Chapter 22: The Son's Hammer
~My name is Andrew Vergara.
My submission for our English homework is called A Letter to my Mother~
I look up from my paper, taking in the scenery of the small classroom before me. Most of my 5th grade classmates have their own things to do, talking to each other, doodling on their notebooks, and not so secretly browsing memes on their phones.
There were less than 10 of the 30 students in the room that were paying attention to me, and those that do are probably just looking for something to snicker aboutin my presentation. I didn't really care, I just wanted to get this dumb charade over with.
"Quiet down everyone!" The old lady who was cursed with the job of teaching us shouts as loud as she could, with almost no effect, "Keep those phones or I will confiscate them."
Everybody keeps doing what they're doing, and doesn't stop until the teacher slams a big wooden ruler on the chalkboard.
"Continue," She motions to me, "And please, use your actual name. I get that this is English class but you don't have to make your name western."
I nod, even though I preferred to be Andrew.
~My name is Andres Vergara.
My submission for our English homework is called A Letter to my Mother~
Looking to the teacher in case anything else needed to be added to my introduction, I continue.
~Dear Victoria Vergara,
Thank you for giving birth to me and for the sacrifices you made to give me a better life~
I glance up at my classmates, afraid to see any form of judgement in their faces yet curious nonetheless.
~My grandparents told me that I was born without a father, and you left me with them to look for a job as an OFW - an Overseas Filipino Worker~
Taking a pause as per what we were taught, I take a deep breath and continue. I knew full well that a lot of what I'm about to read next were filled with lies.
~I am very thankful for your sacrifice, going away and leaving me for 10 years just so you can give me and your parents a better life. When we were apart, lolo and lola-~
"Grandma and Grandpa," my teacher corrected, which I secretly disapproved since I'm sure there were some nouns that don't need to be fully translated. I corrected myself to shut her up, and kept going.
~- bought me plenty of toys using some of the money you send them, although they tell me that the gifts were from you. I loved the gifts, but the ones that came directly from you were my favorite.~
A lot of toys I got over the years I eventually ignored, but eventually mom heard about videogame consoles and sent me a New 3DS with a Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate cartridge. Out of all the things I had been given, that was the only one I really took a liking to.
~Last year, you finally went home and decided to look for work here instead. When I saw you in the airport, all the money and the toys meant nothing as I finally got the best gift I could ever ask for.~
When I finally met my mother for the first time, it was awkward at best. Despite seeing her in video calls and family pictures, there was no spark in me as I laid my eyes on the woman who called herself my mother.
My only parents were my grandparents, this lady in front of me was just a distant relative giving me gifts. That was an easier lie to believe than, 'my mom left me for 10 years because she loves me'.
~Now that we're together again, I want to spend as much time with you, and make you feel as loved as I did. Thank you, mom, for showing me what true love is capable of.~
I ended my presentation with an awkward thank you and a shrug, and my classmates gave me obligatory applause as I took my seat.
The school day ended with no fanfare, and I quickly make my way home before a certain someone showed up by my school's gate.
I didn't make it out in time as I saw my mother waiting for me by the exit. With a defeated sigh, I nod at her and keep my head down as she forcefully kissed me on the cheek.
My mother was what you'd consider an average adult Filipina woman, with a slightly stockier/muscular build, which makes her ideal for all the hands-on work she does in a nearby factory warehouse.
"How was your day?" She asks as we hailed down a speeding jeepney. Despite the money she made from 10 years of overseas work, it was never enough to get us a car, just enough to settle some debts and buy a nice house in a decent part of the city.
"Fine," I reply with a shrug as we climbed in. I notice a girl my age, probably slightly older, who had blonde curly hair and fair skin. A mestisa or tisay, as most people around here called any female who had western, European, or caucasian features.
She was pretty, and it was kind of weird seeing her ride a jeepney home, especially considering her uniform was that of a nearby all-girls private school that was more or less high-end. An exact opposite of the public school I was in.
My mom elbowed me teasingly as she saw me looking at the girl, but truth be told I wasn't getting a crush or anything. Just curiosity, looking at someone who doesn't seem to belong. And yet, she looks so… happy, at the very least she seems content.
I turn my thoughts back to what I was gonna do when I get home, it was a Friday so I didn't need to play my videogames secretly. Maybe I'll boot up MH4u again and practice trying to be a hunter.
A lot of hunters had shown up ever since that weird day a year or so ago, but I wasn't lucky enough to be one of them. I told myself it'll happen eventually, with practice or with age. Neither has proven fruitful so far.
"I've got the pm shift again in the warehouse," Mom says, as if asking for my permission, as if I had a choice, "So I'll probably be home late again."
"Sure," I reply, looking out the window, feeling the wind caress me as everything passes us in a blur.
There was barely any difference when she worked abroad and now, when she works in shifts in an adhesive company's warehouses and manufacturing plants. The only difference I could tell was that she got to sleep in her own house instead of some foreigner's.
The jeepney stops across a nearby mall, and the blonde girl gets off and meets up with a guy twice her age by the entrance. Probably her dad or big brother, despite him not looking like a foreigner.
They looked so happy to see each other, unlike the awkward air hanging over me and my mom, with a tinge of jealousy, I tell myself there was nothing I could do if she won't try hard enough to actually give a shit about me.
