- Text Size +

"Lead into gold was stupid and high profile. Curing the sick? Too many questions. And then I see on the news how America banned the sale of borrowers. Doesn't take a genius to know a black market would spring up and what could I bring to the table? What would set me apart from the filthy common poacher? The tome had the answer all along. Homunculi. Fascinating creatures. With the right ingredients, you can make one and they look exactly like a borrower, but it gets better. You can customize their look so they look like whomever you want" she snickered. "Clones. Don't kid yourself. You made fucking clones" Keith hissed. "No I didn't. Clones are a hassle. Unperfected. Short life spans and then the international ban on them even concerning borrowers. Homunculi aren't clones. At the biological level, homunculi are asexual and identical. A blank canvas...until you introduce a subject’s blood into the mix. They take on the appearance of whomever the blood belonged too. They're obedient and loyal. They just have one issue" she said scratching her head.

 

"They crave souls" Keith finished. Eliza cocked an eyebrow. "So you do know more than you let on. Yes it's true. A homunculus has this instinct to eat the soul of the person whose blood was used. My dear assistant Annika is a prime example" Eliza said. "What I saw was a homunculus wasn't it?" Keith asked. "Yes. The original Annika was a proof of concept really and she found out. She stole the homunculus made from her and was driving when it attacked her. Her car veered off a bridge and crashed into the river. After absorbing her soul, her homunculus grew to human size and returned here. As for the original, the police found her body and I had to bribe the officer in charge and the coroner."

 

"The officer was a greedy bastard. Wanted money but the coroner was different. His son was dying. Terminal. I told him I could fix that worrisome problem. I just needed a sample of the boy's blood. He gave it to me and I created a homunculus of the boy. I did it personally. I wanted to see what it looked like for someone's soul to be eaten. I placed the tiny boy on his chest as he slept and waited. Beautiful, his young soul looked like snow reflecting the sunshine. The boy didn't feel pain. So much morphine in his body. He just shriveled up like a prune and the homunculi grew into a perfect copy. I switched the body out and nobody was the wiser. I told the father to deny further treatments to make sure" she said.

 

"You murdered a kid as a fucking bribe!" Keith yelled. "Oh please. Of that gets you riled up then you're really gonna lose your shit with what I’m about to show you" she said napping her fingers. Two men walked over and began pushing Keith's and Aspen’s gurneys. The smell became stronger as they went deeper onto the massive room which turned out to be an underground warehouse. "Big isn't it? Used to be a fallout shelter back during the Cold War. I spend more time down here than up there. I do all my "cooking" down here and a chef is only as good as her ingredients" she said having their beds propped up vertically up 90 degrees.

 

"Oh god....oh Jesus" Aspen muttered. "Used to be a whole lot more here but I needed many souls to craft this stone. 147 stones to be exact. 147 people bled and sacrificed on April 30...Walpurgis night. The only night in the year one can make a philosopher stone. The leftovers were put into good use wouldn't you say?" Eliza asked. Aspen could only sob at the horror before her. Rows of young men and women restrained. Naked with tubes running into their arms, mouths, and anuses. "You can't get away with this. So many people..." Keith said. "People nobody will fucking miss. Refugees from Syria. Off the books transports brought them here. 207 of them originally. Making a homunculus isn't just reading a book and mixing shit. First you...well why don't I show you" she said.

 

Eliza picked up a syringe and walked over to Aspen. "Leave her alone!" Keith yelled. "Relax. This won't hurt her. Well it may sting" she said sticking the needle into Aspen's arm and extracting blood. "Now think of someone you love...it helps" she said grabbing his cock. Eliza furiously jerked him off and Keith fought hard as he could not to cum. "You're not helping anyone by holding back" she said. "Eat shit and die" Keith hissed. Eliza smiled as she ran a fingernail underneath his shaft. Keith went rigid and Eliza put a test tube right as his cockslit. Each shot of semen went into it. "Nice and healthy. Borrowers really do nut more than human men" she said sloshing his thick load around. She poured the semen and blood into a small hardened gelatin based tube and casually inserted it onto one of the restrained women in the row. She placed her hand on her crotch and the ring glowed. The woman jerked and convulsed and then stopped. What came next was terrifying.

 

"I never get tired from seeing this" Eliza said. Slowly a small being climbed out the pussy of the woman. "I think I'm going to be sick" Keith muttered. The being looked exactly like Aspen. Eliza snatched her up. She walked over to Keith and Aspen so they could see. The creature looked at Aspen and growled slightly. Then Keith caught its eye. "Keith? Keith! Help! Please help me!" it yelled. "Silence" Eliza ordered. "Yes master" it said.  "Perfect right? Acts like the original but obeys its creator completely" she said. "Blood and semen. That's why Tulip asked..." he muttered. "And souls...well fragments of souls. This young woman here isn't just the incubator. My stone tears off a sliver of her soul to animate the homunculi. Otherwise it's just a soul hungry mindless thing. Eventually though the host dies from the process of her soul being shredded. I'm curious to see what would happen if the host survived losing her soul" she said.

 

"Something...sad" Keith muttered. "How would you make money off this?" Aspen said looking at her copy. "Well, some people out there dream of having tiny versions of people they know or have seen. Not some but many. An app designer in California wants three copies of his niece. A woman in Hong Kong wants five copies of some European underwear model. This one woman in Seattle...she wants one copy of a man who raped her. And I'm selling them at $100,000 a pop. And that's just the tip of the iceberg" she said picking up a tablet. She typed in a few words and then showed the screen to them. There's a few government's out there wanting me to make copies of presidents, prime ministers, and chancellors. $50 million a pop" she said grinning.

