Drone Metastasis Ch. 06

Consciousness returned slowly, accompanied by a soothing display playing over her eyes. Puffy, white clouds floated in an infinite blue sky.

There was a hissing in her ears that calmed her, making her feel as if she was floating. She lazily watched the heavily forested landscape as it drifted past.

Her legs jolted as the chair she was strapped to rose from the bottom of the tank she had been resting in. A gurgling and swishing noise from above signaled that her restful sojourn was almost over.

She shuddered as her body lifted out of the liquid, her skin protesting as it was exposed to cooler air. She gave a low moan around the gag plugging her mouth, annoyed that she had been removed from her comfortable womb-like tank.

She tried to move, but her arms were still secured to the chair back. A soft touch along her collar bone stilled her motions, and she shuddered as fingers trailed over her shoulders.

The soothing display in her mask intensified, seizing her thoughts and guiding them down more useful paths. Everything was as it should be. She was prepped for Installation.

She wanted it so badly. To be joined to Hive. To be with Hive.

The eye symbol fixed in the center of her vision stared at her. Saw all parts of her. She just knew that it was Hive looking at her, judging her. Wanting her.

She was prepared.

Something hot and hard pressed again her chest, against her breastbone. A searing pain accompanied the hard pressure, and her body vibrated in pain.

She chewed on the gag and watched the eye. Pain was nothing in service to Hive. Being a Drone was everything. She was a Drone.

The mantra brought her through the agony, and soon the pain subsided. She breathed more regularly, her body slowly calming. She could feel something rigid and hard on her chest. Something had been embedded into her.

She shuddered, thighs tingling. Hive had branded her in some fashion. Made her its slave. She was a Drone.

There came a hissing sound and the bulb gag inside her mouth deflated. The dancing colors on the screen went dark. The ache from her chest returned, but not as severe as before.

Hands were on her head, torquing the helmet she wore upwards. The rubber slipped from around her neck and head, leaving slick, sweaty skin behind. The gag popped out of her mouth and she blinked dumbly in the bright light, vague shadows dancing around her in perfect synchronization.

"Hello, Q-Three," said a velvet voice. "You're looking quite stunning."

The shadow woman brushed a hand over Zoe's oiled skin, pausing to gently cup one of her breasts to give it a soft squeeze. "You are very close to experiencing everything Hive has to offer. Are you ready?"

Zoe worked her stiff lips. "Yes, Mistress. This Drone is ready."

The Drone chuckled. "I rather think our roles will be reversed soon, but I'll leave that up to Her."

Two other Drones moved semi-circular rigid metal pieces down from above, fixing them around Zoe's neck. They locked together with a click, holding her head in place. The first Drone ran her fingers down Zoe's chest, then stood back. "Welcome to the Hive," she said with finality.

An articulated metal arm with a bulbous tip swiveled in from above. The tip had a large, blue orb on the end, with a circular black marble suspended in the center, making it look like a primitive eye.

As it swung closer, Zoe understood what it meant to do. It wanted to stick that orb inside her mouth and Install it inside her. To link her permanently to Hive. There would be no turning back after that. She would be a Drone for always and ever.

She cranked her mouth open and waited passively. She wanted to be Installed so badly. To join with Hive in perfect harmony.

The tentacle curved, shoving the globe past her lips. She almost choked on its girth, but waited patiently for it to finish its job.

A sharp jab at the back of her upper throat, and she was in ecstasy. Her consciousness ascended from her corporeal body, expanding to encompass the bright lights of nearby Drone minds. She could feel each one individually, tasting their thoughts.

She dipped inside the brain of the Drone standing in front of her, catching a glimpse of her bound body. The tentacle was slipping out of her mouth, leaving its cargo behind, the shiny blue ball embedded in the back of her throat.

It pulsed gently inside her mouth, glowing that unearthly color. Installed so deeply it could not be removed.

Her eyes flicked to her chest, spotting an oval aquamarine gem that had been embedded right above the curve of her breasts, taking pride of place in the center of a sea of blue skin. She could get lost in the shiny facets of its surface, but she had too much she wanted to explore.

Taking in her body as a whole, she gasped. Her time in the tank had remade her skin, smoothing out her features and coloring her a dark blue. All blemishes had been removed, her breasts perfect orbs. A vision of feminine beauty.

