One of the walls of the building burst open, and the resulting hole was big enough to reach up to the stands. Luckily, very few people were sitting in that section, but some were close enough to get hit with pieces of flying wood and stone.

Simon and Maxwell were standing in the center of the pit, and they both turned in shock towards the destruction. Through the dust and rubble, a pair of eyes could be seen. They were glowing green. Soon, more pairs of eyes were visible, at least a dozen pairs of green eyes glaring into the room. Above them was a much larger set of eyes.

Simon immediately began to panic. He had put that green stone in his bag. Maybe the magic of the bag didn’t work, and monsters were attracted to it? Had he put this entire group of people in mortal danger? Maxwell was more annoyed than scared. He crossed his arms and stamped his foot like a child who wasn’t getting his way.

The dust slowly began to clear, and the shapes of the monsters became clearer. The dozens of eyes belonged to strange wolf-like creatures. They were smaller than a regular wolf, but their teeth were larger, to the point that they couldn’t close their mouths completely. Spines stuck out from their backs, like a thin coat of porcupine’s quills. Instead of regular tails, they had what looked more like the tail of a mouse, a long tendril of flesh.

Ratdogs. They were disgusting vermin, slowly building up numbers in the sewers and alleyways of towns and cities, preying on those who aren’t warry. They weren’t strong, but they were fast, and could easily overwhelm someone with sheer numbers.

Towering above the snarling canines was a much larger beast. It looked like a massive frog that had learned to walk upright. Its body was a massive mottled green orb of fat and secreted liquids. The creature’s eyes looked in different directions, and its tongue hung stupidly out of its mouth. Its legs were like that of an elephant’s, fat but massive. In contrast, it’s arms looked like a frog’s hind legs. They were thin compared to body, and were nothing but tensed muscle ending in large webbed hands. It was hard to believe it, but this stupid looking creature probably destroyed the wall using those arms.

Simon’s body tensed. He was prepared to fight. He was prepared, but none of the monsters were attacking. Instead they seemed to be holding back. The people in the audience realized this to. Their fear slowly turned to confusion as they stood in the stands.

“What is the meaning of this?!”

Simon flinched as Maxwell yelled at the monsters. What the hell was he thinking? There were a bunch of people in here, and if the monsters started attacking…

Luckily, none of the creatures seemed interested in attacking. They just looked around the room, their eyes still green. Simon was about to scold Maxwell, when a faint laughter could be heard.

The laughter grew louder and louder, and a figure slowly appeared, rising above the large frog monster. As the laughter reached a crescendo, the figure came into view. It was a man, standing on top of the frog’s back. Simon and Maxwell both realized that they recognized this figure.

The man stopped laughing, and he took a moment to take off his hat and bow. He rose back up, placing his cowboy hat back on top of his head, and smiling with his perfect teeth. His cloak was draped over the left side of his body, and he reached into it with his other arm, pulling out his knife. He brought the blade up to his face and ran his tongue across it.

Simon took a step backward, “I’ve seen that face before…”

The man looked down at Simon, his eyes filled with madness. He smiled and laughed again before speaking.

“A fan! How wonderful! I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Shawn “The Slicer” spun his knife in his hand and giggled softly. The crowd began nervously muttering and moving farther away from the hole in the wall, but not leaving for some reason, much to Simon’s disdain. Maxwell was also annoyed, but for different reasons.

“You! First you attack me like a coward, and now you interrupt a duel?! Have you no shame!”

Shawn’s smile faded as he looked down at the man. The smile came back, but now it was full of malice and fury.

“Oh yes, it’s me. Do you want to know why I’m here?”

“No.”

“I’m here because of you, you simple-minded creature!”

Simon turned to look at Maxwell. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew one thing. It was all this man’s fault. Which meant it wasn’t his fault. Unfortunately, it looked like he was still going to have to deal with it.

“You showed me the ultimate disrespect. Not only did you have to not let me kill you, but you also had to take away something precious to me!”

“You cut your own arm off you COWARD!”

Simon began to sweat nervously. Shawn was obviously an unstable man, and Maxwell was not only sassing him, but had also apparently taken his arm off?

“You… you will pay for this ‘Maxwell’. But at the same time, I must thank you. Thanks to the pain you caused me, I have gained new strength. A strength that will begin a new chapter in the story of Shawn the Slicer, starting with your death!”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Shawn laughed, and he flung back his cloak, revealing his left arm. If what he had said about his arm being removed was true, there was now something new in its place. It looked like an arm, but it couldn’t be, it shouldn’t be.

It began at Shawn’s shoulder, a lattice of red and brown sinew occasionally covered in thinly stretched skin. The mass of hideous flesh bent halfway down, and then split into five smaller protrusions. It looked like it was trying to mimic an arm, but the angles and proportions were wrong, and the “fingers” moved and twitched unnaturally.

“Look at it! Gaze upon what you have done to me, and contemplate your inevitable demise Maxwell!”

“Ahahahahaha! You expect to kill me with that disgusting thing? It looks like you can barely lift it, what could it possibly do to me?!”

Shawn’s eyes glinted, “I’m glad you asked. It’s time to have a little fun…”

As he said that, he lifted his right hand into the air, with his knife clutched within it. With his inhuman arm, he gestured around the room. The arm seemed to pulse slightly, and at the same time a green light pulsed from his knife. He smiled and giggled.

“Now kill.”

As though a leash had been released, the snarling Ratdogs burst forth. Many of them began climbing and leaping up the walls of the pit, getting into the stands. The people who had once been watching the conflict from above were now in the center of it. The audience burst into screams, and began scrambling over one another. They didn’t run in any particular direction, they just ran as the fanged creatures leapt upon them. The remaining nine or so Ratdogs slowly advanced towards Simon and Maxwell, their eyes glowing green.

Simon glared upwards at Shawn, who was cackling and gazing at them. Simon looked at the green light coming from his knife. There was no doubt about it, it was the same color as the crystal that caused the attack on Freemont. But this was different. Somehow, maybe by using that arm, Shawn was able to almost control the monsters instead of just attracting them?

Simon tensed his arms and created his swords. Monsters were attacking him, as well as innocent bystanders. Then there was the matter of the frog creature, and then there was Shawn.

Simon glanced at the mechanical-armed figure next to him. This was turning into a shitty day, and it was all his fault!