Team Excalibur
Disclaimer: Don't own MH.
"Speech"
'Thought'
"I'm sure you remember the long battle we had James," White Fatalis said. James nodded. "You ask how we fused without your knowing of it? I don't think you understand the full concept of fusion with an elder dragon. People have done it before, but with only 1. You however, have fused with 3. Now, in order to fuse, all you really need is the Elder Dragon's consent to fuse with you. Usually they ask for your consent but they have the option to fuse without it and lay dormant in your mind for years undetected like me. After that you know the whole process. Even the smallest bit of physical contact, fusing of souls, big bright flashes of light, etc. It was different when I fused with you. You touched the tip of my nose at the end of our battle, and as a result I was able to fuse without you knowing of it. The only difference was the lack of bright colorful flashes," White Fatalis explained. James and Nami said nothing. James was going over what White Fatalis said in his mind and found the truth in his words.
"I thought you said this was going to be a long explanation?" James asked. White Fatalis chuckled.
"I originally thought you would constantly interrupt and ask numerous questions, but it seems that I have been proven wrong. I am finished speaking and you and your mate may return to, um, mating," White Fatalis said. James sighed. He put his head on his pillow and drifted off to sleep. Nami looked at him in disbelief. However, she laid down next to James and after wrapping her arms around him, fell asleep.
James slashed at the Kushala Daora's neck one last time, the force of the blow severing it. The other hunters looked on and they all breathed a sigh of relief. The elder dragon had been slain. Nami was smiling when suddenly she saw a large winged figure flying towards them out of the corner of her eye. Her eyes widened when she realized that the winged figure was a Fatalis. She turned to James and attempted to yell to him to run but no words came out of her mouth. She tried to run over to him and attempt to save him but found that her muscles were not responding to her commands. James turned to her with a grin on his face when suddenly the Fatalis struck. It sent its claw through the person she loved most. The Fatalis continued to fly and flicked James off of its claw straight at Nami. He fell into her arms and looking down at him, she began to sob. "James, please don't die. Don't leave me alone. Please!" Nami said, crying all the while. She put her fingers on his neck trying to find a pulse, but unfortunately, she found none.
Nami woke up with a scream. Immediately, James woke up and was by her side, trying to figure out what was wrong. He turned on a lamp to see Nami sobbing. James held her in his arms and gently rocked her back and forth, and whispering comforting words to her. "Why are you crying Nami?" James asked worriedly. Nami did not stop crying.
"I h-had a n-night m-mare, I dreamed t-that you w-we-were k-killed by F-Fatalis," Nami replied in a choked voice. James said nothing. He held her close and gave her a warm hug, which calmed her down a bit.
"Calm down Nami. I promised you before I won't die. And I never go back on my word," James said gently. Nami looked up at him and gave him a small smile. James could practically feel the love for him that Nami was giving off at that very moment. He pulled her into another hug and they both fell asleep in each others arms.
Several days passed and the group was preparing for the fight against the Kushala Daora. Even after James promised her that he'll be extra careful in this fight, Nami was still worried. The nightmare she had a few nights ago was still fresh in her mind, and often she would see James getting impaled by the Fatalis' claw. Nami sighed and tried to take her mind off of her nightmare. Getting off the bed, she walked over to a nearby closet where she and James kept their armor. She checked both of their armors, making sure everything was secure and nothing was defective or faulty.
"Still worried about me I see," a voice said at the doorway. Nami turned around to see James standing there, leaning against the wall with a small smirk on his face. Nami sighed and continued her inspection of their armor. "I know your worried Nami, but try to take it easy. I mean, I've dealt with every elder dragon at one point and the Kushala Daora is no different. The worst that will happen is a couple of bruises or a broken bone," James said. This did not make Nami feel better. In fact, it only served to make her even more worried, as she wanted absolutely no harm to come to her lover.
"I'm not taking any chances James. I don't know what I would do if I ever lost you," Nami replied quietly. James sighed before pulling her into a hug. Nami sobbed quietly against his chest while he did what he could to make her feel better. Minutes later, she regained her composure and went to put her armor on. James did the same.
10 minutes later, the hunters all met in front of the dragonator. They looked around and saw that the dragonator only had 2 spikes on it. James was tense. He knew the Kushala Daora was close, but it was smart enough to not give away its location. 'This Kushala Daora is smart. It might be an old elder dragon. Or someone who fused with an elder dragon is manipulating it,' James thought. White Fatalis nodded.
