Guilty X Creatures

Chapter 8 : Night

Stepping through the portal and into the house's foyer, Anton sighed softly as he looked about at the familiar sight of the house's entryway.

"Home sweet home..." he muttered quietly as he stepped past the open sitting room and spied Tessa's sleeping form in the far corner.

As he made his way through the darkened house and towards the staircase, he couldn't help but to grin as the thought occurred to him that although this wasn't technically his home, it had certainly begun to feel that way.

Making his way upstairs, he reached the landing and was met with a large shadowy figure.

"Greetings, my Master..." said Earlivi as the white pupil-less glowing discs that were his eyes trained themselves onto Anton "I trust that your evening was enjoyable..."

"It was, for the most part." nodded Anton "Certainly enlightening... How has everything been here?"

"Peaceful. With nothing of note to report..." replied Earlivi "Your charges were well behaved, and they have all been retired for the night. Though only the mantis and shinoccubus are currently asleep..."

"So the girls are still awake then..." mused Anton as he looked down the hall towards his bedroom door and considered his options.

"Yes... Though only one of them seems to be waiting for you specifically... The other one simply hasn't fallen asleep yet, though she is in the process of doing so..." said Earlivi.

"...How do you know that? Are you watching them still?" asked Anton as he cocked an eyebrow.

"I am..." said Earlivi "I am currently monitoring the entire house..."

"Oh, I see." nodded Anton as he noticed that the homunculi's coattail-like tentacles were stretched out far enough behind him to disappear into the gloom of the darkened house "Well I do appreciate your thoroughness in keeping an eye on things, but now that I'm back I think it's okay to give everybody a bit of peace and privacy again."

"Very well..." said Earlivi as he shrunk down the lengths of several of his tentacles until their ends returned to his side "Will you still require my assistance for the remainder of the night, or am I free to return to your home now?"

"No you can head home if you'd like. We should be good here now." said Anton as he headed down the hall towards his bedroom "And don't worry, I've got the feeling that we won't have anymore nightmare attacks any time soon. So there shouldn't be any reason for you stay alert on our behalf."

"That is good to hear..." nodded Earlivi as he followed Anton into the sitting room that was situated between the hallway and the master bedroom proper "On that note... There is something I feel I should discus with you... It is in regards to that battle with the nightmare..."

"Oh? Is something wrong?" asked Anton as he stopped in front of the closed double doors that led to his bedroom and turned back to face the homunculus.

"...Possibly." said Earlivi with clear hesitation in his demeanor.

Before Anton could respond, the double doors in front of him suddenly swung open to reveal an ecstatic looking dark elf.

"Master! Welcome back!" cried Kianna as she stopped just in front of him and ran her eyes up and down his length while clasping her hands together beneath her chin "Oh Gods, it's so good to see you're okay! I was so worried that Mom was gonna do something stupid and try to hurt you!...Which she didn't do, right? You're really okay, right!?"

Stopping short, Anton stared at the eagerly waiting dark elf for a moment before smiling softly.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." he said in a quiet tone "You don't need to worry about me..."

Cocking one of her ears in a curious manner, Kianna raised an eyebrow as she took in his probing gaze.

"...Are you sure?" she questioned "...You kinda seem a little out of it?...Did something happen?"

"No, well... Yes, things happened...." said Anton "But mostly we just... We talked about..."

Trailing off, Anton went still for a moment before suddenly stepping forwards and scooping Kianna up into a tight hug.

"Listen to me, Kianna... Listen to me closely..." he said in a hushed tone as he held her to his chest "No matter what happens, I want you to remember that you are a good person... Okay... You are a smart, wonderful, brave person... And you are very, very special to me... No matter what... Always remember that, always..."

Blinking, Kianna pointed her ears straight upwards in surprise.

"...O-okay?" she whispered softly "...I, I will. I'll remember that....I promise."

"Good girl..." smiled Anton as he tightened his hold on her "You're such a good girl... My sweet little dark elf..."

Letting her eyes drift close as she felt Anton's warmth soak into her being, Kianna lowered her ears as she let herself go limp against him.