There was heavy traffic on the road ahead of us as the relaxing speed of the jeepney slows to an uncomfortable crawl. I took my 3DS out and considered if I could speed-run a hunt before the vehicle arrives at our stop.
I look at my hunter, Victory, in his Zinogre X armor set wielding his deviljho hammer. I loved the hammer out of all the weapons in the game. It was simple,powerful, straight to the point. No awkward bullshit besides the times when you whiff and get abused by the monsters for making a wrong move. No complicated moves or notes to memorize, no sweet spots to consider or transformations or essences to mix and match.
When will we become one? I ask Victory in my head, wondering if I'll ever get to know what it feels like to be in that armor, to wield that hammer.
I realized that I had just been staring at my character, and we reach our stop with me accomplishing nothing.
My mom drops me off with an awkard 'Bye. Take care. Love you.', with me mimicking back what she said. I make my way to the tricycle terminal going to our subdivision, as she rides another Jeepney to get to her job.
Bye. Take Care. Love you. The words stay stuck in my head as I ride home, like an unscratchable itch.
I wondered, how much did she mean any of those words?
The weight of the boxes and cans I had to carry had begun to take their toll as my muscles start aching and throbbing after hours of packing and moving items around. I should be thankful, I told myself, that I was in warehouse duty today instead of with the manufacturing plant mixing chemicals to make resins and adhesives.
The warehouse was nearer, since one of the company's previous warehouses were abandoned, this new one happened to be closer to where I lived, and it would only take me an hour to travel home.
My limbs ache and my stomach grumbles, and I ignore them all, knowing that there was nothing more painful than to slowly watch your son grow distant from you with every day.
Andy barely talked to me on the ride home, and no matter how I try to show that I cared he doesn't seem be willing to open up. That's what I get, I guessed, for leaving him as a baby with my parents and not visiting until it was finally time to go home.
Honestly, he shows more affection toward that videogame he was playing than to me or my parents.
I had found myself speaking about these issues with a close colleague during break time.
"It's great that you show interest in his time in school," He says, munching on a loaf of bread, "But some kids don't like talking about that. I for one, hated it when my parents used to ask me about school. I mean, would you ask someone who has just escaped a torture chamber how their torture was?"
"A bit extreme, but yeah sure I get you," I reply, wondering how else I could connect with my son.
"You said he liked videogames, so start there," He continues, "That game a lot of parents hate, Mobile Legends, is a god send for me. It's not ideal, but it's bonding time with my daughter nonetheless."
"But isn't it weird bonding with your child while their face is glued to a screen?" I asked, trying to think of what that game Andy kept playing was. I'm pretty sure it wasn't anything like the mainstream ones I keep hearing other parents talk about.
"I'll take what I can get," he says, "Eitherway it's a step closer to her, soon enough I got her trust enough to get her to actually hang out with us on weekends. Before you can show them that what you're offering is worth their time, you gotta show them that what their doing is also worth your time."
"Otherwise I'm telling them to stop having their fun so I could have my fun," I mutter, looking at him if I got his words of wisdom correctly.
"Bingo."
Our snack break concludes as our supervisor tells us to tidy things up as a surprise inspection has begun. Apparently the owner's daughter had decided to visit the warehouse to check our current status and conduct some quality checking.
"Oh that's right," My coworker whispers, "This is the first time you'll see the owner's daughter . Bit of a child prodigy, she is."
Wait, a child? A literal kid was going to do a quality and safety inspection of our warehouse?
As I question the reality I had found myself in, a young girl who looks 9 or 10 (I was told she was 12 later on), walks in. She had her own custom made reflective vest and safety shoes, which contrasted her black knee-length dress and violet leggings. She had tied her hair up in a ponytail, covered with a hard hat that fit her small head.
It was a cute sight, but she had a no-bullshit aura around her and everyone was incredibly polite and respectful as she walks around. She finished her inspection straight and to the point, no small talk, no joking around.
"You sure that was a kid, not an immortal witch or vampire or something?" I jokingly ask my coworker later on as we were punching out.
"It was surreal my first time too," He laughs, "But she's a good kid, gets shit done and all that. Hey, you should ask her dad how he raised her."
"Oh yeah, good idea just walk up to the owner of the company and chat him up, right?" I laughed along as we eventually said our goodbyes and I made my way home.
Now then, let's see if his tip works.
I flip the 3DS close after hearing hunter related news from the TV, my grandparents were watching the typical evening news that run for like an hour before the drama shows begin. Usually I just ignore what was on the TV and play or watch some videos on Youtube, but I never could say no to an update about real life monster hunters.
Tonight's news was about a Tigrex slain on an expressway, as well as a Volvidon hunted inside a famous local stadium. There were other news too about smaller monsters and other hunting mercenaries, but those two were my main focus.
They were both accomplished by my favorite local guild. Calling themselves Raptor Brothers, I saw their website a couple of months after the monsters started showing up. They were a pay-what-you-can hunting group, willing to help anyone with monster trouble even if they didn't have the cash.
Unlike other mercenary hunters, none of the members disclosed any personal information. They were like, I dunno, like the Avengers or Justice League where half if not all the members had secret identies. The hunters were the only ones introduced in their website, along with missions they have previously successfully accomplished.
