The Master Corp
Disclaimer: I do not own Monster Hunter. The game belongs entirely to Capcom. All characters that appear in this story belong to me, unless otherwise stated.
Edited by: dashboardgecko
Chapter 1- A New Beginning
"'Scuse me! Comin' through!"
Wes darted between two people as he ran through a crowd, turning himself sideways to fit between them. The two startled shoppers dropped their wares and shouted at him as he sprinted away, but he didn't pay any mind; today was way too important for him to be late. Wes was heading for the docks of Moga Village, eager to board the ship that was no doubt awaiting him at the waterfront. The hunter leapt over an empty table and slid beneath another as he landed, rolling after he came out from below the table and getting back to his feet in one move. He darted past another group of shoppers, ignoring the startled shouts from a few more people.
According to his father, Moga Village had a large influx of visitors and merchants numerous years ago. Wes had heard stories about how the village had once been a small fishing community, but later became an immense population center where hunters flocked and business owners found their success. This was largely due to location; all different kinds of monsters made their nests on the island connected to the village, thriving in an environment that supported the broadest variety of creatures in the country.
Not only was the hunting good, but the strategic value of capitalizing on hunting led to more shops and businesses opening than ever. It only took about two years after the earthquakes that plagued the island several decades ago ceased for Moga to get put on the map, and another twenty forged the village into a city that rivaled even Loc Lac, the hunting capital.
Wes always enjoyed walking around the large market center and browsing the wares with his parents; each week, traders came by and sold different wares from overseas, things that would be unobtainable for anyone living in the village otherwise. His parents sometimes sold things themselves: his father often made complex machines and devices that could make difficult tasks easier to accomplish, while his mother would sell food and home-cooked meals that were basically becoming local legends.
Today, though, was a different day. Wes wasn't going shopping with his parents, he wasn't going out gathering with his mother in the woods, and he wasn't training at the Hunter's School with his father. Wes was preparing to leave Moga on his own for the first time in his life. He had already passed his Hunter's Examination three years prior; he held the distinction of being the youngest participant to pass the test yet. He had done so well, in fact, that he was immediately allowed to go after High Rank monsters.
No doubt this was because his parents were expert hunters; from a young age, Wes had learned the ways of gathering and tracking from his mother, while his father had taught him how to fight and free-run. Wes was glad he'd paid attention; he could pick out some of the minutest details in the environment, traverse almost any terrain, track monsters based on the smallest clues, and combat some of the toughest beasts in the world. At least, he thought he could. There was still plenty out there for him to hunt. At one point, his father even said that Wes was a better fighter than he was, though Wes found that to be a bit untruthful, as he had yet to best his father in a training match.
Wes sprinted through the market square, climbed up a building and started to run towards the docks from the rooftops; he could see a large boat with a Guild emblem emblazoned upon its sails. He grinned to himself as he leapt between roofs and raced to the pier. Finally… I can't wait for this!
Wes leapt off the building nearest to the pier, grabbing hold of a large hook used to hoist Sharqs the Hunting Fleet killed. The hook dropped with him, the chain linked to it extending as he went; the hook slowed his fall immensely. The dual sword user landed on the sturdy wooden dock in a crouch, releasing the hook and letting it rise back up to its previous position. He slowly got to his feet and pulled his hood back, brushing his blonde hair out of his different colored eyes; the right was a clear blue, while the left was a vivid green.
For a hunter, Wes sure didn't much look the part. While most other men and women in the profession preferred heavy, defensive suits of armor crafted from the beasts they had slain, he wore an outfit that, at first glance, could be mistaken for regular cloth and leather. His father, who was once known as the craftiest hunter alive, had made the suit especially for him as a going away gift. The main material used was Barioth furs, expertly crafted into a thin, sturdy shirt that offered almost as much protection as plate mail, complete with a hood lined with extra padding for defense and mobility. It was further augmented by a thinly woven suit of Rathalos scales he wore beneath the shirt. Above that, he wore an azure vest made from Lagiacrus hides that extended from his chest to above his knees both in front and behind him. A red sash made from Rathalos webbings was tied around his waist, and a black leather belt was tied around that. He wore baggy, padded tan pants crafted from Great Wroggi hides that offered not only protection, but also helped absorb the shock from falls.
