The Red Hand

Chapter 361.6 – A Chip of the Ol’ Block!

"So... Let me get this straight. Imp managed to create some kind of magical homunculus body, you bound it to you as summon and then you were able to activate your summoner ability to control it?" Akagi summarized the explanation provided by Alice in disbelief. They'd moved over to the garden's pavilion where the unconscious body of Alice was protectively hugged in the Demon's arms while she spoke to her daughter, who was currently controlling the summon in question.

"That's right!" Alice smiled brightly. "I wanted to help Mama fight those Gods, so I had Imp secretly make this body so I could go with!" She looked very proud of herself, and Akagi couldn't bring herself to retort or admonish her.

{All things aside THAT'S FUCKING COOL AS HELL! I didn't know Imp could do that! How long has this tech been in the works, and why didn't she say anything to me?!?} (Akagi)

"I... I knew it was possible to control your summons, but wasn't that really just something used for scouting with small familiars?" Akagi asked with a wry smile. The ability was mostly an unfinished gimmick in the game and was generally more for fun than actual combat applications. This was largely because it left the summoner completely helpless and overall the stats of the monster were not enough to put up a fight against most players. Not to mention there was a limit on what summon could be controlled and things as powerful as Puppers were inaccessible due to built in limitations. "Wait, now that I think about it how long have you known about this? I don't recall you using this ability since FWO ended."

"I kind of forgot about it, and I only figured out that it could be used more freely after the tournament." Alice thought for a moment as she recalled using it for the first time. "I was messing with my slime and got frustrated with how it kept failing to do what I want, so I took it over to show it." She tee-hee pero'd. "After that, I tried it with other summons and found out I could do that with all of them, even Puppers!"

{A little girl in a big Dragon body... If I had a Yen for every time that happened, I'd have two. Which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice.} (Akagi)

"Well, that's really impressive." Akagi smiled, proud of her daughter's discovery. "I'm proud of you for figuring this out, Alice. Good job. This might even be of some use for any other summoners out there."

{But I'm still gonna yell at Imp for doing this and not telling me. Don't go doing things like this behind my back and expect no repercussions, Devil.} (Akagi)

"And now I can go with you!" Alice said, happily. "I can resummon this body as many times as I want, so if it gets destroyed it's no problem and I can still use all my spells and summons through this body! You were worried about me being in danger but they can't hurt me if my real body is here while the summon goes to Enoris!" She said with a big smile. Summoners could channel their powers through the controlled familiar, which made it useful for keeping them safe while enabling them to direct a battle from the front. In game, this was counterbalanced by the fact that summoners tended to have poor magical affinity for damaging spells which, while still the case in the real world, was curbed due to the ability to hone one's magic and learn spells they otherwise couldn't in FWO.

{She really wants to come with that bad? I guess I shouldn't be shocked since she's my daughter after all. I don't really like this, but...} (Akagi)

"After you went to all that trouble... I can't just say no, can I?" Akagi sighed, her approval making Alice squeak with excitement. Akagi didn't want her to actually go due to the risk of her being killed via the connection just as she'd killed Gods, but the Demon was aware that telling Alice no at this stage would just see her sneak over anyway. "You just need to promise me you'll be careful. No taking risks. You are to disconnect from that body the moment you feel something wrong, okay? And if a God shows up you're out the instant you know they're around, deal?"

{If I can kill things through a connection there's no guarantee others can't. Hell, I'd be shocked if the Gods couldn't do the same thing.} (Akagi)

"Okay!" Alice smiled while saluting in a serious manner before returning to her usual goofy attitude. "Yippie! I can lead my friends now! Ku Ku Ku! Those Dwarves won't know what hit them! I'll make them understand just how powerful an army of monsters lead by their master is!" She laughed evilly as she imagined leading her legion of summons to war, personally.

{Yup, definitely my child. Even though it shouldn't be possible she's inherited my blood. Oh well, I like it.} (Akagi)

"Now you do realize that this is all contingent on if you can control that summon while your body is on Earth." Akagi noted that there may be another barrier in her way and raised the issue that what was basically a trans-dimensional VR game with the summon may not be possible. "I wouldn't be shocked if it wasn't possible. Interdenominational shenanigans is already a bit wonky, so you're plan may beaten by the literal laws of interdimensional physics."

