As they all stepped through the portal to Mirage, the scene was very... Balanced.

It was perfectly balanced between Chaos and Order and unsurprisingly, Leanna and Equinox were in their element, themselves moving chaotically as they started with those with the longest wait.

They ran forwards and backwards, from one side of the hall to the other as they handed out slates that Alysse had apparently been mass-producing for just such an occasion.

"When the hell did she start doing all this?" Carl asked semi-rhetorically, not actually expecting anyone to know.

"When we all thought you might end up going to war after the Lugeria incident!" Sophie shouted from behind them. "...Those slates are pre-loaded with system readers after Sis helped her perfect them. They also have a few other forms and when they are completed it unlocks some games for people to kill the time."

"Luckily we don't have currency, because some of the developers are in the mix and we would owe them a lot in royalties..." Carl said as he caught a snippet of conversation between one of them asking their friend if they gave permission. "...Make sure to ask them if they need any additional equipment to make more games. The distraction will be vital until things settle down."

"Sure I'll get Alysse to talk to them for you, whatever they need, she can make."

"Thanks Sophie, make sure you're packed for tomorrow."

"You mean we're still going?" She looked shocked, but they just looked at Tiamutael.

"Yeah, of course. We have objectives, it's not purely recreational. We don't have Alysse's blessing where our hobby is our job, we need to take a step back now and take an objective look at where we are and where we want to be as much with the faction as our ourselves."

"Does anyone have any idea how many there are in total?"

"Roughly one-hundred and nineteen thousand. Our plan is to treat the suites like dorm rooms, so the kids will have each other for support as well as the supervisors you wanted." Sis explained as she seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"Sis! Glad you're here..." The excited greeting from Carl took her by surprise, but she tried her best to return it. "...Sorry, but I have something for you and I don't want to be anywhere near it right now."

Sis looked puzzled until Carl retrieved the book and gave it to her. As she stared at it silently, her eyes grew red and glassy, then she stored it and wiped her eyes.

"Sorry. Thank you. I didn't expect it so soon, how did you get it?"

"That one."

Nergal's eyes locked onto him, desperate to ask questions, but knowing that pushing would likely see him expelled.

"Nergal, I get that you want to know exactly what happened and I promise to tell you, but can you please let me get my own head around it? Sis, if you see something you think he would want to know and want to tell him, you're welcome."

"Thank you, I know I don't need permission before you say it, but can I talk to him if I have any questions as well?"

"I know what you mean and I don't mind, but you both sign a contract to not purposely tell me anything unprompted, directly or otherwise. Sound fair?"

"Deal." Sis was a bit surprised when Nergal said the same thing at the same time as her, but was too excited to pay it much mind.

"Hey Buddy, did you and your sisters want to go help Grandma, Equinox and Sis?"

"Tiamutael, will help Equinox, Ki-ko will try to prank everybody to cheer them up and I'll keep her out of trouble." Raziel summarised the most likely future as she slipped out of Kyubi's arms and then Kitsunoko jumped down from Klaire's as she nodded her head.

"Dad, Can I not watch SATS anymore?"

"What do you mean? You don't have to watch anything you don't want to. Actually, can you do me a special favour and go with Sophie to find blanc and have him take a break to speak to this guy..." Carl followed-up by coaxing Saboteur out of his top. "...Between the three of them, they should be able to digitise all of the information he gathered before we leave."

"Okay Dad, after that, I think I'll do what Raz said and help Equinox."

"You got this, chin up and if you're still upset later we'll talk about it. It's okay to be scared mate, it lets you know when you're out of your depth."

"Right, Sis, where are we needed?"

"Take a slate, shout the number, follow the instructions. You made the buildings, but I assigned the designations because I knew you'd forget that bit."

"Sister among sisters." Carl muttered as he took a slate from her. "Okay, Group six-one! Follow me and we'll go get you settled. All householders! Get a slate and start getting groups settled."

As Carl was about to leave, Klaire and Kyubi grabbed him and each gave him a kiss and suddenly the eyes of every teenage boy were burning holes in him.

"Cheers you two, you did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"Course, figured it would lead the conversation down a more light-hearted route." Klaire smirked.

"No idea, just wanted to kiss you. Speaking off, goodbye my other love..." She then kissed Klaire before grabbing her own slate. "...Group 7-1! Follow me and we'll get you settled."

"...Group 8-1! Follow me!..." Klaire shouted, as she grabbed her own slate.

"...Group 9-1! Follow me!..." Lillim shouted as she grabbed hers.

"...Group 10-1! Follow me!..." Equinox shouted when he finally grabbed his.

As Carl Led his Group across to the tower block, the live instructions the slate was giving were an incredible asset. Carl might have made these buildings, the shuttles etc. Unfortunately creators rarely have a full understanding of what they've made.

Whilst they were all in the shuttle the boys took control...

"Are you really dating both those ladies?"

"No, I'm married to Klaire and we're both engaged to Kyubi."

"Kyubi!? You mean the fox? That fox?" Luckily this was all it took to change the topic.

"Yeah, she has a rough past, but can't say I'd be any different if my family were massacred."

"No, sorry, I wasn't... I heard she is a master of illusions and that's what my system does. Will we have school? Does she teach?"

"I mean... I'm not really sure where she landed, I think she's more interested in teaching how to make clothes.If you ask nicely she might give you a one-to-one lesson. On that note guys, I know they all swore loyalty, but they are individuals of extraordinary power and if you piss them off you'll die."

"Die!?"

"I mean probably, I think their stats are probably all unquantifiable from what I've seen."

"What are your stats like?"

"Mostly seven digits, but I'm not built for a fight, my talent is creating; creatures, buildings, even sculpting worlds. This is only temporary housing by the way, when you're properly processed, you'll be moved to the homeworld, or our own SATS if it's ready."

At that point, the shuttle arrived at building 7-1 and Carl led them inside, following the ever reliable instructions of the slate and repeatedly noting how much he owed his team for their efforts.

"One last thing. We're those your kids for real, or did you adopt them?"

"I created them, adopted them and they are my kids for real. I'm a Reaga first, take it from me, blood doesn't make a difference if you sincerely want to care for someone. Besides, having kids for immortals isn't straightforward. If I had kids with either Klaire or Kyubi, they'd have to be taken away..."

Carl looked round at the group, acknowledging their awkward expressions. "Sorry, you guys have enough to think about, don't need some guy not much older than you guys are unloading."

Between the nine active householders they were able to get all the groups to their suites.

Everyone was mostly happy, but the one rule that did earn some resentment was the fact that unsupervised under-eighteens weren't allowed to have guests.

It was only when he pointed out that SATS had the same rule and that rule was only enforced in the temporary housing to avoid a load of kids going wild.

"When we leave here, will we have our own suites still or will we be in dorms?"

"Whatever you're most comfortable with, but you will have regular visits from an adult, to make sure you have the skills necessary to look after yourselves and are responsible enough to do it."

"Isn't that a little patronising? You aren't much older and you run the faction."

"Yes, but I cook, I clean, I create life, I balance magnetic fields, planetary rotations and regularly host diplomatic dinners with immortal dignitaries like the dragon twins and Illum and Eldorlora of the elves. Anyone who can do the same, can have all the guests they want."

The kids looked at each other, the universal expression that simply meant. "I don't have a good argument, but that's impossible."

"Really? I hadn't even levelled up once four months ago."

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