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Breaking into a run, Lucas looked back at Vicky and barked “You and Alex guard the rest of the workers; I’ll try and get some of the patrol to help kill the Slug!”

“Okay, but take this! It might come in handy!” Vicky responded, tossing the freezing shortsword over to him.

Using her spear to stand up, Alex protested, to no avail, as Lucas raced after the Incarnation.

“Trust me, Lucas’ got the best shot at saving her!” Vicky stated, giving Alex a firm look, scanning the surrounding area for more threats in the process.

Raising an eyebrow, Alex asked “I get that the affected longsword he has is useful, but I can create blockades in the river-”

“-Which the Slug can just jump over, or swerve around! Besides, you’re assuming you’ll be able to keep up with it!”

Somewhat baffled, Alex retorted “ And he can? How?”

Before she could reply, Vicky saw something happening to Lucas, and grinned a bit.

“Well, look behind you, and you’ll find out!”

Turning back to Lucas, Alex’s eyes widened...and an understanding smirk appeared on her face.

“A werewolf, huh? With that sort of speed, I can’t help, but be a bit jealous.”

‘Yeah, but the fleas are a real pain the neck...Gireld’s Moon, I was REALLY hoping I wouldn’t have to use this today.” ’ Lucas thought to himself, having heard the compliment with his enhanced hearing. Wanting to get to the Slug before it reached the river, he had decided on a partial transformation. End result? Pointier ears, a face that seemed to jut forward a bit, canines sticking out his mouth, nails that looked more like claws, more muscular limbs, and fur.

Dark brown fur.

And it was everywhere

Okay, it wasn’t ‘everywhere;’ it was more like a mountain range of fur had settled on his spine, shoulders, hip bone, and then decided to extend some smaller ranges up to his hairline, his elbows, and his knees. While his armor was made to adapt to the transformation, it still felt a bit constrictive to wear it, even when he had only shifted partially.

He WAS definitely faster, though whether or not he would be able to catch up to the Slug before it reached the river…

...was a big fat ‘NO’.

“D*MN IT!” Lucas swore aloud as his longsword, aided by his heightened strength, only managed to nick the Slug as it landed in the river. If the thing was already faster than a human on land, then in the water, Lucas would be hard pressed, even in his current state, to keep up with it. Letting out a frustrated growl, Lucas bolted after it. Reaching into a satchel, with mild difficulty, Luca took out a pinkie sized, cylindrical stone covered in light brown paper, made a tear into a seal on it’s side, and tossed it up into the air as high as he could as he gave chase.

‘Please see it in time.’ Lucas prayed internally, watching as the stone exploded into a vibrant light brown firework in the darkened sky. Looking back at his prey, Lucas grimaced at the sight of the capture woman. The initial panic-fuel adrenaline caused by the Slug abducting her was already starting to wear off, and the irregular breaths of fresh air, combined with her internal injuries, were making her attempts to stay above the ‘waters’ surface more and more labored. If she didn’t wind up drowning in the Slug, then pneumonia was gonna hit her hard in her exhausted state.

“PLEASE…I DON’T WANNA DIE!!” She managed to shout as she broke the surface once more, her voice strained. Her eyes, wide and wavering, were pleading with him to save her life. If she had begun crying at any point during his ordeal, then the liquid body she was trapped in made it impossible to tell.

“THEN EYES FORWARD, AND GET READY TO DODGE! HELP’S ON THE WAY!” Lucas ordered, pointing ahead of her. Immediately whirling around, the woman’s eyes widened with renewed panic. Floating branches, protruding stones, and big-mouthed fish were in the Slugs path. And given how easily she had been pulled into its body...

‘Okay, think! The river leads directly to the ocean, but what’s the overall path…?! FINALLY!’ Lucas thought, his eyes rolling in exasperated relief.

The Redwood Patrol had arrived from the trees, and, judging by the way one of them was taking out sealed paper, they were already following protocol for Tidal Slugs. Another one of them, a squad leader, judging from the number of badges on his helmet, looked to address Lucas directly while leaping between tree branches to chase the Incarnation, the soles of his boots faintly glowing yellow. Two other Patrolmen ran behind as fast as they could, managing to maintain shouting distance.

