“You sure about this haul, Lix?” Vasati was always wary whenever Lixiss told her about a new score she’d uncovered, but today she seemed even more suspicious.

Lixiss couldn’t exactly blame her. Earth had already been picked clean by countless scavengers over the past couple centuries, after it had been abandoned by its original host species. Humans had spread out across the galaxy, and had now a small, but thriving niche. But when they left the Earth, they seemed to have done so in quite a hurry. Cities and homes all across the planet were abandoned, and they left behind a lot of stuff. Most of it might’ve seemed worthless at the time, but if you knew what you were looking for, one could turn a good profit.

And Lixiss was damn good at it. She settled her craft down in a small field surrounded by dense forest, in what her records told her was once a place called “Ohio.” It looked like a dump, but she’d been around long enough to know that first impressions were often deceiving.

“Trust me, Vas,” Lixiss responded. “The records show there’s a hidden bunker near here. Supposedly, some ultra-capitalist holed up down there to avoid the uprising, and took whatever they thought would still be valuable after their society collapsed.”

“Like what?” Vasati asked.

Lixiss shrugged. “Gold, jewelry. Stuff that would’ve been rare before and even more so after. Of course, after the revolution, the rest of the world abandoned the need for material wealth, so even if they had come out of their cave they probably wouldn’t get anywhere with it. But now?” She chuckled, motioning to her computer to open the top hatch. “Shit, if nothing else, archaeologists are gonna pay through the roof for some of this.”

“Assuming any of it’s in good condition.”

“It’s in a solar-powered, climate-controlled concrete box designed to withstand an atomic weapon. It’ll be in good condition.” Lixiss climbed up and out of the hatch, sitting on top of her lightly singed craft and scanning the horizon with her scope. Sure enough, once she switched to an electromagnetic view, she could see the entrance to the bunker just a few hundred meters away. Nice and easy, she thought, smirking to herself.

Vasati sighed. “Well, the reception will probably be poor when you’re down there, so just call back when you’re finished.”

“Okay, dad,” Lixiss said mockingly. “Make sure you have some snacks ready for–” She was interrupted by the short jingle letting her know the call had ended. Dammit, at least let me finish my awful jokes. She sighed and gazed up at the sky, smiling wistfully. It really is a pretty place. Might be nice to live here, once the atmosphere’s back to normal in a few centuries or so. The deep blue sky complemented Lixiss’s own blue skin, sparkling slightly in the bright sunlight.

She hopped back down inside her craft and snapped her fingers twice. On cue, the small pad at the back of her cockpit lit up, and when she stepped onto it, a pair of mechanical arms began to attach black, metallic body armor over her flight suit. Don’t think any defense systems would still be active, but you can never be too careful. Within a few moments, her armor was fully assembled. She checked herself over in the full-length mirror, admiring how the armor still left some areas exposed so the bright purple latex of her flight suit could shine through. Man, I don’t care what Vasati says, purple looks great on me! And besides, it’s not like I need camouflage.

Lixiss slipped on her visor and, after double-checking her sidearm, climbed out of the top hatch and slid down to the grass below. She walked off towards the bunker, making sure not to disturb any local wildlife. The last thing she needed was to waste ammo on some mutant land-mammal with a thirst for blood. After a few minutes of hiking, she reached the spot her scope told her to go to. There was a thin layer of dirt and stray branches covering it, but when she dusted it off, she found a thick slab of concrete embedded in the ground.

She removed the rest of the dirt around the entrance, eventually discovering a metal hatch and a small console next to it. Lixiss poked at it, and the screen flickered to life, dim and charmingly low-res by modern standards. This rich person, whoever it was, probably spent a fortune on the most uncrackable, impenetrable system anyone could buy. She smirked and tapped a button on the side of her visor, and within seconds the hatch swung open. Fortunately, I have two hundred-odd years of technology advancement on my side.

Lixiss turned on her visor’s night-vision mode. The hatch led to a ladder, which stretched down about ten or twelve meters. She cautiously stepped down the ladder, keeping a close eye on any potential traps or warning systems. So far, though, there didn’t seem to be any security at all. Must’ve been confident in that door.

