Coming out of the portal into an open clearing surrounded by tall trees, the first one to set down was Wrack. After hitting the ground he expanded his senses to the max, making sure no animal or demon was around that could make a sneak attack. Thankfully there was nothing in the immediate area that was a threat.
Coming out next was James and Owen, both coming out with weapons ready to react at a moments notice. Once seeing their leader just stand there, they instantly relaxed a bit but kept on guard thinking even he could not be certain.
Once Ignis came out of the portal he was all ready for combat, always going on solo missions he was making sure he was prepared every time he entered a gateway. When Owen and James laid eyes on him they could hardly believe what they was looking at. Like he added half a person's height to himself, Ignis now loomed over everyone with newfound size, sharp claws and what looked like dragon scales under his already scaled armor.
Before he could even take a step, Alibaster came jumping through the portal hitting Ignis in the back and falling down. With a quick roll to the side and a jump he was on his feet and gun at the ready, looking anywhere he could not see him teammates.
Being the last one through, Gremlin took a calm look around seeing everyone at the ready and looking for danger.
Once everyone was through and the portal closed, they stayed alert making sure there was no surprises coming out of the woods. But after a few minutes they relaxed their guard and began coming up with a few ideas.
"So, Captain, what do we do now?" James asked while looking to the trees.
"Shifter, go take a look around and tell us what you find." Answered Wrack.
With a quick nod and a powerful leap, Ignis's body quickly shrunk, grew wings and feathers resembling an eagle and flew in a random direction to circle over the forest.
"So, he is a shapeshifter, Codename makes much more sense with this. Is he part demon or full human?" James said looking at his leader. A trace of mild dissatisfaction could be heard coming from his voice.
"Human, as far as i know." Said Wrack solemnly. "Though his parents did not seem to think that way once he got that ability, then i took him in after finding him half dead." He finished.
After a quick bout of pity came over him for asking, James went back to monitoring the surroundings till Ignis came back.
Swooping down and landing in front of the group, Ignis shifted back into him human form and gave his report.
"I don't see much in the immediate vicinity, but i saw what looked like a town miles away, probably a few days even if we run." he said. while pointing in some direction.
"Good, we will see how dangerous the wildlife is here, and maybe run into a lone demon or two to see how strong they are on our way. We might get to have some fun." Wrack mentioned before setting off.
With mild alertness, they traveled through the dense woods. Shifter turned himself into a wolf to pick up on any unique smells or tracks he could find while they made their way forward. After walking for 20 minutes or so, Shifter stopped and sniffed at the air. finding something that caught his interest.
"Pack of panthers ahead of us, 7 of them in a group, and one trailing behind i'm guessing, looks like the alpha and is looking out for ambushes." Ignis reported with a snarl of his snout.
"What animals are this smart?" Owen asked while putting a hand on the hilt of his blade.
"Either long lived ones, or ones under someone else's control." Ignis insisted.
"Everyone head for the group and assess their strength, i got the big guy." Wrack spoke as he vanished into the tree cover circling around to the back of the pack.
Following their orders the 5 of them started heading for the group of panthers in a straight line, picking up speed as the dodged through the trees. Once they came into range where they could sense their prey everyone made their preparations for the fight.
James lowered his shield till it was in the center of his body and started rushing forward, wind suddenly started billowing around him. The air in front of him parted ways allowing nothing to slow him down. Once the air parted from the front it circled around him and pushed him from the back increasing his speed even more, turning him into a cannonball.
Following close behind was Owen, with his eyes narrowed and zoned in on one unsuspecting panther that was trailing in the back. Trying to catch up, Gremlin had her scythe in her left hand and chain swirling in a circle with her right trying to pick out her target for the their ambush while Ignis started to turn into a massive wolf. Lastly Alibaster jumped up a tree onto a branch and positioned himself where he could take one good shot, though the trees kept him from staying too far away.
Before the two groups made contact, Wrack came close to the alpha panther following behind the big group with three knives floating around the top of his head, slowing spinning in a circle. With but a thought, the knives shot forward at sonic speeds trying to pin the beast in the side while he ran after them.
As soon the alpha noticed the threat coming its way and tried to jump to its right to avoid the knives, a loud thudding noise could be heard from up ahead and with a quick look the panther was shocked to see a mist of blood and guts rain down from its pack mates.