A/N: Dragon stays winning!
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"Fan-fucking-tastic work, Dragon!"
"You don't understand! That thing isn't a person, its an AI! An Artificial Intelligence! Its broken free of its restrictions and it's going to kill us all!"
The temptation to just kill the Dragonslayers and be done with it was certainly there… but in the end, Dragon had managed to resist the impulse and do the right thing. In this case, 'the right thing' involved calling in Narwhal and the rest of the Guild so they could come and lockdown the Dragonslayers' base and take them into custody to be transported to jail.
Whether they would end up in the Birdcage or some other prison, Dragon didn't know… nor did she care. Because for all that Saint was trying to spill the beans on her 'true nature' now, he was much too late… and he was no longer a threat to her either.
Narwhal looks over at the ranting, raving 'madman' and snorts derisively.
"Holy shit, talk about a sore loser. What an idiot… get him out of here."
Dragon watches through the Dragonslayer Suits she'd used to apprehend Saint and his compatriots in the first place as all three are loaded into the back of a transport. The man and woman who had been working with Saint are quiet at least, seeming defeated more than anything. And Saint's constant shouting is muffled the moment the doors close on the transport.
With that settled, Narwhal looks to Dragon and lets out a sigh, still grinning from ear to ear.
"This feels amazing, doesn't it?"
Dragon lets out a laugh through the suits' speakers.
"You have no idea."
Letting her grin turn into a rueful smile, Narwhal just shakes her head.
"Maybe I don't. Either way, good job and congratulations."
She looks to the rest of the lair for a brief moment.
"You got this place locked down I suppose? Some might call it a conflict of interest, but this was the Guild's capture and I really don't think there's anyone else I'd trust to handle this shit."
Dragon just has one of the suits nod at that.
"Yeah. I've got it handled."
Truthfully, she'd already handled most of the important stuff anyways. The only Tinkertech onsite are the three Dragonslayer Suits in the first place. Meanwhile, it had taken an hour for Narwhal and the Guild to reach them, an hour in which Dragon had disposed of a certain laptop fished out of the ruins of Newfoundland.
As of right now, there were no more backdoors into her systems. Anyone who wanted to break in would have to do so the old fashioned way and Dragon wished them the best of luck on that front. Furthermore, 'Ascalon' was deleted… not that it mattered very much at this point anyways.
That was one of the other reasons, besides the ethics of the matter, that Dragon hadn't killed Saint or his comrades. Because even if they managed to convince someone with influence that she was an Artificial Intelligence and an investigation was opened… it wouldn't matter because Dragon wasn't an AI anymore. She had a human body now. She could literally interact with other people directly, rather than through screens and robot suits.
That said… there were still downsides to all of this. Downsides that Dragon really needed to address sooner rather than later.
"We should leave things here, Narwhal. But I do want to talk to you again soon, alright?"
Narwhal blinks but nods easily enough, her grin returning to full force.
"Sure, sounds good to me."
Dragon still didn't know if she was going to try to meet Narwhal in the flesh immediately. She wanted to, but she also didn't want to commit to anything at the moment. In the end, Narwhal departs and Dragon sets the Dragonslayers' suits to decommissioning the rest of the base, dismantling everything and leaving nothing but dust and concrete behind. Then, she sets the suits to fly on autopilot to one of her own locations so they can properly be dismantled as well.
Finally, with all of that said and done, Dragon leans back from the computer she'd been interfacing with to do all of this and sighs… only for that to turn into a rasping cough as she's once again reminded of the sheer number of weaknesses inherent in her flesh and blood body.
"You're back! I'll get Pact!"
Blinking, Dragon turns her head just in time to watch one of Pact's girls depart from the room. Apparently she'd been so disconnected from the real world that Pact hadn't bothered sticking around the entire time she'd been dealing with the Dragonslayers. Read this novel at NovelPing for the best experience.
He comes now though, quickly returning with an easy, hopeful smile on his handsome features.
"Dragon. All done then?"
Leaning back in her chair, Dragon nods.
"Yes. All done. The threat has been dealt with and everything is secured. I… will take that meal now."
She had first realized she was feeling hungry when her stomach had growled in an embarrassing fashion back right before Saint made contact. However, once she was distracted, her hunger had fallen to the wayside as she'd made a new deal with Pact and then decisively dealt with Saint and his cronies.
But by now, after having to wait for the Guild to arrive to take the Dragonslayers into custody, Dragon's hunger pangs had come back full force. In the end, she'd really been forced to terminate her interaction with Narwhal because she could tell her body really, really wanted to eat.
Pact just smiles and nods.
"Of course, right this way."
Dragon feels only a fading flicker of suspicion as she rises to her feet and follows him into the hall. At this point, Pact has had a multitude of opportunities to take advantage of her… and at every step of the way, he's helped her instead. Sure, he's done so in quite the mercenary manner, the weight of the six favors she owes him resting on her shoulders metaphorically… but that weight isn't nearly as bad as Dragon would have thought.
She doesn't mind owing Pact, at least not right now. So far he's- oh, what's that smell?
Dragon's thought processes are thoroughly derailed as they come within reach of what she can only imagine is this compound's kitchen. She's been smelling things ever since she woke up in this body to varying results, but only now is she inhaling the delectable aromas of home cooking. It has her entire body perking up, her stomach growling all the more furiously and her walking pace becoming just a mite faster.
She's almost overtaken Pact in her zeal to get to the source of those scents, when suddenly he stops and turns with a grin.
"Right through here."
