Author's Note: A heads up to everyone- This chapter did not get to be beta read, so there will probably be a dip in writing quality compared to what you're used to. I hope you'll stick with it regardless, although I understand if people would prefer not to.
The monsters roaming the New World were getting stronger. In the past month, both Izuku and Mina had been pushed back by monster species that had previously been pushovers. Even the smaller monsters like the Kestodon and Jagras of the Ancient Forest had become tougher, their hides growing thicker and claws sharpening.
It made things more dangerous, but it also presented opportunities for aspiring hunters. Along with the newer, tougher monsters, new mineral outcroppings and piles of durable bones had cropped up seemingly overnight. The Smithy had been pleased with the new materials, forging new armor for both Izuku and Mina that looked quite similar to their old gear but was quite a bit tougher. He even managed to reforge Dear Lutemis using a new alloy for the blade and the few remaining Rathian materials. It was only a small improvement to overall damage but it did mean that Izuku could continue to use the weapon on their newest hunt.
They were on the trail of a subspecies of Rathian, one which was apparently pink, which Mina was very excited about. They'd been finding its tracks and discarded scales all over the New World, and had eventually managed to narrow its location to the Coral Highlands.
The Commission was interested in how a monster endemic to the Old World had made its way across the sea, and whether its sudden appearance was related to the recent surge in older and more powerful monsters.
And so Izuku and Mina had been dispatched to search for and capture the Pink Rathian if at all possible. Rather than go by Wingdrake, though, they had opted to tag along with a supply caravan so they could avoid air travel. It took longer, but Izuku knew Mina appreciated skipping the hours suspended in the air from a single rope.
As they emerged into the highlands proper, Izuku couldn't help but let out a small sigh at how beautiful the area was. It really did look like someone had lifted an entire coral reef out of the ocean and dropped it on top of the Great Ravine.
"So, we're going to visit the Troupers first, right?" Mina asked.
"Yeah. Since the Rathian has been nesting here for a while, they've almost certainly seen it around. That will help us narrow down the search area, and we can proceed from there."
"Sounds good. But first…"
Mina darted over to the nearby camp tent and rummaged around for a moment. When she emerged she had the music set that the Troupers had gifted her during their first visit to the Highlands.
"I'm going to see if I can snag another music lesson when we're over there. They said there are plenty more instruments they can teach me once I have the horn figured out."
Izuku nodded in agreement. She really had gotten a lot better at using the horn, though she still seemed to prefer the Plunderblade or the Vigorwasp most of the time.
They made their way down from the camp carefully, sticking to the side path rather than leaping off the ledge at the front like some hunters did. Even if it was a relatively safe drop by this world's standards, Izuku still preferred to avoid throwing himself off of cliffs when he could avoid it. The memory of his arm being yanked out of its socket during the battle with Zorah Magdaros still haunted his dreams from time to time.
From there, they worked their way uphill, keeping their eyes out for any signs of the Pink Rathian as they did so. It was unlikely that they would encounter it so low in the highlands, but it never hurt to be extra cautious.
They didn't find their quarry, but they did encounter a small group of Shamos after a few minutes of walking. Izuku reached for his blade to drive them off, but Mina stopped him before he could pull it out.
"Hang on, I wanna try something.".
She darted forward to stand right before the leading Shamos, then dropped into a sitting position. The Shamos, which had been posturing for a fight, were more than a little taken aback by the sudden behavior and mirrored it instinctively. They seemed even more surprised a moment later when Mina let loose a series of hissing growls that sounded almost exactly like their own tongue to Izuku's ears.
His jaw dropped as he realized that was exactly what was happening. He knew Mina spoke the various dialects of Palico and Grimalkyne instinctively, but he had no idea she could speak to monsters. She was apparently quite persuasive too. After a few moments of growling and gesturing, the largest Shamos nodded at Mina, then shooed the rest of its pack away. Finally, to Izuku's complete surprise, the Shamos bowed slightly and allowed Mina to hop up on its back.
"Behold my meowvelous steed!" she declared triumphantly.
The Shamos reared up at her words, making for quite the image. Izuku clapped appropriately, and Mina seemed to bask in the praise for a moment before she directed the Shamos to bring her over to Izuku's side.
"So, you can talk to monsters now?"
"Yeppers!" Mina chirped. "The tribes have been teaching me for a bit now, and I finally got good enough to try it in the field. Jagras, Shamos and Girros are all close enough that I could double up on learning how to talk to them, which was nice. I'm still paw-ful at talking to Kestodons though."
Izuku smiled at the pun and Mina's enthusiasm. "I'm sure you'll get it eventually. You're too awesome not to."
"Shush you! You're the awesome one!" Mina shot back. At the same time she suddenly found something very interesting on the far side of the area that required her undivided attention.
Izuku had been pleasantly surprised to find that, while Mina was a master of making him blush with unexpected compliments, she was surprisingly weak to having the situation turned back around on her. It was adorable, and Izuku had been doing his best to do it as often as he could. He still wasn't nearly at her level yet, but he was getting better!
Chuckling to himself, he adjusted his weapon slightly and started climbing once more, heading further into the highlands with Mina and her new tailrider trailing slightly behind him.
"Found another one!" Mina called, urging her mount forward with a gentle squeeze of her legs.
The Shamos darted forward until it was standing next to the patch of scales then dipped a little so Mina could hop off its back. She scooped up one of the scales from the small pile and ran it over to Izuku. The scales were too old and brittle to be of any use as materials but they could help the scout flies pick up the monster's scent.
As they waited for the flies to inspect the scale Mina couldn't help but glance around the area they were in. It was probably her favorite location in the Coral Highlands, and not just because it was dominated by pink!
Several massive coral-like trees filled the area, their branches providing plenty of shade for the ground below as well as cover for the airborne life. Raphinos frequented the area, and Mina could hear them squealing at each other while they hunted. Close to the ground, bunches of Elegant Coralbirds darted about through the grass and the jellyfish-like Medusae drifted slowly through the air and added a splash of color.
Basically it was gorgeous and Mina absolutely wished they could spend a bit more time hanging out there. Maybe they could bring a picnic at some point, when there wasn't the threat of it being interrupted by a giant dragon bursting in.
As if summoned by her thoughts, a warbling roar echoed through the Highlands. It sounded like nothing Mina had ever heard before and was followed by the distant boom of several small explosions.
"What the heck was that?" she asked
She craned her head around to see if she could spot the source of the roar, but it had come from further up in the Highlands and well out of sight. It was along the path they were following, though, which meant they were almost certain to run into whatever it was sooner rather than later.
"I have no idea," Izuku said, "That roar didn't sound like any monster I've heard of before, and I don't think the Pink Rathian would have that different of a cry. Or be able to cause explosions."
Mina shivered a little bit at that. Going up against a monster that could create explosions was not something she really wanted to do. It may have been more than a year since she had seen him, but Mina had been close enough to Bakugou to have a healthy respect for the power of explosives. She and Izuku had faced foes that spat fire, poison, ice and water plenty of times, but hadn't yet run into anything that could detonate explosions at will. Still, Mina had faith in her partner/boyfriend, so she was sure they'd be up to whatever challenge presented itself.
"So, keep an eye out for giant exploding monsters. Got it!"
They started towards the vine-covered cliff that would lead them up towards the next area of the Highlands but before they had gone more than a few steps Mina's Shamos began to hiss in alarm. With how agitated it was, and how fast it was hissing, Mina couldn't really get anything out of the sounds except that it was extremely alarmed.
