Chapter 3 - Fingerspitzengefühl:
Author's Note:
This took longer than expected. First off, I've been playing a lot of Generations, and it has been taking up the time I would normally devote to typing (sorry). Secondly, after doing some research, I had to rewrite a part of this chapter. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!
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Zim arrived at the Steppe where he had fought the Gore Magala. He had no doubt that the carcass was already gone. But the corpse wasn't what he hoped to find.
So little was known about the Gore Magala. The guild knew how it defended itself, they knew what it was weak to, and they knew how to kill it. But that was it. No one has discovered the purpose of the frenzy virus, or the natural habitat of the Magala, or even where they came from.
Although several new monster species had been identified over the past few years, the Magala was different. They had started to show up after all of the other monsters and new locations to hunt had already been documented and researched thoroughly.
The Magala just showed up one day. The latest theory was that they had just migrated from somewhere beyond the guild's control. It was rare something like that happened, but there have been documented elder dragons doing something similar.
Since the Magalas had shown up, several have been killed. And yet, not a single research team has been able to make any meaningful discoveries. Not even how to classify the monsters. The only thing that had been learned was that the frenzy virus was extremely potent in the Magala's blood.
The puzzling thing about the Magalas seemed to be their habitat. They have been found mostly in tropic climates, but there have been evidence of them passing over extremes. Monsters that had contracted the frenzy virus had been found in both the Frozen Seaway and the Volcanic Hollow.
Zim began his search in the nesting area. If there was anything to be found, it should be where the wyvern slept. He made his way through the different areas, climbing up towards area five. The climb wasn't hard, it was just annoying.
Area five wasn't just the area flying wyverns slept, it was also the area where they nested. There was a permanent dip in the area that served as the actual nest. There were sticks piled haphazardly in the dip along with the broken shells of wyvern eggs.
Breeding season had ended several months ago, all of the eggs that survived had already hatched. But perhaps the Magala has a different breeding season, Zim reasoned. Jaggi, small raptor-like bird-wyverns, were bouncing around the nest. As if there was still something there.
Zim ignored the small monsters, they posed no threat to him, and approached the nest itself. He kneeled down to dig around the nest. All the while, Jaggi danced around him, trying to decide if they wanted to attack.
Zim dug around the nest and found... nothing. There was nothing here except broken wyvern eggs. There was no evidence that the Magala was here to breed. Zim stood and glared at one of the Jaggi that came too close. He was so sure that the Magala was here to breed.
Now that he thought about it, there has been no evidence of any Magala eggs anywhere. Not a single hunter has stumbled upon a mating pair. In fact, no one has sighted more than one at a time. Perhaps they gave birth to live young, Zim thought.
It was rare for monsters to give live birth, the only one Zim could actually think of was the Zinogre. On the other hand, perhaps the Magala was just passing through.
Zim thought back to the quest description. Every quest a hunter accepted was registered by someone who needed help, and had the money to pay the hunters. That someone usually gave a brief description of what had happened to them and what they wanted the hunter to do.
The quest had said that the person was attacked by the Magala and he wanted it killed. The quest was registered three days ago, and the person was attacked two days before he registered the quest. Which meant the Magala had been at the Ancestral Steppe for at least five days.
There was a high chance that the Magala had been here before it encountered the man who registered the quest. A monster that stayed in one place for at least five days was not "passing through." Which meant it was either trying to establish this area as its hunting grounds or it was here to breed.
And Zim could safely say that the Magala was not here to breed. If it was here to claim this territory as its own, that would explain why the Magala was so aggressive. I guess that mystery is solved, Zim thought.
He was a bit disappointed that the Magala didn't have some ulterior motive for being here. There was so little the guild knew about the Magalas, he hoped he would make a scientific breakthrough.
Zim made his way down through area six and eight before turning right to go through area four and two. There was a bug catching spot in area two that had a good chance of finding thunderbugs. Thunderbugs were used in making shock traps and Zim had a feeling he would want one for his next quest.
The walk was uneventful. Zim mostly ignored the small monsters and large insects that moved around him. He was lost in thought. He couldn't help his mind wandering back to the Magala. Once again the monster's dying screams echoed through his mind.
He had hoped the monster was innocent. He had been suspecting for years now that the claims of people being attacked by monsters were largely fabricated. Most monsters would not attack unless provoked.
