Before Tessa could answer, they were mobbed by a group of people who seemed to think they were in charge, all of them demanding he come with them and tell them everything he knew. Greg frowned, creating a second self and sending it off with them, before turning back to Tessa. However, before they could talk, the rest of Greg's friends showed up.
"Greg!" Casey barreled into him, squeezing him tightly, before pulling away and glaring at him. "You realize this is the second time you've disappeared for two years, right? It better not become a pattern."
"It was only two years?" Greg replied, cocking his head.
"Sup fucker." Victor greeted him with an upward nod of his head.
Brittany elbowed him in the side. "Be nice!"
The moment Casey let go of him, Sarah barreled into him, squeezing him even tighter. "Oof! Hey there, kiddo." Greg grunted. "You've grown. And you fixed your ability too! That's great!"
Sarah flushed as she pulled back, nodding. "Once I learned how to control my mana, it was simple." She muttered in embarrassment.
"Well good for you." Greg grinned, patting her on the head and earning himself a petulant scowl. He turned to the next person in line and paused. "Uh… I don't-"
"It's me! Jennifer!" The woman announced. "The aliens helped me recover my memories and turn back to normal. My real name is Rachel." She explained, before suddenly lurching forward and giving him a hug. "I'm glad you're back." She muttered awkwardly, before quickly pulling away and moving to stand by Carlos.
"Huh…" He turned to the next unfamiliar woman. "So… Tina?"
"Yup!" The woman announced proudly. "Though I prefer to go by Debbie." She added with a wink, before pulling him into a hug that lasted probably a bit too long, until Tessa pulled him away, scowling at Debbie.
Greg waved at Emily, Jake, Brittany, and Carlos as well, before pausing. "Wait, so no one I knew died?" Greg asked incredulously. "I mean, that's great, but… seems suspicious for some reason."
"Not really." Victor shrugged. "According to the aliens, after the initial pulse of mana, which awakened most of us, the mana would naturally alter everyone to make them more receptive to it. The ones who took to it better, i.e. the intelligent ferals, would awaken with another shock of mana. Since you solely interacted with supers and intelligent ferals, it makes sense."
Greg blinked. "Huh… so they just killed all the normal humans and the wild ferals?"
"Still probably over half the human population, if not more." Carlos pointed out.
"I knew there was something fishy going on!" Jake cursed. "Why would they go out of their way to grab us, and then leave resources behind to 'take care' of the rest of the people?!? If they're that desperate, why would they waste resources like that? I just thought they'd abandoned the people. I didn't think they killed them all!"
"You didn't know shit." Victor scoffed. "None of us did! That's why we're all here, ready to fight in their damn war!"
"What is this war?" Greg asked curiously.
"The Mage Republic is at war with the Demon Empire. The Republic uses magic, while the Empire hates magic, and kills any creature that can use it." Tessa explained. "At least, that's what the aliens told us."
"So… magic versus non-magic?" Greg summarized. "And everyone left behind was supposedly the ones who couldn't use magic, right?" Tessa nodded slowly, wondering where Greg was going with this. "What if they killed them because they couldn't use magic?" Greg asked. "Like, anyone who uses magic is automatically on their side, so anyone who can't use magic…" Greg trailed off as everyone's eyes widened.
"That- that can't be right." Brittany shook her head. "The aliens are all just- just magic racists?!?"
"To be fair, the ability to literally mess with the fabric of reality is a pretty solid justification for saying 'I'm better than you'." Victor pointed out. "I'm not saying I agree, but I can definitely see where they might be coming from."
"Well, except for the fact that apparently the Demon Empire is legitimately a threat to them, so obviously they aren't better." Casey added.
"Well, you know what they say: at a certain point, technology is indistinguishable from magic." Greg pointed out with a shrug. "If this Demon Empire is advanced enough, then they could definitely stand on equal footing with mages, right?"
"So… we've been forcefully conscripted into an intergalactic war between science and magic?" Carlos asked incredulously.
