Kent watched from the top of a nearby apartment building as the lights went dark. His drones working in the power plants had arranged for the power to the whole neighborhood to be cut off, all while making it look like an accident caused by one of the still-human employees. The mansion likely had backup generators, but it would take a while to get them active, and they could only provide so much power. His drones wouldn’t be hindered by the dark, but this Evenson and his servants would be at a disadvantage once the hunt began.
He watched through night-vision binoculars, as four parties of ten drones each climbed over the walls. Hundreds of others waited outside the walls, either prepared to follow up if the others took too long, or to ensure that nobody got in or out of the neighborhood.
An all-out attack had been a tempting idea, but Kent knew it was too risky. If he wanted to keep making money off his drones, public opinion of them couldn’t dip too negative, and if all of them suddenly started attacking a single man one night, potential buyers would worry they could be next. Sure, in the best case scenario, when Evenson was captured and transformed, the reality warping features of his transformation might mean the attack never happened. But if Evenson couldn’t be transformed, or the reality warping didn’t work completely, coming up with an explanation for why forty drones “malfunctioned” and attacked people would be easier that making an explanation for nearly a thousand drones doing the same.
Kent was taking every precaution he could. The drones he’d secured in the police force had been feeding their unchangeable partners a string of false leads on the far side of town. Even if anyone in the mansion called the police, there was no way they’d arrive in time. He’d already changed most of the potential witnesses, those whose homes had sightlines to the estate, to bolster his army’s numbers. At the same time, a few had been deliberately left unchanged, and were instead brought to him, tied up. He would hold off on turning them, for now. He idly looked over the many, many other options his tampering had gotten him access to. If everything went off without a hitch, these kidnapped humans would become typical drones at the end of the night. If things got dicey… well, he would use them to break out the big guns.
+++
Down in the courtyard, two of the lionesses, and one of the wolves, saw one of the drone squads.
“You’re entering private property!” The wolf said. “If you don’t leave immediately, we’ll have to throw you out!”
The drones wordlessly brandished a set of knives, saws, bats, and other easily weaponized tools, their pace not slowing as they approached the mansion.
One of the lionesses shook her head. “Seems they want to do this the hard way.” Their claws came out as they dashed toward the drones.
Each blow or cut the security guards landed knocked the drones back, their light weight making them unstable in the face of a stronger force. But they also never tired, and felt no pain, so even as the three guards would push back six drones, the other four were allowed to advance. One of the lionesses growled in frustration, and tried to turn around to restrain the drones that were getting away, only to get a slash from the drones she’d turned her back on. The wolf rushed to her sister’s aid without a thought, letting more slip past. Realizing her mistake, she ran for the rest of the squad as it made its way to the mansion.
The drones made no effort to try and hurt her once they’d moved past the guards. The drones had no conscience to hold them back if they needed to resort to violence, and felt no sociopathic joy from causing pain that would drive them to kill without need. They had a single goal; find Curt Evenson, and bring him alive to Owner. The other creatures here were just obstacles.
+++
Ashley and Misty had been taking a walk through the gardens when the lights went out, which had startled them enough. But when they heard the sound of numerous footsteps, and saw a squad of drones coming their way, led by an ax-wielding golden retriever drone, they’d panicked, and made a break for it, only to find that one of the drones had been based on a hawk, which soared after them, hoping they might lead it toward its target.
“What are we supposed to do?” Ashley yelped. “We can’t even fly away!”
Misty heard the sound of some sort of liquid flying through the air, and looked up to see a glob of something dark strike the eyes of the hawk drone, which stuck there, leaving it flying in circles as it attempted to regain its bearings.
“Looks like we picked a good night to practice outdoors, huh?” A squid woman said, her body glowing a soft green shade, a mantis woman, a human male, and Marceline by her side.
“Cherry!” Misty said. “Thanks for the help!”
+++
The second squad of drones had attacked from another angle, and, meeting no resistance, had already broken through the back door, startling head chef Janet, who hissed and drew a knife from the dining room table holding it in both hands as she pointed it at the intruders. The drones looked at her for only a moment, before proceeding to the hall.
“D-don’t you dare hurt anyone!” She called out. In a panic, she rushed to the mouse drone at the back of the group, only for it to knock away her knife, and turn its own weapon toward her. However, it’s arm was caught in mid swing by Cassidy, who easily lifted the drone up and tossed it back outside.
“Get out of here, Janet!” Cassidy urged. “They might have us on numbers, but me and the gang are gonna get this under control!"
+++
Atarah felt shaken to her core. So many destinies, thoughtlessly twisted and contorted without an ounce of care. And now, all those lost souls were being forced to attack her Master’s home.
Atarah was not a fighter, but she knew she couldn’t let these things harm her fellow maids. She breathed a deep sigh as she heard glass breaking behind her. Ten drones, their forms like television static, smeared ink, and a z-fighting 3D model all at once to her. She wouldn’t be able to hold back all of the creatures outside, but she would stop those she could.
The fact that the drones’ human minds were effectively sealed, meant that she had no need to worry about breaking them.
“See the world as I do.”
