“Guess I’ll whip up something quick for that girl,” Mallea mumbled, thinking over what she needed to do. “If I don’t, she’ll either eat junk food or not eat entirely. I swear, some people are just so forgetful.” Mallea set down the bags she had brought over to the foyer of the new mansion. She and Nathym had just finished construction on it, so it was now her responsibility to move in everyone’s belongings and get everything situated.

Ten days had passed since the Fiends embarked on their world journey. Up until now, Mallea had been keeping herself busy with the construction, but since that was finished, there wasn’t much left to do. She had been wracking her brain as to what she’d fill her time with until Drim and the other’s returned. Her duties as a butler didn’t take up much time since she was so efficient at them, and she could only clean so many times before she’d start damaging what she was cleaning.

There was still Ahvra to take care of. It wasn’t quite the service she had wanted to provide, but was still happy to do it since it made the time go by faster. Ahvra didn’t require too much attention, though, just feeding and cleaning up around her. Occasionally, Mallea would have to lecture her to take breaks or go to sleep. Left alone, Ahvra would easily stay awake for 4 or 5 days straight. It was almost like looking out for a child, but thankfully, Ahvra didn’t have the annoying childlike personality traits Mallea had come to despise after raising Phon.

Nathym was entirely self-sufficient, so there was little to be done there except for running the occasional errand for him. Mallea still had to bring over a decent amount from her shed, but once that was done, she’d be out of work. Perhaps she would start watching video tutorials on skills she still had yet to learn, but was a little concerned about the available space in her head. Maybe Nathym could tinker around a bit and come up with something to either modify her head storage or at the very least provide her with a quantifiable idea of how much was left.

What Mallea really wanted to do was invest her time by delving into Drim’s hobbies. When he hadn’t been looking, she took a peek at the book list on his tablet. If she could read and memorize all of them, it would open up a whole new level of conversations and relatability. For now, though, she couldn’t risk it. If she maxed out her brain space, there was the potential she’d collapse like when she was younger, or not be able to learn something crucial.

Mallea set the thought aside for now, hoping she would be able to remember it later. She walked into the new lavish kitchen of the mansion. It was nearly identical to the kitchen in her shed, just bigger. There was almost triple everything, having up to three of each of the same appliance to allow for better cooking. For the more extravagant meals, this was crucial when each ingredient needed to be cooked separately at its own temperature. There were also a few other more niche appliances added which simply wouldn’t have fit into the limited space of the shed’s kitchen.

In just three and a half minutes, Mallea whipped up a breakfast that could be served at a multi-plaque restaurant. Then, she sighed. Why can’t I ever just take my time with something? Depending on the meal, she could have finished it even quicker, but heating food couldn’t be rushed. She was already using the optimal techniques. If she worked any faster the quality would be ruined.

After the meal had been plated and loaded onto a tray, Mallea opened one of the refrigerators and flipped the icemaker on and off a few times. There was a rumbling as the floor in the center of the room shifted, revealing an opening with stairs leading down. Secret passages leading underground like this were in every single room of the mansion, including the upper floors. They were implemented in case of emergencies, and just for ease of access to get down there.

Nathym was in the process of building an elaborate underground tunnel system underneath the compound, almost doubling their potential floor space for any expansions they’d need to do in the future. Also, anything that they’d prefer to be out of sight like utilities could be stuffed down there. The power source and maintenance panels for the forcefield was one such example. Mallea took this path now out of convenience. It was a bit windy out this morning, and she didn’t want the food going cold. Conveniently, one of the tunnels led right to the secret lab.

Since the lab was ‘secret’ after all, the entrance to it from the tunnels wasn’t clearly marked. There was a certain spot on a sign pointing to an exit, that when pressed, revealed a keypad. Mallea entered her own personal code, then the wall opened up. The opening led to the ‘living’ area of the lab. While it was called a laboratory, it was honestly closer to a full size underground house with a lab attached.

There were two full bedrooms, and Nathym had purposefully left a lot of space in case they’d need more if others joined the science team. In addition, there was a kitchen that would rival the shed’s, as well as a living room that could host several comfortably. There was a laboratory for each of them, and like with the bedrooms, there was room for expansion. Nathym’s lab was mostly just blueprints for the larger projects he had in progress.

