Shaggy hadn’t been gone long, but the area around the neighborhood looked drastically different. Gone were the HLO checkpoints and constant cop car patrols. Now people cautiously ventured down the streets, and the area seemed brighter and more active. He could almost feel it when they crossed over into their territory. It was an instinctual feeling from his wolf. They were home… even if some interlopers had invaded.
“Stop the car.” Shaggy growled as he glared out the passenger side window.
“Boss, again? We’re never going to make it home on time at this rate.” Sybil complained as she pulled the car over and put it in park.
Shaggy ignored her as he followed sounds of shouting and fighting. They had stopped three times already to intervene while some gang was flashing their colors or marching through his turf. He had set the others right, and he wasn’t about to let this group go without a warning. He turned the corner just as the group of gangsters threw their victim against the wall. They were threatening an old man with knives and pipes.
The group of aliens and humans didn’t notice his approach until Shaggy stepped into their light. The one leading the group sneered at Shaggy and waved his knife.
“Hey! Fuck off unless you want some of the same, half-pint!”
Shaggy sighed as the idiot’s cronies cackled at his hilarious joke. He wasted no time in yanking the twenty-something year old alien off the old man and flinging him into the opposing alley wall. Everyone in the alley froze, and the victim used that chance to run to the end of the alley, but Shaggy’s pack was crowding the entrance. The old man slid to a stop at the sight of Cekrass, Rin and Vud.
“Let him through.” Shaggy said, unnecessarily. Cekrass was already clearing a space.
The young alien gang leader sputtered as he collected himself. Shaggy just glared as the other gangsters were getting antsy and shouting. But he ignored them as he glared at their stunned leader.
“I’m going to ask you the same thing I asked a bunch of other fuckwads today: What the fuck do you think you’re doing in Legion territory?!”
“Who the fuck is the Legion?!” the alien roared as he stabbed at Shaggy with his knife.
Shaggy let the blade hit his stomach and felt it skim off his flesh. His attacker’s face went from elation to horror as Shaggy simply batted him to the floor. The alien crumbled and Shaggy turned his glare to the six other members of the alien’s crew. Gesturing back toward his pack, Shaggy made the same speech he had made three times before at this point.
“WE are the Legion. And this is our turf. We are over two hundred strong and we run this area.”
Shaggy leaned down and picked up the still conscious gangster at his feet. It was usually at this point the leaders would try something and Shaggy was tired of the routine. So instead, he preemptively broke the leader’s arm.
“AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!”
Shaggy ignored the scream as he tossed the still screaming gang leader at his small group of friends. The other small-time gangster caught him and shot glares at Shaggy. But he wasn’t done. Growing his claws out, Shaggy rubbed them against each other. The eerie green glow around his claws seemed to flicker in the dark alley as Shaggy delivered his ultimatum.
“If I catch any of you fucks back on our turf again, you better be paying tribute or passing through. Because if you aren’t, then I will FUCKING GUT YOU!!”
Shaggy punctuated his words by slashing at a nearby dumpster. His claws sliced through the metal and left large rends in the metal. Huffing angrily, Shaggy turned and started walking out of the alley. At this point, two of the other gangs had gotten the message and fucked off. But one of them had tried to attack him. They had an Enhanced alien with super-strength, so they thought they could attack with impunity. Shaggy wasn’t sure how this group would react until he heard the gang leader screaming in rage.
Perception Manipulation kicked in and Shaggy looked around. He could see the gang leader charging at him with another knife in his good hand. The knife had an eerie red glow and looked mildly dangerous now. But what surprised Shaggy was the other members of the gang. Two more were aliens, and they both seemed to have abilities. One’s eyes were glowing, and the other was stretching his arm out to punch Shaggy. The rest of their crew seemed normal enough, but they were all going for the attack. He sighed and spun as Perception Manipulation turned off.