Which meant that instead of running in the opposite direction the moment they saw the monster, these people who claimed to have been attacked actually thought they could fight it. Which meant, in Zim's book, they probably deserved to be attacked.
Zim made it to area two without running into anything dangerous. He went over to the bug gathering spot and sure enough, there were lots of different insects. He barely registered the Jaggi bouncing around him. He pulled out his bug net and swung downwards.
Garbage, he thought when he realized what he had caught. He kept swinging and failed to catch a single thunderbug each time. Eventually the bugs fled the area, hoping to avoid capture. Zim sighed, "I guess I'll just buy a trap if I really need it..."
He went through his item pouch and released all of the useless bugs he had caught. There was no point taking up space with items he didn't need. Suddenly, he noticed something was wrong. His hunter training kicked in.
He had been distracted by the task at hand, but now that he was aware of his surroundings, he noticed that the endless chirping Jaggi gave off had halted. He looked around and noticed that they had retreated and fled to a far corner in the area to hide.
The smaller monsters retreating could mean only one thing. There was a larger monster nearby. Zim readied himself as the monster rounded the corner, coming from area four. His eyes narrowed when he recognized the monster.
It was a Congalala. And not a normal one. It's fur was darker in some places and its eyes were red. It had been infected by the frenzy virus. And it had progressed quite far.
Although little was known about the virus, it was easy to tell when a monster was infected. The guild also knew that infected monsters did not live long. Zim drew his weapon, it was more humane to put the monsters down before the virus got them.
The frenzy virus made the monsters faster and stronger. They seemed to be in an almost constant state of rage, which made fighting them difficult. But Zim was a seasoned hunter, and a Congalala wasn't exactly the most difficult monster to deal with.
The ape-like creature stood on his hind legs and prepared to let out a roar. But instead of a fearsome sound that caused hunters to cover their ears, it let out a strange choking sound. Zim stared at the beast in confusion as it continued to choke and cough up blood.
Zim stayed where he was to observe from a safe distance. Suddenly, something burst from the Congalala's chest, splattering blood all over the ground. The Congalala fell onto its back, never to rise again.
What the hell just happened? Zim thought. The creature that had burst from the Congalala's chest was covered in blood and struggling to stand up. Zim approached it slowly, his weapon still drawn.
The Jaggi only saw that the large monster was dead. They rushed towards the creature, happy to see an easy target. They surrounded the still struggling monster and started to nip at it, trying to determine what it was and if it was safe to eat.
One of the Jaggi jumped back and prepared to leap forward. They had clearly decided that whatever it was, it was safe to eat. Despite having burst from the chest of a larger monster and was currently covered with blood.
The Jaggi leapt forward, ready to tackle the creature and bite into its sensitive neck. Zim interrupted the small raptor by cleaving off its head in one clean stroke. The head went flying as its body collapsed to the ground, splattering even more blood onto the creature.
The Jaggi chirped in rage and attempted to attack Zim. One of them circled around the creature to flank Zim, the other two attacked him directly. Big mistake.
Zim's first strike beheaded the nearest bird-wyvern and his second sliced the other one in two vertically. The small Jaggi had weak high speed regeneration and couldn't keep up with Zim's high powered long sword.
Zim rolled to the side to dodge the final Jaggi's attack. Not that he needed to dodge, the small Jaggi wouldn't even be able to put a dent in his armor, but it allowed him to reposition himself for the final strike.
Zim thrust his sword forward, impaling the Jaggi through its side and electrocuting it from the inside. He freed his sword from the dead monster and let the corpse drop to the ground. It was a short fight, but it got Zim's blood pumping.
Zim watched in fascination as the strange creature suddenly spread its wings and stood on its hind legs, sending blood everywhere. Droplets rained down onto Zim as he got a better look at the creature.
It was a Gore Magala. A baby Gore Magala burst from the chest of an infected Congalala. "What the hell?" Zim muttered out loud. He crouched down to get closer to the little Magala. Thankfully his first instinct wasn't to kill it.
Although he couldn't say that he didn't consider killing it. He was a hunter. His job was to kill monsters, and killing them when they were young saved him time later. But he couldn't do it.
It looked completely harmless, even if he knew full well what it would grow into. At the moment, it was even smaller than the Jaggi. Its scales were pale, but its outer shell was starting to harden and become black. Its wings were completely see-through, it could not fly. And it was still struggling to stand up.