The real armor, though, came in the form of the black leather pieces on his chest, arms, and legs. Wes wasn't sure exactly what creature the material came from, but the leather was incredibly strong and thin. A vest made from the black leather was strapped to his chest over all the other pieces of his suit, protecting his vitals perfectly. He wore bracers and guards around his biceps made from the same thing, and his boots were likewise made from the dark monster hide.
On his back, a pair of unique dual swords was sheathed. They were perfect replicas of each other, matching in appearance; both had sharp, greyish-blue blades that curved slightly upwards, giving them a saber-like appearance. Each had a straight handle wrapped in leather and a thin, silver handguard that extended across the top of the hand and over the fingers. These were specially crafted for him as well, made from the highest quality metals in the country and suited perfectly to him.
In addition to his dual blades, the bracers on Wes' arms served a combat function as well. Both pieces had a small metal compartment built into it that, with a quick wrist movement, would cause a thin, very sharp blade to extend from his forearm. These in particular were something Wes had been hoping to get for several years. His father had a similar pair that he had made a long time ago, which, despite their relative uselessness in open fights with larger beasts, proved to be invaluable in carving, dealing precise death blows to smaller monsters, and at one point, even diffused a hostile situation at the local tavern. Wes checked the blades to ensure they were still functioning properly before turning back to the large boat.
He looked upon the ship which lay docked before him at the port. It was fairly large, big enough to hold at least four or five groups of hunters aboard. In fact, it probably did; the Guild had supposedly called upon numerous hunters for a special job, with Wes being one of them. He gazed up and down the ship, in awe at the prospect of being allowed to sail on it.
"Excuse me, sir, are you here for something?" Wes turned to face a pair of men wearing red Guild uniforms standing behind him, their arms crossed. "This ship is here on official Guild business; we must ask you to keep away from here until our work is concluded."
"No, it's fine," Wes replied. "This ship is here for me. I got the message a few weeks ago." The hunter pulled a letter out of the smaller pouch on his belt, holding it out to the pair. One of them took the letter from his hand, reading it up and down as if to verify that it was indeed his. After a moment, the man handed the letter back to him, somewhat apologetically.
"I apologize. You're awfully young for a job such as this, and if the description of you we were given hadn't specifically noted your eyes, we'd have needed a bit more proof than that. Still, it's good of you to have accepted, Mr. Wes. Please, come aboard; the Righteous Law will be shipping out soon, and we'd hate to be late. Yours is the last stop we have before we head to the capital."
"Wes, hold up a minute! Not gonna go without a proper good-bye, are you?" Wes smirked and turned around, seeing his parents standing on the dock. The hunter motioned to the Guild members to wait a moment before quickly striding over to them. He shook his father's hand before hugging his mother, excited to leave but also a bit nervous.
"Don't forget to send a few letters now and then, alright?" his mother asked, holding him for a good long while in a very caring manner. She had very soft features and long brown hair, which she now had tied into a ponytail. Her eyes were a vivid emerald green that were as bright as a sunlit meadow. Despite being in her forties, she still maintained a youthful beauty about her, and with it, a physically fit body. She'd always been quick on her feet, which was something Wes was glad to have picked up from her.
