A Werewolf In Under-Town

The Mad Witch’s cackling echoed through Shaggy’s ears. He felt Levy’s hand tighten on his arm and he tried to back away. But some force held him in place while Korrigan gleefully laughed into the sky. Shaggy tried to break whatever was holding him, but with a sudden flash of purple and a whoosh of air distracted him. He and Levy had to catch themselves, as they were suddenly somewhere else.

Korrigan’s laughter was tapering off as Shaggy took in his surroundings. They were in a large throne room. Stone gargoyles and large candles dotted the walls. The candles sparked to life with an eerie purple flame as the Mad Witch moved around Shaggy and Levy. They were on a long red carpet that cross the room from the doors to the stairs leading up to the throne. Large circular floor to ceiling columns bracketed the carpet.

Korrigan climbed the large dais leading to her single dark throne and threw herself into it. She was still wiping her eyes from laughing so hard. Shaggy slowly grew his claws and got himself ready for anything. But Levy put a cautionary hand on his shoulder. Shaggy could feel his wife’s tension. They were nowhere near ready for a threat like Korrigan. But Shaggy wasn’t about to let himself die without a fight.

“Oh, relax.” Korrigan said, still grinning. “If I had wanted you dead, I would’ve ripped your skeleton from your body.”

Shaggy kept his claws out. He wasn’t sure if the Witch could do that. He growled low in his throat. Ready to demand to know why they were brought to her throne room. A sharp smack to the back of his head brought him around to look at Levy. His wife was wringing out her hand and glaring at him. Clearly understanding how rude he was about to be. She gently shoved him backward as she addressed the witch.

“My Lady, is there something you need from us?”

Korrigan stared at them, a look of mirth still on her face. “Oh indeed, my loyal subject. It appears your companion has a link with someone I would very much like to know.”

Shaggy shared a look with Levy. He was certain this had to do with Xang and Cog. Although he figured Korrigan already knew about Xang. If not from her own dealing, then at least with whatever memories she yanked from him. Keeping his claws out, Shaggy took a verbal stab at what the Mad Witch wanted.

“I figured you were already familiar with the Blood God. Didn’t you and Cog conspire to fuck him over recently?”

“We did no such thing!” The Mad Witch leapt from her throne angrily, stomping a foot.

The gesture would’ve been cute if all the gargoyles on the walls hadn't turned to glare at Shaggy. Shaggy crouched low and got ready for a boss fight. But his wife slapped his shoulder again and hissed at him. Shaggy rubbed his shoulder and returned his eyes to the Mad Witch, who was pacing on her dais.

“The blasted fool wasn’t supposed to live. What kind of god allows a mortal to sit on his throne? Was Xang not paying attention?”

Shaggy scoffed as he asked. “What exactly was supposed to happen? Cause all I saw was Cog on a throne of bones, place a crown on his head, and everything went to shit.”

Suddenly Korrigan was in Shaggy’s face. His arms tethered to the floor in purple chains and Levy was frozen with her hand in the air. Purple energy slowly trying to coalesce on her fingers. Korrigan regarded Levy for a few seconds before she glared down at Shaggy.

“The crown! Does he still have it?!”

Shaggy grunted and pulled ineffectually on his chains before he answered. “I don’t know. Like I said, shit went to hell. Whatever he did pissed off or woke up Xang. He had enough time to piss me off, piss Xang off, and then he ghosted.”

Korrigan snorted and released Shaggy from his bonds. Levy snapped back into motion. Purple magic whirling around her hand. The Mad Witch raised an eyebrow at Levy.

“Were you going to attack me, servant?”

Levy looked annoyed, whether at being called a servant or so outclassed magically. Shaggy couldn’t tell. Instead of answering, she simply moved to Shaggy’s side.

“He’s my husband, Mistress.”

“Hmm. Seems like a stupid reason to piss off your queen. But I shall forgive you. Mostly because your husband is the Blood God’s champion.”

“I wouldn’t go that far, really. Mostly, he just gave me a mission and some benefits.”

Korrigan walked around Shaggy and Levy as she chuckled. “Oh? And what was this mission? Retrieve the crown, was it? Slaughter Cog? Send the sexist bastard off to meet the great Blood God himself.”

“Uh, two and three, mostly. Still not sure about this crown nonsense.” Shaggy answered.

“Ahhh, so Xang wants his revenge, does he? Interesting. Was there any mention of me in that little deal of yours? No orders to burn the witch that opened the door for Cog? Maybe exsanguinate the filthy harlot?”

Shaggy scratched the back of his head with a claw. “Yeah, not so much. If I had to guess, Xang was unaware of your involvement.”

“Was?” Korrigan grinned.

Shaggy nodded. “Yeah. He’s been pushing up against my brain since I got here and said his name. So I just assumed he was listening.”