The drones marched toward her, some raising rifles, others holding hedge clippers, another power tools.
And kept marching.
And kept marching.
And slowly, they realized, that even as they walked forward, Atarah was getting farther and farther away, despite the angelic lioness not moving an inch. It was as if the hallway grew longer with each step they took.
The drones may have been single minded and utterly obedient, but they weren’t simple AIs. When they realized one course of action wasn’t bringing them closer to their goal, they would stop, and attempt a different method. So, the drones turned around and attempted to walk the other way. And met a smooth, flat wall. Flat, yet, somehow, also round. And having just as much gravitational force as the floor below. The squad stepped onto the wall, and attempted to proceed with their sweep. But the world seemed to bend and wave around them, the hallway, and every side-room it led to, spinning and turning around them like a kaleidoscope, colors their human selves couldn’t dream of flashing and darting about.
The drones, without a word, all stood stock still. They could not complete their objective in the current state, so the next step was to return to Owner for additional orders. But they could not return to Owner in this state, either. All they could do was wait for Owner to find them.
+++
Dustin hadn't known what was going on. He'd seen the hundreds of rental drones outside marching towards the mansion. He'd noticed they all had weapons. He'd been scared out of his mind, it was one thing to see superheroes fight monsters on TV, but this wasn't a show.
And so when two of the drones broke into Dustin's room, he'd shrunk back. He saw the latex husks were the male pale-blue elephant (not any bigger than a normal human) and female silver badger. The was elephant armed with an axe for wood chopping, and the badger held a sports javilin that made an effective spear. Dustin knew they'd brought him to dinner... and he had confusing memories of these empty vessels having looked after him... but he couldn't remember for who. They looked at him with total indifference as they stepped inside the room, intending to open every nook and cranny that could hide an adult male human.
The drones were explicitly looking for Curt, the rest of them might as well have been potted plants if they didn't get in the latex beings way, but, Dustin and most of the maids didn't know that.
"YOU STAY AWAY FROM HIM!" Kat snarled, coming from behind, actually weilding a battery powered hedge cutter, slamming into the heads of the two drones. They were unharmed, but the force of the attack still knocked them into a wall, and sending a cabinet crashing down on them. If they'd had the emotions to care, they'd have been surprised at a mere human actually being able to impede them.
Not wasting a moment, Kat reached out a hand to Dustin, "Come along dear!"
Dustin took her hand, not even looking back at the drones as they unburied themselves.
+++
Anna led the children with her, constantly looking over her shoulder to make sure nobody was left behind.
“Hold each other’s hands, and shout if you feel someone let go of yours,” she called out.
She grabbed hold of Stella’s paw, making her way down lavish corridors that had felt so comfy and inviting minutes ago, and now just filled her with dread, with so many places for a drone to hide.
She turned a corner, and saw a squad of drones coming down toward the hall, a few holding pistols, others holding knives. They zeroed in on Anna. Owner had told them their target would likely be near her. All their weapons trained on her, they marched forward.
A clopping of hooves could be heard further down the hall. A few of the drones turned to face the source, only to go flying from a series of firm kicks.
“Lady Anna, I’m coming for you!” Leroy called, before delivering another strike.
“Thank goodness, the children are still safe!” The estate’s tutor, Paige Foster, called out. In a blur, the mountain cat picked up the pistols the drones had dropped, moving all but one safely out of the way, which she kept for herself.
“C-careful where you point that thing!” Leroy yelled, leaping away from the drones as one took a swipe at him with a knife.
With an ear-splitting BANG, the attacking drone was knocked away, bowling into a few of its comrades, their weapons clattering to the floor.
“Don’t worry,” Paige said, “I’ve been trained how to use these. We used to live in a rough neighborhood.”
The drones got to their feet, moving to their weapons so they could remove these obstacles, when they were interrupted by a flying lasso, binding them together.
“Gotcha!” Marceline’s voice called out from above. She descended from the ceiling on a silk string, while a squid’s glow illuminated the hall, revealing a Mantis woman and human male with her. “That should hold these guys for a while. Pam’s moving everyone to the bomb shelter in the basement, you girls should get in there before more of these things start pouring in!”
+++
Anna, Leroy, Paige, and the Jr. maids heeded the spider’s words, and found just about every member of the staff that lived on the estate, there when they arrived as well as her parents.
“Thank goodness you’re okay!” Her father hugged her tight, her mother joining in.
“Where’s Curt?” Her mother gasped.
“He… He was out in another part of town when the attack started.”
“Good, so as long as he knows to stay away, he won’t get hurt.” Her father looked relieved.
“He’s… going to come back. He’s gonna try to stop the guy responsible for this.”
Both her parents looked distraught. “No…” His father whispered.
“What’s he thinking? He’ll be killed!” Her mother stammered.
“The guy controlling these drones is after Curt specifically. If he tries to run, they’ll just start doing this to other places.”
“What does this monster want with my son?” Her father fumed.
“Winning the lottery wasn’t worth it if all it leads to are enemies like these!” Her mother shook her head.
