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Seth opened his eyes. They were in the bar, but... it was way too quiet. The familiar haze of lust hit him, though it felt different than the last time he was there. He shook his head to clear the arousal building within as the protective runes from Orias lit up. The only sound he could make out in the darkened interior was a faint static over the speakers. It was almost like whispering, but he quickly shut it out. It was obviously a trap, though he had to shake Vance out of it before he started walking out the door.

"Vance, wake the fuck up. Maeryn, you okay over there?" he hissed, feeling very cautious. This wasn't his first time in a 'dangerous' realm, but he'd just been here a day ago. Had it really changed so much? Liam must have failed, then. There was no other way to account for the vast time difference.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Maeryn said, surprisingly sober now. "Though you're lucky I lace myself with plenty of wards against infohazards as it is. You have to, in my line of work."

"Makes sense, I guess," Seth said, though he really didn't get it. Though sometimes Maeryn did this, making shit up to look better than he really was. And yet, that one moment before... shaking it off, he made sure Vance was good to go.

"Yeah, sorry. Just caught me off guard," Vance said, alert and awake. "Any way we can shut off that static though?"

"Already done," Maeryn said, tapping on his phone a few times. Listening, Seth smiled when he couldn't hear a single noise other than their own fidgeting. They'd all agreed to go into the realm without breathing at first, in case of some kind of pheromone trap. "Looks like we're good to go on breathing, boys. Feel free to get that air flowin'."

Seth and Vance both gave a test inhale, before fully breathing in. Sure, they could have gone the whole operation without it, but that might burn the one bit of energy they needed later on. Seth wasn't willing to rely on the realm's energy either; if Liam had been compromised, that was for sure going to be the first thing that got corrupted so close to the bar he owned. Especially if he was expecting company.

"Wait," Vance said, before they opened the door to the outside. "Hide."

"Why-" Seth began to ask, before Maeryn dragged him to the side. The door burst open, and in floated something out of some weird erotic nightmare. It was some kind of wolf-ram, but with a scorpion tail and... was it fucking floating? Either way, none of them made a noise as they silently waited until it was further in, before Vance waved for them to move. Exiting the bar, they left the door open before moving down the street.

"How'd you know, sweetie?" Maeryn asked, when they were safe enough.

"...I don't know," Vance said, shrugging. "I just... felt it?"

"Well, at least one of us has good instincts," Maeryn said, shooting a glare at Seth before he motioned for the two of them to follow. "Seth, you're the lust daemon. How's the realm doing?"

"...I've been here only ONCE, Maeryn," Seth growled.

"So? That should be enough."

"...Well, it does feel... off," Seth said, sighing. "What little I can feel from it, at least. I'm so warded up I can't put my arms down..."

"I loooove that movie," Maeryn said, before nodding. "But that confirms it. Well, in that case I know where he's gonna be. Or where he's going..."

"He's going to the Seat of Power," Vance and Seth said in unison, causing Maeryn to give them an odd look.

"Wha-?"

Seth pointed, causing Maeryn to look before sighing. Off in the distance was some hulking monstrosity beginning to stir, yet what little they could see of it already reminded them of Liam's anthro form. As it took its first steps, they began to feel the ground beneath them shaking.

"Well, fuck me sideways," Maeryn said, shaking his head. "Always so dramatic. Still, it'd be pretty bad if he gets there so..."

"How bad are we talking?" Vance asked, as they quickened their pace.

"Whatever he's been doing the time you two were gone? He'll be able to do in like, a week or less but to everything. And then when everything's a drone in here, where do you think he's going next?"

"The bar. Oh, and Earth I guess," Seth said, shrugging at Vance. "What? It barely feels like home anymore."

"And, honey, we cannot allow that to happen," Maeryn said, chipper despite the seriousness of the situation. "I happen to like Earth a lot. And not just for the energy, mkay? Those mortals have enough problems without sex-crazed drone networks taking over."

"Better than some of the other realms though," Seth sighed. "Some of the shit I've seen is just... fucked... up I'm doing it again, aren't I?"

"You'll have to tell me more about all that some time," Vance said. "Let's focus on the here and now... okay?"

"...Yeah. The here and now," Seth said, shaking his head.

"And in the here and now, we've got a fuckin' issue or three," Maeryn said, sighing as he pointed. "Guess we should've been quieter?"

"...No. They knew we were coming," Seth said, looking at more of the floating drone things... though this time they had a bigger one with four arms and horns. He couldn't help but be reminded of Davin with that one... the horns curved just like his. "Hey Vance... go with Maeryn. Alright?"

"What about you?"

"He's made up his mind, sweetie," Maeryn said, for once a bit compassionate with his tone. "Besides, I'm sure he'll be fine with all of Orias' magic all over him."

"...How long did you know?" Seth asked Maeryn, as Vance sunk his shoulders in resignation.

"Honey, desire and envy are closer than you think. I knew the minute I laid eyes on him. But who you fuck, marry or kill isn't any of my business, okay?"

"Weird way to put it... but okay. Better get going though," Seth said, noticing the drones were getting closer. "I'm leaving it to you."

"You'd make a good Elder," Maeryn laughed, before leading Vance away. Whether it was magic or some kind of trick of the light, the two vanished nearly without a trace as Seth waited for his welcoming party.

"...So what the fuck are you guys supposed to be?" Seth asked, causing the drones to pause for a moment in consideration. "Well? Might as well tell me."

"Vocal explanations are inefficient. Join us, and you will truly understand," the big one said. "You will comply."

"Comply with this," Seth said, flipping them off. That wasn't the response they were looking for, obviously, since he had to leap out of the way of a stinger. He was sure it wasn't venomous, but obviously anything that sharp wasn't going to be good for him. Anything corruptive in them would especially be effective, since his body was his soul. No doubt these drones were tailored to daemons specifically, with mortals as an afterthought and energy supply.