"It certainly looks that way." Victor nodded.
"Hey, at least you weren't exterminated." Greg shrugged. "I seriously thought everyone was dead! You have no idea how good it is to see you all again!" He announced, splitting into several different selves to give everyone a hug again!
"I can't believe you spent two years all alone." Tessa shook her head, squeezing him tightly. She paused, pulling back slightly. "Do I even want to know what you did?"
Greg froze, before coughing awkwardly. "Probably not… but- well, I may have done something a bit… impulsive."
Tessa narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm listening."
"Well, you see, while I was in the room, I had time to experiment with my ability." Greg began to explain slowly. "One of the things I learned how to do was… uh, well, I can take my smoke and make it… real. Which is great, cause I can actually sleep now! It's amazing!"
"Greg, where are you going with this?" Tessa asked, a strange feeling of unease coming over her. What had he done?!?
"Well… so, remember how I thought everyone was dead?" Greg coughed awkwardly. "Well… uh, I kinda… sorta… made a real me… and a real you… which is actually still me, because just because my smoke is real, doesn't mean it's any less me… I'd like to stress that I was really bored. And desperate. And really, really bored."
"Greg! What. Did. You! Do!?!" Tessa exclaimed.
"Well… there was a real me and a real you, so… we, uh… we're kinda having a kid." Greg finally managed to get out, refusing to meet Tessa's incredulous look.
Victor began to laugh uproariously. "Brilliant! He got so bored he procreated!"
Greg let out another awkward cough. "Yeah… you're having a kid with Casey." He added, causing Victor to choke. "See, I didn't want my kids to grow up alone, plus there was the whole genetic diversity thing to worry about… I was considering repopulating the entire race you see. I didn't have much DNA to work with though, just the squad, which I'm not even sure when I picked that up, so… I put Victor with Casey, Carlos with Brittany, and Jake with Meredith. I also had Sarah's DNA, but… that felt like it might be crossing a line. At least, until I let her get a little older, you know?"
"Oh yes, because creating copies of your friends and making them have kids is just fine!" Tessa threw up her hands in exasperation.
"Well, I'm not saying it isn't a little messed up, but it was either that or let the human race stay extinct! At least, that's what I thought at the time." Greg shrugged helplessly.
Tessa let out a groan, pinching the bridge of her nose. Every. Single. Time! Greg could not be left alone. Ever. Not that they'd had much choice this time, but still! He always did something weird! "Okay, let's- let's just get you out of the transmutation chamber. We'll deal with- with that later."
*
Meanwhile, the other Greg was taken to something that looked like a command room and sat at the head of a large table while a group of ten stared at him with hard gazes. The first thing that struck Greg as somewhat weird was how young all these people looked. Not just appearance wise, but attitudes too. There was a dude who dressed and looked like a classic punk, a goth chick, some guy who looked like he should be playing lacrosse, three classic weebs, two nerds, a cheerleader, and a jock. It was like the cast of some weird anime! Greg narrowed his eyes at the weebs. Which one was the main character? He paused. Shit, was he the main character?!? He did some mental calculations: weird, overpowered ability, girls chasing after him for no reason, not quite right in the head… "Shit." Greg groaned, covering his face with his hands.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
"Is something wrong?" The goth girl asked, giving him a concerned look.
Greg looked up at her. "Oh, no, not really. Life may be a dream, but at least it seems to be getting more interesting, so that's nice."
The goth blinked at him a few times. "I… uh, okay. Allow us to introduce ourselves. I'm-"
"Eh, don't bother." Greg waved his hand dismissively. "I won't remember anyway."
"Ha!" The punk laughed. "Honest! I like it!"
The preppy, lacrosse dude pinched the bridge of his nose. "Let's just get started, alright?" He sighed, before turning to Greg. "You claim the Mage Republic wiped out humanity. Why?"