Zim sighed as he sheathed his weapon. He could not kill the little Magala. He was hesitant on leaving the Magala alone, but judging by its small size and inability to fly, it would not live long alone. It was probably rare for a Magala to reach adulthood.
He reached out to touch the Magala, trying to gauge how aggressive it was. To his surprise, it did not flinch from his touch. It actually leaned into his hand and allowed him to rub its head, much like one would rub a Palico.
Zim stood up and walked over to the dead Congalala. Did the female lay the egg inside the Congalala? Or did something else happen? Zim wondered. Zim looked into the exit wound to see the Congalala's internal organs had been smashed against the monster's own spine.
It would seem as if the little Magala was nothing more than a parasite, feeding off of the host until it was large enough to burst free. Zim wondered if the Magala would need to find a new host.
It looked as if the Congalala was still in good enough shape to carve. Even though Zim didn't need the parts, he could always sell them. He crouched and began to carve.
Once he was finished, he looked over at the little Magala. It had figured out how to walk and was starting to wander around the area. Its scales had just about finished darkening, but its wings were still see-through. It probably wouldn't be able to fly until it matured.
Zim decided that the Magala would be fine on its own. He moved to leave the area, but was halted when something landed on his back. It was the Magala. It had launched itself at Zim and knocked him over.
He grumbled and looked over his shoulder to see the little Magala attached to his back. The Magala's claws had managed to find a grip, but were unable to pierce even the weakest part of the Rathian armor.
Zim managed to stand up and the Magala kept its grip. It wasn't like the Magala was heavy, but it did pull down Zim's torso armor, making it uncomfortable to wear. Zim struggled, trying to knock the Magala loose, but it held on.
Exasperated, Zim decided to ignore the Magala for now. He made his way back through area one and into the base camp. He went over to the item box and grabbed the paw pass ticket that, when delivered, signaled the guild to pick him up.
A new idea popped into his head before he delivered the ticket. He currently had a baby Magala clinging to his back. He had seen it burst from the chest of another monster. Perhaps he should take the Magala back with him, to study.
But there was one problem. The guild had a no tolerance policy when it came to monsters. They were not allowed anywhere near the town, harmless or otherwise. It made sense, though. The guild's job was to protect others from monsters, and no monster was without its hazards.
The guild still sanctioned capture quests, but only because the monsters were going to end up in the arena. And very few monsters actually win a match in the arena.
But Zim knew of a sect of the guild called the Wycademy. The Wycademy was responsible for researching the monsters the guild hunts. Their research gave the hunters an edge against the monsters. The Wycademy haven't been able to work with live monsters due to the guild's no tolerance policy.
If Zim could just get the Magala to the Wycademy... Zim sighed. He would have to sneak the Magala into Val Harbor.
If he was back at his home village, they wouldn't care if he brought the Magala into the small seaport. The guild was not in direct control of the village, but Val Harbor was a different story. The guild's presence could be felt everywhere in the town, which made bringing the Magala into Val Harbor dangerous. For both of them.
The Magala didn't look like it wanted to move from his back. In a way, he had become its new host. Zim delivered the ticket and set to work fashioning a suitable cover for the Magala. He was eventually picked up by the guild and taken back to Val Harbor. They didn't notice a thing.
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Zim felt incredibly awkward walking back into town. He had managed to grab the blanket off of the base camp bed and wrap it around himself as if he was wearing a cape. It looked strange and the fact that the weight of the Magala was forcing him to bend backwards did not help.
He made a beeline to his home. On the flight back to the town, he realized something incredibly important. He had no clue where the Wycademy was. He figured he could drop the Magala off at his house and then inquire about the academy.
He passed by Wolf, Rose, and Eve all sitting around a table, surrounded by rookie hunters. The rookies were all asking questions about the group's most recent hunt, the Magala. Although the flurry of questions came in quickly, and Rose looked like she was going to pass out from the large crowd, the trio did their best to recount the tale.
Wolf seemed the most at home. He soaked up the attention and used the spotlight to weave a fantastic tale that was mostly fabricated. Eve sat next to him, smiling and not saying a word. Rose was clearly too scared of the crowd to object. They left out the part where they left Zim to fight the Magala himself.
Rose looked over and spotted Zim walking towards his house. Zim was walking fast, but not running. That would be suspicious. "Hey, Zim!" Rose called out.
I do not want to deal with this right now, Zim grumbled under his breath. He turned around and walked towards the table. He couldn't get too close due to the density of rookies that surrounded them. "What?" he asked.
