Thomas walked through the living room on his way out the door. "See you guys. I'm heading out for the day." He informed the others as he moved.

"Where are you going?" Greg asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I'm nominally a Hunter, and now that everything is settled, it's time I get back to it." Thomas explained.

"That's where you handle Rune Beasts that are causing issues, right?" Chris asked and Thomas nodded. "I'll come with you." He stood, moving to follow.

"Whoa, hey, slow down there." Thomas stopped him. "As much as I'd love the company, I'm not sure you should be out and about until we deal with your horn issue. We don't want a random Cultivator thinking you're some kind of monster, right?"

Chris frowned, reaching up to scratch at one of his horns. "I suppose not… I'm not sure why they won't go away though." His frown deepened. "I never thought of my horns as an integral part of my identity."

"Well, until you can figure it out, it's probably best you stay here, right?" Thomas replied.

"I guess." Chris sighed, before pausing. "Ah, wait." He opened a portal, stepping inside, before returning a moment later, sans horns. "There."

Thomas blinked. "What- what did- I thought you couldn't get rid of the horns!?!"

"I couldn't." Chris shrugged. "No matter how much I tried, the horns wouldn't go away. However, my body in my World doesn't have horns, so I just made myself one of those."

"How were you trying to get rid of the horns then?" Andrew asked curiously.

"By getting rid of them?" Chris replied, giving him a weird look. "They usually go away when I focus on returning to my base form. Though… Now that I think about it, that probably was my base form. Hence why I needed to create a new base form." He paused. "Do I have access to my other forms here?" He wondered aloud, raising a hand and focusing on it for a moment with a frown. "No. Damn. I'll need to mutate again." He sighed lightly, before turning back to Thomas. "Okay, let's go."

"Can- can I come too?" Jade asked hesitantly.

Chris cocked his head. "I don't see why not."

"Hold on, why would you want to come?!?" Thomas asked incredulously.

"I just- Chris is going, so… I want to keep him company?" Jade explained tentatively.

"Jade, we aren't going on a field trip, we're going hunting." Thomas replied, frowning at her. "This isn't something you just tag along for. You could get hurt!"

"But- Chris would bring me back, right?" Jade countered. "That's- that's why I connected to his world, right? So I can't die?"

"She has a point." Chris agreed. "Too dangerous isn't really a thing for us."

Thomas continued to frown at them, before sighing and shaking his head. "You know what? I don't care. You two can do whatever you want." He then turned and walked out the door, heading towards the Hunters Guild, not bothering to wait for them.

"You guys want to come too?" Chris turned to ask Andrew and Greg.

"Nah, I'm going to focus on earning points." Andrew replied.

"Ditto." Greg nodded.

Chris shrugged, turning to Jade. "Well? Let's go then." He waved for her to follow, heading after Thomas. However, pretty quickly Chris began to notice a problem: they couldn't keep up. By the time they got out the door, Thomas was already halfway down the street, moving at a leisurely stroll that was still faster than the average running speed. "Well, shit. That's going to be a problem." Chris frowned.

"He could have at least waited for us." Jade muttered, frowning after Thomas.

"No, no, he's fine and it illustrates a good point. It isn't like he's going to be going after Rune Beast's a short walk outside town. They're going to be far away, and if we can't move fast enough, there's no way we'll be able to join him." Chris corrected her as he considered the issue. He could probably bring out the car, but that wouldn't exactly be subtle. He could also slip Thomas something he owned, like a rock, and use that to make portals to keep up, but… well, Chris wanted a way to move on his own, not by simply relying on others to bring him places… and he had an idea.

Chris flicked his wrist, sending Jade into the Immortal World and bringing out his bow, nocking an arrow, drawing it back, and shooting it up over the town. As the arrow reached its apex, he created a portal point and teleported next to it, beginning to fall as he observed the town. Once he spied the Hunters Guild, he teleported back up and shot himself closer, before firing an arrow into the ground in front of it and appearing next to it, before sending the bow and arrow away. He then brought Jade out and settled in to wait for Thomas. "I could make a whole new fighting style around that." Chris muttered to himself, ignoring the few people giving him weird looks.