Activating Slide Move, Shaggy took the gang leader’s arm off as he slid by him. Next, he aimed for the stretchy alien and pounced. Red eye beams whizzed past Shaggy shoulder as his feet left the ground. He slammed into the stretchy alien and embedded both his claws into the man’s chest. Ripping them free, Shaggy ignored the blood-spray and went for his last target. Already the other gangsters were trying to intercept him, but Shaggy merely back-handed them aside.
The red-eyed alien was going for another eye-blast when Shaggy stomped in front of him. Shifting his hands back to normal, Shaggy jammed his palms over the alien’s face and let him get the eye-blast off. Red flares of energy engulfed Shaggy’s hands and the smell of burning flesh filled the air. But the alien’s face was also engulfed in his own attack. The alien barely had time to get off a scream before its own eye-blast burned his skull.
Shaggy shook off his hands as they healed. Sending black flakes of charred flesh into the air. The violent death of their third powered member made the rest of the gang stop attacking. One was throwing up at the sight of their dead friends. But the three others were looking around helplessly. Shaggy casually walked past them and headed for the alley entrance.
“You have thirty minutes to ge the fuck out of our territory.”
The sound of thudding feet filled Shaggy’s ears as he stepped out into the afternoon sun again. As the others of his pack watched the remaining gangsters leave, Shaggy watched the street. A few citizens were staring his direction, probably worried about the screams, but he waved at them while smiling. That seemed to make them more nervous, and they hurried away. Once the sound of feet receded into the distance, Shaggy turned to Cekrass.
“My turn?” The big lizard asked.
“If you wouldn’t mind.”
“Not at all, boss.”
With that, the big lizard jumped to the nearest roof and followed after the surviving gangster. Shaggy wanted to make sure that his orders were followed. He’d sent Rita after the first group and the woman had reported that the gang had immediately turned around after Shaggy was clear. Vick and Tom were tracking the other two groups. But so far, no one had come back.
Shaggy and the rest of his pack climbed back into Sybil’s van again. Ephemara was sitting in the back seat, watching the proceedings.
“You let too many of them live again, boss.” She said.
“Someone has to be alive to tell the story, Ephe. You know that.”
“Dead enemies are a better deterrent than live story-tellers.”
“Unless you plan on hanging corpses from lampposts, I don’t see how. Besides, we don’t want bodies cropping up everywhere in our neighborhood.”
“Says the guy that just dropped three of them.”
“Self-defense.” Shaggy waved away as Sybil started up the car again.
From behind him, Shaggy could hear and feel Seth wanted to ask a question. He rolled his eyes, as he could guess what it was.
“Go ahead, Seth.”
“Yeah, boss. Sorry. But are you sure you don’t want me following them? I mean, Cekrass can do a good job. But, y’know, I got the super-speed.”
“Speed you haven’t properly got a handle on yet, right?”
“And it keeps growing.” Sybil said, glaring at the young boy through the rear-view mirror.
“How am I supposed to get a handle on it, when y’all won’t let me use it?”
Shaggy turned in his seat to look at one of the newest members of his pack. “Look, your body is still acclimating to the mark. You aren’t even a full wolf yet. It takes time to get used to the changes. Until then, I don’t want you using your speed without supervision. A super-fast wolf is terrifying. But a wolf that keeps running headlong into walls-”
“Or garages!” Sybil added.
“- isn’t.” Shaggy finished.
