Heritors of Hereafter

Book 1: Hearts of Pride

By: Thomas A. Hawk

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Monster Hunter, nor do I own Capcom. If I did I would probably be doing something else with my time instead of writing fanfics. All the characters that appear in this story belong to me unless otherwise stated.


Chapter 12: Next Steps

"And here we are at last! Best house in Ran Fos right here—make yourselves comfy!"

The huntress threw open the front door for the others to file in—her dad was working the early shift today so the abode was completely vacant prior to their arrival. It'd taken a little over an hour to make it to the Adler household, mostly on account of them stopping at the inn Lowell's room was at so Zeke could rent himself a room and drop his gear off. He outright refused to room with Alastor, citing the trip to Ran Fos as the reason why, while Lowell insisted that he just didn't have the space for another person in his room.

As such, the charge blade user had little other choice than to accept Mila's all-too-eager invitation to stay at her place due to his dwindling funds. He dragged his item chest into the living room after the others, letting it drop with a hollow thunk.

"Again, this is only until I can figure something else out."

"Of course! But take as long as you'd like doing that, hehe."

"And no funny business, got it?"

"What kind of funny business do you think I—"

"I'm not falling for that one again. Now, where can I leave my things?"

"Up in my room!" Mila grinned, only to earn another annoyed frown from the hunter. "Hey, I'm actually being serious! My room's the only one with enough space to keep another suit of armor and a giant weapon out of the way. It's not like I'm asking you to sleep in there too. Although—"

"No."

"Had to try."

"Just give me your word that you won't go through my things."

"You don't even own enough for that to be a concern," Zeke pointed out, shaking droplets of water from his spiky hair. "Or are you worried she'll learn you only own two shirts?"

The charge blade user glared venomously at Zeke from beneath his metal mask before sighing and hefting his item box and heading towards the stairs.

"Last door on the right! And feel free to change in there!" Mila called up after him before ushering the others into the living room. "Ooh, I'll make some tea for us to chat over in the meantime!"

"Have any alcohol? Tea isn't really my thing," Zeke said, settling into a chair.

"It's only two in the afternoon."

"And it's five o'clock somewhere else in the world, Lowell."

"We've got Nibel Apple hard cider and Rath whisky. No one else in the family drinks, and that's all I really like. Apart from red wine, but all the good stuff is just so darn pricey! Curse these high standards."

"And yet you're crushing on a guy who doesn't even have a thousand zenni to his name," Falia scoffed, settling on the edge of a table in the corner. "High standards. Right."

"Money isn't everything, Sweetheart!" Mila replied with a huff, looking back towards Zeke.

"I'll just take a straight whisky then."

"Four teas and a stiff drink comin' up!"

Alastor came down after a few minutes in a simple long-sleeve brown top and tan trousers long worn down and faded from traveling, though he kept the metal mask on. For some reason he also wore a glove and kept the sleeve rolled down on his right arm while the left was bare. She also noted bandages on his right shoulder, barely visible beneath his collar.

"Didn't you guys say you didn't fight anything on the way here? How'd that happen?" she asked curiously while handing him a cup.

"Just an old injury. Not pretty to look at."

"Ah, gotcha. Lemme change out of my gear real quick and we can start talking about this hunt for real!"

She was in her underarmor within minutes, vaulting down the stairs and into the living room before her tea had a chance to cool. Rolling over the armrest into the couch next to Falia and planting one foot after another onto the coffee table in front of her, Mila could contain an ecstatic grin seeing the other Faces. She'd been just as elated during the trip here, sidling up close to Alastor and pointing out various landmarks and points of interest to the new arrivals like she had with Lowell the day after he came to Ran Fos, but who could blame her for being so energized? It was the first time since their exam that the four of them had gotten together like this! This would be an occasion to remember.

"Well, now that we're all here I'll just cut right to the chase, make sure we're all on the same page," Zeke said, sitting forward in his chair and setting his drink down. "The Kushala Daora known as Tempest is currently traveling to the Everwood from its usual habitat in the northern arctic regions. I'm of the mind that we should use this rare opportunity to hunt it."

