Shaggy's long tongue lolled out of his mouth as he ran. The Texas sun was beating down on him and it was unforgiving. Of course, his black fur probably made things even worse. He tilted his large head left and right to see how the other members of his pack were doing. Cekrass, in his weird scaly wolf form, seemed to be fine. He was lumbering away as they crossed the flat expanse of land. Stanley's sleek silver body seemed to be in even better shape. The young bastard was reflecting the damn sun like a magnifying glass.

He turned his head back to the front as he nosily gulped in more air. That three large werewolves could go running across the Texas landscape was a testament to how the rest of the state was. Shaggy spotted several powered individuals flying all over the place as they passed to the north of Abilene. Not just flyers either. There were people having high-speed chases and attacking each other on foot all in the distance. Players were filling Texas, and it was getting more and more noticeable to him.

"There's the 20," Stanley said, drawing Shaggy's eye to the highway.

It cut through Abilene from west to east, and they were coming up on the eastern side now. They kept their distance as they ran alongside the massive highway, trying to avoid too much scrutiny. They had lost the drones a while back. But better to be safe than sorry.

"We'll cross it a little further up and then shift back." Shaggy ordered.

Grateful and tired feelings came from both of his pack members as they continued to run. Shaggy spared a glance to their riders as he felt Levy brush a hand down his neck. All three of their riders seemed to be fine. Vlad was still holding onto Stanley's neck with a death grip, in fear of falling off. But Maya seemed to be enjoying her ride immensely, even under the scorching sun.

They went a couple more miles before Shaggy lead them toward a highway on ramp. All three of them were much bigger than normal cars. But he figured people would get the gist. He turned out to be right, as the other cars gave them space to march their way across the highway and into a town called Clyde. In fact, they weren't the only oddities on the road, either. Shaggy spotted what he was sure was an ice-blue fox carrying someone along the highway. He had to tear his inner wolf's eye away from the odd sight as they stopped near a convenience store on the outskirts of Clyde.

With a pulse of willpower, Shaggy shoved his wolf back inside and caught his wife as she fell off his shoulders. Levy cackled with laughter as she kissed him on the cheek and then stood, stretching her legs and back. Cekrass had recreated his move with Maya as a strangled cry of alarm came from Vlad. Shaggy spotted the gunslinger thanking the big lizard as Vlad glared at Stanley for a few seconds before addressing Shaggy.

"So… are we here for a snack run?"

Shaggy thought it over before he nodded. Stanley and Cekrass picked up on his thoughts and hurried to the convenience store.

"We stopped to get directions, actually. We know the convoy was stopped between Abilene and Fort Worth. But Maya never said where. So we can rest, refuel, and figure out where we are going."

That made the three Legion members turn to the other Player in their ranks. Maya was watching Cekrass run across the parking lot before she noticed them.

"Huh? Oh! It's not that far from here, actually. Probably about halfway between Baird and Clyde in the direction of Lake Clyde."

"Lake Clyde?" Levy asked. "Isn't that lake dried up?"

"Yeah, or at least it is in the real world. I have to think it's the same here. But I couldn't get a good view because there was a massive shanty town built to the north of it." Maya explained.

"The town that was attacked?" Vlad asked, getting a solemn nod from the gunslinger.

"So will probably see it from the road. Should we steal a car?" Levy asked, looking at Shaggy.

"I'd prefer it. We don't know what we are going to find out there and we shouldn't go in with half of us tired."

The others all nodded at him and started walking toward the convenience store. There were a few cars parked in the parking lot already. But nothing that could seat six. Besides, they had to wait for Stanley and Cekrass to finish their purchases. So the four of them waited outside the store in the hot sun, like a bunch of teenagers. As they waited, they kept an eye on the cars coming in.

"Yellow sedan." Vlad said, as the bright yellow car rolled up to the store.

"Yellow? Ugh!" Levy said, not hiding her distaste.

"It's a four-door."

"It's ugly."

Shaggy kept one ear on Vlad and Levy's bickering as he watched Maya. The gunslinger was leaning up against a cage outside the store. Examining the cage, Shaggy found that it was for some kind of energy generators. The store either sold them or rented them out, apparently. But his focus wasn't truly on them. It was on the woman who was idly rubbing the spot where her HLO communicator had been. Maya had dumped it during their journey, meaning she was truly outside the HLO's system now. But something about her actions stuck out to him.

