Path to the Apocalypse

The squad returned to the Scout base after only a week, leaving them another three until it was officially time to graduate. The recruit assignments were supposed to take about two weeks, with an extra two weeks to account for any complications, and the imp subjugation was predicted to take around three, but thanks to the information from Chris's new minions and his portals allowing them to strike directly at the high-tiers, they'd finished early. Since they hadn't officially graduated yet, they still had to live in the recruit barracks, but since they were done with their training, they were finally allowed to leave the base, as long as they returned before curfew.

“So, what do you guys want to do first!?!” Beth asked excitedly after they all finished packing their gear away.

“Sleep?” Derek suggested. It wasn't that late, but with the raid and packing up camp, they were all exhausted.

Beth rolled her eyes. “Obviously, but I mean after that! We haven't been off base in months! We need to get out there and do something!”

“Technically we were just off base.” Chris pointed out.

Beth glared at him. “Chris, I shouldn't have to tell you that the Maze does not count. That was work. We need to do something fun!”

“I was kinda hoping to go see my family…” Zack commented. They'd still been able to text and call their families during their free time, and every now and then they'd get a package, but it just wasn't the same as actually being with them.

“Yeah, my mom would literally kill me if I didn't go see her the first chance I got.” Derek agreed, glancing at Chris. “And she'd at least try to kill you.”

Chris frowned. “What do I have to do with you visiting your parents?”

Derek sighed. “Chris, you need to visit them. And Aunt Mary. We also need to see Penny and Thad.”

“I get Penny and Thad, and I suppose I can go along with your parents, but why Mrs. Richardson?” Chris asked skeptically. “I was just someone who grew up in her orphanage. It isn't like we were all that close.”

“Dude, she literally raised you!” Derek retorted. “How can you say you aren't close?!?”

“Because that's how orphanages work?” Chris replied, looking confused. “They raise you, because someone has to, and then they're done. They have to be done, because they still have to raise the next set of orphans. They don't have the time or resources to maintain close relationships with everyone they raise. I appreciate everything Mrs. Richardson did for me, but I also recognize she needs to be free to be there for the next child who needs her. I can't hog her all to myself.” Chris had seen more than a few kids latch onto the orphanage caretakers, treating them like actual parents, and it never ended well. If the caretakers were actually capable of being their parents, they would have adopted them. No, the most Chris would do was write Mrs. Richardson a letter every now and then, to make sure she knew he was still doing well. Anything more than that would be selfish.

“Why don't you let her decide?” Beth suggested. “Let her know you'd be interested in visiting her and see what she says. There's no harm in offering, right?”

Chris cocked his head, thinking about it for a moment. “I suppose I could do that…” Letting other people set the pace of a relationship was familiar territory for Chris. If Mrs. Richardson actually wanted him to visit, he wouldn't mind stopping by, and making sure she knew it was an option wasn't the worst idea.

“Great!” Beth clapped. “So we'll take the next few days to visit family and friends! But we still need things to do together, so I want to hear some suggestions tomorrow!” They made various sounds of agreement, before splitting up to get ready for bed.

Chris entered his space, taking a moment to appreciate its increased size. After the raid, Platoon Four had taken the majority of the high-tier imp cores, but they'd left Chris the bodies and the two weakest cores to absorb, as a reward for his exemplary work, letting him once again grow his space, almost doubling it on each side, and confirming that it did make his space stronger, his connection with Jello firming up, something the slime was ecstatically happy about. Space was no longer really an issue, but material was, particularly with the five new imps. Chris paused, frowning at the group of imps. Wasn't he only supposed to have four of them? When had he picked up an extra?

Chris couldn't figure it out, so he walked over to the imps. “Hey, where did she come from?” Chris asked, pointing at the extra imp, who immediately froze.

“You- a portal dropped her onto us and you said to take care of her?” Fribolt replied.

Chris blinked. “Did I? When- wait, I remember. She's the one who alerted the tribe.” Chris nodded as it clicked. Tossing her into his space had been more of an afterthought than anything, and he'd quickly had bigger issues to deal with. He glanced at the terrified looking imp and sighed. [Alright, calm down. I'm not going to hurt you. You just have to become my minion. Good?]

The imp turned to the others for help, but they just shook their heads. [Just accept it, Jinolt. Resisting him is pointless.] Tibolt commented with a twisted expression.

