"Guys... I think we've already been here before..." Tyler groaned, passing past a tree with a large slash mark in it. "I'm pretty sure Jerome just marked that tree."
Jerome nodded, axe in hand. "Yup, I'm pretty sure we just went in a large circle." He looked around the vast forest surrounding them.
Jordan turned and groaned when he saw the gash. "Great..."
Sqaishey frowned slightly. "So... We're lost."
"Yyyyyyyup..." Mitch nodded, being carried on Jerome's back once again.
Jordan looked at them before looking at their surroundings. "We... We're not lost! We are... Are... Um..." He stopped for a second before looking up and hesitating. "Here, hold him," Jordan placed Jerry in Tyler's hands and stepped a little ways from everyone. "Give me a second," He told them before taking another step but this time, vanishing into thin air.
"Wh-!" Tyler exclaimed, clutching the slime to his chest. "Where did he-?"
The others looked around confused, scared that something had happened to him.
Sqaishey backed away looking around fearful before Sparklez reappeared before them.
"Alright, so if we just go this way then we'll-"
"What the heck was that dude!?" Mitch gasped, his mouth wide open.
Jordan raised an eyebrow. "What was what?" He asked confused before realizing. "Oh... Huh. I never teleported around you guys before, huh?" He moved to take Jerry back from Tyler.
"NO?!?!" Jerome tilted his head curiously.
"Well, uh, surprise. I can do that. Anyway-"
"Hold up...." Tyler stood in front of Jordan. "I need answers. Now." He held Jerry closer to his chest. "Or you're not getting him back."
Jordan stopped and frowned at Tyler. "That's not funny, Tyler..." he warned him, his body tensing up a little.
Tyler's shoulders dropped. "Ah... sorry..." He held Jerry out to Jordan.
Jordan took Jerry and held him close. "Don't take my slime away from me, man..." He told him seriously before sighing. "As for my abilities or whatever, I have no idea why or how I got them, I just... Can? I guess. So that's cool... So if we can actually focus, if we go this way-" He started to try to point it out again.
Tyler rolled his eyes and looked to where he was pointing. It looked darker, with the trees appearing to fade into pitch blackness.
"That way, hmm? I'm terribly sorry, but I can't allow that." Kala appeared behind them, making Sqaishey and Jordan both jump out of surprise.
"You again!" Jordan groaned. "What do you want now?"
Kala had his hands behind his back. "Oh, I thought you'd like to know that I have confirmed your friends are indeed here somewhere... I also confirmed something else..."
"What do you mean?!" Mitch hopped off of Jerome's back and onto the ground.
Kala grinned wider. "I have my queens permission to... how should I say this..." he looked down in thought before grinning madly. "Do whatever I please with you."
Jordan's eyes widened and stepped back as Kala shifted into his beast form and snarled and stood a bit taller than all of them.
"Um guys...?" Jerome's eyes widened.
"Should we... should we run...?" Tyler pointed in the opposite direction they were supposed to go.
"No... we stay here and fight." Mitch argued, looking over at Jordan.
Jordan hesitated, breath hitching as he held Jerry close and stayed in front of Sqaishey in a protective manner, glancing at Mitch. "Uh... I... I would rather not be potentially murdered and possibly devoured by a demon beast today..." He replied, stepping back. "Cause, I don't think we can take him..."
Sqaishey looked at them all fearful and unsure before Kala leapt at them with a loud snarl, jaws open to snap at the nearest one. Which happened to be Jordan.
His eyes widened and grabbed ahold of Sqaishey and teleported out of the way and off to the side, gasping as they came out of the teleport.
Kala snarled and turned to the others there.
Mitch pulled out his bow and loaded it with an arrow, pointed right at the beast. Jerome stood next to him, axe swung over his shoulder. Tyler stood slightly behind, ready to draw his sword if necessary.
Jordan turned to them, eyes wide. "Guys, get out of there!"
Kala lunged at them, swinging his paws in an attempt to attack.
Tyler stepped back, nearly tripping over his own feat. In front of him Mitch stayed frozen, bow drawn. As Kala lunged Jerome slid to the side, wrapping his arms around Mitch's waist and pulling him back.
Kala narrowly missed them and lunged again.
Jordan quickly shoved Jerry into Sqaishey's arms and teleported on top of him. "Hey! Leave them alone!" He demanded as he clung on for fear of his life.
Kala struggled to get him off before slamming him and by extension his back into a tree making Jordan scream in pain and fall to the ground.
Jordan gasped sharply as Kala pinned him down a paw on his chest and he pressed down on it.
His vision blurred from the pain as he head spun, his glasses having fallen off to the side. He cried at the pain in his chest and how hard it was to breathe as Kala pressed down on him snarling as he leaned down dangerously close to his neck.
"Jordan!" Sqaishey cried.
Tyler took out his sword, still coated in a dry layer of blood. He looked over at the others, eyes begging for help.
Jerome let go of Mitch and ran over to the beast, digging into it's back with his claws and climbing on top of it. He wrapped his arms around its neck, trying with all his might to keep him from moving any closer to Jordan. Behind him Mitch drew his bow and fired multiple arrows at Kala.
