Guilty x Creatures Ch. 46

"...Hm, I suppose it's really not that surprising. Nephilim are far from common. And what with the celestial realm having vanished, there are only so many ways to still get an attribute." mused Anton as he stood back up "And with that being the case, the chances that you would randomly run across someone who had one in this day and age, would be very slim."

Mica went to speak but stopped short as Anton leaned forward and pointed his two fingers back between her eyes.

"I ordered you to strike me with your tail, and you failed to do so. Then I told you to tell me the truth, and you lied to me." said Anton as the glowing light reappeared at his fingertips "You've disobeyed me twice now, Mica... You're shaping up to be a very poor student..."

Her expression becoming strained, Mica's tail rose back up out of the water and arched itself up over her head.

"This fireball has been imbued with the essence of my attribute. Which has made it celestial in nature. In other words, what you're looking at is literally holy fire. Something that you, as an Infernal, are poorly equipped to handle." explained Anton "I want you to understand how dangerous this particular combination can be for you. So I'm going to punish you with it."

Staring nearly cross-eyed at the ball of light that was slowly moving closer and closer to her face, Mica stammered wordlessly as her mouth silently opened and closed.

"I'll need to reduce the intensity a bit though..." mumbled Anton as the ball of light dimmed down to a fraction of its former size "I don't want to accidentally incinerate you after all..."

"W-wha! Wait!" exclaimed Mica as her eyes widened in panic.

"No." said Anton as he released the fireball.

Mica clamped her eyes shut and cringed back as Anton's hand fell away from her face. After a long moment of stillness, she tentatively cracked open a single eye.

"...Uh? Did it not work?" asked Fiona as she, Kianna and now Mica all stared at a tiny, marble-sized ball of light that was hanging in the air just in front of Mica's face.

Without a word, Anton took a step back and squinted his eyes.

Following the ball with her own eyes, Mica's head tilted forward as she watched it slowly fall, sink into the bathwater, and then come to rest on the floor of the tub. Staring down at the glowing spot for a moment, she began to laugh maniacally.

"Well!" she cried as she smiled smugly up at Anton "Guess this time you're the one whose a fail-!"

The shinoccubus was cut off mid-speech as a pillar of flaming light shot upwards from right beneath her and completely engulfed her entire being within its radiance.

"...Whoa!" breathed both of the dark elves in unison as they gazed in awe at the stunning display that Mica had become.

The shinoccubus trapped in the center of the pillar had all but disappeared from view as the flesh of her body was seemingly washed away by the bright light that was now surrounding her. This effect left the black-colored bones of her skeleton as the only portion of her being that was still fully visible.

Each one of Mica's dark colored bones, which appeared to be the exact same color as her horns, stood out clearly as they contrasted against the light shining around them. Though her face itself could no longer be seen, her agony could still be easily interpreted by the fact that her skull was staring straight upwards at the ceiling and appeared to be locked in a silent scream.

Enthralled by the sight of Mica's skeleton, the two dark elves couldn't help but to lean in closer as they both tried to take in as many details of her anatomy as they could.

Setting the thin appearance and black color of her bones aside, the shinoccubi's skeleton had the general structure of a standard humanoids, though there were still several very obvious differences. The first, and most obvious of which, was of course her tail.

Mica's tail appeared to be made up of dozens and dozens of tiny individual vertebrae that were all held together by long, thin ligaments. These ligaments, which although unknown to the examining dark elves, were naturally elastic in their design and were what gave the tail its flexibility and allowed it to stretch out in length.

At the moment, Mica's wildly undulating tail was quite the sight, as these ligaments couldn't actually be seen and her spade, barbs and each of the tiny vertebrae that made up the tail's length all appeared to be floating about in the air both around and above her being in a swirling whirlwind of seemingly disconnected, individual pieces.

The next difference that could be seen was much more subtle, as it was Mica's skull itself. Her skull appeared to be very slightly elongated and had a thin, smoothed ridge of bone that ran down its center. This ridge was only about a quarter of an inch tall, and would normally be hidden from sight by her hair. It started from right in between her horns and trailed back across her skull to its base.

