Disclaimer: Transformers Prime and the Monster Hunter franchise do not belong to me. I only own the storyline and my OCs do.
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They caught us at our darkest hour. They came in the medieval age, wreaking havoc wherever they went, with gales and tsunamis trailing in their wake. Enormous beasts of tremendous power now roamed the lands, claiming the Earth for their own. Humankind was caught off guard, but not for long.
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We forged our own armor, and crafted our own claws. We built massive structures designed to bring down even the toughest of the beasts. We managed to quell their numbers though sheer determination, and drove them back to whence they came. It was all for naught, for those were just the beginning.
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"-That was when we discovered the Rifts, which most of you know better, as Spawn Points. Most of the monsters our ancestors fought were weakened from the incomplete Rifts, and were thus easier to subdue. Moving on-"
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A ten year old Jack listened with rapture. He was one of the new recruits chosen to work for the E.L.D.E.R, the Extraneous Legendary Dragon Expert Removal organization and was currently brushing up on agency history. He was currently in one of their branch headquarters, located underground to guard from local monster attacks. To Jack, the bunker looked more like the inside of a spaceship than a military facility. Though, he was touring the inside of their history department, so the glass may be influencing his view.
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"The creatures that come through the rifts are untamable, with the only exception, the Halk, already domesticated and trained to aid a hunter in battle."
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Jack had always liked the Halk, they were little wyverns that loved to hang around hunters. They were able to do tricks if coxed with meat. It made him wonder about the bigger monsters. What were they like?
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"Professor?" a voice interrupted, "When do we get to see the rest of the base?"
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It was a redheaded recruit close to his age. Jack didn't know him, but his dad seemed to know the other kid's dad really well.
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"When you're ready and qualified to hunt a Class-D monster, Vince, and not any sooner."
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When Jack was finished with all of his lessons and training, he was dismissed to go home. He had always thought that the transports seemed a bit strange, as they were all covered in strange materials.
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Three of the buses rumbled to a stop at the exit of the historical sector. Jack looked for the one with a magnet symbol, just like his dad said. He climbed aboard, noting how this bus was coated in silver-black and red plates.
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As he climbed onto the bus, he noticed that it was mostly empty, with only two other recruits sitting in the back. His dad always said to be open minded, so he figured that he could be friends with them.
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Jack made his way into the back, and chose a seat next to both of them, just as the bus started moving.
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The girl noticed him first. She waved hello before nudging the smaller boy next to her.
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"Hi! I'm Miko! Who are you? Where do you live? Who are your mom and dad? What rank are they? They have to be good to live in this district-" she was interrupted when the boy tugged on her sleeve.
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"I almost forgot, this is Raf. I'm currently watching him for his parents. He is really smart, so he can follow us in the lessons. You never said your name though."
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Jack caught off guard, but recovered quickly.
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He replied, "My name is Jack, and my mom and dad's names are James and June."
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Before he could continue, the girl, Miko cut him off.
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"Dude, THE James and June? Your parents are FAMOUS!" she screeched right into his ear.
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Jack rubbed his ear in pain.
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"Ow. They are my parents, so I know already." the bus stopped and the bus doors opened.
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"Dragon Central Station"the computer generated voice buzzed.
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"Oh, that's our stop. Come on Jack, let's go!" shouted Miko as she bounced up flew down the bus, dragging Raf with her.
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"'Dragon Central Station' is the name of the central platform, of the Dragon housing district, kiddo." He rubbed Jack's head. "There are small monorails that take you to your home."
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Jack quickly caught up to Miko as they exited out of the bus, following them to the waiting platform.
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He asked, "Which vein do you live in?" to Miko, wanting to know if he'll see them again. They all sat down on of the benches.
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"Raf and I live in the Forest vein, there are lots of big trees there, perfect for climbing on. Where are you?" Miko looked at him, curious to know where the son of June and James lived.
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"I live in the Tundra zone. We have snow all year around.-"Jack was interrupted by Miko's earsplitting squeal.
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"You get to have snow all year? Lucky, we just get hail, "Raf butted in, "-and rain."
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Miko nodded, "And rain, but that's just boring. Hail is much more fun."
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Jack was about to question Miko's definition of fun when he noticed that his train was there. He turned back to Miko and Raf, catching their attention.
