Shaggy’s pack link flared with life as he soared through the air. He could feel Rita and Cekrass fall upon their target with fury and fervor. Meanwhile, Stanley and Sybil were charging their own tiger-woman. Unfortunately, that left both Ryall and another of his mates for Shaggy. Both of whom were diving at him, clawed hands extended and teeth bared.

But a sudden and loud energy blast slammed into the flying tiger-woman’s shoulder, sending her spinning to the ground. She yelped in surprise and anger, but Shaggy didn’t think she was really hurt.

“That was a blast at full power, boss. Even if it didn’t kill her, she’s going to feel it for a while,” Vick thought at him.

Shaggy sent his sharpshooter a mental ‘thanks’ as he and Ryall came together in mid-air. But at the last moment, Shaggy straightened out and aimed lower. The tiger-bastard was still a lot faster than Shaggy, so he wanted to cut off that advantage. The sudden move caught Ryall off-guard and lowered his own claws to block Shaggy. But Shaggy managed to get his claws into the tiger’s thigh and rake them across the front of Ryall’s legs.

Shaggy caught a glimpse of Rita and Cekrass’ fight as he hit the ground and spun toward Ryall. The Beast-woman was trying to rush around Cekrass’ hard spike to get at Rita, who was harrying the faster Were. The big green lizard-wolf was acting as a shield cause his spikes were sharp enough to stab the tiger-woman.

Shaggy grinned at his pack’s success and watched Ryall as the tiger-man stumbled on his bleeding legs. The wounds were already closing though and Ryall was gathering his feet. So Shaggy pounced again, at an almost completely horizontal angle. He launched himself like a missile at Ryall, but one of the tiger-man’s mates slammed into him, tackling him toward the front of the warehouse.

“Boss!” Rita screamed.

But Shaggy ignored the cry as he pulled the tiger-lady’s claws from his chest and squeezed her wrists. Her furry, half-tiger face roared into his own and Shaggy answered with a headbutt. Sharp fangs pierced his head a bit, but he could see that he did more damage as the woman went silent. Her jaw dislocated and slowly snapping back into position. But Ryall was stomping his way toward them and Shaggy didn’t have time to play with a sub-boss.

“Sybil! Flame!” Shaggy barked over the pack link.

He wrenched the tiger-lady around and held her arms behind her back as he used her as a shield. He felt Sybil’s wolf turn from her own fight and belch a stream of green fire right at them. Her demon fire lit up the warehouse as it streamed toward them. Shaggy’s hostage gave a loud scream as the soul-burning fire engulfed her and Shaggy dove away. The giant gout of green flame damn-near burnt the woman to a crisp and her screams reverberated through the warehouse.

Ryall and his other mates froze as the absolute pain must have echoed through their own pack link.

“Now!” Shaggy ordered.

His pack pounced at once. Rita and Cekrass bit and snapped at their stunned tiger-woman as Stanley’s sleek sliver wolf jumped on his target’s back. His sharp teeth biting into the woman’s furry form. Shaggy could feel his pack wrestling with how tough the skin of their targets was. Rita and Cekrass were gnawing at their tiger woman like a pair of rabid dogs. But they did little more than create scratches on her skin. Stanley was having more luck with his Quinica-reinforced teeth.

Shaggy wished his pack luck and raced forward. Ryall was still staring at the charred remains of his mate when Shaggy’s claws jammed into his back. The tiger man gave a mighty roar as Shaggy’s claws pierced into his kidneys and then were viciously yanked upward. His roar turned into a yowl and Shaggy drew one claw back for another stab. But an orange and black fist swung back around and caught him in the nose.

Shaggy tumbled through the air as his claws were yanked free. He went careening into a large cage and even knocked it sideways. The creature inside growled and snarled angrily. But Shaggy ignored it as he quickly picked himself up and looked around. Vick’s rifle was sending blasts of blue energy all across the warehouse as troopers tried to intervene with their fight. But most seemed smart enough to stay away.

Another loud screech echoed in the warehouse as Stanley’s target ripped him off her shoulder and threw him across the warehouse. The boy hit another stack of crates and scrabbled to get back up. Thankfully, Sybil was there to intervene before the tiger-woman could press the attack. Rita and Cekrass were having just as much trouble with their opponent. Not able to cut or bite the woman effectively, the two were now batting the woman around like a toy. But the poor tiger-lady seemed more annoyed than hurt.

