Curt, Skyla, and Anna listened on as Kendra Bailey told her story from the timeline where she had always been a maid. How she’d lived in another dimension, but after finding there were artifacts out there that could change people into loyal servants, she had a dream that caused her to realize her calling was to serve the Curt Evenson of this universe. And to better serve that master when she arrived, she could use the object from her world, a toy gun that turned people into weak (compared to “phenomenal cosmic power,” anyway), but loyal genies, to make more servants for her master-to-be. So she borrowed that device, and brought it with her.
But she realized she could make even better servants, servants that needed nothing in return, by modifying the gun to create anything. And she had even changed the mental programming to make them even less likely to argue about anything. But it had gone a little too far, and every time she tweaked and tested it, it seemed to end up the same. To say nothing of the gaps forming in reality due to other failures in her modifications. Soon, she’d created the hundreds of drones that stood before them that night. Her more elaborate experiments produced the dragons or the demigods, she thought, she'd created them last after her sister maids had begun to find her creations 'creepy' in spite of not knowing how they were created, but the dragons and demigods had been just as effectively mindless as the latex drones. She handed Curt the modified gun, and begged for forgiveness, hoping there might still be some chance she was worthy to serve after such a massive series of mistakes.
Curt had, after a lot of deliberation, chosen to forgive her (figuring that in this state, it was unlikely to happen again) and took the gun, choosing, along with Skyla and Anna, to rest for the night before reading his own gun’s message. All three of them were exhausted from a battle that had been erased from history.
++
When morning came, Curt, along with Anna (who was happily back to her Siamese cat self again), Skyla, Sophie, and Atarah, looked over the messages logged in his own ray gun, finding two of them.
The first was the standard “upgrade unlocked” message.
“Congratulations on creating five hundred (500) total anthro maids! Your Transformation Ray Gun has been upgraded to version 1.8, and features a new “Area of Effect” option!
“This feature enables the creation of a square field, with an adjustable width up to fifteen (15) meters (and extending up to three (3) meters off the ground). Any compatible target entering this area of effect will be transformed according to the settings entered at the time of the field's creation (we recommend using the “target’s favorites” selection when employing the AoE, if more variety is desired).
“The field will dissipate after twenty-four (24) hours. Only one (1) field may be active at a time. To avoid potential glitches with the reality distortion field option, transformations in the AoE will be staggered if more than twenty individuals are present at once.
“Your next upgrade is at one thousand (1000) total anthro maids created. Have a nice day!”
The next message, however, was addressed directly to him.
“Greetings Mr. Curt Evenson; Master of the Furry Transformation Ray Gun of Universe 13435,
“We are sending you this message to thank you for your assistance in dealing with the universe jumper formerly known as the Kent Bailey of Universe 29337. The man in question was responsible for the theft and illegal modification of the Genie Transformation Ray Gun we gave to that universe’s Master. Universe jumpers have always proven difficult to track, but rarely does one with such catastrophic potential successfully make the jump without harming themselves.
As that Transformation Ray Gun also employed our beta Reality Distortion Field, his modifications present a significant threat to the stability of cause and effect in your universe if left unchecked.
“Despite her inter-universal criminal Status, Kendra Bailey will be permitted to continue serving as your maid. As she no longer remembers her original life, and has no chance of regaining these memories once the gaps in your reality have been filled, it has been decided it would be cruel to punish her.
“However, for the stability of your universe, and for the betterment of the Universe 29337, we will require further assistance on your part. First, we request you return the Transformation Ray Gun from Universe 29337 so we may restore its usual functions, and return it to its rightful owner. We believe the four-hundred-forty-second maid you created, Atarah, will be most easily able to transfer it, so please give it to her when you have the opportunity to do so.”
Curt paused, and took hold of the stolen ray gun. “Is now a good time for you, Atarah?”
“Of course, Master.” The Angelic lioness gave a small bow, and took the gun in her hand. And, within a few moments, from the perspective of Curt and the others, the gun just seemed to suddenly vanish. No gradual fade out like the clothes in many of the maid’s transformations, no portals, or being surrounded by light; one minute the gun was in her hand, the next, it was gone.