Seth sighed dramatically, like the teenager he was before sitting back in his seat. Stanley gave his friend a pat on the arm. Behind the boys, the insects Rin and Vud were staring ahead like a pair of statues. Shaggy could feel them communicating through the link. But didn’t want to intrude. Besides, he had other things he needed to do. Something he needed to get done now, before anymore crap got in his way. He leaned against his window again as he opened his Evo Tree menu.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
1. Lycanthropy Mutation Tree
1. Attack Lvl 19
1. Canines Lvl 2
2. Claws Lvl 15
3. Demon Claws Lvl 17
1. Sharpness Lvl 16
1. Serrated Edge
2. Convex Edge Lvl 5
3. Burning Edge Lvl 3
2. Bone Claws -
2. Defense Lvl 16
1. Tough Bones Lvl 5
1. Reinforced Bones Lvl 2
2. Enhanced Evasion Lvl 4
3. Fire Resistance Lvl 2
3. Utility Lvl 17
1. Partial Transformation Lvl 14
1. Limb transformation Lvl 4
2. Hybrid Form Lvl 2
3. Regeneration Lvl 30
1. Limb Regen Lvl 3
2. Pain Suppression Lvl 5
Points: 658
Shaggy had to hold in a happy squeal as he looked at his Point total. That included the fight with Mr. White and Ryall. Which meant the value of those points was probably at an all-time high. Not to mention his short stint in prison probably helped along with his skill growth.
“But first things first,” Shaggy thought to himself, careful not to broadcast his thoughts.
He went about spending his points as Sybil continued driving toward the deli. He was still half-aware of the things going on outside his window. But he didn’t see anymore thugs intruded on their turf. So instead he focused on raising his Mutation Tree before anything else. He raised his Attack and Defense Trees to twenty and eighteen respectively before he focused on their contents.
He evolved Enhanced Evasion into Swift Feet and even took his Hybrid Form up to level five. Which meant it evolved as well, netting him a general Duration Increase to his Hybrid shape. Finally, he increased his Demons Claws and their Burning Edge. Taking one to eighteen and the other to five. But it was when Burning Edge evolved that he got a big surprise. It was another branching evolution.
Soul Burn
Your claws can now burn the soul of anyone they touch with more efficiency. As an added bonus, some of that Soul Energy is siphoned off and used to strengthen your own soul. Soul Energy can be used to enhance attacks or heal the users. Be careful not to absorb too much Soul Energy though, as it will make you shine like a beacon to those attuned to such things.
Soul Capture
Your claws can now capture pieces of a soul when they cut someone. These Soul Pieces retain the knowledge and skills of their former owners. You can capture those pieces and use them to instill their knowledge or abilities into yourself. However, the number of pieces needed depends on how complex the skill is. Captured Soul Pieces can also be used as onetime psychic attacks.
Shaggy stared at his choices at a clear impasse. Both sounded fucking awesome, but he couldn’t choose one. Burn would make him stronger and give him another source of healing. But Capture would make his skills grow faster and even give him more. Not to mention he’d gain a psychic attack. He sat in his chair, considering the possibilities until he got the all-clear signal from Cekrass. Apparently, the gang he’d scared off was finally out of their territory.
He set aside the choice for later. Deciding to talk things over with Levy. Maybe she knew a little more about soul abilities. For now, he had loads more points to spend in his General Tree.
* General Tree
* Toughness Lvl 32
* Thick Skin Lvl 17
* Skin Resistances Lvl 5
* Skin Durability Lvl 6
* Rawhide
* Demon Leather Lvl 2
* Dermal Armor Lvl 5
* Shifting Plates Lvl 5
* Defense Lvl 2
* Reflexes Lvl 25
* Quick Hands Lvl 15
* Manual Dexterity Lvl 5
* Shadowboxing Lvl 5
* Quick Feet Lvl 13
* Slide Move Lvl 4
* Mind Lvl 25
* Enhanced Focus Lvl 5
* Perception manipulation Lvl 3
* Mental Defense Lvl 5
* Psychic Barrier Lvl 3
Points: 824
This time, Shaggy couldn’t help a coo from escaping his lips. Thankfully, no one in the van said a thing as he dove back into spending points. Immediately he dumped more into his toughness and Demon Leather. Making his skin tougher and raising his HP. Then he moved on to his defenses, raising the defense of his Shifting Plates Armor and raising his base Reflexes to thirty. Then he got Slide Move to level five, hoping for an evolution. The ability had more than proven its worth, and he wasn’t disappointed with its evolution.
Invulnerable Duration
While using Slide Move, the user is invulnerable to physical attacks. The user can still be grabbed or shot out of the ability. At Level One, the duration is set at two seconds after activation.
