Later that night, after the Squad went to sleep, Greg was keeping watch, hunting down several assholes, and keeping an strangely energetic Tessa company in a private chamber below ground, when he felt something break. All his selves paused for a moment, before the nearest one split in two, a fairy form Greg guiding the majority of the smoke towards the break as fast as possible. He landed in front of a waiting Bianca, forming into his scorpocroc form. "You rang?" He greeted her in an exaggeratedly deep voice, before chuckling to himself.

Bianca cocked her head in confusion, before shaking it. "The council is ready to see you now." Before turning to lead him to the meeting site, which he assumed was nearby.

"The council, huh?" Greg raised an eyebrow at her. "A little basic, but I can appreciate a classic. At least they're efficient. I was expecting to be waiting at least a couple days before they were ready."

Bianca glanced over at him with a frown. "Why would they delay such an important meeting? This could potentially lead to the salvation of thousands of our people! Any delay would be criminal."

Greg paused. "Huh… fair point. I suppose I'm just used to the idea of people in power using delays to establish authority. The more they can put you off, the more important they are."

Bianca furrowed her brow. "That seems foolish. What if the meeting is important? Unless you are otherwise preoccupied, why delay?"

Greg shrugged. "I'm not going to pretend to understand it, I'm just telling you what people do. At least, in the books I've read… maybe that's just a literary device, like overly arrogant rich dudes. I've never seen one in real life, but they are everywhere in fiction."

Bianca gave him a weird look. "This seems like an unformed topic. I do not know what this 'fiction' is or what would make a device 'literary'."

Greg froze, his eyes widening in horror. "Oh, god, you guys don't know what books are! That's it. The first thing our new safe zone is getting is a library."

"I believe the first thing we should focus on is walls. And we know what books are! They carry knowledge through words, though I do not know what this has to do with our previous conversation." Bianca retorted.

"Fiction is a book that tells a story about something that didn't happen, while a literary device is some feature that is used commonly in such stories, like having the hero confront an arrogant rich prick, or be kept waiting for unreasonable amounts of time by a slimy official." Greg explained.

Bianca nodded slowly. "Ah, I see… interesting. I would like to read some of this… fiction."

Greg grinned. "You have come to the right person." He paused. "Actually, you'd need to go see the me with the Squad. I brought a few books with me, so you're more than free to borrow one."

"Are you done?" An aggravated voice interjected. Greg looked up to see that Bianca had led him into a restaurant, where five individuals were seated on one side of a row of tables, leaving another one set up across from them for Greg to sit. "We are here for an important discussion, not for you two to chat." The individual who'd spoken up earlier, a large, apeish looking feral sitting on the far left, continued with a growl.

Bianca flushed, stepping back. "My apologies. I lost track of myself for a moment. It will not happen again." She assured them, before gesturing for Greg to take a seat at the table.

Greg raised an eyebrow at her, before shrugging and heading towards the table, shifting into human form as he did, before taking a seat, eliciting a few gasps from the other table. He looked over at them with a grin. "Hi, I'm Greg."

"We are the council." The feral in the middle, who looked like a dragon man, announced. "My name is Henrietta." Oh, dragon woman then… or ferals didn't have a concept of masculine and feminine names…

"I am Pauly." The one to Henrietta's right introduced himself, and Greg had to resist the urge to laugh cause the dude straight up looked like a damn parrot.

"Gerald." The bear looking feral to Henrietta's left added.

"Cauline." The tiger-like feral on the far right introduced herself politely.

"Greg." The ape feral grunted, glaring at Greg.

"What?" Greg asked, frowning, wondering why the ape was calling him instead of introducing himself.

"Greg." The apeman repeated, slightly louder.

"I can hear you, what?" Greg replied, even more confused.

The apeman huffed. "My name is Greg!"

Greg blinked a few times. "Oh… cool, nice to meet you all." He coughed awkwardly. "So… what do we have to do to get all you guys safely ensconced in a habitable zone where you can live as you please without worry of danger? An undanger zone, if you will." Greg resisted the urge to snicker at the dumb joke.

The council shared a few confused looks, before Henrietta let out a short cough. "Before we get to that, I would like to ask why an- individual like yourself would be interested in helping us at all… your kind has not been friendly to ours in the past."

Greg shrugged. "I wasn't here in the past, but from what I know, the biggest reason for that is people thought you guys were unintelligent, violent animals, essentially. They didn't think they were hurting people, they thought they were doing… pest control. I mean, no offense, but even the weakest of you guys is stronger than the average human, and by a significant margin. They can match you on the high end, but when it comes to mid and low range combatants, you have them beat. By a lot. If they let you group up and swarm them… they wouldn't stand a chance. Honestly, they're terrified of you."

The council looked stunned by that revelation. "They are terrified of us?!?" Pauly asked incredulously.

Greg nodded. "Yup. Plus, with all your mutations, you guys play on a lot of their more primal fears, which doesn't help the situation. And again, they didn't know you were actually people, not mindless beasts. Unfortunately, now even if they do know, they're scared you're going to hate them and attack anyway, because, you know, they did hurt you, even if it was a misunderstanding."

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"A valid fear." Henrietta sighed, glancing towards ape Greg, who snorted. "So what solution do you propose? Any gathering will be attacked, just like the previous ones."

"You're not wrong, but just because we'll be attacked, doesn't mean we can't do it." Greg grinned. "You see, the problem before was that you didn't know what to prepare for, and you couldn't prepare fast enough, but now? Now you have me. Using my smoke, I can quickly create a safe place for everyone to gather. Then, when the attack comes, I'll keep everyone safe, while you guys fend off the attackers. Once they realize they can't just disperse everyone like before, and that they'd need to actually dedicate themselves to an attack that could cost them their lives, they'll back off, and we'll be in a position to actually bargain. You won't just be random ferals anymore, you'll be the heads of an army, and they'll have to listen to you."