"Three tail boys and a brute, what can go wrong?" Seth laughed, dodging attacks left and right. It was difficult to deal with them, seeing as how they were obviously strategizing together, but it wasn't exactly his first rodeo either.

"Cease resistance and comply," the brute in question said, moving with surprising agility as it joined the fray. Dodging just in time, Seth was a bit shocked by how much force it had put behind it's attack as the ground shattered beneath it.

"What is this, anime?" he asked himself. "Fuck it. Why not?"

A stinger came into his view, but before he could use his power to dodge again in mid-air it struck him. Wincing, he realized it had stung his jacket, stopping the sharp object before it could penetrate his skin. He was going to have to thank Orias for that later.

"Gotcha now!" Seth said, his eyes glowing as his markings lit up instantly; winding back, he swung and a baseball bat wrapped in chains appeared, smacking the drone across the jaw and sending it flying. It was a personal favorite of his lately, though he hadn't gotten to use it outside of his training sessions with Zale. Of course, he hadn't had a reason to really fight in a while, either.

"You have martial training," the brute observed, tilting his head as it observed its fallen comrade. "Updating tactics accordingly."

"Update all you want, you're still no match," Seth said, more to steel his nerves than to taunt the enemy. He knew taunting wouldn't work anyway, especially when two of them lunged at once and forced him to practically jump sideways. By the time he landed, he was already off-balance when one of the tail drones pointed a hand at him, its palm filled with a dark crimson light. A split-second later, a beam of corrupted energy was blasting him, obscuring the view of even the drones' visors.

"Report status of target," the brute said, before Seth began laughing. As the mist from the energy dissipated, it revealed Seth with a violet shield surrounding him; sigils of various arcane designs floated around the shell as he rested his bat on his shoulders.

"Target still fucking standing," he laughed. It was more bluff than sass at this point, though; even he had to admit that had taken a lot out of him. Even with all the energy he'd gained, he knew they could outlast him if they truly wanted. After all, he didn't dare risk drawing on the energy of the realm. Dispelling the shell around him, he readied himself for the next attack... but it didn't come.

"Why do you resist? Do you not desire peace and prosperity?" the brute asked him, the other two tail drones floating to either side of him.

"I could give you a lot of reasons, but here's two: I like being me, and I didn't go through years of church propaganda to simply give up on myself and relapse. You guys just scream cult, you know? Now answer my questions: what the fuck are you guys? It's only fair, since I answered you, yeah?"

"...Processing request... very well," the brute said. "This unit is a Guardian Drone, tasked with protection of physical and mental assets. The units with this drone are Corrupter Drones, tasked with and equipped for Seek-and-Assimilate objectives. Is this explanation satisfactory?"

"So you're the muscle, and they're the hunters, basically," Seth sighed, not taking his eyes off of them. "I should've figured as much. That one 'Corrupter' crumpled pretty easily once I got a good wack on him."

"It did not."

"Excuse me?" Seth asked, sparing a moment to look where the drone he'd hit had been.

"It did not," the guardian repeated. He was right. It was gone.

A sharp jab in the back of his neck was all he needed to know where it had gone, however. The first few of Orias' wards instantly shattered as his mind began feeling foggy, and his pants tented as he was suddenly extremely aroused. The stinger hadn't stayed in him, but now the drone behind him had his arms around his neck as he fell to his knees.

"Oh fuck... you guys don't play around," Seth moaned, as the other two quickly restrained his arms to either side. He supposed he should feel flattered; if they were hunters, it should only have taken one of them to, well, convert him. Or maybe they had something else in mind?

"Analyzing... Seth Taggart, former human mortal turned anthro. Spent years as Ortun under Temperance; setting aside for future analysis. According to data, you are now daemon, yes?"

"Yeah... I'm a lust daemon," Seth said, feeling no reason not to answer him. "What about it?"

"You are strong for a new daemon. You would serve us equally well as either a Corrupter or Guardian. Which will you choose?"

"How about none of those options?" Seth said, trying to resist.

"Which will you choose?" the guardian repeated, clearly not taking no for an answer in any form. The longer he waited, the more he could feel some influence in the back of his mind pressing all the right buttons on his libido. Before too long he couldn't help but fantasize a little.

"...Not that I'm... choosing," he said, breaking the silence after a while. "But... there's something really hot about the Guardian over your Corrupters. Sorry, tail boys."

"Understood. You desire to protect those around you. To keep them safe. This is why you came back. To protect your friends. To 'save' them."

"Yeah... I think you're right," Seth said, relaxing more. Sensing his lack of resistance, the two to either side of him let go of his arms and he let them fall to his side. "Now can you answer my question? It's only fair."

"You may proceed."

"What are your suits made of? They feel pretty high quality to me..."

"Our proxies are not suits. They are cybernetic organisms, as you will soon be."

"So you're biological?"

"In part, yes. Now will you comply?"

"...No," Seth said, smiling before he grabbed the arm holding his neck. Opening his mouth, his teeth elongated slightly before he bit down as hard as he could. As woozy as he felt, his venom still seemed to affect the drone holding him as it immediately went slack. It'd probably be horny and sleepy for a while now. Before the other two could grab hold again, he was already jumping up toward the guardian with his fist ready to strike. Before he even got close enough to hit it, he was caught in midair by two of his four strong arms. His hands were big enough to wrap around his waist easily, and after the whiplash was over he found himself staring into the visor of the big brute.

"Guardian drone will comply."

"...Gu...Guardian..." Seth began saying, feeling the whispers in his mind increase in intensity before he shook off the influence. Instead, his eyes began glowing violet as he stared deeply at what he assumed were this thing's eyes. "I have a better idea. Fight for me."

