Chapter 9 : Morning

Feeling particularly pleased with himself, Anton couldn't help but to wear a smug smirk on his face as he passed through the portal and stepped back out into his new bedroom. With a joyful spring in his step, he quickly loped out of the room and descended the stairs as he made his way back to the kitchen.

He had just finished negotiating a buying price for an item that had been set to go to auction at the World Auction House in Halliburton.

The Bacsik Manuscript was a set of wooden plates that had been strung together and featured a series of ancient writings that were believed by some to be instructions that could help in preforming powerful rituals. It was an important item in research Anton had been doing off and on for many years now. And he was quite happy that his negotiations had allowed him to avoid having to deal with the hassle of bidding on it.

Unfortunately, his good mood was nearly overshadowed by the unyielding rage he was feeling at being forced to buy back something that he was, technically, already the owner of.

But at times, such is life.

And the guilty person responsible for this annoyance would be dealt with as soon as possible.

In the meantime however, he would need to set that train of thought aside and focus on solving the problem of the other guilty person that was currently disrupting his life.

As Anton stepped back into the kitchen he immediately became aware of a couple of odd sights.

The first was that Mica had completely disappeared from her seat and was now nowhere to be seen. The second was that the dark elves were, for some reason, currently laid out together on the floor and pressed against the cabinets below the sink.

At first glance it seemed that they had apparently “discovered” each other again, as they appeared to be engrossed in what looked to be a very intimate and emotional embrace. Upon closer examination however, it was clear that they were in reality quite distressed. Or at least Kianna was, as she had a pained expression plastered across her tear stricken face as she clutched her... unmoving, sister to her chest...

“...Girls?” questioned Anton softly as his chest tightened in concern.

Anton felt himself go cold as the whole world suddenly seemed to go silent and still. Taking another step into the room, he was unexpectedly greeted with a third odd sight, as what looked to be a nearly-naked, dark-haired, clearly female, crazed eyed lunatic suddenly appeared in his peripheral vision. Whoever this person was, she was apparently quite incensed with him, as she was currently in the process of rushing across the room towards him, whilst brazenly brandishing a steak knife above her head.

Any rational thought that may have been left in Mica's mind completely vanished at the sight of Anton stepping in through the walkway. With her hated target now in front of her, and focused on nothing else but plunging her weapon into his neck, she immediately began to race towards him. As she came within striking distance, she leaped into the air and moved to bring her knife down with all of her might. Unfortunately, before the tip of the blade could meet its mark, it struck something else entirely.

Mica had no time to react as her whole being was unexpectedly bounced back and away from Anton. Though dumbstruck by the sensation of being thrown backwards, she was still able to land on her feet and remain standing upright. Blinking in confusion, she looked up to find that a giant, glowing orange-colored bubble had suddenly appeared between herself and her target.

Although the light bubble now surrounding Anton may have only been a few dozen molecules worth of energy thick, it was still more than strong enough to stop something as simple as a knife wielding maniac.

Enraged by this complication, the kiochi began to dance about and frantically stab at the bubble in a futile attempt to pop it. Her anger only intensified as these efforts quickly led to her making eye contact with Anton.

“...Mica?” questioned Anton as a surprised expression marred his face.

The kiochi merely growled in response before continuing to try and stab her way into the bubble.

Staring down at her for a moment, Anton shifted his eyes back to the dark elves as a grim realization caused his heart to sink even further in dismay.

“...No. ...Girls. ...What have you done?” he whispered quietly as his eyes went wide with rage.

Mica let out an excited cry as the bubble suddenly vanished from in front of her. Before she could continue her assault however, a bright flash of light caused her to reflexively look upwards.

Her mouth fell open in shock as she gazed up at a furious looking Anton who was now bathed in a brightly glowing, fiery orange-colored aura.

“What have you done!” roared Anton as he raised his fist high into the air above her and summoned a blazing ball of ethereal fire into existence.

“Crap!” exclaimed Mica as she leaped away backwards and then to the side in order to just barely dodge the incoming fireball. Diving forward again, she frantically rolled out of the way of two more blasts before leaping back up to her feet. Her instincts were once again screaming at her that the fireballs being thrown at her were made of no ordinary fire, but rather than try to full on escape out of the still open door she instead turned and headed straight for the dark elves.

