Game Event

A strained silence falls over the forest as the 16 beings within it fail to find any more panthers. Moving slowly and quietly, they all rendezvous in a clearing, weapons still drawn, eyes and ears peeled for any sign of an attack. The clearing is perhaps 20 meters in diameter, almost perfectly circular, with three paths that lead into it from the mountains behind them and a single path that marks the way forward. "Are they... all gone?" someone asks after a few seconds of silence. "For some reason, I doubt it. I've still got this sensation of being watched, even though we aren't finding any more of the cats." Blue Demon replies. "How many did we kill?" Die says suddenly. As everyone gradually recounts all of the kills they got, she sums up the total in her head. "Seventeen. I saw twenty when they initially appeared." "But then, where are the other three? I can't pick up anything." "I'm not having any luck, either." Before anyone can muster a reply, the slightest movement catches everyone's attention- an enormous black panther, easily twice as large as any they had previously fought, had opened its eyes. It had been on the path leading to the village the entire time, its dark form blending in with the ground and rendering it undetectable even to the Blurs. As the group simultaneously raised its weaponry in preparation to fire, the panther closed its eyes, and a storm of bullets went towards the path, surely shredding the cat to pieces. Yet, after the enormous bang caused by the sudden onslaught of gunfire faded and the smoke drifted away, the group gaped in utter shock as the panther reopened its eyes, unscathed, tail lazily, almost imperceptibly, swishing behind it. Two more pairs of eyes opened on either side of the panther- slightly smaller beasts than the center, but enormous on any scale, easily a time and a half as large as one of the seventeen slain cats. All three beasts suddenly snarled and lunged at the group before anyone could react, closing the 20 meter gap in an instant with an unbelievable leap into the air that seemed to transfix the group, and now they were plummeting towards their targets, claws outstretched, fangs bared-

"NO!" An enormous blast erupts from the front of the group as Damien's shockwave explodes from the palms of his hands towards the cats. The flankers are caught off guard and repelled by the sudden attack, knocked back towards the woods, but the lead alpha executes an incredibly deft front-flip, vaulting over the wave as it passes him by. The maneuver propels him forward and he skids to a stop behind the group with a deafening growl while his two allies arise from where they've fallen, surrounding the group in a triangular formation. "Don't bother shooting," Die says as several people raise their weapons again. "You won't hit them. Go on ahead, towards the village, before anyone else reaches it. There's going to be a hell of a fight soon, and I can't let you waste your ammo- and maybe your lives- fighting a few kittens. I'll take care of this." "By yourself? There's no way you'll be able to fight all three- you've seen how fast they move!" Blue Demon objects. Die heaves a sigh. "Good point. I'd be delaying them at best. Although I hate to strip away more resources from our little attack force here, Blue, I'll probably need your help to take them down. The rest of you, quit staring and wasting time! GO!" Nobody needs to be told twice. The 14 bolt off towards the center path, the panthers watching but not advancing on them. Blue and Die stand back to back, watching all of the cats, waiting for one of them to make the first move, while the cats do the same. "C'mon... c'mon..."

Meanwhile, the motley assortment of fighters presses on, some hampered by injuries, but for the most part able to make adequate progress. They don't see any more hostile animals or humans, though there are certain times when the forest seems to grow quieter and the sensation of being watched comes back, sometimes remaining for an entire minute. They seem to be gradually descending into the valley, which is evidently much lower down than previously thought. After walking for roughly ten minutes or so, it seems like the trees are beginning to thin out a little, and the path widens and expands. They still can't see very far ahead of them because of the darkness, but they're obviously drawing up on a settlement or large clearing of some kind. "This is probably your last chance to do anything you need to do- reload, repair anything that's broken, patch yourself up if you're hurt. Actually, I'm willing to heal anyone who's injured. If you're good to go, just keep an eye out for the rest of us."

The night has grown darker. Dawn is approaching. Sunrise will be in one hour.