"That's possible. Though the one manipulating this Kushala Daora must be powerful if this is an old elder dragon. If it's not, it might be easy to take over its mind and force the manipulator out," White Fatalis said. James nodded then stopped. He could faintly hear the beating of wings and hear wind moving rapidly, but he could not tell where it was coming from. James could also smell a faint odor of rust in the air. "This Kushala Daora is definitely a seasoned veteran. After the fight is over, you and your mate should stay behind and look for clues," White Fatalis said.
'I have a name you know,' Nami thought. All 3 elder dragons sweat-dropped. James chuckled.
"My apologies Nami. I hadn't roamed James' mind freely for an extremely long time," White Fatalis replied. Nami said nothing and glanced at James. He was still, as if waiting for something to happen. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind seemingly came from out of nowhere and nearly knocked everyone off their feet. Dirt, pieces of rock, and dust where also scattered by the strong wind, obscuring the hunters' view. When the cloud of debris settled, the group saw the thing they were assigned to hunt and eliminate. A Kushala Daora. But this was not a common Kushala Daora. This one was colored a dull, rusty orange. Nami, who pulled James into her arms protectively, suddenly felt him tense up.
"What's wrong James? You seem tense about something," Nami said. James did not answer. At least, not right away.
"This Kushala Daora, it's not the regular silver metallic color. It's a rusty orange, which means its more than likely an experienced elder dragon. We have to be really careful here," James replied. The other hunters turned to look at him, then immediately brought their attention back to the Kushala Daora. Nami pulled down the visor on her helmet and drew her longsword. The other hunters drew their weapons as well and prepared to attack. Neither party moved a muscle. Each waiting to see who would make the first move. James broke the ceasefire as he threw multiple throwing knives of various types at the Kushala Daora. The elder dragon nimbly dodged most of them, but was still hit with several knives. It immediately put up its infamous wind barrier, knocking back Drake, Armani, Nami, and James back. "Tiffany, see if you can land some poison S shots on this thing! Once it's poisoned, the wind barrier will be gone for a while!" James shouted to Tiffany. She nodded but instead of loading poison S shots into her bowgun, she opened one poison S and poured the poison onto several of her cluster and crag S shots. Loading the poisoned cluster S shots, she began to take aim at the elder dragon , only to find it moving too fast for a clear shot.
"It's moving too fast! You have to get it to slow down or stop for me to get a clear shot!" Tiffany yelled back. James nodded and threw paralyzing throwing knives at the elder dragon. All 3 knives hit their target and the Kushala Daora roared as it felt its muscles stop moving. Tiffany took aim with her bowgun and fired several shots at the Kushala Daora. The creature suddenly broke free of the paralyzing venom of the throwing knives and blew a strong wind at the group of hunters. When they got up again, they saw that the elder dragon's wind barrier was gone and that it was now vulnerable to melee weapons. James rushed forward, gaining its attention as the others went behind it and slashed at its hind legs and tail. The Kushala Daora roared in pain and waved its tail around wildly in an attempt to take out Drake and Nami, who were attacking its tail.
"James, try using crimson lightning. It just might be able to take this Kushala Daora out without even using the dragonator," White Fatalis suggested.
'What? I barely even had any time to practice using it! We only came up with theories on how it works! If it goes wrong, I could kill myself or seriously injure everyone around me,' James replied.
"But, I'm here to guide you in using crimson lightning. And since it's a natural ability of mine, and since I fused with you, you should automatically have some form of mastery over it. Besides, 2 other elder dragons have fused with you, so your natural mastery over crimson lightning must be near automatic," White Fatalis explained.
"Whatever you decide to do, you better do it quick. I sense an odd presence near the fort, but I can't seem to identify it," Akantor said. James nodded, sheathed his sword and began to concentrate. Nami noticed her lover suddenly put away his weapon and stop moving.
'James, what are you doing now?' Nami thought.
'I'm going to end this fight as quickly as possible. But, you have to trust me here Nami,' James replied. Nami was worried, but she trusted him. Closing his eyes, James began to focus his energy to form crimson lightning, White Fatalis guiding him all the while. The hunters and Kushala Daora stopped suddenly when dark clouds formed overhead.
