One Mike Ultimate Werewolf

The usual fanfic disclaimer of not owning anything.

Lord Vanquisher demanded their presence on the field of battle on the night of the full moon.

"Is that tomorrow? Texas has plans for tomorrow."

Chuck groaned. "It's next weekend, dude, keep up. This is gonna be a big meet-up of all the LARPers in Motorcity, and I want you guys to be there."

"Aw, thanks, Chuck!" Julie put her slice of pizza down to pay better attention. She wasn't missing much; she'd had her hot and perfect slice already, and now it was slowly turning into normal food as it got cold. The boys kept eating, the drone of Antonio's filling in their silence, as she asked questions. "What's the special occasion?"

"It's almost the 1 year anniversary of when we started the city-wide campaign!" Chuck gushed. "51 weeks on the dot, and we figured if we were gonna have a 1 year anniversary we should invite the kids, but we also wanted to do something where we stayed up all night and partied just for the older players so-"

Dutch quickly swallowed his mouthful, catching the prime opportunity. "Likin' how you didn't use the word 'adults'."

"Come on, man, focus! I want you to be there! All of you!" Chuck's fingers laced nervously on the table. "I'm DM-ing this one, and I tried to make it accessible so people could bring their friends if they were curious about LARPing."

Texas raised his hand. "W-"

Chuck caught him fast. "DM stands for 'dungeon master', it means I wrote the story and did all the planning."

"If people can bring their friends, then how many players are gonna show up?" asked Julie.

Chuck pulled up a small screen, idling scrolling through it to check. "Well I've had three more people RSVP since this morning, so it's about 60 at this point-"

All the Burners voiced in at once, all impressed and not quite believing in a big chorus of pizza-filled mouths.

"What?!" Chuck at least had the nerve to be a little offended. "Motorcity's big! We're a tight community!"

"That sounds awesome!" Mike finally got out. "So, what do we need to do? We don't have to wear costumes, do we?"

"I mean it would help to get in character, but I guess you don't have to."

Julie perked up. "Can I bring Claire?"

The squeal that bubbled up from Chuck's chest was palpable. "GWOmygod- maybe? If she'll have fun- um- she might wanna wear comfortable shoes."

"Lotta walking, got it."

"Something she can climb in."

That made Julie pause. Texas and Mike leaned in, intrigued.

"And Dutch, I need you to make me a moon."

"Okay this is getting weird," said Dutch.

"I know, it's a lot to unpack at once." Chuck cleared the center of the table and projected out his notes, a mish-mash of pictures, maps, and little side notifications on a hexagonal graph. "This is all top secret, guys. None of the other players know the plan, but I want you guys to have the private intel. I'm gonna go over the plans with Dutch in private, but the rest of you, lean in." His voice dropped back into the Lord Vanquisher tone. "This is for thine eyes only."

They spoke in hushes, and were still discussing it over comms in the cars on the way back to the garage. What started as a confused rabble quickly turned into little whispers of intrigue, then outright delight over the upcoming weekend. They had a plan! Everything was about to be so cool!

They parted ways at the garage, and Mike was just about to head upstairs to turn in when Chuck tugged at his jacket sleeve. "Hey, Mikey, wait up. There's one more thing."

"What's up, bro?" He popped his comm up. "Need me to-"

"No! No, keep this quiet." Chuck patted the comm closed over Mike's wrist. "This part's just for you. In fact-" He straightened up, Lord Vanquisher once again. "If you were to refuse this mission... then all our planning would be for naught."

The weekend came up without much excitement. Not in the context of the session, anyway. There were always Kane attacks and supply runs and chases that meant Chuck screaming in terror in the passenger seat, but that was the more mundane kind of excitement that he was used to. It was fun in its own way when he wasn't scared out of his mind, although 'fun' might have been stretching the definition so thin he could see through it. Nothing he couldn't handle, so long as he woke up the next day without anything broken and Mike smiling at him when he came to Jacob's for breakfast. Stuff was okay.

The day finally arrived. Chuck got up earlier than normal, practically bounced out of bed and jumped into his clothes. When he stepped outside, the other Burners (as well as a slightly less made-up Claire) were all there, dressed and maybe a little groggy but waiting for him with bright smiles.

"Today..." He wrung his hands. "Is gonna be amazing."

Chuck took the reins and sent Dutch out early with the moon, gathered up all of Jacob's snacks in coolers and packed them himself. While he arranged for The Oracle to pick them up, Julie and Claire took a share of the snacks with them in 9 Lives and headed out. The Oracle arrived early with Ruby and Thurman; Mike drove and Chuck rode shotgun, which left Texas in the back seat with an increasing number of LARPers for every stop they made. They packed around the edges of the van shoulder-to-shoulder while food and weapons piled up in the middle. Some of the players from other groups traded in jokes, which turned into a reference to something, which turned into all of them singing songs in the back.

Texas at one point wrestled his way to the front and poured himself over the back seat. "Tiny, save me! There's so much nerdy back here! I can't handle it!"

