Grant didn't feel so well. He groaned as he felt his joints pop and ache. As he stood to full height he took in his surroundings. He was in an unknown forest and everywhere he looked all he saw where trees. The Gravios paced around, thinking to himself the most logical outcome. Suddenly a groan snapped him out of thoughts. The voice came from behind a tree. As Grant rounded the tree he noticed Lamar on the wet ground, gritting his teeth. But more importantly what was in the Lagiacrus flippers. Lamar was holding Yuma. The Yian Kut-Ku still hasn't woken up and looked distressed. Lamar tensed as he noticed Grant's shadow approaching, but relaxed when he realized who its was.
"Are you alright?" Grant asked, taking Yuma in his arms and allowing Lamar to sit up.
"Yeth I am, don't worry about me. What about you? Are you ok?" Lamar asked back. Grant nodded. Lamar looked around and his faced morphed into one of concern and confusion.
"Grant, by any chanth do you know where we are?" He asked. Grant sighed and shook his head.
"I'm afraid I don't." Grant replied. Yuma stirred in his arms but didn't wake up yet. Suddenly a low hiss was heard in the dense forest. Grant quickly got into a protective stance in front of Lamar and handed Yuma to him. Then a large figure started to advance towards them.
"Lamar, run. Take Yuma and run away." Grant said, voice shaking. Lamar looked at him with his eyes wide and mouth agape.
"You can't be theriouth, I'm not leaving you." Lamar shot back. Grant shook where he stood but kept his composure.
"We both know you can't attack when not exposed to water." Grant said, never taking his eyes off of the forest. Lamar gave a sob and sighed in defeat.
"Alright, but you better not die." Lamar said as he hurried off as fast as his flippers took him. As Lamar disappeared into the forest that meant Grant and the thing was left. Grant lowered himself and exposed his rock hard back. Suddenly, a Seregios pounced out. Grant screamed but still activated his power and created a cloud of sleep powered around him. The monster didn't see it coming and took a deep breath. The Seregios gave Grant a glare and dozed off to sleep. Grant sighed and quickly left, not sure how long a fully grown and experienced monster would stay asleep. He went in the direction that Lamar went in. Grant just hoped Lamar found someplace safe for him and Yuma. As Grant continued to walk he took in all his surroundings. Grant was naturally good at directions, so that was what he did. After a few minutes of walking he found Lamar huddled under a fallen tree. Grant's heavy footsteps alerted Lamar and he took a peak out. His eyes landed on Grant and he shot out from under the tree and pressed his face into Grant's belly.
"Don't do that again, you hear me." Lamar said, relieved that Grant was ok and managed to find them.
"How is Yuma?" Grant asked. Lamar gave a smile and glanced back at the tree, ducking to look under the tree.
"Come out Yuma, it'th juth Grant." Lamar said. Soon, Yuma's face popped out and his face morphed into a smile. He giggled and ran up to Grant, which the monster hoisted Yuma up and placed him on his back, the youngster laughing and saying how tall he was. Grant glanced back at Lamar.
"I suppose we just keep walking huh?" Grant asked, also realizing that Lamar and him are now going to be playing 'mom and dad' for Yuma for a while. Lamar nodded. So that was that and they walked, walking straight ahead and towards the very faint sounds of water softly hitting the shore. After a bit they came to a beach. Lamar instantly dashed for the water and Yuma as well. He seemed to want to play. After everything that happened to them so far they need a little time to relax and calm down. Playing with Yuma in the water is the perfect form of therapy anyone could have.
Garrett watched as the soft waves crashed into his body as he laid on the beach. Garrett painfully got up and looked around, keeping a level head and going over his options. The Gammoth felt a sharp pain every time he moved, and considering he was a big target, he had got hit the most by the falling rocks. The first thing that came to his head was where his friends were. 'Hope they're safe,' he thought as he trudged along, leaving heavy and loud footsteps. Garrett was worried about everyone and wondered how they were doing. Suddenly a loud screech rang out, the sound of a Khezu. Garrett didn't know how to feel about this, as the screech sounded close, very close. Garrett knew Kade made that noise, being a Khezu and all, but Kade's vocal chords have improved from him using it so much. So when he would screech, he would sound like an adult Khezu. After weighing his options he decided to check it out. Garrett tried to keep his footsteps a quiet as possible, in fear of running into an adult Khezu. Then he finally found the source of the sound. Thankfully it was Kade. But Kade didn't look okay, in fact, Kade had a surprisingly sharp rock impaled in his neck. Garrett gasped, alarming Kade and making him stand up - though wobbly - and hissing. But as soon as Kade realized it was Garrett he relaxed.
