Tessa decided to take Brittany somewhere quiet so she could take some time to grieve properly before dealing with the crap Greg was about to drop on everyone else, while the rest of them headed upstairs. “So, are we fucked or did you somehow manage to pull a win out of your ass?” Victor asked as Greg walked in.
Greg paused. “Little column A, little column B? We escaped the Technos, but now we're stranded on-”
“A wild, mana-warped planet.” Tori completed the sentence for him, rolling her eyes. “Do you have to say it the exact same way every damn time?!?”
Greg glanced at her before turning back to Victor. “And this is Tori. She's cranky, but she should be helpful. Same with Chris and Andrew. On the helpful part, not the cranky one. That's just Tori.”
Tori scowled, opening her mouth to retort only for Andrew to put a hand on her shoulder with a sigh. “Whatever you're about to say is just going to make his point for him. Just drop it.” Tori's expression twisted slightly, but she grunted in agreement. Particularly since it helped her realize she was being a bit cranky… though not unjustifiably so. The past few days had been rough, particularly the ones that had lasted for over a year.
“Anyway, as I was saying, we're stranded on a wild, mana-warped planet, all alone, probably for the next few years while we wait for the rest of humanity to show up.” Greg continued. “Mana pills are going to be hard to come by, I have no idea what the environment is going to look like outside the ship, and we have two hundred and fifty thousand people to deal with, half of which are changed, so… you know, that whole thing is going to start back up again. We're probably like a few days away from everyone trying to kill each other again and I'm not sure if the aliens are in a good position to prevent it.”
“Whoa, hold on, what?!?” Tori interjected incredulously. “You didn't tell us about that part!”
“I forgot!” Greg retorted. “Between the Technos, being stranded, you guys, and connecting to whole new realities, the whole racism thing kinda slipped my mind!”
Everyone froze. “Connecting to what now?” Victor asked tentatively.
“Different realities, but that's not important right now.” Greg waved dismissively.
“It seems pretty fucking important to me!” Casey exclaimed. “Is that where these people came from?!?” She asked, gesturing to Andrew, Chris, and Tori.
“Actually the connection to different realities came from us, not the other way around.” Chris commented. “We're just connected to Greg. Because we're sovereigns, apparently.”
“Guys, again, calling ourselves sovereigns doesn't actually explain anything.” Andrew shook his head. “Just go with gods. Or maybe avatars? Though then we'd have to explain what we're avatars of… which wouldn't be any better than the sovereign thing.”
“But calling ourselves gods implies a form of power that we lack. Not that we aren't strong, obviously, but if you're incapable of smiting someone on a whim, I don't think you qualify as a god.” Chris countered.
Andrew frowned. “That's fair, I guess, but it still doesn't change the fact that sovereign is a meaningless title unless we explain it.”
“How about we just call it Multiversal bullshit?” Tori offered. “That's basically all it is.”
Andrew cocked his head. “I'm not sure if that's going to leave people any less confused, but it does pretty accurately sum things up…”
Chris shrugged. “Sure, why not.”
“So… you're Multiversal bullshit?” Victor asked, pointing at Greg, who nodded. “Makes sense. It was pretty obvious there was something off about you.” A chorus of agreement ensued, everyone nodding along as Victor turned to the other three. “So what can you guys do to help?”
“I can give people a system that will most likely replace your need for mana pills, if I'm understanding how this reality works.” Tori offered.
“I have a space I can use to turn creatures into my minions and make portals and barriers.” Chris added.
“I'm- still figuring it out.” Andrew sighed. Based on what the other three were capable of, he was sure his aura could do more. “But right now all I know how to do is kill things.”
“Hey man, that's a valuable skill!” Victor assured him. “Wish I could kill things… Some things just need to get dead, you know?”
“None of this is going to stop the changed and the unchanged from fighting again.” Bianca frowned. “And if they do fight, making them stronger will only make things worse.”
“So we won't make the people who are fighting stronger.” Tori shrugged. “I don't have to give my system to everyone. In fact, I'd recommend only spreading it to people you actually trust. At least for now.”
“The fact of the matter is we don't have the leeway to worry about everyone at the moment.” Greg explained, grimacing slightly. “As much as I'd love to be able to wave my hand and stop people from killing each other, our focus is going to have to be on protecting ourselves right now. Obviously we should try to include as many people as we can in that, but again, there's a quarter million people out there. We just don't have the influence to affect that many people in any significant way. At least not beneficially.”