It may not seem much, but I wanted to join them, to turn into Victory the badass hammer main and kick ass alongside them. It was the closest I could realistically get into being like a superhero.
Looking at my 3DS and remembering all my failed attempts at transformation, I wonder with a sigh if I'll ever get the chance.
Was the hunter transformation thing completely random? Or was I simply not worthy of wielding Victory's power?
I may never know, and before I could decide to keep playing in the living room the door opens and mom enters the house. I decided to play in my room instead.
"Oh thank god we finished early tonight," She sighs as I stand up and leave the room, "Hey, wait up, at least give mommy a hug."
I begrudgingly obey, then head straight for my room.
It probably took me an hour to finish two G Rank hunts, which I assume is a noob thing, heck maybe that's the reason Victory won't lend me his power. 'Cause I'm too weak, maybe not hardcore enough to be a true hunter.
All passion, not enough skill.
I flip my 3DS close again as my door opens and my mother walks in my room. Looking at her, I notice how toned and tanned her body had become, probably from all the heavy lifting and manual labor from her job. Our genes weren't made to be conventionally good-looking after all, taking a double take I thought to myself how my mother looks like a less appealing version of Nani from Lilo and Stitch.
"What're you playing?" She asks as she sits by the foot of my bed. She always does this, every night, this pretense of trying to connect with the son she abandoned years ago. It was cute at first, like something from a movie, until I got tired and annoyed with how much of a routine it seemed to have become.
"Monster Hunter," I grumbled as I flipped the console back on and mindlessly roamed around one of the villages. I kept my eyes on the screen, pretending to be deep in the game.
"Is that the game that caused all those monsters and knights to show up in the real world?"
"Ugh, they're called hunters, mom." I reply with a tired groan, "And no one knows if the game caused it, but the monsters and hunters look like they were directly from the game."
"Sorry," She mumbled, and for a moment there was an awkward silence so I raised the volume of the game to drown it out, "Maybe…maybe you can teach how to play this weekend? Teach mommy how to be a hunt monsters?"
I couldn't even answer. Asking me all of a sudden to teach her to play, as if NOW she gives a shit about the game I'm playing?
The desire to lash out was there, to tell her to stop acting like she cares and get out of my room. To tell her that she can't just pop back in this household and expect me to just leap into her arms after growing up without her.
That's not who I am though, and if there's anything in my life I can be proud of it's the fact that I didn't lash out. That I kept my cool, turned off my 3DS, laid down and turned my back to her.
"Goodnight mom," The words left my mouth like a command more than a gesture, cold and unforgiving. She seems to have gotten the message as I felt her weight lift from the foot of the bed.
"Goodnight," There was a pause, and I knew she was going to keep talking, "I'm sorry I couldn't be with you for so long…but I'm here now."
The door creaks as she prepares to close it.
"I just want to be a part of your life, please don't shut me out."
I'm not the one who left, I wanted to say, but kept quiet. Soon after she closed the door, and I was left with a heavy feeling in my chest as I forced myself to sleep.
"He barely talked to me," I tell my coworker as we packaged and boxed tubes of superglue for delivery. The trucks were leaving soon and the warehouse was in a hurry to make sure all orders were shipped out within the evening.
"Give him time," He replies, wiping sweat off his brow, "You can't expect him to suddenly believe that you give a shit about his hobbies, do you?"
"But I do give a shit," I answer as we began piling boxes on a pushcart. Not knowing what else to tell me, we finished the rest of the packing with basic pointless chit chat until it was time to leave.
An announcement in the guardhouse's radio caught my attention as news about a monster rampage had started on a nearby city. The city itself was along the route that Andy and I took on our ride home, like yesterday.
I look at the clock, he should already be home at this time, but I wasn't able to pick him up from school this afternoon and he had to go home by himself so I have no clear confirmation if he's already home.
"I knew I should've bought that kid a cellphone," I grunted as I exit the office gates and break into a run. All I could do was a small prayer as I try to get home as fast as I can. "Oh, God, please let him and my parents be safe."
Remembering that I bought my parents a cellphone, I began calling and anxiously waited for them to answer as I find a jeepney to ride in. Every second unanswered was a heavy hammer to my heart, as my mind began cooking up gruesome situations that they might find themselves in.
My mom answers, with a worry to her voice that only made me more panicked. She and my dad were safe as the danger zone was far enough from our subdivision, but Andy hasn't arrived home yet.
I kept checking back on facebook and twitter, looking for possible status updates that will let me know whats going on with the monster.
Pictures of the monster and the mayhem had begun being uploaded, what looks like a huge boulder turned out to be its face as the monster looked like a rock-skinned hybrid of a dinosaur and a bulldog,longer and bigger than a 10-wheeler truck.
The jeepney stopped a couple of streets before the actual city, with the main road going in blocked off by police and traffic enforcers. People were evacuating from nearby buildings, most of them trying to be calm while clearly being anxious and confused, similar to how you act when months of earthquake drills get tested for real.
No matter how many times I scan the crowd I couldn't find Andy, and calling out to him yielded no results. I call my parents again and he still isn't home.
As much as I hate to assume it, he could be in the danger zone, either unable to run away or trapped in some form. Otherwise he should already be here or at home by now.
Something inside me clicks and I knew I had to make it through the barricade and find him in the chaos. I couldn't just sit here and wait for either the authorities or some monster hunting mercenaries to do their jobs.
