Shaggy sighed as the motes of light dissipated around him. It had been a boring but productive day at work. One that left him tired but satisfied. Although the conversation he was having with Levy before they both got into their pods had worn on him a little. Not that he didn’t agree. But after already spending so much money, and the things were notoriously tricky. A beam of light off to his left told him his wife had logged in right after him.
“I am just saying it’s a good idea.” Levy said as soon as they made eye contact.
Shaggy groaned, not wanting to carry on the conversation. “Please, Levy. Can we not talk about it in game?”
“You’re not getting away from it! We should buy a dual pod. I miss sleeping with you and they have gotten much roomier.”
“But they are still new. There are bound to be complications. If not with the hardware, then with the software. Not to mention we just bought two brand new pods. It’s an expense we don’t need for a product we practically already own.”
Levy’s nose scrunched up in annoyance. “We can afford it!”
“Yes, we can. But that doesn’t mean we should buy it. We won’t be able to afford much if we keep spending money like water.”
“We don’t spend it like water! If anything, we are too frugal with our money. We can afford a few luxuries in the house. I’m not saying we go out and purchase an AG-Pool. But can we at least check the trade-in value on the solo pods and look at some Dual Pod prices?”
Shaggy sighed. To be fair, he had been thinking about getting an Anti-Gravity Pool installed. The things were super cool and supposedly a great work-out. He shook the thought away as he looked into Levy’s in-game face. In truth, it wasn’t that far off from her real one. He must’ve been blind not to recognize her when they first met in-game. Heaving another giant sigh, Shaggy nodded.
“Fine. We can look. But no promises. We also need to look up if the dual pods have the same chemical cocktails that inhibit moving when we’re logged in. Last thing I need is for you to be kicking me in a giant white coffin.”
Levy snorted. “Pfft! I don’t see why they wouldn’t. OOOHHHH, this is going to be great. You’ll see.”
Shaggy walked off toward the sounds of people. The trees seemed to be denser, and he even saw grass in spots. Although it was pretty spotty. Levy ran over and gripped his arm happily. They walked through the underground forest as Shaggy switched his brain into game mode. There was so much to focus on and accomplish. They needed to get furniture, start marching into Bunch turf, check in with Obadiah, and even get his pack up to speed. That wasn’t even including the guys in Under-Town.
He had contacted them while he was out of the game. The boys were doing fine. Ren had set up several trade deals. Mostly through the Brute Clan. Dave was helping the random citizenry rebuild their shack houses. Vlad was doing his level best to harass the Quinica at every turn. But the new Space-Vampire Lord had rolled into town and pulled a lot of the Quinica off the streets. Even their shipping tunnels to the surface had been abandoned. A fact Ren and the Brute clan had taken advantage of. Slink was still at the Viper’s Den, running the day-to-day operations with Petra and Ephemara. Although the boy said Chromia had been helping more and more.
When Shaggy asked if Slink could have Ephemara meet him topside, the boy had gotten cagey. So much so that Shaggy wanted to check his loyalty levels. He was sure Ephe was still his Number One Henchman. Maybe the boy didn’t want one of the three women helping him to run off. Whatever it was, Slink agreed to pass on the message, eventually. Which meant, hopefully soon, his Number One would be part of his pack.
As Levy and Shaggy left the tree line and entered a path bracketed by trees, they saw more people. Several teens were moving boxes down the path toward where Shaggy was sure their home building was. He was about to ask them what was new when a pink orb ran straight at Levy. Even with Shaggy’s reflex, he couldn’t stop the tiny missile before it collided with Levy. But the tall drow woman didn’t even blink as the orb stopped right in front of her.
Once the pink ball stopped moving, it gained a more human shape. Shaggy was surprised to see the fairy they had rescued from Jerruza’s place. She looked a little better, if still a little skinny. She was floating in front of Levy, jabbering in a language that neither of them recognized. Shaggy guessed it was Fae, and he started rolling his eyes at the thought of more stuff getting put on his To-Do list. Hopefully, the little thing would just go on home or ideally Levy could handle that stuff. Seeing the looks of incomprehension on Levy and Shaggy’s faces, the little fairy stomped a bare foot in the air.
