The Lost Civilization: Driven
By: Thomas A. Hawk
Edited by: dashboardgecko
Disclaimer: I do not own Monster Hunter. The rights of the game belong entirely to Capcom. This is a fanwork taking place in the setting of The Lost Civilization, another fanwork of the Monster Hunter games. The world and its characters, aside from those newly created for the sake of this story, are property of dashboardgecko
Chapter 4: The Darkness
"Hey, could we pull over for a sec? I gotta use the bushes."
"Again? You just went a half hour ago!"
"That was before you challenged me to drink a gallon of water in under five minutes, Rosa."
"You didn't have to accept, Lloyd."
"Says the one who insisted that I do it for the sake of entertainment!"
"Alright, fine, but try to be quick. This area's known for having large monsters roaming around, and I'd prefer we not run into one."
"'specially not a Deviljho!"
Lloyd swiftly hopped out the back of the carriage and hurried off into the trees along the side of the road as Selipa began to berate Rosa for thinking a monster that rare would appear around there at all or something. He didn't really pay much attention, considering he had other things on his mind. That was the last time he would ever let those two goad him into a stupid contest like that.
The trio had been on the road for a couple weeks now, and it had certainly been an eventful journey. Not even two days after they left Aries Town, their wagon had been beset by a pack of Jaggis. He hadn't been too concerned at first; there were a little over a dozen of the little ankle biters, and one bullet to the brain was enough to bring them down. What really caught him off guard was the leader of the pack, which Rosa had called a Great Jaggi. It was more than three times the size of the smaller ones, and Lloyd had the displeasure of being the one closest to where it had appeared, without any bullets in his handgun.
He supposed that his first taste of Therian monster hunting came when he pulled his katana out to fight the thing off. It was much, much different from fighting marauders or the scavengers back from his time, but fortunately his instincts kept him from getting killed. He even landed a few nasty blows on the thing! That being said, the fact that Rosa was there to bail him out was a big part of it too. Selipa hadn't been kidding when she said the huntress was good. In the time it took Lloyd to shoot down four of the ankle biters, she had already killed twice as many, and she had been the one to finish off the Great Jaggi with an explosive round to the chest after Lloyd had taken a tailwhip to the back and been thrown into the side of the cart, leaving a noticeable mark on both him and the wagon.
Hell, Rosa had bailed all of them out several times. Three days after the Jaggi incident, the group had been stopped by a larger group of bandits, which Lloyd partially blamed himself for; he'd been going through the old pictures on his phone with Rosa, so none of them were watching the sides of the path. However, the huntress' quick thinking let them escape that situation without almost any trouble: after effectively seducing the majority of the group, she set off a smoke bomb and promptly curb stomped the whole lot of them. Lloyd and Selipa only had to handle one bandit each.
He had certainly developed a lot of respect for the huntress, that was for sure. Still though, he wasn't exactly impressed by all of her actions. Particularly, her 'idea' to wake him up a few days ago with a blast of Wyvern Fire had left him without a tent to camp out in, forcing him to sleep in the back of the carriage instead. Then there was her idea of fishing. Lloyd had borrowed the rod Selipa had stored in her wagon to try and catch some fish for dinner, and Rosa decided to 'help out' by firing a crag shot into the stream. While it actually did kind of work- half a dozen fish had been thrown out of the stream- the blast had sent one of those fish directly into his face, and simultaneously drenched them both from head to toe. He was just glad he wasn't hit by the one that was covered in spikes, or worse, the one that actually exploded.
All in all though, he couldn't really complain, especially considering how bad his last road trip had gone. At least this time he wasn't being chased down by a giant black dragon. While the two had been wary about talking a lot about it, Lloyd was able to pick up some more information about the thing from his companions. Apparently it was referred to as the Alatreon, and it had been a known terror in this country for many, many years. Even hunting it was illegal, as- just like Mikael had said a few weeks before- every attempt failed, and only served to anger the creature instead, which left nothing but destroyed villages behind. The punishment hunters faced for doing so was pretty severe too.
"I mean, everyone knows the punishment for trying to hunt the Alatreon," Selipa had said a few nights before. "The Guild tosses your ass in jail without a second thought, no questions asked. Sometimes even for life."
"Yikes."
"Well, there is a little more too it than that, Sel. Some more popular hunters that had rumors about potentially going after the Alatreon surrounding them pretty much just lost their drive for hunting for some reason. They only took up quests that involved slaying Royal Ludroths or maybe Gobuls at best. Now, I'm not pointing any fingers here, but it kinda seems like the Guild might be doing some work behind the scenes too."
"What makes you say that, Rosa?"
"See, one big thing us hunters love is telling awesome stories about the things we hunt," she pointed out. "That's why ranking up is such a big deal: we get more respect, we become well known, we take on bigger threats, that kind of thing. But try hunting the Alatreon, or just think about it, and the Guild just shuts you down. You're stuck hunting wimpy Great Jaggis and Qurupecos for the rest of your life. No more respect from hunts, no more popularity, and no more hassle with the Alatreon."
