September had come and gone, the first leaves were turning orange, and fall was slowly seeping its way into the town's atmosphere. In the crisp cool night, a figure ran through the woods, causing animals everywhere to run in panic. Darting about the trees, using the fallen nature as launch pads to keep himself running., the unseen being moved as if his very life depended on it Leaves which had fallen were kicked up in a tornado or speed and colour as heavy footprints were left in the soft earth. The figure was practically flying now, swinging back and forth from the branches, running along them and using some to launch himself further through the woods, tearing up a sort of path as he went. Mad Dawg felt the wind against his face as he ran, noting what trees were where, and how far along he was. Finally, he decided he had seen enough and skidded to a stop, landing nearby a stump which in one fluid motion, continuing from his run, he sat down on.
"All right… that took me… two minutes, forty-two seconds…" He mused, writing something down. "And I'm… oh, not too far off! Awesome!" Mad Dawg continued sketching the small map he had made of his path, noting that there were a number of things that needed to be moved or cleared out; rocks, rotting trees, ect. before his path would be usable to all.
Over the past few weeks, or however long it had been, Mad Dawg's life had gotten a lot weirder, and a lot… potentially better. He returned to his 'training and taming' as Bobby referred to it with the older Santiago and a few others, namely Leni, Ronnie-Ann, 'N' and Lucy. The latter seemed the most interested by all this, and despite the initial awkward and semi-hostile introductions, it seemed that Mad Dawg was finally winning the battle with the beast. What became clear was when he changed, he had to fight more than anything in that moment. His brain was literally being re-wired internally, and if he was able to convince it to be calm, he'd be okay. Heck, he had even gotten a better grasp on speaking while in this form, something he could only do in small bursts, if at all, before. But if he let it run wild, he wouldn't go berserk and lash out at anyone, but he had been shocked more than once (something Bobby repetitively apologized profusely for), even refusing to be the one in charge of doing so one night. This resulted in him leaving Leni to do it, which she promptly on passed to Ronnie-Ann after Mad Dawg looked at her. To her credit, the young Santiago girl didn't hold back, she let Dawg have it if he was acting up. Truth be told, Mad Dawg kinda respected her for it.
Then as September ended, Mad Dawg looked ahead to All Hallows Eve, and then Día de Muertos a few days later. Truth be told, this was Dawg's favourite time of year! Not just because when fall came around, the best cider was available, (and yes, he liked cider more than beer, come at him!). But because Halloween was one of the few times when he could just… be himself, and so long as no one got hurt or killed, there were no negative repercussions for his actions. At least, ones he cared about. Growing up, including his Post-Dedsec, Pre-Overwatch days, Halloween was always a special time for Mad Dawg… and there was something about Día de Muertos that had always fascinated him. Maybe the colours, maybe the art, he really couldn't say what drew him towards this cultural celebration.
When he was younger, he had jumped on a few trains and made his way down to Ecatepec to see the festivities. It was… disconsolate, to be totally honest. He had expected it to be more along the lines of what Halloween was, and he quickly picked up on the ideals of the Day of the Dead, which only led him to remember and realize that again… he was alone. Observing from the rooftops, he watched as families gathered around gravesites of those long gone, remembering the days when they were together, but refusing to let the memories fade away. All the while, Mad Dawg thought about those he had lost, and… nothing…
Honestly, it hurt a lot more than he expected…
He didn't know if his family was alive, dead, or even who they were. But he did know that his other family… didn't want him back… Being so young at this point in his life, many would assume this would've led to a trouble childhood where the trauma and pain remained present, especially now with the ideals of the Day of the Dead mixed with it. But it was quite the opposite. Mad Dawg decided that even if he was 'dead' to his family, there were still good times, and he couldn't just ignore them! So, for the next few years, whenever November second rolled around, Mad Dawg took the time to think back to the ones he had called his family, and silently wish there was some way he could go back.
