"Nate, are you sure that this is a good idea?" Alfred said on top of a beowolf.
"Of course I 'm sure, it will be fun" Nate said.
"Nate... I wouldn't classify this under fun" Alfred responded.
There he was, Alfred Caponen, a boy who convinced the headmaster at Hearse Combat School to throw toilet paper all over the hall of the girls dorm rooms, is about to ride for a mile and a half on a beowolf.
"I'm still not sure about this" Lance said looking at his "ride"
"Oh you guys are just a bunch of pansies. It's just like riding a horse" Nate replied.
"Horses aren't trying to rip you to pieces" Alfred reminded.
"Hey Vincent, are you going to get on yours?" Lance asked.
Vincent looked at Lance before taking out a black double bladed axe and quickly decapitated his beowolf. "Don't worry about me, I'll just use my semblance to get there just as quick as you guys" He said putting his axe on his back.
"You got super speed then" Alfred commented.
"Not exactly, you guys go on ahead, I'll catch up" Vincent replied.
"Alright then, 4 Musketeers... Let's ride" Nate exclaimed.
"There were only 3 musketeers you know" Lance corrected.
Nate sighed, "And the moment is ruined. Come on, let's just go" He said disappointed. He hit the back of his beowolf launching it forward.
Alfred and Lance looked at each other with concern before following Nate's example to catch up with him. Little did they know that beowolves have some of the strongest legs known to man and could reach speeds up to 45 miles per hour.
"I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS NATE" Alfred yelled at him as he struggled to stay on his ride.
"YIPPEE" Nate yelled with joy as sped forward like a bullet.
Trees and rocks sped by as the three of them rode through the forest. They rode for what seemed to be an eternity in silence with the occasional yell from Nate and the screams of terror from Lance.
Despite the fact that they were riding their sworn enemies at head splitting speeds. Alfred thought it was quite peaceful. As he rode, he noticed something moving out of the corner of his eye. He looked over to see another beowolf running about 25 yards away. The beowolf looked different from the others one Alfred had seen before. It was a little bit taller and had a brown coat of fur instead the normal black color. Alfred watched the beowolf for a little bit before the beowolf noticed him. It looked back at him and it stared at him back. The two held gazes for a while before the beowolf did something that Alfred thought he never see a Grimm do in his life. It winked at him.
'Did it just... wink at me?' Alfred thought to himself in confusion.
He shook his head and look back to see nothing there. "Hey Lance, you said you were taught by some of the best teachers in the Vale kingdom. Who taught you Grimm studies?" Alfred asked.
"I was taught by Professor Tsunder from Byder University about the Grimm. Why?" Lance replied.
"What different types of Beowolf variations are there?" Alfred asked trying to figure out which one had brown fur.
"Umm, I believe that there are three types of beowolves out there. The packer beowolf, which is the type we normally deal with. They're called packers because they travel in pack of 10-20. Another type is the blood beowolves. They live in forests and have blood red teeth and eyes. The last type is called Alpha beowolves, they are huge and can control other beowolves. Only 4 of these types have been reported and only one has ever been slain." Lance explained.
"Do any of them have brown fur?" Alfred asked. When he said this, Nate immediately stood up straight on his beowolf.
"Brown fur, now that's ridiculous. Where would you come up with something so crazy" Nate said chuckling nervously.
"I...Um... thought I saw a beowolf running near us with brown fur" Alfred replied.
Lance shook his head, "No, I don't believe that there is one with brown fur. Your eyes may have been playing tricks on you"
"Must have" Alfred whispered to himself.
Nate laughed "We're are almost there fellows. Just a couple more minutes and we will be on our way to being true huntsman"
They came to a large clearing in the middle of the forest. There was a large stone structure in the middle of the clearing near a hill, behind it was a stone bridge.
They rode up to the structure and stopped. They got off their beowolves and quickly disposed of them.
Alfred turned around to see Nate sniffling over the dead body of his fallen beowolf, "Nate... are you really crying over the death of you sworn enemy" Alfred asked.
