Alexander had had a weird life. Alexander had always been a weird kid. He didn't really get people. Of course, he didn't really get much of anything. He'd always thought it was a bit unfair, really. Weren't weird kids supposed to be smart? Good at video games at least? Hell, he'd have settled for being decent at chess! But no, he just got to be weird, with no talents whatsoever. And so he resigned himself to a life alone. At least, until 'The Maze' came out.

The game came out the day of his eighteenth birthday, and he was one of the first players in the game. His build focused on Intellect and Appeal, because if there was one thing Alexander had always wanted, it was to be smart and popular. This didn't really help him in his Trial though, so he ended up with a crappy ability, basic low-tier telekinesis. But he'd never planned on fighting anyway. He just wanted to be smart and popular, so that's what he did. And it was amazing! He got into engineering, feeling like a real inventor as he crafted gadgets and gizmos, which he sold to other players for their forays into the Maze. He went to clubs and parties, making friends with the NPCs. He actually got a girlfriend in the game! And the more he did, the better he got in real life. In school, he went from C's and D's to straight A's, and as for people… well, he didn't suddenly become popular or anything, but he could actually talk to people without feeling awkward as fuck.

But that didn't really matter to him, because the more invested he got in the game, the less he cared about the real world. Once he graduated, Alexander set his life up so that he could spend all his time in the game. He got a small apartment and a part-time job doing basic IT for a small company that didn't care that he didn't have a degree. His skills from the game made the job a cake walk, and he didn't even need to be there for it! He could play the game all he wanted, taking calls as he played, only logging out to eat and clean himself. He even slept in the game. For the first time in his life, Alexander could say he was happy. Even when the invasion began, he didn't care.

Now, because of how… invested in the game he was, Alexander was privy to quite a few secrets that normal players weren't. In particular, he knew about the Half-Elf Prince. His inventions had allowed him to get in good with the Scouts, and in particular with their 'Secret Weapon', the man who got stronger with every kill as he assimilated the power of his foes, making their genetics and abilities his own. Of course, at the time, no one knew him as the prince, he was just someone with a powerful ability, and that was that. If Alexander was being honest, the man scared him. There was something… missing behind his eyes, like everyone but him was some kind of insect or tool. But no one could argue against the man's strength, and when the invasion began, he was the one who did the most to fight back. At least, until the Families discovered his secret and turned on him.

They discovered that the Half-Elf Prince was the son of the leaders of the Doppelgangers and the Elves who had infiltrated the City, and that he was the reason the Elves were invading. The Elves had discovered his heritage, and they wanted him. However, the forces in the City refused to give him up, so the Elves came to take him. What most players knew as the Purge of the Doppelgangers, Alexander knew as the War of the Half-Elf Prince. Alexander didn't exactly blame him for what he did, for trying to preserve his freedom, but the result- he couldn't accept the result.

When the purge began, Alexander's world crumbled. People were being outed as Doppelgangers left and right, no one caring whether they were right or wrong, everyone simply angry and looking to take that anger out on anyone they could. Alexander lost his friends, his fiance, everything. The purge didn't really affect the players, but the NPC's were devastated. Over half the population was dead by the end. And Alexander couldn't do anything about it. The only reason he survived was because he was a player, and he couldn't die. Sitting in the ruined shell of the house he once shared with the woman he loved, Alexander just… gave up. He didn't eat. He didn't drink. He didn't answer the phone. He just… sat there, until it all went dark. It didn't even hurt, since he turned off his sense of pain in the game.

And then he woke up. "Do you want to fix this?" A voice asked.

"More than anything." Alexander croaked.

"Then find the Half-Elf Prince." The voice replied. "Stop him before he can bring the Elves to the City. Prevent the Purge. Save humanity."

Then he'd woken up again in the Maze, in the body of a different Alexander, one who'd originally had the same ability as his character in the game, but now had something more: the same ability as the Half-Elf Prince. He knew what he had to do. He spent the rest of his time in the Maze training, growing stronger and stronger as he killed more and more creatures in preparation for what he knew he had to do. Unfortunately, he didn't have much information on the Half-Elf Prince's early life. All he knew was that he first revealed himself at the Scout graduation ceremony. Well, a Scout graduation ceremony. Since he was here to stop him, he assumed he'd be before that, but he wasn't sure how much before that, so he'd need to be there for every one until then. He spent as long as he could in the Maze before he finally had to return to the City. Thankfully he could still use the old Alexander's ability and form, so he didn't have too much trouble getting in.

