"You know, we should probably find something to actually do around here." Greg commented as he, Andrew, Chris, and Thomas hung out in Andrew's living room. "We don't need to be dealing with another Ruin or Beast Tide or something."
"Actually, around here Beast Tides are kinda beneficial." Andrew replied. "Instead of needing to hunt, the Beasts just deliver themselves to you. Unless you get caught out in the middle of it without a Bond… then they kinda suck."
"Okay, but that's not really my point." Greg frowned. "If we don't figure out something to do, the World is going to figure out something for us, and it probably won't go very well for us. I mean, scoreboard, in mine and Chris's Worlds, we're focused on hunting and exploring the Maze, so things are going fine, while we were doing nothing in Andrew and Thomas's Worlds, and things went to shit. So if we don't want something to happen here, we need to take some initiative."
Thomas leaned back with a sigh. "But there's nothing to really do around here. At least, not until we can get to the Outside, which Andrew refuses to take us to."
"I'm not risking the Clans finding out about all of us until we've talked to Arose!" Andrew protested. "My shit already forced my family to give up everything and move once already, and I'm not doing it again! Especially since if we get on the bad side of the Clans, we'd have to abandon Earth, not just move!"
"I get it, I'm just saying it doesn't leave us many options." Thomas shrugged. "Your Earth doesn't exactly have much going for it."
"Except the invisible robots abducting people." Chris pointed out.
"Which we can't do anything about, so moot point." Greg added.
"Well, we can't do anything about it, but if we started recruiting people into the Eternals, getting more and more people working on it… it's at least something to do." Chris shrugged.
"I suppose…" Thomas muttered.
"I'm not sure recruiting is a good idea either…" Andrew frowned.
"Dude, you don't want us doing anything!" Greg retorted. "Why bring us here if all we're going to do is sit here?!?"
"I brought you here because my mom insisted on meeting you!" Andrew countered. "I never thought it was actually a good idea!"
"Does it matter?" Chris sighed, shaking his head. "We're here now and we can't leave, so we need something to do." He paused. "What do you do?" He asked Andrew.
"I hunt in the Outside and I go to school." Andrew replied. "I'm sixteen, what else would I do?"
"Fair." Chris nodded.
"Wait…" Greg leaned forward as he had an idea. "What if we went to school?"
"Why would we want to go to school?" Thomas frowned. "In particular, why would you want to go to high school? High school sucks."
"Well, for Chris's point, recruiting. Teenagers are… how do I put this?" Greg frowned.
"Easily manipulated?" Chris offered.
"Yes, but not evil sounding." Greg shook his head.
Thomas snapped his fingers. "Open minded!"
"That! Yes!" Greg nodded. "The fact is that the people who are going to be most interested in what we're offering are those who haven't yet established themselves, which in this World, is teenagers. Though admittedly, I'd be more comfortable going for college kids… high school is a bit young."
"I mean, if we're looking just to recruit, you can get kids on board with anything." Chris commented. "We could turn into five year olds and take over entire kindergartens."
"Dude, no!" Andrew snapped. "We are not tricking children into connecting themselves to your world!"
"I'm not saying we should, I'm just saying it'd be easy." Chris shrugged.
"Okay, moving away from that disturbing thought, the other problem with school is we still don't have legal identities." Thomas pointed out. "Which we can only get through the Clans, and if we're using the Clans, we might as well go to the Outside."
"True…" Greg nodded. "Though it isn't like we can't do both."
"But again, what's the benefit of going to school?" Thomas shook his head.
"Well, besides recruiting… I dunno, it just seemed like something to do." Greg shrugged. "Lots of stories are based around high school, you know? Seems like a good way to play into what the World wants."
"Sure, but who actually enjoys those stories?" Thomas retorted. "Plus, it always involves so much relationship drama, and I'm not down for that."
"That… is a very good point." Greg frowned.
"I have been dealing with a lot of relationship stuff." Andrew muttered with a twisted expression.
"So no high school then?" Chris asked.
"Yeah, no high school." Greg nodded. "Maybe college though… some engineering knowledge would probably help with my smoke."
"I dunno, I feel like it'd be better to do that in the System World." Thomas commented. "World assisted learning and all that."
"True… I wonder if that one dude could get us into an academy or something." Greg nodded thoughtfully, before pausing and shaking his head. "But that's for the us over there to talk about. We should focus on this World. Which means exploring the Outside. Which means… we still have to wait for your grandparents to get back." He finished with a sigh.
