“Why can’t we stop so we can pick up new clothes” Slink complained again for what was, probably, the twentieth time. The short teen pulled another bit of trash from his blonde hair as they walked.
Shaggy just sighed as Vlad answered irritably. “Because, Slink, we have more important things to do than pay for your comfort.”
Slink groaned loudly. “I have trash juice in my shoes, man. This shit is gross.”
Shaggy tuned them out as they made their way back to the center of Under-Town. They had figured that was the best place for information. With the arena being so close and with Slink’s snakes, they could gather all kinds of information from both the patrons of the arena and the random people walking by.
After Slink had logged in, they had explained their plans and, in what was typical Slink fashion, the boy started complaining immediately. The kid was more concerned with getting the ‘trash juice’ off his robes. But he also had other concerns. He had wanted to go back topside and ‘lie low.’ The others had to explain that they were all criminals down here, so Under-Town was, most likely, the safest place for them.
Vlad and Shaggy had met Slink in the in-game jail. The pale, blonde-headed teen wouldn’t tell them what he was in for, but given the way the kid turned bright red whenever it was brought up, Shaggy assumed it was something puerile. Slink had somehow followed them when they had made their escape and his information gathering talents were extremely helpful when searching for the entrance to Under-Town. But he was a grade-A whiner when it came to everything else.
Slink was another Alien player that had a telepathic connection with three snake-like aliens. One he used for self-defense, but the other two he used as scouts. According to Slink, his alien race had some talent for parallel thought, so he should have been able to watch his snake scouts while also helping in combat. But, according to the kid, it was hard. Which was Slink-ese for ‘why should I try?’
Shaggy kept his eyes peeled as they made their way through the crowded streets. Ren seemed to be on the lookout too, but the big rhino-man was a hell of a deterrent for pick-pockets by himself. Shaggy was more surprised that, even though they were a decent way from the Arena, the dirt streets were still almost full of people. He briefly wondered how many people were actually down here before he heard Vlad swear.
“Damn it! I told you, we don’t have time!”
Shaggy turned just in time to see Slink running off to a nearby street vendor. One of the many that seemed to dot all the streets of Under-Town. Slink didn’t even bother to turn around as he gave the trio the finger and entered negotiations with the purple alien clothes seller. Shaggy heard Ren chuckle behind him and turned to give the big grey alien a questioning look.
“I wonder what his gonna do when he realizes he’s broke.” Ren said, still chuckling.
Vlad sighed and rubbed his temples with a hand. “Probably beg one of us to pay for him.”
Shaggy shook his head as he watched Slink. “We should be so lucky.”
They continued to watch their young companion as he realized his lack of money. Slink turned to them, but he must have seen something in their collective faces because instead of asking for money, the young man turned back to vendor, punched him in the face, grabbed a shirt off the vendor’s stall and ran back to their group.
“Oh lord, he didn’t.” Ren said, laughing even harder now.
“STOP THIEF!” The vendor yelled from his spot on the ground after Slink’s sucker-punch.
Slink slid to a stop near them and gave them an incredulous look. “Come on! Let’s go! We have to get out of here.”
Shaggy was more than willing to walk off again, but he heard Vlad bark a harsh laugh. “No chance, kiddo. Give the damn shirt back and then we can go.”
The vendor was still shouting for help as Slink whined. “Really, dude? We’re supposed to be criminals, right? So why can’t I just take what I want? Fuck’em, right?”
Shaggy grinned at the kid as Vlad sighed. “First off, it’s a shirt, dude. Not exactly going to make us any money…”
“Oh, but stealing junk will?” Slink groused angrily.
“Second,” Vlad continued, looking around. “This is a town of criminals. You don’t know who you just pissed off.”
Slink just stared at Vlad in incredulity before shouting. “It’s a fucking street vendor! Who the hell is protecting him? He’s a nobody!”
Ren had stopped laughing and was gazing back at the street vendor and pointing. “Oh, probably them.”
Shaggy turned to see what his friend was pointing at. The street vendor, now on his feet with a bloody nose, was pleading with a small group of people all wearing black leather jackets. The group looked like a post-apocalyptic gang from another game Shaggy had played. They were all dressed in biker leathers and with multicolored Mohawks. Shaggy assumed they were all NPCs, but in this game you could never tell.
The vendor pointed in their direction, obviously bereaved, and seemed to say something. The bikers, for their part, mostly laughed at the man. But soon they started making their way toward their little group. Slink quickly dove behind Ren, as he was the tallest and widest of them.
“Oh geez, come on, guys! Let’s go.”
