Curt had a dream, tinged with hope and sadness.
He was a doll maker, crafting hundreds of dolls, each one he instilled with a wish for life; each one becoming animated as he worked. But they moved robotically and only as he asked, and each time he asked for them to try to become a real girl.
The dolls made a crooked head movement, slightly more fluidly, but only just. He chuckled and place them down on the floor, "you'll figure it out" he said.
The dream ended as he heard a door far behind him open, and as he turned to look, he saw a silhouetted image of a girl, flesh and blood, but not so different from the dolls.
"I'm home dad."
+++
Curt awoke, feeling like he'd stumbled on a simple answer to a complicated problem, but not sure how to put it into words. A thought that he struggled to hold onto when he heard a knock on the door. He sighed, turning to the door.
"You may come in," he said.
He wasn't surprised to see Skyla walk in, but he was surprised to see her in her feral form... Well, mostly feral, as her breasts poking out of her dress was anything to go by, though she had managed to return to the size she was as a human; and she seemed a little dishevelled, like she'd picked a fight with her own fur.
"You look like I feel," Curt joked, "though its nice to see you a little less... Well."
"Strictly polished?" Skyla shrugged as best she could on all fours. "I couldn't quite figure out how to change back, not while I'm calm at least it seems, and when I saw my 'bed fluff'... I just figured that the 'head maid' wasn't who you wanted to see." She giggled. "You don't look like you had a good night either."
Curt sighed. "Yes and no... I had a dream I was Geppetto… Except instead of the blue fairy coming to give them life, they were animate because I made them... And I asked them to become real."
Skyla was right up against the edge of the bed, her front paws placed up on it as she pushed forward. "How did it turn out?"
Curt shrugged. "Well... The dream ended when one seemed to have come back from a journey to find herself... Or something... Or maybe just trying to find out what being a real girl meant... And she was real, and she called me her father."
Skyla hummed a bit. "Do I need to say it?"
"No," Curt said, "but... I can't find better words than just 'be a normal person' or 'try to be who you were'... I don't think that would work for those who were boys, given they can't go back."
Skyla sighed and curled up next to him. "Its a start, though you'll have to make them all aware for that to work."
Curt gave an amused nudge. "What happened to the Skyla who'd rather we all be safe by keeping everyone unaware?"
Skyla smiled weakly. "Bruised mostly, I'd rather we both be able to live with ourselves... But a simple request to keep quite should keep things stable for a while. We can turn them back to unaware once we're sure they're mostly themselves."
Curt picked up the ray gun and started checking the settings, flipping them back to their normal settings, especially the 'target's preference' part, except switched to aware. "Hopefully we'll be able to pick out all the ones that were hit since this thing keeps a record, we should also make sure Sharon and Suzie are there when we tell them... they hit each other with this... and if their personalities become simplified because the one using it were just kids..."
Skyla nodded. "I'll make sure the mailing list goes out, book a quiet place you can make a speech, as much as you can figure out... And afterwards I'll try and get you, me and Anna to go to a spa so we get the worst of this behind us."
Curt smiled, and lay back, stroking the back of Skyla's head, resting. "You think knowing what you know now, would you'd still have used the ray gun the way you have?"
Skyla sat quiet for a moment, her ears flicking back and forth with the strokes until she sighed. "I wanted them to still follow their skills, their passions... I just wanted them to use those passions and skills for you with as much professionalism as they could... But... I didn't want them to loose any part of themselves to be like that... So..."
Curt nodded. "So no regrets?"
"Only that I didn't think about this all sooner I guess," Skyla said, "though... I suppose I might have to admit to myself that Kitty is fine without becoming one of us."
Curt laughed. "I had a feeling you were waiting for her to put a foot wrong. You given up on that?"
Skyla's fur slicked back for a brief moment as she held herself as firm as she could. "As if one of the maids I trained personally would ever put a foot wrong!" She said with a smirk. After pausing for effect, she let out a breath and relaxed herself, her fur spiking back up at odd angles again. "I really can't give up being the head maid can I? Not even when I need to take a break from myself."
Curt hugged her close. "You're fine being yourself... Both the head maid version of yourself, and the you that you are when you're not being the head maid."
Skyla nuzzled up against Curt, and the two stayed like that for a while, enjoying the warmth; though eventually they would have to start their plans for the day.
+++
Silvy found a message from the mailing list, it had a foreword appended to it addressed to her specifically, that she should probably be there to help her school mates return to normal, or some variant of it.
She was as exhausted at the thought of what had happened as Curt and Skyla were. But it was something she wanted to get through, it was her friends she had to save. Part of her also felt comforted that her master would also feel much better if things got a little closer to normal.
The main message itself was a fairly simple one, essentially show up at the far end of the estate out of view of the others, and that what is happening there is confidential.
