Argus, The Homunculus

Four days passed since Cynthia was kidnapped, all of us failing in our duty to protect her. I know the Queen told me to not blame myself, but that frustration lingered. She was in my hands, I was tasked with guarding her, getting her to safety. The wound was still fresh, even with the others mourning Beru. His chances of survival were slim to none, the queen stating there were too many unknowns. There were just so many ways it could have gone different. We could have managed it, were it not for these foolish idiots attacking our places of business!

I took a deep breath, looking over the scene of gore before me. A small gang, formerly called the salamanders. The scent of burnt hair, boiled fat, and charred flesh painting a very clear answer to their attacks. Scix had gone into the basement, having scouted out the place already. He wanted more whisper hound bodies, his packs roving the areas between our territories and gathering information.

I took another deep breath, gagging from the stench. My body coughing, as I looked around making certain there wasn't anything useful left. Gray was going to yell at me for wasting perfectly good blood fountains for him, but I couldn't find it in me to care right now. I thought about tearing open one of the bodies and using their blood to paint a message on the walls, but decided that was too much effort. I still had an entire day ahead of me, and burning this warehouse to the ground seemed more fitting.

I walked to the corners of the room letting my flames creep along the walls, burning away the supports in a way the entire place would collapse in on itself. Scix was outside, and I saw a few people still barely alive inside the small warehouse. They froze when my glowing eyes took them in, their loss really. I turned without a word, letting the fires spread and burn with less control. I walked out a few meters before the groaning of the building started, a few more and something gave. The whole thing collapsing inwards, while onlookers gaped at my blood splattered robe.

Scix's hounds moved through the alleys, like freed hounds wound. His voice coming to me, |"That should be the last of them, Argus. We're having a meeting with everyone tonight. We need to talk about the future."|

|"Will the Queen be there? We can't have that kind of talk without her."| I continued walking to a brothel, in order to let this body rest. Another was lined up and ready to go if needed.

|"She hasn't said a word since everything happened. Gray made the request, and we've already made moves without her acknowledging them."|

|"You're treading very close to treason, Scix. You and Gray both."|

|"And you aren't!? I understand where you're coming from, your duty as a shield is absolute. You protect however you need to, even if that means killing those that caused problems that hindered your duty. Just as mine is to gather information and kill discreetly. It's been rough, but you know better than anyone that none of us would ever betray her."|

|"Then why did the berries betray her for a false queen, Scix? What you just said is exactly what a traitor would say! So what if she doesn't say anything for a few days, a few weeks, or even a few months!? She's our queen, she will always be our queen! She's grieving everything we lost, everyone we failed to protect! We can't allow Gray to just dictate our actions on her behalf. We can't follow him blindly!"|

|"We've had this talk a couple days ago, Argus. Gray has proven himself before, but this time he has promised answers. He has requested every personality to attend this meeting. It starts at midnight, please be there. Ask him yourself if you have to, but he's promised to explain why the berries betrayed her, and what her plans had been for the false queen. If nothing else, attending it through our links will show our loyalty. It might be what our queen needs, despite her pain."|

I reached the brothel, Scix disconnecting from me as I entered through the back door. Loosely dressed women greeted me as their mistress, bowing quickly before moving out of my way. Most of them former slaves, a few of them on death's door when we bought them. Our Queen gave this to me, using her precious stingers to save these charges. She sacrificed so much for all of us, and when she needed us most, we failed her.

"Mistress... mistress?" The woman in front of me waved a hand before my face. I blinked a few times, nodding my head. She pushed a pouch to my chest, "This week's coins my mistress." She looked concerned, as I took the pouch from her. I started to walk away, to set this body in its chambers to rest. "Are you okay?"

I laughed a little, shaking my head. "I will be fine in time. There is just so much to do. Killing the idiots that attacked us... it doesn't bring back what we lost. It just prevents it from happening again with the same people."

The woman bowed, "I-I think you made a very clear message mistress. I doubt others will attack your businesses anytime soon."

I lowered my head, opening the door, to see my other body resting there, curled up on a pillow. The corner alive with workers that tended to the repairs that needed to be made. "I can only hope, hold that thought for a second." I closed the door behind me, walking to the heart shaped bed. My current body laying in front of the other, gently taking the pillow from myself. I hugged it, even while the sensation faded. My eyes opening as I stretched with a refreshed feeling.

I felt a little better, but the pain in my heart still lingered. A few stretches, and I walked out of the room. My bouncer still waiting as I asked. "There haven't been anymore issues, correct?"

