When Rita Loud returned an hour later, she wasn't completely sure what to expect. She didn't believe Dawg would do anything to hurt her children, but he was somewhat unpredictable, but still had good intentions. As she returned to his home, she entered through the open door, and almost immediately overheard a conversation.

"…cut him in half?" Lucy asked, making Rita freeze.

"…yeah…grab a chainsaw and just start cutting." Mad Dawg's voice followed after that. "Sometimes it's hard to do what you need to do, but it's worth it in the end."

"I still don't see why you can't just hang him with rope like the rest…" Lana's voice now piped up. "You had no problem with that before, so what's the issue here?"

"Eh, too big." Mad Dawg shrugged. "It's always a real struggle to get them up there, but it's satisfying to hear them scream when you drop 'em!"

"You seem to be getting a lot of enjoyment out of this."

"And? What's wrong with that?"

Now entering the kitchen Rita blinked in confusion when she saw her daughters and Mad Dawg standin around a table with multiple blueprints spread around. She couldn't quite tell what they were for, but somethings made a little more sense.

"If we're gonna have them swing this way, we'd need to clear the closet out then." Mad Dawg remarked, making note of something on the paper. "And even if it does work, how do we get them back up? If I need to run back down and pull the mannequins up every time someone comes through, that's gonna get real tiring, fast."

"…well…" Lana began. "If we got three or four pulley boxes here, here, and here, we might be able to rig them up so every time this door is opened they pull it back up, and it'd be pretty easy to set up a tripwire here."

"Easy, but that could also get someone hurt." Lucy admitted. "Half the fun is knowing the danger isn't real. Speaking of which, how much of this were you planning on using actual blades or fire for?"

"Well, I was thinking here, and here we could use an actual blade, since no one will go near there, it'd be easy to make it look like something was throwing them, or just get someone to throw them."

"No, I'm gonna have to stop you there." Lucy shook her head. "I'll be honest, actual blades and pyrotechnical effects would be cool and scary, but no offence here, I don't think anyone would trust you if you were to run around with an actual blade in a costume."

"That… is fair." Mad Dawg sighed, scratching something out. "So, if they enter here, that means I could enter from here, and I'm probably still doing some of this stuff. If I get hurt, big deal."

"You all seem to be having fun." Rita remarked, getting their attention.

"Hi, mom!" Lana said with a cheery wave.

"Hey." Mad Dawg waved, then paused. "Uh, not sure what you just heard out of context there, but we're talking about plans for a haunted house attraction."

"I picked up on that, but thank you for reassuring me." She laughed slightly. "You seem to have a lot of knowledge on this topic."

"Well, animatronics are used in horror stuff, and I build machines." Mad Dawg shrugged, tapping his phone, and the robotic scorpion skittered by, surprising Rita. "I dunno, it's something to do. Lucy said she had some ideas for a maze of some sort, so we were seeing if our plans could work in some way."

"And?"

"We're working on it." Mad Dawg shrugged, taking Lily out of the baby-saddle he had made and handed her back to Rita.

"I take it there were no problems?"

"Nah, you were gone an hour. I can do a lot in that time, but nothing too insane."

"He's got these wicked things in his basement! They look like skeletons… but they're not, and I don't know how to explain it!" Lana said excitedly.

"Stuff for Halloween."

"Well, that sounds interesting." She remarked. "You'll have to show me some time."

"Yeah sure, whenever works." Mad Dawg shrugged again. "Also, Lucy, did you any ideas for what to do in the latter half of the event?"

"That part is up to your discretion. As much as I think that is a bad idea." Lucy stated. Mad Dawg assumed that was both her making 'a joke' and being 'happy'. So, he flashed a smirk in response and nodded.

"Send me some of the stuff you listen to, I'll do the rest." He instructed. Lucy nodded and remembered she was still wearing the glasses Dawg had given her, so she took them off and tossed them to the table.

"Hey, Mad Dawg? Can you think about what I asked?" Lana piped up again, and Mad Dawg bit his lip.

