Chapter 24 : Morning

Fiona's brow was heavily creased as she stared at her sister with an unabashed look of unsettled concern. Both of the dark elves were sitting in their apparently now designated seats at the kitchen table and were in the process of having breakfast, which consisted of simple bowls of milk and cereal.

Kianna groaned softly as she lightly teetered back and forth in her seat. Though her eyes were technically open, she clearly wasn't fully coherent, or if she was she was only just barely so. Her ears hung limp from the sides of her head and were partially hidden by the ruffled mess that was her hair. The bathrobe she currently wore was merely draped over her shoulders and had just been folded closed across her front, rather than actually tied shut as it was still missing it's cloth belt.

Anton in contrast appeared to be fully rested and in good spirits as he sat humming to himself in his own seemingly designated seat across from the dark elves. His eyes had completely returned to normal, with the blue glow having been burnt away throughout the night.

He was currently pouring a stream of milk into a bowl of sugar coated cereal with tiny marshmallows in it. Once finished, he slid the bowl across the table and set it in front of a still unresponsive Kianna.

The haggard looking dark elf made no move or acknowledgment to the offered food and simply remained completely still as both Anton and Fiona continued to stare at her.

“...Okay? Uh, Kianna!?” questioned Fiona as she reached out and went to poke her sister's shoulder “Are you, awake yet?”

The very moment Fiona's fingertip touched her, Kianna jumped in her seat and frantically covered her breasts with both arms.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait!” she cried as she cringed away from her sister and flattened her ears back submissively behind her head “Not yet, not yet! Th-they're s-still r-r-really s-s-sensitive!”

Fiona pulled back as her eyes went wide and her ears pointed themselves straight upwards in surprise.

“Ah, ah, ah! M-my Mas-ter! I h-helped him!” mumbled Kianna as she hunched in on herself and began to shift her arms back and forth across her guarded breasts “H-he! S-says, I'm! I'm a, good girl! I'm a good girl! ...I'm a good girl!”

Fiona slowly turned her head to the side until she was staring straight at Anton.

Taking a deep breath, Anton took on an air of mock seriousness as he closed his eyes and lightly bowed his head.

“Its true...” he admitted softly as he slowly nodded his head “I did say that...”

“...What, the fuck!” exclaimed Fiona as she turned back to her sister “Did you do to her!?”

“Mm, well! I don't think it was so much “what” I did!” declared Anton as he looked up at Kianna and smiled broadly “As much as it was how many times I did it...”

Still slightly hyperventilating, Kianna blinked as she seemed to register the bowl of cereal sitting in front of her.

“Ah, ah! I'm! I'm really hungry!” she cried as she reached out and took hold of the bowl and spoon sitting in it before pulling it right beneath her chin.

“...Yeah! ...You know what!” muttered Fiona as she watched her sister begin to frantically devour her cereal “I'm kinda glad I decided not to sleep with you after all...”

Anton blinked before turning to her and narrowing his eyes.

“You decided?” he questioned as he cocked an eyebrow “That's not how I remember that going?”

“So how exactly are we gonna get started!?” asked Fiona as she blatantly ignored his statement and looked down into her own bowl of cereal “What are you gonna teach us first!? How to make chains and whips!? Or make people do what we want!? Or what comes first!?”

Anton stared at her for a moment as he shook his head in annoyance.

“No. You won't be able to do any of that until after you learn how to manipulate your auras.” he said as he took a bite out of his own bowl of cereal “...You can't even really access your mana pools without your aura. So that's where we'll start.”

“Okay!” nodded Fiona as she watched him take one spoonful after another out of his bowl “So... What do we do first then!?”

“Well. First!” smiled Anton as he swallowed a mouthful of cereal “We get the prep work out of the way.”

“Prep work?” questioned Fiona as she pointed her ears straight upwards.

“Mm hm...” mumbled Anton around another mouthful “...We need to get a training space set up and I'd like to evaluate you both. That way I can see what I'm working with.”

“...Okay.” nodded Fiona as she glanced at her sister “So, what do we, do first then?”

Chuckling, Anton rose from his seat and picked up his bowl before making his way to the sink.

“First, finish breakfast!” he stated as he downed the leftover milk from his bowl before placing it in the sink “Then I need you to help your sister take a shower while I get a few things together.”

“Uh, okay...” said Fiona as she turned back to her sister “I guess I can do that.”

Having finished off her cereal, Kianna was now sitting listlessly with her head hanging over her bowl.

“Good. Go ahead and use the rejuvenation formulas again. Hopefully they'll be enough to bring Kianna back to life... Oh, and no discovering each other while you're in there!” exclaimed Anton as he gave Fiona a pointed look “Seriously, we don't have time for that today. ...And I very much doubt that Kianna has enough life force left in her to even survive something like that right now. So keep your fingers to yourself!”

“Are you serious! Like I'm going to do anything when she's like this!” growled Fiona as she pointed her ears straight back “I'm not the crazy sex maniac here buddy! You are!”