Shaggy shook his head as he looked over at the group of bikers. “Really kid? You stir up shit and then hide? Besides, there’s only five of them.”
Slink scoffed. “I’m a scout, dude! You three are the heavy hitters. Also, this wouldn’t have happened if we had just run away, like I said.”
“No! This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t stolen a damn shirt for no reason!” Vlad screamed.
“This could be a good thing.” Ren said, as Slink scoffed behind him. “What do you think they know about the various criminal organizations?”
“Probably not much. They seem small-time.” Shaggy said just as the lead leather-clad thug walked in front of them.
The lead thug either ignored or didn’t hear Shaggy. Instead, he seemed entirely focused on Slink, who was still standing behind Ren. The thug pointed a finger at Ren and in a nasally voice said.
“Hand over the kid and we won’t hurt ya.”
“Yeah!” a thug with spiky green hair said from behind his friend.
Vlad shot a look at Shaggy. Shaggy shrugged his shoulders and held up a hand. “Yeah, that’s not happening. Maybe we could give the shirt back and we can all go about our business.”
“Hey!” Slink yelled from behind Ren.
The NPC refocused his attention on Shaggy, taking in his short frame and snorting. He redirected his finger toward Shaggy’s chest and poked twice.
“Ya don’t get it, do you? This is Red Coil turf. We make the rules around here.”
Shaggy guessed that if he had been a normal human, the finger-jabs might have stung a bit. But as it stood, they just annoyed him. He took a deep breath and smiled at the lead gang member. Turning to Vlad and Ren, he said.
“Well, they might know something. We might as well ask.”
As he finished his sentence, he reared back and slammed his fist heavily into the thug’s stomach. The guy immediately doubled over and started retching on the ground. Shaggy had tried to hold back. For all he knew, these were standard humans, and he was a werewolf. Naturally, most players in Modern Age Online were far more powerful than regular NPCs.
Vlad let out a long-suffering sigh as he seemed to vanish from his position next to Ren and appeared behind the group of thugs. Most of whom seemed shock that their leader had been taken down so easily. Once he was behind them, Vlad grabbed two of the thugs by the backs of their shirts and flung them bodily across the street, where they lay crumpled in a pile.
Ren also moved forward slightly, dragging a complaining Slink who had grasped the back of Ren’s shirt. Ren walked up to the nearest thug and gingerly flicked the girl’s forehead with a finger. Her head snapped back harshly, and Shaggy could see the whites of her eyes as she fell over into the dirt.
Aiming a feral grin at the last one, Shaggy tried to channel his inner werewolf as he said.
“Boo.”
The remaining thug gawked at his friends laying in the street before turning tail and running away. Vlad shot Shaggy a questioning look, but Shaggy shook his head. They would not go around chasing every two-bit thug that tried to shake them down. He looked back down at the lead gang member, who was still coughing and trying to suck the air back into his lungs. Shaggy smiled again as he lifted the guy up by his collar.
“Now. We have some questions for you, my dude.”
The thug turned watery eyes on Shaggy and tried to spit. “I ain’t telling you shit. As soon as Chip gets back with the boys. You supe-fucks are dead!”
“Then it seems Ve should be somewhere else.” Vlad said dramatically, waving his cape around.
The thug gave him a curious look before trying to struggle out of Shaggy’s grip. Shaggy shook the guy harshly before looking around for a place to question the guy. He spotted a nearby sheet-metal shack with a roof made of two-by-fours. He jerked his head in that direction and started walking toward it, dragging the unwilling gang leader with him.
“Oh, come on, guys! We don’t have to do this.” Slink whined.
“No, we didn’t. But thanks to you being a damn idiot, we now have a source of information. So put your damn shirt on and be happy.” Vlad snapped as he jogged in front of Shaggy and opened the door.
Ren toddled along behind them, Slink still complaining at his side. The small alien was darting his eyes around, looking for anymore gang members. Once Ren got to the door, he yanked his shirt out of Slink’s hands and nodded to Vlad and Shaggy.
“I’ll watch the street while you two question him. They may not be too willing to challenge me because of my size.” Ren said, turning to watch the street again.
Shaggy nodded his head in agreement as he tossed the thug through the open door. Following, he took in the room. It looked just as bad as the outside. There was no furniture, appliances, or windows. It was just a squat metal shack with a dirt floor. Shaggy was grateful the game accounted for a werewolf’s dark-vision, though. He figured Vlad must have also been able to see, as the mutant vampire had picked up the thug.
“You vill tell us vhat ve vant to know, you reprobate. Or I shall be forced to make you one of my children of the night.”