“How dare you!” raged Anton as he ignited both his fists with the ethereal flames and without hesitation fired both blasts right at the fleeing kiochi's back.

Mica's mind fell into a blind panic as she felt the unnatural heat of the incoming fireballs swelling in intensity right behind her. Unable to dodge them, she closed her eyes as she desperately willed herself forward.

Though even she herself didn't quite understand her own motives, every fiber in her body was telling her to make it to the dark elves. She needed to be with them. They needed her to be with them. She knew she had to make it to them. And she also knew, that she wasn't going to.

She wasn't going to make it. She was going to fail. Again.

Holding her eyes shut as tightly as she could, Mica leaped forward and spread her arms out wide in an effort to block the dark elves from the fire that she could feel was rising rapidly right behind her.

In this final split second before the twin blasts would have met their mark and incinerated her into nothingness, a sense of peace suddenly filled her mind. Sailing through the air, the realization that in this final act she could at least spare the dark elves from this blast was somehow comforting to her. As though, with this single action, her life would finally be given a purpose. The broader reality behind this idea didn't matter, as for her, in this moment, that thought in of itself was enough. She would die to save them. And for some strange reason, she could accept this. She was okay with this.

Believing her end had finally come, Mica smiled softly in bliss as from one instance to the next the heat of the fires behind her suddenly vanished.

Unbeknownst to the kiochi however, this reprieve was due to a wall of pink-colored light that had instantly taken form in between them and blocked her from the blasts.

“No!” screamed Kianna as she held her hands up in an effort to gain Anton's attention “Stop!”

“...Ki-Kianna!” exclaimed Anton as he pulled back on his next attack and kept the flames in his hands.

“Stop! Please!” cried the dark elf in utter desperation “Please! Please! Just stop!”

Locked in a state of confusion, Anton stared into Kianna's pleading, tear stricken eyes for what seemed like a frozen eternity. He blinked, and came back to his senses as her aura field fell away.

“Please!” sobbed Kianna as she continued to hold up her hands “Just! ...Just don't hurt her!”

Unsure of how to respond, Anton blinked again when his view of Kianna was suddenly blocked by Mica as she stepped in front of the dark elf.

With her eyes locked to Anton's and a hard, determined expression on her face, the kiochi wrapped both of her hands around the handle of her knife as she pointed its tip straight at him. Her shoulders shifted slightly as she suddenly sprouted her leathery wings out from between her shoulder blades and spread them out as wide as she could in an effort to both appear larger, and thus more intimidating, and to further block the dark elves from view.

Dumbfounded, Anton could merely stand there and stare as he assessed the kiochi in front of him.

As he watched, Mica's wings began to vibrate menacingly in agitation, and to his surprise a series of copper and crimson colored lines began to form across the surface of the leather-like membranes that stretched between the long fingers of each wing. Blood was clearly being pumped into the membrane, and this was causing a bright, vibrate pattern of eerie looking eye spots and trailing stripes to form across the expanse of each wing.

Below this, around Mica's waist, the loops of her long tail were quivering wildly as she was clearly trying to wiggle herself free from the last of her restraints. Still brandishing her knife at him, the kiochi planted her feet out wide as she took a low stance in front of the dark elves.

With her slitted, snake-like pupils fully dilated into angry looking black pits, she let her lower jaw fall open to expose her thin needle-like fangs as she unleashed a long, menacingly loud and bloodcurdling, demonic hiss.

Taken aback by her display, Anton stayed still for a long moment before his own eyes went wide as a sudden realization took form in his mind.

Mica was threatening him, and only him.

All of her aggression was directed solely at him. She had clearly somehow gotten herself free from her bondage. But rather than take the opportunity to escape, she had instead returned to the dark elves. She wasn't threatening them though. She hadn't attacked them or even tried to take them as hostages. No. Instead she had planted herself in front of them and was now standing her ground between them and himself, almost as if... she was guarding them?

The shinoccubus clearly wasn't trying to hurt the dark elves, she was trying to protect them.

With his fiery aura slowly fading from sight, Anton let his arms fall and come to rest at his sides as he stared at Mica.

