A few days earlier, when the antiheroes had just returned to the Dictatorship 4 days before the campaign.
Claire stormed through the hallways of the 'castle' if it could be called that, headed to the surveillance chamber where the birdmen were stationed to produce reports.
Her demonic form had overtaken half of her face, as she grinned with delight at the thought of teaching those birdmen a lesson for producing so much unnecessary work for her to look through.
Her angelic form composed the other half of her face, and she was extremely concerned for what Clarice was about to do, as she argued with her other self for the sake of the birdmen.
'Please go easy on them!! All they need is a light reprimanding and a redirection of efforts!'
'Oh hell no, not after seeing all those weird and creepy reports they produced. That was basically stalking!!!'
'Well.... even I would be a bit concerned if I knew that the government had a recording of my sleeping noises, and the exact analysis on my breathing patterns... but we are a dictatorship! Perhaps they thought that as dictators we wanted to control every aspect of the lives of our people, and as such needed to know every possible-'
'Do you even understand how crazy you sound right now? Aren't you supposed to be the angel here?'
'Geh... why are you always the one who is right?'
'Because I'm the better side of you, of course.'
Claire burst open the door to the surveillance chamber and the ectoplasmic fluid covering the entrance slid aside for her to enter.
Inside, the birdmen were furiously copying down information, and had stacks upon stacks of documents of information next to them.
They looked like they had not slept in days, and were working so hard that they had ragged breathing- they were writing so fast that it was as if they were some sort of report writing athletes who had just finished writing a marathon and were now about to start a new one.
"Y-your eminence!!! Why would you come all the way here yourself to pick up the documents!?! If nobody else has been assigned to do this task in the place of Sir Coran, then all that would have been needed would be to message us to do so!!! There was no need to come here yourself!!!", Yirald shouted while continuing to write away, his eyes on one of the goblins who was cooking in her home.
"Eep!! Could it be that we haven't provided you with detailed enough information!?!", Fergo shrieked.
"We will vow to do better!!! Please give us just a small amount of time!!! Forgive me for even having to ask for your patience!!!"
"Stand."
The three stopped their writing in an instant and stood on guard, at the commanding voice of the Determined.
"I want you three to listen to me, and listen to me real well. Your job is to keep watch over the town and ensure that no incidents occur, right? Your job is also to collect useful information for the overall development of the city, right? Are those the responsibilities Coran assigned you?"
"Y-yes! Those indeed were the responsibilities!"
"Then... stop giving me these useless reports!!!! I don't want a 500 page thesis on the distribution of cheese and its effects on the body proportions of the people who eat it!!!"
"Was the report not to your liking!?! I personally think that the results were quite intriguing-", Fergo tried to say, however he was then interrupted by Claire.
"SHUT UP!!!! NO MORE REPORTS!!!! ONLY IF SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS MAKE A REPORT, AND MAKE IT NO MORE THAN 2 PAGES!!!!"
The three nodded vigorously with faces of terror that could only be described as traumatized.
"Do you all really understand? Hmm????? No more reports longer than 2 pages, only filled with the most important information, and I want no more than 5 reports per day! Make sure to pick the 5 most important events that occur within a given day and write a report on them. Ok? AND ABSOLUTELY NO MORE STALKING PEOPLE IN THEIR HOMES!!! SHUT THOSE CAMERAS OFF!!!"
Relu ran over to the control panel and turned off the cameras which were inside the homes of people, before returning to his spot before the Determined.
"That's more like it. If I see one more thing that I consider creepy then I might just have you three all thrown out of this city."
Claire left the hut as the ectoplasm closed behind her. Her demonic side resided into her hand after releasing her stress, and looking back, she was unsure of which side of her actually was the one speaking during that conversation.
"Ah, that was refreshing... nothing like lecturing idiots to start my day."
-----
Currently 1 day before the campaign begins.
The antiheroes made their way to the basement where Bella, Durst, and Faux were locked away.
"How could I have neglected something like this... and with my new database ability and analysis capabilities, it is even more unacceptable that I didn't take something like this into account... we need to check up on that woman immediately... while it is unlikely that anything bad has happened to any of our inhabitants, there is roughly a 30% chance that those children have already been killed off due to rejecting her as their mother."
"Is that really such a bad thing?", Ashley asked without a shred of concern in her voice.
"Well, it's true that they were useless as far as assets go, and they likely would not grow into any form of functional workers... however, they serve as a pacifier of sorts. Without them, who knows how unpredictable that woman will become. The only reason we allowed her into the Dictatorship is because I was confident we could control her, however if they are gone she might have to be eliminated as well due to the risk she poses."
Garett nodded agreeing with Trevor, and Samantha had a concerned look on her face.
'If those two useless little shits died off because they couldn't read the situation.... well, then I suppose that's all they were worth, however it sure would be a pain to try to deal with that psycho if she loses her kids again... they better not have died on us...'
The antiheroes entered into the dungeon after Trevor unlocked the firmly secured door, which was braced with all kinds of locks and reinforcement.