“Was that supposed to happen?” Skyla fidgeted.
“It has been taken care of,” Atarah assured them. "And your genie counterpart says hello, Master."
Taking her word for it, Curt continued reading.
“Second, after analyzing the way 29337’s ray gun had been altered, we will send a special patch to your ray gun, giving you permission to edit those changes. You may have noticed that Kendra’s past, at the moment, seems a bit far fetched, even by the standards of your changing world. That’s another result of not being able to edit the changes her old self made. In any case, once this patch has been uploaded, we ask that you immediately focus on using it to change all of those already changed by Kent.
“Under normal circumstances, we would be hesitant to so drastically change those transformed by our tech a second time (the species changes your edit button allows are quite minor by comparison, ironically), but given the latex drones Kent changed a vast majority of his victims into do not reproduce in the way life in your universe does, and their “perpetual motion” properties are meant for a universe with subtly different physics than yours, their continued existence in your world represents both a potential paradox disaster, and a gradual energy overflow risk. As such, when transformed by your gun, the transformed individuals will become anthro maids and butlers (an exception made to prevent paradoxes of children being born without an existing father, and for a few other special cases). All of these will count toward your total maids created for upgrading purposes, even those that remain male. This will also restore their personalities, and places in your universe’s timeline, minus the typical alterations made by our gun.
“Also, you will notice the ‘experience bar,” on your gun has been temporarily locked. It will open again once all of Kent’s victims have been changed by you, and all changed maids/butlers will be added to the total at that time, earning you your next upgrade, and putting you well on your way to the one after.
“We thank you, once again, so deeply, for your assistance in this matter, and wish you and your growing community happiness in the years to come.
“Sincerely, the creators of your Transformation Ray Gun.”
Curt, Anna, Skyla, and Sophie, all breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness,” Sophie said. “We haven’t lost them. Dustin will see his family again soon!”
“And we won’t have to see their creepy stares anymore, either,” Anna added.
Skyla hugged herself. "If just five hundred maids had resulted in, all this," Skyla gestured around at the room. "What will over fourteen-hundred alter reality into?"
Anna asked, "How can you think about that at a time like this?"
"Of course I'm happy for Dustin! It's just a little overwhelming. We've all had a little time to get used to the expansions to the estate with each change... we're about to more than double that almost all at once."
"I can't suggest delaying Head Maid Skyla," said the lioness angel. "Dustin is in a torturous state of existence yet not existence... as are many others… The sooner we heal this damage, the better."
Skyla quickly changed the subject, "I'm... actually a little sad that Grandma and the others don't remember helping us, it was... good just to see my family together for that."
"Trust me," Sophie said. "Even a war a few hours long is a war you're better off not remembering. I've experienced things in wartime I'd rather forget. And from what you've said, I'm happy I don't remember what you said happened last night. Though Kendra's explanation for herself does sound like a convoluted mess, it’s pretty much red flagged it as something to do with the ray gun. I know I won't remember this, but I wonder if winning the lottery will still be the source of Master's wealth that lets him employ us all after reality is done changing."
"We'll know soon enough," Anna said.
“Yep.” Curt shook his head and stretched. “Looks like I’ll be calling in sick again. Ugh. After last night, even a normal day at work would have felt restful. But we can’t keep all of them waiting. Meet me in the courtyard. We’ll have the whole drone army lined up out there soon enough.”
+++
That chill, fall day had been a very, very long one for Curt. A line of latex drones stretched as far as the eye could see, even when the single-file line snaked back and forth across the grass. Three massive dragons, and a large bird and spider, waiting, small dots at the end of the courtyard. Without any thought in their heads other than 'wait in line' and 'move forward and wait when able to without bumping into someone ahead of you.’
'Like raw material to be processed,' Curt thought, 'but not for long.' He set up the “area of effect” field in front of him, and watched to make sure each change went smoothly.
