Over the next few days, nothing much changed. With his multiple forms, Greg began to clean up the area around the safe zone at a faster rate, moving through the spider girl's list faster than she could keep up with as half a dozen Gregs cut through the assholes like butter. Soon, the psychotic ferals were too scared to even step out of their lairs, fearing that the moment they did, the mighty cloud shifter would swoop down and end them. The streets of the city became safe again, at least at night. The day ferals were still insane and unmanageable. He wasn't sure how to deal with that yet. He also hadn't had any luck finding any strong, moral ferals, and the wolf man still hadn't returned to any sort of base. He was beginning to wonder if any such organization even existed. Maybe the wolf man really had just wanted to mate with the bird girl?
Meanwhile, back in the safe zone, Greg and Tessa's relationship kept improving as the two grew closer. There were some hiccups to get through, the biggest being the three dependents which never left the apartment, giving the two of them very little actual alone time… maybe they were only one step from married with children. Thankfully, multiple bodies meant that one Greg could keep the brats distracted, while the other could spend some much needed quality time with Tessa. Honestly, he'd figured out that ability at the perfect time.
The other minor snag they hit was that Greg didn't sleep, and Tessa was a cuddler. Greg couldn't stand lying there for hours while Tessa slept, latched on to him tighter than a barnacle to a ship, doing nothing, but if he left, even if Tessa said it was okay, he could feel her pouting. Finally, Greg tried just getting rid of the brain in that body, so she'd have something to cuddle, but he wouldn't have to actually be there, which led to a new, unholy discovery: apparently, Greg didn't actually need a brain to control his bodies, it just made things easier. The brainless body lost its own awareness, but Greg could still feel it and control it. The upside of this was that he could absolutely cuddle with Tessa without feeling trapped, which was nice. The downside was that Greg now knew that disembodied body parts would be just as effective on their own, and all the horrific and perverted implications that came with. There were a few caveats though. First, he needed at least one of his bodies to have a brain capable of controlling said body part. If he created the scorpocroc's tail, but didn't have a scorpocroc brain out there somewhere, it wouldn't do him much good. Secondly, while the body itself lost an independent awareness, all his other selves became aware of it instead. It wasn't obtrusive or anything, but it could be distracting, especially when Tessa moved in particular ways.
Unfortunately, Tessa wasn't the only thing he had to pay attention to in the safe zone. Now that he was the 'leader' of Unicorn Squad, there were certain things he had to deal with. First, he had to deal with preparing the Squad for their next mission, making sure they had all the supplies they needed, planning their route, and figuring out everyone's responsibilities. Jake already dealt with their supplies, and Greg quickly decided he would stay in charge of them. All those lists made Greg want to hurt something. Meanwhile Greg could easily scout out the safest route towards their target, sending out a swarm of little fairy forms to take a look, even marking out places they could safely spend the night. The main issue was figuring out everyone's role, particularly in combat. At first, Greg thought it'd be easy. He'd take the front lines, drawing fire, while Casey and Jake attacked from the back. Tessa and Victor could sneak in attacks whenever they saw an opening while Brittany focused on distraction and Carlos focused on defense. And, of course, Meredith would heal.
However, that would only work if they were facing a single opponent. If they had to face more than that, his strategy fell apart. His multiple forms couldn't help him face multiple opponents, as when he had more than one in close proximity, he began to experience interference, making it difficult to tell which form was doing what. So who would handle the second enemy? Or the third? Or the fourth? It wasn't sustainable. He needed to prioritize roles that weren't based on the enemy. The important part wasn't making sure the enemy died, but making sure the Squad remained safe in the process.
With that in mind, Greg came up with a new strategy. Carlos, Brittany, and Meredith would form the core, all three protected under Carlos's shield, while Meredith and Brittany focused on supporting the others. Meanwhile, Victor, Tessa, Jake, and Casey would form a circle around them, attacking any enemy that got too close. Finally, Greg would be in charge of creating barricades and traps out of his smoke, keeping the enemy from swarming everyone. Greg realized that in a group, his greatest strength wasn't as a weapon, but as a shield. He could create walls that immediately repaired themselves once they were damaged, fill them with spikes and barbed wire, and just watch as his enemies cut themselves to pieces trying to break through!