Shaggy noticed that someone, or maybe the fairy herself, had made a dress of leaves for her. He almost rolled his eyes at how trope-y that was. But a sudden flash of light above Levy’s head stopped him. The pink light cascaded down his tall wife’s frame and he thought he saw her shudder. Shaggy momentarily thought the thing was attacking, but then Levy got the far-away look of a player reading a notification. He paused and waited as the Fairy started with her rapid-fire nonsense language again.
“Whoa… Whoa… hold up, what do you mean, home? How am I supposed to do that?” Levy asked the fairy, suddenly aggrieved.
The fairy made her squeaky noises again before Levy responded. “Well, I don’t have a portal to Fae on my person. Huh?”
Shaggy watched the interplay as whatever the fairy had done had helped Levy understand her. The fast-talking gibberish flowed as his wife cocked her, listening intently. He grumbled to himself a little at being left out. But on the other side, he really didn’t want to deal with magic nonsense so much.
“Oh, we burned that bitch’s house down. I mean, I may be a dark mistress of the magic, but even I wouldn’t enslave a bunch of Fairies.”
Shaggy had to cover his ears as a shrill cry went up from the Fairy.
“Oh. I’m sorry. Pixies. What’s the difference?”
The apparent Pixy, still looking affronted, went on a long diatribe about the differences. One Shaggy was sure was interesting. But he didn’t need to be a part of. He gave Levy a short wave before he continued down the path. If he was lucky, all the kids and his pack would be hanging around their new homes. Such as they were. As he approached, he heard even louder cheers and groans coming from beyond the trees.
He was really surprised at how fast they had grown. Levy had explained that the magic of Jerruza's crystal-thing would make things grow quicker. But it was impressive. More so when he saw bigger and bigger stretches of grass appearing. It was like the stuff was spreading from the center of the grove and heading out toward the walls. Which, if he knew his wife, was probably what was happening. She had asked him to grab more plants, though, which he would certainly pass along. But really, he wanted to run and hunt so more. He was eager to get into it with the Wild Bunch gang. It would be fun and something he could brag to the rest of the guys in the Legion.
A loud roar brought his attention back around to where he was walking. As he came to the end of the path, he saw his and Levy’s half-constructed log cabin. Flanked on either side was the pack’s house and the extensive building the teens were crashing. But most people were in front of the pack’s squat building. They seemed to be watching something and cheering. Shaggy checked the pack link, hoping no one was in a fight. But all he got pack was tired elation and some bloodlust. Shaggy increased his speed and even pushed a few teens to the side to see what the kids were cheering about.
Vance was standing in the center of the ring of people. He had a foot on Cekrass’ chest as Rita and Tom flanked him on either side. Sybil and Vick were rotating around Vance, peppering the old man with bullets and green demon fire. None of them seemed to notice Shaggy, but he felt the others acknowledge his presence mentally. He gave them a mental wave back and sat back to enjoy the show. But Vance snapped his head up as he kicked Cekrass across the dirt ring. Several teens dove out of the way as the lizard went sailing. There were several loud thuds as Cekrass rolled through the ground before coming to a stop.
“Get in here, Alpha!” Vance growled as Tom and Rita jumped in and out of his range taking swiping with their weapons.
Shaggy wondered where Tom had gotten the slim dagger he was using. But he put it aside. The lanky werewolf had always been shifty. Shaggy shrugged and pounced forward just as Rita back-stepped out of Vance’s range. He didn’t grow his claws, as he wanted the old Were to be in fighting shape when they went after the Bunch. As he sailed toward his target, arm outstretched in a super-man punch, he sent a mental tug for Tom to dash in when Vance moved. But the old were tensed with his muscle as Shaggy’s fist slammed into his chest.
Vance took the punch and then moved to grab Shaggy’s arm. But bent his arm out of the way and went for a left cross that Vance dodged. The older man moved his head backward and Tom lunged from the side at the move. Aiming for Vance’s torso. Vance reacted by turning and grabbing Tom’s arm and swinging him toward Shaggy. Thanks to his reflexes, Shaggy ducked out of the way as Tom went sailing. Shaggy ignored the loud noise Tom made as he hit the ground. He went in again, this time growing his claws and slashing them in an X as Vance backed up. But a small orb of green fire slammed into the wolf’s back as several rounds from Vick’s rifle.
