Chapter 32 : Mid-Morning

Fiona grunted angrily as she dropped her arms in fatigue. Winded, she took several deep, frustrated breaths as she watched the ring of glowing, green light disappear from around her sister.

Kianna blew a heavy sigh out of her mouth in relief.

“Hey! Don't get comfortable over there!” declared Fiona as she pointed her ears straight back and glared at her sister “I'm not done yet!”

Kianna grimaced as her shoulders slumped.

The two dark elves were in the central area of the dungeon, just in front of the classroom. This section had most of its implements moved out of the way to leave a large open space that had now been converted into a training area where they could practice preforming their magical abilities.

Kianna currently stood in the center of this space. Although she didn't know it, she was at the moment currently facing her sister.

In accordance with the idea of “training” she was dressed in form fitting athletic garb that consisted of a tank top and tight fitting shorts that hugged her hips. Both items matched each other and were colored black with pink-colored stripes along their stitching.

She stood freely with her legs barely spread and her arms hanging loose at her sides. A thick black-colored, leather blindfold was placed over her eyes and had been buckled tightly around her head. This blindfold prevented her from either reacting to or resisting her sister's efforts to entrap her with a binding ring.

Fiona stood about four meters away from her sister. She was dressed in almost identical clothing, save for the fact that her's were colored a solid white.

Behind and off to the side of them sat Anton. He was in one of the high-backed chairs and was casually sipping from a mug of coffee as he watched them practice. Sitting on one of the bedside tables that had been placed next to him, was a ticking egg timer that would signal a change in turns once it went off.

“Why is this so hard now!?” exclaimed Fiona as she tried to shake the tension out of her shoulders “It wasn't this hard yesterday... What am I doing wrong?”

“It's the exact same ability.” said Anton with a chuckle “So there's no reason it should be any easier or harder than it was before.”

“It feels like it was easier though.” stated Fiona as she held her hands out in front of herself and flexed her fingers.

“Well, the only thing that's changed is your target... When you were targeting me it was easy, right?” reasoned Anton “But now that it's Kianna it's hard, so I'm guessing you wanted to target me, but don't feel the same way about your sister?”

“Aw! You actually do love me!” cried Kianna as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards and gave her a “happy” look “That's so sweet!”

“Nah. That doesn't make any sense either...” reasoned Fiona “After what she did to me, I definitely want to chain this bitch up.”

Kianna's jaw became set as her ears shifted themselves straight back in irritation.

“Hm... Well if that's not the issue...” mused Anton “It doesn't feel like your mana pool has been spent already... Which it shouldn't be. You haven't even done anything yet...”

Fiona absently ran the tip of her tongue over her teeth as she stared at her sister.

“It could be that you're just trying too hard...” said Anton as he took another sip from his mug “Maybe you should try to practice a different ability for now. See if that helps to get things flowing again. You could try making an aura field, or manifesting one of the new items you learned this morning. Like one of the whips.”

Kianna's head immediately swiveled towards the sound of his voice as her features scrunched up in worry.

“Wait! What did you just say!?” she cried as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards in panic “Don't tell her she can do that!”

“Oh! Okay!” cried Fiona as a wicked smile spread across her face “Yeah, I think I can do that!”

“W-what! No! Wait!” cried Kianna as her head turned back to face her sister and she raised her hands in a effort to stop the situation “Hold on a second!”

“One whip! Coming right up!” smiled Fiona as her eyes began to glow with excitement.

Raising her right hand, Fiona willed her aura to concentrate itself towards the center of her palm and forced it into the shape a ball as she brought it into near existence. Using a drop of her mana as a spark, she ignited the concentrated aura and burnt it into reality. The moment the ball of aura shifted into the physical world she took control of its form and immediately began to mold it into the shape that she desired. In a flash of ethereal light, the long leather-bound handle of a bullwhip took shape in the air in front of Fiona's hand. The handle was made of green, glowing light and appeared to be semi-transparent until she reached forward and took hold of it. In the instant she touched the handle, it made a direct link to her mana pool and took a solid form. Still green in color, the handle began to glow brighter as Fiona filled it with more of her power.

With her smile growing broader the dark elf raised the handle into the air and with the flair of a eager hand she swung the handle forwards and down. This motion caused the concentrated energy within the handle to snake outwards and form into a long, sinuous whip with two tiny flairs at its end. Fiona then quickly twisted her wrist around and brought the whip back in on itself. This quick motion caused the whip to snap back in an instant, creating its iconic sound as its now physical form sliced its way through the air.

Kianna jumped at the crack of the whip and immediately began to back away from the source of the terrifying sound.

“Wait! Wait, wait, wait!” she cried as she reached up and desperately tried to force the blindfold up and off of her eyes.

“Hey! How dare you!” growled Fiona “You aren't going anywhere!”

Fueled by the delicious taste of fear that was now hanging heavy in the air. Fiona raised her left hand and sent a stream of her power to flow outwards toward her sister turned prey.

