Shaggy sprang forth as soon as he saw Dave move. Unfortunately, the woman thrust a hand out toward them both. Dave shrugged off whatever ability she used, but Shaggy was stuck in midair. Held there by some invisible force. His Enhanced Focus caught Vlad rushing forward as Ren tossed a coffee table at their enemies. Slink seemed frozen, but that might’ve been because he was releasing his other Snake, Moe.
“Blue one’s loose!” shouted the short guy in a jumpsuit.
“Busy!” said the woman and the green man.
The woman still had her hand held out toward Shaggy and he could feel her hold tighten slightly. Meanwhile, the green man casually caught the coffee table and fling it aside. That done, the Alien rushed Ren, arms up and ready to fight. Shaggy saw a blue-black blur whizzing around the room and guessed that Vlad was caught by a speedster. Shaggy tried to twist and turn, but he couldn’t get any traction in midair. There was a brief flash of red light and Shaggy grunted as something slammed into his chest and he was ripped out of the air. He flew backward, colliding with the far wall and smashing into the TV mounted there.
“There! It’s done! Help the boss!” Jumpsuit ordered.
“I had him, asshole!” The woman yelled back.
But before the man could answer, there was the woman screamed. Shaggy pulled himself up and checked the surroundings. Ren and the green alien were exchanging massive haymakers as Vlad was blurring about the room with the light-blue alien blurring with him. Moe was attached to the slim woman’s torso and Jumpsuit was trying to peel him off. Slink was hiding behind a couch and Dave was gone.
Shaking himself off, Shaggy dove for Jumpsuit. Claws out, he swiped them downward, right where the man’s arms were trying to pull at Moe. But the man nimbly dodged backward and Shaggy’s claws cut air. Readjusting, Shaggy sliced his right arm out as he brought his left claw up. But Jumpsuit dodged again and brought up a red glowing hand. Shaggy braced himself as a ball of energy left the man’s hand and hit him in the upper arm.
Shaggy felt his skin burn, but he ignored it as he tried to stab forward again with his right claws. The energy ball was pretty powerful, but since he wasn’t in the air, the push back was nonexistent. He felt his skin regrowing as he followed the dodging short man. He was pretty nimble as he kept backing away from Shaggy’s blows.
“Pain in the ass!” Shouted Jumpsuit as he turned his open palm into a finger gun.
The red energy blast became focused on Jumpsuit’s finger and alarm bells went off in Shaggy’s brain. He skidded back just as a red laser beam cut right where his leg had been. The bolt went straight through the floor and left a black smoking hole. Jumpsuit cackled as he tried for another. But Shaggy dove in again, aiming high and low. His left claw went for the man’s knee as his right went for the stomach. Jumpsuit got his leg out of the way, but not his body. Shaggy’s claws hit flesh, and he jammed them as deep as he could before Jumpsuit jumped backward.
“Fuck! Marlene I need a heal.”
“mhmhmmhm!” The woman’s scream back was muffled as her face and upper arms were covered by Moe’s orange form.
Jumpsuit swore again, but then Shaggy was on him, slicing his claws. Jumpsuit tried to get out of the way again, but he was moving slower now. Shaggy clipped him on his leg and arm before Jumpsuit released another red blast and made Shaggy brace. He ate the blast, and he felt his skin burn. He was about to attack again when a sharp pain hit his leg and it gave out under him.
Shaggy went down to a knee and glanced up to see Jumpsuit grinning. He had used his big energy blast to mask a small laser from his other pointer finger. Shaggy urged his knee to repair itself, but Jumpsuit was moving closer, both hands outstretched and glowing. He was gearing up for a big attack. Thinking quickly, Shaggy dove forward as best he could and sliced upward with his claws. He felt them cleave through Jumpsuit’s hands.
“ARRRGHHHHHHH!” Jumpsuit screamed in pain as his hands fell to the floor.
Shaggy’s knee finished healing, and he stood just as Jumpsuit keeled over, screaming and bleeding. Spinning, he saw the light-blue Alien pummeling Vlad into the floor with super fast punches. Moe was still wrapped around the woman, but she had gotten an arm free and was trying to stab the snake with a long dagger. Slink was on her arm, trying to stop her. Ren and the green guy had taken their fight out to the patio and the rhino-man was curled in on himself, blocking the smaller man’s haymakers.