“Connor Telbus, Head Watchman of Unit 12! You’re the one who sent the light up, right? Identify yourself!” said squad leader commanded, speaking loudly to reach Lucas’ ears.

“...No, no, it was the lady trapped in the slug. Yes, I’m the one who sent it up! Name’s Lucas Vaulen, running a job for W.I.S.S.!” Lucas replied, his biting sarcasm earning a raised eyebrow. Realizing what he just said, Lucas winced. Yeah, partial or not, this state tended to make him more of an *ss than usual. From what he learned when growing up, it was something about ‘heightened aggression.’

“...We’ve got bigger problem, so I’m gonna let that slide for now - Okay, I’m seeing a Tidal Slug-prey situation, and one of mine’s setting up a barrier up ahead near the river’s end. I take it that there’s an actual reason you need our help?”

“Yeah, the Incarnation’s been in the world for a while now, and I’ve got a Drought veil on my longsword, and a freezing shortsword on my belt! Get the picture?” Lucas shouted back to him.

Immediately understanding him, Telbus replied “Got it! You worry about the killing blow, we’ll contain it, and secure the little lady! Heads up, though: We’ve got a man at Gladestone pond ready in case things turn sour! You familiar with that place?”

Mulling over the question for a second, Lucas nodded once and shouted back “Yeah, I know that place. I’ll get ready to ambush the Slug, and you guys keep it still! Use this to pin it down!”, before throwing over the Freezing shortsword and hurrying up the trees.

Nodding, Telbus turned to the Patrolman accompanying him from behind, and ordered “Lamar, signal Sanchez to activate the blockade, and Dakers to get the trap ready if things turn sour!”

Nodding, the patrolman took out a few marble-sized, paper-covered balls from his pocket, made a small scratch on each of them, and loaded them into a slingshot. Aiming, he loosed them high into the air, and after a few seconds of traveling, the balls exploded. Unlike the one Lucas had used, these explosives did not unleash a cloud of color, but instead released a half a dozen small sparks that slowly fell before fading into nothing. In less than a second after the sparks disappeared, a great, booming sound echoed in the sky, scattering some birds.

‘Huh, the sound’s a bit deeper than the last time I heard it. Must be a newer version.’ Lucas observed, his ears unconsciously folding to prevent damage from the sound as he racing along the trees. Following the Slug’s path as fast as he could from the trees, he came to an abrupt halt and unsheathed part of his greatsword when he saw large roots suddenly burst from the flowing river, cutting off the Slugs path. He grinned as even more roots erupted from around the Slug before it could retreat, forcing it onto Lucas’s side of the river.

‘Nice - Sprig Recrafting, I think is what that’s called. Pretty useful in a place like High Beacon. Enough space in between those roots to let the river still flow. And that Slug may be able to travel through most solid objects with enough space, but the worker can’t!’

Watching as the Slug tried to weave around the roots, only for more erupt from the ground, Lucas swung over to the closest branch that would be suited for a killing blow from above.

Below him, the Incarnation paused in its maneuvering when it not only felt a familiar sensation spread through its midsection... but the shifting of its meal as well. The red-ish core that was it “eye” swiftly looked upwards, and saw its prey being lifted from its liquid body by tree vines. Lunging upwards in attempt to retrieve its prey, the Incarnation felt something slash down its midsection, and a familiar sensation halted its movements. The red core swiveled around to look downwards, and saw that a portion of its body had been frozen solid. Immediately looking in the direction where the ice seemed to have been inflicted from, the Incarnation saw a patrolman running towards the safety of the surrounding trees. Deciding to abandon its initial prey, the Slug lunged after the new target, abandoning the frozen part of its body. In its rush to reach the patrolman, it didn’t seem to register to the living fear that it had partially splashed against a tree, further losing a portion of its body, and soaking the coniferous tree- a fact that was not lost to Lucas.