As a torrent of people run out through the streets, I weave in and out of them while going the opposite direction. With everyone else running away from the monster, I run to it, not looking back as someone shouts at me to get back where it's safe.
The closer I got to the center of the city, the more dust and rubble I see; overturned cars, smashed windows, piles of concrete, etc. It was like a miniature apocalyptic scenario.
Some people were trapped in buildings and under rubble; I ignore them as I focus solely on finding my son. I didn't feel too bad, as firefighters and policemen work together to help as many as they can. Every once in a while I see people in hunting armor going inside buildings and getting people out.
A guy in a brownish, knight-like armor stood a few feet from me yelling commands to people around him. His armor had a cape, as well as pointy teeth-like pieces jutting from parts of the armor, mostly by his shoulders. His helmet had small glowing red eyes while he wields what looks like a Japanese drum with a long handle as a weapon. What got my attention was the big emoticon looking design at the drum parts of his weapon.
"Saber and Rez, keep that 'Gaan distracted. Artemis and Sokatoa, get as many people out as you can, " I hear him shout, which gave me the impression that he was in charge and may have seen my son, "We don't have any tanks available so focus on evacuating the civilians before kicking ass."
A small hand took mine and tried to drag me away, and for a moment I thought it was Andy before realizing it was smaller and softer. I look to see a small blonde girl with curly hair trying to pull me away.
"Please leave," She pleads, "We need to go it's not safe here."
"I can't, I need to find my son," I answer, hoping she would let go and leave by herself.
She let go, but she didn't leave. Instead she runs up to the 'leader' and starts pointing at me.
"This lady needs our help," She says as the armored man looks at her. I assume he's looking at her as his helmet covers his whole face and the glowing red eyes show no emotion.
"So do a lot of other people," He replies, scanning the area again before looking at me, "Come on lady, you need to leave!"
"My son-" Was all I began to say before he could cut me off.
"How old?" The armored man asks, and I reply that he's around ten while showing a picture of Andy on my cellphone, "I'll look for him, but he may have already evacuated."
He scans the area again, and asks the people he was talking to (probably through an earpiece) if they have seen anyone that looks like Andy.
"Shit," He whispers, but I could still hear him, he looks up at me as he tells the little girl that she should leave, "I'll get your son, one of our hunters saw him near his area…near the monster."
I start running towards the area where the monster is, just a few blocks ahead to the point that I can hear the rumbling and grunting that the monster makes from afar. Like hell I'm leaving Andy's safety to anyone, I need to get him myself.
A tug on my arm stops me, I look back to see the hunter again.
"Lady please, you need to leave," He says with a distinct sense of sincerity in his otherwise deep voice, "I assure you, I won't let your child get hurt."
"I believe you," I reply, sincerely as well, and he lets go, "But he is my son, and I need to get him home."
Before he could realize what I was about to do, I turn back to where the monster is and sprint as fast as I can.
This is it,I thought to myself, as the buildings around shake and shiver with every movement of the Uragaan. This is my chance to unleash Victory. The boulder-chinned monster curled up and begun rolling around before I could get any closer, and the quaking of the ground partnered with the scenery of empty cars getting flattened and broken are more than enough to turn my knees into jello and my sweat to turn cold.
There's no way I'm getting out of here alive, not without turning into my hunter at least. There were two other hunters trying to keep it busy, one with a greatsword(great knife?) and another with dual blades. The dual blades guy looked like he was using an off-brand 3D maneuver gear from Attack on Titan.
I turn my thoughts back to the 3DS in my hand as I boot it up from sleep. Victory, my hammer wielding hunter, looked back with a snarl as the Zinogre X armor set shimmers and glows inside my 3DS. The hybrid of beastlike, knightlike, and samurai-like armor design made him look… for lack of a better word, supercool. On his back was a deviljho based hammer, green and leathery and with teeth like spikes jutting out. The weapon had veins glowing red with energy, while the armor set had veins and a "face" with a blue electric glow.
"Come on, Victory," I pleaded with my hunter as the rumbles grow stronger and the air becomes heavy with dust from all the wreckage. I focus as hard as I can, taking in every aspect of my in-game character, imagining a flow that connected me and him. "Please, I need this."
"ANDY!" A scream from behind me. A recognizable voice, the last thing I needed to hear right now.
I turn around to see my mother sprinting with a look of despair yet determination on her face. Great, now if I fail to turn into Victory, chances are both of us will die. Or worse, my Mom will have to drag me out of this chaos, in a shameful loss, proof that I was never meant to be a hunter.
I try to ignore her looking back at Victory as I feel her getting near me. Looking up for a split second to see that the Uragaan has rolled up into a wheel again… and was headed straight for us.
My body froze, and everything started to feel like they had slowed down. My mother's hand took my arm, trying to pull me away, trying to run. The Uragaan wheel spun closer, and closer, crushing everything in its path.
It felt like an eternity, but I knew that in less than a few seconds we would just be roadkill.
Unless Victory took over, and gave me the power to protect my mom and fight back. My head instinctively turned towards my mom, a mixture of fear for me and hatred for the monster somehow showing through her face. I could do nothing else but raise my 3DS up, beg Victory once more to take over, and close my eyes as mom tries to drag me to safety.
