37- Spear Shaft of the Brown Star!

6/2/5/4353 M.A.C - Great Western Rainforest- Hours before Dawn

Is it because the hole in the roof is causing a strong draft maybe?

As Emi was the least tired of the trio, and she wasn't expected to carry much the next day, she had volunteered to keep watch until sunrise. She had either slept too soundly the previous nights, or this was the first such occurrence, but she could not help but notice how loudly her two traveling companions were snoring.

At least I managed to keep them motivated. If we die tonight, we'll at least have had some fun working together. Still, for a pair of mute monkeys, they sure can snore loud.

Emi knew it must have been around 5 hours since she'd started keeping watch as her energy was nearly back to full. Keeping the node she had created with [The World is a Soundstage] topped up did require a small upkeep, but after she had stopped trying to increase its capacity, the cost ended up being less than 10% of her natural recovery rate. Emi isolated the soundwaves caused by the snoring and silenced them to allow her to concentrate on her task.

Man, I'm not quite at Daredevil level, but my hearing did get a lot better. Back on Earth, I would have just heard the general sounds of nature and gotten bored because "nothing was happening". Now, I can hear little scratches and cracks up in the trees, telling me some little rodents are probably nesting up there. Now, if only those damn bats would shut up!

To the human ear, bats can already be rather noisy and annoying. To Emi and her [Wave Vision] though, the ultrasounds they used to echolocate themselves created something akin to a snowstorm. Luckily, sound past a certain frequency has close to little penetrating power, so the nuisance was limited to the exterior. Still, that did knock out one of her more useful surveillance tools and limited her to using traditional hearing and her superior dark vision.

Dammit, shut up or I'm holding "rat murder party 2: now with wings!".

Emi had had enough of the little nocturnal nuisances and decided to get even. One of the dozen of bats that seemed to call the overhang of the roof its home headed back toward the shelter, a large berry in its clutches. As it shot out a series of ultrasonic waves to calculate its approach and come in for a precise landing, Emi redirected the point at which they impacted, and the angle at which they reflected back.

*SMACK*

The bat flew straight into the wall at full speed, flattened itself against it, slid down a few inches, and then fell the rest of the way onto the ground, a pool of oozing red liquid spreading around it.

Oh shit! Didn't mean to kill it...Unlike the mice back in the village, they aren't a health concern. Guess I'll bury it in the morning as an apo-

The bat stood up, shook its head a few times, and noticed what remained of its bounty beneath it. The berry had been completely crushed and all that was left was a sack of skin attached to a small stalk. There was some more, but it was either covered in it, or stepping in it.

Heh! Nice, don't have to feel guilty now. The punishment is a better fit for the cr-

A large shadow passed over the grounded bat, or at least that was what had appeared to happen to Emi until she realized the bat was no longer anywhere to be seen. She quickly pulled he head back, so that the few inches that were peaking out of the high-window were now safely back inside. Straining her ears, she barely heard a tiny high-pitched deathcry and then silence. The rodents had stopped scurrying above in the branches, the bats had flown off, probably as a result of their brethren's death, leaving only silence where their voices and the flapping of their wings had been. Emi had been annoyed by the bats, but the sudden death followed by the silence put her a lot more on edge.

Gotta wake them up!

Emi set up a perimeter around her two sleeping companions, to stop any sound from leaking out, and immediately shook them awake while shouting in their ears.

"It's go time! Get your weapons set and get in position. Death is a possibility, but let us not sell our lives cheaply!"

Music once more accompanied Emi's speech as the two monkeys, still half asleep, blinked at her while trying to get their brains online.

Nope, can't let you get your bearings, need you in full adrenaline mode.

"We have a plan, we have completed our preparations, and we have the most splendid example of a warrior we could hope for..."

Emi punctuated her last point by handing Sun Hanukong his Spear and slapping his forehead protector on. She then turned to Artcic.

"...and also the smartest little monkey in the world, who would already be dead if getting killed by a panther was his fate..."

Emi placed the makeshift spear, the one they had crafted by tying the knife to one of the stool legs, into Arctic's hands, and gave his hair a ruffle.

