Author's note: This is my original work and the characters, story, and other unique content are mine. Others are not permitted to use or replicate any of the material in this story. This includes copy/pasting and/or scraping for any personal use (to include, but not limited to, placing my work into Ai bots of any kind).

TW: This book contains discussions of abuse and trauma, sexual content, and other adult themes.

A quick note: Italics are Lucy's inner thoughts!

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"Mom! I passed!"

Lucy couldn't wait more than a step in the door to tell her Mom the good news knowing she'd be as excited as she was.

She did it! She's officially a college graduate!

"Lucy?" Her mom's voice echoed from the kitchen, and Lucy bounded in as fast as her legs could carry her toward the sound.

"Mom! I did it!" she breathed, excitement bubbling out of her, "I passed! The results just hit the site!"

"Good job, baby," her mother cooed, brushing her cheek gently.

There were tears pooling in her eyes, and Lucy could only beam at her mother knowing how important this was to both of them.

Soon, they'd both be free.

"The college already got me a job," Lucy continued, looking around to make sure they were alone, "my first paycheck is in just a couple weeks. Give me a month, maybe two, Mom."

"I believe in you," she breathed, her eyes darting around nervously though her excitement couldn't be contained, "they're both still out. You should go to your room while you can. Clean up. Dinner will be ready soon."

"Are... are they both coming home tonight?" Lucy asked warily, and the sad nod was enough confirmation to take some of the wind right out of her sails.

Just a month. Maybe two. Then they'd be able to escape. That's what Lucy kept telling herself as she hugged her mother tightly before heading upstairs to her room. Locking the door, she breathed a bit in relief knowing she'd get a small reprieve if her father or sister came calling.

Step-father and step-sister, she reminded herself bitterly.

Lucy never understood why her step-father remarried if he didn't really want to be married, or at least didn't like his new wife. Perhaps he thought his daughter would have a playmate around her age and he'd grow to love his new wife, perhaps he just wanted some people to torment - who really knows, in the end?

The two of them enjoyed abusing them these past 12 years, but it was almost over. Soon, Lucy would have enough money to take her mother far from here. They'd get new names, settle somewhere new, and start over - just a little longer.

"Lucy!" her step-father's voice broke her out of her mental pep-talk, and she instantly grimaced at the anger in his voice.

Taking a few, deep breaths, she mentally prepared herself for facing him before carefully unlocking the door to peek out. She barely got the door cracked, though, before a kick to the other side knocked the door into her so hard she flew back and landed on the ground.

The moment her head hit the ground, light exploded in front of her eyes.

"There you are," he growled, stalking in and closing the door behind him.

"No," Lucy groaned, trying to roll over and stand.

Too slow, a foot came up and found her stomach and knocked the wind out of her lungs instantly, forcing her back to the ground.

"Did you think you could hide it from me?" his voice was low, and way too close, "I'm going to show you what happens when you break my rules little girl."

No!

Lucy couldn't get another thought to run through her head as she tried to think through what was happening.

I was so close! We were so close!

When he picked her up and threw her on the bed the panic really set in. He'd been getting more and more direct in his advances, more brutal in his attacks - but part of her believed he'd never go this far.

Please, she thought to herself as he held her down with a dark glint in his eyes, please not this.

'Warning. Anomaly detected. Elimination imminent. Please wait.'

What, she thought, trying to blink away the black dots in her eyes and fight the hold her father had on her wrists.

That voice wasn't her father's. What was that?

'Elimination in progress. Please wait.'

A feeling like a yank from her stomach had Lucy gasping out loud before getting air was impossible, and suddenly everything went black.

--

'Incorrect world detected. System elimination error executed. Recalibrating. Please wait for correction.'

Lucy felt like she was floating, only aware of the feminine, robotic voice that she had heard in her bedroom.

What's happening? She thought to herself.

'Correction failed. Attempting to identify alternative solutions. Please wait.'

What failed? What was eliminated? Correction? Alternative solution?

Thoughts floated through her mind, one after the other before she could really process them.

'Elimination error identified as Lucy Manor, 20, cisgender woman, planet designation Earth. Seeking suitable host. Please wait.'

A moment's pause was all Lucy had before the voice continued.

'Suitable host identified. Rachel Morgan, 24, cisgender woman, planet designation Wurther, recently deceased. Preparing injection. Please wait.'

Another yanking sensation, this time in reverse, and Lucy sat up with a harsh gasp, breathing hard.

'Original host body repaired prior to injection. No concerns detected. Core memories buffering. Please wait.'

Before Lucy could even process what she was hearing, an exploding pain in her head forced her right back to the ground. She clamped her eyes closed as thoughts and memories that didn't belong to her rushed into her mind and threatened to overwhelm her.

'Core memory delivery in progress. Survival chance projection slim. Identifying adaptations required. Please wait.'

Flashes of faces, places, and experiences rushed through Lucy's mind, all blurring together and making absolutely no sense - especially with the noise of the voice that never seems to shut up.

'Adaptations required for increased survival potential identified. Five days of spousal empathic reading deemed optimal solution. Adaptations buffering. Please wait.'