“That's right!” exclaimed Anton with a smile as he went to leave the room “And don't you forget that!”

“...You! Argh!” growled Fiona as she shook her fist at the empty archway “Oh, I hate that guy!”

Kianna made a small sound in protest and attempted to glare at Fiona, but barely managed to even turn her head before falling over to the side and landing laid out on the table.

An annoyed expression spread across Fiona's face as she stared at her sister and listened to her soft snoring. Sighing in frustration, she turned back to her bowl of cereal and grudgingly finished her meal.

A little over an hour later the two dark elves found themselves standing outside in the backyard and watching Anton as he appeared to be preparing for what seemed like some kind of odd ritual.

Dressed in comfortable tank tops and low-cut jean shorts, both of the dark elves stood together and off to the side as they watched Anton pour what looked like ground up glass out of a cereal box sized carton and lay it out in straight, thin lines across a large open space in the yard.

Raising her arms over her head, Kianna bent her right arm at the elbow and grabbed hold of her left arm as she stretched her limbs upwards. Once again, the rejuvenating shampoos and body wash had done wonders, as the just recently exhausted dark elf was now fully restored and was actually even humming about in high spirits.

“So, what is this for?” asked Fiona as she looked over the large, thirty foot wide octagon shape that Anton was slowly and methodically laying out in the grass.

“This is a charging circle, it's going to help focus a large amount of mana into a single point...” explained Anton in an absent minded tone “But not so quickly that it causes an explosion...”

“An explosion!” exclaimed Kianna as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards “This is gonna explode!?”

“...No.” chuckled Anton as he tossed the now empty carton to the side and picked up a new one “I just said that this is going keep the mana from exploding. These lines will act as channels for the mana to flow through on it's way to the center. This way the mana will flow at an even pace instead of all of it just crashing together at the single point in one go. Which if I let it do that, then it would explode.”

“Oh, so, what do you need a lot of mana for?” asked Kianna as she glanced over at a wheelbarrow that Anton had sitting off to the side and covered with a dark sheet “What are you charging?”

“My homu- ...Actually! You'll see in a second.” smiled Anton as he made the line he was working on meet with another to form a corner of the octagon “This will be more fun if you two don't know what to expect.”

The two dark elves gave each other tired looks before shrugging in unison and turning back to watch Anton continue to form his octagon.

When he was finally finished, Anton's octagon had evolved into four separate octagons that had been formed within each other whilst getting progressively smaller and smaller towards the center. He then made more lines that crossed over each of the octagons corners. These lines connected the octagons together before all meeting as one in the very center and giving the entire structure a spiderweb-like design.

“...Okay, that outta do it.” mumbled Anton as he looked over the design he had created “Now for the fun part!”

Making his way to the wheelbarrow, Anton lifted the sheet away and let it drape haphazardly over the wheelbarrows handles.

Twisting to the side at their waists, the dark elves both craned their necks in an effort to see what had been hidden beneath the sheet. They both creased their brows in confusion as they found themselves gawking at what appeared to be a large, ugly black crystal, whose sharpened spire-like point rose out of a corroded looking base that was reminiscent of a boiling mass of tar and oil that had been instantly frozen in place.

As the dark elves stared at the strange crystal, Anton reached further into the wheelbarrow to a point that they couldn't see and began to pick up a series of glowing jars.

These glass jars were the size of standard canning jars and were each sealed shut with a thick cap made of melted off-white colored wax. Floating within each of the jars was a tiny, dark colored marble sized sphere that was surrounded by swirling flames. The little infernos contained within the jars were each a different color and ran a wide spectrum of intensity that ranged from a dull dark to a bright neon and included among them the colors red, silver, turquoise, orange, gold, purple, green and white. Though the flaming jars were each producing a bright light, they didn't seem to be generating any heat as Anton showed no signs of discomfort as he picked them up.

Having gathered all of the jars together in his arms, Anton made his way around the large outer octagon and placed a jar down at each of it's eight corners.

“What are those things?” asked Kianna as Anton came back around to where he started.

“Batteries.” answered Anton in an absent tone as he looked over what he had done and nodded in satisfaction.

“...Batteries?” questioned Fiona as she furrowed her brow and looked from one jar to another “What kind of batteries are those!?”

“Guilty ones.” said Anton in the same absent tone as he turned away and went back to the wheelbarrow.

The dark elves both gave each other perplexed looks before turning back to the now ominous little jars. Their attention immediately snapped back to Anton as he used two hands to lift the large and apparently very heavy crystal out of the wheelbarrow. As they watched, he carried the crystal to the octagon and, being careful not to step on any of the lines, took it to the very center where he placed it down on the point where all of the lines met.

“Okay. I think we're about ready to get this show going!” exclaimed Anton as he made his way back to the dark elves “You two might want to step back a bit... No, no, this way. Stay behind me. ...Okay, right there's fine.”

The dark elves both stood shoulder to shoulder about ten feet back from where Anton now stood facing the crystal at the center of the octagon.

