The hivemind is conquering for me?

Kiyaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh~ Janine! Oh my stars! You are here! Give me huuuugggss! I missed you so much!!!!!” Talia screamed at the top of her lungs, parting ways from her new, extremely friendly, sisters.

Janine just let the hugs happen, she needed the distraction. ”Gosh, look at you, you are looking mighty fine these days. Did you and Apollo finally get to fucking?” Talia followed up and Janine let a smile take over her lips that gave Talia everything she needed to know.

”KIYAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! Tell me everything! I’m not even jealous, I am just so beyond happy for you! Come come! We will go to one of the booths and get super drunk while you tell me every single detail!”

Janine smiled, it felt good deep down knowing that Talia was so happy about it. She had issues with the Royal Sepiidan when they first met, but they were friends. The idea of sharing Apollo with this friend didn’t seem as hard as when she thinks about others...

Being dragged to the private booth, Talia proceeded to run over to the side bar and began to pour shots while engaging in gossip. ”Janine, did you see that Myu gal with the blue horns? She was gorgeous. I thought she was royal blood for a moment, but her ears are round. Be careful around her or Apollo might get a whiff. Still, that group was very friendly, not a single negative remark towards me like I would have expected. Anyway, enough of me yapping, as I know I tend to go off on one when I am excited. Here drink!”

Talia passed Janine a glass and the duo downed half a pint of vodka like it was a shot.

Janine then smirked. ”Well, they are all on their own a lot with the way the college works. They have formed a community that actually cares for each other. It’s sweet. And regarding Myu, Her and Apollo have some kind of arrangement going on.”

Instantly as soon as she said that, Talia’s eyes became possessive. ”What? She fucked him?”

Janine instantly corrected herself. ”No, nothing like that. Though I think she blew him once judging from the smell I got from Apollo. I digress. From what I have gathered from Orchid when she is in a good mood, They have some sort of information agreement going on? Apollo gets information, gossip. Things that can be useful and since we are so overlooked by humans, it actually goes quite smoothly. In return Apollo gives her an enhancement formula he created for her from his gene science. It’s why she looks that pretty, she’s been taking them for a few months and is enhancing her already natural beauty.”

”Oh ok.” Talia said calmly, not what Janine was expecting. She was about to follow up, before Talia brought up a more interesting conversation.

”So, fucking Apollo. How is it? When did it start? Are you just fuck buddies or has be taken you as his mate? Tell me everything!”

...

Sophia was sitting in a dark room on her own, the lack of sensory stimulation allowed her to use her underlink freely. She was frowning currently watching all the guests Kathrine invited.

’For Apollo’s sake woman, I said invite a few people he knew, not all these powerful Psionic beings...’

Still it could be worse, the biggest threat and the most powerful presence she has personally felt from a human had been rendered comatose via drinking game with Valerica. There was also the man who could temporarily evade her perception from moment to moment, but his metal kept giving him away, plus he was just watching people, nothing too harmful.

And of course the last one, the one Kathrine had told her about. The one with... Potential. The woman had already drunk a perfect poison and was raving about it. If what Kathrine has been told by Sol was true, and that entity has no reason to lie, then this was a powerful entity that had been poked by Apollo’s charm.

Not in the same way as Kathrine herself, but the woman was his teacher and forced Apollo to call her auntie or she would get cross... This was good. Familial affection was a good trapping point for hive integration.

Still the issue remained. The Keyla sized woman was also a freak of strength. Unlike Keyla’s stroke of luck with acquiring Willow, this would take a lot of precise meetings, time and secrecy. But if her power was anything like Kathrine described it to be...

Sophia felt a rush of excitement pour over her body. With Samantha already setting up her bio cult and Aubree telling her what she knew of Atlantis. She needed to begin pushing outwards again.

For a while she was only going for very specific targets that could expand her influence, but that target range needed to be dropped. She needed to expand her cult. For him...

And someone Apollo already likes, well that was a perfect candidate.

Done with micromanaging for a moment, she decided to greet the collective that this party was truly hosted for. The ones that loved Apollo with their everything.

Leaving the room she was in, she travelled down a long hallway, removing her dress in the process.

There were cultists around, but they gave her no glance, they knew what she was, of course they did. A few moments later, her body began to change. Her height shot over seven feet while Chitin and exo-plating began to grow over her form. Her Legs cracked as they walked, snapping to the other direction, becoming digitigrade ending with her prized possessions. The things that turn Apollo feral. Her hooves.

Being a more humanoid form than Onyx’s stalker form, she did have some softer curves and she retained her breasts, enhancing them if anything, but with Apollo not being here to enjoy them, she did not complete the transition, leaving no nipples, nor any holes down there for him to explore with his...

Sophia stopped herself, in this form, she felt her connection to her mate even more intently, it could feel too good at times, so she needed to clear her mind before arriving and opening the doors to the main underground hall.

Like when Apollo first graced the cult with his presence, a large party had gathered. All cultists. All cultists feel Apollo’s love and deserve to celebrate his founding day. To not do so would be cruel beyond cruelty.

Upon entering the room, she unfurled the wings from her back and raised her arms, as she did so the place became eerily quiet, until she arrived at her stage and spoke.

”Greetings, My children!”

”Greetings, Mother!” the crowd roared in unison, like they were one. Because they were.

”Our family is but one part of the collective!”

”And we await the day we can once again become whole!”

With the standard greeting to her cultists given, Sophia didn’t begin one of her usual speeches, instead she just smiled.

Her sharp fangs would be a terrible sight to most, but her cultist children loved seeing the form forged by a tendril of the great mother.

”My children. Today is a special day. I know you know this, you can feel it within. Past your heart, past our collective mind. Somewhere beyond us. Our connection to one. Some of you call him Father... Others lover. One thing remains true though. We love him and all we do is for him.”

”All we do is for him!” The crowd chanted with a fervour. An intensity that bordered on violence. If someone were to disagree while in the room, they wouldn’t exist afterwards.

”YES! We do. For him. For he is ours! Our lover. The mate of the collective. Of the great family!” Sophia screamed out, the words brought her deep delight. It warmed her soul as she spoke to them.

The underlink began to feel that love and the effect cascaded, but Sophia didn’t stop, she just revelled in the feeling while continuing.

”Nineteen years ago, the outer family found a child. Abandoned by one, but for us, it was a gift! Never could we have expected to find our mate in this galaxy, but we did! And we shall be ever grateful! We love you Apollo!”

Those gathered then began howling their own feelings of love, some cried, some joked, some laughed. All felt the love.

”Today we celebrate that day! And although it is a saddening fact that Apollo is not here this day to celebrate our love for him, but just because he isn’t here doesn’t mean we do not feel it! So revel! Revel in the love. Enjoy your moments of lax! No duties to the family today. Today we just embrace the gift given to us. The gift that we don’t feel worthy of. The gift that we shall do everything we can to earn that worth!”

Sophia took another breath, her mind thinking of all her interactions with Apollo. She loved them all, she was one of the lucky ones.

”Today, we celebrate Apollo! Happy birthday to our beloved! Our mate!”