"Kid, I don't-"

"Please?" Lana said her eyes widening in hopeful excitement. It was something that Mad Dawg could easily say 'no' to, but he also thought about everything that had been happening recently.

"Fine." Mad Dawg finally nodded. "I'll think about it, but I'm promising nothing."

"Yaay!"

Once he was alone again, Mad Dawg sighed, looking at his arms, seeing the marks along them. Was this a good idea? Sure, he had more control, that couldn't be denied, but what would happen if he tried to casually walk around as his other side in the middle of a town? What if that caused something to break and he went insane?

"But what if that doesn't happen?" He asked himself. "What if you truly are better?"

"aNd iF YOu'Re nOT?"

"What. Do. You. WANT!?" Mad Dawg seethed, feeling genuinely anxious now, and almost afraid of what Virus would say. All he got in response was the insane mechanical laughter echoing throughout his house. Then… nothing.

Mad Dawg sighed, rubbing his face ad flopping down on his couch. He needed to sleep some more, he'd deal with everything else later…

Two Days Later…

Mad Dawg was mindlessly driving around on his ATV, looking for something to do. He was supposed to meet with Lana and Lucy when they were done school so they could work some more on the plans that had been forming, but until then… Dawg had no idea.

"Aaaaggghhhhhhhhh… Sooooooo boreeeeddddddd…" He groaned, pulling donuts in an empty parking lot across from the middle school. "Wait. Rusty?"

Looking out to the fence near the school, Mad Dawg clearly saw Rusty being talked to by two figures, and it was clear they weren't friends of his. Stopping his ride, Mad Dawg watched for a second, Rusty flinched as one of them made a jerking movement with a fist.

"Pick on someone your own size asshole." Mad Dawg scowled, revving the engine and cutting across the road and parking in a corner. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice, and as he approached Rusty, he was able to pick up on the conversation.

"-it over Spokes!"

"-me alone…"

"Now Rusty! We ain't gonna ask again!"

"Leave… me… alone." Rusty said, trying to seem confident, despite the fear he was feeling.

"Hey, you have what we want, now hand it over or else you're gonna-"

"Hey Rusty, what's up?" Mad Dawg remarked, casually walking up to the three. The two teens he assumed were Hawk and whatever the other one's name was both turned and looked at him in surprise.

"Oh, hey Mad Dawg." Rusty replied, seemingly a bit more relieved. The silence returned, and finally Mad Dawg decided to speak once more.

"So… what are you two up to?" Mad Dawg casually asked, leaning against the chain-link fence. The two teens seemed taken aback, and uncertain of how to respond, and Mad Dawg noted they seemed to be a year younger than him at most. Good…

"The outcast owes us money, and he isn't payin'." Hawk snarled. Mad Dawg seemed to think it over, then nodded.

"Okay, what's the money for?" He asked, still acting as casual as possible. The bullies blinked, and looked to one another, clearly not knowing how to answer.

"Uh… things."

"Ah, right. They're charging a lot for things tax these days." Mad Dawg mused, thinking it over. "That's why I invested in stuff stock, there's usually a higher pay out for it. Don't feel bad if you didn't know about it, I'm surprised you two know how to breathe properly."

"Listen here bone-rack." The other one ordered. "We ain't met you before, so we'll let you go with a warnin' but you don't want to get on our bad side, it won't end well for you."

"And if you piss me off, it'll end in tragedy for you."

Everyone recoiled in shock as somehow, a voice that sounded almost demonic spoke up from… somewhere, except Mad Dawg hadn't been speaking, just chilling against the fence.

"Okay wise guy. I don't know who you are, or what your deal is, but I can give you three good reasons to walk away right now-"

"And I can give you twenty." Mad Dawg cut in. "Want me to prove it?"

"…yeah, if you think you're so smart."

"Okay. Here's five."

WHAM!

Hawk stumbled, wheezing and winded back after being punched in the gut. Not only was it lightning fast, it was clear it hit with a lot more force than anyone expected.

"Here's ten."

THUNK!

Mad Dawg wheeled back and stomped on Hawk's foot, making him shout in pain and anger, jumping back.