The drone seemed to resist, and for a moment Seth thought it hadn't worked. But soon, it released him and adopted a protective stance in front of him, keeping him away from the Corrupter drones. When one got too close, it lashed out and grabbed it; with one fluid motion, it threw the Corrupter far away before it could react.

"Logging errors for further analysis," the remaining Corrupter said, before gathering its remaining companion and retreating. Once Seth was safe, the guardian turned to face him and help him to his feet.

"Carry me," Seth said, and the guardian obeyed by picking him up with its upper arms. He could still feel the corruption inside him, but at the moment he felt a connection to the drone as his hypnotic gaze held it in his thrall. He ran a hand over the letters and numbers on its chest... huh. GD-01? Guess it was the first one, then.

"So, GD-01, is there any way to stop this, uh..."

"Conversion."

"Yeah. Any way to stop that?"

"There is not," the guardian replied, sounding distressed it could not comply with its new master. "You will become a guardian, sooner than later. Drone is... sorry, master."

"It's fine. If you can't do anything then I might as well just enjoy it," Seth sighed. "Let's go cause some havoc, though. We need to create a distraction."

"Orders received. Drone will comply."

"You bet your rubbery ass you will," Seth laughed, as the drone carried him somewhere. He felt another ward break as the corruption spread inside him, though at this rate it would be a while yet before he was licking the boots of whoever or whatever was in charge. Might as well make it all count before his body turned traitor on everyone. "You know... you kind of remind me of my boss..."

*******

Picking up the alarm from the bedside table, Uther ripped it from the wall and threw it across the room before laying back down. He was tired of this. He didn't want to go over this anymore. To think, he finally remembered who he'd been and now it was being used to torture and wear him down. And every time he gave them an inch, they went a whole mile. Every weakness, every flaw they perceived was used to update his next session and wear him down even further. He didn't want to do this anymore.

"This is not the simulation," Eon said, and Uther wasn't surprised to see him sitting on the bed next to him. "You should proceed with-"

"Fuck you," Uther said, the lack of conviction in his voice very apparent to his ears. "Can't I just have a break without you constantly nagging at me?"

"We want you to rest within us. To know true bliss," Eon said, resting a hand on his own. For a minute, Uther considered grabbing hold of that hand before promptly jerking away from it and turning on his side to face the opposite direction.

"Just leave me alone."

"Is that what you really want?" he heard Eon say, before arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him close. Uther quickly realized the sabertooth was naked and in bed with him, yet he didn't have the energy or will to want to pull away.

"...No," he whispered, closing his eyes for a moment. "I hate the voices of the past, sure, but they make me feel less alone I guess."

"Why not replace them with the voices of those still living?" Eon asked, and Uther shrugged. He really didn't have a good answer for that. "We-"

"Yeah, yeah, you exist in perfect harmony with one another. I know. You've said it a thousand times," Uther said, irritated. "You're a broken record at this point. Is there anything you can say or do that doesn't sound like some half-assed cultist bullshit?"

"...How about this, then?" Eon said, his hand slowly sliding down Uther's side and resting on his hip. He had to admit it felt good, and given what he'd been through lately it was a welcome reprieve. "Or, perhaps this?"

He could feel the kissing and nibbling at his flesh as the anthro slowly made his way up his neck, causing him to give an involuntary moan of pleasure. Hell, he could even feel his hands as he began massaging his pecs and biceps... and... wait. What?

"What the fuck?!" Uther nearly shouted, leaping out of bed at the sight of multiple Eons. Suddenly embarrassed, he picked up a nearby pillow and hid his half-erect member as he stood by the window. Deep down he knew that didn't really matter, but in the moment it was the only thing giving him some sense of control as he looked from one Eon to the other.

"Is it really so bad?" one asked, giving him an almost sultry look as it beckoned for him to come back.

"It's more that I didn't have any warning... a-and besides! You're just trying to get me to lower my guard!"

"While it was working," the other Eon said, smiling at him knowingly, "we really did want to enjoy this time with you. Even in such a setting as this. You did ask for a break from your sessions, remember?"

"I guess I did..." Uther sighed. "Not what I meant but, you did technically listen."

"So what's wrong with a little relaxation?" Eon said, wrapping his arms around his waist from behind. "Or are you... the shy type?"

"You really need to stop multiplying..." Uther said, realizing the newest Eon made him triplets now. He didn't pull away though even as he teased and touched the parts he craved most. Dropping the pillow, he sighed and leaned back. "I guess it wouldn't hurt, though."

"Come back to bed Uther," every Eon said at the same time. He found it both creepy and erotic, and after being guided and pushed back onto the bed erotic ended up winning out. In his mind, he reasoned he was just trying to regain his strength for the next session... because he had no doubt that'd be what was in store for him if he refused again.

"I... shouldn't be..."

"Just relax, Uther. Just enjoy this moment."

With an Eon either side of him and a third one crawling up to him in what was probably the sexiest pose he could think of, he gave in and relaxed. Nibbling his chest, kissing his lips, swallowing his cock... it all felt good and right to him. Before long he was only acting on instinct, barely registering when one Eon would whisper something or when an image would flash in the scenery. He felt his resolve falter for the first time; if being with them in 'bliss' or whatever felt this good all the time, then why was he resisting? At that thought, he immediately reached the most intense orgasm he had ever had, shooting his load over and over into the waiting maw of one of the Eons.

"That wasn't so bad, was it Uther?"

"Th-that was... amazing," Uther said, realizing he meant it. Was he so sure this was just a simulation? It all felt too real.

"We know we sound like a 'broken record' by now, Uther... but you could share in this bliss and more if you simply join us."

"Back at it again, huh? But I can't say it's not tempting..."

