Once the veterans finished analyzing the recruits actions during the raid, it was officially the end of the practical exercises. They planned on spending one more night in the Immortal World before returning to the City in the morning. As everyone was starting to leave, Chris stood up. "Hey, everyone, I actually have one more thing." He announced, getting everyone's attention. Most looked curious, while Sergeant Callista and a few others looked wary. "Do any of you want to meet my subordinates? I want them to get more comfortable with people, and help them get a wider view of the world."

Captain Nefred blinked. "I would be very interested in meeting your subordinates, yes." He paused. "Won't there be a communication barrier though?"

"Nah, they can speak our language. Something to do with being connected to my world and mutation." Chris waved his hand dismissively. "Though, a few don't have the right mouths for it, so they can't actually speak it, but they still understand."

With Captain Nefred on board, most of the rest were interested in meeting Chris's subordinates as well, though Sergeant Callista still looked suspicious. Meanwhile, another Chris got his subordinates ready, calling back everyone from the Maze and getting them all lined up and presentable. His biggest issue was the female kobolds. The rest of them looked normal, or at least, they looked like Maze creatures, but the female kobolds just looked like women. Attractive women, with a poor grasp of how clothes should work, or why they needed them. And he couldn't tell them to stay in their kobold forms, because then they wouldn't be able to talk. "You guys are going to get me in so much trouble." Chris groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. At least Beth already knew, so that shouldn't be a problem. Well, she knew about T'ka… he hoped she could extrapolate. "Fuck it, let's get this over with." Chris sighed. Chris snapped his fingers, bringing everyone together. "Alright, these are my subordinates." He began.

"You!" The kobold chief cried, pointing at Beth and stepping forward. "I demand a rematch! Full power!" She announced, her clothing beginning to dissolve as acid began to bubble from her skin.

"Hey!" Chris snapped, quickly sending away the acid and fixing her clothing. "You can fight later! We're doing introductions right now!"

The kobold chief froze, before flushing in embarrassment and stepping back with a bow. "Yes, Lord. I apologize."

Chris nodded, before turning back to the others. "Sorry about that. As I said, they can get excited."

"She- that's a kobold?!?" Sergeant Callista asked incredulously.

"Yeah… apparently kobolds have this thing for people stronger than them, and all the females wanted to be more… appealing to me. Not my fault. The goblins and imps have zero inclination to do the same." Chris explained with a sigh, shaking his head.

Beth snorted slightly at that, giving him a warning look while Captain Nefred looked over the arrayed creatures with an almost numb look. "Chris, how- how many subordinates do you have?" He asked slowly.

"A hundred and four." Chris replied, leaving out Debra and Anthony. He'd recently finished subduing all the goblins, including the hobgoblins, so his numbers had grown by quite a bit.

"How- how strong are they, on average?" Captain Nefred continued.

Chris paused as he considered that one. "High mid-tier, low high-tier? With mutation of course. Ability wise they're mostly on the lower end of mid-tier with a few getting close to the middle."

Captain Nefred let out a slow, disbelieving breath. "I never thought I'd say this, but… Chris, I believe your talents are wasted in the Scouts. You need to at least be in the Vanguard, if not some higher entity unto yourself. If you continue to capture creatures in this way, strengthening them as you are… you could roam the entire Maze freely!"

"Yeah, I know." Chris shrugged. After his talk with Jo, beating the Maze no longer felt like that big a deal. In the larger scheme of things, the Maze wasn't that strong. Thinking about it, he probably should have realized that sooner. The entire reason creatures were even attracted to the Maze was because it was safer than what waited for them outside the Maze. Nothing actually wanted to live there, they had to live there if they wanted to survive. The Maze was a collection of creatures that would have gone extinct if not for the safety the Maze provided, and that was a sobering thought. Particularly considering humanity couldn't even get halfway through it… "Still, I wouldn't say that means my talents are wasted in the Scouts. The Scouts don't limit me. I can do what I need to for you guys and still continue to climb the Maze. I mean, that's what I've been doing so far. Can't imagine that would change any time soon."

Captain Nefred blinked. "That… is a good point."