"Well, when she puts it like that, it kinda sounds believable... I've heard worse conspiracy theories, at least."
"Hey! I have some pretty solid proof of this! Not that I'll ever bring this forward to the Guild or anything, but there has been a bit of news lately that kinda proves my point. You know who Levin and Ellie are, right Sel?"
"Sure, it'd be harder to find someone who doesn't know who they are."
"Uhm…"
"O-Oh, right, sorry. Lloyd, Levin and Ellie are two of the first members of the Lost to take the hunter's examination and pass. It was a really big deal for the Lost, for obvious reasons. They've been making waves in the hunting world ever since."
"Well, they were making waves. Word on the vine is they had a run in with the Alatreon. They've hardly been heard from since then."
"Uh oh… Well, that would explain the Silver Rathalos incident better."
"You heard about that too?"
"I pretty much live in Nastre, Rosie. That's some of the biggest news we've had around there in years. Still… it's hard to believe they got caught up in all that trouble too."
"I guess trouble just finds them instead."
For some reason, the names of those hunters stuck with him. Levin and Ellie. He didn't recall ever knowing anyone named Levin back in his time-who would even name their kid Levin in the first place?- but Ellie seemed to ring a bell. There had been a family that contacted him a few months before the monster attacks asking for some family photos. What did they call themselves again? The Geisels? They had a daughter named Eleanor, so maybe that's what seemed familiar. Only reason he really remembered them was because of the generous tip they gave him for his services, and because Eleanor had laughed at him when he bumped his head on a lower hanging ceiling.
As he finished up, something off to his right caught Lloyd's eye. The trees opened up into a sunny clearing about ten yards away, and a shiny red object was resting in the grass. He curiously made his way into the clearing; he hadn't seen anything shine like that since back in his time. His eyes widened in realization as he came to a stop by the object and knelt down.
It was an empty soda can! Not only that, but it was that trashy supermarket brand that Zack seemed to love for some reason. He'd been carrying a few of those along with him when they were attacked, hadn't he? Sure, it was crumpled and rusted from sitting out in the elements, but that meant he and Fala must've passed through these parts too!
Searching around, Lloyd noticed a few faint traces of an old camp that had been set up in the clearing. He saw a few telltale signs of tents having been pitched here, though he couldn't quite guess how long ago, and there was a circle of stones piled around the center in the shape of a makeshift fire pit, though that too was cold and grass was growing within the charred center of the rocks. Not to mention he could hardly see any foot prints in the grass. At least, none that were human; he saw a few Aptonoth hurriedly leaving through a gap in the trees the other side of the clearing that might've stepped through there. The others must've been here weeks ago… At least he was on the right trail.
"Leave it to Zack to start littering in the future," he mumbled, taking the can and sticking it in one of his belt pouches. As he continued searching around the clearing for any other signs of their passing through here, though, a large shadow passed over the clearing, like an airplane had just flown over. He hadn't heard anything aside from a light whoosh. Lloyd glanced up in confusion, seeing nothing but blue sky and fluffy white clouds at first, but then something caught his attention. A large green object flying towards the clearing. It took him a moment to register that it had a very draconic shape, at which point he felt his face pale.
He turned and sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him, hoping to make it to the trees before the beast landed. He'd been standing in the middle of the clearing, right out in the open! He made it within fifteen yards of the treeline before he heard a loud crashing sound behind him, like heavy talons ripping into the earth and thundering to a stop. He whirled around, his heart skipping a beat or two as he came face to face with a massive green dragon. It must've been almost forty feet long, and it absolutely towered over him. What had Rosa said? Red ones were Rathalos, green ones were… Rathian. This was a Rathian.
Something that even skilled hunters had a hard time with.
"H-hey there, big… scary dragon guy- er, lady… Don't mind me, just heading back to-"
Lloyd raised his arms up to shield his face and ears as the dragon let out a furious, earsplitting roar with enough force to make him stumble back several paces. He lowered his arms as the noise died down, grimacing as he noticed flames licking at the wyvern's mouth.
"Aw hell."
He immediately dove to the side as the beast reared its head back and launched a fireball from its maw, wincing as a the fiery object shot past him and burst against one of the trees behind him, instantly igniting the bark. He wasted no time in pushing himself up as the wyvern reared its head once again, and Lloyd just barely managed to throw himself out of the way of the second fireball. The projectile exploded on the grass, sending a wave of heat over him.
