A Werewolf In Under-Town

“Then we all hauled ass here.” Shaggy finished explaining as he sipped at some warm coffee.

He was seated at a brand new table at their newly built and furnished bar. Vlad had spent a tidy sum on getting the walls and building built. But once everything had calmed down, Vlad and Ren had then gotten to making amenities for the bar. Tables, chairs, mugs, plates, utensils, and other things. All of it was made from the metal of cogs machines too. Which was slightly off-putting for Shaggy, but it gave the bar a neat aesthetic.

Apparently a few hours after Shaggy and the others left, the bar finally ran out of bullets. But the Bladelings also were less frequent. There was still the odd gunshot in the distance, but mostly everything seemed to calm down. Under-Town had survived, but it would be cleaning up the roaming packs of robots for a while. Some of their Lackeys had even gone out to help mop things up in their neighborhood.

The civilians had been taken out of the newly formed basement and sent home. While some wanted to stay Vlad told them they would have to join up with the gang if they wanted continued protection. In the end they had lost some goodwill and even a few Lackeys, but they had also gained a spot in the community. As it stood, they were running protection for the homes in the nearby area. Ren even spoke about getting some civilians to open some shops. Something their crew could take a piece of. Sylus obviously jumped at the chance to open another junk shop.

He and Chromia were off talking about the details. Rita and Cekrass each found a room upstairs. After Shaggy had them furbished, his two pack mates fell asleep. Blobby had rolled into the bar, looking none the worse for wear. The blue alien was even carrying a few Bladeling bodies within itself. Blobby said it felt bad that it had lost the guns. Shaggy just waved the Lackey inside and told him to get checked out by the Needle Sisters. The Sisters were still set up in the back of the bar and while there had been some talk about getting them a shack nearby. For now, they seemed content.

“It wasn’t too bad out there?” Ren asked.

“Bladelings were abundant. But nothing we couldn’t handle.”

Vlad sipped some liquid from a red-tinted wine glass and then said. “The ammo you guys got may have been late, but it’s really going to help us out. But the big gets for us are the old man and the kid.”

Vlad shifted his gaze to Sylus and then to Roald, who was seated in a corner. Although Shaggy was surprised to see the little bastard wasn’t alone. There were a few lackeys surrounding him and chatting amicably. Shaggy figured the snot-nosed brat would have either told them off or angered them. As he was watching, though, he saw Ephemara phase into existence in the dark corner behind the boy. She raised a finger to her lips and nodded at the kid. Realization dawned on Shaggy. His Number One was watching things.

“They are going to be enormous assets for us,” Ren agreed.

Shaggy nodded, but said. “Sylus is a little flaky, though. Also, the kid isn’t with us just yet. I want him to get a feel for what it’s like in Under-Town when he doesn’t have any protection.”

“So what? We’re going to let him get his ass kicked a few times and then roll out the red carpet for him?” Ren asked, sounding annoyed.

“No. Nothing like that. I just want him to realize that he needs protection. He can’t go to the Raks cause they’ll just turn him over. The Phreaks are about to have a bad time, if that Angelo character believed me about who my friends were down here. The Quinica and UGB have been complete no-shows since we’ve been down here and the only other sizeable group we know about are the Brutes.”

“The UGB would take him in.” Vlad said, gulping down the rest of his drink. “They were the best equipped gang I have seen since we’ve been here. Full police riot gear and a more than enough weapons to outfit them all. Although it was all antiquated compared to what their leader was wearing. I’m not an expert, but they were wearing civilian-grade Power-Armor during that little meet-and-greet.”

“Yeah, if they get their hands on the kid, that will not be a good time for Under-Town.” Ren agreed.

“So what was up with that whole thing?” Shaggy asked.

Vlad sighed and poured himself some more red liquid from a small bottle on the table. Shaggy ignored the iron scent of blood and maintained eye-contact.

“That was more of a show of force than anything. The Big Four all stood on raised platforms in the center of the arena and informed everyone that things would not change. They were still in charge and we all better remember that.”

Shaggy chuckled. “So after that went over poorly and they killed a few to make a point then what happened.”

“Well, after the culling. Cause that’s what it was. The leaders of the Big Four fell into a discussion about various topics. Where the current borders of each territory were, what were the tithe each were collecting. Apparently some don’t take credits. The Phreaks operate almost entirely on a barter system. They also brought up Tillani and our friends, the Brute Clan.”

“How did those conversations go?”

“Well, they had a lot to say about Tillani, I’ll tell you that. The poor schmuck tired to stage a damn coup in everyone’s territory. He even sent some guys at the Brutes. They got their assess kicked. Then, of course, there was the fact that you buried his ass, so no one can find him.”

