As the Were Anon session wrapped up, Chandra and Archie helped tidy the room put away the chairs. Bruce wheeled himself by the door and shook the hand of anyone who passed him, thanking them for coming and reminding them to come again next month.

"Some of them won't be back again," Bruce explained, when Archie asked about their plans for next session. "The point of this group is mostly to help newly transformed werebeasts acclimate to their condition and find a place in our community, Once they get comfortable in their new selves, it's rare for them to stick around for more than a couple sessions."

"I'm frankly a little surprised there are so many werebeasts running around," Archie admitted, as he tied off a garbage bag. "I was under the impression that they were few and far between."

"Well, most of us are better at hiding it than Chandra and I," Bruce confessed. "I'm a shark all the time because I have literally no reason not to. Chandra just likes being a wolf. Most werebeasts don't spend a lot of time in their beast form because they're still more comfortable in their human skin."

"Then why ever be a beast at all? If you can freely change between beast and human, why not simply always remain human?"

The comment drew curious looks from both Bruce and Hammond.

"Did I say something wrong?" Archie asked, as both werebeasts looked away uncomfortably.

"I guess it might be different for rabbits, but even in human form most of us have instincts and urges to contend with. If you don't let the beast out to play now and again, it'll come out of its own accord," Bruce explained. "How long have you been a rabbit again?"

"Archie's only been a werebeast for a few months," Chandra explained, jumping into the conversation. "Where he comes from, they don't have a robust were community. There's a lot about our condition he doesn't know or understand."

"Ah, that makes sense," Bruce nodded. "Well, to put it mildly, you know how people become werebeasts, right?"

Archie nodded. "Aether from monsters interact poorly with the frail magic inside an NPC, resulting the monstrous magic taking hold and changing them."

"Exactly. That magic sticks around, too, and is what gives a werebeast both their beast form and any associated powers. Depending on how the monster was formed, the magic can be a little different, but there is one universal truth: the magic has to be released sooner or later. If you don't spend any time in your beast form, eventually it'll rip its way out of you. You'll turn into a monster, whether you want to transform or not."

Archie's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Don't you mean you'll change into your beast form?"

"No," Chandra said softly. She took Archie's hand in her own and squeezed it tight.

"We've lost more than a few werebeasts to this process," Hammond explained from across the room. He was sitting in a chair and massaging his hip. The old pig let out a brief snort and looked up to meet Archie's gaze. "Some of us think they can beat the beast, they can stay human. It's never a matter of beating the beast, though. Once the beast is a part of you, you have to let it out."

"Once a month, at the minimum," Bruce picked up the explanation. "Depending on your beast, it's recommended you spend at least twelve hours a month in your beast form to help burn up that wild magic."

"A lot of the misconceptions about werebeasts come from—" Chandra was suddenly interrupted by the sound of footsteps running down the stairs.

All eyes turned towards the door as Lucky the black cat passed through it. "Hammond, we've got a problem!"

"What kind of problem?" The old pig asked, slowly hefting his bulk out of his chair.

"Moose," Lucky said, turning to run back up the stairs.

Archie looked from the empty doorway to Hammond, who was already shuffling towards the door. "Moose?"

Hammond said nothing as he moved as quickly as he could manage. Bruce was already wheeling his chair towards the door, waving Hammond through. "You two meet us upstairs. If it's who I think it is, we're going to need all the help we can get!"

Archie didn't even have a chance to ask what they meant before the other two werebeasts were gone. He turned to Chandra and cocked his head curiously.

"You wanted to know what happens if a werebeast doesn't let the animal out to play? If it's who I think it is, you're about to find out."

Chandra grabbed Archie by the arm and ran up the stairs. The basement door was already ajar, and Chandra shouldered it open as she passed through.

The bar was a disaster from how it was previously arranged. Tables were overturned, chairs lay shattered on the floor. Patrons and employees alike were hiding behind whatever cover they could find. A bestial lowing noise drew Archie's attention, and he watched as an amalgam of moose and man rammed through a waiter trying to calm him down.

This person didn't look like any of the werebeasts Archie knew. He wasn't a clean mix of man and animal, but rather appeared to have animal parts bursting out of the human. He had a single enormous antler jutting from the left side of his head, throwing off his balance as he lowed furiously. One arm was bigger than the other and ended in a heavy hoof. The shredded remnants of clothing clung to his swollen and mishapen body, even as his chest bulged and shrunk with every breath.

"Oh, Elliot, what have you done?" Chandra breathed in dismay. "Archie, we have to subdue him."

"I don't exactly have my knives on me."

"Good, don't kill him! Just help me calm him down."

Archie nodded and cracked his knuckles. With an effort of will, he called upon one of his myriad powers and vanished into thin air. Using his stealth abilities, he planned to sneak up behind the rampaging moose man and leap onto his back. As he appraoched, though, Elliot's ears suddenly elongated in size and swiveled. Archie barely had the chance to duck under the arm swinging at his head like a hammer, rolling to the side to avoid the blow.

