The fourth emitter was placed, but only after Levy and Shaggy fought their way past more random patrols. Mostly it was the Phreaks and Raks that started something. The UGB was surprisingly chill at the moment. Although Shaggy didn’t think that would last. The black armored Under-Town cops were nice enough. But the look in their eyes as they scanned the now-empty Quinica turf was too greedy.

“You’re paranoid, Shaggy.” Levy said happily.

“Doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you,” Shaggy answered.

He kept scanning the dirt streets of Under-Town as they walked back to the bar. It wasn’t a long walk, but Shaggy had wanted to keep a low profile. Sure, everyone knew where they worked out of. But they didn’t to keep broadcasting it to everyone all the time. Their spies could only do so much. Thankfully, they didn’t have to deal with the Brute Clan side of the territory.

Levy sighed dramatically. “Don’t we have bigger things to worry about? I mean, any new Quinica that port in are going to appear right in front of our bar. So if Ren is truly dead, then until he gets back, we are going to be dealing with a bunch of Quinica elites.”

“Meh. It’s a good opportunity to train up the Lackeys’ aim and maybe get more loot. We just made a small loot farm for ourselves. At least until the Quinica wise up.”

“You realize it’s almost time for us to log, right? If Ren isn’t back soon, we’ll have to leave the bar alone for a full day. Anything could happen in that time frame.”

Shaggy shrugged. “We’ll deal with it when we get back. Worse case scenario, we setup the final emitter and Ren respawns in the bar. No harm, no foul. We are just leaving the hole because you seem to think he’s still alive.”

“I just think that if he were dead, we’d heard something by now. Maybe through the forums or the out-of-game messenger. But he is obviously too busy right now. So what could he be doing?” Levy explained.

“Could be anything. For all we know, he died and got a more combat oriented Deathville. They’ve happened.”

“According to the forums, they have. But have you ever met anyone who has gone through a combat Deathville. Every time I’ve heard of the place, it’s some weird cerebral nightmare designed to mess with you.”

“I don’t know, hun,” Shaggy said, still looking about. “Maybe we can ask people at the raid? A bunch of players are going to be there, right? Maybe someone there has experienced it.”

“Smooth transition, love.”

“Thank you.”

“But that reminds me. A few of the in-game player guilds have set up shop near the house. They haven’t tried to keep players out, but things are tense.”

“How many is ‘a few’?”

Levy shrugged. “The way I heard it, the Silver Wings, the Wor Boyz, and the RiffRaff are out there. Each vying for position around the house.”

“So, two Villain guilds and one Hero guild?”

“Nope. Two Hero guilds. The Boyz chose heroes for this game. But those are only the big ones. A bunch of small time guilds are out there too. One’s that don’t have chapters in other games and a few that do. Lilith’s Knights are out there.”

Shaggy shook his head. “Oh boy, the RPing Knight brigade has come to Modern Age. What the hell are they playing as?”

“Transmigrated Knights from a medieval world. Some are roleplaying as people transplanted into other bodies as well. Then you have the ones spirited away by good old Cart-kun.” Levy smiled warmly.

Shaggy tsked through his teeth, but said nothing. None of the guilds mentioned were that much of a headache. The Wings could be pretentious, but thankfully, they weren’t raid-hogs. Not like a few of the other guilds could be. He shuddered as he imagined what would happen if the guilds started fighting over the damn spot. Then again, he didn’t know how the raid was going to start. Was Korrigan going to open a portal or port everyone over at once?

Shaggy shook the thought from his head. No sense worrying about it. “What about the Clandestine? I’m surprised they ain’t out there, trying to shove everyone off the land.”

“HAHAHAHAHAHA!” Levy cackled happily. She turned her mirthful eyes to Shaggy. “They can’t! It’s a location-based login system, Shags. All of their leadership is in New York! Dumb fucks are spending a fortune in credits to get all of their people together.”

“That’s good to hear. But I’d keep an eye on it. They are the biggest guild in most games. I don’t see why this one will be different.”

Levy hummed happily. They continued walking down the dirt streets. People rushed past them as the streets soon got busier. Shaggy was wondering what was going on until he realized they were getting closer to the bar. Two Lackeys were positioned on rooftops, guns in their hands. They seemed alert. One caught sight of Shaggy and gave a nod, but Shaggy couldn't recognize the alien. He gave an awkward wave, but kept walking. He and Levy entered the square, and both sighed in relief.

