There was a knock on the door, but she already knew who it was. Today's the day, huh? she thought as she pulled the door open. Aiden had already visited twice this week, just to check in on the two, and now he was here to pick them up. Cassandra was already clad in her armor (helmet off of course), and had her hammer resting beside the door.
"Are you all set to depart?" he asked as she led him inside.
"I'm all set, just waiting on Isaac." she said, trying to appear confident when she really didn't feel it. She had been dreading this day, actually, and with good reason.
"Has he still not left his room?" Aiden asked, knowing the answer.
Cassandra sighed, crossing her arms, "Only to eat in the middle of the night and go to the bathroom. Other than that, no."
"You never did tell me what happened."
Cassandra took a seat on the couch, motioning for him to follow. "You know how I told you that Isaac's monster is a Teostra, right?" He nodded and she continued, "Well, do you know who Isaac's dad was?"
"I don't believe I do. I don't really pay attention to the lives of other hunter's much, unless I know them personally."
"Isaac's dad was a hunter too. Bulletstorm Ben, that's what people called him. Isaac and I were his biggest fans." She wore a sad smile as she looked back at it all. "Then, his mom got sick, and the bills started to pile up, so he would go hunting more and more, yet he always had time to play with us."
She sighed, feeling the old pangs of grief in her stomach. "One day, he didn't come back. He just...didn't come back." She rubbed her hand on her face, pushing back the feeling to cry, "We found out later that Teostra attacked him on his way back from the hunt. Isaac's never fought one probably because of that."
"I'm sorry...for your loss. But I don't really understand. Shouldn't Isaac want to kill Teostra because of his father?"
"I guess you really don't understand, then. Isaac does want to kill one. But, this is Bulletstorm Ben we're talking about. To kill one, Isaac feels that he has to be better than his dad, and I don't think, with all his confidence, that he feels like that at all." I really don't feel all that confident either she thought, looking down at her hands If I can't find out what's wrong before my fight...
"I guess that makes some sense, in that context. However, Cassy, I'd also like to know how you are doing?"
"I'm...I'm fine. Just fine." she lied, trying not to make eye contact. Should I tell him? Maybe he can help...
"Why are you lying, Cassandra?" he asked quite innocently, like a child would to their parents.
"What? I'm not...I...how..."
"You are quite terrible at it." he pointed out bluntly, making her look away in embarrassment. "What aren't you telling me?"
"Can I join the tea party?" Isaac asked, leaning against the hallway entrance across from them.
They turned to him quickly, surprised by his sudden appearance. First time in 4 days...wait, is that... "You're not wearing your Rathian stuff?" she asked, eyebrow raised.
No longer was he wearing his Rathian armor. Now, he wore a scale mail shirt with a heavy leather chest plate, padded black pants, boots, and a tall leather trench coat. Cassandra recognized the coat as his mother's, except it and his other clothes looked filled to the brim with traps and gadgets.
He shrugged and scratched his head, "This stuff should work a little better. 'Sides, I never really liked green anyway." He sounds so...sad. she thought, noticing the dark circles under his eyes.
Aiden stood up from the couch. "Now that your armor is in order, we should probably get moving. We don't have much time to dally." he said walking towards the door, seemingly forgetting his question to Cassandra, to which she was grateful.
She headed towards the exit as well, stepping right next to her friend. As they stepped onto the road towards their caravan, she turned to Isaac, who was uncharacteristically quiet. "Isaac, are you ok?" she whispered, putting a hand on his shoulder to put herself closer to his ear.
He withdrew from her touch. "No." he replied plainly, looking away from her as he walked, "But I will be in a few hours."
They made it to the arena in relative silence, besides the crowd waiting outside. Wow, there's a ton of people today! Probably because of Aiden, but still... Many people came to their arena fights normally, but that population basically doubled for this fight. She turned from the window of the wagon to Isaac, but stopped before she relayed this information, remembering his condition at the moment. He probably still wants to be alone. Looks like he got some work done while he was in his room, though... She noticed that a lot of the machinery on him looked much more advanced than the ones he normally used. He's really prepared for this one. But, I'm...what if it happens again?
They left the wagon straight to the back of the arena, away from the crowd's sight. As they entered, they were greeted by the arena staff, and led to the prep room. "The first fight today will be Isaac's, so you can go to the stand for now, ." one of the attendants said.
"Oh, alright." She turned to her friend, who was already loading bullets into a magazine. "Good luck, giant. And please be careful."
