The drones surrounding the apartment where Owner awaited news on the capture or death of Curt Evenson had all been given one order: Prevent anybody from entering the building unless it was their captured target. So as long as the twin eastern dragons above them made no sign of attempting to enter, they felt no concern about them. Even as the two snaked through the air, causing clouds to gather, and wind to build up, the drones showed no interest.
When it started to sprinkle gently raindrops, they paid no attention. They couldn’t feel cold, they didn’t get damp. They didn’t move as it changed to a drizzle, nor as thunder started cracking. They couldn’t be electrocuted. This would not hinder their Orders. Then the wind picked up. The rain came down harder and harder. The drones felt themselves slowly pushed away from their post, and started marching to get back in place. But the wind continued to drive in, harder and faster, howling madly, and the drones were quickly fighting to even remain where they were, much less trying to get back to their posts.
Soon they found themselves flying, unable to find footing as the ground, the buildings, everything grew more and more distant. There was no sense of panic or exhilaration as they were blown through the air, knowing they would land miles away. The only sought to return to their post, even if it took hours to do so.
The two dragonesses quickly dropped down, panting, as Curt, Anna, Skyla, and Leroy stepped out from behind their cover.
“Thank you so much, Carrie, Kathy.” Curt gave each of them a pat on the back. “We couldn’t do this without you."
“Th-thanks, Master,” one said.
“N-no problem, Master,” the other added.
“Get some rest,” Curt said. “We’ll handle things inside.”
“If you’re sure, Master…” one said.
“If that’s what you want, Master,” said the other.
Both sat down on the ground, looking like they’d been through the biggest workout in their lives.
Curt and the rest opened the doors to the apartments, mentally preparing themselves for anything.
+++
Kent growled as he saw a torrential rainstorm with howling winds start up in seconds, and vanish just as quickly, literally blowing away the majority of his bodyguards. This had to be Evenson’s doing! He had more powerful slaves at his disposal than Kent had realized.
Well, two could play at that game. He looked to the remaining two captives, bound and gagged, being watched by a small handful of drones. He readied his gun again. After picking his options, the gun seemed to sputter for a moment, heating up quickly, to the point it became almost unbearable.
He dropped it, screaming in pain, after it finally fired. His right hand was severely burned, but he marveled as the two humans before him writhed, one, a woman, beginning to glow brightly, while the other, a man, was shrowded in darkness.
The woman grew feathers that looked like they were made of gold, while her arms stretched out wide into wings. Scales appeared on her legs, while her toes elongated, growing talons. She felt her torso getting subtly rounder. Her ears shrank back, while her mouth and nose pulled forward into a golden beak, becoming an imposing thunderbird.
The man, meanwhile, had his skin turn as dark as the night sky, with patterns of stars appearing on it to match. His arms and legs grew longer and thinner, four more limbs growing in by their sides, his hands and feet becoming less dexterous claws. A large abdomen formed behind him as his nose and ears shrank back, and he grew a second pair of eyes, and as set of mandibles around his mouth. This stellar spider had been a creature of Kent’s own creation when he was a child, based partly on old folk tales he’d heard, and some small part of him looked forward to seeing what it would really be capable of.
“Bring me Curt Evenson!” He ordered. “He shouldn’t be very far. If anything stands between you and his capture, destroy it!”
The two creatures wordlessly moved toward the stairs, their unwitting victims awaiting them in the lobby below.
+++
Myra had been having a very difficult time fighting the three dragons. Kitsune were built for agility over physical strength, and dragons were famous for their neigh-impenetrable hides. Her fire magic was utterly ineffective against them as well. Had there only been one dragon, she would have considered turning them into a statue, but a dragon’s magical ability, while weaker than a kitsune’s, was far above that of the average human’s, allowing it to fight back the transformation if she didn’t have proper focus, which the remaining two dragons would surely not give her.
This left telekinetically throwing large objects at them, a strategy she did not find any pride in using, especially since the dragon’s aforementioned resilience made hurting them even with the hardest objects seem impossible.
Then, in the midst of the flames, she looked above, and saw Simone. ‘What in the heavens is she thinking, flying into the middle of a war zone?” But the kitsune wasn’t given much more time to think about it than that, as she had to focus on weaving through fireballs herself.
But then, she heard Simone speak, and suddenly, she was given a break from the attacks. She looked up at the stunned dragons, who, after regaining their composure, dropped chasing her, and all flew up to the little dragoness, jaws open wide.