Below her skull, Mica's shoulder girdle appeared to be quite different from a traditional humanoids. Having developed in such a way to accommodate her wings, her scapula, or shoulder blades, were both reduced in size and had a curved, concave shape to their internal edges. Each of them also featured a thin but heavily reinforced ridge of bone that traversed across her shoulders and then turned sharply downwards where they then tapered into sharp spike-like shapes that sat along each side of her spinal column. These bones acted as anchoring points for the many layers of heavily compressed muscles which both controlled and powered her wings.

These bones then led the eye to the last and least noticeable difference, as nearly hidden beneath them was a enlarged vertebrae that had a set of sockets located on each of its sides, and attached to these sockets via swiveling ball joints, were Mica's wings.

Wrapped up tightly along the inside surface of her rib cage, and partially hidden by the rib bones that surrounded and encased them, the thin skeletal structures of Mica's bat-like wings could still be clearly discerned, once they were finally noticed.

"Holy shit... That's so fucking cool looking!" muttered Fiona as Kianna nodded in agreement.

For more than half a minute, the dark elves stared in wide eyed wonder as Mica's quivering bones stood out blatantly within the pillar of light. At some unseen trigger, the light began to dim a bit before with a last flare of brightness, the pillar burnt out from the bottom upwards, and as it disappeared it left the shinoccubus looking normal once again.

With her head now laid back limply across her shoulders, Mica sat completely still and unmoving for several long moments before a deep, haggard sounding cough erupted out of her being and this was quickly followed by a long, pained groan.

Lifting her head back upright, Mica blinked up at Anton several times before letting out another long, agonized groan.

Staring down at her with a stoic expression on his face, Anton remained still as Mica's wings suddenly unfolded themselves out from her back and slowly rose upwards as she stretched them out to their fullest.

Seemingly no longer in control of her body's movements, Mica's panic filled eyes fully dilated as her tail started to curl and coil itself into painful looking twisted loops, while above her head, her wings began to quiver violently from the strain of remaining stretched out as far as they were.

"...Hm, it looks like you may have lost control of some of your motor skills. Which, considering that every synapses in your brain and body was just thoroughly fried. That's really not too surprising." mused Anton as he gave Mica a thoughtful nod "Since you're still conscious I'm guessing you'll be fine in a few minutes or so... Next time I might try to cut back on the power a bit more..."

Heavy tears welled up in Mica's eyes as every muscle in her entire body began to tremble and convulse.

"...Owie!" she whined miserably before collapsing to the side and slowly sinking down into the water.

With an annoyed sign, Anton quickly stepped back up to the tub and knelt down at its edge. Reaching into the water, he took hold of the limp kiochi's ponytail and lifted her head back above the waterline.

Gasping in panic, Mica immediately began to sputter and cough out mouthfuls of water as she struggled to catch her breath.

Grimacing at the miserable looking creature, Anton shifted his gaze over to the dark elves and found them both smiling smugly at the half-drowned kiochi. Tightening his eyes at them, he went to speak but stopped short as a thought suddenly occurred to him.

"...Girls." he called as he grinned at Mica "Can you come over here for a moment, please."

Narrowing their eyes and pointing their ears straight back behind their heads in suspicion, Kianna and Fiona frowned at each other before shifting themselves into motion and slowly making their way across the tub.

Whimpering from the pain of being held up by her hair, Mica could do nothing but grimace in anger and unease as she was shifted around and made to face the oncoming dark elves.

"Here you go, girls." said Anton as he smiled broadly "I need one of you two to hold on to your new little sister until she can move again."

Stopping short and pointing their ears straight upwards, Fiona and Kianna both immediately looked down at Mica.

"...Oh, Hell no! We're not playing that game!" exclaimed Fiona.

"Excuse me?" said Anton as his smile grew and became knowing "What game?"

"The game where you try to pawn this little bitch off as our "new little sister"! Please! Like we're going to fall for that!" said Fiona as she crossed her arms over her chest "The stupid little ninja-bitch is not our sister. And she never will be."

"What do you mean? Of course she is." said Anton as he continued to smile.

"Fucking how!?" cried Fiona.

"Well, it's simple. I own you two, and I am going to own Mica as well. And with that being the case, it means that the 3 of you will all be considered slave sisters." explained Anton "So in this way, Mica is, technically, your new little sister."

"Oh, that's some bullshit if I ever heard any!" groaned Fiona "I mean, c'mon! You can't really expect us to buy tha-!"

