Wanted to see this done after the Fatalis solo segment, but no one wrote it. So after watching Legends of the Guild the other night and seeing how Aiden and Julius met, I just knew I had to do this. I also haven't played 4U in a long while, much less talked to the ace hunters, so their characterization is more than likely off. I did the best I could, though.
It felt weird to be back in the Old World, Aiden had to admit. But it was nice. Pretty awesome 一gargwasome一 in fact. But he didn't travel back home for a pleasant catch-up visit with his old team. No, they were headed to Shrade. The Castle Shrade, the one in the legends themselves.
What else was in the legends? Just a giant fire-breathing black dragon that burned the entirety of Shrade, a giant country that specialized in fighting large monsters and elder dragons, to the ground in a single night, no poogie.
At least he wouldn't be alone. Once the rest of the commission arrived, taking down old Fatalis would be no big deal. And the Sapphire Star, the fifth fleet's best hunter who's triumphs reminded him of the one caravan hunter that saved him and Reima, would be on the front lines with him.
So, him, the Sapphire Star, and the rest of the hunters in the Commission, against the big bad himself. They had prepped enough, Fatalis was due to arrive in three months, and Dundorma, the guild's headquarters, was their set retreat point just in case. Fatalis might give them trouble, but they got this one!
...or so they all thought.
They had not been expecting Fatalis to appear mere minutes after they arrived, catching everyone off guard, not expecting a large metal gate to be blocking the roaming ballista, two of the binders, and, most importantly, the Dragonator.
The General had called for a retreat, but he knew that there wasn't enough time. One look at the Sapphire Star told Aiden that they knew this, too. So, they, along with the Hunter's palico, stayed behind to buy time.
Fatalis kept transitioning between standing on his hindlegs and being on all fours, breathing fire all the while. Sometimes it was three short balls of fire aimed at one of the three, sometimes a long sweeping breath of fire that Aiden was forced to lay flat on the ground to avoid. Then, there was the coned fire break that had a range that Aiden could swear was longer than a gold crowned Duramboros.
Aiden had to frantically switch between dodging attacks, shooting away at it with his heavy bowguns with some of the same modifications Nadia would use, and making sure that the Star and their palico was in tip-top shape so that they could focus on offense, and quickly crafting more dust of life in a matter of seconds.
It was a complicated, dangerous, and stressful juggle of tasks, but he supposed he managed okay. They even managed to bind Fatalis with the ballista binder.
Then, Fatalis started flying.
The Black Dragon flew high up in the air and turned back down on the battleground, chest glowing bright orange, and fire began to build up in Fatalis' throat.
Aiden remembers one of the first things Julius taught him outside of Timben. Finding a good cover point and how to do it in the middle of combat. He spots a thick slab of metal and points it out to the hunter. He glances back up at Fatalis, who's rearing back, fire practically drooling from between its teeth. For just a moment that seems to play in slow-motion, the air goes still and it's completely silent. Nothing makes a sound and Aiden can't hear himself breathe, only hear his heartbeat once at the rapid pace it's going. The moment passes, and a tsunami of fire sweeps the battlefield.
"Run!" And they do. But the problem is that Fatalis has unleashed its flames, and now they're practically wading through fire. The shelter is only a few feet in front of them, but Aiden hears the flames suddenly grow louder, so he does what he has to do.
With one mighty push, he shoves the hunter the remaining feet into the shelter as the bright orange and yellow fire envelopes him. Seeing the Sapphire Star safe, he shuts his eyes. He wants his last moments to be him saving someone. Wants to see that his efforts aren't in vain.
The fire creates a pressure of wind that knocks him against a wall about a meter away from the shelter.
As the flames begin to slowly torch him, he thinks of a dragon that burned a country to the ground. He thinks about the dragon that burned down Timben as he was off destroying the dam as hunters, true heroes at work, die to the dragon's flames.