With that taken care of, Greg felt pretty good about his position, as everything seemed to fall into place. The Squad would head back to the college and search for electronics, along the path he and Tessa originally took to reach the safe zone. He didn't see signs of any particularly powerful ferals along the path, so everything should go smoothly. They were well provisioned, and ready for anything they might encounter. Even the dependents were taken care of, as Greg would have one of his selves stay back to look after them while the rest of them were out. He'd only forgotten one, small issue.
"You'll make sure to keep me safe, right?" Meredith asked, looking up and batting her eyelashes at him while biting her bottom lip, the picture of vulnerability.
"I'll be protecting everyone, Meredith." Greg replied with an exasperated sigh as they headed towards the gate out of the safe zone.
"But you'll make sure to protect me, right?" Meredith insisted, instinctually leaning forward, even though her current outfit made the action meaningless, though she still had quite the effect when she pressed her arms together. "You know I'm defenseless on my own. I need someone big~ and strong~ to keep me-" Meredith cut off with a yelp as Tessa retracted her finger.
"Knock it off, or we leave you here." Tessa warned, narrowing her eyes at her.
"Greg, she stabbed me!" Meredith whined, looking at him with puppy dog eyes, rubbing her butt pitifully, even though Tessa had stabbed her in the side.
Greg pinched the bridge of his nose. "Meredith, stop. Tessa's right. We haven't even left yet! If you can't control yourself, you can't come."
Meredith's eyes immediately widened as she straightened up, dropping all her cutesy behavior. "I'm sorry, I'll behave, I promise!" She assured him in a serious tone. Greg gave her a look, before letting out another exasperated sigh. This was a bad idea.
For her part, Meredith did manage to behave, at least, until they stopped for the night. "What do you think you're doing?" Tessa asked in a dangerous tone, glaring at Meredith.
"What? I need to take my bra off before I go to sleep!" Meredith protested, standing in the middle of the room, coincidentally right in front of Greg, having just taken her shirt off.
"You can get changed over there!" Tessa hissed through her teeth, pointing towards a draped off area in the corner.
Meredith huffed, crossing her arms. "I'm just taking my bra off, not getting naked. What's the big deal?"
"You are not whipping your tits out in front of everyone!" Tessa retorted.
"I don't see anyone else complaining." Meredith countered, glancing towards Greg.
"Meredith, go get changed in the corner." Greg shook his head in exasperation, earning himself a pitiful look from Carlos. The man hadn't taken his eyes off Meredith's chest since her shirt had come off. Of course, neither had Jake, but at least he had the decency to look ashamed about it.
Meredith pouted, before stomping off towards the corner. Tessa watched her go with a glare, before turning back to Greg. "You know what she's trying to do, right?" She asked angrily.
"Seduce me? Be the center of attention? Make everything about her?" Greg replied with a shrug.
"Yes! So why aren't you doing anything about it!?!" Tessa exclaimed, throwing up her hands in exasperation.
Greg paused. "Cause I don't care? Plus, as long as she's focused on me, it means she won't be causing trouble with the others. I know she can't get anything out of me, but Jake and Carlos would fold in an instant."
Tessa looked like she was about to argue back, before she suddenly froze. "What do you mean when you say you don't care?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.
Greg frowned, trying to think through how to explain it. "How do I put this… Meredith… Meredith is like an ad. No matter where you see it, no matter how well it's done, if you have no interest in the product, it's meaningless. Like, I've seen some great ads that mean absolutely nothing to me. I still have no idea what Aflack is. I'm pretty sure it's some kind of insurance? Maybe? All I know is that duck is funny."
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"It's a goose." Tessa interjected.
"Whatever. It doesn't matter, because I don't care about the product! That's what it's like with Meredith. She no longer has anything to offer me, so no matter what she does, I just don't care." Greg finished explaining with another shrug.
Tessa frowned. "So you're saying that if Meredith waltzed over here, buck naked, and sat in your lap, you'd feel nothing?" She asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically.
"Well, no, I'd probably get a little excited, get some ideas in my head, but… then I'd go look for you so I could actually do something about it. Her naked in my lap would just make me want you naked in my lap." Greg replied.
