Chapter 4 - Das Nächste Ziel:

Author's Note:

Well, I'm pretty proud of the mysterious girl that appeared last chapter… one of you figured it out almost immediately. A few more took a few days, but they still figured it out. We won't be seeing her again until later, but don't forget about her, and what she is (if you figured it out or read the reviews…). It'll be important later.

Last chapter was lots of fun and I had a lot of motivation to get this chapter done as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, it's a bit on the short side, again, but I doubt anyone's complaining as long as the story continues to progress. So please, enjoy!

XXX

Das nächste Ziel: The next target

"… And that's what happened," Zim finished as he watched Malakai lean back in his chair, a thoughtful expression plastered across his… eyes. It had been three days since the incident in the Jurassic Frontier, it had taken that long to travel back to Dundorma where they could tell their story to the guildmaster of the Harmony Guild.

Malakai was an interesting specimen. He was dressed in an all-black set of armor that was clearly of Nargacuga origins. The armor partially obstructed his face, making it only so that his light red eyes were visible to Shiro and Zim. A pair of dual blades were attached to his back, but he didn't seem bothered by them as he got comfortable on his chair.

The chair was enormous, and for good reason. It was the Great Elder's former chair, and it needed to be massive to hold the Wyverian that went by the title 'His Immenseness.' It was large enough that Malakai could pull both of his legs up onto the chair and cross them in a semi-meditative stance with his hands folded in his lap.

"An invisible girl, you say?" he asked after a moment of thought.

"Yes. She was wearing Nargacuga armor, much like yours, and she was wielding dual blades," Zim recounted once more. "I'm positive she was a hunter."

"Hmm… that makes a total of five hunters out in the Jurassic Frontier," Malakai muttered, clearly unhappy about that fact. "Ignoring that fact that the girl was invisible, it means that the Hunter's Guild is willing to break from tradition in order to fight this war… which is most concerning. Up until this point, we've only been encountering groups of hunters out in the wild numbering at most four…"

"Larger groups just means it's easier to kill them all," Zim shrugged, not quite as concerned as Malakai.

"For you, perhaps, and don't forget that, according to you, she got the drop on you. Even through your apex state," Malakai replied with a frown. "Without your highspeed regeneration, you would've been dead. If the Guild is resorting to ambush tactics, it's going to be harder for us to win."

"Then the troops we'll send out will have to be more careful in surveying the area," Zim said.

"You said she was invisible, which I'll address in a moment, but even assuming she's the only invisible soldier in the Hunter's Guild, she was likely targeting you specifically. She was probably following you without your knowing, and she was using those hunters as bait to try and see if she could kill you," Malakai grumbled. "It was probably just a test of her abilities. Even if she can't kill our strongest soldier, you were unable to detect her… she could likely very easily infiltrate Dundorma and assassinate whoever she wanted."

"Which is why we should counterattack before she gets the option," Zim growled. "It's why we rushed back here in the first place. We have undeniable proof there are hunters in the Jurassic Frontier. We needs boots on the ground to start-"

"Scouring an area that's likely larger than we can comprehend. We haven't mapped out the Jurassic Frontier, Zim, we don't know how big it is, or even if we can trap the Guild in there," Malakai explained. "Besides, we can't spare very many troops at the moment."

"Why not?" Zim asked, blinking a few times.

"Our numbers are dwindling. The Knights of the Wolf have been almost completely decimated, only about twenty percent of our numbers remain, and we've gotten no new recruits since we attacked Dundorma. And even then, the training process is not easy, nor is it short," Malakai sighed. "And as for volunteers, we've managed to only gather a willing force about half the size of the original army that attacked Dundorma. Of that force, thirty percent died in our last battle in Cathar, and of those remaining, only twenty percent are actually hunters that defected from the Hunter's Guild."

"Then we hold a draft," Zim suggested. "Put them through basic training and then send them out into the frontier to pinpoint the location of the Guild. Then I can annihilate the remaining hunters."

"I enjoy your optimism, Zim, I really do… it's just not practical," Malakai sighed. "Issuing a draft would be difficult and training unwilling recruits even more so. By the time we've gathered everyone eligible, trained them, and shipped them off to Bherna, the Guild could have moved. And like I said, we can't guarantee we can trap them in the frontier indefinitely."