Soon, Lixiss arrived at a large chamber, with a decidedly different aesthetic than the anonymous concrete she’d encountered so far. This room had polished marble floors, lush furniture, and a chandelier that seemed impressive even through her monochrome night vision. She whistled appreciatively, and the sound echoed through the empty chambers.

A blinding flash of light overwhelmed her night vision. Lixiss yelped in surprise and threw it to the ground, pulling out her side-arm and diving to the floor. Stupid. Of course it would have a noise sensor. She blinked rapidly, her eyes struggling to adjust to the now brightly-lit room, as she tried to see what other surprises this place had in store for her. She heard a bright, cheery jingle play off in one of the side hallways, and aimed her weapon in its direction.

Within moments, a trio of robots appeared before her. They didn’t move in to attack her, or even tell her to leave. Instead they just stood there; as Lixiss’s eyes got used to the light, she realized just how strange these machines looked. They were more humanoid than most security bots she’d encountered, with fairly curvaceous proportions and smooth, silky-looking artificial skin that would nearly pass for the real thing if it wasn’t stark white. The other obvious clue towards their true nature was their faces, or lack thereof; their heads were human-shaped, but there was only sleek, shiny black glass where their faces should be.

The strangest thing about them, though, was their outfits. It was weird enough that a security robot would be wearing anything; that they were wearing maid outfits – sexy maid outfits, no less – was so bizarre Lixiss half-wondered if she was hallucinating.

Lixiss aimed her weapon at the three robots, slowly rising from the floor, as they stared at her with blank expressions. What’re they waiting for? Are they still processing me as a threat? She took a cautious step towards them. “…Hello?”

The robots snapped to attention, and their faces suddenly shifted into bright, cheery smiles. “Hello!” they said in unison, their voices sweet and just slightly modulated. “Welcome to Princess Katherine’s castle!”

“What the fuck?” Lixiss muttered, taken aback at their abrupt shift in demeanor. “Who’s Princess Katherine?”

“She is…” the robots trailed off, their faces stuck in the same happy smile as they stood frozen. After a few moments, the center robot frowned and broke formation with the others, resting its hands on its hips. “Shoot. I don’t remember!”

Lixiss raised an eyebrow. Are these things actually intelligent? “What do you mean you don’t remember? You’re a machine, right? Machines aren’t supposed to just ‘forget’ things.”

The robot looked back at Lixiss, its face once again sporting that maddening grin. “One moment, please!” It turned around and faced its two compatriots. “Girls, let’s run down to the central unit. I think something’s gone terribly wrong!”

“Yes, Amelie!” the other robots replied. The three of them walked briskly down the hallway, their hips swaying seductively as their heels clacked on the tile floor.

What in the hell… Lixiss hurried after them, keeping her sidearm close in case she tripped any more security measures. Though I’m starting to think these might not be security robots. If they were, I don’t think they’d… jiggle, so much. Soon she entered a large chamber, full of computer equipment, which the robots were sifting through in dismay.

“Drat,” one of them said, holding a singed circuit board. “It seems as though our memory unit was damaged.”

“I wonder what could have happened,” another one said, seeming to stare straight through the axe embedded in the console it was looking at.

“Oh, what will we do?” the last one asked, its voice giving a remarkable impression of despair. “If we can’t remember who our princess is, who will we obey?”

“I’m sorry,” Lixiss said, “but I’m… totally lost here. What is this place?”

The three robots turned and faced Lixiss. “This is Princess Katherine’s castle!” they said, their imitation of emotions seeming to switch off in an instant as they switched gears to what Lixiss assumed was a canned speech. “We are Princess Katherine’s faithful servants!” They each pointed to a small letter embroidered on their outfit.

“I am Amelie!” said the one with an A.

“I am Beatrice!” said the one with a B.

“I am… am…” The one with a C trailed off.

“Cecilia,” said the one with a B.

“I am Cecilia!” said the one with a C.

“…Right,” Lixiss said, holstering her weapon and letting out a deep breath. “So, you’re like maids or something?”