She turned around to see what had agitated it and saw a pink snout emerging from the coral trees. With its coloration, the Pink Rathian had blended into the shrubbery almost perfectly. It was only now that it was emerging that Mina could see the sleek lines of its wings and the deadly barbs of its tail.
She could also see the numerous fresh wounds that covered the Rathian's body. The membrane of its left wing was torn in several places, though it could probably still fly slowly on it. Several patches of scales across its back and sides had cracked and broken off, leaving the leathery hide beneath exposed. Even that looked damaged, the skin an angry red color that didn't look natural.
Despite all the damage, though, the Rathian's eyes still blazed with determination as it sauntered towards the two hunters.
"I think we found the Rathian," Mina said, drawing her weapon.
Izuku did the same, which was a good thing since the Rathian didn't give them any time to prepare. They had barely set their footing before it launched a fireball in their direction. Mina immediately leapt to the side before sprinting towards the monster on all fours.
The clang of the fireball impacting Izuku's shield echoed behind her, but Mina didn't pay it much mind as she sprinted for her target. Between the improved weapon and armor, and their experience fighting Rathians twice before, he could take care of himself at least as well as she could.
She closed the last of the distance with a flying leap and slashed wildly at one of the patches of broken scales. Most of the hits simply glanced off, but a few managed to strike true and further damaged the scales there.
The Rathian made a half-hearted attempt to squash her underfoot, but Mina easily dodged out of the way of that and returned a stab of her own against its toes. This time her blade found a gap in the monster's scales and she saw it flinch slightly from the sudden pain. That flinch cost it dearly as Izuku dashed up and smashed his shield into the Rathian's jaw. He followed it up with a quick slash to the face and another shield slam.
The Rathian reeled under the assault, but not quite enough to keep it from attacking. It drew its neck back then lashed out at Izuku with its poisonous chin barb, forcing him to dodge to the side. Then, with his assault on its face paused, it took the opportunity to leap into the air and ready a tail swing.
Mina backpedaled just out of range of the swing and prepared to attack the monster once it came back down. To her surprise, though, the Rathian twisted in the air mid-swing, and the arc of the attack altered enough to slam into Mina's back.
She flew through the air before crashing into the ground with tremendous force. Her head swam and her vision darkened as she gasped for air. For a solid several seconds she was absolutely sure she was dying. Then, she managed a choking gasp that helped her recover a little.
Her head still swam, and Mina was pretty sure she could taste colors. That tipped her off to what was happening, and she yanked an antidote pellet out of her pack and chewed it as quickly as she could. It was unspeakably bitter, but it did wonders to clear her head as she felt its herb-y healing spread throughout her body.
Thus revived, she scrambled to her feet and took stock of the situation.
Izuku was standing a few feet away, shield raised to block any incoming attacks. The ground around him was scorched, and there were a few patches of burning grass nearby. Apparently the Rathian had tried to launch a couple of fireballs at Mina, but Izuku had protected her like a knight in shining armor. Mina couldn't help but smile as she darted over to stand at his side. He really was the best, wasn't he?
"Are you okay?" he asked once she reached him.
"A bit scraped up, but not enough to slow me down!" she declared. "New armor works perfectly."
"Good," Izuku said, "But be careful. I think this Rathian is a lot more aggressive than the ones we've fought before."
"No, you be careful! If you end up in the medical ward again, I'll drag you to another recovery party. And make you give a speech!"
Izuku flinched at that and adjusted his shield a little bit. He knew she would, too, which was why it was the most effective threat in her arsenal. And hey, if she ever actually had to follow through with her threat it would just help him break out of his shell a little more! She'd definitely noticed he'd become more confident after the parties the Commission had thrown, so she knew it would work.
The Rathian launched itself into the air and raced towards them with its claws extended. Mina was forced to dart to the side to avoid being gored, or worse, grabbed by the talons. The Rathian was focused still on Izuku, however, so she was left to her own devices.
Reaching into her pack, Mina pulled her Cheerhorn out and set it upon the ground. Unlike the Hunting Horns that Mina had seen a few hunters using, the Cheerhorn was too fragile to be used as an actual weapon. It did still confer plenty of combat benefits, though, which made it a pretty worthwhile addition to her arsenal.
She would probably never be as skilled at using it as the Troupers, but Mina had gotten pretty good at playing the instrument in recent weeks. Her tunes were recognizable, if a bit warbling, and she could confer several beneficial effects with them depending on what intentions she put into the song.
She drew in a deep breath, filled her mind with thoughts of strength and power, and began to play. The music wove around them until both she and Izuku began to glow with a gentle red light. They wouldn't be bench-pressing Aptonoths or anything, but it did make them just the tiniest bit stronger and Mina had come to really appreciate how much difference a little extra strength could make.
To Mina's surprise, they weren't the only ones affected by her song. As she stowed her instrument away, the Shamos she had recruited sidled its way up to stand beside her, the same red glow surrounding it. She'd asked the Shamos to tag along with them for convenience and hadn't really expected it to be willing to fight, but there was no mistaking the readiness in its eyes as it regarded her.
It was a surprise, but Mina certainly wasn't going to turn down a bit of extra help. She hopped up on the Shamos's back, drew her blade once more, and kicked at its sides to hurry her mount forward. It let out a hissing battlecry and charged, with Mina shouting her own cry at the same time.
They came up from behind the Rathian, dodging around its wildly swinging tail until they were close enough to strike. The Shamos lunged forward and nipped at the Rathian's heels with its needle-sharp teeth. At the same time Mina took advantage of her mounted position and slashed at the upper parts of the Rathian's thighs.
There were fewer scales there, but the monster's skin wasn't all that much more vulnerable and Mina couldn't do much more than scratch it. The Rathian barely even noticed her attacks either, which was kind of annoying.
Rather than continue, Mina glanced upwards to gauge the Rathian's position, then leapt off of the Shamos's back and onto the Rathian. Her feet slipped on its scales a little bit, but she managed to hook her claws into the gaps between the scales with relative ease.
Now slightly more secure, Mina scrambled the rest of the way up onto the monster's back and along its spine. The large spines there gave her plenty of hand-holds to prevent being bucked off, even if they did make it a little hard to maneuver. Once she was safely positioned right between its wings, Mina yanked her boomerang out and hurled it at the Rathian's right wing. It tore straight through the membrane on its first pass, and left a long gash on its return trip, further reducing any chance of the Rathian taking to the skies without them catching it.
The royal wyvern bucked beneath Mina, catching her off guard and sending her flying off of its back. She twisted in mid-air and landed on her feet with a felyne grace that she was immensely thankful for. She was even more thankful for it a moment later when a shiver in her whiskers had her dodging backwards, barely avoiding a tail smash from the Rathian. It even let her get off a quick slash with her own weapon before the tail was yanked away.
The Rathian's focus switching to Mina gave Izuku an opening, and he charged at its side with his weapon in axe mode. The blow slammed into the monster's back, sending chips of pink scale flying in every direction, then unleashed a blast of energy. The wyvern shrieked loudly enough that Mina winced as the sound grated on her ears, and retreated several steps towards the coral forest behind it.
Mina allowed herself a small moment of celebration at the sight. The fight had gone pretty well so far, way better than these things normally went for her and Izuku. She'd honestly been expecting the Pink Rathian to pull some sort of crazy ability out of its butt, like spreading poison clouds throughout the area or blasting them with hidden spikes out of nowhere. Instead, it was just acting like a normal Rathian, albeit one with a few minor tricks up its sleeve.
"Nice hit Izuku!" Mina called.
He shot her a smile in return, shifting his Charge Blade back into its usual sword and shield mode.
