“No. Not happening, absolutely not.” Shaggy said.

Shaggy was cold, wet and a headache was forming right between his eyes. He blamed the smell of the sewers he was currently standing in. But it could have also been the fact that for the past half-hour, he had to dodge drones and deal with the snarky remarks of a cone-headed asshole. They had successfully navigated the underground tunnels toward the street Xiv, Mell, and Ass-Clown had wanted. He had to reorient them every time the buzzing of a drone started echoing through the sewer. But now, they were here and Xiv wanted to change the rules again.

He had kept an eye on the slim red-head while traveling eastward through the sewers. She was companionable enough. So was Mell. It was alien with a skull deformity that had been getting on his nerves. Pin-Head had scoffed and remarked on every twist and turn Shaggy had taken. So much so that even Shaggy’s inner wolf was starting to push its way to the surface. Shaggy kept a lid on things by ignoring and sniping back when appropriate. At least the jack-wagon knew when to shut up.

They’d had a few close calls with the drones. Although Shaggy noted with interest that the drones were nowhere near as aggressive as they had been the last time he was down here. After they had hit Jerruza's place, the drones were frequent and fastidious. Now they did a few lazy laps through a few tunnels and then moved on. Shaggy didn’t mention this to his three followers, although Mell noted how easy this all was. To Pin-Head's snarky amusement. Shaggy filed the info away as the flesh-colored safety cone made another snarky comment.

Now the four of them stood below a manhole cover, around a ladder leading back to the surface. The sounds of drones were long gone. Although he kept his ears and nose open. After an all clear from Pin-Weasel, Xiv had then asked Shaggy what he was sure was coming. Which had prompted his immediate rejection.

“Why not?” Xiv asked, looking miffed.

Shaggy groaned. “Argh! Because, like I said, I have my own thing going on. I need to get back to my crew! I can’t be busting into a police station with a bunch of unknown players. You two seem cool. But I’m pretty sure Blunt-Tip over there would try to pawn me off to the police the first chance he got.”

Shaggy waved a hand at Pin-Head, who was still standing near the ladder. The alien player seemed unapologetic as he shrugged his massive shoulders. Xiv sighed through her nose as Mell slapped the bigger man’s arm. Shaggy ignored all that as he pointed to the surface.

“Besides, between you and Mell over there, you’ll be fine.”

“Unless they got gas masks.”

“Again. That’s not my problem. Y’all aren’t my problem. I have a gang war to get back to and a crew to find. So, have a good one and next time let your fellow criminals leave, huh?”

Shaggy turned as Xiv’s jaw flapped ineffectually. She seemed lost for words and Mell didn’t seem to know what to say either. Although Pin-Head, as always, knew just what to say.

“Let the bitch-ass go trim his nails. We got plenty of muscle already here. Little bitch is probably scared.”

Shaggy was fully walking away now, but he called over his shoulder and stuck a middle finger up at the asshole.

“He’s right. I am terrified. I need a bunch of big, strong criminals to protect me. In fact, I have a small penis, and his dad could beat up my dad. He’s the biggest badass on the playground and I’m just a little scaredy-bitch. Blah blah blah!” Shaggy called sarcastically. “I’ll miss you least of all, dick-nozzle.”

Shaggy ignored the sputtering of the angry player as he continued deeper into the sewer tunnel. If he remembered correctly, there was another tunnel leaning westward up ahead. He had momentarily played with the idea of going up with the trio of criminals and taking to the streets. But being that close to a police station boded ill for Shaggy. Probably for the others too, but they wanted their teammates back. Shaggy silently wished them luck and continued back the way they had come until he spotted a beam of red light shoot across the four-way split ahead.

Shaggy groaned and listened, but the telltale buzz of the drones was missing. He cocked his head in confusion as the beam of red light ahead of him went from the top of the tunnel all the way down.

“Whatever it is. It’s scanning the tunnel. New drone?”