"If you can make us watch a 24 hour kung fu movie marathon for your birthday, then you can handle one night of nerds," teased Mike. "Don't be a wimp, Texas."

Chuck could only laugh. Today was going to be more than amazing. The bards would sing of it, he knew it, and he knew it even more when they pulled into the parking lot and saw a veritable hoard of fantasy vans, tricked out motorcycles, and scooters with dragon-head flamethrowers. Getting organized took an uneventful hour, putting all the snacks in the clubhouse and setting up chairs and beds and the fridge courtesy of Mad Dog the Conqueror and his dragon. Lord Vanquisher donned his cloak at the last minute and took his stand atop an old electrical box before the field of battle. It was finally time!

He cleared his throat. "Welcome, warriors of Raymanthia! Today, we celebrate a joyous occasion, and take merriment in the founding of our mighty kingdom!" He threw his hands into the air, and he internally grinned at the awesome flair of his cloak. "Let all who defend the realm REJOICE!"

Seventy-eight players cheered. He could hear Texas's "hwoo-CHAAA!" over the din of the crowd. Everything was so cool! So far, at least.

"On the eve of this monumental occasion, before the true celebration upon the next meeting where we invite the youngest of the realm, I invite you- and your company-"

He passed Claire a quick look. She looked bored. Great. He continued anyway. "-to survive a test of wits and wisdom. Of skill! Of fear."

The unknowing players in the crowd started sharing looks. Perfect. He waved his hand out to the field behind him.

It took ages to scout this place out, but it was perfect. The Cablers had tried to put down roots in this location before the foundation cracked and construction stopped. The crack had been patched enough to walk on safely, but nothing else besides the original worker's house and the base of the tower had been built. It was a beauty, though, nearly 4 blocks of space to explore, and that was just at ground level. The ladders and pipelines and tunnels and hallways were all still there, going up at least four stories in a labyrinthine maze. The perfect oversized playground, and it was all theirs for the whole night.

"Behind me, you see the Dark Woods! A treacherous passage of hidden paths and secret dens-"

A hand went up in the crowd. "Is it actually dangerous?"

Okay that was a serious question. He put his hood down and dropped character. He could kind of recognize the voice, even from up here. "No, Billy, I checked it out first. Everything's safe to walk on."

"So why is it treacherous?"

"I'm getting to that! Jeeze!" Up went the hood again. Where was he? "Uh, hidden paths, secrets, dens, because INSIDE the werewolf stalks us under the light of the FULL MOON!"

He had to shout that, but it worked. Dutch tapped his comm, and right on cue, a giant paper moon lit up the block. They'd made it massive and bright, and while the light could filter down to the bottom floors, by that point it was very faint. The crowd collectively gasped and cooed and marveled.

There went character again as Chuck dropped his hood. "Moon courtesy of Dutch Gordy, everybody."

Applause started easily and passed fast. People were ready to play.

"All right, so tonight isn't in canon with the normal campaign, it's just a one off." Chuck explained. "Everybody line up for a glowstick wh- when I'm done, Todd, god! Okay! The rules: we're starting with one werewolf. He'll be the Pack Alpha, and he's got a stash of these." Chuck reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace of silver plastic beads. He held his glow stick under them. "Everybody see them? Okay? Good. His goal is to turn all of us humans into werewolves, and he does that by tagging you and getting these beads into your pockets."

A hand went up. "I didn't wear anything with pockets!"

"Amna, I told you- that was in the email!" He groaned. "That's okay, I figured that might happen. I have a couple spare fanny packs up here for anybody that isn't wearing pockets, or if you're just uncomfortable with people sticking hands in your pockets in general, okay? Okay. If he gets these beads in your pocket, then YOU are a werewolf and you're on his team.

"Werewolves are encouraged to hunt as a pack, but be aware: they can only turn someone if they get them alone. So one on one, human versus werewolf? Werewolf wins. Okay? If you're gonna be vanquished, do so with honor. Two on one, human versus werewolf? The werewolf loses."

Texas raised his hand in the crowd. "What if we're a werewolf and we fight them off with our super-awesome kung fu skills?"

"Good question! Yes, this game does involve full contact, but everybody knows the rules. No grabs for the face, no below the belt, no grappling for more than 10 seconds, and if someone breaks character and tells you to stop, you stop. That doesn't change from normal sessions. Texas, please do not suplex anybody."

Ignoring the little disappointed noise, Chuck continued. "Now, two humans defeat a werewolf, but keep in mind: we're not killing the werewolf. We're 'curing' them." Chuck put the beads over his neck and held the glow stick there for people to see. "Wear your beads on your neck if you're cured. Cured werewolves cannot be turned again, so werewolves, watch your backs. Keep your werewolf identities secret, lest you're turned against your pack."

Another hand. "What if we take somebody down and they're not a werewolf?"

"Then they're 'dead'." Chuck waved the glowstick over at the clubhouse. "And you're out of the game. There's snacks and video games in the clubhouse. Humans, be very careful of who you accuse of lycanthropy. Every false accusation is a win for the werewolves.

