Path to the Apocalypse

Alex was weirdly subdued as he followed Beth back into Chris's space. “So… care to explain?” Chris asked as they all sat down. “Cause I was under the impression that no one on Earth has an ability, so I'm not sure how you could actually be from there.”

“It's- complicated.” Alex sighed.

Chris nodded. “I figured it would be.”

“Yeah, someone from Earth ending up in the City and gaining an ability can't be a simple story.” Beth agreed.

Alex grimaced slightly. “Right. Well, I guess I'll start from the beginning then. I grew up like anyone else on Earth. I mean, I was a loser, but- you know, a normal one. Almost painfully so. I wasn't smart, I wasn't attractive, I wasn't athletic, or charismatic or… anything. I sort of just drifted through my childhood completely unnoticed, and when I finally graduated, I realized I had no idea what to actually do with my life. I spent a few years bumming around, living with my parents and working minimum wage jobs, building up my savings as I tried to find something I could actually be good at, but it wasn't going well, until… The Maze came out. Playing video games was one of my few outlets, so I ended up being one of the first players in the game, going with an Intellect and Appeal focused build.”

Chris cocked his head. “Intellect and Appeal?”

Beth sighed. “You really skipped the entire character creation process, didn't you? Intellect determines how effective your skills are and how quickly you can learn them, while Appeal determines the force of your personality.”

Chris grunted. “Got it, so you were going for political power then?”

Alex coughed awkwardly. “Actually, I just wanted to see what it felt like to be smart and popular for a change, so… I went to college. And it was great! I was breezing through courses I couldn't even have named before, and I was going to parties every night! Even better, whatever I learned in the game I could use in real life too! I started doing some freelance IT and programming jobs online, anything that wouldn't ask me for a degree, building up a reputation and a portfolio until I had enough steady clients that I felt comfortable getting my own place. But the more I played the game, the less interest I had in real life. I was just better in the game! Smart, funny, engaging, everything I've ever wanted to be! But in reality, even with all the skills I'd learned, it didn't actually make me any smarter or more appealing. I started spending more and more time in the game, and once the capsules came out, I pretty much never left. All my work was online, so I just did it in the game. It became my new reality. I got a simple job with the Department of Water and Power to fund my life in the game, I made friends with the NPC's, and I even dated a few. I can honestly say that for the first time, I was actually happy with my life.”

Alex scowled as he continued. “And then the war began. At first I ignored it, since it was all in the Maze, figuring it was just an event for the more combat focused players, and ultimately it wouldn't affect the City. But then the doppelgangers showed up, and everyone went crazy! The whole City was in chaos! People were fighting in the streets, barricading whole sections to keep people out or in, and the only place you could find order was in the territory controlled by either the elves or the doppelgangers! The Department of Water and Power had to work overtime to fix all the damage the war was causing, all while desperately recruiting more workers because half of the ones we'd had were either caught up in the war themselves or dead! I ended up getting a few promotions in the process, becoming one of the heads of the electrical division, and then- then he showed up. The Conqueror.” He spat. “He told us that he needed to hide using our tunnels, to stay out of the elves and the doppelgangers' reach, and use them to sneak around the City so he could show up where the elves and the doppelgangers would least expect. He wanted to use the department to recruit and hide spies and saboteurs! And I- disagreed. I thought he should just turn himself in, so the doppelgangers and the elves would leave! But- the rest of the department was on his side. I ended up cursing them all out, telling them I was going to tell everyone what their plan was, and… he killed me. They let him kill me!”

Alex snorted. “But I was a player, so I'd just revive, right? No, apparently that secret was too important for the game to just let me revive, so they banned me! I wouldn't be able to log in until more than ten percent of the player population knew the secret as well! Even worse, according to the user agreement, if I revealed the secret in real life, I could face fines in the millions, or possibly even jail time! I- I felt like I'd lost everything. The game was my life! I spent hours just feeling numb, and at some point I ended up at a bar, and I just started drinking. I vaguely remember getting cut off and heading to a liquor store to buy more, but after that… All I remember is pain. And then… I woke up in the Maze. As Alex.”

“Wait, so this isn't your original body?” Chris asked.

Alex shook his head. “No, I think- I think the original me died, and then somehow my soul was brought here and merged with Alex's.”

Chris raised a finger as he created a phone. “What was your name?”

“Uh… John?” Alex replied.

“John what?” Chris pressed, going to look his name up.

“John Smith.” Alex answered.

Chris blinked at the results. He then added ‘dead’ after the name. It didn't help. “I think I need a middle name.”