"Damn it," Zim sighed after a few moments of consideration. He brought his hands up to rub his temples out of frustration. There really was no easy solution. "Then are we supposed to sit on our asses and wait for the Guild to counterattack?"

"No, of course not," Malakai shook his head. "We'll keep doing what we've been doing, taking cities, and denying the Guild places to stay and hunt. Eventually we'll box them into a corner. And if that corner is the Jurassic Frontier, so be it. But that invisible girl poses a problem… she's the perfect spy and the perfect assassin."

"She's a hybrid, I can tell you that much," Shiro spoke up, causing both Zim and Malakai to look over at her. They had forgotten that the white-haired woman was in the room with them. "I can't quite tell you with what yet, but I'm working on it. But she's definitely a hunter… and if I had gotten a good look at her when she was visible, I might even be able to identify who she is. As for how the guild managed to get their hands on a hybrid, I have no clue… I never gave anyone my research, nor was I aware that anyone else was researching possible hybrids with humans."

"Yes, well, I'll leave you to that, then," Malakai nodded. It was Shiro's field of expertise, after all. "The more we know about her, the easier it will be to counter her abilities. She's a powerful asset, that's for sure, and since she's a hybrid, there's a possibility that Zim could convince her to swap sides."

"I doubt she'll be coming out of the woodwork again anytime soon," Zim shrugged. "I saw her face and she's probably realized we know what she is. She'll probably stay in the shadows for at least a little while."

"More time for us to research her," Shiro chuckled, cracking her knuckles excitedly. Even the mere mention of research seemed to make her happier.

"Yes, yes… in the meanwhile, I'm curious to know what our next target is. If we can't spare troops to comb the Jurassic Frontier, then you must have something planned," Zim smirked.

"And you would be correct, I do have something planned… and it's big," Malakai grinned, a slight twinkle in his eye being the only indication of him doing so. "But there's a slight… complication. Follow me."

He hopped off his huge chair and made his way towards the back of the Great Hall, where a table was waiting for them. On top of the table was an enormous map. Cities and hunting grounds were marked on the map, as well as oceans, lakes, and other geographical locations.

The three former hunters stood around the table, looking down at the map. "Our next target is Loc Lac," Malakai explained, pointing at the city marked on the map. "If the Guild really is in the Jurassic Frontier, then they'll be helpless to halt our advance."

"Are you sure we have the troops to handle a target as big as Loc Lac?" Zim asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm well aware that Loc Lac is a fortified city with defenses roughly equal to that of Dundorma's, and it was built with repelling Jhen Mohran in mind, however, all of its defenses are pointed in the direction of the Great Desert," Malakai chuckled. "It's almost completely vulnerable from the other side."

"That poses a completely different problem, then," Shiro sighed, shaking her head. "How are we going to get to the other side?"

"Can't we use the airship thing Dr. Steele designed that flew the Knights of the Wolf to Dundorma for the attack?" Zim asked, glancing between Malakai and Shiro.

"The airship is out of fuel, and she doesn't have enough left over to get us from Bherna to Dundorma, let alone Loc Lac!" Shiro exclaimed. "The only option is to go by sea."

"Which I'll admit is a pretty big problem," Malakai muttered. "If we were going by desert on sand sailors then we could theoretically make it to Loc Lac in just under a week, even with bad winds. But by sea, it could take us two weeks at best, a month at worst."

"And there are other problems too. We'd need ships and sailors, as I doubt any of our soldiers know how to sail. This would consume money and even more supplies, and judging on how many soldiers we'd have, we may have to take multiple ships," Shiro said. "Which leads to even more problems…"

"Yes, the logistics are definitely frightening to look at, and the answers are certainly not going to be easy to come by… but we don't have much of a choice. Loc Lac is the biggest target the guild has left, and if we wait, we'd only end up losing more troops," Malakai said. "We need to figure this out now and attack as soon as possible."

"The preparation is more daunting than the actual battle…" Zim chuckled. "I'm guessing going by land, avoiding the desert is impossible?"

"Very," Malakai nodded. "It could take our army a year to make it there on foot, and in that time, we'd likely have to resort to hunting monsters again."