He thinks of a smith and a scholar as they protect the small no-name town with their lives.
He thinks of a switch axe and an insect glaive left in the stone as monuments to their sacrifice.
He thinks of the courageous man, of his armor that he didn't recognize the hide of, and his wish to atone for his sins against the Guild. He thinks of the ever-curious girl, of her elegant Rhopessa armor, and her wish to research everything that she finds.
He thinks of Mae and Ravi, and their deaths in their effort to save the valley from a storm of blue flame.
He thinks of two friends, and the reason for the Ace Hunters' formation.
He thinks of two of some of the bravest hunters he knows, and prepares to meet them on the other side. Somehow, he's not scared. He's young, and he hasn't achieved everything he's wanted to. He hadn't returned home to the village that raised him after his parents were killed by monsters, and hasn't shown them how far he's come.
He wants to show Julius, the leader of their team, that he's glad he took a chance and taught him how to hunt. He's glad he has someone like him as a mentor. That he's glad he helped him save Timben even after he screwed up with the Congalala and, subsequently, the Deviljho. That he's glad that they, along with Nadia and Reima, got to fight alongside each other for so long.
He regrets that he never got the chance to tell any of his closest friends how much he cares and appreciates them. And now he never will.
The fire slowly dissipates and it's silent. Something is grabbing by his side and sitting him up. It's gentle, so he slowly opens his eyes and prepares to greet Mae.
The Sapphire Star fusses over him quietly. Aiden blinks. He's still here. His eyes trail to the sky and he sees Fatalis looming over them quietly, appearing as small as a shepherd hare against the red and black clouded sky.
He hates that he can't find the strength to move. If he were anyone else, he would have understood what Fatalis was going to do and gotten them both to safety faster.
"Damn…" he lets out. Even with just that one word, it feels like his breath has been knocked out of him. "Looks like I'll never be like him…" The Star only gives a confused glance before turning to the two figures who arrive on wingdrakes.
It takes him longer than he'd like to admit to recognize both of their handlers. Aiden blames it on the exhaustion. Lea immediately comes to his side, supporting his weight with an arm as she quietly examines his injuries. The Star's handler updates them on the situation. The barrier was melted and blasted away during Fatalis' impromptu recreating of Shrade's demise, giving them access to the rest of the castle's defenses, though the Dragonator was being prepped.
He's tired, and a quick felyne nap sounds great right about now. He's hungry, too, but neither the Meowscular Chef nor the Grammeowster Chef came to the Old World with them. He wonders if Nox knows how to cook and would prepare something for him if they ever met up again…
But first things first, he raises a fist to the Star who only raises theirs in hesitance. They bump fists in celebration of getting the barrier down, then his vision promptly fades to black.
When he eventually comes to, it's to pain. He supposes the adrenaline from before numbed him from all his undoubtedly severe burns. He groans as he shifts slightly but opens his eyes.
He doesn't know where he is. Dundorma, maybe? But wasn't he just at Castle Shrade? And hey, what about Fatalis? And the commission? Did they kill it?
He sits up with a start, grunting through the pain. He needs answers. He needs to know. Did they win? Or did Fatalis burn them all into ashes, like the Lunastra did to Mae and Ravi?
"Aiden!" A new and oh-so-familiar voice says, uncharacteristic concern lacing it.
He turns. Long white hair, blue eyes, and feather earrings. The usual constipated look is missing from his face, which tells Aiden miles about how much he worried him.
"Julius! The others一 are they okay? Did they一"
"They're fine," Julius interrupts, knowing what he's trying to ask before he finishes as always. "You need to rest, you're injured. You can't recover if you're running about."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're not worried about him," A woman's voice says from behind him. Dark Skin, black hair pulled back into a ponytail.
"Nadia. Oh! Reima you're here, too!" Aiden notices, looking past Nadia to their resident lancer, who nods at him. The man looks exactly the same as he had before he left, even his golden hair.