Lloyd went for the pistol strapped to his leg, whipping the firearm out and firing several shots at the Rathian's head. The bullets glanced uselessly off of the beast's hard green scales, though it did flinch slightly as one of the shots landed right above its eye. He yelped as the beast began charging towards him, darting to the side in the nick of time to avoid being trampled by the wyvern. He twisted around and fired off two more shots into the Rathian's side as it turned, one of which managed to hit soft flesh. Still, it was hardly a wound; he couldn't even see blood. With a curse he rushed to the side, once more avoiding being crushed below the charging wyvern's talons. He fired three more rounds into the beast as it slid to a halt, but like before, the bullets hardly left a scratch.
"I don't have enough firepower for this," he grunted, dropping the spent mag and sliding a fresh one into place before chambering the first round. Lloyd grimaced as the draconic beast turned towards him once more, dragging one of its feet across the ground and tearing up the grass beneath as it roared threateningly at him. "Would really help to have Zack's shotgun at a time like this!"
He slid the gun back into its holster as the wyvern made another charge towards him. Lloyd began moving to the side, but as he did so, he heard a loud bang from behind him, and a circular object whizzed past him, striking the Rathian in the forehead and sticking there for a moment. The second after, the object detonated in a flash of fire and gunpowder, obscuring the beast's face from view for a moment as it growled in pain, sliding to a stop and shaking its head about. The photographer whipped his head back, seeing Rosa standing at the edge of the treeline, the barrel of her gun smoking from the shot she just fired.
"Lloyd, run!" she shouted, loading a few rounds into the top of her bowgun and cranking the mechanisms back. "I'll deal with the Rath! Go on!"
He turned back towards the wyvern for a brief moment, seeing it was blinking the smoke away from its bright orange eyes. The thing was terrifying to look at. It was way beyond anything he could hope to kill. He wasn't a hunter, he was just a normal guy who made snarky remarks and took pictures for a living! Every ounce of common sense he had told him to run and not look back!
But something else kept him in place. It wasn't fear, though. He'd managed to avoid all of its attacks. He'd survived all of that on his own. He'd survived being attacked by the Alatreon itself! He'd survived his civilization's destruction, and all the bandits and raptor beasts that came after him during it! He wasn't just some child who would run at the first sign of trouble! He was a survivor! How could she just treat him like a helpless kid, especially after seeing him hold his own against a monster not even a week before?
He'd show her that you didn't have to be a mighty hunter to tangle with these things.
With that thought in mind, Lloyd pulled his sword from its sheath and rushed towards the Rathian's side, eliciting a startled shout from Rosa. The green scales covering the beast's hide were tough enough to stop bullets, so he wouldn't have much more luck with his sword against those parts. The softer tan hide on the creature's underside, though…
The wyvern twisted its head as he passed, finally having cleared its vision, but not soon enough to halt the man's approach. Clutching his blade with both hands, Lloyd swung horizontally across the beast's neck. The edge of his katana scraped against a few scales, but managed to cut into the Rathian's hide shallowly. He continued his attack by darting between the Rath's legs and slashing upwards, cutting a long, thin line down its belly.
He grunted in shock as the wyvern suddenly pushed off with its wings and took to the air, hovering several feet above the ground. The gust of wind it kicked up in doing so nearly knocked him over, but he managed to remain on his feet. There were several cracks from behind him, and he saw three shots from Rosa's bowgun strike the Rathian's chest, causing the wyvern to flinch slightly before swooping towards Lloyd.
The only thing that saved him then was the simple thought 'get out of the way'. He dove off to the side as the wyvern raised its talons and lunged at the space he had occupied a split second before, sending out another gust of wind as it landed heavily on the ground. Lloyd slammed face first into the grass, but immediately began to push himself up as the Rathian once more turned towards him.
Another few shots from Rosa's bowgun managed to sway its attention, though. Several rounds slammed into the side of the creature's head, shattering a few of the wyvern's scales with a pained whine. The Rathian turned towards the huntress, but she was already on the move, circling around towards the middle of the field.
"Seriously, get out of here! I'll handle this!" she urged, bringing her bowgun around and firing another few rounds, this time aimed at the Rath's wings.
All that served to do was make him want to stay and fight more, though. With the Rathian's attention focused on her, Lloyd made a break for the beast's underbelly once more. The wyvern reared its head and shot a fireball towards Rosa, though she rolled out of the way expertly, bringing her red bowgun around to return fire, but cursing when her eyes landed on him, instead going to load a new set of rounds into her gun from her pouch.
As he came to a stop beneath the beast, Lloyd slashed his katana across its belly, this time cutting deeply enough to draw blood. Releasing his right hand from the hilt, Lloyd thrust his blade into its gut, piercing several inches into the monster's soft hide as he reached for his holster. Pulling the USP free, he fired wildly into the Rathian's underside, emptying the clip in a couple seconds and causing the wyvern to howl in pain.
"How does that lead feel, eh?!"
He yelped as the creature twisted its body around, nearly throwing him to the ground when his sword remained stuck in its hide, prying itself free from his grip. Lloyd let out a pained grunt as the side of the Rath's leg slammed into him, knocking him several feet back onto his side. Shaking his head to clear away the ringing in his ears, he propped himself up on one arm, turning his head to the side as he heard a noise behind him.