The older Were grunted as the blast hit him, but kept back away from Shaggy. Shaggy sent Rita a message through their link and shifted his hands back to normal. Vance raised an eyebrow at the move but moved to reengage in a fistfight. But Shaggy slid to his knees and gripped Vance around the hips. Shaggy squeezed as hard as he could and lifted. Even with his considerable strength, the older Were was heavy. But Shaggy got him off the ground as more fire and bullets slammed into Vance. Vance’s fist rained down on Shaggy as he held him and Shaggy did his best to weather through it. But the man’s fist were like cinder blocks.
“Anytime now!” Shaggy shouted.
Rita and Tom appeared on either side of Vance and slashed at his arms. Rita’s sword left a huge gash on the man’s right arm as Tom’s dagger embedded itself in the opposite one. Vance howled in annoyance and swiped at them. But with Shaggy holding him up, he could only flail ineffectually. Shaggy grinned up at Vance, but the old Were smiled back. Shaggy thought that Vance was proud of Shaggy’s pack, but then his pale arms became furry.
“FUCK!” Shaggy swore as Vance completed a partial shift.
Vance’s arms grew longer, and long black claws shimmered in the light. Shaggy was about to let go when another tug on his pack link made him smile. Vance looked a little confused as he stabbed both of his claws down into Shaggy’s shoulder. It hurt like hell and Shaggy could feel the sadistic bastard twisting the claws around. But what was coming was going to be significantly better. Tom and Rita stopped cutting Vance’s arms just as Shaggy raised him as high as he could. Vance was so concerned with Shaggy that he didn’t see the incoming seven-foot lizard. Cekrass came running from the side. Arm held out in a running clothesline that caught Vance’s right across the face. Shaggy let go and growled as Vance’s claws were ripped out of his skin.
Shaggy felt his skin heal back together as Sybil and Vick kept up a steady stream of fire. Vance rolled a short distance before popping up to his feet and given them a feral grin. It seemed he was about to wolf out completely when something occurred to him. Spitting blood from his mouth, he growled.
“Y’all win.”
The cheering teens got louder as Shaggy felt his pack give equal sounds of happiness and exhaustion. He didn’t know how long they’d been at this. But from the way the others felt over the Link he was willing to bet awhile. Rita shook her head at him.
“Not really that long. But he has whooped us every time before you got here.”
“We almost had him.”
“Sure. Gun’s almost out of bullets and your little pig-sticker barely bothers him. But yeah, we were so close.”
“Fire was working. Least it seemed to bug him more than bullets.”
“Silver didn’t seem to do jack-all, though.”
Vance chuckled as he got to his feet. “Oh trust me, your silver hurt like a sonofabitch. It’ll slow my healing something fierce. But you really shined when your pack leader showed up.”
Shaggy scoffed at the praise, but Vance’s stern look made him keep his mouth shut.
“You were better coordinated, and you all seemed to fight that much quicker. I was ready to go full wolf to take you all down.”
“Which was the win condition.” Rita added for Shaggy’s benefit.
He nodded as Vance spoke to his pack about their failings and triumphs in the spar. Shaggy could see food trade hands as annoyed and happy-looking teens settled bets. He smiled. At least they were having fun. Shaggy hoped that whatever his pack learned was going to be helpful from now on when they hit the Bunch. That thought seemed to spark something in Rita, but he couldn’t get a handle on what it was. When she turned to address him, the older woman looked like she had swallowed a lemon whole.
“We got a request to parley from the Bunch.”
As the rest of his pack went silent, Shaggy stood there, stunned for a few seconds. Vance cackled at the look that must have appeared on Shaggy’s face. He had been planning at attack the Bunch all over the streets. Get his kids some weapons, his wife some plants, and maybe find some interesting loot along the way. He grumbled as he asked for details.
“They want to meet you at a neutral location.”
“It’s some warehouse just further west of here. Out near where those old ranches are.” Tom added.
“You can bring two guards, but everyone must go unarmed.” Rita said.
“So this is an obvious trap, right?” Shaggy said, trying not to sound hopeful.
Rita and Vick shrugged. “They spoke to one of the kids that was on watch. They made themselves known and were polite enough. But something smells, boss.”
“That could just be your paranoia, Vick.”
“Don’t mean I’m wrong, Mama Rita.”
