FULL CIRCLE

By: Matt Taylor

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, and make no money from their use.

Notes: This fic (with the exception of the prelude) takes place 20 years In the future of Monster Hunter 4 ultimate.

FIRST PRELUDE: EVE IMPOSING DIMENSION (1)

It was night time, the stars were out, and the city of Dundorma was celebrating.

Just hours ago, in the large field below him, a beast of legend had been defeated. The Kushala Daora, the ancient Metal Dragon of Wind had been beaten and repelled here. Weeks of preparation had gone into repairing the cities defenses from the previous battle held there, and it had all been a success.

His immensenessness had declared a full week of celebration for this event, and had opened his personal wine and beer cellars to the public. He could hear it from here, a band was playing a loud toon, while a chorus of Palicoes meowed along. He smiled. The last he had seen of the Ace Palico, he had been face down on one of the street cooks tables, having enjoyed his sixth glass of a drink the cook prepared called Felvine Liquor. The Caravaneer and the Wycoon had joined him, despite the street cooks insistence that only Palico could stomach the drink. The Caravaneer had laughed and asked for a second.

The Ace Commander and the Master of Defense were sitting at the head table, accepting praise from every passerby with a surprising amount of humility, Next to them was the Ace Lancer, calmly enjoying a fine meal, a glass of wine, and an old book on the Everwood's biology. People who passed by him shook his hand.

Little Miss Forge sat at a table next to the armory girl (apparently her new best friend), and The Man. Her cheeks were red and her eyes were half closed, as she lifted her beer mug up to the sky and called for a toast to great weapons, which the armory girl answered with a face that appeared to be even more drunk than her friend. The Man smiled slightly, and sipped calmly from his own mug.

While this went on, across from them, the Ace Cadet was making a valiant attempt to describe his rather stupid actions at the end of the fight as valiant and heroic, but the Guildmarm was simultaneously attempting to get him to give her physical descriptions of the Kushala Daora for her notebook

Even his Immensenessness had come down, sitting in a giant chair made especially for him, drinking beer from a mug the size of a barrel.

And he was here. The Hero of the Day was sitting in the Battlequarters, staring down at the place where the battle had taken place.

His helmet sat on the ground next to him, but the rest of his armor was still on, and the sword, THAT sword, lay on the ground next to him. His hand laying just slightly on the handle.

Veteran Hunters….they had certain beliefs that they gained through the years. They spent every day fighting horrible beasts, and taking parts of them from them for weapons and armor, after a few years doing this they started to believe that parts of the monster in question…stayed with the weapons. That a sword made from dragons scales, kept a piece of the dragon within it. You would be surprised at how many Hunters shared this belief.

He looked down at the sword, and its jagged black blade. It had tasted the blood of an Elder Dragon today, and it's "Voice" seemed quiet and satiated, for now. Who knew how long that would last, but he relished the quiet.

"Here you are Kindred Hunter."

He didn't need to turn to know who it was. Her voice was quite familiar to him now. The Ace Gunner walked over to stand behind him.

"What are you doing out here? There's a celebration going on."

"Not sure." He said "The sword wanted to come here."

"I see." She said, he finally turned around and looked at her, and felt his blood rise slightly. Her normal hunting gear was gone, and in its place was a simple white dress, lacking any form of decoration, and she was barefooted. It served as a contrast to her dark skin, and, he thought, made her look even more beautiful than she normally did. She sat down next to him, apparently ignoring his reaction.

"The sword's voice weighs on you?" She asked.

"Not usually, not unless it wants something very much." He said. For a second he considered putting his arm around her, until she surprised him and placed a hand on said arm, lifting it up, and placing it over her shoulders and cuddling against him. He imagined his face was quite red right now, but he ignored it.

"The burden a weapon places on a hunter can be great, I've known some hunters who have been overwhelmed by their own weapons."

"It won't overcome me." He said, finality in his voice. She smiled at him, and he thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"Did I ever tell you how I met my master?" She asked, looking out over the Battlequarters.