Expecting to be crushed and for everything to just disappear, I feel a warm glow envelop me.
"Shit!" I hear Saber through my earpiece as the Uragaan rolls away from them and towards the mother and son we couldn't evacuate. Him and Rezamesu try their best to catch up and stop the monster, but none of us would be able to get there in time.
I'm just thankful that Claire had left and would not witness these two civilians get crushed and turned to paste. And right after she heard me promise to the lady that I won't let anything happen to her son.
But before any of us could even consider looking away from the potential gory scene, a powerful glow we were all used to covered both mother and son.
A green spiky hammer swung out, with such power and timing that the rolling Uragaan got launched up as if it had hit a ramp. Connected to the hammer was a Zinogre-set clad hunter, and in his other arm…was the son, who looks at the hunter like he has seen a ghost, or God or something.
Point is, he was probably unaware that his mother was a hunter, and a hammer wielder to boot. No wonder she had no issues running towards danger.
I run up to them, ready to either take the child to safety or cover their exit as they run away. Hunting Horn ready, I remind the berserkers to continue assaulting the Uragaan.
"Copy that, let's fuck up this rock n' roller!" Saber replied as he zipped through the air.
"Ryokai!" Was all Rezamesu said as he sprints towards the enemy, his big-ass knife held by one hand and resting on his shoulder, while the other hand pointed straight behind him like he was half-Naruto running.
As I run up to the hunter and her son, the kid just stared quietly in disbelief, while the hunter looks at himself(looks like the mom played as a guy hunter)… also in disbelief.
"Wh-what is this?!" The hunter asks, I couldn't tell if she was talking to me or the kid.
Is this the first time she's turned into a hunter? Was I like that when I first did it?
"I'm sorry, Ma'am?" I ask and the hunter looks at me, the electric glow of a face morphing into what looks like an upset emoji. Is that how this armor works? In any case I continue, "Is this your first time synchronizing with your hunter?"
"Sync-, what are you talking about?" She asks, then looks at her son, still staring at her with his mouth wide open, "Andy, do you have any idea what's going on?"
That seems to snap the kid back to reality, and he looks her up and down, his eyes beginning to tear up. Was he scared or intimated by her mother's armor set?
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" He screams, tears of rage(?) flowing out of him, "VICTORY IS MY HUNTER, WHY ARE YOU USING HIM?!"
"I-I don't," The hunter stumbled at his words as I realize that we are still very much in a danger zone, so I cut both of them off.
"Guys, we can worry about this later, you both need to leave."
My son's words strike me and echo through my head as if his voice was coming straight into my ears, did this helmet have some kind of speaker inside it?
Looking down at my body, it should feel heavy, but it doesn't. I am fully comfortable wearing this clunky looking armor. And the hammer I'm holding does not feel as heavy as it looks.
An instinct kicks in, making me look at the monster fighting the other two hunters, while another instinct is telling me to leave. I look at my son, and realize that that the best way to protect him is to take this monster down NOW.
I hold the hammer with both my hands, my son looks at it and me like he knows what to do with them. I realize now that this must be the so-called hunter he was playing with every night on his 3DS.
"I have to fight." I hear myself say, "Andy, get out of here, I'll fight with…Victory for you."
That's right, this was Victory, this body I was inhabiting. Or was the body inhabiting me?
Andy starts leaving, the other hunter making sure he runs away as I wield the large green hammer, my body somehow having an idea of how to use it.
"She doesn't even know how to use that?!" I hear Andy's voice, and look back to see him far away, too far for me to hear. And yet the voice felt like it was booming near my head. Maybe this thing does have speakers in its helmet.
I remember how the hunter talked to his allies, the earpiece. That must be it.
"Hello?" I try to say to the earpiece, wondering if they can hear me.
"I hear you," one of the hunters reply. "This is Dirge, I'm getting your son out of here."
"Saw that hammer ramp you pulled off a while ago," another voice pops up, this one sounding almost as young as my son, "Codename's Saber, hope you can keep up."
"Hajimemashite! Rezamesu desu," A third voice speaks, with an accent that clearly isn't Asian like his words, "Let's show this rotten wanker what were made of, eh?"
I look towards the monster, ready to fight, somehow ready to fight. Another voice comes up my comms.
"Mom?!" It was Andy, "H-how can you? I can hear you, you're in my head!"
"And you're in mine, maybe you can tell me what to do here then," Was all I could say as I run up towards the monster, hammer in both hands.
I have no idea what's going on.
Victory finally shows up, but somehow he fused with my mom instead of me.
And now I have to teach mom how to be a hunter all while watching her fight an Uragaan. It's a good thing there are other hunters nearby to carry her.
"Hammers are best used in the face!" I yell, somehow knowing she can hear me as I watch from very far away. The guy with the hunting horn seems to understand what's going on pretty quickly, and told me to stay here and run away only if the fight starts getting closer.
"Saber, Rez, Victory, I'm joining back in the fight," I could hear him speaking through his voicechat, "The kid's safe for now. Let's finish this."
Victory starts slamming on whatever he can reach near the monster's rocky face, raw power fighting off the usual bounceback the chin would cause.
Victory's armor set has Gloves Off, which means as long as they and the monster keep fighting in this area, he'll eventually get a boost in power.