Kala howled and tried to bite at Jerome to get him off of him, rearing back slightly and falling forward again, narrowly missing crushing Jordan's chest only cause he managed to move out of the way but screamed when one of the claws tore into his side.
Jerry squirmed out of Sqaishey's grasp and over to Jordan, rubbing against him in concern. "N-No Jerry... Go b-back.. I'm fine..." Jordan tried to move but hissed in pain. Jerry made a noise at him which made Jordan look at him. "Jerry, please, I don't want you hurt..."
Jerry stubbornly moved over and wrapped himself around the wound on his side, helping stop the bleeding. "T-Thanks..." Jordan told him softly, looking up at Kala who was still fitting with Jerome a couple feet away now.
Tyler ran over to Jordan and knelt by him. "J-Jordan!" He looked over at his side, the slime resting around it.
Jerome stayed clinging onto Kala, trying to get a grip on his axe but unable to due to the beasts' constant moving. Mitch continued to shoot, trying his best to not hit Jerome.
Kala kept thrashing about trying to get the Bacca off of him before slamming him into a couple of trees as well.
Jordan looked up at Tyler, his vision still swimming. "T-Tyler??" He muttered, wincing a little when he shifted making Jerry make a noise of protest.
"Gah...!" Jerome crashed to the ground, nearly unconscious.
"Biggums!" Mitch ran over to Kala, pushing the beast out of the way to get to his friend. "Biggums are you okay?"
Jerome only coughed and nodded, eyes barely open.
"Jordan a-are you okay?" Tyler's hands shook as re looked over at the large wound on the other's side.
"I-I think-" He stopped following Tyler's gaze. "Uh... N-No... Doesn't... Doesn't look t-that way..." He replied hissing as Jerry pressed a little tighter. "Ow, Jer..." Jerry made a small noise. "Y-Yeah, I know... Th-Thanks..." Jordan muttered. "Ugh..." He rubbed his face with his hand, realizing his glasses were gone. "T-Tyler? Do you see my glasses?" He asked.
Kala snarled as he was shoved and went to grab at Mitch by the back of his shirt with his mouth.
Tyler scanned the area. "Uhhhh no..." he looked up at Sqaishey. "Do you see them?"
Mitch struggled to fight Kala, being unable to shoot due to the beast being behind him. He tried to elbow the beast off of him, one hand attempting to stab him with an arrow.
Jerome was stuck helplessly watching and staring, his whole body aching and he was unable to move.
Kala winced at the stabs before grabbed hold of Mitch's shirt and started tossing him around like a rag doll.
Sqaishey looked over. "Uh, I don't think that's important right now!" She pointed out, watching helplessly as Kala fought with Mitch and Jerome.
Jordan looked over, seeing the still kind of blurry but getting less so figures fighting.
Mitch elbowed the beast in the nose, causing it to howl and pain and drop him to the ground. Dazed, Mitch swung an arrow in front of him, using it like a sword and swiping at Kala. He landed a few scratches on its face and arms.
Kala snarled and batted the arrow away, snapping it from the force of the swing. He stood over Mitch snarling and he heard him say something despite how distorted it sounded. "You wanted a fight, so now you have one... Let's see which of us is really the Lord of death, shall we?" He snapped his jaws at his arm wielding the broken arrow.
Mitch screamed as Kala's teeth grazed the surface of his arm. Nearby Jerome bolted up, ears twitching. He slowly stood up, his axe hung at his side.
"Hey!" He snarled, baring his sharp teeth. "Leave him alone!" He slowly raised the axe, his muscles still aching from earlier.
Kala looked over at him, tail whipping behind him and bared his teeth at Jerome as a warning.
Jordan's vision had mostly cleared and he stared in shock at the sight before him.
"What? T-to scared to attack someone more of your speed?" Jerome nervously snarked.
Tyler stood up and glanced at Jordan, hesitant to leave his side.
"Go, I'm fine." Jordan told him.
Kala hesitated from his position over his current target. He glanced down at Mitch before lunging at Jerome, teeth bared.
"You-re bleeding, Jordan." Tyler replied, refusing to move.
Jerome stepped back, clumsily avoiding the lunges. "Is that all you got h-huh?" He kept locking eyes with a terrified Mitch, signaling to him to run away. Mitch only stared back.
Jordan sighed. "Well, yeah but Jerry has it handled, they need you!"
Kala snarled and kept swiping and lunging at him until he was backed against a tree. He seemed to grin as he bared his teeth and swiped his claws at the Bacca.
Jerome shook when he hit the tree. He had nowhere to run, he was trapped. He slammed his eyes shut terrified to see what was going to happen to himself.
Tyler frowned. "But! I don't want you to-!"
He was cut off as a scream echoed across the clearing as Kala's claws came down. Time seemed to freeze as everyone's attention was diverted to the fight. Jerome was up against the tree with a look of pure horror on his face, and standing right between him in the beast now stood Mitch.