Presently, things were different. Mad Dawg had a family, and two members of it were gone now, and technically so was he, but that meant things might be different. Until the issue arose that he was now in another dimension, so he figured he'd just observe from afar once more. After all, wasn't the point of the holiday remembering your blood relatives?
"Oh well… I can figure that out eventually…" He thought, sighing deeply. He had crashed slightly after the adrenaline rush, and stood up, suddenly feeling somewhat heavy. Maybe it was time to go home, and go to bed.
"Hey, Mad Dawg." A voice came. Turning around, Mad Dawg was surprised to see Lincoln not too far away.
"Yo, Link. What you doin' out here? Don't you have school tomorrow?" Mad Dawg asked.
"Really? Mr.-I-got-set-on-fire-and-clearly-don't-care-for-rules is concerned about my education? Who are you and what did you do with Mad Dawg?"
"Well, do you want to turn out like me?" Mad Dawg asked skeptically, giving an agitated look before he laughed it off. "No, that's what I thought."
"Right…" The white-haired boy rolled his eyes. "I was heading home and saw you making tracks through here like there was no tomorrow. Were you running from the cops or something?"
"Nah, nothing quite as dramatic or fun." Mad Dawg waved, handing Lincoln the map he had been drawing. "So, I got to thinking about Halloween, the town isn't massive, but it's not small either. If you and Clyde want to get as much candy as you can, I got to thinking about shortcuts, y'know? Or ways to get around the city faster, even some rooftop pathways to help you slip by and cut travel time in two."
"Clyde mentioned you had been talking about this." Lincoln replied, looking over the map. "And it's a great idea. There's just one massive issue." After a few moments, he explained: "We can't climb like you. You've been doing parkour since you got here, and Clyde and I just… can't. It's not a matter of practice, the stuff you do might kill us!"
"Which is why I'm blazing this trail!" Mad Dawg countered. "I know you two aren't nearly as cool as me, and your weak pathetic human bodies will probably die if you try and be as awesome as me, so I figured I'd make paths that wouldn't kill you. Most likely."
"You're saying we're weak, yet you were out for three days after a small fire."
Mad Dawg recoiled, looking down in annoyance, disgust, and respect. "How… dare you." He finally got out. His overdramatic reaction just made the young Loud boy laugh, and Mad Dawg couldn't help but laugh too. It felt good, like his problems were drifting away. Which truth be told, they kinda were. Virus hadn't shown up for a bit, and he felt good about how things were going for the time being.
"Gotta ask, what exactly are you and Lisa doing?" Lincoln asked skeptically. "You keep showing up in her room, and you guys are building a door or something… You're not gonna get her arrested, right?"
"Most likely no." Mad Dawg shrugged, his answer not being the best thing to say. "She's helping me build a… I guess you can call it a dimensional doorway. If all goes as planned, I should be able to use it to get home! And side note, your sister is frighteningly smart." He chuckled, but noticed Lincoln's face fall somewhat. "You good, man?"
"Look… I know we don't know each other as well as you and Luna know each other, but… I mean, it's your life, your choice and your family… but did you ever think you didn't have to go?" He asked, and Mad Dawg's face said everything. "Sorry, I-"
"Yeah, I've thought about it." Mad Dawg admitted after a few moments of silence where he seemed to debate if he wanted to talk. "A lot, actually…" He looked around, then sighed. "Let's say this doorway works, what am I supposed to do? Just show up after being dead and say 'Sike! That's the wrong corpse!' and act like nothing happened? I mean, my sort-of dad is dead, and after everything I did back home… Maybe it'd be better if I stayed here…"
The two went quiet, both thinking about things, until the silence was broken.
"I mean, you guys have been great. I've dropped some of my issues, found a home… but I don't really care. No offence. But I want to go home. I can't just abandon them like that, let them think I'm dead? I-I… I want my family…" He looked back to Lincoln, and realized what he had said. To Mad Dawg, it made sense, but to anyone else… "Oh crap! No! Dude! I'm sorry! I..I didn't mean it like that!"
