Phantom – Part 1

Disclaimer: Monster Hunter is copyright Capcom. All the characters in this story are mine.

Edited by: Hoenn Master96 and Thomas A. Hawk

This one-shot is CANON with The Lost Civilization

Eleven Years Since the Fall of the Alatreon

"That's what happened. I tried to use my old armor for a while but… well, after the fight in the Sacred Land, it was a hopeless cause. Admittedly, I was pretty stubborn about the whole issue… Thank goodness it finally fell apart for good when I was leaving Frost Town, and not when I was on a hunt. After that, I finally just hung it up, and spent the next five months searching out a smith who could teach me how to make and repair my own Rathalos armor. I had to find a man working the forge in the southern fortress to finally learn what I needed."

"Couldn't you have just gotten a different armor set? Or just made one of the newer Rathalos armor designs? I mean… going out of your way to learn smithing just for the sake of creating Rathalos armor in the old design seems a bit unnecessary, Richard."

The blonde man laughed at that remark. "You're not the first to say that, Levin. But my old armor was an heirloom from my father, and I'd like to keep wearing the design, even if it means making a new one from scratch, and even if fewer and fewer smiths out there are keeping to the old designs. I'll admit it's probably excessive, going so far to replicate my armor after it was ruined fighting that Brachydios, but is it fair to get criticism from a man who asked arguably the best smith in the country to alter his armor design for the sake of simple aesthetics?"

"Oh. Um… Hmm. Well, you've got me there. Truth be told, I was mostly just sick of the faceplate. The Rathian armor design is good and all, but that split-visor close helm is just terrible for vision, and it's even worse when you've only got one eye to see with. This cap is much better in comparison, even if it does take a hit to defense."

"I suppose you may be right. I do wish my own helmet had better vision sometimes. I modified my visor to try and improve it, but it's still not as good as I'd like it to be. I'd have to give up a lot of protection for the visibility I really want, though."

"Yeah, no kidding. It's things like that which make me miss my old Ludroth armor, even if it wasn't great. I mean, I need to be able to see well to fight, but at the same time, you have to protect your face. Have you ever heard the things the spectators shout in the arena?"

"The closest arena from here is in Loc Lac, but I'm not really a fan of watching those kinds of matches."

"Yeah, me either… But I've seen a few fights, and the way the spectators go on, you'd think we had perfect vision in all that plating. Like we were perfectly able to see the monsters' attacks coming but we just chose to get hit. I mean, they act like we've got someone looking over our shoulder while we're hunting, and if they shout loud enough we'll dodge the monster's attacks, even if it's behind us and we can't see it coming."

"That does seem rather ridiculous. I mean, you could likely guess if you heard the monster's footsteps, but it's chancy."

"Right. I mean, I'm actually envious of Ellie on this one; her armor sets always seem to have generous visibility, while I have to special-order my armor to allow me better vision."

"I envy my own wife's visibility options as well, to be honest. Her Uragaan armor may be bulky, but at least her helmet allows her to see well. Actually, now that I think about it, it seems most huntresses have open faceplates rather than closed ones like ours… I wonder why that is?"

"I, uh, couldn't say… Your mother's a smith, isn't she? Ask her."

"She doesn't really specialize in armors. I know a number of armorers in Frost Town though, so I'll see if I can't ask around and see why they do that. There's got to be a good reason though. It can't just be simple aesthetics…"

"While you're at it, maybe you could as about female armor sets in general? Ellie's Silver Sol is alright, and Cassandra's Uragaan armor seems solid enough, but I saw some huntresses wearing Barioth armor when I was last in the Tundra and it's just… Why? Why have that much skin revealed? And that's not even all of it! Gigginox armor, Zinogre armor, Arzuros armor… Wroggi armor! Hell, even female Rathalos armor doesn't completely cover the legs! Why is that?"

"I… honestly don't know. If I had to guess, I'd say the original designers of the armor sets were thinking about fashion, rather than protection on some of these newer armors."

"That's kind of stupid. I mean, I wouldn't complain if Ellie wore an armor set like that… but not on an actual hunt! I mean, her Qurupeco armor is a pleasant memory, but I'd hate to see her try and fight a monster in something like that now. Outside of hunting though… Wroggis aren't too hard to kill, I don't think…"

"I think she may have heard you; she's looking this way."

"Urk… well, uh, just… If you can figure out why female armors are designed the way they are, that'll solve a mystery that's plagued me since I first woke up from the crystal."

"I will, if only to satisfy my own curiosity of the matter. Oh, yes, and speaking of curiosities: Levin, are you sure you haven't reconsidered my request for you to-"

"No, Richard, I have not reconsidered. I'll admit, as interesting as it sounds to see how my Dark Metal arm would react if it came in contact with your Dark Metal sword, I'm not risking it. Especially considering it somehow gets bigger when you pull it out of its sheath, and that's not even taking into account that… vortex thing which pops up in the middle. No, I do not want to risk it. If things go sour, you can get a new sword easily enough; you live in a smithing town, for mercy's sake. But as for me, I can't exactly get a new arm so easily! It's powered by a damn dragongem from the Alatreon itself, and even if I could find a suitable replacement, I have no idea where Farren is, and he's the only one in the world who could possibly replace it."