The first in line was the black rabbit that had been this universe’s Kent Bailey. She became a maid completely identical to her alternate universe counterpart, save for a white bow around her left ear, which she claimed she had started wearing after “the other Kendra Bailey’ had arrived, purely so people could tell them apart. That said, she seemed to have a slightly different personality, as well. She said she “lived to serve,” but she still seemed to be a much cheerier person than her dour counterpart.
As early as the third in line, the first anthro butler on the list was created. His green skin changed to graying brown fur, but he kept the shape of a stallion, if a very old, wrinkled one. A green suit coat appeared on his body as well as neatly-pressed pants, creating the full uniform, in place of the maids’ typical dresses, and he bowed politely, before disappearing in a blur, reality rewriting itself so he was off enjoying his retirement after spending his last working years as a butler here.
And elsewhere in the city, as the elderly man’s place in history was restored, his daughter and grandson began to change as well, becoming anthro horses like he had. And nobody around them batted an eyelash. They had always been anthro horses, and their father/grandfather had worked as a butler for most of his life. That was just how things were.
After that, to Curt’s surprise, the next drone in line, a red mouse, shrunk dramatically when zapped, looking like a four-year-old girl, as it’s skin grew reddish fur. The young mouse girl looked around, confused.
“Master, do you know where my mommy is?” She asked. “I know I should have one, but… It’s hard to remember…”
“Not yet,” he responded, “but I think she’ll be here soon.”
True enough, next in line had been the girl’s mother, a white squirrel drone, which soon became an extra fluffy, petite, white furred squirrel, in a short black dress. The mother and daughter hugged tight, even as history was set back into place. They vanished from the estate grounds, the mother now hugging her daughter just before she dropped her off at school (where all little children should be).
A few more changes in, and a teal, female lizard drone was restored to flesh and blood before she was retconned back into existence, returned to the couch in her home, reading a story to her young dragoness daughter, who had been part of her boss’s Jr. maid brigade.
Dozens more restorations in, heavy-set, but gentle, nude elephant butler, and a nude, busty, silver-furred, badger maid had been restored. The couple kissed as they were slowly brought back into the world’s history, vanishing from the courtyard and reappearing in the mansion’s staff bedrooms. Their son, Dustin Prince, who was now, and, as far he remembered, always had been, a young elephant anthro, lit up when he saw his parents back, and he rushed up to hug them both tightly with his trunk. He wasn’t quite sure why, but he knew he wanted to make every moment he had with them count from now on.
Not long after that, a blue male beagle drone with the words “Post Office” engraved on one arm entered the transforming field and was returned to flesh and blood, becoming female, as well, before she disappeared. Elsewhere in the mansion Vicky was suddenly catching up with her old friend from the post office, Jamie Todds.
At more than 75 came another butler, a golden ram drone, who’s fleece turned pure white as he became a truly living being again. Angelica, the estate’s Quezacoatl librarian, suddenly found herself organizing books alongside a very cute co-worker. Well, suddenly wasn’t the word, he’d been hired in the past few weeks, but already, she found him very easy to talk to…
Another drone entered the zapping zone of the ray gun's new option, and at a convenience store not far from the estate, a nude (well, save for a shirt and apron with the store logo on it that he grudgingly wore during the job) 21-year old raccoon butler appeared, or rather, had been working there for a while. The raccoon maid her worked with, Lorianne, seemed to share a lot of his interests. And in a way, he felt more complete with her around.
“So…” he stammered. “Doing anything this Friday evening? If not, we could catch a movie. There’s this great romantic comedy coming out, and...”
Lorianne smiled. She felt like she’d been waiting weeks for him to ask her out.
Ashly and Misty had been bringing Master a few refreshments as he worked his way through the seemingly endless drones, when they heard a voice call out to them. “Hey! Ashley! Misty! Remember me?” They turned to see a golden retriever girl run up to them, giving both of them a hug.
Suddenly, memories that had been erased from history, along with new ones from a filled in gap in the timeline, came flooding back to them, of all their friends from the mental disability support group.
“Christopher?” Ashley asked, “Is that you?”
