Chris stalked through the tunnels of the Maze in his elfish form, bow at the ready as he approached a pack of four spined wolves. He narrowed his eyes, raised the bow, and loosed an arrow, the largest one yelping as it pierced into its side, collapsing as the arrow found its heart. The other wolves whirled on Chris, snarling angrily as they dashed towards him, Chris only having enough time to let loose one more arrow, which only managed to lodge itself in one's shoulder, then they were on him. A rocky carapace quickly covered Chris as he backed away, slinging his bow on his back as his hands grew claws and began to glow a sickly green. A wolf lunged for his throat, fangs glowing red, but he stepped into it, the wolf slamming into his chest as his claws raked across its side. The next wolf barked and a burst of fire shot towards him, slamming against his carapace with little to no effect as he charged it, a wall of fire erupting between them courtesy of the final wolf, which Chris ignored, leaping through and sinking his claws through the wolf's hide. The last wolf turned to run, only to slam into one of Chris's barriers, stunning it until Chris arrived to give it a dose of venom as well.
Chris let his carapace dissipate as he went around finishing off the wolves and tossing them into his space, before letting out a sigh. “Barely mid-tier. I need to move higher.” They'd been hunting on the fifth level for a few days now, and while they were making progress, Chris couldn't help but feel like they could be doing better. Mostly because Chris literally couldn't struggle against the creatures on this level, unless he wanted to try and take an entire tribe on himself, which- well, he'd thought about it, but he hadn't found a tribe that deserved to be exterminated yet. The biggest issue was that while a tribe might have a high-tier or two that could put up a challenge, the animals in the Maze didn't stick around on the lower levels, instead moving as high as their power could support, so on the fifth level, they were all just barely mid-tier, which wasn't a challenge for Chris at all. Even worse, a lot of them were mid-tier physique, which meant Chris barely got anything energy wise. No, he needed to be on the eighth level, at least. Hell, if he was going to insist on fighting animals instead of tribes, he'd probably need to get to the ninth or tenth. And if he really wanted to challenge himself, he'd head to the thirteenth. That might be a bit too risky though… pushing yourself was good, but the City was counting on him to be strong, and risking losing all his ability energy just because he wanted a challenge would be incredibly selfish. No, he needed to make sure he was always in a position where he could at least escape, if not win.
Still, the bigger issue was how the hell was he supposed to actually get up there? He could have Jo carve him another tunnel, but that would mean involving the squad, and as much as he thought he should be on a higher level, he couldn't say the same for the others. They'd probably do fine on the sixth or seventh, and the eighth would be challenging, but still doable, but there was no way they would cut it on the ninth. With the exception of Beth, they were all upper mid-tiers, and while their training would help them fight higher than their tier, it wouldn't help them if some creature with a strange ability ambushed them. Even low-tiers could be dangerous if they managed to ambush you, and if it was a high-tier, it wouldn't just be a serious injury. And if it was a pack of high-tiers… Chris shuddered.
So, the question was whether he could get to a higher level without the squad. With Tibolt's ability, he could teleport over fifty meters, but the ability was line of sight, so he couldn't use it to get higher. If he could find a tunnel using his spatial sense, he could open a portal to it, but his spatial sense didn't move through rock very well, so finding a tunnel in range was hard. Chris paused as something occurred to him. If his spatial sense could reach through walls… could he move through walls? Not with his body of course, but as the space?
Chris opened a portal, stepping inside, focusing on his spatial sense, and attempting to move it. It didn't work. “Well, shit.” Chris sighed, then paused again, opening a small portal and moving that. Which did work. Chris grinned as his portal flew towards the wall of the tunnel, only to hit the wall and stop. “Fuck!” Chris cursed, glaring through the portal at the wall, before pausing a third time, remembering Jacobs demonstration with the stick. He turned the portal sideways and… it slipped through the wall! It was moving a lot slower than it usually did, but it was definitely faster than trying to dig a tunnel upwards. Like, a lot faster… like he was pretty sure he could get to the ninth level in just an hour or so faster. “Couldn't have figured this out a week ago?” Chris muttered to himself, shaking his head. It would have saved them so much time. But then again, they probably wouldn't have found T'ka’s tribe if they hadn't… not that that was terribly important, but it made T'ka happy. Chris sighed, dismissing the thought. Obsessing over the past was a waste of time.
*Chris, I think you need to see this.* Derek's voice suddenly echoed in his head with a heavy tone.