Jade looked around, wide eyed. "We- you just… that was fast." She eventually settled on, giving Chris a vaguely awed look. It hadn't even been half a minute since he sent her away and they were already here!

"It'll be even faster from now on." Chris replied.

"That was a pretty neat trick." A woman sitting on a nearby fence commented, giving Chris an evaluating look. "How'd you manage to pull it off? Some kind of Spatial Rune?"

Chris paused. He hadn't even thought to have an explanation for what he'd just done… whoops. "It's- something Spatial, yes." He nodded.

The woman let out a low whistle. "Impressive. Those are hard to come by, you know? Any sect would snap you up like that if you were interested." She commented, snapping her fingers.

Chris shifted awkwardly. "I guess?"

The woman hopped off the fence, stepping forward and holding out her hand. "I'm Tiffany."

"Chris." Chris took her hand, giving it a shake.

Tiffany leaned closer to whisper. "I have some connections with the Hidden Blades. I can put in a good word for you, if you'd like?"

"Uh…" Chris hesitated.

"Tiff!" Thomas waved as he rounded the corner, walking over to her. "Is Ur-" He froze, eyes widening as he caught sight of Chris and Jade as well. "How the fuck are you here already?!?"

Chris breathed out a sigh of relief. "Oh good, she's a friend of yours." He turned back to Tiffany. "I'm not a Cultivator and I don't want to join your sect."

"Wait, what?" Thomas looked between Tiffany and Chris, before settling on Chris. "What did you do?" He asked with a frown.

"Well, you left us behind, and I needed another way to get around, so I used a bow and arrow to set up portal points." Chris shrugged.

"Portal points?" Thomas asked.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Itty bitty portals I can use as anchors to open portals and teleport." Chris elaborated.

Thomas blinked. "So… you teleported across town?!? In broad daylight!?!"

"I forgot teleportation wasn't a thing here." Chris shrugged. "It's weird, you know?"

"How is not having teleportation weird?!?" Thomas exclaimed incredulously.

"Teleportation is relatively common in literally every other World we're in." Chris replied.

Thomas blinked, before frowning as he realized Chris was right. "Huh…"

"Thomas?" Tiffany interjected, crossing her arms and giving him a warning look. "I require an explanation."

*

After Ursa returned with a handful of bounties, Thomas began to explain everything to them while they traveled, at least, up to stage two. They didn't need to know about Immortals and Cores just yet. "So… you're actually some sort of Multiversal entity." Tiffany raised an eyebrow at him. "I suppose that makes sense."

Thomas blinked. "It does?"

"Thomas, there are two of you." Tiffany retorted. "There is no technique capable of explaining that, at least not at your level." She shook her head. "I knew something was going on, I simply didn't know what. It's either this, or you're some kind of horrifyingly ancient Cultivator who possessed the original Victoria, but you're too naive and if you can simply create bodies for yourself, possessing someone makes no sense."

"Huh." Thomas grunted. "Fair enough."

"The question." Tiffany frowned. "Is what we're going to do about it."

Thomas narrowed his eyes. "Who do you mean by 'we'? Because I don't think these guys would be any happier to be used by the Hidden Blades than I am, and you don't have anything over them."

"We have you." Tiffany retorted, glaring back at him.

Thomas snorted. "Yeah, no offense, but if you try to pull something like that, I'm pretty sure Greg would hunt you down on principle. Chris- well, Chris would probably just ignore you. And Andrew?" Thomas paused. "Well, I'm not sure about him… however, if you try to use me against my friends? I promise I will do everything in my power to make each and every one of your lives a living hell." Thomas growled.

"And your family would burn for it!" Tiffany sneered. "If you fight us, everyone loses! Isn't that why you came to us in the first place?"

"I came to you on the condition that you leave us alone." Thomas retorted. "I came to you because I know you're no different than any other shitty government in this world! If I can make your inevitable war less bloody, it's a worthy trade. However, I did not sign up to turn me and my friends into your slaves! And if you push us, we will make you pay!"

Ursa placed a hand on both their shoulders. "Tiffany, you don't need these people to fight your war. We are both well aware of that. And Thomas, you know if you set yourself up as a threat, the Hidden Blades will be forced to respond. A predator will never allow a rival to set up in its own cave. You both know cooperation is the only way for everyone to win, so why are you picking fights?"

