Chris still needed some time to recover, and it'd been a long day, so they decided to call it after sending the fox-kin out. They'd spend the rest of the day getting some rest before heading out to hunt and find more people to dominate tomorrow. Chris turned to Beth as everyone left to do their own thing. “So… what do you want to do?”

“I- don't know.” Beth sighed. “This day has been insane. You were cloned and almost dominated within hours of each other!”

Chris grunted in agreement. The day had been kind of insane. Speaking of… “Should we introduce Joseph to everyone? It'd be kind of weird for him to just approach everyone on his own.”

“I would appreciate an introduction, yes.” Joseph nodded, not having left yet since he had no idea what to do with himself. He'd been wondering how to deal with Chris's friends and family all day now, and he still didn't have anything better than just walking up and saying hi before explaining what happened, which… sounded annoying.

“It's been a while since we got everyone together, anyway…” Beth muttered. “Okay, yeah, let's get everyone together and introduce Joseph.” She paused. “We should probably invite Jo and Salvador as well.”

Chris nodded. “Got it.” He started making couches and chairs for everyone as he looked for them in his space. It was pretty simple to find the squad, since they were connected to him, and Jo and Salvador both had high levels of energy, so he spotted them pretty quickly as well, but finding Penny, Thad, Mrs. Richardson, and Mrs. Veach was a bit more of a challenge because he actually had to look for them. If his space kept getting bigger, it was going to get hard to find people in there…

“Come on, man, I just left.” Zack grumbled as he arrived, falling into a chair.

Beth rolled her eyes. “To do what? Hang out with the squad? Which is what we're doing?”

Zack frowned at her. “What part of ‘I like to complain’ do you not understand?”

“Core concept, mostly.” Chris commented. “Why would you enjoy being miserable?”

Zack shook his head. “I'm not miserable. I enjoy pretending to be miserable.”

Chris blinked. “I don't see the difference.”

Zack sighed. “Look, it's just cathartic, okay?”

“What's cathartic?” Carmen asked as she arrived.

“Complaining, apparently.” Chris explained.

“Ah, of course.” Carmen snorted.

Chris opened portals to Jo, Salvador, Thad, Penny, Mrs. Richardson and Mrs. Veach as Nadia and Derek arrived. “Hey guys, we're having a little get together, if you're free.”

“Of course!” Mrs. Richardson agreed, stepping through, followed by Mrs. Veach.

“I dunno… we're in the middle of an episode here.” Thad muttered, before letting out an oof as Penny elbowed him, the two getting up and walking through the portal as well.

“Are you sure you want us to join?” Jo asked hesitantly, glancing at Mrs. Richardson.

“Sure, you're family, aren't you?” Chris shrugged. “Oh, shit, I forgot Jello.” He opened another portal and Jello hopped through without even asking what was going on, happily joining him and Beth on their couch.

“Family?” Mrs. Richardson frowned.

“Yeah, they're my parents.” Chris explained.

“Wait, what?!?” Penny exclaimed, looking between him and Jo incredulously. “How- how- how!?!”

“Well you see, when two people love each other very much…” Thad began, trailing off with a chuckle as Penny turned to glare at him.

“We'll get to that, but come on, everyone settle in.” Chris waved for everyone to get seated. “Okay, so, let's start with Joseph.” He gestured to the little crystal man. “Something weird happened with some kind of egg, and it turned into a clone of me. He has all my memories and everything, so you can treat him as you would me, since in almost every respect, he is me. Or was me, since he's obviously a separate person now… but at the moment the difference is minimal, so take it as you will.”

The room fell silent for a moment as everyone processed that. “So he's like your twin?” Thad offered tentatively.

“I don't think twins are clones of each other, Thad.” Penny rolled her eyes.

“No, no, I know, just… it makes more sense to me if I think of it like they're twins? Kinda having a hard time putting together the Chris but not Chris thing.” Thad sighed.

“You can think of us as twins if you like.” Joseph agreed. “We are basically brothers.”

Jello gasped in realization. “I have a new brother!” She exclaimed excitedly, hopping over to give him a hug.

“It does help to insert him next to Chris as if he was always there…” Mrs. Richardson muttered, studying Joseph thoughtfully for a moment as he indulged the excited slime, a soft smile spreading across her face. Even in crystal, Chris's mannerisms shone through.

“Hey, I'm not going to complain about having two best friends instead of just one.” Derek shrugged. “Hell, maybe I'll actually get to hang out with one now, since Beth won't be stealing all his free time.”

Chris cocked his head. “I have been neglecting you a bit, huh?”

“A bit, but with everything going on, I can't exactly blame you.” Derek sighed. “If I had a girlfriend, I for damn sure wouldn't be spending the limited free time we get with you.”