"I do not see how fighting will improve our relations with the unformed." Cauline commented with a frown.

Greg shook his head. "It isn't about fighting, it's about proving that you're strong. People, unfortunately, don't take people who can't affect them seriously. As a loose collection of ferals, you guys aren't any real threat to them, so they don't care about you. Even if they learn the truth, they don't have any motivation to change. However, once you actually gather, and show them that you actually have power, they have to take you seriously. You make them reconsider, make them change. Admittedly, they might decide that the change they need to make is wiping you all off the face of the earth, no matter the cost, but… well, we'll deal with that when we get there."

"How would this actually be done?" Gerald asked gruffly.

"Well, the specifics are mostly up to you, but the key to it all is going to be speed. You need everyone you want to be in the safe zone ready to move the moment we decide to go. Once you're ready, I'll put up the walls, and… I guess we just wait? Not much to do until they decide to attack, you know? If they decide to attack." Greg paused. "Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll see all the defenses and just decide to talk?"

"That seems unlikely…" Pauly commented.

Greg shrugged. "It never hurts to be optimistic. Well, as long as you're practical about it. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst and all that."

"It seems we will be heavily reliant on you for this plan to work." Ape Greg growled. "How do we know we can trust you? This could all be a trap, to gather us together and wipe us out in a single strike!"

"Oh, yeah, it totally could be, huh?" Greg muttered appreciatively, before shrugging. "But, it isn't, though you're just going to have to take my word for it. I'd like to say look at my track record, but honestly, I haven't done much and not for long, so it wouldn't be all that convincing. Hell, all I've been doing is killing people really… assholes, sure, but still. Not the best way to say 'hey, I'm your friend'."

The council paused to digest everything Greg had said. "I am inclined to trust him." Cauline announced first. "He seems honest, and while short lived, his actions have proven to be beneficial for the community at large."

Pauly nodded. "I agree. I see no reason to doubt him at this time."

Gerald grunted. "I would appreciate more assurance. If you and yours would move into the new safe zone with us, I would feel more comfortable with this arrangement."

"Me and mine?" Greg asked, cocking his head.

Gerald nodded. "This group of unformed you travel with. You are quite close, no? If they would join this safe zone you propose, then I would have more confidence it was not a trap."

Greg frowned. "Hmmm… I may have trouble convincing them to be permanent residents, but… it actually isn't a bad idea to have them there in the first place. If we are attacked, then they could potentially be used as hostages to force me to drop the walls, which… could be a difficult decision for me. Oh, and if they have Tessa, y'all are doomed. I might let the others die, for the greater good, but I would personally eviscerate every man, woman, and child in this city for Tessa, and not blink an eye." Greg explained with a hard expression.

Gerald blinked at him a few times. "I-I must insist that this Tessa be present in the safe zone."

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Greg agreed, shooting him a grin.

Henrietta turned to Ape Greg. "Greg, your thoughts?"

He glanced at her, before sighing. "I agree with Gerald. If the unformed will place his kind in the same danger as ours, I will take this risk."

"Then we are agreed." Henrietta nodded, turning back to Greg. "How long do you need to prepare?"

Greg paused. "Good question… I just need to gather enough smoke to make everything, which… I probably shouldn't do in the city. Massive amounts of suddenly empty space would probably tip people off that something was up. I'll also need to know how many people I'll be protecting, so I can make sure I have enough, but I can't imagine it taking me longer than a week to get everything together."

Henrietta nodded. "A week… very well. In exactly one week, we will make our move. The day before, we will require your unformed friends to join us as well. Particularly Tessa."

Greg nodded. "Gotcha. I'll work on gathering smoke then." He stood to his feet. "In the meantime, Bianca knows how to contact me, so talk to her if you need me." He paused just before leaving. "I really do hope this works… you guys deserve a safe place to live as much as anyone else." He commented, before transforming into his fairy form and flying off.

Henrietta watched him go, before falling back into her seat with a groan. "That man is terrifying."

The rest of the council turned to her with startled expressions. "You fear him?" Cauline asked skeptically. "Why?"

The Lightning God sighed as she sent a spark of electricity into her own head, calming herself. "I kept an eye on his emotional state the entire time, watching for any inconsistency, but… it was all inconsistent! He was bored, amused, or annoyed, seemingly for no reason! And then- when he talked of this Tessa… of what he would do… it just stopped. I do not know what manner of creature he is, but for a moment, there was no mind within that body. Something- something else spoke through him, and that thing- that thing terrifies me." She shuddered, before turning a stern gaze on the rest of them. "I want assurances from all of you. No matter what, we do not cross this man. He is benevolent, I can sense that much, but if we betray him, if we cross whatever line he has… I fear the worst, for all of us."

Greg frowned. "Are you not exaggerating? His power may be great, but it is of no threat to us."

Henrietta shook her head. "Even if he cannot harm us personally, what of everything we care about? Can you protect all you love from a man who never tires, never dies, who can slip through any barrier, who can transform into anyone, anything, and exists in multiple places at once? Are you sure you can survive? How long can you defend against him? A day? A week? A month? How long can you stand constant pursuit? How long before you lay at his feet, exhausted, with no energy left to resist as he stares down at you with those cold, dead eyes?"

Greg gulped slightly, his eyes wide. "I-I understand. I will not aggravate him."

Henrietta nodded. "Good. I hope that goes for the rest of you as well. This man could be our salvation, but if we slip, he could just as easily be our damnation."