“You think making loud destructive noises will attract a target? An animal is going to think noise means danger no matter what planet they’re from! It’s going to be hard to hunt no matter the environment you’re in if you’re not familiar with it in the first place!” Takeshi was really going to get on his nerves during this run and there was nothing he was going to be able to do about it unless he was allowed to punch him. It annoyed him that he had to be ‘civil’ unless he wanted to be called crazed or savage as he beat Takeshi up for being so dumb. If they were going to attract anything with that noise it would be an angry and aggressive ground creature that would definitely be too large to take back. They were looking for creatures they could carry back, not something that would probably destroy the area around them. Stopping when Takeshi turned to face him he growled when he pointed his finger at him, walking around him as he continued on. “A forest isn’t foreign to me. I’m sure it looks different from whatever hole you crawled out of…”

Shu didn’t like it when everyone was fighting, but then again Takeshi and Viral always seemed to bicker and annoy each other. He didn’t understand why they acted that way, it was always over trivial stuff too. Staring at Takeshi as he wandered to the back of the group instead he gasped when Takeshi continued to express his frustration on the trees. Frowning, he slowly looked away, his eyes slowly glancing back. “…I know I would run at loud noise…” he mumbled, pressing his fingers together before he looked back to Takeshi. He didn’t know if wandering around for food was ‘a breeze’, they had to provide for their group which was a big responsibility. If they didn’t come back with anything then everybody would go hungry. Disliking the darkness of the forest he continued to look around, trying to keep his eyes open for anything that might decide to attack them. “Ooohhh…I no know about easy…I-I mean, we no even know what there be in the forest. There could be evil here…and then we get ambushed and come back all bleeding and everybody be mad! It no easy finding food for everyone!”

"Sure, all the small stuff is gonna run away, but the big things are going to wonder what's going on! And that's what we want, the big animals!" He'd done it before, what was so hard to figure out about that? Especially later at night it drew attention from any number of things back on Earth, if he scared away a space squirrel or whatever the hell was here then fine, they weren't after those anyways. Annoyed with Viral doubting him he pushed the Beastman to take the lead instead, frowning as he went on readily and even made another shot at his pride. "Hey! You don't even know where I live, alright? I live near a forest, I do this kind of stuff!" the Saiyan shot back annoyed before falling back with Shu. What an ass thinking he didn't know how to hunt, how did Viral figured he'd survived? If the guy hadn't noticed he didn't exactly hold a job ever and the only money he really had was from the tournament, other than that he was basically broke.

Of course when Takeshi went back to Shu for some back up now the little guy decided to get back to his meek self. With everything else going on the thing to frighten Shu was some loud noise apparently. Rolling his eyes the older boy rubbed at his neck, sighing before focusing his eyes on the dark forest around them. Not that it mattered much he supposed, an animal would be easy enough to kill no matter what world they were on and they'd have a meal for everyone in no time. "Oh come on buddy, you really think just some animal is going to do us in? I mean look at all the crap we've dealt with, you know? There's all sorts of things we've fought, so you really think some little thing here is gonna hurt us?" It wasn't like it was just one of them out here hunting either, between the three of them they could handle whatever was thrown their way. "So relax buddy, we're gonna be just fine. Let's just focus on finding the biggest, tastiest looking animal we can, alright? Gotta have full stomachs tomorrow if we run into those things."

Viral could argue with Takeshi all day about how dumb he was for acting like a loud idiot in the forest, but telling him how dumb he was would only make him further believe he was doing nothing wrong anyway. The only animals they would attract were ones who were territorial and fierce, not the kind of animals they were hoping to catch. “Oh yeah, near a forest with all the deer you can catch! Even a pet can hunt a deer…” he spoke lowly, letting out an annoyed growl, “If your plan is to attract predators because you want to fight them, howabout you stop to think about the safety of others just on the off chance that the predators here could be poisonous or carry diseases we’re not prepared to handle…” Not to mention predators often evolved to have very little flesh to eat, even he was very much skin and bones. Takeshi really didn’t bother to think of all the different factors that could put them at risk, something that didn’t come with hunting prey animals.