"Wait?" questioned Kianna as her eyes darted to Anton's "Are you being serious?"

"Yes." nodded Anton.

Kianna's eyes widened and became probing as she stared back at him.

"Wha? Hold on! Don't just buy into that shit!" exclaimed Fiona "This is crap and you know it! It's just a ploy! And it's-!"

"Fiona." interrupted Anton as he turned to her "Weren't you the one who was speaking out on Mica's behalf this morning?"

"...Uh, that, that was!" stammered Fiona as she looked from him to Mica and back.

"Now why would you do that, Fiona?" asked Anton "Was it because you could see that what she had done was a mistake? That she had made one, horrible, decision after another? And did you actually understand this? Did you see it, for what it really was?...Fiona, did you relate to her?...Did you see yourself in her?"

Fiona went still as she merely stared back at him.

"...Mica has proven that she's prone to making bad decisions." said Anton after a moment of silence "I think it be would nice if she had someone who she could relate to with that. Someone that could maybe, keep an eye on her, and even offer her some guidance, whenever it looks like she's about to make another bad decision..."

Staring back at him for a moment, Fiona narrowed her eyes into an angry glare before silently looking off to the side.

Grinning softly at the sight, Anton shifted his gaze back to Kianna and found the dark elf staring solemnly at the sniveling shinoccubus.

"...You know, Kianna." he mumbled softly "I could really use your help with all this..."

Her ears perking up even higher, Kianna turned to him with a questioning look in her eyes.

"Not that I think this would be a surprise to you, but I'm not always the most patient person. Nor am I necessarily the best at having a, gentle, touch." admitted Anton as he indicated the kiochi he was holding up by her hair.

"Yeah, that ain't no shit..." grumbled Fiona.

"So with that being the case, I think it would be a good idea for me to have a second set of eyes who can watch over Mica, and make sure that I don't go overboard, or take things too far with her." explained Anton "I want her to grow. To get stronger, faster and more capable. And I'd like this to happen as quickly as possible. But I don't want to accidentally destroy her along the way. So I'll need someone to help me make sure that she doesn't get pushed too hard. That she stays healthy, gets enough rest and is well fed on the kind of diet that she needs... In other words, I need someone to help me take care of her."

Kianna said nothing as she let her eyes drift back to Mica.

"And I think that you would be a very good candidate for this role, Kianna. But I also know that you're not that fond of Mica." said Anton as he too shifted his gaze to the kiochi "So I understand if you'd rather not be a part of this... I do need help, but I'm not going to force you to do anything that you-."

"You're hurting her..." said Kianna in a soft, hushed tone "Just, let me take her..."

Anton said nothing more as Kianna gingerly took hold of the now paralyzed shinoccubus.

Laying Mica's head over her shoulder, Kianna wrapped an arm around Mica's torso, just beneath her now limply hanging wings, and half-dragged her across the tub until she was able to lean her shoulders back against the sidewall. She then draped the smaller female across her own chest and set to work on carefully repositioning each of Mica's skewed limbs so that they could be tucked in against her body. Once satisfied that Mica was laying in as comfortable a state as she was going to be in, Kianna settled in and wrapped both of her arms around her in a gentle hug.

At no point did Kianna ever glance back at either Anton or Fiona. Instead she merely stared forward at nothing as she held the mewling kiochi.

With an annoyed expression plastered across her face, Fiona rolled her eyes, sighed through her nose and scooted herself back until she could lean against her own section of sidewall on the opposite side from her sister and Mica.

When the two dark elves finally made eye contact, Fiona gave her sister a tired looking glare that was clearly meant to say "Really!?".

Reading her sister's message loud and clear, Kianna frowned back at her before sticking out her tongue and tightening her hold on Mica.

Grimacing at the response, Fiona shook her head before leaning back onto the edge of the tub and closing her eyes with a huff.

Satisfied with this outcome, Anton couldn't help but to grin as he retook his seat.

"Try to make sure that she stays awake, please, Kianna." he said as he pulled his phone back out from his pocket "She just went through a pretty intense ordeal. And her brain may need a little more time to fully sort itself out. So to avoid the risk of her slipping into a coma on us, it's best not to let her fall asleep for the next little bit."