"Good luck yourself, short stack. You know hunting's my arena of expertise." he joked in return as she and Aiden left the room.
"He is going to be fine, right?" Aiden asked as they walked up the steps to the stand.
"I know he will be." This is his fight to fight. I just have to trust him.
They saw waving in the first row, and they looked over the crowd to see Io, "Hey kids, over here!" They pushed through and took a seat next to the older hunter. As Cassandra leaned forward on the bench, she noticed a distortion over the field. Glass?
"It's to keep any of the fire from entering the stand." Aiden pointed out, noticing her confusion. "Is Cecilia coming?"
"Naw. She's got work at the library to finish, probably preparing to awaken these two." Io answered.
"Ladies and gentlemen, hunters and huntresses! Welcome to another exciting arena match, with me, your host, Chuck Chasley!" announced the arena speaker through the amplifier horn at the top of the stands, over the roar of the crowd. "Joining me is my new co-host, Bert Basley! In just a few minutes, our first hunter of the day, Isaac Mechanos, will face off against the deadly king of fire, the lord of the volcano, the Teostra!"
"Could you tell me a little more about Isaac before the fight, Chuck?" the other announcer, Bert asked.
"Right! For all you newbies to the arena (like you, Bert), Isaac is a regular around these parts. After taking on the title of Mechanical hunter from his mom, Amelia, two years ago, he quickly rose through the hunter ranks to become the youngest G-rank hunter in the region, at only 16. He likes to use arena fights to display new hunting equipment that he's invented. In fact, he just sent up a list of the new ones. I will display them under the bars as the information becomes relevant." And yet the guild won't approve his schematics, even though time and time again he's proven that they are useful and practical, because he doesn't have a blacksmithing license. Cassandra thought bitterly.
"Ok, so I get the Mechanical hunter part, but why is he also called the Suicide sniper?"
"You'll just have to wait and see for that one." Chuck said with a chuckle.
"Was that just a Chuck-le I heard, Chuck?" Isaac's voice echoed through the horn as the hunters gate opened in the arena. Everyone giggled at the terribleness of the pun.
"At least we know his Seltas speaker works." Bert noticed as the crowd hushed for the hunter's entrance. At least he sounds a little better. Must be the adrenaline.
"Here we go, without further ado, the Suicide sniper, Isaac Mechanos!" With a look of determination, Isaac stepped forward towards the center of the arena, surrounded by the roar of the crowd. Cassandra stood up and waved, hollering to get his attention. He glanced over and nodded, flashing his famous grin with a wink that made Cassandra blush for some reason.
Then, the doors opposite to him started to open, and he brought his Agna Magnum to his chest in preparation. "In the other corner, coming in at 1856 cm in length," Chuck started as a figure slowly approached in the shadows of the gate, "weighing in at over 6 tons,"he continued. The monster's head was out first, then it's wings, flapping intimidatingly. "Lord of cinder, the Teostra!" Chuck exclaimed as the beast completely exited the enclosure, walking slowly towards Isaac with a look of malice on it's purple scaled maw. Isaac looked just as fiercely determined, and the two started to circle the other, like two predators fighting for dominance. Oh god! Isaac, please, be careful!
"For your safety, the guild has put up the glass fire shutters around the arena field. Isaac, you have half an hour to defeat the monster. Without further ado, health bars up!" the announcer demanded, displaying Isaac's health, stamina, and debuff bars for the audience to see over the field. "Let's get hunting!"
With that, the great dragon turned quickly to Isaac, stopping in it's tracks. It reared it's head down. It's gonna... Before Cassandra could finish the thought, Isaac aimed and pulled his trigger three times, each shot colliding with the beast's mouth as it turned up to roar. "Glue shot." Isaac said coolly as the monster thrust it's head up, a hard, white substance preventing it from vocalizing.
"Oh right! Item one on the list, glue shot. "Bullet that releases a type of resin that instantly dries on contact with air."" Chuck recited, reading off Isaac's list as the monster clawed at it's face. Fricken A, dude! He only has 17 rounds left, though. Be smart with them! Isaac wouldn't give the monster time to remove the glue. With a tap on the side of the gun, he switched magazines with a new type of ammo. The words "Mag switch" appeared under the health bar as Isaac started sprinting towards the monster.
