I am not the owner of the Monster Rancher series and give full rights to the makers of the series.
Sitting down in front of a flickering flames lit in a small fireplace in a modest living room was a canine-equese looking monster. The monster was a Tiger with deep azure fur that bled a lighter cerulean and finally into the purest white with a dark blue mane of fur surrounding the creatures head like a lion's. Two horns jutted from his skull and then bent forward in a ninety-degree angle and across the Tiger's face was a jagged scar that was as red as the blood that spilt long ago.
The Tiger monster sat with its front paws crossed on a rug and then yawned showcasing glimmering fangs in the light of the fire. Strong ivory teeth that had sunk into flesh and bone on more than one occasion the same as the talons on the Tiger's paws. Finely manicured the tips were so sharp that the slightest movement against the strands of interwoven threads on the rug were cut as if a knife had swept across.
The Tiger's body was muscular as the monster stretched out to remove the kinks from bunched muscles and the sturdy ribs could be seen pressing against the flesh before disappearing back into their rightful position. A full stomach grumbled contently as the Tiger's long and sensuous tail waved around as the only hint of satisfaction from the canine creature.
Rolling its shoulders the monster yawned once more before getting up and sauntering away from the dancing fire to pad his way to the sofa where a human boy slept away.
The young man could have been no more than thirteen years old with an unruly mop of brown locks framing his face, gentle cheekbones standing out against the tanned skin of his face while a pert nose wiggled as the boy breathed in an out with quiet snores. Over his developing body was a thin white sheet that highlighted the developing features that the young man sported from years of physical activity.
Making sure not to disturb the youth the Tiger leapt onto the mattress and then settled down beside the human while curling up over the boy like a giant bedspread. The human sighed as he felt the reassuring weight atop of him even in his dreaming slumber.
Watching his charge the Tiger settled himself to fall asleep while keeping his hearing cocked for any changes in the room.
The only changes were the cracking of the firewood as it broke from its sacrifice to the red-orange-yellow embers devouring it.
Human and monster. Friend and companion. Lover and mate slept side by side as outside the night made music with a chorus of creatures dancing in the night as the moon watched everything as it silently passed over the into the horizon.
How had this strange pair come to be in the middle of a thriving forest almost in the middle of nowhere?
It had to have been at least three years ago when the tale could be told. The falling of one young Genki Sakura into the world of monsters and men or maybe even fifteen years before that when a young Tiger of the Wind had been born into the world along side his brother Grey Wolf.
Eighteen years ago found tin Tiger pups in the vast world. The two knew nothing of the world that which birthed them and were found alone in a valley surrounded by trees and shrubs by an old human man. The man took the two into his care and whisked them away to his home for which he solely raised the pair of pups.
The days passed with each Tiger growing and learning what the human had to teach them of the world. The time that was shared was the best that any of them could remember. The two energetic twins kept the older human alive with activity and teachings but before long the human's time had come to past and he was forced to leave the pups alone in the world with not but what he had taught them.
Having had their first taste of death the twins mourned the loss of their friend and authority figure the two buried the old human and then departed from the place where so many memories had been made.
Without the human to guide them and help them to grow the Tigers were forced to do necessary things in order to survive the passing of days. Looting what they needed and stealing what they found to be useful the Tiger's moved from place to place making a name for themselves as notorious bandits.
Life became harsh as they were cast from town to village because of the reputation making their scarce findings even more fleeting.
Journeying away from the place of men the twins made their way into the lands of monsters and lessons of survival were thrusts upon them without mercy. Battles fought between monsters became commonplace in the lives of the Tigers but together they stood against any opponent no matter the size or strength.
Again they made a reputation for themselves, which brought fear into the hearts of those who stood before them and recognition in the eyes of those watching from the shadows.
With the years passing by more rapidly on the run and living in the wilds the Tiger twins had soon amassed a tribune of other Tigers that had either been abandoned or were forced from human villages. In the span of a year the twins had collected as many as twenty Tigers for which they became the leaders of and no longer did they fear the humans that had cast them from their world.