"No, I get it, I get it." Lincoln shook his head. "They think you're dead, I can't imagine what that would be like… thinking one of my sisters is gone? And then they just show up one day?"
"Seems like they kinda learned what that was like with you…" Mad Dawg muttered.
"Are we still talking about that!?" Lincoln asked, somewhat offended. "Part of moving on from an issue is, y'know, MOVING ON."
There was a sour air that surrounded the two of them, and finally it seemed to dissipate as they thought of their respective answers. "Yeah, you're right." The mutant nodded. "I bring it up, because aside from that, and apparently a legit apocalypse bunker on April Fool's day, there isn't a lot I know about your family that suggests major issues."
"Aw man, April Fool's was a nightmare…" Lincoln groaned sitting down on a log. "I just… man… I…"
"Ya don't need to talk about it, Snowflame." Mad Dawg shook his head. "I don't need to know all your dirty secrets."
"Snowflame?"
"Oh, right. Uh… he was this really stupid and yet kind of awesome comic villain from some of the books I read back home." Mad Dawg explained, laughing sheepishly, rubbing his neck. "He wore orange and had white hair…"
"What was his powers?" Lincoln asked, curiously.
"Uh…" Mad Dawg bit his lip, clearly not wanting to answer this question. "Hang on. What's the rating on this story?"
"I think K+, I could be wrong."
"Aye, it's a bit too mature for a K+ story to talk about." Mad Dawg laughed, embarrassed.
"And yet everything you've said and done is okay?"
"Hey, I never said the author knew what he was doing." Mad Dawg shrugged. "Besides, have you seen the current rating systems for games and TV? You can say just about anything you want, be as violent as you want, just no four-letter-fun words or blood, and you're free to go."
"Yeah, you're kinda right." Lincoln nodded. "Comics too, it feels like you can get away with anything in a comic, and no one looks twice because 'it's for kids' or something like that."
"Right!?" Mad Dawg exclaimed. "And then you get companies run by fifty-year-old's without kids who think what kids want is violence and gritty content with dark, brooding storylines and characters. Rather than heroic characters being, y'know, heroes!"
"Oh, don't I know it." Lincoln rolled his eyes. "And don't get me wrong, a darker, somewhat more mature story can work! I like it when characters who seem cartoony are given more depth and maturity, but they need to keep what made them work, otherwise you completely ruin the character. But you've really gotta know the character, and sometimes that dark and gritty vibe just won't work."
"But sometimes you gotta commend them for trying, even if it does get horribly screwed up in the process." Mad Dawg concluded, cracking a Phoenix Energy.
"Well, whatever the case is, this might work!" Lincoln remarked looking over the map. "Actually, I never even thought about some of these places! Yeah, Clyde and I could definitely use this…"
"The one downside is lighting." Mad Dawg explained with a slight frown. "I thought about trying to find a way to illuminate the path, but fire was a massive no. We don't need a forest fire, and lamps would give the place away, so you might be on your own for that."
"Hey, I'm the man with a plan!" Lincoln grinned. "If you can keep the path cleared, Clyde and I can find our way!"
"All right! That's what I like to hear!" Mad Dawg smirked with an affirmative nod. "I call this one, Project: Trailer Park Boys."
Lincoln looked to the map in confusion, then saw where the path ended. "Ah, that's clever." He nodded. "Either way, I think I should get going before my parents wonder where I am."
"No problem, I'll get you outta here." Mad Dawg nodded, jumping up and setting off. As the pair walked, they kicked branches off of the newly forming path, and Lincoln was surprised that no one seemed to have found this place yet. It was effectively a back door all across town! What he didn't know, was that part of why no one had found this place, was because it used to be a hangout for some… troubled youth, so to say. After they had dispersed, the town didn't really bother cleaning the place up… because who wants to take responsibility for that? Something else Lincoln didn't see was the bag of dirty needles Mad Dawg was carrying, and Mad Dawg decided that he didn't need to know about that…
"I just hope Hank and Hawk don't ruin things again…" Lincoln sighed to himself as they returned to the sidewalk. Mad Dawg raised a brow and looked down to him.