Chris shook his head. “Still though.” Derek had been his best friend since middle school. He couldn't just drop him because he got a girlfriend. That was rude. “We'll have to have a chill day at some point. Or at least a chill hour… not sure I can spare a day.”

“You better include us in that.” Penny grumbled, crossing her arms and glaring at him. They'd been in his space for over a week now and they'd barely even seen him! All they could do was sit around and worry!

Chris sighed. “Yeah, I can do that.” He'd really been letting his relationships slip, hadn't he?

“I'll make sure of it.” Beth agreed.

Penny nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Chris. “Now, can you please explain why Jo Vuntula is your mom?!?”

“Well, you know how the elves and the doppelgangers infiltrated the City?” Chris began, everyone nodding along. “Well, Jo's an elf and Salvador is a doppelganger. They ended up getting together, going into hiding, and having me, but then some people on the elf side started hunting them because Jo is a princess or something, so they had to abandon me to keep me safe. Apparently my uncle would not be happy that I exist.”

“A massive understatement.” Salvador grumbled. “That power hungry maniac-" He cut off as Jo elbowed him, shooting him a look.

“Jer'tunal's methods may be a bit… extreme, but ultimately he is just trying to keep the kingdom safe and stable!” Jo retorted defensively.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Salvador sighed. “Jo, he's a paranoid dictator. He exiled you because you were getting too popular!”

“He exiled me because people were using me as a symbol for rebellion!” Jo snapped back.

“Because he's a paranoid dictator!” Salvador exclaimed.

Chris coughed. “So yeah, complicated family situation.”

Penny was staring at Jo wide eyed. “You're a princess?!?”

Thad glanced at Chris. “Does that make you a prince?”

Chris raised an eyebrow, turning to Jo. “Does it? Not that I think it would matter if I was… I don't think I'm really ‘king’ material.”

Jo hesitated. “You do have a claim to the throne, but you wouldn't be a prince. You'd have to be the child of the king for that. You'd simply be a member of the royal family.”

“I don't suppose him trying to claim the throne would help any of this, would it?” Beth asked.

Jo shook her head. “You would have to kill Jer'tunal to do so, and that would be a war itself.”

“Yeah, that's what I thought.” Beth sighed.

Mrs. Richardson frowned. “Why didn't you adopt him afterwards?”

Jo grimaced. “It was too risky. Everyone knew we'd disappeared at the same time, and if one of us suddenly adopted a child whose parents had mysteriously disappeared around the time of our return… it wouldn't have been hard for them to connect the dots.”

Mrs. Richardson nodded. “I see… and Chris wouldn't have given you an excuse to visit either.”

Jo smiled bitterly. “No, he didn't. I actually visited his high school last year for a job fair… he didn't attend.”

“I remember that!” Penny exclaimed. “I begged him to go get me an autograph and he said it wasn't worth spending hours waiting in line just for you to sign a piece of paper!”

“In my defense, Derek didn't do it either.” Chris commented. “And he was actually at the job fair.”

“Actually, I did get it, I've just been saving it for her birthday.” Derek coughed. “Kinda seems pointless now though…”

“Because it's back in the City, which is pretty much doomed, or because we essentially live with her now?” Thad asked.

“Take your pick.” Derek sighed. “Shows me for trying to be clever.”

Chris shook his head. “Right, well, that's my life. What have you guys been up to?”

*

They all spent the next hour or so catching up. Mrs. Richardson and Mrs. Veach had been helping keep everyone fed and organized within the space, making sure everyone had a place to sleep with the help of Sidulpek and Jinolt. They'd even been to Earth a few times to get supplies, commenting on how helpful someone named Melody was. As for Penny and Thad, they hadn't been doing much of anything. They didn't have school work, they couldn't fight, they didn't have the skills to organize, and it wasn't like Chris's space needed to be cleaned, so they were pretty much stuck doing nothing. At least, until Jo and Salvador offered to teach them. They'd been busy helping his minions approach the tribes, but with the surface races making that almost impossible to do anymore, they were looking for something else to do. Jo had been impressed by Penny's experiment, and now disappointed that she wouldn't get to see the results, so she was more than happy to take her under her wing, while Salvador and Thad were drawn in by the two women's excitement.

“Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, what do you guys know about the empires on the upper levels?” Chris asked after considering whether Jo and Salvador would be able to help with the clans.

Jo frowned. “Empires? In the Maze?”

“That's what they call themselves, at least.” Chris shrugged. “There's apparently four of them, and each one has a population comparable to the City.”

Jo and Salvador shared a look. “We- haven't heard anything about that. Are you certain?” Salvador asked.

“Pretty sure… I dominated a group of fox-kin and they at least believed they were telling the truth.” Chris replied.

“How peculiar.” Jo muttered. “How advanced are they?”

“They have steel, but no guns or anything.” Chris explained.

“They may not see the need for guns this high up.” Salvador pointed out. “Most people on the surface don't bother with them, since even a mid-tier ability will do more damage when you factor in physique.”