"They should be getting back any day now." Andrew replied.
"Sure, sure. Hopefully nothing catastrophic happens in the meantime." Greg grumbled.
They all fell silent for a moment, before Thomas turned to Andrew. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask, is there a reason you haven't given Cathryn and Li Jing the system?"
Andrew's expression twisted. "I don't- if the Clans do become a problem, I don't want them to get caught up in it." He explained. "I mean, I know they'll need to get it eventually, but… not yet. Not until I'm sure it's safe."
Thomas frowned. "But if the Clans become a problem, aren't they kinda screwed anyway? I mean, it isn't like you're just going to abandon them, right."
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Andrew gave him a weird look. "Of course I wouldn't abandon them. I'm going to abandon you. The Clans already know about me, and my grandparents are like royalty or something. I'm going to be fine. You guys are the ones who'll need to run."
"Wow. You'd just abandon us?" Greg raised an eyebrow.
"Rude." Chris nodded.
Andrew rolled his eyes. "You guys will be fine. Hell, I'm more worried about the people chasing you getting an aneurysm out of sheer frustration. I just don't think Cathryn and Li Jing should be forced to give up everything just because we're weird."
"Fair enough." Thomas nodded in agreement.
*
Arose and Ertemis returned to the compound late the next day. "Welcome back." Stephen greeted them, giving them both a hug. "How was your trip?"
"An excellent reminder of why I continue to put up with this aggravating man." Ertemis smiled, leaning into Arose, before elbowing him as he ignored her. "Case in point." She grumbled.
"Huh?" Arose glanced between them, confused. "Sorry, just… There are some interesting people in Andrew's house."
"Yes…" Stephen sighed. "That would be Chris, Greg, and Thomas. They're- well, interesting is actually a bit of an understatement."
"Oh really?" Arose raised an eyebrow. "Where did you pick them up?"
"They're connected to Andrew. They-" Stephen hesitated, before shaking his head. "I should let them explain. Come on." He waved for them to follow, heading to Andrew's house. Arose and Ertemis shared a look before following, wondering just what would leave their son at such a loss for words. "Andrew! Your grandparents are back! Bring your friends!" Stephen yelled out as he entered the house.
"Freaking finally!" Greg exclaimed, rushing into the room in a cloud of smoke. "Seriously, do you know how long we've been waiting for you guys?!?"
"Less than a week." Thomas commented as he came in next, followed by Andrew, Chris, Cathryn, and Li Jing. "Seriously, you need help."
"A week of doing nothing!" Greg protested. "Utter torture!"
"Did that man just form out of smoke?" Ertemis muttered, pointing at Greg.
"I believe he did." Arose nodded. "What an interesting ability."
"Dad, this is Greg, Thomas, and Chris." Stephen introduced the three of them, pointing them out. "They're-"
"Hold on. I have a pamphlet." Chris interjected, pulling out two folded pamphlets and handing them over.
Arose raised an eyebrow as he took the pamphlet titled 'Everything to know about Eternals' and began to read, his eyes widening in a mix of surprise and disbelief. "This- can't be real, can it?" He finally asked, looking up from the pamphlet.
"I can prove it if you like." Chris offered, opening a portal.
"No!" Andrew snapped. "No more proving!"
"Yeah, that was… unpleasant." Thomas's expression twisted.
"It wasn't that bad." Greg snorted. "You guys act like you've never died before."
"Just because it happens doesn't mean I enjoy it!" Andrew protested. "It fucking hurts!"
"Well, yeah, but after the first dozen or so times, you- well, no it still hurts like hell, but you just kinda have to not be a little bitch about it." Greg shrugged.
"Honestly, if you're going to do it, a sudden flattening is one of the better methods." Chris commented. "Comparatively, you barely feel it."
"Right?" Greg nodded. "Honestly, anything where you have to feel your brain start to die is just the worst."
"Oh yes, you have to destroy the brain." Chris agreed.
"This is all becoming slightly more believable." Ertemis muttered.
"They haven't told a single lie yet." Arose frowned, looking back down at the pamphlet. Could all this actually be true?
"Anyway, as you can see, we aren't from around here, so-" Greg began.