"Heh, at first I thought I had alerted a monster with that scream." Kade said with a smirk. Suddenly, he coughed up blood and fell to his knees. Garrett was at his side, propping him up on his leg and examining the wound. It didn't puncture anything major from the looks of it. Kade coughed and tried to stand up again. But Garrett carefully pushed him back.
"Don't get up, I don't want you to agitate the wound." Garrett ordered sternly. Kade smiled and nodded.
"Hey Gar, could yah pull the rock out?" He asked, showing him the rock with another smirk. Goes to show that Kade, even in agonizing pain and near death still craves it all with a smile.
"No, this rock is the only thing keeping you from gushing blood everywhere." Garrett answered. Kade nodded, though very slowly, and tried his best to get comfortable and not disturb the wound. Garrett sighed and watched as Kade winced every now and then in pain, tilting his neck so that the rock rested on the floor and stayed completely still. Garrett needed to find some herbs or at least find Hoodini to help close the wound. But right now, Kade just need to be comfortable and Garrett didn't mind being a pillow.
Magnus woke with a moan and pushed himself to get up. The first thing he noticed was that he was alone. Magnus painfully stood up and inspected his wing, relieved that no further damage was done to it. The Monoblos was starting to panic. He didn't know where he was, he was alone, and didn't know what to do first. Magnus was also worried that what he normally ate, cacti, even grew in this area. Sure he can eat meat, but this meat diet would eventually get him very sick. There were to many trees for it to be a dessert. Out of his friends he wasn't properly trained to hunt by himself just yet, as his wings limited movement and could hurt him further when digging. He tried to stay calm and pick a direction to go and he choose to go east. Magnus really hoped he'd find someone. He just prayed that no one was hurt and everyone was alright. In the back of his mind he knew that wasn't true. That fall was massive and with his hard hide he managed to walk away from that fall, others might not have. As he walked a sharp pain flared up in his wings.
"Darn phantom pain." He said through gritted teeth as he let his wings rest on the ground. Magnus would get flares of pain every now and then, some of them lasting for 10 seconds other times it lasts for 5 minutes. The longest it has ever stayed was for a whole day, which he was miserable that day. Thankfully it only lasted for 30 seconds and he was back in action and continued walking. Not long after he came across a large body of water. He couldn't even see the other side. It almost looked like the ocean. Now Magnus needed rest. He walked for about an hour. He planted himself under a tree to get some shade and camouflage himself with the brown damp dirt. As he drifted off to sleep the last thing he thought about was his missing friends.
"Great, this is just perfect! Where even are we!?" Kellan complained as he looked around, his emotions making his wind aura stronger and louder. Glen was using his body to shield Travon from the young Kushala Daora's raging winds.
"Kellan! You have to calm down! We are alright and I'm sure everyone else is as well!" Glen screamed, trying to make himself heard over the winds. Kellan glanced over at the Glavenus and a shaking Tigrex and sighed. As his winds died down and his head drooped a little. Sympathy spread through Glen's face as he approached the crest fallen elder dragon, Travon not far behind. Glen nudged him reassuringly.
"Don't worry Kellan. I'm sure everyone is fine. WE are fine." Glen said, resting his head on Kellan's shoulders. Travon rested his head on his other shoulder. Kellan got a little choked up.
"I just hope they're alright." He said, nudging into Glen and Travon for comfort. Despite Kellan's metal-like body none of them complained.
"Me to Kellan." Replied Travon. Glen lifted his head and inspected the area they were currently in.
