Chris spent the next hour or so enjoying some quality time with his fiancé. The last week had been so hectic they hadn't had time to just be with each other. They were either guarding Jo as she made the tunnel up from the first level, hunting, dealing with minions, or dealing with the Generals. Unfortunately, that was all the time they could spare, as Beth had another meeting with the Generals, and Chris had to get back to hunting with Alex. “So, thought it through yet?” Chris asked, finding Alex sitting in the exact same spot they'd left him.

Alex shook his head helplessly. “I keep coming back to the idea that I'd be under your complete control. I know it won't change anything, but… it scares me.”

Chris shrugged. “That's fair. It's a scary thought.”

Alex grimaced. “But- I can't not do something just because I'm scared. One person being strong may not make much of a difference, but a hundred? A thousand? More? Suddenly- suddenly the surface races don't look like that much of a threat, you know? And all I have to do is just- stop being a little bitch over all this and do it!”

Chris cocked his head. “I'm not sure I'd phrase it that way… I mean, your fear isn't exactly irrational. Even if it won't put the City in any worse a situation than it already is, you can still worry about yourself. No one wants to get turned into a slave, and if you accept the connection, then it's a very real possibility. It isn't something I'd actually do, but you have little reason to believe me when I say that, so it's a perfectly reasonable thing to be afraid of. The City might not be any worse off, but your life could definitely suffer from this decision.”

Alex blinked at him. “Are you trying to convince me not to do this?!?”

Chris shook his head. “No, I absolutely think you should accept the connection, I just don't believe in allowing people to make decisions without knowing all the risks, if I can help it. Particularly not one as significant as this. Overall your decision might not impact much, but personally you would be putting yourself at significant risk, and you should be aware of that.”

Alex just stared at him for a moment. “Okay… then what should I do?”

“Accept the connection.” Chris shrugged. “Literally all I'm going to do is give your ability to my minions. I'm just saying it's reasonable to be afraid of what I could do. Particularly since you have no reason to believe me when I say all I'm going to do is give your ability to my minions.”

“Stop doing that!” Alex groaned. “Just tell me what you want and stop confusing me!”

Chris raised an eyebrow. “Okay… I want you to accept the connection. Good?”

Alex hesitated, then sighed. “No, I'm still scared.”

“Alright, well, we need to get back to hunting, so are we doing this or should we go?” Chris asked.

“Fucking, just- ugh, just get it over with.” Alex grumbled.

“Alright, don't resist.” Chris replied, focusing on Alex, pushing the connection at him, then- Chris frowned. Alex had multiple abilities, so did he just need to drain each one down to an appropriate level, or was it a matter of the total amount of energy? He scratched his head for a moment, before shrugging. If he just drained whatever abilities had the most energy, eventually it'd click. It was just a matter of when. He carefully began to drain Alex's energy, bringing his strongest abilities down to practically mid-tier before the connection finally clicked into place. “You had a lot of energy.” Chris muttered, taking in the expansion of his space. The sides had practically doubled in length! He was almost positive he could connect to Beth now.

Alex shifted awkwardly. “I focused on creature collection and processing with the Defense Force, and since no one particularly cares about low tier ability cores, I could absorb pretty much everything. One low-tier core might not be that significant, but I could absorb dozens every week, so… it added up.”

Chris nodded. “Fair. Alright, let's find something to refill your energy. Then we'll get started on the squad.”

*

Alex wasn't sure what to think of his life anymore. Honestly, nothing had felt right since he'd failed to kill Chris during the military graduation ceremony. That one moment had taken him from the savior of the City to… he didn't even know what he was now. He wasn't even sure whether to be glad he failed or not! The City was under siege, but if Beth was right, then in the end they'd be better off with Chris around. Though he wasn't sure about the City moving to Earth either… it'd be great for the City, but how would the rest of humanity react to a nation of literal super heroes showing up? How would the City react to world politics? Alex didn't even want to think about it. He also didn't really want to think about the connection he now had with the very man he'd tried to kill a month ago, one that'd terrified him to his very core, and now, not even half an hour after he'd accepted it, he was free of it. Or at least he could be.