Kianna jerked as she felt the sensation of two glowing, rings of green light suddenly winking into existence both around her shoulders and at her knees. Thin, vine-like glowing chains snaked their way out from the edges of both circles and immediately began to coil themselves around the dark elf trapped between them.

“Wait! Fiona! Stop it!” cried Kianna as she began to twist and struggle against the chains that were quickly wrapping themselves around her body. The poor blind dark elf became more and more frantic as she desperately tried to pull and yank the thin chains off and away from her limbs. Her struggles quickly proved to be useless as she was almost instantly overcome. Whimpering in fear, she thrashed her head and feet wildly as the rest of her body was stretched taunt and held in place by the relentless and ensnaring chains.

Smiling viciously, Fiona raised the whip and angled it to the side as she took aim at her sister. Just as she was about to strike, a shrill buzzing sound filled the air.

“Times up!” called Anton as he tapped the large shut off button on top of the egg timer.

“...Seriously!?” snarled Fiona as she looked from him to her sister and back “C'mon! Just one more minute!”

“Nope. You're done.” said Anton as he shook his head “Better luck next time.”

Kianna let loose a heavy sigh as she slumped in relief.

Irritation clear on her face, Fiona held her whip poised for a moment as she eyed her sister. She groaned in frustration as an orange glowing light bubble suddenly winked into existence around the entrapped dark elf and shielded her from the whip.

“Well this is some bullshit!” snapped Fiona as she tossed her whip away and let it melt into nothing.

“Damn right it is!” cried Kianna as her head snapped back up “I can't believe you were really gonna whip me!”

“What? Why is that hard to believe?” asked Fiona as she cocked her hip and folded her arms over her chest.

“...It's- I'm your fucking sister you bitch!” cried Kianna as she pointed her ears straight back behind her head “How could you even think about doing that to me!?”

“Meh, it's not like you'd die from it.” shrugged Fiona as she turned away from her sister and dispelled the chains that were holding her in place “Might get a few welts out of it at worst... Hell, you might even look kinda cute with a few stripes across your ass!”

Chuckling, Anton let the bubble around Kianna vanish as he took a sip from his mug.

“Well I guess we're gonna find out how you look with stripes first!” raged Kianna as she reached behind her head and struggled to unbuckle the blindfold “...I'll show you some welts!”

“...Uh. Hey, wait! No!” exclaimed Fiona as she turned to Anton “She can't whip me!”

“Why not?” asked Anton as he cocked an eyebrow “You were just about to whip her. So I don't see how it's fair that she can't whip you.”

“But, but you! You were the one who told me to do it!” cried Fiona.

“I never told you to do anything.” said Anton as he shook his head “I suggested that you try making a whip. But I never told you to use it. You were the one who took it to that point.”

“...No! You! But!” stammered Fiona as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards in panic “...Oh shit!”

“Oh, yeah! You are gonna get it good!” growled Kianna as she continued to fight with the blindfold “I am gonna welt your ass up until you look like a fucking tiger!”

Anton chuckled again as he watched Fiona's eyes widen with fear.

“Wait, Kianna, just hold on! You-!” cried Fiona before she and Kianna both suddenly went completely still.

“...What is that!?” exclaimed Kianna as looked off towards the front of the house “...Are you doing that, Fiona!?”

“No?” said Fiona as she turned to face the same direction as her sister “...That's not me.”

“...Master?” questioned Kianna as her ears twitched in uncertainty “...Is that you?”

“Nope, it's not me either.” mumbled Anton as he downed the last of his coffee and set the mug aside “Hm... Well, it looks like you're going to get lucky again, Fiona. As usual...”

“Huh? Why?” questioned Fiona as Anton rose from his seat and went to help Kianna with the blindfold “What's happening!?”

“What's happening.” said Anton as he took hold of Kianna's shoulders and turned her around to face away from him “Is that it looks like we're going to be taking a quick recess.”

“Why!?” snapped Kianna as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards “What's going on!?”

“Hold on, calm down.” said Anton as Kianna twisted her head back and forth “Just think about it for one second. What could it possibly be that would suddenly start triggering alarm bells in your heads?”

The dark elves were silent for a moment before as one they both gasped in understanding.

“The ward!” they cried out in unison.

“Exactly.” smiled Anton as he glanced over at the stone totem still sitting on his desk.

“Somebodies coming!” cried Kianna as her ears trained themselves in the direction she now knew the trespassers were coming from.

“There's 2 of them!” exclaimed Fiona as she stared off towards the disturbance “...And they're coming closer!”

“Yes. It looks like we have some guests about to come down the driveway...” explained Anton as he worked to unbuckled the blindfold “And since we don't want to be rude to anyone who's going to make the trip all the way out here... Let's be quick, get upstairs, and go see what it is that they want...”