"And remember what I told you about those swords, son: don't lose 'em. It took me forever to make those," his father remarked, a bit sternly but still with a compassionate tone. He had a much more aged appearance than Wes' mother did, with some small wrinkles here and there. He had medium-long, messy brown hair and a beard that matched his hair color. His right eye was covered by a black eye-patch; Wes had seen the damage to the eye several times before, which left the once clear blue eye a plain white. A scar extended above the eye as well, branching into two cuts below his eye, one which was still somewhat visible under the patch. His build was a fair bit stockier than Wes, though he was far more agile than his appearance let on. Wes' training had only proved that to the extreme; they had run over thin logs spanning wide rivers and climbed tall mountains together throughout most of Wes' life, developing his ability to cross almost any terrain with almost no difficulty.
"Don't worry, ma, I will. And pa, I'll be careful with the swords, don't worry," Wes reassured, nodding at the two. His mother smiled warmly at him and his father gave him a confident grin.
"I get the feeling that you're gonna go far, Wes," his father said. Pulling him off to the side, his father lowered his voice. "And try not to lose that eye of yours," he said quietly, pointing at Wes's right eye. "The ladies love the blue, trust me."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Wes snarked, punching his father lightly on the arm. "I'm not as clumsy as you were, you know!" Wes pointed at his father's eye patch, a sarcastic grin on his face. "Better watch out next time, eh?"
"Alright, you've had your fun," his father said, laughing a bit. "I think it's about time you got going, isn't it?"
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I'll send you some of the money I make if you want!"
"Hah! That's my boy! Alright, get outta here already, else we'll be standing here all day. Go and kick some ass, kid."
"I'm pretty sure that's a requirement for the job, pa," Wes said, backing up a bit as he started towards the ship. "I'll try and visit, no worries! See you around!" Wes gave his parents a final wave before going with the two Guild officials to the gangway and boarding the ship, eager to begin his journey. Before too long, the Righteous Law began to pull away from the docks, leaving Moga Village behind as the wind filled its sails and propelled it out to sea. The dual sword user stood on the back of the ship, giving his parents one last thumbs up as the ship departed, grinning as the two waved back.
"So, you're the one we just picked up, eh?" Wes turned to the man who stood at his side, somewhat startled; he hadn't even heard him approach! The first thing Wes noticed about him was that his eyes were a shining gold color. "You're not hiding a bow in that outfit of yours, are you?"
"Nah, I use dual blades," Wes replied, turning around completely to face the man. "You got a problem with archers?"
"Nope, just checking up the competition!" he replied, brushing his black hair away from his left eye; it quickly fell back into place, obscuring his eye completely. "I'm aiming to be the best bow user in history, so any challenge I gotta beat!" Wes noted the numerous callouses on his hand; this guy was practically fanatical about using a bow, from the looks of it. He was definitely built like an archer.
"Well, I can use a bow, but I prefer using swords above anything. Nothing like tearing a beast to shreds with your own two hands, in my opinion. So I put a sword in each and bam, it became that much easier!"
The archer let out a short laugh in response. "Right you are! Not a bad thought at all. The name's Viper," he said, holding his hand out to shake.
"I'm Wes," the dual sword user replied, taking his hand firmly and shaking. "Where do you come from, Viper?"
"Ah, just a small village by the Flooded Forest. I tell you, some of the monsters out there can get pretty wild; not sure what you Moga folk have to deal with on a daily basis, but before the ship came we got jumped by a Gobul and a Royal Ludroth. It… Well… Let's just say the village will be eating pretty well for the next few weeks!"
Wes chuckled a bit; Viper seemed like a pretty friendly person, and if he was on this ship, it meant that he was a superb hunter already. Viper didn't have any of his hunting gear on though, so Wes wasn't sure what kind of equipment he used. Still, a fast friend was better than none, so Wes was quick to welcome him.
"Y'know, I haven't seen equipment like that before, Wes," Viper said. "Where'd it come from? Some new monster? Looks like Barioth pelts to me. And what's that black leather?"
"My pa's in the business of making things," Wes explained. "He made these for a going away gift, I guess. Better than my other armor sets, at least. It's way more comfortable than my old Rathalos suit. It's a bit of a mix; Barioth pelts and Lagiacrus hides for the body, Great Wroggi hide for the legs, and a Rathalos webbing sash to top it off. for As for the leather, I'm not so sure myself. Probably something my pa hunted a while back."