They quietly stepped down the stairs and into the kitchen area, and they heard a soft humming.
"Go to sleep, my child... rest your head, my child... come into mama's arms, and all your cares will be swept away....'
"Hehehe... you guys hear that? You guys hear it? Hehehe... she's gone nuts... her singing... that isn't something normal, oh no...", Ashley muttered with her raspy voice. "I know... that's not the lullaby of a caring mother... that's the ramblings of an insane woman."
The antiheroes froze and looked back and forth to each other when Ashley said this, however they nodded to each other and pressed on. They were the ones who caged this monster, after all, and it was their responsibility to keep her at bay.
When the four turned the corner into the kitchen, they saw a sight straight out of a horror film.
The woman held a knife in each hand, and was caressing the heads of the two children, both of which were in her lap.
Just the heads. There was no connection between the heads and their bodies.
The bodies were on the right and left sides of her, and she calmly and quietly continued to sing her lullaby. The area where the heads had been removed from the bodies looked somewhat rotten, and the skin of the children was pale as if they had been dead for quite a while now.
"We might have just walked in on something that we shouldn't have seen.", Garett whispered.
But what was this?
He felt somewhat happy to see this scene.
It felt... almost heartwarming?
Why?
Why did this disturbing scene warm his heart like this?
Why did he feel a great amount of sympathy and remorse for this loving mother?
It was because Garett was a demon.
His demonic nature had twisted his sense of morality to the point where even this disturbing and bloody scene looked like nothing more that maternal love for her children.
'Ah, how nice...'
"Hm... this is certainly discomforting. Well, I suppose that is that.", Trevor noted while putting on a poker face.
The woman had noticed the four, and called over to them.
"Ah! It is you four!! Please, come over here!!! Sit with me and my children for a while, and have a chat with me, wont you?"
"We're going to have to decl-"
Trevor started speaking, but Ashley headed over on her own, and beckoned for the others to follow her.
"Ally? Is something wrong?"
"Just shut up and follow me. There's something off here."
The group followed Ashley and walked over to the mother who continued to smile delightfully and caressed the heads in her lap.
"Good boys... good boys... you were being so bad before, saying that I wasn't your mother, but you listen to me now, don't you? Yes... that's right... you both will grow up to be fine men.... soon... as a matter of fact, I am sure your father will return very soon...."
Ashley approached the bodies of the two boys, and held out her hands in a grasping motion as if she was taking hold of the air above the two heads.
When she grabbed it, things became clear.
Inside her hands were two black shadows.... they were the souls of the two children, and she held them as if she were choking them by their necks.
"Sarah, get these little shits' bodies healed back up for me.", Ashley said to Samantha before turning to look at the faces of the two souls. Her face twisted with disgust and irritation as she spoke.
"Did I tell you that you two were allowed to go and die on us? No, I didn't."
Samantha was surprised only for a second, and she held out her hands and the heads reattached themselves to the bodies, which once more began to fill with color, however the eyes of the two children remained lifeless.
Ashley then vibrated the two shadows in her hands by their necks, bobbling their heads around as if she was shaking a ragdoll.
"In our domain, there is no respite even for the dead. Now get back in there and listen to your mama before I take your punishment into my own hands."
"N-no!!! Please don't do this!!!", one of the shadows shouted.
"Just let us sleep in peace!!! I don't want to return!!!!"
Ashley shoved the souls back into their bodies, and the two children awoke trembling in fear.
Tears fell from their eyes, and Bella started laughing and smiling.
"AH!!!! My beloved children!!! It seems that you both have awaken from your naps! I think it is time for your snack, don't you think? Come with mama..."
Bella grabbed the hands of the two children, who seemed to be looking back at Ashley in horror as they were taken into the kitchen.
"Don't... don't do this.... just let us die...."
"I want to see mom and dad again..."
Ashley smiled sadistically as she waved goodbye to the children, who were taken off.
"Don't go dying on me again... next time, I won't just bring you back to this hell... I'll send you to a deeper circle."
Ashley slithered off while laughing to herself quietly like a maniac.
Garett followed her with a smile, and Trevor called out once more.
"Ah, Bella. I hope you are prepared for a feast. Soon enough, we are going to arrive here with a whole load of meat for you to cook with. Make sure to have your children help you out."
Bella smiled happily.
"Thank you so much!! I would always be grateful to anyone who provides me with more livestock to butcher!!"
----
That night, Ashley happened to take the last watch of the night. The next morning was the morning when the campaign would begin, and so the antiheroes planned to get up early in order to arrive at Githard and then travel with the fleet to the fishmen village, where they would begin their plan to make their way ahead of the Empire, and have a short conversation with the leader of the fishmen. Depending on how that went, they would decide what they would do from there.
It was around 4 am. Ashley sat alone in her bed in the dictatorship, with the other three fast asleep in each of their beds.