Anton, Kianna and Fiona all stepped out onto the front porch just as a sleek, silver limousine came to a stop in the circular driveway. Making their way down to stand at the head of the walkway that lead to the drive, they watched as the driver side door opened and a massive being rose up to tower over the top of the vehicle. It was unmistakably clear by just the sight of him that this impressive being was a large, male sasquatch.

Simian-like in appearance, with facial features that were a blend of a human and an ape, the sasquatch had an almost cone shaped head with a sloping brow, small human-like ears and dark, deep set eyes. He had very little neck to speak of, as his head sat almost directly atop his broad four foot wide shoulders. This however, took nothing away from the fact that he was still quite the giant, as he stood at just under eight and a half feet tall at his full height. The general shape of his body was similar to that of an over-sized human, though his limbs were off in their proportions; as his arms were exceptionally longer than a humans would be and hung down low enough to reach his knees. Also unlike a human, the vast majority of his body, save for around his face, ears and the palms and soles of his feet, was covered in a layer of hair that was colored a ruddy, reddish brown and had thin bands of silver at the tips. Very little of this hair could be seen at the moment though, due to the formfitting black-colored suit and massive, polished dress shoes that he wore as his chauffeurs uniform.

Making his way around the front of the limo, the sasquatch quickly and covertly glanced at the waiting group as he made a beeline for the back passenger door. Though he was moving at a quick pace, his size alone was enough to give him the ability to cover the distance between the front of the long vehicle and his destination in a mere stride and a half.

Standing at attention just before the door, he swung a long arm forward and hooked a single finger into the latch before gently swinging it outwards and holding it open.

From within the dark recess of the limo slipped out a long, feminine leg clad in dark purple slacks and wearing a short heeled, dress boot. And this was quickly followed by the rest of an adult female dark elf, as she stepped out of the vehicle and stood tall and opposing before Anton and the sisters.

“Fuck...” whispered Fiona in a tone that was leaking with irritation “It's Mom...”

Standing as tall as Anton, Olivia Vale stood nearly a full head above both Fiona and Kianna in height. As a dark elf, she was similar to them in appearance, though she did seem to be all around larger than them in size. This was due in part to her hair which, although the same bright white in color, was far longer than either of her daughters. And as it cascaded down to her lower back, it greatly accentuated her height. Her figure was far more pronounced and developed than theirs as well; as even hidden beneath the dark purple dress suit and white undershirt she was wearing, her fuller bust and wider hips were more than obvious. Her piercing, ruby-colored eyes radiated with annoyance as they slowly shifted from one daughter to the other and then landed on Anton.

Anton returned her gaze for a moment before glancing to his left to check on Fiona. The dark elf was clearly making an effort to keep the hatred out of her eyes as she stared unblinkingly at Olivia. Although still resting at their relaxed positions, her ears had a slight twitch to them that made it clear that she wanted to point them straight back. Her balled up fists dried up any more lingering doubts that she was far from happy to see her mother.

Grinning to himself, Anton shifted his eyes to Kianna and blinked as he found her standing rigidly and nearly trembling. With her jaw clenched tight and her eyes wide and locked onto her mother, the poor dark elf's nervousness was more than obvious.

With the grin quickly fading from his face, Anton's expression became stoic as he flared his aura out towards her and wrapped her within its calming embrace.

Kianna blinked as she immediately recognized the soothing warmth that suddenly surrounded her. Turning to Anton she found him staring directly at her mother with a look of fearlessness in his eyes. Gazing at him for a moment, she couldn't help but to let a thin smile spread across her face. Without a word, she took a sideways step and let the tension in her shoulders melt away as she stood closer to him.

“Good morning.” greeted Anton as he kept his eyes locked to Olivia's “A bit of a surprise to get a visitor this far out in the middle of nowhere. Is there something I can help you with?”

Olivia said nothing as she continued to stare in silence. After a moment of stillness, she shifted her gaze back to first one daughter and then the other as she let her eyes linger on the collars wrapped around their necks.

“...You're a newer one, aren't you?” she asked as she tilted her head towards the sasquatch “...What was your name again?”

“Uh, Joel, Ma'am!” answered the sasquatch “Joel Slawken.”

“Well, “Joel'” said Olivia as she focused back on Anton and tightened her eyes “I need to have a conversation with my daughters. So I'd like you to go ahead and put them in the car for me. And while you're doing that, I would appreciate it if you went over there and smashed in that man's head as well.”

“...Eh, excuse me!?” questioned Joel as he blinked down at her.

“...I said, be a dear. Gather my daughters. And smash that man's head for me.” repeated Olivia with a sigh “And do try to be quick about it.”

“...I, uh, I!” stammered Joel as he blinked in incomprehension.

Olivia's eyes tightened further as she glanced up at him.

“Is there a problem, Joel?” she asked as her voice became lanced with annoyance “This is not a complicated request, Joel.”

“...It's! Uh, Ma'am! With all due respect. Violence is not something I was contracted for.” stammered Joel.

