"What is that?!?" Thad asked in shock as Chris sat at his desk the next morning, playing with some sort of weird sphere.

"This? It's a portal." Chris replied absently, frowning as he studied it, wondering just how this thing worked. Obviously, the portal was a sphere, but when things went through it, it didn't… warp the way he thought they should. He was currently pulling a pencil in and out of the portal, seeing how it came in and out, going as slowly as possible. There had to be some sort of… transition space, but… there wasn't any actual space in it. Chris was having the hardest time wrapping his head around the concept.

He'd been messing with the portal for a bit now and had already figured out a new principle. The portal had to open in a clear area, or at least, in a place where it could move whatever it may touch. If he did try to open it against something heavy, the portal itself would move. If he tried to open it in an enclosed space, like a drawer, it'd simply fill the space and then stop. If he wanted something to move into the portal, he had to actually move it through.

"How- right, Beth did mention that… uh, you have fun with that." Thad shook his head, before heading out to take his shower.

Chris waved as he left, before refocusing on the portal. *What I really need is two portals, so I can see it both coming and going.* He sighed to himself, before pausing. Could he make two portals? Chris turned to the area on his other side, before pop, another ball sized portal appeared. "Nice!" Chris nodded in appreciation, taking the pencil and poking it into the portal. Horizontally, the pencil seemed fine, going through just fine, but when he sent it through vertically, there was a… pause. Until the entire pencil was in, it didn't appear from the next portal. It was like when it went in horizontally, the portal was on the edge of the sphere, but vertically it was in the middle. *Weird…* Chris frowned.

Chris closed both portals, frowning. "Okay, we've learned a few things. One, the portal is weird, but that doesn't matter. Two, I can open multiple portals, which… not sure how useful that is considering I can only open them around me… wait." Chris paused, standing up. He opened a portal over his desk, before walking out of the room and heading to the front desk. As he walked, he still sensed that the portal was open, but he still wanted to test it. "Hey, can I get a piece of paper?" He asked the receptionist.

"Uh, sure?" The receptionist agreed, frowning as she handed him a piece of stationary.

Chris balled up the piece of paper, opening a portal, and dropping it through. "Thank you." He nodded to the stunned looking receptionist, before returning to his room. Back at his room, sure enough, he found the portal still there, with a ball of paper sitting on the desk. "Outstanding. So, portals can stick around until I close them. I can also connect portals to other portals instead of the Immortal World… How many portals can I have at once?" Chris wondered, before beginning to open more ball sized portals. He opened six just fine, but on the seventh, it was only about half the size of the others, and it wouldn't get any bigger. "That's… weird." Chris frowned, staring at the smaller portal. Shouldn't it either open or not open? Why would it open, but at a smaller size? Unless… the limit isn't the amount of portals but the total size of the portals!

Chris turned to the other portals, reducing their size to the same as the last one, opening six more portals before running out. He then closed all of them and opened one big portal, only a little bit taller than he was, which was his limit. "Well… two meters of portal. Or maybe a meter radius? Eh, same thing." Chris frowned, thinking about it. "So… I can't open two portals for people… unless they want to crawl. Which, you know, works. Still pretty good actually."

Chris looked around the room, at all his packed up stuff, then at the portal. "I should just move this stuff in, shouldn't I?" He muttered to himself, before deciding that yes, yes he should. He began carrying boxes into the Immortal World, packing all his stuff away, before looking around the now empty room, disregarding the dressers and bed that were provided by the orphanage, plus Thad's stuff. "I should go and buy some furniture." Chris muttered.

Thad walked back into the room after his shower and froze, eyes widening slightly. "Uh… did you move out?"

"Huh? No, just put everything in my world." Chris explained with a shrug. "I had to put it all away anyways, so I figured why not put it away in there? I'll never have to pack or unpack again. I do however need some furniture to put in there. Want to come help me pick some out?"