The two of them advanced towards their target, weapons at the ready as they did. They'd seen too many monsters rally from serious injuries to relax until they had the monster trapped and tranquilized.
The Rathian roared at them but didn't move any further forward than it had to, which was a little odd. Mina was used to Rathians defending their territory rather aggressively. One of the green-scaled Rathians would have charged at the hunters already, or at least blasted a couple more fireballs at them. This Pink Rathian, however, seemed to be sticking as close to the coral forest as it could, sort of like it didn't want to leave its territory for too long…
Something about the behavior seemed familiar to Mina, but she couldn't quite parse out why that was. Maybe it was something Izuku had said during his research? He was good at explaining things, and always made sure she understood what he was working on, but Mina still had trouble keeping all the monster facts and information straight in her head.
Just as they were about to get into striking range, the Rathian lobbed another set of fireballs at them before lunging forward without warning. Izuku had only just blocked the fireballs when the pink wyvern's bulk slammed into his shield and sent him stumbling backwards. As he did, he nearly tripped over Mina, forcing her to scramble to get out of his way.
Left a little exposed, Mina had to dance her way through the monster's flailing, ducking under a wing and then scampering forward to avoid being stepped on. She wanted to keep attacking, but there really wasn't a way to do so without taking a blow herself, and trading hits wasn't going to work out in her favor.
There was a flash of movement in the corner of her vision, and Mina threw herself backwards just in time to avoid being impaled by the Rathian's chin spike. She braced herself for another attack, but the monster didn't even slow down as it spun in place. A heartbeat later, Mina heard a crash from behind her as the Rathian's tail slammed into Izuku. He let out a grunt of pain, but it didn't seem like he was incapacitated, so Mina didn't waste time worrying. Instead, she charged towards the monster's head and began laying into it.
"You know," she shouted as she slashed at its neck, "I am very disappointed! Here I was, hoping maybe we could run into a cool monster that looked like me, maybe not have to fight for once. But no, you had to try and eat us for coming near you, and I am so tired of monsters being rude!"
She punctuated her words with a spinning slash that nearly took the Rathian's eye out. Sadly, the monster's reactions were swift enough that it managed to close its eye before she could land her blow, but her attack did manage to open a pretty large cut in the lid that would almost certainly make it difficult to see out of.
The Rathian roared in fury, stumbling backwards and shaking its head wildly from side to side to keep Mina from coming closer.
It was a good effort, but a defense like that wouldn't keep someone as nimble as Mina at bay for long. She readied herself to close the gap and start attacking once more, but was distracted by a sudden and extremely loud roar. It was the same one they had heard earlier, eerily warbling and surprisingly close. She whipped her head towards the source of the cry, her eyes widening as she saw how close it was.
The monster was bizarre looking, with a massively bulbous neck that blended together with it's head, almost looking like a scaly version of a lion's mane. Below its neck were tons and tons of dangling… things. They were probably scales, but they kinda looked like weird pinecones to Mina, and the faint glow to them probably meant something significant. It looked pretty dragon-ish too, with a massive wingspan that blocked out a significant portion of the sky as it zoomed through the sky on a direct crash course towards the Rathian.
Mina kept expecting it to level off, or at least stop before it hit the ground, which was why she was completely caught off guard when the massive monster slammed straight into the ground and plowed towards the Rathian with tremendous force. That force was only multiplied a moment later when the underside of the new monster detonated in an explosion that ruffled Mina's fur even from across the clearing.
It also left zero doubt in her mind as to why the Rathian had been so injured when she and Izuku had come across it. Clearly this explosive monster had been rampaging through the highlands and had come to blows with the pink fire wyvern.
"Mina, are you okay?" Izuku said, rushing to her side to check her over.
"Purr-fectly fine!" she chirped. "But I don't want to get caught by that thing. Do you know what it is?"
Izuku frowned slightly. "I'm not sure. I know there was a team tracking a new monster with explosive scales, but they didn't have a description or any confirmed sightings. They were using 'Bazelgeuse' as a tentative name for it, though."
"Guess the researchers are going to be doubly happy with us after the quest then!" Mina said.
The fanatics in the research division were always excited to have a new species to study and Mina was sure that any data she and Izuku could report would send the biologists into a studying frenzy. It was pretty fun to watch, although Mina preferred to do so at a healthy distance. Her tail had been stepped on by a distracted researcher more than once and she had never been able to wring an apology from the offenders.
Of course, the researchers would be even happier to have an actual specimen to examine. If Mina and Izuku managed to beat the other teams to capture the Bazelgeuse, or at least slay it, they'd definitely earn some kind of bonus for their efforts.
That might be easier said than done, though. Both monsters were really going at it, with the Bazelgeuse repeatedly body slamming the Rathian, while the pink wyvern slashed at its opponent with its claws and spiky tail.
"Kiiiiinda don't wanna get stuck between them, though," Mina said, eyeing the titanic clash apprehensively.
"Definitely not," Izuku said. "Dung pods?"
"Dung pods," Mina agreed.
He took careful aim with his slinger, then let fly with a mini barrage of the disgusting items. The first was slapped out of the air by an errant wing, while the second overshot the monsters to land uselessly on the other side of the clearing. The third, however, hit the Rathian directly in the face, causing the wyvern to rear back in disgust.
The Bazelgeuse, of course, seized the opportunity that the flinch presented to it. It reared backwards for a moment before unleashing a blast of fire from its mouth. The fire didn't travel very far, but it didn't really have to either. While the Bazelgeuse had been ramming the Rathian several of its scales had been dislodged and scattered around the battlefield. The second the fire touched them, the scales lit up like glow sticks before exploding.
"Oh hey!" Mina said, "We found Bakugou's cousin!"
Izuku tried (and failed) to suppress a snort of laughter at her words, which brought a smile to Mina's face. After hearing Izuku's stories about what middle school had been like, she didn't know if she'd ever be able to see their former classmate in the same light. So much of Izuku's lack of self confidence and general timidness had been explained, and the whole thing made her absolutely livid. If the explosive blond had been transported to the New World with them, Mina would have been tempted to claw his face off over everything he had said and done to Izuku.
Sadly, Mina couldn't really do anything to get revenge on Bakugou at the moment. What she could do, though, was make plenty of jokes at his expense while building Izuku's confidence back up, just like she'd already been doing. Maybe that way Izuku would finally stop putting Bakugou up on the weird pedestal he'd constructed for his ex-childhood friend.
That was later, though, when they weren't staring down a pair of pissed-off monsters.
Thankfully, the Rathian seemed to have had enough at that point. It began to limp away from the Bazelgeuse, steps heavy and head hanging low as it went.
The Bazelgeuse, surprisingly, seemed content to let the Rathian retreat. Instead of chasing after the retreating wyvern, it let out a roar of victory before turning towards the two hunters and glaring at them with its beady little eyes. As it did, Mina swallowed involuntarily. There was nothing in that gaze but pure, unadulterated violence. This monster obviously loved to fight, which was why it hadn't even hesitated to jump into their battle with the Rathian. It seemed like the Bakugou comparison had been way more accurate than she realized.
Just like the Rathian before it, the Bazelgeuse didn't give them any time to prepare. It had barely finished roaring before it slammed its head into the ground and began to bulldoze its way towards them.
Mina dropped to all fours and dashed to the side, letting the Bazelgeuse charge straight past her, before turning on it and hurling her boomerang at the monster's tail. It didn't manage to cut through any of the scales there, but it did manage to crack a few, which was more than Mina had been expecting.