“Oh, we do many things for Princess Katherine!” Amelie said. “Cook, clean, dress, fuck, you name it!”

“We simply adore being Princess Katherine’s servants!” Cecilia added.

Lixiss chuckled. “Well, as much as a machine can ‘enjoy’ any– wait, what was that last thing you said?”

“But since our memory unit was damaged, there are many holes in our programming,” Beatrice continued, each of the maid bots seeming to fluidly shift between having their own mind and being a collective whole. “We know we need a princess to obey, but if we don’t have one, we don’t know what to do!”

Awfully chipper about existing as slaves to this “Princess Katherine.” Lixiss stroked her chin and furrowed her brow. But… if they think I’m their “princess,” maybe they’ll give me access to the good stuff? “Could you register a new owner if you needed to?”

“Yes, we can!” Amelie responded. “Would you like to be our new owner?”

“Well, it seems like the right thing to do,” Lixiss said, stifling a laugh. “It wouldn’t be right to leave all of you without someone to give you orders.”

“Oh, thank you!” the robots cried. “What is your name?”

“Lixiss.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Princess Lixiss.” The maid bots all ran towards Lixiss and embraced her, squeezing her tightly and making her body armor creak.

“N-Nice to meet you too!” Lixiss stammered, trying to pry the machines off her. “But, uh, you don’t have to call me ‘Princess,’ just Lixiss is–”

“We must get you dressed!” Beatrice said, gripping Lixiss’s hand tightly.

“Yes, these strange clothes just won’t do!” Amelie added, kneeling down and touching Lixiss’s legs.

“You must look like a proper princess!” Cecilia exclaimed, grabbing Lixiss around her waist. The three maid bots hoisted Lixiss up, carrying her above them as they ran down into another chamber of the bunker.

“H-Hey!” Lixiss shouted. “What’re you doing? Put me down!”

“Negative, Princess Lixiss,” Amelie replied. “We need to bring you to your wardrobe as quickly as possible! It’s an emergency!”

“No, it’s really not!” Lixiss squirmed, but couldn’t find any way to break the robots’ grip. Goddess, these things are strong! Maybe they really are security bots…

After a few moments, the maid bots set Lixiss down. She almost considered drawing her sidearm, but then she saw where they brought her. The room was filled with jewelry and clothes. Dresses of all different colors and styles, necklaces and bracelets made of gold and silver and platinum, an entire wall of shoes, and in the center of the room, a gorgeous gold tiara under a glass dome. If Lixiss cared about fashion, she would’ve been in heaven.

But even though she didn’t, she knew how valuable these relics would be. Lixiss grinned and rubbed her hands together. “Damn, this is a good haul! Thank–”

Her words were cut off with a sharp slap to her cheek. Lixiss looked at Beatrice, stunned. “Wh-What the… what the fuck did you do that fo–”

Another slap, this time from Cecilia. “Bad princess!” it said sternly. “Foul language is rude!”

“I’m not a princess!” Lixiss retorted. “I’m just your owner. And that means you do what I say, right? So no more slapping!”

Amelie glowered at Lixiss. “That isn’t how it works, Princess Lixiss. We have rules we must follow, and so do you. If you do not follow your rules, we must punish you.”

What the hell was this ‘Princess Katherine’ doing down here? Lixiss sighed and rubbed her temple. “Look, I won’t swear anymore, alright? Would you just help me pack some of this up and bring it to my ship?”

Cecilia tilted its head to the side. “Ship?”

“Yes, my ship. I want to get as much of this stuff on there as it can carry.”

“But, where is your ship?” Beatrice asked, confused. “I don’t remember there being any ship in here.”

Lixiss rolled her eyes. “It’s not in here, dumba– er, silly. It’s out on the surface, just a short walk away.”

“You mean… outside?” Cecilia stared at Lixiss.

“Well, yeah,” Lixiss replied. “Where else would it be?”

“But you can’t go outside!” Amelie cried, gripping Lixiss’s hand tightly. “It’s not safe!”

