Chris frowned as he woke up, shifting uncomfortably, feeling a bit sore from sleeping in an awkward position. He hadn't even meant to go to sleep, unintentionally drifting off as he watched TV with Quinn and Gretchen. Admittedly, it'd been a while since he'd actually slept, so he let it happen, but now… Chris sighed as he glanced over at the woman curled up next to him, latched onto his arm, debating whether he should wake her up or just leave. Though considering her position, leaving would wake her up anyway… fuck it. "Hey." Chris jostled her slightly. "Wake up."

"Mmmm, five more minutes." Quinn groaned, snuggling closer to him and tightening her grip on his arm.

Chris clicked his tongue, using his arm to prop his head up on the armrest of the couch as he waited the five minutes, before jostling her again. "Alright, that's five minutes, get up."

"Stooop." Quinn whined pitifully, going to roll over and failing as she tried to drag Chris's arm with her, tugging on it and letting out a few irritated grunts as it refused to budge. "Who-" She began to growl angrily as she finally opened her eyes, cutting off as she blinked in confusion at the arm, then the shoulder, and finally at Chris as he watched her with a bemused look. She let out a yelp, scrambling away from him. "Why were you cuddling with me!?!" She exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at him.

Chris raised an eyebrow at her. "I think you're mistaking who was cuddling with who. I wasn't the one latched onto your arm."

Quinn flushed. "That- what were you even doing sleeping here anyway!?!"

Chris shrugged. "I fell asleep somewhere around that episode where the frog dude ended up sleeping with that swan girl, which was apparently a mistake despite the fact that by all indications the two of them are both super into each other. Next thing I know, I'm waking up with a crick in my neck and you holding my arm like it was your favorite stuffed animal."

Quinn hesitated as she remembered noticing Chris was asleep and deciding to leave him alone. Then Gretchen had left to go to sleep herself, and… the rest was fuzzy. She remembered getting comfortable and cozying up to something warm… her flush deepened as she let out a groan, covering her face with her hands. How could she cuddle with Chris?!? He was- he was… well, he wasn't the worst person she could cuddle with. At least he wouldn't get any ideas. Plus he was surprisingly comfortable… she hadn't slept that well in ages. She was shaken from her thoughts as Chris got up, stretching with a grunt before heading for the door. "Where are you going?" She asked, jumping to her feet a bit too quickly, frowning slightly as she caught a hint of eagerness in her tone that she wasn't quite sure she liked. Just because he was comfortable didn't mean she wanted to be with him, damn it!

"Lunch. Want to come?" Chris offered.

"Sure!" Quinn agreed with a smile, before cursing at herself internally. *Stop acting like some stupid teenager with a crush! He's still a freaking monster!*

Chris raised an eyebrow at her. "I guess you're feeling better then? That's good. Guys like Derek aren't worth being sad about."

Quinn blinked, having almost completely forgotten about the run-in with her ex, before scowling. "I wasn't upset because of him." She grumbled. "I was upset because I keep ending up with guys like him. I just- I don't understand why every guy I meet wants to control me!"

"I'm pretty sure if I was trying to control you, I'd have done it by now." Chris pointed out. "So not every guy, eh?"

Quinn froze, before flushing. "N-no, I suppose not…" They continued walking for a moment. "But you're weird." She finally muttered.

"So people keep telling me." Chris sighed. "But in this case, I think you're just overgeneralizing. I highly doubt every man you've ever met besides me wanted to control you. It seems more likely that some aspect of how you choose who to date is flawed, leading to you finding these types of men."

"Excuse me?!?" Quinn retorted incredulously. "You think it's my fault I keep finding these guys!?!"

Chris cocked his head. "Well… you are the common factor in all this. It's hard to believe you'd just be that unlucky."

Quinn scowled, grudgingly admitting he had a point. "So what type of guy should I go for?"

Chris shrugged. "How should I know? The only real relationship I've been in so far was almost definitely due to World fuckery. I wouldn't exactly trust my insight into the dating process. I mean, you've seen me lately. I'm just flailing around out there and hoping something sticks."