Korrigan stopped pacing and summoned her staff to her hand again. “The Blood God can see into my realm?!”

She started to cast some kind of spell. Purple magic swirled around the hall, the glowing candles winked out, and the gargoyles took flight and circled the ceiling. The Mad Witch’s eyes glowed with power and she intoned a spell. That’s when Shaggy was forcibly removed from his body.

It was like he had become a ghost in an old game. He was watching his body from the outside as he drifted just over Korrigan. Shaggy was about to curse the damn witch out, but then he same his in-game body move. His avatar shook off Levy’s hand and grew as Korrigan continued her chanting. His body grew large and hairy. Shaggy was sure he was becoming a wolf. But, instead, his body remained upright and grew to be twelve-foot tall and almost grotesquely muscular. He was still a wolf, but it was the man-wolf form. His face and upper chest were hairy and wolf-like, but his legs were closer to human. Except for the clawed feet he had when he did a partial transformation. Also, for some reason, his normally black coat was now dyed red. But his blue eyes still shone brightly from his wolf-like face.

Korrigan was still muttering her spell. But Shaggy’s body merely waved a hand and all the magic in the room vanished. Shaggy floated, stunned, as he watched his body crouch low to get face to face with the Mad Witch.

“YOU SEEK TO BLOCK ME WITCH!? WHAT SECRETS DO YOU HIDE?!”

Shaggy watched Korrigan take a few steps back as his body’s unfamiliar voice boomed out through the hall. It was grating and rough and seemed stuck on yell mode. Even Shaggy tried to float away a few steps, but he was almost locked in place. Levy was pushing away from the center of the carpet, looking confused.

Korrigan straightened up and planted her staff on the carpet. “Xang! You have no power in my realm. Leave this place or your champion is forfeit!”

“YOU DO NOT DICTATE TERMS TO ME, WITCH! YOU AND YOUR COMPATRIOT CONSPIRED TO STEAL FROM ME! THIS VIOLATES THE OLD ACCORDS. THE OLD RULES NO LONGER APPLY. SHALL WE CALL A CONCLAVE TO SEE WHAT THE ELDER COURT THINKS?”

Korrigan’s face looked like she had eaten a lemon whole. “There is no cause for that. Cog was merely meant to negotiate with you. Youth and Power for him and your crown for me. That was our deal. He broke it.”

“YOU SEEK MY CROWN WITCH?! YOU TRULY ARE AS FOOLISH AS THE OLD ONES CLAIM!”

“I only meant to barrow the crown. Even I am not crazy enough to hold on to a relic like that. The cost would be incalculable.”

“THE COST SHALL BE LAID AT YOUR FEET IF OLD FOOL IS NOT STOPPED. HE PLAYS WITH MY CROWN EVEN AS WE SPEAK. USING IT TO GRANT POWER TO HIS FOUL CREATIONS OF METAL AND WIRES!”

Everything in the room went quiet as the Mad Witch herself seemed to curl up in fear. She shuddered and glanced around the room. Shaggy saw actual fear on the NPC’s face as she practically retreated to her throne. Xang, in Shaggy’s body, let her sit down on her throne. The God in human-wolf form just glared at the witch. Blue eyes glowing. Korrigan sat on her throne and closed her eyes for a few seconds.

When they snapped back open, she seemed to relax. “We are safe. The crown is not in the mortal realm.”

Xang was not as pleased. “I KNOW THAT, WITCH! HE PLAYS WITH IT IN A SPACE BEYOND MY REACH. ANOTHER ONE OF YOUR POCKET REALMS?”

“He is no longer my ally. Why would I build him a pocket realm? No. I just discovered the deceiver recently. I was going to have my people declare war. We were even hosting a tournament to choose Cog’s execution squad.”

Xang snorted, and the entire castle seemed to shake. “MY CHAMPION MUST STRIKE THE KILLING BLOW. COG WILL PAY FOR HIS INSOLENCE IN MY REALM.”

“And the crown?” Korrigan asked, convincing Shaggy she was indeed fucking crazy.

“I WILL ALLOW YOU ONE HOUR WITH IT IF YOU HELP MY CHAMPION.”

“One day!” Korrigan demanded, and Shaggy saw Levy moving to the far end of the throne room.

“YOU DO NOT BARGAIN WITH ME WITCH! I WILL HAVE MY CROWN RETURNED! YOU SHALL BE GRANTED THREE HOURS AND NO MORE! I HAVE SPOKEN!”

With an air of finality, Shaggy’s body began to shrink again. Ghost Shaggy felt himself being dragged back to his body as Xang left his digital avatar. Levy was rushing back now that his man-wolf form was deflating. Shaggy felt his sense snap back to his head, and he had to reorient himself with the room. But a few seconds after his return, his entire body seized up, and he fell backward.