Rita’s face went red at the nickname and the other members of his pack started laughing. Shaggy was sure there was a story there, but he was more concerned with the meeting. While he could go and probably handle an ambush, there was always a chance it was legit. But he couldn’t think what the talks would include. Turf agreements? Ceasefire? Maybe an information exchange? In the end, he was going to have to talk about it with Levy.
“Don’t forget Wayne.” Vance said as he took a fresh shirt from a nearby teen.
The kid was holding a plastic bag of three white shirts. Shaggy looked down at his own torn t-shirt and raised a hand. He gave the kid a quick thanks and looked questioningly at the others. They all seemed to pick up his question at the same time, but it was Rita who answered him.
“M-Mart had a bunch of random stuff on some of those pallets we grabbed. Got a microwave and some toiletries. Even some random clothes. But we also got enough food to last us a while. But we are going to need a fridge or a large ice box. Maybe a generator.”
“Yeah, boss. The magical nightlight in the sky is nice and all, but some natural light would be good in here.”
Shaggy groaned. “Put it on the list. Rita and the others can handle all of that while I’m off getting ambushed.”
The others grinned at his flippancy, but Sybil raised a question. “We stealing, or should we just buy some stuff?”
Shaggy tamped down his immediate response. Which was to steal it. They still needed to maintain a low profile. At least a bit. They had collected a few credits from the various Bunch members they had killed, not to mention Jerruza's house. The credits for the spook’s missions were being funneled back to Under-Town. But they had enough for a few things. Biting his lip, he said.
“Buy it. Keep a low profile, but take the kids out and have a day. If the bunch want to pretend all is well, they’ll leave you alone.”
“If they don’t?” Vick asked.
Shaggy gave his sharpshooter a feral grin before he turned to find Levy. But his wife was already nearby, talking to a few of the teens. The Pixy was standing on her shoulder, looking down her tiny nose at everyone. When the little thing caught Shaggy’s eye, he was sure he saw her snort in derision. Shaggy frowned, but approached Levy.
As she finished speaking to the teens, she smiled at him. “Oh good. I have a new quest. I have to get this little one back to the Fae realm.”
Shaggy groaned audible again. “FINE! We can put that on the list too. When do we need to go?”
Levy’s smile fell as the Pixy chattered on at her shoulder. “Umm, well… you can’t go.”
“Say what now?”
“Non-magical Were’s aren’t really welcome. Hell, it seems the magical ones aren’t liked much either. But this is something I have to do myself. It shouldn’t take long. She just needs to go back and inform the council that K-Tech is abducting Fae creatures and keeping them here against their will.”
Vance whistled. “Shit, that’s going to cause a fuck ton of problems. If it’s true.”
The tiny Pixy started shrieking angrily, but Shaggy ignored her as he nodded at Vance.
“Oh, it’s true. Saw it with my own eyes and I’m willing to bet the evidence was passed on to the right parties on this side. Unless I severally misjudged Obadiah.”
“Ha! Told ya he smelled like government. If that old cyborg’s involved, I’m willing to bet a whole bunch of red tape is going to get thrown at Austin. Soon the streets will be crawling with G-men and their little black suits. Mark my words.”
“Sounds fun.” Shaggy sighed. “Well, either way. I have to meet the leader of the Wild Bunch for a parley. Then it’s off to the head Werewolf in charge…”
“For the Mutts in Austin.” Vance amended.
“Then it’s some home living improvements around here. But if the first meeting goes the way I think it will, we’re heading for a gang war. Which should be fun. Plus, none of the other guys have started one yet. I mean we were skirmishing with the Quinica, but nothing full on.”
Levy narrowed her eyes at him. “Who you taking for the meetings?”
Shaggy shrugged. “Cekrass and Vick for the first one and the entire pack for the second? I mean, I figured I had to present my whole pack. What about you? Is Fae safe?”
“Of course not.” Levy said as the Pixy snorted. Shaggy really wanted to flick the little pink punk. “But I’ll call some of my girls and we’ll make a day of it. A nice little trip into the Land of Faerie. While you and your pups can have your gang war.”
“Be back soon?” Shaggy asked as he raised himself up and kissed her.
“You know it. You aren’t escaping me that easy. Go have fun.”
Shaggy grinned as he nodded. “You too.”
Turning to his pack and Vance, who had all been listening, Shaggy grinned.
“So, time to go see what a bunch of animals want to talk about.”