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"My train is here, I've got to go. Bye!" He yelled, waving over his shoulder while running to catch the train with a silver dragon on it. Miko and Raf waved back, both preoccupied with moving towards their own train.
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As he took a seat, the train started to move.
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"Attention all passengers, please keep to your seats until the train is at a complete stop."
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He occupied himself with looking out the window. There weren't a lot of people that lived in the district, because of the strict requirements that it had on it's residents. There were even less going to the Frozen Vein.
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The train stopped three times before his stop.
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"Now arriving at the Icescale Plains. Please remain seated until the train is at a complete stop."
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Jack was jolted from thinking about the monsters by this announcement. When the train stopped, he hopped off, and began walking to one of the houses.
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It was a large house, with two stories, and four bedrooms. One for him, one for his mom, one for his dad, and one for any guests. They never really had guests around, but, judging from Miko's reaction to his parents, it was more for peace and quiet, than because no one wanted to come.
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He knocked on the door, and waited until someone answered. The door opened and he was greeted by a large hug, and lots of questions.
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"How was training? Did you get there on time? Was the trip home ok?"
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Jack sighed. The questions were the same every time. He answered them accordingly, yes his training was ok, yes I got there on time, and yes the trip home was fine. Then he noticed something.
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"Mom? Where's Dad?"
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"Your dad's finishing up on a mission, he'll be here soon." June answered.
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Right when she said that, the door opened to reveal Jack's father, with no visible wounds, clutching a bundle close to his chest. His halk, a shimmering white ice-affinity female, shook off the snow that had gathered on her scales, and flew inside.
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"DAD!" Jack rushed over to his father, happy to see him again.
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"Hey, kiddo," he ruffled Jack's hair, "want to see what I found?" he held up the bundle.
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Jack was curious, but before he could answer June pulled them both out of the doorway, shutting the door behind her.
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"James, show Jack your little surprise inside the house, preferably where it can't make a mess," she said, pretending to be annoyed, a small smile betraying her mirth.
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James chuckled as he led Jack into one of the empty rooms, his halk following. He then gently unwrapped the bundle of blankets to reveal a baby halk. It was a black and maroon male, with some silver highlights on its horn stubs. James held the halk out to Jack, and Jack carefully took it from him.
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"This is a baby Draconic Halk, and it is yours to train. I figured that, since you'll be hunting in a few years, you should start forming a bond with your own partner as soon as possible. Valkyrie," he gestured to the white wyvern cooing at the baby, "will assist you in caring for the little guy."
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Jack nodded, beaming with joy. He already knew how to care for a halk, thanks to Valkyrie, and he has watched enough training videos to teach the baby properly. He did have a question though.
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"Where did you get him? "Jack asked. You couldn't find draconic aligned halk just anywhere. They tended to be more expensive than the rest due to their explosive tendencies, and to their rarity.
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"I found the little guy on the way back from my wyvern hunt. He was barely out of his egg, with a piece of eggshell still stuck to him." He showed Jack the shell. It was maroon, with rough black and silver patches. "Since there way no way he could survive on his own, I decided to bring him back for you."
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He looked at the baby, who was still sleeping and back to Jack. "What do you want to call him?" He asked Jack.
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"Nyre"
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-.-.-.-.-.-.timeskip-.-.-.-.-.-.-
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Jack was twelve when he took down his first monster.
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"Jack, let's go. We don't want that big bird knowing we're on to it." called his dad.
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Jack nodded, and scampered from the weapon rack, over to the transport vehicle where the other hunters and some newbies like him were waiting. Nyre was still too young to fight, so he would be staying behind.
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It was Jack's first time on a flying transport model. This transport was more tank-like than the district transports, plated with black scales, two small wings branching from it. It was also one of the newer flying models, capable of going supersonic to escape any monster or human pursuers. The inside of the transport sported two rows of seats, one for recruits, and one for professionals. He quickly climbed aboard, and sat down next to the other recruits.
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"Hey Jack, what did you pick for your weapon type?" asked a quiet recruit after they were all situated.
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"Dual Blades," he gestured to the twin swords he was carrying, setting them down and fitting them into the weapon holder.