Shu did wonder if it was going to be possible to find anything after all that noise, knowing everything would scatter when it first sounded out. He had spent a long enough time in the wilderness to understand what others were scared of so what Viral was saying was hardly anything to protest over. He was right and getting bitten by another animal was quite dangerous. Looking to Takeshi when he protested his position he frowned, his eyes going back to surveying his surroundings as he felt pretty uneased. He wasn’t much of a hunter himself, he was often about survival and would act upon that only so the possibility of predators being near made him worried even if he was strong himself. “Still no want to get attacked! Want to do the attacking, not get attacked”, he spoke quickly, shaking his fists in front of him, “Big tasty animals could be sleeping, but now maybe woke up because noise and running away now. We can still catch something and not be caught instead? Got to be very careful…very quiet and sneaky…”

Ignoring Viral now Takeshi stuck back with Shu, quite annoyed Viral had to be along with them. He was perfectly okay with fighting alongside the guy but this was pushing it, he wasn't working out at all. The Beastman thinking he was right and knew better was just way too bothersome to have to deal with, it's not like he'd never hunted before. Complaining to Shu it seemed like even the little guy was siding with their friend now over him to, a fact that made him scoff before shrugging his shoulders. "Well there's still going to be stuff around, even if we gotta walk a bit more for it now, you know? It's not like I spooked the whole damn planet doing that," Takeshi retorted, frowning as Shu emphasized being quiet. Alright he got it, banging on the tree to draw attention to themselves might now have been the best idea but it wasn't like sneaking around was doing them any good either. "Fine, we'll do it your way. We'll keep quiet and sneak around, as if that's done much. I just want something to fricken eat already, my stomach's eating itself..."

Another plateau rose up in the distance as they traveled away from camp, obscuring the sky and the moon behind it, making the forest at its base darker than that before it. As with most of the forest it was decidedly silent as well with no signs of life, save perhaps small creatures or bugs scurrying about -- If they were to find anything to feed the group it would have to be far more than that. Even finding a creature wasn't going to solve everything either as T'charrl needed some kind of plant, preferably a fruit he'd said, and Shu would doubtless prefer that as well. Easier said than done and this was scarcely the sort of place to be picky about one's meal but they would try to accommodate as best they could. They had yet to find anything however that could even be remotely considered a meal and with the moon rising higher as time passed the chances of doing so seemed to be slipping away more and more. They might go hungry tonight and yet other beings in the forests weren't so unfortunate, knowing where creatures hid and how to lure them out. One beast currently had three unusual beings in its sights, none of them familiar yet all likely edible, and that was all it cared about.

Takeshi growled as he stumbled from tripping on a small root, turning and giving it a kick before groaning audibly. "This is bullshit, where are all the animals? Seriously, we're in a fricken forest! Shouldn't there be animals everywhere?" he complained, looking around and narrowing his eyes as he tried to peer through the darkness. Shu was all out of sorts too and nervous as they trudged along and he swore he could feel his younger brother practically trembling at his side. He'd lit up some Ki at one point to act as a light source yet extinguished it when Viral complained it would alert the animals; walking side by side was the best Shu would have to settle for, not much more that could be done. "There's got to be something we're not doing right, I mean there's no way this place is empty..." Takeshi grumbled, giving his head a rub, "Any ideas Viral? Nothing's working."

Shu frowned as he stared at Takeshi, wondering if he was actually going to agree with the idea of keeping quiet and how long he might try to keep quiet. Sighing lightly he looked away, scratching his stomach. “Sometimes go hungry…but have to sometimes. Hopefully we find something soon…” As they continued on their way Shu was progressively getting tenser, the shift in light to darkness really putting him off. He didn’t like the dark and to make matters worse he could see the moonlight from behind him and even if it was probably safe it still made him increasingly nervous. If it wasn’t safe then surely he would never have been taken to this planet in the first place, but being too scared to look at the moon to check to see if he was right he was left staring down most of the time. Gasping when Takeshi nearly fell over he stared at him with a frown before slowly looking away. “No know…it no important, anyway…” If there was nothing out here it wasn’t their problem, they didn’t know this planet very well. Keeping his gaze low as he walked close to his brother he only sometimes looked behind him, worrying over what might be lurking in the dark.

Viral was keeping his focus on finding food so was keeping his focus on everything that wasn’t Takeshi. The lack of prey animals in the area told him there was a predator nearby and looking at Shu’s reaction to just being out in the dark he knew the kid could feel it too. There was something out there watching them and had been doing so for quite a while, likely scaring off everything else. If they could lure out the predator they would be able to find prey again. Slowly gazing around he analysed his surroundings as he continued to move, checking out every slight movement that was made. Continuing on his way he slowly reached around for his weapon, only stopping when Takeshi decided on moaning again. “It’s not empty, it’s been evacuated…” he growled lowly, annoyed by Takeshi’s huffs and grumbles, “You’re the only one not seeing anything wrong with what’s going on here…”

Takeshi groaned in disapproval at the idea of going hungry, hardly pleased with such a idea. Fighting anything on any empty stomach sounded just about as awful as a fight could be. The fact they hadn't eaten since landing was already awful enough let alone going into tomorrow. Nearly tripping over a root made everything seem just so much more fun and he nearly wanted to turn and blow the tree into splinters for doing that, grumbling something beneath his breath and continuing on instead. The fact they had yet to see any creatures despite walking for some time now was beginning to grate on his nerves as well; nearly tripping, being hungry, "annoyed" by Viral, no wonder the typically whiny Takeshi was all strung up. Wondering aloud why no creatures had come across their path yet he asked the Beastman for his ideas, furrowing his brow in confusion at what he had to say.

