Chapter 3: Dark Business

"Who's the chick?" Saber asked as he walked closer to us. I had barely caught my breath after surviving the Rathalos when my two cousins arrived. The girl who saved me had been holding back with the talking and I haven't exactly gotten any information as to who she is.

"I dunno man," I shrugged, "So far all she said to me was 'Your Welcome.'"

"You looked like you needed help," The girl in the black armor spoke, arms akimbo, "So I helped."

"Thanks," I smiled at her, not that she'd see due to the helmet, "But I didn't need help."

"Of course you didn't," she replied, walking away with an aura of sarcasm trailing behind her.

I wanted to pursue her and ask her to join our team, god knows how powerful we could be with an effective sniper on our side. Unfortunately she used a smoke bomb and disappeared like a ninja. I found Saber and Relena standing next to me when the smoke cleared up.

"What the hell just happened?"


"Welp," Char collapsed on our sofa, "I feel like shit."

Even when you're 'synced' (that's what we're calling it now) with your hunter, a lot of the action still takes a toll on your actual body.

"Man, we need to get in shape," I said, wincing as I tried to move my aching muscles. Meanwhile Frank has returned from the kitchen with bowl of cereals. "It's already afternoon, why're you eating breakfast?"

"Cereals aren't just for breakfast, idiot." She said after swallowing a spoonful of flakes.

Disregarding our little banter, I asked if we had any further inquiries or requests. Not that I was excited to go back in the field, Monster Hunting in real life was more haggard than I anticipated.

"Nope,nada,negatory,diddly-squat…" She spoke without stopping, "And other words that pretty much say, 'Let's give this up and just sell drugs or something'."

As if on cue, the laptop made a sound, it was programmed to make a noise when a notification pops up.

"Wrw,mr trmng ris amrzng," Frank mumbled with food in her mouth, and after swallowing repeated, "Wow, my timing is amazing. It's a request, of course it had to arrive after I stated that giving up was our best bet."

"Oh, karma," Char smiled, "You crack me up."

"And guess what," She had an evil grin on her face, and when Char read what she was reading he had that grin too. "She's rich and she's willing to pay a hefty sum of cash."

"Aw yiiiiiiiiiis…" We all grinned in unison. That's not how we really said it of course, but that was how it felt.


The next morning we met up with the driver of our contact person in a nearby mall. We were led to a luxurious looking car(not a limousine, unfortunately) and were driven to her home.

So the basic premise was this; A daughter of a rich businessman needed help because one of her father's warehouse has been attacked by a currently unknown monster. With the police and military currently unable to help (because his business was not big enough to actually get help from the government), the warehouse had been abandoned and is now the monster's habitat. In fear of becoming a breeding ground and perhaps even causing a huge wound at their business, the daughter looked for any mercenaries or armored individuals that could exterminate the monster and make the warehouse use-able again.

"Plus," Char spoke, "She typed that she was willing to pay a huge sum of money, so how could we possibly say no?"

"You're goddamn right," Frank replied. She accompanied us in hopes of making a good deal out of this potential contract. Plus, there might be free food, which was probably the main reason why they accompanied me. Xavier couldn't come but promised he'd be there once the mission was a go.

"You look a little too young to be hired mercenaries, don't you think?" The chauffer asked.

"We're kind of their talent managers," I replied, thinking quickly. We can't let them know that we were the hunters, we needed to stay anonymous at the very least. "We make the deals and stuff."

"You I get," he replied looking my way through the rearview mirror, "The other two look like kids."

"They're my…" I nearly struggled, but I my forte was my quick mind and even quicker tounge. "Personal assistants. Frank here takes notes for me, while Char here answers my calls. I'm a very busy man." I chuckled, hoping that he didn't see through that one.

Fool!, my brain scolded me, That was the most obvious lie you've said in your whole life!

"Well, I hope you're 'Hunters' are as good as you advertise they are."

"Oh they're good," I reassured him, just him. I wasn't reassured. "They're led by a powerful bard, with two swordsmen that are unmatchable in speed and power."

Well that was the most bullshit you've said in a row. Shut up brain.