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"Speaking of weapons, why are you here Raf? I thought they didn't let anyone under the age of twelve onto the hunting grounds." Jack would be mortified if the agency let an eight year old onto the battlefield.
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"I'm just here for observation. The agency wants me to develop battle strategies based on what I see in the field. It also means that I'll be staying in the observation tower, far away from the actual fighting." While adjusting his backpack, Raf noticed something strange.
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"Hey, where's Miko?"
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Jack looked around.
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"I dunno, she should be here any second-"
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As soon as he said that, a girl with pink and black pigtails, carrying a thin sword twice her length, jumped on the transport, sliding into the seat right beside him. She was carelessly swinging the sword, almost cutting Jack if he didn't dodge in time. Her parents followed, seating themselves next to Jack's father.
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To say that Jack was surprised would be an overstatement. Two years of dealing with Miko's antics made coming late to a monster hunt, not as shocking as it should have been. He just got up and went back to his seat to address Miko.
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"Miko..." Jack sighed. "Besides the fact that you almost decapitated someone with that sword, you should remember that we are getting assigned our teams today."
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He looked pointedly at the front of the transport, where a Class-B agent was taking notes. This was the person who would be deciding who they would work with until they graduated from the training program.
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Jack looked back at Miko, "-so please behave. You don't want to get stuck with a by-the-book partner, right?"
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She nodded, looking dejected, but did stop swinging her long sword around, sliding it into the weapon holder.
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The doors of the plane closed, as the metal harnesses above everyone's heads dropped down.
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"All assigned recruits and professionals accounted for. Please engage appropriate safety gear and prepare for departure."
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The professionals quickly pulled down heavy metal bars, reminiscent of those found on roller-coasters, and quickly strapped them down. The recruits took a little longer, some of them not able to reach the poles, and some, just too hyper to put them on.
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"Miko, sit still. You have to get strapped in even if you don't want to. How do you think professional hunters stay alive when heading out on a hunt?"
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Jack tapped his own harness. "This thing is to keep us from flying everywhere when a Rathalos decides to play catch with the transport. The Diablos scales won't keep everything with a temper and a flamethrower-... Miko?"
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Miko was looking at him like he grew a second head. Raf tried to jog her memory by describing the monsters that Jack had mentioned, while putting on his own harness.
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"Rathalos, the red flying wyvern known as the 'King of the Skies?' Diablos, the horned wyvern known as the 'Tyrant of the Sands?'" Raf asked, finally pulling down the bars and fastening his own harness.
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Miko looked at Raf, saying "Whaaa-", sounding as if she had never seen a monster in her life.
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Then Jack realized the reason and deadpanned, "Did you fall asleep in Monster Classifications again?" while making sure that both Miko's and Raf's harnesses were properly secured. The latter still had problems with the harness because of his short stature. Jack decided to simply pull the harness to its tightest setting, seeing as there was no way to remedy this in the current situation.
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Miko snorted, "You mean 'How Not to Die 101?' That class is the most boring thing in my liiiiiife-".
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"And yet, it has kept the hunters alive, and ready to continue the fight," Jack responded with practiced ease.
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The doors of the transport closed, and it was given the green light to begin the start-up sequence. "All safety equipment should be engaged at this time. Please remain seated until the transport is at a complete stop."
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Miko was immediately distracted from their debate, focusing on the transmission. Jack felt a premonition and, from Raf's reaction of shifting away from Miko, so did he.
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"Sit tight," Miko said, a smile slowly forming as she looked at the boys, hands tightening on the bars, "This is my favorite part."
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There was a hiss as the air-locks in the metal harnesses activated. They would not be coming off until their destination was reached.
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Years of experience have shown Jack that Miko's list of favorite things usually included explosions, risk of injury, and activities normally in need of hazard warnings, and consent forms. Seeing as she was excited enough about a transport ride to stop bouncing off the walls, meant that he had better be prepared for the worst.
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"Miko," Jack started, "What do you mean by favorite-"the lights shut off, and a faint rumble could be heard in the cabin.
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"All systems go. Prepare for departure in 3…...2…...1…Launch."
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The transport shot forward, G-forces slamming everyone against their harnesses. Jack got his breath knocked out of him, and, looking at Raf, he wasn't the only one.
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"The lift-off is the most jarring part of the process. You'll get used to it in no time." Nyre nudged him encouragingly. "Yeah," Jack agreed.