Once he got back to the City though… see, the other Alexander's life hadn't been much better than his. His father had abandoned the family not long after he was born, and as a low-tier, his social life was practically non-existent between all the training he needed to give himself the best chance possible and the fact that no one really wanted to be friends with a low-tier. Even worse, a few months before his Trial, his mother had been diagnosed with some genetic illness that caused her own immune system to turn on her. Since her own body was the issue, there was nothing the doctors could do except stabilize her. They could repair the damage, but it'd just keep getting worse and worse as her immune system became more and more aggressive. They were all each other had, and they were both as good as dead. So, when Alexander returned, greeted by the loving mother who was just thankful he had somehow survived, he knew he had to do everything he could to keep her safe, to take care of her, and to keep her alive as long as possible.

Unfortunately, he still had a mission, so he did the thing that would help them both the most: He joined the Defense Force. He'd have preferred to join the Scouts, or even the Vanguard, but since he was officially a low-tier, that wasn't an option for him. Still, the Defense Force paid well, plus he could go home on the weekends to see his mother, so he counted it as a win. He'd gone through his training easily, graduating just in time to make his preparations for the Scout graduation, since the Defense Force practical exercises only lasted a week, as opposed to the Scouts two. He set up on a nearby hill, and waited for the Prince to reveal himself.

"And you know what happened after that…" Alexander coughed awkwardly as Chris just frowned at him. "I know it's pretty shitty, but… if the Elves invade, humanity is doomed. At least in the game we had the players! If they invade the City without them… we don't stand a chance. So please, please help me track down the Half-Elf Prince! We have to stop him before the Elves invade!"

Chris raised an eyebrow at him. "Wait, you don't think I'm the Half-Elf Prince?"

Alexander shook his head. "No, your ability is way different than his."

"Maybe I just have a different ability?" Chris shrugged. "I mean, my parents are the leaders of the Doppelgangers and the Elves. Jo and Salvador. Or Jo'Vuntulla and Dichonius, if you want to be technical."

Alexander blinked at him. "But… you can't die."

Chris nodded. "True."

"But that means I can't stop you." Alexander frowned.

"Also true." Chris agreed with another nod.

"But then… why the fuck was I sent here to stop you if there's no way for me to actually do it?!?" Alexander exclaimed in frustration.

"Maybe they didn't know?" Chris shrugged. "I didn't know what my ability was until I died during the Trial. Why would they?"

"Because anyone who could steal my soul from Earth and put it in some dude on Azza should know what the fuck they're talking about!" Alexander yelled.

"No? I mean, I could totally do that and I don't know shit." Chris retorted. "Also, you know stop isn't the same as kill, right? I don't need to die, I just need to keep the Elves from figuring out I exist." Suddenly his phone started to ring. He picked it up and saw it was Jo. "Huh, good timing." He muttered, before answering. "Yes?"

"Chris, there's a problem." Jo began nervously.

Chris blinked. "There is?"

"The Elves and the Doppelgangers… a few of them saw you at the graduation. They put together your transformation and Salvador and I both acting close with you and they know." She explained.

Chris paused for a moment. He… probably should have called that one, shouldn't he? He'd already noticed how similar his form looked to an Elf. He frowned. Was he stupid? He sighed, lowering the phone for a moment and turning to Alexander. "So bad news on the whole hiding the fact I'm a Half-Elf. The Elves know I'm a Half-Elf." He put the phone back up to his ear as Alexander went pale. "So what does this mean?"

"I-I'm not sure." Jo replied hesitantly. "At least, not for you… Dichonius and I will need to go into hiding. I just- if I don't see you for a while… I just wanted you to know I- I love you, and I'll do everything I can to get back to you as soon as possible."

