Chapter 7 – Parched Paradise
-.-.-.-.-.
"Hey, Swamp Boy."
The Baruragaru's eyes snapped open in a flash of orange. He raised his head from the wooden floor and peered up at the cell door, immediately seeing the Blue Female on the other side. His tongue flicked out with a hiss, tasting her scent, as she opened the door.
"You've been pretty calm these last few days on the airship," she said to him. "Everyone else has been restless. You must be a strong monster to be so unconcerned with all this unfamiliarity."
He gave her a skeptical snort. Strong… maybe he had been, but no longer.
"Come on, out you go," the Blue Female urged. She stepped aside to let him through the door. "We're going to be landing soon, then we have to take you and the other new hybrids to Duruhos. He's going to want to look you over."
"Sssss…" the Baruragaru slurred. His eyes narrowed to slits, suspecting some kind of trap.
"Don't make me come in there and drag you out," she added, her voice taking on a dangerous tone.
Like that did anything to assuage his suspicions. He took a step back into the shadows and flexed his tongue threateningly, making sure his fins were pricked up and adding a low gurgle to the display. There was no way he was going out there if the Blue Female had to resort to threatening him.
She reluctantly spat out a word. "P… Please?"
He didn't know what this 'please' was supposed to mean, so he ignored it. Instead of a hiss, he belted out a howl. "HUWAAAAAAWGH!"
The reply he got didn't come from the Blue Female, though.
"MYAAAAAAGGGRRRR!"
A horrid sound, a mechanical roar that grated on the ears, made both the Baruragaru and the Blue Female flinch at its suddenness. Just then, there was another female standing before him – the one with the glinting tail and covered face, the one that privately filled the Baruragaru with nervousness.
"What's taking so long?" the Covered One growled, swishing that powerful tail impatiently. Whenever it touched the floor, hot sparks flew.
"He's not coming out," the Blue Female complained. Her own tail flicked back and forth in an annoyed manner.
A low snarl vibrated through the confines of the artificial chamber, and the Covered One advanced. The Baruragaru leapt back and crouched, unleashing his worst howl in hopes it would deter her. If only he hadn't run out of ammo from the Red Poison-Spitter yesterday…
"He doesn't have a choice," she growled, and raised her tailblade.
There was a *crack*, a burst of pain that shot through the Baruragaru's head, and all-consuming darkness.
-.-.-.-.-.
The everlasting twin spires of Loc Lac City were visible on the horizon when Cindy and Keyren emerged from the cargo hold. The latter was dragging the unconscious form of the strange hybrid behind her.
Seeing the boy's condition and jumping to the right conclusion, Melody scowled at Cindy. "You didn't have to hit him so hard."
"No one disobeys me," the Dinovaldo-woman snarled.
Keyren cast her gaze over at the Qurupeco-girl, as well as Gekula, silently asking them if they had everything under control. Naturally, Gekula missed it, but Melody caught her friend's look and pointed over to the other side of the airship's deck.
Standing out in the open was the Deviljho-girl that she had recently let out, on account of her learning how to speak the human language. Her arms and legs were bulky and covered with scales, while her feet and hands were clawed. She wore a bright green T-shirt and shorts – the latter of which had a large hole in the back to accommodate a huge pickle-shaped tail.
"Dissidia?" she asked. "Did you do what I asked?"
"Yes," the recently-named Dissidia grunted. "Dissidia keep watch on others. Others no make trouble. They be quiet."
The 'others' she spoke of were right behind her. The first was a Chameleos-boy, with a long and pointy nose as well as a pair of crescent-shaped wings. His choice of clothing was a ludicrous purple cloak decorated with yellow stars. When he caught Keyren looking his way, he flashed her a goofy grin, showing viper-like fangs.
The second was far less friendly-looking. She was a regular, brown-skinned human woman from the waist up, but a Najarala from the waist down. Her long green body was coiled in a neat circle, and the brightly-colored crown of plates on her head clattered every time they moved. Right now, she sent a vibration through her plates, causing them to produce a resonating rattle.
"They no make trouble," Dissidia repeated. "Dissidia pound them if they do. That what Keyren said."