Standing together this way for some time, the two were brought back to the present when the stillness in the room was disturbed by Earlivi moving away from them and heading towards the portal that led back to Anton's home.

"Oh, right. Earlivi." said Anton as he turned to the homunculus "I'm sorry about that. I got caught up in the moment there. What were you saying before? Something about the battle that you needed to tell me?"

"Battle? You mean the nightmare battle?" questioned Kianna "Oh no! Mr. Earlivi were you hurt!?"

"...I may have sustained some damage, yes." said Earlivi "...It is of no real consequence though."

"What!? You're hurt? Show me." said Anton as he and Kianna both immediately made to move towards the homunculus.

"It is of no consequence." repeated Earlivi "There is no cause for alarm. I merely wish to discus some abnormalities that I am experiencing with you, my Master..."

Sensing that the homunculus would rather speak in private, Anton nodded.

"...Right. Alright then. We can talk real quick." he said before turning to Kianna "Hey, just wait right here, okay. I'll be right back."

"...Are you sure? I don't mind coming with you." said Kianna as her face showed her concern clearly "If anythings wrong, I want to help..."

"I know you do. And if there's anything you can do to help I promise I'll let you know right away." smiled Anton as he gave her arm a reassuring squeeze "For right now though, just let me go talk to Earlivi real quick, and I'll be right back. Okay?"

"...Okay." grumbled Kianna "But hurry back though... Seriously..."

"Don't worry, I will." said Anton as he turned to Earlivi and gestured to the portal.

Holding her arm where Anton had squeezed her, and already missing the warmth of his touch, Kianna lowered her ears again as she watched him and Earlivi disappear through the portal.

Chewing her lower lip as she waited, she held her vigil for a few minutes before slowly tilting her head to the side and glancing back at the entrance to the closet.

Knowing that Earlivi would be okay so long as Anton was looking after him and both thinking about what a caring person her master was, and that he deserved to be rewarded for this, the suddenly gleeful dark elf giggled to herself as she quickly darted to the closet so she could prepare a surprise for him.

With the main room empty now, no one was there to witness a new portal suddenly wink into existence in the middle of the entryway. Nor was anyone there to greet the lone figure that stepped through it.

Blinking as her eyes adjusted to the light in the room, Olivia immediately frowned as she found herself looking down at a large bed that she had never seen before and which had been set up in what was technically still her room. Her frown deepened as she glanced around and discovered that she was actually surrounded by an entire host of unfamiliar furniture. Clearly, somebody had made themselves quite at home in her bedroom.

Preoccupied as she was, she failed to register the faint, almost subliminal tingle from the ward that she had inadvertently triggered, nor did she notice the figure that suddenly appeared in the walkway that led to the closet and bathroom.

"...Uh, M-Mom!?" croaked Kianna as she stared wide eyed at the woman standing in the middle of the room "...Is that y-you!?"

-

Having passed through the portal and entered into his actual bedroom, Anton immediately made a beeline for a large desk situated against a far wall.

"Alright Earlivi, tell me exactly what's going on?" he said as he began to rapidly tap at a number pad-like group of seals that were etched into the surface of the desks right corner.

"To be precise..." said Earlivi as he stepped up behind Anton "My body is heavily fatigued, and I do not seem to be healing in a timely manner..."

"You haven't healed yet?" questioned Anton as he glanced back at the homunculus "...You look like you've been fully healed though?"

At the desk, a blue ring of sigils lit up across its surface before a metal briefcase was summoned into the rings center.

"Merely a cosmetic illusion..." mumbled Earlivi "I have altered my appearance in order to remain visually appealing..."

Anton frowned as he watched a wave of particles lift themselves away from Earlivi's arms and chest and then break apart into specks of simmering, ember-like lights. As the lights faded into nothing, the homunculus lifted the armored sections of his body up onto thin tendrils and exposed the black-colored flesh-like musculature that existed beneath his plates of living metal.

With his true condition now on display, Earlivi's poor state was all too apparent, as charred, almost corroded looking armor and deep, grievous wounds in his flesh could be seen clearly wherever his arms and chest had been ravaged by the nightmare's unnatural fire.