Tessa froze, and a flush began to slowly spread, starting in her cheeks. She sat down next to him, grabbing his arm and snuggling close, before lightly stabbing him in the side. "How dare you say something so sweet while I can't do anything about it." She muttered in his ear in a mix of frustration and affection.
Greg wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. "I've already made a small room a few feet down. Just say the word and I'll open a path for you to slip inside." He whispered back, a twinkle in his eye as Tessa's flush deepened.
She hesitated for a moment, looking around. "After- after everyone's asleep. And we only do it once!" She replied, raising a finger in warning. "I'm not spending tomorrow exhausted because of you."
"Your once or my once?" Greg asked, cocking his head.
Tessa bit her lip. "I- I'll just tell you when to stop."
*
"Are you okay, Tessa? You look exhausted." Brittany asked, looking concerned as they set out the next day.
Tessa flushed, shooting a glare at Greg who looked away innocently, before turning back to Brittany. "I'm fine. I just- didn't sleep very well." She grumbled. Honestly, Greg didn't think he could be blamed for last night. She'd said to keep going until she said to stop. Though, admittedly, it may have been the wrong night to start experimenting with ropes and gags. But they were in a secret underground room! It was practically begging for it! Plus, if she'd really wanted him to stop, she could have found a way. She was a shapeshifter.
Thankfully, the day was as uneventful as usual. The nice part about day ferals was that as long as you didn't intrude into their territory, they wouldn't usually seek you out. Only the craziest of the crazy did that, and they usually died quickly. In hindsight it made sense. If they were all constantly out to hunt down everything they could kill, they'd die out pretty quickly. Still, there were risks as territories changed, but with Victor and a few Mini-Gregs scouting, the Squad could easily avoid any unexpected ferals.
After almost two years, the world had largely stabilized. The safe zones no longer relied on scavenging for food, thanks to the quick growth of crops, so scavenger squads no longer had to take unnecessary risks to find food. The ferals themselves, even the crazy ones, had settled into largely predictable routines. They were still dangerous, yes, but even before all this the world had been dangerous. It was just that people knew where the danger was and how to avoid it, for the most part. You don't walk in the middle of the street during rush hour, you don't walk around the bad side of town alone in the middle of the night, you don't drink and drive, and so on and so forth. After what happened, the world suddenly had new rules, and people didn't know them, so bad things happened. But now? People knew the rules. They knew what was dangerous, and what wasn't. Greg could see it in the Squad. They knew they had to be careful, but they weren't scared. This was just how life was now.
Suddenly, Greg paused, frowning. One of his selves had seen a feral moving towards the squad, but strangely, the feral was a night feral, rather than a day one. A familiar night feral. "Spider girl?" Greg asked, flying up next to her in fairy form, giving her a weird look. "What are you doing here?"
The spider girl jumped in shock, eyes widening as she turned to him, falling into a defensive stance. "Who are you? How do you know me?!?" She asked warily, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Oh, it's me. Uh… mighty cloud shifter." Greg replied, sending out a bit of smoke as proof. "What are you doing out at this time of day? It's dangerous, you know." He warned her, before frowning as he realized something. "And where's that glass I gave you? Did you lose it?"
The spider girl's eyes widened again. "M-migh- er, y-yes, yes! My- my hiding place was attacked. I- I had to leave everything behind." She explained, regaining her composure.
Greg frowned. "You were attacked?" He asked in a dangerous tone.
The spider girl nodded. "Yes. The mad ones found me, forcing me to flee."
Greg clicked his tongue. If that was the case, there wasn't much he could do about it. Maybe if it was a night feral, he could take back her home, but day ferals wouldn't stick around waiting for him to come and kill them. "Alright, come on, follow me. I'll keep you safe until tonight." He assured her, waving for her to follow him as he flew off towards the Squad. The spider girl hesitated for a moment, before following behind him with a resigned expression.
Greg led the spider girl through a few buildings, making sure to avoid any day ferals, before reaching a small shop that he'd had the rest of the Squad wait in while he brought her over. He brought her in through the back entrance, down a short hallway into where the Squad was waiting. "Unformed!" The spider girl hissed the moment she caught sight of them, jumping back and falling into a defensive stance, preparing to fight.