[I wouldn't say it's pointless, but for a lower mid-tier it would be largely irrelevant, yes.] Chris confirmed. He was about to go to bed anyway, and the effort he spent crushing her will would probably just help him sleep better.

Jinolt glanced at Chris, gulping slightly. [What- what would being your minion entail?] The other imps focused on him as well, having been wondering this themselves. So far all they'd been doing was hanging out in his space, but they knew that was just because he'd promised to use them against their tribe as little as possible. Now that he was finished, they wondered what use he would have for them.

[What do you want it to entail?] Chris replied with a shrug. [My main use for you at the moment is to increase the variety of abilities I can borrow. What you do outside of that is largely up to you. You want to fight? I'll find a role for you in the squad. You want to make things? The squad could always use better gear. You want to make traps? We could use someone bringing in food and cores. Hell, if you want to spend all day mining rocks, I could use more material in here. Or you could spend most of your time sitting around watching TV and playing games. It's really up to you.]

[You wouldn't force us to- do anything?] Fribolt asked tentatively.

Chris cocked his head. [If I needed something done and you were the only one who could do it, then I might force you to do something, but otherwise I'd really rather not. I prefer to work with you, you know? Having to constantly force you to do things just sounds like a pain.]

Fribolt and Firbolt shared shocked looks, before turning back to him. [You really won't- do anything to us?] Firbolt asked, a suspicious note in her tone.

Chris raised an eyebrow at her. [Is this about your old master? The one I assume raped the two of you?]

Fribolt and Firbolt's eyes widened in shock. [How- how-] Firbolt stammered.

Chris shrugged. [It was pretty obvious. You knew the human language, you immediately decided the best way to escape was to seduce me, you clearly had previous experience with dominators based on your reactions to my connection… plus a bunch of other little things, like your demeanor and what not. I swear, the two of you flinch whenever I look at you.]

[How could we not?!?] Firbolt growled. [We could at least resist our old master. You- you could do anything to us!]

Chris nodded. [True, I could. But I won't. Because, as I told you, I have a girlfriend, and you look like you're thirteen.]

[That didn't stop our old master.] Fribolt muttered, shuddering slightly. She knew Chris was telling the truth due to their connection, but she also knew there were a lot of things people could claim truthfully that ended up being false when circumstances changed. Sure, Chris was happy with his girlfriend now, but once the relationship started to cool off or they broke up, the cute imp girls who couldn't resist or give away his secrets would start looking pretty tempting, wouldn't they?

Chris paused, feeling the accusation through the connection, the idea that the moment it was convenient, he'd change his mind. [I think if I wouldn't do it now, there's not much chance I would do it ever. I'm currently the most sexually frustrated I've ever been in my life, and still, I have no desire to sleep with you.]

Fribolt blinked. [You- are?]

Chris grimaced slightly. [I've spent the last few months living in close proximity with my incredibly attractive girlfriend who I am deeply in love with, all while having access to a space that would give us all the privacy we need to do whatever we want, a place we are regularly alone in. If I haven't done anything with her due to my principles, I doubt I'll do anything to you, who I am less attracted to, not in love with, and have stronger principles against sleeping with.] He stared down the two imps as they looked back wide-eyed. [So… are we good?] The two nodded numbly, and he turned to Jinolt. [How about you?] Jinolt nodded tentatively. She wasn't exactly excited about being a minion, but based on all this it didn't sound like the worst thing in the world. [Great. Don't fight me.] Chris pushed the connection at her, and she couldn't help but put up a little resistance before quickly accepting it. Chris then sent the human language at her, causing her to yelp and he turned to leave. “Alright, everyone get some sleep!” Chris called out to his minions, making beds for them as he walked out, mostly because he didn't want them waking him up to make beds later. He really needed to get more material.

*

The squad spent the next few days catching up with family and friends, which left Chris with very little free time, as he had to visit Penny and Thad, Derek's parents, Beth's parents, and Mrs. Richardson, who seemed honestly overjoyed to meet-up with him, which Chris found… strange. Chris had done a lot to limit the attachments he developed, particularly as the time for his Trial approached. There wasn't much he could do about Derek, Penny, and Thad, but for everyone else he pretty much just kept his distance. He couldn't figure out why Mrs. Richardson and even Derek's parents would be so attached to him when he'd barely interacted with them in any significant way. Sure, he was around, but he kept to himself for the most part, so why? He just couldn't wrap his head around it. And so, as he was wont to do, he asked.