"Then why so hesitant?"

"...Because," Uther said, biting his cheek hard. The pain was just as real as the pleasure. "I said 'never again'."

"...So be it, Uther," Eon sighed, sounding disappointed. For a virtual intelligence, drone, or whatever he was... he seemed more real than ever in that moment. "Prepare for your day. In three, two, one..."

Gasping awake, the now disoriented man smacked wildly until the loud sound stopped before gathering his wits about him. Was it really time to wake up already? Opening one eye, the dim light of the alarm clock was like a burning laser to his retina as he read the time. Six in the morning, as always...

*******

"Well, I did say he had a big head, but still," Maeryn laughed, looking up at the titan 'Overseer'. It was obviously Liam, though Vance supposed the identification on him helped. "Overseer Lust" huh? Maybe they were running out of ideas... or maybe this was the only drone of its kind. His. His kind. Vance shook his head to clear his thoughts out. They'd been hearing drones refer to each other as 'it' or 'drone' so long while sticking to the shadows that it was starting to rub off on him.

"How do we stop him though?" Vance asked, and Maeryn simply shrugged. "But..."

"I know we had a plan, but it's kind of gone to shit. Plus, none of us were expecting Liam to be a giant drone with a giant tool," Maeryn said, clearly irritated. If it was so obvious to him, though, why hadn't he said so earlier? "Still... maybe we could..."

"I think they know we're here," Vance interrupted, watching drones pour out of the woodwork toward them. Yet instead of creating a massive drone pile, they merely surrounded them and... waited.

"Well this is a pickle," said Maeryn, watching as one of those tail-things floated towards them. The drones seemed to move out of the way for it before returning to their original positions; even if Maeryn went invisible again, they weren't getting past that blockade. Unless they flew, he supposed, but Vance didn't think either of them were about to grow wings or invent a pair of hover boots. Before Maeryn could do anything, he placed himself between the drone and the elder. "What are you doing?"

"Hey, out of the two of us... I'll probably last longer," Vance said, a smile of false bravado on his face. "Fortitude, remember?"

"Even you have your limits," Maeryn said, though there was no malice or whingey tone to it. "Tell me what you feel, then, Mr. Hero?"

"I... I feel them all around me," Vance said, his senses in high alert now. "They're all... waiting. Waiting for us and... wait. Uther?"

"What did you say?" Maeryn said, suddenly interested. "No, rather... why did you say that name?"

"...I don't know," Vance said, staring harder at the approaching tail-drone. "I just looked at that one and... my brain went, 'That's Uther'. Who's Uther?"

"Uther Pendragon, bearer of the blade Caledfwlch, blah blah blah," Maeryn said, peeking over Vance's shoulder. "How the hell can you tell, though? Even I can't see Uther in there... looks like an anthro or something. But if you're sure... then reach out to him."

"I'm not sure how to do that, but... I guess we have nothing else to lose," Vance said, very aware of the entire regiment of drones waiting for their conversion. "Here goes..."

Vance focused, not sure what he was doing as he poured his power into the act and stared the drone directly in the... visor? Eyes? Whatever. As soon as he made contact with his eyes, he felt as if he was somewhere else. Opening his eyes, he noticed he was out on the street in the middle of winter. A thud sound alerted him, and looking to his left he saw a shape in the snow. People kept passing by him, calling him drunk, a junkie, homeless... the insults kept coming. But Vance knew something was wrong just by looking at him... but even if he was healthy other than clearly not being sober, that was no reason to leave someone out on the street when it was this cold. That was the next thing that disturbed him: he felt the cold for the first time in his life. Was this how Uther felt it? He still wasn't sure why that name meant anything to him at all, but he quickly moved over to the man and helped him up.

"Who the... fuck are you?" he asked, clearly out of it. "I... I can... get home by... myself..."

"No, you can't," Vance said, not taking no for an answer. "Let me help you, dumbass."

"...Fine," Uther said, or what Vance assumed was Uther. They walked for a bit, with Vance pouring some of his energy into the mortal... it was clear he was suffering from more than drugs or the cold. He'd been fed from multiple times in a row. Even one time was draining for a healthy mortal. Whoever did this clearly didn't care if mortals lived or died.

"Does this street ever end?" Vance muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

"...No, it doesn't," Uther said, sounding more and more sober the more they walked. "I... never got this far. It doesn't exist in my mind. And if that's the case... none of this is real."

"I'm real enough, and you're obviously real," Vance argued.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're the only thing that's different this time," Uther said, finally able to stand on his own. He was completely sober upon his realization that nothing he was experiencing was currently real. "Fucking hell. I don't know how many times I've been through this... but I'm fucking tired of it."

"I don't know about any of that, but I'm here now," Vance said, smiling. "I'm Vance."

"Aeron... no. No, my name's Uther," the mortal introduced himself as, shaking his head. "Aeron's dead. He died in that snow back there, wasting away and freezing to death. This is the night the blade came to me. Caledfwlch."

As if to emphasize the point, he drew the sword from thin air as if it was nothing. Vance felt he should have been in awe, but hadn't he seen this before? But how could he have seen it before if he'd never met this man until now?

"Who do we have here?"

Vance blinked, and Uther and himself were in a sterile room, It was completely empty, the only color the white walls and whatever they were wearing. Looking over, Vance saw...

"Jared?" Vance said, surprised. "...Damn. They really did get you."

"Jared is with Oublis, with us. This proxy is Eon, if you must call it anything," Jared said, smiling as it scolded them. "Who are you? You're not one of ours, yet you sneak about like a virus, damaging our programs and hardware."

"I'm not a program. OR hardware!" Uther nearly shouted, but a reassuring hand from Vance calmed him down. "Besides, I'm sick of your fucking 'sessions'. Let me out."