Behind the kiochi, Fiona and Kianna both began to rise back up to their feet.

Noticing this, Mica quickly glanced back at them before refocusing on Anton.

“Just stay behind me!” she hissed as she clenched her teeth and raised her wings upwards to better block the dark elves behind her “I won't let him hurt you!”

Anton's mind began to race as he tried to figure out what was happening. Trembling from adrenaline, the kiochi before him worked to steady herself by again tightening her grip on her knife. She was obviously afraid, and yet, she remained right where she was, poised with her determination clear on her face. This was no ruse. She was legitimately ready to fight. To defend the dark elves, she would fight... But why?

“What the Hell are you doing you little idiot!” shouted Fiona as she smacked the back of Mica's head as hard as she could “Why are you still here!?”

“Ow! Hey! Stop it!” cried Mica as she turned her head back to glare at the dark elf “What the fuck is wrong with you!?”

“What the fuck is wrong with you!?” snapped Fiona as she pointed her ears straight back behind her head “What are you still doing here!?”

“I! I have to be here!” countered Mica “I can't just leave you trapped here with him like this!”

“You, wha!? And what do you think you're even going to do about it!?” seethed Fiona “Besides get a matching hand print on your other ass cheek!”

Mica's mouth fell open in affront as she turned completely around to face Fiona.

“You ungrateful bitch!” she exclaimed as she glared up at the fuming dark elf “I'm trying to help you right now you stupid shit-skin!”

“Help me!? You're not helping me at all you little idiot!” cried Fiona as she balled her hands into fists and loomed over the smaller female “All you're doing is ruining everything we just did for you! ...And what the fuck did you just call me!?”

“What's the matter!?” sneered Mica as she mockingly waved her knife back and forth to indicate Fiona's ears “Are those stupid looking ears of yours not working!?”

Fiona froze mid-comeback as the room was suddenly filled with an intense bone-chilling malice.

“Point that knife at her again.” threatened Anton as he leveled his inflamed open palm at Mica “And I will blast your head right off your shoulders.”

Her eyes going wide at the sight of the ethereal flames, Mica grimaced in annoyance before scowling at Anton.

“Fine...” she said in a calm tone as she turned away from Fiona and re-took her stance as she fully faced him again “I've got a better target for it anyway...”

Anton stared at her for a moment before dropping his aura.

“Well this has been a morning of non-stop surprises...” he grumbled as he dispelled the flames at his hand and let his arm fall back to his side “Somebody really needs to tell me what is going on in here before I-!”

“We aren't telling you crap!” exclaimed Mica as she replanted her feet in front of the dark elves “You come any closer and you'll be kissing this blade!”

Anton stared at her for a moment before looking up at a clearly seething Fiona, and then shifting his gaze over to an absolutely miserable looking Kianna.

“Kianna...” he called in a calm tone.

“Ah! Yes!” chirped the dark elf as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards.

“...I would really like to know what's going on in here.” said Anton as he crossed his arms over his chest “So do you think you could answer some questions for me?”

“Uh, yeah, sure!” replied the dark elf as she flattened her ears down submissively behind her head.

“Good, that's good.” nodded Anton “Okay then. To start things off, the first thing I would really like to know is... Why, exactly, does Mica have a knife?”

“...Uh, that! ...I don't really know anything about that?” whimpered Kianna after a moment of hesitation “I don't even know how that happened!? We definitely didn't give it to her though!”

“...Alright. Well, that's good to know that you didn't just give it to her, I suppose.” mumbled Anton “So then, do you at least know why she isn't wearing her straitjacket anymore?”

“...Yes. ...It's because, we took it off of her.” answered Kianna as her eyes drifted over to where the discarded straight-jacket was still laying on the floor.

“...I see.” said Anton as he nodded slowly and followed her gaze to the straitjacket “...And why, exactly, did you do that?”

“Okay! Look! This was all my idea! Okay!” cried Fiona.

“Of course it was...” grumbled Anton as he shook his head “Naturally I assumed you had to be behind this, Fiona... I mean, who else but you could have the brilliance to come up with a plan as ingenious as setting the assassin free, and than allowing her to arm herself...”