“I really am an idiot, aren't I?” Alex sighed, standing over the corpse of the high-tier spider he'd just absorbed the energy from.

“Hey now, you couldn't have known its ability allowed it to reflect damage.” Chris patted him on the shoulder. “Plus, none of the attacks made it through my carapace.”

Alex grimaced. “I was talking about the fact that I was so worried about becoming your slave, and you almost immediately let me get strong enough that I can't be your slave.”

“Oh… well, yeah, but you couldn't have known I'd do that beforehand either, so you shouldn't beat yourself up over it.” Chris shrugged, scooping the spider's corpse into his space. “Come on, you still need more energy to get back to where you were, and the sooner you get there, the sooner we can start working on the squad.”

“That was already a good boost to my defense, so all I really need is an attack and I should be good to go.” Alex replied. “Though I guess I should probably start thinking about where I'll fit in your squad…”

“Good question.” Chris agreed. “I don't think we have time to fit you into our formations, not that we've really been using them, so you'd probably have to act as a skirmisher. Then again, we might have to remake our formations anyway, since the larger tunnels mean our previous formations won't provide enough cover anymore… but I'm not a tactician, so who knows? We'll have to talk to Nadia about it.”

“I'm not sure how well I'd do in a formation anyway.” Alex muttered. “The Defense Force doesn't exactly ‘fight’. We just herd creatures into designated kill zones and open fire.” He paused. “Actually, I've always wondered, why don't the Scouts and the Vanguard use guns?”

“Oh, we do, but only in emergencies.” Chris explained. “The reason we generally avoid them is because guns are loud. The more you use them, the more attention you'll draw to yourself, which means you'll need to use them even more to defend yourself, which means if you're using them, you're going to need to be armed to the teeth. However, if you send a platoon armed to the teeth into the Maze, there's a more than decent chance you could be facing a tribe armed to the teeth soon. No one wants that. Plus, at least for the Scouts, our job is more about management than eradication, so killing half the creatures in an area because we used guns is counter productive. And for the Vanguard, once you start getting into the upper end of high-tier, guns and abilities aren't that much different, effect wise. I think they start to average out around ability power twenty? Depending on the ability, of course. So it's really only useful if you start bringing in machine guns and high-powered rifles, and again, that risks the tribes getting machine guns and high-powered rifles. So in general, they just aren't worth it.”

“Okay… so why aren't we using guns then?” Alex asked.

Chris paused. “Well, we still don't want to get swarmed, though if we have enough firepower to deal with it, it would make things more efficient… We also don't particularly want to kill off the tribes, which we'd have to if they came charging over because they heard gunfire. We'd actually need guns, but I could get some from the Generals and then just make a bunch using Maddie's ability… I think the main issue is that if guns were effective, the surface races wouldn't be an issue, so in order to face our actual enemy, we need to grow and train our abilities, not depend on weaponry. Oh, and we're hiding. If we use guns, then it significantly increases the chances of the surface races finding us, which could lead to death or even capture. I don't think they can run wild on the upper levels like they do lower down, but they can definitely get to us if we make it obvious we're here.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“I guess that makes sense…” Alex agreed tentatively.

The two continued on for a moment in silence, then Chris paused. *Do you feel up for a pack? Small one. Only four that I can see, just around that corner. Some kind of ape, I think.* He sent over the connection, pointing down the tunnel.

Alex hesitated. They'd been avoiding packs since it was a bit risky with just the two of them and Alex weakened, but now that he'd strengthened his defensive ability… *I think so?*

Chris nodded. *Let's do it then. Hopefully they have some useful abilities.*

They both transformed, Alex creeping up to the corner as Chris prepared a portal, planning on ambushing the creatures from behind after Alex attacked. Alex's skin took on a steel gray tint again, this time with a slight shimmer thanks to the energy from the spider, adding a slightly reflective quality to the defense, and then he charged around the corner! Chris immediately opened a portal, jumping out behind the startled apes as they turned towards Alex, slashing the nearest one with his claws. The ape let out a screech as a field of energy began to billow around it, whipping around and slamming a fist into his chest, sending him flying backwards! The other three apes began to glow as well, though in different colors. One glowed red, another glowed white, the thirds glowed a pale green, and the one fighting Chris glowed a golden brown.