Chris shook his head. “It's possible, but I don't think so. They aren't at a level where guns would be useless, so if they had access to them, I think they'd at least keep one for backup, like the Scouts do.”

“Also, I doubt we'd miss it if they'd already developed to that level.” Jo added. “That level of industry would leave unmistakable evidence. I'm honestly surprised we missed the development of steel!”

Salvador frowned. “If they avoid the main routes to the lower levels, it isn't impossible we'd have missed them. No one is particularly interested in exploring the Maze, and the young doppelgangers coming up would instinctively avoid intelligent creatures. And the main question those in power would ask is ‘are they a threat’ and at this level of technology, the answer is no. It's very possible that those in charge are aware, they just don't care.”

“Well shit.” Chris sighed. “I was hoping you might know something we could use to get them on board. Right now, we're pretty much hoping they'll be more scared of the surface races than they’ll be of me, which is more of a gamble than I'd like. I mean, sure, death is scary, but so is eternal slavery.”

“Arguably more so.” Salvador muttered. “No one wants to die, but personally, I would fear suffering more, and eternity is a long time to suffer.”

Chris nodded. “And it isn't like I can take the time to let them get to know me either. I basically have to trust that they'll believe I won't abuse the power I have on essentially nothing. Which again, doesn't seem like a great plan, but it's all we have.”

“Even knowing you, it isn't something anyone is going to be excited to jump into.” Derek added. “I mean, don't get me wrong, the connection is useful, but the fact that you can order me around at any point does put a damper on things, even knowing you won't.”

“You might be a bit more generous if you'd gotten a new ability.” Zack commented, activating his aura. “ThisShitIsAwesome!”

“That- yeah, no, actually, that would make this whole thing a lot more worth it.” Derek agreed, turning to Chris. “When are we getting new abilities?”

“When we find something suitable.” Chris rolled his eyes.

“Since when can you give people new abilities?!?” Penny asked incredulously.

Chris paused. “Yesterday? It's Alex's thing.”

“And Alex is?” Penny asked in an exasperated tone.

Chris cocked his head. “Huh… I guess we have something else to go over.”

*

After explaining everything about Alex, the gathering wound down and they all went their separate ways, everyone more than ready for bed after the repeated revelations. Chris sent Beth to her room before opening a portal to his, stopping short as a pissed off looking Daniel jumped to his feet. “Finally!”

Chris blinked. “Why are you in my room?”

Daniel glared at him. “Do you know how hard it is to find you?!?”

Chris frowned. “Not very? You could talk to literally any of my minions to get a hold of me, and they're all over the place.”

Daniel froze. “You- you can?”

“Yeah, it's super easy.” Chris nodded.

Daniel frowned for a moment, before shaking his head. “It doesn't matter, we're ready!”

Chris cocked his head. “Ready for what?”

“To hunt! Me and the others! I've been training them, and we're ready to start!” Daniel explained.

Chris just stared at him for a moment. “I- completely forgot you were doing that. But you should probably know that the surface races are currently killing everything they find on the lower levels, and we're currently hunting on the maybe eleventh. I mean, if you insist, I'm not going to stop you, but… pretty sure you'd all just die. And since you refuse to accept the connection, that's a bigger deal for you than most of the rest of us.”

Daniel's eyes widened. “Since when?!?”

“Three days ago? Maybe four? I don't know, I've been pretty busy so it's all kind of running together.” Chris shrugged.

“That- you- what the hell are we supposed to do then?!?” Daniel exclaimed. The only reason they were even here was so they could help hunt! So they could do something to help save the City!

Chris scratched his head. “You… could help Katerina with the minions? Unless you want to accept the connection, there's not much I can do for you.”

Daniel threw up his hands. “Even if we take your damn connection, it just means we'll end up back in here when we die, even more useless than we already are!”

“Actually, I have a way to give you the abilities of creatures we kill.” Chris replied. “Only works if you're connected to me, but it'd give you a fighting chance on the upper levels.”

Daniel glared at him. “You're doing this on purpose, aren't you? Manipulating things so we have to become your minions!”

Chris shook his head. “I honestly don't give two shits whether you become my minion or not. I have more than enough minions I can use. But if you want to help, then becoming my minion is the way to do it. Or find something to do that doesn't involve fighting. Maybe training? My minions don't exactly know how to fight. Not professionally, at least. Either way, I don't care. Now can you please get out of my room? I am very tired.”

Daniel glared at him for a moment before letting out an incoherent grumble and stomping out of the room. Chris just shook his head and started getting ready for bed. It'd been a long day, and he could feel his pillow calling. He was just about comfortable, ready to drift off, when his eyes popped open and he let out a frustrated groan. Someone was hurting one of his minions, and they were begging to be saved. Which meant he had to deal with it.