“You want me to become your minion, so you can give your squad my ability?” Alex repeated Chris's request in a numb tone as Beth stared at him intently.

Chris nodded. “And in order to do so, I'm going to need to drain some of your energy. But, if you let me do this, we're good. You won't owe me kills anymore, though if we're hunting together, we'll be sharing kills to keep everyone around the same relative power level. The only warning I'll give is if you get too strong, you'll be able to break the connection, and then we'll have to do this again. Or I guess you could just decide you're done helping us… which is your right, I suppose.”

Alex grimaced. “Can't you do it without making me your minion?”

Chris shook his head. “No, because in order to share an ability, I need to interact with your spirit, and I can't do that unless I have a connection to it.”

Alex considered the offer. It would be nice to have more than just him and Chris on the upper levels. Plus, it'd let him specialize more… he could get good at using a few abilities instead of trying to do everything himself. His expression twisted. But he'd have to be Chris's minion. If this was some sort of trap, all Chris would have to do was order him to never grow beyond a certain point, and he'd be his slave forever! He- wasn't sure if he wanted to risk that, because he honestly had no idea if he should trust Chris or not. On the one hand, he seemed to be honestly trying to protect humanity, but on the other… everything kept ending up worse! Alex couldn't point to anything that he could say was Chris's fault, but still! He couldn't help but wonder if he was somehow pushing things so that people would have to depend on him and support him until he was powerful enough to turn on everyone, and if he was, the last thing Alex wanted was to be turned into one of his tools.

Chris sighed as he saw the indecision warring on Alex's face. “Look, you don't have to if you don't want to. It isn't going to make or break our ability to save the City. It'd just be nice to have more than the two of us working on this.” Ultimately the squad getting stronger was a luxury, not a necessity. Chris would love to have their help, but he didn't need it.

Beth grimaced. “Can you at least tell us why you don't want to?”

“I- it just bothers me that once I become his minion, there's nothing I can do about it.” Alex sighed. “If he wants to use me to hurt people, I'll have to do it!”

Beth scowled at him. “Why would you think Chris would ever use you to hurt someone?!? He doesn't even force Maze creatures to do things they don't want to do!”

Alex crossed his arms. “So?!? He could just be pretending to be nice so that when the time comes, he can turn on everyone!”

“Turn on them how?!? What could he possibly do that he couldn't do already?” Beth asked incredulously.

“He could…” Alex trailed off, struggling to think of something Chris might do. Turn everyone into his minions? But he could already take most people, and if he drained all their energy, he'd have more than enough to take care of the rest of them… and with the military stuck on the first floor, there wasn't much anyone could do to resist him. Plus, if he really wanted slaves, he could go to Earth and dominate the people there. The only thing being stronger would do was make it easier. “I- guess nothing?”

“Exactly.” Beth nodded. “So why would Chris need to use you to do anything? The only reason he even needs your ability is to help us! He can get stronger perfectly fine on his own!”

Alex hesitated. “I- I guess that's true…”

Beth glared at him. “So?!?”

Chris sighed. “Beth, you can't push him into it. I know you want this, but it's his life. He gets to do what he wants with it.”

Beth groaned. “I know, but all his reasons are stupid!”

“Eh? I mean, yeah, I could already hurt people just fine on my own, but it's also true it'd be easier if I controlled him. I don't see why I would hurt people, but-” Chris paused. “Actually, I did spend the majority of my life being looked down on for being abilityless… a lot of people might hold a grudge over that. I don't, but there are people who would. Some might even start to resent the City for essentially hanging a death sentence over their head with the Trial… plus the whole thing with my grandparents. You know, now that I think about it, I have more than a few reasons to hate the City, or at least large chunks of it.”

Beth blinked at him. “But- You don't, right?”

“Not particularly, no.” Chris shook his head. “I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not happy about it, but it isn't like hurting anyone is going to fix anything. I'm honestly not sure what to do about it… pretty much have to just chalk it up as a loss and move on, doing my best not to interact with people like that again. They're really just… not worth my time.”