"Who?"
"Ugh, they're these two jerks who unfortunately hang around." Lincoln grumbled. "Last year we scared them to a point that they won't come within fifty feet of my family-"
"Really!? Dude, that's awesome!" Mad Dawg laughed. Lincoln was taken aback for a second, then grinned himself.
"Actually, I think you would've loved it! It was right up with your brand of 'extreme but not mean' lifestyle."
"Extreme but not mean…" Mad Dawg murmured to himself. "I'm stealing that."
"Go right ahead. But yeah, they're the local bullies…" Lincoln frowned. "They haven't hurt my sisters, but… y'know?"
"How old are they?" Mad Dawg suddenly asked. "Older than me? Younger?"
"Huh? Oh, uh… I'd say maybe a year younger than you, maybe two. Why?" Lincoln replied, then something clicked in his brain and he looked to Mad Dawg nervously. "Hey, no. Don't go looking for a fight Dawg!"
"I'm not." Mad Dawg replied with a sigh. "Yet."
"Mad Dawg-"
"Okay, okay… look. I'm asking because if a fight does happen, I don't wanna look like the bad guy for beating up two kids." Mad Dawg said defensively. Lincoln looked up at him, blinking at the mutant whose face was cast in slight shadow due to the lamplight.
"…eh, all right." Lincoln shrugged.
The two kept walking, Lincoln noting that Mad Dawg seemed to almost sway as he walked, as if listening to some sort of invisible music. It wasn't too noticeable, but it was kinda interesting.
"Hey, don't take this as anything other than a question." Mad Dawg began, and Lincoln gave him a look. "Is there anything between you and Ann?"
"Okay, never call her that to her face." Lincoln said sternly, but also mixed with 'I am begging you, for your own health, listen to me.' "She hates when people call her that. I don't know why, but… yeah."
"Right, but your avoiding my question." Mad Dawg replied.
"…no. There isn't." Lincoln said. "We're friends, that's all."
"You sure?"
"Dawg, this isn't funny."
"Fine, fine." Mad Dawg said, raiding his hands, feeling the bag of needles bounce slightly. "I was just asking."
"Whatever…"
The two returned to walking in silence for a minute, looking at the streets and leaves illuminated by street lights and the lights of houses. There was something almost, mysterious, about it.
"Listen, about what I asked…" Lincoln said awkwardly. "I didn't mean to put you on the spot about leaving or staying, it's your choice man. It's just… I don't want you thinking that you're alone here."
Mad Dawg stopped and leaned against a lamp post. He looked out across the street, almost as if he was looking for someone, and then looked back to Lincoln. His face was the same as when he talked about his past, or his other side. It was both unreadable, and yet spoke volumes without a word being uttered.
"Linc, I…" Mad Dawg began but trailed off, seemingly losing steam. "I'm tired, let's get home."
"Oh, uh, okay." Lincoln nodded, the two making their way back to the Loud house in an uncomfortable silence. When they arrived, Mad Dawg nodded and began to walk away. "Hey! Mad Dawg!"
The mutant stopped and turned around, looking to Lincoln with a raised brow.
"We good?"
"Yeah. We're good." Mad Dawg nodded, giving a half smile. "I'll be okay kid."
Lincoln didn't feel completely reassured, and felt like he had hurt Mad Dawg in some way, but decided that now wasn't the time to try and talk. He headed to his home, and stopped to watch Dawg walk away, who seemed to trip over something and fell forward, catching himself.
"I'm good! Raised… raised concrete!" He called, and kept walking. Not noticing the bag of discarded needles had torn somewhat, and a single needle clattered to the ground.
As he kept walking, Mad Dawg heard someone walking behind him. At first, he didn't much care, but then the figure started speaking.
"hEY."
"No." Mad Dawg said sternly.
"MaD DaWg."
"You're not really here, go away."
"mAd dAWg."
"You're not real."
"BeTA."