"Yes, he was once my enemy. But through the 30 minutes we have known each other, he became my best friend. I WILL NEVER FORGET HIM"
"What about me?" Vincent said walking towards the group.
"Oh yeah, sorry wolfy you have been replaced." Nate said smiling.
The four walked to the structure which they assumed was the forest temple. They looked around and examined what was inside.
"Chess pieces... What an odd choice" Vincent commented.
"Yeah it is. Well lets grab two and get going" Alfred replied.
Lance and Nate nodded and moved towards the white bishop pieces, they grab the two pieces and walk back to where Alfred and Vincent are standing.
"So I guess this means the four of us are officially a team now huh, same relics, same team" Nate commented.
"I guess so" Alfred replied.
"Well that wasn't too bad, it was pretty easy in fact" Lance said.
Just as he said that, the ground started rumbling. The four looked at each other confused. The floor of the temple started to move revealing an opening. The four of them moved out of the temple and waited outside.
The ground started shaking for a moment, then the sound of chains moving started, like a platform was moving. The four waited in silence as the clacking sounds of the chains got louder and louder.
Clack clack clack
A large box rose from the floor as the platform stopped with a loud click. The four stared in complete silence, not exactly sure what to do next. The front of the box started to rise up like a gate opening the box. When the gate was fully up, it was still pitch black and they couldn't see what was inside of it.
All of a sudden, a blood curling roar rang from the box and a large black blur rushed out of the box at lightning speed. The four of them dived out of the way just in time before they were ran over.
They got up from the attack and looked over at what nearly killed them. It was a huge Boarbatusk the size of an Ursa Major. It had spikes made out of bones along its spine and had 4 large tusks on its face. It was almost completely covered in bone armor except for its eyes, underbelly and its kneecaps.
"Well shit" Alfred said as he stared at his enemy.
The four boys looked at each other for a moment before all of them took out their weapons. This was the first time Alfred saw Nate's and Vincent's weapons so he took a moment to examine them.
Nate had what looked like a machete but when he flicked his wrist the blades split down the middle and folded in to reveal it turned into double barrel shotgun.
Vincent pulled out the axe he had from earlier but he held it out in one hand with the blades toward the Boarbatusk. The black metal in between the blades opened up and an arrow rose up. He aimed and pressed a button on the side of the handle and the arrow went flying towards the Boarbatusk. Another arrow quickly took the last arrows place and Vincent fired again.
'Ok, Nate has a machete/shotgun combo. Vincent had an axe/crossbow combo. Good to know' Alfred thought to himself.
They fired on the Boarbatusk for about a minute but all the bullets and arrows just bounced off the bone armor. When they were the done, the Boarbatusk made a grunting sound that sound almost like a chuckle.
"Is it laughing at us?" Lance asked.
"Now that's just uncalled for" Nate answered.
Alfred quickly turned Tom into sword form before rushing at the Boarbatusk. The Boarbatusk stood still as it waited for Alfred to reach him. Alfred raised his sword and striked at his enemies side but the sword just bounced off. The Boarbatusk swung its head and hit Alfred, causing him to be knocked back to where the others were.
"Well that went great" Lance commented.
"Shut up" Alfred groaned.
Alfred got up and examined his enemy one more time. "That bone armor is too strong for bullets and swords."
"We need to flip it on its back and attack its underside" Vincent said.
"Underside. Got it" Nate said before running towards the Boarbatusk.
"NATE" Lance yelled.
Nate reached the Boarbatusk first and struck at its kneecaps. The Boarbatusk roared in pain before kicking Nate with its hind legs. Nate launched in the air and hit a tree knocking him unconscious.
"GOD DAMN IT NATE" Vincent yelled.
The Boarbatusk started to spin again and launched itself at Alfred, Vincent, and Lance. The three of them started to run away. "We need to split up, it can't follow all of us at once" Lance said before splitting off from the group. Alfred and Vincent looked at each other before going in different direction.