"As someone who actually has access to this sort of information, exactly how did you learn about this?" Falia asked, crossing her arms with a scrupulous glare. "The Guild doesn't just let this sort of knowledge slip. And why even hunt it in the first place? Tempest isn't exactly the most aggressive elder dragon that's ever lived."

"True though that may be, its history also isn't without a fair share of spilled innocent blood. Debating the ethics of it would be fruitless. More importantly, why it's heading to its roost in the forest this early in the year isn't known. Its movement patterns have been sporadic and haphazard, only barely sticking to its usual path and straying up to a hundred miles of it... and as it were, the closest settlements to its usual path are all in the Ran Fos region."

"So you're saying there's a chance it could attack the city?" Mila asked, which Zeke confirmed with a nod. "Hmm..."

"The movement patterns are what concern me," Alastor remarked after a sip of tea. "Zeke showed me some of the Dragonwatch reports his informant gave him, and the irregularities are... well, he's not joking about that detail. I've only ever heard of monsters acting this way occasionally, and usually for a clear reason. Never an elder dragon, and never without cause."

"Do you have any theories why?" Alastor frowned and Zeke's brow furrowed at Lowell's question, though neither offered any explanations up.

"What's more important now is what to do about it," Zeke asserted, folding his fingers and glancing around at the other hunters. "An elder dragon like Tempest acting this strangely can't be a good sign. So, I say we cut off its route and hunt it before any harm befalls the nearby settlements."

"I really hope I'm not the only one who immediately sees major problems with this plan," the handler grimaced, rubbing the bridge of her nose irately. "If it's straying some hundred miles off course, how are we even supposed to 'cut it off'? And even if we DO somehow get lucky, how will we keep it from running at the first sign of trouble? That risks a pissed-off Kushala attacking towns while we're off in the middle of nowhere."

"That solution is sitting right next to you," the Ace replied, pointing towards Mila. "You've had no fewer than two encounters with Tempest already. Considering the rarity of a single elder dragon, I find it hard to believe those were just chance meetings."

Mila nodded in agreement, her mind flashing back to times she crossed the steel dragon. "It was like Tempest came right to me both times. I didn't even have Radiance when I first encountered him. It's kinda weird, but both times I saw him, I couldn't help but feel like he was almost... challenging me. Like he went out of his way to do it."

"Which is why I believe that your presence is the most vital for this hunt," Zeke insisted. "Given your history Tempest will likely seek you out again, and that will give us the opportunity we need to bring it down. I also believe it won't flee if you remain in the vicinity."

"That's only if your Kushala magnet theory holds up," Lowell sighed. "Call me a skeptic, but I'm not sure this is something we can afford to rely on."

"Question is, can we dismiss the possibility?" Alastor stated bluntly, earning the others' gazes. "Mila's family and friends all live in this city. If Tempest does have the want to seek her out, staying within the walls when Tempest is near will only put them at risk."

"Yeah, no, I'm not letting that happen," Mila affirmed. "Alastor's got it dead on. If Tempest wants a fight then I'm more than happy to give him one, and you all can definitely count me in on this, but I'm not going to endanger anyone in Ran Fos. I—"

The huntress paused and turned her head towards one of the windows. Someone had entered the range of Awareness outside the back of the house, but they were moving suspiciously. The figure was skulking up close to that window facing the alley, pulling themself up to the sill like they were trying to spy on the occupants. Mila locked gazes with the figure the moment their head came into view... though rather than recoil or flinch, the strange man just raised a hand and waved with a smile.

"What in the world...?" she muttered, pushing herself up and walking over to the window, not pausing to explain to the others why she was doing so. She lifted the lower sash and poked her head out of the opening, noting the strange man had backed off a couple feet. He was wearing a rather strange combination of colors underneath a tan Wroggi hide coat, with the hood drawn up to shield his head from the rain. She didn't recognize his face, though he was smiling cheerfully, almost expectantly. "Didn't your mom ever teach you it's rude to snoop around other people's houses?"