She nodded, "None, mistress. The girls are happy, the boys are content. Even our clients will feel safer after your message, mistress." She bowed again, smiling with a look of pride.

I took a slow breath, enjoying the perfume in the air. The smell of burning candles, and the quiet of the backroom while the girls prepared themselves. A thought struck me, as I remembered something. "Do we have enough books?"

My bouncer was a little caught off guard, "I believe so, it's surprising how many of our clients come just to learn how to read. It helps the workers as well. The girls have been joking that we should change this place to a library instead of a sex shop. Though I think most of our clients perfer the veil of privacy. I mean who cares what a harlot thinks if you can't read or speak right?"

I nodded, "That's good, feel free to get a few more just in case. Have the girls that already know how to read, help the others that struggle. This is the, "Gentle Touch," brothel, and I want them all on the same page on how we treat our clients. Hopefully it'll help some of them make better decisions."

"The girls, or our clients?" She looked me over, as I kept myself from shrugging.

"Yes." I turned and left it at that, a coin purse in my hands. I walked through the alleys, watching as some people talked and joked about the local happenings. Scix had his work cut out for him with all that spying, though he did a damn fine job. I moved to one of the safe rooms we had taken over, walking in to see the walls lined with giants and dispensers. I grabbed a blue one, ordering it to bite into my forearm. The fukuma fluid flowed inside my veins, as I put the dispenser back on the wall. A quick teleport and I was in a gnome warehouse.

The little guys were running around as always, only a couple stopping to acknowledge me with a slight bow. I saw five of them standing over a cauldron stirring the massive pot while speaking in nonsensical rhymes. I could sense the magic of the ritual pulsing as they worked in unison. Another five gnomes quickly climbing ladders and grabbing various ingredients. I moved closer, to see a glowing green brine bubbling and pulsing. Thick purple clouds erupting out as they continued their chants.

The brine slowly began to swirl, and churn on its own while they continued their labor. The brine hissing as each gnome slit their wrists in unison to let a single drop of black blood fall into it. The blood turned golden once it hit the purple swirls, the magic pulsing as the purple itself became tainted with black. Five separate points slowly swirling as they continued stirring it. The whole thing going down to a simmer, as the swirls seemed to stop moving, slowly forming a crude sort of arrow that pointed at one of the gnomes that offered their blood. The others continued stirring as the gnome tore off his clothes.

I blinked as the now bare creature only had his hat on. There was no hesitation as he threw himself into the brine. The liquid threatening to spill out, but tendrils of green catching any droplets before it could spill. More smoke erupting from the liquid as it continued to bubble away. The five gatherers quickly adjusting the heat. The smoke filling the room as a couple of wind gnomes helped the smoke escape. One of the gnomes screamed, and the fire was snuffed out.

The brine was gone, five impossibly small gnomes jumping up and down inside the cauldron. Even with their hats, they might only come up to my shins. The stirring sticks were offered as the little gnomes grabbed on to be helped out. I picked up one of them since I could reach inside the cauldron, finding their bodies impossibly warm. The tiny gnomes speaking in tongues, as the four that were stirring almost collapsed on their stools. The other five quickly taking the tiny gnomes from us, and running off.

I looked at the exhausted gnomes, sweating from the ritual. One of them panting, "I-is there anything we can help you with?"

"I was just coming to check on you guys, and see if you needed any more supplies or anything. I didn't even bother checking to see if you were doing the ritual before I came here."

The older gnome grumbled, "It's bad luck for an outsider to witness it, but thank you for not trying to interfere or help beyond getting one of us out. There have been stories of those pulling young gnomes out of the cauldron, only to have their necks ripped open by their teeth. Seems they think you're one of us." He smiled at the end.

I smiled back, "Of course, this body is gnome made. Why wouldn't I be one of the gnomes?" I winked at him, causing the old gnome to groan. "I doubt a four surplus of gnomes per ritual will really help you guys get more work done. How long does it take them to grow anyway?"

"A solid five days, mistress. There are ways to make it faster, but it comes with risks." He said the words slowly, with a frown on his face.

"You don't want to hurry them along? Wouldn't it be easier to just put your blood in some dwarves and be done with it?"

He shook his head slowly, "They are true gnomes, mistress. Better than any gnome made from a dwarf turned into our kind. There isn't a good way to explain the difference, but it's kind of like purity in a sense. Depending on how we do the ritual, our offspring vary in quality and abilities. We just made five of the best quality we can make. I'm hoping one will become a proper ritualist, and improve on it so we can do more of these."