Taken aback, Fiona grimaced as she looked down at the floor.

“I swear, Fiona...” continued Anton as he began to rub his eyes in frustration “You are without question your own worst enemy...”

Her expression turning sorrowful, Fiona began to nervously run her hand up and down her left arm as she flattened her ears down behind her head.

“She's not the only one who did it though! We both let her go! Not just Fiona! And we can explain!” cried Kianna as she began to speak rapidly “We thought about it and we figured that just letting Mica go might actually be the best idea!”

“Right!” nodded Fiona as she began to speak at the same pace “Listen! We thought that since you won't kill Mica, and you don't really think you can actually help her, then the next best thing would be for her to just disappear all together! That way everything just, kind of solves itself!”

“She won't be your problem anymore! You could just forget about this whole thing!” explained Kianna “Mica could go and get everything else straightened out! And with her gone, she'd be safe, and you wouldn't have to deal with her anymore! So this really will solve everything!”

“...What? Wait, that? ...Girls that plan doesn't solve anything!” exclaimed Anton as confusion marred his face “Mica isn't going to be able to just go get everything straightened out! And she won't be safe at all! In fact, dark elves and torture aside, this is actually the safest place for her to be right now. Her not being here isn't going to make her family want to kill her any less. They'll hunt her down as soon as she leaves. They're probably already looking for her as we speak.”

“...Uh, well, yeah. She wouldn't really be safe from them. ...At least not right away.” mumbled Kianna as she looked down at the kiochi.

Anton tilted his head as he narrowed his eyes and cocked an eyebrow at the dark elf.

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“Than what are you even talking about?” he asked “What is she going to be safe from?”

“They're talking about you!” declared Mica as she pointed her knife up at Anton's face “They were saving me from you!”

“Me?” questioned Anton.

“Yeah, you!” exclaimed Mica “They know a heartless bastard like you is gonna rip me apart and put me in a jar! So they helped me escape!”

“Yes. Which was an effort you completely fucking ruined!” seethed Fiona as she again, smacked the back of the kiochi's head “You little idiot!”

“Ow! Stop that!” snapped Mica as she kept her eyes locked on Anton.

“Wait? Seriously?” asked Anton as he looked back up at the dark elves “Is that really the reason you let her go?”

The dark elves both glanced at each other before sheepishly nodding.

“...Yeah, kinda.” they both mumbled in unison.

“...Okay, hold on! What happened in here!?” exclaimed Anton as he waved his hands around in question “An hour ago you two wanted to either bend her half, or kill her yourself! And now out of nowhere you both want to save her? Why!? What did I miss!? What suddenly changed your minds?”

Mica couldn't help but to peek back at the dark elves herself as she and Anton both waited for them to answer.

Fiona and Kianna looked at each other again and stopped short as they both tried to start speaking at the same time.

“Look. We knew this was gonna make you mad. And we wouldn't have done it if we didn't think we needed to...” started Fiona as she glared down at Mica “...Argh! You know this would be so much easier if you had just stayed gone, Mica! You fucking liar!”

“Wha, I'm not a liar!” argued the incensed kiochi.

“Uh! Yeah you are!” exclaimed Fiona “You promised us you wouldn't come back! And yet, look at where you are now. Right now! How are you not a liar!?”

“Because I didn't come back!” snapped Mica “I never left! So that means I technically didn't come back! I was always here!”

“...Seriously!?” growled Fiona as her face became twisted with rage “That's how you're going to play this!?”

“Hm. Typical Infernal. Forever twisting their words.” mumbled Anton as he shook his head “This is exactly why it's so hard to take anything they say at face value. If they can turn things around on you for their own benefit, they will, every single time. You can see it right here. You girls apparently trusted her to leave, and I'm sure she was nice enough to step out of sight for you. But then you turned your back, even if it was just for one moment, and here she is again. She never really left. Oh, and look at this, now she has a knife...”

“Shut up! I'm not twisting shit!” cried Mica “And I'm not a liar!”

“Then what are you, Mica? And what are you doing?” asked Anton “They let you go, so why are you still here? Why did you stay?”

Mica said nothing as she merely stared back at him.