After the initial awkwardness passed, everyone began to mingle, which mainly involved one or two of the humans getting mobbed by a group of Maze creatures and asked several basic questions about what living in the City and being human was like. A few of the guys tried to get a little… friendly with the female kobolds, but the female kobolds didn't seem to pick up on it at all. Particularly since they all seemed fixated on shooting glares at Beth whenever possible, which Beth returned vehemently as she stuck close to Chris. She knew Chris wasn't interested in any of them, but the idea of all these beautiful women so fixated on him… she couldn't help but get protective of him.

"May we have a rematch now?" The kobold chief, who now went by Ka'lypso, asked in a polite tone as things began to wind down, though the fact that she was glaring daggers at Beth the entire time kinda invalidated her politeness.

Chris glanced at Beth. "It's up to you." He shrugged.

Beth glared back at Ka'lypso. "It would be my pleasure to pound your ass again." She growled, causing Chris to let out a groan.

"We shall see who's ass shall get pounded." Ka'lypso growled back.

"Guys, please, just fight." Chris sighed, shaking his head while a few of the other guys stifled laughs. He quickly cleared out a space for them to fight, sending them both to opposite ends of the space, facing each other. "Wait." He stopped them right before they started, turning to Ka'lypso. He paused for a moment, before her chest and crotch were covered in a thin layer of form fitting metal. "We don't need you fighting naked on us." He paused again before turning to Beth and doing the same. "You either."

Everyone watched eagerly as the two women faced off against each other. Several of the recruits shouted out encouragement for Beth, while the female kobolds did the same for Ka'lypso. They both circled each other, until suddenly Beth shot at Ka'lypso, her legs constricting before bursting out powerfully, sending her flying forward! Instantly, acid began to flow from Ka'lypso's arms, shooting towards Beth, forcing her to dodge and killing her momentum. Ka'lypso continued to throw acid at Beth as she backed away, attempting to keep her at a distance, remembering Chris's advice for facing a stronger enemy. She wanted to force Beth to spend as much energy as possible.

Beth gritted her teeth as she attempted to force her way closer to Ka'lypso, dodging under and over the blasts of acid. As a splash of acid would hit her, eating through her clothes and burning her skin, causing her to hiss in pain, Beth's eyes narrowed. The acid was strong, but it wasn't that strong. Suddenly, Beth rushed forward again, through a burst of acid, Ka'lypso's eyes widening in shock right before Beth tackled her, her body twisting around her and constricting, arms tightening around her neck! Acid poured out of her skin as she struggled against Beth's hold, but Beth simply gritted her teeth and tightened her hold even further, struggling to choke her out or break her neck.

Chris nodded to himself as he watched the two half naked women struggle. The metal was a good idea. He paused as he noticed a few men becoming a bit too… interested in the fight, clicking his tongue and sending them away. He got it was a titillating scene, but that didn't give anyone an excuse to leer at them.

Beth let out a yell as she gave one last pull and Ka'lypso's neck made a loud crack before her body went limp. She climbed to her feet, panting breathlessly and covered in acid burns, some deep enough to reveal bone. "Pounded your ass." She spat as Ka'lypso revived and sat up.

Ka'lypso got to her feet and bowed. "Indeed. You have pounded me well. Your strength is commendable." Beth blinked, not expecting the sudden shift from her. It wasn't the false politeness from earlier, but true, honest respect in her tone.

"Guys, you have to stop saying pound." Chris sighed, shaking his head. "Especially when you're both half naked." He waved his hand, creating a new set of clothes for both of them and removing the metal.

Ka'lypso frowned. "What's wrong with saying pound?"

"Nothing!" Beth retorted, flushing slightly as she remembered what pound meant. "Some people are just gross."

Chris shook his head, sighing. "Yes, yes, people are gross, innuendo shouldn't be a thing, etc. Do you want to kill yourself, or should I?"

Beth grimaced. "Just make it quick." Chris nodded, his tail snaking out to stab her in the side of the head, right through the ear. Beth let out a groan as she revived and got back to her feet. "I hate dying!"

"Then stop getting injured." Chris retorted. "Or would you prefer to let your acid burns heal naturally? You might get some neat scars if you do."

