"Seriously, Creeper?" Kul'as asked when his minion explained the situation. Kul'as sat on his throne pinching the middle of his eyes making Creeper nervous. "You had one job to do. You were supposed to bring me the Edgeless Atlas, and yet, you come back empty-clawed. Unless you have a good excuse, I think I'll be having dragon wings for dinner. Warning: they taste like chicken wings."
"Have mercy, Lord Kul'as!" Creeper begged loudly. "I didn't mean to fail! It's that wirewolf we bought it from! He took it and ran off with his big guy and another wirewolf!"
"Another wirewolf?" Kul'as asked. "What's the Neatherealm coming to?"
Suddenly, his own wirewolf came into the room.
"Speak of a devil." Kul'as said. "What do you want, Aaron?"
"It's Professor Slyme, sir." Aaron said. "He said he's got something to show you."
Kul'as groaned. "That ooze-for-brains could invent the wheel and not get it right. Oh, well. I need a good laugh."
Aaron turned to the door and opened it. Suddenly, a dripping, humanoid pile of slime walked through wearing a white lab coat, but nothing else.
"What do you have for me now, Slyme?"
"Well, Master Kul'as," Slyme said, "I've been hearing about our mining operations being interrupted by a meddling wirewolf that seems to get away."
"Hold on a second." Kul'as thought to himself. "I wonder if this Shadow Blot wirewolf is the same one who took off with my map."
"Well, master," Professor Slyme continued, "I happen to have invented a way to find wirewolves."
That caught Kul'as' attention. "Really? What a coincidence! That's exactly what I need right now! How does it work?"
"This handheld scanner acts as a metal detector, but with the wirewolves' specific metals and circuitry." Professor Slyme said holding up a circular scanner device. "Don't worry; I made this thing slime-proof. Anyway, this machine is like a divining rod. It is designed to jerk when it points at a wirewolf."
"It does... what?" Kul'as asked.
"I just told you." Professor Slyme said. "Jerk!" He suddenly realized what he just said and how it was a mistake. It brought silence to the whole room.
"He's dead." Aaron commented.
Kul'as took offense of what Slyme said, and his eyes started to glow panicking the melting scientist. "That didn't come out right at all."
"No, it didn't." Kul'as growled. Suddenly, beams of light escaped from his eyes and hit Slyme's chest. It was then that Slyme started to grow until...
BOOM! Within a second, the entire room was covered in goo. Everyone was grossed out by it, but Kul'as just groaned.
"Well, that was uncalled for." Aaron said.
"Bite your metal tongue!" Creeper shouted. "That melting moron just insulted our great master!"
"Whatever you say, shrimp." Aaron said. "Anyway, does that wirewolf scanner thing even work?"
Kul'as reached the floor and picked up the device. He wiped off the slime and aimed it at Aaron. There was no reaction from it.
"Well, either Aaron's been holding out on us," Kul'as said throwing the device aside, "Or Slyme's final invention is just like all his others, only good as paperweights! Now, we have no R&D team and no way to track down those rogue wirewolves."
"Hey, if it's wirewolves you want, I'm game." Aaron said. "I'm a predator, and we are meant to track down our prey and hunt them down. Just say the word."
"Sir?" Creeper asked his lord and master.
"Well, if it takes a wirewolf to catch a wirewolf, it's got to be better than nothing." Kul'as said. "All right, Aaron. Hunt down the wirewolves, tear out their motherboards, and bring me the Edgeless Atlas... BUT SO HELP ME, IF YOU SO HAPPEN TO MESS THIS UP, I'M RECYCLING YOU INTO A GAME-STATION FOR THE BABY UNDERLINGS!"
"All right, all right!" Aaron panicked. "Don't have a cow! I'm going!" And with that, the wirewolf scampered on out the door without a trace.
"Master," Creeper addressed, "I wish for redemption for failing to get the map. How can I make up for my tardiness?"
"Well..." Kul'as said thinking, "With Slyme on 'permanent retirement', we have a position open, and I happen to hear about a guy who can help." He then pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper. "Follow these instructions to his lab. Be careful; I hear the guy's a little nuts. Remember, come back with this guy or don't come back at all."