At the same time, Izuku charged in and delivered a pair of quick slashes to the monster's side. Each blow crackled with energy, but the Bazelgeuse didn't even flinch from the damage. It spun in place, sending a shower of large, gray scales around the area before trying to body slam Izuku into the ground.
He managed to roll out of the way in time to avoid getting crushed, but not enough to avoid the follow up explosion as the scales beneath the monster detonated and sent Izuku tumbling backwards.
Mina eyed the scales around her warily. The Bazelgeuse had scattered plenty around the area with its charges, though thankfully none of the ones near her showed any signs of suddenly exploding. It probably had something to do with being hit, since they had only exploded after the Bazelgeuse slammed into them. Even still, Mina resolved to give the scales a wide berth wherever possible.
As quickly as she could, she ran towards the Bazelgeuse, intending to leap onto its back just like she had done with the Rathian. Halfway there, though, she caught sight of her Shamos. The determined little lizard looked like it had been caught by one of the Bazelgeuse's explosions, but it was still determined to help them out.
Mina whistled to get its attention, then dashed over to meet it halfway. She hopped onto its back once more, kicking its sides to spur it forward.
"Watch out for the scales!" Mina hissed as the Shamos nearly ran right on top of one.
It didn't explode, thank god, and Mina and the Shamos reached the monster with their various claws and whiskers intact.
The Bazelgeuse was still focused on Izuku, trying to squash him into the ground with everything it had. Every time it came down, a tremor rocked the ground and threatened to send everyone in the area stumbling, a much greater threat than usual thanks to all the scaly mines scattered around the area.
The Shamos was sure footed and swift, though, and it carried Mina right up to the monster and beneath its tail. There were more of the explosive scales there, dangling by a thread and just waiting to be shaken off and scattered around the area. There were even a few on the backs of its legs, too, which would blast Mina if she accidentally clipped them while going for its ankles.
Not that she really had time to go for the ankles. Before Mina could ready a proper attack, the Bazelgeuse charged away from where it had been standing.
Mina saw Izuku roll out of the way of the charge and prepare to counter, but before he could close the distance, the Bazelgeuse turned around and charged him again, head scraping a deep furrow in the ground as it went.
Mina turned her Shamos, heading to intercept the monster, but they were slowed by all the scales in their path. Once again, they had barely reached the monster before it took off in the opposite direction, causing Mina to curse in frustration.
"I can't get close to it!" she shouted.
"I'll try and pin it down!" Izuku called back.
The next time that the Bazelgeuse charged, Izuku met it head on with a swing from his charge blade. It collided directly with the monster's head, the crackling lightning from the blow dancing across its scales and igniting the ones that were dangling beneath its chin.
The Bazelgeuse was literally blasted back several steps, while Izuku was launched in the opposite direction. Sadly, the explosive wyvern didn't seem to have taken much damage from the exchange, which did make sense given that it regularly triggered explosions around its face to attack.
It was a little stunned from the initial blow, though, and Mina would take what she could get at that point. She urged the Shamos forward and hurled herself at the half-stunned monster with all the fury that she could muster. Both her blade and the Shamos's talons skittered off the Bazelgeuse's scales for the first few strikes, but Mina didn't relent, and before long its scales began to chip and crack away.
The Bazelgeuse wasn't content to let them keep chipping away, though. It lashed out with its foot and nearly took Mina's head off. She barely managed to duck out of the way in time, and the Shamos managed to leap back and pull her out of the way before the Bazelgeuse could make a second attempt at squishing them.
They circled around the monster, trying to get behind it, but the Bazelgeuse didn't want to let them out of its sight, and spun in place to track them.
That proved to be a mistake when Izuku suddenly rejoined the battle. He used the Bazelgeuse's distraction to sneak up behind it before stabbing the monster in the leg with his sword. It leapt to the side while trying to smash Izuku with its tail, but the movement was too uncoordinated to have any chance of catching Izuku. He blocked the swing with his shield and gave it a slash for good measure.
Mina grinned at the sight, but her smile faded a moment later when she noticed something missing. The red aura from Mina's song had faded away, leaving Izuku completely unaugmented against the monster, and that just wouldn't do!
Extra strength was helpful, but after seeing Izuku get tossed around by the monster so much already, she chose instead to play a song that would increase their defense and give them a little bit of a better chance at surviving without injury.
The song did its job perfectly, but playing it kept Mina from attacking and allowed the Bazelgeuse to get a little bit of its momentum back. With a mighty leap, it took to the skies and began to fly away.
"Hey!" Mina shouted, "Get back here you great coward!"
For a moment it seemed like it actually understood her. The words had barely finished echoing around the area when the monster spun in the air and began to soar back towards them. Instead of heading towards the ground, though, it flew directly over the two hunter's heads, shaking its body as it went so that a hail of explosive scales rained down on the ground.
Mina barely had time to turn away before the scales began exploding, primed by the impact with the ground. She was flung forwards by a wave of force and heat and she could already smell the distinctive scent of her own singed fur.
She did her best to roll with the impact as she landed, ending up on her feet and only slightly dazed. A moment later, a second series of explosions sounded behind her, and Izuku came crashing down onto his back beside her. He looked as dazed as she felt but he still gave her a small smile as he gazed up at her.
Then his eyes went wide and he lunged forward to wrap her in a tight hug. Less than a second later they were flung through the air again by a third, even larger explosion as the Bazelgeuse body-slammed itself into the ground less than a meter from them.
Mina heard a sharp crack as they landed, one that she dearly hoped came from armor breaking, and not Izuku breaking yet another bone. He did let out a grunt of pain, but it was quiet enough that Mina figured it was just him having the breath driven out of him.
In less trying circumstances, she might have laughed over how ridiculous it was that she could almost diagnose the level of Izuku's injuries just from how loudly he was groaning with pain. As it was, though, she just held on to him as tightly as she could and muttered a silent prayer that he was okay.
He uncurled once they stopped bouncing, letting her crawl out of his embrace and take stock of the area once more. The place was trashed, with huge furrows carved into the ground by the Bazelgeuse's charging and dozens of tiny craters from its scales exploding. There were a bunch of fires burning as well, though only small ones that didn't look like they were at any real risk of spreading.
Nearby, Mina's Shamos companion lay on its back, one leg twitching slightly in the air. She could see its chest moving, which was a relief, but it had obviously been knocked completely out of the fight by the last explosion.
The Bazelgeuse, meanwhile, seemed pretty satisfied with its work. It finished pulling itself up from the largest crater and proclaimed its victory with a massive roar. It tore at Mina's ears, even with her paws clamped firmly over them, and filled her brain with static.
That was fixed a moment later when Mina felt a firm hand on her back. She glanced up to see Izuku standing over her, one hand pressed against his own ear and the other on her back for support. He had a pained smile on his face but he didn't seem much worse for the wear otherwise. His armor had a large crack running along the breastplate, which did answer the question of what she'd heard breaking with the last explosion.
Finally, the Bazelgeuse finished roaring and Mina and Izuku were able to move again. Izuku swiftly rose to his feet and unlimbered his shield while Mina shook herself off and flexed her claws in anticipation.
The Bazelgeuse eyed them with something approaching contempt. They may have managed to damage the monster but they hadn't truly challenged it or even come close to defeating it. Then, before they could make any attacks, the Bazelgeuse lifted into the air once more. Not for a bombing run, but to leave them behind and chase different prey.
"Oh come on!" Mina shouted. She was about to run after it, when Izuku held out his arm to stop her.
"Mina, wait. We can't just go charging after it!"