"He started it." Tiffany grumbled.

"I gave you a warning. You're the one who turned it into a pissing match." Thomas retorted.

"Hey!" Ursa snapped. "Stop posturing and talk!"

Thomas rolled his eyes before letting out a sigh. "Look, we have no interest in ruling anything. If the Hidden Blades want to be in charge, we have no problem with that. We just don't want you to be assholes about it. So don't try to force us to do anything, and don't treat people like shit, and we'll be good."

Tiffany shook her head. "The Hidden Blades don't trust anything they can't control. You're either a tool, or you're an obstacle, and there is no in-between. If you don't fall in line, they will try to force you, and if that fails… then all they can do is destroy you."

"Then maybe they shouldn't be in control." Chris commented as he appeared next to them. "I'm already working on taking down one tyrant. I'm not against stopping the rise of another."

"You think it's that simple?!?" Tiffany retorted. "The Hidden Blades are irresistible! They've been planning this war for decades! Their people have infiltrated every nation in the region! They have eyes and ears everywhere! If you even think about resisting them, they know!"

"Well I'm only resistible." Chris shrugged. "The four of us can't really be stopped, you know? You can fight, you can run, you can hide, but you can't keep us from coming after you. Eventually we'll wear you down. But, that seems like a hassle, so I'd prefer it if y'all just stopped being a pain in the ass, you know?"

"We know fighting is a lose, lose scenario, but if the Hidden Blades are going to try and force us like that, then we're going to lose anyway. Might as well take them down with us." Thomas sighed.

"If you insist on this, the Hidden Blades will come for you." Tiffany growled.

"Then I guess the question is whose side are you on?" Thomas replied. "The Hidden Blades, who see you as a tool to be used and discarded as needed? Or do you want to stand with us, and be our friend?"

"I can make you immortal, if it helps." Chris added.

"And I can give you the full system." Thomas threw in as well.

Tiffany blinked. "You- what? Immortal?" She turned to look at Chris incredulously.

Thomas tsked. "No love for the system."

"That's my thing." Chris nodded. "I connect people to my world, and whenever they die, I just bring them back. It also makes you more inclined to do things I want you to do, but not enough to force you to do anything you wouldn't want to do. We tested."

"We questioned one person." Thomas rolled his eyes. "That isn't exactly a test."

"It's a case study. Perfectly valid." Chris replied.

"Nothing is valid unless it has a bell curve." Thomas retorted.

"I refuse to be judged by something so banal as an average distribution." Chris snorted.

"You realize conversations like this are why people think we have mental issues, right?" Thomas pointed out.

"Noted and disregarded." Chris nodded, before turning back to Tiffany. "Well? What do you say?"

Tiffany hesitated, not quite believing what she was hearing. These people… wanted her to defect? The Hidden Blades would kill her! But… if she did defect, she'd be immortal? She couldn't die? But her place was with the Hidden Blades! But… could she have a place with them as well? "Could I connect to this world?" Ursa asked. Tiffany blinked. Pookie wanted to join them?!?

"Sure." Chris shrugged, opening a portal for him. "Just step inside and don't resist the pressure."

"Wait!" Tiffany protested, grabbing Ursa's arm. "P- Ursa, if you join them- the Hidden Blades-"

"Tiffany, even without this, I would never be on the side of the Hidden Blades." Ursa replied, shaking his head. "They tore me from my home, shoved me into a cage, turned me into a weapon, and forced me to fight again and again. They are monsters, and I will never be their tool again!" He swore, before stepping through the portal.

"Pookie…" Tiffany whispered helplessly. He- he'd really been that unhappy?

"Welcome to the team." Chris patted Ursa on the shoulder as he stepped back out. "It's almost impossible to quit, but the benefits are to die for."

Thomas snorted, before turning back to Tiffany. "Well? What do you say? I'd really rather we not be enemies. I mean, you're a crazy bitch, but- well, you're not a bad- okay, you're pretty bad, but I like you, so… are you in?"

Tiffany glanced at him, then the portal, then Ursa, then back to the portal. "I- I can't- this is going to end badly for so many people." Tiffany sighed, before stepping through the portal. "But I refuse to let it end badly for me."