The Rathian was sweeping its head towards him, its mouth agape with hundreds of deadly pointed teeth closing in on him. He fumbled onto his side and brought his pistol around in an attempt to shoot the wyvern before it could reach him, but cursed mentally when the firearm only made a dull clicking noise with each trigger pull. He'd used the magazine up in his last attack!
Before the wyvern could bite him, though, there was a loud bang from behind him, and a large bullet found its mark in the Rathian's mouth, causing it to close its maw and stumble back in surprise. He barely even registered what had happened before he felt himself being yanked up to his feet by the small pack strapped to his back, and he turned to see Rosa standing there. To say she didn't look happy was an understatement.
"Lloyd, I swear to whatever god you believe in, if you don't get back to the carriage now, I will kick your ass so hard that neither of your friends will be able to recognize you through all of the bandages you'll be wearing! I can't concentrate on driving the Rathian off if I'm stuck trying to babysit you too!"
"Then don't babysit me!" he shot back. "I can help just as much as one of your hunter buddies can! I'm not defenseless, you know! I lived through shit like this back in my time too!"
"That's NOT what this is about! You-"
The huntress was cut off as the wyvern let out a furious roar, forcing both of them to cover their ears from the intensity of it. Flames were already licking at the Rathian's lips now, and it looked even more pissed off than Rosa did. Lloyd could still see his katana stuck in the beast's stomach…
He quickly returned his attention to the beast itself as it began to charge the pair. Rosa wrapped an arm around his middle and pulled them both out of the way of the charging wyvern, reaching behind her with her other arm as the Rath thundered past them.
"If you're going to stick around, take this," she said, drawing the sword she kept sheathed on the back of her waist and holding the handle out to him. It was about three inches wide, as thick as his thumb, and as long as his arm, with a red-leather wrapped handle and a dark steel crossguard and pommel. Simple, but sharp. He noticed it weighed quite a lot more than his katana did when he took hold of it, but it wouldn't be hard for him to use it. "I'm not going to argue like this. Just try not to get your stubborn ass killed! Selipa wouldn't let me hear the end of it!"
The two were forced to split up when the wyvern came charging at them again, and as he darted to the side Lloyd swung the huntress' blade against the side of the Rathian's leg. While the blade glanced off of the tough scales covering its thigh, the impact of the heavy blade easily shattered a few of the smaller scales, littering the grass below with tiny emerald-colored shards. Rosa had whipped her bowgun off of its sling and was firing on the creature's head as it turned, landing several shots on its face and breaking off a few more scales.
The Rath launched a fireball in the huntress' direction, forcing the huntress to leap out of the way to avoid the blazing sphere, before storming off towards Lloyd once again. The photographer grimaced and leapt to the side as the creature reared its head, ducking and rolling just in time to avoid the creature's attempt to bite down on him. He still felt his shoulder burst out into pain, though, and with a gasp, he dropped to one knee. The Rath's chin spike had grazed his shoulder, tearing through the sleeve and digging into his flesh. It wasn't a very deep cut, but it still hurt like hell.
Lloyd turned as the wyvern slid to a halt behind him, charging towards it as it shifted its gaze over towards Rosa. With a shout, he slashed the edge of the sword into the Rath's thigh where Rosa's fire had shattered most of the scales, biting into its leg deeply. He quickly swung twice more, each cut leaving a noticeable trail of blood. He hopped back, thinking the wyvern was going to attempt to kick him again, but was surprised as the monster instead thundered off towards Rosa. He chased after the Rath, intending to continue striking it while its attention was off of him.
As he began to close the distance, though, the wyvern whipped its body around, and Lloyd found himself charging directly towards the Rath's face. He cursed as he slid to a stop, thinking the beast was planning to ram into him, but gasped in confusion as the creature instead turned its head to the side and whipped its body around again. Lloyd barely realized the wyvern's tail was hurtling towards him in time and began to drop to the ground, narrowly avoiding the brunt of the blow. However, one of the spikes jutting out from the creature's tail caught the strap on his pack, and Lloyd found himself being thrown across the ground, sword torn from his grasp as he rolled wildly to a stop on his chest almost thirty feet away.
The entire world was spinning as he groggily pushed his face out of the grass, only half aware of what was going on around him. He was alive. He thought he was alive, at least. That was good. Everything hurt though. That was not so good. His shoulder felt damp. Water? Wait, that was blood. His blood. Right. Both of his hands were there. What about his legs? One, two. Yep, those were still attached. He was in one piece, just one really loopy piece.