Alex's eyes widened as he skidded to a stop and turned to run the other way. “Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck!” He cursed as he heard the ape's chasing after him.

*Where are you going?!?* Chris yelled through their connection as he clashed with the golden brown ape again, avoiding its punch to drive a knee into its gut, to little effect. It felt like hitting a damn wall!

*I'm not fighting god damn super saiyans!* Alex shot back.

Chris growled, drawing on Firbolt's ability, since Dyrdek's venom didn't seem to be doing anything to the ape, and sending a blast of fire at the ape, a scream tearing from its throat as its flesh began to sizzle. *At least keep the other three distracted while I deal with this one!*

Alex didn't have time to agree as the green ape tackled him, madly clawing at him faster than he could even react, which thanks to his new reflective defense, did more damage to it than it did to him, leaving it covered in bloody wounds. Alex blinked. *Uh… can do.* He finally sent back, pushing the half dead ape off to the side and standing to face the red and white ones that were just catching up, eyeing him warily. *But if they start yelling and gathering energy, I'm out.*

Chris had mostly tuned Alex out at the moment because somehow the ape was digging through his carapace! The ape had some kind of earth based aura ability that negated his toxin and halved the effectiveness of his fire, while doubling its effectiveness against his rocky carapace, and since it was in the upper reaches of high-tier, possibly even lower superior-tier, he was struggling. Chris and the ape danced around each other, the ape swiping at him to take chunks out of his carapace while he peppered it with fire blasts, both of them too agile for either to land a decisive hit. A barrier suddenly appeared behind Chris and he leapt off it, flying over the apes head as his tail lashed out and grabbed it by the neck, yanking it after him as he tumbled and slamming it into the ground, stunning it! A second later, Chris was on it, claws glowing red as he grabbed the ape by the throat, digging in and pulling, tearing out a large chunk in a spray of blood. Chris watched the ape bleed out, its flesh wiggling as it struggled to heal, then the aura died out and the ape with it.

A portal scooped up the corpse and another opened next to Alex, Chris stepping out to find him curled up in a ball as the white and red apes beat on him. Though weirdly, they were the ones covered in wounds. Chris drew on Fribolt's ability as well, one hand glowing red and the other white as he sent blasts of the opposing elements at the apes, tearing through their defenses. An icicle took the red ape through the heart while the white ape had a hole melted through its gut. Chris glanced over at the green ape that was just recovering from its wounds and finished it off with an icicle to the face. He turned human again, glaring down at a sheepish looking Alex. “You realize you aren't getting any of these, right?” Alex just nodded. “And what the fuck is a super saiyan?”

*

After some deliberation, Beth got the earth aura, Zack got the wind aura, Fribolt got the ice aura, and Firbolt got the fire aura. The combination of Beth's rubber ability and the earth auras durability turned her into a literal human wrecking ball, while Zack, Fribolt, and Firbolt could use the auras to empower their own abilities. There was some debate over whether it would be better to give the auras to the squad and then let the imps borrow them if they needed it, but ultimately they decided it could work the other way as well, and giving the auras to the ones with the appropriate elemental ability was more consistently beneficial. And so the hunting squad expanded.

Beth practically skipped down the tunnel, the most blissfully happy smile on her face. *Hey~* She sent Chris through their connection.

*Hey.* Chris sent back with an amused smile.

*Heyyy~* Beth replied almost giddily. She let out a small yelp as a portal swept over her and she fell into Chris's arms.

*Hey.* Chris grinned as Beth erupted into an almost hysterical fit of giggles, cutting off as Zack made a gagging sound and flushing, while simultaneously shooting a glare his way. Chris chuckled slightly, setting her down. “I'm glad you're happy, but we should probably focus.”

“Thank you.” Zack grumbled. “Honestly, one little connection and it's like she forgets all our training.”

“You're just jealous.” Beth retorted, sticking her tongue out at him, but she quickly returned to her position.