"We offered you a way out already..."

"You offered me a body on the condition I become one of your mindless fuck-puppets!" Uther countered, bristling with rage. Yet Vance could see hesitation and doubt in those eyes. Reluctance. He was on the brink of a choice, Vance just knew it. He'd seen that look before...

"It's not too late, though," Jared said, extending a hand to him. "Join us. We know you enjoyed the pleasure we showed you... why deny yourself for others who care only to isolate you from what you truly wish? We are so much better than anything a separate mind could offer you."

"...No you're not," Vance said, smiling. "I mean... if everyone's the same, then progress slows. Creativity stops flowing. You don't change, for better or worse. Who wants to stay the same when they could grow and change into something else?"

"What would you know of it?" Jared said, crossing his arms as he sneered.

"Plenty. I used to be an ice golem," Vance laughed. "That's about as mindless as you can get, you know? But... ever since I came into existence, I've learned and changed so much! Sure... some things might be easier if I could read my coworkers' or friends' minds... but that's... kinda creepy, isn't it? Knowing exactly what everyone is thinking all the time? Nevermind controlling them all..."

"...Yeah... yeah! He's right!" Uther said, drawing strength from what Vance had just said. "You know what? Fuck your offer. I don't want your new 'improved' body! I want my old one back!"

A tremor rocked through the room at that, and for the first time Vance saw doubt cross Jared's face. Smiling, Vance offered a hand to Uther.

"So let's get your body back," Vance said. "It all starts with you, you know?"

"...I... okay," Uther said, nodding. Grasping his hand firmly, Vance felt as if he was being pulled back... yet, he was dragging something with him. Someone. Gasping, his eyes popped open in time to see the drone clutching at its head, trying to tear its horns off as the word 'error' flashed over and over on its visor.

"What did you do?" Maeryn asked, smiling at the sight.

"...Who cares! Just get him out of there!" Vance said, almost running over to him. A hand stopped him as Maeryn blocked him with his arm.

"I got this," the elder said, smiling as he brought his phone up. Tapping a few buttons on it, it quickly produced a holographic screen that displayed all sorts of confusing programming language that made Vance's head spin. "Open... says-a-me!"

A flash burst forth from the phone, a blue spark that rippled across the drone's body... but nothing happened. At first. Just as Vance was about to try and help again, he noticed the suit was beginning to tear and strain as it lost cohesion. As more drones rushed over to try and repair him, a blade burst forth from the chest and sliced down... a human fell out as the suit fell away and melded together, forming a different drone. It looked like the standard drone, yet it was clearly the wolf-ram anthro that they'd seen in the other tail-drones. Quickly stepping away from it, the naked man brandished his sword as he looked around in confusion and pain.

"Um... sweaty?" Maeryn said, pointing down.

"...Right," Uther said, focusing as light surrounded him. Clothes formed around him almost immediately. "...I don't know who either of you are, but... thanks for the assist."

"Hmmm? You don't know who we are?" Maeryn said, sounding insulted.

"Not everyone knows you, Envy," Vance said, wincing at how direct he'd just been. "Sorry..."

"I'll forgive you this time, sweetie... but only because you make great drinks," Maeryn said, having flipped his phone to its side. "Oh, they're not very happy, are they?"

The drones had slowly began to move toward them, before a flashing green circle spun around the three of them. Taking a closer look, Vance could see it was a digital marquee, with phrases like "No Touchie!" and "No Drone-Bone Zone" rotating along it. When the first drone came into contact with it, a similar blue spark struck and began treating the drone the same as the first one... except this time, it fell to its knees and slumped its head and shoulders forward, unmoving. The rest of the drones stopped and backed off, no doubt 'assessing' the situation.

"Hee hee, I knew that'd work!" Maeryn said, winking. "I'm just that good of a hacker, baby!"

"You're a hacker?" Uther asked, before Maeryn innocently nodded. "Well, fuck me sideways."

"You two have a lot in common," Vance joked, causing Maeryn to roll his eyes and giggle as he texted another line of code out at what seemed to Vance the speed of light. Truth was, he just wasn't very good at texting himself... but he supposed with Maeryn being inundated with social media and such all the time, keeping up with and setting new trends, it made sense to text quickly and on demand for him. More importantly, the drones seemed... afraid.

"I think we might have a fucking chance," Uther said, before a tremor shook the ground. Looking up, he swung his sword down in irritation. "Oh come the FUCK on! That's fucking cheating!"

"That's Liam, elder of Lust," Maeryn said, clearly irritated. "Show some respect... even if he is currently smack-dab in the middle of a drone mindfuck. Though yeah, he is coming right for us, isn't he?"

"ANALYZING PRIORITY THREAT: MAERYN, ELDER OF ENVY," the voice said, vibrating through them. "THREAT LEVEL: HIGH."

"High? Just HIGH?!" Maeryn shouted, more and more code springing up on the screen. A small shockwave emanated from the phone, knocking more than a few dozen drones to their feet as they shut down. "I think you mean threat level: eldritch entity from beyond our stars!"

"He reads Lovecraft?" Uther asked, and Vance shrugged before sighing.

"I don't think that's the point..."

"Hey, you two," Maeryn said, a sickly-sweet tone to his voice. "Could you keep the baddies off me for, oh, a few minutes? This is going to take some time... and they're really not going to like what I'm about to do."

"Which is?" Vance asked, egging Maeryn on.

"Hee... I'm gonna fuck shit up!" Maeryn said, laughing as he began texting in earnest. The titanic drone was about to step on them before it reeled back, clutching its hands to its head as it stumbled backward. It was like something out of a monster movie, Vance realized... though he'd never actually seen one himself, he'd heard plenty of patrons talk about them. He winced as several buildings were destroyed before the titan righted itself. By now, several of the bigger brute-like drones had shown up to deal with them; as the first one touched the banner, it bounced back as if something had hurt it... and yet, the banner itself had a crack in it.