"Feral!" Meredith exclaimed at the same time, ducking behind a counter.
""Whoa, whoa, calm down!"" Both Greg's exclaimed at the same time. ""These(This) are(is) my friend(s)! They're(She's) safe. No need to be scared."" He assured the two scared women.
Meredith hesitantly peeked out over the counter, while the spider girl looked between the two Greg's in confusion, her eyes widening as she saw they had the same form, just in two different sizes. "You- you- you-" She stammered, pointing at them, her eyes flicking back and forth.
""Yeah, I can be in two-"" Greg nodded.
"You're unformed!" The spider girl suddenly finished, interrupting him.
Greg paused. ""Uh, well, that too, I suppose…"" He replied looking slightly confused. His two forms shared a look, before the fairy form darted back out of the shop and the human form turned back to the spider girl. "So… yes, I'm 'unformed' and so are my friends, but we aren't here to hurt you, or anyone if we can help it. Well, except assholes, but you know that."
The spider girl hesitated for a moment. The mighty cloud shifter had had more than enough opportunities to harm her, and he wouldn't need to bring her to the unformed to do so. Unless… the spider girl immediately went on guard again. "You will force me to mate with the unformed?!? I would rather die!"
Greg froze, speechless for a moment. "Huh?!? No! That's not- why would you even think that?!?"
"If not to harm me or to mate with me, why bring me here?!?" The spider girl retorted, glaring at him.
"To protect you! You're out here all alone! We can keep you safe while we travel through the day, until night comes and you can go off on your own again!" Greg yelled back in exasperation.
The spider girl froze. "You want to protect me?" She asked in a small, disbelieving voice, before shaking her head again. "You're lying! No one protects anyone for no reason! Not even- the- the unformed only want to hurt us!"
Greg glared at her for a moment, before sighing and giving up. "Fuck it, I tried. Go die in a ditch for all I care."
"Greg!" Tessa exclaimed, smacking him in the arm.
"What? I explained everything! It's her fault if she doesn't believe me! What am I going to do, tie her up and carry her around until it gets dark?" Greg protested.
"No, but you don't have to tell her to go die in a ditch!" Tessa retorted, glaring at him.
Greg sighed. "I know, I know. I just don't appreciate it when people who should know I'm a good guy start making me out to be a monster just because they found out I'm a certain way." He grumbled before turning back to the spider girl. "I'm sorry I told you to go die in a ditch, but if you don't want our help, you're free to go. I hope you stay safe out there." He then signaled for the rest of them to get ready to move out. They'd wasted enough time here, no point in wasting more.
The spider girl watched them begin to leave in disbelief, unable to process the idea that unformed would just ignore her. It had to be a trap, right? They would attack her the moment she let her guard down! But- but why would they need her guard to be down? They had her completely outnumbered, and the mighty cloud shifter alone could do whatever he wanted to her, and she wouldn't be able to stop him! Was… was he telling the truth? "Wait!" She cried out, just before they left. "You- you really just want to protect me?" She asked incredulously.
"Less and less by the second, but yes, that's all we want to do." Greg grumbled.
"Well, he does, and we're just kinda used to dealing with his weirdness." Casey elaborated with a shrug, before glancing at a nervous looking Meredith who hadn't taken her eyes off the spider girl since she appeared. "Well, most of us."
"Yeah, Jen's cool, why can't she be cool?" Carlos added.
Greg turned to frown at him. "When do you hang out with Jen?"
Carlos shrugged. "I took her out to play pool a few times. She looked like she needed to get out of the house for a bit. Stretch her legs."
Greg narrowed his eyes at him, wondering if that last part was innuendo or not, before shaking his head. He was probably just spending too much time around Meredith. He then turned back to the spider girl. "Anyway, yes, we'll protect you. Come if you're coming." He explained, before turning to leave, everyone following him out of the shop through a broken wall.
The spider girl hesitated for a moment, before following after them. She had completed her mission and confirmed that the mighty cloud shifter was working with the unformed. She could return and report, leaving it at that, but… if- if their offer of protection was genuine, if this was real, then- she needed to gather more information. This could change everything.