Keyren gave her a nod and a smile. Fortunately for all of them, the Deviljho-girl had turned out to be kind-hearted and sensitive – even if she was also pretty dumb. Melody loved her, and the two had become best friends in less time than it took to skin a Jaggi.
All of a sudden, there was a harsh hiss and a flurry of movement. The unfamiliar hybrid had, evidently, recovered from the thrashing Cindy had given him and was now fully awake. He jumped to his feet and scurried to a spot where the airship's balloon cast a shadow over the deck, hissing and rubbing his face as if he had been burnt by the sun.
The sun… A realization hit Keyren like a thunderbolt.
"Of course," she said. "We found you in a cave in the Swamp, didn't we? Of course you wouldn't like the sunlight."
Swamp Boy simply stared at her, blinking. His expression couldn't be read.
"Can't say I enjoy the light, myself," Gekula grumbled. Currently, he was sniffing his arms for any sign of a burn.
Suddenly, Cindy broke through the chatter by pounding her tailblade on the ground for attention. She ordered, "Prepare the airship for landing. We're nearing the border of Loc Lac City."
A shiver of anticipation ran down Keyren's spine, and electricity crackled across her back. Seeing the twin towers that soared high above the desert city always gave her such a thrill. She noticed that Gekula and Melody appeared excited as well. They were as relieved as she was to be back home after their long scouting mission.
"Gekula, help me land the airship," she told the Khezu-boy. "Melody and Dissidia, you keep watch over the hybrids. Don't go anywhere, Swamp Boy."
Catching the nickname, the Baruragaru's fins pricked up alertly, and he gazed expectantly at the Blue Female. She repeated her statement – "Don't go anywhere" – and headed to another part of the 'airship' with the Pale One following close behind. Good. The farther away that blind creature was from him, the better.
Then he looked to his right and instantly met the unforgiving glare of the Covered One. Torn between fight and flight, the Baruragaru crouched into his defensive posture and warily backed away, extending his tongue in case she attacked him.
But the Covered One didn't make a move. "No inconveniences from you," she growled. "Give me a reason to, and I'll smack you to sleep again."
"Sssss…" he replied.
She grunted with something like disgust, then turned and walked away with a swish of her tailblade.
Now that he was safe, the Baruragaru turned his attention to the rest of his surroundings and began to investigate – but made sure to stay out of the light. Being exposed to the sky's Bright Circle seared his eyes like fire. So he lowered himself onto all fours as best as he could and let his tongue hover in front of him, tasting everything that was nearby.
All sorts of new information started to stream in through the Baruragaru's taste buds. The floor carried a tree-like scent, but also faint traces of Two-Legs. Could it have been those weaklings that had made this complex contraption? It boggled his mind. Furthermore, he could taste the individual scents of three new 'hybrids' around him – the Legless Female smelled of earth and blood, the Big Female had an overpowering scent of raw meat (had she eaten recently?), and the Purple Male carried faint traces of poison.
For those reasons, he decided that they were threats and to stay far away from them. He'd stick close to the Blue Female from now on.
It was very windy on the 'airship'. The Baruragaru closely examined the fence that was built along the edges of the contraption, and came to the conclusion that it was designed so that passengers wouldn't accidentally fall off. When he hazarded a peek over the edge of the fence, though, he got the shock of his life – the ground was a long way down!
Feeling dizzy, the Baruragaru sat down on his posterior, a position that felt natural in this absurd new body of his. Why were they so high in the air? Wherever they were going, wouldn't it have been safer to walk? Was flying really necessary?
A rattle brought him out of his admittedly cowardly thoughts. The Legless Female was nearby, and was lying flat on the deck with her hands planted solidly on the wood, holding up her torso. She, too, seemed unnerved by how high up they were… and when she shared a glance with him, and he saw the fear in her eyes, he felt like he had just been stabbed in the chest.
Wait, was that what pity felt like?
Disgusted with himself, the Baruragaru gurgled hostilely at the Legless Female. What are you looking at?
She glared in response and rattled her plates loud enough to make his fins quiver. I am queen of my domain. Don't trifle with me, worm.