The Boarbatusk stopped moving and looked around as though it was picking a target. It roared in anger as it no longer had an easy target.
Alfred hid behind rock and tried to catch his breath. Vincent ran and hid at the same rock as Alfred.
"So what's the plan?" Vincent asked panting.
"We can't use brute force, the armor is just too strong. We need to trick it somehow." Alfred replied.
"Trick it? By what means? It won't give us enough time to do anything" Vincent said.
They heard a groan from the trees. They looked over the rock and saw Nate get up and rub his head. He looked around to see Lance being chased by the Boarbatusk and Alfred and Vincent hiding.
Nate picked up a rock and took a step forward. He threw the rock at the Boarbatusk. It hit the Boarbatusk on the head. The Boarbatusk roared in anger and turned towards Nate.
"What the hell is he doing?" Alfred asked as he turned toward Vincent.
Vincent smiled, "Trust me, he knows exactly what he's doing"
Alfred looked back at Nate to see him cracking his knuckles and neck. Nate took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes they were shining bright blue like a ghost had possessed Nate.
Nate pointed a finger at the Boarbatusk and a blue light shot out of his finger. Alfred followed the light as it traveled along the battlefield and hit the eyes of the Boarbatusk. The Boarbatusk's eyes matched that of Nate.
The Boarbatusk started looking bewildered. It swung its head rapidly like the air was trying to strangle it. It started to charge at nothing and roared for no reason.
"Has it gone mad?" Alfred asked confused as hell.
"That Nate's semblance at work. He shot a part of his aura into the Boarbatusk's eyes and is now causing it to see things." Vincent explained.
"Illusions huh" Alfred said impressed.
"Something like that. He is probably making it see multiple of us surrounding it. Causing confusion and disorder" Vincent replied.
"And buying us time" Alfred said.
"Better hurry up, I say we have about five minutes before Nate passes out" Vincent said.
Alfred looked around trying to formulate a plan. As he examined to battlefield, he noticed a bridge over by the forest temple. Then a plan came to mind. It was a crazy plan, so crazy... It just might work. He looked over the rock to see Lance on the other side of the field. Lance looked at him and Alfred motioned for him to come join them.
Lance ran over and crouched by Alfred and Vincent. "Hey what the hell is going?" He asked.
"I'll explain later. Look, I think I have a plan to defeat this beast." Alfred said.
"I'm all ears" Vincent said watching Nate.
"You guys ever here that story of Edgar the cow and the Mad King?" Alfred asked.
Both of them shook their heads no.
"It was a bed time story my mom told me. It was about a Cow king named Edgar. Well the bad guy was simply called the Mad King and he wanted to take over the Cow Kingdom. So he went up to Edgar and challenged him to a duel. Well everyone knew that Edgar was the greatest sword wielder in all the kingdom, so Edgar accepted without hesitation." Alfred explained.
"What type of drugs was your mom on to tell you a story about sword wielding cows and a guy named the Mad King?" Lance asked concerned.
"Just let me finish the story. But the Mad king knew this and set up a trap. He secretly dug a hole in the middle of the arena where they were going to duel and covered it with hay. When Edgar charged at the Mad King, he fell through the hole. Edgar was defeated and the Mad King took over." Alfred finished.
"That is the weirdest bedtime story I've ever heard" Vincent commented.
"I never said it was perfect. Look, my point is that we can use the same tactic to defeat our foe. We don't have to kill it, just take it out of the equation." Alfred explained.
"How do you propose we do that?" Vincent asked.
"Well there is a bridge over there. And what are bridges used for?" Alfred asked.
"To cross over something." Lance said as he realized what Alfred was getting at.
"I do recall seeing a ravine over there" Alfred replied.
"So we trick it over the edge and walk away victorious" Vincent said.