"Oh, okay. I'll keep her awake then." said Kianna as she felt Mica become tense with panic.

"Thank you." said Anton in an absent tone as he went back to looking over his emails.

For the next few minutes the room remained relatively quiet, save for the faint grumbling sounds that Mica made as she struggled to both regain control of her body and slip away from Kianna.

"Will you just calm down, Mica..." soothed Kianna as she hoisted the kiochi back into place "You still can't even move. Do you really want to drown yourself that badly?"

Frustrated, Mica clamped her eyes shut and tried with all the strength she had left to lift her arms and push herself away from the dark elf. Failing this, she collapsed in on herself with a long, sorrowful groan.

"Aw. Poor little Mee-cah..." grinned Kianna as she began to rub her hand up and down Mica's back "She's just so pissed off... Aren't you, Mee-cah? Poor little Mee-cah..."

"Fuck you..." groaned Mica.

"Aw! Poor, poor little Mee-cah, her poor, stupid little brain got all fried up... And now her poor little body doesn't work anymore..." sang Kianna as she pulled the bands free from Mica's ponytail and began to run her fingers through her hair "Mee-cah... Mee-cah... Do you like being paralyzed?...Mmm? Do you?"

"...Argh, no!" growled Mica as Kianna prompted to her to answer by gently jostling her up and down.

"I see... Well, would you like to fall into a coma instead then?...Mmm?" hummed Kianna.

"...No!" whimpered Mica after a moment of hesitation "Please no!"

"Mmm... Well then, I guess from now on, you better be a good little cubi... And listen to everything that your new Master, and your big sisters tell you... Alright?"

Mica stayed silent for a moment as her face became marred with rage.

"No! No, no, no!" she whined as she frantically tried to twist away from the dark elf.

Kianna laughed softly as she held the kiochi in place. Once Mica gave up on her struggles, the grinning dark elf took hold of the kiochi's upper arms and lifted her up just enough to hold her out in front of herself. Mica grimaced in irritation as she was made to sit, slumping forward in front of and facing the smugly smirking dark elf.

"Aw, poor little Mee-cah..." cooed Kianna as she teasingly tapped on the tip of first one of Mica's horns and then the other "You know if you keep being stubborn like this, then you're just gonna keep getting punished... Over and over, and again and again..."

Mica remained still as she stared at the dark elf though her hanging bangs.

"Is that really what you want? I mean, our Master only used one move on you and you've already suffered so much from it..." said Kianna as she ran her hand across the top of Mica's head and smoothed out her soft, silk-like hair "Do you really want to go through this much pain again?...Hm? Is it even really worth it?"

Mica continued to silently stare for a moment before lowering her eyes.

A thin smile spread across Kianna's face as she watched the kiochi's eyes tighten in worry.

"Mee-cah..." she called as she gently caressed Mica's cheek "Mee-cah... Do you really want to spend every day, getting tortured, and being blasted with holy fire?...Hmm? Do you?"

"...No, not that again!" groaned Mica as her lips quivered uncontrollably "Not that... That, really, it really hurt..."

"Yeah, I bet it did..." said Kianna as she took hold of Mica's chin and lifted her face back upwards "Now just imagine, that same pain, happening every day... Every single day... Because you do realize, Mica, that unless you learn to obey, it is going to happen again. And it is going to hurt, just as badly as it did today... You do realize that... Don't you?"

Forced to stare into the dark elves eyes, Mica refused to answer her and yet, despite her attempt to stay silent and keep her expression defiant, she still couldn't help but to nervously swallow a lump that had formed in her throat.

"Oh good, you do realize it..." nodded Kianna as she watched a ribbon of fear begin to dance in the back of Mica's slitted eyes "That's good, very good..."

"...Fuck you." whispered Mica as frustrated tears began to form in her eyes.

Kianna chuckled through a smile as she hugged the kiochi back to herself and gave her a tight squeeze. Mica groaned miserably as her body was crushed in the dark elf's grip and the air was forced out of her chest.

"This is gonna be so much fun..." breathed Kianna as she settled back against the sidewall and sighed in contentment.

With her head now laying back in place on the dark elf's shoulder, Mica grimaced before going still. As she laid there, staring at nothing, she couldn't help but to go back over Kianna's words in her mind, and as she did so the gravity of her situation began to truly dawn on her.