A Werewolf In Under-Town

Shaggy rubbed his hands down his face as he watched the horde of the undead shuffling back across the graveyard. As one would imagine the zombies and skeletons shambled at the speed of a lame duck across the greenery. Levy had said that her magic would speed up the process, but Shaggy was going out of his mind. Not to mention the other problem.

"Whoop, we got another rambler." Stanley shouted from his side of the horde.

Immediately, a group of Cekrass' thugs moved to corral the errant zombie back in position. Shaggy gazed around at their massive crowd of Lackeys, mages, werewolves, and zombies. They were an odd and giant target. At least Ephemara's group had spread out to the west to scout out the damage Levy's horde had done to the Phreaks. Rita made a case for the recruits to push further northward. But they really didn't have the manpower to protect another gang's turf. Which meant, for now, the North belonged to The Strays. If they could hold it.

"Pfft!" Shaggy snorted at the thought.

"It's not that bad, Shaggy! They'll grow in strength and get a bit smarter as well." Levy as she marched behind her horde.

"Not what I was thinking about, love. But that's terrifying to hear. One thing I never want to think about is a smart zombie."

Levy's eyes turned to look at him, and he could see the sheer joy in them. "They won't get THAT smart. More like a small dog or something. The skeletons will get a bit smarter than that. But first they need to consolidate their power."

"You mean your power?"

"Yes, my power brought them to life and if I cut it now, they'll collapse. But if they survive for a long while, then the power within them will solidify and they'll gain some autonomy."

"And since you are saying that with a straight face, with no fear, I can assume that's not a scary-ass thing?"

"Oh, they will scare your ass for sure." Levy winked at him. "But don't worry. They'll still be under my control, but with an enhanced ability to take orders."

Shaggy sighed and rolled his shoulders. He'd left the cave expecting a full-on blown-out street fight and instead he watched a horde of zombies kill a bunch of people. Not a terrible night of villainy, really. But his claws were itching, and he had no one to kill. Levy must have seen or sensed his mood, because she spun toward him and gripped his arm.

"Say, why don't you and your wolves go out hunting? The Phreaks are going to be reeling after their loss tonight, and that's if they are even aware of it yet. But if you hit them now, you could do some damage."

Shaggy waggled his head noncommittally. "I don't know. We have to get this damn horde back in one piece, right?"

"The mages and I can do that. You've got your new bloods and pups out here, anyway. Might as well take them into enemy territory and bloody them up a bit."

"I'm all for it!" Rita screamed from somewhere on the other side of the horde.

A general sense of agreement resonated through the Pack Link and Shaggy had to focus to stop himself from agreeing. He wanted to go, but not using the horde seemed like a misuse of the new asset. As he thought about the problem, their group continued to travel southward. To their right was the western edge of their territory, and Shaggy could see the lights and hear the cars. The Phreaks neighborhood wasn't quite so run down as theirs, so the nightlife was a little more upbeat.

A thought entered Shaggy's head as he dragged his eyes across the massive amount of zombies and skeletons. He hadn't counted them all, but the mass of undead bodies was clearly above one hundred. He played with the thought a little more in his head until he finally voiced it.

"Why don't you send the horde in first? Scare off the civvies and eat a few drug dealers. When the Phreaks come out to defend their turf, we can hit them hard."

"Really?!" Levy said, trying hard not to sound excited.

"Sure, but not too much. Just spook them a little. Then the wolves can move in."

Levy made a small squealing noise and hopped up and down for a second. Shaggy watched the display before Levy quickly hugged him and spun her staff in her hand. With a few words, the horde tumbled to the right and then started moving. The mages watching the mass of bodies looked worried, but Shaggy's pack informed them of the plan. Cekrass, Rita, Stanley, Seth, and the Bug Brothers all moved closer to Shaggy. Cekrass had his team of bruisers with him as well.

Shaggy quickly informed those unaware of the new plan as Levy skipped after her horde. Seth raised a hand after Shaggy finished explaining.

"Uh, boss. Won't that cause a huge ruckus? I mean, I know we have some protection from the local police, but an outright gang war?"

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"It won't be a gang war." Shaggy defended. "More like a brief skirmish after a horde of zombies rolled in. If anything, the cops will think we are taking advantage of the zombies to hit our neighbor."

"But what about getting the horde away again?" One of the mages asked.

Shaggy smiled. "That will be up to you and Levy. I imagine she has some kind of spell in mind. If not, you can all discuss that as you follow her."

After his words, the various magic users in their group rushed off to follow Levy. Shaggy grinned as he looked at his own group. Rita and Cekrass had twelve guys that weren't werewolves. But they would be rolling with them just the same. To Shaggy, they looked like every other NPC Lackey he had seen in the game so far. Cekrass' people were a little bigger, but they were still Lackeys. He decided to leave their movements up to Rita and Cekrass, while he dealt with the actual wolves.

