Once Derek returned with the stink bombs, Captain Nefred explained the details of the mission. The imp tribe had begun expanding recently and showing signs of a larger than average number of high-tiers, so their job was to cut their population down before it became a bigger problem, specifically targeting their high-tiers. It wasn't a complicated mission, but the fact that they were dealing with imps made things bad enough. They were still recruits, after all. They'd be working with four squads from Platoon Four, who'd be doing the majority of the work while they did their best to support and showcase their usefulness.

The squad did their final checks while they waited to be sent into the Maze, making sure everything was in order. They had all their equipment, Chris's space was fully stocked, and Jacobs had managed to get one of his rats to an inspection point, so while he wouldn't be able to go directly to the City, he'd still be able to get them all to safety if necessary. “Is there anything else we need to prepare?” Beth asked, looking around the squad.

Derek shook his head. “I've gone down the list. We've done everything we can.”

Beth nodded, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves as the pressure of it all began to weigh on her. This was it! The final challenge before they became Scouts! She looked around the squad, letting her gaze rest on each and every one of them, her confidence growing as she did. They'd been through some shit the past few weeks, and every time they'd stepped up and proved their mettle. She couldn't imagine this time would be any different. They were ready. They wouldn't fail.

“Platoon, ready!” Captain Nefred finally called out, the other three squad leaders calling out affirmatives, Beth following a moment later as they fell into formation, Beth and Derek taking the front followed by Chris and Carmen, with Nadia and Zack in the back. Normal formations went melee and defender, then healer and scout, with utility and ranged in the back, though scout and utility sometimes switched depending on specific abilities. “Move out!” Captain Nefred ordered, leading the platoon to the teleportation station, the squads of the platoon falling in line around the recruit squad as they marched, two in front and two behind.

Once they reached the teleportation station, they began teleporting into the Maze two people at a time by squad. Captain Nefred's squad went first, followed by the rest of the platoon, before they let the recruit squad in. Beth and Derek went on guard the moment they appeared, watching for any signs of danger as Chris and Carmen came in after them, a portal opening over Chris's shoulder as Jello jumped out to land on it, Zack and Nadia appearing a moment later. “Good form.” Captain Nefred praised them. “Though the child is an interesting choice…”

“This is my slime, Jello.” Chris explained, Jello shifting into a blob for a moment before turning back. “She can sense energy and vitality, so there are very few creatures who can hide from her.”

“And she looks like a little girl because?” Captain Nefred asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Personal preference.” Chris shrugged, pausing as he realized how that might be taken. “Hers, not mine.” He quickly clarified.

“Of course.” Captain Nefred nodded, giving Chris a weird look. “Alright, form up! The imps are still half a day's march out!” The squads fell into formation again, following his lead towards the imps. They kept a relaxed pace as the scouts ranged ahead of them, watching for any threats they'd need to avoid or resolve along their way.

“Pack of eight boarcupines, four branches down, left, left, right, left.” Chris reported to Beth a few hours into the march. “Dinner?”

“Let me ask.” Beth nodded, jogging up to Captain Nefred and reporting what Chris had found.

Captain Nefred nodded, raising a fist as the platoon came to a halt, the squad leaders moving up to join him. “Our recruits found us some dinner. Boarcupines.” He informed them, before turning to Beth. “Do you think your squad can handle it?”

“Yes, sir!” Beth saluted.

Captain Nefred grinned. “Good. Carter, you're on babysitting duty.”

“Yes, sir.” Carter saluted as well, turning to Beth. “You'll take the lead, we'll just be here to step in if you need us.”

Beth nodded. “Understood.” She returned to the squad, informing them they were taking care of the boarcupines. Chris opened a portal a small distance away from the pack, both squads making their way through, Chris leaving one of his rats with the platoon. “We still have places to be, so we don't have much prep time.” Beth announced. “Chris, what's the environment look like?”

“They're set up in a small cavern, three tunnels, nothing else particularly noteworthy.” Chris replied.