That did get Mad Dawg to stop and whirl around, seeing Virus (or what was left of him) standing a few feet away.
"For f- What do you want!?" Mad Dawg exclaimed in exasperation. "You and me?! We're done! You're dead, and I moved on! What more do you want from me!?"
"If wE'rE dONe. WhY aM I sTIlL hERE?" Virus asked, tilting his head in an unsettling manner. "YOu kNoW tHErE iSNt an EAsy wAy oUT ThIS tiME…"
"What. Do you want!?" Mad Dawg demanded.
"WhAt iS nOT YoURs tO gIVe, aND wHaT yOU cAN't REciEVE." Virus remarked. "WHaT YOu tOoK fROm mY sISteR!"
Mad Dawg breathed for a second, then scowled, realizing what Virus was getting at. This wasn't something he wanted to deal with now, so he turned around and kept heading for home. Entering his house, he cursed as he stumbled and tripped over something, looking around and seeing the mass of metal, wires and wood he had been using to create his newest… idea. He felt himself smile, and felt the odd pressure that Virus brought disappear. As he went to his fridge, he got a cider, cracked it open, and sat down to watch whatever was on. Tonight, a movie called Lavalantula was on… and it was exactly what Dawg needed to cap off this evening.
"Ah man, Halloween's gonna be AWESOME!" He thought as he took a drink. "This is gonna break their minds…"
When next morning came, Mad Dawg groaned as he woke up on the floor in his basement. He wasn't hungover, but he had spent most of last night binging bad monster films and working on stuff in the basement, and eventually had given up on staying awake, apparently.
"What happened last night…" He muttered, pulling himself up by grabbing onto his workbench. It took a minute, but Mad Dawg finally got to a standing position. Grabbing a blow torch, Mad Dawg set to working on another aspect for Halloween, when he heard the doorbell ring. "Hang on!"
Heading back upstairs, he opened the door and blinked in surprise when he saw Rita Loud, Lily, Lana and Lucy.
"Uh… hey?" He said awkwardly.
"Hi Dawg!" Lana said in her chipper tone.
"Hello Kace." Rita smiled. "Again, thanks for being willing to watch Lily for an hour or two… I know it seems sudden, but there's some things I need to do and-" She trialed off when she saw Mad Dawg's face. "Everything alright?"
"When did I agree to this?" Mad Dawg asked, the confusion very apparent.
"Last night, I called you around nine, not long after you and Lincoln got home, and you said you had no problems with it." Rota explained, feeling somewhat nervous. "This isn't an issue, is it?"
"What? Nah, it's fine!" Mad Dawg shook his head. "Sorry, I've… I've been pushing myself like mad recently to finish some projects. I guess I didn't remember that call. But yeah, it's no problem."
"Thank you, everyone else was busy, and I need to go deal with something at the office…"
"Yeah, it's all good!" Mad Dawg nodded. "Wait. What time is it?"
"Two, I should be back by four, and-"
"How did I sleep for thirteen hours?" Mad Dawg muttered. "Whatever. C'mon in." Rita handed Lily to Mad Dawg, who seemed a little awkward as he took her, but Lily seemed happy.
"All right, I'll be back in an hour, two max." Rita nodded, still seeming nervous about leaving her kids with Mad Dawg (or Kace), but from his interactions, she saw that he was genuinely kind.
Inside, Mad Dawg sat Lily down on the couch and looked back to Lana and Lucy. The look on his face said it all, he had no idea what to do now.
"So… what's new?" He finally asked.
"…You've got a lot of wood lying around. Are ya building something?" Lana asked and Mad Dawg smirked.
"Yeah, getting stuff together for Halloween." He replied, walking off and leaving the three alone in the room for about ten seconds. He then returned with a few blue rolls. "I'm changing all this into a haunted maze." He noted both of the girls seemed interested by that, and Lily looked around, not having any idea what was happening. She clambered off the couch and waddled off, exploring the ten feet she could see, there wasn't much… some empty boxes, a blue box overflowing with cans, and another door that seemed to lead downstairs. As Lily walked towards it, she couldn't see what was downstairs, and now she wanted to.