Shaggy sighed as the motes of light dissipated around him. It had been a boring but productive day at work. One that left him tired but satisfied. Although the conversation he was having with Levy before they both got into their pods had worn on him a little. Not that he didn’t agree. But after already spending so much money, and the things were notoriously tricky. A beam of light off to his left told him his wife had logged in right after him.
“I am just saying it’s a good idea.” Levy said as soon as they made eye contact.
Shaggy groaned, not wanting to carry on the conversation. “Please, Levy. Can we not talk about it in game?”
“You’re not getting away from it! We should buy a dual pod. I miss sleeping with you and they have gotten much roomier.”
“But they are still new. There are bound to be complications. If not with the hardware, then with the software. Not to mention we just bought two brand new pods. It’s an expense we don’t need for a product we practically already own.”
Levy’s nose scrunched up in annoyance. “We can afford it!”
“Yes, we can. But that doesn’t mean we should buy it. We won’t be able to afford much if we keep spending money like water.”
“We don’t spend it like water! If anything, we are too frugal with our money. We can afford a few luxuries in the house. I’m not saying we go out and purchase an AG-Pool. But can we at least check the trade-in value on the solo pods and look at some Dual Pod prices?”
Shaggy sighed. To be fair, he had been thinking about getting an Anti-Gravity Pool installed. The things were super cool and supposedly a great work-out. He shook the thought away as he looked into Levy’s in-game face. In truth, it wasn’t that far off from her real one. He must’ve been blind not to recognize her when they first met in-game. Heaving another giant sigh, Shaggy nodded.
“Fine. We can look. But no promises. We also need to look up if the dual pods have the same chemical cocktails that inhibit moving when we’re logged in. Last thing I need is for you to be kicking me in a giant white coffin.”
Levy snorted. “Pfft! I don’t see why they wouldn’t. OOOHHHH, this is going to be great. You’ll see.”
Shaggy walked off toward the sounds of people. The trees seemed to be denser, and he even saw grass in spots. Although it was pretty spotty. Levy ran over and gripped his arm happily. They walked through the underground forest as Shaggy switched his brain into game mode. There was so much to focus on and accomplish. They needed to get furniture, start marching into Bunch turf, check in with Obadiah, and even get his pack up to speed. That wasn’t even including the guys in Under-Town.
He had contacted them while he was out of the game. The boys were doing fine. Ren had set up several trade deals. Mostly through the Brute Clan. Dave was helping the random citizenry rebuild their shack houses. Vlad was doing his level best to harass the Quinica at every turn. But the new Space-Vampire Lord had rolled into town and pulled a lot of the Quinica off the streets. Even their shipping tunnels to the surface had been abandoned. A fact Ren and the Brute clan had taken advantage of. Slink was still at the Viper’s Den, running the day-to-day operations with Petra and Ephemara. Although the boy said Chromia had been helping more and more.
When Shaggy asked if Slink could have Ephemara meet him topside, the boy had gotten cagey. So much so that Shaggy wanted to check his loyalty levels. He was sure Ephe was still his Number One Henchman. Maybe the boy didn’t want one of the three women helping him to run off. Whatever it was, Slink agreed to pass on the message, eventually. Which meant, hopefully soon, his Number One would be part of his pack.
As Levy and Shaggy left the tree line and entered a path bracketed by trees, they saw more people. Several teens were moving boxes down the path toward where Shaggy was sure their home building was. He was about to ask them what was new when a pink orb ran straight at Levy. Even with Shaggy’s reflex, he couldn’t stop the tiny missile before it collided with Levy. But the tall drow woman didn’t even blink as the orb stopped right in front of her.
Once the pink ball stopped moving, it gained a more human shape. Shaggy was surprised to see the fairy they had rescued from Jerruza’s place. She looked a little better, if still a little skinny. She was floating in front of Levy, jabbering in a language that neither of them recognized. Shaggy guessed it was Fae, and he started rolling his eyes at the thought of more stuff getting put on his To-Do list. Hopefully, the little thing would just go on home or ideally Levy could handle that stuff. Seeing the looks of incomprehension on Levy and Shaggy’s faces, the little fairy stomped a bare foot in the air.
