Swarming Sovereignty

“So…what do we need to talk about?” Lia asked.

“You and Rose.” Amelia said. “It seems you finally decided to make things official.”

“We…did, yes.” Lia said warily.

“Congratulations.” Amelia replied. “Just…keep in mind that you’re not bound by society’s stuffy morals anymore.”

Lia blinked in surprise. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that monogamy is boring.” Amelia said. “And, if you want, you can keep your options open.”

“I…see.” Lia said. “I’ll do that, then.” She didn’t have any intentions of actually keeping her options open, but sometimes, in the moment, it was best to just go along with what Amelia said.

“Good. Now, before I send you to go talk with your family, I believe you have yet to check your Skills after your battle with Skarde. It would be prudent to do that now, so you know exactly what you’re capable of if things go south.”

Lia nodded. “Thanks for reminding me. Give me a sec and I’ll do that.” She had waved away the windows that she had received that battle in all of the excitement, so she had to open her Skills menu and check manually.

Since the last time she had checked, she had received quite a few upgrades, and not all of them were even related to the battle. The majority of those were rather boring; Analysis, Battle Commander, Blood Money, Dimensional Storage, Magic Multicast, Mental Magic Boost, Motion Blur, Rest, and Silent Steps had all jumped one or more levels, but only offered increases in efficiency or power, no new functionality.

Active Camouflage, Night Vision, Presence Detection, and Spiderclimb had all reached maximum level and were ready for evolution. She decided to hold off on evolving Active Camouflage, since there was apparently an evolution that would combine it, Motion Blur, and Silent steps, and combined evolutions were generally quite powerful, but the others were a bit more difficult.

First, there was Night Vision.

The following evolution options are available for Night Vision:
Enhanced Night Vision:
Enhanced Night Vision keeps the base Night Vision functionality (150 meters of colored vision), with the added benefit of being able to partially pierce magical darkness. Higher levels in Enhanced Night Vision increase the range of vision and how far into magical darkness can be seen.

Heat Vision:
Heat Vision allows the user to switch between two modes of vision. The first retains the base Night Vision functionality (150 meters of colored vision), while the second allows the user to expend Stamina to visibly see the temperatures of objects up to Night Vision’s range, providing a highly-effective means of spotting living beings that is not affected by standard invisibility. Higher levels in Heat Vision increase Night Vision’s range and the clarity of this vision, allowing for easier distinction between extreme temperatures.

Enhanced Night Vision was tempting, but in the end, she decided to go for Heat Vision. It had a few downsides, most notably not being able to easily distinguish between different types of objects, but it provided her with an extra option for detecting things that she wouldn’t have otherwise.

Heat Vision

Level 1: 0/1000 EXP

Heat Vision allows the user to switch between two modes of vision. The first retains the base Night Vision functionality (150 meters of colored vision), while the second allows the user to expend Stamina to visibly see the temperatures of objects up to Night Vision’s range, providing a highly-effective means of spotting living beings that is not affected by standard invisibility.
Level 1: Provides 150 meters of vision. Heat Vision requires 5 Stamina/second, and can easily distinguish between temperatures that are greater than 0 °C and lower than 35 °C.
You’d be a master of the hot-and-cold game if it actually involved temperature.

Up next was Presence Detection.

The following evolution options are available for Presence Detection:
Multi-Presence Detection:
Multi-Presence Detection simply allows the user to detect more than one presence at a time. Higher levels in Multi-Presence Detection increase the number of presences that can be detected.

Smart Presence Detection:
Smart Presence Detection allows the user to choose which types of presences they would like to detect, rather than always detecting the most powerful presence. Higher levels in Smart Presence Detection increase the number of criteria that can be used to narrow results down.

That one was pretty easy; the last few times she had tried to use Presence Detection, it always locked on to Rose or Bella, so she had given up on using it for anything but leveling itself up. So, she picked Smart Presence Detection.

Smart Presence Detection

Level 1: 0/1000 EXP

Allows the user to sense the presence of beings that meet a certain criteria within a range.
Level 1: For 0.1 Stamina per second, points the user to the strongest being within 100 meters. For an additional 1 Stamina per second, the user can have this Skill filter out allies.
Now with better targeting!

Which left Spiderclimb.

The following evolution options are available for Spiderclimb:
Cling Master:
Cling Master retains the base functionality of Spiderclimb while further strengthening the user’s grip on whatever they’re walking on, allowing them to walk with ease on even the slickest surfaces. Higher levels in Cling Master allow the user to move faster while retaining Cling Master’s benefits.

Air Stepper:
Air Stepper retains the base functionality of Spiderclimb and allows the user to create a foothold or handhold in the air for a hefty amount of Stamina. Higher levels in Air Stepper reduce the Stamina cost.

That decision was quite a bit more difficult. Air Stepper sounded like the better option, but she was also expecting to get something similar from air magic, so there was a chance it ended up being redundant. It also cost “a hefty amount of Stamina”, so it wasn’t likely to be something she could spam, either. Cling Master, on the other hand, had no perceivable downsides, even if its effects were somewhat underwhelming.