She looked perfect. She had been Converted. She was Hive.

***

G-Fifty Seven stood at attention in front of the fortress gatehouse, watching the bridge over the drawbridge with perfect clarity. He breathed deeply, savoring the gas that flooded the interior of his helmet.

In his hands he clutched his gas projector. Similar in shape to a flamethrower, a hose attached to the rear connected to the chrome tanks on his back. The weapon was capable of aerosolizing the gas and shooting it up to fifty feet, making it easy to hose down any attackers. Those not used to the effects of the gas would find themselves becoming very sleepy and suggestible, easy prey for the other guards.

He had been ordered to watch the entrance and detain any intruders by the Queen of this castle, and he obeyed her implicitly. It was his sacred duty to defend her from any harm. His Queen would help Hive to grow, and he would prevent anyone from stopping her plans.

He was not alone in this task. Many other guards were scattered around the perimeter, taking up positions in their sleek, black outfits. He knew there were more on the walls and in the towers as well, hidden away. If he found a threat, they would act as one to neutralize it.

Not that there had been too much resistance so far. This section of the lobby world was being swiftly conquered by Hive. New slaves were being brought in every day, subjected to heavy brainwashing and body alteration.

The physical changes wouldn't carry through to real life, but the mental changes were permanent. Drones processed here would soon seek out a proper facility to continue their conversion once they left VR.

Everything was proceeding as planned by his Mistress.

Any concerns he had previously entertained had been removed. To become a Hive Drone was proper and just. All must see the truth and know the pleasure of obeying.

He scanned the horizon, watching the Drones go about their work. The fortress had originally been styled as a medieval castle, made out of quarried stone by friends and others associated with his guild, but that was slowly changing. Block by block, the stone was being swapped out with solid aquamarine blocks.

Gathering the rare gems was usually a feat in and of itself - crafting blocks and making a building out of them was considered the height of opulence. That Hive had the manpower to send to fetch the raw materials was a statement of strength in and of itself.

Only one of the towers had been completed, but this had been achieved in less than a day. The new fortress was shaping up to be awe inspiring.

At the end of the bridge a large pavilion had been built by the Drones, a pathway circling around a towering pillar of marble constructed in the center of a fountain. Topping the fifty foot tall tower was a gigantic blue globe that sparkled in the light of the artificial midday sun.

Anyone who was not a Drone who peered at its glimmering surface would find their mind caught as if in a sticky trap. They would be unable to move. Unable to think, until the guards arrived to take them away to be converted. He had seen a few players captured and changed by the globe. It was a symbol of Hive's dominance.

Symbols were excellent targets for rebels, which was yet another reason why he needed to be vigilant. Nothing had happened in the last few hours, but he had caught at least one group attempting to destroy the globe while wearing blindfolds. They had been quickly swarmed, gassed, and taken away. Some of the former adventurers were now guarding the globe, dressed in black rubber suits identical to his.

His status as castle guard was no higher than theirs. They were all guard Drones, tasked to a required purpose by Hive. If Hive decided tomorrow that he should guard the lavatories, he would do as ordered. There was no question in his mind that he would obey any command, no matter how trivial the duty. This was who he was now.

A flicker of motion in the distance caught his attention. A Drone convoy was approaching, two lines of guard Drones marching on either side of a series of horse drawn carriages. At the head of the column was a contingent of horses, a Drone dressed in a purple bodysuit leading the way.

As she approached, he could see that her suit was cut to reveal her bustline, a tight corset cinched tight over her breasts. A coiled whip sat at her waist, the braided leather appearing worn with use. The sleek, black guards surrounded her, domed helmets glinting as they turned to scan their surroundings.

The horses and carriages trotted over the bridge, halting in front of the gate house. One of the horses took the opportunity to excrete waste, a slug-like mass dribbling to the cobblestones.

G-Fifty Seven was amused and surprised that the developers had found the time to implement this behavior. He frowned, blinking. Developers? What was he thinking?

He stiffened as another set of Drones approached from within the fortress. Out of the corner of his helmet he caught a glimpse of green and immediately knew that this was his Queen who he had pledged to protect. To obey and serve.