The thug looked at the vampire, confused, as Shaggy left the door to the shack open and moved next to his vampire friend. “Can you do that? Make more vamps?” Shaggy asked, curious.
Vlad dropped his character again to answer. “Eh, kinda. I bet it’s on the Evolution Tree, but I haven’t found it yet.”
“Doesn’t that make it kind of an empty threat?”
“Sure, but I still think my character would make the threat.”
“That’s fair.” Shaggy said as he turned back to the thug.
The gang leader was still looking confused. The game didn’t allow NPCs to hear certain parts of the Player’s speech. In-game AI would block out anything an NPC would find nonsensical. So as the thug was still trying to parse what Vlad had said to him. Shaggy took a proper look at the young human man.
He was young, around mid-twenties, dressed in all black biking leathers. The black jacket had a red spiral on the back, probably referring to his gang. His head was mostly bald save for the large neon-blue mohawk he had as a hairstyle. His hands and arms were stained with something. Shaggy’s werewolf nose told him was some kind of mechanical lubricant.
“Look, man. I don’t know what you think I know, but me and my crew, we’re small-time. We shake down a few places for protection money, kick up a few Creds to the big dogs, and rumble with the other small-timers.”
“Well, that was full of interesting information.” Shaggy said, smiling. “But what we are interested in are those big dogs you mentioned.”
“I am interested in the small-timers as well.” Vlad added.
Shaggy shot his friend a curious look but stayed quiet as the gangster spoke. “Umm well, there’s the Raks, the Phreaks, Quinica, and the UGB. My guys in the Coil and a few other small-timers, the Blood Tigers, the Brassians, and the Needle Sisters, all work out of this area. So we kick up 30% to the Raks.”
Shaggy sighed. “This is going to take a while, then.”
Vlad nodded as they continued to question their captive.
The gang leader, named Terry, filled them in slowly about the various gangs. Apparently there was a group of crime syndicates called the Big Five that ran Under-Town, but with the Faceless being taken down, they were now the Big Four. The groups had sectioned off the circular Under-Town into their own separate pieces and occasionally would fight or work together as the mood took them.
The closest of the ones Terry had mentioned were the Rakgu Crime Family or The Raks. They were a typical crime family of the type Shaggy had seen on TV in the real world. Lead by their Don, a mutant by the name of Donnie Raks, they functioned as a business. They offered protection services to the various stalls within their territory for a portion of their sells. But if those stalls were robbed, the Raks found whoever robbed them and charged the thieves a 30% cut of their take. Supposedly Donnie Raks turned those profits into a lucrative above ground business where they sold illegal weapons. The Raks also ran the center of Under-Town, the Arena.
The Phreaks were a group of mutants and failed government experiments that had banded together to find a safe place for themselves. After they had that safe space, they experimented with various narcotics and drugs to try to ‘fix’ their condition. Their currently deceased leader, Leo, had started selling off their failed experiments as recreational drugs before he died. Now that he was dead though, the Phreaks had fallen into in-fighting and several gangs were trying to carve up pieces of their territory.
Terry wasn’t too sure about the Quinica. He knew they were the smallest of the big gangs and they ran some of the more esoteric businesses in Under-Town. Catering to the various aliens that called Under-Town their home. They dealt in rare alien foods, or other various bits of sundries, designed to make life easier for aliens living on Earth. He knew that there were rumblings of more Quinica and an Elder coming to visit soon. Supposedly to look at how they were doing in Under-Town. So the Quinica were currently sticking to themselves.
The last of the Big Four was the Underground Government Body or the UGB. The most militarized of the crime families in Under-Town. They considered themselves the only legitimate governing body in Under-Town and said it was their mission to eradicate any and all criminal elements in the town. According to Terry, though, they really just spent most of their time collecting their ‘taxes’ from the people in their ‘district.’ Although, judging from their outdated police equipment, Terry said the consensus was that someone topside was helping them. Apparently, no one had ever met the leader of the UGB. All anyone knew was that he or she was called The Governor.
Terry was about to tell them about the smaller gangs in the area when Slink walked into the room. He had taken off his black robe and put on his stolen shirt... and nothing else. The shirt barely went down to mid-thigh and Shaggy had to avert his eyes. He was pretty sure the in-game AI would blur it, but he wasn’t taking that chance.
“Oh good god, dude! What the fuck!?” Vlad said, bringing a hand up to cover his eyes.
“Well, you fucks wouldn’t let me steal some pants! And how long is this going to take? I’m bored standing outside.”
Shaggy rubbed his face in exasperation. “You didn’t think to go get pants while you were standing out there. And more importantly, why the hell do you not have any underwear?”
