“Are we sure these demon guys aren’t going to attack us?”

“Yes, Xiv. Korrigan’s forces are on our side. We can trust them. More than the other players, at least.” Shaggy answered.

They had pushed their way through the assembled forces of Korrigan’s mages and demons. Lady lead them past the front lines of the demons and back toward where Korrigan sat. The mad witch was surrounded by mages and witches of all stripes. Some of whom, Shaggy thought were players. Somehow they had worked their way into the Mad Witch’s inner court. Korrigan said nothing as Lady dragged Dave over to his spot as her bodyguard.

The rest of them joined them and stood ready. Facing the far-off factories. Smoke and robots still churned out of the city in the distance. Shaggy stretched his back as he noticed another mass of players heading their way. Two more groups were circling around to the other side of the city. While even more players were spreading out. Soon the encirclement would be complete and they would all siege the city.

“Do we wait?” Shaggy asked the others.

In the distance multi-colored streaks of speedsters running in and out of the city appeared. Fewer and fewer of them were coming out. Shaggy assumed the bots were learning and setting up traps for the player speedsters.

“Let’s wait till everyone is in position.” Ren stated.

Vlad, Slink and Levy didn’t disagree. Dave meanwhile was talking to Lady and seemed to be taking his job as bodyguard seriously. Xiv and the others were still staring at the large purple and black demons. Afraid one of the things would suddenly tear them apart. Shaggy chuckled through his nose and turned to regard the group of players coming toward them. But Korrigan’s voice rang out from her spot.

“Blood God’s Champion! What is this group that approaches my forces?!”

Shaggy groaned. “They’ve decided that they are your protectors… Mistress.”

Shaggy shivered as he added that last word. But the looks he was getting from the mages and demons made it prudent. Korrigan’s snort was loud and filled with derision. Xiv and her friends moved closer to Shaggy probably to ask questions. But Korrigan’s next words cut off anything anybody was going to say.

“Do they think me so weak as to need protection? Pah!”

Suddenly a surge of magic thrust itself forth from the ring of mages around Korrigan. A reddish-purple orb shot into existence and surrounded all of Korrigan’s forces. Shaggy recognized the obvious shield spell and almost laughed as the RiffRaff guild came to a complete stop. All five hundred or so players in the guild stared at the odd dome and seemed to be deciding what to do.

Shaggy smiled. That was even more people that would be raiding Cog’s city. Korrigan would be well protected behind the barrier and the players could focus on the fun stuff. His smile vanished when the Mad Witch made another decree in his direction.

“Go to your people, Champion and tell them they are unwanted. My witches shall begin bombardment of the city in a few minutes.”

Shaggy groaned as Vlad and Ren giggled beside him. Slink gave him a commiserating look, while Levy grabbed his hand.

“You know you’re all coming with me, right?” Shaggy snarked as he started pushing his way toward the edge of the barrier.

They said nothing, but did fall in line behind him. The demons moved aside as Shaggy walked toward the edge. He looked at Levy.

“Who was the leader of the RiffRaff again? Were they famous? I don’t remember.”

Levy snorted. “They’re one of the largest guilds in gaming and you don’t remember them?”

“Why the hell would I?” Shaggy complained. “I don’t fuck with them and the leave me alone.”

“Tolliver Jones is his IRL name. But I don’t think we should go screaming that here. Not good manners.” Ren said.

Shaggy nodded as he spotted the group of players still outside the barrier. A few of them were in conversation. Probably deciding what to do. They spotted their group sticking out in the sea of purple and black demons. Shaggy saw that Xiv, Bartle, SenSor, and Cutie had followed them. Xiv gave him an apologetic look, but said nothing. Shaggy sighed and turned back to the three leaders of the RiffRaff.

Tolliver was easy to spot. His six-foot frame and broad shoulders made Shaggy think of old sports-ball players. The wicked-looking swords on his hip, however, made Shaggy think more of an ancient warrior. Whatever alien race Tolliver had chosen was one with tan skin and glowing red eyes. They glared at Shaggy, but he didn’t feel any malice in the gaze. At least not from Tolliver.

The two women at his side however were another matter. One was supposedly Tolliver’s sister, if Shaggy remembered the rumors right. But he had know clue as to the other one. Nor did he know why they were both glaring at him like they wanted to flay him alive.

“Lower this dome, noob.” Said the darker-haired one, dropping herself straight on Shaggy shitlist.

“Yeah, no. The Mad Witch set it up herself and their ain’t a damn thing I can do about it. She has asked that you kindly fuck off.” Shaggy said simply.

“Love…” Levy said warningly.

Shaggy shrugged and turned to his wife. “I am a mirror, my dear.”

Levy rolled her eyes, but the white-haired lady at Tolliver's side snapped at them both. “Then tell the damn NPC to lower it.”