Beth scowled. "I want to be healed, I just wish you could do it without killing me!"

Chris nodded in understanding, before suddenly pausing. Could he heal without killing? He'd never actually thought about it before. He grew a claw and cut his arm, before focusing on the wound and trying to get the Immortal World to heal it. He then watched as the flesh quickly knit back together. "Huh… well would you look at that, I can heal without dying first. Who would have thought?"

The room fell dead silent as literally everyone turned to stare at Chris with a mix of incredulity and shock. "Are you telling me, that this entire time, you've been killing people to heal them, because the idea of trying to do it without killing them had never fucking occurred to you!?!" Beth exclaimed, glaring at him with her most withering stare.

Chris paused. "In my defense, I've been killing myself too."

Beth closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, one that caused her chest to expand by quite a bit, before letting it out slowly. She leveled a look at Chris, looking ready to tear him a new one, before she simply sighed and shook her head. "You're ridiculous." She muttered, cuffing him lightly upside the head. She then grabbed his arm and leaned in close. "Take me somewhere we can cuddle and feed me chocolate. It's been a long day." She whispered in his ear. In the next instant, they both disappeared. Chris wasn't dumb enough to argue over something like that.

The next morning, they all returned to the City, though Chris had to meet them there, since he'd lost his chip. They then returned to the Scouts base and settled back into their barracks to wait for the graduation ceremony. Why did everything need a ceremony? Chris just didn't get it.

"There you guys are!" Derek exclaimed as they walked into the cafeteria for lunch, rushing up to give Chris and Beth a big hug. "I was beginning to think something might have happened to you! Well, not to Chris, obviously, but… you know what, I'm going to stop talking now."

"Probably for the best." Beth rolled her eyes at him.

"Seriously though, what took you guys so long?" Derek asked. "I thought you'd be one of the first ones back, not the last! I mean, we've been back for days now."

"I fucked up." Chris sighed. "I sort of completed the last task on my own."

"That isn't why!" Beth interjected. "We didn't want to leave because your damn world is too damn comfortable! You completing the task early actually made things simpler."

Derek paused. "Isn't- isn't the last task to raid a tribe?"

"Yeah." Chris nodded.

"And you did that on your own?" Derek asked incredulously.

"Well… not quite on my own, but without the rest of the squad, yes." Chris replied.

Derek blinked. "I'm confused."

Beth sighed. "Chris… developed during the practical exercises. He is so much bullshit now."

"I have subordinates." Chris smiled.

"And multiple selves." Beth grumbled.

"My world is a universe now." Chris added.

"Since when?!?" Beth asked incredulously.

"Remember when you exploded? A few hours after that." Chris replied.

Beth shook her head. "The entire time, shit like this. He has a mom now."

"And a dad." Chris added. "Which reminds me, we need to talk about… stuff."

Beth glared at him. "Uh-huh."

Chris paused for a moment, before turning to Derek. "I think I'm in trouble."

Derek nodded. "You're in trouble."

"I've missed you." Chris smiled, reaching out to pat him on the shoulder.

"Dude, not the time. Your girlfriend is going to kill you!" Derek whispered, shooting glances at Beth as she crossed her arms and began tapping her foot, getting more and more angry every second Chris wasn't explaining everything that she'd missed while in the Maze.

Chris cocked his head at Beth, before turning back to Derek. "Are you sure?"

"Dude!" Derek hissed.

"But why?" Chris frowned. He'd already said he was going to tell her, hadn't he? And he couldn't tell her here. Too public. Who knew who might overhear something?

"Chris, if you don't start talking soon, there will be consequences." Beth growled.

"We can't talk here- ugh, fuck it. Get in." Chris sighed, opening a portal, waving her in. He paused, giving Derek a look. "Eh, you get in too."

"Not the smartest move on your part, but damn it I'm curious." Derek commented, stepping in after Beth, Chris following him.