Ahvra’s lab was more like what one would expect from a traditional laboratory. There were shelves lined with vials and test tubes, several computers running data through a series of programs, and various machines that would leave a layman baffled upon seeing them. Even though it was still early, Mallea knew to check Ahvra’s lab first.

Come to think of it, she hadn’t actually found Ahvra in her room before, yet somehow any time she went into it, it would be a mess. From what Mallea had heard, Ahvra actually specialized in cleaning, but it was impossible for her to believe yet. I guess she’s just been too excited about her research since coming here, so she hasn’t had time for anything else.

As Mallea approached the door to Ahvra’s lab, she overheard a conversation. “That’s quite the stack of movies you have there,” Nathym commented. As Mallea entered, she saw it was a stack of six sitting on top of one of the desks.

“Yes, well, tonight's movie night. So I had to pick out the ones I’m going to watch,” Ahvra explained. “This is nothing, Assistant, you should see my room. I have a vast collection.”

“Oh, that explains all the packages you’ve been getting then,” Nathym just now realized. “And here I was hoping that they were something actually useful to us.”

“Assistant is being quite cheeky this morning, I see,” Ahvra retorted in monotone.

“Why are you buying physical movies anyways?” Nathym asked. “They’re such a waste of space, you could just get them digitally, and then you could watch them anywhere on anything.”

“That’s a thing?” Ahvra questioned. “As far as I’m aware, these movies are on the most modern technology available.”

“You really don’t get out much, do you? Well, move over for a second.” Nathym typed something into her keyboard, then a popular shopping site loaded. “You can buy almost any movie digitally that you want there. As for some of the older ones and ones you already own physically, I’ll whip up a device that can rip them later.”

“My assistant has shown me up. I’m so proud,” Ahvra cheered entirely unenthusiastically as she waved her small arms.

“Well, enjoy your movies. I look forward to hearing about them when I get back.” Nathym turned to leave, finally spotting Mallea. She had been waiting by the door, not wanting to interrupt their conversation. As he walked by, he said, “Ah, Miss Mallea, I’m glad you're here. I have something I need to talk to you about when you’re done. I’ll wait for you up in the workshop.” It was likely just a small errand, but Mallea looked forward to it, since it gave her something useful to do.

Once Nathym left, Mallea walked over and set the tray of food down on a desk. Ahvra looked over to it, and while her face remained emotionless, her eyes lit up and her stomach growled. “Thank you Disguised Robot. Your meals always give me the energy I need,” Ahvra was appreciative. “You’re less busy now, right? When are you going to let me dissect that brain of yours… unless you’re hiding wiring you don’t want me to see.” There was a small laugh at her own comment. “Just kidding, of course I know you don’t have wires, I’d be able to see them after all.”

Disguised Robot was the new codename Ahvra had given to Mallea after a while, due to her tendency to execute skills as if they were programs. The dissection question was one that had been brought up constantly, and Mallea was now running out of excuses to decline. She used Nathym’s request as an excuse to get away this time and fled. In the future, if she was truly at a loss for what to do, she might give into Ahvra’s request, but she’d have to be desperate.

Up in his workshop, Mallea found Nathym waiting for her with a bag at his feet and a stern expression on his face. “I’ll be blunt,” he said as she approached, also dropping the normal air of nicety and politeness he spoke to others with. “The barrier is going to fail sometime later today.”

“Well, that does seem rather serious, Nason. Is there nothing we can do to prevent it?” Mallea questioned.

“Unfortunately, no,” Nathym sighed. “A very specific and important component is malfunctioning. It’s my fault honestly, I should have made it myself. Serves me right for buying pre-built. Oh well, lesson learned. The bigger issue is that the parts needed to build the component can’t be found around here, and having them shipped would take far too long. So, I’ll need to go myself and purchase them.”

“Why not just send me to go get it? I could be there and back in no time with the helicopter,” Mallea suggested.