“And how do you see that going? She does what she wants and she has decided that she doesn’t want your protection.”

Tolliver nodded and looked to his two friends. Both women glared at Shaggy before looking at Tolliver.

“What do we do? This was supposed to be our in with the Mad Witch.” Said dark-hair.

The white-haired girl was still glowering, but Tolliver placed a hand on her shoulder and looked back to Shaggy. The tall man seemed to be mulling things over before he came to a decision. Behind him hundred of other players glanced between Korrigan’s Dome and Cog’s City. A large part of them seemed eager to get things started.

“Can you get us an audience?” Tolliver asked, voice oddly light and airy.

Shaggy raised an eyebrow and bit back his first response. Working on a hunch, Shaggy called over his shoulder.

“Hey! Mistress! Their leadership wants an audience!”

“No!” came Korrigan’s voice, magically enhanced and ringing in Shaggy’s ears.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Judging by the sudden jump of those around him. Shaggy guessed that he wasn’t the only recipient of the voice. He gave Tolliver a shrug and got ready to turn around, when Korrigan’s voice echoed again.

“Wait! Send them around, Champion. I would, indeed, have words with the leader of one of the significant forces on the battlefield.”

“Fickle…” Shaggy muttered before he felt a pinch at his side.

Levy twisted the flesh of his arm and he shut up. Angering Korrigan wasn’t a smart move. Waving at Tolliver and his two female friends, Shaggy walked them around the dome and toward Korrigan’s spot. The rest of the RiffRaff stayed put in front of Korrigan’s forces.

“You’re that dog-man that killed Cog the first time, right?” said Blondie.

Shaggy grunted and gave a curt nod. “Shaggy.”

Blondie looked like she waited to burst out laughing. But the darker-hair woman spoke up first. “How did you get an in with the Mad Witch?”

“My wife.” Shaggy grumbled.

Levy chuckled lightly. “My husband is too modest. My Mistress spotted his particular talents straight away. I’m Malevolent, by the way or Levy for short.”

“I’m Pearl.” said the dark-haired woman, sizing Levy up.

“Obsidian.” Said the blonde woman still glaring at Shaggy’s head.

Tolliver smiled at his two seconds before he added absently. “My in-game name is Tolly.”

Shaggy bit back a guffaw of his own and kept walking. But Ren snorted.

“Not straying too far from the real, huh?”

“I’ve found it’s fairly pointless. With this games character creator not allowing me to change my appearance too much. It made sense. I am fairly famous out of game so I figured I should lean into it.” Tolliver said without an ounce of arrogance.

The tan man smiled at them. But Shaggy didn’t believe it for a second. The RiffRaff were known for being fairly ruthless in other games. They’d hold Raid points and charge admission in real-world credits. Their were even reports of them harassing people in meat-space. Shaggy felt a little slimy just standing next to them. Even with the barrier between them.

They walked all the way around. Levy making polite small talk until they reached the spot where Korrigan’s entourage sat. A tight ring of mages circled an elevated patch of dirt that the Mad Witch stood on. Pearl immediately knelt and bowed her head.

“My lady, we’ve come to be your defenders.” Pearl said.

Korrigan cackled, as she glided down the small hill and toward the barrier. “Oh really? Is that all you’ve come for? I’ve already told the Blood God’s Champion that my people don’t need your protection.”

Shaggy did his best not to react as Tolliver and Obsidian glanced at him. He was sure the player-base could work that one out themselves. But he wasn’t going to confirm anything. At least not yet. Thankfully, the Mad Witch carried the conversation on.

“Besides, I don’t think that’s the only thing you’ve come for, right?”

Pearl’s face was a mask of confusion as she turned to Tolly and Obsidian. Korrigan raised a hand, purple magic sparking into existence around it. The magic sparked and snapped against the barrier, but Obsidian was pulled forward by her waist. She slammed into the barrier until a small rock popped out of her belt and passed through the barrier.

“A fae stone. How quaint. Did you want some of my power, little necromancer?” Korrigan asked, evil smile plastered on her face.

Shaggy felt himself being pulled and turned to see Levy and the others of his party slowly backing away. Finding it a good idea, Shaggy joined them quickly and moved back into the ranks of demons. All of Korrigan’s forces were facing the three. Although, oddly, Tolly didn’t seem perturbed by what was happening. Instead he turned to Obsidian and said simply.

“What is that about, Obi.”

Obsidian hissed. “You know what it was about. It was the whole reason we agreed to guard this fucking NPC, Tolly. With a portion of the Mad Witch’s power we could- gruhk!”