‘Well, that answers ONE question; I’ve heard about how Tidal Slugs work; they try to get in, and get out with their meal with minimal fuss, and prefer subtlety, kinda like some thug grabbing someone passing by an alley and holding them at knifepoint as they drags them further away from view. It hasn’t even tried doing anything subtle, which means this thing’s freakin’ desperate for a meal!’

Desperate it was, as it failed to notice the shine of metal in its path.

Still unable to make a sound, it quivered mightily as the Freezing shortblade sliced along the entirety of it’s body, another patrolman’s hand having slashed out from around a tree’s bend, blade in hand. Whipping around, it had to take pause to register the running form of the Patrolman, his cloak colored green to match the forest around him. If there was one thing the soldiers of High Beacon knew, it was that being undetected, even if it was for just a few moments, was the difference between life and death.

Realizing how out of hand the situation was getting, even the slug’s core shook in frustration and stress. Desperately surging after the patrolman as he disappeared into some bushes, the slug was practically ripped in half when a large chunk of its body suddenly froze over while washing through the bushes. Swiftly looking back to the bush, it saw the sheen of metal in its rear body, rapidly freezing what was left. Shaking it out immediately, the Incarnation returned its attention to the patrolman - and saw him rapidly climbing a tree.

At that point, the incarnation realized it’s hunt was at an end, and looked around for a bit to try and find the way back to the river. Making its decision, it turned around - only to find no less than five spears being thrust at its core from several directions and angles. Immediately, it collapsed its body, pooling around the feet of the interlopers...and felt most of it’s body being frozen one final time. The freezing blade had been picked up while it was distracted, and had been stabbed into it while it was most vulnerable.

A blade from above plunged into it’s core before it could realize what had happened, the Drought Veil evaporating whatever water was left.

It was over.

Plucking the greatsword out of the earth, Lucas let out a satisfied sigh and muttered “Finally!”, then turned to the five patrolmen emerging from the trees, grinning.

“Nice timing there! You said your last name was ‘Vaulen’, right?’ You related to Nora Vaulen?” Telbus asked, an impressed smile on his face. His eyes looked over Lucas’s form, now noticing the wolfish features.

Chuckling a bit at the question, Lucas replied “Yeah, that’d be my mom.”

Both eyebrows raised in surprise, Telbus remarked “You’re Nora’s son? No kidding?”

“Mom’s a smoker with light brown hair, and likes fish.” Lucas stated casually, smirking a bit, sheathing his longsword and walking up to them.

Taken aback, Telbus began laughing and stated “That’s Nora, alright! Didn’t think I’d be meeting up with her son today! Didn’t know you were a werewolf, though.”

“...So what if I am?!” Lucas flatly asked, snarling. Telbus promptly put his hands up in front of him defensively, somewhat bewildered. Realizing what he just said, Lucas slapped a hand to his face and groaned slightly, then hastily said “Ugh, sorry about that; I tend to be a bit more...snippy when I’m transformed like this. “

“It’s fine, it’s fine, I’ll take your word for it. I probably could have phrased that a bit better, anyhow. For the record, werewolves are fine in my book, though I’m not sure why Nora’d neglect to mention you were one.” Telbus dismissively said, putting a hand forward.

Grasping Telbus’ hand with his own, Lucas shook hands with him and said “Eh, mom feels that people should get to know me before they find out; her way of trying to nip prejudice in the *ss, I think.”

“Eh, I’ve heard stranger methods.”

“So, how’s mom doing these days? Last time I saw her was about four months ago, so I’m guessing you met her at that bi-annual security meet-up-thing, right?”

Chuckling slightly, Telbus remarked “Well, perhaps ‘met’ isn’t the right word. It’s more like I overheard her while she was less than sober-”

“Uh, sir? There’s someone who needs to speak to you, and Mr. Vaulen.”

Both Lucas and Telbus turned around, and were greeted by the sight of the worker they had rescued. Strands of blond hair poked out of the towel draped over her, and her body, covered in blankets, was shaking violently. But the gratitude shining in her eyes seemed to ease the sight before them, if only by a bit.