Nathym sighed again, even louder this time and it could almost qualify as a groan. “Mallea, do you remember what happened the last time I sent you to buy something for me?”

“Not in the slightest,” Mallea didn’t even hesitate.

“I asked you to buy batteries, pretty simple right?” Nathym recounted. “But when you returned an hour later from what should have been a ten minute trip, you brought me a car battery.”

“Well, that was just one time, and one careless mistake,” Mallea tried to excuse herself. “Why not just write it down for me?”

“That was when I wrote it down for you,” Nathym griped. “I wrote it on a note, on your hand, and on your forehead… The results were better at least. When I asked you to buy me a specific wrench without writing anything down, you came back with a Mr. Playtime’s Toolbox for children.”

“Ah, I was wondering how we ended up with one of those…” Mallea jested with seemingly no remorse. “I’m afraid I have no memory of that either. I do however remember one time where I got you a specific type of oil you needed within minutes.”

“That was because I had Drim ask you to do it,” Nathym pointed out.

“Point taken. So when will you be back?” Mallea had entirely stopped resisting.

“Look Mallea, you’re amazing at taking care of this place, you just have a terribly selective memory, and it’s only mostly your fault,” Nathym didn’t even try to soften the blow. “So, I need you here doing what you do best. You were right on one count. Taking the helicopter would expedite this process, but I’m afraid that won’t do. Normally, the barrier is invisible, but it will be very noticeable when it fails.”

“I’d stake my life that the CP will try to take advantage of this. With the others and myself gone, only you and Ahvra will be left to defend this place. They’ve likely figured out yours and Ahvra’s identities by now. I assume they know you’re rather skilled and Ahvra is a scientist tied to a former Drazah researcher. However, I doubt they comprehend just how far your talents go, and just how insan- powerful Ahvra is. To them, it will seem like an opportune moment and most likely conduct a raid, trying to get their hands on any evidence of the Drazah’s exploits as well as our scientific research and inventions.”

“I understand the gravity of the situation completely now,” Mallea promised. “You don’t have to worry about a thing. This estate is my livelihood, and I’d do anything to protect it.”

“That’s good to hear,” Nathym seemed relieved. “Since you seem so confident, I’ll take this opportunity to go set up the factory we need while I’m gone. Once the part for the barrier is made, I’ll find some way to get it back here as soon as possible, likely in a day or two. From there, I’ll go and build the factory… ugh, I really should have started on it a while ago. 2.6 billion… that’s how many of the damn things we need to make, and that’s just based on census data from a few years ago. I’ll probably just go ahead and round it up to 3 billion to play it safe.”

“I’m sure this was explained to me before, but why not simply just build it here. Don’t we need to monitor it in the future?” It was a legitimate question from Mallea even with her bad memory.

“The whole point of it is that it needs to keep working even if we’re not around someday,” Nathym explained. He picked up his bag and walked over to a workbench where a motorcycle helmet was waiting. Mallea was confused. There were no motorbikes around, and she didn’t know Nathym even had a license. He pressed some buttons on the workbench and the floor opened, a crate rising out of it. “Hah… I’ve been waiting for a reason to use this…”

The crate fell apart, exposing the sleek looking platinum motorcycle with copper trim. Nathym hopped on, started the engine, which was surprisingly quiet, but then the wheels started to glow. They then retracted inside of the bike which hovered in mid-air. “No way… a hover bike,” even Mallea was a bit envious.

“Yup,” Nathym practically giggled. “It’s not as fast as your helicopter or a skycraft, and it can only go about fifty feet above ground level, but it should get me where I need to go much faster than any car. I’ll be honest, I could make more for the others, but let’s keep that a secret for now. Sometimes you just have to have something for yourself, y’know? I don’t know when I’ll be back, but I trust you can handle things around here. You probably won’t need it, but I’ll wish you good luck anyways, Miss Mallea.”

“And to you as well. It sounds like you’ll need it more than me,” Mallea returned the gesture. Nathym pressed a button on the bike and the bay doors of the workshop opened. He revved the engine a few times, then blasted out of the workshop. In seconds, he had cleared the compound, the bike effortlessly hopping over the wall and then ascended the mountain. Soon, he was out of sight and on his way.