 

Aspen and Keith recognized most of their faces. "And run the government through them. You can't. You’ll destabilize the world!" Keith yelled. "He's right! War, economic breakdown, human suffering! There's no telling what could happen!" Aspen yelled. "Don't be so fucking dramatic. The world is doing that on its own. Don't think so then explain them" she said pointing to the enslaved refugees. "You took people fleeing a horrific war hoping they could keep their families safe in Europe...and you turned them into this...I will kill you. I swear my soul on it" Keith said coldly. "Careful now. I can take your soul in a heartbeat. Can't swear to something you don't have right? Besides, in a few moments, we'll be the best of friends" she said.

 

"Never!" Keith yelled. "Never is a long time. Now you shall see another power this stone gives me...Maladictis" she said. The stone glowed brightly cussing Keith the screech in agony. "You're killing him! Stop! You can have me! Hook me up to your machines! Just please stop..." Aspen sobbed. "Not killing him. I'm actually freeing him. Strange...it shouldn't take this much energy" she said with a sadistic sneer. Keith went limp and the stone stopped glowing. "Wake up Keith" Eliza said. Keith shook his head. "How do you feel?" she asked. Keith grinned. "Like a weight came off my chest" he said. Eliza unbuckled his restraints while still holding the copy of Aspen. Keith rubbed his wrists and eyed the copy. "You want?" she asked. He nodded. She placed the copy on his hands. "Keith!  Help me!" the copy begged. Keith looked at her. Every detail was perfect. Hair, eyes, mouth, nipples, the curve of her vulva, right down to her tiny long toes. He smiled at her. With no warning at all he shoved her into his mouth. Aspen on the gurney watched as he became erect. He was sucking and tasting her.

 

"Almost the same. Taste is off" he mumbled. The copy's screams escaped his lips as he did. "Like I said it's not a true clone" Eliza told him. Keith rolled her around and then bit down. Aspen swore she heard a blood curdling scream. Every time he chewed there was a scream and the sound of cornflakes being chewed. But it wasn't cornflakes. They were tiny bones being pulverized by his massive teeth. And when he swallowed he shot a load of cum onto the floor. "Taste good?" Eliza asked. "As I always dreamed it might" he said.

 

"What have you done to him?!" Aspen screamed. "Just a simple arcane art. Soul control. Kind of like mind control but on a spiritual level. Every person holds dark feelings deep inside. That whisper inside you telling you to do bad things? I just freed that in him. It's Keith but it's his dark side. Every nasty evil impulse is brought forth. If he did that to your copy, what does he have in store for you?" she mused. Keith looked at her while wiping blood from his lips. He walked over to her. He bent down. ".... I’ll play along. Keep giving her a show and wait for her to...*akkkkkck*" Aspen was saying until he grabbed her throat. "Keith. I want her alive. She's pretty enough to be in the order catalog and I need her blood to make more" she said. Keith looked at Eliza. "Very well" he said.  He sniffed her as she jerked her head in an attempt to break his hold. When she began to turn blue he released her. Coughing and gasping for air, she could see that he was not faking.

 

"Please don't hurt me Keith. I'm begging you" she said. Keith's answer was to push his cock into her. "You hate me that much deep down?!" Aspen screamed. "Not at all. I love you but I love fucking you within an inch of your life a bit more" he growled as he pulled back and slammed it in hard. He wasn't taking his time, and this caused some real pain for her. Her pussy hadn't stretched out to accommodate him as it had before taking it slow. Over and over he slammed his cock into her causing her to yelp. Aspen sobbed and yanked at her restraints. "It's hurts! It's hurts so much!" she wailed. Keith paid her no heed. Then Aspen looked him dead in the eyes. "You're going to kill out baby!" she shrieked. Keith stopped. He pulled out of her and gripped his head in pain. A tear of blood trickled out of his eye and he looked at Aspen. "I...I..." he stammered in pain. He lurched over to a table a snatched up a scalpel. He put it to his throat. "NO!" Eliza yelled as she activated her ring. Keith screamed out and collapsed. "Unbelievable. To still be able to fight" she said. She motioned for a man to come get Keith.

 

"Where are you taking him?!" Aspen yelled. A quiet place where I can concentrate. Get her prepped for a support unit" she said to another man. Aspen cried out as she saw Keith dragged away. Keith awoke a short time later in a large room. "What happened?" he asked. "You had an adverse reaction to my stone. How do you feel?" Eliza asked. "Fuzzy. What is this?" he asked looking around at the cages lining the room. "The room where I keep our prototypes for study. A kind of beta test. These are the first homunculi I've produced" she said waving her hand. There were 6 cages in the room. Three on each side of the wall where there was no lab table or storage lockers. Inside each cage was no less than five homunculi. "To get an accurate sample, I created them from all races. Caucasian, African, Asian, Hispanic, Indian, middle eastern, even Native American. It really speaks of the age we live in to analyze so many specimens and finding mixed ancestry. "What kind of tests do you run?" he asked.

 

"A battery of them. Fitness, mental acuity, eating habits, and more invasive things. I'll show you" she said. She reached into a cage and pulled out a young man of Caucasian descent. "Please...please put me down" he said to her. Eliza placed him on the table and lifted his tiny foot. A very small barcode had been tattooed on his sole. She picked up a PDA and scanned it. "This one was created from an Avery Chapman living in Bakersfield California. Age is 16. Sent a blood sample to us as a biology class project. Cute, good muscle tone, and his penis is bigger than average as you can see. A prime candidate for my catalog. Some lonely women...or men will have fun ordering him" she said placing the device down. She took scotch tape and secured him to the table.