"Okay, here's what we do. Vincent, your brother isn't going to last much longer. Your job is to rush over to him as soon as he's done and run to the woods. Lance, when Nate is done, you are going to get the Boarbatusk's attention towards where the two of us are by the edge by unloading as many bullets as possible in it. Once you got his attention, drop your weapon and sprint towards the temple." Alfred said.
"And what will you be doing?" Lance asked as he soaked in the plan.
"I will be on the edge of the cliff. Your armor is going to weigh you down too much and Vincent will be busy taking care of Nate. That leaves me as the only logical choice as bait." Alfred said solemnly.
"That's a big risk" Vincent commented.
"I know, but it's the only shot we got" Alfred said.
They nodded in agreement and got in position. For a moment, none of them breathed. The only sounds were from the boarbatusk and various gunshots and explosions from other huntsman in the area. Then it started.
Nate started to wobble and fell face front on the ground. Vincent rushed to his side as fast as he could to pick him up. As soon as he did that, Lance and Alfred sprinted towards the cliff. Alfred looked back and saw the Boarbatusk's eyes turn back from bright blue to red. It shook its head in anger.
"Lance now!" Alfred yelled.
Lance nodded and pulled out his weapon and put it in minigun form and started firing at the Boarbatusk. The Boarbatusk turned at him and roared again. Lance quickly turned his weapon to lance mode and shoved it in the ground tip first and sprinted towards the temple.
'Time to do my part' Alfred thought to himself as he reached the cliff edge. He took a deep breath before pulling out his weapon and firing at the Boarbatusk. The Boarbatusk started to spin and launched itself at Alfred.
Alfred threw his weapon do the side and got ready. He started taking deep breaths in an attempt to lower his increasing heart rate. He bended his legs as though he was going to jump. 'Why the hell am I doing this? Why did I volunteer for this crap? Never thought I would be launched from a cliff and have to play chicken with an oversized cow in the same day.'
The Boarbatusk roared while spinning which sound like it roaring into a fan.
'Be brave my boy. You have the strength and the confidence that I haven't seen before. Just keep you head up and survive what life throws at you. If you can do that, there is nothing you can't accomplish. And no matter what... I will always love you to the end of time'
A tear threatened to roll down Alfred's cheek. Why the last words his mom ever said to him popped into his head he didn't know but it filled him with confidence.
After that everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The Boarbatusk rolled straight at Alfred and just before it him, Alfred jumped out of the way. Alfred landed on his side with a groan and the Boarbatusk fell into the cliff. Despite the past 5 minutes being a huge clique, Alfred felt like a badass.
Lance walked over to Alfred and helped him up. "You alright?"
"I'm fine" Alfred replied.
The two walked over to the edge of the cliff and looked down, "do you think its dead" Lance asked.
A roar ringed throughout the ravine in anger. "No, but it's not our problem anymore" Alfred replied.
They looked behind them to see Nate and Vincent walking towards them. "That has to be one of the coolest things I've ever seen" Nate commented.
"So we are done then" Vincent asked.
Alfred nodded. "Yeah we are" he answered.
"Great... so how do we get out here because we are kind of stuck in the middle of nowhere" Vincent asked.
Author's note
You guys miss me? I know its been a while (a year, 5 months, and one day to be exact) since I last updated this story. And I'm sure people thought I just gave up and moved on. Truth be told, I kind of did. Life kind of exploded in my face and I found myself in a whirlwind of crap but I found myself slowly working this chapter anyway. Whenever I got down or was having the best day ever, I started to write a paragraph here and there. In a way, this chapter and the next one after it became my way of blowing off steam. It eventually came to the point where I looked forward to working the story again and began to create new scenarios my characters could face and decided it was time to get this done. In my mind, I have created complex characters and a storyline that makes me happy everytime I think of it. All I have to do is write it down and put it up. I hope you guys will be there to help me out and give me suggestions along the way. A lot of things of happened since I stopped, (Volume 2, Monty's unfortunate death god rest his soul, and the start of volume 3) and it is my goal to finish this fanfiction by the end of this school year. I hope to see you guys at the finish line.
-Nightspaz.