Theodoren looked up, tail slowly swaying. "Daisy, you have something above you now?"

Cedric nodded up towards her chest. "Yeah, there's a sign up there. I didn't want to bring it up before, but you do see that, right? Where did it come from?"

She looked down, seeing it. 'Mutagen Source' hovered above the chest area. "I didn't want to mention it. A cat officer decided I was a risk, and they needed to be labeled so everyone's safe. Safe from what is anyone's guess."

"Jerk!" Theo reached up to feel at the letters, but they had no physical presence. "Please, you're not ambushing people with them. The risk is pretty clear. I go at these, I'll be a mouse too." He gestured towards her. "Not that I mind the idea now that I've seen how lovely a mouse lady can be."

Daisy nuzzled his head. "You're a sweetheart, but that's not going to change anything." She rose to her full height. "Whatever. I'm not here to cause trouble. I vote we get going if you two are ready? There's a mechanical undead dungeon not too far. We can all go and see what happens in there." She grabbed up her shield, strapping it on, and checked over the rest of her equipment. "It's going to be hard using this shield with a big two handed fella."

Theodoren smiled up at her. "I think you'd manage anyway, you're pretty strong." He turned towards his own bag, checking over everything. "I have potions, food, and a few other things as well." He paused and turned. "Do either of you have room for any of these things?"

Cedric waved at his bag. "A little. Daisy, um, you're the strongest. Think you could carry a little more?"

She smiled and approached, gently taking the potions from Theodoren. She slipped them into their appropriate pouches, then took some food as well. "I'll carry what I can. You two carry the rest." What she could carry made their share manageable swiftly. "To adventure!" She pointed the way and began her march.

***

Cedric pointed down the path. "That way! The dungeon should be that way."

"Right." Daisy hefted her warhammer. It was massive in her hands, and she could see Theodoren looking at it. "You want to see me smash things." She chuckled softly. "So do I." She took significant and broad steps towards the dungeon ahead. "Looks like an abandoned workshop. Lots of rusted metal out front." She leaned the warhammer against her shoulder as the other two caught up.

"Doesn't mean there isn't danger." Cedric approached while drawing his sword.

"Please." Theo drew a wand to readiness. "Undead constructs, remember? It looks just right."

Daisy nodded towards them, but kept her attention forward. The wind rustled through the branches of surrounding trees and her fur. She stepped into the room and examined what she could see. "It's quiet in here."

As if to prove her wrong, two electric eyes opened suddenly. "State your name and purpose." It sounded artificial, neither male or female.

Daisy looked at it. "We are adventurers, here for treasure." She raised the hammer in a clear threat. "Will you try to stop us?"

The eyes narrowed. "Yes." With that simple statement, it rushed forward, metal claws outstretched. Daisy knocked it aside with a massive swing, but other automatons were rushing into the room just behind it. "Fun's started!"

She swung down, hard. The automaton crumpled under that massive weight, falling to the side with a loud clunk. Another tried to tackle her, but she stood solidly in place, and let Theodoren reduce it to scrap before kicking it off.

With a swing of her shielded arm, she bashed one aside just in time to meet the heavy head of her hammer. It crumpled against a wall, crushed and broken. "I am having fun with this." She hefted her hammer again while casting a heal on Cedric, then smashed a construct in half. "How could I forget how fun it is to be a paladin?"

One robot didn't charge at her, instead sauntering with a smoldering gaze. She was mostly a robot, like the others, with just enough flesh to make her a her, with curves in the right place and that faint pout to her lips. "No fighting, please."

Daisy paused, hammer raised, ready to bring down on the next attacker. She gazed down at that curvy figure. Then she turned away to bash another robot. The last one standing was the sexy one. "What's your deal? If you're going to seduce me, save your breath."

"Error, incorrect target." She pointed at herself. "I have been seduced. You are the seductress."

Daisy blinked, holding the warhammer high. Her eyes darted down herself, checking if she had done something odd. "Okay, I am lost." She looked over her shoulder, back at the robot woman.

Cedric's eyes widened. "Remember what Elina said? It's actually working. You're attracting them, um, some of them at least." He smiled. "You are cute."

Daisy shrugged. "And I'm just kind of standing here. Not doing anything to get her to like me." She looked to the side. "I can't kill a friendly thing."

The robot slid closer, wrapping one arm around the flustered Daisy. "What is your command?"

She blinked and looked to Cedric and then Theodoren. "This isn't happening."

Theodoren nodded slowly. "It's sure happening. What will you do? I don't think she's going away." He scratched behind his head. "Pity she's undead. She'd be a looker otherwise. I'm not into dead people."

"Error, not undead."

Theo blinked. "I mean, it looks pretty clear. You look like undead to me."