'It sure is nice to have my own bed. Whenever we travel around I usually have to share with Samantha, and the other two don't even get a bed... haha... to think that living as a dictator would be so... commonplace.'
Something had been etching at Ashley however.
Soul Manipulation.
This ability had an odd description, and an even more confusing set of abilities.
She didn't really understand how she knew to do so, but she just felt like the souls of those children were there when she entered that basement.
'Am I... is this because I am a spirit? Have I lost all connection to this world?'
Ashley touched her own hands.
They were there.
Thank goodness.
She could feel them.
She pressed them to her bed.
She could feel that as well.
'Good... good... I still exist... I still exist... what if I wake up one day, and I don't exist? What if I try to speak out to my comrades, and they can't hear me?'
The fears enveloped Ashley.
She had never in her life had friends before, and for the first time in her pathetic existence, here they were.
They were not simply friends though.
They were comrades who were able to accept her hatred, her insanity, her cruelty, and her desire to see others burn, without blinking an eye.
Not a single person stopped her from tormenting those children earlier. Why?
Because they cared about her happiness more than the mental stability of those children.
They cared about their comrade more than any sense of morality, because to them, making their comrades happy was the very definition of morality.
They could cover things up with excuses like 'We needed to keep that woman from loosening even more screws', but Ashley knew better than this. Her intuition told her that they were doing it for her sake.
Never before would anyone have lifted a finger for her in her previous life, aside from that one woman who let her room for free.
Now, she was surrounded by four people who would sell their very souls for her.
'Well, even if they sold their souls, all I would have to do is take them back... keh keh...'
However, in the darkness of night, Ashley heard a voice.
"No!!!!!"
"Help!!!!!"
"Don't do this!!!!"
"MONSTER!!!!"
"FREAK!!!!"
"Madwoman!!!!"
She heard the screams of hundreds... no, thousands of people.
These screams bombarded Ashley's mind, and her vision turned dark.
'Where am I?'
"Abomination!!!"
"Demon!!"
"Cretin!!!"
"Creature!"
A continuous volley of insults filled her mind.
However, these insults did not hurt Ashley in the least.
No, instead she smiled.
She smiled, and she laughed.
Her laughter became louder and louder, and the insanity grew with the horrifying laughter.
She became louder than all the screams and insults, and started speaking as well.
"Yes... yes... scream... suffer... am I the monster here? No, you all are the monsters... you all are the abominations... you all are the fiends!!! Hehehe.... it is not me who has harmed you.... it is you scum, who have created me."
Ashley then ceased to hear any of the voices.
She had fallen asleep, safe and sound. Not a sound disturbed her, and she had a smile on her face and drool dripping from her mouth.
"zzzzz..... heh heh...."
----
"AH!!!! WE'RE LATE!!! WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE US UP!!!!"
Ashley was awaken abruptly with Trevor freaking out as he looked at his nonexistent wristwatch. A screen appeared with the time above his wrist.
"Ah. Whoops. Sorry, the voices must have been getting to me last night. Not that it really matters anyways."
"We need to head out right now, or we will miss the departure! Well, I suppose we've already missed it... I can't believe it... we probably have missed out on some key information due to our tardiness... well, what's gone is gone, and what's done is done. Everyone, get ready. We leave as soon as possible. Sarah?"
Samantha waved her hand and the four took their elven forms before Trevor used fast travel to teleport them into the middle of a group of soldiers.
They were all being loaded onto their respective ships. The person behind them who they teleported in front of seemed to be rubbing his eyes in disbelief.
'Must be seeing things. I could've sworn those mercenaries weren't there before.', was what Samantha heard from his mind.
"We are on number 143.... this direction. Let's head out, everyone."
And so, the antiheroes boarded onto the ship.
"I thought I told you to never let your guard down, and to always be cautious!! How could you not only fall asleep while on watch, but to even sleep in so that we.... WE... would end up being late to an appointment!", Trevor lectured Ashley as they were walking through the halls of the ship.
"Ah, shut the hell up already. I told you, some voices were speaking to me and I kinda lost consciousness. If you're so cautious then you should've just taken watch yourself and set your own alarm."
Trevor bit his lip at this. She was right, and used his own logic against him.
'I suppose this is what I get for believing in others... heh heh....'
"Sigh... you are right... forgive me for holding any expectations for anyone aside from myself."
"Haha.... calm down you two! As long as we made it on time, there aren't any problems, right?", Samantha said as she tried to mediate the two.
"Perhaps, but if we missed out on an opportunity to gain information..."
Suddenly, the door opened in a nearby cabin.
"Punishers! We meet again, and this time on our journey over to the monster realm!"
Lance said this with a cheerful smile, and the three other mercenaries were there as well in the cabin.
Trevor pushed up his glasses and smiled at the group, who seemed to have changed their way of thinking about the antiheroes for the better.
"Oh? It was within my expectations that you four would end up coming on the campaign as well, however to think that we would happen to be assigned the same ship like this... would you call it a stroke of luck, or perhaps a curse of misfortune?"
----