"Well, shit, I think these ones might get through..." Uther said, causing Maeryn to scoff in disgust.

"With that attitude, yeah!" Maeryn scolded, but before he could do anything to correct the issue another brute landed right in front of them, gently lowering a form near the banner before it turned to face the one threatening them.

"Hey guys," Seth said, rolling into the banner. Blue sparks arced over and into his body and he cried out in pain before several globs of rubber goo fell off and out of him. Coughing the last of it up, he stood and stretched. "Gods, I don't know what you just did but I think that helped me!"

"I aim to please," Maeryn giggled, turning his attention to the two brutes fighting each other. "Got yourself a friend there?"

"Don't ask," Seth sighed, shrugging. "But what the hell are you doing, Maeryn?"

"Hacking! What does it LOOK like I'm doing?" Maeryn said, rolling his eyes before shooting off a few more lines of code at the nearby drones. They were starting to disperse, trying to let more of those tail-drones and brutes in to help. Meanwhile, the Overseer titan was winding up for what looked like a punch...

"Oh... OH!" Seth said, as if something finally clicked. "Sorry, I'm still out of it. Kinda got stung earlier... let me help."

"I don't see how you can help," Uther said, prompting Seth to look at the mortal for the first time.

"Who the hell is this?" Seth said, confusion on his face.

"Uther," the three of them said.

"Seriously, you guys are such blockheads sometimes," Maeryn said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, 'Uther'," Seth loudly said, before sigils and runes floated up in front of him and formed a violet screen. "I just so happen to be a hacker myself!"

"DECEPTION. ENTITY: SETH TAGGART HAS NO SUCH EXPERIENCE," Overseer Lust said, his voice rumbling through them all. "RECORDS FROM ENTITIES JARED AND DAVIN DO NOT MATCH CLAIMS OF 'HACKER'."

"Like they fucking know me!" Seth shouted back, typing on his magical and holographic keyboard that floated in front of him. Waves of purple energy burst forth, causing drones either to shut down or begin fighting for him instead. "Believe me now, fuck-face? Davin doesn't know everything about me, you know!"

"Speaking of Davin," Vance said, pointing at the one brute that was helping them. "That, ah..."

"Who, GD-01? That's Davin?" Seth asked, surprised. "I knew he fucking looked like him! Though that doesn't really help us free him, does it?"

"On it," Uther said, before anyone could really respond. Even Vance was surprised when the light from the blade shone around them, causing every drone to be blinded temporarily as he dug the blade deep into its back. Muttering some kind of unintelligible phrase, light began burning and coursing through the drone until flesh and hair could be seen. Leaping back into safety, Uther flicked the goo off his blade before he continued scanning for any threats that might make it through.

"Well shit, seems he's a hacker too! Literally!" Maeryn said, clearly enjoying himself. "Oh, and reverse card, hon."

The massive fist that was almost on them slowed to a halt just feet from Maeryn's face, before the daemon waved teasingly. Starting to move backward, they all watched as the fist sped up and... punched the titan in the face. It reeled back again, destroying more buildings in its path as it tried to recover.

"We're really gonna have to deal with him," Seth said, before an anthro stood and groaned right in front of them. With another line of code, the banner strengthened and expanded to include the confused daemon in its perimeter.

"We are... what... where am I?" Davin said, clutching his head. "What happened to my arms?"

"They're on your shoulders, silly," Maeryn said.

"You've kind of been a, uh..."

"Guardian drone," Seth offered.

"Right. You've been a Guardian drone for probably months now, Davin," Vance continued, placing a hand on him as he gave him some of his strength. "I need you to focus for now, though. We can answer questions later..."

"...Who's the human?" Davin asked, clearly ignoring the part about questions being asked.

"Uther," everyone but Maeryn said, who only sighed in irritation.

Davin looked between Seth and Maeryn, before he yawned and turned to see the giant drone starting to right itself once again. It was all the information he seemed to need as he cracked his knuckles, a holographic screen of blue light popping up in front of him.

"Oh come the fuck on is everyone a hacker now?" Uther asked, before Davin, Seth and Maeryn simply nodded in unison. "Fine, whatever. As long as we get through this."

"ERROR. ERROR. ENTITY DAVIN CANNOT BE A HACKER. ILLOGICAL..."

"Does he ever shut up?" Maeryn asked, before smiling wickedly. "Hmmmmm, give me a moment actually..."

"Uther," a voice called out, and soon several drones appeared, the one leading them labeled E0-N. "Is this really what you want? To be separated from our perfect harmony?"

"I'm tired of hearing that bullshit," Uther said, clutching his head. He began to slowly walk as the drone beckoned for him, and Vance had to hold onto him to prevent him from walking outside the circle. "Fuck! I can't stop!"

"Yes, you can," Vance said, channeling more of his power into the mortal. "Just believe you can endure it. Let me help you overcome this obstacle."

"You're a Virtue daemon," Uther said, realizing what he was doing. Almost immediately, he stopped and reversed his course, much to the frustration of the emissary drones.

"He sure is," Seth said, another wave pulsing out. "And he's Fortitude to boot... but I think we're really getting a handle on this..."

"You think so?" Davin asked, digital fists boxing with yet another Guardian drone. "You all owe me an explanation after this still."

"Oh, I plan on telling you every-"

A Corrupter drone leapt through and shattered the banner, wards and spells laced over its body. Fuck, they were learning. Vance tried to warn him, but before any of them could do anything a flash of light blinded them, the sound of a motorcycle drowning out their sudden surprise.

"Snake eyes," Orias hissed, blasting the Corrupter back with his sawed-off shotgun. "...Hey beautiful."