Shaggy moved to help Vlad, but the two speedsters suddenly disappeared. They reappeared with Vlad pinning the blue guy against the wall, jamming his nails into the alien’s chest. Deciding that Vlad was fine, Shaggy rushed to help Ren. Slink and the snake seemed to have the woman dealt with. Shaggy bounded over the sofa and through a shattered glass pane to the patio. Ren was on his knees, getting buffeted by the alien’s blows. Shaggy got his legs under him and pounced onto the green guy’s back.
He felt his claws dig into the alien’s shoulder and back. The green alien grunted in pain and stopped punching Ren. His slim green arms reached backward and Shaggy dug in deeper. But Ren threw himself at the green man and grabbed his arms.
“Slice this fucker’s throat!” Ren shouted as he wrestled with the alien.
Shaggy did just that as the green alien wrenched his arms free and jammed a fist into Ren’s eye. Ren cried out in pain and fell to a knee. Shaggy drug both sets of his claws through the green man’s throat. The alien coughed and gurgled as he tried to breathe, but his throat was ruined completely. Shaggy fell to the patio deck. But, abruptly, the green man kicked out harshly. Slamming his foot into Ren’s body. The big gray alien was tossed back and over the side of the patio and to the hillside below.
Shaggy got one look at Ren’s surprised face before his friend disappeared. The green alien collapsed as a pool of blood stained the deck. Shaggy sighed and ran back inside. Moe was on the floor now, bleeding from several cuts. Slink had the knife and was trying to gut the woman, who had a hand up and was using whatever telekinetic powers she had to stop the boy. Vlad was wrapped around the blue alien, fangs out. He was bleeding from multiple wounds on his face and body.
Shaggy bounded over to Slink and the woman and jammed his claws into her back. She didn’t even have time to scream as she lost her psychic hold on Slink. The boy went to work with the dagger, jabbing it into the woman’s stomach repeatedly. Shaggy finally had to grab the boy’s arm and yank him away.
“She’s dead kid. It’s over.”
Slink came away and stared at Shaggy with an angry and manic look. “She killed Moe!”
Shaggy sighed. “Your snake will be fine. We still need to get Teo.”
Slink looked like he was going to argue, but a thump from behind them brought them both around. Vlad was slumped over in the living room, right next to the blue speedster. Shaggy swore under his breath and slid over to his friend and checked him over. But Vlad’s body broke into motes of light and vanished.
“Fuck!” Shaggy swore as Vlad died. “That’s two of ours. We HAVE to check on Dave.”
Shaggy turned to see Slink crouched over Moe. The orange snake was weakly slithering up the kid’s arm. Probably trying to reenter the kid’s body to rest. Slink sighed as he picked up Moe. Shaggy saw Larry and Curly slither into the kid’s pant legs and he coughed to get Slink’s attention.
“Come on, kid. We ain’t done yet.”
Slink shuddered a bit as Moe disappeared into his shirt. “Okay. Dave went that way.”
Slink pointed over his shoulder toward a hallway just beside the kitchen. It looked like Teo had made a run for it. Shaggy nodded and lead the way down the hall. Along the way there were indent’s in the ground where Dave’s armored form left footprints. The guy was going all out. They followed the trail all the way to a back door and out into the hills beside Teo’s house.
The footprints continued over the next hill and onto the road. They lost the footprints at that point, but Shaggy used his nose to follow Dave’s scent further down the road until they started seeing signs of a fight. Cars were dented, street-lights were cut in half, and some people’s front yards were torn up. Shaggy sighed as he looked around. So much for doing this quietly. They continued to jog down the road until Slink called out.
“There!”
Down the road, under a streetlight, was a body hunched over. It looked to be Dave’s blue form and Shaggy swore as he picked up speed. Slink fell behind as Shaggy rushed over. Under the light, Dave’s kneeling body was holding onto a terrified looking Teo. Dave had his hands wrapped around the man’s throat. Shaggy almost sighed in relief, but then he saw a slim blade was penetrating Dave’s armored chest.
Shaggy moved forward carefully and looked both men over. Slink skid to a halt nearby as Shaggy tapped Teo. The man was frozen in a rictus of fear. Dave had been stabbed through the chest and, in a last ditch effort, choked Teo to death. Shaggy whistled under his breath as he looked over the bodies. Dave’s form turned into motes of light and Teo’s body slumped to the road.