"You guys wanna see something cool?" Isaac asked breathlessly, his words amplified by the horn as he rushed towards the distracted Teostra. He didn't wait for an answer. He jumped up as he reached the beast, launching into the air. A gasp rang out through the crowd as he landed...right on the monster's face! Immediately, he placed the muzzle of the bow gun on one of the royal purple horns of the beast, and pulled the trigger on automatic. A barrage of bullets impacted the horn, each one embedding itself deep in the bone. The recoil knocked him back off the creature, who bit down so hard in shock that it shattered the glue.
"That was amazing!" Bert exclaimed in awe as Isaac tumbled, finally landing on his feet.
"You ain't seen nothin yet." Isaac retorted, folding his arms and watching his opponent. The Teostra shook it's head, turning to Isaac with a snarl. What is he doing? Why is he just standing still?! The monster took the opportunity to charge, running full speed at Isaac. Isaac stood as still as a statue, a smile on his face as the monster pounced, bearing down on him. It released it's fire aura, opening it's maw to bite down on the cocky morsel, and... Probably no one but Isaac (and maybe Io) expected the explosion. It's entire left horn erupted in a ball of force and flame, blasting the Teostra into the ground beside Isaac, who began to run away from the beast, circling the arena to place small metal objects in seemingly random positions. "Told ya it'd be cool."He's not just trying to kill it. He's trying to dominate it! Cassandra thought in awe of her friend's fight.
"In all my years of spectating, I've never seen such a spectacular display of talent, so early on!" Chuck stated as the beast got back on it's feet, it's left horn completely gone. "In less than 5 minutes, Isaac has removed the Teostra's horn!"
"Heat activated explosives. What a genius tactic." Aiden admired.
"Cocky little bastard, ain't he? I can work with cocky." Io said with a chuckle, folding her arms over her chest.
The monster roared finally, and Isaac kicked into action. Running as fast as he could, he rushed the monster again. With a click, the barrel of the gun folded in half, and Isaac fell back to slide on the ground. The Teostra, who had been running at him as he was it, was very confused as the hunter slid underneath it, unleashing a torrent of bullets to it's undercarriage. It roared in pain, toppling over as Isaac appeared on the other side, jumping quickly to his feet. But those were just practice pellet shots! They aren't even rated to kill Great Jaggi, why the hell did he do that?
"Here, kitty kitty!" Isaac taunted as the monster jumped up, enraged. "Come and get me!" The beast needed no encouragement in that respect. It charged at him, it's flame aura surrounding it as it bounded towards the hunter. Isaac didn't wait for it. He also sprinted, away from the monster who was currently aiming to tear him limb from limb.
"It's like a game of Felyne and mouse here, Chuck." Bert noticed, concentrating on Isaac's movement as the Teostra chased him around the arena.
"You're right about that, Bert. Knowing Isaac, though, he's got a plan." As soon as the announcer finished, Isaac suddenly veered off towards the center of the field, the Teostra following close behind. As Isaac reached a point a little past the middle, he stopped in his tracks and bent his long legs down as far as they could go. As soon as the monster was nearly touching him, he released, and with a metallic click he soared up into the air farther than humanly possible. The crowd gasped as the hunter soared over the Teostra, the words "Pop Boots" hovering in the invention list section of the bars. The Teostra had too much momentum to stop, and it could only watch in awe as Isaac aimed in mid air.
"I don't believe it..." Chuck said in awe of the spectacle.
"Gotcha kitty." he said as he shot his bowgun. The shots didn't hit the monster, however. They sailed past it, impacting the ground in front of the beast. "Slick shot" was what the list said as the Teostra sailed into the liquid pool in front of it. It really couldn't stop moving then, the liquid was much too slippery. It barreled forward, right into a bed of the metal objects Isaac had laid down earlier. With several clicks, the objects whirled to life. Each one popped up a cylinder, which began to rotate, causing long, thread-like blades to fill the air. "Whip wire mines". The Teostra roared in agony as it entered the bed. "Mines that release razor sharp wire upon touch. Good for removing tough scales, and even tougher pests."
What Isaac didn't anticipate, however, was landing, since he never really trained with this version of his "Pop boots". He crashed to the ground, the wind audibly leaving his body. "Oh, what a fall! Will he recover before the Teostra catches up to him?!" Chuck announced in anticipation, Isaac's health bar going down a little. Oh, please just get up Isaac!
The Teostra was out of the trap now, and clearly enraged. It's purple and red scales partially replaced by pink flesh, it's fire aura surrounding it once more, it pounced at the fallen Isaac. It flapped it's wings, hovering in mid air as it reared back it's head once more. "Oh no folks! It's looking bad for our Suicide sniper now! Will he be able to dodge in time, or will he be burnt alive?"