"I don't believe so." He said, surprised by the change in topic.

"It was 13 years ago…"

…

She spun a story for him then, of a tribe of primitive people living deep, deep in the Everwood. The people had lived off the land, hunting and gathering whatever they needed, and worshipping a god called the "Wings of Flame."

Then one day, something happened that had never happened before, a stranger entered their town. He was a Wyverian Hunter, and he had come seeking a powerful beast that had been flying out of the woods and attacking travelers along the roads. He called the beast a "Rathalos."

They had no idea of what he was talking about, but he had yet to show any hostility to them, so they allowed him to stay. Over the next week he had often traveled out of the village, searching for his prey, and in one of those missions, he had found her and her father. Her father was a proud and skilled hunter for the village, going into the woods and returning with leather, meat and game for the village. That day she had gone with him, learning to use a bow for her own future role as the village's hunter

Her father and the Hunter had gotten along famously, recognizing a kindred spirit in the other. They had become so close, that her father told him of his secret goal in hunting the woods, to find and kill the great beast that had slain his wife, her mother. He had found her in the woods years ago, her body a charred corpse. He recognized her only through the small bracelet he had made for her as an engagement gift.

The Hunter had said that he suspected that the beast they both sought was one and the same, and from that day forward, they scoured the woods together, searching for any sign of the beast. It was at the end of the third week since the strange Hunter arrived that it happened.

They had returned from another unsuccessful search, and found the entire village waiting for them at the gate. One of the chieftain's advisor's stepped and pointed at them. He said

"These are them, are heard them plotting! They mean to kill the "Wings of Flame. Each day they search the forest for him"

Her father had tried to talk to his people, but they refused to listen, and the chieftain passed down judgment on them. That for this crime they would both be bound, and given to the "Wings of Flame" as a sacrifice to appease their god and make amends for this foolish act. They had tried to struggle, but it had been futile, her father's bow and the Hunter's swords were taken from them, and they were bound in rope.

She had followed the procession through the forest, as her father and the Hunter were carried towards the god's temple. She saw it in a clearing up ahead, a tall pyramidal form rising up to the top of the trees which towered over everything. At the very top was a small opening revealing blue sky.

Her father and the Hunter had been carried up, and placed on an altar, then the villagers had drawn back and one in the back had sounded a large horn. The Villagers bowed, and she could hear the sound of wings beating in the air.

Up above, through the small opening, came the Wings of Flame.

This was the first time she had ever seen her people's god, and it stunned her into silent fear. It was huge, and covered in red and black scales. It had no arms, but its wings seemed to be in the arms place, and it had a long tail coming out behind it. It suddenly let out a horrible roar that made her clutch at her ears.

When it stopped, she saw it land, and knew it would devour her father. She immediately kicked at the knees of the villager that held her father and the Hunter's weapons, she grabbed both, and ran towards the stairs. She was certain that the villagers would try to stop her, but none dared follow up the stairs, not while the sacrifice was going on.

She quickly ran to the altar, and used the Hunter sword to cut at the ropes. If she had had more time, she would have been stunned at how easily the blades cut through the binding, but she was too focused on her father. He quickly leapt up, and took his bow, the Hunter doing the same. Her father told her to run to the steps and look for a place to hide. She did so, but watched the battle to come.

And what a battle it was! Her father and the Hunter took on the Wings of Flame in a manner befitting true warriors. It was at one point that she saw it. The Wings of Flame reared back, and shot a ball of fire, from his mouth. The blast exploded a few feet from where she was hiding. Her father suddenly shouted to the sky.

"As I suspected, it was you! You are the slayer of my wife! Finally I shall have my justice!"

And the battle continued. Her father now fought with a ferocity she had never seen in him. Every arrow hit with savagery, every slash with the large arrowhead made to draw blood. But still the beast would not fall. It was when the creature landed near her that it happened.