“Shags?” Slink said behind him, sounding weak.
“Yeah, kid. It’s fucked. Only you and me now.”
Slink coughed and Shaggy spun. “No, Shags. I think that woman’s dagger was poisoned or something.”
Slink was paler than usual and had just coughed up some blood. It ran down the front of the boy’s shirt.
“Shit.” Shaggy swore and dove for the boy. “What the hell? I didn’t see you get cut!”
Slink shook his head. “Not me. Moe. Moe’s poisoned.”
“Well then, dump the snake!” Shaggy yelled.
Slink got an angry look on his face. “Hell no. If I dump him, I’ll lose him and have to retrain another one. I like Moe. If we both die, then I’ll respawn with all my snakes.”
“Stubborn bastard!” Shaggy swore as he turned and put the kid on his back. “HoLD ON.”
Shaggy’s voice shifted as his body twisted and grew. He could feel the hairs on his body sprout as he went down on all fours. His paws grew and his face elongated. All was normal with his werewolf form until he felt two horns grow out of his head. Slink’s hands gripped his fur tightly and Shaggy shook the pain from his body.
“Did your fur always used to be black?” Slink asked weakly, but Shaggy ignored him.
The sound of whirring drones filled the air and Shaggy bolted away on all fours. His ears picked up the distant sounds of sirens, so they needed to be gone. Shaggy ran through the streets as fast as his four-legged form would go. He barely noticed the white wall of the community as he jumped over it, and he didn’t even care about the cameras. He tore into the hiking trail and up the hill toward their van. Shaggy was rapidly trying to think of a place to take Slink for healing when he spotted something near their van.
He skidded to a halt and sniffed the air, but all he got was earth and sweat. There was a dark shadow right next to their van and whatever it was, it wasn’t moving. Shaggy crawled closer, trying to make out anything, when a voice called.
“Shags, that you?”
Shaggy bolted forward and slid to a stop in front of Ren. The Rhino-man was leaning against the van and looked beat to hell. One of his massive arms was at an odd angle, too. Ren looked Shaggy over with wide eyes before he chuckled.
“Shit, next time let’s just send you in there.”
“It is mildly terrifying.” Slink coughed from Shaggy’s back.
Shaggy spun and let Slink slide/fall from his back. After he heard the thump, Shaggy shifted back. He idly noticed that his pants shifted with him this time, his shirt long destroyed. But he didn’t have time to celebrate as Slink coughed up more blood. Rushing to the van, he threw the back doors open and started searching inside.
“There’s no first aid kit back there.” Slink said.
Shaggy swore. “Shit! Then we need to get you two to a healer or something.”
Slink sighed. “I’m dead Shaggy. I’ll respawn in Under-Town with the others.”
“Shit.” Ren said. “The others are dead?”
“Dave took out Teo before he died. I don’t know what got Vlad though. Probably blood loss or something,” Shaggy explained.
“We’ll ask them when we get down there. We are done topside for now. If Slink is headed for spawn, you can drive while I rest in the back.”
Shaggy sighed and nodded when an unfamiliar voice interrupted them. “OR you could ask for help.”
They all spun toward the hill’s trail and standing at the exit to the trail, just next to the trees, was a tall woman. Ren pulled himself from the van and stood as Shaggy grew his claws. The woman stepped into the moonlight and Shaggy realized it was the drow woman from the bar. Her purple eyes seemed to sparkle in amusement as she stepped forward, hand outstretched. Shaggy almost leapt forward, but a sharp intake of breath brought his attention to Slink.
The boy was looking a hell of a lot better as purple motes of light surrounded his body. Shaggy shifted his gaze between the healed Slink and the obsidian-skinned newcomer. Ren lurched forward a few steps, but Shaggy imposed himself between Ren and the woman.
“Who are you? Why help us?”
The woman scowled and whipped a hand across Shaggy’s face. The blow didn’t even register for Shaggy, but the woman hissed as she rubbed her palm.
“You’ve always been hard-headed, but that’s twice now you’ve failed to recognize me. Minus two hundred points!” She declared angrily.
Shaggy’s eyes widened. “T?”
An enormous grin spread across his wife’s Elven face.