Chris frowned. "You know you could just hide in my world, right? Or I could take you to Earth? No one would find you there."

Alexander blinked. "You can go to Earth?"

Chris raised a finger to stop him as Jo replied. "That- that could work…" She muttered. "Would you be okay with that? Us living in your world?"

"I already have a bunch of Maze creatures in there. I doubt two extra people will be much of a burden." Chris shrugged. "Plus, I'm sure Jello would love to spend some more time with Dichonius. I don't think slimes get to see their parents very often and she seemed to like it."

Jo nodded. "If- if that's the case, then… I'll start making preparations."

"I'll pop over and connect your phone to my world." Chris added. "That way I can open a portal for you whenever you're ready."

"That- that would be good, thank you." Jo replied, smiling slightly. It was the first time she felt like he actually cared about her…

"Good. I'll see you soon." Chris nodded, before hanging up, creating another self to go over and deal with Jo's phone, as well as another to go get Dichonius, before turning back to Alexander. "Well, that's going to be a problem… not sure what to do about it at the moment." Chris sighed.

Alexander shook his head. "Once the Elves on the surface learn of your heritage… it will be too late. They won't allow someone like you to exist unchecked."

Chris frowned. "Why would they care? Is being part Doppelganger really so bad?"

Alexander paused, giving him a weird look. "No? They can't allow you to exist because you're a prince… and you're powerful."

Chris blinked. "I'm a what now?"

"You're- you're the Half-Elf Prince." Alexander emphasized. "At least, in the game… Your mother is the sister of the current Elf King. Which means that you have the ability to challenge him for the throne. That's- that's why the Elves attacked in the game. To put you down before you could become too powerful. Or to get you to swear an ability oath to never challenge the current Elf King, just like your mother."

"Okay, hold on." Chris held up a hand to stop him. "You're telling me I'm not just the unholy spawn of an Elf and a Doppelganger, I'm also freaking Elven Royalty? That seems to be a step too far."

Alexander shrugged helplessly. "That's how it was in the game… though the you in the game was- is a lot more aggressive… he refused to bow to the king, got the Elves and Doppelgangers in the City to swear loyalty to him and pretty much started a revolution. He eventually had to flee, but the last I heard he was joining the Doppelgangers on the surface, aiming to make a unified kingdom… under him, of course."

"Huh… go me, I guess? Seems like a lot of work, though… fuck it, I'll swear the damn oath, I don't care." Chris shrugged.

Alexander blinked. "You- you will?"

"Sure, why not?" Chris shrugged again. "I don't know what was up with the me in the game, but I'm not exactly on board to be put in charge of an entire freaking empire. I don't even want to deal with the hundred or so subordinates I already have, let alone millions more. Just seems like a hassle."

Alexander just stared at him for a moment. This- this didn't make any sense! The Half-Elf Prince would never give up power! Maybe Chris wasn't the Half-Elf Prince? But… What were the odds of there being a second child of the leaders of the Elves and Doppelgangers? One that Chris didn't know about? Pretty much non-existent… "Then… if you take the oath… everything should be fine?" Alexander replied.

"Outstanding." Chris nodded. "Love it when things work out that way. Everybody's happy, and no one gets hurt."

"So we're royalty?" Chris half stated, half asked as he stuck Jo's phone into the Immortal World real quick.

Jo froze, eyes widening. "Who- who told you that?!?"

Chris shrugged. "Some dude who transmigrated from Earth."

Jo blinked. "Transmigrated? From Earth?"

Chris nodded. "Yup. He was apparently really into the game, so much so that when the purge happened, he just kinda… let himself die. Then he got reborn in the Maze, on a mission to stop the Half-Elf Prince. Which, you know, kind of a dumb name, but whatever."

Jo blinked again. "Half-Elf Prince?"

Chris sighed. "Me, apparently. In the game at least. I'm also supposedly the reason the Elves invade. Apparently I was too much of a threat to the current Elf King and he couldn't let me live without an oath not to oppose him."

Jo's expression twisted. "That does sound like Jer'tunal… he made me swear an oath before exiling me here. He made all our siblings swear one."