Beth nodded, turning to Carmen. “How many do we need to get?”

“We probably only need one for dinner, but we should probably aim for three or four so we can have some for the rest of the mission.” Carmen answered.

Beth frowned, turning to Nadia. “Options?”

“Boarcupines are runners, so we don't need to worry about getting into a fight. We can probably rely on Cabbage to take one down if we can run them towards him. From ambush, Zack and you can take one each… Derek and I could get another… We'll need Sidulpek for cover. If we unleash Chris with Dyrdek's ability, he can probably take two. Then one for Jello, and the last can be handled by T'ka and Carmen, at least until one of us is free.” Nadia muttered. “Scaling back to account for risk, leave one to Cabbage, you and I pair up for another, Derek and Zack for a third, Carmen and T'ka for the fourth, with Jello and Chris ready to jump in when necessary.”

“Chris, can you get us to all three tunnels?” Beth asked.

“Sure.” Chris nodded.

“Are any of the tunnels close together?” Beth continued.

“Relatively. Good enough to support each other if necessary.” Chris confirmed.

“Alright, here's the plan. We'll have Cabbage set up in the solitary tunnel, and split into two groups for the other two.” Beth announced.

“In that case, Beth, Chris, and I will be in one group, Derek, Zack, Carmen, T'ka, Sidulpek, and Jello in the other. Sidulpek will provide cover for group two as they ambush the pack, then group one will come in after, driving the pack towards Cabbage.” Nadia confirmed their tactics.

Chris moved his minions into position, opening portals for the squad, everyone moving into place. Carter only sent a single member with the first group, leaving the rest with the second. Most squads weren't set up to split the way theirs was, so the only person he felt confident sending away was his main attacker. He'd need to inform the captain that this squad might need two sets of babysitters. The moment everyone was in position, Chris signaled Sidulpek to start the ambush, the second group creeping towards the boarcupines under the cover of her ability. A few of the creatures shifted warily as they approached, clearly sensing that something was off, but not realizing what before Derek and Carmen burst out, Carmen covering one with her resistance field while Derek lunged forward to stab another with his sword, sending a jolt of electricity into it. The boarcupines squealed as they turned to run, spines bristling threateningly to discourage pursuit. Nadia caught one by the foot, slowing it down enough for Beth to catch it, using her spike knuckles to punch into its side, releasing the barbs to keep it from running. The boarcupine panicked and shot out a barrage of spines, most of which were blocked by a quickly erected barrier from Chris, but Beth was too close to avoid getting stuck in the arm a few times, her armor not protecting it while it was stretched out. She growled as she yanked the creature to the side and freed up a spike to launch through its skull, ending the fight. Zack had already executed the two their group had captured, just leaving a single boarcupine still struggling to escape from Cabbage’s vice-like grip on its leg. Chris opened a portal over the creature's head for Beth, and she quickly executed it, ending the battle.

“Anyone else get hit?” Chris asked, opening a portal to his space next to Beth. Carmen grimaced, raising her hand. One of her target's spines had been outside her resistance field and shot through her hand. It was a minor injury, but it wasn't something she could just ignore. “Alright, get in.” Chris waved her over as he adjusted his space, making it taller and creating four metal rails and a bench. “Beth, you first.” He waved for her to lie down as he absorbed the spines still in her arm into his space. “Make sure your ability is off.”

“I don't think it'd make much of a difference.” Beth grumbled, lying down on the bench. Her resistance to blunt force was good, but not that good.

“Better safe than sorry.” Chris shrugged, making a box around the device to contain any spatter.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“What's going on here?” Carter asked curiously, entering the space. He'd come over to congratulate them, getting sidetracked by whatever this was.

“Healing.” Carmen explained, looking sick.

“You need that to heal?” Carter asked skeptically, waving at the strange device.

“No.” Carmen sighed as a block of steel appeared at the top of the device. “We need to die.” She continued as the block descended, landing with a dull crack as Carter went pale.

“How was it?” Chris asked after Beth healed, taking down the cover.