"I've got ten more. Wanna hear them?"

"I don't know who you are! But you're DEAD! Ya hear me!? DEAD!"

"I already am." Mad Dawg shrugged as Hawk and the other one took off, Hawk seething slightly as Dawg's jab still seemed to be hurting a bit.

"Dawg… that was really stupid." Rusty said, seeming more nervous than anything.

"Oh, you're welcome." Mad Dawg said sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he looked down to Rusty.

"I'm serious man! They're not gonna forget this!" Rusty insisted. "They're gonna want revenge, and they'll hurt you!"

"Rust-Eze, chill." Mad Dawg said flatly. "I can take care of myself, don't worry about me. If they give you any more trouble, let me know."

"Right. Thanks…" Rusty nodded as the bell rang. "School's done! Yes!"

"Cool. If we're done here, I'm meeting with some of the Louds in an few hours for some stuff." Mad Dawg remarked, looking back to his ATV. "You'll be good?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Rusty smiled. "And Mad Dawg?"

"Sup?"

"Thank you." Rusty said with a genuine smile. Mad Dawg gave him a 'see ya' salute and headed back to his ride.

"So, I just did the thing Lincoln asked me not to do." He thought as he drove home. "Whoops."

When he got home, Mad Dawg pulled his sweat-soaked shirt off and headed for the kitchen, grabbing a can of Critical Rolling Rock and snapped the cap off. He sighed in relaxation and took a long drink.

"Hi Mad Dawg!"

Blinking in shock, Mad Dawg saw Lana and Lucy standing in the kitchen, as well as Lori, who did not seem amused.

"pfftohcrap!" Mad Dawg exclaimed, choking and spitting his drink out at the same time before throwing the beer back into the fridge and slamming the door. He dropped down and grabbed a shirt he hadn't gotten around to putting away and fumbled as he pulled it on, then jumped back up. "Hey."

"You okay, Dawgy?" Lana asked, not sure what just happened.

"Yeah, I'm good. I thought you guys were coming in an hour or so." He nodded, his eyes darting around, noticing Lori clearly wasn't happy with him. Oh well. "I got your playlist, I think the fourth song is the best one for this plan." He said, addressing Lucy who gave the faintest of smiles.

"A song of fear about the inevitability of death and nightmares, a good choice." She nodded.

"And I take it you got the ideas I had?" He asked, looking to Lana, who beamed.

"Yup! I think it's pretty simple stuff!" She beamed.

"Awesome! Let's get to work!" Mad Dawg declared heading towards the basement workshop with the sisters, but he was stopped by Lori who grabbed his arm, and then gave him a death glare. Mad Dawg raised a brow and then scoffed as he pulled away, shrugging as he walked off, grabbing a large knife as he did so, throwing it up in the air and catching it.

Lori… was not happy. She had offered to come with Lana and Lucy because she wanted to try and find common ground with Mad Dawg. But then she walked in on him drinking alcohol, shirtless. Why was this so hard?! Why did every time she was in the same room as Kace, or whatever his name was, he made things so frustratingly hard to be civil!

"Still, he hasn't hurt anyone. Don't accuse him of things he hasn't done." Lori reminded herself as she sighed. Deciding to keep an eye on her sisters, and headed down to the basement as well, taking a pair of goggles hanging below a sign which read 'If you don't wear these and get hurt, legally that's on you.' She blinked, then couldn't help but laugh slightly.

Mad Dawg was currently connecting what looked like a motherboard to a computer, and tapped on something, letting the computer go to work. Without warning, Lucy was right behind him, making him jump in shock.

"How-?!"

"Don't question it. It's just what she does." Lana remarked as if this was something she had seen a million times.

"So, that's how that feels…" Mad Dawg muttered. "Okay. So, to clarify, they come in here, right?" He asked, pointing to something.

"Yes." Lucy nodded.

"That means they'll pass here, here, and here. Right?"

"Yes."

"Okay. So, if I'm here, I can run through the kitchen to get back here."

"Yes."

"And Lana, that means we need staging at the doorways. Is that gonna be an issue?" Mad Dawg asked.