"Even a time bubble can't stop me from fulfilling your will, oh wise and magnificent Kul'as!" Creeper praised.
"Just... go." Kul'as gritted his teeth trying not to strangle the tiny dragon. He waited until his minion left before sighing in relief. "I think I need a nap."
"Are we there yet?" Ricky asked.
"You're starting to sound like a whining kid, Ricky." Terry said. "We've still got a lot of ground to cover before we get to our destination."
"Devastate."
"You're right, Big D." Terry said. "We should find a place to rest in this village."
It wouldn't be a lie to say they were at the best-looking village in the Neatherealm, but given the environment, the bar would be low. It's like describing the dirtiest bar of soap, something the village evidently didn't have.
"On second thought, maybe we should find a nice tar pit." Terry said. "It would be a lot cleaner than this dump."
Suddenly, Devastator stopped and placed his claw on Terry's shoulder.
"What is it now, you big lug?"
"Devastate."
Suddenly, Terry started to gain a worried face. Ricky was confused.
"Ooh, that would be a problem."
"What?" Ricky asked. "What did he say?"
"We're distinguished." Terry said. "Think about it for a second. How many times have you seen a trio of wirewolves following a map? If an Underling sees us, he'll know who we are and Kul'as won't be far behind."
"Well, what do you suggest we do?" Ricky asked.
Before Terry could reply, a crowd started to form around a large wagon. Curious, the wirewolves approached the front of the crowd and got a good look. Suddenly, the wagon shifted its sides until it became a stage. At the center of the stage, something stood that surprised Ricky, Terry, and Devastator.
"Another wirewolf?" Terry gasped when he saw the performer.
"Hello, everyone!" the performing wirewolf said. "Ladies and gentle-monsters, I have arrived, the mysterious, amusing Masque! Behold!"
In a flash, the wirewolf was covered in green flames. When it cleared, everyone screamed when they saw a certain four-armed, black villain in his place. Kul'as roared, but everyone stopped when he then started to laugh.
"You should've seen the looks on your faces." A green fire surrounded the stage again and Kul'as then looked like Masque again. "It's okay, everyone! Kul'as isn't near here! I'm just a master of disguise." The fire appeared multiple times changing him into many different things. "And I'm not afraid to become them.
"Take a look and you'll see
That I'm you and you're me
We are exact
It's like a living reflection
Of anyone of my selection
Ain't that a fact
Sure, right now, I'm a robo-mutt
But that can change in a blink
Right before you'll eyes and in a strut
Abracadabra! BAM! What do you think
I'm quite a chief
A camo chief
A mirrored motif
A camo chief
A kangaroo
A caribou
An extra side of beef
At any time
You see that I'm
A camo chief
Now, tell me what you wanted
And I'll be happy to flaunt it
For your pleasure
And don't think I can trim it
So far, I have no limit
That's a high measure
Any animal or object, I can change shape
Let me show you all I got
From a tiny butterfly to a great ape
Can you believe it's all self-taught
I'm quite a chief
A camo chief
Quite a relief
A camo chief
I'm shifty
And swifty
Always with another face
I'm another guy
And zip bye-bye
Without a tiny trace
I'M QUITE A CHIEF
A CAMO CHIEF
I HAVE NO GRIEF
A CAMO CHIEF
SO WATCH ME GO
A REGULAR PRO
AN IDENTITY THIEF
I'VE KNOWN HUNGER AND THIRST
BUT I'VE ALWAYS BEEN YOU FIRST
TO MAKE THIS SONG MORE BRIEF
MY LIFE USED TO BE BORING SENSE
BUT THEN CAME DISCORDANT CONVERGENCE
AND BLAMMO
SUDDENLY, I'M A CAAAAAAAMOOOOOOOO
CHIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEF"
Impressed, the crowd cheered and threw their pocket change at the stage. The wirewolves in the crowd just had their jaws dropped.
"Can you do that?" Ricky asked.
"I was going to ask you the same question." Terry said.
"Thank you! Thank you!" Masque cheered. "And in case anyone wants to be part of the show, auditions are open!"
"Auditions?" Ricky whispered. He then placed his index claw under his chin and scratched it. "Hmm."