"Doesn't look much like armor to me, but whatever floats your boat," Viper replied with a shrug.
"So, how many hunters are on this ship now?"
"Well, I've been on for most of the trip, and I've counted about twelve, including you."
"Huh, I guess I thought there'd be a few more," Wes remarked, a bit disappointed.
"Ah, cheer up; you just gotta meet some of 'em," Viper said, pushing himself off the railing. "Come on; I'll show you around."
Wes followed the archer below deck and through a hallway until they arrived in a large room, set up like a tavern, with a few benches filled with people talking, eating, and drinking. The two sat down at an empty table from which they could see all the hunters in the room.
"See those two over there?" Viper said, pointing to a pair of hunters conversing with each other off to the side. They both wore armor made from G-Rank Barioth materials. "The taller one's name is Frost, and the one with him is his sister, Snow. Apparently, they're twins, but I haven't seen Frost's face before. Still, they both probably have white hair; she's got it, so he should too, right? They come from a town about a mile from the Tundra, and I hear they're both pretty deadly hunters."
"He's freakin' tall; he's gotta be at least a foot taller than her, right? How can they be twins with that big of a height difference?"
"No clue, but hey, it's just a rumor. Maybe they're just close enough to be siblings, maybe he's adopted, who knows. Anyways, see the full table over there? The one with all the girls? Those are the Gem Sisters; they aren't related, but I hear they've been hunting together for years. The one with shoulder length red hair is Ruby, the one with long blue hair is Sapphire, greeny is Emerald, and the medium length purple haired one is Amethyst."
"There is no possible way that their hair is natural," Wes remarked, a bit confused by the colors. "And are those their real names?"
"As far as I know, yeah. But don't let their looks fool you; rumor has it they brought down a Deviljho in minutes."
"Seriously? They look too… cute to be that tough." Wes found them all to be attractive, but wasn't about to ogle any of them; he'd heard stories from his father about how much his mother managed to squeeze out of him money-wise because of her looks, and Wes wasn't about to follow that example.
"Well, like I said, I only know what I've heard. Let's see… there's Bruno over there with the Lagiacrus hammer, Faron is the guy with the Rathalos bowgun, Curt there uses an Agnaktor switch-axe, and John has a Brachydios great sword."
"They have any claims to fame?"
"Not that I've heard… but that meal the waitress is bringing over is definitely looking like one of mine!" he said as a woman set two plates of food down before them and departed with a smile. Wes was surprised at how fast the man wolfed his food down; he hadn't even started yet and the archer had already completely devoured half of his plate.
"Jeez, slow down a bit; you're gonna kill yourself at that rate!" Wes said, digging into his own food.
"Mph! Mph phe mpht mm mmng!" Viper replied, his mouth full of food.
"Damn, swallow before you talk, dude!" Wes replied, chuckling but confused. He waited for Viper to swallow before hearing out what he said.
"I said, I think that we might have company," Viper said, nodding towards a few hunters who were nearing. Wes turned to see who was approaching; the Gem sisters were walking over to the table they were seated at. He quickly swallowed another bite as they gathered themselves around the table.
"So, you're the last hunter we picked up?" the red haired girl, Ruby, asked bluntly.
"Well, who else would he be?" Emerald asked, crossing her arms. "It's not like we don't know everyone else already or anything."
"Can you two stop bickering for ten seconds?" Amethyst asked, sighing. "Everyone thinks we're crazy enough as is."
"Well, I think that's because Emerald beat the crap out of that guy who asked for our names yesterday," Sapphire said, jokingly.
"He was a creep, and you know it!"
"Eh… did I… miss something?" Wes asked, a bit confused by their somewhat botched introduction. The girls quit bickering and immediately returned their attention to him.