"By the Gods, Earlivi..." breathed Anton as surveyed the damage "Why didn't you say something sooner!?"

"I assumed there was no need, as these wounds are not as dire as they may appear, and my life is not in danger..." rumbled Earlivi "In the past I have healed from far greater damage than this, and at a much quicker pace... I do not know why these wounds linger so..."

"Hm... These were caused by a nightmare's fire... So that's likely to be part of the problem..." mused Anton "Have they healed at all? Or are they exactly the same as when they were first inflicted?"

"No. They were far worse when originally inflicted..." said Earlivi "They are healing, though it is at an annoyingly slow rate..."

"Hm, I see..." nodded Anton as he turned back to the desk and clicked open the metal briefcase "Well as bad as they look, it doesn't seem as though your movements have been impaired by them at all. Are you in pain right now?"

"There is discomfort... But it is not unmanageable..." replied Earlivi.

"Okay, one second and I'll get you something that should help with that." said Anton as he flicked on a tens machine-like device that was sitting in the briefcase "First let me set this up so I can take your vitals."

Taking a series of small rubber paddles that were attached to long lengths of rolled up wires from the briefcase, Anton quickly unwound the wires and plugged them into his machine before turning to Earlivi.

For his part, the homunculus remained completely still as Anton placed the paddles at various points along his body.

Although he, himself was not overly skilled in the creation of artificial beings, Anton was still well versed in the care and upkeep of the various types. Unfortunately this knowledge only partially extended to Earlivi and his unique physiology.

Though there were many different sub-types in existence, most artificial beings could be divided into three main categories, golems, automatons and homunculi.

As the simplest and easiest to create of the three forms, a golem can be made out of any material, either organic or inorganic in nature, and can be crafted into any shape that its creator desires. They are then given mobility and are powdered through enchantments that are etched into their bodies. The more powerful and intricate these enchantments are, the larger, stronger and more capable the golem can be.

Although self aware to the same level as that of a lower life-form, such as a worm or insect, a golem is built to mindlessly follow orders and complete simple tasks. And as such they are unable to speak, have no memory and cannot form coherent thoughts on their own. And this singular point, a distinction between sentience and sapience, is what separates the golems from the automatons.

Built in the exact same manner as their simpler brethren, an automaton is crafted with a drop of their creators minds added to their enchantments, and while this does not result in them becoming a complete copy of their creators, with a mind of their own now, they are thus capable of both speech and thought. And while still fiercely loyal to their creators, this ability to think independently will always result in an automaton naturally developing a personality all its own over time.

Unlike the previous two mentions, a homunculus is a not a being that is built, so much as it is grown.

Crafted through a lengthy process in which biological materials are fermented in a vat and then synthesized into a quasi life-form, a homunculus, while still completely artificial, is distinctive in that they possess a body that can both be powered through mana as well as function by breathing in oxygen and taking in foodstuff to burn as calories.

Although their appearances may vary depending on what materials were used in their creation, most homunculi are based off of an existing species, as it is easier for a creator to be successful with a form that is already understood and known to work, than it is to start from scratch.

As purely organic beings, all homunculi possess a genetic code as well as both a mind and a mana pool, which does give them a fully natural, individual personality and the potential to use magic.

Although he was technically a homunculus himself, Earlivi was unlike his more mundane kin in that he was crafted with a method that utilized a combined mixture of Terran, Astral, Infernal and Voidling materials. This was a process that would usually result in failure, but through extensive experimentation, was somehow achieved by one Dr. Abigail Fillola, who for better or worse, was a friend of Anton's.

Though he didn't fully understand exactly how this was done, Anton did know that Fillola's ultimate goal was actually to create an all powerful homunculus that could function in the same manner as a Voidling and would be able to utilize the unlimited cosmic energies found in the Void. Thankfully she only partially succeeded before giving up on this plan. Her mindset having been drastically changed when she was pulled into the Void herself by one of her own creations and spent nearly five hundred years being slowly ripped apart and then put back together by said creation, which was one of Earlivi's younger, slightly less reasonable brothers who was named Marbarlo.

Switching on his machine, Anton let it run its diagnostics on Earlivi while he turned back to the keypad-like group of seals and summoned two different sets of marble sized gemstones.