"You want to buy furniture? For your other world? So you can what, hang out in there?" Thad asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Well, no, mostly organizational stuff like dressers and whatnot. So my stuff isn't just hanging out in boxes. Though, it would be nice to have a bed in there… maybe a couch and a few chairs as well? It'd be like having a sitting room a step away, no matter where I go." Chris muttered thoughtfully, nodding as he got used to the idea.

Thad paused. "That does sound rather nice… sure, I'll come along." He shrugged, heading to his side of the room to get dressed.

Once he was ready, they went to get Penny as well, before heading to the mall to find some furniture. Chris wasn't too picky about what he got, as long as it would fit his stuff. He got two dressers, one with drawers for most of his clothes, and another with a cabinet where he could hang anything that needed to be hung. He also got a couch, two recliners, and a coffee table to make a sitting area, as well as a desk and chair for his computer. Finally, he bought a king sized bed to sleep on. He didn't necessarily need something that big, but after spending his entire life sleeping in a small twin sized bed, he felt it'd be nice to have some room to spread out.

"Alright, sir, and where would you like all this to be delivered?" The cashier asked as they checked out.

Chris shook his head. "No need to deliver. Just put it all in here." He replied, opening a portal, tossing the blankets, sheets, and other extras they'd bought in as he did.

"Ah, I see. Let me make a call real quick." She replied, raising a finger as she picked up her phone. After a quick conversation, she turned back to Chris. "Give us about half an hour to put everything together, and you can head to the delivery bay out back where you can pick up your order. Here's your receipt, and please, have a nice day!"

Chris nodded, thanking her before walking out with Thad and Penny. "So… what should we do-" Chris froze mid step.

"Chris? What's up, why'd you stop?" Penny asked, sounding concerned.

"There's a goblin in my world." Chris replied with a frown, focusing on his Immortal World, where a goblin had suddenly popped into existence. The same goblin he'd released a week or so ago. "Hold on." Chris muttered towards Penny and Thad, before opening a portal and stepping through, letting it close behind him, leaving the two of them standing there with dumbfounded expressions.

After a moment, Thad turned to Penny with a frown. "Did he say goblin?"

Chris stepped into the Immortal World, right next to the goblin. "Hey."

The goblin jumped in shock, as Chris appeared. [Ch-Chief! What are you- why- why am I back in this place?] The goblin asked nervously.

Chris frowned. "That's what I was about to ask you… what were you doing before you appeared here?"

[I was battling a lizard… a-and losing.] The goblin replied, hanging its head in shame.

Chris raised an eyebrow. "Did you die?"

The goblin hesitated before nodding slightly. [I believe so, Chief.]

"And then you just appeared here?" Chris continued.

[Yes, Chief.] The goblin nodded.

"Huh…" Chris grunted, finding the goblin's experience rather familiar… it was the same thing that happened to him whenever he died! But why would it happen to this goblin? Did it have something to do with the strange connection they shared? And… "Why are you calling me 'Chief'?"

The goblin frowned. [Because you're my Chief?]

"Your Chief?" Chris echoed back, looking confused.

[Yes, Chief. You are the one who I am bound to serve. My Chief. My Lord.] The goblin explained, kneeling down and bowing his head.

"Since when!?!" Chris asked incredulously, staring down at the kneeling goblin.

The goblin cocked his head. [Since the day you released me, Chief. Didn't you feel it? The bond that was formed that day? The mark that reminds me of my duty at all times?]

"Well… yeah, but that just kinda lets me understand you and know where you are… there isn't anything about servitude in there!" Chris retorted. "You know what, let's just forget it. Undo the bond. I release you!" Chris announced, waving his hands.

The goblin cocked his head, looking around. [I don't think that's how it works, Chief.]

"Oh for fucks sake." Chris groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Fuck it, fine. Whatever. Do you have a name? Wait- Dyrdek?" Chris frowned, realizing he already knew the goblin's name for some reason.

[Yes, Chief.] Dyrdek nodded.