The temptation to make her pay for her insolence was strong, but the Baruragaru resisted the urge. Undoubtedly, the Covered One was watching him to see if he would cause any 'inconveniences' – and starting a fight miles above the ground probably wasn't a wise thing to do, anyway.
Unwilling to accidentally cause any more confrontations, the Baruragaru flicked his tail dismissively at the Legless Female and wandered to another part of the airship. He intended to stay as still as possible, and as far away from the edge as possible, until they landed.
-.-.-.-.-.
The city of Loc Lac had a long and glorious history as the largest and most prosperous settlement on the Great Continent.
It was an immense artificial mountain range on the edge of the Great Desert, an island floating in the sea of sand. For thousands of years, it was the center of trade in the Moga region, shipping its goods to places all over the continent. During the Human-Monster War, it was the base of operations for an enormous Hunter's Guild, providing jobs for hundreds of Guild officials and hunters alike. Not only that, but the scales and shells of monsters brought back by those hunters fueled their own industry, a thriving market of materials made from harvested monster parts. Living in Loc Lac had its risks, though – the constant danger of sandstorms, the relative lack of water, the extreme climate, and the occasional risk of attack from Jhen Mohrans, which were some of the most enormous elder dragons alive. Despite that, Loc Lac was the Great Continent's greatest success story.
Up until a couple of years ago.
It happened so fast. One day, it was business as usual for the bustling metropolis – the next, the sun was rising over a ghost town. There were no survivors to tell Loc Lac's final tale. No one knew the true nature of the disaster that had struck, only that the legacy of Loc Lac City had suddenly come to an end.
The Hunter's Guilds across the Great Continent clamored to know what had happened. They sent their hordes of their very best researchers to investigate, to expose the cause of the disaster and to see if Loc Lac could be repopulated. But no answers were raised, only another question – why weren't any of the researchers coming back?
After a full two months of having their people apparently disappear off the face of the planet, the Hunter's Guilds agreed to finally leave Loc Lac City alone, to let it stand alone in the Great Desert as a memorial to all those that perished in the calamity.
And so, the hybrids found the perfect hideout to conceal themselves from the humans.
The first group to come to Loc Lac City was led by an old Duramboros-man named Duruhos. Along the migratory trail of the Goddess of the Storm, Amatsumagatsuchi, they came across the immense ruined city by following the seasonal rains she bestowed upon the earth. Deciding that Loc Lac was the best possible location to keep his fellow hybrids in one place, and away from the humans, Duruhos and his band settled down to make Loc Lac their permanent home.
From that point forward, a new, thriving community had been born – albeit one on a much smaller scale than the last. Under the guidance of the Elite, the hybrids repaired the sandships and airships as a means of transportation to and from their isolated home. They made frequent trips to nearby sub-regions for food and water, and less frequent trips to sub-regions farther across the continent, looking for other hybrids to hide away with them. Duruhos and the Elite knew that it was best to be patient before risking discovery by the humans.
Keyren was explaining all of this to the Baruragaru as they prepared to land outside the city limits. "See, Swamp Boy, that's why we came to find you. It's better to hide out here than make contact with the humans, at least for now. They're unpredictable creatures."
Oh, the Baruragaru could relate to that. His leg still hurt a little in the spot where the Two-Legs had injured it. Unpredictable, indeed… and dangerous, too.
What was a city, though? He took one look at the towering, artificial spires rising up out of the ground and shuddered at their unfamiliarity. The whole complex looked like a much, much bigger version of one of the Two-Legs' roosts back in his original home.
Dissidia, though, was befuddled. "Why go outside city for food?" she wondered. "Outside dangerous. Outside home to big monsters. Big monsters crush you like twigs under foot."
Suddenly, the rough and unexpected voice of Cindy cut Keyren off before she could answer the Deviljho-girl's question. "That story will have to wait. We'll be landing in a few minutes. Get everyone in order, Keyren – we're going to meet with the other Elites, then take the newcomers to Duruhos for inspection. And if you can't handle them if they start acting up, I'll deal with them myself."