“Okay, stay right there!” commanded Anton as he looked back over his shoulder and smiled in excitement “Do not move from that spot! I mean it! No matter what happens! Okay!?”

With expressions of nervous apprehension plastered across their faces, the dark elves glanced at each other before nodding in unison.

“Okay!” they both exclaimed as they pointed their ears straight upwards and braced themselves in anticipation.

Chuckling at their expressions, Anton turned back to the crystal and raised his right hand.

The dark elves both blinked in surprise as a glowing ball of orange flames suddenly erupted into existence in the center of Anton's open palm.

“Time to wake up, Earlivi!” shouted Anton as he rolled his torso back into a pitchers throw and hurled the ball of flames directly at the crystal.

The fireball was completely silent as it quickly sailed through the air and struck the black crystal dead on. The very moment it made contact with it's target it splattered apart and covered the crystal in what looked like dozens of little flaming blobs.

Everything seemed to go quiet as the little flames danced about on the crystal, and as the stillness began to drag on, the dark elves looked at each other before turning back to Anton. Finding him staring intently at the crystal they both went to speak but stopped short as a loud, thunderous snap echoed through the air as a large, jagged crack suddenly split open across the side of the crystal's main spire.

As their attention was immediately brought back to the crystal, the dark elves were both struck by an ominous sense of dread that suddenly seemed to hang thick in the air around them. They lowered their ears and involuntarily eased themselves back a step as a long, deep, irritated groan began to emanate from within the crystal itself. Mesmerized, they watched the tiny flames that covered the crystal begin to shrink down in size and finally disappear as they were apparently absorbed into it's smooth and now shining surface.

“Do not move again...” whispered Anton in a slow hushed tone as he folded his arms over his chest “No matter what happens, stay completely still...”

Swallowing back their unease the dark elves both went wide eyed as everything again seemed to go quiet around them. Without warning, the crystal they were both so focused on, came to life.

More jagged splits began to crack open across random sections of the crystal and from these splits erupted angry, tentacle-like globs of blackness that reached out from within the cracked crystal's body and clawed at the ground around it until finding the lines that lead out to the edges of the octagon. Once their targets were found the tentacles drove themselves into the lines and seemed to start drawing power from them and the jars that sat at their edges.

As another deep and unsettling groan reverberated out of the crystal, the flaming jars began to glow brighter and brighter as if in response, and from them power flowed into the lines of the octagons which caused the entire design to instantly ignite with an eerie, otherworldly green light that grew in it's intensity until the world itself seemed to be bathed in it's glow.

As the tentacles worked to drain the power from the lines that they had anchored themselves to, they began to swell in size, first doubling and then tripling in their mass until they had each become larger than the crystal they had spawned from, and were still connected to. As the crystal began to be pulled by it's own tentacles, first in one direction and then another, it began to crack apart and as it's destruction became inevitable a bloodcurdling moan erupted out of it as it finally broke completely.

As the crystal shattered, it's splintered pieces were instantly absorbed into a swirling black mass of living tar that poured out of it and began to grow in size before rising straight upwards into the air.

The dark elves mouths hung open as they followed the rapidly growing mass upwards with their eyes and watched as it began to take on a thin, limbless, humanoid shape that was complete with a bulbous, round head.

Awestruck, and failing to quell the growing panic that was quickly swelling within them, they both subconsciously pressed into each other as their eyes went completely wide in both terror and wonder at the sight before them.

Reaching a height of nearly 40 feet, the now great mass continued to grow until the last of the green light in the octagon below it flickered and finally went out. The fires in the jars along the edges of the now darkened octagon had each dimmed down to nearly nothing, though all of them still had tiny flames glowing within them.

Their eyes still glued to the giant blank mass that towered before them, the dark elves each gasped softly as it began to sway back and forth. As they watched, still mesmerized, thin sections along it's sides began to split away from the whole and these lengthened into two long arms that quickly formed massive hands at each of their ends. As this was happening above, a second split appeared at it's base, and this spread upwards until two column-like legs took shape. As one more deep, ominous groan emanated out of the massive being, two tiny points of white appeared on it's black, faceless head and these grew larger and larger until becoming two perfectly round circles of glowing white light.

“Do. Not. Move.” whispered Anton as the towering being leaned forward and gazed down at the diminutive figures that were standing before it “No matter what...”

As it stared downwards, the giant remained still and silent for a moment until it's spotlight-like eyes suddenly seemed to brighten as they became focused on Anton. Without any other sign of warning, it swung it's long, left leg into a half step and began to topple forward and over the group standing beneath it. As it fell, it threw it's right arm out ahead of itself and opening it's massive hand as wide as it could it made as if to slam it's palm down right on top of Anton. The dark elves both shut their eyes in panic just as the great hand was about to make landfall. They kept their eyes closed as the ground itself shook to the thundering sound of the hand landing just feet in front of them. Slowly they opened their eyes and were struck still by the sight that lay before them.

