Eat. Consume. Assimilate.

“Oh shut up.”

Eat. Consume. Assimilate.

“It’s called fasting you idiot. Read a book sometime.”

Eat! Consume! Assimilate!

“Look, I never much cared for most religions but Buddhism had this whole thing about not eating after noon and when I was doing it before everything felt all right with the world so I’m continuing it now.”

EAT! CONSUME! ASSIMILATE!

“God is that all you can say? Literally, it’s like this every day! Three words over and over. This whole place had so much intelligence and none of it transfers over to you? What the hell.”

EAT!! CONSUME!! ASSIMILATE!!

“You know, I gave you one, maybe two days tops before you sent other drones to kill me. Now I wonder if you even know how. Seriously you have a brain the size of a house how can you not learn anything new?”

EAT!!! CONSUME!!! ASSIMILATE!!!

“Alright, that’s it. I’ve tried bargaining with you, setting aside times of the day for my needs. All you ever say are the same three words. I think I’m gonna find the bat. Let’s test and see if I need you connected to me to live.”

The thing talking stood up, a messy shamble of limbs and flesh. It had been sitting in a room, meditating. Now it was lumbering out the door towards the hive mind that created it.

As it moved, something changed. The mouths spread around the thing’s surface congealed into one, moving to rest on a basketball outcropping. Limbs melted together, becoming twenty, then ten, then only four. The thing’s eyes clustered together above the mouth, and between them jutted pointy flesh. Thin hairs grew to poke out of its skin, with a giant growth of the stuff resting atop the basketball.

“Looks like things are shifting back.” The thing said. “It never lasts long does it.”

The body shifted more, molding into a slightly chubby human body. A body that had started to skip down the hallway. More of a tunnel really.

“Man all my news bros and sisses really took a bite out of this place.” The man joked. “Now where is that bat?”

The man wheeled around a corner, debating in his head whether it would be a good idea to try and wallrun for the fun of it. But before he could make the decision his eyes found what his brain needed.

“Bat! There you are! Good to know you weren’t eaten.”

Clattered on the ground was an aluminum baseball bat. The logos and other markings had long since scratched away and the grip was covered in duct tape instead of leather. On the bat’s head sat a painting of a smiley face, one looked to be drawn by a four year old.

“Yes I know I left you alone! It’s not like a had a choice in the matter. I did get eaten you know.” The man conversed with his weapon as he twisted down to pick it up, ever stopping his jaunty skip.

The cold smiley face glared back.

“What, did you want to be eaten too?”

The man turned the bat over, changing the smile to a frown.

“That’s what I thought!” He said. “Now no more time for flippant conversation bat, we have a hive mind to say hello to!”

Eat.

A weak pulse entered the man’s mind, trying again to force the errant worker into service.

“Mister mind I already told you its fasting time. Now Bat and I have an issue with you. Isn’t that right Bat.”

The man shook the bat up and down in agreement.

Soon, the man walked into a room covered in a noxious green film. In the middle sits a gigantic brain covered by the same membrane.

Well, that’s what the man expected to see. Instead, a giant hole punctured through the cave ceiling. The brain, normally sitting in a fluid, is spread out along the opposite wall. Standing over the mess is a woman.

“Aw, dangit Bat someone got to it first.”

The bat slumps, dejected.

“I know buddy, it's not often we get to smash something like a giant brain.”

The bat nods in agreement.

The woman turns over towards the duo of flesh and metal. "State your ID and designation." She says mechanically.

The man pauses his conversation. "Oh you're one of those! I'm Caleb, resident of the good ol' U S of A. This is Bat, he doesn't talk much."

The bat nods and smiles at the woman.

The woman now turns her full attention to the man. "Designation Caleb, you are to be brought in for assimilation." As she speaks, her arms undulate and shift into sharp blades. The back of her legs grow and produce exhaust ports.

"Oh my god that is so cool! You're like a nanomagical girl! Quick strike a pose!"

Ignoring Caleb's ramblings, the woman charges forward. She kicks off the ground with her enhanced legs, covering the distance to her target in the blink of an eye. Caleb's eyes widen. The woman brings her arm down, slashing into his torso.

A wet thump resounds as the blade smacks against the man's flabby chest. Confused, the machine woman tries again, and again.

"Lady I appreciate the advances but I'm really not into this sort of kink." Caleb snarks.

"Reevaluating, class A threat recognized, authorization of nano-warfare accepted." As she speaks, the woman's body changes again, this time squishing into a blob of formless goo.

"I'm not into slime play either you know." Caleb says.

Ignoring him, or perhaps just unable to hear, the goo surges forward, enveloping the man. But not before he throws the bat away from him.

His body is enveloped. The nanomachines attack at the cellular level, eating away bit by bit. Soon, there is nothing left of the man and the goo forms back into a woman.

"Threat neutralized." She says.

With the latest target out of the way, the woman once again turns to complete her task of eliminating the Vore threat.

Wait Vore? Who the fuck calls it Vore? Damn it are you part of some hentai nerd's army?

Strange, it seems her internal systems have a virus. She quickly runs anti-virus software to purge it.

Oh my god you are! I was wondering why you looked female. It's not like a machine needs to look pretty.

Anti-virus purging, unable to purge, run again, purging, unable to purge, purg--

"No no, you can't get rid of me like that." Her voice says. Only its the man's voice.

She feels her body changing. The nanites that create her entire being are subsumed by something else. It's unnatural.

"Oh please, you're the unnatural one." Caleb says. "This planet doesn't need another hive mind. Did you know I've killed three of them already? Your little group is going to be the fourth now. Can't have a hive mind grey goo scenario."

Class SSS+ threat recognized, performing final protocol.

With the last thought, the machine overloads the power system of each nanite, creating an explosion that erases everything in a fifty-foot radius. The brain, the room, and the surrounding area are evaporated and no trace of them remains.

All is silent, the animals having long since fled from the area. Time passes, and it seems as if the woman has succeeded in her final task. But then slowly, a body reforms. Inch by inch it grows. First the feet, then the legs. The torso follows and sprouts a head and arms. Finally, Caleb is once again standing in the area, naked.

"Damn it, why do they always get rid of the clothes." Caleb looks around, futilely looking for something to cover his body.

"This wouldn't be so bad if I could put on muscle." He grumbles.

He spends his time kicking over debris in a vain hope of finding something. After minutes of searching, all that he gains from his efforts are dirty hands and feet.

Caleb sighs, "Alright Bat I guess we should just head out."

He looks around, Bat is nowhere to be found. The land around him is empty. Upset, Caleb slumps over exaggeratedly.

"Bat! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"