Shaggy may have talked about not being worried. But funneling the Quinica toward their bar was a bit nerve-wracking. But by the look of the Square and the NPCs running around, their bar was safe. At least for now, Shaggy would have to get his pack back down here as soon as possible so they could all protect the place. Shaggy was making plans as he and Levy walked toward the bar. But a blue light surged through the area and Shaggy had to bite back a groan.

Shocked and dismayed voices echoed around the square as shouts went up. As the blue light faded, seven black-armored Quinica came into view. Their helmeted heads rotated as they tried to orient to their surroundings. Shaggy grimaced as one locked onto to him. He knew what came next. But instead of the order to attack coming from the newly arrived Quinica, it came from behind them.

“Fly!” said Vlad’s voice as it echoed through the square.

Black blurs burst forth from the bar and slammed into the Quinica. Vlad’s vampiric children fell upon the space vamps with surprising ferocity. They didn’t move as fast as Vlad and Shaggy could even see that their black fingernails didn’t even damage the Quinica’s armor. But there were a lot of them and they fell upon their enemies like a pack of feral puppies. Shaggy almost smiled until he saw one of Vlad’s vamps get dusted.

The Quinica had gotten their laser rifles up and were firing wildly. NPCs and Lackeys got out of the way as more and more of Vlad Vamps were cut down. Shaggy growled and started forward, but a black mist formed around him. It solidified into Vlad’s pale form. The vampire player glaring at Shaggy.

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“Don’t! They gotta survive on their own. The strong will rise and the weak shall be culled. This is how my vampiric family shall operate.” Vlad said pompously, clearly in full Ham-mode.

Shaggy jerked his arm away. “You won’t have a family in a couple of minutes, Vlad!”

“Then they weren’t strong enough to survive. I can make new ones.” Vlad shrugged.

Shaggy growled, but let the slaughter continue. He took small solace because a few Lackeys around the square were glaring at Vlad. Shaggy doubted the vampire would get any volunteers anytime soon. He’s Loyalty scores were probably tanking hard too. Levy gave his shoulder a pat as they settled in to watch the melee.

Vlad’s more thematically accurate vampires were greater in number. But the Quinica were more well-outfitted. Shaggy noted that Vlad hadn’t even given his crew armor. Although with the way they moved, maybe it got in the way. But with the way the Quinica’s lasers dusted the vamps in a few hits, maybe a few bits of flexible armor would go a longer way? It was a literal fight of attrition as Vlad’s children slowly cut the space-vamps to shreds with their claws. It took forever, and eventually, the surrounding crowd moved again. Business as usual in Under-Town.

It was a knock-down, drag-out fight that eventually ended in a win for their side. But Shaggy thought the victory was fairly Pyrrhic. Vlad had lost over a dozen of his children, while those that remained were glaring at their so-called Master. It seemed it had occurred to them they weren’t getting any support, either. Shaggy grunted and shouldered his way past Vlad. They had seven full bodies to loot. At the very least, Vlad’s people were faster than the teleporter tech the Quinica wore.

Shaggy studied the black armor worn by the Quinica. He could see plenty of scratch marks from the vampire’s claws. But otherwise, they seemed to be in good condition. Shaggy started to collect what he could and the vamps slowly joined him. A few were panting heavily and even more had large burn marks on their bodies. Shaggy grimaced.

“Get your people inside, Vlad. They need medical attention or blood. Whatever your kind does to heal.”

Vlad was in his menus, his eyes slightly unfocused. “Huh? Oh yeah, good work, children. Your brothers and sister’s sacrifices shall not be forgotten. But ultimately, you have come out stronger. Now, go rest and prepare for the next invasion.”

Shaggy shook his head. Vlad was a real asshole with his vampires. But ultimately it was going to come back to bite him in the ass. Probably literally. He continued to pile up the weapons and armor as Vlad moved closer and helped. They worked in silence for a few minutes until Levy finally asked.

“So, how did you finish Deathville so quickly?”

Vlad snorted. “Fucking twisted death dimension or whatever was a pain in the ass. But the trick was an easy solve. I was teleporting around and around a small square room. I had to find and dismantle the teleporting apparatus while moving about the room. Annoying. But I solved it pretty quickly. Ren still not back yet?”

“Nope.” Shaggy grunted, shortly.

“Which probably means he is still alive.” Levy added.

“Or he got an especially tricky Deathville.” Vlad said.

