Shaggy grunted at the name. It made a sort of sense to him, K-Tech was the biggest company in the game. In fact, most of his own dealings with in-game corporations had been with K-Tech. He saw his wife go dead-still at the mention of the name. But Maya snorted and put her hands on her hips.

"Of course. The international company in the game is evil. Man, that's such a trope at this point."

"It makes sense. You don't become that powerful without a few skeletons in your closet." Shaggy argued.

"Yeah, but it such an overused excuse. Big company is evil that is why it does so much evil shit. Don't look any further."

"To be fair, we don't know if there is a deeper meaning to any of this. That would take looking into. For all we know this was an isolated incident by a lone engineer at K-Tech."

"But we HAVE to look into it." Levy said, staff suddenly in her hands.

Shaggy turned away from Maya to look at his wife. The way she spoke sent a tingle of warning up his spine. Levy was rarely one to take things seriously even in the real world. At her job she was always joking and messing around. She would still get things done, but she'd make sure to still have a good time. Levy's voice now was a tone that Shaggy had heard only a few times in the relationship. Levy was pissed.

He searched his mind for a reason and it came fairly quickly. Levy's pixie. Her familiar that they had found in a K-Tech scientist's house. The creature spent its free time lighting up Levy's Tower in their underground cave. But Levy had assured him the two were connected and working together. Never had that been more clear than right now. Levy was staring at the carnage around them with something akin to hate.

Shaggy moved to his wife's side, whispering. "That because of your tiny friend?"

Levy nodded as her eye remained on the destroyed houses and burnt ground. "It was a promise to the Fae Courts. We'd stick it to K-Tech whenever we got a chance."

"Does your little friend need to be here for this then?"

"Oh, love. She's always here." Levy chuckled as she finally turned her head to look at him.

Her purple eyes flashed with power and for a second Shaggy thought he saw something. But then the moment was gone and Merrick was addressing them again. The NPC's AI probably missed some of their conversation. But he seemed to focus in on Levy's part.

"K-Tech has vowed to find the culprit and hand them over to the authorities. So there is no need for our involvement."

Maya snorted. "Pfft! I bet that's what your superiors told you."

The soldier nodded slowly. "By the time I got back to report the incident, there was already a K-Tech representative at the Post. They said that a scientist had gone rogue and stolen two squads of K-Tech soldier-bots. They were looking for the scientist when they got word of this attack."

"A likely story." Shaggy grunted as he felt Cekrass and Stanley circling back around to them.

"The rep said that they already had survey teams out here and military intervention was unnecessary. Their personal security team would apprehend the suspect and send him off to the police."

"But of course, that didn't sit right with you." Levy said as she took a step into the village.

Shaggy joined her as they walked past Captain Merrick. Maya brought up the rear with Vlad as they entered into the forest of broken huts and smoking grass. Levy's staff seemed to be leading the way. So Shaggy just followed behind, keeping one eye on the soldier bringing up the rear.

"No. It all felt too rehearsed to me. K-Tech was too fast to denounce everything and have a team in place to investigate." Merrick added.

"So you decided to do your own investigation. How very vigilante of you." Vlad chuckled as they picked their way through the carnage.

Shaggy took another big whiff of the air and tried to pick out more pieces of the puzzle. The scent got stronger as they moved and Shaggy's wolf assured him they were getting closer to something. But Levy was conducting her own experiment. Her staff was trailing purple runes as she dragged it across the air while walking. The runes stayed hanging in the air. A few went a short distance away, but they remained visible as Levy worked her spell. Shaggy could feel something in the air shiver and an oppressive feeling rose from everywhere.

"Care to explain, love?" Shaggy asked as he noticed it was cold enough to see his breath now.

The sun still beat down on all four of them. But whatever Levy was doing sucked the warmth out of the surroundings. Even the color seemed to fade as Levy continued marching toward the center of the village. Leaving runes wherever she walked. Maya and Merrick shared a worried look at the runes as Vlad merely glowered at them curiously. But Shaggy was ninety-percent sure his wife wasn't planning on hurting the others.

"A magical debt was placed upon K-Tech. One that the Fae are extremely interested in seeing paid. So I'm borrowing a bit of my familiar's power and we're going to attempt something. Something big.