"Excuse me?!" the Lagiacrus-girl demanded hotly, putting her hands on her bare hips and scowling. But Cindy ignored her.
To the Baruragaru's relief, the airship started to descend toward the ground, near a spot where the desert sand met the paved roads of the city outskirts. A wave of relief passed over the group when the airship touched down – even Keyren's anger diminished when she felt the vehicle come to a halt. For some, they were happy to be on solid earth again, but for everyone else, they were just happy to be home.
There was no time for reminiscing, though. Standing in front of the group as they climbed off of the airship, here to welcome the long-due scouts, were three other monster-people – easily the oddest that any of them had ever seen. To Keyren and the other Loc Lac hideaways, they were known as the Elites, the rest of the gang that Cindy belonged to.
First was Sue, the Tamamitsune-woman. With her petite stature and rose-colored kimono, coupled with the flower petal-like fins that sprouted from her head, she was the picture of elegance and mystery. A crafty light glinted in her eyes as she studied those of the group that were unfamiliar to her, calmly waving her long furry tail to and fro. Every time it brushed the pavement, the ground was wet by large soapy bubbles. Her arms were folded in front of her, using her sleeves to hide her hands from view.
Beside her stood Odon, a relatively young Raizekusu-man. The most obvious difference between him and the other Elite was that he wore no clothes – instead, his body was covered by a dark green exoskeleton that was studded with spikes. His tail sported a vicious set of pincers, an enormous curving horn grew from his forehead, and most striking of all, his arms were in fact a pair of glowing wings that were patterned like a butterfly's. His every move was made with a fidgety mix of impatience and madness. While he did stand in place, his head jerked around and his wings flexed constantly, like electricity was coursing through his veins instead of blood.
The Baruragaru made a mental note that he was probably inedible – and definitely unstable.
Finally, the most massive of the Elites was none other than Ray himself. The Gamuto-man stood at an impressive seven feet tall and three feet wide. His gigantic frame was heavily covered in a thick coat, which consisted of several huge pieces of red-and-dark-blue fur haphazardly patched together. He wore gloves and boots made from the same material, although the boots also had a layer of bony armor. Even his face was covered by a wild blue beard, but it did nothing to hide the bludgeon-like tusks that projected from his cheeks. At first glance, Ray's hair seemed to be done up in a long ponytail, but when it moved around of its own accord and huffed a blast of air out from the end, it was clear that it was in fact his trunk.
"Greetings, sister," Sue was the first to greet, her voice kept to a low murmur as she formally bowed to Cindy. "The Pond told me that you would at last arrive today. I am glad to witness your safe return to Loc Lac."
In the most polite manner anyone had ever seen her use, Cindy returned the bow.
A harsh *snap* of electricity blurred across Odon's wings, and he twitched so badly that it seemed to give him new life. "And these are the yokels you found down in the Frontier boonies?" he sneered snappishly. "Ha, they don't look like much. Are all the weak monsters only just starting to transform now?"
The Baruragaru gurgled deep in his throat. How dare this Spiky Male throw around such insults? But then again… if he could afford to do that without fear of attack, then he must be powerful. He stayed in place, content with his threat display.
Unlike him, the Najarala-woman screeched with outrage and lunged, her coiled body throwing her forward like a spring. Odon cackled and whipped his tail out of nowhere, using his pincers to clamp down on the brown-skinned hybrid's neck. Finding herself vulnerable, she rattled her plates in hopes that the noise would stun him. But the noise didn't affect the Raizekusu-man, who violently slammed her head into the pavement.
Unconscious in an instant, the Najarala-woman slurred a defeated hiss as her spine automatically responded to the trauma by putting her into a coiled position again.
"Anyone else wanna go?" Odon shrieked with laughter, tapping his feet on the ground erratically.
"MYAAAAAAAGRRR!" Cindy roared. The sound was terrible enough to freeze Odon in place, barring the occasional twitch.
Sue had a subtle, dangerous glint in her eyes, contrasting with her otherwise patient expression. "Thank you, sister," she murmured. "I did not want to have to involve myself in this pointless violence."