“Well, it’s ‘Christina,’ now… gonna take a little bit to get used to being a girl. But man, so many things just seem to make so much more sense now! Thanks for putting in a word with Master to let me remember the changes?”
Misty smiled. “You’re welcome,” she said, hugging her back, suddenly remembering the new conversation with Master beforehand.
A beautiful pink swan maid, wearing an exceptionally fluffy dress bowed to Curt after her change, another new dragon toddler following suit.
Curt eventually worked his way to what he guessed must have been the school field trip victims, judging by how many of them shrank from adult to child size on being maidified. The last on that list was a purple chimera of a drone, one he’d seen with Kent during the final confrontation.
At a nearby elementary school playground, a maid in a purple dress looked around the playground for her friends. When she saw the Koala, pony, and Hippocampus playing together she ran straight to them.
“MASTER GAVE ME SUPER-!” She was interrupted by the pony, Patricia, putting her hand over her mouth.
“It’s supposed to be a secret, remember?” Patricia, the pony, whispered.
“Right, sorry,” Dolly said, much more quietly. “But you were right, he did give me superpowers!”
The three friends looked at their new companion, with the legs and head of a cheetah, the tail and dorsal fin of a dolphin, the body, horns, and arms (with hoof-like hands) of an ibex. Now she could climb, run and swim just as well as her friends.
“You look so cool!” Molly, the hippocampus, cheered.
Meanwhile, in the high school a stone’s throw away, the young maid Jennifer Western, had been feeling very alone. She knew Master didn’t want her to see herself as lesser than him, but she’d lived so long seeing servants that way, it was hard for her not to act the part. But as more maids were re-integrated into history, that changed. More people in her life were there to cheer her up, to help her learn from her mistakes, and start to feel like she mattered, again. Without even really knowing why, she smiled.
At a mall across town, dozens of shops that had become entirely automated by Kent’s shooting spree were being refilled by employees and customers alike. This included a former fast food chain, now a locally owned burger shop manned by seven moose maids (and a couple butlers) who wore tie dye dresses and uniforms, and who themselves had a color of the rainbow each, an art store that had been family owned in the old reality, and was family owned now, though now the family and some of their customers were now a seal butler, his wife, his sons, granddaughters, and one unmarried daughter. And a baby clothing and supplies store, the baboon maids experts at making any infant smile when needed and helping any expecting mother. Also a jewelry store owned by a family of swans, a sporting goods store run by fit and muscular mares and stallions, and a clothing store now owned by a cat family, called 'Purr-fect Fit.'
And in a house in the suburbs, a teenage girl had anxiously been staying with her friends, knowing she was an orphan, but unable to remember for how long, or why. But then her parents, a pair of anthro panthers, came to pick her up. The teen panther suddenly felt relieved, and couldn’t for the life of her remember what had made her so sad, she was just happy it was over.
Back at the estate, the line, slowly but surely shrank as the hours went by. Anna and Skyla had both taken turns monitoring one zapping after another for a time, to give Curt a break, but as the end grew closer, Curt took his turn once again.
Three rhino drones shrank down, and a seconds later, Curt's ears split when he heard,
"MAMA! DADDY!"
Three little rhino girls rushed up to Kacee from Curt's job and gave their mother three of the world's biggest hugs. None of them had a clue why they felt like they hadn't seen each other before, but the family of a nudist rhino woman a human man, and three little rhino girls couldn't stop hugging each other, like they were long lost family members, or was it victims of a kidnapping, or family who had come back from the dead somehow? The conflicting and confusing feelings just made them treasure each other more!
When he got to the end of the line, each of the massive, adult dragons began to shrink. It was clear that, after all the massive retcons involved in changing Myra into an eight-hundred-plus year old kitsune, making much of the rest of Skyla’s family similarly ancient, and now mending the history of more than nine-hundred lost souls on top of it all, that the Reality Distortion Field was taking the path of least resistance wherever it could when dealing with long-lived creatures, as they all became far younger.