“If he had, then wouldn’t he have sent an out-of-game message? I mean, he has to know we are waiting for information, right?” Levy said.

“Probably.” Shaggy said, finishing up and standing. He collected an armful of armor and weapons and turned back to the bar. “We’ll wait for him inside. I want to talk to Sylus and Roald about my Arcade. Also, I want to wait for my pack to come back. Once that’s all settled, we can logout and come back ready for a raid.”

Vlad said nothing, but Levy nodded excitedly. A few Lackeys had walked over and Shaggy handed off his payload and ordered the others to collect everything and bring it to Roald. He didn’t know where Angelopoulos was going to have his forge built. But for now, it made more sense to continue as usual.

“We have a problem, Shaggy?” Vlad asked from behind him.

Shaggy sighed and shook his head. “Nope. But I want it on record that I think your way of doing shit is going to fuck you in the end. And not in the pleasant way.”

He could hear the sneer in Vlad’s face as the vampire responded.

“Noted.”

“Good then. I’m going to wait inside for Ren.”

With that, Shaggy marched toward the door. Levy catching up and matching his stride. The square had again become a bustling and loud place. But the sea of people parted as Shaggy passed. His march to and through the door went unimpeded, and he eventually found himself seated a corner booth and angrily tearing into a double bacon burger.

“Where did they get the bacon?” Levy asked suddenly as she stared into her own food.

“What?” Shaggy asked around a mouthful of fries.

Levy spun her burger toward him. “The bacon? Where does Petra get it? I haven’t seen any pigs down here.”

Shaggy sighed. “She probably orders it from topside and don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing.”

Levy gave him a coy ‘who me’ look and bit into her burger again. She chewed and swallowed before picking up the conversation again.

“Distracting you is the best way to stop you from focusing on your anger.”

“I’m not angry.”

“Bullshit.” Levy said simply.

Shaggy grunted, but didn’t argue. Instead, he bit into his burger and stewed. Vlad’s choices were going to come back on Vlad. That had nothing to do with Shaggy. But that didn’t mean he had to enjoy seeing it. The guy had just wasted a fantastic group of young vamps that could’ve been an asset later on. He took another bite and sighed. Maybe he was being too softhearted about a bunch of digital people.

“You’re not.” Levy said suddenly.

Shaggy raised an eyebrow. But Levy simply smiled and shook her head at him. “You wear your thoughts on your sleeves, love. At least for someone that’s been with you for almost your whole life. Even digitally, I can read you like a book.”

Shaggy was about to say something snarky when a sudden tug on his Pack Link surprised him. His pack was in the tunnel on the way back. He could feel excitement and happiness emanating from them. That quickly soured as they felt his own mood. Cekrass and Rita sent him inquisitive thoughts. But Shaggy just sent them calming emotions and told them to keep watch on the way back. He could his whole pack speed up through the link. Now they were racing back home like a bunch of parents worried about their kid.

“Packs back.” Shaggy said, finishing up his food.

Levy nodded. “Should I be jealous that they can turn your mood around quicker than I can?”

“Nooo. Of course not.” Shaggy said playfully.

A spark of purple magic zapped Shaggy in the nose and he gave a yelp of surprise. Several tables around them turned to look. But Shaggy ignored them and glared at his wife. She was trailing a bit of purple magic across her fingers and smiling at him. Shaggy snorted and stood. He still wanted to Sylus and Roald before logging out. His arcade would be built, damn it.

But a sudden blue flash filled the room from outside. Shaggy groaned but hurried toward the door. The Quinica were sending another group. He wanted to handle this one before Vlad sacrificed anymore of his vamps. Levy had summoned her staff and was right on his heels as they exited the bar. NPCs and Lackeys were clearing a space as an enormous form stepped from the swirling blue energy. Gasps of alarm and surprise went up as Ren was thrown sideways as he teleported. Shaggy thought he glimpsed an explosion. But it was gone as fast as it appeared.

Ren stumbled a bit before he caught himself and stood tall. Smoke wafted from his back as he lifted his large hammer up to his left shoulder. Shaggy spotted a small green body across Ren’s other shoulder, but he didn’t have time for questions as Ren announced proudly.

“I have stepped forth from the depths of Shai-Hulud. Name me your ruler and I shall be merciful.”

Shaggy rolled his eyes as Levy burst out laughing. It looked like the gang was back together again. Now it was time to get the last emitter setup and then run head-first into the largest Raid the game had yet seen. Cog was a dead man.