Shaggy sprang forth as soon as he saw Dave move. Unfortunately, the woman thrust a hand out toward them both. Dave shrugged off whatever ability she used, but Shaggy was stuck in midair. Held there by some invisible force. His Enhanced Focus caught Vlad rushing forward as Ren tossed a coffee table at their enemies. Slink seemed frozen, but that might’ve been because he was releasing his other Snake, Moe.
“Blue one’s loose!” shouted the short guy in a jumpsuit.
“Busy!” said the woman and the green man.
The woman still had her hand held out toward Shaggy and he could feel her hold tighten slightly. Meanwhile, the green man casually caught the coffee table and fling it aside. That done, the Alien rushed Ren, arms up and ready to fight. Shaggy saw a blue-black blur whizzing around the room and guessed that Vlad was caught by a speedster. Shaggy tried to twist and turn, but he couldn’t get any traction in midair. There was a brief flash of red light and Shaggy grunted as something slammed into his chest and he was ripped out of the air. He flew backward, colliding with the far wall and smashing into the TV mounted there.
“There! It’s done! Help the boss!” Jumpsuit ordered.
“I had him, asshole!” The woman yelled back.
But before the man could answer, there was the woman screamed. Shaggy pulled himself up and checked the surroundings. Ren and the green alien were exchanging massive haymakers as Vlad was blurring about the room with the light-blue alien blurring with him. Moe was attached to the slim woman’s torso and Jumpsuit was trying to peel him off. Slink was hiding behind a couch and Dave was gone.
Shaking himself off, Shaggy dove for Jumpsuit. Claws out, he swiped them downward, right where the man’s arms were trying to pull at Moe. But the man nimbly dodged backward and Shaggy’s claws cut air. Readjusting, Shaggy sliced his right arm out as he brought his left claw up. But Jumpsuit dodged again and brought up a red glowing hand. Shaggy braced himself as a ball of energy left the man’s hand and hit him in the upper arm.
Shaggy felt his skin burn, but he ignored it as he tried to stab forward again with his right claws. The energy ball was pretty powerful, but since he wasn’t in the air, the push back was nonexistent. He felt his skin regrowing as he followed the dodging short man. He was pretty nimble as he kept backing away from Shaggy’s blows.
“Pain in the ass!” Shouted Jumpsuit as he turned his open palm into a finger gun.
The red energy blast became focused on Jumpsuit’s finger and alarm bells went off in Shaggy’s brain. He skidded back just as a red laser beam cut right where his leg had been. The bolt went straight through the floor and left a black smoking hole. Jumpsuit cackled as he tried for another. But Shaggy dove in again, aiming high and low. His left claw went for the man’s knee as his right went for the stomach. Jumpsuit got his leg out of the way, but not his body. Shaggy’s claws hit flesh, and he jammed them as deep as he could before Jumpsuit jumped backward.
“Fuck! Marlene I need a heal.”
“mhmhmmhm!” The woman’s scream back was muffled as her face and upper arms were covered by Moe’s orange form.
Jumpsuit swore again, but then Shaggy was on him, slicing his claws. Jumpsuit tried to get out of the way again, but he was moving slower now. Shaggy clipped him on his leg and arm before Jumpsuit released another red blast and made Shaggy brace. He ate the blast, and he felt his skin burn. He was about to attack again when a sharp pain hit his leg and it gave out under him.
Shaggy went down to a knee and glanced up to see Jumpsuit grinning. He had used his big energy blast to mask a small laser from his other pointer finger. Shaggy urged his knee to repair itself, but Jumpsuit was moving closer, both hands outstretched and glowing. He was gearing up for a big attack. Thinking quickly, Shaggy dove forward as best he could and sliced upward with his claws. He felt them cleave through Jumpsuit’s hands.
“ARRRGHHHHHHH!” Jumpsuit screamed in pain as his hands fell to the floor.
Shaggy’s knee finished healing, and he stood just as Jumpsuit keeled over, screaming and bleeding. Spinning, he saw the light-blue Alien pummeling Vlad into the floor with super fast punches. Moe was still wrapped around the woman, but she had gotten an arm free and was trying to stab the snake with a long dagger. Slink was on her arm, trying to stop her. Ren and the green guy had taken their fight out to the patio and the rhino-man was curled in on himself, blocking the smaller man’s haymakers.