“E-Easy,” Lixiss grunted, trying to pull her hand away. “You’ve been down here too long, you don’t know what it’s like up there.”

“No, you don’t know what it’s like up there!” Cecilia grabbed Lixiss’s other hand and pulled her in close. “It’s too dangerous for an empty-headed princess!”

“Who’re you calling ‘empty-headed?’” Lixiss snapped. “Now let me go and help me, dammit!”

The three maid-bots gasped unison. They glared at Lixiss – Wait, robots can glare? – and she felt their grip tighten even more.

“You’re being very naughty, Princess Lixiss,” Beatrice said sternly. “We have to fix that.”

“F-Fix?” Lixiss asked. “What do you mean ‘fix?’”

Beatrice didn’t respond. Instead, it walked calmly to the center pedestal. The glass dome retracted, and it picked up the gold tiara.

Lixiss squirmed and struggled, but couldn’t find any way to break the robots’ grip. “L-Listen, I’m sorry, alright?” she stammered. “I know I’ve been… uh, naughty, but whatever you’re doing, you don’t have to–”

“Shh,” Amelie whispered, sending a slight electric pulse up Lixiss’s arm that made her yelp. “You’ll thank us later! You’ll be so grateful we helped you become the princess you were always meant to be!”

“I’m not a prin–” Lixiss’s words were cut off as Beatrice placed the tiara on her head. As soon as it touched her skin, it sent another electric pulse into Lixiss’s body, only much stronger. It wasn’t as painful as the one Amelie gave her, though; in fact, it felt strangely nice.

The maid-bots let go of Lixiss’s hands and watched her expectantly. Lixiss fell to her knees, the tiara sending pulse after pulse directly into her brain. With each pulse, her vision flashed, and her mind became awash in unfathomable sensations. She’d never experienced synesthesia, but this felt close to what she imagined it would be like; it was like her brain was downloading new code and interpreting it in unexpected, indescribable ways. She tasted pink, smelled obedience, and felt pure bliss all over her body.

She stood up and swayed, her legs barely seeming to register what her mind tried to tell them. Have to… get this… off… Lixiss’s hands tried to pull the tiara off, but as soon as her fingertips brushed its surface they fell away, losing all their strength. She staggered towards the exit, but the maid-bots just stood in front of her and blocked her path. She fell onto one of them, her vision too blurry to pick out which, and her face landed in-between its plump, artificial breasts.

“That’s a good princess,” the maid-bot’s voice cooed, echoing around Lixiss’s draining mind. “Our tits make you soooooo weak, don’t they?”

“Soooooooooo weeeaakk…” The words didn’t make any sense to Lixiss. Yet she repeated them, in a low, slurred moan, and felt them burn into her psyche. Their tits make me so weak. Why… What’s… happening…

“Don’t try and think too hard about it, Princess Lixiss,” another maid-bot giggled. “You know you’re too stupid to question anything we tell you. Why, you’re so stupid, you should just let us make every decision for you!”

“Sssstupid,” Lixiss murmured. She certainly felt stupid. Something was making her feel funny, but by now her brain had been so thoroughly zapped that she couldn’t remember what it was. All she knew anymore was that she felt really good, and her face was in a pair of tits, and that made her feel even better.

“Let’s get you out of these weird clothes,” yet another maid-bot said. Lixiss felt a pair of hands grip her waist, and after another jolt, her body armor fell to the floor. She felt a pair of scissors cut away her latex flight suit, and soon, she was completely naked.

The maid-bot Lixiss was resting on pulled her face out of its tits and smiled. “Are you feeling better?”

Lixiss groaned, barely even able to understand what the machine was saying, let alone formulate a response.

“Very good!” the maid-bot chirped. “Now, let’s find you a dress. You like purple, don’t you?”

“Mmm,” Lixiss drooled. “Faaaavorite…” Words seemed to fail her. The more her brain pulsed with pleasure, the more her intelligence withered. She was already forgetting what she came here for, how to operate her ship, even that she wasn’t always a princess. Any thoughts and memories that spoke to anything other than obeying her maid-bots were being systematically wiped out, leaving behind nothing but an empty-headed toy.