Chris frowned, glancing at the portal that was currently making its way up, before shrugging. He was only losing a few minutes. He opened a portal to Derek and stepped out. “What's- oh…” Chris trailed off as the things Derek wanted him to see quickly became apparent. A pile of bodies with holes where someone had obviously reached in and ripped something out. Chris turned to Jello. “Let me guess, no ability cores?” Jello nodded seriously. “So… either a tribe has spontaneously developed the ability to sense and make use of ability cores in some way, to the point of hunting without even caring about the meat, or, and much more likely, the elves and the doppelgangers have figured out what we're doing and now they're working on clearing the Maze of anything that will let me grow.” He paused, glancing at the bodies. “We should probably go… these bodies aren't that old.”
Chris quickly ushered Derek, Jello, and Zack through a portal, before opening one to Beth, Carmen, and Nadia. “Chris?” Beth relaxed, having gone on guard when the portal opened. “What's going on?”
“It looks like the elves and the doppelgangers might be in the Maze, hunt- shit!” Chris cursed, rapidly creating ten barriers covering the entire tunnel as something slammed into them, piercing through four of them before finally stopping, sending Chris to his knees in pain! “Get in the portal!” He shouted as another blow landed and his mind started to get hazy. Nadia and Carmen rushed through the portal as Beth grabbed Chris, yanking him through with her, the portal snapping shut behind them.
“What was that?!?” Beth exclaimed, staring at where the portal used to be, her heart pounding, not even wanting to think about what would have happened if Chris hadn't shown up when he did.
“That-” Chris panted. “-was a doppelganger. I caught them shifting with my spatial sense.” He groaned, slumping to the ground. “Fuck that was too close. They were an omega-tier equivalent!” If the other half of the squad hadn't found the bodies, if he'd been any slower… Chris shuddered. He needed more energy. Now. He wouldn't feel comfortable until he and Beth were connected.
Carmen gulped. “What are we going to do? If they're hunting us in the Maze…”
“We need to go higher.” Beth declared. “The higher levels are larger, so they won't be able to pin us down as easily. It won't be an easy journey, but if we're careful-”
“I can get us higher.” Chris cut her off. “Just figured out my portals can travel through rock, and it'll only take an hour or so to get to the ninth level.”
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Beth blinked. “That- okay, good, uh… really? You couldn't have figured that out a week ago?”
Chris chuckled. “That was my reaction too. But the real question is which level do we want to go to? The ninth? The tenth? Higher?”
“Whoa, whoa, hold on.” Zack interjected. “I think we should be looking at the seventh, maybe the eighth. Anything higher is a death sentence!”
Beth frowned. “No, he's right. Any level the City had even a semblance of control over is going to be child's play for the surface races. The only way we can hide and hunt is in the chaos of the upper levels.”
Zack frowned at her. “Beth, I'm being serious here. If we go up there, we will die! Full stop!”
Beth nodded. “I know. But survival isn't an option anymore. If we try to hunt on the safe levels, the surface races will get us. If we try to hunt on the upper levels, the tribes will get us. If we do nothing, everything we know and love will get destroyed, and we might as well die anyway. The only difference we can make is how much we accomplish before we go, and our best chance to do as much as possible is on the upper levels.” She smiled. “And the better we do, the better our new home for the rest of eternity will be.”
Zack just stared at her for a moment, before hanging his head in defeated acceptance. “Fuck.” The rest of the squad shared serious looks, giving each other firm nods as they mentally prepared themselves for what they were about to do.
Chris scratched his head. “You guys do realize I can hunt on my own, right? And I can borrow almost all your abilities, which I can use at a much higher ability power. I mean, I get that you want to help as much as possible, but there's no need to get suicidal over it. Take a page from Dyrdek's book, accept what you can and can't do, and just chill. Just because you can't fight anymore doesn't mean you're useless.”
The squad froze. “Wow, I just experienced some serious emotional whiplash.” Zack muttered, rubbing his head. “I was legit ready to die for the cause.”
“Dude, same.” Derek shook his head.
Beth coughed. “Right, uh, let's- Let's figure out how to help Chris fight the creatures on the upper levels.”
Nadia rolled her eyes. “He's going to have to actually try up there, so he'll need tactics and strategy. Zack, do you think you could put together some electrical support? Carmen, we're still going to need food. And Derek… moral support?”
Derek rolled his eyes, turning to Chris. “Send me your mechanical knowledge. I'll work on putting some tools together for you.”