"Hmm… Alright, I see your point. Still, you can't blame me for being curious."

"I guess not. How about this: I'll go along with this curiosity of yours if you let Harker take a look at your sword like he's been asking about. He's just as interested in how your sword does… whatever it's doing, as you seem to be in seeing how it and my arm would react to each other. While I certainly wouldn't trust him very far, since he'd probably want to see what happened if my arm came in contact with your sword too, he would be able to conjure up some good guesses as to whether or not I'd lose an arm in the process…"

"Ah, well… I don't really feel comfortable with letting that man study my long sword. He's likely to destroy it by accident, if even half the stories you tell about him are true. Besides, while your arms may be able to be touched by another person, my sword is a little pickier about who can come in contact with it."

"And you still want me to touch it with my dark arm?"

"Well… yes. I'm simply curious. Dark Metal forms a bond with their wielder… or controller in your case, through the absorption of blood. But between two Dark Metals which have bonded with two different people, what would happen? Would the Dark Metal not react, since it's essentially just touching more ore, or does the blood bond change things? By rights, your Dark Metal is in a more pure state than my blade, so if it became a… a 'battle' between them, yours could win out. But then again, the Dark Metal has been weaponized in my sword, while yours was used to… well, not exactly heal, but to replace a limb, so would the intended use carry over?"

"Jeez, you kind of sound like Harker talking like this…"

The blonde man laughed. "I guess you're right… Oh, yes, while we're talking about him, the next time you see Harker, can you ask him to stop pestering my mother with those letters? While I understand his interest, she's told him the method she used to create my long sword isn't something which can be explained through a letter, and if he wants to figure out how she made it, he'll need to come down here himself."

"I'll tell him… but, uh, as a warning to someone who's never hosted a man like Harker and his family before, I'd make sure to remove anything flammable from your home. Also, you'd best be prepared to have to deal with him, Kerry, and all eight of their children. Also, I think you'll need to give the Guild at least two weeks advance warning, just in case…"

"Is all that really necessary?"

"Unfortunately, yes… Disaster seems to follow him around, and it's only gotten worse now that his children are growing up. The oldest ones are starting to take after their father, and the rest are looking like they'll be the same…"

Ellie sighed as she turned her attention away from the two hunters in front of her, her husband Levin and a friend of theirs, Richard. She'd listened long enough. As much as Levin liked to tell a good story, he really enjoyed regaling tales of the insane things he and Harker got up to when they were off on their adventures. Ellie had heard them all before, though…

The two men's conversation wasn't anything new or unusual for either of them. She wondered how many times in the last eleven years Richard had asked Levin about finding out what contact between their individual Dark Metal objects would result with. And hunting! Always their conversations were about hunting or something along those lines. She supposed it was to be expected with both of them being hunters.

She guessed she really couldn't complain; Levin had pointed out before that she had started falling into discussions about business, trade, and economics at the drop of a hat ever since she'd opened her sundries shop in Perir Town. Levin had even needed to keep a close eye on her when they were traveling through markets in other cities, or else she'd start buying up anything and everything she could get her hands on, if she thought she might be able to turn a profit on it once they got back to Perir. Thanks to her, she and Levin had returned home with light wallets more than once, and Levin had learned not to let her out of his sight. Which wasn't fair, in her opinion; she had managed to make a profit most of the time thanks to her purchases, even if they had to work as caravan escorts to get back home.

Walking next to her was the last member of their four-hunter party, Richard's wife Cassandra. Though, at the moment, Ellie had to admit she felt less like she was walking next to another woman, but rather a small tank… Cassandra was wearing full Uragaan armor, a suit of dull yellow plated mail which made even the smallest individual appear like a juggernaut. Which wasn't to say the huntress was in any way frail; under all that yellow plating, Cassandra was a fairly broad and well-built woman, as would be required to wear such armor for great lengths of time. The huntress' weapon choice only added to the effect, considering it was a massive, metal heavy bowgun with a wide shield attachment, and though it certainly wasn't the largest such weapon Ellie had ever seen, it certainly didn't look lightweight.

Ellie just didn't know how people did it, hauling around such heavy weaponry. Her light bowgun was heavy enough, enough that she'd decided to bring along her new short sword on this jaunt up the side of the Volcano instead.

Well, 'new' was relative, she supposed. The blade was an ancient weapon Harker had unearthed during his excavation of the Meridian tower north of Nastre, which he'd passed on to Ellie to be refurbished once he'd decided he wouldn't be able to study anything interesting from it. Ellie had taken to the weapon earnestly enough, though it had taken a shocking amount of materials to get it up to par… She didn't know why her favorite smith had needed nearly two hundred earth crystals to fix the thing up. She didn't understand why the smith had gotten to name the blade either, though she had to admit that 'Divine Insodus' was a pretty good name.

"Keeping up?" she asked, and Cassandra waved a hand nonchalantly, though she reached down and shifted her faulds slightly and panted quietly.

"I'm fine," the bowgunner replied. "I can't count how many times I've gone up these slopes in this armor. I'm used to it by now."