The sounds of the voice were buried beneath the pain, and it was all Lucy could do to breathe let alone try and hear what was happening. The sounds of several groans nearby didn't even make it through into her mind as she writhed.

'Core memory delivery complete. Adaptation delivery complete. Alternative solution deemed satisfactory resolution for system error. Thank you for your understanding. Have a nice day.'

The pain was gone as quickly as it had arrived, and Lucy's eyes fluttered open as she tried to catch her breath.

What the actual fuck was that? She groaned internally, trying to roll over and get to her feet.

Hearing someone shuffling nearby, she immediately flinched and dropped into a ball - covering her head with her arms.

Fuck! Dad! Please don't kick me! Please don't kick me. Please!

She suppressed a sob as she waited, knowing that she could beg all she wanted but it wouldn't matter - so instead of speaking aloud she just mentally screamed it out in her mind.

Maybe if I let him kick me once, I can knock him over while he's off balance, the thoughts continued as she braced for impact, then maybe I can rush downstairs, grab Mom, and we can just run. Fuck the new job. We can just get out. We'll figure it out. We'll... why isn't he... he hasn't...

Realizing the pain never came, she dared to open her eyes just a little and peek through her arms to see if maybe, just maybe, he'd decided to have mercy on her.

Instead, her eyes went wide when she saw five insanely beautiful people looking down at her in shock.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat is going on...

Slowly unfurling and crawling backwards in a panic, her eyes darted from face to face - her confusion only deepening as her eyes bugged more and more out of her head.

Oh... I'm dead... I'm dead and they're... angels. Or Gods. Or something not human because holy shit no one is that beautiful in real life. Why does he have scales? Why does that one have feathers? Oh my God if I died, what's going to happen to Mom! Oh my God my father finally killed me and now Mom is going to die next!

Her thoughts spiraled and the very confused faces in front of her blurred as the tears flooded her eyes.

'Panic attack detected during orientation time period. Activating explanation mode.'

"W-what?" Lucy choked, looking around for the woman she couldn't see but could hear.

'Greetings Lucy Manor. You were accidentally eliminated due to a system malfunction. The error was identified too late, and your body has already been cremated. We apologize for the inconvenience. In order to correct this error, we have located you a new host in an alternate world. Please, do not panic. You have been given the required memories to survive in this world. Welcome to your new life!'

"Woah, wait, no, no, no, no," Lucy immediately spoke up, waving her hands in front of her face before squeezing her eyes shut and panicking even more, "No, send me back! What do you mean malfunction! Send me back! Send me home!"

'Apologies Lucy Manor. Your body has already been cremated and you cannot be sent back. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please do not panic. You have been given the required memories to survive in this world. Welcome to your new life!"

"Y-you can't just repeat... no! S-send... send me back," Lucy's words, though starting strong, quickly weakened as dizziness took over.

'Panic attack severity increasing. Lucy Manor, please do not panic. You have been given the required memories to survive in this world. You are not in immediate danger.'

"I-I... I can't... No," Lucy whispered, swaying.

'Please note, no other beings can hear the system notifications. It is recommended that you not speak to the system out loud for fear of being deemed mentally unsound. Please do not panic.'

"This is just a dream," she murmured, slumping to the side, "this isn't real. This is... this is all just a bad dream."

"What the fuck is happening?!" Evan's voice was the last thing Lucy heard before she passed out.

Staring at their wife on the floor, Rory, Marco, Jasper, Evan, and Flynn were in complete shock.

"W-w-what j-just h-happened?" Flynn stuttered, a common occurrence when the soft-hearted man became overwhelmed.

"She definitely died, right? Then like... just... woke up?" Jasper murmured, furrowing his brows and looking to his brothers in confusion, "that's definitely what just happened? Is she still bleeding?"

"She's literally still got blood all over her head from falling," Evan sighed, rubbing his face roughly, "and she hit her head so hard she woke up insane."

"Let's just be thankful she isn't dead," Rory bit out, glaring at the wife he wished would die - just not right now while they were all blood-bound to her, "let's get her cleaned up and in bed. Marco, help me with her. Jasper, clean up the floor. Flynn, get dinner started, yeah? Evan... just... don't make it worse."

Evan glared at Rory, but everyone else nodded and got to work. Marco, glaring with equal intensity at his wife, helped Rory lift her and take her to her bedroom. Being not gentle at all, they worked together to clean her hair and address her wounds... only to find there wasn't a wound to treat.

"That's... that's definitely not normal," Marco murmured, looking at Rory confused.

"Uh, no. No, it is not," Rory confirmed, equally confused.

Shrugging with a sigh, Rory just dumped his wife roughly on the bed before cleaning up the bowl of water, rags, and bloody clothes. Then, with a final confused glance, they both exited the room.

"Okay, so bright side," Evan piped up the second they both walked out, "she didn't die. Down side... she didn't die."

They all chuckled as they walked toward the dining room in perfect agreement.

If only their wife dying didn't mean they would all, also, immediately die... because if that wasn't the case, they'd have killed her themselves long ago.

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