Greg shrugged. "Who knows? My best guess is racism at this point, but maybe they had a good reason? Wouldn't surprise me if they did."
"No, why do you claim they did." The preppy dude clarified.
"Oh… because I saw them do it? Like, I literally got teleported into a giant room with a crap-ton of people, there was a big flash, I got turned to smoke and everyone else was gone." Greg explained.
"Smoke?" The preppy dude asked skeptically.
"Yeah, this stuff." Greg replied, sending some out and waving it around. "It's what I'm made of, essentially."
"I've always wondered, how does that work, exactly?" The goth asked, leaning forward in her seat.
Greg paused for a moment, wondering what she meant by always, getting a bit off track as he reflected on the wonders of corsets, before nodding. "Basically what I just said. I'm made of smoke. I am smoke. This body is just a… I suppose you could call it an avatar? It isn't really me, but it represents me and allows me to interact with people in a normal fashion. The real me is smoke."
The goth blinked. "That is… strange. Would you be willing to let me get a closer look sometime? I'd like to figure out just how… you are possible."
Greg eyed her weirdly for a moment, before shrugging. "Sure. It isn't like I can say I'm unavailable." He chuckled.
The goth smiled, sitting back in her chair, while the punk leaned forward next. "You say you believe the Mage Republic might have had a good reason to wipe out humanity?"
Greg blinked. "Uh, well, yeah? Generally people have good reasons for doing stuff. Even Hitler had good reasons. Well, not good, but if you believed what he did, then his reasoning makes sense. I'm sure the aliens believe that if they just left humanity behind, somehow they'd become a threat in the future or something, and maybe they're even right, who knows? They are a more advanced civilization. Kinda hard to just write off anything they do as wrong when they obviously have a different perspective than we do."
"So you think we need to talk to them? Have them explain themselves?" The punk pressed, sounding almost hopeful.
"Absolutely not!" The preppy dude retorted, pounding the table angrily. "I am not making nice with the same people who murdered our friends and family! If they truly killed-" He paused, choking up a bit. "If they killed our loved ones, then-"
"Then what?!?" The punk retorted. "Look at where we are! What our situation is! Without the Mage Republic, what are our options? We need them to survive!"
"We are not fucking submitting to the Mage Republic! They murdered half our fucking population and lied to us about it! They're completely untrustworthy!" The preppy dude retorted.
"They didn't technically lie." The punk replied hesitantly. "They said they took care of them. They didn't say how."
"Oh, that's bullshit and you know it!" The preppy dude growled back.
The punk sighed. "What other choice do we have?!? Without the protection of the Mage Republic, we're doomed!"
"Even if we did go back to the Mage Republic, they know we know what they did! They'd never trust us!" The preppy dude yelled.
"At least we'd be safe!" The punk retorted. "Even if we had to live at the bottom of society, at least we'd live! We'd have a chance to do something! Once we're dead, we can't change anything!"
"If we don't do anything, we won't change anything either!" The preppy dude countered.
"Uh, guys?" Greg interjected, stopping their argument for a moment. "This is all kinda pointless, isn't it? Do you actually have a way to contact the aliens one way or another?"
The two hesitated, glancing at each other. "We would need to check the rest of the ship, but… the key functions were all controlled by the Mage Republic's people. We wouldn't know how to operate anything without them." The punk replied.
Greg nodded. "So the aliens are a non-issue right now. Even if we want to submit to the aliens, we have no way of actually doing it, so focusing on the aliens right now is kinda dumb. What we need to know is what we can do on our own, to figure out what our position actually is. Then we can deal with the aliens."
"Our position is fucked!" The punk retorted in exasperation. "The only asset we have is this damn ship, and we can only use the most basic functions!"
"Well, you also have me, so that's something, right?" Greg replied in a consoling tone.
The punk scowled at him. "Look, buddy, while I will admit that your innate mana lets you do some interesting shit, if you can't even break out of a simple barrier, I don't see you as all that significant an asset."