"Right… well, what about Moga?" Zim asked, pointing to a small island on the map. Both Shiro and Malakai blinked as they looked down at the map, before Shiro slapped a palm against her forehead.

"Moga! I forgot about Moga," she said. "That solves a few problems, actually."

"How so?" Malakai asked, cocking his head. "From what little I know of Moga, it's a small fishing village on an otherwise deserted island. I haven't had any contact with the place… I doubt they even know about what happened. But I do know that they were under the Hunter's Guild's jurisdiction."

"Yes, well, Zim and I both happen to be from there… and although yes, it is small, it's also about halfway between here and Loc Lac," Shiro smirked. "We could cram our soldiers on one boat as well as a week's worth of supplies, and sail to Moga. It's hardly out of our way, and even with bad weather we should make it there before we run out of anything. Then we can wait out any storms, stock up, and head out again."

"An interesting idea… but are you sure the people of Moga would want an army appearing at their doorstep? I don't want to ransack their village for supplies… especially if they could be a useful ally," Malakai sighed.

"Well… I suppose you could always sail over there and ask," Shiro muttered. "Then I guess you could probably convince them to lend you some ships and some sailors as well. It'll be a two-week trip at best, but by the time you get back, our army should be bolstered and fully trained."

"I don't want to make a two-week trip if there's a chance of failure. Zim, you're coming with me," Malakai ordered. "If you're really from there, then you should be able to convince them to help us."

"Oh no, absolutely not," Zim shook his head. "I don't think you quite understand my relationship with my 'hometown.' I'm not setting foot there again."

Malakai's eyes widened slightly. "Uh… okay? That's going to be a problem, though," he growled. "What are you going to do when we stop there during our trip to Loc Lac?"

"Simple, I won't be accompanying you. At least not on the boat," Zim said, crossing his arms. He was adamant about not going back to his hometown. "If you really think you need me, then I'll go by balloon. With just me flying, it'll take half the time, and I can be there at the landing site waiting for you."

"You'll have to wait a week, though… at best!" Malakai exclaimed. "Don't make me order you…"

"Don't make me repeat myself," Zim growled, the frenzy welling up around him, distorting his voice as it did. He bared his fangs at his guildmaster for a moment, before calming down nearly immediately afterwards. Malakai had not even flinched. "You don't understand. I left that hellhole the moment I could, and I promised I would never go back. And I assure you, I plan on upholding that promise."

"You know, you could always take me with you to Moga, I was born there after all," Shiro spoke up, hoping to mediate their conflict. Not necessarily to prevent fighting or injury, just that she wasn't sure the Great Hall could withstand the clash between the Hunter's Guild's former top hunter and a Rajang-human hybrid. Though it was certainly a battle she wanted to see…

"I'm sure anyone you knew there died four hundred years ago," Malakai rolled his eyes. "I don't think you'll be much help."

"My friends and family, yes, but I've kept in contact with my home via the village chief. Although it's been over a decade since he's last seen me, I doubt he's forgotten me," Shiro shrugged. "I'll be more than enough help."

"Very well…" Malakai sighed, clearly unhappy about the arrangement. "Then Shiro will accompany me on this… diplomatic mission. Zim, you'll stay here and finish the troops' training. Make sure they'll be ready for when we come back. You can send a squad over to Bherna to help Ruby and Blast keep watch, but make sure they know not to push into the frontier."

"I'm going to have to decline that order as well," Zim sighed. From an outside perspective, it definitely looked odd for a mere soldier to refuse his commander's orders, but Zim was no ordinary soldier. "I have business to attend to at the Arctic Ridge… very important training."

"Training? Do you really need more training?" Malakai asked skeptically, to which Shiro let out a sigh. She had a feeling she knew exactly why Zim was going there.

"If the invisible girl really is a hybrid, then she was strong. She may not have been able to kill me this time, but she's gathered data… I only managed to beat her because I had backup," Zim explained. "Next time she'll know what to do, and I'll likely be alone. Not to mention there could be other hybrids. All of them more in tune with their monster side than I am."

"Fine… fine… fine," Malakai conceded, rubbing his temples. "If you think you need more training, by all means, have at it. But when you get back, you'd better be able to guarantee that nothing will be able to stand in our path. And you'd better be here before we get back to still have time to gather the troops."