Daisy raised her hand. "Wait, I can check." She reached out towards the robot woman. With a pulse of healing magic, nothing happened to the automaton. They neither healed nor sizzled like acid had been thrown on them. "Huh, more robot than undead? That's interesting."

"Affirmative, this unit is mechanical, not undead." She smiled at Daisy. "What is my directive?"

Daisy shrugged gently, her hammer on her shoulder. "What is your name first?"

"My serial number is—" The robot rattled off a long series of numbers and letters. "You can assign me a different name. Unit stands ready." The metal figure stood up straight, her hands at her side, an eager look on her face, as eager as she could be. "Awaiting orders."

Cedric laughed and approached, one hand on the robot's shoulder, the other hand on Daisy. "Well, we have a friend. She's a construct, like me. I can understand that. Um, hey, can you leave the dungeon?"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"Negative, unit cannot leave the dungeon."

Daisy let out a soft hum. "You're still part of the dungeon, even if you like me. Guess we're not keeping you. Not your fault, but I'm not going to stay here."

She tilted her head. "You are here now. How can I serve you? I am programmed with over 50 means of satisfying the needs of organics."

Theodoren stepped around. "Yeah, you really want to please us." He chuckled, looking towards Daisy. "Are you actually interested in her?" He gestured with his wand. "I'm not leaving you, but I'm just curious how your power is affecting this."

Daisy colored softly. "I didn't ask for a personal sexbot, with some dead parts bolted on for extra spice." She patted the eager robot. "Come with us and help us fight any robots that try to attack us. We have a dungeon to defeat. I am going to be ready."

Theodoren stepped up beside Daisy, gently taking her hand to give it a squeeze. "Let's go find them then!"

She nodded, and marched forward with Theodoren at her side, and the mechanical woman just behind. "Is this a good idea?" She glanced down at the hand holding hers.

Cedric came up close to her other side, his hand on her thigh, stroking softly. "She seems to really want to help, oh, and here's a chance to see." He stepped back, pointing towards another mechanical beastie. "Get 'em!"

The robot woman dashed in front of Daisy, her fingers growing into sharp claws. In moments, the robot was scrap.

Daisy thought to check. The robot lady was considered part of the family, and was buffing her just for being there. "This could get out of hand really fast. Oh, have my blessing." She spread her hands, blowing a kiss towards the robot. A soft shimmer showed the buff had landed. "Go and keep smashing anything that tries to hurt us."

The robot turned her head to look back. "I will, my master." She smiled happily and turned back to the fray. Her mechanical body moved with the grace of a dancer as she dodged blows and returned them in kind with a sharp blade.

With Daisy at the center, their group pushed through waves of robots, most becoming scrap. A few joined their side, like the first. They were not all the same model, and they collected them as they pushed ahead. The higher her family number got, the more Daisy felt a building euphoria. It was just plain good to have more family, like a hit of some strange drug. Her power grew with each addition, making her blows harder, her shield blocking bigger blows. She kept track and healed when needed, but her allies were all competent and she lacked for little time to get the heals off.

It didn't help that her presence was toughening them all, allowing their team to be a wrecking ball through the dungeon. Theodoren was smiling the whole time, as he sent bolt after bolt into the enemy forces. Cedric was grinning as he smashed smaller robots with his magic. The robot lady was leading the way with the others behind. Cedric and Theo could watch while Daisy was busy looking at the mechanical figures. Daisy couldn't keep her eyes off them, and their forms. They were all her family, and she couldn't stop smiling.

They arrived at the boss door and a new prompt appeared before her.

─Engage in Dungeon Conquest battle?

"Yes!" Daisy's shout was echoed by her allies, the robots and the magic beings that had also joined her. "Let's take this dungeon for my family!"

She pushed open the doors and found herself in a room filled with robots of all sizes. In the center, a monitor rose, bits and pieces rushing towards it to form its body. "This is my home. You will not take it from me!"

Daisy strode into the middle of the room, shield forward, hammer ready to strike. She didn't get a single swing in before the room exploded into action. She found herself beset on all sides, but she bashed robots away, healing those under her aura, and let her family do their part. With a thousand strikes going out and coming in, she spent more time sending healing magic towards the most scraped rather than bashing things herself.

"Everyone! Hit that one!" She pointed at the large one in the center. "I'll keep you upright." She grinned towards Theodoren and Cedric. "You two are with me. She charged with them alongside her, a mighty war cry escaping her lips. Her warhammer smashed into a foe that tried to block her, knocking it out of the air. She raised her hammer high again, and brought it down against another. They weren't trying to attack, instead defending the central monitor. "You have a family too."