“I wish I could explain it, too.” Anna hugged them both. “Now that I know you’re safe, I’m going back out there! I can’t let Curt do this alone!”
“I don’t want to lose you too!” Her father said.
“Yes, please, I know you love your brother, but THINK!” Her mother said. “What can you do when even the security guards can’t keep up with all of them?”
“...I know something none of the other maids know, and it's not something I can just explain! Something that might help bring this guy down. I know it’s dangerous, but my brother needs me.”
“Lady Anna, if you can’t be talked down,” Leroy spoke up, “would you at least accept my help, too?”
Anna looked up at the stallion. “...Yes. Now hurry up! The longer we wait, the worse it’s gonna get!”
Mr. and Mrs. Evenson watched as their daughter practically leapt through the shelter door, her equine butler in tow. The door locked tight behind them.
Outside the shelter entrance, all of the maids on hand with any sort of combat training (including the rabbit trio that had been Skyla’s former co-workers) or magical abilities stood ready to defend. The “teen” eastern dragon twins each held a pearl tightly in their claws, focusing together.
“What are you two doing?” Anna asked them.
“We’re not, super good at fighting,” Kathy admitted.
“But these guys are total lightweights,” Carrie explained. “If we get a big enough storm going...”
“They’ll be blown away!” The two said in unison.
“Will you guys need to fly for that?” Anna asked.
“Eventually, yeah,” Carrie answered.
“Why do you ask?” Kathy wondered.
“We would appreciate a ride with a bird’s eye view,” Anna explained. “Curt’s gonna be out there, and he’s gonna need every bit of help he can get.”
The two dragons turned to each other with a serious look in their eyes, and turned back to Anna.
“It’s gonna be tough doing a spell…”
“And giving adults a ride, too…”
“But if it’s to keep Master safe,” they spoke in unison, “we’ll do it!”
“Formations everyone!” Sergeant Hayes shouted. She tossed a set of ear pieces to the magic users, and Anna and Leroy. “And be sure to report any suspicious enemy movements.”
+++
Curt, Skyla, and Emma knew something was wrong when they drove into their neighborhood to find the power out for several blocks. And their fears were confirmed when they saw hordes of latex drones standing in the streets around the estate, holding everything from guns to knives to bats, to even large tree branches serving as clubs.
“They’ve already got the place surrounded…” Curt whispered. “Emma, do you have it in you to teleport all of us in there?”
“I’m sorry Master.” Emma shook her head. “After teleporting those two things so far away, I’m gonna need a rest before I can do it to more than myself.”
“Don’t feel bad about it,” Curt said, “you’re doing your best.” Emma smiled faintly at the assurance.
Skyla furrowed her brow. “The real question is, where is this Kent guy? If he thinks you’re a threat to him, I doubt he’s gonna lead the charge, when he could get his drones to disarm you and bring you to him.”
Curt sighed. “You’re right. UGH! He could be ANYWHERE! And we’ve got no way of searching safely with these drones flooding the streets.”
"And he could snipe you at any moment and that would be the end of it for us and we'll never even know! Let me turn you into a figurine, put you someplace safe in Japan, and let me deal with him!" Skyla said, slightly manic.
“No, if we want a chance of stopping him, we’re gonna need every person aware of the changes we can take. If something happens to you while you’re out there alone, we’ll be history either way. Stay calm. There’s gotta be a way through this.”
Emma pointed out between them from the back seat. “Uh, Master, I think they noticed us.”
Curt turned to look. In the dim light of the moon and stars, Curt could see a number of drones in the crowd turn around, and start marching toward them.
Skyla swore.
Curt hastily tried to turn his car around, and drive away, but there came a sound of gunfire, accompanied by a sharp hiss coming from the back end of the car, as their ride suddenly became incredibly rough.
“They blew the tire!” Skyla shouted.
“It’s life or death, we can keep driving!” Curt yelled, flooring it as he tried to get away.
More and more of the drones realized where their target was, (Curt was thankful that they didn’t seem to be a hive-mind,) and moved to block other roads as Curt skidded through the streets, trying to avoid hitting anything.
Another gunshot, another flat tire. The creatures could move surprisingly quick when they wanted to. Curt swerved around a bend, striking a few drones, one of them clinging to the car as best as it could. It pounded against the glass a few times, then climbed to the front, to obscure Curt’s vision.
Curt slammed the brakes, and the drone launched into the street, where more of its kind were waiting.
“We’re surrounded!” Skyla gasped. She opened the door and pulled at Curt with one of her tails. “Hold on, I’ll get us out of here!”
Curt climbed out of the car on the same side as Skyla, watching as the drones closed in, weapons at the ready. He gasped as she suddenly wrapped all five of her tails around him, her clothes burning away as she dropped to all fours, growing into her feral form. Emma climbed on the fox’s back. The tails wrapped around him tightly, providing the best cover she could muster, before she made a gigantic leap. Scattered sounds of gunshots went off, and Skyla let out a cry, losing control of her momentum at the peak of her jump. She began to tumble toward earth, doing everything she could to hold a firm grip on Curt, even as blood gushed from her leg.