“It was actually Alexander.” Alex smiled slightly. “Kinda weird, now that I think about it.”

Beth rolled her eyes. “Yes, that's what's weird about all this.”

Alex flushed awkwardly as Chris nodded in satisfaction. “Alright, I found it. Looks like you died in a mugging on your way back home. So, no other you running around out there.”

“That's- good, I suppose?” Alex muttered.

“It makes it a lot less awkward to tell your family you're alive.” Chris shrugged. “Well, it'll probably still be awkward… less confusing? No, still confusing too… They'll be more willing to accept that you're their son? If you want them to, at least. You could just let them keep thinking you're dead.”

Alex blinked. “I- I hadn't thought about that…”

“Well, you might want to make a decision soon.” Chris commented. “We're moving the City to Earth, and once that happens, you kinda lose your excuse for not telling them earlier.”

“I- you- what!?!” Alex jumped up in shock. “You're moving the City to Earth?!?”

Chris raised an eyebrow at him. “Yeah? How else would we keep everyone safe? We can't stop the elves and the doppelgangers from coming, and even if I run away or give myself up, the City will still be a target, so the only real option is to move the City someplace they can't reach, and our only real option for that is Earth.” Chris paused. “Though I might be able to find more options if I separated out a few more sections of my space…”

Beth frowned. “I'm not sure that's a good idea. What if you opened a portal to hell?”

“I'd close it?” Chris offered.

Beth shook her head. “Sure, but we already know demons can open portals to other worlds, so what if they end up using the portal you open to find us?”

“It could end up getting the City and Earth destroyed.” Chris muttered. “Yeah, let's avoid that.”

Alex glared at Chris for a moment. “I don't get it… if you're this powerful, why did the other you insist on putting maintenance workers in danger for his plans?!? Why didn't he just evacuate the City to a different world!?!”

“Oh, we're assuming the other me isn't this powerful.” Chris waved dismissively. “We figure he can gain the powers of others and grow his own power somehow, but he doesn't have my space or my minions, or his actions don't make a whole lot of sense. Unless he's stupid. Or an asshole.”

Alex scowled. “He did kill me.”

“Sure, but I would have done that too.” Chris waved dismissively. “Well, I would have made you a minion, but if I couldn't do that, you'd be dead. Letting you go would compromise everything I was working for, and I can't imagine I'd have the resources or manpower to imprison you, so death is really the only option.”

“You- what?!? You can't just kill people because they don't agree with you!” Alex protested.

“Of course not, but I will kill someone if letting them live means a bunch of other people will die.” Chris retorted.

Alex opened his mouth to argue, then suddenly seemed to realize something as he deflated. “Yeah… I can see that.” He hesitated for a moment. “That's- that's why I tried to kill you.”

Chris blinked. “You did?”

Beth's eyes widened as she shot to her feet. “You were the shooter!” She pointed at him accusingly.

Alex flinched, nodding hesitantly. “I- I thought I could end the war before it even began. All I needed to do was kill one person, and then the rest of the City would be safe! I didn't know what you looked like, since I already noticed that names and faces are a lot different over here… I wasn't even sure you'd exist, but I knew if you did, you'd show up for the marking ceremony. You'd need to show off how strong you are so you could lead everyone into the Maze.”

“Wait, the shooter had multiple abilities though.” Chris interjected, looking at Alex with his energy sense. He was clearly a mid-tier! Low end, at that. How- “Oh, wait, I see it.” He nodded in satisfaction as he took a closer look. There were itty-bitty condensed points of energy all through Alex's body that Chris could only see when he really focused. “That's an interesting way to hide your ability energy. Never would have noticed if I wasn't looking for it. I assume your ability was altered somehow by whatever brought you here?”

Alex gulped, glancing between the curious Chris and the angry Beth nervously. “Y-yes. My- Alex's ability was just to shoot bullets from his fingers. But when we merged, I gained the ability to steal the ability energy from anything I killed to either increase my own or copy their ability, which I can then strengthen just like my own. If I copy it, I also gain their form, and when I strengthen an ability, the associated form is strengthened as well, based on how physically strong the thing I killed was.”

Chris cocked his head. “So you need to grow each ability individually? That sounds like it could be a pain, but actually stronger than mine in the long run, since each ability would have its own reserve to work with.” He paused. “Well, at least when it comes to having multiple abilities… I'd still choose my space over your ability. Particularly since if I didn't, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now. Because I'd be dead. Also, if you become my minion, I get both, so…”

“Chris, stop focusing on his ability, and focus on the fact that he tried to kill you!” Beth growled.