“Damn right I'm jealous!” Zack exclaimed. “Do you know how long it's been since I've been on a date?!?”

“Since before the Trial. We know.” Chris rolled his eyes. It wasn't the first time Zack had brought this up.

“Right, and the entire time I've had to watch the two of you act like the most perfect couple to ever exist!” Zack threw up his hands in frustration. “I'm like a man dying of thirst outside a waterpark!”

“Aw~ you think we're perfect?” Beth cooed, shooting him a smirk as he gagged again.

“Ugh, please give me something to kill soon so I can get this taste out of my mouth.” Zack pleaded with whatever divinity that would listen.

Chris shook his head, only to pause and glance at the wall next to them. “Huh… you may just get your wish.” He muttered, opening a small portal and peeking into the cavern on the other side, finding two groups in the middle of a battle. “Or not.” He added as he noticed two distinctly powerful individuals clashing in the center of the cavern, clearly superior-tier and the cause of the tremors he'd noticed through his spatial sense. “Do you guys know anything about fox or serpent people?” They weren't races that had been covered in his scout training.

“They're subspecies of a race called the Kin, mid-tier physiques, sometimes even high-tier depending on the specific subspecies. Fox-kin and Snake-kin are on the weaker side physically, but are generally more intelligent.” Beth replied. “I guess this confirms we're at least on the tenth level. There are no Kin tribes lower than that.”

“Well, whatever they are, there's at least a hundred of them fighting it out in there, and at least two of them look like they're superior-tier equivalents.” Chris explained. “Not something we want to get involved in.”

Beth frowned. “Can you tell what they're fighting over? Even if they're different subspecies, Kin tribes wouldn't fight over nothing.”

Chris looked through the portal again, seeing if he could find anything valuable. “I don't- wait.” He narrowed his eyes as he noticed an area almost conspicuously empty of combatants. He raised the portal higher to get a better look, finally catching sight of what the tribes were fighting over. A crystalline metallic egg, glowing with prismatic energy. “Huh… Well, I have no idea what that is, but I definitely want it. Anyone else know?”

The others took turns looking through the small portal. “What the hell is that?” Zack asked in a stunned tone.

“I have no idea…” Beth muttered.

Alex shook his head. “It doesn't look like anything from the game.”

“Hm… can anyone think of a good reason why I shouldn't steal it?” Chris asked.

“You'll definitely piss off both these tribes if you do.” Beth commented.

“I'll live.” Chris grinned.

“It might be dangerous, master.” Fribolt warned.

Chris paused. “True… hold on.” He found Jo and Salvador in his space, opening a portal to them. “Hey guys, do either of you have any idea what this thing is?” He asked, moving the little portal to them so they could see.

They both took a look, frowning as they examined the egg. “I'm afraid not… strange. It looks powerful though.” Salvador replied.

“It isn't something I've ever encountered either.” Jo narrowed her eyes at the egg. “I don't trust it though. Something that enticing is almost always an indication of some sort of trap. It may host a parasite, or it could be a lure for a predator.”

Chris hummed slightly as he considered it. “That's possible, but I still want to get a better look. Through my spatial sense, if nothing else.” He sent the others back into his space before stepping inside as well, flying the portal over to the egg to get a better look at it, taking a circuitous route to avoid the battle. He circled the egg a few times, looking for anything suspicious like hidden predators or traps, but there was nothing. As for the egg itself, his spatial sense couldn't penetrate it, so he got nothing. He stared at the thing through the little portal, frowning as he considered whether it was worth the risk to try and take it. On the one hand, it could be anything, but on the other, it could be anything. He glanced at Beth, but she just shrugged helplessly.

Chris froze as back in the cavern, one of the superior-tiers was suddenly launched across the cavern, heading straight for the egg! He watched helplessly as they crashed into it, and… knocked it directly into his portal. Chris blinked as the egg immediately dissolved, flowing into his space, flowing through it, into him, and… into his database? A second later, a half meter tall crystalline metallic being who looked awfully similar to Chris appeared, looking confused. It glanced at Chris, then down at itself, then around at the space, before letting out a defeated sigh. “Well shit.”