“Oh, is that so.” said Olivia “So are you saying you weren't contracted to follow my orders as they were given to you?”

“...I, ...well?” said Joel “...That's, different!”

“How so?” asked Olivia.

“...Look, I'm sorry, Ma'am, but I'm afraid I'm just not comfortable with this request.” stated Joel.

“...And?” asked Olivia “...Is that supposed to matter?”

The sasquatch blinked as she stared him down.

“Because it doesn't.” stated Olivia as she shifted her gaze back to Anton “Do it, now, or you won't have a job by the end of the day.”

Joel stared at her for a moment before following her gaze to Anton.

“...Alright then.” he mumbled softly as he moved away from the limo “I understand.”

Anton cocked his head as the sasquatch took one long stride after another as he started towards him.

“Listen, Buddy.” said Joel as he put his hands up in a bid for understanding “I'm not sure what exactly is going on here between you all. But, unfortunately, it looks like I'm gong to have to get involved...”

“Ah, I see.” nodded Anton as the sasquatch came to a stop a few giant steps away “That's unfortunate.”

“It is. And this is nothing personal. I really have no idea what's going on.” stated Joel as he cracked his knuckles “Orders are orders though, friend. And I got mouths to feed.”

“No, no I understand. It is what it is.” said Anton as he nodded up at the giant standing before him and raised his left hand while shrugging “And same to you by the way... Nothing personal.”

Joel couldn't help but to grin as he took in the smugness on Anton's face.

“Look. I don't want to do this. So do me a favor, friend.” mumbled Joel as he took another step forward “When you go down, I'd appreciate it if you'd just stay down.”

“Mm...” smiled Anton as he readied the fingers on his left hand and made as if he was about to snap them “Likewise, friend...”

Both men froze where they stood and locked eyes as a sudden heaviness filled the air around them.

“How dare you...” came an angry whisper from behind Anton “How dare you threaten my Master!”

Joel's eyes instantly jumped to Kianna and went wide as he took in the sight of her glowing irises.

“Get the Hell away from him!” growled Kianna as she stepped forward to stand in front of Anton.

Raising an eyebrow in surprise, Anton leaned back a bit as the dark elf took a protective stance in front of him.

Unsure of what to do or how to react to this situation, Joel merely stared at Kianna for a moment before turning back to Anton.

“Okay... So, uh. You just gonna let her fight for ya then?” he asked as he pointed down at Kianna.

“...You know what?” mused Anton as he lowered his hand “...I think I just might.”

“Wait, seriously!?” said Joel as he shook his head “C'mon! This is already a nightmare! I really don't want to deal with this!”

“Then walk away!” growled Kianna as she pointed her ears straight back and set her jaw “While you still can!”

“...Alright. Listen, lady. You do realize you're not even half my size, right?” mumbled Joel as he crossed his arms and looked down his nose at the much smaller dark elf “I can literally just reach over your head and punch that guy behind you.”

“Try it!” snarled Kianna as she let her aura thicken and fill with even more power.

Seemingly unfazed by her display of power, Joel stared at her for another moment before twisting at the waist and turning back to look at Olivia.

“Ma'am!” he called as he indicated Kianna “I'm not sure how you want me to handle this?”

“I want you to handle it quickly. If she's going to be an idiot, then treat her like any other idiot!” muttered Olivia “Just slap her to sleep, throw her in the trunk and be done with it!”

“Try that!” threatened Fiona as she pointed her ears straight back and let her own aura flare out to join with her sister's “And see what happens!”

Stiffening from the sensation of the now two swirling auras, Joel turned to Anton as if asking for help but found him seemingly preoccupied as he looked from one dark elf to the other.

“...Hm, no influence in the auras. ...Not even any malice. ...We'll have to work on that.” muttered Anton to himself as he continued to gaze at the dark elves “Can't expect a warning to come across right if there's no weight behind it...”

“Alright! You know what! Fine!” declared Joel as he let his arms fall to his sides “I'm done with this!”

Taking the last step forward, the sasquatch balled his hand into a fist and swung his long right arm right over Kianna's head.

Lifting his eyes up from where he had been looking at Fiona, Anton was just in time to see a massive fist come flying in towards his face. Before he could react himself however, a pink bubble erupted into existence around him.

“Whoa!” cried Joel as he was thrown backwards by the bubble taking shape “What in the name of Hell!?”

Catching his balance he glowered down at Kianna as she stared back up at him in challenge from the other side of her bubble. Registering the ferocity in her eyes, Joel set his jaw and pulled his arm back before slamming his fist into the bubble.

Kianna didn't even blink as her bubble was rocked by the impact. His irritation getting the better of him, Joel reeled back and began to punch the bubble again and again until finally a crack suddenly appeared across its surface. Spurred on by this, he redoubled his efforts and caused the crack to grow in size until the bubble seemed to be about to shatter. Pulling his arm back for one final punch, he was shocked when his fist slammed into a suddenly fully reformed shield.