"Still, it can't be easy going through such a hot area in such heavy armor."

"It gets easier over time, I'll tell you that much… but I'll admit it's still rather tiring, no matter how long you've been in the hunting business." Cassandra grumbled to herself as she shifted her chest plate slightly. "It'd be a lot easier if it didn't chafe so much…"

"You've been adjusting your armor a lot on the way up," Ellie noted concernedly. "Is something wrong with it?"

"Oh, it's nothing. My armor's just… kind of snug right now."

"Wrong sizing?" Ellie asked. "The same thing happened with my… uh, a new armor set I made a few years back. The smith had his apprentice size me and he wrote down the wrong numbers."

"No, it's nothing like that," Cassandra replied. "It was sized right, I just… I… er, well… You and Levin have been hunters for a while, so you've probably seen fads before… Have you ever heard of the 'slim-fat diet'?"

"Oh… yeah, I think so," Ellie muttered, scratching her cheek thoughtfully. "That's rolled around a few times since I became a hunter. I think some of the beekeepers in Perir were talking about it a few months ago. They signed a contract with my store to join my caravan when they headed east of the mountains. Something about making a lot of honey to sell in the cities?"

"Yes, that sounds about right," Cassandra sighed. "I think a few years back, not long after Richard and I got married, there was a big fad about gaining weight which got started up in Loc Lac, or maybe Tanzia. I guess someone figured that the next big standard for physical beauty was to put on a few dozen pounds or so, and they started eating honey with pretty much everything. Apparently the honey they make in the western forests are really fattening, because they got that weight in about two weeks, and once everyone who could afford to eat a lot of honey got wind of it…"

"Aha. Profit for the beekeepers."

"No! Well, yes, but I'm not talking about the business side of things, Ellie."

"Oh! Oh, right…" Ellie muttered sheepishly. Maybe Levin was right about her only thinking about trade… "So if you're not talking the business side of things… Oh, wait. Did you…?"

Cassandra sighed, nodding remorsefully. "I've always been a bit of a sucker for things like that… I've got a lot of friends who aren't hunters, and they were all talking about how great it was, and how beautiful and healthy it made them look, and… Well, I thought if it made them happier and more beautiful, surely it'd do the same for me, right? I mean, it couldn't be hard just to eat a lot of honey and put on a few pounds, right?"

"No… sounds really easy, actually," Ellie muttered, before glancing down as the other huntress shifted her faulds again. "And the, uh, the armor?"

"Well, after about four months or so, I had gained all that weight I'd been meaning to. Put on nearly thirty pounds, I think. All the hunting I was doing at the time was certainly slowing down the weight gain. I was happy the 'diet' was working, but… well… I started to realize I wasn't quite fitting into my armor like I used to… Next thing I knew the armor didn't fit at all, and I didn't exactly have any spare armor sets, so… I couldn't go out hunting. I mean, I tried to get my armor set resized, but though there are some pretty skilled smiths in Frost Town, Uragaan armor is not a malleable sort of armor once it's been formed.

"After that it was pretty much a choice on whether I wanted to continue hunting with Richard - he hadn't exactly been on board with the idea of be getting into the diet in the first place - or if I needed to find something else to occupy my time. Needless to say, I chose to keep hunting. I've wanted to be a hunter since I was just a little girl, after all. So I swore off all those fads and trends and got to work trying to get myself back into hunting shape again. But… ugh, it was so hard! I tell you, it was a lot easier putting that weight on than it was getting rid of it."

"I believe it."

"I had to bolster my training regimen and watch what I ate for a couple months. I actually managed to get myself down to a respectable weight again which would allow me to wear my armor again… but then I got pregnant with little Ricky."

"Oh, man, I understand that," Ellie sighed. "Trying to lose baby weight after giving birth to Sonia was rough… and that's not even taking into account the stress of raising her when she was still an infant. And you and Richard have had three kids already…"

"Yes, that didn't help. I love all three of them, but that's essentially two years' worth of pregnancy, and there was the maternity leave on top of that… Too busy seeing to the children to really focus on hunting, and I never had the time to properly get myself back into shape. Really, I'm in a similar situation as you are: I haven't been able to properly hunt until the last couple of years. At least you had something to do with your time when you couldn't hunt; I hear that… trade shop of yours is doing well."

"Better than I thought it would, I'll admit," Ellie replied. "Honestly, it was only supposed to be an experiment in trading, to see what I could get for all the monster goods I'd stockpiled, and… well, it was more popular than I thought it would be. Turns out I managed to inherit my business sense from dad. It was a great way to keep me and Levin going when I was pregnant and on maternity leave. Even once that was done and I left the sundries shop for my parents to run when I was out hunting again, I kept having people asking me for trades when I was working at the shop. I'll cave to their requests sometimes; whenever I'm not hunting and working at the store, I'm willing to make trades with hunters for their unwanted goods."

"Sounds interesting, I guess. Any good trades?"

"A couple…" Ellie replied thoughtfully. "People are willing to trade the most valuable stuff in the world for something they've just been having the worst luck getting hold of. I remember this one guy coming in and trading a couple Rathian rubies for a dozen Gobul whiskers."