Elliot bellowed angrily, his nostrils abruptly swelling as he took in Archie's scent. There would be no hiding from him now. Swearing under his breath, Archie dropped his stealth power and quickly considered his course of action. He didn't want to hurt this poor man, but it was clear that Elliot had no such reservations.

With claws and fangs coated in silver light, Chandra leapt into the fray to stand beside Archie. "Elliot, you need to calm down and get ahold of yourself!"

The moose man let out a noise that was somewhere between a moo and a roar, then lowered his head to charge at them. Archie shoved Chandra to the side before diving out of the way for himself, twisting in midair to make sure he never broke line of sight with Elliot. The moose crashed head-first into an upturned table, turning the wood to shrapnel before falling face-first onto the ground.

"I'm not certain he can understand you," Archie pointed out. He charged his newest power and unleashed a bolt of Unseelie energy. The purple magic splashed againt Elliot's bulky side but otherwise had no visible effect. When the moose turned to stand up, he found himself stepping on a piece of wood that rolled out from under him, sending him stumbling right back to the floor. "Oh yes. Thank you, Zack, this new power is going to be so much fun."

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As Elliot pulled himself back to his feet, Hammond and Bruce came running out onto the floor. Hammond called out for Elliot to calm down, only to earn another furious bellow. Bruce started unbuckling his tail from his wheelchair just as the moose prepared another charge, and ejected himself from it just as antler collided with the metal seat.

Rather than flop on the ground, Archie was surprised to see Bruce hovering in midair, his tail swaying back and forth as though he were swimming through water.

"Surprised?" The shark chuckled. "I did mention I was changed by a flying shark, no?"

Archie shrugged. He didn't think Bruce could maintain his flight ability for long, and already the shark was getting the boar out of range of Elliot's rampage.

"He's too dangerous in here," Archie said, looking to Chandra. "People are going to get hurt."

"Get him outside!"

Archie fired off another Unseelie bolt, this time the spell hitting the floor beneath Elliot instead of the moose directly. One errant step sent Elliot slipping off a suspiciously waxed floor tile, sliding towards Archie with fury in his eyes. As he drew near, the second antler finally burst through the side of his head, giving him the balance he needed to firmly plant his feet.

"Oh," was all Archie managed to say before an angry moose man ran at him, antlers primed to ram him. Archie quickly activated his spider-climb power and jumped as high as he could. A mid-air flip allowed him to land feet-first on the ceiling, where he hung upside down.

Elliot didn't stop his charge, and another Unseelie bolt sent him careening straight into a wall. Chandra looked up at Archie with a gaze that was both confused and angry.

"Look, I don't have exact control over how that spell works, okay?" Archie shrugged.

"Then maybe you shouldn't use it?" She suggested.

"But look at how well it's working! Besides, it's not like i have a lot of powers that don't harm."

Chandra shook her head but didn't argue. She knew as well has he did that his powers were better suited to assassination than leading a rampaging beastman on a wild chase. If Unseelie bolt could keep Elliot distracted, it was the best he could do.

When Elliot finally extracted himself from the wall, his changes were progressing all the faster. His neck had swollen and elongated, making his head look suspiciously small for his body. His hips had shifted, too, resulting in an almost quadrupedal posture. Were it not for his oversized arm, he likely could have been much more effective at charging now.

Chandra matched the stance and bared her fangs, growling at the moose in what looked to Archie like a territorial display. The fur on her neck raised, making her look all the bigger. From the crowd, Bruce flew in to join her, gnashing his teeth to add to the intimidation display. It seemed to actually work, as Elliot was momentarily molified by the predators threatening him.

Then he lowered his head and charged at them. Archie barely managed to hit him with another Unseelie bolt before he collide with them. To his surprise, instead of causing him to slip, one of his hind legs abrutply doubled in size, becoming the limb of a moose rather than a human.

"That's not good," Bruce said. "The beast is overtaking him."

"What happens if it does?" Archie asked.

"The beast overtakes him," the shark repeated, as though that was the most obvious thing on the planet.

"He won't be Elliot anymore," Chandra explained quickly, as the furious moose struggled to balance his weight on his mismatched set of limbs. "He'll go from werebeast to just beast."

"Oh, I can see how that's not good." Archie jumped off the ceiling and ran towards the front doors. Once he was positioned in front of them, he started making rude gestures in the moose's general direction. "Here, moosey, moosey, moosey! Archie Cottontail is ready for whatever you have to throw at him!"

To both his delight and horror, the taunt worked. Elliot pawed at the ground with a front hoof, even as his last hind leg started changing to better match his growing body. With a bellow of fury, he lowered his antlers and started charging. With mismatched and uneven limbs, it was a clumsy action that left Archie with plenty of room to dodge.

Instead, Archie grabbed Elliot by the antlers and swung himself up on the moose's back. He braced himself for impact as they crashed through the doors, before tugging on the antlers in an attempt to guide the rampaging beast to the middle of the street.

