Swarming Sovereignty

Lia’s mothers were the first to arrive, and it was clear they had dropped everything and run as fast as they could to be by her side.

Gwinn looked much the same as she had, but larger in every way. She must have been close to seven feet tall, and her body had crossed the threshold from a lean, obvious fitness to one where her muscles were just barely beginning to bulge out. Her shirt had changed to expose her midriff, revealing a set of chiseled abs. Strapped to her back was an enormous sword that had to be nearly two feet thick and almost as tall as Gwinn herself.

Mia, on the other hand, had changed drastically. She looked identical to how she had before she had died, no trace of the somewhat monstrous form she had previously had. Upon seeing Lia’s gaze, she smiled, and her form shifted, growing in height until she was six feet tall, her skin regaining its marbled yellow and black coloration as two extra arms and a pair of wings sprouted from her.

“I got a transformation ability, just like you.” Mia explained, shifting back into her previous form, though her extra set of arms shifted to look like her humanoid ones and her wings remaining static. “And I don’t even have to give up my other benefits.” The extra limbs vanished, leaving her just how she had been before she died. “But I think I prefer this, at least when I’m not in combat or need the extra arms. It just feels…right.”

Lia, slightly dazed, stood up and walked up to her mother, slowly picking up speed before catching her in a flying hug. “It’s perfect.” She said, resting her head on her mother’s shoulder. “I know you were you before, but…now it feels like everything’s kind of back to normal, like we could pretend none of this ever happened.”

She paused for a beat, a blush growing as took her head off of her mother’s shoulder and looked at her other mother. “Well, I mean, aside from…you know.”

Gwinn laughed, walking over and slinging a massive arm around Lia. “It took a little getting used to, but now I wouldn’t have it any other way.” She said, leaning down and giving her wife a quick peck on the cheek. “And I think your mom is pretty happy with the results, too.”

Mia blushed, turning away from the two of them, but not before Lia caught the briefest of hungry glances at Gwinn’s abs. “It feels like the sky is the limit now. I…I don’t think your mama and I have ever been more in love.” She paused for a moment, then turned back to Lia. “But we’re not here to talk about us. How are you feeling? Are your stats still slashed in half? What does your new evolution do? Tell us everything.”

Lia carefully extracted herself from her parents, and was about to begin talking, only to be interrupted as her siblings barged into the room.

“Liaaaaa!” Olivia cried, rushing over and catching Lia in a hug not dissimilar to the one Lia had given Mia. “Are you okay?”

“Never better.” Lia chuckled, patting Olivia’s head affectionately. She looked almost identical to how she did before, though Lia noticed that her tail was slightly fluffier, indicating an increase in magic power. “We can get into more details when everyone’s here. But I heard you all evolved, how’d that go for you?”

“I’m a Princess Knight of Hope now!” Olivia said excitedly. “It’s everything I had before but better, and people get a bunch of bonuses for being near me! That way I can help even if you won’t let me fight!”

“Nothing special for me.” Robin said, walking up to them. Like Gwinn, her changes were simple; she had just grown taller, and her muscles were beginning to be more pronounced, though the effect was barely noticeable. “Just got better at what I do.”

Maria took up the rear, fidgeting slightly. “Um…I actually became a kitsune too.” She said bashfully. “And I got my second tail.” And she had; the second tail was swaying next to her first, both of them looking incredibly fluffy and soft.

“Congratulations!” Lia said, disentangling herself from Olivia and walking over to give Maria a pat on the head. “What level is your humanization ability?”

“I…don’t have one.” Maria admitted. “It seems like I’m a bit of a different kind of kitsune than you? My base form is this, and I can temporarily change into a fox.” She paused, fidgeting slightly more. “You’re…not mad that I got my second tail before you, right?”

“Of course not!” Lia said. “It’d be a little weird if you didn’t, since you’re going all in on magic. I’ve been taking a lot those sidegrade type evolutions, where I just switch the type of kitsune I am, so I’m still a fledgling. I’m sure once I start climbing the ranks, I’ll get more tails, no problem. I’ll probably start doing that now, actually; unless I see something crazy, I’m going to try and focus on evolutions that increase the power of my current abilities rather than gaining more low-level abilities.”

The door to the outside opened yet again, revealing an unfamiliar figure. She was a dark elf about five feet tall, dressed in a sharply tailored business suit, a clipboard in one hand.

“Lily?” Lia guessed.

“Correct, my Queen.” Lily said. “It appears that my management of our farms and animals allowed me to evolve into an elven form. Rest assured that I am fully capable of everything I could do before, I am just better when dealing with plants and animals.”

Lily paused, surveying the room. “It would appear this is everyone.” She said. “The others will likely not be back for some time, as they were on a rather deep expedition into the Spine. Since you were last conscious, we have made great strides in our development; with the conversion of herbivores from the Spine and the continued exploitation of the creatures this dungeon spawns, our workforce has grown considerably.