"Not your-" Greg began, before stopping himself as he realized he wasn't talking to Victor. "Uh… nevermind. My ability isn't based on power output, alright? My ability is defensive, which is what we're going for, right? No matter how much damage I take, I can fix it up like that." He explained with a snap of his fingers. "When I make walls, those walls aren't coming down. Ever. The only way to get through would be to hit hard enough to get all the way through in one blow, and even then, that's only getting you through, because the hole is closing behind you."
"Unless someone puts up a barrier to keep the hole open." A nerdy girl commented softly. "You've shown that your smoke can't get through barriers, so all they need to do is put one to keep your smoke away, and they'll be able to get through.:
"If they put up a barrier, then they can't get through the hole either way." Greg retorted.
"No, they put the barrier around the hole, keeping the smoke out." The nerdy girl explained.
"Anything that would keep my smoke out would keep people out too…" Greg frowned. "Though, if they used a weak barrier to fill the hole, which others could easily break, it'd still keep my smoke out… still, wasted resources, right?"
"No, wait, hold on." The nerdy girl stopped him. "If someone put a barrier around the hole, like this-" She waved her hand, causing a donut-like barrier to appear. "-then they can just jump through the middle here!"
Greg frowned at her, before sending some smoke into the middle and filling it in with some rock. "And now they can't."
The nerdy girl blinked. "Huh… how are you doing that? Shouldn't it just fall out?" She asked, poking at the rock.
"No, see, my smoke completely fills the space, so there's no way for it to move. It's airtight." Greg explained.
"How curious… it's like your mana is some sort of perpetual transmutation spell." The goth muttered, stepping forward to examine the rock Greg had made.
Greg blinked. "I have no idea what that means."
"The way you break things down and put them back together is incredibly reminiscent of transmutation. The only weird part is the smoke. You seem to keep everything you transmute in some sort of flux state until you need it, which is just weird. Plus the fact that you can seemingly exist as this substance." The goth explained as she continued to examine the rock. "I would have thought transmutation would be too complex to be an innate expression of mana… to have both creation and destruction so bound up within a person… I wonder what that says about you as a person?" The goth commented, turning to look Greg up and down.
Greg blinked at her again. "I am so confused."
"Basically, everyone's mana is a representation of their innate self. Who they are at their core. Your ability suggests your innate desire is to destroy everything around you and turn it into a creation of your own design." The nerdy girl explained.
Greg frowned. "I don't like to destroy things. I like to enjoy things. Like food. And sleep. And books. Oh, video games!" He paused. "Now, I will say, creation is kinda fun, but I wouldn't call it one of my defining traits… creation is just a means to enjoy more things."
"Can we get back to the matter at hand?" The preppy dude asked in exasperation. "Even with your smoke, how much can you reasonably create? How much can you use at once? We can't depend on one person to defend us all."
"Well, yeah, I wouldn't recommend only relying on me." Greg agreed. "We'll still need people to actually fight, right? I'm just defensive."
The preppy dude leveled a glare at him. "There are five hundred thousand people on this ship. I don't care how impressive your innate mana is, there is no way you can maintain defenses for all of us."
Greg frowned. "Why not?"
"Because of your mana pool." The goth interjected. "There is a limit to how much mana you can use at any given time, like water through a hose. What your personal limit is, I do not know, but even an archmage would have trouble defending such a large group!"
Greg blinked. "Huh… Well, then I guess I'll just defend as many as I can." He shrugged. He'd never noticed any limit to his ability to manipulate his smoke, but he hadn't exactly tested his limits on the amount before. He'd never had to make anything larger than a small building, and that was mostly empty space.
The conversation moved on, Greg's part mostly done as they began to discuss specifics, different people chiming in as their specialties came up. Greg didn't even know the limit of his ability, so he couldn't contribute anything to the conversation beyond the occasional push towards practicality. He wondered if he should leave a few times, but it wasn't like he had anything else to do. Plus, these guys' arguments were fun!