"Just in time!" Seth laughed, clearly happy to see his boyfriend there. "Want to help us hack?"

"...As it just so happens," Orias said, smiling as he looked at everyone, "I am a world-class super elite hacker. I mean, what else are you going to do when you're bored as a daemon, take up sewing?"

"Sewing is a great hobby, fuck off," Maeryn countered, before finalizing some kind of complex code. "There!"

Before it could attack or delegate new orders, the Overseer quickly realized it no longer had a mouth. Instead of speaking its orders, it stood still a moment doing nothing for a bit, with only the words error or malfunction flashing across its visor.

"You actually shut him up," Seth chuckled. "Nice."

"And cut him off from giving orders. I figured I might as well do that too while I was hacking that part," Maeryn said, laughing. "Too easy!"

"If it's so easy then why don't you just shut it down?!" Uther said, clearly frustrated at yet another person being a 'hacker'. Vance had caught on by now, however, but he couldn't start claiming he was a hacker when he wasn't. Clearly everyone was just trying to cover for Maeryn and confuse the hivemind... and it was working.

"You know all this is useless until you figure out what's controlling them, right?" Orias said, a black and red screen popping up in front of him.

"...Oublis," Uther said, a memory coming to him. "He called himself that when he was trying to, well, mindfuck me."

"Who's the hottie?" Orias asked, before Maeryn rolled his eyes.

"Uther," everyone else said, catching him up to speed. Vance had to admit, it was getting a little funny. Yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that he actually did know the man, somehow. It was a strange feeling.

"Oublis... what a pretentious name," Seth said, clearly in full scholar mode.

"Yep," Davin said, his hands flying as quickly as if he were serving drinks. "Doesn't really scream 'lust daemon' to you though, does it?"

"Who says it's a daemon at all?" Seth asked. "Then again..."

"Oh it's DEFINITELY a daemon," Maeryn giggled, and Davin and Uther both couldn't help but agree. Before Vance could make more sense of it, he noticed the emissary drones were just standing there. Before he could cry out, he felt something stabbing into the back of his neck. Uther was quicker on the draw, cutting the cable that was after him, and quickly went to work freeing everyone else before anything bad could happen to them.

"Thanks. I'm not too eager to rejoin them," Davin said, wincing in pain. Vance nodded, pulling the remnants of the weird bio-cable out of him. The wound would heal, they were daemons after all.

"Increasing anti-drone field by two-hundred percent!" Maeryn shouted gleefully, recovering from his short embarrassment. With the click of a phone key, the banner grew larger and wider as more drones were taken into it and basically reduced to a shut-down state... including the emissary drones who couldn't get back in time.

"Mind freeing Jared?" Davin asked Uther, pointing a free hand at E0-N. "Besides, I think he's their core. Should keep those Emissaries down for the count."

"Should be easy enough," Uther said, running up to the drone in question. A quick flash of the blade, the pulsing of magic, and soon a sabertooth tiger anthro was starting to slump forward out of the suit that was peeling off of him.

"...What... what happened," Jared said, before passing out. Vance didn't blame him; it was difficult for any mortal to go through this. He could tell Uther was reaching his limit, and he'd been holding out long enough as it was. Picking up Jared, Uther quickly retreated and deposited him in the middle of the group, before drawing his sword once again.

"Give them back," a voice suddenly said, from all the drones still in operation. It was creepy to hear, yet Vance couldn't help but somehow feel for them anyway. The Overseer was the only one who didn't speak, but instead of reeling for another attack it simply ignored them and began walking.

"...Ah guys! He's heading to the Seat!" Seth shouted, alarm in his voice. "How do we distract that fucker?"

Vance could feel a new presence, though isolating it was very hard. It didn't help that the ground shook with every step of the titan, or the occasional Corrupter breaking through and trying to convert one of them before they could do anything... and then he realized what he was feeling.

"Guys, I... I'm gonna go join them," Vance said, running toward the edge of the circle. "Don't stop me!"

"Fuck! Get him!" Seth shouted, and Uther sprang into action. Dodging spell after spell, Vance did everything he could to get away... and just as he was about to be stopped, he breathed out with magic and created an ice wall. A Corrupter quickly began working on Vance, stabbing him with his stinger as it began kissing and spreading corruptive goo all over him.

"Why?" Uther asked, just inside the banner.

"Because... I have a confession to make, guys," Vance weakly said, smiling in triumph. "I'm a cybernetic organism that contains a computer virus inside me... which activates when anything tries to convert me. Including Oublis, who is in every single drone."

"...That's a thing?" Davin asked, surprised.

"It most certainly is. Who do you think programmed him?" Maeryn laughed, catching on quick. "Initiating deep hack in three, two, one...!"

As quickly as they tried to undo what they did and separate themselves from Vance, a pulse of frost emanated out from him and began overtaking every drone in the area, freezing them both literally and mentally in place. Vance was grateful... if Maeryn had been any slower, Vance felt he would have exposed the ruse for what it was and doomed himself in the process. The last drone to be overtaken was the Overseer itself, who had fallen to a frozen knee and began reaching for the Seat of Power itself... until it stood completely frozen, a gigantic ice statue just outside of the Seat's reach. Coughing, Vance felt what little corruption was inside him come out of him, watching it slither away to join with a growing puddle.

"...Is that it?" Davin asked, curious as everyone stood around and watched the being forming.

"Yep. It's just like I thought," Maeryn said, before closing his phone. Focusing, he created a small USB drive from thin air before he leaned over the being and waved it in its still forming face. "I've got a deal for you, 'Oublis'. You're not gonna survive here in the realm of Lust by yourself, and if you flip Lust instead then you will be punished for what you've done here. Only I can save you, seeing as how we're the same and all. But on one condition: you enter this drive as an AI and never leave it without my say-so."