“Who the hell wears underwear in a game? Besides, this is a Mature-rated game. I don’t need another step between me and the ladies.” Slink answered and waggled his eyebrows.
“Kid, there’s a least forty stories’ worth of stairs between you and the ladies. Now go get some damn pants!” Vlad snarled, still covering his eyes.
“Whatever. You bastards are just jealous. You can’t hand-a-lin what I’m dang-a-lin.” Slink said before he turned around and walked back outside. Giving Shaggy and Terry an unobstructed view of his bare ass.
“He’s gone now, Vamps.” Shaggy said.
Vlad uncovered his face and shook his head. “Seriously. We need to have a talk with that kid.”
Shaggy snorted. “For all the good it’ll do. He is young, opinionated, and stupid. You’d have better luck talking to a wall.”
“Well, you at least gotta remind him who’s boss. Kids like that need a firm hand and you have to remind him there are consequences to his actions.” A voice said from between Shaggy and Vlad.
They both turned and stared at Terry, who also looked surprised that he had spoken up. Shaggy was about to tell him to shut it when he thought about the gang leader’s words. He wasn’t wrong. Someone needed to talk to the kid about his behavior. But, at the same time, that wasn’t Shaggy, Vlad, or Ren’s job. Gamers already had a pretty decent option for anyone that was ruining their play experience. Boot’em. Of course, they needed to at least give the kid a warning.
Shaggy sighed. “Anyway, you were saying?”
Terry looked confused for a moment before nodding. “Oh, yeah. Where was I?”
“You vere about to tell us about the local small-time gangs.”
“Right, right… Well, y’know, I wouldn’t call us all small-time. A couple of us have done some pretty big things topside.”
Shaggy rolled his eyes. “Yes, I’m sure. Just give us the rundown, okay?”
Terry looked annoyed at not being believed, but he continued. “So first we have the Blood Tigers. Mean sons of bitches, they have a few trap houses in the Raks territory.”
“Trap houses?” Shaggy asked, looking between Vlad and Terry.
“Yeah, y’know? Drug dens. They peddle their Hype out of them. Then kick up a percentage to the Raks.”
“Who’s their leader?” Vlad asked.
Terry grimaced. “Big bastard by the name of Phillip. Goes by Concoction on the streets, though. Supposedly, he has some kind of mutant power. But I’ve never seen it.”
“What about the others?” Shaggy asked as he heard raised voices coming through the door from the street.
“I was getting to that!” Terry snapped, seeming to think. “Uhhh, then there’s the Brassians. They run a bar a couple blocks south of here. Spend most of their time stealing and fighting, though. Bunch of idiots spray-painting themselves and then running around trying to make a name for themselves. Used to be a bunch of xenophobic shut-ins until Melina showed up.”
“She’s their leader?”
“Yep.”
“What kind of power does she have?” Shaggy asked, beginning to worry about the raised voices outside.
Terry shrugged. “Far as I know, she’s a normal. Well, as normal as a Cuinoid can get.”
Vlad raised an eyebrow. “Cuinoid?”
“Not the time.” Shaggy said. Turning to Terry, he asked. “And the last one?”
Terry grimaced. “Well, they ain’t exactly a gang. More of a family business that steals to fund their medical clinic. The Needle Sisters are a group of five mutant sisters. Tough broads, but they pay up to the Raks the same as the rest of us.”
The noise outside had elevated to full-on shouting now. Shaggy was sure he heard Ren and Slinks voice out in the tumult. He looked to Vlad, signaling they should go look, but suddenly Terry started laughing.
“Hahahaha! And then there’s my little gang. Who, it sounds like, has arrived just in time. You guys are fucked!”
Shaggy and Vlad turned to look at Terry, but the thug had turned around. The red spiral pattern on his jacket was facing them and the door. Before either of them could do anything, the spiral seemed to leap off the back of Terry’s jacket, turn into a red tentacle that swatted at them. Shaggy felt Vlad move out of the room with his speed and tried to do the same, but he wasn’t fast enough.
The red spiral tentacle batted him backwards and through the wall right next to the door. The sheet metal wall tore easily as he cratered through it. He felt his Regeneration ability already fixing the bruises and cuts as he flew out into the street. He slammed into the dirt road and skidded a few feet before coming to a stop.
Shaking his head, he noticed he had landed right between a pair of booted feet. He was looking up at their owner and several more Red Coil gang members, who were all looking down at him and smiling. Shaggy took a deep calming breath and tried to focus on his partial transformation as he heard his friends fighting nearby. Along with Slink’s ever-present whining.