"What the fuck is this?" Drake yelled as strong wind began to blow, drowning out his voice.
"James said he was going to end this fight quickly, so I think this might be his doing!" Nami yelled back. The hunters who were close to the Kushala Daora were all suddenly knocked away when the elder dragon did a 360 spin with its tail fully extended. Nami fell to the ground, but found that she had no injuries. James sensed her fall and Nami could immediately feel the blood lust radiating from him. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning appeared and struck the Kushala Daora. But it wasn't regular lightning, this lightning was crimson. The hunters suddenly became extremely worried.
"Crimson lightning could only be called forth by White Fatalis. Maybe one is here!" Drake said, shaking slightly. Nami admitted she was also quite frightened herself, but she remembered James' words from before.
'Maybe this was what he meant when he said that he would end the fight quickly,' Nami thought. Just then, another bolt of lightning struck the Kushala Daora and it roared in pain. Thankfully, the Rathalos Soul U armor that everyone wore block out the roar. Just as fast as the dark cloud appeared, they disappeared. The hunters looked around in confusion. The first thing they saw was the smoking carcass of the elder dragon they were sent to slay. The second thing they noticed was James getting up, although he looked exhausted. The group began walking to their leader when they all suddenly heard a roar that stopped them in their tracks. They looked around but they could not tell where the roar came from. Nami knew that roar. It was the roar of the Fatalis that killed James in her nightmare not too long ago.
"Shit! Hurry, we have to get James before it's too late!" Nami screamed, suddenly running towards James. The others looked at her then began to run as well.
'What does she mean before it's too late? I know its a Fatalis' roar but even with its speed, it would still take a minute or two to get to James, giving us ample time to grab him and get away,' Armani thought. He stopped suddenly as a Fatalis seemingly appeared from out of nowhere behind James, flying towards him at full speed. Nami's eyes widened as the elder dragon grabbed James, impaling him with one of it's claws, before taking him and beginning to fly away.
"No! Tiffany, use all of your dragon S shots if you have to, but take that Fatalis out of the sky!" Nami shouted. Tiffany nodded and began to fire dragon S shots at the elder dragon, but they seemed to have no effect on it whatsoever. Nami watched as it began to fly farther and farther away, and as it disappeared over the horizon, she collapsed to her knees and began to cry uncontrollably.
'In...our house...back of cabinet where..weapon is...code is..the thing I love most...I love you Nami,' Nami could still hear James' thoughts though they were faint, and he sounded extremely weak. The others grouped around her, trying to comfort her after her loss. It was an obvious fact that she loved James very much, and to lose him now they knew must hurt a lot. Minutes later, Nami regained her composure and stopped crying, though her eyes were still a little red. They all headed back inside the fort in silence.
'Dammit. I don't know how that Fatalis got there. Tiffany's dragon S shots didn't even have any effect on it,' Armani thought. They each headed to their separate rooms to pack their things. Nami was deep in thought as she packed her things along with James'. Sighing, she turned to the door and carried her bags toward the stables. Soon, the hunters were on the transport and they began their journey back to Pokke village, bringing with them very sad news.
=-=-=-=Location:Unknown=-=-=-=-=
"Excellent, you've successfully found and incapacitated the target. Bring him in here," a mysterious figure said. His underling nodded and in seconds, he returned and brought someone in chains into the dark room. He brought the chained person into the circle of light in the middle of the room. The mysterious figure's eyes narrowed as he saw the target. "So this is the legendary Killer. Not as legendary or awe-inspiring as you would think," the figure laughed. James laid there, with a large wound on his left shoulder, and his armor cracked in various places. "Good. All we needed was him out of the way so our minions can have an easier time taking the major cities. I can't trust those imbeciles when a "legendary" figure is walking around. They might just run away in fear. Take this piece of garbage out of here and throw him into the river. I'm sure a local Plesioth will be more than happy to accept a free meal," the figure continued. His underling nodded and proceeded to carry James out of the room and fulfill his task. The mysterious figure sat down and began to laugh.