"What? Really? That's…"

"An unfair trade. I thought so too… but the guy was so desperate for them. I probably could've gotten even more from him if I'd tried. I guess he's just one of those types who doesn't care for underwater hunting or something, and was willing to trade valuable goods rather than have to try carving them himself."

"Sounds a bit underhanded…"

"That's business, I suppose. I need to make a profit somehow, and picking at hunters' frustration and desperation works. I was able to make quite a bit of money off of those rubies, I'll tell you that much."

Cassandra frowned uncertainly at the words, but as she opened her mouth to reply, a wave of hot air washed over the pair of them. Cassandra was unfazed by it, but the sudden heat caught Ellie off guard, and she began panting as sweat poured down her face with new intensity.

"We're getting close to the interior of the Volcano," Richard called from the front, turning back to face the huntresses as they caught up with the two hunters. Levin looked uncomfortable next to him, gasping for air like Ellie was. "We'd best be on our guard from here on in, now that we're in the territory of our prey. We could come across the brute at any moment."

"You two have fought an Uragaan before, right?" Cassandra asked as the two huntresses caught up with Levin and Richard.

"We have," Levin replied, pulling out a cool drink and downing the bottle. "But… well, we've only fought one, and that was a couple years ago. It was that one which made its way through the mountains west of here and started going after mining operations. It was a real tough cookie to bring down…"

"I think I remember hearing about that…" Cassandra muttered thoughtfully. "I'm surprised it managed to survive so well that far away from the Volcano. Usually Uragaans are fairly reliant on the lava flows to develop their spinal ridges."

"Well the one we fought seemed to be doing just fine," Ellie replied. "Its spinal frills were pretty worn down, compared to others of its kind, but it had claimed this big mining valley as its nest. When we fought it, it used the entire slope as a giant roller derby ring. That was really nasty…"

"It's not the weirdest thing I've heard about them either," Levin noted. "You guys are kind of far from the western ocean, so you may not have heard, but there are rumors that Uragaans have been popping up on a few islands off the coast. They're not even volcanic islands either, but Uragaans are showing up there, raising hell for the local wildlife and hunters." The switch axe user scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Actually, there have been a lot of rumors coming from those islands about all sorts of strange monsters appearing on them… Can't imagine how they managed to get there in the first place."

Richard and Cassandra glanced at each other, surprised expressions on their faces.

"Island… Uragaans?" Richard asked.

"Yep," Ellie nodded. "And island Diablos, island Nargacuga, island Barroth, island Great Baggis and Wroggis, island Duramboros… I mean, we've never actually seen an Uragaan or any of those other beasts wandering around the outer islands ourselves, since we usually don't go out to them too often. But we saw a ship bring in a captured Uragaan to the Orage Dell arena once, and the ship's captain said they'd picked it up from an island. As for how it got there in the first place… I have no idea."

"That's… there's no way…" Cassandra muttered. "There has to be an explanation... Maybe… maybe people are shipping captured monsters to the island and leaving them there?"

"I… guess that's possible," Levin muttered, scratching his chin. "But the big question is why? I mean… what would that accomplish? All it's doing is raising hell for the local ecology and giving the local hunters a run for their money… Who gains anything out of throwing the habitats of a few islands for a loop?"

"The local hunters would be able to make quite a name for themselves, hunting these… mysterious island monsters," Richard speculated, though it was clear to Ellie that the long sword wielder thought the whole thing sounded impossible.

"That's a lot of effort to go to for fame though," Ellie replied. "Hiring people to capture Uragaans and other monsters, secretly shipping them to the island, before hunting the monsters themselves? Besides, by the sound of things, the local villages have been running their hunters ragged just trying to keep the ecosystem from imploding in on itself. I remember hearing they were having issues with earthquakes about a dozen years ago… I don't think voluntarily importing wild Uragaans would be a great idea."

The two Volcano hunters glanced uneasily at each other again, before Richard sighed and shook his head. "I suppose the world is just full of strange things. Though, if I ever have the chance, I might need to go out to those islands for myself… just to see what sort of habitat these Uragaans are making for themselves in a place with no lava."

"Well, good luck with that," Levin sighed. "Personally, I'm fully prepared to actively avoid a place where I have the chance of running into an Uragaan and a Duramboros… at the same time."

"Maybe… But perhaps we should focus on the creature we're hunting at the moment, and save wayward Uragaans for future thought?" Cassandra asked.

"Agreed. The Uragaan we're going after has been christened the 'Phantom Uragaan'," Richard explained. "I'm not sure what that entails, but it could very well mean the creature can turn itself invisible."

"You're joking," Ellie replied.

"I'm assuming, actually; there's a difference. The reports indicate that there is, in fact, an Uragaan in the area. We know this: its roars have been heard, there have been signs of consumed ores and stones, destroyed rock formations from brute force, sure signs of an Uragaan. The problem is, we haven't found any tracks or footprints, no signs of it rolling around the hunting grounds, and the hunters who have heard the creature's roar have searched for the beast and found nothing. Uragaans are not exactly stealthy creatures, I'm sure you know, so that leaves us with very few possible solutions…"

"Like invisibility? That's a bit of a stretch though."