Shaggy sat up in his chair. “You didn’t tell them that, did you?”

Vlad just gave him a withering look and continued. “So at the end of the day, The Raks are going to be doing some housecleaning. Scholer was put in charge of the-”

“Wait, a second. If this was a meeting between the leaders, who represented the Raks. Donnie Raks was above ground.” Shaggy interrupted.

“The Captains represented the Raks of Under-Town, while the Phreaks had three so-called leaders. A lioness, an Insectoid, and a…well I think a Werewolf.”

Shaggy raised an eyebrow, but stayed silent as Vlad continued. “The Quinica just sent one pale guy. He mostly stayed quiet during all the discussions. Then, of course, the UGB had the Governor in all their splendor.”

“So Tillani is out and the Raks are down a Captain. Meanwhile, the Big Four are talking about our Brutes?”

Vlad sat a little straighter as some random civilians walked into the bar. They had been getting a steady stream of customers since the Robot Invasion had calmed down. They had little in the way of supplies. But what they had, they were going through quickly. Shaggy was even thinking about making a supply run, but Petra had to order the stuff first.

“Yeah, the Brutes were a decent topic of discussion. Apparently, more and more of them are coming down. The Governor wanted to invite them into the Big Four as the new Fifth member, but the Phreaks apposed the idea. They put it to a vote, but the Quinica abstained and the Raks didn’t want to vote without the input of their leader. But they said they would be open to either inclusion or elimination.”

Ren scratched his chin. “So all of this took place in the Arena? What? Did all the lower tier gangs just sit quietly as the big boys talked?”

“Well, after the UGB goons shot down the rowdiest gangs, yeah. We pretty much just watched the discussion. Although a few of us started networking when the big boys got into it.” Vlad smiled.

“Networking?”

“Of course, we little guys got to stick together.”

Shaggy grunted disbelievingly. “Yeah, that will last.”

“It’ll last as long as it needs to. There are a few more player run gangs down here, you know. Some are probably as big as us. But we kind of lucked out with our location.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we are technically on Quinica turf. But with them holed up somewhere, they aren’t policing things. Although they never really did. So we have free run of the place. But I will bet once their big-shot Elder comes into town we are going to get a visit. We’ll have to pay a tithe or something.”

Ren crossed his massive arms across his chest. “We going to pay it?”

Vlad wobbled his head. “Maybe? We don’t know how many of them there are and we don’t know how we stock up combat-wise.”

Shaggy shook his head, remembering his fight against the Quinica in a parking garage above-ground. He and the Professor had taken a bunch of the guys. But if they only had Lackeys to work with, they would not cut it.

“They are like you Vlad. Vampires.” Shaggy held a hand to stall Vlad’s indignant yell. “I know, they aren’t ‘true’ Vamps. But they sure as hell have the skill-set. They are fast, tough and have sharp nails and teeth. I could take a bunch of the lower-grade ones and that was before. I’ve leveled a bunch now. Us players would be fine, but our boys would get torn apart.”

Ren sat back in his custom-made metal chair and sighed. “So we need to focus on training.”

“I think we just need to focus on being a gang.” Shaggy said. “I mean, Ephemara ranked up to Henchman and seemed to get a big ole boost to her abilities. We need more of them while also getting our low-tier guys up to snuff. I think we can do that just through day-to-day operations. We can have Dave train the few that want it. But for the rest of us, it should be business as usual. We get out there, protect our turf, and get into some trouble.”

Vlad chuckled. “That’s more your area of expertise.”

“No shit. You go off for ammo and end up on a wild adventure. What the fuck?” Ren added.

Shaggy shrugged and began to talk, but was interrupted by Petra. “Hey boss? Our orders in. We need someone for pickup and delivery. Should I send a few newbies?”

Shaggy sighed and checked the time. If his math was right, he should have a bit of time until his wife got home. Maybe enough for a supply run.

“I’ll grab some people and take care of it, Petra. How long will I have to wait for the delivery?”

Petra shrugged, and this time Shaggy was sure her scales were growing more and more across her body. “I don’t know, boss. It depends on how quick the Quinica feel about doing it.”

Vlad sat up and finished his wine glass of blood. “I think I should see these false vampires up close for myself.”

Shaggy shrugged. “Sure, come along. What about you, Ren?”

The big, grey alien shook his head. “I gotta log off. Stuff to do in the real.”

Shaggy nodded as he stood. Vlad joined him and the pair of them went off in search of some Lackeys to take. Rita and Cekrass were out cold, but Sybil and Vick were around somewhere. Shaggy shivered as he remembered Tom was also loose somewhere in the bar. The thought of taking the talkative NPC on a long walk to and from the north wall was frightening. He was standing near their empty dance floor when Ephemara phased next to him.

