As instructed, the slave looked up so that he could fully see his master's face, and he smiled in return, preparing to leave the room.

But then Joseph tensed up at his owner's instructions, keeping his face mostly impassive. His mind could not help but flash back over five centuries when he had been “broken” on these very grounds, in the now-demolished castle dungeon. Even though that castle had been torn down two centuries ago to make way for the mansion that Alexi now inhabited, Joseph could remember the hard breaking process like it was yesterday. He could remember the utter pain he experienced as he lay there, trying to resist the urge to feed. He could remember the humiliation he felt when he finally gave in and drank the blood, that sated his hunger but worsened his pain. And he could remember the way his mind had slowly become docile, and how he would suddenly feel depressed, unmotivated, and somewhat nauseous whenever he thought about rebelling or escape. “Soft breaking” trapped your body, but “hard breaking” was horrifying mind control, and Joseph would not wish it upon anyone.

Despite his objections, however, it was not really Joseph's place to object, so as he listened to Alexi explain, he tried to think of an appropriate concern apart from his own moral issues. He almost lost his nerve when Alexi dismissed him, but he held his ground. Naturally, he bowed deeply before beginning to speak.

“Master Alexi, why do you desire such a dangerous servant? This household already has as many servants as it needs, and surely it is not worth endangering your life to gain another one,” Joseph replied, his tone subservient but not afraid. But somehow he was sure that his objection would make little difference, because he could see the look in his master's eyes. This was not about a need, but a desire to have something unique. Actually, he was not entirely sure what it was about, what produced that strange excitement in his master's eyes. But he could only hope for an explanation as he awaited an answer.

~ ~ ~

Erik watched as the slavers made their way into the warehouse, leading a band of chained werewolves and vampires. He signaled for the rebels to enter through the side doors, and to make their way through the myriad rooms and hallways in this gigantic building until they reached the room where the prisoners were being held. As they went, they took out the slaver guards patrolling each of the hallways, shooting tranquilizing dart where they could. That way if anyone hit the slaves, it would not be fatal. Besides, the Xani cell did not exist to kill humans, merely to free their slaves. They did not always use such non-lethal force, but in this case Erik had decided that it would be the best course of action. Of course, they did have alternate guns with them that shot real bullets, just in case things turned ugly.
Finally they reached the doors of the largest area of the building. A part of him wanted to give a warning, to allow these men to surrender, but he knew that would only give away their position. So he nodded and signaled everyone to fire in ten seconds.
Ten seconds later, the first shots with the rifle fired in succession, over three-fourths of them landing on the slavers, and none hitting the bodies of the soon-to-be slaves. Like every one of his men, Erik stayed hidden as he continued firing his tranquilizing rifle, watching the enemy drop one by one. This was going well. The enemy was surrounded, and with any luck the firefight would be out of the way soon, with few to no casualties.