"Of course! 'Twas one of many varied lessons on a number of interesting topics, up to and including standing backflips, crossdressing, and self-defense with a pair of chopsticks! Frankly speaking she was an odd woman."

Mila blinked, raised an eyebrow, then warily began to close the window. Ran Fos was filled with all sorts of people, but she preferred to keep the complete nutjobs away from her house.

"Waitwaitwait! You haven't even let me introduce myself or explain why I'm here!" the man implored, frantically waving his hands to gesture for her to stop.

"Alright, you get three sentences. Go."

"My name is Mercutio! I have incredibly valuable information about the special matter Zeke called you and the other Faces together for! Also I know your brother, and he wanted me to tell you he'll be out late 'picking up hot coffee'."

"He only says that when he's—oh! Well good for him! It's about time. Hang on a sec, would ya?"

Corvus and Mila had a number of code phrases they used, typically ones that were more often than not just small inside jokes between them, and that sounded just a little bit weird, but not usually enough to warrant more than a raised eyebrow. The fact that this Mercutio fellow knew that phrase in particular meant Corvus had to trust him, and considering Corvus'… Corvus-ness, that was saying something. Still, the fact that her brother had failed to mention such an eccentric fellow to her before did leave her with a couple questions. Mila leaned back into the house and turned her head towards the Ace.

"Do you know some wacko that calls himself Mercutio?"

"Yes, that's the name of my informant. Why? Is he here?"

"You weren't expecting him or something?"

"No, I figured he was the type to just disappear into the wind after he gave me the documents. What does he want?"

"He said something about having information on Tempest."

"Really? Well, what are you waiting for? Let him in so we can hear him out."

"Could be important," Lowell shrugged. Alastor too nodded in agreement. Mila shared a quick glance with Falia before rolling her eyes and poking her head back out the window.

"Alright, come on in."

Mercutio sauntered on up the steps and entered the house, his mischievous smirk not faltering for even a moment. Before stepping into the living room he sniffed the air in the kitchen, gold eyes darting towards the tea pot and opened bottle of whisky sitting on the table. Mila watched curiously as he filled a cup halfway with both, plopping a sugar cube into it, then chugged it all at once before letting out a refreshed sigh. Strange was definitely a good word for the guy… but as far as Mila could tell with her Awareness he didn't bear anyone here ill will.

"Well, it certainly took you lot long enough to show up! I could have grown another beard during that wait," he chuckled, stepping into the room with the others while Mila strode past him to stand beside Falia's seat. "But what a sight this is indeed! The Four Faces, all gathered in one room for the first time in five years! Simply spectacular."

"You act surprised, but you knew this would be the team I assembled from the beginning, didn't you?" Zeke asked, slightly cocking his head to the side with a discerning gaze. Mercutio simply laughed.

"My friend, I don't 'know' anything! I could certainly happen an educated guess, perhaps leave a little whisper of a suggestion in your ear, but to have the very power to predict the future? No, that would be so terribly drab. Life fascinates me because I never know exactly what will happen next! It's just one mystery after the next, and I do so love solving mysteries."

"Huh. I like this guy's attitude!" Mila nodded, glancing down at Falia. The Handler was simply eyeing the man with a confused look, as though she wanted to ask a dozen questions but had no clue where to even start. Her attention shifted to Alastor when the red-haired hunter cleared his throat.

"Let's keep this on topic. You said you had new information about Tempest."

"Yes, yes, of course, Crimson King. Well, you see, while I was awaiting your arrivals, I had to busy myself with something. Boredom and I mix as well as oil and water. So, I decided it would be best to, ah, 'appropriate' some more recent Dragonwatch missives regarding one giant Steel Dragon, and found that for as late as you lot all were—save of course the Queen, for obvious reasons—our dear friend Tempest is also going to be arriving fashionably late."

"How late are we talking? And for what reason?" the lancer questioned. "Was there any explanation for these sporadic movements?"