The purple Drone dismounted, handing the reins to one of her guards. In turn, they reached their hands up and unlocked their helmets, taking them off and tucking them under their arms.

G-Fifty Seven's heart jolted. He recognized these guards, even through the haze of the gas. These were G-One Oh Five and G-One Oh Six... shit, no, that was wrong. These were his friends, Nate and Dave!

They were clearly under the thrall of the purple Drone, which he now saw was Simone, or at least the artificial facsimile of her. She gave a bright smile to the emerald green Drone, which he assumed was Q-Three - no, Zoe, his sister.

He shook his head, trying to banish the strange numbers that danced in his mind. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't remove the glowing designations. He knew them to be true.

"A productive trip as usual, D-Ten? How many were you able to capture?"

Simone trotted up to Zoe, leaning in to give her a peck on the cheek. "What, no concern for my well being? You're acting like I took a trip to the grocery store."

Zoe chuckled. "I know you. Busting up a resistance gang is like baking cookies for you. Hardly a challenge. Besides, if you needed help, you would have asked for it."

Simone patted her on the back. "That might be true, but I don't like getting sloppy. There's plenty more players still trying to hide from us, and they can be dangerous when cornered."

She moved back towards the convoy, gesturing at the first carriage. "Take these, for example. They actually tried to jump me. Fortunately, my guards were quite attentive."

Sullen faces peered out from behind steel bars, a scraggly, unkempt posse. One of them reached out towards Simone, but Dave gave him a jolt with his shockstick.

Zach shuddered. How barbaric. That could easily have been him inside that cage if he hadn't been targeted early on.

But he had been. They had gotten to him first. Made him into their toy. Their puppet.

He shuddered. That didn't sit well with him. Being trapped like an animal and subjected to strange tortures. Even if he'd been changed to like it after heavy conditioning.

He'd been changed. They had gotten to him. Here he sat, breathing this strange gas, watching others having their wills stripped from them. It was obscene.

He was G-Fifty Seven and he has been ordered to... no, forced to stand here and watch while carriage after carriage of clueless gamers had been fed into the maw of the fortress, turned into more Hive Drones.

His consciousness cracked through the effects of the gas, and he knew he had to do something. By himself, though, any attack was impossible. He would only be good for a short distraction, then he'd have to try for an escape - to regroup with others out there.

And then what? He had no special insider knowledge of Hive that would be useful to others. They'd brainwashed him into a subservient slave, just like all the rest. He could already feel the training strumming his subconscious, telling him to let go and breathe in another wonderful lungful of gas.

No, he wasn't a tool to be used. He wouldn't wait passively for the end of the world. He was Zach, dammit, an expert gamer! That should mean something!

He reached up and grasped the neck of his helmet, twisting it to release the catch and pulling it off. Tossing it over his shoulder, he quickly brought up his inventory.

Stacks and stacks of bricks for farming. Dirt, buckets of water, corn seeds, vegetables, etc. Useless in a fight.

He was equipped with a Drone uniform, and a shockstick, which could help, but he knew better than to attack the Drones with it. Yes, he might be able to incapacitate one or two, but they would easily overwhelm him. It was a weapon best used one on one, or in Hive swarming tactics.

His gas 'flamethrower' was even more worthless. He doubted any Drone would be even slightly inconvenienced by breathing the gas it projected. Instead, it would probably act to subdue anyone in the carriages, removing any chance of escaping with them.

With what he had, he would serve best as a distraction. Lacking more equipment, he should probably try diving over the bridge and taking his chances in the moat.

"G-Fifty Seven," said Simone curtly. "Why have you removed your helmet? You have not been ordered to assist." Her hand was at her waist, gripping her whip.

His eyes widened and he pointed into the distance. "Look! They're making another attack!"

It was not a simple ruse. By some stroke of luck, a cohort of enemy knights had gathered on both sides of the globe fountain and were rapidly charging towards the castle.

The cohort of guard Drones reached for their shocksticks and rushed towards the foot of the bridge. This was his chance. He raised the nozzle of his gas thrower, pressing the trigger and hosing down the lead elements of the convoy. A billow of roiling blue gas blew outwards in a pressurized burst, quickly expanding into a large cloud.

