want you to know that."
Feeling Elya's body pressed up against him so lightly, feeling her breath on his neck, seeing her beautiful green eyes staring into his... it felt familiar.
"Elya, this... this isn't real. This isn't you," the Incubus breathed.
She reached up to cup his cheeks.
"It was me. Once."
"What...?"
"You've just forgotten."
"Elya, wait-!"
"Alright, alright, that's enough about her. Moving on."
As Cherry's words rang out through the swamp, Elya simply melted away into a mass of pink honey. Cobalt just lay there for a few moments, struggling to process what just happened as the formless sludge slowly oozed all over his body. It took no small amount of effort to haul himself to his feet, clean himself off, and keep going.
That... had to be some kind of trick. It had to be. Elya was already a little forward, maybe his mind was just... trying to surprise him with something he didn't expect. Yeah. That had to be it.
Cobalt trudged onwards, clutching his arms as the overwhelming atmosphere grew almost impossible to bear. The honey gradually rose with every step he took, until he was waist-deep in the stuff. He didn't know where he was going. He didn't know what he was doing. He didn't even know what he was saying, out there in the waking world.
"Hey. Look up for me, pup."
The Incubus craned his neck, gazing at the harsh red light bearing down upon him from above. Just what the Hell did Cherry want from him...?
"That's right. Lay your heart bare. Right in front of her."
"Hey sugar."
Cobalt stopped walking. Behind him, he heard footsteps, unimpeded by the mire. He didn't need to see her face to know who it was.
"Karazelle," he said, his voice wavering.
"Don't be shy now. Let's talk. Face to face."
Slowly he turned, struggling to fight against the sticky honey anchoring him to the ground. Sure enough, Karazelle stood just a few feet away from him, standing atop the surface as she smiled down at him. Backlit by the red moonlight and covering in glistening honey, she looked...
Cobalt turned his gaze away, staring at the sea of pink sludge all around him.
"I'm not doing this. This isn't real," he said in a last-ditch attempt to reclaim his dignity.
"It's as real as you want it to be."
She drew closer, her every footstep sending ripples across the surface of the thick honey. Her arms were folded in front of her chest, and the spade of her tail tactfully hid her crotch from view.
"Think about it. You're in your own head, sugar. This is all your fantasy. Nobody will blame you for going along with it," she explained in a soft, kindly tone.
He shook his head.
"This is a nightmare brought on by Cherry's psychflensing. I'm not falling for that."
"Why not? More fun for you if you do."
"I don't want to see you guys like that."
She cocked her head, her eyes glinting in the light. Behind him, he could hear the honey beginning to churn.
"... Are you sure about that, sugar?" Karazelle asked, an unsettling grin spreading across her face.
He could feel figures rising from the mire, but he couldn't move. The Succubus before him smiled and fluttered her wings as she opened her arms out wide, completely exposing her chest to him.
"Things wouldn't look like this if that need wasn't always there, you know. This whole place, everything that you're feeling... it's all a reflection of your most base, most animal desires. To fight."
A strong pair of arms suddenly grappled Cobalt's torso from behind, pulling his back tight against the scorching body of Izzbelle. She laughed in his ear, her breath as hot as a furnace.
"To feed."
To his left, Jelli latched onto his arm. She clung tightly and gazed deeply into his eyes as she ran her tongue along his skin, making desperate little panting noises as she did so.
"To flirt."
To his right, Whitey linked arms with him, giggling as she affectionately stroked him. As Cobalt struggled to break free from their collective grasp, Karazelle hunkered down to his eye level, cupping his cheeks as she stared at him.
"... To fuck," she said breathily, leaning in close.
Cobalt slumped forward, allowing the Succubus to slowly embrace him. She smelled sweet and comforting. She felt soft and smooth. She... She made him feel safe. He could dimly feel her tail coil around his as she rested her head against his shoulder.
"Who cares about the outside world, sugar? All that matters is what's right here and right now. You can give in to your inhibitions. It's alright. We all love you."
Gradually, they all began to sink further into the honey. It climbed past Cobalt's waist and up to his chest, but even as he was submerged, he couldn't find the strength to resist. He was completely sapped.
Cherry had won.
"It'll be fun, sugar. We'll all take very good care of you. All you need to do is..." Karazelle sighed as the honey crept up to his neck.
She peered up at him, eyes burning like a wildfire. Her hair was suspended in the honey like snaking tendrils, and her smile... was unsettling.
"Give in."
The Incubus was plunged deep into a pink ocean of thick honey. Weighed down by the twisted spectres of his students, he could only limply reach for the surface as he was pulled down into the darkness. He could feel his mind opening up against his will, the last of his defiance draining away into mindless subservience. His every secret, his every need, his every desire, flensed and laid bare for all to see. Cherry, the Matriarch... and Karazelle.
He shut his eyes. Maybe... Maybe it was best if he stayed here a while, if only to delay the inevitable humiliation.
It was warm. It was peaceful. It was comforting.
Cobalt could get used to the swampy deep.
But as he tried to adjust himself, he heard the sound of soft paws treading through sticky honey, followed by a voice he had not heard up until now. A familiar, self-assured sigh followed by a distinctly-feline grumble.
"Oh, enough of this farce. You're better than this. Come along now; there's lots to do."
A hand plunged deep into the honey. It firmly gripped the Incubus' wrist, and with an effortlessly tug, it ripped him free from the clutches of the honeyed swamp.