"Mm… no, sadly not. The Guild has only been able to observe Tempest from afar, and considering the perpetual storm that follows it, any details the experts may glean would be foggy at best! You can of course read the missives at your leisure—I brought a copy to share with you all." As he spoke, the man reached into his satchel and pulled out a stack of documents, plopping them down on the coffee table in the midst of everyone. Falia's hand darted for the stack before anyone else moved, snatching them up and fervently scanning over the lines.

"This is… how in the blazes did you get into the Guild archives?! This is highly classified information! They have Knights guarding that place!" she asserted, lightly thwapping the sheets with the back of her hand while she shot a glare towards the man. Seemingly unperturbed, Mercutio simply raised his hands, closed his eyes, cocked his head to the side, and smiled.

"Would you like the long explanation, the short one, or the abridged version? The latter is much more entertaining, though it might take a year or two for you to get the punchline."

"…What does that even MEAN?!"

"Short version it is! You see, I—"

"Focus," Alastor grunted with a clearly-irate tone. "When will Tempest be arriving at its roost?"

"Ah, straight to the point! Two weeks," the roguish man smirked, holding up two fingers as he spoke. "Given this information and the predicted course it usually takes, the Guild's specialists believe it will be flying east from its current position to correct its course, then travel south. A direct south-eastern flight would result in it flying over several more settlements and cities, which it seems it would prefer to avoid if it can. It's specifically because of this that the Guild really has no idea whether to call a state of emergency in the region or not… so, they're opting to simply wait and see, while quietly informing the 'qualified professionals' of the situation. All in order to prevent a needless panic, you see."

"I take it by 'professionals' you mean G Rank hunters and Guild Knights."

"Right on the money, Ace! I've also happened upon a very interesting development for you all to plan around—the Guild is restricting all questing on the days Tempest is predicted to be nearest the city. No official quests can be taken for a full forty-eight hours, and all non-essential outbound traffic will be halted. Nobody goes out unless the Guild has previously given them an official go ahead."

"So leaving the city will be it's own mess…" Lowell sighed, shaking his head and looking towards the others. "Anyone have any ideas? Falia?"

"Well, I know how this sort of procedure usually works…" she replied. "All quests and free hunting expeditions are restricted, no ifs, ands, or buts. However, scheduled research expeditions are considered essential. I might be able to get Mila signed up for one, then you all can just join up as extra help."

"Surely the Guild wouldn't be so lax when it comes to an elder dragon."

"Not with their regular researchers. As stubborn as most of those guys are, the Guild doesn't just let its personnel throw themselves into danger without a second thought."

"So this plan won't work," Zeke frowned, though Mila chuckled and patted Falia's shoulder encouragingly.

"Hey, she said regular researchers! There's still a loophole there," the dual blade user smirked. "The Guild likes to outsource to Alchemy hunters to do field research too! Saves them a lot of zenni to send scholar-hunters out instead of a full team of researchers and a bunch of hunters to protect them. All we gotta do is get an Alchemy hunter to schedule an expedition into the Everwood for that day, then make sure they're out of harm's way when Tempest shows up! Easy as pie."

"And I take it you know an Alchemy hunter around here crazy enough to do that?" Alastor asked, being answered with a wide affirming grin and nod from the huntress. "Can't say I'm surprised… but that's one problem dealt with. You got anything else for us, Mercutio?"

"No, that was more or less the gist of it," the man replied, his gold eyes darting from one face to the next. "I trust you all will be able to figure out how to conquer this challenge though. After all, you're the brightest young hunters of this generation! I look forward to seeing you all meet the task at hand. I will bring any other information I 'happen across' to you though—I hope for nothing less than stunning success from all of you! 'Till next we meet, brave Faces!"

Mercutio bowed for a long moment before swiveling on his heel and striding off towards the door, leaving as quickly as he had arrived. The hunters were left to quietly mull over the information he'd brought them while Falia quietly fumed to herself about the strange man's dubious methods, up until Alastor shattered that silence with the sound of his palms slapping against his knees.

"Well, this changes things, most of it for the better. We have time to prepare, so I say we use it."

"In what way? We're already outfitted and equipped to face Tempest," Zeke said, crossing his arms. "It wouldn't even take a day to purchase any supplies we need."