The great hand had come to rest against the ground just to Anton's left and as the dark elves watched in awe the giant being continued to move over them as it bent down into a kneeling position. Resting it's right knee against the ground it laid it's folded left arm over it's bent left knee and bowed it's head to what was apparently it's Master.

“...Good morning Earlivi!” shouted Anton as he smiled broadly up at the kneeling giant.

With a voice that sounded as though it were born out of the deepest shadows of the world itself, the giant began to speak.

“Greetings... my, Master...” it rumbled, it's voice emanating right out of it's faceless being “It is good... to see you again...”

“Same to you!” called Anton as he continued to smile while giving the massive being a look over “Your looking good! I take it your feeling better now!?”

“Indeed...” exclaimed the giant as it eased itself back and lifted it's right arm up into the air “I have been fully restored...”

“Good, good!” nodded Anton as he watched the giant flex it's fingers before balling it's hand into a huge fist “Glad to hear that!”

“It is thanks to you...” rumbled the giant as it bowed it's head again “My, Master...”

“...Whoa! Holy shit!” breathed Fiona as she and her sister both blinked up at the seemingly docile giant “What the Hell is tha-!”

The dark elf was cut short as the giant slammed it's fist into the ground just to the side of her and her sister. Before either of the dark elves could react beyond pointing their ears straight upwards, the giant opened it's fist and as it did so it's fingers molded together and became a single elongated wall-like form. The giants “hand” then shot forward and, stretching out from it's wrist. It's wall-like single digit then sailed behind the dark elves before turning at a sharp left angle behind them and then doing so again once it past completely around them. Within a single breath, the two dark elves were now trapped in a box canyon made of smooth black walls that towered over their heads.

“I see that you have acquired new charges...” groaned the giant as it leaned forward and focused it's huge eyes on the sisters as it doused the dark elves in it's shadow.

The dark elves both pressed themselves into each other as the air around them instantly became thick with a heavy sense of dread and malice. Looking straight upwards at the now looming giant, they both lowered their ears in fear as the white lights that made up it's eyes dimmed and began to shift to an angry looking shade of red along their edges.

“Would you like me to place these two in containment, Master...” rumbled the giant as it menacingly lowered it's head and preceded to glare threateningly down at the trapped dark elves “So that I may tame them for you...”

Kianna made a panicked sound and fearfully wrapped her arms around her sister, who immediately returned the gesture by hugging her back as tightly as she could. As the giant continued to lower it's faceless head towards them the dark elves both dropped down to their knees together and made tiny fearful sounds as they cowered beneath it.

“Hm... Well... No, probably shouldn't do that... I appreciate the offer Earlivi!” grinned Anton as he casually watched the giant terrorize the cornered dark elves “But these two have been tamed down enough already, so there's no reason to place them in your, “containment”. At least not at the moment.”

“Are you sure...” growled the giant as it began to tighten it's box-like hand “They don't look very tame to me...”

The dark elves both began to whimper pleadingly as the walls that surrounded them began to move inwards and close in around them.

“Yes, I'm sure these two have become very tame at this point.” chuckled Anton as a bright playful smile stayed fixed to his face “Isn't that right girls? You've both become very tame now, haven't you?”

All four of the bright rubies that were the eyes of the dark elves darted to Anton.

“Yes!” they cried out together as they flattened their ears back submissively and nodded frantically in agreement.

“We're tame! Very tame!” exclaimed Kianna as Fiona continued to nod her head nonstop “We're good girls! We promise!”

Anton went to speak but stopped short as the dark elves both looked upwards and raised their ears back up to a merely lowered state.

“Uh- ...Huh? ...Girls!?” questioned Anton.

The moment they brought their eyes back to him the dark elves once again immediately flattened their ears back submissively.

“...Girls, can you look back up at Earlivi, please?” said Anton as he pointed up at the giant.

The dark elves blinked in question but did as instructed, and once again raised their ears as they did so.

“...Hm. Well that's interesting.” mumbled Anton as he arched an eyebrow “...Anyways. You see, Earlivi! I told you they were tame! They've even become pretty obedient little things!”

“Yes... It seems they have...” mumbled the giant as it's eyes seemed to tighten and become a deeper shade of red “How very fortunate for them...”

The dark elves both whimpered as they cringed down even lower and tightened the grips they had on each other.

“Yes, it is...” smiled Anton “Anyways! Would you mind condensing yourself down Earlivi? It's a little hard to have a conversation with you when you're like this!”

“Of course, my Master...” rumbled the giant as it lifted itself back upright and began to ease itself backwards “Give me just a moment...”

The dark elves both clamped their eyes shut and hunched down in panic as the walls that surrounded them were suddenly whisked up and away into the air above them. After a second of cowering they tentatively blinked open their eyes and were just in time to see the giant curl itself backwards and then start to fall towards the ground as it's body broke down into a wave of living black tar which came crashing in on itself as it began to swirl into a miniature typhoon.

“So do either of you need a change of underwear yet?” teased Anton as he watched the whirling mass that was once the giant grow smaller and smaller.