Myra knew she didn’t have a moment to waste. Waving her tails around her own body, she shifted to the form of a hawk, and flew toward Simone, outpacing the dragons, and pushing her out of the way. As the dragoness lost control of her flight, Myra shifted back to her titanic kitsune form, and grabbed Simone in one of her tails, setting the toddler on her head.
All three dragons turned toward the two mythical maids.
“Simone, how could you be so reckless?” Myra scolded as she darted under one of the charging dragons.
“I had to protect Master! And show I was in charge of the dragons in this town!”
Myra opened her mouth to call her a fool for letting her pride get the best of her, but she realized something. When Simone had spoken earlier, the three other dragons’ resolve had faltered, just for a moment. If she could do that again…
“Simone, I’m going to channel a little of my magic into you. When I do, stay with me, but don’t stop bossing around these guys. Show them who’s really in control here!”
Simone seemed genuinely surprised not to get scolded more, even as she clung to Myra for dear life. “O-Okay! Let’s do this!”
Myra put as much distance between her and the dragons as she could, before turning around to face them. Simone felt a strange energy flowing into her, not only making her voice louder, but bringing a hint of something new.
“HEY DUNDERHEADS! I’M TALKING TO YOU!” The little dragoness shouted. “YOU BETTER STOP RIGHT NOW, BY ORDER OF THE PRINCESS!”
The dragons felt, for a brief moment, the force of the divine in her voice, stopping them in their tracks for the briefest of moments, before they remembered to follow their Owner’s Orders again.
“YOU BETTER NOT THINK ABOUT HURTING MYRA, OR MASTER, OR ANYONE HERE! YOU ALL SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES!”
The dragons, for the first time they could ever remember, felt an emotion; intense, overwhelming shame. How could they think to harm what belonged to the divi- They stopped themselves again, and resumed their charge, spitting balls of flame ahead of them.
Myra gave a fanged grin. With each insult and order Simone barked, with a little help from her own magic, the dragons were forced to slow, their will weakening for just a second, but each second was enough for Myra to plant the beginnings of her own spell in their minds. Under normal circumstances, against even one adult dragon, her spell would normally be a mental war of chess, but now, it was like Simone was forcing them them to look the other way while Myra nudged the pieces, giving her FAR better odds, even against all three of them!
“Owner wants you to be valuable to him. Dragons know there is nothing more valuable than gold. Shine with all your brilliance, gleam and be admired. Indulge your natural pride and make yourselves your owner’s most valuable possessions.”
The dragon’s souls slowly gave less resistance to her spell, and physical changes followed mental ones, their scales taking a yellowish hue as they dropped to the ground, running toward the kitsune as their wings stiffened and hardened. They had to follow Owner’s Orders. They had to follow the divine Orders. They had to be valuable. They had to follow Owner’s Orders. They had to follow the divine Orders. They had to be valuable.
These thoughts cycled through again and again, as their movements slowed, their breathing becoming more steady, their limbs feeling like lead. It seemed to take so much effort to move. And it wasn’t nearly as rewarding as simply standing still and letting Owner admire them.
Three massive golden dragon statues stood, spaced across several lawns, completely motionless.
'To be useful is to be valuable, I must be valuable to Owner. Treasure is the most valuable of all, I must be Owner's treasure. Look upon me, and know Owner's wealth. All else is vanity,' were the words echoing in their minds.
“Woah…” Simone gasped, trembling slightly at the sight of Myra's suggestions turning the three adult dragons into giant works of art, not knowing Myra's magic had been joy riding on Simone latent divine will.
“Thank you, Simone!” Myra said. “Now, I’m gonna have to ask you to head home. This is no place for children right now.”
“But I-”
“I’m certain Master would say the same.”
Simone frowned. “You’re right. Good luck fighting anything else out here!” She fluttered off into the night.
With the dragons dealt with, Myra turned to tracking her granddaughter’s scent. Once she’d found it, she paused, hastily writing up four scrolls, before teleporting them away with a magic flame. She had a feeling that even she would need some backup for whatever was coming next.
+++
Curt and his friends entered the surprisingly spacious lobby of the apartment building. There had been a couple of drones inside, but dispatching them had been a simple matter with all four of them there.
“Kent’s probably on one of the upper floors,” Skyla said. “Let’s take the stairs, and…” she stopped when she reached a large set of stairs, and saw two imposing creatures waiting for them. A massive, golden thunderbird, and an ethereal-looking spider.