"Oh, it was nothing, don't worry about. Anyways what's your name, blondie?" Amethyst asked, leaning on the edge of the table.
"The name's Wes, and don't call me blondie," he replied, a bit irritated at the nickname. The other girls laughed a bit, finding his reaction humorous.
"Alright, whatever," Ruby said. "But what's up with your eyes? Don't most people have, y'know, normal colored eyes?"
"I dunno, I kinda like them," Sapphire commented. "I haven't seen anyone else with eyes like that, have you?"
Wes elbowed Viper as the girls again began to bicker amongst themselves, getting his attention. "Is it normal for them to gossip about the guy sitting right in front of them? And I thought they were a team; seems like they hate each other."
"Those're girls for you, Wes," Viper replied, chuckling. "No one understands them!"
"Oh, hello, Viper," Emerald said, finally noticing the archer seated beside Wes. "It's great to see you again," she continued, somewhat irately. Wes wasn't sure what it was, but the two seemed like they had some sort of conflict between them.
"Pleasure's all mine, E," Viper replied mockingly. "Still working on learning how to hit something with a bow?"
"Please, you only won because of that gust of wind! I'll take you on any day with a stable draft, and then we'll see who the better archer is."
"Hey, last I checked, most environments we'll be hunting in won't be stable. You honestly want to complain about losing in a completely fair contest?" Viper's counter immediately silenced the green haired woman, drawing a chuckle from the gold eyed hunter. "That's what I thought. And I'll keep winning all of our arguments too!"
"Alright, can we try and… I dunno, not argue for like five minutes?" Wes said at last. "I can't even tell if we're becoming friends or about to get into a fight here!"
"I guess he's right… Anyways, what makes you so special, Wes?" Sapphire asked. "I mean, besides your eyes."
"Well, I took down a pair of Raths three years ago for my Hunter's exam. Took me… seven minutes and forty-nine seconds, if I remember." Wes smirked as all the eyes at the table widened in awe at the statement.
"You're lying, no one except for a veteran could reach a time that fast!" Amethyst said, a tinge of amazement in her voice.
"I learned from the best. Can't help it if I'm that good, can I?" he replied smugly. If there was one thing he had been looking forward to, it was showing off a bit.
"Hey, it took me a bit under five to take a Nargacuga down," Viper commented, butting in. "It ain't that hard to take a few monsters down if you know what you're doing."
"Please, that wasn't even a fight; you paralyzed it and just started flinging arrows into the thing," Ruby pointed out. "We were all there; don't lie about it!"
"I never said how I took it down, did I?" the archer asked amusingly. The red haired girl clamped her jaw shut, her face going red with embarrassment. "That's two for me," Viper mumbled low enough for Wes to hear.
"Wait, you said you took those Raths how long ago? Three years?" Emerald asked curiously. "…How old are you?"
"Eighteen, gonna be nineteen in a couple months," Wes replied, further amazing the group.
"You were fifteen!? Exactly where did you learn to hunt?" Sapphire asked disbelievingly.
"My pa and ma; they were expert hunters a while back. Learned everything from them."
"Well, it's been lovely, but we have to go now," Emerald said, suddenly beginning to pull Ruby and Amethyst away along with her; it almost seemed like she noticed they had to be somewhere important. "Bye, blondie! Bye… Thing…" she said, referring to Wes and Viper.
"…Guess I'd better go with them…" Sapphire said, sighing. "Nice meeting you, Wes. I really like your eyes, by the way!" she said, walking away and waving as she followed after the others.
"Well, that was … fun…" Wes commented, scratching the back of his head in confusion. Viper shrugged in reply, amused. "And why did they run off like that?"
"Hey, like I said: no one understands them."
"Excuse us, do you mind if we sit with you?" The two looked up to see Snow and Frost standing beside the table, as if they had been there for a while.
"Yeah, sure," Wes replied, motioning towards the empty seats. The pair seated themselves opposite Wes and Viper. "You been there long?"
