[If you want to read what happens between Ashia and Helaina, Join pa tr eon, link in my discord server, and in the synopsis!]

We made it up to the next cavern; two Centi-Scent and one Hydra-Sect were all vicious digging into the body of another giant snake. This one was only green, but Hexi still moved around me with obvious discomfort.

[Vulture Bees X5: Mecha-Monstapede 1/6] Activated!

I raised my arms, and the five hand-sized red and black Vulture Bees flew from slots that open on my side. I had a plan, and Helaina was already behind me; the cleaning was over.

The five Vulture Bees burst into micro versions of themselves and then started to multiply. They constructed themselves into a miniature black and red version of the Monstrapede that was about ten feet tall.

I signaled for Tigra and Thanos to stay back for this, and then I loaded up the weapon I wanted. I was going to do this right this time, and I was silently thanking Serria that I still had access to this as the Mecha-Monstrapede formed.

The Bugs hadn't noticed us yet, but I could see that my monster was barely shorter than the Centi-Sects. It was two feet taller than the Hydra-Sect, but my Mecha-Monstrapede wasn't normal.

After it formed, it dug into the hard rock and burrowed under the rock.

Simultaneously, I struck my arm out to the side.

*Snap!*

My hand split the fabric of reality, and it folded in and opened like a door. I wrapped my hand around the top grip of my white and gold minigun.

[BeeBliss Gatlin] Activated!

[Vulture Bee x25] Loaded!

I pulled the weapon out, took the two other handles and trigger grip with my three free hands, and leveled it at the snake's body. The Bugs were hissing at us but not leaving the body that had not had more than one-sixth of it eaten; how convenient.

I pressed the trigger down, and the Bugs pulled back as quickly unloaded all twenty-five rounds of Vulture Bee shot. The shots were anticlimactic and sunk into the snake's body without much effect, but they activated much faster.

[Vulture Bee Shot x25] Activated!

[Consume] Activated!

At the same time, my Mecha-Monstrapede had used my gunfire as cover to come up under the two Centi-Sects. The first one was torn in half, and then the Mecha-Monstrapede went straight for the other one.

Faster than my eyes could track with the help of my Mecha upgrades, the Mecha-Monstrapede crawled onto the back of the Centi-Sect. It then bit the head off with a lightning-fast movement and then dove back into the ground.

All of this happened before the creature's bodies had hit the ground, and the hydra-Sect turned its three heads to the giant snake that was starting to disappear rapidly. Before the creature knew what was coming, the Mecha-Monstrapede burst up and burrowed up and into the creature's thick bulbous body, the vibrations only coming at the last second.

As I had been firing the BeeBliss Gatin, the Mecha-Monstrapede burrowed paths to both sides. The Hydra-Sect had no chance, and the Mecha-Monstrapede burst from its back and snapped forward in three quick movements.

The three heads and necks of the Hydra-sect fell to the ground as blood sprayed from the creature's stubs. The Mecha-Monstrapede had cut each off at the base of the necks, but then the Mecha-Monstrapede burst apart.

[Evolutionary Consume] Activated!

I was wondering why the bodies didn't crumble to ash this time, but something in the FIRE must have recognized that this didn't need to be broken down. I was slowly starting to understand little bits about the FIRE, or First Integrated Reality Engine, but at the same time, I knew nothing.

The Mecha-Monstrapede devoured one creature at a time, but by the time it got to the first Centi-Sect, the Giant Snake was done.

[Consume] Completed!

[Vulture Bee x25] Returning!

I released the BeeBliss Gatlin, and it disappeared in a small puff of smoke and extended my arms. I felt long sections on my sides opening up, and I watched as the large Vulture Bees flew into me in two single-file lines on both sides of me.

[Evolutionary Consume] Completed!

[Vulture Bee x5] Returning!

The other ones came in almost behind the first group, and I was surprised how fast they were this time. After they were all inside of me and my sides closed, I tried to see if I could feel anything different about myself, but there was no way to feel the Vulture Bees inside of me.

"That was strange; why did you shoot the dead snake?" Helaina asked as she pulled herself around to float beside me as I floated forward.

"I can create templates of the creatures that I fight, and then I can summon them in mecha-form like the Mecha-Monstrapede," I explained, but Helaina rubbed the back of her head and gave me a "you have got to be joking" look.

"What are you trying to start a farm?! Why are you collecting so many pets and people?" Helaina asked me with a confused and strained look.

I wasn't trying to start any kind of farm, well, not yet. I was trying to rebuild the force quickly so I could get back home. The Tellarider and Trent still needed to be dealt with, but when I got out, I was going to need a way to get everyone there.

I was halfway around the world, according to the map I had of the world. My display only had the location as Meccat Region, but there was a massive mountain in the center of it all.

"I need to create an army that can stop the Swarm if it comes to it, but I also want to be able to challenge the Sky Folk. They have my family right now, and something is infecting the High Council. I will return and take my family, wives, and friends back, but if they have hurt them, I will remove them from the sky," I said while feeling fire well up inside of me.

I was not going to let Trent take down the world; there was no way. I was going to mount up a force to shake the sky, but I would have to do it fast.

"I see; I thought that you might be just doing this as entertainment or something. I have been taught about many Kings and Queens, and they have been known to collect strange things, and pets are not outside of that list. I understand what you are trying to do, and I hope that I can help you when the time comes, but what about wives?" Helaina asked me as I collected the three more blood sacks.

"I have Five Wives and possibly a sixth after I return. That isn't really important, but what would be the next two things that we have to fight," I explained, pointing to the cave opening that was coming up ahead.

There was something like a dragon in there, but it was not as big as when I Shyfted. the scans from the OpsBees showed that it was something different from what I would consider a typical dragon.

It was more vicious-looking with spikes coming out of its and moving parts. It must be some kind of Mecha-Monster or something, but I couldn't get an exact scan.

"It's not a dragon; it's a Meccat Ravager. They are created when a Meccet dies; something takes over their bodies and then transforms them into spike perversions. They are powered by the Crystal Core that normally powers the Meccat. When the crystal expires, the entire life of the Meccat is poured into the Crystal Core, and then they grow and mutate. If they had positive life experiences, then they become structures, but the bad ones become Ravagers. This is all that the System has on them," Atom explained to me.

While Atom was explaining things to me, Helaina was trying to count six wives on the five fingers of her one hand and was having trouble.

"How does that work? How do you have babies? What we did was fun, but I don't think that as the Queen, you can just do that all the time, right? Wait, you have no tail for the eggs… Can you even have babies?" Helaina asked in a flurry storm of words, making me smile, but it felt a lump inside of my chest.

My unfertilized eggs were stored and hidden away in my room, and there would be no way for the Sky Folk to get at them short of trying to destroy the ship. It still pained me to know that they weren't safe, but that just meant that I needed to be pushing harder to get through this and back to them.

"Yes, I can have children with my wives, but my eggs are stored safely in my Royal Flying Hive Fortress for now. I have the ability to make my own eggs able to fertilize other female eggs, and I can also give them additional Genes. You are already pregnant, right? If I can allow you to join my Hive, I will be able to give you access to some of those Genes for your own children," I explained to Helaina, and her eyes lit up and widened with excitement, but that was when I started to hear the sounds of the Meccat Ravager up ahead. "Everyone, focus!"

The sounds coming from up ahead were like nails on a chalkboard. The noise left me with a bone-chilling feeling down to my core.

Whatever this thing was, it was in a lot of pain and very angry.