"Lastly, we have...me? I may not be much use in a fight, but having a pretty lady to protect is sure to make healthy young males like yourselves raring to show off. Am I right?"

Sun Hanukong's haze cleared and his warrior switch got triggered, along with another less relevant of his switches, and his posture instantly solidified into the stance Emi had seen him using when practicing. No, she had not been observing his gleaming, sweaty, and engorged muscles, primarily because they were covered in fur, she had been interested in seeing how well their protector handled his spear-

Oh shit, that might have been too effective.

Arctic started looking around the room in an exaggerated fashion.

"Don't worry bud, nothing made its way in yet."

"Was looking for that pretty lady you said would motivate us."

The cheek on that one!

"Save those lethal hands of yours for the upcoming fight instead of dishing out emotional damage to your own companions."

*THUMP* *thump*

Something had just landed on the roof, letting out a loud thud followed by a quieter one. Emi could picture the panther landing on its forelegs to cushion the impact, its hindlegs following with less force. She was slightly underwhelmed by the amount of noise though, she had expected the panther to be quieter based on how stealthy they had been described to be. Her companions were going through no such useless thoughts as they inched closer to the killing pit they had fashioned, their spear and makeshift weapons inserted through some sections that were strategically left clear.

Please just leave, neither of us needs to die tonight...

Seconds passed but nothing appeared to change. The eery silence disturbed Emi who knew how alive this forest sounded even in the dead of the night.

*crack*

A small crack came from the wooden boards that made up the ceiling. Emi could see the exact point from which they emanated and pointed at it. Whatever was on the roof slowly crept toward the damaged corner and Emi adjusted the aim of her arm to keep her companions updated.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

*Humph*

A weird grunt-like noise came from whatever was above their heads and a wave of relief washed over Emi. She turned to tell her friends that she must have jumped to conclusions, as that sound seemed like it would be more likely to come from something ursine or porcine in nature. The fear in their auras had regained ardor and the hope, motivation, and resolve she had instilled into them was at risk of being overwhelmed, putting her assumptions in doubt.

Guess it is a panther, was expecting something more like a lion's roar, or a cat's hiss. Well...crap!

The panther had just about reached the hole when it stopped. A scratching sound came from about a foot away from the edge of the hole as the three readied themselves.

"Damn! Must have noticed the tarp...Hopefully we stretched it far enough, and tied it down well enough that it withstands a bit of minor inspection"

Emi used her Abilities to make sure none of her words leaked out, and waited for the moment of truth.

Between our sweaty bodies and the tarp that soaked in the smell of our rations, even if it can't hear us, it knows there is food around. At this point, a fight will be inevit-

*Sliiip* *CRASH* *Squelch*

three seconds, three different sounds, and three spikes of adrenaline later, the fight appeared to be over.

In front of them now sat a jumbled-up tarp with wooden stakes protruding from some sections. Unlike with the bat earlier, the proximity allowed Emi to fully appreciate the viscosity of the liquid that was pooling below the skewered bundle, as well as the distinct metallic odor that was associated with it. There could be no mistakes this time, this was blood.

The large bundle started showing signs of movement, but before Arctic and Emi could react in fear, Sun Hanukong had already stabbed thrice into it with his spear. Sure that whatever was inside must now be dead, Emi approached the bundle. A few moments earlier, this would have been made a bit difficult by the shoddy barricade that had been in the way, but because of the angle the fall had taken its victim, it now lay either strewn about the floor or lodged inside of their invader.

It is gonna be gruesome, but it was kill or get killed. Still, gotta confront what we did.

Emi took a final step and quickly used her knife to make a tear in the tarp.

What the hell? This must be one of the monster ones, or the abnormally big ones Sun-Sun said were rare.

The contents of the bundle revealed an extremely large feline, about as large as the tigers Emi had seen at the Ueno Zoo with her parents. It was pitch black, had no markings, and its individual claws seemed larger than her fingers. Emi started bending over, intent on inspecting the mouth of the beast, now that she could see it was not showing signs of breathing. The lighting inside of the shelter had gotten just a bit brighter after their trap had been triggered, leaving a hole in the ceiling, but for some reason, Emi noticed that it was getting slightly darker again as she looked at the corpse on the floor ahead of her.