"Long enough to see you run the Gem Sisters off, yeah," Snow replied with a laugh. "Seriously, I couldn't even tell if you were arguing or just talking!"
"Neither could I," Wes said, taking a sip from his tankard. "I'm Wes, and this is-"
"The name's Viper, and the pleasure's all mine," the archer said with a quick grin.
"Well, I'm Snow, and this is my brother, Frost. Just so you know, he isn't really the talkative type." The masked hunter nodded at them silently in greeting, as if to confirm his sister's statement.
"What're your claims to fame?" Viper asked, taking a bite off of a hunk of well-done meat. "I hear you two are good hunters, but I haven't heard about what you've actually done."
"Well, my brother and I took down a pair of Barioths that almost destroyed a town in the Tundra. We also drove a Brachydios off; almost killed it too, but a Deviljho decided to crash the party on us."
"Not bad, I heard that slime can be a real blast to deal with," Wes said, laughing a bit.
"Trust me, you don't know the half of it!" Snow replied, chuckling. She seemed like the one who did all the talking between her and her brother. Wes figured it was a bit of a compensation; she did all the talking, and he did… something else.
"What weapons are you two good with?" he asked, changing the subject.
"I've used a sword and shield most of my life," Snow replied, drawing her blade and showing it to the two. It was made from Barioth materials as well, and looked sharp enough to cleave a Jaggi in half without a sweat. "As for Frost…" Her brother pointed at the wall behind them, and the two turned around to take a look; a long sword stood resting on the wall behind them, made from high quality Ivory Lagiacrus materials. Still, there seemed to be a bit more to the blade than a usual long sword, but Wes couldn't fully determine what that was.
"Not a bad bit of blade there," Viper remarked with an impressed whistle. "Either of you good with anything ranged though?" The twins both shook their heads, and a confident grin came to Viper's face. "Hah! Still the best archer on the ship!"
Wes and Snow laughed at Viper's triumphant declaration while Frost merely shook his head in what could only be described as mild amusement. The four conversed well into the night, even as the other hunters began to leave the room and go about their own business; at least, three of them conversed. Frost merely shook his head or shrugged in response to questions. Eventually though, Wes found himself growing tired and decided to turn in for the night. "Alright, I think I'm gonna hit the hay. I'll see you all tomorrow, alright?"
"Alright, the cabins are down a level," Viper said, pointing down the hall towards a staircase. "See you tomorrow. I hear they're making wyvern egg omletts, and I'm not missing out on those!"
"We'll look for you at breakfast," Snow said, gesturing to herself and Frost. Her brother nodded in acceptance of the comment; Frost seemed like the type of person who just went along with things. Wes stood up, heading towards the cabins after giving his friends a final goodbye.
He checked the letter he had been sent, pulling a small key out of the envelope with the number '11' engraved on it. It took him a moment to find the room, but eventually he unlocked the door to his cabin and entered. The room was fairly well furnished, if a bit small, with a plush bed and a fully stocked, though cramped, bathroom. He washed his face before changing out of his armor and into some more comfortable nightwear. He climbed into the bed and quickly drifted off into sleep, drowsiness eventually overcoming his excitement about the prospect of his new job.
This'll be a good run… I can just feel it…
Author Notes: And so it begins! I must say, I've been eagerly anticipating the day I could finally release this for all of you! It's been a constant thought in my mind, and I'm happy to be getting this out there for your viewing pleasure. So, I hope that you intend to stick around a while; this is gonna be one hell of a story, I can assure you of that! And surprise surprise, dashboardgecko is my editor! Betcha weren't expecting that! Alright, it's that time again; remember to review and follow! See you next time!
Playing: MH3U, Minecraft, Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag
Listening to: Papa Roach, Paramore, The Offspring, Avenged Sevenfold
Watching: Archer, The Walking Dead
Reading: My own writing