"Neither!" Isaac exclaimed as he whipped out a long, thin, red plate from under his trench coat. As the monster opened it's mouth, the plate expanded into a giant shell that completely covered him. "Volvi-shield." the beast released a jet of flame that engulfed the shield. "Made from the back shell of a Volvidon, it can repel even the hottest of fires." In just four days... He wasn't moping, he was working so hard on all of this! She was very proud of her friend, then.
Underneath the shield, Isaac was ready to leave. Switching his mags with a tap, he kicked his legs up, planting his feet against the shell. "Well, this plan went up in flames real quick, huh?" he said, as the breath subsided. With a click of his heels, the pop boots activated, launching the shield like a missile against the Teostra's face. Using this opportunity, Isaac quickly jumped back onto his feet, and began to run in an arch around the monster. He unleashed a barrage of bullets on the disoriented king, some bouncing off and some embedding themselves inside it's exposed flesh.
"What a beautifully orchestrated tactic! He used the mines to remove the scales so that his bullets could get a grip in the flesh!" Chuck exclaimed excitedly over the the horn, hyping up those in attendance to a proud frenzy. Aiden and Io look impressed, Cassandra noticed.
The Teostra wasn't going to just take the bullets, however. Weakened, but not defeated, it continued to charge at Isaac, who would veer left and right to get good shots at it's sides. Wait, what's that? Cassandra thought, hearing something faint over the horn. It sounds like...whispering. No, it's definitely whispering! Now that she focused on it, she could make out what it said. "79, 80, 81,82..." It's Isaac! What is he counting down for?
"Wait. Everyone hush!" Bert announced suddenly, causing the whole arena to quiet down in confusion.
"95, 96..." Isaac got louder now, stopping his bombardment.
"What is he..." Chuck started as the monster began to hover over the ground.
"Everyone, get down!" Isaac exclaimed suddenly, falling to the ground with his hands over his ears. Immediately, everyone from the crowd dropped down, following suit, as the beast was engulfed in flame.
The explosion cracked the entire glass ceiling, knocking some of the glass shards from the center high into the sky. Luckily, none of the shards landed amongst the audience, who was literally shaken up by the blast. He was counting the seconds till Supernova!
"Is everyone ok?" Bert asked over the horn. The audience wasn't paying attention, waiting in anticipation for the smoke to settle in the dome. As it did, slowly flowing out of the hole and the cracks in the dome, they saw the outcome of the fight.
"This...is incredible." the announcer began in awe of what he saw then, "In less than 15 minutes, using the monster's own Supernova, Isaac Mechanos has successfully hunted the Teostra!" Isaac stood in front of the monster, it's chest still. It was covered in holes, each bullet ripping off chunks of flesh during their respective detonations. He turned to face the crowd, his gun raised over his head in triumph as the crowd roared in applause.
It was Cassandra who first noticed that something was wrong. What's that black stuff on it's mouth? She thought as a strange black mist hovered weakly over it's lips. This observation swept through the crowd, turning applause into whispers of confusion and fear. Noticing this, Isaac turned to see the monster begin to convulse violently, black and red froth pouring out of the sides of it's mouth. "What the hell?" he asked under his breath, switching mags once more as the beast shuffled awkwardly on it's feet, like it was new born.
"What is this? The monster's still alive?!" Chuck asked frantically, not believing what he was seeing.
"Nope. It's dead as a doorknob." Io stated with her arms still folded over her chest.
"It must have been a recent infection as well. The strain already took out the brain inhibitor."
"What the hell are you guys talking about?! If it's dead, then why is it still moving?" Cassandra asked confused as the monster clicked it's bones weirdly and shook.
"Frenzy strain 14- Resurrect. It's a type of parasite that can only affect young, dead dragons." Io explained pensively. "After death, it hatches from it's egg and attaches to the brain stem, and is remotely controlled by the Shagaru that gave it to the victim. It destroys the brain's inhibitor, allowing the monster to move faster, hit harder, and use it's powers much more efficiently without caring if it's muscles rip or tear. Classic power move."