He heard a few muffled shouts from across the clearing. Why were his ears covered? Wait, they weren't. Right, he was dizzy. That was why nothing worked right. Lloyd shut his eyes for a few moments and tried to focus on regaining his bearings. Slowly, the sounds of battle became clear, and he opened his eyes, relieved to find that the Earth was below him again. Rosa was on the opposite end of the clearing, peppering the Rathian's head with explosive rounds while dodging away from its attacks. Even after seeing her in action before, he was still impressed by how skillfully she evaded the wyvern's attacks and returned fire. It was almost like she'd memorized what it was going to do.
The photographer shook his head and pushed himself up, wincing slightly as his body ached from the effort. Still, he forced himself to take a few steps forwards. He couldn't drop out of the fight now. He wouldn't let himself do that. He wasn't sure why, but something drove him onwards. He reached down and grasped the handle of Rosa's sword and began to make his way back towards the fight, but stopped when he saw the silver blade of his katana in the grass off to the left. It must have come loose from the Rath's body! He took hold of that as well before turning back to the fight and racing over to rejoin.
Rosa caught sight of him as she leapt back to avoid a sideways bite from the Rath, her expression a mix of relief and confusion as their gazes met for a brief moment. A second later, she brought the barrel of her bowgun around and shot what Lloyd thought was the biggest bullet he had ever seen into the top of the Rathian's head before she rushed to get away from the beast's face. The shot broke into several smaller fragments that, upon contacting the ground or the Rathian's head, exploded violently with bright yellow flashes, causing the wyvern to stumble back and whine in agony.
"Attack its head!" she shouted. "That's the weakest part! The scales should be gone now!"
He nodded as he came to a stop in front of the beast, slashing Rosa's sword into the side of the Rath's head as it stooped lower to the ground. The blade cut deeply into the beast's snout with a large spray of blood, and he followed up with his katana, slashing the curved edge across the wyvern's brow. He could feel a strong tug as each blade tore through the beast's flesh, like he was cutting through softer, meatier flesh, and much more deeply too. He brought both blades up diagonally, slicing a pair of lines through the creature's chin, before slamming them both down on its face.
He pulled back from the wyvern's head for a moment as it whined in pain, blinking its eyes to clear away the smoke from Rosa's bowgun and the blood from Lloyd's attacks. Crossing his arms, Lloyd pressed forwards with his attack, slashing an X-shaped wound through the beast's snout before bringing Rosa's sword down on the side of the beast's head. As he pulled his right arm back, he swung down with his left, his katana slicing deeply into the beast's skin. With each swing, Lloyd took a step forwards, and the Rathian backed up at the same pace, confusedly trying to escape its unseen attacker. Each consecutive strike felt stronger, every slash cutting deeper than the last, and he threw more energy into each one, spraying the ground with the wyvern's blood.
"Get! Out! Of! My! WAY!" he shouted, twisting his body around and slashing both swords across the Rathian's face deeply enough to grind against the monster's skull. The beast reared its head back and roared in pain, taking several steps back and shaking its head, whining in agony at the damage he had dealt to it. As he watched, the wyvern glared at him, uncomfortably shifting its yellow eyes between him and the huntress that had jogged up beside him. After a few seconds, the Rath spread its wings and pushed off, rising higher and higher into the air with each beat of its wings, before sailing off towards the distant mountains to the west.
The wyvern had fled.
Lloyd let his arms drop to his sides as he watched the beast fly off, panting heavily from exhaustion. He hadn't realized just how much effort he'd been putting into that fight, but now, he felt sore and tired. Still, he afforded himself a slight chuckle.
"We… won…"
"I've seen better hunts… But yeah, we did," Rosa replied, patting his uninjured shoulder roughly and smiling shortly. "I'm still going to kick your ass though."
His chuckling turned into full on laughter a moment later, which surprised the huntress.
"I just fought a goddamn dragon," he mused, his gaze fixated on the creature's shape fading above the trees. "I fought a dragon, while wielding swords, and I lived. Holy shit… What a world."
That was the last thing he remembered before falling over backwards, exhaustion overtaking him.
Lloyd groaned and pushed himself upright, his head swimming. Where was he? It was really hot, and the ground was like hard stone. There was a kind of electricity in the air too, that kind that sort of hangs around just before a thunderstorm hits. He groggily blinked his eyes open, and a second later, they widened.
All around him was a massive pool of boiling hot lava. He was lying on a hardened slab of black rock, on the edge of a tall cliff in the side of a mountain. To his right, several flows of lava spilled over the edge of the cliff on either side of the slab, while to his left, a high wall of the molten orange magma flowed down into the rivers split by the platform. The sky was darkened with black smoke, pierced only by the occasional flash of blue.
"Am I… Am I in a volcano?!" he muttered in disbelief. "What the hell… Where is this? Where am I?"
You are in my domain, human. Lloyd whirled around in shock at the voice that filled the air around him, hissing venomously into his head. You are here because I called you here, because I WILLED you here… and you will not leave until I allow you to.