"Cryptic as always, my love." Shaggy chuckled.

Maya coughed, as though to get their attention. "Ahem! Maybe a little too cryptic? How about you just say what your doing?"

"Where's the fun in that? The spell is almost done."

"If you plan to hurt anyone, witch! I will stop you." Merrick said, not forcefully. But with enough aggression that Shaggy's wolf wanted to rip his throat out.

"Oh captain. I seek not to hurt only to inform." Levy said stopping on the spot and raising her staff.

The tip of her staff glowed and Levy's body seemed to shake with power. The very air around them froze and Shaggy's senses went haywire. Images flashed by his eyes as different temperatures cascaded around his body. He caught glimpses of the forest, the city, a building, a parking garage, a lab, rows of robots hanging on in the air. Smells accompanied each image and Shaggy was sure this was what Levy had wanted to accomplish. But then she slammed the butt of her staff onto the floor and the images vanished.

A wave of blue and purple magic rose out of the ground at Levy's feet and reached high into the sky. The magic wave formed a circle around Levy, reaching over thirty feet high. Once the magic was tall enough Shaggy heard his wife give a shout and the wave pushed forward in all directions. The magic slammed into the destroyed village washed over it like a magical tsunami. As the magic moved across the village shack rebuilt themselves, the ground healed, and the still smoldering embers went out. Shaggy's vision was obscured by a blue and purple world. One where the village hadn't been destroyed. He turned to ask his wife what she'd done only to find her lying on the ground.

"Levy!" Shaggy screamed dashing to her side.

Kneeling at her side, Shaggy quickly confirmed she was breathing and slowly rolled her onto her back. Her staff was laying next to her, still glowing softly with power. The world around him was still colored a blueish-purple. But Shaggy didn't care, every instinct in him was telling him to get Levy out of there now.

"Holy shit." Maya muttered from behind him.

Shaggy looked up to see Merrick and Maya studying their surroundings with interest. He hadn't noticed before. But even the people of the village were back or at least ghostly versions of them were visible. They glided through the village conversing and working in equal measure. A small child ran through Merrick's torso and the soldier shivered.

"They're echoes." Merrick said after collecting himself. "Echoes of what happened here."

"And spent all of her MP to do it, looks like." Maya said glancing down at Shaggy and Levy.

Shaggy felt his heart rate slow down at Maya's words. She was right. This was just a game and Levy used all her MP. That meant she was going to be unconscious for a bit. But wasn't in any real danger. Breathing out a slow breath, Shaggy ordered Cekrass and Stanley to hurry up. He needed someone to watch her while they investigated.

"Quick! We need her staff." Merrick said, suddenly rushing over to Levy's body.

Shaggy's wolf went nuts at the approaching threat and suddenly Shaggy was towering over the Super. He was in his hybrid form and his arms were reaching out to claw the soldiers face off. A low, rumbling growl echoed through Shaggy's chest. Merrick wasn't idle either, though. In the second that Shaggy had shifted and attacked the Super was already ready to guard with one arm while aiming an uppercut at Shaggy's jaw. Only the fact that Shaggy had held back stopped the Super from retaliating.

The two of them glared at each other for a few seconds before Merrick slowly stepped back. Dropping his arms and carefully maintaining eye-contact.

"Easy there." Merrick said in a calming voice. "The spell is tied to the staff. So if we want to find out what happened here, we need it."

Shaggy huffed angrily. Mostly cause the Super was right. But also cause there was no way in hell he was giving Levy's staff to anyone. The sounds of thudding footsteps signaled his packs arrival and Shaggy didn't even turn as Cekrass bounded into view. The massive lizard alien had jumped off a nearby hut and landed just close enough to remain menacing. However his arrival was overshadowed slightly by Stanley's silver form racing in from the other side. The sliver plated humanoid slid to stop right next to Levy and kept his focus on Merrick.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Stay with her and pass me the staff." Shaggy ordered as he raised his left hand.

Cekrass tossed the wooden staff to Shaggy as he stepped up to the other side of Levy's prone body. Shaggy's outstretched hand closed around the smooth piece of wood and his body shrunk back to normal. Once he was human again Shaggy glared at Merrick for a few seconds before waving a hand.

