Chapter 1: A Bizarre Hunt
Summary: A Nargacuga's clash with a party of Hunters is interrupted by a strange event, dragging the poor creature into a mess he didn't want to be a part of...
Disclaimer: I own none of the properties written into this. All of the Characters and Creatures are property of RoosterTeeth and Capcom.
Read till the end for an announcement.
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Ancient Forest...
The Ancient Forest. A beautiful ecosystem housing some of the most interesting wild life in the New World. Be it the low-life Jagras or the King of the Skies, Rathalos, it is all housed within an Ancient Tree, providing a Hierarchy of creatures all they need in the constant struggle to survive.
It is midday, and the area surrounding the "Tree" is bustling with activity. With the Summer in full swing, herds of herbivores, such as Aptonoth, graze on the fresh green, which cover the landscape like a green blanket. With such surplus of food, even the predators aren't as savage as normal.
Unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end.
"Hurry up, guys! He's right on our tail!" A voice called out, drawing the attention of the residents.
Out from the trees, four hunters ran into the open. The first, a young man in his twenties, was clad in Nargacuga armor, and Wielded a Rathalos Great-Sword. The second, a girl in her late teens, dressed herself in Viper Tobi-Kadachi armor, and carried an elegant Teostra Long Sword. The third, a man in his fourties, dressed in the Silly, but efficient, Pukei-Pukei armor, clutching a Rajang Hammer in his hand. The Fourth, a fit woman in her thirties, dressed in Rathian armor and spinning a pair of Zinogre dual blades.
All of panted as they came to a stop, but they didn't have time to rest as they heard the sound of the vegetation being crushed.
"Just how smart is this thing?" Said the Hammer wielder, flabbergasted.
"Not just smart, but also intelligent." The dual-blades user added. "That shit just doesn't come naturally."
"FOLKS!" The one clad in black barked. "Now's not the time to debate our targets stats, just focus on capturing it!"
A rustling, getting increasingly louder as their target got closer, put everyone on guard as they braced themselves for the worst to come.
After a moment of silence, a black mass of fur and feathers burst forth from the undergrowth and sailed over their heads, causing the herbivores to scatter and panic as it landed, creating a large cloud of dust.
A pair of hell-fire eyes glared at the hunters, and as the dust cleared, the owner was revealed.
...a Nargacuga.
This male had been reported stalking on the border, potentially for weak livestock to prey on, considering it's surprisingly smaller stature and scrawnier build than what was considered normal, earning it the insulting nickname of "Runt".
The leader (AN: He's the sapphire star btw.) chuckled, hoisting his great-sword on his back. "You ready to hit the ground, runt?" he taunted.
The Wyvern, either it understood what he said or just got the context, responded with it's own challenge.
YYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOWWWWWWLLLLGGGGGHHHHH!
"Bring it on."
One massive ass whoopin' later...
"I should NOT have said that..."
It has been half an hour since the fight started, but the damage dealt by the Nargacuga was already extensive.
The girls tag-teamed the wyvern, but even with the spinning strikes of the dual-blades main or the swift, calculated stabs of the long sword, the Nargacuga seemed to parry each strike, utilizing the sharp edges on its wings like swords. The dual ended with the younger of the two disarmed and comically hanging from a tree by her panties (Very humiliating indeed.), while the other got sent to dreamland in a single strike from the predator's whip-like, but nonetheless muscular, tail.
The Hammer wielder, meanwhile, actually managed to stun the Nargacuga. Before the guy could crush the Wyvern's wing, the clever bastard tripped the guy up and knocked him out with his own weapon.
The remaining hunter growled as he rose to his feet, despite his muscle's protests. He looked at the Wyvern, said creature rattling it's tail mockingly. His rage only grew as he swore he spotted a smug smirk on the thing's beak.
Rage fueling his strength, the Fifth Fleet hero ran directly at the monster, who tensed up in preparation to fight. With a heated anger rivaling a Rajang, the Hunter unsheathed the Great-Sword across his back and brought it over the Nargacuga's neck. Said Wyvern parried the blow like the rest, but it came at a cost. The Rathalos materials within the weapon burned the monster slightly, causing it to recoil and let out a small hiss. The hunter smirked at the show of weakness.