"Have you heard of the two dragons that attacked the railway transit yesterday?" Frank asked nonchalantly.

The chauffer nodded and asked it was our hunter's doing.

"Yep," Frank continued, "Not even a scratch on them afterwards. They even gave me a Rathalos tooth as souvenir."

Yeah, I forgot to mention that. When I whomped the Rathalos on the head, a tooth fell out and I took it home. We forgot to carve it or the Rathian though.

The chauffer smiled sheepishly and parked the car. We were too busy bragging that we never noticed we had already arrived. Their house (if you can still call it that) is a big three-story building that looks kind of like a modernized mansion. Although compared to their neighboring houses in the executive subdivision they were in, I guess you could say that their place was considerably humble.

A maid-looking lady opened the door for us and ushered us in. We were told to wait for our 'client' by the living room as sandwiches and lemonades were brought in.

"Now that's the kind of hospitality I like," Frank grinned as she took a bite out of her sandwhich, enjoying the soft cushion of the sofa she was sitting on.

Char sat quietly and begun sipping from his drink, while I took a sandwich and walked around the room for a bit, examining the surroundings.

It was a pretty basic living room, considering its occupants. The usual table top magazines adorned a very expensive looking wooden table alongside a glass bowl of fake fruits. A painting of an old man was decorated on the wall overlooking us, I presumed it was either our client's father or grandfather.

I stopped snooping around when I heard light footsteps coming our way, and straightened my clothes to look as acceptable as possible. I was used to business dealings after all, except this time instead of selling office supplies to a client I was to sell hunting services, like we were formal mercenaries or something.

Remember that stupid researcher guy we had to escort on the train ride where we were attacked by a Rathalos and Rathian?

Yeah, he has nothing to do with this situation.

On the other hand, that creepy(but cute) girl I saw who told me about 'Mommy and Daddy'?

Yeah, she's standing right in front of us.

Char and I stared at her with our mouths hanging open while Frank looked at us weirdly.

"Hey Char," Frank elbowed him, "I know my brother's into kids and all, but how come you're ogling her?"

"That's not it," Char hissed back, his eyes not leaving the little girl making her way toward us, "We saw her on our previous mission, we honestly thought she's a ghost or something."

She was just as I remembered her, except this time she was wearing a different dress. Actually, the outfit she was wearing this time looked more like an oversized shirt with a picture of the Nekobus from My Neighbor Totoro printed on its center. In my opinion, she looked like she just woke up and walked to us in her nightwear.

"Good morning, um…" I spoke up, wondering if she was a sister of the client we were meeting. Still, it was an adorable coincidence that we met again.

"Ai Mei," she smiles at us, not the sweet smile I'm used to seeing in children her age, but a formal smile. You know, the kind that looks natural but still feels forced? "You may call me Ai, or Mei, or Amy like my friends do."

We all just stared silently at her, even I, who considers myself an expert at talking to kids, was dumbstruck. There was a very…mature air in the way she spoke, like an actual adult simply stuck in a child's body.

She walked closer to me and stuck out her hand.

"So, shall we get down to business?"


Indigo took the little girl's hand and shook it, indicating that we are indeed getting down to business. We all sat down as she sat on a chair adjacent to us, one leg over the other. It reminds me of seeing those bosses when they talk to either their clients or subordinates, making me wonder just how old this girl really is.

"As I said in my previous inquiry," Ai Mei spoke up, clearly but gently, "I need your hunters to clear out one of our abandoned warehouses from a monster that has possibly nested there."

"How did you know," Char butted in, leaning forward from the sofa, "That a monster is currently there?"

"It attacked some of our employees," she replied, "Causing them to evacuate the place and never go back."

"Are we, by any chance…" Indigo said, his eyes never leaving hers, "You're last resort?"

She didn't answer, she simply took out a tablet computer I didn't notice she had, and showed us the screen. They looked like videos, small security footages compiled together. She pointed at one of the footages. It was a little dark since the timestamp showed it was at night, but we could notice what looked like human figures with guns shooting at something in the darkness. Minutes later they were all wiped out.