“So we use your Multiversal bullshit to strengthen our faction until we're strong enough to keep everyone else under control.” Victor commented. “Seems simple enough.”
Travis groaned. “A lot of people are going to die, aren't they?”
“Oh, big time.” Greg nodded. “But, ya know, the aliens are still here and as Victor said, the stronger our faction grows, the more people we can help. Plus the very fact that we're showing people the two sides can work together has to count for something, right?”
“And let's be honest, people were going to be fighting anyway.” Victor pointed out. “Some douchebags are going to try to take control and some other douchebags are going to fight them over it, while the rest of us get caught in the middle. The whole changed/unchanged aspect just adds flavor to the thing.”
Chris frowned. “I think I'm beginning to hate politics.”
Tori shook her head. “It isn't politics that's the issue, it's the people who abuse politics. Political positions need to have power in order for the people in them to actually be able to do their job and it's the political system’s job to put someone in that position who won't abuse that power. Unfortunately, we're absolute shit at designing systems that actually do that, so politics is fucked, but again, it isn't because politics is innately bad, it's because abuse is bad.”
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“Right, because the only people who actually want power are the people who are shitty enough to abuse it.” Victor nodded.
Casey frowned at him. “What about the people who want power to protect people?”
“Ah but see, they don't want power, they need it.” Victor corrected. “What they want is to protect people and they need power in order to do it. Completely different than wanting power just to have power. It's like the difference between wanting money so you can take a trip to Paris and needing money so you can feed your family.”
Casey narrowed her eyes at him. “You just made that up, didn't you?”
Victor grinned. “Totally, but I think it works, right?”
“Sounds good at least.” Greg agreed. “Anyway, does anyone have any ideas for what we should actually do? Cause ‘build our faction’ is great, but we need an actual how to go with it, ya know?”
“First, I think we should give the system to everyone in this room.” Tori commented. “I assume you trust everyone here, right?”
A few glances were shot Meredith's way. “Mmmostly?” Greg agreed. “I'm sure it'll be fine.”
Tori eyed him cautiously. “I can give some people one that doesn't let them transfer it to other people, if you think that's better.”
“Eh?” Greg shrugged. Meredith may be self-centered and manipulative, but she wasn't dumb. She'd know that pissing off people made from Multiversal bullshit would be a bad idea. “It'll be fine.”
Tori shook her head. “Whatever. It's your reality.” She muttered. “Alright, so, it's going to start pretty basic since I don't know exactly how it's going to interact with your reality yet, but you'll at least be able to gain points and use them to heal and develop your skills. If any of you do decide to give someone else the system, there are going to be two options, one which will allow them to give the system out as well, and one that won't. I suggest you only give the spreader out to those you trust.” She paused. “Or I guess I could just make a rule that the only people who can actually use the system are the people who belong to your faction? Trust isn't as much of an issue at that point.”
Victor chuckled. “Aw, you think we can't be absolute bastards too? How adorable.”
Tori fixed him with a look. “No, I think that if you are bastards, I'll be close enough to use your intestines as a fucking jump rope. If you're lucky, I might even kill you first.”
Victor grinned. “Oh I like you. Got a boyfriend?”
Tori snorted. “Girlfriend, actually.”
Victor clicked his tongue. “If I had a nickel-” He cut off, frowning. “Shit, do I have a thing for lesbians? That might become an issue…”
Casey rolled her eyes. “I think you just like girls who aren't afraid to tell you to go fuck yourself and that's every lesbian's first response when it comes to you.”
“Maybe, maybe.” Victor nodded thoughtfully. “So… what else are we doing?”
“I’d like to explore outside the ship to see if I can find something to help me expand my space.” Chris announced. “The bigger my space, the more help I can be. If anyone else thinks they stand a reasonable chance of not dying out there, they're welcome to join.”
“I'll come.” Andrew shrugged. “I need to play with my aura a bit, plus I can help you search.”
“I- should probably get back to building us a base.” Greg muttered. “This place isn't going to work for much longer.”
“I should continue to gather our allies.” Bianca added.
“I'll take a little scouting trip to see what everyone is up to.” Victor offered. “Tina, you in?”
“Yeah!” Tina agreed excitedly.
“The rest of us should probably work on fortifying here until Greg is done with the new base.” Henrietta commented.
Greg clapped. “Alright, sounds like a plan! Let's get to it!”