"Evacuated? What do you mean? And there's nothing wrong here, I just see an empty forest!" What did Viral mean what was wrong? So maybe there weren't a bunch of creatures living in this part of the woods, or maybe they just didn't come out at night. But they hadn't even come across predators yet let alone something they might try to eat, so what gives? "Why would a forest evacuate, huh? I think if there was something that bad around we'd have seen it by now." There were no fires, no seriously catastrophes, no bad weather, nothing that would make him think a forest would empty out like this. Letting out a long winded sigh he looked down at the ground and kicked a rock off in the distance, expecting to hear the sound of it striking a tree. Instead there was a dull thud followed closely by a loud his and a screech, prompting Takeshi to stop dead in his tracks as he blinked in surprise. That didn't sound too good.

"Er... I'm not the only one that heard that right?" Takeshi asked, glancing at Viral and Shu before staring in the direction the stone had gone. Narrowing his eyes trying to peer through the darkness he couldn't spot a single thing, no movement or not even a sound. Whatever it was it sounded awfully mad for being struck, and quite large too. More importantly though... It meant dinner. Grinning excitably at that he started walking towards where the sound had come from only to cast a glance skyward as the branches above snapped and crackled beneath something's weight. Seeing the silhouette of something above Takeshi gasped before scrambling away as a creature dropped down from above, slamming into the ground where he stood seconds before and writing around in place. Seeing what it was his stomach churned uneasily, his face paling as his eyes shot open wide. It was certainly something... It looked like a centipede mixed with... Hell he didn't know what. It was long, muscular and hairy and had four glowing red eyes on its head, all of them staring at him, Shu and Viral. "It's a b-b-bug..."

Swiveling its head as it looked between Takeshi, Shu and Viral the creature let out a hiss, its mandibles opening to reveal a row of razor sharp teeth hidden within. All of the creatures had fled and it hadn't been able to eat yet, but these three? It wouldn't miss another meal, it would kill them all and drag them back to its den to feast. Stopping with its gaze on Viral it snarled before standing up, its head nearly reaching the canopy of the trees above before it lunged forward, a pair of its razor sharp claws reaching out to pin him down.

Takeshi really was terrible at hunting and it was really beginning to show with how impatient he was. This was probably why he’d been asked to help with the hunting; because Takeshi was a useless idiot in foreign environments. Rolling his eyes he let out a sigh, looking away off into the forest again. There was definitely something out there and he just had to find out exactly where. Keeping his paw near his weapon’s hilt he growled lowly when Takeshi was foolish enough to kick a stone off into the distance, his attention taken to where it hit immediately. That was where it was, the thing that had been quietly stalking the area as they moved. “Good…you found the cause…”

Trying to get a good idea of what it was from what he could hear he readied himself for the attack, only finding he briefly cared for what it was when it showed itself. That was quite a large creature, but now they had a fight on their hands instead of a simple hunt; however, it shouldn’t take long for them to take it down and see if it’s worth taking back for everyone. Looking to Takeshi when he decided to step forward only to run back again at its sudden appearance he shifted his feet, watching the strange bug-like predator carefully. Gripping his tilt when it showed off its teeth he growled lowly, watching as it turned its sights onto him before rising up and immediately lunging straight for him. Without the reach to decapitate it compared to dealing with its claws he had to abandon the idea of attacking and instead be forced to grab its claws, managing to snatch them in both hands but the force had him sent to the ground. The creature was just one large muscle of a beast with plenty of power behind it and he wasn’t in the position right now to properly defend against that. Growling as he essentially wrestled with it he looked to see where his back up was, wondering why Takeshi had even come along if he wasn’t prepared to immediately fight. “Takeshi would you move your lazy ass and at least hit this thing??”

Shu knew he had a reason to be nervous and with the arrival of the creature he could feel himself tense up and be ready to defend himself. He had only seen these things as much smaller creatures, ones that wriggled around and tried to bite you if you picked one up. They were often pretty tasty with a taste familiar to some things that the others eat, but it was certainly going to be only a secondary thought as survival was what was happening now. Looking quickly to Takeshi once he had backed off again he slowly moved backwards when it showed interest in attacking them, letting out a squeak when it finally lunged at someone. It was going after Viral first and with a thud Viral was down, trying to defend himself and gain the advantage back. Hesitating at first as if expecting Takeshi to follow him in he gasped when Viral was instead shouting at Takeshi who was not moving. Deciding he couldn’t wait any longer he immediately started running around the predator, watching where its head was before suddenly jumping for the base of its head. Grabbing onto the hair just at the base of its head he immediately pulled back, trying to force the creature off Viral. He was grabbing it where he would had grabbed a centipede back on Earth, only this time his whole body was being used like his fingers would had been. “Wrestle me! Wrestle me!”