"It wouldn't be the first monster capable of such a feat," Richard replied with a shrug. "Admittedly, it's an uncommon ability, unseen in creatures outside of legendary or elder dragon status, but it's one of the few reasonable explanations I can come up with. Uragaans just aren't subtle enough to be this elusive without good reason."

"Maybe it's just… really good at hiding?" Ellie muttered unconvincingly. "I mean… I remember hearing some stories about a new type of Uragaan which is supposed to be… different colors or something."

"Ugh, you mean Steel Uragaans," Cassandra interjected distastefully, wrinkling her nose at the thought. "I really hope this Uragaan isn't a Steel one. I hate those things."

"How come?" Levin asked.

"Well, they're not that different from regular Uragaans…" the huntress explained. "But they unleash this foul, noxious smell sometimes, worse than if a dung bomb breaks in your pouch. One good whiff and you'll feel like emptying your stomach, and you better hope you aren't injured, because even the thought of trying to eat or drink anything - potions included - will just make you feel worse. And worse, it clings to your armor for the longest time, and you have to wait until it wears off!"

"They say a few hunters have started carrying around bottles of perfume or something similar when they go after one," Richard told them. "If they get coated in the smell, they just break the bottle on themselves to get rid of the foul scent, then continue on hunting. Hopefully, whatever kind of beast this 'Phantom' Uragaan is, it won't be able to use those noxious fumes. We didn't exactly prepare for that."

"I'd almost say we're over-prepared, though," Levin noted, glancing down at Richard's belt. Hung near his item pouch was a second satchel, rattling with ammunition for Cassandra. "Or at least you two are, armed to the teeth like that."

"Oh, the extra ammo? It's just good practice," Cassandra replied. "I always fill up my ammo pouch, so Richard volunteers to bring extra for me in the spare pouch space he has."

"That's not a bad idea…" Ellie murmured thoughtfully.

"Yeah, you'd think it'd be more common, especially when you use up a lot of ammo against monsters as big as Uragaans. If it's really invisible, then I'm going to be missing a lot of shots…"

"But we need to capture the Uragaan, right?" Levin asked. "Whatever abilities it has?"

"Correct," Richard nodded. "The Guild wants to know how this Uragaan has been evading capture so easily, and they'll want it alive so they can do tests. That's assuming we manage to find the beast in the first place; with luck this whole 'invisibility' aspect is only theoretical, and there's some simpler reason than the Uragaan has been evading detection."

"We should have enough traps to catch it," Cassandra added. "We'll need to be careful with them though. The shock traps should work fine, but they don't last long against creatures as large and powerful as Uragaans. And watch out when you're using the pitfall traps; if you set it down over a lava pocket, the Saturnian's liable to drill a hole straight into it, and then you'll have to deal with a small lava plume."

"Erk… thanks for the warning," Ellie muttered.

The four hunters continued on their path, the rocky terrain carrying them higher and higher up the slope of the volcano. With each step, the air grew hotter. Her armor was fire-resistant, but didn't do nearly enough to help stave off the sweltering heat, and she found herself needing to pull out cool drinks more frequently than she'd thought she'd need to. Cassandra and Richard didn't need nearly as many of the beverages as she and Levin did, however; Ellie figured they were just used to the heat after so long hunting in the area.

At least she had time to enjoy the scenery… or at least as much of the Volcano scenery there was to enjoy. She'd never had a chance before now to see the true interior of the Volcano as most hunters saw it. She'd only been here a couple times before, and both times she found herself traversing terrain which was out and away from normal; there was the Rathian battle, but that had been close to the base of the mountain and far from the lava plumes and flows, and there was the Alatreon, way up in the Sacred Land at the peak. Neither of those really showed off the true nature of the hunting grounds.

Cassandra sighed somewhat dreamily at the sight though. "I remember the first time Richard brought me out here; it's slightly terrifying at first, but once you're used to it, it's so beautiful…"

It was rather majestic, in a dangerous, volatile sort of way. Wide rivers and lakes of magma covered a majority of the terrain, making travel treacherous. Their path often took them through the Volcano rather than across the surface, following red-hot tunnels and caverns where it seemed as though only a few feet of rock separated them from a deluge of magma. So much lava was pouring down the slopes that it was hard to find decent paths outside in the relatively cooler air.

Cassandra had told her the maps needed to change every couple years or so too, as the lava hardened and the flows shifted, blocking off some paths while opening others. Ellie was surprised at how much of the molten stone was spewing from the earth though; this had been going on for centuries, she'd been told. She wondered what could be going on below the surface for such an unrelenting swell to be coming up all day, every day, for so long? Such thoughts were probably best left to others, she supposed… Kerry would likely love to study this kind of thing.

They were about a third the way up the slope, halfway to the Sacred Land, when their path thankfully took them away from the searing tunnels and out into a more open, rockier area which had been spared the lava coating the rest of the mountain had. It was still quite sweltering, but not nearly as bad as it had been within Volcano's interior; there was still a wide lava flow on their right, rolling down the side of the mountain, but the left side was merely stone, and they could distance themselves from the molten earth. They were even graced with a slight breeze, and though the lava had made it quite warm, it was still a welcome relief from the flat, hot air within the tunnels.