“As such, I have diverted most of the newly converted workforce into expanding our farms, both animal and plant. Though the feeding stations are nice, they are not a long-term solution for our swarm as it grows; we will eventually need to consider logistics and transporting the food, and at large enough sizes, even constant operation of the feeding stations will be unable to sustain the swarm.

“Furthermore, thanks to your mother’s help, we have managed to evolve several bees into “pollinators”, which are able to carry magic from one of our sisters to another, thereby impregnating her. As of now, they are unable to crossbreed species, but I am sure that, given enough evolutions, that hurdle will easily be overcome. Seeing as how they seem vital to the continued growth of the swarm, I currently have them in the process of creating more bees. We had to get a queen to make it work, but –”

“That’s enough for now, thank you Lily.” Lia said. “I’ll wait for your full report after I finish explaining my situation to everyone here, they seem to be getting rather anxious to know what is happening.”

“My apologies, my Queen.” Lily said. “I forgot the situation. Please, continue.”

“Okay, so, it’s like this…”

---

Rose awoke, feeling stronger than she had been before. Her stats were lower, yes, but she could feel the raw potential of her new race. It would only be a few short levels before she had eclipsed her old strength, and she intended to spend every waking moment training. Lia’s views on labor were well and good, but this was a crisis situation, and she couldn’t afford any breaks.

Well…maybe one or two, if Lia wanted to spend time together. But she would have to cut back on that time, too; spending a few more moments with her now was a meaningless thing compared to the potential lifetime that would be squandered by failing this mission.

Rose climbed out of bed, heading for the mirror in the bathroom, and studied her new body. She had grown an inch or two, and her skin had lost some of its greenish tinge, inching closer to the colors found on sapient races.

More curious than that, though, were her “clothes”; unlike her last evolution, when she had woken up barely clothed, she was wrapped in a thick, cloak-like layer of leaves. Over her time in this plantlike body, she had learned the differing sensations of photosynthesis that different coverings gave, and curiously the cloak did not impede photosynthesis like her old “clothes” had.

And, yes, it appeared that she was able to shift the cloak around like she had previously. When she did, her new “clothes” lost the benefit of full-strength photosynthesis, but…that wasn’t really necessary when she was in the base, relaxing with her family. So, she shifted back into the simple shirt and trousers she had adopted as her daily wear before, and set off to find Lia.

After asking for help from some of her unenlightened sisters, Rose was able to find Lia in another part of the dungeon, killing monsters and raising her level. As she approached, Lia perked up, then ran over. “Rose!” She exclaimed, moving as if to hug her, then pausing, glancing down at her blood-splattered body. “Um…”

Rose smiled faintly, firmly pulling Lia into a hug and giving her a kiss on the forehead. “A little blood or dirt doesn’t bother me. Trust me, I’ve had to deal with worse.”

Lia rested her head on Rose’s chest. “Well? How is it?”

“Good. I ended up picking a race that boosts my individual power, in case things go south with Ira. I haven’t had much time to check it out, though, I came to see you first thing.”

“That’s very sweet of you. I –” Lia trailed off, then started, jumping slightly. “Um, we’re apparently needed in the Dimension of Discounts ASAP. I’m gonna open the portal, okay?”

“Now?” Rose said, slightly taken aback.

“Now.” Lia confirmed. “I don’t think we should keep them waiting.”

Rose nodded. “Lead the way, then.”

A swirling portal opened up to their side, and Lia let go of their hug to step through, Rose following close behind.

“Good, thanks for coming here on such short notice.” Connie said, leaning on one of those odd striped counters. “Let me clean you up before we talk further, though.” She twirled a finger in the air, and a refreshing breeze washed over Rose, leaving her clean and smelling slightly perfumed.

“Um, so…what’s this about?” Lia asked tentatively.

Connie sighed. “Amelia.” She said. “Jerry ended up striking a deal with her. In return for his full attention on her, so she can be fixed around a month before your confrontation with Ira, as well as a smaller power reduction and removing the Urge but not otherwise altering her mind, she will be acting as an assistant of sorts after you all have settled your whole world conquest thing. About half of each week will be spent up here with us, untangling the mess she’s made of things and getting things in a semblance of usability.”

“I fail to see why this is so important that you called us here right away.” Rose said guardedly. “What’s the catch?”

Connie heaved another sigh. “The catch is that we need Lia to keep Amelia in line. Personally, I think we should have just removed all those twisted desires with the Urge and washed our hands of the matter, but the boss has said we’re not, so we’re not. I don’t know what got her so hyper fixated on you, Lia, but you’re basically the only one she’ll listen to. So, we need you to make sure she doesn’t try anything crazier than she already has. Don’t let her do anything that would make us have to intervene, okay?”

Lia gulped. “I…will do my best.”

“And that’s all we can ask for.” Connie said. “In other news, I figured out what happened to your ex-wife’s soul, Rose.”