"We won't find anyone just standing around here. We have to look for them. Come on, let us go this way." Glen said, taking charge and directing to go west. Kellan and Travon had no objections and followed Glen's lead. As they walked the three of them started to get worried, as they have yet to run into any of their friends, and this concerned them. Surely, they thought, that the rest of their friends would have been close by. But no. They have been walking a good solid hour and had come up to a beach or some sort and had decided to take a short break. And not once had they run into or see any familiar faces. There hope was starting to dwindle. Kellan couldn't comprehend a world without the others. Glen was unsettled by the fact that he might not be able to see his fellow Flag member again. And Travon was having some dark thoughts of what could have become of his friends, and tried to think positive. It is very hard to have faith when barely any hope has shown itself to them.
Randall, when he woke up, saw Chaos laying next to him. The Chaos Gore Magala didn't seem hurt and just seemed to be knocked out. The Rathalos shakily stood up and looked around. He had not processed what just happened to them. As he flexed his wings he felt a sharp pain in his left wing. Upon closer inspection it seemed the joint of left his wing had popped out of its proper place. But right now waking Chaos up was his main concern. He walked over to Chaos and nudged him.
"Chaos. Hey wake up buddy." Randall said, shaking the monster. A few seconds past and Chaos stirred awake. His eyes dazed but he seemed ok. Randall assisted him in standing up and watched if he reacted painfully to any movements made by him. So far so good. Chaos created a black mist around him and scattered a few scales. As he did this he glanced directly at Randall.
"Randall, is that you? And where are we?" He asked, sensing around and was uneasy at the unfamiliar terrain. Randall breathed out.
"I'm not sure. But all I know is that no one but us is around here and we seem to be in a forest." He explained as best as he could. Chaos just stared at him.
"But there is water near by, a big body of water." Chaos pointed out and glanced to the left. Randall followed his lead and started to trek through the trees. And low and behold there was a big body of saltwater.
"Hey, I see land just ahead of us." Randall said.
"Great! Then we can just fly across." Chaos said but after sensing Randall's reluctance he glanced at him. That was when it came to him. Randall dislocated his wing and was currently grounded. Chaos wasn't going to leave him on this island, but the only solution for both of them to get off the island is really painful to Randall. The monster sighed and gave a small smile.
"I trust you Chaos, you gut this. We have to find the others and we won't be able to do that if we are stranded on this island. I trust you Chaos." Randall said, placing his uninjured wing on Chaos's back. Chaos didn't like the idea of causing pain to a friend, but he had to. Randall positioned himself near a rock so he could lay down after the deed was done to rest. Chaos walked over a grabbed the wing in his claws he gave one last look at Randall before harshly jerking the wing and locking it into place. It had only been a few seconds but after that Randall screamed and curled up, Chaos providing comfort by massaging the wing. Randall soon calmed down and thanked Chaos. He knows you should never exert a fixed wing, but they need to find the others. He stretched it out a few times and did some test flights. As they were about to take off Chaos worriedly glanced at Randall.
"Are you sure you are good to fly so soon?" Chaos said, expressing concern towards his friend. Randall just smiled.
"Of course!" And with that they took off. The flight wasn't to far, only taking 10 minutes. But as they closed in on the bank they saw three figures on the beach. As they got closer they noticed it was Trinity, Cyrus, and Tobias. Tobias seemed to noticed them flying towards them and he smiled.
"Trinity look!" He said, pointing towards the sky and flapping his own wings in excitement. As she looked up she also gave a huge smile and waved at them to land. To them in the air it worried them slightly that Cyrus didn't appear to move. Randall made a sloppy landing but was just glad to not have cramped in the air and plummet into the sea. Chaos and Randall hugged Tobias and Trinity, all of them thankful they found each other. But Chaos and Randall had other concerns. Chaos walked over the Cyrus's body and was relieved that he was breathing, but why he wasn't awake. Before Randall or Chaos could ask a question Trinity blurted out and answer.
"Cyrus had almost drowned and is sleeping to regain his strength. He had told us that a rock pinned him down to the bottom of the lake and as he managed to escape the swim up was to far and he passed out and his body floated to the top. It had taken us 10 minutes to bring him back. And when we did he fell asleep due to exhaustion and we have waited here for him to wake up." Trinity explained, so that any questions they did have, she had answered them. I guess the 4 of them have to wait on Cyrus now to wake up.