“Better than most?” Beth replied hesitantly. “It didn't feel like much, but the setup drags things out too much, so the dread has time to build.”

“Hm.” Chris grunted. “Would it be better the second time?”

“I don't think so.” Beth shook her head. While the pain wasn't a pleasant part of dying, the real issue was the instinctual urge to live, and the fear that this time they wouldn't be coming back, as unlikely as it may be.

Chris sighed. “Damn. I thought I had something there.”

Beth patted his shoulder. “You'll get there, I'm sure.”

Chris nodded, turned to Carmen. “Alright, you're up. Want to try this or something else?”

“None of the above.” Carmen grumbled, walking over and lying on the bench. “But this will do.”

“Fair.” Chris agreed, putting the cover back up and creating another block at the top, letting it fall.

“What- what is this?!?” Carter asked incredulously.

“Chris's space only heals people after they die.” Beth explained. “We haven't quite figured out the best way to kill ourselves yet.”

“That one was not it!” Carmen exclaimed as she rolled off the bench. “Watching that thing descend is horrifying!”

“Why did you watch it?!?” Beth retorted incredulously.

“How could I not?!?” Carmen snapped back. “Plus it isn't like the sound of it is any better.”

“I need to get my hands on Sabrina's ability.” Chris muttered. “That was a good way to die.”

Carter blinked, before deciding that he wanted nothing to do with whatever was going on here. “Okay, well, congratulations. That was a very well executed hunt, more than adequate results with barely any injuries to talk about.”

Beth smiled. “Thank you, sir!”

“Better no injuries at all.” Carmen grumbled. “Why couldn't we get a normal-” She froze. “Fuck!”

“What?” Chris asked, cocking his head.

“They have a healer!” Carmen exclaimed, turning to Carter. “Could your healer have patched us up, or is that not allowed?”

Carter glanced at the device. “Our healer would be more than happy to take care of any minor injuries.”

“Okay, that's what I need to get.” Chris muttered. “A minion with a healing ability.”

“I would literally give you my entire salary for a year to make that happen.” Carmen agreed seriously.

“Yeah.” Beth sighed, before shaking her head. “Come on guys, we have some creatures to take care of.”

The other two nodded, the three of them returning to the cavern to help the others move the corpses into Chris's space. Chris got rid of the device and returned the space to normal, making four tables for the boarcupines and using portals to get them onto them. He left the rest to Carmen, making her some tools to butcher them, while the rest returned to the platoon. “Sir, we took down four boarcupines. Recruit Garcia is butchering them in Recruit Vincent's space as we speak.” Beth reported to Captain Nefred.

Captain Nefred blinked, checking his watch. It hadn't even been fifteen minutes! It wasn't unusual for a hunting trip to take over an hour! “Take fifteen, then we'll set out.” He ordered, sending Beth back to the squad before turning to Carter. “What do you think?”

Carter hesitated. “It's- hard to say. They're all undeniably competent, however… any other squad would have gotten two, maybe three boarcupines, with a bit of risk. This squad could have reasonably tried for the entire pack, but instead chose to take a guaranteed four, to avoid almost any risk. I- can't decide if that's reasonable or overly cautious.”

Captain Nefred nodded. “That seems normal, according to my reports. A squad that approaches every challenge cautiously, no matter how dangerous. It seems strange, given their abilities, doesn't it?”

Carter paused for a moment, before shaking his head. “I don't believe it's strange at all, sir. Knowing what they need to go through for even a minor injury, I can understand their caution. I just can't decide if that caution is a hindrance or a boon.” He considered it for a moment. “I think the true test will be when they face a challenge that requires risks. Will they attempt it anyway? Or will they avoid it for fear of the consequences?”

Captain Nefred frowned. “I'm not sure our superiors would appreciate us putting them in that much danger.”

Carter shrugged. “It's your call, sir. I'm simply giving my opinion.”

Captain Nefred hummed slightly, then let out a snort. “Which would you rather have? A solid squad at your back or cowards that would abandon you the moment things got difficult? No, I think our superiors will just have to suck it up this time.”