 

"First test is sexual stimulation. Now hold still Avery" she said. "...yes ma'am" he replied. She took his tiny penis between her fingers and jacked him off. Within a minute he was whimpering as he came. "Semenal fluid is confirmed" she said rubbing the tiny ejaculate between her fingertips. "Can they make children?" Keith asked. "No. Each one is sterile. Now for the next one. Tactile" she said. She tickled his Tony feet to see if he would squirm, laugh, or clench his toes. "As you see they feel sensations like anyone else. Very important. She smelled him. "Body order confirmed. Armpits and feet perspiring accordingly. Amazing how exact the process is" she said making notes. Now for the last part" she said taking a scalpel in hand. "Be a good boy and don't scream" she told the tiny teen. Keith watched as she touched the blade to his chest.

 

A trickle of blood oozed out as she made the incision. The teen gasped as she pulled down the blade. He was in obvious pain but obeyed his creator. "And they obey even under that?!" Keith asked. "It's absolute. You're not sweetish about this are you?" she asked. "I've seen worse. I'm intrigued really. Never seen a tiny person dissected before" Keith said. The incision stopped right above his groin and she used her fingertips to pull his flesh back. Keith was stupefied to see very little blood being lost. "Incredible right? The internal organs were even copied. Heart...lungs, liver, kidneys, even the intestines. His little heart is still beating. Lungs inflating like balloons. Oh...his heart stopped" she said. The homunculus was dead.

 

"He looks 16 but how old was he?" Keith asked. "21 days old. A fine specimen. Cellular reproduction is constantly occurring in our bodies and I needed to see if it was true for him. Since his intestine is perfectly healthy (Eliza uses her fingernail to move some about), I can confirm it to be true for them. The tome never said how long they could live. In theory as long as a normal human or borrower" she said. Keith looked around. One cage was slightly different from the others. "You segregated them by gender except these" he said. "Very astute. One of the studies I'm working on is how they pair off emotionally. These two for instance. You two. Stick your feet through the cage bars" she ordered. A man in his 20's and a woman of similar age obeyed. Their teeny little feet stuck out for her to scan.

 

"Adrian Conway of New York and Sharon Vance of Georgia. One Caucasian and the other African American. Different races and locations. They don't know one another but this is where it gets interesting. I was checking on Sharon the other day getting vaginal samples and Adrian here got an erection. When I began hurting her he asked me to please stop. I kept hurting her and he was begging on his knees. I stopped and put her back in the cage. He hugged her as she cried. They formed an emotional attachment with no orders from me" she said. "Interesting. How deep does it go though?" Keith asked. "I don't know. You know a way to find out?" she asked. Keith opened the cage and pulled them both out. He carried them to the table. "One of you is going to die. You won't know which one. I'll give you five minutes to say goodbye to one another" he said so coldly. Sharon fell to her knees crying as Keith had Eliza step back. "Cruel but effective" she said.

 

"You seem so intuitive" Eliza said to him. "I am a scientist after all" he told her. "A super genius it seems to make something so wonderous like a shrinking watch. You thought about sharing that technology?" she asked. "Yes, but I thought it too dangerous. Now I think about it though, humans fuck things up even if I hold this back. Maybe with the capital I could expand my efforts" he said looking at her. "Someone like me?" Eliza asked standing very close to him. "Yeah...like you. Shrinking the unwanted nobodies of society and selling them off. Easier than making homunculi" Keith said as he took in her scent. Tiny crying broke their mood. "I don't want to die and I don't want to lose you!" Sharon sobbed. "I know. I...I don't want to lose you either. Having you near me made this bearable" Adrian said. "They're comforting one another" Keith said. "But they were doing that earlier" Eliza said. "Not done yet" Keith said walking to them. "Times up. The female is the one to die" Keith said. "NO! KILL ME! Just...let her live" Adrian said.

 

"Then come closer" Keith said. Sharon held his arm until he pulled away. Keith whispered in Eliza's ear. "Really? It's that good?" she asked. He nodded. Eliza picked Adrian up and placed him in her mouth. "Don't chew" he said. Eliza gulped him down. "I can feel him squirming in me. Fuck I'm getting horny" Eliza moaned. "I can take care of that" Keith said. He pulled off her panties and hiked her skirt up as he sat her on the table. "Put that monster in slow" she growled. Keith pushed into her and Eliza's eyes rolled in the back of her head. "It's so big!" she said as he kept pushing in. Keith kissed her sucking her tongue and air out of her mouth. "Are...are all borrowers such passionate lovers?!" she asked as Keith pulled back. He pushed back in answering her "you tell me.."

 

Sharon watched hopelessly as the giant and giantess fucked within a foot of her. Eliza's belly jiggling for each thrust. A belly that held her lover of the last 17 days of her artificial life. He was dying slowly inside the giantess being pounded. The terrible pain and guilt was too much for her. Sharon began to slowly walk to the edge of the table. Eliza's heels came off and Keith smelled her feet. "Don't do that! They're....okay...keep doing that" she said enjoying the feeling of her toes being sucked. "I'm going to cum and I have to warn you. Borrowers are very virile" he said. "Then do it. If we're going to be partners, then let's be life partners too" she said locking her legs around him. Keith growled as he shot his last load he had into her cunt. As they panted, they heard a wet splat. "Well how about that" he said looking down. Eliza followed his gaze to the floor. A spreading puddle of blood and in the center was Sharon. "Did we..."