“Seriously!?” growled Fiona as she pointed her ears straight back in anger “You know a heads up would have been really fucking nice!”

“There is literally nothing I could have said that would have been better than “stay still” Fiona.” smiled Anton as he glanced back at her “There was no way for me to predict what was going to happen. You both did great though! Better than most people would have.”

“Yeah right!” snarled Fiona as she shook the tension from her shoulders and got to her feet before helping her sister back to hers “What the Hell is that thing anyway!?”

“Mind your manners, Fiona! Calling someone a “thing” is very rude!” chastised Anton as he turned his attention back to the swirling mass “Now, both of you come up here so we can do some proper introductions.”

Glancing at each other in uncertainty, the dark elves both hesitantly made their way to stand right behind Anton.

“Alright then, girls. I'd like you to officially meet, Earlivi!” exclaimed Anton as the two dark elves partially hid themselves behind him and peered around his sides at the mass of living blackness “My homunculus.”

As Anton spoke the swirling mass began to split apart, and as it did, it revealed a hollow space within it. And standing at the very center of this space, was an incredibly imposing figure.

The homunculus standing among the still swirling bits of his mass was in all truthfulness, no less intimidating now in this form than he had been as a giant. Although far shorter than he was mere moments before, he was still a very tall being and easily stood head and shoulders over Anton.

He was dressed in an elegant, yet imposing outfit that appeared to be a hybrid between a body hugging three piece mens suit, compete with vest, and a set of plate armor. The armored aspect of the outfit was subtle enough that it didn't clash in anyway with the elegance of it's suit-like qualities and was, for the most part, regulated to the homunculi's limbs and shoulders. Thick, armored boots covered the homunculi's lower legs. And these stretched upwards to just above the knees where they shifted seamlessly into what appeared to be cloth pants. Matching arm guards stretched from his wrists to just past his elbows before being replaced by the same cloth-like material on the upper arms. A set of smooth pauldrons rested over the homunculi's shoulders and these were connected to each other by a leather-like neck piece that crossed over both his upper chest and back before rising upwards to encase his entire neck. The vest that wrapped tightly around his torso fanned slightly outwards over his hips before tapering to sharpened points in the front as well as at the sides and back. The entirety of the outfit was colored in a series of alternating, monotone grays, blacks and whites, save for the vest which was a deep, nearly black shade of purple.

The only portions of the homunculi's body that could be seen around his encompassing outfit were his hands and his head. Neither of which appeared to be biological in any way.

The homunculi's hands were human-like but were so smooth in appearance that they seemed to be made of some kind of pliable metal. They were colored a pale metallic-like gray at the wrists and palms but this began to darken to a solid black down the length of his digits. His fingers were long and dextrose in appearance but belied his otherworldly nature by ending in sharpened claw-like points, rather than traditional fingertips.

His head was also human-like in it's general shape and had thick, black-colored hair covering the top and back in the same manner as it would on a human. This hair however was completely motionless and was spiked back in a way that gave it a solid, almost unnatural appearance.

In the place of ears, the homunculus instead had two broad, spike-like horns that pointed straight outwards from the sides of his head.

His face, for lack of a better term, was nearly nonexistent, as the front portion of his head was made up of four smooth, silver colored, metallic looking plates that fit together in a way that gave him the appearance of having a mechanized skull in place of a face.

The homunculus had no mouth or nose of any kind as the only openings in his mask-like face were two empty, almond shaped holes that were located at the points where his eyes should seemingly be.

As the dark elves watched from their guarded vantage, the last of the swirling waves of black mass that had hidden the homunculi's transformation, swept themselves up his back to connect to the neck piece that crossed over his shoulder blades, and become a thin caplet-like garment that flowed out behind him. This caplet came complete with trailing coattails, but rather than only having two, as would be traditional, it possessed eight in total. And these not only flowed about listlessly behind the homunculus but curled and coiled themselves around his body as though they were living, tentacle-like appendages.

“Hello again, Earlivi.” said Anton as he smiled at and casually approached the motionless figure with both of the dark elves following closely behind.

Responding to the sound of his Master's voice, the homunculus balled his hands into fists and folded his arms behind his back as he stood straight and at attention.

The dark elves swallowed nervously as they watched two tiny points of light appear in the dark hollows of the homunculi's seemingly empty eyes. These tiny lights quickly grew into two, perfect circles that glowed with the same whiteness that they had when this being had been in it's gigantic form.

“Yes, greetings to you as well, my Master.” spoke Earlivi as his voice began to emanate right out of his mouth-less being “You were correct when you assessed that this form would better suit our conversation. It is far more comfortable to speak with you while at this height.”

“I figured it would be.” nodded Anton as he narrowed his eyes “We'll get to the inductions in a moment, but I'd like get the most glaring questions out of the way real quick. First, are you okay? Does anything feel off, out of place or even missing?”

“No, my Master.” answered Earlivi as he squared his shoulders “As I have said, I am fully restored and completely functional.”