Shaggy moved to help Vlad, but the two speedsters suddenly disappeared. They reappeared with Vlad pinning the blue guy against the wall, jamming his nails into the alien’s chest. Deciding that Vlad was fine, Shaggy rushed to help Ren. Slink and the snake seemed to have the woman dealt with. Shaggy bounded over the sofa and through a shattered glass pane to the patio. Ren was on his knees, getting buffeted by the alien’s blows. Shaggy got his legs under him and pounced onto the green guy’s back.
He felt his claws dig into the alien’s shoulder and back. The green alien grunted in pain and stopped punching Ren. His slim green arms reached backward and Shaggy dug in deeper. But Ren threw himself at the green man and grabbed his arms.
“Slice this fucker’s throat!” Ren shouted as he wrestled with the alien.
Shaggy did just that as the green alien wrenched his arms free and jammed a fist into Ren’s eye. Ren cried out in pain and fell to a knee. Shaggy drug both sets of his claws through the green man’s throat. The alien coughed and gurgled as he tried to breathe, but his throat was ruined completely. Shaggy fell to the patio deck. But, abruptly, the green man kicked out harshly. Slamming his foot into Ren’s body. The big gray alien was tossed back and over the side of the patio and to the hillside below.
Shaggy got one look at Ren’s surprised face before his friend disappeared. The green alien collapsed as a pool of blood stained the deck. Shaggy sighed and ran back inside. Moe was on the floor now, bleeding from several cuts. Slink had the knife and was trying to gut the woman, who had a hand up and was using whatever telekinetic powers she had to stop the boy. Vlad was wrapped around the blue alien, fangs out. He was bleeding from multiple wounds on his face and body.
Shaggy bounded over to Slink and the woman and jammed his claws into her back. She didn’t even have time to scream as she lost her psychic hold on Slink. The boy went to work with the dagger, jabbing it into the woman’s stomach repeatedly. Shaggy finally had to grab the boy’s arm and yank him away.
“She’s dead kid. It’s over.”
Slink came away and stared at Shaggy with an angry and manic look. “She killed Moe!”
Shaggy sighed. “Your snake will be fine. We still need to get Teo.”
Slink looked like he was going to argue, but a thump from behind them brought them both around. Vlad was slumped over in the living room, right next to the blue speedster. Shaggy swore under his breath and slid over to his friend and checked him over. But Vlad’s body broke into motes of light and vanished.
“Fuck!” Shaggy swore as Vlad died. “That’s two of ours. We HAVE to check on Dave.”
Shaggy turned to see Slink crouched over Moe. The orange snake was weakly slithering up the kid’s arm. Probably trying to reenter the kid’s body to rest. Slink sighed as he picked up Moe. Shaggy saw Larry and Curly slither into the kid’s pant legs and he coughed to get Slink’s attention.
“Come on, kid. We ain’t done yet.”
Slink shuddered a bit as Moe disappeared into his shirt. “Okay. Dave went that way.”
Slink pointed over his shoulder toward a hallway just beside the kitchen. It looked like Teo had made a run for it. Shaggy nodded and lead the way down the hall. Along the way there were indent’s in the ground where Dave’s armored form left footprints. The guy was going all out. They followed the trail all the way to a back door and out into the hills beside Teo’s house.
The footprints continued over the next hill and onto the road. They lost the footprints at that point, but Shaggy used his nose to follow Dave’s scent further down the road until they started seeing signs of a fight. Cars were dented, street-lights were cut in half, and some people’s front yards were torn up. Shaggy sighed as he looked around. So much for doing this quietly. They continued to jog down the road until Slink called out.
“There!”
Down the road, under a streetlight, was a body hunched over. It looked to be Dave’s blue form and Shaggy swore as he picked up speed. Slink fell behind as Shaggy rushed over. Under the light, Dave’s kneeling body was holding onto a terrified looking Teo. Dave had his hands wrapped around the man’s throat. Shaggy almost sighed in relief, but then he saw a slim blade was penetrating Dave’s armored chest.
Shaggy moved forward carefully and looked both men over. Slink skid to a halt nearby as Shaggy tapped Teo. The man was frozen in a rictus of fear. Dave had been stabbed through the chest and, in a last ditch effort, choked Teo to death. Shaggy whistled under his breath as he looked over the bodies. Dave’s form turned into motes of light and Teo’s body slumped to the road.