"Uncle Jer-Jer sounds like a real dick." Chris commented, handing her back the phone.

Jo shook her head. "He isn't terrible. He's just… insecure. He can't stand the idea that anyone might threaten his power."

"Not exactly convincing me he's not a dick…" Chris replied. "But what do I care? I'm not interested in any throne. I'll swear whatever oath he wants, no problem."

Jo smiled sadly. "I hope it stops at that…"

Chris frowned. "Why wouldn't it? If all the guy cares about is threats to his power, then as long as I stop being a threat, he should be good, right?"

Jo sighed. "He doesn't just care about threats to his power. He also cares about growing his power, and your ability… your ability could be very useful to him. Making soldiers stronger, making them absolutely loyal, making them immortal… once you're no longer a threat, he'll see you as a tool to use, and if you don't play along… I'm not sure if things will turn out any better."

Chris's frown turned into a scowl. "Yeah, I'm not creating a puppet army for anyone. I don't care who they are."

Jo nodded. "As it should be. But Jer'tunal won't simply take no for an answer. He will find ways to threaten you, to make you do what he wants… your friends, your family, the City… whatever he can use."

"Yeah… Uncle Jer-Jer is totally a dick." Chris nodded.

Jo sighed. "Yeah… I guess he is."

Beth just stared at Chris for a moment. "You're a prince." She stated blandly.

"Weird, huh?" Chris nodded.

"Chris… the fuck is your life?!?" Beth exclaimed.

Chris paused. "Weird? But we kinda knew that already, didn't we? I mean, at this point, I could just as well be the reincarnation of some super deity and it'd just be another thing for the pile."

Beth shook her head. "The fact that you're right does not make this better."

"My question is how do we deal with some mad Elf King trying to use me to create an army of undying, externally loyal soldiers." Chris frowned. "It sounds like he's going to be an issue no matter what, so should I just try to take him out? But then I'd be the Elf King… I really don't want to be the Elf King. Sounds annoying."

Beth snorted. "Yes, because when people think about being in charge of an entire kingdom, they think annoying."

"Hey, we just established that I'm weird." Chris retorted. "I get that it's a lot of people's dream to be the one 'on top' but… what would I even do with that? The things that make me happy are being with you, hanging out with my friends, eating good food, maybe playing a good game or reading a good book… being in charge seems like it'd just get in the way of that."

Beth paused for a moment, before smiling and shaking her head. "You're ridiculous. But… you're the good kind of ridiculous."

"Would you be with me if I wasn't?" Chris replied with a grin.

"Absolutely not. I love your ridiculous ass." Beth smirked, leaning in to give him a kiss.

After a moment, Chris pulled back with a sigh. "I'm gonna have to do it anyway, aren't I?"

Beth nodded. "Probably. It doesn't sound like Jer'tunal is a very good king, and it looks like no one else is in a position to oppose him… because they've all sworn oaths."

Chris sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I know, it's just… Why am I the one who needs to do this? Couldn't anyone start a revolution and overthrow the dickhead?"

Beth shook her head. "I don't know about anyone else, but I do know that you can… you have the option to either help people, or not. Can you really just ignore a problem just because it'd be inconvenient for you?"

"We both know I could." Chris snorted, before letting out another sigh. "But I won't… because I can't ignore you, and I know it's what you'd want me to do."

Beth rolled her eyes. "Still ridiculous. But whatever gets you there."

"Hey, I'm a complicated guy." Chris shrugged. "Straight up caring about the fates of a bunch of people I don't even know isn't gonna happen. But I can care about you and how much you care about those people's fates and… it works for me."

Beth wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pressed her forehead against his. "But you chose to care about me because I care about people I've never even met… doesn't that mean, in some way, you do care about those people?"

"I think I want to care about them, because I know I should, but… this is the only way I know how to make it stick." Chris sighed, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. "I- I have a hard time resisting the path of least resistance. If I can just not, I won't. I don't- I don't have that internal drive to do. I know it sounds wrong, but… the only way I can make myself go is by making not doing something more annoying than just doing it. I got into Coreforging because having a bunch of ability cores lying around is more annoying than just learning to do something with them. I started exploring Earth because being curious about this new world I found is more annoying than just exploring it. Same thing for playing the game. I trained for the Trial, because it was less annoying than dealing with everyone thinking I'd just given up. I don't want to work this way, I really don't, but… I do, so I just have to deal with it."