“Good, very good... That's a load off my mind...” nodded Anton as he looked the homunculus up and down “Okay, so, do you remember anything that happened!? Anything at all!?”

“Apologies, my Master. But I am afraid I do not.” said Earlivi as his eyes dimmed in a seemingly sorrowful manner “It is merely blackness. At least until now, when you spoke to me.”

Anton nodded with a sigh.

“That's alright...” he said as he gave the homunculus a reassuring smile “The most important thing is that you're okay, and that you're back to normal!”

“I appreciate your sentiment, my Master. But I'm afraid I disagree.” said Earlivi as his eyes dimmed even further and shifted to a shade of red as they began to pulsate “I feel that the most important thing now, is vengeance.”

“...That, is a close second.” agreed Anton with another nod “And I am working on that as we speak.”

“I am very pleased to hear that.” said Earlivi “If there is any way that I may be of assistance to you in your efforts, or in the clean up of the aftermath. Please, do not hesitate to employ my services.”

“Oh, I won't!” smiled Anton “In fact, I have a small job for you here, and once it's done I'd like you to go home and go over everything! Top to bottom! And if you find anything, anything at all! I want you to let me know immediately!”

“It shall be done.” stated the homunculus as his eyes returned to their purely white state.

“Good! Well then, lets get these introductions going. Shall we!?” exclaimed Anton as he twisted at the waist and grinned at the still cowed dark elves “Girls, this is my homunculus, Earlivi. And Earlivi, this is Fiona and Kianna Vale, my new dark elves!”

“Greetings...” rumbled Earlivi as his eyes slowly shifted back and forth between the dark elves “Which of you is which...”

“Oh, sorry. That one is Fiona.” said Anton as he nodded his head at the dark elf and twisted back to his left “And this one is Kianna!”

Kianna made a small sound as Anton placed his hand at the small of her back and pulled her forward.

The hesitant dark elf went stiff as she was made to stand next to Anton and just in front of the imposing homunculus. Lowering her ears she slowly looked up at Earlivi and then went completely still.

Earlivi showed no signs of life as he stood towering over the clearly nervous dark elf and stared down at her with eyes that seemed to bore into her own.

“...Say, “hello” Kianna!” teased Anton after the silence dragged for a moment.

Kianna jumped as he playfully drummed his fingers against her spine. Quickly recomposing herself, she clasped her hands in front of her hips and bowed her head.

“Hello! I mean! Greetings! Mr Earlivi, Sir! My name is Kianna! Vale! Kianna Vale! I, I'm a sex slave! I mean, slave! I'm a slave! I'm my Master's, I, I mean! Our! Master's, slave! But, well! I'm a sex slave too! I, I wasn't lying to you about that! But, I'm just, for our Master! I'm his sex slave! That's, that's what I do! For him! And, um I, I'm also gonna learn how to cook too! For him! And you too! If, if you want some, too! But... I, I don't know what you eat!? Or what you like! So you need to tell me! Okay! Please!” exclaimed Kianna as her eyes began to tear up in embarrassment “It's really, really nice to meet you! ...Please don't squish me! Or, or put me in containment... Please!”

Earlivi's expression never changed as he continued to stare down at the bowed and trembling dark elf.

“...It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Kianna Vale.” he said once he was sure she had finished speaking “I do not consume traditional foods. So you have no reason to worry yourself on my behalf.”

“Oh, okay!” chirped Kianna as she raised her head part way out of it's bow and kept her eyes on the ground “If, if you change your mind though! Just, let me know!”

“...I will do that.” said Earlivi as he shifted his gaze back to Anton “She is a, charming, little creature.”

“Isn't she!” smiled Anton as he wrapped his hand completely around Kianna's waist and pulled her in close to his side “She's such a good girl! My funny little dark elf!”

Clasping the hem of his shirt, Kianna pressed herself against Anton and blinked away the light tears of nervousness from her eyes as she looked up at him, smiled sheepishly and laid her ears back submissively behind her head.

Anton returned her smile and gave her a gentle squeeze before shifting his attention to Fiona and Earlivi.

The second dark elf had a stoic expression on her face as she blatantly stared up at the homunculus. Though her ears were lowered, her demeanor came off as almost challenging as she silently assessed the strange being before her.

“...So, you're really a homunculus?” she questioned as she squinted her eyes.

“Indeed.” answered Earlivi in a flat tone.

“You don't look like any homunculi I've ever seen before...” mumbled Fiona as she let her eyes rove down the homunculi's length.

“My design is unique.” answered Earlivi in the same flat tone.

“Humph, right!” muttered Fiona as she turned to Anton “So did you actually make this thing?”

“What did I tell you about calling him a “thing” Fiona!” chastised Anton as he narrowed his eyes at her “Do not do that again!”

“Uh, right! Sorry!” mumbled Fiona as she too flattened her ears submissively behind her head “I didn't mean it like that!”