That's when he saw it. As her right hand rubbed her left wrist, the fingers of her left hand were laying on the metal cage. A small stream of metal particulates was flowing toward the woman's waist. A stream so small he almost missed it. She was absorbing the metal from the cage for more ammo. As nonchalantly as possible, Shaggy wandered over to her left side and used his body to block the use of her powers.

Looking into the store through its front window, he asked. "Expecting trouble?"

Maya kept her eyes forward as she responded. "Maybe. The attack was almost over when Captain Merrick took action. The military spared a few soldiers to take the survivors to Fort Worth, though. So the place should be empty."

"What can we expect?"

"Truly?"

"No. Lie to me." Shaggy snorted.

"I don't know. All we could see and hear from the road were people running and screaming. There were flashes of energy weapons fire and the smell of smoke. But I couldn't see any more than that. Merrick was extremely tight-lipped about what he saw."

Shaggy watched as Stanley and Cekrass went up to the store's counter with armfuls of snacks and drinks. The two paid the store clerk and hurried back to the door as Shaggy asked.

"What are the chances we'll see the military out there?"

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"I imagine they sent a team as soon as Captain Merrick let them know. But I doubt they are still out there."

Shaggy nodded as his two pack mates rushed out the door. On instinct, his hand snapped up and caught the water bottle Stanley threw his way. He sent the boy a mental 'thanks' as he walked back over to his wife and Vlad. The two were arguing over a different car now. But it was time to go.

"Choice?" Shaggy asked them.

"Black SUV." Levy said, smiling and taking his bottle of water.

Shaggy saw Vlad roll his eyes, but the vampire offered no objections. So he and Cekrass approached the oncoming vehicle as he pulled into a parking spot. Cekrass handed off his snacks to Levy as Shaggy approached the alien driver getting out of the car. Raising his left hand to get the man's attention, Shaggy asked.

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to know the way to Aberdeen, would ya?"

The big alien in a tailored suit scowled. "Why would I know th-ACK!"

Shaggy snapped his hand out and punched the driver in the face as hard as he could. As the alien collapsed, Shaggy grabbed his shoulders and Cekrass came around and grabbed the man's legs. They quickly shoved the alien back into his car as the others hurried over. As quick as they could, they robbed the man, got in his car and shoved him in the back seat. Shaggy hopped behind the wheel as he heard Vlad already complaining.

"Why are we taking the guy with us? That's a complication we don't need!"

Shaggy rolled his eyes. "Dude, we can't just leave him in the parking lot! We'll dump him around outside of town."

The vampire grumbled as he got in the back with Stanley and Cekrass. Maya took the passenger seat as Levy sat in the middle of the front seat, smiling happily. Within moments, they were away and Shaggy pointed them south. He figured they'd take the back roads and follow the highway further east to their destination. Thankfully, the owner of the SUV had splurged on a state-of-the-art navigation system.

The tossed said owner out of the car at the southern outskirts of Clyde. Shaggy thought he heard Maya whispering an apology as they drove away. Levy grinned at him, confirming that she had heard it too. The remaining time in the car was spent munching on snacks and listening to the radio. Hilariously, some of the news was about the HLO's recent agreement with the military to protect several of their convoys.

"Apparently, the news hasn't reached HLO headquarters." Levy smirked.

"That's a good thing."

"Also, I don't think the HLO wants people to know that one of their PR convoys got hit. They'll keep that news to themselves till they have a scapegoat." Shaggy stated.

"Do you think this will sour the HLO's relations with the military, boss?" Stanley asked.

"One convoy? I doubt it. If any of the other convoy were hit, though?"

Shaggy ended his sentence with a small shrug. The HLO had proven that it could eat a loss, so long as it wasn't too big. But if Players kept poking that bear over and over. It was going to wake up, eventually. He just had to make sure none of his people were around when it did.

They were an almost four miles outside of Clyde when Levy seized up next to Shaggy. For a few moments, he was worried. Then he saw her eyes glowing purple. Her hands were curled into fist and a dark scowl worked its way onto her face. Shaggy waited for some word about what was going on, but the ruined shanty town on the horizon was a big clue.

"So much death." Levy whispered. "Violent death. Even in Austin, it's not this bad."

"Is there something magical out there?" Vlad asked from the back seat, his gaze clearly on the destroyed village.