Mrs. Richardson blinked as Beth, who'd insisted on joining him as she had for all the other visits, covered her face and groaned. “You want to know why I care about you?”

“Essentially. I didn't think we'd developed that close a relationship. Enough that you'd want to hear from me, sure, but not enough that you'd be excited about me visiting.” Chris elaborated. “I mean, I very purposefully tried to avoid developing close relationships.”

Mrs. Richardson smiled, shaking her head. “Chris, when you see a child purposefully cutting himself off from everyone around him, the appropriate response is not to stop caring about them, it's to care more. When you know the child is doing it to save as many people as he can from being hurt by a death he knows is coming, you can't help but admire him, even as it breaks your heart. Chris, you might be the most noble and conscientious young man to ever pass through my orphanage. I only wish I could have found the courage to truly call you my son.” She finished, reaching out and grabbing his hand with tears in her eyes.

“Oh… cool.” Chris nodded, only to yelp as Beth punched him. Hard.

“Hug! Your! Mother!” Beth growled, emphasizing each word with another punch, tears pooling in her own eyes.

“Oh, good idea.” Chris agreed, getting up.

“No, no, that isn't necessary.” Mrs. Richardson shook her head, smiling as she wiped her eyes. “I know how Chris is.”

“Hey, just because I'm not the most emotional guy doesn't mean you shouldn't get a hug.” Chris countered, opening his arms.

Mrs. Richardson hesitated for a moment, before getting up and giving Chris a hug, tentatively at first, and then slowly tighter, until she was squeezing him as hard as she could, tears flowing freely as Chris hugged her back, though thankfully he refrained from replicating her crushing hold, as her old bones wouldn't stand up to it quite so well. “Thank you.” She whispered with a sniff, before pulling back.

Chris gave her a slight smile. “If there's anyone I'd be happy to call my mom, it'd be you. I think a hug is the least I could do.” Beth started bawling at that.

*

“So that's Carmen, Nadia, and Zack. Guys, this is Penny and Thad.” Beth introduced the squad to Penny and Thad as they all sat down. After everyone had caught up with their friends and family, it was the common consensus that they wanted to meet the rest of the squad as well, prompting another round of visits. And of course, for Penny and Thad, they were meeting up at Hellfire.

“It's so nice to meet you all!” Penny exclaimed excitedly, while Thad just waved.

“It's nice to meet you too.” Carmen smiled back.

“I gotta ask, what was it like growing up with Chris around?” Zack asked. “Cause if it's anything like being on a squad with him, it had to have been frustrating as hell.”

“Probably not.” Chris commented. “I didn't know about my space back then.”

Everyone shared looks. “Chris, your space is ridiculous, but it is not what makes you frustrating.” Beth sighed, patting his leg.

Chris blinked. “It isn't? Then what is?”

“You're impossible to get back at.” Zack grumbled. “You're either completely okay with something or completely not okay with it, so if I poke you, you either ignore it or you get pissed! There's no middle ground where someone can just tease you!”

“Not entirely true.” Thad countered. “If you can find a way to confuse him, he'll get frustrated, but he'll treat it more like a puzzle than something to get angry over. The problem is that Chris is good at puzzles, so it's hard to find a way to actually confuse him.”

“The best way to do it is to allude to something someone he knows may have done, but never actually say it.” Penny smirked. “The vaguer you can keep it, the better.”

Chris grimaced. “I hate it when you do that. I'm still wondering what Tommy Morris did to get you so pissed at him.”

“And yet you haven't forgotten to get me a single birthday present since.” Penny commented, her smirk growing slightly.

“Okay, how do you get him to put more than the minimum required effort into any task.” Nadia asked seriously.

“You don't.” Thad shook his head. “The best you can do is convince him to hold himself to a higher requirement. It took me months to put together a good enough argument to convince him to take a shower every day.”

“And brush his teeth.” Penny nodded.

“Still haven't managed to get him to floss.” Derek muttered.

Chris sighed. “Daily hygiene is such a pain.”

Beth glared at him. “You don't floss?”

Chris blinked. “No? But to be fair, I'm pretty sure my healing takes care of cavities.”

Beth shook her head. “It isn't about cavities, it's about your teeth being clean. Floss. Every day.”