All three of the dragons shrank down and stood up on their hind legs, but one of them shrank far more than others. Their scales changed as well, from the more menacing colors Kent had picked for them, to more colorful pallets they preferred.
The smallest one’s scales turned blue, with yellow scutes, spines, and wings. Looking at her profile, Curt found she was a mere seven years old, and looked barely older than a human two-year-old.
The second, a very busty red-scaled dragon in a white maid uniform, looked to be in her early twenties, but according to Curt’s info, was actually ninety. And elsewhere in town, her ten-year-old son shrank as he grew copper scales, little stubs signaling the start of horns, a tail, and leathery wings.
The last one became the first male dragon anthro Curt had seen, his scales turning white, as he regressed to look around in his late twenties, his new age apparently being one-hundred-thirty-five, altering his position in his family tree ever so slightly. The dragon gene had skipped the dragons’ thirty-three-year-old son, but passed to his his granddaughter around Simone’s age, who became a little sky-blue dragoness.
Curt had no way of knowing just how much the two adult dragon’s histories had to be altered for this. Did they end up being the siblings of the people that would have been their parents or grandparents in the old timeline? He shook his head. Whatever the case, at least in this timeline, they had a family, rather than just popping into existence without anyone remembering how.
As the two Demigods, the massive, feral-shaped spider and thunderbird, walked to the front of the line, Curt looked at a pair of oven mitts Skyla had left him earlier. The field's effect seemed too weak to change them, so he figured he’d have to do it manually.
“If the gun burned me when I changed grandma to a class E deity, I don’t want to think about how much it’ll hurt to hold changing these Class D guys,” she had told him.
Curt thought it looked a little silly, but he took her word for it. He put on the oven mits, and pulled the trigger. As the gun shook, Curt suddenly felt very glad for the mitts, as even with them, he started to worry he’d get burned.
The light was nearly blinding for a few seconds, but as Curt’s vision came back into focus, he saw the two creatures become more human-like, the thunderbird standing up straight and proud, a golden dress that matched her feathers appearing on her, while her bust grew to a impressine size. Talon-like hands formed at the end of her wings, and her eye became subtly more human and expressive.
The spider arched up in the middle of its back, it’s four front limbs moving up to her newly formed shoulders. Her eyes became brighter, almost, cuter, in a way, and pure white hair formed on her head, growing down to her back. Dexterous hands formed on her four arms, with which she idly weaved webs that looked like little constellations.
The two demigod maids looked at each other, then stared at Curt a moment. The thunderbird stood tall and proud like a warrior, while the shining spider seemed more reserved and inquisitive.
“We both had a dream, last night,” the spider said.
“Where we were hollowed out and used as puppets by a mad man,” the thunder bird added.
“But then, you saved us…” The spider said. “And I’m not sure how, but I think it was more than a dream.”
“And so, for your part in helping us, we gladly pledge our service to you,” The thunderbird finished, and took a bow, “Master.”
“Indeed, Master,” the spider said, bowing in turn.
“Th-thanks, I mean, you’re welcome, I uh…” Curt stammered. “Great to have you aboard, I guess.”
The spider demigoddess chuckled. “It seems he needs time to process this information. We can find other ways to make ourselves useful while he does.” A shimmering hole opened underneath both of them, and they slipped away, the hole closing behind them.
Curt paused. “The history of this town is going to be interesting, that’s for sure.”
He heard a little “ping” from the gun. Opening up the HUD, he saw the lock on the experience bar disappear, as it rapidly filled up, passing the “new upgrade” mark and hitting one thousand, four hundred, and eighty-six total maids created, with the next goal being two thousand maids. He rolled his eyes. “Really? One thousand loyal servants isn’t enough?” Then he noticed a new message. It wasn’t quite the standard “upgrade unlocked” message, either.