Their path widened out as they circled around the southern side of the mountain. The rocks and boulders around them grew scarcer, leveling out into a surprisingly even chunk of land for the Volcano, the earth below them a smooth but stable incline of coarse obsidian. Several stone stalagmites rose up to the ceiling though, black columns which had been left behind by the lava. Richard explained that their path had once been a wide molten lake a few years back, but it had drained out when an eruption had loosened a rock dam and allowed it to empty.

Looking around, Ellie could see some once-buried ores poking up from the earth, freshly revealed from under the lava. Above them, there were even more, jutting out from a wide overhang above them before connecting to thick stone pillars which kept it aloft. Next to her, Cassandra was grumbling sourly to herself as they passed the deposits by, muttering irately about how the Volcano was mocking her with such easy to reach veins. Ellie wondered if the huntress had been having trouble mining recently; she'd heard similar complaints from hunters back home who were scouring nearby caves for their own ores.

Soon, however, their path turned to lead them into the hot tunnels within the core of the mountain, much to Ellie's disdain. Before they could head back in though, Richard raised his arm and called them to a halt just before they crested a small hill. Beyond, Ellie could hear a dull rumbling noise, a multitude of grunts, honks, and bellows from numerous creatures. The other three hunters made their way to the top as well, curious to see what awaited them, and were met with a wide, teeming collection of short grey beasts.

"Rhenoplos herd," Richard noted. Levin whistled in awe at the sight, and Ellie shared the sentiment. There had to be nearly a hundred of the creatures milling around in the wide rock flat before them; Ellie didn't think she'd ever seen a herd of over a couple dozen at most before. "It'd be best to go around. Rhenoplos aren't the most dangerous things in the area, certainly, but if you get caught up in a group like this one, you'll be in a fair bit of trouble."

"I'm not going to argue with you," Levin sighed. "These things are enough of a pain in the butt to deal with in groups of two or three. The last thing we need is to have a hundred of the little bastards charging us."

Richard sighed and nodded, glancing to the right towards the lava flow. "The slope appears to carry around the whole herd… If we're careful, we should be able to keep below the ridge and stay out of their line of sight without getting too far off the path. Their sense of smell is fairly acute, but the sulfur and brimstone should cover our movements. We'll have to get a little closer to the lava flow than I'd like, but it's either that or looping back around in search of another tunnel."

The other three hunters agreed with the decision, and the group carefully worked their way around the edge of the area. Ellie didn't like having to skirt the edges of the lava flow, and she jumped once or twice when a large lava bubble popped next to them, sending flecks of molten earth hissing at their feet. This armor of hers may be fire-resistant, but lava was a whole different beast! They had to do it, however, to avoid calling down the ire of almost a hundred Rhenoplos…

As Ellie glanced out over the creatures, however, she paused; something odd had caught her eye out in the middle of the Rhenoplos, something which didn't quite fit in. One of the Rhenoplos had an unnaturally lumpy frill, all blunt-edged and knobby. Looking closer, Ellie realized it wasn't a frill at all, though, and squinted as the creature lumbered through the herd, until finally it walked out from the center of the group and out where she could get a good look at it.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me."

It was an Uragaan. A tiny, pygmy Uragaan. It couldn't have been much larger than ten feet long, and its tallest ridges rose no higher than Ellie's chin. It was even smaller than a Great Jaggi! The laughably small beast strode over to a nearby ridge, where a shining chunk of Machalite jutted out from the wall. Standing on its toes, the Uragaan reached up and began devouring the blue ore, each bite breaking off a fistful of the rare material.

"What's up, Ellie?" Levin called quietly, walking back to her and following her gaze. "Did you see something… Oh. That's… What? I didn't… What the hell?"

Richard and Cassandra turned at the surprise in Levin's voice and came up behind them. Richard to let out a low whistle at the sight of the creature, disbelief in his eyes. "Well, that… that explains quite a bit. I've heard of… shrunken monsters, but I didn't think this would be one of them."

"Goodness…" Cassandra muttered. "I've seen Uragaan eggs which are nearly the same size as that poor creature!"

"How'd the Guild mess that up?" Levin asked. "Something that small wouldn't leave the same signs as a normal-sized Uragaan, would it?"

"Normally, no… I don't quite understand it myself. I understand why they couldn't track it now: they were looking for something much larger, and its footprints were likely hidden in with the Rhenoplos'. But something so small shouldn't have been able to cause enough ruckus for hunters to think-"

Before Cassandra could finish, however, the Uragaan began grunting irately as it snapped its teeth up at the Machalite ore. It had devoured enough already that the remainder of the blue stone was now too high for its small stature to reach. With a frustrated snarl, the Uragaan reared back and bellowed angrily. The hunters all winced as the small creature unleashed a thunderous roar, forcing them to cover their ears. The small brute lurched forward, smashing its chin against the base of the ridge, and the entire rock outcropping fractured.