Beth gave him a concerned look. She forgot Chris's childhood wasn't exactly pleasant sometimes. “No, they're not.” She agreed, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. “And I still don't think it's a good enough reason to refuse the connection.”

Chris rolled his eyes. “Beth, any reason is good enough. All he really has to say is that he doesn't want to, and that's it. No connection. He hasn't done anything that merits me forcing it on him.”

“He shot you!” Beth growled.

“He did, but he thought he had to to save the City, so…” Chris shrugged helplessly.

“Would you kill an innocent man to stop a bomb from going off?!?” Beth retorted.

Chris paused. “Yes? I wouldn't be happy about it, but one person dying is better than a bunch of people dying, isn't it? Unless whoever I'm killing could somehow end up saving more people than would die from the bomb if he lived… which, I guess, is our situation. But again, we know Alex isn't all that bright, so I can't blame him for not thinking it through.”

“Could you guys please stop calling me stupid?” Alex complained.

“Could you stop being stupid?” Beth countered.

“I'm not!” Alex protested.

“Yes, you are!” Beth growled. “Look, if you don't accept the connection, your ability helps exactly one person. But if you do accept the connection, your ability could help every minion Chris ever has! And the stronger Chris's minions are, the more stable the portals will be when we evacuate the City! Once his minions go, so do the portals!”

“And the stronger his minions, the easier it will be for him to hurt people with them!” Alex shot back.

“Why would he hurt anyone!?!” Beth hissed in frustration.

“I don't know, but he could!” Alex threw up his hands.

Beth groaned. “We all could! Everyone, all the time, at any moment, could hurt people! But that doesn't mean we can't work together!”

“That doesn't mean we should make it easier for them to hurt people!” Alex countered.

“Pretty sure this is where we weigh the potential benefits and the potential harm.” Chris interjected.

Beth nodded. “Okay, yeah, look at it that way. How much more harm can Chris do with your ability, than he could without your ability? Hint, the answer is none, because Chris is already more than capable of doing all the harm he wants! All your ability would do is make it faster.”

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Well… then the benefits are the same!” Alex retorted. “All it'd do is make him stronger faster!”

Beth smirked. “Right. And we just so happen to be in a situation where Chris needs to get as strong as he can in as short a period as possible!”

Alex froze. “That- uh, shit.”

“And that's the other thing!” Beth continued. “Chris doesn't even need to do anything to hurt the City! All he needs to do is leave, and the elves and the doppelgangers will do it for him!”

Alex looked lost. “But- if he wants to do it himself?”

Beth shook her head. “Then he wouldn't use you or his minions, would he?”

Chris sighed. “Okay, come on, we're giving him time to think. You've made your point. Any more is just bullying.”

Beth blinked. “Huh? But-”

“No.” Chris declared firmly. “If this is going to happen, it's going to be his decision, not one you forced him into because he doesn't have the skills to argue back. Even if we don't agree with his reasons, they're his reasons. We don't need his ability badly enough to push him into something he doesn't want to do, and if you keep going, that's what's going to happen. So let's go.”

Alex watched the clearly unhappy Beth get escorted away by the man he honestly had no idea what to think of. Was this another manipulation? Or was Chris honestly respecting his autonomy? Alex groaned, clutching his head. Maybe he was stupid. Either way, he had a lot to think about.

*

While they left Alex to think, Beth retreated to her room to cool off for a bit and Chris went to find Katerina to see how she was doing organizing his minions, finding her talking to Jo and Salvador. “Chris!” Jo greeted him, getting up to give him a hug, which Chris returned somewhat awkwardly. Jo pulled back, forcing a smile as she tried not to feel hurt by the fact that her son didn't feel comfortable hugging her. She'd thought they'd gotten closer while they'd been traveling from the first level to the fifth, but… maybe she was rushing things. “How have you been?”