"We heard about your tale rather recently," Reima explains. "To think that you were up against history itself."
"We were mighty shocked when we found out," Nadia agrees. "When they brought you in, I don't think I've ever seen Julius more constipated in my life."
Julius rolls his eyes, "What did you expect from me, Nadia. We haven't seen nor heard from Aiden since he departed with the Fifth Fleet, and then we find out that he got injured fighting Fatalis of all beasts. And how many times must I remind you to quit using that description of me?"
"Mm, not enough. I lost track after ten."
"Let's make a clear eleven, then, shall we?"
"What's that? It's hard to hear you over the sound of your parental angst."
"So, um," Aiden cuts in. "How long was I out for?"
"About two days, give or take," Nadia shrugs. "Surprised it wasn't longer. Mister Worried over there refused to leave your side for even a second." Julius sends a withering glare at her and receives a catty smirk in return.
"You were suffering from an extreme fever," Reima tells him. "You regained consciousness every few hours, spouted some puns, then promptly fell back asleep."
"You told me about some outrageous theory about Kelbi's growing up to be Kirins," Julius huffs, reaching forward to place a bare hand against Aiden's forehead. His hand is pleasantly cold and with the added familiar comfort to it, Aiden can't help but lean into it. "You're still a bit feverish. We'll bring you some food and water. That and some more rest and you should be back in peak condition in the next few days."
Nadia moves to the bed and gives him a strong side hug, "We're glad that you're okay. You really worried all of us."
"Heh, sorry."
"Don't be. You helped save a lot of people," Nadia instructs him. "Reima and I will grab some food for us. You wanna come too, Julius? Or are you gonna stay here and stop brooding?"
"I'll stay here," Julius answers without hesitation. "Someone needs to make sure that he," he gestures sternly. "Doesn't get into any trouble while we're out."
"He can tell us about the battle during our meal," Reima declares.
There are so many things that Aiden wants to tell them all, but he doesn't wanna get all sappy and bring down the mood, so he simplifies it into one. "Thanks, guys."
"Of course!" Reima says. "Hunters must look after each other in their time of need." Aiden isn't sure if he understood what he meant, but the knowing smile leads him to think he does.
Nadia rolls her eyes and sends a gentle smile towards him as she and Reima leave the room they're in. Julius has a rare smile, that Aiden takes a second to recognize the emotion for.
Pride.
Not that he'd ever admit it.
There's a brief silence pause Julius speaks. "Are you okay, Aiden?"
"Well yeah. Whatever medicine was given to me worked won一"
"I was talking about Timben." Aiden falls silent at that. "The flames you faced. They were no doubt stronger than a Lunastra's. I'm worried that you're dwelling too much on what happened there."
Julius knew him a little too well it seemed. And, well, Aiden's never really been great at lying.
"When… when I got caught in that attack, I was reminded of Mae and Ravi and how they both died. But… I wasn't scared. All I thought about was seeing them again and how I wouldn't be able to catch up with you or the others anymore. And that made me sad."
Julius doesn't speak at first, only appraises him with a careful eye. "I suppose that means you've moved on. Your bravery in the face of death is not mistaken for recklessness. You saved the lives of many people by helping slay Fatalis, even if you weren't present for the full battle."
"I thought so, too," Aiden nods. "Man, I don't remember any of the waking up to tell puns part, though. But I was definitely on to something with the Kelbi Kirin theory."
Julius merely sighs fondly and listens as Aiden rambles about the similar body shape between the tiny herbivore and the Elder Dragon with a raised eyebrow, ready to diffute any part of it.
And for now, all is as it should be.
The hardest part about this was finding a name for the Ace Lancer. I honestly considered leaving it out, but wanted consistency so I made one up. Reima means "wise protector" in German, which is fitting since Julius trusts him for his wise battle advice and perfect hunting record. He also uses a lance, hence a protector. Also apparently the Serious Handler's name is Lea.