A Werewolf In Under-Town

“So let me get this straight. I say yes to you, and I get to be a werewolf.”

Shaggy rubbed the bridge of his nose in aggravation. “No, Yuki. Like I said before, this will just make you a part of my pack.”

Yuki kept his eyes out the empty western facing window and snorted. “How can I be a part of your pack and not be a werewolf? Huh, smart guy?”

“Yes or no, Yuki?”

Shaggy had been talking to the small Lackey for a few minutes now. The sounds of metal and battle were growing louder and louder with each passing second. But the annoying bastard kept standing there idly fiddling with his rusty looking rifle. Shaggy figured most of the weapons people were using had been from some of the smaller gangs they had wrecked. They weren’t in the best shape, but they could do the job.

Yuki scratched his head and grunt, noncommittally. Shaggy made an annoyed sound and turned around. He needed to find someone to ask to be in his pack and he really wanted it to be a Lackey with a decent Loyalty Rating. He was looking around as the Bar still spun itself into existence. NPCs walked every which way, completely oblivious to the rearranging building they were standing in. He heard Yuki start to splutter something, when noticed Rita and called out.

“Rita! Want to be in my pack?”

The matronly Lackey had found herself a short sword and was happily talking away with a group of similar clad woman. She raised an eyebrow as Shaggy shouted across the bar as did several other NPCs. But Shaggy really didn’t care at this point. He thought he saw the older woman go a bit pink in the cheeks as she shouted back.

“Shit, boss. I thought I already was.” She giggled a little bit as she excused herself from her friends and walked toward Shaggy.

Shaggy thought he heard Yuki shout something indignant, but he was too busy with the new notification that had popped in his face. Shaggy grinned. Apparently Rita’s response had been enough.

Notification

You have started your own pack. This is a function limited to Therianthropes and other individuals capable of creating a magic bond. As a young [Werewolf] you will be limited to a small pack of five. Your pack mates will have a sense of where you are at all times. You will also share a small amount of your gift with them. Five percent of your stats will be applied to each member of your pack. If you make them a full Were then the stats applied will increase to ten percent. All members of your pack will be identified with your mark.

[Create Mark?]

Pack Size: 1 of 5

Shaggy quickly tapped Create Mark as Rita slowed her walking and her eyes grew wide. He didn’t know what was happening to the older woman. But he couldn’t wait to find out. First though, he quickly sketched out a wolf head as his mark. Probably not the most original idea, but Shaggy figured it got the message across. He superimposed the wolf’s head onto a moon and quickly accepted the mark as his own.

When he did Rita’s flushed face grew slightly pained and other NPCs rushed over to help. Shaggy also bolted over and grasped his new pack members arm. Rita grit her teeth and seemed to suck down the pain as she tried to keep her feet under her. Shaggy grabbed her arm to steady her and when he did Rita’s pain seemed to stop. Rita glanced at him confused as she panted heavily. She raised the sleeve on her dirty grey blouse and looked at her arm. Imprinted on her left arm like a brand was Shaggy’s mark.

Several of Rita’s friends threw nasty looks at him and Shaggy almost apologized when Rita howled in delight.

“WHOOOOOOO!” Rita leapt out of Shaggy’s hold and stretched her arms out and hopped on her feet excitedly. “Holy Shit, Boss! Is this how you feel all the time?! This is fucking great!”

The older woman bounced around and threw a few jabs in the air like a boxer. Shaggy grinned as the redness around Rita’s face dissipated. He shot Yuki a cocky grin as he asked.

“You good, Rita?

Rita gave him a feral grin, and Shaggy thought her teeth looked sharper then normal. “Good? Shit, boss. I feel like I could take on the world.”

Shaggy snorted, but he nodded understandingly. “That great, but don’t get cocky. Find me some of the others from the crew.

Rita nodded as she seemed to take his meaning. “You going to do this to them?”

“That’s the plan.”

Rita whooped excitedly again as she took off like a shot through the large bar. People got out of her way as the newly minted pack member searched for some of the others. Her friends took off in pursuit shooting Shaggy confused looks. Shaggy just shrugged as Yuki called over from his position from the window.

“Damn it, that’s not fair!”

“You snooze you lose, kid.” Shaggy shrugged and turned to look around the bar again.

The second floor was just coming together as he spun around. A wooden tiered staircase wound it’s way up to the second story balcony overlooking the bar floor. Rooms were coming into being just as a gunshot rang out from the eastern side. Screams and cries of concern went up as Shaggy snapped his head and around and tried to rush over. But he slammed into someone and recoiled harshly.

He almost snapped at the person when he realized it was Chromia. Apparently she was still following him around. Shaggy gave her a quizzical look, but the one-eyed woman just snorted at him again and motioned toward the east side of the bar. Several gangster were crowding around the window next to the bar, but no more shots were going off. Shaggy couldn’t see anything through the mass of people and he almost started shoving people out of his way when Ren spoke up from nearby.

“It’s just Dave. Who the fuck is shooting at Dave?”