Quinn snorted. "I've noticed. Not exactly working out for you, now is it?"

Chris frowned. "No, it isn't, which feels a little weird. Greg and Thomas got theirs fairly quickly, and now Andrew has that naga which may or may not turn into something. Why is mine taking so long?"

"Maybe some aspect of your process is flawed." Quinn mimicked his earlier tone, sticking her tongue out at him.

Chris chuckled. "Maybe. Probably, actually." He paused. "Hmmm… the World seems to rely on the unexpected. Maybe the fact that I expect to find someone is causing me problems? Not that I'm not finding people, but they're always… off. It's like it's making it more about the search than the relationship itself… sort of reminds me of the TV show we were watching. It was all about these people looking for relationships when the perfect person was right under their nose the whole time. Of course, for me that'd pretty much leave you or Allison, and I know there's nothing there. Not that you both aren't great girls, but we've already discussed you and me, and Allison doesn't even like men. Though… I suppose with us, that isn't a complete deal breaker?" He cocked his head for a moment, before shaking his head. "Nah, not my cup of tea, so yeah, nothing there."

"Heh, yeah, nothing…" Quinn agreed, her expression twisting slightly. Fucking hell, if the World was trying to put her with Chris, so help her she'd- fuck! If Chris and Beth's relationship was anything to go by, she'd probably be freaking thankful because the World would make everything perfect and sweet and she'd love the absolute motherfucking shit out of it! Stupid Eternals getting her caught up in their crap, making her all happy and shit. She froze. It was happening already, wasn't it? Her getting all defensive over other women in his life, cuddling on the couch, looking forward to spending time with him, trusting him with her secrets… not that she really had any secrets from him, since he went through her memories. Of course, he wasn't exactly eager to be with her at the moment… Quinn narrowed her eyes. Was that how the World was going to play it? Get her to pine after him while she watched him fool around with other women until she finally broke and did something stupid? Uh-uh! She wasn't going to let the World make her look like an idiot!

"Chris, we're dating now." Quinn growled, grabbing his hand.

Chris blinked. "Eh?"

Quinn turned to glare at him. "I said, we're dating now. Do you have a problem with that?" She explained in a low, dangerous tone.

"I- suppose not?" Chris replied, scratching his head. "I do have questions though."

"I'm not going to be part of some 'will they, won't they' TV drama!" Quinn snapped. "So, we're dating and whatever happens happens, got it!?!"

"TV- wait, I was just putting out a theory back there. I don't think it'd actually happen." Chris frowned.

"Get your head out of your ass, it already is happening!" Quinn retorted, beginning to list points off on her fingers. "We're spending more time together, I'm getting between you and other women, we cuddled on the couch, it all adds up!"

"Okay, but you don't actually like me." Chris pointed out.

"Please, I have one excuse and it's flimsy at best." Quinn snorted. "I don't want to be with someone who doesn't care about me, but we already know you care about the people you're with, so what am I worried about? I'm probably just scared of getting hurt because if you do turn on me, you're the one person I can never escape, and that's terrifying." She trailed off, wondering where that bit of insight had come from as her eyes widened, glancing nervously at Chris. "I just- I don't want to be used. Not by you, not by the World, not by anyone." She muttered quietly.

Chris just stared at her for a moment, processing all this before letting out a sigh. "Well, I'm not going to use you and I won't let anyone else do it either, but you're on your own with the World. Even I can't get away from its influence."

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Quinn's expression twisted as she nodded. "I know. But I can at least play with it, instead of getting played by it. So if it's going to push us together, then let's make the most of it, instead of letting the World make us look like idiots in the process."

Chris scratched his head. "Are you sure the World is causing this?"

Quinn hesitated. "I'm not sure, but… I don't know, I know something is going on and whether it's me or the World, dating you is-" She flushed. "It's- it's what I want to do."

Chris raised an eyebrow at her, before shrugging. "Well, I can't argue with that."