“What’s going down, boss?”

“Just a supply run, Ephe. We need food.”

“Don’t you sleep?”

“Eventually. But for now, I need people for a job. Speaking of which, don’t spend all your time watching the little brat. Get some people to help you.”

Ephemara gave him a crooked grin. “I’ve already found a few new guys with special talents to help me out. Why don’t you take your own advice and grab some of the new bloods? You are keeping with that pack of yours too much.”

“They’re pack. It’s what we do.”

“Maybe. But don’t ignore the rest of the crew in favor of your pack. It’ll look bad.”

Shaggy sighed. “Damn it. I’m running a gang here. Not trying to manage interpersonal relationships.”

“Hey, image is everything in a gang. If the new bloods see you only interact with a close few, they are going to go elsewhere. Spread the love, boss.”

Shaggy grunted, but nodded begrudgingly. He still wanted to take Vick and Sybil, but he could grab a few unfamiliar faces. Seeing that he was taking her advice, Ephemara grinned and disappeared again. Shaggy spun in place until he saw a table full of people. Not know whether they were civilians or Lackeys, he hesitated for a bit. Then he saw Arklot’s familiar face among them, and he rushed forward.

“Hey!” He shouted as he approached. “Need a few for a supply run. Who’s with me?”

The group around the table jumped, and he saw a few confused looks as the new bloods tried to place him. Apparently, he wasn’t as well known in the gang as he would’ve liked. But Arklot jumped from his seat and finished his mug of beer.

“Shit yeah, boss. I’m down. How many we need?”

Shaggy rubbed his chin in thought. “I’m taking two of my pack and you, so maybe one more. Vlad is also grabbing some fresh bloods for the run.”

Arklot’s black eyebrows climbed up his red face. “Two of the bosses are going for a supply run? How much trouble are we expecting?”

Shaggy grinned. “It’s a whole new Under-Town out there. We need to make a statement, but we also need to collect some stuff for the bar. So find yourself a friend and meet me outside.”

Shaggy turned to leave and heard the table fall into a whispered conversation.

“That’s one of the bosses?”

“Why is a boss doing supply runs?”

“Kinda short, isn’t he?”

Shaggy grit his teeth at that last remark and stopped himself from turning around. He needed to find Sybil and Vick. His search didn’t take him that long. Vick was asleep in an upstairs chair, gun at his side. Sybil took a little longer, but he found her coming out of a bedroom, her arm draped around a yellow alien woman. Both of their clothes were disheveled, and they were both grinning. Shaggy had to cough to get the small woman’s attention, but she grinned at him unapologetically and kissed her paramour goodbye.

Once they were all prepared and Sybil and Vick had gotten some more ammo, they left the bar. Outside, Arklot was waiting with a gray-skinned Alien man. The alien sized Shaggy up, but said nothing. Shaggy felt both Vick and Sybil get a little annoyed at the gesture through the pack bond, but Shaggy sent them calming vibes. Vlad was also there with three other Lackeys. All of them looked like rejects from a teen vampire holovid. Shaggy raised an eyebrow at his fellow player.

“What?” Vlad asked.

Shaggy just shook his head and said. “Nothing. You wanna take the lead here?”

Vlad gave him the stink-eye, but addressed their small group. “We are going on a quick jaunt to the north wall for supplies. Mostly food and drinks for the bar. The Quinica manage the tunnel where we are getting those supplies, so no one is to make a move against them. Unless they move on us. On the way there, be on the lookout for any gangs and robots roaming around. We did a pretty decent job of clearing the gangs out before the invasion. But it’s a whole new ballgame now. So keep your weapons handy and try not to separate. Everyone got that?”

There was a general murmur of ascent. Although Shaggy was sure he heard one or two of Vlad’s crowd say ‘yes, master.’ He ignored it and turned to his crew for this quick run. Sybil and Vick had their guns low and ready, while Arklot was still carrying his sword. The gray alien appeared to use his fist for weapons. Shaggy gave them all a curt nod, and they headed northward. Vlad fell in-step with Shaggy and whispered.

“So you think we are going to find our way into a Boss fight?”

“Is that why you came?” Shaggy asked, incredulous.

“No, but you have to admit. You’re a trouble magnet.”

Shaggy ignored him and kept walking. He really hoped he wasn’t headed into bigger trouble again. Once was enough, at least for this log-in period. He didn’t need another run-in with the Quinica either. Although he knew how to handle them now. But Shaggy was really hoping for a nice quiet run to get supplies.