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Anton blinked in surprise as he looked up at the new, and much larger bubble that had taken shape around him. Unlike the thin, smooth surface of its predecessor, this bubble had become a sort of reinforced dome made up of hexagonal plates that fit together in a honeycomb-like pattern. Although this was of course unexpected, what really caused Anton to pause was the fact that unlike every other aura field he had ever seen, this dome was not a single solid color.

The plates that made up the dome, were an alternating pink and green.

“...Okay, now this!” breathed Anton as he looked down at the two dark elves standing together in front of him “Is different...”

“You can't get in! So just leave!” commanded Kianna as she continued to glare up at the sasquatch.

Setting his jaw in resolve, Joel aimed right for her face as he slammed his fist into the dome.

Unfazed by the assault, the two dark elves merely watched the giant ape man attack their dome over and over for several moments before finally reaching the end of their patience.

“...Fiona.” whispered Kianna as her aura began to swell within the cramped space of the dome “I'm done with this!”

“Bout time!” muttered Fiona as she nodded and let her eyes fall to their mother “Make this monkey pay. And don't worry. I'll watch her.”

“Thank you.” said Kianna as she relaxed her jaw.

Anton remained still and barely even breathed as he watched the tension slowly melt away from both of the two dark elves.

Registering their sudden change in demeanor, Joel stopped his assault against the dome and looked down at the dark elves as they let their faces go blank and their ears return to their relaxed positions. Unable but to feel uneasy with the eerie calmness that was being projected from them, he took an involuntary step back and away from the dome.

“...Wait?” muttered the sasquatch as he took another step back “...What the Hell is this!?”

In response, the dark elves glanced at each another, dissolved their dome and unleashed their concentrated auras.

All three of the spectators froze where they stood as a wave of power flowed outwards from the sisters and filled the entire area with their presence. Immediately, this area became cold and still, as though all the air within it had instantly become frozen. And this chill was made even more pronounced as an unnatural shadowed effect enveloped the land and the light started to dim and fade from the world itself. Even the sun above turned traitor as it began to shift to an angry reddish color and the sky around it began to darken into a foreboding purple hue.

Joel grunted in surprise as he took another step back and put his hands up in front of himself.

Before him, right where there had just been two dark elves, now stood a pair of living nightmares.

Fiona and Kianna had vanished, and standing in their places were two monstrosities that appeared as solid black silhouettes that were completely featureless save for their red, brightly glowing eyes.

His own eyes wide in shock, Anton stared at the dark elves for a moment before looking up at the darkening sky.

“This, is certainly interesting...” he whispered to himself as he nodded slowly “Hopefully, this doesn't mean that they've lost control of themselves...”

Joel made a small sound in his throat as Kianna slowly turned her head away from where she had been looking at her sister and locked her glowing eyes to his. Before he could react any further a series of seven pink-colored glowing rings suddenly winked into existence around him. Two at his torso, one around his short neck and two around each arm.

“What the-!” he cried as thick bodied chains shot out from each of the rings and instantly ensnared him. Planting his feet, Joel immediately pulled back against the stout chains with all his might as he tried to escape from both them and the terrifying beings that stood before him. This proved to be a pointless effort however, as even for such a naturally strong being, the rings refused to budge from where they currently hung in midair.

Back at the limo, Olivia went to take a half step back and away from her daughters but was stopped short as a series of green glowing rings suddenly surrounded her as well. Pointing her ears straight upwards in surprise, the encircled dark elf blinked in uncertainty as thin bars took shape between the rings and connected them together to create an actual cage.

Tightening her eyes in anger, Olivia shifted her gaze away from the cage she now found herself trapped within and locked eyes with the monstrosity that had been, only moments ago, her daughter Fiona.

Grunting in frustration, and now due to the chains wrapped around his short neck, struggling for breath, Joel continued to fight as he ignored the growing strain in his limbs. Despite the thick bands of musculature that wrapped around his arms, the sasquatch's strength proved to be no match for the magic of the rings that bound him. And unable to hold them in place, he could do nothing as the rings around his arms began to move and pull his limbs out to his sides.

With his arms now being held stretched out on either side of him, Joel threw his head back and bellowed in panic as the chains that were wrapped around his neck and torso began to tighten. Preoccupied with his struggles, he was caught off guard when the rings all suddenly moved as one and forced him to lurch forward.

Falling to his knees, the sasquatch's eyes went wide in surprise as the minute breath he could barely manage to maintain suddenly became caught in his throat.

Standing right in front of him, was Kianna.

With Joel down on his knees the dark elf could now look him directly in the eyes. And a bone-chilling sense of cold horror gripped the panicking ape's pounding heart as a wide, sinister smile slowly spread itself across her otherwise blackened face.

“N-no! W-wait!” grunted Joel as he was forced to stare into the fiery pits that were Kianna's glowing eyes “H-help me! Somebody! H-help me!”