Tons upon tons of rock were blasted apart by the force of the blow, crumbling down around the Uragaan and smashing apart on the obsidian flat. Several Rhenoplos close to the blast yelped frightfully, scurrying away from the crumbling ridge. However, most of the herd, while looking curiously at the devastation, were uncaring of the damage and returned their attentions to other things. As the crumbling ceased and the dust settled, the Phantom Uragaan appeared in the center of the debris, unharmed and unfazed as it contentedly consumed the remainder of the Machalite, now fallen where it could eat the ore at its leisure.

"Looks like this Uragaan is just as tough and noisy as the rest of its species," Cassandra noted sourly, eyeing the newly-unearthed ore slightly enviously.

"So it would seem," Richard agreed worriedly. "Perhaps the Guild will find this to be an interesting specimen after all: a creature that somehow retains the same destructive force, despite being a fraction of the size its species usually grows to…Well, it would appear we might have to take this pretty seriously."

"Fair enough, but… how do we start fighting it?" Ellie asked, motioning to the herd before them. "Those Rhenoplos all seem pretty comfortable around that Uragaan, even after it completely obliterated that rock wall, so I don't think they're going to be chased off for much. How are we supposed to fight and capture this Uragaan with a hundred of those things milling about, ready to charge anything they perceive as even a small threat?"

"You're right, we'll need to separate it from the herd," Cassandra agreed. "How should we do that, though? Rhenoplos can get pretty stubborn. They sometimes won't even leave if an apex predator shows up in the area."

"Maybe we could lure the Uragaan away instead?" Levin suggested. "Is there any way to do that?"

"Well… If I'd known we'd have this problem, I might have picked up a field horn back in Frost Town," Richard muttered. "We could've lured the Uragaan away with one of those. Other than that… perhaps we could tempt it away with ore?"

"We'd have to mine the ore first though," Ellie noted. "I didn't bring any picks with me. And wouldn't the Uragaan hear us mining, unless we got a good distance away?"

"Perhaps, though the rumble of the Volcano could cover our tracks…" Richard sighed in frustration. "Even then, the Uragaan would likely try and stick close to the herd. This would be a lot easier if Rhenoplos weren't such stubborn beasts."

"Does anything scare them off?" Levin asked. "Anything which wouldn't bother an Uragaan?"

"Lava; they've got thick skin, but not that thick. Surprise attacks from Agnaktor, sometimes, but not in groups this large. And cave-ins and rockslides, as you saw earlier."

Ellie glanced back over the ledge towards the herd and the Uragaan curiously. The pygmy brute was still leisurely devouring the ore it had unearthed from the wall, and was almost halfway done with its meal by now. Sure enough, the Rhenoplos were keeping their distance from the rubble, milling about on the far side of the rock flat and glancing over at the Uragaan warily. Every once in a while, a particularly strong rumbling from the Volcano would make the earth shiver, and several Rhenoplos would all look up at the overhang worriedly.

"Could we… fake a cave-in?" Ellie asked, earning confused looks from the other hunters. "I mean… the Rhenoplos look a little wary right now. Maybe we could do something to make them think the ceiling is collapsing or something. If we do it before the Uragaan's finished eating, we might have the herd take off running before it's realized they're gone, since it wouldn't care too much about a collapse."

"That's… not a bad plan," Richard admitted. "Any ideas on how to fake this cave-in?"

"I… didn't think it through that far," Ellie muttered. "I was… thinking something like lobbing rocks at them? I don't know…"

"I don't think that would work… Rhenoplos aren't bright, but I think they'd catch on pretty quick. Besides, we'd need to have a lot more rocks than the four of us can throw falling on them to scare the whole herd…"

"Wait! I have an idea!" Cassandra said excitedly. The huntress whipped her bowgun out from its holster, and slid several heavy rounds into the chamber. She lifted the barrel of her weapon just over the ledge, pointing it towards the overhang above where the Uragaan and Rhenoplos were milling about.

"Oh! That's a good idea!" Ellie grinned, catching on. "Are you sure the ceiling will hold though?"

"It should," the bowgunner replied, taking careful aim. "We're far enough away from the core of the volcano that there shouldn't be any magma pockets around. If all else fails though… be ready to run."

Richard sighed at his wife's exuberance. "Just be careful, alright?"

Cassandra turned her attention onto him just long enough to give him a wink. "Don't worry, I will."

"Wait, what's she doing?" Levin asked in confusion, and Richard sighed in resignation.

"Making a cave-in."

With that, the bowgunner fired. Ellie winced a little at the noise, worried the herd or the Uragaan might hear it, but luckily the Volcano rumbled loudly, covering up the sound of the firing over dull thundering. Levin cursed under his breath as the rounds soared through the air, still not quite understanding what they were doing, but watched as the rounds struck. One struck the obsidian ceiling not too far from where the Uragaan had fractured the wall, and the next two both hit the ceiling where the Rhenoplos herd lingered.

A few moments later, the first of the rounds detonated, fracturing the rock ceiling over the Uragaan and sending debris falling down from above. The heavier slabs of stone missed the creature, though the pygmy brute was pelted with small stones and shards from above. They bounced harmlessly off its hide, however, and though the creature looked up in agitation at the interruption, it quickly returned its attention to its meal and continued devouring the ore before it. The Rhenoplos grew uncomfortable, however, and the members of the herd closest to the Uragaan scooted away.