“...Let me venture a guess.” said Anton in a calm tone as he kept his eyes locked to the kiochi's “You're here because your mission isn't over yet, is it?”

Taken aback, Mica blinked as she tightened her grip on her knife.

“...That's what I thought. These girls let you go and of course this is how you respond. You instantly turn around and try to kill again.” said Anton as the ethereal flames reappeared in the palms of his hands “You're just a murderous little monster that's as predictable as the rest. Oh well. This was a good lesson for them. And now, I'm going to teach you your own lesson. I'll need to make this quick though, so I can get back to work on solving the rest of the problems you've created.”

Mica involuntarily cringed back from the flames, but rather than moving to avoid them entirely. She instead took her knife in one hand and stretched her other arm out to block the dark elves behind her.

Anton couldn't help but to hesitate in surprise as the kiochi, still refusing to abandon her place in front of the dark elves, spread her wings back out to their fullest and readied herself to fight.

“Wait! Wait!” cried Kianna as she wrapped her arms around Mica's neck and shoulders “Don't hurt her! Please!”

“Just hold on! She's just stupid!” exclaimed Fiona as she put an arm out across Mica's front and pulled her back and away from Anton “You don't have to do this!”

“What are you doing!?” shouted Mica as she tried to pull away from the dark elves surprisingly strong holds “Get off me! Let me go!”

“Girls! Get away from her!” roared Anton “She is going to stab you!”

Mica continued to struggle as the dark elves blinked in confusion and glanced at each other.

“What?” questioned Kianna as she turned back to Anton “No, she's not?”

“It's fine. This stupid little bitch isn't gonna hurt us.” mumbled Fiona “Watch.”

“Ow! Ow! Stop it!” screamed Mica as Fiona began to forcefully yank on and then twist her ear.

“See. She's not going to do anything.” mocked Fiona as she grinned down at the glaring kiochi and then flicked her on the nose.

“Bitch!” snapped Mica as she brandished her knife “I will fucking stab you!”

“You do and you will regret it!” threatened Anton as he level his palm at her head “Get away from her Fiona! She is going to hurt you!”

“She's not though!” claimed Fiona “Look at her! She's not trying to hurt us!”

“Only because she knows that if she does I will incinerate her head!” exclaimed Anton “Now will you both, please! Stop messing around, and move away from the armed assassin!”

Fiona and Kianna went still for a moment before slowly looking at each other.

“Argh! We can't!” whined Kianna as she tightened her hold on the kiochi “Look! You don't understand! Mica is an idiot. But she's not gonna hurt us, okay! Or try to kill you again. She's done! And, really, she's not actually like that at all!”

“...What are you talking about, Kianna? She's exactly like that! She just tried to kill me again as soon as I stepped into the room!” stated Anton as he locked eyes with the kiochi “And she's not going to stop trying until her mission is over.”

“What? No, she... Wait, did you really do that!?” questioned Kianna as she looked down at the kiochi.

“...Um, kinda.” muttered Mica as she grimaced and looked away “It's not what you think though!”

“Seriously!? Dammit to Hell, Mica! You promised you wouldn't try that again!” roared Fiona.

“No I didn't!” cried Mica as she pointed her knife at Anton “I never said I wouldn't kill this motherfucker!”

“Bad Mica! Bad! Bad! Bad! Bad!” chastised Kianna as she brought her hand down and chopped the kiochi on top of her head over and over again “Stop pointing your knife at him!”

“Ow! Dammit! Stop hitting me!” growled Mica.

“Then stop trying to kill our Master!” exclaimed Kianna “Do you want to end up getting punished again!”

“Oh, I'm afraid we're long past that point, Kianna.” said Anton as the flames at his hands flared angrily “As it is, I've already got more than enough reasons to punish her...”

The eyes of the dark elves and the kiochi all went wide at the sight of the growing, golden fires.

“Though, thinking about it... Searing off the first few layers of her flesh may be a bit too severe for a first time punishment... And I'd rather not waste a radiant potion on repairing her if I don't have to...” mused Anton as he narrowed his eyes at Mica “So instead... Maybe I'll just waterboard her a little...”

“...You! Wha, what!?” croaked Mica.