Chris's frown deepened. "How did I- ugh, forget it. I have no idea." He groaned, rubbing his temple. "What am I going to do with you?" He sighed, glaring at Dyrdek.

Dyrdek shifted nervously. [Could- could you release me back to the other world?] He asked tentatively.

Chris shook his head. "That wouldn't work. We aren't in the Maze anymore, and I can't have you running around the City. You'd scare people, and probably end up getting yourself killed, bringing you right back here anyways. Not a good solution. No, it looks like you're stuck here until I can get back to the Maze, which… could be a while."

Dyrdek's eyes widened in horror as he leapt forward to grab Chris's legs. [Chief, please, have mercy! I cannot experience the emptiness again! The eternal nothingness that eats at your soul and consumes you, bit by bit, driving you to insanity! I would rather die! Please Chief, something, anything else!]

"H-hey! Knock it off!" Chris pulled back, escaping his grasp on his legs. "Calm down, okay! It won't be so bad this time. I'll bring you some games and shit to occupy yourself."

[Games?] Dyrdek cocked his head in confusion.

"Yeah, they're… they're these things you play with, and they keep you entertained." Chris explained.

[Oh… that would be nice. Thank you, Chief.] Dyrdek bowed in gratitude.

"No problem. I'm going to go for a bit, but I'll get you some games soon, after I finish with some stuff." Chris assured him, before opening the portal and heading out. He let out a weary sigh as he did, shaking his head. "What a mess."

"Chris? Is everything okay?" Penny asked as he came back, looking nervous.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Chris sighed wearily. "I just need to go buy some games."

The three of them began to wander the mall and Chris started grabbing stacks of anything that could be done alone. Puzzles, coloring books, a rubik's cube, a bop it, simon, anything he could find that was a good time waster and didn't require an outlet, chucking them into his Immortal World for Dyrdek. He also grabbed a few games he wouldn't mind having available himself, like chess. Eventually, it was time to pick up the furniture, and they headed to the delivery bay.

"Hi, we're here to pick up our furniture?" Chris explained as he walked up to one of the employees.

"Do you have a receipt?" The employee asked, and Chris pulled it out and handed it over. "Alright, come with me." The employee waved for them to follow, taking them to another section where a pile of furniture was waiting. "Alright, where are we putting this?" The employee asked, waving over another employee.

"In-" Chris paused, stopping before opening the portal. There was a goblin in there. Not something these random people will appreciate. *Can I…* Chris considered for a second, before attempting to open a portal to a different area of the Immortal World. He tentatively stuck his head through, before breathing a sigh of relief as he saw no goblin or anything. "Alright, in here guys." The workers nodded, picking up the furniture and carrying it into the Immortal World.

"Is- is that going to be a problem?" Penny asked nervously.

"Nah, I made sure the goblin is far, far away." Chris assured her.

Once they were done, they headed back to the orphanage. As they stepped through the doors, they found Mrs. Richardson rushing out herself. "Is there something wrong?" Chris asked as she brushed by.

"Huh? Chris! Yes, come with me!" Mrs. Richardson grabbed him, pulling him after her.

"Wa!" Chris exclaimed, as he was yanked along by her, rushing toward the rail station. Once Chris got his feet back under him, he glanced at Mrs. Richardson's worried face. "What's going on?"

"It's Derek." Mrs. Richardson replied with a tight frown. Mrs. Richardson was Derek's aunt, and part of how Chris had gotten so close to him. "He's back, but… he's injured. As soon as he got back, he fell unconscious. He's been in a coma ever since."

"What!?! We have to help him!" Chris exclaimed, rushing forward, pulling Mrs. Richardson along.

They quickly made it to the rail station, heading to the lifts, before taking one of the ascending lifts towards the first level. The lift was enough to accommodate almost fifty people, slowly climbing upwards, stopping at each floor to let people on and off. It took over twenty minutes before they finally reached the top, rushing towards the transporter station. They had a built in medical facility for the injured coming back from the Maze, which the two of them quickly arrived at before finding Derek's room and rushing in.