The Uragaan lifts its face, ready to chin slam the ground. Right near where Victory and the Hunting Horn user is. The HH user jumps at Victory and they both dodge out of the way, but not enough for the tremor to cause them to lose their footing.
"What the hell was that?!" I hear mom ask.
"If the head lifts like that, it'll slam down and cause a powerful quake," I reply to her, "So don't get hit."
Victory just continuously and repetitively swings his hammer on whatever he can reach. The greatknife user was focusing on the tail, causing burns with every slash. The dual blades user was on top of the monster, trying to topple it with his mount attacks. The Hunting Horn was playing some harmonies behind Victory, both of them dodging just in time as the monster swings at them with its tail.
The tail swing cause some ore-bombs to pop out and land near Victory and Dirge.
"Careful mom, those rock things explode" I say, and Victory looks at them with curiosity.
Before anyone can say anything he runs up to an orebomb, the object beginning to glow and ready to explode. Dropping the hammer down, Victory bends down and picks up an orebomb with both hands, then flings it right at the Uragaan's face.
It explodes right as it hits the face, causing the chin to crack and the monster to flinch.
"Nice throw, Victory-san!" Rezamesu gives mom a thumbs up.
Victory picks his hammer up with a flourish as Saber finishes his mount attack and topples the Uragaan. The gigantic rock creature falls to its side and begins wiggling and trying to stand back up.
"Rez, Saber! Tail!" Dirge points them at the monster's tail, "Victory and I will go for a stun combo."
"Mom! Go for the face!" I command her as I realize what Dirge was trying to do. "Use a charge attack!"
"What in God's green earth is a charge attack?!" Mom shouts back.
"Just hold the hammer as if you're gonna swing it, and charge up your strength!" I shout back.
You'll know it when you feel it, I thought, and it seems that's exactly what happened as Victory assumes the hammer charging pose and the glow of the charge up begins.
Dirge does his hunting horn megaslam, Saber does a high speed demon dance attack, and Rezamesu goes for a greatsword charged slash, swinging a fiery slash with one hand. Victory was able to release a spinning hammer attack, bludgeoning the enemy's rocky face with a satisfying slam.
The monster's jaw breaks, pieces of it's flesh(?) falling apart with cracks showing by its chin. Unfortunately, it didn't get into a stunlock as Indigo may have been going for.
The Uragaan tenses up, as smoke starts to build up from under it.
"MOM GET OUT OF THERE!" I shout as the other hunters also realize what's about to happen.
All hunters except Victory quickly jump back and try to get some space between them and the monster that's about to spew out fire. My mother/hunter continues swinging, aiming for the monster's belly while ignoring the imminent danger.
"I have to take it down quick," I hear my mother's voice, as well as Victory's, speak up, "The sooner we finish this, the sooner my son can be safe."
Before Victory can make another strike with his hammer, the flames burst out from below the Uragaan, enveloping my hunter and the nearby area around her. Glasses from nearby buildings that weren't already broken from the tremors now break from the fireblast.
"Shit," Indigo mutters, then shouts, "Get away from the cars!"
I look around and see nearby cars and vehicles coated by the Uragaan's flame. In almost an instant, a chain of explosions brings the chaos to an alltime high. All hunters I can see were thrown into different directions, as the center of the city is lit ablaze.
A strong gust of wind goes my way, making my skin crawl as I feel a blast of hot air surround me. I thought I was about to get cooked from the heated fallout alone.
But I had bigger problems, I couldn't see my mom through the burning wreckage around the Uragaan. The monster looks around, and for a moment I thought it was enjoying the carnage. But perhaps it was just wary of the hunters nearby. It begins moving forward, slowly and menacingly.
"Is everybody alright?" Indigo weakly speaks through the comms.
"Hai, Somehow still in one piece," Rez answers with a pained grunt.
"That was pretty cool," Saber comments with a groan, "Hurt like hell though."
One by one I see them stand up, Indigo plays something in his Hunting Horn while the other two started chugging potions. Dammit, where's Victory?
"Mom? Mom, are you ok?" Was all I could ask in the moment.
"…yeah," A weak voice replied, allowing me to sigh in relief. "Sorry for making you worry."
Looking closer, I realize that the Uragaan wasn't looking around warily nor was it walking forward slowly.
It was trying to shake something off its back.
"Artemis and Sokatoa are almost done with evac, hold out until they can get here," Indigo commands as they get back in the fray, "Victory, you are currently mounting the monster. Stab it continuously with your hunting knife until it falls down."
"Why would I use a knife?!" My mother shouts back, trying to hold on the monster's back while also trying to lift her hammer. "We have to take it down NOW."
Haphazardly, she slams on the top of the Uragaan's head. The attack was powerful enough to visibly make the monster flinch, but at the same time Victory loses his balance and begins to fall off the mount.
On the way down, Victory twists his body in the air, using the momentum of the fall to swing his hammer upwards. The attack connects, hitting the Uragaan on the side of the head, finally bringing it down into a stun.
Both Victory and the monster fall down on the singed and broken pavement, with the monster's fall causing another strong tremor. The other hunters are unfazed, and take the opportunity to wail on the enemy.
The Uragaan wasn't able to stand back up, lying dead on its side as Indigo, Rezamesu, and Saber land their finishing blows.