"So... if this is how you reproduce, then why are there girl and boy gnomes?"

"For fun, mistress. The ritual also needs the blood of four females, and one male. I don't make the rules for rituals, I just do them. I'll get started on making the new ones grow fast, after I rest."

"No, none of that. I want them the best they can be, and if that means waiting a few weeks, that's fine. You know we aren't the hags, and I want to hear what you need to get what I want done. Just don't hide anything, and we'll be fine."

He smiled a little, "Thank you mistress. After the others have grown, we'll perform another ritual until our numbers are back to what they were. With a proper ritualist gnome, they could go to the other warehouses and teach them as well. I'm glad to serve you."

I smirked, "Good, I need you to use that down time to work on figuring out new ways to make better bodies. By the way, is there a ritual that can just make a lot of gnomes? Sacrificial ones in a sense, I have a friend that can use bodies like me and they're interested in taking over some of you guys."

He paled a little, "Excuse me?"

"Don't worry, I don't plan on sacrificing you guys. I'm just asking if it's possible, since you can just kind of make more of yourselves. They can be retarded gnomes, he really just needs the body. I was wondering if that's possible."

He started to say something, but considered his next words carefully. Finally he spoke through gritted teeth. "The hags would have us prepare such as sacrifices for their curses. You don't know how much resentment that caused for us. You... you don't understand what you're asking here."

I raised a brow, "Which is why I'm asking. If you don't feel comfortable with it, that's fine. It was either Gnomes, Kobolds, or Gremlins for my friend. It just seemed easier, but lets say that hypothetically you made a set of gnomes and one wasn't 'proper' or something was wrong with them. Would it still be terrible to use them for my friend?"

He tilted his head to really look at me. "I'm sure we'll have a few 'mistakes' while teaching others the ritual. It is generally considered a kindness to end their pain. Though if you need bodies for your friend... I don't see a difference between killing them and letting someone else use them. Just... make sure the soul doesn't suffer?"

I smiled, "Glad we figured that out. There's no rush, just let me know if any of those mistakes happen. It'll mean a lot to my friend, and he really feels you guys have the best bodies. He admires your craft, and how you build stuff."

The old gnome coughed, "Slave driver."

I shrugged, "You know you love it~"

I left them so they could recover. The rest of my day fairly mundane as I had a few people sent out to do some shopping and move supplies around. My mood was a little better with everything done, but then it started to sour as midnight came closer. Scix mentioning that we would meet inside the church of the Mad God. A place where all of us could talk to each other in person. It was mainly because Clarice didn't like using our connections to talk unless she could see who she was talking to. It was a mild inconvenience, but if we were doing this it was best to meet everyone on their terms.

I had nothing else going on, and while it still upset me to think Gray was calling the shots here, I couldn't let that drive a wedge between everyone. Day turned to night, and I peeked at the church, finding Gray setting some tables together. It was ten minutes before we were supposed to show up, and I figured I'd get this out of my system now. I used a dispenser to let me teleport behind the three vampires working together to set everything up.

He used the eyes of our kin to watch me, not even skipping a beat. "Argus, you're early!" He sounded happy, "I was worried you might not come, but it's such a relief you did. I know we haven't been on the best of terms, but this is important after all."

I crossed my arms, |"It's faster to talk like this, see? All these words here, boom not even a second has passed."|

Gray chuckled, the three heads shaking as their laughter echoed. "Yes, it is faster, but it doesn't help us speak better. There is nuance to language Argus, and you know that. The way you elongate a few words to tease someone. The way your tone conveys your emotion." His voice remained steady, as he continued with an almost lecturing tone. It annoyed me, but that was likely his goal. "Some of us struggle with it more than others. As the elites, it is our duty to help our soon to be elites understand what we struggled with. So, I ask that you speak like this alongside myself."

Gray laid the last of the tables down, his two other bodies grabbing chairs. He looked at me, taking off his mask. A serene smile on his face, that made me bite my lip. How could he be so calm!? He was always planning something, he always knew things that none of us knew. Everything about him irritated me. He gestured to a chair, and I decided to take one on the other side. To show him he would never dictate my actions, that I wouldn't follow him blindly. I glared at him, letting him know my loyalty would always lay with our Queen.