“Fine.” Chris agreed with a slightly twisted expression.

“Well, apparently you either have to accept it or be Beth.” Carmen grinned.

“I care more about her opinion of me than the extra effort it will take to floss.” Chris shrugged. “I just hate sticking my fingers in my mouth like that.”

“Alright, I've got one! Has anyone found a way to get a better reaction than ‘cool’ out of him?” Beth asked.

“If you haven't done it, then I'm pretty sure it's impossible.” Derek chuckled. “Though maybe once you've done it…” He added, wiggling his eyebrows.

Beth frowned. “Huh? How would it happen after I've done it? Wouldn't that be doing it?”

“He means after we've had sex, Beth.” Chris explained.

“Oh.” Beth flushed, her eyes suddenly widening as she whirled on him. “If your reaction to our first time is ‘cool’, I'll- I'll-!” She began, before deflating with a groan. “Oh, who am I kidding. That's definitely going to be your reaction.”

Chris paused. “Would ‘really cool’ be better?” Beth glared at him as he sighed. “I didn't think so.”

Carmen suppressed a laugh, letting out a slight cough. “Alright, alright, enough about Chris. What can you tell us about Derek?”

“He's an idiot.” Penny stated blandly.

“Hey!” Derek protested.

“All he has to do is get an easy degree so he can inherit his family's company, but what does he do instead? He joins the Scouts! All because he wants a little ‘excitement’! Absolute moron!” Penny continued, practically growling by the end.

“Beth and Chris-” Derek began.

“Beth is a high-tier and Chris is practically unkillable!” Penny snapped. “All you are is slightly above average! You're risking everything and gaining nothing! Why risk your life when you could live perfectly well here!?!”

“Because it's what I want to do!” Derek retorted angrily. “I'm not happy doing the bare minimum! I'd rather die trying to live than live slowly dying inside!”

“What about us?!?” Penny countered. “How are we supposed to be happy while you're out there trying to get yourself killed!?! How are we supposed to accept that one day you might not come home!?!” She asked, choking up towards the end. “It's a stupid, selfish risk you never had to take, and I hate you for it!”

Derek flinched. “Penny, I-”

“I don't want to hear any more of your excuses!” She growled, glaring at him. “All they do is make it clear you only care about yourself!”

The table fell silent, the others shifting awkwardly while Chris cocked his head thoughtfully. “Huh… It is kinda selfish, now that I think about it.”

“Damn it, Chris.” Derek groaned, covering his head.

“What? Just because it's selfish doesn't mean it's wrong.” Chris shrugged. “You're not under any obligation to make yourself miserable so other people can be happy.” He turned to Penny. “And expecting other people to make themselves miserable so you can be happy is pretty selfish too. Worse than what Derek is doing, even. It's kind of hypocritical to claim you care about him while hating him for doing what makes him happy.”

“But- But he doesn't have to!” Penny protested. “I refuse to believe there's nothing other than the Scouts that could make him happy!”

“You're probably not wrong, but does it matter?” Chris retorted. “Even if there are other options, this is the option he chose. It's done. There's no changing it, whether you like it or not. So, you can either keep trying to punish him for it, making him miserable despite his decision, helping no one, or you can accept it, do what you can to support him, and make the best of things. I mean honestly, if you really think he's going to die, would you rather spend the time you have left fighting or being friends?” Penny scowled at the table, muttering under her breath. “What was that?” Chris asked, cupping his ear.

“I said being friends!” Penny snapped, flushing slightly as she glanced at Derek. “I'm- I'm sorry.”

Derek nodded. “I'm sorry too. I should have at least considered how you guys would feel…”

“Okay, who else hates how Chris makes you feel like an idiot and grateful for his advice at the same time?” Nadia grumbled, raising her hand, along with everyone else but Beth.

“I think it's nice when he breaks things down like that.” Beth smiled, leaning on Chris's shoulder.

“Who else is sick of these two being disgustingly perfect for each other?” Carmen smirked, raising her hand, again along with everyone else. The two of them just smiled, Chris putting his arm around Beth as she cuddled closer to him. After all, what couple wouldn't want to be disgustingly perfect together?

*

The rest of the time before graduation was a bit more relaxed, giving Chris time to visit the ability management office and actually see how much his space had improved. It felt a bit weird to go there without Jacobs, but he was back at his lab, probably under the assumption that Chris was still in the Maze at the moment. Chris resolved to visit him after graduation and let him perform some real tests. He'd do it before, but knowing Jacobs, he'd probably want to keep him in the lab for a week or four, which wouldn't work with his curfew.