“Yes, that should work well actually. It's a nice, solid form of torture that doesn't actually generate any real damage. And it's also something I can multi-task with. So really it's just perfect.” reasoned Anton as he continued to eye Mica “Then again... I do have these flames ready... Be a shame to waste them...”

Tightening her grip on her knife, Mica made a small sound in the back of her throat as she stared at the dancing flames.

“No! Hold on! You can't do that!” whimpered Kianna as she pulled Mica in closer and hugged the kiochi to herself.

“Yeah! Just, wait a second!” exclaimed Fiona as she put her hands up “This, this is all our fault! Okay! We're the one's who let her go! She wouldn't have done any of this if we didn't let her out!”

“That, that's right! We're the one's who were supposed to watch her! And we let her out!” nodded Kianna.

“See! It's all our fault! So you can't punish her! If you're going to be mad at anybody, than be mad at us! You can't just punish her for what we did! Not unless you're going to punish us too!” declared Fiona “Right, Kianna!”

“Right! That's... Uh! W-wait!” stammered Kianna as she blinked in uncertainty and turned back to her sister “Hold on? ...We what now!?”

“It's only fair!” stated Fiona as she locked eyes with her sister “He can't just punish Mica because we were the one's who let her go! So we're the one's at fault here! ...Right, Kianna!?”

Staring back at Fiona for a moment, Kianna's shoulders slumped in defeat and with a frustrated sigh she nodded her head.

“Yeah... We did it...” she mumbled “We let her go...”

“Right! So there you go!” cried Fiona as she turned back to Anton and stood up straight “If you're going to punish Mica! Then you're going to have to punish us too!”

“Okay.” nodded Anton “That sounds fine to me.”

The dark elves both went still for a long moment as they stared back at him.

“...So? Wait? Are you saying, okay, you're not going to punish her?” asked Fiona as her expression became hopeful.

“No, of course not. I'm saying, okay, I agree with punishing you two as well.” said Anton “Even with setting my anger at Mica aside, I'm still absolutely furious with the both of you. And I was already planning on punishing you both for betraying my trust in you, and risking your lives by setting Mica free. I honestly can't even believe you two would so foolishly put yourselves in mortal danger like that. It really is just mind boggling. And I am going to make sure that you two know better than to ever make another very poor decision like this again. You two are both going to learn to think twice from this mistake. And I do guarantee that.”

“...Oh.” gulped both of the dark elves in unison as they slowly flattened their ears back behind their heads.

“And since I am a bit pressed for time today. What with all the phone calls I have to make... This idea of just punishing all three of you together actually works out better for me.” continued Anton as he closed his fist and dispelled the flames in his hand “So then. I think it's best if we just begin this immediately. That way we can be done with it.”

“...Wha, wait! What are you gonna do to us!?” exclaimed Fiona as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards in panic.

“I already told you. I'm going to waterboard you.” repeated Anton “For you two it should be an intense, though fairly painless experience. Yet one that you will definitely not enjoy. For Mica however, as an Infernal, it'll be a true torture in every way. And as it is also something I can do to you while I'm on the phone, it will, as I've said already, work out just perfectly for me.”

The two dark elves faces went several shades lighter in color as they looked at each other.

“Wait! Are you being serious about this!? Are you really gonna waterboard us” cried Fiona as she and Kianna both turned back to Anton.

“Yes.” said Anton in a nonchalant tone “Unless of course you can give me a really good reason why I shouldn't?”

“Pfft! I got your reason right here!” exclaimed Mica as she pulled away from a now distracted Kianna.

Everyone's eyes fell to her as she smiled viciously and pointed her knife up at Anton.

“There are 3 of us and only 1 of you!” mocked Mica “So you even try anything like that and we'll take you down like the motherfucker you are!”

“Oh, really now...” nodded Anton as he looked up at the dark elves “And do you two agree with this?”

“Hell no! Don't listen to her! She's crazy!” cried Fiona as she looked from Mica to him and back “Shut the Hell up, Mica!”

“What, no! We can win this!” cried Mica “Listen! If we team up we can totally take him down! You two just need to make him afraid of you, and then I'll take him out! It'll be easy!”