Carter grinned. “As you say, sir.”

*

It took another few hours of marching for the platoon to reach the edge of the imps territory, setting up camp in a defensible cavern. As a rule, Scout camps were always set up in three tunnel caverns. Any less and the platoon could easily be trapped. Any more, and it would be hard for a single squad to properly keep watch, since each tunnel needed two people observing it, and since each tunnel needed to be kept under constant watch, it was important that it could be covered by a single squad, since the platoon only had four normally.

“Since the recruits and Carter took the hunt, they get first rest.” Captain Nefred announced. “Jolene, your squad has first watch, Mathias, you guys are setting up camp, and we'll deal with cooking dinner. Recruits, you have the meat ready?”

“Yes, sir.” Carmen replied, as Chris opened a portal to reveal rows of cut meat hung up to drain the blood.

“Well done.” Captain Nefred smiled at her, gesturing for his own supply manager to pick out a few pieces for dinner.

“I saved their ability cores, but I'm not sure if they're worth it.” Carmen added.

“What levels were they at?” Captain Nefred asked.

“All low-tier, with one close to mid-tier.” Carmen replied. Boarcupines were mid-tier physique creatures and unlike tribes, they wouldn't remain on a lower level if they had the power to climb higher, so they were expected to have weaker abilities.

Captain Nefred shook his head. “Not worth the effort. You need an upper mid-tier core at the very least to get any significant use out of it. Just toss them with the rest of the offal.”

Chris glanced at Jello as the captain walked off to join his squad in preparing dinner. “You want them?”

Jello shook her head. “Not worth it. It's been too long for there to be anything valuable left.”

Chris shrugged. “If you say so. Guess I'll just absorb them with the rest.” He wasn't sure if there was any real point to absorbing energy into his space, since what good was it if it was stuck in there, but it wasn't like it was doing anyone else any good, so why not? He focused on the ability cores Carmen had pulled out, absorbing them into the space energy and all, then promptly dismissing them from his mind, deciding to see what he could do with the energy later, probably with Jacobs. A moment later he paused, frowning as something felt weird but he couldn't tell what. Immediately he went to check on the energy in his space, since what else had he done that might have caused something weird to happen, cocking his head as he saw it steadily decreasing for no apparent reason. “What the hell?”

“Oh no.” Zack groaned. It was never a good sign when Chris looked confused for no apparent reason.

“Is something wrong?” Beth asked, looking simultaneously worried and suspicious.

“No? I absorbed the energy from the cores, but it's being drained- well, it's gone now, but it was being drained, and I can't figure out why.” Chris explained. “It wasn't like I was going to do anything with it, so it doesn't really matter, it's just weird, you know?” He shook his head. “Hold on, I'm going to go in and check it out.” Chris walked into his space looking around. His minions were still hanging out, all his stuff was still there, the equipment and supplies were where they were supposed to be… Chris paused, turning in place as he narrowed his eyes. “Hey Beth, could you come in here?”

Beth walked in, looking around. “Yeah?”

“Does the space look… bigger, to you?” Chris asked. Ever since he learned he could absorb material into the space, it'd become fairly spartan, the normal set up being a corner for his minions and a corner for the squads supplies, leaving plenty of empty space and making it difficult to actually judge distances, but he swore there was more room in here than before. He turned it back down into a cube, because he was better with shorter distances, and… “That's bigger than it was, right?”

“I'm not sure?” Beth replied hesitantly. “It still looks like about two stories to me.”

Chris sighed. “Yeah, me too.” He pulled the ceiling down again, looking around. “Okay, hold on.” Chris made a line of tables down the center of the space. “We're at five tables and twoish chair lengths.” Chris muttered to himself, making a marker and writing the measurement on the wall. “Now all I need is some more energy.”

Beth smirked. “Good thing we're in the Maze then, huh? All we need to do is go out and kill something.”

Chris nodded. “And if it works…”

Beth paused. “Then we're going to need to kill a lot of somethings.”