“Mm hm.” mumbled Anton as he turned back to the homunculus “Anyways. No, I didn't create Earlivi myself. Making artificial beings is another thing that I've just never had a talent for. Every time I've tried to make a golem or a homunculus they've always started falling apart almost right away”

“Seriously!? They just fall apart every time you make one!?” exclaimed Fiona as she smiled mockingly “Well that sucks!”

“Yes, it does...” grumbled Anton with a sigh “Earlivi here was actually created by a friend of mine named Fillola. You could say she's a kind of researcher, or a scientist. And she had originally intended for him to be an assistant with her lab work. Unfortunately, Earlivi ended up being a little too... rough, around the edges, and also with a few of her living test subjects. So it didn't really work out.”

“I was merely removing unneeded clutter.” explained Earlivi “That woman is far too unorganized, and sentimental.”

“...Right.” said Anton as he and the dark elves all stared at the homunculus for a moment “...Anyways! At one point while I was visiting Fillola I met Earlivi, and we hit it off pretty well. And since things weren't working out in the lab and Fillola thought it would be a waste to just dispel him or demana him into a crystal and leave him on a shelf forever. She gave him to me, and he's been my faithful servant ever since.”

“And this arrangement has without question been a far more entertaining and fulfilling experience.” said Earlivi.

“I agree!” nodded Anton as he turned back to Fiona “Earlivi is in all actuality an experimental prototype. He's sort of like a chimera, and was intended to have the mixed traits of a shoggoth, an immaccubus and a gargoyle. So his design is a combination of all 3 of those species... I also suspect some umibozo may have possibly gotten mixed in there as well, though I don't know that for sure... Anyways. That's why he doesn't really look like any of the more traditional homunculi, who're generally modeled after only a single species.”

“Oh. That makes sense...” nodded Fiona as she gave the homunculus another look over “...So is being mixed also why he's all... evil, and shit?”

“Probably.” said Anton as he too looked back at the homunculus “I'd be surprised if that wasn't a factor...”

“Master, is it your intention to bring these... “things”...” said Earlivi as the lights of his eyes shifted to Fiona “Home with you...”

“No, for the moment I'll be keeping them here.” answered Anton as he looked from one dark elf to the other “And I'll be staying here as well, so for the next little while you'll have the house all to yourself.”

Fiona and Kianna both again laid their ears back submissively whenever Anton looked at each of them.

“I see...” said Earlivi as he nodded his head softly “Very well...”

“I figured you'd appreciate the peace and quietness of having the house to yourself.” smiled Anton as he turned back to the homunculus “Of course, if you'd rather stick around here you're more than welcome to stay!”

“No.” said Earlivi immediately “I will see to it that all things in your home are maintained correctly.”

“That sounds like a plan!” chuckled Anton as he nodded and turned to the darkened design still laid out across the yard “Do you mind cleaning this up real quick before we go inside?”

“Of course...” said Earlivi as he turned completely around to face the octagons and jars.

The dark elves eyes went wide as the tentacle-like coattails that had coiled themselves around Earlivi's middle, suddenly came to life and stretched out across the yard. The ends of the tentacles widened into funnel-like shapes as they all worked together to hoover up the crushed glass that made up the lines of the diagram. As each tentacle finished with it's particular section, it's tip would return to it's pointed shape and snatch up a glowing jar before coiling itself back to Earlivi's side.

Once he was holding all eight of the glowing jars, Earlivi opened a small, manhole sized portal in front of himself and sent his tentacles through it one by one. As each tentacle passed into the portal, it would almost immediately come back out without the jar it had just previously held. This entire set of events was finished in less than a minute.

“The task is now complete.” said Earlivi as he closed the portal and turned back to face Anton “And all the prisoners have been returned to the shelf.”

“Thank you Earlivi.” said Anton as he gave the homunculus a nod of approval “I appreciate that. Now, if you'd follow me, I've got one other task for you and then you can return home.”

“Very well...” said Earlivi as he made to follow Anton.

The dark elves both stepped to the side and gave the homunculus a wide berth as he fell into step behind Anton. As they followed a few paces behind, they each noticed that the clothing the homunculus wore was actually connected directly to his skin and appeared to be a part of his body rather than merely covering it.

As he moved, Earlivi's joints made very faint almost inaudible hissing sounds that were reminiscent of those made by hydraulic presses. This gave him an almost mechanical aspect and left one with the impression that he was in all actuality, a living machine.

“Hey! Did he just say those batteries were prisoners!?” whispered Kianna as she ducked in close to her sister.

“Just! Don't, Kianna!” muttered Fiona as she stared straight ahead and shook her head “Just let it go!”

Anton smiled as he came up to the backdoor and listened to the sounds of excited barking that could be heard clearly as they came from just the other side. The very second he opened the door Molly came bouncing out to greet him, however the moment the little dog registered the homunculus she froze completely before turning around and silently running back into the depths of the house.

“Aw! Earlivi! I think you scared her!” laughed Anton as gazed in the direction the little dog had disappeared in “The poor little thing!”

“My apologies...” mumbled Earlivi as he ducked his head down enough to step through the doorway and into the kitchen.