"Derek!" Mrs. Richardson exclaimed as they arrived, rushing up next to him. She turned to her sister, Derek's mom. "Do we know what's wrong yet? Is there a healer on the way?"

Derek's mom nodded. "Yes, we have everything under control. The healer should be here so- Chris! You- You're alive!"

"Hey Mrs. Veach." Chris waved. "So Derek's going to be okay?"

"Y-yes. He just has a few minor injuries that have built up. As soon as the healer arrives, he'll be fine." She replied.

"Ah. Now I feel dumb for worrying. Should have known he'd be alright." Chris nodded, smiling lightly. "Though, if you'd like, I can probably take care of it. I can heal now. Kind of."

The two women's eyes widened. "You- you can!?! Since when?!?" Mrs. Richardson asked incredulously.

"Since the Maze? How do you think I survived? Turns out I'm kind of immortal. Plus, when people die in my world, they come back healed too. Kind of a side benefit." Chris explained. "We'd need to get Derek into my world, but once he's there, he literally couldn't die if he wanted to."

"This… you're sure about this?" Mrs. Veach asked.

"Pretty sure. I already did it once when I saved this girl who was dying after being ambushed by centipedes." Chris answered.

The two women shared a look, before turning back to Chris. "If you're sure, I don't see why we wouldn't let you try." Mrs. Veach agreed.

"Cool." Chris opened a portal. "Now we just need to get him in here." They quickly disconnected Derek from the medical machines, before dragging him through the portal.

"Now what?" Mrs. Richardson asked, looking around the empty space around them.

"You two should wait outside. I'll take care of this." Chris assured them. The two stepped back through the portal, while Chris turned to Derek. "Now, how to do this…" Chris muttered to himself, wondering if he should choke Derek out or something, before having an idea. He opened up a portal down low, then another portal a bit above it. He then grabbed Derek and picked him up, easing him into the bottom portal, getting him positioned just right, and letting go. Derek began to fall through the portals, picking up speed as he looped through again and again. Chris waited until it seemed like Derek had built up enough speed, before suddenly removing the portals. Derek hit the ground with a wet splat! sending blood flying everywhere! Chris grimaced as he was hit in the face with flying remains. Thankfully, the regeneration process began quickly, all of Derek's various parts flying back together, reforming his body and healing his injuries. "Ugh… I really need to keep a knife in here or something." Chris muttered distastefully.

Moments later, Derek slowly sat up with a groan, rubbing his head. "Ugh, where am I?" He muttered, looking around before finally seeing Chris. "Oh, fuck, I died, didn't I?"

"Why wou-" Chris began, before pausing and looking around, slowly beginning to grin. He let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah buddy, we died. Honestly, I didn't expect to see you here so soon. What happened?"

Derek sighed, burying his face in his hands. "It was so stupid! I stopped by a stream for some water and didn't check the surroundings well enough, got ambushed by a snake. It all went downhill from there. I started getting delirious, I could barely walk, every fight became more and more desperate… I had a beacon on me and… I thought I'd activated it, but… I guess not."

"Wait, you had a beacon on you? Why weren't you using it?" Chris asked incredulously.

Derek flushed. "Well… I was sort of hoping I might run into you. I didn't- I didn't want to miss you if you were still alive… How did you go, anyways?"

Chris sighed, shaking his head. "You're an idiot. I died just a few days in! I fought some rats, which left me in pretty bad shape. Then it was a slow downward spiral until I finally got jumped by a goblin while I was trying to get a drink. By then I wasn't sure whether I was dying from the fever, the venom, infection, or blood loss. Maybe it was all of them. The world slowly went dark, and then I ended up here." Chris explained, enjoying the fact that he wasn't even lying.

"Well, that makes sense." Derek sighed, getting to his feet. "So, what is there to do around here?"

"Here? Nothing. This is like… a waiting area. I'm just here to pick you up, come on." Chris waved him along, walking off. Derek caught up to him, and Chris opened a portal, pushing him through.