“Oh! Well now! That's actually not a bad plan.” nodded Anton “I for one, am certainly interested in seeing how well it's going to work out.”

The dark elves both went stiff as they looked back up at him.

Anton wore a small, amused looking smile on his face as he tilted his head to the side and cracked his neck in a seemingly menacing manner.

“...Oh! Fuck this!” exclaimed Fiona as she reached out and grabbed hold of Mica by wrapped one arm around her neck and clamped her other hand over the surprised kiochi's mouth “Shut up, shut up you little idiot!”

Mica immediately began to struggle and flap her wings wildly as she was pulled in and held clutched against Fiona's chest.

Anton stared at the struggling duo for a moment before shifting his gaze over to Kianna.

The miserable looking dark elf immediately hunched in on herself as their eyes met.

“You know, you really need to stop letting your sister talk you into things.” said Anton in a calm tone as he gave her a soft smile “Now, did you have anything else to say for yourself? Maybe some explanation for your poor decisions? ...Or perhaps you'd like to tell me why you decided to change your mind about Mica?”

Kianna tightened her ears together behind her head as she grimaced and glanced at the kiochi.

“I, I didn't really change my mind. I just... You don't understand! Mica is... She's, she's really confused. She's stupid too! Which is what makes this so much harder! But she's not, really... evil? Well, she is! But not like, actually evil. And I helped her because... Because I think, maybe, I shouldn't have done... Argh! I don't think I should have hurt her as bad as I did last night! Okay! I was angry, and I was too rough with her, she doesn't really deserve this...” explained Kianna as her expression became laced with sorrow and regret “You really don't understand! She really is confused right now! Like seriously confused! I don't even know if she understands why she's even still here! I really don't think she does!”

“...I'm not sure why you seem to think she's so confused, Kianna?” said Anton as he raised an eyebrow and looked over at the kiochi “Her motivations seem pretty easy to understand. She wants to complete her mission, by killing me.”

“No! Kianna's right! You don't get it! Mica never really wanted to kill you! Like you personally! Or anybody!” exclaimed Fiona as she fought to hold the kiochi in place “All she wants is for her family to accept her! So she can be one of them! And she thought she had to kill somebody to do this! But she knows she was wrong! And she is sorry! Right, Mica!? You're sorry, aren't you!?”

“Fuck no!” cried Mica as her mouth was released and she looked back over her shoulder to glare at the dark elf.

“See, she-! Why you little shit! Yes you are!” exclaimed Fiona as she began to rapidly smack the back of the kiochi's head with her now free hand “Now say it! Say you're sorry!”

“Stop it!” cried Mica as she tried to beat the dark elf away by slapping at her with her wings “No! I'm not sorry!”

“Dammit! Mica! Just tell him you're sorry!” exclaimed Fiona as she continued to smack the kiochi whilst throwing her head back in an effort to avoid being slapped by her flapping wings “Just say it!”

“No! Never!” shouted Mica as she tried to duck her head away from the dark elf's assault.

After watching the duo's antics for a moment, Anton began to slowly shake his head.

“You know, Mica. The girls are tying very hard to argue on your behalf. And honestly, I'm still not sure why?” said Anton as he folded his arms back over his chest and gave the kiochi a thoughtful look “You don't seem to be too interested in helping their case. And yet they still insist that there is more to you than what I'm seeing... I just don't know if I can believe that though...”

“I don't give a crap what you believe!” declared Mica as she shifted her glare to him “And I don't know why they do either! When all you're going to do is sell them! You heartless fuck!”

“...What? Excuse me?” questioned Anton as his face shifted to a look of surprise “What did you say?”

“I said you're a heartless fuck!” cried Mica “And you are! These two are sisters, and they love each other, and they need each other! And you wanna separate them! You ass! But I won't let you do it! You come anywhere near these elves again and I'll slaughter you!”

Blinking in surprise, both Fiona and Kianna were taken aback as they looked down at the kiochi who was now openly defending them.

“They let me go and tried to save me because they know they can't save themselves! They know they can't trust you. They know they're fucked! But none of that matters anymore... ” growled Mica as her face hardened in determination and she leveled her knife back at Anton “Because I won't let you touch them. And if you even try to, then I swear. I. Will. Kill you!”