Shaggy noticed that someone, or maybe the fairy herself, had made a dress of leaves for her. He almost rolled his eyes at how trope-y that was. But a sudden flash of light above Levy’s head stopped him. The pink light cascaded down his tall wife’s frame and he thought he saw her shudder. Shaggy momentarily thought the thing was attacking, but then Levy got the far-away look of a player reading a notification. He paused and waited as the Fairy started with her rapid-fire nonsense language again.
“Whoa… Whoa… hold up, what do you mean, home? How am I supposed to do that?” Levy asked the fairy, suddenly aggrieved.
The fairy made her squeaky noises again before Levy responded. “Well, I don’t have a portal to Fae on my person. Huh?”
Shaggy watched the interplay as whatever the fairy had done had helped Levy understand her. The fast-talking gibberish flowed as his wife cocked her, listening intently. He grumbled to himself a little at being left out. But on the other side, he really didn’t want to deal with magic nonsense so much.
“Oh, we burned that bitch’s house down. I mean, I may be a dark mistress of the magic, but even I wouldn’t enslave a bunch of Fairies.”
Shaggy had to cover his ears as a shrill cry went up from the Fairy.
“Oh. I’m sorry. Pixies. What’s the difference?”
The apparent Pixy, still looking affronted, went on a long diatribe about the differences. One Shaggy was sure was interesting. But he didn’t need to be a part of. He gave Levy a short wave before he continued down the path. If he was lucky, all the kids and his pack would be hanging around their new homes. Such as they were. As he approached, he heard even louder cheers and groans coming from beyond the trees.
He was really surprised at how fast they had grown. Levy had explained that the magic of Jerruza's crystal-thing would make things grow quicker. But it was impressive. More so when he saw bigger and bigger stretches of grass appearing. It was like the stuff was spreading from the center of the grove and heading out toward the walls. Which, if he knew his wife, was probably what was happening. She had asked him to grab more plants, though, which he would certainly pass along. But really, he wanted to run and hunt so more. He was eager to get into it with the Wild Bunch gang. It would be fun and something he could brag to the rest of the guys in the Legion.
A loud roar brought his attention back around to where he was walking. As he came to the end of the path, he saw his and Levy’s half-constructed log cabin. Flanked on either side was the pack’s house and the extensive building the teens were crashing. But most people were in front of the pack’s squat building. They seemed to be watching something and cheering. Shaggy checked the pack link, hoping no one was in a fight. But all he got pack was tired elation and some bloodlust. Shaggy increased his speed and even pushed a few teens to the side to see what the kids were cheering about.
Vance was standing in the center of the ring of people. He had a foot on Cekrass’ chest as Rita and Tom flanked him on either side. Sybil and Vick were rotating around Vance, peppering the old man with bullets and green demon fire. None of them seemed to notice Shaggy, but he felt the others acknowledge his presence mentally. He gave them a mental wave back and sat back to enjoy the show. But Vance snapped his head up as he kicked Cekrass across the dirt ring. Several teens dove out of the way as the lizard went sailing. There were several loud thuds as Cekrass rolled through the ground before coming to a stop.
“Get in here, Alpha!” Vance growled as Tom and Rita jumped in and out of his range taking swiping with their weapons.
Shaggy wondered where Tom had gotten the slim dagger he was using. But he put it aside. The lanky werewolf had always been shifty. Shaggy shrugged and pounced forward just as Rita back-stepped out of Vance’s range. He didn’t grow his claws, as he wanted the old Were to be in fighting shape when they went after the Bunch. As he sailed toward his target, arm outstretched in a super-man punch, he sent a mental tug for Tom to dash in when Vance moved. But the old were tensed with his muscle as Shaggy’s fist slammed into his chest.
Vance took the punch and then moved to grab Shaggy’s arm. But bent his arm out of the way and went for a left cross that Vance dodged. The older man moved his head backward and Tom lunged from the side at the move. Aiming for Vance’s torso. Vance reacted by turning and grabbing Tom’s arm and swinging him toward Shaggy. Thanks to his reflexes, Shaggy ducked out of the way as Tom went sailing. Shaggy ignored the loud noise Tom made as he hit the ground. He went in again, this time growing his claws and slashing them in an X as Vance backed up. But a small orb of green fire slammed into the wolf’s back as several rounds from Vick’s rifle.