"Okay, so, first, here." Chris handed Derek the card listing everything he could do. "Now, this all began when I split my world into two and connected to another world." Chris went through everything that happened, how he'd found a world without abilities, the discovery of the game, how similar it was to their world, the events that happened in the game, the Elves, the Doppelgangers, his talk with Dichonius, his talk with Jo, and finally what had happened with the agency dealing with the Abductors. "And that's it." Chris finished. "I should probably talk to someone about getting an old transporter or something, but… I figure that's going to take some time, and influence I just don't have right now."

Beth and Derek just stared at him, barely even blinking as they struggled to process the sheer enormity of everything Chris had just revealed. "This- okay, yeah, you were right to wait to talk to me about this." Beth shook her head. "I would not have been able to focus on the raid if I'd known about all this."

"I don't know if I'll be able to focus on anything after this." Derek muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. "Freaking… should we even be trying to get through the Maze? It sounds like all we'll do is attract more trouble than we can handle."

"If we haven't already." Chris pointed out. "We already have both the Elves and the Doppelgangers' attention, and we seem to be caught between the two. If they decide to fight over us… Well, it isn't a pretty picture."

Derek grimaced. "Yeah, see, that's what I don't want to think about! How can I focus on anything when I'm constantly aware we could all be dead in a few years!"

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you don't die." Chris assured him.

Derek sighed, shaking his head. "Chris, not the point. It isn't- it's not death that worries me, it's the idea of losing everything we've worked for! Everything we've built! We've built lives, and even if we live, those lives won't survive."

"I suppose…" Chris muttered. "But lives can be rebuilt. Once your life is gone, it's gone."

"I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm just saying that the loss of those lives still sucks." Derek replied.

"Ah, fair." Chris nodded.

"Can we focus on the fact that Chris's parents aren't even human for a moment?!?" Beth interjected. "And they're two of the most influential people in the entire City! How- how does that even make sense?!?"

Chris paused before shrugging. "Shit happens? I got nothing."

Beth sighed. "Sorry, that- I get that it's just a thing, it's just- it's weird, and I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around it. I mean, you aren't- are you even- you're still- human, right?"

Chris frowned. "I think so? How do you determine that? I mean, in this form, I'm a hundred percent human, genetically. But obviously I'm not when I'm in my other forms, so… am I not human then? But what about people with transformation type abilities like Penny then? Are they not human when they transform? How about when Doppelgangers turn into humans? At that point they're genetically human, so does that mean they are human? Obviously not, right? So there's got to be some quintessential humanness that transcends genetics, and the question becomes whether I actually have that humanness… and honestly, I couldn't tell you." Chris finished with a shrug.

Beth blinked at him, before sighing and shaking her head. "You know what? It was a stupid question. You're you, and that's what matters."

"Oh, so how were your practical exercises?" Chris asked Derek as they returned to the cafeteria to eat.

Derek paused. "Well, right now they feel like they were pretty damn boring. We surveyed, we observed, and we raided. I did well, I even saved four people's lives, but… It doesn't feel like as much of an accomplishment anymore."

"I'm sure it feels like an accomplishment to the people you saved." Beth commented.

Derek shrugged. "The veterans would have taken care of it if I hadn't. They were never really in danger."

Beth shook her head. "That isn't the point. You proved you can keep the other members of your squad safe. That's valuable. You did well."

"I guess…" Derek muttered. "It just doesn't seem all that important anymore. Not in the larger scheme of things. We can manage the hell out of the middle levels, and in the end, what does it accomplish? We're still going to be trapped down here at the whims of whatever power deigns to grace us with their attention."

Chris frowned at him. "It… does what it's always done? We do it to increase our control over the Maze. The more control we have, the more resources we can pull out of the Maze, which helps us develop the City."

"And what's the point in developing the City if it can all be destroyed tomorrow?" Derek retorted.

"Because if we aren't destroyed, there's a chance that at some point we'll develop to the point that we don't need to worry about being destroyed at all?" Chris offered. "If we just stop doing things, all we have left is waiting for something to go wrong, and that just sounds depressing."

Derek blinked. "Well, if you're going to put it like that… shit, now I don't know how to feel."

"Just stop feeling, period. That's what works for me." Chris replied with a smirk.

Derek rolled his eyes. "Freakin robot."