The monster itself was not clearly caught on tape, but a tail would occasionally emerge and take one of the men out. To make things scarier, I'm pretty sure I saw a man get impaled by some kind of spiked projectile from the darkness.

"That answer your question?" She asked and we didn't exactly nod, but she got the point, "We've tried anyone with conventional weapons willing to take it down. As you can see, those plans went brutally awry."

"What do you think?" My brother asked looking over at Char, "I mean, it kind of looks like a…"

"Nargacuga," Char muttered, "But MH4 doesn't have any…"

"Regardless of what it is," Ai continued, "The hunters I saw on the train seemed capable enough, they are yours right?"

What did she mean by that? Did she know that my brother and my cousins were the monster hunters, or did she simply ask if the hunters reported to us?

"Yes," I replied,thinking quickly, "We know the hunters and we're in charge of getting them their missions."

"Right," she looked at me with a straight, but suspicious glance, "In any case, would I be able to rely on your hunters to clean the warehouse up?"

"We'll take it," the three of us nearly said in unison. We all looked at each other with a grin as we realized that if we do this right, we're gonna be rich pretty soon.

Unless something goes to shit again.

"Thank you," She replies, standing up, "Please stay for a while, lunch will be served by the patio."

"That's what I'm talking about," Char whispered, a big smile on his face.

"You guys go on ahead," Indigo looked at us as we were escorted towards the patio, then looked back at Ai, "A word please, in private?"

What the hell is that idiot up to now?


"I never got your names," The beautiful little girl in front of me said, she had led me upstairs by her bedroom to a balcony overlooking the patio. "I'm sorry if I seemed rude."

"It's okay," I waved it off, marveling at her simple yet enticing (to me, probably) attire. The whole oversized shirt thing is something that's always been considered hot after all. I told her our names and looked over the balcony, waving at Char and Frank as they filled their plates up.

I faced Amy and put on my best poker face.

"You know something about the armored sniper, don't you?" I asked, looking her straight in the eyes, "The one that helped me against that Rathalos?"

"What are you talking about," she replied, her eyes not leaving mine, her face calm and unmoved. If I didn't know better I'd think she was also wearing a poker face of her own. "I saw your hunters in the train and left for home afterwards. I don't know anything about your mystery woman."

I smiled at her and walked downstairs to eat, she followed me with inquisitive eyes. I looked up at her, and said:

"I never said she was a woman."


It took us till 6 in the evening before we could go to the abandoned warehouse. Xavier had to do something until the afternoon and we had to wait for him. As much as I know that Relena and Dirge can handle a Nargacuga(probably), Saber was a part of the team and we need every member to make sure that we succeed.

We had just donned our armors when I saw Frank running toward us.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I half-whisper, half-shouted at my sister, "This place is too dangerous."

"I know," she replied calmly, then held up a key, "But how are you gonna get inside?"

Damn, I must have left the key back somewhere. Amy had given it to us before we left. I also managed to ask for her number, not just for personal reasons but also to ask her about…that.

By a dark area beside the warehouse entrance, the huntress had been waiting for us. She was leaning on the wall like those tough-act delinquents in animes.

"Took you guys long enough," she said with a deep female voice, not even bothering to look our way, "Are you prepared?"

Her armor, just as I remembered, was pure black like the Shrouded Nerscylla. After noticing that the cape adorning the armor was also dark, I had realized that it was a Nerscylla armor with black color pigments.

Relena and Saber were just staring at her, probably wondering why she's here.

"Why are you here?" Saber asked before I could start explaining.

"She's Amy's contact, Arachnid," I replied, "I asked for a little help, and knowing how good she is with her heavy bowgun…"

"Just keep the enemy off me and I'll take it out faster than you three combined." Was all she said.

"You wanna bet?" Saber asked, showing off his dual blades.

"I know we don't look much," Relena added, "But we could probably handle it."

"We'll kick the ass of whatever monster is in there," I butted in, getting between Saber and Arachnid in case they suddenly go for each other's throats, "But I need you guys to do it. ALL of you."

"That's right." Frank said.