The creature was ravenous, everything in the area had run away or hidden and it had yet to eat all day. It had no idea what these three were and it cared little, they seemed like food and that's what mattered at this moment. Bearing down on Viral it swung two of its many limbs at him and tried pinning him to the ground, managing to do so as it leaned in attempting to take a bite of him. It came dangerously close to succeeding as well until something grabbed the back of its head, yanking it back and forcing it to release its catch. Howling angrily as it was pulled back it swung its body side to side to try and rid itself of the attacker, unsuccessfully reaching up with its too short arms to try and pry Shu off of itself. Shaking itself again the creature turned towards a nearby tree and lowered its body before charging ahead in an attempt to slam Shu between itself and the tree, finding only its own body hitting the trunk as he had moved. Giving itself a shake to regain its senses it locked its eyes on Shu now, hissing and rearing up on its hind legs threateningly before lunging forward at him.

Takeshi was trying to move but his legs wouldn't listen to him. Instead he remained firmly planted where he was on the ground, staring slack jawed at the giant bug now assailing his brother and friend. Watching as Shu jumped onto the creature and wrestled it away from Viral he felt mighty ashamed of himself for not being able to do the same thing; little Shu, afraid of his own shadow was fighting and here he was, sitting here trembling. Fighting to get himself moving he managed to just get to his feet as the creature slammed itself into a tree to try and squash Shu, watching as it set its sights on his brother instead. Was it just ignoring him now? Was he really that sorry that it wasn't going to come after him? Trembling a bit still Takeshi looked around and found another sizable rock, picking it up and cocking back his arm, letting the stone fly as the creature lunged for Shu, striking it in the side of its head and causing it to stumble. "Y-You keep away from him, freak!" he shouted, gasping as it turned its sights on him and began racing in his direction instead. Again he froze up, doing little more than put up his arms to shield himself.

Shu was pretty good at holding onto strange materials and the moment the creature reared back again he was glad in that ability. The hairs were smooth and thick, anybody with standard grip would simply slide off and be unable to grasp hold for very long even if they tried. Pulling hard on the creature he managed to help Viral out of the creature’s hold, saving him any injury but now finding that he was the target as it swung around and bounced a bit to try and get rid of him. He still didn’t know why Takeshi wasn’t jumping into this battle, this was the perfect opportunity to practice fighting together yet he wasn’t bothering to move. Trying to focus on where he was going he had to jump off when things were getting a little risky, avoiding the tree before having a bounce around the creature. Staring up at it he raised his arms when it hissed, jumping from one foot to the other before gasping when a rock knocked the creature off course. He didn’t really understand what Takeshi was trying to do, but it certainly wasn’t correct since it simply meant the creature would want to kill him instead.

Viral thought he was in trouble when Takeshi wouldn’t bother move himself, but instead Shu alone managed to get the creature off him when he was about to get gnashed at. Getting off the ground once Shu had taken over he gave Takeshi a disappointed look, unsheathing his blade and getting ready to cut this thing up. Shu was handling it pretty well, but that was a given considering his fighting technique. Deciding on being back up he stood ready to assist Shu, but soon enough Takeshi had become reckless again all while showing very little desire to actually try and kill the creature. Running at the creature when it moved to attack Takeshi but was cut short when Shu instead jumped in with a flying double-kick to the creature’s head to push it away, coming in strong and fast to catch the creature off-guard. Shu was definitely helping more than Takeshi could ever do and with Shu’s actions he rushed at the creature as well, slashing his weapon down at the creature to try and slice its head off.

It was just a bug, a big, stupid bug. He'd squashed plenty of bugs before, they were tiny and insignificant and weren't a threat to him at all. This one wasn't any different just because it was the size of a bus. So why was he trembling so badly? If it was tiny he wouldn't care, maybe, and the fact it was bigger shouldn't change that. Yet all he could muster was throwing a stone at its head and accomplishing little more than pissing it off and causing it to come after him instead. Normally he'd blast an enemy charging him, or charge back, anything really; with the creature bearing down on him all Takeshi did was raise his arms and try to shield himself, too frightened to fight back. When he heard the mass of the beast slam into the dirt he glanced over his arms, surprised to see Shu having kicked the thing well into the dirt away from him. Promptly following that was Viral with his weapon in hand, taking a swing to cleave its head off. Unfortunately for them the beast writhed away at the last second and lost an arm instead, howling in pain as it wriggled out of Viral's reach.