The large bird immediately flew for Curt, and Leroy rushed in front of him to deliver a swift kick the the torso. But while he did startle the bird, the shock he received on contact did more damage to him.
“Leroy!” Anna cried, rushing to pick the stunned stallion up.
The thunderbird turned around for another pass, and this time the spider joined in, launching an elaborate web over the whole group. Skyla countered with a ball of flame tossed at the web, while Curt desperately tried to duck for cover under furniture. Only to be met with surprise when something like a swirling hole appeared underneath him. He yelped, and grabbed onto the edge.
Skyla gasped, and ran to pick him up. As she grabbed his hand, Curt briefly looked down and saw what looked like… another room in the same style as he was in, but smaller? Then he saw a human face poke in through the bottom; Kent Bailey.
The man looked up, and shakily raised his own transforming gun in his left hand, narrowly missing Curt as Skyla pulled him out.
“Kent’s down there!” Curt stammered as he regained his bearings, the hole closing up behind him. He and Skyla rolled away from another dive by the thunderbird, a bolt of thunder peeling off its feathers. “I think one of these two has some kind of warping ability.” Curt panted.
As if to answer the unspoken question of “which one?” a swirling hole appeared above the couple, allowing the starry spider to drop down on a string, and snag Curt. The spider reeled itself upward for a moment, only to have its web burned again by Skyla, sending both crashing to the ground. Curt groaned and tried to climb away, but the spider regained its footing faster, and grabbed him again.
Skyla ran to face the spider, but found herself lifted as the thunderbird grabbed her arms. Anna gasped, leaving Leroy on the ground as she tried to prevent the spider from leaving with Curt, but it simply turned and sprayed webbing at her feet, tripping the cat woman up.
A hole began to open below the spider, and Curt prepared for the worst, when the doors to the lobby swung open, the golden-furred, nine-tailed kitsune standing there in all her glory. With a flick of her tails, two walls of flame appeared, and rushed toward the spider and thunderbird with incredible speed. The spider had to leap away from its warp hole to dodge, carrying Curt with it.
“Two demigods?” Myra said, feeling the magic radiating off of them. “Sweet Inari, Master, you certainly make powerful enemies. Even I’d have my doubts about winning this if I faced them alone.” She paused stepping inside as four more multi-tailed kitsune stepped in behind her. “So I brought the whole family to help!”
Skyla couldn’t help but smirk toward the thunder bird when she saw her seven-tailed mother, her three-tailed uncle and his three tailed daughter and five-tailed wife, all lined up, flames glowing on each of their tail-tips. The only kitsune member of her family absent was her one-tailed brother Vincent (who’d probably be really annoyed when he found out he was left out). “You’re about to have a real rough day.”
Fox-fire danced all over the room in a rainbow of colors, and Myra darted toward the spider, wrapping her tails around one of the legs it was using to hold Curt. It hissed, feeling a powerful burning sensation, and dropped the young man, turning to face its attacker as Curt started crawling away.
The thunderbird was feeling more cramped indoors, with fireballs floating all over the place. It dove and rose and weaved, trying to find a way through, before realizing it could attempt to kill two birds with one stone, by placing Skyla in the path of one of these burning orbs. It flew to a large ring of flame, ready to drop Skyla into it as it passed overhead… But it didn’t seem to expect the ring to rise up, burning it’s feathers and making it release Skyla as it shrieked in pain.
Skyla and Curt rushed toward the stairs, Anna and the recovering Leroy following close behind. Realizing their true target was getting away, the bird and the spider gave chase, only for a wall of flame to block the entrance to the stairs.
“I’m afraid you’ll have to go through us if you want Master!” Skyla’s mother said.
The spider opened another of its warp holes, attempting to create a way around, but Myra realized what was going on in an instant. She wrapped her tails around herself, lifting them to reveal her change into a large, nine-tailed scorpion. Her pinchers latched onto the arachnid’s legs, and pulled it back, and her stinger tails dug through its exoskeleton.
“Go find the man in change!” Myra called. “We’ll keep these fellows busy!”
The four nodded, and made their way up the steps.
The spider broke free from her grip, and, shaking off the poison, took an offensive stance, while Myra went back to her vulpine form. She hoped Curt found the source of this mess soon. Even her whole family couldn’t keep this up forever.
+++
As Curt, and his friends reached the fifth floor, they found another lobby, smaller than the first, with a few more drones stationed near a door to a conference room. They readied their weapons, but with a little magic, Skyla picked the guards up, and tossed them down the stairs behind her.