“Not bad, I guess…” Chris replied. “I was just here to see how Katerina has been doing with the minions. Though I'd also like to see if you two have made any progress approaching any of the tribes we've found.” He paused. “Probably need to get on that pretty soon… given the circumstances.”

Jo raised an eyebrow. “What circumstances?”

“The surface races are currently purging the Maze.” Chris explained. “I assume because they're trying to keep me from gathering energy, so there's decent odds the tribes we've found will disappear soon.”

Jo's eyes widened. “That- isn't good.”

“No, it's not.” Chris agreed.

“How are you going to get energy?” Salvador asked, frowning.

“Oh, we moved to the eleventh level. Turns out I can move through walls.” Chris explained. “I just turn my portals sideways and they slip right through.”

Salvador blinked. “Huh… that's- convenient.”

“Isn't it?” Chris agreed with a slight smile.

Salvador glanced at Jo. “You didn't cheat on me with a demigod, did you?”

“Not unless they looked just like you.” Jo rolled her eyes, then paused. “Which, since we're both capable of shape-shifting, is a legitimate possibility…”

Salvador sighed. “This is why doppelgangers developed the ability to sense essence.”

“Are- are demigods actually a thing?” Katerina asked hesitantly.

Salvador shrugged. “I have no idea, but I'm running out of plausible explanations for what Chris can do. At this point, it might as well involve divine intervention, don't you think?”

Chris shook his head. “You all get hung up on the weirdest things. Can we get back to the matter at hand?”

“It seems like you already solved it, didn't you?” Salvador commented. “There's not much we can do besides avoid the surface races. Even if we wanted to fight our own people, mine and Jo's abilities aren't exactly combat focused, so all we'd be doing is fighting with our physiques, and not very effectively. We're administrators, not fighters, barring a few ill-advised assassination attempts.”

“True, but I'd still like to get all the people we can out of there.” Chris replied. “One, because I need more minions anyway, and two, because they don't deserve to die just because people they probably aren't even aware of are fighting. Not that we can save anywhere near enough of them, but that doesn't mean we should ignore the ones we can.”

Salvador blinked. “I see… in that case, we were just discussing the possibility of sending some of your minions out to contact the nearby tribes. We can advise them, but without speaking the language, there isn't much we can do ourselves. That, and putting together a team to capture members of any race you don't have minions of yet.”

“And as I was saying, the imps and kobolds are more than willing to approach new tribes for you, but Sidulpek and Dyrdek have no interest in talking to the goblins.” Katerina added. “Dyrdek thinks they'd sooner kill him than listen to him, and Sidulpek seems to hate them even more than most humans do. I almost think she'd be happy to see them wiped out.”

“From the little she's told me, I don't exactly blame her.” Chris muttered. Goblins had what he'd begun to think of as a bully culture. Emphasizing strength wasn't exactly rare in the Maze, since being strong was literally how you survived, but goblins took it to an extreme. If you couldn't resist, then anyone could do anything they liked to you, and since Sidulpek's ability didn't give her any way to fight back… her time in the Maze had been rough. Honestly, Chris wasn't even sure he wanted to take in an entire tribe of goblins. He'd gotten lucky with Dyrdek and Sidulpek, but having an entire swarm of those little assholes connected to him made him want to find a way to kill people connected to him permanently, just in case. “Hold off on the goblins for now.” Chris sighed. “I'll need to think about how to deal with them myself.”

“We'll get started on the others then.” Jo nodded, turning to Katerina. “If you could send us a few of the more… eloquent volunteers?”

“Of course.” Katerina smiled. “I already have a list, I just need to know where to send them.”

“I'll leave you guys to it, then.” Chris went to leave, but Katerina stopped him.

“Wait! I actually need to talk to you. Kal- K'al- ugh, the kobold chief is refusing to listen to anyone but you unless we can defeat her in a duel.” She explained.