"Shall we investigate?"

Merrick looked like he wanted to argue for a few seconds before eventually he rolled his eyes and pointed southeast.

"The largest portion of robots was in that direction."

Shaggy nodded but waited for the soldier to move first before he did. With Merrick leading the way, Shaggy, Vlad, and Maya followed along closely. The soldier had been right. As they moved the staff, the bubble of magic followed it and reshaped their surroundings to how they were before the attack. The echoes of the village were still going about their day and no robots were appearing in the magical flashback yet. So Shaggy assumed they were seeing earlier in the day.

It was when the arrived at the edge of the village that the spell seemed to speed up. The ghostly image of a sun rose above them and suddenly the purplish streets were filled with black robots. Shaggy winced as the robots lumbered through the village. They were seven-foot tall broad-shouldered humanoids that shifted their arms into cannons as they moved about the village. He was reminded of the K-Tech scientist's house they had once robbed and the robot security within.

The ghostly robots charged deeper into the village as Shaggy and the others watched. As they passed through the end of the spell the disappeared. But the carnage on the other side of the spell matched with what they were seeing. Merrick lead them to the edge of town to where the robots had marched in from. They exited the village and the orb of magic moved with them revealing rows of robots waiting just outside the shanty village. But there was something else there as well.

Two massive metal shipping containers were sitting just outside the village. Their sides were open the robots were marching out into the village. Cekrass and Stanley hadn't mentioned any containers. So Shaggy assumed the containers were long gone and these were just images of what had been there. Merrick growled audibly and Shaggy looked to see what had upset the Super. The alien's eyes were locked on to a small antennae on the roof of one of the shipping containers.

"Control nodule?" Shaggy asked, taking a wild stab.

"And camera." Merrick nodded. "Someone was watching what happened here."

"Which means they knew what was going on." Vlad hissed.

"Apparently so."

"So what are you going to do now, Solider?" Maya asked "Report this to superiors whoa re probably in the know as it is?"

"There's no proof of that!" Merrick shouted.

"Uh-huh." Shaggy grunted as the staff in his hand shook slightly.

The spell around them wavered before collapsing completely leaving them back in the hot sun again. They were still at the edge of the village. But now the carnage of what the robots had done was in full view. The bodies were gone but the broken buildings and burnt grass remained. As did the smell of oil, metal, and blood. In fact the stench was even stronger on this side of the village.

Shaggy's body froze as he took an even larger sniff. Something was off about the scent. It was too fresh. It smelled clean, unlike the other scents wafting through the air. Almost clinical, like something fresh off the assembly line.

Shaggy's brain caught on slower than his body thankfully. He was already diving for the ground as green spears of energy rushed through the air at them. Maya was clipped in the shoulder while Merrick and Vlad were hit in the chest. Merrick tanked the blast with barely a step back. But Vlad was lifted off his feet and thrown into the ruins of small shack.

Maya screamed as Shaggy rolled through the dirt, letting Levy's staff drop. Jumping to his feet he faced the direction the lasers had come from and Pounced. The ability triggered and he went sailing through the air at their assailants. His claws formed from his hands and he hit the chest plate of a robot that was standing out of the ground like a zombie returned from the grave. His claws left large marks on the robots chest plate, but didn't penetrate deep enough to do damage.

The sounds of fighting exploded around him as Shaggy struck out again before the robot could raise his gun arm. This time his claws struck deep as they hit the same place as before. Sparks and oil exploded from the robot's chests and Shaggy ripped his claws back out. The robot's chest caught fire and it fell into the dirt with a loud thunk. Shaggy tried to get a look around but a stream of green laser fire was headed in his direction.

Throwing himself to the side, Shaggy popped up again and rushed his attacker. The robot was quick enough to get arm up to guard and Shaggy's claws bit into the metal. The robot raised his other arm and shot Shaggy in the stomach with it's energy weapon. Searing pain exploded in Shaggy's middle, but he bit back the pain and jabbed his claws under the robots arm. His Claws sank deep into the robot's shoulder joint and Shaggy wrenched the limb off with surprising ease.

"They're weak at the joints!" Merrick shouted from somewhere before Shaggy got the chance.

"Noticed!" Shaggy shouted back as dropped the robots arm and jumped.