"Whoa! No!" Mad Dawg exclaimed, suddenly appearing and scooping her up in his arms. "Don't go down there! That's dangerous!" He set Lily down on the couch and turned back to the other two Louds-
And any conversation they were going to have was cut off when Lily started crying.
"Uh… what do I do with this?" He asked, motioning to Lily. Neither sister said anything, both unsure what to say or do. "Is she hungry?"
"No, she ate before we came." Lucy said in her dry tone.
"Does she need changed?"
"No, she was changed earlier, and she usually doesn't cry when she needs changed, she just laughs." Lana answered.
Awkwardly picking up the baby, Mad dawg looked her over, trying to discern if there was something they were missing… from what he could see, there wasn't. "Great…" He mentally muttered.
The three tried to calm Lily down for the next fifteen minutes, but nothing seemed to work. Mad Dawg was getting frustrated, but also knew this was a baby, so he wasn't going to do anything about it.
"Uh…it's okay?" He asked, resting Lily against his shoulder and rubbing her back. "Things could be worse?"
"Is that really the best you have?" Lana asked.
"Sorry, what should I do?!" Mad dawg asked in annoyance. He held Lily out in front of him again and thought for a moment, finally, he shrugged. "I have nothing."
"So, what are all these plans for?" Lana asked, looking back to the blueprints, trying to ignore her sister's crying.
"Haunted house attraction." Mad Dawg explained. "Been building some robotic stuff in the basement, but I can't figure out some of the staging and bases…"
"Ooh! Can I see!?"
"Hang on, do you have a phone or something? She might calm down if you put some music on." Lucy remarked in her drawl.
"Uh, yeah… it's in the basement. C'mon." Mad Dawg said. and then, Lily stopped crying. "Wait." He muttered, then realized something. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me…"
"What?"
"She's not hungry or any of that, she wanted to see the basement." Mad Dawg sighed. "Y'know, you could've told me that."
"Agpth." Lily tried to speak.
"…that's fair."
Realizing that his basement was extremely dangerous, considering what he was building and what tools he had, Mad Dawg thought that maybe taking a literal baby down there wasn't a good idea… But then he decided, screw it. She wasn't going to be hurt. But he knew he needed something to hold her in…
"Okay, one sec." Mad Dawg muttered, walking off. About a minute later, he returned with a few sets of safety goggles, and Lily was sitting in a makeshift baby saddle made out of a hoodie tied in an odd position. "So, if we're going down there, two rules. One, wear these at all times, and two, don't touch anything." He handed out the goggles then added: "It isn't because I don't trust you two, it's because the stuff I'm building can be… volatile, to be honest. Nothing will explode, hopefully, but there's a lotta sharp crap, and some things tend to… spaz out."
"I get it." Lana nodded, strapping the goggles on. "I've worked with plenty of tools! I know that a single second can be the difference between keeping and losing an eye."
"Sure, danger." Lucy nodded, putting the goggles on, and then pushing her hair back over the goggles, so it extended outwards in an odd way. The four headed down into the basement, and immediately, the smell of sautered wires, welded metal, gas, cider, and plastic seemed to float about, creating an odd… not a 'sensation', but certainly a unique feeling.
The two most notable things were the chair near a workbench, which seemed to have been made by twisting metal around itself to create the chair shape. A misshapen thing that almost looked human, aside from the large right hand with long blade-like fingers that were curved like claws. Mad Dawg noticed something and quickly covered it, before turning back to Lana and Lucy.
"So?" He asked.
"This is… weird." Lana admitted, looking around before looking back to Mad Dawg and grinning. "I love it! How'd you build all this?!"
"Junk, mainly." Mad Dawg shrugged. "I hit up hock shops and junkyards, find stuff no one wants and rip it apart. You find wires, casing, metal… all the stuff you need… then, I just start slapping stuff together and seeing what happens. "
"What exactly are you building this for?" Lucy asked again, admittedly much more interested in what the mutant was making. "And does any of it move?