"Is it dead?" I ask for confirmation, cautiously walking closer to the team of hunters. There's a part of me that cannot still believe that my own hunter Victory is a part of this series of events. As I walk closer, another part of me realizes that while Victory was there, can I consider him as my hunter right now?
Despite Victory's victory, and despite seeing my own hunter teaming up with the Raptor Brothers, I didn't feel as much pride or enthusiasm as I thought I would.
Because while Victory was there, I wasn't.
It felt weird being in this body, as if I was inside someone else while also having someone else inside me. It was like I was simply my own body, wearing this armor, and yet I knew that this wasn't my body. Not entirely anyway.
And yet, being 'synchronized' with Victory felt like I was also with my son. I can feel the bond that they developed through all those times he played the game. I also felt a sense of loneliness, and longing.
As the sync started wearing off, my body started feeling heavier as if finally feeling the strain that I've put on it for the past couple of minutes. I felt Victory watching me from the back of my head, as if he didn't plan on leaving completely.
In my own head I tried to talk to him, focusing on his thoughts and mine.
"Why me?" I ask. "My son needed you."
He smiled, or at least I thought he did. I couldn't see past that helmet that made him look like some kind of beastly knight. Through the synchronization of our thoughts, he replies:
"He needed you more."
It had been less than a week since the incident. My mom and I were quiet on the way home that day, although she tried to talk to me afterwards.
I was angry, not at her or Victory, just at the fact that I couldn't be the one fighting. I didn't tell her that, but I told her that I thought she did some pretty cool stuff with Victory.
'Let's figure this out together, with the help of your new friends,' Was all she said before saying goodnight. I like to think that both of us slept better than usual that night.
Fast forward a couple of days, now mom and I find ourselves standing in front of what looked like a converted warehouse. There was a garage nearby that had a lot of scraps and marks of leftover paint on the ground. The main door had all kinds of stickers on it, from anime-related to what looks like glittery girly stickers. There was a rug that just says 'GO AWAY' on the floor I was standing on.
"You ready?" Mom says as she knocks and starts to open the door.
"No," I said with a weak smile as I followed her in.
Instead of a warehouse or an office, the view right after entering the door looked like a living room. A large sofa enough for five to six people was in the center of the room, pointed towards the doorway we just entered. Makes sense, considering there was what looked like a 4k Smart TV by the wall next to us.
Some dude with shaggy hair was sleeping on the couch, with a big cat lying asleep on his chest. The cat was big enough that it reminded me of the palicos from the game. On the floor by the couch, two young boys who looked similar to each other were glued to the tv, watching what looked like an old scifi anime.
They both looked only a few years younger than me. Both of them glance at us as we enter, and the boy with the unkempt hair called for his "big bros" while the one with trimmed hair just looked inquisitively at me.
"Are you the new hunter?" He asks, cocking his head like a puppy, "The one with the hammer?"
Before either me or my mom could answer, three older guys walks towards us from what looked like their pantry or kitchen area. A teenager, an adult, and someone who could be either greeted us. I recognized the voices of two of them. The teen turns out to be Saber, who's named Xavier. The oldest is Indigo, who was Dirge from the previous hunt. The young adult introduces himself as Char, big brother to the twins, Yuri and Yuel. Yuel was the one with unkempt wild hair.
Following Indigo was the blonde girl I saw the other day. Huh, who would've thought she was with them. Now that I think about it, Indigo looked like the guy she met up with at the mall. She introduced herself as Claire.
"That one's Noya," Claire points at the sleeping guy on the couch, and then to his cat. "That's K-Wyatt, his bff palico."
Wait, this thing was really a palico? So monsters and hunters weren't the only ones jumping out of the game?
"Not everyone's here today," Indigo apologizes while conversing with my mom, occasionally glancing at me with a friendly smile, as if he felt the need to constantly confirm to me that he had attention to spare. "Simon, Frank and Irene are currently out. Amy and Charlie's in the playroom on their laptops."
"Hey man," Xavier walks and speaks to me with a grin, "Your mom's quite the badass the other day. Heard that was supposed to be your hunter, though."
"Yeah," I shrugged, "We don't really know how it happened."
"That's a bit of a bummer," He replies with an apologetic smirk, "God knows it would suck if MY mom ended up syncing with my hunter. I'd never hear the end of it."
"We'd all shut off our comms," Char interjected, joining our conversation, then looks at me, "Let's just say his mom's a bit on the loud side. Good person, but borderline Karen."
They both laughed, and I laughed uncomfortably with them, not fully getting the joke.
Just as we finished laughing, mom and Indigo walked towards us mid conversation.
"What happened was definitely news to us as well," Indigo continues, "We'll see what we can figure out, but in the meantime we can help you on learning how to hunt. We've got other kids here, so your son won't be bored…hopefully."
One of the twins, Yuri I think, stood up and grabbed my arm.
"You won't get bored, we've got like, all kinds of consoles." He says, emanating a sweet and comforting aura.
"What games do you play besides MH?" Yuel asks, suddenly popping up from behind me, emanating a hyperactive aura. I make a mental note to be careful when playing physical games with him, he looked like someone who plays rough unknowingly.
"Um-" Before I could answer they were already dragging me to the playroom. The other guys and my mom follow along.