"They are me." The monitor sent arcs of electricity crackling across the room. "I am them. We are one."

Cedric raised his staff, blocking the next bolt. He returned with a bolt of his own. "We can beat you!"

"Affirmative, nothing can withstand my master's attention!" Daisy's first robot darted through the fray, reaching for the monitor and trying to tear out its power cords. The monitor caught her and in an instant, crushed her into pieces.

Daisy felt her heart get torn in that instant. Her family, crushed so quickly?

─Revenge activated.

She saw red. Her warhammer was nothing, a mere toy. She dropped it without care and charged the monitor with shield forward. She bashed into it, crushing it against a wall, then hit twice more to send bits scattering across the room. "YOU HURT MY FAMILY!" The red faded, but her anger remained. She spun and with her free hand pointed at the shattered form of her first robot. Her words were an angry slur, only meaning something to her.

With a burst of magic, the form pieced itself back together, and the machine stirred.

─Dungeon conquered!

Daisy fell to her knees, gasping for air as the red faded entirely from her vision. She slumped the rest of the way, panting for breath. There was a new prompt begging for her attention, but she ignored it for the moment. "Everyone okay?"

Cedric shook his head. "The robots are gone. Everything's gone! I saw you get angry and then everything was just, poof!"

Daisy frowned and pushed herself upright. She looked around the empty room, then to Theo. "Where's the robot lady?"

Theo crossed his arms. "Not a clue. She got busted, you got pissed, then everything went away. It's like we're in an empty basement?"

Daisy finally looked at the prompt.

─What is the nature of this dungeon?

It had dozens on dozens of questions, clearly designed to create a dungeon of her own whims. "Oh crap." Daisy rubbed behind her head. "Oh wow. No. No! No." She pointed to the prompt. "I conquered this dungeon!" Her face fell, ears drooping with it. "And I can build my own family." Her voice trailed off. "Is this a good thing?" She shook her head anew. "N-no." She fought against the great feelings she had, being at the center of a huge family. "I want to have a life, not retire in a dungeon, damn it."

Theodoren approached and put his hand on her shoulder. Cedric approached her other side and hugged her as tight as he could manage. "Daisy, I know you can make the right choice."

Theodoren laughed tensely. "But, before you do that, catch us up? What are you seeing?"

She sighed gently and gestured again to the prompt. "I get to customize my dungeon. The way it looks, smells, feels. The monsters inside. Everything. And the robots that joined me, they are just gone." She slammed her hand down on the haft of her hammer, grabbing it in the motion. "Damn it. She had it wrong! Everyone had the whole thing wrong. Brood mice aren't breeders."

"What?" Theodoren's ears shot upright. "You mean we're about to be overrun with rabbits and foxes?" He looked to Cedric. "What's she talking about? What do brood mice do, then?"

Cedric looked about as clueless. "W-what he said. What do brood mice do then, if not, um, breed?" He rubbed his hands together nervously. "You were always more than that, Daisy."

"Thank you." She folded her arms, taking the hammer with the motion. "But I think brood mice are hoarders, of monsters. They're full of mice because a brood mouse took over the dungeon. They're dungeon masters." She laughed anew. "God, fled to another world, still a dungeon master. That's not even funny."

Cedric chuckled and shrugged. "So you get your own dungeon. That sounds pretty neat!"

"I don't want my own dungeon, you idiot." Daisy turned towards the exit. "I don't want my own dungeon." She stood up with a grunt. "If I make a dungeon, I'll want to stay there. The Daisy you knew will be done, just another boss in a dungeon. Happy, but just that in the end."

She started to march away. She made it all of two steps before the door was replaced by another wall.

─You may not leave until the Dungeon is customized to your liking.

"Damn it." She threw up her hands. "Seriously? Fine." She raised her fingers as if she were typing at a computer. "If that's the only way out." She sighed and looked through the options. It was a long, long, list. "I'm going to get busy."

Theodoren watched, his tail swaying slowly behind him. "Where do we start?"

Daisy was busily tapping away at the keyboard they couldn't see. "I'll make a nice place for people who come after us. Shoot, sorry. Conquering the dungeon looks like no end loot for us. Entirely my fault. We can make up for it by turning this into an adventurer's paradise. I'll do my best." She paused to look at Cedric and then Theodoren. "And I want you two to make sure I get out of here, no matter how much I complain."

"Complain?"

"When I hit the last button, the new dungeon will be full of monsters, and they'll all be family. I will not want to leave." She smacked a spectral button. "Make me leave. Please."

"O-okay." Cedric's ears drooped and his tail swished around. "But, um, what about the dungeon? What are you going to change?"

Daisy gestured at the room around them. "Everything. Oh, last button." She hovered her finger over it. "Ready?"