Grinning toothily at them all as the sounds of cars skidding to a halt filled the air, Shaggy pointed to the west. Levy's horde was passing under the elevated expressway as his people started to move. Cars crossing over from Phreaks' turf to theirs were stopped in their tracks as Levy marched her horde through. The mages behind her threw out spells, aiming at the nearby lamp lights. The streets were growing dark as horns honked and people began to scream.

"Your wife is something else, boss." Rita said.

"Don't I know it. Now let's hurry. We need to be in position when the Phreaks begin to move."

His pack didn't voice their assent, but he felt it through their connection. The Lackeys gave their own cheers and shouts of agreement. Hurrying up the street after the horde, Shaggy veered slightly northward and used all his strength to jump toward a building. Using his claws and his Pounce ability, Shaggy scaled the building and then started jumping across the rooftops. Rita and Cekrass lead their people on foot as Stanley and the other members of his pack followed Shaggy. Stanley's fully silver form could leap across the street with ease while Rin and Vud took turns tossing each other and running to catch up. Seth's speed would carry him up the walls of most buildings.

Together, his pack trailed the horde and watched as Levy cackled like a certain mad witch. At first, the zombies and skeletons merely got the odd driver or pedestrian out at night. But then came the looky-loos. The idiots were out with their phone cameras and their drones, trying to get a peek at the oncoming horde. Some people even tried to fight the horde themselves. It did not go well.

Surprisingly, after the looky-loos came the cops. Or at least the few beat cops out walking their beat. Levy's zombies and skeletons poured through the streets as the cops, smartly, ran away. But Shaggy was a little stunned at their appearance. He figured the Phreaks would jump on any chance to defend their turf. Then he realized Levy's undead weren't targeting businesses, just people.

"Shit." Shaggy muttered as he stood on a low building and watched the chaos ensue.

A hundred undead marching through your block were bound to cause some people to freak out. But so long as they weren't hurt specifically, the gang would stay away. Shaggy looked inward to find which member of his pack was closest to his wife. They needed to let her know the plan.

"On it boss." Rita said over the link.

Shaggy sighed as he watched a Lackey approach his wife at the back of the horde and say something. Levy immediately nodded and began directing her horde again with her staff. A few minutes later, the streets were full of burning cars and smashed out windows as the undead marched through the streets. Levy and her mages added their own magics to the destruction, which seemed to speed things up a lot.

Shaggy knew they had succeeded when the sounds of sirens died away and the number of cops in the streets shrunk. He half expected some Supers to show up or for the cop's drones to fill the night sky. But instead, a group of thugs appeared just ahead of them at Highland Park. Shaggy could smell gunpowder and sweat in the air, and the group of Phreaks looked ready to throw down as Levy's horde shambled up the streets.

"Get her to pull them back." Shaggy sent, watching as a Lackey delivered the order.

Immediately, his wife's staff shone with power, and the horde lurched to a stop. The looks of surprise on the Phreaks' faces were priceless as a group of zombies and skeletons started trudging back to the east.

"We got a group coming from the north, boss. Near the high school." Cekrass informed him.

"Another from the south, too." Added Rita.

"Alright! It's sounds like we have ourselves a fight. Cekrass and Rita, y'all can hit your groups just as they merge with ours. Levy is moving her horde back as we speak. We can hit them as they pass on Perry Lane."

"We should probably move that up, boss." Stanley said, pointing.

Another group of Phreaks had joined the first ahead of Levy's horde. They were chasing the retreating horde and catching up quickly. Shaggy winced at the thought of his wife losing any of her undead, but it was probably for the better. They couldn't fit over a hundred undead in the cave, anyway.

As he had that thought, a black cloud exploded from levy and her fellow mages. The horde, the streets, and the lower half of some buildings were obscured from view. Shaggy growled at the sight and leapt off his building. Without looking back, Shaggy charged through the cloud, feeling like his veins were on fire. He was only a few steps in when he realized the cloud was buffing him. Not only that, but he could see clearly through the cloud as well. Levy and her horde were booking it back to their turf at twice the speed they normally moved. Meanwhile, the Phreaks that entered the black cloud seemed to get lost and exit it at random points.

"Fucking magic." Shaggy muttered as he strode toward the front of the cloud.

The Phreaks were gathering in front of the cloud. Afraid to enter after their friends had experienced Levy's magic. Shaggy shifted his left and right arm into their wolfish form and grinned. His prey was right in front of him, and they did not know. The beast inside rattled its cage in excitement and Shaggy felt a rumbling deep within his chest. Cekrass and Rita were ready. Stanley and the others were coming to join him. Without fighting it at all, Shaggy leaned his head back and howled into the night. This was the hunt he had been expecting.