Now the fun can really begin.
The next few minutes were spent trading blows. One side would gets some hits in, the other would do the same. It was all broken the Nargacuga sidestepped a downward stab, counterattacking with a sucker punch, knocking the wind out of the hunter and sending him crashing into a wall. Dazed and aching from the fight, the Master Rank rookie could only lay in place as the shadow predator began stalking toward him.
Like usual, fate had other plans.
ROOOAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!
A familiar call from above drew the Nargacuga's attention skyward, and bursting through the canopy came everyone's favorite red-scaled, blue eyed wyvern.
The King of the Skies: Rathalos, had arrived.
The flightless one of the two snarled at the apex, slamming its tail on the ground and cracking it like a whip. His foe responded with his own roar, flames briefly frothing out from his jaws.
With that, all hell broke loose.
The Rathalos was the first to strike, using his talons pick up the smaller predator and drop it to the ground. Midfall, however, the Nargacuga caught the flying wyvern by one of the spikes on his tail club, and brought him down from the air with a surprised shriek. The King of the Skies landed on his back, shaking the earth while the Nargacuga landed and pounced on his opponent, biting at the base of the neck with power jaws. Roaring in pain, the Fire Wyvern kicked with it's back legs, forcing the jaws on his throat to release their grip and forcing the Nargacuga off him.
Flipping in midair, the black Wyvern skidded to a halt, the momentum and weight creating indentions of his claws in the soil. The sky seemed to darken as the Nargacuga's head snapped up, his eyes flashing red with malice.
His opponent, frightened by the display, couldn't recover enough to stop the predator charging at him with unnatural speed, and was met with a white-hot pain across his right brow and snout.
The Nargacuga leapt back to avoid a counterattack, the edge of his wing coated in a new red sheen, and watched as the Rathalos retreated, narrowly missing hitting a branch. With a smug smirk on his beak, the Wyvern turned to face the othe—
...Wait, where the hunter go?
His answer came in the form of a Great-Sword blade slashing into his shoulder from behind, making him shriek in surprise and pain. The hunter, meanwhile, laughed mockingly as he pulled the blade out, flipping in the air and striking a pose when the Nargacuga spun around to meet his eyes, the predator favoring its wounded leg.
"Heh...not so tough now, are ya sour puss?" the hunter said, stabbing into the ground beside him.
His foe's response was a loud shriek and to launch himself at the hunter, his eye's blazing with rage. Time seemed to slow down as the hunter brought Great-Sword up like a shield, ready to tank the blow to come.
But it never came.
Out of nowhere, a glowing rip in Space-Time appeared in the Nargacuga's path, earning a surprised shriek as he flew directly into it. The rip closed just moments later, sending the Wyvern to who-knows-where.
the hunter, stunned and confused, could only sit and stare. What the f**k just happened?!
Skies above Vale...
Shade had experienced many strange things in his time living alone. To fly through a weird-ass hole and find yourself tumbling through the air with a hurt shoulder definitely topped them all, however.
He tried to spread his wings to steady himself into a glide, but the hunter from before had possible cut into the bone, rendering his wings useless.
Though the world around was blur, he could make out the rapidly approaching lights of a settlement. He closed his eyes as he braced for the impact
'This gon' hurt...' Was his last thought before his vision went black.
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That's the first REAL chapter down.
Allow me to clear things up:
1. I'm not aiming for TRUE realism here, so some monsters may be a little more docile than the norm.
2. For the sake of the series, monsters (except maybe a few) will be sized down when they arrive on Remnant. Shade himself is an inch taller than Ruby. More info coming once I can get my DeviantArt on my profile.
3. Monsters will still have that intimidation factor to them.
4. What's canon backstory wise isn't a concern for me, as I don't find any strong continuity in Monster Hunter outside of World and Iceborne.
Anyway, until next time.
Stay tuned...