"Remind me, when was the last time the four of us hunted as a team?" Alastor responded with an annoyed huff. "I seem to recall it was... never. Not once. We've paired off at various points, sure, but we haven't ever coordinated as a full group. If we're going to stand a chance against an elder dragon we need to work together."

Again, the Ace grumbled under his breath, unable to contest Alastor's point. He instead chose to slam down the rest of his drink and push himself up from his seat.

"Well, I know you love planning your hunts for weeks in advance, so I'll leave you to that. I'm going to go and relax, wander the town, and enjoy not having to be in your presence for the first time in weeks. Cheers."

With that Zeke strode out of the house, throwing his arms through the sleeves of his coat as he departed.

"Someone's in a bad mood," Falia mused after watching him go. Lowell scratched the side of his head awkwardly and nodded in agreement with that statement.

"Probably just the long trip here. I'm sure he'll get over it before long. But, he did have a point... Alastor, this is your specialty. You come up with the plan of attack, and I'll follow along."

"Ooh, I like the sound of that!" Mila chimed in, plopping down next to Falia and eagerly rubbing her hands together. "You can be like our team leader!"

"Team... leader?" the charge blade user repeated with a perplexed frown.

"Yeah! That's how my dad's team did things back when he was with the Master Corps, and they got work DONE! So, you're our leader. Majority rules!"

"What majority?"

"Everyone but Zeke," Falia stated bluntly. "And be honest, do you really want him to be the one coming up with the plans? From what I remember that guy only knows two strategies: 'attack' and 'attack more.'"

"Mm. Good point. Alright, Lowell, mind going after Zeke to keep an eye on him? I'd rather him not get lost or wind up with a hangover tomorrow."

"Can do."

"Falia, do you think you can set us up with a hunt before you get that expedition scheduled?"

"Easy. That's a lot simpler than the expedition will be anyways… I'll get you all signed up for something in the next day or so. Anything you want to go after in particular?"

"Preferably something that likes to use its wings for combat. We'll need to deal with air currents and fast movements."

"Lucky you, there's a lot of things like that around here. I'll get that lined up."

"Excellent. As for you Mila, it would help me to know the locale better so we can plan our attack around a location that gives us the advantage. Do you know where I can get my hands on some maps of the hunting grounds to study?"

"Absolutely! Gimme like thirty seconds!"

Lowell and Falia said their farewells and left together to begin their own tasks while Mila bolted back up the stairs and into her room, throwing open her closet door and scanning the shelves on which numerous rolls and tubes of paper were stored. After looking at them for a few moments she shrugged, grabbed as many as her arms could hold, and raced back downstairs while wearing a giddy smile. She dropped the stack onto the coffee table, earning a sputtered cough of surprise from Alastor.

"What in the blazes... these can't all be for just this area," he muttered in disbelief, setting his cup on the table beside him.

"Nope! This is just an armful from my collection," Mila stated while proudly planting her hands on her hips. "I always get one whenever I go somewhere new! And when I haven't been back somewhere in a while. And whenever I see one I like."

"I... see. That's a lot of maps."

"Almost a hundred! I have more upstairs too if ya wanna take a look. They're from all over Maglea! I wanted to put them all up on a wall so that I could have a collective scrapbook map of the entire country, but I don't actually have a wall big enough to do that. Just another life goal though, amirite?!"

"One of your life goals is to get a big wall?"

"Yep!"

"…Truly, I have never known anyone so easily pleased. Lets just keep it to the Ran Fos area," he insisted, frowning when the huntress' expression shifted ever so slightly. "What is it?"

"Yeah, see... I'm actually not sure which ones are which. I always meant to get around to labeling them, but I just keep getting distracted whenever I have the free time!" she laughed. "If only someone could help me look through them all…"

Alastor seemed less than amused by her tone of feigned innocence, resting his head in his hand and sighing.

"Alright, fine, I'll help you sort through them..."