Chris tested his barriers and found that they could now withstand seventeen ability units before breaking. As for his projectiles, they could fall… pretty much as long as he wanted, since the velocity his portals could handle was now over their terminal velocity. At least, that's what Chris assumed after watching one fall through his portals for over a minute. Of course, he still had to deal with the pressure, so eventually he'd wear himself out if he kept it up, but that was still a lot better than dealing with the headache that came from a portal breaking. He also found that his spatial sense now extended in an eight and a half meter radius all around him, pretty much confirming that the ability power of his space now sat at seventeen.

“Do you think it's because one of your parents is a slime?” Beth asked when he talked to her about it in his private space, the two cuddling on a couch. “They use energy to mutate, you use it to grow your space, but in both cases you're taking it in to make yourselves stronger.”

“Maybe.” Chris shrugged. “Or honestly probably, but trying to explain my space's origins seems pointless, in a way, because even if you add in the slime, it still doesn't really make sense. Why would an innate ability to mutate cause your child to be born as a living space that grows by consuming energy? It accounts for some of the weirdness, but not nearly enough of it.”

“True.” Beth sighed, snuggling closer to him. She hesitated for a moment. “So… I've been thinking about something.”

Chris frowned. “Bad something or good something?”

“Both?” Beth replied hesitantly. “It's about- well, we've come to the conclusion that you're probably almost definitely incapable of death, right?”

Chris narrowed his eyes. “Is this about you not wanting to get old while I stay the same age? Because I'm pretty sure I can age my body. Or at least make myself uglier so you don't feel bad.”

Beth flushed. “It isn't about that! Though now that you've said it… you definitely have to stay at least ten percent uglier than me.”

“Done.” Chris agreed before they both began to snicker.

“On second thought, I like the idea of having an eternally young boy toy.” Beth smirked.

“Why not both?” Chris offered with a smirk of his own.

Beth shuddered. “Fuck, I just pictured you with an ancient head on a teenagers body. Just- wrong.”

“Oh, see I was thinking more of a patchwork kind of thing, young and old mixed up all over.” Chris replied.

“That is so much worse.” Beth muttered with a twisted expression, before shaking her head. “Okay, enough, I actually do have something serious to talk about.”

Chris nodded. “Right, okay, hit me. Something to do with me being an immortal space man?”

“Yes, in particular since we now know your space can grow, I was thinking… it- it calls into question whether it'd be a good idea for you to connect with me or not.” Beth explained, glancing at him nervously. “On the one hand, it'd give you this power over me that probably- definitely isn't healthy in a relationship, but on the other… we could be together forever. Or at least as long as you're alive. Sure, eventually I'd get stuck in here, but as you keep growing your space, that becomes less and less of an issue. We could create our own little City in here! Floor One Hundred and One!”

Chris stared at her for a moment. “Beth… nothing would make me happier than spending the rest of my life, no matter how long that might be, with you. But being able to control you like that… As I am now, I would never do anything to abuse it, but if I truly can't die, then who knows how I'll change over eternity. People can change drastically in just a few years! I don't think I will, I sincerely hope I won't, but… it's a legitimate risk you have to consider.”

Beth nodded. “I know, and- it scares me, it really does. But… the more I think about it, the less I care. If you really will change, then that abuse is going to happen to someone. Does it really make it better just because I'm not the one suffering? But even more, I can't help but think that if anything would cause you to change, it would be an endless cycle of falling in love with people, only to lose them over and over, each time feeling shorter than the last, until they're simply blips in your life. Meaningless. Why wouldn't you abuse something meaningless? However, if I'm there, a constant companion through it all, you'd have a foundation to rely on, someone to keep you stable. Yes, it could still go wrong, but with me, it's just a chance, while without me, it's almost certain.”

“I- honestly can't tell if that was an amazing argument, or if I just don't want to lose you, so I'll agree with anything.” Chris muttered.

Beth grinned. “Why not both?”

Chris snorted. “Of course, obviously.” He paused. “So… ring shopping tomorrow?”

Beth blinked, then smiled so wide Chris suspected she'd used her ability. “Absolutely.” She agreed, before pulling him in for a long, deep kiss.