"I'm not letting it get away!" she declared, placing her paws firmly on her hips. "I know we're here for the Pink Rathian and not the Bazelgeuse, but that thing's too dangerous to just let it wander around. What if it goes after the Troupers, or another hunter? It'd crush them in no time!"
"I know, but that's exactly why we have to be careful too. We got lucky this time, but if we just go in with no plan there's a good chance that it will just crush us."
"Okay," Mina said with a small sigh. She understood Izuku's point, but there was still a part of her that protested letting their opponent just get away like that. "Do you have a plan?"
"A few," Izuku said with a smile. "It got the drop on us this time, but the next time we meet we're going to be the ones controlling the battlefield."
The Tzitzi-Ya-Ku yelped in pain, leaping away from Mina and shaking its injured foot. She, in turn, stuck her tongue out at the monster and waved her sword in its general direction.
The display had the intended effect of making the monster hopping mad. It bounced on the spot a couple of times before hurling itself at Mina with its claws extended. The attack was fast, she'd give the monster that, but Mina was faster. She scampered out of the way while it was still in the air and was well out of reach by the time it landed.
The monster spun around to glare at her, the twin frills on its head unfurling to their full size. Instantly, Mina prepared to turn her face away from the monster to avoid getting blasted with one of the bursts of light it could produce, but that proved unnecessary.
The Tzitzi-Ya-Ku threw back its head and let out an angry roar that echoed through the Highlands. It was answered a moment later by another roar, one that was both warbling and becoming increasingly familiar.
Mina felt a smile tug at her cheeks at the sound of the Bazelgeuse. It looked like Izuku had been 100% correct about their target. It didn't just randomly wander around the New World looking for monsters to fight, it actively hunted for tough opponents and used the roars of various monsters to locate them. The Tzitzi-Ya-Ku might not have been a phenomenally powerful monster, but it seemed like its roar had been enough to attract the bomb-slinging wyvern.
Mina couldn't see it yet, but she had no doubt that the Bazelgeuse was closing in on them at that very moment, so she had to act fast. Their first encounter had taught her that it favored explosive entrances, and she had no desire to repeat the experience.
She and Izuku had moved to the wide open plateau area above the coral forest, since having extra room to maneuver would make it easier to stay out of the way of the Bazelgeuse's various body slams and charge attacks. There were also very few plants on the windswept plateau so there wasn't much chance of anything catching fire. It also had plenty of space to lay traps in, which Mina and Izuku had taken full advantage of. The only remaining piece of their plan that wasn't in place was the Tzitzi-Ya-Ku, and Mina was just about finished with it as well.
Giving the Tzitzi one last tongue waggle, Mina turned on her heels and darted away from the monster, leaving it squawking in fury and chasing after her. The monster was fast, but it kept trying to swipe at her which slowed it down considerably.
It would have been easier to evade the Tzitzi-Ya-Ku if Mina's Shamos friend had been up to joining them, but Mina had sent it away after their last fight. It had tried to protest, but Mina was insistent. She didn't feel like risking a friend's safety, especially with how heavily it had been damaged after the first encounter with the Bazelgeuse.
She had almost reached the edge of the plateau when the Bazelgeuse appeared again, gliding down to land on the plateau with all the gentle grace of a trainwreck. She nearly tripped as tremors from its impact shook the ground, but she somehow managed to keep her feet under her and keep moving at the same time.
She reached the edge with just seconds to spare, and whirled around to face both the Tzitzi-Ya-Ku and the Bazelgeuse. The former had paused its chase and was looking over at the Bazelgeuse with a wide-eyed expression and hunched body language. The latter seemed to be staring at them all contemptuously, and had probably been hoping for a larger opponent than the Tzitzi-Ya-Ku.
Well, if it was a fight it wanted, Mina and Izuku were going to give it one. With a fierce cry, Mina leapt forward and scrambled up the Tzitzi-Ya-Ku's back until she was right behind its head. Before it could start thrashing around, she reached out and grabbed hold of the frills on either side of its head.
The Tzitzi-Ya-Ku shrieked in indignation, but was unable to do anything about the sudden mounting as Mina leapt up and kicked at the back of its head with both feet. The monster lurched to the side and its fins glowed briefly with the barest hint of one of the monster's flashes. Another quick kick produced similar results and, with a final grunt of effort, Mina slammed her back paws home and the Tzitzi-Ya-Ku lit up the area with a brilliant flash.
The Bazelgeuse's eyes might have been tiny compared to its body, but they still worked perfectly and the monster screeched in distress as it was completely blinded.
That was when Izuku leapt into action. He'd been keeping to the far edge of the area, near the vine-covered cliff that led into the upper half of the Highlands while Mina set things up. Now, he surged forward with a furious battle cry and sent a stone from his slinger careening into the Bazelgeuse's face. It didn't do any real damage, but between the impact and the sound, the blinded Bazelgeuse now had a direction to direct its fury in.
It threw itself bodily towards Izuku, crushing everything in its path beneath its enormous bulk. What it couldn't crush, however, was the pitfall trap that Izuku was luring it towards. The Bazelgeuse barreled into it at full speed, its footing suddenly dropping out and trapping it in the pit below.
Mina whooped in delight and launched herself off the top of the Tzitzi-Ya-Ku's head, putting a paw in its eye as she went for good measure. She and Izuku had smacked the bird wyvern around enough that it probably wouldn't want to hop in to fight both them and the Bazelgeuse, but there was no real way to guarantee that. Hopefully the pain in the eyes would help it make the smart choice and run back to its lair.
Mina streaked along the ground as fast as her legs would carry her until she reached the Bazelgeuse's side. Izuku was already laying into it, and she wasted no time doing the same. Now that she could hit its wings, she found that they were surprisingly easy to damage. For some reason she'd been expecting them to be hard as steel, but even her relatively tiny blade was able to cut into the wing membranes.
As hard as they were pounding it, the Bazelgeuse couldn't stay trapped forever. After what felt like far too short a time, the ground beneath Mina's feet began to tremble as the monster struggled to get free.
"Get back!" Izuku commanded
She did as he said and not even a second later the Bazelgeuse ripped its way free of the trap. It rose a small distance in the air, flapped twice to balance itself, then dropped back down to the ground before turning to stare at the two hunters. This time it looked decidedly less contemptuous and a lot angrier. It was also foaming at the mouth, a clear sign that the poison from Izuku's weapon had started to work its magic on the monster.
Mina took the opportunity to chuck her boomerang at its face. The projectile bounced perfectly off the monster's forehead and supremely pissed it off. Without hesitation, the Bazelgeuse reared back and prepared to flatten them with an explosive body slam.
It never even got the chance to finish the attack. Before it could, Izuku shifted his weapon into its axe form and made a wide, sweeping swing at the monster's ankles. Energy from the phials crackled once more, and the small bundle of explosive scales on the back of the wyvern's legs ignited.
Thrown off balance, it toppled to the side with a very un-wyvern-like squeal of surprise and landed heavily on its already damaged wing.
Not wanting to waste a moment, the two hunters leapt into action once more. Mina hacked at the monster's tail, trying to remove as many of the dangling explosive scales as she could, while Izuku smashed several heavy blows into the monster's head and neck that sent chunks of scale flying everywhere.
The Bazelgeuse was hurt and disoriented, but not enough to keep it from defending itself. In a move far more clever than Mina would have expected, the Bazelgeuse twisted its head around to aim down its body and sent a short jet of fire along its stomach. The two hunters were forced to leap backwards to avoid the flames and the half dozen explosions that the fire blast triggered.
Before they could close the gap again, the Bazelgeuse was back on its feet. It spun in place, sending several explosive scales hurtling in their direction. There were, at least, far fewer than before thanks to Mina's efforts, and she and Izuku were able to dodge the spray with room to spare.