"Nope! I could have them done by next week!"

"Hey, what exactly are you guys up to?" Lori asked, breaking into the conversation.

"Dawg happens to enjoy the sensation of near-death experiences, and aggravating one's emotions into terror and fear." Lucy answered. "He offered to help create an extension to the haunted corn maze, one which should terrify anyone who comes through."

"Huh. And… what's with all the scrap metal?" She asked looking around. Lori knew Mad Dawg made scrap sculptures which could breathe fire (which she had to admit was pretty cool) but these seemed much bigger.

"In the old days, a mask and a plastic knife was all you needed." Mad Dawg said with a grin. "Nowadays, I think if you wanna be scary, you gotta go ALL IN!"

Without warning he punched a button and a mechanical mass of twisted metal and wire lurched forward, it's left eye lit up and its bear-trap-like mouth unhinged itself. Lori screamed and jumped backwards, backing into the workbench.

"Kace! What the-" she began flustered, but caught herself and shook her head. "Wow. Okay, that's good."

"Yeah, probably should've warned ya but… I didn't want to." Mad Dawg smirked, laughing.

"So, you're building robots? That's your Halloween plan?" Lori asked.

"Yup! And giving them THESE!" He declared, suddenly pulling a pair of blades form his boots, tossing them in the air and balancing them on a finger each. When he saw their shocked reactions, he laughed: "Relax! They ain't real!"

To prove his point, Mad Dawg threw one of the blades at a wall, expecting it to bounce off due to its plastic structure, only for it to dig into the wall, as it was very real. Mad Dawg caught the second knife, and realized what had just happened, and nervously but the other knife down.

"Uh… heh." He muttered. "Oof."

Lucy took over by taking out a number of sheets she had and put them on the table, getting their attention.

"I don't know if you were interested in it, but I had an idea for some scripted dialogue." She remarked as Dawg picked it up and looked over them, nodding to himself.

"Okay, interesting…" He mused as Lori looked around, coming to a stop when she saw a garbage can full of… needles…

"…what?" She blinked, not sure how to react or what to make of this. They were dirty and broken, they seemed too old to have been used recently… so did that mean Dawg had gotten clean? No, that wasn't it. He hadn't used at all since they met, if he was, there'd be something pretty noticeable. But why did he have these?! And- wait a second. Last night when Lincoln had gotten home with him, she had found a needle near the mailbox when she went to get the mail after everyone had forgot to… so Mad Dawg had been the one who left the needle behind. But why!? And what was he doing with Lincoln?! "Calm down, you're jumping into the worst-case scenario."

Mad Dawg scratched the underside of his left arm as he looked around for something, walking off then coming back with a chainsaw without the chain. Lucy shook her head and Dawg seemed to deflate.

"Aww…" He muttered, putting the chainsaw away.

Lori sat down and leaned against the workbench, noticing a picture of Mad Dawg with a dreadlocked man who seemed to be a Dj, and a woman with a pink headset. He seemed so happy in the picture, and then it occurred to Lori who these people were. There was also a map of the USA, with Michigan and Chicago circled, with a red line going between them. There was more written, but Lori didn't pay much attention to it.

"All right! Let's do this!" Mad Dawg declared, grabbing some tools and heading back upstairs, the Louds following after him with Lori staying behind for a few moments. She looked back at the garbage can, seeing the used needles and what she now realized were bullet casings… Her eyes widened slightly and she felt a nervous wave hit her. She had some questions Mad Dawg needed to answer.

Upstairs, Mad Dawg was lining up some wiring, noting how much would be needed for the upcoming plans, and affixing it to a pulley system.

"If I'm honest, it's nice finding someone else who enjoys scaring people." Mad Dawg remarked as Lucy looked up to him. "Back home my friends loved Halloween, but I was always left wanting to do something like this. It's great to meet someone who wants to!"

"In all honesty, you surprise me." Lucy shrugged. "You seem to have a personality more akin to Luna and Lincoln fused into one. I didn't take you for someone who enjoyed the macabre and dark reality of the world we live in."