Before her mind could start trying to process this new piece of data, Emi felt a sharp tug from behind her and got pulled back abruptly. As her mind went back into danger mode from the sudden motion, a set of even larger claws than those wielded by the corpse at her feet slashed a few inches in front of her wide-open eyes as a second, even more fearsome-looking, panther landed from where she had just been standing. Although the panther had pounced from Emi's blindspot, directly above and behind her, Sun Hanukong had still been on high alert and had noticed the incoming attack in time to pull her out of harm's way, although a few of her feathers did end up crumpled or ripped out by his strong grip.

Holy crap that was close! 2 landing noises... and the grunt... I should have guessed there were 2! I'm such a moron!

Emi , Arctic, and Sun Hanukong retreated from the center of the room and repositioned themselves in one of the adjacent corners, the one that put the last remaining wall of their barricade between them and their aggressor. This gained them a few precious seconds as the panther landed and had to reorient itself in this foreign environment. Unluckily for them, the first panther had either been impaled by, or knocked over, every wooden stake or otherwise pointed piece of wood they had laid out in the landing area, allowing the second panther to land unscathed.

Dammit! Dropped my knife when Sun saved me...Don't want to just be a damsel in distress, but not sure my talons will do much again this friggin thing.

The panther rounded the corner, reaching the center of the room and spotting its prey once more. Arctic was the first to move and stepped in front of Emi, pushing her further into the corner and hiding as much of her as their mismatching heights would allow.

"Get out of the way Arctic. I already died once. I'd rather die again than watch you die for me!"

The panther did not seem like it was going to let them have a conversation as it lowered its head parallel to the ground and bent its hind limbs in preparation for a pounce. As the panther launched itself forward, Emi's panicked mind experienced an instant of clarity. She suddenly remembered that she had Abilities, not only that but-

Too little, too late, too slow.

This wasn't one of those animes where characters would have entire conversations and exchange backstories between every move of their fight, but real life. This was the land of split-second reactions, fast decisions, and instinct. There was no time for someone to come with a complicated plan and communicate it. No time for flashbacks. The panther was now in mid-air, hundreds of pounds of fur, muscles, and claws launched in her direction, nothing but an extremely courageous, but rather flimsy, monkey in the way. In that moment of realization, Emi only had the time for one silly thought.

Now that I see its open mouth, yeppers, no need to keep wondering if their fangs were as large as their claws. Guess I'll find out firsthand.

The only reason Emi was able to finish that rather useless thought was that split-second reactions, fast decisions, and instinct were Sun Hanukong's forte. That, his testosterone-fueled bravado, and his strong sense of responsibility would not allow him to simply watch and let this happen.

Sun Hanukong, with his armor and spear, must have struck the most fearsome figure of the trio as the panther followed traditional feline hunting techniques and went for the easy prey first. When one is used to everything running away, that isn't a bad plan, but in this situation, against a well-experienced opponent willing to put his life on the line, it can yield sub-optimal results.

From the panther's perspective, when the weakling was pushed out of the way of its claws, making them land in the alpha of the herd instead, it must have seemed like a pretty profitable trade. That is, for the instant it took its brain to register a foreign body had just invaded its thoracic cavity, nicking its lung on its journey, and was remaining stuck fast.

Arctic, from his position, had not clearly seen what had happened in the moment, but he stared at Sun Hanukong and the panther with eyes wide, his shoulder sore from impacting the opposite wall after being launched out of the way. His greatest enemy of many years was kneeling on the floor, holding on to one half of a broken spear for balance, one side of his body covered in his blood, the other in the panther's.

From her position, Emi had been able to witness the whole exchange. When it looked like Arctic was about to get mauled, Sun Hanukong had tackled him out of the way using his left shoulder and taken his place between Emi and the panther. Then, instead of dodging and leaving Emi to face her death, he had purposefully stepped forward into the path of the attack and used his body to shift the trajectory of the pounce, making the panther lose a few feet from the span of its leap in exchange for receiving the attack without deflection.

Even in the middle of all that, he still managed to stick his spear in. No time to review, need to help! I still have most my energy and my filled-up node...