It was all too familiar… He'd heard it once before, and once was enough. He fixed his gaze on an outcropping of hardened magma hanging at the top of the lava falls, where a large black shape was slowly stepping over with its massive legs. The large, thick horns atop its head, the giant wings on its back, the glistening black scales, and those piercing red eyes…
"The Alatreon…"
That is NOT my name, human! A gust of white haze hissed from the dragon's mouth as the creature hissed, it's eyes flaring in rage. The creature seemed to seethe for a moment, before a low, dry laugh rumbled across the rocks. But I suppose it's as good as any. It was your species who gave me such a title, a name to describe the bane of your existence. I MIGHT have been displeased by the name… but I can smell the fear the title invokes in humanity. I can sense the terror and hate the name creates in you with only its utterance… as it SHOULD be.
But who are you, exactly? Lloyd winced as the Alatreon leapt down from its perch onto the platform he stood upon and sauntered its way over to him. He nervously took a few steps back, only then realizing that he had neither sword nor gun on his person. One of the… 'Lost', obviously. My little playthings locked away and saved for later. I thought I felt something strange from one of my little toys, a flare of hate and violence through the bond. So you are the one who has been making such a fuss lately…
The dragon lowered its head and looked him dead in the face with a gaze that could only be described as quizzical. After a few seconds, though, a spark of realization came to the dragon's eye, and it tilted its head back before letting out a sort of guttural laughter.
Ah, that's right! My SECOND pawn. I'd nearly forgotten you after all of these years. I have been terribly occupied with the first… That infuriating boy Levin…
"Levin? Isn't he… Hold on a second, you FORGOT about me?!" he shouted. "You went through all of that crap- you put ME and MY FRIENDS through all of that bullshit just to send me into the future, and you FORGOT?"
The beast stamped its foot down beside Lloyd, making him jump in shock and inch away from the beast slightly. A wave of fury emanated from the dragon, making the air feel heavy enough to almost push him down. He could tell that this thing was NOT happy. In fact, now that he was paying attention to it, he could see that one of its eyes were visibly twitching, and there was a light jitter in one of its forelegs, as though it were forcing itself not to crush him then and there. It felt like the Alatreon was… almost about to snap.
Don't think yourself special, human! The Alatreon's voice roared through his mind like a thunderclap. Do you remember every bug you've stepped on or swatted? You, every single 'Lost', and every single human is just the same: one of my playthings, toys to be used and tossed aside at my whim! Don't you believe for a moment that you're unique, just because you're higher up on my list!
The Alatreon's voice seemed to dim a little, lowering to a menacing rumble. The creature leaned forward, bringing its snout directly in front of Lloyd's face. It hissed, and a gust of frigid white haze jetted between the creature's teeth, the merest touch feeling as though it froze Lloyd's skin.
I've laid countries and kingdoms to ruin. I've DIGESTED humans that have given me more thought that you ever will. I have erased more human lives than you can imagine, millions more than your pathetic friends are worth! You whine when I don't remember you, but most would consider it a blessing to 'slip' my mind. It would be a simple thing to erase you and use one of the other thousands of Lost to amuse myself with instead; they all despise me as much as you, if not more. If you're truly so unhappy with my neglect, I am more than willing to find you and rectify that, boy.
"N-no, I was… just surprised is all. No need for that…"
That's what I thought. Remember that compliance, boy; it may keep you in my good graces for longer than… other humans. Then again, your kind proving to be a very troublesome species to keep around… I've almost begun to wear out my patience with that Levin. I need to, as you humans say, 'vent my frustrations'. I can only destroy so many villages before it loses its charm.
"I'm, ah, not exactly qualified to psychoanalyze giant dragons..."
Watch your tongue, human! the dragon spat, its talons gripping into the stone below and breaking it apart with ease. Lloyd swallowed nervously as the scales lining its body seemed to bristle like sharpened knives. Mouthing off to it was probably a bad idea after all. I'm halfway tempted to fly over to your pitiful little camp and wipe it from existence. It would certainly save me a lot of trouble…
Lloyd was halfway tempted to ask 'then why don't you?' Fortunately, his judgment got the better of him this time. Last time he tried facing this thing, he didn't even last five seconds.
Or better yet… maybe I can order that Rathian you fought earlier to go back and finish the job. And should you or those other humans manage to survive… I'll send another creature. And another. And another. Until every living being, carnivorous or otherwise, from one horizon to the other is hunting you down, seeking your blood. The Alatreon's lips curled back into a twisted, maddened smile. You seek revenge against me, but how would you feel about dying, trampled under the hooves of a herd of meek Kelbi? Or swarmed and devoured by a hive of Altaroth? You're so proud of yourself for killing Jaggis and their ilk… Should I send every one of their kind in the country after you?