"Eh, I do and don't." Mad Dawg replied. "I don't see the world as all doom and gloom and crap like that. I used to, but I didn't like living in that mindset. I wasn't happy and…" He trailed off, seeing Lucy seeming off. "You good?"

"Huh? Yeah. I'm fine." She said in her usual drawl. Mad Dawg tied off a wire and jumped form the second floor down to the first.

"No, you're not. What's wrong?" Dawg said matter-of-factly.

"It's nothing." Lucy persisted.

"Okay then." The mutant shrugged returning to his work. Lucy was taken aback by his sudden indifference, but shrugged it off. Mad dawg was removing a door when a hand grabbed him.

"Hey, you mind telling me why there's bullet casings in the basement?" Lori suddenly asked.

"Uh… I've got the remains a Serbu BFG-50." Mad Dawg awkwardly answered. "Okay, I know that seems bad, but it doesn't work. The shell casings are from back home when I was being shot at, I found them as I was cleaning out my bag."

"You're telling me that you've been drinking while you have access to an anti-tank rifle around my sisters!?" Lori snapped.

"Whoa, NO." Mad Dawg said defensively, taking a step back. "First of all, the BFG-50 isn't an Anti-Tank Rifle, if it was, I most likely would've had to have gone to much darker black markets to get one. Second, the gun didn't WORK when I bought it. Third, I only have parts of it for a contraption I was building!"

"What can you build that requires rifle parts?!"

"A waffle maker." Mad dawg plainly answered. "That might also be a Blu-ray player."

"Why did you have the bullets?!"

"Because I had a BFG-50 that worked. I was using it to deal with the squirrels in my backyard." Mad Dawg answered.

"I…" Lori began but trailed off. "Where is it?"

"The squirrels?"

"The gun!"

"I sold it." Mad Dawg shrugged. "I've never been a rifle fan, Ms. Amari was way better than anyone I knew, aside from Amelie that French bit-"

"Mad Dawg."

"That's me."

"FOCUS." Lori snapped again, growing more and more frustrated. "WHY did you have a BF…whatever it was in the first place?"

"Why do I have to justify myself to you?" Mad Dawg retorted, crossing his arms. "You're not my mom."

"Because I want to know if you're going to get my family hurt because of your stupid plans!" Lori stated, and Mad Dawg's face snapped through shock, anger, and finally understanding.

"Ah. Fair." He nodded. "Like I said, I got it because I needed to get rid of some squirrels." He explained. "After that, I had no use for it, so I turned it in to the cops, they pointed me towards Romero's Rifles, I sold it to him, I used the cash to buy some records."

"So, it's gone?"

"Yes. I don't see why you have such an issue with guns." Mad Dawg muttered.

"I don't have an issue with guns, I have an issue with you."

"Same." Mad Dawg muttered as he pushed past Lori, gritting some nails and beginning to drill something together with Lana's help, leaving Lori standing there in silence, frowning at the mutant, but unsure of what to do. "Oh, by the way Lana, I'm gonna be gone for two or three days after tonight, can you pass on a message to Lincoln for me? I need you to tell him…"

Several hours later, the Louds had left and Mad Dawg was alone once more. He snaked his way about his home, avoiding the staging that had been set up thus far. There was still three weeks or so until Halloween, so there was time to perfect everything, but that wasn't his focus right now… making sure he was alone, he reached pushed his fridge away and found a small hole in the wall originally designed for plumbing, but never was used for that. He pulled out a long case and sighed, knowing that he was gonna do this right, no one was gonna get killed. He attached the case to his ATV and then went back into his house, putting on a black hoodie, black track pants and a graffiti-coloured gas mask. Getting onto his ATV, he drove off, out of Royal Woods, and off into the night…

It was a long drive, much longer than Mad Dawg would've liked it to be, but he didn't want to be seen, so he knew this was the best way to get around. He left Michigan and kept going… and going… and going… He stopped for three hours in Grand Rapids (wherever that was) to sleep, but then was back on the road once more. Another hour later, Mad Dawg saw step two on his journey. Stashing his ATV where hopefully no one would find it, Mad Dawg crouched in the bushes, listening for the familiar rumbling and shaking of the ground. It took about twenty minutes, but eventually a train arrived, and Mad Dawg jumped onto a flatbed, and stowed away under the bed.