As Mallea strolled back over to her shed, thoughts filled her mind about what to do in case the prophesized raid occurred. Hmm, what to do? what to do? She did a sudden twirl that to anyone else would just look like an act of whimsy. I counted 14 of them, no doubt they’d call for reinforcements, so I should expect around double. Mallea pondered the issue a little longer until she got to her destination, then a burst of inspiration hit her.

Oh, how silly can I be? I am the butler of the Fiends for Hire. Anyone who came to visit would be guests, and I’ll just have to treat them to every ounce of hospitality. A dangerous smile crept up on her face as she walked inside. For now, I’ll just return to my work as normal, and maybe prepare a few… amenities… for our guests as I do.

The only work she had left to do in the shed was to transfer everyone’s personal belongings to their new rooms in the mansion. She had already taken care of herself along with uhh… the red and blue ones, and only had Drim and Phon’s effects remaining. She entered Phon’s room and stared at the bed-of-nails for a moment. That stubborn, prideful girl. She slept on that thing every night without complaint. Even I can’t help but show admiration and admit my defeat this time.

Mallea entered Drim’s room after making a round trip to drop off Phon’s items. His bed had already been moved. If it hadn’t, she would have to resist the urge to flop down in it, spread out, and nap the day away. She may have already indulged in this once before. It was something she could only do when everyone wasn’t around. When they were, she would stubbornly try and maintain her professional persona, not wanting to be seen in a worse light. If she was not viewed as serious, she felt she wouldn’t be able to do her job as effectively. Through human weakness, even she had to behave casually once in a while.

She gathered up the items around the room first, though there wasn’t much. Then, she opened up the closet, and began taking his clothes off of the hangers. When she got to his tops, she noticed a strange rustling in one of the hoods. She poked at it, and a furry head popped out. “What are you doing in there, Vox?” She addressed the small creature. “You have a nice new bed and everything in the new mansion. It’s time to move out.”

She tried to pick him up, but he clung on desperately to the hood. No matter what, he wouldn’t let go. They wrestled for a while, eventually the top slipping out of her hands. It landed on the floor, and Pox tumbled out of it. He then quickly dashed back into the hood, and wrapped it around himself. Mallea knelt down, and slowly pulled the hood until she could see his face again. “I get it. You miss him too, huh?”

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The loneliness was something she had been avoiding admitting, but it slipped out now, and she felt a little depressed. They had just been reunited after so long, but now another month apart on top of that was just cruel. “Why couldn’t he have taken me with him? I bet you’re thinking that too.” She picked up Pox, and hugged him close to her. “Maybe there’s something we can do to cheer us up.”

A few minutes later, Mallea was wrapping something around Pox. It was a perfect recreation of one of Drim’s cloaks and hood, scaled to Pox’s size. There was only a slight change in the hood to account for his ears. Pox grabbed at the cloak, and flapped it around. He then ecstatically dashed around the room, clearly happy with his new garment. Mallea couldn’t help but feel happy as well, watching the creature joyously play.

Pox suddenly dashed out of the room, his cape fluttering behind him. Mallea felt a little sad, him running off so quickly, but then he returned a moment later. His arms were full of the white balls known only to her as his poop. He carefully placed them in front of her, then began playing again. For some reason, Phon was obsessed with these things, and would claim all of them to use them in her cooking experiments. The balls were hard to find, as if the creature had been hiding them, so Mallea had never gotten a chance to use them for herself.

As she considered the practical applications of them in her cooking, there was a loud rumbling. Mallea rushed outside and looked up at the sky. The barrier was flashing. The flashing grew more rapid by the second, and then it looked like the sky cracked. With a shattering sound, the barrier vanished. “Well, Nickoli did say it would be very noticeable.” Mallea then looked to Pox who was by her feet. “How about it, can I count on you to help me?”

“Garuu!” Pox howled back.

“I’ll uhh… I’ll take that as a yes,” Mallea stuttered.