 

"Nope. She jumped" he said. "I need to document that. A homunculus committing suicide. Fascinating" she said. She put her panties back on even as his cum dripped out of her. Jotting down notes as fast as she could. "Some clothes? Chilly in here" he said. Eliza pointed to a locker. Inside was a white shirt, pants, and lab coat. "Always keep a spare" she said. Keith looked at the cages to pass the time till she was done. "Kids too?" he asked seeing a 10-year-old girl. "I don't judge. Money is money" she said. Keith felt pain in his chest like his heart was being squeezed. "There. Shall we head back?" she asked leading him out the room. They returned to the main floor of the workshop. He saw Aspen being strapped to a bed like the others. "You said you needed to harvest her blood. Anything else?" he asked. Aspen heard his voice and whimpered at him.

 

"We have to administer a very powerful sedative to keep her docile while we begin the first procedure" she said. "What would that be?" he asked. "Aborting her child. She's not the first we've had this done too. A few refugees were pregnant when they arrived. Abort the child so we can put her womb to better use later on. We learned quickly that some females chose to bite off their tongue and commit suicide. Which is why she will be on sedatives for a good week or so" Eliza said nodding to an assistant. Keith looked at the drugs. "These sedatives are extremely dangerous with prolonged usage" he said. "Brain damage is a side effect. No matter though. We only need a living body not an intact brain" Eliza said checking the machine. Aspen began to hyperventilate as they brought needles and a very specific device. Her mouth was forced open to prevent her from killing herself. He looked at Keith with a look in her eyes that caused something very unexpected to happen.

 

Keith fell to his knees on severe pain. Blood trickling from his eyes. "Keith?" Eliza asked readying her ring. Keith stood up slowly. "Stop" he said. Keith walked up to the assistant. "You want to do it yourself?" Eliza grinned. Aspen looked at him in awe as his eyes had a strange faint glow in them. Keith took the syringe from the assistant and held it. Aspen mumbled something that sounded like please as she tried to shake her head. Keith gripped the syringe....and plunged it into the eyeball of the assistant. A nearby assistant (also male) rushed to restrain him and Eliza aimed the philosopher ring. Energy from it paralyzed him and the assistant grabbed him. Keith shrugged off the attack and took his hands and slapped them as hard as he could on the man's ears. Screaming in pain from crushed and popped eardrums, the man fell to his knees. Keith kicked him on his back and stomped his throat killing him. The third assistant (female) screamed and ran. Keith yanked the syringe out of the dead man's eyeball and pricked his finger. Wiping the blood on it he whispered something strange.

 

The woman disappeared behind a corner as he threw it. Eliza and Aspen were aghast to see the syringe turn in flight as if by remote control. A yelp later and a thud signaled it hit its target. "Stay back!" Eliza shouted as Keith approached her. Flash after flash of power and he barely staggered. He gripped her hand and squeezed. Eliza screamed like a child as his strength crushed the bones in her right hand. She barely was able to pull away and ran. Eliza didn't run out the worship lab however. She opened a locked desk and pulled out an old book...the tome. "I don't know how.... HERE!" she said very quickly flipping pages. She began to speak strange words and the bodies of the refugees hooked to machines jerked violently. "Stop this perversion at once!" Keith yelled in an odd vocal tone. She was absorbing the last vestiges of their souls. "Now bow to me!" she screamed.

 

It felt like the weight of a truck was dropped on him. But he still moved. "This isn't possible! Nobody can resist Maladictis when it's this strong!" she screamed as he got closer. With a powerful backhand, Keith knocked her out cold. Keith glanced at Aspen who was shocked beyond reason. Keith took the restraints off her. "Keith?" she asked. "Not quite Aspen. Are you alright...physically?" he asked. Aspen nodded. Her bare feet touched the cold floor and her knees buckled. Keith went to carry her and she pulled away in fright. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean...

 

*sigh*"It's alright. Understandable after what has occurred. One moment" he said walking to Eliza and yanking the ring off her. "Blasphemous thing" he said looking at it. "What did she do?" Aspen asked. "She increased the spiritus arcanum to its maximum at the last moment in a bid to control my soul. As you saw it didn't work" he replied. "How did you break the spell Keith?" she asked. Keith looked at her and then looked away. "He didn't. His soul withdrew on itself. I was forced the intervene" he replied. "Why are you talking like you're someone else?" she asked. "Because I am" he replied softly. "Who...who are you?" she asked. Keith looked around and saw the cameras on the walls. "Another time. We're being recorded. I need to destroy all of this but I'm faced with a dilemma. Come with me" he said. Keith led her to the beta room testing.

 

"Oh my god. Look at them. Must be dozens" she said. "Yeah...there is a good many in these cages" he said. Aspen noted they seemed terrified of Keith. "Why are they looking at you with such hatred?" she asked. "Keith...Keith did some terrible things here just a few minutes ago. Things like others he won't forgive himself for but that's not what this issue is right now" he said. "We have to free them! It's not right to keep them locked away!" Aspen said reaching for the nearest cage. The tiny homunculi looked ever so hopeful hearing that. Keith raised his hand to stop her. "If only it was that simple" he said.

 

"Fuck are you doing?! Look at them! They have feelings and emotions. It's that bitch that controlled them!" Aspen shouted knocking his hand away. "They're still very dangerous. While it's true they obey their master, their innate hunger for the souls of the original humans they were copied from is the problem. Don't let their tears, whimpers, begging, or smiles fool you. Left to their own devices. They will hunt down the humans and eat their soul to grow themselves...to evolve" he said. "So we just kill them off?!" she yelled. "Well that's the rub isn't it? They have memories, wants, desires, personalities, Keith even saw one sacrifice himself to save a woman he loved. Said woman killed herself out of grief" he said pointing to the body still on the floor. Do we kill them and take away the chance to live a life no matter what meager one it could be or spare them? And risk them hunting down innocent humans to feed off of? Might be a year, 10 years, or even 50 but they could find that human and kill them. Case in point that one" he said pointing to probably the youngest of the group.