This added to the confusion, as he had intended. While they were distracted, he rushed in towards one of carriages, hoping to find a way to release some of the prisoners to increase the confusion.

As he closed in on the bars, hands reached out to him. Most of them had female avatars and they were all nude. He did his best to ignore the grimy captives, well aware that their characters here may or may not represent what they actually looked like in real life.

That was immaterial. If they were captured and brainwashed, it wouldn't much matter what happened once they escaped this world. They would be slaves to Hive.

To his dismay, he found the door secured with a chunky padlock. Cursing, he threw up a barricade of dirt blocks, knowing that it wouldn't hold them for long.

"Stop!" ordered Zoe in a booming shout.

A shock wave of pressure emanated outwards from her body in a sphere, rocketing across the bridge. When it hit the globe on top of the tower, it brightened in response.

A large flash of light burst outwards, smashing back over the knights doing battle with the guards. They froze in mid attack, making it easy for the guards to jab them with their shocksticks.

Zach didn't find himself immobilized by the bust of light, perhaps due to the changes Hive had made to him. Even so, his vision was fuzzy as he tried to come up with a solution.

He was rather out of options. The electricity from his shockstick wouldn't do anything to that lock, and in this world he lacked the technical skills to pick it. If only he had a... oh no.

A thin whip had wrapped around his leg, a sudden jerk pulling him off his feet. He landed hard on his chest, the whip dragging him along the ground backwards.

Two black suited Drones grabbed him by the shoulders and forcefully sat him against one of the bridge trusses. Two expressionless pale faces peered down on him without seeing him. Nate and Dave, completely under the thrall of Hive.

"Come on guys," he breathed heavily. "The joke's over. We have some adventuring to do. Help a fellow out."

They didn't reply, pinning him down by his shoulders. The solid tip of a black platform boot pressed against his crotch, making him jolt, a cold sweat breaking out over his brow.

Drone Simone towered over him for a moment, grinding the sole of her shoe against his penis. His dick swelled, giving him an inconvenient erection. Simone looked at him cruelly, then withdrew.

The next figure hovering above him didn't make him feel any better. His sister, the Queen, looked at him, not with disapproval, but with pity. Judging him with a single, intense stare. "A rather futile gesture, though not completely unexpected. More training will be required."

She flicked her hand, clenching it into a fist. "Tell me, what did you hope to accomplish? The globe neutralized the attackers with little trouble, and the slaves in our carts never posed a threat. It was almost too easy."

She looked around and shrugged. "This pathetic plan must not have been premeditated."

She flexed her shoulders, emphasizing her breasts, where the shiny latex tented over her nipples. He closed his eyes, unwilling to stare at his sister's assets - even if this wasn't the real world, he felt sick anyway.

"You are brave, we grant you that. Brave enough to be a valuable guard Drone, but that sort of bravery makes you teeter dangerously on the precipice of stupidity."

Zoe made a cute noise of frustration and waved at Simone."I don't have time for him. There is too much cleanup that needs to be done. Do what is necessary. Make him understand."

Simone grinned. "With pleasure."

She kicked his butt, causing him to yelp and open his eyes. She hooked her whip around the segmented belt on her waist, bending down on one knee to investigate his crotch. This gave him a perfect view of the slope between her breasts, causing his dick to tense.

She grinned, noticing his arousal. "Some people say fear is the best motivator, but I personally think that pleasure works much better. If you mix the two, however..."

Reaching down, she hooked her fingers around the zipper at his crotch, sliding it open. A hand slipped inside, clenching around his dick. He groaned, a thrill of excitement and worry sliding up his belly.

"There it is, happy to see me. Did you miss me?" She made childish noises, jerking his cock out into the open. It sprung to attention, rock hard. "Mmm, I can't wait to swallow your dick with my pussy. It's going to feel so good."

Leaning forward, she unzipped her crotch and pressed her bare flesh against his length, sitting on his belly. He gritted his teeth, aware that he had no choice but to take it.

"Ah, but he's clearly not in the proper frame of mind. Let's give him some incentive."

She pressed her hands against the top of her breasts, pushing down. This emphasized the amethyst embedded in her breastbone, light twinkling from its interior.