◆◆◆

Later that night, just after the sun had set, a crowd had formed just inside the compound’s walls on the west side. They were all CP scouts, preparing for the raid Nathym had predicted. Taking their time, they were standing around chatting about their mission, and a few seemed surprised at how easy it was to infiltrate.

“Good evening, everyone!” Mallea suddenly appeared before them with a bow, not forgetting to show proper courtesy. They were all taken aback for a moment, but then found their resolve. 26 of them. I must make this a visit that each of these guests are sure to remember. “Do you have an appointment? I’m afraid I could not find any for this evening. I’d be happy to schedule one for you now if you wish, but it would have to be at a later date. Almost everyone is out of town at the moment, you see, so I fear a visit at this time would be most unwise.”

“Of course, there is the option of coming in and waiting for someone to see you, though that may take quite a while.” Mallea drew a line in the ground with her foot. “If you pass this, you will officially be recognized as a guest of the Fiends for Hire, and will be treated with the utmost hospitality we can muster. Oh, and I need to say this…” Mallea rummaged around in her coat for a moment and then pulled out a sheet of paper.

“Upon entering the premises you hereby agree to all the terms listed below, such as we are not liable for any personal injury or loss of property, and well it goes on like that. Here, you can read it for yourselves if you like.” She laid the paper on the ground across from her side of the line.

One of the gentlemen, almost as if acting defiantly, trounced forward, trampled the paper, and stepped over the line. He looked smugly at Mallea, as if his face was almost declaring ‘what are you going to do about it?’ Mallea gave another bow. “Welcome sir, I hope you enjoy your stay.” A moment later she was behind him, without anyone even noticing she had moved. It was a combination of a few tricks she had picked up in speed and misdirection.

“Please allow me to take your jacket, sir,” she said as she grabbed onto his coat before he realized what was happening. Mallea pulled at a weird, twisted angle, and then there was a rapid-fire series of pops. His arms dangled freely, as both of his shoulders and elbows were completely dislocated. That’s 1.

Mallea moved rapidly again, now standing much farther away with the man’s coat hanging neatly off one of her arms. She had created a good distance because she was expecting a retaliatory response. Keeping to her mental script, a few of them pulled out guns and fired at her. Mallea waved the man’s coat at the incoming bullets, managing to either deflect or wrap up all of them with it. This continued as she dodged nimbly while treating the bullets as if she was a matador taunting a bull. It was all she could do until someone else obliged her self-imposed rules.

She continued to back up, drawing a few of the scouts closer until some of them stepped over the line. Then, opportunity struck. One of the guns jammed, belonging to someone in front. A second later, Mallea was pressed up against the poor soul. She had angled herself in such a way that she could use the woman’s body as a shield from any oncoming fire. Mallea grabbed the gun and said, “How unfortunate, please allow me to fix it for you.” Mallea had it in working order in moments, and aimed it for a testfire.

The bullet flew through the woman’s chest, Mallea making sure not to hit anything vital. It exited cleanly out of her back, but that was the only clean thing about it. Blood sprayed in a wave over several of the other scouts. This was the result Mallea had been aiming for, creating a few new opportunities. 2 down.

“Oh my, you have blood stained all over your white top.” Mallea was now hiding behind another woman. “That will be a pain to get out, but fret not. I have a special concoction that will do just the trick.” Mallea pulled a vial out of her coat containing a clear liquid, and dumped the contents on the woman’s blouse. The liquid dissolved through the clothing immediately and began working on her skin. 3.

“Please allow me to give you a good scrubbing, I’ll have you clean in no time.” Mallea approached a man who was covered in blood from the gunshot. She quickly took off his top before he had time to react, and began scrubbing his body furiously with steel wool. Soon, his arms and entire torso were bleeding profusely. 4.

“Madam, your pants appear to have a hole in them, I’ll patch that right up.” Mallea had stealthily slit the woman’s pants and was now crouched down behind her. Using a curved needle, Mallea stitched the entirety of the woman’s pants into her legs, causing her to collapse to the ground, unable to walk anymore from the pain. 5.