The next day, the three of them caught up with Thad and Penny, filling them in on what they'd been up to. Thad just shook his head while Penny glared at Chris. "You mean to tell me you've been walking around the City for a week and a half and this is the first time you've come to talk to us?!? Chris, the fuck!?!"

"I thought you guys needed to focus on school." Chris shrugged. "If I had shown up, I could have literally taken up all your free time. I didn't think it'd be a good idea."

"Chris, we do know how to manage our own schedules." Thad commented. "If we needed you to leave, we would have told you."

"True, but why even put you in that position?" Chris replied. "You had things to do, I had things to do myself, and we were all planning on catching up after the practical exercises were over anyway. It just seemed like I'd be risking inconveniencing you for little to no reason."

"Chris, you suck sometimes." Penny sighed, shaking her head.

They hung out for the rest of the day, continuing to catch up. Thad had a new roommate, but he was quite a bit younger and still dealing with his parents death, so they hadn't really connected yet. Thad was doing what he could, but he wasn't sure how far he could get before it was time for his Trial. Meanwhile, Penny was taking part in some science competition, hoping to get an internship with one of the sponsors over break. Chris wondered if he could talk to Jo about helping Penny out, but he wasn't sure if that would be an issue, so he wasn't going to promise anything yet.

"So, you guys are coming to the ceremony tomorrow?" Beth asked hopefully.

"Obviously!" Penny replied excitedly. "We already got excused from school and everything! Do you guys already know how you did?"

"No." Beth sighed, shaking her head, before pausing. "Well, we do know Chris is almost definitely going to be the top recruit, but as for the rest of us… it's hard to tell. They take into account so many factors, and just being strong doesn't mean much."

"I'm sure you did fine." Chris assured her. "I was with you the entire time, and I can't see a single problem in anything you did." He paused. "Well, besides the raid plan, but that was a group issue, not a you issue."

Beth scowled. "Chris, I know I didn't make any mistakes, but… I didn't do anything to stand out either! You took down not one, but two tribes on your own! Derek saved people's lives! I- I just showed that I have a strong ability and I can hit things hard. They already knew I could do that!" She let out a frustrated groan. "I just- I know I didn't do bad, I just… I feel mediocre."

Chris blinked. "Okay, first, you are the furthest thing from mediocre. But even if you were… so? There's nothing wrong with just being good. As long as you're doing your best, what more can you ask of yourself? By definition, that's as much as you can do. Pushing yourself to do more is just psychological self harm."

"But am I doing my best?" Beth asked, her expression twisting. "I spent most of the time in the Maze hanging out with you!"

"You did, but that was only during the times when there was nothing else to do. Walking the tunnels, watching the monitors, planning the raid… what more could you have done with all that?" Chris pointed out.

Beth hesitated. "I- I don't know… ugh, nevermind, you're probably right." She sighed, shaking her head.

Chris frowned at her, while the other three shared awkward looks. "So… what are your plans for after you're officially Scouts?" Penny asked, trying to change the subject.

"Well, I'm going to try to get Advanced Combat training." Derek quickly jumped onto the new topic. "At least, that's my goal. I'll need to get approval from whoever my captain ends up being. I could also use some specialized ability training." He muttered, clenching his fist as it began to spark. "I saw a little bit of it during basic training, but it feels like there's some untapped potential there. Like my ability might be good for more than just frying things with electricity."

"Maybe I should look into something like that as well…" Chris muttered. His ability was weird, but who knew? Maybe an outside perspective would help him figure out a bit more. Like how to get the ability energy to actually stick to someone. "But I'm probably going to focus on learning how to make equipment."

Penny nodded, before turning to Beth. "How about you? What do you want to do?"

"I'm going to go for Strategy and Tactics. I want to get into command, like my father, and that's where you need to start." Beth replied with a smile, though her eyes still looked a bit sad.

"That's so cool!" Penny exclaimed. "Aw, it's like you're going into the family business!"

Derek clicked his tongue. "I wish my family business was that cool."

"I wish I had a family business." Penny sighed

"I wish we had families." Thad added blandly.

"Eh, I'm beginning to think it's overrated." Chris commented with a shrug.

Penny scowled at him. "That doesn't count. Your situation is weird."