The great Wings of Flame turned, and she felt fear as she realized it SAW her! She heard her father scream, and the beast reared back, with flame already pouring from its mouth. She closed her eyes. Certain she was about to die, she opened when she felt a wind pass her, and she saw a figure leap in front of the flaming blast.

To her horror, she saw her father, laying on the grounf, his body scarred beyond recognition, but he still lived long enough to reach out to her. She took his hand, and he smiled and died. The beast looked down at her, and seemed confused for a moment, but roared once again, and was ready to finish her off. But the Hunter was between them before it had the chance.

His Twin Blades flew through the air, cutting into the beast again and again, and finally, finally the Wings of Flame fell. It's corpse hitting the ground with a loud thud. Had she had the presence of mind at the time, she would have noticed the Hunter pick up a red scale that had fallen off her people's god, but she saw only her father, who she clutched to even as the battle ended, and the villagers stormed up the temple.

The next day they had exiled the Hunter, and her as well.

"You aided in this horrible crime, for the slaying of the Wings of Flame, you are exiled, never to return to this place! Begone before we kill you!"

The Hunter had left the Everwood, carrying a crying little girl in his arms. He had taken her back to this city, this…Dundorma. Several days after he came to her and showed her the scale he had taken, and gave it to her, and asked her if she wanted to be a Hunter, like her father. She had said yes.

…..

"And with that, I became a disciple of the Master of Defense."

"Wow." He said. "And you never returned?"

"Never. And I don't intend to. Let them stay in the Everwood forever, I say. My life is here, my home is here." She said.

"What did you do with that scale?" He asked.

"Like your sword, my gun speaks to me, not with words, but in other ways. The Wings of Flame is with me always."

He had nothing to say to that, and for the next few minutes, there was only silence.

"You were amazing out there today." She finally said.

"Pssh! Hardly, All I did was move the cart around and fire the gun." He said.

"It was more than what you did there. Just you being there helped greatly, even my master says that without you there, we may not have won, even if the weapon were complete."

"I wouldn't have been able to do it without all of you."

"Thank you." She said, smiling. He looked down at her, and saw her looking at him, and smiling just slightly.

"Do you think we make a good team?" He asked. She suddenly moved in front of him.

"Of course, very much so." And she kissed him. He was more than happy to return it, putting his arms around the Ace Gunner and holding her close. When they finally broke apart, for a moment they only looked into each other's eyes, before she stood up.

"Come, I think we should find a place that's a little more private." She smiled again, and slowly walked towards the entrance to the Battlequarters. He picked up his sword and helmet and followed her.

….

It was late at night in his room, he lay there staring at the ceiling. The Ace gunner was cuddled up against him, his arm around her shoulders and holding her close. He looked around, and saw were his armor had been rather haphazardly placed, along-side of her dress, now crumpled up on the floor. He could still hear loud music, but it was muffled by distance and the walls.

"Still awake." He heard her say.

"Heh, sorry. Did I wake you?"

"Yes, but that's alright."

He was quiet for a moment. "So….where do we go from here?"

He felt her smile against his skin. "I don't know, but I think I'll stick with you for awhile."

She looked up at him with a smile that made his heart leap.

END OF PRELUDE.

Notes: Well, thanks for getting through the first part of the prelude. Hope you enjoyed it. I was a little surprised by Monster Hunter 4, as it focused on story a lot more than other games in the series. It was in Dundorma when I interacted with the Wycoon, and he told me the Ace Gunner had been asking him questions about "Me" that I decided my hunter was in love with her. And that lead to his fic here.

Hope to get some more of it out soon. It is set 20 years in the future of the MH4 timeline, and focuses on the return to Dundorma of our friends and heroes, but not quite the same people as what we remember. The sword the Hunter carries can be seen here

wiki/Eve_Imposing_Dimension_(MH4)

As you can guess, Eve Imposing Dimension is the name of the sword, and it's made from Dalamadur parts.

Look forward to more chapters soon.