“Your shirt is terribly wrinkled,” Mallea informed a man. “Please excuse me for a moment.” It didn’t take her long to retrieve her iron, not even allowing anyone the chance to run. Mallea bent the man down, and ran the iron along his back as if it was an ironing board. 6.

“Yowch!” a man nearby screamed. It seemed he stepped on one of the caltrops Mallea had laid on the ground. Seconds later, she had him on his butt while holding up his foot due to his shoe being damaged. Mallea claimed she was going to cobble it back to normal, but instead hammered nails directly into his foot. 7.

“Ah, sir, your tie is a little crooked. I’ll tighten it for you.” Mallea got right up into the next man’s face, their eyes not even an inch apart from each other. His face went red and his pupils started going white as she strangled him until he passed out. 8.

“Allow me to clean your glasses for you,” Mallea fully wrapped her hand around the woman’s glasses, and strongly gripped her head. The glasses shattered, sending shards right into the woman’s eyes. 9.

“Oh, you have such pretty nails, but they could use a touch up.” Mallea grabbed a woman’s hand, and with her knife cleanly cut off each of her nails and the tips of her fingers in a single slice. Before moving on, she did the same with the other hand. 10.

Now, Mallea was back to back with another man, grabbing onto his wrists so he couldn’t escape. “I can tell you’re struggling with several mental health issues. I have training as a therapist and a psychiatrist, so allow me to give you guidance. You’re a failure. Everything you’ve ever done has led to this horrible moment where you’re watching all your comrades be tortured around you, and you’re powerless to stop it. You’ll keep on being pathetic, and nothing you ever do in your life will make you stop being worthless.” Mallea let go of the man’s wrists, and right away he collapsed onto the ground, tears flooding from his eyes. 11.

A phone started ringing in one of the men’s pockets, but Mallea got to it before he could. “It is one of my duties to answer the phone, I’ll let you know if it’s important… Oh it’s from ‘Wifey’ with a heart next to it. Hello?” Mallea answered. “Oh honey, stop it, that tickles.” Her voice changed slightly, a bit more high pitched and playful.

“Umm, excuse me?!” a confused woman barked through the phone. “Who is this?! I’m trying to reach my husband, Laston.”

“Don’t be silly, my Lasty-poo doesn’t have a wife. I should know, I’m his girlfriend,” Mallea continued her act. “Oh Laston, stop it, some shrewd woman is trying to talk to me.” A barrage of screaming came from the other end, prompting Mallea to toss the phone back to the man. “It seems she wants to talk to you.” 12.

“Ugh, your clothes reek, madam, you must be a heavy smoker. I’ll return with something to dispose of them.” Mallea ran off once more and returned on a golf cart with a large trash bag in hand. After stuffing the woman into the trash bag, Mallea loaded her up on the back of the cart.

“Oh miss, you appear as if you want to leave too, I’ll escort you.” Mallea tied one end of a rope around a woman’s ankle, and the other to the cart. She drove off, dragging the woman behind her. Mallea made sure to drive recklessly, to give the woman a good ride. After a few donuts, they reached one of the walls of the compound. The woman being dragged was slammed into the wall, and Mallea chucked the bagged woman over it. 13, and 14.

When she returned to the spot of all the injured, the rest had scattered and were nowhere in sight. “My, where have all my guests gone off to?”

◆◆◆

“That woman is insane, what the hell is with her?! I thought the only Fiend here was supposed to be the child scientist?!” one of the men yelled as he panted. The remaining group had hid inside the mansion, currently all gathered in a hidden room under the stairs, which they all seemed to find as an odd place for a bedroom.

“That’s Mallea Dulip,” one of the scouts reported. “Better known as the Jackal, or the Terrifying Temp; a master of all trades, but not a Fiend.”

“Terrifying is the wrong word,” a woman declared. “That is a monster, or a demon!”

“Don’t forget, we have a job to do,” one of the men reminded them. “If we come back empty handed, we’re better off with the monster.”

“Quite bold of you to hide in my own bedroom!” a laugh came from just outside. It was followed by a clunking sound as a metal tube bounced inside. Then there was nothing but a blinding light, and ringing in the ears.