Mina was just about to start forward when the sound of horns came from behind her. She craned her neck around to see a small group of Grimalkynes mounted on Shamos racing towards them. Most of the Grimalkynes were waving spears in the air, though a few had their instruments out, marking them as the Troupers of the Coral Highlands.
"For the Troupe!" the lead Trouper called, before grabbing the horn at his side and blowing a long, low note into it.
The others let out a resounding cheer, then joined him until their song filled the entire area, filling Mina's limbs with a strength and sense of purpose. Mina's song from earlier paled in comparison, and not just because she didn't have any accompaniment. This was the difference between a true Trouper and someone who just dipped their paw into it from time to time.
"Are they… here to help us?" Izuku said, like he could barely believe what was happening.
"Course they are!" Mina replied, waving at their surprise backup. "I'm an honorary Troupe member, aren't I? They're not just going to leave us hanging!"
The Troupers proved her right a moment later, guiding their Shamos over to surround and protect the two hunters. It was probably unnecessary, since by Mina's estimation the two of them were tougher than the entire Troupe combined. Still it was very nice of them, and the song they were playing would definitely help them fight.
'Thanks for the assist!' Mina called to the lead Trouper.
'You can thank me by never subjecting me to the atrocity you refer to as 'Music' again!' he replied with a grimace.
'Aw, come on!' Mina said, 'It wasn't that bad'
'After hearing your attempt at "Metallica" I have resolved to never visit your homeland so long as I live. This will not change."
'Snob,' Mina muttered. The Trouper's ears flicked, which probably meant he had heard her, but there was no time to continue their debate.
The Bazelgeuse seemed to have been almost as surprised by the sudden appearance of a half-dozen music playing Grimalkynes as Izuku had been. That surprise hadn't lasted very long, though. As they talked, the Bazelgeuse grew visibly more frustrated with every second until it could bear the stand-off no longer.
It let out another ear piercing roar and charged towards the group. The Troupers scattered, guiding their mounts with a precision that Mina envied, while Mina and Izuku remained in place and waited. When the Bazelgeuse was almost on top of them, Izuku took a slight step forward and whipped out his shield to block the attack. Mina braced herself against his leg and, though they were knocked back several steps, they managed to endure the Bazelgeuse's attack without being crushed underneath it.
Izuku immediately launched a counter attack while Mina made her way around to the monster's side. One of the Troupers was already there, poking at the Bazelgeuse's leg with their spear. Mina joined in as well, using her blade in sweeping strikes that peeled off the thicker scales and let the Trouper get at the unprotected hide beneath.
The damage was starting to add up. Between the poison in its veins and the numerous attackers poking at its sides, tail, and face, the Bazelgeuse was tiring fast. Its tail was drooping, making it even easier for the Troupers to poke at it, and its attacks were slowing down as well.
So, of course, that was when it found its second wind.
With a mighty leap, the Bazelgeuse launched itself up into the air once more, and its scales began to glow all over its body. Heat was radiating out of it, to the point Mina could actually feel it warming her fur even from a distance.
"It's superheating itself!" Izuku called. "Be careful! Its scales will probably be even more explosive from now on!"
He'd barely finished speaking before the Bazelgeuse launched itself forwards and began spraying its scales all over the area. Despite Mina and the Troupers peeling off as many as they could, the explosive wyvern still had plenty of scales to spare, so many that they were colliding with each other and exploding in mid-air and sending waves of rippling force over everyone.
Mina leapt and scrambled around, doing her best to stay out of range of the ridiculous amount of explosions that were going off. Each one caused her teeth to rattle and threatened to send her sprawling which would be a death sentence with everything going on.
She nearly lost her focus when a Trouper went literally flying past her, their eyes comically wide and tail smoking.
Mina didn't even stop to think before she lunged after the tumbling Grimalkyne. With every ounce of speed she possessed, she whipped a paw out and managed to snag the tip of the Trouper's tail. They shrieked in surprise and pain, but the sudden stop prevented them from flying directly into another explosion, so Mina counted it as a win.
It was even harder to maneuver when she was dragging a squirming passenger with her, but Mina dug deep and found the strength to keep going. The Troupers had come to her aid, and she wasn't just going to let them down in their time of need.
Finally, the seemingly endless barrage of explosions stopped, and Mina risked a glance up at the Bazelgeuse. It was hovering in the air almost exactly where it had started from, glaring down at the group of Hunters and Troupers assembled before it.
Izuku had made it out okay. He had his shield raised and a pair of Troupers huddling behind him for shelter. The other three Troupers were spread around the area, looking a little worse for wear but otherwise all right. Their Shamos, on the other hand, had been severely injured. Mina could see one lying next to its rider, scales burned black in several places and one of its legs twisted at an obviously unnatural angle.
The Trouper next to it took one look at the injured Shamos and flipped out. He grabbed his blackened spear, raced towards the Bazlegeuse before anyone could stop him, and hurled it at the flying monster. It was an impressive throw, with the spear sailing upwards and somehow finding a tiny gap in the scales over the left side of the monster's chest. It lodged perfectly in place and drew a roar of pain from the Bazelgeuse.
That was apparently enough for the explosive wyvern. Instead of returning to the ground to fight them, it spun in the air and began to flap away, albeit much more slowly and painfully than before. It dipped out of sight, heading back down into the lower highlands near to where Mina and Izuku had first encountered it.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Mina snarled. "It got all superheated and everything, and now it's just running away? How many times do we have to chase after it?"
"Hopefully only once more," Izuku said, coming to stand next to her. "It looked hurt enough that a couple of tranquilizers will probably knock it out."
"I didn't bring a spare trap. Did you?"
"No," Izuku admitted. "We'll have to loop around to the camp and fetch—"
"Could we fetch it for you?" the lead Trouper asked. He was clutching his left paw to his chest in obvious pain, but still standing as tall as he could as he approached them. "That monster is… too strong for us. We cannot help fight, but I would like to help if I can."
"Thank you, but no," Izuku said. "It's too far to go, and you're injured. I'd prefer to capture the Bazelgeuse if we could, but I don't think it's going to happen. We're going to stop it, here and now."
The Trouper nodded, looking a little relieved not to have to run around on his injured leg. Mina didn't blame him, although it was super nice of him to volunteer like that. But then, he'd always been oddly willing to help them out, even if he griped constantly while doing it.
"Thanks for the offer, though," Mina said. "You're a real trooper!"
No one laughed, which was intensely disappointing, but Mina was used to her puns going over Izuku's head from time to time, so she ignored the slightly awkward silence with relative ease.
"C'mon Izuku. Let's go teach that no-good Bazelgeuse a lesson!"
They barely had to search for the Bazelgeuse. Not because it was causing a ruckus or leaving some great path of destruction, but because it hadn't retreated very far at all. It was almost exactly where they had first encountered it, at the edge of the coral forest. The explosive wyvern was poking around the trees with its snout and clearly hunting for something. Probably the Pink Rathian, since it was sniffing at one of the bloodstains the monster had left behind as it limped away.
Izuku began to creep forward, trying to sneak up on the Bazelgeuse, but before he could even get halfway it whirled around and let out a furious roar. It seemed like even though it had cooled down from its superheated state it hadn't actually calmed down in the slightest.
The moment it was finished with its roar, the Bazelgeuse lowered its head and charged straight for Izuku. He was forced to dive out of the way and let the monster barrel past him, then close the gap to strike at its tail.