“Why can’t we stop so we can pick up new clothes” Slink complained again for what was, probably, the twentieth time. The short teen pulled another bit of trash from his blonde hair as they walked.
Shaggy just sighed as Vlad answered irritably. “Because, Slink, we have more important things to do than pay for your comfort.”
Slink groaned loudly. “I have trash juice in my shoes, man. This shit is gross.”
Shaggy tuned them out as they made their way back to the center of Under-Town. They had figured that was the best place for information. With the arena being so close and with Slink’s snakes, they could gather all kinds of information from both the patrons of the arena and the random people walking by.
After Slink had logged in, they had explained their plans and, in what was typical Slink fashion, the boy started complaining immediately. The kid was more concerned with getting the ‘trash juice’ off his robes. But he also had other concerns. He had wanted to go back topside and ‘lie low.’ The others had to explain that they were all criminals down here, so Under-Town was, most likely, the safest place for them.
Vlad and Shaggy had met Slink in the in-game jail. The pale, blonde-headed teen wouldn’t tell them what he was in for, but given the way the kid turned bright red whenever it was brought up, Shaggy assumed it was something puerile. Slink had somehow followed them when they had made their escape and his information gathering talents were extremely helpful when searching for the entrance to Under-Town. But he was a grade-A whiner when it came to everything else.
Slink was another Alien player that had a telepathic connection with three snake-like aliens. One he used for self-defense, but the other two he used as scouts. According to Slink, his alien race had some talent for parallel thought, so he should have been able to watch his snake scouts while also helping in combat. But, according to the kid, it was hard. Which was Slink-ese for ‘why should I try?’
Shaggy kept his eyes peeled as they made their way through the crowded streets. Ren seemed to be on the lookout too, but the big rhino-man was a hell of a deterrent for pick-pockets by himself. Shaggy was more surprised that, even though they were a decent way from the Arena, the dirt streets were still almost full of people. He briefly wondered how many people were actually down here before he heard Vlad swear.
“Damn it! I told you, we don’t have time!”
Shaggy turned just in time to see Slink running off to a nearby street vendor. One of the many that seemed to dot all the streets of Under-Town. Slink didn’t even bother to turn around as he gave the trio the finger and entered negotiations with the purple alien clothes seller. Shaggy heard Ren chuckle behind him and turned to give the big grey alien a questioning look.
“I wonder what his gonna do when he realizes he’s broke.” Ren said, still chuckling.
Vlad sighed and rubbed his temples with a hand. “Probably beg one of us to pay for him.”
Shaggy shook his head as he watched Slink. “We should be so lucky.”
They continued to watch their young companion as he realized his lack of money. Slink turned to them, but he must have seen something in their collective faces because instead of asking for money, the young man turned back to vendor, punched him in the face, grabbed a shirt off the vendor’s stall and ran back to their group.
“Oh lord, he didn’t.” Ren said, laughing even harder now.
“STOP THIEF!” The vendor yelled from his spot on the ground after Slink’s sucker-punch.
Slink slid to a stop near them and gave them an incredulous look. “Come on! Let’s go! We have to get out of here.”
Shaggy was more than willing to walk off again, but he heard Vlad bark a harsh laugh. “No chance, kiddo. Give the damn shirt back and then we can go.”
The vendor was still shouting for help as Slink whined. “Really, dude? We’re supposed to be criminals, right? So why can’t I just take what I want? Fuck’em, right?”
Shaggy grinned at the kid as Vlad sighed. “First off, it’s a shirt, dude. Not exactly going to make us any money…”
“Oh, but stealing junk will?” Slink groused angrily.
“Second,” Vlad continued, looking around. “This is a town of criminals. You don’t know who you just pissed off.”
Slink just stared at Vlad in incredulity before shouting. “It’s a fucking street vendor! Who the hell is protecting him? He’s a nobody!”
Ren had stopped laughing and was gazing back at the street vendor and pointing. “Oh, probably them.”
Shaggy turned to see what his friend was pointing at. The street vendor, now on his feet with a bloody nose, was pleading with a small group of people all wearing black leather jackets. The group looked like a post-apocalyptic gang from another game Shaggy had played. They were all dressed in biker leathers and with multicolored Mohawks. Shaggy assumed they were all NPCs, but in this game you could never tell.
The vendor pointed in their direction, obviously bereaved, and seemed to say something. The bikers, for their part, mostly laughed at the man. But soon they started making their way toward their little group. Slink quickly dove behind Ren, as he was the tallest and widest of them.
“Oh geez, come on, guys! Let’s go.”