Raids upon villages became commonplace as the twins lead groups into towns to take what was necessary to live causing nothing but hardship for the humans unable to defend themselves. Their frequent strikes became so bad that the people cried out to warriors from far and wide to defend them and best the Twin Terrors and their pack.
Many came from far and wide; some were defeated but a few such warriors had been too strong for the Tigers to defeat forcing them to move. Over valleys and plains, into canyons and trenches the Tigers moved and with each move they came like wraiths taking from humans what was necessary to survive.
It was when the Tigers had settled that a large force of humans and monsters attacked them without warning.
The twins were able to gather their pack and ward off the assault but with each victory came the lost of a friend until the pack was too weak to defeat the invaders and finally the few that remained were captured and bound in chains.
The twins were carted away while their friends were never seen again, some having been shipped away over seas and others put to rest under blade and stone.
For the twins they were too strong and vicious to subtly dispose of and many were at a lost as what to do with them until a man had come along one day. A heralded of battles and fights between monsters the man took the twins with him to his arena where the brothers were forced to fight everyday in order to live.
Winning many of their fights with wits and strength they became favorites of the crowds and soon treated like celebrities rather than prisoners sentenced to death. Fed the best of foods and wines and given everything except their freedom the twins lived a life of relative luxury but emptiness.
As the years rolled by the twins had bested the best of monsters and men and gained the ire of those less scrupulous of creatures. It was on a normal day that the twins were fighting when an explosion ripped apart the arena taking the Tiger twins under rubble and stone.
It was days later when both were dug out and pronounced alive that the owner of the arena had to sell the twins to another Arena master. A man more brutal than any fight had ever been he tried to break the spirits of the twins with cruel punishments and starvation.
But the twins would not be broken so easily and with everyday that passed they devised a plan in which to escape the hell that had become their world. During one of their fight Grey Wolf faked and injury making their opponent careless and giving Tiger of the Wind the opportunity to create a diversion that covered the entire coliseum in a haze of gray smoke.
Under the rising smokescreen the brothers escaped from the arena and into the free world.
Once again they had their freedom but the plight of their faces being known to the continent forcing them to move discreetly during the nights under the guise of the black sky.
For days they ran together never stopping long enough to be noticed or captured and it was on the day that they had snuck onto a ship to cross the vast ocean to a new world that they became a cog in the wheel of destiny.
Three years ago is when he came to the world on a stream of blinding light to a place that had been ruined for centuries. The force of his arrival stirred the world and made the planet tremor churning the seas, upsetting the earth, infuriating the winds, and summons the rage of volcanoes.
It was at this moment when the twin Tigers stowaway ship was over turned and taken apart by the crashing waves. The brothers dropped from their hiding places amongst the ship's belly into the swirling waters.
Tossed and turned like toys the twins were washed onto the lands with many pieces of wreckages and the forms of those of the ships crew that had and had not survived.
From their brief moments of consciousness the twins were able to gaze upon the light, which he rode upon to this earth.
Awakening later on within the same day the Tiger twins left the scene of the wreckage after finding few supplies and food left over. Into the ruined city they walked cautiously and there they saw him asleep on the cold stones as naked as a newborn.
Tiger of the wind was the one who nuzzled the child awake and from the moment deep auburn eyes met shimmering azure the two were locked together in a stage that Fate had setup and where everything that once had seemed real became a fantasy.
With no memory of himself save his name the young boy was taken in by the Tiger brothers as the other soft their pack had once been.
Taking what they needed from the wrecked ship the three left for roads unknown.
It was during their journey that the mysteries of the world revealed themselves to the trio.
The truth of the existence of monsters and humans, the battle that had raged millennium ago against the fathers of the world and the invaders from the heavens, the secrets of the alien Genki Sakura and the lost age of the people of the world.
The first piece coming from the young girl named Holly who with her companion Suezo searched the world over for the legendary monster the Phoenix. The red headed girl who bore deep pain and sorrow in her bosom held tightly as the glowing stone that burned red tied onto her neck.
The bright yellow eye monster with a long tail and even bigger mouth that followed the young girl where she roamed. The same creature that had been with the girl since her child days and was her source of friendship until meeting the trio.