◆◆◆

When the remaining 12 people came around, they found themselves all seated at a large dining room table, six on each side. The table was set for a luxurious meal, but none of them seemed to have an appetite. Their wrists were bound to their chairs, so skipping the meal wasn’t exactly an option. “I know it’s a bit late, but I’ll fix you all a nice dinner. I’m quite proud of my cooking, so I know you’ll love it.”

“I’m also quite proud of these place settings, just look at how delightfully polished it all is.” Mallea went over to someone, and lifted his plate, holding it in front of his face. “It’s so clean you can even see your reflection in it. Here, get a closer look!” Mallea bashed the plate right into his face, knocking him unconscious and breaking his nose. 15.

“Oh dear, it seems I forgot to finish setting for one of you, how clumsy of me,” Mallea looked over at a seat with only plates. She returned to the kitchen and came back with a fist full of silverware. She walked behind the woman and began listing off each of them. “Let’s see, salad fork, dinner fork, dessert fork, butter knife, steak knife, soup spoon, and dessert spoon. There, all set!” As she said each one, she stabbed the corresponding utensil into the woman sitting in that seat. 16.

A minute later Mallea returned with wine for everyone. “It seems you’re having trouble, open wide and I’ll pour it in.” She forced one of the woman’s mouths open, and had her drink the entire glass. Mallea then took a sniff after it was empty. “Oh wait, that wasn’t wine. It was ipecac mixed rat poison. How could I possibly have gotten that mixed up.” The woman began vomiting endlessly and it wasn’t long before her mind seemed to have left her. “Be sure to get all that poison out of your system, but the ipecac should help with that.” 17.

One of the other guests began sympathy vomiting, and at this rate would expel as much as the first. “Hold on, we’ll get you to a bathroom. Hmm, well you’re currently unable to move, so I’ll just make one for you.” Mallea fetched wood and built a small porta potty, which was honestly closer to a coffin, around the man. 18.

“Alright, how about we get some food!” Soon, Mallea returned with an oddly colored jar which no one would ever even think about consuming its contents. “I thought for an appetizer we’d have bloated leeches. Unfortunately, we only have unbloated leeches I got from Ashi. If we get them filling, we can have them for a snack later.” Mallea began applying the leeches all over a woman’s face and arms. “Quite a nasty breed, those. A real pain to get off and they suck blood at a tremendous rate. They’ll be full before long.” 19.

“Well, onto the main course then!” Mallea brought out a portable gas stove and a small wok. She loaded it with beef and hot oil, cooking it in no time. “Now, for the finishing touch!” Mallea lit the beef on fire, then ‘accidentally’ tipped the wok so the beef went flying at someone, covering him in scalding food. 20.

“Oh, it appears I used up the last of the oil making that,” Mallea noticed. “I have a terrible memory, so I should write it down. How bothersome, there doesn’t appear to be anything to write on. I’ll just use what I can and I’ll jot down a few other things I need while I’m at it,” Mallea lifted up one of the men’s shirts so his bare chest was showing. She picked up a knife and carved out a shopping list into his flesh. 21.

“Time for dessert!” Mallea placed a large covered dish at the center of the table. She unveiled it and then the room was filled with screams. Before them was a severed head of one of their comrades. One of the men fainted on sight. 22.

The other four broke free of their restraints and bolted out of the room. Mallea had noticed them using their knives to whittle, but had elected to not do anything to prevent it. “I guess they don’t like cake.” The head was in fact a cake Mallea had prepared beforehand. She had simply decorated it now to look like that. Mallea ran her finger across the icing and licked it before making chase after the remaining guests. She managed to corner three of them in the living room.

“You all seem rather stressed, I’ll help you all relax. First a massage!” Mallea grabbed a woman and bent her body in all sorts of ways it shouldn’t bend. The woman let out several groans of pain until she was unable to move at all. 23.

The other two were patiently sitting on a couch. They clearly had no way of escape, so it was likely that they felt that if they behaved they wouldn’t be hurt as much. One of the men started rummaging in his jacket, and panicked when he couldn’t find what he was looking for. “Looking for these I imagine, yes?” Mallea held up a pill bottle that she had taken off of him earlier. “You suffer from high blood pressure. Well, that’s an easy fix, the best way is to just alleviate it!” She stabbed him in the wrist and blood gushed out of it. He grabbed at it, desperate to keep pressure. 24.

