A Fleeting Utopia

Chapter 4

If you thought about how big the Aero Aloi were from before in comparison to the Shapeshifter Aloi in the form of panthers before Tsumi, you'd think they'd be a little easier to take on. But there was one big difference between what she had bought before, and what she was about to fight now, other than the fact these were only around twice as big as a regular panther.
    These beasts would use their teeth.
    Tsumi clutched her sword tight. The beasts hadn't taken notice of them yet. The east border looked like the remains of a metal fence that the beasts had torn through. Currently, they were in a wide alley with heaps of trash lying around. The panthers were clawing through one of the dumpsters. There were only 3 of them, but the size of each one made up for the number.
    Ikuu began to mutter under his breath so only the people closest to him could hear."We should make a plan before they see us. If they do, we-"
    "Ugh, it stinks here! Let's get this over with already!" Nova said loudly. The beasts slowly turned around, a crazed look in their artificial eyes.
    "Great! Now we don't have any plan for what we're doing! Great job, Nova!" Ikuu sneered. One of the beasts lunged toward him, its shiny silver teeth bared in anger. Another one slashed through the dumpster it was previously crawling through with ease, almost as if it was warning them. Juno took out her bow and arrow and tried shooting at the third panther's side, but it didn't even notice the hit.
    Nova sighed. "Really, what did you think that was going to do against an Aloi beast made of metal, for crying out loud. We need to get you a gun, and a good one. And we need to get Tsumi a spear. I think I know where we can go."
    Tsumi just stood there, unsure what to do. The panthers weren't directly attacking, but it was pretty obvious they would tear them up if she or the others got too close. Maybe they just really wanted to stay in this pungent alley and wait for them to surrender so they could get into the city and start attacking people, or whatever they wanted.
    Ikuu twisted his nunchucks around as he jumped in the air, driving a blow to the top of the front panther's head. The impact made a mere dent in the metal. The panther slashed forward, its claws grazing the side of Ikuu's shoulder. He winced as Nova rushed up to the beast, gashing her sword into the metal. This time the machine opened up with the dent. "I really hope you brought your first aid kit along with that bow and arrow of yours!"
    Juno looked sheepish. "Well..."
    Tsumi stared at the dull sword in her hands. She stepped up to the panther who was currently not engaged in a battle with one of her companions. She tapped her sword on the ground, hoping the beast would hear, then scampered behind it when it stepped forward. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Nova take out one of the panthers, its parts exploding like fireworks into the air. But it was no easy work. Nova's hair was damp with sweat, and she looked exhausted.
    Tsumi slashed at the back legs of the panther. But to her surprise, nothing happened. Not even a single dent. She hacked against the metal again, yet still nothing happened.The panther cornered in on her, its teeth glimmering in the sunlight from above. It brought out one of its claws, seeming to stare at its long, sharp, nails in a gloating manner. Tsumi suddenly had an uneasy sense of déjà vu as it closed in, pressing her against the slimy alley wall. Would the last thing she really saw in this place really be the face of an angry robotic panther? What even happened if you died here? Since there was a possibility she was already dead, what did that mean? She closed her eyes. At least she would have a cinematic death.
    "What are you doing?" Tsumi felt someone press their body against hers. Nova had her broadsword out, holding it against the panther's teeth. The panther began to chomp down on it, which apparently Nova hadn't expected, judging off the look on her face.
    "Trying to help fight beasts?" Tsumi watched as Nova yanked her sword away from the beast, and crashed it into its forehead.
    Nova's eyes widened with realization. "Oh no. Tsumi, we should really both-"
    Dark red liquid came gushing out of the head of the panther, soaking both Nova and Tsumi.
    "move," Nova finished wearily.
    "What is this stuff?" Tsumi wiped her forehead in disgust. She was covered in this stuff. She had remembered seeing it earlier when she witnessed the others fighting the Shapershifter in the spider's form, but she obviously wasn't covered in it then.
    Ikuu and Juno walked up to them, Ikuu busting out in laughter as he saw them. The two other panthers were gone, and the same substance coated the floor along with all of the parts, but somehow Ikuu and Juno didn't even have a spot of it on either of them.
    "It's a blood-replicating substance the creator of the Aloi beasts added to the large core of the machines. Some produce more than others, depending on the type of Aloi beast. Probably just for the inconvenience of the people who fight them, such as us. It's not like whoever made these things wanted them to be easy to clean and convenient for us, of course." Ikuu said through laughter.
    "How do you manage to laugh in our faces while explaining something in a nerdy way at the same time?" Nova scoffed.
    Tsumi glared, ignoring both of their remarks. "Who does clean up all of this stuff, anyways?"
    Ikuu thought for a second. "I never really thought about that, actually. I suppose there's some sort of cleaning crew that goes around and cleans all of the parts from the defeated Aloi beasts, but I'm not really sure. I mean, there's no way it could just disappear." Tsumi wondered if maybe it could just disappear, at least in this place. Though that probably didn't happen in the rightful universe they had all belonged to and the planet Roka had mentioned, Earth.
    "That actually went faster than I thought, though. So much for the super powerful Aloi beasts we had to fight before they kill a ton of people, or something. Hey, we should have a little party to celebrate our great victory! After Nova and Tsumi clean off, of course. We do have tomorrow off, after all." Juno grinned, glancing up into the darkening sky. Tsumi personally wanted to go to sleep after all of this, or at least get some time to think about what she was going to do about this situation. Where was she even going to sleep tonight? Had the others gotten a dorm for her? Would she have to share with another person?
    "Sure, but no candy. Or caffeinated sodas. I know how you get when you have those late at night." Ikuu said sternly.
    "What are you, her dad? She's not a baby. Let's have fun!" Nova exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. A splattering of the red matter landed on Ikuu's sleeve.
    "Yeah, we should get you back to your dorm so you can shower before I get covered in that stuff, too."