The emus shift around uneasily as Jason stands there defenseless. His arms hanging at his side limp as the stress and tension from the fight leave him. Then one of the front line emus is dead. Jason is standing over it stable like a mountain having completed a side punch. His attack wasn’t that fast but his actions seemed to slide past the emus.

Focusing once again Jason tries to replicate what happened. His front foot almost imperceptibly lifts off the ground. The back foot digs in and with a push sends him towards the remaining front line emu. He feels the ground slide by underneath his one foot as Desolate Traversal makes the action even smoother. Then almost at the other bird he brings his other fist out to the side. In passing he slams a hook right into the emus neck dropping it.

This second attack breaks the remaining emus out of their daze. The Lesser Hive Node emu retreats to a nearby spire while the remaining two Beetle emus close ranks. On top of those two the acid emus don’t like their chances so they hop off and follow the Node as guards of sort.

Working together the Beetle emus kick at Jason, not giving him a chance to approach. A few test punches by him show they are not doing it randomly. One can guard the other while it kicks so he can’t cripple them. Then a splash and the ground to Jason’s left is covered in acid. Unlike the previous times though the splatter remains. A glance at the source and he can understand why. One of the acid emus is now squatted on the ground breathing heavily. Jason smirks at this.

“Finally got them to use one of their trump cards. Though I need to finish one of these big boys before it recovers. I don’t want to stand around only to find out that isn’t a one off ability. Getting stuck in the middle of a pool of acid doesn’t exactly sound like fun.” Then with a resolute nod Jason once again punches at one of the kicking emus. This time however he doesn’t pull back when the other defends it.

-10

A massive wound opens on his shoulder but his Blast Punch connects. Being a higher level the attacking emu doesn’t have its leg bone completely broken but there is a fracture. Not giving them a chance Jason pushes the attack. Bringing his other fist around he lands a solid uppercut to the wounded emu. A crunch rings out and the emu dies, falling over backwards. The remaining Beetle emu scores another attack having been ignored in favor of taking the other out.

-5

This time the slashing kick only cut along the surface but the damage is still severe. However Jason now turns his sights to it. Off to the side Node emu paces back and forth. The acid emu that is still up can’t be used or she wouldn’t have any defense. This great enemy of hers has likely already notice the time needed between shots. One wrong move and that crazy human is likely to charge right at her to finish the fight.

Having the Beetle emu go on the defensive helps. A few more punches from the human miss and another kick even gets through even if only scratching the leather armor. Back and forth the fight continues as the Node emu nervously checks on the exhausted acid emu. Still too long before it recovers.

Looking back and she realizes that waiting isn’t an option. Those gaping wounds on the human aren’t looking as dire anymore. Instead of bleeding out they seem to have scabbed over already. Even the blood that is coming out looks more goopy than bloody as it quickly sets. However the Node emu realizes the human isn’t attacking with that arm. A quick order and the Beetle emu goes in for an all out attack on that side.

The attack works but not enough. It adds another large gash to the human but this time observing it shows the truth. How can something take bleeding damage when the blood pools on the wound and hardens? Worse yet, the Beetle emu’s all out attack left it open, and the human killed it with another of those strange punches. All the Node emu has left is a couple acid emus, one which can’t even run away. Fear runs through her head as the human turns towards her, how could she fall here?

Then the oddest thing happens. He looks straight into her eyes. Then with a small bow he turns around and leaves back towards the rabbit’s land. The remaining acid emu sends a spike of desire. It wants to use its daily to take out the human. Not knowing why she orders it to stop. That human demands respect and oddly enough she is willing to give it to him. Anyway, despite losing to Jason the Node emu got boosted two whole levels. Time enough to try again later. Now she needs to recover from her loses and find new members for her hive. However, for some reason she waits till the human has gone out of sight before heading off.

In the distance Jason is ruminating over the fight as well. Blast Punch isn’t a sure kill move. If it wasn’t for his magic bones, he would have bleed out twice over back there. Deciding to stop the fight was the best thing he could have done. That Node emu let him go so he didn’t have to deal with the remaining acid emu and whatever tricks it had up its sleeve. It seems a little respect can go a long way.

Though he has an inkling that the so called “Node” emus are more than they seem. A true node in a hive would sacrifice itself to remove a threat like him. Though those are thoughts for another time. Back in the plains he settles down and once again starts cultivating. Only stopping shortly before nightfall to prepare a meal. All the while off in the distance a slow change is occurring. Imperceptibly the very fate of the region has shifted once again.

Akhier

So I didn’t intend it but Jason just accidently started the insectoid emu species on its way towards escaping the monster classification. They might even one day reach the point of becoming a player race. That however is much too far in the future and unless Jason comes back here in a decade at most he will experience some bowing birds. Cultural changes he has kick started will cause the intelligent emus to escape the endless aggression and fighting through honor and respect. Though this might not happen. If the Node emu he fought dies within a few days the chance may be lost forever. While they are part of a “hive mind” of sorts it is more on the scale of a slow diffusion of knowledge and emotions than anything else. However, if she lives for at least a year, then the changes will have rooted themselves in the emu subconscious and nothing can stop the change. However, even if that doesn’t happen the few days I mention above will be enough that even if they don’t forever change for the better they will still be able to escape the fate of all the other mutated animals in the wasteland.