The water sloshed around his ankles as Shaggy gave another groan and spun back toward the ladder. Knuckle-head wasn’t going to let him live this down. But if a silent drone was in these tunnels, he needed to get out. Quickly. Shaggy sighed as he saw that the other players weren’t still standing around the ladder. But his calm was shattered by a red beam flashing above his head. As he made it to the ladder, Shaggy turned and saw one of the biggest drones he had ever seen, slowly and silently making its way through the sewers.

Shaggy briefly tried to figure out how they got the damn thing in the sewers. But he ignored it as he climbed the ladder to the surface. He did his best to keep the red beam of light from hitting his face. But he still had to push through it as he ascended. Once he did, the drone below went nuts. Sirens blared and an unfamiliar smell filled Shaggy’s nostrils. He tried not to breathe as he climbed. He was happy to see the trio of other players had left the manhole uncovered.

Shaggy broke the surface of the street as the cacophony below him was still ongoing. Multiple cars were crashed on the side of the roads and people were hurriedly rushing away from the east. Shaggy guessed that the other players weren’t being very surreptitious about their own escapades. Which was good for him, as it would make his own escape easier. He climbed to his feet as the sounds of drones filled the air again. Shaggy ignored them as he hurried toward the east. If he was lucky, the others would take the heat for the massive drone’s alarm. Shaggy felt bad for the others, but not enough to go rushing to help.

He ducked into an alleyway and sighed as the sounds of drones seemed to get further away from him. Of course, the four people in the alley already gave him curious looks, but Shaggy ignored them. They looked like a bunch of wannabe-punk kids, probably skipping school or something. Shaggy shouldered past the leader when a familiar scent hit him and he swore.

“Fuc-”

His voice was cutoff as all four young Quinica slammed into him at once. Shaggy grunted as his back slammed into the opposing wall of the alley. Between the four Quinica, they held him long enough for one of them to tear into his stomach with his claws. Luckily, the young punk wasn’t strong enough to pierce Shaggy dermal plating. Still stung, though.

Shaggy shifted his claws and wrenched his right arm free, swiping his claw in a long line in front of him. He sliced through the right most thug entirely, which gave the other three enough time to back off. Instead of pouncing immediately, Shaggy tried to figure out how the Quinica kept finding him. This was twice now, where a random pack of Quinica had found him and attacked. The three young aliens glared at him as Shaggy stood ready for them.

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“Pop It, Paulo!” the pale man on Shaggy’s left called.

The middle Quinica looked shaken that his own claws hadn’t worked on Shaggy. But he nodded as he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a slim vial full of pink liquid. Shaggy stared as the goo seemed to stretch and contort itself within the glass flute. Paulo gave the others a nod and tipped the vial over his head. Shaggy moved. He didn’t know what the pink stuff was, but he was sure he didn’t want Paulo to get it.

Some of the other Quinica moved to stop him, but his claws sliced through them like butter. Bisecting one and slicing the arm off another. But it bought enough time for the pink goo to writhe its way free of the container. When the pink mass hit the air, it spasmed before diving at Paulo. Shaggy slammed into the young alien waist just as the pink goo hit Paulo in the face. They both went crashing into the nearby trashcans rolled on the alleyway floor. Shaggy jammed his claws down into Paulo, stabbing repeatedly as the goo covered the man’s eyes and mouth. The goo seemed to try to eat the young man’s whole body. But before it could, Shaggy ripped the young Quinica to shreds.

Shaggy stood, panting. It seemed like he had been running all damn day. Slight movement to his left brought Shaggy’s eyes down to the last remaining Quinica. He was fumbling on the ground, reaching for his arm. Shaggy had seen enough Quinica in Under-Town to know that if the space-vamp got his arm back, he could reattach the thing. Shaggy took a few quick steps before he booted the arm further down the alley. The Quinica howled in anger before flopping onto his back. Shaggy looked down into the pale young man’s face. It looked practically the same as every other Quinica he and his pack had fought. Pale, pointy teeth, sharp features.

Shaggy kneeled and gripped the panting alien’s face. “How do you keep finding me?”