"Nah, its okay! I already tested it with some rats and it worked fine!" Alice said with a smile. "Imp was worried about the same thing and made me check it before she made this summon! She didn't want to waste time if it wouldn't work."

"Well, she's nothing but through, I'll give her that." Akagi rolled her eyes, her last hope having been dashed. "But what's up with your appearance? It's like a character made in FWO. I would've thought you'd create a body that looks like yours rather than something different."

"Because I thought it was cute." Alice said as she did another tee-hee pero.

{Yup...} (Akagi)

"You're your mother's child..." Akagi sighed.

"Miji thought it was cute too!" Alice said with a smug face. "And she said I looked really cool like this!"

"It's definitely a cute body, but your real one is my favorite." Akagi laughed. "You're just a little cupcake! I could just spoil you forever!" She said while stroking Alice's actual body on the head.

"Eh-heh." Alice giggled happily. She couldn't feel anything in her real body while controlling the summon, but seeing herself get pet made her feel happy.

"So, what's her name?" Akagi asked her question causing Alice to tilt her head in confusion.

"Name?" Alice asked, not understanding what Akagi was talking about. “Whose?”

"You give all your summons names, so what's hers?" Akagi asked while pointing to the new body.

"I... I didn't make one..." Alice said, embarrassed. "This summon has no mind, so I didn't think to..."

{It has no will of its own? Really? I suppose making a homunculus without a mind is possible, but would Imp really do something like that I can tell it has no soul, but...} (Akagi)

"I still vote we give her a name." Akagi said, firmly. "Calling you Alice while on a mission might be a bad idea after all. If anyone puts two and two together and discovers you're my child, they'll target you even harder."

"Oh yeah!" Alice said realizing that she'd need something like a code name, which instantly got got her thinking. "Hmmm... Name... Name..."

"And please give her a regular name." Akagi added, hoping to prevent a tragedy from unfolding. "No calling her Creampuff or something like how you do the others. I want a normal human name, please."

"I wasn't going to do that." Alice said, clicking her tongue.

{You totally were! I know you too well you idiot! You're horrible at naming summons! You called a Wyvern Puppers for god sake! I know its cute, but come on! The poor thing probably hates being called that!} (Akagi)

“Hmmmm....” Minutes went by as Alice struggled to come up with a name. She tried asking Akagi for input, but the Demon declined to provide any since she wanted this to be something entirely of Alice's making. The girl struggled and struggled until something seemed to click and she leaped out of the chair with her idea.

"Erika!" Alice said with glee as she said the name that came to mind. "That will be her name, Erika with a K!"

{Welp, I guess that's about as normal as we're going to get.} (Akagi)

"Then Erika it is." Akagi smiled. "Make sure you take good care of her, okay? I won't have you neglecting her."

"Mama, this isn't like a kid finding a stray dog..." Alice deadpanned.

"It's close enough!" Akagi laughed, which made Alice pout and huff.

After a bit of coaxing, Alice was brought around with a round of tea and cookies. Akagi wanted her to get used to controlling that body, asking her to use it for a bit while they chatted. Once the treats had been provided the two relaxed together under the pavilion for a while and Akagi noticed that while controlling Erika's body Alice's annunciation and articulation were slightly better. She still had some of her more childish mannerisms of speaking, but it was clear that she was conversing in a more mature, albeit still adolescent, manner. Akagi figured this was a result of using a separate body which may have helped to weaken the mental blocks and limitations she'd placed upon herself due to trauma. After a bit of chatting they were interrupted by an unexpected guest who called out to them.

"Oh, there you are." Hishya said as she walked across the wooden footpath and approached. She was wearing work out clothing and the rag over her shoulder indicated that she'd just got done exercising. "Miji was trying to find you, and-" She paused as she noticed the unconscious body of Alice lying on a nearby bench while the new one was hugged up on Akagi. "You added another girl to your snuggle harem, didn't you? Where did you kidnap this one from? You've got to stop doing that, Akagi. Its not okay to rip children out of their rightful homes."

"Mama didn't kidnap me!" Alice pouted as she clung tighter to Akagi. “You're the reason I went to her anyway! Stupid lizard!” She said, blowing a raspberry.