"YOU…" I pointed at my sister, "…go home."


After arguing how Frank will only be in danger by staying with us, Dirge/Indigo finally convinced his sister to go home. I looked over at Relena and Arachnid and realized that we finally had two girls in the group. I mean techinically Relena is actually a boy, but still.

The inside of the warehouse was surprisingly large and roomy, there were literally plenty of rooms and twists and turns for a monster to hide in. The worst part was that the main electrical switch was deep inside the main workroom, so we had no choice but to stumble in complete darkness until we could get there.

It's not that I'm afraid of the dark, or of whatever was hiding in it. There's nothing to be afraid of…right?

Just a ninja-like monster who can blend in the darkness, stalking its prey as it prepares to slaughter us.

But what if it's worse than a Narga? What if there's, like, a Chameleos or a Deviljho waiting for us in there?

I tortured myself with paranoid thoughts as we edged slowly and stealthily towards the main switch. Every step felt like an eternity and I could honestly feel the darkness surrounding us.

I heard a faint scraping and looked towards an open door, leading to a room filled with nothing but black silence.

I gripped my dual blades tighter, tried to look back on track but I couldn't stop staring.

Somewhere, in the darkness in this room, something was staring back at me.

My eyes finally adjusted as I saw the faint glow of two red eyes in the room. Deep in the abyss that is probably just a storeroom, I heard a strange shaking…

…like a rattle.

Before I could even think, a green blur sped in front of me and I heard a strong clink, like metal striking metal. I realized that it was actually Relena in front of me, her shield raised to defend both of us. On the floor was a spike, something that could've probably impaled me.

Relena looked back at me and asked if I was okay. I could tell that he was holding back on the gloating since it was very rare for him to actually time his block and save our asses. Thank God his timing was right in this one.

"Everyone, run towards the main office!" Dirge shouted as we scrambled to get away from the hostile Nargacuga. A few more tail spikes shot out of the room before the monster itself crashed through the wall to attack us.

It was too dark in here, we needed to turn the lights on. This would have been simple, if only we were not running away from a pissed off Bat Ninja determined to kill us.

"What if I stay here and keep it busy?" Relena shouted while looking back at the thing chasing us.

"It's too dark, you won't stand a chance!" Arachnid shouted as well, leading the way.

I saw Dirge take a left by a room and followed him, too late to realize that he had split up from Arachnid and Relena. When I entered, he had already hidden and was looking at his items, icons floating and shifting above his head.

"Where the hell are you guys?" Relena asked through our voice chat, I almost laughed as I realized that we were like telepaths, speaking to each other using our psychic powers.

"Just turn the lights on!" Dirge shouted as he stood back up and ran out of the room. I followed him out just in time to see him throw a sonic bomb at the Nargacuga.

He looked at me and nodded, it was go time.

Time to find out if we were half as good in the dark.


"We only have a few seconds before it goes into rage mode!" I heard Dirge shout in my head, "We need to buy Relena and Arachnid some time!"

I heard Saber shout with him, and assumed that they went to attack the monster with just the two of them.

"Are we there yet?" I asked Arachnid in front of me.

She didn't reply, she just ran. I looked back and hoped that my brothers could handle it. In retrospect, Dirge was our strategist so he wouldn't go against that thing in the dark without a plan. Meanwhile, Saber was the most hardworking in the group, going on hunts more often than me nor Dirge did, giving him more experience against fighting monsters.

Let's hope they're enough to fight that thing back there.


With Dirge focusing on it's head, he told me to try to cut the tail off. It was a good pincer attack, and we were only both in trouble if the Narga decided to use a spinning attack on us. Problem was, we can't exactly see pretty good, so aiming for a specific body part was pointless and we ended up just attacking blindly whatever we could reach.

I heard a pained grunt as Dirge was swiped away by the tail, slamming him towards the wall. I was just in time to see it go for me and dodge aside, running towards Dirge to see if he was ok.

Instead of standing up to greet me, Dirge hit me sideways with his Hunting Horn, sending me flying back towards the room he hid in a while ago.