“Kent’s probably in that room,” Curt muttered. “How do we want to go about this? He might have a lot more drones in there, possibly even another superpowered bodyguard. I know you’ve got the best chance of all of us, but I don’t want to see you hurt, and I-”
“Master,” Skyla said, laying a hand on his shoulder. “I really think you should go. It’s too dangerous for you to be involved here. Give me the gun, and we can-”
They heard the sound of footsteps on the other side of the conference room door, and all of them immediately dived for cover behind a couple of large sofas on the other side of the lobby.
“You know what, Skyla, you’re right. I shouldn’t be here. I’ll get out as soon as I see a chance. But first, I’ve got a little plan…” He looked at the ray gun, remembering a feature he hadn’t used in a long, long time.
+++
Kent winced as he dipped his right hand in a bucket of ice water. The burn was intensely painful, but none of the drones he had with him had any sort of medical knowledge, so he’d have to stick to firing with his left hand for now. If only he hadn’t been burned making those two demigods! He’d have hit his mark back when the spider had almost warped Evenson to this room, and this battle would already be over.
The fact that Evenson had found his way here to begin with was worrisome, but Kent tried to put it out of his mind. Soon, the demigods would deliver Curt and his transforming gun to him, and then-
He heard footsteps coming down the hall. And they didn’t sound like drones, or his demigod slaves. He pounded the table with his left hand in frustration. “Damn it!” He took his own transforming gun in his left hand. He wasn’t as steady with it as his right, but if would have to do. He looked at the six drones with him in the room. “Full defensive circle!” He shouted. The drones, (including the purple chimera he had gotten attached to, in the way one might have a favorite pencil) moved in front of the door, and prepared to completely encircle him as he left. He figured the fact that he still had so many drones meant Evenson couldn’t turn those he had transformed, just as he couldn’t transform those Evenson had gotten to first. By extension, the drones would make for an excellent “human” shield.
The moment he and the drones stepped through the door, he fired blindly in all directions through any gap in the drones’ formation.
“Nobody visible at present, Owner,” one of the drones reported.
“Nobody, eh?” Kent said, noticing a pair of horse ears sticking up from behind a seat. “#31, check behind that chair!”
The other drones tightened formation to make up for their sixth number, as the female bear drone aimed its rifle behind the chair.
“Wait! Stop, don’t shoot!” Leroy’s held his hands up, as the gun was pressed against his head.
“What do you wish to do with this person, Owner?” #31 asked.
“Eh, I doubt this Evenson cares for his disposable slaves. Might as well k-”
“Okay, okay, I give up!” Evenson’s voice called from behind a sofa. A pair of human hands stuck straight up, empty of any weapons. Kent fired, but his shaky left hand must have made him miss, as the human hands remained unchanged.
“If you just… give me a moment to talk, maybe we can work something out?” Curt’s voice continued.
Kent paused. If it got Evenson to stop hiding, without his own gun, it might be worth humoring him. “Very well. Toss your gun this way first, then slowly step out into the open. And we’ll negotiate your slave’s life.”
The gun was tossed out onto the floor, skidding right to Kent’s feet. “Well, it seems you pretend to care about your slaves after all! Huh. Or maybe you’re just the self-righteous type that thinks he’ll impress anyone by acting friendly.”
Evenson stepped out from behind the right side couch. Or at least, a thing shaped like Evenson was. But its movements weren’t quite human, like it didn’t have bones, and the colors were slightly off.
Kent scowled, then a flash of movement appeared in the corner of his eye. The real Evenson was running away from behind the couch’s left side, transforming gun in hand!
One quick pull of the trigger was all it took.
“M-Master!” Leroy shouted, watching as Curt twitched and shivered, his skin turning a bright blue, and smoothing over, gaining a latex sheen.
Kent smiled. “Hah! You really thought you could fool me with one of your stupid vixen’s illusions didn’t you?”
Curt gasped before his mouth sealed shut, and stretched forward into a pointed, fox-like muzzle. His clothes vanished, but he no longer had anything to cover, anyway. A puffy, vulpine tail inflate behind him, and his ears moved to the top of his head, reshaping into triangles. His eyes becoming the same color as the rest of his body. He stood upright on digitigrade paws, and stared, motionless at his new owner. His gun dropped to his feet.
Kent breathed a sigh of relief. “Drone, command your horse servant over there to bow to me.”
The drone turned its head toward Leroy. “Bow to him.” It said without a hint of emotion.