Shaggy grinned. The ability basically gave him I-frames against anyone wanting to take a swing at him. It sucked that it didn’t work against ranged attacks. But Shaggy guessed that would be a later evolution. For now, he moved on to the rest of the tree.
He raised his Mind Tree to level thirty as well and took Perception Manipulation and Psychic barrier to Lvl four. At that point, he ran out of points and grinned as he looked over everything.
* Lycanthropy Mutation Tree
* Attack Lvl 20*
* Canines Lvl 2
* Claws Lvl 15
* Demon Claws Lvl 18*
* Sharpness Lvl 16
* Serrated Edge
* Convex Edge Lvl 5
* Burning Edge Lvl 5*
* Soul Burn
* Soul Capture
* Bone Claws -
* Defense Lvl 18*
* Tough Bones Lvl 5
* Reinforced Bones Lvl 2
* Enhanced Evasion Lvl 5*
* Swift Feet Lvl 1*
* Fire Resistance Lvl 3*
* Utility Lvl 17
* Partial Transformation Lvl 14
* Limb transformation Lvl 4
* Hybrid Form Lvl 5*
* Duration Increase Lvl 1*
* Regeneration Lvl 30
* Limb Regen Lvl 3
* Pain Suppression Lvl 5
Points: 0
* General Tree
* Toughness Lvl 35*
* Thick Skin Lvl 17
* Skin Resistances Lvl 5
* Skin Durability Lvl 6
* Rawhide
* Demon Leather Lvl 4*
* Dermal Armor Lvl 5
* Shifting Plates Lvl 5
* Defense Lvl 4*
* Reflexes Lvl 30*
* Quick Hands Lvl 15
* Manual Dexterity Lvl 5
* Shadowboxing Lvl 5
* Quick Feet Lvl 13
* Slide Move Lvl 5*
* Invulnerable Duration Lvl 1*
* Mind Lvl 30*
* Enhanced Focus Lvl 5
* Perception manipulation Lvl 4*
* Mental Defense Lvl 5
* Psychic Barrier Lvl 4*
Points: 0
HP: 913/913
Shaggy smiled happily as the elation from spending all those points faded. The two Soul abilities aside, he was happy with his choices and felt ready to take on the next challenge. He quickly scanned his skills, looking for any change. But aside from Pounce and Fight Like An Animal, nothing had moved. Which made sense. Most of that stuff was in the Intermediate tier, anyway. Which meant that it would take a while to raise. But he was sure his fight with White and Ryall had gone a long way to his skill growth, too.
He sighed and sat back in his chair, finally ready to take on the rest of the day. The car seemed to sense his relaxed demeanor as quiet conversation broke out behind him. The ride to the deli was drawing to a close, and Shaggy was excited to see what changes Levy had made. That’s when he spotted the crowd outside his place.
“Great. These people again,” Sybil growled softly as she pulled to a stop half a block up.
Shaggy raised an eyebrow in question as he looked out the front window of the van. The people outside the deli were clearly civilian. But they weren’t picketing or being aggressive in any way. In fact, they seemed to be waiting for something to happen. A lone Lackey was outside the deli, keeping things calm until the front door opened and Levy stepped out onto the sidewalk. She waved regally at the gathered crowd and raised her black staff into the air. As she did, the assembled crowd shot to their knees and Shaggy gawped in astonishment.
“I was gone for like three days!”
Ephemara snickered from the back seat. “That was long enough for Queen Levy to gather her court.”
“Wha?” Shaggy asked, confused.
“Groupies, boss.” Sybil scowled as she opened her door and got out. “They are magical groupies.”
Shaggy blew out a breath as he stared down the street at his wife. She was sweeping her arms in wide arcs as she addressed the assembled crowd. Her groupies stayed on the ground in supplication as they listened to her words. Shaggy rolled his eyes and opened his own door.
“There will be no living with her after this.”