Shaggy shook his head as he looked over at the group of bikers. “Really kid? You stir up shit and then hide? Besides, there’s only five of them.”
Slink scoffed. “I’m a scout, dude! You three are the heavy hitters. Also, this wouldn’t have happened if we had just run away, like I said.”
“No! This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t stolen a damn shirt for no reason!” Vlad screamed.
“This could be a good thing.” Ren said, as Slink scoffed behind him. “What do you think they know about the various criminal organizations?”
“Probably not much. They seem small-time.” Shaggy said just as the lead leather-clad thug walked in front of them.
The lead thug either ignored or didn’t hear Shaggy. Instead, he seemed entirely focused on Slink, who was still standing behind Ren. The thug pointed a finger at Ren and in a nasally voice said.
“Hand over the kid and we won’t hurt ya.”
“Yeah!” a thug with spiky green hair said from behind his friend.
Vlad shot a look at Shaggy. Shaggy shrugged his shoulders and held up a hand. “Yeah, that’s not happening. Maybe we could give the shirt back and we can all go about our business.”
“Hey!” Slink yelled from behind Ren.
The NPC refocused his attention on Shaggy, taking in his short frame and snorting. He redirected his finger toward Shaggy’s chest and poked twice.
“Ya don’t get it, do you? This is Red Coil turf. We make the rules around here.”
Shaggy guessed that if he had been a normal human, the finger-jabs might have stung a bit. But as it stood, they just annoyed him. He took a deep breath and smiled at the lead gang member. Turning to Vlad and Ren, he said.
“Well, they might know something. We might as well ask.”
As he finished his sentence, he reared back and slammed his fist heavily into the thug’s stomach. The guy immediately doubled over and started retching on the ground. Shaggy had tried to hold back. For all he knew, these were standard humans, and he was a werewolf. Naturally, most players in Modern Age Online were far more powerful than regular NPCs.
Vlad let out a long-suffering sigh as he seemed to vanish from his position next to Ren and appeared behind the group of thugs. Most of whom seemed shock that their leader had been taken down so easily. Once he was behind them, Vlad grabbed two of the thugs by the backs of their shirts and flung them bodily across the street, where they lay crumpled in a pile.
Ren also moved forward slightly, dragging a complaining Slink who had grasped the back of Ren’s shirt. Ren walked up to the nearest thug and gingerly flicked the girl’s forehead with a finger. Her head snapped back harshly, and Shaggy could see the whites of her eyes as she fell over into the dirt.
Aiming a feral grin at the last one, Shaggy tried to channel his inner werewolf as he said.
“Boo.”
The remaining thug gawked at his friends laying in the street before turning tail and running away. Vlad shot Shaggy a questioning look, but Shaggy shook his head. They would not go around chasing every two-bit thug that tried to shake them down. He looked back down at the lead gang member, who was still coughing and trying to suck the air back into his lungs. Shaggy smiled again as he lifted the guy up by his collar.
“Now. We have some questions for you, my dude.”
The thug turned watery eyes on Shaggy and tried to spit. “I ain’t telling you shit. As soon as Chip gets back with the boys. You supe-fucks are dead!”
“Then it seems Ve should be somewhere else.” Vlad said dramatically, waving his cape around.
The thug gave him a curious look before trying to struggle out of Shaggy’s grip. Shaggy shook the guy harshly before looking around for a place to question the guy. He spotted a nearby sheet-metal shack with a roof made of two-by-fours. He jerked his head in that direction and started walking toward it, dragging the unwilling gang leader with him.
“Oh, come on, guys! We don’t have to do this.” Slink whined.
“No, we didn’t. But thanks to you being a damn idiot, we now have a source of information. So put your damn shirt on and be happy.” Vlad snapped as he jogged in front of Shaggy and opened the door.
Ren toddled along behind them, Slink still complaining at his side. The small alien was darting his eyes around, looking for anymore gang members. Once Ren got to the door, he yanked his shirt out of Slink’s hands and nodded to Vlad and Shaggy.
“I’ll watch the street while you two question him. They may not be too willing to challenge me because of my size.” Ren said, turning to watch the street again.
Shaggy nodded his head in agreement as he tossed the thug through the open door. Following, he took in the room. It looked just as bad as the outside. There was no furniture, appliances, or windows. It was just a squat metal shack with a dirt floor. Shaggy was grateful the game accounted for a werewolf’s dark-vision, though. He figured Vlad must have also been able to see, as the mutant vampire had picked up the thug.
“You vill tell us vhat ve vant to know, you reprobate. Or I shall be forced to make you one of my children of the night.”