He read it over once, blinked a few times in disbelief, and read it again. Then he read it a third time, just to make absolutely sure he wasn’t misunderstanding it. Then he grinned like a kid in a candy store. He couldn’t wait to tell everyone…
+++
Curt had been pleasantly surprised to find the mansion’s opulence had seemingly hit its limit. While there were a number of new statues and paintings in the library and art gallery, most of the new pieces had names that matched those of his new maids, implying they had been gifts from friends, rather than status symbols. A new wing had been added, yes, mostly more rooms for the maids or guests, with a few extra common kitchen and dining rooms, but he didn’t need to completely re-learn the layout of his house again, which was a plus.
When he reached the foyar, he saw that this time, it hadn’t been the mansion that had been changed in this reality, but most of the district. A display had been set up near the entrance about the “Community Building Projects” that had been going on over the past few years to help reinvigorate the district. Many of the buildings in town were far more ornate, there were far fewer chain stores, and more locally owned businesses, and the arts were flourishing as well, judging by the extra fountains and sculptures in photos of the town. The schools had better funding than they’d had in years, resulting in upgrades to the facilities and curriculums alike. Apparently, homelessness and joblessness were nearing a nationwide low… well, on a district level, anyway. He’d seemingly invested in many parts of the project, after winning the lottery in this timeline, and after it led to a massive rise in jobs and tourism, the investment had paid off immensely, allowing him to create the mansion on his estate, while still leaving funds open to continue investing, while hiring more maids.
By the time he’d finished his little exploration of his changed home, he’d also found Skyla, Anna, Marceline, Sophie, Misty, and Ashley, and told each of them to meet him by the swing in the courtyard. A part of him wished he could have shared this news with Vicky, Danielle, and Susan, too, but given their previous lives, he figured that it would be best to leave them in the dark about matters involving the ray gun.
When he finally reached that shady, secluded part of the grounds, all his friends were all waiting for him.
“Hey Curt!” Marceline said with a smile and a wave. “So, what’s this big, secret team meeting out here about? Has my band finally gotten permission from the county to perform our next concert in the park? Does Skyla need some help sewing uniforms? Did Myra turn another set of con-goers into their costumes again?”
“She did what?” Curt stammered.
“We took care of it Master, don’t worry,” Sophie assured him. Must have been another ‘little’ change to history.
“Right,” Curt nodded. “Actually, I have a little announcement to make.” He pulled the ray gun from his pocket, switched to “edit awareness” and zapped Marceline.
The spider woman blinked all four of her eyes a few times, as some memories became more distant, and other, more dream-like memories became real to her again. “What is-... Oh, I get it, whatever this announcement is, it’s something to do with the changes you’ve been making, huh?”
“Sort of,” Curt said, a smile appearing on his face. “I figured you, particularly, would like to have some memory of this, even if it’ll only be like a dream once the mental change is back in place.” He looked at the other maids. “I’d like to read the message I just received received about the gun’s latest update to you guys.”
He cleared his throat, then read aloud.
“Greetings Mr. Curt Evenson; Master of the Furry Transformation Ray Gun of Universe 13435,
“We are happy to report all the damage to your timeline has been undone, and would very much like to thank you for your role in the process. We would also like to thank you for your extensive use of our Beta RDF; it has provided invaluable data for the development of our future transformative products. And speaking of such data points, we would, again, like to apologize for the accident that created the “Blank Maids,” as you called them, though we are also happy to see that the situation has since been remedied.
“Under normal circumstances, the upgrade for having created at least one thousand anthro maids would be only a homing shot, but given the unique circumstances you went through, as we mentioned above, we felt another reward would be more appropriate.
“A one-time use option has been added to your Transformation Ray Gun. This option allows for the creation of a male or female anthro of any species the result automatically chosen by the Master, regardless of who fires the gun while using it. It also bypasses instilling loyalty and obedience to the gun’s Master, and the safety that prevents a Master from being changed by their own gun. Indeed, this setting exclusively works on a gun’s Master.
“Since you are already in a romantic relationship, for your convenience, we have decided to automatically make you into an adult of whatever species you choose, regardless of how they would normally age. To keep the timeline as stable as possible (especially important, given how fractured it had been), and avoid having to move you back to earlier in your family tree, your unusually fast maturity will be the result of a “genetic condition” that will accelerate your growth until adulthood, after which normal aging will resume. This will be accompanied by our strongest perception filters. This mutation will NOT be passed on to any children you have.