"Where-" Derek began, looking around confused.

"Derek! You're all better!" Mrs. Veach leapt at him, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Mom!?!" Derek exclaimed in confusion, seeing Mrs. Richardson over her shoulder. "Aunt Mary? You're dead too? Wait, hold on, no." Derek frowned, turning to Chris. "What's going on here?"

"What? I said you died. Never said you were dead." Chris explained with a grin.

Derek's mouth fell open, then he closed it, then he opened it again. "I am so confused."

"Don't worry, I'll explain everything in a bit." Chris chuckled, patting Derek on the shoulder.

"That's a pretty damn good ability." Derek commented after Chris explained everything. They were waiting in the hospital room while Mrs. Richardson and Mrs. Veach dealt with getting Derek discharged.

"Well, it isn't exactly combat focused… but yeah, it's pretty good." Chris nodded along.

"Honestly, I'd take immortality over killing things good any day." Derek replied. "There's always something stronger out there, you know? Plus you can make mistakes, or just get unlucky. With immortality, all that is a non-issue! Maybe you can't win, but you can't lose either."

"I know. Still, not being able to fight is kind of a bummer, especially since I'm going to be in the Maze a lot from now on." Chris sighed.

Derek nodded along before freezing. "You're going back into the Maze?!? Why!?!"

"I'm joining the Scouts." Chris explained with a shrug.

Derek blinked, shook his head, and blinked again. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that? I thought you just said you were joining the Scouts."

Chris nodded. "You heard right. I'll be joining in a few weeks."

Derek frowned. "This is one of your jokes, right? Get me thinking one thing before pulling a switch at the last minute, just to see my reaction, right? What, is there some sort of educational program called the Scouts? Are you joining their research division?"

Chris chuckled, shaking his head. "Nope, I'm joining the real Scouts, as a member of a squad. No joke."

Derek stared at him incredulously. "Why?!? You could go to college! Get a good job! Why risk- okay, well, I guess you aren't risking your life, but still! Why sign up for something so… strenuous when you could do something more comfortable?"

"Well, there's a few reasons, but mostly it's because Beth asked me to, and I didn't care to say no." Chris shrugged.

"Beth? Who's Beth?" Derek asked, narrowing his eyes at Chris suspiciously.

"She's this girl I saved in the Maze. Kinda goofy, but she seems like a good person. Thinks I could do a lot to make sure people stay safe in the Maze." Chris replied.

"And you just agreed? Just like that?" Derek followed up, raising an eyebrow at him.

Chris shrugged. "Well it wasn't like I had any other plans. With all the benefits and what not, it really isn't a bad decision. Plus, it sounds like it'll be interesting work. I've never really cared what I do, I just don't want to be bored."

Derek glared at him for a bit longer, before sighing and shaking his head. "Even after all these years, I barely get you. Fuck it. Fine. Let's join the Scouts."

"Uh, what? You want to join too?" Chris frowned, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I can't let you do something like this alone, now can I? Besides, as you said, it'll be interesting! Plus the benefits are apparently quite good." Derek replied with a grin.

Chris shook his head. "Derek, no, this isn't- you aren't immortal! If you aren't careful, you could die!"

"Isn't that your job? You keep me safe while I kill things for you! It's a win win!" Derek exclaimed.

"Derek, you're only a mid-tier! You aren't even that powerful in the Scouts!" Chris continued.

"That's just in raw power." Derek scoffed, waving him off. "With the speed enhancement added on, my survivability shoots way up! Plus, I'm not that far from high-tier. A bit of physical training and who knows? Maybe I can upgrade."

Chris pinched the bridge of his nose. "Derek, you can't decide to join the Scouts just because I am! What about your plans? What about college? Taking over your family's business? You think the Scouts are going to prepare you for that?"

