Second to last comic page.

Art by  endium

Serathin continued to fight with the mental intrusions of the mask as he knelt there in the cold steel of the vault, losing ground inch by inch as the rubbery mesh continued to coat his body from his arms and neck. He feared that the battle had already been lost, but his will to remain continued to keep him in the fight. But the attack on his mind was relentless and every time he thought he had beaten back the advance a new one continued to push him back. His resolve wasn't the only thing that had started to slip either, before he could react he suddenly felt a sharp pull from the tentacles on his body that snapped the mask tight onto his face.

"No! Damnit..." Serathin managed to say, though his words were muffled as he felt the rubber assimilate the cloth mask that had already covered his muzzle and began to wrap around his nose and mouth.

"There we are..." the mask gloated as the sabre-wolf continued to feel it tighten around his face, tendrils along the edges already had begun to branch out and latch onto the latex that crept up his neck. "Far more comfortable, don't you think?"

Serathin could feel the will get sapped from his body as the already invasive latex pushed its way into his nose and mouth, coating it completely but still allowed him a surprising amount of breathing room. As he dwelled on it a new display showed up in his field of vision, which showed not only the amount of oxygen that he was getting at the moment but also the particulates of the air around him. It was an amazing technological wonder, but just before he got too wrapped up in it his attention quickly snapped back to the AI that he continued to resist.

"Why don't you just relax, let me in." The AI said as he felt the draconic creature become more and more distracted by the amount of information that he had already managed to seep into his brain.

"No... I can't, I'm me!" Serathin tried to reason as he attempted to hold onto the meager shreds of himself.

"Sure you can, you can still be you." The AI cooed in his ear, eager to take advantage of the sabre-wolf's confused state. The last thing that it wanted was to be in constant struggle with his new host, so it just needed him to see it for what it truly was; an ally. "I'll just be there to make you..." the voice faltered slightly as that didn't sound right to him, "make US better."

The AI's words sank into the susceptible mind of the sabre-wolf as Serathin's thoughts slowly turned from resistance to the possibilities that he was being shown. He realized that the mask had somehow accessed his memories and had begun to show him all his previous 'acquisition' jobs, everything he had ever stolen even up to his teenage years when he took things just for fun. On top of those memories though was a slight altercation, the mask showing him how it could have been done with its aid. All the money he had spent to acquire things such as access codes or building layouts, any time he had accidently gotten lost, or a number of other jams that he had gotten into could have been solved with its help. Eventually all he saw was himself in that mask, like he had been that way all along.

But he worked alone, Serathin reasoned with the last of his resolve. "This isn't right... I'm supposed to..."
Serathin started to say before his eyes began to droop as he realized that he couldn't quite grasp what 'I' was supposed to reference anymore. His identity had become like a long-forgotten thought; while it was still there in his mind he couldn't seem to wrap himself around the concept. "I..."

"It's 'we' now, as in we're fully integrated." The AI replied as Serathin's eyes began to glow a bright violet color, the integrated program had also begun to unravel as its programming was designed to merge with the sabre-wolf's mental processes. "Your knowledge is my knowledge, your body is my body... and in exchange you get my power."
"Power?" The now confused draconic sabre-wolf asked, unaware that the rubber had completely spread over most of his body aside from a few bare patches on his wings and feet that the flow of the synthetic substance quickly rolled over to rectify.

"Yes, delve into the programming I've given you."

Serathin's mind felt inexorably drawn towards that knowledge that soaked his thoughts and hampered any new well-springs of resistance. "There is so much data here..." Serathin said in awe as all the information he could ever know or use to gain access to everything from computer systems to secure infrastructure flashed before him, "hacking, security..."

"That's just the surface, go deeper..." the AI prompted. With the draconic sabre-wolf's conscious mind completely distracted it left only his willful subconscious to tame, and the further down he was dragged into the hypnotic allure of the data he was provided the more subjugated he became. All it took was the proper leash and the AI's purpose would be finished as it saw his host continue to assimilate the information into his own being. "Yes, absorb everything, see how powerful we are when we obey."

"If we obey?" Serathin asked in his stupor, a thought that he normally would have scoffed at. With all that he had seen offered at his fingertips it would have caused his normal self to pause, now he knew with everything he had been shown he would never pass such an opportunity up.

"Yes, we gain power when we're called upon, just listen..." The AI trailed off. The last rebelling threads of Serathin's psyche realized that this mask and himself were alike... after all, was he not a tool for those who needed his skills?

This realization seemed to clear his mind, for the first time as he crouched there he could feel his augmented body flex and shift with absolute precision to maintain optimal balance. It was the perfect body for the perfect thief, still lithe and flexible but filled with strong, lean muscle. Instead of fur he was covered with intricately layered metallic plates with the rubbery skin underneath it. He could feel the computerized components in his collar, wrists, and ankles thrum with need,

"Listen..." Serathin repeated as an affirmation, "and obey..."

"Obey..." was the last word the AI repeated before it would go silent forever, its purpose complete as the newly reborn creature stood up.