But no. Even that wouldn't be as fun as what I have planned for you, boy. the dragon chuckled, making the photographer shift nervously. It has been far too long since I've been able to effectively torment one of your kind. Yes… until that Levin finally breaks and comes after me, you'll do just fine…
"What are you talking about…?"
At once, several visions flashed before his eyes, like clips from a movie. He saw his family. His brother, dressed up in his combat fatigues. His friends, dirtied and tired from their exodus across the state. The new friends he made upon awakening, Mikael, Selipa, and Rosa. They were all there. It seemed so real… Lloyd felt as though he could reach out to all of them, like he could actually touch them.
And the next moment, they were gone. His brother's body lying in a street, fatigues bloodied from countless wounds. Zack and Fala, crushed beneath burning trees and surrounded by monsters. Selipa, Mikael and Rosa too. All of them, brutally killed and left sprawled out right before his very eyes. The sight brought Lloyd to his knees, his breath catching in his throat, eyes wide with fear.
Your kind… So frail, so weak, so… easily scarred. Their lives are all under my judgement, you know. What you see before you could become reality in an instant, should you choose to defy me. Their lives are in your hands…
"What… What do you want from me?" he asked warily. The Alatreon's sinister chuckle was the only response he got before another gruesome image assaulted his vision.
"…oyd…! Lloyd! What's wrong?! LLOYD!"
The photographer woke with a start, feeling hands on both of his shoulders keeping him down. He was covered in a cold sweat, his throat felt dry and scratchy, his torso and shoulder hurt badly… But he was awake. He was awake now. That was what mattered.
As he glanced around, he saw both Selipa and Rosa were sitting over him, looking down at him with incredibly worried expressions. Selipa had a damp rag in her hands while Rosa had both of her hands on his shoulders, which she removed after seeing he wasn't trying to move anymore.
"What's going on?" he asked, wincing slightly at the sound of his own voice. "What are you two doing in here…?"
"Making sure YOU didn't hurt yourself," Rosa answered with a sigh, wiping her brow as she sat back on the floor of their tent.
"You just started screaming in your sleep," Selipa added, keeping her gaze centered on him. "You were flailing around like crazy… Are you okay? Did you have a nightmare?"
Tell them, and they all will perish… And it will be all because of your weakness.
The Alatreon's voice echoed in his mind, and Lloyd swallowed nervously before looking away.
"Yeah… just a bad dream. Sorry for troubling you both."
"Is it something you want to talk about-?"
"NO!" Selipa and Rosa both flinched at his sudden outburst, and he felt himself shake nervously. "I-I mean… I'd just prefer not to…"
"W-well, alright…" Selipa muttered, glancing in Rosa's direction for a moment. "Uhm… Do you want something to eat? We were about to have dinner before… uh…"
"Sure, I'll take whatever you got," he answered, even though he wasn't feeling particularly hungry. In fact, eating was the last thing he wanted to do. He couldn't make them worry though… Selipa quickly pushed herself up and made her way out of the tent to grab him some food, leaving him and Rosa in the uncomfortably quiet tent. It took a few moments of silence before the huntress spoke up.
"…Look, I know I said earlier that I would kick your ass for it, but… You were pretty helpful during that fight with the Rathian."
"That's… not what the... nightmare, was about."
"And I won't try to pry. If it's something you don't want to talk about, I won't make you talk about it. I just wanted to let you know that it was… well, it was kinda cool fighting alongside you like that. I mean, after I got over the first five minutes of your frustratingly stubborn attitude, that is," she chuckled. A moment later, though, her expression turned serious. "But let me be clear about this; that was a really young Rathian. Normally they're much tougher than that, and they typically don't run off like that. We were just really, really lucky this time around. You're better than I gave you credit for, but don't let this go to your head or anything, alright?"
"Right… Sorry about that. I… don't really know what came over me… I should've ran like you said."
"Well, I won't argue that point, but it wasn't really your fault, was it?" Lloyd raised an eyebrow at the huntress, and she continued after letting out a short sigh and softening her expression. "Selipa told me about your personal brand of the Lost madness after I dragged you back here. Anyways, you get really defensive about things, right? Like… me saying it was a chore trying to babysit you during the fight, for instance."
"Oh… Oh. Right."
"I know you've been through your own fair amount of shit, Lloyd. I'm just trying to keep you and Selipa safe, understand? She'd have never let me hear the end of it if you… Well, you know. You pretty much scared her half to death then."
"I didn't mean to, and I'm not upset about that or anything, Rosa. I guess I just got caught up in the heat of the moment. I'll be more careful about it from now on."
"At least that nightmare made getting through to you a hell of a lot easier…" she muttered under her breath, almost inaudibly. A moment later, the huntress reached into the bag lying on the floor beside her. "Still, you did alright during that fight, especially considering you're not a hunter, and that you've never fought anything worse than a Great Jaggi. So… after I carted you back here, I went back out to that clearing, and I found you a little gift."