"All right! Too long didn't listen version: Werewolves versus humans! We start with one wolf. A werewolf turns a human. Two or more humans cures a werewolf or kills another human. Don't tell anyone if you're turned into a werewolf. If all the humans are turned into werewolves, wolves win. If all the humans cure the werewolves, humans win. Any questions?"

Chuck was kind of amazed when Claire, up and the front and listening, raised her hand. "So, do we know who the first werewolf is? It seems kind of unfair that it's like, fifty-something people against one guy."

It was perfect. He couldn't have asked for a better set-up. Chuck laughed, the laugh growing deeper and throatier as he raised his hood. He felt so very aware of the 'moonlight' shining off his cloak, and the green light of his glow stick illuminating his face from below. He raised his hand and crooked his fingers. "Come forth for your king, Smiling Dragon."

The group collectively gasped and parted around the Burners, and there at the center stood Mike Chilton, hands in his pockets and grinning since the beginning of the speech. The whole air of the crowd changed as Mike strode to the front, all swagger and a cocky smirk. Suddenly the game felt difficult. Suddenly the reality of how bad they could be screwed over washed over all the players. This was no ordinary player: this was the guy who wielded a double-edged chainsaw against Kane and won. This was the savior of Motorcity. This was Mike goddamn Chilton!

The Oracle whispered. "We're boned, dude."

Ruby's fingers flexed on the hilt of her sword. "This is gonna be the best session ever."

Julie whispered to Dutch and Texas. "Look at Mike eating this up."

Up at the electrical box, the Smiling Dragon kneeled at Lord Vanquisher's feet, and hot damn if that didn't send a rush of power up Chuck's spine. Mike hadn't mentioned he'd do that back when they'd planned! Oh yeah, Mike had been super into the idea once Chuck had pitched it. They bounced a few ideas for presentation off each other that first night, and it was Mike that found the beads in Jacob's back room, but the kneeling? And the sheer charisma Mike had that parted the sea of LARPers? He hadn't accounted for that, and without the mental prep it was doing things to him. Oh he was going to remember this for a while.

Then Mike made it worse when he stood up again. "Your dragon awaits you, my lord."

He couldn't keep up character, not with that crackle of equal parts embarrassment and thrill and what he was scared to call arousal surging up his spine. He had to clamp down on his voice to keep it from squawking. "V-very good, Smiling Dragon. Alt- althow- ALTHOUGH!" He had to shout to reset himself. "Tonight, I wind the name i-ill fitting! For tonight only, you shall be... The Wild Wolf!"

The LARPers rumbled. Everything was going so well!

Mike spoke up from the ground. "You forgot something, though."

Chuck's heart broke a little. "Well... fuck."

"I've got you."

Where Chuck had to climb up a staircase of boxes to stand atop the electrical box, Mike just slammed a hand down on the top and- like, jumped, or bounced, or pulled himself up in one smooth gravity-defying movement to stand beside Chuck. When he spoke up, it was proud and effortless, nothing like the tones put on by Chuck doing Lord Vanquisher voice. "All right, everybody, there's one more rule in place. I'm the Pack Alpha, so if anybody can corner and cure me, then that's an automatic victory for the human side."

Everybody roared with delight. Here was Mike offering himself up like the golden snitch, him versus about 70 LARPers.

"But..." he interrupted. "If I get a hold of Lord Vanquisher and turn him into a werewolf, then that's an automatic victory for me. So stay on task and defend your king, got it?"

They screamed. They were ready.

Chuck kind of felt like he was going to sink into the ground before Mike reached behind him and thumped the small of his back. He spoke quietly, just to Chuck. "Keep your back straight, buddy. You're doing good."

He couldn't help but whimper. "I forgot about the win condition."

"You had a lot of info to put out there. Don't worry about it. You were great." He chuckled from deep in his chest. "Gonna need my werewolf beads, though."

"Oh- right. Duh." Chuck took off the beads he was wearing and put them back in the big baggy o' beads for Mike. He raised his voice for the crowd. "All right, Wild Wolf's getting a head start to get set up in the field! Everybody else line up for your glowsticks! Once everybody's equipped, the game begins! 15 minute break every top of the hour, so set your watches!"

He passed the bag over to Mike, who pocketed it in his jacket's inner lining. "And- thanks again, Mikey. This never would have worked without you."

"I wouldn't have even been here without you," Mike countered. "Relax. This is gonna be fun. Not gonna pull any punches on you, either."

"Oh please, don't!" Chuck whispered. "We've got so many more people than I was expecting. Get whoever you can get."

In the dark, it almost felt like Mike's voice dropped an octave, but it hadn't. His shoulders took on a new tension, though, and a fierce glint played across his eyes as he spoke. "Oh, it's not me you have to worry about."

He left on that enigmatic note, leaping off the electrical box and disappearing into the lot. It shouldn't have made his spine tingle, but it did. At least it did until Thurman knocked on the electrical box asking for his glowstick. Time to get serious. The night was young, and there was a werewolf on the loose.