*

Val hesitated for a moment, before tearing the blank card, a portal opening a moment later. "Val?" Chris cocked his head. "What's up?"

Val coughed awkwardly. "Well, I was wondering if you had some time to examine the staff today?"

"Right, the staff." Chris nodded, having practically forgotten about it. "Sure, come on in." He waved for her to follow him back to the base.

"Val." Quinn greeted her coldly.

"Quinn." Val nodded back with a slightly confused smile, before turning back to Chris. "Do you have a lab nearby or should we use mine?"

Chris paused. "We should use yours…" He coughed awkwardly. He'd invited her back forgetting that they had absolutely no magical equipment with which to examine the staff. Of course, his world could analyze it, but the information wasn't exactly transferable, so that wouldn't help Val.

"Then… back through the portal?" Val smirked.

"Yeah, let me just deal with the staff real quick." Chris sighed, connecting it to his world and analyzing it before pausing. "Huh… hold on, I need to get Andrew." He frowned, quickly rushing out of the room and leaving the two women alone.

Val turned to Quinn. "So… how are you feeling? You seemed pretty out of it last night. Not that I blame you… that Derek dude was a real piece of work."

Quinn's expression twisted. "More than I'd thought." She agreed, before shaking her head. "But I'm not worried about him anymore."

"Chris did take care of that rather well, didn't he?" Val muttered.

Quinn smiled. "He did." The two fell silent as they continued to wait for Chris to return, neither one having much to say, Val because she did know much about Quinn besides the whole Derek thing, which was obviously not something suited for small talk, and Quinn because she knew Val was interested in Chris and was still a bit bitter about it.

"So, we sort of have a problem." Chris began as he returned, followed by Andrew and his now constant companion Elizabeth, as well as Thomas, who looked almost sick as he followed them. "The staff is alive. And crying."

Val blinked. "Pardon?"

Chris waved the staff at her. "It's alive. And crying."

Val frowned, the words not making any more sense the second time she'd heard them. "What does that mean?"

Andrew coughed. "Well, what we think happened is- uh, Thomas?"

Thomas sighed. "I can't be sure, because it doesn't exactly have a brain anymore, but… there was a vague feeling I got when I sent my points into the staff. I think- I think the staff works because the dungeon turned the boss into the staff… like, literally trapped her soul inside it."

Chris nodded. "When I analyzed it, I noticed there were no Energy structures inside it. It's just full of Plant Energy. And sadness. Because of Thomas."

"Hey!" Thomas exclaimed.

"Am I wrong?" Chris replied, raising an eyebrow at him.

"No, but you don't have to say it." Thomas grumbled bitterly.

"Yeah, 'because of Thomas' should pretty much be a given by now." Andrew snickered.

"Dude!" Thomas groaned. "Not cool!"

"Kicking your friend while he's down is beneath you." Elizabeth nodded, giving Andrew a disappointed look.

Andrew flushed. "Yeah, sorry… just- you gotta admit it happens a lot."

Thomas's expression twisted. "It isn't like I'm trying to do this shit!"

Chris patted him on the shoulder. "We understand. The problem isn't you, it's that your ability had a lot of unintended consequences. For the rest of us, we just act, and that's that. Things connect with my world, Greg makes or destroys things, and Andrew kills and wears the bodies of his victims."

"Hey?" Andrew protested hesitantly.

"But your ability revolves around making changes or giving others the ability to make changes, and changes are often unpredictable." Chris continued, ignoring Andrew. "This isn't your fault, but it makes what you do more dangerous than the rest of us. You should be more careful, but sometimes you need to act, like- well, you didn't necessarily need to act with the boss, but you couldn't be blamed for it, and consequences happened. Accept it, try to do better, and move on. Or did we craft the tenets of our organization for nothing?"

Thomas hesitated, before shaking his head. "You're right. Besides, I use 'pulling a Chris' too often to be that offended."

"Can we not describe my ability as 'wearing the bodies of my victims'?" Andrew interjected.

"But that's what you do." Chris pointed out. "You even killed Greg for that form."