 

A tanned skinned boy no older than 8 hid behind a woman as their eyes met. Keith reached in and pulled him out kicking and screaming. "Don't eat me! Don't eat me! Mommy! I want mommy!" he shrieked. Aspen held her breath as his fear seemed too real. "What's your name?" Keith asked calmly. "Chase" he replied frightened and keeping an eye on his giant mouth. He placed him in Aspen's hands. Aspen petted the boy in an effort to calm him. None had seen Aspen and wondered what she was like. It was foreboding to see the giantess naked but she was pleading for their safety to the man who just cruelly made a man give up his life to save another. Well that and he fucked the worst giantess they had ever seen too. "What's your favorite food?" Aspen asked. "Pizza" he replied. Aspen asked personal questions of him. He loved baseball, played video games, lived in Akron, Ohio, and missed his adoptive parents very much. Aspen watched heartbroken as the boy sobbed about that.

 

Her maternal instincts told her to protect the tiny child as best as she could. She cupped him in her hands and stroked his black hair as he cried. "What possible threat could he be?" Aspen asked. Keith picked up the PDA and held his tiny foot to scan. His picture appeared. "Chase. Look at this" Keith said. The boy looked at it and was lost in a gaze. "Chase....Jacobs....8 years old. 1324 Willcott Lane..." he said. Keith quickly pulled the PDA away. Chase snapped out of it. "Did you see that? How he was memorizing that info? Staring at that picture like a starving man stares at a steak?" Keith asked. "He was only curious!" Aspen yelled. Keith snatched him away from her and placed him back in the cage. "Put yourself in that kid's parent’s shoes. A creature that looks like him and has the instinct to eat your son's soul. Would you be "okay" with it if someone let it free?" he asked.

 

"No" she said softly. "Well...and now we're back to square one. Why don't we ask them?" Keith said. "How many of you are parents? Well I should say have the memory of being one?" he asked. At first nobody responded until one woman raised her hand. Then a man and then more. Over a third raised their hands. "That many? Damn. Well you heard our argument. Would you permit such a danger to your kids? To their parents?" he asked. "No, I wouldn't" one brave woman replied. "Are you trying to get us killed?!" an older teen yelled while yanking on her teeny shoulder. "Yeah speak for yourself bitch!" a man yelled. "Enough!" Keith yelled frightening them. "You said you wouldn't. You understand the gravity of this right?" Keith asked. "Yes. Just...just make it quick" she whimpered. Keith picked her up and held her in his fist. Her little lip trembled.

 

"Being in this body has caused me to become...human" Keith whispered. He placed her on the table. "How many share her sentiment?" Aspen asked seeing a possible way out of this. Those that raised their hands nodded. "Not easy is it?" she asked him. "I'm many things mortal but unfeeling isn’t one of them" he said again with an odd tone. Keith tapped his arm. He looked around for a large box. Finding one he dumped out the contents. "I've made my decision but Aspen you must agree as well" he said. "What is it?" Aspen asked worried. "We will take them home" he said. A few cheered hearing that. "Not so fast. What this means is you may never see what you think are your families again. The temptation is too great" he said. The weight of that silenced a few. "Will...will you abuse us?" a younger teen asked. "No" Aspen replied. The boy broke down crying. Aspen could only imagine what he had seen. One by one they were placed in the box before they left the room.

 

"Now for the dirty part" he said looking at Eliza still unconscious on the floor and the refugees in support pods. "If she wakes up yell out" he said leaving her. "What are you going to do?" Aspen asked. "Get our size watches back and erase her files. I'm betting she has our shit in her office. She's too paranoid otherwise" he said. Keith smiled as his theory panned out. He hooked his MacBook to her computer. "Erase" he muttered as he began to delete any file relating to what she was doing. He hesitated for a moment to decide if he should leave evidence for the authorities. "No... I know a fitting end for her. Humans and their justice" he sneered. The drives were thoroughly wiped and just for good measure implanted a worm to sabotage the servers. Keith returned with the MacBook, watches, and a lab coat for Aspen.

 

"You weren't gone long" she said. "Arrogant bitch didn't password her terminal. Put this on" he said handing it to her. He found it awkward to look at her. "Do you hurt down there?" he muttered. "A little" she said. He cringed. "You know that wasn't really him right? Not the true Keith?" he asked. "I know him. I saw him fight" she said. "He loves you so much. I can sense what comes next...he won't recover from" he said. "...what?" she asked. "Every time you look at him you will remember this. Every time he wants to touch you he will remember this. Such a guilt will crush his fragile soul. I would be remiss if I don't..." he was saying until Eliza began to awaken. "Oh shit..." she muttered seeing him standing over her. "Oh shit is right mortal" he said. Keith put the shrink watch back on. "You've been a bad girl" he said checking for any damage to the watch.

 

An arm grasped Keith from behind and he flipped whomever it was. "Annika. Wondering where you got to" Keith said. Annika kicked her heels off and rushed him. "Okay! This...might be a problem!" Keith said trying to restrain her. "That's what you fucking get!" Eliza said seeing Keith's node broken when Annika got a punch in. "Keith!" Aspen yelled. "No! Don't approach her! She's strong enough to snap your neck like a chicken bone" he said wiping the blood from his face. "You're fucked! Scale wise, as borrowers are superior in strength and stamina to humans, homunculi are just as superior to borrowers!" Eliza yelled. Keith went to punch Annika and she deflected it with her left hand and punched him hard in the chest with her right. Keith spat blood and swore she cracked a rib. "She's right. She's stronger and faster than me. I can't even draw an arcane spell" Keith or the person in Keith thought. But Keith wasn't done yet. He glanced at the philosopher ring. An invisible pile of force knocked Annika back.