"H-Hey... Be careful Shu... You're gonna get hurt..." Takeshi stammered, lowering his arms seeing his little brother protecting him. This was absolutely humiliating, he was the older one here, he should be protecting Shu. Yet again as he tried to force his legs to move he found his feet firmly cemented where they were, refusing to obey his demands. "Fucking feet, move..." he grumbled, glaring down at his own legs as he tried placing one in front of the other, "Move! Move damn it!" The creature let out another furious howl as blood seeped out of its severed limb, rearing up and spewing some kind of thick mucous at Viral before lunging at him again, swiping at him with several limbs as its attacks missed. Gritting his teeth angrily Takeshi raised his arm and fired off a Ki blast that missed by a fairly wide berth, slamming into a smaller tree and knocking it over instead of striking the creature. He really was being a total idiot.

The creature was furious now after losing a limb, its stomach empty still and only growing more uncomfortable by the moment. It would eat the one who had taken its arm first, it would shred him and devour him before eating the others. Ignoring the bleeding it spewed some mucus at Viral to try and bind him to the ground and when that failed it simply lunged again at him, arms striking out in an attempt to injure him and remove that weapon. Sharp objects like those were always used to keep it at bay, but take away the sharp weapons and its prey was defenseless, this one was no different.

Viral didn’t manage to get its head but he did manage to get a limb, even if it had more where that came from. This thing was going to go down even if it had to be slowly, even if it would had been quicker if Takeshi bothered to join in. He didn’t know why Takeshi was acting so cowardly towards something that was obviously threatening them all, especially when it meant the angrier this thing was the stronger it became which would soon lead into a frenzy. While Shu was definitely helping, having Takeshi fire off a random shot that was nowhere near the creature was only distracting and probably not going to do any more good other than destroy the trees. With projectile mucus he was having to avoid now he jumped away from it, barely avoiding it the first time. “Would you move already??” This was getting ridiculous, the time where he could use some help too against a disgusting monster like this and Takeshi was not helping one bit. Growling as he tried to gain the advantage again the creature had missed binding him only for it to attack him once more, finding he didn’t have the defence to take on that many razor sharp legs. Trying to throw up his shield he was finding it wasn’t working terrible well, especially when the sun was gone.

Shu didn’t know what was with Takeshi acting all scared of the creature at a time like this, he would had thought Viral being in danger was a good enough reason for him to act instead of acting all scared just because it was a bug. It had to be him now, it seemed, but with the stuff the creature was doing he was forced away or else he would get stuck too; unfortunately for Viral he was being backed into a corner all while desperately trying to defend himself. Seeing his chance he was forced to immediately leap at the creature as it attacked, taking all the strength he could focus before throwing it all at the creature’s head with a flying roundhouse kick. He had to help Viral even if he was putting himself at risk, hoping he might be able to prevent further injury with one attack.

I'm trying asshole! is what Takeshi wanted to yell back, or rather he wish he had some biting, sarcastic remark to shit Viral up with. It seems even his mouth had abandoned him along with his courage as he couldn't muster a single word in response. Instead he just looked to the Beastman with a blank stare, turning his eyes back onto the beast at hand. This was just completely humiliating, he'd been all gung-ho and ready to fight just seconds before this thing had appeared and now he was no better than a frightened little kid. Even getting angry with himself and lashing out hadn't done any good as all he'd managed was leveling a tree. Even as Shu sprang back into action yet again, defending Viral from being cornered, he stood there and watched. All he could manage at the moment was stand by, hands at his side, and gape, silently hoping things would turn out alright for them.

The creature was livid now, being denied a meal once again as Shu slammed into the side of its head. Focused wholly on Viral it never saw Shu coming as he spiraled in for the kick, taking the brunt of the blow and being knocked off of its many feet, flying through the air before crashing into a cluster of trees. Writhing about for a moment as it fought to upright itself it locked its eyes on the trio, its vision slightly blurred from the hit to the head and its missing limb aching painfully. This wasn't working, trying to kill all three at once, it had to find another way. Letting out a hissing snarl it reared up as though it prepared to attack again, spewing a wide volley of mucus at them before turning and dropping its body to the ground. With a final hiss it began to slither away through the trees, weaving and trying to get distance between them. Being an ambush creature by nature fighting like that wasn't going to work, it had to try and hide and get the jump on them.

Wait, now it was trying to run from them? After all the trouble they had gone through finding something to eat it was running away? Not that Takeshi thought he'd be able to eat something so disgusting anyway but still... They weren't just going to let it get away were they? Neither Shu nor Viral appeared willing to as they took off, and like it or not his legs finally listened to him and began shuffling forward, slowly at first until they began to run after his brother and friend. He'd suck it up and actually fight once they caught the fricken thing, or at the very least he'd blast it, anything other than stand there like an idiot gaping.