"Halloween stuff, and not all of it, yet." Mad Dawg answered for the fourth time, pushing whatever it was he was hiding into a corner, before looking back to one of the skeletal things. "Issue is, I can't get the staging right upstairs… I can build these things, and they move the way I wanna. But what I need them to be on for the 'theatrics', I can't build for some reason…"
"What kinda stuff we talking about?"
"Platforms, small rails, a lotta woodwork stuff.' Mad Dawg shrugged, putting a few tools away quickly. He seemed nervous, as if he was trying to hide something. Neither girl really understood why, or cared. Looking around Mad Dawg grinned. He picked up a small scrap scorpion and smirked. "Wanna see my stuff in action? Check this out."
Taking out his phone, the scorpion came to life, scuttling across the table. The two Loud girls were taken aback by it, while Lily laughed. The scorpion kept moving, then came to an empty Phoenix Energy can, once it stopped, its tail shook and rattled, moving back before snapping down and attempting to puncture the can. However, there wasn't a point on the end of the tail, so it only pushed the can off of the table.
"I have no idea why I made it, but who cares." Mad Dawg shrugged. "I'm weird, so I guess it's just who I am."
Lucy blinked, looking up at Mad Dawg, thinking about something. However, Lana spoke up before she could.
"If you're looking for help with some wood stuff, I might be able to help."
"Oh, okay." Mad Dawg shrugged. He wasn't sure if Lana could help, but nothing ventured, right? "Not sure we're thinking of the same thing, but… If you think you'd be able to help, c'mon, there's no harm in looking at least."
The three left, Lucy staying behind for a moment and looking at the human-like mass of metal and wires. It almost looked like an animatronic, but much cruder, which was to be expected if Mad Dawg was making these himself.
"I feel like there's so much more to him…" Lucy thought as she quietly lifted the towel over whatever it was Mad Dawg tried to hide earlier. The third, and surprisingly, most unsettling thing they saw was some sort of long metallic cylinder with holes all around it. It wasn't a perfect cylinder, if anything, it seemed… wrong. That wasn't mentioning the four small spikes near the opening… Lucy was fascinated and creeped out by this, and she wanted to know more, she reached forward to pick it up and-
"Hey! Lucy!?" Mad Dawg called form upstairs. "Where are you?"
"Be right up!" Lucy called with a small amount of emotion. She took one more look at the odd device, and suddenly she had an idea what it might be.
Back upstairs, Lana looked up from the blueprints Mad Dawg had handed her, and then looked to the doorframe. What he wanted was… bizarre, but she figured it wouldn't be any real issue! If anything, she looked forward to it!
"Hey, uh…" Lana began awkwardly. "I have a question for you."
"Shoot." Mad Dawg said, looking back to Lily, who seemed much happier as she was playing with a small fox she had brought.
"Lola and me are getting ideas together for trick-or-treating, and we had the idea of warrior outlaw princess'."
"That. Is awesome." Mad Dawg nodded approvingly, only to see the awkward, nervous smile Lana had. "what?"
"Well…" She began but trailed off, looking down.
"Kid, just tell me." Mad Dawg said flatly.
"…promise you won't get mad?"
"…why would I get mad?"
"Okay, uh, Lola had the idea… after seeing that cool video, that we needed some sort of, uh… animal, that we went around town with."
Mad Dawg looked down at her and blinked, not picking up on what she was getting at.
"We thought about taking our cat, but then we saw the cool werewolf costume you had… or that might be you… we were wondering… uh…"
"Wondering what?" Mad Dawg asked.
"…you promised you won't get mad. Okay?" Lana asked, and Dawg nodded. "We wanted to ask if you'd put on that costume-thing and hang out with us on Halloween evening."
A.N. This could end very badly… or this could be something that Mad Dawg doesn't realize he needs. Either way, this is gonna be a Halloween Royal Woods'll never forget!