The monster roared with new life, the scream piercing through the air like an arrow. It was the most terrifying roar Cassandra had ever heard. The Teostra immediately released it's flame aura, and pounced at the hunter. He attempted to dodge, veering to the left of the undead beast. Yet, as fast as he was, he was too slow for the monster who could no longer feel tired. With a swipe of it's paw, it slammed the hunter against the wall of the arena. Cassandra gasped as his health bar went down rapidly. She turned to Io angrily, "If you knew it was frenzied why did you let him fight it?"
She merely shrugged, "He said he wanted to fight the monster that killed his dad." she pointed down to the monster, who was walking jankly towards Isaac, who was just starting to get back on his feet. "Look down at that. That's how Bulletstorm died."
"This is an incredible turn of events here folks! The Teostra lives, and it seems to have the upper hand!"
Isaac pulled a mega potion from his pack and started running from the Teostra. As soon as the bottle reached his lips, the monster pounced. It jumped and spun in mid-air, it's tail slamming against his chest. The bottle flew away from him, and he hit the wall once more. This time, as his health continued to dwindle, he stayed on his feet against the stone. He looked up to see the monster rearing back for a flame attack. Run, Isaac! He quickly strafed right as the flame burned into the wall. The Teostra turned slowly, scorching the wall more and closer to him as he ran from the breath attack.
"I'm not done yet!" Isaac exclaimed as he jumped up and kicked against the wall, his pop boots activating as they touched the stone. He launched again into the air, trying to escape the flames. Why isn't he shooting?! Cassandra thought frantically as the monster spread it's tattered wings and pushed down hard. It too flew into the air, and with one flick of it's neck, it headbutted Isaac into the glass ceiling above.
"Isaac!" Cassandra screamed in terror, her best friend cracking the ceiling even more. Blood exploded out of his mouth as his back stuck to the glass from the force, like a fly hitting a trap. He finally fell after a second, his blood falling in a rain below him. The Teostra didn't even wait for him to hit the ground. It covered itself in flames like a contained supernova attack, and dove at him like a bullet. It tackled him in midair, causing him to fly into the ground and skid, his trench coat partially on fire. He flopped on the ground, finally landing against the wall, gun at his side. If Cassandra couldn't see the health bar, which only had just a hair of green left, she would have sworn that he had already died.
"He's had enough already! Fire the sedatives now!" Bert ordered. From the gates, Felynes carrying bowguns appeared and opened fire on the Teostra.
"It's not working, meowster!" the Felynes exclaimed, the syringes doing nothing to stop the Teostra, who was walking slowly towards the fallen hunter.
"The drugs won't work if it's heart's not beating." Io stated, eyes closed in thought.
Cassandra had had enough. She jumped onto the ledge of the arena, holding her hammer up high to smash the glass. As she was about to ram it down, she felt an iron grip on her wrist.
"Don't." Io ordered cooly, holding her hand with an impossibly strong grip. She struggled anyway.
"If I don't do anything, he'll die!"
"Io, I think Cassandra's right on this one." Aiden said, standing with a hand on the hilt of his sword.
"No. Just watch and learn, kids." Io retorted, pointing down at the hunter as he started to laugh weakly, the monster only a couple feet away. His gun, it's smoking on it's own! She thought that the fire caused it to smoke slightly before, yet even now, it released clouds of smog. It crackled in red and black lightning.
"Hey...kitty..." The monster bent it's head down, about to release one more blast of flame. "Don't forget..." Isaac said weakly, the gun pointed up towards the beast. "...to smile..." He pulled the trigger, and the world was engulfed in white light. A beam of pure dragon energy blew out of the muzzle of the gun, tearing through half of the monster's face, through the glass of the ceiling, and past Dundorma itself. The words "Dragon Slayer shot" appeared above the dome as the beast fell, almost half of it's body completely obliterated. "Experimental ammo that releases a concentrated Deviljho-based beam. Extremely effective at killing elder dragons, and as of now, destroying the gun that fired it."
Io let go of Cassandra's hand with a smirk. Isaac, was all she thought as she smashed into the glass and into the arena, the audience still in awe at the fight. She and Aiden ran over to the hunter, who stopped moving shortly after the attack.
"Isaac? Isaac!" she called, holding his shoulders while shaking him slightly. Aiden came up next to her, holding a small yellow rod. He snapped it in half and held it under Isaac's nose. He jolted a little, and turned up sheepishly to Cassandra, who was on the verge of tears.
"That fight...was a little...teos-ty...right?" Isaac joked weakly, gasping on every other word. She pulled him into a hug as the crowd roared, his health bar above them now switched with the words "Mission Cleared!".