Shu hoped he had managed to stop Viral from taking too much damage and was not hurting too much, he had tried to come in as fast as he could without ending up fumbling at the end and missing completely. Picking himself up after the kick he watched the creature go flying into a bunch of trees, wriggling around before it got back up again. They had to get it now after all that, surely it would be a worthy meal if they managed to catch it, unless it turned out to be poisonous. When the creature decided to spit out that nasty gunk again Shu quickly took to the treetops, scattering up one before he quickly started to leap after the creature when he saw Viral was in pursuit too. Shu didn’t know what the rush was for with Viral, maybe he did feel the need to kill it too or maybe he wanted revenge; after all, the attack that Viral received did look quite painful.

Viral felt like he had been stabbed many times but had kept a steady grip of his blade, resulting in many wounds but not being disarmed. His abilities weren’t working, he hadn’t recovered his energy enough to use them at night so even coming up with a shield wasn’t going to help him; however, lucky for him Shu had kicked the creature away with great power. Looking to him briefly he growled lowly as his eyes shifted to the creature as it wriggled around, his eyes slowly shifting to himself. He had sustained a lot of injury no thanks to Takeshi, but now wasn’t the time to worry about that; he had to kill this thing, even if it wasn’t going to yield enough food for everyone. Jumping behind a tree when it tried to surprise attack them with more of that mucus he immediately ran after the creature once he saw it take to the ground. There was no way he was going to let it get away with what it did to him and with Takeshi lagging behind it wasn’t as if anybody else other than Shu was going to help. Sprinting after it he jumped to the side when he noticed Shu was on its tail in the trees, giving the kid some distance before watching him make a leap for the creature, trying to pin it before he immediately leaping in himself and slashing down his blade once again.

Fighting these three wasn't going to happen, they were unlike anything it had tried to eat before. It was used to prey fighting back, it had some scars, yet nothing hit as hard as these things or took off a limb. The only way it would get a meal now was by ambushing one of them and to do that it had to flee. After being swatted aside like a meager fly the creature scurried away on the forest floor in a desperate attempt to get some distance. Behind it the sound of branches bending and creaking beneath Shu's weight alerted it to his presence, the sound of footfalls and leaves crunching telling it the others were in pursuit as well. One of them backed off after a short pursuit and it became apparent why as the small one jumped down from above, trying no doubt to strike it again. Turning in mid stride the creature spewed forth a mass of the mucus, catching the small one in mid-air and pining him to a tree with it. Twisting its body then to avoid Viral's cleaver it doubled back after Shu, teeth barred as it tried to bury them into his shoulder. Instead the creature was again struck in the side of the head, stumbling before flying off as it was struck a second time.

"Keep your filthy mouth away from him you freak!" Takeshi screamed, trembling even as he knocked the creature away. Ignoring it as it tumbled across the ground he turned to his brother, face paled as his hands tore into the mucus to free Shu. It felt absolutely disgusting in his fingers and the smell was terrible but he tore away regardless while it slowly hardened, managing to break away enough for Shu to be free. Coughing as the disgusting odor hit his nose he covered it with his forearm, glaring at the creature as it was gathering itself back up. "Hungry you bastard? Eat this!" Raising up his arm he fired off a Ki blast at its head that managed to connect, though the creature's hide proved to be stronger than expected as hairs were burned but it remained mostly unharmed. Gritting his teeth he fired off a second that was avoided, glaring after the monster as it began scurrying away again. Giving a quick glance to Shu he nodded his head in the direction of the beast, putting on a smile before giving chase, giving Viral a quick glance along the way as well. "Hurry up! We're killing that thing!"

Now its face felt burned, and to top that off its body was terribly sore from being knocked around so much. The creature wasn't so dim as to try and fight despite its anger though, it had a way to kill these things and it would. Weaving in and out of the trees so no one had a clear shot at it the creature surged forward, the woods beginning to thin slightly as the terrain turned flatter. It seemed they were heading back out into the fields, though this time several plateaus dotted the horizon and broke the otherwise flat area. More notably still was the faint glow in the distance at the base of one such structure, and it was towards this glow the creature was racing. It knew this area well, it regularly preyed on those who lived here, and so it could use this to its advantage.

Shu did try to ambush the creature, but that didn’t seem to work well enough as the creature spotted him and immediately spat that nasty stuff at him again, hitting him like a bullet and throwing him against a tree to which he subsequently got stuck on. Stunned momentarily he didn’t recognise the situation yet, only when the head of the creature was coming towards him before suddenly being whacked away did he understand what was happening, only not really understanding where that shot came from. Viral was elsewhere when it was fired, but as Takeshi let out a scream and further batted the creature away he let out a squeak of surprise. Shaking his head once he was free before shaking all over he couldn’t help but feel confused as to why Takeshi had suddenly changed his mind and started to attack it. Watching as he started to fight it off he gasped when the creature decided to make a run for it. Chasing after the creature again he didn’t understand why Takeshi had waited so long to act, it would had been so much easier and Viral would never had gotten hurt too.