The thug looked at the vampire, confused, as Shaggy left the door to the shack open and moved next to his vampire friend. “Can you do that? Make more vamps?” Shaggy asked, curious.
Vlad dropped his character again to answer. “Eh, kinda. I bet it’s on the Evolution Tree, but I haven’t found it yet.”
“Doesn’t that make it kind of an empty threat?”
“Sure, but I still think my character would make the threat.”
“That’s fair.” Shaggy said as he turned back to the thug.
The gang leader was still looking confused. The game didn’t allow NPCs to hear certain parts of the Player’s speech. In-game AI would block out anything an NPC would find nonsensical. So as the thug was still trying to parse what Vlad had said to him. Shaggy took a proper look at the young human man.
He was young, around mid-twenties, dressed in all black biking leathers. The black jacket had a red spiral on the back, probably referring to his gang. His head was mostly bald save for the large neon-blue mohawk he had as a hairstyle. His hands and arms were stained with something. Shaggy’s werewolf nose told him was some kind of mechanical lubricant.
“Look, man. I don’t know what you think I know, but me and my crew, we’re small-time. We shake down a few places for protection money, kick up a few Creds to the big dogs, and rumble with the other small-timers.”
“Well, that was full of interesting information.” Shaggy said, smiling. “But what we are interested in are those big dogs you mentioned.”
“I am interested in the small-timers as well.” Vlad added.
Shaggy shot his friend a curious look but stayed quiet as the gangster spoke. “Umm well, there’s the Raks, the Phreaks, Quinica, and the UGB. My guys in the Coil and a few other small-timers, the Blood Tigers, the Brassians, and the Needle Sisters, all work out of this area. So we kick up 30% to the Raks.”
Shaggy sighed. “This is going to take a while, then.”
Vlad nodded as they continued to question their captive.
The gang leader, named Terry, filled them in slowly about the various gangs. Apparently there was a group of crime syndicates called the Big Five that ran Under-Town, but with the Faceless being taken down, they were now the Big Four. The groups had sectioned off the circular Under-Town into their own separate pieces and occasionally would fight or work together as the mood took them.
The closest of the ones Terry had mentioned were the Rakgu Crime Family or The Raks. They were a typical crime family of the type Shaggy had seen on TV in the real world. Lead by their Don, a mutant by the name of Donnie Raks, they functioned as a business. They offered protection services to the various stalls within their territory for a portion of their sells. But if those stalls were robbed, the Raks found whoever robbed them and charged the thieves a 30% cut of their take. Supposedly Donnie Raks turned those profits into a lucrative above ground business where they sold illegal weapons. The Raks also ran the center of Under-Town, the Arena.
The Phreaks were a group of mutants and failed government experiments that had banded together to find a safe place for themselves. After they had that safe space, they experimented with various narcotics and drugs to try to ‘fix’ their condition. Their currently deceased leader, Leo, had started selling off their failed experiments as recreational drugs before he died. Now that he was dead though, the Phreaks had fallen into in-fighting and several gangs were trying to carve up pieces of their territory.
Terry wasn’t too sure about the Quinica. He knew they were the smallest of the big gangs and they ran some of the more esoteric businesses in Under-Town. Catering to the various aliens that called Under-Town their home. They dealt in rare alien foods, or other various bits of sundries, designed to make life easier for aliens living on Earth. He knew that there were rumblings of more Quinica and an Elder coming to visit soon. Supposedly to look at how they were doing in Under-Town. So the Quinica were currently sticking to themselves.
The last of the Big Four was the Underground Government Body or the UGB. The most militarized of the crime families in Under-Town. They considered themselves the only legitimate governing body in Under-Town and said it was their mission to eradicate any and all criminal elements in the town. According to Terry, though, they really just spent most of their time collecting their ‘taxes’ from the people in their ‘district.’ Although, judging from their outdated police equipment, Terry said the consensus was that someone topside was helping them. Apparently, no one had ever met the leader of the UGB. All anyone knew was that he or she was called The Governor.
Terry was about to tell them about the smaller gangs in the area when Slink walked into the room. He had taken off his black robe and put on his stolen shirt... and nothing else. The shirt barely went down to mid-thigh and Shaggy had to avert his eyes. He was pretty sure the in-game AI would blur it, but he wasn’t taking that chance.
“Oh good god, dude! What the fuck!?” Vlad said, bringing a hand up to cover his eyes.
“Well, you fucks wouldn’t let me steal some pants! And how long is this going to take? I’m bored standing outside.”
Shaggy rubbed his face in exasperation. “You didn’t think to go get pants while you were standing out there. And more importantly, why the hell do you not have any underwear?”