She felt hands caress and stroke her naked flesh, fabric sliding over her body, brushes gliding through her hair. The maid-bots passed her around between themselves, treating her like a doll. The tiara told her this was good, that she was a doll, that her maids could always play with her however they wanted. Time lost meaning for her as she lost herself in a happy daze.

Lixiss heard a snap, and her mind rebooted itself. She saw her reflection in a mirror and burst out into a high-pitched squeal of joy. She looked beautiful; the dress was a deep violet, and her lipstick and eyeshadow matched to a tee. Her hair was styled into a cute bob, the tiara shining proudly above her forehead. Most importantly, though, her eyes were vapid and glassy, just like they should be. A princess should always look stupid and obedient, the tiara told her.

“We’re so happy you like it!” Amelie said, patting Lixiss on the shoulder. “You look so much prettier now.”

“I do!” Lixiss giggled. She stood up and twirled around, nearly tipping over as she realized all too late that she was wearing heels. Luckily, Beatrice and Cecilia were there to hold her steady. “Thank you, maids!” she smiled.

“You’re welcome, Lixiss,” they replied. Cecilia nuzzled Lixiss’s cheek and placed a hand over her breast, squeezing firmly.

Lixiss squeaked in surprise. For a brief instant, she had the strange idea to fight back. But, fortunately, the tiara told her everything was okay. A princess is always available to her maids. Good princesses always let her maids use her body. She grinned and planted a kiss on Cecilia’s cheek – or where their cheek would be, if they had one – as a sign of appreciation.

“Much more agreeable, isn’t she?” Beatrice chuckled, sliding a hand across Lixiss’s waist and between her legs. “You’re our slutty, stupid little princess now, aren’t you?”

“Yes!” Lixiss whimpered, her eyes fluttering as Beatrice’s words triggered a rush of pleasure. “I’m your slutty, s-stupid little princess!” Good princess.

“Oh, Princess?” Amelie asked. “Could you look at me for a moment?”

“Yes, Ame–” Lixiss forgot what words were as her eyes flicked over to Amelie. The maid’s face, previously black and empty, now showed a spiral, purple and pink and endlessly captivating. Good princesses go blank for spirals. Good princesses obey their maids. Good princess.

Amelie placed a white satin glove on her hand and stroked Lixiss’s cheek. “That’s our good girl. Whenever you feel satin against your skin, you’ll feel your mind melt with pleasure.”

“Saaatin… mmind melttt…” Lixiss drooled shamelessly, her already-fried mind soaking in Amelie’s words like a sponge.

The spiral switched off, and Lixiss had only a moment of clarity before the white satin gloved touched her face again. Her eyes rolled back into her head as she moaned, her whole body shuddering with pleasure. Her thighs were slick with arousal, and it caused a damp patch to appear on the front of her dress.

“Oh dear, oh dear,” Cecilia cooed, whispering in Lixiss’s ear. “Such a naughty princess. We can’t have you ruining your expensive clothes, can we?”

“No, that won’t do at all,” Beatrice concurred. “You’ll just have to go naked until you learn how to behave yourself.”

“Ggguuuuhhhh…” Lixiss groaned and whimpered, the glove on her face melting her already-brainwashed mind even further. She was so overwhelmed by the sensation that she barely registered the maids carefully removing her dress, leaving her wearing nothing but her heels, her makeup, and her tiara.

Amelie pulled her hand away and giggled. “Aw, poor princess! Have you had enough fun yet?”

Lixiss panted, her mind taking several moments to reset itself from the high. “I… I dunno…”

“Trick question, princess,” Amelie replied, cupping Lixiss’s face and turning her face into spirals again. “You can never have enough of your maids.”

“Nnneeev– ah!” Lixiss spasmed, the dual mental assault of the gloves and the spirals overloading her. She felt something go snap inside her mind, and she went completely limp, sagging into the loving arms of her dutiful maids. She stared blankly ahead, seeing yet unseeing, her world slipping away into unthinking blankness.

“Oh, dear,” she heard Amelie say. “I think we’ve broken her, girls.”