“You might wanna take it easy, mam. You only just got out of that thing.” Lucas gently cautioned her, one arm hanging to the side with the other placed on his hip.

“I-I k-know. I j-just wanted to th-thank you, b-both of you.” she said, gripping the blankets tighter. “I...I came so close to...d-death’s door...but you all saved me from that thing. E-even if I live to be a hundred, I don’t th-think I’ll be able to repay you. So, at the very least, from the bottom of my heart, thank you!” Joyful tears were streaming down her eyes at this point.

“Eh, we’re just doing our jobs. Don’t mention it.” Lucas brushed off the praise, rolling his eyes, a small smile creeping on his face. “Now, there’s another matter to discuss...” Lucas stated, turning to Telbus before gesturing to the Incarnations remains. Despite the Slugs core having been burned up, the white gelatinous blobs that had been floating by it were still intact.

“Right, right...A seventy-five, twenty-five way split sounds fair. In the Redwood Patrol’s favor, of course.” Telbus declared, giving Lucas an expectant look.

No one noticed the water slowly gathering around the feet of the worker.

Scowling, Lucas replied “Yeah, I don’t think so…”

Turning to the worker, an irritated expression on his face, Lucas stated, “Alright, Me and Telbus need to negotiate a little, so just stick close to us, find a place to sit, and I’ll escort you back to the warehouse when we’re done, safe and sound.”, getting a nod of understanding and gratitude from her. Clutching the blanket wrapped around her to her, she shakily walked over to a tree stump, two patrolmen helping her calm herself while Lucas and Telbus argued. One of them began gathering some firewood while the other offered her a hot loaf if bread, then began to patrol the area once she accepted. About to take a bite, the worker noticed that a small puddle of water was under her boot. A mild sense of dread immediately developing, she was about to alarm the patrolmen when she remembered that the liquid from the Tidal Slug was still nearby. Figuring that the slug had simply splashed the area a bit, she shrugged and took a bit of her loaf, sighing with contentment as she ate the warm, fluffy dough.

Before anyone could react, the water that had been at her feet instantly expanded, revealing that the ‘puddle’ had been much larger than she had thought, quickly surrounding her with a bubble inside yet another large, slug-ish body of water.

Another red core was inside.

Time slowed to a crawl as everyone registered what was happening. Lucas’ eyes widened with alarm, his hand going immediately for his sword, and his feet starint a sprint; Telbus’ mouth began to form a curse as he dove for the freezing shortsword, and the other patrolmen paused in the middle of what they were doing, their expressions turning to panic. The worker, though; as she opened her eyes from savoring the bread, she blinked as if not believing what was happening. Her eyes began looking around at a snail’s pace, the bread in her hands starting to slip from her hands, and her mouth going slack in disbelief.

And time resumed as the new Tidal Slug followed the former by smacking everyone but it’s prey with large whip of water. Lucas had just unsheathed his sword, and Telbus had just finished swearing, with his patrolmen finally letting go of what they were doing.

Knocked off his feet, Lucas landed a few meters from his initial position and shouted “You’ve GOTTA be...THERE WAS ANOTHER ONE?!”

Just like the one before it, the Slug wasted no time...and shot in a direction, ignoring the river altogether.

“No idea where it’s going, but get after it, NOW!!” Telbus roared, the side of his armor badly crumpled after having been grazed against a tree. Letting out a simple grunt of acknowledgement, Lucas raced after the unexpected target.

‘Where in the Five Paths is that thing going?? Was it watching us fight the other Slug the entire time?!’ Lucas exclaimed mentally, weaving through the trees. The laborer’s yells of terror seemed more like cries of despair and exhaustion at this point, and her splashing was coming across as almost depressing at this point. Following the Slug as it went over some bushes, Lucas suddenly found himself in a small, unfamiliar clearing in the forest, with the Slug barreling towards a curtain of moss, hanging in front a small batch of ancient trees. Using the temporary wide open field to his advantage, he charged full speed ahead, and burst through the draping moss.

And caught one last glimpse of the laborer’s hands, gripping some sort of stone edge, barely visible above the ground, before the moss covered grip gave way, sending her plummeting downwards.