"Actually, I didn't put that in the pamphlet." Chris interjected. "The pamphlet is all level one stuff." He paused. "I should make pamphlets for each level, shouldn't I?"
"They do save time." Greg nodded. "But level two is basically just the fact that there's a Multiverse and we're from different Worlds, right? I'm pretty sure we can just say that. Case in point, I just did."
"So… a card?" Chris cocked his head.
"Wait, you three are aliens?" Arose asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Not that type of world. It's more of a different universe, but it may or may not be multiple universes, so saying it's just a different universe isn't exactly accurate. Maybe realm would be a better term, but there's already this giant group calling them Worlds so the terminology is kinda set." Thomas explained.
"So… aliens?" Arose repeated.
"I mean, technically they're still human. Except maybe Chris." Andrew grinned.
"Hey, just because I'm weird, doesn't mean I'm not human." Chris frowned.
"I was referring to the fact your mom is an Elf and your dad is a Doppelganger." Andrew replied.
"Ah, right." Chris nodded. "But they were both genetically human when they had me, so I think it still counts."
Ertemis turned to look at Arose, who shrugged. "Still no lies. They're either delusional, or all this is true."
"Fascinating…" Ertemis muttered.
"Right, so, anyway, since we aren't from around here, we were kinda wondering if you guys could help get us set up with some official identities?" Greg finally managed to ask. "Cause we've been kinda sorta trapped in this compound and I'm getting to the point where this idea I saw about putting the Mediterranean in the middle of Australia is looking real attractive."
"Please don't go making massive changes to the local topography." Andrew groaned.
"Honestly, I think it'd be beneficial." Greg continued. "Most of what I'd be removing would be desert."
"Not the point!" Andrew retorted.
"Well, then get me an official identity!" Greg countered.
"Aren't you just reading all the time? Don't you enjoy that?" Thomas asked.
"I do, but there's a difference between settling down to read a good book because you want to, and settling down to read a book because it's all you have." Greg shook his head. "I need at least four entertainment options to choose from."
Thomas frowned at him. "Have I mentioned you need help?"
"I'm not sure I can be helped." Greg chuckled.
"You should not sound proud of that." Thomas muttered, his frown deepening.
"If you want an official identity, you'd need to talk to an Elder." Arose interjected. "And if you're talking to an Elder…" He looked down at the pamphlet again. "Well, I can see many ways you could be helpful to the Clans."
"Right… Well, that's kinda what we're worried about." Thomas sighed. "It isn't that we mind helping, we just don't want to be used, you know? Not that we're exactly worried about that, but if these Elders are going to try and use us, then we're going to have to refuse and then they're going to get pissed and we'll have to run or fight them or something and it's going to become this whole thing that we'd really rather avoid, particularly since as a whole you guys don't seem so bad, so we'd hate to have any bridges burnt just because of a few greedy assholes."
Arose blinked, processing all that for a moment, before nodding. "Understandable, but I don't believe you have to worry about that. As a rule, we try to not piss off anyone who has the potential to become significantly powerful. Which, given our nature, is pretty much everyone. Respect everyone and everyone will respect you."
"At least, anyone worthy of your time will." Ertemis nodded. "If you respect someone and they refuse to respect you, then you have no business dealing with that person."
"Huh… Well, can't say I don't agree with that." Greg chuckled. "If that's standard for the Clans… I suppose we can work with them?"
"Huh… a powerful force that isn't trying to screw us over. How novel." Chris commented.
"You think the fact that they're immortal helps?" Thomas cocked his head. "Long lives, age brings wisdom, all that crap?"
"It's more the fact that we're all related in one way or another." Arose replied. "No one is willing to let, as you say, 'greedy assholes' have their way when it comes to their family."
"Well, that's fair." Thomas nodded. Who'd want to screw over family?
"So… we're going to tell everyone about us then?" Andrew asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, I wouldn't go that far." Arose sighed. "The Bonded are still a collection of individuals. Our Elders are absolutely trustworthy, but everyone? As much as I wish it was so, it'd be incredibly naive of me to even suggest that might be the case. No, we'll keep this between the Elders and the heads of the Clans for now. At least until you've all become a bit more established."
"Alright, so where does that put us on the whole 'official identities' thing?" Greg asked.
Arose grinned, chuckling slightly. "We shall visit the City tomorrow and talk to an Elder. I'm sure we can get the process expedited."
Greg breathed out a sigh of relief. "Fantastic."