"Yeah! You heard her!" Akagi laughed as she pet Alice on the head. “This is all your fault, Hishya!”

"Mama?" Hishya did a double take as she processed what she'd just heard. "Wait, you have another one?!? When did you kidnap another child and force them into being your kid?!?"

{I feel like we need an intervention team for her. No acquiring children through kidnapping! Miji might not have been kidnapped but she was bribed with kitty which isn't much better!} (Hishya)

"I only have one child, Hishya." Akagi rolled her eyes as she pointed to Alice's unconscious body. "The cute one hugged up on my arm is still the same as the sleeping Princess."

"Heeee." Alice smiled happily as she was pet on the head some more.

"Uh... How and why?" Hishya shook her head, not even questioning things.

"Imp." Akagi's one-word answer was all the Dragon needed to understand what was going on.

{Ah... I see...} (Hishya)

"Yup, that checks out." Hishya nodded. "I guess this must be some kind of piggybacking off Daikael's experimenting?" She figured the crazy fox shared some info about her cloning experiments that would allow Alice to have a second body.

"Don't know, haven't gotten that far, but probably." Akagi replied as Hishya walked over and poked Alice's new body in the cheek.

"Its... It's perfect." Hishya said as she kept poking the girl's cheek. "You could've told me this was someone from FWO and I'd've believed it. Its nothing like a normal clone body you could've made in game with Alchemy or magic."

{Hell I can even sense vitals from it! This body... How the hell did Daikael and Imp make something like this?!? If it was known they could make complete 'Human' bodies... It would revolutionize medicine!} (Hishya)

"Yeah, and my child here decided it would be funny to prank me by falling unconscious without telling me what was going on." Akagi glared at Alice while pinching her cheek.

"Yow! Mama that hurts!" Alice yelped as her cheek was subjected to extreme pinching.

"That's payback for making me worried! My nonexistent heart stopped when you fell over!" Akagi grumbled as she let her go. “Mama was very worried!”

"Please... Please don't go scaring your mom like that, Alice." Hishya sighed, picturing what happened in her mind and instantly not liking it. "We've already seen what happens when she freaks out..."

{Alice dying is very high on my list of DON'T LET IT HAPPEN!} (Hishya)

"I'm sorry, Mama." Alice apologized as she hugged Akagi's arm tighter. "Are you mad at me?"

"No, I'm not." Akagi sighed as she pat her on the head. "Just don't go scaring Mama like that again. This old heart of mine can't take such things anymore." She snickered. “I can't handle such stress anymore.”

"So why did Alice get this second body made anyway?" Hishya asked as she moved around the table and took a seat. "Please don't tell me it was so that she could hug you in two bodies instead of one..."

{Knowing Alice though, it may be exactly that...} (Hishya)

"I want to help Mama in the war against the Gods!" Alice said as she hopped up from the chair. "Mama said it was too dangerous for me to go in person, but if I send this body I can control it and lead my army of summons!" She said with a toothy smile.

"You... Akagi..." Hishya glared at the Demon. "Are you really going to let her..."

"I can't help but spoil her." Akagi said with a resigned look on her face. "I figure if it will make her happy and keep her from sneaking over there, then I'll allow it. Though I've tied plenty of conditions to her joining the battle."

"You're going to make her kill people though!" Hishya hissed, intensely disliking the idea of Alice being made to kill innocent people as part of Akagi's war. "Alice, you do understand that you'll be attacking people, right?!? This isn't FWO or a game! Your summons will be killing people! Do you understand what you'd be doing over there?!?"

"And?" Alice replied with a coldness in her voice that caught Hishya off guard. "Why shouldn't I kill people that get in Mama's way?" She glared at the Dragon. "Besides it's not the first time I've led an army of summons to do just that. Recall that it was me who created the Army that attacked Gifu. I have no qualms with killing people, especially if it's at Mama's request. If they get in Mama's way, I'll remove them without mercy."

{Aww...} (Akagi)

"You..." Hishya blinked in surprise. She'd never heard Alice talk in such a manner and for a moment she questioned whether the girl behind the face was really the same happy-go-lucky kid she'd come to know.

"Cute exterior or not, don't forget that Alice is my daughter, Hishya." Akagi chuckled. "And it seems that I've rubbed off on her. Just a bit."