"Very well. It's only a four-day round-trip, which leaves me about a week and a half of training time," Zim nodded. Though he wasn't sure if it was actually enough. "I'll also sketch out a picture of the invisible girl that I saw, and hand it off to one of the Knights so they can run through the Guild archives, trying to track her down."

"Ah, that's a good idea," Shiro nodded. "I'll bring a few things with me on the trip, so I can do some research on the go."

"Then it's decided… I'll go find someone to finish instructing the troops and to dispatch a squad towards Bherna to help Ruby," Malakai sighed. This meeting hadn't exactly gone as planned, and he hadn't gotten everything he wanted… but at least they had made progress.

XXX

Rachel looked up as the sound of an ear-splitting boom filled the air, heralding the arrival of Val. She couldn't help the smile on her face as the elder dragon landed on a ledge just outside the mouth of her cave, before skidding into the cave itself, sparks flying from his claws. She remembered how he told her that he was flying so fast that he broke the sound barrier.

Of course, she had no idea what that meant, but she knew he was moving incredibly quickly. He enjoyed talking about his species almost as much as she loved to talk about her hatchlings. But… she did notice how he hardly ever actually talked about himself. Other than his name, she knew nothing about him.

It had been three days since he had carried her back to her nest in a place he had referred to as the Verdant Hills. She only ever called it home. Since her wings were still busted she had managed to convince him to stay and help her feed her hatchlings. They would die without her… and since it was just her raising them, she needed help.

To her surprise, it didn't take all that much convincing once he actually saw the hatchlings. "I brought food," Val said as he stepped deeper into the cave. He was carrying a struggling Kelbi in his jaws, as it was still quite alive. It was an odd quirk that Rachel had noticed about him. He never killed anything until it was safely back at her nest.

"About time," Rachel replied playfully as she struggled to her feet. Every bone in her body still ached from falling so far out of the sky. Despite her highspeed regeneration, it didn't seem to dull the pain. With that and her wings still in tatters, she was essentially a stay-at-home mom.

"Yeah, well…" Val muttered, his voice muffled by the bleating Kelbi in his jaws. He trailed off for a moment, before a loud crunch echoed through the cave, silencing the deer-like creature. "She ran from me."

"She?" Rachel asked, a smirk still playing on her muzzle as the elder dragon brought the Kelbi over towards the nest, dropping it on the ground close to the rim. "And I thought you were fast!"

"Fast in a straight line… catching a zig-zagging Kelbi isn't an easy task," he grunted in return now that his mouth was free. "And can't you tell the gender by her lack of horns?"

"I've never really cared to notice," Rachel shrugged as best she could as she limped over to the Kelbi and took a big bite out of it. But she didn't swallow. Instead she held the hunk of meat over the nest, hovering just at the right height that her chittering hatchlings could reach without straining their necks.

There were three of them, her three beautiful hatchlings. It wasn't her first clutch of eggs, but it was her smallest. She had laid three times as many last year… but this year she had gotten unlucky. Or maybe she was incredibly lucky instead, she couldn't quite tell.

Of the three hatchlings, two of them were remarkably average. One had a light green shell, marking her as female, while another had a dark red shell, marking him as male. The female's shell would darken with age, while the male's would lighten. However, the third hatchling in the nest was a light gold color.

She had heard legends of Rathians that were born a brilliant gold color and would grow up to become extremely powerful monsters. Even strong enough to rival some elder dragons. Gold Rathians were incredibly rare, and the fact that Rachel had managed to give birth to one in a clutch of three seemed nearly impossible.

Val laid down onto his side, the dragon energy coursing through his wings dying down a bit to not produce quite as much noise. He was not bound to the cave like Rachel and her hatchlings were, he could leave whenever he wanted. As long as he brought them food once or twice a day, they would be fine.

And yet he chose to stay. He had a home far away from here, but it would be easy to fly back and forth with his pure speed. But he knew if he left it would gnaw on him constantly. Are Rachel and the hatchlings alright? What if something bigger came and hurt them? Rachel can barely defend herself!

It's my fault she's even hurt in the first place.

Responsibility. He certainly felt responsible for Rachel's current predicament, though he didn't physically show it. He had knocked her out of the sky on complete accident, and now he would stay with her until she could leave the cave again. It set his plans back quite a ways, but it didn't ruin them entirely. He'd just have to delay them until Rachel was better.