Shaggy coughed, seeing specks of red fly into the air. It felt like his bones were melting as his body slammed into the ground. He heard Levy’s voice as he writhed and groaned in pain. He rolled on the carpet of the Mad Witch’s throne room for what felt like hours before his body calmed down. The pain drain from his body and his skin stopped burning. He felt his hunger spike through the roof as he lurched back to life on the throne room floor.

Levy was hovering over him, looking worried. Her hands glowing with magic. He gave her his best smile, but she winced at whatever she saw. Shaggy felt liquid on his face and thought he had been crying. But when he raised a hand to wipe it off, he found himself covered in blood. From somewhere in the direction of the throne, Shaggy heard Korrigan scoff.

“So Xang’s champion is a resilient one, huh?”

“What the fuck just happened?!” Levy demanded.

Shaggy was happy his wife was more cognizant to ask questions. His everything was still very sore.

“Your husband’s body just housed the essence of a literal god. His Lycanthropy probably helped with some of the blowback. Even so, it is impressive that he survived at all.”

“Es-ess-ack-essence?” Shaggy choked out, trying to wipe the blood from his face.

“Yes. His essence and probably only a small portion of it. Otherwise, your mind would’ve caved in and your heart would’ve exploded within your chest. It’s not a pretty sight.”

“Great.” Shaggy coughed and tried to pull himself to his feet.

But Levy slammed a foot on to his chest and kept him prone. Meanwhile, she addressed the Mad Witch. “Korrigan, what will we be doing then?”

Shaggy could hear the annoyance in his wife’s voice. But Korrigan’s bitter response was almost as chilling. “Korrigan? Am I no longer your Mistress?”

“That remains to be seen. Will you be honoring your deal with my husband’s... deity?”

“I’m not really a disci… urk!” Shaggy’s words were cut off by his wife’s foot kicking him.

Korrigan’s bored voice reached Shaggy’s ears as he moved his wife’s heel away. “Yes. You and your husband shall be a part of the upcoming war.”

Levy hummed happily, but added a caveat. “We have others. More people with a grudge against Cog. They wish to join in the war.”

Shaggy pulled himself to his feet, shaking off his wife’s attempts to keep him down. As he stood, he saw the Mad Witch sitting with her legs over one side of her throne. She was the picture of boredom as she waved Levy’s words away.

“Yea, sure. All are welcome to slaughter that old fool’s army and crush his pathetic realm into dust. I will make an announcement soon. Now leave me. I have a sudden headache and you do not know the pain I’m in.”

Shaggy stood on shaky legs and glanced down at his blood-covered body. He had to literally bite his own tongue before he went on a tirade. Levy seemed to cotton on to his mood and hurriedly helped him. Shaggy’s regeneration was at zero and his stomach was rumbling almost constantly. Overhead, several gargoyles watched them as they exited the throne room.

Shaggy sighed loudly as he limped out of the throne room and started toward the far door. Levy by his side, helping. Eventually, his wife started to laugh silently. Shaggy glanced at her like she was crazy as they pushed their way through Korrigan’s castle. Levy caught his eye a few times, but her laughter kept on growing as they walked. Soon Shaggy was joining her as they finally made it outside and stood under the mauve-colored sky. Two demon guards observed them as they were both outright howling with laughter. Shaggy had to catch himself several times as they walked down the steps of the castle and got to the street below.

“That was fucking crazy.” Levy said excitedly.

Shaggy nodded as he wiped a tear from his face. “My body housed an actual in-game god.”

Levy inhaled sharply as a sudden thought hit her. “Oh, please tell me you were recording!”

“Shit! I wasn’t. I think I was locked in cut-scene mode or something.”

“Oh sure, and you couldn’t access your menus?”

“Hey, what’s your excuse?”

“My husband turned into a furry demon-wolf-man thing. Sorry if I got distracted.”

“Unacceptable. I declare this time to be your fault. Your credits are forfeit.”

“My credits? You want my money, honey?”

Shaggy glanced up at his wife pitifully. “Yes, please feed me. My healing power is at zero. I need food to recharge. Housing a God is hard work.”

“Pfft. Looked like all you did was stand there and let someone else do all the work. You want to get paid for that?”

“Yes, please. With food. In my face.” Shaggy said as he ignored the stares he was getting. He was still covered in blood.

Levy chuckled as she took his bloody hand. “Fine. Food first, then we find your friend and we wait for Korrigan’s message. I’ll record that and send it out on the forums. Next, we’ll have to have a player meeting.”

Shaggy nodded as his nose tilted into the air involuntarily. The smell of cooked meat hit him and his stomach growled loudly. Levy laughed again and let herself be dragged away. Shaggy briefly wondered what Dave had gotten up to when they were abducted. He hoped the gregarious guy didn’t get himself in trouble.