The panther and the monkey were both low to the ground, locked in a staring contest as they tried to judge how bad their conditions were, and how badly they had wounded their opponent. The panther was panting heavily, and the wound around the spear shaft was slowly seeping some blood, but it didn't look out for the count. Sun Hanukong, on the other hand, was barely managing to stay up in a kneeling position, swaying from side to side. The expression on his face showed that he was resolved to fight to his last breath, but his body was visibly betraying him. As Emi tried to come up with a means to use her energy to make a difference, a piece of wood flew at the panther and bounced off harmlessly. It was enough to make it glance in the direction it had come from, and what it saw there visibly enraged it.

Arctic had dashed to the first panther's corpse and done the first thing he could think of to enrage the other panther. Going for option number two would have taken too much time, and would have left him too vulnerable, so he opted for the number one option. Luckily, even though he was now forced to wear clothing, the lack of underwear and the tunic-like nature of his garment allowed him to go number one on the corpse with barely an inconvenience.

What the hell is that idiot doing!? He is going to get himself killed.

Sun Hanukong's sway intensified, he looked like he was about to topple over at any moment, and so the angered panther turned its attention to Arctic with a loud roar. Emi repositioned her node between the pair and started running forward as the panther started charging at Arctic with much more speed than one would imagine it capable of with a spear sticking out of its chest. Emi Snatched the broken shaft from Sun Hanukongs hand as she went by, making him fall flat on the floor, unable to keep himself upright by his own strength.

The Panther got back into pouncing position as it took the last step of its charge, bringing its head just a few feet away from Emi's node.

Make it or break it time! If I save energy by going at a very low frequency, I can use the saved up energy to boost the volume even more.

The panther released the potential energy stored in its limbs to pounce forward just as Emi activated her node. She'd decided to add emotion and meaning to the sound in hopes that it would add to the disorientation, and let loose without any of the restrictions she had subconsciously imposed on herself for safety.

"FU-"

Emi had not realized how powerful the sound would be, and it took nearly all her remaining energy to shield her party from its effects even though it lasted a fraction of a second before the node ran out of energy. The fleeting low-pitched sound hit like a shockwave, making the shelter vibrate as if an earthquake had just hit it and making Emi thankful for the lack of glass-paned windows. The panther appeared to have slipped due to its disorientation, aborting its pounce, but as Emi continued her sprint forward, she noticed blood was trickling out of its ears and it was struggling to regain its footing, as if the world was swaying.

Great! Must have burst its eardrum. Now this ain't going to be pretty, but I'm not strong enough to pierce through its body in a conventional way, at least not with a random broken stick.

Emi finished her approach and got into striking range of the panther. The panther, being disoriented, wounded, focused on trying to stand up, and probably deafened, was not able to detect Emi as she pulled the broken shaft back and thrust forward with all of her limited might. Her lack of strength did not prove to be much of an obstacle as her thrust hit the mark, the one shaped like a brown star. The panther reared on its front legs as it experienced a new sensation for the first time, the sensation of the shaft splintering and breaking up upon entry, driving sharp shards in every direction from inside the weak point.

Don't think that will be enough to kill it, but at least it might give Arctic time to run away as it tries to get its revenge on me.

Emi had underestimated the amount of pain her attack would cause, the panther raised its head and howled loud enough that blood from its injured lung started spurting out, blinded by pain and deafened by Emi. Arctic chose that moment and lunged forward with his makeshift spear, landing a hit on the underside of the panther's now-exposed jaw. The bindings tying the knife to the shaft broke off, but not before the knife pushed through and impaled itself to the hilt, passing through the soft tissue where the back of the mouth and the beginning of the throat meet.

The panther crumpled to the floor, like a puppet cut loose from its strings, and started giving off small sporadic spasms. The knife had either damaged the panther's brain or its spine, but one thing was sure, it was down for the count. Arctic's hands trembled as he held onto his headless spear, witnessing the results of his actions.

Need to keep his mind off the killing until we can process it calmly or- Oh shit! Sun-Sun!

"Arctic, no time to rest or celebrate! Come, we need to help Sun Hanukong or he'll die!"

Shit, there is so much blood, where even do I start?