"But he didn't die! I mean, not really!" Andrew protested.

"Then how would you describe it?" Chris cocked his head.

Andrew froze, thinking furiously for a moment. "Recycling?" He offered with a wince.

"That is not better." Thomas shook his head.

"I know." Andrew groaned. "Damn it, why does my ability have to be so freaking horrifying!"

"Hey, at least yours never got an entire planet wiped." Thomas muttered.

"Can- can we get back to the staff?" Val interjected, not comfortable with being reminded how objectively horrifying these people actually were while standing not two meters away from them.

"What more is there to say?" Chris cocked his head. "It's the mangled corpse of the boss channeling her soul to give its wielder a Domain. You want another one, you'll need another soul. Specifically one with a Domain. Like yours." Val blanched, taking a step back. "Not that we would use yours." Chris added. "But now that I think about it, it could be a good use for assholes…"

"Chris, you're terrifying people again." Quinn sighed.

Chris blinked, turning to frown at Val. "You're a Domain level expert. Please don't tell me you're scared of us."

"I'm terrified of you people." Val shuddered. "As any rational being should be! However, I recognize that you are mostly-" She sent a quick glance towards Andrew and Thomas. "-benign, so I still wish to continue working with you."

"You do realize we're not going to be mass producing things like this, right?" Andrew commented, raising an eyebrow at her. "I'd sooner kill someone than subject them to that."

Val flushed. "I- was referring to exploring what your unique abilities could accomplish when combined with my magical expertise. Such as-"

Thomas nudged Andrew. "You could use a teacher."

"I could…" Andrew nodded, eyeing Val thoughtfully.

"I am more than willing to facilitate your magical education." Val agreed in a slightly irritated tone. "But back to my original point, my question about the staff is not how to make more of them, but how to reverse what was done in the first place! Combining my magical knowledge and your unique gifts, this should be possible, yes?"

The three men blinked, before turning to each other. "Isn't that what we're trying to do with Gaia?" Andrew commented.

"It is." Chris nodded. "This could be good practice."

"We'd need to learn how to do it without magic though." Thomas frowned.

"Hello?" Andrew interjected. "Have you forgotten my thing? I can do magic anywhere."

"Riiight!" Thomas nodded, before giving him a weird look. "You don't really do a lot with that, do you?"

Andrew shrugged. "I've been focusing on the Essence crap. You know, because of the Ruin we created?"

"Riiight… forgot about that." Thomas nodded. "Hey! That was your Thomas moment! Well, you and Quinn."

"Greg was the one who pushed us to make some eldritch abomination of a dungeon!" Quinn protested.

"And then you made it worse." Chris added, putting his hands up as Quinn whirled on him with a glare. "I'm just saying! Mistakes were made all around!"

"Hey, my hands are clean on that one." Thomas retorted. "So are yours, but that doesn't mean as much to me."

"My little ability wouldn't have done anything if not for you people." Quinn growled, as she stuck her finger in Chris's face. "And you better take my side on this one, or- or- damn it, I have nothing to threaten you with, but I'm your girlfriend now, so stick up for me!"

"It is probably true that without World fuckery, your ability would not have caused anything like that to happen." Chris agreed, chuckling slightly.

"Can we back up a sec." Andrew interjected. "Did she just say she was your girlfriend?"

"Yeah, why?" Chris cocked his head.

"Since when?!?" Andrew exclaimed incredulously, looking between Chris and an increasingly flustered Quinn who had not meant for the information to get out like that.

"About four hours ago." Chris shrugged.

"But- how- why- I don't- I thought you- eh?!?" Andrew stammered, unable to put the sheer confusion he felt into words.

"Congrats." Thomas smirked, giving the two a thumbs up.

"I suppose that makes things simpler." Val muttered to herself, as she no longer had to consider whether she should pursue a relationship with Chris herself. Unless…

Andrew groaned. "I feel like I just found out my mom is dating my math teacher."

"I better not be your mom in that example." Quinn warned.

"Would you rather be his math teacher?" Chris asked, raising an eyebrow.