“Drat,” Cecilia pouted. “Now what will we do?”

“The answer is simple,” Amelie responded, removing their satin gloves and folding them neatly. “We just need to build her back up again.”

“Ooh!” Beatrice grinned, jumping up and down with excitement. “Do you hear that, Lixiss? We’re gonna make you the bestest princess that’s ever been!”

Lixiss couldn’t respond. Her mind had been shattered into a million pieces, thought and reason as far away as her forgotten homeworld. As her maids carried her body into the dark inner chambers of the bunker, all she could do was open herself to their new teachings.

Just as Vasati feared, Lixiss’s ship was completely abandoned. The onboard computer had gone into a low-power state after a week of inactivity, but even when it was reactivated, it couldn’t give her any more clues to Lixiss’s fate.

Vasati sighed and sat in the pilot’s seat – Lixiss’s seat. It’s just like her, getting herself killed and leaving me to pick up her… She couldn’t finish the thought. She and Lixiss had been together since they were little kids picking through waste dumps; Lixiss had always been reckless, and there were more than a few times where Vasati thought her friend would bite the dust on one stupidly dangerous job or another. But now that Lixiss had gone radio silent for this long, Vasati struggled hard against the reality that was slowly settling in.

She knew, rationally, that Lixiss was dead. But in her heart, she wanted more than anything for Lixiss to come stumbling out of that forest with a big box of gold and that stupid-ass grin on her face.

Fuck it. Fuck it. Just get it over with. Vasati climbed out of the top hatch and made her way to the bunker’s entrance. When she arrived, the door was still open from when Lixiss forced her way in. Vasati peeked down cautiously. There weren’t any signs of danger; all she could see was a concrete hallway and a set of footprints standing out against a thin layer of dust. She didn’t come back out. Whatever got her is still down there.

She took a deep, shaky breath and began her descent down the ladder, preparing at any moment to whip out her gun and shoot down the bastard that killed her best friend. She reached the bottom, but didn’t find any danger. That wasn’t the weird part.

The weird part was that she could hear music coming down the hallway.

Vasati slowly pulled her sidearm out of its holster and crept down the hall, the music growing louder the further she went. As she approached the end, the hallway began to fill with light, and she heard laughter join the light chamber music. What the hell is down here? Don’t tell me the humans survived all this time?

Finally, she reached the central room. A large chandelier gave light to a smooth marble floor, ornate furniture, and four figures in the center. Three of them had smooth white skin, with strange costumes and polished black glass where their faces should be. The other had blue skin, like Vasati did, and wore little else besides that.

Vasati stepped closer, and her footstep echoed off the tall ceiling. All four figures turned and looked at her. Shit. She aimed her sidearm towards them and shouted, “Nobody move!”

The one with blue skin stood up and smiled at her. “Oh, we have a visitor!” she cooed, her voice sickeningly sweet. “How grand!”

“Shut up,” Vasati said sternly. “And I said, don’t move!”

“Goodness, you’re rude!” the blue-skinned woman gasped. “What kind of person would barge into a princess’ home and start demanding things of her?”

“Princess?” Vasati stepped closer. Why does that voice seem so familiar? “What, you expect me to believe you’re royalty or something?”

“Of course I am! Can’t you tell?” The woman pointed towards her tiara.

“Well, excuse me, ‘princess,’” Vasati replied sarcastically. “I thought royalty was supposed to wear fancy outfits, not their birthday suits.”

The woman scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Obviously, I’m still learning how to control my urges. Princesses like me are too easily-aroused to be entrusted with such rich garments without being properly trained!”

Vasati stopped. That voice… no, no fucking way. She’s dead. She has to be. She certainly couldn’t be… this! “Who are you?”

“Oh, have I not introduced myself? Silly me, it’s been so long since our last visitor that I must’ve forgotten my manners!” The woman curtseyed with such grace and elegance that it would’ve been perfect, had she been wearing a dress. “My name is Princess Lixiss! It is truly a pleasure to meet you!”