Leroy winced, but did what he was told. What else could he do.
“And tell your vixen to call off the illusion.”
“Call off the illusion, Skyla.”
As he said this, the fake Curt’s colors seemed to blend into the background.
Kent breathed a sigh of relief. “At last! Now I can finally have some peace. Number 31, bring me his gun.”
The bear drone complied picking up the plastic weapon, and handing it to Kent. No holographic display had come up, but Kent knew all the guns had gotten a “safety lock” programmed into them so only the designated owner and those they allowed could use the guns. He would have to bypass those safeties later.
“Drones, disperse,” Kent ordered. The five drones around him broke their formation, only the purple chimera standing near him, and Kent gave a sigh of relief.
He walked up to the lifeless drone that had been Evenson. “You caused me so much hassle, and I bet you never even knew it.” He chuckled, then took a step back, a hand on his chin. He’d never been one for gloating, as far as he was concerned (was it really gloating if it really was your solutions that got the work finished far ahead of schedule?), but, even if this drone wouldn’t appreciate the gesture now, he really wanted to rub it in, after all the difficulty it took to change him.
“Bow to me.”
The drone that had been Curt bent down at the waist, an arm across his chest, bowing like a butler would.
“Get on all fours and bow!”
The drone dropped to its hands and knees, hanging its head low as it bowed repeatedly.
“Tell me I am superior to you.”
“You… Are... “ the drones words came slowly, as if they were being forced out. “You are s… s- s...” He drone made strange sputtering sounds between each failed attempt to say “Superior.”
“SAY. IT. NOW.”
“You… Are… S- S-” The drone’s sputtering noises turned to a strange, feminine, airy laughter. A streak of white appeared on its muzzle, with a black zig-zag across it, giving the drone a cartoonish, shark-like grin. The blue sheen turned a deep brown color, and four more tails inflated alongside the drone’s first. “So supremely gullible, ‘MASTER.’” The kitsune drone’s voice dripped with sarcasm as it said the last word. “So busy patting yourself on the back because you saw through an easy trick, that you didn’t even bother to check the second one!”
Kent gasped and stepped back, only to feel something pointing against the back of his head. He turned back, and saw the gun floating behind him, before it’s holder, a squid woman, shifted colors, looking like the pattern of Siamese cat fur.
“You’ll make a lovely maid.” The squid grinned, and pulled the trigger.
Kent braced himself, and felt…. Nothing.
“HAH! Looks like this gun DOES consider me its rightful user, enough to give me some protection!” He slapped away the squid woman, and ran down the hall.
‘That Evenson guy has got to be around here somewhere!’ He thought. ‘I saw him in the portal, he’s still got to be nearby! I’ll find him, and make him a drone if it's the last thing I do!’
He checked every nook and cranny. He couldn’t call himself good at anything if he wasn’t thorough and efficient. “When I find Mr. Evenson, I’ll make him pay! I’ll give him the life he so richly deserves!”
When he reached the stairs, he practically leapt down them, his long, floppy ears standing completely upright for a moment of hang time. ‘Now that I know he won’t be able to stop me, I won’t have to worry about making the same mistake again. When I’m done with Mister Evenson, he won’t have a care in the world.’
Her black fur felt hot with the air conditioning in the apartment out, especially under her black dress, as well, but Kendra knew she couldn’t stop now. ‘I made so many mistakes. I must make sure I find Master Evenson at once.’
As she reached the end of the hall, the whole world seemed to turn white, everything, even Kendra’s memories blurring together, as the history of the world since she’d arrived was re-written.
+++
Kendra blinked. The black, adorable rabbit maid stood in the estate’s well lit courtyard, late at night. Behind her, an army of over nine-hundred anthro latex drones, three massive, feral, adult dragons, and two demigods, one a female thunderbird, the other a starry-skinned male spider. The purple chimera standing closest to her. All of them mindlessly, emotionlessly, thinking of her as their Owner.
In front of her was her Master, Curt Evenson, Head Maid Skyla, Lady Anna, and her personal Butler, Leroy, the first three of which seemed incredibly relieved about something.
Now… Where had she left off? Oh yes.
“Master, I must apologize deeply for my behavior. For while I live to serve, my attempt to instil this attitude in others has gone horribly awry...”
“Hey, Curt?” Anna whispered to her brother, while Kendra continued her explanation. “Since you don’t need me to disguise as you, or go invisible anymore, can I stop being a squid, now?”
“But… Weren’t you always a squid?” Leroy asked.