"His situation is always weird." Thad agreed.

"My theory is that he actually lives in a world adjacent to ours, just slightly off, where it seems like we're in the same one, but the rules are just slightly different over there." Derek leaned in to whisper conspiratorially. "That's why things that affect us seem not to affect him, and why his ability and life are so weird."

The other four all turned to look at Chris, who shrugged. "I'd buy it. I mean, I've already found one other world." Derek turned to the others with a 'see?' look, before they all burst out laughing. Chris cocked his head slightly as he thought about it more, something about the idea hitting him in a weird way. He knew Derek was joking, but… he was connected to a different world. It was a world he controlled, yes, but… he didn't have an ability core either. He didn't have ability energy period. Unless somehow it was bound up in the Immortal World, which… Well, that was his original thought, but the more he considered it, the more it felt off. Other people could connect to or create pocket dimensions, and they all had ability cores. Why didn't he? There was a weirdness here, but Chris couldn't quite figure it out.

"Chris?" Beth poked him slightly as she noticed him getting lost in thought. "Are you okay?"

"Hm?" Chris looked up. "Oh, yeah, I was just thinking. My ability is weird. Just kinda wondering why."

Beth blinked. "You're only just now thinking of this?"

"Well, you see, way back when, someone told me that I should just accept I have an ability, because, and I quote, 'if it looks like a slime and rolls like a slime, it's probably a slime'. So I stopped questioning it. Now however… I'm not sure how slimey my ability is really looking anymore." Chris shrugged.

Beth flushed as she remembered she was the one who'd told him that. It actually made her feel a bit better in a weird way. Like… he actually listened to her, not just hearing what she said, but considering it important, even way back when they'd first met. "Chris… yeah, I think if your ability is a slime, it's one that's mutated a few times already." She smiled, shaking her head, a warm feeling heating up her chest.

Chris gave her a weird look, wondering how that seemed to have gotten her out of her funk when nothing else he'd done had. He sighed, shaking his head. He was never going to figure this crap out.

"So… Do you want to talk?" Chris asked Beth as they walked back to the barrack. After they finished catching up with Penny and Thad, Chris had opened a portal to take the three of them back to the base, Derek splitting off to head to his own barrack.

Beth hesitated, before letting out a sigh. "I do, but… I don't even know what it is I want to talk about. I've just been feeling so… inadequate lately, and I don't know how to fix it."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Chris asked slowly.

"No- yes- maybe? I don't know." Beth shook her head. "I know- I know talking to you helps, and I always feel better when I do… for a bit. And then the worries creep in again and I feel like I'm drowning and all the effort I'm putting into staying afloat does nothing! And I know there's no reason for it, I just… I can't help it."

Chris frowned, before sighing and wrapping his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. "That sounds absolutely insane. I have no idea how to help- oof!" Chris grunted as Beth elbowed him in the side angrily, shoving him away. "Wait! Wait! I have more!" Chris exclaimed, and Beth paused, glaring at him. "Look, I don't know what you're going through, or why, but… I know what it's like to feel like you're completely unequipped to handle what life is throwing at you. For fucks sake, I spent the first eighteen years of my life without an ability, staring down the barrel of the Trial! The fact that I'm even alive right now is more than I ever expected. Even without that… Well, you know how weird I am. You struggle with feeling like you can't put in enough effort, I struggle with feeling like putting in any effort at all. I just don't get all this… why I should actually do anything. But we've been over that."

Beth nodded. "Yeah, but… it's good to be reminded sometimes. Not all of us have perfect memories, you know." She smirked slightly, bumping him with her hip. "You're so powerful now… it's sometimes hard to remember you used to be just this guy who couldn't die… or what you've been through. It kinda makes my thing seem stupid." She muttered.

"You can't look at things like that." Chris retorted, shaking his head. "If you're having problems, you're having problems. Just because someone else has bigger problems doesn't make yours insignificant. Whatever you're going through, it matters, and we'll do what it takes to help you through it." He assured her, pulling her back into a hug, holding her tight.

Beth hesitated for a moment, before hugging him back, squeezing him tightly as a few tears began to pool in the corners of her eyes. "Thank you."