“Seriously?”

Jacob looked over at Marcus, who was looking at his phone wearing only his underwear.

“What?”

“Guess who’s on the street stage at 23:00 tonight at Doctrine?”

Jacob shrugged. The New Year’s Eve street party at Doctrine was the biggest event in Montevista Square. Every year, there were DJ’s and musical acts in both the indoor and outdoor areas, which was no different from most weekends. On New Year’s, there was a third stage out on the street, which was blocked off for just party-goers.

“I dunno. Who, Marcus?”

“Tiberius.”

Jacob’s maw fell open. “No shit? That’s a hard stage to get onto.”

“It’s right here on the Doctrine app. Huh.”

“Wasn’t it just last week we were at the Biosciences Lab with him? Tiberius must have hustled to get on that stage,” Jacob licked his nose.

Marcus shrugged. “Well, to be perfectly clear, the app says ‘Tiberius Costa with PowerMaw.’ PowerMaw is that weird metal band from up north. Certainly nothing like the pop hits he used to sing.”

“Didn’t they win ContinentVision last year?” Jacob flickered his ears as he put on his underwear.

“I dunno,” Marcus grumbled. “I never pay attention to that stuff. I have heard of them, though. Weird beasts. We’re checking them out, right?”

“Oh hell yeah,” Jacob barked. “This could be fun.”

Marcus put his phone down and started putting on his shorts. “This could be… interesting.”

–

Marcus and Jacob walked over to Sarah’s apartment building. She was descending the stairs as they arrived.

Opening the door to her building, Marcus barked.

“How did you know we were here?”

Sarah smiled. “It’s fifteen minutes later than the time you said you’d be here, so I timed it perfectly. You’re always fifteen minutes late when you’re arriving together. Jacob is always on time when he’s arriving alone. So are you, Marcus. I think you both create a time warp together.”

Jacob chuckle-barked. “Guess who’s on the street stage at 23:00?”

Sarah’s eyes widened as she grinned. “Yeah! PowerMaw! I love those freaks!”

Marcus blinked. “You, uh, like metal?”

“Oh fuck, it’s metal but fun metal,” Sarah replied. “They’re nuts. Crazy costumes. Outrageously weird lyrics. Sexy as fuck, too. I can’t believe you haven’t watched their videos. Oh, nevermind. We’re seeing them live. You’ll see.”

“Did you see who’s performing with them?” Jacob woofed.

Sarah blinked. “Uh, no?”

“Tiberius!” Marcus barked. “I think they made a last-minute addition.”

Sarah’s maw dropped open. “But… uh… Tiberius is a pop star. Dance hits. Ballads. That kinda thing. What the hell is he doing with PowerMaw?”

Jacob shrugged. “Guess we’ll find out.”

–

The three of them reached the entrance booth by 21:00. The line wasn’t bad, so they managed to pay their way in and get wristbands pretty quickly. Making their way into the crowds on the street on an unusually warm evening, Sarah stopped and turned around to face her dogs.

“It’s been an incredibly weird yet immensely happy year for me, boys. Thank you for these amazing adventures and for your love. My life went from boring to exhilarating and I couldn’t be more grateful to you.”

“Aw, Sarah,” Marcus woofed. “The three of us together have made for a super awesome team. I’m looking forward to 2431 with a ton of optimism. I never could say that before on New Year’s.”

“A year ago, I didn’t know if I’d make it to 2431,” Jacob rumbled. “For years, it was always living from day to day. I couldn’t see the future. Both of you have changed all of that.”

Marcus and Sarah immediately leaned in and hugged Jacob.

“Awright!” Sarah exclaimed over the thumping bass. “Let’s party!”

–

At 23:00, Sarah, Marcus and Jacob found themselves near the outdoor street stage. PowerMaw was still setting up on stage. Marcus and Jacob stared at the drummer, a muscular caribou named Gorf who was dressed in only a latex thong. His rump flexed and moved seductively as he got his gear into place. The guitarist, a lean deer known simply as The Axe, was sporting a gigantic codpiece on his crotch and a wolf skull on his head. The other band members were just as scantily-attired.

“Oh shit, Sarah,” Marcus woofed. “This band is fucking hot.”

Sarah smiled. “Yeah. Like, super sexy. I knew you’d like them.”

The three of them chatted, reminiscing about everything they did in the old year together.

“What do you think we’ll get up to in 2431?” Sarah asked before taking a sip of her drink.

Jacob shrugged. “Hopefully it doesn’t involve anything too crazy. I think we deserve a year or two of stability after all we’ve been through.”

“Yeah,” Marcus barked. “Let’s do normal shit like plan out our vacations and goof around on the beach. And don’t forget, we can do those day trips out of the city in my new car.”

“Ah yeah,” Sarah replied. “I can’t stop thinking about all those historic sites we can go visit. We can stay in cute little towns and get fed breakfast in tiny inns.”

Jacob looked up at the stage. “Aw yeah. PowerMaw looks like they’re ready.”

The audience cheered as the lead guitarist let loose with a furious riff. The rest of the band joined in and soon the entire block party was energized. Jacob and Marcus howled along with the music. Suddenly, the curtain behind the stage parted and out strutted Tiberius, barely clad in a codpiece and armbands. He’d coloured his muzzle and jaw white, giving the illusion of a skull. The wolf’s red eyes seemed to be glowing brighter red than usual. He gave one nod and smile to Jacob, Marcus and Sarah before he brought his microphone up to his maw.

The audience gasped.

What followed was fifty minutes of the most intense, deeply insane music the audience had ever heard. Gone were Tiberius’ familiar old tunes, replaced by a raw, monstrous voice that took everyone by surprise. The crowd cheered and even tried singing along to one of PowerMaw’s biggest hits, but no one could match the howls coming out of Tiberius.

With an incredible drum solo finish, the audience roared with approval, sending cheers echoing down the street.

Tiberius took a bow and pointed at the projected numerals on the side of an empty building across the street. A countdown timer to 2431 was ticking every closer to the new year. As it hit the ten-second mark, everyone started counting down, punctuated by an eruption of loud, happy howls, roars and hollering when the new year arrived at exactly 00:00.

Jacob could feel a paw on the back of his neck. Marcus and Sarah were pulling him in for a kiss. As they explored each other’s maws with their tongues, Jacob felt a warm glow inside his chest. It spread all throughout his body as they embraced each other. By the time it reached his brain, he felt more at peace than he’d ever felt before. Even though he was surrounded by chaos and wild partying, Jacob felt like he’d become the sun, sending his energy through Sarah and Marcus and, indeed, to the entire world.