A timid purple hand rose from one of the people standing next to the eastern window. The Lackey’s purple cheeks were dark with embarrassment as several Lackeys around her chuckled. Her partner covering the other side of the window just shook his head as he kept his eyes peeled out the window.

“It’s cool, Dave. Just a Trigger-Happy grunt. Get in here!” Ren shouted out the window over the heads of all the smaller NPCs.

Shaggy just made out Dave’s voice through the window. “Cool. Be prepared. We got wounded Civs incoming.”

Shaggy raised and eyebrow, but looked around the bar searching for the Needle Sisters. But with the bar a whirl of eye-bending construction right now, it was hard to find them. They had been on the first floor when Shaggy had gone outside, but now they were nowhere to be seen. A tap on his shoulder brought Shaggy around to face Chromia again.

The sharp-faced woman nodded toward the bars south-side and said. “They’ll be in the infirmary.”

Shaggy nodded like he knew where that was and started walking toward the south wall. Just past the center dance floor and the stage for musical performers stood the south wall. About halfway down the wall was a small metal door with a white nameplate that read Infirmary. Shaggy grinned, it was a smart move from the vampire. He wondered at the bonuses they would get for the room as he pushed his in, or tried too.

The door was swinging inward when it burst outward, nearly snapping Shaggy’s wrist. Leslie came barreling through the door, annoyed look on her face. When she saw Shaggy and Chromia, her face softened a bit, but she still growled angrily.

“No more right now, please. Rashi is on her last legs. Her power can only go so far.”

Shaggy grunted, but nodded understandingly. “I get it, but we got more civilians coming in. Is there anything we can do for them. Without Rashi.”

Leslie’s face twisted in thought for a few seconds before the front door burst open and thudding feet sounded on the new wood floor. The electric Needle Sister grunted and started walking around the bar’s stage. Shaggy and Chromia followed on her heels. As the moved around the stage and got a decent look at the newcomers, Shaggy felt his face grimace.

They did not look good. The denizens of Under-Town were made of some tough stuff, but these people looked like they had been on the run for days. Not hours. Shaggy even saw Dave’s normally happy face look a little pensive as he tried to help the injured as best he could. Chromia snorted as she watched the affable player help an old man into a chair.

“I thought you were Villains?”

“Yeah,” Shaggy said. “Villains. Not assholes. These people don’t need us to step on them. Under-Town was already doing that. Besides, there are plenty of other people who need robbing.”

Chromia raised an eyebrow at him as Leslie chuckled and mumbled something under her breath. Shaggy couldn’t quite make it out, but he thought he heard her say. “… telling the truth.”

Leslie rushed out to help the nearest person as Shaggy moved out of the way. There wasn’t a lot of space behind the stage and probably even less in the small infirmary they had. The Needle Sisters didn’t need him jamming up the works.

Gun shots started resounding from all sides as more and more Lackeys started to open fire. Shaggy twisted to look at Chromia. The metal woman had transformed into her metal form again and was moving toward the front door. Shaggy moved to join her, keeping an eye out for Rita. Everyone in the bar was running all around, trying to stay out of everyone’s way.

Dave was herding the civilians to the center while Ren and Tinsel were moving toward the door. Slink was firing two pistols out an east-facing window gleefully as Ephemara was more methodically shooting a hunting rifle she had procured from somewhere. Shaggy thought he saw Obadiah still standing next to his broken Omega robot, but the old man had a hand down on the things head, doing something. He tried to get a better look, but Rita’s voice shouted at him as he made it to the crowded door.

“Got them boss.” Rita said gleefully.

Vick, Sybil, Cekrass, and Tom all looked at the excited Rita and then at Shaggy. Clearly the woman hadn’t explained anything and Shaggy really didn’t have the time to explain. He placed a hand on Cekrass and Tom’s arms as he asked.

“You guys want to be a part of my pack.” He tried to look all four of them in their eyes in turn.

All of them nodded, but Sybil was halfway through a question when the painful spasms hit them at the same time. Cekrass and Tom seemed to have it easier as Shaggy was in contact with them when he asked the question. But he quickly switched his hold, when their Pack marks started to appear. Apparently the change would be more painful until he touched them and gave them the mark.

Shaggy wasn’t really sure how all this meshed with him being a Mutant Werewolf in-game. But he was ready to take any advantage he could get. The others seemed to snapped out of whatever change the pack agreement did to them at the same time. The four of them were glancing at their arms and hands with looks of wonder. Vick had a rifle in his hands and smiled as he aimed down the sights out the north window.

“I’m happy for all of you but we have some robots to break.” Shaggy smiled.

His four new pack members all smiled at him. Each looking somewhat manic and feral as they turned toward the front door. Shaggy pushed his way to the front and the five of them rushed out the door. Shaggy even saw Sybil and Tom forgo the front door entirely and jump out the north-facing windows. He stifled a laugh as several Lackey looked them like they were crazy. Shaggy couldn’t keep the cackle from escaping his lips as they pushed out the door and into the dirt square in front of the bar.