"Okay. Now lets see if these will work on you..." he said as he faced the homunculus and handed him one of the gemstones "Here you go. This should hopefully ease your pain. Try not to absorb all of the mana out of it right away though, okay."

"Hmm..." rumbled Earlivi as he gazed down at the tiny stone that was now laying in his palm.

"...Is it working?" asked Anton as the gemstone began to faintly glow.

"Indeed... It is quite soothing..." replied Earlivi.

"Okay, good. I've got a few of these here. So you can switch them out every now and then to give them a chance to rest and recharge. And these bigger blue ones should help you fall asleep." said Anton as he held up one of the slightly larger stones "...Which, these shouldn't make you shift back into your crystal form....Or at least I don't think they will?"

"No. It would take a great deal more than this to accomplish that..." rumbled Earlivi as he took one of the stones and held it up to eye level "Thank you, for these... It is appreciated..."

"No problem. Glad I could help..." said Anton as he looked over his machines readings "Hm... Well this might be the issue... It looks like you're still low on mana... Very low even..."

"Still low?" questioned Earlivi.

"Yeah, at least compared to the levels I was reading before you were completely demanaed...." mused Anton "Which is really surprising, considering how much mana you were just given... That should have been more than enough... But then again, you are mostly Voidling... Maybe that makes more of a difference than we realized?"

Turning back to the homunculus, Anton looked him over again before shaking his head.

"Sorry to say it, but this could be a little out of my range of expertise, Earlivi..." said Anton as he gave the taller being a sympathetic look "It might be best to give Fillola a visit..."

Though his expressionless face never changed, Earlivi's glowing eyes did dim slightly in obvious distaste.

"Must we really..." mumbled the homunculus "Surely there must be some other option... Some other individual we can speak to instead..."

"Not really. That's the problem with you having such a unique design. No one else is going to understand your make up better than she will..." said Anton as he crossed his arms "I guess we can put it off for a bit, and just see what happens... You are technically healing... And who knows, maybe another big infusion of mana might help..."

"It is worth a try..." agreed Earlivi "Anything to avoid seeing that woman is worth the effort..."

Chuckling, Anton shook his head as he turned off his machine and began to gather the paddles from Earlivi.

"Well take another big dose of mana from the prisoners. Just please, please try not to kill any of them when you do... Seriously." he said as he eyed the homunculus "After that, just take it easy for the next few days. And we'll see if your condition changes at all."

"And if it doesn't?" questioned Earlivi.

"Well... We'll just have to take the next step. We can't just leave you damaged like this after all." said Anton "...While we wait I'll try to do a little reading and see if I can find something that might help. If nothing comes up though, Fillola's will have to be our next stop."

Grumbling as he maneuvered his armored portions back into place, Earlivi's eyes began to take on a faint red tint as a sign of his annoyance.

"Just try to relax, Earlivi." said Anton with a smile "There's still a good chance that you're just too low on mana to heal correctly. And if that's the case then we won't need to bother with a visit to her."

"True... Hopefully that is merely the issue..." rumbled the homunculus as he watched Anton pack everything back into the metal briefcase.

"Fingers crossed." said Anton as he closed up the briefcase and sent it back to wherever it had come from "For the time being though, I need to get back. I'm sure Kianna is worrying herself sick while waiting for me to let her know that you're alright. I'll check back in on you tomorrow night, and see how you're coming along."

"Very well... I shall speak with you again tomorrow then..." said Earlivi as he gave Anton a light bow of his head "I am thankful for your assistance... Have a good night, my Master..."

"You too. And you're welcome. If anything gets worse, then let me know right away." said Anton as he made his way back towards the portal "Get some rest, I'll see you soon."

With that, he stepped through the portal and disappeared.

-

Having shifted her gaze to her daughter, Olivia said nothing as she let her eyes slowly take in the state of her attire.

Dressed in nothing but a tight, crotch-less, barely there teddy that was crafted out of little more than ribbons and thin, red colored lace, Kianna couldn't help but to feel self-conscious as she suddenly found herself under the scrutiny of her mother's eye.