Bryan started to wake up. His vision was still focusing but he could still feel that he was laying on top a pile of rocks. The Barioth jumped off and inspected the pile. These rocks were huge and seemed to be some of the rocks that pelted their backs back at the secret hideout. As Bryan scanned the area he noticed they were in a forest and a few meters away from a cave. It was the perfect hideout for a lone young monster. Suddenly the rock pile began to shake, a few rocks tumbling down like a mini avalanche. As Bryan swiftly dodged the rocks the rocks revealed what was under them, or rather, who was under them. As the chaos started to die down Bryan could now clearly see who was under the pile of rocks. It was Arnold. Or course he would have the power to escape from under the rocks. The Akantor looked around and seemed uneasy. Which made sense. He is basically blind and in a strange and unknown place. As to not startle him Bryan crept up slowly and non threatening.
"Hey Arnold. Don't worry it is just me, Bryan. I am right in front of you." He said, placing a comforting hand on Arnold's snout. Arnold instantly relaxed, which is a good sign.
"Is Ulric around?" Arnold asked. Ulric was basically acting as Arnold's eyes and would direct him so he wouldn't hurt himself or others. Bryan sighed.
"I'm afraid not." Bryan said. And it truly hurt his heart as he saw Arnold somewhat deflate. Arnold obviously had Bryan with him, and they were still great friends. But Arnold and Ulric's relationship was interesting. They were always together, just like how Bryan is with Neville or Travon, they were all best friends. So without Ulric's guidance he probably feels lost right now. Now Bryan would have to try his best and fill in as Ulric 2.0. He spotted the cave and knew he would have to direct Arnold inside.
"Alright Arnold, there is a cave nearby and we are going inside for shelter. So bear with me." Bryan said. As Arnold nodded his head in agreement Bryan gave his first command. Then the next, then the next, then the next, and Arnold followed all of it. As Arnold was standing at the threshold of the cave he stopped. At first Bryan was confused so he repeated the command, But Arnold still stood there.
"Do you hear that?" Arnold said, looking over towards the trees. With his eyesight not of the best quality he has amazing hearing, so it wasn't a surprise that he heard something Bryan didn't hear. Before Bryan could investigate he smelled something, something burning. He stood still, as he is an ice monster fire isn't good for him. And Arnold would even know where to go. Suddenly, where Arnold was looking there was smoke coming out from behind the trees. Bryan knew it could be any of his friends of just a random monster looking for a meal. Arnold, despite being blind stayed quiet and still, while Bryan inched forward and next to Arnold. Suddenly eyes appeared from within the cave, red eyes. Bryan nearly had a heart attack but reacted and stood in front of Arnold, he didn't want his defenseless friends get hurt. As Bryan gave a low growl a voice spoke to him.
'Don't worry, it is just me.' Arnold and Bryan instantly knew who it was and relaxed a bit. The eyes got closer and there was Hoodini, who didn't seem to be in any danger.
'I smelled the smoke and felt like I should check it out. So I did and it is just Mark.' Hoodini clarified. As Hoodini directed Arnold inside Bryan went to go check on the fire behind the trees. As he carefully watched from a distance he saw the outline of Mark, just laying there and forming fire around him. Bryan couldn't get in close so he called Hoodini, he easily put out the fire and picked up the flaming monster. The movement alone made Mark stir awake and panic once he noticed where he was, floating in the air. The Molten Tigrex body started to glow and the air started to heat up. Hoodini seemed to have said something to Mark telepathically because he calmed down and his fire aura dropped. Hoodini placed him down and his feet didn't ignite the ground. Suddenly Hoodini looked at Bryan with stern eyes.
'I need you to come inside and help Zigor.' He said and flew inside the cave. Bryan bolted in after him at the mention of his friend followed by Mark. And there he saw Zigor, propped up against Arnold, eyes dazed and lightly glazed over. He looked super tired and looked like he would collapse any second, but that was when he noticed the huge bruise on his head. Bryan lowered his head and got to work, creating a packet of ice and placing it on the bruise. At first Zigor shied away from the cold but later relaxed. Arnold's body heat was soothing and made Zigor relax so much more, sighing contently. Zigor still wasn't allowed to sleep so he stayed up and basked in his friends presence.