"Depends on my role in the squad. Sure, being a basic grunt won't do much for me, but I could always go into logistics or command. Add in a few finance classes during the breaks and I'll be golden! Honestly, this will probably be more practical than management classes, since I'll be getting first hand experience." Derek retorted.

"Dude-" Chris began to argue again, when his phone began to ring. He pulled it out and saw it was Beth. "Hold on, we are not done." Chris growled at him, before answering the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey! How's it going?" Beth asked.

"Pretty good. Derek's back, he was injured, but I fixed him." Chris explained shortly. "How about you?"

"Ugh, just boring stuff. I'm glad your friend is back! Uh, I was wondering, there's going to be a… celebration this Friday, for the end of the Trial, and I was wondering if you'd be my plus one?" Beth asked, sounding a little nervous.

"Uh, sure. That sounds like it'd be fun." Chris agreed. "Anything in particular I need to bring?"

"Well, it's kind of fancy, so you'll need a suit… I'll help you get one tomorrow, okay?" Beth replied. "Other than that, you should be good."

"A suit, huh? You sure you want me to come? I'm not really a fancy guy." Chris frowned slightly.

"Yes! You have to come! Please?" Beth insisted.

"Alright, I'll go. I'll see you tomorrow." Chris sighed.

"Yay! See you tomorrow!" Beth cheered happily, before hanging up.

Chris put the phone away, before turning back to Derek. "Now where were we?"

"Whoa, hold on. What was that?" Derek asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"That was Beth. She invited me to a party on Friday. Why?" Chris answered with a shrug.

"Beth, huh? The same one who you're joining Scouts with, right?" Derek asked with a thoughtful expression.

"Yup." Chris nodded. "We traveled together for a while, so we got pretty close."

Derek looked Chris over with a strange glint in his eye. "Well I'll be damned. You finally have a girlfriend!" He announced excitedly, wrapping his arm around Chris's shoulders. "Ah, I have so much to teach you! Have you two gone on a date yet? Is this party going to be your first? You'll need to get her flowers, obviously-"

"Wait, wait, hold on!" Chris stopped Derek. "Beth is not my girlfriend! I mean, she's a great girl, and I probably wouldn't mind dating her, but I've only known her for a week!"

Derek raised an eyebrow at him. "You know most people date based on like five minute interactions, right? Like, they see each other, like how they look, exchange numbers, and then start setting things up."

Chris frowned. "That seems like a horribly cavalier way to initiate relationships. You barely know what you're getting into at that point!"

"That's just how relationships work! The longer you know someone, the harder it is to ask them out. Once you build connections, you don't want to risk losing them." Derek countered.

Chris's frown deepened. "Why would you be risking anything? Isn't a date just a chance to get to know the person better to see if you're interested in pursuing something more? Why would that be a problem? If anything it's flattering, like saying you're good enough I might want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Derek rolled his eyes. "You see, people have these things called emotions that make even the idea that someone might potentially want to spend the rest of their lives with them a big deal, you fucking robot."

"Well that's dumb." Chris muttered, crossing his arms.

Derek sighed. "Sure it is. Fine. If dating isn't such a big deal, why haven't you gone on one with this Beth girl yet?"

"I still have information to gain from the friendly side of things." Chris explained. "I know we get along well, which is good, but that isn't all I'm looking for in a romantic partner. I need to examine the content of her character. We've had a few interactions that I believe are good signs, but then again she might just be the type of person who always sides with the people she likes. I'm not sure yet."

Derek buried his face in his hands. "Holy fuck you're going to blow this!" He groaned, wiping his face with his hands, before placing them on Chris's shoulders and looking him in the eye with a stern look. "Listen to me. Do you like this girl?"

"Ostensibly?" Chris replied hesitantly.

"Fuck you. Now, here's what you're going to do. You're going to go to this party with her, and continue your little evaluation. However, at the end of the party, if you still think you might want to date her, you are going to ask her out! Understand?" Derek explained, keeping Chris focused with an intense glare.

Chris's expression twisted, before he finally sighed and nodded. "Fine. I'll do it."