Almost unnoticeably, the Baruragaru slipped closer to the Blue Female's side. Although the Covered One was horrible, he was grateful to her for putting the Spiky Male in his place. That creature unnerved him like no other.
This is the "city", the leviathan-turned-human said to himself. If these are the kinds of monsters… hybrids… that dwell here, I would much rather be alone in my den.
A deep rumble broke him out of his musings – it was the Giant, the only Elite that had not yet made a sound until now.
"Now that we're all settled," the Gamuto-man was saying, "we need to take our scouts to Duruhos. Keyren, Gekula, and Melody, under Cindy's guidance, have done a good job. What monsters have you found?"
It was Melody who spoke. The happy-go-lucky Qurupeco-girl was not intimidated at all by Ray's monstrous size, and so approached him with a cheery chirp and a display of her tail.
"We got four~!" she enthused. "A Deviljho, Najarala, Chameleos, and… this one." She indicated the Baruragaru by pointing at him with a wing.
All of a sudden, three sets of not-quite-friendly eyes were focused squarely on the Baruragaru. He stared at each of them with his own set of orange ones – the Giant looked like he couldn't care less, the Spiky One looked disdainful, and the Flower-Head seemed curious, but in a bad way. Studious, or analytic.
"What is he?" the Giant rumbled, to no-one in particular.
"Looks like a Gigginox and a Ludroth had a really ugly baby!" the Spiky One sneered.
"Fascinating…" said the Flower-Head. "A stranger in our midst. The Pond has not warned me of this happenstance. Definitely a leviathan – he has the elegance of our kind."
He cocked his head. That was what the Blue Female had said earlier. He wasn't sure what it meant, though.
Flashing a triumphant grin at her fellow scouts, Keyren boasted, "See? What did I tell you?"
Her remark didn't get much of a reaction. Melody shrugged in a way that suggested she was torn between arguing and leaving it be. Gekula didn't even do that, just sniffed the air to make sure of where he was.
"Whatever he is," Ray said, "he is still a hybrid, and will stay with us so that we are not exposed by the humans."
"Let us not delay any longer," Sue added, turning around with a swish of her luxurious tail. "Duruhos will be expecting you. I will inform him of your return."
"Very well," agreed Cindy. "Keyren, Melody, Gekula, you're with me. Make sure the Chameleos and whatever-he-is come along."
With that all finished, the group split up. Ray slung the unconscious Najarala-woman over his shoulder and instructed Dissidia to follow him. Sue, always a fast mover, vanished in seconds. Cindy led the scouts and the new hybrids into the city. Odon was the only one to stay by the airship, presumably to make sure it was well secured in place.
As the buildings began to close in the further they wandered into Loc Lac, the Baruragaru shuddered and crouched into his defensive posture again. His tongue flicked out constantly to taste the new scents, and every time he did so, he looked more and more wary. None of this was familiar to him. He felt so out of place in this unnatural world.
But you are unnatural, a voice reminded him. An abandoned Two-Legs roost is the only place a freak like you can hide and not be discovered. You're weak.
"Sssss…" he hissed with displeasure, shaking out his fins even though there was no need to intimidate. He pointed his orange glare down at the stony path beneath his feet – but even that didn't feel right. Its texture and flatness was nothing like ordinary stone.
This was his life now. This was the only place he'd fit in – not as a powerful monster, not as a scrawny Two-Legs, but as a disgusting mix between the two.
The sooner the Baruragaru accepted his place, the easier his time here in Loc Lac City would be. But he'd be damned if he wasn't going to try his hardest to resist it.
-.-.-.-.-.
New characters galore!
The Elites, as you may know, are the four flagship monsters of MH Cross. I finalized their individual personalities after watching the opening cinematic for Cross – Dinovaldo as the king (or queen), Raizekusu as the aggressive rebel, Tamamitsune as the calm mystic one, and Gamuto as the more neutral one.
Also, the names of the Elite are puns. If you can guess any one of them, I'll tell you the rest!
Please send reviews! And if any of you are growing more confused about how complex this story is turning out to be, I've got something in store that might help clarify things.
In the meantime, I'll happily answer any questions you have.