"Oh, that's right. Zim was there too," Wolf said, interrupting his story.
"There too is an understatement," Eve snorted, "He practically killed the monster by himself."
"He went in alone and got blasted! We got there just in time to help," Wolf objected.
"You got blasted too! Even after we showed up, Zim dealt the majority of the damage to the monster, plus he struck the killing blow," Rose argued. The crowd looked between the three of them and realized that Wolf had been feeding them a false story.
"Now... guys... girls, you know that I played a huge part too..." Wolf raised his hands in defense. The crowd booed and turned around to face Zim.
Zim felt each and every gaze on him, causing him to start to sweat. He was a solo hunter, he was not used to this much attention. The Magala on his back did not help. The crowd started to call out more questions, "How big was it?", "What did it look like?", and "What weapon did you use?" all bombarded him at once.
"I already answered all of those questions," Wolf complained.
Eve slapped him on the arm, "They want to hear from a reliable source. You told them the monster looked like a giant cockroach."
"It does!" Wolf argued. It only earned him another slap on the arm.
Zim looked around the crowd to see that he had their full attention. "Uh..." Zim wasn't sure what to say. The crowd leaned forward, believing that he was going to say something important. "I really have to be somewhere... sorry, I guess. Maybe another time!" he called out as he bolted away from the crowd.
"Is it just me, or was he acting weird?" Wolf asked as the crowd dispersed. They only wanted to hear from Zim.
"I don't think so, I mean, you heard him... he has somewhere to be," Rose defended Zim.
"Why was he wearing a cape?" was all Eve could say.
"I made it," Zim breathed out a sigh of relief. Although the walk from the gate to his home would have normally taken less than a minute, it felt like an hour. He stripped the makeshift cape off of his armor and tossed it to the side.
"Ah, you're back!" a small, cat-like creature said. Its coat was pure black and it was wearing a smaller version of the Rathian set Zim was wearing. It was Zim's personal Palico, the one who had attached itself to him the moment he stepped through the gates of Val Harbor on the first day. Zim had named him Blast.
"Ah! Your back!" Blast cried out when Zim took off his helmet. The Palico had noticed the Magala still clinging to Zim's torso armor. Zim was lucky the Magala was absolutely silent as he made his way towards his home.
"Shh," Zim said, kneeling down and covering Blast's little mouth. "It won't hurt you... probably."
"What is it, nya?" Blast asked.
"It's a baby Gore Magala," Zim explained. He removed his torso armor and set it on the ground in front of the Palico. The Magala remained attached to the armor piece. The Magala's scales had now become completely black and it looked like a miniature version of the adult form... if the adult form had see-through wings.
"Why would nya bring that here?" the Palico asked.
Zim shrugged, "I guess to do some research. So little is known about them, I figured some observation in a controlled environment might be useful."
"The guild won't like this," Blast warned.
Zim sighed, "I know." He continued to take off the pieces of his Rathian set and exchanged them for a simpler alloy set he had laying around. He kept his Lagiacrus long sword equipped. He made to walk out the door, but Blast slid between him and the door.
"Where are you going?"
"I need to ask a few questions," Zim said vaguely.
"You're just going to leave that with meow?" Blast asked.
Zim smirked and shut the door behind him, leaving Blast alone with the little Magala. Blast muttered a curse under his breath and turned his attention to the monster. It had not moved even a muscle since Zim had taken the armor piece off.
Blast stared at the monster as it slowly flared its wings and seemed to suck in a huge breath. Oh dear, Blast thought to himself. He rushed towards the monster to pin it before it could let out a roar. Blast wrestled the beast to the ground and clamped its mouth shut. Even though the monster had no eyes, Blast could tell it was not pleased.
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Alright, I hope none of you are confused. Like I said, I did some research and found out that the Shagaru Magala's virus actually contains their parasitic offspring. They infect a host and slowly kill them from the inside out before bursting free Alien-style. Originally, I was going to have Zim find an egg, but I re-wrote the story when I found out how they actually reproduced. That's why this chapter took so long. Editing was also a nightmare, and I kept getting distracted by Generations... I've already finished the village story line and I am almost done with the six star quests. I hope that I managed to replicate the way Palicoes talk well enough. I usually just skip through any dialog with them because I don't feel like deciphering what they have to say. For those of you who don't know, Palicoes replace certain words with cat puns. Anyways, happy hunting and stay tuned for the next chapter!