Chris raised an eyebrow. “Is she causing problems?”

Katerina frowned. “No? But she won't stop running off on her own!”

“So? If she wants to do her own thing, let her.” Chris shrugged.

“But- why would you put me in charge of your minions if you don't want them to listen to me?!?” Katerina asked incredulously.

“Whoa, hey, I asked you to help organize my minions, I didn't put you in charge of them.” Chris corrected her. “I want there to be a structure in place so people can figure out what they can do to help, but it's completely voluntary. If someone wants to go off and do their own thing, as long as they aren't causing problems, who am I to stop them?”

Katerina blinked. “You are the strangest dominator I've ever met.” She sighed, shaking her head. “Fine, I'll leave the kobold chief alone.”

Chris gave her a thumbs up. “Sounds good. Anything else?”

“No, that's it.” Katerina replied.

“Alright, let me know how contacting the tribes goes.” Chris waved as he left, considering whether he had anything else to deal with while Alex thought things over. The negotiations with the nations on Earth were out of his hands, Katerina was handling his minions, Jo and Salvador were taking care of getting him new ones, and the squad was dealing with any equipment he'd need… the only real responsibility he had left at the moment was to hunt and grow his space, which he was currently waiting on Alex for.

Chris paused for a moment, then opened a portal to Beth's room, falling onto the couch next to her. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Beth sighed, leaning into him.

“How are you feeling?” Chris asked.

“Frustrated.” Beth grumbled. “If Alex doesn't agree-”

“It'll be fine.” Chris assured her. “As much as I want you to be there fighting with me, you know it isn't necessary.”

“I know, but if the only reason I can't is because some idiot can't seem to understand you aren't going to hurt anyone, I-” Beth growled, before cutting off with a groan. “I get that it's his choice, but- ugh, I hate how he acts like you're some sort of villain when he's the only one here who's ever hurt someone!”

“Hey now, I've killed you, Derek, and Carmen at least half a dozen times each.” Chris retorted, chuckling slightly as Beth shot a glare at him. “But seriously, think about this from his perspective. He gets sent to a world eerily similar to a game he was obsessed with, right after gaining the knowledge he'd need to stop what he considers the greatest catastrophe to ever befall the City, like a mission sent by the divine. He spends months preparing to take down the person he sees as the cause of all the evil that befalls the City, probably painting me as the worst person to ever live in order to psych himself up, because I don't think he ever fought in the game, let alone real life, so he probably didn't come out the gate ready to commit cold-blooded murder. And now he's not only failed, but the thing he feared is happening even earlier than it did before, no one is prepared, and the only person who can do anything about it is the guy he just spent months thinking of as the cause of all this. Can you really blame him for not being ready to put himself under my control? I'm pretty sure the only reason he's even talking to me is because of his mom. Also, we've only interacted with him like three times, and we keep calling him dumb.”

“He is dumb.” Beth grumbled, before letting out a sigh. “But I see your point. Because I'm not dumb and I'm fully willing to alter my perspective when presented with a coherent and logical argument.”

Chris rolled his eyes. “Beth, he isn't even here. You don't need to keep kicking him.”

“Well sorry, but I just learned he spent months thinking of the man I love as some kind of monster, so I'm not feeling very charitable.” Beth retorted with a slight huff.

Chris let out a light chuckle, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. “I can't say I'd be all that kind to someone who acted like you were a monster either, so fair. Though, in his defense, I do seem pretty monstrous, in a certain light.”

“But you aren't a monster.” Beth growled. “You'll never be a monster!” A tear crept down her cheek as she latched tightly onto him. “Never!” She hissed in a low whisper.

Chris paused as he realized Alex wasn't the only one experiencing some cognitive dissonance. Beth probably wasn't a fan of someone spouting all her worst fears as if they were fact. “No, I won't.” He assured her, squeezing her tighter, and swearing by everything he was that he would do everything he could to keep that assurance from becoming a lie.