“We hope you enjoy the changes to come, and look forward to seeing how you continue to use our product in the future.
“Sincerely, the creators of your Transformation Ray Gun.”
Skyla’s jaw dropped. “Y-you’re serious?”
Marceline shook giddily. “Awesome! Now you’re finally gonna get to experience a real transformation too!”
“One of us! One of us!” Ashley and Misty chanted before bursting into giggling fits.
“I guess you think I should be surprised at you want this, , Master,” Sophie nodded. "But given the number of times I remember you asking Skyla to transform you, even if you don't, I had a feeling this is what you wanted."
“I know you’ve wanted this a long time too,” Anna hugged him. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks,” Curt said, hugging her back. He turned to Sophie, holding the ray gun out to her. “Would you like to do it? That way, you’ll be able to remember me as I was, and what I’m going to be.”
“It would be an honor, Master,” Sophie replied, bowing and taking the gun, her name already back on the list of permitted users.
She picked the large, glowing option on the holographic HUD, gripped the plastic, toy-like device in both hands, and pulled the trigger.
The gun seemed to glow for a moment, before an arc of white lightening flew from its tip, and struck Curt.
Immediately, he began to feel incredibly warm. He felt a slight itch in a straight line across his torso, and lifted his shirt up to have a look. He saw a pale blue scute forming, followed by another, and another, crawling up his neck to just below the jawline. Next to them, another itch started, as little shimmering flecks started growing from his skin, one by one, gradually wrapping around any part of his torso not already covered by the scutes.
He took a few deep breaths involuntarily, each one seeming to make him just a little taller, and his chest just a little more broad. As scales traveled down his arms, their color, shining like polished silver, became more clear to his friends. He felt over their surprisingly smooth surface with curiosity and wonder in his eyes. His fingernails seemed to shrink back into his skin, before sharp, white claws extended from the tips of his fingers in their place. He flexed his hands, experimentally at first, then to strike a few poses. His legs were covered in scales soon after, his feet growing longer and arching into a digitigrade stance, while his toes became thicker, gaining claws in place of nails just as his hands had.
Scales had already started to spread over his slowly changing face by the time his clothes began to unravel and fade from existence. His first instinct was to move his claws to cover himself- but halfway through, he suddenly felt no need. And while it was somewhat helped that, like most reptiles, anything “indecent” on a dragon was hidden until needed, ultimately, all those years of thinking of nudity as a taboo, just felt… silly to him, now. There was no feeling of pride in showing off his body, nor was this some show of vulnerability among friends, and it certainly wasn’t a sexual display. It was just simply how he was, and he found it hard to imagine himself WANTING to wear clothes that didn’t have some practical purpose. Even thinking back to his awkwardness about his co-worker Dave’s nudity, after he became a mouse anthro, just seemed like a lot of worry over nothing.
Without any clothing to hinder it, his tail grew out next, the thick, surprisingly strong appendage stretching back a few feet long, a flat spade shape forming on its tip. He moved it back and forth, up, and down, brought its tip around in front of him and tried petting it gently. Anna giggled quietly at the sight, and Skyla smiled.
He winced slightly as his nose and jaw pushed forward, becoming a long, crocodile-like snout, his teeth sharpening as more grew in, while his nostrils moved to the front corners of his new muzzle. His tongue forked, and all at once, tastes in the air around him became far more vibrant. He felt a firm pressure in the back of his skull, and reached back to feel two white horns rising up from his skin, as his hair fell away and vanished from history. Seemingly to take its place, a spiked, pale blue crest formed, running from the top of his head, down his back, all the way to the tip of his tail.
Then came the pressure in his shoulders. He could hardly wait for this! He clenched his fists, trembling with excitement as two new arms grew from his shoulders, each growing lengthy “fingers” and a clawed “thumb.” A thick, pale blue membrane formed between each of the fingers, as well as his pinkie and back. With a wide, fanged grin, Curt let instinct take over, flapped his wings a few times, and took off!