Chris nodded. “Sure. You can even use the space to make it, and then I'll just use Maddie's ability to make it.”
Derek frowned. “Who's Maddie?”
“Alex's mom.” Chris replied.
“Who's Alex?” Derek asked, rolling his eyes.
Chris paused. “That- is a secret.” He glanced at Beth. “Should- we have brought him in on this? I- kinda forgot he existed after… you know, all the crap.”
“I don't think we needed him, but… well, if anyone can help you on the upper levels, it's him.” Beth muttered.
“He is almost as powerful as I am.” Chris agreed.
“Wait, what?!?” Zack exclaimed.
“Is he one of the surface races?” Nadia asked. “A turncoat, like your parents?”
“No, he's human.” Chris replied. “It's a bit complicated.”
“Yeah, just a bit.” Beth snorted, shaking her head. “Alright, Chris, you work on getting to the upper levels, I'll talk to Alex. He owes us anyway.”
“I can do both, you know.” Chris commented, opening a portal in the Maze and sending it towards the upper levels, then opening a portal to the bug he'd planted on Alex.
Alex jumped as the portal appeared next to him, his eyes widening as he caught sight of Chris. “You!” He roared, stomping through the portal. “What did you do!?!”
Chris blinked. “Uh… exist? Honestly, this shit just seems to happen, like the world has it out for me. Though I have shown up just in time to save Beth twice now…”
Beth grimaced. “That- better not turn into a pattern.”
Chris raised an eyebrow. “Would you prefer I not show up?”
“I'd prefer not to have to be saved in the first place!” Beth threw up her hands in frustration. “I'm a high-tier! I'm supposed to be the one saving people!”
Chris sighed. “Unfortunately, I don't think being a high-tier is going to be enough to cut it anymore. Not with the surface races running around.” He paused. “Then again, Earth, so maybe not.”
Alex groaned. “I hate talking to you people.”
Chris cocked his head. “Is it because you have a hard time following the conversation?”
Alex scowled at him. “What do you want?” He growled.
“Oh, I'm going hunting on the… twelfth level?” Chris glanced at Beth and Nadia questioningly.
“With your abilities, that should be fine, but I can't say anything about him.” Nadia muttered, giving Alex a calculating look.
Beth shook her head. “I think you should go for the eleventh instead. With the chaos in the upper levels, the twelfth could be more like the thirteenth in areas, and you don't want to end up fighting a pack of superior-tiers.”
Chris nodded. “Got it.” He turned back to Alex. “So yeah, we're doing that. You in?”
Alex frowned. “Why are you going that high? Wouldn't it be safer to hunt on the eighth or ninth until you get stronger?”
“It would, but there are currently omega-tier equivalent members of the surface races working on clearing those levels of anything with any amount of energy so I don't get it, and I really have no interest in fighting them over it.” Chris explained. “I mean, if I was capable I'd want to stop them from massacring all those people, but… I'm not, so this is what we're left with.”
Alex hesitated, then sighed. “Fine, I guess I need to get stronger too, and the stronger my opponents are, the better.”
“Hey, remember nine out of ten are mine.” Chris reminded him.
Alex scowled. “Are you really going to insist on that with everything going on?!?”
“I'm pretty sure that's why I have to insist on it.” Chris replied. “The stronger my space, the more resistant my portals will be to disruption, which could be the difference between life and death for thousands of people. On the other hand, you could be as strong as you want, and it won't change the fact that there are a hundred floors of the City that need to be evacuated simultaneously.”
Alex grimaced. “Fine. But I still get to choose the one I take.”
“With permission, yes.” Chris nodded.
“Okay, seriously, who is this guy?” Derek asked, looking between Chris and Beth.
Chris glanced at Alex. “It's your secret, but they're going to need to know what you can do so they can figure out our tactics and build you gear.”
“I- fine, whatever.” Alex agreed, looking uncomfortable.
Chris nodded, turning back to the squad. “Alright, Alex is from Earth. He played the game, learned about everything, then died, and reincarnated or transmigrated or whatever you want to call it over here, merging with- Alex. The other one… it's complicated. Anyway, he got the capability to absorb the energy of anything he killed and gain their ability and form, or strengthen one of the abilities and forms he already has. Also, he's the shooter, so he owes me energy. We met because I healed his mom. She's nice. Also my minion now.”
The squad just stared at him for a moment. “Chris… your life is officially too weird.” Derek sighed, shaking his head.