But a moment later the next two rounds detonated, and chunks of obsidian fell down onto the herd itself. The falling rocks weren't that large, so there wasn't much of a threat posed to the Rhenoplos themselves, but the creatures began bellowing fearfully, terrified the whole ceiling was going to collapse down on them. Fearful cries echoed across the rock flat as the creatures hurried away, nearly breaking into a stampede as they made their way around the curve of the mountain, eager to get away from the threat of a rockslide.

The Uragaan, however, had barely noticed the retreat of the herd, it was so focused on its meal. It gave a single cursory glance in the direction of the running Rhenoplos, but was intent on devouring the rest of the ore before tailing after them. The hunters watched eagerly until only a few stragglers remained. When only a half dozen of the herbivores remained in sight, a couple of them looked back at the Uragaan, but huffed to themselves, apparently certain it could take care of itself, and they turned to follow the rest of the herd. The Uragaan was alone at last.

"Alright, now's our chance," Richard muttered quietly, making his way over the ledge. "Let's try and make this quick, or else the Rhenoplos may come back. It seems like some of them consider it part of the herd, and might care enough to check up on it."

The four hunters made their way over the slope, walking carefully across the obsidian flat towards the beast. The brute was still eating the ore contentedly, but it was nearly finished with its meal, chomping through the last few chunks with ease. However, as it shifted its head to get a better angle at its next bite, the creature spotted them, and its eyes narrowed viciously. The Phantom Uragaan bellowed furiously at the sight of them and immediately lurched forward, charging towards the hunters.

Instinctively, Ellie slid to a halt, preparing to dive out of the way or change her path, and the other three hunters did the same, bracing themselves. However, a couple moments later, Ellie realized the action may not have been entirely necessary. The Phantom Uragaan was still over forty yards away at least, and the creature's small size made its stride many, many times smaller. The huntress realized the brute's lumbering gait was carrying the beast along the rugged terrain at a speed roughly rivalling a human's brisk walk. At its pace, the beast would cover the distance in something like thirty seconds. Glancing uncertainly between the others, Ellie could see they were just as baffled as she was, though none of them were letting down their guards.

"Do we, uh… Should we charge it instead?" Levin asked.

"I… suppose that would be prudent," Richard replied, not taking his eyes off the approaching brute. "I must admit, I've never quite hunted a monster like this one, so I'm not sure how to proceed."

"At least we have time to think about how to fight it," Cassandra muttered. "Should I use Pierce shots against this Uragaan? I feel as though one well-placed round would go right through the poor thing… and we're trying not to kill this one. Or perhaps I shouldn't hold back too much. After all, this beast is powerful enough to topple a rock wall, and durable enough to survive it without much concern… One or two Pierce rounds shouldn't faze it much."

"I don't think you'll need to worry too much, dear. That thing is probably tougher than it looks."

"Well, no sense standing around," Ellie said. "Let's find out what this little thing can really do."

Richard Jr., Cassandra, and Monique all belong to Hoenn Master96.

Author's Note: Please Review! You can thank Hoenn for the idea behind this story. I'd actually almost forgotten the ridiculousness of the Phantom Uragaan, despite the hilarity I remember when I first saw it back in Tri. Capcom really needs to put out more silly hunts in their games.

I've started putting the credits to submitted OCs at the bottom of the chapter, in order to better surprise their creators from here on in. It didn't mean much with this chapter, with Hoenn being my editor, but still. Hopefully, that doesn't mean that those of you that submit some in the future will automatically jump to the end to find out if your character was featured.

On a side note, the Naruto manga finally ended, which is sort of a relief. Personally, I loved the first… half of the manga, but I felt like the story and character development really took a hit partially through the story. I think it was around when Hidan died… After that, it was a whole lot of 'meh' writing and characterization for me. But it was fun while it lasted I guess (and my shipper's heart is pleased to see Naruhina become cannon…)

Finally, I've started reading fanfiction again. Mostly Legend of Zelda stuff, since I've been on a kick with that series recently. Like the MH fics, LoZ fics are really hit-or-miss, since Link is an essentially mute character in all the games and giving him a voice with decent characterization is a challenge. However, I have managed to find one good one: The Silent Kingdom by Freedan the Eternal. It's really good, based around Twilight Princess (my favorite of the series), with 137 chapters and over 900k words long! Even though it was started in 2007, the author appears to be updating still, and looks like it's close to the end. Give it a read if you're into LoZ!

Reading: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure by Hirohika Araki, Horimiya by Hero, The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom, Teppu by Futada Moare, Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari by Aneko Yusagi, Spellcross by Stefan Martello, The Silent Kingdom by Freedan the Eternal
Playing: MH3U, Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Hyrule Warriors
Listening: Hello Internet Podcast, Collective Soul, Adem, Blind Guardian, Saves the Day, Ween, Klute, AC/DC, Travis, Pet Shop Boys, Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Soundtrack
Watching: The Five People You Meet in Heaven, GenerikB livestreams, MH4U livestreams YEEEEAH