Anton led the group through the house and down into the dungeon before turning back to face Earlivi.

“Okay, what I'd like to do first is drop the floor about 4 feet. That way we'll have a 14 foot ceiling in here.” he said as he indicated the large room “And I'd like to have everything moved off to the side that way the center here is nice and open.”

“Simple enough...” mumbled Earlivi as his eyes seemed to scan the dungeon “Would you like me to expand the room as well, or are you satisfied with it's current size...”

“No, I think it's big enough already.” mused Anton as he continued to gaze about the room “...Though I would like it if you'd fix the hole next to the door, and then put a few stout beams across the ceiling here. Going down in this direction preferably. And then if you would, I'd appreciate it if you'd bring the hoist and a ten foot bar from the house and install them here in the middle.”

“Very well... Would you prefer the bar to pivots in the center...” asked Earlivi as he turned to face Anton “Or would you like it to remain stationary...”

“Hm, I think if it could pivot that would be better...” answered Anton as he gazed up at the ceiling “Yeah, go ahead and let it pivot.”

“Very well. It shall be done...” mumbled Earlivi as his eyes traveled down the length of the ceiling in the direction that the beams were meant to go “I should have your requests completed fairly quickly. If anything else comes to mind, simply let me know...”

“Will do.” nodded Anton as he stepped away from the homunculus.

Without another word, Earlivi walked to the very center of the dungeon and began to lift the closest pieces of furniture with his coattail tentacles. As he brought several pieces in close to himself he opened another portal, this one much larger than the one he had made earlier, and began to move the furniture into the portal and out of the room.

Walking backwards, Anton moved towards the entrance to the dungeon and stood with the dark elves as they all silently watched the homunculus go about his task.

Feeling a faint tug, Anton glanced to his side and found that Kianna had not only moved in close to him but had taken hold of the hem of his shirt. The dark elf was standing at his side but was still far enough behind him that she had to lean around him to clearly see the homunculus. Her large eyes darted to his for a single second before shifting back to Earlivi. Though her glance had been very quick, she still flattened her ears when her eyes met his and lifted them back up to a mere lowered state when facing the homunculus. Intrigued, Anton turned to his other side and found that Fiona had moved closer to him as well. Just like her sister, she too flattened her ears when her eyes met his but raised them back up to a pointed straight back stance when facing Earlivi.

Anton couldn't help but to find this little scenario fascinating. It was quite obvious by the quickness of their acts that both Kianna and Fiona were preforming their little submission displays subconsciously.

Earlivi clearly had them both in a state of unease, and this high level of nervousness seemed to be enough to instinctively trigger these responses in them. Interestingly though, despite the homunculus being the cause of their fearful state, the dark elves did not seem to consider it necessary to “hide” their ears from him. They were afraid of him, and that fact was undeniably clear. But fear alone did not seem to be enough to initiate a submissive response in them. And thinking back on it, raw fear hadn't actually played the primary role in either one of the dark elves original displays of submission as much as desperation had.

When they had first preformed this gesture for Anton, both Kianna and Fiona had each done so as a conscious decision. They had both been fully aware of what they were doing when they had chosen to submit, and Anton had known right away that this decision had been a very significant one for them. And he was now beginning to understand why this was the case, as this action seemed to have had a much deeper mental effect on them than he had first realized.

It appeared that in their minds, the dark elves had either applied a sort of mental tag to Anton, or had placed him in a type of category, one that he obviously did not share with Earlivi, and now without them having to even think about it consciously, it was seemingly recognized that under certain stressful or threatening conditions their message of submission should be reaffirmed. And whether or not Anton himself was the cause of these conditions seemed to be completely irrelevant to them, as they would still submit to him, and possibly anyone else they had preformed this gesture to, regardless of where the threat to them actually came from.

This behavior was apparently a form of dark elf etiquette. And considering both Kianna and Fiona have had such little interaction with their own kind throughout their lives, and have never been influenced by, or even experienced their species culture, it was safe to assume that no one had ever actually taught them to behave this way. As such, it stood to reason that this behavior was purely instinctual, and this seemed especially likely as the two dark elves in question did not seem to be consciously aware of the fact that they were even behaving in this way at all.

It was of course possible for Anton to simply ask them why they were doing what they were doing, but he was hesitant to bring it up to them as doing so would make the dark elves aware of the fact that he was observing them, and that awareness might effect this behavior.

As it was now, the dark elves were behaving naturally. And this meant that he was able to intimately observe candid, purely natural dark elf behavior in a way that he would have never been able to before.

Due to their naturally ingrained immunity to enslavement, no known example of a dark elf had ever officially been kept as a captive slave before. And as such no full scale study of their behavior had ever been done, or at least not from a source outside of their own species. So as the first of their kind to live as captives, these twin sisters offered an excellent opportunity for observation. And this was an opportunity that Anton did intend to take full advantage of.

“Interesting little dark elves...” whispered Anton to himself as he looked from one dark elf to the other and smiled “I just might write a book about you!”