The older Were grunted as the blast hit him, but kept back away from Shaggy. Shaggy sent Rita a message through their link and shifted his hands back to normal. Vance raised an eyebrow at the move but moved to reengage in a fistfight. But Shaggy slid to his knees and gripped Vance around the hips. Shaggy squeezed as hard as he could and lifted. Even with his considerable strength, the older Were was heavy. But Shaggy got him off the ground as more fire and bullets slammed into Vance. Vance’s fist rained down on Shaggy as he held him and Shaggy did his best to weather through it. But the man’s fist were like cinder blocks.
“Anytime now!” Shaggy shouted.
Rita and Tom appeared on either side of Vance and slashed at his arms. Rita’s sword left a huge gash on the man’s right arm as Tom’s dagger embedded itself in the opposite one. Vance howled in annoyance and swiped at them. But with Shaggy holding him up, he could only flail ineffectually. Shaggy grinned up at Vance, but the old Were smiled back. Shaggy thought that Vance was proud of Shaggy’s pack, but then his pale arms became furry.
“FUCK!” Shaggy swore as Vance completed a partial shift.
Vance’s arms grew longer, and long black claws shimmered in the light. Shaggy was about to let go when another tug on his pack link made him smile. Vance looked a little confused as he stabbed both of his claws down into Shaggy’s shoulder. It hurt like hell and Shaggy could feel the sadistic bastard twisting the claws around. But what was coming was going to be significantly better. Tom and Rita stopped cutting Vance’s arms just as Shaggy raised him as high as he could. Vance was so concerned with Shaggy that he didn’t see the incoming seven-foot lizard. Cekrass came running from the side. Arm held out in a running clothesline that caught Vance’s right across the face. Shaggy let go and growled as Vance’s claws were ripped out of his skin.
Shaggy felt his skin heal back together as Sybil and Vick kept up a steady stream of fire. Vance rolled a short distance before popping up to his feet and given them a feral grin. It seemed he was about to wolf out completely when something occurred to him. Spitting blood from his mouth, he growled.
“Y’all win.”
The cheering teens got louder as Shaggy felt his pack give equal sounds of happiness and exhaustion. He didn’t know how long they’d been at this. But from the way the others felt over the Link he was willing to bet awhile. Rita shook her head at him.
“Not really that long. But he has whooped us every time before you got here.”
“We almost had him.”
“Sure. Gun’s almost out of bullets and your little pig-sticker barely bothers him. But yeah, we were so close.”
“Fire was working. Least it seemed to bug him more than bullets.”
“Silver didn’t seem to do jack-all, though.”
Vance chuckled as he got to his feet. “Oh trust me, your silver hurt like a sonofabitch. It’ll slow my healing something fierce. But you really shined when your pack leader showed up.”
Shaggy scoffed at the praise, but Vance’s stern look made him keep his mouth shut.
“You were better coordinated, and you all seemed to fight that much quicker. I was ready to go full wolf to take you all down.”
“Which was the win condition.” Rita added for Shaggy’s benefit.
He nodded as Vance spoke to his pack about their failings and triumphs in the spar. Shaggy could see food trade hands as annoyed and happy-looking teens settled bets. He smiled. At least they were having fun. Shaggy hoped that whatever his pack learned was going to be helpful from now on when they hit the Bunch. That thought seemed to spark something in Rita, but he couldn’t get a handle on what it was. When she turned to address him, the older woman looked like she had swallowed a lemon whole.
“We got a request to parley from the Bunch.”
As the rest of his pack went silent, Shaggy stood there, stunned for a few seconds. Vance cackled at the look that must have appeared on Shaggy’s face. He had been planning at attack the Bunch all over the streets. Get his kids some weapons, his wife some plants, and maybe find some interesting loot along the way. He grumbled as he asked for details.
“They want to meet you at a neutral location.”
“It’s some warehouse just further west of here. Out near where those old ranches are.” Tom added.
“You can bring two guards, but everyone must go unarmed.” Rita said.
“So this is an obvious trap, right?” Shaggy said, trying not to sound hopeful.
Rita and Vick shrugged. “They spoke to one of the kids that was on watch. They made themselves known and were polite enough. But something smells, boss.”
“That could just be your paranoia, Vick.”
“Don’t mean I’m wrong, Mama Rita.”