 

Keith used it to pin Annika to the ground. "Aspen...some help please" Keith said tossing her her own shrink watch. Aspen scrambled to Annika and she touched her. Aspen shrank her down. Now shrunk, Annika was no threat. "No..." Eliza said watching Aspen raise her bare foot over the shrunken Annika. Eliza's last hope was snuffed out under the dirty sole of her once thought profitable woman. Aspen didn't give one shit to Annika pleading for mercy. If anything, it felt ever so sweet to grind her mushed flesh and pulverized bones under the ball of her left foot. Her blood oozing between her toes was cathartic. Eliza got up only to scream as a force crushed her ankle bones. "Where The fuck did you think you were going? By no means are we done with you" Keith said pointing the philosopher ring at her.

 

"Go ahead and shrink me. Crush me" Eliza spat. "You think it would be that easy? Ehat you have done is abominable by any reckoning of human or Fae culture. Killed people only looking for a peaceful place in the world. Done God knows what with their bodies. Killed unborn children to bump your profit margin. Even made slaves of children. But your worst crime...was making Keith rape her. The one of two people on this planet he swore to never harm. Something so horrible his soul broke. I... even with my vast knowledge don't know if I can fix" he said reaching for a syringe on a nearby table. He took the top off with his teeth and spat it on her. He bent down and jammed it in her neck. "What are you doing?!" Eliza yelled. "What's the matter? I thought you liked a nice prick. You enjoyed Keith's fairly well. Did it get your pussy wet having him fuck you when his very soul was under your command? You disgrace the blood of Faust" he said watching said blood fill the syringe.

 

 

Aspen and Eliza watched as Keith put the needle down and picked up a beaker. "Keith was running low but for you Eliza, I think I can squeeze out one more nut" he said with coldness. "On my god. You're...you're..." Eliza stammered. "Humans call it jerking off. Normally they need a visual reference. In Keith's case it's usually looking at Aspen's feet. I understand. You have marvelous toes Aspen. This time however, the thought of what's coming gets me in the mood well enough. UHHGH!" Keith groaned as he shot a small load of semen in to the beaker. He injected the blood into it and sloshed it around before pouring it into a gelatin pack. He casually walked over to a refugee woman. "I'm sorry but I promise this will be the last time you have to endure this" he whispered. He pushed it in as far as he could right into her womb.

 

"Please...have mercy...please don't make a homunculus out of me!" Eliza said. Without looking, he snapped both femurs in her legs. "You dare say such a thing? You think any of those whose blood you took to make those things agreed? You think that boy Chase would've said yes? His parents?! He has memories of a home and strangers that made him their son. He can never see them again! Mercy? (Keith puts his ring hand on the refugee's crotch) My mercy is spent saving those you would make playthings to whoever had enough money" he spat. He watched with no emotion as the newly made homunculus slid out of the giant vagina. The Syrian woman jerked as another part of her soul was torn away. The creature shrieked seeing him. "You have every memory of her right until a minute ago."

 

"Do you remember your 16th birthday?" he asked. She didn't answer. Keith squeezed her hard. "Yes! I got a car from my father. Please don't kill..." she was saying until she heard and saw the original Eliza sobbing on the floor. "Your first crush? Christmas last year? Feeling the beach sand between your toes for the first time?" he asked. Tiny Eliza faintly nodded. "Look at her Eliza. She's just like you. Every thought and memory in her head. "Answer your master. Who do you want to see again right now? If you could who would it be?" he asked. "...my father my master" tiny Eliza replied. "Was it how she said master or was it she answered with the exact same answer she would've? Either way it became clear now the reality of how true copy homunculi are. The scientist part of her was elated to see her questions of how real they could be answered. The human side of her was disgusted at how similar she was. Keith carried her over to Eliza. 

 

"Keep it away! KEEP IT AWAY!" Eliza shrieked. "What are you afraid of? Oh yes...that little thing about them wanting to eat the original's soul. Mortals call this poetic justice. For someone who has lived for many centuries...I call it fate" he said dropping tiny Eliza on her belly. Keith picked her tome up. "I can’t be mad at Faust. He seeked knowledge for knowledge sake. But it's apparent that such knowledge should stay forgotten" he said biting his finger once again and drawing symbols on the book. The book glowed and began to crumble into dust. "There. The enchantment keeping it from aging is broken" he said. "My tome...the tome that was in our family for 500 years...gone. The way you talk...centuries...mortals...how I couldn't control you....who are you?!" Eliza screamed as tiny Eliza crawled up her chest.

 

"Why don't I tell you?" he said kneeling down. He whispered the answer. "That's...that's impossible. Your telomeres say you're only 18!" Eliza yelled. "Believe what you will. In a moment it won't matter. Now why don't you show yourself some love. It's said it’s the first thing you do seeking forgiveness. In your case...it's the last" Keith said taking tiny Eliza and shoving her into Eliza's mouth headfirst. Eliza mumbled a scream as the homunculus began to suck her soul right up her throat. Aspen looked away at the gruesome sight. Keith did not.

