Rhythmic chopping of the knife stopped as Marie set the knife down and looked at Ari with us. The three Earth natives looked worried. Ameri, on the other hand, held an excited look in her eyes.

  Ari inhaled. “Integration is in three months, possibly sooner,” she took in a slow breath. “ It seems there are two other Systems now contesting for control of Earth, and the time frame could change with the influx of mana into Earth's core.”

  Ameri seemed to buzz, “ Dungeon world? “ As Ari shook her head slowly, Ameri's excitement slowly left her face, and what color she had drained out of her features. “Death World.” It wasn't a question. I felt my stomach hit the floor. The look on Ameri’s face, the way Ari looked at each of us with pity, told me all I needed to know. I wanted to throw up, to unleash whatever was in my stomach while it twisted in ways I never thought possible.

  “The Celestial System is making a decision on it. I will be honest, in my 75 thousand years, I've never seen them upgrade once a world has been labeled a Death World. “

  Again, it was Ameri with the questions, which was good cause I don't think the rest of us could find our voice. “ Is it just this planet? “ OK, that seemed like a very odd question, but something told me if the elf was asking it, then it was extremely important. Again, Ari shook her head no. “ Do you know what worlds are being combined with Earth? “ OK, now I was really confused.

  “Wait, what do you mean by ' joined? Like, are other beings being transported to Earth? Or are we being moved to another planet?” This was really confusing, and I had to voice my questions. I hoped I kept the panic out of my tone and words. I wasn’t sure, but I did my best to remain calm.

  Ari gave me a look that bordered on pity. “No, it means that all three planets will be combined into one. What you would call a Super Earth. Typically, they are five times larger than the original planet. The System will be splitting areas into what is called shards. Imagine areas over a thousand miles on all sides of a center point. For a set period of time, you will not be able to move out of that shard. Usually, the time limit will be announced once the System has fully converted the worlds.” Ari looked at Ameri and sighed, “ You are going to ask what worlds aren't you ? “ It seemed that Ari didn't want to share the info, but whatever I knew at this point, if she wasn't forthcoming with us, I would be beyond pissed.

  Ameri nodded, and Ari continued. “Orcus Prime is the first world. “

  “That isn't bad.” Ameri seemed to think on it for a moment. “We can find allies among some of the Orc Tribes. Who else, Ari ?” I guess this is where the bomb gets dropped.

  “The Venlax home world.” Ameri shook her head, and I saw true fear in her eyes.

  “No. No. No. Not good. I need to go tell Grandfather. I hate to say this, but he is going to be fucking happy, “ and with that, Ameri headed to the portal.

  I was too stunned to stop her. I didn’t even think at this point, as I just gave her permission to access the portals. That look of pure horror on her face at the name drop didn’t sit well with me. I looked over at Katie and Mare, both of them looked like they wanted to be sick as well.

  “OK, so who are the Venlax Ari? “ Katie’s voice sounded higher-pitched than normal. At least she could speak. I wasn’t sure if I could form complete words. My mind was racing. My imagination was going through every worst thing possible.

  “Ummm. Oh, you know that movie. What was it called? Oh, Spaceship Troopers, or was it Star Wars Troopers? I don't remember; there were these giant scary bugs. Those big ones right at the beginning.”

  All of us nodded. I wasn't going to bother to correct Ari on the title, as I felt like I wanted to throw up. “Well, pretty much that is what they are. A hive mind of pure destruction. Now it is possible that you and your race will have time before the System lets them loose, but that is only my thought.

  “What is the survival rate and what are the factors?” That was Marie with quite the insightful question. I nodded my approval to her, and she beamed like I just gave her a piece of chocolate. Of course, this thing with Marie was a whole different can of worms. Something I was not sure I would get used to, or maybe I would. Probably the latter.

  “ About eighty percent of Humans die within the first week. “ Ari paused to let the sink in, and Katie sucked in a breath. I knew she was worried about her parents. I had been thinking about that, but I only had a vague plan. Looked like I was going to have to bring Tony in somehow.

  Ari continued, “ As to reasons. I will tell you that the System does everything it can to help the occupants of a Death World. Often offering greater resources to a small percentage of the population, it will offer a greater variety of higher-ranked classes to another percentage of the population. Often, it will offer a few other gifts to the population. The problems lie within people themselves, especially humans. The orcs will probably have a higher survival rate cause they have magic on their home world. They are used to battling not just against each other, but also against many dangerous beasts that roam their lands. As to the bugs. They are fast breeders, and because they are a hive mind, their coordination is spot on. They have natural weaponry and armor. ”

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  Then it hit me. “ But humans, “ and I continued with my thought.” Between stupidity, religion, and infighting or grabs for power. The whole is every person for themselves.” Ari nodded, “ Humans do it to themselves. There might be a few pockets of people working together to survive, but .. “ I let my words taper off . I didn't think there was a need to continue. The feelings of hope I felt just a few moments that passed was gone.

  “That isn't including the fact that the usual protections for an inducted Death planet are greatly reduced. This planet will be ripe for exploration and exploitation. “ She looked at Marie, then back to me. “ I can tell you as well that Marie is going to cause issues. A battle Alchemist is rare enough. On a death planet, she is invaluable . I am not sure how long you will be able to keep her a secret, Sara, but you will have to be prepared as her owner once word gets out. All you did by collaring her was move the target from Marie to you. “

  Warning after fucking Warning. I stood and screamed in frustration and fear. I didn't ask for this. I had a good life. Yes, I was a little lost, but fuck! The room was quiet as I stewed. I could smell the disgusting odor of fear and worry. Most of it was directed towards me from my two bonded. They were more worried about me than what was coming.