Furious at this outcome, Olivia set her jaw and balled her fists but before she could do more than that the bars that surrounded her suddenly split apart right across their middle. The dark elf was forced to move back into the center of her cage as the bars, all at once, shifted inwards and pointed themselves directly at her.

“If you move again.” threatened a voice that seemed to come from nowhere “You will die as well.”

Olivia's eyes shot to Fiona and finding her daughter staring right back at her she couldn't help but to point her ears straight back and scowl in anger. Her eyes tightened even further as she glanced back down at the glowing bars that surrounded her and watched as their tips sharpened and became pointed.

“No! N-no!” cried Joel as he desperately tried to pull away from the terrifying being in front of him “Please! S-stop!”

A thicker panic set in as he felt the chains around his torso become even tighter as they forced the last of the air right out of his lungs. Choking on his own breath, he rolled his head back and stared upwards as heavy tears began to form in his bloodshot eyes.

“...P-please! N-no! Not like! ...Jenna! ...My love! ...I, I'm, s-sorry!” croaked Joel as his tears began to roll down his cheeks “...M-my boys! ...Daddy, l-loves you! ...Always!”

Kianna's smile faded from her face as she watched the sasquatch spasm in his binds. Though she hesitated, the chains remained tight around him as her eyes narrowed in resolve.

Desperate to live, Joel continued to fight feebly and gibber incomprehensibly for nearly another minute before his strength finally failed him. Going still and hanging limp from the rings that held him up, he sucked in what little breath he could manage and continued to make faint gasping sounds as a large wet stain began to spread out from his crotch and soak his pants.

As Kianna watched the last bits of life struggle to cling on in Joel's eyes, she couldn't help but to stiffen in surprise as she felt a hand come to rest on her shoulder.

“Kianna.” said Anton as he leaned in close to her ear “I never gave you permission to kill him.”

The dark elf's eyes went wide as she balled her hands into fists.

“Release him.” commanded Anton as he tightened his grip on her shoulder “Now.”

Kianna hesitated for a moment before bowing her head. She suddenly looked normal again as the blackness that surrounded her disappeared in what seemed like a puff of smoke that erupted away from her body.

“But he attacked you!” she snarled through her clenched teeth “He deserves to die for that!”

“That's not your choice to make.” said Anton in a calm and even tone “Now let him go.”

Trembling in frustration, Kianna glared at Joel for a moment before clamping her eyes shut.

“...Fine!” she growled as the rings around the sasquatch vanished in an instant.

With nothing holding him up now and no strength of his own, Joel immediately toppled to his left and landed in a crumpled heap on his side. Gasping for breath, he laid where he landed as he desperately took in one lungful of air after another.

“Thank you, Kianna.” said Anton as he gave her shoulder a squeeze “I appreciate it, and I'm sure he does as well.”

Grumbling in annoyance, the dark elf's irises were still aglow with an angry red light as she stared down at the fallen sasquatch and watched him struggle to breathe.

“Keep an eye on him, please.” said Anton as he stepped away “I need to go have a word with your Mother real quick.”

Blinking, Kianna's eyes darted to her mother and then to Anton's back as she watched him walk away.

With her arms crossed over her middle, Olivia's stance was one of obvious impatience. Her eyes were clearly unfriendly as she watched Anton's approach and she said nothing as he stopped just in front of her.

“Hello, Olivia. It's nice to officially meet you.” said Anton as he offered the frowning dark elf a thin smile “My name is Antonius, but you can call me Anton, Anton Faustus North. I'm the one who now owns your daughters. And I have a few questions for you.”

Olivia said nothing as her eyes shifted from Anton to the collar around Kianna's neck and then back.

“First of all, I'd like to know...” whispered Anton as he leaned in closer “Why are you still in this cage? Can you not escape from it?”

The glaring dark elf was still for a moment before her eyes narrowed.

“...I see.” nodded Anton as his expression became thoughtful “I suspected that this might be the case... It would explain why you never taught them anything. You couldn't teach them what you didn't know... Could you?”

Olivia's face hardened as a faint red glow began to shine in her irises.

“...Hm.” mused Anton as he watched the glow in her eyes brighten “So then you're the same way they were. You aren't actually hopeless either... Interesting...”

Despite herself, Olivia couldn't help but to crease her brow in uncertainty.

“Well. Moving on.” said Anton as he smiled at the bemused look in her eyes “As I'm sure you can see. I've made myself quite comfortable in this home. Though it wasn't my first choice to do so. And I am fully prepared to leave if it comes down to that. The girls however, have made it clear that this house is very important to them. And as such, I would like to have a discussion with you about purchasing it for them.”

The questioning look in Olivia's eyes deepened as she continued to remain silent. A sudden pained sounding commotion caused her eyes to shift to the side as they focused on the source of the noise.

Behind them, Joel was struggling to raise himself up on his hands and knees. As he did so he began to violently retch before vomiting on the ground in front of himself.