The Quinica looked ready to spew some kind of defiance. But Shaggy’s question brought him up short.

“What?”

“Twice now I’ve had to deal with you fuckers. How do I keep running into you?”

“Seems like you have shit luck, Shaggy. We got orders to cap you on sight. It looks like the great Gods of Blood and Space want you eliminated.”

Shaggy snorted. He was technically a Blood God’s champion. But he supposed there could be more than one. “So you’re saying it was all a coincidence?”

The Quinica swiped a claw at Shaggy’s face. Shaggy let the black nails hit him and stared down at the young alien. He felt the claws scrabble for purchase on his skin before they gave up and the Quinica slumped onto his back. Shaggy waited for an answer to his question, but when none came, he jammed a single claw into the Quinica’s thigh.

“ARGH!!”

“Yes, it’s painful. Now, can you answer the question?” Shaggy thought he heard buzzing and sirens in the distance.

“YES! It was all coincidence. We have no way to track you. We just knew that you were topside. So our glorious leaders sent up hunting packs with some kevreshuq to deal with you.”

Shaggy winced away from the foreign word. Whatever it was grated on his ears and the game seemed to not want him to hear it. But his mind was drawn back to the pink goo, and the fully silvered Quinica he had fought before. Shaggy shook the young man.

“Is that what that pink shit is? What does it do?!”

The Quinica grinned wickedly. “You shall see soon. Hahahaha!”

Shaggy tried shouting for answers, but the Quinica was lost in his own amusement. He was sure he heard sirens now. He needed to leave, even with the small amount of blood he had gotten on himself. Shaggy slit the giggling Quinica’s throat and looted as fast as he could. Shaggy switched shirts with one of the Quinica before he rushed toward the opposite end of the alley. He spared a glance at Paulo’s prone form, but the pink goo that had half-covered the Quinica before was now gone. Shaggy swore as he ran.

“That’s going to come back to bite me in the ass,” Shaggy thought.

He twisted the corner out into the street and turned westward. Behind him, the sounds of sirens and drones filled the air, and he wondered how the hostage trio were doing. Probably not well with all the noise going on. But it was better for Shaggy. At least he thought so until a few drones zoomed over his head. They passed him by, seemingly more concerned with the sirens. But Shaggy was sure they got a shot of his face. That meant he had minutes before someone, either the HLO or the Police identified him. Shaggy put on another burst of speed and growled under his breath.

Hunting packs, idiot players, cops, Supes. This game had so much, and it all seemed ready to pounce on him. His inner wolf gave a chuffing chuckle, and Shaggy couldn’t help but respond in kind. It was a lot, but he had his own gang beside him. Not to mention his pack. They were going to be fine and with everything the game threw at them, they would grow stronger. Shaggy briefly wondered about the possibility of a Bunch-Quinica team up, but he thrust it to the back of his mind as the buzzing of drones grew louder.

However, his enemies came at him. He would be ready. At least he thought so until he looked down and spotted a pink spot underneath his shirt. Shaggy stopped in another alley and lifted his shirt. A pink mass of the goo was on his abdomen and was sitting there inert. Shaggy gulped and shifted his hand back into a claw and poked the gooey mass.

Neqreka deionko freimti!

Shaggy recoiled from the psychic voice rattling through his head. He slammed into the wall and fell onto his ass. He glared down at his unwanted passenger as it seemed to roil against his skin. Shaggy was pretty sure that a host had to agree to the symbiotic relationship with a Quinica. So what the fuck was this thing?! Shaggy heard the sounds of drones pick up and get clearer as he picked himself up.

“Fuck it! I’ll deal with you later.” Shaggy thought.

Teichka qoriusi peleina The psychic voice answered him.

Shaggy barely caught himself as he ran. The voice had reeled in the mental weight of its words. But they still almost threw him. Shaggy groaned as he continued to run westward. This was another bit of nonsense he didn’t need. But maybe they could find an expert to remove the damn thing. He felt the pink mass below his shirt roil in and he moved his thoughts onto something else. Like the multi-mile jog he had ahead of him.