  I heard Katie, “ And there is no way we can warn anyone, is there? “

  I shook my head, “ No. Even if we could, what would happen? People would think we were crazy, or worse, if we demonstrated the System, the Government would fucking lock us up and turn us into experiments. “

  The other two nodded at my words as I looked at them. “Well, nothing we can do to stop it. I am not saying we are the saviors of the human race. For us to survive, we need to train. Continue what we were already planning. “ OK, where did Sara go, and who was this Sara. I saw a look of pride showing in Ari’s eyes as I took control. Was this always me? Was this something I just ignored? Yeah, but I couldn't ignore this side of me anymore.

  “Marie, why don't you finish getting dinner done. I think this is enough bad news for one night.” I didn't mean to take it out on Ari, but I did. I dismissed her without another word. I would apologize later. I sat back down and met Katie's eyes. “ Yes, I have the basics of an idea for your parents. But it depends on their reaction when you tell them about us. You are going to stay here. It is for the best for all of us to get the most out of the time we have left.” I saw her nod as the tears formed in her eyes.

  Her father hated me. Also, once he found out Katie was bi and that we were an item, he would flip out. Let's just say that he is not a fan of alternative lifestyles. We both knew at this point that he wouldn’t take the news well. “We will work through this together. OK?” I grabbed her hand in mine, giving her a hand squeeze. She nodded.

  “I need a few minutes.” She got up and went into... Our room, I guess. I looked at Marie, and she met my gaze .

  “We all will be there for her, Mistress. But you are right, we can't do anything to change what is to come. All we can do is prepare. Help those who want to be helped, but the survival of our group comes first.”

  I was pleased to hear her feelings mirror my own. Her question brought my attention back to her. “ You bonding with Tony?” It was a valid question, and I slowly nodded.

  “Yes, I have an option for a nonsexual bond. Even without superpowers, if I were to try otherwise, his wife would murder me. Then she would do it a few more times just to make sure I was dead.” Tony's wife, Tina, was scary. They had met in the military, and like Tony, from what I understand, a lot of her file was also classified. Plus, she had this look in her eye that literally spoke fuck with my man, and I will use your skull for a teacup.

  Otherwise, yeah, she was super nice.

  Rubbing my temples, I had to wonder. Perhaps ignorance would have been total bliss. Would we have been better off not knowing? Sadly, that answer would be a big fat no. It sucks; it really put a damper on everything. Sure its one thing to think about the end of the world. It is another thing to think of potentially wiping out more than eighty percent of the population. More so when we do it to ourselves and have house-sized bugs to contend with.

  “Hey, Marie, think you can stock up on some RAID?”

  The enslaved Latina looked at me for a moment before her beautiful laughter filled the air. She threw the meat on the skillet before turning to her with her big, bright smile. “ I will add that to the list, Mistress.”

  Both of us getting a chuckle, I thought about it for a moment to go get Katie, but I knew she needed a few minutes to herself and would talk to me when she was ready. Ha, she was definitely better than me at that. I would avoid it for as long as humanly possible. As I waited while Marie cooked, I looked at my passive skill list. I had to filter out everything with a Rank 0. It was amazing how much partial information you pick up in a normal, everyday life. So I had a Rank 2 in [Basic Mechanical Engineering] and [Basic Electrical Engineering]. Guess doing all that extra reading and taking things apart with grandpa did have a quantifiable value.

  “Oh shit. “ My laughter filled the kitchen when I turned into a giggle fit. It was then that Katie came back into the room, and Marie looked at me like I lost my mind. “ There are actual Sex Skills. Like [Cunnilingus] is a Rank 3 and [Intercourse (Female)] Rank 3. It seems I acquired the skill [Intercourse (male)] Rank 1, so I think I figured it out. “ I then noticed Negotiation Rank 1, which I had gotten from my time talking with Namon for the contract, was also in the passive list.

  “If you Learn a skill from a Crystal, it appears in your Active slot if it is not full. But picking up a skill naturally or through another ability will go right into passive.” Good to know. Going forward, I will ensure I am checking out the passive list for anything interesting along the way.

  Katie nodded, “That is good info to know. And yes, I am fine, Sara. I just needed a minute. After I talk to my father tomorrow, I will be staying here. He is going to demand I come home right now. When I refuse, then he will kick me out. At some point, I would like to hear your plan, though, Sara. My father is an asshole, and my mom is no better with her silence . Still, they are my parents, and if there is some way to give them a proper start.“She gave me a kiss on the cheek, sitting down next to me as Marie started to dish things out.

  The portal activated with Ameri stepping through with a big smile on my face. I was not happy about her running off like that. Now that I have had time to think about this whole situation, her running off to tell Namon took a potential bargaining chip away from me. It seemed she caught the last bit of conversation. “I might have a few ideas as well, Sara, if you would like to listen to them.” She took a seat back at the island with the smell of dinner filling each breath.

  I really didn't need to think about that. “ Yes, sounds good. I'll be in my shop rooms most of the weekend, so when you have time, just find me in there, and we will discuss you running off like that as well.” The smile fell from her face at my words, and I think she just realized what she cost me. I was happy she didn’t press the issue. I had enough for today.