“Shags?” Slink said behind him, sounding weak.
“Yeah, kid. It’s fucked. Only you and me now.”
Slink coughed and Shaggy spun. “No, Shags. I think that woman’s dagger was poisoned or something.”
Slink was paler than usual and had just coughed up some blood. It ran down the front of the boy’s shirt.
“Shit.” Shaggy swore and dove for the boy. “What the hell? I didn’t see you get cut!”
Slink shook his head. “Not me. Moe. Moe’s poisoned.”
“Well then, dump the snake!” Shaggy yelled.
Slink got an angry look on his face. “Hell no. If I dump him, I’ll lose him and have to retrain another one. I like Moe. If we both die, then I’ll respawn with all my snakes.”
“Stubborn bastard!” Shaggy swore as he turned and put the kid on his back. “HoLD ON.”
Shaggy’s voice shifted as his body twisted and grew. He could feel the hairs on his body sprout as he went down on all fours. His paws grew and his face elongated. All was normal with his werewolf form until he felt two horns grow out of his head. Slink’s hands gripped his fur tightly and Shaggy shook the pain from his body.
“Did your fur always used to be black?” Slink asked weakly, but Shaggy ignored him.
The sound of whirring drones filled the air and Shaggy bolted away on all fours. His ears picked up the distant sounds of sirens, so they needed to be gone. Shaggy ran through the streets as fast as his four-legged form would go. He barely noticed the white wall of the community as he jumped over it, and he didn’t even care about the cameras. He tore into the hiking trail and up the hill toward their van. Shaggy was rapidly trying to think of a place to take Slink for healing when he spotted something near their van.
He skidded to a halt and sniffed the air, but all he got was earth and sweat. There was a dark shadow right next to their van and whatever it was, it wasn’t moving. Shaggy crawled closer, trying to make out anything, when a voice called.
“Shags, that you?”
Shaggy bolted forward and slid to a stop in front of Ren. The Rhino-man was leaning against the van and looked beat to hell. One of his massive arms was at an odd angle, too. Ren looked Shaggy over with wide eyes before he chuckled.
“Shit, next time let’s just send you in there.”
“It is mildly terrifying.” Slink coughed from Shaggy’s back.
Shaggy spun and let Slink slide/fall from his back. After he heard the thump, Shaggy shifted back. He idly noticed that his pants shifted with him this time, his shirt long destroyed. But he didn’t have time to celebrate as Slink coughed up more blood. Rushing to the van, he threw the back doors open and started searching inside.
“There’s no first aid kit back there.” Slink said.
Shaggy swore. “Shit! Then we need to get you two to a healer or something.”
Slink sighed. “I’m dead Shaggy. I’ll respawn in Under-Town with the others.”
“Shit.” Ren said. “The others are dead?”
“Dave took out Teo before he died. I don’t know what got Vlad though. Probably blood loss or something,” Shaggy explained.
“We’ll ask them when we get down there. We are done topside for now. If Slink is headed for spawn, you can drive while I rest in the back.”
Shaggy sighed and nodded when an unfamiliar voice interrupted them. “OR you could ask for help.”
They all spun toward the hill’s trail and standing at the exit to the trail, just next to the trees, was a tall woman. Ren pulled himself from the van and stood as Shaggy grew his claws. The woman stepped into the moonlight and Shaggy realized it was the drow woman from the bar. Her purple eyes seemed to sparkle in amusement as she stepped forward, hand outstretched. Shaggy almost leapt forward, but a sharp intake of breath brought his attention to Slink.
The boy was looking a hell of a lot better as purple motes of light surrounded his body. Shaggy shifted his gaze between the healed Slink and the obsidian-skinned newcomer. Ren lurched forward a few steps, but Shaggy imposed himself between Ren and the woman.
“Who are you? Why help us?”
The woman scowled and whipped a hand across Shaggy’s face. The blow didn’t even register for Shaggy, but the woman hissed as she rubbed her palm.
“You’ve always been hard-headed, but that’s twice now you’ve failed to recognize me. Minus two hundred points!” She declared angrily.
Shaggy’s eyes widened. “T?”
An enormous grin spread across his wife’s Elven face.