That gave Mina the opening she'd been waiting for. She dashed forward and scrambled up Izuku's back before leaping onto the Bazelgeuse. She was trying to reach the monster's neck, to pull the same move she'd used on the Rathian earlier and keep it from laying into Izuku too much.
Unfortunately, she underestimated how slick the Bazelgeuse's scales were. She couldn't get a proper grip on them, even with her claws extended for extra purchase. She did make it almost half way up the monster's back before she was bucked off, but that wasn't much comfort as she went sailing through the air.
She smashed into the ground with a heavy thud, her vision swimming slightly as she crawled back to her feet. Instantly, Izuku was at her side and helping her up. She tried to wave him off but only managed to waggle a paw vaguely in his direction, which only seemed to make him more concerned.
He crouched down in front of her, shield raised to block any incoming attacks. It was just in time, too, since a moment later the shield shook with the force of an explosive scale impacting it and detonating. Izuku slid back a few inches, but his form didn't even waver as he stood firm against the monster.
Mina took a moment to collect herself, giving her body a good shake to speed things up. Then she whipped out her Cheerhorn for a refresh. The Trouper's song had run out at some point, and it was up to her to make sure they weren't facing the Bazelgeuse unaugmented.
Her (hopefully) final song was one of vigor, to keep them as healthy as they could be when facing down a monster as strong and irritating as the Bazelgeuse. Their bodies began to shimmer with the light of her song, and Mina stuffed her horn back into her pack before dashing out from behind Izuku's shield.
It was a mistake she didn't really have time to regret. She didn't even make it ten steps before the Bazelgeuse spun in place and sent a shower of scales toward both Mina and Izuku. He lunged to cover her, and she tried to dance out of the way, but it was too little, too late.
She was blown backwards by the explosions, with Izuku landing next to her a heartbeat later. His armor was cracked in several more places, and his shield was lying several feet away and well out of reach for them both. Mina's blade was missing too, though she had no idea where it had ended up.
The Bazelgeuse bore down on them slowly, both its wounds and its pride keeping it from just jumping on them. It wasn't enough time to really recover, but it was enough for Mina to crawl to her feet and stand over Izuku with her claws extended. It was a futile gesture, but it was all she could muster at the moment.
It was halfway to them when the coral forest began to tremble. Mina had just enough time to turn her head to the trees before the Pink Rathian burst out of them with a furious cry. It slammed into the Bazelgeuse's side and sent the monster toppling to the ground. Not content to leave it at that, the Rathian leapt into the skies before dropping down on the Bazelgeuse with its claws extended.
It was a surprise to be sure, but Mina wasn't going to look a gift Jagras in the mouth. Mustering every bit of strength she could, she charged towards the Bazelgeuse's prone form. Its eyes widened as it saw her coming but with the Rathian still crushing it into the ground there was no way to avoid her.
She clawed at its face with everything she had, avoiding the snapping jaws and small jets of fire that it lobbed her way. With every swipe, the Bazelgeuse's attacks became less accurate as Mina slashed its eyelids. She also made sure to slash at its nostrils, just to make sure its face was really stinging by the end of her assault.
Meanwhile the Pink Rathian kept punting at the Bazelgeuse's side and stomach. Eventually the explosive wyvern managed to get one of its wings free and smack at the Rathian's face, but it was only driven back a few steps and the Rathian didn't stop attacking for long. Before the Bazelgeuse could clamber back to its feet, the Rathian swung its tail around and smashed it into its opponent's chest.
The Bazelgeuse cried out and slid backwards several steps from the force of the blow. Mina sprinted towards it, ready to deal more damage, but before she could reach it the explosive wyvern surged back to its feet and reared up for a body slam.
Mina was directly in its path, with no way to avoid the crushing blow. No way of her own, at least. Seconds before impact, she was hit with a massive burst of wind from the side that sent her tumbling to the side and out of danger.
Mina glanced at her savior to find the Pink Rathian, its eyes full of some unknown emotion. Whatever it was, it was powerful enough that Mina could feel it even in the brief moment where their gazes met before Mina went sailing away and the Bazelgeuse came crashing down.
With Mina gone, the explosive wyvern had twisted the direction of its attack, crashing down on top of the Pink Rathian instead. It buckled under the force of the blow, slamming into the ground in a burst of dust and debris, and stayed down. Mina could see its tail barely twitching behind it, but it didn't look good for the pink royal wyvern.
The Bazelgeuse threw back its head for a victorious roar, but never had the chance to complete it. Before it could, Izuku charged the monster with his axe raised above his head. He might have been a bit slower to recover from the Bazelgeuse's attack than Mina had been, but he was coming in with a vengeance.
He smashed a series of blows into the monster's neck, each one crackling with stored energy. The final blow was even more intense than the first two, with Izuku drawing his weapon close before unleashing a mighty swing that crashed into the Bazelgeuse's skull and sent showers of electricity racing down its body. Tiny explosions lit across it as scales detonated, each one causing the wyvern to jerk slightly to the side.
When it finally came to an end the Bazelgeuse was still standing, but its eyes were completely unfocused. It took a single, stuttering step forward before its head lolled to the side and it collapsed, slain at last.
Mina let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding and let herself flop bonelessly to the ground. Her entire body was aching, but she didn't think anything was broken or bleeding. It was a relief, and she was pretty sure Izuku hadn't been hurt either, which was even better. It had actually been a while since they'd been seriously injured on a hunt and she was happy to see the streak continue.
She heard a set of heavy footsteps approaching a moment before Izuku dropped down beside her with a relieved sigh.
"So," Mina said, "Are mew as tired as I am?"
He groaned at the pun, but Mina could hear the smile in his voice as he replied. "I think I might be. That was one tough fight."
"I'd say it was more annoying than tough," Mina said. "And it's not quite over yet."
She gestured over to the Pink Rathian, which was still lying where it had fallen, right next to the Bazelgeuse. It had barely even twitched when the explosive wyvern had fallen, and showed no signs of getting up now. They could probably have trapped it with ease, but that would only be a waste. It was obvious from a glance that the Rathian wasn't going to be moving from that spot ever again.
"Yeah," Izuku said softly. "We should probably make sure it doesn't suffer."
Mina nodded grimly. It wasn't exactly a happy outcome, but there was really only one thing to be done at this point.
They slowly made their way over to the dying wyvern, eyes peeled for any sudden movements that would indicate a last ditch attempt to take them with it. The monster was watching them carefully, but showed no signs of aggression. If anything, it seemed to accept what was coming in peace.
"Sorry we didn't get to be pink buddies," Mina said, pressing a paw against the Rathian's neck. Its scales were warm to the touch, almost pleasantly so.
It turned to look at her, eyes large and liquid. Then it shifted its head, bumping into her with its snout. Mina tensed, ready to dodge snapping jaws or an attempt at a headbutt. Neither of those came, however. The Rathian just kept bumping her and sniffling softly.
No, not bumping, she realized. The Rathian was pushing her towards the coral forest with what little strength it had left.
"Hey Izuku, hold on a second," Mina called, raising a paw to get his attention.
"What is it?"
"I… I think the Rathian wants me to go somewhere," she replied. "In the forest over there."
His eyebrows rose, confusion and surprise evident on his face. "You can talk to wyverns too?"
"No, but it's trying to push me towards the trees, and… look, let's just check it out, okay?"
He still looked doubtful, but sheathed his blade and followed along after her. The Rathian watched them go without trying to rise or follow after them. Its gaze stayed locked on Mina for as long as it could, though.