 

Her skin grew taunt on her bones. Eyes shrunk into her skull. Her skin went from ivory and pink to grey and black. Her skin made eerie cracking sounds and her bones creaked from the pressure. Tiny Eliza rolled off the mummified corpse and grew. She looked at the body when she was human sized. "Oh god" she muttered. "You keep saying that but if you had a concept of God then you would not have done such a thing" Keith said. "But I didn't! I'm her copy!" she screamed. "You're right. Forgive me. Having said that..." Keith said shrinking her down. "You still have her memories, including how to make homunculi. Aspen, I give her to you" he said snatching her up and tossing her over to Aspen.

 

"Don't enjoy that size for long at all did you?" Aspen asked. "Please. All she did was on her. I never did a thing to you" the woman said in her grip. "I nearly lost my baby because of you. Yeah you didn't do it but you have her memories, her personality. Guilty by association. I am going to make you die slowly" Aspen hissed. Aspen opened her mouth. "Don't eat me! I'VE DONE NOTHING WRONG! DON'T EAT ME!" she shrieked as she was lowered into the giantess' maw. Her little bare feet slipped on her wet tongue and the light was gone as Aspen shut her mouth. Aspen didn't want to taste her but she made it a point to make her suffer before swallowing. Chewing on her gently. Tasting traces of blood as her teeth cut her skin. Her wild kicking of the roof of her mouth. Her screams vibrating her molars. Sucking on her so hard her eardrums ruptured.

 

And when her screams turned to whimpering moans, her movements still, she tipped her head back and let Eliza's body slip down her throat was an audible *gluck*. Aspen pat her belly. "Feeling any better?" Keith asked looking around. "It's a start" she replied feeling the struggling in her belly. Eliza was shrouded in darkness. The air itself moist, acidic, and stifling. Just breathing burned her lungs. Aspen had not eaten in many hours, so her stomach quickly went to work breaking down whatever was now in it. Gastric juice rose. Her feet tingled and began to sting. Her toes numb. Then a horrible burn. Eliza jumped fruitlessly to avoid it but just caused her to splash it on her body. Her eyes stung and she shut them. Then she fell face first into the stomach acids. She couldn't scream. Some she gone down her throat and burnt her vocal chords. A creepy gurgle was all she could do. Aspen's heartbeat and the sounds of churning acids filled the organ but she couldn't hear that. Deaf and blind, she knew her fate was moments away. This Eliza had all the memories of the original. Remembering her 10th birthday. Years later getting the tome. Reading it in the moonlight as a young teenager. Wondering what she could do with her life with such knowledge. None of that happened to her but it felt like it did. Her final thought as her lungs melted away was she wished that tome had been destroyed back in 1945.

 

*burp*

 

"Aftertaste?" Keith said looking at oxygen tanks. "Never ate anyone before. I kinda liked it" she muttered. "I've eaten plenty over the centuries. Bad people. Don't feel guilty for a second. Your nor I" he said picking up a pen and writing on a post it note. "What are you doing now?" Aspen asked. "Writing out some instructions for you and Keith. Here's the deal. I have to erase his and your memories right up until Eliza began controlling him. I'd do it earlier than that but I run the risk of erasing much more than we want. I'll have my hands full getting rid of the traumatic ones with using so much power. I take it you can keep a secret?" he asked. "Of course I can. Starting with who you are" she said. "I'll tell you who I am in due time. Even with the cameras gone, who knows what else is here listening to us. I know that's not the answer you want. I ask you to be patient" he replied. "Will I get my Keith back?" she asked lip trembling. "Yes, with this ring, yes. Now help me with those tanks" he said.

 

Aspen helped him move oxygen and sedative tanks around the workshop. Keith instructed her to take the clothes off a dead assistant. She watched him pour ethyl alcohol all over the floors and tanks. "Well stocked" he muttered. "What are you planning?" she asked. "I'm going to burn this room. Get rid of any evidence that can lead back to the creation of homunculi" he said. Aspen looked horrified. "What? What will be left will make humans think she was cloning people. Or something...genetic experiments? Yeah, that's a good story" he said.

 

"That's not what I'm upset about! What about those people?!" Aspen yelled pointing to the refugees still hooked into support units. Rows of them. "You'll murder them so coldly?" she asked. "Aspen they're alive in the very loosest sense of the word. Their brains are mush from excessive sedation. Their nervous systems are wrecked. Those tubes are what's keeping them alive. And their souls...gods above do you even know what it's like to have your soul fragmented over and over? You remember what Lily said about soul gems given out of love?" he asked.

 

"Yeah" Aspen replied. "It's not just a gesture. It a trial. A trial of pain to prove one's love. Every time she broke of a piece of this woman's soul her body jerked. Now why would a body react to pain when the pain receptors are fried? It's because the pain is on a spiritual level. The feeling is like someone stripping a chunk of flesh off your body. Now you know there's an afterlife after meeting with Bentgrass. Ask yourself this. Would you condemn a loved one to this state for decades to come or free them to be with their loved ones? You mistake my actions for coldness. No, this is an act of mercy...and love. Sometimes you have to let go of what...and who you love for their own good" he said lighting a Bunsen burner. He dropped the burner in the front of a trail of alcohol that led to the tanks. "Time we left" he said walking to Eliza to snatch her keycard.

 

They got in the elevator just as the fire hit flashpoint. Aspen was quiet as the elevator rode to ground floor. Keith himself held the box filled to the brim with homunculi. Each one silent. Their minds blown at recent events.  "No fire alarms? She really kept that room off the books" he muttered. "I want my Keith back now" Aspen hissed. He looked at her. "It's not my job to make you happy or be nice and sappy. That’s his job. My job is to keep you together. I have a vested interest in that. But I admit I've overstayed my welcome" he said aiming the ring at her. Aspen gasped and fell against his shoulder. "And now for me" he said hitting himself with the same power. He staggered as he vision faded. His last act was to crush the philosopher ring under his shoe and grind it into dust.

