Disclaimer: I don't own Monster Rancher, nor do I own any of the characters in this story...except for one...
It all started with a new prototype game that I'd won from a tournament. What kind of tournament? Well, it was a battle of the monsters; basically, teams of gamers who had trained monsters from the game "Monster Battle" participated in battles to get to the top. I managed to get to the finals, where I battled against a guy with a Golem – a monster made of pure rock – and I used an Antlan – a humanoid insect-like monster – and it was a close fight.
I barely managed to win; at the last few seconds, I pulled off a powerful attack that KO'ed the other guy's monster instantly. I received a plaque for my successful efforts in gaining first place and was told that I would be sent the newest game – a prototype that was not available anywhere else – and to check my mail often.
After several days, I nearly lost hope…but, one day, I decided to check my family's mailbox, thinking that it wouldn't have arrived that day either.
Much to my surprise, there was a package addressed to me in there! I stared in awe for a few minutes before snapping out of my trance. I grabbed the package and rushed to my house.
When I got inside, I rushed up to my bedroom. I heard my mom call out my name from the kitchen, greeting me and telling me to slow down. I called out an apology before making it to my room.
I sat down in front of my playstation system and opened the package. Indeed, the game was inside! I pulled it out and gazed at it, mesmerized. This was it…the game that I had been waiting for! I hurriedly opened the case, took the disc out, opened my playstation drive, and placed the game disc inside. I closed the system, turned it on, and turned on the TV as well.
I waited for the usual game company logos to appear and fade before the game started up. I watched the intro before the scenes changed to a girl, a boy, a Mocchi, and a Suezo running from some sinister-looking monsters that I didn't recognize. I listened to their in-game conversation, watching anxiously as they ran towards what appeared to be a giant temple of some sort.
Suddenly, a message popped up, asking if I wanted to go into the shrine. With little hesitation, I selected, "Yes", and the characters ran into the building.
Inside the shrine, the girl pulled out a disk of some sort from her bag and shouted to the boy, Mocchi, and Suezo to protect her while she set up the Mystery Disk. The three nodded and the girl placed the disk into place before running back to a control panel.
A message saying, "Insert disk" popped up and I opened the system before removing the game disk and placing a random disk inside the system and closed it. Mere seconds later, another message said to place the game disk back into the system, and I complied.
I waited as the girl closed her eyes, placing both hands on a giant button and paused as the disk began to spin, gradually spinning faster and faster as energy crackled around it.
So eager was I that I didn't notice the controller in my hands glow faintly. I took in a deep breath, waiting…
I pressed the 'accept' button on the controller and shouted at the same time the girl on the screen did:
"Unlock!"
No sooner had the words left my mouth did the screen of the TV glow brightly and I felt a strong pulling sensation. I didn't even have time to move or utter anything else before I was pulled into the screen, falling…
xxx
After what seemed like hours, I finally landed harshly on my back. I slowly sat up, rubbing the pained area before commenting, "Maybe I should limit my gaming time…"
I opened my eyes to see the four standing there, shocked, before the Suezo remarked, "That's not a Phoenix…You win some, you lose some, I guess…"
…Am I seeing things correctly? The Suezo, Mocchi, and humans are standing in front of me…Did I get sucked into the game…?
I must've been paralyzed by fear, as I found myself unable to move or speak. After a minute, the boy commented, "You're an Antlan, aren't you?"
Suddenly, a deep, raspy voice echoed throughout the shrine.
"It doesn't matter what it is; we'll stop you from finding the Phoenix!"
The five of us looked up to see Black Dinos standing in the doorway, blocking off our escape.
"This is as far as you get!"
With that, the Black Dinos rushed forward, jaws open wide to attack. As the boy, Mocchi, and Suezo dashed to counter, the girl ran up to me. She kneeled down to my height before saying, "We need to get out of here…Can you fight?"
I don't even know these people! I only saw them from the introduction of the game! What should I do…?
"…I…I don't know how…"
I mentally kicked myself at how timid my voice sounded, and the girl glanced back at the battle. I glanced back at the skirmish as well.
A few of the Black Dinos had been knocked unconscious, and the boy suddenly spun and raced towards us at an unnatural speed. He grabbed both of us, raced back, grabbed the Mocchi, and dashed out through the doorway.
"We're outta here!"
I glanced back; the Suezo hopped angrily after us, shouting, "Oh, sure, leave ME behind!"
I held back a grin and faced forward as the boy carried three of us out of the shrine.
xxx
After what seemed like hours, we stopped at a clearing in a forest, exhausted. As we sat down to rest, the boy flashed a grin at me before introducing himself.
"I know that we didn't have time to say anything about ourselves earlier, but I'm Genki."
"I'm Holly."
"Suezo's the name."
"Mocchi! Mocchi!"
…So the monsters don't have human names…I guess I'll have to go along with it…
"…My name is Antlan. It's a pleasure to meet you all."
I looked at the four of them before curiosity got the better of me.
"…What were you guys doing before we met?"
Holly smiled slightly.
"Well…we had found a disk and we were hoping that the Phoenix was inside, but…"
She gestured towards me.
"You were inside the disk instead."
…The Phoenix?
Now I was eager to learn more.
"…What's the…Phoenix?"
At this, Holly beamed.
"The Phoenix is a mystical bird that can turn Baddies into Goodies. We need to find it to defeat Moo and bring peace to the world."
This information confused me.
Baddies? Goodies? Moo? This doesn't make much sense to me…
"So, wait…What's a Goodie and what's a Baddie?"
"We're Goodies. The Baddies are monsters turned evil by Moo."
This is starting to make some sense, at least…But…
"…So…Moo is trying to take over the world…and you guys are trying to stop him?"
"Yes, we are."
This is exactly what the introduction to the game sounded like! Holly, Genki, Mocchi, and Suezo must be the heroes of the game…and if that's true…maybe…
"…Take me with you!"
Everyone made sounds of surprise, shock marking their faces. Holly spoke up first.
"Are you sure? Moo's incredibly strong…"
I stood up, determined.
"It doesn't matter! Moo shouldn't be allowed to get away with what he's doing! I'll help you bring peace to this world!"
A large smile formed on Genki's face.
"All right! Welcome to the team, Antlan!"
I smiled back as everyone else cheered.
Even though I'm not a human in this world, I'll do my best to fight for justice!
Author's Note: This is my first fanfic...so please don't flame me. If I can improve on anything, let me know. Also, I do have plans to continue this story...if anyone likes it, at least...