The coral forest wasn't very large, so they were able to find what they were looking for with relative ease. Towards the back of the area, tucked up against the rocky cliff edge and covered by a slight overhang was a Rathian-sized nest with a single, large pink and red striped egg sitting at the center of it. A few puddles of lingering purple poison around the nest confirmed that the Rathian had been spending some time there, and had driven off some of the more inquisitive wildlife that had tried to poke the nest.
"She's a mama!" Mina proclaimed. "That's why she was fighting so hard. She must have thought we were trying to steal her egg!"
"Or something already tried," Izuku said. "Remember how beat up she was when we found her? If I had to guess, I'd say the Bazelgeuse fought her earlier. We must have run into her when she was trying to get back to her nest."
"Maybe,' Mina replied, making her way over to the egg.
She braced herself against the shell, feeling the steady warmth coming from within it, then gave an experimental push. It was heavy enough that she wouldn't be able to move it without resorting to rolling it along the ground, which seemed like a bad idea.
"Can I get a little help here?"
"Mina, I don't know if we should take that."
"She wants to see her egg, Izuku. And we did kinda beat her up earlier. Least we can do is take it to her!"
"I guess…"
He had a lot more success with carrying the egg, though he had to walk kinda quietly to manage it. In the end, though, they did manage to get the egg back to the Rathian, and laid it down next to her head. She nuzzled up against the egg, letting out a long, low rumble that almost sounded like a purr to Mina, though that may have just been the Felyne side of her kicking in again.
That was the last thing the Rathian ever did. As Mina and Izuku watched, she laid her head down with a deep sigh and passed on
Mina wiped at her eyes, which were suddenly damp with tears. It was heartrendingly sad to see, but she was glad that they'd managed to give the Rathian some comfort at the end.
Izuku bent his head, murmuring a prayer for the departed monster and Mina joined him. She wasn't really as good with words as he was, but she did her best to make it as deep and heartfelt as she could.
There was a moment of silence after they finished before Mina broke it with the million zenni question.
"Now what?"
"We'll send up a flare, to let the Handler and the others know we finished the mission," Izuku replied. "They can see about sending a team out to deal with the bodies. As for the egg… I guess we should take it back to the main camp. The researchers will probably want to study it for a while, if nothing else."
"Sounds good to me!" Mina said. "Now come on, Izuku! Let's see your best Kulu-Ya-Ku impression!"
Izuku handed her the signal flare, which she quickly fired into the sky, before hefting the egg into his arms once more and turning towards the southern camp. It was the more approachable of the two, since there was actually a path to reach it that didn't involve scaling two sheer, albeit vine-covered, cliffs.
Their progress to the camp was quite slow, though. Not only were they both extremely tired, Mina had to keep a constant eye out for any monsters sneaking up on them. A pack of wild Shamos would think nothing of attacking them, especially with the prospect of a mostly unguarded wyvern egg to tempt them in.
Thankfully it seemed like most of the roving packs had been scared into their dens by the thunderous battle that had just shaken the highlands.
They were just crossing over a large, waterbed-like plant when Izuku suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Everything okay?' Mina asked.
"No, I… Mina I think the egg just moved."
His words were accompanied by a sudden tapping sound coming from the egg. Mina froze in place as well while her brain suddenly started running at hyperspeed. She wasn't exactly an expert in raising animals or anything, but even she knew what that kind of sound from an egg meant. She just had no idea what to do with it.
The decision was taken out of their hands a moment later when the egg suddenly jerked to the side, sliding out of Izuku's grip and landing on the soft bed of the plant beneath them. They'd gotten super lucky that the baby had picked that moment to emerge, otherwise it might have fallen on hard stone.
And it was emerging fast. First cracks ran up and down the shell, quickly followed by a large section of the egg breaking away entirely. A tiny pink snout pushed its way out of the gap, nostrils twitching as it sniffed curiously at the air for the very first time. A moment after that, the snout withdrew and was replaced with a tiny clawed foot that wiggled furiously around without much effect.
"Should… Should we help it?" Izuku said, looking about as confused and nervous as Mina felt.
"I don't know!" she said, a little more forcefully than she intended. "You're the one who's always reading about monsters in your spare time!"
"Those are all about adult monsters and how to hunt them," Izuku countered. "I've never read anything about what to do when an egg is hatching."
"And I've read even less. You're the smart one, you figure it out!"
"But what if we hurt it?"
"It's a baby Rathian. I think it's way more likely that it will accidentally hurt us!"
The decision of what to do was taken out of their hands a moment later when the baby decided it had had enough being in the shell, and literally exploded out of it, sending fragments of shell flying all over the area.
The baby was as pink as its mama, and almost the same shade as Mina's fur, and had brilliant blue eyes. It was tiny, though, and with the sort of big-headed proportions that made Mina just want to coo over it.
It tottered forward on unsteady legs, tiny little wings spread to give it better balance. Even with that, it still nearly fell over after the first step. Seeing that, Mina moved forward to help it prop it up without even thinking about what she was doing.
Its scales were surprisingly soft, and quite warm to the touch just like its mother's had been if not more so and Mina kind of wanted to just keep petting it. It immediately looked up at her and chirped adorably.
"Hey there girl. Aren't you cute?"
The Rathian chirped again, then nuzzled up against Mina's side, almost bowling her over as it did. For a complete newborn, it was surprisingly strong. Then again, that tracked with how strong everything in the New World was. A newborn that couldn't defend itself wouldn't really last long enough to grow to full size if it couldn't defend itself a little.
"Uh, Mina," Izuku said. "I… think it just imprinted on you."
"Imprinted? What's that?"
"It thinks you're its mother," he clarified.
"Oooooh," Mina said, glancing at the Rathian again. It was staring at her curiously, head cocked to the side in a very owl-like manner. "Guess it's a good thing our room lets us have pets, huh?"
"Mina, this isn't a Shepherd Hare or a Blissbill. It's going to grow into a full sized Rathian, and probably quickly too. We can't just keep it in our room."
"Guess they'll have to give us a bigger room then," she declared. "Or one with a big garden attached."
She hadn't planned on it, but her heart was now dead set on keeping the baby Rathian with them. It was so sweet and cute, cuddled up against her and looking between her and Izuku with curiosity. Mina had never had a pet growing up, and definitely not a pet dragon, but there was no way she was going to let it go now. And she could tell Izuku was on the cusp of agreeing with her. It made sense. There was no way someone could resist the adorableness of the little baby Rathian.
Izuku let out a sigh and shook his head. "We'll have to think about it. For now, I guess we'll just try and get back to the camp. I have no idea how we're going to explain this to the Commander…
Mina didn't either, but that was Izuku's job. She had a much more important question on her mind, one that needed to be solved immediately.
What were they going to call the little bundle of joy?
Author's Note: That's the real question, isn't it? Pinky is sort of an obvious choice, but I'm open to suggestions!
This is probably the biggest departure from the story I've made so far, but I'm still quite happy with it, and I hope other people like it too. I'll obviously be taking some liberties to make it fit in with everything else going on, but I'll do my best to make sure those are as realistic/in character as possible. It's also worth noting that, while I will be taking some cues from the game, I haven't actually played any of the MH: Stories games. Please forgive me if things aren't totally accurate though.
This chapter was extremely tough to write because it tapped into my biggest concern for this fic; the combat feeling stale. Bazelguse is an annoying monster to fight for a lot of people, but he's also quite annoying to write for. His moveset is extremely limited, so I had to try and get creative with very little. I hope I did an alright job, but I know there's a good chance the fights in this feel a lot flatter than usual. Hopefully it won't be a trend going forward, and I can keep things somewhat interesting to read.
Thank you all very much for reading, and I hope you have an excellent day!