Eventually, she decided to go with Air Stepper in the hopes that the Stamina cost wouldn’t be too prohibitive, and that it would evolve into something better.

Air Stepper

Level 1: 0/1000 EXP

Allows the user to stick to walls and ceilings with a 200% increase in grip strength, as well as create handholds and footholds in the air.
Level 1: Creating a foothold costs 100 Stamina.
Theoretically, if all the air molecules aligned in exactly the right way all the time, you wouldn’t even need this

And, to her surprise, both Swarm Progenitor and Humanoid Transformation had leveled up. Humanoid Transformation gave the rather simple benefit of allowing her to change her clothing when she transformed, and allowed her to change clothes whenever she wanted without incurring a time penalty.

And Swarm Progenitor provided a conversion manager that was much the same as its evolution manager; she could set a race as “low priority”, and, as long as she had looked at the conversion options for at least one member of that race, they would be automatically converted into foot soldiers, drones, and the like, provided there was both enough modeling wax, and something capable of making the conversion.

Finally, she had received one new Skill during her battle.

Hyperspeed Thought

Level 1: 548/1500 EXP

Hyperspeed thought allows the user to expend Stamina to drastically speed up their thoughts, effectively making the world appear to operate in slow motion. This does not make the user physically faster, however.
Level 1: Costs 20 Stamina/second and doubles thought speed.
Just think faster

“All done.” Lia said. “Thanks for reminding me.”

“No problem.” Amelia said. “How do you want to go about meeting your family?”

“What time is it over there?”

“Late.” Amelia replied. “Your siblings are currently getting ready for bed, and your father is at the bar. He should be back in about an hour, so if you want to deal with your siblings separately, now’s the time.”

Lia nodded. “Yes, let’s do that. Um…how are we going to keep the monster detectors from going off, though?”

Amelia waved a hand dismissively. “I’m just going to spoof your status. You’re only kind of a monster anyway, so enchantments like that will be easy to fool.”

“And the teleport jammer?”

“Literally child’s play. I’ve been teleporting around the city since I was five.”

“And no one noticed.” Lia said flatly.

“I just made it so my entrance is blocked from people’s minds until they can find a reasonable way I could have come in and then suddenly they think I did that. I’ll be doing the same with you, by the way, so don’t worry about that either.”

“You’re way too good at this.” Lia said, shaking her head in wonder.

“Well, I have lots of practice.” Amelia replied. “Where do you want me to drop you off?”

“The front door to my house, if you would. Give me second, though, I want to change clothes.” Lia focused for a moment, and suddenly she found herself wearing her old favorite outfit, looking exactly as she had before she had died. “Alright. Send me down. Give me a copy of my key, too, just in case.”

“Good luck! Once you convince them, I’ll just teleport them back here for holding, until we can send you all back to the dungeon together.”

“Thanks, Amelia.”

Amelia waved, there was a lurching, and then Lia was on the steps in front of her house, a key in her hand. True to Amelia’s words, no alarms went off because of the presence of a monster, no one screamed because someone just teleported into the middle of the street, nothing.

Lia took a deep breath, then knocked on the door. There was some shuffling from inside, growing louder as someone approached the door, then…silence. There was a long silence, then, from inside, Lia heard someone shout.

“Maria, are you alright? Who is it?!”

That was…probably Robin, her brother. His voice was deeper than she remembered, but Amelia hadn’t mentioned anyone else being at her house, and the voice did sound like her dad’s, if slightly different, so…yeah, it had to be Robin.

She heard the sound of someone dashing away from the front door, and a cry of alarm from within. Lia sighed and tried the door handle, found it locked, unlocked it with her key, and stepped inside.

It was…much the same as it had been before, if ever so slightly different. The house was less tidy than she remembered it being, and there was the occasional item she didn’t remember, but other than that it was nearly identical to her memories.

She paused, hearing some muffled sniffling from back in the bedrooms, then made her way over. The sniffling came from what had been her old room, now likely repurposed to be someone else’s. The door was shut, so she knocked again. “I’m not going to hurt you.” She said. “I have good news, really! I know it’s hard to believe, but I’m back!”

“Go away, ghost!” Robin shouted. “People don’t come back from the dead!”

“I know, Robin.” Lia said. “But…things changed. Do you remember Amelia? She’s a Hero, and she spent these last years figuring out how to bring me back, and she did!”

“You’re lying!” Robin said. “We’re not going to fall for it! Just leave us alone!”

Lia sighed, and tried to open the door. Something had been thrown in front of it, however, and it wouldn’t budge. “Stand back.” She called. “I’m going to force this open, and I don’t want anyone getting hurt in the process.”

“W-what?!” Robin yelled.

“On the count of three. One…two…three!” Lia said, using earth magic to form a large rock, which she sent hurtling into the door. There was a crash, and the door broke off of its hinges, revealing her sisters huddling in terror on her old bed. In the space in front of where the door had been, a table had been pushed in an attempt to keep her out.

