Disclaimer: I don't own Monster Hunter. Blah.

The Velocidrome towered over them, its eyes glowing as it approached its meal, its fangs glistened with saliva, its long, thin tongue hung from the side of its mouth, drooling onto the floor, soaking the grass. Its overlong claws swung back and forth as it surveyed its meal to be, pondering which to eat and which to leave for its pack to feast on.

Suddenly, flames erupted around the Velocidrome, followed by a fearsome roar from high above, and all that remained where the Velocidrome once stood was a patch of scorched earth, still smoking slightly. The other Velociprey turned and fled into the surrounding overgrowth, fleeing at the death of their leader.

"Ok, get your weapons," said Aaron, seemingly unfazed by the incineration of the Velocidrome, "we need to find that Rathalos. Now, as we don't know where it's headed, I say we stick to the original plan, we head to the mountain."

The other Hunters nodded in agreement, and then set off into the forest, dispatching any of the fleeing Velociprey they met. The forest was thinning out; they could see green grass ahead of them, marking the end of the forest. Crouching in the thickest bushes they could find, Aaron whispered to the group, "OK, before we move on, check the skies," they all looked up, "Rathalos is more than capable of mounting an aerial assault, as we have just seen, so we need a constant look out. I will take the lead, I'll scout on ahead to a safe place then signal, Amy, you have Flash Bombs, you lead them two, Laura, you keep a look out above, we've done this before, you know what to look for, Shiroha, you bring up the rear, I know you like your lance, poke anything that moves. Alright, let's go."

He scouted on ahead, constantly checking the skies, until he came to a large tree. Crouching by the trunk, Amy saw him signal.

"Let's go," the young Huntress said to the others. They were almost halfway there when an ear splitting yell pierced the air. Immediately crouching, the group turned their gaze upwards, surveying the skies for the source. Aaron was looking round, his arm outstretched; pointing in the direction he was looking in.

"What is he doing?" Shiroha asked.

"He has very good ears," Laura began, "He's trying to find which direction it came from, I would guess, but with Aaron, who knows."

The yell came again, this time ending quickly with a strangled sort of gargle.

"Quick, this way," said Aaron, hurrying down a small rocky passage. The group followed through the small, dark corridor of rocks, coming out on a small opening, a single rock protruding from the arena like area. Opposite them, a cave lead into the heart of the colossal mountain they were scaling.

"Ok," Aaron whispered, his voice barely audible, "Move quietly, Laura and Shiroha, take the left side, Amy and I will take the right."

They split up accordingly, both pairs edging quietly around the rock that blocked their view. The Rathalos slowly came into view, sleeping peacefully, unaware of the Hunters that approached it, about to terminate it.

"I guess you were right," Amy began, "about it staying near the mountain."

"Yeah," Aaron replied, "But this doesn't feel right, Rathalos and Rathian prefer enclosed nests, and this is out in the open. Something's not right."

Shiroha edged towards the monster, and swiftly jabbed it with his lance. Nothing.

"This is weird," the Hunter said, "I should be dead."

"Be glad you aren't," Aaron replied.

They sheathed their weapons and walked round to the other side of it. Amy let out a small gasp. The Rathalos' throat had been mutilated, its soft underbelly brutally torn apart, its wing webbing shredded, its eyes gazed lifelessly at the cave, their bright blue stare now saw nothing, and a deep red pool was slowly flowing from below it, staining the grass with its precious liquid. Its entire under section was riddled with deep cuts, scratches, torn flesh, cracked scales and shattered carapace sections. Its proud tail spike was broken, lying on the floor some distance away.

Amy grabbed her Hunter's Knife, and had barely taken a step when Aaron stopped her.

"You can't do that, you didn't kill it." He said, "Let it rest in peace, it's had enough, don't you think?"

Amy looked down, "I'm sorry."

She sheathed the Knife and stepped over to the broken Wyvern and took a seat by its head. She closed its lifeless eyes and looked tearfully at Aaron, "What could do this? I thought Rathalos were the strongest Wyvern in these parts, except another Rathalos, but I doubt there's any more."

"I don't know," he replied, "But we had better take it out fast, it poses more of a threat to the Guild than this did. I mean…"

He cut off and stared towards the cave. Amy heard it, shuffling noises, as well as low growls. A pair of eyes became visible, blowing fierce red in the darkness of the cave; it let out a huge roar, sending the Hunters staggering for their weapons, recoiling in the sheer magnitude of its voice. It stepped out of the shadows. Amy was immediately struck with fear.

Its body resembled that of a Tigrex, except in place of rugged, solid carapace, it was covered in thick, black fur. Its forearms and feet were covered in pitch-black scales, its feline head was accented by its pointing ears, it's face ended in a brutal looking, toothed beak. Not like the ones on Velociprey, this meant business. Like the Tigrex, its wings pointed upwards from its paws, their soft pink webbing showing as its wings flexed. Its tail was covered halfway in fur, then scales emerged towards the tip, ending in a huge spike, its muscular tail was swinging aimlessly as its eyes surveyed the humans before it. It shifted its weight to its hind legs and pounded its paw into the ground, letting out a deep rumble, and then returned back into its dark cave.

Amy's face drained, Laura and Aaron looked lost, they had never met such a monster.

"The Black Griffin," Shiroha gasped.