“We have to wear down their healing, boss.” Rita explained.

“Then go for bigger hits! Take them to the roof and drop them. Bite them in half. Line up another flamethrower with Sybil.”

“I don’t think that’s going to happen, boss. My tank is empty and I think that woman is healing from it.”

Shaggy blinked at Sybil’s words and looked across toward the warehouse entrance. The charred woman was moving again. Even as flecks of black skin fell off her. She didn’t seem well and was sluggish in her movements. But she had survived the demon-fire. Shaggy nearly swore out loud, but Ryall arrived in front of him, grabbing his throat and punching his claws into Shaggy’s stomach.

Ryall raked his claws down Shaggy’s stomach and tried to rip him in half. But Shaggy’s skin was a little too tough for him. Which gave Shaggy the time he needed to jab his own claws into Ryall’s eyes and face. The tiger-shifter roared in annoyance and dropped Shaggy even as his face was healed. Shaggy’s own stomach knit itself back together, but when it finished, a dangerous pull started in the center of his chest. Shaggy felt his man-beast form dropping even as he got to his feet.

Soreness and exhaustion hit his limbs, but Shaggy ignored it as Ryall faced him. The tiger-man had a bemused expression on his face. Even as his eyes were burning with fury.

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“Still having staying problems, huh? Little doggy? Well, there’s not going to be a fair fight this time, you little shit. This time you’re- Urk!”

Ryall was interrupted as an invisible wolf wrapped itself around his large tiger shoulders. Ephemara’s invisibility dropped as she clamped her jaws onto Ryall’s shoulder. Toward the front of the warehouse, Tom also appeared on Stanley and Sybil’s opponent. All three wolves bit into the woman’s limbs and pulled as the tiger-woman tried to fight back. But Shaggy’s wolves were too fast. With a yowl of anguish, one of the woman’s arms was ripped off completely and her shift immediately dropped. Sybil stayed to finish the job as Stanley and Tom rushed to help Rita and Cekrass do the same to their opponent.

Shaggy’s elation at his pack winning was short-lived as Ephemara’s wolf gave a yelp of surprise. Turning back to Ryall, Shaggy was in time to see Ryall’s tiger-man body drop Ephemara across his knee. A loud crack filled Shaggy’s ears as Ephemara’s back was broken. Shaggy roared and threw himself at Ryall. His pounce skill allowed him to clear the distance as Ryall tossed Ephemara aside and readied himself to catch Shaggy.

But instead of going high, like he normally did, Shaggy canceled the pounce and rolled along the floor at the last second. He sailed past Ryall as the big tiger-man swiped at empty air. As he got to his feet, he grabbed Ryall’s furry right leg and pulled. Ryall was yanked off balance, and Shaggy used the opportunity to slam a punch into the back of Ryall’s head. Even without his claws or werewolf form, Shaggy was still a Super-strong mutant.

Ryall’s head lurched forward from the blow, and he swung blindly behind him as Shaggy backed away. He ducked into the narrow rows between large cages as he saw Ephemara’s wolf shake itself and climb to its feet. He gave her the order to help the others and Ephemara’s wolf glared at him, but followed orders.

Ryall launched himself at Shaggy faster than he could see. But the narrow space between the cages made it harder for Ryall to swing fully. So instead, the tiger-man kicked Shaggy bodily in the chest. Shaggy felt his ribs crack, and he went sailing further between the cages. The space grew slightly more narrow as the two cages were packed slightly closer together. Ryall pounced again, but Shaggy heard the tiger’s claws scraping the right cage’s bars and leaned left. Ryall’s claws slashed across Shaggy’s nose, but healed slowly as Ryall appeared in front of Shaggy, growling.

“That fucking healing!”

Shaggy barked out a laugh. “I know, right?”

With a growl of his own, Shaggy dove into Ryall’s personal space and deliver to harsh jabs to his stomach. Ryall roared in anger and tried to respond, but his large arms couldn’t swing well in the enclosed space. The large tiger-man was forced to send overhead punches down onto Shaggy. Shaggy felt his collarbone break and heal itself as he landed two powerful punches to Ryall’s stomach and then finished with a right-handed uppercut. The tiger-man was rocked backwards from the force of Shaggy’s blow, but Shaggy followed up.