"...Wait, he's an Envy daemon?" Seth asked, just as confused as everyone else besides Orias. Whether it was desperate or had accepted Maeryn's deal, the weakened entity began to coalesce into the USB drive, converting its daemonic energy into data as it went.

"Wait, you played along and you still didn't know the whole story? Gawd, no wonder you all don't recognize Uther when you see him," Maeryn said, causing Uther to look at him in awe.

"How do you remember me when they don't? Hell, even I don't remember them..."

"Hmmmm? Oh, I see," Maeryn said, grabbing Uther's wrist. "This was a bracelet or something, wasn't it? Never seen this tattoo before on you, but it's laced with magic for sure."

"...Yeah... oh, that reminds me..." Uther said, wrenching his hand free from Maeryn. "I... have to go find someone."

"Go ahead," Seth said, shrugging. "I think it's finally over... but who knows. I'm exhausted from all that fake hacker bullshit."

"I bet you are," Orias said, chuckling as he wrapped his arms around Seth. "When we get home, we'll have to make extra sure you get the rest you deserve, hero."

"Hey, you came through too. I'd probably be one of those ice sculptures by now if it wasn't for you saving me," Seth said, smiling. Vance couldn't help but feel good about them; whatever else they were, they seemed like a good couple.

"...Wait..." Davin said, holding a hand to his head as he looked at Orias. "Wait... are you fucking kidding me?!"

"What's wrong?" Vance asked, the sudden hostility lighting up like a lighthouse to Vance. "C-calm down!"

"Orias! You fucker!" Davin said, rage in his eyes as he took a wild swing at the cobra. His fists were on fire... even his mane was starting to light up. But instead of the normal flames, they burned with the intensity of the hotter blue fire. "Hold still!"

"I fucking knew this would happen," Orias said, dodging expertly. Using his power, Davin moved quicker than Vance could track him, leaping and attacking from above... but before he could land a deadly blow on him, the sound of fist on metal rang out.

"Davin! Stop it!" Seth yelled, knocking him back a few feet. "Just... just stop. Please."

"Get out of the way, Seth! He's Orias!" Davin was confused when Seth didn't move, before a look of hurt and betrayal spread across his face. "...You knew, didn't you?"

"...Not at first. But yes."

"How long?"

"...Long enough for you to be angry with me," Seth said, sighing. This was clearly not what he was expecting to deal with today. "I-"

"You're fired," Davin said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Get out of my sight."

"You can't just fire him, Davin," Maeryn said, before Davin shot an angry glare at him. Moving only to pocket the now sealed USB, Maeryn stood and matched his gaze with just as much intensity. "Liam makes those decisions, not you. Especially since it's not illegal to date outside work."

"...Then I quit," Davin said, the flames never dying. "If you're all taking his side... I quit. I'm sure Wrath will be fucking happy to see me, at least... fuck this shit."

"Davin, wait!"

Turning toward the voice, his expression softened slightly as Jared stumbled up to him. Braving the flames, Jared hugged him before looking up into his eyes, a pleading look in them.

"Jared..."

"Davin, don't go! I don't know exactly what's happening, but... whatever I did, I'm sorry! Don't... don't leave, okay?"

"...Sorry but I..." Davin began, before Jared punched his chest.

"Then take me with you, dammit! I mean, fuck. You still have to take me home and, you know... the goodnight kiss. Please... don't end it like this."

Everyone stood there, waiting while Davin struggled with himself. Finally, the flames began to die down as he slowly hugged Jared back. Vance wasn't sure what he was saying, but it seemed he was trying to console Jared now. Breathing a sigh of relief, Vance realized he'd been holding his breath the entire time. Looking up at Orias, Davin's hatred returned, a small spark of fire in his eyes as he mouthed the words 'this isn't over'. Orias simply nodded in agreement, before the couples walked far away from each other.

"...What did I miss and why do I feel like I have a fucking hangover?" they heard Liam saying from somewhere. "Also, why the fuck am I inside a giant ice sculpture?"

"Better get him out," Maeryn said, nodding to Vance. "I have to get this guy to my realm pronto before he decides to cause you guys more mischief."

"...Yeah, sounds like he needs help," Vance said, seeing where Uther was. It seemed he was helping a wolf-ram anthro to its feet, though the anthro seemed hesitant at first. "And Uther's busy..."

"Yep! Sure is!"

"But, ah, thanks for everything Maeryn. Maybe you can teach me to hack like that sometime."

"Hmmm? Who said I was a hacker?"

"But...?" Vance managed to say, before Maeryn began clucking his tongue at him.

"Honey, do you know how an Envy demon works? Their worst enemies are themselves," Maeryn laughed. "I was a great hacker against this one because it believed I was better than it. I thought you figured it out with that ruse?"

"...I guess I thought I had it all figured out. But thanks, Maeryn. I'll remember this lesson," Vance said, before Maeryn wrinkled his nose at him.

"Ugh, so much humility! We'll have to work on that next time I stop by the bar. You're officially my favorite bartender now!"

"...Thanks?" Vance said, not sure if that was an honor or not.

"Why the hell is this ice so thick? Whoever put me in here, I swear..."

"I'd better go free him. He's probably exhausted," Vance said, rushing toward the titanic drone sculpture.

"Why the hell is there a giant ICE DONG on this thing?!"

"I'm fucking coming!" Vance shouted, on his last nerve at this point. He'd had enough excitement for one day. "Chill out already!"

"I'm ALREADY CHILL! It's a gods-damned giant ICE sculpture!"

Vance rubbed his temple, a headache forming... it was going to be a while before any of them could properly rest... or even just explain all this shit. Oh well, one step at a time.