“Oh?” Rose said, raising a brow. At this point, it was more sheer curiosity that drove her to find out than anything. The woman who had been Rose’s wife was dead and buried, living on in only the briefest flashes of emotion given to the new soul, if even that. But, the soul was apparently in a weird spot, so it was something Rose was interested in knowing.

She had discussed this with Lia previously, of course. She was trying to make a point to be as open and transparent with her as possible; not only had she never had an opportunity to do so with anyone, but she wanted to make sure their relationship succeeded. She was increasingly sure that it was indeed love that she felt for Lia, and it tore her apart inside when she thought about potentially hurting her feelings.

In particular, the acting incident with Ira weighed on her conscience; though Lia had said Rose was entirely forgiven and that she had made the right call, Rose couldn’t help but feel like there would always be a seed of doubt in everyone’s minds, Lia’s especially. The things she had said then couldn’t have been further from the truth, but –

“Rose. Rose, are you listening?” Lia asked, gently shaking Rose. “You spaced out there for a minute.”

“Sorry.” Rose said, blushing slightly. “I was…well, feeling bad asking about my ex-wife’s soul when you’re right here. I just…just want to know, you know?”

Lia nodded. “Of course, I want to know too. And, if you’re still hung up about that whole acting thing, don’t be. Seriously, you saved our lives there, and I could vaguely feel your emotions that entire time. I know you didn’t mean it.”

“How did you know I was thinking about that?” Rose asked, taken aback.

“A bit of guesswork, a dash of reading your face, and a heaping pile of knowing you well enough to know you would go there if you were thinking about your ex-wife.”

Connie coughed loudly. “As I was saying, we found her. She’s…well, she’s Amelia.”

“What?” Rose said, not quite processing that. “Amelia? That’s…”

“A deeply ironic coincidence?” Connie finished. “Yes. Amelia herself has no knowledge of this, nor does she have any memory whatsoever of her past life, and there is no way to get those memories back, even if the gods interfere. But you wanted to know what happened to her, and there you have it.”

Rose nodded. “Thank you.” She wasn’t quite sure how to feel about that. She hadn’t really expected to be in contact with the person who had inherited her ex-wife’s soul, at least not more than once or twice, and she wouldn’t even know when she did, but this was…different. “Well, she doesn’t have any feelings for me, and I definitely don’t have any for her. And I can’t help but find it amusing that we are both romantically interested in the same woman.”

“Like I said, deeply ironic.” Connie replied.

“Lia, how do you feel about that?” Rose asked, studying her lover’s face carefully.

“I don’t know.” Lia admitted. “I can tell that she’s not a huge fan of you, but I can’t help but feel…inadequate.” A worried look flashed across her face before she schooled her expression. “I’m not concerned about you leaving me for her or anything, it’s just that…everyone around me seems to have been some great person in a past life, or is super powerful now or something, and I’m…some random person who lucked into this because Amelia took a liking to me.”

Rose pulled her into a hug. “Aside from Heroes, no one is born special. And, even for Heroes, they “lucked into” their lot in life. It’s all about how you make do with your circumstances that define how important or special you are. Some of my best and most trusted advisors weren’t people with outrageous Jobs, or nobles from prestigious families, or even educated at first; they were just people who worked hard and learned as much as they could. You have the drive, and you learn quickly; give me a few years and you’ll be on their level, no doubt about it.”

“Alright, you two flirt later.” Connie said. “Unless you’re going to buy something while you’re here, in which case flirt as much as you’d like.”

“I can’t buy anything, remember?” Lia said. “You own all of the Blood Money I have until we deal with Ira.”

“But I am letting you take anything worth five hundred or less, as long as you can justify why it’s of immediate benefit to your operation.” Connie said. “So have at it, if you want.”

Rose nodded. “I think that’s a good idea.” She said. She let go of her hug, then offered an elbow to Lia. “Shall we?”

Lia nodded, linking her arm with Rose’s, and beginning to pull Rose away towards a section of shelving in the back.

“Your first couple’s item is on the house!” Connie called out. “Trust me, you won’t want to live without once you experience one!”

“Couple’s item?” Rose said, confused. “Like…things to help on dates?”

Lia, face a brilliant red, shook her head. “Um, probably those too, but I think she means…bedroom items.”

“Bedroom items?”

Lia somehow grew even redder. “For, um, aiding in pleasurable activities at night.”

Rose finally grasped what she meant, and her face began to redden as well. “I…see. Well, let’s save that for when we’re ready. At the very least, until we’re finished with Ira. And…speaking of, I’m going to spend every second I’m awake training. I know you like us to take breaks, but…we need every edge we can get. That means I won’t be able to spend as much time with you as normal.”

“That’s…fine.” Lia said. “But you’ll be willing to spend at least a little time with me, right? Maybe we can go kill monsters together some time or something.”

“That sounds great.” Rose said, giving Lia a sad smile. “I’ll be lonely, but we’ll make up for all the time as soon as we’re safe, okay?”

Lia stopped, then leaned up and gave Rose a kiss. “I’ll hold you to that.”