They weren't kidding, the playroom had all kinds of consoles all hooked up to one big tv. Not just a tv, it was a home entertainment system. An XboxOne, a PS4, and a docked Switch were all connected to the tv. There were bean bags for sitting and lounging around, and on a bean bag by the wall was a little girl and an older guy looking at laptop. Must be Amy and Charlie.
"Huh? The president's daughter?" My mom exclaims with visible confusion on her face.
Both of them look at us, and the little girl stood up and offered her hand to my mom.
"Ai Mei, but everyone calls me Amy," She says formally as my mom shakes her hand, "Nice to meet you, Ms.?"
"Victoria Vergara," mom replies, sounding starstruck, "This is my son, Andres."
"But everyone calls me Andrew, or Andy," I lied. No one calls me that. She offered her hand and I shook it too. They were soft and warm and probably the first time I ever held a girl's hand.
She looked the same age as me, although I later found out that she was 12 and in sixth grade and so was Claire.
Mom discussed some stuff with the Raptor Bros., while I was playing Smash Ultimate with the twins and Claire. Amy was with the older kids and grown ups, with a stature that makes her look as mature as them.
We were doing a 4v4 with enemy AI. I haven't had the chance to play with a Switch, but I was able to play the 3DS Smash game, so I was practicing with all the new characters like Inkling and Piranha Plant. Yuel was blitzing around with Little Mac, usually yeeting himself of the side of the stage. Yuri was trying to figure out the command inputs for Ken. Claire was surprisingly good with Zelda, keeping her distance and actually standing a chance against the lvl.5 AI. She later on admitted that Indigo had been visiting her more often and he was helping her get better with the game as well as other stuff.
"Other stuff?" Yuel asked quietly, making me wonder if this another inside joke I wouldn't get.
"Hey," Yuri continued for his twin, "We heard what you and Indigo were talking about the other day. Is everything ok?"
I feel like things are getting personal and I have no idea if I should even be a part of this conversation.
Claire looked surprise for a second, then looked away with a smile. I followed her gaze and realized she was looking at Indigo.
"Everything's fine," She looks down with a smile, then looked back at us and I could tell her smile was sincere, "Well, not fine-fine. Indigo's doing better, I think. And so am I."
"Us kids gotta stick together," Yuel grins, bumping his fist on his chest, "If you're in trouble, you can tell us."
She nods and thanks them, but assures that there was nothing to worry about.
Before we could get back to playing, everyone else comes back to the playroom.
"Guys, I wanted to show you this article a while ago," Amy said and faced her laptop towards all of us.
It was about a new monster sighting, apparently some tourists were attacked in China by what they claim was a "huge cotton-covered bat". The tourists were visiting a province to try and vlog about some kind of bat-based delicacy when the monster showed up from a nearby forest and attacked them.
"How poetic," Amy smirks, "A bat monster attacks people about to eat bat soup."
"Don't bats have, like, rabies or something?" Claire asks.
"Aye, but if ye clean and cook it properly ye should be good," Charlie answers.
Indigo shakes his head at Charlie, "As Irene would say, that's not 100% percent. I'd rather play it safe when it comes to putting things inside me." Char and Xavier then started giggling, with Indigo eventually high five-ing them both for some reason.
Amy then scrolls down the page to show a blurry image taken of the monster. It looked like a big cotton ball with wings.
"There's rumors in reddit that it's a Paolumu," Amy says.
"What in the fruity feck is a Paolumu?" Charlie asks.
"A new monster, either from Monster Hunter World or Generations Ultimate." Amy answers, "No one's sure yet, since both games were initially delayed and now Capcom's saying they'll be releasing both at the same time. MH World for pc and consoles, MH Generations for 3DS and its ultimate version for Switch."
Huh, I wasn't expecting them to release a new game considering what's been happening recently with real monsters and stuff.
"One one hand, it's nice to know a new MH game is coming, and for PC to boot," Indigo begins saying, but he clearly sounds concerned.
"But?" Char asks.
Indigo continues, "But this clearly shows that whatever new monsters they made will also have a chance of spawning in the real world. Heck, the games haven't even released yet and there's already one incident."
It took me a while to understand why they were suddenly worried. A new game's great, but since this means new monsters means there will be new threats. And new threats mean that even experienced hunters will have no idea what these new monsters can do.
Which means we need to play the games as soon as they release, and familiarize ourselves to all the new monsters as soon as possible. Otherwise we're screwed if we have to fight the new monsters in real life.
"Makes no difference to me," Mom says with an encouraging but arrogant tone, "All these monsters are unknown to me, what's a couple of new ones."
"Ms. V's right," Xavier says with a grin, "Regardless of whether we have time to learn the new mons or not, we'll just have to kick their asses when they show up. Remember that all monsters are weak to one thing."
All the members of the group besides me and my mom started snickering, what is this some kind of inside joke?
Still, this weird blended aura of confidence and anxiety that's surrounding us is very interesting. A mixture of people that are both confident of their skills while also afraid of fucking up. This is how the Raptor Brothers truly are.
I can't wait to get to know these people. But I would also like to know of the weakness they are talking about.
So I asked.
"You do the honors Xavier," Indigo nodded to him.
"It's simple," Xavier grins at me, as if he was about to give us super secret classified information. "All of those monsters have one big weakness…"
All of a sudden everyone chimed in, turning the answer into a weird chorus:
"GETTING KILLED."