Squirmie flew at the monstrosity in front of her, intent on slicing her wings across a monstrous eye the size of her own body. Not agreeable to this plan, her adversary opened its maw until it blocked any direction that the fast-moving bug could have dodged, and the princess was swallowed whole, not stopping until she was immersed in the acid bile of her sister's stomach.

Rolly looked worried. Not that he doubted Squirmie, but a death here could mean being trapped in a loop of fighting and dying endlessly. The bugs were really big on camping respawn points, one of the reasons his bug was so fearful of dying. While his attention was divided, the Swarm Queen swung a long leg at him from where she reclined, tipped with a razor-sharp talon. He ducked at the last second and cut with his own scything talons at the joint, dropping another leg segment into a pile next to him.

<> The Queen was laying eggs this cycle, and her body was bloated and huge. She was reclining against a bed of thralls that were slowly being crushed under her weight. Rolly kept getting too excited during Squirmie's fight with her sister and would 'accidentally' get too close to the Queen, who would aim a blow at him.

"Thanks mom, love you too! I notice you're running out of legs."

<>

"If they ever let you out of Tartarus. And you know they aren't, not with that attitude. That story has already been told. The world doesn't need another 'Swarm eats everything story.' "

The Queen glowered at him with her multiple eyes. <>

The Queen droned on and on, but Rolly tuned her out. It was just like his Grandmother Phyllis when she talked about her knitting. You just had to nod and say, 'Uh huh' or 'How about that?' now and then. His attention was on the Swarm Princess as she was attended by her thralls using masses of sticky nest material to staunch the many shallow wounds Squirmie had dealt her. She was looking worse by the second. Her wounds weren't clotting, and she was changing color. Thralls were staggering away from her and collapsing.

Keeping an eye on the Princess, he turned to the Queen. "This is just my opinion as a humble Shepherd, but you need to adjust and adapt. The world is changing. You can't always use the same plan; it makes for a boring story. This world wants new and exciting things. Squirmie and I have some new ideas we're going to try out. You should, too."

<>

"Let's wait and see. I think Big Bertha over there is going to regret eating my pretty little bug. I mean, didn't any of you get the memo? We killed one of the most powerful of the Ancient Fae in her own lands. She was made of Poison, Spite, Poison, and more Poison with sharp silver blades. She ruled a toxic kingdom of poisonous vines and venomous reptiles."

<>

"Yeah, and neither did Big Bertha. But notice how she's turning green and the ichor from her wounds is killing her thralls? Squirmie and I have Tastes Like Chicken 6. We absorb part of the power of the things we eat. I'm sure you've ogled my lovely scale armor. It comes from a gift of a scale from grandmother Echidna. We are what we eat. And we killed a Fae Duchess who specialized in poison...and Squirmie ate her face! My little bug is nearly as poisonous as the Manticore and her wings and claws are so very, very sharp now. Power isn't only about how big you are. Squirmie had trouble cutting through that thick armor, so she went inside where things were softer."

As they watched, the gigantic, wingless caterpillar screamed in pain and turned an unhealthy color of bright green before heaving up the contents of her stomachs along with several internal organs and an angry Squirmie, unhurt by the acidic fluids in her sister's stomachs.

Shaking her wings, Squirmie yelled at her older and larger sibling.

Rolly's princess took to the air and flew loops to build speed before diving down and raking her sister with sharp, silver wings that left long wounds the length of the Swarm Princess's body. Weakened by poison, her armor was no match for Squirmie's razor-sharp wings.

But Swarm Princesses are stubborn. Rolly wasn't surprised when the battle continued with Squirmie being forced to whittle away at her older sister. He could feel Squirmie getting tired, and without her asking, he shifted health and stamina to her.

The Swarm Queen laid another clutch of eggs and then concentrated on Rolly. She'd assumed her most rebellious spawn had found a powerful thrall to present to her as a present. Instead, she had left the insolent thing here with her and gone off to challenge her sister in a test of dominance. She'd been surprised when the thrall had actually started talking to her as if it was intelligent! Somehow, Skwyrmthee had taught it to shape its eating hole and throat to mimic the speech of the swarm. She'd decided to kill it for its insolence, no one wanted a Thrall with opinions. That was when it displayed talons as sharp as her own and lopped off her leg. Undeterred, she tried again and again. Eventually, she had to admit that the thrall was at least as intelligent as one of her daughters, a disturbing thought.

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Rolly saw that Squirmie had the battle well in hand and paid attention to the Queen. "Don't be surprised that Squirmie won, Mom. Her sister is obsessed with size. Squirmie and I are concentrating on min/maxing several skills to take advantage of the bonuses we get from Symbiosis and we've been using Shape Changing to conceal our power. She's a much bigger bug than anyone suspects. That mass doesn't go away unless she wants it to, and it comes in handy when dive-bombing a big fat target at 120 miles per hour. I've been tutoring her on the math and physics involved with momentum, velocity, and acceleration. She catches on quickly. Lots of power in a small package is better than an oversized and slow body."

<>

"Why would I want to change her? Sure, I love pets. But having a companion to talk to is so much better! Squirmie and I are partners, and we have some fun things planned."

There was a great cry from the assembled swarmlings and drones as the former Swarm Princess gave one last shudder and died. Squirmie flew to Rolly and landed on his shoulder, a large chunk of something gooey and bloody in her claws.

"Yum! Thanks."

Squirmie hovered in front of her mother.

<>

Rolly was licking his fingers clean. "Wow, this is good! You should have saved me a bigger piece. Yeah, Mom, I have an idea about how to get a few of the permanent residents out of Tartarus, and Squirmie has a great idea for more pets. But I need to know more about why you're here and how things worked in the old days."

<>

<>

"You and all the swarm are descendants of the Dracaenae Titans. Instead of using all that energy for breeding and growing, you should consider evolving into something else. "

<>

Rolly pulled up a discarded husk to use as a seat. "Awesome. Here's what the Engine is offering me. Sort of a mixed bag."

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The Hero

You have stood between a small army and refugee farmers, traversed the trials of Tartarus, faced a Psychotic Fae Despot, and rescued a Princess from the tyranny of her family. The Legend of your Heroics has just begun. Gain 2 Primary resistances of your choice at Rank 15. Gain +1000 Health.

The Shepherd

You have rescued poor lost calves and dire lizards, taken herds to the greenest pastures, raised wyverns from the egg, and guided lost souls through Hades and back to life.

You are becoming a Legend as a Guide, a Shepherd, a Finder of Paths.

Gain the Perk: Elder Serpent's Tongue, letting you converse with monsters and legendary creatures in their own languages. And when leading armies or herding animals, your voice and intent carry to all those around you within 1/4 mile. This perk may be enhanced.

The Best Pet Ever

Your value as a pet has reached the ears and antennae of the Hive Queen herself! The Queen and her Princesses have declared you to be the best pet ever! You will be encouraged to breed progeny in the hopes that some are worth keeping, and the Queen herself will claim you as her pet.

You will be given a fluffy pillow to sleep on and all the meal worms that you can eat!

Monster Tamer

A princess of the hive is your personal pet. Wyverns and Sphynx come to your call. Use your army of monsters to seek out more monsters and bend them to your will.

Gain the Perk: Monster Domination. Gain the Perk: Loyalty of the Uncaged.

Choose carefully. The Legend you pick will determine your Class in Tier 4 (and possibly beyond).

--------------------

<>

Rolly nodded. "Makes sense. No one ever suspects a Shepherd."

<>

Rolly whistled, and a dozen fat larvae started moving towards him. "Step one is giving these kids a better future."