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The ship kept accelerating, and, peaking out of a window, Jack saw that they had already exited the base from a tunnel. The view was stunning; Jack could see vast carpets of forest, giving way to wisps of snow. They were so high up that the transport was regularly breaking through clouds.
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Soon the ship stopped tilting upwards, and Jack no longer had to struggle to drag himself up to a window.
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"We have reached cruising altitude. We will begin touchdown sequence in fifteen minutes. Please do not attempt to remove your safety equipment, and remain seated for the remainder of this flight."
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Jack heard some rustling over the now non-existent rumbling, and turned to see Miko attempting to remove the harness that now sported three dead knots. He and Raf just watched her attempts at freedom while conversing about the intended hunting target. Raf was curious about what he was going to see, so Jack told him their quarry.
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"We are going after a Velocidrome, a raptor-like bird wyvern that is an alpha to the Velociprey."
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Raf nodded in understanding, screen on his arm flickering to life. It was standard issue for new recruits, providing a wealth of information on the fly, as well as a force-field that could tank one hit. It has saved many lives when a hunting trip goes wrong.
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"Well, I can't reveal much beyond what you already know, but I can say that your weapon choice is good for the hunt."
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Jack hummed in agreement, looking at the swords locked on the floor in front of them. They were electric weapons, capable of fast attacks and massive damage output. The weapon was currently locked in the weapon holder, as was standard protocol, to prevent the sharp edges from hurting someone during the launch and the landing sequences.
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The hunt of a weak monster of the 'Drome' family was a test, it was meant to assess their teamwork, as well as their fighting abilities and coordination. No extra information would be given to the recruits, beyond the basics, so Raf could not help them. The professional hunters were there to provide support to their small team of four, should the hunt get interrupted by another monster, or if one of the recruits was in mortal danger.
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Jack looked over his teammates one more time. He had trained with them all, so it should be no problem. First was a tall girl named Aalexi, code-name Tempo. She was more tolerant than most of the others he had worked with, having no problems at adapting to new plans in the middle of a hunting simulation. Her specialty was a Chargeblade, and she was tasked with drawing the monster's attention away from the rest of her teammates.
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Then was the redhead, Vince, code-named Redstone. He had a cocky attitude, which usually got him into trouble in simulations. He was a hard worker, though. He was in charge of DPS, and had the weapon to prove it. He used a broad sword, known for its slow movement speed but high attack power.
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Miko's squirming brought Jack's attention back to her. She had managed to loosen one of the dead-knots on her harness, but had somehow managed to get herself more tangled than before. Jack shook his head in amusement. He knew that the harnesses would lift by themselves, and that one only had to undo the buckles after to get free.
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Miko was the team's other DPS dealer, code-named Scythe. She was loud, and so energetic that she seemed hyperactive most of the time. Her long sword, reminiscent of a katana from her country, was perfect for dealing massive damage from attack combos. Despite its large size, the long sword is a nimble weapon, made for dodges, and fast chains of attacks. She and Vince would attempt to sever a monster's body parts while hunting.
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Jack himself was the controller, the one who would take back control from the monster if its attacks get too vicious, or the team, too exhausted. Due to using dual blades, he was able to attack from above the monster, rather than below. This attack method was perfect for inflicting massive amounts of damage where the monster could not reach. This also meant that he could distract the monster to give his team some respite. His code-name was Enigma, given to him at the request of his dad.
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The transport started to rumble again, and the straps that the harnesses were attached to were retracted, squeezing Jack so hard that it was hard for him to breath.
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"Landing sequence initiated. Please be prepared for the dive. Sequence initiating in 3…...2…...1, Dive."
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Jack barely had time to warn Miko and get her re-situated before he was slammed against the harness. The transport punched through the cloud layer into a green plain. Jack could only see that much before the strain of holding himself against the g-forces overpowered his muscles. He could only brace for the impact of landing, and hope that no one will be hurt in the hunt.
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The machinery began to whir and beep. The landing gear was deploying. Jack didn't even notice that they had retracted.
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"Suitable landing spot located. Prepare for touchdown in 3…...2…...1"
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Sorry about the periods. I can't find another way to separate the paragraphs. Hope you enjoyed.