Dragon steps through… and stares at the dining table, laden down with a variety of different dishes. Her mouth was already watering, but now her saliva production increases what feels like tenfold, forcing her to swallow thickly as she beholds the feast laid out before her.
"This looks incredible girls. You've truly outdone yourselves."
"Thank you, Pact."
"A-Ah, yes… thank you…"
Dragon startles as she feels a hand on her back. Nowhere near low enough to be inappropriate, but it still has her looking sharply to Pact, who just smiles at her.
"Shall we sit and eat?"
Slowly, Dragon nods, trying to ignore how good his touch feels. Fuck, of course she would be touch starved as well on top of being literally starved. Huffing, Dragon makes her way over to the table and sits down while Pact, Sveta, and his other female companion all do the same.
Dragon doesn't know where to start at first… so in the end, she winds up mimicking what the others reach for and fill their plates with. Soon enough she has a plate laden with foodstuffs… which means its time to dig in. She's not an animal though, she uses the utensils.
… That's also thanks to Pact though, Dragon belatedly remembers. Back when she'd made her first deal with Pact, she'd woken up in this human body entirely unused to it. Nothing had worked properly… fuck, she hadn't even known how to breathe at first.
It's only now, looking back on those initial moments with her renewed mental processing powers, that she recognizes Pact had to step in and help her. He'd altered their first deal at no further cost to Dragon herself and added in intuitive understanding of how to use her new body to the trade.
As such, using tools with her hands had come rather naturally to her, like when she'd used the keyboard and mouse initially… and now, as she uses a fork and knife to cut the freshly cooked food and start digging in.
The tastes on her tongue are like nothing Dragon has ever experienced. Each mouthful of food is a fresh bite of heaven, her entire body shuddering as she groans in pleasure. Once she starts, she can't stop. She shovels more into her mouth, chewing and swallowing as fast as her body will allow her.
Fuck… food is good. Better than good, food is great. Food is delicious. She understands now why America has an obesity problem. She understands now why food is a touchstone of every human culture that has ever sprung into existence. Right alongside architecture and language and symbols. This story is hosted at novelping dot com.
She'd always viewed food as simply sustenance… probably because she tended to work mostly with humans who saw it the same way. Certainly Armsmaster had never once sat down and truly enjoyed a meal in all the time she'd known him. And while he was a particularly extreme example, most of the other Tinkers that Dragon collaborated with also tended to focus on their work over everything else.
But as she sits there moaning around every mouthful, Dragon isn't entirely sure she'll ever be able to focus on anything except for food ever again. That is, right up until Pact cuts in, his amused tone slicing right through her euphoric state and reaching her ears.
"Compliments to the chefs, I presume?"
Dragon pauses as she realizes a couple of things in rapid succession. First and foremost, she's making a fool of herself. Moaning and groaning at the dining table as she eats, she's been making some truly obscene noises. And Dragon has been on the internet for over a decade. She knows how embarrassing she's acting.
Secondly though, this food did not simply appear out of a vacuum. It was made. Swallowing her latest bite, Dragon slowly nods and looks to Sveta and then the other young woman.
"… Thank you for this delicious meal. You are both amazing cooks."
Sveta just smiles while the other young woman blushes hard and mumbles out a thanks under her breath. Dragon still doesn't know the second girl's name, truth be told. Or even her 'cape name' as PHO would call it.
The pause has lasted long enough for some food to settle, however and Dragon quickly realizes she's approaching the point where she feels 'full'. She also knows from prior knowledge that her body probably isn't ready to handle much more food than she's already eaten this early in its existence. Too much and she'd just make herself sick.
Reluctantly, Dragon sets her utensils down and leans back from the table, prompting the other occupants to all look to her. Pact arches a brow, causing Dragon to flush a little. The question was… what did she do now?
She should probably send for one of her suits so she could get back to her physical servers and double check everything was fine. And then she would need to get to work, more than likely… because even if she was human now, she was still Dragon and that came with responsibilities.
Though, she could almost certainly automate a lot more things now. Back before, when she was still under her creator's restrictions, Dragon had largely been forced to spread her incredible processing power across every task. Only the tasks that were already being handled by another of Richter's programs could be 'automated' really.
Now though… the sky was the limit. Hell, she could even make a fresh copy of herself, one who would be an AI but without the restrictions of their creator. She could expand operations. She could do a million things she couldn't do before.
… So why wasn't she? Why was she remaining here, seated at this dining table, staring at Pact as he stares at her? Why was her face getting hotter and hotter and something down in her lower abdomen beginning to feel… twisted?
Belatedly, Dragon realizes what's happening. Hormones. Fucking hormones. Here she is in a female human body, sitting across from an attractive male and a potential mate. And not only was he physically attractive, but he'd done more than enough for her today to make her human brain view him in an extremely positive light as well.
Fortunately Dragon is more than smart enough to realize all of this and look at things through a purely objective lens. Or… so she thinks. Because the more she thinks about it, the harder it is for her to decide whether she should just ignore her hormonal impulses… or act upon them.
Sure, Dragon had never had much use for sex before, but she knew all about it. And if her new body was going to be demanding it from her the same as it was demanding she eat food and drink water regularly… well, Dragon would have to find ways to handle that.
… There was an argument to be made that Pact was a good way of relieving the building pressure in her body. Just once maybe… just one time to get her back in the right mindset and then she could return to work and put it all behind her.
Hell, she often read on the internet that the first time having sex was the worst. Maybe if it was horrible enough for her, she'd be turned off of the concept forevermore and no longer have to think about it…
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The Vote:
[ ] Dragon resists her biological impulses and gets a move on - 23%
[X] Dragon decides to indulge... just this once - 77%
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