To the small penguin monster colored bright pink with a green shell on his back. That spoke with cute chirps and chees and new as much as Genki did about the world around him. The same creature born of a stone tablet disk Genki unknowing carried with him in his body and followed the others like a lost child.
Six together who had come and forged bonds without knowledge and walked along the path unknowingly t a destiny none could have dreamed and yet was written long ago.
The next to cross paths with the party of humans and monsters was a solid stone warrior named Golem who guarded the lost dreams of those who had pasted. A field of stone tablets drawing power from the earth he watched over until he's cold heart was warmed by the kindness shown to him by the group and so another was added to the young adventurers.
The final companion and the one who caused the most ire to Tiger was a monster named Hare who defeated the azure furred monster in an arena battle with tricks and dishonorable tactics. Once Tiger had fallen in battle the Hare dared gloated and then betrayed the seven when he stole from them and left them footing the bill in inn. Chasing the creature down and dispelling the illusion that the Hare was the rabbit monster joined the group and repaid the debt he owed.
Finally together eight warriors stood on the harsh road before them and traversed its bumps and footfalls in order to do what needed to be done. For the salvation of their world from the darkness a creature from ages long past had enveiled the world in they stood together as one gathering friend and enemy alike.
Learning, growing, changing and experiencing all the world had to offer them they became strong and looking deep inside they all pulled the power to do what had to be done.
Powers revealed by Genki in the direst of circumstances. The strength of the twin Tigers when everything seemed lost. The kindness of the innocent Mochi at times when only failure seemed certain. The wisdom of Hare in situations grimmer than the dark of night. The resilience of Holly's spirit to preserver amongst hardship. The will to move forward that came from Golem promise to those lost. And the laughter passed along by Suezo to brighten the souls of friends alike.
All together these traits and talents made the group stronger to finally come to the conclusion the world had been waiting for but at a price everyone knew they might pay.
The life of the one who came from the memories of the world to protect against the nightmare that had faded into the sands of time.
Genki traded his life to show the monster created long ago for destruction that the will and strength of those who lived was more than its own sorrow and hate for the planet's children that had birthed him and his other.
Summoning together the thoughts of those both good and bad he placed his life in his hands and thrust the truth of the world at the darkness and pierced the blackness to reveal a new dawn.
With his life spent and the battle won not a soul cheered at the great loss that was needed in trade for peace. The world instead of cheering cried and the skies rained down light to restore those lost…all except one.
It was then that the great being who represented hope gave the ultimate sacrifice of its life for that of one who had saved the world when it could not.
In the rays of the dawn the Phoenix burnt its body in scarlet flames and from the breast of the great creature came the life needed to restore another's.
Upon opening auburn eyes the rains scattered and cheers freed themselves from the voices of the people and monsters of the world.
A journey made by eight had come to an end and the world had been saved and the shadows of the past had faded with rising of a new day. True peace had come and soon after those who had stood together left to see that which they had worked so to protect.
Genki left with the Tiger Twins to parts unknown.
Holly had reunited with her father who had been held by the darkness in his heart to return to her village with Suezo.
Mochi having grown up so traveled to find friends he had met along the way.
Golem reunited with the one who he had given his heart to and then those who he protected for so much time.
Hare walked the path unknown to him in search of another adventure and riches that would his desire.
As for the world it slowly recovered from the night that seemed to last forever but had finally fled with rising of the morning star into the sky above.
So much time had passed to reach this point and now that it had been reached there were many things that needed to be done for everything that had been lost to return to its rightful place and happiness to come to all but in the next years it would and did.
For Genki and the Tiger twins they had returned to the place where the kindly old man had raised them to spend their lives together. Restoring the house to its former glory the trio settled down together and enjoyed the pace afforded to them.
It was during the waning of the night that another form came from the door to place himself amongst his sibling and the one they cared for most of all. Silvery gray fur meshed with azure and white as the twins rested atop the one who held their hearts in a fine grip that they would never be released.
Outside a pack of Tigers huddled together outside the door of the house watching over the place that was their home and the shelter of their leaders and his mate.
The moon passed over with a gentle light that shown down as the stars twinkled and played amongst the pitch black in honor of those who had sacrificed so much and all was right with the world as should be.
Owari