"Is dealing with me the least annoying option?" Beth asked, pulling away slightly.

Chris paused, cocking his head. "No… but you're worth the effort."

Beth smiled, leaning in to kiss him again. "You're worth the effort, too. Even if you are the most ridiculous man I've ever met."

They spent a few moments just holding each other like that, until Chris let out a groan. "Shit, this means we're going to need to figure out a way to protect the City. Cause at this point, we're just following the events of the game, and the end result is not pretty. Particularly since we don't have players to help us. No undying army throwing-" Chris paused, blinking a few times as something occurred to him. "Uh… my subordinates are essentially the same as the players, aren't they?"

Beth frowned. "What do you mean?"

"They can't die and they 'level up' by gaining experience and mutating." Chris explained. "You can just throw them at a problem, and eventually it's going to get solved as they get stronger or simply wear it down. The only real difference is that they aren't an unorganized mess with different goals and ideas, they're… well, they're mine, and they do what I say."

Beth gave him a weird look. "But didn't everything in the game happen even with the players? And they had thousands, possibly even millions of people playing! You have what, a hundred?"

Chris grimaced. "True… though I could always go get more if I needed to. Still, that won't solve the issue, because the biggest problem wasn't the Elves invading, it was the Doppelgangers being outed and everyone turning on them. The players were holding back the Elves, but the revelation that a significant part of the population wasn't technically human caused us all to turn on each other… we killed more of our own than the Elves did. And that goes back to the Families. How did they do it? Why did they do it? How can we stop them from doing it again?"

"The why isn't all that complicated." Beth replied. "The Families want power. The Doppelgangers and this Half-Elf Prince were in the way of that power, so they did what they could to get rid of them. They couldn't out the Elves, because a small rebel force fighting against totalitarian invaders is hard to paint as the 'bad guys', particularly when the populace has already been fighting the totalitarian invaders for a while, so they went after the Doppelgangers. Insidious shapeshifters worming their way into their society, manipulating them, and the totalitarian invaders turn into liberators who just want to save them from the depredations of these vile scum."

"Ugh, freaking propaganda." Chris scowled.

Beth nodded. "As for how to stop it… well, you need to figure out how to control the narrative. Stopping the Families from outing the Doppelgangers is going to be almost impossible. So what you need to do is out them first, but in a way that gets people on their side. Show how they've integrated into society, how they're just people, trying to live their lives the best they can, truly meaning us no harm."

Chris blinked. "Yeah… I have absolutely no idea how to do that. Also, I'd need to get them all on my side first, or it isn't going to work."

"We have time to figure it out, don't we?" Beth replied. "The Elves aren't supposed to invade until after the election is over. That gives us months to figure something out."

Chris nodded. "True, but I don't think we can count on that. It seems like events are similar to the game, but not necessarily exactly the same. I mean, my ability is completely different from the ability of the me from the game. Who knows what else will change?"

Beth frowned, before shaking her head. "Even so, it's going to take time for the Elf King to get an army together. Plus, he's going to try to extract that oath from you first. I'm not saying we shouldn't hurry, but we do have time and we should take advantage of it."

Chris nodded. "Right." He paused. "But where do we start?"

"I think you need to start meeting with the Elves and the Doppelgangers in the City. See where they stand, and if you can get them on our side. As you said, things can be different from the game and just because the you in the game got them on his side, it doesn't mean you can." Beth replied.

Chris groaned. "Fuck, that sounds like politics. I hate politics."

"Chris, the end result of all this is you, hopefully, sitting on a throne. You're gonna have to learn to handle politics." Beth warned him.

Chris scowled. "You're not making this look any more appealing." He grumbled.

"But I'm appealing enough you'll do it anyway, right?" Beth countered, batting her eyelashes at him.

"Damn right, you are." Chris chuckled, leaning in to give her a quick kiss. "But I can already tell this is going to be annoying as shit."