Rita’s face went red at the nickname and the other members of his pack started laughing. Shaggy was sure there was a story there, but he was more concerned with the meeting. While he could go and probably handle an ambush, there was always a chance it was legit. But he couldn’t think what the talks would include. Turf agreements? Ceasefire? Maybe an information exchange? In the end, he was going to have to talk about it with Levy.
“Don’t forget Wayne.” Vance said as he took a fresh shirt from a nearby teen.
The kid was holding a plastic bag of three white shirts. Shaggy looked down at his own torn t-shirt and raised a hand. He gave the kid a quick thanks and looked questioningly at the others. They all seemed to pick up his question at the same time, but it was Rita who answered him.
“M-Mart had a bunch of random stuff on some of those pallets we grabbed. Got a microwave and some toiletries. Even some random clothes. But we also got enough food to last us a while. But we are going to need a fridge or a large ice box. Maybe a generator.”
“Yeah, boss. The magical nightlight in the sky is nice and all, but some natural light would be good in here.”
Shaggy groaned. “Put it on the list. Rita and the others can handle all of that while I’m off getting ambushed.”
The others grinned at his flippancy, but Sybil raised a question. “We stealing, or should we just buy some stuff?”
Shaggy tamped down his immediate response. Which was to steal it. They still needed to maintain a low profile. At least a bit. They had collected a few credits from the various Bunch members they had killed, not to mention Jerruza's house. The credits for the spook’s missions were being funneled back to Under-Town. But they had enough for a few things. Biting his lip, he said.
“Buy it. Keep a low profile, but take the kids out and have a day. If the bunch want to pretend all is well, they’ll leave you alone.”
“If they don’t?” Vick asked.
Shaggy gave his sharpshooter a feral grin before he turned to find Levy. But his wife was already nearby, talking to a few of the teens. The Pixy was standing on her shoulder, looking down her tiny nose at everyone. When the little thing caught Shaggy’s eye, he was sure he saw her snort in derision. Shaggy frowned, but approached Levy.
As she finished speaking to the teens, she smiled at him. “Oh good. I have a new quest. I have to get this little one back to the Fae realm.”
Shaggy groaned audible again. “FINE! We can put that on the list too. When do we need to go?”
Levy’s smile fell as the Pixy chattered on at her shoulder. “Umm, well… you can’t go.”
“Say what now?”
“Non-magical Were’s aren’t really welcome. Hell, it seems the magical ones aren’t liked much either. But this is something I have to do myself. It shouldn’t take long. She just needs to go back and inform the council that K-Tech is abducting Fae creatures and keeping them here against their will.”
Vance whistled. “Shit, that’s going to cause a fuck ton of problems. If it’s true.”
The tiny Pixy started shrieking angrily, but Shaggy ignored her as he nodded at Vance.
“Oh, it’s true. Saw it with my own eyes and I’m willing to bet the evidence was passed on to the right parties on this side. Unless I severally misjudged Obadiah.”
“Ha! Told ya he smelled like government. If that old cyborg’s involved, I’m willing to bet a whole bunch of red tape is going to get thrown at Austin. Soon the streets will be crawling with G-men and their little black suits. Mark my words.”
“Sounds fun.” Shaggy sighed. “Well, either way. I have to meet the leader of the Wild Bunch for a parley. Then it’s off to the head Werewolf in charge…”
“For the Mutts in Austin.” Vance amended.
“Then it’s some home living improvements around here. But if the first meeting goes the way I think it will, we’re heading for a gang war. Which should be fun. Plus, none of the other guys have started one yet. I mean we were skirmishing with the Quinica, but nothing full on.”
Levy narrowed her eyes at him. “Who you taking for the meetings?”
Shaggy shrugged. “Cekrass and Vick for the first one and the entire pack for the second? I mean, I figured I had to present my whole pack. What about you? Is Fae safe?”
“Of course not.” Levy said as the Pixy snorted. Shaggy really wanted to flick the little pink punk. “But I’ll call some of my girls and we’ll make a day of it. A nice little trip into the Land of Faerie. While you and your pups can have your gang war.”
“Be back soon?” Shaggy asked as he raised himself up and kissed her.
“You know it. You aren’t escaping me that easy. Go have fun.”
Shaggy grinned as he nodded. “You too.”
Turning to his pack and Vance, who had all been listening, Shaggy grinned.
“So, time to go see what a bunch of animals want to talk about.”