He was so lost in thought by the time Rachel's hatchlings had finished eating that he barely noticed Rachel limping towards him. The rest of the Kelbi was hanging from her jaws as a sort of offering. "You should eat," she suggested, her voice slightly muffled. "I haven't seen you eat the entire time you've been with us."

"I've already eaten, I caught something while I was catching your food… that's why it took me so long," Val muttered, only partially paying attention to her. He was still lost in thought. But not so much that he couldn't lie to her.

Rachel stared at him for a moment, before letting out a sigh, snapping up the rest of the Kelbi and swallowing. He was distant like always. "Suit yourself," she said as she laid down next to him, but kept her distance. On the first night, she had tried to press herself against him while he napped, as he was ridiculously warm, but he woke up immediately and moved away.

He shifted slightly, putting a little more distance between himself and her. But he didn't run to the other side of the cave like he had the first night he spent with her. "So…" Rachel started, but trailed off as she glanced behind her. Her hatchlings were settling down for a nap. It was nearly midday after all. "Thank you for the meal."

"You're welcome," he said plainly. No matter how many times he said thanks were unnecessary, she always ignored him. So he had stopped requesting that she stopped thanking him.

"And for the company," she added a moment later, as if trying out something new. He slowly turned to face her, his blue eyes locking with hers. But he didn't say a word… he just stared at her. As if he wasn't sure how to respond.

"Because, uh… I know that you know you don't have to stay here…" she continued, deciding to keep talking. It seemed whenever things got awkward, one of them just started talking. At first it was him who filled the void with his voice, but ever since their first night, she had been the one to speak. "I'm sure you have a home or something."

"Or something," he finally replied, rolling his eyes. He shifted away from her again, looking down at the ground as to be sure not to make visible eye contact with her again. He didn't like talking about himself.

"Well… why not tell me about it? I'm starting to worry that you're homesick…" Rachel admitted, wondering if she could guilt him into revealing something. She already felt like she had guilted him into staying and hunting for her, so it wasn't like it was anything new. "Is that why you're not eating?"

"I have been eating," he growled, though he didn't look up to glare at her. He kept his gaze fixed firmly on the ground, though his eyes did narrow.

"Val…" she trailed off, hoping to key him in on the fact that she knew he was lying. It was strange to say that she was worried about a man she hardly knew, but she was worried about him. And it wasn't like he had come out and told her that his species could go days without food… he insisted on lying to her.

"I don't need your worrying. I don't need anyone's worrying!" he snapped at her, unable to stop himself. The dragon energy contained within his wings flared to life, a low hum filling the air. Miraculously, the hatchlings didn't wake up. He seemed to realize his error a moment later, calming down as he did. "Not anymore, at least."

"What does that mean?" Rachel asked, cocking her head. She had shuffled backwards a bit with his outburst, but she scooted forward again after his rage had passed.

"It means that I'm fine. I'm not homesick, I'm not sad, and I'm definitely eating fine," Val said, each word seemingly carrying a punch behind it. He got up and made his way towards the lip of the cave. "I'm going to go get more food… you're looking starved and I doubt leftover Kelbi is enough for you."

Rachel was unable to even open her mouth before he rocketed out of the cave, racing away at a speed she knew only he could achieve. She stared at the place where he had just been for several minutes, pondering over what she had said wrong. "Well that didn't go very well, did it?" she muttered, glancing over at her hatchlings, who were still slumbering. "I just wanted to know more about him…"

XXX

Ah, that wraps things up. Again, a bit of a shorter chapter when compared to the last, but it was the best I could do with how much time I had. I was seriously debating cutting out this scene with Val and Rachel, not because it's not important, but because I'm not positive it belongs here.

To be clear, Val and Rachel sections are going to be a regular occurrence in the upcoming chapters. We're going to learn more about them as we go, of course, but I was worried that this scene was too early in the story. But I thought the chapter was too short without it, so I kept it in instead of cutting it.

In any case, the first section of this chapter is incredibly important. While there's not much to discover, it is setting up the three story lines that are going to take place over the course of the next chapters. Well, four when you add in Val and Rachel's story line. What those story lines contain, well… you're just going to have to wait and find out!