I looked up just in time to see a tail spike fly straight to his shoulder, causing him to scream in pain.

That was the second time my brothers saved me from a spike, I thought as I searched for my lifepowders.

Dirge pulled the spike out of his shoulder with a shorter version of his previous scream, and told us not to worry about him.

Worrying is my expertise, I thought as I used my lifepowder.

And then, just as I ran back in the fight to help Dirge…

…the lights turned on.


The sudden flash of light in a previously dark place was, at the very least, blinding. We all felt like we have been flash bombed and I secretly hoped that the Nargacuga felt it as well. Once my vision had gone back to focus, I saw the bat-like creature still dazed, one of its wingblades already broken.

Relena was already behind it, with Arachnid sitting on a scaffolding above and shooting endlessly like she wasn't even affected by the sudden light a while ago.

I saw Saber run towards the Nargacuga and started slashing madly at its feet. I joined in and aimed a power slam at its head.

BAM!

The monster started seeing stars and fell down, giving all four of us enough opportunity to kick its ass.

"I'll aim for the face, stay away or get slammed!" I shouted, used to giving the orders, "Saber, demon-dance its tail off!"

He ran to its tail and activated a flurry of demonized cut and swipes.

"Relena, ready your Mjollnir strike at that area," I pointed to a place.

He/She went and prepared her Charge Blade phialoverload attack.

"Arachnid-"

"You don't get to tell me what to do!" Arachnid snapped back at me, "Just give me a shot and I'll take it!"

Gritting my teeth, I rolled out of the way as the Nargacuga stood back up. Before it could even regain its senses, Saber cut off its tail, causing it to collapse forward. Just as planned, Relena released her phial overcharge just as the Nargacuga stumbled in front of him/her. And just as the Nargacuga flinched from that powerful attack, Arachnid shot a piercing bullet, critical hits travelling all the way through its head to its tail. With one final uppercut slam, I delivered the killing blow.

After we finished carving the beast we just killed, we all blew a sigh of relief as we exited the warehouse. The nightmare was technically over, and lots of riches await.

"Thanks for the help," I shook Arachnid's hand, "It's a good thing you turned the lights on in time."

"Uh, right," She must not be used to saying pleasantries like this. "Thanks, too, I guess."

She split up with us before we could head back to Amy, and by split up I mean just suddenly disappeared when we weren't looking. Frank was waiting there with her since it was closer and safer than making her go straight home at night.


I was just starting to get bored when the boys arrived. They had already transformed back and were more than eager to be served dinner. Ai Mei arrived as we were eating to discuss our deal.

"Sorry I'm late," she said as she took a seat, her pink nightgown deconstructing the creepy ghost-girl image Char told me of. This is something my brother would probably say, but I must admit that she was clearly a pretty girl, "So, you guys finished the quest."

"Our hunters did," I replied.

"Let's drop the act," she grinned, "I know you three boys are the hunters."

Xavier and Char stared at her, like she just solved an incredibly vague mystery.

"Nevermind that," Indigo spoke up, wiping his mouth with a napkin, "Let's discuss the reward."

"Oh yeah," She looked down, "My dad wouldn't actually allow me to dispense that much money, so I'll have to offer something less pricey."

"Like?" I asked, enjoying the desert that was just served. Leche Flans have always been my favorite desert.

"My sponsorship," Ai Mei said, crossing her arms, "You're gonna need a little financial backing, a little nudge to help you in your future missions. I'll help shoulder the costs."

Well, it's better than nothing.

"That's great," my brother replied, "And we are willing to accept that, but if I may, I would also like for a little extra."

"Which is?"

"You're help…" he continued, chewing on a piece of chocolate, "…in the field."

"I can't help," she raised an eyebrow, staring down my brother, "I'm only 10, it's not like I can fight those things."

"Yes you can…" Indigo stood up, walked over to Ai Mei, and kneeled down so that his face was next to hers. I honestly thought that he was going to kiss her, but thankfully he just raised her chin with his finger (kind of how like some guys do when they're about to kiss someone). But instead of kissing her, he just looked at her in the eye, and said:

"Arachnid."