Mallea sat down next to the last guest and turned to face her. “You’ve had a long day, haven’t you?” The woman nodded in response, fear clearly in her eyes. “Tell you what, I’ll give you an easy out. Speaking of pills…” Mallea pulled out a large purple pill and held it out to her. “This is a high intensity sleeping pill that will knock you out instantly. If you take it, the next thing you know you’ll be out of this mess entirely unharmed. I made it to try and help someone else who needs to sleep, but it seems like you could use it.”

Without hesitation, the woman grabbed the pill, tossed it in her mouth, and desperately swallowed it without any liquid assistance. She passed out a second later. “And that makes 25… well well, it would seem I have lost track of one of our visitors. What troublesome guests these are.”

◆◆◆

“They’re all fools,” the last remaining guest muttered under his breath. “They were idiots to all stick together.” After bolting from the dining room, he had separated himself from the group and went and hid in a bathroom. Miraculously, he accidentally opened one of the secret passageways that lead into the underground tunnels. “Forget the mission, I’m getting the hell out of here and as far away from that crazy draz as possible.”

Before the man could make it out, though, something stopped him in his tracks. There was a small creature in his way. He recognized it, the fluffy animal he often saw wandering around during his scouting. It was assumed to be the Drazah pet and was never given a second thought. That pet was now blocking his way, however, and wearing a cloak for some reason.

“Move out of the way, or I’ll punt ya!” the man growled at the animal. Ignoring his warning, Pox slowly waddled over to the man until he was at his feet. The cloak opened up, revealing two knives, one taped to each of Pox’s wrists. Pox stabbed the man in both of his shin’s repeatedly, until the man collapsed.

◆◆◆

After being led by Pox to the location of the final scout, Mallea began her cleanup. The majority of the guests were already gone. Those that were only injured and not unconscious escaped on their own, taking some of the incapacitated ones with them. Only a small handful were left, and Mallea dumped them over the wall where she had thrown the garbage smoker.

However, there was one slight complication. “I messed up! Drim’s going to be so upset with me!” Mallea was on the verge of tears. She had made sure to only use non-lethal force, but here she was, staring at a corpse. The victim was the woman whom she had covered in leeches. “I knew they were bad news, but this is outrageous.” The leeches were completely swollen now and somehow seemed rather content with themselves.

“I believe I can help you with that!” Just as Mallea was about to start prying off the leeches, she heard an unfamiliar voice belonging to a woman. Mallea spun around, and didn’t immediately recognize her, so she threw a knife at the stranger out of reflex. The woman shrunk for a moment to dodge the projectile before returning to her larger size. This was the first time Mallea had seen Ahvra in her grown up form.

“Oh, how naughty Mallea, but I’ll forgive you!” Completely opposite to the Ahvra that Mallea knew, this one was bursting with energy and emotion. “That was such an amazing display, Mallea. I loved it so much, so I’ll help you out just this one time...!” Mallea immediately began missing the other Ahvra, whom she found much easier to handle.

As she bent down to examine the corpse, Ahvra continued babbling. “So I was in the middle of my movie marathon, when all of a sudden the alarms in my lab went off. Let me tell you, I was pissed. I hate being interrupted during movies. But then I saw you, Mallea, that spectacle you performed. Honestly, I might submit that footage to a festival as an independent action film. Might need a gore warning, though.”

Ahvra’s spouting continued for about another minute until she finally said something useful. “This woman still has a lot of time, so I can bring her back to life. I’ll need the leeches too, so I can get enough of her blood. Otherwise, when I bring her back to life, she’d just die again almost immediately from blood loss.” Ahvra went back to her small form, grabbed the corpse by her hair, and started dragging her away. “I wonder just how many weeks of experimentation bringing her back to life is worth.” Mallea heard Ahvra’s signature deadpan fake-sounding laugh for several minutes before it faded away into the night.