"Aww, you're such a great guy! Gotta say though, inviting yourself into my room just after using your leader position to get us alone while I'm in such a state of undress? That's awfully bold of you! Not that I mind~" she giggled, leaning over him with a flirtatious grin. Alastor sank further back into his chair, maintaining a stoic expression despite the subtle redness that lit up his cheeks. Shame, she thought, that she couldn't see the rest of his face through that mask. But, if her seven-step plan to make him fall for her worked out, that should be coming off at step three along with everything else he had on.

"Can you please stop purposefully misconstruing everything I say and do?" he sighed, turning away so as not to meet her gaze.

"I'm not misconstruing anything! I just know I'm irresistible."

"More like incorrigible... look, can we just go through those maps?"

"Heheh, alright, alright! I'll have plenty of time to make you tumble head over heels for me anyways," she laughed as she leaned back. Alastor sighed, though he paused in thought partway through standing up. Mila lifted her eyebrow curiously when she saw a cocky smirk cross his lips when he stood fully upright.

"Want to make a bet on that?" he jeered, crossing his arms and cocking his head to the side. "I seem to recall our previous wager didn't exactly go in your favor, so I think I like these odds."

"Oh, you did NOT just bring that up!" she said with a sudden competitive edge to her voice.

"I most certainly did just bring that up. Is that a problem, Number Three?"

"Listen here Red, you scored better than me on the exam by one point! One! Point!" Mila jutted a single finger in his face for emphasis, though Alastor didn't so much as flinch. If anything he seemed perfectly pleased with himself. "Plus, you had a handicap! Don't go acting all high and mighty just cuz you got lucky!"

"Heh. Was I lucky, or did you just talk a bigger game than you ended up playing?" he retorted with a mocking tone and a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Psh, like your showing was any better? Puh-lease! I was practically falling asleep the entire time!"

"Ah, well that explains why you missed the part where I completely blew your little performance out of the water. Not that it was particularly hard to do, considering you were more interested in showing off for the crowd than actually fighting the monsters like a real hunter would."

"Oh, it is ON now!" Mila challenged, stepping up right into the hunter's face and aggressively jabbing her finger into his chest. "Say that again and I'll blow more than just your 'performance' out of the water, tough guy!"

"And is that a promise?"

"...Why don't we go up to my room and find out?" she hummed with a titillating smile, biting her lower lip sensuously while resting her whole hand against his chest. Not many people could keep up with her teasing like that, and Alastor showing that he could give as good as he got just made her heart race. She leaned in closer, bringing her lips close to his cheek, only for Alastor's hand to interrupt her partway.

"Now now, how about we keep this interesting?" he said with a cool and smooth tone, making her shudder like clear water was running down her shoulders and back. "Let's see who can find that map first. Winner gets to choose what happens afterwards."

"Heheh, you sly devil… turning this into a real win-win for yourself, huh? Alright, I'll bite." She gathered up most of the tubes of parchment she'd dropped on the table and bolted up the stairs in the blink of an eye, with Alastor trailing behind.

Step three was already within her grasp.


Author Notes: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please review!

I sometimes feel like exposition chapters where the characters just sit around and talk might not be very interesting, but I hope that the dialogue and set up for the rest of the arc that this chapter presented was enough to pique your curiosity, faithful reader! I certainly had fun writing it.

Despite the fact that I've been setting up this story to avoid having many teams of four hunters like all my previous stories did, I find a lot of entertainment in the dynamics of the Four Faces. Not exactly as a whole team, but how each individual member interacts with the others. Obviously Mila and Alastor was the one most on display here (and boy was that a lot of, er, 'characterization' going on), but expect others later down the line too.

And speaking of wacky characters, Devil May Cry 5 has utterly consumed all of my gaming time. It's pretty much everything I ever hoped for and then some. I highly, highly recommend it to anyone who likes character action games like Bayonetta, Nier Automata, or the older DMC games. Seriously, it does not disappoint! It's probably gonna keep me until Iceborne comes out at least, that's to be sure. And if any of you are on Xbox One, maybe the cameo system will pair us up on a mission!

Otherwise, I'll see you next time, faithful reader! Let me know what you thought of the chapter in the reviews!