Elliot lowed in rage and started bucking like a bull in an attempt to get the rabbit off his back. Thanks to his spider climb powers, Archie wasn't worried about getting tossed off, but he did silently hope Elliot wasn't smart enough to try and crash him into a wall. A car honked in the street as the moose stomped on its hood, crushing metal beneath its hoof. A parked motorcyce was tossed aside like it wasn't even there, as Elliot's body continued to swell and grow.

The moose's body was finally evening out, his limbs growing to equal size and his midsection growing large enough to support them. The only thing human left of Elliot was his face, but even that was already starting to change. From his vantage point, Archie could see moose hide overtaking human skin.

"Archie! You have to knock him out!" Chandra called, racing to the front entrance.

Thinking fast, Archie wrapped his arms around Elliot's tree trunk of a neck, and started squeezing. He didn't know if he was strong enough to execute his plan, but it was the only one he could think of that might work. Blunt trauma was useless against the moose, as had been proven by repeatedly smashing his head against anything in his path.

"Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep," Archie quietly urged, squeezing the moose's throat as tight as he could. Thankfully, he wasn't a normal person, let alone a normal werebeast. His dungeon origin gave him power beyond what a rabbit like him should normally be capable of, and his enhanced strength seemed to be doing the trick.

He could feel Elliot gasping desperately for air, his chest spasming with need as he staggered to the side. Archie didn't relent and squeezed all the hard, even as Elliot's eyes swelled in their sockets. The sclera were turning red as he choked, but the iris were changing to the large brown of a beast. A tongue too large for his mouth spilled down his chin, but still he refused to go down.

Just then, a lowed squealing noise drew Archie's attention back to the bar. He turned his head just in time to watch Hammond charging on all fours, tusks primed and ready, straight into Elliot's back legs. The blow was enough to knock the moose off his feet and take whatever breath he had left away. The moose's will finally flagged, and he closed his eyes as he crashed to the ground.

Archie didn't release Elliot's throat until he could feel it shrinking in his grasp. Slowly, the moose's swollen body receded, the brown hide being replaced by sweat-drenched human skin. Rather than shrink away, the antlers both popped off and clattered loudly to the ground.

"You can get off him, now," Hammond assured Archie. "The worst has passed."

Archie waited a few more seconds, until the neck beneath his arms started to shrink in turn. Nodding, he released his grip and backed away. Elliot gasped for air, sucking in long gulps of breath that only accelerated his transformation back to human form.

It wasn't much longer before a naked, shivering human lay in on the pavement where once before a rampaging moose had been. Hammond waved to the bar for some aid and the turtle bartender ran out with a large blanket to wrap Elliot in. With Hammond's aid, he helped guide the slowly rising weremoose back into the building where they could hopefully tend to him.

As the crowd started to disperse, Chandra and Bruce came to Archie's side. Bruce had reclaimed his wheelchair, which was surprisingly intact despite getting rammed by a rampaging weremoose. Archie decided not to question it as the shark worked to buckle himself back in.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," Bruce finally said, once he was securely back in place. "It's not normally that exciting around here."

"Elliot was always going to be a problem sooner or later," Chandra said, shaking her head. "He was afflicted about two months ago, and despite our warnings he insisted he could keep the beast in check, that nobody would need to know he was anything but a normal human."

"That's what happens when you don't let the beast out to play," Bruce sighed, shaking his head. "This is going to be a nightmare to fix…"

"The bar?" Archie asked.

"What? No, that'll be fine. You'd be surprised how many contractors are werebeasts. I was talking about Elliot," Bruce explained. "You don't go that close to becoming a beast forever without something in you changing. He's a human now, but he might find it hard to hold on to this shape in the future. Hell, he might need to become a full-time werebeast like me just to keep his moose in check…"

Chandra visibly shuddered, and Archie decided it might be best not to speak his mind on the matter. Given his identity as an actual dire hare and not a were-dire-hare, he didn't think it would go over well if he said he didn't see the downside in being a beast permanently. Clearly there was something more to it than what they were leading on.

"Well, as lovely as this night has been, I think that might be enough excitement for us," Archie said, gently wrapping an arm around Chandra's waist. "Would you like to leave?"

"I… Yes, I think so," Chandra said quietly.

Bruce nodded and thanked them again for the help, assuring them that nobody in the were community would snitch them out to the adventuring guild for fighting a potential monster. As the two of them turned to leave, Archie asked what Bruce meant by that.

"You don't turn into an animal when you let the beast win," Chandra explained. "You turn into the monster that changed you. A stable version of the monster that changed you."

"So if that ever happened to you, you would…"

"Turn into a witchwolf. Bruce would turn into a sky shark. Hammond would turn into an earthshaker boar. If you hadn't stopped him, Elliot would have turned into a rampaging moose monster." Chandra shuddered again. "It's a fate worse than just dying, Archie. It's identity death, and becoming the very thing that hurt you the most."