A part of her was disappointed that she couldn't tell others who wanted to be like her about this... But after everything, she knew it would probably scare people as much as this whole experience had been for her. With a sigh, she was already thinking about what to do about getting out there, and what she'd say to her friends once they'd heard what master Evenson had to say.
She looked out the window, for a moment thinking the world itself was sighing, the sky being as overcast as it was.
+++
Skyla stood in the middle of the 'command room', the Leo squad looking at her nervously like they sensed she had something heavy to say.
Part of Skyla wished she didn't have to do this, but there was no way she could do this without them. And both Leo and Kitty both deserved to know what had happened.
Skyla took a deep breath. "What I'm about to say is not to leave this room, it could shatter everything you think you know, make you hate people you respected, and likely make you curse my name more than anything... If you have any doubts about whether or not you want to hear this, now is a good time to leave."
All of the lionesses looked between one another, and to Pam and Cassidy, all of them just nodded and stayed silent, like they had trained for this for years. Skyla would have almost been impressed if not for the fact she was likely the reason they were like that.
Kitty wasn't exactly sure why she was here, but with a look to Leo for support, she saw him nod back. Leo seemed almost amused that a dark secret was coming out rather than apprehensive. He was a former criminal after all, if anyone could relate to such things it was him.
Skyla wasn't sure what to feel about none of them leaving. She still needed to remain composed though. "Since none of you have left... Let's begin slow... What if I told you that the lives you know aren't your original lives?"
Most of them murmured, but Cassidy remained the most composed. Pam on the other hand was almost grinning.
"Well... Its certainly possible, given you're living proof magic exists," Pam said.
Kitty and Leo traded a glance, though Kitty remained silent, and Leo leaned forward as if things had suddenly gotten interesting.
"Interesting statement Pam," Skyla said, "though its a little more complicated than that..." She looked to the various surveillance consoles. "Actually... I think its easier if I ask you to bring up what I had you check up on last time."
With a flick, Leo brought up the footage. Everyone leaned in closely and focused intently on the image. Pam's eyebrow happened to raise the first moment Suzie would have been struck, though the lightning effect didn't seem to show on the tape. With the change in behaviour that followed, and Sharon's confused reaction after he would have been struck, there was murmurs all across the room. Kitty was the most confused, but she seemed to be slowly processing the implications.
"I take it the reason you're drawing our attention to this is because this toy gun changed our lives," Pam said.
Skyla nodded. "Yes... Specifically, it turns anyone it hits into anthropomorphic maids; with a handful of exceptions," she pointed her nose to Leo. "Leo didn't end up like the rest of you because he's a father... Kitty is still human... Mostly just because it didn't seem right to at the time... And even aside from the changes to reality, there are other mental changes."
Kitty had been silent for most of this, but this was the one part that made her hair stand on end. "Please tell me it didn't..." She trailed off, restraining herself from a motherly panic attack. "... Please continue."
"The one mental constant is that those hit by the ray gun are made to love, respect, and remain loyal to the gun's owner... specifically Curt... But its not explicitly romantic love and it cannot impose sexual love, so for your children its more likely adoration like that of a father figure," Skyla said, "however... Anything not specified in the gun's settings are filled in with the will of the wielder, or if the settings specify so, the target... Meaning, if children get a hold of it..."
Everyone in the room suddenly went pale, many simply remembering the existence of the school like it was an anomaly blocked from their mind; remembering its previous state and its new one. Kitty of course seemed frozen, like realizing her kids had murdered someone without even knowing what they'd done.
"... I should also mention before it slips my mind," Skyla began, "Kitty, Sharon was... A boy before she was hit."
Kitty blinked, and for a moment she made a weak laugh. "... Its fine... Compared to... That's nothing."
"You're taking this all rather well," Skyla said, "better than I did... All of you are... The fact that some of you I've directly changed the lives of without you knowing... The fact my actions might have lead to this... The fact your feelings for master have been imposed on you... The fact we were careless at the worst time to be careless."
Pam sighed. "Please stop, we know as well as you do what would have happened if you guys weren't in our lives, we were criminals, and chances are many of us might still have been if not for you."
Cassidy made a deep huff. "I can't exactly be angry at having a life where I would have hurt some kid suddenly disappear... If it wasn't our Master, it would have been someone else."
Leo had a grim look, but he too made a show of looking positive. "Fate's a cruel mistress, if anyone knows that its me... I can't blame you for what happened to our kids; but I hope you've got a way of making sure this doesn't happen again, or else it might be to much of a risk for that thing to continue to exist. Heck, I think Kitty's probably already thinking that same thought."
Kitty winced, like her own emotions betrayed her.
"An authentication lock is on it now, it shouldn't happen again," she said, "though... We have no idea what would happen if it broke down... It could irrevocably change the world for the worse."
Kitty nodded let out a breath she was holding, leading Skyla to focus on her. "How are you taking this?