Chris scratched his head. “Okay… but I would have done the same thing in his position, so I'm not sure I have much to say about it. If I could have prevented the war by killing myself, I probably would have. Though if I had the foreknowledge to know that, I probably could have just avoided exposing myself. Plus, I did just say I would have killed him to prevent him from exposing the resistance.”

Beth scowled at him. “Chris, there's a difference between killing someone who knows what they're doing will hurt someone, and killing someone who has no idea there's anything wrong with what they're doing!”

“True, but if I have the choice to kill one person to save millions of others, I'm probably going to take it. I mean, I'll look for other solutions if I can, but this one is pretty cut and dry. If I die, no invasion. If I live, invasion.” Chris pointed out.

“But your death doesn't even solve the real problem!” Beth retorted, throwing up her hands in frustration. “If you survive, you can put an end to a war that has been going on for ages! If you die, the war goes on, leaving who knows how many more people to die, and even if the elves and the doppelgangers don't invade now, they can invade whenever they want, and now you've gotten rid of the one chance we had to resist them! Killing you is just- just- selfish!”

Chris paused. “Well, when you put it that way… but I can still see how he would think killing me would be his best option, so I can't exactly fault him for not thinking it fully through. I think he's made it pretty clear he's not all that bright.”

“Hey!” Alex protested.

“What? One of the major points of your story was that you aren't that smart, you couldn't see that giving me up wouldn't actually help anything, and you thought you could threaten to reveal the secrets of a person way stronger than you without any repercussions.” Chris listed off, pausing as he thought of something. “Maybe you should kill a few imps and use their energy to strengthen your mind. Though we'd have to find some imps that deserve to die… not that that'd be all that difficult.” Imps were better than goblins, but none of the creatures that lived in the Maze were exactly saints, which was part of the reason Chris didn't particularly mind turning them into his minions.

Alex crossed his arms uncomfortably. “You don't have to just say it like that.”

“I mean, given your recent track record, I think I kinda do…” Chris muttered.

Beth struggled to stay angry while suppressing her amusement. “Chris, this doesn't change the fact that he tried to kill you.”

“I guess, but what are we going to do about it?” Chris shrugged. “He can break out of my space, I'm almost positive he's too strong to be a minion, and I don't think he deserves to die over it, so our options are pretty much leave him on Earth or take him back to the City.”

Beth frowned, turning to examine Alex thoughtfully while he shifted uncomfortably, before nodding firmly as she made a decision. “Okay, since doing anything officially would probably end up getting half the City destroyed as people freaked out over the elves and the doppelgangers, if you want to make up for your mistakes, you're going to be helping Chris get stronger. He needs energy to grow his space, and you're going to get it for him. All you have to do is kill creatures in the Maze and toss them into Chris's space. And we'll assign one of Chris's minions to accompany you so they can take you in and out of the Maze. And also keep an eye on you, because I don't trust you. That, or we leave you on Earth, because I don't trust you not to cause problems in the City. Not that I think you would do it on purpose, but… well, I think Chris has already been fairly clear about our faith in your intellectual capabilities.” She finished, giving him a slightly mocking smile.

Alex hesitated, considering her proposal for a moment. “Could- would I be able to strengthen my own abilities as well?”

Beth narrowed her eyes. “Yes, but you only get one out of every ten, and you have to ask the minion accompanying you permission before you can absorb anything.”

“What about my work with the Defense Force?” Alex asked.

Beth paused. “Okay, how about this. You owe us twenty hours of hunting a week and how you partition that out is up to you. Outside of that time we'll have a bug watching you, with a minion observing through it. A minion will still personally accompany you in the Maze.”

Alex nodded slowly. “For how long?”

Beth frowned, turning to Chris. “What do you think?”

Chris cocked his head. “Until we evacuate the City? Or until the elves and the doppelgangers invade. It's going to be hard to hunt with them in the Maze.”

“True.” Beth agreed, turning back to Alex. “Does that work for you?”

Alex nodded. “Yeah, I can agree to that.”

“Good. And I'm well aware that once you're back in the City, there's not much we'll actually be able to do to control you.” Beth added seriously. “So please, please don't do anything stupid, okay? We'll be fine, but the rest of the City might not be.”

Alex grimaced. “I'll- try my best.”

Beth watched him warily for a moment, before letting out a sigh. “Alright Chris, let him out.”

“Let me get you a bug.” Chris yawned as he got up. “Then I'm going to sleep.”