Several hours later in Royal Woods, Michigan, Lisa Loud was going over some calculations she had been running with the sample of Mad Dawg's blood. It was truly something she hadn't expected to be real, or even possible. But the mutant was right, his cells seemed to have a super-charged growth cycle designed to reproduce damaged skin or muscle at super-human speeds. She had so many new questions, and with the sample she had, there was a chance that some of them would be answered. To the young Loud girl, this was unprecedented. If she could figure out how this worked, this could quite literally tear the book on genetics apart, and write a whole new magnum opus leading to immortality!

But Mad Dawg was also right; while not harmful on contact, the toxicity of his blood couldn't be overstated. How the mutant was still alive was beyond her understanding, but that was just another question for the pile.

"Hey, Lisa?" A voice came, getting her attention. "Phone's for you."

Slightly disappointed she was taken from her work, Lisa took the phone and set down the notes she was writing. "Hello?"

"Yo, Lisa?"

"Mad Dawg?" She asked.

"Ah, great. Hey." Mad Dawg replied with a slight sigh. "Hope I didn't catch you in the middle of something."

"No, not at all… if anything, I was considering contacting you." She admitted, looking to her notes. "I don't know if you can tell me, but do you know how you've become immune to the toxicity of your blood?"

"Uh, exposure over long period I guess." Mad Dawg answered. "Look Little-Loud, I don't have a lotta time. How's the doorway coming?"

Lisa blinked, taken aback by the nickname Dawg seemingly assigned her, then looked over to the framework she had constructed. "So far, it's coming along fine." She began. "I believe I may have found a formula which would essentially warp you to your last location, and should that work, it would only be a matter of amplifying the power enough to send you home. The issue is, I need a power source with enough strength to do so."

"And apparently they exist, but they aren't available at a store." Mad Dawg replied, having had this conversation before.

"Indeed, and they're being tested at the Chicago Research Institute." Lisa concluded. "Where are you anyways?"

"Uh…" The answer was cut off by a loud train horn blaring, silencing everything Dawg tried to say. "Detroit!"

"Hm. All right then." Lisa muttered. "I believe we may be able to construct an energy source sufficient to what we need, but in order to do so, I'd at least need to see some sort of blue print for the actual thing…or better yet a prototype of one of the cells. Unfortunately, I don't have any contacts in the institution, if I did, perhaps we could make some sort of deal in order to acquire-"

"Cool. My stop's here, gotta go bye!"

Beep.

"…rude." She muttered before turning back to her work.

Across the states, Mad Dawg sighed as he cracked his back as he snuck out from under the train and ran off into one of Chicago's Train Yards. That night, Mad Dawg crawled up to a hill on the edge of the city border, and looked with some binoculars at a large, clean white building.

"The Chicago Research Institution…" Mad Dawg thought. Through his binoculars, he could see people walking around the building, talking to one another or on their way to their labs. He scanned around before seeing one set of windows with a pulsing light faintly visible from a distance. "Jackpot."

Opening his case, Mad Dawg looked over his equipment, then set to assembling his modified BFG-50 rifle. Dawg loaded one of his custom-bullets into the gun and aimed towards the window.

Tink!

Knowing that his window was brief, Mad Dawg took off towards the lab in a mad sprint.

Four hours later, Mad Dawg was on the train once more, grinning like an idiot, and holding one of the power cells close to his chest.

"Time to go home…"

A.N. So… Mad Dawg seems to be burning as many bridges as he's building. Will he be able to put out the fires before he ends up on a bridge over troubled water? Will he get home? Do I really need to keep writing these author notes at the end of each chapter like it's an episode of Dragon Ball?

Who knows, possibly, and not really.

Either way, a lot of things are gonna come to a head next time. Both good and bad! This story has only three or four more chapters, so what's gonna happen next!?

I should probably figure that out…