"There's nothing out there. That's the point." Maya said, her eyes on the village as well.

The glow left Levy's eyes, and her posture relaxed slightly. "Nothing magical. Just a whole lot of death in the air. This was the sight of a great tragedy. Any who use the dark arts could siphon some of that power for themselves."

"Do you think that was the point?" Shaggy asked.

"No. There are no magical arrays to harness that power, and it's evaporating quickly. Soon the power of such violent deaths will be gone."

Vlad coughed in the backseat. "Ahem! Could you harness that power?"

"I could. But I won't. I can feel the souls of dead children coming from that village, and it's a little too much for me."

"I knew I liked you." Maya quipped, looking over at Levy.

"Of course you do." Levy nodded. "I'm awesome."

Shaggy studied the shoddily built houses as they approached. Most of them were smashed in, but a few were still standing and smoldering. He could tell that someone attacked the village. But who or even what? Their SUV jumped off the dirt road as Shaggy angled them closer to the village. As more and more of the devastation came into view, the car went silent. Someone had taken a flamethrower to an anthill.

He pulled the car over and just sat there, staring out the front window. There were no bodies, just broken houses and an absolutely shattered landscape. The sparse grass around the area had been burned away and sections of sandy ground were literally glass. Shaggy flexed his fingers on the steering wheel as he finally turned off the car. He sent an order to Cekrass and Stanley to circle the small village together and report anything weird.

As his pack members left the car loudly, Shaggy opened his own door and stepped out. Immediately, the stench of everything hit him all at once. Levy was right. A lot of death had taken place in the small village. The stench of it lingered and was almost overwhelming with everything else. But Shaggy's mind locked in a few key details. Metal, oil, the hit of ozone from an energy weapon. As those scents filtered through his mind, the wolf followed its own clues. Small but deep impact spots on the hard ground, indicating heavy footsteps entering the village. The scent of prey catching their skin on some of the broken houses as they ran away. A mental picture was forming in Shaggy's mind when a whoosh of air came from overhead.

The other, who had got out of the car along with him, looked toward the noise. Shaggy mind was still busy as a stern voice asked.

"What are you doing here?"

Pulling himself away from what his brain was trying to figure out, Shaggy looked over to see an alien in military fatigues glowering at Maya. The tall, well-built man barely cast the rest of them a second glance as the Player seemed to shrink under his gaze.

"Captain Merrick…"

"Ms. Maya. I thought the HLO had already washed its hands of this incident." The Captain said, tone icy.

Maya floundered under the soldier's gaze as she searched for a reasonable lie. Shaggy, however, figured it would be better to flip the conversation.

"And would that be a good thing or a bad thing?"

Merrick swiveled toward Shaggy with the intensity of a bear finding its next meal. But Shaggy held the soldier's gaze. The captain studied Shaggy for a long time before he turned to Levy and then Vlad, giving them the same glare. Once he was done, he returned his look to Shaggy and stated.

"You don't seem like the HLO."

Shaggy looked away from Merrick and knelt down, his eyes going back to the village. "That's kind of the point."

"So you are independents?"

"We're an interested party. Maya got in touch with us after she saw what was going on here and we decided to take a look."

"To what end?"

"Who doesn't like a good mystery?" Shaggy chuckled.

"Me." Merrick said, his voice practically thrumming with power.

Shaggy felt his wolf tense up for a fight. But he still wasn't sure there was going to be one. Merrick was cautious, but not overly hostile right now. Thankfully, Maya pulled the soldier's attention away.

"Then what are you doing out here, Captain? I figured your people would've already been over this place."

Shaggy heard Merrick's feet shift on the hard ground, as he must have turned back to Maya. There was another long silence as the soldier weighed what he wanted to say.

"No. My superiors ordered me not to look into this incident anymore. I was given a commendation and a vacation."

"Let me guess," Vlad smirked. "They told you to take a nice long vacation and forget about this, right? Why?"

Shaggy's brain finally pieced together some of the bits it had and his mouth opened before he could stop it.

"Because they don't want it getting out that somebody's robots did this. Not Cog's. The footprints are too small. But someone important had their robots go haywire and kill a bunch of people. The oil smells high end, and the metal isn't like anything I've smelled before."

Shaggy turned to find Merrick staring right at him. The two had another stare-down until the taller man eventually looked away. A look of confusion and anger was upon the soldier's face as he hissed.

"K-Tech."

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