His friends below watched in amazement as he zoomed this way and that above him, diving and soaring, even doing a loop-de-loop or two, before flying high above the mansion, igniting the fire within, opening his mouth, and letting loose a plume of flame.
+++
Inside one of the mansion’s playrooms, Simone was telling her dragoness friends about the strange dream she’d had last night.
“...And then I got on Myra’s back, and shouted down those rotten rebels who thought they could hurt the princess! And while they were wallowing in guilt at my amazing speech, Myra turned them all into giant gold stat-” She saw something fly up from the courtyard.
“Oh hey, it’s Master!” An orange and yellow dragoness said.
Simone looked out the window, and saw Curt breathing out a jet of flame. “HEY! I thought Master told us not to breath fire except in the fireproofed rooms?”
“His house, his rules, I guess?” The orange dragoness shrugged.
+++
“Huh.” Vicky said, watching from another window. “I wonder what Master’s so excited about? I haven’t seen him fly around like that since he got his first game system.”
“Maybe another lovely young maid proposed to him,” Susan joked.
+++
“...And the old shopkeeper, like, told me that when I, like, wear this stone on the necklace he sold it with, then whatever I said would totally become the truth,” Nutty explained, pointing to a rather plain looking rock hanging from her neck.
“Did you actually test it before buying it?” A nude crow maid asked her. “Because I may not be a kitsune or a unicorn, but I’ve studied some magic, and I’m not seeing anything about this rock that screams “world-altering spells.”
“Uh… no, like, actually, I totally didn’t test it,” Nutty admitted.
“I figured,” the crow sighed. “How about you test it now. Say something crazy, and see if it comes true.”
“Something crazy, huh?” Nutty thought back to one of her chats with Master long ago. “Oh, like, I know! ‘Master is a totally hot dragon anthro!’”
The crow maid rolled her eyes. “Come ON, Nutty! I said say something crazy. Or are you just saying something we all KNOW is true, so you can claim that it wasn’t true a minute ago and that you’ve warped our memories and history itself?”
Nutty stared at her, confused. “But isn’t Master, like…”
She looked out the window, and saw the silver dragon soaring in loops out in the backyard. Despite never seeing him like this before, the squirrel woman’s instincts immediately told her who it was.
“Ohmygosh he IS a dragon!” She grinned wildly. “This thing, like, actually works!”
The crow maid sighed deeper.
+++
Curt finally landed down in the clearing, doing the “one fist and two crouched legs to the ground” superhero landing pose.
Skyla, Misty, Anna, Sophie, and Ashley laughed, and playfully clapped for the performance.
“Glad to see you’re enjoying your new wings, Master,” Sophie chuckled.
“See, it was awesome, wasn’t it, Master?” Marceline cheered.
Skyla stepped closer. “I gotta admit, a little part of me was kinda hoping you’d turn yourself into a regal, nine-tailed bishonen kitsune,” she joked, “but I can’t really say I’m disappointed with any result that leaves you grinning that wide!” She moved to kiss him, and he wrapped both his arms and his wings around her.
After a long, tender moment, their lips finally parted. “Looks like you won’t be spending your centuries alone after all,” Curt said, gently lifting Skyla’s chin.
“You’re right…” she nodded. “And I can’t wait to see what our future will be like.” She paused, and chuckled. “It’s almost too bad anthros don’t have hybrid offspring. Could you imagine the cute, fluffy, multi-tailed dragons?”
“Kids with all the strength of dragons and the magic and mischievous tendencies of Kitsune? I don’t think the world is ready for something like that, no matter how cute or fluffy it is.”
Curt looked back to the ray gun, still in Sophie’s hands, for a moment. After finally getting what he’d wanted for so long, he was feeling more inclined to share his gift with whoever needed it. “You know… We still have some time today…” he said, turning back toward Skyla, “and we never got to recruiting new hires from the homeless shelter after all those interruptions. What do you say, Skyla?”
The Kitsune grinned from ear to ear. “Oh, absolutely, Master!”