Obsidian was cut off as a bolt of lightning streaked through the barrier and zapped her right in the chest. To Shaggy’s surprise the player didn’t immediately turn to ash. Instead Obsidian groaned and picked herself up. A necklace fell from her body and struck the ground as the Mad Witch cackled.

“So you came prepared? Interesting. Remove your forces from my area or my demons shall feast upon your people.”

Korrigan spun on a heel and returned to her position amongst her mages. Most of whom were glaring daggers at Tolliver and Obsidian. Shaggy noted that Pearl was silently glaring at the two. A quick examination showed that while Tolly and Obsidian were wearing multiple necklaces, Pearl wasn’t. Shaggy grimaced at the uncomfortable conversation that was going to be in Tolly’s future. But the leader of the RiffRaff merely sighed and grabbed Obsidian’s arm.

The blonde-haired woman was glaring hard at the Mad Witch. It was a look being mirrored by Pearl as she glared at her fair-haired counterpart. All three of them walked off without another word and Shaggy started to follow behind them. Ren tapped his shoulder and gave him a questioning look.

“I want to be up front when things start. I think we need to get into position. Once the RiffRaff find a spot, shit is going to kick off in a big way.”

“That makes sense. But I don’t think the demons are here to charge into Cog’s territory. I think Korrigan is going to be largely defensive during everything.” Levy said.

“Yeah,” Vlad nodded. “Her forces are probably going to bombard the city until Cog shows himself. The rest of us are a distraction at best.”

Shaggy chuckled as they got to the front of the barrier. “I’m fine with that. I just gotta do my best to gut the sonofabitch if I get the chance.”

“Let’s not forget we also gotta stop those big factory things, dudes. They look crazy dangerous, right?”

Shaggy spun at the sound of Dave’s voice and saw the player’s unarmored form grinning at them. He was looking around excitedly as all the other players finished surrounding the city. Shaggy grinned at his friend’s face as the others sputtered in laughter. Levy patted Dave’s shoulder as she asked.

“Hehe, um… Dave. How did you get away from Lady? I thought she wanted you as her guard, right?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I… uh had a nice chat with her and we decided that it would be better if I was out here with all of you, y’know.” Dave said pale cheeks going slightly red.

“A chat, huh?” Ren chuckled.

“Yeah…” Dave said worriedly.

“Dude, you have lipstick all over your face.” Slink said before falling into peals of laughter.

Dave’s face went crimson as they all laughed and the laid-back mutant shook his head. “What can I say, I am apparently irresistible. I had to promise to meet up with her after all of this.”

“Sealed that promise with a few dozen kisses, did ya?” Xiv said.

Dave shrugged and wiped his face off. In the distance Shaggy spotted more robots pouring out of the city. The RiffRaff had moved to the southern side of the city. Loose lines of players were standing ready, waiting for a starting gun of some kind. Shaggy groaned as he realized that their eastern edge was the weakest side. They had Korrigan’s dome and then a loose affiliation of Supe and villains. He pointed it out to the others.

“Our side is going to have the toughest time getting through.” He said looking past the dome.

Ren shook his head. “Just means that Cog will focus on the other sides more. He’s got the combined armies of the Wings and Boyz to his west and then the RiffRaff to his south. If he’s smart he’ll pull his bots away from the north and east.”

“Unless he keeps making bots like he is.” Vlad groaned.

“So how do we know when shit begins?” Slink asked.

Before Shaggy could answer a purple streak of lighting flashed in the sky above Cog’s City. Iut was slowly joined by ever-darkening clouds. More and more purple lightning cascaded across the sky and the shouts and cheers of players went up from all around. Young Cog’s torso appeared from the clouds, a giant purple hologram of the man they were here for.

“It seems the stage is set for my return” Cog jeered. “The fools have gathered and the bitch has created her little dome of protection.”

Shaggy felt the air become tense as players readied weapons and spells. Beside him Ren hefted his hammer and Vlad started to mist up. Slink gripped his rifle hard and Levy’s hand pulsed with power. Dave’s armor appeared and he danced on the spot. Xiv and her friends pulled their own weapons. All around the city spikes of power shown against the red dirt as the players prepared themselves. Shaggy could even see the robot’s preparing their own copied abilities.

“I can happily tell you all that your remains shall be used to empower the new race. So even as you die, know that you shall be made into something new. Something better. Your blasted carcasses shall be the fuel that ignites my journey back into the mortal realm. From there I shall spread my creations throughout the land. Uniting all peoples under one flag, one creed. All shall be equal and suffering shall come to an end! Your sacrifices here will… be… glorious!”

At the end of Cog’s speech lightning thrashed throughout the sky again. Like a starting gun, the lightning signaled Cog’s robot’s to charge. Shaggy took one last look at his friend as he pushed through Korrigan’s purple dome. They were ready. The war had begun and it was going to be wild.