Robin was nowhere in sight, so he was obviously at the side of the door, ready to ambush her as soon as she stepped in. So, she activated Hyperspeed Thought and stepped inside. She heard a whoosh of movement from her left, and she turned and grabbed Robin’s wrist as he was in the process of bringing a steak knife down on her.

She hadn’t, however, been expecting his strength. She had always beat him in fights when they both were little, but he was going through puberty, and it showed. She struggled with him for a moment, but, eventually, overpowered him. Her Strength was likely higher than his, and he hadn’t yet completed puberty, so she was able to throw him onto the ground, forcing him to drop the knife.

She kicked the knife away, then pinned him down like she always used to. After a moment of struggle, she deactivated Hyperspeed Thought and gave Robin her customary poke to the nose, then got off. “I’m serious. I’m not going to hurt you.” She said. “It’s me!”

“Is it really?” Her youngest sister, Olivia, said.

“It-it can’t be!” Maria, the second-oldest in the family, said, tears in her eyes. “People don’t just come back!”

“I know.” Lia said. “But like I said, things are different. Amelia’s a Hero, and she figured it out. And…I got mom back, too. She’s still regaining her memories, but we can be together again!”

“Why should we believe you?!” Robin said. “Why shouldn’t we call for the guards right now?!”

“Because it’s true.” Lia said. “Maria, you must have noticed that things didn’t always…add up. That any time things started to look like you were going to be homeless or something really bad would happen, that it just…went away.”

Maria hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Did…you do that?”

Lia shook her head. “No, I was dead. Amelia did that, because she knew I was going to be coming back. She wanted to make sure my family was safe.”

“But…how are you and mom just supposed to come back?” Maria asked. “Everyone knows you’re dead!”

Lia sighed. “That’s…the issue.” She said. “We’re…not going to, not exactly. I’m…well, I’m going to be completely honest with you guys, I’m not humanoid anymore. I’m a sort of hybrid between a monster and a person, and mom is too.”

“But you…look normal, and the alarms didn’t go off!” Olivia protested.

“I look normal, but I’m not. I can only keep this form for three hours every day. And Amelia made it so I wouldn’t set off the alarms, which is why they’re not going off. My “true” form is…well, a fox. You’ll see it after we’re done here. Anyway…I’m going to be taking over the world. I’m the Queen of what we call the swarm.

“Eventually, everyone’s going to be like mom and I are, and I wanted to come to you guys first. I don’t want you guys to be used as hostages or even to fight against me, so…please, come with me. I promise I can bring you to a better life than the one you have right now, where all six of us can be happy and together again.”

“No, I–” Robin began, but he was cut off as Olivia spoke.

“I’ll do it.” She said in a small voice. “I’ll go with you.”

Their other siblings gasped. “Olivia, you can’t!” Robin said. “We can’t trust her!”

“But…but I want to.” She said. “I don’t like how things are. Ever since Lia died, things got really bad. I don’t care if it’s a trap, I just…I just want to see mom and Lia again.”

Lia spread her arms out. “Come here.” She said. “Let me snuggle you.”

Olivia attempted to wriggle out of Maria’s grasp, but Maria held firm. “I’m sorry, Olivia.” Maria said. “It’s too dangerous.”

Lia sighed. “I was afraid you’d say that.” She said. “But…if you’re not going to come willingly, I’m going to have to take you by force. Please don’t make me do that, I really don’t want to, but…it’s for your own good, really!”

Robin grit his teeth and lunged for the knife, but Lia was faster, snatching it away before he could reach it. She sighed again, and snapped her fingers, casting a quick spell that put him to sleep.

Lia looked back up at her sisters. “Please?” She asked. “I promise everything will work out. If…if I wanted to hurt you, I would have already, see?” She said, waving the knife before tossing it to the side.

Maria slumped. “I…guess we don’t have much of a choice, huh?”

“Sorry.” Lia said. “Amelia’s gonna take you three to a safe place while I deal with papa.”

“He’s going to be drunk, you know.” Maria said. “It’s not going to be pretty.”

“I can handle him.” Lia said. “I may look the same, but I’m a lot stronger than I used to be. You three just relax and let your big sister take care of it, alright?”

Olivia nodded shyly, and then the three kids were gone. I got them. Amelia’s voice rang out in Lia’s mind. And I managed to get your dad sent back to your place. He should be here in a couple of minutes.

Lia nodded, and made her way down to the living room to wait.

Fighterman481 So, I decided to  have a sort of...naming scheme with Lia's family because I thought it would be funny and also would make coming up with names easier. We'll wait until next chapter, when we see Lia's father's name, to actually "reveal" it if people don't know it by then, but I'm curious to see if people get it from just this chapter.

I also was originally planning on having Lia's siblings believe her and just her father not, but in the end I decided this was more realistic, and went for it.

That's all I really have to say though, next time we're going to see Lia's father, as well as figure out what they'll all convert into, so look forward to it!

And, as always, thanks for reading!