 

*ding*

 

"What...what's going on?" Keith muttered coming out of a daze. "H...HOLY SHIT!" he yelled seeing the box full of little people. Aspen woke up. "What...where...ohmygod!" Aspen said seeing same box.  "They're homunculi, aren't they? Aren't they dangerous?" Aspen asked. Keith wanted to set the box down until the door opened. A lobby of people looked dead at them. Then an explosion shook the building and alarms went off. "What should we do?!" Aspen yelled. Keith looked at the people. They looked terrified. "Fuck. Huh?" Keith said looking to see a note at his foot. He picked it up. "Care for them. You made a promise...both of you. The other note is for Aspen...signed Keith" he read. "Keith! Stop fucking around!" Aspen yelled. Both ran full speed out the front doors.

 

Keith had the sense to keep the box shut as they rode a tram to the hotel. "Why in god’s name did you bring that?" Aspen asked. "The note said we promised to take care of them. Here. I think this one is for you" he said handing her another note. "Aspen, what I'm carrying is the only homunculi that were created. A decision had to be made. Either burn them alive or spare them. Since they are only dangerous to the original humans, you elected to keep them in your home. You'll notice some are children. You and me won't have any memory of this and that's a good thing. Things occurred best left forgotten. P.S. Do NOT let Lily know you have them. Signed Keith" it read. Aspen peeked into the box. Sure enough there were children in the group. Aspen held his hand until their stop. As they waited for the hotel elevator, Aspen spoke. "Do you have a hole in your memory?" she asked.

 

"I thought it was just me. Yeah, I do. A hole from where she pointed that ring at me and then walking up in that elevator? You?" he asked. Aspen nodded. "Strange. What could've happened?" he asked looking at her. "Keith? What's the matter?" she asked. Keith was crying and he hadn't noticed. "Don't know. When I look at you I feel...pain. Aspen, please hug me" he said as they stepped into the elevator. They walked into the hotel room to find Claire still asleep.  "What time is it?" Aspen asked sitting down. Keith turned the tv on. "Few minutes before noon" he replied. Aspen picked up the note she wrote for Claire and crumpled it before tossing it into the waste bin. Claire woke yawning. "Hey sleepyhead" Aspen said picking her up. "Time is it? We got time before the mission?" Claire asked. "Came and went" Keith replied. "You telling me I slept through it?!" Claire yelled punching Aspen's palm. "Jet lag is a bitch" Aspen chuckled.

 

"Well did you find anything?" Claire asked, Aspen pointed to the box on the floor. Claire hopped down and crawled on top of the box to peer in. "Holy shit" Claire said. "My thoughts exactly" Keith said. "They're going to live with us" Aspen said. "Aspen there are dozens here!" Claire said. "31 to be exact. I counted" Keith said sighing. "Look at them Claire" Aspen said. "Kids. Some are kids. No wonder you saved them" Claire said. "Can my beautiful borrower lover share a home with them?" Aspen cooed as she picked her up once again. "They don't touch my treats" Claire huffed. Aspen kissed her head. "I'll even buy more chocolate covered strawberries" Aspen said. "You'll do more than that. It will be my turn to roleplay next. You better have your shrink watch fully charged for what I have planned" Claire said grinning.

 

Two days later...

 

"I saw in the news that a massive fire gutted the lower floors. Forensic evidence is saying the CEO was doing illegal genetic experiments on undocumented people and died in an accidental fire. I take it she was dabbling in homunculi" Lily asked. "Why don't you ask Tulip. No wait you can't!" Keith yelled over the phone. "Tulip died in the line of duty. Regrettable but it served the greater good. People are safer due to her sacrifice" Lily said. "Sacrifice?! She was fucking eaten as a scare tactic! Part of the blame sits on your shoulders Lily!" Keith yelled. "Every operative knows the risk"

 

"I'm not talking about that! If you had told me everything about homunculi things could've gone different! It would not have taken me as long to confirm! Time and her life could've been saved!" Keith screamed. "Need to know basis" Lily flatly said. "No, I don't trust you enough is what you mean but you trusted me enough to risk my life! We're even! You hear me?! What you did for Aspen has been paid in full!" Keith yelled. "Very well. May I ask if everything relating to homunculi has been destroyed?" she asked. "...yes and then some. Me and her have holes in our memories. You wouldn't know about that would you?" he asked. "No, nothing. Thank you for your service. Goodbye" she said ending the call. "So, she doesn't know why either?" Aspen asked standing behind him. "No, it bothers me. That note was not in my handwriting, but it was made out like I wrote it" he said.

 

"Then give it a rest. It's driving you bonkers" she said kissing him. Keith returned it until movement caught his eye. "Hey little guy...Chase right?" he asked. The tiny boy nodded. "What's up?" he asked. "I'm hungry" he said. "Well it's dinner time. Go get everyone for me okay?" Aspen smiled. The boy took off running. "Adorable, isn't he?" Aspen said grinning. "Yeah, it's nice of you to open your home to them" Keith said. "It's not home if you have to horde it. Help me set the table" she said. They set the table just as the entire group came down from upstairs. Keith and Aspen held hands and their free hands held the tiny hands of a homunculi as someone said grace. When it was done Aspen asked Keith a question.

 

Where do we go from here?" she asked. "Good question. For now, let's take a small break. Big world out there to explore and it's not going anywhere" he said looking at her smile.

You must login (register) to review.