The huntress procured a sizeable green scale from within the bag, almost as large as his hand when outstretched. There was a large black spike-like protrusion in the lower-middle part of the scale, and the whole thing gradually shifted from a deep forest green to a lighter olive color. After a second, he took it from Rosa's hands: it was heavier than he expected, and a bit thicker too. The top section was jagged and uneven, almost like it had been snapped off of the wyvern's body.
"That's a Rathian Plate," she explained. "Scales like that are pretty hard to come by, you know. It's a miracle that a young Rath even had one of this quality to begin with. Lots of hunters would kill to have a trophy like that. Yours truly just so happened to blow one off the Rathian's back! Pretty cool, huh?"
"Yeah," he replied, marveling at the large plate in his hands. "It actually is… Are you sure you want to just give it to me though? I thought you said they were rare. You'd have more use for this than me."
"I've found my fair share of plates during my career, tough guy. I can live without one. Now, that being said, if it were a RathALOS Plate, I'd-"
"Hey, I'm back with food!" Selipa said, pushing her way into the tent with a large tray holding a few bowls of stew. "Sorry I took so long, I wanted to grab something from the wagon. I figured now was as special an occasion as we could get, considering the… run in with the Rathian."
"Wait, you didn't get the-"
"Special spice? Oh, yes I did."
"Ahhhhhhh! I love you! C'mon, gimme gimme gimme gimme-!"
"Alright, alright, calm down, Rosie!" the trader laughed. "Lloyd first, then you!"
"But that's not fair!"
"Oh shush, you. Here you go, Lloyd." He pushed himself upright fully and took the bowl she held out to him, sniffing it curiously as she handed another one over to Rosa before setting herself down to his left with her own. It looked like the same kind of stew they'd had for a few nights now, yet with only a brief glimpse he could tell Rosa was eating it almost a hundred times faster. He gave Selipa a curious glance, but she just smiled warmly and nodded towards him. With a shrug, Lloyd grabbed the spoon and took his first bite. He didn't stop until the bowl was empty, and he was half-tempted to try licking it clean.
"Okay, what the hell happened to make this stew taste so delicious? I thought you said you couldn't cook!"
"Hey, I can cook! I just… tend to burn things a little too much," Selipa replied. "As for the stew, there's a town on the western coast called Orage Dell. It's a huge place for traders, and there's a really great merchant who always brings in really rare spices. A dash or two of that stuff can make a whole pot of stew taste like it belongs in a castle."
"Seriously? I'll have to go there myself sometime if it means getting food this good. What do you think, Rosa?"
"I want mooooooore," the huntress whined, sprawling herself out on the floor and kicking her legs in the air as she held the empty bowl out in front of her. "Why does the bowl not refill itself?! Food this good could only be better if I didn't have to get a second serving!"
"You aren't going to make me refill that for you, Rosie. Did you want seconds, Lloyd?"
"If you're offering, sure."
"Uuuuuugh, why don't you love me anymooooore."
"Geez, she fights dragons like a boss, yet a bowl of stew renders her immobile," Lloyd remarked, seeing the huntress trying to scooch herself towards the exit of the tent like a human-sized caterpillar. "Exactly what's in that spice, anyways?"
"I don't really remember everything, but I know it involves ground Neopteron shell-"
"And suddenly I no longer wish to know," he said, handing the bowl back to her with a short smile.
Author Notes: Please Review! Sorry about how late this one is being posted everyone, I'm in the middle of a trip and finding time to settle down and finalize the document for publishing has been a nightmare.
Speaking of nightmares, Lloyd has those now! Suddenly the story gets a bit darker in the process. I figured that during the period of time after Levin dissed the Alatreon in TLC and refused to go after it, the Alatreon was probably a little extremely pissed off. Unfortunately, that means Lloyd has to pick up the slack for Levin in the meantime, which... well, it wasn't pretty in the original story, and it ain't pretty here either, that's for sure. A quick thanks to dashboardgecko for helping me out with writing the Alatreon's dialogue in the vision scene this time too!
And of course, how could I avoid having a monster fight in a Monster Hunter story? I think using a Rathian was a little bit of a foregone conclusion considering the cover image I chose for Driven, but hey, they're fun to fight! This is pretty much Rosa's time to shine too; she's a veritable one woman army in her own right, even for the standards of TLC. As befitting a high rank hunter, she's got the skills to back up the attitude, which really helps contribute to my attempt at a mix between the TLC style of fighting and that of my own stories. I wanted it to be faster and make the humans seem a little stronger, but I wanted their target to be a threat too. So, I decided to make one participant hyper competent, and the other only sort of competent. Guess you could say Rosa carried Lloyd through his first Rathian hunt, huh? Hah, noob jokes.
Playing: Fire Emblem Fates, Hyrule Warriors Legends, Super Smash Bros. 4
Watching: Silver Spoon, Assassination Classroom, Noragami