Rising even with the robot's head, Shaggy jammed his claws into the things neck and felt his them sink deep. He twisted his hands sideways before he fell and decapitated the robot, landing and hopping away from the falling robot. Crouching low, Shaggy spun on the spot looking for more enemies. But the battle had gone silent. Maya was still rolling on the ground in pain. But a trio of robots were smashed to bits around Merrick as the soldier glowered at them. Shaggy looked at his own pile of two robots and scowled. Stupid NPC had done better then him. Then again, Shaggy had shredded one through the armored chest plate. So maybe they were even?

"OWWWWWWWW!" Vlad screamed as he pulled himself from the building.

The vampire's pale skin was red and raw as he yanked the remains of his shirt off. Vlad scowled as he looked around and realized their attackers were dead. The three of them moved over to Maya to check on her as she slowly calmed down. She was breathing hard, but had stopped screaming as they hovered over her. Shaggy and Vlad were at a loss, but Merrick quickly pulled something from his belt and poured it over Maya's shoulder wound.

A sharp stinging smell hit Shaggy's nose as Maya's wounded sizzled loudly. Burnt flesh was replaced with fresh new skin before their eyes as Maya's breathing even out further. The gunslinger grunted in pain as whatever Merrick had used finished. Sitting up, the gunslinger looked first at Shaggy and then at Vlad's half-naked form.

"Stupid healing factor bastards." Maya grumbled.

"It also helps if you don't get hit in the first place." Shaggy chuckled, walking over to his wife's staff.

"It was an ambush, Shaggy."

"You have super speed, Vlad."

"Yeah, well I was thinking about the implications of all of this. Okay?"

"What implications?" Merrick asked.

"This was clearly a weapons test of some kind or a proof of concept for the robots. One that K-Tech was prepared to cover up. Which means we need to get the fuck out of here. Cause I doubt those are the last robots around."

Worried, Shaggy checked in with Cekrass and Stanley but found his pack idly chatting with a now-awake Levy. He informed them of the attack and that they were on their way back. But then the ground shook noticeably. Shaggy stabilized his footing before looking at the others.

"Trouble?"

"Oh, yeah." Vlad answered nodding along with the others.

The sound of synchronized thudding footsteps hit Shaggy's ears and he spun toward the noise. Metal clanked and pistons whirred as the sounds of robots got closer. Cursing under his breath Shaggy held out Levy's staff.

"Vlad get this back to Levy and then get to the cars. I'll hold them back."

"We will." Merrick nodded

"Hold on. I've got a score to settle. Send the new chick." Vlad argued.

"New chick?" Maya said acidly.

Vlad mumbled a response, but Shaggy interrupted pointing to his stomach where the robot had shot him.

"I can take their energy weapons better than you, Vlad. Plus, you're the fastest. So you AND Maya go! We'll hold here until you get to the cars."

"That's if they haven't surrounded the place." Merrick said.

Shaggy bit his lip as he tried not to think of that situation. Vlad snatched Levy's staff from him and turned back toward the center of the village. Maya was in the middle of addressing the vampire when he turned into mist and rushed away on the wind. The gunslinger's mouth hung open and she growled before looking angrily at Shaggy.

"I'm not the new chick."

Shaggy merely smiled at the woman as she rushed off after Vlad. Turning back to the thudding footsteps and clanking metal, Shaggy spotted black shapes on the horizon. More robots were speeding their way. Merrick cracked his knuckles before glancing at Shaggy.

"It's a brave thing you're doing."

Shaggy snorted as he pulled a candy bar from his pocket and devoured it. "What? Waiting for them to pummel you to death and then running away? Yeah, that is pretty brave."

"Joke all you want. But right now, you have the bearing of a Hero."

"More like the bearing of an idiot." Shaggy growled around a mouthful of chocolate.

"Same thing."

Merrick grinned as the oncoming wave of black robots stopped moving as one. Instead the wave of robots were all charging at them. Clearly some order had been given to charge. Shaggy growled again as he let the wolf out of it's cage. His legs and arms extended as his jaw and teeth grew large. Hero? Villain? At the moment he didn't care. His friends were behind him. Which was all that mattered. Shaggy was going to be what he was, which was a fucking Werewolf.

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