*
Chris left Hiyada at the headquarters before stepping into his space and sending his portal straight up to get out of the ship, which ended up taking almost half an hour due to the thickness and density of the metal. Once he was out he opened the portal horizontally and moved it down over him, turning it into a floating platform. He found himself hovering over a giant metal dome sitting in the middle of a violet jungle. There was a river cutting through it that the ship was sort of sitting on, damming it up, which… might end up being an issue at some point as it was rapidly forming into a lake, flooding the surroundings until the water found an outlet around the massive barrier. Chris shook his head, ignoring the accumulating natural disaster as he moved towards the jungle itself, finding a convenient place to land before opening a portal for Andrew to join him.
“Wow… pretty.” Andrew muttered appreciatively as he looked around.
“If you say so.” Chris shrugged, walking deeper into the jungle.
Andrew frowned as he followed. “You don't think the violet is interesting?”
“Not particularly, but I've never been much of an esthetics guy.” Chris replied. “Green or purple, trees are trees, doesn't make much difference to me. The only thing I particularly care about is whether or not they'll help me grow my space. Will they?”
“I don't think so.” Andrew sighed. “Color aside, they just seem to be regular trees based on their aura. Though Tori might be able to see more.”
Chris nodded. “We'll keep looking then. We can do another pass with Tori once we make sure everything is safe.”
The two of them continued to move deeper into the jungle, Andrew occasionally adjusting their course to check out a particularly vibrant aura, but even the most noteworthy only expanded Chris's space a little. That wasn't to say the jungle was lifeless, in fact it was quite the opposite. There were creatures everywhere, they were just… weak. “You know, from the way Greg talked about this place, I was thinking we'd have to fight more.” Andrew commented.
“In his defense, he's never actually been here.” Chris pointed out. “He probably doesn't know what ‘wild and mana-warped’ even means.”
“Well, so far it seems like any other forest you'd find on Earth, except purple.” Andrew muttered. “At least the animals are neat, I guess.” He'd even collected a few interesting cores to experiment on later, though he still hadn't figured out anything he could use to increase his aura strength. No matter how he interacted with a core, it just ended up killing the creature he was working on! But at least he could give himself a carapace and claws now, so that was nice.
“At least we can tell people there doesn't seem to be anything to worry about out here.” Chris replied. “Which, overall, is better.”
“True.” Andrew agreed. “Should we head back then?”
“Might as well.” Chris nodded, going to open a portal, only to pause as Andrew held up a hand.
“Wait.” Andrew called out as something passed through the edge of his aura vision, moving towards it. “I think- gah!” He yelped as a spear pierced through his chest! Chris immediately threw up a barrier, blocking another spear before it could hit him as Andrew yanked the spear out of his chest, scowling as the wound slowly closed over the next few seconds. “That fucking hurt!” He growled, growing a carapace and claws as he rushed towards the source of the spears, which continued to rain down on them. A seemingly confused whooping sound echoed from the tree, followed by another more urgent one as the trees began to rustle, shadowy figures darting through them, the final figure letting off some kind of flash before disappearing into the jungle faster than Andrew could follow. “Fuck!” Andrew cursed, coming to a stop as he scowled after the figures.
Chris kneeled down, picking up one of the spears, which wasn't much more than a sharpened stick. “Interesting… was this place supposed to have intelligent life?”
Andrew blinked. “Huh?”
Chris waved the spear at him. “This is a tool. Animals don't make tools.”
Andrew frowned. “I'm pretty sure monkey's do… well, apes. Chimpanzees? One of them. Plus cephalopods and corvids can at least use tools, though I'm not sure if they make them… animals can be pretty smart, actually.”
Chris looked at the spear, then back at Andrew. “Can they make something like this?”
Andrew shrugged, yawning slightly. “Maybe? I don't know, but I wouldn't take it as a definite sign that they're intelligent.”
Chris frowned slightly, rubbing at his eyes. “If you say so… but it bears investigation.”
“Yeah, sure.” Andrew agreed, wiping at his face. “Man, I'm exhausted all of the sudden…”
Chris nodded. “Me, t-” He cut off, opening a portal and stepping back into it, healing himself and suddenly feeling a lot more alert. “Andrew, heal yourself or get in here and let me do it.”
Andrew blinked. “What? Why-”
“I think we were poisoned.” Chris explained, gesturing to the trees around them that had suddenly bloomed, also noticing that the forest had gone eerily silent.
Andrew's eyes widened, flexing his aura and suddenly feeling a lot more alert. “Shit! Why-”
“I don't know, but I'm getting the feeling that this forest isn't as simple as we thought.” Chris replied, eyeing the purple trees cautiously. “Come on, let's get back. I don't think we're getting anything else out of this place today.”