“Who the hell wears underwear in a game? Besides, this is a Mature-rated game. I don’t need another step between me and the ladies.” Slink answered and waggled his eyebrows.
“Kid, there’s a least forty stories’ worth of stairs between you and the ladies. Now go get some damn pants!” Vlad snarled, still covering his eyes.
“Whatever. You bastards are just jealous. You can’t hand-a-lin what I’m dang-a-lin.” Slink said before he turned around and walked back outside. Giving Shaggy and Terry an unobstructed view of his bare ass.
“He’s gone now, Vamps.” Shaggy said.
Vlad uncovered his face and shook his head. “Seriously. We need to have a talk with that kid.”
Shaggy snorted. “For all the good it’ll do. He is young, opinionated, and stupid. You’d have better luck talking to a wall.”
“Well, you at least gotta remind him who’s boss. Kids like that need a firm hand and you have to remind him there are consequences to his actions.” A voice said from between Shaggy and Vlad.
They both turned and stared at Terry, who also looked surprised that he had spoken up. Shaggy was about to tell him to shut it when he thought about the gang leader’s words. He wasn’t wrong. Someone needed to talk to the kid about his behavior. But, at the same time, that wasn’t Shaggy, Vlad, or Ren’s job. Gamers already had a pretty decent option for anyone that was ruining their play experience. Boot’em. Of course, they needed to at least give the kid a warning.
Shaggy sighed. “Anyway, you were saying?”
Terry looked confused for a moment before nodding. “Oh, yeah. Where was I?”
“You vere about to tell us about the local small-time gangs.”
“Right, right… Well, y’know, I wouldn’t call us all small-time. A couple of us have done some pretty big things topside.”
Shaggy rolled his eyes. “Yes, I’m sure. Just give us the rundown, okay?”
Terry looked annoyed at not being believed, but he continued. “So first we have the Blood Tigers. Mean sons of bitches, they have a few trap houses in the Raks territory.”
“Trap houses?” Shaggy asked, looking between Vlad and Terry.
“Yeah, y’know? Drug dens. They peddle their Hype out of them. Then kick up a percentage to the Raks.”
“Who’s their leader?” Vlad asked.
Terry grimaced. “Big bastard by the name of Phillip. Goes by Concoction on the streets, though. Supposedly, he has some kind of mutant power. But I’ve never seen it.”
“What about the others?” Shaggy asked as he heard raised voices coming through the door from the street.
“I was getting to that!” Terry snapped, seeming to think. “Uhhh, then there’s the Brassians. They run a bar a couple blocks south of here. Spend most of their time stealing and fighting, though. Bunch of idiots spray-painting themselves and then running around trying to make a name for themselves. Used to be a bunch of xenophobic shut-ins until Melina showed up.”
“She’s their leader?”
“Yep.”
“What kind of power does she have?” Shaggy asked, beginning to worry about the raised voices outside.
Terry shrugged. “Far as I know, she’s a normal. Well, as normal as a Cuinoid can get.”
Vlad raised an eyebrow. “Cuinoid?”
“Not the time.” Shaggy said. Turning to Terry, he asked. “And the last one?”
Terry grimaced. “Well, they ain’t exactly a gang. More of a family business that steals to fund their medical clinic. The Needle Sisters are a group of five mutant sisters. Tough broads, but they pay up to the Raks the same as the rest of us.”
The noise outside had elevated to full-on shouting now. Shaggy was sure he heard Ren and Slinks voice out in the tumult. He looked to Vlad, signaling they should go look, but suddenly Terry started laughing.
“Hahahaha! And then there’s my little gang. Who, it sounds like, has arrived just in time. You guys are fucked!”
Shaggy and Vlad turned to look at Terry, but the thug had turned around. The red spiral pattern on his jacket was facing them and the door. Before either of them could do anything, the spiral seemed to leap off the back of Terry’s jacket, turn into a red tentacle that swatted at them. Shaggy felt Vlad move out of the room with his speed and tried to do the same, but he wasn’t fast enough.
The red spiral tentacle batted him backwards and through the wall right next to the door. The sheet metal wall tore easily as he cratered through it. He felt his Regeneration ability already fixing the bruises and cuts as he flew out into the street. He slammed into the dirt road and skidded a few feet before coming to a stop.
Shaking his head, he noticed he had landed right between a pair of booted feet. He was looking up at their owner and several more Red Coil gang members, who were all looking down at him and smiling. Shaggy took a deep calming breath and tried to focus on his partial transformation as he heard his friends fighting nearby. Along with Slink’s ever-present whining.