He smiled softly back, not the least bit upset, as the final chairs were put in place. The other two bodies disappearing. "It's almost time, and everyone in the Hive is so practical. Honestly, I would have been quite disappointed if either of you didn't show up early." He looked to the ceiling. I followed his gaze, as a couple large viper rats fell. The bodies twitching lightly, as Scix had them stand on their hind legs.

|"My apologies, I wanted to see if I could sneak in without being detected."| Scix had one rat lower its head, while I smiled at him. We came into being around the same time. We were like twins, and I could trust him to always have my back, just as I had his. |"May I ask when you noticed me?"|

Gray sat down in his chair, "As a creature that feeds on blood, I noticed you a few minutes before Argus arrived. I doubt most vampires would have noticed you so long as you continue to act the part. You are bringing Clarice, correct?"

|"Yes, she is riding on one of my bodies. She decided to take a little extra time to prepare herself. I believe she thinks this is an execution of sorts. Though she doesn't know for who, and that is what makes her nervous. Even if this isn't an execution."|

Gray chuckled a little, "Yes, this is the first time something like this has happened. I imagine more than a few of us feel nervous."

I whispered to Scix, |"If he does anything, I'll make certain everyone has a chance to get away at the very least."| My eyes never leaving Gray's body for a second. I knew he was stronger than me mentally. He might be able to take a couple of us down with him, but that was where it would end. He wouldn't be able to stop the others from ending him. The only other voice that might match him right now, was probably Berry and his copies.

The silence that followed was cut short as midnight came. The ceiling above us exploded into motion as hundreds of bugs suddenly began moving. Most of them were workers, swarming in a loose ball that slowly began to stack into a pyramid on the table itself. The workers marching their wings as a single elite worker with longer wings skittered to the top. Berry adjusting a few of their bodies to allow him to lay on them in a mostly upright position. |"I have arrived!"|

Gray coughed a little, as petals fell from his mouth onto the table. An elite scout with beautiful wings emerging from the petals as if nothing happened. Rose walked to a spot next to Berry, |"I"m here."|

Brick himself just fell from the ceiling in a regular worker's body. |"Present."| Nothing extra, and no more words. I could sense Rose and Berry talking to each other, but Brick just sat there. Silently observing.

The final bug that landed was a strange one that never really said much. Whatever body it took control of would have its wings turn silver, the chitin becoming a pale gray. Silver chose to use a ghost this time, landing quietly without any words at all. The bug he used would be dead after he switched bodies, which was probably why he limited himself to one. A way to show he was watching, though none of us knew if he had a talent or what was going on with him. He marched his wings once, as all of us were here. Save for Clarice who would arrive in five minutes according to Scix.

I could see everyone talking to each other through connections that were made and severed as they caught up, or worked towards just what was going on. Gray gave a reluctant sigh, as he joined. I smiled to myself, glad to see his initial plan didn't work out as he wanted. Joining the conversation. Rose complained about the lack of flowers in the Underground. Brick was slowly talking about the success of the algae project. I didn't bother speaking to Gray or Scix since I kept tabs on them most of the time. Berry was gloating about just how much work he and his others were doing for the Hive. How he was the most dependable, and while the arrogance was there we just let it slide off of us.

Five minutes later, the doors opened, Clarice arriving on top of a whisper hound controlled by Scix. Her legs moving languidly, her chitin glossy and clean. She took good care of herself, as Scix moved the hound towards the table. She worked her legs with a fluid grace, as she climbed to her spot on the table. Gray a little frustrated that no one else wanted to even bother using a chair. I stuck my tongue out at him, while he smiled a little to himself.

|"My apologies for being tardy everyone. I am unable to move as quickly through the network as the rest of you. Surely you understand, as it is quite late. I would like to know why we are called here, exactly."|

Gray coughed a little, getting everyone's attention. "First, let me thank all of you for actually coming in a timely manner. I understand that some of you have tasks you pursue at night. For taking your attention away from such, I apologize." He lowered his head a little. Sending the same message through a link. This got Scix's attention, as it became clear he was helping the others bridge the connection between the words and their meaning through our link. It was such a simple thing, but none of us had ever done it before.

He gestured to Rose, "I know you hunt bugs at night, making certain that the crops are safe, and the young seedlings are sprouting without creatures of the night harming their young leaves." He moved on to Berry, "I understand that you are guiding others, and keeping the Hive active at all times. Maintaining the health of every kin, and that your task is a thankless one. So, thank you." He looked around, "In fact, thank you, each and every single one of you for what you do to bring glory to this Hive." His eyes lingering on me for a second, as I started to feel sick. I really didn't like where this was going.