“A freaking WELL?!” Lucas exclaimed in disbelief as he leapt forward. Plunging his arm as he landed atop it, he could only stare in horrified silence as his lengthened hand missed the woman’s by a feet. The last he saw was her eyes filled with fading hope as she plummeted downward, disappearing altogether in the darkness as a splash was heard Frozen in place from the shock of what had happened, his outstretched hand slowly began clenching, and self-frustration gradually crept onto his features, a few tears dropping. Slowly leaning back from the well, Lucas’s arms hung loosely to his sides as he let out a howl.

“GIRELD D*MN IT!!!”

In the bowels of the well, she struggled in its grasp, frantically trying to swim out its body with the last of her strength as the Tidal Slug calmly sat in the water, looking at her as a cat might curiously gaze down at a mouse with its tail caught under its paw. Unable to see anything, she still struggled, only knowing of surrounding walls, her lungs starting to scream in pain from the lack of air.

Then she felt something grab her left foot.

Whipping around, she pulled forward, and saw what was keeping her in place.

It was one of the white blobs that had been next the red core of the Slug. Her eyes widening in horror of what this meant, she felt something grab her right hand as well. Dreading what she might see, she turned around.

It was the other white blob.

It was then that she noticed the core, just floating there several feet away from her. Staring. Watching.

Waiting.

Hysteria washed over her as she realized that this was what it had intended to do all along. She screamed in utter despair, letting water flood her lungs as she flailed around, in one frenzied attempt to escape. Gradually, she tired out the last burst of energy within her, her movements slowing as she drowned, her eyelids starting to drop as her life left her. Eventually, her motions became little more than the barest twitch of her fingers, the last few precious bubbles of oxygen leaving her mouth

And then there was silence.

Starting from the white blobs, her skin began to discolor, turning a deep purple as the Slug began to eat.

……

Letting out a sigh, Lucas grimaced as he tiredly walked down the street towards his next job at the Enforcer headquarters, the memories from last night still echoing in his mind.

The manager had reacted how Lucas had expected him to. He understood that the second slug had taken everyone by surprise, but his anger was still there. After berating them a bit, he had docked a bit of pay their failure, and Lucas had written an apology note to the laborers loved ones.
‘Kinda ironic that she died before her parents. Usually, it’s the other way around.’ Lucas thought. In High Beacon, the average civilian was considered rather lucky if they lived long enough to see their grandkids, so for your kid to die before you did…

Shaking his head a bit to clear his thoughts, Lucas noted that it could have been worse. True, it was a depressing way to go, but at least it was just one casualty.

Returning his attention to the road, Lucas blinked in surprise when someone crashed through a window to his right. Noticing a bloody knife in the person’s hand, Lucas drew his sword and prepared to engage.

However, moments after they landed, someone else leapt out from the corner of the building the afore-mentioned criminal had crashed through, and tackled them to the ground. After a brief struggle, the law-breaker, a woman now that Lucas could get a good look at her, was pinned to the ground, her arms gripped behind her back by the one who had tackled her. Lucas immediately recognized the attire of the tackler - of course, it’d be hard not to recognize the armor of the Havens law enforcers, the High Beacon Enforcers.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve, I’ll give you that much.” The officer of the law grunted, earning a death glare and garbled profanity from the woman with her face in the dirt.

‘Oh, don’t tell me.’ Lucas thought, recognizing the gruff, but female voice of the officer.

Tying the unnamed woman’s wrists and feet together, the officer looked around at the crowd that had begun gathering, and started waving them off.

“Alright, nothing to see here. Just a typical arrest, go back to your-!” the officer paused, noticing Lucas standing a good meter or two away. Placing a hand on her hip, the officer flashed a big grin, and took off her helmet, revealing a shock of light brown hair tied in a spiky ponytail, and a scar that ran across the bridge of her nose.

“Well, I’ll be! Luke,

Sighing, Lucas simply raised his right hand and gave an anticipatory wave, uttering two simple words.

“Hey, mom.”