Viral was angered that he had missed the creature, but even more so with the appearance of Takeshi and him finally doing something for once. It took him long enough to move and stop acting like an idiot, but now this thing was out of control. They should had taken it down by now, but Takeshi had to act like a coward. “Don’t you DARE tell me to hurry up!” he snarled as he ran after the creature again, darting through the trees. He was slowing down but still managing to keep up somewhat, lagging slightly behind Takeshi and Shu as they raced on ahead. Trying to understand where it was running to he looked on ahead, seeing what looked like a possible settlement up ahead. This was bad, but then again also good for them. These trees were getting in the way and going into a more open space should help with dealing with the creature much better, they would just have to try and kill the creature before it could harm any of its residents.

Takeshi was still afraid as hell of fighting this thing but he couldn't leave Shu stuck there, he was in way too much danger. Even as he fought to protect his sibling he trembled and his skin was pale and clammy, and rather than chase and keep on the pressure he began desperately trying to claw Shu out of the goo so they could get away. When Shu was finally free he took a moment to try and calm himself, his head snapping to the left hearing the creature make a tear off through the woods once again. Despite his fear he became angry it kept trying to flee, taking off after it with his brother and Viral once more. Viral was pissed but that was hardly anything new, he didn't care enough right now to bother hearing him out. Breaking out of the forest and into a plain once more Takeshi became stunned as they saw lights up ahead, several towers of smoke rising up from the same area. People? And now this thing was making a beeline straight for those lights, was it going to attack them? He was too freaking hungry and tired for this!

If it were smaller the creature might be able to use the grass as cover to lose these three yet it was just too large, its back sticking out over the blades of grass like a dorsal fin in the water. Once the grass shortened and became nearly nonexistent there was no cover for the beast and it was utterly out in the open, the three strange beings on its tail still. The village was getting closer but then so were they and it would likely be attacked long before it ever got there. In a desperate attempt to be rid of its attackers for just a moment it reared up in mid-stride before lunging towards the ground, its several arms tearing down into the earth as it burrowed down, managing to submerge its entire body. Normally it only did this to sleep and yet it would have to try ambushing this way now, unable to handle fighting them otherwise. By following the vibrations of their footfalls it traveled over to where Viral was stood, trying to come up beneath him for an attack.

Shu didn’t feel particularly great after that sticky stuff pinned him but all he felt he needed for the cure was something to wash himself with that was less gross, like mud for instance. Anybody would feel crummy after getting that shot at them and even though he could tolerate a lot, goo like that was not one of them. Racing on with Takeshi he felt confused as to where this creature was going and why it insisted on going in this specific direction instead of elsewhere. He was sure that a creature in trouble would want to just keep running straight ahead and not try to lose them by swivelling off and around the forest to get out of their sights again. It was rather weird, but he certainly didn’t like the looks of where it was heading. “Ooh! What’s that? Don’t know what do about that!” he squeaked, trying to run faster but finding he was sliding around a bit at the same time, “Need get it now quick!”

Viral was watching every move it made, not willing to show any weakness he may had acquired after the latest attack. It was becoming difficult to focus already, but he was going to keep going and rid this forest of that creature for good. Swapping his blade into his other hand he strived on with determination, watching the creature as it tried to make its way towards the settlement. Growling lowly when the creature suddenly made a dive to the underground he immediately came to a stop, moving slowly instead with his paw close to the ground. This creature didn’t know who it was messing with, he was very in tune with his senses and the underground was one of his domains too. Feeling the creature’s movements he could tell it was heading towards him, but he wasn’t going to move. Growling in anger he quickly raised his blade before throwing it down once it came close enough to the surface, trying to ambush it with an attack instead of succumbing to one.

Unless there was a fire off in the distance there were people here, though that didn't make sense. Hadn't they been told no one lived here? It was odd to think that they had been lied to so maybe they really just hadn't known? If the smoke up ahead really was a result of someone living there though they had to kill this thing, even if Takeshi would rather turn around and just pretend it didn't exist. He was drenched in sweat racing after it and not from exertion, it was like someone afraid of the dark rushing right into an unlit tunnel, he was literally diving headlong into his fear. It had tried to kill Shu though and at the moment his anger over that overrode his fear if only barely, enough to force his legs to comply and push him along after it. They seemed to be gaining on it too, having lost a leg must really screw with one's mobility. Before they could actually catch up to it however the beast burrowed into the dirt and vanished from sight, prompting everyone to come to a skidding stop as they wondered where it might be heading. "You're shitting me... It can dig too?! Oh come on!"