=-=-=-=-=-=1 week later=-=-=-=-=-=
Nami sat in her room. Actually, it used to be the bedroom she shared with her former lover. But he assumed him dead, seeing as he was carried away by a Fatalis, never to be seen again. She remembered the ceremony the village held in memory of their greatest hunter. She had cried many tears during that, remembering all the good times she shared with James. Nami sighed and went over to the closet where James used to keep his armor and weapons. At the back was what seemed to be a vault, but there was a code that was needed to unlock it. So far, Nami had been unable to crack the code. 'The thing I love most. That was what he said before he was carried away. After that he said he loved me. I already know that. So what could he mean by-wait. I think I got it,' Nami thought suddenly. Hurrying over to the vault, she inputted the code that she thought would unlock it: Nami Decora. With a click, the vault unlocked and slowly Nami pushed it open. What she saw inside shocked her. There was another suit of Dark Akantor armor that looked to be just her size, and next to it was what looked like a Smolder DragonSword. Before Nami could investigate further, there was a knock at the door. She closed the vault quickly and hurried downstairs. She opened the door and greeted the person on the other side.
"Nami Decora, your coming with me," the person said before swiftly knocking Nami out.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=Location:Unknown=-=-=-=-=-=-=
A lone figure was lying on the sand unconscious. Slowly, it began to move and eventually, it stood up.
"James! Good, you're finally awake! Come on we have to get back to Pokke, Nami is no doubt extremely worried about you," a voice said. James looked around but could not figure out where the voice was coming from. "What's wrong? We have no time to waste! We have to get to Pokke ASAP!" the voice said again. James was now irritated. "Shit, Akantor I think James has amnesia," the voice continued. Now James was angry. What is the voice talking about? Where did it come from? It's true he had amnesia but the voice isn't explaining anything!
"Get out of my head! Just get out!" James yelled grabbing his head.
"James, get control over yourself. We don't want anything bad to happen," the voice growled. James screamed suddenly when he felt a pain go through his head. He heard the voice scream as well, though he heard 2 other voices screaming with it. If anyone were around to see him, they would have seen James seemingly split into 2 separate beings. As soon as the process was done, both beings collapsed to the ground.
After a few minutes, the second being got up. He had white hair and piercing red eyes. Looking around, the figure dashed into the forest for cover.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=Location:Unknown=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Nami woke up and found herself chained to a wall. Looking around, she saw various test tubes and grotesque figures floating in tubes filled with preservatives.
"You're awake. Excellent, now we can begin the process," said a voice to her right. Turning in said direction, Nami saw a man standing there in a white lab coat, with jet black hair. "You must be wondering who I am and where you are. I will explain that while the process is done," the figure said. Nami noticed another man in a lab coat enter the room, this time, pushing a cart with various needles fill with different colored liquids, and vials with different liquids in them as well. "My name is Harry. This procedure is a top secret project funded by...well I don't want to get my sponsors into any trouble, so I'll keep them anonymous. You see, the guild has done research and it seems elder dragons have began to appear in mass numbers. So, my sponsors came to me asking me about making a super soldier program in order to more effectively combat against elder dragons," Harry said. His assistant hooked Nami up to several machines monitoring her vitals before injecting her with a needle. Nami screamed as she felt the liquid give her a burning sensation all over her body.
"Anyway, we believe we came up with a proper procedure for this "super soldier" program my sponsors wanted. But, it was extremely risky, and only someone who had been through many battles and was tough enough to survive it all was needed. So, we selected Killer. But, it seems Killer is now deceased, so we had to look for another specimen. We sent spies to look for them, and a few weeks ago, I received word that you were in an intimate relationship with Killer and that you had already given your virginity to him. I thought that maybe, maybe since you were so intimate with him and was so addicted to having sex with him that you would gain some of his toughness or whatever it is that would make him an excellent test subject. After a complicated series of events, you ended up in our care, and now here you are, in the middle of the super soldier program," Harry explained.
"You...bastard. Y-you won't...g-get a-away with t-this..." Nami said weekly as she was injected with another serum. Harry laughed before turning away from her and ordering other assistants to give her "maximum dosage for the most satisfying results". Nami's vision began to blur, and soon she fell unconscious.
Sorry I hadn't updated in a while. I suffered from epic writer's block and I just came up with a huge brainstorm of ideas just recently. This chapter is a little short for my taste and I feel it's not as well written as I envisioned it to be. Thoughts, comments, ideas, and reviews! I have a pretty big-ish story arc coming up next, but its still being drafted, so bear with me please.