He worked the body and arms as Ryall tried to slam his own large furry fists into Shaggy’s head. But Shaggy used the space and carefully counter-punched Ryall’s arms when a hefty blow was coming. But Shaggy’s healing was going to hold out, and Ryall was getting annoyed and more vicious. Soon the enclosed space pissed the Were-tiger off so much that, with a mighty roar, he punched the cages to either side hard.

There was a roar from the right cage and a hissing sound to the left as both cages scraped along the ground. Ryall cracked his neck ominously as Shaggy’s enclosed space was suddenly wide open. But a feeling of elation and victory soared through him as his pack howled near the front of the warehouse. Ryall froze, and a look of horror came upon his face. Shaggy used the moment and launched himself at Ryall’s right leg.

Grabbing hold, Shaggy lifted the leg and ran headlong into the left-most cage. As he squeezed through the bars with the leg, the hissing grew more pronounced. Shaggy searched in the dark for the sounds owners. He soon found it as a gigantic black snake reared up in the cage and Shaggy waved Ryall’s leg like a prize. The snake’s eyes followed the movement for a second before it snapped its head forward and Shaggy dove to the side. Hurriedly getting to his feet and jumping out of the cage, Shaggy was pleased to hear Ryall roar in pain. Shaggy turned to gloat and caught a full furry fist to his face.

Sailing back toward the center of the warehouse, Shaggy was shocked when the lights came back on. The sounds of Vick’s rifle were gone and he couldn’t hear the roars and shouts of his pack anymore. Shaggy hit the hard cement floor of the warehouse, full of worry. On instinct, he rolled to his feet and started moving toward the front of the warehouse. If his pack was in trouble, that’s where they’d be.

Shaggy came back to the spot where he and his pack had launched their attack. His entire pack was there, snapping and growling at lines of troopers. Ryall’s mates were sprawled on the ground next to the HLO troops. All three were back in their human forms. One was missing an arm and a leg, while another was still charred in places and was missing bits of hair. The third woman was ripped clean in half, blood spilling across the cement floor. Shaggy grinned at his pack as Ryall’s roar of anguish came from behind him.

Shaggy and his pack spun to the tiger-shifter, ready to continue the fight. But the tiger-man was in pretty terrible shape himself. Whatever poison was in that giant snake had infused Ryall fully. His body was bulging in odd places and his skin had black veins crisscrossing everywhere. But his body was clearly fighting it as he rushed to his mate’s side. The members of the tiger pack huddle together as they mourned the loss of their pack mate. Shaggy sighed as he looked upon his defeated enemies, but Ryall’s growly voice echoed in his ears.

“This is not over, Shaggy. I will hunt you all down and slaughter every last one of you.”

“Ha! First off, that didn’t go so well for you this time, did it? Second, you seem to be under the impression that you’re leaving here alive.”

As Shaggy finished talking, his pack pulled closer together. Six enormous wolves all bared down on the three tiger shifters. But Ryall’s face never changed, even as the snake’s venom was forced out of his eyes and nose by the tiger’s healing. Shaggy was sure Ryall was going to make another fight of it, but a sudden blue glow surrounded Ryall and his pack.

“Fuck!” Shaggy swore as he dove at the blue magic covering Ryall.

With a final feral grin, Ryall was transported away by HLO magic. None of the other members of the HLO were taken with them, though. Instead, the warehouse was full of confused shouts, angry jeers, and the roar of caged animals. Shaggy wanted to punch something as he swayed on his feet. But he was too tired. He felt more than saw his pack shift back to human as he fell to his ass on the hard concrete floor.

Rita and Cekrass came into view first. Both sweating and tired-looking. Next were Sybil and Stanley, both of whom looked a bit bruised and battered. Tom and Ephemara still looked fresh, though, as they all huddled together. The sounds of Vick’s boots brought everyone out of their stupor. The cowboy looked a little annoyed at being left out, but he quickly lit a cigarette and tipped his pack. Shaggy chuckled as he felt a wave of relief shoot through him and his pack. They still had to handle the fucking warehouse. But they had gone up against a superior force and won, if only by dint of numbers.

Shaggy leaned back and did the only thing he could think to do.

He howled. A long uproarious howl that was soon joined by the members of his pack doing the same.