Surely it could spring a trap on those three if it struck from underground. None of them looked like they were capable of burrowing as it could, none of them would be able to defend themselves. First it would kill the one who took its arm and then it would kill the others, it wouldn't be denied any longer. Tearing through rock and soil it raced beneath the surface to where Viral stood and promptly reared up, forcing its body skyward through sheer raw power as it tried to surge forth and grab Viral, intending to drag him back down with it. As soon as it broke the surface however a bright sheen blinded it as the moon's rays reflected off of Viral's cleaver, blinding it briefly until a searing pain in its side caused it to screech loudly. The cleaver had managed to take off yet another limb on the same side, and furthermore it had buried itself into the beast's side, carving out a sizable chunk of its flesh in the process. Writhing on the blade to try and get free it lifted its hind, a sharp protrusion sticking out and tried to drive it into Viral, snarling as Takeshi had slammed both legs down on its back to prevent it from moving. With little other recourse the creature swelled slightly as a foul stench began escaping from its body, and slowly a yellowish liquid began seeping from its pores. As it came out it dripped onto the ground and hit the grass with a sizzle, burning anything it touched. Using that moment to get away it went back into the hole, retreating underground now and still heading towards the village.

How was this thing still not dead? They had stabbed it and kicked it around like it was a toy and it was still able to run away! And just what in the hell was with that stuff that just leaked out of it? Covering his nose as the liquid stung his eyes Takeshi watched it take off again underground, hardly in the most discreet fashion as it left a trail of debris and blood in its wake, the surface even becoming torn apart as it hadn't gone all that deep. Gritting his teeth in frustration he reached back and grabbed hold of Shu, pulling his brother off of his back before taking off, racing across the ground with Ki propelling them. "Shu, blow it out of the ground! Get it up here and Viral can kill it!"

Viral was prepared to take the brunt of the attack if he had to, but luckily he had hit the creature dead on before it could injure him further. Keeping his strength focused he managed to tear into the creature’s body, holding it as he tried to slice through the creature further to kill it for good. Holding his cleaver tight in the flesh of the creature he snarled as it tried to escape his weapon, only briefly looking back when Takeshi threw himself in too. Surely they had it now, he just needed to find the strength to pull his blade right through it; however, when his own instincts kicked in he immediately backed off with his weapon, seeing it create a rather acidic liquid to get away. That was a nuisance, but it wasn’t going to get away now either way. Pressing on after the creature again he followed its trail, lagging behind Takeshi and Shu again as they fired on but not willing to fall too far behind. He was still able to keep going, he was not willing to let that creature go that easily.

Shu wasn’t prepared for the nasty stench the creature created, it was certainly pretty disturbing but he tried to shake off the nastiness and get prepared again. They were close to taking this thing down, whatever it was, and finally moving on if that was possible. He didn’t know if after that whether the creature was actually edible, but probably not if that stuff came from inside it. Once he was let off Takeshi he raced along beside him, looking to Takeshi when he gave him the command to fire at it before it could get any further along. “Ah! Okay! I get it! I get it good!” Dropping down on all fours momentarily he immediately bounced up, charging a very quick shot before throwing it at the retreating mass of dirt to try and blast the creature out of the ground.

Bloodied, missing limbs and growing weary the creature couldn't keep fighting like this. Now it was just a desperate race towards the village, to where it hoped it could find an easier meal in the villagers before fleeing from these three. With its side burning from the wounds it had sustained it tunneled through the ground as hastily as it could, hardly burrowing as deeply as before. Up above it could feel the vibrations of those strange creatures chasing it, drawing closer by the second despite how quickly it tried to flee. As the ground became denser, the more fertile land around the village coming up, it felt a curious sensation at its back. At first there was pressure followed by a gust of wind and then, in a split second, it was airborne, thrown skyward by a sizable blast. Screeching as it came slamming down back to earth it landed awkwardly, writhing about on its back as it tried to right itself. As it had only just been getting onto its feet again the glint of Viral's cleaver caught its eye, and it would be the last thing it ever saw as steel dug into its flesh, its head toppling from its body and falling into the selfsame crater it had been blown out of. Squirming with jarring motions its body moved about briefly before finally collapsing as well, motionless in the dirt.

It was a long shot having Shu blast away like that but Takeshi didn't have much other plan in mind. He knew they had to get it out from underground and sooner rather than later; it became increasingly apparent the further along they went that it was indeed a village up ahead, there was no way they could let this thing get there and attack the residents. Watching as his brother lobbed a shot ahead it had just the results he'd hoped for as the ground erupted from the attack, tossing the creature into the air and causing it to tumble back down to the ground. Not skipping a beat Viral was on it in a second, beheading the beast with one clean strike and putting it down for good. Waiting just to be sure it was dead he sighed heavily seeing it motionless, his posture slumping slightly as he relaxed. When a peculiar bubbling noise drew his attention back to the creature he paled seeing it melting away for some reason, leaving little more than a shell in its wake as its flesh vanished. Feeling his stomach churn Takeshi groaned before turning away and emptying what little food he had in there into the grass at his feet.