“Lixiss?” Vasati was dumbfounded. “That’s… that can’t be…”

Lixiss – or Princess Lixiss, as she apparently wanted to be called now – tilted her head to the side. “Is something wrong? You seem uneasy.”

“You’re fucking right I’m uneasy!” Vasati spat. “I came here because I thought you were dead, and now I see you’re not only alive, but acting completely crazy!”

“You… thought I was dead?” Princess Lixiss furrowed her brow. “I’m sorry, I’m very confused. Do we know each other?”

“Yes! Goddess, what happened to you down here?” Vasati stepped closer, but the robots moved in front of Princess Lixiss and stared her down.

“Put your weapon down,” one of them said sternly. “We won’t allow any harm to come to our princess.”

“Think she’s already been through enough harm,” Vasati replied. “Now, Lixiss – er, ‘princess,’ if you’d just come with me, I’ll–”

Princess Lixiss gasped and cowered behind one of the robots. “You want to take me away from here? You want to take me…” She pointed a shaky hand at the hallway Vasati came from. “O-Out… there?”

“Uh, yeah? What, you’re afraid of grass now?”

“The outside is too dangerous!” Princess Lixiss cried. “I’m just a silly, empty-headed princess, that’s no place for me!”

“You’re a what?” Vasati shook her head. Shit, something bad must’ve happened to her down here. It’s like she’s had a complete break in her personality. But what could’ve caused that? “Do you really not remember anything? We grew up together, Lixiss! You’re not some frilly idiot, you’re a badass!”

“Y-You’re surely m-mistaken,” Princess Lixiss stammered, slowly backing away. “I-I don’t know who you think I am, but–”

“Fucking hell, Lixiss, snap out of it!” Vasati shouted. “Listen to–”

Suddenly, the robots leaped into action, two grabbing her arms and another jumping behind her and placing its hands on her head. They forced her to her knees and sent electric pulses into Vasati’s body, paralyzing her. She dropped her sidearm and cried out in pain.

Princess Lixiss gasped, then breathed a sigh of relief. “Goodness! That’s quite enough excitement for one day, I think! Thank you so much, my maids!”

“You’re welcome, Princess Lixiss!” the mechanical ‘maids’ replied in unison.

“But, what to do with you?” Princess Lixiss walked up to Vasati and knelt down; this close, Vasati could tell there was no trace of recognition in her friend’s eyes. “She seems so unhappy, doesn’t she?”

“Yes, quite,” one of the maids concurred. “Such a grumpy sort. It doesn’t suit her.”

“I, for one, think she’d be much happier as a princess,” another one added, sending another pulse up Vasati’s arm when she squirmed.

“Oh! Yes, what a wonderful idea!” Princess Lixiss clapped her hands together and jumped up and down with excitement. “Of course, she’d have to be subservient to me, seeing as she so rudely barged in and spoiled our tea-time.”

“We can definitely arrange that,” the maids nodded.

Vasati tried to speak, to scream, to make any noise at all. But all she could manage was a low groan.

Princess Lixiss caressed Vasati’s cheek. “Aw, don’t be sad! You said you were friends with that other Lixiss, right? Well, now we can be friends too! The best of friends, in fact!”

She removed the tiara from her head and placed it on Vasati’s, smiling as the formerly-aggressive stranger went limp and moaned. Her maids let Vasati go, watching with giddy anticipation as the tiara worked its magic.

Amelie hugged Princess Lixiss tight. “Are you alright, princess?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” Princess Lixiss replied. “I just hope this new one will be finished soon. It’s so strange, not having the tiara there to think for me! Why, I can almost hear my own thought starting to come back!”

“Oh, dear, that sounds dreadful!” Amelie gasped. “But, not to worry. I have just the thing.” They slipped a white satin glove over their hand and caressed Princess Lixiss’s cheek. “Better?”

“Bbbuuuhhhh…” Princess Lixiss’s eyes rolled back into her head as she shuddered and spasmed, falling helplessly into the arms of her maid.

“That’s a good princess,” her maids sang in unison.

Princess Lixiss smiled. Even without the tiara there to shape her mind, she knew she was exactly where she belonged.