“Hm... It sounds as though your man may need to call it a day...” said Anton as he gave Olivia an amused smile “And I'm getting the distinct impression that you are not too interested in having a conversation with me at the moment...”

The dark elf's face showcased her fury clearly as she brought her eyes back to Anton.

“...Why don't I go ahead and give you my contact information.” said Anton as he reached back for his wallet “That way whenever you're ready to speak, you'll know how to reach me.”

Having anticipated the possibility of an outcome such as this, Anton took an already prepared slip of paper out of his wallet and looked back up at the now scowling dark elf. Staring her in the eyes, he said nothing as he extended his hand between the glowing rings that encircled her and offered her the slip of paper.

With her jaw clenched and her irises still aglow, Olivia remained silent as she unfolded one of her arms and using only two fingers, quickly snatched the piece of paper out of his hand.

“Again, it was nice to finally meet you, Olivia.” smiled Anton as he took a step back and turned away from her “And I do look forward to hearing from you again soon.”

Crushing the slip of paper in her fist, Olivia began to tremble with fury as she watched Anton walk away.

Still in her blackened form, Fiona kept her glowing eyes locked on her mother as Anton approached her and stopped at her side.

“...So then.” he said softly “Do you plan to kill her?”

There was silence for a moment before a voice began to speak from nowhere.

“...No.” it whispered “...I don't.”

“I see, good.” said Anton as he stared ahead at nothing “What do you plan to do then?”

“...She isn't welcome here!” declared the voice “I want to make sure she knows that!”

Anton nodded slowly as he glanced sideways at the monstrosity standing next to him.

“Well, I do believe you are more powerful than she is now.” he said with a grin “So it shouldn't be too hard for you to make that clear to her.”

Fiona's eyes widened with excitement.

“Wait, I am!?” questioned the voice.

“Yes. You and your sister both are.” said Anton as he turned away from her and made his way towards Kianna “Now go make sure that she understands that.”

A wide smile spread across Fiona's otherwise featureless face as she immediately started towards her mother.

Olivia took an involuntary half step back as she realized her daughter was now headed straight for her. In her blackened state, Fiona was undeniably terrifying. With pupil-less glowing red eyes and her pointed ears giving the impression of sharpened horns, her appearance was nothing less than demonic.

As she got closer, Olivia leaned as far back as she could in the tight confines of the cage and pointed her ears straight upwards.

Fiona slowed her approach and let the smile fade from her face as she registered the thin lace of fear in her mother's eyes. Stopping a few steps in front of her, she stared up at the taller elven woman and watched as her eyes tightened in unease. After a long moment of silent stillness she dropped away her blacken form and appeared normal again.

“You... You need to fucking leave.” she said softly as she turned around and walked back the way she had come “I'm tired of looking at you!”

Before Olivia could react the cage around her suddenly broke apart and melted away as it disappeared completely.

Fiona kept her eyes facing forward as she made her way back to the front porch.

Standing next to Kianna, Anton let his eyes drift between the three dark elves as he waited for the sasquatch to recover.

Resting on his hands and knees with his head hanging low, Joel took in one labored breath after another until enough of his strength had returned for him to make an effort to distance himself from both his own vomit, and Kianna. Crawling off to the side he slowly and tentatively rose back up to his feet.

“Are you done?” asked Anton as he watched the sasquatch struggle to remain upright.

“...Yes!” grunted Joel as he nodded his head.

“Good to hear, friend.” nodded Anton “Now, just so that we're clear. I'm not going to stop her a second time. ...Do you understand this?”

“...Yes!” nodded Joel as he took a staggering step towards the limo “I understand!”

“Good. Very good. Now, just one more thing then...” said Anton as he shifted his eyes to Olivia “Do not leave here without your boss.”

“...I, w-won't.” stammered Joel as he fought to hold back the nausea threatening to rise up in his chest.

“Good. Very good. We shouldn't have anymore problems then. So long as you're ready to leave at least, which I think you are.” said Anton as he smiled down at a still furious looking Kianna “I wish you safety on your travels, my friend.”

Nodding his head, Joel staggered forward until he made it back to the limo. Reaching out with one of his long arms he leaned against the vehicle for support as he pointed a finger at Olivia.

“I'm done! We're getting back to the office and that's it! No more!” he snarled as he let his pointing finger fall and started to make his way around to the driver side door “We're done here! Now get back in the damn car!”

Glaring, Olivia shifted her eyes away from him as she gave Anton and Kianna a venomous sneer. Her expression softened a bit when she registered that Fiona, from her place up on the porch, was staring at her sideways with her ears pointed straight back in an obvious challenge.

Narrowing her own eyes, Olivia turned away from them all and dropped back down into her seat in the limo. As soon as she closed her door the vehicle lurched forward and made a hasty exit as it coasted down the drive.

“...And with that, they're gone. ...For now.” mumbled Anton as he watched the limo leave the property “So. How do you two feel about that little exchange?”

Kianna huffed loudly as she let her shoulders slump.

“That fucking sucked!” she grumbled as she rubbed her arms “...I was really gonna kill that guy!”

“Yes, you were.” nodded Anton “Are you glad that you didn't?”

“...Yeah, I guess so.” mumbled Kianna as her ears dipped a bit “...He shouldn't have come after you like that though! ...He should have just walked away! Like I told him to!”

“Well, I imagine that the next time a dark elf tells him to “walk away”, he probably will.” said Anton as he reached over and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze “This was actually a good thing though. Because now I know just how homicidal you can apparently be. And that's something else about you that I'll need to remember!”

“Shut up!” cried Kianna as she twisted to the side and pressed herself in against him “It's not like I'm crazy! ...I just want to protect you!”

“Aw, I know you do.” smiled Anton as he wrapped his arm around her and gave her a tight squeeze “My sweet little psychopath!”

Huffing, Kianna leaned her head back to give Anton a kiss but stopped short as Fiona suddenly walked past them and stood near the edge of the drive.

“...I did it.” whispered Fiona as she stared at the entrance gates “...She was afraid! I saw it! ...She was afraid of me!”

Anton and Kianna both looked at each other before turning back to Fiona.

“She was afraid... but that was it...” mused Fiona as she looked down at the ground “It was only fear... But that's not enough! I need more than that!”

“More than that?” questioned Anton “And what exactly does that mean?”

Turning to face him, Fiona tightened her eyes as she looked back down.

“I need, control... That wasn't control, just fear... She was afraid, but she wasn't going to stop. It wasn't enough... She won't, see me... Not yet...” she whispered before biting her lower lip.

“...Hm, okay then.” nodded Anton as he looked from her to Kianna “Well, it looks like you both might struggling with a bit of insanity...”

“Shut up!” whined Kianna as she lowered her ears and pouted up at him “No we're not!”

Chuckling, Anton turned himself and Kianna both around and headed back towards the house.

“So? What do you think will happen next?” he asked as he looked back at Fiona “How do you think your Mother is going to respond to this?”

“Oh, she's definitely going to try to kill you.” said Fiona matter-of-factually as she moved to follow them “That should be pretty obvious. I don't even know why you're asking.”

“Do you think she'll want to do it herself? Or do you really think she'll try to send an assassin?” asked Anton as he opened the door and stepped around an excited Molly as he entered the house.

“That... I don't know?” mumbled Fiona “50/50, I guess?”

“Hm, well then.” nodded Anton “Guess we'll just have to prepare ourselves for anything...”

“I know I'll be ready!” growled Kianna as her irises began to glow “I'm not going to let anything happen to anybody! ...I really need to learn how to make fire now!”

“Yeah...” drawled Anton as he gave her another squeeze “We might want to hold off on that for a bit. I don't want you to accidentally burn down the entire house because you thought you heard an assassin under the bed...”

“Or melt the stove because you tried to boil water too fast!” quipped Fiona as she pulled the door shut behind her.

“Shut up! Both of you!” snapped Kianna “I'm not gonna burn down anything! You saw what I did today! I had control the whole time! And I won! So you two just wait till an assassin gets here! And I'll show you what I can really do!”

“Yes, you did win. And there's a very good possibility you'll get the chance to win again here pretty soon, Kianna...” mused Anton as he shook his head “This isn't over yet... In fact, I've got a pretty good feeling that this is probably going to be a very, very interesting weekend...”

With the dark elves in tow and Molly trotting ahead of him, Anton made his way towards the kitchen and the coffee pot that was waiting there. They still had a practice session to finish after all, and now, after getting a glimpse of what his dark elves were potentially capable of, and seeing first hand just how vicious they could be towards their enemies, he was more eager than ever to help them improve and develop a level of control over themselves and their abilities. And so with the mountain of this task still ahead of him, he was definitely going to need another mug of caffeine to see him through.

Epilogue

Olivia bobbed her foot in irritation as she stared at her own reflection in the blacked out window that separated the driver from the rest of the vehicle.

Unfolding one of her crossed arms, she looked down at the ball of crumbled paper in her hand and scowled before pulling out her cell phone and quickly making a call to her main secretary.

“Keeble. I'm on my way back, and I have something I want dealt with immediately.” she growled into the phone as she unfolded the piece of paper and stared at Anton's phone number “No. Apparently there really is a human man who thinks he can live in my house, with my daughters! I want him gone. Now. And I do not want him to be alive when he is removed. Do you understand me? ...I don't care! Just find someone! Anyone! And make it quick! I want this done and over with, immediately!”

Ending the call with a click, Olivia recrossed her arms and went back to glaring at her own reflection.

“...You just wait. You disgusting human.” she whispered as her irises began to glow with an ominous red light “Soon enough, you'll be just another bad memory...”

End of Guilty x Creatures Book One : Dark Elf Arc.